#or the last couple of relationship exploding image changing years

[drdemonprince]

id say im handling aging about as well as taylor swift or ariana grande are

[604to647]

Safest with You (The Epilogue)

3.2K / Modern AU Retired Mob Enforcer!Din Djarin x fem!reader

Summary: You and Din welcome a new member to your family.

Warnings: All fluff - just the way we started this series! Established relationship, nicknames as usual (Pretty bird, baby).

A/N: A cute little glimpse into the lives of our happy couple around two years after the series finale. 112 Carlota Galgos is a real Galgo rescue in Spain! I won't go into the circumstances that make the rescue work they do so important, but many of you know that I have a greyhound, and the plight of the Galgo is well known in the sighthound community. These dogs deserve the world!! If you have an opportunity to check out organizations that aid Spanish Galgos or even help - I promise these gentle giants deserve it. Lisette is a real galgo I knew! She passed last year and this epilogue is dedicated to her (cute pics included at the end!)

I’m posting this on the one year anniversary of Chapter 1!! I can’t believe it’s been a whole year of writing these bbs 🥹 Thank you thank you everyone who has supported and followed along with this series - you are all as dear to me as Pretty Bird's garlic knots are to Mayfeld 🥹🥰 (I still plan on publishing that recipe!)

Dividers by @saradika-graphics as always! 🥰 / Series Masterlist

Just before your finger is about to press down the call button on the outside of the closed metal gate, you retract your hand and look questioningly at Din.

“How many am I allowed to get again?”

Din stares at you for a second to ascertain if you’re kidding and when he sees you’re not, a little panic sets in on his face, “One, pretty bird.  Just one.”

“But…”

“We only made arrangements with the airline for one, baby.”

You pout a little, but know Din’s right, “Okay. Fine. One.”

Somewhat dejectedly you press the button, though the chorus of barks and yelps from the other side of the gate resulting from the chime of the bell perk you up immediately, and by the time the gate is buzzed open with a loud brrrrzzzt, you’re giddy with excitement again.

This is the last planned destination of the European trip you and Din have been on for the last three weeks, both of you looking forward to flying home in just a few days.

The vacation has been an absolute dream.  You and Din have eaten your way through Amsterdam (Stroopwafels! Bitterballen!), then Paris (Steak frites! Macarons! Croissants!  One, sometimes two baguettes a day!), followed by Rome (Gelato! Pasta until you exploded!), and then finally Barcelona (Paella! Bombas!) before ending up where you are now: Andalucia, Spain, outside the gates of the 112 Carlota Galgos dog rescue.

The happy and excited woofs from the still unseen pups remind you so much of Alfredo.  Gosh, you miss your best guy so much – although, if the daily photos and videos you’ve been receiving are to be believed, he might be hard pressed to leave Paz’s when you get back.  By now a minor celebrity in Din and Paz’s neighbourhood, you’re happy to see that Al’s been making the rounds at the local shops (and accepting generous samples everywhere he goes), enjoying fun road trips to nearby hiking trails, and most importantly, helping Paz cement his image as an attractive, eligible bachelor about town.  You’re sure if you were to peek at Paz’s dating app profile, you’d see it updated with copious pictures of him fawning over your dog. 

Originally, you had been hesitant to have Paz take Al to his place for three whole weeks, wondering if it was better if instead, Paz could come and dog-sit at your and Din’s place – but Al does seem to be adjusting to being away from home just fine.  Though Alfredo is generally super easy going and adaptable, you nevertheless recognized that it had been quite a year of transition and multiple upheavals for your pup and worried about how he might cope with yet another change in scenery. 

Nearly a year ago, you and Din moved in together and Al had been uprooted from the only home he’s ever known.  Though it wasn’t without some understandable disinclination that you left your beautiful and much-loved apartment, both of you agreed it made perfect sense for you to move into Din’s place above Mando’s.  Of course you loved your old place – you had poured so much of your heart and soul into making it your refuge and the perfect home for you and Al, but you couldn’t find it within yourself to regret leaving – Din is your home now, as you are his.   The only safe haven you need is the one with him, and though you’re sure he would have moved without hesitation if you had asked, the idea of Din leaving a residence right above his place of work, in a building he already owned, was too silly to even entertain.

To try and make the adjustment as smooth as possible for his pretty bird, Din had given you free reign to redecorate, bring in your furniture, and make whatever changes you wanted in order to make his, now your, apartment feel more like home.  The third floor of Mando’s would always hold his most cherished memories of his childhood and father – he didn’t need it to look a certain way or have it maintained as some kind of physical shrine in order for that to be true; Din was ready to make a home and new memories with you.  It was sweet and you appreciated the gesture prodigiously, but aside from adding your own bookshelves and swapping out a couch, the only thing you had asked for was a bigger kitchen.  Din had readily agreed and even suggested he build you an expanded closet and turn the second bedroom into a home office-dog den for you and Al.  Din’s enthusiasm and eagerness for the project was enough to have you agreeing to his considerate suggestions.

What had followed was seven months of renovation chaos, living out of and tripping over boxes as a slew of tradespeople and workmen paraded in and out of what was supposed to be your new sanctuary. 

You love Din with all your heart, and one of the things you love most and find endlessly attractive is just how good he is at the things he does: taking care of you and Al, supporting the community, running Mando’s – to say nothing of the skill and prowess he displays in his work in and out of the ring; just the sight of Din running drills with his boxers or deftly commanding the Mandos gets you weak in the knees. 

But elaborate home improvements and remodelling?  Unfortunately, not part of Din’s impressive skill set.  Nor any of the Mandos for that matter.  For two weeks, every Mando on payroll seemed to be over at your place “helping” with measurements and the demolition of the kitchen and the wall between the two bedrooms.  Only after a burst pipe and the subsequent three weeks of living with drying fans running 24/7, did Din concede it was time to call in professionals.  Then came a parade of contractors and their respective plumbers, cabinet guys, drywall, tile and marble contacts, electricians, etc. – who all seemed to owe some kind of “favour” to Boba.  The good thing about that was they were committed to doing a good job; the bad thing was that no one was particularly dedicated to doing a fast job.  For the next five months, you, Din and Al lived in a construction zone of various partially started and finished projects with different strangers coming in and out of your place at all hours of the day – it had stressed Al out endlessly.

A little over half a year after moving in with Din, you hit a breaking point and, with Din’s encouragement, packed a suitcase and took Al to stay at Bea’s until a firm completion deadline could be negotiated with the various contractors.  Din had insisted on staying behind to lead the "negotiations" and "supervise" the follow through; lo and behold, everything had been completed to perfection and cleaned up thoroughly two weeks after.  Upon seeing the beautiful finished space, you finally felt at home – though frustrated, you hadn’t ever been terribly mad about the whole situation, but it had been a very confusing time for your pup.

Din had felt awful – this wasn’t the symbolic big step and storybook start to your lives together that he had envisioned.  You either, if you were being honest, but it genuinely mattered very little in the grand scheme of things; you reminded Din, as the two of you christened every surface of your brand new kitchen, that your lives together had really started a year before moving in together, when he had taken his own big step and shown up outside of your office, making you the promise to be open and honest about everything.

And he had.  Din had forgiven himself and won you back, and these last two years have been the happiest of your lives, even with the renovations. 

In that time a lot’s happened.  Jimmy won another two division championships and moved up a weight class.  Cass announced that her and Rikard were expecting.  Rory’s bridal boutique expanded to a second even more successful location and to her chagrin, she was promoted to manager.  The second book in Bea’s series came out to amazing reviews and the anticipation and hype for the third (due out later this year) was through the roof.  Poe decided to pursue and then successfully obtained his pilot license.  You went up in his Cessna just once – the views had been unforgettable, Lisa getting sick in your lap no lesser so.  Katie guest starred on Law and Order – twice (two different characters).  You met the Mods.  And Al finally settled into his new home, overseeing his new kingdom from the plush and cozy dog den that his dad lovingly built for him.

And now you and Din are about to take another big step together.

Greeted enthusiastically by one of the women who runs the Spanish hunting dog haven with whom you’ve been conversing with over the past few months about adoption, you and Din take a tour of the facility before being led out back to meet the dogs.

Per Elenna’s guidance, you sit in a chair near the water bowls and let the galgos come to you on their own terms.  Some, understandably, are shy and timid, wary of strangers – tentatively, they come and investigate you with their snoots, eventually accepting your gentle pats and scritches once they feel comfortable enough.  Others have no such hesitation - tails wagging, curious and excited, they enthusiastically crowd you, nosing in for pets and try to sniff out the treats you have in your pocket.  Your chest expands, heart nearly tripling in size to see these dogs get to be dogs again, as you rub their little faces and coo endless words of deserved praise at them for their bravery.

Maybe the plane will have room for another crate, you think, or two?  You can’t stop giggling as your face is licked and poked with wet noses, or when those same noses goose your tummy and legs, competing for the attention of your busy hands – you’re in heaven, nearly overwhelmed by all this furry cuteness.  Surely Din cannot possibly expect you to limit yourself to one! Knowing the marshmallow squish that resides beneath his hard and steely frame, you’re willing to bet that Din has already softened his stance on taking home multiple pups.  You crane your neck to see over the dogs, looking around the property to see if you can locate your boyfriend.

To your surprise, you find him not being surrounded by enthusiastic, bounding galgos, but alone - crouching near the ground and gently scratching a smaller fawn coloured dog who’s laying on her side, her slender head lifted just slightly off the ground to lean into Din’s hand.

“That’s Lisette,” Elenna says when she notices you looking at Din and the fawn girl, “she’s just come to us after this last hunting season - we found her in the street with a broken leg.  She’s all healed up now but is still quite skittish, especially around men.  This is actually the first time I’ve ever seen her let a man touch her, never mind a stranger.  Your husband must have a very calming touch.”

“Oh, he’s not my husb-” your voice trails off as you watch Lisette continue to happily receive Din’s attention.  Walking over, you hear him speaking quietly to her in Spanish.

“What are you telling her, Din?”

Din looks up, eyes soft and shiny, “Just telling her what a good girl she is.  That’s she so brave and sweet.  And that she doesn’t have anything to be afraid of anymore.  She’s safe now.”

There is no question as to which (one) dog you’ll be adopting today.

Lisette settles in quickly when you and Din get her back home, especially with Al immediately taking up his role as big brother.  Lisette falls into the easy comfort of following his lead, regularly looking to Alfredo for guidance – he never leads her astray and the two of them become inseparable.  With growing pride, you watch Lisette tentatively explore her new environment and slowly over the next few months, becomes more and more comfortable in her forever home: first your and Din’s apartment, then the gym, whose enthusiastic occupants always greet her like the princess she is, and eventually the entire neighbourhood where she’s never without her protective brother by her side.  When she’s ready, you and Din take her and Al out on further away adventures: to your and Din’s favourite farmers’ market, Poe and Lisa’s (where you learn in their pool that Lisette can swim!) or to Boba and Fennec’s where she can run and play with Mochi and the other Daimyo Dogs.  Your heart positively kvells as Lisette’s confidence grows and she becomes the happy pup she deserves to be, putting her less than ideal start to life behind her.

The only thing you wish you could change, though you would never push, is that Lisette won’t cuddle with you - she only ever cuddles with Din.  You know she loves you, but she’s very much a daddy’s girl and he’s the only one with whom she feels safe enough to have in such close proximity while sleeping or relaxing.  You don’t begrudge Lisette at all for feeling this way; Din is her protector, she trusts him to keep her safe - you understand the comfort of that feeling better than anyone.

And in truth, you love watching them together – seeing your sweet girl so at ease and your strong, formidable warrior melt into a puddle of goo when she burrows into the warmth of his lap.  Din talks to Lisette in Spanish all the time, repeating what he told her back in Andalucia: she’s safe now, she doesn’t have to be scared anymore - this is her home.

Your home feels complete now – there’s nowhere you would rather be than cuddled up on the couch with Din, each respectively loving on the pups that have curled up against you: you, Al and Din, Lisette.

Then one day, you’re on the couch tapping away on your laptop when Lisette saunters up to you.  You rub her little head and give her a little smooch on her snoot as she walks by, fully expecting her to wander away but she surprises you to no end when she hops up on the couch and curls up by your feet.  Terribly delighted but not wanting to spook her, you pretend like it’s no big deal – your heart, however, is doing jumping jacks; looking up with a big smile you see Din nodding encouragingly at the both of you.

And then she does it again.  And again.  At first still staying arms length from you, she inches closer and closer, little by little.  Though your chest is exploding and you want to shout with joy, you always remain calm and give Lisette copious amounts of quiet praise after she’s settled.  To celebrate this progress, Din will eventually come over to shower Lisette with additional treats and Spanish words of adulation that she happily accepts.  Sometimes you even catch him encouraging her before she comes over to you or see her looking back at him for reassurance before she climbs onto the bed or couch to sit with you.  Always her protector, her safe space.

It's slow going, but worth it.

Today, you’re on the couch having just finished a book, funnily enough it’s the most recent in the fantasy series that Din had bought you and your friends on that first day you met nearly four years ago, when you see Lisette moseying on over to you.  You swing your legs off the couch and pat the spot next to you, and to your delight, she hops up and starts to do her little nesting circles, prepping for her laydown spot.  When she finally settles, she lays her little head in your lap and you think your heart might burst.  You look up and see Din, handsome and relaxed, leaning against one of the bookshelves looking at the both of you with an adoring expression on his face.  You beam back - yep, the two of you are his girls.  The ones he takes care of.  Looks after.  Loves.

Lisette nuzzles her furry little face deeper into your thigh and you can’t help but giggle at the sensation.  “Okay, okay,” you chuckle, as if you needed any invitation to pet and love on her.  Dispensing gentle scritches all over her head and little ear rubs, you notice that your sweet girl has an extra collar on.  Normally Lisette wears just a martingale and sometimes nothing at all when she’s at home, but today, she’s got a thin rope collar encircling her neck as well.  Rubbing it between your fingers, you say to Din, “This is pretty!  When did she get this house collar?”

“Got it for her a while ago, but thought I’d wait for the right moment to put it on.  Do you like it?”

Lisette lifts her head and you take the opportunity to take a closer look at the pretty pink collar; admiring the delicate metalware and the luxurious feeling fibres of the rope, you run your fingers over the collar until you get to the small clasp in the front and feel something you don’t expect.  Rotating the collar around Lisette’s slender neck so you can get a better look at the thin object, you gasp when it comes into view.

A diamond ring.

Din, with Al by his side, starts to walk towards you, the look in his eyes clear and so easy to read: Devotion.  Adoration.  Love.

“Pretty bird…” he starts.  Din has an entire speech planned.  He needs to thank you for coming into his life and showing him what true strength and power is.  Grace, honesty, and compassion have been your gifts to him, and he’s a better man, a stronger man, for your kindness and generosity.  He wants to promise you that your faith in him will never be misplace – that he will cherish you and your heart to the very last beat of his own and beyond.  He loves you, admires you, trusts you, is in awe of you, and remains forever grateful for you.  Grateful for every smile you throw his way, every laugh you pull from him and allow him to draw from you, thankful for all the ways you’ve woven yourself into his life and made it better.  And above all, grateful for your acceptance and love for him and all that he is, was, and ever will be.  He needs to ask you if you will allow him the honour of spending the remainder of his days showing you his gratitude and loving you the way you deserve.

Din’s heart is overflowing and he has so much he wishes to express; he’s not entirely sure he’s going to be able to make any sense.  But Din’s not nervous - the radiant smile on your beautiful face as he approaches already telling him everything he needs to know.

Real life Lisette!! 🥰🥰

Very last tag for this series!! Thank you all forever for your support 🥹😘

@tuquoquebrute @furiousmushroom @cheekychaos28 @72scsuze @nerdieforpedro

@toobsessedsstuff @whirlwindrider29 @inept-the-magnificent @mellymbee @that1nerd-20

@hipabbster23 @bitccchmood @bigbutchenergee @rainbowcat164 @the-strawberrythief

@johnssherlock221 @misstokyo7love @vivian-pascal @florxdexcerezo @fanficlover1414

@rarachelchel @heartbrokenlilbitch-nef @jeewrites @sunnytuliptime @kulekehe

@bebsjo @yopossum @cartonkid1200 @rav3n-pascal22 @sjc7542

@xxx-silhouette-xxx @pedroswife69 @kilamonster @mandoshoney @joelalorian

@syd-djarin @moonlessnight14 @lucienofthelakes

[sagesolsticewrites]

“i can’t keep kissing strangers, pretending they’re you.” | Austin!Elvis x fem!reader

12 years ago, Elvis chose his career over you. What happens when he shows up at your door asking for a second chance?

a/n: this is entirely based on a dialogue prompt I saw from @twelvegods: “I can’t keep kissing strangers, pretending they’re you.” apparently it was a really good prompt because it inspired all 8,735 words of this lol. I I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I loved writing it <3 Thank you all again so so so much for 500 followers!!

Word count: 8.7k

Warnings: a couple swear words, lots of angst in the first half, Y/N has trust issues oops, I think that's it? As always, please let me know if I missed anything!

Please like/rb if you enjoyed! ����

“I’m gonna marry you someday.”

That’s what Elvis Presley had said to you when he was just 20 years old and his career was starting to take off, thanks in large part (as Elvis said) to the Colonel. And you, being the young girl in love that you were, believed him.

What a fool you were.

You managed to stay together for another year before the Colonel, his claws digging into Elvis’s heart and soul to bleed all the green he could out of him, managed to convince him that appearing single would be what was best for his career— he had to let all those screaming girls believe they had a chance with him, after all.

“Baby please,” Elvis pleaded, “this is for my career. I promise it won’t be for long. We’ll get back together, you’ll see.”

You shook your head, “No, Elvis. I’m not gonna sit around waiting for you like some damsel in distress. If you want me, keep me. But otherwise…”

You paused, waiting for him to say something. Begging, pleading, praying he would say something, that you had managed to change his mind.

When he said nothing, you exploded.

You had screamed and cried, and he had screamed and cried, and you had taken your things that had made their way into his room in Graceland and stormed out of his life for good, only pausing to give him one final sincere “I love you” before you walked out the door.

The last image you had of him (that wasn’t on a tv screen or poster) was of him standing in the foyer in Graceland, tears streaming down his face, refusing to chase after you.

You hoped that time would eventually heal your wounded heart, but apparently whoever said time heals all wounds was a fucking idiot because it was now just over a decade later and you were still as in love with Elvis Presley as you had been when you were one of the only girls in the world who knew his name.

He, evidently, didn’t feel the same.

That much was clear, at least, based on the way he was still overly flirtatious with his audience in his shows, not to mention the rumors about relationships with his movie co-stars. In his shows, before he went off to Germany, he had taken to stepping down into the audience and kissing practically every woman in the room. That alone cleared any remaining doubts from your mind that he still thought about you in any capacity, despite that little voice in the back of your head that still held out some futile, desperate hope.

You’re about to curl up on the couch with some tea and your copy of Anne of Green Gables — exactly what you need on a rainy day like today — when someone knocks on your door.

“You expecting anyone, Y/N?” your friend Annie calls from the hall. You had been living with her for about 5 years down in Louisiana, after the memories in Memphis had become too much, and you loved it.

“Nope,” You call back, wondering who on earth would be knocking on doors in this weather. “If it’s one of those door-to-door salesmen, slam it in his face again.” You suggest with a laugh.

“Will do,” comes her reply, and you can hear the smile in her voice.

You turn you attention back to your book as the door opens, and nearly spill your tea all over yourself as you hear a sultry drawl you hadn’t heard in person in over a decade.

“Hi Annie… is Y/N here?”

There’s a moment of silence where you’re sure Annie is as stunned as you are, then:

“Maybe,” she replies curtly, “What do ya want?”

Annie knew the whole story of you and Elvis, and she had sworn that she’d never let you get hurt like that ever again.

“Please, Annie, I just wanna talk to her.”

“And why should I let you? You’ve got a lotta nerve comin’ here after what you did—“

You’re not sure what prompts you to set your book and mug down and sigh “Annie, just let him in,” but you’re just as surprised as Annie is that you did.

She reluctantly steps aside to let him in, eyeing him warily the entire time.

Your eyes drink him in; this is the first time you’re seeing him in person in over 12 years, and your mind automatically catalogs the differences since you last saw him. He’s tanned, with a few more freckles, a result of the California sun, no doubt, and tinted glasses hide his eyes. His burgundy suit is soaked, and his hair, which was no doubt carefully styled before, now flops onto his forehead, dripping into his eyes.

He takes off his sunglasses, revealing tired blue eyes. From the way his eyes track along your body, he was drinking you in the same way you had done him.

There’s a beat of silence, then his eyes finally meet yours.

“Hi,” he says softly.

You maintain a straight face, unwilling to be taken in so easily.

“What do you want?” you ask, your voice cold. You want nothing more than to rush into his arms, but you remind yourself: he chose his career over you, and never looked back.

“I fired the Colonel,” he blurts, after several moments of trying to figure out what to say.

“About time,” you snort, dropping your serious demeanor for a split second, “but what does that have to do with me?”

“I made a mistake, Y/N. A lotta mistakes, really, but letting you go was the biggest one I ever made in my life. I missed you so, so much, and I—“

You cut him off, “Elvis, cut the shit. You made it very clear you moved on from me.”

“Y/N, I never stopped thinkin’ about you, I promise.”

“Sure, and was that before or after you kissed every girl in the audience at the end of every damn show?”

“Y/N, I—“ he starts, frustrated, then takes a deep breath. He starts again, calmer, softer, “I know how that looks. But I… I can’t keep kissing strangers, pretending they’re you.” He looks earnestly into your eyes.

You feel your cracked heart melt just a little at his words, and yet…

“I don’t…” you sigh, “I don’t believe you. You put your career before me over a decade ago, and I tried to move on, but I couldn’t when I was seeing your face and hearing your voice everywhere, and it hurt like hell. And now you walk back in here, tell me you just made a mistake, and… what? Expect me to take you back just like that?”

“Please, Y/N,” he says, an echo of his plea back when he broke your heart for the first time, “I know I messed up bad, but… it’s you. It’s always been you, with those girls in the audience, even with Ann-Margret… I was always thinkin’ about you. And I’m willin’ to do whatever I have to to fix this. Anything. I mean it.”

And you can see the conviction in his eyes, like he’s that little boy again who believed he was Captain Marvel Jr. and could fly his family out of poverty to the Rock of Eternity. You know in your bones that he’d buy you the moon if it meant he could love you again.

But you’d made the mistake of believing his promises before.

“Elvis, I don’t know if I can trust you. How do I know you won’t drop me when your next manager thinks that’d be ‘what’s best for your career’?”

He winces as you throw the Colonel’s words from all those years ago back in his face. “I know I ruined any kind of trust you had in me that day, and I can’t tell you enough how goddamn sorry I am, Y/N. But I’m not askin’ for you to forgive me right now, I just want a chance to try and fix this. That’s all, I swear.”

He waits as you process his words, practically holding his breath as you think of how to reply.

“I’ll think about it,” you say softly.

He nods. “That’s all I’m askin’ for, sw— Y/N,” he fumbles to avoid using the old pet name for you.

“I think you should go now,” you say, your voice cold again to hide how the almost-pet name brought a storm of feelings rushing back..

“Right, um..” he fumbles around in his pocket, producing a scrap of paper with a phone number scrawled on it, “Gimme a call, if you want? I’ve gotta head back to Memphis in a couple days, that’ll probably be the easiest way to reach me if you, uh, decide anything.”

“Okay,” you nod, glancing at it quickly before stuffing it in your pocket. The number was for Graceland’s house phone; a number you’d never forgotten for a second, not that you’d be telling Elvis that.

“Well, um… bye Y/N, Annie,” he nods as he moves past your roommate towards the door. He pauses, hesitating for a moment before turning back to you. “You look good, Y/N,” he says softly before heading back out into the downpour.

The “you, too” you whisper in reply is lost in the sound of rain hitting the pavement outside.

The enormity of everything that had just transpired suddenly hits you and you fall back onto the couch, tears welling up in your eyes.

Annie rushes over, concerned. You look up as she fusses over you.

“Was that… did that actually just happen?”

Annie nods, “Yeah, it did, honey. I can scarcely believe it myself.”

“Did I do the right thing?” You wring your hands, suddenly second-guessing every decision you made during the interaction with Elvis.

“I know I’ve always said that I’d punch him in his smug face if he ever showed up here after what he did to you,” Annie says, “But I see the way you look at him when he shows up on the TV, and that ain’t the look of someone who’s just angry at an ex. You’re still in love with him, honey, I know it, and I feel like a fresh start is what both of you need. I don’t mean to overstep,” she drawls, “But if I can give you some advice: just start over as friends. Don��t jump back into a relationship right away. Try to make it organic. A clean slate.”

“A clean slate,” you echo, processing her words.

You mull over what to do for a few days, worst and best-case scenarios swirling around your brain, and eventually dial Graceland. Your foot taps anxiously as you lean against the wall by the phone, listening to it ring.

“Hullo?” A raspy voice comes over the receiver.

“Hi, Elvis,” you say, trying your best to sound casual, “It’s, uh, it’s Y/N.”

“Oh, hey,” he stammers, sounding less like the confident King of Rock and Roll superstar and more like the shy little kid you’d grown up with, “Uh, how are you?”

“I’m alright.” You reply, “Look, I did some thinking about what you said and, well… I’ve got a couple questions before I decide anything.”

“Sure, yeah, what is it?”

“Well, first of all… why now?”

“Huh?”

You sigh, “It’s been over 10 years, Elvis. What made you come back now? What made you fire the Colonel after all this time?”

“Well, to be perfectly honest, I wasn’t very happy with the movies the Colonel was signing me up for. And then he planned this whole silly special for NBC…” he sighs, “I’ve been lost ever since I lost Mama— before that, even, when I lost—“ he cuts himself off with an awkward cough, “uh, anyway; he wasn’t helping. And I finally realized that he didn’t really care what I wanted to do. It was all about profit for him,” he says quietly. He goes on to explain hiring Binder and Bones to help with the special, to “find himself” again, and the realization he’d had that he hadn’t truly felt like himself since he’d left you.

“Hm,” is your only response at first, trying to shove down the warmth growing in your chest. “Well, um… thank you for telling me.”

“You’re welcome. I want you to know, Y/N… you can trust me. I know I ruined that back then, but I’d really like a chance to try and rebuild it with you if I can.”

“I think I’d like that, too.” You say after a moment of silence. “Look, Elvis, I… I don’t think it would be a good idea, if we’re gonna do this, to pick up right where we left off. We need a… a clean slate. So what if we started over as friends?” You fidget with the phone cord as you await his reply.

There are several moments of silence, and you're wondering if something happened with the call before his raspy drawl comes over the phone once more.

“I’d love to be your friend again, Y/N.”

A wave of relief floods your body, and you smile. You think for a moment before speaking again, saying hesitantly, “I’m coming up to visit for Mama’s birthday next weekend, and… maybe we could see each other then? That would be a ‘friend’ thing to do, right?”

“Yeah, I’d… I’d really like that.”

“Great, well,” you worry your bottom lip between your teeth, “I’ll just give you a call when I’m back home and we can figure everything out then?”

“Whatever works for you is fine with me,” he assures you, “I’m lookin’ forward to it.”

“Me, too,” you say softly, allowing a tiny bit of the warmth you felt earlier to creep back. “I’ll see you next weekend, then.”

“See you then,” he says and with a click, the phone is back to humming a dial tone.

You’re buzzing with anticipation for the next week, not only excited to see your family but also to see Elvis.

“Y/N!” Your mother rushes out as you pull into the driveway of your family’s Memphis home, “My baby’s home!”

“Happy birthday, Mama,” you smile as she rushes up to give you a hug, squeezing you tight.

“Thank you, darlin’. Come inside, honey, come in!” she insists, grabbing your suitcase from you despite your protests.

“Honey!” she calls to your father as she leads you into your childhood home, “Look who’s finally decided to come for a visit!”

“Mama, I was just here for Easter,” you remind her as you head to the living room to greet your father. “Hi Daddy,” you smile as he pulls you in for a hug.

“Good to see you, sweetheart,” he says, “Louisiana treatin’ you well?”

You nod, “Mhm. Everyone’s real nice, and Annie’s always lookin’ out for me.”

You fill your parents in on life in Louisiana, and in return they (your mother, mostly) regale you with all the Memphis gossip you’ve missed. Apparently the young couple next door had a baby recently, another young couple in town just got married, and oh yes, Elvis came back fr—

“Mary Ann, you know I don’t like talkin’ about that boy!” your father exclaims, cutting your mother off.

“Well, I don’t know what you want me to do, Walter,” your mother retorts, “It’s not as if we can pretend he doesn’t exist, not when he’s such a big part of this town…”

As you listen to your parents bicker, you decide that now might as well be as good a time as any to bring up your new friendship.

“Actually, Mama,” you interrupt their bickering, “I’m gonna try and meet up with Elvis while I’m in town this weekend…”

Your father’s expression flickers between confusion and anger at your words, while your mother’s morphs into one of delight.

“Oh honey, that’s wonderful!” She exclaims, “Though I admit, I thought you’d’ve at least called to tell us you got back together—“

“Mama!” You cut her off, heat flooding your face, “We’re not back together, I promise,” you add with a glance over to your father. “He showed up at our place last week, we had a talk, and we’re gonna try to be friends again.”

“Well I’m glad to see the two of you are startin’ over, honey,” your mother says with a smile

“I still don’t trust that boy,” your father grumbles. “Just… be careful, alright?”

You nod, “Of course, you know I always am, Daddy.”

”When were you two planning on meeting up?” your mother asks.

You shrug, “We haven’t figured out the details yet. I was gonna call him today to sort everything out.”

”Well you should invite him over for dinner while you’re in town.” your mother suggests, with just a hint of a mischievous sparkle in her eye, ignoring your father’s clear alarm at the suggestion.

You groan. “Mama, no, he really doesn’t need to come for dinner—“

”Y/N L/N, inviting a friend over for dinner is a polite thing to do,” your mother scolds, “and in this house we are always…?”

“Polite and respectful,” you mumble, repeating the words that had been drilled into you in childhood.

She nods, satisfied. ”It’s settled then. You two will have your little meetup and then he can come over for dinner that night, or the next if it suits him.”

”Yes, Mama,” you say, resigned. “I’ll go call him now.”

You make your way over to the kitchen, dialing the number you’ve had memorized for over 12 years.

“Hello?” The same raspy voice comes over the receiver.

”Hey, it’s um, it’s me. Y/N.”

”Oh, hey. Um, how are ya?”

”I’m alright. I’m back in town now, and Mama’s bein’… well, Mama, so you can imagine.” you say with a soft laugh.

”Oh, I can imagine,” he agrees, and you can hear the smile in his voice. “How was the drive up?”

The two of you make small talk for a bit, slowly easing back into being a part of each other’s lives, and eventually you remember the reason you called. “Oh, yeah, by the way; I was calling to see if there was a day or time that worked for you as far as meeting up this weekend?”

”Oh, yeah.” You can hear some rustling on his end, and you assume he’s checking his schedule. “I’m actually free this afternoon around 1 if that works? Or tomorrow?”

You weren’t prepared to see him quite so soon, but you suppose now is better than putting it off until tomorrow. “This afternoon is perfect. You still like that diner on Beale Street, right?”

He hums an affirmative, and you smile, “Great, I’ll meet you there at 1, then.”

”I’ll see you then,” and the line clicks back to a dial tone.

You head back to the living room, entering to see your parents doing a wonderfully poor job of pretending as though they weren’t listening to your conversation. You roll your eyes.

”I assume you already heard, but Elvis and I are meeting for lunch at 1, just as friends, Mama,” you say pointedly, noting the beam on your mother’s face. “I’ll ask him about dinner then.”

Your father harrumphs, but mainly keeps silent, a firm frown on his face.

”That’s wonderful, honey,” your mother beams, “You’ve gotta get goin’ pretty soon then, huh?”

“Huh?” You glance over at the clock on the mantle and sure enough, it’s already 15 past noon and you still haven’t changed out of the outfit you wore for the 6-hour drive up to Memphis. You grab your suitcase and race to make yourself presentable, managing to change into a dress that seems nice enough for a lunch outing (but not too fancy), fix your windswept hair, and reapply your makeup in a cool 30 minutes before racing out the door.

Before you can make it out to the porch, though, your father stops you, calling your name as you’re about to step out the door. You turn, “Yes, Daddy?”

He has a solemn look on his face. “Just… be careful, darlin’. You know me, I hold grudges like no one else, and I admit I still haven’t forgiven him for what he did to you all those years ago. If you let him in, and he hurts you again somehow I… I don’t know what I’d do.”

You step back into the room and envelop him in a hug. “Thank you for looking out for me, Daddy. I’ll be careful, I promise. I’m not the same girl I was when I met him.” You add with a sad smile.

He squeezes your hand comfortingly, “I know you’ll be smart. If he does anything, you come right to me and I’ll sort him out, alright?” You nod and, satisfied, he kindly shoos you out the door with a soft “Go on, have fun.”

You pull up to the diner to find that Elvis is already there, if the deep purple Cadillac parked nearby is any indication.

He waves from a booth near the back as you enter, his bodyguards seated at a table nearby. You slide into the seat across from him, pushing down the butterflies that threaten to stir. It might’ve been a bad idea to choose the place you went on your first date, you realize belatedly, but too late now.

“How are you?” he asks with a casual smile.

“Pretty good,” you reply, “My parents have been updating me on all the Memphis gossip I’ve missed since I was away, very exciting stuff,” you say sarcastically. “Mama says hi, by the way.”

“Tell her I say hi back,” he grins.

“Will do. Uh, how are you?” You say, trying to fall back into the rhythm of talking to him.

“I’m alright. There’s this big thing I’m gonna be workin’ on soon, I’m pretty excited for it.”

“Oh, big thing?” You ask, your interest piqued.

“It’s a…” he pauses, looking around, “no one really knows about it yet, so you gotta promise not to tell anyone, alright?”

You nod, and he continues, leaning in to whisper, “You remember that special I told you about, the one that Steve and Bones are helpin’ me with? It’s gonna be a TV special for NBC. A Christmas show, kinda.”

“Kinda?”

“Well, it’ll have a couple of Christmas songs, but I really want it to be about finding myself again. Gettin’ back to the real Elvis.”

“Sounds exciting,” you reply, a genuine smile coming across your face at how excited he seems.

A starstruck waitress comes to take your order, and the conversation continues.

“So,” Elvis says, “how are you doin’ in Louisiana?”

“I actually really like it there,” you reply, smiling. “Annie’s great, obviously, and I found a job at a bookstore that I really love, things are goin’ pretty well. I do have the occasional grumpy customer, but that’s just how it is.” You finish with a shrug.

“Grumpy customer? Sounds like you’ve got some stories to tell,” he says, sounding genuinely interested, and you can’t help but launch into the story of a man who was sure that Stranger in a Strange Land was in the nonfiction section no matter how many times you tried to lead him over to science fiction.

You finally fall back into a rhythm of friendly conversation, trading stories for over an hour before you finally bring up what your mother had asked.

“Oh by the way,” you say, sipping your milkshake, “Mama wanted me to invite you to dinner tomorrow night.”

Elvis nearly chokes on the fry he’s just taken a bite of. “Sorry, what?”

“I told my parents that we were meeting up and she was adamant that I at the very least invite you to come over for dinner tomorrow— you know how she is about politeness—“ you explain, “but I promise, you don’t have to come if you don’t want to. I completely understand, I’d be more than happy to make up an excuse for you.”

“And refuse an invitation from Mrs. L/N? It’s like you want her to kill me,” he jokes. “I’d be more than happy to come,” he says, in a more sincere tone. “Besides, friends come over for dinner right?”

“Of course,” you say, trying to reassure yourself as much as him, “and Mama’s very excited to see you, so be prepared for that.”

“I always am,” he replies with a smile.

You arrange for him to come over at 7 the next night, and the rest of lunch goes smoothly until the check arrives, which starts off a round of bickering between the two of you about who should pay.

“Please let me get this, I want this to be a start to making it up to you,” Elvis argues.

“I appreciate it but I’m perfectly capable of paying for lunch, thank you very much,” you retort, and this goes on for several minutes before the two of you eventually agree to split the check.

“It was good to see you, Y/N,” Elvis says as you exit the diner, his bodyguards dutifully on alert as they follow you out.

“You, too.” You say. “I…” I didn’t realize just how much I missed you, is what you want to say, but instead, you go with “I had a good time.”

His face lights up as if those 5 little words were all he needed to brighten his day. He steps towards the Cadillac, throwing a friendly wave to you as he calls “See you tomorrow!”

You wave back, and you don’t realize how happy you are until your cheeks start to ache from smiling on the drive home.

The next day, your mother is practically frantic, bustling around the house making sure everything is perfect for when Elvis gets here.

“Mama, it’s not like it’s the first time he’s ever been here! And we’re just friends, please try to remember that.”

“Alright, alright, I know, honey. I just think it’s nice that you two are spending time together again, that’s—“

The doorbell rings, and your mother jumps into action, plucking microscopic bits of lint from your dress before hurrying to the door and opening it with a polite smile.

Elvis stands on your porch, bearing a polite smile and a bouquet of lilacs. “Hello, Mrs. L/N.”

“Hello, Elvis!” Your mother beams, “It’s wonderful to see you again. And you brought Y/N flowers, how sweet!” She looks pointedly at you.

Elvis lets out a nervous laugh as he steps into the house, “Actually, Mrs. L/N, these are for you. A birthday gift.” He holds out the bouquet to her with a shy smile, looking remarkably like the shy boy he had been back in ‘51 when you first became friends.

“That’s very kind of you, thank you dear. Wasn’t that kind of him, Walter?”

