#she blew the rest of them out of water in terms of being cool

[shortkidenergy]

I’m watching my brother play persona 5 and makoto just took off her mask and holy shit holy shit holy shit

#listen I am gay but that was OBJECTIVELY SICK AS SHIT #I was keeping my expectations so low bc of Ann’s costume and…yknow #before I was like…she’d look cool in like a tuxedo type outfit….they’re not gonna do that but…. #AND THEN THEY GAVE HER SPIKY SHOULDER PADS AND A BIKE #THEY REALLY WENT ARENT YOU SICK OF BEING NICE DONT YOU JUST WANT TO GO APE SHIT #AND SHE WAS LIKE YES #persona 5 #I cannot tell you how happy that made me #she blew the rest of them out of water in terms of being cool #I love them don’t get me wrong #but they are a bunch of dorks #(affectionate)

[kkcauseway]

Upgrade To Grandpa

Summary: Sarah survives that fateful day and so she and Joel are happy in Jackson surrounded by family. She has been feeling off for a little while and so goes to get checked, its there she finds she's pregnant. Aged 22 and having recently lost her boyfriend she needs her family around to support her and they do just that. Content and warnings: Tw-depictions of childbirth, brief mention of sickness. So much fluff, Caring!Joel, Parent!Joel, Joel being the best dad imaginable. Word count: 4.4K Authors note: Okay so I was so excited the entire time I was writing this! Like it honestly makes me happy writing about Grandpa Joel. I really really hope you enjoy this. 🩷

After missing her period for three months in a row, firstly expecting it’s due to stress and then grief, Sarah finds herself at Jackson’s doctor with Maria in tow for support. It’s there she finds out that she’s pregnant, she cries for a long time having just lost her boyfriend; killed in an ambush a few weeks prior. She’s definitely happy about it to an extent, but what sort of life is this child going to have, Jackson’s safe, probably the safest place on earth but anything could happen. That thought is always in the back of her mind, even though she berates herself for ever thinking it. However, having a piece of Sam with her forever in her child is somewhat a blessing. Is 22 too young to have a baby, especially alone? Her dad, did it? Her mind’s constantly jumping with questions, fears, even regrets. How is she going to cope with all this?

After having a long talk with Maria, once she’s calmed down from the initial shock of news, she decides on telling her dad that night. ‘Just bite the bullet and get it over with’ Maria encourages; she knows Sarah doesn’t need the extra stress that keeping a secret like this would entail. And it’s not like anyone was going to be mad she’s an adult, but she’s still scared of disappointing her dad.

“Daddy you’re gonna be so mad at me…” is how the conversation begins. And it ends with ‘Baby I’ll always support you; nothing would ever make me turn my back on you, ever, I love you forever, that will never change, I’m happy s’long as you’re happy.’ And she’s happy, -well since the initial shock of the fact she’s growing another life inside of her blew over that is. He gives her a long hug at the end of their chat.

Her dad, Tommy and Maria have been there for her all the way through her pregnancy. Anyone would think they’re more excited than she is. Tommy and Joel especially dote over her and the bump, and as soon as she started showing she wasn’t ‘allowed’ to do anything. They’re always adamant on her resting, and them doing the jobs she needs to do for her. Does she listen hell no! It’s boring being sat around all day; she may not have been going out on patrols, but there’s enough to do around town to keep her occupied. It’s only when she’s near full term that she agrees to ‘light duties only’ if she refuses rest.

It’s a cool December’s afternoon, she’s at the stables with Tommy helping him to brush the horses. She’s been feeling off since the night before, so Joel demanded ‘no lifting and no excessive exercise’ if she refused to stay home, which she did. She’s feeling a little off, not incapable of any and all activity, and so brushing the horses under the supervision of her Uncle it is. She loves them, and they help her to feel at ease; nobody could be mad at her for that.

They’re down to the last four mares when Sarah feels some pressure below and something of a small gush. Did her water just break? When she feels a second small rush of liquid accompanied by a spasm in her back, she’s sure.

It’s starting.

“Erm Uncle Tommy” Sarah breaks the comfortable silence between them as she puts the brush down on the nearest surface she can find. Holding the underside of her belly with her free hand.

“What is it, Babygirl?” he looks up to her over the horse he’s brushing.

“I think… I’m pretty sure my water just broke”.

“Ha ha good one”

“No Uncle Tommy I’m serious, I definitely felt something, and I know for sure I didn’t pee myself”.

Tommy throws his brush down and races over to her. He automatically goes into panic mode on seeing the wet patch of her trousers. Sarah actually has to calm him down before they can go about doing anything about the current situation.

“Tommy it’s okay it’s just my waters, I’m okay it’s not like the baby is just going fall out we have so much time. First babies take forever we read all about this. Let’s just put these horses away and then we’ll walk back home, okay?”

“Are you sure? Cus we can just go back now. Fuck the horses.”

“Tommy I’m okay, promise”. She laughs.

Once the horses are tied back up- Sarah isn’t allowed to help, she’s told ‘to sit her ass down and look pretty’ whilst her Uncle rushes to finish the current task- they get ready for the walk home.

“Right Babygirl, let’s get you home.” He says walking back over to her. He holds his hands out to her, and she takes them gladly, pulling herself up. Tommy zips her coat all the way up before linking arms with his niece, they then begin the slow walk back to the house. Snow is falling, it’s a pretty sentimental moment.

“How you feeling Sar?” he quizzes softly.

“Uncle Tommy I’m okay”.

“Are you sure?” his words catch in his throat slightly.

“Are you just gonna keep asking me?” she asks with a soft chuckle.

“Heck yeah I am!”

“You’re funny” she pats Tommy’s arm as she laughs.

“Ah, I know” he laughs with her “So, y’think them pains and the way y’been feelin’ was to do with labour then?”

“Early labour probably, I dunno, but I’m glad I stayed active this morning, couldn’t stand the idea of being stuck in bed.”

“Bed is what y’needed girl”.

“God how did I just KNOW that’s what you were gonna say, stop sounding so much like dad you’re supposed to be the cool one”. She pulls a face at him.

“Listen I am the cool one, but you’re in labour I cannot be cool right now, it’s taking everything in me not to run around like a fuckin’ headless chicken to ask anyone and everyone I can see for help.”

“Jeez you drama queen. Never thought a baby would turn you into such a wimp”.

“I ain’t no wimp”

“Mmm you sure about that?”

“Super sure.” But he couldn’t sound less sure if he tried.

They continue on the walk, snow crunching underfoot when a wave of pain overcomes Sarah, she tries to walk through it, but Tommy can feel the tightening of her arm on his and he sees the way her expression begins to change. He makes her stop then and turns to look at her, placing his hands on her shoulders.

“You’re okay Baby just breathe, okay?”

She nods as she exhales looking him in the eye.

“Good then”.

Sarah takes deep breaths in and out. The pain not being too bad to manage yet. But she knows what’s to come and that’s what panics her. She can’t handle this. She’s not ready for this. Her breathing begins to speed up, but not because of the pain.

“Uncle Tommy I can’t do this, I’m not ready, I’m not ready to be a mom. I’m not ready yet.” She looks down in teary eyed shame to her bump as she gasps.

“Babygirl” he grabs her chin softly, raising it so she has to look him in the eye “you’re so ready, so so ready, we’ve been preparing for so long now. And you’re so excited for this so don’t go getting scared now. You’re going to meet your baby! After all of this time waitin’ an plannin’, you’re finally gonna meet them! It’s excitin’!”

Tommy manages to bring a smile to her face, and with the pain completely gone they can continue walking.

They eventually make it to the front door; Tommy knocks rather frantically which of course is gonna scare the shit out of Joel.

“There’s no need to knock like that, he’s gonna think someone’s died.” She scoffs as they turn their heads to look at one another.

“Meh, play with his head a lil, give him some excitement.” He jests cocking his brow at her.

“Listen Dad’s gonna have more than enough excitement, anger and literally any other emotion you can think of thrown at him till this baby is born he don’t need you starting him off.”

“Sorry mommmm” he utters in exaggeration rolling his eyes.

“Shut up” she says hitting his side with a smile.

Joel doesn’t answer, but the lights on inside prove he’s home, meaning he’s probably too busy focusing on his latest woodwork project in the back and can’t hear them or he’s sat on the back porch with his guitar in hand. Something like that, curse his bad ear.

“Let’s see if we can get in round the back gate, your dad’s so deaf I swear”.

“Hey.” She hits him softly. “The man has been shot at and shot more guns than literally anyone else I know at least he has reason.”

“Nah he’s just an old fart.”

“Well, that still makes you the old farts younger brother, the younger fart”.

“Aha you’re sooo funny.” He remarks sarcastically.

“Runs in the genes so thanks I know I am.” She smiles, before shivering slightly. Tommy notices.

“Right, come on sweet girl let’s get you in the warm. S’freezing out here.” Tommy sighs.

He guides her round to the back gate of the house.

“Joel you here?” He shouts, letting go of Sarah to open the gate leading to the back of the house.

Once open they make their way through. Because Joel’s home as to be expected the back door is unlocked. Yet Joel is nowhere to be seen.

“I’m gonna get some water.” Sarah says solemnly, waddling to the sink once inside.

“Sure, I’m gonna go upstairs n’find your dad, he must be there.”

“Okay. Just, don’t panic him please.”

“Promise.” It’s said with sincerity.

Tommy makes his way upstairs and finds Joel exactly where he expects to, whittling away in his woodworking room. Vinyl player playing softly next to him. Completely in his element. Tommy knocks on the open door as he walks into the room.

“Oh, hey Tommy, you guys are back early, everything okay?” he says as he swivels around on his chair.

“You promise me you’ll stay calm?”

“Tommy what is it? Where’s Sarah, she okay?” he puts his latest creation down, before crossing his arms.

“Promise me” he puts his hand up in front of him, and that’s when Joel realises how serious it is.

“Okay fine, I promise”. He sits up straighter.

“Sarah’s water broke, I think she’s real scared, she’s trying to act brave, but she’s scared”.

“Shit Tommy her water, you’re sure?” he jumps out of his chair then.

“She seems pretty certain. It’s time.”

“Shit.” It’s a whisper as he rakes his hands through his hair.

“We’ve gotta stay calm, I can tell how scared she is”.

“You’re askin an awful lot of me there Tommy, she’s my little girl.” He laughs nervously.

“I know, but that’s also gonna go in your favour, you always know how to calm her down, so just be yourself, you can let the panic out when it’s all over”.

“Yeah, you’re right.” He looks behind Tommy to the landing then, knowing his daughter is in labour down those stairs. Panic evident on his face.

“Joel she’s gonna be great. She’s got”- he’s interrupted by a glass breaking.

They’re both quick to run down the stairs then.

“Sarah! You okay?!” Joel shouts as he scrambles his way into the kitchen. Almost tripping over where Sarah has left her shoes, right in the damn middle of the floor like usual, he takes a mental note to tell her off about that later.

They find her gripping onto the worktop hard; Joel runs straight to her rubbing her back.

“You’re okay Babygirl just breathe; you’re doing so good”.

“It hurts Daddy” she cries.

“I know Baby but you’re doing so good. You just remember to breathe through it like we read about, in an out, good, in for four out for six. Calm it right down that’s it.”

Sarah lets out a shuddering breath as the pain begins to deplete. “I am not looking forward to how this is gonna carry on” she says as she stands up straighter.

“Don’t move Baby” Tommy says softly, “you’ll cut yourself on the glass, just stay still and let me clean this up”.

“I’m sorry I broke it”.

“Joel, sort your daughter out, fuckin’ apologisin’ when she’s got nothin’ to apologise for”. He shakes his head scoffing as he bends down dustpan and brush in hand to clean up the glass.

🌷🌷🌷🌷

After about an hour Jacksons midwife Alison makes her way over to their house to check in, it seems the beginnings of labour are really taking their time. It’s like they always say first babies take their sweet time. Sarah’s warned that it’s ‘gonna be a long one’.

The next few hours are spent with them finding any way they can to entertain Sarah. Games of cards, they manage to get an old DVD player working and watch a classic, heck her and Maria even bake some cookies. Well, more they TRY to bake cookies, its Mainly Maria with the slightest input from Sarah when she’s not in agony. Anything to distract her from what’s to come.

The fresh batch of cookies make everyone’s mouths water. And Sarah eats four before any of the rest of them have finished one. Usually they’d tell her it’s too much too fast, that she’ll make herself sick, but anything to keep her strength up. She needs all the energy she can get even if that is helped by a sugar rush induced by freshly baked cookies.

When the pains begin to get worse, but it’s obvious it’s still going to be a long time until baby comes, they use exercise to try to move it along.

Tommy and Maria stay behind to help set the room up ready for when Sarah is ready to give birth, and Joel and Sarah decide on a walk. Joel helps to wrap her up warm, layers and layers so she will be comfortable. They take it slow walking the dark snowy streets of Jackson, lit up by strings of lights, stopping with each pain that hits.

“Oh Babygirl, what are we gonna do with you. Forever scarin’ the shit outa me.” He laughs shaking his head.

“Oh, I apologise that the birth of your grandchild is such an inconvenience.” She laughs back.

“Hey, no you take that back, I’m only jokin’.” He’s serious.

“Jeez dad so am I, God you really are on edge.”

“You bet your fucking ass I am. Takes me right back to the day you were born.”

She sighs solemnly “Was it awful?”

“Mmm, well it was awful watchin’ your mom in pain especially when there wasn’t much that I could do to help. I felt more like a nuisance than anything. But when it was all over, I’d never been so happy.”

“You and me against the world huh Daddy?”

“Babygirl, when I first held you in my arms I couldn’t stop crying, shit I was just a kid myself, I didn’t know what I was doin’, but from that day onwards I vowed to always be the best version of myself for you.”

“You’ve always been so amazing.” She smiles at him cuddling into his arm much harder.

“You had so much hair, God I’ll never forget thinkin’ I’ve never seen a baby with so much hair, and your tiny little hands and feet, you just really were perfection. The definition of perfection was born that day. My beautiful Babygirl. I knew from that day on that everything was going to be okay, I vowed to work so hard to give you the best life I could, and I know we weren’t rich, and obviously your momma decided she couldn’t cope, but I always tried to keep you happy, this end of the world bullshit makes me feel like I failed but-”

“No stop- I was always the happiest child; you don’t have to worry about failin’ me. I’ve always been so happy because of you. Even with the end of the world and everythin’ else we stayed together; we grew together. Honestly dad if I’m half the parent to this one than you’ve been for me, they’ll never want for anything!” she rubs her stomach as she briefly looks down to her bump.

“Oh, Baby you have no idea how happy it makes me feel hearin’ that.” He says his voice breaking as he evidently tries to hold back tears.

“Dad don’t cry cus you’ll make me cry.” They look to each other briefly and Sarah being so up and down hormonally, breaks at the sight of her teary-eyed father, which then sets him off too. They stop in the middle of the street to embrace. Before they both burst out laughing tears still streaming.

“Whew, emotions really are high tonight.” Joel laughs.

Sarah goes to reply but is sidetracked by a really bad pain. Instead, she leans into her dads shoulder as she groans through it. She’s grown to be very vocal as times dragged on, which Joel knows means she’s progressing as she should, but he hates everything about having to watch her go through it. He reaches to try to push on the bottom of her back, whispering to her to keep breathing and reminding her of how good she’s doing.

She eventually lets out a long breath standing straight. “I just want them to come out now. I can’t take much more of this” She groans sadly.

“I know Babygirl I know; they’re coming I promise. First babies always take their time, but it’s almost over. N’hey listen Sam would be so proud of you, you know that? He was a good kid. Y’know I never liked him at first, but he really grew on me, he was a good man to you, and I respect him so much for that. He’s gonna be lookin’ down on you so so proud” he whispers.

“I miss him, I wish he was here to help me.” She begins softly crying again.

“Shhh, I know you’re scared; I know you feel unprepared trust me I felt the same, and in a way you’re never really ready, you just learn as you do. You’ll be an expert in no time Babygirl. You’re a natural anyways, always have been with your dolls when you were younger, and you’re amazing when you help out in the nursery. Everyone says so. So, there’s none of this ‘I can’t do this’ ‘I’m not ready’ because you’re so ready. Plus, this walkin’ will really help trust me and when we get back Alison already said she’ll check you to see how far along you are, as it’s been a while, I’m sure it won’t be too much longer now.”

“I really hope so, I don’t know how much more I can take.”

“You got this Baby.” He kisses the top of her head before they link arms again and carry on walking back to the house.

🌷🌷🌷🌷

It’s another two hours till she gets to the point where she can push. They set the living room up for her ready. And she opts on squatting before the sofa as she finds that is the most comfortable position. Alison is on the floor watching between her legs waiting for the signs she can begin to push; ready to catch. Maria next to her in awe rubbing at Sarah’s lower back so that Tommy and Joel can sit on the sofa either side of her, both holding one of her hands. Unable to see anything more than her face which is just as she wants it to be.

“I feel sick.” She whimpers when in position just having got through another contraction.

“Theres a bin here ready just in case.” Maria reassures.

“A lot of ladies feel sick or even throw up when they’re in labour, it’s okay don’t be worried; all perfectly normal.” Alison states rubbing a hand up one of her legs.

“Okay. Can I have some more water?” she asks to no one in particular.

“Here Baby.” Joel is quick to grab a glass of water from the side. Sarah sits back on her heels releasing both hands she holding to take a large swig from the glass.

“Ugh.” She grimaces handing the glass back to her dad. “That’s made me feel worse, I thought it might help.” She moans.

“I’m sure it has helped baby y’bodys just goin’ through so much right now s’finding it hard, you’re fine Baby trust me.” He strokes her cheek.

She nods then briefly smiling at her dad before moaning as another pain begins. She quickly grabs both hand back and sways in her squatting position.

When she gets the all clear to push, she gives it absolutely everything she’s got, desperate for it all to be over now so she can finally meet her baby.

“Come on Babygirl!” Joel shouts.

“You got this!” Tommy shouts.

Alison counts to ten and at ten Sarah lets out a large gasp.

When She’s able to get her breath back enough to speak before the next contraction she adds “No one tell me what it is, okay? I wana see for myself when they’re in my arms.”

“That’s fine sweetie we can do that no problem, you can be the one to announce it okay?” Alison utters.

The next pain then takes over and Sarah is right back into the pushing mindset, going completely silent as she pushes and pushes. Finally releasing her breath with a gasp.

“One more and the head will be out Sarah come on, baby is nearly here.”

“Come on one more Baby and the worst is over.” Joel reassures.

“Promise?” she looks pleadingly to her dad.

“Yeah Baby, heads the worst part, the baby will be out before you know it after that.”

“Oh thank God.”

“Push with all you’ve got on this next pain! They’re almost here!” Alison enthuses.

When the next contraction begins Sarah screams the house down as she pushes, squeezing her dad and uncle’s hands to death. She feels the head pop out and Alison requests that she pants.

“Can I feel?” Sarah requests frantically between pants.

“Sure!” Alison enthuses.

She releases her dad’s hand to feel her baby’s head.

“Is that hair?” she questions.

“Yup, they’ve got a hell of a lot of it!” Alison exclaims.

“That’s just like you Baby.” Joel utters causing Sarah to look into his eyes. She smiles at him, and he smiles back. “Now gimme your hand back so you’re ready to push again.”

“No Daddy, my hands gross now.”

“I don’t care come on I’m supposed to be supportin’ you.”

She seems hesitant but when the next contraction gets into full swing, she throws her hand back at her dad and pushes. She takes a quick breath in and is advised to push again. With that final push the baby leaves her body, and she relaxes instantly.

“Good well-done Sarah! They’re gorgeous!” she exclaims as she begins wiping the screaming babies face with a clean towel.  “Let’s get this cord cut so you can sit back nice and covered up whilst we wait for the afterbirth, okay? Then everyone can meet this beautiful baby.” Now the cord is white she cuts it, and Sarah carefully moves so her back is against the sofa and Maria carefully picks up the swaddled baby and places them in her arms. Alison places a sheet over her knees so she can focus on getting the afterbirth out without anyone having to see.

“Well, what have we got?” Joel whispers leaning over his daughters shoulder to coo at his beautiful grandchild screaming softly swaddled in the towel.

Sarah opens up the towel to investigate letting out a wet chuckle at her findings. “It’s a girl!” she announces excitedly.

“A girl!” Joel replies wetly, unable to stop the tears that begin to flow.

Joel is besotted.

“God she’s so beautiful Baby. Looks so much like you did too.”

“I can’t believe I did it.”

“You did amazin’.” Tommy praises. “S’like a trip down memory lane aint it, God she could be your twin Sarah aint that right big brother?”

“Absolutely.” Joel agrees.

She turns her gaze to her uncle. Then she looks to her dad. “I’m sorry if I killed your hands.”

“Nah none of that.” Tommy quicky shuts her down.

“She’s so beautiful.” Joel coos bringing a finger to stroke over his now silent and content granddaughters hand.

“You wana hold her?” Sarah whispers questioning her dad not taking her eyes off her daughter.

“Please.”

“Maria can you-?” she begins but Maria is already moving “I’m one step ahead of you” she laughs. Helping to remove the baby from Sarah’s arms to give over to Joel.

“God she’s so gorgeous” Maria coos before handing her over to Joel.

He sits back with his granddaughter cradled in his large arms.

“Oh.” He whispers quietly when her big brown eyes open to study him. “Hello beautiful girl, God just look at you. Aren’t you just the most beautiful little thing. And little do you know just how lucky you are having Sarah as your momma? You’re so lucky babygirl, just like we are all lucky to have been blessed w’you.” He shushes her when she makes a little grunt noise, but she settles quickly. “Sarah m’so proud of you she is the most beautiful little thing.”

“She’s got a name y’know dad” she jests.

“She does, well what’s that then babygirl, can’t keep calling her ‘she’ now, can we?”

“Bea. It means ‘she who brings happiness’, I read it in a book and knew instantly that that was gonna be her name if she was a girl.” Sarah utters, with a big smile plastered on her face as she looks back at her dad cradling her tiny daughter.

“Bea huh?” he chuckles wetly. “Well aint that just the most beautiful name, for the most beautiful girl.” She coos in response. Making everybody laugh. He adds “Yeah y’know it don’t you Bea Miller, you’re gorgeous just like your mama.”

“This is the best day of my life.” He adds a short while later, “’part from the day you were born of course babygirl.” He strokes Sarah’s head, and she laughs lightly before he looks at his granddaughter again.

He’s besotted, so full of love he could burst.

#joel miller #the last of us #tommy miller #pregnancy #maria the last of us #fluff #childbirth #sarah miller #family fluff #caring joel miller #upgrade to grandpa #pedro pascal character fanfic

[ladyreapermc]

Fic: Closing Time (Johnny Utah x fem!reader)

Summary: You work at a clothing store, you get a last minute customer at closing time and sexy tims happen.

Pairing: Johnny Utah x fem!reader

Author’s Notes: So I’m slowly getting back to writing. I’m not gonna say I’m fully back just yet, but for this week at least, there will be content! Huge thanks to @toomanystoriessolittletime and @meetmeinthematinee​ for being cheerleaders and giving me early feedback on this! 

Wordcount: 3125

Warnings: smut. oral sex (F! receiving); dirty talk; unprotected sex with strangers (don’t do this kids!); sex in inappropriate places.

Most days you quite enjoyed it when there was barely any movement at the store. It gave you the opportunity of just being by yourself, reading a book, or enjoying some music or studying for college, things that you didn’t always have the privacy of doing at your dorm because your roommate seemed to always be around. Even during the summer and what was up with that? Didn’t she have better things to do?

She wasn’t like you, who actually had to work to put yourself through college and took some extra jobs during the summer so you could have some savings for the following term when all you managed to get were part-time jobs that you had fit in between classes and paid shit.

Fortunately, at the shop, you had some peace and time for yourself. It was a tiny, hole-in-the-wall sort of place around Venice Beach where tourists could get some shirts and other knickknacks to take back home and locals surfers could find cheap clothing and supplies for a day out on the beach. Most days, you worked from 9-5 and after your shift, you could head to the beach, spread your towel on the sand and enjoy the gorgeous Californian sunset. However, as the summer winded out and the fall winds blew the scalding hot weather into simmering heat, your boss let you close a little early, especially on Tuesdays, when most tourists had already headed home and the new arrivals hadn’t landed yet so there were barely any customers around.

Your plan today had been to finish your reading for class and start the new crime thriller you picked up at the used books store on your way to work. Except, today you were just too restless to focus. You must have reread the same paragraph of your textbook twenty times before you gave up and set it aside, giving the other book a go, but it was just as unsuccessful at holding your attention.

So instead, you moved around the cramped space, adjusting the decoration items, dusting off shelves, and refolding every single shirt in the display until it was perfectly symmetrical while you willed time to move faster so you could end this day. Maybe it was the heatwave that had made an appearance turning the air in the shop stifling and all you had to help you was an old and slow fan that made more noise than blow air. The A/C was busted and your boss still hadn’t called someone to fix it.

Another possibility was the fact that you had to keep the glass doors opened to help circulate a little air and every time any kind of wind blew or someone walked in, it brought with them the crisp smell of salt and sand that always made you ache for the ocean and fight against the temptation of just abandoning everything and heading for the beach so you could cool off taking a dip in the deliciously cold water. Either way, you kept checking the slow ticking of the clock hands, counting the seconds before you could turn the closed sign.

When the minute hand finally hit twelve, you let out a cheer, jumping off your stool and taking a step towards the door. You always locked the doors first to discourage most last-minute walk-ins while you closed the register, put away the money in the back office safe, and slipped out of the store through the back door, taking any garbage with you to throw in the dumpster outside.

Before you could move from behind the counter, a man stepped into the store and you groaned low in your throat. Of-fucking-course! It was like they stood in wait to come in at the precise moment you were about to head out.

“Hey, you’re still open, right?” He asked, pushing the overgrown dark hair back from his forehead and offering you an unsure smile. You felt the urge to lie and say that no, you were closed and he should come back tomorrow.

“Yeah, sure.” You said instead placing your best and most fake seller’s smile. “Feel free to look around and let me know if you need help.”

“Thanks!” He replied, flashing a wider smile that showed a small dimple, before moving towards the shirts in the display while you made your way to the main entrance, flipped the sign, and locked the door to bar any other walk-ins.

You hung back while the guy browsed the options, taking a moment to assess him. He didn’t look like a tourist, but also not fully like a local. Most Californian guys that you knew had the most horrifying hair cuts or bleach jobs you had ever seen and that was not the case for the man in front of you.

His hair was dark brown, a little shaggy from too much exposure to sun and salt and it flopped a little over his forehead, just above his eyes. He wore a grey cropped t-shirt that had definitely seen better days and struggled to contain his broad shoulders, showing a peek of toned abs. His jeans were ridiculously tight and hung low on his slender hips, the light-wash of the denim accentuating the perfect bubble butt and for the love of God, you needed to get laid. Badly.

“Excuse me,” he called, startling you and you prayed he hadn’t noticed the way you were checking his ass just now. “Do you have this one in black?”

“Yeah, sure.” You moved towards the drawers. “What’s your usual size? Medium or large?”

“I think large should be good,” he replied and when you turned around with the requested shirt, he was just standing there, barechested, his top hanging from his shoulder and you hoped your gasp wasn’t as loud as it sounded in your head.

“Here you go,” you croaked, offering him the shirt. “We do have a fitting room…” you gestured towards the small cubicle to the rear of the store.

“Oh right!” He glanced over as he pulled the shirt on. “Do you mind if I try them out here, though?”

“Not at all,” you forced your voice to sound somewhat normal.

“Awesome!”

Damn! He wasn’t just fucking hot. He was also cute, the wide grin he just flashed giving him a boyish look that was only enhanced by the almond-shaped chocolate-colored eyes. Biting your lip, you watched as he turned side to side in front of the mirror, checking himself out.

“It think is a little too big,” he said, meeting your gaze. “What do you think?”

“Well…” you cleared your throat and moved closer so you could look at him through the mirror. “If you want it more fitted, then yeah, probably a smaller size would be best. Want me to get it?”

“Yeah, thanks.”

Once again, by the time you turned back to him, he was shirtless, the garment he had just tried neatly folded and resting on the shelf as he took a look at some other shirts, his attention snapping at you when he noticed you coming closer to hand him the new shirt, giving you a glimpse of a pale, sunken scar running down his abs that stopped just above his belly button and that drew attention to the small trail of fine dark hairs that disappeared under the waist of his jeans and holy shit! He was bare beneath those jeans.

“Bike accident,” he commented as he took the shirt that you offered and you met his eyes in confusion.

“What?” You asked, mouth suddenly dry.

“The scar,” he clarified, putting on the shirt and his lips were tilted into a slight smirk. “That was what you were staring at, right?”

