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qlala · 3 years

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Is it cheating to submit a fic request for the pride post you just made? I neeeed the whole thing (I'm on my laptop, but insert the big gay eyes emoji)

fjskdgjslg "big gay eyes emoji" you know what? just for you. just for you i have written this. i'll clean it up and upload to ao3 later but for now: have 2.7k of len dragging a sunburnt, tipsy, and glitter-covered barry back to his apartment, and happy pride!

Len wasn’t the type to begrudge anyone a good time, especially when the good time involved loud music, leather harnesses, and throwing water bottles at cops. Central City’s annual pride parade came as close as it got to challenging that attitude; families, fellow queers, and queens descended on the city waving more flags than the United Nations after a hurricane, all decked out in color combinations that Len hadn’t been able to keep straight since the ‘80s.

The end result was the kind of crowds that could make a grown man feel claustrophobic in the middle of a city block, and that was without the visible haze of alcohol wafting off the whole event.

But what the parade lacked in personal space, it made up for with one very important commodity: unattended wallets.

The flock of sunburnt twinks in denim cut-offs made Len’s job almost too easy—a hand on a sweat-slicked lower back, a flash of blue eyes, and most of them wouldn’t have noticed their wallets going missing if Len had dangled their IDs in front of their faces afterwards. (While there were plenty of women dressed in just as little clothing whom Len certainly wouldn’t have minded getting within robbing distance of, he’d found queer women as a group to be less enthusiastic about uninvited touching and more enthusiastic about wallet chains, even when three sheets to the wind off of canned rosé.)

He’d taught a dozen visiting suburbanites the importance of not keeping valuables in their back pockets by the time he spotted a familiar profile in the crowd.

His usual red getup wasn’t much more modest than some of the outfits Len had already seen, but even knowing the shape of that body didn’t prepare Len for seeing Barry Allen stripped to the waist, bright-eyed and flushed and shimmering all over with a fine dusting of glitter. Len noted, on auto-pilot, that it didn’t seem like he’d put any of the glitter there himself; he was standing dangerously close to a drag queen throwing handfuls of the stuff on anyone who got within arm’s reach of her. It set the sun refracting off every dip and plane of muscle across Barry’s chest and stomach. Barry’s hair, already wild and dark at the roots with sweat, was full of it.

Len’s feet were carrying him closer before he gave himself permission to move. Barry managed to drag Len into his orbit at the best of times; visibly tipsy and dripping sweat, Len would’ve had better luck resisting the turning of the earth.

Up close, Len could take that Barry had lost his shirt somewhat recently; the slight touch of pink spanning his shoulders and chest had nothing on the serious flush across his cheekbones and the bridge of his nose. He had a spray of new freckles as well. They were barely distinguishable under the haze of glitter stuck to his skin, but Len noticed them at once, the change unmistakable on an otherwise unchanging face (not a scar to be seen, even after three years of running into burning buildings and jumping in front of bullets; Len was equal parts frustrated and relieved).

It looked like someone had painted a few strokes of color across one of his cheeks at some point, but it was smudged to hell and back. The back of one of Barry’s hands was stained a tell-tale matching purple, and Len could only guess at what it had been at the start of the day.

He stepped into Barry’s space as easily as he had the rest, taking care to keep Barry between him and the source of the glitter, and hesitated for the briefest moment with his hand above Barry’s spine. He’d never touched Barry like this, skin to skin; the gloves had never come off between them, metaphorically or literally. Kept things neat.

Nothing about Barry was neat right now. He turned even before Len touched him, and the movement brought Len’s hand into contact with his side instead. It took everything in Len not to pull it back in a flinch, and he met Barry’s curious glance with a tightly-controlled smirk.

He’d expected Barry to step back, maybe add a bit of blush to those already-pink cheeks. Instead, Barry’s eyes took a belated second to focus, and then he gave Len a face-splitting grin.

“Snart!”

That time, Len did have to pull backwards to avoid Barry dragging him in for a hug. To think he’d been concerned about a hand.

Barry didn’t seem the least bit put out, smiling loose and easy like Len hadn’t iced him to the door of a bank vault the last time they’d seen each other. He hadn’t taken Barry for such a cheerful drunk—he seemed inclined toward melodrama on a good day—but Len would take it over any of the alternatives.

“Barry. Fancy seeing you here. And so much of you, at that.” He let his gaze slide down his bare chest and stomach, pulse ticking up at the warm brown of his nipples and the sharp vee of his hipbones that invited his gaze further down.

“You’re overdressed,” Barry disagreed. He wasn’t quite slurring, but there was a careful deliberation in his tone that told Len it was a near thing. He took a step closer and peered at Len, suspicion evident in those pale green eyes. “And… sober.”

“I’m not here to score. Perks include keeping my shirt on.”

For the briefest second, Barry looked almost disappointed. But it was gone in a blink, confusion taking over. He glanced down at himself, puzzled. Then his expression cleared, and he looked up with another easy-going smile. “I got hot.” His gaze dropped again, to Len this time, and he licked his lips. “Aren’t you… you gotta be hot in all that.”

Len was wearing a long-sleeved shirt and thin jacket, and it hadn’t hit eighty degrees all week. But he wasn’t in the mood to argue with drunk logic. And besides, another scan of the nearby revelers had made something unpleasant begin to scratch insistently at the inside of Len’s chest, and he tapped Barry under the chin with one knuckle to bring his attention back up.

The contact startled both of them—Len’s control had slipped, something he could not afford to happen around Barry Allen—but Len recovered first. “Where’s the rest of your team of do-gooders?”

“Lost ‘em.” Judging by the return of Barry’s crooked grin, it was an accomplishment, not a concern. “Cisco said the shot was too strong, but I didn’t wanna go. He’s the d…” He faltered, brows pulling together as he frowned. “S’the designed. Designinated, superhero, anyway. Shh!”

He shot a pointer finger toward Len in a movement that Len clocked, alarmingly, as intending to be pressed to his lips, as if he were the one who’d been chatting about Vibe’s secret identity. Len had three years of dealing with the Flash to thank for being able to catch Barry’s wrist in time to stop him, and he glared at him for the attempt.

But Barry only gave him a crinkle-eyed smile and twisted his hand in Len’s grip to clasp his wrist back. “S’so good to see you here. I didn’t think…”

“Don’t tell me you had me pegged for straight.”

Barry made a frankly insulting noise halfway between a scoff and a hiccup and tilted Len a condescending look.

“Speedster, remember?” he asked, far too loudly, even for a crowd currently screaming along to a pop song that’d been bad enough the first time Len’d heard it in 2000. “I see it when you...” He let go of Len’s wrist to make a gesture with two fingers, parting them in a V and sweeping them up and down Len’s body, the muscles in his forearm shifting distractingly under Len’s hand. God, the kid had to be a hundred degrees. “When you check me out. In the suit.”

Len smirked. “It’s cute you thought I was being subtle.”

“You’re cute,” Barry muttered, childish and sulky, and Len took it for the compliment it wasn’t.

“You had a point, Barry.”

Barry still looked displeased with him, but his brow was furrowed again when he met his gaze. This close, it was impossible to ignore that Barry had an inch or so on him. “About what?”

“You didn’t think…?” Len prompted him.

Barry stared at him blankly, and Len rolled his eyes and let go of his wrist.

“Get out of the sun, Barry,” he said. “Find a park bench. Wait for your little friends to come find you. Shouldn’t be hard—you’re as red as your suit.”

Barry either ignored his last comment or didn’t hear it. “Iris is here somewhere,” he said, possibly to himself. “She’s…” He twirled his finger absently beside his head. “Curly, today. And… bikini.”

Len strongly considered abandoning Barry to his sunburn to go find out for himself. But Barry was beginning to sway a bit, and a man closer to Len’s age than Barry’s was giving Barry’s toned back a speculative look from a few feet away, and Len gave in to the unsettled feeling gnawing at his ribcage. He refused to call it worry. It was annoyance—or, at the very least, the feeling was annoying him, which was close enough.

“As much a sight for sore eyes as that would be,” he said, allowing a magnanimousness he didn’t feel to color his tone, “I doubt Miss West ran away from her group and got heatstroke. Unlike some people”

Barry didn’t look the least bit chastened, lips curving up mischievously in a way that drew another couple interested looks. Len needed to get them both out of the crowd before he started breaking noses.

“Tell you what. Give Cisco a call, tell him you went home. My bike’s on Kingsbridge, away from the parade route.”

Barry’s smirk sharpened. “Trying to get me out of here, Snart? I thought you weren’t here to score.”

Len gave him a flat look, ignoring the decidedly interested way his body was reacting to Barry’s tone.

“You can barely stand.”

Barry’s eyes glittered at the challenge, and Len realized his mistake.

“Barry—”

He hadn’t even finished biting out the second syllable when the world spun out from under him, the noise and the heat and the press of the crowd swallowed up in a hair-raising charge of yellow lightning. Exactly two and a half seconds passed in a blur of movement, just long enough for Len to realize Barry was supporting the back of his head with one too-warm hand. Then the world came skidding to a stop around them. Barry’s momentum carried them both forward several feet even after their new surroundings materialized, and they very nearly went straight through a window again before Barry seemed to remember how to stop.

Len considered pushing him out the window anyway for the stunt. True, he’d been itching to get another taste of that feeling, the ozone snap-drag of Barry’s power like a live wire under his hands, but he’d rather have waited until Barry could pass a breathalizer.

He realized Barry still had an arm around him and shoved him off. It did nothing to dim Barry’s self-satisfied grin, and Len had to look away or risk giving into the interested once-over Barry was skimming over his body again.

“Pretty sure the point of a designated driver is not doing that.”

Barry followed him when he took a step back. Len made a calculated decision, decided the risk of touching Barry again was worth it, and pressed his fingers to the middle of Barry’s chest—right where the Flash insignia would be on his suit, his brain offered unhelpfully—and pushed him backwards, hard.

Barry unbalanced and wheeled back a step. Then the backs of his knees hit the edge of the couch, and he toppled, satisfyingly, back onto the dark leather cushions.

It was a nice couch. The whole apartment was nice, actually. Len could’ve drawn a perimeter of possible locations based on Barry’s speed and how long it had taken them to reach it if he hadn’t already known the address.

“Sit,” he said. And then, with a smirk: “Stay.”

Barry rolled his eyes. “Gonna have to ask nicer than that if you wanna boss me around in bed.”

The way he threw it out there, easy as anything, almost made Len miss a step as he turned away. He wasn’t going to lay a hand on Barry, not when he was drunk on sunlight and skin and whatever concoction Cisco had apparently cooked up for him. But hearing him say it, like they’d already gotten all of the messy parts out of the way—it set off warning bells in Len’s head, flashing past all the possible off-ramps he would’ve taken if Barry had ever tried to have the conversation in a more linear fashion.

“You’re drunk,” Len said, which was a coward’s answer, and behind him, Barry made a vague noise of agreement.

“Probably,” he acknowledged. “You could stick around ‘til I’m not.”

Christ. Len didn’t trust himself to look at Barry again, not when he knew he’d find him sprawled out and shedding glitter all over what had looked like a very expensive couch. “Stay,” he repeated, and went off to find the kitchen.

By the time he got back with two glasses of water, the problem had solved itself; Barry was out cold on the couch, his painting cheek pressed to the throw pillow he’d curled himself half-around. He was shivering faintly in the air conditioning, all cooled sweat and goosebumps, and Len resigned himself to the now-familiar impulse to help him that stirred in his chest. He put one of the glasses down on the table and, not trusting his hands, knocked his knee into one of Barry’s where it was bent close to the edge of the couch.

Barry buried his face into the pillow with a noise of displeasure, and Len said his name again.

“Last warning,” Len said. “Ten seconds, you find out if I put on steel-toed boots today.”

Barry groaned, and if the sound hadn’t made Len’s pulse skip, the easy shift of muscles in Barry’s arm as he pushed himself up to sitting again would’ve done the trick.

“Water,” Len said, unnecessarily, as he passed him the glass.

Barry took it with the tips of his fingers, as if it were something personally offensive to him, and took a single, polite sip before putting it down beside the other with no small amount of distaste. Then he glanced between the glasses, and up at Len, a dirty spark already lighting behind his eyes again.

“Don’t get your hopes up. They’re both for you.”

Barry let out a breath with audible annoyance and dropped back against the couch cushions to glare at him.

Len felt a modicum of sanity return to him. This, at least, was familiar ground: Barry, frustrated, asking for too much, too soon. True, it had always been about the hero business until now, but Len knew a pattern when he saw one. Give Barry an inch, and he always took a mile.

Len gave Barry one last, appraising look. He looked ridiculous, all self-righteousness and bare skin. There was only one break in the otherwise even coat of glitter, there on Barry’s side: faint, but unmistakable, the outline of Len’s hand on his waist. The feeling in Len’s chest coalesced into something pleased and possessive. He met Barry’s glare with a slow curl of his lips, then gave him an inch.

“Call me when you’re sober, Barry,” he said, letting his voice slip into the Cold drawl just to watch Barry’s eyes go dark. “And you can show me how well you sit up and beg.”

He could see the impatience radiating off of Barry’s frame, the effort it was taking him to stay on the couch instead of closing the space between them.

“Call your friends,” he reminded him. “Enough people got a look at your face today without the CCPD splashing it on every milk carton, too.”

In the elevator, Len reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the thin black wallet he’d liberated from Barry during their sprint across the city. Two and a half seconds: child’s play. A little extra incentive for Barry to track him down in the morning, not that Len thought he needed it. He flipped it open, noted the deer-in-the-headlights picture of Barry on his driver’s license with amusement, and then thumbed open the bill compartment.

Len smirked. Barry wouldn’t miss a few dollars; he owed him for the dry-cleaning it was gonna take to get the glitter out of his jacket, anyway.

#coldflash #leonard snart #barry allen #the flash #my fics #is 10 pm on a tuesday peak posting time? no! is it when i finished this? yes!#also this is blatantly nyc pride sorry #write what you know etc

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donaidk · 3 years

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Marcus Armstrong - Almost Home I.

In advance: This is getting a Part 2 for sure. I don’t want to leave it here, but at the same time I felt like it would be really long if I left it in one piece. Turns out I have a whole lot of inspiration for Marcus fics right now. 😂 I also wanna let everyone, who’s waiting for their request, know that uni is starting next week for me. It means less free time, but I will make sure to finish every one of them in the next week or so, and then focus on all the series I started. There’s gonna be slower updates to them, but I’ll make sore to have one or two per week at least. Hopefully they won’t try to kill us in the starting weeks and I will finish up the Lando one so I could start posting that every week and just add some parts from the others to the queue 😊

Thank you Anon for requesting this one though, and sorry for the wait. Hope you will enjoy it and as it’s almost the next day here, have a really happy start to your Friday everyone 🧡

Kind of Taglist: @mickschumcher, @art-gp

Title Song | Masterlist | Taglist/Queue | Request

With the Australian GP knocking on the door Melbourne filled up with tourists and fans even more than usual. The first time I got to witness it in 2017 was actually scary in a way for someone who didn’t know the city well yet. Getting from one part of the city to another was a hard task already, and all the shouting and crazy fans weren’t of much help when I tried to get some usable info out of them so I could finally get to my destination and get off the streets. It almost held me back from choosing Melbourne’s university, but I had to remind myself that it was just once a year and I shouldn't give up my plans because of it. Melbourne was beautiful and their schools were highly rated, giving me everything for a stable future. Luckily I was never disappointed by my choices as it was easy to get used to the life here and I even found some new friends who helped me every time I felt homesick. It wasn’t the worst usually, as I was truly content with how my life was going, but sometimes it just hit me out of nowhere and in those moments they were always there for me.

It was now the third year when we lived through the race weekend, meaning we finally had a working schedule with which we still followed our usual plans but stayed out of the bigger crowds. Although we were in the middle of the semester we always found time to enjoy the still warm weather and spend most of our free time outside. Usually our choice was the beach for the afternoons as even though it was packed until noon, the tourists never stayed for long. We usually arrived in the late afternoon and stayed well after the sun went down, and the temperature went down a little finally. The water usually stayed comfortable until later in the evening making it bearable for almost a whole 24 hours if you weren’t squeamish. Even if you were after spending a few weeks at the beach, everyone got used to it.

As soon as everyone finished with their lectures we got our things together and took the 5 minutes walk down to the beach. We had a favourite spot which was luckily never taken when we got down there. For a few minutes we just sat down, talking about our weeks. I shared a dorm room with two other girls, but we had a few friends who had their own apartments or lived with their family a bit farther away from our university. We usually had one or two days every week to catch up with them as in between lectures we were either too tired or didn’t have the time to do so. But most of the afternoons were ours fully and we used it the best we could to relax but still use that time to make memories for the few years we’re spending together. We could say it’s gonna stay the same after we graduate but everyone knew we would move to different countries as soon as we weren’t connected to Australia. Even I planned to go home, although I enjoyed living here and getting to be independent without my family behind my back.

“ Are you coming? ” One of the girls asked me, as they were already walking down to the water, while I was still standing around our towels with my phone in my hand. I was in the middle debating which sunset photo I should post from my gallery, but her voice made me look up.

“ Just a second. I’ll catch up. ” I smiled at her before looking back down at my screen. In the end my finger finally tapped the posting button and I pushed it aside while I got the sundress off that was on over my bikini.

Right before I would have ran after the girls, the device was back in my hands so I could check that the picture uploaded without a problem. A smile got on my face when I saw a reaction from one of my family members but as soon as it showed the whole list of the people who looked at my story, it faded away. For the past few months whenever I posted something he was always there in the first few seconds or at least minutes. I couldn’t understand what changed that he showed up in my life again, but I didn't really want to give him space in my thoughts either. It has been almost 4 years since we last talked and could call each other best friends, but I wasn’t about to take the first step and message him after he forgot about me until now. I just dropped my phone back into my bag, closing it and then caught up with my friends so they could make me forget about him again.

We spent quite some time in the water, swimming a few laps back and forth before just standing around and enjoying the last rays of sunshine while we chatted away. My thoughts were already in a different direction thanks to all the different topics that came up between us. Sometimes it was harder to make me forget time and time again, but turns out today I only needed some distraction and everything was set for an enjoyable night. With the sun completely off the sky the temperature dropped quickly and it was getting a bit chilly for my liking in just a few minutes. When it was truly uncomfortable I gave up and walked back to the shore, sitting down on my own blanket and draping my towel around my shoulders. It immediately brought enough warmth over my body that I stopped shivering and could wait for them until they would get cold too. Until then I just went onto my phone to go through some posts of my friends. Sometimes I looked up to check on them just so they wouldn’t leave me out of something. One of those times I saw a person coming my way and although I didn’t mind too much attention to it, when he continued and there was no one else in my close proximity I felt like he might be coming to me. In the end I was right as he turned right towards me and then stopped just a few steps away from our blankets.

“ Never thought you would exchange our lovely and perfect red stars for ugly white ones. ” He spoke up and I could recognise the voice even though his face was almost unseeable thanks to him standing with his back towards the moon. My jaw dropped immediately and I felt like I grew roots into the ground as I couldn’t move my body. “ If you want me to fuck off, just tell me. It’s okay. I just thought we could maybe talk, and from the pictures I saw that you’re here. Hoped you didn’t go home yet so I could catch you and... ” He started rambling but I was quick to finally push myself up and hug him immediately. I always imagined our reunion with me being angry at him, but somehow I couldn’t get myself to feel that way now that he was standing right in front of me.

“ You idiot. ” I told him not leaving any space for questions and I could feel as he finally relaxed and hugged me back. “ The biggest in the whole world. ” I added with a sigh, closing my eyes as my brain started functioning again and I had an urge to kick his shin at least.

“ I can live with that. ” Marcus let out a laugh and I could feel as my heart jumped a little at the sound. It was something that always reminded me of our home and spending every possible second together. “ I’m sorry for disappearing. ” He let out a sigh, letting go of me only when we realised my wet bathing suit soaked his shirt, although even he didn’t care about it for too long.

“ What are you doing here? I thought F2 wasn't coming here. ” I asked him confused, knowing that we wouldn’t be in this situation if he traveled here for one of the races in the past two years. “ Not like I’m complaining, but I can hardly believe my own eyes and senses. ” I shook my head a little before looking up at him again. He changed, quite a bit since we last met and even though I saw pictures of him it was different in a face-to-face situation.

“ Ferrari invited a few of us so we could gather some experience. The speed I accepted the offer with might have raised some eyebrows. ” Marcus hid his face in his palm, making me chuckle as I could see the situation unfold in front of my eyes like I was there. “ Thought I would DM you and ask if you wanted to meet up maybe. But I realized it would be better offline. ” I had to roll my eyes at his first idea although I knew he wasn’t lying and it for sure went through his brain as a real possibility.

“ You’re lucky you didn’t. I would have blocked you forever I think. My plan was connecting my fist with your face if we ever meet again, right until you showed up here. ” I shook my head with a smile, as I wasn’t proud of what I wanted to do to him. “ I was really angry when you just stopped talking to me. I tried so hard to reach you, but it felt like you didn’t even exist anymore even though they were talking about you almost every week. ” I sighed, sitting back down and leaving enough space for him too.

“ Would have been deserved actually. ” His fingers scratched at the nape of his neck and I could see the tint of purple traveling up his neck. I watched him as he sat down, pulling his legs up and resting his arms onto them. “ I really am sorry. For a part everything got busy with all the training, races and studying, but at the same time I know damn well a message here and there should have been possible. I messed up, everything. ” His eyes shined even in the minimal light of the moon, and I could get myself to look away. Even feeling the burning stares on my back from my friends didn’t get me to turn around.

“ I won’t say that it’s okay, but I accept your apology. How could I not. ” I let out a breath that I realized was still stuck in me since the initial surprise took over my body. “ It feels like we didn’t even skip over like 3 years of each other’s life. Only difference is that you’re finally taller than me, but the baby face’s still there. ” My hand went up to his cheek to pat it gently like my grandma did for him all the time when he came over for lunch. He always hated it but knew that it was a gesture of love from her and a way to show Marcus that she considered him part of our family.

“ Yeah, I guess it’s going to stay forever. ” Marcus huffed, moving his head back a little to avoid my attack, although he failed miserably. “ I almost forgot, congrats for uni. I remember how hard you were studying to get in. Everyone home was ecstatic when I told them about it. ” His hand slapped his forehead, making me laugh with his expression at the slight stinging he caused himself.

“ Thank you, but it’s nothing compared to your second place last year. ” I shrugged a little but as soon as his lips pulled into a slight smirk my eyes rolled on their own. “ Surprise, surprise, I followed your career. Just as much as you followed my life for the past few months. ” I poked him in the ribs with my finger, making him wince for a second before we both started laughing at the little sound he made.

“ Fair. I still hate how Instagram shows who opened your stories. ” He shook his head a little and both of our heads turned towards the water when we realized the background chatting was getting closer and closer to where we were sitting. They were just a few meters away when my eyes landed on their figures and I sensed when Marcus stood up from next to me, making me push myself up too.

I didn’t feel too anxious about him meeting my other friends, although I knew what this meant for my evening at the dorm with them. They would have an immense amount of questions both about him and us, even though I already mentioned him when we were bringing up our past. A few of them even knew about my past feelings about him and how him reappearing on my socials played with my emotions, but they only saw a few photos of him. This was another level and I knew he would be the topic for at least the next week between us, for one reason or another. Depends on how we get on from this point and if we manage to keep in contact when they have to fly away again.

“ Oh, I knew it wasn’t just my imagination. I told you someone was coming here. ” My roommate spoke up as soon as they got close enough to make us out from the darkness. “ You’re Marcus, right? ” She stepped right in front of him, reaching her hand out while introducing herself. I always admired her boldness even in front of strangers.

“ Yes, although I didn’t know so many people knew me from here. ” Marcus let out an uneasy chuckle, looking at me a bit concerned. I just shook my head dismissively, almost telling him that it was just a ‘Girl group’ thing. Relief washed over me though that I didn’t share a lot about him, behind his back.

I watched from the sideline as everyone introduced themselves to him and for a second it felt domestic as all of them shot me a concerned glance towards me. It felt like they would pounce at him if they saw that I was uncomfortable in his presence. While it made me feel loved in a way, I also didn’t want them to really chip on the situation. It was something that better dealt with in private as I felt like we had to talk lots of things through to get back to the friendship we left behind years ago. This wasn’t the setting for a conversation like that.

“ We should probably get home before it gets really late. School won’t wait in the morning. ” I spoke up before any of them could start questioning him. We would never be able to get going then. “ Maybe we can catch up sometime before the race? I’m sure you will have enough to do during the weekend. ” I turned back towards Marcus who looked just as relieved as I did seconds ago.

“ Yeah, that would be better. Maybe lunch, or a coffee in the afternoon? Whenever you’re free of course. ” He nodded a little, still glancing at the girls who were either packing up or staring him down behind me.

“ I’m up for either of those. Surprise me. ” I grinned at him, feeling the pull on my arm when everyone was ready. “ Is your number the same? ” I asked him, already taking a step back, but waiting for his answers.

“ Yes. Never changed. ” Marcus nodded again, a little smile playing on his lips at the idea that we’re going to meet up again probably. At least I hoped so. Why else would he stalk me down and come up to me for a chat?

“ I’m gonna text you in the morning when’s my last lecture. We can meet up after that. ” I told them, before turning around with one last wave and catching up to my group. I could only hope that they would at least let me sleep before the questions start pouring out of them all at once.

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rosecoloredbi-writes · 3 years

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Settle

Summary: After the death of your best friend and their spouse, you went from Godparent to Parent overnight. Now, Mio is your world. Because of this new role, you move back to Tokyo, Japan in order to keep Mio with her friends and her school, even if it means you might run into *him*.

Warnings: Mentions of stalking. Swearing probably. Cannon violence. Single parenthood. barely mentions Mio's parents passing.

Gender Neutral!Reader x Shouta Aizawa (Eventual)

Mentions of past GN!Reader x Dabi

A/N: Okay here is my first fic for My Hero Academia! I got the idea for it earlier today and figured I'd just post this first part I just finished and see if I should keep uploading. This is the first thing I've written in a while and I'm so excited to be writing again :)

It took him a moment to reorient himself, but he knew where he was going. A few more buildings and finally to his perch, he looked in to see you, and to his surprise, a child- no older than five, maybe 6, snuggled into your chest, your arms protectively around them. He stayed in his hiding spot for a while as you slept with your child. He hadn’t been informed there would be a child.

