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#when i saw this dancing pose pack i needed to use
gloryride · 19 days
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Dance is Love language
Strangers in the night exchanging glances Wondering in the night What were the chances we'd be sharing love Before the night was through Something in your eyes was so inviting Something in your smile was so exciting Something in my heart Told me I must have you
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slasher-male-wife · 10 months
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Horror characters with a s/o who does ballet
I did ballet when I was like 4 before I was diagnosed with ADHD and I did enjoy it but I didn't keep doing it. I've just been thinking about ballet lately and I decided to write about it.
Includes: Hannibal Lecter, Asa Emory, Michael Myers, Vincent Sinclair, and Amanda Young
Warnings: GN reader mostly but one bullet on each section mentions a male reader, internalized homophobia?, regular homophobia, mentions of murder, mentions of saw traps in Amanda's section, mentions of torture, vague cannibalism in Hannibal's section
Hannibal Lecter
When you tell him you do ballet he's immediately interested. Hannibal enjoys the finer things in life and ballet is something he's happy to indulge in.
He's rich so he's happy to help pay for whatever you need. Ballet shoes can be very expensive but he's willing to help you pay for them.
Ballet is physically demanding and he's happy to help you sooth the aches and pains on your body. Will help you with ice baths or rubbing your aching muscles.
Will go to all of your shows, even if you're barely in it. He doesn't care he's going to be there to watch you dance, and will bring you flowers after every performance.
If you practice at home he's there to help you, giving his advice as someone who's been to many opera and ballet shows.
He probably has a lot of hair products for his hair because he's kind of a diva. So if you need hair gel or hairspray for your costume he's got your back.
If you're a man and someone makes fun of you for doing ballet they're getting eaten. I think he'd do something clever like a tongue dish or he poses the body in some kind of ballet pose.
Asa Emory
Like Hannibal Asa loves the finer things in life. He's pretty rich considering he has all these torture devices and a hotel. So you having a more expensive job/hobby is not a big deal to him.
He will try to sneak in bug related things into things you can customize. If you're doing a dance related to bugs in any way he's asking you all about it and will honestly want to make things as accurate as possible.
Will want to watch you practice because he just likes seeing you in dance and shift into different positions. He's always interested in human limits both physical and mental so seeing you stretch your body while dancing is interesting to him.
Like I said, Asa is rich and he doesn't have a problem buying you things for your job/hobby. If you're allowed to customize parts of your practice clothes or shoes he'll try to get it bug related in some kind of way.
He might take inspiration from your dancing and will pose victims or put them in traps that are ballet related.
He loves classical music so listening to you practicing with music over and over again isn't a problem to him. He's put himself through worse so listening to his partners dance music over and over again isn't that bad.
Just like Hannibal, if you're a man and someone makes fun of you for doing ballet he's going to put them through a lot of torture, like more than normal. He was a little unsure about you being a man and doing ballet but he got over it quickly.
Michael Myers
He's heard of ballet but the extent of his knowledge on it is just that it's 'fancy dancing'. Once he sees you dancing, because when he's not killing he's watching you, he's pretty interested in it. As interested as Michael can be in something.
He likes how graceful you look while dancing. He could watch you for hours, just sitting still and watching you dancing. He'll probably touch and feel your ballet shoes when you're not using them.
If you ask him to help you break in your shoes and explain to him you just hit them on the floor he's very willing to help you. You'll have to watch him to make sure he doesn't genuinely ruin them.
He's confused about how you're getting bruises and hurt feet when you're "just dancing" but his concern isn't really noticeable aside from him leaving out ice packs for you.
If you're doing a dance where you're being more 'physical' with your dancing partner he's going to be jealous about it. You'll have to make it up to him with lots of candy and avoiding other men.
If you're a man and you do ballet he doesn't see why that's something weird. He's been locked up inside a mental hospital for 16 years so he doesn't really understand gender roles.
But if someone makes you feel back for doing ballet as a man and Michael hears about it, he's killing them for you.
Vincent Sinclair
He is so interested in you doing ballet. He wants to hear all about the type of ballet you do and how long you've been doing it. If you memorized any dances he wants you to do them for him.
I have a feeling that Vincent can sew to some degree. Like he can take old clothes and customize them. He'll probably make/find you clothes you can practice in and maybe even costumes.
He listens to classical/opera music already so if you want to practice or perform for him it's really no problem at all to him.
Finding you actual ballet shoes might be an issue. He'd suggest making you some but quickly realize he can't. He'll bribe/guilt Bo into going out and getting you ballet shoes.
Will probably make some figures into ballet dancers because you're one. His art is going to include a lot more ballet themes in it. Will love to sketch you in different outfits and poses.
Anything remotely ballet themed from a victim is going to you. If Vincent sees some clothes or an item you'd like or could use in your dancing he'll tell Bo to be careful with that item when he kills them, or he'll kill the victim himself.
If you're a guy and a victim makes fun of you for doing ballet they're getting turned into a figure alive like Wayne was. If his brothers make fun of you cough cough Bo he'll defend you and probably bring up something about them. "You do ballet Y/N? Didn't take you for a pansy." (Vincent signing) "Remember your emo phase when you wore eyeliner every day?"
Amanda Young
She wanted to do ballet as a kid but she probably wasn't very good at it and her parents took her out. So when she hears you do ballet she wants to hear all about it and will ask if you can teach her some.
Loves any kind of ballet outfits, especially if it's in darker colors and adores seeing you in practice clothes or costumes for shows.
Will brag to Hoffman about how talented her partner is at ballet and how shes so lucky to have you as a partner.
She'll probably take inspiration from the dance you're currently practicing or the process of breaking in your shoes when she's making a new trap for someone.
Loves watching you practice too. She finds the movements so satisfying and the music to be calming. If you practice at home she'll probably stretch with you.
Will love to help you do your hair and or makeup for a performance. She likes participating in your interests and helping you get ready is something she's happy to do.
If you're a man and someone makes fun of you for doing ballet she's finding a reason to put them in a trap. Hoffman will probably make fun of you doing ballet if you're a man so she'll get back at him in another way.
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skzleeknowcore · 1 month
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Birthday post for hyunjin
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"Jinnie baby"
"Yeah love"
"Can you teach me the dance to LALALALA"
"Ofc my love"
"Thank you"
"Go get ready baby I'll meet you in the car make sure you have everything"
"ok ill be quick"
"ok love"
Y/n got ready to go to the company with Hyunjin so she can distract him so his other members can decorate the dorm for his birthday and what better way to distract Hyunjin than by asking him to teach you the choreo to LALALALA
Y/n walked to the car and got in and clipped the seatbelt.
"ok I'm ready"
"Let's go I'm actually excited to teach you the dance"
"I'm excited for you to teach me the dance, we haven't had a lot of time for ourselves I missed you"
"aww I missed you as well love, I know I've been so busy with the fan meet coming up and so has everyone else but I promise when I get days off I'll spend them with you"
"Baby you don't have to spend your days off with me I knew what I got myself into when I agreed to be your girlfriend and I'm completely fine not seeing you every day to be honest I like some time to myself.
"Are you saying that I'm not good company"
"ofc you are good company I would never change anything if it gets you to be with me for a little bit"
Hyunjin pulled up and parked the car
"You ready to get your dance on love"
"Always when it's with you"
"You have a way with words Lee Y/n"
"That I do Hwang Hyunjin but only for you"
They walked inside the JYP building and bowed to the people that walked past them to the elevator so they could go to the dance room where the boys go to practice
"Ok where here, you ready bubs"
"Ofc I am"
"Ok I'll teach you the steps but I'll go slow so you don't miss anything"
"I'm fine with that"
Hyunjin started teaching me the steps to LALALALA, and he did infact go slow so I don't miss any steps
2 hours later....
"Baby your a natural"
"Really"
"Ofc you are but do you wanna try it with the music now"
I heard my phone ding
"Yea we can but I'm gonna get a drink of water and check my phone to see what time it is"
"Ok I'll be here"
I walked over to where my bag was and took my water bottle out and took a drink from it cause I was thirsty while I was checking my phone I saw that lee know texted me
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I put my phone down and went back to hyunjin
"I saw you typing on your phone who texted you"
"Lee know did wanted to know when will be back at the dorms"
"Ah ok I mean we have been here for awhile"
"Yea we have wanna go back to the dorms after we do the dance to the music"
"Yea I'm actually starting to get a bit tired"
"Ok well let's get to it so we can go back"
Me and hyunjin started doing the choreo to LALALALA until we hit the ending pose than we sat on the floor to try and catch our breaths for a bit
1 minute later...
"You ready to go now"
"Yeah I can't wait to get back to the dorms so I can have a shower"
"Hmm same maybe I can join you"
"Ofc you can jinnie"
We got up and packed up our stuff and headed out to the elevator, we got in as soon as the doors open and pressed the button to the main level
We got out of the elevator and started walking to the door but not before thanking the receptionist. After that, we went to the car and got in hyunjin, started the car, and backed out of the car park so we can head back to the dorms but I had to text lee know saying that where on our way
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After what felt like hours we finally got back to the dorms and hyunjin parked the car and the both of us got out and walked up the stairs to where the dorms were but before we could walk in I stood infront of the door
"Ok before we go in I need you to close your eyes"
"What why baby"
"Please" I gave him my puppy dog eyes
"Ok"
I opened up the door and let him to the loungeroom and all the boys were there, I gave them a signal to not say anything until I pulled my hands away from hyunjin
"Can I open my eyes now"
"Nono not yet I just have to say something first than you can"
"Ok"
"What I want to say is that jinnie you have went above and beyond to make me and all of your members happy and we all love you for that even tho minho shoves tissues in your mouth or has threatened you with the air fryer but what I most want to say is that you've honestly made me the happiest girl in the world you've stuck by my side through thick and thin, and I'll forever appreciate you, I love you so much that I spent half of my pay check on this so without further of do happy birthday my love you can open your eyes now"
I took my hand away so hyunjin can open his eyes but he had to adjust to the light first so when he did he saw 2 canvas of a painting with him and the members that I took of them and one of me and him but what took him by surprise was the amount of painting supplies there were
"Omg I love it guys you didn't have to honestly I forgot it was my birthday until now "
Everyone laughed at that cause all of us know that hyunjin can be forgetful at times
"Well y/n said no to me to shove tissues in your mouth for a birthday present so I guess this could do" minho said
"Yea cause that is not a birthday present minho"
"No but like honestly happy birthday man you deserve all of this" minho said walking to him giving him a bro hug
"Thank you guys"
"GROUP HUG" han yelled out
Everyone went and hugged hyunjin besides me
"Why aren't you in the group hug ynnie"
"Han said group hug"
"Yes he did and that includes you as well bubs"
"Ok I guess I can join the hug as well"
Hyunjin pulled my arm so I could join the hug
"I love you guys"
Me and the boys all looked at each other thinking of the same idea
"WE LOVE YOU AS WELL HYUNJIN"
"Ow that hurt my ears"
It went quite until we all bursted out laughing
If y'all want to see my other works:
Skzleeknowcore Masterlist
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gabysimgallery · 1 year
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BNHA Dabi - Touya Todoroki - xXDiamond_AraXx
AHHHHHHHHHHH *scraminggagasdajsdhjhaj* I, ME, I needed tHAt sCar overlay in my life when i saw it dancing over in the gallery, SO iT wAs mY woRk to find it >:)))) and they say;  the one who seeks finds aka me xDDDD
So yall can see the scars and 2 without them 🥵
The Sims 4 Gallery (game gallery) - contains CC
All cc and poses I’ve used below the read more💗💗💗💗💗
Poses
First pic poses by @juupo45 called MalePoses ~Christopher~
Second pic by @j-e-n-n-e-h called ♥ STANCE ♥
Modeling Trait poses
-  MALE POSE PACK 4 by Katverse
-  CAS Pose for Male Sim Set 06 Loner trait by remaron
-  Man (Poses for the CAS, Trait Evil) by  Beto_ae0
-  CAS Male Modeling Poses set 1 by KatVerseCC
--------------sliders------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I made a list of CC and CC sliders you need to download to turn out just like the pics!
--------------CC----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DABI - BOKU NO HERO ACADEMIA by @botrom-u1 (get the BNH_Full_Pack.rar, there i got the hair, piercings, shoes and outfit)👌👌👌
MHA Skin Packs 1 & 2 by JAMIEISFIERCE (you can get 1 or 2, both of them has the scars u need)
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My hero academia / Boku no Hero Academia belongs to Kōhei Horikoshi
The Sims 4 © 2023 Electronic Arts Inc.
BNHA Dabi 2.0 - zip file containing all mods/sliders and tray files in my MediaFire xXDiamond_AraXx  ;D
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majestyeverlasting · 3 years
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Congratulations on your one month tumblr anniversary! Could you please write prompts 16 and 46 with fatws!Bucky x reader? Thank you! :)
♡ Hi, thank you so much! I appreciate you for waiting on me to write this. I had a lot of fun with it, so I hope you enjoy! To summarize, the reader gets to accompany Bucky on an assignment in Germany, and the two of them take advantage of the special housing arrangement they’re given on a private portion of the beach. You guys get to see a little dash of multilingual Bucky towards the end in a really sweet way. The whole thing is pretty cute overall.
♡ Prompt 16: “You’re not good at pretending to be asleep.”
♡ Prompt 46: “Stop making me laugh, I’m supposed to be angry with you.”
Once More
As the tide rolled in, a gentle breeze came with it. Each ebb and flow brought the lukewarm water of the bay running over your feet as your toes pressed into the soft sand. The seagulls gliding above seemed to be welcoming you as they released their throaty cries into the air. Aside from them and the gentle slosh of the bubbling tide, there were no immediate sounds; it was peaceful.
That portion of the beach was private, situated along the Bay of Kiel. It sat behind the small, white, house that you and Bucky were staying in for the week-long duration of his assignment. It was the first time in a while that you’d been able to accompany him because, for once, he and Sam were solely doing investigative work.
There would be no intense pursuits, no combat, no casualties. Just observing.
In the weeks prior, the Office of International Affairs in D.C. had received word that under-the-table negotiations were being proposed in the port city of Kiel. They needed eyes and ears on the ground to confirm whether or not such claims were valid. Because if they were, a major threat would be posed to European infrastructure and the millions who depended on it. So after housing arrangements were made, the three of you were flown into a private airport in Germany along with a couple of military agents.
It was a peculiar getaway, but a getaway no less.
You let out a small yelp when a pair of arms snaked around your waist from behind, squeezing gently. “Hey, pretty girl,” Bucky murmured into your ear, kissing it afterwards. “I saw you walk out here.”
As you relaxed, a thoughtful hum rose up your throat. “I figured you might’ve. You’re not very good at pretending to be asleep.”
Before you wandered out to the shoreline, Bucky had been laying on the wicker couch on the back porch, baby blue cushions beneath him. There were a pair of aviator sunglasses covering his eyes as his chest rose with steady breaths. You had paused to see if he was awake and would acknowledge you. The corners of his lips twitched upwards the slightest bit, which you almost considered calling him out for.
But when he didn’t show any other signs of being awake, you leaned down to press a light kiss to his forehead before heading down the steps, and onto the wooden walkway that led to the sand.
At your comment, Bucky chuckled and let his mouth move the spot beneath your ear, nipping gently.
You shivered, and said, “I should’ve pinched you.”
“That wouldn’t have been nice.” A smile was evident in his voice.
You shrugged with a small huff of laughter. The two of you then gazed out at the expanse of the bay. Ships sailed along the line of the horizon in the distance. The tide continued rolling in, though never rising quite above your knees.
“I love you,” he said eventually, his words competing with the seagulls.
“I love you too.” He coaxed you to turn to face him. When you did, you saw that the white button down he wore was unbuttoned and flowing in the calm wind.
Seamlessly, his flesh hand rose to cup your face and he connected his lips to yours. You could taste the lingering hint of Merlot on his tongue from when you two had shared a glass in the hour prior. Bucky kissed you slowly, and gently, yet still with passion. Had the tide not been lapping at your legs, you would have had reason to believe you were floating.
You chased his lips for a final peck when he started to pull away, making him smile. He looked handsome in the late afternoon sun and you allowed yourself to study his face. A few freckles lined his cheeks and you reached up to run your finger over them. Then your hand fell so that you could wrap your arms around him in an embrace. His secured around you in return.
It was getting closer to the time he had to meet up with Sam and the agents to eavesdrop on a meeting being held at a classified location near the Port of Kiel shipyard.
“You have to leave me soon, don’t you?” You asked, head resting on his shoulder.
“In another hour,” he confirmed. “I should be back before it gets too late.”
“Okay,” you murmured. “And you promise you guys will be safe?”
Bucky chuckled and gave you a squeeze. “We’ve done this kinda stuff once or twice, doll. We’ll be alright,” he said, a note of teasing to his tone. “But, yes. I promise.”
It was before midnight when he arrived back at the house. Late, but before midnight nonetheless. When he walked through the front door, you were laying on the couch in the living room, curled up in one of the fluffy blankets you’d packed. The TV glowed as it aired a nightly news report that had failed to grasp your full attention. You would’ve crawled into bed had you not been waiting for him.
The sight of his tall frame made you push yourself up to stand, the blanket slipping off you, and back down to the couch. You didn’t realize that a small smile had stretched across your face.
“See?” He said, smiling back. “Not too bad, right? Could’ve been later.”
“Yeah,” you agreed. “How’d everything go?”
He ran a hand through his hair as he began to walk towards you. His boots thudded against the wooden planks of the floor. “Things are looking pretty good so far,” he began. There wasn’t anything discussed that raised reason for concern. We’ll see how things play out as we keep an eye out these next few days. That’ll determine everyone’s next move,” he explained, stopping a little ways in front of you. “How about you, pretty girl? What’d you get up to while I was gone?”
Nothing worth noting, you wanted to say. But you decided to tease him instead. “Oh, you know.” You shrugged. “A little bit of everything. Went out on the town, danced on a few tables, got whisked away by a stranger—electrifying stuff.”
A hint of a smirk appeared on Bucky’s face as he narrowed his eyes at you. “I don’t think you’d look this cozy after doing all that.” He began to take off his leather jacket, revealing a black T-shirt that accentuated the definition of his upper body. His vibranium arm almost seemed to blend into the dark fabric, making the gold streaks of accent stand out. Black was one of your favorite colors on him for that very reason.
But you weren’t done messing with him quite yet. “Maybe that’s what I want it to seem like.” You raised your brows in a challenge. Bucky stared at you for a few more beats before stalking off towards the master bedroom with a lighthearted roll of his eyes.
“Wait, no! Don’t leave.” You laughed, following after him.
Bucky didn’t react when you wrapped your arms around him in a jarring hug, forcing him to walk into the bedroom carting a portion of your weight as you attempted to slow his steps. The room was a modest space suited with a neutral color scheme. Lots of browns and creams with a couple pops of a pretty burnt orange. The full-sized bed was smaller than the two of you were used to, but the proximity that came along with sleeping in it hadn’t been too bad the previous night.
He tossed his jacket onto it.
“I was just kidding,” you said. “I was here the whole time. I went out back to watch the sunset, but I hardly did anything other than that. Just scrolled on my phone and read a little. And missed you.”
He finally laughed and pried your arms from around him. “I know, doll.” Then he smirked. “You’d probably fall if you actually tried dancing on a table.”
“Hey!” You lightly slapped his chest with the back of your hand. “I would not.” Bucky’s laughter dwindled when you pouted and took a seat on the edge of the bed.
“Oh, c’mon,” he said, moving to stand in front of you. “I was joking. You know I was.” You almost cracked a smile when he lifted your chin so you could meet his eyes.
“Ich liebe dich,” he stated. German for I love you.
“I have no idea what you just said.” That was a lie.
You let him pull you to your feet as his shoulders shook with amusement. “Yes you do,” he countered.
Then he took your face in his hands and pressed a kiss to your forehead, your nose, and peppered some across your cheeks in a way that pleasantly ghosted over your skin. In between them, he told you that he loved you in a few of the languages he spoke—the ones in which he knew you were familiar with the phrase. He even called you “pretty girl” in Russian before pecking your lips. The whole while, warmth spread through your face.
He smiled at the sight of the sparkle in your eyes. “Do I need to repeat anything, or did you understand?”
That drew a chuckle out of you, against your attempt and feigning indifference. “Stop making me laugh,” you whined in defeat. “I’m supposed to be angry with you.”