“Right,” you agreed, feeling your face burning. “I’ll just head to the register and give you some privacy.”

I don’t mind,” he shrugged, turning to the mirror. “This is better. What do you think?” He turned towards you, giving you a full view of the cotton fabric covering his muscles, looking almost as if painted on him.

“Sure...” you swallowed hard, trying not to stare. “If you prefer it more fitted...”

“I do,” pulling the shirt off and once again giving you the glorious view of his torso. “I’ll take it.”

You took the shirt to the register and he followed, pausing only to pick up his own, which he had discarded on a nearby hanger. You were expecting him to put it back on, but he just threw it over his shoulder, reaching for his wallet as you registered the sale and tried not to stare.

“Is that the only camera you have around here?” He asked, gesturing to a point above your left and you glanced at the object before nodding, exchanging the money he gave you for the paper bag with his purchase.

“Yeah, why?”

“So basically...” he started, taking a step to the side, closer to the fitting room. “I’m completely out of sight over here?”

“Basically, yeah,” you frowned a little, stepping away from the counter. “Why? Are you planning to rob the place? Because let me tell you, there’s not much worth...” You trailed off with a surprised squeak as he tugged on your hand, pulling you over to the blindspot and nearly pressed against his strong chest.

“Because honestly, I never really gave a fuck about the shirt. I just thought you were beautiful and wanted to ask your number when I walked in, but you looked kind pissed so I got cold feet,” he confessed with a rueful smile.

“So you decided to just get mostly naked in front of me?” You snorted, shaking your head and he shrugged.

“Needed to make sure you might be interested and considering the way you were eyeing me earlier, it looked like you saw something you liked.”

“You’re really sure of yourself, aren’t you?” You arched an eyebrow at him, not ready to concede just yet. Even if the heat of his body and the smell of sea breeze whiffing off his skin were driving you crazy.

“Only when I’m right,” he flashed you a lopsided smirk and just waited, gazing into your eyes, making it clear that the next step was yours.

Part of you screamed that it was crazy to even consider hooking up with a guy that just walked into your store, no matter how hot he was, but it had been a ridiculously long time since you last had sex and he was so fucking hot, the scent of his golden skin intoxicating and his heat was making you dizzy with want as you looked him up and down, noticing the volume pressing against the denim of his pants.

“We might not have cameras, but the windows are see-through, so get your ass to the fitting room while I finish closing up.”

He flashed a victorious smirk and nodded, heading towards the back while you rushed through the steps of securing the store before joining him.

Your heart was pounding with anticipation as you made your way towards the back, pushing away the curtain that blocked the small space of the fitting room and finding him perched on the low stool that you kept there so customers could put down their things, facing the full-length mirror, legs spread, jeans undone, revealing the bush of dark hairs surrounding his long and thick cock.

You nearly whimpered at the sight, your center pulsing in want as you leaned against the doorframe, watching him as he run his left hand up and down his shaft, head tilted back, breathing hard, eyes hooded. He was such a beautiful and debauched sight that you felt the urge to photograph him, capture that sensuality.

“Are you just gonna stand there and watch?” He asked, eyes meeting yours through the reflective surface.

“You seemed to be doing fine on your own,” you teased stepping into the tight space, fingers itching to touch all that glorious skin.

“I did not just spend most of my afternoon at the corner diner, drinking burned coffee just to jerk off in front of you,” he declared, standing up and turning your way.

“Ohhh, so this was premeditated?” You asked, kicking off your sneakers as he reached for you and you stumbled against his chest.

“A little bit, yeah,” he admitted, large hand hot against your hips and you wanted to feel it against your flesh. “You probably don’t remember, but I was here last week and you had to bend over to get something from one of the lower drawers...” he let out a soft groan, hands moving to your ass and squeezing lightly. “Fuck! I don’t think I ever popped a boner so fast in my life. I had to get out.”

You vaguely remembered that. There was so much coming and going in this place, it was hard to keep track of faces, but customers just taking off after asking to see something usually caused an impression. If you weren’t about to get fucked after six months, you would be more pissed.

“So you decided to come back when I was alone and seduce me?” you asked, running your hands over his chest and abs, scratching it slightly and goosebumps rose in his skin as he hissed.

“Yeah,” he spoke in a low voice as his hands move to the button of your jeans. “I’ve been thinking about you all week,” he slid your fly down and your breath caught in your throat. “I thought about bending you over that counter and fucking you until you’re screaming.” His fingers skimmed over your cunt, just a soft touch, but you gasped and arched your hips forward, holding onto his arms to steady yourself. “I thought about it eating your pussy and your ass until you’re begging me to fuck you.”

Those words were whispered right against your ear, before he changed your positions, crowding you against the mirror and pushing your jeans down to your thighs before he once against skimmed his fingers over covered sex, making you ache for him.

“What do you think about that?” He asked, lips brushing your cheek in an almost chaste kiss, completely opposed to the lewdness of his hand exploring your cunt. “Do you want it?”

“If you’re as good with your tongue at eating pussy like you are at talking dirty, then I maybe I do,” you declared, tired of his teasing and you felt his smirk as he gracefully slid to his knees in front of you.

You didn’t manage to get another word out before he shoved your panties down to join your jeans and his lips firmly connected to your clit. He gave it a sharp suck and you groaned, burying your fingers into his hair to keep yourself on your feet as your brain short-circuited and your knees turned to jelly.

He was very good at eating you out, especially because he was very attentive to every sound you made, every tightening of your grip on his hair, and roll of your hips to nudge him into going faster or slower, harder or softer... It wasn’t long before he reached that perfect alternation of fast flickering against your clit and slower and broad strokes of his tongue over your entrance and lips, a combination that drove you crazy.

You were whimpering and moaning, legs quaking with the alternating urge to close them around his face to keep him trapped there pleasuring you forever or spreading them wider so he could have more space to work, but the edges of your jeans were digging into the lower part of your knees, signaling you that that was as far as they could go.

As if reading your thoughts or maybe he just realized he would need more room, he shoved your pants down and helped you to kick them off so you could be completely free of the garment. And didn’t you two looked like a mismatched pair, with you standing there wearing only your top while he knelt in front of you, his jeans still on.

Once your pants were off, he hooked your right thigh over his shoulder, pressing his mouth even harder against your cunt, flickering his tongue over your clit before dipping it in between your lips, gathering the juices soaking your sex like a starved man.

“Fuck! I’m so close...” you hissed, rolling your hips, seeking more because that tight knot deep inside you was about to snap and from the way you ached and shuddered, your muscles tensing, you knew it would be a hard one.

“Yeah?” He mumbled against your core, his breath against your overheated skin making you shiver as he pushed two fingers inside you. “Gonna cum all over my mouth?”

He pistoled his fingers in and out at a fast pace, crooking inwards with every down motion, his tongue matching his rhythm against your clit and it was that made you snap as you bit down on your fist to stop yourself from shouting as your body was flooded with pleasure and all you knew was the unbelievable bliss that surrounded you. Stars bust behind your closed lids, the air came out of your lungs in short gushes as you fought hard not to slide down to the ground because your legs felt like jelly.

“Ok?” he asked, making you finally snap your eyes open to look at him.

He was sitting on his heels, face still glistening with your orgasm, his lips swollen and red from the abuse. His cock was rock hard, red, and leaking and you really wanted to return the favor.

“Way better than ok,” you replied with a gasp. “My turn?” To your surprise, he shook his head and got to his feet.

“Tonight, the only place I’m cumming is in that pussy,” he announced against your ear and shivered with anticipation. “So let’s get out of this fucking store and go to my place?”

“Fuck yes!” you grinned breathlessly at him as you reached for your jeans and he buttoned his over his hard cock and that couldn’t be comfortable.

“I’m Johnny, by the way,” he said. “Johnny Utah. Just in case you want to know what to shout when I fuck your brains out later.”

You rolled your eyes at his cheeky smirk and moved closer to him, once fully clothed, the only evidence of your recent climax was the sweat cooling on your skin and the stupid grin that refused to leave your face.

“I think I like you more when your mouth is busy with something other than talking,” you declared and before Johnny could manage a reply, you silenced him with a kiss, tasting yourself in his tongue.

xxx

If you enjoyed this work, please consider reblogging and/or commenting please. Feedback gives life to us writers!

#johnny utah x reader #johnny utah x you #keanu reeves x reader #keanu reeves x you #point break fanfic #fanfic

[katsukikitten]

Warning : 18 plus AU, adult themes, collage au

Part one Part two

"Mina, I really don't see why I have to wear this Bikini, I prefer a cutout  one piece." You say sipping your iced coffee as Mina packs her beach bag with sponges, rags, and tons of bottled water. You wait impatiently by the door of your shared, temporary dorm. 

"Becauuuusssse, I already told you! That Instagram post I made of all of us blew up, even with my large following. Remember how many people we brought in last time?"

"Yes, we made 45% more profit…" You bite at the inside of your lip as you think, adjusting your white t-shirt so it sat nicely above the black bikini bottoms. You weren't one to argue with numbers.

"Well now with the combined efforts with the shirtless boys we can actually use that allowance you got us for unlimited kegs." 

"No, Mina new windows and installation. They said the house was hot, which means winter will be brutal." You roll your eyes, "Unless you want to freeze this winter, personally I have no problem with freezing." 

She giggles at your joke, pulling you along as if you were the reason for being late instead of her. Mina spies Uraraka and Jiro waving them towards the two of you before she whispers softly to you.  

"Just, try to have fun today no matter what." 

You wondered if that was an omen, a jinx or if she already knew what lied ahead. Either way you would not being having too much fun. 

The four of you arrive just before the first customer's begin to line up and already you want to organize. Counting the heads until you see a certain ash blonde causing your normally cold blood to run hot. Too hot. 

"Mina?" Your voice dips low, as ice dances in the air around you, "What is he doing here?" 

"Who?" She plays dumb as the other two women greet the group of men. Harsh garnet cut to you as you steel your glare. 

"Oi, Icy Brat. What are you fucking doing here?" His voice grates your nerves and for a moment you see red. Thinking of freezing him and going about your day. Instead you choose to give him the cold shoulder, averting your gaze. 

"We're doing pairs for washing today. I'm glad you could make it" Kirishima beams, coming in for a hug, you take a step back offering him a polite smile. His smile doesn't lose an ounce of shine, it makes you respect him a bit more. 

"I'll handle the cash and direct cars then." You say pointing to the box, ready to grab the fanny pack and head to the street. Denki grabs onto you gently, releasing you as if you were hot to the touch.  

"No it has to be a boy girl ratio. I promise the outcome will be worth it, please!" This won't be the first or last time both Denki and Mina beg for your help. You look around at what must be their subconscious pairings. Jiro calls Denki over as the first car pulls up, Kirishima seems to wait patiently, his eyes lingering on bubble gum pink skin, while Sero is already guiding cars with Uraraka in tow. 

That leaves you and Bakugou who has his arms crossed, sneering at the customers. 

Your hope dwindles that today would be a good day.

Sero points to a blue car indicating that this was going to be yours to share with the hot head. Sighing you waltz over in your black wedge heels and begin your work. Bakugou looms over the wet car, sponge in hand. The two of you work in silence until the third car, a red coupe with a couple inside about to receive the show of their bi lives. 

They comment on the tension they feel between the two of you right away, they notice the glares and lack of communication. Even making small jokes about how funny it would be to see one of those cliche water fights between the two of you. 

"Icebrat, you're doing it fuckin wrong." Bakuogu barks, you ignore him, continuing to wash the car. Anger burns in his chest, never understanding why you acted so high and mighty. 

"Gonna give me the cold shoulder are ya?" He growls, eyeing the dirty water before a thought crosses his mind, "Love to see you ignore this."

His voice is sadistic before he throws the dirty water across the car onto your frame, suds and water cling to your white t, showcasing the black bikini top underneath. Your temper spikes enough that your shirt collects frost at the seams before you slowly remove it. Glaring at the hot head when you're done.  

"Fuck." The couple say aloud grabbing onto each other as they watch the scene unfold. Your powerful frame guiding you with a deadly clack of your heels. Your hands find the bucket of water Mina and Kirishima were using, your fingers tap the bucket and the water forms a film of ice at the top. Meanwhile Bakugou goes to "correct" whatever mistake you were making. The couple's eyes watch the unsuspecting Bakugou reach up their hood to clean a particular spot before water is dumped over his spiky blonde hair. 

You tap the back of his shirt making it stiff with frost, when he moves to face you it shatters away from his body. Revealing the sculpted plans of his abs and the scars of untold stories. 

If it weren't for all of that ice water Bakugou would have blown you sky high, he comes close to you. Huffing as his eyes become wild and wide. All you offer him is a deadly polite smile as you stare him in the face, unbothered and unphased by his towering presence. 

"What? I was only getting the spot you missed." When he says nothing you allow yourself to relish the silence, placing your hand on his shoulder capping it in obvious ice. 

"Are you giving me the cold shoulder now?" The question is nonchalant before you signal to Sero for another car as you walk to get more supplies. Sero whistles at a bristling Bakugou before leaning into the driver's side window to give directions. Before he can ask for a tip the driver is offering a twenty dollar bill while his eyes are flickering between yourself and Bakugou. 

"Mark us down as a regular." He sighs as his girlfriend does too.  Sero happily tucks the money into the fanny pack.

"Will do." 

Somehow the two of you manage quips and water pranks back and forth without killing each other. Making it through the long day but earning a high amount of tips. Mina clings to you as you count cash, sweat on her brow as the sun settles into an unbearable afternoon heat. 

"Uuugghhh how much longer mom?" She asks, sighing at your icy touch. You roll your eyes as you count the last stack. 

"Not too much hush." You place the money into the lock box, wondering how the hell the eight of you made so much money in just seven hours. 

"But I'm starving! Plus we still have to pick our rooms!" 

"You're that excited to move all of our items into what was a male dominated space?" You ask coolly as Jiro and Uraraka lean against the collapsible table. 

"I'm stoked." Jiro comments, her earjacks twirling themself as her eyes wander.

"It will be nice to be settled before the fall term." Uraraka sighs looking down at her phone, idly scrolling through her socials. The two women nod as the guys approach. You purposely ignore the hot head and allow your eyes to meet Denki's, although it takes him a few long seconds to meet your gaze. He was a little preoccupied with a black and white checkered bikini with matching Van's. 

"Earth to space cadet." Sero nudges his ribs subtly pointing to you as you gaze at him as a teacher would a student caught daydreaming. He clears his throat. 

"Well it seems your theory has paid off. We've made quite a bit of cash today." You lock the box before standing, reluctantly adding, "The pairing of female and male will be standard from here on out. Although we should only need a few more fundraising events depending on what the house needs. Which I trust won't be too much."

Three of the four boys shared a concerned look while the fourth knows how bitter your words were going to taste.

"We'll meet you at the house." 

❄💥❄💥❄💥❄💥❄💥❄💥❄💥❄💥

The four of you cannot deny the excitement you feel as yall walk up to the historical home. The upper balcony seems to wrap around the back but only partially in the front while the porch below stretches across the front of the home. The siding had been repainted and the banisters above and below are wrapped in what will be sparkling lights at night. A stately set of double doors catch your eye before they yawn open by the hands of Denki Kaminari who is trying not to visibly sweat. 

"Home sweet home!" Denki steps aside to let the four of you in with your belongings. Your eyes dissect the place as you press your tongue into your bottom lip, trying your best to keep your cool. This place needed a lot of what you deemed necessities. You notice the familiar dining room table as the foldable card table they had at the carwash surrounded by the cheap camping chairs you thought you had replaced. 

The only decent looking room was the living room and even then it was only thanks to you. The leather arm chairs were placed haphazardly around the new sectional you had delivered as it circled around the TV you demanded from the dean.

Denki watches your manicured nails rap against your skin as you think.  

"The window installation and insulation went smoothly?" 

"Yes." Sero answers as your eyes wander around the room landing on your mattress and platform bed frame resting against the wall in the nook by the study turned bedroom. 

"We didn't know where to put it since the bedrooms aren't sorted out for you lovely ladies just yet." Kirishima smiles but your mind isn't on why it is there. No, your mind is wondering why there is only one.

"Was I the only one to order my mattress?" You look towards your sorority who holds a guilty look before you glance at the three men who mirror the women. 

"Well I guess that is for the better. We can spend extra on them now anyway." 

"Are you sure? I thought the budget was tight." Denki asks, earning a rare boasting smile from you. You make your way into the kitchen and six ducklings follow. Your nail taps the stainless steel of a high end commercial fridge. 

"It was tight before but not after I got this." Smile remaining on your lips as you speak, "It was 3,000 off due to some cosmetic dents but I got it as a donation. An alumni donation." 

"Wow for free?!" Denki and Sero ask in unison, amazed by your skill. 

"For free boys." 

"Wow, Bakugou might love that fridge even more now. Every time he cooks he mentions how great it is." Kirishama laughs but a certain name causes you to freeze to the tiled floor. 

"Bakugou…" You turn to Mina with a deadly glare as ice crystals form in your hair, "As in Bakugou lives here?!" 

The silence echoes throughout the kitchen and all that can be heard is the hum of the fancy fridge. Just as you're about to snap, Denki intervenes. 

"Uh. Did you want to talk bedrooms?" 

"YES!" The girls yell pulling the boys back into the safety of the living room as you collect yourself for a moment. 

God you hated the effect his name had on you but even more so how stupid you felt. As if this was some half baked plan to leave out the important detail that the man you loathed most would be under the same roof. Finally after a few deep breaths the ice in your hair melts and you step into the living room with a level head. Reminding yourself that this house was going to be rent free. You would have a full sized kitchen and your own bedroom, this was a much better option than the dorms even if it meant Bakugou came with it. 

"There is one bedroom upstairs not claimed, the rest of us guys are up there too. Then that door next to the nook is the study, it's not huge but it has a lot of shelves and big enough to fit a queen. Um there are two bedrooms in the basement but it's not totally dark down there. Plus the second living room with the pong table is down there. What else?" Denki taps his finger to his lips, "Oh half bath is here. Full bathroom is upstairs and there is technically another full bath in the basement, it's just more 'open concept'." 

"Open concept?" Jiro asks, earjacks perking with curiosity. 

"He means no walls. Just a toilet and a shower head chilling next to the laundry sink and washer, dryer." Sero explains, again you tongue the inside of your bottom lip. 

"Girl huddle!" Mina shouts, pulling the three of you into a small circle, "I personally really would like one of the bedrooms in the basement. I'm loud and I wouldn't mind the late hours that come with the pong table. I am the QUEEN after all." 

"I want a bedroom in the basement too. You know my music gets super loud!" Jiro pipes in. Uraraka wants to say something but politely waits for you, instead you gesture for her to speak first. 

"I...I would be much more comfortable in the study. I don't mind it being small." Her brown eyes bore holes into the floorboards as you read between the lines. 

"I would be much more comfortable on a different level than all four men." Is what she means, you sigh internally, swearing this will be the last compromise you make for these women. 

"Then I'll take the room upstairs." You state before telling the boys the arrangements. You look at your watch to check the time. 

"If we leave now in the college van and trailer I borrowed we could get everyone else's mattresses tonight." You look around the room before asking, "So where is Bakugou anyway?" 

The three boys glance at one another, Kirishima speaks up. 

"He had a….previous obligation." He laughs, rubbing the back of his head. You narrow your eyes. 

"Let me call him. This is more important than whatever he is doing. It clearly isn't school related." You hold out your hand for the red head's phone, he pulls it from his pocket reluctantly. 

It rings before going to voicemail but that's never stopped you before. You call until he picks up screaming into the receiver. 

"WHAT THE FUCK I TOLD YOU NOT TO FUCKING CALL SHITTY HAIR!!!" 

"Enough with the dramatics, what could be more important than your other roommates deciding bedrooms in the house?" 

"Is that?!" A female voice screeches your name once she figured out who you are, "Listen here slut, I'm in the middle of getting my back broken and…" 

"Bakugou we are leaving in fifteen minutes. I advise that you get here on time. Otherwise we will leave without you." You interrupt the angry booty call. 

"And if I fucking don't, Icebrat?" You roll your eyes at the nickname as you sigh. 

"Then I'll spend your portion of the allowance on something else. Fifteen minutes." 

"OI!" Bakugou shouts before a woman's voice comes across the speaker.

"Stop ignoring me bitch and stop talking to my man!"

"Oh sweetheart your 'man' is only going to your place cause he sleeps on a crusty ass futon not because he actually likes you." Your voice is honeyed in venom before dipping low, "Bakugou be home or you forfeit the fucking funding for your bed."  

With that you hang up, passing Kirishima's phone back to him. Everyone shares a glance as they remember just how icy you can be, there was no threat in your voice. Only a promise to Bakugou. 

"Sero be a dear and help me take my mattress up." You ask lifting the box with the unbuilt frame with ease. Suddenly skittish Sero takes a moment to grab your mattress as Denki helps him bring it up the stairs but abandons Sero by the bathroom at the top of the stairs, forcing the tape hero to face this challenge alone. Sero only hopes the room neighboring yours is shut and he sighs with relief when it is. 

He helps you set the items into your room that is located in the front of the house.  You take in the view of the perfectly sized yet small bedroom. Two large sets of sliding doors that meet in the corner force you to place your bed against what you assume is the shared wall of one of your roommates. Sero swallows thickly as he realizes just why Denki abandoned him. He can see it in your eyes, the curiosity sparkling as you turn to face him, you're going to inquire about the room next door. 

Please Gods do not ask him. 

Don't fucking asking him please. 

"Who do I owe the pleasure?" You smile sweetly, praying it is Kirishima or Sero at the very least. Hell you'd even take Denki who sings loudly off key, as long as it wasn't Bakugou. You watch the raven hair man's face fall, his dark eyes avoiding yours as he answers and yet somehow you already knew. 

"Ba-Bakugou's" The room drops twenty degrees as the floor freezes beneath your feet, snow floating gently to the floor as Sero's breath puffs in the new found tundra. 

"SERO I NEED YOUR HELP MAN! JIRO'S DRUM SET AND AMPS ARE HEAVY!" Denki calls from downstairs, saving Sero's hide. The man rushes and catches himself from slipping before he practically jumps down the entire set of stairs. 

"How did she take it?" Mina whispers before following Sero's eyes to where your bedroom should be. Urakaka comes from the study with snowflakes dusting her hair and a shiver. 

"Well at least I'll never be hot in the summer." 

#bakugo x reader #bakugou x reader #bnha x reader #bakugou katsuki #bnha au #bnha college au #bnha frathouse au #bnha wholesome frat house

[mahalidael]

Those Familiar Spirits

(*sprints up to the podium* FIRST FLYNN FANFIC. sort of. if you don’t count the phantomrose96 one, but flynn doesn’t actually appear in that one so make of it what you will)

Danny was two years old when the police came to their house. He must have thought the flashing lights were fireworks; he ran outside alone to look.

He saw uniforms, a funny black and white car, and a great deal of shouting between the grown-ups. It was July, and very muggy. Flies buzzed around the police cars’ lights as Mom and Dad talked very quietly, and Aunt Alicia yelled, and the police said ma’am, please, we’re trying to help, could you just, ma’am. Ma’am.

Danny ran up to get a better look but was promptly swept up by a police officer and carried back inside as he craned his neck to hear what they were saying.

Mom went inside for a minute and made him and Jazz sit on the couch. She told them gravely, “We’re just going to talk to the nice policemen, okay? Don’t go out there.”

Danny huffed. Jazz noticed his irritation and spoke up. “Can we watch TV if we stay inside?”

“Mm-hm,” said Mom, looking out the window at the lights again, already standing up and gravitating towards them.

Jazz reached for the TV remote and hit the power button with an ease that a four year old will only exhibit when provided with sufficiently busy parents. Danny started chewing on his shirt sleeve as images flashed on the screen; they were big kid cartoons that he had no interest in.

“Mom?” said Jazz, peeking up over the back of the couch.

Mom paused in the doorway and addressed one of the policemen before turning back to Jazz. “Just a second — yeah?”

“Where’s Flynn? He likes this show.”

“Um,” said Mom.

She cleared her throat.

“That’s what the policemen are going to help us with. I’m sure he’ll be back before it’s over.”

Their cousin was not back before it was over. He wasn’t back at all, but this, like most everything else from when he was two years old, fell through Danny’s memory like it was water.

...

Jack had been wary of his sister-in-law coming over for a week. He’d also been wary when Maddie described her sister’s marriage as “getting better” and said that she was “calling off the divorce.”

Anyway, within two days of the visit Danny had gotten it into his head that his uncle’s name was Damn-It-Bob.

But the most disconcerting thing was that Jack couldn’t do much about the situation. Alicia was a notoriously private person, and considered the matter of her marriage between herself, Maddie, and Damn-It-Bob. Trying to get close enough to be allowed into that inner circle was an exercise in self-endangerment. He had tried exactly once in college, and the dislocated wrist he’d gotten out of that arm wrestling match nearly cost him his scholarship.

Getting through to Damn-It-Bob was even more frustrating. Alicia, at least, cared about Maddie’s studies. She didn’t understand them, but looked on with interest as Maddie expertly extracted a sample from the latest ghost specimen and held it up to the light for her sister to see.

Damn-It-Bob was worse than an outsider. He was a snob.

Damn-It-Bob looked like if Alicia didn’t already have a pickup truck, he’d drive a Prius, and if he ever tried tikka masala he’d brag about it. Jack had to assume that if Alicia married him, they had to have some kind of common ground, but damn if he couldn’t figure out what it was. And apparently neither could they.

He had a degree in aerospace engineering, which he constantly emphasized was a really useful science. Alicia didn’t even have to work at the logging company if she didn’t want to keep up the family business.

He tried to charm the kids with pictures of the rockets he’d designed. It worked on Danny, which, yeah, okay, he was two years old, but Jazz seemed to pick up his intentions and tried to steer Danny away. Jeez. If Jack left her alone for five minutes, she might be doing calculus when he came back.

And then there was the kid.

He didn’t even notice that he was there until the Walkers were standing in the living room. Jack had walked behind Alicia to hang up their coats and suddenly saw him standing right behind her.

The kid hadn’t said a word in the entire thirty-minute production of his family coming inside — or if he had, he hadn’t been listened to. He had this sort of rust-colored hair that stuck out in all directions, like they tied up a big ponytail on the top of his head and chopped it off instead of giving him a real haircut.

Getting closer,  Jack finally saw why the kid wasn’t talking. He had his nose buried in some book. Oh, so he was one of those, Jack thought. He hadn’t personally been a child who devoured books like a woodchipper, but Vlad had.

In any case, silent reading hour was over. “Hey, bucko!” said Jack. The kid nearly jumped out of his skin, one hand snapping the book shut like a cell phone at the end of a tense call. “Thirsty for knowledge, I see? We’ve got more down in the lab.”

He shrunk away. Alicia noticed and put a hand on his shoulder as she turned her attention away from Maddie. “—so that’s how the union settled. And you two remember Flynn, right?” she said, ruffling the kid’s hair. “We brought him to Danny’s baby shower. He was so shy back then you thought the table was set by a ghost for a solid thirty minutes.”

Maddie’s eyes landed on Flynn and lit up in recognition. “Oh, yeah! I remember. You were at least a head shorter last time we saw you.”

Flynn nodded, staring at his shoes. He hugged the book to his chest like it was a stuffed animal.

Alicia and her husband chuckled politely. “Well, you might have seen him earlier if you didn’t pull out your toys to try and find that ghost,” said her husband, less politely.

“Bob, could you please be civil?” Alicia said under her breath.

“The event was delayed by an hour and we missed our flight over a bunch of—”

“Damn it, Bob—”

“It was a poltergeist, technically,” Maddie laughed nervously, stepping between them, a note of oh lord not this again in her voice.

“Hey, kids, how about we go down to the basement and check out some cool gadgets?” Jack was itching to take Flynn and the children downstairs. He had to ditch the conversation before it went south. “Wanna see what ghost bones look like?”

Flynn actually looked like he was going to respond to that, but Damn-It-Bob cut in. “Flynn probably wouldn’t be interested in theoretical science. He likes studying useful things.”

Yeah, ectoscience was theoretical. You could tell it was bad because it was italicized.

Jack resisted the urge to get passive-aggressive right back. Not in front of the children. “There’s plenty of physical things in the lab that I’m sure Flynn’s gonna love. Every kid loves lasers. Right, Danny?” he queried his son, who was chewing on the leg of the coffee table.

Danny blew a raspberry, which he assumed was a yes. Jack managed to whisk them away before the Walkers started swearing at each other.

He put Jazz and Danny down in the little area of the lab that they’d sectioned off with a foldable plastic dog gate, where Jazz made herself busy putting all the crayons in a straight line before Danny picked them up and started scribbling on the rubber tiled floor.

