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#you’re more than welcome to POLITELY ask/remind me
lumpsbumpsandwhumps · 2 years
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You need to tag character death. It's literally not an option. It's extremely triggering to a lot of people and it's fucked up to have every single version of major character death tagged and still get triggered and end up in tears and in a horrible mood by posts like yours because you don't tag it.
That’s an awful hostile way of saying “hey newbie you missed a tag” ain’t it
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waitimcomingtoo · 4 months
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Sugar And Spice
Pairing: Peeta Mellark x reader
Synopsis: Peeta gets jealous when a guy keeps coming into the bakery to flirt with you
Masterlist
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“Can you watch the bakery for a second while I frost a cake?”
“I can do it but I have to warn you. I’m super charming so we’re probably gonna get a bunch of customers and sell out immediately.” You said and held up your hands in defense. Peeta couldn’t help but smile as he watched you tie an apron around your waist. Something about you wearing something that had his last name on it made you even more endearing. He knew he shouldn’t be thinking about his best friend like that, but he couldn’t help it.
“I don’t doubt your charm but we haven’t had any customers all day.” He reminded you.
“That’s because you’ve been keeping me in the back. Go frost your cake. This place will be packed when you return. Just watch”. You said and shooed him okay.
“Okay.” He replied sarcastically.
You were only alone in the bakery for a few minutes before someone came in. It was a guy around your age wearing a hard helmet so you could only assume he was a coal miner.
“Hello.” He smiled at you as he walked up the counter.
“Hello.” You replied. “Welcome to Mellark Bakery.”
“Do you guys sell bread?” He asked you.
“Here? At the bakery?” You asked and stepped to the side to give him a full view of all the baskets of bread behind you.
“Okay, it was a dumb question.” He admitted.
“It’s okay. It’s probably the only question you can ask that I could actually answer. I just learned what yeast was a little while ago.”
“Oh, so you don’t usually work here?”
“I don’t. My best friends family owns the place. But his brother gave his mom a cold and then the whole family caught it. I’m just filling in until they’re better.” You explained.
“That’s a shame. I thought I’d have two reasons to come in here now.” The boy said with a coy smile.
“Two reasons?”
“For delicious bread and a chance to see the pretty girl working the counter.” He replied. You raised your eyebrows in surprise at his flirting before smiling. You’d never had a boy flirt with you so boldly so it made you feel good.
“Well, thanks. How can I help you?” You asked him.
“My mother sent me to get that brown bread but I keep forgetting the name of it.”
“Isn’t all bread brown?”
“Well, yes.” He realized. “But she said this one is browner than the others.”
“I actually think I know what you’re talking about. Is it pumpernickel?” You asked and pulled out a loaf of pumpernickel bread.
“Yes! That’s the one. Look at you being smart. I’ll take a loaf of that.” The boy said. You didn’t really like the way he acted like it was shocking you’d say something smart but you didn’t say anything.
“Surely. Anything else I get you?” You asked as you handed him the wrapped up loaf.
“How about your name?” He smiled as he handed you the money.
“It’s Y/n. You?” You said through a nervous laugh. You weren’t entirely sure you liked the attention anymore.
“Hi. I’m Lycan.” He said and extended his hand.
“Nice to meet you, Lycan.” You smiled politely and shook his hand.
“It is nice, isn’t it? Will you be filling in all week?”
“Most likely.” You told him.
“Then I’ll be back. Thanks for the help.” He winked at you just as Peeta came out from the back. He saw the much taller and stronger looking Lycan leaving the bakery and stopped in his tracks.
“No problem.” You called after him. Peeta caught the way Lycan’s eyes lingered on you after he left the shop and he didn’t like it. He got a weird feeling in his stomach when he noticed that you were flustered.
“Who was that?” Peeta asked.
“That was Lycan. And he bought the last loaf of pumpernickel so we knead to make more. And that was a baking pun, by the way. But it would’ve worked better on paper.”
“Oh. Do you always learn the customers names?” Peeta asked as the weird feeling in his stomach grew. He was feeling jealous already and now that he knew you learned that guys name, it was even worse.
“Not always.” You shrugged. “But he asked my name so I asked his.”
“He asked your name? That was nice of him.” Peeta said through a forced smile. He didn’t know why it bothered him so much that you had caught the attention of the attractive stranger. Maybe because you’d caught Peeta’s attention years ago but still hadn’t noticed.
“Yeah. I guess he was nice. He called me pretty.” You said and looked at Peeta as if you were expecting him to disagree with that statement. Peeta clenched his jaw but kept a straight face.
“You are pretty.” He insisted. “Why do you sound so surprised?”
“I don’t know. I guess because no one’s ever just called me pretty before. Except maybe my mother. But I’ve never heard it from a boy. It was kinda, I don’t know, nice.” You said as you stared out the window. Peeta was kicking himself for never vocalizing how beautiful he found you because now you had to cling to the compliment of a stranger.
“I think you’re pretty.” Peeta said quietly. Your head turned to Peeta and you had a surprised smile on your face. Peeta turned a deep red as he waited for your answer.
“You’re pretty pretty yourself, blondie.” You replied as you passed by him. You started to rearrange some of the baked goods but Peeta was still hung up on this stranger who called you pretty.
“Did you like that guy?” Peeta asked you and feared for the answer.
“I don’t know.” You shrugged. “It was nice to be noticed. But I don’t him enough to know if I like him.”
“Right.” He nodded and desperately tried to take his mind off it. You noticed the far off look in Peeta’s eye but didn’t understand what was bothering him.
“So how’s your cake?” You asked.
“Not good. I made the frosting a weird color. Can you go look at it and tell me if I should scrap it or not?”
“Sure. But if you go check on it later and there’s a piece missing, it wasn’t me.” You teased.
“Very funny.” He said sarcastically.
“I know, right?” You laughed and went to the back. Peeta laughed as well but his smile quickly dropped when the door to the bakery opened. Lycan walked back in and Peeta gulped. He’d only seen him through the window before so now he got to see just how tall and handsome this guy was. Peeta nervously fumbled with the tie on his apron and felt a little insecure to be wearing it when this guy was covering in soot and dirt from being down in the mines.
“Hi. How can I help you?” Peeta asked him. Lycan was visibly disappointed to see Peeta there and was ignoring him as he looked around the bakery for you.
“What happened to the girl that was working here just a few minutes ago?” Lycan asked.
“Who’s asking?” Peeta asked without dropping his cheery smile. Lycan looked Peeta up and down and scoffed a little.
“I am.” He replied. “I wanted to ask her where she lives.”
“Why would you want to know that?” Peeta frowned.
“So I could see her again. I was planning on stopping by sometime. I figured she’d like that.” Lycan answered with a smug expression.
“Well I know her well enough to know she wouldn’t want me telling a stranger where she lives so…” Peeta trailed off and let Lycan fill in the blank.
“Hm. You must be the friend she mentioned. I guess I’ll just have to ask her myself. But why don’t you do me a favor and tell her I stopped by?”
“Surely.” Peeta replied. Lycan recognized the same word you had used and narrowed his eyes at Peeta.
“Thanks, baker boy. Bye.” Lycan smirked and left the bakery. Peeta blinked in surprise at the unexpected rude tone. If he was feeling insecure before, he was feeling even worse now that Lycan made it obvious that he looked down on him.
“Who was that?” You asked when you came out from the back.
“No one.” Peeta lied. “How’s the cake?”
“I actually like the grey color. You should leave it as it is.” You told him.
“But it was supposed to be a wedding cake. Won’t the customer be mad?”
“If I was getting married and my cake was baked by you, I wouldn’t care what it looked like because I would already know it was delicious. But you don’t have to worry about that because the cake looked great. Your cakes always look great. You’re the best cake decorator I know. So stop worrying about it.” You said and playfully smacked his chest.
“I’m the only cake decorator you know.” He said with a shy smile.
“That may be true.” You agreed. “But even if I knew more, you’d still be the best. You’re an artist. All your cakes are lovely. I promise.”
“Thanks for saying that.” He blushed. “We can have a grey cake at our wedding then.”
“Oh? Our wedding?” You raised your eyebrows.
“Your wedding.” He quickly corrected. “I meant your wedding. I will make you a grey cake for your wedding.”
“What if my groom wants a white cake?”
“He’ll want whatever you want.” Peeta said confidently.
“What makes you so sure?” You asked skeptically.
“Just a guess.” He said quickly. He wasn’t about to tell you that if he was the groom, you’d get whatever and however many cakes you wanted.
“Well he better. My mother is already on me about finding someone and settling down. That’s all she thinks I’m gonna be apparently. A wife.” You said with a roll of your eyes.
“Oh, yeah? Is there anyone in particular you’re thinking of?” Peeta asked without looking at you.
“I mean, I wouldn’t be against running off and eloping with you to get her off my back.” You joked. Peeta blushed at the joke and hoped there was some truth to it.
“Or maybe I’ll just marry this Lycan guy to shut her up.” You added, making Peeta’s smile drop. He was definitely jealous now and it was only gonna get worse.
The next day, you went to the bakery again and helped Peeta run the shop. He had you handling the customers while he stayed in the back to bake. Even though you had said it as a joke, you actually were bringing in a lot of customers and selling through baked goods fast. Unfortunately, you brought in Peeta’s least favorite customer.
“Oh no.” Peeta said when he saw Lycan through the windows.
“What?” You asked just as the door opened.
“Hello again.” Lycan greeted you and didn’t acknowledge Peeta in any way.
“Oh, hi, Lycan. What can I get for you today?” You asked him.
“How about you get me your favorite thing in the shop?” He asked with that smug look Peeta hated. Peeta rolled his eyes at the lack of manners but held his tongue.
“Well, that’s hard to pick. Peeta bakes everything and it’s all delicious. He’s an amazing baker.” You said and patted Peeta’s back. Peeta and Lycan made eye contact and gave each other tight smiles.
“Oh, so this is your friend who runs the bakery? Did he tell you I stopped by yesterday to see you?” Lycan asked knowing full well Peeta didn’t mention it. You looked at Peeta in surprise and Peeta gave you a sheepish smile.
“Must’ve forgotten to mention that.” He said quietly.
“Right.” You laughed awkwardly. “Well, I love the cinnamon buns Peeta makes. And we just frosted some so I’ll go grab one from the back.”
You went to the back to grab a cinnamon bun, leaving Peeta and Lycan alone together. Peeta kept his eyes down as Lycan stared at him with a smug expression.
“So how come you had her running the shop all alone yesterday?” Lycan asked with judgement in his voice.
“She was fine. She was only alone for a few minutes but she would’ve been perfectly capable of running the shop all day. She’s great at this stuff. She’s better than me and I grew up in this bakery.” Peeta defended you.
“I could tell.” Lycan snorted. “But running a business is no place for a lady. She should’ve been doing the baking while you handled the customers. A girl like that should be able to sit still and look pretty while you man the place, you know what I mean?”
“Um, no, I don’t know what you mean.” Peeta smiled tightly. “She’s not the type to sit still but you wouldn’t know that because you don’t know her. And we “manned”the shop together all day. I just happened to be in the back decorating the cakes when you came in.”
“Oh, so you make all these? Where did you learn how to do that?” Lycan asked with a condescending smile as he looked at the cakes on display.
“My mother taught me.” Peeta said quietly.
“Oh, I see. My mother taught me that a man’s job involves getting your hands dirty but hey, what does she know?” Lycan shrugged.
“Clearly not how to teach her son manners.” Peeta mumbled. You came out from the back and Peeta relaxed.
“Here. One hot cinnamon bun.” You smiled kindly and handed the treat to Lycan.
“Thank you. It looks almost as good as you do.” He said with a much kinder tone than he had given Peeta.
“Oh. Thank you.” You laughed in surprise and looked over at Peeta. Peeta was too busy staring daggers at Lycan to notice.
“See you tomorrow?” Lycan asked you.
“See you then.” You waved as he left the shop. Once he was gone again, Peeta could finally breathe.
“I don’t like that guy.” Peeta shook his head.
“What? Why not? He’s so nice.” You said. As much as Peeta disliked that guy, he wasn’t about to burst your bubble and tell you Lycan had implied you could not and should not run the bakery by yourself.
“He’s too nice.” Peeta insisted. “And I don’t like the way he was looking at you.”
“How was he looking at me?” You frowned.
“The same way every guy looks at you. Only he looks dumb enough to try something.” Peeta mumbled. You let out a laugh and Peeta was confused.
“What?” He wondered.
“Nothing. I’ve just never heard you call someone dumb before. Here I was thinking you were all sunshine and flowers.” You shrugged with an amused smile.
“I can be tough. You don’t think I can be tough?”
“Well, I’m sure you can be. I’ve just never seen it. I’ve only ever seen your good side.”
“I can be tough. I can be a real tough guy.” Peeta insisted but it sounded unnatural coming out of his mouth.
“Okay, tough guy.” You chuckled. “Show me what you got.”
“What do you mean?”
“Say something mean about me.” You said and gestured towards yourself.
“What? I would never do that.” He laughed but meant it.
“I knew it. You’re too sweet. You don’t have a mean bone in your body. You’re all sugar.” You said and squeezed his arm. Peeta blushed at the contact and felt a little better about himself.
“Here’s something mean. That guy just tracked mud all over the floors. Why are coal miners so messy?” He scoffed and grabbed the mop.
“Maybe because they’re in dirty mines all day? Just a thought.” You teased as Peeta cleaned the floor.
“This is just gross.” Peeta huffed. “And did you see his hands? They were filthy.”
“I didn’t notice them.” You shrugged.
“Yeah, cause you were too busy flirting.” Peeta grumbled.
“Flirting?” You laughed. “I was not flirting with that guy.”
“Yes you were. I’ve never seen you bat your eyelashes like that before. And when’s the last time you warmed something up for a customer? You did that to flirt.” He half joked, half meant entirely.
“That wasn’t me flirting. I was just blinking because of all the dust he brought in.” You said simply. Peeta stopped mopping and looked up to see if you were serious.
“You really weren’t flirting with him?” Peeta asked hopefully.
“With a stranger? Who do you think I am?” You scoffed and grabbed the mop from him. You cleaned up the rest of the mud tracks before handing the mop back.
“Okay.” Peeta smiled. “Good.”
“Why’s that good? You didn’t want me to be flirting with him?” You asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Psh. No. I don’t care who you flirt with.” Peeta quickly explained but even he didn’t believe it.
“Don’t you?” You asked and took a step towards him.
“I don’t.” He gulped.
“All right then.” You smiled sadly and went back behind the counter. Peeta looked over at you and wondered if you had wanted him to say that he didn’t want you flirting with anyone else.
The next day, Peeta was hesitant to leave you alone in the bakery in case Lycan came back to ask you out. If he actually made a move on you, Peeta knew he didn’t stand a chance. There weren’t a whole lot of options for dating in your district so if he asked you out, you’d probably say yes. But Peeta couldn’t stay in the front forever and eventually had to go to the back to frost cakes. And as soon as he was gone, the wolves descended.
“Good morning.” Lycan greeted as he came into the bakery. Your heart started to beat faster when he came in but it wasn’t from excitement. His presence was starting to make you anxious and you didn’t know if you liked the attention anymore.
“Good morning. What will it be today?” You asked politely.
“Some more pumpernickel please. But only half a loaf. I had some of my worker friends over last night and we went through it. We just get so hungry being down in the mines all day. You know how real men’s work is. It’s brutal but hey, someone’s gotta do it.” Lycan shrugged and leaned on the counters that you had just cleaned.
“Right.” You said sarcastically. “Anything else?”
“A smile. From you.” Lycan added. You gave him a tight smile back and realized you really didn’t like the attention. At least, not from him.
“Have a great day.” He said as you handed him the loaf and he handed you the money.
“Thanks. You too.”
“I already did. Because I got to see you.” Lycan said and pointed to you. You forced a smile back and watched as he tracked mud on the floor as he left. Peeta came out from the back a little while later and saw the mud.
“I see Lycan returned.” He said stiffly.
“He sure did.” You replied. Peeta rolled his eyes and grabbed the mop before looking at you.
“Don’t give me that look.” You laughed. “It’s not my fault Mr. Muddy Boots keeps coming in here.”
“Yes it is. I heard him telling you to smile. He likes you.” Peeta mumbled and mopped the floor. His jealousy was back and in full force so he kept his head down.
“Maybe he was just being friendly.”
“But he wasn’t being friendly to me. Only you.” Peeta pointed out.
“Okay, true. But that still doesn’t mean anything. He might just want to be friends.”
“No way. No guy wants to be just friends with a girl as interesting and funny as you.”
“What about you? You just want to be friends, don’t you?” You asked and smiled at his words but he didn’t see it. He was too busy keeping his head down so you couldn’t see how much he was blushing over what you asked.
“There. Finally clean. But if he comes in here and gets the floors muddy one more time, I’m gonna ban him from the bakery.” Peeta said to change the subject.
“Maybe he’s had enough of your baked goods and won’t come in anymore.” You shrugged.
“He’ll be back. Although he might stop buying things and just start coming in to stare at you.” Peeta grumbled, making you laugh. When your laughter died down, you thought about what it would mean if this guy actually wanted to be more than friends.
“Do you actually think he likes me?” You asked quietly.
“Of course he does. And I can’t blame him. But I can be annoyed about how often he comes in here.” Peeta said and continued to avoid eye contact with you.
“But him coming in here means you get more customers.” You reminded him. “And what do you mean you can’t blame him?”
“Him coming in here means I have to look at his dumb face while he bumbles around and tries to flirt with you. All while making the bakery muddy. I wouldn’t mind losing him as a customer.” Peeta replied and conveniently ignored the second half of what you said.
“Well we should probably bake another loaf of pumpernickel in case he comes in tomorrow.” You shrugged and started to gather the ingredients. Peeta froze and watched you tie on an apron as jealousy burned a hole inside him.
“What?” You asked when you saw Peeta’s face.
“You want him to come back?” Peeta asked in a soft voice.
“I didn’t say that. But if he does, which I’m assuming he will, we should have bread for him.”
Peeta was quiet again for a minute as he looked at you. He didn’t think you liked this guy back until he watched you gathering ingredients to make something specifically for him.
“Do you, um, do you like him back or something?” Peeta asked you. He didn’t sound angry or anything, just sad.
“What I like is earning money. Which customers bring in. Customers like Lycan.” You said and headed to the back where the oven was.
“Fine. But just don’t bake that with love, okay?” Peeta called after you. He heard you laugh and felt a little better because it reminded him that no one made you laugh quite like he did.
“I’ll try.” You called back.
The next day, Peeta was ready for anything. He asked you to bake some muffins in the back while he dealt with the customers during the evening rush. He had made it through almost the entire day before he saw Lycan coming in to the bakery. He looked around for you as soon as he walked in before walking up the counter.
“How can I help you?” Peeta asked with a forced smile.
“Actually, I was hoping Y/n could help me. She here?” Lycan asked and peered behind the counter.
“She’s busy with the baking in the back.”
“Really? I thought frosting cakes was your job? Tell me, how do you make them look so pretty?” Lycan asked in a mocking tone.
“It takes a steady hand. And a clean one.” Peeta said as his eyes dropped to Lycans dirt covered hands.
“These are workers hands. But you wouldn’t know anything about that would you, baker boy?” Lycan said in a low voice as he leaned on the counter. Peeta gulped but was determined to stand his ground.
“I know about hard work. Just because my work is different from yours doesn’t mean it’s any less important.” He replied.
“Are you serious?” Lycan laughed. “I risk my life everyday to get the coal that you use to bake your pretty little cakes. You’re not important. I mean, your work isn’t important. I know that, and she knows that.” Lycan whispered so only Peeta could hear. His words were getting to Peeta and he wasn’t feeling as confident as before.
“She’d never go for you.” Peeta said quietly.
“What other choice does she have? You?” Lycan scoffed. “I asked around about the two of you, you know. Everyone had the same thing to say. That the bakers boy absolutely adores her but isn’t man enough to do anything about it.”
“I could do something about it.” Peeta insisted.
“Oh really? Then why haven’t you?” Lycan asked him. Peeta opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out. He had no answer to give.
“That’s what I thought.” Lycan snickered. “She’d never go for you either.”
Peeta looked down at the ground and believed what Lycan was saying. You came out from the back and immediately sensed the awkward tension. You first noticed Peeta’s sad expression and then Lycan’s smug smirk.
“Oh, hi Lycan. Back so soon?” You asked as you looked between the boys and tried to figure out what had just happened between them.
“I just needed to get some bread. And seeing your pretty face never hurts.” Lycan said and switched to a nice smile.
“Aw, thanks.” You said with a fake smile.
“You know, being a coal miner is really dangerous. Nothing like the easy job this guy has.” Lycan said and nodded towards Peeta. “When the boys and I go down into the mines, we never know if we’re gonna get to come back out. So I try to take a minute and appreciate the beautiful things in life as much as I can. And that includes you.”
“Aw, thanks.” You repeated in the same uncomfortable tone. Peeta looked up and saw that Lycan was staring at him with a puffed up smile. In other words, he thought he ate that.