About an hour later, he noticed another person watching you in the shadows, just like he was. He would have to stay all night to make sure no one harmed you.

You controlled your breathing, not wanting the two sets of eyes to know you were awake, to know that you knew they were there. This way you had the advantage. You didn’t know what they wanted, but either way, you had a bad feeling about it.

She began to stir as the sun shone through the open window, stretching her small arms and legs before turning back to face you.

“Good morning my sunshine,” you said softly. “Did you sleep well?”

She nodded her head before sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

“Guess it’s time to get up, huh Mio,” you stood up and picked your girl up, giving her a squeeze as your eyes glanced around. Only one set of eyes, you realized making you shiver.

You did your best to keep to your usual routine and soon enough you were out the door, Mio's hand in yours.

The school Mio attended was used to having students whose parents were pro heroes, so you gave her teacher the signal and they knew something was up and knew not to release even to the people you had given the school the okay to. After a kiss goodbye, you headed to the market, now with your headphones on, music off.

You hummed as you looked through the isles of food, picking up the few things you needed and setting them in your basket. The bakery you worked at was out of a special type of flour you needed to bake a client’s cake with. Once everything was paid for and in tow, you noticed a red feather settled amongst the items.

Why is Hawks following me? What does he need from me and why?

You carried on with your day, hoping he hadn’t noticed that you had noticed.

That is until he came into the bakery. You ducked just in time and took a deep breath, coming back out to the front after he dinged the bell.

He was about to say something, a dumb smirk on his face, but you cut him off.

“Why are you following me?” You asked, trying your best to sound confident and brave.

His features dropped and his eyes narrowed before quickly going back to a leisurely look. “You’re better than they told me you’d be,” He finally said.

You rolled your eyes as you walked over to the little door and opened it for him, gesturing for him to follow you to the back. Once you were settled you told him to start talking.

“I really shouldn’t be telling you any of this bu-”

“I know someone else is following me,” you said, cutting him off again. “I need to know who, why, and if my daughter is in danger.”

“Straight to the point. I like a person who knows what they want,” he commented, eyebrow raised. This had you rolling your eyes again. “We don’t know why or if your daughter is going to be targeted, but we are pretty sure the League of Villains is watching you.”

You took in a sharp inhale. There was only one person who you could think of that would have joined up with them and you knew why he was watching you. You should have recognized the bright blue of his eyes. “Dabi.”

You were very quickly taken into hiding with a man you didn’t know, cause that made you feel safe and protected. But, you pulled some information out of him. For example, his name was Aizawa Shouta and he was an underground hero. His quirk allowed him to erase other people’s quirks, thus the name Eraser Head. He also had a cool capture weapon he wore as a scarf. You tried to mess with it once and it didn’t end well.

You were allowed to go pick Mio up, but you were discreetly escorted by Aizawa who was now in street clothes, hair tied up, looking like he could fall asleep at any moment.

Mio was confused as to who the man was and gave you a questioning look. “Don’t worry, he’s a friend,” you told her softly as the three of you began back to the safe house. Once there, you introduced the two.

She was tense but eventually got comfortable when she saw that you were okay.

“She’s cute,” you turn to Aizawa who is watching Mio with a soft smile on his face.

“She’s the best kid a parent could ask for,” you replied. “Her quirk,” you started slowly after a moment had gone by, “we don’t know a lot about it, but it has to do with her voice. I don’t know who it came from either. I’m not her biological parent, I was her godparent. And then her parents died and here we are. She’s only said a few words out loud and whatever happened, it scared her into staying silent.”

He nodded. “So Y/N, what is your quirk? Does it have to do with your increased senses?”

“That’s mostly learned, but I’ve always had the extra sense of knowing when I’m being watched, which has come in handy more times than you’d think.” You began rolling up your long sleeves, showing tattoos covering almost all the skin on your arms. “Creation is my main ability, but it has its drawbacks. If it’s not illustrated on my skin already, it’s painful and it drains me, which is why I’m covered in tattoos. I have weapons, items I need handy, and a few odds and ends. Now, with the tattoos, it’s almost as easy as breathing.”

Aizawa began to reach out, pausing before he made contact with your skin, looking up to you for permission. When you nodded, the pads of his fingers lightly traced several of them, following a vine up your arm to a butterfly. He looked at you inquisitively and you gently focused on it until a butterfly appeared, gently fluttering.

“Its… it’s real. You can create living things?” He asked in awe, “But how?”

You shrugged and watched as Mio noticed the flittering and watched with wonder as the butterfly landed on the sofa.

“They don’t last forever, that’s the drawback. The bigger the creation and the longer I will it, the more it takes from me. Inanimate objects are the easiest.” You reached your arm around your back and under your shirt, pulling back with it a sword.

Aizawa gently traced the ornate handle, only to jump back as Hawks entered.

“Don’t let me interrupt,” he says with a sly smile. “You figure out what their quirk is yet?” He asks Aizawa.

You turn to him with a frown. Of course, he didn’t actually care about you. You just met! Not to mention you were a part of his mission.

He has the sense to look slightly ashamed before nodding to Hawks.

“Good, now,” he says turning back to you. “Why is Dabi following you? You know more than you are letting on.” He spoke as he walked closer and closer, wings growing larger. You suppose it’s supposed to intimidate you.

You roll your eyes at him for like, the fifth time that day and brush past him. You walk over to Mio who had fallen asleep watching your butterfly. You smooth the hair out of her face before turning back to the men, giving them a warning look and asking them to keep their voices down.

“Fine,” you huffed, tired of them just staring at you, doing nothing. “I dated Dabi for a little while. Back when I was younger and foolish and my morals were… well, flexible.”

“What did you do to make him want to follow you?” Hawks was growing impatient.

“We fought, I won, he told him if I ever came back I better watch my back. I reckon he’s making good on that promise. I broke his heart, but that was so long ago. But, I mean,” you paused and looked back up at the two men who were looking at you incredulously, “he is really good at holding grudges.”

Hawks looked like he was going to have an aneurysm and Aizawa… well his face was unreadable. Except, there was a touch of something else in his eyes.

"Well you aren't going anywhere for a while," Hawks state with all the authority he could muster, still going over everything in his mind. "Better get comfy."

"No," you state clearly. Stopping everyone in their tracks.

"Excuse me?" Hawks says, stepping forward, extending his wings.

"You heard me," you reply, stepping forward yourself, fingers itching to create one of your many weapons. "If Dabi gets even a hint that y'all know and are protecting me, a whole lot more people are going to get hurt. So no, we aren't staying here. We are going to go home. If I have to have someone to guard us we are going to make it look as natural as possible. If you don't agree to my terms I'm just gonna take Mio and we are going back on the run."

Hawks looks like he wants to scream and Aizawa looks amused. You turn to pick Mio up, then you head to the door.

"Aizawa, you've been seen in public with me. You can be our guard. You'll come over at 6 tonight where we will have a meal, then you'll stay late because we drank maybe a little to much sake, then you'll sleep on the couch. Got it?"

Aizawa nods, completely amused by Hawks' bewilderment, and pats him on the back once before walking out himself.

#my hero academia #my hero academia fanfiction #my hero academia fanfic #my hero academia fic #mha fanfiction #mha fanfic #mha fic #eraserhead x reader #eraserhead x gn!reader #gender neutral reader #aizawa shouta #aizawa x reader #eraser head #eraser head x reader

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getcooler · 3 years

Text

Three Heartbreaks & a Rose

Kim Seungmin (Skz) x Fem!Reader

Genre: Fluff, Angst, some crackheadery

Word Count: 7k

Warnings: mentions of a car crash, of hospitals; some crying; unnecessary jealousy caused by lack of communication

FLOWER STORE!AU where Seungmin is an annoying regular at your flower store but he sort of grows on you, eventually.

A/N: Sorry for not uploading more often :( But this is an extra long fic by our standards so maybe it’ll make up for it. Originally, this was part of a larger series of different fic based all around this business street and you might find mentions of it in the fic, but I’m not sure I’ll ever write the other members’ parts :( Nevertheless, enjoy and maybe maybe maybe leave some feedback somewhere :)

“Hello, I’m— Oh, it’s you again.”

It took you less than two seconds to identify the clear distaste in Seungmin’s voice as he walked into the store.

The tone of his voice made you roll your eyes, “Yes, it’s me again. Like every Saturday for the past 3 years.”

“And yet nothing ever seems to change,” he sighed, face void of any emotion. In a leisurely pace, he made his way over to the counter of your grandmother’s flower store and asked, “What do you guys have here this week? Anything pretty or are all the flowers here as tired-looking as you?”

“I’ve got some daisies fresh from the garden across the street,” you offered with a glare in your eyes, but he scrunched his nose in distaste.

He mumbled, “Too lazy.”

“Lazy?”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “It would seem very lazy of me to take daisies to the home of the elderly.”

In all the years of him coming here, you had never once heard what he was planning on doing with the flowers. Every Saturday he came in, bought a giant box (yes, a literal box) of flowers and left after bickering with you for five minutes or more. Somehow this was the first time you found out that he’s taking the flowers to the house of the elderly.

“Okay, so what type of flowers would you like to buy?” you prompted him while silently begging any deity that he wouldn’t start a fight out of it.

Seungmin looked around, seeming to think for a moment or two before speaking, “I want something bright but not too over the top.”

“Something simple?”

“Yeah,” he nodded, agreeing with you just this once, “Maybe something that would remind the elderly of their home gardens? That kind of feel.”

You chuckled as you pushed yourself to your feet behind the counter, “You seem to be pretty clear on your decision.”

“Not really,” he sighed. “What do you have to offer?”

“Well, it is early autumn,” you pointed out while walking through the store, pretending to think and ponder. “It’s the perfect time to buy asters.”

“Asters?” he frowned in confusion.

You nodded without hesitation before lifting up a vase full of fresh asters, “They grow in most gardens and they look very pretty and colourful yet simple.”

“You do have a point,” he nodded slowly, eyeing the flowers in your hands. “I’ll take fifteen.”

“Great choice,” you said out of habit and Seungmin couldn’t help but snort as he reached for his wallet.

As you picked out some prettier and fresher looking asters, you cheerfully told him his total.

“Do you have to be so chirpy all the time?” he groaned as he pushed his card into the terminal. “You sound like a cartoon character. It’s going to scare away your customers.”

Without much thinking, you shushed him and handed him the receipt with a fake smile, “Please do come again.”

“Do yourself a favour and stop applying for customer service jobs,” he joked with a teasing smile before picking up the flowers and walking out, “I’ll see you next Saturday!”

“I hope not!” you called after him while cleaning the counter of fallen petals.

Just a week later, he walked in once again. This time he was dressed in a patterned button-up shirt and had his hair styled neatly, which was very unlike his usual attire which consisted of a random t-shirt and a baseball cap. He offered a smile as he walked in, “Do you ever get a weekend off?”

“As long as you keep buying flowers every Saturday – no,” you answered with a sigh before putting on your best smile. “How can I help you on this fine day?”

He looked around, just like every previous time, and spoke, “I need three roses and some more flowers.”

“Which colour?” you asked while walking past him towards the rose display.

“What’s the colour of happiness?” he thought out loud and you grumbled underneath your breath. He had the dumb tendency to act like an idiot just to make you speak more. You absolutely despised because it gave him several reasons to pick a fight.

“I believe pink roses are said to represent happiness,” you told him through gritted teeth as you opened the display’s door.

Seungmin smiled brightly behind you, “I’ll take the pink ones then.”

“Which shade of pink? Peach, bubblegum, rouge, watermelon?” you asked him, fully intending to offer him the best client service despite being annoyed by his presence.

“I mean pink,” Seungmin replied without much thought. A small frown had appeared on his face, “Also, I’m pretty sure at least three of those pink shades are actually food and-”

“So, peach?” you interrupted him delightfully.

Seungmin sighed and shrugged. “Just pink will do.”

“Whatever you prefer,” you sighed and handed him three of the pinkest roses. “How about these?”

He eyed the roses, twirling the bouquet in hand for a second before nodding, “These will do perfectly. Now for my other flowers.”

“Asters? Peonies? Poppies?”

“I was thinking something more,” he hummed in thought before deciding, “extravagant?”

“What the hell is happening in that home of elderly today?” you asked him with a raised eyebrow.

Your handsome customer spoke, “One of the older ladies there is turning 95 today. They’re having a little celebration.”

“That sounds lovely,” you replied in a rather monotone voice. “Would carnations do the trick?”

“Absolutely,” he grinned. “I’d like twenty, please.”

You couldn’t help but sigh. Did Seungmin have any idea how heavy twenty carnations were?

“I’ll pay you well today,” he laughed at your reaction. “I promise I won’t even nag you if you give me back the wrong change.”

“You’re paying in cash today?” you were surprised.

“Yeah,” he nodded with a nervous chuckle, “Lost my card when I crashed my bike on Wednesday.”

“Ouch.”

Another week passed. You expected him to come to buy flowers on Saturday but as the clock ticked on, you didn’t catch sight of him.

All-day you waited for him to come. There was not a single joke, not a single order of an outrageous number of peonies. There was simply nothing.

The only customer you got all day was the new music store owner from down the street (Chan was his name, you believed). Even someone as new and unfamiliar as he noticed your sullen mood and expectant glances out the window.

The young curly-haired business owner chuckled and spoke softly, “I’m sure he’ll come. Maybe something just came up.”

“What if something bad happened?” You sighed as you wrapped Chan’s red roses in an old newspaper. “What if he never comes by again?”

“He will,” Chan told you without hesitation as he handed you the money. “Keep the change.”

He left the store and you didn’t see another human walk into the store all day. A sense of worry went through you as closed the store that evening.

You didn’t see Seungmin until Monday.

Focused on re-arranging the lily display, you barely noticed him enter. Truth be told, you didn’t even recognize him until he handed you the money.

Dressed in his school uniform and his face all serious and sad, he was nearly impossible to recognize.

He didn’t speak. He didn’t even look at you.

Seungmin merely walked into the store, picked up a bouquet and handed you the money before walking out.

The next day he came in again, this time dressed in a large hoodie and his baseball cap low on his face. You couldn’t believe how much of a mess he looked.

“Is everything okay?” you asked as you calculated the price of the three gerberas he had picked out.

Seungmin hummed in response, but it didn’t sound like him at all. It was almost like a part of him had gone missing. A part of essential to his being. Once again he walked out without saying a word.

The same thing happened the day after.

“If you want to talk about it,” you spoke hesitantly on Wednesday when he still continued ignoring you, “I’m always here ready to listen.”

To your surprise, when you handed him back the change, you heard a sniffle. Though his head was still hanging low and his cap hid most of it, you could tell that he had begun crying.

Within seconds his sniffles turned into sobs and he leaned against the counter to stay standing. In shock, your eyes widened and for a moment you doubted what to do.

However, when he reached out his hand to you and whispered “Can I take up that offer now?”, you couldn’t help but walk around the counter and pull him into a tight hug. Instinctively, he hid his face in the crook of your neck and let his fingers tangle in your shirt as you wrapped your arms around him and let him cry.

Your grandmother, having heard the crying, walked out from the backroom and gasped in surprise. Holding her hands over her heart, she motioned for you to lead Seungmin to the back, whispering, “I’ll take over your shift. Offer him some tea.”

Gratefully, you led Seungmin to the break room and let him continue crying. When he stopped crying, only half an hour had passed. To you, it felt like much longer. It felt like he had been crying for days, your shirt wet with his tears and your own eyes burning sympathetically.

Suddenly, Seungmin let go of you, as though realizing what he had done. Rapidly —roughly even— he started wiping his face with the back of his hand. He seemed embarrassed about his emotional state, about his willingness to cry on the shoulder of the one person he annoyed every week.

“It’s okay,” you whispered and it was like the valve of his heart had given in and all emotions came flooding out. There was no stopping them.

Without another second of hesitation, Seungmin pulled you back into his arms, resting his head on your shoulder and relishing in the words of comfort you whispered in his ear.

And just like that your heart broke for the first time, in unison with his.

“It’s my mother,” he whispered weakly as your grip on his hoodie tightened. “She’s in hospital. Has been for the past week.”

“What happened?” you asked hesitantly, afraid of triggering more tears.

Seungmin sighed deeply and squeezed his eyes shut, willing his crying to cease, “She was caught in a car crash and she hasn’t woken up still.”

“That’s why you’ve been buying flowers so often,” you realized and he nodded.

He mumbled, “I want her to wake up to the prettiest sight so she could smile again. I really miss her smile.”

“It’s okay,” you whispered again as another set of tears began running down his cheeks. “I’m sure she appreciates it. But she wouldn’t want you to cry.”

“Will you come with me?” he asked in a weak voice after a moment of silence. “To see my mother?”

To say you were surprised at his request would be a major understatement. You were beyond baffled and so you asked, “Why?”

“I don’t want to go alone,” he whispered. “It’s too difficult.”

“I’ll go with you. As long as you wish,” you sighed into his hair as he hummed in appreciation, his tears slowly drying.

That day you walked with him, flowers in hand as you entered his mother’s room. There she lied and at the sight, you felt Seungmin’s hand grip yours tightly. He let out a barely audible whimper of despair before walking up to her and beginning to quietly tell her about his day.

You stood in the doorway, watching him and offering him encouraging smiles whenever he seemed to falter. He seemed too fragile, so gentle compared to the Seungmin who came in every Saturday. This was a side of him you never knew existed.

After an hour of talking and even singing a bit, Seungmin finally pushed himself to his feet and walked back to you, wrapping his arms around your waist and burying his face in your shoulder. He whispered, “Thank you for coming along.”

It repeated for the whole week: every day he came in, bought some flowers and took your hand so you would accompany him to the hospital. In that week, the two of you grew close. You guessed crying with someone really brought people closer. It definitely was the case for you and Seungmin.

The sadness and exhaustion in his eyes slowly began to fade, being replaced with hope and appreciation.

Finally, on Friday, he practically waltzed in, a large smile on his face and his eyes shining with happiness. You could barely react when he ran over to you and picked you up to spin you as his arms remained around your waist. A delighted giggle left his lips as he spoke, “She woke up. She woke up this morning.”

“She did?” you asked, sharing his excitement.

Seungmin nodded enthusiastically, excited to tears as he hugged you tight and sighed in relief, “She’s going to be fine.”

When he came in next Saturday, it wasn’t for his mother.

“Good day,” he cheered as you walked into the store, dressed in a black t-shirt and a jacket. The weather was getting harsher and his clothing style was proof of that.

You hummed in response before focusing back on your crossword, “What would you like today?”

“I’ll have a look around if you don’t mind,” he chuckled, not wanting to bother you when you were so focused on another task. Partly because he cared, but mostly because he recalled a painful experience from the last time he attempted to tear you away from a crossword (let’s just say, he learnt exactly how painful a rolled-up crossword collection could be in the hands of an angry florist).

“Be my guest.”

At that, he began humming without a second of hesitation. He was in a good mood and he tended to display that by singing and today’s song just so happened to be “Be Our Guest” from Beauty and the Beast. You rolled your eyes at the realization.

After some minutes of consideration, he opted for sunflowers. He picked out ten of those and made his way over to the register. He spoke quietly, as not to startle you, “I’ll have these, please.”

You looked up from your crossword and offered a smile. “Sunflowers. My favourite.”

“You like sunflowers?” He raised his eyebrows but you snorted.

“Kind of,” you replied, “but it’s more of an automatic response now. Gotta encourage those customers somehow.”

Seungmin laughed at your honest response. “Do I look like I need more encouragement?”

“I mean,” you shrugged, “ten seems kind of a weak number for you.”

He laughed at that and reached out to flick your forehead gently. “I’m already spending half of my weekly pocket money on flowers. How much more do you need?”

“I’m just saying,” you teased him as you wrapped the sunflowers in a newspaper. “Anything else, oh dear customer of mine?”

“A hug would be nice,” he seemed sheepish to admit.

You were taken aback but not one to protest. If there was anything you learnt about Seungmin the week before, it’s that he loved a good hug or twenty. Not only that but he gave incredible hugs.

You chuckled after a moment of thought before opening your arms wide to invite him to hug you. He gladly walked around the counter and wrapped his arms around you. He sighed in content, feeling safe and happy.

“Oh, before I forget,” you pulled back from the hug. “We’re getting a shipment of cacti next tomorrow. Do you want one?”

He raised an eyebrow in amusement. “Are you trying to bribe me with cactus right now?”

“We only get those shipments once a year. The nice ones are usually bought within three days of arriving,” you told him before mumbling quietly, “I’ve seen you look at the cacti before. Figured you’d like one.”

Seungmin chuckled before humming in appreciation. “Sure. If you’ll be kind enough to put one cactus to the side for me to pick up later, I’d be very happy.”

“All I’m asking in return is you’ll buy me lunch next Saturday.”

“Deal.” He didn’t even hesitate. “But I have to go now. Minhee invited me to her tea party.”

You snorted, “What a perfect young man.”

“Shush.”

You hated Mondays. For several, relatively obvious, reasons.

This Monday though? This Monday you were looking forward to. Why? Because a new young florist would be joining the ranks of your tiny flower store.

You could barely contain your excitement and nervousness as a rather short yet athletic-looking young man dressed in all black walked into the store, holding in his hand a small paper and his phone. He looked up from the note to check the large banner above your head.

“This has to be the place,” he mumbled to himself after checking it twice. Feeling your gaze on himself, the young man walked over and offered a smile, “Hi, I’m Seo Changbin. I believe I was hired?”

“(Y/n)!” you heard your grandmother’s voice from behind. “It’s the new florist! Show him around!”

Normally you would’ve grumbled a bit, not being a big fan of the store’s layout. However, this was a relatively handsome young man in front of you, waiting for a quick tour and instructions. A new co-worker. (New eye candy.) You couldn’t bring yourself to say no.

“Sure!” You smiled and began showing him around, telling him everything he needed to know. As you had predicted by his looks, he wasn’t big on flowers usually. But the job had a good salary and he had rent to pay and school to attend.

It didn’t take long for the two of you to click. Within hours, the two of you were in perfect sync.

“You’re pretty good at this,” you told him on Saturday morning as the two of you attempted to arrange a bride’s bouquet. It wasn’t uncommon for locals to order bouquets and flower arrangements from your store, seeing as you grandmother and you had managed to make a good impression on almost everyone (this doesn’t include the rival store’s owner).

Changbin chuckled as he placed a pastel pink rose in the bouquet, doing so carefully as not to disturb your own work. He spoke, “You’re better than me though.”

“I’ve been doing this for years, Bin,” you told him while doing your damn best to not blush under his gaze. “If I wasn’t any good at this, I would’ve lost my job ages ago.”

“Still,” he continued, “this might just be the prettiest bouquet I’ve ever seen.”

“The roses from across the street are the secret ingredients,” you half-joked. “The gardener’s daughter has been sneaking in all types of roses from around the world. So we have a large variety of those, unlike some other places.”

“The pale blue ones are a nice touch,” he mumbled quietly and you couldn’t help but agree.

As he was about to say something else, the bell on the door rang. In walked Seungmin, once again dressed in a random t-shirt and a jacket. But this time he was missing his usual baseball cap.

“Seungmin,” you cheered, looking up from the bouquet, “What would you like today?”

“I think I have a cactus to pick up.” He smiled brightly before looking around. “I’d also like some lilies, please.”

You hummed before asking, “Which colour and how many?”

“White and red?” Seungmin thought out loud and you nodded before patting Changbin on the shoulder. You teased the new florist, “Your time to shine, Bin.”

“White and red lilies?” Changbin didn’t miss a beat and walked around the counter as you walked to the back to get Seungmin’s cactus, one you had picked out to your best ability.

Seungmin seemed a bit surprised to see your new co-worker but if it bothered him, he didn’t voice it out loud. He didn’t have to. His eyes said it all. Still, the moment Changbin turned to him, Seungmin’s glare was replaced with another bright smile.

“Would you like anything else?” you asked as Seungmin and Changbin made their way back to the counter.

“No, that’s all,” Seungmin replied, his eyes remaining on Changbin who kept sneaking quick glances at you.

What was this feeling in his gut? Jealousy? No. Definitely not jealous. Seungmin didn’t get jealous.

When he left the store and took one last look through the window, he saw you giving Changbin a back-hug and messing with his hair, a shy blush on Changbin’s face. It was decided. Seungmin was absolutely jealous.

Every Saturday from then on, Seungmin found himself fuming with spite when he walked into the store and found you and your co-worker practically linked at the hip.

You hadn’t noticed how close you and Changbin really were, seeing his hugs and teasing and occasional flirting as friendly. Seungmin, on the other hand, saw it as a threat to his very being.

How dare a new guy hit on the florist he never knew he had a crush on?!

The following weekend, Seungmin didn’t come in with the usual enthusiasm or playful insults. He actually hesitated to enter. You know because you watched him stand outside the door for 10 minutes, biting his lip and fidgeting with the sleeves of his slightly too large of a varsity jacket. Even his gaze was hesitant as it wandered around the building.

Finally, you had enough.

You marched over to the door and all but threw it open. Without giving him even a second to think about it, you grabbed him by his sleeve and dragged him inside. “It’s raining outside, idiot.”

“Barely a drizzle,” he mumbled in response as he obediently followed you to the counter. “Hello to you too, by the way.”

“Hi. Nice to see you!” you spoke after letting out a short disbelieving scoff. “What would you like today?”

Instead of replying, Seungmin looked around the room. It was almost like he was looking for something.

A minute passed before he turned back to you. The look in his eyes almost startled. He asked, “No loverboy today?”

“Loverboy?” You blinked.

He puffed out his cheeks and raised his hand to around his chin to indicate a height and spoke, “You know, the guy’s about this tall. Kind of looks like he should be working in a Hot Topic instead of a flower store. Always attached to you.”

“Oh!” you squeaked in surprise. “You mean Changbin? We’re just friends.”

Seungmin had the irresistible urge to roll his eyes. “And he’s not here today?”

“No. I trained him well so now he’s working shifts alone.” You leaned over the counter to pinch his cheek. “It’s just me today.”

