#see this is why we need to decide on a name

[yourislandgirl]

* ༘𐙚 THE RULE OF FLOWERS ✿˖˚ || 박성훈 x fem!reader || fic

summary: sunghoon thinks he’s about to get an early grave, or finally achieve his inner rebel’s dream of having a brush with the law, all thanks to your darling daughter and ... her “husband”??

genres: tired girl dad!sunghoon x mum!reader, fluff, crack, slice of life, parents!au,

warnings: attempts at humour, pet names, a little skinship (kissing), not much swearing for a change but sunghoon does say the word ass like once (the child is not present dw), silly dad!sunghoon, protective dad!sunghoon, kids taking everything literally, ref. to classic kids media (finding nemo, curious george), the kid doesn't have a name bcs ... deciding names is hard

w.c: 5.5k

[archive]

Sunghoon’s plan for the night was simple. After making your daughter’s lunch for preschool tomorrow, he’d wash the dishes, brew up two nice, warm mugs of tea for himself and his lovely wife, and then kiss his daughter goodnight before binging some ridiculous drama, until you pulled him into the bedroom to go to sleep.

It was the perfect plan to wind down. It was relaxing enough. And he was looking forward to it as he dried his hands of dishwater after placing your daughter’s colourful dinner plate in the drying rack.

But nothing could have prepared him for the scene that would enter the kitchen and adjoined living room.

“Stop running, you little monkey!”

Shrieks of laughter echoed off your quaint apartment walls. Sunghoon had barely sat down before jolting at the sight of his four year old girl, bright eyed with a mischievous grin on her face, running towards him at full speed. You were hot on her heels.

Her fluffy panda bathrobe was wrapped tightly around her, the hood falling back to reveal dark, slightly damp hair.

Sunghoon opened his arms wide and braced, ready to catch the cannonball he had for a kid. “Woah! Hold it,” reaching forward, Sunghoon scooped her up, laughing at the way she shuffled to escape his grasp but ultimately gave up, curling into him. “Now, where do you think you’re going?”

You slowed down, your own hair and hands a little damp from playing the family favourite Finding Nemo game in the bath with your little girl.

The same little girl who was grinning widely at you, safe in the arms of her father. “Mama’s chasing me.”

Sunghoon raised an eyebrow, glancing between the two of you. “I can see that.”

“Because it’s bed time,” you pursed your lips to keep yourself from smiling. “And your Little Miss Monkey book isn’t gonna read itself.”

Your daughter frowned. “Why not?” She asked with genuine seriousness.

“Because it’s not that kind of book, sweets.”

You watched the way you daughter gave her father a glance. “Why not?” She asked again.

Shrugging, Sunghoon tucked some of her hair behind her ear. “I guess there aren’t any self reading books at the store.”

You took a few steps froward, a hand out for your child to hold onto. “We can look for one in another book shop sometime, okay? But right now, it’s time for bed.”

“No,” she shook her head. “Appa needs to come too.” She then proceeded to bury her face into Sunghoon’s chest.

All Sunghoon could do was smile at you. His uncontrollable grin had your heart leaping at the sight. Fatherhood had him melting at your daughter’s every request.

He would go to the convenience store during the middle of work just because he thought about his little girl and wanted to buy her favourite pocky. He would mute work calls just to take a few minutes to watch her twirl in the new fairy dress that your mother had bought her. He’d have an almost Superman-adjacent sense of hearing when it came to her small whimpers in the middle of the night, calling out for the two of you amidst a nightmare.

He was playing Superman again, holding your daughter as if she was flying, her bathrobe’s hood as her hero’s cape, doing a full loop of the world (your living room) before heading to her bedroom. As the three of you walked past the kitchen, Sunghoon felt a small hand tug on the material of his shirt’s collar.

Twisting around in her father’s hands, your little girl had her eyes glued on the kitchen island. More specifically the bouquet arrangement that Sunghoon had brought home yesterday. They were placed at the centre, in a lovely glass vase, reflecting little sparkles onto the countertop from the lights.

“Wait, wait.” Your daughter pointed at the flowers. “I want to do flower face time.”

You breathed out a little laugh, the endearing nickname for the act of smelling flowers had stuck with your daughter through the years. She’d watched you bury your nose into the fragrant petals every time Sunghoon handed them to you.

Sunghoon was just as aware of the nickname. Didn’t stop him from pouting in a comically confused manner, though. “You want to video call the flowers?”

Giggles started to bubble out of the kid that was beaming in his arms. “No!”

“Hello? Flowers?” Sunghoon waved a hand at the bouquet, fighting back a grin. “Can you see me?”

You leaned against the kitchen island, laughing behind your hand at the sight before you.

“Appa!”

“What?” Sunghoon’s dimple peeked through as his smile widened. “I thought we were face timing the flowers.”

“I want to smell the flowers.” The sheer power of your daughters eyeroll had you shaking your head in amusement. An all too familiar reaction to Sunghoon’s teasing.

You’d been on the receiving end of his teasing many times. Fighting back smiles as you tried to remain annoyed, and yet were incapable of staying in a dull mood when it came to the man before you.

The same man who was stroking his chin in a dramatic act of realisation. “Ah, right. Of course.” He manoeuvred your daughter so she could lean closer to the bouquet. “Here.”

Smiling, she took a deep inhale and nodded very officially. “Mm, they’re lovely.”

“Just like you?” You asked, poking her cheek lightly.

“Yep.” Her smile widened and just like that, a tiny dimple blossomed, right where your finger was, just moments ago. A perfect mirror to Sunghoon. As he held her closer, their faces smushed together, side by side, all you could see was a mini version of him.

Unbeknownst to you, all Sunghoon saw when he looked at your daughter, was you. Your warmth, your laugh, the way you see brightness in mundanity and appreciate any gesture of kindness or love, no matter how small.

Like the flowers. For as long as you could remember, Sunghoon had been gifting you flowers.

There was never a standard type or a pattern that he followed, he always said that he just entered whatever flower shop was nearby and picked up the prettiest bouquet he saw.

Sometimes it was for a special occasion, sometimes it was just because, and you quickly came to realise that your kitchen island was never bare — there was always a lovely arrangement in the vase. And the minute the old, wilted stems had to be tossed, Sunghoon arrived home that afternoon with a new bouquet in hand.

Every time, he would hand them to you with a smile, one hand behind his back. Like a prince.

You’d hold them closer and breathe in the scent before sighing, and you’d say, “Thank you. They’re lovely.”

And every time, Sunghoon would lean forward, kiss your cheek and whisper in your ear, “Just like you.”

“Appa likes flowers.” Your daughter mused to herself as Sunghoon carried her towards her bedroom. You were following behind them, smiling up at your girl.

“Mama likes flowers.” Sunghoon made a point to turn and look at you as he spoke. “Appa likes making Mama happy.”

Humming as a response, your daughter giggled to herself quietly. “My husband likes making me happy too.”

It wasn’t normal to see person freeze mid-step like in a cartoon. But that was exactly what Sunghoon did. In an instant you felt your eyebrows crease together, utter confusion flooding your face. But for Sunghoon? His shoulders tensed, he turned and looked at you with an expression of pure panic and what could only be described as befuddlement.

You cleared your throat. “I- What?”

“Excuse me?” Sunghoon moved his hold on your child, propping her up between the two of you so that you both could see her face.

Ironically, her own face held confusion. She patted Sunghoon’s arm. “You didn’t burp, Appa,” she said, reassuringly.

It was anything but reassuring to Sunghoon. “No, no, what husband?”

“Baby, what are you talking about?” You reached forward, your thumb gently stroking her soft cheek.

“My husband.” She said it so matter-of-factly. Like the very sentence didn’t just drop a bombshell into the middle of your conversation. Instead, she simply blinked at the two of you, “He gives me flowers. Just like you and Appa.”

Sunghoon leaned a little closer to you. “I think I just forgot how to breathe,” he whispered.

“You did not forget how to breathe”

“How do you know, Y/n? I’m imploding.”

Your daughter leaned closer too. “Who’s mimloading?”

“Who‘s your husband?” Sunghoon countered.

“Taesan!” You watched the way Sunghoon mouthed the name, as if committing it to memory. On the other hand, your little girl was still all smiles and excitement. “His flowers are in my backpack. I’ll show you!”

She started to wriggle out of Sunghoon’s hands, excitedly skipping towards her room once he placed her down. All you could do was watch her as she walked past the doorframe before you turned to each other.

“She has a husband?” Sunghoon tried his best to keep his voice low, a hushed yell that could only be heard by you.

Sighing, you rubbed your temples with your hands. “She does not have a husband.”

Sunghoon scoffed. “She said it with way too much confidence.”

“She says everything with way too much confidence. She’s four.”

“What are we gonna do?”

As he started to pace up and down the hallway, you slid in front of him to get his attention. “First step is to take a deep breath and calm down.”

He frowned. “I’m perfectly calm.”

“Two seconds ago you said you forgot how to breathe.”

“Well, five seconds ago our daughter was just our daughter, but now apparently she’s someone’s wife!” He gestured wildly in the direction of her room. And as much as you didn’t want to admit it, he had a point.

“Things are escalating here, Y/n,” he went on. “We need to keep up.”

“Okay, I get what you’re saying, but—”

Straightening up a little, Sunghoon gave a nod of pure determination. “I need to see the evidence.”

You shut your eyes tiredly. “Evidence? Really- Sunghoon!” You hadn’t even finished the thought before you opened your eyes to see him already walking towards your daughter’s room. So you hurried after him.

“What took so long?” She was sitting near her preschool backpack, one hand grasping a few green stems, some with small purple flowers.

Sunghoon crouched beside her “Sorry honey.”

“What did you wanna show us?” You asked.

She pushed her hand forward, showing off the small garden flowers. “Look!”

“Wow!” You gave her hair a small ruffle while waiting for Sunghoon to react.

“They’re…” He glanced at you hesitantly, but it took only one warning look from you for him to get his act together. “Pretty. They’re really pretty.”

Standing up, your daughter pointed at an empty green stem. “This one was a dandylier.”

“Dandelion.” You corrected her gently.

“Yeah, dandelion. And this one’s a- …I don’t know. But it smells lovely.”

Sunghoon nodded. “And, um, Taesan gave these to you?”

Placing a hand on his shoulder, you watched Sunghoon fight every urge to switch from the usual soft expressions he gives his little girl, for a more stoic one. One that would actually fit his mood at that moment.

Your daughter nodded. “Yep. So he’s my husband, right?”

Sunghoon lost his balance and ended up sitting down, turning a little to meet your eyes. “I’m imploding again,” he muttered.

His wide eyed stare, basically begging you to figure out what to do, it was a little adorable. You sat down next to him, cross legged, and reached to pull your daughter closer. “Not everybody who gives you flowers is your husband, kiddo.” You placed her on your lap.

“Oh. Why not?” The genuine confusion in her voice was palpable as she leaned against your collarbone. “I thought that was the rule. “

For the first time since the corridor outside the bedroom, Sunghoon finally cracked a small smile. It was a look of amusement and endearment, wrapped together, as he gently took her small fingers into his larger ones. “I don’t get Mama flowers because there’s a rule,” he explained. “I get her flowers because I want to see her smile.”

Your daughter sat up a little. “If that’s it, then why are you her husband?”

“Oh my god.” You hid your smile behind your hand, stifling back laughter and failing to do it successfully.

“Mama smiles at a lot of people.”

Your eyes creased shut as you looked away, still finding the complete seriousness of your daughter’s tone to be hilarious.

Sunghoon just blinked a few times. The learning curve of parenthood had struck again and in the last few years, as your child picked up words and sentences and opinions properly, you each had been subjected to a lot of harsh truths told in a devastatingly cute voice.

“How do I answer that?” Sunghoon asked you.

You tapped your daughter’s nose, causing her to turn to you. “He’s my husband because we love each other and want to keep loving each other forever.”

“Oh.”

“Appa getting me flowers is like, an added bonus, you get me?”

She started nodding slowly. “I guess. But Appa said he likes making you smile, and Taesan likes making me smile too, I think.”

Sunghoon muttered something incomprehensible under his breath before standing up. “Who is this kid?”

“Sunghoon.” Once again, your eyes shut, a little tired of Sunghoon being so typically Sunghoon.

When you turned to look at him he was at the other end of the room, near a small bookcase. It had numerous bedtime stories, picture books, interactive music books, photo albums. Sunghoon was crouched in front of it, his fingers running across each spine as he tried to look for something.

“You kept her preschool class photos in this room, right?” He asked over his shoulder.

You scoffed in disbelief. Amused and yet equally concerned. “You are not seriously scoping him out right now.”

“I’m just getting an idea of what I’m up against.”

You wanted to laugh. “There is no up against, Sunghoon!”

“I’m just curious, babe.”

“Just like George!” Your daughter smiled over your shoulder.

Sunghoon smirked. “Exactly. I’m just like George.” He gestured to your child with his eyebrows. “She gets me,” he said to you.

“Yeah, I get you, Appa.”

Shaking your head, you held your kid closer and shuffled to her dresser. “Okay, why don’t you and I focus on bedtime.”

She hummed. “Okay.”

Sunghoon seemingly gave up his search and came to join you as you both worked in tandem to get your daughter ready for bed. Sunghoon helped her tiny hands through the sleeve holes of her pyjamas, while you gently brushed her hair. The whole routine feeling like a ritual as she relaxed against you.

You figured it was a perfect moment to talk to your daughter. “I’m sure Taesan likes seeing you smile, love. You have an incredible smile.”

Sunghoon stilled ever so slightly but let you continue, focused on hanging her small panda bathrobe on one of the tiny chairs in the room.

You carefully applied a little night time moisturiser to her cheeks as you spoke. “But you need to understand something; just because someone is nice to you, and gives you flowers, and likes your smile, doesn’t make them your husband. There’s a lot more to it than that. That’s the reason why all the husbands you’ve met are adults. Remember?“

“Oh. Yeah,” she drawled out in realisation. “So Taesan can only be my husband when he’s an adult?”

“Exactly.”

Sunghoon frowned, pouting a little. “Don’t encourage that!” He whisper-yelled at you.

“Oh, what? You think we’re gonna revisit this exact situation in twenty years?”

“We might?”

“And if that happens, I’ll owe you one. How about that?”

“I’ll hold you to it.”

“I have no doubt.” You rolled your eyes.

You felt a small tug at your shirt. “Mama?”

“Yeah?”

Your little girl looked deep in thought. “Taesan can still be my friend, right?”

“Of course he can. If you want him to be.”

“Yeah!” She said, excitedly. “He let me win at hopscotch yesterday and his mama makes really yummy cheesecake.”

“She’s in it for the cheesecake?” Sunghoon muttered dryly as he came to sit back down next to the two of you.

Smirking at him, you shrugged. “I can’t even blame her. It’s cheesecake.”

“Yeah, but she doesn’t need Taesan for that.” He pouted again. “I’ll make her cheesecake.”

That immediately caught your daughter’s attention. She clambered over your legs to get into Sunghoon’s lap. “Right now?” Her eyes and smile were the hook, line and sinker.

“Sure—”

“No!” Your hand shot out and clasped over Sunghoon’s mouth. “Not right now.” You looked between both of them, pursing your lips to prevent a smile at the sight of their pleading eyes. “Later, okay? Soon,” you said, softly.

Sunghoon chuckled as your daughter practically deflated against him. “Fine. I wish it was now.”

You giggled. “I’m sure you do, baby.”

Carefully getting off her dad’s lap, she made her way back to her backpack.

“Where’re you going?”

At Sunghoon’s question, she held up the empty stem of the dandelion. “Is my dandyliar finished?”

“Well, it looks you already blew out your wish so, yeah.” You took the empty stem in your hands and placed it on her small drawing table. “But it’s ok. We can look for another one tomorrow morning.”

“Aw.” She deflated all over again. “I wanted to wish for Appa to make a cheesecake.”

“I’ll make you one.” Sunghoon groaned a little as he stood up before he took a few steps to cross the distance between them. It always made you smile at how your daughters many little steps to get from one point to another would take you and Sunghoon only one or two to bridge the gap.

Even just the sight of him standing beside her had your cheeks stinging with that good kind of pain where you feel yourself smiling longer and longer with each second, unable to suppress the warmth erupting from inside of you.

Sunghoon ruffled his fingers through your daughter’s hair. “I promise, I’ll make you one.”

“Pinkie!” She held up the single finger expectantly.

And Sunghoon responded readily. “Pinkie.” Sealing the promise with her thumb meeting his. “Perfect. Now,” he snapped his finger, pointing across the room. “Get in bed.”

“Carry me.”

You scoffed at the utter dramatics. Her hands thrown up, eyes closed as if defeated by a tiring day of colouring and hopscotch.

But Sunghoon didn’t complain. He never complained. If anything, he was hoping she would ask. “Of course,” his voice was soft, you could barely hear it.

“You know, you can climb into bed on your own, little miss.” You tried to chastise her. Your heart wasn’t really in it, but, it felt like something you were supposed to do.

She wasn’t having it though. “I don’t want to,” she said over Sunghoon’s shoulder.

“She doesn’t want to,” Sunghoon repeated, giving you a smug smile.

“Fair enough.” Joining Sunghoon at her bed, you sighed while crouching down to level with her. “Seems like you’ve had a nice long day.”

Nodding, your daughter laid back and shuffled into her pillows. “Did you have a nice long day, Mama?”

You thought for a moment. “Hm, sorta.”

Pouting, she looked at her dad. “Appa.”

“Yes, princess,” Sunghoon mused while he brought the soft covers up to her chin.

“Carry Mama to bed.”

Sunghoon grinned at the authoritative tone of a four year old, but couldn’t pass up on such an easy task. “It would be my pleasure.”

You couldn’t stop yourself from looking at him. At the way his eyes still held the same love and affection and desire that he had years ago. That it hadn’t changed with time but rather aged with care.

Sunghoon’s hand snuck across the carpeted floor to rest on top of yours.

You could see the way he was ever so slowly leaning closer, out of pure habit if nothing else, but you needed to put your little girl to sleep.

“Before that, it’s time for Little Miss Monkey.” You gestured with your eyebrows to the bookshelf behind Sunghoon and giggled at the way he snapped back to the present before turning to get your daughter's favourite bedtime story

“Yes! Wait, I need Puddles.” She searched among her many stuffed animals to pick out the soft yellow duck. Her best friend, according to her. She held it close, getting back under the covers.

Sunghoon cleared his throat, opening the storybook. “Is Puddles ready?”

“Yep!”

And so began the nightly routine of Little Miss Monkey and her quest for the the perfect jungle party present. An odd story that seemed to stick with your daughter, whether it was the various different animals or the various different voices that Sunghoon insisted on using when reading for each animal, you knew the day was never really complete without Little Miss Monkey successfully reaching her jungle party.

As Sunghoon closed the book and placed it back on the shelf you leaned forward and gave your daughter a kiss on the forehead. “Get some sleep,” you whispered.

“But Puddles said she wants to stay awake.” Her stubbornness was still fighting with her exhaustion.

You had to admit, it was pretty cute. “Puddles said that, did she?” You raised an eyebrow.

“Uh huh.”

Sunghoon placed a hand on the small of your back, you could hear the quiet huff of amusement he let out.

But you weren’t one to give up that easily. “Well I’m sorry, sweets, but you and Puddles are gonna feel tired in the morning if you don’t sleep now.”

“Puddles won’t feel tired. She only feels tired if I tell her to.” Apparently your daughter got her stubbornness from you.

Sunghoon gave you a smirk, a sort of challenging grin as he watched the scene unfold before him.

“Oh, that’s right.” You nodded. “So she wants to stay awake right now because you told her to?”

“…No?”

Sunghoon bent down to whisper to her. “Mama’s gonna win this, princess.”

“I know,” she whispered back.

“Besides, you‘ll want enough energy to win at hopscotch tomorrow, right?”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

Sunghoon nodded. “Exactly.”

“So,” You leaned down next to him, your fingers trailing down your little girl’s forehead, following the bridge of her nose. “Close your eyes.”

“That tickles,” she giggled.

Sunghoon gave her hand a gentle kiss. “Keep them closed.”

“No peeking?”

“Nope.” Taking your hand into his, Sunghoon started to slowly pull you towards the door.

As you tip toed towards the door, you heard her gentle sigh. “Okay. Goodnight.”

You smiled, looking back to see her eyes still shut. Puddles held tightly as she curled on her side.

“Goodnight, baby,” you called out.

Sunghoon carefully opened the door to not be too loud. “We love you.”

You both waited for her reply. She always replied back.

“Mm, love you.” Soft and wispy, sleep was slowly catching up to her and you could hear it from her voice. So you did your best to shut the door extra slowly, waiting for the subtle click before quietly walking off.

