#classes take forever but my free time zips by and runs out way too quick

[fridayyy-13th]

wow. not even a week into college and i'm already behind on work. fucking lovely.

[starshine583]

New Girl on the Block (11)

(aaaaaah thank you guys so much for all of the replies in the last one! I get so giddy reading them! Anyway, here’s chapter 11 of New Girl on the Block. I hope you all enjoy and please feel free to check out the mini series connected to this called Journal Entries!)

Ch.1 / Ch.10 / Ch.12  (Ao3)

Chapter 11: Aw~ You Really Do Care

Gentle breezes that swayed this way and that were always known for creating calming atmospheres. They blew through the wisps of your hair like a sweet kiss from nature and quietly stole your troubles from the deep sigh that you’d let out from finally getting fresh air. They weren’t supposed to harshly wrap around your limbs and torso, condemning you to a make-shift cage that was built to keep you paralyzed as you were carried through the air by a magical, maniacal, part-time villain. And this, Marinette decided, was going to be reason number forty-seven for why she hated Hawkmoth. He ruined the little things. Not only was she going to scowl at every autumn breeze from this moment on due to bitter memories, she was also reminded that she can’t even have a small lunch with friends between classes without getting blasted across the street. With all of the akumas centering around Dupont, she had hoped that her chances of getting ambushed would decrease, but that was apparently too much to ask for.

She’ll give Hawkmoth credit on one account, though: this was the first time she’d gotten caught up in an akuma while in civilian form since she transferred schools. Nevertheless, one time is still one too many, especially when this was bound to happen again sooner or later.

Marinette thrashed against Whirlwind’s hold, and although she didn’t put too much effort into it for the sake of subtlety, she could tell they weren’t going to budge. She needed to find another way to get down that wouldn’t alarm or anger the akuma. Maybe she could convince Whirlwind to get on the ground somehow.. But she already seemed on edge. What if she got aggressive? These akumas were never reasonable, and Marinette couldn’t turn her head to see if Felix and the others were out of range yet. 

Marinette held back a groan. Why did there have to be so many obstacles!

“I’m not seeing any ‘company buildings’.” Whirlwind remarked, frowning as she scanned over the city rooftops. “Where did you say they were again?”

“It’s- uhm -” Marinette faltered. She hadn’t expected to be addressed once they started moving. “It’s on the other side of town. If I remember correctly. You should be able to find one if you fly Northeast from here.”

Whirlwind perked up. “Oh, good! I must say, I’m quite impressed with your navigation skills. I barely know what ‘Northeast’ is, myself.”

Marinette forced a smile in response. The akuma wouldn’t think so highly of her if they knew that she was only pointing them in the opposite direction of the café. 

They started moving again, the fresh surge of wind almost making it difficult to breathe as they rushed over the rooftops. It reminded Marinette of the time she had to fight Santa Clause while standing on top of his weird, gizmo sleigh, except this time she didn’t have Tikki’s magic to protect her. 

Her eyes flicked to the streets below, a part of her wondering what would happen if she fell, another part of her wondering if that’s what she’d have to resort to to get out of this mess. 

Come on, Marinette, think! She told herself. Come up with an excuse! Something to get you on the ground. The company is.. Unground? You need to.. Go to the bathroom? Get your phone? You’re-

“Airsick!” She gasped. “I’m getting airsick!”

In hindsight, she probably should have thought the excuse through before blurting out her imaginary nausea- how would she escape once Whirlwind brought her to ground? Would she make another excuse to go inside? How would Marinette be able to slip away to go transform if she made it that far? -but it had a decent effect. Whirlwind immediately stopped, causing the winds behind them to burst forward. Marinette briefly wondered how fast they’d been going to create such a force when coming to an abrupt halt.

“What was that?” Whirlwind asked. “I couldn’t hear you over my winds.”

Marinette hesitated. This was her chance to change the excuse if she wanted to. Should she stick with her airsick story or change it? What would she change it to? Should she just wait for another opportunity to arise? But what if this was her only chance to escape?

“I-”

Before she could utter a word about landing, a silver staff flew past her, smacking Whirlwind right in the stomach. The akuma let out a yelp of surprise and pain as she was launched backwards, and the winds curling around Marinette’s arms and legs lost their holds. That might have been ideal.. had she not been dangling over five stories high in the air. 

A scream ripped itself from Marinette’s lungs as she plummeted towards the ground, her arms flailing for support that simply wasn’t there. All coherent thoughts spiraled out of control as the deafening winds rushed around her. This wasn’t part of the plan. She needed to stop falling- she needed to grab something. Were there people in the street? Were there cars below her? What was she going to land on? How close was the ground? Was she going to survive the hit? What was going to happen if she couldn’t help fight the akuma?

Ice cold terror gripped her pounding heart, and she shimmied in the air to look for witnesses should she transform. What other choice did she have? She couldn’t allow herself to die. The Ladybug miraculous was too important.

Adrenaline coursed through her veins, helping her panic with more “what if”s but giving her no solutions. What if someone saw her? What if Whirlwind saw her, giving Hawkmoth her identity? What if she hit the ground before she fully had time to transform? Everything was happening so slowly yet so fast all at once. Time was crawling as her mind raced, but in the blink of an eye, the grey strip that was the road grew five times as wide as it was before in her teary, blurred vision, and Marinette knew her time was running out. She needed to do something, and she needed to do it now.

“Tikki, spots-”

A grunt cut her off as she landed in a pair of leather-clad arms. They pulled her closer to the chest of her savior, who flashed her an all too familiar smirk. 

“Don’t worry, Miss.” Chat Noir said, hopping across a few cars while he carried her to safety. “I’ve got y- wait.”

His pace slowed, though not by much considering the circumstances, and he stared down at her with wide eyes. “Marinette?”

Although her mind was reeling from almost- you know -falling to her death, she wrapped her arms around his neck, a relieved smile spreading onto her lips. “Chat Noir. Right on time, as always.”

“I- What are you doing here? And why is your face all red?” He asked, bewildered. She didn’t blame him. It’d been a while since they saw each other on the battlefield, let alone in a place so far from her house or school with her face the color of a cherry tomato.

“I was having lunch with my friends, and there was a small accident in Chemistry class earlier.” She explained, glancing over Chat’s shoulder to make sure the akuma wasn’t following them. Aside from a few car alarms and faint police sirens, it was quiet. Whirlwind must have a slow recovery time. That was going to come in handy later.

Chat Noir stopped in a random alleyway and carefully set her back down on her own two feet. “You mean the friends from your new school?”

Marinette wobbled a bit and placed a firm hand on his shoulder to regain balance. Now that she wasn’t in imminent danger, the shock and adrenaline in her body seemed to be wearing off. It left her heart racing and her body shaking, but she’d fallen enough times to know that it would pass in a few minutes as well. (And wasn’t it sad that she could say that?)

“Those would be the ones.” She replied after a few deep breaths. “We got attacked as we were leaving, and I went to lure Whirlwind away from everyone. I didn’t count on her picking me up to leave.”

Chat Noir frowned, offering a soft rub on the back to help her relax. “I appreciate your tenacity, Princess, but you could’ve gotten seriously hurt! You need to leave the rescuing to us heroes.”

Marinette resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Felix had said the same thing back at the café, neither of them realizing the horrible irony that she was one of the heroes. Sometimes she just wanted to expose her identity to Paris simply so she could do her job as Ladybug in peace without any resistance. 

“Anyway, I actually wanted to ask you about your new school.” Chat Noir remarked, bringing her from her mullings.

Marinette gave him a questioning look. Wasn’t he supposed to be fighting the akuma right now? Whirlwind wasn’t going to stay down forever. He needed to stay focused on the task at hand, dang it! Or at least leave her alone so she could transform and tell him to focus as Ladybug!

“Where did you go, you mangy cat!” The akuma roared in the distance. “Come out and face me like a proper hero!”

Aaaand she’s up now. Marinette mentally sighed. It was going to be hard knocking her down again. With her winds protecting her, an ambush will be the only way to get close, and she’ll be expecting that now. Maybe she can find another way to get the folder-fan thing. (That’s what she assumed to be the akumatized object, anyway.)

“Woops,” Chat Noir muttered, his gaze flicking towards the sky. Woops would be right.

“That’s my queue to go.” He said, offering her another quick smile before taking out his staff. “Stay safe, Princess!”

His staff extended, which vaulted him into the air, and he disappeared onto the rooftops above, out of sight. 

Finally, Marinette thought. She was starting to wonder if he’d ever leave.

“Marinette!” As soon as the coast was clear, Tikki zipped out of her purse, flying around her holder with a worried look. “Are you alright? You didn’t get hurt, did you? That was too close!”

“I’m fine, Tikki.” Marinette assured with a soft smile. “See? I’m not even shaking anymore. I just hope we can defeat this akuma before next class period. You know how much Felix hates being late.”

Tikki giggled. “I think he’ll understand being a little late today.”

Marinette chuckled. “Tikki, spots on!”

Magic wrapped around her skin in a flash of bright light, creating her signature red and black-spotted costume. A smile graced her lips at the surge of power that washed over her body, and she threw her yo-yo towards the top of the rooftop. Now she was ready to face Whirlwind.

Her yo-yo pulled her onto the rooftop that Chat Noir stepped onto moments prior, but by the time she got up there, he was already blocks away and fighting against Whirlwind as best he could on his own. It.. wasn’t going well, but that served him right for wasting time while the akuma was vulnerable.

Nevertheless, Ladybug threw out her yo-yo again to swing in their direction. She still had to protect Paris, after all, and if she waited any longer, she might be fighting Whirlwind alone while trying not to look Chat Noir’s civilian self in the eyes. 

Hopefully she was underestimating him, because it only took half a swing for something else to stop her in her tracks. 

It was a cry. But not just any cry. Someone was calling out her name.

Her civilian name.

Ladybug’s arms flailed around as she stumbled onto another rooftop, and she looked to the streets below for the source. There should only be about four other people- aside from Chat -who knew her civilian self was in that area, and that fact had her begging that she’d heard something wrong. 

She should have known that she’d never be that lucky, though, despite her powers literally being based around life and luck. It took less than a second for her to spot a blonde boy in dark clothing running through the streets where she’d initially fallen as Marinette, and in all honesty.. she was stunned to see him. Not because she truly thought that the universe would be convenient for once, but because.. it was Felix. Not Claude or Allegra or Allan, who she’d certainly expected to be crazy enough to follow after her, but Felix. 

Felix who makes a point of avoiding people as much as possible because he supposedly hates them.

Felix who would usually rather stay home than go anywhere with the group at any time because he claims they are torture to be around.

Felix who had looked too terrified to even move right before she lured the akuma away from the café.

He was there, and he was searching for her. Not only that, he was desperately searching for her. Moving the debris that he could, looking through car windows, calling out her name multiple times- he was doing everything in his power to find her. And she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t extremely touched by the sight. Felix has helped her so much over the past month, but she’d always assumed that that was done out of the kindness of his own heart, not because he liked her, especially with how often he griped and grumbled about the trio dragging him to their group hangouts. Seeing him so worried now, though.. It almost made her smile despite herself. 

He really did care about them, didn’t he?

Ladybug shook her head and swung down to the street he was on. Whirlwind probably wouldn’t try to harm him purposely, but that didn’t mean the loose debris from the fight a few blocks down would magically avoid hitting him. She needed to get him to safety before the akuma realized that her second opponent had arrived.

“Sir, it’s not safe here.” She said as she landed behind him. “You need to come with me.”

Felix jumped out of his skin and whirled around. His expression was coated with terror and frustration, once again throwing Ladybug off. She’d never seen him this frantic before. 

“Oh, thank goodness.” He said after realizing who she was. “Please, I need your help. My friend- her name’s Marinette. She tried to lure the akuma to help us and got kidnapped! I tried to follow them, but they moved too fast. And then I saw her fall and-”

Recounting the events put him in a fresh state of panic, and he ran a hand through his hair as he scanned the streets once again. 

“I understand,” She replied softly, placing a hand on his shoulder to hopefully calm him down, “but I need to remain calm for me, okay? We’re going to clear the area, and then I’ll do everything in my power to find her.”

Felix’s gaze snapped to hers. “What? No, I don’t think you understand. She fell! She might be suffocating under the debris or critically injured in an alleyway or on a rooftop somewhere! We can’t just leave!”

Ladybug held back a smile towards his concern, as that would be wildly inappropriate at the moment, and reached down to pick him up. “I’m sure she would appreciate the sentiment, sir, but you being here makes our jobs harder. Please let us handle this. I’m sure she’s perfectly safe somewhere.”

“What are you-” Felix gasped as she scooped him up bridal style, and the mix of sheer outrage and bafflement that exploded onto his features once he realized what was happening made her wish that she had a camera. 

“Put me down this instant!” He demanded, scrambling in her hold. “I need to find Marinette!”

“We’ll do that,” Ladybug promised, “just as soon as I get you somewhere safe.”

Jumping over cars and weaving through alleyways, she managed to carry Felix a good few blocks away within five or ten minutes. He was strangely light for being so tall. Even as he continued to squirm in her grasp, she had no trouble lifting him to a sheltered and secluded area. 

“This is ridiculous!” Felix hissed, throwing himself off of her when she finally allowed him to do so. “What kind of hero ignores a person in need! Aren’t you supposed to save those injured by the akuma? Marinette could be out there dead while I’m perfectly fine, yet you waste time taking me somewhere I don’t want to go! Have some common sense and prioritize! Listen to what I’m telling you!”

Ladybug pursed her lips to avoid a sigh. If it weren’t for the fact that plenty of other people who were just like this made her job way more difficult than it already was, she would probably be laughing a bit towards the irony of his claims. “Sir, every life is a priority to us-”

A scream echoed in the distance, one that abruptly grew louder as the source grew nearer. Ladybug shifted into a fighting stance, but by the time she pulled out her yo-yo to use as a weapon, a blur of black was flying right past them. 

It landed hard in a dumpster near the end of the alleyway, a deep groan erupting from the surprise visitor a moment later. That fall clearly hadn’t been pleasant for whoever got thrown, and Ladybug had a pretty good idea of who that person was. Not many people got thrown around by akumas on a near-weekly basis.

“You okay, Chat?” She asked, putting away her yo-yo as she moved forward to help him up.

Her partner eyed her through a pained, squinted gaze while he rubbed the back of his head. “..My lady? When did you get here?”

She offered a smile and helped him sit up as she answered, “Only a few minutes ago. I was helping a civilian get to safety.”

Chat’s gaze slid to the spot over her shoulder, where she assumed Felix was standing, and a frown tugged at the corner of his lips.

“You’re here too?”

The question was more of muttered, but she heard it all the same, her eyebrows knitting together. What did he mean ‘too’? Did they know each other?

“I’m looking for my friend.” Felix spoke up, jumping at the opportunity to recruit another hero. It was probably for a good thing, since she didn’t want to think too much on who Chat did or didn’t know personally. “She was taken captive by the akuma while trying to protect us and fell from the air about twenty minutes ago. Have you seen her?”

Chat’s eyes widened, confusion and surprise swirling onto his features. Ladybug, for the life of her, couldn’t figure out why. Her alter ego had told him that she risked her life to save her friends. Minor surprise should have been the only reaction he had to that question. 

“Wait..” Her partner said with furrowed eyebrows. “Was this girl’s name Marinette?”

Felix straightened, hope rising to his silver eyes. “You know her?”

“I put her in an alleyway a few blocks from here.” Chat Noir answered, gesturing in the general direction. “She was a bit shaken up, but otherwise fine. How do you-”

“No time for chit-chat.” Ladybug interrupted. She wasn’t going to get trapped in another one of Chat Noir’s spiraling conversations. “We kind of have an akuma to take care of.”

Chat Noir pushed himself out of the dumpster, and although he looked reluctant to drop the subject, he nodded. “Right. I’m ready when you are.”

Ladybug gave a satisfied nod and turned back to Felix. 

“I know you’re worried for your friend,” She said, “but she’s safe. So I would greatly appreciate it if you went and hid until all of this was over. If you don’t, it’ll only make defeating Whirlwind harder.”

Felix frowned, clearly not on board with the idea, but he agreed anyway. “I’ll.. go back to the café. My other friends should be there waiting for us.”

She smiled. “Thank you.”

Felix spun on his heel and started off in the opposite direction of Whirlwind, to her relief. With him out of the way, taking down Hawkmoth’s newest pawn should be a piece of cake.

“You ready, Chat?” 

Her partner didn’t respond, drawing her gaze over to him. He was staring at Felix with a quiet frown, watching the blonde walk away. Why did he look so troubled by the sight of the blond?

“Chat?”

This time his ears twitched, and he turned back to Ladybug with a questioning gaze. “Huh? Sorry, I got.. distracted.”

Ladybug tilted her head to the side slightly. “Are you sure you’re okay? You looked upset.”

Chat waved off the comment, plastering on a smile. “Nah, you know me, My Lady. I’m perfect, as always.”

She frowned. “If you’re sure.. I think I have a plan to beat the akuma. Are you ready?”

“You know I am.”

“Good. Then get ready to be the distraction.” She replied, quickly throwing her yo-yo into the air. “Lucky Charm!”

~~~~~~

Adrien ran through the Parisian streets, following the tip of their school building to find his way back. That akuma took longer than he thought it would. By the time he got back to class, it’d probably be over. 

So much for gaining more free time to go see Marinette. He thought, sparing a glance down the alleyway that he’d dropped her in as Chat Noir. It was empty now, as one would expect. LB’s miraculous ladybugs would have brought her back to where she was before the fight started. Even so, he couldn’t help feeling disappointed. It was the first time he’d seen her in almost two weeks as Adrien or Chat Noir, and possibly his only chance to talk to her for a long while. Tardiness at Dupont was pardoned when they got attacked by the akuma directly, but running off to video- or even capture -it wasn’t permitted. When Father saw his disciplinary marks, Adrien’s already tight schedule would no doubt coil around him even further. 

Adrien paused to catch his breath- running to school was so much easier as Chat Noir -and scanned the street for Alya. They needed to regroup before he got back to class or it might be suspicious on his part, since he specifically said that he was going to keep Alya safe. (Note to self: never use Alya as an excuse again.)

“Alya!” He called out. “Can you hear me?”

He’d wanted to go find that café that the blond guy from Rosemary mentioned, just to see if he could at least spot Marinette and maybe even catch her as Adrien, but Whirlwind ended up taking all of his free time. It was admittedly frustrating, being so close yet so far when it came to talking with her. They lived in the same city, for Pete’s sake! He should be able to drive over to her house and say hi without any struggle at all!

Speaking of which, what was with that blond guy? He totally lied about Marinette attending Rosemary! Unless they hadn’t met yet when Adrien first visited.. but that didn’t make any sense. He visited after Marinette said that she had her new friends come to her house, the same friends that were with her at the café. Meaning the blond guy. 

Adrien could give him the benefit of the doubt and say it was an honest mistake. Perhaps that guy really hadn’t met Marinette yet and she was referring to other friends that they were with. It did sound like she had a whole group now. Besides, why would the guy lie for no reason? People don’t usually do that. 

Either way, Adrien knew which school Marinette was at now, and that was all that mattered. His plan to go apologize could finally be put into action.

“Adrien?” 

A faint reply caught his attention, and Adrien glanced up to see Alya wandering around at the end of the street. 

“Is that you?” She asked, looking around for him as well.

Adrien put on a smile and waved his hand as he approached her. “Yeah, it’s me! Where did you go? I couldn’t find you!”

“I was trying to get a shot of the akuma, but by the time I got here, the fight was practically over!” She answered, spotting him a second later and moving to meet him halfway. “Where did you go? You disappeared in, like, the first five minutes! How did you get down here so fast?”

“Oh, uh..” Adrien rubbed the back of his neck, nervousness crawling onto his features. He probably should have come up with an excuse for his absence before he tracked Alya down. “I decided to take a shortcut. I guess I should have told you?”

Alya scrunched up her nose. “A shortcut? I don’t remember any shortcuts around here.. Well, I’m sure there will be other chances to film akumas. It just stinks that I didn’t get to record the hostage situation. Did you happen to see who that was? It looked like a girl from where I was standing.”

“Sorry, Al.” Adrien said, offering a sheepish look. Chat Noir might know it was Marinette who fell, but he did not. “I got there after the hostage was rescued.”

Alya clicked her tongue, displeased. “Drat. Did you see anything interesting while you were out there?”

Define interesting. Adrien thought to himself. Finding Marinette and the blond who was looking for her in the same battle had been extremely interesting to him, but he doubted Alya would feel the same way. 

“She had a pretty cool costume.” He recounted as they started their way back to the school together. “It was all blue with a white cloak and this weird, spinning, white skirt thing. She also used a white and dark blue folder as a fan to control the wind. That ended up being the akumatized object, if I remember correctly-”

“Oh, hang on.” Alya cut in, switching to the memo on her phone. “Let me write this down for the blog. I got some of the footage, but it was grainy at best because of the distance. These details are great to add to it. Did you see anything else?”

Adrien thought over what he could tell her and what he should keep secret. Would he be able to know what the lucky charm was if he was watching from a random alleyway or behind a car?

“Not really.” He answered. Giving more information at this point might not end well for him if his lady followed the blog. She was too clever not to put things like that together. “You’re not going to name-drop me on the blog, are you?”

Alya shook her head. “No, no, you know I keep my sources a secret. It would lead other reporters to my scoops.”

“Right.” Adrien replied, relieved. Not only would name-dropping compromise his personal tips, it would also give people the opportunity to look for him through news footage and other things. He didn’t want anyone disproving the excuses that he’d given to Alya about his whereabouts. “That makes sense.”

Once she jotted down Adrien’s comments, Alya pulled out her phone to rewatch the footage. Although the image was being jostled around a bit from walking, he could still see how utterly grainy the video was. He could barely tell who was who, and he was one of the people who actually fought in the battle. The only reason he knew it was Ladybug snatching the akumatized object at the end was because she was the only one who had red pixels. 

“I would have just shot the scene without zooming in,” Alya said as she put the phone away, “but doing that made everyone look like specks. I hope Lila can clean it up for me.”

Adrien furrowed his eyebrows. “I didn’t know Lila edited videos.”

“Oh, she doesn’t.” Alya smiled. “She has an uncle who’s this big-time movie editor.”

Ah. Another famous uncle. He wondered if that was the same uncle who was supposed to be an incredible actor or the one that owned a humongous plaza. Gosh, did Lila even have any uncles in real life?

“You think he’s going to have time to do it?” He asked.

“Maybe not, but it couldn’t hurt to ask, right?” 

Adrien shrugged. No, it couldn’t hurt. At least not until Lila promises to get it to her uncle and then never gives the video back. How many false promises has she made now? There was the one where she said that she would get a gig for Nino, one to Alex about getting her this special, glow-in-the-dark spray paint, one to Max about getting some high-tech chip for Markov- She’d promised so many things that he couldn’t even remember most of them now! How long until those words buried her alive? How long until his classmates actually started demanding the fruits from her supposed labor? Were they just going to wait on her to deliver for the rest of their lives? 

Adrien heaved a small sigh. He would make them see reason eventually. He would.

But first he needed to pay another visit to Rosemary.

~~~~~~

Marinette pushed herself to go faster as she weaved through the different alleyways that led back to the café. Her legs were already aching from the fight that Whirlwind had dragged out, but she imagined the pain to be minor in comparison to how worried sick her friends probably were at this point. As a civilian, she should have made it back to the café about twenty minutes ago, give or take. If it weren’t for the multiple calls and messages asking if she was okay and her frantic responses that “yes, I’m fine, but please stay put till I get there”, then the group would probably be searching the streets for her right now. She would have stayed transformed to get back, but the fight drained all of Tikki’s energy. Marinette was lucky to have found an alleyway to even hide in before she de-transformed. 

Come on, come on, She thought, her gaze flicking left and right. I know it was around here somewhere- oh!

Marinette lit up at the sight of the café. She could see the group standing in front of it, huddled together and looking around to try and spot her. Felix was a step or two behind the trio with a deep frown on his lips and his arms crossed against his chest. His fingers tapped rapidly against his bicep, giving way to his nervousness towards her absence, and he glanced from side to side along with the others. His franticness from earlier appeared to be contained now, but still very much there. 

“Guys!” She called out, breaking into another sprint despite her body’s protest. She was going to have to grab an ice pack or two once she got home.

The group’s attention immediately snapped to her, and the trio practically sank to the ground with relief.

“Marinette!”

“Where have you been?!”

“We’ve been worried sick-”

They collided into her with a group hug, each sniffing and blubbering about not being able to find her. Claude was out right crying into her shoulder.

Marinette hugged them all back and apologized profusely, the guilt from upsetting them to this point twisting sharply through her stomach and heart. She couldn’t bear to see them this way, and the fact that this was inevitably going to happen again only made it worse. 

“I’m so sorry for making you worry.” She said, wiping away a tear of her own. “When Chat Noir save me, I was told to stay put till the fight was over, and-”

“No, don’t apologize.” Allegra interrupted with a watery smile. “We’re just happy you’re safe.”

A scoff brought their attention up to Felix, who was now standing next to them. 

“Don’t apologize?” He repeated, glaring at the other three in disbelief. “She almost got herself killed! Are we supposed to encourage that behavior?”

“She was trying to protect us.” Allan defended. “She was only doing what she thought was right.”

“And that’s supposed to make it better?” Felix countered. “She was reckless and idiotic! There were a million other ways to make it out of there safely without getting yourself kidnapped.”

“Hey, lay off!” Claude yelled, sounding surprisingly angry. “She’s been through a lot today already, so just leave her alone!”

“So, you’re willing to just let this slide?” Felix asked, growing agitated himself. “You’re telling me that as long as she dies out of the ‘goodness of her heart’, then it’s fine?”

“She didn’t die!”

“But she could have!” He shot back. “Doesn’t that bother any of you? What if the heroes didn’t get there in time? What if Whirlwind decided she didn’t care for civilians anymore before they even arrived? What would have happened if the miraculous cure couldn’t bring her back for some reason? There were too many variables that she didn’t know about and she went anyway. That’s not something that should be praised!”