“See you around, doll.” Lycan winked at you before leaving the shop.
“That was painful.” You said once he was gone.
“For us both.” Peeta mumbled.
“I think you were right. I think he may be more than just friendly.” You laughed nervously.
“What gave it away?” Peeta smiled sarcastically.
“I just don’t understand what he wants from me. I don’t even know what to say when he talks like that.” You said and grimaced at the memory of his little speech.
“He probably wants a wife. And he wants you to say it can be you.”
“A wife?” You laughed in shock. “He doesn’t even know me.”
“But he wants to. That’s why he keeps coming in here. He probably wanted to ask you out today but wouldn’t with me in here.”
“Well I wouldn’t say yes even if he did. So there’s nothing to worry about.” You shrugged.
“Don’t tell me there’s nothing to worry about.” Peeta snapped. You were both surprised by his tone and stood in awkward silence following his exclamation. Peeta was too embarrassed to look at you so he kept his head down and played with the ties in his apron. He heard your footsteps coming over to him and suddenly, you were lifting his chin to get him to look at you.
“What’s this about?” You asked quietly. Peeta sighed and looked to the side.
“He works in the mines and risks his life. I work in a bakery and decorate cakes. He’s covered in soot and dirt and I end the day covered in flour and sugar.”
“So?” You laughed.
“So, he’s a real man.” Peeta insisted. “And that’s what you deserve.”
“Do you think I don’t see you as a real man?” You asked and wrapped your arms around Peeta’s neck. He turned bright red and finally looked at you.
“Look at me. And look at him. We’re not the same.” Peeta said softly.
“Just because he works down there and you work up here doesn’t make you any less of a man.” You assured him.
“It feels like it does. Especially when…”
“When what?” You asked when Peeta trailed off.
“When I thought you liked him. I assumed he caught your attention because he’s all big and tough and I’m just…soft.” He shrugged and gave you an embarrassed smile.
“He caught my attention because he’s annoying and dirty. And I happen to like that you’re soft.” You told him.
“You do?” Peeta asked skeptically.
“Of course I do. I like that you never have a mean thing to say about anybody. I like that you decorate cakes and smell like cinnamon all the time. And I like that you stop to pick flowers that you like. But you know what I don’t like?”
“What?”
“That guy. I don’t like how he thinks I shouldn’t run the shop by myself. I don’t like how he can’t compliment me on anything but my looks. I don’t like how he thinks his job makes him superior to us. And I don’t like that he made you feel bad about yourself.” You said. Peeta looked into your eyes and saw how serious you were. A smile tugged at his lips as he believed that he didn’t have anything to worry about.
“He made fun of my cake decorating.” Peeta added with a coy smile.
“What? Now that’s too far. Let’s ban him.” You played along. Peeta laughed and pulled you into a hug.
“I never want you to think you’re not good enough ever again, okay?” You said as you rubbed his back.
“Okay.” Peeta reluctantly replied. You pulled out of the hug and rubbed his shoulders.
“If he comes in here again, I’ll tell him to back off. Of both of us.” You assured Peeta.
“Good. Because I’m not much of a fighter.” He said through a relieved laugh.
“I know. You’re a lover. Thats what I love about you.” You told him and went to go clean the counter. Peeta watched you for a minute with a content smile on his face.
“It is?” He asked in a soft voice.
“Amongst other things, but yes.” You replied.
“There are a lot of things I love about you too.” Peeta said without looking at you.
“Are there?” You asked with piqued interest.
“Of course. Dozens of things.”
“Dozens?” You pretended to gasp and looked over at him.
“Uh huh. A bakers dozen.” He replied with a coy smile.
“Hey.” You laughed. “Baking humor is my thing.”
“I know, I know. But I think that’s another reason Lycan bothered me so much. I thought he was gonna take you away before I got a chance to tell you any of them.” Peeta said simply. Your expression changed but he didn’t catch it as he went to change the sign on the door from “open” to “closed”.
“Well. It’s quitting time.” Peeta sighed and looked the front door.
“Right. We should go.”
The next day, Lycan came in bright and early in the morning. He was the first customer and walked in before you had even arrived yet. Peeta gulped when he saw him and hoped you’d get to the bakery as soon as possible. Then he remembered what you had said about what you loved about him and felt a little braver.
“Hey, Peeta. Just you today?” Lycan asked in a condescending voice.
“For now.” Peeta answered calmly.
“These are nice. You pick them yourself?” Lycan asked as he flicked one of the flowers Peeta had in a vase on the counter.
“As a matter of fact, yes. I did.”
“I thought so. Just when I thought you couldn’t get anymore pathetic. It’s no wonder Y/n doesn’t want you.” Lucan snorted. He hadn’t heard you entering the bakery from the back so when you appeared behind the counter where Peeta was, he gulped.
“Oh, hi, Y/n. Good morning.” He said nervously and hoped you hadn’t heard what he just said. You gave Lycan a big smile before turning to Peeta.
“Good morning.” You greeted Peeta before pulling him into a long kiss. Peeta was stiff with shock at first but then kissed you back as his hands found their place on your waist. Lycan watched this with a dropped jaw and angrily cleared his throat when he felt like it was going on too long. You pulled out of the kiss with a big smile and patted Peeta’s red cheek.
“Sorry about that.” You chuckled as you wrapped an arm around Peeta’s shoulders. Peeta and Lycan were both silent as they processed what had happened. You made your choice loud and clear to the both of them and they were both too stunned to speak. Peeta finally smiled and took one of the flowers out of the vase to place behind your ear as a little thank you. You smiled in appreciation before looking at Lycan.
“So.” You shrugged. “What can we get you?”
Tag List 🥖
@ilovetoomanymen @kittimbo @sipsthecoffee @ohmyhuenings @
@ilykitwalker @mayemperess @scenesofobx
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imtryingbuck · 5 months
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Green paint
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~ gif not mine credit to owner ~
Pairing: Steve Rogers x fem!Reader
Summary: babysitting Morgan with Steve gets a little bit out of control.
Word count: 1,637
Warnings: fluff
Masterlist
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“The number for the hotel is this one, the number for the restaurant we’ll be at is here, and this is her physicians numb- Y/n are you even listening?” Pepper asks as she notices you staring off.
“Yeah you said the number for hotel, restaurant and the morgue is on this nice fancy piece of paper”.
“You’re hilarious you know?”
“I know, look Pep it’s not the first time I’ve had the pleasure of babysitting Carly so don’t worry”
“Who the hell is Carly?” Tony asks as he walks in with your boyfriend, Steve.
“Umm your daughter, Pep sorry to tell you this but your husbands losing his mind”
“Doll stop winding them up” Steve chuckles coming over to you.
“I can’t help it, anyways I say this in the most nicest way possible but you two leave, eat food that cost way more than my apartment and top it off by having mind blowing s-“
“Alright alright we’re leaving Jesus Christ” Pepper practically shouts.
Tony hands Pepper her coat and purse as he calls for Morgan to come and say goodbye.
“Be good and we love you” Pepper says kissing her daughters cheek.
“Who me or auntie Y/n?” Morgan asks with her eyebrow slightly raised.
“Both.” Tony laughs.
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The moment the door closes Morgan grips your hand in hers and drags you to her play room, talking a mile a minute.
“-then we’ll play dress up and then we’ll play with my dolls and-“ 
“Morg slow down sweetie” you say chuckling at the six year old.
“-and we’ll have nuggets and fries and…where’s uncle Stevie?”
“I’m here sweetheart, I was getting your juice for you”. He says and sure enough he had a juice box and a drink for the two of you.
“Thanks uncle Stevie”
“You’re welcome, so what’s the plan tonight then girlies?”
As Morgan retells her plans to him you stand and watch as the six foot super solider holds a pink bunny teddy in his hands, getting ready to hold the elephant teddy as Morgan hands them to him. You couldn’t help but take your phone out of your pocket and snap a few photos of him.
“What are you doing pretty girl?” He asks you after being handed the elephant and now crocodile teddy.
“Oh nothing pretty boy” winking at him as his cheeks start to turn a little shade of red.
Playing dress ups were done after 30 minutes as Morgan got bored of it.
Then you three played doctors, it was your turn to be the patient. You only went to the pretend hospital with a really bad tummy ache and left with an amputated leg. Thanks to Doctor Morgan and her assistant Steve - I wouldn’t recommend going there, ever.
Playing with her dolls was over with pretty quickly as all the dolls were tired and needed a nap.
Steve left Morgan’s playroom - which looked more like a toy store - to make dinner for the three of you, leaving you and Morgan sitting on the very comfortable bean bags.
“Auntie Y/n can I ask you something?”
“Of course pudding”
“When will you and uncle Stevie have babies?“
Ah the good old question your asked constantly now you’ve been dating Steve for five years. Explaining to adults was easy, it mainly consists of you telling them to mind their own business - not necessarily that politely - but explaining it to a six year old? That’s new territory, she’s never asked it before.
“I’m not sure sweetheart” is all you can say.
“Do you like babies?”
“No”
“Why?”
“Because they’re smelly”
“I wasn’t smelly” she laughs.
“Morg you was the smelliest baby in the whole world!”
Her cheeks puffed out as the smile grew more and more “no I wasn’t”
“I’m not lying to you”
“Auntie Y/n, where do babies come from?”
Oh boy. This whole conversation was throwing you off.
“Aliens” you even winced at your own reply.
“Aliens?” She raises her eyebrow reminding you so much of her father.
“Yep. Aliens come and drop off babies to parents”
“How do they make them?”
This girl was killing you.
“Magic?”
“Magic.” She gives you a deadpan look as you nod.
The second you heard Steve call for you two, you practically ran out of the room.
During dinner Morgan told Steve all about where babies came from and how they were made, his eyes looked over at you and with a straight face you nodded, agreeing with the girl.
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“Auntie Y/n uncle Stevie” Morgan’s voice trailed down the corridor.
“What’s up?” You asked as you walked down to where she was.
“It’s time to paint”.
“Oh sweetie I don’t think that’s a good idea” Steve says softly.
It wasn’t. The last time you three painted together things…kinda got a little out of hand. Paint was everywhere. All over the floor, walls and even the ceiling.
Tony and Pepper weren’t happy.
“But please uncle Stevie!”
“Maybe if we do damage control it won’t be as bad as last time?” You asked, the pleading in Morgan’s voice chipped away at your heart.
“Babe, we said that last time”
“It’s okay uncle Stevie. I’ll sit in the corner” you both watch as she walks over to the corner and sits down with a huff.
“I’m not giving in Y/n!”
“Nope neither am I…but she looks so sad”
“Alright fine! But the moment things get out of hand we put everything away okay!”
“Yes yes thank you uncle Stevie your the best”
Steve places a kiss to her forehead and watches as she goes to her paint stand, pulling tub and tub out. “I was talking to you too doll”.
“I’ll behave, scouts honour”.
The three of you had been painting for well over an hour, showing each other your paintings after you finished them.
You were adding the last little bit of detail to your latest masterpiece when you felt something splattering across your face.
“Was…that…what…I…think…it…is” looking up from your work to Steve and Morgan who both sit there trying to contain their laughter.
“I won’t ask again you two”
“It’s paint auntie Y/n” Morgan bursts out laughing.
“I’m sorry doll but she told me to do it”
“Yo-you threw paint at me? Steven!”
“Oh oh you’re in trouble” Morgan sings looking towards Steve.
“Babe, Morgan told me to d-“
You cut him off with flicking your brush at him, leaving pink splashes of paint on his face.
He actually had the audacity to looked shocked whilst you smirked.
Morgan’s laughter filled the whole room but she too falls victim when you and Steve flick paint at her.
All three of you come to a stand-off. Eyes bouncing from one another. Armed and ready with paint. Silently daring each other to be the first one to make a move.
Morgan’s the first one to attack.
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Brushes were long gone as hands were going into the larger tubs so you can get your next victim easier.
The screams and laughter fills the whole penthouse.
You stalked towards Morgan who was laughing whilst pleading for you not to get her, you was about to reach out for her when her eyes went wide, bouncing from you and behind you. Her arms went out and she started muttering.
Deciding to look behind you, you see your ever so loving boyfriend smiling at you.
When you see his hands it becomes your turn for your eyes to open wide like saucers and you’re moving away from Morgan.
His hands are dripping in green paint.
"Do not touch me!" You speak lowly.
“I wasn’t”
“I mean it Steve do not touch me!”
“I wasn’t!”
“Back up. Now, Steve!”
Morgan stands there eyes still wide and in fact they somehow grow even more. She doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She’s finding the whole situation funny, her aunt and uncle slowly moving around the room - her auntie trying to escape her uncle whilst he tries to catch her - at six years old she’s smart, she knows that if her uncle puts his green hands on her auntie it’s going to take her auntie forever to get it all off.
“I’m not doing anything baby!”
“Morgan…give me some more paint” Morgan listens and finally moves, going straight for the pink paint. “Thanks sweetie”.
“Babe you’re overreacting, I wasn’t going to do anything”
“Ov-overreacting? How dare you!”
Morgan watches as her favourite auntie and uncle move closer to each other now that Y/n had more paint to her hands. Even though she’s six years old she knows, she knows that after tonight she won’t be seeing the pair for a few weeks.
You and Steve were about to pounce on each other when you feel cold liquid drenching the pair of you.
Shocked you look to the side where Morgan stands with a grimace on her face. The now empty tub of green paint tightly held in her hands. 
Before anyone can say anything the door comes open and a scream breaks the silence.
Pepper.
“Oh my… I think I’m having a heart attack!”
The three of you had gotten so carried away with the battle you were in that you didn’t realise how much paint was getting everywhere.
It was so much worse than last time.
So much worse.
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“That was so fun auntie and uncle, we should do it again next time”
You, Steve and Morgan are in different parts of the room. Scrubbing and cleaning up all the now dried paint off.
“There’s not going to be a next time” Tony’s voice says but looking around the room you don’t see him. “Top left corner” you could practically hear the eye roll he did.
And that’s when you see it. The camera.
“Back to work!”
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~ banner credit goes to @sweetpeapod ~
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outsideratheart · 11 months
Text
First Impressions (Alexia Putellas x reader)
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A/N: Chapter 1 of the Legacy Series.
For most people the wave of Spanish air they feel when they step off the plane is warm and welcoming but for you it feels like thick smoke and every breathe you take makes it harder to breathe. The last time you came to Barcelona lead to the worse day of your life and since then the place your parents called home was nothing than a reminder of what you have lost. It is because of this that you hadn’t stepped foot in Catalonian city since.
Upon entering arrivals you are met with your driver holding a board with only your first name on it.
“Miss Y/N” the driver extended his hand.
“Just the one name, I feel like Adele” you joked. 
The drive only took thirty minutes which you found impressive considering it was game day for a women’s football team of Barcelona. You looked anywhere but outside the window as you pulled up to the stadium. You could hear the fans before you opened the door, the sound and sight of them made you overwhelmed.
“Here, I thought you might want this” the man in the driver’s seat passes you a cap “your mother said you would forget to bring one”
You hated being predictable, you much preferred to keep people on their toes but in that moment you are grateful that your mother knew you so well.
“Do you want me to do a lap of the car park?”
“No, I just need a minute”
It’s just a football game. You’re here a fan, it doesn’t have to be anything more.
Following the signs to the family section you are sure to dip your head as people pass by. Sure it would have been easier to get private seats but then you would have to had let the club know you were coming and no way could you have gotten away without having a meeting with them, especially with the news your manager had given them a couple of weeks ago.
Once in your seat you notice a girl sitting next to you, she looked weirdly familiar but you know that you had never met her before. It is only when you watch the player’s come out for their warm ups to put 2 and 2 together. The girl had a striking resemblance to the player whose name was on the back of most fan’s shirts.
“Hola” The girl next to you says “I haven’t seen you at a game before. Are you here supporting a family member?” 
“Hi. No, I’m not. I’m a friend of Lieke Martens”
“Are you a Barcelona fan?” 
You could tell the girl was being polite but you just wanted to watch the game. You didn’t want anyone to know you were in the city and the more you talk to her, the more likely she is to recognise you.
“They’re a family team” 
“You’re from here?” The brunette wouldn’t have guessed. You’re dutch accent wasn’t overly strong but you definitely didn’t have a Spanish tone.
“The Netherlands”
“You’re Dutch. That makes sense if you know Lieke”
Ok so she didn’t recognise you, maybe she didn’t watch any football games other than her sisters.
“I’m Alba. Alexia’s sister” 
“Y/N. It’s a pleasure to meet you Alba”
“Just Y/N”
You only hum in response. She may not know you’re a football player but there’s no way she wouldn’t know your last name.
The younger Putellas lets you watch the game in peace. It is only when you react badly to one of the ref’s calls does she begin to pay attention to what you are saying and the way you are saying it. You hear her say your name followed by a tap on the shoulder but when you turn to face her you see that she is joined by an older woman. The way the look in her eyes changes let you know that she knows more about football than her youngest daughter does.
“Is this your first time here?” To anyone else it might be a weird first question to ask. Not what is your name, not how are you.
You can feel your palms get sweaty as a lump forms in your throat, one that you are quickly to swallow. When words fail you, you can only nod in response. 
“Mama, this is Y/N. She is a friend of Lieke’s”
“A friend of Lieke’s” it’s the way the woman phrases her sentence that makes you feel a little bit guilty.
You shrug your shoulders slightly, a small smirk tugs at your lips.
“That’s what I said. She does know a lot about football though, she acts like Ale does when she watches a game at home”
You can tell that Eli want’s to say ‘that’s because she is considered football royalty’ but she bites her tongue.
The rest of the game goes in favour of the home side with them going on to win 5-1. A result which doesn’t come as a shock to anyone, yourself included but you don’t hang around for the final whistle. When the 4 minutes injury time gets announced you figure it the perfect time to make your exit.
“You’re leaving?” Alba says at you stand up.
“It’s easier to beat traffic this way. It really was nice to meet you Alba and—“
“Mama you never introduced yourself. This is Eli. Mama this is—“
“I know who she is” her words earn a look from both you and Alba although both for a different reason “Will we be seeing you back here soon?”
The older woman wasn’t stupid.
“I’m not sure” it was an honest answer. You has a decision to make this summer, one which could lead to you to calling the city your father loved home just as he once did.
“Well I hope I do and I know Alexia does too”
“Mama she hasn’t met Alexia”
You can see that Alba has questions but you couldn’t stay to answer them, you wasn’t ready yet. 
Once again you say your goodbyes but just as you leave to turn back.
“If you happen to see Lieke tell her I’ll meet her at 9”
“I will” Eli says.
Alba looks back and forth between you and her mother wondering what she is missing.
The two of them wait in the car park for Alexia to come out and sure enough the dutch woman is by her side. What you wasn’t aware of is that you had been recognised by the team as the walked back into the locker room at halftime. They had heard the rumours but up until this moment that’s all they had been. Now though they wondered what the true nature of your visit was and if it meant something big was coming.
“So it was Y/N in stands with Alba?” Alexia asks Lieke.
“Alexia” the dutch woman warned her “She came here as a friend nothing more”
“But it could be more. You’ve heard what they’re saying”
They approach their cars which are parked next to each other. The captain hugs her mother and sister, both of them congratulating her on a good game and an excellent season as this was the last game.
“Lieke, Y/N asked me to tell you she’ll meet you at 9” as promised Eli passes on your message.
“She’s staying in the city but she hasn’t been back si—“
“She is leaving tonight but we are going for dinner. I’ll text you the address ss and if you happen to be close then I’ll introduce you”
“Vale”
“Alexia” Lieke turns to her captain “don’t bring up the rumours. As you said it’s been a while since she’s been here and she doesn’t want to talk about football”
You and Lieke have known each other for years as joining the senior Netherlands team at the same time. She knew that her captain was a big fan of yours and the prospect of you joining Barcelona was very exciting but you were very private and she could only hope her friend would respect that.
She would find out a couple of hours later that once Alexia has something on her mind then she had to voice her opinion no matter how many times she was warned otherwise. It is why when she arrived at the restaurant with a couple of the girls, albeit half an hour later than she was told, Alexia eyes search for you the moment she walks through the door but settles when she sees Lieke knowing that you won’t be far away.
Lieke watches as Alexia fidgets in her seat and cannot help it as small chuckle escapes her lips. Her captain was nervous and you weren’t even in eyesight. 
“Not that I don’t like your company but where’s Y/N?” Alexia asks your national team mate.
“First of all you’re late Y/N is settling the bill although according to her she went to the bathroom”
“You said 9”
“and it’s 9:30. The Spanish may have a habit of being late but the Dutch are punctual”
Alexia turns around as she hears your voice get closer and closer. When you take a seat opposite her she is a loss for words. 
“This a such a coincidence” you turn your attention to Lieke who you can tell feels a little bit guilty.
“Yours definitely wasn’t a face I expected to see in the stands today” 
It was small talk and you hated small talk especially now because you could tell what it was leading up to.
“What can I say, I have a few days off so I thought I would come see Lieke before I fly to England”
“England?” Lieke asks. As far as she was aware you were flying back to Amsterdam.
