#what’ll probably happen is that i get too embarrassed and i switch to doing more com work EKDNWJS

[xxplastic-cubexx]

blackout at my house means i have to draw my yaoi in public this is awful

[nanatsumu]

TEENAGE FEVER

pairing: iwaizumi hajime x f!reader, oikawa tooru x f!reader

synopsis: iwaizumi has strung you on long enough and you’re finally at the end of your rope.

genre: heavy angst... like make your heart wrench in pain heavy, one sided pining

warnings: manga spoilers, bad grammar (didn’t know it was that bad until i used grammarly), MATURE themes, drinking, smoking, alcohol, iwaizumi being an asshole (he’s also a frat boy because surprise! frat boys should never be trusted), subtle hints at sex, bittersweet ending

word count: 6.7K

series masterlist

part one | part two | part three | part four

“y/n we know you’re in there, someone told me they saw you run in here.”

great!

you slowly sit up from the toilet, dragging your feet across the bathroom tiles until you make it to the door and begin unlocking the lock at a snail’s pace. but before you can even get a chance to twist the doorknob, somebody is already doing so on the other side of the door and the next thing you know, reina’s screaming ‘HURRY UP’ and you’re assaulted by the bathroom door.

“REINA!” you scream as the result of the door flying into your face has you clutching your head.

“SHIT! SORRY Y/N!”

“geez, why are you so fucking slow,” oikawa complains as he sucks his teeth, pushing the door in a little wider so that you can see standing him behind reina as well. “did iwa-chan’s kiss mess you up that bad?”

“your friend is a prick, oikawa!” reina jabs him in the side, eliciting a grunt from the poor man. “it was supposed to be a quick smooch but that guy had to be extra and start using tongue!”

“what kind of guy kisses a girl who he’s only met once like that?!” your female friend cries.

“only someone as ballsy as him would even try and do that,” oikawa stops scratching his head, his eyes widening like saucers as if he’s just realized something. “and don’t put all the blame on iwaizumi! y/n, you literally moaned! and i even saw you kissing back!”

“don’t make me feel shittier than i already do oikawa!” you jeer.

“he...” you sigh and you can feel the tears start to prickle your eyes. “i feel so humiliated, and embarrassed.”

“and i-i felt so... so exposed.”

oikawa’s playful expression falters as he hears the hurt in your voice and manages to squeeze his way past a protesting reina before kneeling down so that he could meet your glossy eyes.

“listen, i’ll apologize on his behalf for now and i’ll take him about it later, alright?” he awkwardly pats your shoulder, not sure what to do as he’s never been in a situation where he’s had to comfort a girl bawling her eyes out.

“y-you... don’t have— t-to do that,” you whimper. “i’m just being a big crybaby, it’s just a silly kiss.”

“no it’s not!” reina blurts out a little louder than she intended to. “that prick completely disrespected you and embarrassed you in front of everyone! it wasn’t even a matter of him kissing you, it was a part of a game, but that dude took it too far and crossed the line!”

“listen, this is why i told you to stay away from him in the first place,” your roommate shuffles closer to you and pulls you in for a hug. “let’s go home alright?”

“let me walk you guys home, it’s getting late outside and even though you two are together, you never know what’ll happen.” oikawa offers, and while you are quick to accept, reina wavers momentarily.

“how do you know you’re not gonna take advantage of us, hm?”

“please, if i wanted to i already would’ve given the circumstances but i haven’t because i. do. not. want. to!” he smiles patronizingly which irks reina.

“whatever, but if you even think about trying anything then i’ll cut your dick off and feed it to my lizard.” she threatens but oikawa doesn’t take it to heart.

you finally get the last of your sniffles out as you stand up to your feet and exit the bathroom with oikawa and reina trailing along right behind you, similar to an assembly line of ducks— a very... tall duck, a crying duck, and an angry duck.

the walk home was rowdier than you had expected it to be. while you were quieter than usual and still in a bad mood from earlier events, that didn’t stop oikawa and reina though from causing a ruckus on the way back to the dorms.

“you’re telling me, that THAT’S hajime? like hajime iwaizumi? the notorious playboy of irvine?” reina gapes as she stares at the photo of iwaizumi back in high school that oikawa had saved in his phone.

even you were surprised to see what iwaizumi looked back then when reina practically shoved oikawa’s phone in your face, the brightness radiating from his phone screen only further irritating your bloodshot eyes.

while he still had a bit of muscle on him back then, he looked a lot lankier in comparison to his university counterpart who had grown twice in size. his once pale skin had become almost a sun-kissed tan color that complimented his features. but what shocked you the most was that the iwaizumi shown to you in the photos was free from any blemishes on his arms and his ears weren’t dressed in dangly silvers or studs.

“that’s iwaizumi?” your jaw dropped and oikawa was quick to make a teasing remark about how your mouth was wide open enough for flies to fly in.

“what happened to him?!” reina cries.

“sometimes i wonder why he hasn’t visited japan in the past 4 years but when i look back at this photo and then compare it to present him, i would piss my pants too if i were him and had to go back home to my mom.”

“does his mom not like tattoos or piercings?” reina questions as you and oikawa give each other a look before turning back to the girl.

“i don’t know about iwaizumi, but my mom is pretty strict about tattoos and piercings,” you start to explain. “she’s the ‘girls shouldn’t get tattoos!’ and ‘guys shouldn’t get piercings!’ type of mom, so she’s not completely against it, but if i came home with a huge ass tattoo like iwaizumi then she’d sure as hell chop my arm off.”

“japan’s pretty strict about piercings and tattoos, especially when it comes to students because tattoos are kind of a sign of the yakuza in japan,” oikawa adds in addition. “piercings aren’t as frowned upon as tattoos but it’s usually the younger kids who have ‘em.”

“yakuza?”

“like a gang basically? or a mafia i guess.” you answer reina to the best of your abilities.

you start kicking a pebble around and breathe in the crisp california air, watching as a puff of smoke escapes your lips with every exhale.

“you alright?” oikawa asks as he begins growing worried since you haven’t said anything in the past few minutes.

“yeah, just thinking,” you stuff your hands into your pockets and continue kicking the pebble beneath your feet. “california is a lot hotter than japan.”

“you think california is hot? just wait ‘till you spend a day in the summer heat in argentina.” he counters.

“maybe one day,” you say in consideration. “maybe when i graduate university i’ll consider traveling somewhere before my life completely revolves around paying taxes and bills.”

“if you do come to argentina one day then just give me a call and i’ll be more than happy to give you a tour around.” he beams.

“my cousin is playing volleyball in brazil, i think?” you say, remembering your mother telling you that hinata had gone to play beach volleyball in brazil. “he’s blood-related but he lived in miyagi while i lived in aomori so we never really got to see each other that much.”

“miyagi? i used to live in miyagi too!”

“huh? really? do you know a hinata shoyo then?” you ask, intrigued at the newfound information. “i heard from my mom that he started playing volleyball in high school so he’s probably played you once in a game if you played volleyball in high school too.”

“i did actually, his team beat mine during the qualifiers for spring nationals my last year of high school and man, i think i probably broke the record for most bowls of ramen eaten in one sitting that day.” he chuckles but it comes out sounding more half-heartedly in your ears, almost like he’s recalling an unpleasant memory from the past.

“so what made you go to argentina?” you ask and oikawa answers like he’s been asked this countless of times (which he has.)

“when i was a kid, there was this volleyball player i really looked up to,” oikawa starts. “his name was jose blanco and there was a tournament happening in sendai that i went to where he played against japan, and at the time there was a young ace on the team who was a fledgling star,”

“he made a big impression during the first half of the tournament but he started getting worse as things progressed. he was kind of off for the rest of the game and i thought that he was gonna be subbed out but it wasn’t until they switched setters that i noticed the ace was getting back into his groove. jose was a veteran setter, 38 years old i think? and if you were to be asked who the star of the game was then you’d probably say the ace since he was the one who scored most of the points right? but if you ask me, i think the setter was the star of the game!”

“he was so cool too! like he was so calm the entire time and he inconspicuously helped the ace get back on to his feet and just simply left the court,” oikawa continues to ramble. “i even got an autograph but that dumbass iwaizumi took the paper that i bought and got the autograph of some dude on the japan team so i had to give jose the jersey i bought earlier that day instead. although it did end up getting washed though....”

“hah! desperate much?” you laugh as you bump shoulders with him.

“desperate time for desperate measures! no way was i gonna leave without getting the jose blanco’s autograph!” he emphasizes.

unbeknownst to you and oikawa, a cheeky smile creeps upon reina’s face as she watches you and oikawa converse with each other like you two were long-time friends catching up for the first time in forever.

you, on the other hand, were starstruck by the man that is oikawa tooru.

the story he told you left you feeling heart-warmed because you noticed how his eyes sparkled and his lips curved into a genuine smile as he talked about his idol and the sport he is so passionate about. oikawa was many things: a flirt, a smooth talker, a sly fox, and he could get a little handsy sometimes— but you could tell the love he had for volleyball was like no other and you respected how committed he was to the sport, even going as far as to going to argentina in order to follow his long-time idol.

“i think it’s really cool that you’re so passionate about volleyball,” you smile as you peer up at the night sky. “in my opinion, i think being committed to one thing your entire life is a bit hard depending on who you are, but at least there are guys like you who are one-in-a-million.”

your words strike a chord in oikawa and reina is quick to notice the way his lips part as he holds his gaze on you.

“oh would you two quit flirting!” reina lets out an inhumane noise that startles you and oikawa.

“you scared me!” you take a deep breath and frantically clutch your heart.

“just say you forgot that i was here because you were too busy getting chummy with oikawa!” she groans while pulling her face.

“you’re just jealous i’m stealing your roommate away,” oikawa sticks his tongue out at your roommate before stopping in his tracks and pulling you into a hug. “but don’t worry! i’ll take extremely good care of her.”

“no way buddy,” reina takes a hold of your arm and uses all of her strength in order to pull you away from oikawa. “she was my roommate before she was your friend!”

“wow i feel so popular,” you say sarcastically, accompanied with a roll of your eyes. “it’s 1 now and i think i would very much rather be at home right now in my jammies instead of listening to you two bicker back and forth.”

“you don’t mean me do you, y/n?!” reina wails as she clings onto you.

“oh look! it’s a bear!” you point out to the other side of the street and reina snaps her head in the direction you’re pointing in.

“where?!”

with her attention off of you, you take this chance to slip away from her and run towards your dorm building along with oikawa who’s right on your tail.

“you’re... really... fast!” oikawa pants as he speaks in-between breaths. “like a lo— WOAH!”

he trips over a slab of concrete that was out of place and out of reflex, he latches onto the nearest object— and unfortunately, you were the closest thing he could grab onto.

“H-HEY!” you screech when you feel yourself being pulled down onto the ground.

with the split second that he had of clarity, oikawa took advantage of the opportunity and moved his hand under your head so that it wouldn’t make contact with the concrete and his hand, would instead, cushion your fall.

you hit the concrete with an ‘oof!’ and while you were awaiting the sharp pain in the back of your head to come, it never came. instead, you open your eyes only to see oikawa’s brown ones staring right back at you with an astounded expression that mirrored yours.

“so, how are you doing this fine night?” he grins.

“pretty good, up until your dumbass tripped and pulled me down with you,” you snort.

reina gasps dramatically when she catches up to you guys and sees the position you two are in.

“you deny your chumminess with him and then you run off to get all handsy with him!”

“this idiot tripped and then thought it would be a good idea to pull me down with him,” you stand up after oikawa offers to pull you up. “what kind of thought process do you even have to think that i could catch your fall?”

reina squeezes his bicep, triggering him to let out a yelp.

“oh it’s hard alright.” reina smirks as oikawa yanks his arm away.

“do you work out a lot?” you sneak up behind oikawa and put your hands on his broad shoulders.

“yup!” he flexes his arm and gives you both a cheeky smile. “i gained 10 kilograms of muscle mass!”

“1-10?! isn’t that like 20 pounds?!” reina gawks at the volleyball player.

“yeah and guess what, i only grew one centimeter so it was all me baby!” he laughs almost mockingly.

the rest of the walk home was full of laughter and heartwarming bantering between the three of you and you were happy that you were able to meet reina, an amazing roommate, and oikawa, who was a cocky shit but still managed to squeeze a laugh out of you.

it was going to be a long 4 years away from home, but just as long as you were surrounded by the right people, you were sure that these 4 years would fly by in a jiffy.

when you guys finally arrived at your dorm building, you notified reina that you would stay outside and chat with oikawa for a bit and so she gave you the okay and headed up to your room first so that she could get ready for bed since she was about ready to knock out right then and there.

“thanks for walking me home, oikawa,” you pull him in for friendly hug that he didn’t expect, but nevertheless, he hugs back anyway because who is he to decline a hug from you? “i feel bad for having you walk me home even though you probably want to hang out with iwaizumi.

oikawa feels his stomach churn at the mention of his best friend and guilt creeps upon him like bile rising in the back of your throat.

oikawa had turned a blind eye to iwaizumi’s bad habit of playing around with girls and leaving them after he’s had his fair share of fun because iwaizumi was his best friend and despite the drastic transformation he had gone through within the 4 years that they’ve been away from each other, oikawa knew deep down that he was still the iwaizumi he knew and loved— the iwaizumi who had stuck with him through thick and thin during his adolescent years.

however, now that he’s taken the time to familiarize himself with you personally and grow to learn what type of person you were— someone with a good heart but isn’t afraid to voice their own opinions and stand their ground when people try to walk all over them— he can’t help but be greedy and want you all for himself.

“say, y/n,” you give him a soft hum in response which prompts him to continue taking. “you wanna grab some milk bread with me tomorrow at the cafe you were talking about?”

“are you asking me out on a date right now?” you wheeze. “you’re pretty bold for asking out someone you’ve only met twice your entire life.”

“it’s not a date unless you want it to be.” he wiggles his eyebrows.

“a platonic date sounds good to me, don’t you think?”

“there’s no such thing as a platonic date, y/n.”

“maybe not to you since you’re probably used to girls flocking around you all the time,” you say and he’s visibly upset at the fact that you think he’s a casanova or something when in reality he still hasn’t had his first girlfriend yet. “so you in? i’ll even call it a date if you’d like.”

“yeah i’m in,” he puts his fist out for a fist bump, which you are content with returning, and he beams at you with the biggest smile you’ve seen him give you. “does the afternoon work for you?”

you pull your phone out of your jacket pocket and open up the contacts app before handing it to the male.

“just give me your number and we can go over the specifics over text tonight.”

he punches in his number, saving the contact as “tooru👽” before handing the device back to you.

“an alien emoji?” you laugh as you read his contact name displayed on your phone. “you’re a dork.”

“like you’re any less of a dork than me.” he playfully rolls his eyes as he pulls his phone out and gives it for you to return the favor.

you clumsily put your number into his phone, accidentally pressing some random digit one too many times, and save your name as “y/n :3” before handing his phone back to him.

“a bunny face?” he threw his head back and let out a humorous laugh.

“shut up!” you give his shoulder a gentle push. “as if an alien emoji is any better, at least my emoticon is cute!”

“yeah yeah, whatever you say.” he slips his phone back into his pocket before giving you one last final hug that feels a bit warmer than the ones he’s given you before.

“get home safe, oikawa.”

his eyes linger on your face for a bit longer than he would’ve liked.

your eyes were crinkled and your smile lines were more prominent up close, but it didn’t stop oikawa’s heart from skipping a beat.

“sweet dreams y/n.”

you awaken the next morning to the sound of your phone ringing and reina’s abnormally loud snoring (you’re surprised that the girls in the next room over haven’t come knocking at your door telling your roommate to snore a little quieter.)

with the sleep still present in your eyes, the brightness of your phone screen causes you to squint before your vision clears up and you’re able to make out the numbers ‘7:30 A.M’ displayed across your screen.

when the haziness finally leaves your system, you take a look outside your window and realize that the only speck of sunlight present at all is the sunlight that’s provided by the rising sun, peeking out from across the horizon.

you mentally curse oikawa out in your head as your fingers dance across your keyboard to type out a brief response to oikawa’s suspiciously ominous text message.

you reluctantly get up from your bed and slip on your fuzzy bunny slippers before treading over to your door, unlocking it, and then swinging it open, revealing your tall, brown-haired friend standing right where he said he would be.

“nice jammies,” he lets loose an unrestrained, boisterous laugh as he reaches out to fix the strap of your tank top which slipped off your shoulder. “i dig the bunny slippers by the way.”

you haphazardly shuffle your feet, gaining a smile from oikawa as he chuckles softly.

“can i come in?” he peers into the room by leaning over a bit where he sees reina sprawled out in a weird position on her bed, snoring loudly.

“uh, reina’s actually asleep,” you sheepishly scratch the back of your head. “the dorms don’t have separate bedrooms, everyone just sleeps in the same room with their respective roommates.”

“so movie night’s no longer in question?”

“i guess if you don’t mind reina being a plus one,” you shrug as you gesture for him to come in, letting him enter the room first so that you can close the door on your way in. “she’s a heavy sleeper so don’t worry about waking her up.”

oikawa throws himself onto your bed, even going as far as to slipping under your covers and making himself right at home, which, you don’t hesitate to scold him for doing so.

“what’s the point of coming all the way over here just to go back to sleep?” you cross your arms as you walk over to your bed, your knees hitting the edge of the mattress.

“the bakery opens at 8:30 so i wanted to pick you up since the walk there is 25 minutes from here,” oikawa pulls his phone out and checks the time. “it’s 7:37 now so hurry and get ready!”

you shuffle over to the worn-out dresser that has been with you since the day you moved into the dorms and pull out the drawers that contain a majority of your most worn pieces. taking into account the outfit that oikawa was currently sporting— an oversized hoodie, a loose pair of sweatpants, and some sneakers that looked to be on the pricier side— you decided that wearing something similar to that would suffice.

“can you turn around?” you ask as you grab a pair of black sweatpants, not bothering to check the design since they looked all the same anyways, and an oversized hoodie that you forgot you even had in your possession.

“hm? why?”

“i’m gonna change?” you shrug. “unless you don’t mind staying here by yourself? or you can just step outside for a minute if you want to.”

“oh yeah, sure.”

you watch as he heeds your request and begins to turn around to face the wall before proceeding to take off your pajamas, making sure to keep a close eye on him just in case he decides to be a peeping tom.

“you know, you’re pretty credulous trusting a guy you’ve only met last week.” he says as he rocks side to side, head still turned facing the wall.

“well i don’t have to worry about you peeping because i’m already done changing,” you pull down the rest of the bunched up fabric of your hoodie that’s around your waist before slipping on a random baseball cap you saw laying around. “even if you did turn around, i have a 5-pound textbook and i’m not afraid to use it.”

oikawa’s about to make a snarky remark in return to your futile threat when suddenly a loud snore escapes reina’s mouth, encouraging the two of you to give each other a flabbergasted look that leads to you both erupting into a fit of hushed laughter.

“let’s go before reina wakes up and gets a heart attack after seeing you in here.”

“no way!”

after exiting the dorm building and beginning your journey with oikawa to the designated cafe, you two arguing about whether or not milk or cereal should go first after oikawa mentioned to you that he was a firm believer of “milk first, cereal last.”

“if you put milk in first then you’re just gonna get less cereal and who the fuck eats cereal just to drink the cereal milk?” you shoot him a grimace.

“when you pour in the cereal after the milk, then it’s just gonna float there and who takes satisfaction in seeing that shit?” you add. “that’s why cereal first is way better because you get a bowl full of cereal and it’s just... perfect!”

“but your cereal is gonna be soggy by the time you put the milk back in the refrigerator!” oikawa retorts.

“then just wait until after you’re done to put it away? how long do you even take to put the milk back in the refrigerator that when you come back your cereal gets all soggy?!”

“and aren’t you supposed to be an athlete? i’m seriously concerned if it takes you at least over 15 seconds just to put back a carton of milk.” you take a jab at him.

“i will not allow this oikawa slander from you!” he stops in his tracks before abruptly picking you up and throwing you over his shoulder.

“h-hey! put me down! i’m heavy, oikawa!” you squirm around in protest, but oikawa shows no sign of letting you go anytime soon as he starts to pick up his pace.

“i didn’t gain all of that muscle for nothin’ baby!” he laughs maniacally as he’s practically full-on sprinting down the street now.

luckily enough, the cafe was just around the corner of the street that oikawa started running down from which meant there was finally a reason for the male to let you down, despite the fact that you had been punching his back for the last minute or so but you couldn’t seem to crack him, his arms, nor those broad shoulders of his.

you let out a huff of feigned annoyance once you’re down on your feet while oikawa is still laughing his ass off as you two walk into the establishment.

“not funny! i almost dropped my hat when you pulled that stunt!” you complain as you’re frantically trying to fix your hair: when oikawa abruptly picked you up and threw you over his shoulder, the baseball cap on your head was about to fall off but thankfully with your reflexes, you were able to catch it in the nick of time— however, at the price of your own hair.

“here, i got you,” oikawa extends his hand out to your head and starts to brush away at your mess of a hair. “if it makes you feel better, it’s on the house.”

“i was gonna make you pay anyways.” you stick your tongue out at him playfully, feigning annoyance.

“pft, and you brought your wallet anyways?” he grabs your wrist and pulls it up so that you could see the object in your hands.

“it has my id in it you doofus,” you roll your eyes but there’s a hint of blush on your face as you realize he’s practically holding your hand. “and what if you forgot your wallet, hm?”

he lets go of your wrist before slipping his hand into his sweatpants pocket and pulling out a black wallet.

“i never forget my wallet sweetheart,” he winks and you laugh. “especially if i know i’m gonna be going out with a pretty lady— don’t wanna leave a bad impression y’know”

“i think you’ve already left quite the impression on me from your stunt earlier.” you bump shoulders with him.

“so see anything you like on the menu?” he puts his hand on the small of your back and guides you over to where the menu is so that you could get a closer look at all of the options the cafe had to offer its customers.