Allegra shot him a glare. “Felix-”

“No.” Marinette interrupted, putting a hand on Allegra’s shoulder as the girl trailed off. “No, he’s right. I wasn’t thinking properly, and I jumped in with a plan that half-formed at best and didn’t look for other options until it was too late. I thought I was running out of time and panicked, but that’s no excuse.”

Marinette stepped forward, and Felix quietly stared at her in response. His eyebrows were still furrowed, the grief of the situation reflecting in his silvery blue eyes. She understood why he was angry and upset. She understood why he had that desperate look in his eyes as he tried to explain his displeasure towards her behavior. Felix was the only one to see her fall, after all. The only one to know how close to death she actually was. Seeing Chat Noir sacrifice himself over and over again helped her know exactly what that felt like.

She wanted to pull him into a hug, to tell him that everything was okay now and that she was okay now, but touch wasn’t exactly his thing. So she settled for something she knew was alright and lightly grabbed his hand.

“I really am sorry.” She apologized again. “I promise I’ll be more careful next time.”

Felix’s gaze softened slightly, and he shocked her by lightly squeezing her hand back. “I’d rather there not be a next time.”

Marinette offered a small, sheepish smile, knowing she couldn’t make that promise. She had too many responsibilities as Ladybug to stay away from akumas completely, but she could try to avoid them as a civilian. For his sake and the others’.

Allegra placed a gentle hand on Marinette’s back. “We should head back to the school. They don’t really give us lee-way for being late.”

“Well, they should today since we kind of got attacked,” Allan spoke up, “but I don’t quote me on that. Also, I’m calling my turn on driving Marinette.”

Allegra and Claude put a hand to their chests and gasped, both knowing that Allan hadn’t called a turn yet which made him automatically win. Marinette caught a smirk twitching onto Felix’s lips due to this fact, and she smiled with him, mainly because it was nice seeing him relax again.

“Oh no!” Claude said defiantly. “If you’re taking Marinette, then I’m gonna be riding with you too!”

“Same here!” Allegra agreed. “I’m not leaving her side until the teachers are forcing us to for our next classes.”

Marinette let out a small chuckle. “Is there enough room for that?”

“There is now.” 

Allan snorted. “Yeah, we’ll be fine. Our cars are pretty big.”

“Are you going to be riding with us too, Felix?” Allegra asked, glancing at the blond.

Felix’s hand tightened slightly around Marinette’s, but he shook his head. “No, I.. I think I’m gonna drive back alone.”

Claude frowned. “Seriously? After that whole rant you made two seconds ago?”

“Aw, let him be.” Allan said, waving off Claude’s comment. “It’s just more Marinette for us, right?”

Although the frown remained, the brunette made a half-shrug. “I guess that’s true..”

“Cool.” Allegra smiled. “Then I call the seat next to Marinette!”

“What!” Claude scoffed, whirling back to Allegra. “You can’t do that!”

“I just did.”

“Technically,” Allan cut in, “I should get to sit next to her, since I’m the one driving her.”

Allegra and Claude both shot him a glare, bringing out a giggle from Marinette. They did not seem to appreciate Allan’s accurate logic. 

Her gaze shifted to Felix, who was silently watching the trio bicker. His expression was neutral again, composed, but the way he continued to hold onto her hand told her that he wasn’t quite alright yet.

“So..” She said, almost awkwardly. Should she try to make him feel better? “I guess I’ll.. see you at school?”

Felix’s eyes flicked to her, and she mentally slapped herself for even speaking. “See you at school”? What kind of dull question was that?

“Yes.” He answered. The response was shorter than usual, but she’d try not to overthink it, since the last hour has been a long one for all of them. That’s probably why he decided to drive back alone in the first place. 

Allegra cut into the conversation by looping her arm with Marinette’s and pulling her towards Allan’s. The movement was quick and sudden, and it caused her hand to slip out of Felix’s in the process. She glanced down at her palm, curious at the sense of emptiness that immediately swept over it. It was as though she hadn’t been ready to let go herself. 

Marinette looked back to Felix to see if he felt it too, but his back was already turned to her as he walked back to his own car.

Huh. 

Maybe it was just her. 

Tag List:  @artbyknigit @athena452 @nickristus-dreamer @throneoffirebreathingbitchqueen @arsaem @abrx2002 @neakco @pawsitivelymiraculous @too0bsessedformyowngood @nathleigh @lusicing @officiallydarkgeek @all-mights-asscheeks @tbehartoo @woe-is-me0 @raeuberprinzessin @lazuli-11 @miss-chaos27 @trippingovermyfeet @sadpotatoondrugs @ladybug-182 @jaggedheart11 @marinahrasauce @i-need-blog-ideas @thewheezingbubbledragon @crazylittlemunchkin @unabashedbookworm @moonystars14 @sunflowers-and-mooncakes @2confused-2doanything  @magnificentcrapposts  @moonnette @nickristus-dreamer @vixen-uchiha @casual-darkness @luxmorningstarr @jjmjjktth @kaithehero @itsme1598 @theymakeupfairies @xjaccyx @miraculous-ninja @miraculouspenta @swiftie-miraculer13 @justafanwarrior @all-mights-asscheeks @ira-sairain @lookatthestars1 @dahjokester

[quicksilversquared]

The Babysitting Fiasco

Alya and Nino aren't actually supposed to be pushing off their babysitting duties onto Marinette in favor of going on extra dates, but try telling them that. But after a poorly-timed akuma attack and a chance encounter set off a domino effect...well, they couldn't get away with it forever.

inspired by @zoe-oneesama‘s fantastic babysitting salt posts from...er, several months ago.

links in the reblog

Marinette took one glance at the clock as she headed for the stairs of the Grand Paris and groaned. She had hoped when the akuma of the day had popped up that they would be able to defeat it quickly so that she could get back to her normal work again, but no such luck. Instead, the akuma had taken longer than usual to defeat, and now there was absolutely no way that she could babysit for Alya and Nino and finish the homework that she needed done the next day, not unless she stayed up late to work on it and she really didn't want to do that again.

On top of all of that, her phone was dead, so she couldn't text Alya and let her know right now. By the time she ran home and got her charger, it would be practically time for Marinette to be over at Alya's house to take over watching the three kids. It would be too late for Alya to find someone else to babysit so that she and Nino could go out, and then they would be irritated with Marinette again.

Groaning more, Marinette picked up the pace. Maybe she would have to drop by Alya's apartment to let her know in person instead of texting- that might be faster, actually- but what if Alya wasn't there because she was out after chasing the akuma for the Ladyblog? Or what if Alya thanked her for coming and ran off before Marinette got the chance to say anything? She couldn't afford to turn in any more assignments late, and it wasn't smart to be running low on sleep, not when Marinette had to be alert and quick-thinking when battling akumas. No, she would have to go home and maybe use her mom's phone to text Alya first, and she would just have to deal with her best friend's annoyance later, but at least Marinette would be able to get her homework done and not fail and get grounded for a dozen years and-

"Hi, Marinette!"

Marinette skidded to a stop and turned around to see Alya's mom standing there by the stairwell door, apparently on her break. It took a second for that to sink in, and then Marinette perked up. Perfect! For once, her Ladybug luck was kicking in."Madam Césaire! Hi! You're, like, just the perfect person for me to run into right now!"

Madam Césaire laughed. "The perfect person? And why is that?"

"Alya asked yesterday if I could babysit for her and Nino again tonight and I said yes but I just realized that I really can't because I'm super crazy behind on my homework and I would text her but my phone is dead and by the time I get home, it'll be really late to let them know-" Marinette took a deep breath and finished- "so do you think that you could text her? I'll text her myself when I get my phone a bit charged, too, but I don't want to leave her hanging."

Madam Césaire considered Marinette's phone as she waved it in the air. "Actually, I can give you my phone charger so that you can text her yourself. I've got it right here, actually- my phone can finish charging later. Just give it to one of the wait staff and tell them it's mine once you're done."

Marinette perked up. "Oh, that's even better! Thank you, Madam Césaire!"

"It's no problem at all." Madam Césaire handed Marinette the charger with a smile. "I've got to go, but it was nice talking to you, Marinette."

Marinette waved good-bye, then went to go find an outlet to plug in her phone. It didn't take long for her phone to charge up enough for her to turn it on and open her messages.

Marinette: I'm so so so sorry but I can't babysit tonight! I'm REALLY behind on my homework and I know that I wouldn't be able to get it done with the twins and Chris running around! :( :( :(

It didn't take long to get a response. Marinette winced before opening it.

Alya: boo HW! You're always behind, aren't you? No worries, though, we got someone else to accept last-minute. Go catch up so that you can actually babysit next time!

Marinette cringed at that. She was always behind on homework, but it wasn't exactly her fault. She was a full-time superhero so she had less time to start with, and then when she missed class then she had to learn the material on her own, which could be hard sometimes. Alya and Nino were only part-time superheroes, so they weren't getting their normal lives interrupted anywhere near as often. They had plenty of free time. Marinette did not.

...Marinette also had a really hard saying no, which was why this kept happening in the first place.

Marinette: OK I'm glad that things worked out! Say hi to the girls and Chris for me!

With that sent, Marinette unplugged her phone and pushed herself up off the floor. She didn't have any time to waste, really. There were several assignments and papers that she had to get done tonight, and then she had to start getting ahead on her homework again so she wouldn't be scrambling to finish last minute.

Sometimes being a superhero really stunk.

  Marlena Césaire had been having a relatively normal day. It was a typical weekday workday at the hotel, with only a handful of hotel guests having lunch in-house and maybe twice that number of off-the-street customers. Then there was a slight lull before dinner where all of the chefs could get some prep work done, and Marlena took advantage of the calm to duck out and take her break. She always did a bit of reading on her break and grabbed a snack, relaxing before the madness that was dinner rush and checking in with her kids to make sure that they were all right.

She had to hope that Otis would have a better work schedule soon. As head chef at the Grand Paris, she had to work most evenings so that the kitchen would run smoothly, and at the moment her husband had to work one evening a week and be on-call two other evenings. That meant that at least one evening per week the kids were home alone and Nora and Alya had to split babysitting duties, which wasn't entirely ideal. It did give them some feel for responsibility, which was good, but Nora had more and more commitments as she grew older and it wasn't fair to hold her back, and Alya had homework to do and it was easier to finish if she wasn't trying to keep Ella and Etta in line.

The phone call home went smoothly, and as her break came to an end she was feeling good about the evening. Alya had things under control at home, and she could focus on making the hotel kitchen run smoothly.

And then Alya's friend Marinette went zipping by, and after a quick exchange Marlena was left reeling. Alya had been having Marinette do her babysitting for her? More specifically, she had been having Marinette do babysitting for her and Nino, all without asking their parents first? This was the first time Marlena had heard of the arrangement.

Marlena liked knowing exactly what was going on at home and who was watching her girls. She liked knowing where her daughters were. Nora could come and go as she pleased- she was old enough, after all- but Alya needed to tell her parents where she was. And she wasn't.

(On top of that, somehow Marlena doubted that Alya and Nino were paying Marinette for babysitting for them, and considering that Alya at least was getting a significant bonus to her allowance for babysitting- well, that just wasn't right.)

She Was Not Happy.

Alya was taking advantage of being home alone with the twins to go on secret dates with Nino, that much was clear. And she was taking advantage of her friends in order to do that. Marinette had seemed quite frantic when she dashed by, and it wasn't okay for Alya to be asking her friends to babysit when they were struggling to keep up with their homework, even if she had asked her parents for permission first.

So now she had to decide what to do. Marinette clearly hadn't realized that she had told on Alya, so Marlena could catch her daughter red-handed. If she got off early tonight- which was possible, she could ask her second-in-command to take over because of a family emergency- she could get home early and see if Alya was gone.

Which she would be, Marlena knew. When Marinette sent her phone charger back in with a server, she had also passed along the message that a different friend- Alya hadn't said who- would be babysitting instead. That was very, very useful information, though also worrying.

Marlena had met Marinette before and seen her with kids. She was trustworthy, if perhaps a little easily overwhelmed. But she didn't know anything about this other person. Who knew if they were trustworthy or could deal well with children?

So Marlena went to her second-in-command and told him that she would have to leave a couple hours early, timed so that Alya would most certainly be out with Nino and not yet back. It was unfortunate and not a habit that she wanted to get into- she needed to take her duties as head chef responsibly, after all- but it was a bit of a family emergency.

So a couple hours earlier than usual, Marlena clocked out and headed home. Her apartment door swung open to reveal three wide-eyed kids listening to a girl who Marlena had most certainly never met before, who was in the middle of telling them about how she had saved a whole train's worth of people on an amusement park ride in London after a safety feature on the ride broke.

...yeah, that sounded perfectly believable. Not. Marlena raised an eyebrow and let the door click shut loudly.

The voices in the other room abruptly cut off and four pairs of eyes swung towards her. Ella and Etta lit up at once, jumping up and running over to her for hugs. Chris waved. The stranger babysitter turned pale.

Interesting. Did she perhaps know that Alya wasn't supposed to be having her friends babysit for her? It was strange that Marinette didn't, then.

"Madam Césaire! Hi, I'm Lila Rossi, Alya's friend," the girl said, recovering and hopping up to greet her. "She didn't tell me that you would be returning early tonight!"

"And Alya didn't tell me that she was having her friends babysit for her," Marlena said, ignoring the girl's hand for the moment. Something about this girl wasn't sitting right with her. Maybe it was the lie that she had overheard as she came in, maybe it was Lila's reaction to seeing Marlena, maybe it was-

Wait.

Lila Rossi? Marlena remembered Alya talking about this girl, actually. There had been some really questionable stories that Alya had conveyed, and Marlena had assumed that the clearly unbelievable details were mostly thanks to Alya's tendency to embellish and exaggerate. Now, though...

It seemed that Alya was probably relaying the stories pretty much as told, and the problem lay with the initial teller of the (clearly untrue) tales. The initial teller, who had apparently been trusted to watch children.

Lila clutched at her shirt and sighed dramatically. After cooking for actors both established and aspiring for years, Marlena could recognize acting when she saw it, and this girl was most certainly making up a story on the spot. "Yes, well, it was just the once- apparently Alya and Nino had reservations at this restaurant nearby that they really wanted to go to but the staff messed up on their reservation date and put it today rather than on the weekend, and they either had to give up the reservation or get a substitute sitter and they had so been looking forward to it, so of course I offered to step in. They must have forgotten to tell you! School's been so busy lately, so of course that's understandable."

Marinette had said something about babysitting again. Lila was claiming that this was a one-time thing and that she had been lined up to help out ages in advance. They were completely contradictory claims.

Marlena knew who she believed, and it wasn't the girl in front of her. Just in case, though, she would be asking the kids in front of her once Lila was gone.

"Well, thank you for coming in," Marlena said rather than arguing with this girl. If she was right and Lila was a liar- which was pretty obvious, honestly, Marlena dealt with celebrity clients on a near-daily basis and she knew that they wouldn't be falling over themselves to give favors to some 14-year-old girl that they had met once, and ambassadors weren't going to be meeting up with all sorts of celebrities anyway- then there would be no point in arguing. "I can take care of the kids now. Alya can pay you whatever she's promised at school in the morning."

"Oh, no pay needed!" Lila said cheerfully. "I volunteered to do it. I love working with kids- I volunteered a bunch of time at an orphanage when I was in Africa for a summer as part of my charity organization for disadvantaged kids."

...well, that explained why Alya thought that this Lila character was an acceptable emergency babysitter.

"That's very nice," Marlena said politely. "Do you need to call someone for pickup?"

Lila shook her head. "No, I'll take the bus. It's not that late yet. Bye-bye, guys!" she called, waving to the three kids. "Good night!"

"Bye, Lila!"

And with one last wave, Lila was out the door. Marlena waited for a minute to make sure that she wasn't coming back, and then she turned to the kids.

"All right," Marlena said, placing her hands on her hips and surveying the three of them. "I have some questions for you three, and I'd like some answers."

  By the time Nino and Alya returned (far too late for collège students to be out, especially without their parents' knowledge), Marlena had interrogated the younger kids and found out that Alya had been going out with Nino instead of babysitting every week, and Lila had babysat for her three times in total, not just the once. Marinette had done all of the other times, including some times when the twins were with Nora but Marinette had babysat Chris for Nino, or when Chris was at home with his parents but the twins were with Marinette.

She suspected, based off of what Lila had said, that Marinette had been paid for exactly zero of that. That would be coming out of Alya's allowance so that Marinette would actually be compensated for the not insignificant amount of time that she had spent roped into babysitting.

Marlena had called up Otis to let him know what was going on, and he had come home early, too. Then she called up Nino's parents. Just as she had suspected, they had thought that their two sons were at home, not over at the Césaire apartment, and they were none too happy to find out that Nino had been sneaking out behind their backs.

Twenty minutes before Otis would have normally returned home, Marlena heard Alya's keys turn in the lock. She and Otis exchanged a look, sitting up at the table and fixing the door with a stern stare.

Alya and Nino stepped in, heads together as they laughed about something. They were clearly absorbed with each other, so Marlena cleared her throat pointedly. Their heads whipped towards her at once, and she had the great pleasure of watching the blood drain from their faces.

"You two were meant to be babysitting separately tonight," Otis started sternly. "Each at your own homes. Instead, you had a friend that we hadn't ever met watching all three kids. Explain yourselves. Now."

  Marinette came into school feeling really good. The homework that she had to get done hadn't taken her quite as long as she had expected (though she still wouldn't have been able to get it done if she had been babysitting), so she had gone ahead and gotten ahead on a couple other assignments, knocking out most of an essay and doing some research for her Civics class. It put her in a pretty good position, and she had even gotten to go to bed on time for the first time in nearly a week.

So she was well-rested, caught up, and relaxed. Marinette had plans to continue her work over lunch, since she was on a roll with both research and her essay, and then maybe she could actually be able to do some designing for the first time in-

In-

Well, she had done some sketching between classes, sure, but she hadn't gotten to sit down and design for a while. Things had just been too busy.

Marinette was not expecting Alya to storm in, looking miserable and upset and a little bit angry. She slammed down into her seat, scowling.

"Someone must have ratted me and Nino out to my parents!"

...pardon?

"What?"

Alya's face was red. "I got home last night and my parents were already home and they were furious that I had been going out on dates with Nino and having other people babysit for us- well, having you and Lila babysit, at least- without telling them, and now I'm grounded and not allowed to go on any dates with Nino for at least a month and I'm having my allowance chopped- and when I was so close to saving up for a new camera for reporting, too- and there's no way that they just happened to come home early!"

Marinette's gut twisted as she absorbed that onslaught of information. She knew exactly how Madam Césaire found out about Alya's stand-in babysitters, and she felt so, so guilty about it. But she- she hadn't known! It had been reasonable to assume that Alya and Nino's parents knew about their dates and substitute babysitters, right? The two of them had been going out and staying out past dark, and if Marinette were in their shoes, her parents would definitely know what she was up to. They'd be super upset about her going behind their back to do stuff.

(Superhero activities excluded, of course.)

And Alya had definitely never told Marinette that her parents didn't know about the whole arrangement.

"Like, we've been doing this just fine for months, and we've been getting back a good half-hour before my dad gets off to be safe, just like Lila suggested," Alya continued, and Marinette frowned. Lila had suggested it? Lila hadn't even been at school when Nino and Alya started shirking their babysitting duties to go out on dates. "And we bribe the girls and Chris not to mention having a different babysitter with extra dessert. And then all of a sudden, this happens."

"You were coming back before your parents even before Lila got back to Paris," Marinette pointed out, frowning. "And at the same time, too."

Alya snorted, waving that off. "Text messages exist, silly. I was in contact with Lila the entire time she was traveling, because I wanted to hear about all of the cool stuff she was up to! When I told her about having to babysit and not getting to have enough dates with Nino, she suggested that I just ask someone else to babysit. And I knew my parents wouldn't approve, so that was when she suggested giving ourselves plenty of buffer time." Alya sighed. "It worked really well! Until yesterday. I can't believe it! We got betrayed!"

Nino slid into the seat in front of Alya. He looked exhausted, too. "Babe, I told you before, it might just have been really bad timing. Maybe it was a slow night at the Grand Paris and your mom decided to come home early. I've been around your place enough to hear her saying that she'd like to be at home with you guys more."

Alya slumped in her seat. "Maybe. But Lila said that she told my mom that it was just the once and she made an excuse for us, but mom seemed to know that there had been a lot of times."

"She might have asked the kids directly, and they probably told her everything," Nino countered. "Seriously, Al. No one told on us."

Marinette swallowed hard as Nino patted Alya's hand comfortingly. She still looked like a stormcloud, and was unlikely to calm down soon. Lila came in then, going straight to Alya and immediately lamenting about what had happened the previous night. Marinette tuned her out, feeling dread twisting in her gut.

She really should admit to accidentally telling Madam Césaire, but Alya was clearly furious about her bonus dates coming to an end and all of the associated punishments that came with her parents finding out. On top of that, she and Marinette had been going through some rough spots lately because Marinette still refused to accept Lila and Alya refused to entertain the idea that Lila was a liar. Marinette didn't want to admit to her mistake only for Alya to give her the cold shoulder for who-knew-how-long.

The rock sat in Marinette's stomach all morning as Alya stewed next to her. She hadn't- she hadn't known, she hadn't meant for this to happen, she just wanted to make sure that Alya knew that she couldn't do the babysitting with enough time to find someone else. Marinette had tried to do the responsible thing, and it had backfired.

She should do the responsible thing and 'fess up, too. But Marinette was scared.

"You seem distracted, love," Mrs. Cheng commented as Marinette picked at her lunch listlessly. "Anything that you want to talk about?"

Marinette considered it and then decided that yeah, she definitely needed to talk to her mom. It would help to have a second opinion. So she started explaining. Partway through, her dad came up to eat, too, and paused to listen in, leaning on the counter as he ate.

"I know I should tell her," Marinette finished miserably. "But..."

"Well, if you want my opinion- normally I would say yes, you need to tell Alya," Mr. Dupain said, exchanging a look with Mrs. Cheng, and Marinette wilted. "But not in this case, unless Alya admits that she was in the wrong for not telling you that she didn't have her parents' permission first. From what you're telling me, it sounds like she and Nino are ignoring that they put themselves in that position. She would blame her punishment entirely on you and that isn't fair."

Marinette blinked in surprise and looked to her mom. Mrs. Cheng was nodding, too.

"I wouldn't have been comfortable with you doing babysitting for Alya and Nino if we had known that her parents didn't approve," Mrs. Cheng told Marinette. "And frankly, I was going to say something about it soon. We've noticed that you've seemed pretty stretched thin lately and picking up unpaid babysitting definitely wasn't helping."

"And Alya knows that you have trouble saying no," Mr. Dupain added. "And it sounds like they took advantage of that. And they took advantage of it quite a bit."

Marinette paused, then nodded because they were right. She had been more stressed every time that her friends begged her to babysit because they 'so wanted to go on this cool date'. She didn't want to disappoint them, so she accepted unless she really couldn't spare any time.

"This will teach them a lesson about honesty, hopefully," Mrs. Cheng added. "And it might help the two of them take a step back and realize that they've been neglecting other things in favor of their relationship. For example, their friendship with you. True friends shouldn't take advantage of each other like they did to you, and they should have noticed that the added responsibility was stressing you out."

"And they also need to realize that going on dates was not more important than their responsibilities," Mr. Dupain added. "If they wanted to do some extra dates, then they should have asked their parents first, then made sure that you had time to spare. But from what I've heard, they got one date a week normally anyway, which is plenty at your age."

"But what if Alya finds out later and gets mad at me then for not telling her?" Marinette asked anxiously. She could see where her parents were coming from- Alya had lied by omission first- but she just wanted to cover every possibility.

"Well, hopefully by then she would have cooled off a bit," Mrs. Cheng told her. "And will be more open to admitting that she should have been upfront with you in the first place." She leaned across the counter, placing her hands on Marinette's shoulders. "I know that we've raised you to always be responsible and honest. But you shouldn't be taking the responsibility of everyone else's mistakes on top of your own. It's important to recognize when you did something wrong versus, say..."

"Versus when someone overreacts or they put you in a bad position in the first place," Mr. Dupain finished. "In this case, it's the latter." He smiled at Marinette. "It's a good lesson to learn, at least."

Marinette nodded. Her parents' words made her feel a lot better. "Yeah."

"And if you're busy or just need time to do your own things, it's always okay to say no. Even to your friends. And even to us and Madam Chamack," Mrs. Cheng added. "We don't want you to get overwhelmed and be sacrificing sleep or having your schoolwork suffer. That's your primary responsibility right now. Okay?"

Marinette smiled. School and sleep and saving Paris from supervillains, actually, but she couldn't let her parents know about that second part. Not until Hawkmoth was defeated, at least. "Okay."

"We're proud of you for coming to us with this," Mr. Dupain said, resting a hand on Marinette's shoulder. "We know that you want to help others as much as you can, but you have to remember to save some of that time and energy for Marinette, too. You can't help others as much if you're too worn out and spread thin and not taking care of yourself. It's okay to tell other people that they're putting too much pressure on you and to enforce your boundaries when they try to push or claim that something will be just the once. Looking after yourself will never be selfish, even if other people try to frame it that way. And if you ever need help yourself, it is more than okay to ask for it. You've given a lot to people around you, and helping is hardly a one-way street."

That was good for her to hear, Marinette thought as she burrowed into her parents' hug. Lately, sometimes taking time for herself had felt selfish somehow, even though she knew better. There was a lot of pressure on her to do the best in everything that she took on (and everything she was forced to take on), but even if she sometimes had superpowers, she was only human underneath it all. She would get overwhelmed and make mistakes and forget things, and that was okay.

She could finally breathe again.

