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magicalforcesau · 3 years

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Fragments of the Garden - Origins - part 1

A companion collection to Dancing With Ghosts in Your Garden

(ao3 link)

Getting into Diagon Alley had been a bit of an event, her mother had to take off work and get Bo up and off to school before they could finally head out. The time and place on the parchment had been specified down to the minute, but as they seemed to circle the same block for the hundredth time Satine started to wonder if maybe this was all some elaborate prank.

“I’m sorry, love,” her mother finally turned to her, “It’s supposed to be right here, but I don’t see a Leaky Cauldron anywhere along this stretch,” Satine looked back down at the parchment again, rereading the same message she had a thousand times since receiving it. Disappointment started to seep into her bones and she looked up in desperation, one last time scanning the buildings around them. Her eyes drifted just right of her mum and she lit up.

“It’s there!” Satine pointed her finger at the old iron sign dangling over the door, dripping water on passing pedestrians. When she glanced up at her mother though she was only met by confusion.

“Uh, what is dear?” Her mother’s eyes seemed to skim over the building without seeing it, and Satine was struck with an odd feeling of experiencing something that her family never would.

“The Leaky Cauldron,” Satine answered, grabbing her mum’s hand in her own, “I’ll show you,” Determined she pulled them across the street and up to the building, her mum still showed no signs of acknowledgement so Satine pulled open the door and dragged her inside.

“Oh,” the soft gasp came from behind her and she glanced back to see the surprised look on her mum’s face, it seemed entering the building was enough to break through whatever weird magic surrounded the place and she followed her mum’s gaze from the owls swooping through the windows to the dishes washing themselves in the kitchen.

“You must be the last of the muggleborns,” A creature was approaching them, eyes like a hammerhead shark and face long, it took Satine a moment of staring to realize that their mouth was on their neck, “You’re a little late, but I know we can be a little hard to find,” The creature pulled out a piece of parchment and skimmed it over, “So you’re the Kryze’s?”

“I’m Satine, and this is my mum,” She found herself answering for them, her mother looked a little pale so it was probably for the best.

“You can call me Jho,” they said pulling out a brown stick, that Satine realized with belated excitement was likely a magic wand, “Follow me and I’ll let you into Diagon Alley, make sure you buy a wand when you get in there, because otherwise you’re not getting back in,” they made a sound that she assumed was a laugh and she tugged on her mum’s hand in order to follow close behind.

“How many pounds is a wand?” She wondered aloud and Jho scoffed.

“Pounds. When you get inside you should first go to Gringotts, transfer over the amount your letter told you to bring and they’ll give you real money,” They were facing a brick wall and Jho turned back to them for a moment, “Welcome to Diagon Alley,” they turned back and tapped a pattern into the bricks with their wand and suddenly the whole wall melted away, bricks turning into themselves to get out of the way and a bustling path with funnily dressed people was revealed. Satine stepped through pulling her mum in with her and the wall closed up behind them.

“Hello you must be the Kryze’s,” They turned and were greeted by someone who looked almost human, but with white and blue pieces coming from her head instead of hair, “I’m Professor Shaak Ti from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, here to help our new muggleborns find their way in our world,” Satine’s mum stepped forward dropping her hand for the first time.

“It’s lovely to meet you. I must say I’m very overwhelmed,” Her mum had seemed to have gotten over the shock and Satine took the opportunity to tune out the grown-up talk and gaze around the new world she’d stepped into.

Owls seemed to be a common theme as they swooped around in broad daylight, landing near magical folks wearing a wide variety of interesting clothes. Most commonly seemed to be cloaks and funny hats, but she saw one witch wearing an outfit entirely made of feathers and hoped very much that her school uniform would not be something that itchy. Her attention was drawn next to the shop windows. There was one with a broom floating in the window, many children seemed to be gathering around it so she wondered if maybe it was a toy of some sort. A building with sweets in the window boasted such things as cauldron cakes and pumpkin pasties instead of chocolate croissants and eclairs and she saw a tall wobbly looking stack of cauldrons in the next. Her eyes landed on another window jam packed with books and her heart leapt in excitement.