“Very kind,” your father grumbles in a tone that makes it seem as though Elvis had brought a pile of mud as a gift. He nods a greeting, “Hello, Elvis. California’s treatin’ you well, I hear.”

“Uh, yes, sir, it is. Thank you.” he replies.

When your father doesn’t respond, Elvis turns his attention to you. “Hi, Y/N.”

“Hi,” you reply, resisting the urge to fuss with your dress.

The awkward silence that follows is broken as your mother ushers everyone to the dining room, arranged so she and your father are at the heads of the table while you and Elvis are sitting across from one another.

The meal begins, and the conversation that follows is strained but polite, with your mother eagerly asking questions about life in California and Hollywood and Elvis answering modestly then turning the conversation back to your family, remaining the picture of a Southern gentleman. The conversation remains polite apart from your father’s not-so-subtle grumbling about Elvis running off the California, and just when you think it can’t get any worse, he decides to bring up the rumors of Elvis’s womanizing.

“So, Elvis,” your father says casually, though his eyes remain calculating, “what’s all this I hear about you and… what’s that actress’s name, Ann-Margret? Or have you moved on to someone new by now?”

You feel your face flush, and you’re sure the mortification shows on your face as you hiss for your father to stop, please.

“Oh well sir, that’s really all just the tabloids tryin’ to get their stuff to sell, there’s no truth to that at all, I promise. Ann-Margret is a good friend of mine now, though.” Elvis answers politely, unfazed as your mother quietly scolds your father.

“Walter, quit it, you’re scarin’ the boy!”

“Well good, he should be scared after what he did to my little girl!”

“Dad!” you exclaim, mortified, “We talked about this! We’re friends now, you promised you’d be polite!”

“No, it’s alright, Y/N,” Elvis assures you, briefly breaking eye contact with your father to glance over at you, “He’s just lookin’ out for you like any father would, and I respect you for that, sir.”

Your father grunts a reply, and the conversation picks up again, still polite but even more strained than before.

Elvis remains as polite as ever, even offering to take care of the dishes — “Oh I can get those plates for ya, don’t you worry Mrs. L/N” — and despite your determination for a clean slate, your mind betrays you, reminding you of how shy and overly polite he was the first few times he was over for dinner, especially after the two of you first got together. Sure, he’s gotten a little more confident, which you’ll admit is kind of attractive, but— NO.

You firmly cut off that train of thought, no matter how badly that little voice in the back of your head (the one that practically melted at the sight of him at your door with a bouquet, reminiscent of your first date) wants to keep on track. Just friends, clean slate, you remind yourself.

After the dishes are done, your mother prepares coffee for everyone and the four of you head to the living room. At one point, Elvis gets up to get a refill, and your father follows him.

Your father approaches Elvis once it’s clear that neither you nor your mother will be getting up, and corners him.

“Now Elvis, I’m gonna try to be polite, because my daughter’s told me you two are tryin’ to be friends and I respect her wishes, but I don’t trust you after what you did to her. And if I get even a hint that you’re playin’ with her feelings, well… I’m afraid that won’t end well for ya, son.”

Elvis nods quickly, “Sir I promise you, I have no intentions of playing with your daughter’s feelings. She’s very dear to me, and I swear I’d do anything to make sure she’s happy.” He says, conviction clear in his eyes.

Your father eyes Elvis for several long moments and, apparently satisfied, returns to the living room with more coffee for you and your mother.

Elvis takes a breath to compose himself — he’s forgotten how scary your father could be when he wanted to — and exits the kitchen, re-entering as you’re laughing at some comment your mother made.

You turn as he enters with a wide smile on your face, and he’s suddenly slammed back to a time where you looked at him like that every time he entered a room— when you looked at him as though he’d hung the moon and stars just for you.

Fighting the urge to rush over and kiss you senseless — that’s not something a friend would do, he reminds himself — he moves to sit in the armchair across from you, turning his attention to whatever neighbor your mother is gossiping about tonight.

The night eventually winds to a close and Elvis thanks your parents profusely for “a wonderful meal and even better company.”

Your mother waves off the compliment modestly, “Oh it was nothin’ darling. We’ll be glad to have you back anytime. Y/N, why don’t you walk our guest out while we take care of these last few things?” she says, gesturing to the coffee mugs still sitting out.

Elvis gives one last wave to your parents, wishing them well, before stepping out to the porch with you.

“Well, my parents loved you,” you tease as the two of you make your way to the pink Cadillac looking more than slightly out of place in your modest gravel driveway.

He lets out a shy laugh, “They haven’t changed a bit, that’s for sure. Your daddy’s still as protective as ever.” His tone softens as he continues, “It was nice seein’ them again. ‘Specially your mama. She’s always been better to me than I deserve.”

Acting on impulse, you lean over and squeeze his hand as you remember his own mama isn’t waiting for him at home anymore. “You’re welcome over anytime. I mean it.”

“Thank you,” he replies in a near whisper. Your hand stays clasped with his, the warmth of him tempting you closer, and his gaze drifts slowly down to your lips before the two of you snap back to yourselves and create a respectable two feet of distance between you.

“Uh, anyway,” you attempt to continue the conversation, refusing to acknowledge that moment of… whatever that was, “Are you gonna be here for a while longer?”

He shakes his head, “I’m actually gonna be leaving for California again tomorrow.” he says almost apologetically, adding with a nod to the house, “But I’ll still be able to call ya for a bit, right?”

A frown crosses your face as you remember: “I’m actually headin’ back to Louisiana tomorrow. But,” you brighten, “I can give you my number for down there if you want?”

“I’d love that,” Elvis smiles.

You rummage around in your pockets for anything you can scribble on, producing some long-forgotten shopping list and a small pen. You scrawl your phone number down and hand it to him, determinedly not noticing the sparks you feel as your fingers brush.

“I’ll call ya every night,” he says as he stuffs it in his pocket, “I’ll need ya to keep me updated on all the Louisiana gossip, hm?”

A sad smile crosses your face at the memory of the last time he’d made a promise like that. Despite all your talk of a clean slate, you can’t help but remind him, “Let’s not make promises you can’t keep, Elvis.”

You give him one last wave, wish him goodnight, and walk back inside, his pleas of “What? No, Y/N, this ain’t gonna be like that!” falling on deaf ears.

You put on a brave face for your parents the next day, joking about what a coincidence it was that both you and Elvis happened to be leaving town on the same day, but behind closed doors, you’re unable to block the memories of the last time he had promised he’d call you every night: when he went along with the Colonel on Hank Snow’s tour.

1955

“I’ll be back in time for prom, darlin’, I promise,” Elvis reassures you over the phone. “I’ll bring you a corsage, we’ll have a great time.”

“Okay,” you reply, “I’m sorry, I know I must sound silly, but I’m just really lookin’ forward to going with you.”

“That’s not silly,” he assures you with a soft laugh, “I’m lookin’ forward to it, t—“ he cuts off, and you can barely make out what sounds like a knock on the door on his end of the line. “That’ll be Scotty again, no doubt.” he groans good-naturedly. There’s some shuffling as he makes his way over, yanking the door open with a “Scotty, how many times do I have to tell ya—“

“Elvis?” you say, concerned at how he cuts off mid-sentence, “Is everything alright?”

There’s a moment of silence, after which he stammers out a response.

“I, uh… I gotta go, I’ll call ya back, darlin’, alright?”

He doesn’t bother to wait for an answer before hanging up, but in the split second before it goes to a dial tone you can just make out a woman’s sultry voice over the receiver.

1968 - Present Day

He had still called after that, but not as frequently; certainly not every day like he promised. And while you forgave what happened on tour, you had never quite forgotten what him being away for a stretch of time could mean.

Still. Clean slate. Maybe this time could be different, you reasoned, though you were barely convincing yourself at this point.

You head back to Louisiana, promising your parents you’ll visit again soon and that you’ll give them a call as soon as you get home. You stumble through the door of your little house, exhausted after the 6-hour drive. Annie rushes over to hug you.

“Hey honey! Good to have ya home,” she grins, taking your suitcase from you, “I’ve got lunch for ya, you go sit down. I’ll put this in your room. And then I wanna hear all about how that li’l meetup went,” she adds with a wink, gently shoving you towards the kitchen while she heads down the hall.

You smile as you enter the kitchen to see a little card with the words “Welcome Home” in Annie’s signature scrawl next to a plate on the counter. You take a bite of the sandwich waiting for you — grilled cheese, Annie’s specialty — and finally allow yourself to relax. At that moment, Annie slides in with a mischievous grin, plopping herself down on the stool next to you.

“So…” she leads, a sparkle in her eye. “How was it?”

“It was good,” you reply, purposefully misinterpreting her question, “We took Mama out for dinner and I made her a cake—”

Annie cuts you off with a playful swat to your arm, “Not that! Elvis,” she says, dragging out the ‘s’ longer than necessary.

You roll your eyes, “Fine! It was… fine. We met up for lunch at this old diner we used to go to, we talked… Mama had me invite him over for dinner, and he brought flowers for her” you say pointedly, noticing the gleam in her eyes. “It went well, all things considered. Daddy did have some things to say, he still hasn’t quite forgiven him for what he did, but Elvis was a real gentleman the whole time. He actually went back to California today, filming somethin’ for TV, but he said he wants to keep in touch.”

“That’s great, honey!” Annie squeals, “I’m glad y’all are doin’ well.”

You give a weak smile in return. “Yeah, he said he’s gonna call every day, but…”

“Oh…” Annie’s eyes soften in understanding, recalling what you had told her about your relationship before. “Y/N, I know it might be scary, but what if it’s different this time? What if he actually keeps his promise? He’s said he wants to work on trust with you again, right? This is the perfect opportunity for him to prove to you that he’s worth trusting. And if he doesn’t,” she adds in a lighter tone, “I’ll fly out to California and sock him right in his pretty face myself.”

“I know you will,” you laugh, “but you’re right, I’ll—“

You’re cut off as the phone rings, and you lock eyes with Annie. It can’t be him already, can it? No, it’s probably your parents calling to make sure you made it home safely, you reason as you move to answer it.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Y/N,” the heavy drawl surprises you, and you nearly miss what Elvis says next, “I’m glad I caught you, I was callin’ a bit ago and got quite a tellin’ off from Annie sayin’ that you weren’t there yet.”

At that you turn to glare at Annie, who only gives you a smug, mischievous smirk in return.

“Yeah, I just got in maybe twenty minutes ago,” you reply, the shock slowly fading into a kind of warmth as his voice washes over you.

“How was the drive?”

“Long,” you say with a laugh, “I’m glad to be home now. How’s California?”

“‘S alright,” he replies, “I just got back from finalizing some stuff with Steve for filming tomorrow.”

“Oh yeah,” you recall your conversation from a few days ago, “The Christmas special, right? Or,” you correct yourself, “the not-entirely-Christmas special.”

“Exactly,” he laughs, “I’m actually pretty excited about it.”

“That’s good,” you smile, “I hope everything goes well.”

“Thank you, Y/N,” he says sincerely. “But anyway, enough about me. How are you?”

“Well, Annie had one of her famous grilled cheeses waiting for me when I got here so I’d say we’re off to a pretty good start. Tomorrow’s an inventory day at work, though, not nearly as exciting as filming a special for NBC.”

He sucks in a breath in sympathy, “I remember you never liked those days. Good luck with that,” he says, “and I’ll tell ya what: I’ll make sure to tell you all about the boring parts of filming so ya don’t get too jealous, how ‘bout that?” he teases

“Sounds perfect,” you laugh.

You don’t even notice the time flying by as the conversation continues, the two of you talking about everything and nothing, and you fall into a rhythm of talking for hours every night. Slowly, the nagging fear you feel that today’s the day he won’t call starts to fade, and you look forward to your nightly chats where you fill him in on any interesting customers and he tells you about the goofs he made that day during filming.

“I’m not kiddin’, I legitimately forgot the words!” he laughs.

Your only reply is to laugh even harder at the image of him surrounded by cameras forgetting the words to Heartbreak Hotel.

“Alright, come on, it ain’t that funny,” he says in a mock-hurt tone.

“Oh, I promise it is,” you say, wiping a tear from the corner of your eye, “I might need you to send me a copy or whatever of these goofs, I haven’t laughed this hard in ages.”

“I’ll see if I can arrange that for ya…” he replies, his voice trailing off as he seemingly turns away from the receiver for some reason.

“Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, just someone at the door,” he assures you, “Gimme one second.”

There’s some shuffling as he makes his way to the door, and your surprise at the thought of him carrying the phone with him across the room turns into a sinking feeling in your stomach as you hear the squeak of a door open and the muffled sounds of a woman’s voice. Your heart sinks as the memory of that day on his tour starts to play again in your mind, a cacophony of not again, I knew this would happen, I shouldn’t have trusted him filling your ears.

“-N? Y/N, you there?” You slowly blink back to reality as Elvis calls your name over the receiver, “Everything alright?”

“Y-yeah,” you reply hesitantly as he dives into an explanation about some crazy fan sneaking past security to his room. He pauses, picking up on the uncertainty in your voice.

“Y/N… you can talk to me, you know that, right? What’s wrong?” he says softly, and he sounds so genuine you want to cry.

“It’s… it’s silly…” you reply, embarrassed at the thought of telling him that that memory from all this years ago still haunts you.

“You don’t have to tell me, but I’d really like to know if I can help,” he replies patiently.

You sigh, and launch into an explanation of that night back in ‘55. “You just hung up on me, and the last thing I heard was some woman’s voice, and I didn’t realize how much that hurt me until I started worrying about who you were with whenever you were gone for a long time.” You explain softly, nervously fiddling with the phone cord.

“So just now, when you heard that girl at my door…” he sighs, realization dawning on him, “that brought all that back, didn’t it? I’m sorry, Y/N.” He says, and the sincerity of his words does bring tears to your eyes this time.

“I’m alright, I promise,” you reassure him, “surprised you turned her down,” you tease, wanting to move on.

“I don’t do that kinda thing anymore,” he laughs, picking up on your attempt to move to another topic, “besides, why would I stop to talk to some stranger who thinks they know everything about me when I could talk to you?”

Your heart flutters at the compliment, and you hope he can’t tell how much you’re blushing over the phone, “Aw, you’re sweet.”

There’s a moment of silence; not an awkward one, but comfortable, like the two of you don’t need to talk to enjoy each other’s company, even if it’s just on the phone. The moment is cut short, however, as Elvis speaks up again.

“I was thinkin’— and you’re free to say no, of course— well, Steve’s organizing this screening of the special before it airs. Right now it’s just Steve, Bones, Dad, Jerry, and me, but I’d like you to be there, too. Maybe get an opinion from someone who’s not family or paid to be nice to me.” He jokes.

“I’d love to,” you reply, “I’ll have to see if I can get off work, but if I can I’ll absolutely be there. And don’t worry, I’ll be brutally honest about the whole thing,” you add teasingly.

“I’m countin’ on it.” He laughs, “I’ll call once Steve has the day arranged and hopefully you can make it.”

The date Steve apparently figures out is November 19, two weeks before the special is actually set to air. Elvis relays to you that he’s arranged to do the screening at Graceland, and luckily you manage to convince your boss to give you both that day and the following day off for the long drive. Your parents are delighted to see you, of course, and you just barely miss the knowing smile on your mother’s face as you gush about how well your friendship with Elvis is going. Your father has warmed up to him the slightest bit, it seems, since your visit back in June, if the fact that he doesn’t scowl at every mention of Elvis’s name is any indication.

You take a deep breath as you pull up to Graceland. You force down the surfacing memories from the last time you were here, when Elvis officially put his career before you. Clean. Slate. you forcefully remind yourself as you step up to the front door.

The door swings open barely half a second after you ring the doorbell, and you find Elvis standing there, a nervous smile on his face.

“Hey.”

“Hey.”

There’s a moment where the two of you simply stare at each other before he blinks, as if coming back to his senses, and steps aside to let you in. “Come on in, lemme introduce you to everybody,” he says, leading you to a room with not one, not two, but three TVs mounted into the wall, as one of his household staff comes to take your coat. 4 spaces on the immense couch taking up most of the space in the room are taken, one by his father and three others by people you don’t recognize. “This is Jerry, my manager,” Elvis says, gesturing to a man in a brown suit who looked to be in his late-20s with shaggy blondish hair, “and Steve and Bones, the masterminds behind this whole thing,” he introduces the two men sitting beside Jerry with a smile, one with neat brown hair and an ascot tied around his neck, the other with dark curly hair and round glasses. The three men give you various waves and smiles.

“And of course you know my dad,” Elvis finishes, gesturing to where he’s sitting next to Bones.

“Of course, hi Mr. Presley,” you say with a smile, coming over to shake his hand.

“Good to see you again, Y/N, how’ve ya been?” he asks as you take a seat next to him.

You’re hyperaware of Elvis sitting next to you as you make small talk with everyone, carefully leaning so that there’s a bit of distance between the two of you. As the screening begins, your attention is torn between the performance onscreen and real-life Elvis making jokes in your ear about “this is actually the take right after that goof I told you about—“ Your senses are full of him: the scent of his cologne, his arm brushing against yours, the feeling of his breath on your neck as he whispers to you, and it takes more and more of your energy to actually focus on the TVs in front of you.

About half an hour into the special, you excuse yourself and wander out to the hall, needing a break from the proximity. You don’t realize Elvis followed you out until his hand gently wraps around your wrist, making you jump.

“Sorry, I just wanted to make sure you were alright” he explains, releasing you.

“I’m fine,” you assure him, “just… needed a break.”

“It was that bad?” he jokes, “Damn, I’ll have to let Steve know.”

You shake your head, “No, no, it’s not that, it’s…” You hesitate, unsure if you should say what the real reason is. Your friendship is going so well, you’re not sure how he’ll react if you admit that your feelings for him were back in full force, that in truth they never really left.

“What is it?” he asks, concern in his eyes.

You take a deep breath, deciding it’s now or never.

“I’m in love with you. I never really stopped being in love with you, if I’m being honest. But being with you these past few months, being your friend again… I’ve loved it. I’ve loved talking with you on the phone for hours about everything and nothing, seeing you talk with my parents like nothing’s changed, and I… I wanna try again. For real this time.” You bite your lip, nervously gauging his reaction.

“You— you mean that?” Elvis asks softly, eyes wide.

“Yes,” you reply, “I mean it.”

“Y/N, I’d… I’d love that. I promise,” he says sincerely, “I’ll do it right this time. I’ll be the man you deserve.” He steps closer, his lips now just a breath away from yours. “Can I—“ his eyes flick from looking into yours down to your lips, “I really wanna kiss you right now.” he breathes.

You nod your consent, and he swoops down to capture your lips with his, one hand cupping your cheek while the other grips your waist, pulling you close. Your arms wind around his neck up into his hair, mussing the carefully styled locks as you savor the feeling of his lips velvet-soft against yours. He walks you backward until you’re pressed against the wall, his lips never leaving yours as his body presses against you. Eventually the need for air gets the better of you, and he reluctantly pulls away, keeping his forehead and nose pressed to yours as if he can’t bear to be any farther away. His blue eyes lock with yours as you catch your breath.

“I missed you so much,” he breathes, lips brushing against yours, and the amount of love clear in those 5 little words brings tears to your eyes.

“I missed you, too,” you reply softly, a smile spreading across your face.

The two of you stay like that for a while, pressed against the wall of the hallway, before Elvis mumbles “As much as I’d love to just stay here with you forever, we should probably get back before they notice we’re gone.”

“Oh, right,” you laugh sheepishly as you remember the reason you were there in the first place.

The two of you slip back into the TV room, your absence seemingly having gone unnoticed, and assume the spaces you had occupied before you left, with one small difference: your hand is intertwined with his throughout the rest of the screening.

Taglist: @queenslandlover-93 @anangelwhodidntfall @austin-butlers-gf @butlersluvbot @killerqueenfan @kittenlittle24 @beauvibaby @kingelviscreole @justjacesstuff @sweetheartlizzie07 @coldonexx @londonalozzy @kaycinema @annamarie16 @adoreyouusugar @djconde58 @mirandastuckinthe80s @luke-my-skywalker @tubble-wubble @apparently-sunshine @kisseskae @whotfatemywaffles @gyomei-tiddies @friedwangsss @shynovelist @sassy-ahsoka-tano @she-is-juniper

[randomshyperson]

Wanda Maximoff x Dom!Reader - No jealousy

Summary: You and Wanda have an established relationship, and you were away for two weeks due to a mission. Wanda is testing your limits, and everyone seems to insist that you are jealous.

Warnings: (+18), Smut, Switch!Reader (most dominant reader),  power  dynamics change, bottom!wanda, teasing, spanking; also mentions of torture, heavy past etc.

Notes: I've been trying to bring in a little bit of dom reader, and it turned out to be a bit of switch or soft!dom reader, but it's still pretty dom I think. Let me know what you think please ‘cause i’m not sure i’m writing smut correctly haha. Nota em português: Eu fui traduzir a expressão "que baixaria" e não achei nada em inglês que tivesse o mesmo impacto, fiquei bem chateada kkkk que pegar a referencia finge que é engraçado imaginar o Bucky falando isso na cena da cozinha obrigada.

Words:  5.555 K || Read on AO3

Marks:  @mionemymind @abimess​

Translations:  Scheiße = Shit ||  Amerikanischer Müll = American Trash.

//-//

Avengers Compound, New York, Present.

Throwing your jacket against the kitchen counter, you sighed in irritation.

Steve was mumbling something about responsibility and morals and you have a headache. 

"Are you even listening to me?" Steve asked irritated and you let out a dry laugh as you looked around for something to drink.

"Sure, cap." You snickered without looking at him, and Steve let out an impatient sigh.

"I need you to start being careful, we can't risk the safety of the team..."

"Is anyone hurt, Steve?" You interrupted without a patient, punching the countertop. Steve was startled by your sudden response, but you didn't back down. Natasha and Bucky who were entering just behind you, exchanged glances before heading outside. 

"This is not the point."

"That's the only thing that matters." You retort angrily. "I will do whatever is necessary." You assure seriously. "You worry about morality in the meantime."

Steve lets out an irritated sigh.

"You're not listening to me." He resumes crossing his arms. "There are lines we must not cross, or we are no different than those we face." He continued in earnest, and you rolled your eyes, finally finding a drink under the counter, and grabbing one of the glasses from the sink to pour yourself. "We need boundaries. If you don't change this attitude, you are no different than Hydra..."

The glass in your hand breaks, startling Steve again. 

"Don't ever say something like that again." You angrily warn him and he frowns worried about the shards and that you might have hurt yourself, but you just turn and walk out of the kitchen.

You walk into the first bathroom you find, heading toward the sink to clean your hand. You watch carefully as the glass falls from your skin and the wounds close up.

You stare at your reflection in the mirror. Even though you have spent the last few hours in conflict, there is no bruise. You have even been shot twice, but no one could tell if it weren't for the torn fabric on your shirt. No one would know about the explosion you survived if it weren't for the ashes on the fabric. You were perfect fighting machine, exactly as Hydra wanted you to be.

Pushing away the painful memories that threatened to dwell in your mind, you turned off the faucet and wiped your hands, leaving the bathroom afterwards.

//-//

Hydra Military Base, Old Sokovia Area, 8 hours ago.

You rummage through the metal drawers impatiently. This mission is taking too long, and you are starting to get annoyed by the lack of action. Silence is never a good sign in jobs like this.

And then as if the universe was listening to your complaints, you heard a noise of something falling.

" Sounds to the north, I'm going to investigate." You warned your companions over the communicator, starting to move. Steve said something about waiting for reinforcements, but you were already opening the mechanical door, a pistol in your left hand.

The impact of two shots pushed you backward, and you felt something run down your uniform, and then a sharp pain. Laughing lightly, you fell to your knees.

"We got one." You heard someone mutter, and then there was a man getting up from behind a table at the far end of the room. Another man stopped hiding from one of the bookshelves, and they walked over to you. 

"Sure thing, friends." You grumbled panting slightly. 

"Scheiße, we got the healer." The one with the mustache muttered as soon as he looked at you closely, and you let out a smug smile as he took a step back. Your colleague was pointing his gun at you again, but you were already grabbing his wrist as you stood up and threw him to the ground.

You fought for a few moments, and you made a mental note to thank Natasha for improving your fighting considerably since the last mission, soon you knocked him out.

The other man was fighting what appeared to be a bronze door that was jammed, and you pulled the bullets out of your shirt before you pulled him by the shoulders and threw him to the floor.

" Come on buddy, I don't have all day." You warned pointing your own pistol at the man, who looked at you angrily. "Tell me what you were doing around here."

"Amerikanischer Müll" He cursed and you rolled your eyes, moving to kick him in the nose.

The man gasped in pain as he lifted his head again, his nose bloodied.

"Do you want to try again?" You asked irritated and he spat blood before speaking again.

"We come back for what is ours." He replied with irritation, and you frowned in confusion. But before you could ask anything else, Steve and Natasha rushed into the place.

Natasha was in charge of the interrogation, it was her thing anyway, and you helped Steve open the jammed door.

You entered the room next, and you choked in surprise when your gaze met the files displayed on the holograms around the place.

"So what did you find in there?" You heard Nat ask through the communicator, but you didn't answer, trying to control the anger that was spreading throughout your body.

Displayed in front of you were the files of the Maximoff twins' experiments, several pictures of the tests Hydra had run on them. One particular video caught your attention. It was Wanda, lying on a stretcher, several leather chains holding her to the mattress while Hydra sent electric shocks through a machine to her head, making her scream. You broke the projector with one punch, and Steve tried to calm you down.

"Hey, breathe." He asked raising his hands to your shoulders. You shook your head, panting.

The sound of Wanda's scream still echoed through the room, even without the image, and you grunted in anger, pushing Steve away.

Natasha blinked in surprise when you stormed into the room next, interrupting her interrogation when you kicked the Hydra agent in the chest. She took two steps back, surprised at your anger, but she barely had time to be shocked and you were already lifting the agent by his shirt in the air.

"How could you do that to them?" You asked angrily, throwing the agent to the ground. The man laughed helplessly, spitting blood. Steve grabbed you next, and you threw him across the room.

"They were always ours to play with." The man grumbled and you stepped forward again, kicking him in the face. He laughed bewilderedly, practically choking on his own blood. "Just like you."

"You'll pay for that." You muttered angrily and then punched him in the face. The man just laughed and that increased his fury. "What the fuck are you laughing at?"

The man started to choke and then he spit something out. You let him go.

"Hail Hydra." He muttered, and you had exactly one second to realize that the small device he spit out was the tip of one of the special grenades that Hydra agents have started carrying since last year. Hugging him quickly, you threw yourself against the window in front of you, and then he exploded at you as you fell through the air to the street.

When you hit the ground, you grunted in pain.

Steve is calling you on the communicator, but the explosion damaged the equipment and the noise is very disturbing, so you ripped the item out of your ear and threw it to the ground.

As your body recovered, you stayed on the ground, trying to ignore the urge to burn the Hydra to the ground for hurting your friends.

//-//

Avengers Compound, New York, Present.

Wanda was not in her room.

You let out a tired sigh as you fiddled with your cell phone, but there was no message from her about having some other commitment that would justify her not being at the compound at the time she usually was watching her favorite shows. 

After you showered and put on clothes that didn't have as many battle marks, you went to visit your girlfriend, but she wasn't there.

"Friday, where's Wanda?" You asked loudly in the hallway.

"Miss Maximoff is in the northern outer area, along with Mr. Vision." Announces the AI next and you frown. 

Walking towards the location that Friday indicted, you crossed your arms when you saw through the glass of the compound, your girlfriend and her teammate laughing together.

They didn't see you, seeming distracted by their conversation.

"Wow, you look scary when you're jealous." Commented a voice from beside you suddenly, and you blinked in surprise as you noticed young Peter Parker approaching. 

"Missed the school bus, kid?" you tease and Peter rolls his eyes, blushing slightly.

"I'm not trying to annoy you." He says stopping beside you, and looking in the same direction as you.

"I wouldn't recommend that either." You retort, feeling an irritation settle in the pit of your stomach as you watch Vision make Wanda laugh again. What the hell was so funny.

"I don't think you have anything to worry about you know?" Peter remarked after a moment. "I don't think Wanda sees Vision that way, they're just friends."

"I'm not jealous." You lied angrily, clearly jealous. Peter didn't want to contradict you however.

"Of course not." He said slightly startled. "I just... Wanda... She... You and her are a nice couple. Even if Vision has the stone, it's not something to worry about and..."

"Shut up, kid." You grumble angrily as you turn around, deciding to calm your nerves before you lose your mind and send Vision to the moon with one punch.

//-//

Having Pietro Maximoff as a brother in law was a pain in the ass most of the time.

You liked him in general, the problem was when he teased you, because he seemed to know exactly what to say to piss you off.

When you got back to the common room, he was on the couch, playing some stupid video game, and you sat down next to him and turned on the television.

It took him five minutes before he started to annoy you.

"My sister is getting along pretty well with Vision lately, isn't she?" He comments with a smile without taking his eyes off his cell phone. You squeeze the television control harder than necessary.

"Bite me."

Pietro laughs at your aggressiveness. Wanda and Vision enter the kitchen the next moment, their laughter slowly dying down. You don't take your eyes off the TV.

"Honey, I didn't know you were back already." Wanda says as soon as she sees you on the couch, smiling as she approaches you. She kisses your cheek, and frowns at your lack of reaction. You force a smile. "What's up?"

"Relax, little sister, she's kind of green today." Mocks Pietro, and you cast him an annoyed look, before looking back at Wanda.

"I'm just tired, babe." You say, stealing a quick kiss from her. Wanda seems to believe you and then walks away, heading toward the counter.

It takes three minutes for Vision to make a stupid comment and Wanda to laugh again, and you sigh in irritation.

"Wow, that's sad." Pietro teases again in a tone low enough for only you to hear. "Maybe you should watch your girl."

"I'll stick this remote in a place you won't like." You retort in the same tone and Pietro lets out a short laugh, turning his attention back to his cell phone.

You risk a backward glance next, and then the remote control breaks off in your hand. Vision is brushing a strand of hair out of Wanda's face, and she looks surprised and slightly embarrassed by the touch. Pietro laughs at your lack of control, but you stand up next, throwing the rest of the object to the ground and attracting the attention of the other two.

You glare angrily at Wanda before leaving.

//-//

You need to punch something.

So you go back to the training room, and put on the first pair of boxing gloves you can find.

Climbing into the ring quickly, you start punching the punching bag that Steve left over from the last training session.

It takes ten minutes for Wanda to find you.

"Y/N, what was that about?" she asks slightly annoyed as you approach. You are trying to maintain control so you don't rip the punching bag off the metal stand.

"Why don't you go laugh with your new best friend and leave me alone?" You retorted and Wanda frowned in confusion, then let out a dry laugh.

"Are you jealous?"

Your next punch rocks the iron support of the ceiling. 

"No, Wanda." You retort as you stop punching, and start pulling off your gloves. Wanda crosses her arms and has a little smile on her face, which irritates you even more. " I don't feel jealous."

"Oh, yeah?" She responds with irony, and you are throwing the gloves on the floor, and approaching her. She takes a few steps back, impressed by your posture.

"Tell me dear, do I have reason to be?" You ask as you approach. "Everyone wants to remind me that that damn stone makes the toaster think that you two have some kind of connection and that I should be careful." You continue and then Wanda reaches for a wall, and you rest one of your hands beside her head, pinning her against your body. "But I know better. I have nothing to worry about."

"Y/N..." Wanda starts half breathlessly, trying to keep the look in your eyes, and failing.

"Am I wrong, baby girl?" You ask raising your free hand to her cheek, stroking her skin with your finger. "Is there anyone who makes you feel the way I do?"

Wanda sighs, denying with her head next. You give a smug little smile, placing your hand on her chin, and running your finger over her lower lip.

"Then why are you laughing so hard at that piece of tin, dear?" You questioned bringing your face closer to her neck, Wanda closed her eyes as you inhaled her perfume. "Did you want to make me angry? Did you want to be punished?"

Wanda gasps low, denying with her head. You begin to deposit wet kisses against her collarbone and move your hand down her body from her chin.

"God, Wanda, you've been so needy." You comment kissing a sensitive spot on her neck and making her sigh. "Needy enough to get wet with the toaster."

Your teasing makes Wanda grunt in irritation, and you let out a short laugh feeling her tighten the fabric of your shirt.

"What's the matter, baby? Are you angry with me?" You teased, pulling your face away from her neck. Wanda looked at you with a mixture of irritation and excitement.

"Don't say such things." She says half breathlessly. "Vision is just my friend. I don't... I don't see him like that."

You stare at her for a moment, and then back away completely.

"Ask your friend to help you cum then." You retort before turning away. Wanda lets out an impatient sigh, but she doesn't go after you.

//-//

Steve Rogers is testing your patience.

He set up weekly meetings with the team about social responsibilities and hero morality and whatever other patriotic crap he was following, and this was the first of them.

It had been forty minutes since he had been talking, and you were impressed that Tony Stark was still awake.

"And so we conclude that as the Avengers, it is our responsibility to make a difference." Steve spoke as he turned off the presentation.

"I'm thrilled." You grumbled next and the room looked at you. Steve sighed.

"Do you have anything to add, Y/N?" Steve asked seriously, and you let out a short laugh.

"Oh, of course." You say crossing your arms. "Maybe the rest of the team doesn't know but this whole bullshit is only happening because of me."

"Y/N..."

"No, cap, come on." You interrupt with irony. "Tell the team why you are making everyone learn about American history."

"Now I'm curious." Commented Tony looking at Steve, who just had a tired expression.

"This is not about pointing out mistakes." Steve says and you laugh.

"No, of course not." You retort with irony getting up. "This is about hypocrisy really."

"Kid..."

"Don't even go that way!" You interrupt angrily and then turn to Tony. "You want to know what happened? Great! Let's start with the Stark bomb that dropped on Sokovia!"

Tony blinks in confusion at your outburst, and the team looks at you with surprise and concern, while Steve holds up his hands to try to calm you down.

"Please, I'm not trying to-" 

"No, Captain!" You shout. "You want to talk about moral values, don't you?" You sneer with irritation. "I have a list of shit that happens in this place."

"Stop it, now!" The captain asked angrily, and you looked at him incredulously. "You killed someone!" He charges and the team looks at you in surprise. "That's not how we do things here..."

"We have killed thousands of civilians in New York." You interrupt coldly. "Every building that fell to the ground had a family on every floor. Not to mention the missions that came after." You reminded them and Steve clenched his jaw. 

"That was different."

"They hurt Wanda." 

"Y/N."

You shoved Steve in the shoulders, and he took a step back. Tony and Natasha stood up.

"I'm going to kill every agent that was in that lab." You tell him. "Everyone who hurt her is going to pay."

Your colleagues look in shock at your words, but you just turn away, opening the door angrily.

In the hallway, Wanda caught up with you.

"What was all that about?" She asked worriedly as you leaned against the wall, breathing hard.

"I hate the hypocrisy of this team." You retorted with irritation, but your anger subsided considerably when Wanda placed her hand on your cheek, asking you to look at her.

"Talk to me."

You sighed, touching your foreheads together.

"On the last mission, I...we found the decommissioned base where you got your powers." You count and Wanda blinks in surprise. "I lost control when I looked at the files."

"Honey..."

"Wanda." You interrupt with a weak smile. "Please, you can't agree with them."

"I don't." She adds as she strokes your cheek, "I'm just sorry you had to see it."

You shrug, letting your arms hug your waist.

"You're not angry? Or who knows, disappointed?"

Wanda denies with her head.

"I feel the same way about you." She says. "I can't think about the people who arrested you without wanting to blow up everything around me."

You laugh lightly.

"That's some shit Steve doesn't want to understand." You say next and Wanda sighs.

"I think he understands, honey." Wanda says and you blink in confusion, "It's the same thing with Bucky."

You sigh looking away.

"Shit, you're right." You grumble, and then add with a slight smile. "Maybe he was upset about the explosion."

Wanda frowns in confusion. And then she nudges you slightly when you tell her your little story with the grenade.

"Have you lost your mind?" She asks angrily. "Don't you ever do anything like that again!"

"Hey, I was saving the ass of those two mortals in the room" You complain humorously, but Wanda sighs impatiently.

"My god, this is all just because Steve must have been worried to death that something was going to happen to you!" She says and you frown. 

"What are you talking about?"

"Honey, the captain is just trying to get you to behave." She clarifies. "He doesn't want you to abuse your powers, and put yourself at risk for no reason. Honestly, I don't want to either."

You stand thoughtfully for a few minutes and then sigh.

"Damn, now I'm going to have to apologize."

Wanda makes a noise of agreement with her mouth and moves closer, stealing a quick kiss from you. She smiles when you try to kiss her back, pulling away.

"What?"

"I remembered that I'm mad at you." She says and you look at her with confusion.

"What did I do?"

"That scene earlier in the gym." She says and you sigh impatiently. "It wasn't nice."

"You're being so mean." You retort and Wanda flashes you a small smile before turning away, walking in the opposite direction.

You decide that you should apologize to the rest of the team and return to the conference room.

//-//

Wanda was being a brat.

After you apologized to the team, and Steve made it clear that he was concerned and that he understood your anger, but that there were better ways to deal with what Hydra did to the people you love, the atmosphere eased a lot. And you were hoping to spend some time with your girlfriend, but she was too busy teasing you.

She spent the last few minutes cooking with Vision. The guy who didn't eat food.

You rolled your eyes impatiently as you threw yourself on the couch, a newspaper in your hands.

"This is ridiculous, honey" You mentally warned her as you noticed her gaze on you. Wanda didn't sketch any reaction as she cooked.

"Sorry, weren't you the one who said I was, what was the word, needy?" You heard her sneer in your head. You bit your lips to keep from smiling.

"Clearly you are, dear."