[mymindwide]

My Red Desert

Pairing: Ashton x Female reader

Word count: 1835

Warning: None, just cuteness and feelings :)

Author’s Note: I fell in love with Red Desert when they performed it back in January for the first time and couldn’t get it out of my head, so this little piece was born and now I felt confident enough with it to post. Hope you’ll enjoy it.

******

By the time you woke up Ashton had left the house. They have a charity-ish gig this evening, so they set up a meeting with the other guys to finalize some details. You did some necessary house work – starting with the dishes and finishing your chores with ironing a black shirt he prepared on a chair, probably with the thought of wanting to wear it tonight. You hung it on a clothes hanger and right after that you headed for the kitchen to eat a few bites before leaving for your yoga class. You left him a “off to yoga my ass off. love u.” note on the kitchen counter and closed the door behind yourself.

A refreshing one and a half hour exercise later, that did magic again, you felt happier and more energetic than when you arrived to the class. You wished Ash could have come with you, because at those very rare occasions you usually grabbed some coffee on the way home, just enjoying the sun and each other’s company. You always miss the silliest little things.

“Well, just because he’s not here, it doesn’t mean any of us should skip this tradition, does it?” you thought to yourself.

You made a quick detour to your favorite café shop and picked up 2 cups of your favorite beverages.

Ten minutes later you were standing in your doorway and entering the house a tune unfamiliar to you struck your ear. It even made you stop right at the spot you were standing. It was a very nice and harmonic guitar sound you have never heard before between the walls of this house.

Ash’s probably practicing, or you hope he is, and not a burglar tests his guitar collection right now while your boyfriend is sitting in a corner bound and silenced. You put your cups on the table and as quietly as you could you went to his practice room and leaning against the doorframe you admired him a little bit.

You got tired of just standing in the doorway, so sneaking in in complete silence you sat on the other side of the couch, not wanting to violate his personal space, especially not when he’s practicing, but this melody was so addictive to you, you had to see and hear him from as close as you could. After playing for a few minutes now and trying out different sounds and parts, he finally looked up at you.

 “Hey Miss Watcher…”

“Hey Santana…”

 He couldn’t resist a smile.

 “How was the class?”

“Good, good, but I need to ask something; does this thing have lyrics too?”

“Yep?”

“Can I hear it?”

“Absolutely… not.”

“Ah” you pulled a pouty face. “I’d like you to sing for me.”

“It was supposed to be a surprise tonight.”

“You can surprise me now.”

“No.”

“Please?!”

“Nope.”

“Pretty please?”

“That pretty before the please always helps a lot. You convinced me.”

“Really?”

“No.”

“Then just please, again?”

“If I won’t hear silence in a moment, I’ll escort you out.”

“Lips are sealed” you sighed mimicking zipping your lips and pulling your knees up to your chest, you hugged them with both of your arms, and with your side leaning against the backrest you were ready to continue the mini concert.

“Good.”

 You put out your tongue at him and in answer to that he threw you a kiss that made you roll your eyes. He always wins, always. But eventually he continued playing on the guitar. The same chords for three or four times, one after the other, but you didn’t mind it, you could have listened to this song on a loop for 2 hours straight, not even knowing the lyrics, that’s how pleasing it’s been to your ears.

After a few minutes he stopped and put down the guitar on the floor and for moments you two were just looking at each other in silence.

 “Now you don’t say anything?”

“Hm hm” you shrugged pointing at your zipped lips.

“Come here, funny girl.”

 Seizing the opportunity you crawled those few feet distance separating you and straddled him.

His eyes met yours and you saw him leaning closer and closer. You knew what was coming but you decided you’ll be resisting as long as you can. Which wasn’t too long to be honest, but damn. Arms wrapped around your waist, mouth covering yours. His tactic was rewarding - besieging your lips with the softest of kisses, until you’re giving in and you did. Your hands slipped up to bracket his face; your lips parted just enough to welcome his lips and kiss him back.

 “Looks like I’ve won again.”

“Yeah, yeah, tell me something new” you rolled your eyes.

“You’re never gonna make it” he smirked.

“Again, no news” you huffed. “By the way… Have you not changed your mind?” you smiled at him, your thumbs caressing both his cheeks. But not receiving any answer you decided you’ll stop bothering him because you don’t want to annoy him to death. “Okay, I’ll leave you alone” and planting a kiss on his cheek you’d have started getting up from his lap.

“Stay” his fingers gently clenched on your wrist holding your hand on his chest and you in front of him.

 His hand let go of yours and found its rest on your waist again. His facial expression has changed into something more serious, his smile faded away which for a brief moment made you worried and confused, but then his mouth moved and the first notes left his throat.

 Red, red desert, heal our blues, I’d dive deeper for you What a blessing to feel your love, Twilight moments with you

 His voice so low, deep and meaningful. For the quiet and soft sound your nerves calmed down in a second, making you close your eyes, so his voice can vibrate through your ears more intensively.

“Also, if the lyrics start this deep, and it’ll keep being this deep, I’m fucked, so fucked” you thought.

 I've been asleep so long, I'm so far away Visions I see are strong, I hear what they say Won’t you leave all your fears at the edge of the world I'll tell you again like I've told you before, I've been asleep so long, wasting away

 This last line was the point your chest gave up on sitting on your feelings and pushed them through your heart just to reach your eyes where they could find a free way for themselves in the form of tears. You don’t even remember what you were doing before Ashton. Before he came into your life you’ve been just existing but not living. You’ve been wasting away… And the thought just made you feel sorry for your old self and made you feel gratitude for your current life with him in it.

 Tell me would you pack up all your bags staying true to North, you’re the only one I’d do this for…

 Tho not in a geographical way but in a certain sense this is exactly what you did for him. Leaving an old life behind you. Which one of them wrote these lyrics? And your tears just keep falling and falling in silence. You don’t even care, but he does, and you feel his palm on your face, his thumb wiping away the tears streaming down your cheek. And his action earned a barely noticeable smile from you.

 It doesn't take too long to heal and replace

Demons we’re running from they’re begging to stay…

 Demons both him and you had fought with and know too well. But here you are, together and strong, undefeated. When you’re with the right person it can give you such a confidence, the feeling of not having to be afraid anymore. Your nails crumpled into his shirt as you grabbed the material, unintentionally, just like your tears – feeling-operated. Not breaking the singing he tilted his forehead to yours reassuring you in a way you never expected. That’s how much his physical presence and closeness can affect you.

 The refrain came on again, fading into the repeat of the word red. And then again your favorite refrain in the whole world…

 Red, red desert, heal our blues, I’d dive deeper for you (Dive in deeper for you, dive in deeper for you) What a blessing to feel your love, Twilight moments with you (All these moments with you, all these moments with you)

 For instance moments like this… Just the two of you, in such an intimate state. When you’re vulnerable because pouring your heart out to someone makes you that. But you trust each other enough. You love each other enough. You’ll cherish this forever.

 Pack up all your bags, Staying true to North You're the only one I'd do this for Red, red desert, heal our blues I’d dive deeper for you

 Suspecting the end of the song by the fading of his voice you opened your eyes. You wanted to get lost in his words while seeing the look in his eyes and indeed you got all the answers you needed.

A pleasant silence settled upon you and you didn’t have to tell anything to know what your relationship just went through the past almost 4 minutes. You rested your forehead against his again, and you just breathed the silence, the experience and each other in. It was his head that moved first slowly brushing your nose together until your lips met.

You kissed like you were doing it for the first time; shy and deliberate. It’s been so soulful, so careful as if you’d be afraid to hurt each other. It’s started so tenderly, and become so full of longing you wanted to melt into him; you wanted to become one with him. Yeah, there’s a certain “method” where you can get very close to that state, but right now the timing was against you since he shortly have to prepare and leave for the venue the gig will be held at, and closing this little séance with a quick fucking on the couch is not what any of you wanted, you were quite sure about this, otherwise his hands would be all over you by now. But you knew both him and you can guard this unsaid feeling inside you until you meet again tonight.

 “When you come home, we’re gonna make love, just so you know. On the floor. In your bed. In the shower. Wherever. For hours…”

“I’m down for whatever” he grinned.

“Good, I love my men a little cheap” you bit down on your lip.

“You’re driving me crazy, woman…” he smiled leaning in for another kiss.

“Even better, I love my men crazy and cheap. It looks like you meet all the requirements.”

 He kissed into your neck laughing.

Gosh, how much I love making him laugh…

…and although he hasn’t even left yet… how much I can’t wait for him to come home…

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 256: Fucking Superb You Funky Little Hero Eggs

Previously on BnHA: Aizawa and Mic’s frankensteined best friend Shirakumo, better known to us as Kurogiri, had his memories briefly restored through the Power of Friendship, and was all “YO Y’ALLS BETTER GO CHECK OUT THOSE HOSPITALS” before his head started steaming like a tea kettle and he randomly fell asleep. Aizawa and Mic were all “!!” and Aizawa was all “(ಡ ﹏ ಡ)” and Mic was all “Aizawa are you crying” and Aizawa was like “NO!!!” and then they left the prison and Nao called HPSC Lady who called Hawks and was all “eck-chay ethay ospitals-hay” because Hawks, as you recall, is still a secret agent and all that. Anyway so Hawks was all “EUREKA!!” in his head which doesn’t really add up but hey, and then the chapter ended with Dr. Ujiko dancing in sadistic glee as he watched Tomura get all mad scienced. It was pretty freaky. I could use some wholesomeness right about now so let’s see if this chapter will deliver.

Today on BnHA: Class 1-A shows off the fresh skills they learned during their assorted internships, such as “determination”, “enhanced search techniques”, and “becoming a literal blob of acid.” The Wonder Trio is a particular highlight, and All Might is all “my little baby off to destroy people :’)” as he watches Deku shred a robot to pieces using Blackwhip. We then cut to Aizawa and Mic, who may or may not be planning some rogue vigilante style investigations of the whole Noumu thing, or maybe they’re just brooding, but either way they’re interrupted by Mirio and Tamaki who come running in to get them to stop Eri’s quirk from going haywire, which, yikes. The chapter then ends with All Might handing Deku a notebook full of DETAILED, CATALOGED INFO ABOUT THE PAST SUCCESSORS AND THE FUCKING SIXQUIRKS. We just have to wait two more weeks to find out what that’s all about. 2020’s got some fucking zip to it so far huh.

so it’s about a quarter past 7 right now and it’ll be a miracle if I can have this recap up by 10pm tonight. surprisingly the wait for this chapter didn’t really bother me, but this Sunday/Monday release schedule is really doing a number on my punctuality. but anyways we’ll figure it out eventually. if memory serves, there’s about a 90% chance that this week’s jump will also be a double issue, so that gives me another extra week to get my shit together lol

(ETA: so that wasn’t too far off actually! I think a three-hour turnaround time isn’t bad for 3000 words lol. and actually it was more like two hours of reading/blogging and one hour of editing/photo cropping. anyway so in all likelihood either Sunday or Monday night releases will become the norm, depending entirely on how busy that particular Sunday is. not quite the same as getting the chapter on Friday and having the whole weekend to ruminate over it but we will adjust!)

anyway, so I’m somehow remarkably unspoiled for this chapter despite it having been out for nearly a week and a half at this point. so that’s something! let’s see what we’ve got here

yaaaay my babies

All Might was offering free cotton candy, yes? I didn’t expect we’d cut right back to this lol, but you sure won’t see me complaining. I want to see what everyone else learned during their internships, and also what with the break and the last couple chapters being Tartarus-focused, it’s been about a month since I last saw my little hero eggs, and of course I missed them I’m only human

omg

did the original dialogue really reference Skynet. Horikoshi truly gives no fucks about copyright. like one or two episodes ago the anime made some copyrighted reference which you could clearly hear in the Japanese but which the English subs hilariously glossed right over. I’m trying to remember what it was now. damn. anyways we millennials can never resist a good pop culture reference, facts

OH MY GOD AOYAMA

THEY’RE EATING THE COTTON CANDY

TOKOYAMI EATING COTTON CANDY IS THE GREATEST THING TO HAPPEN IN 2020 THUS FAR. LET ME TELL YOU, WE REALLY NEEDED THIS

SHOUTO EATING COTTON CANDY IS THE SECOND BEST THING TO HAPPEN IN 2020. IT WAS VERY CLOSE

I STALLED FOR TIME SO MUCH AND I STILL DON’T KNOW WTF TO SAY ABOUT AOYAMA’S NEW ATTACK OH MY GOD. JUST. I DON’T KNOW YOU GUYS. THIS BOY IS REALLY OUT HERE SLICING ROBOTS IN HALF WITH HIS BRAND NEW LASER PENIS. THE AMOUNT OF FUCKS THAT HORIKOSHI GIVES IS IN THE NEGATIVES I DON’T KNOW WHAT ELSE TO SAY

OH ARE YOU STILL GOING

is... what’s... ldkfj okay nothing to see here guys just the naked invisible chick getting all friendly with Aoyama’s beam boner. just manhandling his sparkle shaft. there are children reading this manga. I mean, they’re already mentally scarred from all the dead dogs and child quirk wine and whatnot, but still at what point do we put our goddamn foot down

anyway so somehow she’s redirecting his laser beam?? I guess with her light refracting quirk skills?? great job Hagakure with your help Aoyama can finally shoot lasers at stuff that’s behind him. you’ve mastered the power of making it so that he doesn’t have to turn around great job truly an internship well spent

“now I can yank light and warp it!” you go girl now you can whip that thing around like it’s a fucking fire hose I guess

YOOOOO MINA!!

THIS GIRL LITERALLY COATED HERSELF IN ACID AND DID A FUCKING BARREL ROLL AHHHHHHHHH. NOW THAT’S MORE LIKE IT, NO OFFENSE TO CAPTAIN DISCO DONG AND COMMODORE “I CAN DO EVERYTHING A MIRROR CAN DO” BUT THERE ARE UPGRADES AND THERE ARE UPGRADES, AND LET’S FACE IT, THIS IS THE REAL DEAL HERE

AHAHAHA I LOVE ITTTTT

is it too late for Mina to actually change her name to Acidman. what is she calling herself now again?? Pinky?? come on Mina strike some fear into the hearts of your enemies

and now All Might and the others are applauding. I don’t see Shouto’s cotton candy anymore. boy fucking inhaled that shit

oh wow, they interned under Yoroi Musha? if memory serves me, and I’m honestly not going to bother to check right now, isn’t that the samurai dude who somehow beat Ryuukyuu in the billboard charts? not that I’m still salty about that, oh wait I absolutely am but anyways

OH MY

IS THAT SOME KIRIMINA CONTENT UP IN MY PANELS. hot damn that is some cute fucking shit. Mina better not get any undue hate for this. everyone please remain calm this cute interaction does not threaten your ship in any way (unless you want it to in which case have at!!) and we can all have fun if we just play nice you guys

lmao All Might

“WE’RE ALREADY ON PAGE FOUR AND THERE ARE TWENTY OF YOU, WE DON’T HAVE ALL FUCKING DAY CHILDREN”

so Satou and Ojiro learned how to punch harder and stuff. again, it’s fine, we can’t all be Acid Men. but meanwhile they interned with some lion guy named Shishido whom I INSTANTLY LOVE so that’s badass. only one character away from Shishida though, but that’s Horikoshi for you

OH MY GOD

BLAH BLAH YES ENHANCED SEARCH TECHNIQUES ZZZZZ BUT FUCKING LOOK THOUGH AT THE FLASHBACK OF HIM YEETING THEM, YESSSSSS. THE OLD WAYS HAVE NOT YET BEEN FORGOTTEN, GANG ORCA YOU ARE THE HERO WE DESERVE

meanwhile Sero, Kami, and Mineta learned how to literally kill people with their quirks flkdjsflk

(ETA: btw I really love that Mt. Lady’s internship emphasized teamwork. now there’s someone who’s come a really long way her own self. anyway I stan and she had better join the other two in the the top 10 real soon. come on BnHA society get with it.)

damn Mt. Lady what the fuck. “if you guys work together you can suffocate and electrocute villains to death with ease!” the government’s plan really is working huh; these children have become bloodthirsty, ruthless killers in a shockingly short period of time

anyways so Iida as we all recall learned how to be more footloose and fancy free, and meanwhile Kouda learned “smooth communication” from Wash, the literal washing machine man whom I also don’t still harbor a grudge against for inexplicably beating my dragon queen in the hero polls, and once again that is a lie because fuck you Wash! you’re adorable but fuck you!!

man this is taking forever why are there so many kids in this class. for anyone wondering why Horikoshi doesn’t focus on class 1-A as a whole more often and leaves them as supporting characters, this right here is why. I love these children to death but we would still be stuck in the basement arc. oh my god I just shuddered

Tokoyami mastered “improvement on all fronts” because I guess he kind of peaked at flying when it came to new moves huh. that’s fine for now

and Kiri mastered “making baddies lose the will to fight real quick” which sounds like some bullshit you’d write while desperately trying to pad your hero resume, except that it’s accompanied by this convincing panel of him chomping a steel bar in two or some shit which YIKES

can confirm, if some demonic rock man came trotting up to me and snapped off some railing from some stairs and fucking snapped it like a twig with his GIANT FOSSILIZED DINOSAUR TEETH, I’d lose my will to fight pretty quickly too

and Ochako and Tsuyu learned “determination” smdh. Horikoshi did you fucking fall asleep towards the end of this segment or what

WHO IS MAJESTIC OMG

excuse me did she just create a bunch of fucking dynamites. is that what those are. is my girl encroaching on my young son’s turf. because if she is, ENCROACH, MOMO, ENCROACH! FEEL FREE TO FUCKING IMPINGE, EVEN!! god, and I know I was bitching just a moment ago about these “lessons” becoming increasingly vague and intangible and motivational poster-y, but I read Momo and “predicting and acting efficiently”, and my thoughts immediately ran to Nighteye and Mirio’s fighting styles, and I was like “YESSSSSSSSS” because, I mean. YES, though

meanwhile Kacchan has learned...

this fucking -- I swear -- YOU LEARNED WHAT YOUR FUCKING HERO NAME IS GOING TO BE YOU TROLLING PIECE OF SHIT. oh my god. Katsuki I swear to god I will take your internet privileges. NO SRIRACHA FOR A WEEK UNLESS YOU TELL ME WHAT IT IS

oh for fuck’s sakes

don’t mind him he learned boom with five b’s and three oo’s what did you all do this week. and somehow Todoroki learned how to be even more fabulous

so All Might’s looking on in pride and giving Endeavor some mental props, and waiting for Deku to go do his thing too

sdfkj he’s thinking about the day he gave Deku THE HAIR and that “[it] feels like ancient history now.” DOESN’T IT THOUGH?

OH MY FEELS

“you don’t look back at me anymore... and you don’t need to.” oh Aizawa’s dry eye has spread to me now huh. must be those January allergies. and that’s some nice bloop there kid. great jorb

someone tell All Might he’s not allowed to look on at Deku with this much fatherly love without giving me at least a week’s notice in advance

sigh. now you’ve done it you two I’m going to become a big cat blob of feels right here and it’s all on you. you did this

oh my god a whole big panel of reactions from the other kids and I’m ( ˊᵕˋ )

lol Kacchan can’t agree with anything even if it’s a compliment. and lmao, who the fuck was that who was all “TODOROKI FINALLY YOU’RE A FAST FUCKING HIMBO HUH!” like they really went and put that “finally” in there, like they were so fucking tired of Todoroki Shouto and his LANGUID FUCKING PACE all the fucking time, GOD, FINALLY SOME SPEED BOY WE WERE DYING OUT HERE

Mineta being happy for Deku also warms my heart, ngl. we’ve gone almost an entire chapter with Mineta not doing anything even remotely perverted, can it be, has Horikoshi finally chilled the fuck out. or did I just jinx it we shall see

also love how Deku is just reduced to an inkblot here and it still is him beyond any shadow of a doubt. and poor Sero, you are also being impinged on huh

lmao Mineta’s just socking Deku in the solar plexus out of comradery and Deku’s fucking vomiting on reflex and not even paying the slightest attention wtf

I love this panel there I said it

so he’s going over and thanking Ochako for “that time” and says he’s using Blackwhip a lot better now. I assume he’s referring to when he first unlocked it and went hog wild and she was all “smh” and went and hugged him to put an end to that nonsense

oh, right!!!!

I forgot about those!! looool Horikoshi’s 2020 resolution is to make everyone Spider-Man now huh. hey everyone guess what I LOVE THIS

oh my god this wholesomeness

I fucking can’t?? yo I’m seriously living for this? I don’t get why some people think Deku inhibits Ochako’s character growth tbh. or that her story is becoming all about him. if it is, then it’s in the same way that Bakugou’s is. Deku keeps inspiring her to be better, ain’t nothing wrong with that. yes she has the crush, and she’s honest with herself and in tune with her emotions enough to be aware of it and to acknowledge it, but she refuses to be distracted by it. I actually really like that, because it shows that romantic feelings can actually exist and not be the central focus of a character’s story or their development. and I think the fear is that it somehow will become the focus, but so far I haven’t seen that happening, so it seems unwarranted to me

anyway

shit’s cute

oh no Mineta’s doing something weird I fucking did jinx it I’m sorry guys. it’s a fucking fistbump dude relax

so All Might seems to be dismissing them now, and he’s saying something about how he reordered (?? rescheduled, maybe??) class so that Aizawa can watch later. that’s nice. he’ll need something to cheer him up, and if Acidman can’t do the trick I don’t know what can

and now we’re cutting back to the dorms!! dorm shenanigans yessssss

oh no shit wait

these are not playful dorm shenanigans these are depressed Miczawa shenanigans to bring me down. nnnn

but Aizawa fucking knows something is up now, shit. that’s right son your babies are in danger

KLJKLGLKSH

okay (1) HOW HOT IS AIZAWA THOUGH HOW DOES HE ALWAYS DO THIS

and (2) is “have a karaoke contest” code for “fuck shit up” or what. son of a bitch, having these two so personally invested in the Noumu arc now is such an unexpected and wonderful gift

MIRIO NO

(ETA: but you all know Aizawa was about to say “I’d go and fuck shit up” though.)

I LOVE YOU BOTH BUT THEY WERE HAVING A SEXY ANGSTING MOMENT, MIRIO CAN YOU NOT READ THE ROOM!! DO YOU NOT SEE THEM BEING ALL ANGSTY AND DARKLY CONTEMPLATIVE!! YOU TWO OF ALL PEOPLE SHOULD KNOW WHEN LOVERS ARE BONDING OVER THEIR ANGST WHICH ONLY THE TWO OF THEM UNDERSTAND! FUCKING GODDAMN

NO!!!!!

[SLAMS HANDS ON TABLE] HORIKOSHI I SWEAR TO GOD IF YOU LAY ONE FINGER ON HER PRECIOUS HEAD

NOOOO MY SWEET BABY GIRL

oh my fuck that sweater is the cutest fucking thing and this girl has had no shortage of cute outfits let me tell you. BUT ANYWAY SHE’S SCARED AND CRYING NOOOO. holy shit her horn is fucking huge now I don’t feel comfortable with this at all, and Nejire is Best Mom for not giving a single fuck and holding and comforting her regardless of the risk, I love her so much

OH THANK GOD

PALPABLE RELIEF. boys I’m sorry it was wrong of me to yell, you did the right thing interrupting their sexy brooding

BREAK ROOM AHHHHH THE SCOOBY SQUAD LIVES AGAINNNN

it means you constantly amaze him!! you have so much potential he doesn’t even know what the limit might possibly be! don’t act like you don’t love it. or stop being so suspicious and trying to look for the hidden meaning and just accept the praise for what it is. you did good. now ask him if he’s heard any news about Best Jeanist :/

!!

that’s right, he was researching and making faces a while back, are we finally gonna find out what all that was about??

DSLFKAJSLDKFH

HE MADE A NOTEBOOK FOR HIM AHHHHHHHH HE KNOWS WHAT HE LIKES THIS IS AMAZING

DOES HIM GIVING HIM THE INFO IN NOTEBOOK FORM MEAN IT’S UP TO DEKU WHETHER OR NOT HE WANTS TO SHARE THIS INFO WITH KACCHAN. HMMM. OBVIOUSLY HE WILL, BUT THAT’S A REAL POWER MOVE THOUGH, DAMN

“PAST SUCCESSORS / QUIRKS” EVERYONE, THIS BOOK CONTAINS THE SECRETS OF THE SIXQUIRKS. AND THE PREVIOUS OFA AVATARS. THAT’S FINE I’M JUST GONNA. ...I’LL BE FINE. FOR TWO WEEKS. FUCK

shit. well I know it was coming, that’s another reason why I didn’t feel particularly rushed to read this chapter lol. I kinda wish I’d had the foresight to save the Korean scanlation though, just to compare. ah well it’s probably still lying around somewhere

and lol and here’s the bonus page, and this one I did see floating around tumblr haha

I’m not sure how the three smartest kids in class are all present and yet not one of them had the foresight to consider that maybe, just maybe, this could be a bad idea. let’s let the kid with the combustible sweat handle the mochi I’m sure it’ll be -- [everyone immediately dies]. anyway so that’s some good friendly advice from Horikoshi there. happy new year friends!

[noona-clock]

The Risk - Part 5

Genre: Fighter!AU

Pairing: Park Seo Joon x You (Female!Reader)

Warnings: Disgustingly cute fluff and also one curse word

Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 | Words: 2,935

Over the next year, Seo Joon made (basically) good on his promise not to ever get punched during a fight. He had gotten kicked a couple of times, but after you had appeared in front of him with very raised, very angry eyebrows, he had reminded you that you’d only made him promise not to get punched.

You hadn’t said anything about getting kicked.

So, obviously, you had made him amend his promise right then and there.

He trained incredibly hard during that year, working especially on his reflexes to make sure you wouldn’t ever have to see him get hit -- punched or kicked.

Before meeting you, he had already trained hard and had an uncanny ability to stay focused on his goals and work until he achieved them. But after meeting you, after hearing just how much you disliked watching him get hurt, he stepped up his game.