You leaned your head on Sunghoon’s shoulder as you entered the kitchen. “Are you still imploding?”

“I’m fine. Cool as a cucumber.” He was doing his best to ignore the look of amused disbelief that you were giving him.

“Ya know, someone who’s actually cool as a cucumber wouldn’t use that kind of phrase.”

“Look, I just…” You chuckled at the arbitrary hand flails he was doing, incapable of articulating his feelings exactly.

“You freaked out?”

Sunghoon squinted at you a little. “I think my freak out was perfectly sound, given the circumstances.”

“Perfectly sound, huh?”

His hands went up to plead innocence. “Objectively speaking.”

“You wanted the kid’s mug, Sunghoon.” You scoffed as you walked towards the cabinets, getting yourself a glass of water.

“Again, a perfectly sound request.”

You paused after taking a sip, giving Sunghoon a blank stare while you wondered whether your daughter’s stubbornness really came from you or her father. “You should rethink your definitions.”

Reaching across the kitchen island, Sunghoon took a few sips of water from your glass. “Taesan should rethink his decisions.”

“My god.” You muttered under your breath as Sunghoon straightened up, already preparing to explain his point.

“No, no, babe, it starts with flowers and cheesecake and then the next thing you know, it’s February 14th and he’s gotten her a be-my-valentine chocolate box.”

“You’ve got be kidding me.”

“She loves chocolate, Y/n, she won’t be able to resist. That kid is scheming.” He pointed his thumb at the direction of your front door, as if poor little Taesan was waiting out there.

You laughed quietly to yourself. “My love, he’s a four year old child. He does not have that kind of speed.”

“Did you just black out and forget the way our own daughter was bolting around this house? Kids have speed, Y/n”

“That’s not- You know what I meant.”

Sunghoon slouched down on one of the counter chairs. “I’m coping with humour right now, okay? It’s either this or I eat a tub of ice cream.”

“You’re kinda cute when you’re like this,” you smirked.

“I’m glad my spiralling is entertaining to you.”

“Oh, very. But I hope this isn’t gonna be your attitude if she actually does get married in the future.”

“By that point in time, I’ll be alright with it.” He spoke with a lot of unearned confidence which had you raising an eyebrow. “I’ll try to be.” Your expression was unmoving. “It’s the thought that counts, okay?”

You shook your head, unable to hold off the smile as you got started on putting the dry dishes away. Sunghoon instinctively came to help, still trying to find a way to explain exactly what he was feeling.

“Look,” he started. “I just don’t think that she should be calling every flower-gifting-guy her husband.”

“Well, no. But we did our part in telling her as much.” You handed him the ceramic dishes that had to go on the higher shelves. “I think you can relax a little bit now, right?”

“I’ll relax after she deems my cheesecake better than Taesan’s mum’s.”

You smirked. “So we’re beefing with his mum now too?”

“It’s her kid.”

“Right,” You put the dish in your hands back on the rack. turning Sunghoon by his elbow to get him to face you. “Her sweet kid, who gave our daughter flowers because his mum probably taught him to treat girls nicely. And let them win every now and then. And share yummy food with them.”

He frowned. “Ok, so, I see your point. But—”

“Didn’t your mum teach you the same?” You crossed your arms, walking back to lean against the counter, a little smile on your face. “I specifically remember a scrawny teenager holding a lovely bouquet of lilies.”

“I- Scrawny?”

“You’re gonna look me in my face and tell me you weren’t scrawny at nineteen?”

“I was,” Sunghoon smirked, walking closer to you. “But I was hoping you remembered more about our first date than just lilies and my scrawny ass.”

You tried to bite your lower lip to keep from smiling wider. “I remember every moment of it, Sunghoon.”

��Good.” He leaned down slowly, his breath was warm against your lips right before he kissed you. Firm hands held your waist, lifting you on top of the counter as he pulled you against him. But then he froze and leaned back. “Mm mm,” he shook his head, “Back to point.”

You groaned, dropping your forehead against his chest, tired of the topic already.

Sunghoon was determined though. “That was a date, Y/n. Getting your date flowers isn’t life changing, okay? It’s law- Oh my god.”

“What?” You raised your head.

“I think she might be right about the rule of flowers…”

You couldn’t help but laugh at his low murmurs of realisation. “Aw, Sunghoon.” You reached up and cupped his face, brushing his hair back as he returned your smile.

“I just got scared there for a minute,” he whispered. “That’s all.”

“I got scared too. It’s normal.”

“Yeah, but you handled it like a pro, unlike me.”

You stroked his cheek. “Again, very normal for us.”

He frowned, trying to remain serious despite your playful smile, the teasing glint in your eyes. His resolve only lasted about three seconds before he sighed.

“Yeah.” Nodding, Sunghoon admitted defeat, pulling you closer once more as he wrapped his arms around you, his head slotting itself into the crook of your neck.

He felt the way you seemed to decompress in his arms, your own hands stroking his hair, lighting scratching his back. It was unreal how relaxing it was to hold and be held by you.

“You tired?” He murmured against your neck.

You hummed. “A little.”

“Alright then.” Stepping back, Sunghoon slid one arm under your knees and other around holding your waist as he lifted you.

“Woah, what—” Your hands clasped around his neck, confused, as he gave you a light kiss on the cheek.

“I believe I promised our daughter that I would carry you to bed.”

Your gentle laughter became a little muffled as you curled your face into his chest, listening to the steady beat of your husband’s heart while he carried you to the bedroom.

“Alright.” Carefully laying you onto the mattress, he propped up the pillows for you to lean against. “You get comfy. I need to head out for a moment, but I’ll be quick.”

You frowned. “Where to?”

“Convenience store.” He headed into the closet, as he spoke. “She wants a cheesecake so I need to get a few more ingredients. And I’d ask you to come with, but, someone’s gotta be here.”

“Sunghoon,” you sighed. “She doesn’t need it first thing in the morning.”

“Speak for yourself.” Sunghoon gave you a deadpanned expression as he walked back out, pulling on a coat and some gloves. “If I was her, I’d want it first thing in the morning.”

There was no point trying to convince him otherwise, so you simply did as he asked and got comfy. “You should get blueberries.”

“Already on the list.” He gave you a wink as you leaned across to your bedside table for the novel you were currently reading. “Can never have enough blueberries in this house,” he muttered.

“She gets it from you.”

Sunghoon just shrugged, walking closer. “They’re the perfect snack. Well, besides you.” He bent down to give you one last kiss, letting it linger a little longer than you’d have expected. The book had almost slipped out of your hands before he stepped back, smirking, like he knew exactly what he just did.

“Be quick.” You looked down at the page, not really reading anything but just not wanting to give him any satisfaction.

“Or you’ll miss me?”

“More like you‘ll miss me.”

“Right, cause that’s exactly what’s gonna happen.” He waved before walking out the room and soon, you heard the faint sound of the front door shutting.

You settled into the bed, bringing the covers up to your waist, and you’d just started to get into the novel when you heard the gentle buzz of your phone beside you. You breathed a little sigh, already expecting it.

You didn’t even bother checking who it was when you picked up. “Did you forget something?” You asked.

“Nope,” Sunghoon responded and you could almost hear the smile in his voice. “I just missed you.”

a.n: this feels diff to my other fics bcs it’s so dialogue heavy but . i didn’t know how else to write the idea that i had. i feel like a family’s dynamic is seen really well through both verbal and non verbal communication but for a fic where the kid is so young, verbal communication just sorta made the most sense? hopefully people like this as much as descriptive/prose-y fics 🤞🏽

perm taglist: @oceanstide — @sheepsgf — @itsrinsdrs — @enjakey — @kissmete — @jaylaxies — @tobiosbbyghorl — @hoondrop — @chaeneu

2025 © yourislandgirl

[firingstars]

locked in

— a sequel to match made

congressman!bucky x matchmaker!reader

summary: you and your boyfriend have been together for a strong nineteen months and counting. problem is, you’re starting to notice he’s hiding things from you.

warnings: 18+, mdni, smut, semi-public (?) stuffs, oral (f+m receiving), hair pulling, face grabbing, fingers in mouth, unprotected sex, backshots, fingering, window… sex…, soft dom bucky, slight sub reader, language, no use of y/n, alcohol consumption, bucky is the best boyfriend ever and loves you very much

word count: 15.2k

a/n: due to popular demand, here’s a second part! this is also my formal apology for whatever happened in love, persevering <3 please accept. // also if anyone saw this get prematurely posted with NOTHING attached you didn’t fucking see it. i wasn’t made aware until EIGHT HOURS LATER and the fic wasn’t even done yet!!! 😔 i always make my fic intro template things before my fics are done for motivation

masterlist

You almost lost your fucking job. 

You expected it, honestly. With the amount of lines you crossed, boundaries broken, and toes you stepped on… Yeah. There was only so much that your boss could take from you— star employee or not. 

Thankfully, your boss kept the whole thing quiet from the rest of your coworkers to spare you the embarrassment since you had the decency to come to her and tell her the truth. 

It still meant you had to refund Sam Wilson the entire Ador Luxury Matchmaking Package, which your boss was not happy about.

Sam, on the other hand, was over the moon. 

When he received the refund transaction, he called you almost immediately. You had to go into a private conference room to answer the call, away from your coworkers.

“Mr. Wilson,” you answered the phone, trying to keep your tone light.

“Hey, Ms. Matchmaker,” he said, suspicion in his voice. “Did Buck cancel his membership?”

“That is correct,” you said, clearing your throat. 

“I thought we had an agreement. I paid you guys extra to not allow him to bully you guys into ending the program,” Sam said. You can hear the frustration in his voice. You don’t blame him. “What happened?”

“I can assure you– the refund is not due to Congressman Barnes just cancelling the service,” you said. “In fact, he is no longer in need of my services.”

“What? Then he’s been on a date?” Sam asked. “If that’s the case, then why the refund? If the date was successful, then doesn’t Bucky get the benefits or whatever?”

There was no response from your end for a good handful of moments. You were stuck, unable to respond. You couldn’t figure out how to say the words in the most professional way possible. You needed to find the right concoction, just in case there was someone walking down the hall at that exact moment,  and overheard your conversation. 

In the end, all you could think was that Bucky was a dead man walking.

You were going to kill Bucky. You weren’t sure how you were going to do that, seeing as he was the one with the years of experience of fighting between the two of you, but you would do it. You were hoping that he would’ve told his one and only friend that he had a girlfriend. 

Then again, Bucky refused to answer any of Sam’s calls. You texted Sam back most of the time when you got ahold of Bucky’s phone, pretending to be Bucky. Bucky didn’t care that you were doing that– though you wondered if Sam would be heartbroken if he ever found out. 

“Hello?” Sam asked, calling out your name. “Are you there?”

“Congressman Barnes terminated his membership with Ador as he and I have mutually decided to pursue a more personal relationship with each other,” you quickly answered him, cringing at your own words. You took a quick breath in before continuing, “The refund is due to my own oversight, and is serving as an apology to you for wasting your time on our service. I truly hope that you will forgive me for being unable to maintain a more professional connection with the client.”

It was Sam’s turn to fall silent. You had to check your phone to make sure that the call was still active. There was a slight rustle on the other end, letting you know that he was still there– that he was on the other end, dissecting your words, gears processing through his mind.

“The matchmaker I hired is dating my friend?!” he cackled. 

“Mr. Wilson, I truly apologize for the inconvenience–” 

“There is no inconvenience!” he cut you off, still laughing. “Holy shit, let me tell you– after that first meeting with you? I asked Bucky what he thought about you as his matchmaker and his only words? He thought you were pretty. Would not say anything else. Fuck, listen, let me call you back– or let’s all go to dinner. You, me, Buck, and my girl. I gotta head down to the office and harass Bucky right now.”

You went on an unpaid suspension for eight weeks after the refund transaction went through. The HQ of Ador had to undergo a full on investigation to figure out if you were worth keeping around as an employee or not, seeing as you ended up breaking client-employee conduct. 

Your boss wasn’t awful, though. In fact, she was only pissed off about the refund because she knew that headquarters back in London would have been alerted. Either way, it was still the right thing to process the transaction. She promised you that she would be your biggest advocate during the investigation, and she would try to argue for you to get the time to be paid seeing as you were the best employee in the New York branch.

The second you told Bucky– who told Sam– you found money wired into your account the next business day. It was the same exact amount that you had refunded back to Sam. It was still more money than you would’ve made if you were working those eight weeks. 

Neither man told you how they got ahold of your bank information. Neither man would look you in the eye when you questioned them. 

So, you had eight weeks of basically overpaid, free vacation to do whatever the hell you wanted, and a new boyfriend. Which meant you spent damn near every single day in his office, cosplaying as some government worker– an intern or secretary. And you were helping him. You actually were. 

“You really don’t have to do any of this, baby,” Bucky told you. You had been coming for an entire week straight at this point.

“If I stay stationary for two months, I think I might die of brain failure,” you told him, stealing a stack of his files from him. “Besides. You look like you need some help. You should really hire a secretary. Or someone to help you out. A personal assistant, maybe?”

“I can handle it on my own,” he sighed, shaking his head. Despite his words, he looked grateful as you took the files to the lounge area of his office and spread them out on the coffee table.

“Tell that to me when you sleep more than two hours a night, handsome,” you said, tucking your legs under you.

With less sensitive information that he was allowed to hand over to you, you organized and kept tabs on. You summarized documents for him perfectly that made his life easier. You helped train other onboarding interns that didn’t know what the hell they were doing. You managed his calendar when he looked like he was about to combust into flames. You got to spend time with him during his breaks, have lunch with him, eat dinner with him, and he would drive you home, and spend the night with you most nights.

Not that anyone knew that, though. They thought you were an actual employee of this official government building in New York. With the way that you walked side by side with Bucky every single day, holding files and looking down at his work phone– they really thought that you were working for him.

“Where’s your secretary today?”

You don’t know who asked the question, and you don’t really care. There’s about three other officials in this room that barged in out of nowhere, when you were on Bucky’s lap. 

Both of you had panicked, and he had shoved you into the hiding space beneath his desk before any of them could see the scandalous position he had you in. 

Unluckily for him, he had chosen the wrong place to put you. 

“At a training session with other interns,” Bucky said, tone clipped and short. He was irritated at being interrupted out of nowhere, but also at the fact that you were ignoring his warnings. 

You grinned, pressing an innocent kiss to the hand that gripped over your wrist. Tight, but not enough to hurt you. You continued to palm over his hardening length with your free hand. 

You weren’t paying attention to any of the fancy words that were being thrown around over your head, but you were certain that Bucky wasn’t either. You rested the side of your head against his thigh, feeling the muscle tense and hardened at your touch as you continued to lazily play with him over the fabric of his dress pants. 

Bucky’s metal hand slipped from your wrist to your hair, carding through it and stopping at the base of your skull– another cautionary message being sent to you as Bucky tried to focus on the sudden meeting thrown his way. Thankfully, these men loved the sound of their own voices. They couldn’t hear you slowly unzip him, and free Bucky from the confines of his slacks. 

“Your thoughts, Congressman Barnes?”

Your boyfriend cleared his throat above you as your lips kissed the tip of his cock, wrapping your hand around the base of him to keep him in place as his dick twitched in response. You fought back the small hum that threatened to come forth as you licked up the small bead of precum that leaked out.

“It’s a very… worrying matter,” Bucky said slowly, clenching his jaw as he took in a slow breath. You licked a thin strip up from the base of his cock– focusing on the thick vein that you knew was sensitive. “That is very worrisome. And we’ll get to the bottom of this uh– worrying... issue.”

You paused at his words, unable to believe what you were hearing from him for a moment. You pulled away from him for a moment, hand still wrapped around his dick as you pressed your face to his thigh, trying to hide your laugh into his flesh. 

Bucky’s hand tugged back on your hair roughly, pulling your head back and away from his thigh. Immediately, his metal hand shifted from your hair to clasp around your face, covering your mouth. His fingertips dug into the soft skin of your cheeks, daring you to make another noise. Surprise and excitement shot through your body in response.  

You could test him. You could press it. 

You decided against it, and licked his palm instead, closing your eyes. You could feel his hand twitch against your face— he told you once that his arm was calibrated to feel sensations. That he felt nerves like his other arm did. You smiled just a little, then kissed right where your tongue had just been. 

All the while, your hand was still pumping at his dick in lazy strokes. Nothing too much, nothing that would alert anyone of your presence, nothing that would make him let out noises that were only yours to hear. 

“Right,” one of the officials said slowly. “Well– we have lunch with some of the other representatives in ten minutes. You are welcome to join us, Congressman. If your secretary comes back from her training, she is more than welcome to join us as well. Lord knows we need a little more eye candy around here.”

A chorus of laughter rang around the room, but not from Bucky. In fact, he just stared at them until their laughter became uncomfortable, and they awkwardly excused themselves. 

The second the door to his office shut, Bucky’s chair was rolled back instantly, and your hands weren’t touching him anymore. 

You were still on your knees, looking up at him as Bucky stared down at you, hand still on your face to shut you up before you had been caught laughing at his inability to form proper words with your mouth on his cock.

“You’re so pretty like this, baby,” he murmured, hand shifting to cradle your face.

A metal thumb brushed against your lip slowly, a shiver running down your spine involuntarily. His touch was gentle. Reverent. He touched you like you were made of glass. Unlike the blown out, hungry look in his eyes, the gruff, low tone of his voice as he whispered to you. 

From the corner of your eye, you saw his other hand tuck himself back into his pants. When your eyebrows furrowed in response, he let out a soft chuckle.

Bucky leaned down, pressing a sweet kiss to your forehead. Then, he stood up tall. He rolled his shoulders back, but you couldn’t focus. Your eyes were on him, and the aching bulge above his zipper. 

“I have to go to lunch, sweetheart. When I get back, you’re going to get exactly what you wanted from me, okay?” 

Your boyfriend left you there. Left you partially under his desk, still on your knees. What was supposed to be you teasing him, quickly shifted into you being extremely hot and bothered. You didn’t know how long lunch would take, either. 

You busied yourself with literally anything else. Not that it worked. Every footstep that came down the corridor, you were jumping in attention like some rabbit in heat.

Except, Bucky moved like a ghost. You wouldn’t hear his footsteps. 

When he finally returned, you didn’t even hear him until the sound of the office door locking caught your attention. You barely had the time to turn around before he was all over you. Lips were on yours as he hoisted you upwards, wrapping your legs around his waist to carry you to his choice of christening. 

An arm swiped his desk clear of any debris so no pens or other office supplies would be digging into your skin. He bunched your skirt up to your hips, and pulled your panties to the side. Bucky bent you over his desk with fingers shoved into your mouth to keep you quiet as he did what you wanted from the beginning. He curtained you, his chest pressed against your back as he whispered sweet nothings to contrast the punishing thrust of his hips— letting you know that he still very much adored you, but was also extremely annoyed by your little game earlier.

Afterwards, Bucky cleaned you up gently. Kissed you softly, held you tightly in his arms. Then presented you with food that he brought back for you– he ordered you lunch while he was out eating since he knew you wouldn’t have left the office while he was gone. 

You almost jumped his bones again right then and there for how considerate he was of you.

So yes, you almost lost your job, but you weren’t necessarily upset about it. Not when you got to spend an entire month with Bucky, helping him out at work, cuddling with him at night, and waking up at whatever time you wanted the next morning. On the rare days that you weren’t at the office with him, it was because you were somewhere else– still with him. 

Eventually, you were called back into work.

You convinced Bucky to hire an assistant to take care of his little things— stuff that you did for him to make his life easier so he could focus on more pressing things. It managed to ease his workload just a little bit, but not by a lot. Bucky still managed to bite more than he could chew, and you knew he was stressed from how slow the process was for passing bills and getting change to happen. 

Despite it all, the two of you were content. Happy. Overjoyed, really. He was perfect, and he swore to the heavens that you were, too.

A cacophony of voices, poppers, music, and sparkles were blasted into your face as you pushed open the door to the office. Streamers were shot directly into your face, colors cascading directly before your eyes, showering you with colors of the pastel rainbow. 

Your coworkers, all dressed to the nines, were cheering. A few of them held flutes of champagne. Two of them held balloons– together making the number twelve together. One of them held a cake that read congratulations.

There was a catering table set for the party that was clearly waiting for you. You saw the table set, ready for everyone to dig into. You knew your boss didn’t hold back when it came to celebrating any kind of achievements, especially not your own. You were the best at what you did here.

Your grin wasn’t smug, even though you had every single right to be. You shrugged your blazer off as you sauntered into the room, allowing the applause and cheers to wash over you. You dropped your purse and other materials off at your desk as your boss approached you with a grin, hands going to your shoulders.