“So, Flynn! We’ve got some whosits and whatsits to check out. That catches ghosts,” Jack said, pointing at the gadgets skewed across the counter like exploded, “this blasts ghosts, that catches and blasts ghosts, and this is a hot dog maker. What do you wanna see first?”

Flynn shrugged and shuffled an inch backwards.

Okay, this wasn’t going anywhere. Which was odd — they’d opened up the ops center to tourists in the past for alternate revenue, and kids always seemed to be the most excited about the gadgets.

Plan B, he guessed. “What’s that book about, anyway?” he said.

Flynn hesitantly held out the book. Jack took it. It was a big, heavy book, with a hard cover titled The Collected Jack London. Jack went to open it to a random page, but was interrupted when his leafing caused something to fall out from between the pages.

It was a flower. Flynn quickly snatched it off the floor and took his book back, scowling. “It’s sabatia geu — sabatia geutianoides,” he muttered. “It’s one of the rarest flowers in Arkansas, so I can’t pick another one.” He then very carefully flipped to another page in the book, counting the page numbers in whispers until he found the one he was looking for and slipped the flower back inside.

Ah. He could work with that. “Really? Is it the rarest one you’ve got?” he said, posing a challenge.

“Uh, I have Stern’s medlar, but just a leaf I got off the ground. They’re cruh — crit — crit-i-cal-ly endangered.”

“We’ve got some samples of a pretty rare plant ourselves.”

Flynn’s eyes lit up. “Can I see them?”

Jack took Flynn off into a side room. This room was mostly like the last, though being closed to visitors, it was far less organized. He picked Flynn up and lifted him over a heap of spare parts on the floor. “Watch your step.”

A cacophony of containers were heaped on a table in the center of the room. Only a few of them were planter pots that they’d already owned; the rest were old shoeboxes and burned-out pots and pans. They were all filled with soil. Their occupants stretched their purple-black stems towards the overhead sun lamp.

“Rosa sanguinea, also known as the Massachusetts blood blossom,” said Jack. “They were grown in the 1600s — apparently they release an anti-ghost vapor. Unfortunately, we can’t prove whether it works, since we don’t have any intact ghosts to test it on, but they’re delicious.”

“That’s so weird.” Flynn rubbed a black leaf between his fingers, as if he expected the color to come off. “Roses aren’t normally hardy enough to grow inside. And the leaves are naturally black?”

“Yep. Well, maybe. We think they were mutated by long-term exposure to ecto-energy. The biggest patch of them is around Salem, and that place is a hotspot for the natural portals to the dimension ghosts live in,” he said, pointing at the pictures of such that they’d pinned to the corkboard across the room. Jack himself couldn’t believe some of the places that they’d found natural portals in. One of the pictures on the corkboard was of a portal they’d found in a public toilet. “They’re stubborn little buggers, but only in ecto-energized soil — we had to cart the dirt in these pots all the way back from Massachusetts.”

Jack snapped his fingers.

“I’ve got an idea.” He picked up a blood blossom growing in a mason jar and handed it to Flynn. “That’s yours now. Take it back to Arkansas, and it’ll protect you from ghosts.”

“Really?” said Flynn, seemingly more awestruck by the plant itself than any properties it might’ve had. “I can have it?”

“All yours! After all, who knows when you might need it?”

...

Flynn hadn’t wanted to leave Arkansas. He hadn’t wanted to sit in Mom’s funny-smelling truck for ten-odd hours while listening to them argue about money, and ghosts, and damn it Bob, would it kill you to put the toilet paper in the holder the right way just once?

At some of the rest stops, Flynn had stood in the bathroom and stared in the mirror. The door was right behind him and Dad hadn’t left the stall yet. He could just turn around and run into the woods, so Mom and Dad would talk about something other than their horrible marriage.

Because Flynn was ten years old, and the problem that he saw was nothing as complex as an incompatibility of personality, or people growing apart. The problem he saw was that they needed to shut up about the divorce.

That was all he wanted. Something to come in and make them shut up, and make the divorce go away, and put things back where they were supposed to be.

But obviously that’s not how things work. Flynn went outside and picked dandelions that were growing at the edge of the parking lot, and he held them outside the window while they were driving so the seeds would scatter all along the road, and he still ended up visiting Uncle Jack and Aunt Maddie in New York, and Mom and Dad were still fighting over stupid stuff.

Flynn kept trying to put off the tour. He knew that Dad would hate the lab. He stuck with real things, metal and chalk numbers — never mind that one of the major points of contention was the slew of Young Living boxes sitting in their garage. A better statement was that Dad rejected any science he didn’t think he could exploit. Like, son, wildflowers are nice and all, but you know that the real money’s in saffron, right? It sells for twenty-five hundred a pop and it’s not getting any cheaper. Just think about it, son.

“ —converts ectoplasm into a power source.” Aunt Maddie was showing them something embedded in the lab wall. Flynn didn’t really like ectoscience either, but that was mostly because the topic freaked him out. He didn’t like when his friends played that pencil game that let you talk to ghosts, much less when his uncle talked about ripping them apart mmmolecule by mmmolecule.

It just felt kind of rude. They were people, at some point. Everyone knew a dead person.

“Quaint,” said Dad, turning over the hot dog maker he had found on the counter. “Very quaint.” It was his usual word of condemnation. “What’s that hole in the wall?”

It was barely a hole. Not so much because of size, but because it was so badly occupied by a tangle of wire that actually entering it would be impossible. Aunt Maddie said: “Our prototype for a stable portal into the ghost zone.” Dad scoffed, but she smiled tightly and ignored it. “With a reliable and stationary portal, we can collect data faster.”

“And it took you ten years to think of that?”

“Bob, if you don’t want to see it, you can just wait in the guest room,” said Mom, rubbing her temples.

“No, it’s fine, Alicia.” Aunt Maddie sighed. “We’ve been thinking of it. It just took this long to make sure building a portal large enough for a human to enter would be safe. A few years ago, a friend of ours was injured by one that wasn’t any bigger than a car tire — precautions needed to be taken—”

Dad put up his hand in a ‘halt’ gesture. “So, wait. You know that those things can hurt people, and yet you build a big one in your basement, and let your kids in here ?”

“They’re at a safe distance — they’re not even on the same side of the lab,” said Aunt Maddie, eyes narrow.

“Oh, thank goodness you let your toddlers play some paces away from a potential biohazard! ” Dad threw up his hands in fake relief. “I guess that makes it okay, then!”

Aunt Maddie looked like she was gearing up to shout. But she glanced at her kids in their little corner hutch, and seemed to think better of it. “Look, Bob, I — help me understand. Five minutes ago you were calling ghosts ‘fairy tales,’ and now you’re getting on about potentially endangering my children with something that, by your own logic, shouldn’t do anything. What’s your real problem?”

“My ‘real problem’ is that, ghosts or not — and there are certainly not — the fact that someone got hurt at all tells me that you’re tampering with something that you don’t understand—”

“Bob, that’s enough —”

Seed dispersion was one of the fundamental adaptations of the plant world. A seed that dropped straight down from its parent plant was a dead seed. It wouldn’t be able to access sufficient nutrition, water, or light so close.

Mom exiled him and Dad from the lab so she could have a good talk with Aunt Maddie. Uncle Jack awkwardly let them sit on the couch and watch NCIS with him.

“I just think that pseudoscience has no place in being the primary income for a family,” said Dad.

Uncle Jack nodded with a poorly disguised grimace.

“Anyway, have you heard that lavender has anti-autism properties?”

Uncle Jack suddenly excused himself to go to the bathroom. Luckily, Dad seemed to think that the distant laughter was coming from the TV.

Dandelions had a nasty taxonomy. They were wind-dispersed, able to fly up to sixty miles away from their parent plant, where they isolated and readily speciated. This was a large part of the reason why Flynn couldn’t appreciate them without every adult in an eighty-mile radius screaming it’s a weed!

By Sunday, Mom and Dad couldn’t be in the same room together without shouting.

By Wednesday, they wouldn’t speak to each other at all.

By Saturday, they started calling the divorce lawyer again.

That night before they went back to Arkansas, Flynn slept on his aunt and uncle’s couch. He could hear Mom and Dad talking in the guest room above. At indoor voice levels. He didn’t know whether that was good or bad.

The potted blood blossom sat on the end table atop Jack London.

He was woken up at two in the morning when something spritzed him in the face like he was a cat. Flynn squinted in the darkness for what it could be and was immediately spritzed again. He wiped the spray off his face and jolted at the sight of a red smear on his wrist.

A faint hiss was coming from the end table. Flynn watched as the blood blossom emitted a quiet red steam into the air.

He looked around the room nervously. Then he looked out the front window.

At the very end of the street, between the buildings, there was a faint green glow that looked very much like Uncle Jack’s pictures.

Well, of course dandelions were weeds. When something survived too well, humans inevitably got all up in their business, trying to trammel them in. It was a weed because it didn’t cooperate with that.

Flynn didn’t need to pack his bag; he had already loaded everything from the trip back in, but he added some more anyway. He got a knife, a frying pan, and a BIC lighter out of the kitchen. And of course, he took his book and the blood blossom.

Then he walked out the front door for the last time.

It was a muggy July night, and all the lights in the windows were out. The streetlamps pooled in the road. The green light creeped into the alleyway on tiptoe.

Flynn stood before a hole in the world and found himself alone. The hole didn’t appear to properly occupy the alley. It looked like a bad photoshop in person. Just standing a foot away from it, he could feel the static electricity. It felt like it was ruffling his hair in a gesture of approval.

There was a deep hum that might have been the portal, or the flies buzzing around it, or Flynn’s heart getting ready to tear itself from his chest in excitement or fear. He did not know which.

The blood blossom was beginning to overflow its mason jar with red condensation. Flynn poured it out onto the ground. It mixed with the dank puddles in the mundane depressions of the concrete that, absurdly, continued to exist in the presence of something so otherworldly.

Flynn reached through the portal. It felt like cold water — strange, but not icy enough to be unpleasant.

This was what he needed. Something he didn’t know, somewhere his parents couldn’t find him. He could find shelter with those familiar spirits for a little while, and his blood blossom would protect him as his parents looked for him, and then he would come back and they would be so happy and angry to see him that they wouldn’t talk about the divorce again for another year at least, and it would be nice, and it would just be so nice, it would just be so nice when he got back.

And then the light consumed his vision.

...

Twelve years later.

“Jazz? Did you just come through the portal?” Danny squinted at the readout on the specter speeder — the constant green light of the ghost zone made it hard to read at times.

“No?” she said over the speeder’s radio. “I’m still in the lab, why?”

“Because the radar’s picking up signs of life.”

#danny phantom #flynn fenton #dp #dp fanfiction #this flynn goes off the-stove-is-on-fire's version of his backstory btw #flynn walker

[ushiwakatrash]

On your knees, King! (Part 3)

Bakugou x reader, Todoroki x reader

Fantasy AU

!Warnings!: Swearing, betrayal, lil dash of angst, shitty writing, abuse, physical harm

Synopsis:

Bakugou is the esteemed King of the Kingdom of Barbarians and because he succeeded in ruling the lands that were once governed by the Yuuei Kingdom, an offering must be made for the peace of the people. As the so-called ‘black sheep’ of the royal family, the King of Yuuei a.k.a. your father, offered you–naming you the most precious thing he could give; but you know the truth behind his words.

PART III

← Part 2           Part 4 →

Things started to get hectic in both the Yuuei and Barbarian kingdoms for only a few weeks were left until the wedding. Seeing the decorations being put up only meant a reminder for both Shoto and (Y/n) that it was real, it was happening-- but it was happening too fast for them to comprehend.

The princess was in a daze during her meal time with the only family she had left, her father. Ever since her mother passed away, things turned into hell.  Before fully agreeing to give their daughter away, the queen stood her ground in protest and resisted the King’s order. 

Blinded by rage, he threatened his wife with a sword but still, her gaze was firm and decision never wavered. The last string of patience the king had snapped and he swung his sword towards the woman, slicing her deep from the chest to her abdomen. 

In his state of shock, he stood there, hands shaking. His lover was no more and all because of the stupid Barbaric king, all because of his useless daughter, he lost more then just his kingdom. He had lost his wife.

 It took a long while for the king to come to terms with the thought of his diseased lover but he channeled all his pain into making another’s life miserable. 

Out of everyone, he had to choose his poor daughter, who he had blamed for everything.

“(Y/n)! I expect you to be on your best behavior and for once not be a failure to this family. Am I clear?” A tired nod was all she could answer. The king quietly stood up from his seat and hastily made it to (Y/n)’s side. A loud smack resounded in the room.

“I am a king here and I expect you to treat me like one, you useless bitch! When I ask you a question, answer me properly!” This was the king nobody from outside knew about. Only the people inside the palace knew about the true nature of this ‘kind’ king.

“Yes, your majesty. I have made a mistake.” The old man just scoffed and retreated to his room, leaving his daughter alone to dine. Because she is the Princess of the commoners, people from the palace were often enraged to see her being treated poorly by the only real family she had.

With no words being said, a cloth with cool water was handed to her by one of her most trusted maids, Ochako. “Milady, it is to avoid swelling.” (Y/n) gratefully took it and dabbed it over the reddening spot on her cheek.

“Now that my father is away and in his quarters, won’t you maids join me for my meal? Let’s leave some for the guards standing in the doorway as well.” This occurrence happened frequently. They knew it was no bribe from the princess, but pure genuine kindness. She was a far better ruler than her damn father.

“But ma’am...” the princess slouched in her seat to get comfortable “Oh come on, we’ve been doing this for quite some time now! I don’t wanna eat alone” she unleashed her puppy eyes and the maids couldn’t refuse any longer.

Her hand maid ushered the rest of the servants in the room to take their seats and they joyfully shared stories over the table. See, (Y/n) was really interested in the commoner life not to compare to her own, but to get to know the ways of her people. 

This is why even if the king treats her badly, the servants in the palace would never turn against her and if they had to take sides, they would all go to princess’ aide. 

“Milady, how are things with your fiancé?” the bold maid named Mina asked. “M-Mina?! You can’t just ask things like that!” The head maid Momo scolded. “No it’s okay Momo, guys you’re my friends just drop the Milady shit and call me (Y/n)”

Mina gave a victory smile to Momo and the the latter just sighed. “I haven’t met him yet in all honesty, but I think we’re going to their castle in a few days, or maybe tomorrow. I didn’t really listen to what that stupid old fart told me” 

They held their laughter at the nickname the king’s daughter had for him. “I hope even if he is one of those Barbaric bastards, he treats you fairly” Ochako had a sad smile on her face. The princess already had enough of her father’s torturing so having a bad husband would only continue her hell.

“In all honesty, I thought you would be wed to Prince Shoto. You were such a good match! I’m sure you would be happy with him” “Yes, Jiro that was the plan but it seems that fate had decided to push us apart. I’m sure I would have been happy but I’m not closing my doors to the thought of the new King as a husband. Maybe he can entertain me.”

“You can hunt together or maybe go on horse rides to lakes to watch the sunset!” (Y/n) knew this was too good to be true. Her soon to be husband was a brute, it would be weird if he was indeed that romantic. “Hah. I doubt he even has a romantic bone in his body. Anyway, I’ll be leaving first, girls. Ochako would you be a dear and please prepare my bath after you’re done eating. Do not worry, you can take your time and rest. Goodnight to all of you.”

“Sure thing princess!” “May you rest well.” “Nighty, (Y/n)”!”

-- 

“Oi hag, what kind of woman is she anyway? If it’s just some pissy girl I’d rather decapitate her family.” The older blonde smacked hiS HEAD. “Watch that stupid mouth of your brat! I’m sure she’s the perfect match for you. When has your mother been wrong?” The former queen smirked.

“She better not be weak. I don’t want my reputation to plummet because of some woman. I’m leaving with Kirishima to go hunt!” “Bring me a fat boar while you’re at it!”

--

Kirishima flew freely in the skies with Bakugou sitting snug on his back. At the same time, (Y/n) went to the woods after eating to let off some steam. Every time she thinks about her stupid father, rage fills her head. Nothing was her fault so why was she treated so badly.

The special spot (Y/n) and the friend who gave her necklace was her safe place. It was also the best spot to hunt boars, pigeons and if you’re lucky, deers.

She brought a bow and a sword with her and began to position herself to be hidden from her preys. Her sharp gaze caught a healthy fat boar in sight and the same time her arrow hit, a blade fell from the sky.

“Who’s the fuck did this to my fucking boar?!” A big gust of wind blew and standing before her was a huge red dragon, scales as red and as shiny as rubies.

“That’s my boar fuckface! Look for your own!” A blonde muscular man hopped off the dragon’s back. The Princess had put her cloak on to seal her identify, the man had a hood on too but his muscles were out for the world to see.

“You deaf, boy?! If you weren’t flying so high, you could have seen that my arrow had already pierced it before your dull blade could. Hands off my catch!” The man pulled the sword out of the boar and pointed it at the princess.

“No way, it’s mine! If you want it, fight for it!” (Y/n) wasted no time as she unsheathed her own weapon from it’s scabbard and went in for an attack. The blonde was surprised at the sudden movement of the woman but blocked her sword nonetheless. 

“You got spunk woman, but can you even handle my strength?” “Hah please, I can take you on any day, dandelion!” Their sparring took quite a while and Kirishima just sat at the back with a slight worried look on his face.

The girl took notice of the dragon’s structure and thought maybe it was hungry, but in fact Kirishima was just getting bored. When she managed to push her opponent back a little, she ran towards the boar and threw it at the dragon.

“Here boy, catch!” the smell of meat made Kirishima quickly respond and at the end of the duel, it was the red dragon who immersed victorious. 

(Y/n) laughed at the face the man made when their loot was snagged by the dragon. “Oi Kirishima! Why’d you eat it?!” The dragon just huffed in response. The girl went close to the dragon to try to pet it and because of the treat given by her, Kirishima bent his head to get the pats he loved. 

She then directed her attention to the male with a huge scowl on his face. Digging through her pouch, she handed him a loaf of bread and cheese. “Here, take it. I enjoyed our spar. I would have loved to ask for your name and to spar another time, but I think it’s impossible now.” she smiled sadly.

The blonde on the other hand only got curious “Why?” “I’m getting married soon. I can’t just hang around guys freely.” The sun was starting to set and people may have started to look for her in the palace.

“It’s time for me to go. If we see each other again, let’s exchange names, dandelion. I hope you can take me to the skies some time Kirishima! Have a safe journey home”

She didn’t wait for their response as she fled the scene quickly. 

Taglist: @the-sander-fander @cathwritestragediesnotsins @emilymikado @itsmysticalmystery

Taglist is open!

#bakugo katsuki #bakugou katsuki #katsuki bakugo #katsuki bakugou #bnha #mha #bakugo x reader #bakugou x reader #bnha fantasy au #bakugo fantasy au #bakugou fantasy au #king bakugo #king bakugou #shoto todoroki #todoroki shouto #todoroki shoto #bnha bakugo #bnha todoroki #todoroki x reader #shoto todoroki x reader #shoto x reader #todoroki shoto x reader #bakugo katsuki x reader #katsuki bakugo x reader #bakugo smut #bnha smut #katsuki bakugou x reader #bakugou katsuki x reader

[comfortwriting]

A Walk To Remember - R.W

Ron Weasley x Fem Reader - Part 1/2

Masterlist, Request Rules, Part 2

A/N: To the lovely angel that requested this, thank you so much - this has been so therapeutic and enjoyable for me to write; thank you for being so patient and kind. I hope I’ve done this right!

Based HEAVILY on the movie: A Walk To Remember.

Warnings: mention of cancer, death, heavy theme of religion and god, blasphemy, fluff, sadness. 

Since Ron and Harry fell out in fourth year because of the Triwizard Tournament, Ron unfortunately found himself surrounded by the wrong people, he didn’t have Harry anymore - his one true best friend and he didn’t have Hermione anymore to keep him level-headed. Ron wasn’t himself and everyone could see it, he cared more about his social status than being a good classmate, and a good wizard. 

His parents were sending more Howlers to Ron than they had ever sent to Fred and George, no one could recognise him from the kid who put himself in the line of fire to protect Harry and Hermione when they were trying to retrieve the Philosopher stone, but you - you still wanted to see the good in him, you knew under the ridiculous attitude and his stupid behaviour, lay a heart of gold and lots of potential.

“He’s late again.” Lavender rolled her eyes, standing around in the dark, looking at the Hannah Abbott .

“Ron will turn up, don’t get your knickers in a twist.” Hannah replied, continuing her conversation with Dean Thomas.

“Took him long enough.” Seamus pointed towards a very tired Ron walking alongside Nigel Wolpert from a few years below.

Ron and Nigel continued to walk towards the rest of the group, Nigel shivering every now and then in his thin plaid pyjamas. Finally meeting up with the rest of the group the six of them continued their stroll to the Great Lake. 

“Sleep well?” Hannah taunted Ron.

Ron shot her a sarcastic smile “brilliant, actually.” 

Lavender instantly tried making a move on Ron but he blew her off “if you want to have a dance go and ask Neville.” causing everyone but Nigel to go on a tangent about how geeky, strange and pathetic the herbology student was. 

Nigel wanted to speak out to defend Neville but in front of such cool people, especially Ron, he didn’t want to ruin his chances of climbing up the social ladder. 

“So what is it that I have to do?” Nigel beamed up at Ron.

Obviously getting into any friendship group requires some sort of need to prove yourself, whether it’s promising to not share secrets, to never date another's ex, the usual ‘bro’ and ‘girl code’ but when it came down to this group, they would go to unfair and extreme lengths. 

 Dean, Seamus, Lavender and Hannah all stood at the edge of the lake, smirking. 

“go on, tell him.” Seamus glided his outstretched hand, presenting the lake to Nigel.

“Well, uh, Nigel - you’re going to go for a swim in that lake, mate.” Ron tried to act coolly, unbothered and the least concerned. 

Nigel’s face dropped, starting to panic. “But there's Merpeople in there, Grindylows - the Giant Squid!”

“It won’t be that bad” Hannah laughed. 

“Yeah, dear Ron will be going in with you.” Lavender bit on her lip, staring at Ron.

Ron remembered to keep his act up, “yeah, you won’t be going in there alone” he lied. 

Nigel nodded his head and agreed to go through with the orders he had been given, he took of his pyjamas and was left freezing cold in his boxers, he turned around to look at a fully clothed Ron.

“Are you not getting undressed?” 

Ron shook his head, his arms folded. “Nah, I’m sensitive to cold temperatures, reminds me of uh.. you know.”

Nigel remembered the second challenge during the Triwizard tournament, not wanting to ask any questions or mention Harry and Hermione. 

Nigel and Ron got closer to the lake, Nigel tipping on the edge. 

“We’ll go on the count of three, alright?” 

Nigel continued to shiver, nodding his head and wrapping his arms around him to keep him warm. 

“Three, two, one!”

Instead of joining Nigel and swimming, Ron pushed the younger student into the Lake, causing him to fall head first into the water. The group broke into laughter, yelling at Nigel and cheering but the cheers soon turned into screams and sheer panic. 

Nigel tried to swim but couldn’t his body went into shock due to the temperature of the water, and his fear of being attacked and dragged away by the residents under the water. His arms waved up above him as his head went under. 

“Someone do something!” Lavender yelled, “Ron!”

Ron swore under his breath and quickly stripped out of his pyjamas, making a rope for Nigel to grab to pull him aside. Whilst Ron hurried into the water, grabbing a hold of Nigel’s arm, trying to get him out of the water. Nigel’s head fell back and his breaths shallowed, his lips and skin turning blue.

The yells coming from Mr Filch rang out through the school grounds - panicking everyone. 

“We’ve got to go!” Hannah grabbed Lavender’s arm “if we get caught we could get expelled!” 

“Hurry up, Ron!” Dean hissed, following the girls. 

Seamus stayed for a moment as Ron got closer to the the edge he and Nigel were standing minutes ago, Ron got all of strength and lifted Nigel up, placing him down on the grass, Seamus pulled Nigel back and helped Ron out of the water. 

Once Ron got back on his feet Mr Filch and now a yelling Hagrid stormed across the grounds, getting closer and closer to the three boys.

“We’ve got to go now!” Seamus glared “leave him here, he’ll be fine, lets go!” 

Ron going against everything good within him, fled with Seamus and left Nigel, alone and inches from death. 

Unfortunately, to Ron’s distaste, he didn’t get away with what happened that night - his friends did, but thanks to Professor Snape, he didn’t. Ron got caught moments before he got to the common room, Seamus miles in front of him. Ron spun his impressive web of lies, although Snape didn’t believe him - but everyone else did. 

Stuffing toast into his mouth his eyes locked with yours for a moment whilst you took a sip from your goblet, you and Ron had known each other even before Hogwarts, you shared almost every class together, but that didn’t make you friends - you were far from it.

Deterring himself from your gaze, Seamus laughed.

“Stare any longer and your the pumpkin juice in your goblet will turn to wine.” Seamus teased.

“or my potions book will become a bible” Ron teased back.

You were a half-blood, your mother a witch and your strict religious dad a muggle - you found it hard to believe at times that you were even allowed to attend Hogwarts but your dad wanted the time that you had left to be enjoyable, he even moved to Hogsmeade so he wasn’t too far away if you needed him. 

Ron and Seamus both swore under their breaths as Professor McGonagall stormed towards them.

“Mr Weasley, a word in my office.”

Professor McGonagall sat down, picking up her long piece of parchment that sat on her desk “after being caught up in such a serious incident, don’t think for one moment that you will go unpunished.”

Ron slouched in his chair and grinded his teeth.

“For this term, every weekday after dinner you will be helping the house elves clean down in the kitchens, every Saturday mornings you will be helping a handful of first years with their brooms bright and early! and you will also be taking part in a theatre production in Hogsmeade for the rest of your Saturday, to ensure that you won’t skive, you will be transported to Hogsmeade with other students.” 

Ron’s face dropped, everything he hated all mixed together had been thrown on upon him whether he liked it or not, and worst of all, he couldn’t get himself out of it if he wanted to graduate. 

Dean, Seamus, Hannah and Lavender found it hilarious seeing Ron clean up with the house elves, they too mocked you and your faith in god every chance they had.

Walking outside to join the rest of the students in Hogsmeade, you heard Lavender’s laughs from behind you. 

“Oh Ronald just look at her, she’s as helpless as it gets. Clinging onto that bible as if her life depends on it.”

Ron stayed quiet, his eyes burning into the same sweater you wore every single day without fail. 

“We should go together sometime” Lavender spoke out again at Ron.

Ron looked at his ex and almost grimaced “I’m not doing that again alright? we’ve been through this.”

Ron departed from his group, waving goodbye and walking slowly behind everyone else. Noticing Ron behind you, you slowed down so you could walk next to him - you were always alone when you went to Hogsmeade and you felt like having some company before your theatre class.

“So, you’re going to be in my group right?” you smiled, hoping the small talk wasn’t that bad.

Ron ignored you, continuing to follow the other students. 

You didn’t want to give up on the golden haired boy just yet, you didn’t know why but there was something in him that stood out to you, something his friends couldn’t see - perhaps something Harry and Hermione missed.

“I think a change of scenery will be good for you - Nigel is also recovering slowly, you should visit him-”

Ron stopped in his tracks and gave you a horrified look “don’t you have bible verses to stress over? shouldn’t you be focusing on the mythical man instead of me?”

You raised your eyebrows and felt quite taken aback, you were used to having your head bitten off but you were trying to break the ice, you weren’t pushing your faith on anyone. 

“You don’t know me at all” you replied, pursing your lips, storming past him.

You, like many of your group enjoyed theatre with a passion, the guy in your class had written the play himself and you were so proud, his writing more than a work of art and you could tell something beautiful would come from it. 

After being assigned your roles, you couldn’t help but feel satisfied knowing that Ron had a role of his own, even if he wasn’t expecting such a thing. You felt a tinge of excitement inside of you, knowing that the two of you would be spending more time together. 

Going through your lines, Ron was slouching in his chair as usual, speaking in monotone whilst he read his parts, you couldn’t understand why he didn't want to be here - to redeem himself. 

After your first class, you didn’t go back to Hogwarts with the other students, you were allowed to visit your dad whenever you needed and today you felt like spending sometime with him, going through your bible and getting the reassurance you desperately needed.  

Ron, who did not have permission to stay out, went against the rules anyway, getting himself a Butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks and some jelly slugs from Honey Dukes.

Leaving the extravagant sweet shop, Ron bumped into you, almost dropping his treats. 

“what are you still doing out?” he asked, chewing down a slug.

You smiled sheepishly at him “I could ask you the same thing” 

The two of you walked back to Hogwarts, going through the constant back and forth of him trying to test your faith and speak against god, trying to get you to reach breaking point - but it wouldn’t work. You had patience, you were full of love and you could see the beauty in everything - the exact opposite of the boy next to you. 