"And whose fault is that?" She retorted and you frowned, attracting the attention of Bucky who was standing next to you. You smiled slightly, telling him that it was just a news report about the new political changes that had taken your attention, and then turned your focus back to the newspaper.

"What are you talking about?" You asked Wanda in your thoughts. 

"You were gone for two weeks." She complained, and you took your eyes off the paper to look into the kitchen. Wanda had her back to you, stirring with a spoon in one of the pots. Vision stood next to her, watching the procedure. You clenched your jaw. "I've been all by myself."

"Are you trying to piss me off, Wanda?" You ask angrily, watching the redhead meters in front of you signal for Vision to come closer to take a look at the pot.

"I'm not doing anything." She thinks sounding harmlessly, and you close the paper tightly as you watch Vision cast her a shy smile.

Bucky looks at you curiously.

"Everything okay?" He asks and you nod as you stand up toward the kitchen.

"Wanda, I want to talk to you." You tell her stopping with your arms crossed in front of the counter. Wanda flashes you a little smile.

"I'm busy right now, honey." She retorts as she returns the spoon to the pot, stirring the mixture.

"We're making Sokovian food." Completed Vision with a smile, but you completely ignored him.

"I'm going to count to three." You warn and Wanda swallows dryly, looking at you.

"I don't..."

"Room now, or I'll make you cum against the kitchen counter."

Wanda's eyes widen, and Vision looks extremely surprised. The redhead ducks her head and walks out of the kitchen, you following her. Bucky mumbles something like "for the love of god, why all that obscenity" as you leave.

//-//

There is a palpable tension in the air during the silent walk to your room.

When Wanda opens the door and walks inside, you sigh as you close the door.

"What was that in the kitchen, dear?" You ask her as you unbutton your shirt, Wanda looks at you next, biting her lower lip in anticipation. "Insinuating that I don't pay enough attention to you. Teasing me with Vision."

"I'm sorry." She mumbles softly and you shake your head slightly, taking off your shirt and standing in just your bra. Wanda blushes and takes a step toward you, but you just hold up your finger.

"I'm going to be in charge tonight, honey." You warn as you take off your shoes. "By the way, you do look a beautiful thing in that skirt. I could barely control myself during the meeting."

Wanda smiles with embarrassment, looking away to the floor. You approach, lifting her chin with your finger slowly.

"Can I undress you?" you ask and she sighs softly, nodding afterwards. You drag your finger from her chin down, around her silhouette. When you get to shoulder height, you drag the left strap to the side, and then repeat the motion on the right. Wanda's blouse loosens on her body, and you watch her chest rise and fall rapidly, her breathing out of rhythm. 

You raise your other hand next, and turn your gaze to Wanda. In a twist of your hands, you tear the fabric in front, and Wanda moans softly.

"Are you anxious, baby?" You ask her as the fabric falls away, and you run a finger down her torso to the hem of her skirt. Wanda swallows dryly. "You must be so wet."

Wanda sighs, closing her eyes momentarily. You begin to remove your skirt next, and let out a low growl when you realize there is nothing underneath as the material falls away.

"Wanda, Wanda, Wanda." You scold her maliciously, looking at her exposed intimacy and feeling your mouth fill with water. "Absolutely sinful."

Wanda sighs, moving slightly forward. You bite your lips, noticing her red cheeks. Her body cries out to be touched.

"That's no way to behave, honey." You tell her, lifting your fingers to push up the straps of your bra. "Exposed during a team meeting. Tsk, what a naughty girl."

Wanda whimpers, and you smile. "Is that what you wanted, babe?" You ask as you unzip her bra. " For me to put my fingers in you under the table? Make you come in my hand while everyone watched?"

"Please." She sighs in a husky voice. "Kiss me."

"Where?" 

"Anywhere."

You give a little smile at your girlfriend's breathless confession, and lower your face to the height of her neck, just as her bra falls to the floor. Depositing wet kisses all the way down, you listen to Wanda sigh with each touch of your lips against her skin.

When you reach her breasts, you raise your right hand to play with the hardened nipple between your fingers while using your mouth on the other breast, and Wanda throws her head back, moaning with her mouth open. Sucking and licking the flesh, you delight in the sounds you get from her.

"Babe, please." She pleads breathlessly. "Touch me."

You smile as you release her hardened nipple, raising your face to the height of Wanda's.

"I'm sorry, baby, but it's not going to be that easy." You warn as you squeeze her breast with a full hand. "You need to be punished for today."

Wanda sighs and then you kiss her intensely, making her stumble back, but your hand on her waist holds her against you.

Your tongue invades her mouth, and Wanda moans against your lips, her hands moving up to your neck. You smile as you lift your hands to hers to put them down.

"You can't touch." You warn between kisses and Wanda sighs, letting your tongue tangle in hers sensually.

You begin to lower your kisses again, and Wanda writhes against you, her fists clenched in an effort to resist the urge to touch you. You lick the length of her neck and one of her hands touches your waist.

"What a disobedient brat." You tease against her skin, and then use your right hand to slap her ass, making Wanda moan loudly. You wish to see the mark, so you hug Wanda around the waist, bringing your bodies together, and look down. The bright red mark. Wanda whimpers against you, her other hand coming up to your belt, and you pull away only to kiss her on the lips hard enough to leave her helpless. 

As she begins to play with the beam of your belt, you slap her ass again, on the other side, and her knees buckle slightly.

"Fuck." She whimpers breathlessly, and you bring your hand to her neck, forcing her to keep her gaze on you.

"Get on the bed." You command and Wanda sighs, and then you release her. She moves to the mattress, ass thrusting toward you as she kneels on the bed, hands on the headboard.

"Will you be a good girl, Wanda?" You ask as you raise your hands to her ass, squeezing the flesh as she gasps.

"Yes." 

"I don't believe you." You taunt, slapping her ass. She leans over, moaning. You spank her again, her body arching as she throws her head back, moaning with her mouth open.

Then you move forward, pulling her hair back as a hand slips between her legs, your fingers teasing her entrance and making her whimper.

"Look how wet you are, baby." You whisper against her ear, Wanda has her eyes closed tightly, her hips moving in search of more friction. "Were you missing me, love?"

"Yes." She gasps pushing her hips back, your fingers slipping inside and drawing sighs from both of you. But you withdrew them next, s Wanda whimpers. "Please, honey, touch me."

"You don't deserve it Wanda." You start against her ear. "But you feel so good, baby. So wet and hot, I can't resist."

You suddenly penetrate her with two fingers, deep and precisely, and Wanda cries out, moaning your name. 

"Fuck, yes." She gasps moving her hips, you slide in and out with ease, feeling Wanda flushed.

"Look at you baby, crumbling in my fingers." You gasp, your hand releasing her hair as you drag it to her breast, squeezing the flesh.

"I...I 'm com..." Wanda begins to whimper and you smile, feeling her body quiver in spasms, the rhythm of her hips disablisting as her walls get tighter and you feel her pulsing in your fingers.

"Cum for me, baby girl." You whisper in her ear, and one stroke later is all it takes for Wanda to arch her back, coming on your fingers with her mouth open as she screams your name.

You withdraw your fingers as she falls to the mattress, turning to you next. Bringing your fingers to your mouth, you taste Wanda as she looks up at you with dilated pupils.

"You taste so good babe." You tell her with a smile, and Wanda raises her hands to your waist, asking you to climb on top of her.

You slowly shake your head, reaching up to remove your pants. Wanda bites her lips as she watches you undress.

"I want to show you something, honey." You tell her after removing your clothes, straightening to sit on her thigh. Wanda sighs as she feels your wet intimacy against her. "Do you like that?" You ask watching her reaction, Wanda raises her torso, bringing your faces closer together as her hands go to your waist. "Do you like how wet I get on top of you?"

"Fuck yes." She gasps against your lips, you begin to move against her thigh, feeling your eyes spin in their orbit with the sensation.

"What about you, Wanda?" You ask slipping your fingers into her again,making her bury her face in your neck. "Look at that baby, you're soaking wet too."

Wanda moans, her hands tightening around your waist as you feel your fingers in her. You increase the speed of your movements against her thigh at the same rate as your fingers move in and out of her, Wanda begins to force her hips to keep up.

"No one makes me feel like this, Wanda." You confess breathlessly, penetrating deep. "I am yours."

Wanda moans and forces herself to confess.

"And I am yours." She retorts groaning, and you feel her walls tightening in your fingers as the feeling at the tip of your stomach tightens.

"Let's cum together baby" You tell her breathlessly, and Wanda shudders nodding. Forcing your hips against her thigh, you gasp, trying to keep the rhythm in your fingers.

A few strokes later and you struggle to keep up, your body shaking in spasms. Wanda tightens her hands on your waist, forcing you down as you move in and out of her. Wanda begins to curse in Sokovian, moaning breathlessly, and you smile, feeling your eyes roll. And then you cum together a moment later.

You collapse against her, as Wanda falls onto the mattress. Depositing lazy kisses against her collarbone, you smile as she sighs, her fingers running up your back as you pull out of her.

"Was that enough attention honey?" You tease a minute later and Wanda laughs softly, biting her lips.

You raise your head to look at her, feeling your heart soar at the image of her lazy gaze, her lips puffy and parted.

"Do you love me?" You ask in a whisper and Wanda sighs.

"I do." She agrees and you raise your hand to her neck, your fingers strolling along her chin.

"Show me."

Wanda nods moving forward to kiss you on the lips.

[monvri7]

Father & Son Moment Idea

I HAD ANOTHER THOUGHT! I need sleep, it’s 2am- FFFFFUUUUUUC- WAIT, IT’S 2AM??? SHIEtT- UHHH Whatever.... I’m a lost cause.

So what if Bruce, in his civvies, meets Red Hood while Jason is out in his Red Hood alias. They're at some sort of charity or organized event at the same time entirely by accident. They both pause, blink, and kinda have that moment reminiscent of the three Spidermen in the same place meme, but they try to be as nonchalant as possible immediately after.

Now Bruce is in his Brucie persona, and he's gotta publicly keep it up. He can already tell this will explode in media coverage later; he's a little stressed and exasperated at the thought of the aftermath of this entire situation. Almost headache-inducing, so Bruce shoves it away to deal with later, focusing more on the problem at hand.

Red Hood has been improving his reputation publically at this point, being more accepted by the police and the people of Gotham. This organized event is taking place in Crime Alley. It's rarer to see someone as insanely rich and famous as Bruce Wayne in Crime Alley; it's also where Red Hood is more well received. (Bruce Wayne, as Bruce Wayne, visits Crime Alley for charities or his own institutions he's set up, like orphanages, you can't change my mind. LOL) They're forced to interact a bit more due to the nature of the event or flat-out customs with these sorts of things. —I don't know, what event is this? No idea; I'll take suggestions to make a more solidified mental image. Okay?—, and it starts to loosen each other up, just the slightest bit as the interactions and proximity goes on unbeknownst to them.

To Jason, it's eerie. In private and especially as Batman, Bruce has never been the same since he came back from the dead, probably even since his death. The grief and subsequent mourning changes a person in a lasting way. He's colder, more distant, less of a parental figure he'd been with him and Dick. Tim, maybe Damian depending on the timeline you want to put this mentally, never got to experience the softness and love Bruce had been capable of. He smiles, talks and even laughs differently. A whiff of what it once was behind closed doors. This Bruce is a ghost of the man he once was, and he'll never be the same. It causes an ache in Jason's chest at the thought because this man is his father, but also, he's decidedly not. It's a part of the source of his frustrations with him.

Sometimes, there are moments that the man he'd been formerly, his father, seeps through. It's gone as quick as it comes.

So it's eerie, seeing Bruce like this. In his Brucie persona. He may not be as close to the Bruce that had once been his Dad, but coupled with the trace of a person Jason so dearly loved— Jason continues to love—. With whom he's been slowly becoming acquainted with again after his return from death, with the haze from Lazarus Pit lifting as time goes on, Brucie, the 'mask' of Bruce Wayne, is probably the closest Jason has ever gotten to what he remembers of his Dad. The warmer man he saw as his parental figure in the best days of his life.

So seeing Bruce in this 'Brucie' mask is so heart-wrenching because even then, he can see through the cracks more intimately than anyone in the room, possibly good. The fraudulent and artificial act can so closely resemble his Dad at times; it's like he's been thrown five years in the past, and he's still that young boy who never died.

So they go on, for appearance's sake.

Brucie has moments of a more genuine Bruce seeping through, Indulging in it as smoothly as he can; whether he does it consciously or not, I don't know, up to interpretation. (I lack decision-making skills :) Life's great! Haha... Ha...) Especially given their tenacious relationship thus far, while slowly improving, it is still a process, a slow one at that. They haven't gotten there 100%. Those moments, however, are probably what Jason sees as remnants of how he remembers his own Dad. This is a small, gentle misunderstanding that hopefully comes across in this mental image. (They both see images of their old selves in one another, and it's dissociating, but they're getting there to reconcile their old and new selves.)

So then, there's a moment as Brucie, and Red Hood start to get along better and more smoothly, finding their own script and rhythm with the ruse—half ruse they've created. Brucie ruffles Red Hood's hair while chuckling a more hardy laugh that's so utterly reminiscent of the man Jason loved as his Dad; he gets lost in that moment.

Now, they're still in public, so as Jason starts to get quite emotional over this, Bruce's laughs trail off as he looks at Jason in surprise, hand still in Jason's hair as he'd been ruffling it, with Jason in a moment of weakness leans into it.

Jason's eyes get wet before he breaks from his stupor as he remembers he's in public, lost in the moment, paralleling their father-son relationship as a child. Jason closes his eyes, thinking, "Shit, this is gonna fuck up my street cred, isn't it?…" and tries to cooly brush it off and go back to what he'd been doing.

Bruce is just flat-out surprised as he realizes perhaps, with time and effort, he may be able to save more of his relationship with Jason than he'd initially thought. So he just continues to low-key Dad him for the rest of the event, taking advantage of the situation as a step forward.

Blah blah blah, I think this would be adorable. Wish I had writing skills, I’d make a one shot or something for it...

Later on, possible headlines the media could make would be "Bruce Wayne fathering the Red Hood??" Or "Batman has some competition in the serial adopting department."

A lot of the public's conspiracies and understanding of the Batfamily is mostly of not all just that, conspiracies; this feeds into the theories or, more popularly, blows up new and different theories, completely throwing out old ones- Secret identities safe, for now. Looool

[ptergwen]

from one kid to another

w/c: 6.0k

warnings: mentions of drinking, lots of swearing, implied smut, and angst at times

summary: it was a mistake, a beautiful one that you didn’t make on your own

a/n: this genuinely is my favorite thing i’ve ever written :,) i say that a lot but this time i mean it, it’s really special i think and i so so so hope y’all do too <3 enjoy my loves

-

there’s only one thing in life that testing positive for is actually positive.

depending on the situation, obviously. yours isn’t ideal, or planned or a blessing or whatever people say. it’s a gigantic mistake that you didn’t realize you made until a minute ago.

you’d noticed something was wrong when your time of the month came and all you experienced was the symptoms. cramps, cravings, everything except your actual period. as everyone is pretty much taught to do, you ran to the closest drug store for a pregnancy test. what the hell else could it be? you messed around a few weeks ago, so there’s a possibility.

your heart felt like it was going to explode out of your chest the whole time you waited for the results. you’d thought of calling tom over for support, but there are a couple of reasons why you couldn’t do that. you realized you made the right decision when your timer for the test went off.

two red lines. you’re pregnant. you’re pregnant, and your best fucking friend is the father.

where do you go from here?

the test falls from your hand and hits the floor with a mocking clank. you slide down until your back is against the bathtub. well, you’re fucked. what an ironic word choice.

the fact that you aren’t ready in the slightest to be a parent when you’re still growing up yourself is one thing. it’s another that this could ruin the most important relationship you’ve ever had.

no, tom won’t be mad. he’s never once fought with or even raised his voice at you. in your times of need, he’s been the one to uplift you and kiss your puffy cheeks dry. no matter how he takes this, you know it won’t be out on you. he is half responsible.

but, with how you left things the last time you spoke, you’re not sure you’ll be able to get past it.

tom is alarmingly good at hiding how he truly feels. you always tease him that it’s because he’s a gemini. he’ll come back with shut up, i’m an actor and stick his nose in the air to give you the full image. in all seriousness, it does take a toll on how well he can communicate.

you’ve seen it in small ways, like when he brings you along for press days and uses unenthusiastic smiles to cover up his yawns. how he’ll be polite in a conversation with people he’d rather not speak to, then mumble about it once you’re home. he tries to put forward the “appealing” parts of himself even though he’s more than them.

tom’s biggest communication issue is that he’s been in love with you since year nine and hasn’t said a word about it. you’ve yet to figure that one out.

you two became friends while tom was starring in billy elliot. his schedule was so scattered between shows and school, so he struggled to balance both. he often had to stay late for extra help on the lessons. you’d also been there a few times. you worked better in the classroom, and he was grateful he didn’t have to be alone with the teacher.

most kids made fun of tom for his interest in theater, to his face and behind his back. not you. you thought it was just incredible that someone in your own classes worked at the west end. you’d told him on your way home one night.

he’d heard you before he saw you. “you’re tom, right?” you asked from behind him, the two of you making your way through the hall. the question sounded friendly, and it wasn’t every day kids were nice to him. tom stopped walking so you could catch up. “yes, and you are?” you gave him a small smile, books clutched to your chest. he instantly returned it.

“y/n. i heard you’re in billy elliot?” you laughed at your understatement, then corrected yourself. “that you are billy elliot, i mean. that’s so cool.” “oh, i am. thank you,” he chuckled back, a full grin taking over his face. you were both walking again, you by tom’s side. “i was hoping to come see you soon.” your voice got quieter as you told him, like you were nervous.

tom never had much luck with girls, not at this point in his life. this was an opportunity to change that. at the very least, to make a new friend. he offered something you said yes to without a beat of hesitation. “what if i got you the tickets?”

from then on, you began talking during class and not only when it ended. tom really knew how to keep the conversation going, telling story after story that left you laughing so much your teacher would shush you. you’d eventually moved to hangouts at either of your houses. harrison came into the mix at some point, the three of you forming your own group.

the difference between tom and harrison was that while harrison linked with other girls, tom was only interested in you. he’d gotten a crush on you pretty fast, if he was being honest. it might have been your shared sense of humor or the way you said his name.

thomas, when he was being cheeky. tommy, which took the place of a pet name. even regular tom. that might have been his favorite. he loved how it rolled off your tongue. he loved, and still loves, you.

you’d gone to all of tom’s performances you possibly could, the ones for school theater included. you also gave him the push to take his talents to hollywood. tom was afraid he wasn’t cut out for the big screen, that he needed more practice and experience first. you told him that if this was what he wanted to do, he had to start somewhere. why wait?

tom then landed his first movie role in the impossible at the age of fifteen. he’d received tons of praise and almost gotten nominated for an academy award, all because you convinced him to audition. you played a huge part in keeping him grounded when he was between films, and caught him up on whatever schoolwork he’d missed.

you practically zoomed to tom’s house when he was announced as the next spider-man. you’d been constantly refreshing every social media platform marvel was on since tom became a finalist for the part. that process was probably the most difficult experience he’s ever gone through. you’d know, having heard all about it from tom.

the two of you celebrated along with the rest of tom’s family that night. you kept giving him little proud of you squeezes on his shoulder or knee. tom is eternally indebted to you for being the most supportive of everything he does.

he of course sends the support right back. although he went down the movie star path, acting wasn’t for you. you’d gone off to university and studied hard as hell and aced all your shit. tom quizzed you on material whenever you needed. he wanted to help you somehow, and this was all you’d let him do.

he’d offered to pay off your loans and any other expenses necessary because he had the money to do that now. you refused every single time, not trying to become dependent on him. he admired your drive, yet hated it at the same time. everything you’d done for him, it was his turn to be the caretaker. it should’ve been.

whenever tom wrapped filming for the holidays and came back home, you were always preparing for final exams. he kept you company, content with simply being in your presence. you typed away on your keyboard and read over notes until your eyes burned. tom occasionally brought you snacks, tea, asked how you were and what he could do.

sometimes, he would have to cut your study time short. he’d say it wasn’t healthy or you were overdoing it and to come relax with him for a bit. other times, tom let you be. he didn’t want to get in the way of your already stressful assignments. those were the nights you’d fall asleep in front of your laptop. drool on your chin, hunched over at your desk.

tom made sure to tuck you in, press a light kiss to whatever part of your face wasn’t covered in spit, then let himself out. he knew where your spare key was, so he used that. you’d wake up to a “Fell asleep studying again. Rest today x” text the next morning.

when it came time for you to graduate, tom was on the first flight there. it was during another round of reshoots for chaos walking. he respectfully told doug that he’d have to work around his schedule or replace him, which couldn’t be done so late into filming. tom didn’t care that it made him seem like a prick. he was getting to you no matter what he had to do.

he’d earned plenty of stares and whispers from people as he took his seat in the crowd. he was a proper celebrity now, so he expected it. his solution was to ignore everything and chat with your family about how proud they were of you, tom the most. he saw you go from a kid attempting algebra equations to an adult at her uni graduation. you’ve really grown up together.

it was why he teared up hearing them call your name, seeing you beam as you walked across the stage. your mom grabbed his hand and nodded at him, like she could tell exactly what was going through his head.

you ran right up to tom after the ceremony was over, leaping into his arms. he let out a couple of chuckles as he spun you around. “i didn’t think you’d make it,” you’d admitted, happy yet sad tears in your eyes. tom put you down so he could pull you in for a real hug. “i’ll always be wherever you are, y/n,” he said into your ear, rocking you while you gripped at his suit collar.

flash forward to a year later, your career is finally taking off, tom’s is flourishing like it has been for years, and you’re pregnant with his child. you’re trying to recall the series of events that led you to this moment.

you were both drunk, blackout drunk because the only reason you remember sleeping together is that you woke up naked in the same bed. harrison’s bed.

he threw a housewarming party for himself, having recently moved out of tom’s and the other boys’ place. the three of them, sam, and you were all in attendance, along with a lot of others you hadn’t met.

neither you nor tom could figure out where he knew all those people from. he’d clinged to you two for the most part, more so you now with tom usually away. they could have been from work. harrison is breaking into the business himself, small roles here and there. tom actually met him in your school’s theater program, then he introduced him to you, ten years ago already.

sam entertained himself by making concoctions with the snacks harrison set out. harry got together a playlist for the party. harrison and tuwaine struck up a conversation with some of harrison’s actor friends. that left you and tom alone, out of stuff to do, and with one way to fix it.

“drink?” tom had asked you, a smirk playing on his lips. “love one,” you hummed back and set off for the kitchen. the two of you raided harrison’s liquor cabinet, grabbing his biggest bottle of wine. he’d dumbly pointed it out during the house tour he gave you before the other guests arrived.

you were about to search for glasses, but tom’s fingers threaded through yours. he gently tugged you away and nodded behind him. “let’s bring this upstairs. seems much more fun there,” he’d murmured over the music, a grin breaking across your face.

tom is big on clubbing and socializing, however, you aren’t. he comes up with ways to get you out of these events, just in case.

“we can break in harrison’s bed for him,” you said as a completely harmless joke, no intentions of that becoming your reality later on. spoiler alert: it did. “and how are we gonna do that?” tom quirked a suggestive eyebrow and breathed out a laugh as you dragged him towards the stairs. despite yourself, you’d giggled at his words.

not one drink in either of you yet, and you were stumbling and cracking up as you ran upstairs. you’d pulled tom by your still attached hands into what you remembered as harrison’s room. tom shut the door, locked it, saying under his breath that would be a “convenient investment” for him to make as well.

he took out a bottle opener that he must have put in his pocket at some point and got to work on your wine, you getting comfortable on the new mattress. the two of you passed it to the other after every sip, tom licking the taste of your lip gloss off his own lips every so often.

the equivalent of three drinks in, you were making out. both of you were just tipsy at this point, tom holding you by your hips as you lied down, your legs around his waist. god, he could’ve done this sober. he’d dreamed about kissing you, really kissing you since he was fourteen. you’d always felt like you two had something more. ah, there it was.

halfway through the bottle got you past the next two bases, and you were ready for the fourth and ultimate one by the time you shook the last few drops onto the tip of your tongue. tom groaned at the sight of that, drawing your half naked body in closer to his.

you two had forgotten to use protection in each of your drunken states. without a doubt, you both would’ve agreed to a condom had your minds not been everywhere but where they should have.

you’d woken up first the morning after, panic immediately coursing through your veins thicker than blood. a fully nude and sleeping tom had you in his embrace, arms secured around your middle, facing you. you gasped when you made the connection, loudly enough to wake tom up. his long eyelashes tickled your face, a confused pout on his lips. uh... um...

“did we fucking...” you trailed off, no words to describe whatever unfolded. “fuck?” tom finished for you. a very blunt explanation, but true nevertheless. “looks like it,” he rasped, pout changing into a smile. your face fell at the vague memories of how you spent your night.

you definitely wanted to do it. just, he’s your best friend, who’s seen you at your least sexy moments over the years. when you were sick, had breakdowns from stress, you name literally anything, tom was there. it took one bottle of cheap wine for him to forget that?

the real answer was no. tom is entirely in love with you, for a decade at that. you were beginning to discover you feel the same, only you had no idea he already loves you. you’d assumed this was meant to be merely a hookup. from the frown your face held, he’d thought you were regretting it. oh, were you both so wrong.

“um... we don’t have to talk about it,” tom told you halfheartedly, under the impression that’s what you preferred. you physically felt yourself get weaker in tom’s strong arms. he’s not interested. “yeah, that’s probably for the best. i...” you were lying. his heart shrunk, shriveled up inside his chest. she doesn’t love me like that.

“you have to go. aren’t you behind on some emails?” tom hoped you didn’t hear his voice strain from the tears pushing at his eyes. “right. almost forgot, thanks.” you’d plastered on a smile, slipping out of his grasp. a tear rolled down his cheek, so he wiped it away before you noticed. you’d already gotten out of the bed and begun picking your clothes up off the floor.

“i’ll drive you home, then.” he rolled on to his other side, you thought so he could give you privacy to change. it was that, and also because he was crying. he couldn’t hold it in. tom is naturally an emotional person. imagine finding out the love you’ve had almost half your life is unreciprocated. it’s soul crushing.

you two found harrison snoring and on top of tuwaine as you left the house. no silly remarks or shared glances for the first time in ten years. tom couldn’t muster anything up, and you felt numb.

the drive was painful. you’d said your goodbyes after tom pulled up to the curb, which held an odd weight to them. once you were out of the car, a sob wracked through him, banging on the steering wheel and not giving a shit about the loud horn going off. you collapsed face first onto your bed. hours passed by while you stared at nothing and contemplated everything.

since it happened, you haven’t spoken much. small talk over text every few days or so, both of you pretending things are normal for the other’s sake. about a month later, today, is when you found out you’re pregnant.

there’s no use wallowing in any of this. you need to figure out your next move, one that should probably involve tom. first, you want to talk to someone else. you want other opinions and a voice in your head that isn’t your own. harrison gets a text from you saying to come over now, the now in all caps. he does.

you let him in after the second knock, his eyebrows furrowing in concern. however torn you are, you must look it. shirt balled in your fists, lip quivering. he keeps his eyes on yours as he steps inside, pushing the door shut behind him. this is all becoming too real. “y/n, are you okay?”

you’re about to cry in three, two...

“haz, i fucked up,” you choke out, tears unable to stay at bay. he takes you into his arms for a hug. half your face is hidden in his shoulder, hands clutching at his back. he lets you cry it out, holding you until your heavy breathing steadies. “what’s happened?” harrison asks quietly, both of you leaving the hug.

“if- if i tell you, you can’t freak out. you can’t tell anyone else, either,” you instruct, searching his eyes for certainty that he won’t under any circumstances. “i won’t, y/n/n,” he assures you and puts an encouraging hand on your arm. your heart pounding abnormally fast, you spit it out. your first time saying it aloud. “i’m pregnant.”

harrison flinches and doesn’t even try to conceal it. he takes his hand off of you, worry swimming across his features. he blinks at you, unsure of what to say. you’d react the same way, maybe worse, so you don’t blame him. a discussion you, him, and tom had a couple years back replays in his mind.

the three of you were talking about your futures, seeing as you were close to living them. when tom asked you two where you stood on having your own families, you didn’t hesitate to answer. “nope, the factory is closed for a long ass time.” until you were in your thirties, you aimed to focus on yourself. harrison distinctly remembered because of how you phrased it.

“you’re... you... wow,” is all he replies with. you head over to the couch, more tears welling up in your eyes. do the pregnancy hormones act up this early? harrison follows you over and sits down next to you with an awkward clearing of his throat. “do you want to be pregnant?” he has to ask because he’s not sure if he should congratulate you or what.

“i don’t know,” you answer honestly, voice airy. your eyes are fixed on the wall in front of you. you haven’t given yourself time to think about it. there are so many reasons you don’t, and a single one you do. “do you, um, know who the dad is?” harrison glances over at you. “yeah.” your voice cracks. you’re both afraid for him to ask what he does next.

he shifts so he’s sitting up. “can i know?” a sniffle passing through you, you finally look at him. “it’s tom,” you say it before you lose the nerve to. harrison’s face doesn’t change this time. he isn’t surprised you and tom went there. he’d seen your friendship growing into more the older you all got. what he can’t believe is where it took you.

his best friend pregnant, and his other best friend responsible for it.

“when did you...” “at your party,” you explain, bringing your legs up so they’re criss cross on the couch. “i thought you were gone a little too long.” he says that to try cheering you up. you appreciate the effort, but it doesn’t work. you’re not in a joking mood. he’ll stick to the main issue. “so, have you told him?”

“clearly not,” you scoff, not at him but at what you two have gotten yourselves into. “y/n... i think you should tell him,” harrison sighs out, then adds, “whether you keep it or not.” “why? that would ruin everything, it already has.” you’re getting angry now, which plunges you into angry crying, voice unsteady as you go on.

“the last time i saw tom was that night, and i guess it meant more to me than it did to him because we haven’t talked about it at all. he didn’t want to.” you swipe the back of your hand across your eyes, gaze stern compared to harrison’s soft one.

he drapes an arm around your shoulders, you curling into him with another sniffle. he doesn’t say anything for a minute, then he tries again. “i know you, y/n, and i know tom. you’ll kill yourselves not talking about this.” he’s right, no shit he is. avoiding telling tom how you feel, and your pregnancy on top of that, it’s eating you up inside. it’s swallowing you whole.

“what if he doesn’t want to be a dad? or- or i’m a shit mum?” you croak out, your doubts getting the best of you. “i can barely take care of myself. what am i supposed to do with a baby?” you’re leaning forward with your hands pressing into your temples. harrison’s hand moves to your upper back. “i- i don’t think i should have them. i... we can’t,” you conclude.

“tom loves kids,” he gives you a gentle reminder. “why would his own be the exception?” another good point, yet you still have rebuttles. “right, he’s a godfather and he’s really good with them and all that, but i’m not the right person, and it’s a terrible time,” you tell him all at once, in a rush to get your words out before harrison’s sway you.

“he’s never around, i’m doing my own stuff. we’re not meant for this.” you lift your head out of your hands and sit back on the couch. harrison returns his hands to his lap. he’s frowning at you, which you see from the corner of your eye. “i’m not going to force you to have the baby. just saying you have options.”

yeah, really shitty ones.

“either way, talk to tom.” harrison says this more like a demand so you’ll take his advice into actual consideration. “at least about the hookup.” your teeth sink into your lower lip, eyes watering for the nth time already.

you have no choice because he’s right again. you’ll never move on from what happened unless you and tom address it.

the next morning, you do what harrison told you to and invite tom over. he replied saying he was on his way maybe a minute later. he’s nervous to see you because yeah, but more so looking forward since it’s been so long. you’re so nauseous you barely have room for nerves. it’s morning sickness with a hint anxiety.

it feels almost normal when he first gets here, no how’ve you been and what are you up to these days? being as close as you and tom are, you’re not capable of such a dry conversation. personally, you still feel uneasy while he recounts a golfing incident him and harry got into the other day. you know something he doesn’t.

“when i tell you we flew, we flew,” tom makes a pushing forward motion with both hands. “right into the tree. i think harry, like, dented part of his face.” he lets out a breathy laugh, you forcing out one of your own. you’d be more interested without the fact that you’re expecting a child, his child, at the back of your mind.

tom exhales, shifting to face you on your couch. it’s funny how different things were when you and harrison sat in these same spots yesterday. so much has and is about to change.

“they had to send another golf cart to come get us. it was wild.” “it sounds wild,” you hollowly agree. he can tell you’re not too invested in hearing about harry’s terrible driving skills, so he changes the subject. “anyway, harrison told me he came over last night?” your stomach drops, heat coming over your whole body.

“did... did he say why?” you murmur with a look of urgency in your eyes. tom shrugs a shoulder, and casually. there’s no way he knows. “no, was he supposed to?” his tone stays playful, which you can thankfully tell. that puts you more at ease. “no. no, never mind. i would’ve asked you to come, but...” you’re searching through your catalog of excuses.

thank god tom says something else because you can’t find a good one. “it’s alright. i actually, um, had a work call.” a small smile spreads across his face, a proud one. intrigued, you raise both eyebrows. “what’d you talk about?” tom twiddles with his fingers in his lap. “i’ve been offered an audition for this really amazing film. everything works out, it’ll be huge for me.”

you’re smiling back this time, putting a hand over one of his. “woah, that’s incredible. i’m so happy for you, tom.” you lock your fingers with his from the back of his hand. he looks down at them, humbly shaking his head. “when is it?” “a few weeks from today. it films in brazil...”

oh. you can’t tell him now. it’s not worth him missing out on a milestone in his career for a baby you’re not sure you should have. that would be so unfair of you to ask. what are you going to do, not support his dreams for the first time in a literal decade? and, you’d call yourself his best friend through it all?

you guess this also means the way you feel about tom is one sided. he’s okay with leaving you after the most intimate moment you two have ever shared. you’ll dance around it the rest of your lives. better yet, act like the night never even happened. that’s not so easy to do when you’ve got a permanent reminder of it.

the thought makes you sick to your stomach. so sick, you could...

while tom is talking more about what the audition entails, you suddenly bolt up from the couch. you run for the bathroom, a hand cupped over your mouth. his face twists up in confusion from your disappearance. tom calls, “y/n/n?” out to you, but you can’t respond because your head is in the toilet. he rushes in when he hears you retching.

he gets onto the floor with you. you’re bent over, puking your guts out, back in another place where your life changed forever less than twenty four hours ago. tom pulls your hair out of your face and into a makeshift ponytail with one hand, his other on your back. that’s all you have in you. you stay over the toilet just to be sure.

saliva drips from your mouth, making you cough roughly, the sound echoing. tom moves so he’s next to you, keeping his hand in your hair and not caring one bit about the smell because he loves you and he’s utterly concerned about what he witnessed.

“love, are you sick?” he coos, searching for your eyes. they water from the intensity of everything. “morning sickness,” you answer without thinking first. shit. shit, shit, shit. it came out of you like more vomit, word vomit. there’s no going back now.

tom lets go of your hair with his eyes still on yours. his hand on your back then leaves you, fingers trailing down your body as they go. “morning sickness,” he repeats, putting it together. “you’re pregnant?” guilt taking over your features, you sit across from tom. you’re once again leaning against the bathtub, him against the counter.

“this isn’t how i wanted you to find out,” you admit and bring your knees up to your chest. “i took a test yesterday. it was positive.” your arms wrap around your legs, you now tearing up because tom figured it out. a shaky breath passes his lips. “i haven’t gone to my doctor or anything yet, but i-“

“are you keeping the baby?” tom cuts in. not to judge you for your choice, to find out what the fuck is going on before he travels across the world. you tighten your arms around yourself, grabbing your wrist. “i haven’t decided.” he gives you an understanding nod and reaches out for you. you dodge him. he might not want to do that after what you say next.

“tom, i... there’s more,” you whimper out. “yeah. i’m... i’m listening,” tom croaks, unable to hold in his infinite amount of emotions for a multitude of reasons. he’s losing you a second time. more tears spill from your eyes as you break the news, the news that will destroy what he’s been working towards his entire life.

“the baby is yours.” his face relaxes, looking almost relieved when you confess it. “when we slept together, uh,” you’re sure it’s obvious enough that you don’t have to go over the details. he’s tearing up himself. you reluctantly continue. “if you still want to audition, i get it. we don’t have to do this.”

“fuck the audition. fuck the whole movie. all of my movies, really,” tom surprises you by blurting out. he moves in until your legs are touching. “i’m staying. even if you don’t have the baby, i have to be here.” you watch in disbelief as he wipes away what are actually happy tears. “really? i was scared you’d resent me for it, or hate me even,” you mumble to him.

“y/n, what? why would i ever do that?” tom places a hand on your cheek, touch gentle and filled with love. you part your legs so he can be closer to you. he takes the space between them, thumb brushing over your skin. “i didn’t think you’d want to deal with all of this. i thought that night was only a hookup for you.” your voice wobbles under his gaze.

“no, are you kidding? i thought that’s what you thought.” he’s smiling now, eyes twinkling along with it. what he’s been meaning to tell you since you were only kids finally comes out. “i’ve loved you as long as i’ve known you, y/n. i always imagined myself doing this with you.” his words draw a quiet laugh from you, a happy one. “i know we were drunk, but i meant it all.”

the sincerity in his voice, the warmth in his eyes, they make you cry all over again. you’re getting used to it.

“i love you, tom,” you lean into him with a sniffle and a grin, his forehead now resting on yours, using his thumb to catch one of your tears. “i really do.” “i love you forever. i always have,” tom speaks lowly, breath fanning across your face. your hands grab at his shoulders. “so, you’ll stay? you’ll do this with me?” he reminds you of what he said before, this time a promise.

“forever.”

