#I WANNA CHEW ON IT!!!! I ALREADY SHOWED IT TO MY FAMILY SAYING MY FRIEND MADE ME THIS😭😭💗💗💗💗💗

[merry-andrews]

OH MY GOSH IT'S THE PRETTIEST GIF EVER!!!!!!!! @vergeltvng I LOVE YOUUUU!!!!!😭😭😭💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗 IT'S SOOOO GORGEOUS AND LOVELY AND GGGRRRRRRR SO SO PRECIOUS!!!!! I ADORE IT WITH ALL MY HEART!!! OH MY GOD I DON'T DESERVE SUCH A CUTE GIFT!!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!!😭😭😭😭🥺🥺💗💜💗💜💗💜💗💜💗💜💗💜💗💜💗💜

I'm the upgrade. @homelander-rp-blog

[shitouttabuck]

this could be the year for the real thing

buck/eddie | 1.7k | 7x06 coda(ish)

Eddie can count on one hand the number of times he’s been this horrifically hungover. His pre-teenage-pregnancy body bounced back blessedly quickly from tailgate parties and keg stands and beer pong tournaments, but after that? His cousins threw his bachelor party before he married Shannon, which involved a lot of mixed liquor, and then there were a couple miserable nights out after she left him, and now, last night, him and Buck the sole bachelor party members standing after Chim didn’t show up.

This is his worst hangover, because at least all the other times he wasn’t seized with worry about one of his closest friends and regret that he and Buck hadn’t noticed the empty hotel bed the night before. The nausea from hell doesn’t help, either.

Chim’s safe now, under the careful monitor of Cedars hospital staff and Maddie no more than three feet away from him at all times. The relief is a palpable thing, and Buck offering him a steaming paper cup of green tea soothes the churning in his gut a little bit, too.

He takes a sip and sighs gratefully, slumping against Buck in the hospital waiting room chairs when he takes the seat beside Eddie.

“Still queasy?” Buck asks, voice a rumble.

“Mm,” Eddie says, “back-to-back shots of tequila and sambuca are not it.”

Buck shudders beside him. “Don’t,” he begs, closing his eyes and tipping his head back. “I’m still very much in range of hurling.”

“Have you eaten anything today?” Eddie’d only managed half a banana when he went home to shower and change, but he knows Buck’s been with Maddie most of the day, and when it comes to taking care of other people, he sometimes forgets about himself.

“Had a granola bar,” Buck says, eyes still closed. “Can’t—don’t wanna think about food yet.”

His stomach chooses then to grumble audibly, with traitorously comedic timing, and Eddie snorts. Buck opens one eye to grin at him.

“Don’t listen to her,” he says, patting his belly. “She doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”

“She doesn’t, huh? Then I guess she’s not interested in stopping by the juice bar on Sunset on the way home? Some sweet, sweet smoothies, all that fresh fruit and hydration, don’t even have to chew…”

Buck’s stomach rumbles interestedly and they both laugh.

“That sounds—so good, actually,” Buck admits. “We can pick up the peanut butter one for Chris, he’s always hankering—”

He breaks off as Hen appears at the end of the hallway, looking around and hurrying over as soon as she spots them. Eddie doesn’t think anything’s wrong—she’s beaming—but he and Buck sit up quickly in their seats anyway.

“Ugh,” Buck says, and Eddie’s dizziness at the sudden movement wholeheartedly agrees.

“We’re having a motherfucking wedding,” Hen grins, tugging them both to their feet, uncaring of their delicate dispositions. “Right here, right now.”

“Hospital wedding?” Buck asks, eyes wide. “Holy shit, okay, what do we need—who do we call—fuck—”

“Calm down, Buckaroo,” Hen smiles. “Just get friends and family over here, Karen’s gonna pick up Maddie’s dress, I’m gonna call Bobby, and we’re having a wedding.”

Buck’s already pulling up a copy of the guest list on his phone, squinting at it and muttering names under his breath.

“You boys got this?” Hen asks while dialling Bobby.

“Yep,” Eddie gives her a mock salute. “We’ll split the list and make some calls.”

He types out half the names Buck reads off to him in his notes app, and the two of them work through them methodically, calling Chim and Maddie’s nearest and dearest for this impromptu ceremony.

“Chris will kill us if he misses it,” he says suddenly, and Buck looks up at him, mid-text.

“He’s with Isabel, right? Pepa’s place is only a ten minute drive from here.”

Eddie nods. “I don’t have my car, though. You drove me.”

Buck tosses him the Jeep keys. “I’ll finish calling people, you go get them.”

“Cool,” Eddie says, and nearly bodies himself with the instinctive urge to lean over and kiss Buck on the cheek as he stands. It’s surprising, even though it shouldn’t be, because it’s an urge he fought and failed about thirty times last night, Buck’s sweaty skin pressed to his, salty under his mouth every time he dropped an innocuous, friendly kiss to his face with nothing but alcohol in his veins.

It hadn’t seemed out of place then, everything shiny and bright, Buck leaning right back into him.

Now, under the fluorescents of the hospital, organising a makeshift wedding for their family? Eddie doesn’t think it would land quite the same.

“Back in twenty,” he tells Buck instead, and has to physically tear himself away from the smile Buck turns his way, warm and golden under the harsh lights.

Chris and Abuela are delighted to be included, and, true to his word, they’re back at the hospital as the rest of the guests begin arriving, too.

Eddie’s—okay, he’s not going to say he’s not a crier, it’s just that his best friend is Buck, who cries at anything remotely tearjerky, so in comparison, Eddie’s not a crier. Now, though, they’re both very much damp-cheeked, much like everyone else crowded into this hospital room, watching Maddie and Chim exchange rings and vows with little Jee between them.

They’re a family, have been and would still be even if they never got hitched, but the fact that Chim refused to wait another few weeks, another few days, another minute before marrying Maddie? Eddie’s chest aches in the best way, and he slings an arm around Chris, and, before he knows he’s doing it, he looks for Buck.

The ceremony’s over, and Buck’s grinning at his phone, and Eddie pats for his own automatically, anticipating a goofy text.

But Buck’s edging backward, slipping out of the room, still grinning at his phone, and the ache inside Eddie spreads like an inkstain, blotting his insides.

And then Buck reappears with Tommy, which Eddie knew he was going to do, because who else would have Buck smiling at his phone like that, leaving his sister’s wedding even for a minute. Not me, Eddie doesn’t think. He doesn’t.

He’s not ready to make sense of the churning inside him—he doesn’t think he can blame the hangover for this one—when he clocks Tommy’s soot-stained everything and the way Buck’s own smudgy face matches like a puzzle piece.

He sees the way Chim notices, and Hen and Karen, Bobby’s eyes going wide and then soft. He sees the way Margaret Buckley doesn’t even attempt to school her face into anything but distaste and he hates her, but Buck’s not even looking at her. He’s looking at Bobby, and then he’s looking at Chim, and he’s smiling, this wide, guileless spread of happiness across his face.

Eddie’s helpless to smile too, the churning too complicated to parse beyond easy joy at every step of Buck’s sexuality journey, and this second-hand relief he’s not sure he’s got any entitlement to—he doesn’t, does he? Sure, he can be relieved that Buck doesn’t feel like he has to stay closeted, that everyone who matters loves him just the same, but he doesn’t get to feel like any of the relief belongs to him. Not now.

Not—yet.

Tommy’s made his way to Chim’s bedside to congratulate them properly, and Buck’s squeezing through the guests to get to the Diazes.

“Hey, bud,” he says to Chris. “Hi, Isabel.”

His face is still a smear of soot, and Chris giggles. “Buck. Your face.”

Buck frowns in confusion and Eddie steps over to him, hand already reaching to wipe the soot off his face, just like he has a hundred times at work. Except Tommy’s already there, licking his thumb and rubbing firmly at Buck’s chin, a gesture so familiar to Eddie that watching it happen separate from him feels like getting punched in the throat.

And beside the joy and the second-hand relief, there’s—this sense of profound loss. This emptiness, a space inside him he didn’t realise Buck had been occupying all this time. And now it’s like Eddie’s entered the room, finally, but the door is swinging shut on the far wall and Buck’s footsteps are echoing softer and softer as he leaves. Eddie’s late, he’s missed something he didn’t know was waiting, much less had a timeline on it.

The room empties out slowly, everyone giving the Buckley-Hans some space to rest, and Buck disappears down the hall hand-in-hand with Tommy.

“Y’all ready to go home?” Eddie asks Abuela and Chris. “We can get take-out.”

“Is Buck coming?” Chris asks.

“Uh, I don’t think so, mijo,” Eddie glances down the hall. “Although—” he pats his pocket, retrieving the Jeep keys, and startles when Buck appears by his shoulder.

“You have my keys,” he informs Eddie, stretching his hand out for them. Eddie drops them in his palm dutifully. “Juice bar? The fancy one on Sunset.”

Chris whoops excitedly, and Eddie smiles, even as his brow furrows.

“You’ve not got a hot date?” he asks Buck quietly as they walk to the exit.

“I drove you,” Buck shrugs.

Eddie rolls his eyes, stopping Buck with a hand at his elbow. “I think we can manage getting a cab.”

“I seem to recall you promising me a ‘sweet, sweet smoothie,’” Buck says, raising an eyebrow at Eddie. “You tryna stiff me, Eds?”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Eddie lifts his hands in surrender. “Uh—do you wanna ask Tommy along?”

“Nah,” Buck says easily. “Maybe another time. He’s just gotten off shift. I’m seeing him tomorrow, anyway.”

“Okay,” Eddie nods slowly, ache bittersweet. “Just us, then.”

Buck beams. “Me and my boys,” he crows, wrapping an arm around Eddie’s shoulders and tugging him forward so he can wrap the other one around Chris. Isabel makes a noise of offense, and Buck hastily amends, “Me and my boys and Abuela. Dream team!”

Christopher groans at the very public embarrassment and Abuela smiles indulgently at Buck and Eddie lets himself get pulled along, safe in this room in his heart that won’t ever be empty, even if Buck’s not filling it in the same capacity as Eddie’s getting ready to allow himself to want.

It doesn’t matter. The door on the far wall’s not quite swung shut after all; it sits ajar, crack of light and Buck’s love spilling through. Maybe one day he’ll come back through it. Maybe one day Eddie’ll follow after him enough to ask.

[little-forest-goblin]

Can you do a Five Hargreeves x reader? Like the reader acts like Willy Wonka (Timotheé Chalamet/ Johnny Depp version).

Reader randomly sings a song while fighting as a strategy to distract anyone. Making sweets for the family and coffee themed for Five. His creativity in sweets gets handy with weapons (also candy themed)

Of course! sorry this took me a while but i have a life outside of writing and life has been kicking my ass into the next year. Here you go dear reader ❤️

My Candy Girl

y/n was crazy to say the least. Five had never met a woman quite like her. She was his eccentric candy girl. Sweet as sugar but as odd as odd gets. He still remembers way back when he first met her.

It was a hot june day. The sun boiling outside. It was ridiculous. You could cook an egg on the sidewalk if you so desired. Five was in the academy working on some equations in a book to pass time. He didn’t exactly have anything to do at the moment so he was making himself feel like he had something to do.

Silence was disturbed when klaus came into academy living room where he just so happened to be. “Hello my loveable and definitely not grumpy brother” Five let out a huff and looked up only to be met with not only klaus with his obnoxious habits but also a little friend next to klaus. You. God were you pretty. It made his cheeks heat a little at the sight of you but he pushed it away afterall you guys only just saw each other.

You stood there with a lollipop between your lips and your curious eyes looking around the new environment. “Man klaus, you didn’t tell you were a trust fund baby.” she chuckled.

Klaus looked to you “Well my spicy little friend i dont think it matters” Klaus pinched your cheeks quit like how a grandma would. Five however was locked onto her he wouldnt admit it (atleast not right now) but you have him hooked already.

From that day on whenever you are around he made sure to look his best. He was always in his suit and put on his good aftershave and his best cologne. He was a super genius but around you his IQ was slashed to 62 just like that.

He began to notice how odd you were, not like that put him off though. You were always looking around your environment, spaced off into la la land. You’d say some of the most random things at random times. His favorite being that time you called diego dollar general batman.

Now it wasn’t just a cute name he gave you, candy girl, but it was there for a reason. You were a candy maker. You absolutely adored candy. Thee five hargreeves in love with a candy maker? A former temporal assassin? who woulda saw that coming? Infact candy was what really brought you and him closer together.

~Flashback~

You were in the kitchen of the academy. You currently dusting a flat pan full of small light brown squares with powdered sugar. That was until five came in

Five looked at you leaning against the counter. He curiously looked between her and the pan of squares. You were so focused you didn’t even notice him until he broke the silence “What are you making?”

you looked up at him. Your eyes wild from concentration and glee of making items. “Im making candy!”

he chuckled and rolled his eyes playfully “Well no shit but what kind of candy is it?”

You smiled and continued dusting the powdered sugar onto the tan treats. “These are coffee chews”

His heart almost leaped out his chest. did he hear correctly? “Did…did you say coffee chews?”

you looked up at him and nodded “Yep. Coffee chews. They’re for you.” You made them for him with him in mind. You noticed he likes coffee a lot and never seems to get a decent cup of it. So why not make him a decent coffee candy?

He was a little flustered though he didn’t wanna show it but his eyes gave him away. He looked away trying to hide himself behind a couple walls though a small bashful smile graced his lips.

His walls could not be put up or the damn gates to be closed cause in a second you gently but excitedly and quickly grabbed his jaw turning him back to you. You had picked up one of the sugary treats and put it in his hand. “Try it.”

his eyes widened his shock paralyzing him. Was he a little turned on? …maybe. Either way he did as you said and popped the treat into his mouth. He found that it was soft and sweet but it had a noticeably nice coffee flavor. huh…a decent cup of coffee for once. He noticed you didnt let go obviously hoping for an answer “Its good. Really good actually.”

Your cheeks warmed up into a blush and you smiled happily. grateful that the candy wasnt a flop. “Good!” she let go and went to the pan picked up the treats putting them in a blue metal tin in there own little filter and shut the lid she handed it to him “Here you are! A whole tin of them!”

he blushed hard he couldn’t put his walls up in time to stop it. “For me? They’re all for me?”

you nodded “Yes there for you! Didnt i say i made them for you?”

he gently took the tin “You did but i didnt think all of them were for me” he looked at the blue tin and back to you with practically adoring eyes.

“Well they are!”

five was smitten as he chewed and swallowed the rest of the coffee chew. This was probably what sealed the deal. He had to have you, right away.

<Flashback end>

It wasn’t just him that you made candy for. You made the whole family candy too. All of them had gotten that signature blue tin with whatever little treat she made inside for them all nicely put inside a white thin filter paper.

The family began to notice fives behavior whenever you were brought up or in the vicinity. They noticed that when you were brought up suddenly he was very interested in whatever conversation was happening and whenever you were in the room or the vicinity he was quickly straightening up and fixing his suit cuffs and jacket.

It was odd for them to see there brother all totally whipped for you but it was also quiet amusing for them, not so much him though.

One day five was sat on the couch reading some books he found to pass the time. The rest of the family was talking about god knows what when you where brought up

Luther smiled as he took one of the candies from the blue tin he received “Hey guys what candies did you receive anyway? I got this blue raspberry thing. I think y/n called them raspberry color bombs”

Diego looked at him confused as he played with one of his knives twirling it and doing his usual tricks “Raspberry color bomb? the hell kind of name is that?”

Luther was excited to show diego “Okay watch! watch!” Lither popped one of the hard candies into his mouth letting it dissolve when he then opened his mouth a few seconds later to show his entire mouth was blue. It wasn’t just the normal tongue being blue no, no it was EVERYTHING. Everything from his gums, to his teeth. It was bright blue raspberry.

diego went wide eyed “Woah you look like you ate a bucket of paint” he laughed at his own joke although it was light hearted fun

klaus chimed in. He was laid across the sofa with his feet kicking in the air gently “You look like how i imagine oral with an alien is like”

luther cringed at that along with the rest of the family.

“Ew, gross klaus.” allison chimed in her face twisted in mild disgust and a face of why…just why.

klaus tsk’d “Oh come on you cant tell me you guys dont think of it”

Ben spoke up “No i think thats just you klaus. You are the only one who has probably thought of blowing an alien”

Five was silent the whole time but he was zeroed in on the conversation waiting for it to change back to the topic he really wanted to hear about. He of course didnt escape viktors eyes.

“You have any input on this five?” viktor asked looking over at him

diego spoke up “Yeah, cupid, you got anything on your mind or is it filled with something else”

klaus looked over “Or someone else?” he said pointing around at everyone as if to say dont forget it could be a someone.

five was stupified for a minute. he was like a fish out of water just learning what the hell air was. “There is nothing on my mind! There is no one on my mind either”

Klaus pffted and looked over at five tilting his head back to look at him “Oh please ewe all see the goo goo eyes you give her!”

“Yeah your not exactly subtle about it” Allison chimed in

five quickly answered trying to cover his ass “Who could i POSSIBLY be thinking about? I have better things to do than daydream about some pe—“

he was cut right the hell off by viktor “Y/n L/n”

fives face went right into a hot blush. Damn them all.

diego began to laugh, luther was confused, allison was amused along with viktor, ben could care less, and klaus was acting like he won the lottery.

“Oooo i knew it! no wonder you start putting on the ritz when she is around. Mr big bad assassin is inlove~” klaus said triumphantly ans teasingly

At that point five wanted another apocalypse to happen and swallow him whole to leave this embarrassing conversation. How was this girl he knew making him a hot mess and breaking every wall he has tried to put up!?

It’s been some months since he and his family have known you (excluding klaus cause he has known you longer) He keeps falling head over heels for you. A blushing fool is what he becomes.

One day on the news everybody hears of this house that has burnt to the ground. A few people where gathered watching it including five.

Diego turned to the kitchen where klaus was “Hey you might wanna come take a look at this. Theres this hellish fire on tv”

klaus sighed and came over with a empty glass that he was gonna pour something into “Oh goodie let me see whats the next ghost im gonna have to be forced to listen to” klaus stopped when he saw the house “Wait that looks familiar

luther looks to klaus who actually seems to be concentrating on the tv “Klaus…did you know who lives there?”

klaus took a minute until he gasped “Oh…oh no…”

diego couldnt take the silence after “what?! what?! Klaus did you know who lived there?”

klaus turned to them “Thats y/ns house!”

Fives world screeched to the finest fucking halts. Y/ns house? hold on as in y/n l/n’s house? The one that had his heart melting all the time?

The family was shocked. What the actual fuck?

that night fives world fucking crashed. How could it be normal? The girl he loved died in a fire! life was a heartless bitch. He spent the day drinking trying to numb the pain as his heart clenched. his heart fucked and his suit even more fucked.

The rest of the day the family tried to get klaus to contact you but he couldnt do it! the family accused him of being high but klaus swore up and down that he hadnt touched a thing. Diego was trying to play hero again claiming that you were probably murdered and practically had to be restrained. He was only convinced when they said wait atleast until evidence of foul play is found.

Later that night they all had to go to bed eventually. Though at some point during the night everyone heard a noise in the kitchen. They all inevitably went down there to check it out. When they got there they all flipped on the lights ready to attack but who they found was…you?

wait…YOU?!

Diego pushed to the front bewildered “Wait a minute your supposed to be dead?!”

luther was so confused “Yeah we saw your house on fire on the news. How are you still here?”

klaus chimed in “It told you gusy i wasnt high at the time! I told you i couldnt reach them!”

you looked at them confused. You were casually sat on the island counter eating a fluffernutter sandwich. “Im supposed to be dead?”

five sloppily teleported to the kitchen. By now he had sobered up but was left with a big fuck ass headache “What the hell are you idiots going on abou—“ he paused upon seeing you suddenly everything else didnt matter. He saw you and his heart beat so fast. Holy shit your alive.

your eyes locked with his and you smiled and waved “Hey five! Guess what these guys thought i was dead!”

he didnt say anything he just came to you and pulled you into the biggest hug he has ever actually gave someone. His family was right there be damned cause he needed you to anchor him. “I thought you died”

you were shocked when he pulled you to him but you softened “Its gonna take a lot more than that to kill me”

Klaus chimed in “Actually my fine furry friend i think that would’ve actually killed you. Its the fiery flames of doom so…”

five sighed and looked up glaring at klaus before letting go of you snd stepping back feeling flustered.

Viktor butted i. “Wait wait wait i dont mean to ruin everyone’s celebration that they’re actually alive but how exactly did your house burn down?”

you looked to viktor “Oh i was boiling up sugar to make candy when i remember i left my new food dye i just bought on the kitchen table so i went to grab that and i guess i left the oven mitt to close cause next thing i knew my oven mitt was on fire along with my pot of sugar. i tried putting it out but it just didnt work and eventually more was on fire and after that i dont really know”

diego was listening in carefully “I dont like this something isnt right about this.”

you shrugged and sat back up on the counter and began eating her sandwich again.

{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}

Over the next few days five spent his time with you. He was so relieved you were alive. He stayed with you at all times.

He even stayed for your candy making adventures, most of the time spectating. He did occasionally help with small tasks like getting food dye or ingredients. He quite enjoyed watching as you made candy. He got to watch as someones skills progressed as time went on. It was fascinating.

Today you had been working on an important project. Made from candy and other items. It was a lolli dagger. A beautiful dagger made from lollipop candy. its dagger blade made entirely of pink hard candy with a wood handle to help get a grip.

five was amazed by it. “Wow. You did it”

you were amazed as you held it flipping it to be held facing down and facing up. “I did…its beautiful and perfect”

five watched with a small smile “May i try it?”

you looked to him and nodded “Here.” you handed it over into his hand.

He held it in his hand “Wow this is lightweight as well. Will the candy hold up?”

you nodded eagerly “Of course! its meant to hold up for a long time! i- oh!” you got nicked by the blade. Your finger was bleeding. Fives eyes widened “Oh my god im so sorry. I did not mean to do that”

you shook your head “i-its alright you didnt mean too. I think it was me that brought my hand to close!”

He shook his head and gently led you to sit down at the table to fix your cut. He cleaned it and bandaged it. Your eyes were looking up at him. His eyes eventually found yours and soon you were both aware of how close you were to eachother. Lips so close your breathes mixed.