“And how’s that working out?”
“It’s not,” you muttered. “I love you too.”
And your lips met his once more.
-
Thanks for reading!
Click here for more fluffy Bucky stuff.
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Text
Ateez reaction to you being hurt
notes: I'm feeling angsty today
Seonghwa
He had a hard day, practicing for hours on end for Ateez's 10th year anniversary concert. He wanted to get home and pour his heart out in front of you and just spend time with you. But he came home and you weren't there much to his dismay, but he waited for you. It was raining heavily. He called you again and again but you weren't answering making him anxious and adding to his frustration. Three hours later, the rain still hadn't stopped and he was scared and furious. The bell rang and Seonghwa opened the door. You stood there, completely drenched in the rain. He stepped aside to let you in. You walked inside and got to the living room when he pulled you by your arm to make you face him.
"where the hell were you? And why weren't you answering your damn phone?" he tone was harsh.
"Seonghwa please, not now I-"
"no we need to talk about this now! answer me! Do you know how worried I was? And I was already frustrated to begin with!"
You lowered your head and let the tears spill but it seemed like the rain water was dripping down your face.
He shook you arm to pull you, making you lift your face and roughly pull out of his grasp. That's when he saw the tears.
"I had a bad day too! Okay? My awful coworkers took credit for my project that I worked so hard on! And on top of that I locked the car with the keys, my wallet and phone inside! And I had to walk home because I didn't have any money for a bus or a cab! There! Got your answer!"
Seonghwa's eyes softened at your words and he tried hugging you but you pulled back.
"no I'm not in the mood and I'm drenched"
You went to your room and locked yourself in the bathroom to cry in the shower.
Hongjoong
The track he was working on was almost ready and he wanted you to be the first person to hear it so he called you to invite you over to his studio.
"hey babe what are you doing?"
"nothing much Joong. What's up"
"can you come over in the evening? I want you to listen to my song"
There was a pause from your end.
"hello? Baby can you hear me?"
"ye-ah Joongie. I'm busy these days, I'm so sorry. I'll try to come after the next week."
"no that's okay, you don't need to put your work aside. I'm free today since I finished the song, I'll come over. How does that sound?"
"I'll tell you in a few hours, okay?"
Hongjoong felt something was off so he quickly got done with his files and saved the track and packed up. He drove straight to your apartment and knocked on the door. You didn't expect to see Hongjoong at the door so you hid behind the door after opening it. He eyed you suspiciously.
"are you okay?" he asked, pushing the door slightly to get inside.
"yeah why do you ask?" you spoke nonchalantly, standing in the akimbo pose.
"you're acting... unusual"
"nonsense"
He slid it aside and took you towards your bedroom. He found it unusual how you were walking slowly and stopped.
"you're hurt." he stated and his suspicion was confirmed when you didn't answer.
"I slipped and sprained my ankle. I didn't want you to worry so I didn't tell you and I didn't agree to meet you"
He picked you up and laid you on the couch, snuggling next to you.
"I'm here to take care of you" he whispered and turned the TV on.
Yunho
Yunho is always in a good mood when he gets to see you. He wants to make the best use of the time he gets to spend with you. So during his break, you guys went to his home town to meet his parents but you stayed in a hotel even though he insisted that you stayed at his house. But you were a woman of principles and didn't think it was appropriate to stay at your boyfriend's house before marriage. He came to pick you up in his car and took you to an amusement park. You guys took roller-coaster rides and other scary looking rides too. He asked if you wanted to eat something and proposed the idea of going to a restaurant but you you told him that hotdogs from the vendors in the park would be nice and that you wanted to stay there longer and get on more rides. After eating you two took that discovery ride. While getting off you felt a little dizzy and tripped on something and fell. Yunho quickly helped you up and asked if you were okay and you told him yes, even though your ankle hurt a lot. After the fun time, he drove you back to your hotel. As you got off, you winced in pain and knelt to the ground, clutching your ankle. He worriedly got out the car and came to your side.
"your ankle is swollen" he spoke, concerned.
"it's fine, I can manage"
"are you kidding me? Why didn't you tell me you're hurt?"
"because I didn't want to ruin tee date"
"you can't stay here y/n, you're coming out with me"
"I said it's okay Yunho, I'll take painkillers and an ice pack, I'll be fine"
"I'm sorry you got hurt"
"you don't need to be sorry babe" you said and kissed him.
Yeosang
Yeosang wanted to go skateboarding with you but you didn't know how to ride a skate so he took it upon himself to teach you even though you gave the idea of him skating and you cycling next to him but he said no. He took you to a nearby park and helped you learn for over a month. When he deemed you ready, he encouraged you to ride it on your own with him holding your hands or your waist. You took a deep breath.
"you can do this" he smiled.
"I hope so" you replied and steadied yourself.
"I can already see us skateboarding down the road. I can't wait"
"okay here goes nothing"
You gained momentum with your foot pushing the board forward and continued with a steady pace.
"I'm doing it! Yeosang I'm doing it!" you cheered but made the mistake of looking back towards him which made you lose your balance since you were relatively new to this. You fell on your back but broke your fall with your arm.
Yeosang rushed towards you and helped you up. You yelped in paid when he grabbed your arm.
"it hurts so much" you shook.
He took you to a hospital where the doctor told you your wrist was dislocated.
He felt awful and blamed it on himself. He stayed by your side before and after your surgery and even helped you with your daily life stuff until you got better. You were happy to spend a lot of time with him and told him it wasn't his fault.
"you are never riding a skateboard again. Like ever."
San
You were visiting Namhae to meet San's family. He always talked about them and told you how important they were to him so you paid them a visit, knowing it would make San the happiest.
You were sat on the couch, chatting with his sister while the TV was on. It was a random drama which none of you were interested in, rather wanting to talk about girl stuff.
"Sannie is a sensitive one, though he doesn't show it" his sister let you know.
"I know, I have never seen him cry. I used to think he doesn't care but then I found out that he's just very good at controlling his emotions."
You two were indulged in the conversation and didn't see San entering the room with Byeol in his arms.
"Y/N I want you to meet our family's master"
You and his sister giggled.
"Byeol, this is Y/N. I hope you come to terms with the fact that your position as the girl I'd die for has been taken by her."
You were a blushing mess and had butterflies in your stomach. San was always kind and loving towards you. And as if Byeol had understood what San had said, she started acting up.
"can I pet her?" you asked, earning encouraging nods from the Choi siblings. You stretched your hand you gently pet her head but Byeol acted first and violently scratched your hand, drawing blood.
"Byeol no!" San whined as the cat hissed at you and ran to the other room.
You clutched your hand tightly, trying to soothe the pain but it came in waves and burned. San worriedly came closer to you and him and his sister examined your hand. There was definitely blood coming out of the claw marks. They had to take you to the hospital to get you tetanus shots.
"I'm so sorry Y/N, your hand is ruined and you're in pain because of me"
"not because of you Sannie, it was Byeol but you can't really blame her, she an animal after all"
Mingi
Mingi took you to the dance studio to show you the new dance he choreographed. He was happy with it and spent a lot of time perfecting it and wanted you to see it. You were supportive of his ambitions as a rapper and a dancer, aside from Ateez. He was grateful for you for being by his side and understanding the time and effort it required. You never complained when he was unable to make time for you sometimes, knowing that he was working hard. The bond you shared was strong and you two were inseparable.
"okay I'm gonna start, queue the music"
And with that he started dancing. You were in awe of the way his body moved and how effortlessly he executed the difficult moves. You clapped when he finished.
"wow Mingi... this is... wow... I'm so proud" you were at a loss of words.
"come on I'll teach you the floor move, it's the easiest"
It was the easiest, for a trained dancer that is. You both didn't realize how difficult it actually was. You, because you weren't a dancer and Mingi made it look like a piece of cake. Mingi, because it came naturally to him and he had insane body control so he thought it was actually easy.
He taught you how to slide using your core strength. You didn't have a strong core to begin with, so you landed on your knee and pain shot up in your leg. You clutched it and let out a whine. Mingi took a look at it saw it reddening.
"I'm sorry for making you do this" he shook his head.
"nah I shouldn't have said yes" you smiled, not wanting him to be upset.
"let's get you home"
Wooyoung
He kept his artist of the month news a secret from you. He wanted to surprise you with it. So when you saw it on twitter you called him and congratulated him.
"this is huge Woo, I'm so proud of you!"
"I know you're rooting for me. I want you to come at the practice session we're having, just so we can perform on stage too"
You agreed to come and dressed up for him. When he saw you enter the studio in your black jeans that hugged your curves and the loose green cardigan which you styled and tucked in from the front. You had your hair down and mere sight of you took Wooyoung's breath away. His dancer friend from bb trippin' knew about your relationship but some of the staff was different that day and didn't know who you were.
Your eyes gleaned, watching Wooyoung dance. He was in his element and looked ethereal. The practice session ended and before you could run to him and hug him, you saw another woman, a staff member get close to him, handing him a water bottle and wiping his sweat off with a cloth. You were stunned but didn't think muhh about it, since his job required him to be around other women too. You watched from a distance how she talked to him for some time and subtly placed a hand on his thigh, giggling and telling him he did well. You were hurt to say the least. He didn't spare you a glance and then talked to her as if you weren't in the room. You didn't ruin the mood for him at the moment but were screaming internally watching her flirt with your man in broad daylight and him going along with him.
After the session ended, his choreographer called him to discuss important matters with him and the staff started leaving. You noticed how the same woman was hanging around, until another senior staff member told her to pack up and leave. After the discussion, Wooyoung came running to you.
"did you like it?" he asked excitedly.
"the performance? yes. The little show with that staff woman? absolutely not"
His face fell at your words.
"baby listen, I had to let it slide. It's not like I could've swat her hands away and tell her to go away. Having good chemistry with the staff results in good performances. Please try to understand"
"I don't know Wooyoung. And this is just what I saw. I can't stop imagining what else goes on since I'm not around all the time"
"I want you to trust me. I'm all yours. No one can take me away from you. No one. You don't know the hold you have around my heart. You don't know what you do to me. It's you and only you. Never forget that."
Jongho
If there's one thing in this world that Jongho liked doing the most, it was comparing how strong he was compared to you. No, you didn't even compare. You didn't even come close. He loved lifting you like it was nothing, tightening jars on purpose so you would ask him to open them for you and lifting the furniture with one hand while you both cleaned. He also loved arm wrestling with you with just two of his fingers of his non dominant hand, while you struggled to win with your dominant hand.
You both sat in the middle of the living room. Jongho challenged you to arm wrestling and the loser would have to clean the dishes. He wasn't even trying while you were shaking by using the entire strength in your arm. He got a little cocky when his hand got tired and decided to end it with a bang. He used intense force and your hand landed on the table with a thud. You pulled it back and rubbed it. He didn't fully realize how hard he hurt you until he saw just how red the back of your hand was. He immediately apologized but you got up to give yourself first aid, not responding to him. He followed you to the kitchen and tried helping but you shoved him aside.
"leave me alone"
"I'm sorry I hurt you. Let me help"
"Jongho please just leave me alone right now"
He felt awful to have hurt you and after you went to your bedroom, he did the dishes. You had invited him to stay the night at your apartment so he was glad he could be around to make it up to you.
He came to you some time later and apologized again and took responsibility of his actions.
"you scared me Jongho"
"I'm so sorry, I'll be more careful I promise"
240 notes · View notes
okaymybeloved · 3 years
Text
promise? | ni-ki
bsf!ni-ki x reader
genre: best friend things, moving away, middle school into high school and college, a bit sad at the beginning, idol!ni-ki
summary: best friends y/n and ni-ki promise to be there for each other, always.
wc: 1430 words (this is so long omg)
a/n: i saw a prompt about pinky promises and thought it would be really cute to make a best friends au with ni-ki :) (this au also is based in japan but moves into korea as it goes on)
a/n pt 2: i will be using “riki” in the beginning of the story but will use “ni-ki” towards the end (it’ll make sense trust me)
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“you pinky promise?”
“as always, y/n.”
you and riki have always been close, ever since elementary school. both of you would ride bikes together after school, making your mothers panic because their kids were gone for hours at a time. looking back, maybe you shouldn’t have done that to your mothers but those memories could never be replaced. you guys were inseparable. every aspect of your life was shared with him, as he did with you. emotions included. sadness, anger, happiness, you name it. you even started going to dance classes with him. albeit, you actually did enjoy dancing and would choreograph dances together. you both have spent most of your school life together and weren’t planning to separate from each other anytime soon.
“nishimura riki! i’m over here dummy!” you yelled from across the train station.
riki has been looking at his phone the whole time, only looking up after hearing your booming voice from across the station. he jogged a bit to get to you faster.
“hi, y/n! i missed you soooo much!” he teased.
“shut up, we literally saw each other yesterday. at school.”
the train arrives and you both squeeze through the crowd, conveniently finding two empty seats next to each other. as soon as you sat down, you start making conversation.
“riki, can you believe it? it’s our last day and we’re almost done with middle school. i’m excited but scared for high school. oh! we’re going to go to the same high school right? ah! i’m so excited now! i cant wait!” you spoke quickly and excitedly.
what you didn’t catch was that as soon as you mentioned high school, his face fell. he hasn’t told you that he was moving to korea over the summer. he was planning to do it today.
“yeah! i’m very excited! of course i’ll be with you.” riki says with the most fakest excited voice you’ve ever heard in your life.
you looked at him weird. as you opened your mouth ready to speak, the train arrives at your destination. everyone starts getting off and you both do as well.
the last day of school was so sad for you. during class, you cried when all of your friends gave you the biggest hug. your class was close with the teacher as well and she choked up saying goodbye to everyone. there was not one person in your class that didn’t cry. continuing on to your promotion, everyone received their certificates and started taking pictures with family and friends. your parents had come as well, supporting you on your special day.
“where’s riki? i want to get a picture of you two together!” your mom exclaimed.
“i’ll go find him! i’ll be right back!”
you looked around, hopefully spotting a tall boy amongst the crowd. as soon as you found him, you sprinted towards him.
“riki! riki! come here! my mom wants a picture of us together! hurry!”
he laughs at how much you’re rushing him and starts jogging to where your family was. you both started posing for pictures, taking some goofy ones as well. riki looks at you dying of laughter while looking at the photos that were just taken, realizing that this might be one of the last times he’ll ever see his best friend smile before he leaves.
you both went home and celebrated individually with your families. as the night slowly falls, riki realizes he has to tell you now, or else it’ll be too late. he walks to your house and knocks on the door. you open it, not expecting riki to be there,
“oh! riki! what brings you here? it’s late?”
“y/n, i need to talk to you.”
your heart stops for a bit. all these thoughts in your head were screaming at you. does he not want to be friends anymore? does he hate me? did i do something wrong? riki saw you just standing there, so he says,
“you didn’t do anything wrong, i just want to chat.”
you sigh a breath of relief and grab a jacket and head outside. walking to a nearby park, you both sit at the swings.
“hey, this kind of reminds me of that time you pushed me off the swing.” you laughed.
“it was on accident. plus you didn’t die so you’re fine.” riki snorted
“i broke my arm.” you said stonefaced.
he looked at you and both of you tried to hold in your laughs, but ultimately failed. as the laughter died down, riki becomes serious.
“you’re my best friend, y/n.”
“yes, you didn’t need to tell me that. i know.”
he didn’t know how to say it. but he has to. he just bursted out quickly without thinking,
“immovingtokoreatomorrowtobecomeatraineeandbeinanidolgrouppleasedontbemadatmeforleaving.”
you sat there, stunned.
“say that again, but slower.”
“i’m moving to korea tomorrow to become a trainee and be in an idol group. please don’t be mad at me for leaving.” he said again but slower.
you were trying to process it in your mind. your best friend. moving to korea. leaving you in japan. you didn’t even realize tears were dripping from your cheeks until riki used his sweater sleeve to wipe it. you looked up at him and he had tears in his eyes as well.
“i know i said i would be by your side forever. but this is my dream. i want to dance. i’m so sorry i have to leave you.” he cries.
you raised your hand and wiped his eyes with your sleeve as well.
“riki, it’s okay. i understand. this has been your dream since i’ve met you. i’m not mad that you’re leaving me. i want the best for you, always.”
only sniffles were heard as riki pulls you in for a long needed hug. you pulled apart and looked him straight in the eyes,
“remember when we were younger and did pinky promises?”
“of course i do, we still do that now.”
you immediately held out your pinky.
“nishimura riki, do you promise to always be there for each other, no matter what?”
he looked at your for a bit, and held out his pinky as well.
“of course i do.”
you both intertwined pinkies.
“you pinky promise?”
“as always, y/n.”
a couple years have passed now. you have graduated high school and started applying to different colleges.
riki, or now known to the world as ni-ki, has debuted in a group called enhypen. they have been promoting together for a couple years as well.
when ni-ki went to korea, you both tried to keep in contact as much as possible. however, he was very busy with trainee life and you were busy studying in order to get into a good college. you were so happy when you saw that ni-ki had debuted in a group called enhypen, after seeing him work so hard, especially through i-land.
you applied to all different colleges, mostly in japan but you just wanted to take a risk and applied to a college in korea. you did end up getting accepted into that college and was busy packing up all of your things in order to move.
as you arrived in your apartment in korea, you were so thirsty. parched if you will. heading down to the convenience store, you bought your favorite grass jelly drink. it was a nice day outside so you walked to one of the parks nearby and sat at the swings. maybe they were for young children but you didn’t care. you were in a whole new country with a new future ahead of you. swinging and drinking your drink was one of the most relaxing things to do after that long plane ride. you then felt a presence next to you.
“hi, y/n. it’s been a while.” the voice said.
you were shocked. you’ve only arrived to korea a couple hours ago. how did anyone know your name? you didn’t recognize the voice so you looked up. he looked so familiar. then it clicked.
“riki? or should i say, ni-ki?”
“hi.” he smiled.
you engulfed him into the most biggest hug and fell to the ground.
“see, i told you i promised.” he laughs.
you stood up and pulled him up as well. he stood up confused.
“you remembered what i said before you left?”
“of course i did. why would i ever forget?”
you held out your pinky, all the memories flooding back to when you did this years ago.
“you pinky promise?”
he held out his pinky, chuckling, as he intertwines it with yours.
“as always, y/n.”
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exovapor · 3 years
Text
The Adventure - TMNT Bitches:  chapter 10
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CHAPTER 10:  Through the Looking Glass  
·         The four brothers exit the parking deck and are immediately overwhelmed by the steady stream of people walking to and fro.  Donnie has his eyes glued to his virtual display while Leo and Mikey each take up flanking positions on either side of him to guard his shoulders so he doesn’t trip over the crowds walking past.
·         “Oh no-no-no, this is not good!”, Donnie exclaims while panning left and right with his display, trying to find the trail that is quickly disappearing right before his eyes.
·         “What is it, Donnie?”, Leo asks, the concern thick in his voice.
·         Donnie frantically pans in a wider arch, but the trail is fading too quickly.  The flow of the foot traffic is causing too much interference and the particle stream is all but faded away, “Leo, I think we have a problem here.  The portal residue isn’t as clear down here on the street as I had hoped.  I’ve lost the trail”.
·         “Great! Now what?”, Raph’s towering figure grumbles from behind them all, where he has taken of the posterior position to keep people from walking dead-straight into Donnie as he stands stationary in the middle of a river of people.
·         “Give me a minute to think, Raph”, Leo chides but he’s feeling his own sense of panic rising. He’s never been claustrophobic, after all he lives under ground, but here with all these bodies pressing in around them, jostling past them, the serum keeping them in human form already on its count-down clock, and their one clue to follow Shredder is literally disappearing before their eyes, he’s never felt so out of his element…so not ready to lead.  However, he doesn’t have the option to quit, to flake out, his brothers are looking to him for guidance.
·         Leo studies their surroundings, the people, the activity….and then he sees it, the thing that gives him a new idea, a new possible solution to their dilemma.  He’s watching people all over pulling out their cell phones to take pictures of each other’s costumes, to stream and vlog about their adventures as they walk down the street, “Donnie, can you search through the media flowing around this event?  Maybe we’ll get lucky can catch a glimpse of Shredder in the background of someone’s post.”.