-

you ended up having the baby, and tom held your hand through the entire labor. nikki was holding his other hand, your mom holding your other hand. harrison had originally been in the room as well. when you started to push, he got freaked out and had to leave. your support system remained strong either way.

despite his repulsion of your daughter’s birth, you and tom decided to make harrison her godfather. he eventually became the godfather of your other two children also, which you had a few years later.

tom took a paternity leave from the industry so he could be with you and jamie. he’d also used his time off to propose to you, something else he fantasized about since year eleven in school. it wasn’t anything too grand because the whole world was already buzzing about you two, and a big gesture felt too impersonal with everything you’d been through together.

he did it in the form of passing a note, something you often did in class to avoid being scolded by your teacher for talking. the note came with a pencil to check off either the yes or no box, “will you marry me?” written above them. anyone else would have found it so unromantic, but you giggled as you checked off yes before your lips crashed into his smiling ones.

you were married shortly after the proposal, jamie as your flower girl and all your friends and family in attendance.

to do what he loved and stay with the people he loved, tom created his own version of hollywood in london. he took it upon himself to assemble a team and make a production company. harry behind the camera, harrison and tuwaine in the films, and tom either starring alongside them or directing. they give so many young actors tons of opportunities.

you eventually went back to work, too. it was like you’d never left, coworkers offering endless hugs and going over what you missed, not that you struggled getting into it. tom was there to celebrate every promotion, every compliment from your boss, every part of your life. jamie was also there, then liam and lucy.

all three of them are running around the house right now, putting on shoes and collecting their supplies for school. you take a sip of the orange juice liam didn’t finish with a lighthearted eye roll. tom chuckles as he passes you in the kitchen, getting the kids’ lunchboxes for them to minimize the chaos.

“you have that pitch meeting today, right?” he slips his hands through the lunchbox handles and walks over to you. “mhm,” you hum, mouth full with juice. his lips press to your temple, giving your waist a one handed squeeze. “you’ll smash it. always do.” “thanks, tommy.” putting down the cup, you reach up to button whatever parts of his shirt he didn’t have time to.

“aren’t you doing a casting? for the new script they sent?” you wonder aloud and smooth down the cotton material. “me and harry. should be interesting,” he remarks, you giving him a quick kiss back on his chin. they tend to have their artistic differences. “good luck with that. you do drop off, i’ll do pick up?” you pat one of the lunchboxes around his arms.

“deal.” tom goes in for a kiss on your lips, then a chorus of dad, we have to go led by jamie rings through the house. with a knowing smile, you push at his chest. “see you later. love you.” “love you, holland,” he bites back a grin of his own. his last name, now yours, suits you perfectly.

[cyberpink-by-hypofox]

Ever since I first saw Blade Runner as a kid, I was in love with the idea of futuristic technology, and how it could evolve us as a species. But I also hold a deep fear of it, like an atomic bomb of silicon and quantum bits just waiting to reach critical mass. But the future is now, and my fear of it has been growing over the last couple of years as the advances in artificial intelligence technology have given birth to AI-generated art as well as AI-generated literature. Whilst the first steps were janky and glitchy, with stuff like Deep Dream and the like, AI is now starting to show us its potential. As an artist, my fears became even more real as DALL-E came out and showed us what it could create. My relationship with AI-generated images is a journey of phases, first I was in absolute astonishment and curiosity when I saw the early examples from Deep Dream around 2015. Yet, this was quickly followed by disappointment as the system was unable to output much more than a sea of eyes or incomprehension landscapes of surreal patterns. On top of that, it caused many online galleries that I used to frequent at the time to become overrun by samey-looking AI landscapes and surreal entities. I played around with it like everyone else, of course, and I even incorporated some of it into my work. But the torrent of AI stuff all looking like images from the same fever dream was starting to annoy me. As the new generation of AI programs such as DALL-E-2 and Midjourney emerged in 2021 and 2022, my annoyance grew into a form of hate. Although early examples of what these new generators could do were impressive, the slew of samey-looking AI-generated artwork on image boards just exploded even more. NFT marketplaces were overrun and even places like Facebook and Instagram were drowning in uninspired AI-generated art. It was just all too much! With discussions brewing on whether or not AI images could even be considered art, I found myself firmly on the side of "absolutely not". But then something happened, I'm not sure what, but one evening I was watching a tutorial on YouTube by an artist I respect, showing how he could change and improve AI-generated art by applying his skills as both an artist and a graphic designer. I was intrigued, and things spiralled from there. I am now subscribed to several AI generators and have been playing around with running local rendering on my RTX 3090. My mind was changed. I think the defining factor was the difference I could see in quality between raw unrefined AI images from a regular user, and images processed by a graphic artist such as myself, who has also grown an understanding of how to phrase AI generators in just the right way to get those sweet results. It may not be considered art to prompt, but it is tedious and hard work that takes time, know-how, and patience. So here we are with this book / PDF (or whatever it is you are reading now). This is not my first AI project but it is the first one I'm doing under the Hypofox name. Inspired by my love for dark Sci-Fi fantasy, Cyberpunk aesthetics, Giger-esque details, and most of all back where it all started: Blade Runner and the science fiction visions of how artificial intelligence can be a wonder and a horror. Just, it's not science fiction anymore, is it? Hypofox 2022

[youngbeezer]

Do you Believe in Happily Ever After? | Joel Farabee

A/N: Hello again! I got such a great response to my first fic I posted which literally made me so happy, so thank you so much to anyone who gave me the time of their day to read my fic. Here is a new fic for mr. joel farabee!! This one is a little longer and I tried my best, feedback always appreciated, but I hope you enjoy :)

Warnings: Few curse words, overall just fluff

Word Count: 2160

Tagging a few people again so this doesn’t flop,,,

@ollywahlygator @joshsandersons @joelsfarabees @fratboyzegras @sorokns @butgilinsky @ricohenrique

I haven’t been to too many weddings in my life. I attended one for my uncle when I was around 10 years old but I don’t remember much from it. My mother also got remarried around 3 years ago, but up until this year, weddings weren’t a natural occurrence in my life. 

This past year though.. I’ve attended two weddings, got an invitation in the mail today for another one, a close friend of mine just recently got engaged (so that invitation will be coming sometime in the near future), and one of my best friends’ wedding is tomorrow. Now I feel like everywhere I look, I am surrounded by love. 

Now I’m not saying that is a bad thing, but when every one of your friends are either having kids, getting married, or in serious relationships, it starts to feel a little discouraging. Is there something wrong with me? Am I the reason why I’m still single?-- No, I refuse to think like that! I could get a boyfriend if I wanted to. Maybe my friends are right though… Maybe I’m not putting myself out there enough. 

Anyway, one of my best friends, Karly, is getting married to her long-time boyfriend Travis tomorrow. I’ve met Travis, or as everyone seems to call him ‘TK’, a handful of times and I know he plays for the Philadelphia Flyers hockey team-- which is cool I guess, but other than that I don’t know much about his personal life or who he hangs out with. 

Karly and I met running into each other at a cafe once. Yeah, yeah I know it sounds like one of those cliche romantic meetings, where two people bump into each other and immediately fall in love. I mean we did hit it off almost immediately and from there we became like two peas in a pod-- just not in the way you think. I’ve always wondered though, if maybe I ran into a handsome man at a coffee shop or walking down the street, would I be having my happily ever after right now?

I snap out of my thoughts when an incoming call from- speak of the devil, the bribe to be. Before I can even say my greetings, Karly jumps right into business;

“Ok! So since you weren’t able to come to the dress rehearsal or rehearsal dinner. I’ll give you the rundown on what you need to do.”

Oh yeah, did I mention that I am one of the bridesmaids? Sadly, I was not able to attend the functions before the wedding due to not being able to get time off from work. But, Karly was super cool with it, which brings us to the reason for this call.

“Ok so basically, your dress and everything is already in the bridal suite, so everything will be ready for you when you get here tomorrow. You’ll be walking down the aisle third with one of Travis’ buddies Joel-- he plays on the team with Trav and he’s such a sweet guy he’ll definitely help you out if you need anything.. You know now that I think about it you guys would be such a cute couple-”

“Uh Karly? I don’t think now's the time to play matchmaker, when we should be preparing for your big day tomorrow.” I cut her off. 

“Alright, alright. But I will be coming back to that thought. Ok so anyway--”

After that I kind of zone out from trying to keep up with whatever Karly is spitting at me right now. While still on the phone, I pull out my laptop and search for the name ‘Joel’ with ‘Philadelphia Flyers’ next to it in search of this man who is said to be walking me down the aisle. Right away the name ‘Joel Farabee’ pops up with a wikipedia and multiple photos. Hm this guy is kinda cute. Just as I go to click view more images, Karly’s words register back in my brain;

“Ok y/n, did you get that?”

“Hm.. oh yeah! Got it. What time should I be there tomorrow?” I ask, praying that she didn’t already mention that and realize I wasn’t paying attention. 

“8 AM sharp,” she responds all giddy. 

I suddenly remember that my best friend is actually getting married tomorrow. Feeling giddy as well I reply, “Sounds good. I am so happy for you Karly and I can’t wait to see how beautiful you look tomorrow!” 

Karly does a little shriek in response and reiterates her excitement as well. We then say our goodbyes and I wish her a great last night as an unmarried woman before hanging up. I got back to what I was working on before the call and all my jumbled thoughts entered my brain, totally forgetting about a certain someone named ‘Joel’ as I exited the browser. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The next morning I arrive at 8:17 AM at the wedding venue and as soon as I exit the Uber, I start booking it to the bridal suite. When Karly says to be somewhere at 8 AM sharp, you be there at 8 AM sharp, and I’m not particularly fond of facing her wrath today, especially on her wedding day when stress levels are through the roof. 

There’s just one problem though… Since I wasn’t able to attend the rehearsal, I have no idea where I am going. 

Trying to recall the directions Karly told me on the phone last night (when I wasn’t paying attention), I take a sharp turn around a corner looking the opposite direction and suddenly collide with a dead end. Wait- no that’s not a dead end, it’s a person. 

Immediately going to spit out an apology, I stop dead in my tracks when I make eye contact with the handsome man I bumped into. 

“Oh shit! I am so sorry. Are you alright?” I see his lips moving, which are very nice to look at by the way, but my mind doesn’t register his words as I stare dumbfoundedly at this handsome stranger. Who, now that I think about it, looks a little familiar. 

When I still don’t answer, the familiar stranger clears his throat before giving me a once over of my whole body, which does little to bring me out of my trance. If anything I now start to feel my whole face flush from noticing him obviously checking me out. 

His face then seems to light up in recognition before asking, “Wait, are you y/n?”

When he notices my look of confusion on how he knows my name he continues, “I’m Joel, Joel Farabee.” Scratching the back of his neck awkwardly, I notice a slight blush coating his cheeks before he adds, “We’re paired to walk down the aisle together… Um, also I think Karly is looking for you. She was kind of freaking out a little.”

With that last sentence my whole body comes back to life realizing that I am late and Karly is going to kill me. Hurriedly I exclaim “Oh my gosh! I am so late and I have no idea where the hell I’m going.” I frantically search around for any directions to point me to the bridal suite.

Joel kindly puts his hand on my shoulder, which immediately ignites a fire on the skin he is touching, before he reassures “Hey, you’re good. Just take your first right down this hall and then it will be at the end of the corridor, you can’t miss it. Seriously. She hung up streamers and balloons everywhere with a poster on the door that says ‘Bridal Suite. NO BOYS ALLOWED’.” 

Letting out a soft snort I gently thank Joel before rushing in the direction he pointed me to. Before turning right, I sneak a quick glance over my shoulder to find Joel already glancing my way. My heart does a little flutter when we make eye contact and he gives me a little lopsided grin before going on his way. 

What just happened… 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As soon as I walk through the doors of the suite, I am immediately ambushed by the bride to be on why I was late, until she notices the deep blush covering my cheeks, which then prompts another ambush on what made me blush. 

I change the topic as quickly as I can and direct our attention on getting ready for the ceremony. Karly looks absolutely beautiful in her white gown and her hair all dolled up. She doesn’t even seem remotely nervous for today as well. Most weddings I have been to, the bride is always going batshit crazy making sure everything is perfect or worrying that her soon to be husband might back out. That just shows how happy and comfortable Karly and Travis are in their relationship. God, I wonder what it must feel like to have that kind of love that is so solid and healthy. Suddenly my mind starts drifting to what it would be like to have that type of relationship with Joel. 

Oh who am I kidding? I just met the guy. Sure, when his hand touched my shoulder my whole body felt like it was on fire. And yeah, maybe when he gave me that little lopsided grin it gave my entire stomach butterflies. Oh jeez. Today is gonna be a long day… 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ok now I feel like my whole body is going to explode. He is looking at me like I’m now the bride and he is the groom. And suddenly, I’m wishing that were the case. We are getting closer and closer to walking down the aisle together, and every step we take towards one another my stomach does a little flip. 

When we finally reach each other, he offers his arm for me to take as he speaks, “Wow… Uh yeah wow, you look gorgeous.”

Blushing, I respond with a quiet “Thank you.” 

“Guess I was the lucky one eh? In case I end up tripping and making a fool of myself, no one will even be paying attention because all eyes will be on you.” There’s that little lopsided grin of his again. 

“Well aren’t you a sweet talker.” I responded. 

He just gives me a subtle wink before we ascend through the doors and down the aisle where Travis is waiting for the big moment. He gives us both a little smirk before we part ways like he knows something we both don’t. 

…

Eventually Karly walks down the aisle looking like an absolute princess. The officiator says his whole ordeal, Karly and TK both say their vows to one another, there are lots of tears, and Joel and I can’t seem to keep our eyes off of each other. 

After the ceremony, we all head in the direction of the reception hall where the real fun begins. Don’t get me wrong, the wedding was spectacular, the way everyone expected it to be. Now as music filled the air with a giddy sort of elation, the newlyweds looking beautiful and so happy while dancing, friends and relatives chatting between one another about this and that; I can’t help but feel a little bittersweet about it. I want this. I want that giddy elation to be surrounded around me, I want to wear that beautiful white gown, I want the guy to be looking at me like I just hung the moon while we had our first dance. Where’s my happily ever after--

“You know you never properly introduced yourself?” 

Startled, I spun around to find the source. Joel. 

I give him a sweet smile before returning my gaze back to the happy couple and responding, “Y/n y/l/n.” 

He follows my gaze and lets out a little sigh before expressing “They’re perfect for each other, aren’t they?” 

“Yeah, they really are.” Before I can get another word in Joel blurts;

“Do you wanna dance? Like,” He stumbles a little with his words, “like with me?”

Letting out a soft giggle, I happily reply, “I would love to.” 

Seemingly relieved, Joel takes my hand and leads me out onto the dance floor as soon as a slow song comes on. He puts his hands respectively on my waist while I put mine around his neck inching him closer to my body. We dance with each other for a while, even after the song is over and a fast high tempo song blasts through the speakers. It’s like we are lost in each other, just savoring this ‘moment’ together. 

Eventually after the fourth song comes on and we are still dancing, Joel pulls away just a little to look me in the eye before softly whispering “Do you believe in happily ever afters?” 

Seeing that look in his eyes again, the one where it seems like he is looking at me like I just hung the moon? I answer in that same soft whisper, “Yeah… yeah I think I do.”

[flurrys-creativity]

Meet the Parks

Pairing: Park Jinyoung (GOT7) x Fem!Reader; Genre: Reality tv show AU, Idol AU, Family AU, Established Relationship AU, Humour, Fluff, Romance, suggestive; Rating: sfw, NC-17; Warnings: some cursing, talk about making babies, mentioning that Jinyoung and some other got7 members are/were perverts, a lot of teasing, breastfeeding, mentions of alcohol; Wordcount: 11.597

Requested by: @crzy-devil

Synopsis: A production team decided to make a reality tv show about the Parks. It showcases various scenes over the span of several months and episodes. Starting with introductions, over language barriers and meeting the parents-in-law the Parks show a lot of sides despite their glamourous star image.

A/N: I always escalate with any requests but this time it really exploded.. with all the ideas, I really think you should try writing for yourself (because basically none of this is my own idea.. I just wrote the ideas thrown at me)

Episode 1: Introduction Parks

A dozen pictures of a family flew over the screen. Some of them have been taken by a professional while others were clearly homemade. They showed five people in various situations while a catchy tune played in the background. The melody sure would stick with the audience and hopefully lift their moods. Not necessarily because the melody was light and fun, but because the audience would connect the melody with this fun tv show.

Once the intro was done and the last tones played, the camera pointed at two adults. Both of them sat on chairs and faced the camera directly, smiling brightly - maybe even too brightly.

“Please introduce yourself”, a voice from behind the camera said.

“안양하세요 박진영 입니다” The man said and bowed politely to the camera.

Meanwhile the woman rolled her eyes and clicked with her tongue. “You do know this is for an American TV show, right? Nobody understands you.”

The man laughed and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. There were small lines appearing at the corner of his eyes from his wide smile. “Sorry, old habits die hard, I guess.” He bowed again, this time to apologise. “I’m Park Jinyoung, actor, idol, husband and dad”, he announced proudly, his chest swelling with every added word. His pride faltered a little when nobody reacted and he nervously glanced at the woman next to him.

She smiled and patted his thigh, before she turned back to face the camera. “I’m Y/N.” She bowed, a habit she developed after living with Jinyoung for several years now.

“Nothing else?”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t you want to add anything else to your introduction?”

She shrugged with her shoulders. “They should know who I am, but if you say so. I’m Y/N, a model and part-time actress.”

“And?” Jinyoung stared at her expectantly.

“Oh come on, they will know that I am your wife. Why else would they make a show about a family if not your wife is sitting next to you?” She rolled her eyes again, but reluctantly added. “I’m his wife” - she pointed with her thumb at Jinyoung - “and the mother of our three kids.”

“Would you like to introduce them as well?” The voice from behind the camera asked, making the parents stare at each other for a second in silent communication before they nodded and turned towards the camera with a bright smile again.

“Of course! We would love to”, Jinyoung nodded enthusiastically and gestured for his wife to follow with an introduction.

“We have three lovely children.”

“For now.”

“Forever.” She looked sternly towards Jinyoung, making sure he wouldn’t continue this topic. “We have three lovely children”, she repeated with a smile, “the oldest, Hyun Min, is already sixteen years old and currently trains a lot to become an idol just like his father.”

The screen changed from the couple to show a lanky teenager, practising in front of a large mirror. His gaze is focused on his own form, showing an almost eerie resemblance to his father. Hyun Min was learning an old choreography his father used to dance with his group members, wanting to impress the judges of future casting shows.

“Hyun Min saw a video of an old concert when Jinyoung still toured around the world with his group. I think the crowd, the cheers and all those sparkling lights affected him.”

“He doesn’t want to become anything else as far as I know”, Jinyoung agreed with his wife, the voices overlaying the video of the young man, trying to become the next k-pop sensation. 

“By the way Hyun Min is his Korean name since he is half Korean after all, but most of his friends and even I call him Hugh. It’s easier to say for people living on the West Coast.” The woman chuckled, ignoring Jinyoung’s pout. “All of our children have Korean and Western names.”

“Next up is my little sunshine”, Jinyoung announced and the screen once again changed from the practice room to a children’s room, where a young girl sat at her desk, drawing some pictures. “Sun-hi is eleven years old and is quite ambitious for her young age.”

“Right now she wants to become a ballerina”, Y/N deadpanned, “she changes her mind every other month, so I’m pretty sure Sunny will tell you something else should you ask her in a month.”

“Well, she is still young and has time to figure out what she wants.”

“Says the guy, who knew already at a very young age what he wanted to be.” For a moment it was quiet and even though the screen still showed the little girl happily drawing, the awkward staredown between the parents was palpable. “Anyway now to our youngest child. He’s still a toddler, so you can see we really took some time between each child. Jae-Hwa is almost a year old and he already tries to walk on his own.”

The screen shows Jinyoung holding the hands of a wobbling toddler that tries to walk over to the camera. A proud smile is on the father’s face while the youngest family member looked rather curious, not caring where he stepped. It almost seemed as if the child was hovering in the air, the feets barely placed on the ground while it basically dangled from his arms. 

In the background Y/N leans against a doorframe, watching part of her family with a soft smile despite the apparent exhaustion in her eyes.

“Jaden came too early and we feared he would have troubles but within the few months he’s with us he became so much stronger.”

“And Jaden will be your last child?” The interviewer asked, while the screen showed the couple once again.

“Yes.”

“No.”

Both of them said at the same time, almost whipping their heads off when they turned to each other, staring at their partner with wide eyes. 

“I want a big family”, Jinyoung stated, still looking straight into his wife’s eyes.

“Three children are already big enough.” Y/N crossed her arms in front of her body, silently indicating she wasn’t up for any discussion on that topic.

“Oh come on”, Jinyoung whined and grabbed one of her hands, running a thumb over the back of it. He leaned forward, as if he wanted to whisper into her ear. “You look so sexy when you’re bearing a child of mine.”

Y/N groaned and rolled her eyes but didn’t pull her hand away. “I can’t believe you just said that in front of the camera.”

Jinyoung looked at the camera, his ears turning slightly pink upon realisation. “I still mean it though.”

She nervously chuckled and looked somewhere behind the camera, demanding the interviewer to state his next question.

“So? How did you get to know each other?”

Jinyoung leaned back in his seat and rubbed over his chin in thought. “It was during a photo shoot for a magazine in Seoul. I can’t remember which one though. But Y/N was the first time in Seoul and she barely spoke any Korean - she still doesn’t speak a lot of Korean”, Jinyoung teased, “she looked slightly lost but at the same time I could feel her stares at the back of my head.”

Y/N shrugged with her shoulders, trying to dismiss the embarrassment that slowly creeped up in her body. “Well, I was a fan and I couldn’t just reveal that. Idols basically never date their fans.”

“You’ve been a fan?”

“I still am of course, but whenever I had time I would visit concerts and buy merch. I even have the green bird light stick, which I used to cheer on comebacks. And a cute green bird keychain!” She pulled her keys from behind her back, the clinking filling the air as she slightly shook it. A small green bird was seen hanging between a few keys.

Jinyoung watched his wife with an adoring smile, the love overflowing from just his eyes. Anyone seeing his expression knew how deeply in love he was with his wife. “You still have that.”

Y/N turned to her husband, an incredulous look on her face. “Of course, I still have it! Once a fan, always a fan.” She smiled sweetly and leaned forward, kissing Jinyoung on the lips. “Marrying you never changed the fact that I’m still your biggest fan.” She planted another kiss on his lips, surprised when Jinyoung suddenly wraps his arms around her body to deepen the kiss. Any attempt to separate herself again was futile.

“Uhm”, the interviewer cleared his throat, “I think we have enough for the introduction.” With that the screen turned black before a list of names rolled over it, combined with a slow melody in the background, which barely resembled the one from the intro.

Episode 2: Work and Family

The same intro from the first episode started to play, showing the same pictures and short video clips while this upbeat melody played again.

The intro was a huge contrast to the first scene of the series. It was still dark within the house, showing everything in some sort of grey hue. Only the shadow-like outlines of the furniture were visible and there was no sound at all. That was until some sort of groaning could be heard. It was faint and not from the room that the camera currently showed.

The screen switched to another room, showing a bird perspective towards a large bed, where two people were lying in. At first it seemed as if they were still sound asleep if it weren’t for that groan again.

It was faintly visible how Jinyoung’s hands started to wander over the body of Y/N, making her groan in the process.

“It’s too early, please.”

“So none of the kids will hear.”

“I swear to god, Jinyoung. Don’t even try. It won’t work.” She grumbled and swatted his hand away. “I still have a few hours to sleep before I need to be at work and I’m going to kill you should I have eyebags.”

Jinyoung chuckled and just pulled her against his chest, cuddling with her. “I love you too.”

Meanwhile there was movement in the kitchen, the screen switching once again. It showed a shadow walking around, opening cupboards and drawers. The figure was dressed completely in black and a hood was pulled over their head, covering almost half their face. Once the figure opened the fridge, the camera caught sight of the face.

Hyun Min squinted his eyes from the bright light, looking somewhat grim this early in the morning. After his eyes adjusted to the light, they started to dart around, quickly scanning the things within the fridge.

“Hyun Min woke up after a short night”, the voice from the narrator said. “Since he wants to become an idol, he trains half the day, neglecting his sleep to become better and better.”

“He’s actually quite nocturnal”, Y/N said and the screen once again switched to her sitting on a chair and staring into the camera with a smile. “I guess it’s a phase, but he prefers the dark. That means dark clothes, dark makeup, dark hair, dark style and nocturnal. Some would probably call him a goth or emo? I don’t know the right terms.” She laughed and waved with one hand in front of her face. “I don’t really mind it, unless I’m half asleep and stumble over him. He scares the shit out of me sometimes.”

“You can’t say that about your own son.” Jinyoung insisted, saying it from behind the screen, while Y/N moved her attention from the camera to him, giving him a stink eye.

“Hugh?” She called loudly without breaking eye contact.

“What?!”

A triumphant smile appeared on her lips, when the faint voice of the teenager answered her. “Can I say that you’re scaring the shit out of me when we meet in the middle of the night while all the lights are out?”

Instead of a proper answer, a loud cackle filled the air, making her grin even wider.

“So”, she dragged the word longer than necessary and turned to look at the camera again, “as I said when I’m barely awake in the morning and Hugh lounges somewhere around the kitchen, which is always the first room I go to after waking up, I always get scared.”

The scene switched once again, showing the exact moment Y/N wandered with half closed eyes out of her bedroom and through the hall towards the kitchen.

Hyun Min stilled upon hearing the almost silent taps of feet coming towards him. He quickly moved to the counter and sat on a barstool with his cereals in front of him. He stared towards the entrance without moving a muscle, waiting for whoever would appear.

When his mother came to sight the corner of his lips lifted for a millisecond. His eyes followed her every movement, amused that she still didn’t spot him. “‘Sup?” He asked the moment his mother grabbed the milk out of the fridge.

An ear piercing scream sounded through the kitchen and the bottle of milk dropped to the ground while Y/N grabbed her chest and pressed herself against the fridge, staring with wide eyes towards her oldest son, who only smirked and started eating his breakfast.

Y/N huffed and rolled her eyes in annoyance before she looked down at the spilled milk. “It’s your fault I dropped that. You’re going to clean that mess up.”

“Wha-? But mom!”

“Don’t test me, Hyun Min! Do not test me before I had my first coffee!” She huffed again and turned around, leaving Hyun Min alone in the kitchen.

“A lot of adults have the need for coffee before they properly start their day. Neither Jinyoung nor Y/N are any different in that need”, the narrator explained, while a dozen clips of the adults drinking coffee during a day played over the screen.

“It was hard enough to not drink coffee while I was pregnant and even now I have to limit myself because Jaden still gets breastfed from time to time.” Y/N huffed. “Our days are a lot longer with children than they used to be.”

As both of them worked actively in the show business, they have a lot of hectic work schedules and even need to travel for some jobs.

“How do you manage your jobs and the family?” The interviewer asked Jinyoung and Y/N, who once again sat in front of the screen.

“With Nannies.”

“But only when there is absolutely no other chance”, Jinyoung added to your blunt statement. “We try to be direct caregivers. It’s important to us to have a good relationship with our children.”

Y/N smiled faintly, knowing Jinyoung was right but it felt quite stressful at times. Especially after Jae-Hwa was born and needed a lot more attention than Hyun Min or Sun-hi. There had been nights where neither Y/N nor Jinyoung found any sleep and it was showing at work as both of them performed worse than usual.

The screen showed older pictures of Jinyoung sitting in a dressing room - half asleep - while a baby slept on his lap, pictures of Sun-hi redoing his makeup while he was fast asleep and pictures of Jinyoung sleeping on a couch while Hyun Min practised.

Those pictures were followed by photographs of Y/N walking the runway with a young Sun-hi walking next to her hand in hand, pictures of Hyun Min observing the makeup artists intently while they worked on Y/N’s makeup and even pictures of Y/N carrying Jae-Hwa while walking over the runway.

Every time one of the children accompanied their parents and walked with them in the spotlight, a lot of magazines were in uproar, wanting to get exclusive interviews and photos of the family.

“There are days I really don’t want to leave the house because I have to take one of the kids with me and I just know we’re going to get flocked by paparazzi.” A distant and sad look appeared on Y/N’s face as she remembered a few instances.

“We’re already used to it after years of standing in the spotlight but it’s different for our children”, Jinyoung agreed with a stern look on his face, “we can get quite protective over them. Which doesn’t mean we’re opposed to the idea of having another child.” He glanced hopefully towards his wife, lips slightly lifting into a smile while he waited for a reaction.

Y/N groaned loudly and rolled her eyes in annoyance. “No.” She looked straight at the camera, not even moving a muscle despite Jinyoung pouting next to her.  With that the screen turned black and showed the names of anyone working at this project again.

Episode 3: The Offsprings

The fancy music started again, showing the beginning of the new episode. This time the screen showed more pictures of the children, indicating this time they were the focus of the show.

Once the intro ended the scene switched to Hyun Min practising in a small studio again. A few beads of sweat glistened on his forehead. He had practised for several hours now, trying to perfect the choreography.

“You want to become an idol? Like your father?” The interviewer asked Hyun Min, who sat slouched down on the chair in front of the camera.

His whole appearance was dark since he wore only black clothes and even had dark makeup around his eyes. “Yeah.”

“Why is that?”

Hyun Min shrugged with his shoulders and tilted his head to one side. “It’s cool.”

“What exactly do you think is cool?” The interviewer asked, trying to bribe Hyun Min into talking more. “Is it the fact that your father was an idol? Did he look cool? Or do you think you’re looking cool when you practise?”

He shrugged once again. “Wouldn’t it be quite presumptuous of me to have such a high viewpoint of myself? I’m not even a trainee yet. Though I do agree that I thought my dad was hardworking and his performances were terrific.”

Stunned silence followed Hyun Min’s statement, before loud cheering from Y/N was heard in the distance. 

“That’s my boy!”

Hyun Min rolled his eyes and shrugged with his shoulders once again, though a small smile appeared on his lips. 

“O-okay, then how about doing aegyo - that’s what it’s called right - for the camera?”

It was silent once more as Hyun Min stared blankly into the camera. He lifted one hand, forming his fingers into a claw. “Rawr”, he said with a dead serious expression.

The camera switched to Y/N and Jinyoung, both cooing at Hyun Min’s attempt at aegyo. “I’m so proud of him”, Y/N whispered and clutched Jinyoung’s hand, squeezing it tightly.

“Some of the viewers sent questions and one of them showed interest in your favourite bands. Would you mind sharing them?" 

A small pout formed on Hyun Min's lips while he thought about the question. "Stray Kids are extraordinary. Their lyrics are very deep and thoughtful. Though you wouldn't get the depth of them, not understanding Korean." He glanced towards his parents.

Y/N gasped upon hearing the slight insult, while Jinyoung stared expectantly at his son, waiting to hear his own group name.

"For Western artists I like to listen to Palaye Royale, Nirvana, Paramore and Queen." Hyun Min nodded once, silently saying that he finished his answer.

Jinyoung visibly deflated though his interest came right back when the interviewer asked about GOT7.

"Not always the deepest lyrics", Hyun Min shrugged with his shoulders, "but they are good and a guarantee to get stuck in your head."

Jinyoung sighed in relief while Y/N patted his thigh, telling him it wasn't the group's fault for not being able to create music as freely as they wanted.

“Are we done yet?” Hyun Min asked, about to get out of his chair. “I still have school work to do.”

“S-sure.”

Hyun Min walked over to his parents while the camera followed his movement. He whispered something to them, waiting for a response before he disappeared into another room.

“He’s just as hardworking as his father”, Y/N smiled, “you can see him with all kinds of books lounging on the couch when he isn’t practising. Those books vary from advanced school books to crime novels by Poe. He has various interests and works hard for them.”

“Hyun Min isn’t your only son, right?”

“That’s right! Jae-Hwa is our youngest son so far -”

“- and will be.”

“He looks a lot like his mother so I’m sure he’s going to become someone who is into fashion. Of course we would support him with any other path as well. Just like we support him with learning to walk.” Jinyoung smiled proudly, before the screen changed to a different scene.

Y/N sat in an armchair, Jae-Hwa in her arms while she breastfed the young boy. She hummed lowly and watched her son with loving eyes. “You’re growing up so fast. Jinyoung will beg for another little baby soon.” She chuckled and shook her head. “I still have to tell him that won’t be possible anymore.”

“I love seeing that view”, Jinyoung said the minute he walked into the room. “I never get enough of seeing you breastfeed our children.”

“Stop right there before it gets perverted.”

“You married me because of that.”

“I married you despite that”, Y/N argued and pushed Jinyoung gently away without disturbing Jae-Hwa.

The scene changed back to Y/N and Jinyoung in their chairs, ready to answer some new questions, but before any question could be asked, Sun-Hi stormed into the room, throwing herself into Jinyoung's arms. She said something in Korean and her father automatically answered in the same language. 

Everything around them was silent except for their conversation. The camera showed Y/N's highly concentrated expression while she followed the exchange. Her brows furrowed slightly whenever Sun-Hi mumbled too much or Jinyoung spoke too fast.

"Do you understand their conversation?"

Y/N's head snapped up and her attention was back on the camera. She smiled sheepishly and cleared her throat. "Most of it. I am still struggling with differentiating some sounds. But either Hyun Min or an enormous hamster called her a dummy."

"Really?" Both Jinyoung and Sun-Hi stared at Y/N with an unamused expression. "An enormous hamster?"

"They don’t even sound the same, mommy."

Y/N laughed, embarrassed, and quickly changed the topic. "Anyway this is our daughter. Say hello to the camera."

The little girl turned around in the arms of her father, eyes widening upon seeing the camera and the whole production team behind it. She resembled a deer caught in headlights as she nodded stiffly. 

Jinyoung cooed at her and wrapped his arms tightly around her small form. "You told appa that you wanted to become a veterinarian because you saw a hurt bird in the garden, didn't you?"

"What about becoming a ballerina?" Y/N asked, surprise layering her voice.

"Okay, maybe I become a ballerina."

Y/N sighed deeply and closed her eyes, needing a second to collect herself. "That's not what I meant, sweetie. You can become a veterinarian if you want to. I just wanted to know why you didn't want to be a ballerina anymore." For a moment the girl only stared at her mother blankly and Jinyoung quickly started talking with her in Korean again.

Meanwhile Y/N turned to the camera with a slightly annoyed expression. "I did mention she changes her future career opinions on a daily basis, didn't I? She's like that with every decision. When she gets asked something, her answers are either 'I don't know', 'hm' or the blank stare."

"We still want to try to interview her, if that’s fine with you."

"You can try. I'll be over there, taking a shot whenever her answers are not informative." Y/N shrugged with her shoulders and stood up. The camera followed her to a buffet, where she grabbed a glass and poured herself some orange juice. "I'm still breastfeeding Jaden", she grumbled and took a swig of the juice.

Episode 4: Language Barrier

The screen showed one empty room after the other while a dull conversation in Korean was heard in the background. Only when the camera of Sun-Hi’s room turned on, the conversation became clearer and Jinyoung sat with Jae-Hwa in his arms on the floor. In front of him was a small table with some plastic cups and plates.

Sun-Hi ran around a small children’s play kitchen, preparing tea and cookies while she talked about her day. She was cheerful and laughed whenever her father added something to the conversation, making him grin as well.

“Is it normal for you to speak Korean in your household?” The same interviewer as always asked once the scene switched to Jinyoung and Y/N.

“Yes, absolutely. I’m still in contact with my parents and I want my children to be able to talk to them. It also makes me proud to share my heritage with them.”

“What about you? Are you learning Korean as well?” The attention switched from Jinyoung to his wife, who nervously looked away.

“I mean, I try, but I’m very slow at learning it”, she admitted with a sigh, “I understand most of it but the speaking part is basically non-existent.”

“Does it have any negative consequences for you?”

Y/N’s face immediately turned sour. “Most definitely! Hugh purposefully speaks Korean to me. He is almost rapping so fast is he speaking and I can barely understand what he says. Sunny always talks to Jinyoung in Korean, ignoring my presence at times even and I swear to god if Jaden’s first word is Korean I will ban that language within this house.”

Jinyoung pouted at her statement and leaned over to her, giving her large puppy eyes.

“Okay, I won’t ban it but it certainly annoys me that you exclude me from this family.” She crossed her arms in front of her chest and still frowned.

“I don’t want to exclude you”, Jinyoung mumbled and wrapped his arms around his wife, “how about I help you learn Korean? I’m a way better teacher than that owl!”

“You’ll teach me a lot but not Korean”, Y/N deadpanned and rolled her eyes once she saw Jinyoung’s perverted grin. “I feel like you’re even worse than Jaebeom or Bambam.”

“I’m the worst”, he chuckled and nuzzled his face into her shoulder, “but I am your worst.”

Y/N sighed again and stared towards the camera, waving with her hand to show they should skip to another scene.

Immediately the view of the living room appeared on the screen. Hyun Min sat on the sofa and read yet another thriller.

“Hugh? Have you seen my purse?”

“아니요”, he answered without even looking up.

“Are you sure? Didn’t you need my car keys? They were in my purse.”

Hyun Min answered once again in Korean, now placing the book on his lap. He showed with his fingers a countdown and stared with a grin towards the camera in the corner of the room.

The second he pulled his last finger down, Y/N’s angry whining was heard from somewhere else. She stormed into the living room and told Hyun Min off, saying he could be at least a little considerate.

Jinyoung joined everyone in the living room, bringing Sun-Hi and Jae-Hwa with him, asking what was wrong.

Hyun Min immediately answered him in Korean, watching with a teasing grin how the face of his mother turned more and more sour. It got even worse when Jinyoung and Sun-Hi kept speaking Korean, discussing with Hyun Min.