[Meanwhile]

Diego wouldnt let go of that feeling that something wasnt right with the fire. He had went to your burnt house to scrounge around for clues.

He had come upon what was the area of the kitchen. He could tell by the dishes glassware everywhere that this was the kitchen area. He looked around. There was a almost perfectly intact wall that seemed to not touch much of any fire. On that wall was a window. It had a hole in the glass that looked like something was thrown through more than pressure from the heat of fire were to break it. It was like someone threw something through it.

He knew it.

[Away from meanwhile]

Five leaned into you “Did you know that i love you? I cant hold it in anymore. I have to tell you”

you smiled “No…i dont pay attention enough to notice sometimes.”

five chuckled as he leaned in closer “Do you love me too?”

you nodded and closed your eyes leaning in closer. You and his lips were so close to touching when suddenly through the window a flaming bottle was thrown startling you too away from eachother.

Before you could react the bottle had shattered and spread fire. Five grabbed you pulling you away from the flames. “What the fuck!?”

outside the window was a hooded figure. the hooded figure was gonna make a run for it when five took you and blinked to where the guy was tackling him. This caused a struggle. The hooded figure struggled rolling on the ground with him trying to choke eachother out until they got on there feet and started properly fighting. Fists and kicks being delivered.

At some point the figure got five pinned to the ground. You had no clue what to do! you were a candy maker for christs sake not a fighter! So you did what the first thing came to mind.

…

you began to sing to distract the guy. really loudly.

“TWINKLE TWINKLE LITTLE STAR!! HOW I WONDER WHAT YOU ARE!!!”

everyone stopped and looked at you even five

the masked figure stopped and looked at you. Even though he was hooded you could feel confusion drip off him.

at that diego came running around the corner. He came around “IVE GOT YOU, GUYS!” diego direct kick right in the hooded figures jaw. This caused the figure to get kicked right off five who went ahead and caught his breath.

Out of the house came the family except for luther who was using the fire extinguisher to put out the fire before it got bad.

you saw you had the dagger with you. you went wide eyed and looked to diego “DIEGO! CATCH!”

diego looked to you just as you threw the candy dagger. His powers brought the dagger to him and he caught it and he began to fight the figure. Kicking dodging and fighting until diego got a couple good slashes at the figure and it sent the guy collapsing

~Timeskip~

the police had been called. It ended up being that the hooded figure was an arsonist the police had been trying to catch for a while now.

the family was talking to the officer or talking amongst themselves as a firefighter went in to check the surrounding area.

Five in the meantime after getting a wound on his head checked out by the ambulance that was taking the arsonist. Once done he looked around until he saw you. You ended up looking his way and he made a break for it and when he got to you his lips were on yours.

your arms snaked around his neck. his holding your face. When he pulled back he gave a few more softer kisses which you gladly reciprocated. “You saved my life”

you looked at him “Not quite diego did”

he chuckled “Yes but if you hadn’t distracted him i would’ve been choked out and blue”

you smiled softly kissing him a few more separate times which he reciprocated.

Five looked at you “Y/n i know this is the worst time but y/n will you do me the honor of making me the happiest man alive and be my girlfriend”

your heart thumped harder for him than it has before. “Yes…yes i will, five” he celebrated internally before kissing you again.

———————————————————————

Hey hey! sorry i didnt answer this one right away its been sitting here collecting dust but you know what its time to get out the box my little friend! i love you be safe out there people! 💋😘 (P.S sorry if it isnt good i tried to replicate what you asked but its not to great. I hope you can forgive me 😔)

[thewalkingwillowtree]

Safe Haven - Slice of Life

Series Part Listing Found Here

Hi Friends! Merry Christmas!!

As my present to you all, here's a little slice (chunk) of life of Xi and Neteyam's family life. This was originally supposed to be an Epiloguest type of chapter, but this came out instead.

Hope you enjoy!

~

Zyden shuffled around his family’s home a tad bleary eyed. After cleaning himself up, taming down his sleep twisted braids and chewing on a sprig of van’eela bark, he fixed a quick meal from his family’s stash and sat down to eat it. 

“Hey, Sprout,” Neteyam greeted, walking in after a ‘graveyard shift’ of patrol duty. 

Although he tried not to take up too many shifts during that hour, it was mating season for pulkatans and so it was all hands on deck for protecting the clan when they were most susceptible to threats. 

“Morning, dad,” Zyden voiced, scarfing another mouthful of food in his mouth. He squinted as he chewed, watching his father shuck off his riding gear and weapons. “Mom threw up earlier- twice. I held her hair back.” 

Neteyam sighed, glancing at the partition he knew his mate was behind. “Is she up?”

“No, she fell back asleep after having tea. Hys snuck in with her at some point last night. He still has that cough. Hope it’s okay that I gave him a little of the g’in root tonic mom’s been giving him.”

Ruffling his son’s hair affectionately, Neteyam pressed a kiss to the crown of his head. “Thanks for taking care of them for me.” 

“Course.” Zyden sprang up to hurriedly rinse out his bowl.

“Where are you heading off to so early anyway?” 

“Grandpa Jxo said L’eo and I can help him and his team with the repairs on the northern border. I wanna finally try out that old drill uncle Norm fixed up for me. L’eo’s probably already waiting for me, I said I’d meet him at his tent.” 

Neteyam nodded. “Alright have fun. Remember your rules?”

Zyden rolled his eyes, cracking a smile despite his mild annoyance. “Yeesss, dad.”

“And what are they?” 

“Do I really have to do this every time?”

“Sure do.”

“Ugh, dad.”

“Hey, the longer you take to say them, the longer you take to leave. Now come on, what are they?”

“Fine… Be respectful to anyone I see. Keep my wits about me. Don’t go past the boundaries without your permission and always be home by curfew. Can I go now?”

“Got your knife?” 

Zyden huffed. “Dad!” He laughed. “You can clearly see it on my hip!” 

“Alright, alright. Get out of here. I’ll see you later!”

He watched from the threshold as Zyden ran down the pathway until he disappeared. Only at the sound of a feminine chuckle behind him, did he turn around. 

Biting down on his bottom lip and head tilting ever so slightly to the side, his eyes roamed over his wife appreciatively.

Even though it had been years, the sight of her never ceased to amaze him. She was sleep rumpled- all squinty eyes, mused hair and sleep lines from whatever pillow she’d been laying her cheek on. 

“You are so beautiful,” he murmured in greeting. 

Xilä’s nose wrinkled at the compliment yet she couldn’t help the fond smile that escaped her. “I’m a mess.”

He shrugged as he closed the distance between them, swooping downward to steal a kiss. “A beautiful mess then,” he teased, making her giggle happily. 

“Sure,” she laughed in denial, patting his chest in thanks anyway. 

“Zyden said you were sick again?”

“Mhm.” Xi sighed contentedly, leaning into her mate’s soothing touch. “I don’t remember it being this bad with either of our boys.” 

Neteyam rocked them side to side slowly, one hand running up and down her spine, the other splayed on her little bump that had only begun to show. 

“Maybe it’s a girl this time,” he joked. 

It was an old wives tale that terrible morning sickness meant the baby would be a girl. 

“Maybe,” she hummed, playing along. 

“Should I brew you some tea? I made sure to get that weird coral stuff from Awa’atlu that Ronal recommended when you were pregnant with Zyden.”

Xi smiled up at him. “You spoil me, you know that?” 

“Always.”

“Mama?” 

They both turned at the same time to see a coughing Hysik coming towards them. 

Although the little one clearly had his sights set on his mother, Neteyam scooped him up before Xi could. 

“There’s, my boy.” 

Hys broke out into giggles when his sides were tickled and a loud raspberry was blown into his cheek. 

“Did you sleep well, my love?” Xi cooed as she brushed away askew strands of hair away from his face.

“Yep! But- but I wake up and you went gone mama. That’s not very nice,” the three year old said in all seriousness, making his parents chuckle. “I missed you when I was sleeping.”

“Aw. I’m sorry, baby.”

Xi frowned when Hysik released another wet, rattling cough. She reached up and felt his forehead, then under his neck, relieved to find him cool to the touch. 

“I don’t like how long his cough is taking to dry up.”

“Me too,” Xi echoed. “I know it’s just a cold, but just to be safe I think I’ll take him to see your grandmother today.”

As his parents planned their day, Hys took the opportunity to stretch forward with intent, one tiny hand clutching the fabric of Xi’s top, little face smooshed into her neck when she settled him against her hip.

“He’s getting too big for you to carry around now. You’re not supposed to be straining yourself.” 

“I know, but just let me baby him a little longer.” And for emphasis she hugged him closer and attacked his small palm with a noisy kiss. 

“I- I not a baby, mama.” Hys sounded entirely offended.

Neteyam snorted and Xi pouted. 

“Yes, you’re my baby.” 

“No.” His head lifted and his hand patted his mama’s cheek as if trying to make her understand. “I a big boy. Like Zyden. An- and L’eo. And Js’avi. And- and-”

Neteyam pointed at himself, mouthing, “me” at his son. 

“And daddy!” 

~

After breakfast, Neteyam, Xilä and Hys slowly made their way through camp towards the  Tsahìk’s tent. 

Despite his little legs, Hysik’s fast steps zigzagged ahead of them, then fell a little behind when he got distracted by an insect at first, then an interesting rock- only to be hailed by his parents.

He waved hello to almost every person they met on the way and practiced his “good mornings,” with a confidence Xilä wished she’d had when she first arrived at Home Camp.

“Sprout’s been asking a lot of questions about our trading system lately.” 

Xi grinned. “He takes after you and his grandfather for sure. I overheard him giving Jake suggestions on how to improve things.” 

“They’re good too,” Neteyam said proudly. “I know he’s only ten, but dad and I were thinking of creating a little roll for him. Get him involved in the process somehow.”

“I love that. I think Zyden will too.” 

“Next shipment I’ll see what I can come with then.”

“Oh…”

“What?”

“It’s just- that’s two weeks away.”

Neteyam’s brows furrowed. “Well, yeah. Why?”

“Nothing. I figured Leati or Gwuyle or even your father would be handling shipments while you were gone.” Xi nibbled on her bottom lip, glancing up to see the obvious shift in her mate’s disposition. “I take it you haven’t given any more thought about your trip then?”

Tense from subject change, Neteyam tried to keep his tail limp. It tended to give way his emotions before it could reach his face- his wife’s words, not his. 

“Baby, we’ve been over this-”

“I know, I know. I’m only checking again,” Xi assured, lightly squeezing his fingers where they were linked with hers. “And you’re sure?”

Her mate didn’t answer. 

“‘Teyam… I know you hate when I say it, but… it’s been years now.”

“You can come with me,” he suggested, as if he hadn’t done so many times in the last three weeks, deflecting what she was trying to get to. “You and the boys.”

“Neteyam, I don’t-”

“Gwran’mama ‘Tiri!” 

Hysik squealed happily at the sight of Neytiri who lit up at the sound of her grandson’s voice. She instantly attacked him with affection the second he landed in her arms, showing him off to the Na’vi women she’d been talking to. 

Xilä sighed when her husband sped up to go greet his mother.

She guessed their conversation would have to wait. 

~

Hysik was a little “chatterbox” as his grandpa Jake had nicknamed him. 

Throughout his entire checkup, Hys talked and talked and talked. Telling the Tsahìk every little detail of a very elaborate dream he’d had. 

And of course, being a doting great-grandmother, Mo’at hung on to every word, all while she expertly handled the toddler’s squirming and fidgeting and whining when it was time for her to inspect his tail. 

“Warm marllow root tea with a little raw nectar and he’ll be fine in no time,” Mo’at announced after she’d completed her checks. 

“And there’s no infection?” Xi asked, letting her son crawl out her lap and boldly fling himself into his father’s instead. 

“No, infection.”

“What about his lungs?” Neteyam asked this time, unfazed as Hys used him as his own personal climbing wall- little knees and elbows digging into his muscle, small feet pinching his thighs and stomach. 

Cases of the purple fever had begun to pop up again, and its effects were known to have damaging effects on the lungs. 

“Fine too. It’s a cold, not the purple fever, thankfully. To be safe, no school time tomorrow and I suggest you keep using the g’in root for another week.”

Xilä’s shoulders slumped in relief. Logically she knew all of this, but hearing it from Mo’at made all the difference.

“Thank you, grandmother… I swear, one would certainly think I’m no healer. But when it comes to my children, I panic and I forget everything you’ve taught me.”

Mo’at clicked her tongue in amusement. “Never mind that, dear. Our children tend to have that effect on us.”

“Gwran’mama?” Hys interrupted shyly. 

He hadn’t quite gotten names down just yet, and so Sal, Neytiri and Mo’at were all called gwran’mama, while Jake and Jxo were gwran’papa.

It was honestly cute, and thankfully none of the grandparents seemed to mind his mix ups. 

“Yes, my dear boy?”

“I was really good. Can I have a treat now?”

“Please,” Neteyam prompted.

Hys nodded, little palms stretching out as his tail waved excitedly. “Yes, please, gwran’mama?”

With two sweet treats secured, Hysik was quietly occupied as he sat in his father’s lap. 

Mo’at decided she wanted to check over Xi as well, since she was already here- gentle hands poking and prodding the little baby bump while she asked question after question. 

The Tsahìk was the only one besides their son Zyden, who officially knew they were expecting. 

Xilä and Neteyam had had an extremely difficult time conceiving their Hysik. To Xi, he was their little miracle baby. She’d cried for almost two days straight out of pure joy when she found out she’d be a mother for the second time.

And so, suffice to say, this time around both she and Neteyam had been shocked- pleasantly surprised of course, that Xi’s “stomach bug” turned out to be morning sickness.

“Are you still sick in the mornings?”

“Not all the-”

“Yes she is. Every morning for the last month, and after lunch on most days too,” Neteyam answered. “She’s barely able to keep anything in her for long.”

“Hm… It’s still early, and you haven’t lost that much weight for us to be worried yet. So we’ll monitor it for now, yes? Keep drinking your soothing teas and maybe stick to fruit and well-cured meats for a few days.” 

Xilä smiled gratefully when Mo’at patted her hand. 

~

“Theeen, I finally hit every target at practice- even the furthest ones I could never get perfectly, and I beat Pk’osh at a wrestling match. He’s the biggest in our class and no one’s ever beaten him before- I did that new technique that grandpa Jake taught me and L’eo- you know one like-” Zyden made an exaggerated jerk to demonstrate.

“Zyden,” his mother chided from where she was hunched behind him- fingers in his hair as she braided neat plaits. 

“Sorry, ma,” he apologized quickly, sitting still once more. “Oh and, dad! Our trainer said that I am seriously fierce for my age. He said that if I put in the hard work, I’d be a great warrior. I want to be perfect at all my tests though. So I have an advantage for my Iknimaya rites.”

“My love, you don’t have to worry about your Iknimaya for at least another couple of years.”

“I know, mom but it never hurts to be prepared. Right, dad?”

Sprawled out on the massive hammock in his and Xi’s room, Neteyam was all wide smiles as he listened to his son speak.

“He’s right,” Neteyam agreed as he Xi shared meaningful grins over the top of Zyden’s head.

Xilä rolled her eyes fondly. Her son sounded just like his father.

“L'eya's the best in our class with the bow, and since we started spear practice, L’eo’s been the best, but I’m definitely better at sparring and knife throwing.”

“I’m incredibly proud of you, Sprout,” Neteyam praised. 

“And me!” Hysik piped in, wanting to be included. He pointed at his chest as he sat up on his knees to face his father. “I a warrior too, daddy!” 

Neteyam chuckled and tickled his pudgy tummy. “I’m very proud of you too, Hys.”

The three year old beamed, awfully pleased with himself before focusing on the little carved ikran he’d been flying around. Making screeching sounds, he waved it in the air then dramatically landed it on his daddy’s propped up knee. 

When Xilä finished with the final braid, she hugged Zyden round his shoulders and kissed his temple. Most days she couldn’t believe that he was almost eleven already- and almost as tall as her. 

Both he and Hysik were the splitting image of Neteyam. Zyden had her eyes and more prominent pointed ears while Hys only had a mildly darker hue of her dusty blue complexion. Everything else was all his father.

Continuing to chat with Neteyam, Sprout curled up on his mother’s side of the hammock. And by the time Xi tidied away a few things, and quickly spoke with Kah’lee who’d stopped by to drop off a borrowed basket, Hys was sprawled half asleep on his daddy’s chest. 

“Alright, my loves,” Xi called. “Bedtime.” 

“No- no bedtime, mama,” Hys whined as he tiredly rubbed his eyes. 

“Come on, Hys,” Neteyam encouraged, rubbing the little ones back. “We have to listen to your mama.”

“Dad, can you tell us a story first?”

“Sure, which one do you want to hear?”

Xi crawled in beside Zyden and Hysik instantly reached out for her. He was at that weird toddler stage where he wanted to be a “big boy” most days, but still enjoyed being babied.

Cheek settled against her chest, Xi ran her fingers through his hair. Immediately his eyelids fluttered closed and his little tail curled up contentedly. 

“How about the one about mom’s Iknimaya rites,” Zyden decided, “and how she used the ul’nic that Na’raline’s sa'nok gave her?”

“Oh that’s a good one… Hmm. Alright, so first, did you know your mother was terrified of heights?”

Zyden giggled. Of course he knew, yet every time his father told this story, it still made him laugh. 

Xilä smiled happily as she drank in the sight of her boys.

Nights like these, when it was just the four of them, were her favorite.

~

“So, wife. Are you going to put me to bed now?” Neteyam teased when he returned from getting the boys settled in their rooms.

Her back was turned to him as she stood rubbing oil along her stomach. “Now why does that sound so naughty, husband?” 

“Cause it’s meant to be,” he murmured, pressing up against her. His lips brushed her ear while his hands went around to join hers- large palms splayed, making her little baby bump disappear. 

“I still can’t believe we’re going to have another one.” 

Neteyam’s chin perched on her shoulder as he caressed her bump, watching how perfect his palms fit around it. “Me neither… We’re going to be outnumbered now.” 

Xi chuckled, slotting her fingers into the spaces between each of his fingers. “Don’t pretend like you don’t love it.”

“You’re right. I love it,” he admitted, nibbling a little on her jaw. “But don’t worry, baby. We’ll stick together…”

“What?” she ask when he made a thoughtful sound.

“It’s just… three is such an odd number. Don’t you think?”

“‘Teyam, this baby isn’t even born yet. Are you really advocating for a fourth right now?” Xi laughed.

He pouted against her cheek. “I’m just saying…”

This man.

“When do you think we should tell the family? Sal’s going to go crazy and Kiri will be relieved since mom’s been dropping not so subtle comments at her and Tasam.”

“Um… Maybe when you get back from your trip.”

A sigh escaped Neteyam as he stood tall again- arms falling away from her body. He tugged on her tail lightly before stepping away to fling himself into their hammock, tossing out a couple of the cushions that took up too much space. 

“Baby, I’m not going on that trip.” 

Xilä could tell her husband was frustrated with her and actively trying not to show it. But at this point she didn’t care. He kept brushing her off whenever she brought up the subject.

“‘Teyam, we need to talk about this. Please?”

“Come to bed, Xi. We’re just going to fight if we do this tonight.”

“Then let’s fight.”

He blinked. “You want to fight?”

“If that’s what it's going to take for us to clear this up, then yes.”

“Now?” 

“No! Next year,” she snapped sarcastically. “Yes, now.” 

His brows jumped at her tone, and he quickly sat up. “O-okay. Then let’s.” 

Xilä approached the edge of their bed, but didn’t sit. “Jake said that this trip is a huge opportunity- that it will be a major factor to help prove you’re more than capable to lead our clan.”

“There will be other chances-”

“But this one is right here!” 

“Xilä-”

“Why don’t you want to go?” she asked frankly. She had an inkling but wondered if he’d actually say it out loud.

“What? I- Xi, I’m not going to leave my sons and my pregnant wife for a one month trip to the Wetlands that I’m perfectly sure my dad and Tasam- who I’m sending instead, can handle.” 

Xilä planted her hands on her hips. 

“You are supposed to be meeting with the chief of the Hulanta clan- as future chief yourself, Neteyam! Tasam was supposed to go with you either way, as your future second. I’m barely four months along and perfectly capable of taking care of our sons. I have a whole support system if I need help… Those are all poor excuses you gave and you know it.” 

Neteyam’s jaw clenched tight. He pinched the bridge of his nose as though in pain, then leveled his mate with an expression full of exasperation. 

“I don’t understand why you’re pushing this, Xilä. Why won’t you take me saying that I just don’t want to go, as an answer?”

“Because when Jake first brought this up, you were so excited about it! You came home and spent over an entire afternoon telling me everything you planned to either implement or suggest to the Hulanta chief-”

Neteyam tried to interject but Xilä silenced him with a flashing glare, one knee coming up to rest on the hammock. She didn’t back down, not even at the sight of his tail thrashing furiously. 

“And the second you found out that the boys and I couldn’t come on the trip with you, you shut it all down.” 

“I changed my mind, okay? I had my reasons.”

“You had your reasons?” Xi frowned. 

“It’s a month long trip. Yes. I had my reasons.” 

“The same type of reasons that left you unable to go on any trip no matter how long or how short in the last ten years, right?” Xi pushed. “Trips that me and the boys weren't able to make with you because it was either dangerous or just plain unnecessary?”

“Drop it, Xi. I’m done for tonight.” 

“Drop it?! For Eywa sake! Neteyam that’s all I’ve been doing for the last ten years. Every time I try to bring up this conversation you’ve told me to drop it and I have! I don’t want to do it anymore!” 

“I don’t see the problem here! I’m prioritizing my family. Why are you so adamant on getting rid of me?!” 

“Getting rid of you? You think that’s what I’m trying to do?” 

“Sure seems that way, sweetheart,” he snapped. 

“Well what it seems to me, is that you're running away from what the actual issue is and I don’t understand why you won’t just be honest with yourself about it.” 

“I don’t know what you’re on about, but I am telling you for the last time. I am not going on that goddamn trip.”

“WHY?”

“Fucking hell, Xilä-”

“Why won’t you go on the trip?”