“you shouldn’t dumb yourself down to fit in” you sighed, snuggling into your sweater. “you should care less about your social status and more about your future.”

Ron shoved another jelly slug into his mouth “you think you know me, do you? well you don’t.” 

Ron and Seamus sat on the sofa in front of the fire, the two of them scrutinising the play, picking apart the script piece by piece and acting it out sarcastically. 

“It’s gonna be brilliant” Seamus grinned, flicking through the pages. 

“You sound like my brothers, it’s going to be a bloody nightmare.” Ron groaned, looking miserably into the flames. 

“That's why its going to be brilliant, you’re going to make a fool of yourself!”

After another week of feeling tired and nauseated, you tried your best to pull through it, focusing on god - his love - his warmth, you focused on seeing your dad at the weekend, being able to drown your fears in the path god had chosen for you. 

“Oi, y/n” Ron whispered, pulling you aside and tearing you away from your thoughts.

You stared at him and waited for him to continue talking, holding your bible to your chest.

“Look, can you help me with my lines after class on Saturday?” he asked, his mouth barely moving so everyone around him would find it hard to lip read. 

“As long as you aren’t doing it only to benefit yourself”

Ron rolled his eyes “yeah, whatever - can you help me then or what?” 

You nodded your head, ticking off a box from your list “I don’t see why not” you smiled “thanks to you I have one less box to tick”

Ron gave you a strange look, then noticed his friends walk down the hall towards the two of you. 

“We’ll go to my dads, we can practice there, but promise me one thing?”

Ron started to become inpatient “bloody hell, what?”

You took a deep breath, facing your fears “promise you won’t fall in love with me.”

Ron felt delighted, he thought making this promise was the easiest thing he had ever done in his life “I didn’t think it would be that easy.” Ron’s friends stared at him, pulling faces behind your back “I’ll see you on Saturday” he paused before walking away “I promise.”

Little did Ron know, the promise he made would be the hardest one to keep.

“Ronald Weasley?!” Your father freaked out “I’ve told you to stay away from lads like that!” 

You sighed, hearing a knock at the door, you stood up from the table “the lord preaches forgiveness, dad.”

Walking over to the door, you opened it, Ron stood there with another bag of jelly slugs, swallowing one down “can I come in then”

“Yeah - make yourself at home, wait in the living room, my script is upstairs.”

Ron walked around your living room. searching the moving faces in the picture frames, the candles on the mantle piece, pictures of Jesus and multiple mini statutes of him surrounding one another on a shrine. 

He couldn’t help but feel the hairs stand up on his neck, he wasn’t used to all this religion thrusting itself into him, the eyes of a higher being judging him for each and every sin he committed. 

“You must be Ronald.” Your father spoke out, almost making Ron jump out of his skin. 

Ron turned away from the altar, holding out his hand for your father to shake, but withdrawing it soon after your father declined.

“Thank you for-”

“I didn’t” you father spoke over him “that was y/n decision.” 

After being grilled for his behaviour from your father and running through the same romanticised script, Ron couldn’t wait to break free from it all, from judgement of the lord, your fathers none existent approval, slowly getting friendlier with you.

The more Ron noticed you, the more you stood out to him. You weren’t just the girl devoted to god that was glued to a bible - you loved animals, you thought they were magnificent and spent hours reading about them. 

After finishing breakfast you walked over to where Ron was sitting with his friends, you felt confident and excited to see him again outside of Hogwarts.  

“Will you be coming back to my place tomorrow?” you asked, smiling at him. 

Seamus started laughing, almost choking on his juice. 

Ron felt mortified, there's no way he could allow his friends to get the jump on him for being your friend. 

“yeah, in your dreams” Ron spat, making Seamus laugh more. 

Your butterflies wings felt like they had been ripped off, your smile fell and your heart ached, but you refused to curse him, instead you swallowed hard and walked away - reminding yourself that this was a good thing; he wasn’t falling in love with you. 

Playing the piano and singing with your father, the two of you were interrupted by a sudden knock on the door, you ignored it, hoping whoever it was would go away but they didn’t. Standing up, you walked over to the door and saw Ron standing in same spot as he always did on your porch.

You tried to close the door before he stopped you, shoving his hand in the way. 

“Look, don’t take it that personal, alright?” 

You crossed your arms, pulling on the sleeves of your sweater. 

“I still want your help, it’s just, you know what my friends are like.” 

You couldn’t believe your ears, you couldn’t believe how heartless Ron was in this moment. 

“Are you trying to say you want us to be friends in secret?” you faked a smile, noticing Ron’s face brighten up.

“exactly that! yeah, brilliant!” 

You however didn’t brighten up, your fake smile crumbled and your expression turned sour. Tears made your vision glassy and you felt like taking your sweater off you were that hot with anger. 

“I can’t believe you, Ron - I can’t believe I saw something good in you, let me go and cry to god about it.” you replied angrily, slamming the door in his face, going upstairs and questioning whether or not waiting the next few months out would be worth it. 

Your confession struck something in Ron and he couldn’t explain it, out of nowhere he was practicing his lines without sarcasm but with seriousness instead, he genuinely worked hard at helping first years with their brooms and even encouraged them to give Quidditch a thought. During minor dress rehearsals of the play Ron was taking constructive criticism onboard, pushing himself to do better, to remember his lines and to be a persuasive actor. 

He felt himself feeling guilty for what he had done and said to you each time his eyes landed on you, each time you shared the stage together, Ron wanted nothing more than to make things right, even if he found it to be incredibly difficult to begin with. 

You noticed these changes in Ron like you had noticed everything else about him, you could see how much the first years appreciated his hard work, how much fun he was having away from the bad influences he wanted to impress so badly - deep down you were praying that he wasn’t doing all of this just to benefit himself. 

Ron took a deep breath and walked through the hospital wing, seeing Nigel sat in his bed, reading a muggle children's book. 

“Alright, Nigel?” Ron greeted nervously, standing at the end of his bed. 

Nigel looked up at Ron and closed his book, staring at him. “Considering the fact I almost died and went into shock, I’m not too bad.”

Ron bowed his head in shame and felt like he did when his mum would scold him for misbehaving. 

“I’m really sorry mate, I am.”

Nigel looked at Ron and shook his head “I was stupid for believing you’d go in there with me, I’m asking myself if it’s stupid of me to forgive you.”

Tonight was the night you had been looking forward to the most, the one and only performance of the play - the one night you were able to get yourself dressed up - your hair and make up done, the dress you rented fitting you perfect. 

Dean, Seamus, Hannah and Lavender were sat in the front row, Lavenders camera at the ready taking pictures of Ron in his suit every chance that she could. The rest of the Weasley family were sat watching, Fred and George having the time of their lives thinking of ways to embarrass their little brother, Molly and Arthur feeling so relieved and proud that their son had started to pull himself together. 

Your father sat at the front row also, feeling excited to see you come on stage, for you to experience such a special moment in the time god had left to give you. 

The two of you read your lines, talking and acting like a couple who were in love, finally not hiding it amongst the other characters. Ron sat down in his seat and you pulled the cloak off your body and sat down next to him, continuing with your lines. 

Ron suddenly forgot his lines that he had worked so hard to remember, your presence making him feel as if he was in the presence of an angel - this was how he felt when he saw Hermione at the yule ball, only making him more determined to make things right with you. 

As soon as you revealed yourself, Lavender stopped snapping pictures and put her camera away, the jealousy she was now feeling eating away at her. Seamus had to close his mouth it was gaping open for that long, he couldn’t believe you were the same girl that wore the same sweater that only devoted herself to god. 

Fred and George stopped bitching about their brother and like everyone else, they were captivated by you, trying to find out if you had bewitched the audience or took a potion before hand.   

Reaching the last legs of the play, Ron failed to deliver his lines and had to improvise instead, his eyes roamed your angelic face and he blurted out such a compliment it made your heart skip a beat. 

“You’re beautiful”

You wanted to correct him but at the same time you felt flattered, you weren't used to compliments unless they came from your dad. Getting lost in the moment, Ron leaned in and pressed his lips against yours, the two of you sharing a kiss whilst the red curtain knitted together, putting an end to the show.

Your breath hitched in your throat, you told yourself over and over that it was just a kiss - just part of the show - nothing more, nothing less - Ron wasn’t falling for you and you couldn’t allow yourself to fall for him. 

Afterwards, Ron’s family praised him for doing such a good job, but Ron couldn’t stop himself from watching you, your father pulling you away from the big crowd. Walking out of the theatre, Ron spotted a familiar face, approaching him out of the crowd. It was Harry. 

“You did an amazing job, Ron.”

Ron stared at the lad in glasses he once called his best friend, he stared into his eyes and allowed his anger to consume him. 

“Clear off” Ron replied “I don’t want you anywhere near me.”  

Burying yourself in another book about creatures, you couldn’t help but giggle at the illustrations of Nifflers holding gold in their hands. Ron walked into the Great Hall, everyone staring at him and Lavender whispering to her friends about you and him. 

Ignoring them, Ron walked over to you and sat down beside you, seeming more cheerful than you had ever seen him. 

“Reading another book about creatures are we?” Ron smiled. 

You looked up from your book “it’s another box on my list, read one hundred books.” 

Ron smiled “I think you’re brilliant.” 

You felt a wave of irritability swirl in your stomach, you couldn’t tell if your health was crumbling even more or if it was because of Ron. 

This was it, he was falling for you and you were falling for him, the two of you breaking such a sacred and important promise, committing one of the biggest sins that reined heavily in your head. 

You stared at Ron and started to panic “what are you doing?” you barked, shutting your book “stop trying to figure me out” 

You stood up, your heart pounding in your chest, you kept drilling the path god had chosen for you into your brain, telling yourself over and over that you and Ron couldn’t happen, no matter what it couldn’t happen. 

Ron didn’t give up like he used to, instead he chased after you and trapped you into the corner outside. 

“I thought a girl like you wouldn’t be afraid” Ron said in disbelief “don’t be a plonker, y/n. Don’t deny how you felt that night, I’m not denying it-”

You put your hands over your ears, shaking your head, if he knew why you were running he wouldn’t be so forceful, you wanted to tell him the truth right there and then but you were terrified. 

“you have no idea what I feel Ron!” 

“I do and you know it! you want to be with me like I want to be with you!” 

Tears streamed down your face, your big secret sitting on the tip of your tongue, trying to pry your mouth open and set itself free. 

“I can’t!” you cried “I warned you!”

Ron stayed still and watched you walk away, his heart and head screaming at him to follow you, to kiss you one more time, to just say screw it and start over again.

#ron weasley #ron weasly x reader #ron weasly imagine #ron weasley oneshot #fred weasley #george weasley #Weasley #weasley twins #fluff #oneshot #imagines #romance #harry potter #harry potter fanfiction #Harry Potter fanfic #ron weasley fanfic #ron weasley fanfiction #hogwarts

[staranon95]

DinCobb Week Day 4: AU/Freebie (SFW)

for @dincobbweek​ this time we’re returning to a favourite AU of mine. The Halo universe!

i’ve previously explored a Halo/Mandalorian AU. the first story is very much NSFW but this story acts as a prequel showing how Cobb and Din meet in that verse

before we get started here is some very handy terminology

ODST - Orbital Drop Shock Trooper Spartan - a term for someone who was a child soldier and given physical augmentations to become a weapon ONI - Office of Naval Intelligence (so like the in universe FBI) UNSC - United Nations Space Corp (the army but in space) Covenant - invading alien forces and the main villains in the series Reach - a planet humans had settled that was destroyed by the Covenant

AO3 Link

Blast Radius

When Cobb was told by his CO to expect some heavy infantry of reinforcements, he was expecting another ODST squadron, not a Spartan III whose black and silver armour made him look more like an ONI operative than a functioning war machine for the UNSC.

Now granted, Cobb had nothing against Spartans. Spartans were the reason they were even managing to hold their own against the Covenant. But he did have a problem with this Spartan.

“Sergeant Vanth?”

Cobb looked up from the view into New Mombasa to see his Lieutenant Jo leading forward a heavily armed Spartan.

“Infantry’s arrived,” she said, and Cobb wished she didn’t have her helmet on so he could read her better.

“Sergeant Vanth,” the Spartan said. “Spartan A114 reporting in.” The Spartan then snapped to it and saluted him to show that he knew how to respect his superiors, but Cobb knew better. Spartans had a reputation to Lone Wolf it, and Cobb didn’t need that shit on his team.

“A Spartan,” he said incredulously. The Spartan easily towered over him by nearly a foot. All those augmentations and front of the line armour specs only added to the mass that made all Spartans seem unkillable. But in Cobb’s eyes, it made them cocky as well. “Wasn’t expecting a Spartan.”

“It was all they had on hand to offer,” 114 said.

“Right, well, settle in, big guy. We’re mainly search and rescue. Free hostages and get them to safety while clearing out the nests, you hear?”

114 nodded. “Loudly.” He unhooked a sniper rifle from his back and moved forward to join the rest of Cobb’s team with the look out—without needing to be told or looking to be told.

Cobb sighed. It was going to be a long fight.

…

“Vanth, come in.”

“Go ahead, Issa.”

“I’m spotting Jakal reinforcements on the rooftops. Beam rifles from the looks of it.”

“All. Squad, keep your ears on and your heads low and—”

Cobb heard a crack over head and ducked low as a second one followed shortly after. He held his battle rifle up as he looked for the source of the shots.

“Jakals are cleared. You’re free to go.”

That was 114.

Cobb sighed and clicked his tongue. “A heads up would be nice next time, 114.”

“Time’s of the essence, Sergeant.” Then he heard a ‘click’ and Cobb knew the bastard had likely muted on his end.

Fucking Spartans.

…

New Mombasa was a fucking mess. Based on the chatter they were picking up, the Covenant forces seemed to become more and more contained to one part of the city, like they were congregating. Other ODST squads had been deployed to hotter areas in the city, and Cobb’s smaller strike team made it easier for infiltration to minimalize casualties. They were the cleaning crew, really, and Cobb didn’t mind that.

But he did mind that his Spartan was deathly silent most of the time.

He had 114 act as their eyes. With his high-powered scope, he was able to get a better view of the terrain before Cobb’s team went down in to clear it out, and Cobb had to admit, 114 was a good shot. Those enhanced reflexes sure came in clutch in the best ways possible, but Cobb was expecting at least some communication on his end.

114 acted like a brick wall and Cobb hated it. He knew nothing of the Spartan, didn’t even know his name, and while it was nice to be fighting with someone who was this well skilled, Cobb didn’t know if he’d choose 114 over another top notch ODST squad.

“Looks like we got a standard fair here,” Jo said. “Couple of Brutes. Grunts as back up and a Jakal nest.”

Cobb nodded. “You see a Chieftain?”

“Nah, looks like pretty standard fare for them.”

“Good. Listen up! We clear this intersection and that gets us one step closer to the bank. You play it safe and you play it hard. Cover always. Focus fire on Jakals and Grunts and then the Brutes. Clear the field before we got in heavy. Got it?”

He received a chorus of Oo Rahs! and then utter silence from 114. “Hey, Spartan, you got that?”

The Spartan nodded and said nothing.

“Good. I want you on that roof top. Take the Jakals and then we move in. Provide cover from the Brutes if they get close.”

“I think it’d be better if I were on the ground with you,” the Spartan said, and Cobb was surprised he said anything at all—let alone battle advice.

“No,” Cobb said. “You’re best on the rooftops.”

“But—”

“That’s an order, Spartan.”

He could see that 114 was frustrated with how he tightened his grip around his sniper, but he fell in line all the same and marched off to find a perch of the sight before the team moved in to clear the junction.

“Get into position,” he said to his team, and they all crouched for cover and waited for 114 to get into position.

He looked through the scope of his battle rifle and scoped out the scene. Four Brutes, half a dozen Grunts, and two Jakals. Nothing in comparison to what Cobb had dealt with before, but it was better to play things safe and slow rather than to rush in.

“114, check in,” he said.

Silence.

“114, this is Sergeant Vanth. Check in.”

Again, silence. And then he knew why.

Rather than targeting the Jakals first and letting the squadron in there was a sudden explosion that caught Cobb off guard. 114 had discharged a round into one of the plasma cells stacked in the area that took the Covenant force by surprise, killing one Brute in the onslaught. Then Cobb saw 114 jump into the fray from what should’ve been his perch, taking a running jump to clear a distance of a dozen or so feet and come to the ground in a roll to lessen the impact from a fifteen foot drop. Then he struck with deadly precision on the Covenant left recovering from the shock.

“Fuck,” Cobb said. “Issa, eyes on the Jakals.”

“You got it, Sarge.”

“The rest of you, eyes forward! Now!”

He leapt over his cover, raised his rifle against his shoulder and began to pick off the Grunts one by one, while 114 aimed for the Brutes. And he was doing so with just a magnum pistol and a knife.

One of the Brutes raised his spiker in Cobb’s direction, and he dove down behind a concrete barrier as the deadly spikes imbedded themselves into the asphalt where he had just been standing previously. A Grunt jumped into his field of vision on his left and he turned and fired, hitting the Grunt’s methane tank, which he saw spark and catch before it blew. He raised his hands for cover and then looked over the barrier to see the field. The Grunts were fleeing. The Jakals were dead, and 114 was locked in combat with the only remaining Brute until he managed to drive his knife into the Brute’s throat and finish it off with a shot from the magnum until the Brute fell dead.

Cobb charged up to him. “What was that!?”

114 wiped his knife off his vambrace before sheathing it. “I told you. It was better to have me on the ground.”

“You disobeyed an order!” It was hard to feel commanding in contrast to a Spartan, who towered over Cobb in every way and could likely throw him up against the wall.

“It was efficient. You aren’t using me for my skills.” It also didn’t help that 114 was a calm speaker, rarely showing any form of inflection.

“Your skills are firing cover. My team can handle the job on their own. Disobey me like that again and I’ll see you reassigned.”

The Spartan looked at him, head tilted down in his direction. For the longest time he didn’t move until he took a half step back.

“Clear?” Cobb said.

“Clear, Sergeant.”

“Good.”

He looked over his shoulder to his team and waved them forward. “We’re moving.”

…

Scrounging in conditions like this were hard. Training to be an ODST required a certain amount of time in the field already before jumping into training specifically to handle an orbital drop. And then from there it was ‘survive until you group up or you’re pulled out’, which meant with the sun falling on the city that was burning, it was time to break for an MRE and some water before the final push into the heart of the city to help with the withdrawal of ONI scientists. It was the last job before the UNSC was pulling out the troops, which meant that ONI was going nuclear with its facilities so it wouldn’t fall into the hands of the enemy. New Mombasa was being abandoned in the short run. Once the Covenant was off Earth, they’d probably try to rebuild, but for now, it was pull back and see what happened.

It was nice, for a moment to sit on the ground with his back against the wall and his helmet off. It could’ve been a nice day in the city. The sun was warm. There was a breeze cooling his sticky skin from the sweat when the internal fans in his helmet couldn’t cool him fast enough.

But then he saw the Spartan who stood there rigidly off to the side of their little encampment. He had his back to the rest of them and seemed as if he was still on patrol despite the fact that the area was safe and they needed to rest before the final push.

Cobb sighed and got to his weary feet. He walked forward, grabbing at his pouch for one of the MREs he still had left. “Hey, Spartan.”

114 only turned to look over his shoulder.

“You eat yet?”

“Not hungry,” he said, before looking over the highway they were on and the sheer drop it led to.

“Come on, partner. You gotta eat. We’ve been going for near twelve hours and at least another twelve yet before we’re out for good.” Cobb stepped in front of him and handed out the MRE. He didn’t know if Spartans had the same standards as ODSTs. Did he carry MREs? Looked like he had water at the least.

Then 114 did lift his hand and take the MRE from Cobb’s hand. “Thank you.”

“Nothin’ to it, pal.” He stepped back, slapped 114 on the arm, and went back to his squad.

Then, when Cobb was sitting on the ground once more, he saw the Spartan move to a concrete barrier and take a seat. Then he removed his helmet, showing only a shock of dark hair, overgrown by UNSC standards. He didn’t see his face, but at least the Spartan ate.

…

Their final push into New Mombasa was the ONI facility itself, a giant cube looking building built in the center of a manmade pond to look fancy. It was a rough sight, but under the cover of darkness, it wasn’t like Cobb could see it all that well. All he was looking at was the sight of four ONI scientists being overlooked by a Covenant strike team—which included a Brute Chieftain.

Chieftains were worse than the usual foot soldier Brutes. Their armour was heavier, including armour that could only be struck through or cracked at the very least with specific armour piercing rounds. Chieftains also usually carried heavier weaponry, and this one had a gravity hammer on his back.

“They’ll want to keep the scientists alive,” Cobb said. “That’ll be our advantage to get in. Issa, what do you see?”

“By my count? Five Brutes on top of the Chieftain. A dozen Grunts. Jakals with shields but no beam rifles.”

“The structure doesn’t make good for sniper nests,” Jo added.

“114, you there?” Cobb asked.

“I’m here.”

“Report in.”

“I’m in position. Not the easiest place to leave in a pinch if you need back up.”

“We’ll go slow,” Cobb said. “Target the Brutes and get them broken up. I don’t want to fight the back.”

“Hear you loud and clear.”

114 went quiet on his end but didn’t mute.

Progress.

Then he turned to the scene at hand to plan the best way forward.

“On your count, 114. You take the lead. We’ll pick off the stragglers.”

“Going loud in three.”

Cobb looked down his scope and breathed in deeply and watched as 114’s first shot landed and struck a brute dead.

“Keep them clear from the hostages,” Cobb said. “I don’t want them taking them anywhere else. Issa, Jo, on me. We’re moving.”

They moved in as a unit before breaking and posting up at the windows that lead into the building they were infiltrating, most of which were broken. Once Cobb had a clear line of sight, he opened fire.

The darkness gave them a natural cover, and with their spread position, the enemy had no idea where they were. They kept the Brutes at bay away from the hostages where they were pressed flat on the floor to cover from the spray of bullets and plasma. For the time being, they had the upper hand until the Brute Chieftain roared and pointed in their direction.

“They’re coming out! Heads up!” Cobb said.

First the Grunts and then the few remaining Jakals which were picked off with deadly precision until the Chieftain himself charged out with his hammer swinging in Jo’s direction.

Cobb stood up from his cover and peppered the Chieftain’s back with bursts of rounds until he turned on Cobb and came in his direction.

“Cobb!” He heard Jo’s concern over the radio, but it was too late.

He rolled and dropped to avoid the Chieftain’s hammer as it discharged a burst that affected the CPU components in Cobb’s armour. But then the Chieftain swung again and the force of it sent him to his back, momentarily stunned before the Chieftain swung the weapon around, showing the sharp edge on the other side of the weapon head before crashing it down on Cobb’s chestplate.

The chestplate cracked under the pressure, and Cobb felt a burst of pain before the force drove the air from his lungs and he laid there, prone and stunned.

His ears were ringing, and he gasped like a fish which only made the wound worse until spots clouded his vision and he blacked out.

He blinked and saw the Chieftain’s armour cracked by an armour piercing round from a sniper.

He blinked again and saw Issa and Jo corner the Chieftain before a second round struck his back before a third struck his neck and he began to tumble.

He blinked and lost sight of what was before him.

…

“Cobb? Cobb.”

“Sarge, lift your right hand if you’re awake.”

“Is he okay?”

“We need to get the hammer out. His lungs could be damaged.”

“I’ll handle that. Hold him steady.”

Pressure on his shoulders, gently so before a wrenching and—

He gasped and coughed, felt pain radiating out from his chest and he tried to raise his hands to cover it, but he was held down gently.

“Spartan, there’s biofoam at his hip.”

“Got it.”

He heard the sound of an aerosol can being applied to his chest before the pressure on his lungs was abated and he could take a deep breath and relax.

“You there, Sarge?”

He nodded and tried to reach back and pat for Issa’s hands.

“Chestplate is cracked,” he heard 114 say. “The biofoam will hold for a few hours, but he needs medical attention.”

“I’ll get to the hostages,” Issa said.

“Evac point is over the bridge,” Jo said. “I’ll post up with Issa and get the hostages to safety. You good with the Sarge?”

“Just fine.”

Then he felt himself being lifted from the ground and cradled close to someone’s chest.

“Hey, Spartan,” he mumbled.

“That was damn reckless. You’re lucky you’re alive.”

“Knew you were watchin’.”

He heard 114 sigh. “Keep your words to yourself, Vanth. This fight isn’t over yet.”

…

He had heavy bruising to his chest and a hairline fracture in his sternum. He was on bedrest for a least a month with another month of light duty. He was lucky his lungs weren’t pierced.

Regardless, he had the luxury of his own private room in an actual hospital and not just a field tent. He was on some medical grade painkillers, and his team was being commended for their bravery. All around successful.

But now with this free time, he intended to do some research—never could abide stagnation for long. He pulled up a datapad and using his UNSC credentials, managed to get into the databases of every active soldier on the ground. He searched for Spartan A114, and as he suspected, he was given a lot of redacted material.

The Spartan III program was still tightly under wraps, but parts of it were being declassified, and through the grapevine, Cobb knew they were different from the old Spartan IIs.

Not as good training facilities. Not as good outcomes or survival rates.

He saw the name ‘Reach’ in 114’s file and knew if the Spartan had survived the planet’s destruction, he was a survivor to reckon with, and also why he didn’t have a fireteam of his own. He probably lost them all in the fray.

Everything else including personal details like date of birth, home planet, and name were redacted, so there wasn’t much else he could look into for the time being. But he did file a request to have 114 placed permanently on his team. He wanted to keep the Spartan close.

…

Friends and teammates would come by and visit him. Issa and Jo in pairs, but then one strange visitor came: a very, very tall man with dark hair, dark eyes, and a neatly kept moustache.

“This seat taken?”

He’d heard that voice of his helmet dozens of times, and Cobb looked at him and couldn’t believe his eyes, that he was seeing the Spartan—his Spartan—out of his armour.

Cobb waved his hand to the chair and pushed a button to have his bed elevated so he could face 114 head on.

It was almost comical to see 114 sit down in a chair not meant for someone of his size, but he made it work. He was dressed in a uniform and not standard military fatigues. There were metals pinned to the beast pocket, and Cobb could see what many of them meant.

“Ceremony?” Cobb asked.

“No. Meeting. I heard you put in a request for me to be made a permanent member of your squad.”

“Well. I liked you. Felt we fought well together eventually. We could use another on our team.”

“I’m surprised you’ve been managing well with only the three of you.”

“Used to be four, but I sacked the other guy.” Cobb shook his head at the memory of Toro and his hot-headed ways. The kid was lucky he hadn’t lost his head if Cobb hadn’t pulled him back time and time again.

“How are you holding up?” 114 asked, eyes drifting to Cobb’s chest and how its swathed with bandage and gauze.

“Eh. Could be worse. Chestplate took the brunt of it though.”

“That’s what it’s for.” 114 breathed in deeply, licked his lips, and looked down at his hands. “It’s . . . it’s good to see you. That you’re okay.”

“Thanks to you.”

“I barely had my sights on him.”

“Hey, Spartan. Look at me.”

He looked up, and Cobb was struck with how upset 114 looked. Upset in almost a sad way.

“I’m here. You killed the Brutes. Hostages made it out. That is a hundred-percent in my books.”

“Still, I . . .” He breathed in, a shuddering breath. “I don’t like watching from afar when my teammates are in the direct line of fire. It makes me feel . . .”

“Like you can’t protect us.”

114 said nothing.

“Listen,” Cobb said. “We can discuss this. Figure out new strategies. My team, we’re new at this. We’ve worked alongside only a handful of Spartans but not directly with one. We’ll figure it out, see what works for the both of us. But I’m not tolerating Lone Wolf shit. We’re a team.”

114 nodded.

“You good, soldier?”

114 raised his head. “Sir, yes, sir.”

Cobb smirked. “That’s what I like to hear.”

Satisfied with that answer, 114 stood and prepared to leave but just before he could get to the door, Cobb called out, “Hey, Spartan. You got a name to add to the A114?”

The Spartan turned to look at him, pulling open the door as he did, and after a moment of hesitation, he said, “Din.”

“Nice to have you, Din. Rest up if you can.”

“Yes, sir.”

#dincobb #din djarin #cobb vanth #dincobbweek #dincobbweek2021 #dincobb week #mandalorian #star speaks #star writes

[slater-later]

I Want to Watch You Grow

Brian Kelly x Trans Masc Reader

Read it here on AO3 if you would like!

- This is a Brian Kelly x Trans Man reader fan fic. This conronicles your long term relationship with Brian and your development with yourself. Your body, and transition as a transman.

- I hope everyone enjoys this. Finds space within themselves and their relationship with the world. It’s okay to be trans, being trans is beautiful. it’s a difficult, glorious journey that is far more of a beginning then an end. Living happy life, being proud of yourself and your body.

