#with a crappy background but once again. it’s something

[siennahrobek]

#i was not expecting to finish this sketch but i guess i did something? #with a crappy background but once again. it’s something #i’m glad obi wan got the hugs he did in the show he deserved it #obi-wan kenobi #obi wan kenobi #kenobi #quinlan vos #star wars #fanart #myart #emdraws #does it look completely right? probably not #too tired to care

[sungbeam]

𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞

nonidol!eric sohn x gn!reader

you can't figure out why eric's been acting different, but maybe you had nothing to worry about in the first place.

8.2k words, bffs2l, college au, reader is incredibly oblivious, swearing, pining, flirting, kissing, mentions of organic chemistry (yuck), eric sohn, fluff, one really bad that's what he said joke (sorry it was chenle), mentions of alcohol

a/n: to @mosviqu !! (requests are closed) hope you like this one, beloved :')) thanks for waiting

A midnight pool party wasn't exactly what you had in mind when you told your friends that you had just gotten off of work. You'd thought they were just having a game night at another friend's house, but it turned out, they decided to utilize said friend's massive backyard space, including his heated pool lined with LED lights at the bottom.

"Who the hell has LED lights at the bottom of their pool?" You voiced aloud in the car.

Ningning's voice wrapped around you from the full volume of your phone's speaker, "My friend from middle school and the one who got us into Yangyang's party the other night—Zhong Chenle. You remember him, right? We went to high school with him, too."

You definitely remembered him. How could you not? He had the most subtly rich personality you'd ever come across. You once thought he was wearing a regular, white Hanes T-shirt from the store (the ones that came in a six pack from Costco), but it turned out that it was a two hundred dollar Balenciaga top.

It was literally just a white shirt.

"Yeah, so we're just here with him and some of his friends," Ningning continued on. You could hear the sounds of merriment in the background, including music and bodies crashing into the pool.

You pulled up to your apartment complex, and it took a second for you to gather your belongings and scramble out of the car. You squeezed your phone between your ear and shoulder as you bumped the car door closed with your hip. "Who's there again? I know you and Winter, but specifically…"

"Uhhh—besides Chenle, there's Renjun, Yangyang, Sungchan, and Eric."

As you let yourself into the apartment, you paused. “Wait, Eric's back?”

There was a commotion on the other side and for a moment, you didn't hear what Ningning said. Then she returned to the speaker with a giggle in her voice, “Yn! We're playing Monopoly soon, but I'm only playing if you're coming over—oh shit, did you say something just now?”

You chuckled, dumping your bag on the kitchen counter and just barely stopping yourself from slumping over like your work bag. “I just asked if Eric was back. I thought you just said he was there with you all.”

“Oh yeah! He said he got back from LA a few hours ago. I don't know how he's not severely jetlagged, but you know what? He brought booze.”

“Sounds like Eric,” you mused. You wondered why he hadn't told you he was back in town. You thought he wouldn't be taking off until tomorrow morning, so that was when you were expecting him.

“—so?”

“Hm?”

“You coming over?”

“Yeah, yeah give me a few.”

One cup of crappy coffee and a change of clothes later, you arrived in front of Chenle's house just a fifteen minute drive from your complex. It was gated and tucked away, which made sense as to why they were able to make so much noise. You could hear the music out from the driveway.

Ningning emerged from the shadows of the side entrance to the house. Her eyes lit up at the sight of you. "Ahh, Yn! I'm so glad you're finally here," she squealed and skipped over to you in her flip-flops, wrapping her arms around you in a big hug. Your friend was dressed in a pretty, bandeau bikini top and bottom, her inky black hair falling down her shoulders like the flow of a waterfall.

You laughed as she pulled away. "Glad I could make it. Are we just going through the side gate or something?"

She nodded and guided you through the foliage. "Yeah. How was work?"

You figured that after your long shift, you probably wouldn't have much energy to actually go swimming. You'd changed into a bathing suit anyway and threw a T-shirt and shorts over it in case, but had arrived with little more than your wallet, keys, and lip gloss.

You gave her a shrug in reply. "Eh. It's work," you said, your voice barely loud enough to hear over the sound of water splashing and high-pitched shrieks. "It was quiet, at least."

"That's good," she nodded with a soft smile thrown over her shoulder. "Thank god you're finally here. Chenle decided he didn't wanna get his limited edition Jade Rabbit Monopoly board wet—” She gave an indulgent eye roll, “—but his game, his decision, I guess.”

You chimed in your agreement just as you and Ningning emerged on the side of the backyard that hosted your friends and their midnight pool party. From your vantage, you could count the heads present, including one Yangyang making a splash into the pool and getting water all over Renjun.

“Yn!” Winter raised a hand from where she sat cross-legged on a lounge chair.

“Yo, what's up, Yn?” Sungchan hollered from the side of the pool where the speaker was. He was fiddling around with whoever's phone was connected to the aux cord.

You grinned, greeting everyone with a big wave. “Hey, guys. Have you been out here for long?”

“Yangyang, I swear to—” Renjun's swear cut through the music to the symphony of Yangyang's screeching of absolute delight. The former brushed his wet hair back, rubbing the pool water out of his eyes. It wasn't until afterward that he greeted you back as you neared where he had been dragged into the pool by his friend. “Hi, Yn. Did you just get here?”

“I did! Where's—”

The back door to the house slid open and Chenle emerged dragging out a massive cooler of what you assumed to be drinks. Carrying the back end was Eric in a pair of dampened board shorts with his wet bangs hanging in his eyes.

“Eric Sohn! You're not supposed to be here until tomorrow morning, you poser!” You shouted in his direction.

Chenle and Eric's heads both whipped over toward where you and Ningning were. Chenle said something to Eric with a wide-ass monkey grin, then proceeded to drag the cooler the rest of the way without Eric's help.

Eric cupped the back of his neck sheepishly as he approached you. He must have recently gotten out of the pool, because there was still water dripping down the lines of his chest and stomach. “In my defense, the airline offered me money if I took an earlier flight,” he said with a laugh.

“As your certified best friend,” you mused, “I'm offended I wasn't the first to know about this update.”

“Okay, best friend, let me hug you to make up for it.”

Your eyes widened, “Eric, you're wet—”

“That's what he said!” Chenle howled with laughter at his own joke, and Ningning groaned in anguish.

“Okay and?” Before you could protest any more, he trapped you in his arms, pressing his dampened skin against your perfectly dry outer garments. For good measure, he nuzzled his wet hair against the side of your face, too.

“You're like—like a dog,” you laughed, playfully pushing him away.

Eric beamed and placed his hands on his hips. “Golden retriever to your black cat. Now, do I have to dump you in that pool myself or are you going to like swimming tonight?”

Your face pressed into a deadpanning line, which drew an even brighter sound from him. You couldn't help but smile; it was nice to have him back. “You're so annoying sometimes. I'm sitting on the edge of the pool only, and you can suck it.”

As you began making your way over to the edge of the pool, Eric trailed after you with his head shaking and a laugh lingering on his tongue. “Missed you, Yn.”

It was a good thing you were facing away from him right then. A smile split your face like a slice of watermelon. “Missed you, too, Sohn.”

You didn't see your friends again until the following Friday evening. It wasn't late enough to call it “night” nor early enough to call it “afternoon.” It was a timestamp somewhere in the middle when the sun had yet to decide if it would hide behind the buildings or peer through the alleyways. It was also when the Korean BBQ place in the university district was relatively bare, and so you and your friends could get away with scoring the big table in the back on the raised platform.

“I feel like a king,” Chenle said with a smile on his face as he breathed in the smell of beef on the grill.

Sungchan flipped over one of the pieces of chicken with his tongs. “Wait, so Yn, they're for real making you work the Friday night closing shift?”

All eyes turned toward your end of the table where you sat with Eric on your right, and Ningning and Winter across from you.

Your eyelashes fluttered as you blinked, your dominant hand pausing your chopstick movements. “Oh, uh, yeah… I mean,” you added with a shrug, “it's not so bad most of the time. I think I would rather have me working than one of the kids.” The store you worked at was relatively understaffed, and your manager oftentimes hired high schoolers from the nearby district to fill in the spaces. There were rare occasions where rowdy customers came in during the latter hours of the night, and you would rather your younger colleagues didn't have to worry about that. (Even if you yourself also worried about rowdy customers.)

“Do you at least get a closing shift bonus?” Winter asked, her cheek stuffed with her last bite. “When I worked part-time at the corner store last year, they at least incentivized closing.”

“Usually when I work alone, yeah,” you said.

Eric's left arm came to rest over the back of your chair as he leaned forward to transfer a slab of short rib to your bowl. “Are you working alone tonight?” He asked, reaching past you to grab a piece of cucumber from one of the metal bowls of side dishes.

You placed the cucumbers between the two of you temporarily so he could have easier access. “I think so,” you said. “Unless my manager recruited someone else, but yeah, I think it'll probably just be me.”

The rest of the table turned to their individual conversations, especially as one of the waiters brought over an additional platter of meats to grill.

Eric murmured to you, “What if I just happened to show up at your work tonight?”

You turned your body slightly to face him, mutual smiles curling onto both of your mouths. “What, need a new first aid kit or something?”

“And a little dose of Yn Ln,” he said before popping a slice of fish cake into his mouth. He was still leaning in close to you, the twinkle in his eyes like a secret only you two knew. You were trying to not let the skin peeking out of his tank top throw you off balance; it was definitely just the heat and steam that made it glisten.

Your eyebrows shot up at his remark. “You're getting plenty of me now.”

“I need to make up for when I was away,” he replied as easy as it was for him to drink water. “I told you, I missed you.”

It was the fire from the grill, the heat of the room, the smell of the food. It was not Eric Sohn making your skin hot or your heart trip—at least, that was what you told yourself. He was attractive, yes, and he was one of your best friends. He was flirty, double yes, but he was still just a friend. (Right?) “Did you breathe too much LA air?” You joked half-heartedly. “You're acting… different.”

He shoved his bite into his cheek and gave you a shrug. “I think I'm acting exactly how I should be,” he said with a quirk of his eyebrows, then tuning into whatever topic Renjun had brought up—something about a party at Han Jisung's house.

Your head tilted to the side in dumbfoundment, but you returned to the rest of the group even if your brain was rewinding that conversation over and over again in your head. What did he mean that he was acting exactly how he should be?

For a moment, you turned back to look at him. His head was so close to yours, his body scooted forward on his chair to close that distance between his legs and yours. You couldn't read him—could only see the mirth in his eyes from Chenle and Renjun going back and forth in Chinese, as if he could understand. You weren't sure what you were looking for.

He glanced over at you then to meet your eyes. It was a split second, but that was enough to alter your brain chemistry, that you were sure his eyes flickered down to your lips. Then his eyes were away from you, having never dared a look at all.

It was about three hours later that you found yourself stationed behind the front counter at the store you worked at. After six, usually the crowd dwindled down when everyone was out having dinner or curled up at home for the night.

That left you with a few options to occupy the time. With the aisles less than crowded, you could hook your phone up to the overhead speaker and bop your head while stocking up the aisles. While Wednesdays were the main inventory days, some of that work spilled into Thursdays and Fridays depending on how much was delivered and who was on the schedule.

You were sorting through the candy aisle checking for expired dates when you heard the jingle of the bell above the front door. “Hi, welcome in!” You hollered from over the aisle, then broke into a smile at the sight of a familiar Los Angeles Angels baseball cap.

Eric tracked your voice and joined you in the aisle you were in, his tank top from earlier swapped out for a dark colored T-shirt under a corduroy jacket. He must have not wanted to come in clothes that reeked of food. “Hey you,” he said, walking over to ruffle your hair.

“Aye,” you chided half-heartedly and reached up to smooth out the hair on top of your head. “I didn't think you were being serious about stopping by,” you mused. You squeezed your hand to reach for the bars of chocolate at the far back. When you examined them and determined that they had reached the shelf expiration date, you dumped them into the shopping basket at your feet to be logged later.

“Of course I was being serious,” he huffed while perusing the bags of gummy candies hanging in the section next to you.

“Those are pretty good.” You pointed out a brand of lesser known gummies shaped like whale sharks. They had adorable, little smiles, but when they got damaged or melted… it was less adorable and less smile-looking. But they were nice and snackable, nonetheless.

He hummed in consideration and plucked a bag off the hanger. “How many of these brands have you tried?”

“Like… five or six,” you said. “I just kind of mark it as a store expense, and then me and the other person on shift share it.”

He chuckled, a smile flitting over his lips after examining the back of the bag. “Wanna share these with me?”

“Sure, man.”

That was how you found yourself at the front counter across from Eric, a bag of whale shark gummies split open between you. You had the store's to-do list binder open and were checking off the items you'd completed, all the while popping a poor whale shark into your mouth. Eric had found interest in one of the celebrity magazines displayed on the rack by the door.

It had so far been a slow night with very few customers coming in to grab a last minute case of beer or condoms. All the usual shit. However, time flew past a lot faster with Eric keeping you company. Even though the conversation you'd had with him at dinner earlier lingered in the back of your mind, it was quickly forgotten as he filled your time talking about LA, plans for the summer, and whatever you were up to while he was gone.

As midnight fast approached, the gummy sharks were finished and you whipped out the broom to begin cleaning up.

Eric idly scrolled through your phone to choose a song, skipping one after the other. “Can I help clean up or anything?” He asked after settling on a Dominic Fike song.

“Just sit still and look pretty,” you teased as you swept some dust and debris into a dustpan.

He smiled to himself. “That should be your job.”

There went your heart again, but thank god you were turned away from him. “Unfortunately, I don't get paid for that.”

“How much do you want?”

You turned your head over your shoulder to look at him, and he sent you a cheeky grin. You laughed loud at the ridiculousness, then returned to sweeping the aisle you were in. “You’re so stupid,” you said playfully. You didn't mean it… sort of. He was stupidly smooth, stupidly pretty, stupidly—

Eric grabbed the dustpan to trail after you. “Damn, I call you pretty and you call me stupid?”

“What if stupid is a compliment?”

“When is it ever a compliment?”

Despite the banter, the two of you were both beaming at each other in the lowlight. In no time, you had the entire store swept clean (for the most part), and you went to tuck the broom and dustpan into the back room. The clock struck just about midnight, too, and you swung the ring of keys around your index finger, your bag hanging off your shoulder.

Eric glanced up from where he had his nose buried in his phone screen. “Ready?” He asked, perking up like a golden retriever.

“Yep.” You stopped behind the counter to clock out. “Thanks for keeping me company, Eric. I really appreciate it.”

“Hey, what are f—” His voice broke for a second, and you sent him a look. He cleared his throat, “What are friends for?”

You finished clocking out on the computer, then slipped out from behind the counter and moved toward where Eric was. “Is that what we are?” You jested in reply.

His eyes went wide for a second. “What?”

Your head cocked to the side quizzically. “Is that what we are? Friends?” You repeated. When he still looked dumbfounded, you grimaced, “Was that lame? Yeah, that was lame. Let's just forget about that.”

You stepped toward the front door, but Eric placed a hand on your upper arm to stop you.

“Wait, Yn—”

You stopped with a hum in your throat, head turned back toward him. The two of you stood slightly closer now. Beneath the dim fluorescents, between the cold medicine and magazine rack, you searched this man's eyes for an answer he wasn't giving you. You could measure the length of his eyelashes from this distance, and you saw the shine mark on his lips after his tongue darted out to wet it.

“Eric?” You voiced quietly after he hadn't said anything. “Everything okay?”

Something shuddered in his expression and you swore his cheeks darkened in shade. “Nothing,” he said swiftly. “Sorry, it's nothing.”

Eric sat down across from you with a pair of headphones hanging around his neck and his hood thrown over his head. He nudged his black-rimmed glasses up his nose as he powered his laptop on. “Hey,” he whispered to you, his eyes darting around to make sure no one around you was bothered by his speaking.

The two of you were situated in the upper levels of your university library to study for your upcoming final exams. Most of the libraries on campus had a system in place where lower levels were meant as collaborative spaces with each level getting quieter in general volume. You and Eric were on the top floor, but at one of the desks tucked into one of the bookshelves. There were a few people around you, but they were hidden by walls and shelves, for the most part.

“I think you're fine,” you whispered to him in amusement as you uncapped your highlighter to mark a specific passage in the text you were reading.

Eric got up and quietly moved his chair to sit adjacent to you, rather than across from you. “What're you working on?”

“Just some research for a paper,” you replied. “You?”

“O-chem,” he said, and his entire being flopped over his closed laptop, his face crumpled in anguish.

You cooed silently and gently patted his hoodie-covered head. “You poor thing.”

Oh, organic chemistry. The monster it was.

When he still didn't pick himself or his laptop screen up, you leaned over to lay on top of him. “This is comfortable,” you muttered into the back of his hoodie.

You heard him hum in agreement.

“Dude, I don't even know how you're keeping up with your classes during baseball season,” you whispered and began mindlessly drawing flowers on his back.

“I'm not.”

You had to bury your face into his back to suppress your snort. “That's valid.”

“Thanks.”

“Awwh,” you murmured and wrapped your arms around his back. “It's gonna be okay. I promise.” Out of the two of you, Eric was usually the one with the sunny disposition, but it didn't mean you wouldn't jump at the opportunity to help him feel better. He deserved just as much tender love and care.

For a moment, you stayed in that position with your body covering his and your arms wrapped around him. If you weren't careful, you might have fallen asleep like that.

Eventually, you peeled yourself off of him and coaxed him to sit up with you. “Study for an hour with me and then we can get a treat.”

“Your face is a treat,” he said groggily, rubbing his eye from behind his glasses while yawning.

You covered up any signs of being flustered with, “Is that how you pull girls, Sohn?”

“No, that's how I pull you.”

You didn't need to feel your skin to know your face was on fire. He didn't even glance over at you, only sleepily smacked his lips together and pulled his laptop lid up with robotic motions. Maybe that was a good thing though. You still weren't too sure how you felt about his flirty remarks as of late, and they had yet to cease.

But… you looked over at Eric and he was already getting to work—you could deal with it later. It wasn't like it meant anything, right? Surely, the quickening of your heart and continually flustered state because of him meant absolutely nothing, right? Of course. And they definitely weren't signs that you liked his increased lines. Definitely.

(Who the fuck were you trying to fool?)

As promised, after about an hour passed by, you and Eric packed up your things to head out to find something to munch on. With spring slowly fading out into a pretty summer, the sun gleamed from its perch in the sky to warm the day. The trees lining the walkway were beginning to lose their flower buds in exchange for rich, dark green leaves.

A few minutes out from the university's main campus, you and Eric walked into a bakery that was frequented by many of your peers. It wasn't a complete surprise to see that nearly all of the tables inside were occupied by people with headphones in, laptops on, and books out.

You and Eric hopped in line, nonetheless, your eyes darting from the display case to the room to scout for an open table. Your fingers drummed against the strap of your bag. “You know what you're getting?”

He hummed. “The almond croissant kind of sounds good right now. What about you?”

“Might get a sandwich, to be honest,” you said. You hadn't had a filling breakfast, so you might as well make up for it.

“Which sandwich?”

“You're not paying.”

He narrowed his eyes playfully with a purse of his lips. “That's what you think.”

He did not pay for your sandwich.

While there was not a single open table inside, there were plenty of them outside. Eric wrinkled his nose at you as you were just about to take a bite of your sandwich. You stopped short. “What? Don't tell me you're butthurt, Sohn.”

“That’s such a weird word,” he said, gently pulling a piece of the croissant apart for him to put into his mouth.

“What, butthurt?” You could agree with that. It was kind of funny. “True, but it describes you pretty well.”

He laughed then, his eyes turning upward into pretty, little crescent moons. Since the two of you were forced to sit outside, the sunshine had an easier path to paint over your friend's face and make him look even more ethereal. A feeling worked its way into your chest at the sight of him like this. “Okay, honey. Whatever.”

You smiled around your bite, replying only after you'd swallowed it, “See? Butthurt.”

“I'm a good sport though.”

“Fine, I will admit that you're a good sport.”

His smile widened as if satisfied with that answer.

From within your bag, you could hear an aggressive vibration from your phone. You set your meal down to wipe your hands, then fished the device out.

At the sight of the text messages, your face morphed into one of mild amusement concealing a whole lot of “what the heck?”

Eric noticed your change in mood. “Something wrong?”

“Not necessarily?” You opened up the text chain that you had with Bae Sumin, one of your friends whom you met from a composition class you both shared in freshman year. “She's asking if you'd be interested in being set up for a date.”

You didn't know why there had been a spike of panic in your heart after reading it. It wasn't like you had any claim over Eric; that wouldn't be right to gatekeep him, especially when you didn't like him like… that, right?

His brows knitted together as he skimmed over the messages. When he was done he leaned away, his head already shaking. “I'm not really interested.”

“Really?” You asked curiously, withdrawing your phone back to your side of the table and mentally drafting a text message back. “Sieun's pretty nice.”

“I'm just—” he nudged his glasses up, letting out a breathy laugh, “—I’d rather figure that all out for myself, y'know? It's not like I don't think Sieun's a good person, but I…” He huffed, and it sounded almost frustrated.

You didn't know why you felt guilty all of a sudden. “You don't have to explain it to me, dude,” you said and began texting Sumin back. “If you don't want to, then you don't want to, y'know? It's better than leading her on.”

“Yeah,” he murmured.

“So you're not interested in anyone then?” You asked, in an attempt to slowly bring the conversation away from matchmaking. “You know what? You don't have to say anything—we can talk about something else—”

“I'm interested in someone,” he cut in.

You paused, surprised. You felt your pulse leap. Who? You wanted to ask, but instead inquired, “Really?”

He avoided your eyes. “Yep.”

“Oh.” Well that would make sense why he didn't want to be set up with someone else. Why couldn't he just say that in the first place then?

You gnawed on your bottom lip and couldn't help but think about who Eric could be interested in. There was a jittery flutter in your stomach at the thought. You didn't want to pry, but you were also curious as to who he was interested in. “Well, uh, good for you! I think that's really great.”

That… sounded so insincere.

Eric lifted his gaze to yours, and you felt a jolt run down your spine at the look in his eyes. “Thanks, Yn. I don't really know what to do though, to be honest.”

You frowned, tucking your phone away. “About—about the person? Or about your feelings?”

“I guess,” he said with a helpless gesture of his hands, “both.”

You pressed your lips together. It had been awhile since you were remotely interested in anyone either. And even back then, you were never the sort of person to speak up about your feelings with the person first. But this was Eric, and you wanted to at least try to help him. “Is this person not someone you think you should have feelings for? I guess I’m just asking why you feel conflicted or helpless.”

“Kind of,” he said, tongue in cheek. “They’re—they’re one of my—” He stopped himself. “They’re one of the best people I know, I just don’t think they feel the same way.”

“And so you don’t want to risk losing them should you confess?” You finished for him. You felt your posture droop with sympathy, and maybe a bit of envy. Who could this be about?

Eric scratched the underside of his jaw. “Yeah, pretty much.”

“Well, I mean, if they’re as good of a person as you say, I think that they wouldn’t hold it against you or your friendship if you confessed and they didn’t feel the same.” If you were in his situation, you wouldn’t want to lose Eric ei—wait, what? Why were you thinking of it like that? You shook yourself out of whatever delusional headspace you found yourself in. “And in any case, maybe you can flirt with them, or hint to them your feelings and see how they respond.”

His eyebrow arched high. “I’ve definitely done that.”

“And?”

He smirked, a chuckle falling out of his mouth. “They may be one of the best people I know, but they’re as oblivious as a rock sometimes.”

Your own brows lifted. “Damn.” And you knew exactly how blatant Eric’s flirting style was.

Eric’s eyes caught onto something behind you, and you sat up to see what he was looking at. Just on the other side of the outside seating area, you recognized Mark Lee and Kim Jungwoo from Eric’s baseball team strolling past.

Mark lifted a hand, his mouth widening into a grin. “Hey, man! What’s up?”

Eric greeted his teammates with his usual cheeriness, clasping his hand with theirs.

“Oh my gosh, is this the—”

“The best friend,” Eric interrupted, his eyes darting to you. Both Mark and Jungwoo did the same thing, so now you were worried about why they were looking at you like that. “Yeah, this is Yn, my best friend.”

Jungwoo grabbed Mark by his shoulder and extended a greeting fist bump toward you. “Nice to finally meet you, Yn. Eric’s told us a lot about you.”

“Oh?” You glanced over at Eric before reciprocating the gesture. “It’s nice to meet you, too. Hope he’s only said good things,” you jested. Partly.

“Oh, all the good things; don’t worry,” Mark chirped. “We’ll see you at practice later, Eric!”

Eric lifted his hand in a wave as they continued down the street. “See you then!”

Once you were sure they were out of earshot, you picked up your sandwich again. “So you talk about me to your teammates?”

“All good things—you heard Mark,” he said with a laugh, but for some reason, you thought you detected a hint of uncertainty there. “How could I not talk about you?”

“Careful there, you’re starting to sound like you’re obsessed with me.”

“Well, maybe I am,” he shot back at you. He brushed the crumbs from his finished croissant onto the plate, reaching for the small stack of napkins between you two. “But seriously, don’t worry about what those guys said. They just like to mess with me.”

You lifted a shoulder in a meager shrug. “No worries, man. I’m obsessed with you, too, so the feeling’s mutual.”

You relished in the way his countenance noticeably lifted, his expression brightened, the corners of his lips curling into the apples of his pinkened cheeks like twin divots. All of a sudden it was just you and Eric, and you could forget about everything and everyone else.

“He said the L word?” Vernon let out a melodramatic gasp, which made it all the more funny since he'd said it with the most monotonous tone. His eyes had gone wide enough to see the white of his eyes though, and you practically doubled over because of him.

Ningning, unaffected by Vernon's silliness, nodded vigorously. “He said he loved her first! Isn't that crazy?”

You plucked out one of your opened water bottles from the fridge. “I don't think it's that crazy. Is it weird that I don't think it's that crazy?”

Vernon sank deeper into the couch cushion he sat on, eyes already drifting closed. “It's Kim Sunwoo; I don't think it's that crazy either.”

“Am I the only person who was shocked by this?”

“Yes,” you and Vernon answered at once.

Ningning rolled her eyes. “Alright, fine. I guess I can see it, too. But it's just weird because he never gave any indication that he even liked her.”

“He was probably just suppressing it?” Vernon offered with a yawn. “Maybe he's just got a lot on his plate. My friend Seungcheol's a little emotionally constipated, too, but it's 'cause he's been slammed by his work stuff.”

“Isn't it crazy that people our age are telling other people they love them already? Like, love-love, and not some kind of primary-school-playground-love.” You moved yourself to join your friends in your micro living room. There was a gathering of laptops and papers scattered on the coffee table, but no one had touched them since they'd been brought out. Finals week burnout was real and tangible.

“One day,” Ningning sighed, less so lovey dovey, and more so exhausted as hell. She leaned her cheek against the back of her knuckles. “I don't know if I wanna get married though.”

“I think marriage is cool,” said Vernon. He had now taken on a coffin position with his arms crossed firmly over his chest and his face tilted up toward the ceiling. “As long as it's with the right person.”

“Yeah, stuff like that can't be rushed,” you agreed. You weren't sure what your plans for the future were; you just hoped you had your friends by your side, at the very least.

All this talk about partners and futures had your mind turning toward your conversation with Eric from lunch the other day. Did he see this crush of his as a potential life partner? He deserved that—someone who loved him as much as he no doubt loved them. Where would that leave you? Didn't you want something like that, too?

“Let's not talk about marriage anymore.” Ningning fwumped onto her side over the remainder of the sectional that Vernon wasn't lying on. She'd clearly given up on studying, same as Vernon. “How's Eric doing, Yn?”

Your head perked up. “Eric? What about Eric?”

“Oh, I dunno.” She held her phone screen directly above her face as she scrolled through social media, her lips pressed together. “Chenle said that Mark said that he's interested in somebody.”

It seemed news traveled fast, but then again, you didn't know how long Eric had been interested in this mystery person. You blinked, gnawing on your bottom lip. “Ah, yeah. He mentioned something about that to me, but he didn't tell me who it was.”

Ningning turned her head slightly to face you and her eyebrow was flicked up toward her hairline. “You're serious?”

“Well, yeah. I'm not gonna force it out of him.”

Vernon peeked one eye open. “Dude, you know that guy would do anything for you, right? If you asked one more time, he probably would have folded like a lawn chair.”

You sent him a pointed look. “I'm not about to force him to give away something sensitive like that. I admit that I'm curious, but…” It just wasn't your business.

He frowned at you, then went back to his half-conscious state.

Were you missing something?

Ningning rolled over completely onto her side. “How about this: how do you feel about Eric being interested in someone?”

Why was this the sudden topic of discussion? You pursed your lips, eyebrows furrowing. “Is this a trick question?”

“Why would it be a trick question?”

You exhaled. “He said that the person he liked was one of the best people he knew, so I'm happy for him. Like I said earlier, it would be nice to know who it was, but I don't want to make him give up something if he's not ready to yet.” That would just be unfair.

Vernon opened his eyes again and turned to Ningning. “Doesn't this sound like an automated response?”

You deadpanned. “It is not an automated response. It's—y’know, why wouldn't I be happy for him?”

With a dead serious tone, your friends said simultaneously, “Because you're in love with him.”

That statement struck a match against your cheeks and set them ablaze. Your lips parted, words failing you. Because you're in love with him?

At your speechlessness, Ningning moved to sit up straight. “We think it's because you have feelings for him,” she rephrased, as if that was any better.

“I do not have feelings for him.”

“I think you do; you might be mistaking it as something else.”

You garbled with the words in your brain, but they slipped and fumbled and wouldn't line up correctly on your tongue. It was to the point that you had to put a pause on trying to come up with a retort, and rather, piece this together logically. There had to be a reason for why both Ningning and Vernon were on the same page with this.

It came to you then, slowly, like a train pulling into the station. It was every one of his flirtatious maneuvers to get you flustered, the bittersweetness you didn't want to acknowledge at the thought that he was interested in somebody else. It was that look in his eyes that you couldn't describe, the way he tripped over his words when it came to calling you a friend. The voice over the intercom was announcing the stop as the train came to a gradual halt.

“Oh.”

Ningning frowned slightly, her head nodding. Vernon was actually awake now. “Yeah.”

So what now?

You knew Eric just finished with his organic chemistry final when you found him passed out on your couch. You'd been out working for the majority of the day and passed him a set of spare keys to your apartment to let himself in whenever he was done so the two of you could start your long awaited movie marathon night. The sun had just set and you'd come with a bag of groceries to make dinner, but all you could think about was the guy snoozing on the couch, his tufts of hair sticking out of his hood.

Cute.

By the time he woke up, you had dinner fixed up, and the apartment was filled with divine aromatics. Some said the smell of food usually made chefs feel full, but you hadn't eaten properly since you left for your shift this morning.

The lump on the couch stirred as you turned off the stove and turned toward the sink to start washing the dishes. You didn't like washing dishes, but it was a necessary evil. Earlier, you’d found the evidence that Eric had helped himself to some of the instant noodles in your cabinets, leaving a note by the dishes in the sink: Sorry, I promise I'll wash these when I wake up!!

You knew he would have kept his word, but you also knew how hard he worked and stressed over that damn exam. It was no inconvenience toward you to wash just a couple extra things.

Eric rolled onto his feet and shuffled into the kitchen, his eyes fluttering to adjust to the warm lighting. “Hi,” he rasped, voice hoarse from his nap.

His chin found your shoulder. “I said I'd wash those,” he murmured, referring to the small pot you were washing now.

“I know. I thought I'd do it anyway.”

“You hate washing the dishes.”

Your movements paused for a second. The organ in your chest was galloping away again, but now you knew the reason. Your head shifted slightly as it bumped against his gently. “I know.”

He was quiet for a moment before his arms came around your form and settled across your stomach and waist. “Thanks. Sorry for the mess.”

“There was no mess, silly goose,” you told him.

“I'll wash the ones after dinner.”

You murmured, “It's okay, Eric. I know you're good for it.”