Satine had always been a reader. She read during both class and lunch, as well as nearly constantly at home and when she’d gotten her letter to Hogwarts, she’d read that too, but she hadn’t considered that a new world of people would provide her a new world of books to read. She found herself approaching the window, excited to read the spines until her mum was done talking when a flash of dark fabric bumped into her sending her falling backwards onto the cold stone pavement.

She looked up and her eyes met that of a witch’s, they were such a light blue they looked like ice, although Satine would maybe attribute some of that to the witch’s personality.

“Watch where you’re going, girl,” She spoke sharply, and the wizard behind her turned and rested his eyes on Satine too. His were a dark blue, but held the same kind of coldness, like how she imagined the bottom of the ocean would feel like.

“They’ll let anybody in here these days,” The first part was spoken under his breath, but not quiet enough for Satine to miss it, “We have more important things to worry about than another lost, muggleborn,” He turned on his heel and continued on.

“Don’t muggle parents teach any manners,” the witch also spoke as she turned to follow her companion further down the street.

Shocked and confused Satine continued to sit where she fell staring off after them. She jumped when suddenly a hand was thrust into her view.

“Need a hand?” She turned and looked at the newcomer, he was a boy near her own age, with a wide grin and warm brown eyes. She took his hand and he pulled her up, “Are you ok?”

“I think so,” She replied, but found herself still staring after the icy couple.

“Hey, whatever they said, don’t let it bother you,” The boy gained her attention again, “They’re pretty much as old-fashioned and traditional as you can get,”

“You know them?” Satine questioned.

“Yeah, the Kenobi’s,” the boy rolled his eyes, “My family used to attend their pureblood dinner parties until a couple years ago when my older brother Hevy lost his temper… But good riddance I’ll say, none of us Fett’s care too much about blood status politics anyways,” Satine’s head was reeling trying to make sense of it all.

“Purebloods?” Satine asked, too busy trying to catalogue all these new terms to ask it with a little more of her usual finesse.

“Purebloods are wizards whose family line is all magical,” He answered, and with the realization of who she likely was he continued, “There are halfbloods who have one magical parent and one muggle parent, and muggleborns who have 2 muggle parents.”

Satine thought back to the words the Kenobi’s had said to her and a new fire started burning in her chest. She had no time for such an old-fashioned way of thinking, she needn’t prove herself to them she’d been invited here and that was enough. Still they’d manage to plant a small seed of doubt in her mind.

“I hope I never see another Kenobi again,” She decided and the boy laughed loudly at that.

“I understand that sentiment,” He agreed, mirth still sparkling in his eyes, “By the way, the name’s Cody.”

***

Riding the train had been exciting, looking up at the castle had been extraordinary, but standing next to her peers waiting to be shepherded through the doors to the great hall was as nerve wracking as it could get.

Cody, who she’d written to a few times to test her new owl, Sundari, had explained a lot of wizard things, especially the sorting. Cody laughed at her on the train and said if there was any way she was anything, but a Ravenclaw he’d eat every vomit flavored jelly bean in Honeydukes. She was still nervous though, and as the time crept closer even Cody looked a little pale.

The doors swung open suddenly and they followed the prefects inside, each student taking a moment to admire the starry night sky, before they stopped before the stool with the old sorting hat resting upon it. Cody had mentioned that they changed up the order of ceremony a lot, sometimes they’d go in alphabetical order or the reverse. Or they’d just go at random, Satine hoped that whatever way they went she’d be one of the first to get things over with.

So of course, it was her luck when they decided to go in alphabetical order anyways. Cody was called before her of course. His name was spoken loudly and it made it easy to pick out his older brother, and fourth year, Hevy who cheered embarrassingly loudly for his little brother. Cody stepped up onto the stage and sat on the stool, the hat barely sat on his head for a moment before shouting out for Gryffindor. The red and gold table cheered loudly, and Cody was smothered in a headlock by his brother as soon as he reached it.

Satine waited patiently as names were called all the way through J and readied herself for the K’s before suddenly the man up front started calling for Z’s. She felt a spark of indignant rage as they started going in reverse which would leave her as one of the last to go, she cursed her own luck as she tried and failed to not look a little grumpy.

Finally, finally her own name rang out over the crowd, and she heard some cheering from the direction of Gryffindor table as she stepped up shakily onto the stage. The hat was dropped over her eyes and she heard its voice speak through her own thoughts.