- The fic is long, about 12 pages. So please, soak it in, and I wish you the happiest day!

The two of you had been dating for some time. You had met at a small high school party. A good group of friends coming together around a Summer bonfire, slipping your feet out from the well worn sandals and wiggling them infront of a fire. The soles of your feet toasted, turning them around to be goldened on both sides. You held a long metal skewer with two plump marshmallows on the end, rotating it around as you warmed it to a golden ball of glory.

It was sweet, being able to spend time with old friends and make some new. Your friend Ronnie had invited the skater kids from school to join you. He had bonded with them over their mutual love for rock and rap music. It made sense, they both loved Public Enemy. Blasting ‘We Got the Power’ out of their car radios whenever they had a chance. 

You enjoyed it, they threw out some good rhymes and it was a battle cry for your youth. You generation. You couldn’t help but bob your head to the music and belt along.

It was towards the end of the night when you two met. Brian had showed up late, hair slicked with a heavy line of sweat. A shirt quickly shoved into his pants, trying to clean up for his group of friends after a long day of skating.

He had skipped out of work that day- well, really, the restaurant was slow so there wasn’t much need for two busboys. He had spent the rest of his afternoon and late into the stary night, skating at the skatepark. The street lights clicked on and it had made it hard for him to see the clear edges of the ramps. It was time to turn in and get a bite to eat. Putting aside the new trick he caught from someone else. Trying to nail it. 

If he knew it could be done, then he could. He just needed enough time and perseverance to figure it out.

With skating, the possibilities were endless. It was his place to let go of life’s worries and focus on something where had complete control. The complete right to be, what and who he is, with no to tell him otherwise. Skating was like a lifeblood for him, his way of life.

His boundless universe.

He came jogging in, skateboard in hand as he approached the group huddled around the warm fire. 

The trees swayed, creaking under the age and weight of their own majesty with a long gust of wind. It was dark, the hum of Summer turning to a deep pitch of haze. Black rolling in, only to be illuminated by the glaze of starfull and a half crescent moon. The forest was thick, lulled by the hum of heated crickets and hushed by the cool breeze of night. Smoke pooling from the warm fire, whisping and licking up the sky with powerful might. Your toes curled, seeking a gentle relief from its delightful burning flame.

They were roasted and baked. You tucked them into the ground, shifting your heals to push back the brush and find a damp, cool, interior.

Brian waved, throwing an arm up to welcome everyone. A boy buzzed in the background, rolling a hit out of a cheaply made bong. Coughing as he blew out his lungs. Stoned till’ the cows come home.

“Hey guys! Sorry I’m late, it uh, took me a while to find you guys,” He smiled, strolling on into the circle and making his way over to Yabbo. Giving him a high five and saying hello to Buddy. 

You popped your marshmallow onto a graham cracker and some chocolate. You munched on your treat, washing it down with a sip of beer.

You watched Brian that night, catching his eyes as he chatted with Buddy over some trick he had been captivated by. Transfixed on trying to nail, to, gleam the cube. 

He noticed, his shit stain smirk would appear even in mid sentence. Hands flailing out, gesturing and expressing his exasperation on some wild tangent he was on about skating. About life. About love. It was amusing to watch him, loud and audacious as he was. He could even make Buddy loud, who was normally a quiet and reserved guy. Get him chuckling about some silly joke he made, and pairing it with an audacious face. Hands whipped out, a cross between a dragon and a gorilla.

You had finished off your second beer, musing with a friend about the stars as you gazed. Heads turned up, pondering the wide expanse of space. Its’ glorious bounds, its beauty, its’ wonder.

It put things in perspective for you. Not in a scary way, but in a comforting one. That sometimes, our emotions can feel massive. And they can be! But they also fall away, soothe and ease, as we realize, this shall pass. As all things. Even life. And so, what we must work towards is enjoying it. Like moments like these- feet kicked up on a stump, back eased into a lawn chair with a good beer in hand, spending time with friends. The summer breeze cooling your warm skin, still tanned and glowing from a long day spent outside. Walking, running, and spending time with those that mattered to you. You can’t steal back time, but instead, enjoy it.

Brian tapped Buddy’s shoulder, gesturing for him to shift over as he stood up. Slicking to the outside of the circle, making his way over.

He stopped at the bag of mellows, nabbing two and popping one in his mouth. Munching on its sugary goodness as he finished the trip. Sliding down and popping on the ground, criss-cross-apple-sauce style.

You picked your chin up from the stars, turning your head towards him, “Hey.”

“Hey,” He smiled tiredly, softly. It had grown late and the group had died down, calming and chatting amongst themselves. “So, I uh, don’t think I caught your name,” He mused, chuckling with an anxious delight. He had caught your fancy and talking to attractive people always made his insides flutter.

“It’s Y/N, what’s yours?” You smiled, letting out a tiny yawn, hand hovering over your mouth.

And on command, it was his turn. “Briannn.” He said, pushing through his wide open mouth, eyes turning to closed slits. Watering. 

“Jesus, I’m beat,” He muttered, whipping his eyes.

“You too?” You couldn’t stop, the two of you speaking through widely stretched mouths, yawning and releasing the tired souls of your body out into the air. Like ghosts being exercised. 

“Yeah!” He squeaked, putting his hand over his mouth. This time his mouth reaching out farther. As if a shark could unhinge its massive jaw.

Slowly, both of yours bodies cooled down. Chatted about the quiet, peaceful sounds of the forest. How the night made your feel alive, at ease within your own body. It was easy talking with such a nice man, cracking soft jokes and poking fun at the world. The politicians, the fat cats, and parents. Some stupid shit a drunk girl did at school, how the one guy on the football team fucked the head swimmer and stirred drama in the theatre group. He had been dating Jared, but it all fell for shit when he saw Sam in those swim trunks.

You both agreed, he looked mighty fine in the spandex speedo. And Tom did too, especially when he found out how kind he was.

“So who do you think is the biggest class clown? Don or Vinny?” You mused, shifting your weight in your seat. Turning towards him.

“Ahhh, I’m not so sure. Vinny is my man, but I really like Tabitha-”

“That bitch?” You shot, clicking your tongue. “She fucking stole $20 out of my backpack, fuck her!”

His eyebrows knitted, looking disappointed. “Yeahhh, she ain’t very nice. I disagree with you there,” He looked at the blaze, shaking his head. “But it’s not a ‘frienship’ competition. I give her props pouring that bottle of stinky slick on that jerk in Ceramics. That one that makes all those gross racist comments in school.” Fuck him for his piece of shit mind. There was no reason to be like that.

“-Ugh!” Your eyes rolled, shaking your head, “I know, I fucking hate him. He’s a piece of shit,” Internally you groaned, thinking of his disgusting face.

“For that, I respect her. The fool won’t change his mind and he needs to learn that he can’t do shit like that. It’s not like he’ll listen, I’ve tried,” He popped a mellow into his mouth, chewing. “She got 3 days of suspension for that. It was pretty ballsy,” Shitting on racist was both funny and satisfying. 

“What-? Why did she get that-?”

He shrugged, looking amazed, “I don’t know. It’s fucked up, that’s school for ya. It’s not right.”

You shook your head disgusted. If only they would understand, listen. “Ok, so, who has your favorite comedy?

“-Sam,” He smiled, poking a branch into the fire.

You watched him stir up the flame, picking at a log and turning it over. 

“Same, he’s really nice. He’s quiet but he has a smart tongue on him,” Slowly the fire grew. Emboldened by the new life, “Tom’s really lucky.”

Brian shot you a look, teeth flashing in a grin, “Cuz Jared’s so hot?”

You shot up in your seat, pushing yourself closer to him- “Okay though, right?!” Brian burst out laughing, head thrown back as he boomed. 

You waved your hands up into the air, desperately. “He has those pecs! Those thick arms! I just wanna be hugged by him!” He was a big tall teddy bear! A muscular one too! Who doesn’t love a big teddy bear?!

“I know, I know!” He slapped his knee, face red and warm, and it wasn’t from the booze. “He’s cute! He’s really cute!” He laughed, smiling through his big open mouth.

The two of you talked for the rest of the night, making another round of smores and sipping on the last of your cold beer. It was easy, talking to him. You found a kind of warm comfort and acceptance by such a free soul. By someone who really just wanted to be seen and heard, and loved for who he was.

*****

That night would bloom into many others. A few months you spent together, as friends, and the others, as lovers. You slowly got to know each other over time progressed. Eventually, love bloomed. Infatuation took to desire, day dreaming about the next time you’d see him. Hand propping your chin, staring off into a whiteboard filled with math equations as the teacher droned on. The last week of school was a buzzkill, bittersweet, and painfully long. 

You wanted it to end. For it to be Summer, to be scott-free and without responsibilities. But that also brought changes and your second stage of life was on the horizon.

****

The time came and both of you decided to take a year off from college. Work and save up some money. Spend time together as much you can. 

You planned on going away to school a few hours away. Brian hadn’t quite decided, but it looked to be the same. 

Both of you would attend the same school and it would work out well. Eventually, you both got through the next four years with your brains intact for the better. He majored in music production with a minor in entrepreneurship. He wanted to do something in music, start his own band and maybe build his own label. You majored in _____ and loved it. And your relationship had lasted, strengthened. Finding a quiet peace and home in one another. A thing you quietly wished for in your heart and didn’t know you needed until you found it.

The freedom to be yourself with another. One who would love and accept you, regardless of the circumstances and the changes.

But it didn’t always make it easy. You had been having feelings about your body. Ones that you didn’t quite like and found increasingly frustrating to have. To not have the words, the names, to understand and express how you felt.

You already knew you weren’t straight. That had long been established to yourself and to Brian’s knowledge. He didn’t care- well, that wasn’t quite the right way to put it. He was supportive of your queerness and actually encouraged it. You both were fluid as a snake- bodies and gender thrown right out of the door. What mattered was the person, the attraction, and the two of you- had a lot of that for one another.

He also wasn’t one to put up many questions about the way you dressed. Switching out fem for? Masculine? He was game. He liked your style, even sowed on some patches on your jacket when he asked. Though as time wore on, catching the way you shield away from your chest… Your feelings about your body… He noticed. 

“Hey babe?” He slid into the frame of the doorway, hand grasping the side of the wood as he leaned in. Watching you do your hair, clothed, and fixing your hair.

“Yeah? What’s up?” You looked at him through the mirror, running a comb through your head. “Is my coffee ready?”

“Yeah, it’s on the kitchen table. With your toast,” He walked in, looking quiet. Tentative. “Can I talk to you about something?”

You turned, “Yeahhhh…” Your voice fluttered, knowing that face he makes. It made you uneasy. “What do you wanna talk about?”

“Are you… alright? You’ve been distant lately, like somethings on your mind,” He paused, looking down. Guilty, “Did I do something wrong? Are we alright?” He leaned his back against the wall, thumbs hooked into his jean pockets. Glancing up at you.

You set down the brush, turning, “Yeah,” You coed softly. Tenderly to the sweet man, “We’re okay, I’m just going through some stuff,” It was easier to put that into words. You needed time to figure things out, to share how you felt. You didn’t even have them for yourself, at least not clearly.

You hoped time would reveal itself, help your understand and work through what you were feeling.

And you didn’t know how it would change you. Or, for the matter, Brian. Your relationship with him.

He gestured to you, beat, “Do you.. Wanna talk about it?”

It fell on silence, unsure.

“Yes… but not now. I need some time,” You stepped, drawing his eyes.

“Like… how long?” It was bugging him, an itch he can’t scratch. A problem he saw, a frustration he can’t touch.

It was yours, and one that effected him. He wanted you happy and content.

To ease your pain.

“I’m not sure,” You slipped a hand into his and locked fingers together. Drawing his hand up and lined your hips with his. Brian’s other slip around your waist, pulling you close. “You’re going to have to wait, to trust me until I’m ready to talk about it. But I do love you- and it’s not because of you,” You pressed your lips to his, slowly lifting them away. “Or something you’ve done. We’re okay.”

“Alright, I just-” He looked into your eyes, vulnerable. “I want you to be happy, no matter what. Whatever it is.”

“And I thank you for that, I really do. I appreciate it,” Another press, lips locked, tongues twisting for a moment. 

“Oh? Is someone?” 

You laughed, caught red-handed, “Yeah, a bit.” You mused.

****

And for a while, it was left like that. You ordered yourself a proper binder and he was properly happy for you, seeing you excited to go and slip it on as soon as it came in the mail. You checked yourself out in the mirror, beaming as you found a sense of newfound confidence and comfort in your appearance. Your body.

He liked the way you smelled after you changed deodorants. You smelled rich and musky, one that you both adored. For him, it was intoxicating. Even picked up your armpit in bed as you yelped, his head buried in your pit to get a good whiff of your scent. Both of you sent laughing and shouting and you play fought in bed, beating back the monster you so endearingly loved.

“Fucking hell Brian!! Give me my arm back!”

“No! Never!” He bellowed, hand tightening around your wrist, pinning it against the wall as your feet kicked against him. He loved it, making you mad and crazy at the same time.

Tickling was your enemy! One that he used and abused, to get you laughing and squirming as he tied his body around yes. Pressing kisses to your cheek like a woodpecker.

****

Eventually, you found answers. The internet helped and a good stack of books about gender. It worked to ease your feelings about your body and the amount of envy you had for the masculine. It was difficult at first, being able to sort through attraction and gender envy at the same time. Slowly, you found answers. A confirmation of your feelings and way of life. The amount of euphoria you received when the simple stranger called you ‘man’ or ‘sir’ felt glorious. Elating and at home with yourself in a way that felt right. A homecoming.

You started to approach the subject with Brian. The two of you were friends with trans people, but it still felt fresh. Weird, and confusing to go through yourself. Being trans still didn’t give you cut and dry answers, it was a journey. A grey area because, even through they had gone through that journey, it was still personal. You had to find answers for yourself and the world is a weird, wild place.

But, it didn’t mean you were something else. Or strange for that matter- you were you, and that’s what mattered. You were exploring.

You two had been laying in bed. A quiet Saturday day spent outside, running errands and going to the farmers market to buy fresh produce and bread. It was lovely and peaceful. You guys had turned into bed early, curled under a soft comforter as you sprawled out in bed. The sun had set.

“Hey,” You whispered, dusting a piece of long hair out of his face. He was turned towards you, a fit of blankets wrapped around him as his body cupped towards yours. 

“Hey,” He yawned, eyes fluttering in sleepiness.

You dusted a finger along his jaw, his chest slowly rising and falling. A ham all baked like a warm potato. “Can we talk?”

He shifted his head closer to your touch, liking the way you slowly stroked his skin. “Yeah, what’s up?” He yawned.

“I’ve been thinking, for a while now. That I might be trans,” You paused, wanting to release the next few words from your brain. “I think I am.”

“Oh?” He shifted up, sitting up now and trying to wake up his brain. Serious conversation time. “Really?” His voice was kind, asking for confirmation.

You nodded, “Yes.”

“As in nonbinary or trans masc?” He ran a hand through his hair, swooping the fluff back. Pulling himself together.

You laughed, feeling the butterflies swarm in your stomach. “Trans masculine.”

“Okay,” he smiled, nodding. Taking it in. “So uh, what do you want to do? If anything at all?”

“Honey-” You pestered, giving him a look.

“I’m asking! That’s up to you!” He was ginger, trying not to pry but dying inside. The questions!

“Clothes, that’s for one thing.”

“You’re already wearing my boxers- we gotta get you more of those.”

You had been stealing them from him. They were comfy, among other things. You couldn’t help but crack a guilty smile. He had mentioned it before when he had ran out, pissed because he hated wearing dirty ones.

“And shirts, and some good cuffed jeans-” You added.

“Dickie’s has those, we can thrift you Carhart’s from Goodwill.”

You paused, holding your breath. Holding onto the next few words, as if they couldn’t be taken back. Releasing them into the world, “And transitioning. I think I want to do that too.” 

He reached for your hand, his thumb stroking your palm as the two of you laid in bed. Him looking down at you as your sprawled out, your elbow propping yourself up. “Okay, if that’s what you want, I support you. I want that too,” He pulled up your hand and pressed his lips to them softly. Firmly intertwining his fingers with yours, squeezing them tightly. Securely.

“Do you want to go by different pronouns? A name?”

“Yes, I want to be named Y/N,” You smiled, feeling his hands pull you in.  Draw around you in a deep hug as he slid down to your level, comforting and embracing you. “I want to go by he/him pronouns.” You chuckled against his skin, head buried into the crook of his neck.

“Well hello my Prince, I’m so glad to meet you Y/N,” He pressed a kiss to your cheek, smiling through it as your heart brust. Crying in relief, in tears of joy and relief.

“You’re not mad?” You squeaked, tears rolling down your cheek.

“Baby~” He purred, pulling back, to look into your eyes. “Of course not, I want you to be happy. You’re precious to me,” He said, soothing you. “Is this what’s been bothering you?”

You nodded.

“I’ve been… wondering about it,” He mused. “I kinda figured it out after you bought your binder and started shaving your face. You barely had peach fuz but you looked so happy… so, much more bright that day,” You had slowly been trying things out. Listening to your body and how you felt. Changing your style, presenting more masculine. You even bought clothes from the men’s section and started to let go using gender specific pronouns for yourself. To ease the pain of dysphoria while you figured out feelings. Your therapist helped. 

“But I’ve been waiting until you tell me, that’s your stuff,” He wiped your chin, brushing off the stream of tears. “I know you’d tell me eventually, whatever your answer was- I want to support you. I chose that long ago, I stand by that.” He smiled, adding, “And if things change in the future, that’s okay too. Gender and bodies are a tricky thing.”

There was so many choices- my so options- in how trans people choose to express themselves. All of them are valid, it’s what makes you happy is the most important thing. What aligns with yourself.

“Thank you,” You sniffled, peaking out a smile. You were happy, and now tired, and just wanted to curl up in bed. The rush of emotions flooding your system, the bent of stress and relief washing over your system. Draining you. 

You wanted to feel this moment in its security, its acceptance. “That means a lot to me Brian.”

“Of course- and for what it matters-” He leaned into your ear, whispering, “I think you make a handsome man. And will continue too.” 

“It doesn’t change things- between us?”

He shrugged, unfazed, “I don’t think so. I’m attracted to you and I like men so-” Another quizzical look, “I don’t see how it would change things in that department. I think I need to know more but I don’t think so.”

You raised an eyebrow, “What do you mean?”

“I want to read more about it so I can help you. I know it can be hard for trans people to get the resources they need to transition. We’re going to both go through this and I want to help you. -If that’s what you want, of course.”

“Oh! Okay,” you nodded. You slid down together, laying in each others arms. Curled underneath the seats, your tears dried up. Heart shining. “I want that, your help. I fucking hate calling the doctors office.”

He laughed, “I know! I know!” You would get stressed, talking on the phone could be weird sometimes. It made you anxious.

You tucked your head into his chest, hearing it beat with the life you held so closely. His arms wrapped around your waist, holding you close. “Thank you Bri, for everything.”

“Of course Y/N,” He spoke softly, warm. “I love you, you’re my everything.”

The two of you drifted off to sleep in bed, listening to the sound of Summer rain come in through the window. Drops slapping against the hard concrete, easing you into a deep slumber.

****

The two of you got along better after that. You were able to save up enough money to see a gender therapist. A general practice doctor that specialized in transgender health, giving you access to the hormone treatments you so desperately needed.

The changes came slow at first, the T being newly added to your system. Eventually, the body hair came in. Sprouting up your legs and turning thicker, darker, up your knees. Your body weight shifted, redistributing around your body with a healthy addition of exercise. Your jaw widened, spotting itself with facial hair which you so proudly grew. Cleaned up and trimmed, sculpting it to your desire. 

That was one of your favorite moments. When you asked Brian to show you how he shaved his face. He pulled out of his bag of clippers, helped you learn how to wash your face and spread shaving cream on your face. How to guide the razor against your skin, trimming the well grown facial hair.

“-Like this- you gotta go against the grain if you want it smooth,” You were both creamed up, with your hair clipped back. He had a headband pushing his strands back, keeping it from falling into his face.

“Okay,” You mumbled in front of the mirror, guiding the razor across your skin. Wincing when you nicked yourself and hoping you don’t do that again.

“It’ll get easier, trust me,” He assured, slicking the last bit of cream off of his clean face. He mostly kept himself clean shaven, though there was a time where he rocked a thin mustache. Even some musky stubble around his cheeks. Which you loved.

And so was your transition. 

In time, you qrew to love and enjoy your body even more. Seeing the face you so expected- and wished for- being reflected in the mirror. Muscles come in, adjusting your body shape to one that you desired.

Brian was very supportive. Even helped you find a good doctor for your top surgery. He pitched in money for your procedure, taking some extra hours as the store manager at the record shop where he worked. He was planning on taking it over from the owner in a few years. He had helped them expand into a second storefront. He was proud of it.

He drove you to your surgery, making sure you had everything prepared. Extra magazines, music, books, even your sketch pad and journal if you so wished it. You would sleep after your surgery in the hospital bed, groggy and tired from the boat load of meds and painkillers lulling you to a peaceful state. He wanted to make sure you were content, that you healed well and passed the time while you recovered. The tiny hospital tv having few channels to capture your attention. He ready to help you pass the time.

After your surgery, you couldn’t move your arms very much. At least not above your head. It would pull at your incisions, the area bruised and draining of fluids. He would tend to you, changing your bandages and helping you get things from the kitchen cupboards. Asking you to relax and let him take over- when you insisted on cooking dinner. That you felt fine, that the pain wasn’t too bad. Even though your chest ached, he didn’t want you to push yourself.

It was okay to lean on someone else, to let them tend to you at times in need.

He adored you and embraced the new found man you had become. He liked hearing you softly talk into his ear, listening to how your voice had dropped. Had changed, deepened, and thickened. It was an adventure for the both of you, one that you happily embraced and found a new home. In you, yourself, and each other.

He was proud to call you his boyfriend, his favorite man on Earth.

#gleaming the cube #brian kelly #brian kelly x reader #brian kelly x trans masc reader #brian kelly x transman reader #brian kelly x transgender #trans #trans man #fan fic #tyler writes #queer fan fic #queer #i fucking loved writing this fic #gender euphoria #its okay to be trans #being trans is BEAUTIFUL! #happy and healthy relationships #based in love and support for one another #wholesome

[ultrahpfan5blog]

Rewatching TDK Trilogy

Easily my favorite superhero trilogy and arguably one of my favorite trilogies of all time. I think in terms of superhero trilogies, Captain America is the one that comes closest because I love all three movies, but they aren’t a trilogy in the normal sense in that Civil War is essentially Avengers 2.5 and neither Civil War nor Winter Soldier can be understood without having watched Avengers and Age of Ultron. But even putting that aside, I adore TDK trilogy and it still ranks as my favorite superhero movies. The trilogy, obviously starting with Batman Begins, is what put introduced me to Nolan. I hadn’t seen Memento and Insomnia till then so Batman Begins was literally my first introduction to him.

I was always a big Batman fan as a huge follower of the DCAU cartoons with Kevin Conroy voicing a really badass Batman throughout the 90′s and into the early 2000′s. While I enjoyed the first 4 Batman movies as a kid, yes even B&R, I always wanted to see the more somber version from the cartoons. Batman Begins hit me at the perfect time where I started to have longer attention spans and wasn’t just looking for the next action scene. Rewatching the movie, it amazes me that Batman doesn’t show up for half the movie. I think that was a really brave call given pretty much all previous Batman movies introduced Batman almost immediately. I genuinely love all the prelude to Bruce becoming Batman. I liked that we got to see his training extensively and we are introduced to the city and see the dynamics of the rich and the poor, the police, the mob, the lawyers etc... It really gives Gotham a very grounded personality. I think Nolan really killed it at the casting level. By getting Caine as Alfred, Freeman as Fox, and Oldman as Gordon, he created a superbly acted support structure around Bruce/Batman, so we aren’t just always waiting for Bruce to show up. On top of that, they had Liam Neeson as Ra’s, who is effortlessly compelling, as well as other strong supporting actors like Cillian Murphy as a scene stealing Scarecrow, Tom Wilkinson as Falcone, Rutger Hauer as Earle etc... All giving personality to a difference facet of the city and Bruce’s life. But this truly is Bale’s movie. I didn’t know him at all prior to this film, but I have been a fan ever since. He carries the movie on his shoulders and he delivers the ferociousness of Batman and the humanity of Bruce Wayne effortlessly. If there is someone who doesn’t make a big impression, its Katie Holmes. I didn’t find her terrible, but rather the character isn’t exactly well written which bleeds into the next movie with Maggie Gyllenhall as well. My favorite Batman performance. Rewatching, what surprised me the most is the amount of humor in the movie. This is actually reflective of the entire trilogy. The movies deal with darkness and death, but there is actually plenty of humor sprinkled throughout these movies which prevent it from being dour. There have been a lot of superhero origin stories, but this still remains the gold standard of superhero origin stories. A 9/10 for me.

There is nothing I can say about The Dark Knight that hasn’t been said a 100 times over. It quite literally is the best comic book movie of all time. But it basically is at heart a drama about Gotham. Whereas BB acts as a character centric piece, this film is about all the characters living in Gotham. Arguable, the character that has the biggest arc in the film is Harvey Dent. Again, the casting department knocked it out of the park with the casting of Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent. Unfortunately, Eckhart never really capitalized on his performance here because he really was terrific in the film, both as Harvey and as Two-Face, to the point where you wished you had more of Two-Face. Gary Oldman gave his best work in the trilogy in this movie. The desperation as the situation spins out of control is fabulous. Freeman also has a very meaty role in the movie and continues to add a lot of weight to the scenes as well as plenty of humor, as does Michael Caine. Christian Bale continued to be terrific. There were some complaints about his voice, which I feel have been overexaggerated over the years. I definitely think his Begins voice is better, but barring one or two scenes, I never really had an issue with Bale’s voice in this film. He delivers a very nuanced performance. Maggie Gyllenhaal took over from Katie Holmes in TDK and while I think she is a far better actress than Katie Holmes, I think the character itself is not very well written. In both movies, Rachel comes off as very judgmental. Whereas in BB I can understand her reason in being so, given Bruce was ready to commit murder and later was out being a playboy in front of her for the sake of appearances, in this movie she is judgmental towards Bruce even though she knows what he has been doing to help the city. Also, she did come off a bit flaky in the whole Bruce/Rachel/Harvey triangle. And then there is Heath Ledger. There are very few performances that I consider perfect. This is one of them. I think every choice Ledger makes in this movie, be it intentional or unintentional, works amazingly well. Like him licking his lips to keep the make up on. It just adds a creepy quality to his character, even if it is completely unintentional. There are so many ticks and quirks in Ledger’s performance that make this a phenomenal performance. I don’t see any villain performance having matches that since 2008. I think the closest I have seen prior to that is Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lector in Silence of the Lambs. It really is a performance that adds such a big extra edge to the movie. I love that Nolan sticks to certain details such as Bruce never actually drinking alcohol and throwing it away at the part and then Joker showing up and taking a glass and him spilling almost all of it. It gives a lot of personality to the characters. If I have any complaint about the movie, it is that Bruce does at times feel like a stationary character as he does not have as big of an arc as a Harvey Dent. And if you want, you can pick apart the holes in the series of events that happen that cause the chaos. But the drama of the film is just so intense that you forget all of that behind. I give it a 9.5/10

The Dark Knight Rises to me is the film that gets often maligned just because it isn’t TDK. And that is a crazy yardstick to compare it to. But as a movie on its own, its pretty damn awesome. TDKR is where the film truly steps away from being a version of the comics to being an Elseworld story with Batman having been absent for 8 years and then Bruce retiring and leaving Gotham at the end of the movie. But I don’t think there was any way for Nolan to close out his trilogy without it becoming an Elseworld story and it really didn’t matter because I always figured that as long as Bruce is out there, if Gotham needed him, he would come back. Its not as if there aren’t existing comic book stories of Bruce having retired or left being Batman behind. Again, there is some superb new casting. JGL ends up being surprising integral and he is terrific. Tom Hardy is awesome as Bane. He manages to provide a terrifying presence. I actually loved his voice. I love that a terrifying brute of a man has a polite, gentlemanly sounding voice. It gave him a unique personality. Marion Cotillard is pretty good as Talia/Miranda. She has an awkwardly filmed death scene but she’s good throughout the rest of the film, particularly during the reveal scene. But the casting of the movie for me was Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle. I knew Anne Hathaway mostly from the Princess Bride movies till then even though she had gotten an academy award nomination by then. But I really didn’t envisage her as Selina Kyle but she blew me out of the water with her performance. She was seductive, yet very likable. I love the clever costume design of her goggles looking like cat ears when she puts them up. I also love Nolan’s version of the Lazarus Pit. Certainly Bruce’s climb out of the pit is one of the most compelling scenes of the movie. You truly feel the emotion. The film also has one of the best acted scenes I have scene between Michael Caine and Christian Bale in the hallway. Its the scene I remember first whenever I think about TDKR. Oscar quality acting by both in that scene. The returning cast is all terrific but Michael Caine has a few gut wrenching scenes, including this one and the scene at the funeral at the end. Oldman and Freeman continue to be stalwarts throughout the movie, I really admire that Nolan did not waste these actors and given them very substantial roles in all the movies and all these actors really respected the material to not sleep walk through the roles. I think Bale’s performance here rivals his performance in Begins. Particularly in the scenes in the Pit. You get to see a full range of emotions, from pain, to despair, to anger, to hope. Its a superb performance. The film isn’t flawless. Its just a tad too long and there is some clunky editing at times. None of the three films can be said to contain very memorable action sequences because Nolan is not known to have great action sequences in his film until more recently, but the drama in the action negates that. Like, the Bane vs Batman fight where Bane breaks Batman, isn’t the greatest action scene in terms of fight choreography, but there is a lot weight to these characters which is what makes it incredibly compelling. Same is true to an extent for the climax at the end. When Batman beats Bane, I felt a sense of satisfaction after what I had witnessed in the previous fight. Overall, I genuinely feel that I love the last act of TDKR the most out of all three films. The Batplane, Batpod, and Tumbler chase scene was thrilling and it was cool to watch all three Bat vehicles in operation. The ending montage also ends the movie on a real uplifting note for all characters, which is very satisfying. I really love the movie. A 9/10.