“Because the last time I left for a trip without you, you were fucking kidnapped, beaten and traded as if you were fucking cattle! You were left in the clutches of a lunatic who wanted to claim you! And I- I almost lost you, Xilä! Do you know what that did to me?! How could you possibly think I could leave you again? And worse yet- for an entire fucking month?!” 

There it was. 

Neteyam abruptly stood and made a beeline for the partition that separated their room from the rest of the tent- hair flying behind him. “I need a minute. Don’t follow me out.” 

Ears burning hot from the intensity of the moment, Xilä stared at where her husband had disappeared and began to silently count- a tactic she’d learnt from Mo’at over the years to aid with her anxiety. 

She’d barely gotten to one hundred when he returned- far more calmer and looking a whole lot guilty after his outburst. 

“Come here,” he said gently. 

Folding her into an all consuming embrace, he whispered a series of apologies against her forehead. He rarely ever lost his temper with her and the boys. It wasn’t him at all. 

“It’s okay.”

“It’s not. It’s not okay, Xi. I’m sorry.”

“I’m the one that pushed yo-”

“Hey,” he said, cutting her off, holding both sides of her face and staring at her with a seriousness that made her go quiet. “Let’s not play the self blaming game, okay?” 

In one swoop, he lifted her off the ground and carried them over to the hammock. With Xilä straddling his lap, there was no more escaping this conversation. He was ready to face it head on and get it over with.

Neteyam’s eyes traced over his wife, taking in her features. 

Her hair was short again- shoulder length like the time she’d gotten it cut when she’d first come to Home Camp. Pointed ears twitching in concern, her brows creased, moon colored eyes focused completely on him- and damn if he always got lost in them. He hated how sad they looked tonight. 

Cupping her cheek, his thumb brushed across the thin, faded scar that held the reminder of what he feared. 

They had talked about it- the incident- years ago when it first happened. They’d talked and wrapped it up, moved on, and never brought it up again. 

And while Xilä steadily tended to her mental wounds with the help of Mo’at, Neteyam still had a deep scar that unknowingly festered over the years. 

“So-” He blew out some air. “I know it’s been years but-” he shrugged, “guess I’m not entirely over that situation.” 

Xilä cupped his cheeks, leaning forward to give him a chase kiss. “And that’s okay… I don’t think shoving the past behind us and never looking back was the healthiest way to go. I know this is tough for you, but we can work on it. Together.” 

“How?”

“By talking… We don’t have to go that deep into it tonight, but eventually we will. And eventually you’ll open up. You’ll heal and be able to let go.”

“Okay,” he rasped, palms rubbing her thighs as though trying to comfort himself. 

“For now though, what would you say I can do to make you comfortable enough to go on the trip?”

Neteyam thought about it for a moment. 

“Maybe you can stay with my parents? You and the boys... Jxo and Sal are great but- I think having my parents closer would be a little more assuring for me.”

Xi nodded. She’d dare not bring up the fact that his parents lived only a few tents away from them. “We can do that.”

“Yeah?”

“Mhm. They have more than enough room and I’ll still have help whenever I need it. Tuk I’m sure would be delighted to have the boys to fuss over and boss around.” 

“That too,” he said, cracking a smile. 

“Anything else?”

“I want to talk to you every day- even if it’s just for two minutes to simply hear your voice.” 

Xilä didn’t think it was possible to fall even more in love with her husband. 

Yet here he was.

Proving her wrong. 

“Maybe you can bribe Norm to let me borrow one of those handy communication things so I don’t have to walk to the labs every day.”

“That, I can definitely do, sweetheart.” 

Xi fiddled with one of his hands- a habit she’d never broken out of over the years.

“I’m truly not trying to get rid of you.”

“I know- shit. I just said that in the moment. I don’t really think that, Xi.”

She gave him a wry smile. “The truth is- and as creepy as this might sound, if it were possible, I’d crawl into your skin and never leave you.”

Neteyam laughed. He knew what she meant. Sometimes he felt the same way.

“But in the same breath, I don’t want you to live in fear because of me. It’s hampering your dreams, ‘Teyam. Your goals... Jake is getting ready to step down in a couple of years, and you’re going to be Olo'eyktan.”

She pressed a palm to his chest. 

“I am your wife. And I will stand by your side even when we disagree. But this is one thing I won’t let you slip up on. Okay?” 

“How in Eywa’s name did I get so lucky? Where did I find you?” 

Xi shrugged playfully. “In the forest screaming my head off. You killed the palulukan who was chasing after me, then whisked me away and took me to your home.”

He laughed again but this time it ended in a groan. His head fell into her neck. “A month is way too long to be away from you, baby. It takes a week alone by ikran to get to Hulanta.”

“You can ask Stevan to join the trip earlier than planned? Go by jet instead?” 

One of the main reasons for the trip anyway was to check out a massive, old RDA base that had been set up near a Hulanta village. There was apparently an entire fleet of abandoned aircrafts waiting to be fixed up and used. 

“True,” he agreed.

“So it’s settled then? You’ll go and delegate your butt off and make me and your parents and our boys proud of you?”

Neteyam nodded against her skin. “Yeah, baby. I’ll go.” He ran a thumb along the side of her stomach. “You still wanna wait till I get back to tell everyone?” 

“Mmm. I can get away with hiding my bump by wearing my longer tops and higher skirts, but if I’m going to be staying with your parents for a month, they’re bound to pick up on my morning sickness.” 

“I bet you’d want to tell your mom and sister first.”

“Yeah,” Xi confirmed.

“Are we done fighting?” Neteyam wondered after they agreed to tell their families the good news a week before he had to leave. 

“Yes,” Xi grinned, knowing why he was asking. 

She squealed when he flipped them around, sighing as his lips pressed against her neck and he slipped a knee between her thighs. 

Sometimes good things come from a fight. 

Like improved communication…

The validation of feelings… 

And mind blowing make-up sex.

~

~

On his third day at the Hulanta clan while he and Tiaru- the clan’s chief were in deep discussion as they made rounds near the tree of souls, a familiar shade of blue caught his eye. 

Neteyam blinked to make sure he wasn’t seeing things. But… he wasn’t. And in seeing the Na’vi all the more clearly, he inhaled sharply.

“What is it?” Tiaru asked, alerted by the shock on his face.

And although Neteyam was sure who she might be, he still asked…

“Who is that Li’onan woman?” 

~

Hehe... I had to throw in a little bit of a fight there. I love a good healthy communication moment honestly.

And, gasp. Who IS that Li'onan woman???

Also, you guys, Zyden is growing up? And what do we think of sweet little Hysik?

Anywhoo, see y'all in my next one! 💛

~

Tags:@jakesullyfatjuicypeen@granddearduck@riatesullironalite@strawberri-blonde@earthling55 @innercreationflower @duckworthbean @gyuventure @btsiguess-kpop@blkmystery@neteswife@luvteyams@isnt-itstrange@erenjaegerwifee@faatxma@ivysully@bakugouswaif@pinkpantheris @mntx666@ironcaptainnataliabarnes

[a-writer-on-elm-street]

hello :3 i was wondering if i could request a lil fic with either daryl dixon or thomas hewitt about a hyper-feminine, juicy couture and lip gloss wearing, victoria secret perfume having, reader? maybe where the family is judgemental over the reader for their looks, but one of the boys stands up for the reader? (maybe end with them showing much they like how the reader dresses ¬‿¬)

and sorry if this is incoherent my ambien kickin in lolz

a/n: omg this is such a good idea. thank you so much for the request i hope you like it! <3 also i apologise for it taking so long

also, i'm not sure how in character any of this is because it's been a while since i watched any of the tcm movies so i hope this is okay <3

pairing: thomas hewitt x fem!reader

warnings: hoyt, fluff (neither of which are directly related)

word count: 659

You were wearing a yellow sundress you'd found a while back, glittery lip gloss coating your lips. You felt pretty, until you'd walked down the stairs to find Hoyt in the armchair, a snide look on his face as he looked you up and down.

"The fuck are you all dressed up for?" He scoffed, picking at the already broken leather of the chair, a bone chewed between his teeth.

You shrugged. "Nothin' wrong with wantin' to look nice from time to time."

You'd been with the Hewitts for a long time, ever since Thomas had taken a liking to you years ago. You were used to putting up with Hoyt's shit by now, choosing to simply shrug off his mocking comments and wildly inappropriate humour. He was an asshole, you knew that.

You were just here for Thomas.

Hoyt laughed, waving a hand at you. "You know there ain't nobody gonna fuck you just 'cuz you're all dressed up in some fancy fuckin' frock."

You folded your arms across your chest, glaring at him. Again, he was an asshole. And as much as you wanted to put a knife through the bastard's eye socket, he was still family.

"You think Tommy's gonna fuck you? Is that it?" He carried on, sitting forward in the chair now. "Hey, Tommy! Come on in here, boy!"

It was silent for a moment, and then you heard heavy footsteps thudding against wood, Thomas walking in from the kitchen.

Hoyt smirked, pointing a finger in your direction. "Look at your little lady friend over there. Ain't she pretty? Huh, boy?"

Thomas stayed silent, watching you from across the room.

"So?" Hoyt carried on, turning to look at Thomas. "You wanna fuck this bitch?"

You were about to say something, cuss him out, except Thomas moved first, crossing the room in seconds, forcefully pushing a large palm into Hoyt's chest. The chair rocked backwards when Hoyt's back hit the leather, Thomas towering over him, silently threatening.

You didn't know what to do as you stood there, your dress still floating around your ankles, hair standing up on your arms.

You half expected Hoyt to fight back, scold him in angry retaliation, but when Thomas withdrew his hand, Hoyt remained where he was, glaring up at Thomas.

And Thomas didn't say anything as he turned and walked towards you, roughly gripping your hand in his and leading you down to his room.

You remained silent as he stood with his back to you a moment, his shoulders gently rising and falling from taking steady breaths.

He'd stood up for you, fought back against his family in your defense. It made you giddy just thinking about it. You took a few steps towards him, cautiously brushing your fingers down his back.

He tensed under your touch, and when he turned around, you could see the reserved look behind his eyes, like he was unsure of what to do next. So you stood there, completely still, allowing Thomas to do as he pleased in his own time.

You inhaled a shaky breath when he reached a hand out towards you, dragging his fingers up your body, stopping when he reached the curve of your breast, a quiet sigh leaving his lips as he took you in.

"Thomas," you whispered, your eyes fluttering shut as he moved his hand up to your collarbone, fingers curling around the back of your neck, tugging you closer.

He trailed up to touch your face, stroking his palm along your cheek, all the while you remained completely still, letting him do what he wanted.

No words would ever pass his lips, but as he touched you like this, you knew. You knew that he was admiring you, revelling in your body being this close, taking in the feel of your warm skin beneath his hands.

"Thank you for taking care of me," you spoke quietly, a smile pulling at your lips. "Thank you."

[Main Masterlist]

[trippinsorrows]

Wait someone mentioned another roman x leya short i kinda wanna see roman and lina his little twin oh my god i just know they’re rowdy together

"daddy."

"hmmm."

"can i quit school and come work with you?"

roman can't sit here and act like this is the first time his daughter has asked him an out of pocket question. no, of the twins, lina is always the inquisitive one. leya is too. lina, however, is the one to allow her many questions to leave her head. the latest causing the tribal chief to look down at his mini me as the two share a bowl of cookie dough ice cream. his favorite. hers too.

"why do you wanna quit school?"

"cause it's stupid, and boys are stupid."

she's right about one part. "you're right. boys are stupid. you hate them all. never forget that." he makes a mental note to ask about the backstory there. it's about that time he has to show up at her school and remind them just why catalina reigns is never the one to fuck with. "what makes it stupid?"

lina pouts, and he has to hold back a chuckle. she reminds him a lot of himself in this moment. "cause daddy, it's boring. i don't wanna study. i wanna fight." and fight she does. girl is only seven and on track to become a black belt before even hitting double digits. "i wanna be like you."

this is the part he always struggles with. she says it all the time. her desire to be like him. to one day be the tribal chief. such a heavy, complicated thing for a young child.

"you know i had to go to school, too."

she frowns, her dark eyebrows caving together as she scoops some ice cream onto her little spoon. "but, that was a long long long time ago."

"watch it, kid." lina's giggle evokes a small chuckle from him. "baby, you like school."

she finishes chewing her ice cream, caving, "sometimes."

"oh, sometimes." he mocks her a bit, also taking some ice cream into his mouth with his much larger spoon. roman swallows before asking, "what about your sister? you just gonna leave her?"

lina's eyes widen in horror. one would think she was just told santa isn't real. "i can never leave sissy, daddy! she's my best friend!"

his heart swells at that. one of the many things he loves about his family is the closeness of the girls. such a stark contrast to his and solana's relationship with their siblings. "well, if you quit school and come work with me, leya will be all by herself...."

"noooo" lina whines, frowning as she clearly rethinks this horrible plan of hers. "i gotta protect sissy."

roman suddenly asks, prompted by her bringing up protection. "that little bitch tracy still messing with her?" he didn't mean for the 'bitch' part to come out. he definitely feels that way, but saying it in front of his already aggressive little girl probably isn't the best move.

lina nods and glares, angrily scooping her ice cream. "i'm gonna punch her in her stupid face."

roman should discourage that. should try to use some of that conflict resolution shit solana has been trying to get him to get on board with. however, that would be too much like right.

instead, he welcomes lina as she scoots closer into his side, advising, "just make sure to keep your thumb over your fingers. punch her good, and i'll get you some ice cream afterwards."

[ottpopfic]

“Good morning Mr. Valdez” Leo greets, eyes soft and hands playing over Jason’s neck and shoulders like he can't get enough of him “That was quite a wake up”

Mr. Valdez. That's him now. It shoots something right through Jason, joy and pride and excitement, sharing the name. And not just any name, Leo’s name. A name he gifted to Jason, wiping clean a past he never wanted and replacing it with love and family. It's all Leo has left of his bio family, nothing else of his mother and her love aside the necklace that refuses to melt, and he gave it to Jason without a second thought.

They barely talked about it when it came up, if they should share a last name. All it took was the careful worry of the Grace legacy and Leo was offering it up. No tension, no hesitation, no concern of how Jason could tarnish the word. Just the easy love and the excitement of Jason belonging even more to him

And now for everyone to call him that, for his husband to call him that, Jason can feel the stars in his eyes as he looks down at the amazing man beneath him. How did he get so lucky?

Their friends and families were probably correct about them vacating the Way Station for some kind of honeymoon, the Way Station doesn't have room service and Jason has just decided he's not letting his husband out of bed today

“Are you getting all puppy possessive again” Leo laughs at his blown-out expression

“I married you” Jason breathes in awe

“That you did” Leo’s smile is so so soft “I married you back”

“Your mine, forever”

“Oh mi cielo” he takes Jason’s face in his hands “I already was”

Jason kisses him, and kisses him and kisses him. He kisses him until natural oxygen is hard to draw in and he has to make his own to feed into his husband, breathing into him just as much as he takes his breath away. Its desperate and claiming and Leo gives back as good as he gets, his own breath going heated against Jason’s lips and becoming visible between them. It would burn if Jason didn't run so cool, so instead he just licks into his husband's mouth and does everything in his power to drink him down

“Can I have you again?” Jason asks, suddenly needy when they break apart

“Again?” Leo pants winded

“Please again” he's sucking hickeys into the unblemished skin of his Leo’s neck, the barrier of ‘I don't want to be chewed up in our wedding photos’ now lifted “Wanna get you there again”

“Yeah sure yeah okay” Leo slurs back, voice catching with each mark Jason decorates him with “stuffs in the bags”

Jason lets himself have an excited happy wiggle before he demands Leo to “Stay”, clambering out of the big bed to Leo’s protest of “I'm not the one who's a dog here!”

Jason finds the lube in record time, mostly because it's a brand new giant bottle right on top. The kind with a pump spout that has a note attached with a ribbon that says nothing more than ‘Have Fun ♡ - C.’

“She did not!” Leo cackles after Jason tosses the bottle at him, untying the ribbon so it doesn’t get gross and laughing his head off as he rereads the note. He flings the fabric, note and all, out of the way as Jason crawls back into his space still giggling as he kisses him again

“There's this too” Jason shows the rose made out of condoms that was under the lube, it sends Leo back into hysterics

“Oh my god Georgie drew shit on them” Leo laughs as he unrolls the rose. True to his word there's little cartoon Leo and Jason’s on the wrappers in his sister-in-law’s style “we can't use these there a work or art”

As cute as he is laughing at their weird family, Jason wants all of his husband's attention right now. Jason shoves his head between where Leo is using both hands to hold the string of condoms, nosing his way in so he can get at his clavicle. He facens his mouth there immediately, with both teeth and suction, in the way he knows will always get a delicious little noise out of Leo.

Leo's mirth is broken off with the desired groan, one that makes the back of Jason’s brain purr. He doesn't need to look to know that Leo has tossed aside his distraction as one hand slides into Jason’s hair and the other grips his bicept to hold on. Jason turns his face ever so slightly so he can press a kiss into the entry point of Leo’s lightning scar

“You got me I'm here” Leo reassures, the call and response natural after so long, and Jason just starts up the smallest trail of Lichtenberg figures that creep up Leo’s neck. He follows the rougher patch of skin until it tapers off, and then he keeps going all the way to Leo’s mouth. By the time he's made it there to lock their lips together Leo is putty under him, just as he should be

“M gonna finger you” Jasons says when he pulls back a breath “that okay?”

“So okay” Leo agrees and then drags Jason back down to kiss him again

[antilocaprine]

Im chewing on waterbounds new chapter forever…im one of the readers that never read the books with daemons in it but i was chatting about the new chapter with my friends- most people wont survive that, right? Is there a way to survive it? Im sure itll be answered in the next chapter so I could just wait and see but I wanna tell you either way this fic rules so far!

(Waterbound)

I'm delighted that people are enjoying this silly little crossover. And you're chatting about it with friends - it's like a book club! Amazing! I feel like I should give you homework, but the only thing I would suggest is to read the His Dark Materials series, because if the daemon aspect of this story intrigues you, you would probably enjoy the books. I haven't seen the show, but I've heard good things about it. I haven't seen the movie, but I've heard bad things about it.

As for if what just happened is survivable...the short answer is that there's no Major Character Death tag on the fic! I'll put the longer answer under a readmore, because this chapter only came out a couple days ago and people might not want spoilers yet.

So, longer answer: this is not an unfamiliar experience! We've already heard Benrey talk about it when he said he and his daemon were "separated." In the books, there's a major plot point of children being "severed" from their daemons, where a daemon is ripped or cut away from them with terrible machinery and in a single swift action. There are also adults who have had it done, and it makes them...odd. Doll-like, almost, very incurious, very susceptible to suggestion. If their daemon is allowed to remain close, they can survive, but the connection between them - the feelings, the thoughts, the joining of body and soul - is gone forever, and the daemon becomes "a lovely little pet," as one antagonist says at one point (which is awful - that's your SOUL). But if the severed children and daemon are kept apart, they will both eventually die.

Separation is different from severing. Separation is slower, more purposeful. In the books, we meet several characters who have separated from their daemons - as mentioned earlier in Waterbound, there used to be a race of people called witches, who all had bird daemons. In the books, one of the final trial for the girls who became witches was to cross a waste that daemons could not enter on foot, thus tearing themselves away from them consciously, for the ability and the skills that doing so would open up for them. Humans can also separate from their daemons - two of the main characters do in the main series of books, one of the main characters does it in the prequel, and then the main character meets...like...SO MANY more people who are separated from their daemons in the sequel series. All of those separations happened consciously, purposefully, relatively slowly, and almost always with the understanding of what was happening and what they were doing.

That's what happened with Benrey - after his family's boats were attacked and his daemon settled in her final shape due to the trauma, he was hurt from the attack and needed medical attention, but his daemon was too big to go with him, and certainly couldn't go on shore. So he had to leave her in the water and walk up the beach, pulling himself away from her, hating it the whole time, and hating himself for doing that to her and to them and not knowing they'd be okay, just hoping. Witches may be extinct in this fic, but they were real once, so everyone knows the stories. Benrey just had to test the reality of the tall tales, and discovered that, in this case, they were true. After all, his daemon just settled as a mythical creature - so why not? What's one more thing? Why can't separation be real? And so he did it, and it was real, and they were, eventually, okay. But the pain is also real, and the trauma is real, and you don't just forget about that kind of thing. So no, the separation won't kill Gordon - he'll just wish he was dead.

[snootlestheangel]

For Bryn and Bailey:

What’s a hobby they would wanna try but haven’t for whatever reason?

Do they bite their tongue/inside of their mouth often?

What is their favorite frozen treat? (Snow cones, ice cream, popsicles, etc.)

What is their sleepwear like? (Nothing, t shirt shorts/pants, matching sets, etc.)

Pick two songs: one for the beginning of their story and one for the conclusion.

What is their worst nickname? What is their favorite?

Do they match their socks or just out whatever on?

If they had to turn into an animal what animal would it be?

What is their comfort movie/show?

How many blankets do they sleep with?

Do they have middle names? If so, do they hate them or like them? Would they not like being called by their middle name?

If they had a tumblr blog what would their username be and what would they blog about?

What is a part of you that you put into your oc?

What’s something you hope people notice about your oc?

Left, right, or ambidextrous?

What is something that inspires them?

Would they want a tattoo? If so, what would they get?

How do they feel about hats? (I have a vendetta against hats. They make my ears poke out.)

How is your character perceived by others? How true is that perception?

I hope these are okay. They were fun to think up! If it’s to many just pick and choose which ones you wanna answer!

And if this wasn’t enough I’ve got a longer list I use for my own ocs I can send!

Bryn would love to do jewelry making but she already works a lot with her hands and just doesn't have the time. Bailey would love to learn any instrument but her family never had the resources to let her learn. Don't worry, the second Nik and Price find out about this they're doing everything in their power to help her reach this.

Bryn doesn't chew on the inside of her mouth or anything, just mostly purses her lips. Bailey is constantly chewing on the inside of her mouth.

Bryn is a big fan of those fruit popsicles. Bailey loves most cold sweet treats, but her favorites are mint chocolate ice cream and Snickers ice cream bars.