“You are all very huge pabos!” With that Y/N stormed off again and slammed a door behind her. 

Both Hyun Min and Jinyoung snorted and covered their mouths while snickering. They almost looked the same as they moved exactly identical to each other. 

After their laughing fit ended, Hyun Min sighed and got up. “I’ll help mom find that purse.” He placed his book on the small coffee table and started looking around, turning even the pillows of the couch around.

“I want to help too”, Sun-Hi announced and let go of Jinyoung’s hand, crawling over the floor and looking underneath every piece of furniture.

The screen showed their search in a fast forward motion, indicating that it took them a while to find the purse. 

“Got it!” Hyun Min shouted from the hallway. He took the purse and hung up all the jackets again, telling Jinyoung and Sun-Hi that it was covered by them and couldn’t be seen. 

All of them walked over to the master bedroom, where Y/N was still moping. Sun-Hi knocked on the door and called for her mom, not waiting for an answer and storming into the room. She ran towards the bed and jumped up on it, crawling over to Y/N and wrapping her small arms around her mother. “We found your purse!” She exclaimed excitedly.

“I found the purse”, Hyun Min corrected his little sister and held up the small purse with a proud smile.

Jinyoung walked with Jae-Hwa over to the bed as well, handing the youngest over to Y/N before he sat on the bed as well. “We all looked for your purse. It took a while to find it in this large house.” He chuckled and kissed the cheek of his wife, who was close to tears.

“You did that for me?” She whispered and switched looking between all of them. “Thank you so much.” She opened her arms and waited for Hyun Min until he reluctantly joined the family hug. “사랑해!”

The camera zoomed in on Jinyoung and Hyun Min’s expression, showing their cringe-induced smiles upon hearing Y/N’s words.

“What do you think about your mother not being able to speak Korean?” The interviewer asked while the screen changed to Hyun Min sitting on a chair.

“Right now I think you’re trying to show her off as a dumb model with no brains”, Hyun Min said and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “She is able to speak Korean - not good, but still able. Most of the time she sounds like a koreaboo but at least she is trying and learning.”

“Like a koreaboo?”

Hyun Min rolled his eyes, mumbling something in Korean under his breath. “Koreaboos are obsessed idiots that denounce their own culture to appear as Korean.”

“And your mother is one of them?”

“Did you even listen?” This time Hyun Min’s Korean monologue could definitely be called cursing and it made him appear almost scary. “My mom is not denouncing her own culture and she is most definitely not calling herself Korean. She is only learning the language and sounding like an idiot at times.” He scoffed and stood up, ignoring the calls of the producer and leaving the room.

Later on they called Jinyoung and asked for a translation of what Hyun Min had said during the interview. 

“After you asked about koreaboos he said it was incredible how the producers have no idea about Korean culture or anything related to it even though they are making a show with a bunch of Koreans starring in it.” Jinyoung told the camera, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

“What about the second time?”

“That is not appropriate for a show like this.”

Several audible gulps were heard from behind the camera while Jinyoung stared with a serious expression into the camera. 

“Languages are hard to learn and before judging someone’s abilities, one should learn a different language on their own as well. One does not know the struggles of someone else without walking the same path.”

“You’re sexy when you are saying such wise things”, Y/N’s voice called from behind the cameras and Jinyoung’s expression immediately changed to a goofy grin.

“Sexy enough to make another child?”

“No!”

Episode 5: Happy Birthday

“Girls, girls, girls they love me”, played in the background while scenes of the worldwide known boy group GOT7 played over the screen, showing their beginnings as well as their path up until now.

“The group had tours all around the world and dozens of people fell for them. One of them being the model Y/N. Years later she married Jinyoung, lead vocalist of the group and while she lives with him the other members use every given chance to visit.” The narrator explained over the music and a few pictures of past celebrations flashed over the screen. “Today would be another chance for them to visit.”

The camera panned over to the dining hall, showing a large table full with snacks, cake and gifts. It zooms on the large cake in the middle of the table, showcasing the colourful frosting that formed the name Jae-Hwa and the number one. 

“It’s our baby’s first birthday”, Y/N squealed and clapped into her hands, excited for the day. She had dressed up a little and prepared herself as well as her children for the upcoming small celebration.

Even though Jae-Hwa had no actual friends since he was only turning one, Sun-Hi and Hyun Min were allowed to invite one friend each. Normally Sun-Hi would invite her best friend and even Hyun Min had a few friends he could have asked, but since they knew their uncles and godfathers were coming they decided against it.

“What are you most excited about?”

The screen showed Sun-Hi sitting next to Hyun Min, who held Jae-Hwa in his arms.” While Sun-Hi was excitedly bouncing up and down, Hyun Min sat completely still. He still wasn’t over the last interview with the producers and had an almost hostile attitude towards them.

“I hope uncle Youngjae and uncle Yugyeom can have a tea party with me again!” Sun-Hi chirped and clapped into her hands from the excitement.

“I want to learn some tricks or valuable information about being a trainee from my uncles.”

“Do you think uncle Bambam will wear some funny clothes again?” Sun-Hi turned to her older brother and whisper-shouted her question.

Hyun Min smiled and leaned down to her ear. “I would be devastated if he didn't wear some.”

Sun-Hi squealed and jumped up, not able to be rooted on the interview chair for any longer, and ran out of the room. Hyun Min followed her and the screen switched back to the living room, where both of them appeared.

Jinyoung and Y/N finished the last preparations when the doorbell rang and all their heads turned towards the entrance door.

Sun-Hi once again squealed and jumped up, running towards the entrance, while Jinyoung followed her quickly.

Hyun Min handed Jae-Hwa over to Y/N the same minute the door opened and boisterous laughs and cheers were heard.

“It’s been so long!” Jackson called and marched into the living room, hugging Y/N and Hyun Min as a greeting. “Look at you! You’ve become so handsome!”

Y/N smiled brightly. She loved the rare moments where all of GOT7 were together and showed their true chaotic potential. 

Soon after Jackson the other members piled into the room as well, greeting and complimenting everything and everyone.

The scene changed once again and showed the six members (excluding Jinyoung) of GOT7 sitting on chairs. 

“Woah, it’s been a while to be like this,” Bambam said and turned from one side to the other, taking everything in. “We rarely have interviews with all of us anymore.”

“We are not all of us, you idiot. Did you forget Jinyoung is a part of the group?”

“Maybe he really wants to start Dab7 on his own.”

All of them erupted in loud laughter, hitting each other on the shoulders or upper arms. They continued to tease each other, giving the interviewer barely a chance to speak up.

“What do you think of Jinyoung and Y/N as parents?”

They looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders, unsure what or how to answer that question. 

“Jinyoung was the first to settle down. Y/N got him wrapped around her little finger.” All of them snickered, before Jaebeom continued. “Some of us still haven’t found the right one. Though we all think they are good parents.”

“Yeah, look at those cuties of children”, Jackson interrupted and pulled a picture out of a pocket, “they are absolutely adorable and I can’t wait to have a whole family visit. I’m sure my kids would love to play with them.”

“This is a show about the Parks and not about the Wangs”, Mark laughed and hit Jackson’s shoulder, “stop talking about your children.”

“It’s Jackson, he never stops talking about his kids”, Yugyeom added and dodged a hit from a pouting Jackson.

“So you like the children, is that correct?” The interviewer asked quickly, hoping the guys acknowledged the question.

“Like the children? Like? They are adorable! We love them!”

“I’m glad you’re so enthusiastic about my kids, Jacks”, Jinyoung laughed and joined the group in front of the camera, making everyone erupt once again in loud cheers.

“We would never say anything bad about your kids”, Youngjae grinned, showing proudly the small bow Sun-Hi had stuck into his hair.

“You on the other hand”, Yugyeom laughed and Bambam finished the sentence, “is a different story.”

As the interview couldn’t really continue with them teasing and laughing at each other, the scene switched back to the celebrations inside of the living room.

Jaebeom and Jackson were talking with Hyun Min, who eagerly listened to everything they told him.

Yugyeom and Bambam were having a tea party with Sun-Hi, who still giggled over the fancy outfit of her uncle.

Youngjae was playing with Jae-Hwa, making faces and noises to make the little guy laugh. 

Meanwhile Jinyoung, Mark and Y/N sat on the sofa and had a small conversation. Every now and then Y/N looked over to the other members entertaining her children, smiling genuinely.

“I love celebrations like this”, Y/N told the camera, once her interview started. “It’s so nice to have everyone in the house and be this cheerful. The kids love the members and they are just too sweet with each other.” She sighed happily and stared dreamily off into the distance. “It also gives me the chance to just relax with seven guys keeping an eye on the children.”

“Are you sure?” Jinyoung asked and appeared next to her on the screen. “Isn’t it like getting a bunch of new children?”

Y/N laughed and shook her head. “Yeah, sometimes all of you are like a horde of kids.”

“And you’re handling it so well.”

“Don’t even try.” Y/N’s smile vanished instantly and gave space for a serious expression. “I can’t have another child and I don’t want to have another one.”

Jinyoung frowned slightly but nodded after a moment, knowing this wasn’t a topic for a tv show. “Alright, we have other plans anyway.”

“Other plans?” The interviewer asked, curiosity layering their voice.

“We are planning to get a second home in Seoul”, Jinyoung announced with a bright smile, excited to have the option of living in his country as well.

The screen turned dark, leaving the viewers with a cliffhanger as the ending music and names rolled over the black surface.

Episode 6: New Country, new rules

After the well known intro the screen showed a hectic Park family. Except for Jae-Hwa everyone ran around the house, carrying stuff from one end to the other.

“Jinyoung, do you have the passports?”

“In your purse!”

“Thanks!”

“Mommy, I can’t find Mr. Snuggles”, Sun-Hi whined, while she searched through her room for her stuffed toy.

“It’s in your backpack, dummy.”

“Don’t call me a dummy, Hyun!”

“Don’t call her a dummy, Hugh!”

Both Sun-Hi and Y/N called at the same time, making Hyun Min snicker as he continued to pack his own backpack.

“So, you’re leaving for Seoul now?” The interviewer asked and the hectic atmosphere got replaced with the known interview room.

“It’s like a holiday”, Y/N answered quickly, “we’re there for two weeks, looking for a nice apartment as a second home, Hugh can go to some castings, Sunny can practise her Korean and Jaden is able to see his grandparents for the first time.”

Jinyoung nodded along, agreeing with every point his wife just said. “It’s going to be amazing. Sun-Hi was a toddler the last time all of us flew to Seoul. Normally only I fly over or my parents visit us in L.A.”

“So you rarely see your parents? Why did you move here in the first place?”

“Y/N had some very good arguments like trying to become an actor in Hollywood.”

“I did have a lot of good arguments but that wasn’t the reason he moved here.”

“It wasn’t?” The interviewer sounded surprised.

“To be frank, we slept with each other and he couldn’t stand the fact of being apart from me.” Y/N shrugged with her shoulders and smiled sweetly, while Jinyoung’s ears turned red.

“I would say, my love was so deep and strong that it couldn’t bear the long distance.”

The scene switched yet again, showing the Park family checking in at the airport. Everything ran smoothly and soon after the whole family found themselves on board the plane.

Jae-Hwa was fast asleep in Y/N’s arms, Sun-Hi was drawing the whole family on a blank white paper, and Hyun Min disappeared behind the pages of a book again.

“Are you excited to get back?”

“Yeah, it’s been a while.” Jinyoung looked out of the small window, a small smile playing around his lips. “I’m excited to find a nice apartment and about the possibility of having more vacations to Seoul in the future.”

“That does sound lovely”, Y/N agreed and leaned her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes for a moment. “I just hope Jaden isn’t as troublesome as Sunny when it comes to flying.”

“Why am I troublesome?”

“Do you remember how whiny you get as soon as the plane starts to ascend into the air?” Hyun Min asked without looking up from his book. 

“My ears hurt when that happens.”

“It’s because of the difference in pressure. Just blow your nose and it will stop, so no need to cry like a baby.”

Sun-Hi pouted slightly but returned to her drawing with no other comment.

“You could talk nicer to your little sister”, Y/N mumbled and looked at Hyun Min, who just shrugged with his shoulders. “I’m not surprised that I constantly get messages from your school that yet another kid tried fighting you when you keep that attitude at school as well.”

“It’s not my fault they have the need to show their dominance.”

“I never said it’s your fault. I only request that you’re more careful.”

A small smile played around Hyun Min’s lips and he nodded quickly.

The scene switched again, showing Y/N in the interview chair again. “You said, you’re getting calls from Hyun Min’s school because kids want to fight him?”

She laughed and made a dismissive hand gesture. “You have seen his attitude and a lot of teenagers see that as an invitation to fight him.”

“Did he ever get hurt?”

For a moment she thought about the question before she quickly shook her head. “No, never. It’s always the others that get hurt. Not by Hugh though. He avoids violence and in the end the kids hurt themselves. One time a boy wanted to punch Hugh and he just stepped aside and therefore the poor soul lost his balance, fell to the ground and broke his nose because he wasn’t able to catch himself.” Y/N shrugged with her shoulders, feeling in no way remorse for the hurt child.

“So you’re not going to do anything against it?”

“I did though? I told him to be careful.”

The screen changed once again. The Parks landed in Seoul with no turbulence or problems during the flight. A driver awaited them and drove them to a beautiful hotel. They barely checked into the hotel room before Sun-Hi ran towards the elevators.

“Why did you run towards the elevators?” The interviewer asked later on.

Sun-Hi shrugged with her shoulders. “I don’t know.”

The interviewer sighed while loud laughing from Y/N was heard in the background. “Told you so!”

The scene switched once again to the Parks inside of the spacious hotel room. Hyun Min read his book again, Sun-Hi was pressed against the large window front and stared over the skyline of the city and Jae-Hwa was sleeping once again.

“Okay, listen up kids”, Y/N called for the attention of her kids, “new country, new rules.”

Hyun Min raised an eyebrow in question and glanced over the rim of his book, showing for just a second that he was listening.

“You don’t know this area, so none of you are going out on their own.”

“Too bad. Jae-Hwa was really excited”, Hyun Min snorted.

“Listen to your mother, Hyun Min.”

“Thanks”, Y/N smiled and placed a hand on Jinyoung’s arm, appreciating his help. “Whenever we go out, you either stick with Jinyoung or myself or you’re visiting your grandmother. I don’t want to lose any of you in those big streets.”

“Wouldn’t you be the only one in trouble though?”

“I swear to god, Hyun Min! If you don’t behave, you won’t attend any castings at all!”

“Sorry mom. I just thought it was blatantly obvious that we stick with an adult as soon as we leave this hotel room.”

“Was it really that obvious?” Y/N turned to Jinyoung with wide eyes, surprised by her son’s reasoning.

Jinyoung shrugged with his shoulders. “Maybe a little?”

“You could have told me that before I started this speech.” Y/N sighed and sat down on a chair. “What are the plans for the upcoming days anyway?”

“Viewing a bunch of apartments, bringing Hyun Min to several castings, visiting my parents in three days for dinner and going to an amusement park because Sun-Hi really wanted to go to one.”

“Yes!” She squealed and moved away from the window, running towards Jinyoung and hugging him tightly. “I really want to go to one!”

“Anything planned for today?”

“Not that I’m aware of, why do you ask?” Jinyoung looked at his wife, who stood up again and moved towards the next room.

“Then I’ll join Jaden by taking a nap.”

Episode 7: Auditions

“Do you want me to go with Hyun Min?” Jinyoung asked and by the annoyed eye roll from Y/N, people could tell it wasn’t the first time he had asked.

“It’s fine. You have other things to attend to! Just drop Jaden and Sunny at your parents’ place and everything is going to work.”

“Are you sure? Everyone will be speaking Korean. It might be a lot.”

Y/N cupped Jinyoung’s face and looked straight into his eyes. “Darling, I have to learn the language and nothing is better than first hand contact. I’m going to be fine!”

Jinyoung looked at Y/N for a moment longer, before he reluctantly nodded. “It’s not because you want to avoid my mother, is it?”

The scene switched to Y/N in the interview chair, laughing indignantly. “Of course not! What? Who said that? I would never! She’s family.” Her laughter disappeared as quickly as it came and she stared emotionless into the camera. “She is a lovely woman.”

The camera switched back to Y/N reassuring her husband, giving him a small peck on the lips before she called for her oldest son and left the hotel room.

They took a cab around Seoul, both sitting on the backseat with the camera pointed at them. “Are you nervous for your first casting?”

Hyun Min shrugged with his shoulders, looking out of the window as the buildings passed quickly in front of it. “I’m not sure what to expect.”

Y/N hummed in understanding. “Didn’t Jinyoung or the other members tell you about it?”

“Just a few things. They don’t remember much or purposefully avoid talking about it, like Jackson.” Hyun Min smiled upon hearing his mother laugh loudly. “He really hates that clip, doesn’t he?”

“He does but it’s very enjoyable to see his reactions whenever it’s shown.”

Hyun Min felt slightly better while he joked around with his mother, barely noticing that they arrived at the audition place. As if an invisible cord pulled him, he walked beside his mother to the large building, staring up at it in awe.

“How was your first audition?”

Hyun Min sat once again in the interview chair, his form slouched and his eyes distant. “Can’t remember much of it.”

“What do you remember?”

He shrugged with his shoulders. “Mom was with me, there were a lot of people, the air was tense and everyone checked other contestants out.”

“Do you think you did well?”

“I did my best but whether it was enough, I don’t know.”

The scene switched again, showing Y/N and Hyun Min walking around the streets of Seoul. Y/N had decided to walk to the next location since the map had told her it wasn’t too far away. Though she didn’t calculate that the streets look a lot different in reality than on the maps - meaning they got a little lost.

Y/N looked around and tried to find any visual point that would help her identify the way but with every sign written in Korean it took way longer for her. “I’ll just ask where we need to go”, she sighed and searched for someone, who could help them.

She quickly found a group of school girls and approached them, Hyun Min following her reluctantly. With broken Korean Y/N tried to ask for their help, stumbling over the pronunciation over and over again.

The school girls snickered and made fun of her, calling her lame and pathetic for trying so hard. 

Y/N’s face fell. She did understand what those girls said and she definitely felt pathetic now, knowing they wouldn’t help her. She was about to walk away, since she knew Hyun Min had to be at the next audition soon and he would miss it if she didn’t find the way quickly, when her son stepped up.

He angrily cursed at the girls, even threatening them with his perfect Korean. Hyun Min didn’t stop when the girls tried to apologise, instead he raised his voice, making everyone around them aware of that unfriendly behaviour towards foreigners.

When the girls left, he turned around with an angry expression deeply rooted on his face. “Why didn’t you stand up for yourself?”

His mother’s eyes became teary and she quickly pulled Hyun Min into a bone crushing hug. She hid her face in the crook of his shoulder as she thanked him.

Hyun Min reluctantly hugged her back, patting her shoulder while she silently cried out of relief. “Don’t you ever think I don’t love you, mom. And start practising Korean with me.”

His mother hiccupped and chuckled despite her tears. “I will”, she sniffled and straightened again, wiping the remnants of tears away from her cheeks. “Now let us get you to the next audition!”

“I’ll take care of that”, Hyun Min sighed and asked for the way until they made it.

“What did Hyun Min tell those girls that made fun of you?”

“I don’t think translating that would be appropriate for this show”, Y/N chuckled and shook her head. “It wasn’t very nice and he definitely embarrassed them by calling them out so publicly.”

“How did you feel when he stepped up for you?”

“At first I was really surprised. Then I was worried for a second and lastly I was very moved. You know how parents always say that their teenage kids hate them because they are teenagers? I felt like that a lot. I thought he didn’t like me just because I was his mother. So this moment is very special to me.” The woman smiled brightly while answering the question, seeming almost giddy remembering that situation.

“You seem very happy that your son is supporting you. Did you support him during the auditions as well?” The interviewer asked, moving on with their questions.

“Ah, right. Cameras weren’t allowed inside”, Y/N nodded, her eyes moving around as she tried to recollect every audition they went to. “I was allowed to stand at the side and watch him or his unit. It was quite hard to not cheer him on, like I usually did during practices. Nonetheless he did great. I am sure one of the entertainments will call back and ask for him to become a trainee.”

“Would you be able to leave him here on his own?”

Jinyoung joined the interview and stepped behind the chair of his wife. “He wouldn’t be on his own. The trainees can look out for each other, most of them really become like family.”

“And we’re trying to live half of the year here in Seoul. So whenever he has some free time -”

“Which will be rare anyway.”

“- we will meet up with him and support all of his wishes.” Y/N concluded with a nod.

“Even though you would see your parents-in-law more often?” The interviewer asked, hitting a weak point.

“Of course.” Y/N nodded again before she stood up and moved out of view. “Someone get me a drink!”

Jinyoung shrugged with his shoulders, chuckling silently before he followed and the screen turned dark again.

Episode 8: Meeting the grandparents

The screen showed the usual interview room with empty chairs and some discussions were faintly heard in the background. A few more seconds passed before an elderly couple walked towards the chairs and took a seat.

“Mr. and Mrs. Park, thank you for agreeing to the interview”, the same voice as always said, though this time it was followed by someone translating everything into Korean. “We’re filming a tv show about your son and his family, showing the day to day life of celebrities. Can we start with the first question?”

Jinyoung’s parents nodded as soon as the translator stopped talking, waiting for the first question.

“Wonderful. We heard you visit them a lot in L.A., how do you feel about the fact that Jinyoung and Y/N are planning to start living in Seoul half of the year?”

Surprise flashed over their faces before the woman immediately turned to her husband, ranting quickly about something.

The translator tried to explain just as fast what she was saying. “Why haven’t they told us? Do they not care? Do they not respect us anymore? He became too American, didn’t he? We shouldn’t have let him go. He should have married a Korean woman.”

The man tried to calm her, mumbling his answers so the translator barely caught them. “He said something about having not seen the children yet.”

As Jinyoung’s mother kept ranting and complaining, the producers switched to the video of the Parks visiting Jinyoung’s parents.

As soon as the door opened after the family rang the bell, Jinyoung’s mother pulled him into a tight hug, worrying about his apparent weight loss. She cupped his cheeks and moved his head from side to side, checking even the smallest details.

Once done with Jinyoung, the woman turned to the children, being just as welcoming and sweet towards them. She asked them a bunch of questions in Korean, not even waiting for an answer before she asked the next one.

As soon as it was Y/N’s turn to be greeted the attitude became slightly more distant. Jinyoung’s mother still tried to exchange the normal pleasantries but she limited it to a minimum. A behaviour her husband would always excuse, saying she was still affected by Jinyoung’s decision to leave South Korea for love.

The family was invited into the house and after Jinyoung’s dad had greeted everyone as well, Y/N immediately made a beeline for the kitchen. She grabbed a glass and poured some wine into it. “I’m not breastfeeding Jaden anymore and before I hear all the complaints from Jinyoung’s mother, I need a drink.”

Prepared with the glass of wine she rejoined her family in the dining room, smiling as if nothing happened. As soon as she sat down, Jinyoung’s mother started talking to her in Korean.

“No, they don’t want to eat more and I won’t force any of them to eat just so they gain some weight.”

“Yes, I accompanied Hugh to the auditions and not Jinyoung.

“Yes, we are looking for an apartment in Seoul.”

“No, we do care but we wanted to tell you about our plans in person and not over the phone.”

Y/N turned to the camera in the corner of the room with an expression that said “I told you this would happen”. She took another sip of her wine and turned back to her family, following the conversation.

“You rarely said anything during the family dinner”, the interviewer noted in a later session.

“They would have changed the topic three times already before I would be able to say my thoughts in Korean.”

“Why didn’t you speak in English then?”

“It kinda feels out of place, don’t you think?” Y/N sounded passive aggressive, showing the same attitude that Hyun Min showed all the time during interviews.

“Why are you not getting along with Jinyoung’s parents?”

Y/N sighed and closed her eyes, as if she needed a second to collect herself. “I am getting along with them. We just have our differences at times and one of them was the fact that Jinyoung moved away because of me. Though this should be solved with us moving to Seoul half a year.”

“It’s not that my mother doesn’t like my wife. She is just a very caring person and slightly overprotective”, Jinyoung tried to explain with an unsure smile. 

“Which I don’t hold against her. I’m just like that when it comes to Hugh, Sunny or Jaden. But that doesn’t mean I won’t get annoyed by it.”

Jinyoung leaned over to Y/N and kissed her cheek, smiling brightly. “I love it when you’re so understanding.”

Y/N’s cool facade melted and she started grinning as well, hugging Jinyoung and cuddling against his side. “Just ignore the fact I’m only this understanding with the help of a bottle of wine.”

“I’m not sure if I should ignore that.”

Y/N laughed and shook her head. “I’m just kidding, just kidding. Anyway, your daughter dropped the fact that we wanted to visit an amusement park and your mother invited your dad and herself.”

Jinyoung’s face paled upon hearing the news. “She did?”

“Yeah, I’ll drop Jaden with her then, so I can join Sunny on the rides!” 

“That actually sounds like a lovely idea”, Jinyoung agreed and chuckled lightly, the small lines around his eyes appearing again. “Sun-Hi will love going on the rides with you.”

Episode 9: Visiting an amusement park

“We’re going to an amusement park, we’re going to an amusement park, we’re going to an amusement park”, Sun-Hi sang and skipped through the hallways of the hotel.

“Someone seems excited”, Jinyoung laughed and followed his daughter with a huge backpack on his shoulders.

“Too excited”, Hyun Min grumbled and walked out of the hotel room as well, “she’s been singing this the whole morning now.”

At last Y/N, carrying Jae-Hwa, came out of the room and closed the door behind her. “Just let her be. It’s not every day that we do visit an amusement park after all.”

Hyun Min grumbled again but didn’t argue against his mother. Instead he pulled his headphones on and started listening to some audiobooks.

The family met with Jinyoung’s parents at the entrance of the park, greeting them with big grins on their faces.

They brought picnic boxes with them and as soon as Jinyoung’s mother saw that Y/N had no food packed, she started nagging.

“We would have bought food to get the total amusement park feeling”, Y/N answered while handing Jae-Hwa into her arms. She then turned around and called loudly. “Oh Sunny, look! That ride seems nice, you wanna go?”

The young girl cheered immediately and grabbed her mother’s hand, pulling her towards one attraction after the other - and successfully keeping Y/N away from Jinyoung’s mother.

“You tried to go on all the rides with Sun-Hi on purpose?” The interviewer asked, receiving a shrug from Y/N. “To avoid being with Mrs. Park?”

“I can’t drink every time she nags me. I already feel borderline alcoholic. So yeah, I purposefully asked Sun-Hi whenever the complaining started. There was no downside to it, was there?” She turned to Jinyoung and looked at him questioningly until he shook his head no. “See? Sun-Hi had fun, I stayed sane, Jinyoung’s parents were with us the whole day and everyone was very happy at the end of the day.”

The screen switched back to the day at the amusement park, showing several clips of the family in different rides. The footage showed all of them laughing and having fun - even Hyun Min showed teeth while grinning.

During lunch they took a break and ate the delicious food that Jinyoung’s mother had cooked for the day. Even Y/N complimented her cooking and requested to teach her some of the techniques.

Overall the day seemed very wholesome, even when some people recognised Jinyoung and asked for autographs or pictures.

“How was the day for you?”

Hyun Min had the same neutral expression for every interview and looked straight into the camera. “It was nice and showed me some other aspects of being an idol.”

“Those were?”

“Being recognised wherever you go even years after actively promoting,” Hyun Min answered quickly.

“I loved the day”, Sun-Hi interrupted with a bright smile, “mommy went on every ride with me and I wasn’t scared!”

Hyun Min snorted and messed up his little sister’s hair. “But you still screamed the loudest on every ride.”

“Because I was soooooo happy!” She stretched her arms to underline how happy she felt during the rides, making Hyun Min laugh lightly. “You were also screaming!”

“Because I was sooooo happy too!” Even though Hyun Min mocked his little sister, she just smiled and nodded eagerly.

The screen changed to Jinyoung and Y/N again. “You know, Hyun Min is a much better roller coaster seat mate than Jackson”, Jinyoung said with an amused twinkle in his eyes.

Y/N immediately snorted and held a hand in front of her mouth as soon as she started laughing loudly.

“I mean it! My arm didn’t suffer this time around!”

“You said you couldn’t feel your arm for days after that ride with Jackson.”

Jinyoung nodded, agreeing with the statement of his wife. “I will never forget that day. Jackson was really over the top back then. Do you remember the T-Espresso part?”

Y/N laughed even louder and nearly threw herself into her husband from the force behind it. “They will call you and complain about you saying that after they watched this episode.”

“Wanna make a bet who will call us first? I’d say it’s Jackson.” Jinyoung grinned teasingly.

“Oh, you’re on! Jackson has a busy schedule, so my vote is for Youngjae.” Y/N agreed and shook his hands. “They have to call one of us! We can’t call them first or it won’t count!”

“Deal.”

“And I get called a child”, Hyun Min complained from somewhere behind the camera, making his parents laugh even more. “Scary what a visit at an amusement park can do.”

Episode 10: Goodbyes

The same old intro played with the same old tune accompanying it. The same old pictures and short clips flashed over the screen and the same explanation was said again.

Then the screen switched to a dark hotel room with the ringing of a phone as the only sound coming from there. It took several more seconds before someone groaned and started to react to the annoying sound.

Jinyoung moved inside of the bed, halfway leaned over Y/N, who was still sleeping, and grabbed her phone, answering it with a groggy voice. He exchanged a few words in Korean with the person on the other end of the line, before he stiffened and looked a lot more alive than just a second ago.

He shook Y/N while still listening to that person, trying to wake her up quickly. With every passing second Jinyoung got more and more aggressive in waking his wife up.

“What?” Her voice was barely audible as her face was somewhat pressed into the pillows. She only opened one eye and looked at Jinyoung, who was talking on the phone. With a brain half asleep it took Y/N a little longer to understand he was firstly talking in Korean and secondly he was talking about one of Hyun Min’s auditions.

Y/N immediately sat up, scrambling towards Jinyoung and waiting impatiently for him to say something. She gasped inaudibly when he mouthed the word “auditions”, getting even more impatient now.

Once Jinyoung ended the call, Y/N didn’t even let him breathe when she pounced on him and asked for every little detail.

“That entertainment wants Hyun Min. He’s becoming a trainee!”

Y/N cheered loudly and fell into Jinyoung’s arms, happy that her oldest son was one more step closer to his dream of becoming an idol.

“How do you feel, knowing Hyun Min will stay in Seoul while you’re leaving?” The interviewer asked.

“Worried, excited. It’s a goodbye and not a farewell. We’re going to see each other again”, Y/N answered bravely, keeping her voice as even as possible.

The scene switched to Hyun Min waking up due to the loud cheering of his parents. Groggily he walked to their room, rubbing his eyes in an attempt to wake up completely.

“Baby!” Y/N screamed loudly and pulled Hyun Min by his wrist into her arms. “I’m so proud of you!”

“What for?”

“You made it! You’re becoming a trainee!”

“Cool.”

Jinyoung and Y/N halted in their cheering, surprised by that rather unenthusiastic reaction. “An entertainment called and said they wanted you to join them.”

Hyun Min’s eyes widened, finally registering the words of his parents. “I’m becoming a trainee?” Forgetting his distant and cool image, he tightly hugged his mother, thanking her over and over again for accompanying him to all the auditions.

“Your first reaction was quite small, what did you think after when your mother told you that you would become a trainee?”

“I was too tired to understand what she was saying. It really took me a few moments to realise. Honestly? I’m still stunned. This feels like a dream come true.” Hyun Min was quite talkative this time during the interview, his expression still slightly dazed from the new information.

“My baby is all grown up now”, Y/N sniffled in the background, being all teary eyed once again. 

“This is the best revelation for the final episode of the show, isn’t it?” Jinyoung added and hugged his wife.

“So many goodbyes.”

“Stop crying, mom.”

“I am not crying!”

Hyun Min scoffed and walked over to his parents and siblings. “The show may be done but we’re not. Even if I wanted to get away from you, you wouldn’t let me. Dad bought a whole apartment here and I’m sure you’ll pop up at the entertainment whenever you want to see me.” He chuckled together with Jinyoung. “There is no such thing that would stop you from seeing me.”

“Damn true!” Y/N sniffed and nodded in determination, ignoring the red brim around her eyes from the small tears. “I’ll move heaven and hell to see my little boy.”

“Also Sun-Hi would probably join you, so you won’t embarrass yourself too much by speaking Korean.”

“I will!” The small girl agreed with a bright smile.

Y/N slightly hit her son’s upper arm with a weak laugh. “God damn it, Hugh. We’re saying our goodbyes and you’re still teasing me. Who will do that now when you leave?”

“Trust me, I will find a way, mom.”

She sighed and leaned against Jinyoung’s chest, pouting at her oldest son. “I love you too.”

The screen slowly faded, leaving the wholesome family picture in the memory of its viewers before it turned dark.

“The Parks have successfully bought an apartment in Seoul and live there regularly. Hyun Min has become a trainee and is working hard to move up to an idol. He meets his family regularly because Y/N insists on seeing him at least once during their stay. Sun-Hi still hasn’t decided what she wants to become and Jae-Hwa has now learned to walk on his own, slowly outrunning his parents. Y/N has finally told Jinyoung that she decided to stop having more children since the birth of Jae-Hwa was too early for her liking and she feared the next one would come even earlier. Jinyoung accepted that decision and is now proposing adopting a fourth child at least once a day. This has been the Parks.”

[justreadingfics]

It’s a Deal (Chapter 3)

Chapter Summary: You have a reason to celebrate and need a partner to do that.  

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Words: 6.2k

Warnings:+18 only, smut, sex in a public place, boytoy!Bucky, casual sex, opened relationship, drinking, sorority.

A/N: Here’s one more filthy chapter for you guys. It won’t always be that way since the plot moves forward, but it will still be focused on smut for the next couple of chapters. Our reader deserves some fun before things get a bit more complicated, right? The link to my masterlist, where you can find the other chapters, is on my description. Feedback is highly appreciated. Tag list for this story is closed.  

Screen after screen pops in the air in front of you as you furiously type codes and formulas on them. You’re there, you’re almost there. You’ve been working on this project for months and now it finally seems like you’re getting somewhere.

“Coffee?”

You just nod as an answer to Camilla, your partner on that project. She gets up and walks out to go get the coffee. She already told you if it was up to her, you’ve already given up. But you know you’re getting there. You haven’t stopped working ever since early hours and you’re feeling inspired and focused as ever.

When you’re satisfied with the input you add to the system which is working on the calculations, you sit back. Eyes on the screen displayed in the air. Camilla comes back with your coffees and hands one to you, fixing her eyes on the screen, too as she stands beside you.

“Come on, come on,” you whisper.

Bringing the coffee to your lips you almost choke on it when the answer you were so desperately looking for gleams on the screen.

“Holy shitballs,” you shout and swiftly gets up, letting your cup drop to the floor, splashing the liquid around.

“Oh, fuck,” Camilla gasps and you two look at each other with paired up widened eyes before letting out a cheerful scream and holding each other, jumping around as you gain the attention of the other workers from the several small offices of the Avengers/Stark Technology Department.

A clear of throat takes you and your friend out of your reverie, catching your attention. When you see Sharon Carter on your door, with a smirk on her lips, you two cease the celebration, but keep the smiles on your faces.

“Hey, Sh- Director,” you quickly correct yourself, being friends with Natasha brought you close to Sharon, too. But now she’s Director of Shield, after Nick Fury became coordinator of the Avengers, therefore you should show some respect at least at workplaces, “Remember that Shield and Avengers’ joined project? The one where we were trying to build a device that would crack alien secret services codes?”

“Yeah, sure, our tech departments have been working for months to find an algorithm.” Sharon nods.

“Well, looks like we made it.” You point at the screen right in front of you.

“What the hell?” She shoots an eyebrow high and steps into the office, eyes analyzing the screen between you two.

“We doesn’t quite cut it, Director,” Camilla says, rolling her eyes, “She worked her ass off and got to it by herself. She’s been killing it these last few days.”

You huff, shaking your head. You’ve been really inspired, indeed. And you might relate it to a certain physical activity you’ve been engaging on recently and the outrageous amount of energizing orgasms you’ve been gifted with almost daily… not a topic to be brought out now, though.  

“Ooo, someone seems extra inspired…” Sharon narrows her eyes, but you try to not indulge any possible insinuation by just ignoring the comment with a smile, “Well, that’s amazing news,” she resumes, clapping her hands once, “and it kind of leads to the subject that brought me here, would you mind excuses for a second, Camilla?” She kindly asks.

“Of course, not. I’ll be in my office.” Camilla says, not holding back from hugging you and squirming in excitement one more time before walking out the room.

“This is huge, huh?” Sharon comments, pulling up the chair you pointed for her as you sit on yours.  

“It is, can you imagine what Natasha will be able to do with it?” You grin, brushing your hands together.

“Thanks to your badass brain,” she compliments before narrowing her eyes at you again, “You have a weird happy face.”

“Well, something amazing just happened…”

“Yeah, yeah…” Sharon brushes you off, “You’re killing it at your job and that’s amazing… but to be honest, I expected to still see you moping around about your break up.”

“I’m still sad about it, but work has been great, and-”

“Oh, cut the crap,” Sharon interrupts with a playful snap and you frown while she crosses her arms in front of her, holding back a laugh, “I’ve been texting with Natasha, I know about you and your boytoy.”

“What the hell?” Your eyes widen as you throw your arms to the air, already feeling your cheeks warming, “She’s on a mission and you two have been talking about my… sex life?” You lean over across the table and whisper the last part.

“We can multitask,” Sharon shrugs like it’s no big deal.

“Oh, wow…” you scoff, “That’s two of the greatest spies on earth right.”