“we’ll... we did come here originally for milk bread,” oikawa notices how deep in thought you are over something as trivial as baked goods and he can’t help but smile a bit when he notices the little pout on your face or the crease that forms on your forehead when you scrunch your face a little bit. “but i wanna try their matcha bread! and their boba looks good, or is it a little bit too early to be drinking boba?”

oikawa’s so lost in thought (*correction: staring at you) that he doesn’t even realize that you’ve been trying to grab his attention by calling his name 5 times— and it’s only when you physically have to shake him a bit that he snaps out of his little daydream.

“oh, sorry!” he gives you an apologetic smile. “what’s up?”

“i was asking if you wanted to share one of their drinks with me but you were too busy staring at me to hear.” you sneer. “do you have a crush on me or something? heh.”

“pshhh, no way!” he has a sheepish look on his face that you can’t stop yourself from laughing at.

“you better not go falling for me anytime soon, you playboy.” you jest while nudging him with your elbow.

“i’m pretty sure i should be the one telling you that,” he rolls his eyes playfully. “i’m surprised you haven’t confessed your undying love for me yet.”

“i don’t fall in love that easily, pretty boy, and i certainly do not fall in love with someone i’ve only recently met.” you snort at his comment.

“hi there! are you two ready to order?” a voice startles you and oikawa as you both turn your heads towards a woman standing behind the counter.

“oh i’m so sorry about that! i’m sure you didn’t come to work just to see the two of us play around.” you giggle as the woman mirrors your action.

“it’s nothing new to me, it seems like this place is a hotspot for couples to come and hang out so it’s kind of the norm for me now.” she reassures you.

“are you a college student?” you ask the cashier, taking note on how she looked to be around your age.

“i actually graduated from culinary school about 2 years ago,” she starts off. “my parents supported me throughout my 4 years of culinary school, but when it came down to actually opening this cafe, my boyfriend— well, fiancé now— helped me look for a good place to rent out and it was history from there!”

“it was a bit hard at first since i was still fresh out of culinary school and i could barely start this business with the funds i had saved up, but thankfully my boyfriend was able to pitch in and help make my dreams come true,” she continues and you feel your heart grow fuzzy at how whenever she mentioned her boyfriend, her face would soften and a small smile would make its way onto her face. “i honestly cannot imagine a life without him, he’s been with me since high school so he’s always known about my longtime dream of owning my own cafe. he’s always been my rock during my hardest times and— oh my! i started rambling didn’t i?”

she starts to apologize for burdening you with her life story, but you dismiss her worries by waving your hands in front of you, oikawa laughing and copying your motions.

“i think he’d be really happy to hear that you think so lovingly of him.” your lips curve into a gentle smile, which the woman reciprocates.

“what’s your name?” she asks.

“i’m y/n! and this big guy is tooru.” oikawa waves at the woman, her following suit.

“ah i see! well y/n and tooru, my name is maia and it’s so nice to meet you two!” she brings her hand out for a handshake, which you and oikawa return. “are you two college students?”

“yeah! i’m actually a student at the university of irvine!” you answer enthusiastically. “tooru is just visiting from argentina at the moment so i wanted to take him around the area before he left.”

“argentina, really?” her mouth forms an ‘o’ shape. “it must be hard doing long distance, huh? i couldn’t even imagine if my fiancé and i had to live that far away from each other.”

you and oikawa turn to look at each other in confusion before an invisible lightbulb goes off in both of your heads and you bring your attention back onto maia, who’s now equally as confused as you two are.

“we’re actually not dating!” the pink hue from earlier creeps back onto your cheeks and from the corner of your eye you can see oikawa fiddling with the sleeves of his hoodie. “i met him at one of the frat parties i went to last week and we kind of just clicked.”

“i’m so sorry for assuming!” she has a distraught look on her face and you’re quick to tell her that it was just a misunderstanding. “you two just look really cute together, plus i’m also really used to a lot of couples coming here that i was quick to assume that you two were dating!”

“i mean, we’d be a cute couple right, y/n-chan?” gone was the nervous oikawa you saw just a second ago, and back was the cocky oikawa you all know and love.

“you wish!” you scoff, not bothering to shrug off the arm he slung around your shoulder.

“anyways, is it alright if we can get two of your milk breads as well as a matcha bread and a oolong milk tea with boba?” you order and maia quickly input the order into the tablet in front of her.

“will that be all for you today?”

“anything else you want, oikawa?” you ask him but he shakes his head in response. “i think that’ll be all for us today then, maia.”

you’re about to insert your card into the chip holder when suddenly oikawa grabs your arm and plucks the card out of your hand.

“h-hey! what are you doing? give me my card back!”

“didn’t i tell you that it was on the house earlier?” he looks at you with a teasing smirk on his face and before you could protest again, a pleasant sound comes out of the machine, signaling that the transaction was successful.

“such a gentleman! you should snatch him up before someone else does, y/n!” maia coos.

“i think it’d be best for someone else to snatch him up, i don’t think i could handle all of... this.” you motion to his entire body.

“are you flirting with me?” oikawa had a shit-eating grin on his face that you were so tempted to wipe off, but his actions from less than a minute ago still caught you off guard and you had to admit, you were glad he wasn’t a cheapskate and offered to pay in your stead— well, more forced you out of paying.

“thanks, oikawa,” you didn’t know what you had the other day to make you act so bold, but you stood on your tiptoes and planted a chaste kiss on his cheek out of gratitude. “for being the only gentleman on campus, even though you’re technically not a student here.”

out of instinct, oikawa’s hand immediately flys up to the spot where your lips touched his skin and starts to graze it.

“heh, i like your spunk, y/n.” he shows you a cheeky smile.

“don’t let it get to your head, it was just a complimentary kiss.” you laugh and it sounds more melodious than usual to oikawa’s ears for some reason.

“so...” he starts and you let out a small ‘hm?’ which prompts him to continue. “do you have any plans for the rest of the day?”

“i don’t think so? i have the dorm all to myself from when reina goes to her blind date and up until she comes back, so if you wanna do something then i don’t mind squeezing you into my schedule!” you reply, but a thought suddenly resurfaces in your mind. “no frat parties though, i heard one of iwaizumi’s friends are hosting one tonight but i don’t think i can think about another frat party without having to gouge my eyeballs out.”

“got it, no frat parties,” oikawa chuckles. “if it makes you feel any better, i never liked those frat parties anyways and i only went because iwaizumi is the only person i know here which meant i was obligated to follow him around everywhere but now that i know you, it changes the whole game!”

“i’m just as new to california as you are oikawa, don’t get your hopes up too high.”

“but that’s the fun part about it, right? we get to explore california together! it really feels like we’re a couple don’t you think?” he blurts out in the heat of the moment but quickly comes to realize the weight of his words. “oh shit— sorry... i hope you’re not uncomfortable hearing me say that out loud.”

“not at all!” you look down at your shoes for a fleeting moment before looking back up at oikawa. “it’s quite... endearing? i’ve never really had a lot of ‘guy friends’ and mostly hung around with girls so this is the first time i’ve ever really had a guy show any interest in me— platonically of course!”

“and you’ve never ever had a boyfriend before?” oikawa lifts an eyebrow.

“nope, never even had my first kiss,” you say but you think back to the events that took place last night. “well, up until yesterday...”

you tried to hide the grimace on your face as the memory of you and iwaizumi kissing kept playing on repeat in your mind, but oikawa was able to see right through your mask and clenched his fists as he recalled the distressed look on your face when he and reina found you crying in the bathroom.

oikawa believed that you should have deserved to have your first kiss taken by someone who truly loved you, but instead, it was taken away by his scum of a best friend, who, he was currently disappointed in for treating you the way he did last night.

oikawa is about to open his mouth up to say something, but he’s interrupted before he even gets a chance to say anything when maia announces that your order is ready.

“it smells so good, maia!” you say after you skip over to the other side of the counter and take a whiff of the freshly baked pastries.

“oh you’re making me blush, y/n!” maia cups her cheeks bashfully while you laugh at her antics.

you shake up the cup of boba so that the pearls were evenly distributed throughout the drink before taking a straw and puncturing a hole through the film on top of the cup, taking a small sip after you mix the drink around one last time with the straw.

“mhm! so good!” you lean back, not realizing that oikawa had moved to stand right behind you, resulting in you crashing into his chest.

“shit, you scared me oikawa!” you laugh as you slap his chest. “want some?”

you hold the straw up to his lips, and you notice the way his eyes widen by a fraction.

“you wanna share?”

“well yeah? unless you’re scared of getting cooties or something, what are you? 12?” you tease. “or are you worried that it’s an indirect kiss? i can always get another—”

your rambling is cut off when his lips wrap around the straw and he takes a long sip of the drink in your hand.

“there, we just indirectly kissed!” he wipes his mouth with the back of his hand before shooting you a goofy grin.

“pft, how childish do you have to be to be freaked out over an indirect kiss.” you mumble, but it doesn’t cover up the blood that rushes up to your face, painting your cheeks in a pinkish hue which oikawa finds endearing.

part one | part two | part three | part four

TAGLIST:

@katsukibabe • @thecaptainyuri • @satorisflatass • @daphnxy • @aonenthusiast • @felixsamour • @literaleftist

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[duskamethyst]

not a bad thing.

a/n: we often see fics involving cats turning into a human hybrid but i wanted to switch it up. i wasn’t sure if i wanted to make him full on quadrupedal or just half human-cat. spoiler: i chose the latter.

word count: 2.8k

genre: fluff

warnings: n/a

pairing: catboy!shinsou x gn!reader

summary: shinsou is infested by a quirk that turns him into a cat. how is he going to turn back?

you and shinsou are on patrol before suddenly alerted that there is a robbery from the jewelry shop nearby. the both of you quickly get into offensive mode and spot the running criminal, one that you’ve never seen or known of– probably making their debut tonight. they have the physique of a human but the head of a cat. none of you have any idea of what their quirk is but judging from their figure, you probably have the gist of it.

“okay, they’re running into an alley!” you inform shinsou who’s running right behind you. “i’ll try to get them from the back while you try to distract them.” 

“hey, wait–” he calls but you already left him when you turn to the other side of the building to execute your plan. 

you stalk the criminal behind the wall who’s running towards your direction before jumping in front of them and startling them. your quirk allows the ground to turn into clay and objects to molt into shapes you desire with a touch. the ground between you melted once you activated your quirk, but the offender is quick to stop and turn around and face shinsou instead. 

“we got you cornered. please don’t resist.” shinsou says, activating his quirk at the same time. realizing that they have no other options, they sprint forwards into shinsou’s direction to make a break for it. shinsou swiftly uses his scarf to grab a hold on them but unfortunately, they’re so much quicker and are able to smoothly avoid the restraints– thanks to their feline capabilities and senses. 

“shinsou!” the culprit is closing in and before shinsou can defend himself, he’s met with nothing but a soft peck on his lips. the both of you are surprised and they easily take the opportunity to escape and disappear from your sights. 

“are you–” concerned, you run up to him who is still baffled and wiping his lips with his sleeve. 

“fine,” he grunts. “but they got away. hopefully the police are notified by now.”

“i’m sorry, it’s my fault. i didn’t think it through.” you sigh defeatedly. “but hey, at least someone got a kiss!” you joke, eliciting an eye roll from the male. 

“shut up, it’s not funny. what am i gonna write in our report? ‘got kissed by a villain’? goddamn it.”

you laugh, “it sounds romantic, though.”

a loud banging on your door suddenly interrupts you from your sleep. you glance sleepily at the clock from your bedside table– 2:24 a.m. maybe turning on sleep mode wasn’t a good idea.

you look through the peephole and open the door to a very distressed shinsou in his hoodie. 

“what’s going on?” you move to the side to let him stomp in before closing the door behind you. it has only been a few hours since the incident earlier. he stays silent as he stands in the middle of the room and it kind of starts to make you feel worried. “shinsou?”

he turns around with a glare and he sighs to recollect himself, “promise me you won’t laugh.”

you blink at him once, twice. “i was in the middle of my sleep, i don’t think i’m in the mood for a joke right now.”

“promise me.”

“okay, okay. i promise!” 

once he gets your word on it, he slowly pulls the hoodie down from his head– and you can’t believe what you’re seeing; shinsou now has cat ears!

“what– what’s that?!” your hand finds its way to your mouth as you try to hold in your laughter. is this a joke? was he forced to do this?

“you promised–” he pulls back the hoodie on his head to hide his new ears that hold the same shade as his hair.

“i know! but– but it’s a good look on you! you look so cute!” you start giggling and walk up to him. “oh my god, can i touch it?”

“what?! no!” shinsou steps back, protecting his new ears with his hands. 

“oh, come on! you trust me with this, right? i bet i’m the first person you looked for!” 

“y-yeah, but–” he stammers, “but that’s only because you were with me! i bet it was their quirk that made me like this!” 

you manage to corner him to a wall and you quickly take off his hoodie to reveal his ears again that are pushing backwards as some sort of sign of defense. 

“i promise i’ll be gentle.” you coax, hands already reaching up to his ears before he could answer. you scratch behind his ears like you normally do with cats and he slowly relaxes to your touch. 

before he feels like he’s about to purr and humiliate himself, shinsou smacks your hand away, “cut it out.”

“why? i thought cats like that?” 

“and i’m not a cat.” he looks away to hide his face, feeling like his cheeks are turning warm. “anyways, i don’t know what else it’s gonna do nor how long.”

“but we gotta tell the hero’s commission about this. i don’t know if you wanna stay over or something but i really wanna see what’ll happen tomorrow.” 

“so you can laugh at me even more? when my tail shows up?” he snorts. 

“pshh, no.” shinsou squints at you for a moment before you groan defeatedly, “okay, maybe?” 

he rolls his eyes, “don’t mind me then.”

if your sleep last night was disturbed by knockings from the door, this morning you’re woken up by a frantic shout of your name from the living room. you quickly get out of bed to check out what’s happening.

“shinsou– oh my god!” you squeal both in amusement and shock as you notice a fluffy indigo tail coming from shinsou’s back. shinsou, however, looks beyond unamused. 

“ït’s getting worse.” 

“aw, shinsou.” your lips feign a pout. “you look ador– ack!” he throws a pillow at you. “fine, i’ll report this to the commission.”

“could you, maybe...” he mutters before you turn back to your room. “leave out the details? i feel embarrassed.”

you tilt your head questioningly, “but isn’t that the most important part? to find out how to undo their quirk?”

shinsou just remains quiet, his eyes staring down onto the ground. feeling as if you don’t want to make his day any worse, you comply. maybe you can find something out by the end of the day or maybe he can only hope that the quirk won’t last much longer anymore, that there should be a time limit for it like most quirks do.

you leave the room to take a quick shower and write in your report. a couple of hours pass by and you think about cooking for your guest today. shinsou is still laying on your sofa, looking very much in despair while his fluffy tail wags up and down, making you feel nothing more than mesmerized by it. 

failing to fight the urge, you quietly sneak behind him and tug on his tail. the startled male turns to you annoyingly.

“at this point i just wish claws would come out so i can put a scar on you.”

“and i will throw a bucket of water in your face.” you tease. “anyways, i’m gonna cook for both of us now. you can do whatever you like. you’re a cat anyways, i can’t really tell you what to do.” he glares at you while you stride off towards the kitchen laughing. 

you call out to eat once you’ve finished cooking. nothing too special, just fried rice and stirred veggies that are enough to fill your empty stomach. you’re not going to take any complaints and you’re not the best cook either but it’s the most you could do right now. 

“ack!” shinsou coughs after taking the first bite of his meal and quickly gulps down some water.

you look at him dejectedly, “hey, i know my cooking isn’t that good. don’t need to rub it in my face!”

he shakes his head, “no, it’s just– i think my taste buds aren’t working well.”

“you’re just trying to make me feel better.” you scowl playfully but shinsou only chugs his drink each time he tries to put food inside his mouth. “don’t tell me you only want to eat fish now?” 

“i hope i don’t. but– meow?” realizing what slips out from his mouth so casually, he puts his hand over his mouth in shock.

“meow?” you repeat. 

“shit, i– meow.”

“shinsou, are you okay?” you look at him curiously. 

he shakes his head again, his cat ears pushed back. when you stand up from your seat to check on him, he quickly dashes to the corner of the room and faces the wall. you carefully walk closer to him but as you are about to put your hand on his shoulder, shinsou turns around and hisses at you– his tail slightly fluffed up. 

you take a step back in wary, “oh, um, okay? i’ll get you a fish? is that what you want?”

shinsou only growls lowly, his irises narrow and tail wagging in annoyance as he watches you walk back into the kitchen to get food for him. 

oh boy, this is bad. he lost his speech abilities. 

thankfully, you have some raw salmon in your fridge. while you wait for it to defrost, shinsou only curls up in the corner defensively. each time you try to get closer to him, he’ll either growls or hisses at you. as much as you want to be offended (he’s close to you after all), you can’t help but think it’s rather adorable to see him like this– behaving like a cat though you can see that he still has his attitude.

you then try to sway him with the fish, gently placing down the plate in front of him before he sniffs his food and crouches down to eat it without using his hands. 

“that looks... so inhumane.” you sigh. “maybe i should feed you?”

you take a slice of salmon from the plate and bring it in front of his mouth in an attempt to feed him. he looks at you warily for a brief second before sniffing it again and opening his mouth to nibble on his food. 

“that’s a good boy!” you giggle, reaching to pat his head but he shies away as he chews his meal. okay, he probably needs some time. 

you patiently feed him until the plate is empty and give him some water to drink. you then finish up your brunch and do the dishes while shinsou lazes around on your sofa. to your surprise, shinsou is quick to warm up to you when he sits up and scoots from his seat, giving you room to sit next to him. even more surprising when he lays his head on your lap right after that. it makes your heart throb and embarrassed at the same time.

“uh...” he looks content but you’re unsure if he’d allow you to touch him. however, you decide to try your luck and begin to gently caress his hair.  

shinsou flutters his eyes open at the touch and doesn’t fight back but instead his eyes slowly shuts again as he leans into your hold. his head nuzzles against your hand as you continue to stroke his hair. you take it as a sign that he has finally loosen up and you waste no time to scratch him behind the ears. over time, you can almost hear him purring on your lap. your heart squeezes in glee at the thought that shinsou finds comfort and warmth from you. 

“you’re not hard to please, huh?” you chuckle as you watch the male endearingly; maybe he should just stay like this so you won’t have to put up with his smart mouth so much. you’ve heard about how cats are able to provide humans oxytocin but currently you’re not sure if it’s because he is partially a cat or because it’s shinsou himself. 

the both of you stay in the position for quite a time as you idly flip through channels on the tv screen. truth be told, shinsou is the only one that feels comfortable right now. you want to move because your legs are starting to feel numb but you feel bad if you wake or move him. fortunately, you are saved by the bell when there’s a knock on the door. 

shinsou’s ears perk up as his attention is drawn towards the door.

“hold on, i think i got a package.” you stand up from the sofa and head towards the door to greet the delivery man. 

shinsou watches you as you stand there and engage in little unnecessary chats while you sign on the paper. the man gets excited when he recognizes you as one of the pro heroes and somehow it drags into a long conversation before he realizes that he’s running out of time and needs to deliver his packages to the other customers. with a brief handshake, he finally leaves your doorstep and you turn towards a vigilant (half) man from your sofa.

his indigo eyes narrow down at you as you walk up to him, gaze piercing through you as you find your seat next to him again.

“what?” you look at him in unease. he shifts closer to you and scrunches his nose as he takes a sniff from you and a low growl rips from his throat as if something unpleasant just flared through his nostrils. and to shinsou, it is– the scent is still you but it’s somehow tainted now and he doesn’t appreciate it.

“hey, i already took a–” 

shinsou suddenly jumps on you, his hands pushing you roughly by the shoulders as his bigger and muscular build hovers over you. your heartbeat is running a mile once your eyes are locked with his. you hung around him a lot before and there were some unintentional brush of the hands here and there, but this is probably the closest you two have been and you’re starting to feel nervous. 

“shinsou? c-cut it out.” you whimper but the male doesn’t budge at all and instead his lazy eyes just continue to bore into yours.

if only you have a water quirk, you probably would spray his face by now.

once shinsou’s grip softens, you try to wriggle away. however, he leans down closer to you and stops an inch away from your face. you want to brace yourself for what’s to come but you have no idea what to expect either, but there’s an unshakeable feeling inside you that wishes to feel his soft lips on yours. you blush at the thought– you probably shouldn’t feel such way towards your colleague and especially when this is the work of the criminal’s quirk, you should keep this professional and not let your personal feelings be involved. 

however, your little wish is granted. 

your eyes almost go out of their sockets when shinsou gently presses his lips onto yours so tenderly. you can see that the absurd fury he had has subsided and he turns rather calm as a soft sigh escapes from him. slowly, your own eyes close as you give in to the kiss. 

it feels all too quick before he pulls away and gazes at you with those half-lidded eyes. it’s a dreamy sight and you just want to pull him back but you notice that his ears are slowly disappearing. 

he blinks a few times before letting reality finally hit him and realizing the compromising position the both of you are in. a tinge of pink creeps on his cheeks and he quickly pushes himself off of you. 

“your ears and tail are gone!” you squeal, voice masking the dread inside you that he’s back to normal but you’re also glad that the quirk has worn off. 

“thank god.” he sighs. he tries to remember the details of how he even got on top of you but nothing pops in his mind. he might have the slightest idea but he doesn’t want to believe it. the thought of it makes his ears and cheeks burn hotter. even if he did kiss you, he doesn’t want it to be like that– not when he’s under a damn quirk. 

“do you remember what happened?”

“the last thing i remember is when we’re having brunch.” he murmurs, still trying to put one and one together.

“oh, boy. you should’ve seen yourself! you suddenly started acting like a–”

“listen. you are to forget what just happened.” he cuts you off immediately. 

he’s so used to putting up a stoic attitude around people. he always deliberately tried to look cool especially around you and made sarcastic remarks to annoy you but that was one of his confusing ways to express his liking to you. and now the fact that he might have looked so vulnerable in front of you, it’s just too humiliating. 

“but–”

maybe this time, shinsou thinks it’s okay to finally use his quirk on you.

duskamethyst © 2020 • do not modify, translate or repost anywhere.

[paralleledmediaexperience]

a part 2 to this ficlet as requested by @xanthomonus in the notes! I’ve got at least one more part conceptualized (no way you can guess what’ll happen there) though i may extend it or add more, so if anyone would like to be tagged let me know!! 