“Great!” It was as though a switch had been flipped: Seungmin seemed oddly happy all of a sudden. He grinned and declared, “I’ll take some thirty of gerbera daisies.”

You sighed. Of course, he would place an order this large. “You know, my life would be much easier if you just placed your orders a few days ahead of time.”

“Yeah, but then I wouldn’t get to see your pretty face red in anger,” Seungmin replied easily and you were stunned. He had just called you pretty.

“If- If you say so,” you stuttered out and walked over to the gerberas. “Colour preferences?”

Seungmin hummed in thought. “Red and peach. Half and half.”

“You finally figured out that there are different shades to pink?” you teased him but began picking out the flowers.

Seungmin merely chuckled at that and watched you. For a moment he wondered why he had been so hesitant about coming in.

“So, are you going to pay or not?”

“What?” Only now did he realize he’d been lost in his thoughts. Your little giggle snapped him out of the daze and his face felt hot all of a sudden. “Right. Pay.”

You chuckled at that and asked, “Are you okay, Seungmin? You seem a bit distracted.”

“Don’t,” he warned half-heartedly as he handed you the money.

“Do you have a crush on Changbin or something? You seem kind of upset that he’s not here,” you teased him and this time he scoffed.

His glare settled on you but it wasn’t harsh. No, you could only read playfulness out from his gaze. “Sure, that’s why I come here every Saturday. To see your boyfriend.”

“We’re not dating!” you laughed and walked around the counter to throw your hand over his shoulder. Seungmin felt his heartbeat pick up as you rested your head against him while pushing the bouquet into his hand. “Besides, I prefer you to him any day.”

“Lies.”

“Are you calling me a liar, Kim Seungmin?” you gasped and punched his side gently. He laughed at that.

Before he could reply, the door to the shop flew open and Changbin ran in. A wide smile on his face, the short man rushed over to you and pulled you into a tight hug, twirling your around the room after tearing you out of Seungmin’s grasp.

All hope and joy Seungmin had held in his heart for so long vanished in 5 seconds flat. He couldn’t help but glare at the two of you as you laughed in Changbin’s arms, the small man’s face hidden in the crook of your neck. He scoffed loudly and marched out, flowers in hand and heart burning with hatred.

You could just stare after his retreating figure as he walked out, fuming with anger and distaste as Changbin squealed, “She said YES!”

Another week, another Saturday. You were in the flower store, sorting flowers when the door opened and Seungmin stepped in. The usual bounce was gone from his step and he solemnly made his way to the counter where you were seated. Without a single smile or a hum, he spoke, “I’ll have a box of yellow roses.”

“Not asking me for suggestions this time?” you wondered out loud but began fulfilling his order either way.

You attempted to engage in small talk but he seemed to be having none of it. When you asked him a question, his only responses were quiet hums or shakes of his head. Not a single unnecessary word said.

You tried to shake it off. Maybe he was just having a bad day and was taking it out on you. Or perhaps he was trying not to take it out on you. But you couldn’t convince yourself. This just wasn’t like Seungmin at all and it bothered you.

“Could you hurry up?” he spoke after a while. “I’m kind of in a hurry.” The harshness of his tone made you flinch in your spot but you forced yourself to continue to be hopeful.

“Then maybe you shouldn’t order a box of roses on such short notice,” you suggested teasingly. The chuckle at the end was meant as a sign of goodwill but Seungmin only seemed more irritated by it.

He grumbled something under his breath and leant back against the counter. A moment passed before he spoke, “I’m leaving.”

“I’m not even done with your order yet, Seungmin,” you scoffed at that.

“No, you don’t get it.” He cursed quietly, throwing his head back and closing his eyes. Then he tried once again, “I’m leaving Korea.”

Your heart stopped. The two roses in your hand fell to the ground. “You’re what?”

“I signed up for an international student exchange program two weeks ago,” he spoke quite clearly but refused to look you in the eye. “I’m leaving for America in three days.”

“That’s kind of last-minute.” Shakily you picked up the fallen roses and continued sorting them.

Seungmin shrugged. “They had a free spot and I’d been considering it for a while. Figured I’d give it a go.”

“When will you be back?”

He didn’t answer. “Are you done with the roses yet?”

“Yeah,” you finally sighed and placed the box on the counter.

He left after paying the total, never once looking back. Your heart grumbled as you realized - he never answered your question.

“(Y/n), did you order new gerberas?” Changbin’s voice broke you out of a daze.

You looked around, feeling a bit disoriented as you tried to recall what he had just said. You couldn’t and Changbin could see it in your eyes. He sighed and walked over to you.

Bitterly you stared at the couple ring in his hand. He had what you didn’t - the person he loved by his side. Despite the distaste radiating off you, Changbin pulled you into his arms and pressed a comforting kiss to your head. After all, as your self-appointed best friend of three months, he knew what was going on and could read you like the back of his hand.

You quietly grumbled and got lost in your thoughts again. In the months of not seeing Seungmin, you had come to three important realizations:

ONE: you missed Seungmin’s visits to the flower store and his idiotic habit of buying a worrying amount of flowers with no warning.

TWO: you absolutely did not like the fact that Seungmin was in America and you couldn’t communicate with him.

THREE: you were ridiculously smitten with Kim Seungmin, the annoying flower store customer who had left you alone in Korea for the sake of a student exchange program.

“He’ll be back,” Changbin tried to comfort you but you merely scoffed. “I’m serious.”

“I doubt he’ll come back to the store when he returns to the country,” you mumbled. “He’ll have new friends, new habits.”

Changbin rested his head on yours and sighed. “If he cares for you as much as you care for him, he’ll come back and never let you out of his sight again.”

“And if he doesn’t?”

“Then he’s obviously an idiot and I will personally beat him up for you.”

For the first time in what felt like months, you let out a laugh and Changbin couldn’t help but smile upon hearing the sound.

In the six months of not seeing Seungmin, you had made friends with new business owners and staff on the block. The Ninth Street had become a very popular business sight thanks to the advertising that Changbin and Jisung, a boy from the record store down the street, had done over the months as a project for their marketing course in university.

Not a single day went by lonely. Every time you started to feel even a bit of boredom, a familiar face would walk in. Today it was Hyunjin from the photo developing shop at the very end of the street.

His tall model-like figure was not difficult to recognize even in the heavy rain pouring down from the sky. A wide smile appeared on his face as he walked in and greeted you. “Thought you’d be lonely on this rainy day.”

“You know me too well, Hwang Hyunjin,” you laughed and turned on the kettle placed under the counter. “Tea?”

“Yes!” he agreed immediately and enthusiastically. “I wanted to bring cookies but I thought the rain might soak them too much.”

“It’s okay. I’ve got a stash right here,” you proudly declared and pulled a bowl of your grandmother’s chocolate chip cookies out of a drawer. “Eat up.”

Hyunjin stared at you in awe. “I love you.”

“Keep that love talk for your girlfriend.” He scoffed at the mention. “How is she anyway?”

“Annoying as always,” he pointed out. “How many times do I have to tell her that I don’t want to model for her to understand that?”

You shrugged.

“Speaking of girlfriends,” Hyunjin’s eyes suddenly lit up in mischief. “Why aren’t you?”

Not quite understanding, you stared at him in question.

“I mean,” he choked and coughed on a cookie, “why aren’t you dating anyone? Are you not interested in anyone?”

“Not really.”

Hyunjin scoffed once again. “Lies. There are like 7 different, incredibly good looking guys working on this street all year round and you’re trying to tell me you’re not attracted to any of us?”

“Don’t half of you have girlfriends?”

“I get that Chan is a big guy but not even he is big and intimidating enough to make up half of us,” Hyunjin glared at you. “And I’m still single and so is everyone else on this block.”

You offered him a pointed look and he quickly corrected himself, “Alright, so maybe Changbin is in a dedicated relationship and maybe Jisung sort of kind of has a girlfriend but other than that we’re all single.” When you continued looking at him with that look, he finally sighed, “And maybe Minho’s off the market too. Geesh, just tell me.”

“There is this one guy,” you mumbled and Hyunjin’s ears immediately perked up.

Looking almost like a puppy who’s caught sight of a treat in his owner’s hand, Hyunjin asked, “Who? Tell me. Tell me!”

“You need to stop that,” you blinked. “It’s annoying.”

“Just tell me who you like,” he whined and stretched out his arm to flick your forehead. “I won’t tell anyone.”

Your cheeks heated up as you spoke, “There’s this one guy but he went away and I haven’t seen him since.”

The kettle clicked to let you know that the tea water was ready. Without much thought, you poured water in both your and Hyunjin’s designated mugs (which only existed courtesy of Felix who thought that everyone working on Ninth Street should be friends and exchange gifts - he got everyone personalized coffee mugs).

Enjoyable silence filled the store as the two of you waited for your tea to get ready. Hyunjin twirled the tea bag in his mug and suddenly asked, “Is it Seungmin?”

You almost spilt the contents of your mug. “How did you-?”

“Chan is not exactly the best at keeping secrets,” he mumbled sheepishly. “Maybe you should keep that in mind for future reference. Write it on a note somewhere.”

“I’ll keep that in mind from now on,” you grumbled and wiped down the counter. “But it’s not a big deal. He’s not coming back for a while.”

Hyunjin snorted. “He just came back to Korea last night. Jisung said so.”

“Jisung is friends with Seungmin?”

“They’re classmates,” he replied and lifted his mug to his lips to get a taste of the tea. He scrunched up his nose in distaste. “Gosh, this is awful.”

“You forgot the sugar, idiot.”

Seungmin felt like the weight of his feelings was trying to push him down, right into his grave six feet under. His heart was heavy and his head was filled with 20 different ways to speak to you.

During the long walk to the flower store, he came to the conclusion that he should just try to be himself. Sure, it had been 6 months but there’s no way everything had changed so much that he could no longer just be himself.

When he turned to Ninth Street, he was surprised at the number of people walking around. In the past, the street had been almost empty on weekends. He had found comfort in walking down the somewhat abandoned street and ordering a box of roses from you. The thought of you not having anything better to do was what had kept him from feeling guilt about placing such large orders on short notice.

How could he ever ask for a box of yellow roses now when the street was filled with hundreds of curious people.

“Seungmin!” Jeongin’s familiar voice sounded. “You’re back!”

“Yeah,” he laughed somewhat awkwardly. “Got back just two days ago. Slept all through yesterday.”

Jeongin hummed in understanding. “Maybe you should’ve rested today too. You look kind of exhausted.”

“Thank you for pointing that out,” Seungmin couldn’t stop himself from saying and Jeongin merely laughed at that. “Sorry. Old habits.” He cleared his throat and looked around. “What happened here? It’s so lively all of a sudden.”

“Ah, Jisung and Changbin had a marketing project for uni and they decided to advertise the Ninth Street as an ideal hub for small businesses. It worked wonders,” Jeongin told him happily. “Now not a single day goes by quietly. There are so many customers and new people. It’s incredible.”

Seungmin had only one question. “Does the flower store still exist?”

“Yeah,” Jeongin smiled. “(Y/n), her grandmother and Changbin are all so busy these days. The store’s become so popular — everyone goes there nowadays.”

Bidding farewell, Seungmin smiled and walked to the flower store. The building was bigger than he remembered and the sign above the door seemed to shine brighter than six months ago, yet the place held an air of comfort and familiarity. With a sigh of relief, he entered.

True to Jeongin’s words, the shop had more customers than Seungmin could recall ever seeing in the place. There was a couple discussing flower arrangements for their weddings in the lily section, a young man choosing roses to buy for his significant other and two elderly women gushing over the quality of the gerberas that they were trying to buy for their grandchildren’s birthdays.

Seungmin could barely recognize Changbin as he approached the counter. The short male still looked the same for the most part, but he had grown more muscular and the earlier vibe of ‘I’m only here to earn money’ had been replaced with an obvious genuine love for what he was doing. There was a wide smile on the man’s face as he handed a young lady her small potted cactus.

“Have a good day and visit us again!” he called after the lady as she left with a wide grin on her face.

Changbin’s smile only slightly faded as he cleaned the counter. As he finished that, his eyes landed on Seungmin. He couldn’t help but grin and call out, “Yo, Kim Seungmin!”

“Seo Changbin,” Seungmin chuckled somewhat awkwardly. “I see you’re busy.”

“Jisung and I did such a good job on advertising this street that now we get no rest. I’m starting to regret that school project,” Changbin joked.

“How’s (Y/n)? Is she here today?” Seungmin asked. “I thought she worked all Saturdays.”

Changbin clicked his tongue. “She and I switched shifts after she found out that you were coming back. I think she’s upset with you.”

Seungmin bit back a curse. “Do you think I could get her to stop being upset with me?”

“I might have an idea,” Changbin smirked.

It was unusual to work on a Monday. Usually, you avoided this day in favour of sleeping in and maybe going to the theatre. However, your fear of seeing Seungmin again had made you switch shifts with Changbin (who had been more than glad to do so because he wanted an extra couple of hours of sleep before the emotionally draining advertising tactics class in the evening) and now you were suffering the consequences.

“Would you like a ribbon with the flowers? We could arrange it in a bow,” you suggested to the customer as he stood in front of the counter, looking somewhat dumbstruck. Your guess was the guy didn’t visit flower stores very often.

“I- Uh- Sure,” he finally decided and you smiled.

Fiddling with the velvet ribbons, you asked, “Should we do a light blue ribbon to match the flowers or a dark red one to contrast them? Red would also give off an air of passion and love while the blue would give more of an innocent and pure vibe. What do you think?”

The man blushed and mumbled, “The red one should be fine.”

You obediently wrapped his flowers and finished the transaction before smiling and waving him goodbye. The blushy man left and for the first time that day, the store was void of customers.

You sighed in relief but soon put on a smile again as the bell rang. Without a second thought, you turned from the computer screen to the door. Your smile faded.

“Hey there,” Seungmin’s familiar voice greeted you. There was a shy quirk to his lips and you couldn’t help but stop breathing for a second. Instead of delving further into a conversation, he strolled over to the counter as demanded, “I’d like your best red rose. One.”

“Right, of course,” you broke out the miniature daze that had hit you when he entered. “One red rose, coming right up.”

Seungmin watched you quietly before adding, “And maybe a welcome-back hug from my favourite florist?”

Without thinking, you replied, “Sorry, Changbin’s not working until Wednesday.”

Seungmin scoffed between giggles and you melted. He looked you straight in the eyes and spoke, “I meant you, silly. I missed you.”

“I missed you too,” you couldn’t help but whisper as he rounded the counter and pulled you into his arms. Despite not seeing him for six months, you couldn’t help but cuddle into him. His familiar scent just pulled you in and the familiar beat of his heart calmed you down until your heart matched its speed with his.

Seungmin only pulled back from the hug long enough to mumbled, “I’m sorry for leaving so suddenly. I wasn’t thinking straight.”

“It’s okay. I’m just glad you’re back,” you whispered. It would not be a complete lie to say that you were surprised at how fast you were caving in. How was it possible to be this infatuated with a person even after this long?

“Let me make it up to you,” Seungmin suddenly decided and pulled away from you. He seemed almost frantic as he suggested, “Let me take you out on a date and make it up to you. For all these six months that I was an idiot.”

You blinked. “How do you even know if I like you back?”

“Changbin can’t lie to save his life,” he joked, “and I had a feeling. Nothing to do with your computer’s wallpaper.”

Your eyes widened. You had almost forgotten that you had set your wallpaper to a photo of Seungmin. The sudden memory made your heart and breathing stop for a second but Seungmin was quick to comfort you, “Don’t worry. You’re my screensaver too.” He rested his forehead against yours. “So, about that date?”

“What about that rose you came to get?”

Seungmin chuckled, reach out his hand, picked out a rose and placed it between the two of you, never once letting his forehead leave yours.

In a low voice, he spoke, “It’s for you.”

You accepted it without a moment of hesitation.

#inkidz #skz #seungmin #seungmin scenarios #stray kids scenarios #kim seungmin scenarios #admin vy

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subscorpsupremacy · 3 years

Text

expanded version of the Deadly Alliance fic, continuation will be uploaded soon! #SubScorp 💙💛

https://archiveofourown.org/works/32996770/chapters/81897922

Midday at the Lin Kuei temple. Kuai was meditating on a terrace that overlooked the snowy mountain side. Behind him was a hall full of students also ordered to meditate. Without warning, a flash of heat broke the calm and quiet, and Kuai found himself on his back, with weight pressing down on his neck and upper chest. Hanzo has hellported right on top of the cryomancer.

“It’s been more than a whole day, Kuai.”

“I do not know what it is you are trying to imply here. Get off me, Hanzo.”

“Are you avoiding me?”

Hanzo–,“ Kuai strained to get Hanzo off of him, but the ninja had his thighs pressed firmly above the cryomancer’s shoulders and upper arms. "I have to train and meditate.”

“Meditate for what?”

“You know I always meditate to keep my emotions under control and make me more effective in battle.”

“Does that include your emotions for me?” Hanzo asked as he rubbed his crotch in front of Kuai’s face. “How about the intoxicating feeling of warm hard flesh rubbing against your tongue and mouth, hitting the back of your throat? The inner struggle of being a respected and dominant grandmaster but wanting to be abused and dominated behind closed doors, in bed or on the floor, against the wall, or anywhere it pleases? How about the blissfull pleasure of your behind getting stretched by my fully erect, trobbing manhood, penetrating you deep within, forging a connection to your old rival, pounding you over and over until that sweet release of the nectar sweeter and rarer than jinsei, given only by a person who truly cares for and obssesses over you? You weren’t so effective in that battle.”

Kuai’s only response was to flush. Hanzo grinned smugly.

“My students are also meditating close by,” Kuai said quietly. He wasn’t sure if the heat was coming from his flushed cheeks or from Hanzo’s crotch.

“Consider it a training in stealth,” Hanzo grinned as he freed his erection from his pants.

“Shirai Ryu dog. Truly savage and barbaric, operating only by their rage and primal desire.”

“Lin Kuei scum who so willingly bends over and spreads himself to be ravaged by the Shirai Ryu dog.”

Hanzo held his cock and slapped it against Kuai’s face. “Maybe if you stuff your mouth with my meat, your students won’t hear the shameless sounds you make when you let the Shirai Ryu overpower and invade you.”

It didn’t take a minute before the two grandmasters started stripping their armor, hushed but hurried. Kuai started licking and sucking off Hanzo as the latter continued to remove the metal plating they wore. There was no commotion from inside the hall so far. Kuai’s cool demeanor was easily lost to Hanzo’s fiery and arousing words earlier, and the cryomancer was eagerly pursing his lips around the angry manhood of Hanzo. Even in such a difficult position, Kuai was already deepthroating his dominator. His eyes were closed and he seemed lost in the moment, and focused only on the cock in his mouth. Hanzo had to remove Kuai’s armor instead, but Hanzo was finding it hard to keep going as Kuai was doing an extremely good job in pleasuring. Kuai flicked and pushed his tongue around, wanting to taste every inch, and also wanting to stimulate Hanzo.

Kuai has only given head to Hanzo once before, but the cryomancer has surprised the latter this second round so much so that Hanzo wanted to reward Kuai. Hanzo held the back of Kuai’s head and kept the cryomancer’s head planted against the Shirai Ryu’s crotch. While Hanzo’s cock was buried inside Kuai’s mouth and throat, Hanzo rolled on his back, causing Kuai to also roll over, now face down. Hanzo allowed Kuai a gasp of air as the ninja wrapped his rope spear on Kuai’s ankles. With a masterful pull, Kuai’s legs swung towards Hanzo’s face. Wasting no time, Hanzo licked Kuai’s hole. Very lightly and slowly. Kuai clenched but quickly relaxed. Kuai resumed sucking off Hanzo, while Hanzo’s tongue flicked Kuai's hole once more. Despite having a full mouth, Kuai let out hushed sounds of approval. Hanzo then started pushing against Kuai’s ring of muscles, the slippery appendage squeezing its way inside the cryomancer.

There were no words spoken. The two powerful warriors let their bodies speak as they often would during battle. Their muscular limbs wrapped around each other, and their tongue and mouth relentlessly assaulted the other man. Kuai has never felt Hanzo inside both holes simultaneously, and the idea of it took over the cryomancer. He arched his back and pushed his behind closer to Hanzo while Kuai bobbed his head up and down Hanzo’s cock. Kuai was taking Hanzo so deep that Kuai was inhaling musk straight from Hanzo’s balls. Hanzo was happy to respond by slipping his tongue further inside, while simultaneously bucking his hips upward to meet Kuai’s face.

Kuai could feel his skin burning from the steady rise of his libido. Just a few nights ago, he has never been with a man, much less be penetrated by one. Today, just a few paces from his students, not only was he happily slobbering and nearly choking on a man's meat, his behind was also being violated by the same man's tongue. The speed with which he crumbled from this new obsession and passion was not lost on Kuai, and yet, the more he experimented and took in Hanzo in ways he could not even think possible, the more he seemed to long for it. The shamelessness of his acts with his old rival, an equally burly man also of an equally esteemed status and high renown, was already exhilarating and pushing the limits of what he deemed conceivable, but to do them at the risk of getting caught added fuel to this rapidly growing fire. Since when has Kuai let go and be consumed by his emotions like this? Hanzo was right. Kuai's meditation seemed pathetically useless against the wildfire of this daring desire. Kuai hungrily shoved Hanzo's cock as deep as he could, before going up the entire length of the shaft, relishing the feeling and the taste of every inch of skin.

Hanzo grabbed Kuai's ass and spread them open. He wanted nothing more than to invade and penetrate the cryomancer. It felt proper that the Lin Kuei gave way to the Shirai Ryu's advances. It was the natural order of things. The thought of the clueless Lin Kuei students meditating while their grandmaster submitted to the Shirai Ryu's tongue and cock amused Hanzo and stoked his ego.

Their alliance started on the battlefield, but neither were complaining that their mutual desire has extended to pleasuring each other. It has become a personal journey and discovery. Learning more about each other, intimately and deeply just felt right. For once they were enemies, and now they are allies. Did it not make sense that knowing their passions drew them closer and closer to each other? Was it not necessary for them the explore other ways on how to understand each other? Was it not beneficial that they knew how to move as one and forge a deeper bond?

The two men continued to shamelessly pleasure each other while the students meditated in the hall nearby. Hanzo was so lost in the moment, he had to stop and gasp for air. He was surprised Kuai has not stopped bobbing up and down the ninja's cock, and the cryomancer's eagerness more than made up for the lack of experience. Hanzo did not know how long he was distracted by admiring and enjoying the service he was receiving. Hanzo also did not realize when he started staring at Kuai's manhood. The Shirai Ryu grandmaster could not help but notice Kuai’s shaft, for it hung magnificently as a testament to the cryomancer’s virility. Kuai might have been submissive by far, but he would not have been Hanzo’s equal if he had not the same potential for masculine dominance. It was wrapped by engorged and angry veins, and the skin was a touch darker than the rest of the cryomancer. Musk was coming off rather strongly from it and its accompanying nutsack. Its head bulged and was glistening at the tip. Kuai's excitement has prompted his precum to the verge.

"The Lin Kuei scum is already close to creaming himself," Hanzo mused. "Pathetic."

Yet the Shirai Ryu was mesmerized and seemed fixated on seeing that tip continue to glisten until a drop seemed to form from it.

Hanzo hesitated for a moment, but the temptation was far too much. He wrapped his muscular thighs around Kuai’s head and again rolled both of them together. They now laid side by side. Kuai saw the glint and hunger in Hanzo’s eyes. Hanzo was quick to recover, but the weakness has been noted. Kuai was very perceptive after all.

“You may think yourself above me always, but I know you are also curious to taste my meat,” Kuai teased. His shaft stood thick and steady, and its angry veins were even more pronounced than earlier. “It’s the best popsicle you will ever taste.” Kuai chuckled.

Hanzo growled. He forced his cock deep inside Kuai, who gagged at the sudden assault in his throat. “Do not forget your place, Lin Kuei scum.”

Hanzo kept a firm hand on Kuai’s head, locking the cryomancer into a forced deep throat. Hanzo looked at Kuai’s cock. It seemed to only throb even more as the cryomancer struggled from the deep throat. Hanzo fought his pride. Or at least he thought he did. Without realizing, his tongue brushed the base of the shaft, flicked upwards to the tip. Hanzo caught the precum and found himself getting disappointed there was not enough to taste its full potency. Hanzo pursed his lips and kissed the tip. Kuai appeared to have stopped struggling and found a way to keep sucking off Hanzo. Still keeping his lips pursed, the ninja slightly opened his mouth and let it glide down deeper into his mouth. Kuai was surprisingly very warm inside Hanzo’s mouth. Hanzo felt his cheeks flush, for the very temptations he told Kuai earlier seemed to hit the Shirai Ryu grandmaster this time. Hanzo not only swallowed his words, he also swallowed his rival's cock, and therefore his own pride. Hanzo never submitted. He was always the victor, and yet there he was, sucking off another man’s cock. He was no different from his rival. As if to convince himself otherwise, Hanzo slid his fingers inside Kuai.

“You’re still my bitch, Kuai,” Hanzo said roughly, before sucking off Kuai again. Hanzo pushed his fingers deeper and tried to stretch Kuai loose.

"I bet you will come first," Hanzo challenged Kuai in a deep tone. His fingers probed even deeper into Kuai, who moaned in response. The cryomancer seemed unable to keep his rhythm in giving head, and he seemed torn between being overcome with pleasure as Hanzo's fingers reached that perfect spot, and continuing to suck on Hanzo's manhood uninterrupted. Hanzo doubled his assault, and sucked Kuai's cock harder. Hanzo was not going to climax before his rival, and the ninja was determined to show he still had the best endurance, and that his fingers were extremely good in providing pleasure. Sure enough, the Lin Kuei grandmaster was pushed to the edge, and his whole body trembled uncontrollably, every fiber of his being bent on release, and so Kuai started emptying himself into Hanzo's mouth. The warm thick load quickly filled up what little space remained inside Hanzo's mouth, and it flooded the ninja's tongue with the salty bitterness he was searching for earlier. Hanzo swallowed it all and his mouth clamped on the trembling meat, waiting for the rest of the seed being pumped out. A few more spasms from the cryomancer and the deed was done.

Hanzo removed the cock from his mouth but making sure to flick his tongue at the sensitive head, making the cryomancer buckle yet again. "You are such a weakling. Your meditations clearly don't work."