Bryn often sleeps in shorts and a shirt, but sometimes just forgoes putting any bottoms on. Bailey is wearing those fuzzy themed pajama pants and old shirts that were hand-me-downs from her older sisters

I'm honestly gonna come back to the song thing. I can't think of any right now and I don't have the capacity for it atm. I really want to do it but I just can't get brain to do it

Bryn's worst nickname might be Cherub, which is a play on her callsign "Angel". Bailey's worst one is Bales, which is a play on shortening her name to Bailes, and then saying "hey" in front of it. So like, hay bales instead of "Hey, Bailes".

Bryn is chronically bad at never folding her socks and just picking whichever ones are close enough in style/shape to work. Bailey must have matching socks. She cannot function if she doesn't have matching socks.

Bryn might decide to be something like a horse or a deer. Something majestic in that area. Bailey would love to be a cat.

Bryn's comfort show is admittedly Friends. She knows its a bit overrated and stuff, but she still finds so much comfort in it. It always makes her laugh and it just feels good. Bailey's comfort movie is Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, but secretly, her comfort show is Crashbox. She grew up watching it with her siblings at her grandparents' house and she just would cry if she got to watch it again. (if anyone knows what Crashbox is I am platonically kissing you rn)

Bryn does have a middle name: Alice. It's after her grandmother and let me just say, she'll kill you if you call her Alice. It's one thing most people don't know about her, even if they've known her for years. Bailey's middle name is Rene, and she's okay with it. She'd prefer if you didn't use it, as it's the same as her mother, and she just gets emotional hearing it.

Bryn's tumblr would be something like "guardianangelthings" and she would be a medical related things blog. Just kind of give a lot of medical tips, lots of advice for things, and then lots of stories about things she experiences as both a combat medic and a doctor. Bailey's tumblr would probably be "grayseesincolor" and it's a blog based solely on photos. She reblogs a lot of photos of animals of all kinds, nature, people being people. Sometimes she includes photos she's taken. The whole point is like "here are things that made me happy so I'm sharing it"

Bryn is my gentleness, my desire to help and care for others. Bailey got all my autistic traits.

I hope people notice that Bryn will squint her eyes when she smiles, exactly like I do (just putting everything into that smile, it's why I get complimented on my smile so much). For Bailey, I hope people notice that she's unashamedly autistic. Part of the reason I made her autistic like me is cause I want her to be living a life that isn't like mine, where she was never made to feel like she needed to "hide" the autism.

Bryn is a bit ambidextrous by having trained herself. She's a medic and in the military, so she felt the need to be able to do things with her nondominant hand. She's technically right handed. Bailey is very right handed.

Something that inspires Bryn is when she sees recovered patients and they can show off how far they've come. Bailey is inspired by the hard-working, dedicated people that suddenly surround her life (the 141 boys and Laswell).

Bryn would want small angel wings on her back. She thinks it'd be funny/cute. Bailey hasn't thought much about tattoos, and isn't sure she would ever want one.

Bryn is okay with hats, but she's still a bit particular. Bailey either loves hats or hates them and it literally depends solely on her mood.

Um idk? I think Bailey is perceived as precious and sweet and that is exactly how she should be perceived.

[melloneah]

for soft asks! <3

What song makes you feel better?

What is your go to comfort show?

What’s your favorite candle scent?

Do you have a comfort item? Tell us about it!

Comfort food?

What’s something you want to create soon?

How do you feel best loved?

Tea, Coffee, or hot cocoa?

Have you ever received flowers?

Who is your bestfriend?

If your soul was a color, what would it be?

Obviously answer the ones you want! ^^ I hope you're doing alright, I haven't seen you in my notifications in a while so I'm glad to see that you're still active :3 Take care 🖤

AHHH TYSM FOR THE ASKS :333 always really happy to see u in my inbox <3 ive been a little inactive bc Life and stuff, but i miss this place!!! so i hope i can return full on soon hehehe

ok lets get into it :3 ill only skip ones ive answered here already

What is your go to comfort show?

rn it's def modern family, since it literally saved me and my dad from insanity this past month skdhfkhfsk it's just so wholesome but funny :3

What’s your favorite candle scent?

10000000% VANILLA TOBACCO. fav scent Ever. Always. perfume, room scents, candles. 📢 VANILLA TOBACCO.

Do you have a comfort item? Tell us about it!

i have a stuffed animal called 'duży piesek' (translates to big doggy) that i got when i was 7. my family and i went to a gas station and i couldnt take seeing all the poor stuffed animals in a big bin all alone so i started crying and refused to leave without one. fast forward to today, i still sleep cuddling him Every Night. he is the Perfect Cuddle Size and Shape, and i love him to BITS. ive only recently began worrying about the wear and tear and am actively researching stuffed animal restoration. he is missing an ear (back in middle school i used to smuggle an old phone to bed with me in the ear hole to read fanfiction :P) so i need to Find The Ear before i start any action towards it though.

What’s something you want to create soon?

ahhhhh there is SO MUCH! the main thing is my ep, which im actively working towards making (and so so proud of what i Do have ready), but making music is SO HARDDDD. ive been researching music production courses to make the job easier skhfksdhf. i also ordered some acrylic paint bc i Really Miss painting and want to go back to it soon. i have a vision for a mello inspired painting which will be SO COOL. ALSO i have 3 unfinished fics id love to complete eventually :3 this'll be a busy busy year for me but Only Good Things i hope <3

How do you feel best loved?

i think when people actively listen and ask me about things. ive always struggled with believing that people care about what ive got to say, or want to know how im going, so getting asked a question is often revolutionary to me......which probably means ive not been surrounding myself with Very Good Friends 😭 im working on this though, and keeping the kindest people closest, and not letting people's lack of interest chew into my self esteem :3 baby steps!

Have you ever received flowers?

nope! but this is because i actively yap about how i would far rather receive consumable gifts instead (and those consumable gifts are ALWAYS kinder chocolates. i love them. so much. omg)

Who is your bestfriend?

@vorareromantic has been such an absolute godsend to me. i have no idea what id do without them, especially recently with a LOT of death surrounding me. first my granny a couple weeks back, then just on saturday my good friend. it's been So Much and theyve been so absolutely sweet and amazing about it. i know i can always rely on them and call them if im struggling, and i never have to worry about bothering them. at some point they stayed up talking to me till like 7am their time 😭 penny i LOVE YOU!!!!!!!! THANK YOU FOR BEING SO SWEET!!!!!!!!

If your soul was a color, what would it be?

HJMNMHMMNNMnm. somehow this is the toughest question kjsfksdfkhskfsdh i wanna sayyyyyyy a soft yellow-ish orange-ish beige tone :3

please ask me nice things!!!! <3333

[slobodenkirk]

Oh my god my stupid ex was so boring and annoying. I don't know what colour these flags are...

- Doesn't chew pasta, he would eat it straight and then threw up whole pasta when he got too drunk in front of my friends he had never met after being rude to them

-Was mean and rude to and about my brother

- Total incel

-wore a shirt that said racist in it in big letters

- Has a receding hairline

-Would never sit next to me and would actively sit next to my roommate

-He sucks

- He only wore t-shirts and shorts, refused to wear pants ever

- Only drank gin, so at parties he would get too drunk and pass out

- Never wanted to hang out with my friends

- Has a youtube channel about breaking bad and better call saul

- His glasses prescription was so high it changed the shape of his face

- He went home for a week to go through all his Lego to find pieces to build a new millennium Falcon when he already had one

- Was totally autistic but he didn't think he was

- Only ate sandwiches

- Would be kinda rude about my family

- Was painfully quiet when meeting people

- Would hover-hand in every photo so bad

- Every time his roommates would come through the living room he would pull away from me so quickly

- Never pronounced "th"s

- Would watch one episode of some thing then go do something else, when I could just watch a whole season in one day

- Didn't hold his knife and fork correctly

- Would only order eggs Benedict

- Never wore fun costumes to parties

- He did have an Indiana Jones costume that he wore all the time, the only time he would wear pants and button up

- Bought a suit for a formal coz it looked like one Saul Goodman wore

- Would listen to Cruel Summer all the time til I was sick of it

- Never wanted to listen to my music

- Would never keep his facial hair even though he looked way better with it

- Never laughed at anything and if he did it was gross

- Said the r word all the time

- Runs a discord server for his YouTube channel

- Put inaccurate pronouns on my contact in his phone

- Called me lazy

- Called my car a piece of shit

- Never listened to me talk

- Was always on his phone on discord or Twitter

- Aways made comments about me cleaning my room or trying to get a job

- Wouldn't go anywhere with me

- Said that he would cum quickly for Natalie Portman

- Grinded his teeth so loud in his sleep

- Everyone said they've never spoken to him before

- I don't think I know anything about him

- He never asked me any questions and his answers to my questions were one word

- Would always shit on my favourite movies, shows, youtubers, bands

- Said 'I love you' quite early in the relationship and then stopped saying it at the end when I knew we were gonna break up

I should've never dated him, we were good friends, now its fucked up, I just wanna talk to him and send him funny meme and tik toks about Taylor Swift

[cjsinkythoughts]

Right From Left

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Avenger!Reader

Word Count: 3085

Warnings: !FATWS SPOILERS!, Cursing, Zemo being a punk, Bucky getting a little scary, some feelings, Sam being his fantastic, amazing, caring for everyone self

A/N: Here it is! At long last! I’ve been waiting for this episode and it was…holy fuck. I barely have words. And I can’t start or else I’ll be ranting for pages. Anyways, I know this Part is a little on the shorter side - not by much, but it still is - and it doesn’t even cover half the episode, but I’ve had a long day and I’m tired, so I’m going to sleep. I wanted to stop before Walker entered the picture too, because then I’m just gonna get more riled up and I’m working later. I’ll probably have another part out today, and then I’ll finish it tomorrow. Unless I can finish it today. I’ll try, but no promises.

Feel free to rant to me about the episode or the show, too, guys! My friends and I have been going back and forth about it for the past few hours. I’d love to hear your thoughts! I think that’s all for now.

As always, this isn’t beta’d so please excuse any mistakes! Thank you for reading, be kind to yourself and others, enjoy this part and stay tuned!

FATWS Masterlist

cjsinkythoughts Masterlist

!SPOILERS BELOW CUT!

You were avoiding him.

When you first got to Latvia, he had pulled you aside, eyes wide and pleading. “Doll, listen-”

“I really don’t think right now is the time to have the discussion we’re about to have.” Shaking your head, you avoided his gaze, your stomach twisting into knots. It was too much for you to handle; you couldn’t focus on the mission at hand and try to unravel the emotions that were making your gut flip like a gymnast. There were too many thoughts in your head, and you needed a clear mind.

“But-”

“Once this is all done, and our lives aren’t in danger. Once we’re back home, then we can talk, okay? Just…please. Not here. Not now.”

And he dropped it. 

It wasn’t that you didn’t want to talk about it. You just couldn’t. You had always been a ‘leave your baggage at the door’ type of person. Don’t mix work with personal. Not like you had much “personal” anyways when you first decided that was how it should be. And then your coworkers became family and your motto got a lot harder to follow. But you still followed it. And you would continue to follow it.

But that made you start avoiding him. Whether you meant to or not, everyone noticed, but no one said anything. Sam shot you a look when you didn’t offer to go with Bucky when he had to check something out. Zemo raised an eyebrow when he came back and, instead of immediately questioning him, you sat still on the couch, eyes glancing up briefly, before going back to playing with the strings of your hoodie.

You were paying attention to their conversation, especially when Karli Morgenthau was brought up, you just didn’t join in. Not even when Zemo mentioned the Avengers, eyeing you to see your reaction.

Honestly, you were tired, physically, mentally, and emotionally. Your shoulder hurt, your brain couldn’t process what the guys were talking about, and your heart couldn’t take any more hits.

It was something you’d been thinking about…you just thought it’d come after this mission.

“She will not stop. She will escalate until you kill her…or she kills you.”

“Maybe you’re wrong Zemo. The Serum never corrupted Steve.”

For the first time since he first walked in, your eyes met Bucky’s. “Touche.” Zemo pointed at Bucky with a pastry around his finger. “But there has never been another Steve Rogers, has there?”

But you couldn’t wait until after this mission. Not when he was so connected to it. “I think I’m gonna go home.” You blurted out before Zemo and Bucky could argue further, Bucky slumping down onto the opposite side of the couch.

The moment the words left your lips, Sam and Bucky shot up, staring at you in disbelief.

“Wait, hold up. What? Now? We’re so close-”

“Why? Is it your arm? Is it hurting? You should’ve told us-”

“I’m just tired.” You cut in, shaking your head. “That’s all. I didn’t expect this to be drawn out this long when you called, Sammy.”

Bucky’s hand twitched as he hesitatingly scooted closer to you. “Doll, if this is because what happened on the jet-”

“It’s not, Buck.” You tried to give him a convincing smile, but you knew by the look in his eyes that he didn’t buy it for one second. You reached over to squeeze his hand, and when you pulled back, he held on tighter, a sigh escaping his lips as he stared down at your linked hands.

“Okay…if you wanna go home, we can get you home. Just…” His head turned back to you, a pleading pout on his features. “Just…stay. Another day. Please. You can keep avoiding me, I won’t even say another word to you if you don’t want. But stay. Just for one more day.”

Chewing on your cheek, you finally nodded slightly. “Okay. One more day.”

His eyes lit up, before his face fell again when you took your hand back and curled into the corner of the couch. “Let’s talk shop, boys.”

“Okay. So, from my understanding, Donya is like a pillar of the community, right?” Sam easily changed the topic back to the situation at hand, giving you a reassuring wink when you smiled at him gratefully. “So when I was a kid, my Tee Tee passed away.”

Bucky screwed his face up in confusion, straightening his head from where he had it leaned back. “Your - your Tee Tee?”

Sam gave him a look. “Yeah. My-my Tee Tee, yeah.”

Bucky looked at him weirdly. “Who is your Tee Tee?”

The exchange made you giggle a little bit, shaking your head. “Bucky’s a city boy from the 40’s, remember, Sammy?”

“Fine.” Sam rolled his eyes. “When I was a kid my aunt passed away.”

Bucky gave a slight huff, making you chuckle again. You stopped when he smiled over at you, but your grin didn’t leave your face. Even when they were the ones to give you a headache, your fellas were damn entertaining, that’s for sure.

With a sort-of plan in place - the gathering for Donya being no more than a theory, but the only idea you really had - you stretched out from your spot on the couch, twisting to crack your back. “Zemo.” The man stopped his rummaging through the cabinets and looked over his shoulder at you, an eyebrow raised. “Go put some clothes on. We’ve got work to do.”

He gave you an unimpressed look, opening his mouth, but Sam beat him to the punch. “Do as the lady says, man. You’re already walking on a tightrope after you shot Nagel!” Zemo waved dismissively at Sam’s exclamation, heading into a separate room to change out of his robe. “That guy is gonna drive me up the wall.”

“Don’t let him get to that pretty head of yours, Sammy.” You hummed, standing up, wincing slightly as you stretched your sore shoulder over your head.

You could tell Bucky wanted to say something, the way he snapped forwards, hands moving down his thigh like he was leaning over to reach for you, his eyes locked on your injured joint, but, just as he said earlier, he didn’t say a word. But the part that made you upset was…you didn’t stop him. You didn’t tell him it was okay for him to talk to you. You didn’t reassure him that you weren’t purposely trying to avoid him. You simply moved over to the kitchen to get something to drink.

It hurt worse than your shoulder, but you couldn’t handle it. Not then. Not with such an important part of the mission coming up. So you didn’t say anything. You just sipped your water, switching into tactic mode as your mind ran through the scenarios of what could possibly go down in the next 24 hours before you went home.

*************************

Walking under the arch, you couldn’t help but feel saddened as Zemo told you about what the courtyard used to look like. Thanos messed the world up so much more than you realized and, as much as you hated to admit it, the Avengers did have a part in it. Not that they - you - were in the wrong, necessarily. You truly believed you did what anyone in that situation, with the skills and abilities and knowledge the team had, would do what you did. Or tried to do.

“I’m gonna take a look around upstairs.” Sam stated, looking up at the upper stories of the building, before glancing at Bucky. “See what you can find out here. And keep an eye on him.”

“I’ll come with you.” You said, turning on your heel to follow Sam. The back of Bucky’s gloved hand brushed against yours, and instinctually you turned your palm to link your fingers and squeezing. You let go quickly once you realized what you were doing, nearly tripping up the stairs to get to Sam, not daring to wait for Bucky’s reaction.

“You’re an idiot.” He stated simply as soon as you met him at the top of the stairs.

“Can we focus on finding Donya right now, please?” You grumbled, moving forwards cautiously, peeking around the corner. You frowned when you saw two guys at the end of the hallway, looking back at you and Sam warily.

“You need to hear what he has to say, cher.”

You sighed, rubbing your forehead. “I know I do. I know. But I can’t. Not right now. I’m just trying to get this over with first. I don’t want too many things on my plate. I might choke.” It already felt like you were drowning most nights.

He paused at your words, giving you a once over, before nodding. “Okay. I can respect that.”

“Thank you.” You told him earnestly. “Now let’s try to get something from these people.”

He nodded in agreement and you two continued forwards with your search. Room after room, people walked out before you could get anything from them, locking doors behind them. The Flag Smashers logo was everywhere, but you expected nothing less from a refugee camp that practically worshipped what they were doing.

Even when you did get a guy to talk to you, he immediately shut you down, leaving you and Sam dejected. The fact that the world had gotten so bad that these people couldn’t trust you and Sam - Avengers; people who used to be heroes and bring hope to others - it made your heart sink.

“C’mon, Y/N.”

“Are we wrong?”

He froze at your question, his lips pressing together. “About what, exactly?”

You shrugged. “I don’t know. I just…I guess I can’t tell right from left anymore. I always assumed that the Avengers were the good guys. That the actions we’ve taken in the past were us making the world a better place, but…Sokovia and Ultron. Germany and the whole civil war thing we had going on. The entire world and Thanos. We don’t truly ever win. Do we?”

“I can’t answer that for you.” Sam shook his head. “I can’t tell you what to believe or who to believe in. But I can tell you that we’ve made a difference. Steve, Nat, Tony…they made a difference.”

“But was it a good difference? Was it a change? There’s a difference between changing the world and just making it different, Sam.”

He blinked at you, nodding slowly. “Yeah. I guess you’re right. And I don’t have that answer for you either. But they tried. They did what they thought was right. No matter if it was or not. And isn’t that all we can do? Try?”

His words made you think back to the conversation you had with Bucky once he learned about John Walker, which seemed so long ago. When you told him it wasn’t Sam’s fault. That he was just trying. That he did what he thought was right. 

And maybe he was wrong. But he made a decision. It was his decision. To do the right thing. And right then, not for the first time, you could see exactly what Steve saw in the man in front of you.

“You’re a good man, Sam.”

Sam grinned, slinging an arm around your shoulders and squeezing. “And you’re an incredible person, Y/N. Let’s go see if Bucky and the Baron got anything.”

You snickered at his mocking tone towards Zemo and nodded. “Yeah. Okay.”

*****************************

You didn’t like it. You didn’t like it one bit. So far, Zemo kept proving you wrong. Even when it seemed like he was about to jump ship, he came back. No matter how many opportunities he had to escape, he never did. And it was making you even more suspicious.

You stayed out of Bucky and Sam’s conversation, although you had to agree with Sam’s point, especially with the conversation you just had.

Your thoughts were running a thousand miles a minute, only to be interrupted by Zemo information about the funeral this afternoon. Guess a snake will always be a snake.

“And you, uh, didn’t think this was important information?” You questioned, eyes narrowed and brow pinched.

He shrugged. “You have it now, don’t you, princess?”

Bucky growled at the nickname, leaning back on the couch, threatening Zemo with the Dora Milaje.

You can’t remember a time you’ve ever been scared of Bucky. Maybe a little threatened and intimidated by the Winter Soldier, but never scared of Bucky. And when he stood up after Zemo mentioned leverage, you didn’t expect anything from it; maybe another choke hold or something. So the glass hitting the wall, the clench in his jaw as he spoke gruffly to the Baron, for a mere second, he kind of frightened you. Maybe it was all the emotions you’d been through the past few weeks or maybe it was the adrenaline that seemed to be pulsing through your veins 24/7 nowadays. Whatever it was, it made you flinch, bolting up as Sam did.

You left the room quickly, hearing Sam say something about making a call, hoping to calm your racing heart.

“Doll?” You sat up from the bed you were laying on, legs hanging off the edge. Bucky stood in the doorway, nervously shifting his feet. “I know I said I’d leave you alone, but…”

You gave the bed a pat next to you and he gladly accepted the invitation, padding over to sit besides you. “I don’t want you to leave me alone, Buck. You’re my best friend. I-I just need to take it one thing at a time right now.”

He nodded. “I get it. I wasn’t…I wasn’t coming in to talk to you about that. You said we’ll talk about it later, so we’ll talk about it later.”

“I appreciate that, Bucky.” You smiled at him, before frowning. “What did you wanna talk about then? Are you okay?”

“Did I…did I scare you?”

You blinked at his question, tilting your head. “What?”

Jerking his head to the doorway he explained, “just then. With Zemo. Your heart spiked.”

“No.” You answered immediately. You would never ever admit that he kind of did scare you. It was just for a second and you knew how his brain worked; he’d beat himself up over it, go over his actions for hours instead of getting the rest he so desperately needs and deserves. He didn’t need that on his conscience right now. “I wasn’t - I just…you startled me. I wasn’t expecting that reaction-”

“I didn’t like the way he talked to you.” He spat out, glaring at his hands in his lap. “And then the smug bastard thought he was gonna get away with holding back information like that and I just…I dunno.”

His hand came off his thigh, but he hesitated. Before he could put it down again, you slipped your hand under his, linking your fingers, running your thumb in circles against his palm. “Don’t let him get to you, Buck. Don’t give him the satisfaction.”

A sigh left his lips and he nodded. “I know, I know. It’s just…hard. After everything he put me through - put us through - I…I just hate that he’s really our only option.”

You frowned, shifting on the bed to face him, one leg bending beneath you while the other still hung over. “Why are you so obsessed with catching these guys?”

“I wanna do something right.” He murmured, playing with your fingers. “I’ve done so much wrong…I just wanna do something right. And I feel...responsible for it, I guess. In a way. It’s Super Soldier Serum. I thought I was the only one after Steve…” He froze at the blonde’s mention, giving you a side-eyed glance. You nudged him, silently telling him to continue, that it was okay to talk about him. “And Sam’s right, you know. She’s just a kid. So…I dunno. I wanna help. I wanna do something right. And catching them would help. It’s right. Right?”