·         “Can I? Psssshhh.  Does Mikey like pizza?”, Donnie throws Leo a sassy glance before flipping through his virtual screens again.  Almost as soon as he starts flipping and searching the data streams, a ping comes from his computer, then another, and another, “Oh boy, BINGO!”, Donnie exclaims.
·         Mikey leans in close from Donnie’s right shoulder, omitting the concept of personal space, and nearly blocking Donnie’s field of vision of the display, “Dude…that’s Shredder!”.
·         “I KNOW, Mikey”, Donnie says and grabs Mikey’s cute little human face with his large left hand and pushes him back a few inches in order to have some breathing room, “it’s a video that’s quickly going viral of an altercation between Shedder some human kid”.
·         “What’s he saying?”, Leo asks, leaning in from the left.
·         “Hm…not good…he’s looking for fighters but at least we know where he’s going, according to my search this ‘Marriott’ that the guy mentions is a hotel just down the street…the Atlanta Marriott Marquis.”
·         “Then let’s get movin’, Don, lead da way.”, Raph shoves Donnie from behind, where he’s still acting as a barricade between his lithe brother and the crushing public. He’s eager to get moving, standing still when Shredder is out there hunting for a new army is grating on his nerves.
·         The quartet of disguised mutants walk along in the crowd, still in more shock and awe of being able to walk so freely among the general masses.  The laughter, the smiles, the excitement, and comradery are palpable in the air.  Everyone is high spirts and the four brothers are right in the middle of it.  This is truly a new and welcomed experience for them.
·         For too long they have watched from the shadows as people had fun.  They would watch club goers and weekend warriors living it up on Friday and Saturday nights in New York while they stood on roof tops patrolling and keeping watch…from a distance.  They often wondered, and in some of their cases daydreamed, about being part of the crowd below.  And, now, here they were, walking in soft human skins with the rest of the world.  Would they ever be able to go back to the shadows and not feel empty inside?
·         As they each ponder the experience quietly and the implications of these experiences on their future selves, they follow the flow of the crowd as it passes under the carport awning of the Marriott Marquis.  The voices and sounds of laughter echoing and bouncing back under the marquee, adding to the energy of the atmosphere.
·         They enter the establishment through the double sliding doors and are immediately stuck speechless by the activity and the setting.  The hotel was architecturally beautiful, it’s 47 stories visible in the main atrium with a cluster of stylish elevators quickly running crowds of people up and down the inside column of the atrium.  Hundreds, no, thousands of people, most of which that were in some form of costume milled about talking, taking pictures, and celebrating as one.
·         Donnie was sure that he had died and gone to nerd heaven…nerd nirvana…nerd-vana.  A small tear rests at the edge of one of his eyes.  Mikey’s hyperactive mind starts to short circuit as his eyes jump around the celebratory scene in front of him…’now THIS is a PARTY’, he thinks to himself.  Raph bringing up the rear, is stunned into silence himself. There are women…EVERYWHERE…WITH VERY LITTLE ON…AND WITHIN TOUCHING DISTANCE!  
·         Leo quickly assesses the scene and the effect that it is having on his brothers’ attention span, he’s got to set down the rules quickly and keep them focused on the task of finding Shredder.  “Ok, guys, let’s split up and find Shredder quickly as possible.  There are a lot of people here, so he’ll have plenty to blend in with, or use as victims against us, we NEED to find him quickly.  Raph, you’re with me, we’ll down those escalators and search there. Don you and Mike take that upper level.  If you see Shredder call for backup, don’t engage until we can be sure that we can keep the area clear and ensure that people won’t get hurt.”.
·         Leo and Raph descend to the lower level via the escalator.  The level is one large arching circle with various wings and ballrooms off its center.  There is a back entrance where other vehicles are making pit stops, picking up and dropping off of party-goers.  Leo doesn’t like this scenario, it’s going to be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. “We need to move through these wings to make sure he hasn’t made it to some of the maintenance areas.
·         Raph doesn’t hear Leo’s directions as he is fully distracted by a group of women cosplaying as a Sailor Moon group standing around the lower level posing for pictures. He grins devilishly at them as they wave teasingly at him.  Leo lets out an alpha snort, which doesn’t have much impact coming from his smaller human lungs, and he punches the oversexed behemoth in the arm, “Raph, focus!”.  
·         “I am focusing, Fearless, I’m focusing on dat real hard”, he replies slyly while his eyes haven’t left the group of short-skirted women.
·         Leo shakes his head, “I knew I should have brought Donnie with me, but I couldn’t trust you and Mikey together.”.
·         Raph’s eyes finally leave the group of cosplayers to stare pointedly at Leo, “I don’t need ya ta babysit me, LEO.  I’ll find Shredda and kick his ass all da way back ta New York”, he snarls aggressively.
·         “Fine, prove it, let’s move”, Leo challenges and starts leading the way down through the bowels of the hotel.
·         As Donnie and Mikey crested the escalator, their eyes saw even more of the festivities taking place on the main level.  People crowded around the bar and the dance platform, one story up overlooking the main level lobby, was packed to the brim with people grinding and gyrating to the beats from the house DJ.
·         “Don, I think I’ve died and gone to heaven”, Mikey whispers out reverently.
·         “We need to find Shredder, Mikey, we don’t have time to play around”, Donnie says, even though his own eyes are wandering the crowds appreciating the costume designs, period replicas people are carrying, and the….uhm….nice outfits of the ladies. Donnie subtly adjusts the crotch of his cargo pants.  He may be slightly smaller in human form, but proportionally still quite sizable and too many ‘happy thoughts’ still cause an uncomfortable tightness down below.
·         “Ok, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think we need to split up to cover more ground. There is just too many going on and Shredder will be able to hide among it.  Mikey, PLEASE, don’t get lost and stay focused.”, Donnie negotiates with his younger brother.
·         “Don, you can count on me, bro!  Detective Mikey is on the case!”, he clasps Donnie on the shoulder before starting to walk off to circle the atrium from the left.
·         “We’ll meet back up by the bar”, Donnie yells at him over the crowd before he moves off to the right, searching the crowds for a villain but appreciating the other visual interests as well.
@turtle-babe83 @tmntspidergirl @kokokatsworld @nittleboo @the-second-circle-of-shell
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pilvimarja · 3 years
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Drabble | Ficlet | ●●● | teen Lawrusso | adult Lawrusso |
Prompt used: none, just this cursed cameo!!!
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(1970s AU, crime boss!Johnny, go-go dancer!Daniel, disco, wet and messy, dirty talk, just the tip, warning for coke fiend Johnny, age gap with college senior Daniel and middle aged Johnny, they kind of have an unspoken sugar daddy/baby dynamic)
The Mist was no 54, but the club was packed tonight. Daniel watched the sea of people from his high pedestal, bouncing and rubbing against each other in a colorful mass of glitter, ruffles and shiny velour.
His muscles ached with exertion, but he did his best to look alluring for the handful of people whose eyes were on him instead of the women on the main platform. He was pretty sure most of them were old creeps who mistook him for a girl in the sweeping spotlights and stage smoke, but he was getting ogled for money, so who cared.
The DJ finished his set thirty minutes later, and Daniel blew out a relieved breath when the music transitioned to a pre-recorded soundtrack. He’d have twenty minutes before he was needed behind the bar and he hurried down from the platform, about to escape to the dressing room for a change of clothes when someone called his name over the rhythmic beat of the music.
Daniel raised his eyes and knew his break was over before it had even begun when he spotted Bobby in the crowd, waving at him from the VIP balcony.
It looked like Johnny Lawrence was back in town.
Daniel snaked his way through the mass of people and climbed the velvet-covered stairs up to the VIP lounge. The banquettes were full of suave-looking men with dates as pretty as life-size dolls, elegant and perfectly posed under possessive arms.
“Hey, Daniel, over here!” Bobby called from one of the private booths.
Daniel combed his fingers through his hair, a little self-conscious in his shorts and cropped shirt, but Bobby greeted him like they were old friends and his eyes never dropped below Daniel’s neckline.
“Hey, Bobby,” Daniel smiled. "Where are the rest of the Cobras?"
Bobby nudged his thumb towards the private bar where Dutch, Tommy and Jimmy leaned against the neon-lit counter, glaring at Daniel like the pack of polyester-clad thugs that they were.
"So I’m guessing Johnny’s back from Vegas?”
“Yeah, man, and I gotta warn you, he’s in one of his moods,” Bobby said, giving Daniel a pointed look. “Things didn’t go too well with Mr. Silver.”
“Damn. Thanks for the warning,” Daniel nodded.
Bobby parted the curtain of bejeweled beads that separated Johnny’s booth from the main lounge and leaned in to whisper in Daniel's ear. “If he forgets to pay you, just come and see me at the bar and I’ll take care of it.”
Daniel’s cheeks flared with heat under the coat of cooling sweat and body glitter. Bobby was kind enough to feign ignorance, but they both knew what Daniel did with his boss during these private encounters.
“Thanks, Bobby.”
Daniel wiped his clammy palms against his shorts and took a deep breath as he stepped through the curtain.
And there was Johnny, hoovering a line of coke into his nose.
“Fuck yeah!”
Johnny shook his head like some deranged dog and let out a high-pitched whoop. His eyes lit up under the purple and green mood lights when he saw Daniel in the doorway. “Daniel, baby! You want some blow?”
Daniel set his hands on his hips and shot Johnny an annoyed look. “You keep asking and I keep telling you no.”
Johnny wiped his finger against his nostrils and licked the traces of coke into his mouth. “Hey, it’s polite to offer,” he grinned, already undressing Daniel with his eyes. He patted his hand against the luxurious velvet couch. “Come here.”
“Nuh-uh,” Daniel snorted, crossing his arms over his chest. “I just spent an hour shaking my ass on the dance floor and I gotta start waiting in twenty.”
“Aw, come on, don’t be like that." Johnny dragged his fingers through the sweaty strands of his hair and balled his hand into a fist. “Vegas was a bust. That Silver guy SCREWED ME OVER! Fucking cocksucker!”
Daniel flinched at the sound of Johnny’s fist hitting the table. The glass cracked under his knuckles and his half-empty bottle of beer toppled to the floor, spilling its contents into the plush carpet.
“Jesus…”
Bobby hadn’t been kidding about Johnny being in a mood.
Johnny unclenched his fist and flexed his fingers, lowering his voice back to its usual soft pitch. “Please, baby, I really need some cheering up.” He parted his thighs and gave himself a squeeze through his tailored pants. “You know I’ll make it worth your while.” He grabbed a wad of cash from the table and pulled a bunch of big bills from the gold clip, waving them at Daniel. “I always do.”
Daniel didn’t know much about Johnny Lawrence or how he earned his money, but you didn’t need his life story to know the guy was a crook. He had his posse of Cobras and the ego of Al fucking Capone, but Daniel had a feeling that Johnny was just a drop in the Valley’s seedy undercurrents.
He and his dirty money were currently seeing Daniel through his senior year of college, and Daniel had made peace with their arrangement, because none of his three jobs paid him as well as Johnny Lawrence.
Daniel bit his lip, eyeing the stack of bills in Johnny's hand. “I don’t have time for anything… elaborate.”
“That’s okay, just—come sit on my lap and let me look at you? You're so pretty in those tiny shorts,” Johnny cooed, patting his knee.
Daniel knew he'd be doing more than just looking, but he sauntered to the couch and snatched the money from Johnny’s hand, tucking the bills under the cuff of his tube sock.
“Okay, but no kissing, he said, because who the hell knew where Johnny’s mouth had been.
“No kissing,” Johnny parroted, well aware of Daniel’s rules.
Daniel settled onto his lap and let out a scolding little tsk as he eyed the coke stains on Johnny’s bushy mustache. “I keep asking you to shave this thing."
He wiped his fingers over the white residue and slipped them into Johnny’s mouth, rubbing the pads against his gums.
“It makes me look groovy,” Johnny argued, sucking on Daniel’s fingers.
“Nah, man, it looks like you have a caterpillar stuck under your nose.”
Johnny let out a loud bark of laughter and squeezed Daniel’s ass through his shorts. “I can’t believe I let you talk to me like that…”
Daniel tapped his fingers against the wad of cash sticking out of his sock. “Actually, you pay me for it.”
“Fuck, you’re mouthy," Johnny groaned, and judging by the obscene bulge in his pants, he enjoyed the attitude. He pulled Daniel down by his hips and slipped his fingers under the hem of his shorts.
“I told you, I gotta work in twenty."
“But you drive me so wild, baby,” Johnny panted, reaching down to unzip his fly. He pulled his cock out and rubbed it against the slick lycra of Daniel’s shorts. "Feel how hard I am for you?"
“Uh-huh,” Daniel snorted. He yanked on the gold chain around Johnny’s neck and slipped his hand under his low-cut silk shirt, feeling the way his heart raced with the rush of his coke high.
Daniel had always had shit taste in men. According to Ali, he liked them messy, pathetic and way out of his age bracket.
Johnny met each of those requirements, though Daniel had no idea how old he was. Mid forties, maybe. It was hard to tell with the perpetual booze bloat and the way his gut threatened to spill out of his suit, but his shoulders were broad and the traces of solid muscle under Daniel’s palm made him wonder if Johnny had been an athlete once.
Johnny groped Daniel's ass and panted his beer-sour breath into his face like a racehorse. “Christ, baby, I just wanna slip inside and nail you so hard that you’ll feel me for the rest of the night,” he curled his fingers around the hem of Daniel’s shorts and underwear and pulled them aside to rub at his cleft, “have you leak my jizz while you serve drinks to all the dirtbags in this club.”
“You saying you’re not one of them?” Daniel huffed.
“Oh, I’m the worst of them all, babe,” Johnny laughed, slapping his cock against Daniel’s ass cheek, "and look how desperate you are for me."
“No, I’m not… I can’t be, not tonight, Johnny,” Daniel argued, but that was a lie. He wanted it so bad, to be tender and leaking into his skimpy shorts, still wet when he got home and fingered himself in the shower. “Well. Maybe just the tip?”
“Just the tip,” Johnny grinned, fitting his cock against Daniel’s hole.
Daniel moaned, clutching at the lapels of Johnny’s suit as his body opened for the fat head of his cock.
“Yeah, that’s it," Johnny grunted, jerking himself into Daniel's ass. "I’m gonna give you my load right where you want it.”
Daniel watched him with pleasure-hazy eyes, his nostrils flaring with the reek of Johnny's stale sweat and cheap beer, and Jesus, he sure knew how to pick them.
Johnny reached inside his jacket and pulled out a small vial of coke, flicking the cap off with his thumb as he pushed the cropped hem of Daniel’s top up to his neck. “Lean back, sweetheart, show me your tits.”
Daniel blushed at the words, leaning back to expose his narrow chest to Johnny. There was nothing to squeeze, but Johnny pressed his clammy palm against Daniel’s pec and sprinkled a line of blow over his nonexistent cleavage, letting out a satisfied groan as he snorted it into his nose.
“Goddamn!” The chunky gold rings on Johnny's fingers dug into Daniel’s cheeks as he thrust up from the couch, jerking his load into his ass in messy spurts. “Goddamn!”
Half of it splattered on the carpet and Daniel grimaced as he felt a wet trail of semen on his glitter-sticky thigh. "You're so messy."
Johnny slumped against the backrest like someone had let the air out of him, blinking at Daniel with glazed eyes. "I'll be happy to clean you up, baby." He spread Daniel's cheeks apart and thumbed at his tender hole.
"Yeah, I bet," Daniel snorted, slapping his hand away.
He reached into Johnny's front pocket and pulled out his burgundy handkerchief, dabbing it against his sticky thighs. He was about to discard it, but Johnny snatched it from his hand, wiggling his brows as he tucked it back into his pocket.
"You perv," Daniel scolded, and did his best not to think about what Johnny was going to do with the thing in the privacy of his opulent Encino home. He crossed his arms over his chest and cocked his brow at Johnny. “You feeling cheery yet, old man?”
Johnny's pupils were like empty holes under the purple spotlight, hair a mess of sweaty cowlicks. He gave Daniel's ass a slap, his mouth stretching into a loopy grin. “Honey, I’m on cloud fucking nine.”
Daniel traced the coarse length of Johnny's whiskers with his finger, his smile playful as he leaned in to press his lips to Johnny’s ear.
“If you shave this thing, I’ll sit on your face and let you eat me out, for free.”
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myluciferiscody · 3 years
Text
Class Fight (p.3)
pairing: teen!dandy mott x teen!reader
word count: 3,559
warnings: language, jealous dandy, slightly au!dandy, all characters are 18
part 1 part 2
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1.
You led Dandy into your bedroom, gently clicking the door shut as to not alert your mother. She trusted you, but the motherly instincts couldn't be helped when it came to safety with boys. Dandy glanced around your room, having not been up here since you were in elementary school. He noticed you still had the teddy bear he gifted you in fifth grade when you fell and scraped your knee so severely it required stitches.
You wasted no time, turning around as he took a seat on your bed, "I need an explanation from you!" you said, giving him a glare as he smirked at you. "Dandy, why are you causing fights with my friends?"
"You two really are friends, then?" he asked, very pleased with your answer. "I don't see us coming to an agreement with what I have to say."
You crossed your arms, your glare worsening as Dandy just smirked at you. You tried not to be distracted by the fact he was starting to grow into his looks, and you were beginning to notice. "That's not fair."
"Of course it isn't, but neither is life, y/n." he shrugged. "I don't regret what I did. I never liked Jason, we're rivals by default."
You frowned, "What are you talking about?"
Dandy stared at you, wiping his hands on his clean pants. "You don't remember the story? The Deans and the Motts were business partners before we were born. Jason's father stole ideas and were selling them someplace else. Ended up losing the lawsuit after my father found out. Not long after, your grandfather helped grow our business, and eventually yours."
Of course, how could you forget such an essential detail in your family history? It was only ingrained in you since birth. Despite the temporary setback, the Deans found their fortune in cars. Frozen foods weren't their strong suit, it seemed.
"Jason isn't his father," you defended him, coming to take a seat next to Dandy. "That's not fair to him."
"And I'm not my father," Dandy countered. "I go way back with Jason, y/n. Neither of us ever liked each other, and not for reasons due to our parents. He's a stuck up, spoiled brat."
You thought it was funny that Dandy, of all people, could call another person a spoiled brat. You knew he changed plenty since you were kids, but he was always the one kid in the entire grade who had a tantrum once a day in each class.
"It's not fair to me!" you said, springing back up. "I don't pretend to like everybody, Dandy. However, I don't want my relationships to suffer because two of my friends hate each other. If Jason had ulterior motives I have yet to see them!"
Dandy laughed loudly, and you found yourself with the same unamused expression as before. He didn't falter at your glare, instead grinning widely and standing up, easily towering over you.
"y/n, I don't talk to a lot of people. You know that." he approached you, and you stood your ground, feeling your legs become jelly at his close proximity. "And because of it I hear everything that is said in that school. If I wasn't concerned about you, I would have punched the shit out of him just for the shoes he was wearing yesterday."
"What about what I want?" you questioned, causing him to arch an eyebrow. "I never said I was interested in him. If he thinks something is going to come out of this, he's wrong."
Dandy nodded, smiling at you. You felt chills run down your spine as his eyes twinkled with curiosity. "I like your attitude. You always knew how to take care of yourself."
You nodded slowly, swallowing the saliva pooling in your mouth. "I guess you taught me a thing or two growing up."
The silence between you was deafening. You noticed Dandy's jawline was more pronounced than you remembered. Dandy realized your lips were fuller than before.
"y/n, I want you to promise me that you'll come to me if you change your mind." he said, and you could hear the genuine concern in his voice. "I don't trust him, but I trust you."
You nodded; however, any thought of Jason was pushed to the back of your mind.
Dandy smirked at you and took a few steps backward. "I'm afraid I have to go."
You blinked, realizing that he had you where he wanted you. You glared at him as he headed to your door before turning to look at you.
"You're still not going?" he asked, a rather smug look upon his face as he wiggled an eyebrow at you.
Before you could answer, Dandy walked out your door. You heard him descend the staircase, with a farewell to your mother, then the front door shut.
You sat on your bed, hand clutched to your chest as you silently begged for your heart to stop beating so fast. Your mother had appeared in your doorway after a few minutes, and she was grinning ear to ear.
"y/n, you still have time to make the dance." she gave you a knowing look before leaving.
You stared at yourself in the mirror across the room. You did have a few dresses with the tags still on them that would pass nicely as a formal gown.