Eric let out a breath against your neck, his head tucking into the warmth there. “I love you.”

At once, you both froze. You felt his body tense up around you, and knew your movements had stopped completely. You'd both heard what he said crystal clear and even the volume of the sink faucet couldn't dismiss it as a trick of the ear.

“Shit.” He detached himself from you just as you finished washing. You reached for the dry towel next to you on the counter to dry your hands, then turned around to face him. His eyes were wide like he just got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “I didn't say that aloud, did I?”

You smiled through a small wince. “You kind of did.”

“What if I left and pretended I wasn't even here?—”

You stepped forward and grabbed him by the shoulders. You gave him a little shake, the smile on your face sweetening. “Hey, Eric. I love you, too.”

His lips fell into a pout. “No, Yn. You—you don't get it. It's—I… I love you.”

“I know,” you said and moved your hands up to cup his face. There was a wobble in his eyes as you said this, that puppy pout deepening. “And I love you, too.”

Eric wrapped his arms around you tight then, a breath of air pushing out from his lips in utter relief. “Oh my god, you have,” he stammered, “no idea how—just—” He pulled away from you and pressed his lips to the side of your face.

You laughed, your hand coming up to cup the back of his head.

His face was split wide open by a massive grin and his eyes, his beautiful eyes, gleamed like a pair of twin stars beneath the dim kitchen lights. “Do you know how hard this has been for me?” He exclaimed while throwing his hands up in the air. “Do you know how much pain I was in when you couldn't get the hint—”

“Hey! Normal people don't just assume that their best friend has feelings for them,” you stuttered out in your own defense.

Eric tilted his head up to the ceiling. “I have literally flirted at you, right to your face.”

“You have a flirty personality.”

“And you are oblivious.”

You crossed your arms over your chest, your head cocking to the side. “Agree to disagree?”

He sighed and the sound was something happy and bright. “Agree to disagree,” he replied. He smiled at you again, but the corners were softer and mellower, the tenderness shining through like the glow of a lamp covered in a fabric shade. “I've been dying to tell you since I went to LA; I just didn't know how.”

“LA?” You parroted.

“I just couldn't stop thinking about wanting you there with me,” he said like it was the easiest thing in the world. “I'd be in the hotel room, staring up at the ceiling with the stupidest smile on my face thinkin’ 'bout you, and then I'd realize I actually was in love with you. It would flip-flop between those two things all trip long.”

You chuckled as you imagined Eric's starkly different facial expressions for each version of himself. It was an amusing thought. “Well, for what it's worth, I'm sorry for all the strife I put you through.”

His hands warmed over the sides of your arms. “Hey, honey, it was all worth it in the end.”

“You know,” you said, playing with one of the strings of his hoodie, and his hands came to rest around your waist loosely, “if the comfort and—the warmth and the happiness I feel around you is love, then I think I've been in love with you since the day we met.”

Eric's lips pressed in a deep pout again. “Come on! You can't possibly say that and not expect me to wanna kiss you.”

“I'm not saying no,” you teased.

There was that smile again. He licked his lips once and leaned over to gently press his mouth against yours. Your eyes fluttered shut as you let his softness consume you and ignite you all at once. It occurred to you that you were never scared of losing Eric as a friend—this was just what was next for you both.

When you both pulled away, your breaths still intermingling, his cheeks were a pretty, bubblegum pink color.

“Was that your first kiss?” You joked even though you knew full well it wasn't.

His laugh was low, but his expression brightened. “Might as well be,” he said, “it's the only one I wanna remember.”

Your tongue stuck out of the corner of your mouth as you carefully pulled the loops of ribbon through itself to create the perfect, matching bow to the one on the other side of your head. Chenle was hosting a start-of-summer party, and it was mandated that you and your friends attend (according to Ningning).

Through your mirror, your eyes caught a presence at your bedroom door. “Oh my god, you're so cute,” Eric groaned, turning to the side to melodramatically hit his head against the doorframe.

You melted into a smile. “Thanks. I wasn't really sure how they would look actually.”

“Well, they're perfect. You’re perfect. Please don't take them off.” He came over to join you were you sat on the floor in front of your body length mirror.

You wiggled around a strand of pink ribbon you had cut off earlier, but didn't end up using because it was way too long for a hair bow. “I've got an extra piece. Do you want it?”

He scoffed, a hand carding through his hair, “Of course, I want it.”

Very pleased with his response, you clambered onto your knees to decide where to put it. He was dressed casually with a loose tank top, board shorts, and a cap on backwards. You squinted one of your eyes closed. “I've got it.”

“You've got it?” He repeated with a chuckle, smile widening as you practically climbed into his lap. “Hi,” he said with your faces close to each other and his hands resting on either side of your waist.

“Calm down there, tiger,” you teased, “I'm just gonna tie it where everyone can see it.”

You looped the ribbon around his left bicep, his arm subtly flexing as you did so. You made sure the bow looked as perfect as you were capable of making it. With a little pat of your hand, you deemed that it was all set.

“Perfect,” he said with a nod of affirmation.

You nodded along with him. “I'd agree.”

“Hey.” He drew your attention over to him once more and his hands pulled you flush against him. There was a goofy grin on his lips as he gazed at you with wide, doe-like eyes that melted into pairs of molten chocolate. “Do you think…”

“Do I think?” You prompted, wrapping your arms around the back of his shoulders.

“Do you think that if I kissed you in front of our friends, they'd realize we were dating?”

A laugh fell from your mouth, and Eric had never seen something so pretty in his life. (There were few things worthy of being engraved on the backs of one's eyelids, but he thought he just found a view that was. He would chase your smile until the end of time.)

“What?” He beamed. “Good idea, right?”

“I thought we said we were soft launching,” you said, the smile yet to retreat.

“I guess,” he sighed dramatically and leaned back onto his hand to drape the other one across his forehead like a damsel in distress.

You went forward to kiss him. “You're cute.”

“Isn't that my line?” He teased. He licked his lips a little then, expression becoming thoughtful. “I know this is gonna be something different—this relationship—but at the same time, I feel like nothing's changed.”

Swoon. You went in for another kiss and lingered there a bit longer when his hand came up to cup the back of your neck. “It'll be different and the same,” you agreed. “Just better.”

The corners of his eyes crinkled. “Definitely better.”

It was scary—this venture into new territory. It was something that both you and Eric would experience and discover together. But on the bright side, at least you were in love. Maybe that was all that mattered in the end.

a/n: everybody say 'thank god she expanded the plot'

tbz m.list

permanent taglist: @flwoie @vatterie @seomisaho @hqrana @ja4hyvn @outrologist @rikizm @tinkerbell460 @kaaimins @hyunjaespresent-deobi @otterly-fey @zzoguri @floatingpluto @winterchimez @ethereal-engene @gyulfriend @polarisjisung @jaehunnyy @shakalakaboomboo @loveliestfelix @bless-311 @zhaixiaowen @leaz-kpop-life @amourdsr @pxppxrminty @kqyutie @sseastar-main @kxthleen14 @fluorescentloves @mosviqu @jaerisdiction @super-btstrash-posts @jundundun @http-gyu @mvvnsseul @vernonburger @maessseongs @ericlvr @mars101 @moonyswolf @your-mirae @richasdiary

#deoboyznet #the boyz x reader #eric sohn x reader #sohn youngjae x reader #eric x reader #the boyz imagines #the boyz oneshot #the boyz fluff #the boyz drabbles #the boyz scenarios #eric sohn imagines #eric sohn oneshots #eric sohn drabbles #eric sohn scenarios #eric sohn fluff #the boyz fanfic #tbz x reader #tbz oneshot #tbz fluff

[ihavethedreamies]

Heat | Wonwoo

Jeon Wonwoo - Seventeen

Rating: M (18+) MDNI

Word Count: ~8.7k

Pairing: Wonwoo x AFAB!Reader

Genre: Sci-Fi AU!, Reader-Insert, Fluff, Smut, Acquaintances-to-Lovers, This One Actually Has Plot

!!This is smut…if that much isn't clear you should probably leave now!! MDNI!

Warnings: She/Her Pronouns used, Minor Background Character Gets Shot (Wow! Plot), Pet Names (Pretty, Pretty Girl, Princess, etc.), Daddy Kink (oops), Swearing, Kissing, Oral (F! Receiving), Wall Sex, Marking/Biting, Unprotected Sex (Use a condom!)

Author's Note: This one has way more actual story than Hoshi's and Woozi's. Wonwoo tends to need time to warm up to people, so I didn't feel like I should do a quick one-night stand deal with him. So, I wrote in some story so he and the reader weren't total strangers.

-> Hoshi's <-

-> Woozi's <-

I am cross-posting this on Archive. Please reblog! If you know anyone that would like this or future fics but they aren't on here my name and icon are exactly the same on the other site. Happy reading!

"You have GOT to be kidding me…" You grumbled, huffing a few harsh breaths, and trying again. There was something stuck under the sand, and you really wanted to see if it was worth anything. However, every time you got close to brushing enough sand from the surface to see the logo, a gust of wind would cover it back up again. Adjusting your head covering over your mouth again so you got no sand in your mouth, you also brushed off your goggles of the fine particles sticking to it. You were starting to work up a sweat, the blowing dust and sand mixed with the perspiration and was coating you in a horribly scratchy paste. Whatever was under the sand was big, and that was what you were looking for. However, you really needed to determine the make and model of the crashed ship to determine if it was worth reporting for salvage.

"Finally!" You groaned, getting the metal brushed clean. You quickly snapped a photo with your holo-tracker, the blue paint still relatively solid, enough to identify. The device spun, trying to connect to the extranet and you clicked your tongue as it took for seemingly forever.

"What?!" You swore multiple times when the device flashed, 'no results found'. Maybe you could show it to someone at the Assembly office that would know something. You already had a few pictures and coordinates of a few smaller wrecks you could report, but they probably wouldn't grant very many credits. This thing was huge though, so at least the scrap metal would be worth something. Another blast of wind nearly knocked you over as you stood back up, trying to climb out of the small crater to get back to your rover. The crappy thing about wrecks on Sierra-Vector-Tango, since the entire planet was a desert, is that they were quickly covered by sand; even if they created massive craters when they fell to the surface. However, that meant more money for finding salvage than some other planets. Bad thing? Sand worms. Their saliva got into the particles and could make it acidic, which made digging through the sand more dangerous. This, once again, caused the number of credits to be higher.

"Let’s go back for now." You jerked back with your whole body weight as you pulled the handle for the door of your rover. It finally opened and you huffed, throwing the end of your head scarf aggressively to wrap it around your neck better. Crawling up and into your rover, you rested back in the seat, trying to catch your breath.  Pressing the button to start the vehicle it roared to life and the air conditioning flared to life and you just sat in the cooling air for a few minutes.

"Water!" You gasped dramatically, grabbing your canteen from the passenger seat, and drinking so aggressively the liquid spilled out of your mouth some.

"For fuck's sake…" You groaned hard, the water mixing with the layer of sand on your skin, thickening it.

"I need a real shower, with water." Shifting the gear of the rover, you started to drive back to the main road so you could start heading to the nearest Assembly office. It would be about an hour to Drent, and a little under two for Jaron, but you really didn't like going to Drent. Not only did it have the name of some dude-bro fuck boy, but it was also full of them too. Drent had one of the biggest…adult establishments in that quadrant. Not only did they have sexy blue alien ladies dancing on tables, but it also allowed you to sleep with them. Last time you went you nearly got mugged, and the guy just wanted your underwear. No thank you. Jaron was farther away, but a much nicer place and had a very old-style diner reminiscent of Terra from the 1950s. It was cool to go somewhere that was reminiscent of a time over two-hundred years in the past. Plus, they had a hotel with real water showers instead of the air-blasting kind that was more common. It would be more expensive, but worth it.

"This time I wanna rock with you~" You sang along to the song playing over the speakers, drumming your hands on the steering wheel of your rover as you got back to the main road. Turning right to go north toward Jaron, you set the auto-pilot on and plugged in the town, sitting back to watch the view as your rover drove itself. When you could start to see the sign for the town, you shut the auto-drive off and took control again. Large vehicles like yours weren't allowed in the city proper, so when you reached the entry checkpoint, you pulled off to the side and got out. The sun was setting, nearly below the horizon, stars starting to twinkle in the night sky. Getting out of the rover, you slammed the door as hard as you could to get it to shut and went around to the back. Grabbing your big pack and smaller bag, you also had a make-shift safe that you kept smaller salvage pieces in. You let it fall to the sandy ground with a thud and jumped back out. Keying in the code on the side, the rover beeped as it locked, and you headed to the entry booth.

"How old is your rover?" The kid at the booth was at the most eighteen, and his condescending tone was completely unnecessary.

"Doesn't matter." You tried not to steer, slapping your credit chit on the counter and he slotted it into the console. He really had no room to talk, his setup was just as old if not more so than you rover. Sliding the chit back out, he grabbed a small holo-disc and let the machine stamp it with the time and date.

"Thank you." You emphasized with fake kindness, and he rolled his eyes as he let you into the town. You let the parking disc fall into your bag along with your credit chit and started to head down the road. Your 'safe' was basically a suitcase that you made more secure and added a few locks to, so you could roll it behind you. The wheels thunked over the creases of the pavement and you wondered why the town was so dead. At that time, most people would be milling about after supper and going to bars and such. As you passed a store, you saw a sign blinking on the glass advertising some kind of political rally, must be where everyone was at. At least the hotel was still being manned, though you weren't sure the old man behind the counter was even still alive.

"Hello, dearie." He smiled up at you, wrinkles so prominent his eyes nearly disappeared.

"Hello, sir. Can I get a single room for…" You thought, sucking air through the side of your mouth in thought, "how much is four nights?"

"At 250 credits a night, that would be about a thousand…If you stay one more night, I will keep it that price?"

"Sweet! Thanks!" You smiled back, digging through your bag to look for the chit once again. It was a bit pricier than you normally liked, but it was worth it to get a shower with water.

"A single bed, yes?"

"Yes, sir."

"I think we only have two-bed rooms…this one is two singles, does that work?"

"Sure!"

"Water shower?"

"Please~" You groaned, and he chuckled.

"It is quite slow today for the rally, so I do not think any restaurants are delivering…" The old man worked faster than you thought he would and when he slid the chit back to you, he included the room key. It looked like a glass playing card and had the room 24H-13 on it.

"It will be the second floor, take a right to the fourth hall, then its room thirteen." The old man smiled, and you thanked him, heading for the elevator, the wheels whirling on the tile floor. Once you got to the room and inside, you put everything in the room hastily before dashing into the bathroom. After relieving yourself, you shed the extremely sandy clothes and you noticed what looked like an old-style clothes dryer in the corner. It only had two settings, one of which was covered with a piece of tape and the handwritten words, ‘FOR SAND,' on it.

"Perfect." You shrugged and shoved all of your clothes in the drum, shutting the door, and letting it spin and get rid of the dust and grit.

"Oh~" You hummed in delight when you saw the water heating panel on the wall. You plugged in the best temperature and the water immediately came out perfect. Standing under the spray, you stood for nearly ten minutes just letting the water flow over your tired body. Glancing up at the shower head, you clicked your tongue in annoyance, it was fixed on the wall without a hose…

"Need to find a guy…" you grumbled and then proceeded to actually wash up. The soaps and cleansers all smelled of Terra fruits and you wondered what they might taste like. Getting out of the shower nearly an hour later, you wrapped a towel around yourself and your hair, heading back to the main room of the hotel. Flopping onto the bed, your stomach rumbled loudly, and you sighed dramatically. No delivery…The only place that was probably open was the diner and luckily it was right next door to the Assembly office in the strip mall. It was always open since the employees of the Assembly would eat there most of the time, but they never delivered anyway. When your skin finally no longer felt wet or sticky, you put on your set of spare clothes and grabbed your smaller bag.

"Sandy." you mumbled, going back to the bathroom, taking your now sand-free clothes out. Taking everything out of your bag and setting it on top of the machine, you put your bag in to get the sand off and while you waited, put your boots back on. As it continued, you brushed your hair out and braided it again. Looking at your face, you had a slight tan line from your goggles, but it was nearly unnoticeable thanks to your head scarf covering most of the rest of your face. The machine dinged and you retrieved the satchel, putting everything back and making sure you had your chit and keycard, you left the hotel room to go get supper. Waving to the old man at the desk, you dashed out to the street and jogged down the sidewalk. The rally was still going, you could hear the shouting and cheers in the distance. Must have been a more local election or campaign because you didn't recognize the politician on the flyer. Most of the store fronts were closed, even as you turned the corner to get to the main street. In the distance, you saw the light pouring out of the windows of the Assembly office and the diner, shining like a beacon among the darkened stores surrounding it. Like a good child, you looked both ways before you crossed the road, despite there not being anything or anyone nearby. The doors slid open when you approached the office and the guy behind the counter looked up lazily from where he was counting something at the desk.

"Can I help you?" He sounded very tired. You dug in your bag once again and pulled out your credit chit as well as your ID so he could see you were a legit scavenger, but also a freelancer. Freelancers actually tended to get more money than their own employees because they didn't have to pay benefits and all that other stuff.

"I'll let the Salvage Officer know you're here." The guy handed you your stuff back and you went to sit in the empty waiting area. Tapping your toe on the floor, you could look into the entrance of the diner through the windows and door inside the office. There was only one or two customers inside and just one waitress. There was a guy sitting in the back corner, thin glasses perched on the end of his nose as he read. A paper book? Who had physical books anymore?

"(Y/N)." Your name was called by a familiar voice, and you smiled at the owner.

"Junmyeon!" He motioned with his head, and you followed him into his personal office.

"Didn't know you were working here now." You sat in front of his desk, and he chuckled, relaxing back into his office chair.

"I just transferred. What have you found?" He took the holo-tracker from you when you handed it over and plugged it into his console.

"Most of them are small…" You dimpled the corner of your mouth, looking at the monitor the best you could from your angle. He shifted the screen so you could see better, and you pointed to different marks and gave more details.

"What one is this?" He was looking at the blue logo and you shrugged.

"I have no idea; it was huge though. Looked like a Meteor-class size ship, maybe bigger. It was totally covered and left a huge crater." You emphasized with hand motions, and he panned the picture out to get the measurements before he tapped the logo so the computer could analyze it. As it spun you dug through your bag, looking to see if you had lip balm or something. You didn't notice your business friend simply watching you, more like staring. His eyes flashed to your lips as you painted the balm on your lips with your ring finger. When the console dinged, it brought both of your attention back to the machine.

"Oh, wow." He leaned in to read the information.

"I need to make some calls, can you come back in a few hours?" He looked at you and you nodded, standing.

"I can grab something to eat in the meantime!" You waved goodbye and didn't even notice when he tried to call after you. Heading back to the front of the office, you went to the door leading to the diner and the door slid open with a ding.

"Just you, girlie?" The older waitress called from behind the counter, and you nodded, going to sit at said counter.

"What can I get for you?" she asked, sassily chewing her gum. You looked over the menu and made your choice, pulling out your holo-tracker to play a game as you waited for your food. You glanced over to the back corner over your shoulder, looking at the guy reading.

"Who is that?" you asked the waitress when she came back with your drink.

"He's been hanging around here for a few days. I'm not sure what he's doing, but I know he's waiting for something. The secretary in the office might know." She nodded back to where you had been, and you told her you would be right back. Leaving your bag on your stool to save your spot, you jogged back into the office and the guy at the desk cast you a tired glance.

"Who is that guy?" You pointed toward the back corner, leaning your elbows on the ledge of the front desk.

"He's a bounty hunter of some sort I believe. He is looking for someone for some reason, is waiting there for leads. He's offering money for any information." He shrugged and you nodded in acknowledgement and headed back to the eatery. Your food was ready by the time you got back, and the waitress chuckled at how fast you shoveled it in. When you were done, you handed her your chit and meandered on over to the guy.

"I heard you're looking for someone?" You started casually and he looked up at you over his glasses and your eyes widened. He was freaking gorgeous. His left eye was highlighted red, it seemed he had some kind of hologram-like contact in it or something. His black hair was styled half up, his bangs resting over his brow. He had a few ear piercings, his left nostril had a simple loop ring, and a matching one in the middle of his bottom lip. A chain hung around his neck with a pendant on the end that was some kind of upside-down triangle design. He simply hummed in response and put a slip of paper in his book and shut it, taking his glasses off. You sat on the end of the booth, a big gap between the two of you since he was sitting in the corner of the circular seat. He slid his holo-tracker across the table showing you a blurry image from some kind of security feed. It was a person, that was about all you could tell, and they had a hood up over their head and only the bottom part of their face was visible.

"This it?" You looked back at him, and he was sitting there stiffly, just looking at you. He was really hot, actually. He had on a tan, old-style button up with the top few buttons undone. His pants were a brown leather of some kind, and he had a belt on with an attached thigh-holster that held a pistol blaster.

"They stole some schematics. I need them back more than to find the person." He tapped the screen as he looked at it upside down and it showed a second image. The person had a cylinder with a strap hung over their back.

"It’s a set of old maps, they were stolen from the archives at the museum in the Capital." he explained and you slid your finger over the full image, zooming out to see the area.

"You a bounty hunter?" You slid the holo-tracker back to him and he put it back in his pocket.

"Not really. I'm a Ranger."

"You're a Ranger!?" You perked up and he seemed taken aback by your sudden excitement. Rangers were a small and elite group, they were essentially vigilantes, freelancers. They tended to do more things like rescues or arrests, or other odd jobs. They had a pretty strict rule of not killing.

"So, you want the maps but don't need the thief?"

"Yes. I would be nice to get both, though."

"Hm. I'll ask around and see, I travel quite a bit-"

"Scavenger?"

"Y-yeah." You chuckled nervously under his intense gaze.

"Be careful out there, if you get a lead, message me." He got his tracker back out and you scanned his with yours to save his ID.

"What's your name?" you asked.

"Wonwoo…"

"(Y/N)." You smiled and got up from the booth, going to retrieve your chit.

"I'll let you know!" You grinned and waved goodbye, heading back in. Your timing was perfect because Junmyeon was finished and he told you the first wrecks weren't worth a whole lot, but the last one was.

"Two million credits?!" You balked at the number.

"Yeah. Seems it was some kind of cargo vessel, and they think it might still have all of the packages on it still. You could get even more depending on what's inside." He smiled at your gawk, and you finally shut your mouth.

"Woah."

"I can get you the two million now-"

"Really!?"

"Yes." He chuckled and you dug your chit back out and he slid it into the console so he could transfer the credits.

"Shit…" you whispered, your hand shaking a bit as you took the chit back.

"Are…you staying in a hotel tonight?" Junmyeon asked as you scrolled on your holo-tracker, admiring the giant number registered in your account.

"Yeah! I might upgrade my room~" You giggled, and he took a breath, trying to psych himself up, but no words came out before you stood to leave.

"Thanks, Myeon! I'll make sure to come here when I can, kay?" You waved goodbye and he sighed as you dashed out of his office. As you left to head back to your hotel, you saw that Wonwoo had left his booth and you wondered why. Getting outside, you realized the rally had gotten out, floods of people now walking the streets, a big crowd heading toward the diner.

"Ew." You sneered at the globs of people and dashed back to the hotel. When you got in the lobby, you skipped up to the front counter, ready to ding the bell and call the nice old man out for assistance.

"Oh?" Someone was sitting in the lobby, a book in his hand.

"Ran away from all the people?" You spoke a bit louder so he could hear you and he glanced up over his glasses again. His face wasn't quite so cold as before, but he wasn't smiling either.

"Yes." His tone was also lighter.

"There's about to be a bunch more. The campaign team is staying here and will be back soon." The old man had come out of the office, and you sneered as he laughed.

"Are you staying here too?" you asked Wonwoo who had put his book away and was taking his glasses off.

"I hadn't checked in yet."

"We do not have any more rooms available, sir. We just had an influx of online reservations since the rally got out so late…" The old man sighed, and you hummed.

"I have a second single bed in my room…?" You suggested, not meeting his eye as he came to stand by you. He had a small duffle over his shoulder. His eyes finally met yours, and he seemed a little nervous, but you could only see it in his eyes, past that red glowing contact.

"Is that alright with you?"

"Yes? I wouldn't have offered otherwise…" You huffed and the old man hummed.

"Here, I will get you a key as well." You both waited and when Wonwoo received the clear keycard, you both scurried to elevator, people starting to enter the lobby. Neither of you said anything till you had shut the door to the hotel room.

"Are you sure this is okay?" you asked him, he was even stiffer than before.

"Y-yes." He cleared his throat, and he went further into the room, taking the bed near the window since your stuff was on the other one. He told you he was going to shower, and you nodded as he dashed past you. Sighing, you shook away some very impure thoughts, and went to your safe, rolling it over to the bench under the clothing rack and hauling it up onto it with a grunt. It took two physical keys as well as two padlocks and a dial lock. It clicked each one open and then you were able to open it. The air seal 'shunked' as you opened it, and you carefully rested the lid on the wall so it wouldn't scratch it. Looking over your objects, you had some small crystal-like artifacts that you worried were just fakes from some kind of gift shop. You also had some intact parts for ship consoles and even jewelry. There had been just a random case you found washed up on the shore of an oasis once that had gold and silver necklaces and rings inside. It was never reported missing, so you just kept them. Other bits and pieces were inside as well, and your mind went back to the image Wonwoo had showed you. The hood was what caught your eye. The person was experienced, knowing how to hide their face from all angles, so they were probably an experienced thief. Who would want ancient maps though? Especially from Terra.

"What is all that?" His deep voice startled you; you hadn't even heard the bathroom door open. Glancing up, you swallowed hard at the sight. He had put most of his clothes back on, but his shirt was still unbuttoned, allowing you to see his toned torso. He had flopped a towel onto his head to dry his hair and was putting his glasses back on. Trying to ignore how freaking sexy he was, you cleared your throat and started to point things out. When you got to the crystals, you let him put up the one that was shaped like a pyramid.

"I don’t know if they are worth anything, they might be fakes.”

"Have you shone light through them?" he asked, and you hadn't even thought of it.

"No?" He handed it back and you dug through your bag and found your flashlight, holding it to the crystal.

"Woah!" You gasped as a map of the stars shone on the ceiling as the light passed through the crystal.

"Is it worth anything?" you asked him. It was cool but could still theoretically be from a gift shop.

"The fakes have a button to turn on the light, that's the real deal. Where did you find them?" He was buttoning his shirt up, unfortunately, picking up the three other crystals and coming to sit on his bead across from you. There was a sphere, one that looked like a big diamond and an obelisk. You handed him the flashlight and he shined it through the other ones. The sphere showed a projection of a globe, but it wasn't S.V.T or even Terra.

"Mars." he muttered, and you looked closer, recognizing the small dots over the surface as the towers that held the barrier around the planet. The diamond one lit up a bright aqua blue, but that seemed to be all it did. The obelisk projected the time and date, but it seemed to be from Mars as well.

"I found them in some cave. How the heck did they get all the way out here?"

"Were these the only things in the cave?"

"Yeah…So even though they are legit, are they worth anything?

"Hm. Maybe to a collector. I can take them to the museum when I go back-" he halted, "If you're okay with it, I'll pay you back." If he wasn't a Ranger, you would be more hesitant to allow it, because he could just pocket the money. You didn't think he would though, not with the reputation of his group at stake otherwise.

"Sure." You shrugged and he took them and put them in his own pack, and you went back to your safe and locked it up.

"Thank you for letting me stay here." He called suddenly as you tried to figure out how the holo-screen worked and what channels there were.

"Sure. I'm not a fan of big groups of people and this is the best hotel in town." You smiled at him, going to hand him the remote.

"Oh, no, you can choose. I'll just read." You nodded and didn't press to continue the conversation. While it was quiet between you two, it was companionable and before you knew it, you had drifted off the sleep, listening to some show and the flipping of his book pages. When you awoke, he was gone, but it was like ten in the morning, and there was an unread message on your holo-tracker.

Sorry I left without saying goodbye. Thank you for letting me stay in your room for the night. I am heading back to the capital for now and will get your crystal projectors estimated. Please let me know if you get any leads on the map thief.  -Wonwoo

You sighed, a little disappointed he just left, but he seemed quite shy and closed off. Whatever. For the rest of the day and the next few you lazed about and did some fun things to spoil yourself after your big payout, enjoying your little vacation. Over the week afterwards you were having trouble finding anything significant and had stopped at a small tavern set up near a small oasis. You sat at the bar, laying on it dramatically. The bartender had moved the fan closer to you so it could blow straight on you as you lazily sipped from the straw in your fruity drink. You glanced casually at the entrance when another person entered, and you zeroed in on their face. They had a hood on, but that didn't mean it was for sure the person Wonwoo had been looking for. After he had gotten the money from the crystals, more than you thought but not a huge amount, he had sent you more information. It was a woman, presumably, and she was pretty tall and even always wore heeled boots. Your gaze shifted to their feet but couldn't see for sure and you couldn't even tell it was a woman. You and Wonwoo had actually been messaging some even past leads on the thief. You didn't have many friends and while he had the other rangers, he said it was nice to talk to someone new. As you sat at the bar, you watched her, pretending you weren't. You casually took out your holo-tracker and took a picture of the person as discreetly as you could, then headed out. You continued to wait and watch in your rover, ready to take a  picture of their vehicle when they left. You thought you knew which one it was, but didn't know for sure, so you waited till they came back out. They got in the one you had been eyeing, and so once they headed off, you sent the two pictures and a few more details to Wonwoo. He thanked you for the update, then asked where you were. He then told you to meet him in the next town of Falko, and since you were headed there anyway…

The town was much smaller than Jaron, so there was only one small motel, so it was easy to find where he was and get to his room. He was on the first floor in room three. You knocked and barely waited before he opened it. He was…smiling. You didn't know he could do that. You forgot how gorgeous he was.

"T-thanks." You smiled bashfully and followed him inside. It seemed he had been there awhile based on everything spread out across the room. There were a few consoles set up as well as tablets and other tech.

"What's going on in here?" You motioned around the room.

"While I'm looking for the map thief, I'm also trying to get the Ranger's new communication array set up. I'm making the program myself so it can't be hacked by outside sources." Wonwoo shrugged, moving various tablets from one of the beds so you could sit down. He sat at the small desk and turned to face you. He asked a few questions about the person you saw, and you gave him more details from the pictures. It wasn't a whole lot to go on, but if it was them, then he now had their vehicle information. Before you could talk past leads on the thief, his holo-tracker went off and he read the message. He sighed.

"What's wrong?"

"My partner is coming back. It might be better if you leave." He stood to lead you out and you grimaced.

"I-It's not…I just don't want him to meet you…" He mumbled and you wanted to press the issue. His cheeks were slightly red, and he flashed another genuine smile as you left the motel room.

"I'll let you know if the lead pans out." You nodded and before you could turn and leave, he had held something out for you.

"What's this?" You took the little holo-card.

"Um…it's my address. If you are ever in Ratalla…I won't be back home for a few more days, but I should be working from there after…" Wonwoo rubbed his hands on his pants, then shoved his hands in his pockets when you noticed.

"Thanks." You gave him your own smile, then left giddily.

Nearly another month passed before you saw him in person again, but you messaged back and forth quite a lot. There was once you were near his hometown, but he wasn't there, so you missed the chance of seeing him again.

You had been meeting with a repair man in a city called Guro; your rover hadn’t been driving straight. It seemed he would need it for a few days to even determine the issue, let alone what to do after. At least you were in a place with lots of activities. You had actually gotten another half a million credits from the giant wreck you found and had more funds than you knew what to do with. As you left the shop, looking up on the extranet for the nicest hotel, someone caught your eye. Despite the heat of the desert and the midday sun, there was someone slinking around with a hood on. You watched them, eyes glancing at their feet. Heeled boots. It was also a woman, and her height matched the parameters. There was even a cylinder vessel hung over her shoulder. It was her. The area had most warehouses, and she might have been meeting a buyer, so you decided to follow her. You sent Wonwoo a message with your coordinates to see if he could send someone by as well, or better yet, call some Guards. You trotted behind her, trying to stay out of sight and remain quiet. Hiding quickly around the corner, you watched her go into an unmarked warehouse after looking around for followers. Not well enough. The thief had gone in through a large open garage door, so it made it easy for you to follow. Crouching against the wall right near the edge of the door you peered around the corner and saw she was alone, probably waiting for someone. She glanced at her holo-tracker, then went further in, toward the garage door on the opposite side that opened to a scrap yard. Looking for another hiding place, you dashed forward and hid behind a column. When you peered around though, she was gone.