In the span of that year, Seo Joon fought in six other matches (not including the match he won the night he officially asked you to be his girlfriend), and he only got hit somewhat badly once. But that had been in his abdomen, not his face, so you had been a bit easier to console.

Also in the span of that year, Seo Joon had done his best to make you fall in love with him, though that was both unknowingly done and took way less than a year. It had only taken three months, in fact.

After the first month of your relationship, Seo Joon had waited for you outside of your class, just like he had on the day you’d first kissed in the garden. But this time, he was holding a rather large bouquet of flowers, all different kinds but all the same color -- your favorite color.

When you’d opened the door of the building and seen him there, your cheeks had immediately turned beet red. The friend you’d been walking with had smirked wildly and poked your side, teasing you about the tall, handsome stranger waiting for you with flowers.

“What are these for?” you’d asked shyly once you’d approached him, a bashful grin curving your lips.

“You have been my girlfriend for exactly one month,” Seo Joon had replied, unable to keep himself from smiling down at you as you brought the bouquet up to your nose. “I thought you deserved some flowers, at least.”

Your response had been, “You didn’t have to buy me flowers.” But those had just been your words. Your smile had been far too wide and, frankly, cheesy for you to actually think that.

So, Seo Joon had done the same thing after month two. He waited for you outside of your class holding a bouquet of flowers, this one even larger and more beautiful than the last. Other students had noticed him, and he’d even heard someone wonder out loud if he was Park Seo Joon, the MMA fighter.

He’d tried not to react or even look in the person’s direction because this was about you -- not him. If someone came up to him to ask for an autograph or a picture... he might actually refuse. You still didn’t care if it happened when the two of you were together; in fact, you encouraged it because his fans were a big reason he had been able to make a career out of what he loved to do.

But anyway. Back to our scene.

The second you’d seen him standing there again, holding yet another embarrassingly big bouquet, you’d bit your lip and speed-walked over to him.

“What are you doing here?” you’d asked as a smile had formed on your lips. You’d immediately slid your arms around his middle and stood on your toes to greet him with a quick kiss.

Before Seo Joon had the chance to answer your question, a loud catcall whistle filled the air. You’d whipped your head around and cried out to the friend you’d been walking with every time he’d come here.

“I’m so sorry,” you’d chuckled after turning back around to face him, your cheeks incredibly pink.

He truly wasn’t sure when you looked more adorable than you did when you were embarrassed -- happily embarrassed, that is. Not embarrassed like ‘I want to crawl into a hole in the ground and stay there forever’ kind of embarrassed.

“I know I should buy you flowers more,” he had told you as he’d handed you the bouquet. “And not just on special occasions. But today, it’s officially been two months since you said you would be my girlfriend.”

You’d smirked and shot him a playfully quizzical look. “I don’t think two months really qualifies as a special occasion.”

“It does when you’re my girlfriend,” he’d murmured before placing a quick kiss on the tip of your nose.

And since you had been so embarrassed -- and since you’d pointed out that a monthly anniversary wasn’t actually an anniversary -- he’d done it again on the third month.

But... this time... it would be a special occasion.

Seo Joon zipped up his jacket before reaching over and grabbing the bouquet, hoping the frigid air outside didn’t nip at the petals as he stood to wait for you.

His breath blew soft, puffy clouds in front of him as he walked to the building he’d become all too familiar with over the last three months, and he checked his watch to make sure he wasn’t running late.

Today was not only the three-month mark of your relationship, but it was also the last day of your final exams for the semester -- hence the special occasion thing. He had thought about taking you out to dinner, ordering your favorite dessert, maybe some wine? But then he’d decided he should probably let you choose. You were the one who had been studying and taking tests for the last month, so he would cater to your every whim tonight.

(Let’s be real though: he catered to your whim every night. Seo Joon was definitely one of those boyfriends. He practically worshipped the ground you walked on. 🤷‍♂️)

Just as he came to stand in his usual spot, the front door to the building swung open. He heard a handful of students let out a relieved sigh, chattering about how glad they were the final -- and semester -- was finally over.

His brow furrowed softly, but before he could start worrying too much about you, he spotted you walking out the door. You quickly said goodbye to your friend before hitching your bag over your shoulder and heading toward him.

A tired but still very happy smile played at your lips, and you let out a soft sigh as you snaked your arms around him. You slid them underneath his jacket, pressing your cheek to his chest as you tried to steal his warmth.

“How did your test go?” he murmured, holding onto you with his free arm and rubbing your back soothingly.

“Fine,” you sighed. “It’s over, so that’s all that matters.”

He placed a kiss on the top of your head, and he expected you to pull away then... but you didn’t. So he didn’t.

And then after at least a minute, he asked, “You’re not going to ask me what I’m doing here? Or what the flowers are for?”

You let out a negative hum, shaking your head just the tiniest bit before you snuggled against his chest even more. “I don’t care today, I’m just happy to see you,” you muttered.

A smile played at Seo Joon’s lips, and he squeezed you once before moving to turn you and start heading toward his car. “How about we go do something? To celebrate?”

“Sure,” you replied quietly, sticking to his side as the two of you ambled down the sidewalk.

“Anything you want,” he announced with a squeeze of your shoulders. “Dinner, movie, shopping...”

Seo Joon heard a soft sigh escape your lips, and then you said, “Can we go back to your place? Order takeout and just relax?”

“If that’s what you want to do, then that’s what we’ll do,” he replied.

You stopped walking then, tilting your head up and raising your eyebrows at him.

“Well, right now, I want a kiss,” you told him.

A smile quirked at Seo Joon’s lips, and he bent down to grant your request without a moment’s hesitation.

“And I want my flowers,” you added, reaching over and taking the bouquet from him. “Thank you for them, they’re so beautiful.”

“You know why I got them, right?” he asked quietly.

“Besides the fact I finished all my exams?”

“In addition to,” he confirmed.

“I’m guessing... it’s been three months?”

Seo Joon moved to kiss you again as a reward for being so smart, and you smiled against his lips.

“Are you really going to bring me flowers at school every single month?” you asked with a note of amusement in your voice. “You really don’t have to.”

“I know I don’t have to,” Seo Joon replied. “But I want to. I want to make sure you know how I feel about you. How important you are to me.”

“But then what do I do?” you asked as Seo Joon reached into his pocket to get his car keys ready.

“What do you mean?”

“To show you how I feel about you and how important you are to me? I haven’t done anything,” you pointed out with a slightly pouty lower lip.

“Now that is not true,” Seo Joon countered. “You came to my match.”

“But that was three months ago!”

“So? You coming to one match is definitely equal to me bringing you flowers multiple times,” he said. And then, because he knew you would try to argue again, he added, “I’m a guy. Guys don’t need to be reminded as much because just the fact a girl is still with us is enough. Every day when you wake up and decide you still want to be my girlfriend is how you show me I’m important to you.”

Just as the two of you approached his car, right before you broke off so you could each get into your respective seats, you paused. You quirked a brow up at him.

“Did you even know you were this romantic?” you asked with a barely hidden smirk.

“No,” he answered, chuckling softly and shaking his head. “Only for you.”

“How did I get so lucky?” you mused.

“I ask myself the same question all the time,” Seo Joon whispered before he gave you one more kiss.

About fifteen minutes later, Seo Joon dialed the number of the nearest Chinese takeout restaurant while you put your flowers in a vase in his kitchen. And, yes, you’d had to buy a vase for his apartment because he hadn’t previously owned one. Is that surprising?

As he ordered way too much food over the phone, he watched as you stepped out of your shoes, shuffled over to his couch, and flopped down onto it, practically face-planting into the cushions with a soft groan.

Once the restaurant employee supplied him with the total and said it would be delivered in about half an hour, Seo Joon set his phone on the counter and went over to join you.

“I think my brain is on its last leg,” you told him as he carefully slid onto the couch to lie down next to you.

“No Scrabble tonight, then,” he murmured, fitting himself behind you and sliding an arm over your waist.

“No,” you chuckled. You instantly settled into his hold, letting out a very content sigh as he pressed a kiss to the back of your shoulder. “All I want right now are cuddles.”

“Then cuddles you shall get.” As if he hadn’t planned to do that already. 😉😏 “We have a full half-hour before the food is delivered.”

“Only a half-hour? No, I was thinking more like cuddling all night,” you replied. 

“Ooh, all night,” Seo Joon smirked, nuzzling your neck and nipping your skin there. “I like the sound of that.”

You let him press lazy kisses along your neck and shoulder for a few moments, and then you asked in a quiet voice, “Can I? Stay over?”

He knew you were nervous because, while you’d been to his apartment countless times by this point, you’d never actually spent the night. But for him? He’d been waiting for you to bring it up for weeks now. He hadn’t wanted to push you by asking you himself, but he would’ve let you stay at his place practically from the very beginning. Not for that reason, but just because he liked having you around. He imagined seeing you when he fell asleep and again when he woke up would just be... heaven.

“Of course, you can,” he murmured, his lips brushing over your skin. “You’re welcome to stay over any time you want.”

You turned around in his arms, a fairly giddy smile on your lips before you pressed the tip of your nose to his. “How very accommodating you are.”

“Hey now,” he began in the sternest tone he could muster. “I’m not this way with just anyone. Don’t go around telling everyone you see they can come and stay at my place.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” you giggled. “You really think I’d want to share you? Absolutely not.”

Your words made Seo Joon’s heart flutter more than he would ever care to admit out loud, even to you. “Good,” he grinned. “I don’t want to share you either.”

You let out another giggle before tilting your head, pressing your lips to his over and over again.

“Can I tell you something?” he asked in-between kisses.

“Mhm,” you hummed. You kissed him one more time before settling back, allowing him to look at your face as he spoke.

“I’m really proud of you,” he said, his voice soft but filled with earnest adoration. “You’ve worked really hard, at school and at work, and I just want you to know that I’m proud of you.”

“Well, thank you,” you replied with a very bashful grin. “I’m proud of you, too.”

Seo Joon smiled over at you, bringing one hand up and tracing over your cheek with his thumb. He searched your face, taking in every single feature, every single inch of you he could see...

He had planned to say this tonight, yes, but he hadn’t quite worked out the logistics. He hadn’t been sure if he’d wanted to make some grand gesture or something, but... right now, just lying here on the couch with you, he knew this was the right time.

“Can I tell you something else?” he asked again, his voice even softer this time.

“Yes, of course,” you chuckled gently.

He looked into your eyes for a few moments, and just before it felt like you were going to urge him to say whatever it was he wanted to say... he said it.

“I love you.”

Your eyes widened, and before he knew it, your lips were on his.

“I love you, too,” you murmured, still kissing him.

And, good grief, if Seo Joon had ever been happier, he sure couldn’t remember when it had been.

“So...” he began, plastering a very angelic smile on his face. “Does that mean you’ll come to my match this weekend?”

He had told you he loved you because he meant it, yes, but... it was also the best way he could think of to invite you to the fight in a couple of days. There hadn’t been one since the one and only match you’d gone to, but he knew you weren’t looking forward to them.

“Seo Joon,” you scolded once you pulled away from him. “Of course, I’ll be there! I told you I would. I won’t like it, and I’ll be anxious the whole time, but I’m still going.”

And you did go -- to that match and to the six other matches Seo Joon had during the first year of your relationship. You didn’t like it, and you were anxious the whole time, but you still went, just like you said you would.

As I mentioned earlier, Seo Joon only got a hit a couple of times during all seven of those matches. He had trained harder than ever to make sure he didn’t have to worry you, and, if he was being honest, the opponents he’d faced hadn’t been much of a challenge.

Overall, that year had been pretty excellent. One of -- if not the -- best of Seo Joon’s life so far. His career was still at its peak. His relationship was stronger than ever. He fell in love with you more each day, and he knew without a doubt that you were The One he was meant to be with forever.

Truly, he felt like he was on top of the world. Like nothing could go wrong.

He should’ve known better.

As soon as he saw his manager’s name on his phone screen, he should have known. There was no way he could have known, but after hearing it, it felt like it was so obvious. Like it had just been waiting in the wings for him. Inevitable.

“Hey,” Jang Ho greeted tersely. Not his usual tone of voice.

“What’s up?” Seo Joon asked.

“I just got the schedule for your next match.”

“Yeah? When is it?”

“It’s next month,” he told him. “And... you’re fighting Martinez.”

...Oh, fuck.

Martinez.

The only fighter Seo Joon had ever lost to.

Part 6

[moeruhoshi]

someone sent me an ask about this forever ago

The classroom door slammed open, the sound of its crash in the sliding frame startling everyone and the teacher. In the doorway stood an out-of-breath and slanty-eyed student with his shirt untucked and hair still messy from sleep. The teacher didn’t bother saying anything as he grumbled and trudged his way back to his desk, all the while glaring at the blonde who turned her nose up at him and refused to acknowledge him.

The class let out a collective sigh of relief as the crazed pink-haired boy quickly fell asleep per his usual routine, allowing their lesson to continue in peace.

This stressful arrival of Natsu Dragneel had been going on for about a week, everyone adapted to his dramatic disruption. Even the teacher let his behavior slide because it was such an unprecedented ordeal, no one knew what to do.

Natsu Dragneel was fighting with his best friend, Lucy Heartfilia.

The two had been fast friends since the young age of seven after Lucy transferred into their school. It was almost as if they were meant to be friends that even the gravitational pull of Earthland couldn’t keep them away from one another. And it was painfully disgusting to watch two obviously in love people, to act so lovely with one another, without thinking of each other as anything but friends.

The ‘don’t you love him/her’ questions tired out long ago, as their answers refused to change;

“Of course I do, they’re my best friend!”

Booooring.

So, when Lucy came in one morning without Natsu attached to her hip, people were quick to catch on; those who were out of the loop.

It all started when Cana asked Lucy to fill in as a part-timer for her friend’s bar.

“It’s a really chill place, I swear! Bacchus hires the best bouncers, and they know how to keep us safe. It’s near the office district, and those guys really know how to tip!“ The brunette whined, kneeling down in front of Lucy currently rummaging through her fridge.

“I don’t know...Capricorn always makes sure I get money when I need it, and that sounds a bit sketchy. We’re still in high school, how are you even allowed to work at a bar?”

“I get paid, he gives me booze, and he’s real handsy when he’s drunk,” Cana snickered to herself, the blonde rolling her eyes and feeling a bit of heat on her cheeks as she knew what Cana meant.

“That doesn’t convince me, you know I don’t like it when you drink,” Lucy huffed, raising a brow as she passed her friend, who was still on the floor, the bowl of fruit she’d been looking for.

“Okay, so maybe I don’t drink all that much, I’m just in it for the cash and Bacchus, he knows what I—“

“Don’t! I don’t wanna know,” Lucy shivered as she pulled out whipped cream and a jar of chocolate-hazelnut spread. “How long do you need me there?”

“Just two weeks! Not even, only ten days! He’s waiting for the new girl to come in, but she can’t until then. All you’d have to do is take orders, I’ll go with you, and we’ll ride the train home, yeah?” Cana bounced up, setting the bowl onto the countertop, clasping her hands together and quivering her bottom lip as she begged more.

“...Alright, but ten days only! I’m never going back into a bar until I’m old enough!” Lucy sighed, holding back a smile as Cana jumped up and hollered, not forgetting to glomp the blonde with a tight hug.

“Yes! Awesome, I knew you’d say yes! I’ll go call Bacchus and give him the good news,”

The real drama only picked up later that night, when Natsu and Lucy were speaking over the phone; their usual nightly ritual.

“What?! You’re not serious, are you?” Natsu’s sharp voice spoke through the other end of her cellphone, Lucy having to lower the volume in time with his loud shout. “Cana works at a friggin’ bar, that’s no place for you, Lucy.”

Strike one.

“What’s that supposed to mean? She said it’ll be safe, and we’ll be going home together too, I don’t see the problem,” She clutched a plushie close to her chest as she laid on her bed, back against the mattress. Her face slowly began to turn sour as Natsu’s voice screeched back again.

“That’s how girls get snatched, Luce. Downtown, at night, with a bunch of drunk pervs around. What’re ya gonna do when someone grabs your ass? Or, god forbid, follows you home? You can’t protect yourself, that kind of thing’ll be more trouble than it’s worth,”

Strike two.

“You wanna say that again, Dragneel? I can damn well protect myself, I’ll have you know. There are bouncers for a reason, to deal with handsy customers. And like I said, I’ll be going home with Cana, so can you chill?”

“Chill? Fuck that, there’s no way I’m letting you go. I’m takin’ your ass home tomorrow, you’re not going anywhere with Cana,”

Strike three.

“Oh, really? Who the hell do you think you are? You’re not my dad, Natsu. I can do whatever I damn well please. Don’t even think about taking me home tomorrow, better yet, don’t even talk to me! I’m not a baby, nor do I need you to protect me!”

“Listen to yourself, would you?! How stupid are you being right now?! It’s not safe, think why don’t you!”

And so, here they were. Natsu continued to run into school late as Lucy had stopped calling to wake him up, which also stopped his use of transportation. Her house (mansion) was several streets up from his, her chauffeur usually picking him up on the way too. There went his lunch too, as she never had minded cooking for her best friend.

“Are you really still ignoring him, Lu-chan?” Levy asked, the girls having a separate lunch away from the guys on the roof. “We’re all pretty worried about you guys,”

“Of course I am, that jerk started it,” Lucy huffed as she took an angry bite out of her rice ball. “I’ve been working at Bacchus’ place all week, and I haven’t had any problems yet,”

“Like I told Lulu, Bacchus runs a good place, Natsu needs to get over himself,” Cana nodded in agreement, taking from the pile of rice balls Lucy made for sharing. Or more like to get rid of...since she unconsciously made too much rice to accommodate a certain someone’s lunch she was no longer preparing.

“Juvia has to agree with Cana-san, Lucy-san knows how to be safe, and Erza-san taught us all self-defense,” Juvia said with a bit of a sigh as she picked at her lunch. “But Juvia does miss eating lunch with Gray-sama,”

“Do you think you two will make up anytime soon?” Erza asked, the redhead surprisingly having yet to interfere and beat Natsu up out of instinct.

“Not until he apologizes,”

“She’s the one who needs to apologize!” Natsu shouted angrily as he stuffed his mouth with another piece of bread that he bought at their school’s convenience store.

“I don’t see how, you basically told her she was weak,” Gray rolled his eyes for the millionth time that week as Natsu endlessly let out his steam.

“Even I don’t call the shrimp weak, I know better,” Gajeel scoffed, ignoring the glare his cousin faced him with.

“I know Luce ain’t weak, but it’s not like she’s been out so late at a fucking bar before for Christ sake,” The pink-haired boy groaned as he sat to lean against Jellal. “Who knows what could happen, even if she’s with Cana and even if she can beat some perv up, I’m still gonna worry,”

“You know you’re the one who has to apologize, right?” Jellal said as he wrapped his arm around Natsu’s shoulders, ruffling the grump’s hair as he grumbled and begrudgingly agreed.

But Natsu knew there was no way he could even try having a calm conversation when she was still working at that filthy bar, filled with filthy men probably having filthy thoughts about his best fucking friend...! Yeah, there was no way he could do it.

It wasn’t that he thought she was weak or that she needed him to protect her...gah, maybe it was as simple as that. She was in no way weak, but she still needed him! More like, he just needed to know she was safe, even if it meant he was acting like her guard dog. Natsu could barely sleep knowing if she was okay or not, which is why he usually ended up waking up so late and catching up on sleep in class. At least there he could calm down knowing she was okay.

It was finally the last Friday that Lucy had to work, the blonde more than ready to toss aside her apron and change back into her school uniform. Bacchus paid her handsomely, of course, making the two tiring weeks seem just a little bit worth it. She was ready to get her free time back.

“Cana, are you ready to go?” Lucy called out as she left the locker room and entered the staff’s break room, raising a brow as the brunette peeked her head out of the men’s locker room.

“Do you mind going home by yourself tonight? I’m a little busy with—“

“Don’t even tell me, I’ll be fine, see you on Monday,” Lucy groaned as she scurried out of the staff exit, not wanting to catch the slightest bit of confirmation of what she was up to.

She zipped up her jacket and walked briskly through the semi-crowded streets, feeling a bit more on edge now that she was going home alone. Not that she was scared, but felt more comfortable when she had walked this route with Cana. It wasn’t a long walk from Bacchus’ to the train station, Lucy able to breathe easier under the bright florescent lights above the train track. 

There weren’t many people around, Lucy looking down at her phone to see that it was well past midnight.

“...Crap, I didn’t tell Capricorn I’d be out this late, he might not have sent the car to pick me up,” She mumbled to herself, sighing as she boarded the train and sent a quick message to the head butler that hopefully had yet to fall asleep.

Lucy had yet to receive an answer by the time she arrived at the station nearest her school, groaning as she rethought her options.

It was a two-mile walk to her house...one she was not willing to make at this time of night. It was cold and creepy and if Lucy was being totally honest with herself, didn’t it feel like someone was watching her?

Mustering her courage and pushing aside her pride for a moment, she dialed the number of the one person she hoped would answer his phone this late.

“...Luce?”

“Hey, Natsu. Sorry to call you so late, were you sleeping?”

“Nah, I couldn’t. What’s up?”

“I’m stuck waiting at the train station, Capricorn hasn’t messaged me back and it’s been a while...think you can come get me?” Lucy knew before she finished her sentence that Natsu was already tossing on his clothes, the hurried ruffle of a jacket and the jingle of his keys sounding through her end of the phone.

“I’ll be there, five minutes tops. Imma take my dad’s bike, okay? Don’t move,”

“Yeah, thanks Natsu,”

“Anythin’ for you, Lucy,”

Lucy smiled to herself and felt the fluttering of butterflies in her stomach as she hung up the call, patiently waiting on the corner of the street for him to roll up.

“Is that you, Lucy?” A sudden hand on her shoulder startled Lucy as it turned her around, a tall and familiar man with purple hair staring her down.

“O-Oh, Hughes! You scared me,” The blonde laughed off his random appearance, smiling politely as the older man began to make light conversation. He was a regular at the bar, Lucy having taken his order multiple times over her brief position, but...had she ever seen him on her route before.

“Sorry about that, I saw you cans couldn’t help myself from saying hi,” He chuckled, not bothering to remove his hand from her person. “I’m going to miss seeing you at the bar, I heard it was your last day.”

“Really? I was only there for a little while,” She said, eyes shifting around as she noticed the street was totally empty. 

“Yeah, but it’s better than Cana whipping her attitude around,” He laughed again, his hand now rubbing up and down her bicep. “If you’re not doing anything right now, do you want to get some late-night coffee?”

“Um, you know, I’m actually waiting for––” Lucy squeaked as he wrapped his arm around both of her shoulders, pulling her close to his side as he forced her to walk alongside him.

“I doubt anything’s open around now, but we can get a can to drink in the park,”

“No thank you, could you let go? You’re making me uncomfortable,” Lucy said as she pushed him away, gripping the strap of her school bag as she backed away from the purple-haired man. 

“What’s with that? You were all smiles during your shift, where’d that go?” Hughes frowned and snatched her wrist in his grasp, pulling her back towards the crosswalk aimed towards the park across the street. “C’mon, you need to loosen up, we’ll have f––”

Lucy flinched as a fist rocketed past her head and smashed square in the middle of Hughes’ face, swiftly knocking him onto his ass. 

“I’d’ve hit your ass with my bike if it was legal! You better keep your hands off my girl or I swear you’ll end up dead!” Natsu bellowed as he stood over the sniveling man who held his bleeding nose. Hughes quickly crawled away on his palms as the wild-looking boy practically foamed at the mouth.

“Oh my gosh, Natsu, thank god you're here,” Lucy whimpered as she fell into his arms, comforted by the warmth of his body that immediately spread to hers.

“You okay? Who the hell was that guy?” Natsu asked as he pressed a kiss upon the crown of her head, his hand running soothingly against her back.

 “Some...someone from Bacchus’ place...I think he followed me out here,” She shivered, tightening her grip around Natsu’s torso. “I’m okay, can we just go home? To your place?”

“Yeah, let’s go,” He said as he led them both back over to Igneel’s hotrod, driving them away from the empty street corner faster than a speeding rocket.

It wasn’t long before they were pulling into Natsu’s garage and going up to his room, the Dragneel son glad that his parents were gone for the weekend.

“I needa apologize, Luce,” Natsu said as he sat on his bed, facing his headboard against the wall as Lucy changed into his clothes behind him. “I shouldn’t’ve gotten so mad at you, I was being an ass.”

“No...I know you were worried about me,” Lucy began as she tossed her clothes into a random corner, slipping on one of Natsu’s t-shirts before joining him on the bed. “And you were right, just look at what happened today. If you hadn’t shown up when you did...I really don’t know what could’ve happened.”

“That sleazeball, I swear I shoulda ran his ass over, fucker deserved it,” Natsu grumbled as Lucy wormed her way into his hold, her breaths soft as she leaned against his chest.

“I think you broke his nose, that’s good enough for me,” The blonde giggled as her best friend chuckled, the two of them slowly realizing just how much they missed one another.

“I never want to fight like that again, Luce. I missed you so so so so much,” Natsu groaned as he flopped onto his side, taking Lucy down with him.

“I missed you too,” She grinned as he snuggled closer to her, the familiar sound mimicking a happy purr rumbling from his throat. “It’s no fun when we’re apart.”

“You got that right, the guys all suck, you know? I actually missed having Juvia and Erza around too, I always figured they were nuts compared to you and Levy, but the only sane one around was Jellal. And his hugs aren’t nearly as good as yours,”

“Why were you hugging Jellal?” Lucy snickered, Natsu clicking his tongue before going on to explain.

“Whaddaya mean? I needed to hug someone when I was all upset! And it wasn’t like I had ya around to do it with any longer,” Natsu pouted.

“I’m gonna tell Erza that and see how jealous she gets,” Lucy laughed as she sat up for a moment, reaching towards the end of his bed to pull the duvet over them. The air was silent for a brief period of time as their conversation seemingly came to an end, Natsu’s eyes unable to leave the moonlight thrust on Lucy’s form as she sat up. 