- 

 Sam is insistent that they try to research ways to get Cas back. Jack has explained that Amara won’t fail- it is simply the process of extracting an Angel from the Empty that takes time, since she didn’t want to wake or anger it like… well, like what Jack had done. He could feel Amara’s sincerity in a way that he was certain Sam and Dean wouldn’t understand, let alone be comforted by. She’d been in his head, crossed with his soul in the transfer of power. He’s kind of sure that if he hadn’t missed Cas so much too, she probably would have ignored Dean’s request altogether.

But it makes Sam look less frazzled when he’s able to lose himself in the research for something, and Jack doesn’t mind sitting with him and pretending he’s not hiding chapter books behind the large tomes. He’s been working his way steadily through some books Sam had collected for him last time they had been out shopping, and while he had enjoyed the first one (a mystery about siblings called the Boxcar children even though they no longer lived in a boxcar) he’d chosen Matilda next, because she sounded nice. And he was right! Matilda was his new favorite, even more than his last favorite, which had been Where the Wild Things Are.

He doesn’t even notice when Dean walks in, because Matilda had just glued a hat to her father’s head, but he does when Sam says, “What, none for me?”

“You’re a grown man, Sammy, you can make your own food. He’s four years old with a foot injury.” Dean says, scowling at Sam. The effect is rather ruined by both Dean’s flour dusted apron and the plate in his hands, and Jack smiles when he turns back to him instead. “You both missed lunch.”

Sam grumbles, but gets up anyway, stretching. “If you didn’t make me food how could I have missed it?”

“Shut up,” Dean shoots back half-heartedly. “Here, Jack, and don’t let him steal off your plate just because he got distracted reading.”

“Thanks, Dean!” Jack says brightly, moving his secret reading setup to the table instead of his lap and pushing it away, ignoring the way Sam’s eyebrows raise when he notices his no longer hidden book. Dean sets the plate down and ignores that Sam sends him one last annoyed face before heading off to the kitchen, where Jack knows there is going to be a plate ready for Sam, or at least a serving of the macaroni and cheese sprinkled with bacon bits and breadcrumbs that Dean’s brought him. “Are you making something else?”

“Just some bread,” Dean grimaces down at the mess of flour across his front, and Jack has to contain his giggles when the movement reveals a streak of flour in Dean’s hair. 

“Just some bread,” Sam echoes, swinging back through the door with his own plate of macaroni. “Dean. Do I need to remind you that we need vegetables and can’t live off of carbs and meat alone?”

“It’s macaroni, Sam, quit whining and just enjoy it,” Dean rolls his eyes. “I swear, you’re the pickiest-”

“It’s not being picky, it’s eating healthy-”

“Same difference!” Dean insists, his twitching lips betraying the irritation in his voice.

“Just one meal with something green a day, Dean, I’m begging you.” 

Eyes flicking back and forth as they snipe at each other, Jack takes an appreciative bite of the macaroni. Expectedly delicious, because Dean made it and Dean didn't make bad food the way Sam sometimes did. Mostly.

“Then beg,” Dean proclaims stubbornly, eyes narrowed. Sam doesn’t respond, his own expression pinching up into very familiar exasperation. 

“Actually, I’ve never had brussel sprouts before, and Claire said I should try them!” Jack interjects. He isn’t sure what a brussel sprout is beyond a vegetable, but Claire had said he’d like them and that he should bother Dean into making them. 

Dean looks unimpressed though, gaze switching from Sam back to meet Jack’s eyes. “You want me to make you brussel sprouts?”

“Please?” Jack tries, unsure if Dean thinks there is something wrong with brussel sprouts or if he is still simply offended by the concept of vegetables.

The please works, Dean’s capitulation coming in the form of a displeased huff and an, “Alright, fine.” He swings back around to point at Sam accusingly. “I’m blaming you for this.”

“As long as we get something from each of the five food groups, sure,” Sam says, taking his seat again. “And no, you don’t get to use tomatoes as the catch all.”

“Fine,” Dean bites out again, clapping Jack on the shoulder as he starts to turn away.

“Thank you Dean! Love you!” Jack says, and he hears Sam’s quick inhale just as he sees Dean almost stumble and he smiles to himself.

“Love you too, kid,” Dean manages to get out, hand squeezing just a bit tighter on his shoulder. “Alright, go back to your books, I have to go to the store for brussel sprouts apparently.”

The speed at which Dean walks away couldn’t be called running away but Jack definitely thinks it qualifies as retreating, and he straightens up a bit, very proud of himself for receiving his second ‘love you’ from Dean in twice as many days. He watches Dean get out the door before turning back around in his seat.

Sam is staring at him with a blinking mixture of incredulity and open affection, the smile on his face wide, if confused. “That’s… new?” 

“Yep,” Jack confirms, pulling Matilda back towards himself and abandoning the pretense of reading the book Sam had suggested he search through. Sam had already searched it himself twice. He doesn’t manage to open it, because Sam continues.

“And I don’t need to check that it’s actually Dean?” Sam teases, bewilderment clear and pride clearer. “Saying yes to vegetables AND and I love you?”

“It turns out,” A voice whipcracks out, startling them both, “That Dean Winchester is actually a big old softie at heart. Who knew?”

“Balthazar?” Sam says, and Jack almost gets bowled over by the wave of shock. Balthazar? He knew that name. He stares openly, unheeded as Balthazar talks to Sam.

“Well, except Castiel, of course, but that Profound Bond of theirs hardly makes it fair,” The angel says, stepping forward. “Yes, Sam, I’ve been hand delivered back from the dead, at the temporary cost of my Grace. Don’t look at me like that.”

“Your grace?” Jack asks, curious about how Sam had been looking at him, but unwilling to turn around and take his eyes off of the angel Cas had once killed. “What do you mean?”

“Ah,” Balthazar strides over, and before Jack can say anything he’s got him clasped by both shoulders, staring into his eyes with a curiosity so intense Jack almost steps back towards the table. “And you’re Jack, I assume? I was warned that there would be no murdering of nephilim if I returned.”

“So Amara freed you?” Sam cuts in, and Jack huffs out a small breath as Balthazar lets him go to spin back around and face him. “Did she have a reason?”

Jack doesn’t voice his own question, which feels far more important. He wants to know when Cas will be back.

“Uh, yes?” Balthazar sneers. “Most of the angels are dead, Sam, no thanks to you and your brother and my brother. I’ll admit some of us deserved it- were rather asking for it, if you ask me- but it did leave dear aunty with rather less personnel than she wants to run heaven with.”

“She’s not grabbing all the angels, is she?” Jack breathes, terrified suddenly, despite Balthazar’s assurance that Amara had apparently set him off limits. 

“Not a chance. Seemed to have a list in mind, and I think I was simply the first she found. I thought perhaps…” He trails off, just for a split second before he grins again, bright and covering up anything he might have been about to show. “Well, I didn’t, actually. Rather hard to do when you’re sleeping in eternal torment.”

Jack catches Sam’s flinch, and frowns at the other man. “Are you sure you were the first?”

Balthazar ticks his head to one side, considering. “Well, I’m the first to show up here, I’ll assume by your reactions, and given that she’s bringing us back graceless, I imagine any others will also be sent here.”

Jack scowls. If so, then Cas may be further off than he hoped. But this was- conclusive proof. Amara could do it, and now they would just have to deal with powerless angels until she came back and dealt with them herself. And Cas would be home.

Sam sighs, deep and weary and cheerless. “Yeah. That would make sense. Well, we can put this away, then.” He closes the book on the table with a hefty thump and then stacks Jack’s abandoned tome on top of it. “And I suppose we should try to make sure we have rooms ready. Jack, would you-”

“I’ll call Dean and let him know,” Jack says, suddenly tired and wanting to get away from Balthazar, still staring at him hawkishly, wanting to be away from the library, where more angels could show up without warning. He wants to hide in his room or possibly Cas’ until Amara brings him back and takes all the others back to heaven or whatever she planned to do. He wishes viciously in his head that he hadn’t opened his mouth about brussel sprouts and that Dean was still here in the kitchen where Jack could escape to without feeling alone. As it is, he grabs Matilda and his plate, still half full of macaroni, ready to walk away, but he catches Balthazar’s face again.

“You’re hungry,” Jack realizes as he says it. Balthazar has a facial journey of his own to deal with that fact before he grimaces.

“Human,” he says, displeasure and embarrassment warring on his features, even as his stomach growls.

Jack doesn’t want Balthazar here, he doesn’t want Amara to try to find anyone but Cas, or at least to find Cas first, and he most definitely doesn’t want to share his food that Dean made him, or Dean and Sam’s attention in general, and he swallows all of this down and he says, “Here. If you’ve never been human before, you’ve never really tasted food, right? Dean’s always makes the best food.”

He holds out the plate and drops it into Balthazar’s hands and tries his best not to stomp out like a real child, or run out like he’s scared, but he makes it around the corner and leans against the wall, out of sight.

Except that Sam immediately pokes his head around, following him. “Jack?”

“I don’t like this,” Jack says plainly, staring up at Sam like maybe he could explain why all of the good feelings he’d been having had shriveled up in his stomach and refused to leave, even though Sam clearly didn’t think Balthazar was an actual threat to them.

“I could tell,” Sam says, almost teasing again, but he drops it immediately. “Is it okay, Jack? Because we can absolutely just send him and any others that show up to the nearest motel instead.”

“No,” He says immediately, but he pauses after, thinking. He takes a deep breath in, trying to ease the odd tightness inside his chest.  “No. They can stay here until Amara gets back. I just…” 

“Don’t like it,” Sam nods, as if that explains it, and Jack guesses it does. “Well, Dean won’t like it either, so you can let him know that the two of you are free to hole up wherever you’d like to get away from them, and I’ll try to deal with them myself as much as I can.”

The tightness in his chest does soften, another breath rushing out like he’d been holding it. “Thanks, Sam.” 

“You know I love you too, Jack,” Sam says, earnest and open and Jack barely makes the decision to hug him but he ends up wrapped up in Sam’s arms anyhow.

“I do. I know. Love you, Sam,” Jack says, fixing his grip on Matilda as he pulls away. “Okay, I need to go call Dean, because if he leaves the store before-”

“He won’t want to turn around, yeah,” Sam laughs.

Jack can’t help the smile that bursts across his face. “Well, I can’t use it too often, or it might not work anymore, but maybe if I say please.”

[gagmebucky]

hiiii i wrote this awhile ago but took it down because i was 👉🏼👈🏼 embarrassed about it (because i do not have the skill to pull off peter parker) and sorta still am but everyone’s been so nice to me about it i thought the best way to repay the kindness by posting it for those who did like it 😅 (originally inspired by spider man 2 with andrew garfield but loosely set in the 2018 issue of the amazing spider-man.)

in which the guys are making fun of peter and accidentally see a video of him fucking you. (includes avenger!peter x girlfriend!you, peter’s pov, voyeur!steve and voyeur!bucky, a sex tape featuring d/s dynamics, bondage, praise kink, exhibitionism, unprotected sex.) 

do not repost.

—

Despite being twenty-one years old; a proper adult who lives with his high school sweetheart, a photographer doubling as a seven-year veteran vigilante in the dangers of New York, Peter Parker is still considered as a super-powered amateur to his seasoned peers. 

Nonetheless, given his success in countless battles in the state, country, world and even galaxy-wide, he more than qualifies to hold the title of Avenger; it’s official now. A laid-back induction ceremony and his very own identity card: a sturdy rectangle, shiny with full clearance and all. Yet, as an official member, his teammates still treat him like he’s that same goofy, out-of-his-depths sixteen year old.

To be fair, yes, his style of heroism isn’t the most serious. He favors levity in the face of danger, a cheeky flare with smart quips and an infuriating grin. Even after taking a beating from the worst of foes, his demeanor never wavers because in the end, he wins. The villains are slayed and the people are saved, even comforted by the boyishly confident way he works. 

But beyond that persona, he has grown into a skilled warrior. On that note, he wants to be regarded as such—at least, to a certain extent. The jokes and teasing, poking fun at his age or the shenanigans he gets himself into, don’t bother him. No, his playful wit handles it with relative ease, and he’s a good sport about it. The only thing that he’d want to see change is some recognition that he isn’t a naïve kid anymore and is fully capable of taking charge when needed.

With his recent acceptance into the gifted pantheon, he’s intent on making that known. The jesting can continue but he wants it to be with an understanding of his capabilities. Luckily, a perfect opportunity has presented itself to showcase his abilities: a training session. 

He’s late. And yes, he knows that’s probably not a good impression to make.

In his own defense, it isn’t technically his fault. He forgot that you, his personal alarm clock (amongst other things), left early this morning because you volunteered to help his aunt move. Four years of mornings and nights, he’s gotten used to—and prefers—your languorous wake-up call.

Without your reminder, he regains consciousness fifteen minutes after the scheduled time and ends up scrambling to the compound. In a flurry, he throws on his suit—unknowingly backwards, he realizes later—trips at least three times over his own footing before he finally springs out of the balcony with webbed bursts.

When he reaches his destination, Captain America and the Winter Soldier are unimpressed; mid-simulation, it powers down. Both super-soldiers whirl around to face him, fixing raised eyebrows at his disheveled arrival.

He adjusts his now front-facing suit and shuffles forward into the space with as much confidence as an interrupter can have. “H - hey, guys,” Peter greets sheepishly and manages what he hopes is a charming smile, absentmindedly fidgeting with his phone. “Lookin’ good for a couple of geezers.” 

Unfortunately, Steve Rogers is not charmed or disillusioned from the tardiness. “You’re late, Parker.” His arms fold, and he shakes his head when punctuating his disapproval with an echoing, “Again.” 

Thankfully, to his right, more relaxed and cool, Bucky Barnes steps up. “C’mon, Stevie. Y’can’t be that surprised,” he chimes in matter of factly, contrasting against his friend with amusement sparkling in his blue eyes. “What’d you expect with Parker?” He gestures at the younger superhero. “Kid’s gonna be late to his own wedding.”

(Beside the point, but worth noting, he will not be late to meeting you at the altar. That is, of course, if you accept when he pops the question. Which is going to happen relatively soon, considering he has the ring in his nightstand drawer.)

The consult seems to relax him. “Yeah, I guess you’re right and—Peter, you—seriously, man?!” Steve sputters the last bit when he glanced over to see him blatantly check the notification that’s vibrated in his hand (on the device that is ruled to be stowed away during training). “Now the phone?!” 

Even though he shouldn’t, being on thin ice with Cap and all (pun not intended), Peter’s gaze flickers down to see your contact name appear on the screen, and he can’t resist. While Bucky guffaws a laugh at his audacity, he’s swiping up to pull up your text thread. 

> you 😛❤️🥰, 10:37AM: spider boyyyyy you’ll never guess what i found in a box labeled ‘peter’s junk’ ;;;)

peter, 10:37AM: those magazines are NOT mine and i don’t know how they got there.

> you 😛❤️🥰, 10:38AM: not quite but close, naughty boy

> you 😛❤️🥰, 10:38AM: for a man who depends on keeping secrets and a penchant for home movies, you might ought to keep a lock on your phone unless you want someone to see me like this...

> you 😛❤️🥰, 10:38AM: (video attached)

Immediately, he recognizes the pornographic thumbnail. One glance, and he’s remembering the first couple of times you guys explored the exhibitionism side of things. It was at the end of his freshman year of college and taped on a phone he thought he had lost. But he must've forgotten it at his aunt’s house, and she tossed it in the box until you came along. 

Although there’s been plenty more made, he recalls that one being a shared favorite, his especially. When long-distance duty calls, it was his go-to media. The angles, your face and body beneath the lights, the sounds it caught, you once asked if he considered switching to cinematography instead of photographer

Subconsciously, his teeth run over his bottom lip, feeling that blazing spark of desire igniting in the pit of his gut, partially at the memory and partially at what’ll happen once you guys can re-watch it together; his thumbs start typing away with that message.

“Peter!” Steve’s exasperated voice snaps, but to no avail—the real gall of the youngster, or the effect of you. His weight shifts toward his best friend, and he nudges him with his elbow. “Kids these days!” The hundred-something year old’s gaze cocks a brow back over. “Is that why you were late? Blowing off training to text your girlfriend?”

The text delivers with an audible bloop. Finally, his concentration gives, and he can look up, though his expression is clueless from the last minute. “Huh?” His brain registers what he missed, and he winces. “Sorry, Cap. My bad.”

Bucky chuckles. “Give him a break, Steve,” he faux comes to his defense, a teasing quality underlying his tone. “He’s young and in love. It’s not his fault he’s pussy-whipped.” He cracks him an antagonizing grin as Peter rolls his eyes. “He can’t go an hour without sending those little weird pictures with heart eyes, or she might not know he’s thinking about her.”

“As if you know anything about romance, old man,” he fires back and presses past them with squared shoulders, correcting him quite seriously: “And they’re called emojis, by the way. But that’s not what I was doing, if you want to know so bad.”

The brunette tilts his head thoughtfully, and small hackles arise for reasons he doesn’t understand, or pay attention to. “You know, I do want to know really badly,” Bucky decides and poses a question to his left, “Wouldn’t you, too, Steve? Aren’t you curious what his girlfriend sent that was so much more important than training?”

The blond mimics his actions and clicks his tongue. “Yeah, I am.” 

Peter’s eyebrows pinch while his skin tingles and the hair on the back of his neck stands straight up. “What—” Before his senses process it, one of the super-soldiers plucks his phone out of his hands and darts back beside his best friend. His jaw drops as he tries to follow after him. “Bucky, you asshole—”

“Some spidey senses, huh?” The Winter Soldier lifts it high over his head, utilizing his six-foot stature against his five-ten like elementary school bullies do and older siblings to their juniors. “Haven’t ‘cha heard about sharing with the class?” He laughs and practically stiff-arms him to squint up at the screen. “Aw, he can’t wait to see her. What’s it been, more than two hours since you two saw each other last?” 

Conceding to the height difference, Peter stops his physical efforts and diverts it to someone reasonable. “Cap, you gonna help me out here?” he addresses the entertained onlooker in the most friendly voice he can manage. 

“The kid’s got separate anxiety not just from his girlfriend but phone too, Buck,” Steve drawls with a lopsided curve of his lips. He side-steps Peter to stand next to Bucky, and for a second, he thinks he’s on his side despite the tease, but he simply adds a stern, “So be careful. You don’t want to break it, or Parker will have a fit.”

Peter crosses his arms and scowls. “Ha, ha,” he retorts dryly, only somewhat amused by their banter. He tilts his head up at them, and the duo look thoroughly pleased with themselves. “You know, you guys are kind of dicks.”

“No, we’re your mentors, kid,” Steve corrects with a wink and rests his arm on his friend’s shoulder. “This is a lesson. No phones—” He jabs his thumb back in reference to the device’s unlocked screen: “—when you’re supposed to be training.” 

“Yeah,” Bucky chimes in upon glancing up from his phone. “And a little advice, women don’t like clinginess. Try being a little more stern and see how that works for you. If you’re able to manage that. But I won’t hold it against ya if you can’t.”

“Uh-huh,” Peter patronizes with a bob of his head, biting back a response pointing out the hundred-something year old’s inexperience. Instead, he focuses on the electronic readily loaded up with some private content. With that, he decides to do the rational and mature thing and ask nicely. “Noted. So, uh, can I have my phone back now?” 

To his shock, Bucky merely flashes a smirk and his thumb scrolls half-heartedly over the thread. Thereafter, he leans toward Steve and raises his cell for him to see. “Oh, look, it’s a video,” he teases. “What could Y/N send that would take priority of training?” 

There’s an unspoken let’s see then a metal finger taps the play button. Before Peter can think, much less react, Captain American and the Winter Soldier are watching how he effortlessly renders his pretty little girlfriend into a cute nonsensical yet eager mess— 

In his point-of-view shot, the ratio holds in portrait view in a bid to capture every bit of you. Above you, the camera focuses on you and your beautifully debauched state beneath warm lighting where it’s unalienable that the camera was made for you. 

Your eyes are dilated brightly, desperate with desire as your lashes flutter up at him. A sheen coats your features and glistens like glitter at the highest points of your face while the shape of your face is framed by your stretched arms. 

Your wrists are bound over your head, splotched with expertly sprayed strong, white webs. The mesh sticks them together in a criss-cross, comfortable but nearly impossible to break out of, fixed in place atop his headboard. The tautness tugs a mild strain on your figure so your breasts are jutting out like an offering, and it’s obvious he’s taken advantage of it. Darkened marks adorn your glowing complexion, peppered across your décolletage with imprints of his teeth; including your nipples, sucked swollen and tender. 

The angle trails down until it reveals the sight of him mercilessly pounding inside of you. His better-than-average girth is sliding in and out of your tight channel; slicked in shared translucent essence, creaming around the base, your inner walls visibly clinging to his cock with every backward stroke. His hand splays on your mound, using his thumb to abuse your engorged clit. He easily keeps the sensitive nub pinned under his control despite your wildly twisting hips. 

Like the display, the soundtrack is equally obscene. Loud, your stuffed depths gush and squelch as skin slaps rhythmically. Your breathy, wanton moans overshadow both, drawn out whimpers, almost nonsensical other than the syllable of his name. A melody of neediness, you sound so fucking pretty, (depraved, like a whore, you once told him during your little film marathon with a sly smile), and for him specifically.

The frame pans upward and confirms you look just as good. A perfect mess, unhinged by the skilled ministrations of your boyfriend. Passion beads on your forehead like reflections off of a diamond. Panting, your lips are plumped from kissing parted with mewls of pleasure. 

“P - please—I need to—can I - I please—” You’re begging like the sweet little thing you are, incoherent babbling the result of his excessive edging. Of course, you know better than to give into the sensations ravaging you; instead you ignore your visceral desire and ask him for your release. “Peter, please!” 

A deep chuckle vibrates behind the camera as his big hand slides into view, trailing over your jiggling tits to the slope of your throat. “Maybe,” he says breathily and grasps the line of your jaw between his fingers. “Open your mouth first, babe.” 

No more preamble necessary, you follow his direction, your pink tongue flat over your Cupid’s bow. Immediately, a long string of his saliva drips into view and onto your taste buds; the vulgar act is accepted with a swallow and a quivering moan of, “T - thank you.” 