You nodded firmly. “I understand where they’re coming from. Karli’s just trying to help the world. But she’s doing it wrong. And that I know for absolute certainty. Which is good, I guess. I was talking to Sam early and I mentioned not knowing my right from my left recently. It’s good I know something, huh? And for you it should be easy telling your right from your left.” You joked, tracing the gold lines on his metal arm. “I guess you’re just gonna have to stay besides me to help me remember.”

Looking up, you found Bucky staring at you with something you recognized in his eyes, but didn’t want to name. “Three hours, forty two minutes and thirty one seconds.”

“What?”

“That’s how long I didn’t talk to you. It was too long.”

You sighed, ducking your head. “Bucky, I’m sorry-”

“I’m sorry. For anything and everything I’ve ever done wrong. I won’t mention the plane or anything we’ve talked about until you bring it up first. I promise. Just…just don’t ignore me anymore? I'm not sure I can handle it for much longer.”

You nodded, watching your fingertips dance along his scruffy jaw. “I won’t.” He caught your wrist, opening his mouth, before shaking his head and closing it. “What?”

He shook his head again. “Not until you bring it up.”

“We will talk, James. I promise.”

“You don’t have to explain. I get it. I really do. It’s okay. As long as we’re okay for right now, I can hold it in a bit longer.”

You nearly asked him what he was holding in, but you quickly shoved the question out of your mind, knowing it would take you down a conversation you couldn’t possibly have right then. “How long do you think we have?”

He shrugged. “I dunno. Zemo just said that it’s this afternoon. Why?”

“I started reading The Great Gatsby on the plane. I’ve got it on my phone. It kinda reminds me of you. Do you-do you think we have time to read some? Only if you want, I mean. Like we used to do in Wakanda?”

He grinned and nodded, scooting up on the bed and flopping down into the pillows. You smiled back, following his lead. Once you were comfortable, your phone out with the chapter you were on, Bucky scooted closer, laying his head on your stomach, hugging your waist. 

“Is this okay?”

Your fingers found home in his hair and you nodded when he looked up at you for an answer. “Yeah. It’s perfect, Buckaroo.”

[streetlight11]

Till I Met You Again

Summary: Everyone is born with a life already planned out for them. Including their soulmates. Except, every person walking this earth has been given a specific soulmate marking that was similar to a tattoo to match their soulmate’s. The ink is invisible when one is born. To activate the soulmate marking, one has to be at least in a 20 feet radius to their designated soulmate. But of course, they wouldn’t know it until they start to notice the ink slowly appearing on their skin.

Theme: soulmate au, university au, enemies to lovers

Genre: angst, fluff

Warning: mild cursing

WC: 10k

Pairing: Soulmate!Yoongi x Fem!Reader

a/n: Hello! I kinda got too carried away in writing this one the other day, hence the word count for this is... woah. Hehe. But anyways, here's a soulmate au for you Min Yoongi lovers <3

Every person who was born into this earth has their life journey already written out for them in which it unfortunately remains a secret from them. And these living souls have been entitled to a soulmate that would potentially cross their path in the near future. Everyone is made for someone and the tattoo on their skin otherwise known as a ‘soulmate marking’ determines it for them.

The soulmate marking is nothing far from a tattoo as it imprints on your skin for eternity.

However, these markings will already be on you the minute you were born. Except, the ink will be invisible to the human eye.

But it’s definitely there. The only way to activate the marking is when one happens to be of 20 foot radius with their designated soulmate. This will cause the ink to start slowly appearing on one’s skin. Even so, these markings will start only when one has reached the age of 14. Only then will the ink start to be visible to one’s eye.

Unfortunately, until now when you’re already past 20 years of age, not a single tinge of ink was displayed on your skin. You’ve checked everywhere on your body. From your fingertips to your toes.

Nothing.

You weren’t really one who purely believed in this whole soulmate thing simply because you felt that there’s no such thing as a fixed soulmate. You should be free to choose who you want as your partner purely through interactions and chemistry you shared with the other, not by some marking on your skin. Your parents had a matching mark on their right wrists which was a simple rose in a glass jar.

No doubt you admired their love story and how they met, but you couldn’t see it for yourself. You really don’t want to fully depend on this supposed marking. Even when you went off to college, you’ve made it a point to try and go on dates no matter what their soulmate markings would be.

But it all turned out with the same ending. Either the guy dumps you for not having the same mark or they ghost you after the first date, saying you’re too good for them. All these never led to a heartbreak on your end because you were never in love to begin with.

You were simply trying your luck, trying to see if you’d find a single soul who was just as sceptical as you on this whole soulmate thing.

And so far, you’ve met none.

It was the start of university life for you as you’ve managed to enrol yourself for a Computer Science major in Hangang University. You took the same course during college, having interest in web design and computer technologies. You could only hope that the study load this time would give you a mental break every once in a while despite knowing the content is definitely heavier than college content.

But you still told yourself to persevere and never leave your knowledge hanging while you’re still young. With this mentality, you brought yourself to campus today for day one of university classes.

Taking a deep breath, you pushed the door to the specific lecture room for the first lesson.

Immediately, you were greeted by a room that had the majority of the students’ gender being males. But it wasn’t a surprise to you because CS majors tend to lean more towards males instead of females. This doesn’t bother you since you were here solely to study and perhaps make friends along the way.

You found an empty seat in the top last few rows. With careful steps, you climbed the stairs to make your way to the spot you had your eyes locked on. After you’ve settled down, you noted how the room was fairly quiet.

Probably because it was the first day of classes and nobody really knows each other yet. That was all pushed to the back of your mind when you heard chatting coming from the front door and you saw 2 friends walk in. It was pretty obvious they knew each other considering how they were laughing and talking freely to one another.

As you kept your curious gaze on them discreetly, you could only realise how good looking they were.

The taller one sported beautiful dark brown locks that were long enough to cover his eyes, his smile so charming you were sure anyone who crossed his path would fall for his smile in less than a second. And then there was the other one who sported a more edgy look with his shorter dark purple, undercut hair that was parted near the centre to show his forehead, a right eyebrow piercing to compliment his face.

You quickly diverted your gaze to your laptop screen, not wanting them to think you’re a creep. You were busy searching for the e-books for this lesson in your online school portal when you heard a gentle voice calling to you from your right.

“Hey, are these seats taken?”

You looked up to see the one with the eyebrow piercing staring at you with the softest smile on his face.

In response to his question, you simply mimicked his facial expression and shook your head at him. He thanked you quietly before the 2 of them settled down beside you down the row. They resumed their conversation for the next 3 minutes before the lecturer walked in to start the class.

Two hours later, you don’t even know how you managed to absorb the things your lecturer said but you did. You were typing out the notes he shared on the projector screen when you heard his voice through the speakers.

“I will let you go for your lunch break. Be back by 1pm, here. You can leave your bags behind since I will be locking the room once everyone leaves.”

With that, your classmates replied with a series of yes before they got up one by one ready to head for lunch. You were just typing out the last of your notes when the boy beside you spoke up. At first you thought he was talking to his friend. You completely missed the way he was turned to you.

Until he gently taps onto your forearm to tell you that his question was directed to you. With a turn of your head, you locked eyes with him for the second time that day. “H-Huh?” You stuttered, earning a stifled chuckle from him.

“I was saying, do you wanna join me and my friends for lunch? We’re already sharing classes, might as well get to know each other to prepare for future projects or assignments.” He kindly repeated himself for you, making you whisper a soft ‘oh’ under your breath.

It wasn’t like you to approach someone first when it comes to striking a conversation with a complete stranger. So when he did it for you, it surprised you that he even thought of letting you tag along with them to lunch. For this alone, you decided to accept his offer knowing he does have a point for that last statement.

With that being said, the three of you left the lecture room after bringing your wallets with you. You quietly followed beside the brown haired one as they immediately opened a topic for their conversation.

You were just checking your phone for the texts sent from your mom in your family group chat when a voice spoke up, addressing you directly.

“What’s your name?” You glance up to catch the one who asked the question was the brown haired one, as the purple haired one was already looking at you but it wasn’t intimidating in any way. So you found it easy to reply to them.

“Y/N.” You said as they all nodded only for the boy beside you to speak up. “Nice to meet you Y/N. I’m Taehyung. This is Jungkook.”

And so you know.

After almost 10 minutes of walking, you finally arrived at the cafeteria located on the other side of campus from where you originally were. The cafeteria was filled with hungry students and occupied tables. This wasn’t something new but at times like these, you’d rather bring your own food and sit somewhere that’s less crowded and bustling.

Just when you were about to excuse yourself and get a take out instead, Taehyung’s voice sounded from beside you, “Hyung said he found a table for us. They’re at the side near the drink stall.” He addressed it to the Jungkook in particular.

Hyung? Found a table? Did their other friends go to this same campus too?

You thought to yourself as Taehyung soon led the three of you around the cafeteria with you following behind them like a lost puppy.

You were busy looking at the available food stalls around when you were stopped by the voices that called out to the 2 boys’ names. Curious eyes wandered over their figures to see just who their other friends were and you were met with a table filled with relatively handsome guys.

There were 3 guys seated at that table, happily welcoming Taehyung and Jungkook. Just when you thought they had forgotten you, Jungkook turns around to show you to his friends.

“If you guys don’t mind, we made a new friend this morning and we invited her to join us for lunch. Her name is Y/N.” Jungkook announced as the three boys smiled at you warmly.

“Hey Y/N. I’m Namjoon, this is Seokjin and Hoseok. It’s nice to meet you.” Namjoon said as he stretched his hand out for you to shake in which you obliged. You definitely didn’t miss the intricate design of a floral arrow lining his inner forearm. That must’ve been his soulmate marking. You soon found yourself seated next to Hoseok and Jungkook after buying your meal.

You were chewing your noodles when Taehyung spoke up to catch everyone at that table’s attention, “Where are they? Shouldn’t their class be over already?”

“Apparently they just ended 5 minutes ago. Minie told me they’re on their way now.” Seokjin replied.

Who were the ‘they’ Taehyung was referring to?

Were there more of their friends?

Oh great.

You refocused on your food, taking a bite out of the chicken meat as you listened to their ‘first day of university’ story. You found out that Namjoon was a Psychology major, Hoseok was a Dance major and Seokjin was a Culinary major.

You were currently staring at the pile of vegetables that Taehyung so kindly transfers into your bowl, after he asked around on who wants the boiled carrots and broccoli to which you said yes.

Taehyung was passing you every last bit of vegetable to your bowl when a sweet voice spoke up from the end of the table nearest to Namjoon and Seokjin.

“Finally! I thought you’d never make it for lunch.” Namjoon laughed as you heard a much raspier voice speak up from the same spot.

“I wouldn’t miss lunch for the world.” You heard the others laugh when Taehyung finally finished clearing his plate off the vegetables before turning to the newcomers to say his hellos.

“Oh, by the way, we have a new addition to our circle. She’s in Taehyung and Jungkook’s class so they tagged her along for lunch.” Seokjin announced as he reached his arm behind Taehyung to place a soft hand on the top of your right shoulder. You finally looked up from your bowl to see who the newcomers were.

The first guy you locked eyes with had cute puffy cheeks, sporting a pretty dark blue hair colour as his bangs framed his face nicely.

“Oh hello. I’m Jimin.”

You smiled shyly at him before your eyes naturally travelled to the other individual standing right beside Jimin and that’s when you frowned.

Unsurprisingly, the male did too.

His hair was an ash grey colour that parted at the side to show his forehead instead of letting it cover his eyebrows like Hoseok’s did. He had a few piercings on each ear. If his physique was unrecognizable to you, at least his face was. You knew exactly who he was without having to ask him for confirmation.

“Yoongi?” His name rolled off your tongue effortlessly in a whisper, stirring reactions from the rest of them.

“Wait, you know each other?” Jimin asked in confusion as his eyes travelled back and forth between you and Yoongi. That’s when you heard the other scoff before locking his eyes with you.

“Never thought I’d see you again after all these years.” His expression was dry and almost unwelcoming unlike the smiles his other friends gave you upon your first meeting. “Never wished for this day to come either but here we are…” You said sarcastically.

The tension was so thick, you were sure you would have to cut it with a knife instead of a scissors.

You broke the gaze by standing up, claiming you’ve lost your appetite.

“I’ll see you guys in class.” You said, directing your words to your classmates before you snatched your phone and wallet off the table top along with your tray of food to return. With a quick glance to Yoongi, you ignored his burning glare as you shoved past him by the shoulders causing him to stumble back a little.

The table fell quiet as Seokjin was the first to break the awkward silence, “Well, that was unexpected.” Yoongi scoffed as he left the table to go buy his food, not bothering to wait for Jimin as his mind was clouded with the thought of you being in his circle of friends.

The history of you two goes way back when you were in both pre and high school. Your first ever dispute with him was in preschool, all because you were both fighting over the crayon box. And then gradually, more fights would happen over silly little things. It came to a point where your teacher would have to separate you from each other.

Your disputes continued after you found out that he just so happened to join the same high school as you, let alone the same class. It only made things worse. You two would bicker and fight almost everyday like a married couple.

Your friends teased you often with him for the amount of fights you got into with him. They’ve even grown accustomed to the harsh comments you had thrown to each other on a daily basis.

Not a day goes by without either him stepping on your tail or you having a payback for all the pranks he did on you to get you worked up. And yet, just when you thought you were free from seeing the devil himself again, life has its way with you and it bothers you to the core at this very instant.

Your lecturer arrived back at the lecture room 15 minutes before 1pm and it seemed like everyone else was still having lunch. All except you. “You’re here early? Have you had your lunch?” He asked as he proceeded to unlock the room while you lingered behind him, standing up after you saw him approaching from afar.

“Yeah, I did.” You smiled, stepping back into the room after he pushed the door open. You climbed the stairs again to where your belongings were, taking out your air pods to bury yourself in music.

Shutting out the world around as you rested your head in your arms on the table. You didn’t notice the people strolling into the lecture room, too busy drowning yourself in your own little bubble. All of it soon came crumbling when you felt a soft tap on your shoulder.

That’s when you look up to see the 2 of them back in their seats.

You glanced ahead to see that the lecturer had already flashed the new slides onto the projector screen which indicates the start of class again. So you took out your air pods and kept them in its case before tossing it into your bag.

Class resumed and your messy thoughts were shoved to the back of your mind, far away from your main focus right now which was your class.

After a dreadful 4 hours of lessons, your lecturer finally calls it a day. He reminded all of you to be punctual for class tomorrow, saying that he has some group discussions for the topic he would be teaching. Once everyone was dismissed, you kept your stuff back into your bag quietly.

You could tell the two boys were waiting for you since they hadn't moved a muscle from beside you despite already standing up and were just leaning against the table while they chatted. The minute you stood up, they pushed themselves off the table and only then did they start walking down the steps.

The three of you made it to ground level thanks to the operating lift, making your way to the parking lot that was right beside the campus entrance.

You were just talking to Jungkook about your hobbies when you noticed a group of 5 guys gathered at the steps of the campus grounds through your peripheral vision. You could only guess it was their friends due to the voice that calls out to those walking with you. They led you towards the bunch as you glanced over to everyone but him.

“Hey Y/N, how did you come here this morning?” Namjoon asked, his voice nothing but sincere.

“Public transport.” You said simply with a smile directed towards him, only for Seokjin to speak up, “Do you need a ride home? I can drive you?”

With that being said, you kindly shook your head with a smile, not wanting to offend him in any way for turning his offer down. “It’s fine, I can manage on my own. Thanks for the offer though. Maybe next time.” You said as you bid the rest of them goodbye, not bothering to look at the very person you’ve held your grudge on for years.

They watched as you turned in your heels and left, deadpanning your way to the front gates. Jimin sighed lightly before turning to Yoongi and asked for answers on why you and him weren’t on good terms.

But the latter only brushed Jimin off, saying he would explain some other time.

The rest of them soon dispersed to their own vehicles to head home after a long and tiring first day of university.

As more days began to pass, you were sometimes dragged by either one of your 2 classmates to hang out with their friends and girlfriends. If you weren’t mistaken, half of them already found their soulmates and were currently in a relationship with them. While the remaining half were still finding for theirs because it was either their soulmate markings had appeared on their skin but very faintly, or there was none at all.

But the amount of times you’ve recalled hanging out with them during the past three months were countable with your fingers. You avoided having lunch with them often ever since you found out Yoongi was in their circle. You didn’t want to seem petty but it seems like he too hated having you around.

Which means that the feelings were mutual on both ends.

It was a pretty warm day so right after you arrived back at your apartment, you headed straight for the showers. Slipping into the shower stream the minute your clothes were discarded.

The cold stream coating your shoulder down with it’s nice, cooling temperature to ease out the warmth in your body.

After you finished your shower, you took your towel from the rack and proceeded to wipe yourself dry. Stepping out of the cubicle, you walked over to the sink counter where your large mirror was glued onto the wall. As you were ruffling your hair with the towel to rid the excess water, you noticed something on your left rib through the reflection.

Is that…?

You glanced down at your skin to see a very faint outline of something on your skin. You blinked twice, not believing this.

When did it start showing?

Your mind was going feral at the thought of seeing your soulmate marking finally make its appearance onto your skin. Who was the cause of this? Why did it only appear now after all these years? If that’s the case then it means that your soulmate is someone from school.

“What am I thinking? This is all a load of crap. I can date whoever I want no matter what marking they have.” You said to no one in particular as you changed into your home attire.

A few days later, you were just in class alone in the morning. Taehyung and Jungkook had yet to arrive when a sudden voice from beside you made you jump. A soft curse emitted from your throat as you clutched to your chest from the minor heart attack. You turned to find one of your classmates whom you recalled his name to be Hanbin, towering over you to your left.

“Hey, I’m Hanbin.” He smiled at you, feeling your stomach get warm upon seeing him up close for the first time.

“Hey… I’m Y/N.”

“I don’t mean to be creepy or weird, but I’ve kind of noticed you going for lunch alone these days instead of with your friends?” He asked as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. You somehow knew where this was going.

“Right… Well, that is true I suppose.” You chuckled awkwardly, looking away from him briefly before turning your attention back to him.

“I see. Well, if you’re looking for company, you can go for lunch with me?” He said it more like a statement instead of a question and that in itself made you smile. You had just accepted his kind offer when you heard familiar voices approaching to where you were seated.

Hanbin’s eyes glanced past your shoulder only to flicker back to you, setting a reminder before he left.

“Lunch with me later, yeah?”

You gave him a soft nod as a smile crept onto your lips. At the same time, you felt the soft nudge to your right elbow. You already knew who’s the culprit. “Wasn’t that Hanbin? What did he say to you?” Taehyung asked as he took a seat beside you.

“He asked me to go for lunch with him.”

“So you agreed?”

“Mhm.”

“You wanna go for lunch with him but not us?” Taehyung asked with a pout, only for Jungkook to lean over and ask what was going on. You could only roll your eyes at them, not actually annoyed or anything. Just a reflex whenever someone tried to get your sympathy over something stupid.

“Give me a break. I’m not sharing a table with ‘you know who’. Wouldn’t wanna accidentally break the table with our arguments.” You flashed him a sarcastic smile that made him click his tongue at you in disbelief.

It has been two months since you first went to lunch with Hanbin and you have been doing that ever since. You noticed that his demeanour was starting to change too around you, maybe there was a mutual feeling settling in between the two of you after all.

It was a Saturday afternoon and you already made plans with Hanbin a week prior. He wanted to bring you out on a date to the amusement park and then maybe grab some supper before heading home. He picked you up at your apartment that evening in his jeep, looking quite handsome if you say so yourself.

The two of you spent the evening together, adrenaline rushing through you thanks to the rides you took. After enjoying yourselves at the amusement park, you were both tired from having fun so he offered to stop by and grab supper with you before sending you home.

You ended up getting fast food at the diner downtown. You were happy. You were grateful that he was nothing but sweet to you. But for some reason, deep down there was that voice in you that was screaming, “He’s not the one” and you hated it. You didn’t want to rely on the marking to determine your happiness.

What if you belonged to someone who has a different marking than you?

That’s possible right?

So when he finally parked right outside your apartment complex, he turned off the engine leaving his key in the ignition. The car fell silent for a moment before you decided to be brave and spoke up.

“Do you… wanna come up for a bit? We can talk for a while longer?”

With that, Hanbin frowned as he wondered if he should. He didn’t want to ruin a first date and he most definitely did not want you to have a bad impression on him.

“Are… Are you sure?” He asked quietly, to which you nodded.

When you didn’t get a proper response, you simply let out a soft giggle followed by, “come on” before you opened his jeep door to board off the vehicle. You left him no choice but to follow after you. Once you’ve made it to your apartment, you unlocked your front door and stepped inside allowing him to enter.

It took him a while as his eyes travelled all over your cosy apartment, admiring the minimalist interior. You told him to take a seat while you went to get him a drink.

A few minutes passed and you were both just talking freely on your couch when you noticed how his eyes always flickered down to your lips constantly as you spoke. This made you stifle a giggle and he caught on. He apologized for it but you brushed it off.

Just then, the room felt quiet all of a sudden as it was your turn to glance down to his lips.

Hanbin softly smiled as he began to lean closer.

Your heart was pounding in your chest as you could feel his warmth radiating off his body from how close he was to you.

Right when you felt your head get dizzy from the close proximity, you unconsciously whispered against his lips something that you would never normally do.

“Kiss me.”

With that being said, he pressed his plump lips on yours.

Immediately intoxicating you with how sweet he tasted. The kiss slowly got heated as he carefully guided your body back to lay on the couch while he hovered over you. His hands slid past the hem of your shirt, resting on your waist as he caressed your skin.

You slide your hands up his chest, wrapping them around his neck. He slowly pushed your shirt up using his wrists. Right when he’d just pulled away for a breather, his eyes travelled down to your bare torso beneath him.

His gaze seemed stuck on whatever he was looking at. When you realized he stopped and was staring at something on your body, you knew exactly what he saw.

“Is that…?” His voice was soft, almost sounding as though he was upset.