“Viv invited me to an arsenal game”
“So you’re checking out potential teams”
There is was and it took less than ten minutes. You gave Lieke a look and in turn she mouthed an apology. She truly believed that Alexia would at least wait a bit before bringing it up. 
Your move, your future, anything than included you moving away from home made you anxious and even though you had met these girls on the pitch you didn’t know them off it and this wasn’t a topic you discussed with strangers. It also didn’t help that Joan Laporta had been pestering you for the past couple of weeks and hearing Alexia try to pry you for information made you feel like they were in on it together.
“I’m visiting friends Alexia and I don’t talk business with people I don’t know”
Your response changed the energy at the table but still Alexia’s eyes never left you.
“C’mon Y/N, playing for Barcelona is your birth right. You belong here and the team would be lucky to have you. Imagine the fans, how happy they would be to wear a Barcelona shirt with —“
“Alexia, can’t you see you’re making her feel uncomfortable” Aitana whispers to her captain.
The young Catalonian was the only one at the table apart from Lieke that you would consider a friend. She has worked with the foundation for years, even coming to Amsterdam to do a few workshops there. In this time she never asked you about your father and you would never be able to thank her enough for that.
“Aitana it’s fine. She’s like most people I meet, she just wants me for my last name”
It was a sentence you said with a heavy heart and although you tried to play it off, everyone could hear the waver in your tone.
“Y/N I—“ Alexia instantly regrets what she has said.
“Listen Alexia, I like you up and until now you haven’t given me a reason not to. When Lieke first joined Barcelona she was nervous but she told me you welcomed her into the club and made her feel at home so I know you’re a good person. I don’t want to argue with you so let’s start fresh”
The brunette thanks the higher powers that she hasn’t put an end to this friendship before it even had the chance to begin.
“Start fresh, ok. I’m Alexia Putellas”
The table sniffles back laughter at the formality of their captain.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Y/N Cruyff”
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yourdarkcherry · 3 months
Text
Seducing Rafe Cameron || Ch.2
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Summary: You were blessed with an easy life since you were born, but it’s all threatened when your dad’s business fails and you find yourself with no prospects and no education and so your only solution is to marry rich. Who’s a better candidate than the older brother of your ex-best friend from high school? So you do everything in your power to seduce Rafe Cameron, not knowing he’s the root to all your problems.
Warnings: toxic relationship, spoiled reader, sexist elements, dark content, blackcoded reader, pregnancy, physical and emotional abuse, manipulation, gaslighting, death threats, eventual smut.
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Divider by: @/cafekitsune
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Rafe didn’t give you any instructions on where to meet him for Wheezie’s driving lesson, or when it’s supposed to happen. So you spend most of your afternoon and evening glancing outside the window by the foyer. 
If your mom notices your glances, then she doesn’t speak. 
It’s when you’re preparing your dad’s usual evening coffee that you hear knocks on the door, your heart starts accelerating at the prospect of Rafe and Wheezie being behind that door. You almost want to run to the door, but you pretend to be all calm and collected as you’re pouring the freshly brewed coffee in your dad’s favorite mug. 
“Rafe, and Louisa, it’s nice seeing you,” you catch your father’s greeting from your spot in the kitchen, your heart feels light. 
You decide to take a moment to compose yourself before joining the gathering in the foyer. As you walk toward the doorway, you overhear Rafe responding to your father's greeting with polite pleasantries, you could also hear Wheezie laughing here and there, also answering some questions.
Before you exit, you stare at your reflection one last time in the mirror by the corridor, when you like what you see you smile and join them.
Your eyes catch Rafe’s blue irises first, “Hey there,” he greets, and you reciprocate with a smile of your own.
“Hi, Rafe, and Wheezie,” you say, tilting your head to stare at her, and directing your attention to his younger sister. Wheezie's eyes light up, and she gives you a sweet grin, “I just hope you’re ready for some driving action, because we have a whole plan ahead of us,” walking outside your home, Rafe followed her and you followed suit. 
You stare between her and Rafe with a curious stare, but still thrilled at the prospect of spending some time with them both. 
“I was born ready,” you answer, making Wheezie laugh as she heads to the driver’s seat in her tiny red mini cooper. 
Truth to be said, after your massive drama with Sarah you avoided her family naturally too. Not because you didn’t like them, but every time you saw them you’d just be reminded of the pain you went through. So it still felt strange that despite you having those pent up thoughts about them, and distancing yourself that they still thought positively of you, you couldn’t help but feel guilt-ridden. 
Before you could reach for the door handle for the backseats, Rafe was quicker and opened the door for you instead. You smiled at him, tucking your hair behind your ear as you thanked him clearly, “Thanks, Rafe.” 
“You’re welcome,” he responded, watching you get in and then he shut the door before he rounded the car to claim the passenger seat. 
“Is this your car?” you asked Wheezie who was busy checking her mirrors, she let out an affirming hum, “it is, Rafe managed to convince dad to buy me my first car before getting my license so I’m more prone to be careful while driving,” she answered, and Rafe affirmed as he took his seat, “I was right, you’re much more careful driving in your car than anyone else’s, how many times did you crash my car?” he glanced at you when you laughed.
Wheezie exhaled dramatically, “accidents like this are supposed to happen, I’m a beginner!”
“So, what’s on today’s agenda?” you asked, buckling in yourself in the middle seat of the seats in the back.
Wheezie already started driving as she answered, “Rafe thinks it’s better to practice in real streets than in the practice driving range, and I was thinking that we should stop at the Milkshake Palace and then head to the beach, and then we could stop at the mall and I could flaunt to you my amazing parking skills.”
You giggled, “I will only be impressed if you manage to parallel park,” 
“Hey, you’re asking for the impossible, let’s just hope she even manages to get out of Figure 8 safely,” Rafe commented, glancing at you several times and then stopping when Wheezie took her right hand off the steering wheel to swat him. 
“He’s exaggerating, and don’t be an ass, Rafe. Or I will be banning you to the backseats and making (Y/N) teach me how to drive.” Wheezie replied with a playful glare, you raised your hands defensively, “I really don’t think you should ask me, I’m not the best at that, I only recently learned how to parallel park.”
Rafe and Wheezie both laughed at your words. As the car smoothly navigated through the familiar streets, you couldn't help but appreciate the pleasant atmosphere that only continued to flourish between you three.
You have missed Wheezie, and Rafe too. You didn’t interact much with the latter because of his tense relationship with Sarah back then, and now too, but you were just fine with him. You couldn’t help but wonder how your current life would be if Sarah was still in it, if she’d never slept with your boyfriend in high school.
Well, for starters she would be the one teaching Wheezie how to drive, she’d be the one to accompany you in midsummers and to make you laugh, and she’d be the one you would tell about your father’s failing business and she’d allow you to cry about it as much as you wanted without complaining once.
While the prospect of a romantic relationship with Rafe would be out of question because you’ve always been so loyal to Sarah, you couldn’t help but be a little thankful that the friendship ended way before your father’s bankruptcy. 
“Right, I haven’t heard much of you (Y/N), what are you doing lately?” Wheezie asked, lowering the volume of the music. 
“Not much, if I’m honest, I have been dabbling in pilates classes and some photography classes too, and I’m learning how to cook, but other than that I’m just shopping at the mall.” You answered honestly, even though the last part you haven’t done since you’ve learned of the regress of your dad’s business.
Wheezie hummed, then you could see her widening smile from the reflection of the rear-view mirror, and you just knew in your core that Wheezie was going to ask a very personal question. But how bad could it be? Nothing could be horrible, and your only secret you had to protect would be your family’s bankruptcy. 
“So, any lucky secret man?” you laughed at her question, and as much as you wanted to look at Rafe to observe his reaction, you couldn’t not when you felt his intense stare at you. Despite him being in the front seat, he looked way too much at you, and tilted his head a lot to the back. 
You couldn’t calm your thrilled heart, he had to be at least interested in you if he kept looking at you like this, you hoped this would at least be the case. 
“Nope, why, you got one?” you wondered, now glancing at Rafe when he looked away. 
His expression was unreadable, and the smile on his lips was tense. You hoped it was jealousy, or something that meant he had to be interested in you even for a little bit. 
He didn’t have to be so interested in you to ask you to marry him, you just had to be around and he had to think that you fit the perfect stereotype of the typical housewife in Figure 8. You would say you were like the rest of them, you knew a lot of rich housewives that were like you in their youth. 
They too had useless certificates, you already got yours in hospitality and never looked back at it since you graduated. You only had one just to say you got some form of education so you were smart but not too smart to scare rich men away. 
“I don’t, the boys I like don’t like me and the boys I don’t like don’t like me either,” she said, letting out a sigh and finally pulling up to the phosphorescent sign of the Milkshake Palace. 
“All Highschool boys are stupid and immature, I’m sure you’ll find your person after graduation.” You reassured, and she hummed thoughtfully, then you scooted to the edge of your seat, resting your head on the shoulder of Rafe’s seat, “what about you? Any lucky secret girl we don’t know about?”
He seemed stunned as he looked at you, surprised at your proximity, then his gaze dropped just slightly and you didn’t have to be a psychic to know he definitely stared at your cleavage. 
“Uhm, no, no one.” he continued to look at you even when you backed to your seat. 
The atmosphere shifted slightly after your question. Rafe’s eyes lingered on you for a moment longer before he faced the front, as Wheezie steered the car into a parking spot. She failed to park correctly a few times, but that didn’t drown her excitement when you all exited the car and walked to the building.
“It’s been so long since I came here, I think the last time I came to this branch I was still in high school.” you commented, analyzing the slight changes in the building, and liking how the neon lights looked against the night sky. 
“Really? Rafe and I come here at least three times a week,” Wheezie said.
You looked at the blond, “I think you were the one that showed me this spot back in highschool,” you recalled.
“I did?” he asked, and you nodded, “yeah, I remember you drove us and Sarah to the mall but you were so angry that the mall didn’t have a Milkshake Palace branch at the mall, so you took us here instead after you picked us up.”
Wheezie laughed, as Rafe stared at you with faux confusion, “no way, I don’t remember me being that angry about something so trivial,” you nudged him with your elbow, “well, I remember and I will never let you live it down, ever.”
Rafe chuckled, a genuine smile breaking through the tension that lingered from your earlier question. As you entered the Milkshake Palace, the nostalgic atmosphere mixed with the sweet aroma of milkshakes filled the air and slapped you harshly in your cheek, all you could think of was you and Sarah entering this place, arms linked and laughing. 
You purposely kicked out these thoughts, and paid attention to the siblings ahead of you. The three of you found a cozy booth towards the back, surrounded by neon signs and the low hum of conversations. 
Wheezie slid first inside the booth, you sat next to her and Rafe opposite you. Rafe handed you the menu, despite the two knowing exactly what they’re going to order. You shrugged your shoulders and pushed it back to him, “Why don’t you choose for me? I want to know the hype you make about this place.”
Rafe raised an eyebrow, a playful smirk forming on his lips. “You’re putting your milkshake fate in my hands? Bold move.”
You nodded with a grin, “Absolutely. I trust you, Rafe. Impress me with your milkshake selection skills.” Wheezie chimed in, her eyes sparkling with amusement, “I have to see this, Rafe. Make it unforgettable.”
Rafe pretended to ponder for a moment, scanning the menu with exaggerated seriousness. Then he nodded and stood up, “Alright, brace yourselves. I’m going to introduce you to the best Milkshake Palace masterpieces.”
You couldn’t help but laugh, then you hid your laugh behind your palm as you and Wheezie stared at each other when Rafe walked away. 
“Look at him, he looks so serious, all because we entrusted him to select some silly milkshakes for us.” Wheezie comments in a slightly loud whisper, making you laugh harder and hold onto her shoulder to stabilize yourself. 
She smiles at you when your laughter dies, “I’m so happy we get to hang out again like back then,” she comments, and the guilt you felt earlier returns horribly. Especially with how genuine she looks. 
“I’m happy too, I missed hanging out with you.” You respond sincerely. 
Wheezie’s eyes softened, and she nudged you gently, “I understand you and Sarah had a big fight, she didn’t tell me lots of details but she told me she wronged you months after everything.” 
“It was just some stupid high school drama, I’m completely over it now. But how is she? Do you speak to her?” you asked.
You didn’t know much about the Camerons after your falling out with Sarah, but you knew that after high school she started seeing a man from The Cut for years secretly, apparently he used to work for her father, and around last year she started living with him when Ward found out.
“I haven’t talked to her in months, dad is still really upset. Once she tried to visit with that man and he kicked her out, and since then he forbade all of us from talking to her.” She answered, looking at her intertwined fingers.
“I’m sorry to hear that, Wheezie. I had no idea things had gotten so complicated for Sarah,” you replied, genuine sympathy in your voice. Then you reached to hold her intertwined hands, and squeezed them gently, “It must’ve been tough for you dealing with all this mess, but I want you to know that I’m here for you,” 
She smiled appreciatively, and you knew she wouldn’t take your last offer seriously and would think you were simply being polite, but you were stubborn. “Seriously, I will be there for you, if you need anything just call me and I will be there.” You said, for her sake, as you missed Wheezie and wanted to be there for her like an older sister and you knew Ward would never allow her to contact Sarah ever. 
You took her phone, and dialed your phone number and when you felt your phone vibrate in your purse you ended the call, “Here, you have my number so if you need anything at any time, you know what to do.” 
Her smile widened, and her stare at you turned slightly wet, so you didn’t hesitate to wrap an arm over her shoulder to bring her in a sideways hug, “I know I have already said it, but I’m really glad we reconnected again.” She said with a quivering voice, and quickly wiping away her tears under her glasses. 
The harsh pang of guilt comes again to attack you, and you think back to how you behaved back then.
Did you really have to distance yourself from Wheezie who you have alway thought of as your younger sister, all because of Sarah? Did you even have to stop being friends with Sarah? Surely even after everything and all this time, you still miss her a lot and you think of her a lot.
You’re not angry that she slept with your ex-boyfriend, you're just angry that she didn’t care enough about you to not do it, or to hide it all this time. 
When Wheezie completely wipes her tears away, Rafe returns, and distributes three very different looking milkshakes to each of you. 
“I just guessed what you two would like,” Rafe said, handing you a pink milkshake. You thanked him, and took it and popped the lid with the straw. 
“I just hope it doesn’t have mint chocolate,” Wheezie muttered, taking her light colored milkshake from him, and doing the same exact thing as you. She comments when she takes her first sip, “It’s actually good, I didn’t expect you to have good taste honestly.” 
“What were you two talking about?” Rafe questioned, noting Wheezie’s red eyes and nose. She stiffened next to you, and you didn’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out the subject of Sarah was a pretty sensitive topic for Rafe. So, you shrugged your shoulders and lied, “just girl talk.” 
She nodded, looking at you with a sheepish smile, “we were just talking about a suitable time for a girl’s day.”
Rafe raised an eyebrow, studying the both of you suspiciously, not buying your lie whatsoever, but he decided not to press further. Instead, he grabbed a seat, placing himself across from you two, and took a sip of his own milkshake.
“Girl’s day, huh? Sounds like fun,” he remarked, shooting a glance your way. You simply nodded in agreement. Wheezie, who’s eager to steer the conversation away from the sensitive territory, said, “we could go to the movies, or oh oh! We could go shopping! I need new clothes for school anyways.”
You matched her eagerness with a thrilled smile of your own, “Absolutely, and we could get our nails done!” you displayed your fingers to her and wiggled them playfully. She nodded as her smile widened, “oh okay okay, what time suits you?”
“I’m available the whole day the day after tomorrow, is it okay with you?” You suggested. 
She nodded excitedly with a big smile on her face, you mirrored it and giggled when she started pre-planning your activities.
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Your conversation smoothed easily the whole drive to the beach, and even at the beach where you played a messy game of chasing each other, and even going as far as splashing each other—to be frank you didn’t start it, but joined it in revenge as the duo ganged up on you.
When Wheezie parked her car at Tannyhill, she quickly gasped when her eyes fell on the clock at her dashboard. 
“I completely forgot Claire is sleeping over!” she yelled, then she held your hand and squeezed it, “I’m sorry but my friend is coming over in like five minutes, and I didn’t prepare anything!” you laughed, shook your head as you reassured her, “don’t worry, you go first,” 
She hugged you goodbye quickly, and then dashed with a hasty wave into her house. 
You turned to face Rafe, stunned to find him already staring at you. With a small smile he said, “let me walk you home.”
You agreed with a nod and walked alongside him towards your home. It was already dark when they picked you up, and when you arrived at Tannyhill it was three hours after. There is still an appropriate time for a debriefing session with your mother if you wish while you help her with dinner. 
“Thanks for tonight. It was unexpected but fun,” you expressed, looking up at him with sincere appreciation in your eyes. 
He shook his head, “You’re always welcome, you’re like…” he trailed off and you hoped to all the power in this universe that he wouldn’t say you’re like a sister to him. 
“The best person to have around,” he said, you had to physically restrain yourself from sighing in relief. 
“I’m just glad Wheezie has someone to look up to after…you know…” Sarah’s name flashed inside your head at his insinuation. “She needs an older sister figure, someone to guide her and to be there for her. I try to be there for her but it’s just not the same,” You nodded in agreement at his words.
“You’re right,” you said, knowing just how much men loved being told they’re right, and partially because he was actually right in his judgment. “Especially at her age, I didn’t have anyone so I made some stupid mistakes I knew I wouldn’t make if I had an older sister’s guidance.”
Rafe tilted his head to you with surprise, narrowed his gaze and commented, “You didn’t make any stupid mistakes,” then he quickly added in an exaggerated whisper, “at least ones that I knew of.” 
You laughed, “first thank you for saying that, but trust me, I have had my fair share of stupid mistakes too.”
“Like what?” he demanded, you avoided his stare as his smile widened. You hoped you at least looked cute enough for him to keep you around. 
“Now why would I tell you about my stupid mistakes?” you said with a faux scandalized stare, hand on your chest. 
“Can’t you just tell me because I want to know?” he responds.
You smirked playfully, enjoying the banter. “Well, let’s just say my teenage years were full of questionable fashion choices and a series of not-so-impressive crushes. Nothing too fun, unfortunately for you.”
Rafe chuckled, “Fashion choices, huh? Now I'm curious.”
“Maybe one day, I'll show you some embarrassing photos,” you teased, making a mental note to keep those hidden forever.
You could see your house getting closer and closer, and just like the years after your falling out with Sarah you cursed that your house was relatively close to hers. Only this time you cursed that fact, because if it was further than you’d get to speak to Rafe more.
At that wish you could almost hear your mother tutting and telling you that a woman needed to keep her mystery for a man to keep having an interest in her. You wanted Rafe to be interested in you, and so after cursing that fact you thanked it in your head. 
He had to have interest, even if it was mild then it was good because most rich married men in your social circle didn’t have that much of an interest in their wives. 
As you approached your house, the atmosphere lightened, and Rafe’s eyes held a warmth that didn’t go unnoticed and set a swarm of butterflies in your core. You had to kick out that feeling. You shouldn’t harbor a crush for Rafe, or god forbid fall in love with him.
All for the possibility that he might lose interest completely, and ice you out if you weren’t his cup of tea and thought some other girl was more of a wife material than you. It happened before, you’ve seen it before and you knew you might be a victim of such a scenario as well. 
If he did that, then you wanted it to be easy for you to move on and seduce some other unsuspecting rich man. Perhaps his friend Kelce, you heard he will inherit his father’s country club. Or perhaps Topper, maybe he’s over Sarah and you were just speaking way too soon. He is such a Mama’s boy though, and while that was not good in general you could still wow his mother to pair him with you.
Cynthia was hard to please, but you were determined. 
As you looked over your family’s property. Your determination to keep all of it intact grew stronger. You would do the impossible to keep all of it, and ensure that your parents never have to step foot at The Cut.
“So, am I going to see you tomorrow morning?” he asked, you couldn’t miss the hopeful glint he had in his ocean blue eyes. Were they always that blue? You wondered.
Grinning, you answered, “I don’t know, I guess you have to ask my alarm.” He laughed at your response, before he could speak you added, “I might, I have pilates at ten, and I have to run a few errands after so I have to be in a productive mentality to get everything done.”
“Then you’re going to be finished at twelve?” he asks. 
You’re confused at his question, but you nod your head nonetheless. 
He nodded with a thoughtful expression, “Great. How about we grab lunch after your errands?”
Your heart fluttered as if spring blossomed at the pits of your heart, tickling your insides and pulling at heartstrings you thought had died after everything. “Sure, that sounds good.”
As you reached your doorstep, you turned to face him. “Thanks again for tonight, Rafe. It was really fun.”
He smiled, his eyes holding a warmth that lingered. “Anytime. I'll see you tomorrow morning, and hopefully for lunch too.” 
You twisted the door knob, pushed it and looked back at him to find him waiting for you to get inside. 
You thought gentlemen like this died, but it seemed as the perfect example spawned before your eyes with blond hair and gorgeous baby blues. Clearing your throat as you waved shyly, “good night.”