“My star employee– our number one matchmaker!” she cooed at you, everyone shouting around you in response to our praise. “Tell me, with this wedding upcoming this weekend, how many will you be responsible for?”

You paused, only for dramatic effect. The ceiling looked suddenly oh so interesting as you smiled. Then, you guessed, “Twelve?”

“Twelve!” your boss roared, the girls around you jumping up and down with excitement and cheer. 

“Do a speech, a speech!” your deskmate urged, and you only let out a small, playful sigh as everyone died down around you.

You were handed your own glass of champagne, led to the front of the room, and turned to look at all the girls. Girls that you worked with for the past six, almost seven years. Your boss had been doing this job for well over a decade now. There were a few new faces that had just started a few months ago. 

With your glass lifted into the air, you smiled, “Love is all around. It’s easy to find the perfect match for someone.”

They squealed, toasting to you. The cake was brought to you, letting you blow out the candles as if it was your birthday or something– just a tradition your company had for good luck. Something to bring more successful matches and weddings to your clients.

Your two clients, Luke and Jessica, were tying the knot after twelve months of dating, and another four months engaged. One year and four months— which was a relatively short time, but who were you to judge? They both told you they knew the other party was the one after the first date. Who were you to stand in the way of them? 

Just because you were fucking bitter, and jealous that you couldn’t spend time with your own boyfriend despite the fact that Luke and Jessica got together three months after you two did didn’t mean a thing. Not a single thing. 

You masked your growing irritation well with your clients. After all, your performance margins had been going through the roof within the last six months. Your productivity has never been better, your clients have never been happier with your performance, and you have been churning out perfect match after match like you might as well have been Cupid himself. 

Yet, you couldn’t find a single time for your own boyfriend. 

When you had a free night, he didn’t. There was a dinner that he had to get to, one that required secrecy amongst government officials. You understood that. You didn’t hold that against him– especially not when he looked pained to tell you that you couldn’t join him when you offered to come with him the first time he said he had the work dinner. Because you didn’t mind joining him for work related activity. You just wanted to spend time with him, by his side.

But you were a fucking matchmaker. You didn’t have any business being in a government setting, and you knew that. He knew that. The entire government knew that. 

Sometimes it wasn’t even dinner. Sometimes, he wasn’t even in the city. Or the state. Or even the fucking country. Bucky always let you know in advance when he had to travel for work, but there was usually never any chance for the two of you to meet for even a brief look at each other across the road. Just to see each other in person before he had to hop on the plane and head hours away from you.

On the rare occasions Bucky had a free night, you most certainly did not. You had a proposal to plan for. Not a policy or business proposal like he worked on. A marriage proposal. One that had you sneaking around parks in bushes, setting up trails of rose petals, hiring and arguing with musicians– things that you didn’t need your boyfriend around to trail you like a lost puppy asking you if there was something that you needed help with. 

If it wasn’t a proposal, you had another work event. A client on the verge of a breakdown because their date cancelled on them, or some bullshit like that. You would be so close to finally being in your boyfriend’s arms, but you would have to cancel on your own lover to play therapist even though you were severely undereducated and underpaid for the position. 

Bucky was understanding. Too understanding. So understanding that it made you want to bash your head into the wall. 

The two of you had working hours that were strenuous, strange, and demanding. 

Bucky hated his phone, but he still texted you often. Texted you good morning and good night every single day. He reminded you to eat at least twice a day knowing you were only running on the fuel of your own brain to make it through your work hours.

Absence definitely did not make the heart grow fonder. If anything, your heart was growing irritated. Angry. These happy couples around you were pissing you off. 

Each and every single one of your clients that reported to you that they were falling in love with the person that you set them up with, was like another person setting you up for failure. You were a ticking time bomb just ready to explode, and the only one who would ever be able to defuse you is currently locked away in his office with his pretty fucking secretary that you know he doesn’t care about, but spends more time with than you do. 

You’re not jealous of her perse. 

You’ve seen them work together. It’s strictly professional. You don’t know if she has a boyfriend, and you don’t really care if she does or doesn’t– you trust Bucky, bottom line. He hasn’t given you a single reason to not trust him. You know he has eyes for you and you only. What you’re envious of is the time that she gets to have with him. She sees him every single day. She handles his schedule, hands him coffee, speaks to him face to face, sits with him during meetings, and discusses his fucking policies with him. 

You’re jealous of the time that you don’t get to have with your own boyfriend. You haven’t seen him in over a week and a half by this point. Last time you saw him, it was for a brief lunch that lasted forty-two minutes before you both had to run into meetings. Before that, two weeks. 

You scratch angrily into your notebook, then rip the page out. You crumple it up, throwing the wasted piece of paper into the bin with a frustrated groan before scrubbing a hand down your face. 

The time on the clock reads 1:44am.

Bucky should be getting home by this time, you think. Your phone hasn’t rang otherwise. There’s no good night text yet. 

This was easier before. Easier before you got so attached to him. Easier before your world got shifted on its axis, and started to rotate around him, just a little bit. Easier when you didn’t love the man so fucking much. 

You couldn’t dwell on this though. Not when you had to go to sleep. You had somewhere to be tomorrow, and you couldn’t look like death itself. You sent off your own text to him, then let your sorrows and loneliness cuddle you to bed. 

As much as you wanted to wait for him to text you back, you couldn’t. You had a battlefield to get to. A networking event. A bride to maybe convince that she wanted to marry her groom. 

By the end of the wedding, your purse was full of business cards, and your lips were full of promises to call women on Monday to get them on your books as clients. Your face muscles hurt, your feet ached, and your heart was breaking.

Your phone was full of notifications, and not a single one of them was from your loving boyfriend. Did he get JFK’d somewhere? He couldn’t have. It would have been all over the news already if he did. Sam would have called you, too. Besides that, the serum in his veins would have him feeling the murderous intent from a thousand miles away.

You were pretty certain that he wasn’t joking when he said that he assassinated JFK, too. Except, you were drunk when he confessed that to you during a drinking game that you two were doing when you first started dating. You don’t know if you dreamt it. Bucky refuses to comment, like a true politician.

You make it through the rest of the wedding, get invited to the afterparty, decline, and step out into the street to wait for your Uber to arrive. A car pulls up to the curb that you know is not a silver hatchback like the app indicates, so you ignore it–

“What’s a pretty girl like you doing all alone on a Friday night?”

Your head snaps up at the voice. Bucky’s stepping out of the driver’s side, holding a colorful arrangement of fresh summer flowers for you, wrapped in kraft paper, tied off with a bow. He’s dressed in a formal suit– bowtie and everything. You vaguely remember him telling you that there was a gala event that was happening tonight the last time that you two had a chance to speak on the phone. He must have had a chance to slip away from there. 

“Need a ride?” he asked, feet stopping just right before you.

You let out a laugh, looking up at him. You take a moment to admire him. Bucky’s smiling at you. There’s so much love in his eyes for you. There always is. In fact, it seemed as if there was more love there than there was than the last time he saw you. You were certain that there would be double the amount the next time you would meet.

“I have one,” you sighed, deciding to play coy with him. “Coming in about five more minutes.”

Bucky clicked his tongue, shaking his head. “Five minutes? That’s too long. Shouldn’t make you wait out here for even a second.”

You couldn’t fight back the grin that makes its way onto your face. You close the remaining distance between the two of you, your hand resting on his chest as you lean upwards towards him to meet his lips. Bucky’s hand wraps around your back, holding you to him to stabilize you, a small sigh escaping through his nose. 

“Hi, handsome,” you hummed, parting from him. 

Your smile only widened a little more when Bucky chased after your lips instinctively, wanting more. Wanting another kiss. You gave him just a couple more pecks before you settled the heels of your shoes back onto the cement of the sidewalk. A laugh rumbled through you at the disappointed look on his face.

“How’d you know where my wedding was, Congressman?” you asked, looking back at your phone to cancel the ride. 

“Oh you know. A birdie told me,” Bucky said, shrugging as he moved to open the passenger door for you.

“You had Redwing spy on me?’ you raised an eyebrow at him, stepping into the car..

“More like I had Sam send a trail on you tonight. Don’t know if he used Redwing,” he corrected, holding the flowers out for you to take. 

You rolled your eyes at him as you took the bouquet. He was messing with you, and you knew it. You shared your location with him on your phone a long time ago, and he only just figured out how to use the function of it a few months back. He was even shocked to find out that there was such a feature so easily accessible on regular technology. Bucky even asked you if you had his location. You didn’t, and you told him that you didn’t want it. You figured he would be weirded out by that kind of stuff as a former spy, and you were right. He was more at ease after your reassurance. 

However, he did enjoy the fact that he didn’t have to go through several satellite feeds and camera playbacks to find where you were.

In the car, the music is soft. Low. Something from the forties that you don’t really listen to unless you’re with Bucky. He’s tapping his finger on the steering wheel to the beat of the song, and you find yourself relaxing into the comfortable leather of the seat. 

Neither of you are speaking, nor do you find the need to. 

Bucky knows you. You’re exhausted after an event like this. He used to ask you how the job went, like a mission debrief. To you, it is a mission. This was your battlefield, and you just fought against enemies and kept your cool against a thousand different obstacles that could’ve made the mission go sideways.

He learned over time that you just wanted silence, the same way that he did. Bucky used to think that you wanted to talk after these events, which wasn’t totally wrong. You talked if the event went horribly wrong and you needed to vent your frustration out to someone that wouldn’t get you fired. You talked his ear off because you couldn’t say what you wanted to in front of your own clients.

Bucky misunderstood and thought you wanted to talk after every single event. Eventually, he realized that most of the time, you enjoyed the peace and quiet of a job well done. That you wanted to sit without having to force a smile anymore, to close your eyes, and feel the weight of his hand on your thigh comfortingly as he drove. 

The sound of a text message coming through cut off the music momentarily. Your eyes cracked open, and on the center screen of Bucky’s dashboard, you saw there was a message from Bucky’s one and only friend.

Don’t Respond [12:08am]: Did she find out what you’re doing yet?

“What’s Sam talking about?” you asked, shifting to reach for Bucky’s phone that was in the cupholder. 

Bucky was faster. His hand left your thigh, grabbing the device before you could. He looked at the small screen momentarily, taking his eyes off the road for just a second. Then, you watched as he long pressed the side of his phone, turning it off completely before putting it back in the cupholder.

“Nothing, sweetheart. I’ll text him back later,” Bucky said, giving you a smile before looking back at the road. His hand returned back to its rightful place on your thigh. 

You stared at the side of his face, blinking at him. There was no more music in the car, since his phone was turned off. You were left in silence, just the low thrum of the engine and your thoughts being your only source of entertainment as Bucky turned into your apartment’s parking garage.

Bucky will text him back later? Bucky will text him back later?

No the fuck he won’t. 

As much as Bucky loves new technology like a nerd loves Star Wars, he hates it all at the same time. He thinks it’s disgusting for any sane person to spend the amount of time they do glued to their phones willingly outside of educational and work purposes. He’s a man that had zero choice in life, and he prefers to see the world. If he has free time, there is no way in hell that he will waste it typing away on a tiny screen to text back anyone. 

Except you, of course. He’ll only text and call you.

His reaction was even more strange. Bucky didn’t swat your hand away or anything like that. He didn’t scramble to get to his phone before you did– but he did react. He didn’t answer you. He deflected. He’s always answered your questions to the fullest.

Besides that, this wasn’t anything new between the two of you. You always texted Sam back through Bucky’s phone. When Sam texted, you would read it out loud, Bucky would answer, and you would type what Bucky said, but in a nicer… less aggressive way. In fact, 99% of the conversations Bucky had with Sam through text was done by you. Sam still did not know of that fact, and you were not going to be the one to tell him. 

You’re still reeling in your own thoughts by the time you get to your apartment. 

You shove your downward spiral for just a moment to accept Bucky’s extremely tempting offer to shower together– which is never anything sexual. 

Bucky enjoys the intimacy of being able to hold you, bare, and help you get cleaned from your day. It’s one of his favorite things to do. You revel in the way he takes his time, hands scrubbing at your scalp slowly to lather up the shampoo. He’ll ensure that not a single part of your body goes untouched.

You do the same for him. You take great care in every part of his body. You remember the first time you touched his scars– paid close attention to them. It looked self-inflicted. Nothing like a surgery or done by doctors or scientists, like how he said the arm was attached to him. When you saw his face, you knew you were right.

Every once in a while, you can still see the dark shadow casting over his eyes when your hands run over his shoulders. You simply move to kiss against the scars to quietly remind him that you aren’t afraid of him, and you watch as the shadows fall mercy to the light.

You finish your own skincare routine faster than he does, as per usual. 

“I don’t understand why the hell I have to do this, doll,” he grumbled as you left the bathroom. “I’m over a century old.”

“And I’m trying to make sure that you don’t look like it,” you replied over your shoulder. 

Bucky huffed, but continued with the routine that you strictly put him on. He complained, but he never went against your words. You knew that he was still following it even when he wasn’t spending the night at your place, too. He’s always been a handsome man, but you would say that he’s been leveled up even more since you came around.

While he’s distracted, you move towards his bag. 

You don’t distrust him, but you’re not stupid either. Turning off his phone, saying things out of character– yeah. Something is different. What’s even weirder is that he doesn’t have any of his usual things with him. There’s only his laptop. He doesn’t have any of his regular written notebooks or calendars that he usually carries around with him. The man loves his written, visual items. He likes to flip through pages and see things with his own eyes, to be able to edit with a pen instead of a tap of his fingers.

You hear the last cap of the bottle close, and shut his bag. You’re only left with more questions as you move his bag towards the hanger where your own purses hang.

“Ah– sorry,” Bucky apologized, seeing you move his stuff. 

“It’s alright,” you hummed, thankful you were able to play off your snooping.

The two of you move towards your bed, sliding under the sheets. You settled into his arms naturally, assuming the position that the two of you had found most comfortable in the almost two years of dating. Your head rested on his bicep like it was a pillow, his metal arm coming around you to wrap around your waist to keep you cool against his furnace of a body. 

“You ever respond to Sam?” you whispered into his chest, closing your eyes to snuggle closer into him.

“Fuck,” Bucky groaned, moving to grab his phone from the nightstand behind him. You immediately shifted, just slightly– to try and see the screen.

But so did he.

With one hand, he angled his phone so that it was distorted. The brightness was down low enough that you weren’t able to properly see the messages between both men. However, you saw him silence the chat. You saw the swipe of his thumb, and the icon that signified a silenced message.

Then, Bucky put his phone face down on the nightstand before returning to you.

“Good night, doll,” he murmured to you, hand moving to tilt your head up to him. He kissed you once, twice, a third time before settling back against the pillow. “I love you.”

“Night,” you whispered back, though your mind was everything but asleep. Suspicion was creeping up on you. You could feel it– the sign of something coming. You pushed your gut feeling down. “I love you, too.”

Bucky ❤︎ [2:48pm]: What days do you think are your most free days right now?

You paused, staring at the text on your screen. This is different. This isn’t a text that you normally received from Bucky. Especially not in the middle of the work day, either. Momentarily, you want to entertain the idea that someone stole his phone, but you were certain that someone would be injured or dying if they even got close to ever trying to rob Bucky.

Me [2:50pm]: Are you asking me on a date, Congressman?

Bucky ❤︎ [2:53pm]: I’m trying to plan one instead of our random spontaneous ones, yes. Can you let me know what days work best for you so I can look at my calendar?

Last time he ‘planned’ a date, the two of you went to Romania for your first year anniversary for a week. You didn’t even realize that’s what he meant by planning a date until you were at the fucking airport with no luggage. Except he packed for you, had your passport, and everything else you could possibly need. You were just completely oblivious to the entire thing. 

Me [2:54pm]: Is this a trip kinda date?

Bucky ❤︎ [2:55pm]: No, but I do need two days of your time.

Me [2:56pm]: You’re asking for a lot, handsome.

Bucky ❤︎ [3:01pm]: I promise I’ll be worth it.

You smile at your phone at his words. Of course he’ll be worth it. You take a moment to go through your calendar, flipping back and forth between all your different events. You cross check between client meetings, event plannings, meetings with your coworkers and boss, and then text him back with your response. 

Me [3:12pm]: Weekends are really bad right now. Mondays, too. Wednesdays are also surprisingly bad… Tuesdays and Thursdays are the best. Fridays are a hit and miss.

Bucky ❤︎ [3:25pm]: Tuesdays are bad for me. Rep. dinners on Tuesday nights and Wednesday morning debriefs. Can you block out Thursday and Friday for me two months from now? The 17th and 18th. I’ll give you more details about our date when it comes closer.

Two months? That’s more than enough time to block out. You’ll even take the weekend off for good measure, just in case. Still, two months is a long time to prepare for just a date. You can’t help but tease him a little bit.

Me [3:27pm]: You don’t plan on seeing me for two months? :( 

Bucky ❤︎ [3:30pm]: You’re funny. We’ll still have our random and spontaneous dates. Like tonight. I’m picking you up for dinner. Don’t call a ride after work.

Excitement flutters in your chest. You saw him four days ago, but you’re still happy. 

Time is thankfully on your side today, and he’s waiting for you outside your company’s building. You’re starved for food, for his affection, attention, and everything in between. 

Except all of that dies once his phone rings in the middle of dinner. Bucky silences it, and you see the screen. It has a name that you don’t recognize, then his phone goes faced down onto the table. A few moments later, it buzzes, indicating there was a voicemail left. Bucky swipes the device, pocketing it safely away. 

You’re really trying to not let this bother you. But change doesn’t just happen overnight, and this is Bucky’s personal phone. This isn’t even his work phone. He leaves his work phone in his bag, permanently silenced when he’s not working. This is his phone that he carries with him that he purposely ignores, that is only supposed to have two contacts in it– yours and Sams.

Bucky drove back to your apartment, even though his apartment is closer to the restaurant that he chose for the two of you to eat at tonight. 

You’re lying awake in his arms that night, listening to the sounds of Bucky’s soft snores as he sleeps beside you. It took him a long time to be able to sleep first between the two of you. You used to see how long you could stay up, to see if you could fall asleep after him. The first time he fell asleep on your lap, you almost cried.

Now, you’re staring at his sleeping face wondering if he thinks you’re a fucking idiot. 

The signs are right there. All the blaring signs are screaming in your face, loud and angry. The hidden phone screen, calls, and texts. Hiding his calendar, and all his written notes from you. The sudden trip planning, even though there was nothing special about two months from now. Two months was your twenty third month together. Not even the second year anniversary. 

Yeah, Bucky thought you were stupid.

The biggest sign? You’re currently sleeping in your own bed, and not in his. He’s hiding something in his apartment that he doesn’t want you to find—

An engagement ring. 

You go through Bucky’s drawers like those are your own clothes to wear because they are, and he loves to see you in his shirts. You once spent an entire weekend properly organizing his apartment in a way that made sense because his junk drawer consisted of bullets and lego pieces from when Sam’s nephews came over.

You once found guns and daggers in his apartment just by dropping pens and searching for them. There’s absolutely no way that Bucky can hide a velvet box anywhere in his apartment from you that you won’t accidentally stumble across. Hell– you found a loaded nine millimeter in your own apartment, and asked what the hell it was doing there. 

“Safety,” is all he answered with.

This was your job. This is what you did for a living. You helped other boyfriends hide proposals from girlfriends like this. This is exactly what you did– this is how you told them to do it, though you were a little more slick with it. You definitely made sure your clients weren���t hiding their phones from their potential fiance’s, that’s for sure. 

You made sure that your clients did not know that they were being proposed to. It was your mission, honestly. You saw enough of those TikTok’s where women truly had that gut feeling where they knew it was happening. You refused. It needed to be a surprise. You scouted out every single person in your client’s lives to ensure that every single moment would come to be a surprise. From ensuring that their nails would be done to the ring itself- everything would be perfect. 

Your boyfriend of almost two years was planning on proposing to you in two months, and he thought you wouldn’t find out? Jesus Christ– what were you going to do with him?

Marry him, you supposed.

If you were anyone else, if you were any less stable in your emotions, you would’ve thought he was cheating on you. Hiding his phone definitely made your eyebrow twitch for half a second, if you were being honest. Thankfully, you were able to maintain a rational and sane mind.

Sane was an overstatement. You were now planning an entire wedding in your head without the engagement ring on your finger. You were anything but sane. Insanity was taking over every single cell in your brain as you stared at Bucky, imagining your future. The thought made you extremely giddy. 

A smile crept up on the corner of your lips as you moved into the warmth of his embrace. His arms tightened around you instinctively, and he let out a soft, contented sigh.