“Good girl,” he praises huskily, and the voiced approval has you visibly shivering. “Alright, then, pretty girl. Make it good for me, and c’mon—”

Before your otherworldly reckoning washes over you and his teammates can watch your bliss immortalized in film, Peter snatches his property back. 

Not much force is necessary as Bucky’s grip has been stunned loose. A dark expression permeates on young hero’s face but not because of embarrassment; if he was still nineteen or eighteen, he would’ve been mortified that his titular superiors caught a depraved glimpse of his sex life, on both his and your behalf. Rather than, there’s just a flit of annoyance when he folds his arms.

“Shit,” Bucky is the first to speak, exhaling the swear raggedly. His blue pupils have widened in obvious attraction, dilated dark, blinking rapidly as if it’ll help calm him down from the clip of you, his innocent seeming girlfriend, all ruined and begging. “Parker, fuck, I - I didn’t know you got down like that.” 

There’s a swell in his chest, pride beating steadily while he remains reticent-faced. He prefers you keep your bedroom activities secluded there. Yeah, he likes to be in control and you like to be controlled but it’s only in a sexual nature. Yet, their reactions—stunned, embarrassed and viscerally affected—surges smug satisfaction he’s never known before through his veins. 

Even the prestigious Captain America is bothered, though he may try to hide it. He clears his throat, a flustered pink coloring his cheeks. “Peter, uh,” he says, barely maintaining the confidence to look him in the eye after witnessing his girlfriend like that. “We - we shouldn’t have invaded your privacy like that.” 

“Uh-huh,” is Peter’s response, a hint of a smirk curling on one side of his lips. “Why don’t you guys call me after you’re finished with your cold showers, and we can actually train. Until then, I’m gonna go to my girl who’s more than eager to handle mine.” He pauses. “Maybe if you guys ask nice enough, I might let her show you how well I’ve trained her.”

[harrysgloves]

Fine Line (Chapter 3)

>>>Catch up with the Fine Line Masterlist!<<<

word count: 2.2k

story summary: Since you were kids you and Harry had always walked that fine line of friends or something more. Now, pregnant by someone else, you find yourself staying with your long time best friend after things go sour with your boyfriend of 3 years. 

Singlemom!Reader x Harry Styles

chapter summary: You and Harry have a night reminiscing 

warnings: Language // .

a/n: I really need to make a story masterlist. Haven’t had the time to do that or edit (I’m lying I had time to edit. I REALLY hate it and decided not to.) Anyways, let me know what you think of the chapter! xx

>>><<<

"Maybe you should move in with Harry for a bit." Gemma said from the other side of the couch.

Your head instantly popping up from Abby's lap with a confused look written across your face.

"Nope." You said as you laid back down. Abby's hand rubbing your shoulder as you tried to go back to watching Clueless and eating your pickles in peace.

"Y/N, listen, I'm just saying maybe you shouldn't be alone. A lot of stuff can go wrong in pregnancy, you shouldn't be by yourself during it." She argued, pushing your feet off her as she leaned up.

"Gem, I'm not having Harry take care of me." You sighed, sitting up on the couch, your precious movie night abandoned by her constant worrying.

"Not take care of you. He'd just be here in case you have any pregnancy complications like a blood clot or fainting spells."

"I'm not going to have those." You said rolling your eyes and waving off those concerns with your hand.

"They're really common." Abby said from behind you as she paused the movie.

"Not you too." You groaned, your head against the soft cushion as you stared at the ceiling.

You knew they were saying it because they cared but you didn't want to impose on Harry's life more than you already were.

"Yeah, me too. I think it's a good idea." Abby said in a calm voice, like she was trying to not piss you off.

"In what world is me living with Harry a good idea?" You asked, sitting up straighter. Your eyebrows raised as you glanced at both their blank faces.

"He's got a whole slew of people following him. One sniff of a pregnant girl living with him and my life is all over the tabloids."

"Okay, minus that." Abby agreed with you as she laid back against the arm of the couch and you immediately felt bad for going off.

You could just look at her and tell she didn't want to leave you here. Alone and pregnant. Trying to figure everything out on your own.

"What if Jesse comes and gets really pissy with you again and starts throwing shit? What are you gonna do then?" Gemma shot back, determined to get you to stay here where she knew you'd be safe if anything happened.

"Call the police."

"The police? They'll take forever to show up and then who knows what'll happen in that amount of time." She said her voice growing louder the more irritated she got that you weren’t seeing her side of the argument.

"Gemma, this is crazy. I'm not moving in with him."

"Maybe you could stay until you have the baby?" Abby tried to reason with you as you shook your head.

"No, please, just drop it and watch Clueless." You mumbled, pregnancy hormones flaring in you, anger licking against your flushed skin as they dropped the subject.

You could take care of yourself and this baby just fine. You didn't need any help and Harry had too much shit in his life to deal with you.

>>>

"Y/N?" The sound of Harry's voice from behind you made you jump.

Your hand caught in the cookie jar, literally, in the middle of the night. The darkness around you quickly turned to bright white as he flipped the light switch. Your eyes squinting as they adjusted to the light.

"Sorry about them crashing here too. I didn't mean to mess up everything like this." You said as he passed you to get to the fridge.

"I told yeh 'S fine. Meant it when I said it." He said turning around to find you with a glass for him already in hand.

"Still." You shrugged as he took the glass from you and downed your fifth cookie in a row.

"Yeh hungry?" He asked, eyebrows raising at you over his glass of juice as you shoved yet another cookie down your throat.

Stupid rich people and their fancy junk food.

"Starving, oh my god." You cried out. Harry chuckling as he sat down his empty glass on the countertop.

"Wanna go get ice cream while the losers sleep?" He asked as he reached out to take your hand in his before you could down another cookie.

"Just like old times?" You asked with a smile.

His head lifted looking from your hands that were still connected to your eyes. A hint of a smile on his face with that soft look in his green eyes that you always adored.

"Yeah, jus' like old times."

>>>

It took over 10 minutes for you to decide on which type of ice cream you wanted. Your bottom lip under your teeth as you stared at the menu for so long Harry eventually ordered for you.

Luckily, he knew your indecisive ass well enough to know that chocolate with fudge and brownie bits was always your favorite even though you always said you liked strawberry ice cream better.

"You remember when you were 7 and you swore you could ride a bike even though you had never rode one before?" You asked him when he parked his car on top of a hill that overlooked the city. It wasn't the spot in your old town that you two used to do this at but it would work well enough for the night.

"Oh God, not this story." He groaned, his ears already tinting pink as you started to giggle at the memory of him that day.

"And you-" You said through laughter, having to stop and wait to calm down to continue. "You got on my bike and I kept telling you to get off it."

"Please stop." His cheeks a bright red as you started laughing harder. His hands over his whole face to hide his embarrassment.

"And- and you went flying down the hill and into Mr. Gibbs shed?"

"He was so pissed." Harry said once his hands came away from his face. You could tell he was still pretty embarrassed but he eventually joined in laughing with you softly as he ate the rest of his ice cream.

"You ran over all his tulips and I was freaking out running after you. Remember what you said?"

"Unfortunately." He mumbled as he finished off his treat, placing the empty container in the cup holder in his car.

"You said girls liked daredevils and that I'd like you cause you slammed face first into that shed." You said through laughter remembering sweet little Harry saying that to you with a straight face.

"If I remember correctly, you gave me a kiss that day." He said with that grin dancing along his lips as he looked at you, shrugging.

"It was on the cheek and I was 8!" You gasped.

"Worked out well for me." He said so content with himself, smiling out the window.

"Cheeky little thing."

"That's worked out well for me too."

"Piss off." You said, pushing his shoulder, his hand taking yours as he laughed.

The conversation died down between you as you finished off your ice cream one handed. Harry's still holding your other one. His thumb rubbing the back of your hand.

"You can stay with me awhile, y'know?" He said as you placed your now empty container beside his.

He was right, chocolate with fudge and brownie bits were definitely your favorite.

"Mhhh, no."

"Didn't think I was that bad of a flatmate." He huffed out all dramatically like you hurt his feelings.

"You know what I meant."

"I'm in London for a while then back to The States. You could stay at my place while I'm in California then you wouldn't have to live with someone if that's the problem." He reasoned with you and a part of you wanted to say yes but you knew you couldn't.

"Problem is the press, Haz. Don't want to deal with that on top of a break up on top of a baby." You only partially lied to him, his face falling slightly as you stared back out the window, your teeth chewing the inside of your cheek.

"Sure, Camille wouldn't want me to stay with you long anyways."

"She likes you." He said quickly. Your eyes instantly rolling as you turned to look at him, your eyebrows only raising slightly when he let out a huff.

"Okay, maybe she doesn't like y'that well. Its jus' 'cause we're so close, she feels left out when we hangout." He admitted and you knew there was a bit of truth in it but not the whole truth.

The truth that he never fully let go of that glimmer of hope things would find a way of working out between you two.

Camille may have been a model but she wasn't stupid, she knew from the second he introduced you to her that you were more than a friend but less than a relationship.

You two had always walked that fine line of friends or something more.

You admit, when you were younger you were absolutely in love with him but when he got discovered you knew your short time of him being your Hazza was over. He had bigger and better things to move on to.

Letting go of those feelings for him was the worst thing you had to go through. Watching on the sidelines as his life flourished into something so much more wonderful than anything you could have ever imagined for him.

You never regretted letting him go. Letting go of those selfish feelings of wanting him to stay and be with you instead.

You were happy you made the choice for the both of you even if it wasn't an easy choice. Even if there were moments when you'd look over to see him smile that toothy dimple smile that melted your heart and you could feel the edge of doubtfulness seep into your mind.

You knew deep down that you could never cage a bird as beautiful as him and expect it to be happy.

"Jesse always felt that way too. Said we had our own secret language."

"Probably why no one ever wants to play charades with us." He smiled as he pulled you across the seat to sit on his lap.

"Probably." You agreed, your head laying on his chest as your legs dangled over to the passenger seat.

"I'll always be here for you, know that right?" He asked, his hand rubbing up and down on your arm.

"I know." You sighed, somewhere between happy that you'd always have him as a friend and feeling guilty as shit for relying on him so much.

"Good. Can't have my little bunny be sad and lonely." He mockingly cooed as he ran his hand over your hair.

"Oh Jesus, not the nickname!" You groaned your hands slapping away his hands as he laughed, pulling you in closer to his chest to nuzzle his nose into your neck.

"Oh, so you get to call me Hazza? But I can't call you bunny?" He hummed into your hair that was covering your neck. Moving away from him when you felt your skin tingle.

"Exactly."

"Y'used to love it so much." He pouted at you, big green eyes with his lip out.

"Mhh. I lied." You smiled as you booped his nose with your pointer finger. His eyes rolling at you but his lips formed a smile as his cheeks tinted the slightest shade of pink.

"Besides, it's not even a creative nickname you called me that because you said I liked carrots too much." You shrugged your bottom lip between your teeth to hide your smile as he moved back to glare at you.

"Never said it was a creative nickname." His hands brushing your hair off your face. The cool metal of his rings touching your skin almost made you pull away but the radiating warmth of his callused finger kept you in place as he lifted your chin so your eyes met his.

"Jus' one that's strictly yours."

You smiled but couldn't help the involuntary deep breath you took in. Something danced behind his eyes as he looked at you. A look you had gotten from him so many times before. It always made your stomach leap and soar.

"Awe, Haz, you do care about me." You cooed, leaning into his chest. His arms wrapping around you.

"Mhm. My heart has a special little bunny shaped hole right where you fit." He smiled as he rested his head on top of yours, holding you tightly.

For a second, you imagined what it would be like if things would work out with him. If his life didn't carry him on a different path. A path away from you.

If this was his baby and not Jesse's.

You sighed pulling away from him. Your voice soft as you said "We should go."

His head nodded as you pulled away from him and back to your own seat. Chewing the inside of your cheek as you looked out the window. His own eyes glazed over as his mind ran wild with thoughts in his head. His car in reverse without either or you talking.

You quietly tried to remind yourself to not put ideas in his head. To not let your heart get the best of you. Reminding yourself why you closed that door all those years ago

[mxndoscyarika]

Red Sunsets (Javier Peña x Chinese!reader) | Chapter 8: El Punto de Sucumbir

Author’s note: I don’t wanna give toooooo much away, but I just wanted to let you know that we’ve finally reached lucky number 8 👀 If you were here a couple nights ago, you proooobably have an idea of what’s going to happen, because I had asked a few questions related to ~kisses~, if you catch my drift. Let me know what you guys think!

Summary: Family fights, grudges, and determination. Those three things defined your journey as you navigated through the workings of the DEA. Getting in was hard, and catching Escobar was even harder. You joined Javier Peña and Steve Murphy in the hunt for Escobar, forming bonds and life lessons along the way.

Like my writing? Here’s my masterlist. 

Red Sunsets masterlist

Warning(s): food, Careless Whisper lol, physical affection, implied smut

“So where are you taking me, again?” you asked, looking out at the passing buildings. You didn’t recognize the shops and restaurants you’d passed. The sky was darkened to a royal blue, the last rays of sunlight already well below the horizon.

“One of my personal favorite restaurants in Colombia,” he answered. “They have good arepas, your favorite, and the owners are pretty friendly. I used to go there often before you came along.”

You let out a breathy laugh. “What happened after I arrived that made you forego your favorite restaurant?”

Shrugging, he said, “I guess you happened.” He scoffed at your pout. “Oh, don’t look at me like that. You’re worth all the arepas in the world.”

You were thankful for the shroud of darkness, because you felt your cheeks grow hot and you bit your lip to contain your grin. “And you’re worth all the homemade dumplings.”

Javi chuckled softly, fingers drumming on the steering wheel. As usual, you had the perfect response. He could barely remember a time when he truly cared about flirting, or how the women of his affections responded. But somehow, every time, you managed to turn his tactics around on him.

It took every ounce of self control to keep his eyes on the road and his hands to himself. You wore a simple t-shirt and jeans, and what little makeup you applied only served to make your cheeks and lips look unbearably kissable.

He took a deep breath and tightened his grip on the wheel. More times than he wanted to admit, he’s caught himself reaching to hold your hand or rest his hand on your thigh. Thankfully, it was dark enough that you probably hadn’t noticed. As much as he hated to acknowledge it, you weren’t his. He hadn’t even worked up the guts to tell you how he felt yet.

“Hola Javier!” the owner greeted, her face lighting up. She wiped her hands on her apron and waved for him to sit down at a table. “Hace mucho tiempo que no nos vemos. Quién es ella, tu novia?”

Javi blushed, smiling sheepishly. While he couldn’t understand what Chinese shop owners said, you could understand Spanish as well as he did. “No no no, ella es una amiga. Nos conocemos del trabajo.”

The owner of the restaurant simply hummed in response and eyed you from head to toe, much like how a parent may analyze a prom date. “Pues, no te molestaré, okey? Cuéntame si necesitas algo.”

More than accustomed to eating family-style, you and Javi ordered a couple of the smaller entrees and a flan to share. Much like how Javi let you take the reins in local Chinese restaurants, you let him order the food and make small talk. You propped your head up against your hand as you watched him, a small smile perpetually on your lips.

The low moan that left your lips when you bit into a cheesy arepa was music to his ears. He wondered if you’d sound like that when you were kissed. Only when your eyes met did his train of thought come to a screeching halt.

Fighting back a blush, he busied himself with splitting an arepa stuffed with meat, beans, and cheese and sliding the plate over. You tried not to think about how he was so gentle. “Try this one, hermosa. I think you’ll like it.”

“You’re a man aiming for my heart,” you hummed. In your past relationships, you never had anyone treat you the way Javi did with his genuine eagerness. Not that you and he were on a date, you’d never called it that, but you couldn’t help but draw the comparison. You lifted the half that he offered and took a big bite, giggling when the grated cheese stuck to your cheek.

“You have a little bit of….” Laughing softly at your plight, he reached over and brushed it off with his thumb, the pad of his finger caressing your cheek. You fought the urge to lean into his touch and nuzzle your face into the palm of his hand. Javi was just being polite, right? It didn’t mean anything.

Javi drew his hand away and glanced down at his watch. “The movie should be starting in about 45 minutes, let’s start finishing up here and then head over to the movie theater.” He paused, then added, “Unless you feel like going home for a night in?”

“What’ll we do at home?” you wondered, wiping your hands with a napkin. “I’d love to have a night in, if that’s what you want. As long as I’m with you, I really don’t care.”

His heart skipped a beat at your words, though the logical part of his mind stamped down any hope he had. Was he just a friend that you wanted around because you were lonely? It’d been a long time since his last serious relationship, but he couldn’t imagine diving back in with anyone else. He just hoped you felt the same. “We could just relax, maybe turn on some music and just talk.”

“I never knew that Javier Peña would be one to ‘just talk,’” you quipped, smiling at him.

“I can be, with the right person.” He shrugged, picking up the singular spoon and scooping up a bite of the flan. Its amber caramel sauce glistened in the restaurant’s warm lighting. Smiling softly, he held it up to your lips. “First bite is yours, hermosa.”

Taking turns eating spoonfuls of flan, you talked about things ranging from family to favorite animals. Growing up on a ranch, Javi’s favorite animal was a horse, sparking your questions about his life back in the States. You only knew the little bits of information floating around the DEA headquarters, and you wanted to know more.

At first he was hesitant, but then he told you about his father and how he’d grown up in a small town. You listened quietly as he told you about Lorraine, and how they were engaged to be married over a decade ago. His voice grew soft as he recalled all the wedding planning and shopping they did, and how their families had all converged to help out. Apparently, they’d been the talk of the town. It made you wonder if he ever missed her, or at least missed Laredo.

It was no secret that you’d come from an immigrant family, one rooted in traditions both good and bad. Well, good and bad by American standards, of course. You couldn’t deny that your parents had noticeably different views from the parents of your friends, nor could you deny that it gave you a window to your family’s heritage. No culture was perfect, free of discrimination, but you could always learn from it. All you could hope was that you weren’t too damaged or different to be with him.

“Is this how you get all your women to go home with you?” you teased, swirling the spoon in the pool of caramel. “You buy them dinner and feed them dessert before sweeping them off their feet?”

Javi shook his head. “Just you,” he replied, his voice like velvet. Shivers ran down your spine at the implication.

---

The drive back home was quiet, the two of you donning faint smiles in the darkness. You couldn’t stop thinking about what he’d said throughout dinner, the sweet words and touches. It was a different man sitting across from you, one that you normally only saw glimpses of previously.

You bit your lip and looked out the window at the passing buildings, hoping the cool night air would soothe the burning in your cheeks. What did his words mean? Why did he seem so embarrassed when the restaurant lady asked if you were his girlfriend? Were you truly just a work friend to him? If you were, why did he look at you like you hung the stars in the night sky? Why did he watch you with those dark brown puppy eyes that made your insides melt?

“We’re home, hermosa.” Javi’s voice interrupted your chain of thought as he pulled up to the apartment building. Before you could finish unbuckling your seat belt, he was opening the car door for you.

It felt like second nature to walk over to his front door and wait for him to unlock it. But something about it felt different this time, like it was more than just a friendly hangout on a weekend evening.

While Javi turned on a couple lights, you made your way over to his record player and flipped through his various vinyls. “Any music preference tonight?”

He flicked on a lamp. “Anything is fine, Y/N. Your pick.”

The sound of a familiar saxophone blared out from the record player, making him freeze.

You laughed at his startled expression and stopped the music before switching out the George Michael record for Foreigner. “Except this one? Don’t worry, Javi, I know what you like.”

Shaking his head fondly, he sat down on the couch next to you and watched as you scooted closer to rest your head on his shoulder. The lyrics of I Want to Know What Love Is filled the air as you basked in each other’s presence.

“What do you think you’ll do once we catch Escobar?” you asked. Realizing you just brought up work on a weekend, you cringed. “Sorry, you don’t have to answer that.”

Sighing, Javi shifted and replied, “I don’t know. I didn’t exactly let myself leave much behind in Laredo.”

“You have your father and your family ranch,” you suggested, playing with the blanket you’d draped over yourself. “And I’m sure you could find someone to be your sweetheart in the States. After all, you’ll be the man who took down Pablo Escobar.”

“And what about you?” he asked, rubbing his thumb over the back of your hand. He tried not to dwell too long on your assumption that he’d want to be with someone from Laredo when he could be with you. “What will the magnificent Y/N L/N do once this is all over?”

You shrugged. “I guess I’ll continue my work in the States. Maybe set up a research lab of my own to study other drugs. And maybe I’ll stop by my parents’ house and see if they’ve forgiven me.”

“Well, if you ever need somebody to tell them how great you are, you know where to find me,” he said, smiling shyly. You felt warm as he continued, “You’re an amazing agent, and an even better friend. Anyone who doesn’t see that can fuck off, in my book.”

You laughed softly at his boldness, even if you knew him well enough that he wouldn’t insult your parents to their face. It was the thought that mattered.

But as you sat there, your hand resting in his and your cheek on his shoulder, you couldn’t help but wish that you could stay like that forever. The early morning drive to work with Javi, the casual lunch breaks, dinners, and late nights all made you wish you were together. You rarely felt like you belonged anywhere, but in his apartment? In his car? His bedroom? You felt safer than you ever did back in your hometown.

“Thank you, Javi,” you murmured, your voice barely audible over the music.

“For what?”

For being there for me, you wanted to say. For seeing the best and worst parts of me without shying away. For making my coffee just the way I like it every day in the office. For staying with me after I woke up in the hospital. For having my back out on raids, and checking my vest to make sure I didn’t forget anything. For listening to me when I go off on tangents about my culture.

“Everything,” you answered softly. “For putting up with me, I guess.”

A smile graced your lips as he slipped his arm around you and pulled you closer to him. “Anything for you, mi amor.”

You furrowed your brow and looked up at him from your slouched position. “What did you call me?”

His soft brown eyes met yours, the outer corners crinkled just slightly as he gazed at you. You hadn’t realized how close you were until you could feel his warm breath against your nose. Your eyes trailed from his beautiful eyes down the curve of his nose to his plush lips. Up close, you could see the small crease in the center; it was as if he were perpetually pouting.