He waved back, a stretching smile on his lips. When you shut the door, you quickly went to the window and looked secretly behind the curtain at him. He eyed your house for a bit, a smirk on his face then he looked down at his fingers and finally retreated towards Tannyhill. 
There was a subtle shift in your system, an unspoken feeling you didn’t want to name afraid it shall gain power and become resilient. 
For heaven’s sake, you wanted to seduce Rafe and have him like you and not the other way around. You didn’t want to get your heart broken, you weren’t doing this for fun, you were doing it out of a pure need of survival.
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misscheavus · 6 months
Text
(( REMINDER ))
I KNOW YOU’RE MAD // BUT SHE AIN’T EVEN WORTH NONE OF MY TIME
PAIRING: Jealous(?) Minah Lee x F!Reader (referred to as ‘girlfriend’ and ‘girl’)
WARNINGS: I wrote Redy a not the greatest person and I apologise for that, but the plot needed it D: (Not proofread (sorry)), swearing
LENGTH: 1,340+ words
This is a work of fiction and is in no way a reflection, description or depiction of any person(s) in real life. Images and names are merely used as placeholders in this work. You are responsible for the media that you consume.
Minah couldn’t help herself, rolling her eyes as she watched the interaction unfold in front of her. Maybe Bada’s beef with Redy wasn’t as unfounded as the team she thought. Fuck, at this rate, she might join her leader in her view of the 1Million dancer.
She watched as Redy brushed your hair away from your face, running her hand down your arm as she drowned you in compliments so obnoxiously loud that Minah could hear her from across the stage: “Oh my gosh, you’re so talented!” “I’m so envious of how your body moves!” “Your body is so incredible! You must work out lots to be so strong and pretty.” “You’re so flexible! You’ll have to show me sometime.”
Minah almost gagged.
And maybe she did because Bada turns from her spot in front of the girl, an eyebrow raised and stupid, knowing smirk plastered on her face.
“You good?” Bada places a hand on the younger’s knee, squeezing gently. Minah simply scoffed, not wanting to dignify her feelings with a response. Unfortunately for her, that was more than enough of an answer for the leader. She laughed, turning away from the girl and joining Minah in observing the situation in front of them develop. Bada tilts her head, looking back up and noticing Minah purposefully looking away, the tips of her ears red. “She looks uncomfortable, Minah. That’s more what I’d be worried about.” Bada hums, leaning back on her hands.
It’s almost comical how quickly Minah’s head snaps back to watch you closely.
It’s not like you were dating… well, you weren’t exclusive (yet). But you were something, right? Minah wasn’t even sure if she had any right feeling the emotions she was feeling… but focusing back in on the two of you and the way you were reacting to the other dancer made her emotions feel more justified.
She felt heat claw up her neck, wrapping around her chest tightly the more she watched. Even though you were giggling and seemed to be playing along… something looked off. Minah leaned forward, observing… almost waiting for the other dancer to make a wrong move and let her pounce.
You moved back quickly, just out of immediate reach of Redy’s overly touchy hands as she seemed to reach for your face again. Minah watches you bow, putting more distance between you, eyes darting away from the forward woman and thanking her for whatever stupid shit she said. You scratch your forearm, gulping obviously as you try to shuffle back.
Bada was right. You were uncomfortable. And Minah wasn’t going to sit opposite you and let you be uncomfortable.
She stands abruptly, Bada leaning out of the way and letting the younger step past her.
Minah has tunnel vision; seeing nothing but you, trying to politely turn Redy’s advances down. It’s even worse because your team can’t even understand what’s being said to help you out. “Oh, thank you for the offer, but I’m not interested. We’re really busy, and I’ve already got someone in my life…” She hears your quiet response as she gets closer.
‘…Did she ask you out?’ The anger bubbles over inside Minah. She all but storms up to the pair, arms crossed intimidatingly. “She’s saying no, Redy. She’s uncomfortable. Leave her alone. You got your answer.” Minah’s bluntness is a welcome relief. You quietly let out a sigh as Minah stands in front of you, feeling the weight lift slightly off your chest.
“Sorry, were you involved in our conversation? I don’t think you were, actually-“ Redy starts, moving closer to you again.
“I am because you’re coming onto my girlfriend. And I’d really suggest backing up before things get bad for you. Quickly.” Minah’s eyes are narrowed, chest puffed as she takes a step closer. You look over at Redy, her eyes now wide as she puts the pieces together. You quietly apologise to the girl, before standing and taking Minah’s arm and leading her off-set and into an unoccupied corridor backstage.
“No, let me back at her. I swear to God-“
You place both hands on Minah’s shoulders, squeezing gently. That stops her rage for a moment, finally focusing on you. “Are you okay? She didn’t touch you, did she? I know you were uncomfortable… I just…” Minah’s eyes closed for a moment, trying to calm herself.
“I really shouldn’t find you that attractive when you’re jealous and overprotective.” Minah’s eyes pop open, looking at you incredulously.
“I was not jealous. I-“
Before she can open her mouth to keep lying, you answer her questions, “She only touched my arm, and I’m okay. Just… unsettled? Sorry, you had to help me deal with her. I just… didn’t know how to stop her without coming across as rude. You did a good job though.” You smile, hands deftly sliding up her shoulders and to her face, cupping her cheeks.
Minah brings her hands to rest over yours, sighing. “Don't apologise, baby. Just be rude. I hate watching people try and take advantage of your kindness. Especially like that. Bitch.” She hissed the last word quietly, feeling your fingers tap her cheek in response to her choice of words. The anger Minah had before fills her body for a moment before it softens as she meets your eyes. You take a step closer, Minah’s hands now dropping to your waist, thumbs caressing your skin. She sighs, “I… sorry. I hate seeing you uncomfortable, even a little bit. I care about you too much to see you like that…”
You’re both quiet for a moment, simply enjoying each other's presence; Minah squeezes your waist as she tries to calm down again, ignoring the nagging feeling in her heart as her brain keeps replaying the events of before over and over. Redy's hands on your face, your arms... She bites her lip, suppressing her internal desire to go back out and-
“So… girlfriend, huh?” You can’t help but tease the girl in front of you, breaking her building bitterness, laughing as she groans and rests her head against your shoulder. You bring a hand up and stroke the back of her head, still giggling. “I liked it before you apologise. You should introduce me like that more often.” You feel Minah’s body tense before she pulls back to look at you.
“Yeah?” She smiles so cutely you can feel your heart race at her beauty, “You wanna be my girlfriend? You’ll be mine?” You return her loving smile, resting your foreheads together. “Mhm. As long as you’ll be mine.” Minah all but smirks at your reply, pulling back a little further and resting her palm on the back of your neck and brings you in. The glint in her eyes as her gaze drops to your lips giving you all the answers you need as she closes the distance between you.
————
About 10 minutes later, you both emerge, back at the ring, hands entwined. Minah walks you back to your crew, squeezing your hand once more before returning to Bebe. Bada and Lusher stifle a laugh, Tatter motioning for the younger to come to them. Reaching up, Tatter wipes away smeared lipstick from the corner of Minah’s swollen lips. “Maybe next time you get all macho for your girl, look in a mirror before you come back?” The three giggle as they adjust Minah’s jacket and hair, askew and mused from your hands.
“Poor girl, did you maul her in, like, five minutes?” Lusher chuckles, noticing the already darkening mark on your neck from across the room… on the side of your neck that faced the 1Million crew.
Minah can’t even bring herself to be embarrassed, looking over at you and sending you a cheeky wink, before meeting Redy's eyes. Minah raises an eyebrow, wiping her lips and smirking at the elder, unable to stop herself from mouthing a quick 'mine' and glancing in your direction. She can't help relishing in how quickly Redy averts her eyes from both of you, laughing quietly.
Yeah, this was way better than her plan about 15 minutes ago.
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pinksugarscrub · 1 month
Text
Starstruck
Hobie Brown x fem! reader (high school au)
@rexlroze, @the-kr8tor What better place to stir up drama than high school? ✨️Enemies to lovers✨️
Part(s): Prologue, ???
Visions Academy. Elitist? Yes, but the school of your dreams. An hour trip from Harlem on the subway. But if your mom’s dingy blue bug held up for another year you wouldn’t have to worry about paying for a Metrocard.
It was incredible when you visited on a campus tour. The music program was world renowned. You plan to take every course available but you need to be in that music room. Smell the polish from the guitars and touch the marble of the grand piano. You shiver just thinking about standing in the auditorium. It’s everything you’ve ever wanted. Everything your family could ever have dreamed of for their daughter.
So it doesn’t bother you to work until the dead of night with customers that make you want to tear your hair out. Visions makes it all worth it and well, being able to pay for your own gas is nice too.
It’s Friday, the parlor is loud and bustling with families, high schoolers, and disgruntled adults who just want to pay. Life couldn’t be any better than this.
“Manolo where are my damn pizzas?” Yuri screams over the bar separating the kitchen and the cashiers. Stacking empty boxes into her hands before shoving them under the counter.
“What do you expect me to do!?” He yells back. Antonio, his younger brother slipping on what you assume is the ghost pepper Manolo never picked up. “I’ve got six other orders before damn what’s his name. Tell him to wait his fu-”
You tune them out as you smile politely to the little girl in front of you who’s asked for a to-go cup.
“Thank you!”
“You’re welcome,” you chuckle. Watching her run back to her parents. It was sweet, reminding you of your own dad and mom back home.
“(y/n)!’
You don’t react as Yuri spins you around, pushing you towards the kitchen where boxes and boxes of pizza are stacked up. “Go, I expect you back within two hours eh?”
You also don’t react when she glares down at Antonio. Who is usually your delivery boy but is currently nursing a burn on his hand. The poor guy really was as clumsy as a deer.
“Two hours (y/n)!” She repeats.
Then the door slams shut behind you. Your car keys in hand and a bag draped over your shoulder that burns into your side with how many pizzas are stuffed inside. Don’t even ask how that worked, Yuri has her ways.
You sigh as you hop down the steps. Gently setting the bag in the passenger's seat once you reach your car. It takes you a second to set up your phone with directions along with music. The speakers are surprisingly clear as you turn the volume up and drive off. The city becomes a blur and the clock ticks back at you with each and every stop.
The last apartment. A pink building that’s chipping and full of overgrown vines that reminds you of a photo you saw at a pop up show once. You walk up the steps, the last two boxes in your hand.
“O’hara…”You mumble, “O’hara, O’hara- ah ha, there.” The loud buzz of the intercom makes you recoil as it echoes across the street. A minute later a voice rang through, words muffled and unintelligible
You shift nervously on the balls of your feet. Leaning close to the speaker against your better judgment.
“Hi! For Mr. O’hara?”
More words? You’re sweating at this point. You’re almost hitting your two hour mark. A second later another buzz rings through and the door unlocks.
You sigh, muttering under your breath. “Oh thank god.”
You quickly swing the door open. Scaling the steps once you see yellow caution tape and a note stuck to the elevator.
By the time you reach the fourth floor you’re huffing. Holding onto the railing you catch your breath.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,”You huff in exasperation. Eyes wide as you see every door number is faded or falling apart. “These people need a better landlord.”
You almost shriek as you see what time it is when you look down. You have less than fifteen minutes.
Running through the numbers as best you could. You settle on a door with punk themed stickers. You hope this is the apartment or the tenants will at least be nice enough to point you in the right direction.
Before you can even knock the door swings up.
“What do you mean-”
You stand there visibly in awe as you stare into the most beautiful set of eyes you’ve ever seen. Silver piercings and earrings decorating his face. Wicks pulled back into a ponytail.
“Oh hey! Can we help you?” A second face pops out from the side of the door. A kind smile on his face.
You clear your throat as you avert your gaze. “Yes, uhm, I’m looking for 4D?”
“O’hara?”
You melt inside as you hear his accent. British? But not exactly?
“O’hara,”you confirmed. Smile wobbly as you force your butterflies down. You really need to get out of here.
You don’t notice the two exchange a look.
“Oh, that’s us love.” He grins as he stares down at you.
“Great!” You beam. Mentally storing the name in the back of your mind. For what? You don’t know. It’s not like you had the courage to ask for his number.
It takes you less than a minute to hand the boxes over.
“How much do we owe you?”
This confuses you but your smile never wavers. “I’m sorry, I’m pretty sure you prepaid online.”
“Right right!” The second boy nods. Dragging his friend inside by the arm and snatching up the pizza with his free hand. “Thanks!”
The boy with wicks sends you a wink before closing the door behind them.
You wait until you’re out of sight to swoon. It lasts for about five seconds when you realize it’s been exactly two hours.
-
Yuri’s too busy when you come back to scold you. So the rest of your shift goes smoothly. Your mind drifting to the boy every once in a while. A small smile on your lips.
The phone rings and your bliss is broken. You hold your breath as insult after insult hits your ear through the receiver.
You feel like an idiot. The boy’s pretty face fading into obscurity. You blink back tears as you talk with the real Miguel O’hara.
What a shitty night.
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1d1195 · 2 months
Text
Zipper Extra VII
As much as I love this couple, I struggled to come up with an idea for this so I hope this works.
~3.5k words
“I want it to be perfect,” she whispered.
“For whom, m’love?” He wondered. “For me? You’re there. We could get married in trash bags and be married by an alien,” he reminded her making her smile so gorgeously it made Harry’s heart skip a beat.
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Harry was losing his mind again.
There was a ring on her finger and somehow that made her more enticing to the men that saw her in public. At the coffee shop, Harry would look at the different roasts to take home and someone would immediately start chatting with her asking to buy her coffee unaware that Harry was only a few feet away. Of course she stopped them politely, explained her fiancé was right there. “Oh, I didn’t even notice the ring,” the man murmured, further turning Harry green with envy.
When they were at the grocery store, the bagger insisted on lifting her items and offered to take them to her car while Harry headed back to grab something they inevitably forgot. Once more she assured the man that her fiancé was more than capable of doing so. “Hmm...I didn’t see your ring,” he admitted.
Of course they didn’t.
Why would anyone bother to look away from her pretty face for even a second to see if she was happily taken?
It soured Harry’s mood immensely. Naturally, she was kind about it on the ride home. She didn’t speak about it at all, merely held his hand as he drove and gave it a gentle squeeze every couple of minutes. She would tell him all about her ideas for their wedding; how she wanted sunset colors for her bouquet: peach, golden yellow, some light orange colors, sprigs of purple, and rosy pinks. “I think it will offset the blue dresses the girls will wear really nicely,” she explained.
He typically grunted in response still feeling frustrated over how someone blatantly flirted with her. It shouldn’t have surprised him. She was so pretty and so nice. It was a wonder Harry didn’t resort to physical fights. Eventually after a few grunts she would finally ask. “Do you have any ideas of what you want? I’ve been struggling with a seating arrangement plan. I see lots of cool things on Pinterest, but nothing really speaks to me.”
Almost always it worked. Harry would clear his throat, forced to answer her question. He had to forget about the jealousy that filled him because he would rather die than not help his fiancée with whatever it was she wanted. “M’not too sure,” he murmured. “What are the options?” Because he was not going to be one of those men who did nothing to help plan. She went through hundreds of different options and questions. They were pretty agreeable on most fronts.
“Having the seats listed on a mirror is really popular these days. I went to a wedding in college that was on a windowpane and that was cool. I’m really into this thing I saw though it almost looks like a clothesline—little clips hold the cards in place for people to find it.”
Harry could hear the way her voice changed when she talked about the little clothesline. “I like that,” he smiled.
“Yeah? You’re not just saying that?” She always asked.
“No, kitten. Course not,” if he didn’t like it, he would tell her. “I think it’ll be beautiful.”
“I was also thinking about our welcome sign.”
“Hmm?”
Harry knew she was trying to trick him into feeling less jealous the longer she spoke. It worked too. “I’ve been trying to come up with something punny. Finally found ‘you’ve been sentenced to a lifetime of happiness,’” she giggled. Harry snorted and shook his head. “Is that lame?” He glanced at her peripherally as they pulled onto their apartment’s street.
“Not if y’want it, love,” he assured her.
“I know, but I want you—”
“I think it’s adorable,” he pulled into a spot on the street and parked. He turned to her finally, gazing into her soft, pretty eyes. He looked at her lips and brought his hand to her face admiring how warm her skin felt beneath his palm. She was so pretty every moment of the day it was incredible she was all his to admire.
“It’ll have a gavel below the words, and I want it to be decorated with the flowers we pick,” she continued.
“You’ve already made the sale, kitten,” he chuckled, brushed his thumb on her lip.
“I want it to be perfect,” she whispered.
“For whom, m’love?” He wondered. “For me? You’re there. We could get married in trash bags and be married by an alien,” he reminded her making her smile so gorgeously it made Harry’s heart skip a beat.
“Well,” she sighed. “When you put it that way.”
“M’sorry m’a jealous monster,” he whispered quietly.
She blushed below his hand, and she glanced from his uninterrupted gaze. “I don’t think you’re a monster. I don’t think you have anything to be jealous of either.”
He smiled; pressed his lips to her forehead and nodded. “Probably not, but can’t help it,” he shrugged. “M’sorry.”
“I would probably tear a girl’s eyes out if she even looked at you.”
Harry laughed loudly. “I would never make y’jealous, kitten. Ever. But I would love t’see that.”
*
It was going to be a spring wedding. Spring in the loosest sense of the word. It was going to be on the first day of spring but there was no way of knowing if it would be a warm spring day or a holdover of a cold winter day.
It didn’t bother her much planning most of it. Everyone in her life told her a thousand different things that made her anxious and sick of hearing the difference of opinions when the only opinion she cared about was Harry’s.
“I want to show you my dress so bad,” she told him while they snuggled on the couch watching a movie.
He smiled. “I can’t wait t’see it, kitten. Gonna look like an angel,” he kissed the top of her head.
She buried her face into his side. “I don’t know about angel,”
He chuckled. “Course y’will, love. Y’look like an angel every day,” he reminded her.
She laughed, muffled by his ribcage. If she had the ability to tell her younger self she would one day be engaged to Harry Styles she didn’t think there was a world in which she would have believed it. But right beside him, calling her an angel. It seemed like the surest thing to ever bet on.
*
“Mom,” she sighed rubbing her forehead. Harry was walking in the door, a box of cupcakes for tasting. He picked them up after a long day of work. She could see the exhaustion on his face. There were dark circles under his eyes and his hair had that look that he ran his hand through it too many times.
On the table was a giant poster board filled with sticky notes that was supposed to keep them organized in planning but felt like a full-time job some nights.
Her mom was talking in her ear about how her uncle wanted to bring his new girlfriend despite the fact his ex-wife was going to be there, and they did not get along. “Mom, it’s my wedding!” She was practically bubbling with tears. Harry rushed over, missing the counter as he put the box down, which left the cupcakes smeared on the floor in the process. Harry looked at the box like it was the box’s fault but feeling shame that it was his own doing.
Her jaw dropped in shock, unable to believe the chaos that seemed to creep in every moment the closer it got to the wedding. It was only four months away and they had already been planning for so long. While she looked at the ruined cupcakes, she listened to her mom try to reason with her that it was what you were supposed to do at a wedding. They could rearrange everyone when the time came so that everyone was happy.
“Mom, I have to call you back,” she mumbled and hung up without another word. Poor exhausted Harry looked at the cupcakes.
“Fuck, m’sorry, kitten,” he frowned. “I thought y’were going t’cry and I just wanted t’make sure y’didn’t...I can call and ask for another dozen and go get them right now—”
“Can we get married this weekend?” She looked at him nervously. “Please?” She whispered.
His voice felt broken. They had been planning for nearly a year. A wedding that they were grateful to afford because so many could not have the elaborate wedding they were planning. One that had everything they wanted. But even in their own planning, it was their wedding and yet it was still dissolving into anxiety and madness. It was supposed to be in front of all their friends and family. “But what ‘bout—”
“We can do that one too, but I’m going crazy. You’re going crazy,” her voice cracked. “I just want to be your wife. I don’t care about any of this anymore,” she whispered.
“Kitten,” he cooed.
“I know I’m crazy but if one more person asks if they can bring their child after I specifically said no children I’m going to scream,” she sniffled.
“Baby,” he frowned. “Please don’t cry,” he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead. “I know s’overwhelming but I want you t’have—”
“Then please marry me. This weekend,” she repeated into his shirt.
“How on earth could I say no to you?” He asked rhetorically.
*
Angelic was insulting compared to how beautiful she looked. In fact, there wasn’t a word to describe how perfect that dress looked on her. It literally stole Harry’s breath away. “Breathe,” Louis muttered to him as she entered. His voice felt frozen, and he wondered how on earth he was going to get through vows.
Louis was the only person they told. He closed the office down for the night. Told everyone that planned on working on a Saturday evening that they couldn’t. Something about buffing the floors or tenting for fumigation. But really, Louis was going to marry them as a recently registered online-ordained clerk. They were getting married in Harry’s office because that’s where she told Harry she loved him for the first time. She walked the short distance from the door to where Louis and Harry had moved his desk to the side so they could get married in the setting sunlight. There were a few bouquets of flowers that Harry thought would match the theme of their other wedding in a couple short months.