Kuai's face was red from the climax and the humiliation. But he was not one to give up just yet. "I didn't take Grandmaster Hanzo Hasashi of the Shirai Ryu so eager to slurp seed."

The look on Hanzo's face was indescribable. In Hanzo's mind he was exhibiting dominion, and yet his rival quickly turned things around. Before the ninja could erupt in anger, the Lin Kuei grandmaster started to suck Hanzo fervently again, and soon enough, Hanzo shot his thick load and filled up Kuai's mouth. The cryomancer did not swallow immediately, but instead continued to slide his mouth up and down the entire shaft from base to tip. Hanzo's seed spread and coated his penis and allowed Kuai's lips to glide along the shaft in an even smoother manner, and the slick layer added to Hanzo's pleasure. The ninja must have released more seed than he ever did because of that. Kuai then sucked it all and licked the shaft clean.

It was clear to both of them they had not reached such intensity of bliss before. Enemies and allies. Opposition and combination. Yin and Yang. They craved for each other–each other’s grasp, each other’s firm embrace, each other’s strong arms, each other’s skin, each other’s meat, each other’s taste. Two burly men, ruggedly handsome, aged but youthful, exceptionally skilled and well-respected. What else could possibly satisfy them if not each other? They are after all, each other’s equal, and the deep respect they had for each other grew deeper and deeper still, and that affection has manifested physically as Hanzo and Kuai longed to take and pierce each other as deep as they could.

#subscorp #sub-zero #scorpion #my art

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heyheshi · 4 years

Text

Mirror Selfies, Fake Hickeys, and Cheetos... And Lots of Make Out Sheesh

3.3k words

written and uploaded: August 27, 2020

🦋 - fluff

🌙 - angst...? Idek now honestly lmao

💎 - smut, well just lots of make out sheesh

Please like and reblog! Also please don't post my writings anywhere!

Have y'all heard "Half The World Away"? This piece could have been a song fic since it's about being best friends but I've already wrote like half of this when I got the idea and this is in your POV so I'll be doing a song fic soon! And it's about HTWA! in Harry's POV on my 2nd month!

Masterlist

_________

You checked out your outfit one last time in front of your full body mirror - smoothing out those little wrinkles and making sure that your chosen clothes emphasizes your body in the most flattering way. My butt's poppin!, you thought to yourself.

The attire of your choice wasn't entirely revealing, wearing a white sailor pants with eight gold buttons in front - four on each sides, a sheer laced white sleeveless bodysuit that plunges just enough to show a bit of your cleavage, and white pumps. You look elegant in your opinion but not elegant enough to not get hit on in a club.

You're not trying to empress anyone but you also don't wanna look like you just got out of bed on your cousin's party. You decided not to wear any makeup - just some eyeliner and lip gloss, your hair parted in the middle in a low tight ponytail. You added a few gold accessories to accent everything.

You're sure that the club's packed and you're gonna get sweaty, you don't want any makeup to ruin your white clothes. Keeping your fingers crossed that you can keep everything clean and intact throughout the night.

Natural and elegant. Keep it natural and elegant, your mums words keeps replaying in your head.

You took your phone out from your purse that's laying on the dresser - opening the camera app and posing for a couple of mirror shots but only having three of your favorite - one doing a very cheeky pose by smiling big at the mirror while winking, your other hand doing the 'gun'; one looking sweet and shy, looking at the mirror with your eyes wide while holding a strand of your hair as if you're a child being handed your favorite sweet treat; and one looking sexy and seductive, putting your pointer finger on your lip as if biting on it as you look straight into the camera through your mirror.

Giggling to yourself after checking out the photos, you opened the messages app next and clicked on your conversation with your best friend Harry.

"Think it passed the "okay" looking?", you typed...

And sent!

You found him attractive but vowed to not cross any lines but you're feeling extra brave tonight so you also sent him the one where you looked really really hot - in your opinion.

Honestly, you'd say you're tall but not tall enough to rock a sailor pants the way Harry does but to your surprise, you looked rather ravishing tonight.

Your best friend of 2 years gifted you these pants as a joke as you always teased him about wearing one so one night he brought you these pants and said, "you better at least look okay in it" but now jokes on him. You thought that those three pictures will do the honors of mocking him.

As you're locking your front door, you hear your phone notification - a new message from "Sugar Baby :<", an inside joke that you used as Harry's contact name.

"Who was I kidding, you look good in anything. Take care and don't forget our plans tomorrow!", the message said, quickly responding with two frog emojis, you locked your phone.

---

The club really is packed but your cousin had this private booth for everyone so it's all good. You partied like a college student with your cousin and her other friends, managing to not ruin your clothes despite of everyone's clumsiness.

You don't remember much besides drinking and dancing and talking and laughing and kissing this guy - Austin. He was one of those guys that looks like they modeled for some clothing magazine - an underwear apparel perhaps.

It didn't get far with Austin, you mostly just danced and made out but you're also not sure since you're too drunk to comprehend anything. The last thing you remember was you saying goodbye to your cousin and Austin getting you a cab then you're back to your house.

You didn't remember if you paid the driver more than the real rate but you didn't care, you're too excited to try this hairstyle you saw on one of your cousin's friend.

Opening your front door and locking it after you got in, you kicked off your heels and got a bottled water on the fridge to bring to your room. Everything looks blurry but the digital clock on your bedside table reads 2:13 AM.

The last thing you remember was removing your almost non-existent makeup after changing your clothes and sitting on your dresser.

---

You woke up on your bed feeling light-headed but at the same time feeling like you have 10 pounds of rock on top of it. You noticed that you're laying on your bed wearing your worn out college shirt, some underwear and a tiny pair of shorts. Your blinds shut all the way and your clock reading 9:48 AM.

Freaking out, you remembered your plans with your best friend today. Scrambling out of your bed to your bathroom, you brushed your teeth and washed your face thanking the heavens for giving you enough time to change out of your clothes last night - which is now on your hamper near your bathroom door - and cleaning your face properly.

You also noticed that your hair is properly styled - your hair's upper half's sectioned into three then braided to meet in the middle, while the half down's curled into waves.

You left the bathroom and went to your dresser to check your phone. You saw that your hair curler is still plugged but turned off - quickly unplugging it - and your other hair styling supplies laid on your dresser.

You head is still pounding as you look through your messages and missed calls. None of them from "Sugar Baby :<". Sighing, you racked your mind as much as you can to remember why your hair is styled this way and why hasn't your best friend called, maybe he got called in the studio last-minute, your mind told you.

Shaking your head, you slowly opened your door to strut down to your kitchen to eat some breakfast and take some Advil to at least ease your headache.

You were about to put some cereal on your bowl when Harry appeared out of nowhere startling you, a few bits of your corn flakes now scattered on your table.

"Mornin' sleepy head", Harry chuckles, greeting you with a teasing smile as if to mock you for mocking him last night when you're the one who's hammered right now. You looked at him with scarred eyes then pulling your eyebrows together as if questioning him.

"You gave me a spare key, remember. Knew you'd be hung over so I didn't woke you up, just let myself in. Was in the washroom when you got down.", he said answering your unvoiced question, "oh I also got you some waffles from your favorite diner, it's in the living room.", you only smiled at him as a sign of gratitude.

You started cleaning up your mess when you heard him speak once again, "wild night huh?", Harry teases you.

You looked up to meet his eyes, "Huh? What're you talking 'bout?", you asked in your morning voice, only having to talk right now for the first time.

"Huh? What are you talking about?", Harry failed miserably on trying to copy your voice, you only laughed at him. "C'mon love, don't be shy now!", he added.

You shake your head at him and looked down, "I really don't know what you're talking about...", you kept your head down as your tried to think of everything that happened last night that might connect to what Harry was saying.

"So you're telling me nobody tried to hit on you with THAT outfit last night?", he joked.

"Uh well someone did but nothing happened, I swear, so please just tell me what is it. My head hurts when I try to think."

Harry took his phone from his pocket and gave it to you, the camera app opened. You can see your tired looking face on the screen, "look at your neck, you got three.", Harry explained.

Trying to find what he's talking about, you moved your hair away from your neck and saw it. Three bruises on your neck, a hickey perhaps? One below your right ear, one just above your left collarbone, and one in the middle of your neck.

"Oh...", was the only thing you said as you further examined the bruises and giving the phone back to Harry. You're sure that Austin didn't leave a mark then you realized something.

At first it looked like a love mark but when you looked closely to it, you'd realize that it's a burn - your hair curler burn. After realizing it, the events after you went home last night came rushing back making you hold your head.

You remember everything from changing your clothes, to removing your make up, to sitting on your dresser and clumsily trying this hair style you saw on the party and managing to burn yourself more than usual as you curl your hair, then going to bed after you gave up by turning off the curler.

Looking back at it, your hair style and burns doesn't look that awful for some drunk fella doing it. And for some reason, you don't want to tell your best friend the truth so you just shrugged it off as you finished cleaning up your mess.

You can feel his eyes burning on your neck as you rounded the table and giving him a hug, "thank you for the food.", you said and went to plop down on your couch in the living room, leaving H astounded and confused.

You started opening the take out boxes that contains your waffles and some other breakfast as Harry opened your T.V. and launched Netflix.

The silence was nice for your head with only a few laughs here and there as you both watched and eat some breakfast but Harry was unusually very quiet, not making any remarks at all.

You decided to ask him later and finished off your food, Harry already done with his a few minutes ago. You stood up the couch and took your trash to the kitchen then taking some pain reliever for your head before going back to the living room.

When you went back to Harry, he was just looking absent-mindedly on the television so you sat really close to him and took his right arm so you can tuck yourself beside him, bringing back his arms but this time around your body.

"What's the matter?", you asked as you looked up at him, the medicine already taking its effect making you less dizzy.

"Just tired love.", he said not looking down at you. You only nodded and never thought much about it and looked back to the show you both were watching while caressing his hands that's laying near your tummy.

A few more minutes on the movie, you called out his name, "Harry, I can tell something's bothering you...", you whispered.

Harry being Harry, whipped his head so fast that your lips accidentally touched in a peck. Sighing, he moved his head away from yours, "later.", was the only thing he said, not giving you any explanation.

You knew that the sigh wasn't because of the accidental kiss. You've shared a kiss or two before when you were both drunk or accidentally kissed like this so it wasn't new but it didn't stop you from running your tongue throughout your lower lips when he wasn't looking.

He was acting really strange. He's always really affectionate and flirty when it comes towards you so - always mocking you or telling you jokes and distracting you most of the time by tickling you as you cuddle with him - so you know that something's bothering him right now.

He looked at you when you started to move away from him, only for you to straddle his lap and hug him, something you usually do when he's feeling down.

Yes, it doesn't look like something best friends would do but you both became really comfortable enough around each other to do this.

The show long forgotten as you tended your Harry, running your hands through his hair as you pecked his hairline repeatedly. Harry had his head on your neck as he holds you tight against his body, his two big hands covering almost all of your back.

You don't know how much time has passed but you didn't mind until you felt Harry's hand going at the back of your neck, finger tips felt like he's tickling your skin but you didn't make a huge deal out of it.

Your legs now feeling a bit numb so you adjusted yourself on his lap, Harry's head snapping back to you, "stop moving, Y/N.", he said sternly and you whispered an apology. You knew how much he hated it when you two cuddled and you can't stop moving.

He just put his head back to your neck again and for a few minutes everything is peaceful until you felt ticklish on the spot where Harry's head's placed but you refrained from moving, not wanting to upset him any further.

The movement was barely there for a few minutes until you can firmly feel his lips kissing and licking your neck, "H-harry, wh-what are you d-doing?", you tried to push him away but he only hold you closer, your moans threatening to spill as he continues his movements.

You then felt him suck and bit on your neck, a movement you knew will give you a mark - Harry's mark, and then you realized that where he's doing it is the spot where you burned yourself.

You cannot stop yourself from finally gripping his hair to push his head more towards your neck, both of you moaning a bit.

"What're we doing?", you panted heavily as Harry moved his head, probably heading towards your other burn below your ear.

His mouth working deliciously on your skin making your stomach churn and making you grind on him in return, moaning in delight.

"I'm just making sure that those marks are now MY marks.", Harry looked up to you with droopy eyes then went back to marking you.

"I- bu-", you couldn't form any coherent word, let alone a sentence so you just let your best friend mark you as much as he wanted.

You know it's wrong and that you vowed not to cross any line but his lips just felt too good on your skin to stop it.

You gripped his hair tightly making Harry moan as he marked you on the thrid spot, the middle of your neck, one of your sweet spots - and you think Harry noticed as your moans and whimpers of his name got louder making him suck harder.

You grounded you hips on his, feeling him get hard. You yanked his hair away from your neck and met his lips in a hot steamy kiss. His hands now on your hips, helping you move your hips against his.

Moans, pants and whimpers was all you can hear around the living room until you pulled away.

"I- Harry what are we thinking?!", your frustration is heard and can be seen on your face, your lips swollen and your neck red and starting to bruise from Harry's earlier assault.

Harry throw his head back on the couch, "fuck! 'M so sorry love! I- I always- fuck! I just, was so jealous of the guy I couldn't contain my possessiveness and you're not even mine!"

You only looked at him surprised, "I-", you didn't finish your sentence as you went back to kiss him again which took Harry by surprise but eagerly kissed you back.

"It was a burn.", you panted against Harry's lips.

He pulled away, looking at you confused, "what?".

"Nothing happened last night, we only made out, it wasn't hickeys, it was hair curler burns...", you explained blushing.

He put his hands on your arms, caressing it lightly, "why didn't you tell me?"

"Dunno", you shrugged, "guess I wanted to know how you'd react, make you jealous maybe...", you looked down ashamed of yourself, feeling so small under his gaze.

Harry only laughed as he run his fingers along his marks, "well it worked. Got really jealous, love.", he said and angled your face to meet his eyes. "Liked you since forever and I was jealous, thought he got to take THAT outfit off of you last night...", Harry murmured, his ears looking red out of embarrassment making you feel a bit better.

"Liked you since forever too... and good thing I went home alone, huh?", you teased Harry, ruffling his hair a bit and putting both of your hands on his shirt clad chest.

"He still got to kiss you..."

"Well then guess you got a lot of making up to do!", with that you kissed him again, hungrily. Until he pulled away.

"Cheetos.", Harry said then went back to kissing you again but you're too confused to continue.

"H, what?"

"Those three pictures last night...", he kissed down your neck as he continued, "Cheetos, salsa-queso for the one where you looked cute and cheesy...", slowly going back up, "the sweetos Cheetos - the cinnamon sugar puff ones - for the one where you looked like a child...", he pulled away at last making you breathe out finally, "and flamin hot Cheetos for the one where you looked really sexy.", Harry smiled cheekily at you as you pondered on what he said.

"You couldn't have thought of something better to compare me to, huh?", you laughed at him but you think it's sweet, really.

Harry played with the tips of your hair and said, "I bet you fifty bucks that you sent that last picture just to seduce me."

"Well Mister Styles you're right!", you laughed, "why? Are you mad?"

"Mad? That outfit made me lose control, really thankfully it led to this."

You pecked his lips once more, "hmmm, you're right... so what now...?"

"Well for starters, you could've called me to take care of you last night...", his sweet words ran through your head until he continued, "and well you owe me...", he did this cute thinking face that you love, "you have to wear it again, this time, with ME beside you, want us to match too!", you giggled at his childishness but let him continue.

"That's just an excuse to take it off of you the next time around!", he overexaggeratedly winked at you, letting you know that he's joking - maybe not but honestly you don't mind!

You sighed then smiled, "that's it?"

"Well you do owe me a date, miss."

You removed yourself away from him and stood up, "is that so? You gotta call me SUGAR MOMMY first!", you teased him.

"Stop! Come back here!", Harry made a grabby hands at you while jutting out his lips.

"Okay, just tell me when and where!", after that words came out of your mouth, Harry quickly went to where you're standing and kissed you for a few seconds before carrying you to your bedroom where you spent the rest of the day kissing and laughing and planning for your first date. Making a mental note to buy those Cheetos to bring along to your date.

Your headache long gone and the both of you not feeling any hunger as long as you got each others lips. For the first time in months, you felt really happy, now you wouldn't be jealous of Harry being with other people, and him to you but the thought of putting your friendship with him at risk scares you to death but with him beside you, you knew that it'll all work out in the end.

_____

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songtoyou · 3 years

Text

Epiphany - Part Four

Paring: Luke Crain x Female Reader

Chapter Rating: PG-13

Word Count: 3,080

Warnings: Talks of drug use and recovery. Swearing and self-doubt.

Description: Life has never been easy for Luke Crain. After the death of Nell, Luke realizes that he needs to make some changes. He decided to stay in Massachusetts and attend rehab. He was determined to remain on his path of sobriety. When you get assigned to be Luke’s sponsor, it opens a new door of possibilities that neither you nor Luke expected.

A/N: I am sorry that it has taken me so long to write and upload this chapter. I have not been feeling so good since I posted that last chapter. Lots of anxiety keeping me from doing things such as write. Anyway, here is the new chapter. I wanted to write about Aunt Janet. I felt that the show didn’t really tell us much about her except that she took care of the kids after the events of Hill House in 1992.

Note: Italics represent the past or past conversations.

Feedback is wonderful. It is nice knowing if people are actually liking this fic.

I do not permit my work to be posted on any other site without my permission.

Tag list: @morningstar09

~Aunt Janet’s House – 2002 ~

“Luke! Hurry up, or you’re going to be late for school!” Aunt Janet yelled up the stairs.

“Luke! Come on!” exclaimed Nellie. “I’ll go check on him.”

“Thanks, sweetie,” said Janet. Her youngest nephew often worried her, especially since it was the tenth anniversary of Olivia’s death this past summer. Janet started to notice that Luke became more recluse and stayed up in his room. The only person Luke would interact with was Nell, which was not surprising to Janet. The twins only managed to become closer as they got older.

What really began to cause Janet to worry was catching Luke steal money from her purse. She asked him what he was doing and why he was stealing. However, Luke could come up with a pretty decent lie about needing money to buy flowers for Olivia’s grave.

In truth, it was to buy beer. Luke had taken a liking to the barley and hops beverage. It helped him feel numb and not worry about anything. Unfortunately, Luke had one too many beers last night and was paying for it. Nellie found him headfirst in the toilet regurgitating the contents of his late-night beer binge.

“Eww, gross. What is wrong with you?” asked Nellie. She pinched her nose as the stench of Luke’s puke was overwhelming.

“What does it look like! I’m sick! Tell Aunt Janet that I can’t go to school.”

“Luke, come on. You have missed too many days already. They’re going to hold you back another year if you miss any more school,” Nellie argued while searching through Luke’s drawers and closet for clothes.

Luke managed to get up from the bathroom floor when he felt it was safe. He rinsed out his mouth to relieve it from the after taste of throw-up.

“Come on! Get cleaned up and put these on,” ordered Nell and shoved Luke’s clothes in his arms.

Luke groaned and plopped down on his bed. “Nellie…I can’t go to school today. I’m too sick.”

“Well, your sickness is also making me sick, but I managed to get up and ready for school today. Now move it! I’ll keep bugging you if you don’t move. I’m not going to let you fall to the waste side. Do you hear me, Luke?”

“Fine! I’m getting dressed!” Luke yelled to get Nellie off of his back.

No matter what occurred between them, neither twin could ever hate the other. They were each other’s best friends and closest confidante. They had to be. Especially now that they were the last two left in Aunt Janet’s care. As soon as their eldest siblings turned eighteen, they hightailed it out of Janet’s house for college.

Luke slowly trudges down the stairs with his backpack slumped on his shoulders.

“Hey, there he is,” greeted Aunt Janet. “Would you like some breakfast, sweetie?”

“No! No breakfast,” Luke replied with his head on the table.

However, Nellie pushed a plate of dry toast in front of him and told him to at least nibble some bites. “Here’s some orange juice. Take slow sips. The last thing we need is you spewing junks in the toilet again,” whispered Nellie while Aunt Janet was in the kitchen. She would not out that her brother was hungover. That last thing Nell wanted was to cause any more trouble for Luke.

She knew why Luke did not want to go to school, and it had to do with, what else, their family. Some of the kids at school saw Luke as an easy target to bully and terrorize. The topic of their “messed-up” family was their go-to whenever they wanted to antagonize Luke. Nell often found herself a target for bullies but could stand up for herself a lot better than Luke.

With the anniversary of Olivia’s death, the bullies made it their mission to torment Luke about growing up without a mother or father. They would push him against the lockers, knocking his glasses off his face, and trip him in the hallways. It was too much to handle, and Luke was tired.

Leaning back in his chair, Luke re-read the words on the computer screen. His instructor loved the essay he turned in and advised him to expand upon it. Luke pushed aside his reservations about exploring his past traumas through writing. It was a better outlet for Luke to help cope and tackle past stressful life experiences. Not only did Luke have support from his instructor and you, but his counselor at Banyan Treatment Center, Rob, also supported the idea of using expressive writing as a way to heal.

Luke could not deny that writing helped clear his head. Something he learned while being in rehab back in Los Angeles. It allowed him to face things from his past that he had pushed aside. However, Luke had some reservations about how much he should…open himself up when it comes to sorting out his past events. There were still things that Luke was not quite ready to face.

Oh my God!" exclaimed Luke. "It has been a month and a half since we have seen that movie. It would be best if you got over the ending. It happened. There is nothing you can do about it."

"I can't, Luke. It was total bullshit!" you yelled back furiously.

Luke calmly said your name to get your attention. "Listen to me; we don't even know if Steve Rogers actually stayed back in time to be with Peggy. He may have…"

"Then where did he go? Huh? He just up and left his friends who he just got back. Steve and Peggy never even dated! They kissed, that is it. Yes, there was an attraction that each had for one another, but that was all it ever way…an attraction. They are a 'what could have been' type of couple—the movie completely throughout all of Steve's character development…right out the window. Whatever, I'm over it," you stated, throwing your hands up in defeat.

You and Luke were driving to his Aunt Janet's house for a visit. He mentioned to you about wanting to visit his aunt for some time but had not gotten around to it. You were surprised that he asked you to come along.

Luke mentioned that Shirley and Theo were too busy to come with him and did not want to go alone. You agreed on the condition that he drive since Aunt Janet lived an hour and a half away from Wilmington. Lately, your anxiety has been going up and down, so you were not comfortable being at the hands of the wheel, especially on the freeway. You did not understand why you had such anxiety these past few days. You chalked it up to being nervous about your final project at school. The assignment was to create a self-portrait. It should be simple enough, but of course, the art instructor wanted students to "think outside of the box" and not have it be a regular standard portrait of themselves.

Each draft you came up with was of you in some state of turmoil, whether it be you depicted on a gurney getting resuscitated from your heroin overdose or lying in a pool of your own vomit. You could not understand why this particular project was giving you such a hard time. You were three-years sober. You had a steady job and gone back to school. Your relationship with your parents was better than ever. So, why the thought of a self-portrait brought upon negative thoughts about oneself?

You mentioned your troubles to Luke, and he was very sympathetic. While he was now 206 days sober, there were times where he felt…like the achievement did not mean much.

"What do you mean by that?" you asked him while on the way to Aunt Janet's house.

"It's just…this isn't my first rodeo when it comes to recovery," Luke began to say. "There is always this little voice in the back of my head that…"

"That it is only temporary. I have that little voice too. I'm not too fond of that little voice. Three years sober, and there are times where I still feel like a total failure. I shouldn't, but…I can't help it," you revealed to Luke honestly.

"Thankfully, there is another little voice in the back of my head that gives tells me that I'm doing a good job now and then. It's just that positive little voice has been a tad quiet lately," you added.

Luke could pick up on the little defeatist tone in your voice, and he did not like it. You immediately felt his worry about you. "Hey," you said to get his attention and placed a hand on his arm. "Don't worry about me, okay. I'm fine. I have my fears like every recovering addict. It is nice to talk to someone about it, particularly someone who understands, you know. That helps."

Silence soon filled the car, but it was not awkward. You never had awkward or uncomfortable silences with Luke. For some reason, Luke was one of the few comforting presences in your life. Regardless of all of the hardships he has gone through in his life, he offered a sense of hopefulness. With his 6'3 stature, Luke really came off more like a gentle giant. It was like he did not view himself as this grown tall man, but probably still felt like that little kid hiding under the bed from the "Tall Man" at Hill House.

"Luke," you said to get his attention. "Are you happy?"

"No," he replied immediately, then clarified when he saw the look you gave him. "I mean, am I happy that I am over 200 days clean, then yes I am, very much so. But…I don't know, there is a small part of me that is scared to be happy…to be content in fear of something going wrong."

When Luke pulled the car into Aunt Janet's driveway, the older woman immediately came out of the house to greet her youngest nephew.

"There he is, my little boy," she said and wrapped her arms around Luke, which he reciprocated.

"Hi Aunt Janet, how are you?"

"I'm fine, darling. How have you been?" Aunt Janet asked, pulling away to get a good look at Luke. He looked much better than he did at Nell's funeral.

"Good. I'm doing good. Everyone is doing…fine," Luke replied, then turned towards you. He introduced you as his friend and not his sponsor to his Aunt, which kind of surprised you.

"So nice to meet you," said Aunt Janet taking your hand. She motioned for you both to follow her into the house. "I hope you both are hungry. I made an array of sandwiches and salads for lunch. Luke, I also made your favorite…chocolate pecan pie bars."

"Thank the Lord because he was hoping you would make them on the car ride here. It was all he talked about?" you teased.

"Once you have one, then you will know what I am talking about," Luke responded with a smile.

Aunt Janet lead you both into the kitchen.

"Can I use the bathroom to freshen up?" you asked her.

"Oh yes, dear. It is down that hallway, the first door to the right," told Aunt Janet as she showed you where to go. "Luke, you should probably wash your hands first," she added.

"Yes, Aunt Janet," he said and went to the sink to wash his hands.

When you were no longer in earshot, Aunt Janet stood beside her nephew and said, "Your friend seems really sweet."

Luke could not hold back his smile, "Yeah, she is genuinely nice. She's fun to hang out with. We have a lot of the same interests. Shirley and Theo have met her as well," he mentioned and shared that both of his sisters really liked you.