You can’t keep it to yourself as the date starts coming closer and closer. 

Mel, who has graduated as your client and now has become your friend, is sitting in your apartment, telling you about her most recent date with her boyfriend of six months. Not in a way that she would when you were her matchmaker, but as friends would. You find yourself liking this arrangement much, much more.

“Enough about me though,” she grinned, swirling the wine in her glass. “Tell me about you and Bucky. How are things going?”

“You really wanna talk about the guy that your boss hates?” you asked, raising an eyebrow at her as you take a sip out of your own glass.

“I can separate work from girl talk,” Mel said, smiling at you. 

“Well,” you said, smiling at her, “If you’re free the rest of the evening, I was wondering if you wanted to get your nails done with me?”

“Nails?” Mel repeated, raising her eyebrows at you as she brought the glass to her lips.

“Yeah,” you nodded. “I think Bucky’s gonna propose to me on Thursday.”

Her eyes widened as she choked on her wine, the alcohol spluttering back into the glass. You couldn’t hold back a laugh before you jumped to your feet. You turned, rushing to grab paper towels from your kitchen to wipe off her face before it dripped, and stained her clothes. 

“Shit– shit! I’m so sorry,” she coughed, patting her face. 

“It’s okay,” you said between laughter, desperately trying to compose yourself. “Do you– do you want more wine?”

“Do I want– No! What? We need to go to the salon now! One of us needs to drive! Why the hell don’t you have a car again?!”

“Uh… I just… order a ride everywhere, or Bucky drives me,” you answered her, sheepish. “I’ll just order us a ride, we’ve both had a glass already. We don’t need to drive there, Mel.”

“Must be nice–”

A knock on your door makes you both pause. You move, going to check the peephole and find your boyfriend standing there with a box in his hands. You rip the door open, shocked.

“Bucky?” you asked, surprised. “Don’t you have a dinner to get to soon? It’s Tuesday.” 

“Yes, but I wanted to drop this off to you,” he said, giving you a smile. He leaned over the box, pressing a chaste kiss to your lips. “Just a present. Saw it, thought it would look nice on you.”

“What is it?” you asked as he transferred over the gift box to you.

“A dress,” he shrugged. “What are you up to today?”

“Mel’s here,” you said, opening the door further so he could see her. He looked past you, giving her a small wave that you’re certain that she returned back. “We’re about to go get our nails done. I was about to order a ride.”

“Oh? Don’t do that. I’ll just drop you two off. You’ll go the place you always do, right? It’s on the way to the dining hall,” he said.

“What? I don’t want you to be late,” you said, frowning at him. 

“It’s fine,” Bucky insisted, shaking his head. “They can start without me. Talbot is late more than a few times anyways.”

“It’s true,” Mel said from behind you. You turned around to look at her, finding that she was gathering her jacket and purse. “Talbot is always late.”

“See? Thank you, Mel.” There’s a bit of a gloating tone to his voice that makes you smack his arm. Bucky chuckled in response, a smile settling over his face. “Come on now, grab your stuff so we can get down to the car so I’m not too late for the meeting.”

You sighed, knowing that you wouldn’t be able to change his mind and get him to leave you. You put the box on the counter to inspect once you return later, and snatch your purse from where it’s resting on the table. Both you and Mel follow Bucky down to the car. He holds open the back door for both of you to climb into the backseat like he’s your chauffeur, and not your boyfriend.

Bucky drives in silence, you and Mel scrolling through pinterest hurriedly during the car ride for inspiration pictures for your nails while trying to be subtle about the fact that you know that you’re getting proposed to. Your boyfriend doesn’t seem to notice that you know, though.

Once he pulls up to the salon, Mel thanks him for the ride and slides out. You lean over the console to give him a kiss, and he grabs your hand, stopping you.

His card is slid into your palm, and his lips are pressed against your knuckles.

“I’ll pay for you and Mel,” he said, giving you one more smile.

You want to race down the aisle right at that moment. 

Instead, you get your nails done with Mel, swallow down butterflies that are forcing their way up your throat, and get to the restaurant that Bucky told you to meet him at while he runs late at his last meeting before your date. 

It’s a beautiful skyline restaurant in the middle of New York that your own company can’t even secure a date at. You’ve tried multiple times. In fact, your own clients have wanted to get proposals done at this restaurant. It just couldn’t be done. Reservations were booked out at least a year in advance, and somehow Bucky was able to secure the two of you a spot with two months to spare. 

There’s live music playing here by world renowned musicians. The chefs are even more well known. The lighting was low so that it wouldn’t take away from the view outside the windows. The time of night that Bucky chose was perfect– New York was lit up like stars on the ground from the table that you were sitting at. 

You were dressed in the gift Bucky bought for you. A backless, square neckline gown. The straps came up and wrapped around your neck like a halter top would, and tied around the back in a thin bow, the long straps kissing down your bare spine. It was soft and airy against your skin. 

Bucky arrived earlier than you expected, but you were sure he was still later than he wanted to be. Either way, he still had another bouquet of fresh flowers in his hands for you that you two had placed under the table. Of course, he didn’t take a seat before giving you a kiss for a greeting, and murmuring his apology for not being able to pick you up.

“You look beautiful,” he said, smiling at you. “I didn’t think you would wear it tonight.”

“I thought you bought it for me to wear tonight?” you asked as he placed the flowers under the table. You watched as he sat down across from you. 

“Mm… Well, I bought it for you to wear,” he said, reaching his hand across the table. You easily slipped your hand into his, watching him bring your hand to his lips to press a kiss to your knuckles. “When you wear it doesn’t matter to me. I just wanted to get you a present.”

“A present?” you echoed, unable to stop smiling. “Even though you already do so much for me?”

“Doesn’t mean I can’t want to do more for you, sweetheart,” he hummed. 

The waiter came by not a moment later, letting you know that the first course would be coming out momentarily. You both thanked him, and returned back to each other. 

“I feel like I don’t see you as much these days,” Bucky said, thumbs brushing over your knuckles. 

“It’s been really busy for the two of us,” you agreed, releasing a soft sigh. 

“I even contemplated hiring you as a matchmaker again, just so I could block out meetings and have you in my office again,” he joked, making you laugh. 

“That would be fraudulent, Congressman,” you teased, shaking your head. “For you and me.”

“What are they gonna do? Threaten to fire you again?” 

You rolled your eyes, but the smile on your face is firmly planted, and isn’t moving anytime soon. 

“You know our dates don’t always have to be somewhere big or fancy, right?” you tell him, your voice softer.

“So you keep telling me,” he hummed, squeezing your hand a little bit. “I know, sweetheart. You said this to me. Several times. I just want to do this for you. For me, too.”

You soften a little bit at his words. You’re gently reminded of a previous confession he told you from when you first started dating. 

You told him that you were more than happy to just get takeout with him on busier days. To get fast food or something quick, if it meant that you two would have more time to spend together. You didn’t always have to sit down and eat somewhere nice. He said that he knew that, and he liked doing that, too. But as a kid in the forties, he always wanted to be the kind of man that was able to spoil his girl rotten– to bring his woman to the best places and sign the check without batting an eye.

This kind of thing was healing for him, too.

“We can get burgers tomorrow,” Bucky said, giving you a smile. 

“Deal,” you grinned at him. 

The first course of your meal was brought out to the two of you. You two never spoke about work over food. It was your rule. You talked about everything else. Sam. Mel. Your parents and siblings. The conversation Bucky overheard while he was in line getting coffee the other day. 

There was always a lot to talk about when you two never saw each other. Then again, you were certain that you would ever run out of words even if you spent every waking moment with him. If there ever came to be a time when that was the case, you were more than happy to spend the rest of eternity in a peaceful silence with him, as long as you were able to hold him. 

Topics never ran dry between the two of you. More than once, you two needed to remind yourselves to shut the fuck up in this fancy establishment because there were sophisticated people around you having very nice meals. 

“I’ll book a private room next time,” Bucky said under his breath.

“I don’t think they’ll let us come back, babe,” you whispered between soft, gasping laughs. “The host is glaring at us.”

That only made Bucky snort, which made you have to cover your own mouth in return before another fit of giggles wrecked through your body. It took everything in the both of you to compose yourselves before dessert was brought out. 

Once your table was cleared off, and you were left with just your wine glasses and the centerpiece on the table, you and Bucky smiled at each other. You were strangely reminded of your first date with him. So you told him that.

“This reminds you of our first date?” he said, his nose crinkling just slightly. “How so?”

“Mm… The ambiance,” you said, shrugging just a bit. You rested your chin in your palm. “You. Me.”

“It’s always you and me on our dates, sweethearts. Who else would it be?” he sarcastically joked, rolling his eyes at you.

“You know what I mean,” you scoffed at him, watching him smile a bit. “I just… feel a bit nostalgic. Just a… who knew, kinda thing.”

“I knew,” Bucky said, making you pause for a second.

“You knew?” you repeated his words, raising an eyebrow at him. Your heart picked up speed just a little bit. This felt like the start of a speech– the start to the speech.

Bucky cleared his throat, and your chest grew tighter at the sound. He shifted in his seat, and you watched as his hand dipped into his pocket. Oh, shit. It’s coming. Your eyes shot back to his face, and your mouth went dry.

“I thought you were the matchmaker, sweetheart. You didn’t know that we would end up together?” he clicked his tongue at you. “I knew I couldn’t trust a matchmaker that didn’t have a boyfriend of her own.”

“I have a boyfriend now, don’t I?” you asked, but thought– Not for long.

He smiled, eyes meeting yours. Then, a velvet box is produced. Placed right on the table in front of you. You can’t bring yourself to look down at it, not when Bucky is still looking at you.

“I want to spend the rest of my days with you. And it’s getting really fucking hard when I can’t see you all the time because we both live on opposite sides of the city, and have awful work schedules that keep us apart. Even so, I love you so much and I can’t imagine being with anyone else,” he confessed to you. Bucky takes in a deep breath that slightly shakes before he whispers out your name, nervous, “Will you move in with me?”

You freeze.

What the fuck?

“Move in with you?” you echoed, blinking.

Bucky opens the box. It’s a key. A shiny, silver key.

“I bought a penthouse in Manhattan,” Bucky said, sliding the box over to you to inspect the key even closer. “I want to see you more often. Not just the random dates when we both have time– I want to sleep next to you every night, and wake up to you in the mornings.”

“A penthouse… In Manhattan,” you said slowly. 

Your brain was short circuiting. In fact, it was fried. Gone.  You were still staring at the key, lips parted. He… wasn’t proposing to you tonight?

“I’m sorry. Am I– Are we moving too fast?” Bucky suddenly asked you, and you could hear the panic in his voice. 

Your head snapped up to look at him. His eyebrows were furrowed in worry, eyes scanning all over your face. You slapped yourself mentally. You could only imagine how you looked just now– staring at him and the key with a blank look on your face, and giving him no answer.

“What? No! No, Bucky– we’re not moving too fast at all,” you reassured him, hands darting across the table to take his hands in yours. “Most couples our age move in together by the first year or so. Mel and her boyfriend are already planning on moving in together when Mel’s lease breaks in a couple months.”

Bucky lets out a breath of relief, and you watch as his shoulders drop. You feel guilt surge through you at the pure stress that is released from his body at that moment.

“God– I just… You know, the penthouse… It’s fully furnished. I’ve been– Sam has been helping me out, actually. He helped me meet with some realtors, get the place fully furnished and decorated,” Bucky said, dragging a hand down his face. “I’ve been living there for the past two and a half months while waiting for all the furniture to come in, and it’s finally all finished as of yesterday and it never occurred to me that you could possibly say no until just now.”

“You’ve been– Is that why you take me back to my apartment after our dates? Instead of yours?” you asked, surprised.

“I already got rid of my other place, sweetheart,” he said, giving you a small, anxious smile. You can see him bouncing his leg up and down just slightly. “Got the penthouse so that we could have enough space for your stuff and mine.”

“You took me out to a fancy dinner, and prepared a speech for me to ask me to move in with you?” you whispered, your heart feeling fuller by the minute.

“I grew up in a time where couples didn’t move in together until after they were married, doll,” Bucky reminded you, his voice small and soft. 

You’re speechless, for just a moment. You take your eyes off of him, to look down at the key in the box, a smile finding its way on your face. You look back up at him, watching as he mirrors your own smile.

“I think it’s time to head home, Congressman.”

Bucky trails behind you quietly as you step into the penthouse. The elevator directly leads to your home– something that you had only ever seen in movies before. You barely took a step into the rest of the home before you were running numbers into your head.

“What’s my share of the bills?” you asked, heart racing as you look up at the high ceilings. “And don’t you dare tell me not to worry about it, Bucky. If we’re living together, then we’re splitting bills. I don’t care that you make more money than me–”

“We’ll talk about finances later, baby,” he cut you off, hands rubbing your shoulders to soothe you. “We’ll split it equally based on our incomes. Just go explore for right now.”

“I don’t know if I can afford this, Bucky,” you said, turning around to look at him. You were freaking out.

“Your salary was put into play when I got this place,” he said, cradling your face. “Sam and I met with the banks. We met with financial advisors to ensure that this would be feasible for both you and me. Please don’t ask how we got your information.”

“Is there a loan–”

“There’s no loan,” he assured you. “Do you trust me?”

“I do,” you answered instantly. 

Bucky gave you a smile, then pressed a kiss to your lips. You melted into his embrace, feeling your worries wash away with just one touch. He wrapped his arms around you, rubbing your back comfortingly. When he pulled away, another kiss was pressed to your forehead. 

“I’ll give you all the documents later to look over. If you still hate it, then we’ll break the lease, and we’ll find somewhere else. I don’t care where we live. I just want to be somewhere that’s with you,” he promised. 

“Okay,” you breathed, nodding. 

Bucky’s hands leave your body, and he steps away from you. He’s quietly urging you to take a look around. 

You had two floors to explore. The elevator opened up the first floor, where there was an open concept condo. You were staring at a living room, kitchen, floor to ceiling windows, and there were built-in shelves on the wall that held Bucky’s books– and had empty spaces for your own books. Down here, there were two doors– one leading to a half bath and the other leading to a home office. 

You saw two desks, separated by a bookshelf. Bucky’s desk was already occupied with his things, while yours was empty and waiting to be used. On the shelf were pictures and other momentos collected by Bucky over the duration of your relationship so far. There was space for you to decorate with whatever you pleased. On the other end of the room was a daybed and some other furniture to cozy up the area. 

Upstairs, there was a platform for another lounge area. Also furnished to hang out in case the two of you ever had any guests come over. Here, your bedroom was behind a closed door. 

A king sized bed was in the middle of the room, along with two nightstands on either side of it. There was a full walk in closet, Bucky already having his stuff hanging on his side with yours waiting to be filled. The windows are touching the floor just like they are outside, and Bucky has the curtains pulled back so you can see the city lights from your bedroom window. 

“What if I get fired?” you whispered, Bucky’s arms wrapping around your waist from behind. “I won’t be able to pay my share of the bills.”

“I’ll pay then,” he said, pressing kisses to your bare shoulder and neck.

“What if you get fired? Or what if you quit? Join Sam and return back to action?” you asked, heart racing. 

Bucky chuckled against your neck, squeezing you against him. 

“Iron Man’s late wife donates a large portion every year to the heroes that do the work. If that’s me, then we’ll be fine,” he promised you. “It’s how Sam gets paid right now.”

“Oh,” you breathed, nodding a little dumbly. You tilted your head to the side, allowing him more access to more skin. You felt him smile against you. 

“You like the place then?”

“I can’t believe you hid this from me.”

“I hide you from the entire American government so you can continue to walk the streets of New York without being asked about politics that you don’t care about. I hid Romania from you. I think I can hide an apartment,” he listed off, scoffing softly at the end.

All of your hair is gathered in one of his hands to get it out of his way as he continues to press dizzying, nipping kisses against your body.

“A penthouse,” you managed to correct.

“Same thing,” he muttered, and you felt him tug on the string of your dress. A moment later, the soft fabric was sliding down your body, and pooling at your feet, “C’mon, sweetheart. We gotta christen the place.”

You’re being turned around to face him, and your arms move to slide up his chest and wrap around his neck. Bucky’s lips met yours in an opened mouthed kiss halfway, tongue gliding over yours easily. 

Your eyes fluttered shut, and you sighed into his mouth, feeling his hands glide up and down the sides of your body. Something about him being fully dressed, and you with nearly nothing at all did something to the both of you.

Your fingers grabbed onto the collar of his dress shirt, tugging him into a deeper, needier kiss. Bucky groaned into your mouth in response, hands finding purchase on the flesh of your ass. His fingers dug into the supple skin, making you moan softly as he groped you.

Your boyfriend gently pushed you until your back was pressed against the window. Once you were situated where he wanted you, Bucky parted from your lips, only to attach himself to your neck once again. He kept shifting, moving down to your collarbones, your chest, your sternum. Lower. 

You watched helplessly, every inch of you thrumming with desire and need as Bucky slowly shifted to his knees in front of you. His hands moved down your body, dragging your underwear down your legs as he positioned himself to sit back on his feet, thighs spread just a bit for comfort. You’re certain your breathing was erratic as you stared at him.

Usually, you were the one on your knees for Bucky. This was different– this was new. You were more than certain that you would still be the one at his mercy.

“Don’t your feet hurt in these heels?” Bucky asked, hand closing around one of your ankles to lift your foot off the ground slightly. “They look uncomfortable. Very tall.”

“It’s not too bad,” you whispered, unable to trust your voice to speak any louder. “I like these shoes.”

“I bought them for you,” he said, tilting his head as he examined the design a little closer.

“That’s why I like them,” you murmured.

Bucky chuckled just a little bit, shaking his head. He moved slowly on purpose, undoing the strap around your ankle and slowly pulling it off of your foot like you were some sort of princess. He gently led your foot back down to the floor, keeping an eye on your posture to make sure you didn’t suddenly fall from the shift in height. When he was certain that you were stable, he switched over to the next foot, repeating the same process.

Except, he didn’t put your foot back onto the ground. Bucky lifted your leg higher, pressing a kiss to the inside of your ankle, eyes closing as he did. When they opened, he met your gaze, never looking away as his kisses went higher and higher up your leg. He settled your knee to hook around his shoulder, moving to fully kneel before you as his hands went to grab your waist, keeping you pressed against the glass behind you. A firm, tight grip. 

You wouldn’t be able to run from whatever he was about to do to you. Not that you would ever want to.

If he wasn’t holding you up, you were certain you would’ve folded over and collapsed the second his tongue met your heat. The vibrations from the groan sent shockwaves through your entire body that made you tremble above him, hands darting to grab onto his shoulders for an extra form of stability as his tongue parted your folds and flattened against you.

“Shit, Bucky,” you moaned, your mind going blank. All you could feel was him. 

His tongue dipping just slightly in and out of your aching hole, only to drag up to your sensitive clit to swirl figure eights around the nub. Bucky’s hands on your torso, his thumbs  drawing circles into your skin to soothe you against the stimulation he was giving you. The heat of his body radiating against yours from where he was positioned beneath you. 

“Your pussy is squeezing around nothing, baby,” he murmured, pulling away from your core for just a moment, a whine ripping through your throat in response. Bucky clicked his tongue at you, and kissed the inside of your thigh to subdue you. “Have I been neglecting you? Not fucking you enough for you to be so needy?”

Definitely not. Maybe it was the fact that everything was crashing down on you. The fact Bucky went so far to secure the two of you an entire home without you knowing, furnishing the whole place, meeting with financial advisors– all of it made you incredibly desperate for him. 

It was like that one time when you watched him do the dishes for the first time at the beginning of your relationship. He was at your apartment, doing your dishes that you were too lazy to do before he came over. You don’t know what the hell happened to you at that moment, but you just watched him. The second the water turned off, you were unzipping his pants and giving him head. It confused him, but he also wasn’t complaining. 

“I’m always needy for you,” you barely managed to answer him.

Bucky’s lips parted, eyes scanning your figure above him for a few moments. Then, one of his hands left your waist, and two fingers were shoved into you without a single warning. 

A moan ripped through your throat, and you weren’t given a chance to even recover before his mouth was back on your clit, sucking and flicking at the sensitive nub. His fingers entered and exited you at a delicious speed, and he could feel you coming apart around him. Your body was beginning to tremble, walls beginning to shake– and he curled his fingers the way he knew you liked.

You came undone, Bucky’s hand moving to press against your stomach to keep you from collapsing forward. Your chest rose and fell in uneven breaths as you whimpered his name, tugging on his hair weakly to pull away from your overstimulated body. 

Reluctantly, he released you. Bucky’s hands never left you as he stood, keeping you upright. Your legs were still shaking when you had both feet on the ground, but fuck if you were going to let Bucky stay dressed. 