She held a similar bouquet in her hands. Harry thought she looked like an ancient goddess of sunlight and flowers. Her dress was A-line in structure. A plunging neckline with intricate floral lace on the bodice without any sparkle. The floral lace faded into the flowy skirt and against the setting sun, she looked golden against the pure white dress. She was the most precious thing he had ever seen. She was completely right; he was desperate to see her in this dress. Waiting another few months would have been sinful.
“Hi,” Harry smiled as she stood in front of him.
“Hi,” she giggled. “It doesn’t fit right because it still needs to be altered,” she told him and showed off the back that had a similar plunging neckline but against her back. “I stole all our chip clips,” she smiled excitedly. Harry laughed and shaking his head at her and her adorable antics. “And I won’t have my hair like this.”
Harry hadn’t even noticed that she had her hair down naturally as she always wore it. Her makeup was the same as he saw it each day. Yet somehow it was even more beautiful. “I think y’should,” he murmured.
“Oh?” She smiled. Nodding he scanned her up and down unable to believe she was all his. In a few moments she would be his wife for the rest of their lives and beyond. “You look perfect,” she assured him. Harry always looked handsome. He had plenty of suits due to his job, but there was one he had gotten shortly after getting engaged. He never told her but as she scanned the suit, it fit better than all his other ones, it seemed she realized he got a new one just for this day. Like it was made to be on him and look so perfect on him for this moment.
“Are you ready?” Louis asked quietly. It was their evening, and he didn’t want to spoil it or rush it. But Louis also knew that Harry would spend hours ogling her if he let him.
They both nodded eagerly.
Louis went through the basics, the things that were said at every wedding but they were staring at each other, Harry holding her left hand in both of his while her other hand held her bouquet. “Do you want to do your vows now?” Louis asked.
“I forgot mine,” she admitted.
He shrugged. “They don’t have to be the ones we wrote,” he offered.
She took a deep breath. “Okay, Louis, I’m sorry,” she smiled. He winked at her and she turned her gaze back to Harry. “They’re not going to make any sense if I say them off the top of my head,” she warned.
“S’okay,” he assured her. “M’gonna love you no matter what.”
With another deep breath she started. “I’ve been so lucky to know you since we were kids. Thinking back on it, I’m sure I’ve loved you since we were in college. Having our lives intertwined so obviously seems like fate, in hindsight. But I wouldn’t trade a day of our relationship and every path and twist and hiccup it led us to for anything. There are days where I truly don’t want to do anything but be your wife and just...bask in how perfect it is. I lose all sense of identity and it’s not a bad thing. I am so in love with you it makes me,” she sighed, shaking her head, keeping her gaze on his green eyes that looked golden in the sunlight. “I am so happy to marry you. It might be the best thing I’ve ever done. You make me a better person, you make me happy, you make me feel safe,” she blinked away briefly and laughed. “I didn’t...” she sniffled as she thought of the night that Harry was there to save her and kickstart their romantic relationship. Despite how scared she was at the time; she would be forever grateful for Harry finding her and keeping her safe. Always. “Oops,” she swiped at her cheek and Harry chuckled.
“S’okay,” he promised. She sniffled again, a tear rolling down her cheek.
“I think if I admitted it to myself, I always had a crush on you. Ever since we were young,” he reached for that tear and wiped it away. “You make sure I have medicine when I don’t feel well, and you always make sure I eat. You dance with me in the kitchen, and you don’t mind that I’ve been in pajamas for two days on the weekend. You make me feel like the most beautiful girl in the world,” she paused briefly and squeezed his hand like it was part of the promise she was whispering to him (and Louis). “I’m going to have a crush on you for the rest of our lives and I’m so happy we’re here and I love you very much. I always will. And I will always do everything I can to make you happy.”
Louis looked at Harry pointedly. “I can’t wait to hear what she has to say when she has prep time,” Louis smirked.
Harry rolled his eyes as she giggled, which just made his heart feel warmer than he ever thought possible.
He squeezed her hand. “I feel like I’ve said m’vows a hundred times t’you now. When I told you I loved you for the first time, right here. Then when I proposed. M’going to love you with everything in me. Every single day. M’gonna love you more every day. Somehow. I’ll figure it out, I promise,” he smirked making her giggle. “You mean everything t’me,” he promised. “I don’t care ‘bout money, houses, billable hours, or contracts. The second I think of you, it all goes away. You are my entire world. You make me so happy. Even when I don’t want t’be happy. Y’work tremendously hard t’make our lives easier and happier. T’make me happier. No one has ever done that for me before,” he explained. “I admire you more than anyone on this earth,” her eyes welled with tears again.
“M’going to love you and cherish you and take care of you for as long as we live and then wherever this afterlife takes us,” it truly sounded like a vow. “I want this to be the last time you cry, but seems a bit unrealistic,” he chuckled and wiped at her tears again as she giggled tearily through the words. “M'never going t’be responsible for your sadness, kitten. I promise. M’always going t’be responsible for making y’happy. When y’need me, m’going t’be there. Always. I love you more and more every second and I wish I figured it out sooner than I did,” the only nod to the rough start they had in ages. “But m’glad I figured it out now. Glad I get t’see you in this beautiful dress and hear y’tell me that m’worth it,” he whispered.
“You are,” she mouthed unable to speak.
“I love you,” he repeated. “Forever, and ever.”
Louis cleared his throat awkwardly and shook his head. “Didn’t know you could do that,” he muttered and pinched at the corner of his eyes. She laughed tearily, still but Harry couldn’t help but smile. Louis spoke again, more logistics and legalities. Terms and conditions the pair of them were used to hearing.
Harry was certain he said “I do, I do, I do,” about a hundred times when Louis asked making him and his beautiful girl laugh again.
“And do you take Harry Styles to be your husband?” Louis asked.
Her eyebrows pinched together as she looked at the most perfect man she had ever met. She tilted her head at him. “Are you holding your breath?” She whispered.
“Please say ‘I do,’” he mumbled but he was definitely holding his breath.
She giggled. “I do,” she rolled her eyes. “You idiot.”
“Thank you,” he sighed with relief.
Louis snorted. “Just kiss her already,” he chuckled.
Harry dipped her as if they were dancing in the kitchen at home. His hand unclipping one of the chip clips holding her dress in place. She giggled as his lips sealed over hers. “Congratulations, Mrs. Styles,” he murmured against her mouth when he pulled away slightly.
Louis chuckled, grabbing the clip, and heading for the door to sign the marriage certificate.
She kissed him again, the flowers falling to the floor, and she held his face in both her hands. “I love you, Mr. Styles,” she smiled. She looked so beautiful; it made Harry’s heart ache.
“This was an amazing idea, kitten,” he told her standing her upright, and kissing her again.
“I have those every now and then,” she tucked her face into his chest. Another clip fell off her back.
He laughed and kissed her forehead. “Better get y’home so y’don’t flash Louis on our way out,” he suggested.
She smiled. “Well...I actually brought a change of clothes,” she assured him. “And I may have told Louis to leave the floor locked and leave,” she bit the inside of her lip.
Harry felt warm all over. “Oh?” One of his eyebrows quirked up. His expression hooded as he looked her over.
“I think you got a good view of my dress for now, right? You can wait till spring?” She asked, pulling the last two bag clips off the back of her dress. Without them holding it in place, it draped differently on her body making it fall haphazardly around her torso, dangerously close to revealing some of Harry's favorite physical features of hers.
“I’d like to view it on the floor,” his voice was low and hungry in tone as he scanned her.
She smiled. Turning around, she showed off her zipper. "Unzip me."
--
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limnsaber · 8 months
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Mandalorian Slash Fic Rec List - DinLuke Volume I: Big, Medium, Heartfelt and Solemn
Hello!! Welcome to the first volume of Mando Slash Fic Rec- Dinluke! This is a collection of Dinluke fics that have a notable wordcount and fics that have a more heartfelt/solemn tone, sorted under headings that make the most sense to me personally. For reference, 🔐 means a restricted work and 💜 means an personal favorite. Check out Mando Gen lists I, II, and III. Please enjoy and give love to our cherished fic authors who we owe so much to!! -Yours, Limn <3
Big and Long and Impressive
💜 The Wanderer and the Seer by @kevystel (Din Djarin/Luke Skywalker, Grogu, Ensemble Cast, Mandalorian Politics, Original Mandalorian Characters, Mandalorian Culture, Diaspora, Teen, one of my favorites!!, 98k)
Din Djarin is temporarily relieved of a single dad's responsibilities, only to be saddled with the much greater responsibilities of Mand'alor. Temporarily. Hopefully. This is not the story of a great man becoming king; it's the story of some dude finding his place in the galaxy, freedom, and personal happiness through having some goddamn decency and good manners. Also the power of love, or whatever.
finding the lost and losing the found (series) by deniigiq (Din Djarin/Luke Skywalker, Grogu, Ensemble Cast, Mandalorian Politics, Romance, Family Dynamics, Political Alliances, Teen, 35k)
“So you’re not stealing my ship?” Mando said. “What do I want with your ship?” Luke demanded. “I don’t know. I don’t usually ask,” Mando said. (Luke tries to help his student stay focused on his studies by helping his student's father. It's harder than it looks.)
A Near-Mythological Event by SybilStarnes (Din Djarin/Luke Skywalker, Grogu, Ensemble Cast, Force Sensitive Din Djarin, Mand'alor Din Djarin, Living Waters of Mandalore, The Mandalorian Darksaber, Explicit, 116k)
Desperate to rejoin The Tribe, Din Djarin (with Grogu) travels to Mandalore to seek the Living Waters. Once they're in the caverns below the destroyed mine, a cave-in cuts off their exit. Grogu calls for help, and the legendary Luke Skywalker responds.  Cleansed by the Living Waters, Din returns to his Tribe to reswear to the Creed. He discovers it has new members, attracted to a Child of the Watch bearing the Darksaber. Meanwhile, Luke has offered to help Din learn to use the weapon. The Mandalorian finds himself on a new path, one that draws him deeper into Mandalorian politics and closer to the Jedi.  With the help of several guest stars, including one fat and sassy Force ghost, Din struggles to free Mandalore from Imperial dominance.
All the pretty places that feel like home (series) by SunshineAndaLittleFlour (Din Djarin/Luke Skywalker, Grogu, Ensemble Cast, two dangerous warriors coparenting a tiny frog, Explicit, 73k)
“Would you be more comfortable if I called you something else?” Luke asked, and it should have been teasing, but it was genuine, the soft freedom to be who he wanted in this place. And that careful gift, that offer of being who he wanted, uncontrolled and unfettered, filled Din with a lot of hope and a little bit of terror. Who was he without the creed? His people? Who was Din Djarin, standing in the halls of someone who had once been his people’s greatest enemy? Din shook his head, hearing his own breathing echo inside his helmet. “No. You can,” he faltered briefly, then took a deep breath. “You can call me by my name.”
buy a big house where we could both live by @villanellve (Din Djarin/Luke Skywalker, Grogu, Ensemble Cast, Post-Canon Fix-It, Slow Burn, Mature, 73k)
Din trails behind them and reminds himself this is temporary. He’ll make sure they get to the temple safe, and once he’s sure that Luke agrees to continue training Grogu, he’ll leave them. Grogu reaches up with his hand to tug at the edge of Luke’s shirt, and Din’s fingers flex at his sides. This is the way, he tells himself.
🔐 Get Back Homeward by berryfunkedup (Din Djarin/Luke Skywalker, Grogu, POV Alternating, Jedi Tradtion & Culture, Clones, Getting Together, Teen, 42k)
Luke is at a stalemate with the New Republic in the aftermath of everything he lost in the war and his inheritance of the Jedi’s legacy. Din seeks his tribe and takes bounties, living according to the Way. And Grogu and the Jedi are not part of the Way. But he is definitely not the new Mand’alor, no matter what Mandalorian tradition about the Darksaber says. After Moff Gideon is assassinated while held in New Republic custody, Din and Luke must work together to clear the Mandalorians from blame and uncover the real culprit. Along the way they encounter terrible politicians, fights over naps, old secrets, and just maybe, find their way forward.
Medium and Impressive
parry, parry, strike by @alchemyalice (Din Djarin/Luke Skywalker, Grogu, Leia Organa, Post-Season 2, Teen, 18k)
“Oh? What are you, their king?” the Senator says sarcastically, and then freezes at the same time Din does. “...No,” Din says. He does not sound convincing.
I have made this place around you by HeadOn_HelmetOff (Din Djarin/Luke Skywalker, Grogu, Dialogue Heavy, Early Relationship, Introspection, Teen, 25k)
“Do you know who you are, Din Djarin?” Survivor of Aq Vetina. Mandalorian. Bounty hunter. Apostate. Father. Mand’alor. “...No,” he uttered. Luke nodded sagely. “Then that’s what we’ll focus on first.”
💜 A different kind of blood by HeadOn_HelmetOff (Din Djarin/Luke Skywalker, Grogu, The Armorer, Paz Vizsla, Good Parent Din Djarin, Good Teacher Luke Skywalker, Pre-Relationship, Mandalorian Culture, Jedi Culture & Tradition, The Mandalorian Darksaber, Teen, 25k)
A slight twist on events in Ch. 5 of The Book of Boba Fett: when Grogu is afflicted with visions of his father injured on Glavis, he and Luke make a decision that will greatly influence Din Djarin's journey toward redemption and reconciliation with the survivors of his covert.
where the spirit meets the bone by @ebonybow (Din Djarin/Luke Skywalker, Grogu, Developing Relationship, Intimacy, Canon Divergence, Explicit, 28k)
He dreams of his head feeling too-heavy on his shoulders, his helmet filling slowly with water. - Din navigates new feelings regarding his creed, himself, and a certain Jedi.
pluck a heartstring, duck for cover by owlerie (Din Djarin/Luke Skywalker, Grogu, Canon Divergence, Mand'alor Din Djarin, POV Alternating, Touch-Starved Din Djarin, Slow Burn, Sparring as Flirting, Mature, 28k)
“He's a bit of a sex icon, your Mandalorian," says Leia over breakfast the next morning, nose buried in a sea of taxation reports. Luke promptly inhales caf three inches up his airway and doubles over hacking gracelessly. “I— wait— he's not my Mandalorian," he chokes out, to which Leia raises a single dubious, well-groomed eyebrow.
Heartfelt and Solemn
crystals in the current by @willowcrowned (Din Djarin/Luke Skywalker, Grogu, Romance, Family, Luke Skywalker's Jedi Temple, The Force, Teen, 22k)
Luke gets the message from the child in the early evening. It’s spring on Yavin, and the wind smells like the glowing purple blossoms that cluster in the corners of old rooms and spring up through the pavement. The air is heavy with twilight, the orange-violet of the sky creeping its way down, filtering through the new-leafed boughs and down to where he’s sitting under a tree. or Luke takes Grogu, but the sundering on the lightcruiser isn't an ending; it's a beginning.
Timshel by skywalkers (Din Djarin/Luke Skywalker, Grogu, Force Visions, Hurt/Comfort, Order 66 (Star Wars), Hurt/Comfort, Getting Together, Teen, 5k)
“I think there’s something I can do to help him. A technique I could try.” Luke says. “I could use your help.” “What do you need?” Din says. Anything, he thinks. Anything. “I think he would be more open to the process if you do it as well.” Luke’s eyes, keen and ever-blue, that have the impossible ability to find Din’s own behind his mask every time, meet his own. He looks unsure. It’s not something Din ever thought he’d ascribe to Luke Skywalker. “But the process can be...intense. I understand if you don’t want to do it.” Din flips it over in his mind for a moment, considering. He’s not exactly sure what Luke is asking of him. But what kind of an example would he be if he asked Grogu to do something he refused to? And, looking at Luke, how could Din refuse him anything? Not that he could ever say that. Din nods. “‘Course. Show him there’s nothing to be afraid of.”
resonance by pixie_rings (Din Djarin/Luke Skywalker, Grogu, Kyber Crystals, Planet Ilum, Gen, 10k)
Rebuilding a dying Order is never easy. While exploring the ruined planet Ilum, Grogu gets a calling, and Din and Luke reflect on their son growing up - with and without them.
the unbearable loneliness of distant stars by Liathejedi (Din Djarin/Luke Skywalker, Grogu, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Falling in Love, Teen, 10k)
Din wonders when the Jedi became Skywalker, and when Skywalker became Luke, or when the lines between stranger and friend had blurred and left him standing in an unfamiliar ship, folding bare hands around a man he barely knew and feeling like his breath had been lost to the stars. A Jedi and a Mandalorian face down the ashes of the Empire and learn what it means to rebuild a broken people.
Mand'alor, The by scheidswrites (Din Djarin/Luke Skywalker, Angst with a Happy Ending, Character Study, Grogu, Bo-Katan Kryze, Gen, 3.5k)
They called him Mand’alor the Reclaimer, Mand’alor the Unifier. Some have started to call him Mand’alor the Vanished. The rumors run rampant that he is dead.
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itachianon · 5 months
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coincidences | someone asks you on a date |
it has been a few months since you have rescued the s-ranked criminal ninja, there have been several instances of cute moments between you two, you two have also had your first kiss. of course that was when you were too drunk & you do not remember, itachi has also not reminded you of that at all. despite everything, the one promise that the uchiha always fulfills is ‘i will protect you’ for protecting him. because he is in debt and bla bla bla. frankly — now you two are better off called ‘friends’ or maybe something different which you two wouldn’t ever explore easily.
you know he carries secrets, just because he keeps you company does not mean you have any right to probe through them. perhaps this is why itachi seems so comfortable around you. you don’t ask him about what it feels to be an akatsuki member, what it means to be an s-ranked criminal, what it means to be a shinobi, what does the headband signify? you’re more than happy being a normal human being who does not really know about chakras, about ninjutsu, genjutsu, taijutsu whatever. just a normal cafe library owner living her life peacefully.
your cafe door opened, and it was none other than the man in the straw hat, this time you were at the counter & you beamed at his presence. “oh, itachi ! welcome back!” you cheerfully grinned; while he removed his hat and smiled gently at you. “glad to be back, it’s been what- 10 days or so?” itachi muses. aw, he has started remembering things too.. especially how long it’s been since you two have seen each other? downright adorable!!
before you could say anything further, a guy barged in. he was a regular customer now, he had just finished his usual order and was here to pay the bill. “y/n san, thank you, your cheesecakes, lovely as always.” he hummed, while you smiled. “aw thanks! i’m so glad you liked it.” itachi did nothing but observe.
“i was wondering if you’re free tonight, uhm, for dinner and stuff.” he smiled, a little timid as the proposal as you blinked. “uhm, is this a date?” you raised a brow, clarifying his intentions before hand. before you could say anything in response after the man nodded diligently, a part within you wanted to see itachi’s reaction. he looked torn, confused between telling the guy to piss off & letting you go on the date.
you gritted your teeth a little, sighing. of course… why were you even imagining things like that with the uchiha. his world and yours are completely different. funny how both you and itachi were similar in thinking in certain aspects — which is why you two have gotten along so well. you nodded at the man, smiling. “thank you, so so much for the offer. however, i won’t be able to join you for the date, i am not looking for anyone at the moment.” your rejection was polite but clear. the guy smiled, of course a little dejected but left with that.
your eyes then wandered towards itachi, not talking about what just happened. you knew too well, talking about this wouldn’t yield into anything. “so, itachi, do you want to join me for dinner?”
itachi half-smiled, his usual, content & yet so deranged smile. content for him, deranged for you because it wrecks your fucking heart up. he nodded, looking up at you. “is it a date?” the tone was teasing, and when you were offered banter by the solemn uchiha himself — you wouldn’t back down.
“date? yes, but don’t forget we’re already married.” you rolled your eyes, watching how his cheeks betray him with a slight blush.
he leans forward, flicking your forehead. getting a bit serious as the next words flicker out of his mouth. “let’s meet for dinner tonight at your place. allow me to be the chef. allow me to… talk a little about myself.” he offers, and you nodded, flicking his forehead back with a nod.
maybe today’s the day you will uncover him a tad, or maybe he is just going to tell you about himself so you know you can still run away if you wanted to.
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arealphrooblem · 1 year
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Kidnapped by the Boss Part 3
CW: drugged/sedatives, death threats
synopsis: Civilian is a secretary to the Prime Minster. But when the political summit between the city states goes awry, she finds herself kidnapped by the very boss she tried to protect and nothing is what it seems.
Part 1 here
Part 2 here
Civilian’s gaze darted from the face of the prime minister, to the driver.
“That’s not possible,” they said weakly. “He’s the prime minister of my city-state.”
The driver rolled his eyes. “Do you know who the King of the Hidden City is? Have you seen him?”
“No. No one has.”
“Then how do you know he’s not it?”
She glared at him. “How do you know he is the king by that logic?”
The corner of the Prime Minister's mouth twitched, the way it always did when he tried to hide a smile that wasn’t politically appropriate. It felt like a splinter in her chest. He slowly rose to his feet.