"He wants me to go," you muttered to yourself. Dandy had been dressed nicely, but he always was. He was also soaking wet.
"But Jason might be upset.. But I'm mad at him too," you groaned, plopping down on your back. "What do I do?"
"You get the hell up and stop moping around!" you screamed, kicking your legs as Winter posed in the doorway, grinning at your reaction.
"Why are you here!?" you stood up, still panting from the scare.
"I started feeling better yesterday. Oh yeah, your mother called me and said you were having a crisis. So here I be!" she walked in the rest of the way, pulling a suitcase behind her.
"What is that?" you asked, your voice stern as she knelt on the floor, unzipping the bag. It was filled with makeup, professional kits like you were about to appear on television.
"Your plans canceled, so you're coming with me. I never got a date and with Zoe having a date, I'm not being the third wheel."
You watched her set up and realized this is why you were friends. Partying was okay on some occasions. You rarely went to school dances, to begin with. This was your Senior year. How often in the future would you get the chance to just let loose for a night?
"Okay." you shrugged, and Winter gave you a knowing smirk.
2.
You were excited until you arrived at the school in Winter's car.
The rain had since stopped, and she dragged you to the entrance of the school as couple upon couple poured into the double doors. You were nervous now, knowing that both Dandy and Jason were probably already inside. You weren't supposed to come tonight.
"y/n! It's fine, babe," Winter said, holding your hand as you finally kept pace with her brisk walking. "We'll have a good time."
"It's not really us I'm worried about," you replied, and Winter had a look on her face that told you she already knew what happened. Your mother.
"If it helps Jason is supposed to have a date tonight. Which means he's not your problem right now."
"It's so embarrassing.. Everyone knows about the fight, and people won't stop staring!" you said, glaring at a group of Junior girls who were watching you from a corner. They quickly diverted their eyes, and Winter scoffed as she pulled you into the gymnasium.
It was decorated nicely, a live band already taking stage as kids piled in and found empty seats, many running over to the food to get first dibs. Kyle and Zoe have yet to arrive.
You found a table, sitting down and taking a quick glance around. Your heart stopped when you saw Jason arrive with his arm looped with Madison Montgomery, the most popular girl in your grade.. and the entire school. They fit together almost too well.
"You weren't kidding," you commented to Winter, who shrugged.
"I know my gossip, y/n," she said.
It wasn't long before Kyle and Zoe joined you. Zoe was ecstatic at the sight of you, pulling you into a hug and whispering that she was happy you decided to come. It made you feel good.
You had sat back down, pulling a ballot from the small pile on the table. You completely forgot about Homecoming King and Queen nominations.
Boys:
Jason Dean
Kyle Spencer
Matthew Nylund
Dandy Mott
You paused, glancing across the room to see Jason staring directly at you. You immediately looked away, reading the girls' list.
Girls:
Madison Montgomery
Zoe Benson
Natascha Langdon
Violet Harmon
You pushed the ballot aside, already knowing who you were voting for. You were relieved your name wasn't on the list. It was funny; Dandy and Jason always seemed to be selected for nomination. As far as you knew, Jason won once.
Winter nudged your arm, and you looked at her with an arched brow. She nodded towards the dance floor where Zoe and Kyle were dancing and asked if you wanted to join her.
"In a bit," you replied. Winter smiled, nodding in understanding before standing up and pushing her chair in.
You avoided making eye contact with Jason, who was also dancing with Madison. Everyone already seemed to be having a good time. You were just observing, debating on if you truly wanted to be here or not. It seemed like a good idea at first, but now you remembered why you always felt so out of place.
You jumped when someone pulled out Winter's chair, and you breathed a sigh when Dandy sat down, already smirking as you glared at him.
"You did decide to show up," he commented, a rather accomplished look on his face.
"I wouldn't look too excited. Winter came over and convinced me to go." you said, only lying a tiny bit. Dandy picked up your forgotten ballot, his eyes reading over the names before setting it down. His eyes were sparkling, but you were positive it wasn't from seeing his own name.
"Who are you voting for?" he asked casually, also looking around the packed gymnasium, also looking very out of place. There was just something about the Mott family genes that stood out from everyone else.
"I think Zoe and Kyle deserve to win together," you shrugged, and you saw Dandy's lips twitching. "You voting for yourself?"
Dandy shrugged, a smile now touching his lips. "I haven't decided yet. I've never asked to be Homecoming King."
You chuckled, seeing Winter talking to a boy you didn't recognize. Zoe and Kyle were getting something to drink as the band started to play a slow song.
Dandy watched you quietly, his eyes flickering from Jason Dean to your face. He stood up, watching you look at him with interest and almost longing for him not to leave your side.
"Would you dance with me?" Dandy asked, holding his hand out to you.
You didn't hesitate to take it, almost embarrassingly so. Dandy didn't smirk or make a sarcastic comment. Instead, you walked hand-and-hand to the floor, turning to face each other as Dandy placed a hand on your waist. It brought back memories of you being children, both of your mothers having enrolled you in dancing lessons. You were never paired with Dandy, which he would have appreciated a lot more. He was forced to dance with the girls who could never get it right, causing him to throw a fit and claim he was the best dancer in the whole world.
The thought made you smile, shaking your head as Dandy watched you, wondering what was on your mind. You looked as beautiful as he had ever seen you, and you've always been attractive.
You were unaware that the kids were staring at you, some of them whispering the latest gossip, while others were either jealous or unwilling to admit they thought you two looked cute together. Zoe and Winter were giggling, sucking down their fruit punch with Kyle.
Jason had taken a seat next to Matthew while Madison went to the bathroom for a touch-up. Matthew was smirking, eating a plate full of cookies, while Jason did his best not to stare at you.
"I thought she wasn't coming?" Matthew teased him, sticking an entire cookie in his mouth.
"She wasn't," Jason responded sourly, crossing his arms.
"It sounds to me you've been rejected," Matthew grinned.
"y/n wouldn't lie," Jason said defensively, "Her plans were probably just canceled. It's fine, I'm thinking of asking Madison out."
Matthew rolled his eyes, knowing perfectly well he was jealous as fuck.
Dandy enjoyed having you in his arms, and you felt the same. You laid your head on his chest, and you completely forgot all the dancing couples and people around you. There was a safety that came with being around him that you couldn't exactly pinpoint why that was.
The song had ended, and you unwillingly pulled away from Dandy's warming embrace. The band immediately jumped into a fast-paced song. He wasn't pleased about this, but he was quick to pull you out of the way when a mob of screaming girls nearly stormed the stage.
"Y/N!" You gasped when Winter ran and gave you a hug, giggling wildly in your ear. "Watch out, someone spiked the punch- BYE!"
You stumbled over your feet as the boy with a rather interesting mustache whisked her away, both giggling hysterically as Dandy helped you keep your balance.
"Your friend is interesting." Dandy commented, a slight smile on his lips. He'd tolerate anyone you truly cared about.
"Yes she is," you sighed, finding yourself intertwining your fingers with Dandy. He kept his cool, wanting to give Jason Dean a middle finger to the face.
You had both eaten and got some punch, talking and ultimately enjoying yourself. You were thrilled you decided to come now, feeling like you weren't going to be alone the rest of the night. You danced with Zoe, while Kyle sat awkwardly at the table with Dandy for a break. Zoe whispered in your ear that Winter will be gone for the rest of the night before you both giggled.
In the middle of Jailhouse Rock, Principal Harmon grabbed the microphone, causing the boy band to lose their rhythm and many kids to boo.
"Alright, alright, its time to collect the ballots for King and Queen! Five minutes to get to your tables, complete the ballots, and then the Senior Student Committee will come around to collect them."
You followed Zoe back to the table, taking your seat as Dandy was folding his ballot. He handed you the pencil, and you almost hesitated as you filled it out. A part of you did want to vote for Dandy, but who would you pair him with? Madison Montgomery has tried digging her nails into him many times. Zoe would be a good fit, but she deserved to win with Kyle. Natascha openly despised him, and Violet probably hated that she was even nominated. Her disposition wasn't exactly sunny.
You ended up voting for Zoe and Kyle like you originally intended. Dandy peeked over your shoulder and seemed pleased with your nomination.
The ballots were quickly collected, and it took another fifteen minutes to accurately count them. The band hadn't returned to the stage. There was a lot of chattering about who voted for who.
You hadn't been paying attention to the table directly behind you. The girls who had been staring at you when you had arrived had been talking about you and Dandy. Dandy was listening, his hands clenching at the awful things they were saying about you. He was doing his best to not cause a scene on your behalf. It was bad enough he and Jason both had bruising that was a constant reminder to the students what already happened.
All the nominees had to go stand on the stage. Zoe looked uncomfortable, but you gave her a reassuring smile, which seemed to ease her mind. Winter sat next to you, and you gave her a questioning look. She only grinned and waved you off. Dandy stood next to Jason, both boys beat up but as handsome as ever.
Principal Harmon announced Madison as the Queen. She gushed while he placed the crown on her head, and the elderly receptionist placed a bouquet of roses in her arms. She beamed at the crowd, waving as if she were pure royalty. You and Winter clapped unenthusiastically, but you knew deep down Zoe wouldn't take it too hard.
"And for the King," Mr. Harmon said, opening the envelope. The silence was awkward, and you could feel the tension in the air. "Oh no-"
Mr. Harmon glanced around, his eyes settling on the student committee kids who only shrugged, nodding their approval.
"Well it seems we have a tie," he continued, scratching his head. "Dandy Mott and Jason Dean."
There was a ripple of laughter and disbelief as students yelled for a recount. Dandy was smirking, but Jason didn't look the least bit amused. Madison was pouting.
".. This has never happened in my twenty years of being principal," he said awkwardly into the mic. "Where do we go from here?"
"I back out," Dandy announced proudly.
"Oh! That was easy!" said Mr. Harmon, "In that case, I present to you, King Jason Dean!"
The crowd roared as he placed the crown on Jason's head. He smiled sheepishly, briefly meeting your eyes as Dandy and the others walked off the stage. Zoe and Kyle hugged, both smiling in good humor. Dandy sat beside you as Jason and Madison started their dance to Frankie Valli.
"That was kind of you," you whispered to Dandy.
"It's nothing, I could care less about winning."
Dandy put his arm around the back of your chair until their dance was over. They took a few pictures before the band returned back to the stage, promising a few more slow dances to all the couples before the night was over.
Winter gasped when Jason approached your table; Madison running to her friends and fawning over her flowers and tiara. He ignored Dandy entirely, focusing only on you.
"Could I have a word?" he asked kindly, offering his hand to you.
You nodded, feeling Dandy tense by your side. You placed your hand on his leg under the table in reassurance before taking Jason's hand, following him to the dance floor. You realized at that moment that you knew where your heart belonged.
"I was surprised to see you tonight," Jason said, bringing you in close.
"My plans didn't work out. Winter talked me into coming." you laughed nervously, and he smiled at you.
"I'm happy you came, we don't have many of these left, you know," he chuckled.
"I'm happy I came too," you replied before looking at him. "I'm sorry about everything."
Jason frowned, raising his eyebrows as he spun you around. "Why are you sorry?"
You shrugged, "I've known Dandy my entire life. He's very protective of me and I wish you two never got into that fight." You made your point by glancing around at the few people trying to catch glimpses of you.
"It's not your fault, y/n," Jason said in disapproval, "It was a misunderstanding, Matthew isn't the sharpest tool in the shed and doesn't think things through when he speaks. Mott just heard the worst of his ignorance."
"Well, I think it's safe to say it won't be happening again," you said, watching as Madison came back from the hallway, pouting at the sight of you. "I think Madison really likes you."
Jason glanced back, a smile on his face. "Is it too much to admit now I really like you too?"
You smiled shyly, "That's very sweet of you."
Jason nodded, "I think it's clear who you really like, and he's very lucky," he said, now watching as Dandy stared at the pair of you.
"Yeah.." you agreed, almost liking the jealous looks being thrown your way. "I hope we could still be friends."
Jason was pleased to hear that, and he promised to call you sometime after the song ended. You watched as he walked to Madison, whose eyes lit up at the sight of him. You quickly walked back to your table, pulling up Dandy, who was surprised by your urgency.
"Did he say something?" his nostrils flared, looking as if he was about to murder someone.
"Nope," you said before cupping his cheeks and pulling him down to meet your height. You kissed him deeply, and you heard Winter say, "Holy shit!" while Zoe squealed with her mouth full of cake.
Dandy pulled away, his hands on your waist as he blinked in surprise. You grinned, pulling him towards the doors as the group of girls watched you with their mouths hanging open.
"Sorry for your loss!" you chirped at them, smiling sweetly as Dandy followed you in a daze.
School drama just does not change.
taglist: @daisychainsinknots​
156 notes · View notes
wint3rs · 3 years
Text
DANCE, wilson&barnes.
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(a/n: this was requested by my friend, maddy! y/n is going to be wearing a dress, but feel free to imagine what you’re wearing! and this one is messy and long as hell..)
– summary : three’s a crowd
– warnings : mentions of cigarettes, curse words, sexual tension, mentions of choking (in a sexual way ofc)
“you’re putting me through what?” you were the last one to arrive at the new compound. “agent y/n, we need you to go undercover with wilson and barnes for the next mission.” sam was leaning against the wall, with bucky next to him. they both had a smug expression plastered on their faces. “but i’m suspended!” you argued. fury only stared at you, waiting for you to surrender.
“fine.” for a split second, you saw bucky smirking even more. you rolled your eyes, not wanting to give him the satisfaction he wanted. “now that you’re all here, listen to my briefing. if you have any questions, ask each other.” sam, being the patriotic man he was, nodded.
“the three of you are going to tokyo. there is a briefcase containing SHIELD's old files, on project BIRDFLIGHT – a machine that could kill anyone with powers, now in the hands of mr. arthurs." fury opened a tan-colored file in front of you. "arthurs... familiar name." you said. "that's because he used to work in galactic science division back in 2012." fury replied, flashbacks filling your head. “oh! the creepy dude?” fury seemed to nod at your question.
you shrugged your body in disgust, as you remembered him. “and that’s where the three of you come in. intel says he’s going to sell the old projects to one of the most wanted man in CIA, his codename is silverparks, but of course – they couldn’t find him.” you knew exactly what was going to happen.
“wilson and barnes will pose as y/n’s business partners, y/n you own a weapon factory somewhere in eastern europe – you get close to him, you handle the files. barnes will take silverparks, wilson will get arthurs.” the three of you nodded in unison. “remember, this is an undercover mission. you can go now, get ready. the jet will be here at 6.”
fury left the room, leaving you with sam and bucky. it had been a while since you saw them, and every time you meet – they will always flirt with you. “so…” sam spoke up first. “it’s good to see you again.” you glared at him. “don’t even start, i’ll break your neck.” he chuckled. “see ya later then baby.” sam winked at you.
“aren’t you going to follow your stupid boyfriend? i need to read arthur’s files.” instead of leaving, he went closer to you. “doll, you haven’t forgive me at all, huh?” bucky raised an eyebrow. “no, and i won’t.” you gritted your teeth. “you had your chance, now fuck off.”
you had history with the winter soldier, it didn’t take long for you to forget him, that was when sam came along – but you didn’t work out because of your agent life. “if i had another chance to wrap my arms around your neck, i’d do it all over again.”  you were left flustered and embarrassed by his statement. “oh my god this is going to be a mess.” you muttered to yourself.
the ride to tokyo was painful for you. the boys argued about who was sitting next to you, even if it was only the three of you inside the jet. “i want to sit next to y/n!” sam elbowed his best friend. “no, i’ll be sitting next to y/n.” he barked. “no, sit your ass down somewhere else.” sam added. “boys, you’re both pretty. go sit somewhere else, this jet could fit the entire fucking avengers.” and in the end, none of them sat next to you.
tokyo was one of your favorite places. it. was peaceful, you haven’t visited the city after the blip, so this was your first time being back. “we’re staying at the clint’s old hideout?” sam asked, gaining your attention. “yeah he gave me his key, it’s well kept.” you replied, unlocking the place.
“we’ll be here for 2 days, please don’t trash the place. you both can take clint’s room, i’ll be on the couch.” you announced. “no, no. what kind of person am i to let you sleep on the couch?” sam shook his head. “alright then i’ll sleep with y/n and you can sleep on the couch.” bucky suggested. “like hell i would let that happen!”
“okay how about the three of us just fucking camp out in the living room? is that fair? if i hear you two arguing again, i’m gonna fucking choke you.” you threatened them. “kinky.” sam blurted out. “ugh!” you groaned.
you hated how you were going undercover with the two horniest men as your partners. “just talk to y/n about this, i’m sure they will understand.” “okay.” they were talking but as soon as you stepped out the bathroom with you red velvet dress, their eyes were on you. “whew.” sam whistled, making you shoot glares at him.
“with you looking like that, i wouldn’t mind abandoning the mission and take you out on a date.” bucky was obviously flirting with you – but you didn’t bother to look at him. “shut up, fury’s calling.” you picked up the call and turned it to loud speaker mode. “this is going to be a quick message, but y/n, you’re in charge. don’t fuck this up or i will suspend your ass again.” before anyone could reply, fury ended the call.
“well that was quick.” you walked to the front entrance. “y/n can we talk for a bit?” there was tension in the air and you could smell it. “what do you want? we’re gonna be late.” you were ready to walk out to the car, but he gripped your hand tightly.
the two of you held eye contact, “buck, calm down.” sam said, intervening. “what bucky wanted to say i- is, we should put everything behind. this mission is really important, and if we let our emotions get into this… things are going to be complicated, you used to be our y/n, fun and cheery.” he finished.
“oh really? me getting my emotions involved? tell that to this man in front of me! no really, ask him! and have you seen yourself? your eyes haven’t left me since i walked in to the compound! me? getting my emotions tangled? go fuck yourself.” things were heated.
“are you done?” sam raised an eyebrow. “yes.” you replied, sitting down on the couch. “how do you feel?” sam asked once again. “fine.” you admitted – feeling free of your built up anger. “see, you needed that. we good now?” you took a second to regain your emotions and nodded.
the car ride was silent, you felt bad for bursting out. you finally had the guts to speak up to them. “i’m sorry.” they both didn’t say anything. “the reason why i was an asshole to you both because we didn’t work out-“ “you did date sam?” bucky cut you off. “i thought you knew?” you were as confused as him. “no i didn’t! what the hell man, y/n’s mine!”
“no what, y/n is mine!” sam argued. “you’re both not mad because i blew up on you?” “nah, i’m mad because he dated you!” bucky pouted. “and i’m mad because he dated you too!” and with that, you felt like the old you. the one they used to know.
clubs used to be your things, you thanked god that the deal was going to be held in your type of scenes. it didn’t take long until the three of you arrived at your destination. it wasn’t packed but it was full enough for someone to make a deal unnoticed.
“according to intel, silverparks should be here in an hour, and arthurs in thirty minutes.” bucky said, looking at his phone. “we have 30 minutes to spare.” sam walked to the bar and ordered drinks. “really? we just made up and you want to drink?” you chuckled. “it’s a celebration.” you pulled out a pack of cigarettes, offering sam and bucky.
“pussies.” you shook your head. “hey! i’m not a pussy for taking care of my lungs.” bucky took a shot of his alcohol. “very funny.” the lights were dim and you weren’t able to see their faces clearly. not lying to yourself, you do find them hot.
bucky was staring at you, again. his eyes were filled with lust that you once knew. you smirked and nudged him, “you wanna take your thirst to the dance floor?” teasing bucky was always fun. “i don’t dance y/n, you know that.” “that’s lame, fine. i’m taking sam.”
on the other hand, the man was giddy when you dragged him to the dance floor. the music was loud, encouraging you both to dance. “come on sam, don’t act like you don’t want this!” with that, his hands were already on your body. “30 minutes won’t be enough!” “then make it enough!” you smirked.
the winter soldier stared at you, lust still filling his eyes. you knew he was never one to dance in clubs, but with what you’re doing – he had to step in. sam was all over you but in a blink, he was replaced by someone. his hands were cold and it made your shiver.
you were now in the middle of two men who were going to eat you up anytime soon. sam was always a fun person to hang out with, he was charming and always knew how to make people laugh – but this sam was different. he was controlled by his lust and that made him hotter than usual.
bucky was always shy and a well-kept person, unlike his best friend. it wasn’t publicly known that this man was the definition of A Horny Teenager, but you’ve seen that side.
their eyes were still on you, but before they could do more than just grinding their bodies on you – a familiar face entered the club. “2 o’clock, let’s get him boys.” they stopped their action and went back to character. “after we get this job done, we’ll finish what we started.” you encouraged them. “now, let’s go.”