“You know,” Natsu started, clearing his throat and propping himself up on his elbow as Lucy laid back down. “You know you’re my girl, right, Lucy? And I’ll do anythin’ to protect ya,”

“Yeah...yeah, I know,” She smiled softly as he pressed his forehead gently against hers, soon falling into a gentle sleep knowing that she was okay tonight.

[ravenclawismyjam]

Episode 15 Rayan The ending we truly deserved

I couldn’t let it go and had to write this. I HAD TO. I am too thirsty. All written in one go, just how I wished the episode to end. My first ever fanfiction. Feel free to read (without wasting AP), like and share (with giving credits).

MCLUL Episode 15 – alternative ending Rayan (proof-read version)

‘Honestly, I’m used to it. He must have run into someone he knows and show up in five minutes. Or in a couple of days.’, Amber said indifferently. I sent Nathaniel a text message telling him where we were and joined the others that already found a place to sit a few metres behind the food truck. The cotton candy sent a sugary rush through my body and I got even more excited about the rest of the evening. While the group was chatting lightly and enjoying the food, Nathaniel reappeared from behind the bushes and joined the group. ‘Where have you been all this time?’, asked Rosa curiously. Nath sat down next to his sister. ‘I went to the toilets but they were out of order so I had to go to the other side of the park to find other ones and on the way back I didn’t see you right away. I see you all had food already?’, he said while glancing around. ‘Yeah, we didn’t know if you wanted any but you can have the rest of my churros. I am already full.’, Amber said while passing him an almost full tray of churros with cinnamon. I looked at her but didn’t bring up the topic.

While Nath dug in, we decided to all go to the Ferris wheel as our next destination. The pods allowed only two people at the same time so I went together with Chani while the others found themselves into pairs as well. I couldn’t help but think about how romantic this would have been with Rayan. Maybe next year, we could visit the fair as a regular couple. For all it was worth, at least I was going to spent the rest of the evening with him. I smiled. Chani brought me back. ‘I am sure he would have liked it as well.’ ‘Wait, what? Who?’ She giggled. ‘Professor Zaidi, of course. I can tell from the look on your face that he is on your mind right now. Any plans to see him soon?’ I was certain that this girl had a promising career as a mind-reader ahead. ‘Uhm, yeah, later tonight actually. He has to grade some papers, but we will meet once our group is done with the fair.’ ‘Lucky for you then. It seems like most of us are already quite tired and ready to go home.’ She nodded to the pod behind us. Rosa was resting on Leigh’s shoulder with her eyes closed.

When everybody was back on the ground, most of us said their goodbyes, leaving only me, Chani, Priya, Morgan and Alexy. I took my phone out, to text Rayan to check if he was still awake and up to meet. After all, it was only around 9pm. He answered immediately ‘Yes, I have been waiting already eagerly for you and your lips. All papers are graded for today, I think I deserve a break.’ He sent me an address. ‘Let’s meet there.’ My heart skipped a beat. Was this the address to his place? Was I finally allowed to see his apartment? And more importantly, had he changed his mind about this line we hadn’t crossed yet? ‘EARTH TO CANDY, DO YOU COPY?’ I almost dropped my phone and just barely managed to catch it. Alexy looked at me suspiciously. ‘Did you hear anything I just said?’  ‘Uhm, what?’ The others laughed. ‘Alexy and I will go for a final ride together but the girls want to go back to the dorms’, said Morgan. ‘What are your plans now?’ I looked at my phone. ‘Uhm, I have something else to do but I will walk to the exit with the girls.’ I gave out a round of hugs and headed to the entrance gate of the park. I checked the address on my phone and it seemed to be no less than a 10-minute walk from here. I waved Chani and Priya goodbye as they went the opposite direction towards campus lightly chatting.

Usually, I would have been a little scared to walk by myself during the night but the street lights kept everything bright and I barely came across other people. After a few blocks, I noticed a familiar silhouette standing on the side walk. I waved at Rayan and he took a few steps towards me to hug me tightly. The street was pretty empty, apart from loud chatting coming from a little tapas bar at the corner. Feeling Rayan’s strong arms around me made shiver a little from excitement. I inhaled he is cologne and felt the warmth of his body. After a while, he let go of me. ‘Why are we meeting here?’, I asked, naturally curious. ‘Well, I figured we both didn’t have a proper dinner, unless you want to count candied apples and cotton candy as healthy meal choices. And I didn’t have time to cook anything so I thought we could get some tapas here as takeaway.’ Just that second, my stomach let out a loud grumble. Rayan laughed, ‘Seems like we have a deal.’ We entered the little shop and went up to the counter. The people on the small tables inside did not take any notice of us whatsoever and continued with their conversations. Rayan and I chose a variety of tapas samples with different toppings which the waiter packed into a cardboard box with the restaurant’s name on it. Rayan paid and we left the little restaurant.

‘We are we off to now? Are we going to eat in the streets or do you have another idea?’, I glanced at him, hoping he would suggest what I was hoping. ‘I really like this restaurant and I come here a lot because it is only one street away from my place. I thought, we could go there to eat.’ Having him actually say the words, made my heart skip a beat. The day at the beach came to my mind, when he said he was ‘old-fashioned’ about certain things and wanted to get to know me better. Rayan had already gone a few steps ahead and turned around, ‘I-I-I mean, only if… you feel comfortable, of course’.  He looked a little nervous. After making sure that the street was empty, I gave him a quick but passionate kiss. Reassured, we turned into a side alley and Rayan got his keys out. His apartment was in a big building covered in red bricks with big windows. ‘It’s on the 7th floor but there is an elevator, don’t worry’, he said after noticing me inspecting the stairway. Carrying our tapas bag in one hand, he pressed the button and the doors closed. I felt his hand holding onto my waist and pulling me closer. No matter how much fun I had on the fair with the others, something was telling me that the best part of the day was still ahead.

Rayan’s apartment was just as I imagined it to be. We entered the living room that featured a big couch in the corner, a TV, a shelf with some DVDs, a huge wooden desk covered in papers, next to a bookshelf full of art books. Here and there were some pot plants. Through an arch door, I could see a small but nice kitchen and on the other side was a closed door, presumably to the bedroom. I wondered if I would get to see the whole apartment tonight. Rayan went into the kitchen while I inspected his DVD collection and he came back with the tapas on a platter, a bottle of wine and two glasses. It looked incredible. He set everything on the little couch table a joined me on the couch. He had barely time to sit down, when I already jumped on him and kissed him tenderly. He reciprocated the kiss while stroking my hair behind my ears. Our lips parted just to meet again a few seconds later and yet, it felt like forever. I rubbed my nose into the nook on this neck while he held me tight, kissing my forehead. I had no idea how a man could have such an effect on me. It is almost as if all my sorrows have been blown away just by being with him. We stayed like this for a while longer before our stomachs signalled us to start eating. While we sampled all the different kinds of tapas and enjoyed a glass of wine, we talked about whatever came to our minds.

‘I can tell you, a trip with the other university staff feels quite like back in the days when I was in high school and we went on class trips. Some things never change.’, Rayan said, concluding his anecdote about his recent seminars. I was snuggled in his arms, listening to his story, feeling his warmth and heartbeat. ‘Are you still awake?’, Rayan leaned forward to check if I had my eyes open. ‘Yes, sir, I am awake’, I said smirking and planted a kiss on his lips, ‘But you have to admit that it is running somewhat late.’ Rayan looked at the clock on the wall, it was almost midnight. ‘If somebody knew that you were at your Professor’s place in the middle of the night, you would be in some serious trouble, Miss.’ ‘Would I?’  I raised an eyebrow and moved my face closer to his. Without blinking, almost like a dare, I whispered ‘I feel like you could even be in bigger trouble. One-way ticket to hell, remember?’  He chuckled. ‘Well, if I am already in trouble, I have nothing to lose.’  With a sudden movement he tugged his arms around my waist and stood up, lifting me from the ground. I couldn’t help but letting out a surprised scream while managing to wrap my legs around his waist not to fall down. Unerringly, Rayan carried me towards the closed door, opened it and dropped me on the bed in the room behind it.

(From here on it gets a little less child-appropriate, enjoy, hehe)

The fresh sheets felt cold and soft on my skin. ‘You, Miss, must have had too much wine. As your Professor, it would be irresponsible to let you go home like this. You will have to spend the night here, let me help you with that.’  He started to zip my pants open and I pretended to resist for a little before taking of my shirt myself. Rayan stared at me for a moment, and even though his face had a soft expression, his eyes were already hungry to undress the rest of me. I helped him get rid of the remaining layers of his clothes until we were both only in underwear. I dragged him to me on the mattrass while kissing him passionately. He responded with even more passion which let me moan lustfully. This man made me go crazy. His lips moved downwards along my neck to my breasts and caressed them gently. In an instant wave of arousal, I dug my fingers into his muscular back. Then slowly but eagerly, my hands wandered down to his boxershorts, only to feel the outline of his erection pulsating. When I stroked the material of his boxershorts, he moaned lustfully and his lips found my lips again. With a quick hand movement, I freed his penis from the texile and stroked it with both hands. In the blink of an eye, Rayan got up to get rid of his boxershorts comepletly. While staring at the beautiful sight, a wave of lust overcame me and I had to get rid of all remaining texile as well. Rayan took a little wrapper from the top drawer of his night stand before lowering his head between my legs. For a split second, I felt as if my world was going to explode with desire as his tongue started carassing my most private parts. My fingers entangeled in his hair, ‘Ra-rayan…I-I want you so bad.’ Rayan stopped what he was doing and with one hand touched my cheek while with the other unrolled the condom on his penis. He leaned over me and kissed me. I could taste myself and him at the same time which made me go even wilder, longing for that sweet release. With one push, Rayan had entered me which made both of us moan simultaneously. He looked at me for reassurance but I just kissed him with all my love while he started moving inside me. It was official, every fiber of my body was hopelessly devoted to this man and every move he made. The sweet ecstasy I felt when I was around him was like a drug that had me completely hooked. After an intense eternity that yet felt like it lasted for only a heartbeat, Rayan and I reached our climax at the same time and fell next to each other, heavingly breathing and sweating.

(Everything innocent from here on)

His hands located mine and our fingers crossed. ‘I have never felt like that with anyone.’, he said. I looked at him softly, ‘Me neither’. I truly meant it. After lying there for a while, Rayan got up to shower and laid a fresh towel on the bed for me. I heared the water dripping from the bathroom and followed him, the towel in one hand. He was rinsing off the sweat, when I stepped into the shower cabin and hugged him from behind. His skin was still burning hot but the cold water refreshed me as well. After the shower, we decided to sleep and he offered me one of his shirts to sleep in. While he was brushing his teeth, I snug under the blankets, trying to realize everything that had happened today and how our relationship developed. I didn’t care that we would have to keep it private because if this was private, then it was all I needed. Just me and him together, that was all that mattered. And while I snoozed off, I noticed Rayan’s arms gently wrapping around me, holding me tight. The vacation was off to a good start.

[workingonit-currently]

(Title pending)

Anime AU

In this world it's kill or hide.

You could die but we never talk about that option. It's too dark. (But then again anything is better than living alone, with no one to count on. )

Anyway this world is that of heroes, villains, antiheroes, powers, dragons, ninjas, assasins, police, chaos and order. Everything in this world is held in a delicate balance and anyone who tips that balance ends up tipping off themselves. (Or in other words 'dissapearing'.) That's exactly what happened to Damiens best friends since childhood, Shayne.

Shayne was never one for order but never wanted to be the leader of chaos. He was strong, charming and originally who brought Damien out of his shell. Back in the days where the universe was plauged with battles between ego filled heroes and edge filled villains and slumbs were common Shayne found and protected Damien. Since then they had each others backs and swore to be with each other, they became unstoppable, they were consantly together and proud to be joint at the top of whatever they did, they shared what no one could break, friendship.

But one day Shayne flew too high for society's liking and was shot down. They came in the early morning, took Shaayne from his house, silenced the truth and Shayne was lost forever. No matter how hard Damien looked he couldn't find him.

Eventually Damien was told Shayne died and became unmotivated, falling into a long lazy mind set and stayed that way, though still staying top of the class just as a way of honoring Shayne's memory. He also, when it came, accepted the offer to join the school he and Shayne had applied to together before he went missing, 'Monogatari High School'.

'The place where legends are made.' Damien snort to himself as he thinks of the famous schools tag-line. He can't bring himself to even smile as he thinks how stupid the school is as he packs, Shayne's memory still haunting him despite the months that have passed.

He shakes his head and sighs as the last piece of clothing is folded and placed in his bag. Damien knows he should be over the death of Shayne by now but everything in his world is dull now without his best friend, he doesn't know how he can move on from that.

Taking the time to zip up his bag carefully Damien realises he should be more conserned about moving away from his childhood town but everything here reminds him of Shayne and he'll be happy to get away. That's part of the reason he accepted the invitation from Monogatari to go there. That and the honoring his memory and all...

"Get down here! I want to see you one last time before you go!" Damien's mother screams, lovingly of course. This breaks Damiens edge-filled thoughts and he smiles, happy with his life despite all that has happened.

"Coming!" He calls back from his room up the stairs from her, happy that he finished packing when he did. It feels like it was almost perfectly timed.

Running down the stairs with the speed of a energy-filled teenager Damien soon finds his mum and hugs her. "Hi mum." He greets, having spent the day so far in his room. That had become his usual routine since Shayne died.

Pulling away from her sons embrace Damien's mum smiles up at him, fiddeling with his hair. "Oh look at you my little angel!" She cooes as she squeezes her sons face before continuing, "You really need to get a haircut."

Damien pulls his head away from her grip before shuffling her remark off with a small snort and retort, "Yeah right, I'll get one when I'm on the train to Monogatari."

Mrs Haas lightly hits her sons head and scolds him for talking back to her, shouting about how she had thought she taught him better than that. Damien accepts the scolding with a cheeky smirk and lets her finish, taking this time to think of how he'll actually survive in Monogatari.

"Okay, okay mum!" Damien starts as his mum finishes her rant, "I promise I'll get a haircut when I get to Monogatari but I don't have time to get one now, I'm leaving tomorrow and the barbers are closed for the night."

This Damien's mum accepts, but then gets an idea. As she gasps at the thought Damien interjects, "And I am NOT letting you give me a haircut! We both remember what I looked like last time."

Bringing her arms to her chest and crossing them at her son's words she can't help but smile, thinking of little Damien and how much he's grown. She has to admit to herself how much simpler everything was when Damien was little, less money spent on food, less hassle on what Damien needed, less talking-back and less worry. Infact the only thing that isn't less than it is now is the amount of effort Damien puts into his work. Lately he has become less conserned on his work and more conserned on relaxing and putting as little effort as he can into it.

.

'Baby, you know I'm always here to talk to whenever you need right?" Damien's mum tells him as they are finishing their kake soba. Damien slirps his last noodle and looks up at his mum, raising an eyebrow slightly at the question, unsure of where she's coming from with this.

"Of course mum! Now I'm going to hit the hay, that soba was great but it was a lot." Damien answers with a goofy smile as he takes his and her bowl to the sink to wash them, wanting to get out of this situation as fast as he can. His mum nods as she tucks the chairs into the table and moves past him to watch television, kissing him lightly on the cheeks as she passes.

Damien wipes his hands quickly as he finishes the washing up and walks up to his room, feeling his body grow heavy. He swiftly places out his clothes for tomorrow despite his tiredness and yawns, practically falling asleep standing up. Once satisfied with his selection of an outfit Damien flops onto his bed and snuggles into a deep sleep, not bothering to take his clothes off.

.

Damien opens his eyes to the morning sun shining on his back as he smells rice. Stretching and breaking away from his bed Damien yawns and slowly waks down the stairs, feeling and looking like a zombie. Although he managed to fall asleep he didn't dream of anything, leaving him unmotivated like usual.

"Good morning." His mum greets with a waves as Damien enters the kitchen. Damien mutters a small greeting back but soon slumps into his seat, waiting for the food to come to him. Although his mum rolls her eyes she still places the gohan she just cooked in front of him and watches him eat.

"You'll be happy to know the train has been delayed today." She comments casually as he eats, responding with a small hmph. "Indeed. It been delayed and will not arrive until nine O'clock." Damien's mum states, glancing at her son who is slowly starting to wake up. Damien glances back at her, taking a break from eatting for a moment to smile up at her and innocently ask, "Why are you telling me this?"

Damiens mum shrugs, moving her eyes away from her sons confused face. "Absolutely no reason. It's just quarter to nine now anyway." She finally admits and smiles at her sons reaction.

Damiens smile drops as he processes his mothers words before scarfing down his food and sprinting up the stairs to his room. "Mum!" He shouts accusingly as he runs, angry that she had not woken him up earlier. "Sorry." She apologises but admits that it is revenge for talking back to her last night.

Damien can't believe his own mother, his flesh and blood, did not wake him up for this very important moment in his life, leaving him to rush brushing his teeth and combing his hair before getting changed and grabbing his pre-packed bag. Thank you past-Damien! Thank you for not being a lazy boy!

Praising his past self, Damien quickly stomps down the stairs where his mum is waiting for him with a small bag of food and a quick kiss. He accepts the bag of food and lets her kiss him but very quickly hugs her as well.

"I love you." Damien's mum admits, her voice starting to shake as she pulls away from the hug. Damien smiles shyly as he opens the door and looks back at her, not baring to say anything incase he starts crying. His mum, with tears in her eyes, pushes him through the door despite her heart aching and Damien is off on his journey to Monogatari High School.

.

Sitting on a train seat close to the window Damien places his head against the glass, wondering what this new step in his life will bring him.

The green fields of a new place pass and Damien knows he's far away from his hometown now. Damien likes adventure but he always thought he would be taking this next step in his life with Shayne and now that Damien isn't, he doesn't quite know if he actually can take this step.

Thoughts of going back, crying in his mum's arms and returning to his home fly through his mind like the blurred images of the outside world flying past the train but he tries to dusniss them, knowing it's to late now. Damien still entertains the thought that he will hate this new place though, thinking about his arrangements when he gets there.

The school, upon hearing of his situation from his mum, decided to still send him a letter to invite him to the school and promised to provide him with private free housing, not wanting to miss out on Damien accepting their invitation to his school.

They must have really needed their pass rates to go up!, Damien thinks as he doesn't understand why Monogatari High School, the most prestigious school in the entire universe, wanted him so badly to join their school that they would be willing to offer him free housing and a scholarship.

"Mind if I sit here?" A voice asks, breaking Damien away from his edgy thoughts again. The voice is calm and caring but definitely belongs to a male, it seems like the type of voice that could easily be naturally childish but has the ability to change into extremely menacing quickly.

Damien turns his head up to look at the person the voice belongs to and finds a silver haired boy. The boy has a finger pointed to the seat next to Damien and is waiting expectantly.

"Yeah, sure." Damien mutters as he shrugs, quickly returning to watching the blurred outside world pass. He feels the boy sit down though, noticing that he also has a bag filled with stuff.

"So, where are you heading?" The silver haired boy asks, making conversation and smiling as Damien turns again to look at him.

Despite not being in the mood for conversation and being uncomfortable Damien doesn't want to seem rude so he answers the silver boy.

"Monogatari High School."

The boy's smile grows wider as he shuffles in his seat and announces enthusiastically, "Me to!"

Damien intertally sighs but makes no sign of annoyance present on his actual face, watching the silver haired boy slowly calm down.

"Sorry. I'm just really nervous to move away from my home and I'm happy to actually meet another person that's going to attend Monogatari." The boy apollogises quickly and smiles happily.

"Well that's nice. I'm Damien Haas by the way." Damien introduces after the boy calms down, thinking that the boy is not too bad actually.

"Wesley Johnson." The boy introduces with a smile and sighs, leaning back against the seat. He stares up at the top of the train before running a hand through his hair.

"So...do you want to get to know each other?" Wesley asks, glancing at Damien as he sits up again.

"Sure." Damien accepts and starts thinking of a question to ask, "Favourite colour?"

"Come on! That's so lame." Wesley states as Damien huffs, admitting that that was all he could think of off the top of his head. Nevertheless Wes still answers, "Silver? It changes."

Damien smiles, happy with Wesley's response, "Mine's dark blue."

Wesley now asks a question, "Best pet?"

"Geese!" Damien admits without a second thought and then corrects himself, "I mean, cats."

Wesley raises an eyebrow before soeaking, "I'd want an adorable puppy but I have to ask, Geese?"

"Let's just carry on Wesley." Damien mutters awkwardly as he tries to move the conversation along, watching Wesley smile.

"It's actually just Wes. It's less formal than Wesley and since we're friends now you can use it."

"Fine. But don't start shortening my name. Dame is not an option if you want to keep your life." Damien responds quickly as he side-eyes Wes.

"Fair enough Dame." Wes teases and watches as Damien growls at him.

.

After three hours of questions, listening to music and sleeping, the train finally stops and Damien gets off with a new friend.

"See you later Damien!" Wes shouts as he walk off towards a random place before suddenly stopping and turning, "Actually, where are you stationed?"

Damien grits his teeth and thinks hard about if he wants to admit to this new cool friend that the school provided him with private housing. Eventually he makes up his mind and speaks honestly.

"In Monogatari High School, on the school grounds." Damien admits and Wes freaks out, smiling and grabbing Damien.

"No way! I'm staying there as well! Awesome!" He shouts and hugs Damien tightly as they start walking towards where Wes thinks the school is.

"How do you even know where the school is? I though you were a far-off town bumpkin like me!" Damien teases as he narrows his eyes up at Wes, only know noticing that Wes is taller than him by a bit.

"I have instincts!" Wes shouts with a small laugh, pointing a fist forward and walking on.

.

It turns out Wes was heading in the right direction...sort of. He and Damien arrive at the school, there's no mistaking it as it's big, plain and very very demanding of your attention. It's just that they arrived at the back of the school, a large stone wall dividing them from the school.

"Opps!" Wes admits with a crooked smile as he rubs the back of his neck, this making Damien sigh and slump.

"Come on!" Damien shouts up at the wall, to tired to walk any longer.

They both sigh in defeat before Wes straightens up and smirks, remembering something.

"I could...umm..fly us up there?" Wes stutters, shuffeling his feet.

Damien turns to face him. Stares him in the eyes and sighs, letting his head fall down and admitting, "At this point I don't care enough to question what or how, just get us up and over there."

Wes does as commanded, using deep red wings to fly over the wall, carrying Damien like a bride before landing on the other side.

Unlike both of them had thought the grounds of the school were not dull and grey, they were green and filled with trees and small adorable wooden houses. The inside of the school grounds were very large as well, most of the area being taken up by a large grey stone building that looks a lot like a castle which can be seen outside the wall surrounding the school. The school building is surrounded by the greenery and smaller wooden houses, it truely is a look of natural beauty.

After taking this in Damien finally comes back to reality and notices a rather tense looking boy with glasses staring daggers at them. He is looking up at them with tightly strunched eyebrows and hands on his hips, a universally recognised sign of annoyance. He's dressed smartly, although it looks a bit rushed and little weird, and has a shining shield badge pinned to his coat with a shiny grey J on it.

"Hi?" Damien starts but is cut off by the annoyed boy quickly.

"How dare you! School grounds are closes for the night and you're not even allowed to come in over the wall anyway! Who are you and why are you here!? And don't even THINK about lying! I'm a leader! The highest position in this school!" The boy snaps with a pointed finger and a stern expression, staring directly at Damien who is still in Wes's arms.

"Well...I'm Damien and this is Wes. We accidently came the wrong way and I really couldn't be bothered to walk all the way round to get in the proper enterance so...sorry?" Damien explains, feeling his body get more and more tired with each passing minute. He crosses his hingers and hopes they maybe get away with it.

"Oh! You're Damien!? And that's Wes!? Oh man! Sorry! We were expecting you but then it became late and-Sorry!" The boy stutters and apologises quickly, bowing his head quickly as he trips over his words nervously. "I am so sorry! My name's Joshuar Ovenshire but please feel free to call me Joven! I'm not even an actual Leader, it was just the first day today and they were practically handing these badges out!"

Damien raises an eyebrow at Joven's actions but shrugs it off, not spending to much time on it.

"It's okay...What's up with you?" Damien asks with a smirk, noticing the boys weird behaviour and intending to find out why he acts this way.

"Umm...you're, like, so cool! I've been reading up on all my classmates and stuff and you and Wes and a few others are so cool!" Joven admits awkwardly with a nervous laugh to try and hide his embarassment.

Damien laughs at his weirdness but decides he likes this kid, "Cool. Well nice seeing you Joven, can you direct me and Wes to our housing now? No worries if you can't."

Joven smiles and states that that's one of the few things he CAN do and so grabs Wes's hand and drags them towards a gathering of wooden cabins with a larger one slightly to the right of them.

"Welcome to the club, that right there is my home, please knock if you want me. That hut right there is Wes's and this one is yours, feel free to decorate and paint it and do whatever you want with it, the head said it's our own personal space so...yeah." Joven points out and explains, pointing to a cabin close by and saying it's his and then pointing to a cabin close to the large cabin as Wes's and finally a cabin slightly above the rest as Damiens.

"Huh? Cool..." Wes mutters and rubs his eyes, accidently dropping Damien in the process as he forgot he was carrying him. Joven laughs and helps Damien up before making sure he's okay and walking off to sleep in his cabin.

"You ready to start the school year?" Damien asks Wes as they both head towards their cabins. Wes quickly shakes his head and smirks, happy all the same.

"Yeah. Me neither." Damien admits as he veers off towards his cabin and waves goodbye to Wes. Damien then proceeds to fall down on his new bed in his cabin, falling into a deep slumber quickly and again forgetting to take off his clothes.

.

Damien awakes to find a person knocking at his door, this annoys him.

He slumps out of bed and yawns, blinking himself awake as he opens the door slowly. "Hi." He greets the person casually as he sees who it is, Damien feels unmotivated like usual.