“Alright,” She chuckles, unfolding her arms and leaning over the table, “As much as I want to know all about it, that’s not why I’m here.”

“Ok,” you quickly accept the change of subject for your own relief, “Why are you here for, then?”

“To tell you that Stark is a jerk,” she deadpans.

“Ok… cool,” you drag the words, side eyeing her, “And?”

“Long story short, I lost you in a chess match and now you’re the new leader of Avengers/Stark Tech Department.”

You don’t quite assimilate what she just said as you keep your questioning stare on her, not finding the link between her words and, most of all, did she just say you’ve been promoted?

“I’m sorry, what?” You shake your head shutting your eyes for a second, finally asking for clarification after what seemed like the longest staring contest ever.

“Well,” Sharon sighs, “You know how competitive Stark and I can be and when I decided to act by ethics and told him I was considering offering you the leadership position at Shield’s tech department he decided he would do the same and dared me to a chess match, where you would be the prize.” She shrugs, “I’m sure he had some help, right Friday,” she raises her voice staring up to the air but gains plain silence as a response from the A.I, “He won and got to keep you and I got  stuck with my second option which is your ex, as you might already know.”

“Wow,” you whisper, not really sure what to say or feel, trying to process all of what you just heard.

“You’re not offended by the chess match, are you?” Sharon checks, tilting her head.

“No… I’m kinda… flattered, I guess.” You frown and Sharon gives you a satisfied smile. “But… I’m confused… That’s Stark’s job.”

“It’s your job now if you should accept it.” She grins wider, “I guess he’s been thinking about it for a while now and saw my offering as an opportunity. I know Pepper has been on his ass for him to loosen up from some responsibilities, and who better than you to take over?” She points up at the screen with your recent achievement.

You let out a breathy laugh, reality finally dawning. Not in a million years you thought that would happen but now that it is, you’re not gonna be modest, you kick ass in your job and you fucking deserve it.

“He’s on a mission with Nat and Steve now, so he asked me to come talk to you, hang on…” Sharon holdsup a finger, before grabbing a small device from her pocket, which you recognize as one of your projects. “Stark,” she says.

In a second the image of a very battered Tony surfaces on the air as the camera captures his face from under the suit.  

“Hey, Carter,” he greets with a smirk as you hear the sounds of blasts, shots and explosions. The man is in the middle of a damn battle while casually answering a call.  

“Stark,” Sharon answers just as casually, “I have her here with me, just delivered the news,” she says, turning his image to you.

“Hey, boss,” you give him a shy wave.

“Hey, kid.” He scrunches up his face, shooting a series of blasts before you listen to something exploding. “I think you’re sort of my boss now.” He focuses on you again, smirking.

“No, I’m not,” you laugh.

“No, you’re not. But, tell me, what’s your answer?”

“I take it, of course.” You decide, why in the world, wouldn’t you.

“Great. Party to celebrate when we come back. Gotta go, these damn Kree are the worst. Will not invite them.” He turns off and his image disappears from before you.

“Well, congratulations.” Sharon places the device back on her pocket, “Our departments work a lot together, so I think I win either way.”

A mix of emotions fill up your chest. You’re excited and happy and scared. Mostly excited, though…  “Holy shit,” you curse, digging your hands into your hair as a grin seems to twist your lips permanently.

“You need to celebrate…” Sharon adds, offering you a cheeky grin.

Fuck yeah, you need to celebrate. And you know exactly what, or better, who you wanna do.

~~~

“How the hell are you wet already?”

The words are spoken against your neck through licks and sucks, after Bucky’s fingers glided under your underwear and sank between your slick folds. As soon as he walked into your living room, he jumped on you with kisses and grabs, discovering you in such a state without his previous help.

Well, sort of without his help, actually. The thing is, after you got out of work that afternoon, you didn’t even need to call him or text him to propose your little celebration as you found a series of texts from “Bucky Sweet Tongue Barnes”  waiting for you. In the first, he was asking if you had any plans that night, and the others… oh, the others… the fucker described all sorts of filthy things he wanted to do with you.

After a quick answer for him to come over and a long bath, all the dirty details he used on his texts refused to leave your mind and you couldn’t help but spending the rest of the time you had alone before he arrived teasing yourself with your fingers, having all those images and flashes from your last encounters in your memory to keep you going.

“I-“ you gasp as he sucks that sensitive spot in your neck and his fingers meet your clit, “Those texts you sent me…” You tilt your head to give his lips more room, your hands roaming around the hard pattern of muscles on his back, “I-I’ve been touching myself.” You confess with the lack of pudency you’re becoming familiar with when you’re around him.

In your arms, you feel when his body freezes for a second, before he sucks harder on your neck, “Fuck… did you come today already?” He gropes your ass under your dress with the hand that isn’t in your pussy. 

Your eyelids flutter and you reach down to the front of his pants to feel the growing bulge, “Yes…”

“Goddammit, that’s hot,” he grunts, and then it all happens in a blur as he lifts you by hooking his hands under your thighs and places you seated over the dinner table.

He positions himself between your opened legs as lifting up your short dress out of his way and, while you swiftly work on the buttons and zipper of his jeans, he takes a condom out of his pockets and, after ripping the plastic off with his teeth he hands it to you.

His eyes cast down to see your fingers rolling off the latex around his rock hard cock and, as soon as you’re done and wrap your hand around him to feel his thickness, he wastes no time and pushes you backwards until your back meets the cold wood of your table. 

Acting by the frenzy that is all over his eyes, he swiftly pulls the small fabric of your underwear to the side, exposing your cunt just enough before he holds his cock and pushes himself inside you, making you cry out and your body jerk backwards. You always knew spending an exorbitant amount of money on a good table would pay off someday and you hold yourself fisting each side of the table.

He pulls your thighs up wrapping his hands on your knees, giving you no time to adjust before starting to pound into you.

You love that he fucks you like that. Hard and raw, the sting of the stretching mixed with the pleasure brought by his expert thrusts fogging your mind and his thickness and expert moves hitting sweet spots of yours, kicking the air out of your lungs. You love that in the few times you’ve been doing it in the last week, he already seems to know what you can take and always somehow goes a little further, a little different… like he knows something about yourself that you don’t, yet. That it’s the first time that you two can’t be bothered to wait and take off clothes or get to the bedroom. You love it.

It is all new to you, yes. For you sex has always been attached to some kind of affection or romantic feelings and, while that is all good and wonderful, you’re enjoying so much finding out this other side, where the only goals are to share pleasure and have fun. 

“So fucking sexy,” he groans through clenched teeth.

Your core twists in response and your cunt clenches around his cock, causing him to let out a grunt and quicken his pace even more, making it extra difficult to breathe properly. Oh, he’s found out that praise kink of yours and now he’s been using it wisely, so wisely…

He reaches over to pull down the stripe of your dress and exposes one breast. A loud moan slips out of you when he roughly kneads the soft flesh. He keeps the metal hand around one of your knees while the leg he let go in favor to give your breast some attention curls around his hips, jerking along with the punishing pace of his thrusts.

“Yeah, sweetheart, so sexy… I’ve wanted to have you like this ever since I first saw that sweet ass of yours,” he confesses right before leaning over to wrap his mouth around your nipple.

You’ve been horny the whole day waiting for the moment you would have his cock inside you just like that and the praise, as tacky as it may be, joined with the warmth of his wet tongue around your breast and the stimulation against your clit that the new position brings prompt the blast of ecstasy inside your core.

With a trembling moan, you let go the edges of the table to hold his body pressed to yours as his mouth moves from your breast to attack your neck. You roll your hips, trying to prolong the pleasure unleashed as his pace falters.

The fingers of both his hands dig into your hair, making a mess of it as he pulls out his cock almost completely before shoving it deeply and harshly one more time, grunting out his own release.  

“Fuck,” it slips from under his heavy breath before he clasps his lips on yours. The kiss is wet and sloppy and lazy as you have your legs and arms curled around his body, keeping him inside you.

Still feeling a little numb from the orgasm he just gave you – a thousand times better than the one you had given yourself- you gasp and chuckle through the kiss as he straightens up and pulls you with him. You tighten the hold of your arms and legs, as he conveniently holds you by your ass until he finds the couch and sits down with you straddling his hips. He breaks the kiss and lets his head fall on the backrest, his chest moving up and down as he tries to catch his breath.

You move up to let his cock slide off but he tightens the hold on your ass, keeping you in place, “Just… let me stay in a bit more, it feels so good,” he says, eyes shut, still resting his head back on the sofa.

“Alright,” you chuckle, straddling his face with your arms as you place your hands on the backrest. You find the request a bit odd but also sexy as hell. There he is, always a step ahead on what you don’t even know you think it’s hot…   

After a few more seconds, when his breath – and yours- seems to come back to normal, he straightens his head and looks down at where you still have just one breast exposed. He ticks his tongue, “Let’s not make the other one feel left out.” He pulls your other strap, letting now both of your breasts bare to him before he dips in, grabbing the up till now covered one with his lips.

You shake your head, laughing at his antics, “You seem pretty fond of them, huh?”

He lets go of the mound with a pop, looking up at you with an almost shocked expression on his face, “How could I not?” he gasps, like you’ve just offended him, “I don’t know how you see them in the mirror everyday and don’t touch yourself…” he squints at you before continuing, “You do, don’t you?”

You laugh harder, letting your head fall back and he smiles at you before going back to give your tits some attention, kissing and sucking one, then the other. Noticing that his cock never really softens completely inside you, you let him enjoy himself a bit more before speaking again, “Did you mean that?”

“What?” He leans back, looking up at you.

“You said you wanted to fuck me ever since you met me… is that serious? I didn’t even know you remembered me before we… started this.”

“First of all, I’m always serious, I never lie,” he says, adding some gravity to his tone, “Second of all, remember that night a while ago, when I chatted with you and your boyfriend at a Stark’s party and then your sexy ass talked about your work with technology with such passion… you knew exactly what you were talking about and, fuck…” he licks his lips, ”I rubbed one out for you later that night,” he smirks, clasping his hands behind his head.

Your jaw drops at the reveal before your face scrunches up, “That’s…gross?” you say the first word that comes to mind.

“But it’s true,” he shrugs, looking pretty comfortable with the confession, “and ever since I’ve been thinking about tapping that smart ass of yours.” He emphasizes his point by slapping your ass once.

Despite that and his choice of words - which makes your cheeks heat up - and your previous statement of being grossed out by the revelation, you decide you take that as kind of a compliment, which leads you to give him the news.

“You know?” you say, “I was promoted today. You just fucked the new leader of the Avengers/Stark tech department,” you grin when his practically hard cock twitches inside you.

“Wow, congratulations.” His eyes widen and he grins back at you. 

“Never thought I would meet someone with a technology kink,” you comment, laughing at his first reaction to the news.

“More of a smart as fuck brain kink, sweetheart,” he reaches behind you to slap your ass for the second time that night, making you shriek and laugh a bit harder, “Ok, we need to celebrate,” he states.

“I am celebrating,” you aim a mischievous smile at him, rolling your hips for good measure.

“Damn,” he breathes, but holds your hips still, “No, I mean, you’ve been in a relationship for ten years, tell me…” he squints at you, “When was the last time you partied your ass off?”

“Ahm…” you think hard trying to remember when it was, “College, I guess?”

“Shit…” he lowers his head before swiftly getting up, making you lunge your arms on his shoulders so you wouldn’t fall back as he walks to your bedroom, “Come on, let’s freshen up. This is huge news… I’ll take you to a real party now and then we can continue our private one later,” he promises.

~~~

As soon as you walk in the rooftop bar Bucky has chosen, you already decide you did good in accepting his offer. The place is gorgeous, sporting a modern, yet cozy decoration with small tables, sofas and puffs for those who want to sit. Dazzling lights flash on the dance floor right by a huge bar and the view of the city is mesmerizing while the beat of the music reverberates through your body.

Bucky pulls you by the hand through the sea of bodies. Thank god you chose one of the fanciest dresses of your wardrobe or else you wouldn’t fit in among the beautiful people crowding the place. Every once in a while, Bucky waves and nods at someone or a group of people. You can tell he’s a regular.  

He waves more excitedly to a group of women hanging on a mezzanine, before pulling you to that direction, “Come on,” he tilts his head back towards you with a smile, “You’ll love them.”

As soon as you approach the group, he puts his arm around your shoulders and introduces you to everyone, telling you the names of each stunning woman before you, Amanda, Emma, Jada, Alice and Brianna. They all friendly greet him and you with smiles, excited hellos and hugs, welcoming you two to join them, which you do.

“You know, Y/N was promoted today,” Bucky gushes and you smile at him.

“Oh, wow,” Amanda says through the cheerful congratulating words from everyone else, “This calls for champagne.” She then whistles and makes a sign for a bartender, who in a matter of seconds sends two bottles of fancy champagne to the group. 

A few minutes after the toast, you’re drinking and chatting with those women like you’ve been best friends your whole life, especially with Amanda, who goes out of her way to make you feel included. You can see how close they all are to Bucky, like he’s one of the gang, talking about any kind of subject in front of him and vice versa. Bucky stays by your side, and only when you’re completely mingled with the group he excuses himself to go grab what he called “a real drink” at the bar.

“He’s incredible, isn’t he?” Amanda nudges you when Bucky is at a distance he can’t hear.

“Oh yeah,” you nod, “Bucky’s a great guy.”

“She means in bed, dear,” Brianna clarifies with a giggle.

You take a look around the group to see them all giving you mischievous and knowing stares. Oh…

“Oh, did all of you…?” you point your finger at them, but you don’t have to complete the question

“More like all of this rooftop,” Brianna laughs, followed shortly by the others.  

“So, he’s amazing isn’t he?” Amanda insists, wiggling her eyebrows.

You’re not sure if it’s the alcohol or the fact that they all seem so friendly and open minded, but something makes you blurt out, “Amazing? He’s fucking fantastic.”

They all nod and verbalize their agreement, “I tell you all something,” Jada catches your attention, “That man drinks respect women juice daily and we owe him a toast. Here’s to Bucky,” she raises her glass.

“To Bucky.” You all mimic her through laughing and make a toast to the unsuspicious man at the bar.

As the conversation moves on and they all engage in different topics your gaze wanders to where he stands, holding a glass with some liquor that looks like whiskey in hands. But he’s not alone anymore. A statuesque blond is right beside him, laughing and touching his arm. You glimpse that flirting smile of him forming on his lips.

“You don’t mind do you?” Amanda’s voice makes you turn to her, spotting a questioning look on her face, “Because if you do… Girl, run away now, Bucky isn’t right for you.” There’s no malice on her voice, just a sincere warning tone.

You seize the moment to make an honest survey through your feelings. You’ve been warned by different people, Bucky included, and if there’s anything to worry about, Amanda is right, you should run now. As you keep your eyes on the two of them by the bar, you look and look and look inside, but find nothing that could be remotely taken as jealousy or something like that. If anything, it’s kind of liberating to know that you have so much fun with him and there’s no ugly, selfish feelings pulling you back. You feel like you could encourage the blonde on the flirting, because you know how damn incredible it can be…

Who would wonder that a class A womanizer like Bucky would be the source of such sheer sorority you’ve been experiencing that night…

“No,” you turn back to Amanda, shaking your head with a satisfied smile, “I don’t mind at all.”

The night goes on and Bucky comes and goes, chatting and drinking and laughing with you and your new little group of friends, taking you to dance, but also dancing with Amanda, Emma, Alice, Jada, Brianna and some others… A number of guys also approach you, take you to dance, buy you drinks and you end up with a few new phone numbers in your contact list. You party like you haven’t in a while and like you didn’t think women your age still did, which is stupid… You’ve been so caught up in the routine of your relationship with Eddie that you’ve forgotten there’s a whole world spinning out there.

An exciting and fun world.

“Hey,” the familiar voice reaches your ear and makes you smile as you’re on the dance floor with the girls. The metal hand curls around your belly and pulls you before your back brushes against his chest, “Having fun?” Bucky asks, lips on your ears.

“Yes, so much.” You tilt your head and place your hands over his while his hips sway with yours.

“Hummm,” he pulls you closer and runs the tip of his nose over the length of your neck, “I’m glad.”

“However…” you sigh, loving how his hips move in rhythm with yours, “I think I’m ready to continue our other party at home.”

“Funny,” he chuckles and his tongue darts out before he swiftly brushes it against your neck. It’s quick and very discreet, but enough to set your core into flames, “I was thinking the exact same thing.”

With that, you promptly let go of him and proceed to say goodbye to the girls. They all tell their farewells and wishes to see you again soon with knowing and excited looks.

~~~

“You were right, I had so much fun.” You wrap an arm around his elbow as you walk side by side through the streets of New York. The bar isn’t that far from your condo and when he suggested a walk back home you thought it was a good idea to check on the lively corners of the city, even with the heels. Also, he offered his leather jacket against the cold, which you promptly accepted.

“Oh, yeah, nightlife in New York nowadays is something we shouldn’t take for granted,” he smiles down at you, “And yeah, you had fun alright, I know there are a few extra numbers in your phone,” he winks.

You analyze his face and when you understand there’s nothing but playful teasing behind it, you answer, “Oh, yeah, oh my God,” you shake your head, “That was unexpected but fun. I might delete them all, though, things might get complicated and I’m not looking for any kind of complications right now.”

He smiles, seemingly satisfied for you taking him out of the complicated category. “You and the girls seemed to get along real fine, too,” he comments.   

“They’re really great,” you nod, getting cozier in his arm as a gust of wind hits you, “They all think very highly of you, by the way,” you let the smirk in your lips tell him what you mean.

“I work hard for that, sweetheart.” He chuckles and wiggles his eyebrows at you.

You let out a laugh, “That you do.” You look up at him from under your lashes, before whispering, “I can’t wait to see you working hard.”

He halts his pace, making you abruptly stop with him. You shoot him a questioning look, as he gazes down at you, his face lightening up like the best of ideas has just crossed his mind. Without further notice he unwraps his arm from yours and takes your hand instead, pulling you with him at a faster pace as he turns on the corner, changing the course that would lead to your home.

“Hey,” you call out, as you try not to trip on your heels as he pulls you, deflecting from the other patrons and leading the way, “What the hell are you doing?”

He looks back at you with that sinful smile of his, “Don’t wanna leave you waiting.”

Something flips inside your stomach in anticipation at his statement and, as he turns around a few corners, the streets seem to get less busy. When you reach a particular spot, he checks each side, like surveying the area before pulling you to a dark alleyway you haven’t even seen before.

As soon as you out of the street he pins you against the wall and crashes his lips on yours, shoving his leg between yours to keep you in place with the help of the firm grip of his metal hand on your hips.

Like a puppet on his strings you wrap your arms around his neck and respond to the inebriant kiss immediately even if you’re still astonished by it all and when he squeezes one of your tits through the fabric of your dress and his mouth leaves your mouth to drag kisses over your neck, you tilt your head to see the light peeking from the streets, so close to where you’re both standing. 

“Bucky…” a gasp swallows your words for a second as he presses his thigh harder against your pussy, “What the hell, someone can see us,” you remind him, knowing exactly where this will lead if you don’t stop him now. You can already feel the pool of heat in your lower body as he playfully nibbles on your lower lip before going back to your neck.

“Isn’t it exciting, to think someone can spot us while I have my dick inside you.” He licks a long stripe from your neck to behind your ear.

The mention of his dick makes you let out a wanton moan, but you’re not won over yet, “It’s a fucking dark alley in the middle of the night in New York City, Bucky. We will be murdered here.”

At this, all of his enticing movements pause, and he dips his head back with an offended glare at you, “Do I have to remind you who you’re literally fucking with?” he asks, outrage all over his voice, “The Winter Fucking Soldier, White Wolf and shit… the strongest Avenger,” he chant the names and you can’t help but chuckle a bit, “Don’t worry,” leans over to resume from where he stopped, “I can fuck you and protect you at the same time.”

You need no more convincing since that’s actually damn hot and you’re more than sold to the exciting game when he flips you over and kneels down behind you. Listening to your own erratic heartbeats prompted by the electrifying danger of it all, you sprawl your hands on the wall as he sinks his hands under your dress and pulls your underwear down your legs, placing it in his pocket once you step out of it.

He bunches your dress up high enough to give him room and you shudder and sucks in a breath as he props one kiss, then another on the back of each of your thighs, “Try to be quiet…” he says, but swiftly adds, “Not too quiet, though, I love to hear you.”

With that he spreads your legs a little farther and sinks his tongue into the apex of your thighs from behind.  Your jaw drops and your knees buckle as he holds your hips still against his face. While his tongue curls around your sensitive pussy your mind blanks and you whimper, trying to suppress a moan, not forgetting you’re right in the open air of New York. Your hips roll against his face, seeking for more friction to untie the knot forming inside you.

But too soon he ceases contact and stands up. You express your disappointment with a whine, face snapping to glare at him behind you.

He’s wearing a smirk on his face as he grabs another condom from his pocket. You wonder how many he has in stash, “You wanted to come on my mouth, didn’t you?” he teases, holding the package between his teeth as he unbuckles his pants.

“Of course,” you shamelessly admit under your breath.

“I know sweetheart… But my dick is aching for you, too,” letting his pants and boxes fall along his legs, he unleashes his hard cock and proceeds on putting on the condom, throwing the plastic package aside, “I was prepping you for it,” he continues, eyes fastened on yours as he speaks, “You want it, don’t you? You want my dick? Come all over it?”

You lick your lips and your gaze falls to look at his rock hard cock, feeling your wetness dripping down your inner thighs. Now that’s an offer you can’t refuse, “Yes, I wanna soak that fucking dick,” you groan, not caring how tacky all the dirty talk may be, since it all sounds sexy as fuck now, clouding all of your senses.

“Shit… take it then, sweetheart.” Guiding his cock with his hand, he pulls your hips and in one single shove he’s inside you.

You let out a silent cry and rest your cheek on your hand against the wall, as the other reaches down to your clit, to help ease down the sumptuous twists inside your core as he pounds into you.  

The sounds and lights of the cars passing by on the street right next to you reminds you how exposed you are and fuck if you’re not gonna come quicker than you ever did as Bucky holds your hips with both of his hands, moving them as fast as he pleases, thrusting them back against his cock. You can feel the fire reaching its peak inside you.

“So fucking wet,” he whispers, breathing hard as he fucks any remaining signs of better judgement out of you and you know it won’t be long for him, either.

You let out a loud moan and it prompts him to pull you pressed against his chest and cover your mouth with his hand, “Shhh.” His hot breath coats your ear and your head falls back on his shoulder as he keeps the delicious pounding of his cock inside you with no hint of mercy.

The damn alley spins around you and you wish you weren’t wearing his leather jacket now as the beads of sweat run down your forehead.

He must’ve heard something in advance because right at that moment a group of people walk by the sidewalk, chatting and laughing. All they have to do is to glance to the side and spot you two in that interesting situation. The danger, the fact that you’re so exposed while Bucky dicks you down against the wall out in the open triggers your orgasm and you let out a strangled sound, muffed by his hand, as the shocks of pleasure washes over your body and weakens your limbs.  

“Shit,” Bucky whispers against your cheeks and his cock pulses inside you, reacting to your cunt squeezing and soaking his cock as you reach your climax.

You wanna feel that again and acting under the influence of a rush of boldness, you reach behind between the two of you and gently massages his bouncing balls. You feel the pulsating of his cock between your walls again and that cheeky move of yours makes him come undone. You only wish that the group is far enough to not hear the reckless and loud moan that slips out of his lips against your ear, his whole body tensing against yours.

As you fight to catch your breath and his hand leaves your mouth to descend to one of your breasts, a long line of courses is recited in your ear before you can feel his body finally relaxing.

Your eyes flutter shut when you sense the brush of his lips on your neck. The next words he breathes against your heated skin makes you beam, loving that he says that while his cock is still buried deep into you, like a damn reward.  

“Congratulations on your promotion, sweetheart.”

~~~

Tag List for this story: CLOSED

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[allweleftunspoken]

a short human au kam oneshot ✨

I wrote this at like 3am a while ago so I apologize if it’s not the best lol

without further adooo here’s my shitty attempt at writing fanfic XD

— —————- ———

Keefe let out a dramatic sigh as he flopped back onto his bed. He tossed the book he was reading aside because if he had to read Shakespeare for one more second his brain might, quite literally, explode. He was bored and Tam was here, so he might as well move on from homework to annoying his best friend.

“Taaaaammmm” Keefe sighed, kicking Tam’s leg lightly, “Pay attention to meee.”

Tam looked up from his book and tilted his head, “Aren’t you old enough to entertain yourself?”

Keefe threw a pillow at him, but Tam caught it and threw it back, hitting Keefe in the face.

“Well that backfired.” Keefe mumbled while rubbing his face. Tam laughed and set his homework aside. He pulled a leg up to his chest and rested his head on Keefe’s knee,

“Sorry.”

“No you’re not.” Keefe said, ignoring the backflips his stomach was doing.

“You’re right, I’m not, that was hilarious.”

Keefe moved his knee causing Tam’s head to fall.

“Rude,” Tam said, glaring at him.

Keefe laughed, as Tam got off the bed and walked over to Keefe’s dresser. This was their relationship. They laughed and semi flirted but neither of them were brave enough to make the first move. He also didn’t even know if Tam w anted to make a move. Could he be imaging all the flirting? Maybe Tam was like this everyone.

He shook his head and returned his focus to Tam who was now messing with the bottle of black nail polish on the dresser.

“Can you do mine later?” He asked, “It would drive my parents crazy.”

Keefe got up and walked over to him,

“Yeah sure. It drives mine crazy too,” he said with a sad laugh.

Tam laughed too and set the bottle down.

It was safe to say their parents weren’t the best. They were horrible actually. Keefe couldn’t count how many times he’s come home from school to be the subject of his Father’s anger. Whether it was screaming, or throwing things, or the occasional trip to Keefe’s bedroom to destroy Keefe’s sketches, Keefe couldn’t do anything. His mom wasn’t much better. She just stood by and let it all happen, occasionally adding to his list of ‘things to hate myself for’. They fought all the time. He couldn’t remember a day where there wasn’t screaming of some sort. To top it all off they were homophobic. Keefe hated it. He hated it here. He knew Tam’s home life wasn’t much better either, and he hated that. He hated that Tam had to deal with this. No one should. They’d talked about it before, once they even cried because they were so tired of it. They’d talked about running away, but Tam said he couldn’t leave Linh. Keefe had said she could come with them but then Tam said that Linh would never want to leave Marella and Biana. So they decided to wait until they’re eighteen. Then they’d all leave together. They’d move as far away from them as possible and never look back. Keefe couldn’t wait.

He watched Tam pick up one of Keefe’s rings and fiddle with it. Keefe couldn’t take his eyes off him. The sun was about to set and the light was peeking through his window, casting a warm glow over the entire room. Tam looked like he was glowing. He looked beautiful. He always did. He’d never actually tell him that though. He wished he could..he wished he could tell him a lot of things.

Tam set down his ring and turned to Keefe, catching him staring, “What?”

Keefe blushed lightly, “N-nothing.”

“You were staring at me.”

“No-No I wasn’t-“ he stuttered.

Tam raised his eyebrow.

“Hey you knocked over my nail polish,” Keefe said, subtly changing the subject. He reached behind Tam to fix it, but then he looked down to find Tam staring up at him. Keefe’s stomach dropped. They stayed like that for a while, both of them staring at each other, and neither of them moving. It was almost as if they were scared to. Like moving might break the delicate trance that they seemed to be in.

At some point Keefe’s eyes moved down to Tam’s lips. He could’ve sworn Tam started move towards him then, but before he could know for sure a door slammed downstairs.

They both flinched at the noise and quickly leapt apart.

Seconds after the slam, the arguing started. The loud arguing that usually lasted for hours at a time, which could only mean one thing.

His parents were home.

Keefe scratched the back of his head,

”So....”

Tam shoved his hands in his pockets,

“So...I don’t have to be home for a couple of hours...wanna go get coffee or something?”

Keefe could’ve kissed him. He really wanted to actually.

He let out a big breath and whispered, “Yes please.”

Tam smiled, “Ok, just let me get my stuff.”

He started putting his books in his backpack while Keefe got a sweatshirt and pulled it on over his school uniform dress shirt. He grabbed another sweatshirt and turned to Tam,

“Wanna wear this?” When Tam started to get flustered he quickly clarified, “Its getting cold out, you might need it-“

Tam took it and quickly thanked him, and pulled it on over his uniform as well. He put on his backpack and started walking towards Keefe’s door before Keefe stopped him,

”Yeah no, we’re going out the fun way.”

It was also the way that avoided running into his parents downstairs cause he...really didn’t need that right now. He took Tam’s arm lightly and lead him over to the window,

”Oh come on.” Tam sighed.

“Where’s your sense of adventure Tammy boy?”

”I must have lost it somewhere.”

Keefe flicked his bangs, and then out the window they went.

—————————

“Ok but that was the best cookie ever, I can’t believe they just gave it to us for free.”

Tam said as they walked back to Keefe’s house from the coffee shop they ended up going to. The sun had set now and it was dusk. Keefe loved this time of day, when everything was still and quiet and beautiful.

Keefe laughed, “They probably gave it to us because I’m so attractive.”

Tam blinked, “That literally makes no sense whatsoever. “

Keefe smirked, “I don’t hear you disagreeing.”

Tam shoved him with his arm.

“You’re so annoying.”

”You love me.”

”That’s debatable.”

Keefe clutched his heart, “You’ve wounded me. I don’t know how I’ll ever emotionally recover from this.”

Tam rolled his eyes, fighting back a smile.

Keefe knew Tam loved him, platonically if not anything more. He wished it was more, since Keefe had been falling in love with him since the 8th grade. He could never say that though, since he still wasn’t sure how Tam felt. He might never be sure...

They walked for a few more minutes before stopping in front of Keefe’s house.

He looked at Tam and found him already staring at Keefe. He held his gaze and whispered, “Here we are.”

“Here we are.” Tam took a small step towards Keefe, “I should probably head home now...”

Keefe’s heart was in his throat. What was happening right now?

”Probably...”

Tam looked down at their hands and Keefe gathered all the courage he had and started slowly reaching towards Tam’s hand. Their fingers barely brushed before Tam intertwined them. Keefe couldn’t believe this was real. Was this real? If it was dream it was a hell of a good one. He’s liked this guy for years and now it finally happening-how was this happening-?

His voice was hoarse as he whispered, “You know we’re holding hands right now right?”

”Yeah I noticed.”

”And you’re...ok with that..?”

”I’m more then ok with it.” Tam’s grip on his hand tightened slightly, and Keefe almost passed out. No way this was happening. No way he was holding hands with dude he’s like since he was fourteen.

”Keefe..” Tam whispered, interrupting his thoughts.

”Yeah...?”

Tam took a small step towards Keefe, and moved his hands to his face, slowly moving it down to his. He paused, his voice so soft Keefe could barely hear it, “Can I....”

Keefe answered him by connecting their lips. The kiss was slow and everything he’d ever imagined it would be, and more. He never wanted it to end, but it did. They broke the kiss and Keefe leaned his forehead against Tam’s lightly.

“Did that actually just happen...” he whispered.

Tam laughed softly, “Yeah, it did...”

Tam then pulled Keefe into a hug, holding him so tight he thought he might break something. He didn’t mind one bit, and he held him back just as tight.

They stayed like that for a while before Tam whispered the words Keefe thought he’d only ever hear him say in his dreams.

”I like you Keefe. I have for a really long time..”

Keefe smiled bigger then he’d ever smiled in his entire life, “I like you too Tam..”

Tam leaned back from the hug to look at him, “Well I’d hope so since you just kissed me.”

Keefe laughed and after a few more minutes of talking (and maybe kissing) they said goodnight. Keefe watched Tam walk away and thought about what just happened. How did that just happen? He wasn’t sure, but he was sure as heck glad it did. Does this mean Tam was his boyfriend now? He’d work up the courage to ask him tomorrow. For now he went to bed and dreamed about a boy with silver bangs and soft hands.

[maybedefinitely404]

Day 9: Intruloceit (Pt 1)

@tsshipmonth2020

Day 9: When you write something on your own skin, it appears on your soulmate’s skin as well.

Content warnings: implied abuse (nothing graphic), self deprecation, some internalized homophobia concerning polyamory, angst. 

(Happy ending in next part)

Word count: 1.7k

Janus didn’t sleep the night before his eighteenth birthday. Instead, he sat curled up on his bed, wrapped in his blanket, watching the minutes pass in the dim light of his alarm clock. His heart pounded as it drew closer to midnight, feeling like the numbers on the display were a countdown to his death.

He didn’t have friends, and that wasn’t a topic he would ever admit to being sensitive about. Most people would spend the eve of their eighteenth birthday surrounded by their loved ones, count down the seconds until they reached the strike of midnight, and then huddle around the birthday person as they wrote a message to their soulmate for the first time. A little greeting, an introduction, something to begin the process of meeting the love of their life. In a decent amount of cases, probably half, Janus would speculate, they wouldn’t get a response until their soulmate also turned eighteen, but the first note was still a special moment; something to celebrate. He’d never been a popular person though, by any standards.  Even back in elementary school, his general dark demeanor and habitual lying kept people away from him. Sure, it would be more fun to play at recess with the other kids instead of laying in the sun and watching the clouds float by, but his defense mechanisms were not something he was going to let go of any time soon.

When his bedside display finally read 12:00, he expected to feel something. A shiver up his spine, a tingling under his skin, anything. But nothing happened, and he couldn’t tell if he was more grateful or upset. He stared down at his skin, pen held in his shaking hands, debating if he should do it. The minutes ticked by, suddenly a lot slower than when he’d been fighting for breath in anticipation and fear, and the pen continued to shake.

Downstairs, the front door slammed shut, causing Janus to flinch so hard the pen clattered to the floor. His dad wasn’t supposed to be home for a couple more days, and he could hear his mom voicing similar confusion as she made her way downstairs to greet him.

“Darrel? Did the trip end early?” He could hear the hesitation and uncertainty in her voice even from behind his closed door. His father had left with the excuse of a work trip. They both knew that wasn’t true, and both had an unspoken agreement to not say a word about it.

“What are you doing awake?” The man’s voice was gruff, sleep starved, annoyed. He clearly hadn’t intended to run into his wife, the soulmate he had stopped loving years ago.

“The headlights shone through the window, they woke me up.”

“Well, go back to bed. I don’t want to be grilled by you right now.”

“Do you want some dinner? I think there’s some leftovers in the fridge-”

“I said, go back to bed!”

“Darrel, please! You’re going to wake Janus!”

Janus shut his eyes and ears as the yelling started, abandoning the pen and what little excitement he’d had previously. Like every night, his sleep was as restless and chaotic as the day time, haunted with flashbacks and nightmares that he had no way to escape. Words hit with as much impact as fists, reminding him of how he was meant to be alone. A soulmate could never love a royal fuck up like him. His dad’s words echoed and distorted as the blows landed, shouts of unlovable and worthless setting in his mind as tombstones. Images of his parent’s failed bond rifled through his mind’s eye at record pace. Whether they were a one in a million flaw or just a cruel reminder that soulmates are never as perfect as displayed, he’d never know. All he knew is that he’d rather be alone for the rest of his life than be submitted to the fate that had befallen them, abuse and hatred but unable to leave, not with the expectations and stereotypes they lived under. ‘Soulmates were perfect, never failing, an unshatterable bond.’ Bullshit. He knew he was also subjecting his soulmate to a life alone, but his fear easily outweighed his desire to be loved, or his sense of compassion. 

He woke up the next morning with a new heaviness in his heart, glancing at the time habitually. It was ten minutes before his alarm, but the thought of going back to sleep was too daunting a quest, so he rolled off his bed and padded to the bathroom to get ready for school. It was his senior year, and no matter how much he would rather stay at home and mope in his room, zoning out as he tended to do, he needed his grades to stay decent. It was the only way he was getting out of here. Half asleep, he threw on his yellow comfort hoodie, a stark contrast to his mood. It had been a present from his mom a few years ago, given with the uncomfortable smile between two people who lived together but rarely spoke. 

He clambered down the stairs two at a time, freezing on the last step as his eye locked on the person in the kitchen. His mom sat at the table, nursing a cup of coffee silently, barely acknowledging he had entered the room. Without so much as a word, he scooted by her, eyeing the bruise forming on her left cheek and slunk out the door. They didn’t talk much anymore, why would today being his birthday change that?

The day was nothing out of the ordinary, and Janus didn’t know why that made a certain hole open up in his chest. Boring classes followed by lonely breaks, a quiet lunch hour in an abandoned classroom and an uneventful walk to the park after school. He preferred doing his homework anywhere that wasn’t home, especially now that his dad was back in town. He needed to get these done, and who knew what would pull him away from his work there. Besides, the grass was soft and the sun wasn’t too overbearingly hot, and he desperately needed a tan. The darker his skin, the more unnoticeable was the huge birthmark that covered the left side of his face, a little something that just made him that much more avoided by his peers.

His pen had barely scratched the paper when a tickle over his right arm made him gasp, like a feather ghosting over the skin. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what it was, and after a moment of adrenaline and panic, it occurred to him that no amount of putting it off would prevent the inevitable. He’d have to acknowledge his soulmate’s existence eventually. With a deep breath, he tugged the sleeve of his hoodie up, eyebrows knitting together in confusion.

From wrist to elbow on his forearm, a deep blue ink had scribbled down bullet points that he must have not noticed throughout the entire day, since there were too many for them to have happened in the last few minutes. He started at the top, eyes drifting hungrily over the writing until he reached the last note, still being finished.

Chemistry test next Friday, study cephalopods

English paper on William Shakespeare, ask Roman for advice

Talk to Patton about moving movie night to next weekend

What far away is Andromeda from earth?

Fix V’s pin 

Yell at V to stop breaking their pins

Get dad to sign detention slip

Extra credit for calculus due tomorrow

Do you want to get coffee?