"Why are you following me?" A voice called from behind you, and you spun to see the thief, holding a pistol blaster aimed at you. Your heart fell and sweat broke out on your brow. Those maps must be really valuable if this person was willing to shoot you to prevent the interruption of the hand-off.

"I-I was just trying to figure out who-" The woman pulled back the hammer on the weapon and your stomach dropped.

"Shit!" You scrambled up and tried to at least get around the column when you saw her finger going to the trigger.

"Fuck!" You slammed your back against the column, seeing a smoking scorch mark on the ground.

"(Y/N)!" a familiar voice shouted, and you were shocked by Wonwoo's presence, distracting you.

"Stupid bitch!" The thief was back behind you, and you spun to see the gun nearly at your head. You yelped when something yanked you back and you fell into a hard body. Leaning into him, you watched in terror as the woman fell back onto the ground, a hole in her head. Then you noticed not only were you breathing hard, but so was he. He spun you around to look over you, his hands on your shoulders, one going to your jaw to adjust your head so he could look you over.

"Are you okay?" He was nearly frantic, his face and tone filled with panic.

"Y-yes." You weren't sure to be more surprised by his sudden appearance or the clear worry he had for you. It made your heart thud but for a much different reason. When he had finished looking over you and determined himself you were okay, Wonwoo pulled you into a hug. You returned the embrace, more trying to comfort him than anything.

"Fuck, I was worried." He sighed right in your ear, his deep voice rumbling through you.

"You were?" He pulled back enough so he could meet your eye and huffed.

"Of course. You didn't reply when I messaged you to stay away…" His hand went back to your jaw, his thumb brushing over the skin of your cheek, which was rapidly getting warm and red. When you met his eyes again your widened, he got close again and pressed a soft kiss to your forehead.

"Are you okay?" You chuckled a bit, kind of worried. He had never shown this level of emotion before.

"Yeah." Wonwoo pulled way, petting your hair then went to the body of the woman. You tried to avoid looking at her as he took the map holder from her and soon the Guard showed up. It was another good hour or maybe two before you both were finally allowed to leave after giving statements and answering questions.

"Do you have a place to stay tonight?" he asked you as you left the warehouse district.

"Not yet. I was just about to find a hotel when I saw her…" You drifted off, pointing with your thumb in the general direction of where you just were.

"I got a crap ton of money from a wreck I found so I was going to go somewhere fancy." You smiled wide and he gave you a smaller one. Wonwoo took a step closer, looking a bit nervous, his voice had a slight waver when he spoke.

"Wanna get a room together?"

From everything after he asked that question, till your back hit the door of your hotel room, it was a blur. As soon as the door closed, he had you pressed against it, his lips swallowing yours. His big hand was at the back of your head, making sure it didn't hit the wood of the door. You had gotten one of the deluxe suites of the nice hotel, so the bedroom was separate from the living area, and there was a small kitchen even. When your lungs started to burn for more air, he finally pulled his mouth from yours. As you caught your breath, just looking at each other, Wonwoo leaned into whisper in your ear, "I'm going to fuck you on every surface in this place." He promised. Your head swam at the statement and whined.

"Please~" As soon as he got permission, he grabbed turned you around, your front pressed to the door and his nose nuzzled behind your ear. You let him do as he wished, running his hands under your thin top, starting to suck on the skin in the crook of your neck. You were a bit worried about him having to stoop over so far since he was so much taller, but if he wasn't complaining, neither would you. You could tell he was marking your skin as he licked, sucked, and nibbled over your neck and shoulders. His hands quickly got your shirt off and as his hands danced over the skin of your stomach, you toed your boots off, shoving them to the side. Before he completely removed it, Wonwoo slipped his hands under your breast band, palming the flesh, making you shiver. Undoing the latch, he took the wrap off and it fell to the floor as well. Not turning around to see for sure, you heard more fabric rustling and assumed he was removing his own top. You sighed when his arms wrapped around you, holding your back to his bare chest, the right hand cupping your left breast, and his other hand skating over your stomach. He smiled at the whining moan you let out when his hand finally went into your pants, long fingers stroking the wet patch on your panties.

"So wet, pretty girl." He kissed behind your ear, fingers tweaking your nipple.

"Wonwoo~" You whimpered when his bare fingers finally met your folds and he groaned.

"Let's see how tight you are." Every time he rumbled words in your ear, it made your whole body shiver. Sighing when his finger slid inside, he huffed, his hips twitching as your gummy walls sucked his finger in. You could feel his hardening cock through his pants, pressing into your back side. When Wonwoo added a second finger, crooking them up and pressing hard into your back wall, your legs buckled, and the only reason you didn't fall was his arms around you.

"Need to get your pussy ready for me, pretty." He smiled against your neck when your groan faded into a whine.

"Fuck~" You practically cried as his palm dug into your clit and you were already close.

"No!" You gasped when his fingers left right as you were getting to the edge.

"Wonwoo?" He had pulled away entirely, you only knew he was still behind you because his hands were on the waist band of your pants. He pulled them along with your underwear down and kneeled behind you, helping you get them off without falling over.

"Hold on, pretty girl." While you weren’t sure what he was about to do, your fingers dug futilely into the wood of the door. Your breath escaped you when he, without real warning, shoved his tongue into your cunt, his thumb flicking your clit. Your legs immediately began to shake, a mewl escaping with each rapid breath. You were done for when his lips sealed around your clit, barely flicking with his tongue, and your nails dug into the wood as you released on his tongue. He chuckled, your cunt dripping release onto the floor.

"Gonna have to clean this place good…" You joked, breathless and he laughed harder. Wonwoo hummed, standing back up. There was more shuffling as you rested against the door panting. You sighed when his arms came back to you, pulling you back into his now completely naked body. His cock was wedged in the crook of your ass, and you swore under your breath, why was he so freaking big? He was tall and his shoulders were broad, and apparently had to have a fat cock as well.

"Fuck!" You groaned when the head of his cock went to the entrance of your core. One of his arms wrapped around your ribs, the hand resting under your breast, and the other was at your hip.

"Ready?" His tone had shifted, it was playful and cocky, a slight laugh accompanied the word.

"Please!" You gasped as he started to push in, your legs shook as his dick stretched you open. You hadn't been fucked in a long time, and longer still fucked good. You panted out little whines as he kept filling you, and it seemed like he was going to end up in your throat. Your whole body was trembling when he finally bottomed out, his strong hips pressed against your ass.

"God, your cunt feels so good, princess." His groan rumbled through both of you. You couldn't see, but his head was thrown back, adam's apple bobbing as he tried to get used to how tight you were. When he realized you were on your tip toes trying to compensate for the height difference, he shifted to ease the strain. He backed up so you could lean forward more, and he angled his hips down. Your feet were no longer burning, and his new angle seemed to get him even deeper somehow. Your cunt was burning too, trying to accommodate his size, slick walls fluttering from the stimulation. He had still barely moved, letting you adjust, but you were growing close again.

"Move…" Your request was so quiet. You were trying not to moan like a bitch in heat even though that was exactly how you felt.

"Slow? Fast?"

"Fuck- Wonwoo, just-" He pulled out about halfway and thrust back in, the head of his cock kissing your cervix. You both moaned, his hands left their original positions to grip the flesh of your ass and he chuckled when you nearly sobbed as he started. Only pulling out part of the way, he would fuck back into you hard, grinding his pubic bone into you each time.

"Fucking hell, Wonwoo~" You ended up back on your toes just from the pleasure and you hoped they wouldn't fine you too bad for the scratches your nails were carving into the wood. All your breath got fucked out of you when he finally gave a full thrust, your orgasm slamming into you.

"Shit-" Wonwoo grunted when your already tight cunt squeezed him even more, he had to slow down just to keep himself from cumming as well. He smirked, watching your fingers twitch as you clawed the door, your head flopped forward between your shoulders.

"No, no, no!" You babbled as he pulled out all the way, huffing in amusement at your whining.

"Come here, pretty." Wonwoo easily lifted you, somewhere between like a sack of potatoes and a princess. Your head was still swimming from your orgasm, so the move to the next location was a bit blurry. You shivered and mewled when he set you on the counter that was in the mini kitchen of the suite, the marble very cold on your bare thighs and pussy. He laughed at your yelp when he pulled you, so your butt was right at the end of the counter, and didn't hesitate to bury himself back into you. The thrust was harsher and faster than the first and your hands flew to his shoulders to steady yourself as he restarted the brutal rhythm that he was fucking you against the door with. The man groaned when your nails dug into his skin instead of the wood, so he decided to mark you himself.

"Wonwoo~" Your voice wavered, eyes starting to tear up at the feeling of him fucking your brains out. His mouth went to your own shoulder, at the base of your neck. He started with open mouth kisses, then sucked the skin before lightly sinking his teeth in. He could feel your whimper against your throat, and you felt his responding hum from his lips. Wonwoo tightened his grip as well, wanting to leave bruises shaped like his hands on your skin. He was struggling to hold you upright enough, so you didn't bang your head against the counter, and his knees kept knocking into the cabinet.

"Hold on…" He grunted, and you squeaked when, without withdrawing, picked you up, holding your legs around his waist. Not going far, one hand held your butt and the other went to hitch your leg over his elbow as he pinned you to the wall. Luckily the paint on the wall wasn't textured, your back rubbing over the surface as you bounced on his cock. Wonwoo looked even more gorgeous than normal like that, naked, sweat covering his brow, pupils blown wide. The red, dancing hologram of his eye contact contracted and spun, and you wondered what it did, if anything. With hazy thoughts, you glanced down at his body, whining at the sight of his abs, clenched to work his hips and hold you up.

"Fuck, pretty girl-" He exhaled harshly, his thrusts getting less regular as he grew closer to his orgasm.

"Inside, please, fuck!" You pleaded and he had no desire to argue. His forehead landed on your shoulder, and he moaned higher than you thought he could go as he pumped his cum into you. In the silence, cutting through both of your panting breaths, your combined release dripped onto the tile floor. Your head was so empty you nearly didn't realize you had came again as well. You tried hard not to slump like a rag doll since he was completely holding you up, but you had nearly no strength.

"Let's get to the bed." Wonwoo stood up straight, staying inside, his cock still rock-hard and he carried you to the separate bedroom of the suite. While he meant to set you down on the bed gently, you flopped onto it, letting yourself finally go boneless, your muscles and mind were mush. You weren't sure if you could go any longer, but despite a bit of sweat on him, he was unaffected.

"I've been waiting to fuck you since you came to my motel room in Falko." He admitted, shifting you higher on the bed, following suit, his hard cock covered in both of yours cum resting between the folds of your cunt. You barely registered the confession before your back arched, his cock finding its home inside of you again. It was hard to fully catch your breath, he was battering his cock into your dripping cunt without any mercy. As he rolled his hips just right to hit every single good spot inside of you, his hands gripped your thighs, maneuvering your weakly shaking thighs so they were pressed to your chest, knees at your ears.

"D-daddy, go slower!" You keened and his hips immediately stopped. You were too far gone to feel anything but a bit of respite, head flopping so your cheek rested on the pillow.

"Fucking hell, princess." Somehow his voice had gotten deeper, and he started the brutal pace back up, snapping his hips even harder than before. If you had the strength to scream you would, but your throat was hoarse, so you just mewled and squeaked, drool pooling from the corners of your mouth, tears down your cheeks.

"You love daddy's cock ruining your sweet little cunt, huh?" He huffed when your glassy eyes met his. The red hologram spun and danced, and while you couldn't see, through the lens he had a much different view. Little numbers and labels shown in the air around your body, telling him how and where your brain was firing, your heart rate, body temperature, blood pressure. He could even highlight where blood pooled to the bruises his hands had made.

"Yes~!" You gasped as his thrusts slowed down, but just as hard, he barely pulled out before grinding down into you. Different sensors from his lens flashed on and he could tell you were getting close already. Even without it, he could feel your walls pulsing, more of your wet dripping from where your bodies met.

"You wanna cum, pretty?" You nodded rapidly, whimpering positively.

"Cum for daddy, then." And with one more thrust you fell over the edge. Not just from his words, but also the rough friction of his pelvic bone meeting your clit. Wonwoo chuckled as he felt your pussy spasm, more of your cum squirting from your quivering folds, coating his skin as well. He had a feeling you were spent even though he knew he could keep going. He had stilled inside of you, so he didn't overstimulate you too much, and he wasn't for sure you were still conscious. Your eyes were closed, arms resting on the bed up by your head. He smiled warmly, cooing at your fucked out state, letting your legs go so they could rest onto the bed as well. When he pulled out you shuddered, a long shaky keen floating from your parted lips. He was shocked at the globs of thick, white cum that dripped out of your swollen cunt and he was still unfortunately still very hard. After feeling your core milk him dry, he wasn't sure even a cold shower would calm him down. Though, seeing you laying there, he felt a little bad he had caused you to become so worn out and didn't want to be selfish.

"Oh, princess." Wonwoo leaned back over you, kissing your cheek, the corner of your mouth, then softly pressed his lips to yours. You sighed and it made him grin, you were at least conscious.

"You're still hard." Your voice was quiet, higher than normal, almost whiny.

"It's okay, pretty, you're tired." Wonwoo nuzzled the side of your neck under your ear, lightly sucking on your ear lobe. If he wasn't careful, he would not be able to resist sliding back inside you. With the little strength you had return to you, you pushed him back just enough that you could flop over onto your stomach.

"(Y/N), we don't-" You didn't let him finish, grabbing a pillow to shove under your hips, lifting your butt a bit higher.

"Please, daddy~" You looked at him with shining eyes over your shoulder, and who was he to resist?

"Oh, fuck, princess. If you insist…"

Masterlist

#ihavethedreamies #kpop #kpop fluff #kpop smut #kpop x reader #kpop fanfic #x reader #seventeen x reader #svt x reader #seventeen fanfic #svt fanfic #seventeen #svt #seventeen fluff #svt fluff #seventeen smut #svt smut #seventeen wonwoo #svt wonwoo #wonwoo x reader #wonwoo smut #wonwoo fluff #jeon wonwoo

[fukamistea]

Trespasser (Montgomery Gator x Reader Smut)

✧˚ · . In which Montgomery Gator kidnaps you and... well, you know what happens next . · ˚✧

∆ This work has rape/non-con elements, so if you don't feel comfortable with it please don't read! Your safety and well being first! ∆

× Warnings: non-con, kidnapping, orgasm delay, vaginal sex, cunnilingus, blowjobs, forced orgasm, dom/sub dynamics, possessive behaviour, name calling. ×

Reader is afab and has a female body, although the pronouns are never specified.

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·..·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·..·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.

Once you realized the Pizzaplex was closed for the night while you were still inside, a shiver ran through your spine. It was foolish of you to close your eyes in one of the bathroom stalls, thinking that you would rest for just a few minutes; and it was even more foolish thinking that a janitor would find you and wake you up: after all, the majority of the crew was made of robots to save money and cut costs, of course they were gonna do a crappy job.

You were now breathing loudly, on the verge of a panic attack: many robots were patrolling the surrounding rooms with torches, ready to sound the alarm if they ever saw something unusual. You heard that the fine for breaking in inside a mall after closing time was high, more than you could afford... so you decided to sneak around, looking for the exit to flee before anyone could find you.

After an hour of searching you were still there, a way out was nowhere to be found and you were starting to grow tired of this place. You angrily stomped your foot to the grown, drawing the attention of one of the patrolling robots, that immediately turned in your direction, staring deep inside your soul with its white, empty eyes. Before you could do anything or hide, you heard a low growl behind you, getting closer and closer. Suddenly a metallic arm wrapped around your neck, starting to choke you until there was no air left in your lungs. You fought to remain conscious, kicking and punching your aggressor with both your legs and arms, but your eyes slowly began to close and your body went limp.

You faded into nothingness, a robotic laughter playing in the background.

When you finally woke up, you weren't inside the mall anymore: you were lying on a green couch inside a mysterious room that you had never seen before. You curiously looked around, your head hurting a bit: the walls were covered in a green wallpaper that had claw marks all over it, the curtains were also damaged in the same way. A neon star towered above you, glued on the ceiling, while a mirror on the side of the room reflected your image. All that green around you was making you feel nauseous, your head was dizzy and you still felt your neck hurting, the memory of being choked still vivid in your mind.

"You finally woke up, sweetheart." Growled the same raspy voice you heard before, and a green alligator with star-shaped sunglasses entered inside the room. It was Montgomery Gator, one of the most loved animatronics ever, the star of the show... after Freddy. "Well well well, what do we have here? A little trespasser."

"Oh my- my God, you're Monty!" You stammered, still not understanding what whas going on. "I'm so sorry, I- I don't even know what I'm doing in this room, I was just looking for the exit, I wasn't trespassing, I just fell asl-."

"Quit your blabbering, I don't care." He snarled, punching the wall in a fit and leaving the mark of his fist impressed on it. He was undoubtedly stronger than a common human, and also... angrier. "I don't care about why you're here, all I know is that you shouldn't be, because that makes you a criminal."

"I'm not a criminal, please let me go! Just tell me where the exit is and I will never come back again!" You begged while backing away until your back slammed against a wall. That animatronic had a really short temper and, considering the fact that he was also much stronger than you, you didn't wanna make him mad.

"Not how it works, sweetheart." Monty slammed both of his arms beside your head, trapping you against the wall. He smirked, silently glaring at you while enjoying the fear in your eyes. "You're a criminal and this is my home, this means that I can do anything I want with you. Kill you, torture you..."

"N-no, please... I swear I didn't mean to disturb you, I'm sorry..."

"Oh you're not sorry yet... but you will be, slut. You will be." Monty grabbed your shirt with his claws, easily ripping it apart. He did the same with your pants, leaving you with only your underwear on. "What an amazing body you have, it would be such a waste to simply let you go."

"W-what are you doing? Stop! Stop this, or I will..."

"Or you'll what, huh?" He teased you, toying with the elastics of your undergarments before snapping them and leaving you naked. "Call the police? Defeat me? Oh, you can't possibly think that a mere human like you would be able to even dent my metallic armor. Perhaps I should really show you who's boss."

Before you could even complain, the animatronic grabbed you with his arms, slamming you on the couch. He didn't even gave you the time to breathe; he was already on top if you, rubbing his body against yours. His metallic limbs were cold against your soft skin, he was using you like a toy.

"P-please... stop... I promise I won't tell anyone." Tears were already rolling down your cheeks as the gator started rubbing your clitoris with the aid of his leg, his robotic eyes filled with lust behind his glasses. You started to moan involuntarily, the animatronic was rubbing all of your good spots, taking you to your limit. "P-please Monty..."

"I like how you're moaning my name, sweetheart." Montgomery chucked, still rubbing your lower parts until he started feeling your juices on his leg. Proud of his work, he started licking between your legs, using his arms to hold your waist and touch your breasts. The feelings you were feeling in that moment were indescribable: he was licking you up with his long, slimy tongue that almost felt human. Perhaps to build it they used a material that was skin-like that made it look more authentic, but it was also weirdly wet like a human tongue... and rough. Extremely rough yet pleasant, it was making you moan like crazy, you couldn't even hold back your voice anymore, as the animatronic kept fucking and licking your hole with his tongue.

"Looks like you're enjoying yourself like a good whore. It's not fair if you're the only one having fun." Monty suddenly stopped eating you out, smirking in a sadistic way when he noticed your disappointment. Perhaps you wanted more? He got up, removing a metallic plaque from his crotch and tossing it to the ground, revealing his big, girthy erection. It was veiny and long like a human one, except that it had a greenish hue. The head was round like a mushroom, whoever made it knew exactly how to do it and did a fantastic job. "Do you like it? They gifted it to me to stop me from destroying my room after every concert. Now, instead of clawing the curtains and punching the mirror, I just enjoy myself."

"Y-you're disgusting." You said, your pussy still throbbing, wanting more of it.

"Oh, honey, stop pretending to hate me. You were practically begging me with your eyes to make you cum."

"I'd rather die than be with you. You filthy, disgusting monster. I really hope they decommission you as soon as possible, so I can watch your scraps decay day after d- HNGH!"

You couldn't even finish the sentence: Monty shoved his shaft directly into your throat, starting to face-fuck you as hard as he could. He grabbed your head with one of his clawed hands, moving it like a toy with each thrust. "Such a filthy mouth you've got. Now you're not bitching anymore, huh? It only took half my cock to make you shut up."

Monty shoved another inch inside of you, fastening his pace while you choked and gagged on his massive erection. Unable to fight back, you just surrendered to him as he slowly added more ad more inches, until his balls were roughly slapping on your chin. Your own saliva leaking through the angles of your mouth as the animatronic kept fucking you, each thrust sending an electric impulse right in his brain until with a big, final thrust he finally came, releasing a substance that was warm and thick almost like human seed. He kept your head in position to avoid you from wasting even a drop of his precious cum; fighting back was not an option, after all he was too strong for you to defeat.

"Good slut. Good slut." He praised you, finally letting you go. Once you were free, you started coughing as hard as you could, spitting all the seed that was still in your mouth mixed with your own saliva. You took a few deep breaths, finally filling your lungs after being used like a toy. Monty was watching you in amusement, his cock still erect like before he came. "You did a good job, but I'm still hard as you can see, and I'm afraid your mouth won't be enough this time."

"Please, I already did what you wanted, why won't you let me go?" You started crying again, tears kept forming in your eyes against your will. You wanted him to see you as someone strong, unbreakable, but right now you were just a mess covered in his cum, completely at his mercy and unable to fight back.

"Because you're just... delicious." He growled, pinning you against the couch, slowly positioning himself against you. He started rubbing his cock against your warm, wet pussy, sliding easily between your folds. A shiver of pleasure running across your spine as his member kept rubbing your entrance. "Your body, your everything... I can't just let you run away without tasting you first."

"P-please, you're still in time to stop this. Please, I don't want to be here..."

"Don't you get it, stupid slut? You're mine. All mine." He bit your shoulder to mark your soft skin with his teeth, paying attention not to kill you. The bite sting a bit, you started crying again when you saw him lick sensually your blood from his metallic lips and fangs. "And once I cum inside of you... you will finally belong to me."

He started penetrating you with his shaft, holding your arms in place with one of his strong hands. The other hand was placed on your right hip, slowly caressing and lifting it as he entered into you. You tried to kick him, but your legs weren't strong enough to damage his metallic exterior. "You can fight as hard as you can't and you still won't be able to stop me. Save your energy, it's gonna be a long night." He slammed his entire length inside of your tight hole. Luckily you were warmed up enough to take him without feeling pain, but you still let out a big scream, calling for help. "Yeah, you can scream as loud as you can, but nobody will come to save you. You're trapped with me now, there will be no knight in shining armor that will save you from being bred."

Monty started thrusting slowly into you, feeling your tightness rub every inch of his huge cock. Your warm hole was perfect for him, it almost looked like your vagina was rapidly taking his shape. The feeling of his sintetic flesh inside of you was weird, it almost felt like a real piece of meat. "I can feel you tightening around me... it's amazing, you're gonna make me cum just from that."

"P-please... M-monty... it's too big..." you begged, feeling all hot on the inside, your hips unconsciously moving towards him.

"If you want me to fuck you harder you just have to tell me, doll. I have no problem with it." Monty grabbed your hips with both of his hands, starting to fuck you harder. Your fingers sank into the couch, as your pussy was being mercilessly pounded by the gator. Screaming, crying and begging was useless, the sound of meat against metal now filled the air around you. Your lower parts were burning with desire, as he kept thrusting into you hard with his enormous shaft.

"N-no... ah~ s-stop..." you begged, your ruined hole violated with no mercy. An the fact that your fluids were lubricating him was even worse, because now he was able to fuck you with his whole length, his balls slapping hard against your butt. "P-please... s-stop... If you don't I..."

Monty started rubbing your clitoris with one of his fingers, still fucking you hard. He hadn't slowed the pace even for just one second, still pounding you hard and growling in pleasure with his robotic voice. "Such a great slut with a great pussy, now that I know this I will never let you go. I'm going to keep you here and fuck your brains out day after day."

You couldn't even speak now, your mind clouded with pleasure. You came a few minutes after he started touching you, his dick still hard inside of your hole. Even if you came, he didn't stop: he kept fucking you harder and harder, overstimulating you to the point that the pleasure turned into a sweet torture. You wanted to beg him to stop, but you were being fucked silly, now you couldn't even let a coherent sentence out of your mouth. "H-hng..."

"Oh yeah~ cum for me, whore. You're such a dirty slut, I'm raping you and all you can do is moan and cum." He teased you, his cock still hard inside of you, pounding you faster and faster. His thrusting finally became erratic as he finally came inside of you: he kept fucking you for a few seconds after his orgasm, his seed now deep inside of your womb. You were hoping that it wasn't actually cum but just a look-alike substance, because that much seed was enough to knock you up in a second. After that, he exited from you, stroking his erection to get rid of the last drops of his seed. He then looked at your shivering body with a proud face: your legs were open, unable to close. Your hole was all stretched out and leaking with his cum, while you had a vacant expression on your face, almost as if you were broken.

"You belong to me now." He said, covering you up with a blanket and leaving the room to recharge. The mall was going to be closed for a few days, so they weren't gonna find you so soon. You were all his, his new fucktoy to use in each moment of the day. "You better rest now, doll. Soon I'll come again for round two."

You didn't even heard him, lost in the pleasure, completely broken, your body convulsing and shivering. It was the best fuck you've ever had in your life, your whole body was shut down, unable to move even an inch.

"Until next time, slut."

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·..·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·..·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.

Hello, it's my first time ever on Tumblr and I want to share my smut fics here. I used Reddit to write erotica commissions for people (as a gig) so if you know someone that would like tailored erotica ffs you know where to send them!

Bye and I hope you enjoyed the story!!!

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·..·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·..·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.

#smut Montgomery gator #monty x reader #x reader #smut #monsters #monster #reader insert #ao3 #ao3 writer #montgomery gator #fnaf security breach #furry #fnag security breach x reader #montgomery gator x reader #roxanne wolf #roxanne wolf x reader #glamrock freddy #glamrock bonnie #glamrock chica #smut x reader #afab reader #gender neutral sub #gender neutral terms

[brummiereader]

PREVIOUS PART

A Ghost Of A Man (PART FOUR)

Summary: With the folder she found at the antique fair, the reader goes to see Tommy once again. Will he open up about what happened the night he died?

Warnings: Language, supernatural themes

It had been a few hours since you arrived back home. Sitting on the sofa daydreaming, the TV on in the background you had the folder you found a few days ago on your lap, when all of a sudden the front door swung open.

" Fuck! Louise you scared me" you said as the folder fell to the ground.

" Hello to you too, you didn't text me by the way"

"I'm sorry, shit I've been such a crappy friend these past few days" you apologised as you started picking up the folder and it's contents, balancing your other hand in the air.

"What the hell is that?" she said as she noticed a tea bag resting precariously on your hand.

"Oh, it's just this chamomile thing for the pain" you said, oblivious to how ridiculous you looked.

"A chamomile tea bag" she laughed raising her hands in the air then dramatically slapping both her thighs with them " You know what? I'm not even gonna ask where you got this idea from" she said uncontrollably laughing.

" Alright, alright.." you replied not being able to hold back a laugh. " I was told it was good for injuries" you added as you adjusted the tea bags position.

Still laughing she sat down beside you " How is it anyway?" She asked as she nodded towards your hand.

" It's fine just need to rest it"

" Didn't go get it checked out did you?" She said with a huff. "Thought you said you were no longer using them" she added pointing to the folder in your hand.

" I'm not, just thought I'd read through it all again"

" So... what is it about this Tommy Shelby that has got my friend so captivated?" She asked moving closer to you to look at the folder.

" I'm not captivated" you said rolling your eyes fidgeting slightly. " I don't know... I just think there's more to him. Yes he was dangerous and menacing, but there's something else...I don't think he was solely a bad man".

" Not many people a purely evil, I'm sure there was good in him too" she said with a small smile, seeing that you was quite taken by this mysterious man. " Do you have a picture of him?

" Erh yeh, I do actually" you answered looking through the papers as you pulled out the picture the old lady gave you.

" Which one's Thomas Shelby?"

" That's him" you replied as you pointed to him on the old black and white picture.

" Ahh so that's why you're so captivated" She giggled nudging your arm with hers. " He may have been a dangerous man, but my god...was he hot" she said as she took the picture from you. "Mr moustache is pretty fine too" she giggled again.

Laughing you looked at the picture with her. He was good-looking, no one could deny that. He looked the same as he did in the picture, piercing eyes, sharp jaw, muscular build, impeccable sense of style. Only his complexion was different, a stark reminder of what he was now. Was he still the same man as the one in the picture you wondered, or had the years made him too bitter and angry. What if you could help him, help him change his fate, give him a second chance. Would you do that for a man as dangerous as Tommy Shelby?

The next day you decided to ditch going to Uni altogether. You planned to go back to the building back to Tommy once again. Standing In front of the mirror you pulled on your long black coat, you had actually made an effort today. Now free of its bandages and feeling far less sore, your hand seemed to be healing quickly. With the folder on Thomas and the Peaky Blinders under your arm you walked out the front door and headed for the bus stop.

Walking up the old wooden stairs for the third time, you noticed Tommy sitting on one of the secretary desks facing the large window that looked out onto the street below.

"Back so soon?" He said turning to face you.

Feeling slightly embarrassed that you had returned so quickly, you stayed near the staircase closing your open coat around you.

" I can leave if you want?" You said in quiet voice as you started to feel self-conscious at your choice of clothing, his evident glare looking at you from head to toe.

" What's that ?" He said pointing to the folder under your arm ignoring your question, a small smirk playing at the corners of his mouth as he watched your restlessness.

" Oh, yes, It's Mr Campbell's folder" you replied slowly making your way closer to him

" Hmm" he nodded as you was now right beside him.

" Thought you would like to see it" you said as you placed it on the table beside him.

Tommy reached into his suit pocket and pulled out a cigarette from a silver case, placing it between his lips then lighting it, all the time not losing eye contact with you once. Why did he stare so much you wondered as you tried to avoid his challenging glare, was he trying to scare you off again? Still sitting on the edge of the desk now with the lit cigarette loosely resting between his lips he turned to look at the folder beside him, opening it his fingers traced over the various documents. A little overly enthusiastically you pulled out the photo of him and his family from within the folder, moving his hand out the way. His cold fingers felt polar opposite to your warm hands and with that Tommy pulled his hand away from yours swallowing harshly as he stretched out his fingers from your touch. It had been so long since he had felt the now unfamiliar warm heat of a woman, the softness of the skin, like silk under his fingers. Watching his reaction you stepped back, uncertainty in your eyes. But then Tommy picked up the picture of his family, glancing up at you he gave you a faint smile.

" I remember having this picture taken" he said reminiscing. " Took four goes until everyone stopped fucking arguing" he slightly chuckled as he watched you smile at his memory.

" Who was Mr Campbell?" You asked looking up at him from the picture.

" Chief Inspector Chester Campbell" he replied correcting you as he walked away from the desk taking a drag of his cigarette. "He was hired by Winston Churchill to recover a missing consignment of guns from the BSA factory" he added clearing his throat.

"Missing?" You said with a small smile. "Why did he have a folder on you and your family?"

" I think you know why miss Y/L/N" he replied as he cocked an eyebrow.

" What really happened that night you died" you asked overly confident.

Huffing Tommy strided over to you " You ask a lot of question you know that? And I rarely answer questions. You know everything about me and yet I know so little about you"

" Do you want to know about me?" You asked slightly embarrassed by your bombardment of questions.

Taking a drag of his cigarette leaning against the wall he gestured with his hand for you to talk. He did want to know more about you. Who was this young girl that had suddenly entered his world like a freight train coming at full speed, he was more than intrigued by you.