“Mi amor?”

Unable to resist the magnetic pull any longer, you and Javi met in the middle. Your lips slotted against each other, a soft sound escaping you as he cupped your cheek and kissed you fervently. His lips were softer than you’d imagined, his mustache tickled your upper lip. You could kiss him all night, if he let you.

Warmth bloomed in your chest as you moved to straddle his legs, hands wandering up from his chest to play with his brown locks. You’d always wondered what it would feel like to run your fingers through it, drawing soft groans from the man beneath you. You could feel the heat radiating from his body as you pressed yourself against him.

His arms wrapped around and held you close, the weight of his hand settling on your upper back. Your bodies fit together like puzzle pieces. You gave him one last kiss before pulling away for air, your noses brushing against each other. Smiling, you gave him a peck on the tip of his nose.

“Do you want to stay?” Javi asked, his chest rising and falling rapidly. His eyes searched yours for any sign of regret, of realizing that you’d made a big mistake.

You nodded and leaned in to press your lips to the crease between his brows. “I’ll stay as long as you’ll have me, cariño.”

He hummed softly against your neck, nuzzling his nose against your pulse point. “Is it too late to tell you that I really like you?”

“Maybe,” you replied, sighing as he sucked lightly at your skin. If he left a mark, Murphy would never let you live it down. But somehow, you didn’t care. You ran your fingers through his hair, making it stick up in some places. “But I’d rather you show me instead.”

The walk to his room was well-practiced from your days living with him, but knowing that he was following you made a shiver run down your spine. Everything about his bedroom was familiar, yet new. You wondered if you were dreaming, if this was just another cruel figment of your imagination after a long day of work.

“We don’t have to do anything tonight if you don’t want to,” Javi said, wrapping his arms around you from behind when you stopped at the foot of the bed. Your hands covered his, caressing his knuckles. “We could always wait.”

“I don’t want to wait.” You turned around and pulled him into a deep kiss, your hands sliding down to rest on his chest. “I want you, Javi.”

Translations:

“Hola Javier! Hace mucho tiempo que no nos vemos. Quién es ella, tu novia?” Hello Javier! It’s been a long time. Who is this, your girlfriend?

“No no no, ella es una amiga. Nos conocemos del trabajo.” No no no, she’s a friend. We know each other from work.

“Pues, no te molestaré, okey? Cuéntame si necesitas algo.” Well, I won’t bother you, ok? Let me know if you need anything.

“Hermosa” Beautiful

“Cariño” Sweetheart/darling

“Mi amor” My love

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[yourfriendslimey]

Clouds of Cream

Pt. 1

Summary- While taking a day to run weekly errands, you take the time to stop at your local cafe where a certain handsome barista happens to work...

Pairing: Mark Tuan x Reader

Genre: Fluff

author’s note: This part is mostly to establish base story, also later parts will contain sexual themes; however, i COULD also produce watered down versions for those of you who enjoy the story but don’t care for those kinds of things. lemme know. Anyways, enjoy <3

WC: 2342

Part. 1- I Never Got Your Name…

Your eyes pried themselves open as the morning sun snuck into your studio apartment. With a heavy arm, you reached over to the tiny bedside table and grabbed your phone. 8:00 a.m…. You groaned, tossed your phone onto the table and pulled the blanket over your face. It was Saturday, your day off work, so you could in theory sleep in. However, you knew if you didn’t get up now then the To-Do list tacked to the cork board above your desk would go unattended. Plus… You thought, sitting up haggardly…I could stop at the café while I’m out…

You had gone to Downtown Brews for the first time a few months ago with a close friend who swore up and down it had THE best coffee. He was right. Now you were all but addicted. The roasts were divine, and the pastries were nothing to scoff at. And often by chance, you were helped by the same barista who, if you dared to say so, was not too hard on the eyes. The barista…You felt guilty not knowing his name by now. Even though you saw him every time you walked through those doors, you never managed to read his nametag. You were always too…distracted.

You let your feet hang off the bed for a few moments while your mind began to wander. As you stood and made your way to your tiny bathroom, you wondered if he even really noticed you. Of course, he recognized your face. You were there all the time. At the counter, he would give a casual smile and in his cool tone say “Hey, y/n, nice to see you again? The usual?” They took names for orders, so yeah, he knew that too. He knew your regular order because it was well... your regular order. But that didn’t mean he really saw you. The café had a lot of regulars, he probably knew a few orders and names by heart. While brushing your teeth you became even more lost in thought… You leaned close the bathroom mirror, analyzing your face. It was still puffy, showing the aftermath of a late night’s sleep. You frowned a little. Maybe he has a girlfriend. Maybe you just weren’t his type. You fed into your dismay while taking a longer than usual shower.

With fresh breath and a newly showered body, you walked to your closet and pulled out a pair of black skinny jeans, an oversized t-shirt with your college mascot on the front, and a grey dad-hat. You might as well be comfortable while running around all day. You grabbed your backpack and tossed in your phone charger, wallet, and keys. You quickly snatched the list from the board and hurried out the front door before the demon that was procrastination could set in.

You groaned as you walked to the end of the hall, anticipating the journey you had to make down the stairs. The elevator was down and had been for months now. The landlord kept telling you someone would be in to fix it next month, but it seemed like next month never came. Instead, you frustratedly stomped down the stairs, each time cursing past you for wanting to live on the third floor.

The building you lived in was nowhere near fancy. But it was home at least. Unlike the buildings uptown, the lobby wasn’t big and beautiful with potted plants and delicate light fixtures. It was more of an extra wide hallway. The walls presented a sickly grey-green on the upper half, the bottom being slowly warping wood paneling. A large portion of the space was dedicated to old metal mailboxes and contained ceiling lights hanging on their last legs; more than half of them flickering or entirely dead. You decided to check your mail later. You never really got anything anyway.

Outside, you were met with a clear sky and smiling summer sun. A warm breeze danced through the branches and the sweet smell of mature flowers blessed your nose. You felt more energized by the perfection of the day and with newfound eagerness, began your walk to the café. You breathed easily, taking in your surroundings. It was around 9:00 a.m. now and most of the city was already awake. Busy men and women walked as fast as their legs could carry them. Some to their respective jobs and others you presumed, to use the day the same as you; going off to clear a long list of errands. The start of summer vacation also meant children with time to kill. Kids ran up and down the sidewalk, getting what you deemed an early start to their day’s mischief. A couple walked hand in hand, giggling and smiling. You could overhear them mention something about grabbing lunch later and maybe seeing a movie. Seeming them happy together sent you into a vivid daydream.

You saw the barista’s warm smile and kind eyes. You confidently sauntered up to the counter, cool as ice. You flashed a cheeky smile that caught him off-guard. “Hey there, what’ll it be?” he said with a fully flushed face. You leaned in real close and looked him in the eyes. With a stolen velvet tongue, you said “A tall, dark, and handsome…”

The cheesiness of the line snapped you out of your trance with a quiet laugh. Before you knew it, you found yourself standing in front of Downtown Brews. It sat gingerly on the corner, beckoning you inside. The coffee cup logo printed on the glass door a sight for sore eyes Through the large window you noticed that almost every seat was full. No big deal since you just wanted to grab something to eat while you walked. You pulled open the door, a small bell jingling overhead. You placed yourself at the end of the line, grateful that it wasn’t too long. The early morning rush had pretty much passed already. You scanned the peaceful scene. Even though it was full, the loudest noises were the clinking of mugs and forks. It was always like this no matter the time of day.

Downtown Brews had that affect on people. The café created a sanctuary away from the loudness of the city. It had a minimalistic look. Plain golden-brown wooden floors, beautifully simple wooden tables and chairs, and small hanging lights that seemed to float in the room. On each table was a centerpiece containing small purple wildflowers in cute white vases that looked like fine china. The walls were mostly windows, save for the left wall that made contact with that of the bookstore next door and the gray brick wall behind the counter. It was decorated with shelves lined with mugs, glasses, and more white vases with various plants and flowers scattered about. You noticed that every week, there was at least one new one. The owner of the place must have had a real love for flora.

You stood for what felt like ages, listening to some poor young intern order complicated coffees and various treats for what seemed to be an entire office. You anxiously switched your weight from one foot to the other, wondering if maybe today you would order something new. And then you saw him. The man who made your face hot and your head cloudy. He was always here when you were, not that you were going to complain about it. He looked so suave in his uniform. The white shirt, black slacks, and black apron on his waist seemed custom made for his slender frame. How could such simple clothes look so good on someone? Your hands felt clammy and your chest went tight. You hated and adored this feeling all at the same time. Taking a few quiet deep breaths, you set your sights back on the menu, busying your mind with deciding about what to order for breakfast.

You studied him as he switched places with another staff member and prepared his customer’s order. The café had a lovely practice. Whoever took your order would also prepare it. This allowed for a more personal experience that resulted in fewer messed up orders. The baristas took turns instinctually; based off who was the least busy.

You gawked at him, transfixed on his form. You watched as he grabbed a few pastries from the glass case in front of him, slid them into a small toaster oven and began fixing the drinks. Every movement was smooth and graceful. He was like an angel. His face was lit up with a precious smile as he handed over the massive order and with a nod chirped “Here you are! You coworkers better say thank you for this. Hope you have a good day.” The intern gave a rushed “Yes, thank you, you too,” and fixed her gaze on the cardboard trays of drinks stacked onto boxes of patisserie. She shuffled away with a sense of urgency you’d never seen.

The barista’s skin was almost glowing. It looked soft and flawless, almost like it had been airbrushed. But it was all too real. You heart began to race as the last person between you and the counter wandered off. You shook your head lightly, trying to snap yourself back to the now.

“Can I help who’s next, please?” the honey voice flooded your ears.

You nearly stumbled up to the register, eyes barely leaving the chalkboard menu hanging above. Even though you weren’t really looking, you could still feel the warmth of his smile. You met his eyes. “Hey y/n. How’s it going? Medium iced coffee with vanilla creamer, three sugars, and cocoa powder on top, right?” You felt the heat rising in your face.

“Hey, uh yeah. I mean, no.” Your voice was almost imprisoned in your throat, impulse taking over.

“Oh, did I get I get it wrong?” he let out a small chuckle and ran a hand through his beautiful hazelnut curls, “Sorry about that, guess I must be a bit tired if I’m forgetting-“

You didn’t mean to, but you cut him off “Not at all. I just wanna switch it up a bit. Today I think I’ll have a medium iced cold brew with sweet cream and caramel this time. And could I also have a cranberry muffin, please?” you smiled shyly, embarrassed knowing that you were obviously flustered.

He smiled wide and clasped his hands together. “Well I see we’re mixingg things up now,” he giggled quietly while punching your order into the automated screen, “Gotta keep me on my toes somehow.” Damn that smile- you took off your backpack and quickly pulled out your wallet. “Is that for here or to go?” He peered up at you, eyes doe-like. “To go, please.” You choked a little and could have sworn you saw a bit of disappointment in his eyes but passed it off. He told you the total and you handed him the cash. “Alrighty, I’ll have everything ready in about ten minutes.” You nodded and gave a small hum as he gave you your change.

You stepped off to the side and let your eyes follow him as he skillfully crafted your drink. His smile was replaced with a stern look as he focused on his task. You wondered if your mouth was watering from the aroma of coffee and hot muffin awaiting you or something else. Suddenly, it hit you that once again you avoided looking at his name tag. You instinctively avoided looking at one part of him too long. As a child mom had taught you it was rude to stare, and that sentiment stuck with you even now. You chastised yourself. It felt as though after you missed it the first time, it felt impolite to check now. But it was ruder to just not know. You always wanted to ask, but avoided it, thinking he would think you were a moron since he clearly has a nametag on. You silently huffed in frustration and made attempts to get a better look. However, you couldn’t get a clear view. If it wasn’t a machine in your way, it was one of the other baristas, or he was simply moving too much or he was turned away from you. Though you couldn’t deny that you enjoyed looking at his back almost as much as his front.

“Y/n, your order’s ready.” His smile had returned as he stepped up to the pickup area.

He held out a small brown paper bag and your drink. “Here you go. Have a good day, and I’ll see you soon.” His face was warm, his smile genuine. You beamed at him and gently took your things Your heart fluttered. Without even thinking, the words flew from your lips. “I’m sorry, I know I come here all the time, but um…” he leaned forward, placing his hands on the counter, “well I don’ actually know your name and i keep forgetting to ask…And it feels rude to not know since you’re such a good server.” He chuckled, raised an eyebrow and smirked. He shook his head lightly and let it drop to the side. “Tsk tsk tsk. And I thought we were friends.” His smile melted your heart. He stood tall and folded is arms.

You apologized again, telling him you knew he had a nametag on but you always forgot to look and began to ramble about feeling nervous to ask and the whole thing. He gently cut you off. “Don’t worry about it. It’s Mark. And now that you know, you better not forget.” He pointed a playfully stern finger at you. The name rang in your head. This man who occupied so much headspace finally had a name. A beautiful one. At least to you. You grinned, “I won’t, I promise. I’ll see you later, Mark.” You turned to leave and as you did, you were certain his smile had grown bigger and his cheeks pinker.

Mark....

[dc41896]

Nighttime Mukbang

So this is my first imagine, well first on here and that I’ve written in a long time so yea I’m a bit nervous but hopefully you like it! Also I’m not sure if I’ll do this consistently so I’m just gonna let you know now if this is the only story you see then *Kanye shrug* I’m sorry! (I’ve been getting ideas lately though so who knows what’ll happen!)

Warnings: None (unless you’re allergic to/can’t stand fluff because that’s all this is lol)

“Hey guys! For my regular degulars thanks for coming back and for the new people out there, I’m Y/N and welcome to my channel of literally any and everything!” You greet with a smile and wave while looking at the camera.

“Now I know some of y’all may be wondering who this is beside me, so- actually you know what? Would you like to introduce yourself or do you want me to do it?” You ask directing your attention to your guest for today’s video, locking eyes with his green ones.

“Nah I can do it” he smiles, sitting up a bit from his relaxed position on your couch. “What’s up guys, my name is Florian Munteanu aka Big Nasty and I’m an actor. You guys probably saw me in Creed 2 as Viktor Drago, Ivan Drago’s son. For those of you who haven’t seen it yet, go and buy it now because it’s amazing and Y/N agrees with me so if you don’t take my word for it take hers!” Florian laughs a bit as he leans on you, which in turn makes you laugh. Not only at his adorableness but also the fact that you know his big body leaning on yours probably looks hilarious.

“Yes it’s really good and I’m not saying that because I’m his friend, you guys know I would never lie to you. As I say here every week, y’all are my family and family keeps it real no matter what! Alright so now that we got intros out of the way, let’s get into today’s video which even Flo doesn’t know about but I feel like he’s gonna enjoy” you wink in the camera, making Florian a bit nervous even though he would never admit it.

“Alright so today we’re doing a mukbang/nighttime routine BUT there’s a twist...” you pause to look at the amused look on his face. “The twist is we’re switching routines so what you do as a nighttime routine I’m gonna do and vice versa” you explain. As you finish Florian laughs in his signature boisterous style, “This is gonna be something, but I’m excited to see how this goes.”

“Alright then lets go to the bathroom and get started!” As you get up to leave, you see Florian throw a punch towards the camera as he makes a “pop” sound with his mouth making you laugh and shake your head at the belief that this was your friend who you had to deal with for the remainder of the day.

“As you see we’re in the bathroom so we’re gonna go ahead and get started! I went ahead and bought a small little face brush since you can’t use mine due to sanitary reasons” you smile as you slide the small container of facial products towards his side of the sink. “Oh! And for those of you who judged my decision to get his and hers sinks even though I’m by myself, jokes on you because they came in handy so HA!” Seeing you point a finger to the camera and smile in a matter of fact way, Florian laughs before countering with “So what happens when I’m not here or you don’t have a guest using your bathroom?” draping his log of an arm over your shoulders and leaning down so your faces were somewhat at an equal level.

“....extra counter space” you answer causing an eruption of laughter from the both of you.

Shortly after, you both began to start your new nighttime routines. Well you started while he looked at all your products wondering where to start.

“Ok you have all this stuff you use so you know I’m gonna need help” he says as he tries to read what everything is and the directions as to not make any mistakes.

“First wash your face with this cleanser and then I’ll help you put on the mask so don’t do anything else” you reply as you dry your face pretty much already done with your routine since all Florian does at night is wash his face, put on moisturizer, then fall asleep. Gotta love men gifted with good skin.

After washing his face, you sit him down in a chair you brought in the bathroom just in case you would have to help him with something. “It never ceases to amaze me how women go through all these steps every day” he admits while you paint the warming mask on his face with a brush. “Well not all girls use this many products. Some use more and some use less, it just varies. Plus if some guys and people weren’t such jerks then maybe we would feel comfortable with going out with pimples and acne scars” you answer looking in the camera while saying your last sentence as if you were reading someone on sight.

“Easy, easy Y/N” Florian laughs while getting up to wash the mask off of his face after you finished, “Sounds like you’re talking from experience. We need to go beat up somebody?”

“No but I’ve seen people talk about others with acne and stuff and I just think it’s wrong. Like I’m sure that person is already insecure about that so why rub it in their face more? Also I now know you’re down if I ever have to jump someone though so thank you for that” you laugh while nudging his arm as he dried off his face.

“No problem, you know I got your back just like you got mine,” he replies leaning on the sink “Now what’s next?” “Next is a pore strip!” you answer while doing a little dance as you remove the black material from the sleeve making Florian let out a small groan but laugh after since he voluntarily signed up for this.

“Now is the mukbang part of the video where we’re gonna answer some of the questions you guys sent me via Instagram! For those of you who saw my story today, which will be a different day than when this video comes out, you guys already got a sneak peak as to who my mystery guest was while we were picking up our food and that’s also when I asked you guys to send in questions that we could answer while we eat” you explain while sitting on the couch with your legs placed under you, pad thai in hand. Sat next to you with legs spread wide open and his knee slightly brushing your legs, Florian had his usual personal box of pizza and was already going to town on it while you were giving the small details on what you guys were doing next.

“Ok first question, how did you guys meet?” you read off your phone before putting it down in the small space that was between the two of you. “Yea how did we meet Y/N?” he repeated with a smirk on his face. In his 28 years of life, you could imagine the amount of stories that he had and while you didn’t know all of them, you were sure how you guys met was one of his favorites. “Oh gosh here we go,” you laugh before taking a sip of the water you had on the table in front of you. “So picture it. Sicily. 1950. I’m kidding I’m kidding, if you know that reference you a real one!” you say making Florian laugh. “But really though, as you guys know, I’m cool with Steelo and did an episode of the Wine and Weed podcast, which is amazing and all of you guys should check it out and support him! Anyway, on said podcast, celeb crushes were mentioned and I said how Flo was my crush and Steelo being the mess he is told Mike who told Flo and yea now we’re friends” you quickly finish hoping that your slight embarrassment doesn’t show too bad. However from the rumbles of his belly laugh, you knew Florian was about to fill in the small details you thought best to leave out.

“Yea that’s the summary, but she didn’t tell you guys how it was a surprise meeting and the look on her face when she walked in the room and saw I was there was priceless! She couldn’t stop smiling either which was adorable-“ “OK! Ok! They get it, I fangirled hard over you. Moving on!” you laugh cutting him off by covering his mouth with your hand. “Next question please!” you say while picking up your phone to choose which one you wanted to answer.

“OMG I didn’t know you guys were friends!! How long has this been for and why you aint tell us?!?!?!” you read while laughing, “I’m gonna let you answer this one and see if you’ve been paying attention to this friendship” you smirk while looking at Florian and picking up your chopsticks to get a few more bites of your food.

“We’ve been friends going on 3 months now, which is crazy because we’re really comfortable with each other as if we’ve been friends for years,” he answers sitting up and looking in the camera then at you as he finished. He wasn’t only right about the time you guys were friends but his statement on how comfortable you guys were around each other was undeniable and definitely didn’t help the fact that you were trying to erase him as your crush. Like he said you guys were great friends. FRIENDS. That’s all that it should and would be; there was no changing your mind about it.

“Woowww he got it rightttt! 4 for you Flo, you go Flo!!!” you clap and laugh as he places his hand on his heart and slightly bends down as to do a bow while seated. “He’s right though on both accounts. We’re both big into vibes and energies and the second time we hung out he said he didn’t want to sound weird but that he could tell I was a good person from the vibe I gave off, which is probably the best compliment I’ve ever received,” you explained trying to avoid looking at him, but feeling that he was staring at you the whole time you spoke, you couldn’t help but look up and see his seemingly soul catching eyes and beautiful smile. Dangit! Why did he have to be like this?! Why couldn’t he be a F boy and make it easy for me to get over by just playing some Cardi B or Megan thee Stallion?! He really had some nerve being this amazing.

“Ok guys, this is gonna be the last question for now because this part paired with the nighttime routine is gonna make the video super long and while I know you guys would love that, you know I have a time limit with my videos that I have to live by or else my account decides it wants to freak out,” you explain while sitting up to pick a question, Florian following right behind you with your movement. “What I think I’m gonna do is have us answer some of the questions on my story on insta so for you guys that follow me, you’re basically gonna see the second part of this Q&A in a few minutes when we switch over! So last question, are you guys dating/would you ever date? Sorry if it’s too invasive, I’m just excited for you girl on behalf of all the fangirls out here!” you read as both you and Florian give a small laugh.

“No we’re not dating, we’re just friends,” you begin answering before you feel a lump in your throat from your nerves. You were sure he’d say the same thing you were about to say, but something inside of you wondered how he would feel when you gave your answer. “Honestly, I don’t think we would ever date.” “Why?” Florian asked as soon as your answer left your lips. “I mean it’s not that I’m not attracted to you, I just think since we’re friends if we dated that would ruin the friendship. Like you said earlier we act like we’ve been friends for years when that’s not the case and that’s really telling I feel like. Plus not to put myself down but we’re a bit on two different spectrums,” you say as you let out a small laugh and move a strand of hair out of your face.

“Oh,” he replied slightly nodding his head, “Well my answer is that I would be open to it. Like you said we’re close friends but also no one knows what the future holds.”