“Oh, quite right, with a mind like this it can only be,”

“RAVENCLAW!” The hat was removed from her head and she looked across the large room to see the dark blue and silver table cheering passionately for their new member. She felt something warm settle over her as she walked over to the table and was patted on the back and high-fived all the way to her seat. She’d worried a bit about belonging, but to think her place in this school had been so easily found made her grin widely. She sat down and had a minute to collect herself while they called the next student, and then maybe she could start making friends with the other Ravenclaw first years-

“Obi-Wan Kenobi!”

At first, she’d thought she was imagining the hush that crossed the room at that name given her own ears suddenly seemed muffled. She threw her gaze onto the stage as a boy with perfectly styled hair, and finely pressed robes walked poised up the steps to the stage. The words of the older Kenobi’s, who could only be his parents, rang in her ears as she frantically made eye contact with Cody over at the Gryffindor table, who gave her a worried look and a shrug. They both turned back to the stage and waited for the final verdict of who would have to put up with the son of the most pretentious wizarding family in England.

***

When Obi-Wan Kenobi had first gotten his letter to Hogwarts, he’d reacted with the poise and manners that his mother had instilled in him since he was born.

“Your letter came today,” His mother had said, handing it over to him, “When your father gets home from work today, he will once again tell you what you are expected to do,” Obi-Wan didn’t spare a glance at the letter, instead keeping direct eye-contact with her.

“Yes Mother,” He replied as he had been instructed to do and she nodded in acknowledgement.

“Now leave me to my work, you may have the afternoon to reflect,” He gave her a short bow in thanks and used every ounce of willpower not to scurry out of the room. Once his mother was out of sight though, he let all pretenses drop and all but ran to his bedroom.

Throwing himself onto his bed (he mentally noted to remake it before his mother saw the wrinkles) he hugged the letter delicately to his chest and grinned in absolute elation.

He’d been dreaming about this moment for as long as he could remember, memories of bedtime stories from his parents, before they’d deemed him too old, about their own time at the school. The absolute honor that they felt having been chosen for Slytherin and how one day he too would get to experience it. He’d dreamed of the green and silver robes when he was a child, but as years passed and his responsibilities around the house grew and grew, he found himself these days just dreaming of the school itself.

He chided himself for thinking that way, but if he were honest with himself about his own selfish desires, he was wishing these days about being away from this house and away from the people within it. He knew he’d never escape the demands of his family and he would be foolish to ever try, but he certainly wouldn’t mind them not breathing down his neck every moment of the day.

Once again he shook his head, banishing the thoughts, he knew he was lucky to be a Kenobi such thoughts about his parents he really shouldn’t consider. They’d given him all the finest toys as a child, and on his 6th birthday when they’d swapped out all his toys for fancy robes, they’d gotten him only the best, plus, he remembered with excitement, they’d let him choose one sweet from Sugarplum’s and didn’t even bother to remind him that boys should not have such a fondness for chocolate.

This year, on his eleventh birthday, they’d given him the greatest gift a wizard could ever receive, he turned over on his bed eyeing the sleek Elder wand on his bedside table. It had been darkened with a varnish and there was a real strip of silver winding around the grip. It was his prized possession.

The reminder of the wand brought him back to the letter still gripped tightly in his hands. Gently he peeled back the wax seal, and pulled out the parchment within. He didn’t need to read the letter, already knowing exactly what it said, but that didn’t stop him from reading his name over and over again, wanting to memorize the script in case he was in a dream he would wake up from.

He eventually left the letter and the list, tucked back inside the envelope, on his nightstand. It was rare he had the afternoon off from chores or some sort of manners lesson, so he would be foolish to waste it daydreaming. He remade his bed, sheets perfectly smooth, and sat at his desk pulling out his father’s old transfiguration textbook for the hundredth time, flipping it back to page one.

***

When Professor Windu called his name, it all became real to him. He ignored the hushed whisper that fell across the hall, his parent’s reminders to stand up straight and walk with purpose echoing loudly in his head as he started forward. His palms were sweating, but he ignored it in favor of schooling his expression to be neutral, his eyebrows pulled together slightly as the whispers got louder and the hat stared at him funny, but his father's disappointed tone smoothed his expression once more. Once he had sat down on the stool, facing the audience, he knew from experience he did not look any part nervous.