“Yeap…”

With this confession, he slowly pulled away from you, tugging your shirt back down and bringing you to a sitting position.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t…” He began but you were quick to hush him.

“It’s okay… Besides, I should be the one saying sorry. I already saw your marking the other day when you wore a tank top to class. I just thought you’d be okay with dating someone who doesn’t share the same mark as you. I guess I was being selfish…” You said.

Hanbin remained quiet as he listened to your reasoning. Suddenly feeling bad for stopping whatever you two were sharing, so abruptly like that. With that, he reached out to hold your hand, telling him that he was still sorry for reacting that way and for hurting your feelings by doing so.

But he told you he didn’t regret taking you out on a date today, that he genuinely had a good time with you and that he would love to still be friends with you if you allowed him.

You smiled at him before turning your attention to the flower pot sitting on your coffee table only for him to continue, “I just hope that you’ll find someone who will love you for who you are, doesn’t matter the mark.” For that, you smiled again. Thanking him for being sweet and thoughtful.

After he left, you couldn’t help but sigh. This was already the umpteenth time this happened to you.

But you couldn’t stay mad at Hanbin for turning you down simply because he didn’t reject you the way your other ex dates did. That was the reason why you let him go without holding a grudge.

The next few weeks, you’ve gone to lunch on an alternate basis between Hanbin and the guys. And every time you went with the guys, you could only prepare yourself for the constant bickering with the one and only, Min Yoongi and today was no different.

You were sitting next to Namjoon at the end of the table with the only space left empty being beside you. And it was as though luck wasn’t on your side, the only human left to arrive for lunch was none other than Yoongi himself.

You were just sipping your green tea when you heard his voice approaching towards your side of the table.

“Sorry hyung, that’s the only seat left.” Jungkook smiled sympathetically to the elder as you made it a point to not spare a glance over to him. You could hear his grunt of disapproval but nonetheless plopped his bag down on the chair before disappearing to buy his food.

When he did come back, you had just gotten a whole chunk of chocolate fudge cake shoved into your mouth by Taehyung who was seated opposite you.

You were unable to pull the dangling piece of cake into your mouth so you tilted your head back. But instead of the cake entering your mouth, it ended up falling into your hands when you felt your head crash into something behind you.

And the hiss just told you who it was.

“Watch it before I spill hot soup on you.” Yoongi said as he placed the bowl of steaming noodle soup on the table top beside your tray.

“Don’t worry because I’ll make sure it spills on you too.” You challenged him back, earning a glare from him.

You heard a few sighs coming from some of the guys but you couldn’t care less. You busied yourself by scrolling through your social media in hopes that the time would just pass by quicker so that you can be away from him after lunch ends.

A few days later, you had just finished your shower when you noticed your mark slowly growing more and more opaque. To which you could finally see the design of it.

It was a dream catcher.

A pretty one at that. You softly traced your finger over the outline of the detail, keeping your eye on the reflection. Just then, a soft sigh left your lips.

This means that your designated soulmate has supposedly crossed your path more than once. But seeing how the ink is getting darker with each passing day, could only mean that if not often, this person is near you at least more than 3 times a week.

A week went by and Jungkook had invited you to his birthday slash pool party that weekend. He invited only the guys and some of their girlfriends. You’ve met the girlfriends a few times and they’ve all been pretty sweet to you so far. All of them are so down to earth. You told Jungkook you’ll be there, earning a happy soft clap from him when you said so.

On the day of the party, you had just finished your shower when you noticed the water droplets underneath you weren’t clear. You looked harder only to realize those weren’t water.

It was blood.

“Great… Thanks mother nature…” You huffed as you went to get your feminine item from your cupboard. After successfully changing into the attire you chose for the day, you tied your hair into a messy ponytail before leaving your bathroom.

You wore simple denim shorts and a loose shirt tucked into your jeans.

When you actually made it to Jungkook’s house, you were surprised to know that he was living in a one story house with a built-in pool ready when he moved in.

Apparently his parents were pretty wealthy people so they bought this house for him, saying it would give him the opportunity to take responsibility in keeping the house clean and tidy rather than his mother having to do it for him all the time.

You called Jungkook’s phone only for him to pick up on the second ring. You told him you were at his front gate so he hung up the call and rushed over to you.

Once you were inside his beautiful compound, he brought you towards the back through his side garden. Distinct voices gradually get louder the nearer you get to them. The minute you turned round the corner, you instantly saw more than half of them in the pool including the ladies.

Seokjin and Taehyung were over at the barbeque grill, cooking the meat for everyone. There was a table filled with all kinds of snacks and sweet drinks. It was a full on pool party.

Just then, a familiar voice rings in your ear already knowing it belonged to Hoseok.

“Y/N! You made it! Come join us!”

You stopped at one of the chairs only to put your sling bag down and apologized to him, “Sorry to burn the mood, but I can’t. Monthly calls.” You could hear some whines and sad pouts forming on some of their faces right after.

“Aww man, that’s a total bummer.” Jimin said, making you shrug.

However, you noticed a figure leaning against the wall on the other side of the pool just blankly staring at you. That’s when you glanced over to see Yoongi. You held your stare for a moment before you turned away. Missing the way he was still staring at you even when you were making your way to Seokjin and Taehyung.

A few minutes later, you were just talking to Jiyeon who was taking a break from being in the pool. You sat facing each other but from where you were seated, your back was facing the grilling pit.

Jiyeon was just talking to you about baking when you noticed someone swimming to the side that was aligned with where you were sitting.

Only to realize it was Yoongi.

He placed his hands on the edge of the pool and soon pushed himself upwards. You watched as water flowed down his body effortlessly. Cursing yourself for even staring at his shirtless form. He pushed his wet hair out of his face, resulting in him having sort of a slick back hairstyle.

He was too busy talking to Hoseok and Jungkook who were still in the pool, his head completely turned away from you.

Right when you were about to look away, your eyes caught sight of the imprinted ink on his left rib. You didn’t think much of it as you turned away from him. But then something in your brain ticked you off like a time bomb. So you carefully turned back to him just a few feet away from you.

That’s when you saw it.

The dream catcher on his left rib is so prominent and bold against his milky skin. Not to mention his toned abs. A soft gasp left your lips as he walked past you without sparing a single glance at you.

But you didn’t mind it. You were glad he didn’t see how shocked you were because if it did, he would have said something about it.

So instead, you just got up and left, entering Jungkook’s home through the glass doors frantically. You rushed in and went straight to the said destination. Once inside, you took a moment to steady your breathing as you brought your gaze up to the long mirror that laid upon you on the wall landscape.

You carefully pulled your shirt up to expose the ink on your own skin. You could only stare at it through the reflection before looking down at your own torso and gently tracing your finger over the outer rim of the dream catcher’s hoop.

You didn’t know how long you were gone for. It wasn’t until a voice broke your train of thoughts.

“Was it really necessary to rush into someone’s house like-”

However, his speech got stuck in his throat when his eyes flickered over to the reflection in the mirror. No it wasn’t your face he was staring at. It wasn’t the soap bottles lining Jungkook’s sink.

It was your mark on your left rib.

You swiftly pulled your shirt down to hide it from him from seeing any more details of it. With quick hasty steps, you turned to leave the bathroom and had barely taken a step out into the hallway when he grabbed your wrist and pulled you back to face him.

“Show me.” He said firmly.

“Show you what?”

“Don’t play dumb, you know exactly what I’m talking about.”

“I- I don’t know what you mean-”

Without warning, Yoongi used his free hand to lift your shirt up to stop right below your bra line as his hands naturally cupped your sides to keep your shirt there. He finally caught a clear look of the inked design on you, seeing how familiar it looked to him.

You could’ve sworn you saw his eyes flicked wider for just a millisecond before it went back to its original state.

For some reason, your lung felt restricted and your heart dropped upon seeing the same mark on his skin at the same exact spot as yourself. You wanted to run away. All you wanted to do now was to be as far away from him as you can.

So you slapped his hands away, making him lose his grip on you before you turned around to leave.

He grabbed your wrist again but this time, you mustered whatever strength you had left to yank your arm from him. Tears stinging your eyes as it threatens to fall, yet you don’t fully understand why.

“Don’t! J-Just… leave me alone… please.” Your voice falls into a whisper as you rush to the backyard, ignoring their worried calls as you simply told them you weren’t feeling well because of your monthly calls. When Yoongi did come back to the backyard, he was questioned as to what happened back in the house and why you looked like you were about to cry.

Yoongi couldn’t help but stare at your descending back just in time before you turned the corner and disappeared fully from sight. Only for him to lie to them despite knowing exactly why you left.

“She wasn’t feeling well.”

The week went by and you have been avoiding coming relatively close to the rest other than the 2 who were obviously unavoidable. But it’s not like you had anything against them. You just wanted to avoid Yoongi at all costs for now. It was a Friday and you had just finished your classes for the day when the two boys exchanged glances to each another before Jungkook spoke up.

“Hey, do you wanna grab something to eat with us after this?” You knew he was being nice. You knew he wasn’t to blame for Yoongi having the same exact soulmate mark as you. So for that, you chose not to lash out at him.

“It’s fine. I’ll pass.” You smiled half heartedly and they could tell. But thankfully, they chose not to question further.

The three of you were walking towards the main entrance as usual when you saw the rest of the group seeming to wait for you three. You glanced up to Jungkook beside you who gestured a small wave to the others, only for you to accidentally look over.

And the first thing you saw was Yoongi already looking at you.

Great.

Before you could get to close, you bid your goodbyes to your friends as you separated from them to head towards the gates. Nobody has yet to know why you were acting this way other than Yoongi himself. You were just halfway through the parking lot when a firm grip on your wrist made you turn after being tugged back gently.

You nearly crashed into the figure whom you weren’t surprised when you saw it was him.

“Stop acting like a child.” He said, his tone held something much more than just firmness. He sounded like he’s… hurt almost.

“So what? This marking thing is a load of bullshit. Why does it determine who we should be with? That’s unfair! I’ve seen couples who have different marks and yet they’re still happy together?!” You said, clearly letting your emotions take over your mind.

“If you think it’s bullshit then why are you ignoring me like I’ve just killed your pet?!” He asked, his voice now a tad louder than it was before.

“Because all the guys I’ve tried dating care too much about these marks! Every single one of them ditched me when they found out I didn’t have the same mark! And what are the odds that the one person who has the same exact mark as me, happens to be the one person that has been nothing but a daily source of fight with me?” You paused as his grip on you loosened, his glare suddenly softened.

“Of course I couldn’t believe it… I didn’t want to believe that of all people, it’s you… That’s why I ignore you.” Your voice grew soft as you saw the way his eyes flickered back and forth on your own brown pupils.

“So you’re saying you hate me? Is that it?” His question was simple but it held a thousand meanings and you knew it.

“I don’t even know anymore, Yoongi…” You whispered as you slowly pulled your hand out of his grip and quickly left before he could say anything else. Yoongi stood there trying to process everything. Still not entirely sure of what just happened. Just then, a gentle hand on his shoulder made him return back to reality.

“Hey man, you okay?” Namjoon’s calm voice spoke from beside Yoongi as the latter could only nod.

“We heard your conversation… Well, we didn’t intend to anyways… But, is it true? That you both have the same mark?” Namjoon continued.

He could hear the soft, quiet curse leaving Yoongi’s lips during his exhale before he spoke up, “Yeah… That was actually the reason why she abruptly left during Jungkook’s pool party.” Yoongi explained and it all began to fall into place for Namjoon. The younger could only nod as he finally put the pieces together.

“Mmm, and so I’m guessing she’s too overwhelmed with the fact that you have the mark out of a billion people to walk this planet?” Namjoon said.

“Bingo.” Yoongi sighed as the two began to walk back to their friends who were still gathered at the entrance despite hearing the commotion earlier. If space is what you need, then space is what he shall give. But of course, you can’t run from him forever.

It has been two weeks since your outburst with Yoongi and you have been keeping your distance from him again. The guys also didn’t try to tag you along knowing fully well that you needed space from Yoongi. For that, you silently thanked them. It was a Saturday night and you had made it a point to go for a quick grocery run to stock up your refrigerator with edible food.

After getting all the items you needed, you went to the queue. The lady at the counter scanned every item on the conveyor belt and went ahead to put it in the plastic bag before telling you the total cost.

You were about to reach into your jeans pocket when you noticed them being flat.

You felt around the pockets of your jeans and it was in fact empty. With that being said, you mentally cursed yourself for not bringing your wallet with you. Not only that, this store was the only one nearest to your apartment and it was closing in 10 minutes.

You wouldn’t make it back in time if you went home now to retrieve your wallet.

So you apologized to the lady who looked equally done with her job as you left the store empty handed. You were just walking down the partially empty street when you felt something drop onto your cheek. You stopped walking to feel what it was. Before you could touch your cheek, another drop hits the top of your head. And then another. And another.

“Fuck my life…”

You whispered to yourself as the sky suddenly began to downpour on you. Watching as some people ran across the road for shelter, some whips out their umbrella to shield them from the rain, some simply stayed indoors to avoid being caught in the rain.

However, you were too tired to even care about seeking shelter. Feeling as if today was the worst day of your life.

You continued to stroll down the street completely soaked under the rain.

You wrapped your arms around yourself in attempts to keep yourself warm but it clearly did no shit for you. Absent minded to notice your surroundings, you didn’t hear the calls for your name until the vehicle came to a gradual slow speed beside you on the street.

“Y/N!”

It was Yoongi.

“Leave me alone…”

“Y/N, why in the world are you walking in the heavy rain? You might fall sick, you dummy.”

“Who c-cares?” Your lips were starting to quiver from the cold.

“I do.”

You could’ve sworn your heart just skipped a beat at that response.

“Look, let me take you to my place and get you dry clothes while waiting for the rain to stop. I’ll send you home after.” He said.

“I d-don’t need your… h-help, Yoongi.”

He let out a soft groan in annoyance with your stubbornness, only to drive a little further down before bringing the car to a complete stop. You were about to carry on walking but your feet just came to a halt when you saw him running out of his car and coming to you.

“Come on and stop whining like a little kid.” Yoongi said as he grabbed your wrist and began jogging back to his car, pulling you into the passenger side before going back to the driver seat.

Once safely inside, he drove off into the night and made a left turn at the junction while your apartment building was to the right and probably about a 20 minutes walk. The car ride was quiet as neither of you said anything. You simply let him do what he said he would. When he finally brought the car to a park, he turned off the engine and soon climbed out of the vehicle.

You followed suit as he had already come over to your side to hold the door for you. After he’d locked the car, he led you to his apartment complex as you followed behind him. You took in the interior of his apartment complex, it looked slightly older than yours but still well maintained.

Apparently, he lived on the 14th floor unlike you who lived on the 5th floor.

He soon pulls out his house key and proceeds to unlock his front door. He opens the door for you, letting you step inside first. Once he had closed the door behind him, he told you to wait there as he excused himself to go get you a clean towel and new dry clothes for you to change into.

You took in the minimalist setting of his apartment, quite similar to yours except your walls are white and his is grey.

Yoongi came back with a handful, telling you where the bathroom was.

You followed his directions and soon closed the bathroom door once you’ve stepped inside. In the meantime, Yoongi had gone to change out of his own wet clothes into a clean pair of his sweatpants and a hoodie. He was boiling hot water to make hot chocolate for the two of you when you cleared your throat behind him.

He turned around at the sound, only for him to scheme through your outfit in which he had so specifically chosen for you. He had lent you one of his sleeping shorts and an oversized black hoodie that looked a little too big on you.

But for some reason, you looked good in them.

He almost had to pinch himself for staring too long before he finally spoke up, “Uhh, my dryer’s in the laundry room. Second door to the left.”

You nodded as you disappeared back down the hall, only for him to mentally curse himself for losing his composure. After 2 minutes or so, you came back having managed to turn the dryer on.

He handed you the cup of hot chocolate, not forgetting to thank him for it.

There was a short moment of peaceful silence before he gestured over to his living room. The both of you went over to the couch as you sat on either ends of the furniture. He turned his tv on and was busying himself with searching through Netflix when you mustered up the courage to ask him what was on your mind for the past half an hour.

“Why did you help me?”

Yoongi turned to you briefly, unsure if he should answer the question truthfully.

“As much as we fight, I’m not entirely heartless.”

Your eyes bore into him as you soon found yourself looking down at your hands when he turned to look at you. If it wasn’t for the tv, you knew for a fact that he could’ve heard the thumping of your heart. Silence fell over you two again but he broke it as soon as it started.

“Why were you walking in the rain?”

“I was on a grocery run.”

“But I don’t recall seeing you carry any bags of groceries?”

“That’s because I couldn’t pay for it without my wallet…”

He raised his eyebrows at you in disbelief, finding it ridiculous that you only realized it when you were checking out of the store.

“Shut up. This kind of stuff happens okay…” You scoffed, earning a quiet chuckle coming from him followed by an, “Okay, okay.” The room fell silent again and you were just playing with the strings of your hoodie.

Silently wishing for time to pass quicker but it seems like the rain only got heavier.

“Look, I think we should just forget about the whole marking thing and just… start over?” He said, causing you to look at him but he seemed like he was diligently avoiding your gaze.

“Start… over?” You dragged your words to show that you wanted a slightly more detailed explanation.

“What I mean is… let’s stop ignoring each other and stop fighting over the smallest little issues like we did when we were young. Back then we were still young and immature. But we’re not anymore, are we?” He ended with a question, making you huff.

You know he has a point but your ego is still higher than ever.

“Are you only saying this because I’m your soulmate?”

“No. I really am tired of fighting with you.”

“Why now? Why only want to call truce after you’ve seen my mark? Doesn’t that say a lot?” You were stubborn and he knows it. And yet, he still answers you to clear all your doubts.

Surprisingly patient with you.

“I know it might look like what you think, but it’s really not. I don’t care about the marking much like you. But after thinking about it, I feel like it’s actually childish to hold a grudge on each other for the things we’ve done years ago, don’t you think?” He explained, hoping it’ll get past that rock solid head of yours.

Your heart knows he’s right but your mind forces you to say otherwise.

With that, you huffed as you got up and excused yourself to go check on your clothes. Before you could make it past the first door on the left, he grabbed your wrist and tugged you back.

He pressed you against the wall with his other hand beside your head to trap you.

Your free hand hovered in between both yours and his chest as he was less than 4 inches away. Your faces were so close you could feel his breath hitting your lips. You would’ve slapped him if he did this years ago.

But now?

“Why are you so stubborn?”

He asked, his voice low as you kept your heated gaze on his eyes even though you saw the way his eyes flickered back and forth between your eyes and lips.

Rising heat from both anger and his body temperature radiated off him, engulfing you like a cocoon. You could’ve sworn you saw his pupils dilate a few times now that he was this close to you. It was quiet in the hallway as he frowned, still waiting for an answer from you. But instead, you gently pressed your hand on his warm chest that was in between your bodies.

This was enough to make him flinch slightly. His crammed face relaxed for a moment when he looked down at your hand on his chest before looking back at you.

Even more confusion struck him.

Your heart was racing rapidly in your chest, and you were so sure he could hear it. You couldn’t bear to look at him any longer so you looked down at your hand as you slid it up towards the necklace he was wearing. Playing with the pendant in between your fingers.

You didn’t realise this but his grip on your wrist was long gone and was now slowly snaking that arm around your waist.

Yoongi leaned in very subtly to let his lips brush against yours just to see your reaction. He closed his eyes, taking in the feeling of having you this close for the first time. You did the same as your other hand rested on his left bicep. Before you knew it, he closed whatever remaining gaps in between only to kiss you.

Your heart exploded in your chest as he used the hand beside your head to cup your cheek. You leaned into his touch while you reciprocated the kiss. Yoongi’s grip on your waist tightened as he pulled you against him.

He felt both your hands now just holding onto his biceps for support, his lips tugging upwards against your mouth.

You could feel his muscles flexing under your fingertips as he pulled away from your mouth and was now trailing soft kisses down your neck. A soft sigh left your lips, feeling him give some love to the part that joins your neck and shoulder blade together.

“Yoongi…” Your voice came out as a mere whisper.

Just when you wanted to say something, your breath hitched in your throat when you felt his hands slip past your shirt only to rest them on your sides when your mark was.

His touch was gentle but it definitely did something to your poor heart.

“Answer me truthfully… Are you okay with… this?” Yoongi asked, gesturing between you and him. “With us? Because you can say no if you’re really against this. I would never force you.”

You stared at him for a while, rethinking your answer. You’ve been so firm about not caring who has the same soulmate mark as you because you thought it was all bullshit. But now, standing in front of him and knowing that he has the mark, not only that but he seemed like he really genuinely likes you is making it twice harder for you to say no.

But your silence was too long for him as he counted to 3 in his mind. When you didn’t respond, he slowly nodded. Pulling himself away to leave a space between you.

“It’s okay, I understand… I think your clothes are dry. Go change, I’ll wait outside.” His voice was quiet as if he’s too upset, he can’t even look you in the eye. You felt bad. You never wanted him to feel this way. So when he turned in his heels to walk away, you yearned for him to come back.

Yoongi was halfway down his living room when he felt a smaller hand slide into his right one. His step came to a halt as he kept his back to you.

He was about to ask if there's something wrong but all he got was a soft apology.

“I’m sorry…”

You watched as he remained still, his back still facing you. Doing nothing to turn and look at you. Yoongi wasn’t sure what he wanted to do at the moment so he kept quiet.

Just then, you used your other hand to cup his that you were already holding. He would be lying if he said he didn’t like this. But he definitely wasn’t prepared for what you were about to do next. You weren’t sure if you trust your voice so instead, you took a few steps closer before wrapping your arms around his waist.

Pressing your cheek against his back. You stayed like that for a few seconds, basking in the sweet vanilla scent of his.

You could feel him tense up when you first hugged him but he soon relaxed in your arms.

You didn’t dare to do anything else, all until you felt him softly caress your arms only to lock his fingers with yours over top of your hands. You only nuzzled your face deeper into his back, afraid to look at him.

But when you feel him slowly move around in your arms, that’s when you let him face you.

The minute he sees your face, he immediately cups your cheeks and wasted no time in kissing you ever so sweetly. The butterflies in your stomach erupted as you snaked your arms around his shoulders, feeling him pull you closer to him by your waist.