“Ummm, excuse me? Did he just say that? SIR!! Thank you for ruining ANY chance I had at getting over you!” you thought as you just looked at him taking in everything that he said. And trying not to freak out. “And we’re not on different spectrums,” he added as he sat back into his usual relaxed position.

“Yea maybe after my usual nighttime routine! Look at your face right now, that’s your spectrum but I have to go through all those steps while you only have like 2” you laugh trying to be funny but see Florian shake his head as he sits up to be closer to you again. He wipes his hands on a napkin before gently grabbing your chin and turning to look at the monitor set up in front of you guys. “Now look at your face. You did my usual routine and you still glow like the adorable fangirl I met 3 months ago,” he counters looking at you through the monitor. You were honestly stunned at what just happened. “He just said that because we’re friends, not like anything is meant by it,” you told yourself as your face was still in his hands only not looking at the monitor now but him as he looked back at you, adorable smile plastered on his cherub face.

“Just so you know that night I met you, I was wearing makeup so….” “OH MY GOSH Y/N you know what I was trying to say!” he laughs letting go of your face to lay his forehead on your shoulder exasperatedly from you ignoring what he just said and trying to brush off his compliment. “I know what you were trying to say and thank you it means a lot,” you smile as you place your arm around his back (well tried to, it only reached to his shoulder blade because mans is so massive) to give him a hug. Florian responded to your gesture by wrapping both his arms around your waist to pull you in for a bear hug, which caused you to burst out into a fit of giggles since he was also causing you to fall down in the process. “Ok guys! That’s the video! Hope you enjoyed it and decide to come back! Thanks Flo for being in this video and hopefully we can do another one,” you smile angelically and bat your eyes hoping that he’ll say yes. “No problem and of course I’ll be back! Maybe one day you can come out to Germany and then we can do a vlog or something there” he suggested moving his arms from around your waist to one over your shoulders.

“Sounds like a plan to me!” you beam praying that he’s being honest about his suggestion. “Do you want to close out the video?” you ask knowing that he’ll say he doesn’t know your outro or what to do. However, as you’ve come to find out about Mr. Munteanu, he can be full of surprises.

“Yea! Ok guys what’ll happen next time in this place? I don’t know, but tune in to find out and remember everyone’s regular is unique so being regular is anything but plain!” he smiles while performing your infamous peace sign and salute as a goodbye to all of your followers. “What? I did it right didn’t I?” he asks while looking at your awestruck face at the fact that he perfectly did your outro. “Yea you did it right, which amazes me but also makes me wonder if we might be hanging out too much. Or you watch too many of my videos” you replied making both of you laugh as you turned off your camera.

Tags: @honeychicana @themyscxiras @lady-olive-oil @crushed-pink-petals if anyone else wants to be tagged if I do this again in the future just let me know! 

[twitevie]

You want a Revolution (Some Kind of Resolution)

Title: You want a Revolution (Some Kind of Resolution), Chapter 1. Rating: PG-13 Fandom: Sailor Moon Summary: This wasn’t how her last summer with her friends was supposed to go. Usagi had thought she was done fighting, that the peace they had worked so hard for would last just a little bit longer. But, her dreams are telling her otherwise. And the heat, this unbearable violent heat that wont seem to go away, might be the start of something....

The land under her was shaking, rocking back and forth as if on an ever-wavering sea. Her eyes searched around her, skipping from object to object unsure of her location but the familiarity of the surroundings sent a nagging feeling of irritation through her. She knew this place; she just couldn't place it. Her gaze finally landed on a single white five petal flower, ends curled in on themselves, that appeared to be too delicate to touch. For reasons unknown to her, the flower brought about a sense of peace and love, causing a warm smile to grace her lips.

"Lilies always were your favorite." The deep timbre of the voice behind her was so smooth and calming she didn't even startle at the unexpected intrusion. She could feel the soft sweep of air through the lace of her dress as the man came to stand beside her, his calloused hands gently stroking the flowers fragile petals. "Until another flower caught your attention, I'm afraid."

She wanted so badly to ask this man before her, who seemed so burdened with loss and sadness, what he meant but words failed her. It was as if even the simple task of forming them seemed to tiresome to try.

"Why do you haunt me so?" Turning, the man brought a hand up to caress her cheek but sighed when his hand met with no resistance. "Is it because I failed you?"

The question fell upon deaf ears. Her heart was racing, why had his hand gone right through her? Why was he speaking to her in such a way that it was as if she were nothing more than an echo from his own memory? She felt a painful palpitation in her chest as her heart rushed to catch up with her feelings. This was a dream! A memory? Something unknown and scary and she did not welcome the implication that she was nothing more than a memory to this man. She was real!

... wasn't she?

His hand hovered over her cheek, as if he wanted to touch her, but was afraid. "A war is coming. One that has been in the works for millennia." She watched as his eyes started to glisten with such raw emotion, she couldn't help but feel her own eyes well in sympathy. "All I ask is for your understanding. And, if it should happen, in the end, your forgiveness."

A war? War with who? Before she could even try to pose the question, something pulled at her, something bright and painful. Her breath hitched as she was wrenched away from the man.

"WAIT!" Usagi jolted awake breath coming fast and hard, heart beating a painful staccato in her chest.  

"Usagi?" The quiet voice and gentle paw on her hand had the young girl turning towards her cat.

"Dream." She responded. "Just a very vivid dream." With a heavy sigh of relief Usagi brought a cool hand to her forehead to sooth the warmth it was radiating.

Luna delicately made her way to sit on her friends’ legs, head ducking to stare into the girl’s eyes. "Are you alright?"

Usagi let her hand fall to rest on the top of Luna's head. "Mmhmm, I'm fine Luna."

"Good!" Luna shrugged Usagi's hand off before she jumped down to the floor and stretched. "Then you best hurry or you'll be late."

Forehead scrunched in confusion, Usagi grabbed her phone from the nightstand and hit the power button, eyes widening at the time. "9:00! Rei is going to throttle me!"

Usagi threw the covers off and scrambled to her closet. "Luna how could you let me sleep so late?! You were supposed to wake me!" Hastily, she grabbed a simple sundress and a pair of sandals before sprinting towards the bathroom.

All the while, Luna just watched with a raised brow as Usagi passed back by the bedroom door this time dressed for the day. "Silly girl."

-_-_-_-_-

"-corded its 4th consecutive day of temperatures 35 C or higher on Wednesday, reaching 39.8 C. That's the highest temperature recorded anywhere in Japan this year, according to JMA, and ties for the 25th-highest daily high temperature ever recorded in Japanese history. Authorities are cautioning citizens to please stay indoors as it's likely this period of extreme heat will be with us for the rest of the we-"

Rei switched the TV off and dropped the remote onto the coffee table. "Another hot day."

Ami set her book down and nodded. "Global Warming is starting to be a worrisome thing."

"Eh, I don't think it's Global Warming." Minako stated as she inspected the small cookie in her hand. "It's probably aliens bent on global destruction."

Ami sputtered. "W-what?"

Makoto shook her head in shame. "Please don't tell me you were watching that stupid documentary again?"

"Aliens of the Ancient World is not a stupid documentary it's based in fact! They have scientists and everything!"

"I... I don't know how to respond to that." Rei muttered, head in her hands. Letting her hands fall, the raven-haired teen plopped down onto the floor. "Why were you even watching that in the first place?"

Minako shrugged. "Artemis thinks the host lady is cute."

"Oh!" Makoto started leaning forward and resting her head on her folded hands. "Does he now?"

A giggle. "But don't tell Luna, she might get jealous."

"We really should be studying. College entrance exams will be here before you know it. And, I do not want to be one of the few people who have to take a Gap Year."

Makoto grinned and flicked a cookie crumb towards the blue haired genius. "I think you'll do fine, Ami. You're the top student in the year."

"Be that as it may-"

"Sorry, I'm late!" The group of four turned to see Usagi shoving the door open with a bright smile on her face.  "I overslept again."

Rei rolled her eyes. "What else is new? We haven't started anyways, so you’re just in time."

The grin slowly fell. "You guys didn't have to wait on me, really!"

"And let you miss all the fun of..." Minako paused to glance down at the title of the book in front of her, cringing. "Civics, ugggh."

"Hey, Civics is pretty interesting."

Minako looked up, smiled at Makoto, and wagged her eyebrows suggestively. "What'll it cost for you to do my homework?"

With a wink, the brunette replied, "You couldn't afford me, girl.", before she leaned back onto her elbows with a sigh. "Besides, we're on break, we still have a while before we have to worry about homework. Come on, let's go do something fun!"

Rei shook her head. "In this heat? We'd all wind up in the hospital with heat stroke."

"Too hot to go outside and now stuck with the two people who think homework is fun. Told you, Aliens."

Usagi raised an eyebrow at Minako before turning to look towards Ami and Rei, who both appeared annoyed at the comment. "Did I miss something?"

"Nothing important." Rei stated glaring at Makoto, who was covering up her laugh with a fake cough.

"Right..." Usagi knelt between Rei and Ami. She slowly reached for the civics textbook, her eyes lingering on the bright green cover with bold red lettering. She had a love-hate relationship with schoolwork. She knew she needed to try harder. She couldn't always be lazy daydreaming Usagi, but when she thought of all the battles she and her friends had faced and all the hardships yet to come, schoolwork just seemed like such a minor thing. She had talked to Mamochan about her concerns. Explained to him that she couldn't get motivated to complete her studies. And the stupid lovable jerk had been so understanding that she had ended up far more frustrated after their conversation. She wanted someone to push her, someone to hold her accountable, someone to tell her how silly she was being. She just-.

"Usagi?"

Startled, Usagi turned to Rei's concerned gaze. "Hmm?"

"You alright?"

Usagi took a deep breath and turned to stare at the cover of the civics textbook once more. "Yeah, just... just thinking."

By the time they had finally finished gossiping and buckled down to study the afternoon bells were already ringing throughout the shrine.

"Yaaas! Break time!" Minako shouted in jubilation, dropping the textbook onto the table.

"It's only been half an hour, Minako." Ami admonished, gently slipping her glasses up onto the crown of her head. "I'm very sure-"

"Break time~!" Minako interrupted in a sing-song tone.

Makoto stood and stretched, groaning as her back popped. "I agree, I could use a break."

Ami took a breath ready to issue another protest against taking a break but stopped when she heard Usagi's stomach growl beside her. She sighed in defeat. "Alright, I suppose a break would be beneficial."

Usagi blushed and held her stomach embarrassed. "Sorry."

-_-_-_-_-

Mamoru sighed in utter exhaustion as he fell back against the cool sheets of his queen-sized bed. He was worn out and beyond ready for sleep. Sniffling, he turned on his side and hugged one of his pillows to his chest nuzzling against the cotton with a breath of contentment. The twenty-one-year-old frowned after a few minutes when he felt his back begin to throb in protest of the position.

With a frustrated grunt he turned over onto his other side and slid his arm beneath his head. A smile graced his tired features as the new position sent the minor pain fleeting. Moments ticked quietly by before his hip began to elicit the same annoying throb.

Mamoru groaned; he was no stranger to insomnia. During the last months of his high school years he knew the affliction well. Between moonlighting as a masked vigilante, rising early in the morning for school, and staying out well into the evening hours for cram-school sessions; he was used to surviving on minimal sleep and taking small naps where he could. So, he didn't understand why his body was disagreeing with his current need for sleep.

He laid there for a few more moments before he sat up and scrubbed at his gritty eyes. With a sigh of resignation, he grabbed his cell phone from the nightstand and clicked the power button, squinting against the intrusive light to see it was only 10:48pm.

Completely ridiculous.

He set the offending object to his side and stood. The bright city lights of Boston greeted him as he made his way to the apartments glass fronted balcony. He stood there momentarily, taking in the bustling late-night activity of the city below, before slipping out of the balcony doors. The updraft of wind stole his breath as the traffic below sent an aching fire through his head.

"All's well my Liege?"

Mamoru clasped his hands together as he leaned against the balcony railing. The faint glamour of a man long past settled beside him, the warm brown eyes of his old friend studying him in concern.

"Can't sleep, unfortunately."

A non-committal noise of understanding escaped the man.

"For some reason, I just can't seem to get comfortable. My body is aching more."

"The winds of change have begun to blow."

Mamoru raised an eyebrow at the cryptic idiom. "That's not ominously vague."

The man shook his head, the crinkle at the corner of his eyes showing his amusement at the comment. "All life on this planet, organic or otherwise, is shaped by the forces and presence of Earth and the Cosmos. The connection, such as it may be, is deeply inherent to one’s well-being."

"What, exactly, does that mean?"  The side eye he received from his old friend had him sighing in frustration. "Kunzite!"

"You modern humans surround yourself with buildings of stone and metal." Kunzite started, crossing his arms. "You immerse yourself in machines and technology that cause a disconnect between the natural flow of energy from the Earth to your physical vessel."

"It's the way of the world." Mamoru stated matter-of-factly, turning to lean back against the balcony railing. "Technology is the future."

"Technology is ever changing. Even in the days of old." Kunzite agreed, "But you are of this Earth, Endymion. You are not just a being upon this planet with a vague sense of connection to this world. Who you are, what shapes you, your very state of being, is of Gaia."

"Okay." The information was not necessarily new. The connection he maintained with the Golden Crystal, as infantile as it was, connected him to his old home Elysian and to his new home on Earth. But what he didn't understand was how that pertained to his current predicament. "Okay, so what does this have to do with my insomnia and body aches?"

Kunzite let his head fall back with a roll of his eyes.

"It means, Nekkid Time!"

Mamoru sputtered and turned towards the second youngest of his generals, face beet red. "W-what?"

"I believe," A voice soft as silk whispered from Mamoru's right, "what Jadeite means to say is grounding yourself in nature will help relieve your ailment and restore yourself."

"Well, if you want to define it in the less fun way, then yes." Jadeite confirmed, winking at Mamoru with a grin. "You need to realign yourself and to do so you'll need to bare yourself in nature."

"Bare myself in nature." Mamoru repeated, closing his eyes with a put-upon sigh. "Sounds wonderful."

-_-_-_-_-

"-in the end, your forgiveness," Somehow those haunting words swept through her mind once more. The man had seemed so heartbroken and wistful during her dream that it made her heart ache. She wanted to help the poor man. She wasn't sure how, but she had a sense that the man from her dreams was real. She tried hard to remember if anything had stood out, anything that would help her identify the man; but the haziness of the dream was making it difficult to remember.

"What do you think?"

Usagi blinked, a brightly colored spoon hanging from her mouth as she turned questioningly to Makoto. "Hmm?"

Makoto let out a small laugh and bumped her shoulder against Usagi's, "Noryo-Matsuri is next week, I was thinking we could all meet at Patio-dori? Make our way from there?"

"Mmm." Usagi nodded, pulling the spoon out of her mouth. "Sounds good."  

Rei, who was sitting across from Usagi and Makoto, raised an eyebrow at the gentle response. "Don't get too excited over there, Usagi."

Usagi blushed and stared down at her shaved ice. "Sorry, just... I have a lot on my mind. I didn't sleep very good last night."

"Bad dream?" Rei asked in concern.

Usagi shook her head, "Not bad, just... odd?"

Ami rose an eyebrow, "How so?"

"Odd because...it just, it felt real?" Usagi took a bite of her shaved ice and sighed. "I don't really remember much. Just that there was a man, he seemed so sad. He was begging for me to understand. He asked for my forgiveness." Usagi paused for a moment, eyes focused on the frozen treat before her. "He said there was a war coming."

"Usagi..." Makoto whispered, arms wrapping around the blonde in comfort. "I'm sure it was just a dream."

"Yeah! You probably ate something weird before bed, right?"

Usagi looked towards Minako with a smile and nodded. "Probably. Mama did make spicy taco rice for supper last night."

"See!" Minako pointed out happily. "Nothing to worry about. It was probably just your belly and brain having a disagreement."

"I guess."

Rei pursed her lips, eyes lingering on Usagi for a few beats before the noise of rowdy shrine goers had her turning towards the door. "I swear if the heat doesn't get to me the stupidity of the visitors will. Hey!" Rei shouted before whisking out of the room in a blur of black hair and indignation towards the youths roughhousing in the courtyard.

"Should we help?" Usagi asked watching the scene outside unfold with wide eyes.

Makoto laughed and proceeded to finish the last of her shaved ice. "I think Rei can handled a couple of loud-mouthed kids."

"I'm not worried about Rei," Usagi started, watching as two kids - presumably their age - ran pass the door screaming apologies to the red-faced Rei currently chasing them. "I'm more worried about the poor people she's running after with a broom..."

"Don't do the crime if you can't face the angry Hino." Minako surmised with a wink. "So, Usagi, have you heard from Mamoru?"

"Mm, he called a few days ago. Said he was settling in just fine. He's supposed to call tonight and tell me how his interview went."

"Oh? Where's he working?"

Usagi pursed her lips in thought before answering Ami. "He said he was hoping to get a position at the university hospital as a nursing aide. He thought the hands-on approach would help him when he takes his testing this year."

"That's very smart of him." Ami agreed. "It's hard to believe he'll be starting his second year of Medical School."

"I know, he's been such a nervous wreck all week. I told him that he was being silly. That he would do just fine whether he stayed here in Japan or studied in America." Usagi sighed and nestled her chin in her hands. "He over thinks things. I wish sometimes he'd turn that oversized brain of his off and learn to trust himself more."

"Men are very complicated people, Usagi." Minako pointed out.  "They don't have the intuition that us women do. They all think with their upstairs brain and not enough with their downstairs one."

"That's the truth." Makoto agreed and then paused, flabbergasted. "Wait, what!?"

"Their hearts, dummy!"

"Oh, Minako... that's not, they're just..." A sigh. "Please, don't ever change."

"Okay?" Minako replied confused.

-_-_-_-_-

Rei huffed out a breath as she watched the three teenagers scurry onto the sidewalk and rush down the street. She couldn't believe the ignorance of some people. To come into such a respected place and act so ill-mannered, it was ridiculous!

"Did you hear? They said JAXA is meeting."

At the voice, Rei turned from her position to the stare across the street. Eyes lingering on the two-gentleman standing beside a trash can outside the Argentinean Embassy. She had always loved that her home was across from the embassy. The location brought much needed foot traffic to the shrine and such interesting characters as well. But, like everything, the government building brought its own share of problems too.  Most recently in the form of a protest about human rights, that had seen the streets crowded with people and the sidewalks lined with police. That day had Rei seeking privacy in the back rooms of the shrine trying to calm herself from the raw energy running rampant.

But now, as she watched the two men in business suits quickly make their way into the building, she could sense the panic and anxiety they were projecting in waves. Squeezing the broom handle, she strained her ears to make out anymore of the conversation but could only understand every few words. Something about strange lights and communication delays but nothing more. She wasn't sure why JAXA - an Aerospace agency - would have government officials worried but it definitely piqued her interest.

With a sigh, Rei moved to head back into the shrine but a heaviness in the air stopped her. An oppressive heat that had nothing to do with the sweltering air enveloped her senses. From the peaks of the trees above a guttural croak echoed down and filled the suddenly silent grounds of the shrine.  Rei looked up in time to see Phobos and Deimos stretch their wings and rustle the drying leaves in panic.

"You feel it to, huh?" Rei crinkled her forehead in concern, watching as her feathered friends hopped from branch to branch in distress.

"Alcippe."

If it hadn't been for the wind carrying the soft whisper, Rei wasn't even sure she would have heard it. The pleasant gentleness of the voice had an almost calming effect, sending the unease from before dissipating along with the breeze.  

"I'm sorry?" Rei questioned the owner of the voice, turning around only to be greeted by the empty street behind her. She glanced left and right her eyes searching the barren sidewalks for the owner of the mysterious voice, but none appeared. The errant whisper, she decided, most likely belonged to the lasts wisps of a spirit.

It wouldn't be the first time a random spirit had passed through the shrine and it would most likely not be the last. Rei had learned early on many souls visited religious places on their journey to rest; but, fewer of them had the required spark needed to manipulate the energy around them to affect the world of the living. That had caught her attention. Whomever had decided to pass through had been very energetic. And while worrisome, didn't really bother Rei, the spirit didn't appear to be lingering and had already seemed to have moved on, hopefully to find peace. Her current concern were the two feathered noise makers, whom had landed hastily in front of her, cawing and hopping back and forth; the parody of children trying to get their mothers attention.

"Hush now, you two." Rei admonished, turning her gaze to the two birds jumping at her feet. "Whatever was here is gone. No need to be so hyperactive."

"Go on,” Rei shooed, "find some sort of shade and cool down. I don't want to have to take you two to the clinic because you overheated yourselves." Phobos and Deimos cawed in annoyance before flying away to the inner branches of the trees above.

"And don't forget to drink something!" She hollered after them.

-_-_-_-_-

Mamoru wiggled his toes in embarrassment. Cheeks cherry red and his hands, cold from the late night, strategically placed to cover every aspect of his exposed manhood. The small wooded area that Zoisite had identified as a ley-line, a place of natural energy, had thankfully - for dignities sake - been vacant.

The soft chuckle and the ghost of a hand slapping his shoulder had the poor man cringing. "What did you think 'Bare yourself in nature' would come to mean?"

"I thought it was an expression." Mamoru muttered, eyes down cast. He was trying very hard to remember that the figures who had accompanied him were nothing more than a fantastical manifestation of energy from his deceased friends; And, that he had nothing to be embarrassed of.

"If the expression comes to mean buck-ass naked as the day you were birthed, then yes. It was an 'expression'."

"Nephrite," Kunzite started, “must you always be so crass?"

"The prince is ashamed of something that once would have been considered a time of celebration and renewal. It's most maddening." Nephrite answered before turning to Mamoru, "Your parents would hold week-long celebrations. There was much merriment and feasting to be had for all in attendance. It was a way for the King and Queen to honor their subjects for their fealty. The last great spectacle before the birth of the new year. It was definitely a sight to behold."

Nephrite sighed and lowered himself to the grass beside his princes’ legs. Eyes shining in fond remembrance. "I do so miss your parents... They were stricken from this world far before their calling."

Mamoru swallowed hard against the sudden lump in his throat. He could barely remember his parents from this life – just faint flashes of a shadowed smile and the gentle caress of a hand on his cheek - let alone even attempt to try and recall the family from a life long since passed.  With a breath of determination, Mamoru knelt beside Nephrite with a nod. "You'll have to show me this renewal ceremony."