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xwing-baby · 3 years
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Pull Over (Frankie Morales x gn!Reader)
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Warnings: Fluff!! description of a dead bird, swearing, not edited
Word Count: 1.7k
Summary: On a cross country road trip with your boyfriend Frankie, you wake to a beautiful sight...
A/n: I’ve pining for Frankie all week, add this gorgeous prompt photo and this is the result
---
You woke up slowly to the sound of Frankie mumbling along to the radio, as he had been when you fell asleep. Blue sky was all you could see out the window as you slumped in your seat, it wasn’t until you sat up properly that you saw the majesty of your surroundings. You gasped at the sigh of the expansive red dirt, sun dancing on the endless road ahead in mirages. The last time your eyes were open you were driving through concrete suburbs, a far cry from the desolate and beautiful desert you drove in now.
“Holy shit, Frankie!” You exclaimed, choking up in emotion at the sight through the windshield. Frankie startled at your sudden proclamation, “Why didn’t you wake me up sooner?” Tears streamed down your cheeks, happy tears, shocked and amazed tears. You wiped them quickly from your eyes hoping your fiancé wouldn’t see.
“Are you crying?” Frankie laughed, turning his head for a moment to look at you properly. He didn’t miss the tightness in your voice.
“Shut up,” You sniffed, wiping your eyes, “Why didn’t you wake me up?”
“I didn’t know you’d react like that!” Frankie continued to laugh at you, “And besides you looked cute!”
“That is not an excuse!” You exclaimed, cheeks heating up at his compliment, “Oh Babe, it's so beautiful,” You sighed happily. You pulled your phone from your jeans and took pictures through the truck window. They’d come out blurry and scratched, Frankie knew that. Then he had an idea.
“Do you want to pull over to take a proper photo?” He asked. Your mom had recently given you her old polaroid camera, the one she used when you and your siblings were younger. Having been there as a stop on the road trip already, it was sat in your bag waiting to be used. Here would be the best location to start, he thought. 
“Really? What about your schedule?” Ever the military man, Frankie liked to have a plan and stuck to it religiously. You’d been on the road for two weeks, he had planned every moment down the minute. He’d refused to stop at rest stops, despite if he himself needed to pee, all in the name of the schedule. You were surprised he was allowing the break. 
“Baby I can allow five minutes for a photo I’m not a complete hard ass,” He chuckled, “there's a stop point up ahead, I’ll pull over there and you can take some,”
You cheered and began to root around the stuffed backpack in the footwell to find out the camera. Frankie pulled the truck up ahead a few meters, parked and you jumped out eagerly.
“Fuck me it’s hot,” Outside of the cool AC in the vehicle, the air was dry but scorching hot. You could practically feel the soles of your shoes melting to the tar as you stood on the road. 
“It is a desert,” Frankie said, looking around at the expansive nothingness.
“Really? Would never have guessed!” You stuck your tongue out at him, he copied and you quickly snapped a photo. Frankie pouted and reached for the paper as it printed but you were fast and slipped the photograph in your pocket before he could get it and ruin it. 
Frankie wandered around the truck, you walked a few paces in the opposite direction enjoying stretching your legs. You’d been driving for eight hours, even if you had been asleep for the last two hours, your legs were cramped up. You stretched them out as you walked through the red dirt, watching your sneakers slowly become red stained too. You snapped a photo of Frankie leant against the truck staring off into the distance, a photo cliffs in the distance and then...
“Ah gross there's a skeleton!” You exclaimed. A half rotted carcass lay on the side of the road, bones pale under the beating sun it had been there for a while. It used to be a bird, though its feathers were gone. You stepped closer to it to get a better look.
“Don’t go closer to it!” Frankie said, walking over to you to look at it too.
“What? It’s already dead, it’s cool!” You peered at it, gagging as the smell of rotting flesh hit you. You retreated back to him and wrapped your arms around his waist as you took in the expansive desert surrounding you. 
“I do worry about you sometimes,” He teased you. 
“As you should, baby,” You grinned and kissed him quickly. “Take a picture of me, I’ve got loads of you,”
“Watch for cars,” Frankie warned as you stepped into the middle of the road. 
“Somehow I think I might see them,” You joked, it was clear from miles around you. You stood in the road and posed for the photo, waiting for a moment before calling back, ”Did you take it?”
“If you stop moving!” 
“I’m posing!” You laughed, Frankie raised a brow. “Fine I’ll hold still for you, slow poke,”
“Got one,” He said after another couple seconds. You sighed and jogged back over and took the developing photo from his fingers. You smiled, it was a really nice photo actually. 
“That’s cute! You are a surprisingly good photographer,”
“What can I say, I’m a man of many talents,” He smiled proudly. 
“That you are,” You pressed up on your toes and kissed him on the lips again, “I’m going to take a couple more and then I will be back in the car and we can get to Vegas!” You sang, doing an excited dance at the thought of finally getting to your destination. Frankie cheered too and laughed heartily before giving you ass a little tap and letting you go. 
He watched you wander about in the wilderness ahead, ever the adventurer. Unlike him, you didn’t really know the harshness of the world. You knew the things he had done, the things he’d seen, but only through stories. You weren’t hardened to the world like he was, like he used to be. Pope always teased him that you’d turned him soft but Frankie couldn’t find fault in that if it meant he could have moments like this. Usually a small reminder in his head would tell him to watch the back mirror, to watch for people hidden on the side of the road. Now, he didn’t think about any of that and instead watched you stride fearlessly into the unknown, smiling at the wildness taking photos as if you belonged among the rocks that surrounded you. 
Your smile was his favourite thing in the world. He would rather die than never wake up to see it again. You brought so much joy into his life, even when things were tough to hope that you would stick around long enough to smile again helped him through. Through fights, through low moments for the both of you the smile always sat as the prize for getting through the dark. It was what he dreamt of stuck in the Andes, it was what drove him home when he wanted to run away from everything. You.
The question had been his head the entire trip. He wanted to ask at a good time, a romantic spot meant something to the two of you. One memorable and meaningful. His plan was to take you out to California, where you’d met, and propose on the same beach. But each day with you in the truck was making him impatient. He nearly slipped it out when you had sex in the horrible motel you’d stayed at the night before. He was desperate, couldn’t wait another day to ask you to be his for forever. Now, watching you and your reaction to seeing it waking up from your nap. Maybe he didn’t need California, and past memories. Maybe he could make new ones here in the middle of the desert.
He watched you walk back to the truck, slipping the last polaroid into your back pocket. You opened the door and smiled at him. That smile. The decision was made. He had to ask now.
“What?” You asked, with an awkward laugh. You could tell he wanted to say something. He didn’t so you began to pack up your camera, putting it and the polaroid photos you’d taken away safely.
“What would you say if I asked you to marry me?” He asked, you stopped fiddling with your backpack and looked back up at him. Your heart fluttered in your chest. 
“What?” You were surprised. You had spoken about marriage with him, from the beginning of your relationship you had joked about being grumpy grandparents on a porch swing together. You just didn’t think Frankie was the type to just ask like this. You sat up and looked at your boyfriend. He was staring directly at you, he cleared his throat and readjusted his shirt. 
“Marry me? Tonight. In Vegas,” He said with more confidence, “Our friends are already there, I don’t have ring but we can go get one when we get there and I-,” He stopped, catching himself rambling, getting excited at the idea, “I would like to marry you,” He admitted, with a hopeful smile.
“You’re serious?” You asked, shocked at his words in the best way. Francisco didn’t speak, looking back at you with hopeful eyes. He needed an answer, “Yes of course I’ll marry you! Yes!”
“Thank fuck,” He gasped as you leaned over the console and kissed him hard. You’d kissed him a million times, but this was special, a new spark. 
“I have one condition,” You said as you pulled away. 
“Anything,” He smiled, eyes starry looking at you, so full of love.
“I want an Elvis impersonator to officiate” You tried to remain serious but couldn’t fight the grin on your lips. Frankie laughed and shook his head, “And you need to call my dad,” You said seriously, “I know it takes away from the spontaneity but he’d be-,”
“Already asked him, two weeks ago,” He interrupted you. Your jaw dropped, shocked.
“We were at their- Oh my god that’s why Dad had that stupid grin on his face when we left, isn’t it?” You gasped, hitting his arm playfully.
“Maybe,” He smirked, proud of himself now his plan had fully worked out. You gaped at him, 
“So you really planned to propose next to a decaying bird?” You looked at the skeleton again, curling your lip at it.
“The bird wasn’t in the plan,” He chuckled, turning your attention back to him with his hands on your cheeks. You smiled and leant into his touch, affectionately. 
“I love you Frankie Morales,” you whispered. 
“I love you too sweetheart,” 
---
tagging: @autumnleaves1991-blog​ the wonderful host of this awesome game
@hunters-heathen​ @peterssweetpea​ @beskarbabs​ @this-cat-is-dea​ @wille-zarr​ 
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Far too much (Kuvira x Fem!Reader)
This is part 2 to Close enough? And I’m so thankful for all the people that interacted with my first written work!! So here’s this, I had so much fun writing it! If you guys wanna see somethin more specific or have ideas, send ‘em my way! Love you!!
WC: 5200 (almost 2x my last one!) TW: none that i’m aware of, lemme know though <3
You felt as stupid as a raccoon-toad.
When the  avatar came to collect you to travel back to Zaofu, you were excited because you were going back home, even if you were being punished for your crimes. Unfortunately, Suyin had extended the invitation to the other individuals who were also from Zaofu. It seemed that she was sentimental and decided that every one needed a second chance.
So you were stuck with a bunch of people that you were not entirely fond of, especially when they heard of what happened to Kuvira. After that, you could just feel the glares they sent your way, which was annoying because that’s all they did. They just stared and would raise their stupid eyebrows. Why couldn’t they just get over it and shove it? It didn’t help that your injury still required attendance by healers and physical therapy. So even if you wanted to avoid all attention, it was a little pointless when they said you could only apply yourself for a couple of hours before resting. 
There was a constant dull throb in your side, no matter the number of healers. Sometimes it would chill out but when you were awake for too long or when you skipped a meal, it would come back and stiffen your back. It was a constant battle and there were some times that you just wished that Kuvira double tapped you. It could've saved a lot of emotional and physical turmoil. 
So, back to the situation on hand. You and several others were on a train that would stop in the heart of the Metal Clan. After that, each person would be sent to a camp that was ran by a horse faced individual who lacked the sympathy of a real person. You were told to call him General Zheng, if you ever saw him, and after that he left to go talk to the head of the guard. You and the others were hustled into a medical looking outlet, and each person was given a platinum band around each left ankle. 
“It’s to make sure you don’t leave and to make sure you obey. Can’t have you running around like hen-ducks, right?”
ugh.
..
It had been several days since you had arrived in Zaofu. By then, everyone had been stationed with their community service and you started to get used to the schedule given. General Zhen said since you had to serve the community as your punishment, you could choose your schedule, basically saying, “How long do you really wanna do this?”. You could remain under order until your sentence was done or you could rush it out and leave it early. As early as you could anyway with a 25 year sentence. You decided to go with the latter; even with your injury, you thought that you could cut it by a year or two which sounded pretty minimal but you’d take anything at this point. At 10am you would wake up and eat then head towards the outskirts of the ring. There, you would begin to bend the metal together to create cohesive pieces for other workers to make into the plates that would create the dome. Others were tasked with mining the actual ore, and they were even paid for that, but you had to create the joints for them. Sitting and concentrating for about 8 hours a day would cause you to slouch and then you’d get yelled at by the healers. Who were scarier than a guy on cactus juice. You’d visit the healers once a week and they would see if your scar had healed or if it was infected. After seeing them, you would head over to the park where they held physical therapy outside. It was really nice to see all of nature while an old lady calmly coaxes you into the tree pose. Gaining balance was the hardest because your brain was trying to compensate for the strain in your side. You also kinda wanted to punch the lady because that’s is as far as I go stop pushing me areyoutuchingmerightnowareyouserious.
Needless to say, it was nice to go back to the plain gray walls of your (holding cell) room and just breathe quietly by yourself. 
Then you got used to your routine which was a mistake because then something had to go and mess it up. And who else would it be if not for the very person who put you here?
..
Madam Jilpa was going to be the death of you. That near death experience you had? Insignificant to the pain that this woman was gracing you with. You wanted to strangle her. She was super nice about your wound, saying how it was healing well and then she manhandled you into a position to “stretch your muscles, you’re awfully sore, my dear.” You rolled your shoulders and exhaled as you left the park. Ever since you came back, people avoided you like the plague and it made the anklet a little more tighter each time. Doesn’t help that it was platinum so it just seemed that it was mocking you every time you caught a glimpse of it. Stupid thing. Stupid city. Stupid community service. Stupid- who is that?
You were strolling through the main street of the city, heading to the store when you saw her. Kuvira. The devil herself. Was I thinking about her? Is that why she’s here? Oh god, she can’t see me, what do i do? Where am I gonna hide? You panicked and slid into the nearest shop, which happened to be a tea shop. Luckily there was a line so you didn’t look too odd. Unluckily, the shop had big glass windows. So as much as you could see her, she could possibly see you? Maybe? You dipped next to the door and peeked out, wondering why Kuvira would be away from the estate. Then you saw the entire Beifong family, whelp. That answers your question. No better way to survey someone than surround them with powerful earthbenders. As your eyes glazed over their faces, you saw Bataar Jr. and Kuvira at the back of the pack. You couldn’t tell if they were talking but they looked like they were standing next to each other, and the evil voice in your head wouldn’t stop talking about how they looked. Together. 
Not wanting to add mental therapy to your list of visitation rights, you decided to exit the tea shop and go back the way you came. Back to your plain gray room. Because who needs closure when you have, uh, gray pillows and plain bagels?
After that train wreck, it didn’t stop.
Suyin (it felt wrong to call her Su) had talked to the General and they made a plan to talk to each of the prisoners. To really decide if they are evil or not. You could make that decision with the way that these people would play Pai Sho, some of them were just cruel and malicious and a better punishment would be to shove em in the boiling rock. 
Unfortunately you were on that list of visits and it was 3 days from now. They even accepted letters from family members. So that you could read how disappointed they are, one more time. But! It was written so it had sentimental value. You felt nauseous when you saw your name scrawled on the letter. Better now than later, it would seem.
Y/n,
I remember the day you were born. You were a screaming ball of anger and you wouldn’t stop crying until you were placed on my chest. Then you shushed and swooned. I knew then and there that I would love you till the day I die and every day after. And it seems that even now, I feel the same way. But, I know now that some paths are a little crowded and you lost your way. I’m sorry I wasn’t there to help you find the light in this dim world, but I just wanted you to know that you are my light. And that is all that matters. When you first left, I was left with irreplaceable pain because in a way, you had left me. But you were just touching the ground and spreading your fingers. You thought you knew best and I’m proud of you for sticking with it. But now that you see the end of this journey, you must stick with the repercussions. That is what it means to find the light and settle with it. You face your decisions and lay with the judgements. I’m glad that you came back to Zaofu. Hopefully, one day, I’ll be able to see your beautiful face again.
Love always,
Mom and Dad
A chip had left your shoulder. Thank the spirits. You could feel the wetness on your cheeks from the compassion from your parents. Perhaps they were right. 
Bracing yourself with these words of encouragement, you faced Suyin with strong shoulders and a flinch in your side (cause, honestly, the tea isn’t that good at keeping the pain down).
When you were growing up, your parents had tried everything to stop you from sneaking out of the house. They tried metal bars, they tried positive reinforcements, they tried every parental trick in the book. They couldn’t keep you from whatever entranced you from the house. The only person who ever humored you and whoever treated you with some semblance of respect was Kuvira, or ‘Vee, when you were kids. Granted, she also had a rocky relationship but what’s a pot and what’s a kettle? When your parents finally noticed where you were going when you left, they talked to Su about it. If they couldn’t keep you down, they’ll just make sure that nothing bad happens. Because of that, you would spend many hours on the Beifong estate, surrounding yourself with other earthbenders and playing games with the other kids. As you grew, you started to notice how Opal would talk about the cute boy in her class or how Wing and Wei would blush when the dance recitals were held. But, as you got older, all you could think about was how pretty ‘Vee’s eyes were. How green they were, and how much they sparkled when she talked about how she finally joined the guard. How the tank tops she wore outlined her shoulders. You never noticed that when other people were looking outside, that you had found your view right in front of you. Su noticed of course, being the romantic that she was, she got so excited whenever her children were talking about love. Su knew you well, and when Kuvira left Zaofu, she had a feeling that you would leave with her. She had tried so hard to understand you, but she was so angry. Angry at Bataar Jr, angry at Kuvira, angry about everything, that she forgot that you got the short end of the stick too.
So she was nervous too when she invited you over. 
The door had opened by then even when you hoped that it would remain shut for a little while longer. A guard had escorted you from your quarters into the matriarch’s afternoon room and she was seated near a window that looked to the sprawling estate of the Metal Clan. She looked up at you and smiled softly, and even from the doorway, you could tell that she had gotten older. Maybe not physically, but her eyes were a little wiser and a little more battle worn. 
You had settled into the opposite chair, with some grace that you managed to muster, and she had offered you tea. It smelled of lemon and blueberries and you couldn’t help but relax. You couldn’t help it, seeing Su as a mother figure made you wistful of all the memories you shared. With those came remorse and you immediately felt guilty. 
“Thank you for allowing me to come back to Zaofu, Su-Suyin, I am eternally grateful that you have allowed me back after what I did,” you said. After your stutter, it seemed your words came in a rush, unable to be held back.
“I wanted to apologize for leaving in the first place. I didn’t realise that I was blind to all the hurt that occurred when this thing started and I should’ve noticed when the first person that was wounded was you. I thought that I knew what I was doing when I left because I thought Ku-” you inhaled sharply, “I thought she would be the answer. It was wrong of me to place such big standards on her without thinking of the consequences. I know now that I followed her out of personal feeling, and not logic. I will forever be humbled by the events that happened and I just hope that you may forgive me. I am incredibly regretful of turning my back on you Su, I wish my eyes had stayed open a little longer.” 
You were a little choked up and you finally pulled your eyes away from your tea cup to look at Su, finding her eyes already on you. Tears were pooling in her eyes and she was softly smiling. 
Laughing softly, she speaks. 
“You don’t speak often but when you do, you speak,” she sighs and looks outside again.
“I must admit that the most heartbreaking thing was watching Kuvira walk out because i knew that if she left, you would too. It's been that way since you were children. Little younglings running across the estate, throwing rocks and giggling to yourselves. I knew when she left that you would go. You follow the ones you love, you want them in your lives so you do what you must. I understand the feeling well.”
She looks at you and stands from her seat, walking around the table and kneeling at your side.
Softly, she places her hands on yours and squeezes. 
“When I saw you on the floor, my mind ran a thousand miles. But until your testimony before your trial, I never imagined. The Kuvira that you love exists, but the Kuvira you followed are not the same. I’m sorry that I didn’t get the chance to warn you. People change right before your very eyes and it’s hard to adapt. I love you as if you were my own, Y/n, and I forgive you. As a parent, I am disappointed but that’s to be expected.”
Smiling you lurched forward and squished her against yourself. It didn’t take you long to become a little touch-starved from being in prison but man, hugging Su felt like landing on cotton and honey. Squeezing your shoulders, Su pulls back.
“Y/n, I’m telling you now what I had to tell myself. The right people get second chances. Currently, Kuvira and Bataar Jr are working with Korra and her friends to stop the remaining forces of the United army. They are good people, and I believe that they can do good things. But it’s up to them. You must wait for them to come to you. This isn’t in your hands now. If they want to change, they must do it themselves. That is my advice to you: good people will come around, they just need time.”
She gave you one last hug and released you. Stepping back she smiled, her eyes finally matching. 
“I don’t want to take up all of your day, so I’ll let you go for now.”
You said your goodbyes with Su and the guard escorted you off of the estate. 