"Hi! So..umm..I was wondering if you maybe wanted to...not mention that I had wings?" Wes mutters and fiddles with the zip on his red coat, looking away from Damien as if his life depended on it.

Damien smiles, knowing Wes's desire to keep some things a secret, "Sure. Just as long as you admit we're friends and...maybe...consider not judging me when I don't go to class or seem like I'm not putting in effort? I just...-"

Damien starts but is cut off by Wes placing his hand on Damiens shoulder, "No worries, I understand. You ever need anything, I'm your guy, okay?"

Damien nods and smiles wider, "Okay!"

"Okay!" Wes responds, bringing his right hand off Damiens shoulder and infront of his chest in a fist.

.

(End of part 1: Prolouge?)

(Thanks to @urielectrc for contributing and for inspiration. Don't worry, this is just an adorable set-up for some REAL drama...I hope.)

[taehyungiejiminie95]

Hoseok - Just Dance

A series of one shots based around the Love Yourself solo songs - you and Hoseok meet at a dance group at your college, and things start from there.

Word count: 4,981

You breath shakily as you open the door that the campus’ dance studio is in, and shiver thankfully as you step out of the cold. It’s your first time going to the dance club on campus, finally wanting to genuinely pursue your passion and talent for the art. You’re nervous - understandably - for more reason than one. You’d heard about this dance club from some of your friends (the same friends that have been begging you to dance in competitions for years) but they don’t go anymore. They say the senior that runs it is so picky about getting everything perfect.

It’s not that you can’t take constructive criticism, it’s just that you like to have a lot of praise too. Besides, this is the only dance club that’s free for you to go to (you’re a broke college student, you can’t help it) and it’s close to where you live. Convenient and free, which is basically your life’s motto at this point.

You’re physically shaking as you open the door, terrified some fire-breathing dragon is going to be waiting to scrutinise your every move, but stop short as someone grabs the door from the other side and opens it for you. You very nearly shut your eyes, sure it’s the mean senior who’s going to shout at you for interrupting something, but you’re wrong. Instead of a fire-breathing dragon, the sweetheart that opens the door for you has a huge heart-shaped smile and warm brown eyes that smile at you too. He’s quite tall, too, with the well-defined body of a dancer, built like a panther and… yeah, he’s a whole lot of hot and that smile isn’t helping you breathe,

“Hey there! One of the younger members mentioned that we may have a newcomer today,” He gushes, as loud and as bright as his smile suggests as he welcomes you in, “You can put your bag down over there if you like, and then I’ll introduce you to everyone. You came at a great time in the semester, we’re just getting to the good stuff,” He continues, and you know in that moment that this man loves to talk, and you could listen to him for hours without break. He has a voice like honey.

His bright enthusiasm should irritate you because it usually seems so fake on people, but this is different. He feels so genuinely happy to see you, and you can tell it’s not forced. If the sun was manifested in a person, you have no doubt it would be exactly like this man,

“I’m Jung Hoseok and I’m the president of the group. It’s only because I’ve been here the longest, so don’t let my fancy title intimidate you,” He teases you, and your eyes widen in shock as you hear a few of the other members protest - no way is this the mean perfectionist senior that your friends warned you about? This is the human embodiment of happiness, and you feel grateful just to be around him. They must have been thinking of someone else, surely,

“Seokie, you’re incredible. Don’t be so humble! You’d be president if you’d turned up last night. You’re talented and you know it,” A smaller boy whines, rolling his eyes before turning to you with a smirk in his warm eyes, “Don’t let him downplay himself, seriously. Wait until you see him dance,” He tells you, and you’re taken aback a little. You’re yet to squeeze a word in edgeways to this dynamic Hoseok’s got here, and yet you’re becoming treated like you’ve been here for years. It’s a little unsettling, but it’s far better than being given the cold shoulder you’d been expecting,

“Alright, alright, enough. Everyone start warming up while I talk to our newbie here,” Hoseok laughs, voice carrying across the room firmly, but still with that warm and encouraging tone in it. You can see how he’s a natural kind of leader, he exudes respectable authority without even trying, “Sorry, I could talk forever sometimes. I didn’t catch your name?” Hosoek asks kindly, turning that heart-shaped smile back on you with full force after he’s finished shooing off some of the older (and clearly, lazier) members,

“I’m Y/N,” You reply with a smile that reflects Hoseok’s excitement, “It’s lovely to meet you, Hoseok,”

“No, not like that,” Hoseok sighs to the smaller boy who had spoken to you on your first day, although without any sign of impatience in his voice. Minseok (you’ve since learned his name is) rolls his eyes in frustration as he turns to Hoseok with pleading eyes. They’ve been working on this one section of Minseok’s new dance for the past two hours and not much progress has been made. It’s not that Minseok isn’t an incredible dancer, or that Hoseok isn’t an incredible teacher, it’s that Minseok has managed to find him the single most complicated dance you’ve ever seen, “You have to pull your arm up over your head as you turn. Shall we go through it once more before calling it a day? You were in class all day, I can’t blame you for being exhausted,” Hoseok smiles encouragingly, and Minseok nods as he takes a deep breath.

You’ve been coming to this club for a few weeks now, and you’re coming to understand more and more about Hoseok with every session. He’s definitely picky - to the furthest extent of the word - but it’s not mean. You guess it could be interpreted as so, but the way he smiles and whoops encouragingly over every victory negates that entirely. The reason that Hoseok pushes each and every one of you to the very limits of your capabilities is because he sees the hidden talent in anyone who walks through the door of the studio, and genuinely wants to help them reach that.

It’s just a plus when those people can already tap into that natural talent, and he finds it far more relaxing helping and dancing with people like that. That’s part of why the two of you have grown so close so quickly,

“You’re doing really well, Y/N,” Hoseok calls, loud enough to be heard through your earphones as you move to the beat. You start at the way your name sounds rolling off his tongue so easily, and then you see how he looks - he’s smiling widely and panting a little (it’s been a bit of a gruelling session) and you can’t help but appreciate how hot he is, even in the oversized shirt he picked for today. Just as those thoughts cross your mind in one jumbled mess, you literally fall over your own feet, earphones ripped out of your music player as you fall flat on your face,

“Are you okay? I’m so sorry, I must have startled you coming out of nowhere like that!” Hoseok gushes, looking absolutely mortified as he stoops down to help you stand back up. You blush furiously as you agree vaguely, not really wanting to share the actual reason that you fell so embarrassingly and dramatically,

“No, it’s because you gave her that look! You know exactly what your smile does, so don’t act like you don’t know that you dazzle people,” Minseok calls before he sips from his water bottle, and all of a sudden, it’s not just you that’s blushing,

“Shut up, just go home,” Hoseok hisses teasingly, and Minseok sends a mock salute his way as he grabs his bag and slings it over his shoulder. The door to the studio shuts with a soft click behind the small boy, and you and Hoseok are left alone in peace. Luckily, most of the blush on both of your face’s have managed to calm down by the time you turn back to face each other, “I really am sorry,” Hosoek offers sheepishly, “I forget sometimes that even dancers are clumsy,” You laugh light-heartedly, wondering if you sound like an idiot to him - half of the time, you can’t even phrase a sentence to respond to him with, “Are you tired yet? If you’re not, we could run through some more steps ahead of next session? You pick them up fast and it would be a huge help if you could help me correct the little flaws in the group,” Hoseok admits, feeling a little awkward himself. He won’t know what to do with himself if you decide you don’t want to, and even though it wouldn’t be a personal rejection to him and his secret feelings blooming for you, it would feel like it,

“I’d love to!” You say, surprised that Hoseok’s offering this to you. You know he likes to spend an hour or two after the club to himself, losing himself to music and his love for it. Part of you worries that you’d be intruding on this time for him, but the hopeful look on his face is unmistakable, “Honestly, I’m loving the choreography you’ve come up with. You really could do this professionally,” You tell him, internally squealing like a fan girl when the beautiful blush kisses the tips of his ears and his cheeks again,

“Okay, let’s get started,” Hoseok murmurs, changing the subject quickly before you realise how flustered you’ve made him.

The two and a half hours you spend together (some of it dancing, but some of it just talking about anything that comes to mind, leaned up against the floor-to-ceiling mirrors) pass just a little too quickly, and it seems like a mere heartbeat before you’re picking up your bag and zipping up your coat. You put your earphones in and hit play on your favourite track as you wave to Hoseok,

“See you next week, Hobi!” You call as you leave the studio, not noticing the excited smile Hoseok gives to himself. Hobi. That’s a cute nickname, and it’s not one he’s heard before. He loves it.

“Wait, a whole showcase? Seriously?” You gasp, beyond shocked by Hoseok’s sudden news. He’d caught you just as dance practice had come to an end for the term, and as everyone was getting ready to do absolutely nothing for a few weeks before classes start up again - twice as hard as ever, of course, in time for finals,

“I’ll understand if you’re busy,” Hoseok flushes, quick to give himself excuses for when you reject him, “I know most people go home for the break or something, it’s just that I normally stay around and chill for the time off. You know, work on missed assignments, pick up a few extra shifts at work or whatever,” Hoseok babbles, knowing he must sound ridiculous and a little sad to you. Most people go home to their families or travel with friends, but not him. He stays on campus and dances for the holiday… he wonders to himself how you could ever like someone like that,

“No, Hobi, I would love to! I don’t usually go home so I can avoid the drama of it all,” You joke, flushing under his pleased eyes, “We can literally start whenever, and to be honest I’m excited to get going. Your choreo is just amazing,” You continue, trying not to gush about how talented and awesome and hot and lovable- if you’re not careful you’ll be waxing lyrical to the poor man, and that’s quite possibly the least attractive thing you could do. You’re already shaking with excitement, so that must be enough of a turn-off.

You can’t help it though! Hoseok literally just asked you to participate in the upcoming showcase with him - just the two of you! You heard that it’s normally only him that enters, since it’s usually solo stages and the dance group unanimously agrees that Hoseok should be their representative until he leaves the college. He always wins first place and brings home a shiny trophy that he pretends everyone earned. Thinking about it like that… it’s actually quite a lot of pressure if you’re doing it with him. The theme this year is ‘wonder’, and it’s even more pressure since Hoseok told you he’d been stuck with ideas right up until he told you, and asked you to participate with him,

“Sounds great! I already have a song in mind, so why don’t we meet up tomorrow to listen and brainstorm ideas?” Hoseok suggests, and you might nod just a little too quickly. The way Hoseok smiles so brightly at you is no different than normal, so you can’t tell if he noticed your eagerness.

It’s needless to say that it’s not just the opportunity of a showcase that you’re excited for.

You and Hoseok gets stuck into practice without any hesitation, more than ready to get started. With a 3-year winning streak behind you, neither of you want to be the reason that ends. The first session is relaxed, just as Hoseok suggested. You sit against the mirror and listen to the song that Hoseok had in mind. You’d been nervous that you wouldn’t connect with it in the way Hoseok had, but that fear is erased within seconds of hearing it. It’s a fun song, with a bounce to it but deep and beautiful words - you were almost angry that you’d not heard it before, because you want to be able to listen to it on repeat forever. You’d asked Hoseok who’d made it, hoping to hear more of their work, but he’d just blushed and said it was some unknown rapper from Gwangju. He seemed embarrassed, so you didn’t press it, even though you didn’t understand why. What’s there to be embarrassed about? He’s probably just worried that you’ll judge him for being a hipster that only likes really low-key artists.

It takes longer than you would’ve expected to get the groundwork down before you can even start thinking about choreography, but you don’t really mind. After the first meet-up, you and Hoseok decide it would be better just to meet up for coffee to talk about it. It gets the two of you out of the dance room, which is nice since it can be a little suffocating at times. It also kinda smells like sweat, which isn’t very nice when you’re trying to talk about a showcase.

The ideas you come up with come together slowly but surely, and it’s a week through the break when you have a coherent plan to start on. You have a clear idea of what you want to do with the theme of ‘wonder’, and it’s quite sweet, really. You’re going to basing it on the idea of when you’re first falling in love, and the song Hoseok chose compares it to dancing, which is something that resounds in your heart. When you’d mentioned that particular thought to Hoseok, his smile was a little overwhelming, so excited that you really understood why he chose that song.

When you finally started dancing - well, choreographing what would become a dance - you realised that it’s the first time you’ve ever seen Hoseok choreograph something. You’ve seen the finished product, but never when it was in the works like this. It’s both frustrating and incredible to watch Hoseok go over the same 5 second segment at least 10 times before deciding he likes it enough to keep, and then recording it so he doesn’t forget.

You’d thought Hoseok would become more focussed and less friendly when so absorbed in something like this, but that’s not the case. In fact, you find that he’s even more relaxed than usual, if that was possible. You were nervous about putting your opinion in at first, but when you suggested changing a certain move or maybe the timing to make it fit better for the first time, you were surprised,

“Actually, I think it might look better if you drop your shoulder for this bit. I don’t mean to sound rude, but I think the move looks a little stiff at the moment,” You murmur shyly as you move into the first bridge of the song. As the words left your lips, Hoseok looked at you with wide eyes, and you were immediately worried that you’d offended him, “I’m sorry, I don’t mean that you’re- I just meant that- well, I guess- actually never mind,” You hurried, cheeks flushing a deeper red than normal under Hoseok’s gaze,

“What? You think you offended me?” He asks tentatively and you blanch slightly as you nod, stomach turning. That ruins any chance of a possibility for you and Hoseok, you’re sure of it, “No, I’m glad you finally said something! This needs to be your choreography as much as it is mine. I know I tend to take over a little bit when it comes to dance, but I love to hear what you have to say. If you think something looks wrong, please tell me,” Hoseok tells you, this solemn look on his face that’s a huge change from his usual smile, but gets his point across,

“Okay,” You say breathlessly, feeling your lungs loosen up a little, “Okay, so like I was saying, I think your shoulder needs to come down a bit so the move isn’t so rigid. The song is fun and soft so I think we need to move like that too,” You continue, and Hoseok’s face floods with his smile again,

“I see what you mean! Kinda like… this?” He asks, trying to emulate what you mean. You feel a spark of pride as he executes your idea perfectly, and praise him for reading your mind.

It takes you longer than you expected to finish choreographing the whole thing - a week into the new term - but to be fair, it’s an important piece and you and Hoseok both wanted it to be perfect. Even now, you’re still tweaking small things to make sure it’s the best it could possibly be. You’re just finishing up for the day, about to go home for a hearty dinner when Hoseok stops you, grabbing your wrist gently as you go to leave. You two are the last ones left, as has become a sort of routine recently, stealing an extra hour’s worth of practice after the other members of the club go home,

“I need to show you something,” Hoseok tells you with an excited smile, gesturing vaguely to the door of the dance studio. You roll your eyes affectionately as you stoop down to grab your bag, indulging in Hoseok’s whims as always. You wonder if he’s as whipped for you as you are for him - everyone else in the room can see the chemistry when the two of you dance together, talk to each other or just so much as exchange a smile, but you always worry what that you’re overanalysing things. You always tell yourself that he’s simply being friendly,

“Where are we going?” You ask, failing to keep the giggle out of your voice as Hoseok takes your hand in his (effectively stopping your heart at the feeling of his hand fitting so perfectly around yours) and drags you up the stairs towards the roof. You get ready to pretend to be offended that Hoseok wouldn’t tell you what was going on, but the words die in your mouth as you walk out onto the roof, half a step behind Hoseok, “What did you do this for?” You ask breathlessly, eyes wide as you take in the scene in front of your eyes, scarcely believing it.

Surely this isn’t simply a friendly gesture?

It’s a literal rooftop picnic! The sun is just setting, which should cast an eerie dying light over the rooftop, and it would if not for the lanterns Hoseok’s set up around the space, instead allowing an almost romantic kind of vibe to settle over it. The blanket isn’t huge - big enough for two people and a basket between them - but it looks comfortable, and you can’t help but smile too widely, feeling like you’re about to burst as you turn to Hoseok, who’s already looking at you with a hopeful expression,

“Do you like it? It’s to thank you for doing this showcase with me. I really couldn’t have done this without you,” Hoseok admits, cheeks already flushing in that way you love. The true meaning behind his words isn’t as obvious as he meant - he means that you were literally his inspiration for this whole thing, and it’s simply a bonus you’re such an incredible dancer that’s brought out the best in him. Maybe he’ll work up the courage to tell you all of that when you win the showcase, “I made the food myself, so I’m sorry if it’s not that great,” He continues, a tone of embarrassment touching his voice as he leads you to the blanket and hands you a pot of food with some scribbled hearts and ‘THANK YOU’ scrawled across the lid. You can actually feel tears welling up in your eyes,

“Hoseok, you’re too much. I don’t know how one person can be so sweet and kind,” You say, wrapping you arms around his shoulders for a tight hug. You both linger under the other’s touch for a while, and pull away with a rapid heartbeat. You smile shyly at each other before tucking into the food and gazing out at the sunset,

“I’m glad we finished in time to see the sun like this. It’s magical as it’s setting, all the different colours mixing in with one another,” Hoseok sighs, “It’s easily the second most beautiful thing in the world,” Your eyebrows furrow at this, and you turn to face him, only to find him transfixed on the sky above you,

“The second?” You ask timidly, confused. A few moments of silence before Hoseok finally tears his eyes away to settle them on yours. They’re still as warm and as inviting as they were wen you first met, and even now they take your breath away,

“Yeah,” Hoseok replies simply, and you couldn’t misinterpret that reply if you tried. You blink in surprise before smiling sheepishly, having to duck your eyes from his view. The smile that spreads across Hoseok’s face is different to the others you’ve seen - this one holds something else in it. Not his perpetual happiness, or his pride when someone gets a new move, but something different. Something more. Something adoring.

It’s that very night, laughing and joking with Hoseok on the roof of the dance studio that you realise how much he means to you. You realise how much the words of that song you dance to resonate with how you feel about him. Even down in that suffocating studio, together it feels like paradise. You might just be falling in love with this man.

The showcase is breathing down your necks at this point, just a week or so away. It’s fully choreographed, tweaks long since indulged, but Hoseok just isn’t satisfied yet. He still stays after the usual dance practice with the group has finished to go through it all a few more times. You’re not obliged to stay with him, and Hoseok has even told you a few times that you should rest up rather than staying back with him, but you don’t listen. You can see how nervous Hoseok is, and what that’s doing to him. The last thing he needs is to be stuck in this studio on his own, working himself to death just to make sure it’s all perfect.

You know how important this is to him, so you understand why he’s doing this. You don’t mind spending an extra hour alone with him by any means, but that’s not even why you’re doing it. You remember back to that first session where Hoseok put himself down unintentionally, acting like he wasn’t really all that good. You remember the way Minseok had told you that was a regular occurrence, and even though it was all in jest, it stuck with you. Sometimes you see this look on Hoseok’s face when he’s practicing, and you recognise that look so well that you can’t just leave it to fester.

It doesn’t do you any pain to practice with him, and it does a world of good for him, so it’s a no brainer really. You stay dutifully by his side, going over the steps again and again until he’s finally smiling, forgetting about the showcase and just losing himself to the feeling of dancing with you. That’s the best part of all of this, really. The smile Hoseok gives you after one of your late night sessions, when the frown lines starting to settle on his face are all gone and he gives you that smile that says exactly what you want to hear. That smile tells you what you mean to him without Hoseok having to say a word.

You’ve taken to packing a small dinner for the both of you most nights of the week, and if you’re being perfectly honest, no amount of sore muscles could ever stop you from going back. The two of you have fallen so perfectly in sync with each other, both in dance and in life. You run into each other at the campus coffee shop so often that it’s now a regular thing to meet and have lunch there twice a week. It’s effortless and beautiful, falling into place without any prodding. It comes as naturally to the both of you as dance does.

The day before the showcase, you and Hoseok practice for an extra hour than you normally would, just to be absolutely sure that everything is perfect. The music resonates through your body, and you were surprised to find that the outfits you and Hoseok had chosen don’t feel as restricting as you were frightened of. It all just feels so natural, even as the music finally stops and you and Hoseok collapse into one another, laughing as you lean against the mirrored walls. You realise as he lays down, head in your lap, that he hasn’t been getting anymore nervous at all. Instead, Hoseok seems more relaxed than before,

“Is everything okay? I thought you’d be more worried than this, but here we are, perfectly fine. Who are you and what have you done with the real Hoseok?” You tease light-heartedly, hoping to approach the subject without rudely reminding Hoseok of what a nervous wreck he’d been turning into. Instead of Hoseok’s face crumpling like you worried it would, his smile just gets wider, and he’s grinning up at you with complete and utter adoration in his eyes,

“I was terrified of this showcase, if I’m being perfectly honest with you,” Hoseok tells you, smile not faltering for a second, “Not just because I was worried we wouldn’t win first place, but because we’d be spending so much time together if we wanted to make it absolutely perfect. And I knew you’d settle for nothing less,” Hoseok continues, and you can feel your face heat up as you try to avoid his gaze, “I really am a mess before showcases normally, and I thought that would be worse because I won’t just be embarrassing myself in front of a huge audience, but in front of you as well. But there’s something about you…” Hoseok trails off, sitting up slightly to tilt your face towards his. You still struggle to meet his eyes, settling for the bridge of his nose with a shy blush kissing your cheeks.

The two of you sit there for a few moments, passing the silence easily. It’s not awkward or uncomfortable, and the words Hoseok’s left unsaid are clear to you now more than ever,

“Shall we go back to mine for dinner this time? I worry your roommates are sick of me,” Hoseok teases, standing up with a groan as he stretches his aching arms above his head. You mirror his wide smile as you follow suit, grabbing your bag and slinging it over your shoulder in one smooth movement,

“Probably sick of us. We’re both chatty and loud separately, let alone together,” You tell him as he grabs his own bag, “I would say we annoy your roommate just as much, but I think I’ve met him maybe twice,” You continue, and the heavenly laugh Hoseok lets out warms you from the inside out. His roommate is a moody senior, the polar opposite of him, who’s either at the music block where he studies, or sleeping. Apparently they’re the best of friends, despite their obvious differences,

“Sounds good to me. Besides, it’d be good to give you a break from cooking. You know, I fed myself for several years before you came along with your Gordon Ramsey skills,” He fires back, taking your hand as the both of you naturally move towards the door. A few weeks ago, you may have flinched back from Hoseok’s touch a little, surprised and scared of misinterpreting it. But now you simply interlace your fingers and lean into him, hiding from the cold, and smile fondly at the reflection of the two of you as you exit the building.

No, Hoseok isn’t nervous anymore. His insecurities have melted away with every brush of your fingers and every praising comment you offer him. You’ve given him the confidence the know the two of you look good together, and that you’ll smash the showcase tomorrow. Hoseok knows that he’ll be okay as long as he’s with you.

And when he collapses into a bear hug with you after the showcase, pulling back for only a second to kiss you hungrily, relishing the way you gasp with surprise before melting under his touch, Hoseok knows for certain that he’s not falling in love anymore. He’s already there.

[gromvillage]

what i packed to go to scout summer camp

as i’ve mentioned a bit lately, i spent a week at a scouts bsa summer camp working on earning merit badges and just generally having a good time doing scouting things. as girls have just recently been allowed into scouts bsa, this is the first summer (at least on a national scale) that girls will be attending scouts bsa summer camps and thus resources are limited on what camp is like, what to pack (specifically for girls), etc. so i decided i’d talk about what i packed (or what i wished i had) for my week!

clothing

class a uniform

this is kind of obvious for most scouts, but besides just traveling in them, the camp i was at asked us to wear them for evening flags and dinner, as well as the flag retirement ceremony they had

4 sports bras

i don’t mind rewearing stuff like this for a couple days, especially if i don’t get super sweaty during the day, so i don’t bring one for every day

8 pairs underwear

bring a pair for every day you’re going to be at camp, and a couple extra pairs for emergencies. hanes has underwear made from stretchy wicking material, which i greatly prefer when i’m outside as it’s both super breatheable and easy to wash if i need to. i don’t remember the exact product name but i get them in packs of four at target

9 pairs socks

i brought less than 9 pairs of socks, but i’m recommending that you bring at least nine. this was the only thing that towards the end of the week i started to get worried that i would run out of, especially because i wanted to make sure i keep my feet clean and dry so i went through a couple pairs some days. as i wore tennis shoes all week, i brought low cut athletic socks i got at khol’s or target or somewhere like that (just make sure they’re not cotton) 

pajamas 

i took nike athletic shorts and a quick dry shirt. please please please don’t sleep in cotton clothing if you can avoid it, you sweat as you sleep, which will make the cotton damp, and then you will get chilled as the night goes on, leaving you feeling like you’re clammy and freezing even in your sleeping bag

3 class b shirts

my troop gave all the girls who went to camp 3 class b shirts, which i found to be enough as i rewore them a couple times throughout the week. if your troop doesn’t provide class b shirts, just bring more regular shirts

2-3 regular shirts

while this isn’t something i packed, they definitely would have been nice to have to wear after showers, while hanging around camp, etc. just to change things up from wearing my class b’s

4 pairs shorts

i packed 3 pairs of patagonia baggies and one pair of patagonia barely baggies and i loved having them. not only are they super comfortable, very durable and quick to dry, but i was never afraid they were going to slip off while whitewater rafting or swimming

1 pair leggings

this is another thing that i didn’t pack but wish i had, as we had what i felt was an unseasonably cold week while i was at camp

1/4 zip pullover

i took one from rei like this and was super glad to have it, again because it was pretty chilly. i wore it pretty much all day, every day while i was there and felt like it did a great job of odor control (though i didn’t actually sweat that much while in it so that may be part of it)

2 one piece swimsuits

i only packed one of these (i didn’t want to spend the money on a second one, as i would only wear it at camp) but would say that having two would have been nice, not only for the variety but also because the one i took got pretty rough smelling towards the end of the week due to the scuzzy lake water

rain coat

this is a pretty obvious thing to bring, but i wore mine almost every day, not because it was raining but because it was the only other jacket i had besides my 1/4 zip and it helped to act as a wind breaker

2 pairs tennis shoes

though i wore the same pair the whole week, i would definitely recommend bringing two pairs in case one gets wet

flip flops

to use for shower shoes. most scout camps don’t allow you to wear open toed shoes except for in the shower, so no need to bring your chacos or similar sandals

water shoes

again, we were required to wear closed toed shoes for water activities so i took a pair of my mom’s old water shoes from when she windsurfed to wear when we went whitewater rafting. luckily though, we weren't required to wear them while swimming but every camp is different so make sure you get a pair that are comfortable

gear 

footlocker

i took a footlocker like this one because it’s lockable, durable, and waterproof for the most part. i was able to fit everything i took in it with some careful arranging and it was able to slide under my cot in my tent

sleeping pad

while my camp provided us with cots, i wanted some extra comfort so i took my therm-a-rest z pad to put on top of it. i had no problems with it sliding off my cot during the night

sleeping bag

i took my marmot trestles 15 and was glad to have its warmth. some people recommend just bringing a light sleeping bag or sheets but i would say opt for your full sleeping bag, even if it’s going to be warm because you never know how chilly it may get at night

pillow

i would definitely recommend bringing one of these, especially because weight isn’t an issue with packing. i just took a small one i made using a pillow form and fleece i bought at a craft store

headlight + extra batteries

i much prefer a headlight to a flashlight as it leaves my hands free. it can also be hung in your tent to make a tent light in a pinch. always remember extra batteries!