“Well, well a Kenobi, welcome back,” the hat spoke as it slid down over his eyes. It was silent for much longer than he’d expected and he fought the urge to fidget, “You seem to think you’ll be assigned to Slytherin,” The hat commented finally.

“I’m a Kenobi,” He thought back as if it was obvious, “My place is in Slytherin, like my family before me,” The hat hummed which felt very odd, like a vibration through his skull.

“Your family has fit into the Slytherin name for generations,” The hat agreed and Obi-Wan mentally agreed with satisfaction.

Yes, he was certainly on his way to following the guides his father had set up for him, he’d be a Slytherin and make friends within it, work towards becoming a legislator and-

“It’s my place to determine where you will succeed,” The hat interrupted his thoughts to muse once more, “I think the best place for you would be-”

“RAVENCLAW!”

***

The hat had been silent for so long Satine had been starting to wonder if something was wrong. So, when the announcement had finally been made, she jumped in surprise before the words really registered within her mind.

“Ravenclaw,” She echoed in surprise, and the realization finally dawned on her. She watched as the pristine boy walked down from the stage, he still looked bland and neutral almost like he was bored by the whole thing and it made Satine rather mad. When he passed by her she ignored him, she would not cheer for someone like Kenobi. She did make eye contact with Cody again who seemed very surprised about something, but she would not have time to bother him about it now. The feast was beginning and even her disdain for Kenobi would have to wait until after such a marvelous feast was enjoyed.

***

The feast was everything he dreamed it would be, but he found himself staring at his empty plate rather than gathering anything for himself. The Silver plate was almost right, but the blue table cloth just kept the hat’s voice echoing in his head, ‘Ravenclaw!’

Him? A Ravenclaw, that hat had to be daft, and likely had it out for him, seeing as how his parents may actually kill him for this. It wasn’t even his first day here and he’d already failed them. Surely, he’d be forced to polish every single one of his fathers awards next time he was home. For this he may even have to shine all the dishes too. Though, he supposed, he’d be lucky if they didn’t lock him up in his room all winter break.

Him, A Ravenclaw! Sure, he liked learning, but didn’t that show his ambition? That was a Slytherin trait, right? And he supposed resourcefulness and creativity could be seen as similar traits. Maybe it was because he wouldn’t describe himself as cunning, but he couldn’t really see himself as witty either.

He noticed suddenly that there were eyes on him. He looked up from the table, suddenly realizing where he was and made automatic eye contact with a girl across the table from him. She was also a first-year judging by her robes, she had hair the color of wheat and eyes the color of the sky which she was using to glare at him now that she had his attention.

“Um, hello there,” He greeted, nearly biting off his own tongue for using a filler word, his father would really have his head come winter break, if this was the path he’d be going down.

“Don’t tell me you’re not planning to eat anything,” Her voice was filled with fire, “You know that’s quite rude,” He didn’t know what had provoked her, but he did realize that perhaps what she said may be true.

“Well, it’s not really your business, but I’ve no appetite this evening,” He retorted, but still glanced at the feast around him for something to take, he didn’t want to offend the staff. He reached for a roll, but suddenly the food vanished and the desserts appeared.

“Serves you right,” She said, before ignoring him in place of spooning pudding onto her own plate.

Obi-Wan stared at the desserts lining the table, there were many he’d always wanted to try and his eyes kept coming back to the chocolate pudding. He caught himself mentally begging the girl to call him out again as an excuse to have some, but she didn’t, so he just stared off across the room at the Slytherin table and listened to his mother’s voice echoing in his head.

#obi-wan kenobi #satine kryze #cc-2224 #commander cody #obitine #star wars #prequel trilogy #clone wars #magical forces au

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animeniacss · 4 years

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A Palette of Emotions - Artist!Taehyung x Teacher!Reader - Chapter 8 - Invitations and Standing Ovations

Synopsis: Taehyung dreams of being a professional and famous artist one day, but finds that the sea of creativity can be lurking with blood hungry sharks, as well as bland, motionless starfish. Swimming through the sea of opportunities somehow washed him up onto the shore of Bright Star Preschool, as an art teacher. This wasn’t where he expected to be 4 years into his career, but anything to get his big break though, right?