Nephrite nodded.

"Very few were ken to the ceremony." Zoisite explained, settling himself in front of Mamoru. "Only those of the royal family and their court bore witness to such an intimate experience."

The poor man was back to blushing again. "Intimate..."

"It's not a sex thing!" Jadeite exclaimed, "The amount of raw energy that courses through the Mother Gaia, is nothing but pure elation."

"Calm your mind, My Prince." Kunzite whispered, "You must allow yourself to think what your mind wishes. Acknowledge the thought and let it pass, do not react. Your goal here is the allow yourself to connect to the energy of the Ley Line that runs through this very place."

"But how-" Mamoru started but was interrupted with a sharp tongued 'Focus' from Zoisite.

Focus, right.

Mamoru closed his eyes and wiggled against the ground trying to find a comfortable position, a hard task when one was naked and sitting on top of dry itchy grass. He wasn't even sure what he was supposed to be focusing on. Sure, he had meditated before, but that was as simple as letting his mind wander whichever way it wanted to go. This felt more like he should have a single goal to set his sights on; as to what, he wasn't sure though. He was curious as to what time it was, he had to be up early tomorrow- today? -  to finish buying supplies from the University's bookstore. He couldn't believe he was only two weeks out from the start of the school year. He had so much to do in the coming months. He had to get a hold of the exam board to see about taking the NBME. Not to mention he would be taking step one of the USMLE. The thought of taking that particular exam alone was enough to make his stomach roil with sickness. If he didn't pass the first test for his license, he couldn't start his rotations next year. And if he didn't start his-...

"Focus!" Zoisite admonished, again. "You are not allowing your mind to quiet itself. You are intentionally over-thinking."

How did-?

His answer came from Jadeite. "Your forehead does this weird constipated thing when you think too much."

Right. Focus.

Mamoru took a deep breath, expanding his chest as far as he could, allowing the cold night air to calm his worried thoughts. Slowly, as his breath left him, he allowed the sounds of the wooded area to encompass him.  He forced himself to focus on the feeling of the late-night breeze sweeping over his goose pimpled skin. The sudden chill sending a slight shiver through him. He could hear the rocking of the tree branches above as the wind seemed to create a gentle legato with the rustling of the leaves; a rhythmic caress that blended well with the staccato of an owl hooting off in the distance.

Inhale and exhale.

Ever so slowly, Mamoru let the tension in his body release. An unknown weight seeming to disperse as his body slowly sank deeper into the ground under him. He felt odd. As if he were so light he would float away but the heaviness of the land beneath him kept him grounded.

Gradually, his breath began to even out, no longer a harsh respiration but a continuous unchanging motion.

In with a rush of chilled night air and out with a sigh of warmth. He continued this until the sounds of the woods slowly faded away to the quiet of his breath, his body leaving the sensations of the brisk night behind as he continued his journey inward. Here, thoughts which had plagued him earlier, stilled. In this place of dark quiet, Mamoru allowed himself to settle- to be at peace.

The soft lub-dub of his heartbeat welcomed him to this place of restoration. He felt cradled in a blanket of warmth; a soothing heat that reminded him of the many nights he lay entwined with Usagi on his bed. Nights where the two were so entangled together he was never sure where she began, and he ended.

"You two would have conquered the Cosmos."

Mamoru startled at the intrusion, "I'm sorry...?"

"No need to be sorry."

The darkness around Mamoru suddenly flashed a brilliant blue, a beautiful spectacle sending a cascade of light sweeping through the black and illuminating the towering figure draped in fine linens before him. Mamoru stared in awe at the figure. Taking in the sheer unadulterated beauty of the Titaness before him.  

Ringlets of pure silken earth fell gently from beneath the golden crown adorning the unknown woman's head. Eyes that seemed to be made from the very seas of the Earth bore into him. Commanding his attention with every fiber of his being. The woman's aura seeped into the surrounding air between them and in that very moment something sparked to life inside Mamoru, something he had thought was long since lost to him. Something he never thought he would be intimate to again.

"M....mother?"

The light surrounding the woman slowly gave way as she swept forward hands reaching towards him. "Endymion. My baby, I had always hoped one day that we would be reunited. And, by the Gods, here you stand before me."

-_-_-_-_-_-

“What I would not give to have my Kiseru.” Kunzite murmured with a sigh.  

Nephrite snorted, “You’re an ethereal being housed in a crystal, how would you even smoke it?”.

“I would find a way.” Kunzite retorted.

Nephrite smirked in response before slowly shifting to stare at his glove covered hands. Paying attention to the fact that even though he knew the white leather should feel buttery-smooth – given the sheep stock the garments came from – he felt nothing.  He clenched his hands as a thread of anger began to the twine through him. He was a useless shadow of a man who fought on the wrong side of a war that claimed everything he had cared for. Blinded by a prophecy of fear and malcontent - too afraid to shake the foundations of what he had come to know for fear of his Prince’s life and the Kingdoms future. He was such an incompetent guardian to allow himself to be swayed by the sweet promises of a devilled-tongued handmaiden.

“Do not dwell on the sins of the past, my friend.”

Nephrite glanced to Kunzite with a grunt, “Hard not to when everything went to hell.”

“We all believed we were doing what was needed.” Zoisite tried to console.

“Except we were at the forefront of a war that ended with the deaths of thousands.” Nephrite hissed in anger, refusing to be comforted against his wrongdoings. “Because of our idiocy the Silver Millennium fell! We were supposed to protect our Prince and the Kingdom, instead we let a vile demon slither into our minds!”

“Nephrite! Enough!” Kunzite barked quickly coming to a stand, towering over his second-in-command, who was still seated on the ground beside Mamoru. “What’s done has been done and if this is our penance for transgressions past, then we will face this with the dignity expected of our positions. Understood?”

Nephrite came to a standing as well, his brown eyes dark with anger at Kunzite’s words. “Our positions? And what would our positions be? We are nothing but shades of our former selves, doomed to council a Prince we can no longer protect!”

Zoisite raised his hands, “Nephrite. Kunzite. Please, arguing about this will not bode well for anyone.”

“Um, guys?” Jadeite tried to interrupt, blue eyes tracking something off in the distance.

“No, but it will make me feel better!” Nephrite retorted.

Jadeite slowly stood, eyes widening as lights began to cast eerie shadows across the clearing. “Guys!”

Kunzite turned towards the younger man, “What!?”

“Something’s happening.” Jadeite stated, nodding his head towards the sky.

Zoisite glanced from Kunzite and Nephrite to the sky above. “Holy Mother.” He whispered stepping back in shock.

High above them, in a sky that was quiet with the novelty of peace just moments before, was chaos. Fire rained from the heavens leaving a shimmer of ashen dust behind as the flames travelled quickly through the night. Lighting flashed in the distance, tendrils of brilliant white spidering out across the cloud cluttered night sky, heralding the oncoming crack of thunder. The echoing boom ricocheted off the surrounding woods, startling the four men.

“What the heck is happening?” Jadeite questioned.

“A meteor shower?” Nephrite answered, unsure.

“Not a meteor shower, something else.” Kunzite supplied, eyes widening in horror as one of the fireballs seemed to collide with an unknown object high in the sky creating an explosion that resounded through the small clearing. “It feels hostile.”

“Hostile…?” Zoisite murmured in concern, “An attack? But, surely Serenity and her court would-.”

“Guys!” Jadeite interrupted in panic, “Incoming!”

Kunzite growled eyes tracking the same threat Jadeite saw. “Formation!”

Instinct took over as the four generals surrounded Mamoru, each reaching for the hilt of their sword about their waist. Kunzite watched as the swirling flames came ever closer to their position, the charred and still burning remains of the collision trailing behind. A gross reminder of the destruction that was raining down on, not just them, but the city of Boston.

A ghastly orange glow crept over the small clearing, casting distorted shadows across them. The trees above began to smolder from the encroaching heat; their overturned leaves, already dry from the harsh summer heat, quickly kindled to life. Flames, as brilliant and seemingly hot as the sun itself, quickly lapped against branches and trunk alike, hungry to feed the ravenous blaze. Plumes of thick grey smoke curled high into the air fading to a harsh black, a warning for those in the distance of the danger below.

Kunzite tightened his grip on his sword, unsure exactly what their defense would be against a firestorm and a massive forest fire. He looked back towards the still form of Mamoru, the poor mans skin already a bright cherry red and glistening from the intensity around them, and grit his teeth. What had Nephrite called them earlier – shades? How was a shade supposed to protect the most important person in their life from such destruction? In short, they couldn’t. He was useless! He was a leader, Advisor to the Crown Prince of Earth and Protecter to the Bearer of the Golden Crystal and yet powerless to do anything but bear witness to the inevitable. Kunzite blinked hard against the sudden reality that struck him.  After everything, this couldn’t be how it ended… it just couldn’t…  

“Kunzite?” Nephrite questioned, trying to gauge the older man’s thoughts.

“Hold position.” Kunzite replied, steadfast. Regardless of the hopelessness of the situation, it was his- their- bound duty to protect Mamoru.

An orange haze had settled over them, a choking smog that had Kunzite worrying at his bottom lip. Another quick glance at Mamoru also had him deeply concerned; the Prince’s breathing had started to sound strained, the heat and smoke most likely irritating the man’s airway. He hadn’t wanted to wake Mamoru, the trauma of being ripped from the ley lines energy would be stressful and cause a disconnect within the younger man. But Kunzite didn’t have a choice, they had to awaken him.

“Zoisite!”

At the call, the youngest of the group turned towards Kunzite.

The elder jerked his head towards Mamoru. “We need to wake him up.”

Zoisite nodded hastily, kneeling quickly in front of his Prince. “I am sorry for this, but confused and alive is better than the alternative.” With a shaky nod to himself, Zoisite placed his hands on either side of Mamoru’s head and closed his eyes. He had no idea if trying to connect to Mamoru would even work; but, by the Gods he would try.

Zoisite concentrated on trying to follow the bond he shared with his Prince but every time he thought he had found the thread that tied them together it slipped just that much farther from him.  He crinkled his forehead in frustration. Magic was his specialty; energy manipulation was basic schooling. He had learned how to guide people into and out of restoring trances before he ever learned to ride his first horse. But this game of cat and mouse seemed like someone was deliberately trying to keep him from waking Mamoru.

Once again, he came upon that thread of warmth that always seemed to make the world that much brighter, the air that much clearer, but it slowly fell from his grasp. Zoisite could feel his Princes energy slowly slip from him. A dark seemed to settle over his senses, a deafening quiet that, had he been alive, would have had his ears burning from the silence. With a flex of his fingers, Zoisite prepared to follow the faint signature into the black but was pushed back into awareness by a sudden onslaught of raw energy. A soundless scream escaped him as he shoved against the force and pushed himself up; he tried to break the connection, but it was as if something had latched onto him, sending waves of nausea through him.

“Something’s wrong…”

“Of course, somethings wrong, the skies are trying to kill us!” Jadeite replied harshly, turning towards Zoisite in annoyance.

Zoisite blinked owlishly at his friend, suddenly feeling weak. “The energy… something’s happening…” With one last slow blink,  Zoisite fell forward into a faint.

Jadeite rushed to help, “Zoisite!”

Nephrite turned at the panicked shout, watching as Jadeite knelt beside their fallen friend. He stood captivated as a brilliant golden light seemed to explode from Zoisite, cascading waves of pure energy, beating in tandem with a seemingly phantom heartbeat, enveloped Jadeite blocking the younger man from view.  

“What in the Heavens?” Nephrite questioned starting towards the two when the light seemed to sense his movements and reached out and swallowed him as well.

Kunzite blinked against the harsh display of energy, he unsheathed his sword, and steadied his hand. He’d be damned if he went down without at least a swing from his blade. With a scream of frustration Kunzite raised his sword as the blinding light engulfed him.

[threadsketchier]

A Hard Question

HHGGGGNNNNNNNNNN AT LAST IT IS FINISHED

Once upon a time an author did a lot of handwaving and our OTP got a magic Force Bond and lived happily ever after.  (For a while. *sweary growling*)  Except Force bonds shouldn’t really be that convenient, and while we’re at it, there was too much talking and not enough Feels™.  I decided to do something about that.  After much anguished keyboard smashing, here it is - a re-write of That Scene from Vision of the Future, except with really shitty action and waaaaaaaaay more emotions.

You’re welcome.  (I hope?)

Read it at AO3

MUSIC: “Coward,” Hans Zimmer, Interstellar // “Rachel’s Song,” Vangelis, Blade Runner // “Where We’re Going,” Hans Zimmer, Interstellar // “Truth/Mal’s Speech,” David Newman, Serenity

“I’ve never had to find a hard question in my life.  They’ve always found me first.”

“Well, I’ll be Kesseled.  I was right.”

Mara’s arm shot out, smacking gently into Luke’s midriff to stop him from taking a step any further into the chamber.  Even as the details of the massive room trickled through her periphery, to be filed away for use or caution, her attention remained fixed on a single spot nestled inside a deep alcove.  Upon a figure floating in repose within a fully-outfitted cloning apparatus, a deceptively tranquil sight.  The heat in her blood rose, peeling her lips back from her teeth.

“Ten years.  Just like you said,” Luke murmured beside her, his voice laced with something between awe and grim resolve.  Mara’s eyes narrowed; she could already feel him grappling with the moral quandary he suddenly faced, could practically hear the well-oiled gears of mercy cranking to life.

“Thrawn liked to believe he thought of everything,” she said with a spiteful satisfaction.  “He obviously didn’t think of me.”

Luke’s head darted aside to spear her with a knowing look.  “Mara - ”

“Spare me the lecture about how a clone isn’t guilty of the crimes of its template,” she hissed.  “He was a conniving bastard who got off on manipulating, exploiting, and conquering the ‘unwashed masses.’  You really think he wouldn’t make sure his Version 2.0 inherited his superiority complex?”  Luke’s mouth was opening, trying to edge in a retort, but she barreled on.  “And don’t tell me it’s because he’s unarmed and helpless either - this entire facility is a weapon, from the turbolasers down to the database.  You know what’ll happen when he wakes up.  The New Republic’s already tearing itself apart; he’ll hardly have to lift a finger to finish unraveling it.”  Her fingers curled around a fistful of Luke’s jacket, nails digging into the flesh beneath the fabric.  “Don’t pull another Jomark on me, Farmboy.”

Don’t make me clean up the mess you’re too pure to handle.

His features taut with pained indignation, Luke jutted his chin sharply at the command console on the other side of the chamber.  “At least let Artoo plug into that computer to see what he can download on the Unknown Regions data first.”

“And risk our only chance at him?  You have any idea why it’s so empty in here?”  She gestured at the cluster of furniture lined up along the edge of the main floor, stored beneath plastic sheeting.  “You’d think Thrawn’s clone would have the same taste in interior décor.  All this space reeks of a trap.  Probably multiple traps, knowing him.  I’ll bet you a bushel of vincoff he’s got ysalamiri around here somewhere.”

“This isn’t our only option,” Luke countered angrily.  “If we can figure out a way to recover him from the cylinder, we can have him in our custody and take him back to the authorities.  Underneath all those contingencies, he’s only a man; I think between the three of us we can handle him,” he added tartly.

Mara snorted and shook her head.  “Doesn’t matter.  As long as he’s alive, he has power.  You don’t get that.  After his brains, his reputation is his next weapon.  Just the whiff of him has the whole galaxy running scared.  Good luck handling the fallout while you’re waiting on the trial.”  She unholstered her blaster and unhooked her lightsaber from her belt, and favored Luke with a tight, mirthless smile.  “Y’know, Faughn said we made a good team.  She was right.  When you get squeamish, I’ll be here to take out the trash.”

Luke’s face crumpled, closing down, his jaw grinding from the barb. Sullen, he turned back and whispered harshly to his droid, “Get to the console and plug in,” as she finally entered the chamber and broke into a brisk jog along the upper walkway toward the alcove.

Mara kept the blue face square in her sights as far as she could see it on her approach.  The face of the man who had driven Karrde to think she’d betrayed him.  The man who had mocked her as nothing more than a gullible pawn, who’d employed a mad Dark Jedi who sought to bend and break her to his will, who’d cemented in her soul that the glory of the Empire was truly gone.

No more.  She was in the business of exorcising old demons, after all.

Once she knew the alcove was below her, Mara hopped up onto the walkway railing and jumped straight down onto the main floor in front of it.  The transparisteel wall sealing the cloning apparatus looked blast-proof to anything handheld, but nothing a lightsaber couldn’t make short work of.  As far as she knew, Thrawn hadn’t figured out a way to make cortosis ore invisible.  The fluid might make things messy, but that was the least of her concerns.

She brought up her lightsaber hilt and pressed it against the wall, right over the clone’s sternum.  Just a flick of the switch and it would be over.  For the second time, Thrawn was about to get his heart carved out by someone he’d sorely underestimated -

“Who dares disturb the sleep of the Syndic Mitth’raw’nuruodo?!”

Even Mara couldn’t help a reflexive flinch at the deep voice that thundered from somewhere above at a nearly deafening volume.  On instinct she dropped into a crouch and spun to catch Luke’s eye; he looked equally startled and confused, also in defensive posture.  Beside him the astromech abruptly began beeping and trilling loudly, bouncing back and forth on its stubby legs in either shock or delight, she couldn’t tell.

With the brief jolt of fear turning to annoyance, Mara chanced a look upwards in time to watch the high domed ceiling somehow liquify from a solid surface into a rippling mass that coalesced into the shape of an imposing face.  Once again the booming voice asked from the mouth of the image, “Who dares disturb the sleep of the Syndic Mitth’raw’nuruodo?!”

Nice little special effect, she thought.  Pick that one up from Hologram Fun World?  “I do, you pompous rock worrt,” Mara muttered aloud.  The hairs on her nape were already rising again, preparing her for the threat promised by the obnoxious distraction, and at best she’d only have another second to aim and ignite her blade before it was too late -

“Mara!” Luke cried out, and she was biting down a curse as her finger slid across the switch but her wrist pulled the hilt away from the wall to defend herself from a blaster bolt sizzling toward her head.

On the raised walkway stood two hulking sentinel droids that had seemingly emerged out of nowhere, quickly rolling apart from each other on heavy treads to broaden their attack pattern.  Luke was dashing backwards from the command console while maintaining his own defense, approaching her, and had she not been so occupied Mara would have rolled her eyes at his obvious attempt to shield and protect her with his own body.  It was more than useless in this situation anyway, with the sentinels rapidly stationing themselves at the opposite ends of the chamber.  They were sitting fowls in their crosshairs.

Mara raked return fire across her sentinel’s head and joints, but the bolts merely glanced off; the droid’s armor was too reinforced.  “Shavit,” she snarled.  Of course Thrawn would do everything he could to Jedi-proof his backup plan.

Behind her there was a sudden yelp and the thud of a body hitting the floor near her feet, and for half a second a horrified disbelief gusted through her that Luke had managed to be hit, but then she heard him warning her with embarrassed frustration, “Cord snares!  On the floor.  Watch your step!”

Wonderful.  Thrawn was just the gift that kept on giving.

Over the din of blaster fire she heard Luke grunt his way upright, and then his back was bumping into her as he braced himself against her.  With nowhere else to go, Mara reluctantly let herself lean into him, the two of them pressed together, fighting frantically.  Perfectly helpless.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid,” she ground out through her teeth like a mantra, half to herself.  “The oldest trick in the book and I still fell for it like some dumb farm kid.”

“Hey,” Luke shot back testily.

The Force lent them speed and accuracy and lengthened stamina, but it was no magic solution.  Their muscles were going to tire well before the droids ran out of ammo, and all it would take was one missed block.  In desperate fury Mara wished she could simply crush the damn thing into scrap, wrap her will around its head and torso and just squeeze the way Vader would callously dispose of whoever pissed in his helmet that day, but that would take more concentration and focus than she could spare just to stay alive through the relentless barrage.

Rage and defiance against the futility of it all narrowed her physical sight to the droid and its fiery hail alone.  As her vision tunneled, however, her awareness was spreading and deepening - not of her own body and mind, but of the one behind and beside her.

Within her.

Luke’s arm around her waist and his head touching hers, his fingers laced through hers, his spirit and strength overlapping with hers to bring everything into clarity -

Except it was like having the sun at her back.

Stars, he burned.  He burned.

It was easy to forget the devastation of such brilliance when it lay hidden behind a lean frame and a gentle tone.  The infinite bled into the edges of his being, blurring the line between him and the rest of the universe.  She spoke of power and carelessness, but standing, drifting here, confronted by the sheer magnitude of what was poured into this mortal shell…

This is what it felt like to carry the weight of planets and history and only remember to breathe in fleeting moments of bad puns and swigs of cheap beer on the deck of a decrepit freighter and bedtime stories with all the sound effects and voices added.  Trembling hands pulling the trigger, clutching the flight stick, his lightsaber, letting go of the gantry and falling falling falling, dragging his father’s body, cradling his sister’s newborn children, loving to fight and fighting to love -

- her.

In the empathy and admiration of watching her shatter and slowly put the pieces of herself back together, year after year.  In the way his soul would quiet even as she tried to rile him up, how his heart would be unburdened for those brief times whenever she dropped by, expecting nothing from him but his stupid face and his stupid smile and maybe some small talk about engine components and the market fluctuations of raw chocolate.

Here, in this strange place where time stretched into a meaningless expanse, Mara realized that for all of Luke’s openness, the one stubborn knot of emotional constipation in his life was her.  His care had not been the dilute compassion she thought he extended to everyone.  But he’d tried his damndest to smother it beneath all manner of excuses - he was the face of her nightmares, another scab of her old life, she was his apprentice, maybe, sometimes, it wasn’t right, everyone he ever loved he hurt, he killed, he couldn’t do that to her, she needed to be free, even from him -

And with the agonizing helplessness of fighting a dream gone wrong, her body engulfed in quicksand and her limbs turned to stone while her mind railed and screamed, Mara understood that whatever she saw of Luke, he must be seeing of her.  All of her.  Everything.  Every blossom of misguided pride and desire to please, every unquestioned thought, every savor of the kill, every spray and smear of blood, every ounce of doubt and self-loathing, every hunger pang of want and need and denial and delusion -

She’d tried so hard to hide it, and now it was out.  He loved her, he did love her, and how?  How could he love such a thing?