He held you securely against him all the while never leaving your lips. You were the first to pull away, keeping the distance small between you and him.

Your eyes were still closed so you depended on your senses.

That wasn’t until you felt him cup your face again, caressing your cheek with his thumbs. The room fell silent as he brushed his soft lips against yours and whispered to you quietly, “Can we start over?”

You opted for just a nod, unsure if you could trust your voice. You opened your eyes to see him staring at you so softly with his doe round eyes.

Yoongi smiled, whispering an ‘okay’ before he kissed you again. He wrapped his arms around your waist as you melted against his lips. He took his time with you, making sure you were comfortable and that you really wanted this. He never wanted to hurt you in any way. He kept asking for your permission before he did anything and you appreciated it.

You woke up the next morning to a warm feeling engulfing you from behind. You stirred in your sleep, trying to see what it was. But the squeeze around your waist made you look down to see the familiar arm draped over your waist, tucking his hands underneath you. The silver bracelet around his right wrist could never be mistaken for someone else.

Just when you were about to snuggle deeper into the warmth of his body, you felt him kiss the back of your head. Your heart pounded in your chest, stomach flipped in your belly.

“Mmm, good morning.” He whispered, his morning voice low and raspy.

You sighed in content as you turned around to face him, only to find that he still had his eyes closed but there was a smile that crept on his lips.

With that, you smiled as you planted a soft kiss on his lips. You could feel him smirk against your lips, earning a soft giggle from you. His arm that was supporting your head, bent at the elbows as he began to play with your soft hair.

The next day, you came to school feeling a little down in the weather. Maybe it was a late reaction to when you got drenched in the rain. You were sniffling in your seat when Taehyung and Jungkook immediately caught the sight of your red nose.

“Hey, are you sick? Your nose is red.” Jungkook said, his voice laced with full concern. You simply shook him off saying it was just light flu.

The other two weren’t buying it, they said they would go get medicine for you after class and you all but rejected them. The last thing you’d wanna do was to burden them.

So after your morning class has ended and you have been dismissed for lunch, the three of you made it to the cafeteria only to find the rest of the guys already seated. But you and Yoongi still haven’t told them about your resolve yet. So they thought you two were still ignoring each other.

“Hey guys! Y/N? Are you okay? You look kind of pale…” Namjoon asked, making you smile.

“It’s just a little flu, that’s all.” You said, completely missing the way Yoongi was staring at you with pure concern.

“Do you wanna go home and rest?” Hoseok asked in which you shook your head, before a squeaky sneeze left your lips not forgetting to cover your mouth while you did. “Sorry…” You whispered an apology, earning a few laughs from them. Just then, Yoongi got up without a word, leaving the table.

You watched as he disappeared down the aisle towards the drink stall. You wondered what he was doing but nevertheless shrugged, going to the empty seats beside him and Jimin.

You took a seat beside Yoongi’s empty chair, not really having the appetite to eat.

You were just rejecting Jimin’s offer to feed you some of his food when Yoongi came back with a glass of hot tea, a bottle of water and a strip of two panadol flu tablets. The rest of them watched quietly as he sat down beside you and handed you the drinks.

“Here, take this.” He said softly, pulling your hand up to push the two tablets out of the strip onto your open palms.

“Oh? Since when are you guys on good terms?” Taehyung asked in utter confusion.

“We’re not. We’re just acting.” Yoongi replied sarcastically before twisting the bottle cap open for you. He waited for you to throw your head back and let the tablets fall into your mouth before gulping down the water.

After you were done, you thanked him quietly. You didn’t miss the little smirk on his face.

“Okay…” Seokjin said as he gently slammed his hands onto the table top, making some of you flinch.

“What’s going on? Last week you were both ignoring each other and now you’re taking care of her like she means the world to you?” He asked as you turned to Yoongi for help.

“Don’t you know the saying ‘People change’?” Yoongi said.

“Of course, but it’s almost too drastic. Just over the weekend too.” Seokjin said in disbelief.

“Well, I guess it happens.” Yoongi shrugged as Jungkook directed his question to you.

“So I’m guessing you too?”

“No. I still hate him.” You lied.

“Is that so? Then why are you holding his pinkie?” Hoseok smirked, pointing to your intertwined pinkie on the table. With that, you quickly removed your hands from Yoongi.

“Hey... Why did you let go? I was about to play with your fingers.”

Yoongi said with a small pout, making you blush. Just then, Yoongi reached back over to lace his fingers with yours, resting your hands on his lap only to steal a quick kiss to your cheek.

This stirred a few dramatic gasps from your other friends. “Did you guys see that?! That was- omg!” Seokjin’s voice was too loud, making Jimin cover his mouth with his hands.