It didn’t hit you until then that you didn’t flinch everytime she said Kuvira. Taking what Su and your parents said, you lifted your shoulders and promised yourself that you would change your days. You would begin the days with a smile and you would end the days with satisfaction. 
Days had passed by then and your mood had only gotten better. Physical therapy was going better, your side had stopped constantly throbbing and was starting to scar over. Blues and yellows surrounded the tissue but you were able to go up stairs without passing out! Checking the integrity of the metal plates was what filled your afternoons but those passed by too. Soon, the petals of the metal clan were slowly starting to form and the construction was almost complete. 
One day, when you were coming back from your shift, you had heard that Kuvira had returned. Something about brainwashing and how Asami was kidnapped? It sounded crazy to you but when you thought about it, there was this one doctor who wanted to control a person's thinking. Luckily, ‘Vee thought it was too barbaric and the idea was shelved. Korra was able to put a stop to it and her friends were returned back to normal with both charges returning back to Zaofu. It seemed that that test had proved to the rest of the Beifong family that they had taken a step towards fixing their past and wanting to grasp their future. You were happy that they decided to redeem themselves. It made sleep a little easier knowing that your ‘Vira was still in there. 
Your brain wasn’t helpful though. As successful physical therapy was, it never helped the nightmares. It didn’t help the murmurs of your brain and the self deprecating remarks. It was exhausting. (How come she gets a happy ending? Wasn’t I supposed to be a part of it? I thought she loved me? I thought-) Yeah, well, you thought a lot of things. Just eat your toast and inspect that metal. Spirits sake.
Flowers were delivered to you.
Lilacs. Their fragile petals and purple centers called to you and you froze looking at them. They were placed in your quarters along with mail from your parents. You weren’t allowed to send mail yet but you could still receive them. But flowers?
Listen, as an earthbender and a metalbender, you have grown to know the planet pretty well. From the flimsy sand to the swollen stone beneath you, you feel the breath of the earth in your bones. 
But that doesn’t mean you know a single thing about flowers. You know that they are pretty and that roses can be yellow in certain parts of the continent but lilacs? Pretty, purple, dainty, flowers? Confusion couldn’t even begin to explain the words you were feeling. Don’t flowers have meanings too? You have never received flowers before, you had convinced everyone around you that you would rather punch a boulder than receive flowers. And yet here they are.
It seems as if they are staring at you. Glaring at you. Laughing at you. (Who calls themselves an earthbender but can’t tell the difference in flowers? How stupid of-)
Snapping yourself from your stupor you spin around and walk right into the door jam.
Son of a flying-
You corner Hahn later on that night. Word in the prison yard says that when he was a free man, he was a farmer who lived next to a guy who happened to be a gardner of flowers. Which flowers didn’t matter but the fact that you kind of knew someone that had knowledge of flowers seemed like a win. 
You plopped yourself on the seat in front of him and stared into his aged eyes. He had dark spotted skin from his field days and the wrinkles around his eyes suggested that he knew many things. A trustworthy source. (Your only source)
“Do you know anything about flowers Hahn?”
“Why do you want to know?”
“I got two days worth of desert that has your name on it if you tell me a thing or two.” Interest peaked, he leaned forward. 
“I have a reputation kid, I ain’t just gonn’ blab about flowers to anyone. I don’t wann’ seem like a flim, ya know?”
“I ain’t gonna talk, I’ll even slide another honey cake in there.”
He thinks for a moment or two before nodding. You slide him the desert from today and he places it into his pocket. Leaning forward, you can smell sunshine and grass from him. 
“What do you know about this?”
You had gently picked a single bud from your bouquet to show him. You weren’t positive if they were lilacs but they were purple and how many flowers were actually purple? 
Humming for a moment, he responds. “. . .Syringa, if I remember correctly. Sold like hot cakes. There’s about several different kinds. This one here is just the smaller kind. If you tryna woo a lass, you call ‘em Lilacs. They got a strong scent though, so careful on the nose.”
Nodding, you ask, “does it have meaning?”
He shrugs, handing the bud back to you. “ Well, it could mean a lot of things. In the younger years, you’d give it to your lass to remind ‘em of your love. Like, a new beginning of  love, remindin’ them of a new stage.”
He then looks you in the eye and glares. “Not a word about this hog wash or I’m stealing your pillow.”
You laugh, “you have my lips sealed, H.”
You hadn’t received any more bouquets and your pillows remained intact. New love? Who in the world could that be? You kept your eyes peeled for lurkers when you were on breaks and besides the common glare, nobody else seemed to be paying attention. So where did they come from? You had formed a vase with clay in order to keep your flowers and you were a little tickled to find that they lit up the room. Hmph.
Kuvira was two seconds away from suffocating herself. When did it get so hard to be a good person?
The amount of guilt that lifted from her shoulders from the trial was impalpable and she felt almost as confident as 4 years ago. The Beifongs were friendly and she was able to join and attend multiple events and she was slowly learning how to be a mentally stable person. She had started seeing someone in the city and once every two weeks they would take her apart and put her back together. She was getting used to it. Slowly. 
But, spirits, did she miss you.
Something would happen during the day and she would turn to see you, see how your eyebrows would raise and how you would stifle your laughter behind your hands. And then she’d turn and you wouldn’t be there. It was total whiplash, and she wasn’t used to it just yet. Dr. Moko had yet to ask about the elephant-rhino in the room and Kuvira was waiting for the day where she would ask, “why did you attempt two murders, both of which were individuals you cared about?”
What a loaded question. Kuvira wondered how she got stuck with house arrest and not prison. 
On one hand, it's an easy question. She thought she was doing a good thing. Bataar Jr. happened to be in the same place as the avatar and most of the resistance when she fired the spirit weapon and at the time it seemed like a good idea. (Not a good defense, she’s glad this question wasn’t raised during her trial). On the other hand. . .
Her soul would wither when she thought about. . .the. . kiss.
She felt that she was ignited and smothered at the same time. When she felt you melt into her arms, it was intoxicating. Your smell had surrounded her and you felt good in her hands. How she wanted to stay there forever. She wished that she could have stayed there forever. But the voice in her head was blood thirsty and on a victory roll and couldn’t be stopped. It was no excuse but the pain that Kuvira felt when she saw you slowly bleed out in her arms was so much that she zoned out and went on autopilot.
In one of the sessions she has with Dr. Moko, she mentions the voice with high reluctance. Dr. Moko says that the instinctual desires in her subconscious had risen to the challenge and took over, blocking out rational and emotional thought. This discussion had encompassed several sessions and because of that, Kuvira was able to gain control and become a little more independent with her thoughts. It gave her a sense of control, knowing that the Beifong family could trust her again, knowing that Korra wasn’t wrong when she said that they were alike. She had hope and all the split ends of her misdeeds were tying themselves together. But y/n. . .
You plagued her mind like a wine-stained carpet. So naturally, she (subtly) asks Su what happened after Korra stopped the spirit vine weapon. Su fills her in on the hospital visits, the trial, the physical therapy, the letters, everything. 
That week Kuvira stomps into Dr. Moko’s office and says, “I need to talk about y/n.”
And so she does.
She sends you flowers.
Flowers?! She doesn’t have a flower bone in her body, why in the world did she pick out flowers? She even had a mind to pick out a specific type, lilacs: new love. She wanted to ask the florist for a bouquet that would convey “I’m sorry that I stabbed you, I am becoming a mentally stable person and I really wanna kiss you again and you are really pretty.” 
Kuvira figures that lilacs are good enough. 
. . .
It had been about two weeks since you received the flowers. They had started to wilt and you couldn’t help but get sad. You still had not figured out who sent them but a tiny part of you hoped that maybe she sent them. That she still thought of you while she’s learning how to be herself. It was selfish of you to think so, but you couldn’t help it. Kuvira was a major part of your life and to be without her made your heart ache. But you made do. After all, you still had 24 years of community service. . . you sigh. That doesn’t make it better. 
You’re walking towards the park to take part in your therapy session. Several other people had come and gone and it was nice to see people learning how to overcome their struggles. You were growing stronger every day. Madam said that soon, you would be able to fully do the physical side of bending again. You could spar soon! You were starting to get antsy with all the chill meditation that Madam Jilpa was having you do. The bruising was gone on your side and you could extend your arms fully without twinges or aches. 
You step onto familiar green grass and take off your shoes. Feeling the earth beneath your feet helped ground you when trying new therapy techniques that had you worried that your legs would suddenly give out on you. After placing your shoes next to your bag you look up and see your teacher and several others. There were more people today than usual which was odd. You couldn’t remember if there was a sudden climb of injuries in the last week but alas, more people meant less one-on-one time from the old lady herself. You walk over to a spot of grass and plop down, stretching your legs out in front of you. Planning on doing basic stretches you exhale-
“Need a partner?”
-and immediately inhale. You open your eyes and swirl around looking at the individual. Kuvira stands there relaxed, if not a little stiff, and is looking at you with her hands behind her back. The naive voice in your head screams in victory and you nod your head, still silent. Kuvira sits next to you and out of panic, you look around seeing everyone else doing the buddy system. Some were wearing the same clothing patterns as Kuvira meaning that they came over as a group. Meaning this wasn’t accidental. Meaning this was planned. Meaning this was the worst day of your entire life. Perhaps you should just run away and become a no name in the wilds, because then you’d be able to cope with the situation instead of just stewing in silence.
Kuvira places her knees together and leans forward, stretching her head towards her legs as she exhales. Knowing that Madam Jilpa would swat you, you slowly do the same. After you scootch further away, of course. 
It’s painfully awkward. As Madam Jilpa begins, others join in with soft whispers and mutters of conversation. But the bubble that surrounds you is so tense that it doesn’t help the panic spasms that start to creep up your spine. 
After coming back up from a lateral position, your eyes roam and they meet Kuvira’s. She’s looking at you fully, and not even Madam’s loud “Next!” breaks her attention. She’s looking at you and she stops her exercise to face you completely. Her eyes lower and she looks at your right side where your shirt had bunched up showing the scar tissue. Shocked, you pull your shirt down and shuffle a little farther away.
She speaks so softly you probably wouldn’t have heard her had you not been so attuned with her whole being. 
“I’m sorry.” 
You inhale and nod, bracing your attention forward and copying Madam’s next movement. 
You try incredibly hard to ignore her stare for the rest of the session but it’s so heavy and so thick. At some point, Madam introduces a new position and spirits does it pull a muscle that you didn’t realise you had. It starts with your back on the ground, which is easy enough, and then you lift your hips and turn to the side. Keeping your shoulders to the ground, your head turns the opposite way. You flinch when it strains the muscles in your side. Your legs begin to quiver when a hand settles over your knee and brings your legs away from the ground, making the stretch more shallow. Your eyes see Kuvira as she holds your legs.
“Don’t do it too deep, you’ll sprain something. Start here.”
Following that, she lowers your legs again but into a place that doesn’t make you flinch in pain. 
You missed her touch, you realise. You missed how softly she would hold you. Your eyes start to water when you realise how fucked up this is. She is right there in front of you, and all you can think about is how betrayed you felt. You never got the closure you needed from her and it’s being revealed as she helps you stretch. You’re silently crying while she places your legs down and helps you into a seated position. 
“I should have visited you some time ago. I wanted to apologize to you, for wounding you and for leaving you alone when all you did was trust me. I misplaced your trust and I will forever be in your debt for doing so. I am incredibly sorry y/n,” she says as she looks into your eyes.
You sniffle as she grabs your hands. Squeezing them, you respond. 
“Thank you, ‘Vee.”
And when you smile, the future seems a whole lot brighter.
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ask-feederjin · 3 years
Note
Hi Jin! What are you favorite things to do with each of the boys separately and what's your favorite thing to do with everyone together?
Jin logged onto his Lavender Love-Handles from his desktop computer. Might as well have it running in the background as he gets back to some higher ups.
Ping!
Oh, another comment! Jin clicks on the link.
“Hi Jin! What are you favorite things to do with each of the boys separately and what's your favorite thing to do with everyone together?”
That’s a fun one to think about, let’s see…
-
That’s a really great question!
When it comes to non-kink related activities, one thing we all have in common is our love of music and movies! It’s a great hobby to share now that we’ve decided on fattening them up, cause you don’t have to move around much to enjoy it. Jungkook is really the movie buff, so he tends to pick those out, but since we all have such different tastes in music we’ll have what we call a ‘jukebox night’. We all sit down together and take turns introducing each other to new music. It’s actually super relaxing and it’s one of our favorite things to do post-stuffing.
Individually… Hmmm, let’s see.
With Yoongi, he likes to do his own thing for the most part. He claims that he’s a lazy fatass, but he’s actually a total workaholic! I have to sometimes drag his ass out of his office for dinner cause he lost track of time. It’s a miracle he’s gained any weight at all with how often he would skip meals! Really, it’s only thanks to his completely sedentary lifestyle combined with constant snacking that he’s packed on any pounds.
Since he doesn’t come out of his office often, we like to spend time together while he works. We don’t talk a lot, but’s a comfortable quiet that we can just exist in. The younger boys can be pretty rambunctious sometimes, but with Yoongi there’s no expectations of doing things, you know? Sometimes he even asks for my advice on a track he's working on.
Kink wise, I like to make sure he’s always topped up on snacks. Yoongi doesn’t like feeling too full, at least not to the point of nausea, so we’ve decided to just make sure he’s never hungry and see how that goes. I will come into his studio while he’s engrossed with a project and feel his tummy. If I think it’s getting too soft, I'll feed him a few snacks while he works. It’s so cute how he absentmindedly takes them from my fingers, chewing slowly. I only leave once his belly his nice and tight again.
Namjoon and I enjoy going out together. There’s a park next to a nearby river that’s always beautiful this time of year, so we like to have picnics together there. Sometimes the other boy’s come too, but it can be a little too much of a walk for them now. Joonie is the only one who’s maintained the majority of his muscle mass so far (it used to be him and Jungkook, but Kookie is actively trying to lose mobility so he doesn’t like to leave the house much).
We talk about books we’ve read recently, our favorite cafes and watch the ducks toddle around.
I’ll tease him about how soon he’ll be the one waddling like that. It’s so funny seeing him try not to get flustered in public when I say those things.
When we feel a little friskier, we’ll go out with him dressed in his smallest clothes. The lower curve of his belly is always on display, sometime with a little of his butt crack if the pants slip down. He’s gained over thirty pounds of fat since we started and it seems like it’s only really gone to his waist, so no double chin yet :’(
Those are the days I’ll pack a massive lunch. He’s required to eat all of it while we’re out, and by the time we’re done he’s so stuffed his shirt often rides up over his belly entirely!
It’s so hot, as he gets fuller, seeing him slowly stop caring about strangers watching. He goes from embarrassedly tugging down his shirt and wiping his mouth to belching openly, belt buckle undone.
-
Jin had to take a short break from writing to slap his red cheeks. Oh man, this was so weird talking about these moments. The time he spends with his boy’s has always been very intimate, especially their kinkier interactions. Seeing it written down like this made Jin feel like an old man that just saw a slip of ankle from across the street.
-
Joonie usually needs help standing after one of those outings. We take a cab back home too, so no worries about him getting any cramps!
Hoseok is interesting. Before he started gaining, he was actually one of the most active people I knew! He would frequently attend dance lessons and even wanted to start his own studio at some point. He actually confessed to me once that although he does love dancing, a lot of his commitment to it was an attempt to suppress his desire to let himself go.
He still likes to dance, just not for hours every day like he used to. I’ve got two left feet myself, but Hobi never makes me feel bad about my abilities, or lack there of. We will turn on some of his favorite music and totally let loose. I used to be the only one that would get out of breath, but now it’s the both of us. He turns bright red when I mention this, haha! He totally likes it though, he’s one of the ones that gets off on teasing.
Lately, he’s really been enjoying dancing due to feeling his new fat jiggle. He’s gained the least out of all the boys, no thanks to his hobby, so there’s not a lot of pudge to feel.
He swears up and down that he can feel his upper arms and belly shake slightly though. I believe him. It’s only a matter of time anyway before it’ll be visible to others though, so we’re looking forward to that.
Jimin is a people pleaser. He likes being helpful, and what a sweetheart he is! I cook a lot for the boys, and now that their caloric intake has practically doubled, I have a lot of food to make!
Jimin enjoys playing sous chef for me. He’s a great assistant, grabbing the spices I need and chopping up the more tedious ingredients. We chat about our days while we cook. Jimin likes knowing that people are interested in and listening to what he’s saying, it’s his way of feeling acknowledged and appreciated.
He’ll try to sneak bites of food while I’m not looking, and most of the time I’ll let him. He’s also my little taste tester! So by the time food is ready to be served he’ll already have a half-full tummy.
So far he seems fine getting around the kitchen, although, with the way that he’s growing, I may have to do a little rearranging! Minnie’s getting pretty bottom-heavy, so I worry that his larger hips might bump into something and knock it over. We’ll need to remodel in the future anyway, so I can take care of that then.
Taehyung likes to be babied. He’s not our youngest (that would be Jungkook), but he sure acts like it most of the time. He’s very interested in fashion and loves to sit down with me to explain the newest trends and upcoming designers. Now that he’s a little pudgier (and often very stuffed), he can’t fit into some of the clothes that he buys so he uses me as a model. I try to make him laugh with funny poses and exaggerated runway walks which makes him all whiney. I see him trying to keep a straight face though!
Although we get most of his wardrobe online, one activity we like to do is go out to the mall and shop there. I like to dress up all the boy’s before we leave the house to accentuate their new bodies, so I make Tae wear button ups that don’t button all the way anymore, and slacks that visibly cut into his hips.
He lives for the embarrassment of looking fat and sloppy in public.
We’ll go to a store and have him pick out things to try on that are too small for him. He’ll go to the dressing room and call out quietly for help. I act like I don’t know what’s wrong, so he has to explain it to me, and I scold him for growing too fat. Oh man, he absolutely loves that.
-
Jin stopped writing briefly to remember that moment. When he had walked into the dressing room, his eyes were greeted with a titillating sight. Taehyung was sweating and red from embarrassment, the store’s black skinny jeans only pulled up to the boy’s upper thighs before having gotten stuck. The white button-up dress-shirt was completely unbuttoned, sleeves tight around his upper arms.
Oh, Jin teased him so much that day. About how soon he’ll be spilling out of his largest pair of sweatpants, how everyone sees how much of a little fatty he’s become. Even the store’s cashier made a couple lighthearted comments that went straight to Taehyung’s libido.
Jin shook his head. There was no way he could write that down! Going into full detail of the erotic event would be so TMI!
He should probably move on...
-
Jungkook and I like to watch movies together. He’s a massive Marvel fan, but up until we all started dating, I’d never seen a single one of them. He was soooo upset with me, haha! He sat me down and we started getting caught up. Once a month about, we cuddle up and watch a Marvel movie together. I think we’re on Infinity War right now. I’ve… definitely heard spoilers at this point, but that doesn’t detract from the experience at all. Jungkook is so fun to snuggle. He’s a little taller than me, so I like to sit on his lap and lean into his front while we watch. Sometimes when there’s a really exciting part, I can feel his heart race.
Of course, we have snacks too. Lots of popcorn and soda, hot dogs and soft pretzels. We buy bulk movie theater candy online, so we’ve got all his favorites. Jungkook usually starts eating by himself, but once the movie really gets going he slows down. I take over then so that he doesn’t have to split his attention.
Eventually I can feel his belly pressing further into me, hear it gurgle as it grows tighter and tighter. His breathing gets really heavy near the climax of the movies, and every few bites lets out the smallest moan. Jungkook loves getting stuffed past his limit, so we go all out.
-
Jin wonders if he should leave that part in. Would people find it too personal? Whatever, it’s not too weird. He’ll leave it as is.
-
I like to give him belly rubs while we wait for the end credit scenes. He lets out a little built up gas from all the carbonation which I tease him about. Sometimes he’s too stuffed to move so we pull out the couch a bit so he can just lie down and sleep right there.
So… yeah! I guess that answers your question. Sorry for the essay, I just love talking about them.
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passivenovember · 3 years
Text
And Everyday was Overcast.
Part One : Hammers and Nails
Billy needed someplace to go when the grave was desecrated.
When his eyes unglued themselves, peeling off eyelashes in their wake, when the earth was overturned, torn and left hanging like shreds of old fabric; Steve had been there. By some miracle he had been consumed like he always was, sat thinking by a plot that had grown yellow flowers to blanket Billy in his eternal sleep. And maybe it was those small visits sheltered between morning runs and eight hour shifts stocking the horror section that Billy had come back.