Aunt Janet turned her head to see if you came if you were around the corner. When you were not, she leaned over to Luke and said, "Very pretty too. She'd make a lovely…"

"Aunt Janet, she is just a friend. I can't date her anyway. She's…they say you shouldn't date anyone while still in recovery."

"I'm so proud of you," Aunt Janet said as she placed the food on the kitchen table. "You are becoming the man I always knew you could be."

Luke would be lying to himself if he denied that there was some form of attraction that he had for you, both physically and emotionally. He knew that the feelings that he was slowly developing towards you could be considered wrong. You were his sponsor…a dedicated one at that too. It would not be right for him to act on any attraction he may have for you—no doubt, that you would not reciprocate them, which would be disappointing to Luke.

"Better to just suffer in silence," Luke thought to himself.

"Don't you want a girlfriend? A family of your own someday?" asked Aunt Janet.

"Yeah…maybe. Someday. I'm just learning to take care of myself without drugs in my system. There is no way I can be a dedicated father or husband to anyone… at least not right now. I am still a work in progress," Luke admitted to his aunt. "I do like…" But Luke stopped when he heard your footsteps approaching.

"Oh, my goodness. The pictures on the wall… I'm assuming the little kid with glasses is you, Luke."

The three of you sat around the kitchen table with your plates stacked with delicious food.

"Luke was the absolute cutest kid. He had a little lisp as well," Aunt Janet shared. "I have more pictures of the kids if you would like to see them?"

"Yes," you replied ecstatically.

"No," Luke disputed, "We are in the middle of eating."

"We can multitask. Let's see those pictures," you asserted gleefully while Aunt Janet got up from the table.

With a belly full of food, the three you were now sitting outside on the patio, drinking tea, and eating Aunt Janet's yummy chocolate pecan pie bars. You already looked through three photo albums that showed Luke and his siblings' younger years.

"I wanted to take as many pictures as I could of the kids. They hated it, but I told 'em they would appreciate it when they got older," expressed Aunt Janet. "Here's a picture of Nell on her wedding day. That's her husband, Arthur. Sadly, he passed away a couple of months after they got married. But…they are together now."

You looked at the photo of the young couple. Nell looked very much like her older sisters and her mother. You could tell that there was a kindness about Nell just by looking at the picture. She was the type of person to go above and beyond for her family and even strangers. Luke would say that Nell was just that type of person to care about everyone, no matter who they were or where they came from.

Luke did share with you that one of his biggest regrets was not going to Nell's wedding. He said that he tried, but Shirley told him to leave. Luke said that it was for the best and that he was in no right state of mind to support his twin the way she deserved on her wedding day.

Thankfully for Luke, Nell understood and held no hard feelings. She never did when it came to her other half.

Aunt Janet began to sniffle, and when you looked up from the photo, you saw the older woman dab her eyes with a napkin. Out of instinct, Luke grabbed his Aunt's tiny hand and squeezed it with his as a way to show support. Just as he was Aunt Janet's little boy, Nell was her little girl. She was the one to raise them, take care of them, and guide them into adulthood.

None of the Crain children were perfect; they were far beyond that notion. However, there is no denying that if they did not have Aunt Janet take care of them and love them, they could have been worse off. Luke had the overwhelming feeling of guilt encompassing him at the moment as Aunt Janet tried to hold back her tears.

You instantly looked up at Luke. You could feel his sense of guilt towards the way he treated his aunt while growing up. He looked over at you. It was a silent conversation you both were having between one another. You mouthed, "Do you want me to go?" so he could have this moment alone.

With a shake of his head, 'No,' Luke spoke up to get his aunt's attention. "Aunt Janet…I'm sorry. I'm sorry for…for all the Hell I put you through while living here. You did so much for Nell and me, and the others that I…shit all over it. I stole and lied to you like it was my job. You deserved better. I just want you to know that…me getting hooked on drugs…well…that was…no matter what had happened…it was my choice to go down that path of destruction. I love you, Aunt Janet, and I am so appreciative of the sacrifices you made for my siblings and me. I wish that I weren't such a fuck up…"

"Oh sweetheart, no, you are not a…fuck up," Aunt Janet interjected and continued, "Not at all. I love you so much that…I would do anything for you, you know that, right? Your childhood is in the past. It happened. It is a part of you. The fact that you are continuing to remain clean after all that has occurred…well, that is something you should be most proud of. It shows that you are dedicated to your sobriety and turning your life around. No one said this process was easy, but you stayed the course and continued to make good decisions. As I told you earlier, you are becoming the man I always knew you could be."

"Now, I'm going to cry," Luke giggled as he dabbed his eyes with a napkin. "I didn't mean to turn this into a sob fest, but I wanted you to know that I'm sorry for what I put you through and that I love you very much, Aunt Janet."

Aunt Janet emerged from her seat to wrap her arms around her nephew and kiss the top of his head. It was a sweet moment to witness.

#luke crain #luke crain x reader #luke crain x female reader #the haunting of hill house #oliver jackson cohen

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ayamari-no-goshi · 3 years

Text

Verboten 12 | (T)

ff.net | AO3

Fandom: Danny Phantom (DP)

Summary: AU. When Danny was five years old, he went missing for 2 weeks. In the years that follow, his family tried to make sense of what happened, only for the truth to be discovered years later.

Warnings: rated T for violence, mentions of death, language. Be prepared for some very weird things

Chapter warning: minor character death. Blood

Parings: Danny/Sam

Notes: originally uploaded to Ff.net. Cross-posted to AO3 and tumblr. This fic is very heavily inspired by folklore surrounding mysterious wilderness disappearances

Chapter 12

After he was cleared to return to school, he found the media waiting for him. Somehow, Danny’s parents managed to keep them away from the house. Actually, that wasn’t too surprising as his dad did have a bad habit of accidentally attacking people who paid unplanned visits to the house. The mental image of a particularly annoying reporter with too much perfume covered in the green goop from one of his parents’ inventions was rather pleasing. Following the events at the campgrounds, the school was closed for a week while the police conducted interviews with the staff and school board The information he got from Sam, whose parents were among those interviewed, suggested the police wanted to verify those involved with the school had nothing to do with what happened. However, a rumor circulated that the staff knew about the original missing person investigation prior to the trip, which prompted the school to release a statement where the park and its employees for the tragedy. That didn’t sit well with the general populace, who began regular protests in front of the school.

Once the school re-opened, the reporters began targeting students for interviews they couldn’t get with the school’s staff. Since most of the students were minors, the police got involved to prevent any potential legal issues. However, their presence did not stop the reporters from trying. Each time one of the students involved in the “mass abduction,” as it was being called, returned to the school, the reporters renewed their attempts.

After successful dodging the reporters, Danny made his way to his locker. Unlike the countless times he previously made the trip, this particular time was different. The tension in the air was palpable as the other students stared at him as he passed.

His friends met him at his locker. When he mentioned the stares, Tucker gave an awkward chuckle. “About that, word got out that you were found hours after the rest of us. There are a lot of rumors about what you might or might not have seen and why you weren’t as injured as the A-listers.”

“Speaking of the the A-listers, which ones are back?” Danny questioned as he grabbed his books. Other than the general aftermath, he didn’t know too much regarding what happened to the other abductees.

“All but Star are back. She lost part of her arm, so she’s in physical therapy. I overheard the queen bee saying something about how Star might end up being transferred,” Sam answered as she kept an eye on some of the students staring at them.

He nodded. “That’s more than understandable.” The noticeable tension gave way to what he could only describer as an overwhelming wrongness.

His friends grabbed his arms to stabilize him. “Dude, what’s wrong? Is it related to your… you know?” Tucker’s voice momentarily seemed distant, and it took Danny a great deal of focus to concentrate on it. “Are you sure you should have returned today?”

“It’s okay… it’s just…”

“FENTON!” The sound of Dash’s voice rang through the hallway. Danny had little time to react before the jock suddenly appeared in his line of sight and pinned him to the lockers. “I’ve been waiting for you to come back. You better have an explanation for what happened that day!” Anger radiated off Dash in waves.

“What is your problem?” He still didn’t understand how he became so sensitive to emotions, but they seemed to affect what Frostbite called his core. “If you forgot, you ran off and left us!”

“Are you telling me that you didn’t see that thing? You didn’t see what hurt Star? You better not be lying to me. You’re the one who gave us that weird warning before everything happened!”

“Get off me,” he snapped as he pushed Dash away. “Regarding what happened to you and your friends, I only know what I was told when I was in the hospital. We,” he gestured to his friends as his chest suddenly seemed to freeze, “never saw you guys after you ran off. So, whatever you saw, we certainly didn’t see it.”

“Don’t play dumb with me. Don’t your crackpot parents study this type of stuff?”

Before he could reply, the cold sensation gripped his chest again as the wrongness from earlier returned. The girl who was on the new the other night walked by and momentarily locked eyes with him. His entire body screamed danger, and his core tried activating in defense. It took all of his willpower to squash it down. The girl just gave him a haughty smile and continued on her way.

“Well, aren’t you going to say something?” Dash’s voice brought him back to the situation at hand.

“My parents aren’t crackpots. If you want information from them, go ask them yourself. Good luck at understanding their explanations though. Come on, guys.”

“Are you calling me stupid, Fenton? Cuz if you are…”

“Dash, even I can barely understand some of their theories, and I grew up exposed to that stuff.” That seemed to somewhat diffuse the jock’s anger as he simply growled and sulked away. After nodding in satisfaction, he caught the stunned looks of his friends. “What?”

“Well, at least we know one good thing that happened from our little romp in the woods, you grew a backbone.” Sam’s satisfied smirk caught him off guard. Was she preening? However, her eyes narrowed as her gaze drifted towards where the underclassman disappeared. “But what was that about? You looked like you were going to have a fit when that girl walked by?”

“You noticed that too? I thought I was imaging things,” Tucker added as warning bell rang.

“Remind me to tell you at lunch. I’m not sure if it’s something others should hear.”

….

A few hours later, Danny and his friends found themselves huddled at one of the lunch tables at the far end of the cafeteria. While his friends took a few bites of their meals, he scanned the area to make sure no one was close enough to overhear them. His eyes eventually fell on the girl from earlier.

She seemed normal enough, especially since she was sitting next to Paulina. They wouldn’t have let her anywhere near them if they thought she was odd. However, even though her hair and clothing seemed immaculate, there was something stiff and unnatural in her posture. It was almost as if she was trying too hard to sit normally.

“Alright Danny, spill it.” Tucker’s voice made him jump. Glancing back at his friends, he realized they were both impatiently staring at him. “What happened earlier?”

“Let me ask this first: what do you know about that girl?” He gestured towards where she sat.

“Oh, you mean Maura?” Sam’s voice was full of spite. “She’s been trying to suck up to Paulina over the last two years. Apparently, she managed to get into Queen Bee’s good graces enough to be acknowledged as her unofficial successor. She’s just as mean and shallow as the rest of them. Why?”

“Because, according to the news, she went missing on a local trail around the same time we went missing in the forest. Eww! Tucker!”

Tucker’s apology for sitting out his drink was short as he brought out his PDA. After a few quick taps, he brandished it in front of him. After Sam snatched it from him, she and Danny discovered he brought up the article that matched the new report Danny saw. “Dude, that’s really weird.”

“I’d have to agree.” After Sam glanced at the article, she glanced towards the girl. “They found her in a dazed state but uninjured?”

“What was she even doing other there anyways?”

“With your attempts to hit on most of the girls in the school, I’m surprised you didn’t know.” Sam raised a questioning eyebrow towards Tucker. “She’s a member of the cross country team. From what I’ve overheard, it’s fairly normal for her to train on the trails around the area.”

“Oh, I forgot about that.”

“Do you know anything else about her? What?” Danny hadn’t expected Sam to scowl at him. “Look, I get you don’t like her, but the news said something about how her parents said she felt off to them. And when we made eye contact earlier, it was like my entire being screamed something was very wrong and very dangerous.” He glanced in Maura’s direction again. “Look at the way she’s sitting. Something doesn’t feel right.”

“Danny, did you ever think it was possibly less supernatural?” A sigh escaped Sam when he just raised an eyebrow. “She honestly could have just seen something she shouldn’t have. I mean, it’s not weird for drug dealers, cultists, and other people who don’t want to be seen do their business in the woods.” After glancing back over towards Maura, a deep frown crossed Sam’s face. “It is weird that it happened the same day though.”

“Hmm… maybe. I mean, it did happen the same day. Can we just keep an eye on her, just to be safe?”

“I’m cool with it.” Tucker adjusted his glasses before glancing back at the A-listers.

“Of course you would be.” Sam shook her head in disapproval before turning back to Danny. “I think you’re being paranoid, but I’ll let you know if I see or hear anything weird.”

“I appreciate it.” While he knew his friends were humoring him, Danny couldn’t help but feel somewhat relieved. After a moment, a memory from the morning came to mind. “Hey, did either of you see a lot of police this morning? There were a bunch a few blocks away from my house.”

Instead of immediately replying, Tucker paled as he quickly checked something on his PDA. “Damn it, there was another one.”

“Another what?” Both Sam and Danny echoed as Tucker shoved the PDA into Danny’s hand. A brief glance showed the article was about a recent death in Amity Park.

Before Danny had a chance to read more, Tucker launched into a hushed explanation. “You guys know my mom works for the 911 call center, right? Well, she said something about there being a lot of weird deaths recently.”

“Weird how? Like normal weird, as in ‘person’s weird hobby got them’? Or strange weird as in ‘that’s effed up’?”

“Like ‘that’s effed up’. Sam, you need to stop laying off the true crime shows if you’re make distinctions like that. Anyways,” the techno-geek leaned in as he lowered his voice again, “when my mom asked a police officer friend about it, he stated that they think there might be a serial killer.”

“A what?” Danny felt the blood run from his face. Did Tucker really just say what he thought he did?

“Dude, keep your voice down! But yeah, that’s what they’re thinking because the victims all have something important ‘missing from their person’.”

An uneasy sensation pooled at the bottom of Danny’s stomach. “What exactly is missing?”

A frown crossed Tucker’s face before he responded. “You know, I’m not really sure. Mom doesn’t want to say anything about it. I just chalked it up to the police not wanting to spread information on what they have.”

“But you’d think if it was something as simple as a personal item, they’d could at least specify that,” Sam mentioned. After glancing around to make sure no one was nearby, she continued. “That makes me worried there’s something more sinister going on.”

“You’re the true crime expert. How common is that?”

“It’s extremely common for killers to take souvenirs, but it’s insanely rare for them to… err… take part of a body.” Her voice pitched in discomfort as she spoke.

“And on that note, I think I’ve lost my appetite.”

Sam grabbed his arm as he went to stand. “Come on, Danny. That’s most likely not what’s happening here.”

“With everything else we’ve recently dealt with and learned, that’s not something I want to hear. Do you remember what Frostbite told us? Do you remember what you said Plasmius talked about? I don’t want to get paranoid for no reason.” With that, he gathered his items and walked off.

….

As the week came to a close, Danny noted it almost seemed the entire town was on edge. People on the streets spoke in quiet whispers about what the police were doing. His fellow students tended to go straight home after school instead of hanging out in the normal spots. Even the animals seemed on edge. Several times he caught dogs whimpering if their owners stopped for any reason.

His parents’ research did little to help his unease. Their scanners signaled several times that week. According to his mother, they were detecting electrical abnormalities, but the abnormalities only seemed to last for a few minutes. His parents were concerned about the sudden spike in them and were doing all they could to attempt to find some sort of explanation. People also started calling around the times of the spikes reporting sightings of odd shadows.

To make matters worse, he was having trouble falling asleep. Normally, he’d chalk it up to insomnia, but his body didn’t seem to feel tired in the morning after only three or four hours. It was as if the normal amount of sleep was just not needed. While he wasn’t certain if it was a weird side effect of his ghostly affliction, Sam’s mention of ghosts drawing energy from strong emotions often came to mind. He hoped that wasn’t the case, but he couldn’t outright dismiss it.

Around eleven in the morning on Saturday, he received a text from Tucker. It simply said he had some important information for him and Sam, and that he wanted them to meet up. Sam immediately offered her home as her parents were out of town for the weekend. After sending his reply, Danny got ready and headed out.

Normally, it only took ten to fifteen minutes on his electric scooter to reach Sam’s, but he decided to take a slightly longer route to give himself a little longer to clear his thoughts. Rounding a corner to go through a commonly used alleyway, he came to a screeching stop as a cold chill and the feeling of wrongness overcame his body. Clutching his chest, his breath misted in front of him as he glanced around the alley.

Nothing seemed off, but the feeling refused to go away. Unnerved, he decided he needed to get out of there as quickly as possible. However, when he rounded the corner that would allow him to pass behind some of the buildings he found something he was unable to register what was in front of him.

His mind eventually processed the sound of dripping and an angry hiss, and almost like fog lifting from his eyes, he finally made sense of the scene. Someone was lying on the ground. Blood completely covered his chest and must have come from the large wound in the center of it. Danny was almost certain the man wasn’t breathing.

Something stood almost protectively over the body. It was mostly humanoid, but the sickly gray of its skin and skeletal frame showed it certainly wasn’t human. Black eyes seemed to glow in hatred. Something red and dripping blood rested in its hand.

Danny backed away in fear. He had no idea what the thing was, but he knew it was dangerous. To make matters worse, it knew he was there. Slowly, he decided to back away from it. At first, it seemed like it was fine with his retreat, but after sticking whatever it was holding inside its own chest, it dropped its hands to the grounds and walked forward on its knuckles.

Not knowing what else to do, Danny ran. As soon as he turned his back, the thing bolted after him. He barely made it halfway back through the alley before the thing was on top of him. As it tried to attack, he managed to knock it aside. The thing growled before lunging again. It was too close for him to attempt to escape, so he help up his hands and braced himself.

But no attack ever came. Instead, the thing bounced off of a translucent green wall with a sickening splat. After a few dazed steps and a shake of the head, it hissed while appraised whether or not it could get to him. It hesitantly touched the wall, only to pull back its hand with a yelp of pain. After baring its teeth, it stepped backwards. As it moved, its body jerked, cracked, and popped as it slowly morphed into what appeared to be an old woman.

As it disappeared around the corner, Danny’s knees gave way, and the strange green wall disappeared. He just stared in the direction where the thing disappeared as his mind tried to process exactly what just happened. It wasn’t until his phone buzzed, that he clambered to his feet and ran out of the alley. His fingers shook as he called the police.

....

The police and paramedics arrived in less than ten minutes. As the police examined the scene, the paramedics treated Danny for mild shock. While he sat on the rear step of the ambulance, he watched the police did their job.

Most of the officers wore grim expressions. Some whispered to each other. One of the younger ones had to excuse himself as he felt sick from the sight of the victim. Eventually, one of the older officers approached him for a statement.

Danny tried to be as truthful as possible. He described the creature as a thin and sickly looking person. After some internal debates, he finished by explaining it looked different as it moved away.

“Son, what do you mean?” There was a deep edge in the officer’s voice. “You better not be messing with me.”

“I… I really don’t know. Maybe it… he had one of those creepy realistic masks or something, but I’m telling you, he looked different right before it disappeared.”

The officer frowned as he stared at Danny. “I don’t think you’re lying, but shock sometimes warps what we think we see. Next week we’ll call you to the station to make an official statement.” He sighed before continuing. “We’ve contacted your parents. One of my juniors will take you home. Take it easy for the rest of the weekend, you hear me?”

After another fifteen minutes, Danny found himself in the front seat of a cruiser. Neither Danny nor the officer spoke for the entirety of the ride, and soon, they were in front of Fenton Works. After telling Danny to stay safe, the officer left him to be swept into the arms of his mother.

His mother was understandably scared. The officer who called the house told her there was an incident and that he was okay, but due to the investigation, he was unable to give any details. After letting her have a few tears of relief, he asked if they could go inside. Maddie ushered him into the house.

His father and friends were waiting for him in the living room. Sam rushed over to him to pull him into a hug while his dad and Tucker shared a smirk. His mother excused herself to go get everyone hot chocolate and cookies. Once she returned, Danny told them what happened. Unlike with the officers, the only detail he left out was the green wall.

He knew his friends would ask why he was so open with his parents, but without knowing exactly what he saw, he figured the two paranormal experts would be the best source for information. And, he wasn’t disappointed.

“Sweetie, you know it was probably a person, but your father and I will do some digging,” his mother promised. “You described something that sounds too much like some of the legends in Native American folklore. And with all of the abnormalities we’ve been detecting recently, I don’t want to be foolish enough to rule it out.”

“Don’t worry, Dann-o.” His father’s grin was infectious. “We’ll find those spooks and take care of them for you. To the lab.”

As the behemoth of a man disappeared down the stairs to the lab, his mother just fondly shook her head. “Get some rest. Sam, Tucker, let me take you home. I don’t think your parents would be too happy with me if I didn’t.”

“Thanks Mrs. F. I appreciate it. Can I take some cookies home? My mom loves your snickerdoodles.”

“Sure, let me go get a container for you.”

When she disappeared into the kitchen, Danny leaned forward and whispered. “Thanks for the distraction, Tuck. Guys, one other thing did happen. I… I think one of my abilities activated. I’ll call you guys later with the details. It’s probably the only reason that thing didn’t kill me.”

Before either of his friends could reply, his mother returned to the room carrying a container full of cookies. “Alright you two, let’s get going.”

Once he was left alone in the living room, Danny decided it was the perfect time to get a shower. After everything that happened, it would help him sort through his thoughts. He hoped his parents were right. Maybe it was just a strange looking man, but the wrongness of what he saw and the thing’s transformation told him otherwise.

========================================

Notes: I’m not sure how familiar people will be with it, but Cross Country Running is a type of long distance running, and at least in the US, it’s a Fall sport. However, it’s not on a track or indoors. Runners are usually on fields, trails, the in woods, etc., depending on the area. If you’re in the Allegheny plateau, it’s common to see the trails involve hills and/or some type of wooded area.

The creature is based off of a story (which I still can't find again) was submitted to a YouTuber channel that goes by “Darkness Prevails.” The channel tends to read a lot of accounts submitted to it. And while the stories cannot be verified under most circumstances, all stories are claimed true by the submitters.

The story that heavily inspired it is from a narrator who explained that her dad barred her from seeing a family friend (who she viewed as an uncle) after something that happened after a camping trip. She ended up encountering the family friend a couple years later and was invited to his home. The house was unkempt and stunk, and there seemed to be a strange substance everywhere. The friend and his wife were both acting strangely. After being lured to the kitchen, the friend tried attacking her, and she managed to escape and called the police. She was told her uncle had seemingly up and left a few years prior. After questioning father ended up explaining that when he and his friend were gathering firewood on that trip, they were chased by something that sounded like a pack of coyotes or wolves. The friend fell when they were running back to camp, and the dad lost sight of him. When the dad got back to camp, he tried to get his wife and the friend’s wife to call for help. However, they heard the friend call from the forest, and the friend's wife went to help him. When they returned, they seemed off. They spoke strangely and walked stiffly. Normal tasks seemed to baffle them. The dad didn’t know what happened to his friend and his wife, but he was convinced that what was left was something impersonating them.

Stories like this pop up in folklore, and there are a lot of online stories telling of similar encounters. However, it is difficult to tell what’s a true account and what might be a “Creepypasta.” There is a rather famous folklore entity in First Nation stories in the Southwest US that is sometimes said to wear others skins. The most famous stories are from the Navajo, but other tribes also have them in their folklore. However, there is also a spirit called Kanaima from the Carib tribes that is somewhat similar. Some renditions of Wendigos (traditionally Algonquin) also put them in this category. A Kee-wakw (Abenaki) might also fall into this.

And then I managed to combine the story with some of the information I know about the entity known as a Raven Mocker (from Cherokee lore). It’s another rather unsettling creature, and some accounts have it change shapes.

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charliesradiodemon · 5 years

Text

Arranged Marriage AU (Part 2)

Part 1 HERE

(Thank you for the support on the last chapter! I’m honestly so thankful that there are people who like my fic. I hope you guys enjoy the next part! I’ll try to keep uploading every few days/every week!)

Part 2

Alastor was fully aware what marrying the princess of Hell and heir to the throne meant. He and Charlie would be the next rulers of Hell should anything happen to Lucifer and Lilith. Not that that was likely to happen, but it was a formality. It was about safety in ensuring someone with the blood of Lucifer would remain on the throne. Alastor was just there to ensure Charlie makes it to the throne.

In the grand scheme of things ruling Hell didn’t mean much more than a title, seeing how Hell was run on pure chaos and fear. It was strength and influence that made sinners bow. But Lucifer and Lilith happen to be the two most powerful and oldest beings in Hell, making them the optimal rulers of the kingdom of suffering. However Charlie was not so lucky to have the reputation her mother or father had.

Alastor wasn’t interested in ruling Hell. If he had ultimate ruling over Hell, what else would there be to do? No, what he wanted was the unpredictable events that were bound to happen from then on. The attention, the jealousy and maybe even new challengers. This kind of event wasn’t common. There’s never been a “princess of Hell” before Charlie let alone a marriage between a pure Hell-born demon and a mortal soul. It was going to be a legendary event and Alastor was far too giddy for it all.

That was the future though, for now he sat with his business partner and fiancee as she cried her eyes out.

“-and then I told Vaggie and she just… left. She didn’t even look angry and didn’t say anything when she left and… and I still haven’t seen her…” Alastor sat at a professional distance away from his teary eyed fiancee. He felt a tickle in his chest as he took in the sight of her. It was an irritation that was too deep under the skin to scratch without maiming himself. He didn’t know exactly how to handle the situation. Usually he’d revel in another’s despair, but this was different.

The usual despair around him meant lesser demons groveling as they begged for mercy in vain. The sweet taste of false hope delighted him all the way up until he turned around and crushed it.

But this would be different. She was his investment and pleasant company. He may even go as far to call the lovely demoness a friend. Before he met her, he planned to soak up all of her naivety until her inevitable delicious demise. But even the thought of that didn’t seem to sit exactly right with him. He had to admit he had a bit of a soft spot for her already. She’s surpassed his expectations without even trying and it was something Alastor couldn't quite understand. She hadn't changed. Charlie Magne was still the naive, witty and selfless princess he'd met half a year ago. So how did she manage to keep hold of his interest and rid him of all malicious intent toward her?