“Oh hush your pie hole dust. Just let me be happy for once.” Yoongi smirked as you felt him caress the back of your hand. He’s definitely going to be a handful but you’re more than happy to entertain his crap.

~~~

[capricorn-stark]

Bubblegum

pairing: conner kent x gn!reader

warning: zilch

a/n: when I say conner I almost always mean 90′s kon-el lmao. also this is dedicated to my one anon who asked if I wrote for 90′s kon, ily babe and yes I do lol

“Nah, that’s not how you do it.”

You made a noise of protest at the judgment in Conner’s tone, face already red from how long you had been trying to succeed in your latest mission. It offended you how hard he was trying to suppress a laugh, the corners of his mouth twitching as he tried to maintain his very, very cool demeanor. 

Okay. So clearly, it wasn’t going all that well, but that wasn’t all your fault; one would think that if you had a product literally labeled bubblegum, you’d be able to actually make a bubble with it.

But you clearly couldn’t, so if anything, it was the gum’s fault. 

Sensing your (somewhat) obvious struggle, Conner finally fully turned his attention away from the TV screen to face you, one brow arched as you attempted to blow a bubble with your bubblegum once again.

“Don’t give me that look,” you scoffed, pausing from your attempts to shoot a half-assed glare at him. “I almost got it, I had something for a sec-”

“‘Course you did, babe,” Conner agreed with an infuriatingly easy grin, already reaching over you to grab the bright pink packet sitting beside you. “I totally saw it. You were real close, just like you said you were five minutes ago-” 

“Like I said,” you interjected, continuing to aggressively chew your gum as he unwrapped a piece and tossed it into the air, catching it in his mouth like a show-off. “I almost have it-” The corners of his lips were twitching once again in his gracious attempt to keep from laughing as he watched you make another attempt. You gave him a glare while you tried again, a twinge of hopefulness rising in your chest when you started off with a meager bubble after long last - and felt said hopefulness pop along with said bubble about 0.2 seconds later. 

“So close!”

“Oh, ha ha,” you began with a huff as he finally burst out laughing, elbowing you while you tried to glare at him again. It was difficult since the whole thing was so ridiculous you couldn’t even blame him for it. “You just love seeing my misery-” 

“No, no, that’s not it!” he insisted, making a whole show of calming himself down through his laughter and wrapping an arm around your shoulders, flashing you one of his crooked, obnoxiously playful grins to show how apologetic he really was. Totally apologetic. “That was a real good start.”

“Real good start,” you repeated with a raise of your own brow, but it was hard to stay mad at him when you were still trying not to laugh yourself. “I had it, you just - you distracted me!” 

To that, he gave you an incredibly solemn nod, sighing heavily as he slipped on his glasses for absolutely no reason. Inside the house. You figured it was just for dramatic effect - he always had a theatrical flare about him without even trying.

“And I’m totally sorry about that. When you’re as sexy and charming as I am, it’s hard not to be a - hey, you can’t just leave!” 

“No, I gotta leave, Conner,” you insisted, already rising to your feet despite his protests, “I think I’m gonna hurl after hearing all that-” You burst out laughing as he yanked you right back onto the couch with just a little tug, laughing himself as you leaned over to kiss his cheek to make up for it.  

“You should see a doctor for that, babe. All I said were straight facts.” Your cough sounded suspiciously like bullshit and it was him who was trying (and failing) to level a glare at you over his glossy round shades. “Okay, so you don’t appreciate my charm and sexiness! Fine, I don’t listen to people who can’t make a bubble with bubblegum anyways-” 

“I almost did!” you protested yet again as your face flared about the same shade as your gum. “Can you do it?” Conner scoffed very loudly, as if you had personally offended him somehow. 

“I’ll do you one better! I’ll show you how to do it,” he told you, turning his head to face foward while dramatically running a hand through his meticulously-styled hair. His entire hair routine alone was about as long as your morning everything-routine. “Just watch and learn, babe.” 

Now, you had known Conner Kent had a certain level of over-confidence for just about everything he said and did since, well, the day you first met him. And as much as he was working towards getting that sorted out with help from you, his teammates, friends, and family, sometimes it was still very apparent in the things he did.

Like now.

“You just put your lips together,” he started, “and blow.” Instead of whistling, he actually managed to successfully make a bubble, raising his brows at you in a very cocky expression as he did so. “See? Easy.” You would most certainly beg to differ, but even you couldn’t help but be rather impressed by it. 

“Okay, so you can do it. Fair enough.” He was still going, the bubble steadily getting bigger and bigger while he continued to nonchalantly lounge beside you. “...Conner, you might wanna stop while you’re-” The bubblegum unceremoniously exploded over his face and your boyfriend let out a slew of very creative words that would’ve made his grandmother wash his mouth out with soap. “-ahead.” 

And it was your turn to laugh your ass off.

“I meant to do that,” Conner announced all-too loudly, the rest of his face already turning the same shade of brilliant pink the gum was as he moved to take his beloved shades off. At least they had protected his eyes. “I totally saw that coming.” Apparently, you wheezing out “so did I” was not the glowing model of support he had been anticipating, judging from his groan. “Babe!” 

At least he could find joy in knowing he taught you how to make a bubble with bubblegum. 

Tag list: @cipheress-to-k-pop

[apocalypticgargoyle]

𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝘽𝙍𝙄𝘾𝙆 | 𝙠𝙖𝙧𝙡 𝙟𝙖𝙘𝙤𝙗𝙨 (18+)

edit by 🐓 anon. im still screaming over this.

∘ request: [insert the 14 asking for more Sapnap humor in a pt. 1.5 of Meet the Jacobses]

∘ pairings: edgy!Karl Jacobs x fm!reader

∘ warnings: smut (18+), nsfw, language, drinking, mentions of Todd the frat boy, lots of dialogue, biting, asphyxiation

∘ links: 𐐪 ao3 𐑂 𐐪 previous part 𐑂 𐐪 submit an edgy!karl edit 𐑂

∘ a/n: this one goes out to the babes in the gc. ily.

i stole the Brick idea from the Jesse McCartney movie, Keith. I'm sorry. [tw for that link - sad & jesse mccartney not talking about beautiful souls]

also thank you everyone for your support on this series. when my friends and I conjured this up, I never thought I would be at the point where I get to share peoples art/paylists/etc. I'm so thankful for all of you.

okay I'll stop crying. happy reading and have a great week! :)

The sun beat down against your skin, your mind drifting to whether or not you should apply more sunscreen. Karl jumped into the light blue water in front of you, the water splashing out to almost completely soak you. You frowned at him as he came up for air, blowing you a kiss mockingly.

Sapnap’s cousins started tackling Karl, the chorus of laughter echoing around the pool. You stretched your legs out beneath the table, leaning into the shade of the umbrella as you watched them roughhouse.

Sapnap came out from the pool house, opening a beer bottle for you before taking the seat beside you. He sighed, buttoning the top of his shirt as he watched the boys. “Did you have a good time at the party yesterday? I dipped after an hour,” he asked, pushing his sunglasses to rest on top of his head.

You shrugged slightly, taking a sip of your drink. You couldn’t wait to tell your roommate how lavishly you’d been living. The fact that you were lounging by a heated pool, drinking beer from Copenhagen with the sons of millionaires was nearly mind-boggling to you.

You wet your lips, squinting your eyes as you looked at him. “I honestly have no idea. I was kind of just there as a Karl accessory,” you joked, making him chuckle softly.

“Yeah, I get that,” he flipped off one of the cousins as they threatened to throw water at him. “It’s always the Karl show around here,” he added. You raised your eyebrows at him and he backtracked. “I didn’t mean that in a bad way. He’s a good guy; everyone’s just obsessed with him.”

You nodded slightly. “Yeah, he’s definitely the star baby,” you joked, making him laugh. “I need to ask you…” You bit your lip voice trailing off as you searched for the night words.

He sent you a closed-mouth smile. “About my mom and Karl?” He asked, biting back a blithe expression. It shocked you how calm he was about the situation.

You chuckled nervously. “I swear I won’t bring it up again, I’m just,” you cut yourself off, unable to describe the question marks pulsing through your thoughts.

He snorted, taking a sip of his drink. “I know right,” he reassured. “When I found out, I almost broke Karl’s nose,” he chided. “Not that I was like… angry it was my mom but out of how weird it was.”

“Yeah it is really fucking weird,” you agreed, laughing slightly.

He gestured as if to thank you for understanding. “I mean, Karl’s a great guy. He was my best friend for a long time but…” He made a face suggesting his discomfort and you snicked. “That’s my mom, man.” You giggled wholeheartedly at this, making him laugh too.

“What are you guys talking about?” Karl asked, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, dripping wet from his pool time adventures.

“Speak of the Devil and he shall appear,” you joked, making Sapnap wink at you. “Tacitus’ Annals,” you answered, making Sapnap nod at you.

He chewed on his lip, with a calm expression as he supported your lie. “I was telling your girlfriend how much I enjoyed his love of Nero,” he continued, you bit back a smile.

Karl ruffled his hair out in a towel. “Come on now,” he grumbled, calling the two of you on your bullshit.

Sapnap squinted as he looked up at him. “Karl supremacy. As always,” he answered with a touch of quiet sarcasm, making Karl roll his eyes playfully as he took to the other seat beside you.

Karl ran his fingers into his hair. “You wanna get matching tattoos together, Sapnap?” He quipped; Sapnap sending him a smug expression.

“Why? What were you thinking?” He asked, knowing he was walking into whatever Karl was setting up.

Karl pulled the leg of his swim trunks off his leg a bit, furrowing his brows. “I wanna get your mom’s name on the top of my thigh,” he teased, biting his lip. You rolled your eyes playfully.

Sapnap let out a sarcastic laugh. “Oh my God, that���s so funny. I totally didn’t see that coming.”

Karl took a sip of your beer and you spoke up. “I think you’d look good with a tattoo, Sapnap. All jokes aside, you’ve got a great body,” you mused, sending him a wink. Sapnap bit back a smile looking at Karl, who you could already tell was glaring back at him. “Side note, I was meaning to ask you. There’s a guy that’s in Karl’s frat,” you paused, trying to remember what Karl had said Todd’s real name was when you were pinning his auction number on him.

Sapnap raised his eyebrows. “Oh, Mark?”

You pointed at him. “Yes, the fake Romney.”

Sapnap snorted. “He did that on campus too?” Karl nodded, a look of disappointment spreading across their faces.

“Speaking of Todd Mark, the king of the Brick” Karl kicked his feet beneath your chair before continuing, “I heard there’s a bonfire tonight,” he probed, making Sapnap slowly shake his head in disapproval.

You raised an eyebrow at the two. “What’s the Brick?”

Sapnap seemed to have already made up his mind on the situation. “A fucking cesspool,” Sapnap grumbled, sipping from his bottle as Karl tsked. Sapnap tilted his head. “You really wanna take her to the Brick? People get together and smoke crack over there. The fact that,” he paused to furrow his brows at you slightly, “Todd Mark? is the benefactor should say something,” he stated, lips curling into an uneasy expression.

You peered over your shoulder at Karl as if to ask if he were crazy. Karl swatted off your gesture. “They don’t smoke crack this time of year. All the locals are back visiting for break.”

Sapnap shook his head again in unease. You chewed your lip, leaning back in your chair. “I don’t know… Sapnap, do you wanna have a movie night instead?” You joked, making Karl sigh behind you.

Sapnap mimicked your mock severity. “Yeah, a stay in and cuddle?”

“Of course,” you repeated.

Karl wheezed. “No, we’re going.”

Without missing a beat, Sapnap chimed back. “Maybe you can take my mom instead?” Karl’s expression flattened at his words and you nodded, high fiving Sapnap in mock victory.

Despite Sapnap’s hesitation, you all went to what they referred to as The Brick. In reality, it was a spot on the edge of a lake. They only called it the Brick because of Todd’s dad, a racecar driver who claimed the post back when he was in high school and later bought it. A large bonfire burned in the center of the space, various people around your age and a bit younger were either dancing to the music coming from one of the souped-up sports cars or shotgunning beers. You pushed away the thought of your stingy fire marshall back home who―more than once―had reported you and your family for “overactive cookouts.”

“Overactive,” meaning your dad and Clay were failing at not catching hotdogs on fire when the two would get lost in a chat about a mutual videogame when the families would cross the fence line in the summer.

As soon as you had stepped foot on the gravel, Karl was welcomed back like some kind of celebrity, so you stayed close to Sapnap. He would lean towards your height, pointing people out that Karl had mentioned in the past or those worth noting. You nodded along, soaking in what he had to tell you and laughing at his jokes.

A random guy strolled past the two of you, making Sapnap purse his lips. “Hey, Sapnap. How’s your mom?” One of the countless jokes thrown at him since you’d arrived.

He tilted his head with a mock look of questioning. “Didn’t your parents just get divorced, Jeff?” He deflected. Jeff’s face dropped slightly as he moved on. You always found yourself struggling not to laugh at how well Sapnap was at counteracting the jabs at his mom and Karl. Most of you felt guilty for how long he had dealt with it.

Karl watched you carefully as you sat down beside Sapnap on one of the vast benches; hands shoved in his pockets as the group around him caught up. You were glad to have someone around like Sapnap, despite the fact that you often went to parties. In the past, it was more of a bi-annual thing, but since being with Karl, you found yourself shoulder to shoulder with nameless people in a line doing shots every other Thursday.

You laughed as Sapnap joked about avoiding the drinks at the Brick because of the mites in the water and the STDs in the beer. “So, I never asked how you met Karl?” He queried, sticking his hands into the pocket of his Baja hoodie.

You smiled slightly. “Uh…” Shameless thoughts of you on your knees in a random building when you barely knew his name paced through your head like a quickfire of serotonin. “We had a lecture together and he liked my handwriting.” Sapnap smirked, chuckling slightly at your words.

Karl’s eyes were trained on the two of you, demeanor shifting each time one of you leaned towards the other to hear over the music or the two of you bumping each other’s arms to grab your attention. You knew he wasn’t jealous, but his look of curiosity was almost hilarious to you. Sapnap stuck by your side while Karl introduced you to his friends. He was basically your encyclopedia on the newer people as Karl would go off on a tangent with them.

The fact that Karl was so close to all of them and was so popular made your heart swell with pride. You were used to Karl’s deadpanned glares at most of his frat brothers and his snide comments, but now he was welcomed back like he was some kind of hero returning from the war.

After saying goodbye to Sapnap for the day, you threaded your fingers with Karl’s, enjoying the time where it was just the two of you. He brought the back of your hand to his lips, smoothing a kiss against your skin. “So… Sapnap’s mom��” you began, making him chew the inside of his cheek. “Where… did it happen?”

He looked down at you with a perked eyebrow before raising his sights forward, pulling you off the street where the two of you were walking. You followed him as the pair of you snuck through between the houses and across the backyards until the two of you were at Sapnap’s house again. Through the front windows, you could see him talking to his sibling in the kitchen.

Karl grabbed your hand, leading you along the side of the estate and toward the pool house. You wanted to groan at the thought before he pulled you through the door with him. “Are you serious?” You hissed, looking around at the dark place. Karl fought not to smirk as he peered out through one of the windows, watching the lights in Sapnap’s house turn out.

The moonlight streamed through one of the slender windows, illuminating his face and washing his features clean. Your gaze trailed along his arms; his tattoos peeking out from beneath his hoodie as he reached up to lock the door.

He turned back to face you, walking closer to you. “Did you have fun today?” He asked, plopping down on one of the couches and pulling you into his lap. He moved your arms to rest around his neck, pressing his lips to your skin. “I feel like I didn’t see you at all. Sapnap’s a bogart,” he muttered jokingly, settling his hands on your hips.

You scoffed before leaning toward him, pressing your lips against his. “Make it up to me,” you murmured, raking your fingers into his hair. “I think I selfishly need you to ruin me here; you know. Like a cleansing of you and Ms. Scarlet,” you chided.

He bit his lip, eyes pulsing with lust as he fought not to grin. You pressed your lips against his, turning to lay back on the couch and yank him on top of you. He chuckled into your kiss, as your hands moved to curl into his hair. His lust was a taste you could get drunk off if given the chance as his hands traveled the length of your body, moaning as you ground your hips against his, gripping into his clothes.

He leaned off of you momentarily to pull his shirt over his head as you slipped out of yours, you wrapped a leg around him, pushing him onto the couch instead and pinning him between your thighs as you straddled him, running your hands up his tattooed chest and connecting your lips again.

One of his large hands covered your breast as you began to grind your hips against his. His teeth grazed against your skin as he caressed your body while you moved against him, trying to create as much friction as you could against his jeans. He ran his fingers along the hem of your underwear, his lips curling into a smirk as he moved slightly to get a better look. "These are nice. Did you plan this?" He leered, snapping the elastic against your hip playfully. You rolled your eyes, pulling his chin towards you and pressing your lips against his. Every movement of his body seemed to lick at the fire deep within you.

You smirked breathlessly as his lips settled against your collarbones. “These are my church clothes. I had no other motive,” you jousted. His hand reached up to rest against your collarbone, his fingers lightly curling around your neck.

“Of course, how could I not realize,” he jabbed, pressing his lips and tongue against your neck. You moaned, tugging at his zipper before wrapping your hand around his cock, pumping him into harder arousal. He groaned against your neck, bucking into your hand lightly. His head tilted back against the couch beneath you, cheeks flushed at the attention. His teeth nipped at your skin as you ground yourself against his thigh, basking in his noises of pleasure.

His cock pulsed in your hand, making him grab your wrist and pull you beneath him. He gripped one of your legs, resting it in the crook of his elbow as he pushed himself into you, connecting your lips to swallow your moans. The feeling of him inside of you sent a wave of pleasure through your body. His voice was low in your ear, murmuring your name as if it were a curse. You moaned as he took one of your hands, lacing your fingers together beside your head as he kissed you again, tongue slipping into your mouth.

His thrusts became more rhythmless, his hold on you driving him deeper as the pool house filled with the noises of your whimpering moans. Karl’s breath was warm on your neck as he took advantage of your submissive state. He moved his hand from around your leg, wrapping his fingers around your neck again. Your body shivered, waiting for the pressure of his hand as his hips rocked against yours.

He chuckled darkly, teeth grazing against your shoulder before his lips hovered beside your ear. “Beg for it,” he commented, voice strained as he thrusted into you.

You swallowed, fingers digging into his back. “Choke me,” you groaned, “please.” His hand tightened around your neck, breath hitching in your throat as his thrusts became rougher. He bit back a smug grin at the way you reacted to his antics, relishing in your body beginning for more.

He relaxed his hand, pressing his lips to yours as you struggled to inhale. Heat ran through your body as your leg curled around his waist, nails raking down his back.

You leaned away from his lips, voice coming out unevenly as you moaned his name. His movements became sloppier as you groaned in bliss, tugging the flesh of his bottom lip between your teeth. You tipped your head back slightly as you reached your climax, riding out your pleasure and sending him over the edge as he pulled you closer to him, his hands digging into your hips as he encouraged you to continue grinding against him. You exhaled deeply, pressing your lips against his neck and his cheek before kissing him breathlessly as your movements slowed.

You pulled on your shirt, Karl’s hands moving to rest on your hips as he pressed a kiss to your neck. “Should we leave a note for Ms. Scarlet?” You joked, making him chuckle as his arms wrapped further around your waist, cheek pressing against your shoulder.

“Who?” He teased.

Tag List: (to be added, follow this link :))

@mrwinemaker @madsbbg @idiotinnit @westyywifee @kiritokunuwu @theholycakehole @itgetsatadhazy @himbobimboeater @karlkitten @pluto-dizzz @twist3dtinkerbell @more-like-reyna @teenage0jealousy @deepestofwaters @honk-izzie-was-taken @froggyy06 @ghoulandghost @instabull @glowstick-cafe @marshmallow-babe @drunkpumpkincake @anoaeunoia @little-gremlin-in-the-walls

[helloalycia]

teenage dirtbag [one] // wanda maximoff

summary: when you're paired with the most popular girl in your grade for Chemistry class, you definitely don't expect to start liking her like that...

warning/s: none i don't think??

author's note: okay so i have a ton of requests to work through but i got sidetracked and before i knew it, five parts of this imagine were written.

It's based off the song 'Teenage Dirtbag' and idk, i thought it was cute to write! Who doesn't love the popular girl!wanda and loner!reader concept?

Here’s a cover of the song to listen to because i really liked it and a girl sings it so it immediately made the song 10x more gay, just how i like it 🥰

masterlist | wattpad | part two | part three | part four | part five

"Are you all comfortable?"

The class stayed silent, watching our Chemistry teacher, Mr. Hale, as he looked to everyone with a raised brow.

"You all like who you're sat with?" he asked again, as if expecting an actual response from someone.

I exchanged questioning glances with my best friend, Y/BF/N, who was sat beside me. It was the first day back in Chemistry class of our final year of high school and we were just waiting to begin.

"Anyone?" he asked, looking around.

"Yeah," a few students mumbled in response so we could move on.

He clapped his hands together. "Great! Well, don't get too comfortable because I made a seating chart."

A chorus of groans erupted from the class, including from me and Y/BF/N. Every other class had successfully managed to not give us a seating chart. I'd heard that Mr. Hale was an awkward teacher who hated students (ironically), but I didn't think he'd stoop so low as to pair us with students who weren't our friends. These new seats were also our partners for the rest of the year and were non-negotiable, so any projects or work we did would have to be with our seat buddy. Fun.

Students began to shuffle to their newly-assigned seats reluctantly as Mr. Hale read out the chart. When Y/BF/N left my side, I frowned dramatically, waving goodbye to him.

"Wanda Maximoff, you're now partners with Y/N Y/L/N," said Mr. Hale, making me look up at the mention of my name.

I didn't get chance to register what he'd said as the aforementioned girl soon approached me, settling her bag on the table beside me. I looked up and saw Wanda Maximoff smiling my way before taking a seat on the stool.

Huh. Wanda Maximoff. She was one of the most popular girls in our grade. Everybody loved her, either wanting to be friends with her, be with her or be her. I'd personally never crossed paths with her apart from the few classes we shared. She seemed nice enough, but I guess I had preconceived notions of what she was like since she'd made the very poor decision to date the most obnoxious guy ever. Anyone making decisions that terrible definitely had a flaw.

She had a twin brother, Pietro, who was also in our grade and played on the football team alongside her boyfriend. Her parents were good friends with mine, through mutual friends, I think, as I recalled my mum mentioning 'Mrs. Maximoff's boy' or 'Mrs. Maximoff's girl'. And I remembered when her family moved into our town back in second grade.

Admittedly, Wanda was the star of the show back then, too. We were only kids, but child Y/N wasn't blind. She was the first girl I'd crushed on, an innocent child crush – the crush that made me realise I liked girls. Apart from that, and the fact that she had a locker behind me in the hallway, I never really thought about her.

I glanced behind me, catching Y/BF/N's gaze across the room as he sat beside some other kid. He frowned, implying he wished we were partners, and I knew just how he felt.

Once Mr. Hale finished assigning seats, he gave us five minutes to get to know our new partners as he struggled to find the powerpoint for today's class. If there was anything worse than getting assigned seats, it was ice breakers.

"Er, well, hi," Wanda greeted, turning to face me. Green eyes sparkled brightly behind a friendly smile. "I'm Wanda. But, I mean, we already know each other."

"That we do," I said with a nod, returning her smile. "How're you doing? Your summer go well?"

She ran a hand through her hair, adjusting herself so she was comfortable on her stool. And as she did, a waft of her perfume washed over me and I blinked, trying to ignore how nice it smelled. Floral. Subtle. It suited her.

"Good, yeah," she answered with a nod. "Could have gone on longer for all I care."

I chuckled. "I feel that. I'm definitely not ready to be back."

"Right?" she said with raised brows. "It's gonna take a while to get back into routine, that's for sure. But I guess I did miss seeing my friends everyday."

I hummed in agreement, eyes flickering to Mr. Hale as he attempted to tackle the oncoming stream of animations on his powerpoint. I tried not to laugh as I looked back to Wanda, who clearly noticed the same thing as me and stifled a smile.

"Have you had Mr. Hale before?" I asked, nodding his way.

She shook her head. "Nope. You?"

"Never."

"Sucks that he makes seating charts," she said with a sigh, before realising what she said and looking to me with panicked eyes. "Not that I don't like you or anything–!"

"It's fine, I get it," I cut her off with an amused smile. "I wanted to sit with my friend, too."

She breathed out quietly, a hint of relief in her eyes, and scrunched her nose with an apologetic smile. Okay, yeah, maybe that was kind of cute. Older Y/N wasn't blind either. Wanda Maximoff was beautiful, with long brunette locks and matching hazel eyes that seemed to change from blue to green to brown in a kaleidoscope of colour. A winning smile and soothing voice was enough for anyone to fall for her unintentional charm, but it was purely admiration. Everyone pretty much had a mild crush on her, you'd be stupid not to.

"If we're gonna be working together, d'you wanna get the whole awkward number exchange out the way now?" she asked, half joking, half not.

"I– er– sure," I stumbled out rather carelessly, before cringing internally. Where did that come from?

Thankfully, she didn't seem to pick up on it (or just saved me the embarrassment of acknowledging it) and was already writing her number on a slip of paper. Sliding it my way, she capped her pen and gave me her signature smile.

"Thanks," I said with a nod, accepting the paper and pocketing it. "Can't wait to start those lovely science projects we've got coming up!"

She let out a quiet laugh at my sarcasm. "It'll be fine. You're not dumb, right? So, we'll be fine."

"Can't promise you that," I joked, making her roll her eyes playfully.

"Maybe if we–"

But she was cut off when Mr. Hale spoke up loudly, interrupting everyone's conversations.

"Five minutes are up, let's begin!"

I wondered if everyone was thinking the same thing as me – that was not five minutes.

"So it begins...," I mumbled to myself, facing forward.

Wanda breathed out, a stifled laugh, probably having heard my comment, and I couldn't help but crack a smile. Maybe I judged her too harshly. She wasn't actually that bad.

—

Since being paired with Wanda, I was surprised by how much she'd made an effort to befriend me outside of class. We'd always been back to back with our lockers though not quite speaking, but since becoming Chemistry partners, she'd wish me a good morning if she caught me, or greet me briefly as we collected our books.

She didn't have to, but I could see why everybody liked her now. She was just genuinely nice. Due to circumstance, we'd become partners, but rather than leaving it at that, she made a genuine effort to befriend me. And not even just me, but also Y/BF/N, who was at the locker next to mine. He was as surprised as I was, expecting Wanda to mind her own business as we weren't exactly in the same social circles.

This was, I guess you could say, the start of our friendship. And it was a good one at that. I grew to learn how funny she was, how much she loved her brother, the passion she had for art and painting... she was a wonderful person. Which is why I didn't understand why she was with her boyfriend, Nate. He was a grade-A dick and everything Wanda wasn't. How were they a thing?

It sounds like I'm being a bitch and judgemental, but he really is the worst. The few unfortunate times I shared a class with him or caught sight of him around school, he was causing some sort of trouble with the teachers or picking on students in a way that made it seem like a joke but everybody knew it wasn't.

For example, there was a time when Wanda and I were studying for an upcoming Chemistry test we had. We decided to just help each other study since we already worked together in class, so knew we could motivate each other to actually put in the work. It was, maybe, the fourth studying session we had, and I was going over some notes when I felt her eyes watching me.

"You need a hand?" I asked, unable to take the staring any longer. I looked up at her, quirking a brow.

She seemed to fall out of her daydream and straightened up, eyes flickering to mine. "Huh?"

I gave her an awkward smile, unable to maintain her gaze. "You're staring."

She didn't seem fazed as I called her out, instead leaning back in her seat and continuing to study me curiously.

"Did you do something different with your hair?"

Subconsciously reaching for my hair, I straightened up my ponytail and shook my head. "No...?"

She chewed on her lip, saying after a pause, "You tied it up. You usually leave it out."

Did I? I wasn't sure. I just knew that her noticing something like that made me feel self conscious all of a sudden.

"It looks good," she decided, before offering up a small smile. "You should do it like that more often."

Quickly, I felt warm. Was it stuffy in here or was it just me? God, compliments already made me feel stupid. And compliments from pretty girls made me feel ten times that. It didn't help that she was watching me with an endearing expression, making me focus on my book before me.

"Thanks," I got out quickly. "I– yeah."

Her smile widened before she looked back down to her own book. Suddenly, I became acutely aware of the way her leg brushed up against mine under the table.

Thankfully, the strange fuzzy feeling following her compliment faded and we were able to get back to work without her tuning out again. As we were going over each other's practice questions, an annoying voice shouted from across the library.

"Wanda, head's up!"

"Hey, no talking in the library!" a librarian hissed at the voice.

Wanda and I looked up just in time for a football to smack me in the side of the head. I didn't even see it coming until I felt the thing slap my head, giving me an instant urge to strangle whoever threw it.

"Fuck," I cursed, holding my head and closing my eyes to breathe through the pain.

"Oh my God, are you okay?" Wanda's voice made me open my eyes and I saw her leaning forward, hand resting on my shoulder and the other on top of mine that was clutching my head.

"Been better," I admitted, trying to make light of the situation because as angry as I was at the idiot who threw it, I was also embarrassed because it hit me.

Wanda seemed concerned as she gently pulled me hand away, not letting go as she got a better look at the side of my face which I was sure was burning red. At least that's what it felt like.

"Shit, I'm so sorry."

I looked up and saw none other than Nate Green, Wanda's boyfriend, hovering and stifling a laugh as he looked at me. He had his stupid varsity jacket on and I was tempted to strangle him with it.

"I thought Wanda would catch it," he explained stupidly, before moving around the desk to collect his football.

Breathing out through gritted teeth, I pulled away from Wanda and nodded reassuringly. "I'll be fine. Just need an ice pack."

"You're such an idiot, Nate!" Wanda snapped, looking to him with a glare. "You need to watch what you're doing!"

He smiled sheepishly, making me roll my eyes and clench my jaw at the heat on the right side of my face. Fuck, that really hurt.

"What did you want?" Wanda asked him with a quirked brow. She definitely wasn't impressed. I'd hate to ever be on the wrong side of that condescending glare.

"I thought we could go out," he said like it was that simple.

"I'm studying," she quipped with crossed arms.

"I'm happy to wait," he said, toying with the ball in his hands.

Knowing I definitely didn't want that, I closed my books and said, "It's cool. You guys go. I think we're done here anyway."

Nate grinned. "See? S'all good."

Wanda ignored him and looked to me with worried eyes. "Y/N, are you sure?"

"You know your stuff," I said, referring to the work. "You'll be fine in the test. I'm sure."

I offered her a small, forced smile, before standing up to pack my bag. She did the same, beginning to pack her own things, but her eyes kept flittering towards me.

"D'you want me to go to the nurse's office with you?" she asked, shame laced in her voice.

"It's fine, I'll be fine," I said, hurrying up with my actions so I could just get out of here whilst I still had (some of) my dignity left. "See you in class tomorrow."

She nodded, sending a guilty smile my way. "See you tomorrow, Y/N."

Without giving either of them a look, I shouldered my backpack and left the library. Just another reminder of why Nate Green was literally the worst person ever.

—

Liking Wanda as more than a friend wasn't something that happened for a while if I'm being honest. I guess I started to enjoy her presence more and more the longer we spent time together.

I'd come to appreciate it whenever she'd say something completely out of the blue that made no sense whatsoever, or whenever she'd laugh at something I'd said that was arguably not funny but she didn't want to make me feel bad, or even whenever I teased her about something stupid she did, resulting in her doing that cute little nose scrunch she did. But I didn't think of it as liking her, more just a randomly-formed friendship that I was glad to have.

Maybe it was this misinterpretation that didn't make me see how I was acting around her, such as the time I was in the dinner queue at lunch when I realised she was stood behind me.

"Oh, hey, Y/N," she said when she noticed it was me in front of her. Her usual bright, friendly smile was on her lips as she looked to me. "You good?"

I nodded, returning her smile. "Yeah. Just getting some doughnuts for Y/BF/N and I. You?"

"Same," she said, before nudging the guy next to her, who I recognised as her brother. "Pietro and I thought we'd treat ourselves."

At the mention of his name, Pietro looked down to his sister before his gaze fell on me. A mischievous smile appeared on his lips as he put out his hand.

"Pietro Maximoff," he introduced. "You must be the Chemistry partner, Y/N, right?"

I raised my eyebrows with surprise as I shook his hand. "You, er, know who I am?"

He glanced at his sister with a cheeky smile. Wanda was avoiding both of our gazes, her cheeks dusting pink.

Clearly saving face for Wanda, he said, "We've been in the same grade since kids, right? 'Course I do."

Despite the truth to his words, something told me that wasn't how he knew who I was. Especially since I was sure I'd never spoken to him in my life. But, to save Wanda the embarrassment of clearly having spoken of me at home, I nodded to Pietro.

"Right," I agreed with an amused smile. "Duh."

I moved down the queue and grabbed two doughnuts from the display, putting them in two separate paper bags.

"Dibs the last one!" Pietro exclaimed as soon as I returned the clippers to the display. He reached around his sister immaturely and bagged the last doughnut.

Wanda rolled her eyes. "You know I can ask for more, right?"

Pietro grinned, eyes sparkling with mischief. "Go on then."

The two were twins, but they couldn't have been more different. I simply revelled in their interaction, finding it adorable.

Wanda did as she said, asking the dinner lady if there were any more doughnuts in the back. Unfortunately for her, those were the last for the day, making Pietro laugh as Wanda pouted.

"Sucks to be you," he teased her, as I paid for mine and Y/BF/N's doughnuts.

"I hate you," she mumbled playfully, but I saw the disappointment in her eyes as he lovingly but annoyingly waved his bag before her eyes.

Without even thinking much of it, I held out one of the bags in my hand. "Here. You can have mine."

Wanda looked to me with surprise. "Are you sure? I can live without a doughnut, if that's what you're thinking."

I chuckled, grabbing her hand and making her take it. "It's okay. I wasn't in the mood anyway."

Plus, you look better when you're smiling and not pouting, I added in my head.

She accepted the bag reluctantly. "I– thanks. At least let me pay for it–"

"It's just a doughnut, Wanda," I teased, before nodding her way. "See you later."

Leaving her and Pietro to it, I headed back to the table Y/BF/N was sat at and took a seat opposite him before giving him his doughnut.

"Sweet," he said, quickly opening the bag before realising I didn't have one. "Where's yours?"

Over his shoulder, I saw Wanda and Pietro taking a seat at their lunch table, doughnuts in hand and a heartwarming smile on Wanda's lips.

"They ran out," I answered Y/BF/N. "Wasn't in the mood anyway. Enjoy."

He shrugged before digging in. I'd like to say I didn't spare glances in Wanda's direction every now and then for the rest of the lunch hour, but I'd be lying if I did.

—

I'm in the art department. You okay to bring it here?

I read over the text Wanda sent me before shooting her an 'okay' and heading to the Art department. I'd grabbed her notebook in class earlier on, only realising as I was studying with Y/BF/N in the library and pulled out an extra one, so I was going to give it her back.

I guess, when you realise you like someone, it comes randomly, suddenly, without warning. Liking someone isn't instant, it's constant and gradual and subconscious. I guess I'd been falling for Wanda for a while, without even realising, but today was the day I acknowledged that fact.

The Art department wasn't somewhere I frequented regularly – give me a paint and brushes and I'd probably present you with a finger painting – but it was definitely worth the visit. Art pieces from current and past students were hung on the walls, a mural of the school was spray painted on another, and sculptures stood around. The whole department brought a smile to anyone's face with its bright colours and open space – I could see why Art students always hung out here, Wanda included.

Speaking of Wanda, I found her in one of the classrooms sat at a stool in front of a series of canvasses. The room had a few other Art students littered around, working on their own pieces during their lunch period, otherwise it was empty.

"Hey," I called, getting her attention as I approached her.

She followed my voice and straightened up with a cheery smile. "Y/N, hey. Thanks for coming. I'm working on my Art project, so I couldn't pull myself away."

I waved my hand dismissively, joining her side. "It's all good, don't worry." My eyes wandered to the series of canvases on easels she was working on and widened. "Holy shit, these are so good."

Three unfinished hyperrealistic portraits of people were before us, one whom I recognised as Pietro. The paintings were so detailed, despite their medium-size, and I couldn't imagine how long they must have taken.

"You think?" she asked, glancing between them. "I think I messed up the nose here." She pointed with the back end of her paintbrush to the nose of Pietro. "It's a bit bent."

I almost laughed as I looked to her with disbelief. "Are you kidding? Wanda, these are amazing. How did you even do this?"

She looked down bashfully, a nervous smile on her lips. "I don't know. It's for a project. I chose to do family portraits." She pointed to each one as she said, "My mum, my dad and my brother."

I was in awe of her talent, jaw dropped with amazement still. I always knew she was an artist, but I'd never actually seen her work. I was starting to wish I'd come here a lot sooner.

"So, you got my notebook?" she asked, pulling me back into reality.

I looked away from the paintings reluctantly before getting her notebook from my bag and holding it out for her. As she accepted it, she must have forgotten she was holding her paintbrush as the tip brushed my wrist, leaving a swipe of red there.

"Oh, my bad," she said with a laugh, before setting her notebook and brush down and grabbing a paper towel from beside her.

Wetting it with water from her bottle, she pressed it to my wrist and swiped the paint away. It was such a mundane action, but the way her fingers gently held my wrist and emanated a warmth only she seemed to carry sent shivers down my spine.

I glanced up at her, letting her do it, and noticed the swipe of paint she had across her cheek, as if she'd touched her face without realising.

Now that I paid attention, I noticed how cute she looked in her Art getup. An old, oversized shirt covered in paint was being worn to cover her clothes, sleeves loosely rolled up to her elbows. Her long hair was tied back into a ponytail, but her baby hairs framed her forehead adorably.

When her hair wasn't in her face, her eyes only seemed more intense, glistening with excitement and happiness. I almost forgot to breathe when they met mine briefly, a hint of embarrassment there from when cleaning me up. She was in her element here and it made sense to me now.

I knew I'd fallen for her.

—

"You don't get it," I was saying to Y/BF/N as we hung about the school gym, waiting for the teacher to start the lesson. "It's bad. I like her. Like, like like her."

Y/BF/N laughed, clapping me on the back with pity. "You're screwed."

I frowned. "I know."

As he stretched for class, he continued, "I mean, I get it, I do. She's super nice. Pretty. And you guys seem to get on."

I chewed on my lower lip worriedly.

He gave me a knowing look. "There's one problem though."

I groaned, running a hand down my face. "I know, I know. She's got that dick of a boyfriend."

He chuckled. "That's one way to put it."

I sighed, crossing my arms with annoyance. Since realising I liked Wanda as a little more than a friend, things weren't going well for me. Whenever we worked together, I'd forget what I was thinking because I was too busy admiring her side profile or getting lost in her eyes. If she spoke about the work, told a joke or was simply speaking her thoughts aloud, I'd focus on every little thing she was saying, knowing I could listen to her speak all day. It was bad, but thankfully I hadn't stumbled over my words or made a total fool of myself in front of her. I was determined to not let it get that far.

My eyes wandered around the gym as Y/BF/N tried to give me advice, but admittedly, his words flew in one ear and out the other when I caught sight of Wanda.

She was standing with her friends, smiling and laughing to whatever they were saying. Like everyone else in here, she was wearing her gym kit – black athletic shorts and a blue and white tee shirt, the colour of our school. It wasn't anything special, yet she made it seem that way, outdoing anyone in here. Her brown hair was tied back, the ponytail falling down her back, showing her stunning profile and making my mouth go dry.

Another clap on the back from Y/BF/N pulled me from my reverie and I looked to see he was laughing at me.

"Majorly screwed," he corrected his previous comment.

He was definitely right.