" Well... You already know my name". You said standing up from sitting on the edge of the desk. " I'm in my mid 20s, i'm a student at the University of Birmingham studying history. I live in Sparkhill with my roommate in this old converted attic. My family are from the area. I moved to the city a year ago, I work at the Sparkhill library. I like the history of this city...i erh I like to collect antiques" you said like you was reciting a checklist.

Tommy watched on with amusement as you paced arms folded with a flustered face back and forth in front of him, trying to think of something even a little more interesting to say.

"That's it" you said coming to a stop In front of him, your eyes avoiding his out of embarrassment.

" It's that why you like busying yourself in other people's history, because your life is so mundane" He said with a cocky smirk.

" Fuck" you sighed quietly turning your face away from him, your eyes welling up as you shook your head in disbelief at his brutal remark and the realisation that it was true. You had always thrown yourself into the history of other people's lives, so much so that you had forgotten to live your own life and make your own history, the realisation was uncomfortable.

Not intending you to take it that way, Tommy walked over to you turning your chin with his thumb to face him, you flinched at his coldness but he kept his thumb in place.

" I was only teasing" he said lowering his head trying to get you to look at him " Maybe you just need a bit of excitement, eh?" He said as he brushed a lone tear away with his thumb.

" Maybe" you sniffled as you gazed into his eyes. They were the bluest eyes you had ever seen and you found yourself getting lost in them, pulling yourself away from your daydreaming you looked down at the floor.

" I was heading to my car" he said letting go of your chin. " Sabini and his men jumped me, beat me within an inch of my life" he added as his eyes glazed over, no emotion omitting from his body. Had he become so accustomed to that life you wondered as you watched him talk like he had recounted this story a thousand times.

" How did you get back to your office?"

" I barely did" he said as he turned his head and looked at you. "I was trying to get back to phone my brother...i think you know the rest" he added as he took a long drag of his cigarette, straightening his posture out.

You remembered the article and the old ladies words. Tommy was found dead slouched in his office chair, he was too weak, barely alive. He never made that call in time.

" You get to go back, each year...to try and change the outcome though? You asked him, a hint of hope in your eyes for him.

"Now how do you know that?" He said as he tilted his head narrowing his eyes at you.

" The old lady on Watery Lane" you replied apprehensively, like you was not supposed to be entrusted with this knowledge.

He scoffed shaking his head in disbelief as he made his way back over to sit on the old secretary desk.

" She talks too much that one" he said as he went to light another cigarette. You watched him as he lit the match once again, the small glow of the flame warming his face for a brief moment. You found yourself unknowingly staring at him once again. Shit, was your friend right? Were you captivated by him.

Tommy however noticed your staring, a cocky smile formed on his mouth as his lit cigarette burned between his lips.

"Y/L/N" he said aloud pulling you from whatever daydream you had entered this time.

"What?" You answered flustered, cheeks now an embarrassing shade of red.

"Y/L/N" he replied once more. " You wouldn't happen to be related to the Y/L/N's that live just outside of north Birmingham, would you?"

" There's lots of Y/L/N that live around Birmingham" You said looking at him as his eyes sparked with mischievousness.

"I know everyone in and outside of the city love, and your last name I have only heard a few times" He said shaking his finger at you. " Mill Street, no?"

Oh fuck, it had never occurred to you that he might have known your ancestors. What was he going to do, go back and have them offed for their great granddaughters incessant nosiness into the life of Birmingham's most dangerous Gangster.

" It must be another Y/L/N family, mine only moved to Birmingham recently" you lied through your teeth.

Getting up from the desk his hands in his pockets, he walked over to the other side of the room all the time watching you with a smirk on his face. He knew you was lying. You wasn't exactly very good at it, fidgeting hands, eyes down to the floor cheeks crimson red. He found it almost endearing, watching you stumble out a lie to protect your family. From what he remembered your family were good people, your great grandfather a respected man and a force to be reckoned with, not that different from himself, but nonetheless hardworking and honest.

"Don't worry love, I'm not going to go back and have them killed" he said like he was reading your mind.

" I wasn't thinking that" you replied as confidently as you could only to be betrayed by your restless hands once more. "...I need to get going" you added looking at him as he nodded to you.

Walking over to the desk you started putting all the various newspaper clippings, documents and papers back in the folder.

"Leave the photo" he said as he watched you.

Nodding, you started heading for the stairs until Tommy's hand caught you by your hip.

"Will you come back?" He asked turning his head to face you as he looked down into your eyes, his hand still on your waist.

"Yes" you nodded smiling to him as he smiled back. Now at the top of the stairs you turned around to face him.

"Bye Tommy"

"Goodbye Y/N"

NEXT PART

Tag list: @theshelbyclan

#peaky blinders #tommy shelby fanfic #thomas shelby #tommy shelby x reader #tommy shelby x y/n #peaky blinder fanfic #peaky blinders fanfic #tommy shelby

[minnielvr]

DIE FOR YOU - chapter 10 : "#pussypower"

y/n received a text from hyunjin saying that he was in front of her dorm, so she got her purse and said goodbye to her friends and left the house.

"hey hyunjin" y/n said as she sat down in his car.

"hey cutie" he looked at her in awe, why does she look more beautiful than normal? he couldn't take his eyes off her for a whole minute.

"uhhh hyunjin?? hellooo?" she waved her hand in front of him, confused.

"oh- yea sorry. lets go" he put his hands on the wheel and started driving.

"oh by the way congrats on getting the solo! i'm sure you'll do great." she congratulated him, in y/n's opinion thats a pretty big deal.

"aww thanks y/n, i hope so."

the ride to the restaurant was a bit of a drive from what y/n could see on the directions, so she turned on the radio, which started playing crappy music.

"hyunjin can i have aux?" y/n asked

"hmmm i don't normally let people have aux in my car.." he pondered

"oh.." y/n looked down at her lap dejectedly.

"but i guess i'll make an exception for you." he looked at her and winked.

"woah there buddy," y/n laughed at his attempt of flirting, "thanks though, my music taste doesn't disappoint."

y/n took her phone out and connected to the bluetooth and shuffled her playlist. after that the car ride was silent with the music in the background.

thats was until hyunjin decided he should try to hold y/n's hand on the center console. her hand was already on it so his excuse could simply be "i didn't see your hand". so he he put his hand on top of her and intertwined their fingers. y/n was hesitant at first, letting her fingers just lay there, she eased up after a few minutes though, holding onto his fingers too.

‿୨♡୧‿

the two arrived at the restaurant and had ordered their food, now they were just waiting.

"hey y/n lets play 21 questions" hyunjin suggested to pass by time.

"hmm okay" she agreed

"okay i'll ask first, whats your favorite superhero?" (oh my goodness i love this questionnnn😁😁ifykyk)

"oohhh spiderman definetely, i love him sooo much, i have all his merch and posters everywhere!! see look he's even in my phonecase!" she turned her phone to show hyunjin. he found it cute how excited she got over something so simple.

"wow i wonder what i have to do to make you love me like that" he tried to flirt again

y/n started laughing, "i won't ever love anyone as much as spiderman."

"yea yea whatever you say, it's your turn to ask now" he reminded her

"hmm, what other hobbies do you have other than dancing?" she was curious

"well i paint a lot, like all the time actually-" hyunjin got cut off by y/n's gasp.

"YOU PAINT? like as in.. red yellow green blue and paintbrush??" she was flabbergasted.

"uhh yea..?" he was confused

"but- wha- how? i mean, you're...you." she tried to explain

"meaning?" he raised a brow

"well you're supposed to be some fuckboy you know, only romantic guys paint and shit." she explained

"well i can be a fuckboy and romantic no?" he asked

"i mean yea i guess..still though thats shocking. you HAVE to show me your art sometimes."

"mmm maybe, usually i don't show anyone my art."

"well you said the same thing about giving aux but look how that turned out." she smirked and took a sip of her wine.

"y/n those are two completely different things"

"blah blah yap all you want. your turn now!"

"okay..whats you're type?" he asked

y/n's faced dropped, did he really have to ask that now? things were going perfectly fine, and she didn't want him to know her type was him.

just as she was going to spew out some nonsense the waiter came with their food. she internally thanked the waiter and gave him a smile. soon the topic of y/n's type vanished as they dug into the food.

‿୨♡୧‿

hyunjin and y/n had finished eating and now were on the way back to campus. once again, hands intertwined on the center console with her playlist in the background.

they arrived back at her dorm and hyunjin got out to open y/n's door, then helped her up.

"okay! time to help you study" he said while walking to the stairs.

"wait you were serious?!?!" y/n thought he was joking when he said that.

"duh!! why would i lie?" he pouted.

"but um you know..my friends are in there and what if they see us?" y/n was trying to find any excuse at this point. god knows what would happen to her if he came inside.

"y/n it's almost midnight im sure they're asleep, plus yunjin is probably with her boyfriend or something." he grabbed her hand and dragged her along.

"fine fine, just be quiet until we get inside my room." she said sternly and opened the door. they quietly took of their shoes and made their way to y/n's room. she opened the door and waited for him to step inside.

"well.. lets get studying i guess." she went to sit at her desk.

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series masterlist • prev • next

a/n: *GASP* oh my goodnes i love this questiooonnnnn😁🤭🤭 uhm - i think!

the taglist is open!!! pls comment on this post or send an ask if u wld like to be added!!!

taglist : @sunoo-bby @chili-crab0811 @sanriiolino @hopefulrascalstatesmantoad @lolli4me @grayscorner @veedoesntknaur @jia-qian @cherryuqii @xrvrqs @abbiestearsricochet @k1t0 @escapetheash @lucktales @soulphoenix1618 @jungkookies1002 @mrsseochangbin @hyunskzza @adr1an4 @eyearebee @hrtsforhyun @surefornext

#stray kids #skz #stray kids x reader #stray kids x you #stray kids x y/n #stray kids imagines #stray kids scenarios #stray kids smau #stray kids fanfic #stray kids fanfiction #skz scenarios #skz smau #skz fluff #skz crack #skz hyunjin #skz stay #stray kids hyunjin #hwang hyunjin x reader #hwang hyunjin smau #hyunjin x you #hyunjin fluff #hyunjin angst #hwang hyunjin #hwang hyujin imagines #hwang hyunjin scenarios #hwang hyunjin x you #hyunjin #hyunjin x y/n #hyunjin x reader

[thewritersaddictions]

Day Six: Steve Rogers + Frottage

You were supposed to be watching the movie with the rest of the gang, but somehow you had managed to get into your boyfriend laps from where you were original sat which was just a few spots away from him.

Steve and you had been dating. Dating with a guy who was original born in the late 1900's made being romanced a little harder then if you had been dating someone from your own era.

The theater was dark, and with Stark having built the building these were couch seats or beean bags that you were laying ontop of it was a real movie theater chair, and not the crappy ones either.

Everyone sat in thier own section, so when you climbed into your boyfriend lap nobody really saw anyways. Watching some random movie that had been drawn from a hat of written down sugguestions.

This one really wasn't your favorite. A horror movie. Bored out of your witts you make a plan in your head.

Steve is already hugging you by the time you get in his lap. Whispering in your ear that sends a shiver down your spine. "What's wrong bunny?" A cute nickname for his cute girl. You hums quietly into his neck and he kisses your head gently before returning his attention to the movie on the screen. You can hear the slight conversation, and then the shrieks of certain members getting scared.

Steve beings to rub your back, slow motions up and down your back and your almost lulled to sleep. Both of your clothing choices gives you a briliant idea. Your silk sleeping set that makes you according to Steve glow is what you have picked.

Steve is the opposite, going for a loose pair of sweats and an old sweatshirt. Where you lay in his lap your silk covered panties lays perfect on his hard cock.

Even though Steve is a great gentleman. He is still a man, a man who's never touched you more then kissing you gently on your forehead or on your cheeks. You test it once, grind your hips slowly almost as if you're shifting in his lap to get a little bit more comfortable.

His hand stops on your back and his heartbeat races agsint your chest. You breath him in deeply. He smells of leather, and vanilla. Your kiss his neck after his hand starts up again. "Y/n?" He whispers to your hair. You hum agasint his skin, and lick his neck.

He breaths heavily. "What are you doing?" He whispers. The two of you hadn't gotten sexual yet not in your long relationship.

Baby Steps

"I'm tired of waiting, please just give me something!" You whimper agasint him, as you drag your hips back over his sweat covered cock. "Oh, sweet jesus." He mutters as he tries to control himself, but doesn't stop you. "Please Stev…" You barly get your words out before his hands are no longer on your back and now at your hips guiding your hips gently over his lap.

Grinding you agasint him even though it's dark in the theater the movie brings light ot his feature. Screw eyes shut, and a flared nose as he tries to control himself.

But there's no control just how hard he's already gotten under his sweats. He can feel how wet you are underneath all the fabric. The silk allowing for a little bit of a show. You breahty moans fills his ear, as his grip tightens.

"We can't get caught, so stay quiet." Steve mutters in your ear as he bucks into your hips each time he grinds you over him. You barely manage a hum or whatever you think is a hum at this point.

Little curses leave your mouth, and when you get closer and closer to your release you start to nibble at his earlobe, sucking at his neck and then your eyes screw shut, and the coil breaks.

A coil that connects the both of you as your panites become wet, and his load fills his boxers. The breathy moans and the ability to catch your breath takes you both a moment.

"Jesus Y/n… god you're prefect." He whispers in your ear. The movie is still playing in the background, and for the rest of it you don't move to comfortable where you are in Steve's lap.

Completed on: 06/17/23

Posted on: 10/06/23

Kinktober 23- @lanad3lreyscokewhor3 @homelanderscumdump @hummusxx@chvnsdimple @vvitzvafflezvv @lokisivy @claud-blood0703 @iliketoreads-stuff @all-that-glitters-is-treasure@clearscissorsbonkgiant-blog @lxonix--ac @piecesofx @mortallyswimmingpainter @playwithfire99 @fucak @everythingneytiri @lovetheos @xxxxxoseungxoooo @durazopato @hotpead42069 @oddseabiscuit @capoda @witching-hour @viviwows @lover103 @alexlovesfiction @katiecat10 @electricfans @jianasmind @max-505 @powerbun21o @the-horny-simp @missy420-0 @jaq-dav @arescosplays

Marvel Master List // The Old Master List // Kinktober '23

#fluff #fem reader #female reader #marvel x female reader #marvel x reader #marvel mcu #mcu imagine #steve rogers x f!reader #steve rogers #steve rogers fanfiction #steve rogers fluff #steve rogers smut #smut #marvel smut #smut smut smut #smut smut fic #Drabbles #steve rogers drabble #kinktober 2023 #kinktok #kinktober #day6

[reel-fear]

Wow, so umm... This looks bad, not only is it inaccurate due to using the wrong ink demon design [unless this is confirmation BATIM Ink Demon has been outright retconned... Which would make me pissed enough to make a new post just about THAT] but from an art standpoint this is just... Confusing and poorly done.

I wouldn't care if this was fanart, of course you should support young, indie artists... But for a Graphic Novel making sure your cover doesn't look like something Butch Hartman shat out in an afternoon is kind of important. Remember they're going to be asking us to give money to them to read this. The artist likely won't see any of that money and neither do the authors most of the time, not to mention this art screams of the artist being underpaid and overworked.

Like they Had to get something on someone's desk and their boss said 'good enough'. A concept Joey Drew Studios is very familiar with considering the allegations of poor working environments that Kindly Beast. Not to mention Mike Mood admitting in a Reddit AMA that they did in fact rush projects like Showdown Bandit. [Which they sold at full price]

He also says they can in fact say no or yes to designs involving their IP. Either Mike or Meatly had to say yes to this cover, according to his own damn words.

And do you really think this company in particular would care enough about its fanbase to not sell them garbage? They have done exactly that on several occasions. It's not like they care particularly about art either, considering their previous use of AI Art. There was no apology or even posts addressing it... Instead, they just rushed out an archives update to their game to get people to stop talking about it... Even forgetting an entire character in it. Again

This company is [or at least SHOULD BE] on thin ice when it comes to being suspected of misleading their fans or rushing out crappy products to them.

So with all that context in mind, I'm gonna talk about why this cover sucks ass.

The light sources are all over the place? Why does it look like someone put maces or knight armor on his shoulders but it's just flesh?? It looks both gross and weird [not in a good way either]

To explain more I'm going on a rant below but sadly this seems to have been confirmed to not just be a rough pass but the final cover and man... I am not excited about this graphic novel just at all. This felt like it really drained any possibility of it turning out good for me and I already had expectations low.

Okay first point, the light sources?? And there is no consistency here with the shadows or lighting, it looks like there's a hundred light sources all at once but none of them are even consistent!

the arrows here represent all the different light sources I can make out and yet the the shadow clearly implies there's only one. I understand wanting to use highlights to give the character a more clear shape but then just give him one or two lights behind him or in front of him? No matter how u follow the light sources, the highlights make no sense and the shadows make even less sense.

Why are the shoulders like that? Like on the legs it's a little understandable, at least those are clearly very heavily affected by perspective, for me I think they are so exaggerated it makes it look like one of the legs is either huge or one is small but that's maybe subjective.

However, the shoulders are unjustifiable, what happened there, what did they do??

I could pick on so much more honestly, how the color choices of piss yellow with no other colors being used, and the harsh pitch black being used for every part of his body is weird. How it looks straight out of Butch Hartman's recent crappy art. But to put bluntly bad start! Also what the HELL is going on with this background??

Seems once again the Bendy team is fine with sending out stuff thinking it's "Good Enough" for Bendy fans and honestly the people trying to tell me to "Be Grateful" for this are just proving that no matter how many times you betray your audience some of em will defend you!

Which is sad tbh. If anything we should be putting MORE pressure on the Bendy team to do better. Cause we deserve better than this, honestly we do. There are amazing artists in the bendy community who could do so much better for a cover. They've employed their fan artists before... Wouldn't it be great to do that for such a lore important book? The book that gives us the identity of one of the main characters in BATIM? The character you spend the entirety of Chapter 4 fighting to save? Not to mention will give several major characters their human designs?

But I guess this is... Good enough...

#ramblez #batim #batdr #bendy and the ink machine #bendy and the dark revival #sorry I've been on a positivity streak with bendy I know but I have to be honest and being honest I think this sucks lol #Im sure plenty of people Disagree and while I would argue this is more objective than subjective people will ignore me if they want to #maybe Im just a hater idk #but I do know one thing I sure do hate this and Im pretty sure Ill hate this novel and its designs #but maybe I wont ya never know #anyways if they do retcon batim ink demon I will make a post abt how much I dislike batdrs ink demon design #and why I think all the people saying its better than the og seriously arent understanding #what made batims ink demon good or character design in general tbh #to put bluntly just bc something is popular opinion DOES NOT make it right or a good idea design wise #not everyone is qualified to be a character designer and thats just good advice in general tbh #anyways yeah thats it sorry im being mean today </3 #I simply think corporations shouldnt be able to rush out crappy products to their fans and get paid for it but ig thats a hot take now #but esp with how bad that updated employee handbook was too and it still had stolen renders from fans in it... #yeah I dont think theyve learned a damn thing

[studyingpookie]

28/100 days of being productive

(new color for today, we need diversity)

What I did today:

-met with my friend 🥰🥰

-did some exams questions

-understood something from math 💀

-worked out 🦅

- obviously played once again you should have known that by now

-studied some physic

-studied for my history of art test

Hi guys!

What's up??? I think I haven't asked something like that here for....ever? I'm quite curious cuz there is almost 50 of you!

ANYWAY!

Today was quite... productive to say at least I mean... I think I'm gonna skip tomorrow morning class because I just don't want to be there. I plan on studing a lil more today so like no way that I will wake up tomorrow in..any sort of mood.. BUT! I dunno yet! I hope the class will get canceled tbh.

Also today I met with my friend in the afternoon and we ate, talked a lot and just chilled together.

I got home chilled for a bit talked with my other friend, went to the gym and locked up with studying...yeah before that I rot in my bed BUT ITS NOTHING WRONG.

Remember guys mental health before anything!

Also I tried today study with these films where someone is studying in the background.

Yeah totally not for me.. I dunno but somehow it annoys me that they have such pretty notes and mine look like shit 💀

Another statement. My energy drinks obsession is coming back and I'm literally so scared of it. I don't want to buy some crappy caffeine to function. I hope the ones that I had today will be the last one (probably not)

I wrote a lot for today but I guess I needed it. And I hope y'all had and will have a pleasant day:) also stay tuned for what I have in my bag guide!

Bye bye

#study #studying #dark academia #100 days of productivity #productivity challenge #productivitytips #school #study aesthetic #study motivation #studyblr #nature #im procrastinating #study notes #study tips #study desk

[k-evans-reads]

In Living Color

Chapter 7

Summary: When Natalie Marton, lead character designer for Buzz Lightyear, meets the voice of Buzz, Chris Evans, the sparks are undeniable. But when their work pushes them away from each other, both physically and emotionally, will the sheer differences between their worlds be enough to force them apart?

Pairing: Chris Evans x Pixar Animator OFC Natalie Marton

Word Count: 4,010

By: @k-evans-writes and @ourfinest-hour

We do NOT give permission for our works to be reuploaded, translated, or reposted on any other site. Our work is our own.

Warnings: None.

Previous | Main Masterlist | In Living Color Masterlist

June 2021

Nat glanced out the window of her San Fernando apartment from where she sat on the couch, seeing the bright sunshine streaming in through the windows and able to hear the chirping birds outside, but it didn’t seem to lift her low spirits. It had been three weeks since Chris had gone to Europe but somehow it seemed so much longer. Having everything change and finally discussing the elephant in the room the morning of his departure was crappy timing, but Chris leaving had been even harder than she’d imagined it’d be. It’d given her the space in her mind to fill with doubts and worries, scared he’d come back only to cut things off with her or simply stay in Boston for months on end, unwilling to even see her. But a simple look around her apartment quelled her fears, seeing the two bouquets of flowers he’d sent her this week, remembering the others that had been delivered to her office as well, and his quiet, low voice murmuring “I’m crazy about you, Nat,” echoed in her mind. All it took was that and the memory of their never-ending text thread, even despite the nine hour time difference between them, to feel confidence flood her. 

But it still felt so far away until she’d get to see him again, not even halfway through their time apart. It felt so much easier during the week when she was able to focus on work, her brain being occupied with her tasks, but the weekends were hard. So often in the spring, they’d hung out together, either at Chris’ home or Nat’s apartment, on the weekends, that the sudden free time was incredibly lonely. Which is what resulted in her still laying in bed at nearly noon on a sunny, warm Saturday. As if on cue, her phone pinged and she instantly grabbed it, smiling widely when she saw Chris a text from Chris. 

Nat liked his message before tossing her phone back down on the bed, sulking back into her emotional funk. She mindlessly clicked through the channels on her television, trying to find something to watch, settling on an episode of Friends, then once it ended, she switched over to her streaming service to turn on her comfort movie. But before she could even click play, her doorbell rang, making Nat’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. She hadn’t been expecting anyone but decided to climb out of bed, throwing on a sweatshirt before opening the door and finding a white bag sitting in front of her door. 

Nat looked down the hallway for the sign of anyone but found it empty, only making her more curious than before. She quickly scooped up the bag and closed the door with her foot, not even being able to wait until she could put it on the table to pop the plastic container open and find some fresh tacos, a smile on her face instantly but it wasn’t from the food. It was because she knew exactly who it was from. 

Her phone buzzed with a text from Chris, but she ignored the message – likely telling her he was back in his room – to instead hit the “call” button, holding the phone up to her ear and she dug further into the bag and found containers of guacamole and queso for her, both of which she loved.

Chris answered the call but Nat cut off his greeting, asking, “You sent me lunch, didn’t you?” 

She listened as he chuckled to himself, something creaking in the background as he sat down. “Well I couldn’t let you go hungry, now could I?” He replied, his voice amused as she munched on a few tortilla chips and grabbed a plate from the cabinet. 

“I don’t think I would have starved,” she muttered, rolling her eyes to herself. “In fact with the way I’ve been emotional eating lately, I’m sure my jeans would appreciate me missing a meal so my ass could fit better in them.” 

He made a noise of disagreement at her words, but his voice was light as he shot back, “I’ve seen the way your ass fits in jeans and it’s pretty fuckin’ perfect if you ask me,” 

“At this rate, by the time you come home my ass isn’t going to be fitting into any of my jeans,” she muttered again, sitting down at her island and putting the call on speaker phone as she reached for a taco. 

But Chris’ low chuckle was nothing if not mischievous, and his words matched as told her, “That’s fine with me, because I prefer you without them anyway.” 

“You’re trouble,” she murmured, pausing to take a bite from her taco. She listened to him on the other end as he moved around a little, wishing for nothing more than to be next to him right now. “And I really miss you.” 

“I miss you too, Nattie. I miss you a helluva lot.”  

Those words made her heart clench because she knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was telling her the truth. She could hear the vulnerability in his voice and having him be so honest and upfront with his emotions was something so refreshing and unlike what she’s experienced with any other man before. He told her about his day, about what he and Scott got up to in France after he’d slept in, exhausted from the long few weeks from home and his own bed. But while she tried to listen to him, she couldn’t help but relish in how much it felt like he was there, right next to her, drinking a beer and eating a taco, nudging her with his elbow every time he told a joke, smirking at her every time she rolled her eyes at him. She missed him, so so much, enough that it nearly hurt.  

She had finished the food and put away the leftover queso and was now heading back to lay in bed as he was laughing about a mix-up with their Uber that night. She couldn’t help but remember how miserable she’d been, not even an hour ago, having been laying in this bed, stewing in her thoughts and missing him. And while she still missed him, almost more than she had before, if that was possible, she was… happy. She was content, and she felt as though he felt the same about her, and it felt good. It was sad and lonely right now, but it felt good. “God, I just love talking to you, Nattie,” he murmured, his low voice rumbling right as she slipped underneath her duvet. “I just… enjoy you.” 

And in that moment, those words felt like she’d been hit with a ton of bricks. Her stomach clenched in knots and instantly tears sprang to her eyes, those words bringing out so many emotions that had been buried deep inside her so long. She had always been the black sheep of her family, and although none of them had ever made her feel anything but loved, she knew she was different. She wasn’t strong and steady like her dad. She wasn’t level-headed and wise like her eldest sister, Heather. She wasn’t intelligent and driven like Alex. She was Natalie… She was emotional, sensitive and had a big personality, and was everything that her family wasn’t. 

She knew that she was a lot to handle. Nat knew she wasn’t easy from her passionate and intense emotions and had felt for so long that those were flaws in her, thinking back to Shane’s words that often were dismissive and insisted only on talking to her when she had “calmed down” and “stopped being dramatic.” She had always felt as if she was lucky Shane put up with her personality, working so hard to tone it down to become more rational, less of her artist brain taking over. But somehow Chris hadn’t made her feel that way. He made her feel that he actually liked those things about her, rather than simply tolerating her and it was something she truly never even entertained being able to have in her life. 

But here he was, so effortlessly expressing how much he simply enjoyed… her. And there was nothing that touched her heart more than that. But it wasn’t just the fact he was saying that, it was the fact that his actions had shown her just how much he valued her. It wasn't because of the flowers or the random gifts like today, it was because of how much time he always carved out of his day for her, even if it meant waking up early after a long night of shoots to catch her before she went to bed. 

Her voice was quiet, barely above a whisper when she admitted to him, “I miss you so much.” 

“I miss you too, Nattie,” he replied, a deep longing in his voice. “What are you going to do this afternoon?” 

She shrugged, picking up her remote and turning her television on again, the screen flipping onto the info page for a movie. “I was just going to lay in bed and watch Casablanca,” she told him, her thumb hovering over the play button. 

But Chris interrupted her as he rushed to tell her, “Don’t start it yet, let me get it up first,” his voice slightly muffled as he moved around in his own bed. 

She couldn’t help but smile from where her head laid on the pillow, phone on her chest while she waited to hit play until he said he was ready. The two stayed on the phone the entire duration of the film, sharing their thoughts in key points, crying at all the same moments, and sharing the experience together, simply enjoying getting to spend time with one another despite being on different continents. 

Nat had been so caught up in talking about nothing with him that she hadn’t even realized the time, shouting out an expletive when she saw the time and quickly apologized to him, saying she had to go and she’d be back in an hour. 

The phone call ended hurriedly as Nat pulled on a pair of bike shorts and a t-shirt, running out the door after she jammed her feet into a pair of Birkenstocks. The drive to the Burbank Airport thankfully flew by, and soon she found her sister in the arrivals pick-up, waiting near the curb with her bag. 

Nat guided her Izusu Trooper to the curb, parking it in front of Heather and jumping out to greet her. She wrapped her oldest sister in a hug, squeezing her as she said, “Heather! I’m so glad you’re here!” 

“Me too,” Heather replied, quiet as she hugged Nat back, before they moved to load her things in the trunk. “Although I’d be a lot happier if I was here just to see you rather than go to this boring conference all week.” 

“Well I’m going to break you out of it early a couple evenings and we’re going to Disneyland,” Nat smirked as she closed the hatch, heading back to the driver’s side as Heather went to the passenger.

As they sat in their seats, Heather looked at her with a relieved grin as she said, “Thank goodness.” 

They were quiet as Nat drove them back onto the freeway and Heather sent her husband, Ryan, a text that she’d found Nat. “Are you still planning on coming home for Ella’s birthday?” Heather asked, eyes bouncing between the wide freeway and Nat.  

Nat scoffed, knowing she’d had the date circled on her calendar for weeks. “Are you kidding? Like I’d miss a unicorn themed birthday party?” She asked Heather, almost incredulously. It was the one thing she’d been looking forward to since Chris left, excited for the chance to go home for a weekend. She’d be in the home stretch after that, with just over a month until Chris wrapped filming and came home. 

“The girls are so happy you’re coming,” Heather interrupted her thoughts, causing Nat’s attention to shift to her two nieces, who she adored and missed so much. “And so are the rest of us. We all got so used to having you around last year that it just hasn’t felt right now having you home since Christmas.” 

“It’ll be so good to come home, it’s been lonely here lately,” Nat admitted quietly as she shifted in her seat. 

“The girls have been missing you like crazy,” Heather added, pausing as her phone buzzed. “Especially Lily. We’ve been trying to get her a little more out of her shell by putting her in some activities.” 

Nat frowned, listening to her words. She’d always known – everyone in their family had – that Lily was the tough nut, the shy one who didn’t like new situations or new people as much, but she’d assumed that no news had been good news. “How’s that been going?” She asked Heather, glancing over at her as she changed lanes. 

“We tried soccer and she cried the whole way to practice. Then we tried gymnastics and that only lasted two sessions,” Heather recalled, but then paused and smiled suspiciously at Nat. “But now we put her in an art class and she’s loving that. She came home the other day and said she’s learning how to be an artist like Auntie Nattie.” 

Nat’s shoulders slouched and tears burned her eyes, threatening to spill as she listened to her sister. “Heather, don’t make me cry while I’m driving!” She finally replied, smacking Heather lightly with her right hand as she stared at the road. 

Heather smiled, shoving Nat back playfully before she twisted in her seat to face her. “I was talking to Ryan the other day and I think we’re going to bring the girls down in September and do Disneyland,” she informed her, then shrugged and added, “I’m going to see if Alex and Zach want to bring Carson and you know dad will come.” 

Nat nodded, already making plans in her head as she told her, “Just tell me when and I’ll take the week off.” 

“Ryan’s just waiting to hear back from his boss so I’ll let you know,” Heather promised. “I just want us to do more things with all of us together.” 

Nat exited the freeway, stopping at the light right outside of her apartment complex before she turned into the parking lot. “I’d really love that,” she whispered.

Heather watched Nat carefully as they grabbed their things, but nothing was said until they were inside Nat’s apartment. “...Dad told me what you said when he was down here with you… about being lonely,” Heather began as she rolled her suitcase into Nat’s room, turning to meet Nat’s eyes concernedly. “He’s worried about you, Nat.” 

But Nat shrugged, biting her lower lip as she insisted, “I’m okay.” 