“Before the two of you can dissolve into petty arguments over logical fallacies, I will have to confirm his statement,” he said. He looked down at her kindly, like a doctor about to break some bad news. “I am the king of the Hidden City. I became Prime Minister as a way to infiltrate the political landscape of the other cities.”
“Why though? Why go through all that trouble? The Hidden City shut themselves off from the rest of the continent, not the other way around. You don’t need subterfuge to interact with the other ministers — they would have welcomed a meeting with you.”
It was easier to poke holes in his information, to use logic to deny this reality, than to face the truth.
The Prime Minister studied her for a long moment, as if weighing his options. Then from the medkit he took a syringe and a vial of clear liquid.
A knot started to form as he turned back to her, holding the syringe loosely in his hand. “I could tell you exactly why,” he said. “I could explain in great detail everything I did while under your care, right under your nose, in the service of my greater goal. Or you could take this sedative, and be none the wiser, while he and I confer about the next phase of our plan.”
As much as she both craved and rejected the truth, she stopped herself from asking for it.
“There has to be a catch,” she said instead.
The driver leaned forward. “The catch is that the more incriminating information you know, the less likely it is you will ever leave our sight again without being in a body bag.”
Fear lanced through her, and she instinctively flashed her gaze to Prime Minister, as if he could give her any comfort. But he stared impassively back, wordlessly confirming it, because he could not protect her. He was the one she needed protection from.
“What is your choice?” he asked her.
This time anger flickered to life in her chest. “My choice? You mean between learning the truth and becoming your prisoner or putting my unconscious body at the mercy of two men who threatened to kill me?”
“You’re a prisoner either way,” the driver pointed out, oh so helpfully. “One imprisonment is a shorter duration than the other.”
“No harm will come to you while under the sedative,” said the Prime Minister. “You have my word.”
She swallowed thickly. “Like I can trust that anymore.”
“Now that you don’t have much choice in,” said the driver.
She was really starting to hate him.
“May I remind you, darling, that you wouldn’t be in this situation at all if you had simply gone to the hotel room instead of the parking garage,” Prime Minister added pitilessly. “Now make your choice.”
“ . . .The sedative,” Civilian muttered eventually.
The corner of the Prime Minister's mouth tipped up. “A shame. I would dearly love to keep you.”
She should not swallow thickly at the sound of that. She should not feel oddly flattered by it either. It was a pavlovian response at this point, for the Prime Minister always praised her efforts and she always inwardly preened each time.
To her horror, the Prime Minister handed the syringe and the glass vial to the driver and him him her weight and height.
“He’s going to do it?” she yelped.
The Prime Minister blinked. “Of course. You think I know how to accurately determine dosage and administer it in a safe manner?”
“And he does?”
The driver smirked, as if in on a secret joke.
“I mostly deal in unsafe dosages for more . . . permanent effects,” he said. “But I do have the experience.”
She felt like a cornered animal, except she didn’t even have the luxury of lashing out. Not outnumbered and trapped like this. Maybe oblivion would be better than the terror churning and building in her gut.
The Prime Minster oh so helpfully pulled out a rubber strap from the med kit. “Hold out your arm, love.”
Love. She could count on one hand how many times he’d called her that and it made her blush each time. He had to have known. He had to be doing it on purpose now, as if that would trick her into cooperation.
Civilian held out her arm, not because he called her love, but because she had no other choice. The Prime Minister wrapped it around her arm and tightened it while the driver measured out a dosage of the sedative.
A spike of wild panic flared up in her as the driver took hold of her arm and brought the needle to a vein. She swallowed it down, refusing to cower in his presence. The driver paused and met her gaze. For once he did not look at her with a smirk or derision. His expression was soft and serious.
“I promise you will wake up again,” he said quietly. “This dosage will wear off in a few hours.”
“I don’t need your comfort,” she snapped.
He gave her a look of pity that immediately insulted her. “You’re shaking.”
 At least they had given her the choice, she thought, and then her thoughts turned slow and murky and then there were no thoughts at all.
Civilian awoke in a beautiful blue bedroom. For the first few hazy seconds, it looked like something underwater, a mermaid palace in the ocean. Then rational thought slowly trickled in and she recognized the silk wallpaper and lush carpet for what they were. Gold trim lined the walls and accented the velvet furniture. All the five star hotels she had stayed in with the Prime Minister could not compare to the obscene luxury of this room.
She also woke up alone. For a long moment she stayed down, eyes shut, trying to listen for the sound of movement, murmurs, footsteps.
Nothing.
Eventually she felt bold enough to sit up, and then to pad around the room, exploring. The ceiling was carved from dark wood, a chandelier bathing the room in a dim glow. A velvet sapphire couch sat at the foot of the huge bed. Dark velvet curtains hung over a floor to ceiling window, a little table and chair beside it.  
Civilian investigated that first, peeking between them without disturbing them.
She saw nothing but darkness. That’s when she noticed the little golden alarm clock next to the bed. It was two in the morning.
No wonder she didn’t hear anything. Maybe they thought she would sleep through the night. A plan started to form. Hoofing it out of the Hidden City on foot was not great, but it was better than nothing and maybe she could steal a car on the way or call someone —
Her phone!
She hadn’t seen it since the parking garage. It must still be in the car . . . Back at the airport.
Well fuck.
Despair overwhelms her for a moment before she swallows that down as well. What’s one more thing to steal?
Two doors stood perpendicular to each other. The first one she tried swung open to reveal a luxurious bath, complete with clawfoot tub, glassed in shower, and a huge, lit mirror. A powerful urge to take a long depression bath gripped her.
God she could really go for a bath.
Focus.
With great reluctance, Civilian left the bathroom and tried the other door.
It was locked.
“Going somewhere?”
Civilian screamed, jerking hard enough to knock over the lamp next to her.
A laugh echoed somewhere to her right, but the room remained empty. Invisible hands picked up the lamp and righted it. Civilian stumbled back, her first wild thought flashing straight to ghosts. Maybe the Hidden City was full of ghosts and that’s why it never joined the coalition of the rest of the city states.
Then the air shimmered and the driver appeared before her, grinning wide.
“They might have heard you all the way back in Your City,” he said.
She stared at him. Powered individuals were exceedingly rare in her society. The war that splintered the country into the current city states killed many of the powered. And the rest were chased out, victims of resentment and suspicion. They had fled to the Hidden City, the only place that would accept them.
If anyone in her city was powered, they kept it a tightly guarded secret.
“How — how long have you been there?” she asked.
His grin melted into a smirk. “You snore when you sleep,” he said.
“You were watching me sleep?” she yelped.
“You’re a potential enemy in a hostile city,” he said. “You need protection for the length of your stay. Or at least, that’s what my king said.”
She crossed her arms. “And how long is the length of my stay?”
He shrugged. “Till he figures out what to do with you, I suppose. And until then, get used to seeing me around. Or not seeing, as the case may be.”
The thought of his invisible presence haunting her made her skin crawl. And she had almost taken a bath.
“Like a good little lapdog,” she said bitterly.
He gave her a flinty look before stepping forward until he crowded into her space. She refused to back up, jutting her chin up to meet his gaze.
“I’m the king’s right hand. I do whatever he asks of me,” he said softly. “I spy for him, I sabotage for him, I kill for him. Whatever he wants done with you, I will do it with no questions asked and no hesitation. Right now you’re lucky that’s only watching over you.”
“Well you can guard me from the other side of that door,” she whispered, trying to hide the way her voice shook.
A tiny smile lifted the corner of his mouth.“I’ll take it under consideration.”
Part 4 here
tagging: @rivalriotrenegade @sunyside-world @fishtale88 @those-damn-snippets @suspiciousmuffin
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kaiso-woo · 5 months
Text
It's a Sign
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-> Masterlist
PART 3 of my ‘Stay Series’ - a long hypothesised journey of a relationship between Bang Chan and Reader.
WC: 3.5k | Synopsis: It’s been a few months since you and Chris have been in a long-distance relationship, and now you’re visiting him in Korea for an upcoming concert. Just some playful moments with Stray Kids, and also your first kiss with Chris :)
Notes: FLUFF, Second Person Narration, Skz Fluent in English, Idol!Chan, CaféOwner!Reader, Fem!Reader
Here for a reading marathon? Head right back to the start!
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Overall ‘Stay Series’ Synopsis: Bang Chan experiences the suic!des of Stays, so when you lot choose to die, he dies right along with you. Reader is the “antidote” to this condition - NOT MENTIONED IN THIS PARTICULAR FIC
PART 3
!!Casual reminder this is entirely fictitious - Chris/Christopher in my work does not represent the actual Bang Chan - this is purely my imagination and nothing more - this goes for all other SKZ-Members too!!
(A/N: When the dialogue is in script format, it's meant to represent text messages.)
Chris: “babe, I’m sorry I can’t pick you up”
You: “it’s okay!”
Chris: “I’m really sorry, you know that right?”
You: “Chris it’s okay, I know you are”
Chris: “A manager’s coming to get you” Chris: “They’re nice I promise” Chris: “you aren’t mad are you?”
You: “CHRISTOPHER BAHNG” You: “IT’S OKAY” You: “why would I ask you to pick me up???” You: “you’re literally famous” You: “you can’t just be seen picking up some girl at the airport”
Chris: “I know I know” Chris: “I just feel bad” Chris: “And you’re not just ‘some girl’”
You: “Don’t feel bad”
Chris: “But it’s your first time in Koreaaaaaaa”
You: “Yes it is baby, I’ll see you soon”
Chris: “But I could be seeing you at the airport” Chris: “I’m sorry :(”
You: “Chris” You: “It’s” You: “OKAY”
--
You sigh and pinch the bridge of your nose, letting your phone fall into your lap. Your plane is about to land, and it’s time you buckled up. You understood perfectly well that he wouldn’t be able to do these kinds of things for you. He has a schedule to work around, and he couldn’t just be seen dating someone. That’d make things difficult for him. You had been hesitant to visit him in Korea for a long time, but he was insistent on getting you over to him. You had your café to worry about, and potential dating scandals popping up.
Ashley had graduated now, and she was perfectly happy to become the acting owner of the Café. She had proved herself a long time ago, and she was more than capable of handling the café herself. She was even welcome to use your apartment during the period in which you weren’t there.
It was a little chilly in the airport, and as you stood there, waiting for your luggage to roll around on the conveyor belt, you wished you had worn a jacket. Your phone pinged with a message: Chan had sent you a picture of the person picking you up.
Chris: “Send me a pic of you so I can give it to the manager”
You: “Just send one you already have”
Chris: “Don't have one of what you look like right now”
You: “Fineeeeee”
After some time, you’re nestled safely in the passenger seat of a car, the manager talking with you in broken English. Despite the language barrier, it didn’t feel overly awkward, and the manager was super polite, if a little nosy. You had found the motivation to learn a little Korean too, which helped a lot.
The lounge room was cosy, and you greeted everyone who walked past you with a nervous nod of your head. You hadn’t considered whether the other JYP trainees and idols would know of your existence. You wondered dimly if they were smiling at you out of pure grace, or if they genuinely thought you welcome here. It wasn’t until a girl who looked about the same age as you plonked down on the couch beside you that you grasped the full situation.
“You’re Chan’s girlfriend, aren’t you?” she asks with wide eyes, hands placed gently on her knees. “Ah… yeah,” you smile nervously, unsure what to do. “Wow, you must be so nervous. That’s brave of you to come here,' she continues, sounding genuine. “Mmh, well he really wanted me to visit… but I’m worried about any scandals or-” “It’s okay! Everyone here knows, and Chan’s really careful, he won’t let anything happen to you,” she grins, getting up to grab a drink from the fridge. 
“Ah- ah really? Everyone knows?” you laugh, gratefully accepting the drink she hands you with a tilt of your head. “Of course!” she plonks back onto the couch with a sigh, “He fought with JYP about you.” “Oh,” your heart sinks faster than you ever thought possible, and your grip tightens around the bottle in your hands. “Oh no. Don’t feel bad about it. It was quite admirable,” she smiled comfortingly, carefully placing a hand on your shoulder, “He must care for you a lot, to fight that hard for you.”
You’re about to respond, when the sound of loud shouting and raucous chatter is heard outside the room. The girl removes her hand from your shoulder and rolls her eyes, “That’ll be them. Loud as ever.” You grin at each other, and your excitement grows as the noise intensifies. Suddenly, the backs of Jisung, Felix, Changbin, Jeongin and Hyunjin appear, blocking the doorway. “No no, don’t let him in!” “Is she even in there?” “Yeah she’s there, I saw.” “Stop him!”
The girl beside you starts laughing, covering her mouth with glee, and you can only shake your head in amusement. They let Minho and Seungmin slip past, who yell your name when they see you. Seungmin aggressively waves, and Minho bounds up to you, sitting down next you with ease.
“Yah!”  You fail to contain your laughter when you hear Chris yelling from down the hallway, “What’re you doing?!” The chaos intensifies in front of the door as the Stray Kids members jostle with each other to try and form a more solid wall. Seungmin joins the fray, standing behind them and stretching his arms and legs out wide.
Minho suddenly grabs your wrist, “Hide, hide.” You stare at him in confusion, so he forcefully pulls you up from the couch and drags you over to one of the storage cupboards. “You want me to-” “YES HURRY UP!!” he demands. You giggle and busy yourself with trying to fit into the cramped cupboard, standing as straight as you can so Minho can shut the door on you.
“Yahhhhh…. don’t make me force my way through.” You can hear Chris yell, and the noise of the Stray Kids members only intensifies. “You can’t have her to yourself!” “Can I teach her our choreo?” “She should come to rehearsals with us!” The comment from Seungmin, louder than the rest, makes you audibly snort with laughter. “You can’t force your way through! You’re too old man!”
The laughter after this makes your heart swell. You’ve missed the sound of all of them laughing, and their relentless bullying. “Oi!” Chris yells, and if possible, everything sounds more chaotic. “Move! Move!” “Seungmin you’re dead, oh no.” “He looks mad- out of the way!!” “GO GO- I DON’T WANNA DIEEEEEE!” Eventually, Chris seems to make it into the lounge room, only after the Stray Kids members have scattered this way and that. “Suhee???” 
Ah… so that’s her name. “Your girl’s nice, Chan. She’s really cute.” You swear, there will never be a quiet day around Stray Kids. “Chan Chan! Suhee’s tryna steal your girl!” “Suhee thinks she’s cuteeee, oh you’ve got competition now!!” The sudden silence creates an image in your mind, and you have a gut feeling that Chris has swivelled around and raised his hand, feinting a threatening slap.
“Minho hid her,” Suhee laughs, “She’s in the cupboard.” “Where? This one?” his voice sounds closer now, and your heart slams into your chest. The anticipation building, you clamp your hand over your mouth, careful not to breathe too loudly.
When the cupboard finally swings open, breathing loudly no longer becomes an issue when your breath is knocked out of your lungs. They must have just come from a dance rehearsal. Chris has sweat glistening on his forehead, and his hair is thoroughly ruffled. 
“Hi,” he whispers in tiny, a small smile on his face, eyes shimmering with happiness. “Hi,” you whisper back with a little wave. “You’re right Suhee, she is cute,” Chris states, before snatching at your clothes and pulling you into a rough hug. 
Immediately you’re engulfed in his scent - his perfume mixed with his sweat - and you nuzzle your nose into his clothes with a sigh. Chris has his own nose buried in your hair, and his arms around your waist squeeze you the tightest he ever has. You’re home.
“I’ve missed you. I’ve missed you so much. How was the flight? Are you tired? Did you get here okay? Do you need food, water? Anything?” he’s asking you too many questions that you can’t even process them all, so instead you pull away from him and smile, “I’m fine Chris.”
Carefully, you move to wipe the sweat from his forehead with your sleeve, but he jerks his head away from you. “Don’t do that, don’t dirty your sweater.”
Impatiently, you grab his chin to pull his head back and you successfully wipe his forehead. Chris is staring at you in shock, his arms loosening around your waist. “That wasn’t very cute,” Felix hums, and Suhee pushes herself off the couch. “Nice meeting you!” she calls, then disappears from the lounge room. “That wasn’t very cute at… all,” Hyunjin repeats, shaking his head in mock disappointment. “That was sexy,” Jeongin pipes up from over by the fridge. He’s busy looking for something to eat and doesn’t notice the surprised look on everyone else’s face.
Jisung suddenly throws himself onto the couch, lying on his stomach, his feet swinging in the air. He rests his chin on his hands like a pretty princess and contributes his 10c in the most British accent ever possible, “That’s a bit spicy.”
Chris grabs the nearest pillow and flings it at him. "Hey! How come you didn’t throw a pillow at Jeongin?!” “Favouritism!” “Maknae on top! OhwoooOH!” “He’s corrupt!”
Again, there will never be a quiet day around Stray Kids.
It’s been a few days, and the Kids have managed to drag you over to one of their dress rehearsals. They have a concert the following week, another reason for why Chris was eager for you to visit. They’re messing around and being chaotic as usual. Some getting their makeup done, others warming up their vocals in random corners of the room, some checking out the laid-out snacks with curiosity.
You’re standing with your back up against the wall, happily munching on an ice cream while you watch them. Chris waddles over to you with his own ice cream in his hand and stands right in front of you, blocking your vision.
“You okay?” he asks with wide puppy eyes, “Are you bored?” “Nothing’s ever boring around you guys,” you grin, nibbling on more of your ice cream. Chris’ eyes flicker down to your lips, watching as you eat. “Are you okay?” you ask him, eyes momentarily flickering over to the food table, where Changbin has finally picked out a snack. “Everything’s okay when you’re here,” Chris throws back at you with a grin. A faint blush dusts your features, and Chris’ grin only widens. “You’re insufferable,” You hiss, pushing his chest playfully. “Only for you~”
Hyunjin has decided to pick a fight with Changbin, and they’re both now arguing over the snack in Changbin’s hands. “I picked it up first!” “I don’t care, that’s my favourite.” “There are more!” “Can you see more? Are there more? I must be blind… oh wait… THERE’S NONE THERE! THAT’S THE ONLY ONE!” “Hmmm, maybe… I’ll give it to you if you give me a kiss.” “What?!” “On the cheek. Hm? Hm?”  Hyunjin laughs, and then out of nowhere, lunges forwards to try and wrestle the snack out of Changbin’s hands.
All of this is happening somewhere in the background by the way. It’s happening, but you can barely hear it (surprisingly). After Chris being an unrelenting flirt, you’ve found yourself completely drowned in his eyes, trying to memorise every speckle, every slight shade of brown you can see. He’s holding his ice cream in one of his hands, and with the other, is carefully trying to fix the stray strands of your hair, biting his bottom lip in concentration (which you can’t help but notice). 
As Changbin and Hyunjin wrestle for the snack, wreaking havoc in the dressing room, they circle around and around. Eventually, they’re positioned right behind Chris, and the laughter of the rest of the Stray Kids members causes you to look around in curiosity, finally drawing your attention away from Chris. Not him though, he’s still watching you fondly, so used to the noise of the Kids that he’s able to simply tune them out.
After a particularly hard shove, Changbin rocks back into Chris, shoving him forwards. Instinctively, Chris’ arms rocket out to brace himself on the wall, caging you between them, your faces centimetres apart. You fail to contain a little gasp of shock, and swallow nervously. Chris’ eyes are wide and he’s breathing heavily, his warm breath tickling your skin, causing your heart to thump loudly, blood rushing to your cheeks. 
Changbin and Hyunjin are apologising to their leader, but again, you barely hear them. The room falls suddenly silent, and your skin prickles with the realisation that everyone’s eyes have turned towards the pair of you; the staff and the Kids are watching with bated breath. And still, Chris doesn’t move. He seems to be frozen, and so are you. His eyes flicker to your lips again, bright pink thanks to the cold of the ice cream, and his mouth parts slightly, agonising over something. Then he inhales sharply and withdraws himself from you, “You okay?” he mumbles, but you’re still standing there like a deer caught in headlights. His entire face has gone pink, but you can see he’s trying to control his embarrassment.
He chuckles, grabs your wrist, and forces your ice cream up to your mouth, “Eat,” then turns away to finish off his own ice cream and have the finishing touches added to his outfit. “Have they kissed yet?” Jisung whispers from over by one of the mirrors, asking anyone who can hear him. “They can hear you, you know,” Felix deadpans, and Jisung shrugs, “Genuine question.”
Chris sighs, fiddling with his earring by the dressing table, his back turned to you. Finally, you take another bite out of your ice cream, carefully slipping your phone out of your pocket to busy yourself with something else.
You haven’t yet. But you almost did. So that was something. Thanks Bin. Thanks Hyunjin.
This morning, you’ve gone out to get some food for lunch. The Stray Kids members had left the dorm earlier for a final rehearsal, leaving you by yourself to roam. You’re suddenly craving hot pot, so after a quick search on your phone, begin the short walk to the nearest place that does it. The sun is warm on your face as you stroll with your hands deep in your pockets. 