You had every intention of returning the favor once Bucky was just as bare as you were. Bucky saw it in your eyes, too. The way your gaze dropped down his torso to his cock that was stiff and high up against his stomach, waiting for you. You barely moved your hair to the side before you were being spun back around, chest pressed to the glass– eyes to the view of the New York city skyline. 

“Next time, doll,” he promised, pressing a kiss to your shoulder blade that made you shiver. You let out a small moan as you felt him drag the length of his dick through your folds, coating himself in your slick to get him ready to enter. “Gotta be inside you right now or I might go insane.”

“Hurry up, then,” you whined to him, pressing your ass back further into him. A mistake, and you knew it. Not that it really was a mistake on your end though.

His hand came around from your stomach, gripping your throat and jaw, pulling you back into him. Your back was arched, hands resting on the glass for some sort of security in the position he had you in. Bucky forced your head to turn, to look at him. 

Bucky wanted to watch your face contort with pleasure as he finally slid in, watch as you fell apart as he speared you full with his cock. There was a look of satisfaction and fucking arrogance in his eyes with the way your mouth fell open in a noiseless moan. Bucky took advantage of it, shoving his tongue into your mouth to swallow up any of the noises that he knew would start coming once his hips started moving.

You couldn’t keep up– not with his kiss, not with the pacing– not with anything that was happening right now. His hips were snapping into yours at such a brutal pace, his metal hand gripping your hip to keep you in place, and you barely managed to pull away from his lips to breathe. 

“So good– so good,” he groaned as you turned back to the glass, chin falling to your chest for a moment as you moaned in response. 

Bucky didn’t let your head hang for too much longer. He pulled your head back up to look out the window, and you could feel his breath against your ear as he continued to pound his hips from behind you.

“Isn’t the view so nice, baby?” he whispered to you.

“Wh… what?” you moaned, mind spiraling for just a moment.

“It’s so nice,” he continued, grunting behind you, “I know your pussy loves it– loves it when I fuck you in front of all of New York to see.”

Excitement shoots through you, and you unexpectedly clamped around him. Bucky’s hips stuttered as he cursed softly. You were close– again– and Bucky wasn’t making this any better for you. Then again, you almost just brought Bucky over the edge with you.

“Shit. I knew you were a fucking freak when you tried giving me head in front of my coworkers,” Bucky muttered, a small laugh falling from his lips.

“Bucky,” you whimpered. “I’m so close–”

“It’s too bad. New York can’t have you,” he cut you off, pulling out of you. 

The sense of loss is immediate, but not for long. Once more, he’s spinning you around. This time, he’s hoisting you up like you weigh nothing at all. Your legs are wrapping around his waist immediately, and he’s sinking you back down on his length within seconds. 

Your lips are collided with Bucky as he’s fucking you against the window now, holding you up in his arms as you hang onto him for dear life. Your fingernails are digging into the muscles of his shoulders, scratching down his chest in a way that he once admitted that he loves, and you’re moaning into each other’s mouths.

The thrusts are growing sloppier as the kiss grows messier– there’s no need for words between the two of you anymore. You both know your tells at this point.

Bucky angles his hips just slightly to hit that one spot in you, forcing you over the edge as his own orgasm threatens to take him. Your body seizes, and you can’t kiss him back anymore. Bucky busies himself with your neck, leaving marks on your skin as he fucks you through your high, chasing his own that comes just moments later, coating your walls and dripping down onto the new floors of your new room together.

You’re still panting and trying to catch your breath, head dropped onto his shoulder when Bucky moves, carrying you to the bathroom to clean up. His kisses are softer as he walks over, his words more gentle. His body separates from yours as he rests you on the edge of the bathtub so he can start the water to fill the tub.

“How’s the view?” Bucky asked you, pressing a kiss to your forehead.

A soft laugh rips through you, and you can feel him smile against your skin.

“The view is perfect, handsome.”

You didn’t find a single number out of place in the documents he presented you either. You took an entire weekend going over the numbers while Bucky watched you quietly. He didn’t bother you while you did so. In fact, he just stayed nearby and took the days off work, too. Bucky answered any questions that you possibly could’ve had for him, already knowing what you would’ve thrown his way.

Which only made your heart grow fonder for him, if you were being honest. He knew you like the back of his hand.

Once you were satisfied with everything, he helped you move all your stuff from your previous apartment over to your new home. Bucky timed the move in perfectly– your lease was about to break the following month, so you had just the right amount of time to tie up all your loose ends. 

All you really had to move over to the new place was your wardrobe, books, and sentimentals. You found out very quickly that during your random dates where Bucky would come home with you, he started taking stock of all your little things around the house. Anything that was running low, he just went ahead and bought so it was already at your new home, ready for you to use.

The last couple weeks were spent with you listing all your unneeded furniture up on the marketplace for an extra few bucks. Things like your dining table, sofa, coffee table– everything that Bucky had already bought and decorated for your home together. 

“You know this couch?” Sam asked you as he flopped down on it. “And the coffee table? The rug? Those barstools? The fucking light fixtures?”

You and Bucky invited him and his girlfriend over for dinner for a small celebration– a little get together to commemorate the fact that you and Bucky were officially fully moved in together now. 

“What about it?” you asked, handing him a bottle of beer.

“I picked it. Me. Bucky just swiped his card. You’re so fucking lucky, matchmaker. Your boyfriend sucks. If I wasn’t there– shit. You would’ve had clashing colors and patterns in this luxury penthouse,” Sam scoffed, taking a long swig. “I had a fucking headache just standing there. The sales associate thought we were married the way I was arguing with him in the store.”

“You two basically are,” you said, grinning against the rim of your own bottle.

“Don’t say that,” Bucky muttered, a shudder running through his body. “I’d rather die than spend the rest of my life with that idiot.”

“God, I’m glad we agree,” Sam groaned, shaking his head. 

“We picked more neutral stuff,” Bucky told you, sitting beside you on the couch. An arm draped over your shoulders, pulling you into his warmth. “We thought it would be easier for you to add whatever additions or colors you’d want in the future.”

“Oh, so you did think about me when you purchased an entire penthouse and furnished the whole damn thing without telling me,” you teased. 

Bucky rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t fight the smile on his face. “Yes, sweetheart. I thought of you.”

With the two of you living together now, it was easier for you both to see each other. You reveled in the fact you could fall asleep every night in his arms, even if you went to bed first. He didn’t want you waiting for him if he had an event that had him staying out late, but you would often wake up to him pulling you into his embrace.

In the mornings, Bucky would usually be the one to wake up and leave first. 

You no longer set an alarm on your phone. Bucky’s sweet kisses were your wake up call every morning. He wouldn’t leave until you kissed him back, no matter how long it took you to wake up. 

“Morning,” you would whisper to him.

“Morning,” he’d reply, kissing you one more time for good measure. “I made you breakfast. It’s on the table.”

“Wake me up earlier tomorrow so I can eat with you,” you whined to him, though you just rolled over on your side, closing your eyes again.

Bucky chuckled, leaning over your body to press a kiss to your temple. You sighed, letting the morning wash over you for just one more moment before you pushed up off the bed. You’d follow him downstairs, watch him grab his blazer off the seat of the dining table, and you’d tie his tie for him at the door.

“I’ll be home early tonight. I don’t have any events today,” you said, smoothing out the fabric on his chest.

“You’ve been coming home early every night,” he said, raising his eyebrow at you.

“So have you, Congressman. Almost like there’s something you’re running from. Something you’re avoiding at work?” you teased, smiling at him.

“No. Just trying to get home to you,” he hummed, smoothing out your bedhead with both hands before he held your face gently to kiss you one more time before he went off into the world.

This was your new daily morning routine. 

The trade off on coming home early meant that you still had to do work when you came home. Both of you. However, Bucky seemed to plan for that, which is why he had a room specifically made for a home office for the two of you. 

You two would spend your evenings there before dinner for a few hours, finishing up any work that you weren’t able to do at your respective offices. You two would be silently working on your own jobs.

You, researching your clients preferences and trying to match them up based on their profiles. You would also be looking up the best date spots, trying to keep up with the latest trends for dating, and making sure that you weren’t falling behind on anything else.

Bucky would be going through packets upon packets of different meetings that he would have attended. There were several different duties that he had acquired since you first started dating, and there were a lot of responsibilities that he had started shouldering. You were certain that he was also helping Sam on the side, though he couldn’t tell you full details as per usual. 

Usually, you would stop working when you heard Bucky stop working and open the door to the office. He normally ordered food for the two of you, and would go out to the lobby to pick it up, and bring it back for you two to eat.

It was your signal to put everything down, and relax with him for the rest of the night.

You heard him close his binder, heard the wheels of his chair roll backwards, but you didn’t hear the elevator open and close to signify his departure down. You shook it off– wondering if he just went off to the bathroom or something.

Then, you felt him behind you. 

Bucky’s chest was pressed against your back, enveloping you in his warmth. His hands were on your shoulders, and as always, the left side of your body was colder from the touch of his metal prosthetic. 

“Hi, handsome,” you said, a smile coming onto your face. “Is it time for dinner?”

“Almost. Delivery is on its way,” he answered you.

His hands slid down your shoulders, goosebumps rising on your bare skin as his hands moved all the way down to cover your own hands. He left his hands on top of yours, and you hummed, happy to feel him all over you for just a moment. Bucky’s head pressed against the side of yours, then he dropped his forehead into the crook of your neck.

“Are you okay?” you whispered, tilting your head to the side to give him more space to rest. He took it, burrowing deeper into you.

“Yeah. Just a little nervous,” he murmured into your skin, taking a breath. 

You were about to ask him what he was talking about, to turn around and look at him properly. Then, you felt his hands slide up just a little bit, resting now on your wrists instead of covering your hands completely. Except, there was a weight he left behind that wasn’t there before. Your eyes shifted downwards, and your breath caught in your throat at the ring he slipped onto your finger– the cool metal that he masked with the metal of his own arm.

Your breath is caught in your throat, your eyes widened at the sparkling star on your finger. Bucky plucked this thing out of the fucking sky– he had to. There was no way. 

“Marry me, sweetheart?” he asked softly. There was a slight tremor to his voice that you caught. A slight shaking in his right hand that you could feel. 

You couldn’t repeat what you did at the restaurant, make him freak out with worry over your quiet shock and silence.

Your sudden jolt into standing surprised him, but he didn’t seem to mind when you wrapped your arms around his neck, kissing his lips, then his cheeks, his eyes– everywhere you could as tears were beginning to well up and spill over. You couldn’t help it. You felt Bucky’s anxiety release with each kiss, his hands resting on your waist to hold you against him.

“Is that a yes?” he asked, smiling at you.

“Why would I ever say no to you?” you demanded, making him laugh. “Fuck– I thought you were going to propose to me at the restaurant when you asked me to move in with you!”

“The restaurant?” Bucky asked, blinking. “What– really?”

“Yes!” you nodded, wiping your tears away roughly. Bucky caught your hands, putting them down to your sides so he could wipe your tears away in a more gentle way with his thumbs.

“I wouldn’t do that to you,” he said, looking appalled. “Do you know how many times you have ranted to me about the fact you hate restaurant proposals? You hate planning them, and you hate watching them. Why would I ever propose to you in a restaurant?”

“If it was you, then I would have changed my mind about it right away!” you argued with him, stubborn. “If it was you, you could’ve proposed to me with a candy ring, and I still would have said yes! We can elope– I don’t need a fancy wedding or anything. I just– just you. I just want you, Bucky.”

You watched as his eyes softened for you as he looked all over your features. You were certain that you looked like a mess right now, but you were finding it harder to believe that with the way he was looking at you right now. He looked as if you were the one that created the universe, and solved all his problems. There was nothing but admiration, love, joy. These were eyes that only you had the privilege to see. 

A smile came onto his face, one that you adored. A smile that you were going to be able to have for the rest of your life.

“Well, I’m your fiancé now, but you’ve already had me from the beginning, doll,” he said, “I’ve had this ring for over a year now, actually.”

“A year?” you whispered, eyes wide.

“I’ve been trying to find the right time to ask,” he admitted, a bit sheepish. “And just… right now. It felt right.”

“Me working in the same room as you felt right?” 

Bucky rolled his eyes at your blatant sarcasm. Except, he’s still smiling. He never gives you a real attitude. He wouldn’t dare. He loves you too much to ever do that.

“The fact that we’re both able to do our own thing in silence, but still be together felt right. We don’t need to speak. We don’t need to be touching. Don’t get me wrong, I love all those things, but… When I looked over at you just now— I felt at peace. Peace that I never thought I was ever allowed to have. So yes, it felt right.”

You’re about to cry again. You’re about to start fucking ugly sobbing in your boyfriend– your fiancé’s arms. You have a thousand things to say, but you know none of them will make sense right now. So, you bury your face in his chest and hug him tight, his arms coming to hold you even closer to him. 

“I love you,” you settled with, your voice breaking slightly.

“I love you, too,” he chuckled in response.

You listened to his chest rumble with laughter under your ear, felt his head rest against the side of yours. He led your bodies in a gentle sway, rocking the two of you back and forth. He took in a breath, releasing it slowly in a contented way. 

Your mind is racing still, and you ask one single question– just one to get his opinion. 

“Where should we get married?” you whispered to him. 

Bucky’s quiet for a few moments. A few moments too long. You pull back from him to look at his face, finding a smile on his lips, and a small sparkle in his eyes.

“I have some friends that want to meet you. Do you think you’re up to traveling to Wakanda?”

masterlist

taglist: @duacruel @natsomens @decthaxhrcv @shortandb1tchy @iyskgd @ifuckwithyouanyday @miss-chuchu @bighappypiels @snnoopyy @messrkarmaismygf13 @thebuckybarnesvault @aekzla @simp4f1 @its-in-the-woods @lvrrinx @herejustforbuckybarnes @djotummy @star-yawnznn let me know if you would like to join my general bucky taglist for whenever i post a fic!

[random-mha-one-shots]

bakugou x gn reader

Celebrating bakugou's birthday HIS way

It was April 19th, the day before Katsuki's birthday. For the past week, you had been planning the celebration. Kirishima even offered to help you throw a party, but you decided against it. Katsuki didn't seem like a birthday person, and he definitely wasn't a party person. So, instead, you set up something a little more private for just the two of you to do.

That day, after school, you and Katsuki hung out in your room. Both of you were sitting on the bed, watching TV while he had an arm wrapped around you. "You know what tomorrow is?" You said in a teasing tone.

Katsuki rolled his eyes and responded, "Yeah, I know what tomorrow is. You better not make a big deal out of it."

"Too late, we've already got plans."

"Cancel 'em. Whatever they are."

"What? No, I'm not canceling."

His grip around you tightened a little. "Then you're going alone, because I'm staying in my room."

"Come on, don't be boring… Trust me, it'll be fun." Katsuki didn't respond; he turned his attention back to the TV. You sat up a bit to face him better. "I'm serious, I'll drag you out of here if I have to." Still no response from him, but it was better than being shut down completely. "You gotta be ready by 9 tomorrow."

"In the morning?" He huffed.

"Yes. In the morning."

Katsuki grunted, "And you're not even gonna tell me where you're trying to take me?"

"No, that would ruin the surprise, stupid."

"Figures…" He was mostly quiet for the rest of the night, occasionally prodding you for hints on what the hell you planned to do with him tomorrow. Of course, you gave him nothing. Eventually, it got late, and Katsuki headed back to his room.

You said a quick, "Goodnight, love you," as he left. To which he bluntly responded, "Yeah, love you…"

------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next morning, you woke up much earlier than usual to get ready. By 9 AM, you found yourself dressed and standing outside Katsuki's door. You knocked on the door, "You awake yet?"

"Gimme a minute." He walked over and unlocked the door for you. You smiled and said, "Happy Birthday, baby."

"Yeah, thanks…" He seemed very unenthusiastic. When you got inside, you sat down on the edge of his bed and watched as he finished getting ready. "Wear something comfortable… and flexible."

Katsuki was about to ask why the hell he needed to wear something flexible, but he honestly didn't care as long as he was comfortable. Once he got dressed, he picked up his phone and his keys. "I'm ready. Now, where the hell are you taking me?"

"You'll see when we get there…" You led him out of the dorms and outside to the lot. You got in your car with Katsuki, started the engine, and drove off together. He still seemed kind of tired, his head was resting against the window. He looked oddly calm, it was kind of nice…

After about 20 minutes of driving through the city, you parked in front of a tall building. "What is this place supposed to be?" Katsuki asked. This definitely wasn't what he was expecting. "If you ask me one more time, I'm gonna smack you. Just wait."

He grinned, "I'd like to see you try." He held onto your hand and followed you into the building. Once you were inside, you went up to the front desk and spoke to the dude behind the counter. Katsuki listened as you gave him your name, trying to get any information about what you had planned here. He heard you say something about a reservation, but that was it.

You thanked the receptionist and headed for the elevator, still holding onto Katsuki's hand. This whole thing had been a pain in the ass to plan, but it would all be absolutely worth it once you got upstairs. The elevator went up and reached its floor. You got off and walked down the hall, keeping an eye out for room numbers. Eventually you stopped in front of a large door.

Katsuki stood there, confused, as you looked at the door, "You gonna open it?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll open it…"

You opened the door and held it so Katsuki could step inside ahead of you. When both of you were inside, you watched as he took in his surroundings. The room was huge. One wall was made up entirely of windows that showed an incredible view of the city. Another wall had a huge display case full of all kinds of weapons. The floors were covered in mats and various obstacles. Katsuki opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

"This place is a training facility. A lot of pro heroes come here. But for the next 2 hours, you and I have this room to ourselves."

"You're kidding…"

"Dead serious. We can do some quirk training, strength training, mess around with whatever kinds of stuff they have in the case, we could spar… We can do pretty much anything in here."

He walked over to the display case to examine some of the weapons and smiled. "You better believe we're sparring."

"I was kind of hoping you'd say that…" You smiled back and stood next to him in front of the case. Katsuki picked up a spear-looking weapon and turned to face you. He took a fighting stance and waited for you to do the same. You more than happily met his stance and, before you knew it, the two of you were fighting.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

You and Katsuki seemed to forget about time; sparring, switching out weapons, and sparring some more. Neither of you were the romantic type, but sparring like this felt like its own kind of dance, something that only the two of you could share. By the end of your reserved time, the two of you were laying on the ground next to each other, out of breath.

Katsuki sat up to face you and said, "That was fucking insane…"

Between heavy breaths, you responded, "Yeah… I think I'm gonna pass out." You sat up to face him and smiled. "Happy Birthday."

Katsuki reached over and put his arm around your waist, his touch was much softer than it was just a few minutes ago. "Yeah, best birthday ever." You moved a little closer and leaned your head on his shoulder. "How'd you even get this place?"

You smiled. "I had to pull some strings…"

He smiled back. "What kind of strings, idiot?"

"Don't worry about it. Just cmere." You cupped his cheek and pulled him a little closer. Katsuki leaned in too and closed the distance, pressing his lips to yours.

[mieisunki]

take me to heaven

alt: 7 minutes in heaven with enhypen

ot7 x reader warnings: suggestive (mdni)

masterlist

heeseung:

you should've knew better than to agree with your friend to do spin the bottle. in her defense, there were like 15 other people playing, so the odds of it landing on you were very slim. or so you thought.

you weren't paying attention, playing with a string on your shirt when everyone started yelling in excitement. you look up to see that the bottle has landed on you, and the person who spent it was none other than heeseung, the guy you've been crushing on.

you pushed down your nerves as you got up and followed him to the closet, but it didn't help once you were in there. at least the light in there was so dim he couldn't see the blush on your face. he bent down, nose nearly brushing against yours making you jump.

"you don't have to be nervous, yn. we don't have to do anything if you don't want to." that statement upset you more than it should have. you clear your throat before backing away from him when he stopped you. his hand grabbed your waist before pulling you to him. "or you could let me kiss you like i've been dying to do all night."

"w-what?"

"come on, yn." he whispered, leaning closer to you. "i thought it was obvious i've had a thing for you since we were partners last semester."

he may have had a teasing smile on his face, but you could tell he was telling the truth. you glance down at his lips before meeting his eyes. "then kiss me."

he leaned down, capturing your lips with his. his lips moved heatedly with yours as he pulled you closer to him. his hand rested on your lower back while the other held your cheek. you grip his shirt as his tongue slips past your lips, brushing against yours as he explores your mouth. your lungs felt like they were going to explode, but you didn't want to stop. apparently neither did he because he groaned when he pulled away from your mouth.

the two of you stared at each other as you tried to catch your breaths. he opened his mouth to say something when someone started banging on the door, startling the both of you before jake opened the door. "times up lovebirds!"

you pull away from him, fixing your outfit before moving around him. but before you could leave the closet, heeseung wrapped his arm around you before walking out with you. when you looked up to him in confusion, he bent down, kissing you again causing everyone to yell. he smiled as he pulled away from you. "i meant what i said."

jongeong:

you didn't know why you decided to come to this party with your friends. they used the excuse that you needed to get over your ex, but they didn't understand you spent nearly almost a year with the guy. you needed more than a week to get over him.

what you also didn't know was that your friends signed you up for 7 minutes in heaven. they just wrote your name on a piece of paper and stuck it in the jar. you only found out when a class mate came to get you.