“Are you really? Because dad wasn’t very convinced.” 

“No, I am,” she repeated, then shrugged as she remembered the way she’d felt only an hour ago while she was on the phone with Chris. “It’s just been getting back in the groove of things after being home so long in the pandemic and it’s been an adjustment. But I’m happy, Heather, I promise.” 

Heather gave her a look that showed her confidence in Nat’s answer, but soon all was forgotten as they settled on the couch to watch The Parent Trap. Nat welcomed the distraction from the questioning from Heather, but within an hour of her arrival, Heather turned her head, leaning an arm against the couch and asked, “Hey, what ever happened with that guy? Chris, right?” 

Nat sighed, knowing she had a lot to say but just wanted to enjoy the night with her sister. “I’m going to give you the whole story but it’s a long one so I’ll tell you over breakfast tomorrow,” she told her, shaking her head. 

Heather raised an eyebrow, an amused look on her face as she mentioned, “Sounds like it’s going to be a good one.” 

“There’s a lot to tell,” Nat began, but then shook her head again as she smiled a little. “But I need you fully awake to hear it all.” 

As they turned their attention back to the movie, within minutes Nat’s phone vibrated incessantly against its place on the coffee table, the screen telling her Chris was calling. She accepted the FaceTime call, fully intending to quickly tell him that she’d call him back tomorrow, but seeing his tired face on the other end of the line, so handsome despite that mustache above his upper lip caused her to linger. 

She couldn’t help but smile, seeing him halfway propped up in bed, one impossibly thick muscular arm behind his head and the other holding up his phone, resting it on his stomach and letting Nat see his bare tattooed chest that she could vividly remember running her hands across. She tipped her screen slightly away from Heather, not intending to hide Chris from her but wanting to have the chance to tell her what had happened and who he was before this, but she didn’t get a chance to say anything first. 

“Hey I know you’re busy but I’m just headed to bed and wanted to call you real quick,” he told her quickly, his eyes glancing off screen as he messed with his pillow for a moment. “I just miss you Nattie, and I wanted to hear your voice.” 

Heather sat up across the couch from her, her eyes wide as she whispered, “Wait, is this him?”  

Nat turned the phone so that Heather couldn’t see him, her eyes bouncing between Heather’s amused, excited look and Chris’ tired eyes on her phone. “Um yeah, but I’ll just be a second,” she told him, her voice sounding weird even to herself. 

Heather all but whined at those words, her voice hushed as she told Nat, “No, no! I want to see him.” 

Chris’ brows furrowed as Heather’s voice carried over the line, his voice quiet as he asked, “You got company, Nattie?” 

“He calls you Nattie? Stop, that’s so cute,” Heather gasped, her voice a little louder as she watched Nat. “I want to see him.” 

“Sorry, am I interrupting?” 

Nat rolled her eyes, sending a glare Heather’s way before she looked back at Chris, informing him, “It’s just my oldest sister.” 

“Heather’s there?” Chris asked, sitting up as he reached for something and then pulled a shirt over his head, jamming his arms through the sleeves quickly. 

Heather had a smirk on her face as she listened to the conversation, making Nat kick her leg lightly. She ignored Heather’s laughter as she told Chris, who was turning on the bedside lamp, “Yeah she’s here for a conference this week.” 

“Turn your phone, I want to see,” Heather practically ordered. Nat waited until Chris nodded then turned the phone as she scooted down the couch. She held it in front of Heather’s face, watching the phone as Chris waved a little awkwardly. “You’re shitting me right now.” 

She smirked a little as Chris laughed loudly and Heather’s jaw dropped, rushing to defend herself and tell her sister, “I was going to tell you tomorrow.” 

“You’ve just been casually keeping it a secret that you’re dating Chris EVANS?” 

“I said I was going to tell you tomorrow!” She repeated, her voice rising as she took her phone back with a frown, but it didn’t stay long as Chris laughed again at their mini-argument.

Chris smiled at her, but then cut in and said, “It's nice to meet you, Heather. I’ve heard so much about you and your family from Nattie.” 

“I wish I could say the same about you, but don’t worry, I’m going to get some details out of her before the night is over,” Heather laughed as she shook her head to herself. 

“I don’t mean to interrupt, I just wanted to call and say goodnight,” Chris sighed, laughing a little as Nat all but glared at Heather. “Can I call ya’ tomorrow, Nattie? I have a night shoot so I’ll be around most of the day.” 

She turned her attention back to Chris, nodding and telling him, “I’ll call you in the morning.” 

“Nice to see you Heather,” Chris called, waving a little as Heather did as well. “Goodnight, Nattie.” 

She wished him a goodnight just before he hung up, then tossed her phone onto the couch cushion next to her with a sigh as she leaned back, unsure what to say given Heather’s recent revelations. “Okay, what the hell? How is it that you didn’t mention any of this?” She asked loudly.

“In my defense, I did tell you about Chris,” Nat told her, handing her hands up innocently as she stared at Heather.

Heather rolled her eyes, scoffing as she corrected her, “You failed to mention it was Chris Evans. That’s kind of a big deal!” 

“That’s why I didn’t want to mention it. I didn’t want it to be a big deal when I wasn’t sure what was going to happen with him being in Europe to film for a few months,” Nat admitted, biting her lip nervously as she remembered those fears. 

Heather tilted her head, looking at Nat curiously as she spoke. “He called you just to say goodnight and hear your voice… so I think you can be sure,” she told her, leaning an arm on the back cushion of the couch as she looked at her younger sister. “How do you feel about him, Nattie?” 

Nat sighed, unable to help herself as she smiled and admitted, “Heather… he’s incredible.” 

Heather all but scoffed again, joking, “Well duh, just look at him.” 

“I mean, I’m not complaining about that,” Nat assured her with a short laugh, but then waved a hand vaguely. “But it’s so much more than that, Chris is… one of my best friends.” 

Heather’s smile turned genuinely happy for Nat, and she reached out to touch her hand as she told her, “That’s the way it should be.” 

Nat nodded, swallowing some emotion away as she confessed, “I just have come to see that I never had that with Shane. I never felt like we were friends.” She paused, reaching for the box of tissues on the coffee table as she shrugged and wiped her eyes. “I never felt like he enjoyed spending time with me… and looking back I see that I never felt like he even enjoyed me unless I was doing exactly what he wanted.” 

Heather’s face fell as she listened to Nat’s admission, and Nat knew that despite having never told any of her family that feeling before, it was more than likely a known topic of discussion among the other Marton members. They hadn’t been shy in telling her after she and Shane broke up that they weren’t the biggest fans of him towards the end, but Nat could only guess how long they truly felt that way. “But you don’t feel that with Chris?” She asked Nat quietly, a protectiveness in her voice. 

She shook her head, a pleased, but also relieved smile on her lips. “I feel like Chris likes me,” she told Heather, shrugging. “He makes me happy that I’m me, rather than embarrassed.” 

And the matching relieved smile on Heather’s face told Nat all she needed to know about Heather’s gut feeling as she said, “That’s the way that it should be, Nat. That’s how it is when things are right.” 

Heather’s simple words echoed in Nat’s mind as the characters in the movie arrived at the hotel, capturing the older woman’s attention. But Nat couldn’t help but stare at her phone, a tiny grin on her face as she saw a text from Chris, apologizing for the interruption and hoping that she enjoyed Heather’s visit. And for the first time in nearly a month, she felt at ease and content with life, not just with Chris. 

A/N: We can’t wait to hear your thoughts!!! Thank you SO much for reading.

#in living color #chris evans story #chris evans fanfiction #chris evans fanfic #original female character #chris e #chris evans ff #cevans #rpf #chris evans x original character #original content #chris evans x original female character #real person fanfiction #real life chris evans #real person fiction #chris evan fanfiction #fanfic #chris evans writing #writing #chris evans x ofc #ofc #chris evans x oc #chris evans x reader #chris evans x female reader #chris evans fluff #chris evans x smut #chris evans smut #chris evans imagine #imagine #christopher robert evans

[transformers-mosaic]

Transformers: Mosaic #579 - "A Day In The Life"

Originally posted on February 10th, 2011

Story - Shaun Flaherty Art - Nathan Davis Colours - Matthew Colby Black Letters - E&C

deviantART | Seibertron | TFW2005 | BotTalk

wada sez: As the first Transformers movie introduced Sam in high school, and Revenge of the Fallen followed him to university, this strip seems to take the natural next step of showing him working a job as a young adult—something which Dark of the Moon would go on to similarly explore. However, as Flaherty revealed on Seibertron, he wrote it before Revenge of the Fallen even came out: “I wrote this Mosaic over three years ago and it was intended to follow the events of the first live action movie. If it was unclear, the idea is that despite driving an awesome car that transforms into an alien robot, you still might have to have a crappy job. Thanks to my artistic collaborators who, I think, did great work.” The pizza company he works for, “Haas Bros. Pizza”, is naturally named for Hasbro. See below for the original script for this comic, as shared to Flaherty’s deviantART.

Panel 1.  A close-up of Sam Witwicky. SAM: Bumblebee -- Panel 2.  Bumblebee transforms into vehicle mode. SAM (OP): -- let's roll. Panel 3.  A close-up of Bumblebee's tire.  It spins and smokes as he begins to peel out. NO DIALOGUE Panel 4.  Bumblebee speeds down a street.  We see him from a dramatic angle.  He looks super-cool and is going super-fast.  His roof is just out of frame. NO DIALOGUE Panel 5.  Bumblebee takes a sharp turn.  We see him from another dramatic angle.  His tail spins out, just enough to continue looking super-cool.  Once again, his roof is just out of frame. NO DIALOGUE Panel 6.  In the background, Sam stands at the front door of a house with his back to us.  He might have that squiggly line above his head, indicating exasperation that you might see in a Peanuts strip or anime/manga.  In the foreground, Bumblebee is parked in front of the house.  His roof is finally revealed: a pizza delivery sign sits atop it -- something clever, like "Haas Bros. Pizza" with "'We don't play around with good pizza!'" or something like that. VOICE (OP): Who is it? SAM: Pizza, ma'am. SAM (continued): Pizza.

#Transformers #Transformers Mosaic #Maccadam #Live-action film series #Shaun Flaherty #Nathan Davis #Matthew Colby Black #E&C #Bumblebee #Sam Witwicky

[thecatfather]

A/N: omfg school senior yaomomo (private school bc her parents are loaded). Just. Here:

You’re 15, she’s 17. You’ve seen her around school a lot. And not interacted with her nearly enough. ‘Til this year, that is.

Now she’s your house prefect. You purposefully fuck up your uniform so you get called out by her. You pretend you don’t know how to wear your tie so she’ll do it for you. She’s always so fucking nice about it. Your uniform is almost always wrong. She never questions it. You don’t know how she does it. Just tells you off really nicely sometimes. It’s fucking frustrating.

You run into her at the library once, and again, and again: you find out that she spends a lot of time at the library. You go there to read, she goes there to study. You find stupid reasons to talk to her. Like the time you told her that you’re thinking of taking chemistry and you want to know what to expect. (You don’t even like chemistry. And you don’t have plans to take chemistry— Ever.) She always stops what she’s doing and gives you her full attention. She never brings up the uniform mishaps. Ever. You don’t understand her.

You make her laugh sometimes and it makes your entire day every single time. The sound of her laughter becomes the background music in your head for days afterward. You show her crappy science memes that you looked up just to so you could show them to her and she says she loves them. (ohmygod she loves them! 🥺🥰💖✨)

It does cross your mind that she just puts up with you but you're just happy for the time you do get to spend with her.

Once, you forget to finish your lunch because- she walks into the hall after you sit down to eat and ties her long, black hair up before sitting down a couple tables in front of you and you’re so mesmerized by her that you literally forget where you are.

During the local sports meet — you managed to get yourself recruited by the track team early this year (A/N: just taking a moment here to say: F.) and after a gruelling month and a half of practice, your team loses; you’re a sore loser, that’s why you didn’t want to commit to this in the first place ffs— she finds you crying on the bleachers. You don’t notice her at first but then she leans closer and puts a hand on your shoulder. She asks what happened and you just shake your head because it’s so embarrassing; the thought of telling her why you’re crying makes you want to spontaeneously combust. (oh look!- on the bright side, you did learn one (1) thing about chemistry from listening to her talk) She sits with you till you stop crying and gives you a hug and you swear it’s The Best thing that’s ever happened to you, prior events of the day be damned.

One time you notice that she’s got a rainbow pin on her bag and you think about that for the next two weeks. Does that mean she’s into girls? But hasn’t she been rumoured to be in a relationship with that guy with the hair for the past three years? What does it all mean.

On Valentine’s day, you write her a card (addressed to her, by name) with a poem in it (you considered writing something by Sappho but decided that was too forward, instead you put a small piece of paper with a sketch you did of Sappho that you thought didn't bear all that much likeness to Sappho and wrote “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” in some fancy writing on the back of it) and leave it in the space under her desk. You will never know where you got the courage.

You completely forget about it a few weeks later, when, after you bother her at the library again for something stupid and she’s getting up to leave, the card and the little paper with the sketch fall out of one of her notebooks. Your heart jumps to your throat. She puts it away so fast, you wonder if you imagined it, but the soft pink on her cheeks that wasn’t there before and the slight rasp in her voice when she says “bye” tells you more than you needed to know.

You start to stare off into space more often. And you start wearing rainbows and rainbow coloured things. And every waking minute of your life, you wonder if there’s a possibility she’s looking for the person who left her that card. You belatedly regret not signing your name.

You figure you should talk to someone. But you don’t really have a someone to tell this kind of thing to. You have friends but they don’t know you, not really. And you doubt they’d understand any of this. How would you even begin to tell them about this?

You’ve avoided her and you’ve tried to pretend this hasn’t affected you for weeks. You even wore your uniform nearly perfectly every day for two weeks so you wouldn’t have to get called out on it. But you reach a breaking point. And you tell Momo. You tell her you think you might be… gay. Or bi. Or some kind of queer. She says nothing for what feels like the longest minute of your life. Then, she just reaches into her bag and pulls out the card. And the sketch. And lays them on the desk between the two of you. Then she looks at you and she says, quietly, “Me too.”

You don’t say a word. You don’t even blink. You don't dare to even move a muscle for fear of reacting wrong and ruining everything.

You realise you waited a moment too long, when you catch a look of defeat in her eyes as she reaches to pick up the paper and the card, probably to put them back inside her notebook and then forget about it and never bring it up again-

You don’t know what comes over you in that moment, but you hear your mouth say, “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”

Her eyes shoot up to look at yours. Then her face relaxes minutely in understanding and she says, “Thou art more lovely and more temperate.”

and you swallow, hard, before nodding and saying, almost inaudibly, “…yeah.”

Then she looks at you and smiles— and you have to pause to take a breath because it’s definitely brighter than any and all of your possible futures holy shit.

You reach out tentatively to touch(? hold?) her hand. To your relief, she doesn’t pull away. She just says, “It took a while for me to realise that was sappho. But the sonnet helped connect some dots.” Your brain doesn’t give you enough time to process that she just called your sketch shit. But— fair enough, you're not an artist.

And then she asks, “How long?” and you tell her, having the decency to look sheepish, “Two years. Give or take.”

She mindlessly rubs small circles into your palm with her thumb and says, grinning slightly, “Two months. It was easy enough to figure out that you didn’t give two shits about Chemistry.”

I do not give permission for my work to be reposted anywhere else, recorded or recommended anywhere.

#momo yaoyorozu #yaomomo x reader #yaoyorozu x reader #momo yaoyorozu x reader #bnha #pencilwrites

[gilbirda]

Can we keep her?

DPxBatman crossover. Jazz/Jason pairing. Background BatCat

Sequel to Dance with me?

NOW WITH SEQUEL -> Hit on me

The aftermath of last night's gala and all the implications. Also, time to meet the family!

thanks to @lapetitechatonne  for taking a look at this and helping me not fall into despair!

[Read on AO3] [Read on FF.net]

Chris watched in shocked silence as subtly as she could. It was difficult — the lovebirds were the only patrons in the whole Denny’s at two in the morning.

Who the fuck went into Denny’s at two in the morning? You see, in Gotham it could be anybody. Shady individuals, people getting out from late night shifts, vigilantes when they got hungry in their patrols, etc. You know, the usual.

Not two people, clearly a couple, dressed like they came from a fancy party.

Or. At least they were, once upon a time.

Chris looked nervously at Jackson, probably with the same wide eyes and red cheeks.

It was such a bizarre experience, bearing witness of the way these two were all over each other, touching each other, kissing, being lovey dovey in general. They never went over what was decent publicly, mind you, or Chris would have been the first to call the police to escort these people out of the establishment.

No.

The worst part was that the pair was the cutest thing they had ever seen.

And Chris and Jackson knew who they were since the moment Jason Todd, wayward son of Bruce Wayne, entered by the door with Jasmine Fenton, the face of the Arkham Reform project, gingerly placed on his back.

Both looked happy, despite their fancy clothes completely askew, stained and modified for freedom of movement — he had opened the first buttons of his shirt and shed the jacket, which now was over the girl, probably to cover her a little since she had tied her skirt on her hips, the fabric now riding high up to her waist, showing the black shorts she wore under the dress.

Jackson cooed as Chris processed the shock of seeing the famous faces enter her workplace at this ungodly hour. Jackson was a hopeless romantic, and there was something in the way Jasmine was barefoot, with her face tucked between Jason’s shoulder and neck, that pulled the strings of his shipper heart.

They ordered a sinful amount of waffles and a big strawberry milkshake with two straws. Jackson was trying not to cry of cuteness as he prepared the shake, sneaking some Valentine’s exclusive heart shaped sprinkles over the whipped cream.

They sat on the furthest corner, in a place where they could hide and canoodle in peace without giving a show out of the window.

But Chris and Jackson could still see them. And hear them.

“Should we—”

“Let them be,” Jackson stopped her hand from reaching her phone for the tenth time since the couple entered Denny’s. “Seriously, they are not hurting anybody.”

Chris made a face. “As long as they don’t get naked…”

Fortunately for everyone, they didn’t get naked. In fact, they kept their hands to themselves — if you didn’t count the two times they stopped talking and started making out for a moment there, then back to talking, or eating, in the girl’s case.

Because Jasmine could eat. And the lovestruck Wayne kid watched her like she hung the moon as she devoured her last waffle with a satisfied moan.

Chris had to look away when the kissing started again.

“I feel like we need to take a photo.”

“Why?” Jackson frowned at her.

“To have proof that this happened?”

“We have the security footage.”

Chris roller her eyes. “You know they don’t work and are only to scare away common thieves.”

“Eh.” Jackson shrugged. They weren’t paid enough to care. “Yeah, one photo won’t hurt anybody.”

Chris lifted her phone, snapped a photo of the pair and quickly checked that it was good.

It was good. She had managed to capture the lovebirds looking at each other, Jasmine talking and gesturing with one hand while the other was clasped with his over the table; Jason sipping what was left of the milkshake, leaning back on the crappy seat of their booth, eyes fixed on her mouth.

“Heh.” Jackson was looking over her shoulder at the photo. “We could sell this for a big sum of money.” At his coworker’s glare, he quickly jumped to add: “Not that we are going to! It’s just that this is such an exclusive… “Love blooms at Denny’s” or something, can you imagine the publicity?”

Yeah.

It was such good publicity.

With the McDonalds opening right on the other side of the street and the Taco Bell setting up down the road, business had been a little slow lately; and Chris was starting to think that her boss was considering that two people for the night shift was one too many.

With a heavy heart, she opened twitter and switched to the Denny’s twitter account. They didn’t have a proper CM for the Gotham branch, so she and Jackson sometimes did a bit of that work. For free, of course.

I’m sorry. You guys are the cutest, but we need this.

She wrote the tweet, attached the picture and hit send before she got too scared.

***

Dick Grayson prided himself as a very calm and put together adult. He was the older brother of a bunch of siblings that needed him, he had led various teams of superheroes while being a powerless human, he had gone to space!

He also prided himself to have outgrown his murderous phase from his Robin days — Nightwing was a new start, a new face, a new beginning. He was his own person beyond Batman’s sidekick.

And yet, he was very tempted to kill someone right now.

Specifically, his little brother.

Dick gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles went white, eyes glaring at the red light as if it had personally offended him.

He wanted to scream.

Last night it was supposed to go smoothly and Jason had decided to choose violence.

He only had one job — dancing with the daughter of this big-name-whoever-that-man-was that had been nagging Bruce for months. The poor dude thought that the girl was his last chance at striking a deal with Bruce Wayne, so he tossed her at them like she was an object and not a human being.

Dick would have felt bad if the girl in question wasn’t so creepy about it. She had this fixation on the Wayne boys, going as far as saying she didn’t care which one of them she ended up with — speak of red flags.

Bruce was aware that this was a very bad idea, but still spun the whole thing as a way to get Jason to participate in family stuff, join the gala, and hopefully meet someone that was a good match for him; not necessarily the rich girl, but maybe someone else at the gala. The last part was implicit, though. Bruce was getting to that age that he wanted to see his children find happiness, and he had made it his mission to ‘nudge Jason in the right direction’.

That’s all cool and fine.

Except that Jason abandoned ship and ran away the moment the event started. It became a wild goose chase trying to get him to do just one dance with the girl to shut up the crusty father, but nooooo Jason had to make it difficult for everyone.

And then—

Bruce said he found Jason and never explained if he was coming back. Or if he was okay. Or if he was running away from the whole gala.

With a girl.

It was that Fenton girl, the one that had been behind Bruce and fighting to get his attention for months. Dick had heard many complaints and stories about the crazy stunts she pulled just to get him to listen to her, manilla folder and tablet in hand, being borderline creepy stalker-ish.

They thought she would calm down and stop once Wayne Enterprises showed their support, once Bruce organized the stupid gala to make it official and gather more support for her cause.

Reforming Arkham. What a joke. There was no saving that place, not even in a million years.

He knew he was being harsh, but Dick had been in Gotham longer than the girl and he knew that there was no way to fix that thing unless you considered burning it down and starting again as ‘reform’. She could fight and throw her life to the cause if she wanted, he wasn’t going to pretend he had the high ground to tell her what to do.

Jasmine had gone for his little brother. That, he couldn’t forgive.

As Dick approached Jason’s apartment building, he could see the twitter messages and the tabloid articles in his mind’s eye.

“Love blooms in the most unexpected places #OnlyInDenny’s” and then the cutest photo of his brother, caught with a rare smile as he looked at the girl. It made his stomach turn when he saw it that morning as he had breakfast. Did Bruce know about this? He must have, Bruce wouldn’t miss something like this.

But why?

It only got worse as more and more people piled on, retweeting the photo and adding their own to the list — people that attended the party and apparently saw them chatting at the food table (Dick knew he had seen her before her speech) and then a blurry photo of the pair dancing and kissing in a balcony.

Dick would have saved the photos if he didn’t feel like crying.

How could she do this? Was it a ploy to ensure Bruce would support her cause? Seduce his poor baby brother and threaten to never let him go if Bruce didn’t comply?

Some tabloids were thinking about his same lines, this morning articles opening with the Denny’s photo and questioning if this was Arkham’s latest plan to gain more power.

Dick wouldn’t put it past an Arkham doctor to go beyond what was morally and legally correct to get what they wanted.

And this bitch had targeted his poor baby brother!

He was fuming as he parked his car, got out and stomped towards the elevator. There, he stumbled onto a frowning young man that was narrowing his eyes at the floor buttons, as if he couldn’t figure out something.

***

Danny was, to put it simply, pissed as hell.

Look.

If his sister had a bit of fun and drank too much and needed to stay there for the night, he wouldn’t have been mad.

If his sister had found a strapping young man or a beautiful woman, he wasn’t judging, to spend the night with, he wouldn't have been mad.

He was pissed because not only she never reported back that she was safe as she promised, but he had to find out she was even alive because twitter was burning down with the news of the pair canoodling at Denny’s at two fucking in the morning.

He hated the photo. His sister, who had left home so beautiful and grown up and put together — his sister looked completely ruined. Her makeup, her hair she had fussed about for hours, her dress she had saved up for to not look out of place in the stupid gala — all of it was ruined.

And she was wearing the idiot’s jacket like she was some kind of prize he had won. Like some kind of claim, as if Jazz were something you could own.

His sister!

He had obsessed looking at photos of them through the whole twitter, getting more and more inciensed as the articles and comments treated his dear sister as if she were some kind of gold digger and social climber — Jazz!! Who only ever wanted to help people in this god forsaken city!

This Jason dude thought he was invincible because he was rich — that if he made a mess, daddy would step in and make it all go away with money.

Danny knew their type. They tried to be bad boys without the consequences, thought that money could buy silence, thought that women were things to conquer and then throw away.

Well then, he was going to give this man a piece of his mind. And maybe give him the scare of a lifetime. Maybe what Jason needed was to get a bit of fear of death into his bones and learn to never touch his older sister again.

But first, find Jazz and make sure she was alright.

He followed her faint ectosignature throughout the city, first trying the stupidly enormous Wayne Manor — overcompensating, in his humble opinion — but then she had clearly left the premises sometime in the middle of the night and went to a nearby Denny’s. From there, he transformed and invisibly followed her signature to a pretty crappy apartment building. Not the kind of place you’d expect a rich boy to live in, and for a hot second Danny worried she had been abandoned in the worst part of the city to die.

Once he got there, he found he had a little problem. He couldn’t pinpoint the floor she was on.

He was glaring at the floor buttons of the elevator when a tall and good looking dude, older than him, stomped into the elevator as if it had offended him somehow.

Just to not look so suspicious, Danny clicked a random floor button. The man looked at him and then at the panel, before huffing and turning the other way.

His breathing was labored and his heartbeat was fast. The man was angry as hell. He also did look out of place in the building. Danny noticed his clothes — a rich boy.

He started to panic.

Was he here for his sister as well?

The elevator doors opened and both stepped into the dirty hallway. Danny sniffled a bit and nodded to himself when he could confirm Jazz was on this floor. He started walking forward, senses extended, and tried to ping her so she would answer back.

C’mon Jazz, he hoped he wasn’t wrong. That she was okay. If something happened to her because he didn’t follow her as Phantom to that gala, like he wanted… he would never forgive himself.

He stopped in front of a nondescript door.

Exactly where the angry man was about to knock.

Both looked at each other.

“Who are you?” The man finally asked. Danny lifted an eyebrow. The other narrowed his eyes at him. “Why are you here?”

Danny considered his options. “I’m looking for my sister.”

This was, apparently, the wrong answer.

“YOU!” Danny jumped at the scream.

“Me?” He squeaked.

“You and your damn sister—!”

“Hey, watch it!” Danny had to make a conscious effort to stop his eyes from glowing. “How do you know my sister?”

“She— She seduced my brother!” The stranger’s face was contorted by fury. “I don’t know what you guys want, but leave my baby brother alone!”

“Excuse me?” Danny crossed his arms. “My sister would never! She's the cutest and the nicest person I know!”

“Ah yeah? And how do you explain—”

“Your brother is the one that must have seduced her!” Danny narrowed his eyes at the stranger. “I know she’s from a small town and that the shiny bad boy routine is all the rage around here, but leave my sister alone!”

“Bad boy routine—” The man was taken aback. “Excuse you, your sister is the one that used some kind of mind control on my brother!”

“Mind control?” Danny scoffed. “No, no, no. He’s the one that targeted her! It's not her fault she has a weakness for motorcycle riding leather jacket wearing guys! All we had was yee-haw boys and football players!"

The door behind them opened.

“What the fuck is going on?” A new voice grumbled.

There, on the door, was a tank of a man. He was tall, taller than the stranger he had been arguing with, and with wide shoulders and muscular arms casually placed on the door and on the door frame, using his body to shield what was inside from their view.

He was the man that had taken his sister, Danny recognized him. Also, he was shirtless.

Danny squared up for a fight. “Where is my sister.” He demanded.

“Danny?”

It was her voice indeed, coming from inside the apartment. Danny wanted to die all over again.

“For fucks sake—” He tired to push the man so he could enter the apartment. “Jazz! Are you okay?”

He heard her laugh nervously.

Oh no.

“Let me iiiiin!” Danny pushed again at the man blocking the entrance, but he didn’t budge. The halfa didn’t want to resort to violence or ghost strength, but…

“The fuck are you?” The scoundrel glared at him.

“Danny, I’m fine!” There was a lot of noise, a sound of something hitting something, a quiet ‘ouch!’ and soon his sister was close to the door. “See? I’m totally fine!”

She was fine, alright.

She was also wearing a hoodie that clearly didn’t belong to her, it was way too large on her and the lower hem reached her knees. It was one of Gotham’s vigilantes merch — the Red Hood — all black with the red bat symbol on her chest.

It was also the only thing she was wearing.

Danny felt like spontaneously combusting right there and then.

“Jazz, are you fucking naked under that?”

He vaguely heard the other two men choke in a gasp, but his whole attention was on his sister.

She was blushing. “I am certainly not.” She looked away. Danny followed her eyes and saw her beautiful green dress reduced to a pile of fabric on the floor. “I just needed something more comfortable to sleep in, and Jay was kind enough to lend me something.”

“Jay,” the man he encountered in the elevator murmured under his breath, as if he couldn’t believe she just said that.

“It’s okay,” she turned to look at this ‘Jay’, “he’s my little brother.”

‘Jay’ seized up Danny, as if he were trying to determine if he was a threat. “Huh, he is just like how you described him.”

Danny let the disdain show in his face. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

He would fight this dude if he had to. He wasn’t afraid of fighting someone bigger or stronger than him — he wasn’t afraid of revealing his ghostly identity if it meant he could defend his sister’s honor.

“Okay. Let’s stop.” Jazz placed her hands on ‘Jay’s arm and he let her remove him from the door. Then, she put a hand on Danny’s shoulder and led him into the apartment, her eyes wide as she pointed first at them and then at Danny’s face.

Oh right. Glowy eyes, bad.

Danny breathed in, breathed out. No need to blow the whole thing out of proportion.

“What the hell were you thinking?” The man from the elevator was growling at his brother as he entered the apartment as well. “An Arkham doctor? Seriously?”

“Any problem with that?” Jazz heard that, of course, and she was very proud of her work at the Asylum, regardless of the fame.

The stranger turned towards her, crossing his arms when Jazz did the same.

“Well, excuse me for being cautious when the likes of you usually turn out to be real psychos.”

“The ‘likes of me’?” She narrowed her eyes, moving to take a step closer to the man.

Danny tensed. The stranger tensed. ‘Jay’ tensed, walking quickly between the girl and his brother, his eyes fixed on hers and only hers.

“Jazz, my brother is an idiot but a well-meaning idiot. We’ve had a lot of troubles with doctors from Arkham in the past, so don’t hold it against him for being cautious.”

It was quick and quite scary how Jazz was disarmed in the blink of an eye. Danny had never seen her deflate so quickly once she was in ‘I’m going to kick your ass’ mode. The halfa looked at this ‘Jay’ person, watching how his eyes were unmoving from Jazz’s, silently talking with her with a deep understanding that didn’t fit in a one-night stand or a simple fling — it was more like real love.

Oh shit, he felt his usually quiet heart start beating faster, what have you done, Jazzy?

“Okay,” she finally said, taking a deep breath. She walked around Jay and looked up at the stranger with a controlled smile. “My name is Jasmine Fenton, Mr. well-meaning idiot, and I’m sorry if my career of choice has brought up past fears and memories.” She extended her hand to the man.

He took it, a bit dazed. “Dick Grayson, nice to meet you.”

Jay and Danny started cackling at the same time. Danny really loved when his sister gave the worst backhanded compliments and pleasantries with her sweet voice and sharp smile. She could be ruthless and scary, and he loved that about her.

He glanced at the scoundrel, and by the way he looked so softly at his sister, he assumed that he loved that too.

Okay, the man came off as big and scary but Danny couldn’t have hallucinated how his eyes followed her smile as she patted Dick’s arm; or how they stayed on her as she walked back to where Jay was chuckling at the situation.

Danny couldn’t look away from the way she easily took his hand, the way the man responded with a little squeeze like it was an unconscious reaction, like it was the most normal thing in the world.