With a small flourish, he materialized a tissue box for her. He held it out to her as she pulled several sheets with a polite gratuitous smile. He let the box sit between them on the couch and let her dry her eyes and clear her sinuses before he spoke. “She will return. I’m not sure when, but she’ll come back to you, that I’m sure of,”

“H-how do you know?” She asked. Suddenly a look of realization hit her teary face. She turned to look up him and paused. “Wait why am I letting you help me? You’re the reason why she left!” Charlie snapped. She stood and stormed in front of Alastor to stare him down. “Get out.” Her abruptly pitched down voice ordered him as she sharply thrusted her finger toward the door.

‘Ah there she is…’ Her true form peaked out ever so slightly over her tear stained face. The red glow of her eyes were not from their puffiness, nor were the dark markings on her face streaked makeup. Her glorious sharp teeth even made an entrance. ‘She’s quite beautiful in this state’ Alastor thought as his grin widened.

Alastor leaned back into the couch and chuckled. “Did I forbid you from having lovers? No, I don’t think so. You can do what you wish Charlie. This is Hell after all, it’s not like taking a lover or two while married would mean anything here. Most of the members of the royal court partake in adultery,” he stood, forcing her to take a step back, but she did not back down in intensity. “This union is nothing more than a partnership after all! It’s a partnership where all of us will benefit!” He chuckled, threw his arms out to the sides in grand gestures then turned toward the exit. “The announcement is later today Charlie, I hope you don’t forget to dress in your best and smile!” He began his casual stroll out the door until he felt a tug at his tailcoat.

The very sudden snap of his head turning a full 180 startled Charlie, but she did not let go despite the defensive murderous aura he gave off. She’d calmed down and returned to her doll-like appearance. “Tell me what you mean when you said we’d all benefit from this marriage,” she demanded. Her red puffy eyes and pout reminded Alastor of a child who’d just thrown a tantrum. Yet he could still feel and see the determination which he admits that he admired in her. He relaxed from his menacing state for the strangely brave if not foolish little lady in front of him.

He twisted the rest of his body with his head, forcing Charlie to let him go. “You’ll see in due time, trust me,” he answered with a wink.

“Okay but you’re like, the least trustworthy person out there you know that?” She questioned without hesitation.

Alastor heartily guffawed and feigned devastation. The sound effect of a gasp could be heard from him before he spoke. “Oh Charlie you’re too cruel to accuse me of such a thing! Have I ever once broken a promise to you?” He leaned to get in her face and refused to break eye contact until she did.

Charlie crossed her arms and thought about it for a moment. “No… But it has only been a few months, Al.” she pouted. Alastor stood up straight and pat her head gently.

“Regardless! I think it will be a pleasant surprise once you figure it out. Consider what will come as part of my engagement present to you!” He turned once more and left, leaving Charlie to stand there and watch him leave. She was still obviously upset, but somehow she felt a twinge of relief. It was as if one problem was lifted from her shoulders, but the weight of Vaggie still remained. If Alastor was right, she’d have to try to talk to Vaggie and work things out.

Charlie sat back down on the couch then splayed herself over the couch. It was only for a moment though as she shot up from her prone position. “Wait, part?”

Part 3

#charlastor #charlastor fic #charlie x alastor #alastor x charlie #thank you all for the support! i’llvkeep trying my best!

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rainydaysofspring · 4 years

Text

My first ever fic on here...

Prompt: She had a bad day and just needed something to make it better. Pairing: Ethan Ramsey x MC (Dr. Liliana Summers) Trigger warnings: mentions of death, poorly written medical procedures, Angst and fluff

Word Count: 1.6k

All Liliana wanted was, for this day to be finally over. Ever since she got up this morning in her bedroom, the day has just been getting worse and worse. It seemed like every minute, something went wrong.

It all started with her favorite light blue pair of scrubs, with her name embroidered, getting stained when she spilled her coffee this morning and her, not having enough time on her hands to get changed again. When she left her apartment, she noticed she had forgotten her keys, but of course, after she closed the door. Her only option was to go home with one of her roommates later on or to get there after either Aurora or Sienna went to their flat since both of them had shorter shifts today. The T was hopelessly overcrowded, the guy behind her eyeing her as if she would be a raw slice of meat. If only he knew she had a boyfriend much, much better than him. The thought of Ethan, already at work, made her grumpy state a little bit better, the thought of seeing him in a few minutes even more. She left the train and walked to the hospital, however it started pouring rain the second she stepped off the roofed area. She had the choice between being late and staying dry. If Zaid ever found out, she was late, he would be chewing her out again. So, she took option b: Getting soaked, but being on time.Steeping foot in the atrium of Edenbrook, Liliana was completely drenched in water, her scrubs ruined even more. She somehow got to the locker room without drawing too much attention to her by waiting patients and their families and changed into a fresh and, more importantly, dry pair of scrubs.

Luckily the resident survived rounds, without any further disturbances, so she almost thought her bad day would take a turn for the better. That thought was made way to early, how she noticed later.Liliana saw, that all her regular patients were stable and taken care of, she decided to put in a few hours at the free clinic. The halls were full, as always. When she got to one of the nurses, she assigned a few patients to her, the first one was a nice kid with a high fever. The child's mother also described that the toddler couldn't keep any food down. Liliana quickly diagnosed the girl with the stomach flu and was on her way to the next patient. That's how the hours went by, stepping from one patient to another, nothing majorly dramatic.

But then, her last patient proved again, what this day was: horrible.As Liliana entered the room and introduced herself, she wasn't greeted with the patient telling her what's wrong, instead, he complained about almost everything." I came here three hours ago, I'm an emergency, I need to be taken care of immediately." Liliana tried to reason with him and to explain to him, that their nurses decide who sees a Doctor first based on the severity of the case, not on the time the patients have spent waiting. "Then your nurses are either blind or didn't get proper education! Don't you see that I'm an emergency?" The resident remembered Mr. Platt, the giant PITA she had to treat in her intern year. The man in front of her had a great resemblance to him, in how he spoke to her. When asked, what his symptoms were, her patient just showed her his hand, where she saw a light burn. So much for the emergency, she thought. While treating the injury, the man complained several times more, either about how something the Doctor did wasn't to his liking or how Liliana didn't look like a doctor, more than a nurse. When he brought that up, in combination with the words "hot" and "sexy" she was disappointed that Ethan was not around, his response might have made the patient shut up and learn some respect for the work of both, nurses and doctors. She finally finished his treatment and left the free clinic for today.

Walking up to the diagnostics floor, she thought about Ethan and how she hadn't seen him the whole day long. That fact alone made her mood go down a few inches more. After she checked all of her other patients again, she decided she would visit someone.She eventually made it to the pediatric wing to see on one of her former patients who she formed a bond with, a 9-year old girl named Amelia. Liliana diagnosed her a while ago with cancer, staying with her through her first chemotherapy was certainly the start of a great friendship with the little girl. Anytime she swung by, even just to say hello, a smile formed on the lips of the 9-year-old, she was happy to see her favorite doctor in the hospital. Liliana's main goal was, to cheer her up a bit since hospitals and chemotherapy were certainly scary for a girl that age.She went to her usual room, Number 159, just to find the bed empty. An uneasy feeling crept up her spine on her way to the nurse's station. She asked Lynn, her favorite nurse on the pediatric team, about Amelia and the answer could've made her cry right there, in the middle of the ward."Amelia died last night. She fought so hard, but the cancer was too strong, poor thing." Crushed, Liliana quickly thanked Lynn and excused herself.

She eventually reached the locker room and was relieved, when she found it empty. Enough time to calm down a bit and then finally go home and lay in her bed. The moment she sat down on the bench, her pager went off. "What on earth now? I wanna go home!" she exclaimed. The message on the pager read: "Car Crash, multiple vehicles. All hands on deck." With a groan, Liliana stepped out in the halls again and made her way down the pit. When she arrived, all she found was controlled chaos. Paramedics wheeling new patients in, many of them in critical condition. She sprung into action and commanded her intern, Esme, to do triage, just like she had to last year.

The resident took a patient herself, a woman in her late 30s, with a shard of glass stuck in her abdomen. She was unconscious, intubated, but stable, for the moment. The resident, along with several other doctors begun to treat her, when suddenly, she heard a loud beeping sound echo through the room. Someone yelled "CODE BLUE, CODE BLUE!" ´, while Liliana already sprung into action and began chest compressions on the woman. Another doctor grabbed paddles, in the team they tried to get her heart back to beating.After 62 Minutes of doing CPR and trying to bring the patient back, they gave up. Someone called the dreadful words "Time of Death: 10.17 p.m.” and slowly, the room got emptier until it was just her in there.

The second loss this day hit her hard. Harder, then it should, she knew that herself.She heard the door open but didn't care who entered. Ines' voice spun her out of her trance, slowly getting her back to reality. "Liliana, how long have you been here? You look tired." Her voice, filled with concern rang out. Liliana did not answer, she just shook her head. "Go home. We've got the situation under control, you can end the day." Ines told her. While muttering a quick "Thank you", Liliana left the room and didn't even care to change out of her work clothes, just grabbing her things and getting on the T.She drove a few stops further, then she needed to for her apartment, since the only thing she wanted after this day, was to see Ethan.

While getting off the T and walking to Ethans Home, Liliana couldn't hold her tears in anymore.She finally reached the apartment complex he lived in and rang the bell. A confused voice answered, but when he was greeted with your sobs only and a quiet "It's me.", he opened up immediately. Liliana took the stairs and finally stood in front of the man she loved, whos presence she needed so much after the day she has had. "Lili. What happened?" Hearing the nickname only made her cry more, her sobs limiting her ability to breathe. Liliana stepped into the flat, being greeted by a happy Jenner, who jumped at her legs. Ethan closed the door, approaching his girlfriend cautiously, he didn't want to startle her. After Jenner was done with his greeting, Ethan slowly came nearer and just engulfed Liliana in a hug.

On that feeling, the young doctor in his arms almost crumbled. They both fell to the ground, when Liliana's legs gave out under her, the exhaustion and sadness of this day taking over her body completely. Ethan pressed her head against his shoulder, stroking her hair gently, muttering things like "It's gonna be okay." When she didn't seem to calm down and started hyperventilating, even more, he picked her head up from his shoulder and cupped it with his hands, forcing her to look at him. "Lili. Calm down, breathe with me, okay? I need you to take a deep breath." As she tried her best, Ethan continued to encourage her, watching her slowly calming down. A while later, when the tears stopped cascading down Liliana's Cheeks, he picked her up bridal style and carried her over, into his bedroom, slowly laying her down on the soft mattress. The feeling of the soft fabric under her made her realize how tired she was. Ethan got into bed next to her, watching his girl as she drifted away, into a peaceful sleep she desperately needed.

So, what do you think? My first upload with my own writing, I finally did it. I apologize if any grammar errors are in there, I tried my best and English is not my native language.

Love, Lili

#open heart #ethan ramsey #ethan x mc #ethan ramsey x mc #ethan jonah ramsey #mc #prompt #angst #fluff #romance

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7team7 · 4 years

Text

Have you two met before?

Chapter 5: The Fifth Hokage

Sasuke isn’t Tsunade’s favorite person, but she just melts for his daughter.

A/N: Part of a multi chapter fic I have going on ao3 and ffnet, just haven’t uploaded the other parts here before, but here’s an update.

Tsunade was enjoying retirement and traveling, but Konoha was home, and there were people and memories she could never stay away from forever.

Sakura symbolized many things for the sannin, but mainly a better, brighter future. Tsunade taught her everything she knew, and Sakura had even surpassed her to become the finest kunoichi around. So that brat Sasuke better know how lucky he is to have her as his wife. He’d caused enough trouble for the village and for her precious student.

The Uchiha and the Senju had a long, contentious history, but Sasuke’s actions had very personal consequences. Sakura wanted to get stronger to bring him back to the village, leading her to beg Tsunade for training. But Tsunade also had to witness Sakura’s heartbreak and longing for years. She nearly lost a very talented group of ninja in an attempt to retrieve him from Orochimaru’s clutches, and she had to endure Naruto’s whining for what felt like an eternity.

She also knew how the circumstances of his life had punished him more than she ever could, but she still had no trouble reminding him that she was a very powerful woman, and he had better treasure Sakura, or there would be painful consequences.

So in short, Tsunade didn’t hold Sasuke in high regard, but she wasn’t going to actively make his life worse, if only to please her favorite student. And as her student, Sakura was subject to unsolicited advice and motherly nagging.

But Sarada — she made Tsunade just melt. All the tongue lashings she was prepared to give the new couple were forgotten when she laid eyes on the newest Uchiha.

Tsunade could admit it, the Uchiha were a famously good looking clan. But combined with Sakura’s genes, Sarada was just too cute for her own good. Her dark eyes and hair were traits from Sasuke, but they were softened by Sakura’s features.

Tsunade wasn’t sure what Sarada was to her, because if Sakura was her daughter (which was a stretch on it’s own), Sarada would be her granddaughter, and Tsunade being a grandmother just sounded too old. But it didn’t matter. The little cutie had a permanent place in Tsunade’s heart.

5 Months

When Tsunade returned from her own round of travels to find out her precious student was not only married to the Uchiha brat but that he knocked her up too — she wanted to say she was surprised. But she knew Sakura and that huge heart of hers would always be stuck on Sasuke, so she supposed this was the best outcome for everyone. They were happy, and that was all she could ask for.

Sarada was only five months old when she first met Tsunade and stole her heart.

“Shishou, I’d like you to meet our daughter. Her name is Sarada.” Sakura had only just passed her tiny form to Tsunade’s arms but Tsunade was speechless. Long, dark lashes fluttered and round midnight eyes opened to gaze up at her. A chubby hand reached up to grab one of her golden pigtails.

“Sure, I can watch her for the day.”

“Huh? But I didn’t even—”

“It’s really not a problem, Sakura. Anything for my favorite student, right? We’ll have tons of fun, won’t we?” Sakura didn’t bother arguing. Being a mother was as rewarding as it was exhausting, and if there was anyone who she felt was capable of watching over her daughter, it was Tsunade.

“Uh, okay? Just bring her back later tonight, I guess.”

Some days, Tsundae was just tired. She had lost so much and lived so long. But moments like the ones she shared with Sarada reminded her that there was more work to be done, more people to help. Yes, she was looking forward to seeing the next generation blossom in their own way.

5 Years

Tsunade had, yet again, so graciously extended her babysitting services for the day. She was going to be in town for a while and gambling just didn’t seem like much fun that day. Both her students deserved a break: Shizune, from running around with her, and Sakura from hospital work and caring for that precious little gumdrop.

Sasuke was hesitant at first because he had to come to the bitter realization that a long mission only he could complete was unavoidable. His departure inched closer with every passing day. He wanted to spend as much time with his daughter as possible, but when Sakura propositioned a little date night for themselves, he gave in.

Sarada, for one, was thrilled. She loved Tsunade because, like most people in her life, she spoiled her rotten. And she had excellent stories about her mama.

When they got to Tsunade’s apartment she kept for the occasion she found herself in Konoha, she asked Sarada what they should do for the day.

“Dress up! I wanna play dress up!” She loved pretending to be Mama or Papa or a princess at home.

“We can do that. How would you like to dress up as the Hokage?”

Her eyes lit up, “Hokage? Yes! Yes!” She never thought about dressing up as Uncle Naruto, but it seemed FUN!

Tsunade chuckled and got to work. She pulled Sarada’s short, dark hair, so different from her own, into low pigtails. She even got out her makeup and painted a purple diamond on the center of her forehead.

Sarada laughed again and touched her own wide forehead, “Just like you and just like Mama!”

“That’s right, smart girl.” Tsunade even took off her own green cardigan and slipped it around Sarada’s tiny shoulders. Perfect, adorable, stunning, spectacular…

“Alright, Lady Sarada, do you have a mission for me?”

When Sarada was eventually dropped off at home, she was tired from playing all day, but otherwise content.

“So what did you two get up to today?” Sakura asked as she held Sarada in her arms at the door. She didn’t carry Sarada too often now that she was running around on her own, so it felt good to snuggle together.

“She wanted to play dress up, and I think you can see who she looks like now. TonTon had fun playing with her too.” The little pig was normally a little distressed, but she seemed to find as much joy in playing with Sarada as Tsunade did.

“And we played cards!” Sarada chimed in. They never really played cards at home; would she be able to beat Mama or Papa?

“Cards?” Sakura asked suspiciously. Sasuke was farther inside the house cleaning up after dinner, but even his ears perked up at this. What type of card game?

“I taught her Go Fish, I swear that’s all! Who do you take me for?”

“Hmm, maybe Tsunade The Legendary —”

“Don’t say it.”

“Babysitter.”

“You always were a smart cookie,” she praised.

Sarada spoke up once again, her voice muffled by the way she leaned into her mother, “Can we play again soon?”

“Yeah, I’ll be back for you real soon kiddo.” She leaned in close enough to press a kiss to the girl’s forehead and squeezed Sakura’s shoulder.

To live a long life as a shinobi was full of heartbreak and loss, but sometimes she got the chance to be healed.

A/N: some of it is a little repetitive but I liked it so I kept it lmao. It’s my fic Sasuke leaves when I want him to! Anyway I’ve updated/posted a lot recently so check out my other stories if you’re interested. Until next time! <3

#sasusaku #sarada #tsunade #fan fic #my writing

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andcontemplation · 4 years

Note

I saw your pic of Winona and Helena and I was wondering if you could do a short ficlet of maybe young Joyce discussing her fling/friendzone/love with Hop with her older sister cause hell she's desperate about it

Like the sister could ask her out, give advice, tease her about it, they could talk about each other's experiences or Joyce could even ask her for advice cause she's afraid to fuck things up if it gets physical

I'm not a writer so I'm leaving all my ideas here, I'd love if you wrote this but don't worry if you're too busy or sth

Dear Anon -- I don’t normally take many fic requests because I’m such a slow writer, but this one just sprouted fully formed from my brain the moment I read your ask! It still took me a few days to get after since life got busy for me. It also turned out to be about 1400+ words so I’ve pasted below under the cut. I’ll be uploading it to Ao3 soon too when I get a chance :) I’d be happy to dedicate it to you if you feel comfortable dm-ing me your username on Ao3. Thank you for sending it along!

"Hey, you! What's wrong?"

Joyce nearly jumped out of her skin at the disembodied voice that called out from the empty bedroom -- or at least, the bedroom she thought was empty. She turned on a dime, clutching for her heart. Joyce might’ve been sixteen going on seventeen, but she was far too young for a heart attack.

"Jesus!" She gasped at the familiar figure sitting at the edge of the bed. "I didn't know you were home."

"Ma didn't tell you I was coming home for Thanksgiving?" Stella stopped unpacking the small duffle at her feet and raised an eyebrow at her sister.

Joyce sighed and leaned against the doorframe.

"Ma's not even here! She went to Chicago this morning with her new beau."

"Color me surprised," Stella deadpanned, throwing the pair of socks down on the bed in disgust. "Which one? Tom?"

Joyce shook her head.

"Randy. Tom was married."

Stella rolled her eyes and reached for another handful of clothes.

"Of course he was," she snapped. "How does she keep falling for that same old line?"

Joyce only shrugged and toed the door jamb, waiting for her sister to invite her into her room.

They hadn't seen much of each other since Stella ran off at sixteen to live with her boyfriend in Philadelphia, almost two years previous, and as the months and then the years passed by, Joyce felt more and more distant from the sister she grew up with. It was beginning to feel like eons had passed since they would spend all their days together, playing dolls and dress-up in that exact bedroom, performing plays for the neighborhood kids in the backyard or riding their bikes downtown to go try on perfume and makeup at the five and dime.

Joyce was still a little miffed at Stella for running off and leaving her behind with their mother and not taking Joyce with her when she left. It didn't seem fair that she had to stay when she was the baby -- the baby with the most responsibility -- the one who ended up making sure Ma didn't go completely off the rails, dependent on the bottle again or running off with a third husband. The resentment Joyce still carried always made her forget just how much she missed having her big sister around and how much she still needed her.

Stella looked up from her duffle bag and saw Joyce standing there, looking at her with big, red-rimmed eyes.

"Sorry Ma skipped town. I'm glad you're home," Joyce said, meaning it.

Stella's frown melted, and she dropped the clothes in a heap, patting the bed beside her.

"I am too. Now tell me what's wrong."

Joyce sighed deeply.

"Nothing. It's stupid."

"Boys?" Stella asked with a knowing grin.

Joyce sighed again, and her eyes fluttered up to the ceiling, embarrassed at the degree of stupidity she was feeling that very moment. She willed herself not to cry over him.

Stella pushed Joyce's bangs out of her eyes and off her cheeks, where they stuck to pale skin, and gave her little sister a look. But instead of imbibing confidence, it just made Joyce want to cry more.

She made a face and sucked in a breath before letting it all out.

"Karen and I saw Hop behind the bleachers with one of the cheerleaders today at lunch."

Stella's eyebrows shot up.

"Oh. Which cheerleader?"

"Chrissy Carpenter. That bottle blonde bubble-headed... bimbo!"

Joyce glared out the window and across the street at the edge of Hopper's front lawn, the only piece of his house she could see from that angle.

Stella choked back a giggle when she noticed how intensely Joyce was staring.

"Woah. That's some serious alliteration."

"Yeah, well," Joyce grumbled and shrugged. "I'm upset."

Stella went back to emptying out the rest of her bag, but not before throwing her sister a loving look.

"I can see that. But I thought you and Jimmy were just friends?"

"We are!" Joyce finally dragged her eyes off his house and pouted at Stella before trailing off. "It's just that…"

"Oh come on," Stella said and ruffled Joyce's bangs. "You know you can tell me!"

There was another eye roll from Joyce.

"I just thought that something had changed between us this year. Maybe... Oh, I don't know anymore."

Then she clammed up.

Stella walked over to the window, took out a pack of Slims, and lit one up before opening the window a crack.

"Know what? Spit it out, sis!"

Joyce couldn't look at her older, prettier, more elegant sister, sitting there smoking at the windowsill like some french model who could have any man she wanted -- wrapped around her little finger. Joyce wished she could only look so mod and in charge.

Instead, she felt pathetic for pining after the boy across the street.

"Well," she started, flopping back on the bed, finding it easier to confess without having to worry about seeing the look of judgment cross Stella's face. "He'd been acting weird since we went camping this last summer. Then I realized by the second week of September that he was over here almost every night. At first, he said he needed help with his schoolwork because he really wanted to graduate, and since we're in all the same classes, it made sense, right? But by October, he was coming over for the dumbest reasons, and then I started to think he was gonna ask me to the homecoming dance. Like, I was so sure he was gonna do it. A few times, actually. But it was like he chickened out or something."

Stella held up a hand to pause Joyce there, even though Joyce couldn't see it.

"Waitaminute. Didn't you say on our last phone call that Lonnie Byers asked you out that night?"

"Yep, and what a date that was." Joyce rolled her head to the side and looked at her sister with a scowl.

Stella smirked, tapping the end of the cigarette out over the eaves.

"I warned you about him."

"Yeah yeah, I know: 'Lonnie Byers is scum.' But I'm pretty sure we're talking about Hop here?"

"Pardonne Moi! Please... continue."

"So, he seemed a bit distant after homecoming, but he'd still come over to study sometimes, and I'd catch him staring at me. It almost looked like he wanted to kiss me or something. And one day during gym, he told me I looked pretty when I knew for a fact I was a sweaty, frizzy mess. I guess it got in my head because I started to think, well maybe I want him to kiss me. And maybe I like him too? I was gonna tell him this weekend. I had it all planned out. But then he runs off and swaps spit with Chrissy, and now here I am, crying over a dumb boy. Stupid, stupid me."

Stella put the last bit of the cigarette out and moved back to the bed, pushing Joyce's legs out of the way.

"Not stupid," she said. "Just young and in love."

Joyce sat up on her elbows, nose turned up in protest.

"Gross. I am not!"

"You are." Stella chuckled.

Joyce frowned as she slowly realized her sister was right and succumbed to her lovesick fate.

"I am, aren't I?"

"'Fraid so, my dear."

"Cripes -- this sucks!”

"Oh, don't worry." Stella smiled. "I know just the thing to fix a broken heart! Ma might not be around but we can still have fun. What’s say we stay up late, paint our nails, eat our way through an entire tub of ice cream and I can give you some pointers for when you find yourself a real man. You'll be over that silly Hopper boy in no time."

"But what if I don't want to be over him?" Joyce whined, feeling sick for even thinking it let alone admitting it out loud. He was her best friend, since before they could walk, and those feelings had remained strictly platonic but lately, she couldn't imagine being without him, let alone sharing him with anyone else. Especially bottle blonde bubble-headed bimbos.

Stella held her hand out to Joyce and helped her sit up.

"Trust me, sis. It's for the best. Boys like Jim and Lonnie will ruin you for life. You belong with someone sweet and kind, who won't rush you before you're ready…"

Joyce scoffed.

"Boys like that don't exist!"

"Sure, they do!" Stella nodded. Then she had an idea. "Say -- isn't there a Sadie Hawkins soon?"

"Yeah, the Snowball," Joyce said, cluing in, trying not to look too excited. "You think I should ask Hop?"

"No!" Stella sighed. "I'm saying you should ask a nice boy to go with you."

"A what?"

"Think of the nicest, and well... let’s say the nerdiest guy in your class, and ask him to the Snowball. Not Lonnie or Hop! No more bad boys who play ping-pong with your heart."

"No, no way!" Joyce shook her head and dove headfirst into the pillows. "I am not asking Bob the Brain!"

Stella threw her hands up in the air.

"Fine, be miserable and alone forever then. See if I care!"

"Fine!" Joyce shouted, muffled by the pillows before dissolving into a fit of giggles as her sister beat her over the head with another frilly embroidered pillow.

"I'm glad you're home," Joyce said when she caught her breath.

"Me too, sis," Stella said. "Me too."

#anon #asks #fanfiction #jopper #joyce byers #jim hopper #teen!jopper #highschool jopper #winona ryder #helena bonham carter

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peeterparkr · 5 years

Text

limits of desire⤳t.h.

chapter one: set the date.