2 water bottles

i took my 32 oz nalgene bottles, carrying one with me throughout the day and leaving one by my cot so i’d have one in case i needed water during the night

hammock and straps

the camp i go to (like most scout camps i’m assuming) is pretty infamous for its ‘hammock cities’ that develop in campsites, where scouts stack their hammocks and just generally form clusters of hammocks so i made sure to bring mine. i loved having it to hang out in while we were chilling in camp

clothesline + clothes pins

nice to hang wet clothes on (obviously) but also just air out the clothes i had worn that day. i have one from nite ize (i don’t think they make it anymore) that is a piece of paracord with two clips on the end that allow you to circle a tree and clip it back on itself, as well as adjust how long your rope is. i could totally use a regular piece of paracord and just tie it around a tree but i have this so,,,,i use it (hmu if you find something like what i talked about online though)

mesh laundry bag

i bought one in the laundry section at target for something like $10

toiletries

toothbrush + toothpaste 

deodorant

chapstick

lotion

razor

soap and shampoo

liners/pads/tampons

even if you’re not supposed to be on your period that week, stuff happens and it’s better to be prepared (or share with someone in need)

2 bath towels

i found this to be plenty, as i dried them between uses and sometimes kept one in my bag when i went swimming though i never actually used it

3 washcloths

i took two but an extra would have been nice to have

daypack

28 liter daypack

i took my gregory 28 l daypack similar to this one and it had plenty of space for what i carried. i originally was going to take the backpack i use for school but was concerned that if it got wet, it would take forever to dry so i opted for my this bag instead 

scout handbook

though i didn’t use it that much, i always take it with me on scout trips and recommend taking it with you

sunscreen + bug spray

most camps don’t allow aerosol canisters so keep that in mind when buying/packing

playing cards + uno cards

good ways to pass free time. pack them in a ziploc bag so they don’t get wet!

notebook + 2 pens

i took a regular sized notebook but most people brought a much smaller notebook, which i would recommend. how much writing you do depends on the merit badge classes you take but you won’t need a full sized notebook that’s for sure. remember and extra pen or two as well

first aid kit

not only is this just a good thing to have in general (i have this one), if you’re getting your first aid merit badge, you will need to show this for one of the requirements

portable phone charger + cord

every camp and troop is different in regards to phones but my troop was pretty relaxed in regards to them so i took my anker powercore and it was more than enough for how little i used my phone

sunglasses

tissues

what i took and didn’t need/use

rain pants

while i would still recommend packing these, i didn’t use them as it didn’t rain that much and when it did i didn’t really care if my shorts and legs got wet

camp chair

i took my rei flexlite chair but ended up not using it as in camp we either sat at the provided picnic table or in our hammocks 

sleeping bag liner

as i took my regular sleeping bag and it didn’t get super cold at night, i didn’t need this

book

i took a book thinking i would read in my free time or before bed, but i ended up hanging out with my troop during free time and being too tired to read before bed

i hope this information will be useful to someone out there, even if you use it for something besides scout camp! let me know if you have any questions/comments/thoughts!

[sweetboybucky]

Skate

Pairing: Bucky x Reader

Word Count: 1600

Warnings: Minor swearing

Summary: Maybe your soldier isn’t good at everything he does. 

A/N: Hi, everyone! So, here I am with another fluffy mess. Honestly, I love this idea so much and I haven’t read anything like it (but if any of you have read any fics like this one, let me know so I can read them!). I have some really fun things in the works for all of you and I can’t wait for you to see them. I also want to thank you all for 300 followers! I celebrated 200 less than a week ago and another 100 people have already decided to follow me. Seriously, I can’t thank all of you enough. This community is absolutely incredible, honestly, and you all have made me feel so welcome here. Anyway, I’ll cut myself off before I start crying because I’m a sap. Enjoy! 

My Masterlist

***

“Are you sure about this, doll?”

His voice sounds to your right, quiet. Hesitant. Careful. You turn back to him and see him eyeing the few children left in the building, their bodies zipping around. A metal hand snakes into his pocket, a self-conscious gesture. It makes a sympathetic smile curl onto your lips.

Lights flash around you. Slightly disorienting, but fun. The roller rink around you looks almost exactly as it did all those years ago. When you came here for birthday parties and class field trips. When your family would take you on weekends or on those rare days they let you leave school early.

You turn back to your feet, lacing up your clunky skates as Bucky grumbles something about this place being “too loud”. Your smile of sympathy gives way to one of mirth. Standing from the small bench you’d been sitting on, you make your way over to your handsome soldier. You wobble a little but manage to keep your balance enough to plant yourself in front of him.

“Come on, Buck,” you say, reaching down to grab the flesh hand resting on his thigh. “It’ll be fun!”

“Why do you think I’ll enjoy roller skating so much?”

“I don’t know,” you breathe, running your free hand through your hair. “But we haven’t had a day off at the same time in forever and I loved this place when I was a kid. Come on, I promise it’ll be fun.”

He moves his flesh hand from your grasp and rests it against your waist, placing his metal fingers - which he’s finally pulled out his pocket - on the other side of your body. They press into you as he leans his forehead against your abdomen. A heavy sigh leaves his lips.

“I really don’t want to do this.”

“And I really do want to do this. Please?”

Tilting his head, he lets his cheek fall against the fabric of your shirt. Takes in a deep breath and presses himself a little closer to you. You look down at him, a reassuring smile on your lips. One that you hope says enough to quell the anxiety in him. 

“Okay,” he whispers, kissing your belly shortly. Your face lights up. “You’ve gotta help me up.”

“You got it, Sergeant,” you say into his hair, nuzzling your nose there.

Capturing his fingers in yours, you pull back a little, watching as he sits up and lets out a determined huff. You chuckle. He mutters something under his breath.

After a minute of letting him prepare, you start to tug on his hands. He straightens his legs, stands tall and solid. Doesn’t move a muscle for a few seconds. You give him a little cheer and glide closer to him.

“I’m so proud of you.” Lips flutter along his as you form the words. He rolls his eyes. Squeezes your hands a little. “You wanna try moving?”

Azure eyes flash around a little too wildly, catching the movement of the kids still in the rink. His eyebrows pull down and a tiny frown mars his features. Makes lines appear in his forehead. Your heart sinks in your chest, eyes flicking from his face to his feet.

“If you don’t want to do this we don’t have to, Buck. I’m sorry if I -” you begin, worrying you’ve pushed him too far. Bucky cuts you off.

“No,” he whispers, voice unsure. “No,” he repeats, the word more firm now. One of his hands lets go of yours to tuck his fingers under your chin, lifting your gaze back to him. “I wanna try. I wanna do this. It’ll be fun.”

You smile. Kiss him. Wonder how you got so lucky.

He sighs, low and heavy. “This should be easy, right? All I have to do is step forward?”

“Barnes, children do this every day. I think you have enough coordination to roller skate.”

“Well, if I fall on my ass, I’m taking you down with me.”

“What a way to go,” you breathe. He nudges you a little. Tries to hide his amused grin. But you catch it anyway.

Another deep breath. Another flash of resilience in his eyes as he carefully slides his foot forward. You move yours back in turn. His face splits into a beautiful smile and you have to remind yourself how to breathe.

Five minutes later, he’s on the ground.

Again.

He purses his lips in frustration. A strangled noise comes from his throat - one that makes you want to hug him and laugh at the same time. You hide your chuckling behind your hand, reaching the other out to him. To help pull him up.

“Goddammit.” It’s a single word. Spoken under his breath. You giggle, not able to hold it in any longer. He glares up at you but takes your outstretched hand in his. Grips it.

“I didn’t expect you to be so bad at this.” And there’s truth to your words. Because for as long as you’ve known Bucky, he’s been good at everything he’s ever done. He’s a quick learner and his super soldier stature certainly gives him some unfair advantages. But this - roller skating - is his weakness, you realize.

Seeing him so unsteady today, so unsure, would normally upset you. Would usually make you pepper kisses along his jaw and hold his hands until he felt better. Until his grumpy state was taken over by the handsome soldier you fell in love with.

But there’s also a small - and slightly guilty - part of you that’s beginning to love him more now that you’ve seen this more human side of him. The one that’s terrible at roller skating. It makes everything about him feel real, for once, and not like some extraordinary dream.

You lean back, bracing yourself to lift his body. He does most of the work for you, pushing his hand against the shiny floor of the rink. Palms envelop your forearms. Grip onto the skin there in a desperate attempt to keep him from falling again.

You hold onto him for a minute. Listen as he huffs out a few annoyed breaths. Feel the wobbling of his body as he tries to keep his balance on the wheels. The place is nearly empty now, you realize, and you’re silently thankful for that. It gives Bucky the space to be as bad at this activity as he wants without the fear of hitting someone else.

“I’m bad at this,” he grinds out, his fingers digging into your skin, “because I’ve never done it before.” You roll your eyes. “You, however, are good at this because you’ve obviously had plenty of practice.”

“You know I haven’t been here in years, right? What makes you think I’ve had enough practice to be good at roller skating?”

“Because you managed to skate your way into my heart,” he says, his grin as sickeningly sweet as the response. You make a face.

“Incorrigible,” you whisper, pinching his flesh arm. He makes a noise that’s somewhere between one of protest and one of humor, squirms a little in your grip. You smile. “That was terrible, Barnes.”

He lets a heavy breath out through his nose, a little burst of amusement. Lets go of one of your arms and tweaks your nose. Laughs when you scrunch it up.

“Do I at least get credit for trying?” You scoff.

“Let’s just focus on the skating, you klutz.”

He fakes a look indignation, saying, “Fine. But like I said before, Y/N, next time I fall on my ass, I’m taking you with me.”

You wiggle your eyebrows at him. And this time, his laughter is booming. It resonates within the rink and makes you feel more whole than you ever have. Makes most of the thoughts in your head go a little fuzzy. 

But then he’s moving again, just a bit. Holding onto your arm and trying to keep his balance as you let go of one of his, swing around to his side so you can both skate forward. You turn your head to him every now and then, watch the way he bites his lip and locks his eyes on his feet.

For a minute, he seems to be doing well. He’s still incredibly unsteady, but his confidence in his movements is growing a little more. He smiles, little crinkles near his eyes appearing. And it’s brilliant. You’re positive that somewhere a star is jealous of the way Bucky shines. 

But then he’s falling. 

It isn’t graceful. It doesn’t end in some sort of roll that he can immediately stand up from - like in his Winter Soldier days. Instead, it’s awkward. It’s his skates catching on each other. His legs twisting in a way that is sure to be uncomfortable. The arm that isn’t holding yours ending up under his body. 

In an instant, you’re there with him. But the linoleum never meets your skin. Warm skin does. And it isn’t until you’re done falling - he hadn’t let go of your arm when he had gone down - that you realize he caught you. Turned himself enough to let your body land on top of his. 

His face is inches from yours, his fingers digging into the skin at your waist. “Are you okay?” he whispers. 

And then you laugh.

You laugh like you’ve never laughed before. It’s boisterous. Uncontrolled. It’s laughter for the fun you’ve had with your surprisingly clumsy soldier. Your sweet, handsome, silly soldier. 

Soon enough he joins you. Adds his own chuckling to the sound of your amusement. You both stay planted on the floor, lights flicker over you as tears spill out of the corners of your eyes. As all of the breath leaves your lungs and your abdomen aches.

“I kept my promise,” he says, breathless and gentle. You settle your hands on his shoulders. “I took you down with me.” 

Your smile grows as you remember his statement from earlier. It grows even larger - and so does his - as your form your response. “What a way to go.”

When you kiss him, you’re sure he knows you mean it. 

MAIN TAG LIST:

@arrow-barton

[marvelsior]

five times kissed

MY FAVORITE MEME || always accepting! || @sensesdialed​

The first time was Peter’s 18th birthday, to the minute. Gwen had been on patrol, his gift in her backpack, until her watch alerted her that it was time to start swinging to the Parker apartment. Within the hour, Gwen was knocking on the boy’s window once her watch alerted her that it was officially Peter’s birthday. She was greeted with that grin she would always remember–one that this Peter and her Peter would forever share. Peter Parker had made it past 17 in this universe, and it made her happy and sad all at once. Her Peter would never make it to 18, he’s been gone for years. 

Gwen sees the welcome packet for Peter’s college on his desk, the Spiderwoman removing her mask and smiling as Peter opened the window and let her in. “Excited for school?” she asked, gesturing to the desk’s contents as he grinned. “Of course! Y’know, you didn’t have to come here Gwen, it’s late! Aren’t you tired?!” Peter asked, brown eyes shining with concern as she waved him off and pulled her backpack off her shoulders to retrieve his gift. “I was out already on patrol, but I would rather die than miss my best friend’s birthday! I need to be the first to give you a present, it’s my duty as a best friend. Besides Ned, of course.”

Peter’s face lit up at her words, the Spiderwoman pulling out the wrapped package and handing it over to him with a smile. “Happy Birthday Petey,” she murmured, dark eyes watching him gently pull off the paper, only for his eyes to widen and immediately look to her. A camera. One she knew would be great for all sorts of shots–and vlogging as well. “How–?”

“You mentioned it once. In both universes,” Gwen answered, avoiding his gaze only for a minute or two as she zipped up her bag and placed it back on her back. Her heart ached only slightly, the more time she had spent with Peter over this last year of being in this universe made it hurt less and less. Honestly, it would always hurt at least a little, but she’d never been happier with the way her friends and family were all still here-in some form, at least. She takes a few strides to his side, turning the box over in his hands and pointing out specifications, showing him how this was both for photography and can also be for video, and that her mom bought some extra batteries for it, they’re in the box. She blinked and there were arms around her, Peter’s face in her shoulder thanking her as she wrapped her own arms around his waist and kept him close. “You’re welcome Pete…” 

Soon she’s on her way back to patrol, jumping over the railing as sticky feet keep her attached to the side of the building facing him as she placed her mask over the top half of her face, her grin still showing as she leaned up so she was eye-level with him. “Coney Island tomorrow?” she asked, and Peter agreed, those brown eyes shining bright in the city lights around them. Gwen Stacy had always loved Peter Parker. With every fiber of her being, she did. Unfortunately, in her universe it decided that wasn’t meant to be….and she didn’t realize just how much she loved him until he was gone. Here? Here she had a second chance to be the best friend her Peter deserved; to protect him. Now here he was, eighteen years old, going off to college in two months. He made it. Both Spider warriors hadn’t realized just how long they’d been quietly staring at each other until Gwen’s watch went off again, startling her enough to almost lose her grip on the railing–prompting Peter to flail to try and catch her–but she righted herself in time for the two of them to be inches away. She’s not sure what came over her, but moments later she leaned up and gently pressed her lips to his. She lingered for a moment or two, pulling away and very happy that her mask covered most of her face as she pulled it down and sputtered out. “Sorry, I shouldn’t-couldn’t–I’ll see you tomorrow!” and swung away. Shit. Gwen you’re an idiot what the fuck.

What she didn’t expect, was the blur of red and blue following after her moments later.

The second time was a time after Peter’s birthday, after Coney Island, after the night of Peter’s birthday where Spiderman followed Spiderwoman until he caught up–many more kisses happened between then and this time. It was Peter’s sophomore year of college, and he’d told Gwen on multiple occasions how the dorms were miserable. Flash was always there. How Flash and Peter ended up at the same school was beyond them, but it was ridiculous how the bully never took a hint; or grew up. Fucking Flash. Gwen had appeared at Peter’s dorm the night before; the three of them (Gwen, Peter and Ned) had a movie night with a blanket fort and fell asleep on the floor. The next morning she found herself in Peter’s bed with a note explaining he went to class, he’d be back in a few hours. Ned was gone for most the morning and he came back around 10am. 15 Minutes later she heard the familiar sound of Flash antagonizing someone–her Spidey sense alerted her that it was Peter moments before she heard a body hit the door. 

Gwen signaled for Ned to stay where he was, slowly creeping to the door and opening it a crack to see Peter struggle to his feet, wiping away some blood on his lip before he faced Flash again. Gwen was fortunate to not have had to deal with Flash directly, Peter had known how she didn’t want the high school to know she was here. She wasn’t their Gwen, she was too old for high school so it wasn’t like she could ‘come back’. Peter had protected her by keeping her existence a secret from their peers, just as apparently he was protecting her now. Flash was saying something about Peter being weak, about how it was his fault Gwen was dead because she went up there to meet him. Both Gwen and Peter froze on their respective sides of the door, by now Peter sensed Gwen watching and moved so he was between Flash and where she was. From there, Flash explained what he’d done–he was the one who sent the Gwen in this universe to that place. He wrote it and signed it from Peter, so Gwen would get ‘stood up’ by the boy she actually liked, just so Flash could make his move on her…but she died instead.

Gwen could feel the sorrow bubbling up in Peter’s chest, brown eyes watching his fingers twitch-wanting so badly to turn into a fist but Peter’s too good for that. Too pure. The last 5 years, Peter had beaten himself up about Gwen’s death. From 14 to 19 years old he believed it was all his fault–just as Gwen had felt these last 7 years with her Peter. Eventually, the Spiderwoman had enough and threw open the door, prompting Flash to turn white as a sheet and back away as if she was a fire coming straight for him. “G-Gwen?!” She felt Peter’s gaze on her, sensed him reaching out for her, and she placed her hand in his awaiting one before she pulled him against her, free hand gently wiping away some blood from his lip. She felt Peter instantly deflate in her grasp, just as she always did when she was angry and he was there, Now Gwen was angry. Peter had put up with SO much abuse at the hands of Flash; now this madness had to end. “For the record, Flash Thompson?” Gwen’s voice was smooth as silk, but her gaze and the edge of her tone was icy as the frozen tundra as she turned to face the cowering teen before her. “I would rather die than be with you. Fuck. Off.” Flash took the hint and fled the scene, Gwen turning her attention back to her injured boyfriend as Peter’s forehead leaned against hers. 

“He’s gonna tell everyone, you know…” he pointed out, prompting a shrug from Gwen. “Let ‘im. I don’t care anymore,” she answered, cupping his face in her hands and pressing a slow kiss to his lips, which was eagerly reciprocated by her spider-love. Two seconds later, there’s Ned; wrapping both of them in a tight embrace, exclaiming “THAT WAS SO BADASS, GO GWEN!”

The third time was after Gwen had been accepted into the Masters program, the two of them moving into a dorm/apartment on campus together for Pete’s second half of Sophomore year and Gwen’s first semester in her Masters program. Both of them on either side of Gwen’s bed, feet touching as they both kept taking notes and highlighting things they would need later. It had been hours, and Gwen’s eyes were starting to hurt. Maybe she should take a break. Peter gets up and stretches, Gwen’s gaze moving from her book to her boyfriend as he did so–she never got tired of being around him. She figured he was on his way to the bathroom, or the kitchen to get a snack, but moments later she was greeted with Peter inches from her face and placing a hand over her book.

“Hi,” she chuckled as she turned to face him, a sleepy smile across Peter’s features as he cups her cheeks and pulls her in for a kiss, prompting the elder spider warrior to run her fingers through brown curls. Free hand closes her book before she shifts so he’s standing between her legs and she’s sitting on the side of the bed, their kiss only breaking when they need air. “Time for a break,” Peter breathed, smiling when Gwen leaned in for another quick kiss. “Alright, alright. You know it’s bad when you are the one telling me we need to take a breather.” 

The fourth time was at both their graduations. Each major had a separate ceremony based off which ‘college’ your major was sorted into. First was Peter’s, then Gwen’s, then The Parkers and The Stacys threw the two a graduation party–one that Tony insisted he pay for and hold at Avengers Compound. Either way, it was just madness, and after they cut the cake the two spider warriors fled the large room where everyone was gathered with their desserts and hid in one of the nearby living rooms. Their senses were going a little haywire with the amount of noise and people in the room, they just needed a few minutes to themselves. 

Gwen was about halfway through her cake when she leaned into Peter’s shoulder and pressed a quick kiss to his neck. “I’m proud of you Petey,” she whispered, looking up at him as Peter grinned. “I’m proud of you two Gwendy.” Honestly, years ago she hated ‘Gwendy’, but it grew on her–but only if Peter was the one to call her that. 

The next kiss that followed was soft, sweet, just like Peter himself. Honestly Gwen wasn’t sure what she did to deserve him. She’d been so hardened by the world when she came to this universe, and now? Now she had more to live for. She had both her parents (father from this universe, mother that birthed and raised her), Uncle Ben and Aunt May (the former from her universe, the latter from this one), Mary Jane (her universe) and now Peter. Among so many others she’d grown to know and love over the years. Soon the two of them are stretched out on the couch in the kiss, Peter hovering above her as her hand keeps him anchored by the back of the neck. The kiss was still so soft, and she loved every second of it. She loved him more than anything, more than life itself. These last few years opened her eyes to a love she never knew she could feel, and it had almost completely eradicated the pain she felt when she first came here. Breaking away for air, Gwen stroked dark curls away from his face gently as Peter playfully flopped on top of her, arms wrapping around her waist as she chokes out a laugh; a little winded from pure muscle landing on her. 

“Thank you, Petey…” she murmurs a few minutes later, fingers playing with dark curls as he looks up at her. “For what?” he asked, those beautiful eyes locking onto hers as she smiled. “For loving me.”

Spiderman smiled once more, moving so he’s hovering above her once more, pressing his lips to hers in a deep, loving kiss before he speaks again. “Always, Gwendy. Always and forever.”

The fifth time was after a mission had gone wrong. Stark and the other male members of the Avengers had disappeared for days, only to reappear for Carol and a few others to bring them home. Gwen had been stationed at the Compound; the female Avengers going out to look for them in shifts. One day in the city, one day back at the compound. Not even the X-Men could find them with Cerebro. 

Today Gwen was pacing the living room, Natasha anxiously toying with her multiple weapons spread out across the coffee table before both spiders heard the Quinjet land in the hangar. It was early. Gwen bolted for the hangar, Natasha on her heels, and she arrived in time to see a disheveled mop of brown curls appear at the top of the ramp, blue and red suit filled with holes and covered in dirt, a hand gripping his opposite upper arm in pain, but otherwise alive. “Petey…” she breathed, eyes watering as he looked up and saw her.

Both spider warriors stumbled towards each other-Peter’s clumsiness from his horrific experience and Gwen’s from the shock of seeing him again-just for lips to crash together. Gwen’s fingers instantly tangled in soft hair, strong arms looping beneath her legs after she launched herself into him, legs wrapping around his waist to keep herself upright. “I’m okay, I’m okay,” he breathed against her lips, Gwen pressing several heated kisses there before breaking away and peppering multiple all over his face before she wrapped arms tight around his neck, resting her chin atop his head. 

“I thought I lost you again…” She whispered, feeling Peter press a soft kiss to her neck before burying his face there. 

“Gonna take a lot more than that to kill me Gwendy. Promise.” 

“I’m holding you to that…” 

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

[argylemikewheeler]

Prompt: Richie sees his twin playing DnD with his friends and is so amazed by Mike's way of narrate the campaign. He's jealous of all the voices he can do, how he actually sounds like other person, how he puts so much emotion into the narration when Richie is struggling to do half of what he does so naturally (put Byler fluff somewhere too)

Richie was hands-and-knees searching for his other black high-top sneaker. He had worn them the day before on his stag night out to the arcade, but between that night to that current afternoon, Mike had been told to clean their room. Richie didn’t trust that Mike actually cleaned it and instead just shoved everything under the bed or in the closet– that’s where Mike always was anyway, Richie told him.

“Mike!” He called, pulling out from under his bed, trying not to whack his head on the bed frame again. “Where the fuck did you put my shoes, Mike?”

“He’s in the basement.” Nancy said, poking her head into the room. “He can’t hear you, Richie.”

“Ugh, that fucking bastard. Moving my shit and then disappearing.” Richie grumbled as he got to his feet.

“Language.” Nancy said with mock-sternness. “Clean it up when mom and dad are home; you know Dad is uptight about that.”

“Fuck Ted.” Richie said, shrugging. Nancy rolled her eyes before stepping aside and letting Richie leave the room and head for the basement. “Mike!”

Richie swung around the stair banister and took swift steps towards the basement. He took the stairs two at a time, ducking his head and trying to catch a glimpse of his brother, trying to catch him before he tried to avoid him again. Mike wasn’t the only person down there– Mike’s gaggle of friends were sitting around the table, their weird dolls-and-board game crap set up in front of them. From his stop on the stairs, Richie couldn’t tell who was winning, but Mike was going off about something.

He had an English accent– one that was annoyingly better than the one Richie had been trying to copy from some Caine guy his dad watched in movies. Mike was standing from the table, reading from his weird binder, the one he constantly was adding pages and diagrams to. Will, Dustin, and Lucas were hanging on every word he said– definitely not about to tell him to shut up and keep his mouth shut. Beep Beep, Richie.