Janus froze. That last one… what the hell? Sure, his brain was decently sleep deprived, but he was almost certain he hadn’t written to his soulmate last night. Except, damn, that question certainly didn’t seem to fit in with the rest of his notes; it seemed aimed at someone. Nevermind how they knew he was there, knew he had turned eighteen, they were trying to contact him, and that was more important. He picked up his discarded pen off the grass, twirling it in his fingers. What should he say? Should he even say anything? His original plan to ignore his soulmate was suddenly significantly more difficult, now that they were making the first move. They were a real person, not just a stranger, no longer a figment of his imagination twisted into something evil. 

But before he could touch the tip to his arm to respond, to maybe introduce himself or ask where they were in the world (why were they offering coffee if they’d never even established where they lived, he wondered distantly), a barrage of green script exploded under his poised pen.

YES PLEASE! I was awake all night. I just saw your notes, you want help with the cephalopods? I can quiz you, I know everything about them. And I guarantee I know just as much about ya boi Billy Shakes as Roman, and I know the FUN stuff too! Not the prissy romancey stuff. Did V tell you their pin broke because they tried to stab me with it and hit my pocket knife? Because they did. What did you get detention for this time?

Even with the small writing, Janus had to rotate his arm to follow the messy scratching as the… new person continued to rant about their day. He sat in shock, not able to process what was happening. This had to be a mistake, right? It was astronomically rare to have more than one soulmate, and there was no way he was one of those people. He had never been special before in his life, in either a good way or a bad, so he in no way was deserving of… this. Maybe this was a mistake after all, just like his parents. Another cosmic fuck up, where he’d have to live out the rest of his life, watching the two people fall more and more in love while he looked on like a creep. Isn’t that what he deserved, though? The two other people obviously knew each other; two soulmates who must have turned eighteen before him and met a while ago, if their casual interaction was anything to go by. And… he couldn’t intrude on that. Even if he did, if he popped up out of nowhere like a bad cold, they wouldn’t want him to join their pre-established relationship already. They probably weren’t even polyamorous, and the whole idea would just make them uncomfortable. 

His mind was too far gone for homework. So with a lump in his throat the size of a meteor and tears stinging the corner of his eyes, he capped the pen, rolled down his sleeve resolutely, and packed up his supplies. Anything his dad would do to him would surely hurt less than this. 

[bedbellyandbeyond]

He’s Back

(Story Post)

Kent didn't seem to know what to do with the crying werewolf on his front, but he patted his back until he settled down. Nathan eventually pulled away and wiped his eyes. “I'm sorry… I don't know what came over me…” Dax decided to come out and make his entrance. “I thought you said you were going to punch him.” Kent’s entire demeanor changed and he was immediately on guard again, dipping to scoop up his rifle. “Who the fuck's that?” Nathan stepped back and held a hand out to his partner. “This is Dax.” “And who the fuck is Dax?” Kent said gruffly. “I'm his boyfriend,” Dax said, walking over and taking Nathan's hand. Kent huffed. “You really are one of those type, huh, Nate?”

“Nate?” Dax inquired. “He calls me that to antagonise me,” Nathan sighed. “I've told him a hundred times it's just Nathan. And put your damn rifle down, Kent.” Kent backed up to the porch to put his rifle down on the balcony. Then he just stood there and crossed his arms. “…So, did you have the kids?” Nathan crossed his arms too. “What if I did?” “Don't play games, dog breath. If I have children, I oughta know about it.” Nathan placed his hands on his hips. “I had my kids, yes.” “Where are they?” Kent demanded. “They're back home being babysat,” Nathan answered. Kent growled. “You came all the way out here and didn't even bring my fuckin’ kids?” “Well, I had Dawson’s kids, but he's dead,” Nathan said shrugging. “You damn mutt… You really want to go that way? You really want to say you had Dawson Grace's kids, the name that went down as the man executed for murdering four people?” Kent asked. “They're my fucking kids. I have a right to see them.” “Why the fuck should I bring them to you?” Nathan asked. “You literally don't exist to them. They're fine without you.” “So what, you've got this limp dick raisin’ my kids?” Kent growled, shoving a finger towards Dax. Dax pushed out a hip. “Nathan was right. You really are an asshole.” “Dax is there for me,” Nathan said. “He actually gives a shit. You've done nothing for me or my kids.” “Yeah, as if I had a fuckin' choice!” Kent scrunched his nose. “Don't you think I would've wanted to be there?” “You didn't even want me to have them!” Nathan said. “Yeah, when I was convinced I was gonna fry!” Kent said. “I didn't want to leave kids on this Earth with a fucked up legacy like mine!” “If you want to see my kids, you'll have to earn it!” Nathan stated. “You'll have to help me.” “Like shit. I don't have to do shit for you,” Kent stated. “Look at what you did to my fucking face.” He jabbed a finger at his own long scar. Nathan shook his head. “You'd be dead if it weren't for me.” “How the fuck do you reckon that?” Kent growled. “I told you APID could help you,” Nathan stated. “I told you my case workers would do something about your case, so long as you were really innocent. And they got this for you.” He motioned to the cottage. “Much better than that hell hole of a cave you had in the ravine.” “I liked my cabin,” Kent said stubbornly. “And if you hadn't come along, I would've still been there, alone, without the black suits bothering me all the time.” “But you'd still be a wanted man,” Nathan stated. “You'd get caught eventually and then the cover up wouldn't be a cover up. You'd be dead. But you're a free man now. They gave you a whole new life.” Kent grit his teeth. “I never asked for it. I was survivin’ on my own.” “Surviving's not necessarily living though,” Dax commented. “No one asked you, Dix,” Kent snapped. “It's Dax...” “Don't fuckin' care.” Nathan crossed his arms. “If you're going to keep being an asshole, we'll just leave and you'll never see your kids.” “I don't even know they really exist,” Kent said. “You could just be lyin’ to me.” “...Are you fucking kidding me?” Nathan grabbed Kent's shirt. “I wouldn't lie about the pain and labour I had to go through to bring those kids into this world. Is this a fucking lie?” He lifted his shirt, exposing his stretch marks and C-section scar. “Is this a fucking lie to you, Kent?” Kent paused and placed his hand on Nathan's stomach, feeling the scars that webbed across his skin. “You really were fuckin’ pregnant, huh? Man like you...” “Don't touch me!” Nathan pushed Kent's hand away and lowered his shirt. “I came here hoping you would help me. Do you think you could do that?” “Remains to be seen,” Kent said. “Do you at least have pictures of my kids?” “Yes, of course,” Nathan said. Kent sighed. “What do you need help with?” Nathan took a deep breath. “My transformation's started triggering during the day time, regardless of my wolf cycle,” he explained. “I become more of a half wolf, half man than the usual full wolf.” Kent nodded. “Ah.” “Does that ever happen to you?” Nathan asked. “What, this?” Kent immediately transformed, his height growing another foot, fur exploding out of his skin to cover him, bear ears and a big bear snout sprouting right out. The sheer added girth of him shredded his T-shirt and pushed Nathan back a step into Dax. They watched in shock and awe. Kent raised his head and let out a big bellowing bear call, making birds scatter from the trees. Then as fast as he'd turned bear, he was back to human, still a big bastard, but all trace of bear gone. “...You can control it?” Nathan asked once he found his thoughts. “Damn straight. If you're turning midday, it means you've got some control too,” Kent said. “Reckon you haven't figured it out yet.” “No, I haven't,” Nathan said. “Can you teach me to control it?” “Can you bring my damn kids?” Kent asked. Nathan nodded. “Next weekend.” Kent sighed. He eyed the APID agent still standing at the van, now lighting a cigarette. “Tell the black suit to fuck off and then come inside the house.” He waited at the door with Nathan, and Dax told their escort they’d be good on their own for now. Hanover got their overnight stuff out of the back before driving off. Kent held the front door of his cottage open for Nathan but promptly closed it in Dax's face. Nathan opened the door up again to let Dax in. On the inside, the cottage was surprisingly clean and spacious, open to a kitchen and living room, two rooms off the living room and a ladder up to a loft above. “Part of the deal is you stop acting like an asshole to Dax,” Nathan stated. “It's alright, Nathan,” Dax said. “He's just being the possessive ex.” “Ex?” Kent growled. “Are you fucked in the head? I'm not gay.” “The closet is deep with this one,” Dax remarked. “Let me guess, your parents told you God would send you to hell for liking boys.” “I don't believe in no fuckin' God,” Kent stated. “Where in the Bible did the bastard say ‘Thou shalt turn into a fuckin' bear and be hunted like a damn animal’? What fuckin' passage?” “The book of Daniel has some stuff...” Nathan muttered as he started looking around and picking stuff up. Dax blinked, turning to his boyfriend. “I didn't strike you as religious, Nathan.” “I'm not,” Nathan said as he fiddled with a little whittled wood fox. “Well, not really... I was the one whose parents told me I'd go to hell for being gay. They shoved religion in my face all the time.” “You never talked about this,” Dax said. “I don't like to talk about it,” Nathan said placing the fox down and picking up an owl figure. “It really changed my relationship with religion.” “Bunch of nonsense,” Kent stated. “Bible people really rub me the wrong way...” “So if it's not religious, why are you so scared to acknowledge your latent homosexuality?” Dax asked, taking a look at the wood fox as well. “There ain't nothin’ to acknowledge,” Kent said, taking the carving out of Dax's hands and putting it back on a shelf. “You can keep on as you are, I ain't gonna stop you. It just ain't natural, that's all. And it ain't me.” “We're not here to get hate-crimed, Dax. Show him your pictures,” Nathan sighed, placing the owl down again. “You take more than I do.” “Right, yes. One moment.” Dax pulled out his phone. “I made an album.” “Album?” Kent frowned and narrowed his eyes. “On your phone?” “Yeah, I don't think most people bother making them, but I like organising my memories,” Dax said before turning his phone towards Kent. The bear man took up the phone and squinted at it. He looked at the image that showed Nathan in the hospital with the twins bundled up in his arms. Their faces however were obscured in the photo by angle and all the swaddling. “Do you have a better one? I can't see them in this...” Kent huffed. “Yeah, just swipe through. There's a bunch,” Dax said. “Swipe?” Kent asked. Nathan nudged Dax's arm. “He lived under a literal rock for the last twenty years. He doesn't understand smartphones.” “Ohhh...” “Shut up, I have one of your damn smartphones the black suits gave me,” Kent said. “But do you know how to use it?” Nathan asked. Kent wrinkled his nose. “Just show me how to see the damn photos.” “You're going to have to learn to use it if you want contact,” Nathan said as Dax went to stand beside Kent and showed him how to swipe through the album. Once he got the hang of it, Kent started swiping on his own. Dax had taken what seemed to be hundreds of photos and they went up in chronological order from the day of the twins' birth all the way to a photo of Korsgaard holding them at his house just before the couple left. Kent didn't get that far, however. He was silent as he continued to look at each photo one by one. He would often pause at any photo that had both kids in it clearly and he would quickly skip over any picture with Dax in them. He was eventually transfixed on a photo of both kids holding hands while asleep on Nathan's chest. “Oh, that's a good one,” Dax commented. “They both fell into a food coma. Nathan, as a cis man, doesn't produce a lot of milk, so it's very rare that they’re fully satisfied once he's dry.” “Wait, what photo is that?” Nathan snatched up the phone. “Ugh, you had to pick one with my fucking tits out, what the fuck...” “What are their names?” Kent asked. Nathan sighed and picked a different picture before pointing to each child respectively. “Grace and Gabriel.” Kent blinked. “Grace Grace?” “Grace Cassidy, you selfish bastard,” Nathan said. “You really think I'd give them your surname?” “Kids get the father's surname. It's how it works,” Kent said. “Yeah, guess what? I'm their father,” Nathan stated. “What do you mean? You're the mother. You gave birth to them,” Kent said. “I... I literally don't have the patience right now to explain how wrong and insulting that is,” Nathan stated. “Not to mention, ‘Dawson Grace’ is dead, remember?” “So, Grace and Gabriel Rivera,” Kent stated. “I'm not changing my kids' names to their deadbeat dad's,” Nathan asserted. “Especially not a made up one.” “It was my mother's maiden name,” Kent growled. “Oh. Still.” Nathan shrugged and handed Dax back his phone. “Her name is Grace after my grandmother who raised me, not you.” “And Gabriel?” Kent asked. “I just like it,” Nathan said. “I might have trouble with religion, but I like biblical names.” Kent rolled his eyes. “Whatever, Nate.” “Stop.” Nathan balled his fist. “You saw the pictures. You better help me.” Kent turned away and went to the kitchen. “Tomorrow. It's gettin’ late.” “What? But wouldn't night time be better for the wolf and all that moon stuff?” Dax asked. “Yeah, if you want to go berserk and rip an arm off,” Kent said. “Best time to practice is when the wolf is the weakest. High noon, middle of your off weeks. Do you know where you are in the moon phases?” “Yeah, I keep track on my phone,” Nathan said. “You can do that?” Kent asked. “Yeah, there's an app for everything,” Nathan said. “App?” Kent asked. “Application,” Dax said. “Did you have a computer before going on the lam?” “No, not really.” “We're really at square one then, huh?” Dax sighed. “Well, I suppose we should call the agent to take us to our hotel.” “You're staying here,” Kent said. “There's a bed in the loft.” “No thanks, I like running water,” Nathan said. “I'm not asking,” Kent said. “If those damn black suits take another step on my property, I'll start shootin’.” “Incredibly illegal,” Nathan said. “Quick way to get your hunting license revoked. Not to mention, why do you need a hunting rifle? You're a literal bear.” “Hunting as the bear's real messy,” Kent said. “Not to mention, I don't want to be hunted. I got a few scars from that...” “Fair enough. Still not sleeping here,” Nathan said. “I have plumbing and power,” Kent stated. “I'm not used to using it much but it's there.” “But running water, though?” Dax asked. Kent turned on the kitchen tap and it ran clear. “Spring water.” “...Why do you want us to stay here so bad?” Nathan asked. “It's not like that. I just don't need you wasting my time getting back here tomorrow,” Kent stated. Nathan nudged Dax. “What do you think?” “I think he's lonely,” Dax muttered. Kent growled. “What?” “Can we see the loft?” Nathan asked. “Be my fuckin' guest.” Kent motioned to the ladder. “There's a mattress. Place was furnished when I got here.” “You're actually thinking about this?” Dax asked as Nathan started to climb the ladder. “Let's just see if it'll work for tonight,” Nathan said as he got up to the top. The mattress up in the loft looked to be of good quality, with fitted sheets, pillows and even a duvet folded up in the corner. “This is actually kind of nice...” Dax frowned and climbed up after him. “...We already booked the hotel.” “Call and see if we can cancel,” Nathan said. “Maybe it's just a fee.” Dax sighed and leaned over the railing of the loft. “Is there a good foot path around here?” “‘Round the lake,” Kent said. “Why?” “If I can get a good run in tomorrow morning, maybe it'll be worth it...” Dax sat on the bed and crossed his legs. The loft roof was so low there that his head brushed the ceiling. “What's for dinner?” Kent shrugged. “Venison.” “Oh dear...” “Correct.” Nathan sighed. “Dax's vegetarian.” “Then he can eat a tree,” Kent growled. “Come on, you had a garden back in the valley. You must have some greens,” Nathan said. Kent huffed and put his hands on his hips. “It's as cold as a witch's tit for too long up here. I'm working on it, but my garden's not even close to harvesting time.” Dax collapsed onto the futon. “And I suppose Uber Eats is out of the question?” “Uber what?” “I'm going to starve.” Kent checked his fridge. “Relax, you limp dick tree muncher. I went into town a couple days ago... I think I have some bread and butter... Oh, there's a jar of pickles and some mustard.” “...Can you do something with that, Dax?” Nathan asked. “There's plenty of berries I picked too,” Kent said. “I blend my own jams.” Dax sighed. “I can probably work something out... Maybe I can make a smoothie tomorrow for breakfast...” Nathan rubbed his shoulder. “When we have some time tomorrow, we'll get some food in town. For now, we can work with what's here.” “Easy for you to say. You can eat venison.” Kent, tall as he was, smacked the wood at the end of the loft floor. “Absolutely no fuckin' up there, got it?” “With your ugly mug around?” Nathan huffed. “Wouldn't dream of it.” “Hey, you're the one who busted it up in the first place,” Kent said. “I added character, but I’m not the one who added that nasty mullet,” Nathan said. “Fuck off... I’m going out for firewood.” Kent huffed and just walked off muttering ‘stupid dog’ under his breath as he put his hand through his hair. Dax sat up and watched until Kent went outside and the door closed behind him. Dax then put his hand on Nathan's shoulder. “He's really into you, huh?” “What?” Nathan shook his head. “He fucking hates me.” “No, he really doesn't. This whole interaction he's been trying to separate us. You didn't even see how he looked at photos of you with the kids. I bet you if I taught him how to delete photos, he would've removed any of them with me in it.” Nathan frowned. “You have nothing to worry about. He's not going to come out if that's true and I'm with you. I chose you.” “I know that. I'm not threatened, I'm just, well you know, I'm nosier than I am tall,” Dax chuckled. “He’s kept his eyes on you from the very second he spotted you until the moment he went out that door. If he ever made eye contact with me, it was only a passing glare. He's almost like another Wano, to be quite honest. I'm half waiting for him to declare a dual for your hand...” Nathan chuckled. “I don't think you have to worry about that. You're good.” “I mean, if you think about it,” Dax said lying back in the bed. “I almost feel sorry for him. The last time you met, you were single. He's been alone out here for months probably thinking about you and the kids. Must've been a slap to the face when I showed up.” Nathan patted Dax's leg. “If you're so obsessed with him, you can date him.” Dax smiled. “I won't lie. He's a lot more handsome than I expected from your descriptions. Not to mention, when he transformed right in front of you, tearing his shirt off, and then when shrunk down he was just shirtless and ripped... Come on.” “I’ll give you that. It was kinda hot...” Nathan admitted. “And pretty gay.” “Right? How old is he, anyway?” “Not sure.” Nathan thought about it.  “He must've been in his twenties back when he was accused and it's been twenty years.” “So, his forties. You like your men older, don't you Nate?” Dax teased. Nathan frowned and lightly punched Dax's leg. “Shut up. Reid said the same damn thing... It's not true.” “How old was Hugh?” Dax asked. “You said he had grey hair.” “Shut up!”

[mxnrly]

hidden, changkyun

fluff, but mostly angst !

again, i blame @ckyunoirs for this, but i accept full responsability. also! the only changkyun mental image you must have is him while being blonde with all those piercings and grunge clothes.

this is just part 1

[part 2]

Laying down on the grass, feeling the wind move side to side, the black dressed couple held hands while listening to some iconic tunes. The boy band, where Changkyun was part of, just had a stunning performance at the bar just like every friday. Sometimes they played covers, sometimes it was their own songs. Today was a cover of the well known band, “5 seconds of summer”.

“You liked the song?” He asked, still looking at the sky.

“I did.” She answered smiling, moving her head, now looking at his profile. “You know? I wish I had dinner with your bandmates, they seem cool!” adding, Changkyun pressed his lips before looking back at her.

“I told you, they are so close minded about any of us having a girlfriend. I’m the first to have a partner between us. Let me make them comfortable about the scenario so they won't feel uneasy around you, ok?” He said so calmly, bringing a hand to her hair, combing a strand behind her ear.

They’ve been together for almost a year now, but she was pretty much hidden behind his shadow. You were his best friend for a long time, so the people didn’t grow suspicious about your relationship, but every time you tried to bring up the topic, he always said the same: “Let’s wait a little bit more, my bandmates aren’t ready.” And you understood, of course, you said yes to everything he said, the only thing that bothered you was, why was he so close minded about that? Not even his parents knew, and she couldn’t bring herself to sleep at the thought that something was wrong between them.

Tonight wasn’t the exception. The band was going to have a celebration dinner at the bar, drink a little and maybe go home together (or accompanied), but according to Changkyun, they weren’t too much interested in girls at the time, because of the growing popularity the band was getting. The girl couldn’t think about anything but… To accept reality and that his boyfriend maybe was getting a little bit too much recognition, but that was his dream! And she was determined to go through the journey with him, hidden in his shadow, if necessary.

But obviously, not everything is perfect.

One day, Changkyun went to her apartment to spend some time together. Being with him included having to cancel almost all plans because of his writing inspiration coming to him at the least expected moments. But, thank heavens, he found a little space on his agenda he could share with her girl! And it was what she was doing, sharing some quality time with her boyfriend before he went to a performance.

Both of them lying in front of the other, he was stretching a hand at her, while she was keeping it still with one hand and with the other, drenching the tiny nail polish brush on the black paint. It was the first time he agreed to do that kind of stuff, but seeing her girl happy was so worth it.

“I think we’re done.” She said while closing the polish while blowing gently over his hand. He smiled a little bit at the image.

“You painted yours too!” He noticed, with a weird tint on his voice. The girl smiled and nodded without looking at him but her hand. Ignoring completely the fact that his boyfriend seems a little uncomfortable at sharing even a mundane thing like that.

Not caring too much about it, after the nails were completely dry, they changed clothes ready to leave for the presentation. Changkyun was already outside when the girl finished doing her makeup. “Wait for me!” she yelled.

Before she could even get out of the apartment, Changkyun was looking at her weirdly. “What’s wrong?” she asked, confused by the expression on his face.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you. You can’t come with me.” He said so emotionlessly that she felt a little pang in the heart.

“What?”

“Yeah, because…” he speaked rapidly, moving his eyes everywhere but hers. “You know, the band is getting bigger, if fans see us together, they’ll harm you.”

Oh! Another way to put the typical “I don’t want you there.”, unfortunately it wasn’t the first time he had told her that same sentence to defend his act.

“I start to think you’re ashamed of me.” She said, on a low tone, but still, he could hear her.

His grunt was all she could hear after. He moved his head at the sky, sighing real loudly. “I thought you understood-”

“I do! I do everything for you! But every time I want to do something that involves what you love with me, you shove me away as if I was nothing!” the weight on her heart pressed on the chest, making her breath itch. “If you’re so ashamed of me being your girlfriend, you can as well go alone.” she said closing the door on his face, letting him without the opportunity of excusing himself.

But she didn’t want more lies.

______________________________________________

The hours passed and she was almost eating her nails out of anxiety. Sighing, she let her body relax on the mattress, thinking if he exceeded herself. Maybe there were some obsessive fans who could damage their relationship, maybe HE REALLY was protecting her.

Closing her eyes for a second, decided to simply get through it and apologize. He was the person she loved the most, after all. Picking her jacket, she went to the kitchen where she last used her phone. Picking it, she noticed the notifications blowing off. Something inside of her twisted. Did something happen to Changkyun? What was all this about?

The first thing she saw was a message of her best friend telling her to open a link. It led to an instagram post. From the thumbnail she could see Changkyun’s profile close to the camera, holding a beer. Pressing play, there was him, but he wasn’t alone. He was fighting with a boy.

His fists were closed and his ears were so red, they looked like they were on the verge of exploding. Then, she could hear his voice, so she pressed the volume button to listen to the audio better. The sound surrounded the kitchen.

“Admit it, that girl that is always around you is just an attention seeker. Why would you stay with her?” Not only the voice of the other man was saying that, but all the girls around Changkyun repeated the words, echoing in the kitchen.

“Don’t talk about her in that way, okay?” Changkyun’s voice defending her brought warmth to her heart. But the video was just beginning.

“Aw, did I offend your girlfriend? Maybe she is your partner after all.” The voices were even stronger this time.

“Break up with her!” “She doesn’t deserve you!” “Bet I could make you feel even better with just my hand!” and more things were yelled.

Pacing on both feet, awaiting Changkyun's answer, she started to bite her lip. Would he- Would he really confess in front of all the peopl-

“That’s ridiculous! Me? With her?” A loud scoff was heard on the other side of the phone. “She just have a stupid crush on me! Only in her dreams!” Changkyun yelled with a smirk on his face, taking a long sip of his beer. The noise of all the people around yelling and laughing made the girl feel numb.

And the video ended.

[breaniebree]

What is your favorite moment of each ship in ASC ?

Hi, nuninho2000!

What a great question! This will take some thought!

Remadora -- I really love the moment he tells her that he's a werewolf and she's like "Duh" and Remus is completely baffled. One of my favourite lines is where Tonks basically tells him she thinks he's freaking out enough for the both of them:

He shook his head, swallowing slowly. Now that he had finally begun he was determined to get the words out. “The man’s name was Fenrir Greyback and he’s a notoriously well known and dangerous werewolf. I’m not notorious, but I am dangerous and… a werewolf,” he finished, lamely.

He tugged his hands away from her, marching into the kitchen, his hands in his hair again.

Tonks watched him march away from her and she followed him, spinning him around and slipping her hands into his back pockets again and holding him against her. “I know that already. So, what?”

Remus simply stared at her. “So what? That’s all you can bloody well say! I just told you that I’m a fucking werewolf!”

Tonks nipped at his bottom lip. “And, I figured that out already. Did you think I didn’t suspect when you always left me on the moon cycle? Your scars? Your possessive nature? I like a little danger, Remus. I’m an Auror.”

“Nymphadora, I am not a little danger! Do you have any idea what a creature like me can do? I can break through doors and walls with my strength! I can track you for kilometres, I can hear anything almost ten kilometres away. Look at me!” he exploded, pushing her away angrily and slapping his hands on his bare chest. “I did this! Me! I lock myself away and if I don’t take the Wolfsbane Potion without anything to hunt or to kill, I claw at myself; scratching my own skin off, clawing at myself in desperation! That monster lives inside of me! The wolf is inside of me all of the time! I am the wolf all of the time! The mask of the man just hides my true face. Do you understand? Why the fuck are you not freaking out?”

She moved towards him carefully. His eyes were wide and amber now, his hair tousled from his hands. He looked panicked, she thought, and even more like the sexy bewildered professor that she fancied. She placed her hands on his abs, sliding her palms along his rib cage, up his chest and over his shoulders.

“I think that you’re freaking out enough for the both of us to be honest,” she said teasingly, kissing the skin below his ear. “I like your mask, but I think that it’s time for you to take it off now.”

Remus stared at her in confusion. “Nymphadora, you’re not even listening to me!”

Tonks put her hand over his mouth. “No, you’re not listening and I’m pretty sure that’s a serious flaw in your personality. Are you honestly standing there waiting for me to change my mind about you?” His eyes flickered in pain before he masked it and her own eyes narrowed. “I’m a klutz, a complete spaz, if I’m honest with myself. I had hoped that I would grow out of it, but obviously it’s something that is part of me no matter what I do. The wolf is part of you and I think that it’s time that you get off your high horse and stop being so bloody ashamed of it.” -- Chapter 95 of ASC

Zeerius - hmm... I love a lot of moments with them. But I think one of my favourites is when he comes home after a full moon with Remus worried that Harry is still annoyed with him for not letting him go and he finds Harry sleeping on the sofa with Zee in the chair. He wakes up and she's making breakfast and wearing his clothes and he's just completely swamped with love over the normalcy of it.

Sirius rubbed his tired eyes as he unlocked the front door to Black Cottage and let himself inside. He stifled a yawn, smiling when Marauder came over to greet him, rubbing the dog behind the ears. “Good boy,” he whispered, “Did you keep Prongslet company all night, good boy.”

Marauder burrowed closer to him, eager for affection and Sirius pat him gingerly on the head, kicking off his shoes as he called Kreacher to him.

“How was he?”

“Kreacher did not stay. Master Sirius’ lady said she would stay.”

“What?” Sirius asked in surprise as his gaze zeroed in on Zee, stretched out across the armchair, his duvet burrowed around her, her mess of dark caramel curls hanging over the back of the chair. “Go back to Grimmauld Place, Kreacher, thank you.”

The elf vanished and he smiled at the image of ‘his lady’ curled up and walked over to her, bending his head to kiss her forehead and then he realized that Harry was stretched out across the sofa, glasses on the table next to an empty bowl of popcorn kernels with Lady Godiva sleeping in front of the couch as if keeping watch.

Sirius stared at the two of them, his heart quite literally swamped with love. He tenderly brushed Harry’s hair out of his eyes and kissed his forehead. He stood up, pulled his jumper over his head and tugged his tee shirt down in its attempts to ride up and then he lifted his son’s legs to plop himself onto the couch, putting Harry’s legs on his lap. He pulled the duvet close to him and punched one of the throw pillows into position next to his head and was asleep in minutes. [...]

Sirius woke up less than three hours later to the smell of bacon. He rubbed a hand over his face, grinning at the sight of boy and dog snuggled on the sofa. He carefully extricated himself from the couch, wrapped Harry up a bit tighter and bent to kiss him. He was so innocent and young looking when he was asleep and his heart ached for the little boy that used to want to sit on his lap and ask for slooches. He kissed him again because Harry was asleep and he could and then he snapped his fingers at Marauder who jumped down, shaking his fur, and followed Sirius into the kitchen. Lady Godiva was still stretched out next to the couch as if keeping watch. He let Marauder outside and then grinned at the image of Zee at the counter frying up bacon and sausage and scrambling eggs in his sweatpants rolled at the ankles and his favourite worn jumper.

He slipped his arms around her waist, kissing her ear and her neck. “How do you look so fucking incredible all of the time?”

She laughed and tilted her head to the side so that he could kiss her neck some more. “With flattery like that, I’ll give you all the extra bacon you want.”

He smirked and blew a raspberry on her neck and she laughed. “When did you get back?”

“Last night. I came straight over.”

“You stayed the whole night with him?”

Zee shrugged, smiling as he held her in his arms, swaying gently too and fro while she continued to fry the meat and scramble the eggs. “Harry and I had a movie marathon and he did some of his homework. I didn’t really feel like being alone and since you had run off all mysterious like, I thought we could keep each other company.”

“Sometimes my wife needs attention, Zee and my kids… I mean, I’m a wanted man.”

She snorted and elbowed him. “I already know Remus is your wife, you prat.”

Sirius grinned and kissed her ear. “Thank you. You didn’t have to stay with him last night, but… thank you. I didn’t really want to leave him alone, but I’m trying this whole ‘he’s not a little boy anymore so I should trust him just a bit’ parenting attitude.”

“And how’s that working out for you?”

Sirius blew his hair out of his eyes and grinned, his arms still wrapped tightly around her waist. “Well, I don’t have him wrapped in a bubble yet so bully for me. I mean, this school year has been pretty easy going for him, outside of the Dementors, but with these Horcruxes and trying to figure out what the next step is, I just… sometimes I want to just hold him in my arms and never let go.”

Zee carefully put the scrambled eggs onto three plates along with the bacon and sausage before she turned and wrapped her arms around his neck, standing on her toes and kissed him deeply.

“You are a wonderful father, Sirius Black, and Harry is very lucky to have someone as amazing as you loving him. But you do have to let him grow up. Even when it’s scary and terrifying and the thought makes you want to throw up at not being able to protect him all of the time, you still have to do it. But, he’s thirteen, not quite a boy, but not quite a man, and right now, you can still hold him close, but you have to learn to let go as well.”

Sirius kissed her, his hands sliding up her back to play with her messy curls, his lips on hers, his tongue meeting hers. He pushed her back up against the counter, lifting her hips to hold her up as he kissed her, hard and soft, long and deep as she sighed against him happily.

“Can you two at least snog in a room where the bacon isn’t?” Harry said, snatching the plate from behind the snogging couple with a grin. “I’d like to keep my appetite, thanks.”

Sirius smirked and cuffed Harry lightly across the head making his son grin. “Brat.” -- Chapter 123 of ASC

Hinny - Like Zeerius, I have so many moments I love with them. I love when Ginny kisses him when he's five and I love when Harry's in denial of his feelings for her. But one of my favourite scenes I've written is the one where they compare scars. I think it really shows the depth of their friendship, their relationship, and I just think it's totally sweet.

Ginny gently brushed his fringe off his forehead. “I remember everything about you, Harry.”

“I thought your parents would never let me back there. I thought Uncle Sirius and Uncle Remus would send me away because I did freak things… that’s what… that’s what the Dursleys had told me.”

Ginny tenderly stroked his cheek and down his jaw with her knuckles. “In that memory I saw… you said that they beat you?”

Harry nodded. “That first night when Uncle Siri tried to give me a bath, I guess my whole back was cut up from the belt, it was about a week old, but they hadn’t been taken care of properly and they’d festered a bit. I have a few tiny scars on my back from it, barely noticeable.”

Ginny lifted his tee shirt and he shifted to show her four tiny white scratches that were vertical just under his shoulder blades. She leaned in, gently brushing her lips over each scar and he shivered before he pulled his tee shirt back down and turned to hold her back in his lap.

“I’m so sorry that happened to you,” Ginny told him.

He shrugged, his fingers playing with the tips of her hair. “I didn’t know any different. I just knew that my parents had died and that they were my only relatives. They didn’t want me and made sure to tell me almost every day. I was a burden, a freak of nature, and they didn’t want my unnaturalness under their roof. I slept in the cupboard under the stairs. They’d lock me in the dark as punishment, and they would starve me. I remember being afraid to tell my dads that I was hungry or too afraid to get up in the middle of the night to use the loo… but Uncle Rem and Uncle Siri, they gave me a home and I never looked back.”

Ginny took his hands in hers and brought them to her lips. “Only look back at the good.”

“You’re amazing, you know that, right?”

She smiled, her hand brushing over the palm of his left hand. “How did you get this scar?”

Harry glanced down at his palm to see the thin white line in the centre. “Broke a glass when I was four and it wasn’t properly treated.”

Ginny nodded and rolled up her right sleeve to show him a small crescent scar on her elbow. “From when I fell off Charlie’s broom when I was eight. I told Mum I fell out of a tree.” At his grin, she pushed her shirt aside to show him the scar on her left shoulder. “And this is where Ron pushed me off the roof of the shed when I was seven and I landed on my arm on the side, tore it open pretty bad. Percy patched me up after I made him promise not to tell Mum, and then he helped me get Ron back by pranking him into thinking there were spiders in his bed. Percy and I snuck into his room in the middle of the night and put itching powder in his sheets so he woke up all red and covered in itchy spots and Percy told him that they looked like spider bites.”

Harry laughed. “That’s pretty evil. I remember that. When I came to stay we had to check every nook and cranny of his room before he’d let me turn out the light to go to sleep.”

She grinned. “Don’t mess with me.”

“I’ll remember that,” he said on a strangled laugh. He stared at her for a moment before he lifted up his tee shirt again to show her the long thin jagged scar in the centre of his back. “Horntail.”

Ginny rolled up the left leg of her pants to show him a tiny scar the size of a sickle just behind her knee. “Gnome bite.”

Harry pointed to the small scar near the elbow of his right arm. “Rogue Bludger.”

Ginny lifted her right arm to show him a tiny half moon scar under her elbow. “Fred clipped me with his toy broomstick and the wood broke and cut my arm.”

Harry bent his head and lifted his fringe to show her a tiny thin barely noticeable red line on the top of his head. “Fell out of the treehouse.”

Ginny pulled her sock off and showed him a small cut on the bottom of her heel. “Stepped on a cactus leaf that KJ snipped off her plant.”

“That’s fresh,” Harry said. “And it’s not going to scar.” He took her foot in his hand and bent his head to press a soft kiss to the cut, making her shiver.

“I ran out of battle wounds.”

He chuckled and kissed her foot again. “We’re we competing?” He touched the lightning bolt on his forehead. “I win — Horcrux.”

Ginny smiled, her fingers slipping under his tee shirt to slide up his chest. “Emotional scars don’t leave physical marks, but I know that you can feel those scars just the same. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, Harry, but if you ever do want to talk about it, you know that I’m always here for you, right?”

Harry’s hands rested on her hips. “I know that.”

Ginny’s lips curved slightly before she leaned in and kissed him softly. “We can snog now if you’d like.” -- Chapter 217 of ASC

Romione - I don't write as much Ron and Hermione as I should. But I think one of my favourite scenes with them is when Ron is trying so hard to be the perfect boyfriend and not complain to her like he usually would and Hermione is like who is this? Where is my Ron?

Hermione snuck a glance over at Ron, admiring his tall frame as he walked next to her. She loved how attentive he’d been over the last month and a half. She loved how sweet and caring he’d been and most of all, she loved snogging him senseless. But she found herself missing the less agreeable Ron more than she wanted to admit.

The friend Ron would be complaining by now. They’d been in the bookstore for almost twenty minutes and while she had a stack of four new books that she was interested in, she was browsing without any real purpose, wondering how long she could spend in here before he complained. The fact that he hadn’t complained yet, worried her a bit.

Ever since they’d made their relationship official, he’d been the perfect boyfriend. Attentive and sweet. Affectionate and kind. He still made her laugh and complained about his homework, but he didn’t pick fights with her anymore either. She was making an effort to say things that would normally set him off. His blue eyes would spark in fire before he’d grind his teeth and not respond.

She hated that he didn’t respond.

It wasn’t that she wanted to argue with him. Who wanted to fight all the time? It was exhausting. It was just that fighting with Ron was… well, foreplay. The word surprised her when she admitted it, but she knew that it was true. She liked arguing with him. She liked watching his blue eyes fire up, the way his face would flush and the muscles in his neck would contract. She’d had more fantasies of shutting him up with her lips than she was willing to admit to.

But now that she had the opportunity to snog his brains out when they fought, he never fought back. It was a contradiction she hadn’t expected.

They spent another thirty minutes in the bookstore before she bought the four books in her hand and led him outside.

“It’s so lovely in there, maybe we should browse around a bit more?”

Ron’s mouth twitched. “Or we could go for a walk, maybe hit up Zonko’s?”

“I’d rather go back to the bookstore,” she said, smiling at him. “We can look at the romance novels again.”

Ron looked like he wanted to do just about anything else. “Um, yeah, I guess, if that’s what you want.”