"i didn't sign up." you tell her, though you still follow her.

"you're going to want to when you see who pulled your name."

"i don't think-" your words catch in your mouth when you see the guy you were supposed to be stuck in a closet with. you haven't seen him before, but if he wasn't the most gorgeous man you've ever seen. you look over to the girl. "can we make it 10 minutes?"

"give me the answers to the math homework, and you got a deal." you nod your head at her question. "guys, i found her! yn this is jay. jay this is yn. have fun!"

you nearly fall when she grips your arms before shoving you in the closet. the only reason you didn't fall was because jay grabbed your arm, steadying you. "thank you. by the way, where are you from? i haven't seen you around."

"i'm from the next town over and go to your guys opposing school. some friends that go to school here dragged me with." he answered.

you raise your eyebrows. "so, i'm locked in a closet with an enemy. good to know."

"if we're being honest, i wasn't going to do this." jay told you. "i only agreed when i saw you."

you laugh at the words as you feel your face blush. "if we're being honest, i did the same thing."

"if that's the case..." you looked up when jay stepped closer to you, cupping your cheek. "can i kiss you?"

you nod your head, allowing him to pull your lips to his. his lips were soft as they molded to yours. you run your hands up his sides, gripping his jacket when his tongue slid into your mouth. you could taste the alcohol on him as you feel yourself getting lost in the kiss. so lost, you didn't even realize the timer go off. it wasn't until jay pulled away that you heard it.

you keep your eyes on him as he looks at the door. you didn't understand that this stranger made you completely forget about your ex with a single kiss. and the fact that you may not see him again upset you more than you thought.

you moved away from him when the door opened. "i'll see you around, jay."

"wait." you stop when he grabs your wrist. you turn to see him smiling down at you. "i know we did this completely backwards, but could i get your number? maybe we could grab a bite to eat sometime."

jaeyun:

you and jake never got along, always bickering. but you two saw a lot of each other due to being in the same friend group. it was a friday night, and a whole bunch of you went to a party when someone suggested 7 minutes in heaven. you wouldn't mind kissing anyone except for jake. but of course, life never goes your way.

"absolutely not."

you roll your eyes at jake's yell when the bottle you spun landed on him. you didn't want to do it either, but you didn't want the punishment more. "suck it up loser. it's either this or take a mystery shot made my riki. and he's already threatened hot sauce."

"if you wanted to kiss me so bad, princess, you should've just said so." he smirks as he walks into the closet after you causing you smack his arm in retaliation. "you're too good for that though, huh? probably don't even know how to properly kiss, do you princess?"

you know he was teasing you and trying to get a rise out of you. normally you would brush it off, but the alcohol in your system wouldn't let you. you grab the back of his neck, roughly pulling him down to you. your feel him freeze for a moment when your lips slammed into his, but he quickly recovered. his hands went straight to your ass, squeezing as he kissed you back. you open your mouth, letting his tongue slip past.

right when you could tell he was really into the kiss, you slid your hand up to his hair. he groaned when you pulled it before pulling him away from you. you smile when his eyes open to meet yours. "how's that for a kiss, asshole?

you heard jay's voice saying time was up before the door opened. you didn't look back at him before leaving, but he grabbed your wrist. you turn to look at him.

"you can't just kiss me like that and then walk away." you smirk at his words before snatching your wrist back from him.

"watch me."

jake left the closet thinking one thing. maybe he didn't hate you as much as he thought. and maybe neither did you.

sunghoon:

to say you were shocked that sunghoon came to this party was an understatement. he always seemed so quiet and distant around school - only talking to his friends. but here he was, playing 7 minutes in heaven along with you and a large group.

it was your turn to spin the bottle, and you prayed that it landed on one of your friends so it wasn't awkward. but of course it didn't, and landed right on sunghoon. some 'ohs' were heard as he stood up without looking at you as the two of you stood up. he let you go in first before shutting the door behind you.

"why did you come to the party? i haven't seen you at any before." you ask, but you didn't get a response. you look over to see his dark eyes looking at you from underneath his hair. "are you just going to stand here and be quiet for 7 minutes?"

"you talk too much." you scoff at his words, trying to ignore the deep tone of his voice.

"you talk too little." you retort back. "and if you don't have a way to make me stop talking, i'm just going to annoy you for the next 7 minutes."

you barely were able to finish your sentence when sunghoon kissed you. you froze for a second before kissing back. the kiss wasn't soft or sweet, but rough as his tongue forced its way into your mouth. you gasp in shock as he backs you against the wall. your hands grip his jacket before pulling him closer to you.

when you felt like you were going to pass out from lack of oxygen, sunghoon pulled away. you thought that was the end, and he was going to go back to ignoring you. but instead, sunghoon attached his lips to your neck, sucking a deep mark where everyone could see.

"fuck, sunghoon." you reply breathless as he pulls away from your neck.

the next thing you knew, the door was opened from the outside, and sunghoon was gone. you blink, confused for a second before you walked out of the closet. you looked around for him, but couldn't find him. but you could feel his eyes on you as you walked back to your friends.

"i'm guessing you had fun." your friend spoke, pointing out the hickey on your neck. you rub at the sore spot before nodding.

"i guess so."

seonwoo:

you were no stranger when it came to parties. you and your friends often went to them, even throwing some yourselves. what was new was sunoo being at this one. his friends often came along to the parties but never him. you wondered what they did to not only convince him to come but to play 7 minutes in heaven as well.

you never liked the game, but found yourself playing for a chance to chose him. soon it was his turn causing his friends to cheer him on. you watch as he nervously spins the bottle, silently cheering when the bottle landed on you.

everyone cheered as you stood up. sunoo did as well, but he wouldn't look at you, keeping his head down while he followed you. you shut the door when he enters the closet. you could tell he was beyond nervous. he was shifting on his feet- eyes darting everywhere but you.

"we don't have to do anything if you don't want to." you told him, trying to calm him down.

he finally met your eyes for a moment before groaning as he slid down the wall, legs stretched out in front of him. "it doesn't matter. they're going to tease me regardless of what happens."

"do they tease you a lot?" you ask as you sit down next to him.

"sometimes. it's all in good fun though." he answered. "normally it doesn't bother me until they bring up my... you know."

"lack of experience?" sunoo nods his head at your answer. "well, if they're going to tease you about it regardless, might as well have fun."

"what do you mean?"

you shift over, sitting on your knees as you face him. "can i kiss you, sunoo?"

"are you sure?" you smile at his question before nodding your head. "okay. if you want."

"i do." you lean forward, brushing your lips against his before kissing him softly. you can feel him hesitate before he kisses you back. your hand cups his cheek as you pull back. "how was that?"

sunoo nods, a light pink dusting his cheeks. "good. really good."

"do you want to do it again?" sunoo nods eagerly at your question.

you lean back in, this time putting a little more force behind your kiss. you still kept your speed slow for him. he was a quick learner, chasing your lips likes he's done it a hundred times. you feel his arms move like he wanted to touch you before stopping. you run your hands down his arms before gripping his wrists. you pull his hands to rest on your waist. "you can touch me."

this time, sunoo leans forward and kisses you first. you pull back and let him lead, enjoying the feeling of his hands gripping your waist. as soon as you felt yourself getting lost in his touch, the timer went off causing someone to bang on the door. sunoo jumped, pulling away from you before quickly standing up.

"thank you." he mumbles, avoiding eye contact as he helps you up. once you were standing, sunoo quickly exited the closet.

"hey sunoo." he turns when you call his name. "let me know if you want anymore lessons. i'll be happy to help."

jungwon:

"god has favorites, and it's clearly me."

you were going to kill your friends for making you play this game. the first few rounds went good because none of the choices landed on you. then word got to jungwon that you were one of the ones playing which caused him to join. he was apart of your friend group, always teasing you. his latest trend was trying to get you to kiss him.

you blush, brushing the dirt off of your pants as you stand up. "hate to break it to you, but i'm not kissing you."

"you have to!" he complained, stopping to let you go in first. "that's the whole point of the game."

"still not doing it."

"one kiss." he says causing you to look over at him. "just one, and i'll leave you alone."

you roll your eyes before thinking about it for a moment. what was the worst that could happen. "okay."

"but- really?" jungwon lit up when you agreed.

"don't make me regret this." you couldn't finish your sentence due to jungwon's lips pressing against yours.

you froze for a second before kissing him back. his lips perfectly molded to yours as his hands rested on your lower back, tracing shapes on the expose skin where your shirt slid up. as quickly as it started, it ended when jungwon pulled away. you had to keep yourself from following after him.

"did you regret that?" you shake your head at his question. "so you won't hit me if i kiss you again?"

when you shake your head again, jungwon leans back down to kiss you again. you move your hands from where they were on his chest to his neck. he takes that as the chance to pull you closer, chest pressing against his as the kiss heats up. it doesn't get too heated due to the knocking on the door.

"times up!"

you pull away, face red from what just happened. you quickly pull away from him before moving. you walk out of the closet, trying to make a break for it, but was unable to. you flew back into jungwon's chest before he leaned down to whisper in your ear.

"don't think this is over, yn. we're just getting started."

riki:

"there's no way i'm going in a closet with him!"

everyone in the group laughs at your outburst. this wasn't your thing, going out to parties, but your friend convinced you somehow. and now, she was nowhere to be seen, leading you to get dragged into playing 7 minutes in heaven. and to clearly prove that you were just unlucky, the school's delinquent who loves to tease you, riki, showed up right as you spun the bottle. it's like he was a magnet because it instantly stopped on him.

"don't be such a drag, cheer queen." riki called as he went into the closet. you glared at his back before following him in there.

"i am not a drag."

"whatever you say." he shrugs as the door shuts. "you can prove me wrong, though."

"how?"

"by kissing me." riki laughed at your expression.

"that's what i thought."

"bend down." you suddenly confusing him causing you to roll your eyes. "bend down, you giant."

riki did as you said, reaching down to your height. riki didn't think you would actually kiss him, but you shocked him when you did. it was hesitant at first because you didn't know if he would pull away. but when he didn't show signs of it, you kissed him harder. he pulled away, and you thought you did something wrong. but he just leaned up, stretching out his back as he smiled at you.

"you're too short." you snorted when riki complained.

"i'm wearing platforms. how can i be- oh my god, riki!"

you gasp when riki lifts you into his arms. you grab onto his shoulders as his hands grip your things. "that's better."

you open your mouth to respond, but immediately close it when riki closes the distance again. he presses you against the wall as his lips dance against yours. your hands slide into his hair causing him to smirk against your lips when you pull him closer to you.

you find yourself never wanting those 7 minutes to end, but you could hear the timer from outside causing you to pull away. you untangle your hands from his hair as he sets you back down. you gasp when he kisses you one last time before he leans up to his normal height.

you fix your outfit as the door opens. riki goes out first, stopping by the door before winking at you. "that was fun. we should do that again."

[nerdyscouttribute]

First Look (Modern Au Smoke x Annie)

Summary:Smoke see's Annie for the first time at the club

Warning: none ,just something cute and short

An: I might come back and add more to this ,but I just wanted to get it out my mind, so it's a little rushed. I got the idea from @partylikemajima

“Man, why you brought me here?”Smoke said. Irritation was written all over his face,as Stack was dragging him through the loud club. Lights flashing everywhere, people skin to skin dancing, drinks in hand. Music blasting through the speakers.

We said now drop it like a thottie, pop it like a thottie

Church girls acting loose, bad girls acting snotty

Let it go, girl-let it out, girl

“You too damn stuck up,need to get you a girl to dance with”, Stack said , a wide smile on his face.

Before Smoke could say anything back Stack said"I'm about to talk with a few people I see, I'll be back”. Walking off leaving an irritated Smoke standing in the middle of the club.

If he was going to make it through the night, he needed some liquor in his system. Fighting through the crowd to get to the bar. “Aye get me old fashioned”, Smoke said to the bartender.

He hated environments like this. Too loud , and too musty. Seeing the bartender set his drink down , he passed her the money ,and turned to look over the club.

Surveying the area, looking for exits -incase shit popped off. That's when his eyes froze on her . She was in a white corset that put her breast in the perfect view. A brown skirt that hugged her in all the right places.

She was dancing in the middle of her friends. Bending over as they hyped her up. Smoke was too caught up in staring at her that he didn't notice Stack standing next to him.

“Damn, you staring hard nigga”, Stack said laughing , snapping Smoke out of his trance.

“Nah just looking”, Smoke said , but it wasn't true. He wanted to know more about her , what her name is , maybe if it sounded good with his last name.

“ oh so you wouldn't mind if I went to talk to her”, A sly smirk set on Stacks face. Smoke shot a glare towards Stack,” Nah, don't go bothering her”.

But that went to deaf ears ,as Stack still made his way towards her.

———————————

Annie was having fun for the first time in a while. She was stressed with running her restaurant, she hadn't taken time to hang out with her friends. So when they called ,she answered,no questions asked.

She had few drinks in her , cause that was the only way her friends were going to get her to dance like this. Her hips moving wild , ass moving right along with every movement.

Until , he walked up trying to get her attention. She was trying to ignore him , but her friends weren't trying to do the same. “ What you want”, Grace said ,raising her eyebrow at Stack. “I wanted to know if your friend right there wanted to dance with my brother “, Stack said as he pointed at Annie. She didn't even get a chance to answer for herself when Pearline spoke up,”what does he look like”? “ Just like me ,but I'm cuter” , Stack said with a smirk on his face.

“ Mmm-go get him”, Mary said, eyeing Stack up and down. Stack said he'll be back , before running off. Annie spoke, reminding them she had a voice, “ how y'all gonna decide for me “.

“Girl you need to get you some ,and he might just be right for the job”, Pearline said.

—————————————

Smoke watched the whole thing. How she didn't speak ,but observed. Stack ran back over to him , once again a big smile set on his face. “If she says no you got three other girls to choose from”, Stack said trying to convince Smoke to follow him. Smoke didn't agree with that statement ,but he followed anyway .

Making it to where the girls were standing ,he kept his eyes zoned in on her , the one whose hair was pulled out her face. Letting him get a view of her big brown eyes, pouty lips,as she stared back at him.

Stack talked first as always, “ This my brother Smoke”. All the girls introduced themselves to him , saying their name . That's when she walked up. Gold heels adorning her feet. Making her eye level with him. When she spoke Elijah thought the time froze. “ I'm Annie , what's your name”, she said in a soft voice. It sounded so sultry to Smoke.

He didn't know how she did it ,but she got him to reveal his birth name with only one sentence. “Elijah”, he said almost breathless.

“We'll you wanna dance Elijah, this my favorite song”, Annie said head tilted to the side. He didn't respond, just held his hand out for her to take.

He forgot about everyone else, just wanted to have her near him.

So this must be something special

'Cause you could be anywhere you wanted

But you decided to be here with me

No coincidence, it was meant to be

Don't be shy, come let your boy get in

So you can tell all of your friends

Annie turned around in his arms. Swaying back and forth. His arms gripping around her waist, a bit tighter. Moving side to side with her.

Annie tilted her head back on his shoulder, breath hitting his neck. It made Elijah shudder, grabbing her hip bringing them even closer.

She knew what she was doing, and she wanted him to loosen up. Grinding back on him harder, left arm reaching back to grip the back of his neck to lean down. He allowed her to bring his head down into her neck.

Lips hitting her soft brown skin. Leaving soft kisses until he got near her ear. “You know you can capture someone's attention in a crowded room”?. A smile appeared on her face. Lifting her head up to turn around in his arms.

Arms now resting on his shoulders, his arms resting around her waist. “No I didn't know that, I just came to have fun with my girlfriends”.

“Well I'm sorry for my brother, for interrupting yall night”, Smoke said. He wasn't really sorry, he was glad his brother had the courage to do what he couldn't . “It's alright I want to get to know you more Elijah”.

[leavesonthetrees]

Lessons in ‘Don’t Piss Off Your Hobbit’

CW - Mentions of injury & death, swearing

Summary - Not only is Thorin is still injured from the battle but he’s missed elevensies, luncheon and now afternoon tea on top of having to represent Erebor in the peace negotiations; so his day isn’t wonderful anyway. Thranduil then decides to open his mouth, this is very bad.

When Thorin started courting Bilbo, it genuinely hadn’t occurred to him that he would hold a genuine title as the king’s boyfriend. So imagine his surprise when Lord Dain greets him jovially after the battle with “Bilbo Baggins! An honour to meet Erebor’s Royal Consort!” His booming brogue leaves Bilbo’s ears ringing slightly but not as much as the statement.

“Ah, Lord Dain I presume? An honour to finally meet you.”

Dain holds Bilbo’s face in his hands before tapping their foreheads together, which is more like a one-hit K.O. for the poor hobbit, who stumbles backwards while Balin rushes forward, chiding Dain and holding the slightly damaged Bilbo upright.

“He’s a hobbit my Lord, not a dwarf! We don’t need him concussed for the negotiations!”

Dain’s laughter fills the air as a solid hand drops onto Bilbo’s shoulder. Bilbo thinks it momentarily to be a second round of dwarven affection but Dain pats his shoulder with an amused “Sorry your highness, didn’t realise my own strength.”

In the next tent over, Fili and Kili are wounded but alive. Kili may never walk properly again but a dodgy knee is a small price to pay for living through the fight. Fili’s right eye is covered by a thick layer of bandages wrapped around his skull and so is his leg, broken in the fall. Both, however, miraculously still alive. Thorin remains unconscious. His skin hued grey, taking shallow breaths that Bilbo has spent hours counting at his bedside; each rise and fall of his beloved’s chest. Despite his present condition, Oin seems to relax with each passing day and is confident that the King under the Mountain will rule again. As Bilbo and Thorin have been courting, it has been assumed that Bilbo is the next highest authority within Erebor and as such will be the representative at the post-battle negotiations. Bilbo was not aware of this until now.

“Isn’t Fili the crown prince? He has training for this. Or-or you Balin, you’re his advisor. I’m just a simple hobbit.” Bilbo protests weakly but it’s a fruitless cause because Dain is already steering him out of the tent and towards the centre of the camps where the meeting is being held.

“Nonsense! I know my cousin, he wouldn’t court some soft-hearted fool!” Without further ado, Dain and Bilbo enter the tent to a wall of noise.

It’s packed in there, elves, dwarves, men, Gandalf; a variety of generals, advisors and of course leaders. Lord Bard of Dale as he’s now become is sitting having a close, quiet discussion with King Thranduil while Gandalf puffs on his pipe in the corner. Dain and Bilbo take their respective seats at the table, Balin slipping in to sit beside Bilbo and giving his shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

Gandalf spots them and gets what he might call mischievous but what Bilbo would call ‘This is why the Shire have labelled you a disturber of the peace’ glint in his eyes.

“I call this meeting to order!” Gandalf calls, getting to his feet, the tent quietening instantly.

“The purpose of today is to draw up treaties that protect and strengthen relationships between your kingdoms. Each kingdom has its leader to represent the people as a whole.” Thranduil interrupts here which Bilbo notes becomes a running theme.

“What about the halfling? He is not king, nor does he hold sufficient status here. Unless the Shire is involved in some way, I see no reason for his presence.” Indignation and insult bubble beneath Bilbo’s skin.

You see, to Big Folk and other races, ‘Halfling’ is just a descriptor for hobbits, merely another name for them. To hobbits, it’s a rather rude way to refer to them as they are half of nothing thank you very much and it’s the quickest way to never receive another invite to afternoon tea. So with Thranduil starting like that, it doesn’t look promising.

“King Thorin is currently indisposed due to injuries sustained during the battle. Bilbo Baggins is being courted by Thorin and as such holds the unofficial title of Royal Consort until further notice.” Gandalf shoots Thranduil a withering look while another blonde elf who looks suspiciously like Thranduil seems to melt with embarrassment behind him.