From the grave. From the brink.
The Earth started vibrating, spidery cracks turning volatile, and Steve was met with ocean blue. Red rimmed eyes locked on his face, hands reaching and gripping. Nails digging in as Steve wrapped Billy's grime covered shoulders in his own jacket. Rubbed the chilled skin of his arms, looked in his eyes, and took him home.
Someplace Billy could wash the day from his skin.
--
The blonde haired boy who had turned from human to creature and back again deserved something more than what he was left with. He deserved warm meals, and sunshine on his skin, and soft bed sheets that opened like a celestial sky when Billy felt like shelving the enormity of what he had discovered. What waited after death.
Steve wanted that for him.
Not happiness, not closure, exactly, but something close to it.
At the root of it all, Steve knew Billy should feel safe. Welcome and warm and comfortable, in the house that Steve’s father had built for his mother all those years ago when she was plump and round with child. Steve felt like his father that day as he carried the last box over the threshold and took in the rigid, tense line of Billy’s shoulders.
He let the moment rest. Let it breathe, as his father always instructed. “Do you think you could feel safe here, Billy?”
The air sat heavy. Cold and wet and warm, somehow, like the morning after a night of heavy rain. Billy sucked in a sharp breath and pivoted slowly, face reverent, as if standing barefoot in a cathedral among gods and heroes. Met with divinity.
Instead he got Steve.
Just Steve, trying not to stare at the lone curl hanging over Billy’s forehead when he offered a tight, controlled smile. “It’s fine.” Billy said, only.
Steve tore his eyes away. Focused on the second story banister to stop his gut from falling through the floor. ”Fine? As in, I would rather eat my own toenails than live here, fine or, like. It's okay, I don't mind it here, I might even like it someday, fine?"
Billy adjusted the strap across his shoulders. “It’s just what I expected it would be.”
Steve shook his head. “What’s that mean?”
"Relax, Harrington, it's." Billy turned again, eyebrows scrunched together. “Its. Pastel. And huge. Obscenely decorated—“
”My mom had it professionally done before they—“
”It was built for a happy family with lots of kids. Lots of love, but now it's. It feels. Lost.”
Billy had started saying things like that.
Heavy, saturated, impossible things that left Steve scrambling. Wishing for the intelligence to absorb the meaning rather than question it. Steve rested the box at the foot of the stairs and offered a smile to the second story. Runoff for the pools of blue that looked on.
"That's a lot of adjectives. I can get you a hotel, maybe. Or an apartment. I could cosign, I know they gave you a pretty penny and you could probably afford your own, but. I could. I would." Steve said harshly. "For you. I would."
"It's fine here. It's okay."
Steve felt like a science experiment. Egg boy with three heads and ten legs or something. Suckers on the tips of his thumbs, the way Billy studied him. Steve counted the freckles on Billy's nose--one, two, three, four--trying to stay afloat.
--
Dinner was made every night though Steve never saw it happen.
The cookbooks sat alphabetized over his mother's antique bar cart on that little periwinkle blue shelf. He'd come home, every night, at six on the dot, to a set table. The mixing bowls were always clean and put away, counters wiped and ingredients stored neatly on the shelves his pantry, but the wooden spoons spelled it out for Steve, still shifting from dark to light as they lay drying on the dish rack.
"You don't have to make dinner, you know." Steve took another bite of Salisbury steak, furious that it tasted so good. Like love soaking into his skin.
Billy shook his head. "I want to."
"I know, I'm saying it's okay if you decide not to, one day. Like if you get caught up reading. Or if you can get Max to drive you to the history museum, or if you--"
"It's the least I can do."
Steve hated that. He let his fork clatter to the table. "I'm not expecting repayment for this."
"I'm not a freeloader."
"And I'm not an asshole." Steve deadpanned, lifting a finger that sewed Billy's smug lips together. "Don't say it."
"Say what?"
"Whatever you were thinking, with that clever glint in your stupid blue eyes."
Billy cracked his knuckles, clearly fighting a smile. "Never thought you noticed the color of my eyes, Harrington."
"Yeah, sure." Steve stood, gathering the plates and forks and knives from the table, his own eyes counting primary threads. "Can see those things from space, Jesus." He finally looked up, at Billy's curiously pink face.
Pink lips, cheeks, nose.
Steve gripped ceramic. Swallowed against a swell of guilt. "You don't owe me anything, Billy. I like having you here. I want you here."
Billy gave a simple, controlled nod.
Steve got used to it.
--
The shack wasn't built until the doctor told Billy that he'd probably wouldn't remember all of what happened. The big things would stick out, neon greens and blues against the forest head, but Billy shouldn't be too hard on himself if the important things got thrown away.
And some of those jagged little pieces were there. The bad things. Anger and hatred, both for self and world, left hanging on the cliff of who he was now. Everything that had formed Billy Hargrove--the person he was, the person Steve had pretended not to notice--were packed away. Soft, silky emotion covering knives left dull and rusted in their drawer.
Billy remembered like flashes of lightening across the summer sky--sudden and then gone. Here and away. He remembered Hawkins high and Max who'd grown six inches in three years. Dustin who had been wearing that stupid shirt when the mall burned down.
And Steve.
Always Steve, sat next to him. A foot away at first and then holding his hand, later, when Owens said Billy should be kind to himself. Gentle.
He wasn't.
And he didn't come out of his room for three days after that, after the wall was placed in front of him. The crack under Billy's door always keeping Steve at bay. Trapped behind the starting line. He paced around on the carpet, lifting his fist and letting it fall again, never breaking up the silence.
Billy was crying.
Billy never cried, anymore, but he cried that night and Steve felt helpless. Pathetic and stupid and useless, locking himself in his father's study and trying to formulate a plan, just like Owens had told him to when the sun fell on a world without Billy Hargrove and then suddenly rose again, set anew.
Set crooked when Billy stormed from the hospital room, slamming doors that echoed like rolls of thunder in his wake.
Figure out a way to help him.
Sterile, eerie white walls stared back at him as Steve shrugged his shoulders on the third day, aluminum hospital chair groaning beneath his weight.
I'm not sure how to do that.
You don't have to do anything. Owens said. Just help him get the emotion out. Let him write, draw, sing, dance, whatever he needs to assist in telling us his story.
--
Potato casserole and red wine bore witness to Steve's leap of faith. Billy turned away from the novel he had tucked under his arm when Steve got home from work that day, eyes curious. "Spit it out, Harrington."
"I'm not sure what you--"
"You've been giving me the side eye since you got home." Billy turned the page in his book, still managing to read both it and the room as he urged, "Tell me what's wrong."
And nothing was wrong, and.
Everything was wrong. Steve leaned forward, elbows on the table. "Do you want to come with me to the art store tomorrow?"
Billy frowned. "I don't need anything from the art store."
"It's not always about what you need," Steve reasoned, patting his mouth with a napkin. "We could get stuff you want. That's all, just pretty things. Nice things. It could be a treat."
"Paper and scissors are considered a treat?" Billy cocked an eyebrow. "I do love touching shit, it's one of my favorite hobbies."
Steve scrubbed at his mouth, swallowing down against a big, fat, crooked smile dripping with affection. "C'mon, it'll be fun. We can get whatever you want; clay, oil pastels, acrylics--"
"I wanted to check out the library tomorrow."
"You go everyday, blue, you're a regular bookworm."
"So?" Billy demanded, taking another bite of casserole. "I like to read. Just 'cause you can't doesn't mean the rest of us have to hold back." He grinned, low and slow. "Don't let your jealousy turn you into a tyrannical landlord, pretty boy."
"God, you're the absolute worst."
Billy turned back to his novel. "The art store will just inspire me to paint nudies."
"So paint them." Steve challenged.
Bait. Hook and line.
"You gonna pose for me if I let you buy out the joint?"
Steve shrugged. "Maybe once, if you look at the easels while we're there."
"No shit?" Billy leaned forward, biceps flexing in his cutoff as he stuck a polaroid of a smiling blonde woman between the pages of his novel. "The fuck is this about, Harrington?"
"I'm worried."
"That you'll take me to a crafts store and I'll put you out of house and home? Reasonable concern, I guess."
"About the diagnosis, dipshit. About you." Steve gulped down the rest of his wine. Made sure every last drop had seasoned his words before any were said aloud, where they might do damage. He let the glass rest on the table between his fingertips, stem rolling from pad to pad. He took a deep, steadying breath. "You haven't been the same since--"
"I got hijacked by a space demon or crawled out of my own grave?" Billy shrugged, picking at something in his teeth. "Be more specific."
Steve fiddled with the handle of his fork. Hand picked his words. Refined the meaning. "Yes, and. Both."
Billy didn't say anything for a while and the room finally settled. Falling fast asleep, thick with inertia and silence until the book was opened once more and Steve went back to digging through his casserole, picking at the spring onions.
Letting the moment breathe.
Until, finally. "I feel like I could crawl out of my own skin."
Steve tripped over himself to get those blue eyes on him once more. "That's understandable--"
"I feel fucking useless." Billy snapped, voice cracking in two, and. Suddenly Steve couldn't look at him. Couldn't bare to see his face. "I'm trying to replay what happened. Every second, I'm trying to figure out why. Why me."
Steve counted the primary threads in the table cloth. One, two, three. "You can't go on asking yourself questions like that."
"I can do what I--"
"It wasn't your fault, Billy. Any of it."
"I'm not talking about the Fourth of July, I'm talking about. Death. I'm talk about what comes before and what comes after and how they're the same." Billy turned the page in his novel furiously, eyebrows scrunched together. "I never thought they'd be the same. It's like I've started over."
Steve couldn't possibly understand, but.
He watched pools of blue scan the page. Took measured breaths, never pushing until Billy was ready to share more. Until he tossed the book on the counter and sighed, head buried in his hands. "I don't understand how I got here."
"Easy," Steve whispered. "That's easy. You were born from love--"
"My parents aren't in love anymore."
"But they were, once." Steve shook his head. "When you were made. They loved each other, and they loved you, and your life was full of love that never made sound but it was still there." Steve willed Billy to look at him. Willed the skies to turn blue again.
They didn't.
Billy sighed, low and slow. "Did love bring me here again?"
"I guess so."
"Who's love?" Billy demanded, leaning forward into the table and crushing his novel where it lay against light oak tabletops. "Who loved me enough to bring me back here? To wish for me."
And.
There were a lot of things Steve wanted to say. Lines he wanted to map out, directions that lead from A to B and back again, but it didn't seem useful. Didn't rest important, as Steve took the novel from its place on the table and smoothed worn pages, tucking the polaroid in its place. "I'm sorry things feel weird for you." He said softly.
Billy grabbed the book, staring down at his casserole. "'S not so bad, I guess."
And, for Steve, that wasn't good enough.
--
Billy worked mostly in charcoal. He painted nightmares, and doorways into the past, delicate, swirling lines telling a story that made Steve's heart ache to see. To hear, with every drag of material across fruited canvas'.
Steve asked him about it, once. Over dinner, with the lights turned low. "Why do you paint such horrible things?"
And Billy had smiled. Bright and true. "How's that?"
"Y'know. Black scabs and eyeballs melting out of skulls and sliding down the ridge of people's faces, and--"
"It's what I see." Billy replied, voice soft. Measured. "It's what follows me around."
So Billy spent every hour locked in his shed, curls tucked over a growing body of work. Fingers turned rotten with charcoal soot as he made sense of what happened.
Steve liked to watch him work.
Liked to see the tension ease more and more from the strong shoulders that travelled beside him up the stairs each night. Steve felt the dig of each pencil in the crevice between his ribs when Billy finished masterpiece after masterpiece.
Still, it wasn't enough.
Along the ridges of creation, therapy lay half buried in the sand. It was state mandated, that Billy go and learn how to deal with the things charcoal couldn't straighten out for him. Like the nightmares, and the migraines that kept him from eating dinner at the table when June gave way to July.
Steve worried. Constantly, fervently, but Billy refused to go, always wiping his hands on the powder green apron Steve got for him at the art store, and insisting, "This is a form of therapy." Billy gestured around the room. To the mountains of loose sketch papers and half finished canvases that lay strewn across every surface. "This is how I cope."
And it was.
And it happened the same way every time.
Things got bad for him and Billy would disappear into his shed. Steve would come home from the office to find that his mother's prized Thomas Kincaid collection had been replaced by Billy's work. It was haunting. Sick and twisted and so, so beautiful.
He found himself standing and staring at it for hours, eyes tracing over the swirling lines of purgatory.
It made Steve feel helpless, but.
Still, Billy refused to go. Still, he buried himself in his work. Still, he painted himself into a hole.
The path toward recovery was littered with charcoal drawings until it wasn't.
Until Steve came home one afternoon to find Billy talking with a little boy who had his throat cut open.
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nazyalenskyism · 3 years
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Alone Together
Summary: After observing the same mysterious stranger from afar at party after party, Zoya finds herself swept into a familiar sort of dance, but for the first time in her life she finds herself faced with an equally capable partner. A/N: This fic is based on song, if you send me an ask with a prompt and your guess, I'll write a short fic for whoever gets it right first! This has been sitting in my drafts for a very long time, I really hope you like it! Ao3: Alone Together There he was again, a flash of gold on the edge of the dance floor, a smile as bright as his hair illuminating the room. Keeping an eye on him over the rim of her glass she pondered for a moment, she had been coming to Morozova Foundation events since she was a child, at one point she’d been the belle of the ball, a prodigy touted around by the great entrepreneur himself. ‘ My talented pupil,’ was what he used to boast, well as much as his stoicism would allow. Zoya had once let herself be examined by a ballroom full of strangers, all clamoring for a look at her, trying to see what set her apart. At least until someone shinier had come along, that was. Then she’d been discarded as easily as yesterday’s paper and slowly she’d begun to see what he really was. A master manipulator, he’d played her for the fool she was, taking the only things she ever truly loved. 
This stranger had begun making appearances at not just Morozova Foundation events, but at every event with even the slightest connection to the man. Usually this wouldn’t set off her alarm bells, many familiar faces would make the rounds at multiple parties but they were all Morozova’s mother’s age, usually none were as young as her and if they were then they belonged to a big name family. This man had no name she knew of, yet, and the way he worked the room, charmed the guests left and right was in a way not unlike her own. Zoya was entranced by the way he worked each table he sat down at, turning the grumpiest people she had ever encountered into putty in his hands. As intrigued as she was, she wasn’t going to let a pretty boy in a fancy jacket distract her from the task at hand. The man she had been conversing with all night, Mr.Kirigin had come back from a phone call and said nothing as she smiled sweetly, leading him to the quiet hall just outside the main ballroom. Kirigin was supposed to have information as to why Morozova had cancelled his appearance tonight at the last second, and lucky for her, from the second she stepped foot into the ballroom, the fool’s eyes had been transfixed on her. 
Zoya pulled him towards an alcove in the wall between two ornate paintings, the gold of their frames reminding her just how gaudy this place was, how rich Kirigin was, he was throwing this party for Morozova’s foundation and money was clearly not an object. Yes, she was here to get information, but she wasn’t opposed to leaving with a little bit of financial compensation for her time either. She leaned back against the wall, watching Kirigin move towards her, fully enthralled by her and she nearly laughed, all men were really the same.
“What a beautiful time tonight has been, Mr.Kirigin.”
“Thank you, it took many endless nights of planning, or so my assistants tell me,” Zoya resisted the urge to smash his toes under her heel, what an ass.
“I would really like to thank whoever made it possible,” she slipped closer to him batting her eyelashes demurely, “I was looking forward to meeting the legendary Morozova too, why wasn’t he in attendance?”  
“He said he had urgent business,” Kirigin moved as if to touch her hair, but Zoya grabbed his wrist instinctively.
“Where did he go?” she said abruptly, forgetting herself for a split second, just as someone coughed nearby. This hallway was supposed to be empty.
“I-- I don’t…” Kirigin took a step back, the trance quickly washing away. Shit, she couldn’t let this opportunity go to waste.
“Do you know when he’ll be back?” She made her voice honey sweet but the man still shook his head, taking another dazed step back from her when his phone buzzed, as if it fully snapped him out of it. He vanished back into the main ballroom as Zoya cursed to herself, how could she have let him get away so easily, she had been so close.
“Get it together,” she hissed. “Stop making rookie mistakes.”
“Talking to ourselves, are we now?” She whirled on her heel, she’d recognize that lilting voice anywhere, that bastard.
“What do you want?”
“Nothing, I’m just admiring the view.”
“That’s the best line you can come up with? How do you get the ladies to fall for that?” 
“It works just fine, it doesn’t hurt when it comes from a mouth as pretty as this.”
“Trust me, it’s not pretty.”
“How long did you spend staring at my lips before arriving at that incorrect conclusion?”
Zoya scowled, “I don’t need to stare, I just assume every part of you is as insufferable as your personality.”
“How would you know my personality if I’ve never had the pleasure of talking to you?” He was next to her now, perfectly polished and dashing except for one stubborn strand of curled hair that only added to his boyish looks. She refused to think about how it made him all the more endearing, instantly understanding why all the rich women fawned over him. He was young, handsome, charming, witty and handed out compliments and praise in a way that was so sincere, no one could ever doubt his intentions. She had been watching him, not that she’d admit it but she was no fool, she couldn’t let some stranger waltz in under her nose and steal what she’d worked so hard for. 
“I can sense inanities from miles away, and it seems your head is full of them.”
He pulled a face and she thought she’d finally wounded him into leaving her alone but the next thing she knew he was offering her his elbow with a gallant smile, “shall we take a walk?”
 The estate was decorated lavishly for the party, not a single thing looked out of place. The gardens were strung with lights, even the tennis courts hadn’t been spared, with large outdoor tents concealing them from the French doors of the ballroom. Neither of them spoke as they made their way to the dancefloor, the guests had all moved back inside, the night being too chilly for their expensive fashions. Zoya let her mind wander as she kept up with the stranger's long strides— she’d refused to take his arm, she didn’t get that intimate until a man was giving her something worth more than a law school’s semester’s tuition. Then of course in the days following, he would never hear from her again. This man was clearly wealthy, though he spent time catering his attention to rich folk he evidently didn’t need it. You could often tell someone’s status based on the way they handled themselves. Most people didn’t practice as much as she had, from age 9 learning to carry herself as a queen would so that no one would ever doubt that she was anything less. The stranger had the posture and pose of a rich man’s son but there was something more to it— a light swagger-- as if he knew something no one else did, but he was perfectly fine being alone in that knowledge. A type of confidence she saw the partygoers try to emulate but something that they never could quite live up to. It was the ease of a man who had learned how to be free but a bird who was trapped in a cage again, desperately trying to get back to the skies.
“Can I have this dance?” The hall was packed, but most people were seated at the moment, only a few couples hurrying to the dancefloor before the next song started. She really didn’t want to dance with him, but she had lost her best chances tonight due to her own impatience and there was nothing left for her here. A woman the stranger had been chattering away with earlier in the night waved them over from a nearby table before she had a chance to respond, however.
“Mr.Lantsov, why haven’t I seen you on the dance floor yet, you said you were an excellent dancer, yet…” she trailed off as she finally noticed Zoya standing next to her precious, Mr.Lantsov, now where did she remember that name from? 
“Yes ma’am my partner and I were just on our way there, as long as she agrees to dance?”
“Why wouldn’t she?” The woman glared at Zoya in a way that communicated that this man was the most desirable person at the party and she’d be a fool to turn him down. As stubborn as she was, she did not want to come across as a fool tonight. 
“Dancing is a dangerous game, Mr. Lantsov,” she said, her eyes flicking to him to make sure he understood what she was saying. All he did was wink coyly at her before nodding to the woman and leading Zoya to the dancefloor. Fantastic.
“So, Miss…?” he began, taking her hand in his while the other wrapped around her waist, pulling her in close. She tried to repress the slight shudder as his fingers brushed against her exposed back. If she had planned on dancing today she definitely wouldn't have worn a backless dress. Although she couldn’t deny that he was handsome, at least she was dancing with the best looking person in the room… well, second best . She was showstopping and that was why all eyes were on them as she slipped her free hand onto his shoulder, curling against the smooth material of his jacket. Saints, his suit was at least three thousand dollars, his watch at least two thousand, and she didn’t even want to look at his shoes but she knew they probably cost more than her car.