It has to be said that Zimmer’s score across all three films contributes enormously to these movies. All in all, these set of movies are still my favorite superhero movies and my favorite Nolan movies till date.

#batman #batman begins #the dark knight #the dark knight rises #christopher nolan #christian bale #michael caine #heath ledger #morgan freeman #gary oldman #anne hathaway #tom hardy #joseph gordon levitt #liam neeson #cillian murphy #hans zimmer #katie holmes #maggie gyllenhaal #aaron eckhart

[itmeansofthesea]

The Bet

I'm in grad school and this is what I want right now, so here you are.

Warning: language

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You were just curled up the window seat in your bedroom, reading your book, sipping your tea, minding your own business. You weren’t doing anything, weren’t asking for anything. Just living your life. Then Charles Vane chose violence when he walked out of the bathroom, fresh from the shower, water still glistening on his abs and dripping from his hair, with a pair of sweatpants slung low across his hips. You tried not to choke on your tea, you really did, but holy shit.

He watched you with the most innocent amused face you’d ever seen while he ran a towel through the ends of his hair. He knew what he was doing, damn him to hell, and you knew as well as he did that’s why he did it. He started to saunter over to you, and you frantically refocused on your book- well, tried to at least. He made his way to you, placed his index finger on top of the spine and lowered it from your face. “What was that about?” He smirked down at you in a way that made you unsure if you wanted to kiss or punch it off his smug handsome face.

“You know what it’s about,” you wanted to scowl at him, but you knew it came out as a half-smile, half-scowl. He gave you the biggest grin you’d ever seen him give since you’d known him as you dragged him down by the arm to kiss him. Without separating you scooted over just enough to give him room to sit down to deepen the kiss. He pulled you into his lap, arms winding around your waist and reaching up your back to steady you. Heavens, you loved him- without all of your heart, mind, soul, and strength you loved him. You held him close, the memories of all the times you almost lost him all too fresh in your mind. There was a time when he thought he had nothing to live for, and then you reminded him that he did. Not just you, but Jack, Anne… speaking of. You would have shoved any other thought out of your mind, but this one… You pulled back slightly, mirroring his previous smirk as he whined at the loss of contact. There was a pout- as close as he could get to one, that is.

“Now why did you go and do that?” He threaded his fingers through your hair while he waited for an answer, eyes searching yours for any indication that he’d done something wrong or that you just weren’t feeling it. Little did he know, it was totally the opposite.

“You know…” you twirled one of his necklaces around your finger, “if you walked out and joined everyone looking like this,” your fingers moved to trace his collarbone. He was holding his breath, waiting to see what would come next. He knew what he hoped for, but he wouldn’t say it if you weren’t up for it. You leaned in close and whispered in his ear, “they would all want to fuck you.”

His eyes blew wide open and he pulled back to look you full in the face. He knew Jack would, but Anne? Flint? “No. If it was just Jack…”

“It’ll be all of them.” You knew how good he looked. He knew he looked good, and that he looked that good, but tempting Flint and the new Hamilton guy…? He wasn’t sure he was that good. But maybe… A grin began to creep across his face and suddenly a pit formed in your stomach. Uh oh…

“Maybe. Maybe not. What do you say to a bet, hmm?” His eyes sparkled and you knew that no matter how this played out, you were in trouble. You turned the thought over in your mind. You had an idea of what you wanted, but what he might want… oh dear.

You resisted melting into the soft strokes of his fingers on your waist and sat up a little straighter. You hoped your voice came out less shaky than you felt, “Terms?” You could feel the shudder up your spine and cursed him under your breath, but refused to break eye contact.

“You’re right, and we do whatever you want for the night. I win, and we do whatever I want for the night.” It was almost as if he saw the concern flicker across your face for the millisecond it was there, and his eyes softened. He brought his hand up to cup your cheek and smiled gently, “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.”

You would have laughed if it wasn’t so sweet. It wasn’t that you didn’t want to do anything, it was your concern that he would think you were only in this for his body that held you back. You knew his past and history with Eleanor, and you were determined that this would be different for the both of you. You smiled and leaned into his touch. “It’s not that I don’t want to. It’s that I hope you know that you don’t have to, and that I don’t expect it.”

He pulled you in for a soft kiss on the forehead and whispered, “I know. That’s why I don’t mind offering it.” You closed your eyes and just stayed there for a moment. If you’d known how to tell him how much you loved him, you would have. But you didn’t have the words, and you knew he didn’t either, so you both just let the statement hang there along with its implicit meaning of, “I trust you.” Knowing everything you did, that almost meant more to you coming from him than “I love you” could. Trust didn’t come easily to Charles Vane, and yet he gifted his to you. You shifted around in his lap and moved his hair out of the way, snuggling into his shoulder and planting a kiss on his neck. After a contented sigh, you pulled back and looked up at him.

“Deal.” You let the mischievous sparkle return to your eyes, knowing now that all was well. He raised an eyebrow down at you.

“How do we seal this?”

You leaned up and whispered into his lips, “How else?” After a quick kiss, you jumped from his lap and held out your hand. He pouted for a second. He wasn’t ready for you to get up yet. But, the promise of what was to come was too good, so he got up, took your hand, and followed you downstairs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You took a moment to stand in the doorway and observe the goings on of the living room, then walked in being as unobtrusive as you could, and took a seat where you could see the gathered assembly. Anne was sharpening a cutlass, Jack and Featherstone were looking over accounts, Idelle and Max were chatting in the corner, Flint was reading Meditations for the umpteenth time and stroking Thomas Hamilton’s hair while the latter laid with his head on a pillow in the Captain’s lap. All in all, it was an adorable assembly- your family. You loved them, they loved you, and everyone loved Charles. Which made what was to come even better. You curled up with your book, holding it close to your face to hide the inevitable giggles at the reactions to his impending arrival. You’d decided to let yourself get settled before he would follow you in a couple of minutes later, so you took your time adjusting your blanket and folding your legs underneath you to make it look like you’d just decided to join the party. You earned a couple of smiles, but for the most part everyone stayed focused on what they were doing- just how you wanted it. Then, just as you got settled, Captain Vane sauntered into the room, and you enjoyed watching hell breaking loose in slow motion.

Thomas’s hand drifted up to Flint’s, distracting him from the book. Flint couldn’t help but start undressing Charles with his eyes, but after a second shook his head to get out of his daze. Thomas’s eyes raked over the other Captain, gripping Flint’s hand to remember that his lover was right there, but also… damn.

Anne looked up from her cutlass and did a double take. She was not going to eye him up and down. She was not going to- ehh, fuck it. She did it. How could she not?

Max watched him appreciatively, smiling a little as she watched Anne and made a note to tease her about it later. Idelle tried so very hard not to completely lose her cool- Featherstone was right there.

Speaking of Featherstone, he was something between impressed and depressed, somewhere between wanting to see what being with Charles would be like, but mostly just wanting to be Charles.

And Jack? Jack choked on his drink and slammed it down so hard that some of it splashed onto the accounts. His eyes bulged out of his head a little as Charles walked over and clapped him on the back a few times.

Charles shot you a wink before he leaned up and almost purred in Jack’s ear, “Easy there, Jack.”

You suppressed a giggle at the shade of red flowering onto Jack’s cheeks. It was cruel, it really was. But also a bit funny. You moved over to give him room to settle in beside you, and leaned back into his chest to resume your book.

He whispered in your ear, “Four for six. I win.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Everything was ready: whipped cream, chocolate, strawberries, large bed ready to go…

…the ice cream, the pizza, the Netflix with the serial killer documentary.

“This is what you want?” You glanced incredulously around the assemblage and back to Charles. “Not like…”

“You’re always talking about how much you love these, so I decided that I wanted to watch one with you,” he shrugged like this was the most logical conclusion to come from a bet about whether or not an entire room of people would want to fuck him after getting out of the shower looking like a sex god. He patted the spot beside him. “Come here, the pizza’s getting cold. Also, I picked the one on the Night Stalker. That okay?”

You climbed in beside him and curled into his side. “You are the only reason I would watch this documentary again,” you huffed, pulling a piece of pizza from the box.

“Thank you,” he pulled you tighter and kissed your hair. “Oh, and about the rest…”

You tilted your head up to meet his eyes. “Hmm?” You hummed sweetly.

“If you get scared, that can always be an alternative.” He winked down at you.

“Deal.”

#black sails #charles vane

[themissinghippogriff]

| golden | imagine

description: sirius begins to fancy a childhood friend who he thinks is dating regulus.

w.c: 1.7k+

requested

0000

October had arrived with chilly winds and golden leaves. The Marauders found themselves in the Three-Broomsticks, enjoying a butterbeer and a couple of pumpkin pasties, eagerly discussing their plans for Halloween. James went on and on about Quidditch and the party they would throw once they won against Ravenclaw while Peter and Remus listened.

Sirius hadn't been paying attention, his eyes were on a girl that had just entered the cozy place, a silver and emerald scarf wrapped around her slender neck, and a bright smile on her face. Following behind her was his brother, looking equally as happy to be in her company.

His silver eyes narrowed slightly and he bit his bottom lip, the clammy hand of envy gripping his heart and squeezing. He couldn't say he was surprised, no, this was how it was.

The minute he had been sorted into Gryffindor was when they belonged to two different worlds. Her’s was cool silk sheets, emerald pendants, fake smiles, and calculating gazes- which he wanted absolutely nothing to do with. The pureblood lifestyle was lavish and beautiful, in the most disgusting way possible.

Sirius was content with his warm woolen blankets, denim pants, wild laughter, and eyes full of mirth. He was happy, and he despised the way how he still wanted some part of that world, well someone who was a part of it.

(Y/N) had always been kind to him, even occasionally saying hello in passing and was obviously not openly prejudice, and he doubted she was even in private. She was smart, choosing not to associate with half-bloods and muggleborns to keep her parents off her back, but he knew she was on friendly terms with Lily and Remus, being a prefect herself.

Regulus laughed at something she said and they found a table in the back, causing him to snap back to reality, he hadn't even known they were dating, " Oi, you alright, mate?" asked James taking a swig of butterbeer.

Sirius nodded, looking over to the Chaser who's eyebrow was raised, " If you say so, Pads,"

Remus looked thoughtful, and Sirius had the impression the werewolf had been observing him long before now. They shared a look and Remus seemed to drop the topic, even without saying a word.

He had a crush on her when they were younger, their parents had even discussed a marriage between the two.  They hadn't really given it much thought as kids, just pleased at the prospect of being engaged to someone they could stand, he found it funny how he hadn't realized how fucked up it had actually been though. Others took that freedom for granted, just as they should.

The rest of the Hogsmeade trip had turned rather gloomy for him, which didn't go unnoticed by his friends. Sirius had seen (Y/N) and Regulus walking back to school, laughing and talking the entire way, arm in arm.

He was jealous because some part of him still liked her. It was ridiculous, they hadn't spoken in years. Maybe it was the fact he didn't consider Regulus, who had always been up their mother's arse, worthy of her.

" Hey Moony," asked Sirius later that night, " Is (Y/N)...alright?" The pureblood poked out his lips and his eyes darted around the room, looking anywhere but Remus.

The prefect frowned, " What do you mean?"

Sirius let out a sigh, " I mean is she okay, like is she a bitch?" he mumbled, flopping down onto Remus's bed.

The sandy-haired teen closed his book and gave Sirius a concerned look, " No, she's not, (Y/N) is very polite," he said, almost reassuringly, " What's the matter Sirius, are you worried about her and your brother?"

The man in question groaned loudly into a pillow and Remus let out an ' Ah', " Why did you tell me the truth Remus? I didn't want for you to tell me she was a lovely person," he mocked, " I want to hear how she's a horrible human being who kicks puppies!"

Remus rolled his eyes, " Ah, how foolish of me," he said sarcastically, " Quit lying to yourself, Sirius, you know that's not what you want to hear,"

" But it would make things so much easier," he huffed.

Remus placed his book on his bedside table, his eyes softening, " Tell me this, do you fancy her?"

Sirius looked up at his friend, " I. . . I don't know," he said honestly, " But I feel like I do, hell I've liked her since I was five- well until I got to Hogwarts,"

Remus nodded, thinking over Sirius's situation, " Are you just jealous because it's Regulus?"

Sirius placed his hands over his face once again and let out another groan, " I don't knoooooow," he whined.

-

A week passed and it seemed as if (Y/N) and Regulus were following him. They were always where he was and always together. Unfortunately, he had begun to notice how (Y/N) helped first years, no matter their house, to classes, and had even deducted house points from Slytherin for tripping a Hufflepuff. She had also smarted off to Snivellus and Rosier in the corridor and that had practically given him a boner.

Sirius Black had a bloody crush, on his little brother's girlfriend.

It enraged him, the thought of someone like her, someone as beautiful and amazing as her, being engaged to Regulus and having his bloody kids. It was enough to send him into a melancholic state, he wanted her.

(Y/N) (Y/L/N), she was intelligent, witty, beautiful, and downright sexy. Everything Sirius wanted in a girl, she had it.

It was late one night and he spotted Regulus talking to Rosier and Yaxley and scowled. The two older boys walked away, most likely toward the great hall where dinner was being held, " Unbelievable," Sirius laughed bitterly.

Regulus spun around, " May I help you Sirius?" he asked coldly, they hadn't been on the best terms since Sirius had left, and the Gryffindor couldn't help but understand why his brother was hostile towards him.

" Yes, you can, Regulus," he said smoothly, swaggering toward the younger Black, " Explain to me how someone as amazing as (Y/N) ended up with the perfect pureblood son," he quipped gesturing to Regulus.

His brother's blue eyes widened, " Excuse me?" he gasped in disbelief.

Sirius barred his teeth, " You don't bloody deserve her," he spat, jabbing him in the chest, " I don't give a damn what you do, but don't you dare pull her into your whole pureblood mania!"

Sirius pushed the younger teen aside and stormed back to his dorm.

- It was the next day after classes, and Sirius had decided to head out toward the Black Lake alone, telling his friends he'd meet up with them later. He stared out at the lake, he'd probably just sleep around, to get rid of the thoughts of her that had been plaguing him for over a week.

Maybe he'd fuck a Hufflepuff? They were usually pretty cuddly after sex, and to be honest he needed it, " Sirius?"

He turned his head so fast he almost got whiplash, " (Y/N)?" he said, his stormy gray eyes wide, " Do you need something?"

Sirius scrambled to his feet and she got closer, a worried look on her face, " Oh, I just um, wanted to talk to you about what happened with Regulus. . ."

The Gryffindor's stomach dropped and he inwardly grimaced but decided he meant what he said, " I just want to clear up Reggie and I aren't dating," she began and he felt relief flood through him but also his cheeks heat up with embarrassment.

" Oh," he said stupidly, he cleared his throat, " I thought-,"

" Well you thought wrong," she interrupted, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes, but that stern look quickly dropped, " What's up, Siri?" she said softly.

(Y/N) took a seat on the ground and patted the spot beside her. With a heavy sigh, Sirius sat down, his hand going to the back of his neck, " I don't know," he began awkwardly.

She snorted, her (Y/E/C) eyes narrowing in on him, " You're not a good liar, love," she hummed, looking out over the lake, " I know we haven't really talked in forever but. . . I am still (Y/N),"

He smiled slightly, but it quickly vanished, " Well, as you said, we haven't spoken in years but recently I've started to notice you more, and. . . I fancy you,"

Her eyes widened and her lips parted, " Y-You fancy me?" she stuttered.

He laughed, " Yeah," he looked over at her and tilted his head before smirking, " Don't act so surprised, kitten," he flirted.

She had the decency to look embarrassed but smiled before looking down at her lap, " Well. . . would you like to go to Hogsmeade?" she asked shyly.

Sirius grinned, " I'd love to," he said, his eyes not leaving her.

(Y/N) finally looked up, " But why?" she asked, frowning slightly, " You barely know me- I mean we were great friends when we were younger but that was ages ago,"

The sun had begun to set and a chilly breeze blew over the grounds, causing the lakes' water to form ruffles. A few leaves fell from the tree and swayed to the ground around the two teens. Sirius admired how to golden sunlight shone on her (Y/H/C) hair, " I know enough to fancy you, and I have a feeling you haven't changed," his gaze drifted to her chest, " in certain aspects that is,"

(Y/N) let out a laugh, " And what do you know Sirius Black?" she purred, leaning closer to him, her eyes boring into his.

He pretended to think, " Well I know you're not a prejudice git to start with, you're bloody brilliant, kind, funny, and, well, stunning," he quipped, sending her a doggish grin.

She nodded, " Always the charmer, I guess some things never change," she whispered, her eyes going to his lips.

Sirius gave her an amused look, " You're not wrong there, kitten," he muttered, leaning in until the gap between them had closed, his lips meeting hers.

-

#sirius black #sirius x reader #sirius black x reader #young sirius x reader #sirius x slytherin reader #fluff #sirius x reader fluff

[wherearemyglassesbro]

How did each character get their vision in your Genshin Impact AU?

YEAHHH BABEY LETS GOOOO!!!

Some key terms so everyone can be included even if they haven’t played Genshin!

Visions: “The one thing that is known for certain is that Visions are conduits for their associated elements. However, the means by which Visions allow their wielders to harness elemental energy, and what is exchanged for this power, is a mystery.... When a god has deemed a person worthy of a Vision, there are two ways they can receive it: A new Vision appears before them in the blink of an eye, or an old Vision from a now-deceased person can be reawakened by resonating with someone else. It is also suggested that an active Vision can be abandoned and taken up by another person, but how exactly that works is unknown.” -the Genshin Wiki

Mondstadt: modeled after Germany

Liyue: modeled after China

Knights of favonious: an organization of knights within Mondstat, they act as peacekeepers! Helpful people!!

Hilichurls and Ruin Guards: common enemies found in the wild

Abyss Order: an organization of evil, fuzzy mages

The Fatui: all you really need to know about them is that they’re also an evil organization but...humans not monsters

Cryo: ice, Anemo: air(I realize I forgot this in the last post oops!), Geo: rock, Pyro: fire, Electro: lightning, Hydro: water, Dendro: nature

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Arthur(Dendro): Arthur never thought he’d get a vision. His oldest brother, Alastair, got a Pyro vison when he was 10. And his youngest brother Peter got an Anemo vision when he was 7. Arthur waited and waited and was totally convinced that he’d be visionless. But that’s fine! Plenty of people don’t have visions. His own parents and uncles didn’t even have visions! When Arthur left home at 17 to go to Mondstat to study, his travels were extremely lonely. He had to walk the whole way there, living with just the clothes on his back and a rickity tent to sleep in. He lost motivation about halfway through his trip, breaking down crying beside a big, mossy rock. The Dendro Archon pitied him and slipped a vision into his hand while he rubbed his face. The moss from the rock settled around his shoulders to hug him...And he was just...overcome with joyful sobs. The fact that the Dendro Archon had so much faith in him??? Wow...That’s what kept him going all the way to Mondstat, trudging up the stone steps to collapse on the smooth stairs of the Knights of Favonious’s Headquarters. He’s worked for them since then, receiving tutoring and now working full time as a translator :) since he received his vision, he’s grown leaves out of his head and his freckles turned green. He was born with snake eyes :)

Alfred(Pyro): Alfred and Matthew got their visions the same day. The two were allowed to go adventuring by their parents. They could go anywhere they want as long as they got home bedore dinner time! Alfred, the more energetic of the two, would always run ahead and drag Matt around to new, interesting outside their city. They often went to play on nearby ancient ruins, digging up old artifacts and playing with broken swords they found in the dirt. But one day, they stumbled upon a ruin guard. The machine sat, covered in vines. They assumed it was no longer in service and Matt climbed on top of it to try to pry the head open but uhhh it came to life and literally tried to kill them. It threw the twins hard against a wall and it crumbled, falling on top of them. The gods saw what happened and froze time for a few seconds to place visions into their hands. Alfred woke up very scared but this new power...was reassuring. He realized the gods were on their side! That was the best day of his life. He still goes on adventures! That day inspired him to keep going and to help others :)

Matthew(Anemo): Matthew received his vision at the same time as Alfred. The two were in a great deal of danger and the gods really did take pity upon them. But the Pyro Archon did not think that Matthew would be a good candidate for a Pyro vision. So the Anemo Archon stepped in and bestowed an Anemo vision upon the older twin. Matt was quite literally blown away by his own newfound ability to wield the wind. Together, the twins were able to create a fire tornado which blew the ruin guard off its feet, giving them enough time to sprint away. The slow, rusty beast unable to follow. That day was pretty traumatic for Matt because....he almost died....But hes grown so much since then. The twins were only 12 when they got their visions. He still has no desire for hand to hand combat, that’s why he practices alchemy :)

Francis(Hydro): I find every excuse to bring Jeanne into my AUs just to give Francis some spicy trauma (that’s a joke please don’t come at me). Francis was visionless but Jeanne was gifted her Vision from the Hydro Archon when she was 10. Jeanne was noble, loyal, helpful and kind. The Hydro Archon thought she was worthy of their power! Jeanne got very sick when she was 12 and her condition worsened until she peacefully passed when she was 15. Francis was ruined by her death. Her parents have him her vison. It died with her but carrying it with him and hearing the little bell on the end jingle was comforting. The following year, on the anniversary of her death, he sat under the moonlight singing her favorite song. The Hydro Archon’s heart broke for him and as he sang, they deactivated the vision. Francis cradled it in his hands and cried, his tears dripping down his face to collect in a small floating pool over the ground. In her honor, he learned to artfully wield water, having it swirl around him and his crew while they performed. Even though he knows the Hydro Archon brought it back for him, he likes to believe that Jeanne is providing him with strength and support from beyond :’)

Ivan(Cryo): Ivan has been a nomad almost his entire life. He travels all around to study hilichurls and their way of life. He’s lived with tribes of hilichurls, learned to write and speak their language, learned their style of finger paintings and carvings, cooked with them...Hes participated in almost all aspects of hilichurl life and in return, he provides them with plenty of boar meat and protection. He lived with a tribe in Dragonspine, the coldest area in all of Mondstat, and despite frostbite nipping at his fingers, he’d still go out of his way to hunt for the tribe. While hunting, he saw a saw a dull blue blinking under the snow. He stuck his hand down there and found a woman who had frozen to death. Her ghost greeted him and assured him that she wouldn’t hurt him. She explained that she’d been missing for years and thanked him for finally finding her. She gave him her Cryo vision and he went down the mountain to get others to come back with him to retrieve her so she could be properly buried at the Church of Mondstat where she belonged. Now Ivan can shatter ice at his own will, the woman had been very weak with her vison but he built it up to be stronger and work with his own style of fighting and living. When he lives with tribes in warmer areas, he makes popsicles for the hilichurls so they can cool down :D

Yao(Dendro): Yao grew up waaaay outside of Liyue Harbor. He wasn’t rich but he wasn’t poor. His grandparents had a silk flower farm where they just grew tons of silk flowers, even making their own perfumes too. Yao’s parents inhereted the land when they got married and intended for Yao to carry on the legacy of the Wang family perfumery but the Fatui seized the land and kicked the Wang family off of it. His grandparents passed and his parents retired to Qingce Village to live out the rest of their years peacefully. They offered for Yao to come but he refused, wanting to return their name to its rightful glory! He worked in many shops as a delivery boy, cleaned the streets, took commissions for deliveries outside of Liyue Harbor. He worked HARD in order to buy a shop right in the center of the city. The Dendro Archon admired his perseverance despite him being so young! And while he slept, he reactivated Yao’s grandmother’s Dendro vision, leaving it on the pillow next to his head. Yao nearly passed out when he woke up and saw it!! It was the surprise of a lifetime! He ran as fast as he could until he was out of the city, standing on one of the rocky hills overlooking Liyue Harbor. He held his grandma’s jade polearm in his hands and slammed it into the rocks, screaming joyfully as they split and vines rose up around him, flying every which and cracking like whips! He’d learn to control the power passed down to him and make his grandparents proud :’)

Kiku(Electro): Kiku’s father is a badass. He lost his eye in battle and keeps his vision orb in his eye socket. So he has one, normal brown eye and one bright purple eye with the Electro symbol in it. If that isn’t intimidating....I don’t know what would be. Kiku always wanted to be like him, his father is his role model. He doesn’t have a mom so his dad raised him to be a badass but...a more subtle badass. Kiku’s family was apparently full of Electro vision wielders so he hoped he would get one too! His father told him about his uncles and grandparents having Electro visions and how they worked together as an unstoppable team! The way Kiku earned his vision...Was not what he had in mind. He worked as a patrol soldier when he was 18, making sure the border of his country was safe. He and 12 others were approached by Fatui guards and pretty much....slaughtered. Kiku’s close friend had gotten his Vision when he was 8 after inheriting it from his great grandmother. It was apparent that his friend wouldn’t make it. After a tearful goodbye, his friend passed his Vision onto him. Kiku wears his vision proudly, a symbol of eternal trust and friendship. Kiku now works with the Fatui, profiting of off their greed more than even they know. He hates them but by working with them, he’s keeping the locals safe.

Lovino(Pyro): Lovi’s story is kinda sad. Grandpa Roma’s vision was meant to be his because he’s the first born grandson but the vision rejected him. It never turned on. Lovino became so frustrated that he passed it over to Feli...And it came to life within a week. Lovino felt betrayed, angry and resentful towards his brother. It wasn’t fair!!! How could this happen? So instead, Lovi rejected the Hydro Archon and built a shrine for the Pyro Archon. He made offerings of flowers, stew, chili peppers, wine, anything he could get his hands on. He sat in saunas to develop a tolerance for heat and trained until he was almos passed out. He prayed and did everything he could to get the Pyro Archons attention but still, he didn’t get a vision. By now, Feli had his own vision for three years and was mastering archery. Lovino had enough. He gathered twigs and weeds, stomping out into a clearing “Hey! I know you can hear me! What do I have to do to prove myself to you? I’ve done everything I can! Are you too afraid to give it to me? Huh??? Pussy! Fucking let me-“ uh oh. Now the Pyro Archon was mad. They decided to give him a chance, they could always take it away or kill him if he failed. The vision appeared in his palm and the weeds in his hands burst into flames. He screamed in agony, his arms on fire now. He kept off of a nearby cliff down into the ocean to put out the flames....but he had it. A vision...He’s been ruthless since then. Owning a flower shop and kicking ruin guards asses when they stomp around in the flower fields

Feliciano(Hydro): Feli has always felt guilty about his vision. It was meant to be Lovino’s but it awakened for him instead. He trained when Lovi wasn’t around, everything he did was subtle and quiet because every glimpse of his vision angered his brother. Feli didn’t want that, he wanted them to be close again :( he got lonely when his brother was gone and sound talk to his Vision the way he used to talk to Grandpa Roma. He’s grateful that he received his grandpas vison though!! It was very powerful when it was with Roma but with Feli, it’s significantly weaker because he just doesn’t have the same battle experience. He doesn’t even want it anyway. He is a peaceful guy who enjoys archery and singing in the church choir :) he has no desire for violence the way his brother does.