“–the town thanks you for your valiant service, gentlemen!” Mike said, grabbing Will’s hand and getting to him stand. “Peace has been restored and the prince is returned to his worried suitors!” Mike pulled Will close to him, wrapping his arm around his shoulders. Will returned the touch, wrapping his arms around Mike’s waist as he grinned, laughing at the outrageous accent narrating the story. “The party is invited to a medal and knighting ceremony! The prince is forever grateful!” Mike continues, waving his free arm out to his friends who erupted in cheers at their accomplishments– fake accomplishments, Richie reminded himself.

The party stood around the table as Mike pretended to knight each of them, tapping his pencil on their shoulders. Richie watched silently, even stepping up farther on the stairs to avoid their line of sight. He had never seen Mike actually run a campaign with his friends. He had always heard the muffled shouting and cheering, but always assumed it was them being obnoxious, not genuinely having a good time because of Mike’s planning and apparent new ability to story-tell.

How was it that Mike was able to ramble and scream and yell and wave his hands around like an idiot and be applauded? How come he was able to wrap his arms around his friends and touch them? Every time Richie tried to tell jokes or be close with his friends, they pushed him away and told him to calm down. Sure, Richie wasn’t calm half the time, but he wasn’t trying to be malicious; he was excited. Being with his friends made him think of a thousand and one things to do with them before they had to wait until the next weekend or the next time they were all free. Richie loved his friends but apparently not as much as he loved them– or Mike’s friends loved his brother.

“Hey.” Richie announced his presence finally, stepping into the basement.

“Hey, Richie!” Will waved first, far more pleased than anyone else for his appearance. “You just missed the end of the campaign.”

“Bummer.” He said, rolling his eyes. Secretly, Richie wished he had actually caught more of it. It all seemed pretty interesting once in action.

“What do you need, Richie?” Mike asked, looking at him with a raised eyebrow. He was still holding onto Will, their hands resting on the table.

“I just, uh,” Richie looked at the binder by Mike, looking at the sketches and arrows redirecting entire pages into a fluent story; since when did Mike become the creative one?

Mike slammed the binder shut. “What, Richie?”

“I was looking for my shoe.” Richie pointed to his one bare foot, his voice getting lost as Lucas began zipping up his bag, saying that if he made his sister late to her play date again, she’d probably melt He-Man over the stove. Again.

“Haven’t seen it.” Mike shrugged. “Sorry, Rich.”

“I know you cleaned this morning.” Richie continued, trying to wait until the crowd thinned to attempt his conversation.

“I don’t remember touching your shoes.” Mike said. “I don’t touch any of your shit– Bye, Lucas! Tell Max I said hi.”

“See ya, Mike! Same time next week?” He asked, stopping on the stairs.

“Of course!” Mike smiled, waving his friend off. Lucas grinned in return before disappearing up the stairs. They were both so pleased to see the other, but also looking forward to seeing each other again– what kind of friends did that? Richie always felt like his friends left him before they reached their maximum capacity of their own tolerance of his bullshit.

“You guys do this every week?” Richie asked, walking around to sit in the chair Lucas abandoned.

“Yup!” Dustin nodded. “Well, as long as your mom doesn’t get mad about us taking over the basement.”

“She just gets mad because we’re the excuse our dad uses to not get any of the tools he has stock-piled in here.” Mike said, rolling his eyes. “Not like he helps fix anything anyway.”

“He offers to fix my bike every time I come over.” Dustin laughed. “My mom can fix it just fine when it breaks.” Mike, Dustin, and Will all nodded, laughing quietly at some joke Richie was completely left out on. He faked a chuckle to not play the fool, just like always. “Speaking of mom, I should probably head back too. I’ll see you at school, guys.” Dustin obviously meant only Mike and Will. He grabbed his bag and headed for the stairs. “Nice seeing you, Richie.”

“Nice seeing you too!” Richie called, trying to catch the last remnants of the smile offered to him before it stepped out of sight. “Bye…” Richie waved to the bottoms of Dustin’s shoes as he ascended to the first floor.

Mike cleared his throat. “So, what else is on your mind, Richie?” He asked. Mike was still holding Will’s hand, turning towards each other with their knees touching.

“Can I play next week?” Richie asked slowly.

“Why? What pranks do you have lined up?” Mike sighed, looking at Will with an unamused expression.

“N–Nothing.” Richie said hurriedly. “I just want to hang out with you.”

“No you don’t.”

“I do. I like your friends.” Richie confessed.

“We like you too.” Will grinned, nodding to Richie with warm reassurance.

“You wouldn’t mind? I mean, I don’t really know how this… this weird, stupid myth shit works but, I’m good at memorizing stuff for class so I can probably learn pretty quick.” Richie said, trying to bargain his worth. Mike held a hand out to stop him.

“Ask Dustin. He’s really good with all that stuff; he’ll give you the rundown.” Mike said. “And you’ll probably just have to sit in next week, but then after that, we’ll see how you are.”

“Really?” Richie asked, eyes probably obnoxiously wide and magnified by his glasses.

“Why are you acting so surprised?” Mike asked, looking at Will, who shrugged in return.

“I don’t know… I guess I just thought you’d say no.” Richie admitted only about a fourth of the truth– the other pieces being that he knew Mike had every reason to reject him, he had every trait his mother said was grating and unlikeable, and Richie knew that he was sometimes too scatter-brained to be of good help in games that required focus– he just couldn’t help it. Richie figured his brother would say no since everyone else in his life and been so quick to say it before.

“No, you can join us.” Mike smiled. “Don’t think we’ll be rescuing any more princes though.” Mike said, grinning at Will. “Sorry.”

“Do you have to pick me to be the stand in for the person being captured every week?” Will laughed, pushing on Mike’s chest. “Lucas can be a stolen townsperson every so often.”

“But it gives me an excuse–” Mike stood and quickly stepped behind Will’s chair, wrapping his arms around his shoulders and pressing his cheek against Will’s. “I can hug an imaginary prince without breaking any party rules.”

“Fine.” Will sighed, placing his hands on Mike’s arms.

Richie stood awkwardly beside Mike’s empty chair, trying to ignore the fact he had become the other person in the room suddenly. He didn’t have enough hands to count how many times that had happened to him; he felt stupid not having gotten used to the feeling already. He couldn’t keep getting upset every time he was left out; he’d have nothing else left.

“I’m gonna go find my shoe.” Richie muttered, shuffling his feet towards the stairs. “Forget what I–”

“Wait!” Mike called after him, catching him before he took the first step. He turned to look, ready for Mike to retract his invite. “Take my binder and flip through some of the old campaigns! See what we’ve done.” He unwrapped one arm from Will’s shoulders to grab the book and hold it out to Richie. “Hope you’re ready. It gets intense really fast.”

“No no. I’m ready.” Richie grinned, grabbing the book. He hugged it to his chest as he raced up the stairs, nearly slipping with his one stocking-foot.

“Bye, Richie!” Will called. “See you next week!”

Yeah, yeah he would. He’d see Richie laughing, smiling, learning Mike’s accent techniques (because he still couldn’t be better than him), rambling most likely, being surrounded by friends, and not once being silenced. Richie was still missing his shoe, but he found something far more rewarding in his search; something to make him complete rather than just find one for his shoes.

ao3

[niktorvikiforov]

24. and Yuuri TO Yuri! :3333

Haaaa okay :D Here we go

Title: All that glittersRating: TPairing: Otabek Altin/Yuri Plisetsky, Katsuki Yuuri & Yuri PlisetskyWordcount: 1,831Tags: Prank Wars, Crack, POV Yuri PlisetskyRead on AO3: link

“Yurio?”

The Katsudon’s voice is cautious. Yuri purposefully ignores the question.

“Yurio, what are you doing?” he asks again with a sigh as he tries to step out of the way. Yuri follows him like a shadow, keeping his eyes glued to the door.

“Don’t call me that!” he snaps angrily. “I’m not some five-year-old.”

“Well, you’re sure acting like one,” the Katsudon says with a condescending smile that resembles Viktor on a level that’s actually creepy.

“Shut up, pig!” Yuri spits out, still making sure that the man is directly between him and the entrance.

“So you can call me whatever you want but I can’t call you Yurio?”

“Whatever,” Yuri rolls his eyes.

“No, seriously,” Yuuri starts again. He just doesn’t fucking know when to stop. “Why are you hiding behind me? What did you do?”

“None of your fucking business!” Yuri yells in his face. Yuuri calmly stands in front of him, his arms crossed.

“It is if you’re planning to use me as your human shield.”

Fair enough, Yuri thinks. He wouldn’t say it for the world, though.

“Yuri.”

“What!?”

“What happened?”

“We had a prank war, okay?” he finally snaps.

Yuuri says nothing; he just waits for him to continue patiently. Yuri sighs, dragging a hand across his face in defeat. “It was fun, I changed his ringtone to Sk8er Boi and called him while he was in class, he zip-tied my skates together, you know, stupid shit like that.”

“But then?” Yuuri prompts.

“And then he walked in on me before I was done with my next one and I had to distract him before he found out. So I kissed him!” he blurts it out.

The awkward moments of silence keep stretching between them. Yuuri’s face slowly transforms from utter surprise to understanding and it’d be the most infuriating thing if Yuri wasn’t preoccupied by the realization that he really just said that. He can actually feel his face burn and he hates the way his body keeps betraying him like this when it’s not even a big deal. He shakes himself but just as he takes a deep breath to continue the story, the Katsudon interrupts him.

“So you’re hiding from Otabek because you kissed him?”

Yuri just rolls his eyes. “No, idiot, I’m hiding from him because I glued his shoes and his backpack to the floor in the locker room.”

Yuuri’s eyebrows shoot up to his hairline.

“It was probably a bit too much,” Yuri shrugs.

“You think?”

“Don’t give me that look like you’ve never done anything stupid!” he snarls at the man who smirks at him.

“So you admit it was stupid.”

“Shut up!”

Yuuri holds his palms up defensively.

“Yura!” Otabek’s voice cuts the conversation short and Yuri’s breath catches in his throat as he hears the anger in his tone. He takes one step so Yuuri is standing directly between him and the door again. Yuuri rolls his eyes and steps out of the way again, leaving Yuri with nowhere to hide. He shots the man what he hopes qualifies as a death glare as his heart hammers in his chest and he feels his face heat up again, just as Beka rounds the corner, almost running.

He looks furious, his hands balled into fists at his sides, his dark eyes narrowed, promising nothing good. The effect is somewhat ruined by the fact that he’s wearing red and blue spotted socks. That glue really does wonders, Yuri takes a mental note. They stay like that, Beka right at the door and Yuri backed against the wall on the other side.

“I guess this is my cue to leave,” Yuuri says cheerfully. Yuri’s head snaps to the side and his anger flares up again as he sees the amused look on his face. “Please don’t kill each other!”

And with that the traitor is gone and they’re all alone.

Otabek says nothing but he doesn’t take his eyes off Yuri as he reaches into his back pocket, taking out Yuri’s phone and holding it up for him to see that he’s got Instagram open.

Yuri draws his eyebrows together in suspicion and he swallows nervously. “Why do you have that?”

“I thought I could surprise your fans with a little something,” Beka says, his face completely void of emotions now.

“Wh- What do you mean?” Yuri suddenly finds himself almost panicking. He’s very picky about what lets his annoying, pain in the ass fanbase see from his life, and he knows that Beka knows this. He also knows that his phone holds a lot more than what’s public knowledge.

“Hm,” Otabek rubs his chin as he pretends to think hard about his answer. “I was thinking that photo from the banquet after World’s. You know, where it’s you, Viktor, and Yuuri. You’re hugging both of them, looking very happy… Or even better, the one where you’re giving Yuuri a kiss on his cheek!” he smirks as Yuri splutters, going completely white.

It’s not fair for anyone to hold any of those things against him, it was his first really important senior competition where he managed to medal, someone gave him a glass of champagne, and Yuuri and Viktor seemed like actually decent people in that crowd. And everyone’s allowed a moment of weakness or two.

“You wouldn’t dare!” He’d rather die than let those photos leak. He has an image to uphold after all! He narrows his eyes as the betrayal hits him.

“Do you really want to try me?” Beka asks, raising an eyebrow, his finger hovering over the “post” button.

“What the fuck would you do that for?” Yuri yells at him, his hand twitching at his side as he wonders if he could stop Beka from posting it if he’d make a dive for it. Probably not.

“Why did you feel the need to glue my stuff to the floor?” Otabek yells back.

“I don’t know, okay?” Yuri throws his hands in the air.

“Not okay!

“I wasn’t thinking,” he tries.

“You sure weren’t,” Beka snorts.

“It just happened!”

“Oh yeah?”

“Beka, please–”

“These things don’t just happen without a reason!” Beka gestures around aimlessly, the phone in his hand temporarily forgotten. Yuri’s afraid that he’ll accidentally end up posting the photo whether he really means to or not.

“Maybe I don’t know the reason!”

He also has a feeling that they’re no longer talking about a pair of leather boots and a backpack.

They stare at each other in heavy silence, both of them too proud to break it first. The staring contest stretches on until Otabek finally sighs, holding out Yuri’s phone.

“Here,” he says, his voice quiet.

“You won’t post it?” Yuri asks suspiciously as he takes some tentative steps towards the outstretched hand.

Otabek shakes his head. “I was never gonna do it. I respect your privacy.” He suddenly sounds very serious and Yuri’s heart flutters in his chest, something warm spreading through his insides. He thinks that deep in his mind he knew that Beka wouldn’t betray him like that but still, confirmation was nice that whatever stupid crap he’s done he can still trust him.

Yuri nods and he slides his phone into his pocket. He hovers a few steps away from Beka, suddenly not knowing what to do with his hands or where to look; he shifts his weight from one leg to the other. He sneaks one quick glance at Otabek, and he can practically see the cogs turning in his mind as he stares into the space between them, his eyes unfocused.

It’s awkward. Everything is suddenly so awkward and it sucks because that’s not how they’re supposed to be, and Yuri has no idea how to fix it. He’s not good at this, he doesn’t know how to not let people down, he has nothing to offer. He wonders how long it’ll take for Otabek to realize that. Making friends with fellow competitors was probably a mistake in itself. Kissing a fellow competitor who was supposed to be your friend is a whole other mess. But here’s the thing. He’s Yuri fucking Plisetsky, Ice Tiger of Russia, and he’s not one to give up, so if Otabek is so slow on the uptake that he hasn’t figured it out yet that this may not be worth it, he sure as hell won’t make it easy for him. He takes one deep breath and clears his throat, raising an eyebrow questioningly.

He startles Beka out of his thoughts, his cheeks slightly flushed but he stands Yuri’s gaze, his face still serious. Almost too serious, Yuri would think– if this was anyone else but this is Beka and that’s just his face.

“Do we need to talk?” Otabek’s voice is soft.

Yuri rolls his eyes despite that nervousness in his stomach. “No.”

“Okay.”

“Okay,” he repeats it stupidly.

“So what now?” Otabek asks.

Yuri shrugs. “I don’t know. Maybe we should go back for your stuff?” he suggests.

Beka snorts. “And do what? Glue won’t disappear just because you’re sorry.”

“Hey, who said I was sorry?” Yuri grins at him, and next thing he knows he’s being tackled to the floor so fast he doesn’t even have time to yell.

Beka kneels above him, pinning his wrists down as he tries to wriggle free, but despite the fact that he’s grown quite a lot in the past year, Beka still has the upper hand in muscle mass.

They stare at each other and there’s a new kind of tension between them, undeniably sparkling in the air.

Otabek crushes Yuri’s last shreds of dignity as he manages to keep both of his hands in place with only one of his own as he reaches into his pocket for something Yuri can’t see.

And in the next moment he can’t see anything because Beka just dumps an entire handful of glitter in his face and his hair, and he sits back with a grin, finally letting Yuri go. Yuri splutters as he tries to get the damn sparkles off himself, only making the situation worse.

“You asshole, this will take forever to wash out!” he complains loudly, making Otabek laugh.

“Still not as bad as superglue,” he points out and Yuri has to admit he’s right.

Before either of them could say anything else, they hear footsteps approaching and a very familiar voice cutting through the air. Yakov sounds angry – angrier than usual. Yuri winces.

Beka studies him from where he’s still kneeling. Yuri gathers his strength to sit up but he doesn’t get the chance. Beka leans forward so suddenly he has no time to react before his lips are pressed against Yuri’s, just for a single second. And then he’s on his feet and out of the door in a moment, leaving Yuri speechless, lying on the floor, covered in glitter.

He has about ten seconds before Yakov walks in. He’ll have some serious explaining to do.

[sky-writes-daydreams]

Happy Father’s Day, Cor.

So as promised. One for cor. :) He’s got to be such a good dad guys. Like legit. 

“He’s going to get mad, Gladio….”

“No, he’s not. Just relax. You have a legit reason for being here hon.” You sighed a bit then and looked down in your arms. A small lunch bag was there covered by a black jacket. Your dad had been really stressed out lately. The war with the nifs was taking it’s toll on everyone. As the marshall and a close friend of the king tho…. He took it a bit harder than most. He just wanted to protect those he swore his life to. You completely understood where he was coming from on that. He had raised you with the same principles in mind. You were still just a bit softer than him. That’s probably why you were so worried right now.

Cor had told you last night that he was going to have a late night tonight and not to wait up for him. You often tried to his annoyance and that was also for tonight. Only when he left, He forgot his dinner and a rain coat. It was going to rain really bad tonight. You didn’t want him getting sick. He might be “The Immortal” But he could still catch cold. Thankfully your friend Gladio had no problem picking you up and giving you a ride back to the citadel. He parked the car in the garage below the area and smiled at you encouragingly.

“Second floor. Just ask for him hon…. Most of the crown guard knows about you.”

“Right…. Wait what?” He just laughed then and unlocked the door. You got out then and took a deep breathe. You weren’t scared of your dad. It was really hard to be scared of him when you’ve seen him cleaning the house when he thought he was alone. He was a honest to goodness sweet man. You were just nervous about bugging him at work. You had never come here like this before. You got into the elevator alone and hit the second floor button. It was oddly quiet so you started humming a bit. Only it stopped on the first floor. You knew the woman though.

“Oh. (Y/N).”

“Monica… Hey.” She smiled a bit then and stood next to you in the elevator.

“Bringing him dinner?” You looked over and she smiled.

“He was a bit upset when he realized it. He wasn’t looking forward to trying to go out.”

“He never does around that time. It’s a madhouse.” She nodded then and smiled.

“You got a ride home?”

“Gladio. He brought me.” She nodded then as the doors opened.

“Alright. Good to see you again (Y/N).”

“You too Monica.” She smiled gently then before going back to work. You walked out and located the main desk. There was a man there. He was looking over papers easily but looked up when you came close.

“Oh. Hey. Here for training?” He must have thought you were a new recruit or something.

“Um No sir. I have something for The Marshall.”

“Cor? Oh Hey you’re his girl huh?” You nodded then and he smiled.

“He got called by regis but…. Oh Hey. Cor!” He waved behind you and you pivoted on one foot. He was walking in next to Gladio’s father, Clarus. They were deep in conversation that stopped when he heard his name. It took him a second but He saw you.

“(Y/N)?” You smiled then and waved.

“Hi D- Sirs.” Cor walked over then With Clarus. Clarus was really nice outside of work but you wanted to try to keep it professional.

“What’s up? It’s not like you to be here….”

“Oh. You forgot your dinner.” You moved the jacket then and you saw it in his eyes. He was relieved.

“Oh… You didn’t have to.”

“It’s better than you going out. Plus You’re going to need your rain coat. There’s supposed to be a storm tonight.” He gave you a confused look then but took the jacket.

“Well Thanks (Y/N)…. You didn’t walk did you?”

“Oh no. I um…. I called Gladio. He said it would be ok.” You looked to Clarus and he nodded.

“He knows he’s allowed. I don’t mind…. You’re a devoted daughter Miss.”

“I try sir.” He nodded and Cor smiled at you. It was small but it was a smile.

“Thanks (Y/N)… You better get home now.”

“Yeah. Three chapters to read in one class again… Um… do you have any laundry?”

“Oh. Yes. I forgot to bring my basket down. You mind?”

“Nah. Just focus on work ok?” He nodded then.

“Alright. See you?” You nodded then and gave him a quick hug. He returned it gently before someone else needed them. You let them go and went back down alone. You could only hope he would see the note and realize what was going on. After all, Cor didn’t have a rain coat anymore. His last one got ruined in an attack.

After (Y/N) Dropped off dinner, It was back to business. We were trying to work on a few things and get things ready for anything. Any day now, an envoy was expected from the nifs detailing what they wanted from us. It was a tense time. Thankfully around eight, dinner time came. I could take a small break. I got the small box out and opened it. Still hot and steaming, She made my favorite. Mother and child egg bowls with baked chicken strips on the side. She really did spoil me when it came to dinner. Only inside the lid in a little baggie was a note. She had taped it there. I pulled it off gently and pulled out the paper. It was perfectly dry thanks to the baggie. I unfolded it and started reading her neat scrawl.

Hi Dad,

Don’t worry I’m not in trouble. I just wanted to surprise you. You’ve been working really hard lately to keep everyone safe so I knew you would have forgotten. Depending on what time you stop to eat, It’s either the day before or the day of, Father’s day.

Now what does one get The Immortal Cor for Father’s day? To be honest, I had no clue. It took me a while to come up with this idea. I sadly couldn’t make the coat itself but the patches I added on there, I did. Took me a while with a lot of needle pricks but it’s worth it. I want to be able to protect the people I care about like you do. So I started with your health. Besides making sure you eat and get sleep and everything…. I got you a new rain coat. You don’t need to catch a cold right now. It’s a lot stronger than the last one and it does go with the uniform. Well.. Sort of. You’ll see. I hope you like it dad… It’s just something small so you know that I still love you… and that I still need you in my life. So keep doing your best at the citadel. I’ll do my best from behind the scenes for a while longer.

Love (Y/N)

I smiled gently and picked up the coat. I had left it folded in a guest chair. A sleeve came free first and I stopped. It was the crown guards embalm but under it is what got him. Instead of his last night, It said “Best Dad”.

“You silly kid….” He finished unfolding it and soon laughed. On the back was a bigger patch. “Who needs guns when you’ve got a sword like mine?” Is what it said. She even had my older blade crossed with my current sword behind them. It must have taken her forever to make these. The stitching was tight but could be removed without harming the coat. She really knew what she was doing. Cor was stunned for once and ate in silence.

Once he was on dessert, he got a call from Regis. They wanted to see him to talk about something in person. He was used to it so he quickly packed up and grabbed the coat. It was faster to run outside for a bit instead of following the halls and the rain was finally here. He got it on right before hitting the rain and smiled. It was rather nice not getting soaked. It was even big enough to cover his sword on his side when zipped. He had just gotten inside and closed the door when He heard the chuckles.  Cor turned and went to attention. It was Regis and Clarus. They were smiling. It was nice to see honestly. Powering the wall and wearing the ring did take a lot out of Regis.

“Where did you get the patch Leonis?”

“My Daughter. She made it for me.” Clarus was shocked but Regis just smiled.

“Good to see that she knows her father well.”

“I agree sir.” He walked forward and followed them into a conference room. It was a quick meeting about a security breach that could exist. Notes were taken and measures could be taken to keep it from being a big deal. It was very relaxed compared to normal meetings. Once everything was addressed, Cor was getting ready to go back to his office when Regis cleared his throat. He stopped and looked over.

“Yes Your highness?”

“Cor… You’ve been pulling a lot of hours lately.”

“Yes sir. There are things that need to be done after all.”

“Not tonight.” Cor stopped then and both of the older men smiled. They had plotted.

“You are to go home after collecting your effects.”

“But…”

“It can all wait till tomorrow. Go home and be with your daughter. And yes…. If it takes this.. This is an order.” He couldn’t believe these two. He just shook his head then.

“No order needed. I understand. See you tomorrow?” They nodded and that was it. He listened and soon was on the way home.

He walked into the flat, rain dripping off the jacket slightly and looked around. She wasn’t in the main rooms. Then he heard the grunts. She was always working on her hand to hand at home. So much so, she had installed a punching bag in her room. He slipped out of his boots then and walked over to the cracked door. She wasn’t using the punching bag. She was in the floor doing push ups with a text book propped up in front of her. Only one hand was touching the floor.

“Welcome home Dad.”

“Thanks kid… Can I join?” She nodded and He quickly joined her. he used both hands for now.

“Oh man, Sociology?”

“Psychology.” She turned the page then and he smiled.

“You’re how far?”

“One more chapter… Then five questions with three parts per chapter. Why?”

“Curious… I’m not usually home this early.”

“No you aren’t… Or this dry. You wore the jacket?”

“Still am.” She looked over and smiled then.

“Nice… Glad it fits.” He nodded then and barely nudged her.

“Thanks (Y/N)…”

“It was nothing…. Just… You needed it. And the patches were fun to make honestly.” She was smiling. He could see bandages on her fingers now. THey had to be from the needle pricks.

“Yeah. Regis and Clarus loved the one on the back.”

“Whoa they saw it!?” He nodded and she laughed then.

“Nice!!!”

“I’ll say. So…. Do you have psychology tomorrow?”

“Nah. I just wanted to get it done. Why?”

“Been awhile since we’ve done a movie night… I’ll let you choose.” She glanced over then.

“Did we get more popcorn?”

“Yes.” She smiled then and pushed herself up with one arm.

“Then let’s go! I’m thinking….Transporter.” He honestly grinned then getting up.

“You’re not going to want to try his driving out in town are you?”

“Why, Would you let me?”

“No!” She really laughed then and he couldn’t help it. A tight hug making her jump before they headed into the kitchen to get snacks and drinks ready for movie time. No matter what though, even she fell asleep on him around ten during the second movie, He didn’t take off the jacket. He liked the reminder of being her best dad.