This is a precedent for the meeting to come, hours and hours of talking in circles, thinly veiled insults from all sides of the table and quite frankly a little too much rudeness for Bilbo’s liking. Travelling for months with 13 dwarves and a wizard does wonderful things for your tolerance and patience but Bilbo is finding his temper stretching thin in the face of this hoity-toity elven bitch. It must be mid-afternoon by now which means Bilbo has missed elevensies, luncheon and now afternoon tea, he’s fully aware he didn’t get 7 meals a day on the journey but he feels like being petty and regardless of the details, he’s hungry. All of this he can deal with until Thranduil opens his mouth again.

“King Thorin has still not given me what I am owed. I commissioned the White Gems of Lasgalen for my late wife and yet they remain in Erebor. Are the dwarves selfish and greedy enough to keep a grieving husband’s last memory of his wife from him?”

Bilbo takes a steady breath in.

“No my lord, you have my word that the Gems shall be returned to you in due time however I believe we have more pressing matters. Erebor is in ruin at present, the dragon did much damage to a lot of the livable space and we therefore have higher priorities such as sourcing clean water, providing shelter for our people. Not to mention that the people of Laketown have nothing but the clothes on their backs.”

“What worth does your word have to me? Thranduil raises a manicured eyebrow and lazily waves a hand in Bilbo’s direction.

“By whose decree are you Erebor’s Royal Consort? Holding hands with a dying dwarf doesn’t make you king?”

There’s immediate outrage from the other dwarves in the room, getting out of seats and calling insults at him, Bilbo vaguely recognises the Khudzul words for ‘tree shagger’ somewhere in there.

“The intricacies of Dwarven politics are not up for debate at this time, it is not appropriate nor relevant to this meeting. What concerns me King Thranduil is your focus on your wants rather than your people’s needs, our needs and theirs.” Bilbo gestures to the surrounding dwarves and men. Thranduil sits straighter in his chair, the mask of disinterest gone.

“Do not speak to me of greed halfling.” Thranduil spits, the blonde elf from earlier tries to intervene but Thranduil puts up a hand to silence him.

“Those dwarves-“ he uses the word dwarves like one would use a slur, perhaps it is to him “- holed up in their great rock and shut themselves off to the rest of the world. They took my last gift to my wife from me and all I ask is to have it back. I care not whether Oakenshield lives or dies, perhaps then you will know the loss I have endured.”

The stunned silence rings throughout the tent as if all persons present cannot believe what was said. Bilbo for his part has gone eerily pale. Balin would describe it to a very amused, slightly scandalised and a little turned on Thorin later, calling it the calm before the storm except the storm was actually a hurricane.

“You have the nerve to call dwarves, greedy? I ask you oh high and mighty king if you care to get off your massive elk and your head out of your own arse, what happened when the Great Wyrm came? Did you help the survivors flee the dragon’s fire? Did you offer medical attention to those burned or injured? Did you offer shelter or support to those dwarves who were now without a home?”

Bilbo gets to his feet, a dark red flush spreading from his cheeks to his ears.

“No. You let hundreds die because you can’t get over your dead bloody wife! She’s been dead for how many years if not centuries at this point and you have a living son! You were arguably complicit with Smaug in the desecration of their home over some shiny glass. How cruel and cold you must be, King of Mirkwood to watch children die and just turn away.”

Bilbo takes a great, deep gulping breath before carrying on, now in the swing of things.

“Thorin and I are not married, no. But I can say with a great amount of certainty that in the 300 years he may live, he will be a greater king than you could accomplish in your immortal lifespan! I am honoured to stand here in his stead, to represent the Kingdom of Erebor which is something to be proud of. Unlike Mirkwood- apologies, the Greenwood, which has become cursed with rot and disease. That is what you shall be remembered for, you will be written in our history books are the king who couldn’t give less of a fuck! About our people or your own!”

Gandalf’s eyebrows are in his hairline, Bard’s jaw is practically on the table and Dain looks like he’s going to burst something from how hard he’s trying not to laugh. Thranduil has the most undignified facial expression that Bilbo has ever seen on an elf; mouth open like a fish, face flushed and eyes bugging out of his head. Bilbo clears his throat, straightens his coat and glances around the tent before focusing on Thranduil once more.

“I believe tempers are running short, I think a lunch break may be in order.”

The entire room seems to stand to attention, eager to flee the surprisingly feisty hobbit’s ire.

“Oh, and your majesty?” Bilbo’s tone is casual but Thranduil turned like the grim reaper himself had called him.

“Halfling is a very serious insult in the Shire, we are not half of anything. If anything, I’m twice the man you could ever hope to be. Call me a Halfling again and I’ll return those Gems to you, shoving them so far up your arse that you’ll be picking bits of them out of your teeth for a week.”

Thranduil just nods stiffly and sweeps out of the tent, his elegant glide seems less like a swan and more like a goose right now. The remaining eyes swivel back to the hobbit who’s brushing the dust off his coat.

“He was walking awfully strangely, I wonder if he’s soiled his small clothes?”

Dain guffaws, tears streaming down his face, clutching the edge of the table for support.

“Aye, I think I would’ve too if you’d been talking to me like that. Mahal, dinnae know you pulled that from.” Dain is practically wheezing, thumping a fist against the table. Bilbo just smiles, rather entertained.

“Oh please, he’s not even half as uptight as Lobelia Sackville-Baggins. As Bofur once said, she’s so uptight that you could shove a lump of coal up her arse and it’d be a diamond within a week.”

Funnily enough, Thranduil isn’t present for the rest of the peace talks and instead his son Legolas who had been trying to get Eru to take him there and then from the confrontation earlier, takes over. Legolas does attempt to apologise on behalf of his father but Bilbo waves it away. After all, Legolas seems like a polite young fellow who understands the joy of a crisp, cucumber sandwich and also isn’t anywhere near as much of an infuriating bastard as his father.

[wisps-writes-fic]

Read on AO3 | Masterlist

Ship: Michael Robby Robinovitch x Jack Abbot

Prompt: What if Robby and Jack are not only work husbands but actually real husbands. Jack's ring isn't a keepsake for a dead spouse but his actual wedding ring for Robby. All just assumed. Something happens and we have the big reveal. What, how and why - you can decide!

~

Summary: Jack and Robby were both private individuals. It was no surprise their lives stayed hidden and their work stations stayed bare. Naturally finding a mini Robinovitch admitted to the ER one afternoon was an adorable surprise for the rest of the staff.

CW: Minor Injury

~~~~~

Victoria

The triage crowd was particularly brutal for no apparently reason and five hours into the shift, Victoria was ready to call it a day. An unfair moment of weakness, of course, while one of her attendings was seventeen hours into his double, but that was beside the point. “Patient name?” she heard a nurse ask from behind her, somehow managing to keep a warm smile in place.

"I need to talk with Dr. Abbot or Dr. Robinovitch as soon as possible.”

“Of course, ma’am. Our attendings will be happy to see you as soon as we can call your daughter back. If I could just have the information for her file.”

“My niece,” the woman corrected, sounding more impatient by the second. “Penelope Robinovitch.”

“Dr. Robby has a kid?�� Victoria blurted. “I’m sorry, that was unprofessional. I’m Dr. Javadi. I can take you back now and we’ll page him if he isn’t on the floor.”

Walking them back to the nurses’ station she was efficient in finding an empty room for the girl and her aunt. “Perlah’s going to start with the basic vitals and assessment. I’m going to track down Dr. Robby for you.”

“Robby’s in trauma,” she heard just after the curtain shut. “What’s the case? I can step in.”

“Dr. Abbot. Actually, the woman who came in asked about you too. At check in. Did you know Dr. Robby has a kid? Penelope? She was just admitted.”

“Penny’s in one of our beds? Jesus, with what?” he barked.

She would take that reaction as a resounding yes. “Perlah’s doing the work up now. I brought her back when I heard the family relation. No paperwork yet.” 

“Go tell him what’s happening so he can see her when he’s done in trauma.” She nodded, lingering just long enough to hear him greet the pair waiting. “Hey, sweet girl," he said, voice softer than she'd ever heard it. "Show Daddy what’s hurting, yeah?”

Oh.

Oh.

Victoria smiled. This shift just got a little better. And a whole lot more interesting.

~~~~~

Robby

“Dr. Robby, I’ve got a four year old asking for you in central 2.”

“A four year old, or an adult with real questions?” he groused. “Cause I’m a little busy at the moment.”

“I know, but it’s Penny. Dr. Abbot’s already over there, but—”

“Stop babbling. What happened?” Javadi flinched at the harsh tone—the whole room did—but he wasn’t going to waste time apologizing.

“Pain in the arm from what I could see. Couldn’t put her coat all the way on before coming in, but it was wrapped around her enough I couldn’t assess swelling. Perlah and Dr. Abbot are with her. Her aunt too.”

He swallowed. The biggest house rule was no ED visits. His nephews could be rowdy, but they were usually careful if Penny got between them. “Give me five minutes.”

He was careful, of course, but efficient in finishing the sutures and disposing of his gloves and mask. A glance at the board over the nurses’ station told him the vague details. Name, age, minimized mobility in the right arm, no swelling. “Jack order an x-ray yet, Dana?”

“Just in case. Sounds more like nursemaid’s to me, though.”

“We’ll get the x-ray, then I’ll do the reduction if we don’t find a fracture.”

“Got it, Cap. Go see your girl.”

His final stop was the staff lounge to grab a popsicle from the freezer before joining his family. “I come bearing gifts. How’s my princess today?”

In the end, the scan came back clear. Collins took one look at their guilty faces and offered to be the bad guy, putting the ligament back in place. But then, no sane child could stay mad at Heather Collins for more than a moment. Clutching her second popsicle, she gave Robby and Jack both a sticky kiss on the cheek and skipped out of the ED hand in hand with her aunt.

“Like it never even happened,” Jack grumbled. “That’s a four year old for you. Alright, everybody, secret’s out. Now quit your staring and get back to your patients.”