Ludwig(Geo): Ludwig inherited his fathers vision. He’s still alive but after losing an arm while on knight duty, he retired and gave his vision to Ludwig. The vision easily accepted Lud as its new owner, glowing brightly every time he touched it. The Geo Archon likes strong, loyal and intelligent people and Lud perfectly fits those preferences. Lud was 18 when he got his father’s vision so by now he had already been a knight in training for the knights of favonious! After intense training and an obscene amount of testing, he became a full blown knight capable of fighting monsters when need be. He’s very respected by the civilians of Mondstat and truly makes his father proud.

Gilbert(Pyro): Gilbert has broken many laws in his time and breaking into a very dangerous ruin was probably the best thing he ever did. He found tons of crispy, burnt skeletons in there and lots of fire flowers who spat sparks at him as he walked by. In a bigger flower...He saw a glint and thought ‘Aw yeah!! There’s a gemstone in there! That’s gonna be worth so much money!!!’ So he stuck his hand right into the smoldering flower, getting 4th degree burns as he ripped an ancient vision out of it. The thing had to be centuries old. It’s gold casing was bent and covered in dried blood both Gil’s and whoever else had owned it before. When the vison came to life in his hand, he could feel tbe the energy within was very old... it was later determined that it was likely one of the first batch of visions gifted to the human race by the Archons! Historians tried to buy it from him. It for once, Gil set his greed aside and kept the vison for himself! The vision radiated happy energy at that so he assumed that it was happy he kept it

Please ignore the spelling errors or I will barf 🙂

#Genshintalia au #aph #hetalia #ask away! #headcanons #hetalia headcanons #asks #always up for hc requests #aph france #aph england #aph america #aph canada #aph russia #aph germany #aph china #aph japan #aph italy #aph romano #aph prussia #aph allies #aph axis

[tina-nightray]

Pandora Hearts SS Gift~!

i-prefer-the-term-antihero My Secret Santa Gift of Pandora Hearts for you my Dear,

Hope you Enjoy it and wish you Happy Holiday, Sweetie.

From: Me~ (Tina Nightray)

To: This Lovely~

twitter: @nightrayuwu 

tumblr: @sassybitch-classyqueen​ 

Archiveofourown: heismysoulmate

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Pair: Ozbert~

Type: Fluffy and caring.

Summery: 

Gilbert thought of his cheerful young Master while holding his White Rose.

Oz thought of his old servant / friend while walking into the garden holding a single Blue Rose.

And then, their fate started with warmth going through their hearts.

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Saturday morning, a peaceful calm weekend morning, the sky was clear and the cold breezy morning signified the upcoming winter with its gentle blows.

A fine young man was resting in his chair on his balcony looking up at the sky while smoking quietly. On his free hand was a white rose with few water drips over it ‘I wonder, what should I make for today’s meeting?’ His thoughts were calm as he blew the smoke out and sighed knowing there was no escape from the sweet tooth Break but he also had to make something warm like a pie, a classic cherry pie would be a good choice then.

‘I hope things stay calm as it is and the weather stay clear for tonight’ with another sigh he stood up and walked back inside his room to change into some proper clothes and head to the kitchen ‘good thing they won’t be here for breakfast so I can have my time making that pie with no bunny to disturb my cooking’ he smiled at the picture of Alice trying to taste every ingredient while Oz try to stop her with loud laughs “I better have my breakfast quick then get started on the pie” he said with amusement in his voice as he sped up his steps to the kitchen.

After 30 minutes, he was done with his breakfast and started to make the crust part of the pie when someone unexpected dropped by to say hello coming out of the cupboard and startling the man as always “Hello there, Gil kun~” that was enough to send shock to the other man who was about to lose his pie base “Break! can’t you come from the door like a normal person?!” After that flustered yell he sighed and calmed again not like that was new anyway “Good morning, I thought you'd be with Sharon until the meeting time” he asked quite curiously as he focused back on his pie.

“Well she sent me here to get her some fresh bread knowing that it should've been baked a few minutes ago, but what are you doing here this early, Gil kun~?” The playful man was quite interested as he watched the black haired one place the crust in the oven “I’m making a cherry pie for today’s meeting, it should be ready to offer by noon” he answered while his hands reached out to start the second part of the pie.

“That looks promising, I will be so happy to eat it, Gil kun~” the excited Break danced then took what he came for and left humming a sweet cheerful song on his way back.

“That was.. unexpected,” Gilbert mumbled as he continued. After an hour and half he was done then left the pie to cool down on the counter as he went to check on his reports and the meeting preparation himself. 

He went to the garden and got help from two maidens for flower selection and rearranged it in a beautiful vase in the main room. While he was fixing the flowers angles for a more stunning display his mind went to a memory of his past with Oz as they were hiding from little Ada in hide and seek game.

“Gil, don’t make any sound she will find us easily if she heard you” Oz told him with big smile of his “Y-yes, young master” he nodded and covered his mouth, while waiting there together, Oz was sure to stare his young servant up and down then try to hold a small giggle noticing how fragile he looked and how cute he was while trying to do what he was told as to not make any sound with his eyes fixed on the outside of the closet they hid in.

Gilbert on the other hand, just noticed the soft and smiley eyes of his master that kept looking at him “Ma-master, is there something on my face?” he whispered his question and Oz blinked twice before realizing what he was really doing and blushed slightly and tried to hide his small crush by saying “I just realized that white looks good on you” looking away from him.

the younger boy seemed to take in the words as he slightly blushed and smiled looking at his shirt “You think so, young master?” he asked again looking up at him with sweet smile that always make Oz’s heart beat faster which cause the older boy to nods his head and smile happily at him “Maybe I should get you a suit that matches mine for the upcoming party” he suggested and made the younger boy blush but happy as well and got a nod from him before they got caught by the young girl “Found you two!” she cheered and giggled hugging them both as they whined in defeat.

Gilbert’s cheeks were slightly bright as he remembered that time and giggled quietly, he left to the front door as the time went fast. He then heard the loud sound of horses and cart being stopped by the gate to the mansion and the servants gathered to greet the guests at the HQ.

Gilbert stood outside by the cart and opened the door to have the duo walk out then turn to hug him for more flustering greetings “Good morning, Gil~!” the blondie boy said “Good morning!” Alice said knowing he would make something for their meeting she was so excited “Good morning, how was your trip?” he asked as he patted their shoulders gently “It was nice and quiet” Oz said as he walked to the gate with the two following him inside.

They arrived at the lounge room and rested there until the others got here too so they could start the meeting “Alice do you want to go to the garden for a bit?” Oz asked her and she nodded. They walked out with Gilbert left to get the last of preparation done. 

After a while they heard Break calling for them to come inside as everyone has arrived and ready to start the meeting in the main room. A few hours had passed before the meeting was over and everyone went off to their ways.

Oz, Alice, Break, Sharon, Mr. Oscar and Gilbert were together in one lounge as they enjoyed their small meeting with Gil’s pie and gray tea to warm their hearts. “It’s good~, Gil kun~!” the doll said loud and clearly cheerful as well “I never knew it could eat” Alice said looking at the doll “Nope, it was only me who ate, Alice chan~” with his usual playful tone Break answered as Oz hummed like the rest in satisfaction from the sweet treat the black haired man made.

“Thank you, Gil” they all repeated and he only answered with a nod “You are very welcome” his voice was calmer than usual as the day passed by for lunch and then some nap time for the afternoon, yet Oz was not with Alice.

Gilbert was walking through the corridor when he spotted Oz walking alone through the garden and went after him. 

The young boy sat on a bench there surrounded by flowers and roses, he sighed only to be startled by none other than Gilbert, his old personal servant, dear friend and secret crush “Oh hey Gil, what are you doing here?” the shorter boy asked as he looked at Gil then to the blue rose in his hands upon his lap “Nothing, I just saw you walking here alone and I wanted to ask you if everything is okay?” Gil said calmly, walking to stand three steps away from his master’s seat.

Oz looked up at his crush and smiled but Gilbert felt as if that smile was a bit odd not quite the cheerful one as usual “It’s nothing, Gil. you still worry too much over everything, huh. looks like you’ve never changed from back then. soft and gentle oh but of course you’re more stronger not like the fragile boy you were back then, but still scared of cats” he chuckled at the last one which caused the older male to blush and try to defend himself “They still want to scratch my face off!” he seemed flustered with blush all over his soft cheeks.

Oz smiled at the sight and hummed “You know Gil you’re still as beautiful as you were back then” the words came out naturally that when Oz saw his crush’s face turn red, he blushed slightly himself and looked at his hands “Sorry, that was weird” he tried to dismiss the matter but then “Wait.. um.. you.. Oz.. I..” he stood in his place stunned and unable to finish his words like when he was young and his master looked up at him blinking a few times before a wide smile spread on his lips “What is it, Gilbert? you still hesitate when you want to tell me something about your feelings or thoughts” he tried to tease him only to be met with a shy Gil, the exact same face but in an older version.

“I.. I don’t think you are weird” he mumbled looking down on his feet, the cold breeze blowing a bit stronger this time taking the white rose the taller man was keeping in his jacket to the younger boy’s lap next to the Blue one in his hands “Oh? is that so? and why Gilbert?” Oz decided to hear his thoughts on this matter as he held the other rose in his hand now “Because I..” his words died this time and he couldn't find his voice anymore. 

Oz stood up and walked to stop in front of Gilbert and into his personal space then looked up at him to see how red like tomato the man was now and ready to run off, he held his coat to prevent him from escaping and lightly tug on it to get him to lean in toward his face “Gil, do you like me?” it was a direct shot to the man’s heart causing him to face away from him and sulk in frustration unable to answer him.

Oz showed a smile of sadness and sighed “looks like it’s just me then, huh” he mumbled and let the fabric go only to have a strong and bigger hand to hold his retreating one and rested it on his chest forcing the blood to rise to the younger one’s cheeks in rush to feel those strong heart beats drumming so loud and clear through that always seemingly calm chest.

“I think it’s cold, do you wish to share our bodies’ warmth?” Gil’s words were soft and low barely above whispers “Oh Gil~, that would be so dramatic but of course I would love to” Oz’s words were low too as he moved his arms to wrap around Gilbert’s neck while the other kneeled down closer to wrap his arms around his thin waist too and pulled him into his chest whispering the words softly to his neck “I love you, Oz” the young boy smiled and whispered the same way to his lover’s neck “I love you too, Gil” closed eyes as they shared quiet and peaceful moment before they pulled a part to share a soft and sweet kiss to warm their hearts while sealing their already intertwined fates.

The sun was setting and the night was coming so they decided to get back inside to relax and enjoy their newly found love, with those feelings being finally revealed and spoken of, their lives would be so much happier now despite the hardships, they had each other's backs forever and ever. 

“Will you stand by my side until i’m gone?”.

“Rest assured that I shall never leave you side, no matter what, My Master”.

“I would love to sleep forever in your arms, My Dear Love”.

Fin.

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Tags :

@phmonth2020​​

@i-prefer-the-term-antihero​​

@maddyisenough

@sassybitch-classyqueen​

#phsecretsanta #phsecretsanta2020 #pandora hearts secret Santa #pandora hearts secret Santa 2020 #ozbert #pandora hearts #too cute #my writing #fanfic #lovely and fluffy

[cottage-babe]

Burning Scars part III

Previous | Chapter 3 | Next 

Masterlist

Sooo I lied... NEXT chapter will give more details on Y/n’s past. I was gonna write it in this chapter, but this came out wayyyy too long. 

I also changed the story up a bit from the shows plot, but it’s generally the same. 

Summary: Y/n, a werewolf from a hidden village, comes across Zuko and Iroh after being exiled. How has fate intertwined the wolf into the avatar's destiny?

*****This chapter takes place on Season 2 Episode 11 (I love using quotes from the show!!)

___

It was late into the afternoon when the three of them set out on their journey to the next town. 

The sun was bright and was about an hour away from setting into the highest peaks of the mountains. The forest around them was quiet; the only noises being made were soft crunches as the feet of the ostrich-horses padded into the dirt path. Yes, you heard that right. Ostrich-horses. 

Lee decided to take an extra one that was there in the stables so the three of them could travel faster. When Y/n asked him how much it costed him, he said the owner had generously lent it for free. Of course, even she wasn’t stupid enough to believe that. 

But nonetheless, they traveled with Mushi on his own Ostrich-horse while Lee and Y/n rode the other one. The girl still couldn’t manage to ride the horse properly and had to stick both legs on one side. She had tried to ride with Mushi, but he insisted that the pain in his shoulder would increase if she ever needed to hold on to him and that it was safer to be with Lee. She doubted she would ever need to hold on to a rider, but she didn’t want to hurt the old man, so she agreed with him. 

Turns out, she was wrong and on multiple occasions the ride became too steep for her to just hold on to the saddle. Y/n had to grip tightly onto Lee until the hills would even out (and let her just say, Lee was not as scrawny as he seemed to be).

The trio traveled a lot faster than they did the first time. An hour had passed and the town and its people were already miles away. The sun’s last rays shone out of the mountains before it faded away; the sky turning from bright orange to a light lavender. 

For the entire ride, they were oddly silent. It seemed that the events that had occurred earlier in the day quieted the two talkative members. This silence was soon broken by a quiet moaning. 

“Uhhhh.... OhhAhoo...” Mushi quietly groaned. 

Y/n and Lee looked over to the old man to see him clutching at his shoulder. 

“Maybe we should make camp,” said Lee.

“No please,” Mushi insisted. “Don’t stop just for me.”

Then, Mushi shot the girl a wink and continued to groan loudly. Y/n giggled as Lee’s shoulders began to tense up and he pulled the reins of their ride to halt the animal. Mushi copied his nephew. 

“This is a good place to stop anyways.” Y/n spoke as she hopped off. “I can hear water somewhere around here.”

It was a quiet sound; a soft rushing of a stream, perhaps a river. It'd be nice for her to finally take a real bath.

"Really? I don't hear anything." Lee said when he jumped down beside her.

She should probably make a mental list of all the things that humans can't do. To start it off: humans have sucky hearing. The water seemed about half a mile away, so a 5 minute jog or 10 minute walk. The fact that they couldn't hear the it was quite alarming.

How have humans survived this long?

Y/n shrugged her shoulders in response to Lee. 

“Seems like my ears are just superior to yours,” she grinned competitively. 

Lee playfully glared back at her before a small smile rested on his face. Maybe the two were finally coming to better terms. 

The trio grabbed all of their things from the horses and set up their camp. They didn’t have much; two sleeping bags that belonged to the boys, a tea pot with cups, and some food from the last village. Unfortunately, Y/n didn’t have anywhere to sleep, but that didn’t phase her at all. The floor wasn’t the worst place she’d slept. 

Although the sun had already set, the sky had yet to succumb to darkness and it was still quite bright. The girl in the group decided that she still had enough time to bathe and make it back before the stars appeared, so she grabbed the clothes she had borrowed from Lee and started on her path to the river. 

Being back in the forest, away from the barren sun and rocky floors, brought a swell of happiness to Y/n. The passing breeze sang to her as it fluttered through the trees; an orchestrated harmony to match the chattering animals that hid in secret places around her. It was so nice to be back, to feel so free. 

She spun around with a quiet laugh and the skirt of her dress twirled around her. The girl felt so at home that it almost seemed that nothing had happened to her; almost like she hadn’t been forced to leave her pack and be taken in by strangers. It just felt so free here. 

Y/n slipped off her shoes and began to run.

The wind blew past her in defiance to her speed, but nothing seemed to slow her down. The smiling girl jumped over wood logs, through leaning branches, and sped past towering trees. 

It wasn’t until the greenery subsided into an open area that the girl stopped her antics. The sound of the wind was soon replaced by a the soft hum of the flowing river. 

She stopped to catch her breath, then undressed to begin her shower. Before she stepped into the water, Y/n sat down on the dirty clothes so she could examine the wound that adorned her thigh. Slowly, she unwrapped the white cloth then set it off to the side; just at the bank of the river. Her hands drifted to the wound and gently felt the skin there.

Her bite had completely healed already. 

She bit her lip as she tried to think. The skin had scarred deeply and settled into  a pinkish tone that showed where the teeth marks had been. She knew that a werewolf’s period of healing was slightly faster than a human’s, so she’s going to have to cover it back up with the used wraps before she could go back to see the boys. 

Ew, that’s kinda gross. 

Ignoring her disgust, Y/n walked into the water. The sensation cooled her skin and the water lapped around her. The river was fairly calm, but the flow of the water gently pushed up against the shore before receding back down. She scrubbed her body with her hands until the area ran clear and the mud drifted down the long river. When she finished, she cleaned out her borrowed clothes from Lee. They weren’t that dirty, but she wanted to be polite as a her way of thanks. 

Soon she waded back to shore (after seeing the first few stars twinkle in the sky) and put her dress back on. The girl looked to where she had set her bandages, but her eyes only found an empty spot. 

Oh no.

She frantically searched around the bank of the river for the white, bloody pieces of cloth, but unfortunately came up empty handed. They weren’t hidden in the reeds or blown away to a near by rock. They were gone.

Y/n stood still for a moment, trying to think if she had misplaced them. No, she had left them right here at the edge of the shore, just a few feet away from the river so it wouldn’t get swept up in the wa-

Just as she thought that, the tides rushed up and touched her feet, exactly where she knew she left her wraps. 

The water had carried her bandages away. 

What was she supposed to do now? She can’t go back to the boys with her bite magically healed. They would suspect that she was a “dangerous being” or something. 

She’s going to have to see if they have an extra one that she could take without their suspicion. She’d steal it if she had to. 

And that was what riddled her mind as she walked back to their campsite. Maybe it would be too dark for them to see her scars? No, they would have a camp fire. 

Eventually, Y/n saw the orange light of their fire and paused before she hit the edge of the treeline. The two boys were sitting on rocks next to the fire while drinking tea and eating. They seemed to be having a light and happy conversation between them. 

Okay, good moods = good reactions. 

Here goes nothing.

Y/n walked over to Lee and Mushi; both of them looking up to greet her. They both had a smile on their faces that met their eyes. It was good to see Lee so happy. 

Lee looked at the pile of wet clothes in her hands that conveniently covered her wound. “Oh, you washed my clothes. You didn’t have to.” 

He held his hands out to take the clothing. Y/n quickly passed it to him, then brought her hands back in front of her. She tried to nonchalantly cover her scar, but it seemed like Lee noticed it anyways. 

“Do you need some new bandages?” He asked, standing up straight. “I can help you put them on. Let me go get them.”

He walked over to his bag and ruffled through it until he pulled out the clean wraps. When he returned, Lee looked as though he was looking for a place for the girl to sit. Instead, she raised one hand up to politely decline him. 

“Really, Lee, it’s fine. I can do it myself.” She tried to reach out for the wrap with the hand that didn’t cover her leg, but he pulled the item back. 

“There is no reason to cover up your wound, Y/n!” Mushi laughed. “It can’t be any worse than what we saw yesterday.” 

Y/n forced a laugh out when she looked at the old man, but unfortunately for her, Lee saw this moment to catch her off guard and grab both her hands. He had planned to pull her down to sit on the large rock, but paused when his eyes met her leg. 

Lee instantly gasped and let go of her.

Y/n slowly backed away in fear of his reaction with wide eyes. 

“U-uhh, I c-can explain,” she said defensively and she raised her hands up in a surrender. 

Once his eyes saw what the cause of the commotion was, Mushi rose from his position and stared at the girl with a confused look. Lee, on the other hand, had drawn two swords out of nowhere and was threatening her with it. 

“Why is your leg healed already? What are you?” He yelled. 

Y/n was a few feet away from him and was still racking her brain for an answer to his question. Should she just confess everything right now? And put her people at risk? Was her life really worth the safety of her town; the people that betrayed her? 

She decided that now was not the time to let everything out and took a step toward Lee, her plan being to calm him before he decided to kill her.

“Lee, listen to me. I’m not-” 

Her words and steps were interrupted by one of the boy’s swords sweeping out, a line of... fire shooting out?! 

Y/n jumped back quickly and barely dodged the lick of the flames.

H-how is he...? Did he just...?

Before she could think much of it, Mushi had shaken off the shock and ran towards Lee.

“Zuko! Stop!” The old man warned. He grasped one of Lee’s arms to stop him from harming the girl.

The young boy grunted while sweeping out the arm that was yet to be captured and another shot of heat spread from it. It tried to reach her again, so instead of jumping back, she ran toward the forest in a complete sprint, ignoring the calls of Mushi behind her. 

She was completely hidden in the trees and bushes before she decided to look back. Her eyes focused on the two males that couldn’t see her and saw that they were arguing quietly... well sorta quietly. Mushi was whisper yelling while Lee was quite loud. 

Lee’s words of mistrust leaked from his mouth and flooded her area. Could he really feel that way? She had thought that they were becoming friends, but it turned out she was wrong .

Y/n’s heart still felt like it was beating out of her chest. 

What was she supposed to do now? Why did fire come out of his hands? Will they try to kill her? Mushi wouldn’t let that happen, right? Lee was such a wildcard, though, so who knows what could happen. 

So much things were happening in such a short period of time. Just yesterday she had been shamed and banished from her pack, marked with a bite that will show her embarrassment for all time. And today she relished in the care of Lee and Mushi before they, too, turned on her. Maybe she should start taking that “lone wolf” phrase more seriously. 

But leaving now was so hard. She didn’t know where the next town was and she didn’t know anyone nearby. Once again, she was faced with the torment of being an outcast. 

It was way too dark to travel, so the lonely wolf girl laid on the softest part of the ground; the two men never leaving her line of sight in case they moved too close. 

Perhaps hours had passed, but soon enough the girl’s exhaustion caught up with her and she succumbed to the patient whispers of her dreams. 

___

“Shut up Ayano!” Y/n whispered as the two of them made it out of their den, past the sleeping wolves. 

They were lucky to even have made it this far; most of the pack had gone out for a long days hunt and were exhausted. Since it was so late into the night, everyone was deep in their sleep. 

Her sister giggled once more into the palm of her hand. She always loved the thrill of sneaking out, didn’t she?

Soon enough, the sisters made it deep into the forest to find their meeting spot. It was a large rock that curved inward and up toward the bright moon. Ayano and Y/n ran to the side of it and began to dig with their hands into the soft dirt; their palms becoming increasingly dirty until their hands met a large leather bag. They opened the bag to retrieve it’s contents, but paused when they heard a low growl. 

The girls looked around worriedly; scared that they had been caught in the act of leaving. The punishment would be severe, especially with their family’s high ranking. Three sets of glowing red eyes appeared behind the bushes and they challenged the sisters. The girls knew better however and stood statue-like. 

Then, the hiding wolves pounced on the two girls and Y/n gasped in surprise. Ayano was tackled harshly to the ground, the impact leaving a bruise on her human skin, no doubt. She let out a small scream and tried to get away from the large animal above her. 

The night was dark, but even the white streak of fur that lined the back of the angry wolf couldn’t be hidden. Y/n scoffed.

“Binu, get off of her.” 

The wolf’s red eyes looked over to where you were standing and bared its teeth in a growl. Eventually, the noise morphed into an obnoxious laugh as the boy changed into his human body.

“We really got you guys, didn’t we?” Binu rolled off of his sister and helped her up. 

Ayano angrily wiped at her body to removed the dirt; she had spent an hour cleaning herself at the pond earlier. 

“You guys are so stupid, what if an Elder heard us and we all would be punished because of your idiotic games.” The girl mumbled. 

The two other boys shifted into their bodies as well. The three of them were the sister’s brothers: Binu, Fen, and Shong. They were all technically twins (or whatever you call a set of five), as they were born at the same time from the same mother. 

“I told them the same thing, Ayano!” Fen whispered while he looked around in fear of someone watching. “I don’t even think we should go out tonight, we should stay here and get ready for the trials tomorrow.” 

Shong pushed his brother to the side and walked over to the leather bag that the girls had dug out before. “Quit being such an ass-kisser, Fen. It’s not like we have anything to worry about anyways. Our plan is fool proof.” 

He opened the bag and threw everyone their clothes. The siblings quickly got dressed in their brown and green attire. 

“Are we ready?” Shong asked. 

The group nodded and started on their journey to the human town a couple of miles away. Binu had overheard that a festival was occurring that night in the village; the cause of the celebration was unknown, but the five of them just adored the liveliness of the humans. They always got so much happier at night when the music was playing and the lanterns were out. 

They eventually made it to the town and heard the soft beating of a drum accompanying the laughter of the citizens. 

Thump... Thump... Thump...

___

Thump... Thump... Thump...

Y/n’s eyes shot open from her dream. That noise was not just in her head.

She slowly got up from her position on the floor and rubbed the sleepiness from her eyes. The sun was barely peaking out from the eastern mountains; it must be morning. The boys were laying in their bed rolls fast asleep, but they probably wouldn’t even hear anything if they were awake.

Y/n strained her ears to listen again for the beating noise. It sounded like a pack of big, four legged animals. The way they ran sounded different than wolves and it seemed like they were half a mile away... okay now way less than that. 

They’re so fast and they’re coming in this direction!

She was going to jump out and wake them up (even despite their large fight last night, she didn’t want them trampled), but then she head human voices near the animals. They must be tamed animals then.

So Y/n decided to wait in her spot at the edge of the trees to see if the boys were going to react in any way. They were certainly cautious when she first met them. 

The animals had finally made it to the boy’s camp and the girl looked around the trees to see them. 

They were five huge... lizard things? They didn’t seem too dangerous, but the men riding them looked like they would kill someone. They were decked out in black and red clothing and made a tight circle around the sleeping men.

Lee and Mushi’s ostrich-horse began to get antsy at it’s post. The squawks of the bird aroused the men from their sleep and they finally noticed the group around them. They jumped up and held their hands in the same position that had threatened her with. 

Maybe that’s how they fight, or it could be that weird flame thing from last night.

The two men were clearly outnumbered. Even if they could fight well, it seemed like the group around them were warriors of some kind. If it came down to it, Y/n would help them without hesitation. 

After a tense moment of glaring, Mushi lowered his arms and placed a hand on Lee's shoulder. The younger boy didn't lower his guard, glanced around at his uncle. 

"Colonel Mongke!" Mushi smiled. "What a pleasant surprise!"

The man who spoke next, presumably Colonel Mongke, had three large feathers poking out the top of his head. His face was long and a gold nose ring adorned it. 

"If you're surprised we're here, then the Dragon of the West has lost a few steps."

Then, he and his group began displaying their weapons; clashing gauntlets, swinging swords, and aiming bows. 

A show of power, huh?

Y/n had seen this many times before when she was with her pack; animals would demonstrate their deadliest trait to scare their opponents. This challenge of strength caused the girl to release a low growl. 

Wow, didn't know I could do that as a human. 

This was really getting serious. Y/n began removing her clothes and throwing them into a pile on the floor. If she was going to change, then she didn't want to ruin her brand new dress. 

"You know these guys?" Lee spoke as the group's flaunting finished. 

"Sure, Colonel Mongke and the Rough Rhinos are legendary. Each one is a different kind of weapon specialist." Mushi looked around to each person. "They are also a very capable singing group."

Y/n let out a laugh, of course he would find something to joke about now. 

"We're not here to give a concert." Mongke snarled, "We're here to apprehend fugitives!"

Fugitives?

Mushi rubbed at his arm. "Would you like some tea first? I'd love some. How about you, Kahchi? I make you as a jasmine man. Am I right?"

"Enough stalling! Round 'em up!"

Those words were a good enough cue for Y/n to join in as well. As the first sounds of battle began to ring out, the girl began her transformation. 

She could feel her bones stretch, her fur growing out of her skin, her teeth elongating. It used to be such a painful experience, but she grew numb to the feelings already. Being in her natural fur could only be described as freedom. 

The girl knew exactly how she looked to everyone; her fur was as black as the night sky and her eyes matched. It was the one thing that separated her from her siblings, their eyes being a fiery red while hers blended with darkness. It's why she was always the best hunter. 

But here in the daylight, she probably looked like a hound straight from the shadows of the spirit world. To humans, she was probably otherworldly. 

Y/n jumped out of her hiding spot and attacked the first red man she saw. He had an arrow docked on his bow that was aimed straight at Lee and was about to release it, but the girl's claws reached him first. She tackled him off his saddle and bared her teeth at him. 

No, I can't kill them. Not in front of Lee and Mushi. 

Instead of doing the harm she wanted, the girl used her paw to push him away like a rag doll. The fear of dying was enough for him to jump on his lizard-animal and ride away in the direction they came. 

Y/n looked around to see that everyone had stopped to look at her. They had probably never seen a creature like her. 

Mushi took this opportunity to wrap the chain of one of the men's weapons around the leg of a nearby steed and sent the lizard running, efficiently ridding the battle of another opponent. 

Lee fought with the Colonel, but the man stopped attacking when he saw Y/n beginning to approach his other two members. 

Mongke yelled at his men to retreat before smirking at Lee and Mushi. 

"I'll just let nature finish the two of you off."

He quickly rode off with the rest of his group and left the trio alone. 