“It’s none of your business.”
“Well, Miss ‘None of my Business’, what brings you here tonight?”
“Ooh, none of your business.” 
“Are you having fun?”
“None of your business.”
“Intriguing! Is there anything that is my business?”
“No. Aren’t you tired yet?”
“No,” he grinned roguishly, “I don’t tire that easily.” Zoya turned her face quickly so he didn’t catch the blush colouring her cheeks. Thankfully he just kept talking. “Since you insist on being so mysterious, why don’t you ask me about myself?”
“Okay,” she looked up at him, how was he so tall? Even in her heels she had to look up into his eyes, eyes that were a brilliant emerald green with flecks of bronze. Before she forgot herself, she managed to grind out,  “why are you here?”
“My family is expected to attend functions like this.”
“That’s not an answer.”
He let out a laugh as he spun her, gracefully catching her against him before they resumed their steps. They were nearly flush now, she could feel the heat radiating from him as he leaned in, “ let’s say, an old friend usually attends these sorts of things and I’m hoping to run into him.”
Zoya tried to bite back her surprise, could she be thinking of the same person? “And what did the old friend do to you to earn your visits? I’ve seen you at every event I’ve been to this month.”
He paused for a second as if weighing just how much he wanted to reveal to her.  Good, at least he seemed to have a brain in that big head of his. “ I’ve been at university for the past few years and I came back once I heard he was planning on taking something of mine.”
“Oh, so not so much a friend, more like an enemy?”
“I don’t have enemies, Miss None of My—“
“Nazyalensky,” she supplied absentmindedly, she wanted to hear more of his story.
“ Nazyalensky… I don’t recall hearing that name before.”
“You probably forgot,” she said hurriedly, “I’m at every party and you’ve only just come back to town.” He didn’t need to know that she had only started using her last name again after her aunt died, hearing people associate her with her aunt’s maiden name had hurt too much. It helped that Morozova had only ever known her with that surname, it helped her disappear into crowds that had once marvelled at her and her skills. She’d stayed away from the social scene for a few years, watching from the outside, learning and perfecting her craft so that she would one day be ready to take him down. 
“I remember most names and faces,” he mused, “and I would definitely remember someone as beautiful as you.” 
Zoya rolled her eyes, she wasn’t that easy to woo. “I’ve been away from the scene for a while too, I’m also looking for an old friend, but he’s never here.”
“Who’s your friend?”
“You wouldn’t—“
“Trust me, he interrupted, “I would.”
“Morozova,” she blurted out, biting her tongue at how easily she’d let him uncover her secret. She needed to know if that’s who he meant too, and there was something about him that made him seem so sincere. 
A shadow passed over his face and Zoya realized he hadn’t been expecting her to say that name. “Funny, he’s my ‘friend’ too.”
“Oh,” she mouthed softly, trying to step back as the music ended, but Mr. Lantsov kept a firm hand on her waist, his other hand slipping up to brush a loose lock of hair behind her ear.
“Perhaps we could speak outside?”
Zoya shook out her head, he may have dazed her for a second but she needed to call the shots again. She took his elbow as he released her tentatively, “lead the way, Mr. Lantsov.”
 They had found their way back outside and Nazyalensky had yet to let go of him, her warm fingers pressed into his arm. He was fully aware of what she was doing, she had realized that since they had the same enemy, she could put on an act like she did with the people inside and get the information she needed from him. He admired her skill, most others didn’t get this far on tricks alone which meant that she had to hide something else as well. He also knew that as adept as she was, she hadn’t quite pinned him down yet. For one, he had seen her assess his worth, scanning him and figuring out the price tag of each item, but unfortunately for her, at the moment he was only worth a little more than the clothes on his back. From observing her at the last few events and staying at her side this night he found that he quite enjoyed being in her company. She was quick and clever, not unlike himself, and she knew just how to move, just what to say to get people to give her what she wanted, but as they conversed he found himself believing that she wasn’t putting up as much of a front with him. Perhaps it was a tactic to lower his guard, or maybe he only wanted to think she was being truthful for his own sake. He’d been at this game for a very, very long time and he was beginning to wonder what it would be like to not have to run alone for once. 
“What did you think of tonight’s party? Even if you didn’t get exactly what you came for?”
“Maybe I didn’t get what I came for,” she said slowly, turning to face him, “but maybe I found what I needed.” Nikolai had to admit that she was very good at that, and had he been anyone but himself he would’ve gladly thrown himself into the grand fountains if she asked. Unfortunately for her, well maybe both of them, that’s not what he was looking for tonight. He simply smiled at her, taking the second before Nazyalensky spoke again to admire the way the silver moonlight illuminated her dress, creating a shimmering aura around her. She did look even more ethereal in the moonlight and even he was beginning to question his own ability to resist her.
“Well,” she drawled, finger running down his chest, “what do you think?” She looked up at him through thick lashes, the endless blue of her eyes threatening to drown him if he didn’t pull himself away. 
Instead, he leaned in further, “I think,” he breathed, “that you’re playing a game I’m used to winning.” A genuine gasp flew from her lips as he grasped her wrist pulling it out from behind his back to reveal his wallet between her fingers.
“Nice try,” he smiled, “but I’m not that easy.”
“Oh yeah?” she scoffed, pulling at his lapel unceremoniously, her ornate sapphire hairpin tumbling into her awaiting palm. “You’re not the only one with tricks up your sleeve.”
“I figured,” he pulled a large ruby tie pin from her inside her sleeve, each of them pulled out hidden treasures from the other, stumbling a step back when they realized they were both equally good at their game of choice.
“Have you ever considered a partnership, Nazyalensky?”
“In your dreams, Lantsov,” she leaned in, “you couldn’t keep up with me.” Her lips brushed against his skin with each word, slowly trailing down to the corner of his mouth, “even if you tried.” Turning on her heel, she was gone in a flash of silver leaving him alone in the tennis court, with nothing but the feeling of her lips grazing his skin. 
 “Hello?” The phone calls had begun a few weeks ago, the morning after he had been marked with red lipstick over his cheeks and a truth stamped over his heart. Nazyalensky’s calls had only been a minute long and every other day at first but now they were sporadic, more than five times a day at all hours of the night. Nikolai tried to ask what she was up to, all he ever wanted was to know more about the alluring woman who wouldn’t leave his mind. But to his dismay, every time he surrendered a story of his own she repaid him with a sentence or two at most, and it was usually about what she’d eaten for breakfast. As much as he enjoyed hearing himself talk he was captivated by the images the calls planted in his head, Nazyalensky soaring down a coastal highway in her convertible, the top down and her hair caught in the everpresent wind that seemed to cocoon her every movement. All he could think about was himself in the passenger seat, her sharp words cutting him before her soft lips healed them with a kiss. He was a mess.
“Are you going tonight?”
“I RSVP’ed but I’m not sure, I heard Morozova won’t be attending.” 
“Get your suit pressed,” she snapped, “you’re picking me up at 7 and you better not be late.”
“I’m picking you up, oh however did I get so lucky? But he’s not going to be there tonight, we should spend the evening strategizing instead.”
“First off, there is no, ‘we,’ Lantsov, get that through your big head. Secondly, he will be there tonight.”
“My sources are never wrong, Nazyalensky, if they say he’s not coming--”
“He’ll be there,” she jutted in. “He’ll be there because I’ll be there.”
He froze, an uncomfortable weight setting in his chest. What was that supposed to mean? 
“ Seven, Lantsov.”
“Seven,” Nikolai agreed.
  The glimmer of streetlights danced against her hair, illuminating the shimmer of Nazyalensky’s vibrant orange dress, the fabric catching her every movement and he swore his heart had stopped when she first stepped out to get into his car. She had been quiet the entire car ride until now, “are you done staring yet?”
“I wasn’t staring.”
“Sure you weren’t, and I don’t look magnificent tonight,” she replied, tossing her hair over her shoulder, the tension easing between them as they fell into the easy back and forth that had become nearly natural. “Your car isn’t what I was expecting.” 
Nikolai raised a brow, “what were you expecting?”
“Something flashy and obnoxious, I don’t know, a Bugatti?”
“If I had a Bugatti do you really think you would’ve found me with your hairpins up my sleeve?”
She cut him a disbelieving glance, “I don’t know what to make of you. You say so much about yourself and yet I feel like I hardly know a thing about you.”
He let out a measured breath, she already knew more than anyone else did, she was wrong about that, yet this tale stuck in his throat unlike all others. “I wanted something with as much character as me,” he began, “after my issues with Morozova, this was one of the few possessions I still owned.”
“What do you mean?”
Nikolai drew in a breath, if he had any hope of understanding what she’d meant on the phone earlier, he had to be willing to show her his hand, as much as the stubborn, lonely part of him protested, he knew he wanted to do this. “My family is wealthy. They have traditional values like the rest of their friends, ideas about passing their dynasty down to their eldest son, that type of thing. Or it was. I’ve always known that the people who rely on my family’s services deserve more than them, they don’t care about helping them, not really. I’ve spent years, since I was a boy trying to be better, trying to make myself into someone who could take care of the legacy properly. It was working, I thought they were going to agree. I went away to university for a few years, tried to help in new ways, from a distance, but when I came back, there was nothing left.” He glanced at Nazyalensky and she only cocked her head at him, waiting for him to continue. He’d never told anyone this story before, and he still wasn’t sure why he was telling her, someone whose name he didn’t even know.
“Morozova, an old consultant slithered his way back into their lives the moment that I left. He knew my older brother wasn’t clever, was easily manipulated, and so that’s what he did. He and my brother turned the favour his way, cheated me out of everything I had fought to earn, and convinced the board that Vasily should get to take over, with Morozova pulling all the strings of course. When I heard word of it, I came back immediately, but it was too late, they had written me out of almost everything. I was left with no money, no power, nothing. All the plans I had came crashing down and now, I know that if I can get rid of Morozova’s influence, my family might see sense.”
They sat in silence until Nazyalensky spoke again, “that’s more… noble than I was expecting.” 
 “I might look like a feckless rogue but I’d like to think that I possess an endearing quality or two.”
“You seem like you’re anything but feckless, a rogue, however? That seems much more likely.”
He winked, “for you, Nazyalensky, I could be as roguish as they come.”
She turned away quickly but Nikolai didn’t miss the pink flush in her cheeks at his words, grinning to himself. Although he had just revealed his biggest secret, he didn’t find himself particularly regretting it.
They continued in a comfortable silence until a loud ring cut through, a few blocks from their destination. “What’s up, Tamar?” he asked, accepting his friend’s call on the car’s display. Yes it was an old car with character, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t spruced up the technology to his liking.
“He’s not here,” she replied, Nazyalensky’s head snapping towards him at this, her eyes darkening.
“What do you mean? I thought he was supposed to be there?”
“He’s in Italy, he’s not coming.”
Nikolai let out a sigh as his partner’s head fell back against her seat, her fingers curled tightly into her palms. “Thanks, Tamar, I’ll talk to you later.” Another wasted opportunity, and he had believed Nazyalensky when she had insisted on Morozova being there. He knew there would be other chances, but it felt like he was running out of time, that if he didn’t hurry Morozova would find him out and try to finish him for good.
A sharp hiss from Nazyalensky drew his focus to her, and he saw that her unfurling palms were scored with crescent shaped indentations, the result of her nails pressing into skin. As she began to curl her fingers inwards again, his hand shot out, stopping her with the press of his palm against hers. The red light before them allowed him the briefest second to realize what he’d done, pulling his hand back to the wheel. “I—” he began, only to be cut off before he could apologize.
“Morozova, he had this school that he started when he was young, barely older than the students himself. He cultivated talent. Pitted students against one another and chose the best ones-- the ones most useful to him, and would take them under his wing.” She was staring straight out the windshield, her gaze distant, her eyes hollow. “Can you guess what I was?” She let out a humourless laugh. “I was talented and would do anything he asked without hesitation. He used that and when someone who suited his needs better came along, I was thrown aside, as if I’d never mattered. Not just me, it happened to us all. I don’t want to ruin him for my own hurt, but for theirs too.”
Her eyes met his in the front mirror and he nodded at her to continue. They had been driving in circles as they’d shared their stories, and he wasn’t going to stop until he heard the rest of hers.
“The reason I stopped being his favourite was because a new student came along. And whenever she called, he would come. Maybe a small part of me thought that since my name was on the list, he would come tonight. Is that foolish?”
“No,” Nikolai returned with quiet honesty. “It’s not.”
Her eyes seemed troubled as they met his again, but her tone was cool when she spoke. “Zoya. Zoya Nazyalensky.”
“Nikolai. Nikolai Lantsov.”
“Nikolai,” she hummed, pulling out the syllables, as if testing the feeling of his name against her tongue. “ Nikolai .” Saints, he didn’t think that his own name had ever sounded sweeter. “What do we do now, Nikolai?”
“We wait, and we try again. Now that we’re working together we can come up with a better plan and make this work.”
“Okay,” she nodded slowly, “but what about tonight?”
“I could drop you back off at home? There’s not much use going if Morozova isn’t there.”
“I share a too-small apartment with a couple who is disgustingly in love and it’s date night, I think I’d rather not.”
“And I share a too-small houseboat with a set of twins who wake up at 4am to do combat training in the living room.”
“We could keep driving,” she suggested, her voice low, fingers dancing over the dashboard as she awaited his reply.
“We could keep driving,” he agreed, trying to keep his focus on the road as Zoya’s head came to rest gently against his shoulder. Nikolai knew this particular luxury would cost him, but he couldn’t find it in himself to mind.
  “Zoya Nazyalensky and Nikolai Lantsov.” His voice was filled with a quality she’d never heard before but found that she quite liked. It was a mixture of indolent arrogance and jauntyness, a rare combination, but she supposed nothing was too out there for Nikolai, the last few months had been filled with him surprising her daily. Whether it was stories of his past, or his friendships or exploits, she found herself listening raptly, as if she couldn’t turn away. And she didn’t want to. His stories painted the world in a way that made her hunger for more. In a way that made her believe, for a few silly seconds, that she could get on his boat and sail away from it all. And then he would drop her off at her apartment and the second she walked through the door, the magic was shattered and she remembered that she existed, not in the textured fantasy world spun by Nikolai’s silver tongue.
With a quick glance at their invitations and a wave, they were making their way to table 2 as instructed. Zoya’s arm was looped lazily through Nikolai’s, but they were both on high alert tonight. They had received personal invites to tonight’s function, and while they were planning a much longer game than springing on Morozova today, they had ultimately decided that their strategy would be to convince Morozova that they didn’t want to strangle him on the spot. Easier said than done, her fingers were itching to wrap around his greasy throat, and they’d only just gotten here.
Whether he would buy it or not was a whole other question, but their plan relied on him being cocky enough to underestimate them or to want to keep his enemies close. Drifting through the crowd, Zoya was able to pick up more than a few of the whispers at tables, each one making her want to roll her eyes a little bit more than the last. 
"She’s the girl who locked Nikolai Lantsov down.”
"I heard she blackmailed him into taking her to parties.”
“I heard her parents are forigen millionaires and the Lantsovs who are in crushing debt want to be bailed out.” 
“I heard she’s the lost twin to the princess of some country or the other and they need his money to keep up their lifestyle.
“I heard that she knows black magic and seduced him into being devoted to her, that he spends his weekends feeding her grapes like she’s a queen.
Zoya leaned up, her lips brushing his ear, “that’s my favourite one.” 
She watched him hold back a laugh, “if you wanted me to feed you grapes, you could’ve just asked.” 
“Who cares about grapes, are you or are you not going to fund my jewelry-hungry long-lost twin sister?”
He gave her an incredulous look, “with what money?”
Biting back a smile of her own, they settled at their table, Nikolai’s knee brushing hers as it jounced underneath the table, more whispers flooding over them now. 
“Nikolai Lantsov used to ask every single lady to dance with him before the party was over, even the old ones.”
“Nikolai Lantsov used to come over and sit at our table for hours and listen to our stories.”
“Nikolai Lantsov used to be the most eligible bachelor in town before she came around and locked it down.”
“Did you hear that, Lantsov?” she mused, leaning over to adjust his crooked bow tie. “Apparently I’ve locked it down.”
He let out a huff, “apparently?” 
Zoya rolled her eyes, tilting his mouth down to hers, smiling at the glint in his eyes as she murmured, “definitely.” Definitely locked it down.”
                         Nikolai awoke to a hand flopping against his abdomen halfheartedly, what on Earth?
“Come closer,” a tired voice groaned, “what good are you if you can’t warm the bed.”
He shuffled closer, “you’re sure there’s no other reason I’m here?” he questioned.
“No.”
“An interesting way of getting me into bed but who am I to question your methods?” Nikolai teased, grinning at Zoya’s look of annoyance. It was first thing in the morning and he considered himself nothing if not a man of routine, and a part of that sacred routine involved annoying Zoya into affection as soon as she woke up.
“As if I’d ever let you into my bed,” she growled, flipping her back towards him.
“That’s interesting considering how I’m in your bed right now.”
“Oh that can be easily fixed,” she nudged him off the edge of the bed, relishing the groan of impact as he hit the floor. 
Nikolai sighed, figuring that he very well couldn’t spend the day lazing in bed with Zoya anyways, as much as he wanted to. He found his clothes flung in opposite sides of the room, putting on a piece at a time until it came to his shoes.
“Have you seen my loafers?”
“You’re so annoying,” Zoya replied, her voice muffled from the pillow she’d thrown over her head in an attempt to drown him out. 
“Does that mean you haven’t seen them?”
“Your shoes sound as pretentious as you.”
“That’s not helping,” he muttered, spotting a wagging tail with a familiar looking shoe in his mouth. Nikolai couldn’t believe that this was his life now, half dressed , trying to extract his ridiculously expensive shoes from his girlfriends’ dog’s mouth while she laughed from above.
“Give it back.” The puppy refused to relent, disappearing back under Zoya’s bed, undoubtedly gnawing on Nikolai’s leather shoes even more now that he’d dissented. “Well, I guess I can’t leave now that the dog’s got my shoes.”
“Goodbye Nikolai.”
“Zoya, your dog has fully destroyed my shoes.”
“Oh no,” she groaned, “his taste is as shit as yours.” 
“Good thing I keep another pair here,” he sighed, glaring at the dog. “I’ll see you tomorrow?” he murmured, kissing a chaste kiss to her hair. This was their routine now, nights spent planning and talking, falling asleep on the sofa, waking up to the cold, Zoya back in her bed, with Nikolai’s arms wrapped around her.
He had already reached the doorway when he heard her speak. “Or,” Zoya’s voice was quiet, almost hesitant. “You don’t have to leave.”
Nikolai paused, “what are you asking?”
“I’m asking you to stay.” 
The words were sweet music to his ears, but he wanted to check she was certain. “Are you sure, Nazyalensky?”
Zoya turned onto her side to face him, her midnight waves cascading over her shoulder, her bronze skin glowing in the lazy late morning light. Nikolai was sure that he must have died and been taken to paradise. How else would he be fortunate enough to have woken up entangled with the sight before him?
“Stop staring and get in,” she grumbled, “before I change my mind.” 
Nikolai slipped back into bed, letting out a sigh as the covers enveloped him again. He would much rather spend the day here, like this.
“Get your frozen toes off of mine!” Zoya hissed, cutting through his moment of quiet. 
“They’re not that cold,” he groaned, pressing his nose to her cheek as she tried to squirm out of his grip.
“Why is your nose cold too?”
“That’s what you get for hogging the covers.”
Her eyes flashed dangerously, “I don't hog the covers!”
“Of course you don’t,” Nikolai soothed, pulling her to him as she rested her head against his chest. “You’re an equitable bedmate.”
“Damn right.” she huffed, her eyes starting to sink closed already. “I’m the best.”
“How long am I allowed to stay this time?” Nikolai murmured against her hair, unsure if the response would be the same as always, the usual until the morning. Something had changed, and he didn’t want to shatter the precarious nature of today’s agreement, but he had to know.
“How about forever?” Zoya mumbled, half asleep. “Forever.”
Nikolai’s heart had likely come to the conclusion months ago, but it was then that his head caught up. This was it for him, he didn’t think he would ever love again, not after this. Forever sounded like the perfect amount of time. 
“Forever,” he agreed, slipping into sleep after her.
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