You’re to fly back home in a couple of days after their concert tomorrow, and you’re dreading the moment, but right now, you’re content to breathe in the fresh air, wistfully thinking about the new memories you’ve just created with Chris and his Kids. They did in fact, try to teach you some choreography, and you had a blast being yelled at by Minho, and then almost being reduced to tears of joy when everyone started yelling at Chris, who had tried to defend you. 
Your mind even drifts back to that moment, so close. Maybe if you had just found the courage you could have pecked him on the lips, or the cheek, or anywhere really. Anywhere would have been good if you had been thinking straight. You’re so lost in thought that your surroundings are beginning to blur slightly, not paying attention much to where you’re going. 
Across the street, Chris pauses, his eyes catching on a person he finds awfully familiar. It’s you, absently walking towards a destination unbeknownst to him. His face cracks into a grin and his heart rate increases, excited to run into you by chance. They’ve just finished up with rehearsal, and he was headed off for a bite to eat as well by himself, savouring his alone time. 
He’s loved having you here, loved every second of it – cherished your smiles, and your laughter with the boys, ingrained the pattern of your eyes in his mind, relished in the warmth of your hugs. He’s craved your attention when you’re occupied with the members, missed your presence when he’s sleeping by himself in his room (you had taken up residence on a mattress in the lounge room).
He'd almost, almost kissed you. Tempted to. Desperately wanted to press his mouth to yours in that moment and finally satisfy his curiosity. Would it be soft? Would he melt into a puddle on the floor? Or would an unknown desire creep up on him and urge him to take more, be greedy. All just for you. 
He physically shivers, and after a quick check for cars, dashes across the road to halt you in your tracks.
He yells your name eagerly, trying to get your attention before you walk too far. 
Your head snaps up at the sound calling, but for some reason your body continues to walk. You’re so shocked at the sight of Chris scampering over to you that with a loud whack, you walk face first into a street sign. You stumble back in pain, manage to trip on your own leg, and fall to the ground with a thud.
Chris is laughing before he even reaches you, a stupid grin plastered on his face. You glare up at him, pouting and rubbing your forehead. “Are- baby are you okay?” he wheezes, offering you a hand. You grumble and swat his hand away, standing up yourself. Your stubborn antics cause him to laugh even more; he leans over and grabs your shoulders for support. “How did you manage to-”
“It’s not funny!” you yell at him, but before you know it, you’re a laughing mess too. There’s something about seeing him all giggly, so carefree, that soothes your soul. You’re now competing with a bruise on your head, the warmth of embarrassment flooding your face, and struggling to breathe. Chris tilts his head up to look at you, his hands still gripping your shoulders tightly.
His grin fades when he notices the sparkle in your eyes, the pure joy emanating from you. Slowly, he stands properly and a hand shifts to caress your right cheek. His eyes can’t seem to rest on a particular spot. They’re roving from your eyes to his hand on your face, to your lips and back again. You lean into his touch and smile, trying to read his solemn expression. His cheeks are red from laughter, hair ruffled and curly after rehearsals. Then your eyes drift down to stare at his plush lips, and you know you’re lost. You’re gone. You’re his. If only…
“I… I’m going to give you five seconds to slap me,” he whispers, his thumb caressing your cheek lightly. You blink at him in confusion, “Why would I-”
Chris steps closer, closing the gap between you, and leans down, eyes fluttering shut. The kiss is soft, hesitant, but also filled with tender care, as though the kiss alone could convey everything you mean to him. 
When he finally pulls away, he lingers a second longer, his nose rubbing yours before stepping back completely. “What-” you stutter, hand zooming up to your lips in surprise. “Five…” he begins, looking like a pure gentleman with his hands clasped neatly behind his back, “Four…”
“Chris what- you can’t just- did you just-” “Three…” You stand there with your mouth wide open, trying to process. Chris takes a step back towards you, a small smile gracing his features. “Two…” “What-”
“One…” he grabs your chin gently and angles your head up. Your eyes are wide with surprise, and by this point you’ve stopped breathing again. “You didn’t slap me…” he whispers, eyes trailing down to your lips again. 
It’s you this time who initiates it, grabbing at his shirt to pull him into you, teetering on your tiptoes. Chris’ other hand snakes around your waist, resting comfortably there to support you. Finally, you pull away a little breathlessly, stunned by your own actions.
“Wait- why do you-” you peck him on the lips again, “Why do you taste like-” Chris grins at you, then offers a final longer lasting kiss. “You taste like watermelon?” “S’probably the lip balm Hyunjin bought me. I think it’s got rockmelon in it too,” he chuckles, before reaching down to link your hand with his, “Where are we eating babe?” 
He’s beginning to walk you in the direction you were going before but stops when you don’t respond. His smile causes your stomach to swoop, and he shakes your hand to ground you back to reality. “Jagi. Where are we eating?” he asks again. “Hot… hot pot…” you murmur, “Why is that so you?”
“Hm?” he asks, dragging you along again, obviously knowing the area better than you do and immediately understanding where to go. “Rockmelon and watermelon.” “Is it?” he hums, eyes twinkling in adoration.
“Yeah… I’ll have to thank Hyunjin later…” you link your arm with his and snuggle closer, a warmth spreading from the top of your head to the bottom of your toes. Chris places a loving kiss on your head, “Order whatever you want, I’m paying.” “No. No you’re not I am.” “We’re not arguing over this.” “Then at least let me pay for myself.” “No.” “Let me pay for myself!” “Absolutely not. Never.” “Chris.” “It’s called a fucking date. I pay for you.” You roll your eyes and shove him gently, “Ashley is such a bad influence on you.” “Nahnah, remember she took the words right out of my mouth.” Chris grins, winking cheekily at you.
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-> PART 4 -> Masterlist
A/N: Yay! Milestone Event 3 Check!
Feedback is always appreciated, negative and positive alike. I apologise for any editing errors, I’m forever learning.
Until next read! - Kaisowoo
60 notes · View notes
heavenlycloud · 1 year
Text
the veil~ ღཾཿ༉ ༘჻ღཾཿ჻
three: the face of a cold blooded killer ‧₊˚ ⋅ ༘☆*.゚
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warnings: swearing
pairing: huh yunjin x aespa 5th member! fem reader
summary: IT HAPPENS...yunjin and y/n have their long awaited movie date that's not a date that is a date that isn't. yunjin realizes something about y/n and y/n learns something she didn't know before. they realize they're alike in more ways than one. and of course, both girls being useless gays. keep your eyes open for the small details i don't mean my typos and run on sentences
author notes: i tried to make this update a little lengthy because i'm not sure how much i'll be able to write this upcoming week (i'm nearing finals). my taglist is still open for those of you all who want to be added in, just comment or drop an ask in my inbox! lastly, feedback, comments, reblogs, questions, literally anything but hateful speech is welcome and very much appreciated!
̟ ̇ ��ಎ˚˖࿔ masterlist 𓂅୨⊹ ₊˚๑
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you flopped onto your bed and let out an relieved exhale that your day had finally come to a close. with a comeback only days away, you and your members had been finishing work around 2 AM just to get back up around 5 AM. however, for the next three days, work days were finishing early so that you didn’t look tired when the showcase and other activities began. you opened your text messages for the first time since this afternoon, just to see your friends blowing up your notifications. 
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ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚✭・彡♡・✫.˚◦○˚ ୧ .˚ₓ
you set your phone aside and opened your laptop to log into the streaming service website that was connected to your Veil app. it took a few tries before you correctly put in your password and found Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. you checked the time again and saw it change to 9:00 PM. not even a second late, your laptop chimed and you saw the video call icon lighting up indicating that your match was calling you. the excitement you had was replaced with anxiety as your finger hovered over the answer button. not wishing to miss the call you answered and immediately your camera turned off and the voice filter was activated. 
there was a beat of absolute silence on both ends of the call until you both burst into laughter at the awkwardness. despite the voice filter and the girl’s blurred camera, you could see her silhouette double over before flipping her long hair over her shoulder when she sat back up once her laughter subsided. she was the first to speak, the smile evident in her voice, “hi jasmine.” you shyly replied, “hi lyra.” silence fell over the two of you once again before you blurted out, “i’m sorry this is so fucking weird!” the girl nodded in agreement and said, “this reminds me of like high school on the zoom calls when you had to ask a teacher a question after class, y’know?”
you let out another laugh and added on, “wait did you ever fall asleep during class on accident or something and you woke up and it was just you and the teacher?” yunjin snorted and said, “not me but one of my friends did and i knew because we would text each other during the class. so when the class ended i kept asking questions to the teacher so i had a reason to stay on the zoom call. but i was also calling my friend’s phone at the same time.”  you admitted between laughs, “you’re better than me because i would have left the call so quickly.” the girl laughed even harder then said slowly, clearly distracted by typing on her laptop, “let me just log into the streaming service-” 
ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚✭・彡♡・✫.˚◦○˚ ୧ .˚ₓ
yunjin hummed to herself as she made her way through the different movie titles that were on her watchlist until she found the one she needed. you both went to press play and just then someone else entered her room and loudly whined, “unnie!!!! i need help with my math homework.” yunjin motioned to her laptop that was very clearly on with you on the other side of the video call as a polite, “now’s not a good time” reminder. eunchae pouted and explained, “i know you’re on a date right now but i don’t know how to do this and it’s due tomorrow. also everyone else told me to ask you since you got into university.” yunjin felt her breath hitch when the maknae said ‘date’ but she tried to brush it off, hoping that if she pretended she didn’t hear it then maybe you didn’t either you totally did. 
eunchae held up the worksheet that she was assigned which had three unanswered math problems on it. yunjin pushed her glasses further up her nose and skimmed them over, not recognizing what any of the instructions were asking. she sighed and said, “i haven’t taken a math class in like 5 years.” eunchae stared back at the paper and tried to make the instructions sound easy, “i only need help on the last one. all you have to do is find an equation of the line tangent to the graph of f at x equals 1.” yunjin looked over the last math problem then said simply, “um…the limit does not exist.” you failed to hold in your laugh at the movie quote while eunchae was far less amused, “unnie, you can’t just quote that lindsay lohan movie at me and expect me to accept that.” yunjin was genuinely stuck because she didn’t remember a damn thing from her calculus class she took in junior year of high school. the american brought her hands to her head and raked her hands through her long black hair, “well i- i don’t know.” eunchae pleaded desperately, “unnie please, anything you remember.” 
you watched the entire conversation unfold before you and honestly you could feel for both parties. when you were in high school, your family was no help when it came to the assignments that troubled you. even now minji came to you for homework help and sometimes you didn’t know the answers when she really needed them. finally you decided to just see if they’d let you help, “hey i know this might be out of place but i might be able to help.” both girls responded in unison almost immediately, “yes please.” there was a smile on your face as you instructed, “yeah sure just send me a picture of the problem. when you looked over the function you felt a slight burst of excitement at the realization that you knew exactly how to solve the solution. 
you grabbed the journal and pen off of your nightstand and spoke as you began working through the problem, “looking at the function, you’ll note that f(1) equals (7/4)e which means the tangent line passed through the point x equals 1 and y equals (7/4)e. also you’ll see that f isn’t raised to a variable power which means the ordinary rules of differentiation do apply. and because this problems is so algebraically complicated, you’re gonna want to apply the natural logarithm first so that differentiation will be easier. now apply the natural logarithm to both sides of the equation and use the algebraic properties of logarithms then tell me what you get.”
on the other end of the call, eunchae was frantically writing away while yunjin peered over her shoulder trying to understand what you were talking about. the younger girl read off her answers and you approved, “right. so now differentiate both sides of this equation, and note that both sides need the chain rule.” once again you waited for eunchae to read her answer and when she did you praised, “perfect so now i want you to differentiate it and read me the answer again.” this time when she read the answer you paused, “mmm look at the last part of the equation one more time. watch the signs.” a smile spread across your face when you heard the younger girl correct herself, “oh it’s plus 2 over 3-x.”
you hummed in agreement and said, “okay now multiply both sides of this equation by f(x). eunchae murmured aloud as she wrote more down and you prompted once more, “now the slope of the line tangent to the graph of f at x equals 1 is?” eunchae read her answer off, and asked, “(7/4)e (53/7- ln5) .so does that mean the equation of the line tangent to that is y-(7/4)e= (7/4)e (53/7- ln5)(x-1) ?” you beamed, “yeah that it! good job, that was a really complicated one honestly.” the younger girl tried to give you credit which you quickly told her, “i might have helped but you did all the hard work on your own.” yunjin stared at the smile eunchae had on her face, one that she hadn’t seen all night because of this exact homework assignment. 
the younger member hugged yunjin for the night and exclaimed, “unnie, your date is so cool!” yunjin blushed at the comment and you felt a small raise in your heart rate at this being the second time you’d been referenced as the girl’s date. before yunjin could try to play it off, eunchae leaned over her member and waved to the camera, “thank you unnie! Byeeee!” you laughed and said, “bye bye.” eunchae skipped out of yunjin’s room with her journal tucked under her arm before closing the door behind herself. 
yunjin apologized, “i’m sorry about that i didn’t think she was gonna come in my room.” you laughed and waved it off, “it’s no big deal really, my little sister does the same thing to me.” yunjin asked curiously, “you have a little sister?” you hummed in confirmation, “yeah she’s 19 right now.” yunjin gasped in genuine surprise, “no way- me too! that’s so crazy.” you agreed and then she asked, “wait- how are you so good at math?” honestly you didn’t know how to answer her so you just shrugged, “i don’t know i’ve always been better at science and math instead of history and languages i guess? like with math and science everything has an explained answer for the most part, and finding the answer is pretty standard. so nothing is really up to individual interpretation, it just is what it is and it’s pretty much the same for everyone.” yunjin leaned on her fist and teased you, “how poetic.” you sucked your teeth and rolled your eyes, “oh hush.”
although you knew time was slowly slipping, you wanted to bring it up while it was still relevant, “she said you got into university?” the american leaned back against her headboard and explained to you, “i didn’t think you’d catch that…but yeah i was supposed to start university in the fall after graduation. then i got a call from my company saying they wanted me to be a trainee for a girl group, and i had to come to korea immediately.” she waited for the typical reply of disapproval she got when she explained the past situation to people. it always led to her explaining far more than she wanted to about herself. however, she was surprised when you asked genuinely, “did you know what you were going to study?” yunjin laughed a bit to herself as she answered, “business.” before you could answer yunjin asked you, mostly as a way to learn more about you, “did you take the college entrance exam?” she was partially expecting you to say you didn’t bother because that’s how most idols ended up. 
she was pleasantly surprised when you admitted, “i finished my second year in university before i had to drop out.” she let out a gasp and whispered, “no way- jasmine-” you laughed and rubbed the back of your neck, “yeah…i was exactly half finished. i managed to balance school and being an idol pretty well but then work picked up faster than i thought it would so school went on the back burner."
yunjin was even more intrigued so she asked, “what did you study?” you answered simply, “gerontology and neuroscience.” there was a beat of silence before yunjin whispered, “what is germontology?” her cheeks grew pink when you laughed a bit before telling her, “gerontology. and it’s basically studying old people problems and neuroscience is brain science. i planned to study parkinson’s or alzheimer's disease.” you paused and realized the weight of the topic so you jokingly added on, “and now i get paid to wear high school uniforms and bark for fans.” yunjin snorted and tilted her head back as she laughed at your unexpected comment. 
ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚✭・彡♡・✫.˚◦○˚ ୧ .˚ₓ
yunjin and you managed to get through the first movie without problems and most of the second one. however, right as there were thirty minutes left you started to fall asleep and yunjin could tell clear as day. you fought to keep your eyes open as you watched the scene play out on your laptop but yawning every few seconds made things all the more difficult. the american asked you quietly, “jas, are you falling asleep on me?” you refused and sleepily insisted, “no, ’m awake.” only for you to begin dozing off a minute later, soft soft snores falling past your lips as your breaths grew deeper and slowed down. she made a mental note of the timestamp so she could rewatch the part with you another time. yunjin knew that you had been working hard on top of it being well after 1 AM so she didn’t mind at all. the fist that you weren’t leaning on was wrapped around your other wrist with your grip slowly loosening as you slept. suddenly, your hand fell onto your keyboard and you accidentally turned your camera on. yunjin’s breath caught in her chest as she stared at her screen, paying no mind to the ending scene of the movie. she panicked and frantically ended the call with her hand over her mouth, holding back a shout since all of her members were also asleep. she sat and stared straight ahead before letting out a breath,
 “oh my god-”
ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚✭・彡♡・✫.˚◦○˚ ୧ .˚ₓ
bonus: tweets from yunjin and y/n +their moots (ft eunchae and her friends)
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♡‧₊˚˘͈ᵕ˘͈‎ 彡♡ ༘*.゚ .·:¨༺ ʚ♡ɞ༻¨*:·.﹢࿐ ☆
taglist: @https-f4iryjin @awkwardtoafault @seungspolaroid
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118 notes · View notes
queenofmistresses · 11 months
Note
sub ben x dom reader where ben has a degradation kink and the reader brags a bunch about being better than him, he gets turned on by the reader taking charge
thank you :)
A/N omg such a polite ask! You’re welcome 😊 hope you enjoy and I hope this is what you’re after! Also, love the idea of ben have a degradation kink, we definitely got to see some more of his sexual preferences in the last season, I did get very excited
I was more teasing than anything else. I know Ben’s smart, that’s inarguable really. But I love to tease him, it usually takes him down a peg or 2 for a day. Reminds him that he’s not the only smart one in this school.
Today though, he’s acting different to usual. Normally he would fight back at least a little. Come up with some snarky remarks, something other than just staring at me the way he is.
Because he doesn’t seem to be responding, I start to spiral a bit. Getting more extreme, until I’m getting to the point where I’m practically calling him pathetic and saying that I’m better than him. Again, I’m joking really. I don’t really think he’s pathetic. I don’t really know how to stop and I wonder if I’ve gone too far.
“I-um Ben that was too far I’m sorry. I was just messing around.” I try to savour it. I don’t want him to think I’m a complete dick. He’s still staring at me with that look.
“I liked it.” He says, still staring at me, seeming a little dazed and confused.
“What?”
“Fuck.” He seems to snap out of it now and looks shocked. At me or himself I’m not sure. Probably both.
Next thing I know he’s running off without any word to me. What the fuck? He liked what?
I quickly decide to chase after him. He doesn’t seem to notice though because he quickly goes into an empty classroom, not at all subtly, and I follow him in.
“Ben what’s going on?” I ask, confused. He turns suddenly, realising I’m there. He stutters and can’t seem to get any words out. Then I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. It can’t be right? I risk it all and I just look. And sure enough, it looks like he has a boner. “D-did I do that?” I look up at him and he looks panicked now, not saying anything. “Ben answer the question.” I say firmly, needing an answer.
“Y-yes.” He answers, looking terrified.
“How?” I ask, softer now. He avoids eye contact with me but I let him off, this seems very uncomfortable.
“W-when you were calling me pathetic a-and saying you’re better than me.” Oh. Now that, that actually explains a lot. I can’t help but smirk now. Ben, the snarky, rude, rich boy, was a sub, and not just that, but he liked degradation.
Oh this is going to be fun
80 notes · View notes
kasienda · 1 year
Text
You Don’t Have to Pretend with Me
“Can I talk to you?”
Carapace sighed at the question. “Yeah, of course.” And he obediently followed Ladybug.
“What do you have against Chat Noir?”
“Nothing!” he denied.
She gave him a flat disbelieving look.
“He has something against me!” Carapace insisted.
“Nino, I don’t get it. You’re one of the most chill, accepting guys I know. And Chat is the sweetest! I need both of you on the team. I literally don’t have anyone else I trust to replace either of you. I need you to get along. You think you can do that?”
Nino felt like he was being chastised by his mother for not getting along with his little brother.
He nodded. “Yeah, I will try.”
It shouldn’t be that hard. Nino didn’t not like Chat Noir. He thought the dude was cool and hilarious. His sense of humor reminded him of Adrien. Things hadn’t always been tense between them. When they fought back to back during Heroes’ Day, it had felt like they were brothers.
But it was clear to him that Chat Noir wasn’t his biggest fan. The other hero had been welcoming and kind to Rena Rouge on day one, to the point of borderline flirting (and Nino wasn’t a huge fan of that even now), while he had always been somewhat aloof with Carapace.
Then there  was  the whole Chat Noir is stealing my girl thing. And even though he  knew that wasn’t what happened, it was hard to just let go of all those feelings, especially since Chat Noir had been acting differently around him after Rocketear. And maybe he had a right to be after Nino's akuma had thrown him into a van, but it wasn’t like Chat Noir knew that Nino and Carapace were the same person, so why had he started avoiding Carapace?
With all of that, it was easy to snap at the other hero.
...
Adrien couldn’t figure out why things between Adrien and Nino had always been so easy when things between Chat Noir and Carapace felt so hard.
Like, he knew he was different as Chat, but he was far less different as Adrien with Nino than anyone else. Or he had been before Rocketear.
And now? Now, he had no idea how he was supposed to act. Had no idea what Nino wanted from Chat Noir, but it was  very  clear he wasn’t measuring up.