He glanced at Dick, who had seen the same thing, with the same dawning horror Danny was feeling passing behind his eyes.

“Why didn’t you text me?” Despite trying not to, the hurt was obvious in Danny’s voice.

Jazz flinched. “I was going to! I just… forgot.” She winced. “And then we came back here and I got, uh— distracted.”

Dick cringed at the same time Danny did.

“Not like that!” Jazz's face was getting more and more red as she tried to explain. “We were talking about Pride and Prejudice and I said the 2005 adaptation was the best and Jay said it has been a while since he saw it and—”

“And you had sex with the movie on?” Dick was making a face, but wasn’t shocked by the news.

“What the fuck, Richard?” His sister’s not-boyfriend-but-maybe-yes (and wasn’t that a thought) glared at his brother.

“What? I didn’t know you had such weird kinks, but I support you.”

Jazz facepalmed with her free hand, her face red up to the tip of her ears. “This is a disaster.”

“I can’t deal with this without a shirt on,” Jay grumbled, his cheeks also a bit red. He turned towards Jazz. “I’m getting you some clothes, if that’s okay?”

“Do you really have anything my size?”

“I have nosy siblings that like to leave their shit around my place.” He rolled his eyes. “Be right back. Don’t murder anyone while I’m gone.”

“I’ll try not to,” her smile was cheeky, like it was some kind of private joke.

They have private jokes and everything, now. Oh joy. Danny was ecstatic (sarcasm).

“Where’s your phone?” Danny quickly tried to redirect the conversation once the man disappeared down the hallway to another room. Jazz blinked as she turned to look at him. “Phone. Instrument to call people. Where is it?”

“Right here, in my… purse…” He saw the moment it dawned on her that her purse was not in the apartment, as she looked at where her dress was on the floor. She smiled, rubbing the back of her head. “I think I left it at Wayne's Mansion.”

“Manor.” Dick talked for the first time after watching them interact. “Not a mansion.”

Danny couldn’t care less about the name of the fancy house. “Big ass house with too many rooms, yeah. Semantics.”

Jazz giggled.

“I think Alfred knows where the purse might be, we usually store lost objects in the same room.”

“Alfred?”

“Our butler.” He answered Jazz.

Danny felt a shiver go down his spine. Once again he wondered why his dear sister decided to get involved with these people.

But again, looking around him, he found that the little apartment was well used and lived in. The scoundrel (he was being mean by still calling him that in his head, he knew, sue him) might have flown away from the flock and tried to live apart from the riches and the pompous lifestyle, which he could understand and respect.

Damn. He couldn’t stay angry at the dude anymore.

Stay strong, Danny. You need to instill the fear of death on the guy in the most epic shovel talk ever seen.

“We say ‘butler’ but really the man is more like a grandpa for all of us.” Jay added as he walked in, now dressed with jeans and a simple black shirt on, and a bundle of clothes in his hands. “I got a bit of everything, pick whatever you want.”

“Thank you!” Jazz said, turning briefly to fish her bra from the crumpled dress on the floor, and Danny wanted to delete the knowledge that she had taken her clothes off last night in a stranger’s apartment.

Look.

His sister was a grown woman and she was free to sleep with and/or canoodle with whoever she wanted — he would approve more or less, but unless he suspected her partner had ill intentions towards her, he trusted his sister’s choices.

That didn’t mean he wanted the details. He had enough with the photos of them kissing that people posted on the internet.

“We have a situation.” Dick whispered to his brother, thinking that Danny couldn’t hear.

“Really? You come here to bother me for that?”

“No. Not that kind of situation.” Danny was making a point of looking away. “A civilian situation.”

“And it concerns me because?”

There was a pause. Danny sneaked a look and saw Dick regarding his brother with the dread of the witness of a disaster about to happen.

“You guys were seen. At Denny’s. And someone took a photo. It kinda blew up twitter and the whole internet.”

“And now people are calling my sister a gold digger and a social climber. Among other horrible things.” Danny gave up the pretense of not listening in and walked up to the brothers.

To his credit, Jay looked genuinely shocked. Then sad, angry and worried. And lastly, absolutely furious.

“I’m going to kill someone.”

Danny nodded, liking him a bit more. “And I’ll help you.”

When the man redirected his eyes at him Danny didn’t miss the slight green shine on them. Okay, he could see why his sister took interest in him now. Also, he won’t ever let her live down the fact that she was dating someone ghost-related after renouncing her ghost hunter heritage so hard and so loudly.

“I think we haven’t been properly introduced. My name is Jason Todd,” he extended his hand. Danny took it. “The black sheep of the Wayne family.”

Dick groaned at his words. Danny smiled.

“Daniel Fenton. Call me Danny. If you call me Daniel I’ll make you regret it.” If his handshake was a bit harsher he didn’t show — not that Jason didn’t grip his hand harder in response.

“Oh good, you guys are getting along!” Jazz sounded ecstatic as she rejoined them, now dressed with some jeans and a band shirt that was a bit big on her, but just enough to be fashionable. “The boots fit, by the way!”

“Aren’t those the boots Steph had been looking for like crazy for weeks?” Dick was frowning as he took in her outfit. “And that’s Tim’s shirt?”

“Yeah, Timbo is small. Who would have guessed.” Jason’s smile was all teeth.

“I can still change? I don’t want to upset any siblings.”

“Nah. If they missed these so much then they wouldn’t have left them in my apartment.” Jason’s eyes went over her body, but Danny didn’t think it was creepy. “It looks better on you, though.”

Jazz blushed. “Thanks, I guess.” She pushed her hair behind her ear, smiling at him.

Dick and Danny exchanged a look. This was ridiculous. It was cute, but ridiculous.

“Let’s go get your stuff back and then go home,” Danny interrupted the couple, who turned to look at him at the same time. Huh. “I didn’t eat breakfast in my rush to make sure you weren’t dying in a ditch.” Jazz made a face at this.

“You can get something to eat at the Manor,” Dick rubbed his face, his frustration with the whole situation showing. “We need to talk with Dad, Jay. The scandal is getting a bit out of hand and we need to get our story straight.”

“Scandal?” Jazz’s eyes were wide. “What scandal?”

Instead of an explanation, Dick quickly pulled his phone, the damn tweet that started all of this opened already. Jazz took the phone and looked at the picture with recognition in her eyes; then, she scrolled down at the responses and the pictures more people were sharing, theories about the scandal, and their unsolicited opinion about the couple.

It broke his heart, but his sister needed to know the truth. He saw tears gather in her eyes before she closed them as she gave Dick his phone back.

“I knew there would be some kind of backlash, but this is ridiculous.” The three ignored the way her voice broke a little. “I hate this so much.”

She let Jason pull her into his arms, her eyes still closed as she controlled her breathing.

“We can fix this,” Dick hesitated for a moment before putting a hand on her shoulder. “Is not the first scandal the family has been involved in. Haven’t you met our father?”

She opened her eyes, but she wasn’t amused.

“I am not a model or a celebrity looking for easy money, Dick. I wasn’t even liked before all of this. I am not stupid, I know the kind of fame Arkham has already, and I know that people are just waiting for me to give up the Reform or snap and become the next Harley Quinn.”

Dick winced. He had accused her of the same thing less than an hour ago.

“I’m sorry.” He said, not knowing what else to say.

The arms around Jazz squeezed her harder for a moment. Jason leaned in to subtly kiss her hair and whisper in her ear, but Danny heard him perfectly.

“Arson is still on the table, darling.”

She smiled at this. It was small, but the shadows in her eyes were slowly fading away.

Danny decided he wanted this man around forever, especially if he could hold her so tightly that she wouldn’t fall into despair and spiral into a breakdown like Danny would expect her to do in a situation like this.

“Okay, let’s focus on what we can fix right now. We are going to the Manor and get your stuff, then regroup and make a plan. We’ll fix this, Jasmine, I promise.”

She hummed against Jason’s chest before patting his arm to signal that she was okay now. He let her go but kept one hand on her bicep in a light grip.

“Jazz is fine,” when she smiled at Dick she looked a bit better, more determined. Centered. “And sure, let’s go.”

***

It took a bit of arguing, but finally the four of them piled into Dick’s car and were on their way to the Manor.

Jason crossed his arms, really not at all bothered at being denied sitting with Jazz on the backseat, no sir, he was not mad.

Who was he kidding? He wanted to sit with her — not for nefarious reasons, mind you, but because after spending the last… who the fuck cares, but the time with her had been the best he had in forever. He remembered being twelve and soaring over the rooftops of Gotham feeling like a superhero while wearing the Robin costume — well, something like that. But different.

He just felt alive.

Funny how things can change in one night.

He tuned out the siblings arguing and Dick asking whatever questions to make friendly conversation, his mind miles away, reliving everything that happened since he made the smart decision to run away from the stupid gala with Jazz.

She was… How to describe it? Jazz was like a ray of sunshine and the taste of lightning at the same time. She was kind, but not naïve, and very sharp of tongue and mind. She had the craziest thoughts about things and the most heated opinions about menial stuff, completely ready to throw down when they argued about ice cream flavors. Yet her touch was soft on his hair, on his face, on his chest; like she wasn’t sure she was allowed to touch but unable to stop her hands.

She also found his sarcasm hilarious. She said a few times that he reminded her of her brother, and he could see now why — Danny was sassy as fuck and wasn’t afraid of saying what he thought out loud.

He actually liked him. It was obvious that he cared a lot about his sister and he had been completely ready to fight him when he thought that Jason had done something bad to her. Good, but unnecessary.

As if he could hurt her in any way.

He wasn’t stupid — he knew what it looked like from the outside. Son of the richest man in Gotham runs away with her and she doesn't answer her phone the whole night. He should have said something, he knew she lived with her brother in a tiny apartment (she complained a lot about how things broke down all the time) and he would expect her to be back in the morning; but he completely forgot the world existed outside their little happy bubble.

He didn’t even notice the Denny’s staff taking the photo. Bruce will have his head for being so careless. But the damage was already done, sadly.

He didn’t regret anything, he decided. It didn’t matter what happened next, how they fixed the scandal, he had decided to give them a chance.

Jason blushed as he watched the city go by from the window.

‘Them’... Jazz had been open to the idea of dating when they talked about it, she had said she liked his company a lot, she had kissed him and let him kiss her like she wanted a ‘them’ to exist.

But now he didn’t want to get his hopes up. After what happened, after the damage of just being with him had done to her and her reputation, he wouldn’t blame her if she regretted last night or didn’t want anything to do with him anymore.

Last night…

He smiled, thinking about how nervous he had been when they finally arrived at his apartment. It’s true that he was the one that said they should go there and watch the movie, and she was completely into it; but he wasn’t sure if she wanted to just watch the movie or maybe it was an excuse to make out some more and take their relationship further.

When he shut the door and the reality of the situation dawned on them, she was the first to laugh and say that she wasn't the kind of gal that jumped into bed on the first date.

He felt… relieved? Jason wasn’t the kind of guy that brought girls to his place, either; hell, he barely let his own family in there and that was only because they managed to bypass his security every damn time.

Jazz felt special. She wasn’t the kind of girl you ‘just’ do anything with, she made it her own, a little adventure at her side. When (if, a little voice in his head corrected him) they decided to get physical, it had to be special.

So they got comfy and watched the movie, and nothing more. If he got any personal pleasure from the way his own merch looked on her, well, that was just a picture he would treasure forever in his memory.

He didn’t mind it either when she got cuddly and let her hands run all over his chest, or when she was delighted after he took off the shirt to let her squish her cheek against his skin and kiss the scars she found there — surprisingly, not even the autopsy scar phased her, as she kissed it with the same care as she did with all the others.

Somewhere in the early hours, close to dawn, he fell asleep feeling loved and warm with the comforting presence of Jazz in his arms, the movie completely forgotten.

“Thinking something funny?”

Jason turned to glare at his brother, who glanced at him with a knowing smirk before looking back at the road.

The bickering coming from the siblings stopped.

“And you!” Danny said as if he was following a thought, making Jason look over his seat at the siblings. “What are your intentions with my sister?”

Jazz groaned, punching Danny on the arm. “Are you seriously doing this?”

“Is this a shovel talk?” Jason lifted his eyebrows, glancing at Jazz to see if she had some kind of insight on what to do. She smiled, looking as uncomfortable as he felt.

“Yes. Now, what are your intentions with my sister? Huh? Is this a one time thing or do you plan on leading her on with your bad boy charm?”

“Danny, stop!” She punched him again, but the other didn’t even budge.

“No fighting in my car, please.” Dick wasn’t even phased. His car had seen some sibling on sibling violence before, enough to warrant the rule. “Don’t make me tap the sign.”

Indeed, when he pulled the sun visor down, there was a paper with “No violence while the car is moving” written on it. It was Alfred’s handwriting.

“Jay, please ignore my little brother—”

Danny leaned in, getting closer to his face. “Answer me.”

Jason smiled. The kid had guts. “Or what.”

“Or I’ll kick your ass.”

“No fighting, at least not until we get to the Manor.” Dick was giving nervous glances at them.

“Hmm,” Jason hummed, moving a little to look around the threatening little brother and get Jazz’s attention. “Maybe I want a more long term thing. What about that option?”

Danny narrowed his eyes, but he only saw it from the corner of his eye. Jazz was blushing at his words, nodding in agreement. He nodded back.

“Then you’ll better treat her well, punk.” He spit the word like it was an insult. Dick coughed a laugh at the situation.

“Or what?” Jason repeated, poking the proverbial bear.

Danny wasn’t amused. “Or I’ll find you, and I’ll make you wish you were dead.”

And he saw it — the green glow coming through the blue. If Jazz hadn’t been honest about her brother's situation, he would have been shocked at the revelation. He would have felt betrayed and scared, suspecting the siblings and questioning if they had connections with the Al Ghuls of the Lazarus Pits somehow.

But she had been honest, because she believed in them, because she wanted to start something with him.

His smile was all teeth when he looked at the other. “Oh. Been there, done that.”

By the way Danny froze and let his body fall back to his seat, Jason knew his eyes had turned green as well. Jazz looked between the two, waiting to see what her brother would do.

He scoffed, but there wasn’t any heat behind it. His eyes went back to blue. “This isn’t over, loverboy. You haven’t proven your worth to me yet.”

“Danny.” Jazz growled in warning.

“What do you need? A duel?”

“Do you have a sword?” Danny smirked, really liking the idea.

Jason’s answering smile was equally amused. “Yeah. Lots. Name a place and time and I’ll be there.”

“Jason.” Dick growled, probably against him abusing their training and skills from their other life to mess with civilians.

“What? Apparently sword fighting is an appropriate bonding activity with my new brother-in-law.”

He chuckled when his words made everyone in the car cringe.

“Please don’t say that again.” Danny crossed his arms, frowning. “You are still on fucking thin ice.”

“So, no duel?”

“No, no, the duel is still on,” Danny nodded quickly. “Let’s exchange numbers so we can keep in touch.”

So they did, while Jazz watched in disbelief.

“Alright! We are here!”

Everyone was quiet as the big metal front entrance opened automatically to let the car pass. Jason was used to the grandiose and the absurd display of wealth, but by the tiny gasp from the backseat he remembered that his girlfriend (was it okay to call her that? He needed to ask Jazz, they didn’t exactly define what they were last night) wasn’t raised in a mansion by the richest man in the city.

“It’s so pretty!” She admired.

Dick beamed. “Thanks! B will love to hear that. It’s been his family’s home for generations.”

“But weren’t you here last night?” Jason asked, turning around to see her look out of the window as they approached the main entrance.

“I was too busy trying not to throw up or make a fool of myself to look at the decor.”

“That’s why you were hiding at the food table?”

“No, I was hiding because if one more dude looked at my boobs instead of my eyes I was going to resort to violence.”

Maybe it was her deadpanned voice or Danny’s instant cackling, but it made Jason start laughing as well.

“I would have loved to see that.”

“Then we wouldn’t have met.”

Her teal eyes sparkled as she held his gaze. His lips curved slightly. It was easier to smile around her. “And what a sad world that would be.”

She opened her mouth to say something, but Danny leaned in to get in the way of their locked eyes, his mouth in a tight smile, shaking his head. Jason lifted his eyebrows, responding to the challenge.

“You guys are just the cutest.” Dick interrupted whatever was about to go down. He had parked the car in his designated place and killed the engine. “Please stay forever.” His words were directed this time at Jazz, since he turned to look at her. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen Jay smile so much in so little time.”

Jazz quickly opened her door and walked out of the car to hide her face. Dick jumped out to follow her, leaving Danny and Jason behind in the car.

The two looked at each other, finally alone and without their siblings in the way. Danny sighed loudly and unbuckled his seatbelt. Jason did the same and turned to fully face him, knowing that he was going to talk.

“Look,” Danny was serious, his shoulders relaxed but in a forced way, like he was doing the effort to stay calm. “I love my sister. She’s everything to me.” Jason nodded, despite not knowing where this was going. Danny looked at Jazz and Dick talking on their way to the front door. “This whole scandal thing will hurt her a lot — I know you didn’t mean to!” He quickly added when he saw Jason open his mouth. “I believe you, don’t worry. I thought you were a bad person but I was wrong and what I’m trying to say is,” he passed hand through his hair in a nervous gesture, “uh, I’m sorry. I think you are cool now.”

“Thanks?”

“Also Jazz really likes you so I guess I’ll have to get used to having you around.”

“I’ll stick around as long as she wants me to.”

Danny did a weird smile at his words, like he couldn’t believe how sappy it sounded but was glad he said the right thing.

“And just so you know, you aren’t her first dead boyfriend.” His smile turned mischievous. “I guess she really has a type, huh.”

“The motorcycle guy?”

“She told you about Johnny?”

“She just said you hated him and that you would chew her ear off for being with another guy with a bike.”

Danny made a face. “I don’t hate him for being a bad boy with a bike and a leather jacket — he tried to use my sister’s body as a vessel to bring his girlfriend back. Also he’s a total jerk and tried to kill me multiple times.”

“What is even your life?”

“Buddy,” Danny put a hand on Jason’s shoulder, his smile mocking him, “you have no idea what you got yourself into.”

Well, that’s ominous.

Without having anything else to say, Danny exited the car. Jason followed him, and soon the two caught up with their siblings waiting for them in front of the entrance.

As if they were expected, Alfred opened the door before Dick could ring the doorbell.

“Master Richard, Master Jason,” he nodded at the brothers. His eyes then went to Jazz and her Danny, analyzing them in the way that Alfred usually registered a new person in the Manor to take care of. He smiled softly. “Miss Fenton, Mister Fenton, we were expecting you.”

“Of course,” Jason rolled his eyes.

“Good morning, Alf! Is B awake yet?”

“Master Bruce is waiting for you at the breakfast table.” He nodded at Dick. “He already sent a message to the PR team and wishes to discuss plans regarding last night's scandal.”

Jazz wilted a little at the mention of the scandal. Jason quickly put a hand around her shoulders in silent support. He didn’t regret anything, he wanted her to know.

Alfred’s eyes zeroed on the gesture, the corner of his lips curving a little. He moved to the side to let the group in, stopping the couple as he closed the doors behind them.

“I believe this belongs to you, miss.” The butler presented Jazz a small green handbag.

“My purse!” She took it. “How did you know?”

“It’s my job to know what happens inside these walls.”

Jason leaned in and fake-whispered in her ear. “Don’t question it. Alfred just knows everything, it’s his superpower.”

“Indeed,” the older man hummed. “A very useful skill since this family’s children tend to start mischief when their father turns his back. Someone has to make sure the place doesn’t burn down, after all”

“It was an accident, Alfred.”

“Keep trying to lie to me, Master Jason.” He chuckled as he walked away.

It worked. Jazz was giggling and a bit more relaxed after the exchange, her face smiling up at him.

“Is arson your response to everything?”

“I didn’t burn anything, I swear. Not on purpose.”

She hummed and narrowed her eyes, still smiling, probably not believing him. He leaned in and kissed the smile, unable to stop himself now that they were virtually alone.

“About the—”

“It’s okay,” she stopped him, the hand that wasn’t grabbing her purse now placed gingerly on his cheek. “I’m tougher than I look.”

He didn’t doubt that. He wanted to ask if she was still open to the idea of dating, but shouting from the dining room reminded them of the situation at hand.

Once they got to the dining room where the family usually ate breakfast, it was filled with people. Jason had half a mind to turn around and run for it, but he still had his arm around Jazz’s shoulders and somehow she sensed he was going to run, so she sneaked her arm around his waist to prevent him from getting away.

Bruce was at the head of the table, sipping his coffee and looking like he didn’t sleep as much as he needed. Selina, at his right, was looking over Tim’s shoulder, who was sitting next to her, as he typed on the screen of his tablet, showing her something. Cass was sitting next to Tim, but she was content with only watching everyone else as she sipped her orange juice.

On Bruce’s other side, Damian was quietly eating pancakes and watching with distrust as Dick animatedly talked with Danny.

“Oh, there they are.”

Everyone got quiet at Selina’s words and turned to look at them.

“So it’s true?” Tim narrowed his eyes. “And isn’t that my shirt?”

“Finder keepers, Timmy.”

Jason started walking again, ignoring the stares, and guided Jazz towards where her brother was already sitting. Cass caught his eye after she looked at the siblings, her beaming smile making him calm down a little. If she approved then he must be doing something right.

“Hi,” Jazz waved her hand as she sat down, her smile completely forced and trying hard to not look nervous. “I’m Jazz.”

“Well hello, dear,” Selina looked as put together as always even in her black silk pajamas and slightly tousled hair. “Glad to finally meet you in person.”

Jason sat down next to Jazz, deliberately the furthest from Bruce, who was looking at him with raised eyebrows. He held his analyzing gaze, squaring his shoulders for a fight. He didn’t want to fight Bruce, not right now, not in front of his (probably, but most certainly) girlfriend. But he would, if the situation required it.

“Glad to be here, although I would have preferred meeting you in less… uh, awful conditions,” Jazz nodded at the older woman.

Bruce turned his attention to the siblings, specifically Jazz. “Dick already explained part of it. Some kind of misunderstanding?” He said.

The man in question lowered his head a little, feeling ashamed.

“I’m not mind controlling anybody, I’m not a villain and I do not have nefarious plans involving seducing anybody. Just to be clear.”

“Arkham would benefit a lot with the popularity, though.” Tim shrugged, his eyes cold as he regarded her. “The Reform would—”

“This has nothing to do with—!” Jazz closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She relaxed her shoulders. She was used to reigning in her emotions. When she opened her eyes they were so cold and uncaring that Jason thought he was seeing someone else. “My Reform plans did not involve anything from the Waynes beyond the public support, which it already has, and I am deeply grateful for.” She nodded at Bruce, who nodded back. “You’d know if you actually read my report.”

She crossed her arms, smirking in victory when she caught Tim in his bullshit. As CEO he was pursued as much as Bruce and she emailed him her powerpoints and written reports many times, receiving promises of them being read.

Bruce sipped his coffee, hiding a smile.

There was a loud sound, like a jingle of sorts, and Jazz jumped in her seat.

“Oops, sorry. I must have left my phone on last night.” She put her purse over the table and fished inside it for the device. It still had some charge, and she had a ton of notifications and missed calls.

“About those plans to deal with the scandal?” Jason tried to steer the conversation away from Jazz.

“Yes,” Bruce nodded, putting his cup on the table and interlacing his fingers. “We didn’t know what route was the most beneficial for all of us, so the PR team prepared a few scenarios; but now I can see we need to make a few adjustments.”

“Adjustments.” He raised an eyebrow.

Bruce looked away in shame. “I thought— well, um…”

“We weren’t sure how serious you were about the girl.” Selina took pity on her boyfriend and answered instead. “And since you brought her here…”

Jason glanced at Jazz, but she was too focused on her phone, scrolling through messages.

“You should have seen them, B.” Dick leaned back in his chair. “They are the cutest.”

“It’s painful to watch,” Danny spoke for the first time, nodding his agreement.

Jazz gasped. Everyone looked at her. Her face was completely white, drained, her eyes haunted. Then, she started trembling. Then the blood came rushing back and painted her skin red.

She looked at Jason.

“I’ve been fired.”

“What.”

“Marcel— he said— I mean he called but I wasn’t— ugh, read here.” She gave him her phone, he read the text on the screen, his eyebrows going to his hairline.

“This is illegal.”

Jazz made a sound like a strangled animal and let her head fall to the table, bonking it against the wood. A few seconds later, she stood up with a fake smile.

“Excuse me, I think I have a thing to take care of.”

Quickly, too quick to really let anyone follow her, she exited the dining room and made her way back to the front door. Soon, they heard them slam shut, followed by a very loud:

“MOTHERFUCKER!”

“Uh oh,” Danny stood up as well. “She’s going berserk.”

“What?”

Danny turned to look at Dick, eyes nervously going in the direction his sister had gone. “Jazz is the sweetest sister in the world, but she’s the type of person that bottles up her rage until she goes nuclear. I call it ‘berserk mode’, heh.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Be right back.” And he bolted out of the room.

Everyone at the table looked at each other for a moment before they nodded and followed the siblings.

By the time Jason was out of the mansion, Jazz was well on her way to the front gates, Danny running behind her and trying to make her stop.

“Jazz, what the hell are you going to do!”

“He has fucked with me for the last time, Danny!”

“And? You are going to walk to his house?”

“If I have to!”

Danny turned to look at Jason once he caught up with him.

“Do something!”

“Like what!”

“I don‘t know, figure it out, you are her boyfriend!”

“Oh, so NOW you acknowledge it!” Jason scoffed. “And you are her brother!”

“Do you really think she’ll listen to ME?”

“Try!”

Danny groaned and ran faster, one hand prepared to grab his sister’s arm to make her stop.

What happened next almost made Jason stop in his tracks — he knew she must have had some training, and sometimes she made a comment about it without really getting into detail; but seeing it in person was a different thing.

Without stopping her stride, she grabbed the hand Danny was going to grab her with, flipped him over her shoulder and slammed him to the ground, the gravel probably digging on the poor man’s skin as he gasped for breath.

“Ow.” He said in a small voice, eyes on the sky. He recovered quickly, since he was up and running again by the time the others caught up with him.

Okay, Jason tried to rethink his strategy. He really didn’t want to be judo slammed in front of the family, but he really didn’t want her to kill anybody, at least not after shouting vague threats in front of Bruce and his paranoia about Arkham doctors.

He got this.

“Jazz, stop.” He said as he got next to her with a few long steps. She didn’t stop, but looked at him. “You can’t kill the guy.”

“Why not.”

“You might get in deeper trouble.” He tried. She lifted an eyebrow, but stopped to hear what he wanted to say. “You’ll need to make sure it doesn’t trace back to you, too. It’s harder than you think.”

Her smile should be nice, but with murder in her eyes it looked rather predatory. “I have my ways.” She patted his cheek, the touch making him shiver and not in a bad way.

“Also, think what will happen next,” he tried again, ignoring his heart beating faster. “You have just been fired, by him. If you kill him the first suspect will be you.”

This got to her — finally! She ignored the group walking up to them (why were they even here if no one was trying to help? Geez), and put a hand on her chin as she thought over his words.

“You are absolutely right.” She said, grabbing his head between her hands, making him lean down a little. He sighed in relief. “You beautiful genius, I just need to ruin his life!”

She kissed him right on the mouth. It was brief, but intense, barely giving him time to put a hand on her waist before she was gone and back on her bloodthirsty way. He stood there with probably a dumb look on his face.

“Unbelievable.” Danny was shaking his head at him as he walked past.

“Oh, she’s delightful.” Selina had a hand on her cheek, clearly enjoying what was going on. “Can we keep her, Bruce?”

The man wasn’t amused. At all. He was looking at the back of the rampaging Jazz with that suspicion he usually saved for Jason.

“Don’t you fucking dare.” He told the man.

If he went full Batman on her he knew there was going to be disaster. She had secrets, he was aware, and he hoped she told him when she was ready. She had the same courtesy with his secrets about his vigilante life, he knew he had told her things that would make someone suspicious of him, but she accepted his deflection and his lies with a gentle smile.

He couldn’t lose her. Not like this.

“She might be dangerous but she is good, B. Trust me.”

Bruce looked like he wanted to say something else, but Jazz had backtracked a bit and walked up to Jason. She grabbed his hand and started dragging him to the front gates, now a short walk away.

“I need you.” Was everything she said, probably regarding some revenge plans she was making in her head, but his heart jumped at her words anyway.

“Uh…” He looked at the others for help, but they were either enjoying the spectacle or talking between them. Fantastic. Just perfect. “What’s the plan?” He asked her.

“I’m just going to speed up my Reform plans a little.”

“What?” He tugged their joined hands, but she didn’t slow down. “What does it have to do with ruining that guy’s life?”

“Not that Reform Project. I meant the real one.”

This made conversation stop. Jason could feel Bruce’s glare on the back of his head.

“The real one?” He asked, nervously looking at Danny, whose shocked expression told him that the guy didn’t know about this.

“Did you really think that Arkham is the kind of place that can be reformed with good intentions and asking pretty please?” She looked at him from the corner of her eye. “No. I had plans. Months and months of meticulous planning… for nothing!”

Her voice cracked at the end. This was important to her. She really cared about fixing that horrible place and now that she was fired—

“I had the documents, the proof I needed. I managed to get records they tried to get rid of.”

“That’s why you asked me…?” Danny left the question unfinished, apparently catching on what she was saying.

She nodded. “I got the victims to talk to me, too. I promised them! I was so close!”

“Victims?” Dick asked.

Jazz jumped, as if she had forgotten they had an audience. She stopped a few steps away from the giganting metal gates and turned to look at the other to the eye.

“Arkham Asylum has a rich history, but what people don't know is how far and how wide the abuse runs in that place.” She tilted her head, taking a breath to calm down a little. Her hand was trembling in Jason’s. “Physical abuse, sexual abuse, sexual assault, violence. Murder.” Her face was a mask of disgust. “Nobody talks about it, nobody cares about what happens to us in that place, as long as the rogues are contained and away from the rest of the nice citizens of Gotham.”

“Us?” Danny murmured, eyes wide.

“That’s not—” Dick tried to step closer.

“Also nobody will talk.” She interrupted him. “Why would we? We are just ‘the crazies from Arkham’. Patients are just insane and the doctors are even worse for believing we can make a difference. Who would trust an Arkham staff member?”

Bruce flinched at her words. By the smirk on her lips, Jazz knew the man didn’t trust her because of her workplace choice.

“I had a plan,” she continued as everyone processed her words. “I had records. Death certificates. Audio and video proof. Everything I needed to make sure that the people involved in the systemic abuse would be unable to hurt anybody else.”

“Why not give it to the police?” Bruce stepped closer to the pair. Jazz looked at him with a raised brow.

“How do you think they get away with it, Mr. Wayne?” Her smile was sad — it wasn’t a secret that the Gotham Police Department was dirty. “I never said that the people involved were only Arkham staff.”

“Jazz, is this why you have the murderboard?” Danny looked conflicted, horrified and kinda proud of his sister. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“The murderboard is for a side project, don’t worry about it.” Her smile was worrying. “And if I told you, you would have rushed in guns blazing; and to really fix Arkham I needed a more subtle approach.”

She combed back her hair with the hand that wasn’t gripping Jason’s like a lifeline. She was starting to come down from the adrenaline rush, if the trembling of her hands was something to go by.

“Although, thinking about it right now, maybe murder is the better approach.” Her chuckles were shaky. “I just — death is too easy, too little a punishment for what they have done and keep doing, unchecked. I wanted to watch them run around like headless chickens as everything crumbles down around them. That’s phase four.”

“There’s phases?” Jason talked for the first time since she started her rant. He didn’t know if he should feel horrified by the truth or impressed by her careful planning and ruthlessness.

“Phase five was taking control of Arkham and personally firing Marcel,” she smiled up at him. “I wanted to look him in the eyes as he learned it had been me all along.”

Ah. His heart started beating faster as he was unable to look away from her eyes. He knew she could see his cheeks turn a bit red since she was so close, she could feel his heart thumping against his chest.