MADE OF HONOR|AU

So, after that photoshoot, I decided to get back on my shit. I’m re-uploading it, editing it and changing a few things. Yes, I’ve posted this fic before but I feel like I’ve grown as a writer and it’s a fic with so much more potential.

summary: Tom has a new life and he bumps into y/n who definitely isn’t into him.

pairing: fuckboy!tom holland x reader

warnings: alcohol mention, swearing

word count: 4k

btw I’m afraid I’ll disappoint so tell me what you think

teaser

next chapter

series masterlist

October 2016.

October is the best time of the year for some people, particularly for students who’re on the verge of trying not to collapse. Cold weather, but not too cold, orange leaves on the floor accentuating the aesthetic we’re all thriving to have, outfits that include the best fashion possible, the basic but seasonal favourite pumpkin lattes, excuses to drink tea just by the window, watching horror movies and blaming them for not being able to sleep.

Halloween was just around the corner, two days away to be exact. Sadly, exams were also around the corner. However, that particular combination gave the perfect excuse to the students of every university in London to get drunk to forget all their troubles while being dressed as completely different strangers, meaning it gave them the amazing opportunity to throw parties all around just to hook up with equally drunk beings.

And it gave Tom the perfect excuse to play his favourite new game, too. Tom Holland, of course, was not going to waste the opportunity on dressing up as his new favourite women-magnet, his Spider-Man costume and his oh-so-charming smile. Him and Harrison were enjoying themselves at one of the parties that were thrown around town, the third party of the week, to be more exact. Thanks, Andrew Jacobs who had been kind enough to invite them. The parties from university students had been the best for Tom, whose popularity had increased after appearing on Civil War, and of course, after being cast as Spider-Man. He’d use that popularity to his advantage, and of course, he had been really busy each night. A new girl each night.

He wasn’t always like that but the moment he saw that many girls were dying to be with him, he decided he simply liked that. It had started on a party with several girls gushing up to meet him, and after having a no so nice breakup, a rebound had been nice. But suddenly that rebound turned into more rebounds and so his life as a new casanova started. Being wanted was something nice, and he was definitely liking it so far. He came up with a rule, never the same girl twice in a week, and nothing more than a one night stand. The rule was simple, and he could easily follow it because, oh they were raining. Tom couldn’t complain, as if he would.

He had had a little too many shots that night, and after making out with a chick dressed as a character from Stranger Things, he decided it was time to gather on the first girl he had bumped into, two days before in yet another Halloween party. He knew he would score with her easily after he told her he had to go back to shoot Spider-Man homecoming. Her face had lit up and her room number had been written on a napkin, which Tom had saved for his own convenience, and he knew that night was the night, he was just across the room where she lived, so he might as well give it a try. So he just needed to look out for her, he expected her to be already in her room, waiting for him. She had told him she’d be dressed as a sexy nurse, and hell he would not pass up that opportunity.

He was going to go to the dorms to meet up with her, they were just across the street, so as he walked out of the party there were many students on the street dressed up for Halloween, some of them were just laughing and spilling their drinks, most of them were making out. Tom laughed, amused at the situation, seeing that he had actually already gotten some of those girls numbers. He giggled to himself as he stared at the paper where the blurred writing was placed on. He walked in confidently to the dorms humming a song to himself as he kept looking for the room.

“246….246…And here it is,” he smirked as he reached for the key Rachel, the sexy nurse had given to him, he opened the bedroom door, the lights were off, and a girl was sitting on the desk, with headphones on, and head laying down on her book.

“Hello, hello, Rachel, Rachel?” He whispered as he smirked. He walked over and he reached her to kiss her neck, with his Spider-Man mask covering half his face “Hey, hey, I’m here, baby,” he said in between kisses.

She suddenly moved as she woke up turning her sight to him, she started to scream the moment she looked at him, he screamed back at her.

“Bloody hell! Who are you? What the hell is going on?” She yelled. At that moment, Tom realized he had fucked up. The girl wasn’t Rachel.

She grabbed the book on her desk and slammed it against Tom’s face, and then she reached over to her night table which had a bottle of perfume on it. She started spraying it at his face, spraying it entirely on his mouth, causing Tom to scream even more and stumble back to fall on her bed. He coughed from the perfume.

“Ouch! My nose, my mouth! fu-” Tom yelled as he covered his face. “I can’t -blagh, ugh my-” he coughed. “Ugh.”

Her screaming didn’t cease. He took off the mask, as he looked at her, trying to cover himself. He stood back up and motioned her to calm down. She kept screaming.

“You’re not-you’re not Rachel!” Tom yelled.

“Of course not! She’s my roommate!” The girl yelled at him. “How did you even get here?”

“She gave me the key!” Tom answered as he reached for his nose, and then lifted the key up to show her.

“So that automatically made you think you can kiss her roommate’s neck?”

“She said you wouldn’t be here! She said you’d probably be studying somewhere in the library because you’re a nerd!”

“I’m not a nerd!” The girl grabbed the pillow and threw it at Tom angrily.

“What the heck? What was that?” Tom asked, and she glanced over at the pillow and frowned. “No, the other..the gosh, my nose! What’s that taste?”

“One hundred years of solitude by Gabriel García Márquez,” the girl answered. “And… Chanel n°5”

Tom covered his nose as he stared at her, and finally, let out a chuckle.

4 minutes later, he had his head held back in the common room, where there were some students drinking coffee, or some others were studying, she made him tilt his head forward. “Are-are you sure this-”

“Shut-” She made him pinch his nostrils together to stop the bleeding.

“Ugh, next time I’ll see who I’m getting in bed with,” he said.

“And that would be so hard, wouldn’t it?” she rolled her eyes as she stood up and poured herself some coffee and then handed him a glass of water.

“Should be more careful, yes,” Tom conceited. “So, what’s your name, sweetheart?”

“Please,” she rolled her eyes at him, sitting back down beside him. “Don’t even try it.”

“What?” Tom faked innocence. “What could I possibly be trying?” He chuckled as he gave her an ironic smile, pressing the ice against his nose.

“Yeah, I know all about you, Tom Holland.” She crossed her arms watching him.

“You do, now?” Tom smirked, as he stopped pressing his nostrils. “Wikipedia doesn’t say all the truth, you know?”

“Don’t, you’ll start bleeding,” she ordered and placed his hand back on his nose. “But I do, I know everything about you, I know exactly who you are.”

“You’re a fan?” He asked as he slid closer to her, making her roll her eyes.

“You’ve slept with half my floor,” she sentenced.

“Well, could’ve slept with more, but you don’t seem interested and well, your roommate wasn’t where she was supposed to be,” Tom chuckled.

“Whatever,” she rolled her eyes. “Rachel did tell me about you, and how excited she was Spider-Man was coming to the party, which honestly, I don’t see the deal with it.”

“Ah, but I am Spider-Man, and who wouldn’t want to be with Spider-Man?” He raised an eyebrow. “Shit, your book did hurt me.”

“Great, that’ll teach you on not kissing random girls without their consent..”

“Hey, hey, you can’t blame me,” Tom teased with a laugh. “Your roommate, she was dressed as a nurse today, and well… you’re not, I mean she was …she was showing way more skin than you.”

“I’m a decent girl,” she nudged him.

“A very feisty one,” Tom giggled. “So, now, please, you say you know me.”

“Yeah, you’re an actor who suddenly got his career launched and now, obviously uses that to sleep with women, but in reality, you’re actually pretty lonely and you’re using your fame to get back for all those years when you were rejected. You’re overwhelmed by all the attention.”

Tom stared at her, she could’ve left by now, yet she hadn’t. “Uh…huh, yeah that ain’t me,” Tom rolled his eyes but then gave her a small innocent smile. “I’m a nice boy.”

“Of course you are,” she threw her head back. “You’re the worst type of players, you’re one of them” she laughed at his confused expression. “You’re the kind who actually falls in love, don’t you?”

Tom bit his lip with a smirk, she did have him all figured out. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You play the nice boy who falls in love, and gives off that prince charming vibe, and then in the morning you leave, saying you won’t be able to have your heart broken by them, and making them feel guilty as if they had used you instead of them.”

“I do get my heartbroken,” he defended himself.

“All of this is new right? All the attention, and you can’t get enough, bet you were the skinny weird kid.”

“Getting too personal, are we?” Tom frowned.

“I’ve got my loads of guys like you.” She shrugged. “Know all your games.”

“Really? With actors?” Tom laughed in disbelief.

The girl stared at him as she shook her head. “No, but with kids who suddenly got shredded, and suddenly found out they were attractive.”

“Am I attractive?” Tom blinked bashfully at her. She turned herself completely to him, as she watched him curiously as she sipped her coffee, taking in his features.

“Not really my type, no,” She snickered.

“Yet you’ve said you’ve had a load of guys like me,” he gave her the cockiest of smirks.

“None of them were Tom Holland,” she winked at him.

“Exactly, none of them were Spider-Man,” Tom pointed out as he winked at her.

“Hm, guess not,” she chuckled. “I’ll try to get your game, you probably first play the shy guy, probably, no, it depends on the girl, you’re an actor so you see what works with each girl, but bet you tell all of them that you’ve met RDJ,” she watched him carefully, as he ran a hand through his hair. “Ah you do that with the hair, and then give, there you are! The puppy eyes,” she smiled pleased with herself, as Tom’s eyes widened. “You lick your lips and always raise your arms to show out your muscles, huh?”

Tom felt naked with her, she knew what he was doing. “I mean,” Tom puffed his chest. “All guys… do that.”

“Could be, but okay, you probably talk about your time on set, and how you are so excited to be playing such an iconic role that Spider-Man is.”

Tom blinked as she kept talking, she was pulling her hair back in a ponytail, and she had her eyes lightly covered by dark circles, probably from all the late-night studying. He felt like such an idiot as he was getting his imagination go wild.

“Hm, it is an iconic role,” he defended himself, coughing, as he ignored his cheeks going red.

“Yeah, gotta give that to you, I’m a Marvel fan, so yeah, you did a good job so far, I mean we’ve only seen you in Civil War and I guess that was decent,” she shrugged, trying to sound as careless as she could. “But, we are not talking about that.”

Tom felt his confidence back on track: if she was a marvel fan he could easily use that in his favour. She was definitely a girl he would love to score with, maybe it was a tough task, but he was determined. It was interesting, he knew that with this girl his usual flirting style wouldn’t work. Yeah, she wouldn’t fall for the nice boy vibe so maybe the whole douchebag style could work on her. Or maybe not. He could play the guy who doesn’t actually want anything with her and then make her beg.

But it couldn’t work either.

“So, you like Marvel?” He asked her.

“I love marvel,” she admitted.

“Who’s your favourite superhero?” He pushed.

She didn’t answer and turned away to drink her coffee, cheeks getting red.

“Noooo!” Tom couldn’t believe it. “is it Spider-Man?” He laughed as she rolled her eyes.

“But I’ve liked him since younger,” she defended herself. “Look, Peter Parker is such a great character because he’s a smart broke boy from Queens, he is so real and Spider-Man, you never know who could be under the mask, and he just tries his best! He is so pure, and he just wants to save people because he is a good person, you know? No one rewards him, he just truly wants to help…And I’m so, wow… I love him. ”

Tom nodded in agreement, as he bit his lip giggling. She turned to him and nudged him.

“Woah, no, I meant the character,” she rolled her eyes. “Don’t get your hopes up.”

“C’mon, wouldn’t someone like you be interested to hook up with Spider-Man?” Tom asked again. “It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. You could write about that.”

She laughed as she shook her head. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” she stared at him. “You’re actually hitting on me? After all I’ve said to you?”

“No, I’m not,” Tom smirked as he watched her. “You see I’ve got you all figured out as well.”

“Oh,” she scoffed. “Do tell me, please.”

“You’re a future writer, you’re studying literature or something, right? Top of your class, are we?” Tom inquired. “I bet you’ve read hundreds of books and you like writing poems in your free time.”

She bit her lip as she looked away. Tom snapped his fingers.

“Bingo!” Tom cheered. “You’re the typical girl who is different than any other girl, who brings all that bullshit of not caring and always has this sense of being mysterious and that’s why she judges other girls for being at parties.”

She shook her head as she stuck her tongue out. “Wrong. I’m a feminist, I wanna be a journalist or a writer, I don’t judge other people, I believe that we’re all allowed to party, I’m not a mystery, I’m an open book, I do care, a lot, about a lot of things I just happen not to care about you, and I’m not at a party tonight because I have a big exam coming tomorrow, in fact, I should be studying right now.”

“You were a prodigy child, weren’t you?” Tom concluded.

“I wouldn’t say-“

“You were, you probably were part of the school newspaper,” Tom interrupted her and chuckled. “But hey, you’ve got class, you’re a refined girl. You basically are the reincarnation of elegance.”

“Refined, elegance, huh?” The girl giggled, taking a chance to stare into his eyes, only for him to notice hers. They were really pretty. In every possible way she was beautiful, but she was smart and that made her way out of his league. Maybe if he tried to play the guy who wasn’t understood.

“Yes, I mean, you did spray me with Channel NO°5,” he laughed.

“It’s pronounced Chanel,” she corrected him, making him feel a fire igniting. He gave her a corny smile.

“So you’re smart, elegant, you like superheroes and on top of that,…you’re pretty? You’re the whole deal,” Tom admitted, she shrugged as she blushed. And he almost had her wrapped around his finger, even if she kept giving him the cold look, he could be sure that she was into him. “What’s your flaw? That’s it! you’re boring!”

And he screwed it up.

“Excuse me?” The girl frowned offended, as she stood up. He realized it then, she was actually making it hard for him, she was giving him a chance to try. And he had blown it up. “Goodnight, Holland, good luck with that nose.”

“No, wait, I’m joking! I’m joking,” Tom called out for her and pulled her back from her arm, receiving a stern look from her. “I was kidding you don’t seem like the boring type.”

“I’m not,” she agreed. “I actually have an amazing sense of humour.”

“Ah, do you now?” Tom laughed. “Okay, let me start over.”

“Honestly, I have to sleep or read,” she said, and Tom chuckled.

“Really? And why haven’t you left already?” Tom inquired as he slid closer and trying to lean against her, but she stood up walked over to the other couch. Tom fell flat on the sofa as he scowled.

“Oh, I assumed you were going to look out for my roommate and I really don’t want to be near my room when that happens, so please just stay on her side of the room and don’t touch any of my stuff,” she warned him.

“Ah, I won’t sleep with her,” Tom answered.

“You won’t?” The girl rolled her eyes, and she picked up her book. “Well, your problem.”

“I wanna stay here and talk to you,” Tom declared as he stood up to look out for food in the room, he was sobering up and he had become extremely hungry. He realized there was a box of cookies so he plopped back on the couch, throwing them into his mouth.

“Told you it won’t work with me,” she said as she had her eyes glued on her book.

“I know that,” Tom walked over and sat on the armrest of the couch. “You haven’t got the look.”

The girl frowned as she looked up at him, closing her book. “The look?”

“Uh-huh, the doggy bowl look,” Tom took her by the chin and she slapped his hand off, making Tom giggle.

“Did you just call me a dog?”

“It’s a theory.”

“Do all fuckboys have theories?” The girl rolled her eyes as she changed back to the original sofa, Tom followed her.

“We do, we go to a course, just like all of you different girls go to that class where they tell you how to destroy a man’s feelings.”

“Oh, I graduated with honours from that class,” she smirked playfully.

“So you do have a sense of humour,” Tom laughed. “Well m’lady that course is paying off.”

“Glad it did,” she poked him. “So what’s that theory?”

“You see when a girl actually likes a guy, she has a look. It’s her tell, like…. poker!”

“Poker.”

“Yeah, and it’s exactly the same face a dog makes when you put down the bowl!”

“You’re disgusting,” she told him. Some other girls had walked into the common room and started whispering to each other, as they giggled while watching Tom, he winked at them causing them to blush and snicker.

“See? See that look?” Tom pointed when they left. “You don’t have the look.”

“You’re crazy,” she roared standing up, picking her book.

Tom chuckled watching her, “I’m honest, I like honesty, I think it’s the best quality.”

She started to walk away but stopped to turn around and glare at him.

“Oh, so you want me to be honest with you?” She crossed her arms with her book in her hands.

“Go on,” he smirked. “Destroy me, why can’t I physically appeal to you?”

“Your nose is bent,” she pointed to her own nose, and wrinkled it. “it drops down at the bottom, a feature accentuated by the thinness of your lips, you have tiny eyes and they are way too far apart, your eyebrows look weird, and your hair… huh, your hair ain’t that bad but it won’t cover your bent nose,” she poked his nose. “And you are so desperate for attention from being so lonely that you validate yourself by having sport like meaningless, insatiable sex with insecure girls like Rachel who only want to be with you so they can say they slept with a celebrity,” she started to walk away. “and you’re right, I don’t have the look, I’d never have sex with someone like you.”

She walked away from the common room and Tom grinned following her.

“Wow!” He said with excitement as he ran after. “That was amazing!”

“What?” She scowled.

“The honesty, the feisty being it was even better than the sex without uh, the crying you know?”

“Huh, funny it did feel pretty good,” she chuckled as she turned confused to the boy who actually seemed pleased with himself.

“It was incredible,” Tom agreed. “No one’s ever been that honest with me.”

“That’s what friends are for,” she winked at him.

“So you know my name, what’s yours?” He asked her.

“Y/N, Y/N Y/L/N,” she chuckled as they arrived at her dorm.

“Ya know,” Tom looked at her. “Give me your number.” Y/N stared at him with a frown. “I won’t try anything I genuinely want to be friends with you.”

“I just destroyed you as a person,” y/n scoffed.

“Sounds like an ideal friend,” he grinned as he handed his phone over. She hesitated but ended up giving it to him, he tried to steal her phone from her hands. “Now I’ll give you mine so you know who’s texting.”

She unlocked it and she gave it to him, he added himself and took a silly selfie to add it to his contact.

“Goodnight,” y/n said, as he reached up for her chin, making her look at up. “Your hand is clammy.”

“I can see through your blouse,” he snapped with arrogance.

“I’m wearing a hoodie, so no, you can’t,” she informed him.

“I hate you,” he joked, she ended up laughing before opening her bedroom door, to reveal a very drunk Rachel, laying down on her bed.

“He-eeey Tom!” she sat up the moment she heard the door open, her voice sounded particularly dizzy. “Can you…” her talking was dragged. “Can you like… show me your set pictures with Chris Evans… and hic, R… D…J?”

Y/N sighed as she patted him on the back. “All yours, Parker.” Y/N left with a smirk.

Tom blinked watching the woman, whose cleavage was showing a bit more than desired. “Tommy?”

Tom watched the girl puke on a nearby trash can and Tom wrinkled his nose. “Get some sleep, Rachel.” He closed the door before running after Y/N. “Hey, where you heading to?”

Y/N frowned as she watched him. “I am a nerd, so I’m heading to the campus library to read.”

“Huh, but aren’t you hungry? It’s on me.” Tom looked at her as she watched him with hesitation. “Not as a date.”

“Well, what in this world is open at 4 am?” She laughed.“But yeah, haven’t eaten anything since the morning. Whatcha have in mind, Spidey?”

“I know this milkshake place.”

Tom smirked, no he hadn’t scored with a girl that night, but he had gotten something better. The best friend he could ever ask for.

teaser

next chapter

series masterlist

wanna be tagged?

i stole this tag list from another fic tell me if you don’t wanna be tagged lol sorry

tag list @laureharrier @lovelyh0lland @typicaltrashbagg @nano-hero @paradoxparker @its-tchalla @butwhyduh @clairesrainbow @desirableprey @fairydustparker @newlove-neweverything @ymeradonnadx @underoosmarvel @tomhollandlovebot @its-the-unknownspidey @savethebabyseals @hermionedeservesbetterthanron @quitetommyy @tomhaz @wronglanemendes @itsvianny @lovestrucktom @jake-and-amy-are-married @starlightfound @tiredfeels @thespiderdweeb @kill-the-stereo @thequeensardine @originalpinkpowerranger @lavenderholland @anxiousdesignerdancerbandlover @organicpurplepants @happywolves81 @nedthegay @skylar-mendes @emma-worthington @redwhitenbucky @cartiertom @elefthavraam @sentimentalquackson @savannah0111 @vibhati123 @imagine-that-100 @lunagreenwood @hollandhearts @bluparis @badhollandfluff @myspideysensesrtingling @spidermansmj14 @soccerstud004 @marinaabernardii @applenter @silver-winter-wolf @spiderboytotherescue @dark-infernal-instruments @claredolphinbear24 @bookgirlunicorn @tomshufflepuff @avengersgirllorianna @harringtonsbaseballbat @saintlavrents @herofiennestiffinashardinscott. @almostrosadiazz @tonystark-mcu @tomzfrog @tohollandback @morganhoran1671 @awkwardfangirl2014 @spideysimpossiblegirl @everythingbooknerd @captainbuckyy @xapham @parkerswebhead @afilmbypeterparkr @xxtomxo @gioandreolli @tomhollandisagod @danicarosaline @laurfangirl424 @vintageroses1014516 @cinnamon-roll-peter @the-lost-fairy-tale @lala-florez @fufaation15 @healthyassdonut @laurfangirl424 @ilcveyou3000 @xxtomxo @socorroann @muffinmari25 @cassindeansass @rogers-obsessed-barnes-curious @southsidespidey @nathaliabakes @hollandslut @marvelstuck @embrace-themagic @sanniegirl1214 @gioandreolli

#limits of desire #LOD #tom holland au #tom holland x y/n #tom holland fanfiction #tom holland x you #tom holland x reader #fuckboy!tom holland #fuckboy! au #fuckboy!tom holland au #player!tom holland au #player!tom holland x reader #tom holland smut #tom holland angst #tom holland fluff #tom holland #tom holland fanfic #tom holland story #tom holland imagine

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hystericalweenie · 4 years

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Just Another Day at the Office Series - New On the Job

George MacKay x Reader Series

Part Five: The Morning After

Masterlist

Summary: Y/f/n Y/l/n was job searching, looking for a new place to work as an escape to her, then, current job; she’d been denied every pitch she had, yet she worked her ass off with zero recognition. Writing was her passion and her dream job laid in the hands of a magazine company in the city. Will the combination of her sexual frustration and her competitive nature cause her to risk her biggest dream for a blue eyed coworker?

a/n: I have absolutely no personal experience in magazine/journalism career, so the information in this fic will be provided with the knowledge I have conducted from research. With that being said, please don’t be mad if this is not accurate!!! Sorry this was late compared to my daily uploading, I’ve been very busy these past few days!

Warnings: This is a slow burn fic, their relationship won’t happen in one night, so if you’re not into that, check out some of the beautifully written imagines that you can most likely find under the george mackayxreader tag. I might eventually write some of my own too :P At least one person’s saying “fuck” and there’s some sexual! tension! up! in! here!

I opened my eyes to my dark bedroom. The darkness of dawn leaked through my curtains, reminding me of the misery that was Monday. I hadn’t slept well that night, too many butterflies in my stomach disrupting my slumber. George’s head rested on my chest, his cheek in contact with my revealed skin. He’d been restless, switching into many positions that night, but as soon as his head hit my chest and his arms slung around me, he didn't move a single muscle. I brushed my fingers through his hair, twirling around some strands. I heard him release a deep breath, before cuddling his head further into my chest as if it were a pillow. He reminded me of a child cuddling their mother after a nightmare in this moment, and I was grateful I was able to see another side of him, an innocent and youthful side to him.

I felt his fingers drum against my sides, notifying me that he was awake. I smiled, removing my fingers from his scalp.

“Don’t stop,” he mumbled against my chest, his voice soft and raspy.

My cheeks flushed as I brought my fingers back to his scalp, earning a delightful moan from him. My eyes widened at the noise, my mind immediately swimming in filthy thoughts, but I quickly forced them away, because it was certainly not the time for intimacy; he needed a friend to be there for him, and I was that friend.

We laid there for a while in silence, my fingers tangling and untangling themselves in his locks, as I felt his warm breath against the skin of my chest. After these moments of bliss, my alarm on my phone went off, causing me to jump at the sudden interruption. I quickly grabbed my phone and turned the damned thing off, tossing it on the floor without a single worry. I quickly returned my fingers to his hair, as if nothing had interrupted our moment.

“As much as it hurts me to say this,” he spoke up, his raspy voice introducing itself to me again. “You need to go to work today, love.”

I groaned, watching as my fingers worked through the effortless blond waves.

“What if I just don’t go?” I suggested, my voice dry with exhaustion.

He lifted his head, turning it toward me as his chin rested on my chest, his eyes looking up at me. His lip had already started scabbing over, and his black eye looked more violet today, signifying that his face was beginning to heal. With his messy hair, his eyelids swollen with sleep, and his eyes looking up at me so innocently, my heart practically jumped out of my chest.

“Love,” he cautioned, his eyebrows knitting together.

My cheeks caught on fire at the way the word rolled off his lips so naturally, yet intimately. Love. I repeated it over and over in my head. I subconsciously pulled my bottom lip between my teeth as I stared down at him, absorbing his features as long as I could. I sighed, ending the moment, and removing my fingers from his hair.

“I need to, uhm, get ready,” I stammered, looking down at him.

He rolled himself off of me, reminding me of what it felt like without the weight of a six foot tall man sprawled on top me. I stood up from the mattress, stretching my body–moaning a little too loudly while doing so–and walking toward my bedroom door. I turned around, watching as George stayed in my bed with his hands behind his head, observing me.

“Do you want coffee or breakfast?” I offered, as he stared back at me.

“Are you going to cook me breakfast?” he joked, cracking a grin.

I rolled my eyes at the man.

“Coffee, it is,” I called, exiting the bedroom, biting back the smile that threatened to make its way onto my lips.

I started the pot, leaning on the counter as I waited for the machine to spew the liquid. I heard footsteps, making me turn around. Bree yawned, her mouth mimicking a lion’s roar. I smiled at her blond hair sticking out in multiple directions, her morning frown greeting me as she got her favorite mug out of the cabinet.

“Can you get two mugs out for me?” I asked her mindlessly, my eyes focusing back on the coffee machine.

“Two? You mean, on–” she stopped herself, her head whipping to me with wide eyes.

I looked back at her expression, visibly trying to hide my smile, as her jaw dropped to the floor.

Is George in your bedroom? she mouthed to me, her hazel eyes as big as could be.