“Ron, stop letting me do what I want!” Hermione exclaimed, throwing her hands up in exasperation.

Ron only stared at her. “What do you mean?”

“This! The bookstore! I love it there!”

“I know,” he said. “You love books. They’re like your happy place, I get it.”

“But you don’t like books!”

Ron frowned. “I have nothing against books. I just don’t see the appeal of spending hours looking at them. It’s a colossal waste of time.”

“But you just spent fifty minutes letting me do just that! And now, when I mentioned going back inside, you immediately agreed to do so!”

“Because you said you wanted to!”

“Ron, if this relationship is going to work, you can’t just do everything that I want all the time!”

Ron was looking at her as if she had two heads. “So, you don’t want me to go to the bookstore with you?”

“Of course I do! I want you to do things with me that I love!”

“That’s what I’m doing!”

“But I don’t want you to!”

Ron gave her a confused a look. “I’m not a Seer, Hermione. If you have a problem you have to bloody well say it.”

“You’re being too nice to me!”

Ron looked positively dumbfounded. “What do you want from me? I’m trying here, okay! I’m trying to be the man you deserve and doing the things that you want to do to make you happy! And now you’re telling me that I shouldn’t do that? What do you want me to do? Drag you into Zonko’s under protest? Tell you that I have no desire to spend another minute in that sodding bookstore!”

“Yes!”

Ron shoved his cold hands into the pocket of his coat. “I don’t understand you. You’re mental!”

Hermione gave him a light shove. “Don’t call me mental!”

“Don’t act mental, then!” Ron retorted. He grabbed her arm before she could shove him again.

“Why are you like this?”

“Why are you like this?” Ron repeated. “Merlin knows I don’t know how to act when you become a mental shrew!”

“Daft prat!”

“Sassy witch!”

“Absolute tosser!”

“Mental bint!”

“Wanker!”

Ron grabbed her, ignoring the way she hit his arm and pulled her up against him, his voice low. “Absolutely, when I’m thinking about you.”

Hermione’s face flushed. “Ron!”

He tilted his forehead down to hers. “Why are we screaming at each other? Aren’t we supposed to be done fighting now?”

Hermione slid her hands up his chest, linking them behind his neck. “Says who?”

She pulled his face down to hers to kiss him and he made a growling sound in his throat as he lifted her. Her legs wrapped around his waist as he held her and she lost herself in his kisses. A part of her was very aware of the fact that they were only a few metres outside of the bookstore, in the middle of the street where anyone could see them. But another part of her wanted his lips on hers more than she wanted to take another breath, let alone think about the embarrassment of their very public displays of affection. When her mouth moved down to his throat, she felt the hardness against her and she smiled, suddenly feeling more bold.

“Is fighting with me turning you on?”

“No,” he insisted, his hands sliding down to boldly cup her bum. “Absolutely not.”

Hermione slapped his hands off her bum and slid down his body. “Ron, we don’t have to agree on everything. We don’t have to always do the things that I want to do or the things that you want to do. If we’re going to make this work, we have to go back to how we were. My friend Ron would never have let me mosey around a bookstore for almost an hour. He would have cut me off at twenty minutes and made me leave to go to Zonko’s.”

Ron pulled her close again and kissed her. “I guess I’m just wondering if as your boyfriend if I do something like that, you’d stop snogging me.”

Hermione nipped at his lips, a soft smile on her face. “I have no plans of that. Do you plan to stop snogging me?”

“Hell no,” he muttered, his lips moving to her ear. -- Chapter 252 of ASC

Feo - Theo and Finn, they do have a lot of moments together, mostly smutty which we all love (or maybe just me LOL 🤔). But one of my favourite moments I wrote with them is actually one of the smutty ones. I absolutely love the scene where Finn takes him against the window of the study in Norfolk Manor.

But he also didn’t want to leave Finn.

He’d gotten used to waking up wrapped in his boyfriend’s arms. He loved the support Finn gave him; the calming way he had about him. Finn was always assuring him that everything would be okay. He’d gotten used to Finn being there day after day and the thought of going back to school and only seeing him on the weekends was more painful than he could bear.

As if he’d heard him, arms encircled his waist from behind and a warm mouth pressed against the side of his neck.

“How was the session today?”

“Good. Really good,” Theo told him. He turned his head to kiss him. “Did you just get back?”

Finn nodded and began to unbutton Theo’s shirt. “I did.”

Theo chuckled as his dress shirt was spread open and Finn began to work on his black trousers. “Let me take off my Wizengamot robe first.”

Finn’s mouth sucked on his ear so sharply that Theo felt the sensation between his legs as he pushed Theo’s trousers down, followed by his boxers. “No.”

Then his hands were all over and Theo felt a whoosh of magic as suddenly all of his clothes were gone except for the open purple robe. Finn turned him around and knelt in front of him. He started with soft kisses on his thighs, on the back of his knees, and then his mouth was wrapped around him and Theo could do nothing, but hold onto his boyfriend’s hair as he pleasured him.

Finn’s mouth brought him right to the edge before he stood up, kissing Theo’s cheek and turned him around towards the window. Theo groaned when he smelt the oil and then his boyfriend’s hands were doing the most delectable things to his arse.

“Finn...” he begged. “I want to touch you.”

Finn ignored this and Theo groaned when he felt his boyfriend’s finger rock into him. Then Finn was tugging his clothes off and Theo caught a glimpse of his boyfriend’s reflection in the window standing gloriously naked behind him before Finn pushed him up against the glass, and slid into him.

Theo cried out at the intrusion and then there was nothing but pleasure. Finn’s hands slid around to grip him, pumping him in rhythm with every thrust. His thumb stroking under the head, circling and tugging, and it wasn’t long before Theo cried out his name as he came all over the window pane. Finn rode him harder, pinning him against the glass. One hand continued to gently fondle Theo’s spent cock, the other held his hip as he thrust himself forward. Theo was panting, the pleasure building more and more as Finn’s lips brushed the back of his neck and then Finn panted his name as he emptied himself.

Theo sighed in contentment when Finn slid out of him. Finn’s arms turned to pull him into his embrace and they stumbled towards the sofa in the library, wrapped in each other’s arms.

“So, you like my robe then?”

Finn chuckled against Theo’s hair as he snuggled him closer on his chest. “Yes. More than I expected. You look incredibly sexy in it. Proud and confident and it makes me think of all of the great things I know you can accomplish. Then it makes me think of how much I want to be part of your life while you do those things. Then I just want you. All of you. I’m so proud of what you’re doing, Theo.”

“You make me want to aspire to be more,” he said.

Finn gently brushed Theo’s hair away from his face. “I love you.”

Theo smiled and kissed Finn’s chest before he froze, eyes widening as they locked onto his boyfriend’s green ones. “Finn! I think Blaise was in the bloody garden!”

Finn grinned. “He was. He disappeared rather quickly when he caught sight of us in the window.”

Theo blushed scarlet. “And I... I can’t leave that mess on the window for Kiki.”

“Mmm,” Finn said absently, running his hand down Theo’s chest and down to grip him in his hand.

Theo groaned as he felt Finn revitalize him with magic. “I only would have needed a few more minutes, you know.”

Finn shifted him so that he was under him on the sofa. “I know, but I need you in my mouth right now.”

Theo gasped as Finn did exactly that and he again wondered how he was going to survive the whole school year without seeing this perfect man every day. -- Chapter 236 of ASC

Deamus - Dean and Seamus, I did play around with them a lot. They have a lot of moments I like as well. I love how much they are friends first and lovers second which I think says a lot about their relationship. I love writing them playful and teasing the way best mates are, but to still show how passionate they are for each other. I love how they don't just say "I love you" but that it's "I really love you." I don't know, I think that sums them up really well.

“Ditto. I really love you, Seamus. How often can a bloke say that he’s in love with his best mate?”

Seamus reached for the soap to help his boyfriend wash up as he spoke. “I really love you, too.”

Dean smiled as Seamus washed his chest. “I finished Katie and Jason’s engagement portrait last night.”

“You did? Why didn’t you show it to me?”

“Well, probably because you crawled into bed, climbed on top of me, and snogged my brains out.”

“Oh? I did do that, didn’t I? Maybe if you’d tell me how good my new muscles look, I wouldn’t feel so self-conscious.”

Dean ran his hands over Seamus’ flat stomach where the beginning of abs were coming in. His constant workouts with the Gryffindor Quidditch team had really done wonders for his body over the last few months. “You don’t have a single self-conscious bone in your body.”

“Sure, I do! Now, tell me how sexy I am.” -- Chapter 262 of ASC

Bleur - They have a lot of moments too, most are with family. And I know I had a lot of lovely compliments on the last Bleur scene where she basically tells him she doesn't care how he looks because she loves him. But one of my favourites is actually their first kiss. I like the way Fleur is very into him while at the same time being like, I'm more than just a pretty face and you will know that about me and respect me.

“Did you still want to grab some dinner and discuss the new project tonight?”

Fleur smiled warmly at him. “Oui. I caught up on some reading of za history we found in Anguilla ze ozzer day and I might have come up with a new plan to open za cursed box we found in za ship.”

Bill grinned. “Great. I can’t wait to hear your idea. I want to talk to you about the new project the goblins are trusting us with as well. We’ll be heading down into the London Catacombs. Have you ever been?”

She shook her head. “Non, but I was in ze ones in Paris. Zey are very terrible, I theenk.”

He nodded. “Yeah, I’m sure going down there isn’t going to be a walk in the park. It’s definitely going to involve some cleanup as well. We’ll talk more over dinner. How does Italian sound?”

Fleur moved closer to him as more people climbed onto the train. “It sounds très bon.”

Bill’s breath hitched slightly as her body pressed into his and her pheromones assaulted him. He saw the man’s eyes change behind her and he immediately wrapped his arms around her in a possessive fashion that surprised him.

“Miss, may I —”

“— No,” Bill growled. “Run along.”

The man’s eyes met his and he seemed to come out of his trance.

Bill looked down at Fleur, who’s blue eyes were staring up at him. “Sorry, I don’t like seeing men throw themselves at you like you’re up for auction.”

“You never do.”

“I never do what?”

“Zrow yourself at me like ze ozzers.”

Bill’s eyebrow rose. “We work together. I respect you too much to allow myself to act like an imbecile.”

Fleur stood on her toes, her lips brushing his cheek. “You theenk I cannot tell ze difference?”

The feel of her lips on his cheek made his whole body tremble in response. He moved his arms away.

“Fleur…”

“I know zat you find me attractive, n’est pas?”

“Of course I find you — you’re beautiful! That’s not the… we work together.”

Fleur smiled seductively. “And zis makes you not want to kiss me?”

Bill stared at her, his fingers twitching at her waist. “No.”

Fleur moved away from him, her eyes flashing in hurt before she masked it. “Je suis désolé, my mistake.”

Bill swore under his breath. Being around her was harder than he wanted to admit. She was incredibly beautiful, that was a given. She smelt like heaven and when she laughed, her eyes danced and her lips parted in the sweetest way. She was smart and creative and her willingness to learn intrigued him. She picked up on things fast and as much as he didn’t want to admit it, was one of the best new recruits he’d ever had.

The fact that being around her made him as hard as rock was another situation all together.

They stepped off the train and Fleur started moving across the platform. He grabbed her arm, roughly pulling her back into his arms. Her lips parted in surprise and her eyes widened as he simply bent his head to hers.

The moment his lips touched hers, he knew that it had been a mistake. Now that he had kissed her, no one else was ever going to make him feel like this; no one else would ever come close. He tugged her closer, his hands moving into her hair, deepening the kiss and when she moaned against him, it was enough to pull him out of his trance.

Her cheeks were flushed and her lashes fluttered as she opened her eyes.

“If you think that I don’t think about doing that a few thousand times a day along with a few naughtier things then you’re stupid.”

Fleur’s eyes flashed in anger. “‘Ow dare you call me stupid!” Her fists hit him angrily on the arm.

“I didn’t mean — fuck!” He dragged his hand over his face. “I think that you’re far from stupid, Fleur. You’re one of the most intelligent people I have ever met. One of the bravest as well and the sexiest. I just meant… of course, I’m attracted to you. You’re bloody gorgeous! I love the way that your eyes dance when you laugh. I like watching your little booty dance when you bypass the puzzle piece when we’re exploring. I like spending time with you and I spend most of my time with you trying to convince myself why I can’t touch you. You have men throwing themselves at you all the time, even some women. I don’t want you to think that what I’m saying is because of your Veela thing — because it’s not.”

Fleur stepped towards him, her eyes softening. “I can tell ze difference, Bill. I want you to touch me.”

Bill’s breath hitched. “You do?”

She nodded. “I want you to kiss me again.”

He did. Long and deeply until someone whistled at them and he broke away, smiling at her. “Will you go out with me, Fleur?”

She smiled. “Oui, but if you call me stupid again, I will make you wish you hadn’t, oui?”

Bill grinned widely. The fact that he just found her threat as incredibly sexy as the rest of her made him question his own sanity. “Oui.”

But he couldn’t wait to find out what came next. -- Chapter 189 of ASC

Georgelina - George and Angelina are fun to write because I love the idea of someone loving George for who he is and not comparing him to Fred. I love how when he takes her to the Yule Ball, she knows he's not Fred, but he's afraid to hope because as much as he loves his twin, this is the first time in his life he wants someone to really see him as separate from Fred. Angelina does that. I love her friendship with Fred as well and how she's not afraid to tease and poke at him. But one of my favourite moments with them is still when Molly shows up at the twins' flat and finds Angelina in the closet.

George woke up slowly, the early morning sunlight reflecting through the small dingy window of his bedroom. He blinked a moment before he turned to smile at the woman sleeping next to him. Her dark hair was swept up in a silk head wrap, but he was greeted by the lovely nakedness of her back. He grinned, shifting so that he could plant kisses down her spine. She stirred under his lips and when she rolled over, he merely moved his lips to her breasts.

“Good morning,” he murmured as his mouth continued to plant kisses over her skin.

“Morning,” Angelina said, her fingers moving into his hair. “What time is it?”

“Still early,” George answered, sucking the dark peak into his mouth.

“Mmm, the sun comes up late in the winter, so that’s not true.”

George chuckled and looked over at the clock. “Almost nine.”

“Nine... and you’re still here?”

“I’m closing the store tonight so Fred agreed to open. There were some early deliveries to the Ministry that needed to be shipped off. You look delectable.”

Angelina chuckled as his stubbled jaw slid down her stomach. “I doubt that. But after I shower, eat your heart out.”

George’s lips curved and her thumb reached down to trace his lips.

“I love that smile. The one that lights up your whole face. Especially when I’m the one who gives it to you.”

“You always make me smile,” George told her. “You’re still coming with me on Sunday?”

Angelina tugged his face up to hers to kiss him. “Even if I didn’t want to, your mum would insist on it.”

George chuckled. “She likes you.”

“Well, she thinks I'm a good influence on you because you wrote your NEWTs.”

“But you’re a bad influence,” George finished. “Downright naughty in fact. Seducing her son all over London without a care in the world. Tut tut tut.”

Angelina grinned. “In my defence, her son wasn’t putting up much of a fight.”

George kissed her, covering her body with his. “None whatsoever.”

Angelina’s hands slid down his back and into his pyjama bottoms. “When did you put on clothes?”

“When I got up to use the loo a few hours ago,” George said. He used her momentary distraction to kiss her breasts again.

“It’s not like you have something he hasn’t seen before,” Angelina pouted, her hand wrapping around him

George smiled. “True. But you know how Fred is, knowing that I’m the better looking twin is one thing, but seeing me in all of my naked glory is something else entirely.”

She laughed. “Prat. You’re ridiculous”

“And you’re beautiful. I love you, Ange. I love you more every day. You make me so happy.”

Angelina kissed him deeply. “Me too. My teammates say that I’m always smiling and that’s because of you. I love you.”

George deepened the kiss as her hands fondled him just as Fred’s voice interrupted them.

“Oi! You two decent? I’m coming in!”

George barely managed to cover Angelina’s tits before the door to his room burst open. “Fred, boundaries!”

Fred shrugged. “I’ve seen it all before. Right, Angelina?”

Angelina scowled at him. “Walking in on me in the bathroom hardly counts as seeing it all.”

“Which was an accident and I am truly sorry for that, but listen!”

“Who’s running the shop?” George interrupted.

“Ron, nitwit. He’s home for the holiday. Now, I received another shipment of mirrors in and I think that after this batch we’ll be able to sell them. I know with all of the supplies we were making for the Ministry, we got a little backlogged, but this is it, Georgie!”

George grinned. “Yeah?”

Fred nodded, leaning against the doorjamb. “I figure we’ll gift one to Charlie and to Mum and Dad, because that will make us Mum’s favourite, and starting in the new year, VainMuch will be a go!”

Angelina sat up, holding the sheet over her breasts. “And it was important for you to tell us this right this very second because...”

Fred wiggled his eyebrows. “That was just to help cool you off because Mum’s on her way up and I don’t know how much longer Ron can distract her.”

Fred had barely turned around before George and Angelina jumped to their feet and attempted to find clothes. Angelina had just pulled one of George’s G jumpers over her head before George urged her into the closet to hide at the sound of Mrs Weasley stepping into the boys’ flat.

“Mum!” George exclaimed loudly in front of the closet door. “What a pleasant surprise! What are you doing here?”

“Hi, George,” Molly said, standing on her toes to kiss her son’s cheek. “Ron and Fred were just showing me the new stock. The store is really looking grand!”

“We told you that we knew what we were doing amidst the explosions and general chaos.”

Molly nodded. “I should have had more faith in you boys. I’m very proud of you.”

“Thanks, Mum,” Fred said as George smiled next to him.

Molly pursed her lips. “I’m sure that you’ve both heard by now what happened a few days ago in Hogsmeade. Theo is staying with us for the holiday. I don’t want that poor boy to be alone in his grief. He needs friends and he needs family.”

“Couldn’t agree more,” George said. “Want us to come by and cheer him up then?”

“This isn’t the sort of thing one cheers up, George,” Molly insisted. “We just have to be there for him as much as we can be and show him that the world will go on, no matter how much he thinks it may not!”

George nodded. “We can do that.”

“Good. Now, is Angelina still joining us for Christmas?”

“On Christmas Eve,” George corrected, shoving his hands into the pockets of his pyjama bottoms. “I’m going to have dinner on Christmas Day at her house.”

“Oh, but George that means you’ll miss Charlie.”

“We’ll pop by after dinner. Her family does Yule at tea time.”

“Good,” Molly said, her hands on her hips. “Don’t you think that it’s about time you pick up after yourself in here, George? It looks like a pigsty!”

George shrugged. “Just a place to sleep, Mum.”

“Well, this ‘just a place to sleep’ needs to be cleaned. No, not cleaned — decimated!”

George grinned. “Mum, that’s a bit extreme. It’s not like we have mice living about. It’s just some old clothes on the floor. Fred and I moved out, remember? We can take care of ourselves.”

“Hmm,” Molly murmured as she began to move around the room and pick up her son’s clothes. “At least pick your clothes up off the floor. Dirty socks and piles of unwashed clothes and this?”

George swallowed when she pointed to the black and white striped bra on the floor. “Er. I sometimes like to wear those.”

Molly rolled her eyes before they suddenly narrowed at the closed door behind her son. “George Fabian Weasley, are you making that poor girl hide in your closet?”

She pushed him aside and pulled the door open and Angelina managed a small smile.

“Er, hi, Mrs Weasley.”

Molly looked between the two of them. “Do you two think that I was born yesterday? At your age I was already pregnant with my second child. Come out of there!”

Angelina carefully extricated herself from the closet, pulling George’s jumper down a bit. It almost hung to her knees, but it was all she was wearing.

“Are you angry?” Angelina asked, hesitantly.

Molly’s eyes were kind as they looked at her. “No, of course not, dear. You two are no longer children. And considering some of the ways that Bill and Charlie concealed their overnight guests, the closet is kind of funny.”

“You knew about those?” Fred asked from the doorway.

Molly turned to stare at her son. “A mother always knows. Just like I knew about Melinda Cummings sneaking down the drain pipe under your room two years ago, Frederick.”

Fred swallowed. “Blimey!”

George gave his mother a sheepish smile. “I love her, Mum.”

“I know that, too. Angelina, dear, please don’t let him live like a slob. I’ll see you boys tonight for dinner and you too, dear. You’re always welcome.”

She kissed them all on the cheek and then was gone.

Fred stared after her in wonder. “You don’t think she knew about the time Alicia and I shagged behind Dad’s work shed, do you?”

Angelina slipped her arm around George’s waist. “I wouldn’t bet against her.” -- Chapter 254 of ASC

Nevannah - Neville and Hannah are still very much exploring their relationship, but to choose one moment between them so far... I think I rather like the scene where he helps her bake. I think it's so sweet and shows how enraptured he is with her.

Neville licked his lips and watched her get to work. It wasn’t long before the lemon fairy cakes were baking and she started to make red velvet ones. By the time the fairy cakes were cooling, they were making frosting. He watched in amazement as she waved the spatula over each cake like an artist. His own attempt in comparison looked like a small child had stomped on it.

Hannah giggled. “It’s all about the movement in the wrist, like this.”

He watched her again frost a perfect cake and when he tried, he ended up with a splotch of frosting on the table next to him. When she giggled again, he scooped it up with his finger and put it on her nose.

Hannah’s eyes widened in surprise before her own finger dug into the chocolate and spread it on his cheek. It took no time at all before both of them were spotted in frosting. Hannah was laughing as he chased her around the kitchen, his fingers full of frosting. The house-elves were busy chasing after them, mopping up the frosting that they left in their wake, but neither of them noticed. Neville cornered her against the counter by the cupboard and leaned in to steal a kiss.

“You taste like chocolate,” he whispered.

Hannah’s hands slipped up his chest, spreading frosting as she went, but neither of them noticed as her lips met his. They lost themselves in long, slow kisses that left both of them breathless and it was only when the charm rang to signify that the fairy cakes were done, did Neville pull away, licking frosting off his lips.

“I think I rather like baking.”

Hannah’s cheeks flushed as she fumbled to wipe her hands on her apron. “We have to um… the cakes.”

Neville watched her hurry off to get the red velvet cakes out and he grinned. Yeah, he definitely liked baking. -- Chapter 268 of ASC

Perdrey - As to Percy and Audrey, well, I love writing the two of them being naughty and having fun. I think they are both very good for each other, but my favourite moment with them so far is still when Arthur catches them kissing and Percy is amazed at how easily she charms his father. I think that's the moment where you can see he's falling for her.

Audrey ran her hands through her hair as Percy buried his face on her shoulder. “I’m starved, but this was a much better lunch.”

He kissed her shoulder. “You’re going to be the death of me. This is how we’re both getting fired.”

She grinned. “Worried you’ll get caught in a compromising position?” She fixed his crooked glasses. “I’ll protect you.”

“You can’t just send me your knickers in the middle of the bloody day!”

“I can,” she said. “I did. Are you going to give them back?”

“No,” he growled. “Absolutely not.”

Audrey smiled. “So, you do like it when I send you my knickers.”

“Audrey...”

She grinned. “That’s what I thought, Mr Weasley.”

Percy sighed as she kissed his chin. “Miss Mayfair, you will be appropriately punished later today for this misbehaviour.”

“Absolutely, Mr Weasley,” she murmured against his neck. “I may have borrowed a pair of handcuffs from the office.”

Percy grabbed a fistful of her hair and tugged her mouth back to his for a long, deep kiss that left both of them breathless. They stumbled out of the unused restroom like drunks, giggling and laughing. Audrey had just kissed him once more when he heard a familiar voice clearing their throat behind him. Percy rested his forehead against Audrey’s before he slowly turned his head and grinned sheepishly at his father.

“Hi, Dad.”

“Percy,” Arthur said, his ears reddening. “This must be the lovely Audrey.”

Audrey extended her hand. “Good afternoon, Mr Weasley. Audrey Mayfair, it’s lovely to meet you.”

“And you,” Arthur said, shaking her hand. “I’ve wondered about the woman who has made my son smile constantly over the last few months.”

“I’ve been keeping him to myself, I’m afraid,” she said, smiling up at Percy.

“We’ve noticed that as well,” Arthur said.

“How did you get roped into working on a Saturday?” Percy asked.

Arthur sighed. “I’m woefully behind in my paperwork. I came down here to log in some evidence in the Department of Files and Records. What are you two doing down here?”

“I was working on something for Mr Scrimgeour in courtroom ten. Percy came to steal me for lunch,” Audrey said, smiling up at her boyfriend.

Arthur smiled. “There’s a new deli that opened down the block. I had a corned beef sandwich on rye yesterday. It was almost as good as your mother’s. Speaking of, Ginny and Ron are coming home for the holiday today, Percy. Charlie and Aydin are coming in tonight as well. Why don’t you bring Audrey round for dinner tomorrow? We’d love to have you join us. Molly’s quite the cook.”

“I’d love that,” Audrey admitted, smiling at Percy.

Percy nodded. “Yes, Dad. That sounds… great.”

Arthur chuckled. “Good. We’ll see you then.”

When Arthur turned to head off, Audrey kissed Percy smartly on the lips before she hurried forward and linked her arm through Arthur’s.

“Actually, Mr Weasley, we’re going up to the same floor and I need to grab my bag. Perhaps I could accompany you back to work?”

Arthur’s eyes crinkled. “I’d love that.” He patted her arm gently before Audrey turned to smile back at Percy over her shoulder.

“I’ll meet you in the atrium in a bit and we’ll grab something from that deli, yes?”

Then the two of them marched off ahead.

Audrey smiled warmly at Arthur. “Percy tells me that you run the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office. That must be terribly fascinating?”

“It has its moments,” Arthur assured her as the two of them marched off leaving Percy staring after them.

Percy shoved his hands into his pockets, the feel of her knickers there making him smile, and he thought so much for careful planning. Audrey was about to be shoved into the lion’s den.

He was surprised by how much he was suddenly looking forward to it. -- Chapter 266 of ASC

Lavenmae - I think my favourite scene with these two is when they tell Parvati that they are a couple.

“There you two are!” Parvati exclaimed. “Our parents barely said goodbye and you were running off towards the train, Mae. Hi, Lav!”

“Hi, Vati,” Lavender said.

“I just wanted to find a good compartment,” Padma told her sister. She started to get up to move, but Lavender grabbed her arm.

“No, she wanted to come and snog her girlfriend.”

Parvati laughed. “You finally found someone to fall for your charms, Mae? That’s great news! Unless you tell me it’s Li or Bones then we’re going to have words after how those two treated you.”

Lavender slipped her hand back into Padma’s and smiled. “No, it’s… Padma and I are together, Parvati. I’m her girlfriend and she’s… mine.”

Parvati’s eyes widened in surprise as she looked between her best friend and her twin. “You two! When did… Anthony’s party! Of course! I knew something had changed between the two of you.”

“We didn’t mean to keep it from you,” Lavender began. “It’s just that it was new and… it’s still new, but… Parvati, you’re my best friend and I know that this is weird, me dating your identical twin sister, but —”

“— I didn’t say that it was weird,” Parvati interrupted. “Padma, have anything to add?”

Lavender snuck a glance over at Padma and the girl’s dark eyes were smiling at her and then she grinned widely when Padma leaned in and kissed her softly before she answered.

“Kissing her makes me feel like I could be floating without a levitation charm.”

Parvati grinned. “Good. Now budge over and try to keep the enthusiastic snogging to a minimum when I’m around, yeah?”

Lavender blushed, but couldn’t stop smiling. Padma Patil was her girlfriend and suddenly, nothing else really seemed to matter. As she listened to her best friend start talking about her plans for the year, she knew that she still had a big goofy grin on her face and there was nothing that she liked better. -- Chapter 238 of ASC

Gransy - This is a couple I adore writing! I thought it would be so fun to add in two people we don't usually get to see much of, two people who you would never imagine getting together, and I love how many people have grown to love them as much as me. I think my favourite moment with them so far hasn't actually been published yet but it will be in chapter 284. I think it really shows a turning point in their relationship. Otherwise, I love the scene where he finds her the door.

The sound of movement in the doorway made her look up at her husband.

“How was the meeting?”

“Okay,” he said. “Did you remember to eat?”

“Yes. Mitzy brought me a sandwich and a salad.”

Greg nodded, clearing his throat. “Good. Um… I think I found a door for the shop.”

Pansy’s eyes widened. “You did? Where?”

“An antique place in Muggle London.”

Pansy wrinkled her nose. “Why were you in Muggle London?”

“I was doing something for the Dark Lord,” he said. “But I found the door. It’s wood and painted a deep turquoise green with gold inlets carved into it. I thought it looked… sophisticated.”

Pansy’s smile widened. “Can I see it?”

Greg offered his hand to help her up and led her into the entrance hall where he had the set of double doors propped up against the wall.

“Greg! It’s perfect!” she shrieked.

It was sophisticated looking and it would make her shop stand out among the vast assortment of places in Apricity Lane.

“Good. I’ll get it installed in a few days." -- Chapter 270 of ASC

Thanks so much for this ask! It was fun to take a trip down memory lane!

[faakeid]

fab nygmobblepot moments that remind you of kd uwu

OMGGGG AHDAHDUIADHAD

I want to use this moment to be sorry to everyone that follows me but keeps seeing my blog full of Nygmobs/Smaylor instead of kaisoo. I usually don’t get attached to otps like this and it happened in an unexpected way for me. But it’s here and I need to compensate for all the years I didn’t watch Gotham and had no idea about Nygmobs spamming everyone and making my heart warm.

But in general, nygmobblepot isn’t a vision of ideal relationship. Both Edward and Oswald (their surnames Cobblepot and Nygma were the ones who originated this name) are stupid and do stupid shit to each other during most of the series. So, a lot of moments related with the actors counterpart (Robin is the actor who plays Oswald and Cory who plays Ed) reminds me of kaisoo more. But a warning here! Although they have a HUGE chemistry on and off screen, they’re mostly friends. Robin is married for almost ten years so it doesn’t mean their closeness is romantic or sexual. But still, some details remind me of kd.

Similarities with nygmobs:

Height difference: it applies to Smaylor as well because it’s their height but it’s really visible in the series. Cory is a bit taller than JI I think and Robin is like 1.65 but KS is not that taller (I can’t believe he’s 1.73 at all, sorry). But, again, this factor is evident during the series and in some moments and it’s cute.

(the way he moves his feet to reach Ed’s head ;_;)

(when they hug, Oswald barely reaches his shoulders [their hugs are the equivalent to kisses in Gotham])

the closest gif I could find where we can see kd’s height difference without me stealing other people’s gifs.

Penguin reference? That’s pretty obvious. Of course I didn’t start shipping nygmobs because one of them is small and has the Penguin nickname but it made so much easier for me to read some of their fics with kd as characters because they fit the profile so much! And also, I believe KD would totally fit the “murder husbands” couple if someone did a fanfic where they just kill everyone. The closest I remember of a fanfic with this criteria is Juice Pouche where Kyungsoo is a vampire and he protects Jongin and Jongin is kind of badass as well. But the kd fandom needs more fics like this. There’s also “(Before the night is over) come see me” where KS is also a vampire and JI a young werewolf but it focuses more on their relationship than a murder husbands idea Gotham shows so well. 

How they met: Gotham’s history has a lot of differences if you compare with other universes, so keep that in mind. In Gotham, Ed works with GCPD but doesn’t feel like himself with the good side. Oswald is the character that spices things up and is a rage of death and destruction and manipulation. But Oswald is infatuated with Jim Gordon (so isn’t the first time it’s implied Penguin is gay) but he goes to the police department to see him. Ed sees him and wants to talk to him no matter the cost. And he does that... And things don’t end that friendly for him because Oswald thinks he’s a weirdo and asks him to fuck off, basically. It reminded me of kd’s first meeting where KS was the one admiring JI all along but JI get frightned. But, during their second meeting, they bond and become friends. For Nygmobs it takes more time for their second meeting but they end up developing and being in good terms :’)

Their personas, sort of: Ed is the tall one, younger and logic. Oswald is the oldest, smaller and that thinks with his heart. I love how JI could show the more logic side of himself during the last few years and, again, while reading Nygmobs fics using kd names, it was easy to fit the profile for me (that was during the time I wasn’t too deep into nygmobs and I didn’t knok them that well. KS looks cold and deatached and that’s why many people got impressed when he said, during Knowing Bros that he would choose love over friendship. He doesn’t play the part but, considering all the context, it fits him pretty well and reading this description of Oswald made me so familiar because it fits KD well. Ofc I don’t know their private lives and whatever but it’s just the impression I had as a viewer and random person;

Drama issue: when I say drama here, it’s related with how people percieve the two OTPs and how different people visualize LGBT relationship in media. Nygmobblepot had a lot of drama involved because they’re the fucking Riddler and Penguin, two of the most famous Batman villains. People saw them in different sorts of media before and others idolize those characters because of videogames and comics. So, when Oswald mentioned expressedly that he was in love with Edward, it caused an uproar in the fandom. People accused the producers and Robin of messing with the comic canon because the fucking Penguin became gay??? Robin was outspoken about the homophobia behind those statements since he’s a gay man himself but yeah, the drama existed. Part of the people invovled with the series rooted for Nygmobblepot, including some writers and the actors (Cory was the one with ambiguous messages about the nature of their relationship but it’s not even close what happened with other series like Supergirl, Supernatural and Sherlock). But it was aired by FOX, a right wing channel and, as you may imagine, they didn’t become canon per se. Actually, after Oswald said he was in love with Ed and planned on confessing to him, the writers presented a clone of Ed’s ex girlfriend with no explanation and purpose, only to separate them for most part of the series future. After that, some people seemed to have FORGOTTEN Oswald was once in love with Edward, rationalizing many things that are hard to explain with a “bro explanation”, they had a scene where the characters would have evolved even more but it was CUTTED and CHANGED and execs added the sentence “we’re brothers” to make EXPLICIT that Nygmobblepot’s relationship wouldn’t be interpreted as a romance at the end of the series (but, honestly, the actors went for the romance path anyway, the deleted scenes and the final episode can’t convince me otherwise).

What’s related with KD, may you ask? I think you’re familiar with all the drama KD faced since 2016 and how many stuff exploded during that time. How many parts are involved into creating a certain image and shifting it to be appealing and “friendly” is similar with what happens with idols. It’s no secret now about many scandals of bullying and other issues that are considered problematic and how they need to be pushed under the rug for companies so idols can make money and be profitable. Especially for male idols, it’s important that they are viewed as desirable and an object of the fans affections. That’s why he needs to be handsome and kind and look like a person that doesn’t exist. If an idol is openly gay, this person isn’t viewed by the major public with the same interest because they can’t fit the fantasy. That’s why scandals involving idols being gay need to be forgotten and deleted from people’s minds, otherwise that celebrity is ostracized. Although we tend to see the Ocident as “progressive”, there’s similar things happening in that industry. If a celebrity is openly LGBT, they don’t receive certain roles or opportunities because of it. There’s still a huge stigma that needs to be broken and we, as a society, are so far way from it. But recognizing those differences exist it’s a step forward.

Similarities with Smaylor

For me, one of the reasons Nygmobblepot works so well is because of the actors. They portrait a good chemistry because of their friendship off screen and some non verbal signs they display around each other are amazing. Those are things that remind me more of KD as we see them in a lot of moments. So, I wanted space to show those comparisons below:

Mutual admiration: it’s something both Smaylor and KD display a LOT and is extrememly outspoken. I really love watching their old interviews because the affection and admiration is so genuine it makes me drawn to them despite not being romantically involved.

(full gifset)

(there are more moments than these but I don’t want to steal gifs and there’s not much on the gif research and that sucks. Same with KD’s).

Stares and touches: Robin was the responsible for the deep stares and Cory for the random touches. There’s so many gifs of it that is hilarious. It’s like JI divided himself in two cells because we know he’s more known for both >.<

(Cory was touching Robin all the way during this interview rip)

(the gifset!!!)

You’re pretty moment: Robin, like KS, is the one that mentions about Cory/JI’s physical attributes. They have a moment pretty similar and, for KD its famous among shippers:

(gif link)

(actually, Robin called Cory dashingly handsome but its okay)

Cory lost it

There’s another series of gifsets with Robin calling Cory handsome LMAOO

:))))

Synchronization: for specialists in body language, it’s a factor that shows two people are close. That’s because of the mirror neurons we have that makes us copy movements, actions or words that someone we have empathy/we are close with do or say. Both kd and smaylor do this and it’s really soft.

(one of the classics)

(classic 2)

whole gifset (i love this interview so much)

(gif)

The fact the actors came up with their OTP names: people tend to forget that KD’s real otp name (according with Jongin) is dika. Cory also came up with Nygmobblepot name and Smaylor too <3

So, meanwhile Nygmobs has thropies that work a lot with KD AUs, Smaylor has healthy dynamics seen in public appearances KD made. Like I said above, there’s a huge polemic about shipping Smaylor romantically because Robin is married. On social media, is visible he loves his husband and it’s pretty cute to see. Cory himself mentioned that their relationship was sort of a platonic friendship (whatever that means) but it’s really genuine in terms of affections and display of admiration, something KD has as well.

Probably someone will question that it may changed the way I see KD or if now I ship them as bros. Nothing about that changed. With KD, although there are some similar details, there are internal AND external factors that made me support them in a romantic perspective in the first place. And it didn’t change. 

But both of them (Nygmobs too) make me feel that I’m testimoning something genuine, which is really hard in both kpop and media universes. In one side, we have a LOT of fanservice. And, in the other, it’s mostly a work interaction with lots of queerbating. Yes, Gotham has queerbating aspects in it but it’s not full of queerbating, if it makes sense. The message the actors and some writers wanted to convey are there and really display a romantic direction with character evolution and growth. And, considering the way media is nowadays, it’s nice to see.