He had never considered love as a possibility, a real possibility, in his future. Love, marriage, family — those kinds of things were for people that didn’t dedicate their lives to fighting crime, to lies, to violence. He had seen relationships form and collapse in the hero community, nevermind a relationship with a civilian.

But — as she ranted and went off about her plans he couldn’t help but feel he could have a real future with her. That she could understand him in a way that he needed to be understood. That she would listen.

“In any case I could still just ruin his life anyway,” she patted his cheek and looked away, finally letting him breathe. He blinked, as if woken from a spell. “Marcel had threatened to fire me if I ever went public with the dirt I have on him, and guess who doesn’t work at Arkham anymore?”

“You would put a target on your back,” Bruce tried to reason since Jason was still coming back from his own revelation. He didn’t miss the worried look the man gave him. “You could share it with Batman?”

This got her attention.

“Batman?”

“Is not the first time he had to take down an operation as big as this.”

She narrowed her eyes. “I don’t need Batman. I need Bruce Wayne.”

Jason tensed, as did his brothers. Selina was smiling like she was having the time of her life and Cass was watching Jason with a knowing glint in her eye.

“Why is that?” props to the man for keeping his cool. Jazz had all her attention focused on him and how he reacted to her words.

What the fuck was going on?

“Because having Bruce Wayne’s support would make them all sell each other out once I start publishing my findings, of course. Nobody wants to be associated with criminals, not if they want to get in the Waynes’ good graces.”

“Ah. Makes sense.” He relaxed a little, his controlled voice almost completely devoid of the relief he must be feeling.

She narrowed her eyes, stepping closer to Bruce. All her murderous intent gone at the man’s words, now swapped for a deep suspicion. Jason could see the wheels turn behind her eyes.

“Hey, Danny?”

“Yes?”

“What was the thing you said about Batman?”

Bruce and Dick tensed. Selina snickered, probably knowing where this was going.

“That the man doesn’t know when to give up?” Danny’s voice was exasperated, as if it was something he said often.

“No, the other thing.”

“That he looks like a furry?”

Someone snorted.

“The other other thing.”

Her brother’s face illuminated with recognition. “The chin scar thing?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh, I see.”

“What are you talking about?” Dick tried to laugh, but Jazz turned her inquisitive eyes on him.

“Interesting deflection, but it won’t work on me.” She turned towards Bruce. “You are Batman.”

There was no question, no need for confirmation — she just knew.

Also, it’s true that Bruce had a distinct scar in his chin from a nasty fight, but it had healed so well that it was virtually invisible unless you knew where to look or had the chance to see him up close.

They said that Batman had the scar, and the only people that could have gotten so close are the family and —

And that meta that Bruce was losing his mind about, because he slipped away every time and was seemingly impossible to catch.

He appeared around a year ago and at first he just floated and flew around the city. Then he started fighting crime and generally making a nuisance of himself. Most recently the meta, or Phantom, as he introduced himself, liked to mess around with the vigilantes and mock them because they couldn’t catch him.

“That the man doesn’t know when to give up?” Danny sounded like he spoke from experience.

“My brother came to live with me in Gotham a year ago. He said he didn’t want me to be lonely in such a big city.” Jazz had commented when he asked her about her brother. “He thinks he can protect me from everything.”

Jason looked at Danny, who winced and took a step back, tensing under all the sudden stares from the vigilantes.

“Jazz?”

“Oops.”

“Yeah, oops.” He glared at her sister. “Did you really need to do that?”

“I…” Jason looked at her, at how she was looking at his family like she was seeing them for the first time. She turned to look at him, her beautiful teal eyes muddled with the realization dawning on them.

He didn’t know who let go first, but suddenly his hand itched with the absence of her warmth.

“Jazz, we need to go.” Danny tried to approach her, but when he took a step all the attention was on him. Jason saw Damian get ready to pounce.

“I can’t—” She was still looking at Jason, tears gathering in her eyes. Why was she crying?

“Jazz c’mon!”

“Tim, prepare the containment cell.” That was Batman’s voice.

“Jay?” Her breaths came short. She was panicking. She didn’t want to leave.

If she left now, he had the feeling he wouldn't see her again. He couldn't let her go.

“Everyone, stop.”

Jason stepped between the siblings and his family, straightening his back and crossing his arms to take a stance that made him a human wall. He usually did that to intimidate and instill fear in his targets, but he was using it now to protect someone important.

“Jason, move.”

“No.”

“He is an unknown meta—”

“I said, no.” He narrowed his eyes.

“Your judgment is being clouded. Step aside.” Jason enjoyed that Bruce couldn’t look down on him anymore when he tried to order him around.

“They haven’t hurt anybody.”

Jason knew he was right, and Bruce didn’t have anything to refute him. One year, and the unknown had only done good deeds around the city, even helping around the bats when the situation looked dire.

“Jay’s right, B.” Dick joined him in the wall between the others and the siblings. Cass was right behind him.

“They are not bad people.” She said, crossing her arms, somehow managing to look down on Bruce despite being much shorter than the man.

Selina walked up to the group and smiled softly at her boyfriend. “I think we should just sit down and clear any misunderstanding.”

Outnumbered, Bruce breathed deeply and pinched the bridge of his nose, catching Damian just as he tried to sneak past him to jump at the meta.

“Alright.” He glared at Selina, who looked triumphant. “It’s too early for this drama.”

“I told you she’d make things interesting.”

Jason tuned out the conversation and turned around, finding Danny trying to console his sister. Jazz was crouching, still hyperventilating, hiding her face behind her hair, but he could hear her sniffling.

Danny looked up at him. “Thank you.”

He nodded in acknowledgement. “How is she?”

“I’m fine,” Jazz said before her brother could respond. “I just need a minute.”

“Can I touch you?”

She nodded, sniffling a little.

Jason picked her up and easily settled her in his arms in a princess carry. She would have made a comment on it, like she did when he carried her piggyback last night, but she was quiet as she hid her face on his shoulder.

“We are going to get some water and fresh air. Be right back.”

He ignored the protests, Selina’s ‘aww’ and Danny’s ‘for fucks sake’ and speed walked all the way back to the house.

Instead of going through the front door, he went around the building until he was at the kitchen door, the one that Alfred always left unlocked so the children (i.e., everyone) could come and go seemingly unnoticed. The butler would know, of course, but the point was not crossing paths with the inhabitants of the house.

Once in the kitchen, Jason gingerly placed his cargo in one of the kitchen stools and went to grab a glass of water for her.

She had been quiet the whole time, and she stayed quiet as she drank her water.

“I messed up.” She finally said after she gulped down the water, her voice hoarse.

“No, you didn’t.”

“I did.” She sighed, putting in the now empty glass on the counter. Then, she combed her hair away from her face with her fingers. “It wasn’t my secret to reveal.”

“Eh,” he shrugged. “I was going to tell you anyway. Eventually.”

“I also meant my brother.” She slumped her shoulders, eyes watery. “I’ve kept that secret for so long…”

“Hey,” he hugged her once the tears started flowing. “It will be okay.”

“I don’t feel okay.” Her voice was muffled against his chest. “I’m sorry.”

He didn’t know what else to say, but let her listen to his heart and the kitchen clock ticking the seconds away as she cried. Without nothing else to do with his hands, he caressed her hair from her head down her back in a constant pattern.

After a minute or so, she spoke again.

“Can we go outside?”

Instead of an answer he picked her up again and walked back out to the gardens surrounding the Manor.

She probably just wanted to breathe a little of fresh air, or as fresh as it could be in Gotham, but his feet carried him to a specific part of the gardens.

Once he found the tree he was looking for, he sat down against the trunk under the shade and placed her between his legs, her back to his chest, so she could sit the way she wanted or if she preferred to move around. She did turn a little to rest her ear on his chest.

“I like the sound of your heart.” She explained, despite him never asking.

He hummed, watching her hands on her lap fidgeting with her purse. She had apparently grabbed it and looped the strap over her shoulder before storming off the breakfast table.

“It’s strong and steady,” she continued talking, “like you.”

“I am anything but ‘steady’,” he huffed. “Now you know why I mentioned weird sleeping patterns and being unable to have a normal relationship.”

“Is this why you weren’t sure about the dating thing? Because of the vigilante stuff?”

He nodded, humming when he realized she wouldn’t see it. “I’m not reliable. Sometimes I have to go undercover for days, sometimes I have a mission that requires a lot of attention, sometimes I have barely time to sleep and eat something before I have to suit up and do it all over again.”

“And a relationship needs nurturing. I understand.”

Could she hear his heart breaking? This felt like A Conversation. Like the ones you have when something is about to end.

“I do want to try, though.”

His hands, which he had strategically placed at his sides to not crowd her, twitched with the need to touch her warmth.

“You do?”

She nodded. “I can understand where you come from. I used to live like that, back when— uh… Remember when I said I was involved in ‘family business’ back in my hometown?” She chuckled, looking up at him.

“You were a crime fighter.” What were the odds? At this point he wouldn’t be surprised if she had been an assassin all this time and they danced around each other like idiots.

“Nope. Not human crime, at least.”

“‘Human’ crime?”

“Ghosts. We fight ghosts. Or I used to.” She bit her lips. “Family business. Ghost hunting.”

“You traded being a ghost hunter for being an Arkham doctor?”

“I wanted a change! Don’t judge me.” She pouted, hiding her face on his chest again.

He kissed her hair, enjoying when she placed her hand close to her face to feel the vibrations of his chuckles.

“Do you— I mean… We still have to fix the scandal thing, and I don’t know what I’ll do about Arkham, but maybe, um,” she rubbed her cheek against him, sighing. “Do you want to try?”

He breathed in sharply.

“I mean, we could still be friends if it doesn’t work?” She continued. “We could even kiss if you want to, or meet up to watch movies or something and cuddle and stuff.”

“That sounds kinda like dating, though.”

She shook her head. “Dating requires compromise, lots of attention, and a shift in priorities. I would never try to get in the way of your, well, your other life.”

He couldn’t resist it anymore — he put his arms around her and slightly squeezed her against his body. She giggled.

He didn't know what to say. He understood where she came from, and agreed that things could get tricky; but he really didn't want to lose this. He didn't want to spend the rest of his life wondering what could have been, wondering if he had tried harder then it would have worked.

Anything he thought he could say sounded stupid in his mind. She deserved truthful words and not flimsy promises.

Suddenly, it came clear to him what he needed to say.

“If your feelings are not those of last night at Denny’s, tell me so at once. My affections and wishes have not changed, but one word from you will silence me forever.” She snorted, getting the reference immediately. Still, Jazz kept quiet and only looked up at him to gaze into his eyes as he recited Mr. Darcy’s sappiest dialogue from memory.

If, however, your feelings haven’t changed, I would have to tell you, you have bewitched me body and soul,” he licked his lips, knowing it was just the dialogue of that scene, but his voice still trembled a little when he continued, “and I love you.” She placed a hand on his cheek, her smile growing wider. “I never wish to be parted from you from this day on.”

In the silence that followed, he felt his heart trying to beat out of his chest, the noise deafening behind his ears. She didn’t say anything as she looked into his eyes, searching for something.

“That was super cheesy.”

He left out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding, laughing weakly. “Now it’s the part where you say my hands are cold or something and we get married.”

“Do you want to get married?” She lifted an eyebrow.

“I was joking. I don’t want to get married.”

“So you are saying you wouldn’t marry me.”

He groaned and let his head bonk against the tree trunk, any nervousness completely forgotten.

“Just kidding.” She laughed. “We don’t need to ever think about it. For now.”

“So you do want to marry me, then?”

If he wanted to get a raise from her, he failed at it. She just smirked and let her hand tangle in his curls. She said last night that she loved them. “Who knows. I’m interested in dating you first, though. As a trial run.”

He hummed, basking in the sensation of her nails softly scratching his scalp. He didn’t realize he had closed his eyes.

“Oh, this is the tree we climbed down yesterday.”

“Now you notice?” He opened one eye, but she was looking up at the balcony they jumped from to run away from the gala. It looked less magical under the sunlight.

“Well, I was kinda panicking to really notice it.”

“Feel better now?”

“Uh-huh,” she nodded, resuming the head scratches. He closed his eyes again, enjoying the attention. She shuffled a bit, maybe to get a better angle, and suddenly she stopped. “Oh right. Guess what I have in my purse?”

“Your phone?” He opened his eyes to find her fully facing him, kneeling between his folded legs, her attention on the purse as she looked for something in it.

“Nope, this!” She withdrew a small item, presenting it to him like it was a great finding.

He picked it up, trying to guess what it was. After deciphering the tiny lettering around the tube-like object, he smirked.

“Is this…?” He opened the tube, confirming that it was the lipstick she was wearing at the gala.

“I noticed you liked it.”

“Looked good on you.”

“I meant the taste.” Her cheeks were a bit red.

He nodded, twisting the tube to get a bit of the lipstick out. “Kissing you is always a delight, but the cherry flavor made it interesting.”

“So it wasn’t an excuse to kiss me back at the balcony?”

“I thought I said you looked pretty under the moonlight or some sappy shit like that.”

She rolled her eyes. “So romantic.”

“I’m just saying,” he started applying the lipstick on his lips, eyes fixed on hers, taunting her, “that I don’t need excuses to kiss you. Do you need them?”

It was creamy and warm from being under the sun, and the cherry flavor was just like he remembered it. He didn’t dwell on the sensation, focused on how she smiled wider at his obvious bait.

“Pink is definitely your color.” She said, cupping his head in her hands to look at his lips from different angles.

“Do you really think so?”

She tilted her head, leaning in a little just so their lips were barely touching. “Or maybe red, Mr. Hood.”

She was so close he almost had to cross his eyes to keep eye contact.

“So you figured it out?”

Their lips touched, finally, but she leaned back when he tried to kiss more properly. Damn tease. She combed back his hair, letting her nails softly scratch his scalp, earning a shiver from him.

“You were the one I managed to get less information on. After discarding the other options you were the one that matched Hood the most.”

“You were investigating us?”

She licked her lips, probably tasting the cherry.

“Side project.”

“You have a fucking murderboard dedicated to us?” He chuckled. At this point it was just funny. He was never bored with Jazz, she threw shit like this to him from absolutely nowhere — and he loved it so much.

“It was an interesting puzzle to solve!” He hands stopped their ministrations as she withdrew one hand to gesticulate as she tried to explain herself. “I wasn’t going to do anything about it, either way. I swe—!”

Her words were silenced by his lips. He couldn’t stop the giddiness at the situation. It was so absurd, everything was not how it was ‘supposed’ to go, but it was perfect in a strange way. They weren’t just two strangers at a gala, or two normal people kissing under a tree; hell, they weren’t even fully human by some standards. But kissing her was perfect, having his arms around her was perfect, her hands on the base of his neck was perfect.

When they parted, her cheeks were red and her lips stained pink from the lipstick. He carefully lifted a hand to push back a lock of hair that was in the way of her eyes. The teal shimmered green for a moment when his hand touched her cheek.

“You were right,” she said, a bit breathless. “The cherry makes it interesting.”

He hummed his agreement, letting her get comfortable and use his shoulders for leverage. Strange — he didn’t usually like being touched, and he thought it would be a problem since she was very touchy feely, but he didn’t mind it that much when she did it. Maybe it was because she usually made sure he was fine with her touch.

“Everything okay?”

He focused back on her. She was now on her knees, making him look up at her a little. With the way the stray rays of sunshine that sneaked past the tree leaves played with her hair, she was truly glowing in his eyes.

I love you, he had on the tip of his tongue, but chose to just nod and lean in a little to let her know he wanted to kiss again.

She obliged, grabbing him by the shoulders and softly pushing him back until he was completely against the tree. The parallels of the situation weren’t lost on him — last night their positions were reversed and he had been the one pushing her to the tree to kiss that lipstick off her lips.

She didn’t disappoint, though. Her kiss was first as tender and as light as always, but soon she took a breath and licked his lips to ask if she could take it further. He let her, he wouldn’t tell her no, lifting his hands to place them on her waist to seek more physical contact.

It was just like that other kiss shared under this same tree. She was dominating, but let him push her away if he so desired. This time there was a small difference, though; this time he wasn’t afraid of joining her and let his tongue follow hers, the cherry flavor encompassing their dance back to her mouth.

She did the small moan that signaled that he was doing something right, encouraging him to take the lead and press her body closer to his. His hands squeezed her waist a little, but Jazz wasn’t complaining; instead, she let out another soft moan that he swallowed in their kiss. Interesting.

He was warned about the risks of her teeth, though. Last night it had been a bit of a surprise to find out that her canines were a bit sharper than normal. Thankfully the cut on his tongue healed fast enough, and the one she accidentally did on his lip barely hurt at all, because she had been very self conscious about her fangs.

It was a liminal thing, she explained. Jason just found them hot, and told her exactly that. Her face became so red he thought she was going to faint.

They parted to take a breath, but kept their hands on each other. Her hands went to his hair to resume their appointed scratching task, making him shiver again.

With a sigh, Jason let his arms circle around her waist to pull her closer, the height difference allowing his head to fall on her chest and enjoy her heartbeat. It was a bit fast after the kiss, but strong. Alive. He understood why she liked to listen to his heart.

“We should head back.” Her voice was low, as if she didn’t want to break their little moment.

“Can’t we run away again?”

She chuckled, the feeling of her laugh against his cheek was as pleasant as the nails on his scalp.

“We already used that card once, I don’t think we can do it again.” Jazz patted his shoulder. “Also, I already messed up things with your dad and I don’t want him to hate me more.”

“I don’t care what he thinks about you.” His arms twitched a little around her waist.

“But I do,” she said, adding quickly before he could protest. “If I want to marry you I need to at least get along with your family.”

“I thought we weren’t even considering that for the moment?”

The scratches stopped. He moaned at the loss.

“I am not. But I meant it when I said I don’t want to get in the way.”

Jason felt a pinch in his chest at her words. She had insisted on that point a lot, and she was also the kind of person that planned ahead of time with the type of passion he was familiar with.

“Jason?” She asked, probably because he was getting tense.

He let her go, pushing her until they had enough distance between them to look her in the eye. Jazz was confused but cautious, her hands still on his person but with a lighter touch, waiting for him to confirm if he wanted her touch or not.

“Jazz, listen to me, and listen carefully,” she was listening, but he could see she was getting a bit scared at his words. “If you ever want to leave me, if you ever stop loving me, or I don’t make it worth your while or whatever, I’ll be fine. I mean, not fine-fine, but I would get it.”

She looked like she wanted to protest, but bit her lips closed and nodded at him to continue.

“But never break up with me because you feel like ‘you are in the way’. My family has had enough of that bullshit and I hate it so much.”

There was understanding in her eyes. “Self-sacrificing idiots with lack of communication skills? Feels familiar.” She complained about her brother pulling stunts like those.

It made him smile, but he needed to make her understand… She needed to know that it would crush him if she just up and left one day, even if it was ‘for his own good’.

“Promise me.”

Her eyes glowed green for a moment. “I promise. If something comes up we’ll have a conversation about it.”

He relaxed a little. Let’s see how that held up with time, he thought. She seemed to really understand where he was coming from, though.

“One last kiss for the road?” She asked.

The tension was completely gone when their lips touched again. They got this, whatever challenge dating brought their way.

Once they brushed the grass and dirt from their pants and were ready to face the music, he took her hand and guided her back to the dining room, this time from the kitchen door.

“Finally!” Danny was the first one to spot them. He didn’t look happy. At all.

“I see the dissection hasn't started so I’m still on time.”

“Har har.”

“We are not going to—”

“It’s a family joke,” Danny interrupted Tim, who blinked very slowly. That opened more follow up questions. “Don’t worry about it.”

Jason felt Dick elbow him, so he turned to see what he wanted. He found his brother biting back a knowing smirk as he pointed to the area below his lips, tapping the skin there. What the…

Oh.

Oh shit.

He rushed to wipe the remaining pink lipstick with his hand, but the damage was already done. Enough people had seen it and he wasn’t going to live this down.

Whatever.

“So,” Jazz sat down on the chair Danny had occupied before, since Damian apparently decided not to join them after the drama, and everyone at this side of the table was moved one seat over. “Have you explained everything?”

“Not everything,” Danny looked between Jason and his sister. “I wasn’t sure if you were going to explain to the loverboy here or just smooch—” He was interrupted, jumping when his foot was stepped on under the table. “Was that necessary?”

“Yes.” She wasn’t amused, her frown doing little to hide her red ears. “What have you said and what do I need to add?”

“‘I’m not a meta, I’m just a dead guy’?” Danny shrugged.

“That’s… vague.”

Jason looked at the others watching the siblings interact. There was a certain tension in the room, Jason knew Bruce wasn’t the only one about to shake them upside down for answers.

Tim cleared his throat and tapped the screen of his tablet. “You are Daniel James Fenton and Diana Jasmine Joan Fenton—”

“Diana Jasmine?”

“Don’t ask.”

Tim glared at the couple. “— children of Madeline and Jackson Fenton. Born and raised in a tiny town in the middle of Illinois called Amity Park. Parents dedicated their life to the investigation and science behind ghosts and how to contact and deal with them.”

“‘Deal’” Danny snorted.

“Ten years ago, they published a paper about their successful portal to another realm they concluded was where the ghosts came from.” He continued. “Shunned and ridiculed by the scientific community, they stopped their investigation and dipped into the weapon industry. Nowadays they sell weapon patents and original inventions, strangely enough, dedicated to storing food.” Tim ended his summary and looked at the siblings with a raised eyebrow.

Jazz sighed while Danny snickered.

“That’s the official version.” She finally said, somehow making Danny laugh harder. “After the portal they didn’t stop investigating ghosts, they just took a more, uh— direct approach.”

“It’s just a family joke, don’t worry about it.”

“They tortured ghosts?” Jason didn’t know what horrified him more, the idea or that the siblings seemed fine with it.

“At first, they tried. But local hero Danny Phantom thwarted every attempt!” She pumped her fist, like it was some kind of old timey superhero show jingle, but devoid of any of the energy it usually had.

All eyes went to Danny. “You are a superhero.” Tim said, but didn’t need confirmation.

He smiled cheekily. “I retired.”

“Also now our parents don’t dissect ghosts. Things changed a lot and we learned to adapt.” Jazz shrugged.

“You all became ghost hunters,” Jason said, now the pieces slowly making a picture.

Both siblings nodded and said: “Family business.”

“But why? Did the portal work? Why haven’t we heard anything about this?” Bruce leaned in, stealing Tim’s tablet to look at the pictures and the research he had compiled in so little time. “The League could have helped.”

Danny was shaking his head, all mirth gone from his face. “You couldn’t. Too dangerous. Ghosts can possess the living and I don’t really want to fight a possessed Superman.”

Bruce winced, knowing he was right.

“Then how did you deal with ghosts?” He asked.

The young man frowned at his hands placed on the table. “I… It was my responsibility, you know? I made the portal work and now they could come and go freely and—”

“It wasn’t your fault,” Jazz took one of her brother’s hands.

“I know that now, but back then I was just fourteen and I touched something I shouldn’t and I couldn’t tell anyone that I was dead—'' Danny took a deep breath to collect his thoughts. “I could deal with the ghosts better than anyone else not only because I was a ghost as well, but because I wouldn’t tear them apart to investigate what they were made of like my parents would.”

A few seconds ticked.

“Hold up, I think we need to unpack a few things there.” Dick tried to sound lighthearted, but there wasn’t anything positive in what Danny had said.

“Buddy, you have no idea what you got yourself into.”

Yeah, he was starting to see what he meant by that.

“I don't think it's a good idea to discuss things with an empty stomach.” Alfred, the godsend, arrived with a tray filled with breakfast goodies. Right, he hasn’t eaten anything since the mountain of pancakes at Denny’s.

“Thank you,” Jazz rushed to help him distribute the dishes filled with french toast around the table to those that hadn’t eaten yet — Jason, Danny and herself.

Danny jumped to eat. “Finally, some good fucking food.” He said with his mouth stuffed with delicious food. He jumped from another foot stomping. “Ow! Was that necessary!?”

“I thought I taught you some manners, young man.”

Danny made a mocking face at his sister, but still turned to the butler and nodded. “Thank you for the food, Mr. Pennyworth.”

The man fought to keep his smile under control. “Alfred is fine.” He nodded at everyone gathered, and walked out of the room to eavesdrop, probably.

Jason turned back to his french toasts and watched the Fentons devour the food like it was the last thing they did — Danny had forgotten all manners, but Jazz clinged to some as she inhaled the food at the same pace.

“It’s good, right?” Dick tried to make conversation.

“So good. I’m sorry Jazz but I don’t think I can go back to eating your cooking.” He said between bites. “Stop trying to kick me!”

“Stop saying stupid things, then.” She growled.

“Jay’s cooking is delicious, too,” Selina interrupted the starting argument, watching them with a soft smile, her face resting on her hands. “Alfred taught him personally.”

Danny opened his eyes wide, looking at the man. “Can I move in with you? It’ll be fun, I promise. Some dead guy quality time.”

“You abandon me so easily?” She lifted an eyebrow. “What happened to ‘I can go without food or sleep for weeks, Jazz, stop babying me’?”

“We still have to schedule that duel,” Jason shrugged, smirking when his girlfriend looked at him with raised eyebrows as Danny celebrated with a little ‘yes!’.

“Really?” She said.

“I can cook for you too, don’t worry.” Actually, the idea sounded very appealing. Why hadn’t he thought about it before? He could make it cute. Or maybe she wasn’t into big romantic gestures. He had to ask.

“As adorable as all of this is,” Bruce cleared his throat, “please explain what you said before.”

“Alright, so,” Danny swallowed what he had left, much more than was humanly possible to fit in a mouth, and breathed deeply. “The bullet points are: I died turning on the portal. Yes it hurt a lot, please don’t ask.” A few pairs of eyes turned to look at Jason instead. “I came back as a halfa, half alive, half dead, and got some sick new powers. I used those powers to battle evil ghosts and bring them back to the Ghost Zone—”

“— Where the ghosts live,” Jazz added, still finishing her last french toast.

Danny nodded. “Where the ghosts live, because my parents, who didn’t know I was a ghost too, would torture them to a second death. Eventually Jazz found out and helped me fight ghosts alongside my best friends. And then we told our parents, they took it well, decided to help and changed their ways. Happy ending.” He shrugged.

“And why are you in Gotham?” Wasn’t that the question? If there was a real threat of evil ghosts in their hometown, why were they here? Jazz said she left home to try being on her own, but with this new context…

“I followed my sister,” he pointed at her face with his thumb, she swatted his hand away. “She ‘renounced her heritage’ and hung the proverbial cape,” by his grin he said it on purpose, “and moved far enough from home to not be bothered by ghosts anymore.”

“That is so not what happened.”

“And what happened, Jazz?” He turned to look at her with a frown between his brows. “You just — I came back home one day and you were set on leaving.”

“I was tired! I had been doing the same thing since I was sixteen! I wanted to try something else.”

“And that ‘something else’ is dealing with living people that are just like ghosts. Yeah. Not buying it.”

Jazz looked like she wanted to keep arguing, but deflated. She subtly seeked Jason’s hand under the table, and he knew she was going to say another difficult thing to unpack.

“It was the liminality, Danny. I… When the changes started to happen I panicked. I thought I was going to die and I didn’t want to die regretting my life choices.”

Danny flinched like he had been slapped. “What?”

“It was logical. I was too contaminated already and I feared that if I stayed in Amity with such a high ectoplasm concentration—”

“You didn’t want to become a halfa?” Danny’s eyes started to water, green swirling into the blue with an alarming speed. Jason knew the others saw it too, because Bruce tensed.

“No! Danny, I swear it is not about that!” She jumped to hug her brother, “I was scared for a moment, but when I was finally here I knew I just needed time to do my own thing. I was going to come back to Amity, to you, but then the Observants happened and then the coronation happened and you were so busy and I was so busy and—”

“—and Mom and Dad took it so bad you didn’t want to come back either.” He melted in the hug. “They miss you, you know.”

“They miss us fighting together,” she rolled her eyes. “Ghost hunting is not a family bonding activity.”

Someone snorted.

Jason looked away from the sibling moment to find Tim looking very directly at his tablet, Dick controlling his expressions and Bruce trying not to look anybody in the eye.

“So your parents took the being dead thing better than Jazz giving up the cape?” Dick asked.

“Oh, they tried to dissect me at first. That I came back wrong, that they could cure me, that I was just possessed, you know.” He made a dismissive gesture with his hand.

Tim gave up pretending he was reading something on his tablet and looked at Bruce. The man was horrified, glancing between Danny and Jason, who smiled at him. It hurt a lot when Bruce said shit like that about him, back at the beginning, and seeing Bruce suffer from Danny’s tale was so validating.

“What happened next?” Selina was genuinely curious.

“Jazz went berserk, held them at gunpoint and made them choose. What was the thing you said? ‘Your children or your research, but you can’t have both’.” He leaned back on his chair. “It was amazing.”

Jason’s eyebrows went to his hairline.

“In my defense,” she started, pointedly looking at the table, “they had Danny strapped to a table and were ready to cut him open. I came back from school and found them in the basement and I just did what I had to.”

Feeling his heart beat faster and his face a bit red, Jason took her hands on his. “You protected your brother, that’s what matters.”

“So they chose you?” Bruce’s eyes were on their joined hands for a second, but he looked back at Danny.

“Unconditionally.” Danny’s smile was blinding. “Threw everything they had about ghosts away and started over. For me.”

“It still doesn't explain how you are here, in Gotham, and not back there protecting your city.” The question wasn’t judging, even for Bruce standards. Phantom had been in Gotham for a year and the world hadn't ended via ghost apocalypse.

“I am the Ghost King. I ordered them to stop coming to my city and rampage it.” Danny’s smile was all teeth. “And I'm on vacation visiting my sister, so any ass whooping has been canceled until further notice.”

Surprisingly, that wasn’t such a truth bomb. After all that messy retelling of their fucked up childhoods? They believed it — sure, Bruce would ask for details laters and maybe take it to the League, but it kinda made sense.

“Okay,” Bruce finally nodded. He looked at Jazz. “About Arkham.”

She tensed. “What about it.”

“You said you had research.”

“I do.”

Bruce wanted her to just hand it over, and Jazz probably knew it, and that was why she was not following him on purpose. Could he love her more? Not to sound like a highschooler, but in less than twelve hours he had seen so many sides of her and he loved every one of them.

“I’m not going to give it to you, I said I didn’t need Batman.”

“If this is a question of pride—”

Jazz was shaking her head. “This isn’t about pride—” She jumped from a kick under the table. “Danny, stop.”

“Then don’t lie.”

“Oh, shush you.” She kicked him back. “Yeah it’s my research and it was so hard to compile everything and I’m reluctant to let it go — but I have reasons why it is a bad idea for Batman to take care of Arkham.”

“I remember this rant.” Danny murmured.

“First, Batman doesn’t kill and that’s fact. Fear of retribution is a big part of why my plan works so well. Fear of being socially shunned, fear of losing money, fear of death.” She was looking directly at Bruce as she spoke. “I am an unknown, a newcomer to Gotham, and they don’t know what I am capable of doing to get what I want. Not that I would actually kill anybody —”

Danny fake coughed, earning another kick.

“— but they don’t know that. And I need that fear, that uncertainty, that they don’t know what I would do.”

Honestly? Jason wanted to kiss her on the mouth. Damn it that everyone was looking.

“And second?” Bruce had this look on his face, his ‘I don’t like this but I don’t have grounds to forbid it’ constipated face.

“Second, Batman is a symbol of the status quo of Gotham. There is a system, a way that things work, and any change could destroy the balance. If a new rogue comes up, Batman will be there to take everything back to how it should be.” She took a breath. Jason felt her hands were trembling a little, so he squeezed them to show his support. She smiled at him briefly.

“If an outsider reforms Arkham, it would be no problem — just another thing that Batman will eventually bring back into the balance, or maybe that’s part of how it should be, or maybe blame it all on the outsider and continue on with life. But, if Batman himself breaks the status quo, they will come for your blood.”

Bruce was listening. Amazing.