Had Nino just taken pity on him that first day of school? Maybe Adrien was irritating all the time and Nino was just too kind to show it. Did Nino actually like him at all?
“Dude, you okay?” Nino interrupted his musings.
Adrien started and looked up into warm concerned golden eyes, and sucked in a breath.
That had to be sincere, right? Nino wasn’t pretending to care. He wouldn’t have asked if he didn’t care.
“Mec! What’s wrong?” Nino asked again.
“Nothing!” Adrien lied, pasting on a bright smile.
Nino frowned. “This is clearly not nothing.”
“I…” Adrien didn’t know how to talk about any of this.
“I don’t mean to pressure you,” Nino backpedaled immediately. “If you don’t want to talk, you don’t have to. I just…” Nino pursed his lips before pinning him with a look Adrien didn’t know how to interpret. “You don’t have to pretend. Not with me. Not ever.”
Adrien nodded, but he couldn’t be reassured. Because he knew Nino was wrong.
He had to pretend when he was Chat Noir.
And he  knew that he wasn’t being completely fair, that Nino thought he was two different people.
But the hurt was still there, and Adrien didn’t know how to erase those feelings when he was hanging out with Nino.
And since he couldn’t explain any of it without revealing secrets he wasn’t allowed to share, he didn’t know how to  stop  pretending. That’s just what he  did.
Nino watched as Adrien walked away. He didn’t know what he was doing wrong, but Adrien was distant. He wasn’t talking to him anymore. Not about school or home. Not even about stupid stuff like the latest anime he was obsessed with. And to make it worse, Adrien gave him more and more false platitudes and fake smiles.
Adrien was treating him the same way he treated Chloe. With polite indifference.
Nino couldn’t help but wonder what he had done wrong.
Nino kept trying though. He sent Adrien a bunch of cat memes, tried to invite him out to lunch, shared some of the music that he was working on, and he had asked what was wrong so many times, Nino suspected they were both sick of hearing it.
But Nino couldn’t give up.
Because what if this had nothing to do with Nino at all?! What if something horrible had happened to Adrien and he was just like this with everyone now?
He’d have to watch Adrien the next time he was around Marinette to check, but in the meantime, Nino wanted to break something.
And unfortunately for probably everyone, it was Chat Noir who happened to cross his path first.
It took Chat about a moment after Carapace had snapped at him to find his voice. And if it had been anyone else, anyone besides Nino, he probably could have taken it in stride. But it  was Nino and Adrien was tired of pretending everything was okay.
“What the hell is your problem? What did I ever do to you? Why do you hate me?” he demanded.
Carapace froze, his eyes wide and startled. “I don’t know!”
“You don’t know why you hate me?” Chat repeated in disbelief. That seemed kinda shallow for Nino.
“No! That’s not what I meant. I don’t know what my problem is. I swear I don’t actually hate you, dude.”
“You don’t?” Chat wasn’t sure he believed it.
Carapace slid to the ground and buried his head in his knees. He wasn’t shaking, so Chat didn’t think he was crying. At least, not yet.
“Are you okay?” Chat asked, falling into an awkward crouch near Carapace’s huddled form, but not anywhere as close that Nino would think he was pushing into his space.
Carapace shook his head, finally looking up. “I’m really angry.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. I pride myself on being totally chill. A completely low maintenance dude. But lately, it seems like everyone is mad at me. And I don’t know why. And I don’t know how to fix any of it!”
“Who’s mad at you?”
“Who isn’t?!” Carapace snapped.
Chat was silent.
Carapace sighed and looked back at him. “Sorry. I don’t mean to unload on you. You probably don’t care about my problems. I know I’ve been a jerk to you. You’re just… larger than life, ya know? Doesn’t seem like anything can hurt you. And I…” he trailed off, not sure what he was saying.
“You’re jealous of me?”
Carapace shook his head. “No, that’s not it. It’s more like, I have to be strong for everyone. And you, you seem like you can take anything that life throws at you.”
“I’m your scapegoat,” Chat realized out loud. The tension in his body faded and he slowly took a seat next to Carapace. Closer than Chat probably would have, but not as close as Adrien wanted to. “Someone who can handle you lashing out at them.”
“Dude! I’m sorry! That’s so messed up. I didn’t even realize I was doing it. But yeah, I think that’s what I’ve been doing. With Alya, I didn’t want to be mad at her. It was easy to be mad at you instead - some anonymous hero who never seemed to like me anyway.”
“What made you think I didn’t like you?”
“You referred to me as the turtle when we met.”
“What?”
“When Rena joined the team, you were excited. You said her name and flirted with her.”
“I didn’t flirt with her!” Chat objected.
Carapace arched an eyebrow at him.
“I was just… trying to be charming. How do you know about it anyway?” Chat shook his head before the question was finished. “Right. You guys are dating.”
“Dated.”
Chat stopped breathing. “Y-You broke up?”
Carapace shrugged. “Yeah, it’s probably my fault. I guess I’m not good at this whole communication thing. I guess when I’m upset I just put my head in my shell and pretend it’s not happening.”
Chat swallowed hard and looked away. “How long ago?”
“About a month.”
“A month?!” Chat hissed. “Why didn’t… I mean, have you talked about this with anyone?”
Carapace shook his head. “There’s no one to talk to.”
“There’s no one?” The heavy sadness struck him in the chest harder than any hit he had ever taken. He had been so busy feeling hurt, he hadn’t realized Nino was hurting too.
“I’ve been pretty lonely most of my life,” Carapace said. “I was friendly with everyone, but I was never good at making friends.”
Chat drank in every word. This was all news to him.
“I thought that was changing. I made this really great friend at the beginning of last year and then there was Alya. And it just felt like everything was right. And then she broke up with me. And my best friend…” he trailed off. He didn’t even know what happened with Adrien.
“Yeah?”
Carapace shrugged. “I don’t know! He just clammed up one day. Started pasting on fake smiles the way he does for everyone else. He won’t tell me anything. And I’m scared he’s mad at me, but I don’t know what I did! And if he’s not mad at me, I’m terrified something happened to him and if he’s not talking to me, he’s not talking to anyone.”
To Chat’s horror, Nino started crying.
“I just love the dude so much,” his voice cracked. “I feel like I lost him too and honestly, that has hurt more than losing Al- I mean Rena. Fuck! I totally blew my identity this conversation, didn’t I?”
Chat burst into laughter. “If it makes you feel better, I already knew.”
Carapace’s face fell. “Oh. Is that… is that why you’ve been weird with me since Rocketear?”
“Sort’ve,” Chat hedged. It was really more complicated than a jealous Rocketear trying to thrash Chat Noir into tiny pieces.
“I’m really sorry for that whole mess.”
Chat shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. Like I said at the time, we all have doubts.”
“Even you,” Carapace echoed.
Chat shifted uncomfortably, not wanting to talk about that particular bit of vulnerability.
Carapace was kind enough not to push. Chat shouldn’t have been surprised. Nino had always been great at respecting Adrien’s boundaries. But somehow, he was.
“Well, I guess I should thank you,” Carapace said.
Chat swung his head toward Carapace. “For what?!”
Carapace shrugged again. “I don’t know. Listening? Taking my crap? Just… I don’t know… being real with me? I promise I’ll try not to unload all my baggage onto you anymore, cat dude. Just because you can take it doesn’t mean you should have to. I’m really sorry.”
“It’s okay,” Chat said.
“It really isn’t.”
This time Chat shrugged. “But in a way I feel flattered?”
“Huh?”
“Don’t get me wrong. I hate the unsolicited crit and the snapping turtle attitude. The total lack of grace or understanding when I’m late or can’t make it when you know I can’t explain anything—“
Carapace groaned, burying his face into his hands.
Chat laughed.
“But I  am flattered that you could just be your raw unfiltered self around me when you couldn’t be that around anyone else. I don’t have very much of that in my life either.”
Carapace shot back up, his eyes wide behind his goggles. “What do you mean?”
“Just that I can’t afford to be myself most of the time in my civilian life. Partially because of my… umm… parents, and partly because I have to hide my identity. And I did have one friend,” Chat looked up at him then, “that I felt pretty comfortable around, but that’s been rocky lately, too.”
Carapace nodded. “I’m sorry, man. All of that is rough. What happened with your friend?”
“He doesn’t know about this half of me and it’s caused some issues. I’ve tried to pretend that everything is fine, but… I think I might have lost my best friend, too.” Chat admitted, glancing at him carefully.
Carapace nodded solemnly. “I’m sorry. I definitely know how that feels.”
“Maybe I’ll try talking to him again,” Chat said.
“Too bad you can’t just tell him who you are.”
Chat bit his lip. He wasn’t supposed to, and he definitely knew better than to ask for permission, but… Ladybug had told someone her identity. Would it really be so bad if he told Nino?
“Maybe you should try again with your friend, too,” he said.  
Carapace sighed and looked up at the sky. “I don’t think I’ll ever stop trying with him, but I doubt it’ll go any different. My friend… he’s not allowed a lot of boundaries in his life. He’s scared to set them. And like, so when he does, I can’t push back. If I do, he’ll cave, like, immediately. And I’m supposed to be chill and laid back. He’s not supposed to have to try with me.”
Chat was stared at him, more than a little floored, but also a little upset at this new context.
“What?”
“Nothing. I’m just… that’s a lot of pressure to put on yourself.”
“I love him.”
“Even so, you’re only human. Maybe he needs to remember that, too. And maybe he wants you to be able to be totally yourself when you’re around him, too.”
Nino was waiting on the sidewalk outside the school building. Adrien’s car would pull up in exactly four minutes - the same time it did every school morning. Other people arrived and chatted with one another as they moved up the stairs. But Nino could barely pay attention to any of it, his eyes on the road waiting for the familiar white vehicle to pull up.
He tapped his toe into the ground, and he tried to keep his hands in his pockets to look more casual, but they wouldn’t stay there as he kept fidgeting.
Why was he so nervous? This was  Adrien. His best friend might not be talking to him, but he would still hear him out and he was always insanely patient.
When the car finally pulled up, Nino’s heart seemed to rise up into his throat and his palms were wet with sweat. He  really shouldn’t be this nervous. Adrien was going to step out of the car and give him a polite and distant smile, and then start walking beside him as they headed to home room.
Only, that’s not what happened at all. Adrien stepped out of the car, but when he did he was beaming a megawatt smile brighter than the sun. When he walked up to Nino, he offered his fist and Nino had to scramble to meet it to play out their old secret handshake that they haven’t done… in  weeks!  
It felt good. Like so good, and Nino laughed more in relief than anything else. Had he just imagined the last few weeks of distance and cold shoulders?
He almost didn’t want to bring anything up, not wanting to upset this return to joyous normalcy. But at the same time Nino was so confused, and he needed to understand because if he  did  do something wrong, he needed to understand what happened so he wouldn’t do it again.
“Hey, dude? Can we talk before we go to class?”
Adrien nodded. “I think it’s long overdue.”
And Nino was thrown and relieved all over again that Adrien wasn’t denying that there was something worthy of talking about.
Adrien led them to a storage closet where he jiggled the handle very precisely and the normally locked door just fell open.
Clearly, Adrien had used this space before.
“Dude! Did you just break us into a closet?”
“Shh!“ And Adrien yanked him inside.
Two minutes later they were sitting side by side on upside down plastic buckets in the overcrowded closet.
“So what do you want to talk about?”
Nino clutched his own shoulder, and shot a glance at Adrien who was still smiling patiently at him. This felt like such a stupid question.
“Are we okay?” Nino made himself ask.
“We’re okay on my end,” Adrien said. “Are we okay on yours?”
“Yes!” Nino assured rapidly, but Adrien raised his eyebrows as if he didn’t actually believe him. And Nino wilted. “Actually, no.”
Adrien nodded like he was expecting it. Adrien knew something was off - he still wasn’t denying everything was fine.
“Go on.”
“You’ve felt really far away recently, dude. Except for today. I feel like I keep reaching out and I keep asking what’s up, but you never tell me, which is fine if it’s other stuff. You don’t have to tell me stuff. I just… you’ve been so distant, and it feels like you’re lying. Not that I’m accusing you of lying! I just… i just feel like I did something wrong. And I… I miss you.”
Adrien put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to be far away and distant. I didn’t want to lie. I literally couldn’t explain what was wrong and I probably still shouldn’t.”
Nino held his breath.
“I was distant because of how you treated me.”
Nino was super confused. And it must have shown on his face because Adrien instantly held his hands up.
“No wait. Let me explain.”
Nino nodded.
“You’ve always said that I didn’t have to pretend with you, but it really really felt like that wasn’t the case.”
“Dude! I’ve always tried to just be chill and to respect your boundaries.”
“And you did… when you knew I was Adrien.”
“When I knew you were Adrien?” Nino repeated slowly, every muscle in his body was suddenly pulled tight. “There was a time when I didn’t know you were Adrien?”
This was sounding too familiar, but Nino couldn’t pinpoint why. And if the dread pooling in his gut was anything to go by, he didn’t want to.
“More than one time.”
Nino’s gut twisted further in on itself. “When?”
“When I was Chat Noir.”
Nino literally couldn’t breathe. His eyes were hot and his throat was caving in. And holy fuck.
He rolled forward, burying his face into his knees, as he tried to hold back the torrents that wanted to break forth.
He didn’t succeed. He shook like a musician just before going on stage for his first gig. But the wailing was so much worse than that.
Adrien was talking, but Nino couldn’t hear him, his mind too busy reviewing everything he had ever said about Chat Noir to Adrien, everything he had said and done  to  Chat Noir, who was apparently his best friend.
Adrien who  was so good at taking heat and never saying anything because at home saying something always made everything worse.
Nino had always aspired to be an escape, a safe place for Adrien. And Nino had been betraying that every time he had used Chat Noir as a punching bag to lash out at when things weren’t going well for him.
“Nino!” Adrien’s hands were on his face and his shoulders, pulling him in. And Nino let him, feeling limp like a rag doll. “It’s okay now!”
Nino shook his head violently. It didn’t feel okay. Not remotely. “Dude! I’m… I’m so sorry,” he choked out.
“You already apologized,” Adrien reminded him gently.
This was why Adrien had been so happy to see him this morning. Carapace and Chat Noir had talked things out. “I know, but it feels so much worse now.”
Adrien nodded. “Yeah, it felt worse to me too. But Nino, you didn’t know.”
Nino only cried harder. “You weren’t supposed to tell me, were you?”
“Hey! This was your idea! When Ladybug finds out I’m compromised, I’m definitely throwing you under the bus.”
Nino laughed through his tears. “I’m fine with that. I would deserve it after… everything.”
“Nino, I was joking.”
“I wasn’t.”
Adrien sighed. “So, are we okay?”
Nino nodded rapidly. “If you think we’re okay, we’re definitely okay.”
“I’m uh… sorry about Alya.”
“That wasn’t your fault, dude! It wasn’t Adrien’s or Chat Noir’s.”
“I meant more that I made you feel like you couldn’t talk to me about it?”
Nino nodded. “It’s fine. I’m… not totally okay, especially when it felt like I had lost you, too. But,” and Nino pulled off what had to be the most watery smile, “I think I will get there. Thank you.”
“I love you, too, you know.”
“What?”
“You told me as Chat that you loved me as Adrien.”
Heat burned in Nino’s neck and ears. “I did say that. I didn’t know I was telling you though.”
“I know, but that’s how I knew you meant it, and weren’t just saying it to be nice to the awkward loner kid who needs friends.”
“Dude, before you joined our class,  I  was the awkward loner kid who needed friends!”
Adrien smiled. “But I never knew that either until you told Chat.”
“Gah! This is so confusing!” Nino complained.
Adrien grinned. “But it’s awesome, right?”
Nino mirrored the expression. “Hell yeah! Definitely awesome!”
And they stood and immediately pulled each other into a hug. And if they had been twenty minutes late to class, no one said anything.
“What the hell happened?!” Ladybug demanded of her earpiece.
Rena Furtive chuckled into her ear. “You’re the one that yelled at them. I thought you wanted them to get along?”
“I did! I do! But now-”  She gestured to the two boys laughing their heads off as they kept trying to outdo each other with increasingly complicated stunts that they failed more than half of the time. “Now, they’re just being stupid.”
Rena Furtive laughed again. “I, for one, am glad to see Carapace so happy again. A mopey turtle is just wrong.”
And Ladybug softened. “Yeah, you’re right. A pouty kitty wasn't fun either. I’m glad they’ve bounced back.”
“Yeah, me too.”
“Now, can you please go in there and show them how it’s done since I can’t? They’re embarrassing us!”
Ladybug laughed before launching herself towards the new tight-knit duo she had on her team.
“You guys, dating or something?” she asked, as she landed next to them.
Chat Noir and Carapace shared a look. It felt like they were having a whole conversation with just their eyes, and they suddenly both grinned and nodded at one another in agreement.
“Guys are allowed to have emotionally close friends, bugaboo!” Chat told her.
“Doesn’t mean anything is romantic or sexual,” Carapace added.
Ladybug held up her hands in surrender. “I’m not judging either way. Just happy that you’re finally getting along!”
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good evening :)
would it be ok to ask the fallout 4 companions reacting to a sole who manages to get a tank working and takes it for a little cruise?
please and thank you!
Good afternoon! What a polite ask! You’re very welcome. To be honest, I’ve been expecting them to add (or, well, re-add) vehicles into Fallout ever since they made the move to 3D. I suppose there’s always Fallout 5...
Cait is all for it, going so far as to straddle the main guns and point out targets for the tank’s wrath as the Sole Survivor pilots it. Every shot threatens to buck her right off with its force- and only makes her manic grin all the wider. “Yeah! Get that radstag next- wait, fuck do you mean we’re out of shells?!”
Codsworth, more than anything, is just worried that the Sole Survivor is going to run themselves over- or worse, blow themselves up. He constantly hovers behind the tank, chiming in with advice that he surely thinks is helpful. “I beg you to think about this for a moment! The family Chryslus is one thing, but... oh dear.”
Curie is right beside Codsworth in fretting, nervously watching the tank trundle along while half-expecting it to spontaneously explode. “You... need a license to drive such a thing, non? Ah, it is very dangerous- it is not, what is the saying, legal for the street?”
Danse gives it a routine inspection, viewing it as yet another piece of useful pre-War technology to be catalogued, preserved, and never thought about again. “Dual 140-millimeter cannons, smoothbore. Depleted uranium penetrators. Four tread arrays, in good condition. This is a big find for the Brotherhood, soldier. Proctor Ingram’s going to have a field day with this one... you are donating it, correct?”
Deacon wastes little time clambering into the cabin, running his fingers over all the little switches and dials. He looks so at home in the tank that it’s hard to remember that he has absolutely no idea how to use it. “Who, me? Uh, yeah, I’ve seen one of these before. Seventh... Republic of Dave... Mechanized Division, man. It’s a real thing.”
Hancock insists on hotboxing the tank, reminding the Sole Survivor that he’s never had the chance to try it with an actual functional vehicle. What little smoke escapes it as it rolls along only convinces poor Curie further that a catastrophic engine failure has occurred. “It’s a symbol, you dig? We take this Army shit, we smoke up inside it? It’s like giving the Man a big, rolling ‘fuck you’. Trust me on this.”
MacCready takes every opportunity to ham it up alongside Deacon, recalling his time in the Gunners to more accurately imitate a military hardass... which lasts for about fifteen seconds once the lurching tank gives him motion sickness. “Is that insubordination on my crew, private? Drop and give me twenty... oh, God, once we stop. Can we stop?”
Valentine would whistle if he could. He’s not shy about getting up close and personal, nudging the treads with one of his well-worn shoes. “...Well, would you look at that? You fixed the only machine in this place more broken-down than I am. Kinda gives me hope.”
Piper joins the peanut gallery with X6 and Curie, already scribbling the rough draft of an article in her omnipresent notepad. “I dunno, Blue. Tell you what: you can ride around in the big metal coffin all you want, and I’ll tell you when you’re about to crash into a tree. Deal?”
Preston is more than a little nervous... but just as impressed, too. Still, he won’t go near the thing, preferring to have Sturges check it out on his behalf. “...Wow. Uh- wow. General, are you sure this sends the right message? We’re here to help the Commonwealth, not... you know, level it.”
Strong feels a bit threatened by the presence of something potentially more destructive than he is, and immediately tries to lift the tank to prove that he’s still on top. He manages to get its front end maybe half an inch off the ground before collapsing, shamed and indignant. “STRONG NEVER LIKE MACHINES ANYWAY. DON’T FIGHT FAIR!”
X6-88 just watches from a distance, thoroughly unimpressed with it all. “No. I don’t think it’s likely to be of any value. A competent asset retrieval team could take it apart in minutes.” Behind those dark sunglasses, though, his eyes are as wide as dinner plates... and is he flinching every time another explosion rocks his surroundings? A trick of the light, surely.
Dogmeat loves it. Of course he does. It stirs primal memories of chasing cars in his little brain- and this one is actually slow enough to catch!
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