The small crowd dispersed and Robby reached to squeeze his hand in passing, choosing to ignore Dana’s pointed smirk at the gesture.

~~~~~

AN: I headcanon after this happens Robby and Jack suddenly have like every single family photo they've taken taped up on/inside lockers, at their work space, lock screens, etc.

[merrybloomwrites]

When the Wolves Come Out (Chapter 10)

Story Summary: When Y/N gets hired to play drums for One Direction, the last thing she expects is to find herself as part of their pack. Especially since it seems that they don’t want her there. Only time will tell if they’ll accept her, or if the omega will have to deal with rejection from the others.

Chapter Summary: After a perfect week, you and the boys reenter reality.

Word Count: 1.8k

CW/tags: omega verse, omega reader, alpha Harry, alpha Zayn, alpha Louis, beta Niall, beta Liam, poly, omega drop, name calling, unwanted advance

Previous Chapters: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine

AN: once again went into this chapter without much of a plan and let it lead me. I was interested by where it ended up

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Waking up surrounded by the pack has you feeling so happy and content, ready to be starting another day. But unfortunately today isn’t as free as yesterday was.

While there’s no show tonight, you’re all expected at the venue for a preliminary sound check and rehearsal. You’re not sure why you need to rehearse, when you’ve all been doing the show for months, but apparently they think one week off means you’ve all forgotten everything.

Of course, nothing goes smoothly. The tech is giving you all a lot of problems, and just getting everything set up takes twice as long as it should. Even during the run through of the show, new problems keep popping up.

Luckily, none of the problems are due to any band members, but rather the sound system at the venue. Apparently they'd updated it recently and haven’t worked out all of the kinks.

So while it’s an incredibly long day, much longer than planned, at least none of you are the reason for the problems. In fact, you still have a pretty good day since you get to hang out with the boys each time you have to stop and let the techs work out the issues.

But all those problems mean that it’s late when you get back to the hotel. All anyone wants to do is shower and get into bed. So you all split up into your individual rooms. But sure enough, one by one, you all flock back to Louis’ room and fall asleep tangled up just like the night before.

When you wake up you see that Niall is already out of bed, so the two of you decide to go grab some breakfast. You take it back to his room to eat without waking any of the others, and are shortly joined by Liam, leaving the three alphas to fend for themselves.

It’s nice to spend time with just the betas, especially when Niall says, “I can’t believe I thought that you joining the pack would be a bad thing.”

It's somewhat unexpected, and you’re not sure how to reply, but luckily he continues, “We just got so used to how things were between the five of us. And I thought that if an omega joined the pack, then the alphas would just forget about me and Liam. Like they finally had the omega that they always wanted or something. What a crazy, dumb thought.”

“I’ll admit, I thought that too at first,” Liam says. “But we couldn't have been more wrong. You didn’t cause problems or split us up.”

“You complete us,” Niall concludes.

This declaration has you suddenly feeling quite emotional, but you still need to ask, “I do?”

They must hear the waver in your voice, because they both reach out to put a hand on your shoulder in comfort.

“You do,” Liam confirms. “I genuinely hate to admit that Simon was right, but he always said we wouldn’t be a full pack without an omega. We thought that was ridiculous. But then we met you. And it’s not just that you’re any random omega. It’s you. You’re who we needed without even knowing it. You are the missing piece.”

You’re left speechless, choosing to bring them in for a hug, hoping the gesture will say what you can’t. After last week you knew that the betas had accepted you, but it’s always nice to hear it stated so clearly. You know it was hard for them to change their ways, to know that the alpha’s attention would be more divided, but that hasn’t stopped them from caring for you. And you know that when it comes down to it, they’ll love and protect you, just like the rest of the pack.

Soon a message from Louis pops up in the group chat, wondering where the three of you are, and within minutes you’re joined by the alphas.

It’s a show day, which means getting to the venue by early afternoon. Once there you separate from the boys, going to your own dressing room. As the only Omega and only girl, you’d been given your own space. Which you liked at first, but now you don’t enjoy being apart from the others. It’s too quiet, and honestly kind of lonely.

You know that the boys are doing a meet and greet, so you go to take a peak at what’s going on. They sit along the table, taking pictures with fans and signing things that are put in front of them. It's hard to hear what anyone is saying, but you catch a few people inquiring about you. Wondering who you are to them.

Each time the question arises, the boys flounder for a moment and look at Louis to handle the situation. You know they’re not hesitating due to shame, but rather due to wanting to protect you. But the truth is that the pictures are out there. It’s clear that you’re a part of the pack, and Louis replies with this.

He handles it well, claiming that you’d joined the band, and soon they had all come to the conclusion that they wanted you to join the pack as well. It’s not exactly the full truth, but it is the best media trained answer he could give.

You go back to the dressing room to finish getting ready, leaving the rest of the world behind to fully focus on your performance.

It’s a busy week of shows and travel, and by the end of the tenth show in the tenth different city, you’re feeling pretty tired. As much as you love doing what you do, it takes a toll on your body, and on your omega.

You just want to get back to the bus and climb into your bunk, maybe with some clothes scented by your alphas. But when you walk into the hallway you’re startled by someone standing just outside your door.

Your first instinct is to ignore him, just duck your head and keep walking. But he doesn’t give you that option.

“Hey, Y/N,” he says. “I’m Gavin.”

“Hi. Nice to meet you,” is your polite answer. You have no idea who this man is, or how he got backstage, but your instincts are telling you he’s no good.

“Nice to meet you too,” he replies. “I’ve seen videos of you playing, but can I just say that I am impressed. You’re very talented.”

“Thank you.”

“I was wondering if you would want to hang out? Maybe spend the night together?”

God, he can’t even come up with a good pickup line. You’d be annoyed if you weren’t so worried about being suspiciously alone with him. Seriously, why is now the time that the hallway is deserted?

“Sorry, we’re traveling tonight. Need to get back on the bus or I’ll get left behind.”

“I can be quick.” Which ew, not something to brag about. “C’mon, it’ll be fun. I promise not to knot you.”

“No, I really, I have to leave now.” Your pulse is racing as he cages you against the wall, trapping you in this situation.

“I know when an omega needs some love. I can take care of you, have some fun, leave you feeling satisfied.” He clearly isn’t taking no for an answer, and you don’t know what to do. You’re truly starting to panic when finally, you hear footsteps approaching.

You’d be happy to see anyone right now, but to your great relief, all three of your alphas round the corner.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Harry questions while Zayn shouts, “Get the fuck away from her!”

Thankfully Gavin listens to them, and you make your escape directly into Louis’ arms. You tuck your face into his neck, breathing in his familiar scent while Zayn and Harry get security over to deal with the situation.

“It’s over now,” Louis then murmurs. “You’re safe. Let’s get to the bus and get you in bed, alright? We'll keep you safe, he won’t get you.” Reassured by his words, and by his arm around your waist, you let him lead the way outside.

Normally, you make it to the bus before the boys do, and therefore go unnoticed, able to stay under the radar. But due to the incident inside, you’re now being seen with most of the band. Plus, some of the security who would normally be escorting you all is inside dealing with the Gavin situation.

So instead of sneaking onto the bus like usual, you’re now the center of attention. And the attention isn’t exactly positive. There’s a lot of shouting from the fans on the side of the barrier, and it’s confusing at first. But then you hear the comments being aimed at you, most of them not positive.

Any derogatory name they can use, they do. Whore, slut, skant, easy omega. Seems like the fans think you’re just using the boys for sex. Which you know isn’t true, and the boys know isn’t true. But it still hurts that the fans think that.

If you weren’t already stressed out you’d realize that they’re probably just jealous. But you’re exhausted from the past week of shows and travel, and then from getting cornered by a strange alpha.

“Damnit,” you hear Louis curse under his breath. “Don’t listen to them, okay?”

Zayn and Harry join in, surrounding you and blocking the fans. They try to talk over the shouting and yelling that’s aimed at you. But you can’t hear them. In fact, even the crowd starts to fade away.

“Omega, stay with us,” Zayn says. “Just get to the bus, then you can drop.”

Oh shit. Dropping again? You never used to drop and now it keeps happening. Have you gotten soft? Weak? Maybe everyone’s right, maybe omegas can’t do this kind of work.

Self doubt adds to the overwhelming emotions, and black dots begin to block your vision.

“Fuck, she’s not making it in. Harry, block us, Zayn get the door,” Louis instructs as he lifts you into his arms. You hold on as tight as you can, your nose seeking out his scent gland instinctively.

“We’ve got you,” Harry says. “You’re safe with us. We won’t let them hurt you.”

The boys continue to talk calmly, and even in your fuzzy stage you can tell when you’ve entered the bus. Any residual noise fades away and you can smell the familiar mix of scents that belongs only to your pack.

You’re semi-alert until you reach the back of the bus where there’s a lounge with one large bed. Louis passes you to Zayn who’s waiting there, and soon you’re surrounded by all five of them. Safe in their hold, you succumb to the drop.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

AN: Thanks for reading!

As I wrote this chapter I thought of another turn this story is going to make. This chapter was supposed to be longer but I need to plan out the next few scenes to make sure I don’t write myself into a corner

taglist: @luxiorchive

[writinginthesecrettrees]

Mad At Your Dad? Read On...

Jared's not entirely sure why he contacted the guy.

That's a lie; he knows exactly why.

He came out to his family earlier that summer and after the screaming was done, there were two months of complete silence from everyone. And then his mom had called and informed him that his presence was required at Thanksgiving. Seems Grandma had asked about him and then informed her daughter that "I thought I didn't raise a bigot," and then told the extended family about how his parents had abandoned him "for no good reason" and now Mom and Dad want him to show up and make nice so they stop getting shit from everyone.

Around the lump in his throat, Jared said "I already made other plans," and Mom told him to cancel because family comes first, and Jared said he would but "only if my boyfriend can come. It wouldn't be right to leave him alone just because you decided I'm not shunned anymore." A lie, of course, Jared has been tragically single ever since he figured out he couldn't like girls the way his friends do, but he wanted to see what Mom would say.

"Well, then. Bring him," is apparently what Mom would say, through gritted teeth, and now Jared's stuck. And Chad offered to play boyfriend, because Chad is awesome, but his family knows Chad and would never believe it. But then Chad found this weird post on Craigslist while he was scrolling through the personals and it seemed like a godsend, so Jared had emailed him a phone number and asked him to call if his post was serious.

It was serious, it turned out, and the 28 year old felon turned out to have a voice like smooth whiskey and his name was Jensen and when Jared stuttered out his problem, that smooth whiskey voice turned into a rumbling chuckle that tingled down Jared's spine. "Oh, I'm so in," Jensen said, "and please say we can 'accidentally' get caught sloppy kissin'."

"What if I'm hideous? You shouldn't offer to kiss people you haven't even met."

"Darlin', I'd make out with Dick Cheney to make a homophobe clutch their pearls. And I bet you're a better kisser than ol' Dick."

Jared didn't want to get into his (nonexistent) skills as a kisser so they moved on to logistics: things like last names and birthdays and a "how we met" story designed to twist the knife for Jared's parents. And sooner than Jared had expected, he's standing on the curb outside Chad's apartment, waiting for Jensen to pick him up for Thanksgiving.

The van is as old and dirty and airbrushed as Jensen had said, and it lets out a belch of exhaust as he pulls up. Jared's parents will hate it. Jared's grinning as he slides into the passenger seat.

---

Jensen's first look at the kid who's given him a place to go for Thanksgiving is like a punch to the gut. Tall, Jared hadn't mentioned being tall. Slacks and a button-down shirt don't normally do it for Jensen, so it's gotta be the body in those clothes that has his heart beating a bit faster. And then Jared looks up, sees Van Halen (and so what if Jensen named his van, it was a perfect name and practically begging to be used), and grins and it's like sunshine after a thunderstorm.

"What if I'm hideous, he said," Jensen mutters just before Jared opens the door, then grins back at the kid. "Nice to meet you. I'm Jensen, I'll be your long-term boyfriend for the day." That startles a laugh out of Jared. "Any last-minute things I need to know?"

Jared bites his lip. It's adorable. Jensen wants to bite it for him. "Well... I kinda told my grandma about this." He looks up at Jensen through his bangs.

"She's the one who doesn't like bigots, right?"

"Mmhm."

"She cool with it?"

"... she said she's gonna take a ton of pictures."

Jared's fidgeting and Jensen feels for the kid. Coming out's a bitch, even with supportive family, and Jared's family is a little late to the program on that.

"You thought about what you'll call me?"

"I... why wouldn't I just call you Jensen?" Jared asks, clearly bewildered.

Bet the kid's never even been on a real date with a dude. Jensen tries to feel sympathy rather than satisfaction at the thought. "Trust me. Pet names are like... a thousand times more torturous for disapproving parents to sit through. Babe."

Jared wrinkles his nose. "I liked 'darlin' better."

"So do I, baby, but which will your parents hate more?"

"Point." Jared sighs, then gets a look of pure mischief in his eyes. "If we're going by what my parents will hate most, I should call you 'Daddy.'"

"Now you're gettin' it."

---

Jared's almost vibrating with anxiety when they pull up to his parents' house. And thank God for Jensen; if he weren't here, Jared wouldn't even be able to walk to the door. But Jensen is here, pulling him out of the van and lacing their fingers together as they head to the front porch. And they stand there, staring at the door, for a good ten seconds, until Jensen says "Fuck it," and tugs on Jared's hand.

They'd talked about putting on a bit of a show, so Jared's not completely taken by surprise when Jensen's lips land on his. He's just not entirely sure what to do. With anything -- his hands, his lips, his height, and oh! his tongue, because somehow Jensen's managed to part his lips and now Jared has to figure out what to do with an extra tongue crowding into his mouth.

Jensen has a stud in his tongue, and that's a fun discovery that makes Jared's brain short-circuit and solves the problem of what to do with my lips and tongue because the answer is to play with the piercing. It's a good answer, because Jensen is groaning and pulling Jared closer by his belt loops so their bodies are crushed together. And that solves the what do I do with my hands problem because there's nowhere to put them except around Jensen's very broad shoulders. Jensen's arm wraps more securely around Jared's waist, and he pulls back from the kiss to murmur "that's right, baby, just hold on and let me drive" with a playful nip at Jared's ear.

Jared is more than pleased to follow Jensen's direction, whispers "okay, daddy," and smiles at how Jensen groans as he reclaims Jared's lips and lets one hand slide down to squeeze Jared's ass.

And the front door opens.

And the look on Jared's dad's face almost makes up for the fact that they have to stop kissing.

---

It's the best Thanksgiving Jensen has had in a long time, and not just because he was in prison for the last one. Jared is flushed, happy, and relaxed when his dad interrupts their kiss on the front porch. Jensen hadn't known that a human face could get that red, and somehow his face goes purple when Jared introduces Jensen as "Dad, this is dadd... um, I mean, this is Jensen. My boyfriend."

They don't shake hands.

Jared's sister asks them how they met over the turkey, and that lets them pull out the story they made up.

"You tell it, daddy. I barely remember," Jared says, and Jensen's pretty sure he didn't even notice the pet name but everyone else did.

"Sure thing, babe. So, I'm a line cook at this dive bar..." Jensen launches into the tale of clocking out and going to get a drink and having 6'4" of sloppy drunk fall all over him. And how Jared was loudly telling the whole bar about how his parents hated him because he wanted a dick in his ass. Jared's grandma cackled at that, so Jensen winks at the old broad and continues on: "and my baby boy's just about the prettiest boy in all Texas, so of course I took him out to my van."

Jared's brother just might throw a punch. "You didn't even take him home?"

"Well, I was kinda between places right now, but I got a nice air mattress in the back of Van Halen. Real cozy."

"Don't worry, Jeff," Jared breaks in, eyes so innocent Jensen would believe anything he said. "We moved in with Chad the next day." He turns to Jensen. "Or was it the day after?"

The shovel talk Jensen gets from Jared's siblings between dinner and pie is scarier than anything he faced in prison.

---

The silence in the van as Jensen drives Jared back to Chad's is sleepy and comfortable until Jensen suddenly says, "So you gotta talk to your brother about me."

"Hmmm?"

"I'm serious, Jay. I think he's planning my murder. And your sister's gonna be his alibi."

"Please. Jeff's a teddy bear."

"To his little brother, yeah. To his little brother's supposedly homeless felon boyfriend? Not so much. You gotta talk to him!"

Jared laughs. Jensen wants to hear that laugh every day forever.

"Okay, daddy. I'll call Jeff in the morning. Tell him it was all fake."

"Good. I'd like him to not hate me when I take you out for real."

[kitkat13001]

hi kittykitita I JUST WATCHEF THE VIDEO FOR YOUR 1K EVENT AND OMGGGG?????? THIS IS SO CUTE PPPRR, THE MUSIC AND EVERYYJING???? OMGGG ILY CONGRATS AGAIN!!!

okok for my actual request!! may i get. heh. tomura shigaraki + rom com, my job: actor/ actress, his job: CEO, the soundtrack as Margaret (feat. Bleachers) by Lana Del Ray. ending in a kiss in the rain??

what an INSANE combo LMAOOOO l'm excited to see what your brain will Cook up!! Congrats again!!!!!

★ OPENING SEQUENCE

🎞️ STARRING: tomura shigaraki ! this is a simple song, gonna write it for a friend my shirt is inside out, i’m messy with the pen

“i don’t want to let go of you just yet.”

you and tomura shigaraki knew each other before the fame. 

before your name was on movie posters and his on magazines, you were classmates sitting in the back of a film lecture hall in some middle-of-nowhere college

those memories surface when his name pops up (you’d forgotten you had him saved in your contacts still) on your phone, accompanied by a single text

“i need a favor.”

it turns out that tomura shigaraki, the man who “reinvented horror,” wants you to feature in his next motion picture 

he claims he has a very specific role in mind and none of the people who have auditioned have cut it

you’re between projects right now, and while you’ve never really worked in horror, you decide sure, why not? (the fact that you kind of miss tomura and your college days may have factored in a little…)

you would think that maybe the fame had changed tomura, but when you meet again on set he’s pretty much the same as you remember. direct (blunt, even), with that quiet intelligence and sharp ruby eyes

he is a little more confident now, though — that you do notice. he commands a certain presence on set that’s honestly…quite attractive

you had informed tomura previously that you’d never worked in horror before, but he assured you that wasn’t an issue — he actually needs the new perspective 

shooting the movie ends up being a lot of fun — you and tomura have an undeniable chemistry that makes filming almost easy. his guidance and your vision are creating what’s seeming like an absolute blockbuster 

you’re all on pins and needles after submitting the preview for critique, an anxious but excited energy about the set all day

you’re wandering around after shooting has stopped for the day when you come across a forest set where the ‘rain’ is still pouring from the sprinklers overhead 

tomura’s sitting on a log in the middle of the clearing — the very picture of hauntingly forlorn beauty. he could truly star in his own movie, you think

you try in vain to shield your head from the downpour as you approach, calling out his name. he’s solemn, almost detached when he replies

“they cut the funding.” “what?!” “critics said it was too far out. they’re pulling the plug on us.” “after everything?! but we worked so hard!” “yeah, well…look, i could honestly care less about the movie. i just…” “what?” “i just don’t want to lose you. again.”

you stand in silence at his confession for a long moment, the water soaking through to your bones

it feels like a dream — surrounded by this make-believe forest with tomura, an ethereal entity drenched in rain and staring up at you with those ruby eyes gone soft around the edges 

but it’s not enchantment when you grab his face and lean in to kiss him. it’s intentional

he’s almost surprised for a moment before he gives in fully, neither of you caring about the cold or the water or the fact that the cast might be able to see you on the still-rolling cameras

nothing else matters but you

© kitkat13001 ★ do not copy/translate/repost dividers; sxmmerberries — event info + masterlist

KISAAAA love of my lifeeee heh >:) HOPE U LIKEEE i made it special w/ loveee i actually had a lot of fun w this heh MWAH thanks for the req <333

[elgascreamslikehell]

By the way i decided (I have no work and I'm ill and actually my life is a disaster but that's not the point) to write at least a little every day - I'm ashamed i dropped this story for years? Something like that.

So everyday this week would be some small parts and i hope I'll finish this story this year - i know I'm in my optimistic era.

‘So we have a new recruit… he's nice. I think he's under Eddie's command right now so he might be great as well as Eddie is’- ‘Mhm’ - ‘He was in the army, you know who else was in the army?’- ‘Edmundo fucking Diaz I suppose. Evan, let's go to the point, new army guy. Do you like him?’ No. Buck laughs. Of course he doesn't like him. He just shares the news, that's all. Sam is overreacting every time Eddie's name is mentioned and Buck has no idea why. He really thinks Eddie is a threat? He really thinks Eddie has a crush on Buck? But he doesn't! And why is it hurt to know he doesn't? Buck comes closer and puts his hands around Sam's shoulders: ‘Wanna do something fun? Like baking some stuff?’ - ‘I need to finish this case. But I kinda have something more fun than baking in my mind… Yesterday you were..not in the mood’ - he was too drunk to be fair, Evan knows that - ‘But it looks like today it's fine? And it definitely should stop you from talking about this new guy or…’ Buck laughs when Sam kisses him in the middle of his sentence - he didn't even finish but Buck knows exactly what name he ment. And then he chokes on this thought.  Sam kissing him usually feels fantastic? Well.. in general it is very good but now. It's wrong. It's… it's not Eddie? No no no He was drunk it wasn't a real kiss what the actual hell  It's not Eddie. It's wrong wrong wrong wrong Buck bites Sam's lip and grabs him closer. Fake it till you make it, right, it's just a second of doubt it's nothing he can fix it he has to fix it He acts passionately as he can - maybe even more than usual - he really tries to shut his inner voice up.  Inner voice is very loud somehow.

My taglist is kinda short? But there's it

@steadfastsaturnsrings @idealuk (i see you sunshine) and @maddieee0415

[lulu-nightbon]

now, for serial designation L, we have a lovely little lesbian! she's a disassembly drone somewhere between j and v in height (though closer to j's height), and in terms of demeanor, she's somewhere between v and n, enjoying killing worker drones and generally just being pretty chill. i projected my vision issues (v & she just like me fr fr) onto her, so anything beyond 4 inches in front of her is a blurry mess of colors! to compensate for this (instead of fixing her vision because that would be too easy), she screams to echolocate. if she needs to discern exact shapes and locations, she'll just scream. no need for concern she's just blind- she also has a shriek which functions as an emp! it's generally tuned to worker drones, but is pretty potent- if she's close enough, she can actually stun/down a disassembly drone with it, and at point blank, she can stun a sentinel (needing to shriek right in its face like close enough that its snout is probably in her mouth to down it), though if she's ever that close to one she has bigger problems to worry about (especially since i hc sentinels to be social creatures/pack animals)- at point blank range, she can also actually shatter a worker drone's visor and damage their internals with the shriek. girlypop needs glasses so bad lmao- she also has another ability that she's actually not supposed to have. she can turn off her lights and visor entirely at will (though this renders her completely and totally blind), allowing her to play dead and set traps for workers (or just make someone think she's deactivated/dead if she doesnt wanna deal with em or wants to fw em lmao). this was actually a defect that she forgot to ask tessa to fix at the manor, and cyn couldn't fix it because she didn't know about it at the time of turning her into a disassembly drone. she also has a tendency to always wear the x on her visor regardless of if she's hunting, since she can't really see anyway. she wears a long trenchcoat with no sleeves (because when i was trying to draw her she decided she was going to serve CUNT and now im actually scared to finish her ref lmao-)

back at the manor, she was a rather timid maid drone with a MASSIVE crush on j. just absolutely PINING after her. there's hopelessly in love, and then there's whatever the fuck she is. im indecisive, so L has four canons based on the answers to two questions (meaning only two of these aus are canon compliant), and this creates the first point: whether or not j and L were secretly dating back at the manor. while it's not too important a point, it does create some extra angst on j's end if they were, and by some i mean i threw this bitch in the blender emotionally. L went through the most memory wipes of the crew, and the most thorough ones, as well- more than even n. she was never even allowed to remember her name. she would simply wake up next to the basement door, with her only memory being screaming and clawing at the floor as she was dragged in. she would gravitate to the same book in the library and read to try and calm herself down, and every time, j, ever the one keeping them all in line and as safe as she could, would have to be the one to remind her who she was, who they were (which is especially angsty if they were dating- j would have to go over this with her girlfriend over and over and over again, facing the pain every time as this shy drone looked at her in fear of being hurt or decommissioned for no reason. if they weren't, she simply kept having a crush on her and not knowing why. however, if they were dating, it can be reasoned as a specialized form of torture from cyn, making j go through this again and again). due to the frequency and intensity of these wipes, L ended up with irreversible damage to her processor, though it's minor (this also is the context behind her favorite pet name from j, which is "toaster drone"). then, we come to the second point where the aus split: whether or not L was sent with the crew to copper 9. if she wasn't, it's canon compliant- if she was, she does pose an additional threat to uzi and throws a massive wrench in their plans (though they get there in the end).

if she was sent to copper 9, she follows j closely. anything she asks, L will perform without question, like a little puppy in love. she tends to stand on one leg and mimic j's movements and positions. she also tends to not wear the x on her visor when close to j, instead letting her eyes show. she's effective and good at making quota, and she's never once posed an issue. her alignment is easy to misread with how she acts getting closer to the final battle, but she isn't particularly malicious, interacting with n and v calmly when uzi isn't around. she was never loyal to the solver- she was loyal to j. she just wanted j to love her, and she wanted to love j even if it was never returned. if they were together on the dl back at the manor, then it's difficult for j to cope with this, but L's unwavering loyalty and affection is still a comfort, something cyn never quite erased after everything, even if j can't indulge for the safety of the squad and to make sure she doesn't take L away again like she did over and over again at the manor.

if she wasn't sent to copper 9, however, she shows up after the series, having piloted her way there looking for j after regaining her memories on some other planet, desperate to reunite with her (and their friends, too, if she's lucky), hoping that she'd remember her. this also results in a special interaction upon meeting uzi lol- upon spotting the worker drone, she initially acts like she's going to try and kill her, but pauses and reels back, going "what's. wrong with this one-", as she recognizes that workers can't have yellow eyes LMAO. she's affectionate with j upon finding her, and excited to be back together (which ends up being extra sweet if they were dating). all in all L is just a sweetheart and i love her and i need to use her more because she deserves recognition! you can also have this sneak peek of her ref (with the SHITTIEST watermark for my md art blog that i still have to make the pinned post for because i screenshotted this on my p h o n e 😭)

do u like them 🥺

(also i forgot about serial designation e who like jinx is a universal variant of another oc of mine but they're on that list too lol)

I be forgetting to follow people back sorry yall cool asf I just got like 2% brain and maybe sometimes if god wills it 5%… moots ily let’s talk and make ocs together !! And discuss cool things that normal people talk about.idk im bad at conversation lol

[hazzybat]

Nace and Jure brainrot let's gooo!

It's not a joke that they met Tinder. They went on a few dates and hit off because they have a lot of things in common. Neither of them looked for something stable and serious at that time, so they ended up as friends with benefits.

When Nace joined JO they pranked everyone by pretending to be strangers until Kris caught them making out.

You know what I love the delulu. They are the real husbands of the band.

Absolutely this is my headcannon now. I need to find that interview again where they mention tinder.

Jan is Nace's beard. He's not a very good beard because he's also a guy but the thought is there 🤣

[abirddogmoment]

I love seeing Rory run in the field!! Bird dog doing bird dog things!! You said in the tags you had different training and priorities with her vs Mav re: offleash running like that. What kinds of things did you do differently with Rory to be comfortable having her offleash at a distance with reliable recall?

I was writing a whole novel but really it boils down to this chart. Under the cut because it's (vertically) long.

In short, it's just as much about what I didn't do with Maverick as what I did do with Aurora.

(Edited to add: I am extremely fortunate to live in the prairies where the kind of visibility I need is easy to find. Use my experience to inspire your own training if you like, but don't use it as a recipe. I have my own goals and my own priorities and those are likely different than yours.)

Maverick:

🔵 Supremely confident from day 1

🔵 Came home in August (extremely good and exciting time for outdoor adventures)

🔵 Prioritized specific sports behaviours over foundational building blocks like engagement and cooperation

🔵 Learned bad habits from my older dog at the time (prey drive > recall)

🔵 Was indiscriminately prey driven. If it moved, he wanted to kill it.

🔵 I phased out treats too fast and didn't want to use an ecollar or long line

🔵 I focused on "social media dog behaviours" (think like walking extremely close to me on trails) and got frustrated when we couldn't meet these rather than meeting my dog where he was at. This created a lot of frustration in our dog adventures.

🔵 I practiced recalls constantly when I didn't have to, making them a tedious behaviour for him. I would recall him 20-50 times a hike for everything from "you're too far away from me" to "I want to take a photo".

Aurora

🟣 Came to me a little insecure and looked to me for reassurance

🟣 Came home in December (a cold and relatively boring time for outdoor adventures)

🟣 I prioritized engagement, cooperation, and name recognition from day 1

🟣 Practiced good habits by walking offleash in the snow either alone or with Pike (amazing recall)

🟣 Is extremely birdy, but is very very focused. She easily calls off deer or people/dogs in the distance because she mostly cares about birds.

🟣 Literally always gets offered a high value snack for recalling or voluntary check ins (I will never phase this out, I will carry chunks of cheese on offleash walks for the rest of her life)

🟣 I never practice recalls if I don't need them. This one is hard to explain, but once Rory understood that long whistle = come back as fast as you can, I don't whistle unless I really need to. I recall her an average of 0-3 times per hike (*based on visibility or wildlife*) and trust her to make good decisions otherwise. I keep my eyeballs on her 100% of the time and choose areas with good visibility, but I don't recall her just for being far away.

🟣 I limit hikes where I have to nag her often (think, in the woods where I dont have a great line of sight and have to remind her to stay close to me) to a few times a month or less so she doesn't start getting frustrated about it.

🟣 I trust the training I put into her and choose to run her in areas with (relatively) reduced risk if she makes the "wrong" choice. I don't nitpick everything she does and I let her make her own choices, within reason.

🟣 I have an interrupter cue to ask her to stop doing something before I call her back (if she's digging a hole and I want her to move on, I use "Rory, enough! Here!") instead of whistling at her.

🟣 I don't force her attention on check ins. If she runs back to me and doesn't want a snack and wants to run straight back out, I let her run back out.

🟣 I have anticipatory cues for the end of a walk so I don't have to recall her when we get to the end of the field.

I want to say that it's nerve wracking to watch my dog sprint at full speed hundreds of yards away from me. I have to fight the impulse to recall her just because she's far away. It's an exercise in trust because I'm always worried about her going over the horizon, or running into a wildlife, or falling into a hole, but it's an important thing to work on if you have a dog that needs that trust to thrive.

Mav and I were a good team, but I never fully trusted him outdoors. I always had my finger on the ecollar buttons ready for him to do an evil and need to be vibrated. It was exhilarating to watch him in the field, but it wasn't really fun or relaxing.

Rory and I built a much stronger foundation of trust (I personally never would have been able to do this if I had more than one dog). She doesn't know any tricks yet, but I'm super confident in her recall and ability to take direction in the field, even when she's sprinting as fast as possible.

[sophaeros]

if i told you that i had two characters who'd written a song about a secretive doomed relationship together and released a poster for it featuring the two of them holding hands as they drove off a cliff together you'd probably tell me to stop being so on the nose but no. it's real and it's called one way trigger by the strokes

[mackthecheesy]

rip to the person in my dream last night who i was in a time loop trying to save </3 woke up before i ever could