I nodded slowly, causing her to jump up and down, looking as happy as I’d ever seen her in the morning. She realized what she was doing, before pouring herself a mug of coffee and quietly slipping back into her bedroom, mouthing a sorry. I rolled my eyes playfully at the girl, pouring two mugs of my own.

“How do you take your coffee?” I called to the boy, as I opened the refrigerator to retrieve the creamer for myself.

“Black,” he answered, surprising me with the closeness of his voice.

I turned around, watching as he pulled a seat out for himself at the small kitchen table, before sitting himself down. I handed him the steaming mug, before adding cream and sugar to my own. Closing the refrigerator with my foot, I took a seat next to him and sipped on the hot morning bliss, ignoring how it burnt my tongue.

“Dean and I called out of work yesterday,” he spoke up. “We’re hoping to see if we can convince Andrew to go to rehab.”

I furrowed my eyebrows at him, worrying that his plan might cause a repeat of what’d happened the night before.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” I proposed.

He nodded, taking another sip from his mug.

“Dean's there right now. He said that they’ve put him under some medications that’ll hold him off for a while.”

I reached my hand out, gently resting it on his shoulder as I looked at him with concern.

“I just want you to be okay,” I admitted, my eyes scanning over the bruised eye.

He put his hand over mine with a small smile, his eyes softening.

“Thank you, love. I mean it.”

The sounds of footsteps interrupted us, as Bree walked toward the refrigerator with a sheepish smile.

“I forgot cream,” she apologized.

I rolled my eyes at her, gesturing out toward the small blond girl.

“George, this is my roommate, Bree. Bree this is my, uhm...”

What was he?

“Coworker,” George corrected, reaching his hand up to form a small wave to the girl.

Was that all he thought he was to me? A coworker? My roommate and I exchanged anxious eyes, as if we were both thinking the same thing.

“I’m the guy that gave Y/n a place to crash that night at the bar,” he introduced, his tone sounding...almost, protective.

Bree scratched the back of her neck, still feeling guilty.

“Yeah, thank you for that, by the way,” she looked at him sincerely. “I’m still upset with myself for doing that to her.”

I looked at her, shaking my head.

“It’s fine, I already told you,” I insisted, bringing my mug up to my lips and gulping the energizing liquid. I wrapped my hands around the mug before standing up from the chair. “I should probably go take a shower,” I announced.

“I should probably get going as well, I need to clean myself up and meet Dean at the hospital,” George informed me, standing up from his chair as well.

“Do you need a ride?” I offered.

He shook his head.

“Nah, I drove here. Hopefully my car’s still outside, if it hasn't gotten towed yet,” he joked.

I nodded, making my way to my bedroom to grab the pool of clothes that sat on my floor, before he’d changed into the comfier fabrics. I returned back to the kitchen, holding them out with his shoes.

“Don’t want to forget these,” I reminded him.

He nodded, taking the clothes and making his way to the door. I followed him quickly, catching his attention.

“Can I, uh, walk you to your car?” I asked sheepishly, chewing on my lip.

He cracked a small smile, nodding. We silently made our way down the stairs, just like we had when I led him to the apartment earlier; there were no sounds, except for the echoes of our footsteps. We walked outside, the cold air surprising my warm skin as I hissed. His car had been still parked against the sidewalk, a little further down from where I’d found him sitting the night before. Once we reached his car, he turned toward me.

“Thank you,” he told me sincerely. “You took very well care of me last night, when you had absolutely no reasoning to.”

I shrugged. “I owed you one.”

He furrowed his eyebrows, as he looked down at me with a concerned expression.

“Is that the only reason why you took care of me last night, no questions asked? Because you owed me a favor?” he interrogated.

I was shocked at his question, my cheeks heating up and my eyes widening in surprise. I looked up at him, chewing on the skin of my bottom lip before answering. What is the point of lying again, I asked myself.

“I took care of you, because I wanted to,” I admitted. “When I saw the texts you sent me last night, I was so worried, I literally got my slippers on and ran out of the building as quickly as I could to find you.”

His eyebrows knitted together and his eyes softened, as he looked at me with admiration.

“Y/n, I don’t think you’re aware of what you’re doing to me,” he confessed.

I tilted my head in confusion, but he gave no further explanation.

“Go knock ‘em dead at work. Text me at lunch?”

I blushed at his words of encouragement and the fact that he wanted me to text him on my lunch break.

“Of course,” I promised him.

He reached for my hand, pressing his lips to the skin, before releasing it and entering the driver’s seat of his car. My body was frozen, completely paralyzed at the feeling of his lips against the back of my hand. He drove away, sending me a wink as he passed. And I stood there, on the pavement, looking like an idiot. I don’t think you’re aware of what you’re doing to me, what the hell did that mean?!

I was almost late to work, because of that man. But, I arrived just on time, staring across from me at the empty desk. I sighed, forcing my attention on the document of my pitch, memorizing what I’d say to Connie when the time came. I looked at the new articles that’d already come out that morning, reading for my own entertainment to pass the time before the meeting.

Once the inevitable hour passed, I made my way toward the conference room, this time without my brunette pal as my guide. Luckily, I was able to find the room, and I sat myself down next to Faith. She greeted me with a small smile, as I reciprocated her action and stared at the entrance of the room with anticipation. As more workers piled in, Connie stifled in with her assistant, making the butterflies in my stomach much more existent.

“Happy Monday everyone,” she greeted us, her voice monotone.

Starting with the beauty and fashion editors like the last time, my anticipation was building more and more as she discussed along the tables of the writers and editors. As soon as her head turned towards me, my heart practically sank to my stomach, her emerald eyes intimidating me.

“Print journalists? How about we start with you, Y/n,” she announced.

I cleared my throat anxiously before speaking.

“I was thinking about conducting an experiment with CBD oil, since that’s such a trendy product right now in the media, and I could write about it,” I explained, trying to exude as much confidence as I could under her stare.

She nodded after I spoke.

“That’s a nice idea, I’m surprised no one’s come up with that yet,” she admitted. “Try to work with a sub-editor on this, come up with some deadlines, and email me after. Anyone else?”

I smiled proudly at how well that’d gone. I looked forward to telling George about my succession on lunch, as the meeting flew by. Once I’d gotten back to my desk, I emailed Dean as soon as my fingers hit the keyboard.

Dean, Hopefully you have your email on your phone, because if not, then I’ll have to find another sub-editor that I actually like. Anyway, I have this idea for an article and I need your help to discuss deadlines and all that. Email me back when you get this... or actually I’ll see you if you don’t see this until you’re back in the office. Thanks. Y/n

I sent the email, keeping the tab open in case he’d respond. I began opening a document and writing an introduction/hypothesis to the experiment. I clicked back on the email tab, sighing in relief as I saw a notification from him.

Hi. Wifi’s shit where I am, so this might not send. What’s the experiment? What did Connie say about it? Also, you don’t need to be so proper sending emails to me. We sent memes to each other, remember?

I laughed, recalling the memory when he’d asked me for my email on my first day. I typed back immediately.

Message has been sent to me, though you’ve probably already figured that out by now. Experiment’s about trying CBD oil for the first time. Yes, I’m a millennial, how could you tell? Connie liked it, she said I should work closely with a sub-editor and email her all the details once we've finished coming up with deadlines.

I waited for him to respond, going back to writing again. After a few minutes, I received the notification.

Lol. I'm glad everything went well with Connie. Do you think four days would be a realistic deadline? Maybe take two days to write and research while doing the experiment, then two days for me to edit it and work with the art team for designs for the article? We can come up with a word count later. I’ll be in the office tomorrow and we can discuss this further. Just email Connie the main things and try to pick up and try that cdb or whatever shit up today. Srry if this sounds rushed, I’m a little busy right now.

I felt bad for intruding on Dean, as he was probably taking care of his friend.

I’m sorry for intruding on your day, just do what you have to do and we’ll work on this tomorrow. Thank you for everything you were able to help me with.

I emailed Connie right away before starting my research. I took important notes, cited some quotes to important articles online, and included some of my own pre-knowledge as well. I, then, looked at some of the best CBD products on Amazon, before settling on a roll-on oil and ordering it to the apartment, paying extra for a one-day delivery.

Once lunch had rolled around, I made a salad in the small cafeteria and ate at my desk, pulling my phone out while I ate.

Me: Had a pitch today, it went sooo well. How are things with you?

He responded almost instantly.

George: That’s fantastic, Y/n! We’re at a rehabilitation facility, staying here while Andrew gets checked in. After this, probably going to go out and buy some groceries for dinner, maybe get some more ingredients for a recipe I can teach you.

Me: I would love that! Would tonight work?

George: As long as it does for you x

George: I slept amazing last night, even in that tiny bed of yours.

Me: You make it sound like I sleep on a twin mattress.

George: A full is almost like a twin, right?

George: Did you like my big bed better?

Me: Considering I don’t even remember sleeping in it, I’m not sure. Remember, I woke up in that bed with absolutely no recollection of that night whatsoever.

George: You would love my mattress, it’d practically swallow you up.

You know what else I’d like to swallow me up... Stop it Y/n!

Me: Are you sure you’re okay? With the whole Andrew thing going on...

George: Being with you helps get my mind off of it, so I think tonight is a good idea. I can’t necessarily say I’m okay right now, but I will be. He realized that he has to get better, and he’s finally taking the step to do that, and that’s already much more progress.

Me: Okay... If I can at least take your mind off of things, then let’s make dinner a definite tonight. I’m here for you, George, however you need me.

Did that sound too vulnerable? I wasn’t sure, but the more time George and I spent together, the less I cared about taking risks.

George: That means more to me than you’ll ever know, love.

When I got home from work, I took a shower to freshen myself up–despite having already taken one in the morning–before dressing myself in a tight turtleneck top with high wasted jeans and a pair of my favorite heeled leather booties. I styled my hair in waves before leaving the house and, finally, receiving a text from George with his address. As I drove with anticipation, I wondered what he was wearing, and maybe I’d overdressed myself. As I approached the familiar apartment, I parked my car behind the building before letting him know I was there.

He welcomed me within minutes, leading me up to his apartment. He was dressed in jeans and a maroon sweater, the color going well with his skin tone and hair. I wondered what would happen that night, as we entered his cozy, yet luxurious apartment.

But, I had no idea what that night had in store for me.

#george mackay #george mackay x reader #x reader fic #fanfic #fanfics #1917 cast #1917 #dean charles chapman

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ariannjs · 4 years

Text

KARIN | A SasuSaku FanFic (10/10)

(Karin - Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8 / Part 9)

——–

Hey guys! It's been a whiiiiile! I'm so sorry that I'm just uploading this now. To be honest, this epilogue has been finished since last August but idk I felt quite afraid to post it that I totally forgot all about it@.@ Nonetheless, here it isss! Accck I'm shy! HAHA. But here's a late New Year and Valentine's Gift to you all, SS fam!

Thank you for journeying with me as I wrote my very first multi-chaptered SasuSaku fic! I am extremely grateful for all of your encouraging comments on this and all my other works. 2019 has been really difficult but I praise God because this writing journey became highly therapeutic for me that it led me to meeting more SS fans as well! So yeah, Arigatou Gozaimashita!

Alright, I won't hold you back for long, here's the Epilogue of "Karin"! Enjoy!xx

——–

The only time that Sasuke Uchiha had felt incredibly nervous was back when his father was mentoring him on how to use Katon. Though many years had passed, he could still vividly remember that heart-pounding, stomach-twisting sensation of not knowing if he’d be able to produce an impressive result as his father’s eyes were fixated on him.

And now, he could feel the same thing with what he was planning to do.

Although they didn’t really have the best father-son relationship, he knew that if Fugaku Uchiha was still alive, he’s the best person who could give him the most logical advice that he needed at the moment, considering that they were, in many ways, similar in terms of their personality.

That’s why absurdly, he wished his father was here to tell him how to execute his plan in a step-by-step manner like how he passed on to him the Great Fireball Technique.

Sasuke wasn't the kind of person who finds asking questions necessary, a manifestation of the superiority that tended to be his facade even in his most vulnerable state. But if only he could, there were lots of questions that he would like to ask his Otou-san.

How exactly did father ask mother to marry him?

Did he feel as insanely apprehensive as I am right now?

Did mother actually say yes on father’s first attempt to ask?

How many chances does a man have anyway, just in case...just in case the woman says no?

These, and probably a lot more.

With thoughts all over the place, Sasuke fidgeted on the couch as he watched Sakura make funny faces at the giggling Suika on the floor of the Hozuki’s living room.

She’s still so annoying, he couldn’t help but think. Doesn’t she have the slightest idea about how much he was falling in love with her all the more each day?

Observing Sakura with Suika has been one of his favorite past times ever since the redhead baby was born. It just showed him much of the pureness of her heart towards people, children in particular. And it only solidified his resolve that he has made the right decision – probably the best in his life so far – about spending the rest of his life with his female teammate in his genin squad.

He planned to ask her that special question today, when the opportunity arises. His brain has been trying its best to figure out how to do so ever since he came out of the hospital weeks ago. But being Sasuke Uchiha, there was no grand preparation and sappy romantic gestures despite the ridiculous suggestions of his best friend and the disgusting persuasion of his sensei for him to read his favorite book. All he knew was it was completely fixed in his mind that this woman was the one he wanted to marry.

And today was the day that he’s gonna make Sakura Haruno say yes to being an Uchiha.

So while they were waiting for the Hozuki couple to finish packing their belongings, he was on the alert for any open chance to bring up his question in the same way he has his guard up whenever a possible enemy is lingering around.

“Is something bothering you, Sasuke-kun?”

Tch. Why does she have to know him so well?

He tersely shook his head, eyes on Suika who was curiously staring at him with her tiny hand in her mouth.

“You know I’m always here to listen when you’re ready.” Sakura showed that breathtaking smile of hers that seemed to be reserved just for him. TCH!

“Oh, you want to go to Uncle Sasuke? Okay! Okay! Stop bouncing!” She then giggled to the kid, leaned to carry her, and then placed her on Sasuke’s lap.

Suika stretched an arm out to reach for his face, and for a moment, it was effective in drawing his gaze away from Sakura. But the head medic moved closer to wipe the side of Suika's mouth with a bib as the baby babbled incoherent words.

For a second, Sasuke's mind went blank, bringing him to a different timeline wherein quite the same scene was happening as if he was in a genjutsu. It was breathtaking. His heart constricted with longing for the surreal image to become a reality, despite it being far-fetched.

Years ago, he never imagined that he would have the chance of having a family of his own. And yes, even up to now, the idea was still something that his mind wrestled to accept as something that he deserved.

But then, his eyes met Sakura’s once more. And just like all the other times that he has met her gaze, something inside him changed and made him feel like it's just so easy to drop all his hesitations because of her – for her.

“Sakura...I–”

“Wow! I can’t believe it’s our last day.”

Their heads suddenly whipped towards the bedroom door as their redhead friend exited, followed by her husband who had just finished sealing their baggage in a scroll.

Half irked yet half relieved with the interruption, Sasuke sighed as he handed the baby to her frowning mother. It was a good thing that Sakura didn't realize he was about to tell her something important.

Maybe later, then.

Suigetsu shrugged. "Some things really come to an end, Karin."

“That’s sadly true,” Sakura joined in the conversation, approaching the Hozuki matriarch to pass on the baby's bib. “But the good thing is that every time a season ends, a new one is about to begin.” She smiled at the woman who has become one of her closest friends.

It was saddening to see their family leave, but she’s just so excited for them to finally reside in a place they could truly call their home. Besides, they deserved it after everything they've been through individually and as a family.

“It’s time to go.” Everyone turned to the Uchiha who was already standing by the door.

So with a toothy grin, Suigetsu placed an arm around his wife’s shoulders before saying, “Let’s go, Karin. I’m excited for you and Suika to see Hidden Mist.”

The walk towards the gates of Konoha seemed like a trip down memory lane. So when they finally reached that familiar arc that welcomes and sends off Konoha's villagers and visitors, Karin wasn't able to stop herself from handing over Suika to her husband and then throwing her arms as tight as she could around Sasuke.

"Karin. How many times should I tell you to get off me, especially because you're a married woman?"

The redhead chuckled at that, amused with how detached he still was – well, except for a certain pink-haired maiden. "My husband wouldn't mind though!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes but found himself glancing at the other woman with them, wondering if she would mind about the situation. However, he only caught her laughing cutely at the ordeal. He couldn't bring himself to scoff.

Pulling away for the Uchiha to be comfortable, Karin sheepishly said, "Thank you so much for everything, Sasuke. I'm so glad that you've found redemption for yourself. No doubt, you'll be able to help more people inside and outside this village. Like us. I will never forget this."

Karin realized that staying in Konoha was the happiest moment of her life so far. And she knew that despite her initial doubts about the idea, everything wouldn’t happen if her husband didn’t force her to join Sasuke in going to this place for her and their baby's safety. Yet she never expected that the decision would be life-changing for all of them.

Suigetsu agreed with a nod. “Sasuke, you've done so much for us. I owe my family’s life to you. I honestly can't thank you enough."

The former leader of Team Taka was stunned at the way his teammates expressed their gratitude to him. He never even thought that there's anything anyone should thank him for. If anything, it was them that he should've thanked for they've shown him a glimpse of what a transformed life and an assured future look like. But as usual, he was not exactly good with words.

Remembering how they've witnessed the majority of his worst years yet they're still here to stand by him, Sasuke's eyes softened as he gave the couple a simple yet meaningful nod in response.

The pink-haired maiden beside him was smiling the entire time. Sakura didn't know all the details of Sasuke's journey with Taka, but to see him developing such strong bonds even outside of Team 7 was something that she considered a breakthrough. It gave her joy knowing that this scenario was an assurance to Sasuke that he won't ever be alone anymore.

"Before I forget, please bring these pills that would help in keeping you from the cold during your travels," Sakura then handed a small pouch to Karin. "This is helpful especially for Suika since this would be her first exposure to such cold weather."

If Karin was able to stop her tears from falling while talking to Sasuke, she wasn't able to contain it anymore while staring at the pouch given by Sakura. This woman has done so much in bringing out the best in her without her knowing. And so, she also enveloped her in an embrace that's so rare for Karin to give, well, except when it's for her husband and Sasuke.

“Sakura, you’ve saved my life not just once. And then you've shown me the kind of life I never imagined I could still have. Thank you for trusting me and for believing in my potential.” Karin sniffed while Sakura gave her a pat on the back, unable to stop a tear from falling as well. And then the redhead pulled away, instantly wiping her cheeks with the back of her hand with a big smile at her senpai. "I'm not usually like this but—ugh! It's because of the two of you!"

At her loud remark, Sasuke raised an eyebrow while Sakura ended up cackling with a hand on her stomach.

"Whew. At least it's not me this time." Suigetsu snickered too, rocking the baby in his arms that was awakened by the voice of her mother.

Karin almost landed a punch to her husband's liquefiable head, but thanks to Suika's sleepy murmur, she opted to avoid violence to carry the baby again. "Ssh. I'm sorry, kid. Mama's a little different today because of your godmother and godfather." She stuck a tongue out at the two and Sasuke could only snort as Sakura continued to laugh.

"Ha. Sorry, Karin could be crazy at times, or…" The Hozuki patriarch paused and pretended to contemplate. "...actually, most of the time."

"Hey! You're lucky I'm holding your daughter!"

"Kidding, guys. I love that woman nonetheless."

Sakura and Sasuke didn't fail to see the tinge of maroon on the redhead's cheeks before she turned around to hide it. Uncomfortable with such things, the Uchiha scoffed at the sight of his old teammates. But then, he slightly jerked as something hit his side almost close to his ribs.

When he shot a sharp glance at the woman beside him, Sakura was just smiling innocently at the Hozuki's. Yet this doctor might need to heal something later, courtesy of her pointed elbow.

Suigetsu noticed the interchange and smirked a little, having high hopes that one day, these two would finally end up like him and his wife. He then grinned. "But really, the two of you have made a difference in our lives. We'll surely remember this and even tell Suika one day. Sasuke, you better visit us in one of Orochimaru's hideouts. And then bring Sakura-san with you."

"As if I'd want to go back there."

Scrunching her nose, Sakura shivered at the prospect of being in the aforementioned place.

Karin wasn't able to stifle her guffaw as she faced her friends again. "But we don't know, Sasuke, what if you'd eventually need to visit? And that would be nice! I want Suika to meet you both one day!"

"Tch. You'd really want your daughter to grow up in that dumpsite?"

"Oi! You kind of grew up there too!" Suigetsu teased.

Staring blankly, Sasuke fought the urge to burn the couple with his powerful eyes for the sake of their daughter. And then he said, "You better leave now. It's almost dusk."

"Fine then, yes, sir!"

"Take care of your family, Suigetsu."

"Always. And you, take care of Sakura-san!" There was a smirk on Suigetsu's lips as Sasuke remained silent at that. But he knew full well, Sasuke would cross time and dimensions and even give his life just to protect Sakura. This time, his strength would be used not for his own selfish agenda, but for the sake of the people he cared for. Just like what he did for Suigetsu and his family.

"Oh. This is real now, isn't it?"

Sakura reached out and gave Karin's hand a squeeze, looking down on Suika who was now awake after all the commotion with her parents and godparents. A giggle escaped her tiny lips upon seeing Sakura, making Sakura frown a bit as her green eyes met the baby's purple ones. "Yes, it's real now, Karin. But this ain't goodbye. See you soon." She smiled one last time before moving aside, waving a small goodbye as the Hozuki's finally exited the village hidden in the leaves.

Sasuke and Sakura silently remained on their posts as the two figures became smaller from afar.

Until Sakura murmured, "They're such a beautiful family, aren’t they?" Slowly, Sasuke tilted his head to gaze at her. And at that very moment, everything felt right. He took in her beauty as the setting sun made her face glow and the breathing wind made her cherry blossom hair sway in slow motion. It reminded him of those times in his redemption journey that he marvelled at the sight of Cherry Blossom trees because it made him feel like she was beside him, albeit far away.

Now that it became real, he thought of how wonderful it would be to have more peaceful moments like this with her. So as they stood in the place where he first broke her heart, he finally chose to drop all hesitations so he could do what he wanted to accomplish before the day ends, with high hopes that he could also give Sakura a new memory with him in this place.

"Sakura. Do you...want to have something like that?" The Hozuki's were already out of sight but his first female teammate continued to stare at a distance. "A future family?" She smiled, clutching her hands to her chest as she thought of the only man she'd want to spend the rest of her life with. And then she said in a soft voice, “I've...I've always wanted to." "I want to have that too...with you."

With wide eyes, Sakura turned to Sasuke who was now looking at the path his friends walked on. There was no trace of humor on his face, only an expression that showed solace and expectancy. “S-sas—”

"But Sakura...it is clear as day that you deserve the best. And that’s...that’s not me." Sasuke’s gaze fell to the ground. "I'm not even exactly a good man, so I'm far from being the best for you. There were so many things that I've done that destroyed and hurt so many people, including you and the ones that you care for. So even though I'd...I'd really want a future with you, I don't think you deserve someone whose past is as wicked as mine."

"Sasuke-kun, all those is exactly what you've said – a part of the past. My love for you is not based on what you've done or what you would do. It's simply based on you, Sasuke-kun. Just you. Anything else doesn't matter, as long as...as long as I know that you deeply love me." She paused. "Do you love me?" There was a momentary pause as he looked up at her dazzling eyes. But it wasn’t because he was doubting his answer, for Sasuke has always been sure.

For a second, he wanted to chuckle at the irony that Sakura Haruno could read words and situations, analyze lab tests and battle strategies, but she couldn’t read and analyze the feelings that Sasuke Uchiha has for her.

It was not her fault that he hadn’t made himself crystal clear yet though.

So he thought of the best way to vividly convey his answer to her question and firmly address her uncertainties about her standing in his life all this time.

He then settled in responding through the best and significant way he knows. Smiling a little, he gently tapped her forehead right below the diamond-shaped mark of her strength before saying, "You should know that by now.”

Just like the first time Sasuke did this, Sakura's eyes widened and her lips parted a little as her cheeks became painted with pink. The only difference now was that she stared back at him with recognition, eyes brimming with tears of none other than joy. To know that her love was reciprocated for such a long time already made her feel elated more than ever.

For so many times, she has almost given up in waiting. But it was true all along, being loved back by the man she has always loved was worth the long wait. She regrets nothing for even after everything, it all came down to this. Sasuke looked away as he remembered something. "That time you've been avoiding me because of Karin...it made me realize that I couldn’t stand a life without you." He muttered something like "Never again" and then faced her with his mismatched eyes focusing intently – lovingly – on her green ones. "If you’re willing to make things work together with me...Sakura, marry me." Sakura's tears finally fell upon hearing those last words that she thought she would never hear from this man. She didn't even have to contemplate on what she would answer for she immediately said, "I could never imagine loving and marrying anyone else, Sasuke-kun."

And then she tapped his forehead in the same way he did with her, making Sasuke's eyes widen and his heart flutter in a way that he never felt before. His lips curved into a smile as he pulled her into a long embrace that surprised even him. But as Sakura melted in his arms as if she had always belonged there, he felt completely relieved that he got the answer he had prayed to receive from her. Maybe this was what Suigetsu had felt when Karin agreed to spend the rest of her life with him as well, he thought.

The satisfied smile on Sakura’s lips after they pulled away made Sasuke’s heart skip a beat. It still felt like he was dreaming, the fact that he was staring at his wife-to-be. “Let’s go home.”

“Yours or mine?”

Sasuke slowly grabbed her hand, after all, he has every right to do so now. “Ours. From now on, you have to be comfortable around the Uchiha compound. I’ll just walk you back to your place tonight.”

As the two of them walked hand in hand back to the village, two pairs of eyes continued to watch them from the nearby trees.

“Heh, Kakashi-sensei, this is a lot better than the last time the three of us were here with Karin, ‘ttebayo!”

——–

August 2019 | AriannJS

——–

8 chapters. 8 characters. 8 months. It's a wrap! *cries in G#m* This fic is now saying sayonara! But hmm...who knows, I might actually get to finish a one-shot sequel for this. Well, we'll see. ;) Arigatou Gozaimashita, mina-san! I appreciate you all!

- A

#SASUSAKU #sasusaku fanfics #ss fics #sakura haruno #sasuke uchiha #sakura uchiha #karin #ss fanfics #ss fanfiction #ariannjfics

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