Mushi and Lee looked at you with fear, determination, and confusion written across their faces. The younger boy looked as though he was getting ready to strike her; as if she was some wild animal that needed to be tamed. 

Alright, let's stop this before they try to kill me. 

Y/n began to shrink back down to her human form; her bones reduced in size, her fur and claws retracted into her skin. Slowly, the girl returned to be the person Lee and Mushi had helped before. 

Mushi's eyes widened in disbelief, "Oh my."

Lee had the same look decorating his face. It was as if he wanted to speak, but the only words that left his mouth were stutters of random letters. 

Y/n was kneeling on the dirt floor and stood as the boys processed her. She looked at their faces to gauge their reactions, but was left confused when Mushi looked to the side and Lee froze with a red face. She followed the boy's gaze until it landed on her very naked body. 

Oh, spirits...

Y/n quickly used her arms to cover as much as she could and ran back into the forest. 

"W-wait! Come back!" Lee shouted after her. 

She was kind of flattered that he tried to stop her from leaving. It was the only thing that littered her mind as she gathered her clothing and put them back on with a smile. This might mean that they've changed their minds about her. 

After she was dressed appropriately, Y/n took a deep breath and stepped out of her cover into the duo's line of sight. They looked relieved to see that she hadn't run away. 

"I think we have a lot to talk about," she said, wringing both hands in front of her in an almost shy manner. 

This is going to be a long conversation. 

___

That was about 4,000 words, phew. 

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Masterlist

Taglist: @bucky-blogs @hopefuloperaangelnerd @simplyfandomish @oddlypointlessescapes ((Sorry the tag didn’t work!))

#zuko #zuko x reader #atla

[mikauzoran]

Marichat/Adrienette/Adrichat: Serendipity: Fifty Marichat and Adrienette Kisses: Kiss Twenty-Three

Read it on AO3: Serendipity: Fifty Marichat and Adrienette Kisses: ...as a lie.

Three-way calls were really difficult when you were two out of the three participants.

Adrien had learned this the hard way when, a week into dating both Chat and Adrien, Marinette had thought it a good idea for all three of them to talk. Regularly.

It was a headache.

He had to switch back and forth between Adrien’s phone and Chat Noir’s communicator, muting and unmuting the lines as he went so that there wasn’t an echo that would give him away.

It was kind of fun roleplaying both Chat Noir and Adrien, though, creating a relationship between them, coming up with pet names and inside jokes, deciding what their dynamic would be, how they interacted with one another.

Flirting with himself was a little awkward at first, but he was a good actor and quickly adapted to his dual roles.

The hardest part was making sure that the right guy responded on the correct phone line. It was such a pain when Adrien and Chat Noir had to talk to one another, and he was kind of worried that he was going to get busted because his voice sounded the same.

Little did Adrien know that three-way calls were only the beginning of his nightmare trip through the land of identity porn.

The three of them had been dating going on three weeks when, one night, Marinette had an idea: “We should hang out sometime. As a couple.”

Adrien blinked at his phones, debating whom he should make field that comment.

“Whom do you mean, Princess?” Chat Noir inquired.

“Haven’t both of us been spending pretty much time with you lately?” Adrien added.

Marinette chuckled as if she thought he were being silly. “Well, yeah. I meant…you know. The three of us.”

“The three of us,” Adrien repeated, brain stalling.

“Yeah. I mean, we are all three dating, so…I was thinking we should spend some time together as a couple.” She said it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Adrien had a thing about being fatally oblivious.

“Right,” Chat Noir laughed, managing to sound halfway normal and not like he was internally panicking. “Of course. That would be great. I’d love to have my two favourite people together at the same time.”

“Yeah,” Adrien chimed in, trying to sound enthusiastic. “Cuddling with the both of you would be epic. It might be a little hard to find time in our schedules, though. Chat Noir and I are both kind of overscheduled. We see each other mainly at night when we’re supposed to be asleep, but your parents’ ‘no boys in the bedroom after midnight’ rule would get in the way.”

“Pretty Boy and I will compare schedules and get back to you with possible dates,” Chat promised.

“Okay. Sounds like a plan,” Marinette agreed, the excitement painfully evident in her voice. “I’m really looking forward to this,” she giggled.

Adrien’s plan to not be able to find a date and time that worked immediately crumpled and burst into flames.

He was going to have to come up with some way to be in two places at once…or, rather, the same place twice, because he couldn’t disappoint his girlfriend.

“Sorry, guys. I’ve got to go feed Plagg. I’ll talk to you later?” Chat wrapped up the conversation early, too distracted to continue.

He worried he might slip and speak as Chat from Adrien’s phone or something while in his current state.

“That’s okay,” Adrien replied. “I actually have to go work on Chinese homework anyway. I’ll talk to you soon. Love you guys.”

“Love you both too,” Marinette responded, a big, warm smile still in her voice.

Adrien hung up, detransformed, and slumped back against his bathroom counter.

“You are so screwed,” Plagg snickered, phasing through the door out into the rest of Adrien’s room.

Adrien sighed. “Maybe, but I’m at least going to try.”

He would do anything to keep from letting his girlfriend down.

 Chat Noir awkwardly cleared his throat.

Ladybug arched an eyebrow worriedly. “Is everything okay, Chaton? You said you had something urgent you needed to talk to me about?”

It had taken him a week to come up with this plan and convince himself to try to put it into action. Now, as he sat next to Ladybug on the roof of Sainte Chapelle, what had seemed like a genius, foolproof plan before was starting to feel ridiculous and untenable.

He took a deep inhale. “So…” he began but then chickened out, looking away.

“Chat Noir, you’re scaring me. What’s wrong?” she demanded.

“Are you still militantly against people finding out our identities?” he finally spit out.

She blinked then nodded. “Absolutely. We don’t know what lengths Papillon is willing to go to. It’s essential to keep our identities safe, Chat Noir. You can’t tell anyone, no matter how much you might trust them.”

He blew out a breath. “Okay. So, here’s the deal. My identity is on the verge of being discovered. If you don’t want that to happen, I have a plan I need your help with.”

She nodded eagerly. “Of course. I’m in. Just tell me what you need me to do, Chat Noir.”

“You’re not going to like it,” he cautioned.

Ladybug rolled her eyes. “I’ll get over it. I’m willing to do anything to keep you safe, so just tell me.”

“Someone is very close to figuring out my identity,” Chat reiterated. “It’s someone close to me, someone who knows both of me, and in order to throw them off, I need them to see both of me together.”

Ladybug nodded, remembering her trick with Multimouse. “And what’s your plan to make that happen?”

He gulped, looking her in the eye with a pleading expression. “I need to borrow the Fox Miraculous. Long term. I don’t know how long this will go on, but I might need to borrow Trixx for weeks or months even.”

She opened her mouth to protest, but he cut her off.

“I know. It’s dangerous to have the Miraculouses out in the world right now. Papillon could do a lot of damage with the Fox Miraculous in particular, but…you trust me don’t you?”

His eyes bored into hers, and she couldn’t respond. How could she argue when he played the trust card? Of course she trusted him. She trusted him with her life, her heart, her everything.

“I’ve kept Plagg safe all these years. I would keep Trixx safe too,” he pressed. “If we ever needed Rena Rouge for a fight, it would be just as easy for me to go give the Miraculous to Alya and collect it from her afterwards as it is for you to go get the Miraculous and give it to her. It would be faster even because I would already have the Fox Miraculous on me.”

She pressed her lips into a thin line of disapproval. She wanted to tell him why this was a horrible idea, but she couldn’t come up with an argument that held water.

Seeing her hesitation, he went in for the kill. “I mean, I trust you to keep all of the Miraculouses safe without question…maybe you could trust me to protect this one?”

Ladybug sighed sulkily, grumbling, “I don’t like this.”

“I told you you wouldn’t,” Chat snickered.

She shook her head, fixing him with an intent gaze. “Chat Noir, you know I trust you, right? This isn’t about trust.”

He nodded, a sympathetic smile curling up the edges of his lips. “It’s about you not liking to give up control.”

His words were like a physical blow, and she was struck by how right he was.

“I get that,” he continued gently. “Everything is always chaos around you, so you do everything you can to exercise control over everything that you can. I understand, My Lady. I really do. My girlfriend is like that too, and I get that it’s not about me…. So, it’s your call, Guardian.”

Ladybug tensed as she was forced to confront a truth about herself that she wasn’t sure she liked. Was she really that much of a control freak as both Marinette and Ladybug?

She took a long, slow inhale and blew it out. “Wait here,” she instructed, opening the interdimensional pocket inside her yoyo and pulling out the Horse Miraculous.

She slipped on the glasses, combined Kaalki with Tikki, and opened up a portal.

“I’ll be back with the Fox Miraculous in just a minute,” she assured with a smile.

 Adrien took a week to test the bounds of how long he could sustain the Mirage and to practice coordinating his eight limbs. Once he felt like he had things under control, he scheduled a Saturday night date at Marinette’s with both Chat Noir and Adrien in attendance.

“Show time,” Chat whispered, back pressed against the little wall of chimneys abutting Marinette’s balcony. “Mirage.”

Adrien appeared, looking like he’d just stepped out of a photoshoot in tight, tan corduroy pants and a wine-red cardigan that made the green of his eyes sizzle.

He looked at Chat Noir and shook his head, chuckling, “I can’t believe I’m doing this.”

Chat gave a snort. “You and me both.”

“Anything to make our girlfriend happy.” Adrien shrugged helplessly.

Chat winced. “When she finds out, she’s going to be livid…and disgusted by how dumb we are.”

Adrien cringed. “I can just imagine her annoyed face as she flatly demands what we were thinking.”

“Oh well,” Chat sighed, scooping Adrien up into a bridal carry. “We’ll deal with that hurdle when we get there.”

Adrien held on tight, arms encircling Chat’s neck as the superhero jumped up and over the wall, doing a backflip into a ten-point landing on Marinette’s balcony railing.

Unfortunately, Chat’s tail nicked one of the flowerpots, sending it to its doom and getting dirt and azaleas all over Marinette’s balcony.

“Darn,” Adrien and Chat muttered in tandem.

Marinette’s head popped up through the skylight, and both boys smiled sheepishly.

“Sorry! It was an accident,” they explained in stereo.

Marinette rolled her eyes. “Trying to show off for your boyfriend, Minou?”

Chat gulped. “Sorry. He’s pretty, and I want him to think I’m cool. I’ll buy you new azaleas and a new pot too. A better pot.”

“Deal,” Marinette agreed with a grin that revealed how little the broken flowerpot bothered her. “I’ll clean it up tomorrow, so don’t worry about it. Hurry up and get down here.”

“Can’t argue with that,” Adrien snickered. “Let’s go.”

With a nod, Chat Noir followed their girlfriend down into her room and carefully deposited Adrien onto the bed.

“There you go, Pretty Boy. I trust your journey was pleasant,” Chat flirted, laying it on thick for Marinette’s sake as he nuzzled Adrien’s ear.

“I will never get tired of travelling by rooftop,” Adrien informed Marinette in exhilaration before turning to Chat Noir and smiling sweetly. “Thanks, Nyan-chan. You’re my hero.”

He leaned in and gently pressed his lips to Chat’s.

It had taken some practice to get the coordination down to be able to make out with himself (Plagg had teased mercilessly and laughed until he cried), but Adrien and Chat were now able to kiss seamlessly without any awkward bumping of heads, unintentionally bitten lips, or injured noses.

Marinette’s eyes widened.

Up until that point, she’d been a little jealous of how in sync Adrien and Chat seemed, but watching them kiss was… She could definitely watch them kiss for a substantial amount of time. Maybe it was a good thing that she’d agreed to share them with one another.

Chat and Adrien’s lips unlocked, and then Adrien was smiling lovingly at Marinette. “I think he deserves a reward. He rescued me from the tower where my evil stepmother was keeping me prisoner. Don’t rescuers usually get to live happily ever after with the princess?”

Marinette gave a half-snorted laugh. “Nathalie isn’t your stepmother, and it’s your father who’s keeping you locked up…. Are you the princess or is that me?” she added curiously.

Adrien’s innocent smile morphed into a cat-like smirk, and he reached out to pull her down on top of him. “Both of us,” he tittered against her skin before pressing his mouth to hers.

Chat Noir joined in, and soon they were a jumble of lips and limbs, rumpled clothing and tussled hair, love bites and swollen lips.

Twenty minutes later found them a breathless heap. Chat’s gloves, Marinette’s sweater, and Adrien’s cardigan had all been discarded, and the trio basked in the skin-on-skin warmth.

“This…was a great idea,” Marinette giggled, pulling her loose hair ties the rest of the way out and tossing them to the floor with their clothing items. “Group make-out sessions need to become a regular thing.”

“That could be arranged,” Chat Noir snickered, nuzzling and nipping at Marinette’s bare shoulder.

Adrien buried his face further into the crook of Marinette’s neck, giving her throat a kiss. “Anything to make you happy, Ohime-sama.”

Chat gave a snort. “You say that like she’s the only one enjoying this. You’re blissed out of your mind right now.”

“Because her fingers are magic,” Adrien moaned as Marinette continued rubbing gentle circles along his scalp. He was on the verge of purring his head off.

“I’m just happy that, for once, I’m not the only one getting worked up,” Marinette laughed, giving Chat Noir’s hair a pet too so that he wouldn’t feel left out.

Chat blinked, lifting his head to inspect the doppelgänger for signs of arousal. It was kind of hard to tell with Adrien’s pelvis pressed up against Marinette’s thigh, but…

In general, Chat was in direct control over the Mirage. It wasn’t like when Rena had used her powers to create insubstantial illusions. The Adrien Mirage was solid and took quite a bit more concentration to maintain. When Chat’s focus wavered (like when he was distracted by making out with his amazing girlfriend), the Mirage continued to operate on its own, sometimes in ways that Chat didn’t necessarily intend…like, apparently, by getting hard.

“Oh?” Adrien hummed, giving Marinette’s neck a lick. “You like it when I go to pieces?”

“Exceedingly so,” she giggled, pressing against him and, inadvertently, away from Chat.

Chat who was suddenly feeling insecure because he was very much not hard, and this was going to be a huge issue in their relationship.

He watched as Marinette and Adrien kissed and wondered if he could keep her happy with the Mirage. If he couldn’t meet her needs himself, maybe she’d work with him. Maybe it would be enough that he loved her. Maybe he would be enough and she wouldn’t leave him for a man who could make love to her as often as she wanted.

Suddenly, Marinette was kissing him, fingers snaking through his hair and massaging his cat ears. “What are you thinking about, Minou?” she whispered against his lips.

“That I can’t make you happy. That this isn’t going to work. That I’m going to lose you and it’s going to kill me.”

“That I’m not good enough,” he replied in a small, scared voice.

“My Love,” she cooed, eyes dark and full of desire. “No. Not at all.” She sighed and shook her head. “I wish you could see yourself the way I do. I wish you could see how amazing you are.”

He smiled sadly. “Sorry. Self-esteem issues.”

“I can relate,” Adrien hummed, carefully climbing over Marinette and Chat to snuggle up against Chat Noir’s other side.

This was a little surprising because Chat hadn’t told the Mirage to do that.

Still, it was nice to have another warm body at his back, wrapping his arms around Chat protectively.

“It’s okay, Minou,” Marinette soothed, lightly caressing his cheek. “Let us love on you, and we’ll see if you feel better afterwards.”

“What if I don’t?” Chat laughed a little as Marinette’s lips tickled his throat.

“Then we’ll love on you until you do,” Adrien informed with a mischievous smirk, tugging down Chat’s bell to unzip the suit and gain access to more real estate.

As he let his eyes slip closed and lost himself in the blur of lips and hands, Chat noted that the warmth and weight of another body against his really was incredibly comforting. It might be beneficial to bring out his doppelgänger to snuggle after a rough day when Adrien needed a hug more than anything but couldn’t escape to seek solace in his friends or girlfriend.

“Feeling better?” Marinette giggled once some time had passed and their kisses grew languid.

“Actually, yes,” Chat purred, giving Marinette’s jaw a fond nip.

“Don’t move,” Adrien pouted against the skin of Chat’s back between his shoulder blades. “I’m not done marking you with my initials.”

Chat’s eyes suddenly flew wide. “Oh, crap. Marks!” he squeaked.

Marinette arched an eyebrow. “What about them? I don’t think they’ll give your identity away; lots of people have hickeys, and the ones we left on you aren’t particularly unique. I mean, besides Adrien’s initials, so maybe don’t go around taking your shirt off, but…”

“No,” Chat groaned turning to Adrien (ruining his masterpiece). “Photoshoots.”

Adrien’s lips rounded into an “o” of understanding. “Shoot. I guess this is what concealer is for?”

Chat clicked his tongue. “Yeah, and you’re going to need a bucket full of the stuff. Your father is going to kill you.”

“Not if my superhero boyfriend saves me.” Adrien smiled innocently, playfully batting his eyelashes.

Chat rolled his eyes with a grimace. “Your superhero boyfriend is going to be busy being murdered by his own controlling father.”

Adrien bit his lip. “So…I guess it’s up to Marinette to save us.”

Chat smirked. “I think we’re in good hands.”

“Not at the moment,” Marinette snorted, rolling onto her back. “I don’t expect my beautiful ace boys to understand, but making out with smoking hot guys is thirsty work, so I wouldn’t trust me with any part of you, least of all your virtue, right now.”

Adrien quirked an eyebrow. “…Is ‘thirsty’ a euphemism?”

Chat shrugged. “I think so, but keep in mind that I’m a sheltered baby too.”

Marinette sat up, shaking her head. “Oh, my sweet dorks. Yes. …Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go refresh myself.” She paused and looked at them tentatively. “…Unless you guys feel comfortable going a little further tonight?”

Adrien and Chat turned to look at one another, a flicker of horrified panic shooting across their faces before they could get their emotions under control enough to put on identical people-pleasing smiles.

Adrien nodded as Chat replied, “Sure. If you want to. I mean, we’d be happy to try, if that would make you happy.”

Marinette’s tentative expression scrunched up into a scrutinizing frown. “Guys. Don’t. Seriously.”

The boys blinked in tandem, sharing a look before turning back to Marinette in confusion.

“Don’t…what?” Adrien inquired cautiously, afraid that he’d messed up and ruined everything.

She shook her head, reaching out to cup Chat’s cheek with her left hand and Adrien’s with her right. She took turns looking them each in the eye. “Don’t ever force yourselves to do something you’re not comfortable with. Please, please, please. I know you guys think it’ll make me happy, but it won’t. If I find out later that you pushed yourselves for my sake, I’m going to feel awful.”

“Oh,” they breathed in sync, shoulders slumping.

“I need to be able to trust you two when you say you’re okay with doing stuff,” she explained patiently, leaning in to give them both a bolstering kiss. “Just tell me the truth. I promise I won’t get mad if you’re not comfortable doing something.”

“Okay,” Adrien agreed as Chat nodded in accord. “Sorry. We—”

“—It’s okay,” Marinette cut him off. “No apologies necessary. I get it. You two meant well, but…”

“…Okay,” Chat sighed, resigning himself to being as honest as possible…and losing her because of it.

Marinette pinched his cat ear. “No feeling bad about yourselves. You’re not disappointing me or not good enough or whatever other negative thoughts are going through your heads.” She gave Adrien a pointed look. “I love you both, and I want to make this work just like I know you guys want to make this work. We’re just going to have to be patient with each other and ourselves, okay?”

“Okay,” they chorused, smiling tentatively.

She leaned in to kiss each of them. “Those are my boys.”

“That’s our girl,” they chuckled in return, Chat nuzzling her ear while Adrien leaned across Chat to kiss Marinette’s nose.

“Thank you,” Chat whispered breathily, touched at her willingness to put her own needs aside for his.

“Of course,” she stressed. “I love you two.”

“And we love you,” Adrien replied, and Chat nodded vehemently. “It means a lot that you’re backing up your words with actions.”

Chat smiled wistfully. “We get told that people love us a lot, but you’re one of the only ones who’s proven it.”

“My boys,” Marinette whispered, a deep sadness in her tone. She wrapped an arm around each and pulled them into a tight hug. “I don’t know that I’ve done a good job of proving it. I feel like I have so much to make up to the both of you…but I’m trying.”

“We appreciate it,” Adrien assured.

They slowly separated, burgeoning smiles on their lips at the sense of serenity surrounding them.

“Okay,” Marinette sighed. “I’ll be in the bathroom just off the kitchen freshening up. I’ll be back in, like, ten minutes, so don’t get into trouble while I’m gone.”

“I’ll make sure he doesn’t knock things off ledges or terrorize your yarn collection,” Adrien promised.

Chat gave his double a solid fwap on the arm. “And I’ll make sure he doesn’t take his clothes off and start posing on anything.”

Adrien gave Chat a dirty look. “I don’t even like modeling.”

“And I don’t like destroying everything I touch,” Chat snapped back.

“Okay. Time out,” Marinette decreed, making a T with her hands. “Why don’t you two just continue making out while I’m gone, and then, when I get back, we can snuggle and watch a movie?”

Adrien and Chat shared a look before answering, “Deal,” in sync.

 As soon as he heard the bathroom door on the floor below close behind Marinette, Chat Noir let the transformation drop.

Adrien slumped back against Marinette’s giant cat pillow and sighed.

“I’m exhausted,” he muttered, fishing out two carrot sticks for Trixx and a hunk of Camembert for Plagg, despite the fact that Trixx was the only one doing any work.

“Mentally or physically exhausted?” Plagg snickered. “Making out looks strenuous. Or were you talking about the mental effort of convincing your girlfriend that you’re two different people?”

“Both,” Adrien groaned, throwing an arm over his face. “Leave me alone. I’m just trying to make the woman I love happy.”

“You should tell her the truth,” Trixx advised neutrally as he munched on his carrots. “I mean, I understand why you haven’t, but…this is more than a little bit ridiculous.”

“If Tikki were here, she’d scold you for using the Fox Miraculous for personal gain,” Plagg added in amusement, as if he knew something Adrien didn’t.

“Is it really personal gain when I’d rather reveal my identity to my girlfriend and go on dates like other couples?” Adrien grumbled sullenly.

“He has a point,” Trixx allowed with a shrug. “This charade is only prolonging his suffering.”

Plagg looked at his tired kitten, and the amusement left his eyes. “…The fox has a point, Kid. Maybe you need to tell her before this goes on much longer.”

Adrien shrugged. “She refuses to know my identity, and she’s got valid reasons. Knowing very well could put her and the people she loves in danger. She’s afraid, and she has every right to be. This secret is a huge burden, and I can’t just force it upon her against her will just because it will make my life easier. How selfish would it be of me to do that to her?”

The kwamis fell silent.

 When Marinette returned, Adrien and Chat Noir had straightened their clothing and were cuddled up together on top of the covers, Chat purring softly as Adrien petted his hair.

Marinette grabbed her laptop and joined them, and they all snuggled up to watch Porco Rosso.

 The next Saturday, Adrien, Chat, and Marinette met for making out, Chinese food, and video games.

Somehow, Adrien neglected to factor in Adrien and Chat Noir having to play against one another, so video games were a bit of a clown fiesta. Marinette had fun laughing and making fun of how bad and uncoordinated Chat and Adrien were, though, so that was a plus.

The boys even joined in the laughter when Marinette cackled so hard that she rolled off the couch and landed roughly on the floor.

The resulting crash brought Sabine up to check on them, and when she caught sight of Adrien and Chat Noir together on the couch, she blinked rapidly, rubbed her eyes, and gawked.

Adrien and Chat grimaced, waving to their (hopefully) future mother-in-law and greeting her in Mandarin.

“How are there two of you?” she returned bluntly, confirming that, yes, Sabine did know.

Marinette stopped laughing and sat up to look interrogatively back and forth between her mother and her boyfriends.

She understood the demanding tone and the fact that Sabine had asked a question, even though she didn’t understand all of the words. She guessed that her mother had asked what the two of them were doing there and answered in French, “Maman, I told you I was having friends over. You said it was okay.”

“It is, Sweetie,” Sabine assured with a warm smile. “I just didn’t know it was Chat Noir and Adrien you had invited.”

“I can explain,” Adrien quickly replied in Mandarin, making Marinette frown.

“It’s magic,” Chat joined in. “I swear this is necessary to protect my identity.”

“It’s complicated,” Adrien sighed. “Please, please, please don’t say anything.”

Sabine pursed her lips but eventually nodded. “All right,” she responded in French. “You kids have fun. I’ll be downstairs if you need anything.”

As her mother left, Marinette’s frown intensified. “I need to learn Chinese. What were you talking about?”

“Uuuuhhh…” Chat’s brain stalled out.

“Your mother was making sure our intentions were noble,” Adrien jumped in.

Chat really hated the moments when he lost control of the Mirage’s mouth.

“Her daughter’s alone with a leather-clad catboy and a male supermodel; any mother would be concerned,” Adrien explained in a tone approximating that of a reasonable person, thus cementing Chat’s desire to smoother his doppelgänger with the Dupain-Chengs’ tastefully-designed couch cushions.

Marinette burst out laughing again. “Right,” she snorted. “Maybe any mother who didn’t personally know you two dorks.”

Chat turned to Adrien with a hurt pout. “She doesn’t think we’re a threat.”

Adrien smirked. “She will regret underestimating us when we pin her down and tickle her.”

A wide grin slowly took form on Chat’s face. “Have I told you how much I love you lately?”

“Okay!” Marinette sprang to her feet and retreated to the kitchen. “Well, now that that’s settled, why don’t I get a start on those maraschino cherry sugar cookies while you two keep sucking at video games?”

Adrien and Chat Noir stared at Marinette. Slowly, their heads turned, and they shared a look.

“I mean…cookies,” Chat whispered.

Adrien nodded. “We can always pin her down and tickle her later. Cookies are more important.”

Chadrien turned back to Marinette with twin grins and chorused, “Sounds good!”

Marinette’s brow gradually scrunched into a frown of suspicion. “You guys aren’t…like…related or something, are you? I promise I’m not going to judge your incestuous queerplatonic relationship or anything.”

The boys laughed nervously.

“I mean…I already told you about my brother Félix,” Adrien reminded. “Don’t you think having more than one secret brother is a little much?”

“Obviously, we’re the same person,” Chat added jovially, very much wanting the lying to be over with already.

Marinette’s eyes narrowed, her brow crinkling as she really looked at them for a minute.

Adrichat held their breath.

For a second, he really thought she was going to call him on it…but then the moment passed, the look of suspicion faded, and she laughed, rolling her eyes.

“You two are ridiculous,” she snorted. “Fine. Don’t tell me you’re secretly cousins or whatever. I’ll find out someday after Papillon is defeated. Go back to self-destructing at Ultimate Mecha Strike.”

Adrien and Chat sighed in unison, turning back around on the couch to resume their doomed game.

In their defence, it was really hard to keep straight which set of fingers controlled which mech on screen. This was made even harder by the fact that Chat and Adrien had the same favourite character—a fact that Marinette knew from having played with both of them separately in the past.

Add in the fact that he had to strategize for both combatants at the same time…it was like playing chess against yourself. He knew what he was going to do ahead of time, rendering his strategy useless because his opponent was literally inside his head. It went by too fast. He needed to go home and practice just like he’d done with making out. He’d get it eventually, but, as things presently stood, playing against himself took the entirety of his concentration.

Therefore, it was quite understandable that when Marinette asked, “Adrien, how many cookies do you want with cherries, and how many should I make snickerdoodle?” Chat Noir answered, “Um…maybe three of each?”

There was a beat, and then it struck Chat that he’d made a mistake. He turned to look at Marinette who was blinking at him in mild confusion.

Adrien winced and put a comforting hand on Chat’s arm. “I think she meant me.”

Chat bit his tongue to keep from saying, “Thank you, Captain Obvious”.

“Wait,” Marinette breathed. “No way.”

Chat braced for impact.

“You’re both named Adrien?” Marinette gasped.

He wanted to cry.

Adrien laughed unconvincingly. “What? No,” he denied in a manner that clearly indicated he was lying. “I mean…how ridiculous would that be?”

Chat really wanted to smoother his double just to put them all out of their misery.

“I can’t believe this,” Marinette laughed a tad hysterically, struggling to process her new reality. “What are the odds of falling in love with two guys named Adrien?!”

“Not as good as you think,” Adrichat muttered under their breath.

 That evening, Adrien collapsed onto his bed feeling tired and resigned.

Plagg and Trixx looked on in pity.

#Marichat #Adrinette #Adrienette #Adrichat #Miraculous Ladybug #Miraculous Ladybug Fanfiction #Adrien Agreste #Chat Noir #Marinette Dupain-Cheng #Plagg #Trixx #Ladybug #Kissing #Writing Prompts #Mikau's Writings #Serendipity: Fifty Marichat and Adrienette Kisses