“How so?”

“Why only change Arkham? Why stop there? Why not fix the Narrows? And Crime Alley? Why not fix the housing problem? Why not end the rogues for good, if they can’t be cured in the new system?” Her smile was tired.. “The status quo works because nobody wants to change it. Problems become the usual when nobody tries to fix them. But try to fix one? Then you have to fix them all, or the symbol falls.”

She leaned back on her chair, satisfied with her rant. This was something she had given a lot of thought, Jason realized.

Danny leaned in and got his attention, making him lean too to see what he had to say.

His grin was devious when he fake-whispered. “This is why her favorite hero is Red Hood.”

“DANNY.” Unsatisfied with doing another kick, she chose to punch him on the shoulder this time. “I will fucking kill you.” She growled, but it was lost in how her face was completely red.

“You cannot kill me in a way that matters.” He snickered as he jumped back in his seat, dodging another punch. “He’s my favorite hero too, there’s no shame in that.”

Jazz probably answered something, but Jason’s mind was filled with static.

He knew he was some people’s favorite hero — Crime Alley’s kids were afraid of him but knew he would protect them, especially if they were homeless. Even in the dumb tabloids’ popularity surveys Red Hood was comfortably up in the list, so people liked him and what he was trying to do with the worst parts of the city. And apparently he had his own twitter fanclub?

He let his head fall into his arms over the table, knowing his face was red up to his ears.

He thought about Jazz’s murderboard, and how she said she had investigated him — sure, she investigated everyone trying to figure out their identities, but was going to take the fact that she looked into his work.

Did she like what she found? Did she agree? Was she appalled by the killing?

No. She had kissed him and said she wanted to date even after knowing who he was.

And he was her favorite hero.

“B, she’s right.”

“But she can’t go back, they’ll come for her.”

“After the scandal I don’t think I could hold as much power as I need,” Jazz was answering Bruce. “Unless we clear it all in a way that makes sure my relationship doesn’t have anything to do with the Reform.”

“Yeah, nice try about that.” Dick said.

“Yeah, people already believe it was all premeditated.”

“I’ll do it.”

All conversation stopped as he lifted his head.

“I’ll take care of it. Red Hood doesn’t have the limitations Batman does.”

“Jaybird, you promised not to kill people anymore.”

He smirked at his big brother, taking his girlfriend’s hand. “Yeah, but they don’t know that.” His smile turned genuine when he looked at Jazz. “We only need the fear of what I could do, right?”

She was beaming like a ray of sunshine. God, he could really kiss her right now.

"I would need to change a few things, but,” she played with her hair, eyes slightly unfocused but staying in his as she went over the plan in her head, “I think it can be done.”

“Perfect. Wanna discuss it over lunch?”

She focused back on him, her smile cheeky. “Is this a date, Mr. Hood?”

“If you want to,” he said with another smile. His eyes went to her curved lips, thinking about that romantic lunch date idea from earlier. “We can go back to my place after this.”

Jazz giggled, hands still playing with her hair. “You still have my dress and my other stuff, so...”

“I’m going to scrub my brain with bleach.” Danny’s murmur cut through their bubble.

The couple remembered they weren’t alone and jumped back, having leaned closer without realizing.

Only Selina and Cass, who had been silently following the conversation, looked ecstatic at them — Tim and Danny were not having a good time and looked about to make a run for it. Dick was shaking Bruce’s shoulder, murmuring “I told you, I told you” as if the man needed another pair of eyes to believe what was happening.

Jason cleared his throat. “We will first need all your intel, get rid of any digital evidence of your investigation—”

“I have everything on paper or stored in thumb drives. Nothing digital. Also, Danny helped me with covering my tracks.”

Danny made a peace sign, smirking. “Family business. Also my best friend helped. He’s a hacker, and very good.”

“Okay,” he nodded at the siblings, honestly impressed by their efficacy. It made him fall back into vigilante mode easier, too. “Then we need to go to your apartment and get everything.”

Her smile was mischievous. “No need!” She put her purse on the table and started rummaging through it. “I have everything a girl needs to carry in her bag. Phone, wallet, keys, lipstick,” as she listed them she took out the items, the lipstick earned him a little glance, “and a thumb drive with everything you need to bring the downfall of an institution!”

There it was, in the palm of her hand, a black thumb drive. Deceptively small, but that probably contained the worst the city had to offer. She offered it to him without fuss, showing how she trusted him with her work.

“Are you guys sure you don’t want to go back to crime fighting?”

The Fentons turned to look at Selina at the same time.

“Nah. I have King stuff to do.” Danny shrugged easily.

She nodded, turning to look at Jazz. “And you, dear? What are you going to do after all of this is over?”

Bruce gave the woman a warning look, apparently knowing where she was going with her question.

“I don’t know,” Jazz said, looking at her brother. “I was going to go back to Amity after settling things in Arkham and choosing someone to run the place fairly, but now I’m not sure.”

Danny’s eyes landed on Jason.

Oh. Right.

Now he got what she meant by not wanting to get in the way.

It was easy to forget she wasn’t a Gothamite, since she fit right in with the madness, but the city wasn’t her home the way it was his home. It didn’t call for her, it didn't need her to stay. Jazz didn’t really have any roots in Gotham. Until now.

“You want to stay.” The younger Fenton told his sister, eyes still on Jason. He didn’t look mad.

“I really liked my job at Arkham.”

Danny nodded, taking her hands in his. “You can always accept my offer, Jazzy. I still think ‘The Warden’ is a cool title for you.”

“It’s silly.”

“If I have to endure silly titles I’m taking you down with me.”

This made her chuckle. “I’ll think about it.” She squeezed his hands. “But I think I’ll stay for a while and figure out what I want to do next.”

“Sure.”

“Fantastic!” Selina had this dangerous glint in her eyes, like when she found a target she really wanted to steal. Uh oh. “Next question: if the thing with Jason doesn’t work out would you consider being my daughter?”

Jason rolled his eyes, complaining with a little “hey”.

“Jesus christ.” Tim facepalmed.

Bruce was massaging his temples. “Selina, dear—”

“Oh hush, you already have too many children. Let me have at least one of my own.”

“Um, thanks for the offer? But I already have parents? Alive ones? Also, I’m an adult?”

“My apprentice, then?”

Jazz looked confused for a few seconds and then opened her eyes real wide. “Holy shit, you are Catwoman.”

“I am, dear.” She leaned further into the table, set on her objective. “But focus, I have follow up questions: can you fight in heels and do you know how to use a whip?”

“Selina, no.”

“Actually…”

“No shit?” Jason looked away from Selina to see if his girlfriend was telling the truth. She was, since she was getting a bit red and Danny started cackling.

“The heels part not really—”

“Your suit did have a bit of a heel, though.”

“It didn’t? It was boots.”

“Boots with a heel, yeah.”

“And the whip?” Tim was looking between Jason and Jazz with a tiny smirk. He didn’t give him the satisfaction of humoring the implication.

“I did use a version of a whip that traps ghosts. Very useful when they try to fly away.” She answered with a shrug.

“I have a video, if you wanna see her in action.”

“Video?” This was news for Jazz.

“Video!” Danny rushed to take out his phone, searched for a video in his gallery app and tapped play.

One by one, everyone gathered on this side of the table to see the screen as it showed Phantom exchanging punches with a floating woman with short red hair. The woman — ghost? — bared her pointed teeth and glared at the younger Danny as she flew further up to get enough distance to shoot green lasers from her fists.

“How did you get this?”

“Wes. This is from his creepy stalker phase.”

Jazz snorted.

From outside the frame, a new ghost jumped into the fight, slamming against Danny’s side and launching him to the ground.

“I need help over here!” Danny in the video screamed, struggling to take down the ghost woman and the new ghost, a green panther, at the same time.

“On it!” That was Jazz’s voice.

The camera panned in her direction and there she was, sliding over an abandoned car and running towards the fight. She was wearing a skintight black and white suit, similar to Phantom’s, but she had added knee pads and sturdier looking boots and gloves. On her waist she had a utility belt with weapons strapped to it.

“Oh, I remember this fight — we were testing the new Fenton Peeler 2.0.” Jazz commented, her eyes kind of wistful as she watched her past self march towards danger.

She did miss it. He wondered if she really wanted to go back despite saying she preferred to stay in Gotham.

“Fenton Peeler?” He asked.

“Kind of an armored suit.”

“Armored suit?”

“Watch.”

Indeed, once she was close enough to the pouncing panther, she hit a button on her glove and some kind of armor started unfolding up her arms and feet. It was calculated, because with a few powerful leaps, she intercepted the panther in the air just in time to have the full silver armor covering her entire body.

Both ghost panther and human rolled to the floor and started wrestling. From where this supposed ‘Wes’ was filming it was difficult to discern who was winning; but she was holding her own and catching the big animal every time it tried to weasel out of her grip.

Only took one time she couldn’t keep it down and the creature was free, finally deciding that going after Danny wasn’t worth it either and leaping away from the fight, turning into an enormous bird mid-flight.

Jazz in the video hit her glove again and as the suit retreated back to its place, she took the whip on her waist and, in a feat of skill, hit her mark and tangled the ghost and its wings in the weird glowing weapon. She dragged the bird down back to her, smashing its head on her knee. The ghost was out cold.

“Danny!” Past-Jazz extended a hand and her brother tossed an object to her. She did something with it and the ghost was warped into the object.

Danny paused the video.

Selina was vibrating as she placed her hands on Jazz’s shoulders. “Are you really sure you don’t want to go back to that?” She pointed at the paused video with her chin.

“Selina, stop.” Bruce wasn’t amused, despite looking at the screen with interest.

“No, it’s okay,” Jazz was looking at the phone, eyes still a bit lost in the memories, “sometimes I do want to. Hard not to when is the only thing you have known.”

“Yeah, Mom and Dad wouldn’t win many ‘parent of the year’ awards.” Danny’s expression was sad, but guarded. Old wounds, probably.

Jazz closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly. Jason didn’t need to ask — she had explained, vaguely enough to keep all these secrets safe, that the neglect ran deep in her childhood. That Danny forgave them too easily, that her parents were trying to be better but that ignoring the damage was not the solution either.

“I’ve been doing this since I was sixteen.” She had said.

She had to point a gun to her parents to make them see that they were hurting their own son.

“Do you have more videos?” Jason asked Danny, trying to lift the mood a little and distract her from being sad.

He accepted his olive branch and hit play, the video resuming and this time showing another fight. There was now an older woman with short red head fighting alongside the siblings.

“That’s Mom.” Jazz whispered to him.

Her fighting style was familiar to all the bats — martial arts and proficiency with a bo staff, the woman jumped around and knocked out ghosts with powerful kicks, a level of control of her body that could only be achieved through years of training.

Suddenly, what could only be called a tank ran through the ghost the woman was fighting. She didn’t even flinch.

“And the one driving is Dad.” Danny snorted.

“What’s with the tank?” Dick asked.

“Family van, the Fenton Assault Vehicle, heavily modified by my parents.”

“Imagine going camping in that.” Danny didn’t look amused, probably speaking from experience.

The video montage continued, and Danny and Jazz shared the stories behind each fight. In some they were with their parents; in some the ‘B-team’, aka Danny’s friends, were there for back-up; in some it was just the two siblings against the next ghost threat.

They were too young to fight like they did. Jazz showed a proficiency in weaponry that an eighteen year old shouldn’t have, Danny showed a pain tolerance that was very unnerving in such a small body. They were good, especially in the videos that showed them older and with better equipment, but they shouldn’t have fought the fights of the adults in the first place.

Soon after, Danny put on more goofy videos to lighten the mood. Training montages and fails; one time Jazz hit her face when the recoil of her new rifle was stronger than expected, one time Danny was slammed to a building so hard he came back out dizzy and forgot how to fly, one time the bickering of the siblings made a giant ghost dragon find their hiding spot.

They were watching a video of Jazz trying a new move her mom was teaching her, when the door to the dining room was slammed open.

Duke was there, dropping his duffle bag to his feet. “I leave for ONE WEEK and Jason has a girlfriend?” He said, glaring at the group still gathered around Danny’s phone. He started blinking fast, shielding his eyes as if he were looking at the sun. “And why is there a glowing person sitting at the table?”

“Oops?” Danny smiled apologetically and did something about it, because Duke could now uncover his eyes.

“Dude, who are you and why is there a floating crown over your head?”

Jazz let her head fall on Jason’s shoulder, sighing.

“Okay, I yield,” she whispered to him as the others rushed to explain, “can we run away now?”

Jason sneakily kissed her hair and took her hand, taking advantage of the confusion to sneak away from the others. Only Danny saw them leave, narrowing his eyes for a second before smiling at the duo. He waved them goodbye.

They were giggling as they ran hand in hand through the corridors of the Manor, just like last night, this time with less formal clothes and without heels to ditch on the way.

Jason took her up some stairs and down a hall to Bruce’s studio.

“Through the balcony again?” She asked, a little short of breath.

He smiled. “Nope.” He guided her to the grandfather clock, eyeing the desk and considering making out with her over Bruce’s precious mahogany fancy desk. Alas, they had a few minutes before the other started going after them. “We are stealing a bike.”

She was confused for a moment, but once Jason put the clock hands in the correct position and the door to the elevator that went down the Batcave opened, she made the connection.

“Isn’t it a bit early in our relationship to take me to the Cave?”

“We are not going for a tour, but we can revisit that another time,” they walked in the elevator still hand in hand. As it went down, he couldn’t resist finally touching her face and combing back a few stray locks of her red hair. “It isn’t like you don't know enough already. And it’s a matter of time before the old man or the cat lady decide to train you.”

The elevator got to the Cave, the doors opened.

“Do you think I should accept her offer?” She asked as they walked out, her eyes on his.

“While I think you could totally pull off the sexy catsuit aesthetics,” she snorted, “and I think you could really be a good crime fighter… It’s really up to you. If you want to do it, do it. If you want to pursue your career at Arkham, do it.”

He had the feeling she understood this kind of life was something you needed to choose, not be pushed into it. But he needed to say it anyway.

“Why not both?” She tilted her head.

“You could,” he shrugged, “if you want to. Just keep in mind that having a day job and a night job will be taxing.”

She pondered his words and nodded. “Thank you.”

“Just know that I support you either way.”

“I know.” She cupped his face, pulling him down a little.

“Just wanted to make it clear that I’m a supportive boyfriend and that stuff.”

“I know,” she got on the tip of her toes and kissed him. “Let’s go back to your place and go over my plans for Arkham.” She whispered against his lips.

“You sure know how to romance a guy.”

“You can also show me your sword collection?” She patted his cheek.

His face burned a little. “Is that a—” Before he could make a fool of himself and ask if that was an euphemism for sex, the elevator got back to life and started going up.

They looked at each other.

“Time to run.”

She nodded her agreement.

He guided her towards the bike he had in mind, making a brief stop to pick up the keys, and quickly turned it on just in time to hear Bruce and the others calling their names from the elevator.

“Go, go, go.”

They put on the helmets and drove away like bats out of hell. Pun intended.

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[bosskie]

'Molluck is enjoying his time at the Yaymans.'

Just a random sketch-like Molluck thing I did to practice anatomy, lighting, background and perspective stuff. I feel like it's been like a decade since I truly drew something to practice anatomy... I haven't truly practiced anatomy for so long... I tend to just draw and use references when I need but don't really do any practive stuff or studies, that's what I mean. I feel like I truly need to practice more drawing since I feel like I know nothing about anatomy, lighting, colours or perspective stuff...

I have been wondering if I should start doing proper traditional stuff again (I have so much traditional art supplies, many even unused, mostly bought by me...) or/and buy something proper digital art stuff since I'm drawing with a computer mouse and it does restrict me in a certain way, I cannot draw as naturally as I could. My self-hatred has made me feel like I'm just wasting those art supplies if I use them but they are actually wasted when I don't use them. Same thing is with that digital art stuff since I haven't felt like spending money on that stuff, felt like I only draw crappy stuff... I don't even know which one would be better, a drawing tablet or a drawing screen. I had once a crappy drawing tablet for a short time and I didn't really like it but I also have drawn some stuff with an iPad but with a crappy touch pen, so it wasn't ideal either... So, yeah, I don't really know which one I should even choose.

I feel sorry for being like this since I do know what it ain't nice to hear an artist calling their art crappy but I'm so used to feel like so, I suffer from severe self-hatred, for no reason... Since a child, I have heard compliments about my art but it seems like my self-hatred or perfectionism or something has just strongly disagreed, so my self-confidence hasn't truly grown... There somewhere it still touches me to hear if people enjoy my art since it's something unexpected for me. I only wanna be honest and I don't wanna pretend to be any better artist than I actually am.

I'm not totally sure of how to draw Molluck's body but I'm trying my best to learn it since he has such a beautiful body... I just don't get enough of this Gluk... I don't really have much time to draw or any other free time stuff but I just wanted to draw this to admire his body, once more... Yeah, too thirsty for him to let this be... Yeah, like I have said, OWI succeeded to create my 'ideal man' I didn't even know about until I got into him... But yes, I still need to practice drawing him... And yes, I do think that pink suits Molluck!

I still don't know what to do with my art but well, I publish this like this since well, this is just a random practice thing, a bit WIP too since I just don't feel like spending more time on this, too busy for it, need to move on... I wish I had more time to draw so I could truly improve my art... I feel like I'm kinda stuck since I haven't truly practiced for a decade... Just drawn and trusted my eyes.

#oddworld molluck #molluck #molluck the glukkon #oddworld #oddworld glukkon #art like a bosskie

[talkingwithghosts555]

A Conversation with James Dean

K: Oh man, this is a trip.

J: (grins) Why?

K: Because, I haven’t talked to someone new in a very long time and you finally come through all the way. I always wondered why you hovered around in the background for so long and today it’s like…suddenly. I have to say, sort of crappy timing on your part.

J: (continues to grin) First…(raises a finger) it wasn’t the time for introductions but my curiosity about you was always very strong. Second…(raises finger) sometimes it’s better for people to channel when they’re sick because their defences are very low.

K: I don’t think I have defences when I channel.

J: Everybody has defences when they channel. More about is this right or is this wrong…is it true. When someone’s sick, all of that goes away because the person’s energy is concentrating on fighting a virus and isn’t concerned about fighting what’s uncomfortable.

K: Oooo. That’s a good way to put it. To be honest, I’ve always sort of felt like we’ve known each other even though we’ve never met and I’m wondering, without giving too much away…

J: (nods while sipping on a mug of something…I assume it’s coffee) Very wise.

K: If you are an aspect of someone I already know in spirit.

J: Like…did I come back as their face, because I just couldn’t stay away, and we did somewhat the same things?

K: Kinda like that, yes.

J: (nods while lighting a cigarette, inhales, and exhales) Something like that.

K: Still smoke?

J: At least here, it’s doesn’t cause any real damage. I need to stay busy with my hands.

K: Got it. Then, reincarnation…

J: (gives me a confused look) I don’t much care for the term.

K: What would you call it?

J: Huh. (thinks) Another chance. When people die, they go back and they look at what they’ve done and if they feel it was a finished project or not. I didn’t feel like my project was finished. I wanted to get back as soon as I could but the circumstances had to be right, so I had to wait a few years to do that and I wanted it as close as possible to what I had already done and that happened. That was created for me and I was lucky it was.

K: Then not everyone gets that chance?

J: I was pretty adamant about it. (inhales the cigarette)

K: Can you be? If a person dies and doesn’t feel they finished something, can they just demand to come back.

J: I’ve known people that dive back in within…a day of dying.

K: You’re joking????

J: No. I’m not. Earth is a…for a rebel…(winks) it’s just as adrenaline filled as any stunt would be. The difficult part of that is…nobody really understands that until they die. No one really understands the beauty of it until they die and when that epiphany comes…for those that love the rush, they come back.

K: When I hear about NDEs (near death experiences) most people say they don’t want to come back.

J: A lot don’t.

K: You’ve been channeled before, right?

J: Lots of times. (sips coffee)

K: Why do you want to do that again with me?

J: The connection is different. The relationship is different.

K: Okay.

J: It’s nice for us…(pats his chest) to connect with someone on a different sort of level. You’ve heard that before.

K: I have.

J: There are so many great connectors out there. That’s what I call mediums. I call them connectors. And once in a while, you’ll find one that you can just step into and hold hands with without it being awkward. The others, you keep at a distance and just talk about the easy stuff. Like shootin’ the breeze with an acquaintance.

K: Did you have a lot of those, sort of lighter conversations, with people when living?

J: I wanted to connect. I really did. I think from the experiences I had when I was growing up, I sort of protected myself from sharing too much. I found protection in the acting. I found that I didn’t have to show who I really was because I could act it and be believed.

K: Did you ever show your true self to anyone?

J: Only a select few. I had a few rocky relationships…on and off again relationships because they could see that I was faking it…acting even if I wasn’t on a job and that created friction. I guess you could say, I didn’t give into trust very easily.

K: Interesting. I have that same issue. I don’t trust very easily.

J: (inhales and exhales) No one blames you for it.

K: I didn’t think anyone did.

J: (grins) It only takes one, right.

K: For sure.

J: (shakes his head slightly and smiles) I guess the circumstances of one’s youth really does create impressions…keeps people wanting to hang tight to things real close and the only way to do that is to pretend you’re someone entirely different.

K: What happened to you? In your youth that kept you so hidden?

J: Abuse. Abuse from someone I was supposed to trust…that everyone else trusted and because everyone else trusted him, I was meant to as well.

K: I’m sorry about that.

J: After my mother died, I was desperate for that sort of care. That sort of…comfort that only a mom could give a son at a very young age but that also made me a little bit…vulnerable because when I needed that, that sort of care came in the guise of sex and when you’re young, you start to believe that’s what love or comfort was.

K: Did you feel comforted when you were abused?

J: Something in me told me this wasn’t what I was looking for. It was shame for me because I felt ashamed that I actually thought it was the same thing…comfort and abuse. So, I never shared that part of my life with very many people.

K: What happened when you did?

J: Depends on the person. For some, it excused my behavior. I wasn’t always a nice guy. I would act out, lash out, sometimes resort to violence in my adult temper tantrums especially when I was alone. And those that excused me for it used the abuse as a reason to. (drops the cigarette and steps on it) Some gave me the sympathy which I hated. I hated every bit of sympathy given to me. It made me feel like I was someone who showed weakness and I didn’t want to be seen as weak. I don’t know. (shrugs) Life’s moments, when you’re young, and all you’re ever meant to be is innocent…can really fuck a person up.

K: For sure. I hear that. Was acting an escape for you then?

J: Like a lot of people, it gave me the chance to explore different parts of myself. Different ways to love someone else. It allowed me to learn about human nature, what worked with others and what didn’t. I used to take what I acted out in movies…I used to take that into my daily life and act that role and noted how people responded to it.

K: Were you ever really James to anyone?

J: I didn’t really know who James was.

K: When I look at your picture. I don’t see a young man. I don’t see someone who died in their early twenties. You seem older somehow. Would you consider yourself to be an old soul?

J: Yeah. I would take that title. Old soul.

K: Do you find that the old souls…who come to earth all the time since the beginning…those are the ones that are chomping at the bit to come back as soon as possible?

J: Depends on the job. If an old soul has only ever known earth, they want to come back as soon as possible. If an old soul is part of a greater collective of energies, they have the tendency to want to go back to any one of those collectives and not return to earth for a long, long time. When was you last life on earth? (sips coffee)

K: 1921.

J: Then, you didn’t wait too long to come back either.

K: Much to the chagrin of celestials that shall not be named.

J: (shrugs and chuckles) Sometimes what’s in our spirit’s best interest doesn’t agree with others. It’s all personal.

K: Just like here.

J: Just like here which is so beautiful. Everything is just a fucked up beautiful disaster.

K: So, after coming back as our mutual acquaintance…do you feel like you accomplished what you wanted?

J: In a relatively short amount of time, it all clicked. Plus, I wanted to leave a legacy and I did that.

K: Why did you want to leave a legacy?

J: I think that legacies of doing good are important. Not just a legacy built on a face of someone but a legacy of what we leave behind…what good we did. As much good as I did as James, it wasn’t nearly what I accomplished in the life after that and that’s what I’m most proud of. It had to be on those timelines that happened. I guess you could say my life as James was a test run.

K: Being the face of James, have you connected with this other life? After they died?

J: Absolutely. It’s like…having a twin brother.

K: I haven’t been able to really wrap my head and heart around the higher self and the soul aspects of someone because one spirit will still come as different faces and it’s very hard to feel like those are all the same…person. I guess I need to use person because it’s what I see.

J: I get it. Absolutely. That’s the beautiful disaster and that’s the power of spirit. That not only can a person connect with one aspect but of all the aspect of the One. And it can send people, who aren’t ready for that, into a tailspin of sorts. But when a person is ready for that, it’s just a general acceptance of the whole thing and whoever you see in the moment, is who you see with that greater understanding that not only do you connect with one but with all. This is the lesson that humanity is learning, that by connecting with one, they actually connect with the All. People talk about oneness but oneness doesn’t mean not seeing everything that makes up the One. What’s the best part, is seeing the intricacies of the one…as all these different experiences that contribute to it. Intricacies never block. They are the cosmic DNA of the One and every bit of DNA contributes that that special part of someone that is just a contribution to the Whole.

K: Wow.

J: I got that when I came back. Because the spirit doesn’t understand what’s real and what’s not real. Everything is real and spirit will live all parts as a contribution to the whole thing. When I understood that, I didn’t have a reason to go back. Not right away. There are people that need to live their lives and come back to this side before we both decide we go back together to finish what we started in life. After that, the earth contains us and creates from that part and then we can start creating something new, somewhere different.

K: Wow. That’s amazing. Thank you for your honesty.

J: It’s pretty incredible how all of this is being supported now. Just in this sliver of time (pinches his fingers together) is that awareness supported, but even though it’s supported doesn’t mean that sliver of time will have many takers because it’s still pretty fucked up. It’s a pretty fucked up way to think or believe.

K: TELL ME ABOUT IT!! Thank you for that.

J: I needed a lot of validation in my life as James to make it worth it. It didn’t look like it to the outside world that looked in. But in those quiet moments, I would just beg for some validation about what I was going through. I guess that’s why I had the two sides to me. The rebel and the quiet introvert. Depending, mentally, where I was at, is what you got. If I didn’t receive the validation of a job well done, a person would see a rebel. If I felt confidence, you would see the quiet, contemplative James.

K: Who did you like better?

J: Each had their moments.

K: I’ve only ever seen Rebel without a Cause.

J: That was a long time ago.

K: I think I was…like twelve or something.

J: Why did you watch it?

K: Paula Abdul and Keanu Reeves, of course.

J: (laughing) I guess that…there’s so much foreshadowing in people’s lives.

K: I think that a person would only see the foreshadowing after they died. Like it’s some huge epiphany after the fact.

J: Hindsight is 20/20. Especially here.

K: What is one thing that you wished you did have when you lived as James.

J: (thinks) I guess what anyone would want. A great love story.

K: Is earth a romantic place?

J: It could be more romantic if people gave in to the vulnerability of romance. I couldn’t give over 100% to vulnerability. Even in the quiet moments, I still needed to pretend something because pretending was sometimes easier than the real. To have a great love story, it takes less pretending and more authenticity.

K: That’s beautifully said. Thank you.

J: Audrey says, hi. (he’s smirking, picturing her) Now she…understands what a real love story is.

K: I know she does. She’s amazing. She came in the other day. It was nice to see her.

J: And, you’ll be seeing more of me.

K: What about asking permission?

J: (he’s sort of slouching over the arm of the chair he’s sitting in) I was asking.

K: That was not asking.

J: Okay. May I please come and have more talks with you?

K: Why?

J: Because it’s meaningful to me. Sort of a way to be a part of a great love story.

Heart melts.

K: God! Men! Why is it always dashing men.

J: The ultimate attraction.

K: (laughing) Okay. Yeah, sure. You looking like that and me in a housecoat and sweats, snotting everywhere.

J: It’s the human experience, Kim. A beautiful disaster. Thanks for this.

K: Thanks, James. I’ll be seeing you…I guess.

J: Absolutely. (jumps to his feet and salutes) Until then.

K: See you.

J: Ciao, Bella.

#james dean #spirituality #talking with ghosts #channeling #channeling spirit #new age #mediumship #psychic #intuition #automatic writing #message from spirit #mediumship readings #channeled messages #messages from heaven

[sweetreunions]

hey y'all, i'm april ( s/h, 21+ ) and this is kang jinah! she's technically a muse i've had for awhile but i've tweaked things here and there so bear with me as i figure her out fully once again 🥹 you already know the drill: background (tw: mentions of child abandonment + bullying) and plot bunnies under the cut, drop a like for plotting and i'll hit you up 🫶🏻

BACKGROUND

born in daegu to a young college couple that could barely afford to make ends meet for themselves, let alone their newborn child. she was left on the steps of the local fire department at the age of three and brought to a children's home not long after

she was six years old when a sweet couple from the busy bustling city of seoul adopted her, the wife having chanced upon the children's home and jinah during a work trip as a traveling nurse. little young jinah would become the light of their lives despite not being biologically theirs

jinah's childhood was spent adjusting to the bright and loud city when she had only known the quaintness of the countryside, but it didn't take her long to adapt and by the time she moved on to middle school, she was living life like a seoul local

if living like a local meant enduring the hazing and bullying of fellow classmates for being given up at birth. how they came to know such a fact, jinah would never know but that didn't faze her nor did it hinder her in any way because if there's anything that kang jinah is, it's resilient

that resiliency got her through public schooling and before she knew it, she was entering university where she could be anyone that she wanted to be. not that she particularly kept her adoptee status a secret, but it's not exactly something you spill on a first date over coffee, y'know?

it's also during university that she started to fiddle with the idea of finding her birth parents, figure out her true roots and what not. she was careful in letting her parents know of her thoughts and luckily for her, they were fully supportive of the idea as long as jinah finished university first. so that she did; with a bachelors in computer science from hanyang and a mountain of debt to show for it

and so she's back in daegu now, 20 years later to search for her birth parents after the immense amount of money spent on a private investigator alerted her that [redacted] and [redacted] on her file still resided there

for her personality she's very much sticking to the phrase "it is what it is", meaning she's likely to be one of the chillest people you've ever met. it's not that she doesn't care, because it's likely that she does, it's just that she chooses not to stress herself over things completely out of her control. she's sweet and almost always with a smile on her face. a nice girl that would help the elderly cross the street if she saw them struggle or wander around to help a lost child find their parents, you get the vibe we're going for here

PLOTS:

she's a relatively fresh face around the mall and clearly in need of a friend; that's where you come in! ever since you noticed her taking a break on her own you've made it your personal goal to check in with jinah whenever possible

for whatever reason, you find yourself digging through the racks and racks of items at isanghan thrift and she's got her eye on you for potential theft with the way you're ransacking through the shelves but really, you're looking for this (1) thing you lost and security says rumour has it it's landed here

something like this post where she notices you having a crappy day and when she inevitably asks what's wrong you say "nothing" except she's calling bullshit. she may be new to sunset but she isn't dumb, so spill

she's been dying to try out glogolf but she doesn't want to go on her own because "that's just sad" so she basically begs you to go with her and honestly...how can you say no to her 🥺

someone who she's known from seoul!! it can either be a friendship they had or perhaps they didn't get along so well back then, the possibilities are truly endless here

a new (?) city means a new dating pool and miss girl won't pass up the opportunity. that is until she finds out you also work at sunset and then it's jinah goes ghost!

miss compsci major is also a gaming nerd and she makes it pretty obvious with her spending breaks glued to her phone a lot of the time– oh what's that? you're a gamer too? oh she could just fall in love rn in this club

i'll add more as time passes (or perhaps make a legit plots page lmao) but this is all i've got atm. as always, if nothing works here i'm all for brainstorming so let's get itttttt 🌚

#𓆩 ♡ 𓆪 ⊹ ˚˖⋆｡ breaking the fourth wall. › ooc. #( stuck on mobile for the rest of the night so me hitting y’all up may take some time ㅠㅠ #sunsetintro