It was like a pressure wave, the light intensifying and suffusing her.  If a shout was tactile, maybe this is what it felt like.  Flashes of Vader, of a bald, pale, heavily scarred old man smiling sadly, of a twitching hand and still-raw, half-healed forearm throbbing red-hot with pain whipped across her sense, and Mara felt herself embraced almost violently.

No, the light cried, no no no no.  You are not a thing, and neither was he.  You are more than monsters.

I’m sorry, he wept.  I’m sorry that this is what it took.

She was staring at her own face, wet and ashen, the unkempt strands of her braid haloed around her head like solar prominences across the blackness of water.

Wait, what?  What?

A shrill screech broke through the haze of unreality - or rather, somehow Mara understood what the noise should have sounded like while it was instead stretched out into a low, dull roar like a recording on a profoundly slow playback.  In a sort of clinical daze she watched as R2-D2 crept into the edge of her sight, arc welder brandished and rolling across the upper walkway toward the sentinel attacking her.  Evidently its master’s protective streak and ludicrous hero complex were contagious.  She almost wondered just what the hell had taken the droid so damn long to get its metal rear in gear, but the bizarre distortion of time meant that less than a minute had to have elapsed.

Mara couldn’t believe the sentinel wasn’t aware of the approaching puny threat, but it gave no sign of acknowledging it yet.  A small knot of lightning began to discharge from R2’s welder, and then she saw the first hint of the sentinel’s reaction, the slightest repositioning of its arm and the blaster muzzle beginning to angle away from her.

This was her chance.  But to do...what, exactly?  She could throw her lightsaber and slice through the one blaster, but in the time it would take her to call it back to her hand, a killing shot from the other weapon would dispatch her.  And then the next would drill its way into Luke’s back or head.

FALL!

The word stabbed through her with such intensity she jerked and gasped, almost missing the next parry.  At her confusion an image of the cord-strewn floor flickered across her mind, then a view of the domed ceiling as if she was looking straight overhead.

Fall with me!  Trust me!

Mara realized it was Luke’s voice, though she wasn’t hearing it so much as feeling it, an instant comprehension as if his thoughts were her own, only colored in his distinctive heat.

There was no more time for questioning; whatever he was planning couldn’t be any worse than hers.  The sparks of R2’s welder touched the sentinel, and without even sparing a glance aside, the larger droid swung that arm with a callous ease to shove the little astromech clean off its bearings.

In the second and a half that blaster wasn’t firing, and Luke’s shoulder blades stopped carving circles in her back, Mara let her right leg buckle to send her toppling down with him, bracing herself to ignore the pain in her shoulder and hip as she hit the floor.  Immediately Luke flipped onto his back, and his lightsaber was whipping just above her face, momentarily blinding her as its blade caught the flurry of bolts from both sentinel droids.

Go for it! he was urging her, and gritting her teeth, Mara hurled her lightsaber toward her sentinel’s left blaster, bisecting the weapon into two halves of glowing slag.  Imagining her hilt as the end of a whip, she drew and spun it to the droid’s other side to destroy its second blaster.  The big lug had enough sentience to emit a rumbling growl of irritation at having been outwitted, but Mara knew she didn’t have time to relish that amusement; already it was digging into twin compartments in its upper legs for a fresh set of blasters.  Kriffing Thrawn.

The enigmatic sight of her corpse-like face in the water shot to the forefront of her mind again.  Water.

Her eyes darted to the water-stained wall near her droid opponent.

Practicing with the stalactites had given her enough skill now to briefly defeat the sentinel, but if she tried to pull a Vader, there was no guarantee she could summon both the brute strength and precision to ensure the droid wouldn’t remain functional.  As much as her teenage self would have bristled at the thought, in this regard she was no Dark Lord.  The urgency of Luke’s fatigue was beating at her; Mara was keenly aware of the strain on his arms and the simmering ache of burns from glancing near-misses as if his body were her own.  Better to stick to what she knew.

With a high-pitched snarl of effort Mara sent her lightsaber flying toward the wall and drove its tip straight into the rock, carving out a small circle.  Almost instantly an explosive jet of water began to spray from the cut, much quicker than she’d expected, and as it obscured the saber she nearly lost her mental grip on the hilt, fighting against both the dense stone and the incredible pressure.  But she held on out of sheer desperation; she couldn’t afford to fail now -

And then the stone plug was shooting across the chamber with all the destructive speed of a missile.  The armored lunk crumpled and flew like garbage ejected from a freighter.

Any sense of victory was short-lived, because over the sound of shearing metal came a bone-rattling thunder as the wall gave way, the jet enlarged to a waterfall, and the Lake of Small Fish decided to invite itself to the party.

Oh bloody h-

Still hyper-focused on the battle, Mara wasn’t at all prepared for the shockingly cold wave that slammed into her and sent her hurtling across the floor.  Surprise and disorientation ripped a shout from her throat before instinct reminded her to keep her mouth shut and hold her breath, as the water mercilessly tossed and rolled her facedown into blinding white foam.  She flailed wildly, clawing for the trip cords to give her something to anchor herself with, but the turbulence pushed her away, until she managed to bob back upwards to the surface just in time to see herself about to collide with one of the walkways.

Mara thrust her arms outwards to keep her face from bashing into the wall, scrabbled madly for anything to grip, but the swirling water kept drawing her aside.  Suddenly a viselike pressure surrounded her torso, almost tight enough to crush the breath from her lungs, and she felt herself rise up out of the water with just enough height that she could reach the lower rung of the equipment balcony railing nearby.

Compelled by panic and the chance of safety, without thinking, Mara lunged for the railing and began to haul herself up before she cast a glance back over the water filling the chamber.

She couldn’t see Luke anywhere.

Alarm froze her in place.  What if he’d been entangled in the cords and was drowning?  Or finally taken a hit while she’d been engrossed in her rock torpedo ploy and the subsequent deluge?  He had to be down there somewhere and she couldn’t see him, where was he?  She realized he must have lifted her with the Force moments before, so he had to be alive, she hadn’t felt the pain of a mortal wound or...or…

An instant of unspeakable horror flooded her chest at the notion of what it would feel like if he was gone.  Truly gone.  Like when Palpatine had left her with that gaping, ragged, pitch-black hole -

Then Luke’s head broke through the churning water, coughing and spluttering, followed by a small metallic periscope beside him.  Slowly R2’s blue and silver dome began to emerge, and Luke’s eyes caught hers, pleading.  Help me, he was asking.

Not him, though, but the droid he was struggling to hoist out of the water and over to the balcony.

Mara fumed silently.  Of course.  Of course the idiot wants to save his rustbucket first.

Her mind felt raw, scraped and bruised by the effort of fighting harder for her life than she’d ever managed and their unprecedented union through the Force.  Even a simple thing like levitating an astromech seemed beyond whatever mental strength she had left.  But Mara pushed herself, jaw grinding and body rigid, and R2 floated unsteadily toward her and over the railing.

She didn’t bother to give it a soft landing.  The droid squealed, no doubt in offense, and she ignored it; that wasn’t any worse than the backhand the sentinel had given it.

The surging of the water was starting to ebb somewhat as the level rose to meet its entry point, and Luke was able to swim to the balcony.  Mara finished climbing over the railing, and as soon as he was within reach she bent down to seize him by an arm and the scruff of his jacket and pulled upwards with all her might.  His hands closed around the rails and he dragged himself the rest of the way, rolling over the edge to collapse facedown in a boneless heap beside her.

Settling on her backside, Mara paused to consider their pathetic lot, the two of them utterly drenched and shivering, Luke coughing miserably, and couldn’t help a disgusted sigh at herself.  Brilliant, she thought.  Nothing like a plan that almost gets us both killed.

Slowly Luke turned onto his back and lay still for a minute, chest heaving.  Mara nudged his ankle with the toe of her boot.  “You okay?” she asked.

She was a little startled to find herself clearly aware of him thinking, I’m just enjoying the air, while he didn’t say a word, neither answering nor even looking at her for several more moments.  His presence was an absolute mess of emotions sprawled across his exhaustion and he wasn’t even trying to shield any of it.  “No,” he finally croaked aloud.  “Not really.  But…”  With a groan and a wince he sat up, swaying a bit.  Mara leaned forward to steady him, but he grasped the rail, and she found herself oddly hesitant to touch him now.

Luke was staring at her, his eyes unfocused yet piercing, his gaze rapt like a man drunk on a vision of the sublime.  And as the weight of his regard bore down on her features, the weight of his spirit felt like molten ore poured into her veins, solidifying into something unbreakable.

Regret flickered across his face, and Mara felt him withdrawing, trying to extricate himself from this intimacy for her sake.  But even with the cacophony of his pain and wonder growing quieter, an essence of him remained behind, imprinted in the depths of her mind, and somewhere deeper yet.  Her heart, she supposed, as romantic twaddle might espouse.

They’d undergone some fundamental change in the midst of that fighting bond, a link so strongly forged it was now seared like a brand upon their very souls.  Or, in less poetic terms, perhaps their mental patterns had been irrevocably altered to overlap one another, unable to disengage even after the battle was over.

Palpatine had insinuated himself on her, worming his way into her deepest affections, and she had welcomed him.  Luke hadn’t sought this of her, had only tried to work with her to save their lives, and now he was in her master’s place.

Mara could no longer summon the terror and revulsion she’d felt earlier.  There was nowhere left to run, nothing to take back.  She’d already been more exposed to him than if she was crouching naked in his sight.  Moreover, he’d likewise suffered under her own scrutiny.

A memory of his easy smile came to her from a decade before, when he’d casually confided some frivolous nonsense about the protocol droid aboard the Millennium Falcon, as if she’d been an old and dear friend of his, not a hostile agent bent on executing him.

Trust me.

Trust him, the way he’d always trusted her.

At last Luke tore his eyes away from her and looked out over the water with dread.  She could feel the fear rising in him, clamoring against his attempts to stay calm and evaluate the situation properly.  Mara knew it wasn’t for his own safety or even for the difficulty of their predicament.

With the New Republic ready to tear itself apart, you rushed off to save me.  Ignoring your self-delegated responsibilities in order to save that one woman and her one life.

“So that’s why you came,” Mara said.  His head turned back toward her.  “You saw me...dead.  In this.”

Her words drove a blade between his ribs and twisted.  Luke’s eyes dropped away to the small space separating them, despair warring with denial.  “Always in motion is the future,” he murmured, barely above the rush of the lake.

Now that stoked her ire.  After all this, he was still going to reduce everything to his blasted Force.  “Don’t start with your Jedi sh -”

Abruptly Luke sprang forward and took her by the hands, and with a painfully earnest look on his face he blurted out, “Mara, will you marry me?”

The question hit her like a punch to the throat, thoroughly stunning and leaving her speechless for a pair of heartbeats.  When she managed to scrape together a reaction, she shook her hands free of his grasp and pushed his arms away from her as if she’d been burnt, drawing a mental flinch from him.

Whatever she’d been expecting him to say next - let alone at any point in time ever - it wasn’t that.

“We’ve never even fucked, Skywalker,” Mara shouted, “and you’re asking me this now?”

Chagrin rippled through him, shifting to manic humor and a fleeting glimmer of lust that practically spelled out, I suppose it’s a little late for that now, huh?

Mara almost laughed aloud at his self-deprecating honesty, seized by the contagious urge to just rip his sodden and tattered fatigues off and get it over with right then and there.  Why not, when it might supposedly be her last moments alive.  Maybe their last moments alive.  But old bitterness arose to quash the ridiculous notion, whispering too little, too late.

“Funny that you’d fuck a student’s corpse before me,” she remarked, her voice surprisingly more sad than caustic to her ears.

If the whole fortress crumbled and came down on Luke’s head to bury him, it wouldn’t be enough to escape the accusation.  His cheeks flamed and his presence withered, trying to pack itself down as small and dense as a neutron star, leaving the mental space between them dim and cold.

Mara shut her eyes and sighed, turning the hurt and anger and disappointment over in her thoughts like the well-worn hilt of a dagger.  At this point her spite was as petty as his affections were too long in coming.

There wasn’t enough time.  There never was.

The water was lapping just a few handspans below the edge of the balcony.  It likely wouldn’t rise all the way up to the high domed ceiling, but their escape routes were completely cut off, the current not fast enough to carry them out such a long distance before they drowned.

With one hastily calculated move, she’d sentenced not only herself to death, but Luke as well.

I’m finally getting the job done fifteen years late, Mara thought bleakly.

But if he’d envisioned her body in the aftermath, it meant he would survive.  She just didn’t know how.

Vacant blue eyes glared back at her, smoldering with obtuse hatred before glazing over with the shock of death.  She’d given in to the command to stop the clone, to help save them all in the bowels of Mount Tantiss.  Maybe this was her final purpose - not to use the shackles of her past against her master and his remnants, but to give her own life to preserve the very one he’d sought to destroy.

Mara stared indignantly into the water where the clone alcove lay submerged but safely ensconced behind its thick transparisteel.  It irked her to no end that they were in peril but he’d be just fine, at least until he was scheduled to wake up and make his debut.

An idea began to coalesce in the part of her mind that wasn’t scattered and intruded upon.  Luke’s head jerked up immediately.

“That cloning apparatus,” she started.  “That’s got a pretty big generator, wouldn’t you say?”

“Probably,” Luke agreed, eyeing her warily.

“It’s a Braxxon-Fipps 590 fusion generator.  And we’ve got plenty of water here, and some very fragile tunnels of cortosis ore.  All we need is a way to get it wet.”

His eyes saucered.  “Mara, that’s a hell of a lot of- ”

“Exactly.  The only way we can get out of here now is to generate enough of a boom to possibly collapse and enlarge those passageways to speed up the drainage.  Unless you’d rather stay put and fuck my brains out until we run out of air.”

She was already in motion, holding the railing and preparing to swing a leg over it, but Luke grabbed her shoulder.  “Don’t.  I’ll go.”

“You know what a Paparak cross-cut is?” she retorted.

When he blinked and frowned dumbly she continued, “It’s a technique that puts delayed stress on a wall to give you enough time to get clear.  So no need to be the martyr today, and if I’m getting myself killed, it’s definitely not this way.”

Sighing, Luke relented and knelt by the railing to wait for her.  Once she stood balanced on the outer edge of the balcony Mara held out a hand.  “What I am going to need is to borrow your lightsaber.”

A lopsided smile split his face.  He turned around toward R2, and with a bright chirp the droid opened a compartment and out popped her lightsaber.  Mara stared flatly at both of them.

“...That’s why you were under there so long?”

Luke’s grin was positively bashful and yet a tad smug.  She scowled and reached over to snatch the weapon, and he caught her wrist, his hand sliding down to gently squeeze her fingers closed around the hilt.  Be careful.

Her lips stretched in a taut line, impatient and resigned, not quite a smile but an acknowledgement nonetheless.  Always, Farmboy.

The water was calmer and clearer now, easier to navigate, and the chamber’s stark lighting illuminated her way.  Luke’s anxiety hovered over her, restrained but irrepressible; he had faith in her expertise, but the fear of the unknown couldn’t be dispelled.  Mara tuned it out without completely pushing him away.

Soon she found herself floating before the clone again.  The great irony was that, had she been able to dispatch him earlier, the lakewater would have already flooded through the small breach of her blade and the unexpected blast might have killed both her and Luke.  She could just imagine the Jedi lecture about patience that would’ve inspired, if they’d managed to live through it.

Never mind the fact that this was her first time executing a Paparak on transparisteel.  But Luke didn’t need to know that either.

By the last cuts her lungs were starting to ache, so she could not afford any second-guessing.  Willing herself to be satisfied with her work, Mara shut down the lightsaber and swam for the surface.  The moment her head emerged and she was gasping a fresh breath, she felt the pressure around her midsection again - gentler and more evenly distributed this time - and found herself lifted above the water and quickly floating back toward the balcony.  Mara shook her head irritably at Luke’s overprotective gesture, especially considering that he was waiting for her with open arms ready to catch her.

As soon as she’d cleared the railing he was stepping around her and stretched his body over hers as a cover, and she could feel him concentrating on forming a Force shield against the impending explosion.  At the same time his hand was fumbling around her waist, prompting Mara to ask, “You change your mind about getting my pants off now?”

Luke puffed out something between a grunt and a chuckle, and then she heard the click of a coupling link onto her belt.  Glancing aside, Mara noticed the wobbling gleam of a safety line tethering her to R2, who had likewise secured itself to the balcony railing.  “How long?” he asked in return, breath warm on her neck.

“Honestly, I don’t know.  Could be a few more seconds to a couple minutes.”  Shivering harder now with the second exposure to the water, damp air, and cold floor beneath her, she had to begrudgingly admit appreciating Luke draping himself on top of her, despite the fact that he was equally wet.

They lay in awkward silence for several moments, until Mara pointed out, “He’s going to die to get us out of here.  I don’t hear you protesting that anymore.”

She twisted her head around to be able to see Luke’s expression, but she could already sense his grave resignation, his coming to terms with the blood he’d already spilled throughout his life, all the atoms of once-living beings scattered across the void of space from his exploits.

“I wouldn’t have kept him alive if it meant losing you,” he replied, fierce in his honesty despite the softness of his voice.

A loud crack and the sudden surging of water were followed by a blinding flash of light, and Luke hunched down over her, one arm hugging her tightly.  The noise was somewhat muffled by the water, but Mara still felt her ears pop from the pressure of the blast, electric pain shooting through her jaw.  Despite Luke’s Force shield, the first massive wave that crashed down over the balcony sloshed around and easily lifted them with violent impunity, slamming them against the stone wall and threatening to suck them back out into the chamber.  Several more times it struck and retreated, tossing them about like flotsam;  between the water, the safety line, and Luke’s hold on her, it seemed as though she was going to be ripped in half.

When everything stilled enough to let them recover, Mara spluttered and sagged beneath Luke’s weight, forcing water out of her mouth and nose.  He was coughing again, almost choking on a groan of pain or exhaustion, his chest a harsh bellows against her back.

“You all right?” she managed, her voice sounding canned to her ears.

“Yeah,” he whispered hoarsely.  His arms trembled as he rolled off of her and released the safety line, and as Mara pushed herself up onto her knees she didn’t think she felt much better herself.  But one look at the chamber confirmed that the effort had been worthwhile.

Only a single, flickering glowpanel had survived the explosion, but the dim light was just enough to let her see the water beginning to drain from the room back out into the tunnel.

“Guess it’s time to jump in?” she asked.  “Or should we just wait for it to clear out?”

“No.”  Luke’s reply came with the abruptness of a Force hunch.  “I don’t know why, but we shouldn’t.  We need to go now.  Even though it’s gonna be a long, cold, bumpy ride, and I’m not sure how much air we’ll have along the way.”

Mara recalled the last time he’d had an air issue with his escape route.  “Sounds like this is a job for cold-shirting.  Your kind of cold-shirting, anyway.”

He regarded her with an irreverent smile.  “You said that was crazy.”

“It’s not much crazier than this, I’ll admit.”  Uncertainty began to creep over the edge of her bravado.  It was a straightforward plan - let the current ferry them out.  And yet, some unknown threat remained along the way, something that could result in what Luke had seen.

She’d already slipped on a pile of leaves and knocked herself out.  Perhaps her end would be just as ignominious.  At least I’ll still have the satisfaction of having brought it on myself, she thought sardonically.

“We can’t both be completely out, though,” she countered.

“No, I’ll stay in a half-trance.  Just enough to reduce my oxygen demand but keep some awareness.  I won’t tether us this time; if one of us gets stuck somewhere, we all get stuck.”  He licked his lips nervously, bracing himself against the same fear of what lay ahead in their last ordeal to escape the fortress again.  “Take some deep breaths and think about what code phrase you want me to use to wake you up.”

A code phrase.  Right.  Mara nodded, her mind withdrawing to another time and distant place she had never been but could clearly picture, shrouded in pensive night, suffused with the scents of evergreen and engine exhaust from Imperial walkers.  Her hands were cuffed but her spirit could never be bound.  Across from her stood Vader, seemingly lost in thought as he studied his son’s new lightsaber held reverently in his grasp.  She had everything and nothing left to lose.

In the present, Luke gazed back at her with understanding, tenderness and apprehension mingling in his features.  He raised a hand to her face, thumb caressing her cheekbone and fingers brushing aside wet strands of her hair, and she felt his gentle influence begin to coax her toward sleep.

Seized by a sudden impulse, Mara resisted the trance’s onset and reached out to take hold of his jaw to bring his mouth to hers, kissing him roughly with a hunger that would never be sated.  If this was the end, then the sight of his face and the taste of his lips would be the last thing she could take with her into the darkness.

His breath was hers, and then the world faded away.

“Come with me.”

Consciousness rushed back into her, and Mara gasped reflexively, blinking away the water clinging to her eyelids.  Strong arms were holding her, and in the light of a glowlamp she could make out the resolving blur of Luke’s face looking down at her as if she was the birth of a new creation in his very sight.  Releasing his breath in a sigh of joy and relief, he smiled and gathered her up tightly, his laughter sounding almost like crying.  In the Force he shone like a pulsar, blazing out gratitude and the near-hysteria of having surmounted loss, and she could feel him shaking against her.  Slowly Mara wrapped her own arms around him and reached up to weave her fingers into his wet hair, stroking her nails softly over his scalp.

Yeah, Farmboy, I’m here.  I’m here.  You can’t get rid of me that easily.

Luke pulled away just far enough to rest his forehead against hers, his lips parted and his eyes full of yearning, and for a moment Mara thought he might kiss her in return.  But he held himself back, simply breathing in time with her, and she realized that he was waiting.  Waiting for her answer, and perhaps willing to wait for a lifetime, regardless of her decision.  Despite the illusion of freedom, there was something inexorable about his love that had nothing to do with mental or spiritual bonds.

They had time after all - time for her to wonder if there was something fundamentally wrong with her, time to investigate whether this bond could be undone, time to contemplate if was worth keeping, time to ponder a life with him that could consist of more than mere passing-bys and regret.

“I’ll think about it,” she said, and this time she meant it.