Feat. BTS, TXT, ITZY, Jisoo (BlackPink), Taeyong (NCT)

Genre: Romance, Slow Burn, Love Triangle, Drama, School Setting, Working!AU

Length: approx. 4.6k words

Chapter 8 - Invitations and Standing Ovations

Taehyung stared at Jimin for what felt like forever. He wasn’t sure what to say in response to his friend, who just sat there with a wide grin on his face. Taehyung had to try to process it, but he couldn’t. With a shake of his head, he took Jimin’s shoulders.

“What did you say?” He asked curiously.

“I said that I was able to get you a vendor permit for the Annual Ilsan Art Fair at the end of the month,” Jimin repeated, chuckling. Taehyung blinked. “I saw you watching the news last night at the bar, and it took almost all of my strength not to say anything then. I was waiting for the right moment.” Taehyung blinked. “Does that help your hangover?”

“What hangover?! I can focus on a hangover; I need to start preparing and deciding which of my pieces I am going to bring.” Taehyung practically leaped out of his seat, only to see his vision go black momentarily. His fast-paced movements along with his headache caused him to lose balance for a moment, and he stumbled back on the couch. Jimin couldn’t help back laugh. “Fuck…” Taehyung huffed.

“Don’t worry, you have more than enough time to focus on all of that.” He said. “And don’t get too overzealous, I was only able to snag you a smaller part of the venue. “

“Any place is fine with me. That means that even more people are going to see my work and maybe I can finally start selling stuff and…you know, making a name for myself.” Jimin watched as Taehyung leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he stared at his walls that were still covered in his paintings. He sipped his ginger ale. “How did you even manage it?”

“Well, Mr. Kim had a business meeting with one of the men who appraises some of the art. I managed to catch him as he was walking out, we got on the same elevator, and we started talking. He talked about the show and I brought you up. He gave me all of the information and even waived our vending fee for me.” He grinned. “He was so nice; older guy. Nothing like your best friend, Mr. Oh Min-Jae.” Taehyung rolled his eyes as the mere mention of that man’s name. However, honestly, he could care less. Taehyung quickly embraced Jimin in a tight hug, which stunned an unexpecting Jimin for a moment. However, he almost immediately hugged him back.

“Thank you so much, this is crazy.”

“Of course. What kind of manager would I be if I didn’t try to support you however I could by totally taking advantage of my position at work?” The duo laughed, and Taehyung pulled from the hug, laying his head on the back of the couch. Jimin did the same thing, grabbing his ginger ale to drink. The duo sat in silence for a moment, before Jimin rolled his head over to look at his friend. “…What are you thinking about now?” he asked curiously.

“I want to invite my coworkers to come and see me.” He said.

“That’s a good idea,” Jimin said.

“I know my Hyung’s will all come, but-.”

“But you don’t think the teacher will, right?” Jimin asked curiously. Taehyung nodded.

“I want her to see my real work and how serious and professional I can be.”

“Just ask anyway. The worst thing that she can say is she can’t come.” Taehyung pouted a bit. “Or maybe ask one of the others to invite her along, if you think that she’ll say yes that way.” Taehyung nodded. “As I said though, don’t worry too much right now because you should probably go inside and sleep so that you can function at work tomorrow.”

“Ugh, I hate when you’re right.”

“I don’t,” Jimin said smugly as he finally lifted himself from the couch. Taehyung got up as well, carefully this time, and set his now empty ginger ale can on the coffee table. “I’ll see you this weekend, alright?” Jimin hummed as he gave his friend a supportive pat on the back. Taehyung nodded.

“Right, see you then,” Taehyung said. He walked Jimin to the door, the duo sharing a final goodbye before Jimin took his leave, and Taehyung shut the door, clicking the lock shut. He stood there for a moment, silently waiting for something to happen on the other side of the door. When he didn’t hear the sound of footprints, he slowly unlocked and opened the door. Upon opening it, Taehyung saw Jimin still standing at his front door, crossing his arms. A sheepishly adorable boxy smile appeared on Taehyung’s face as he stared at his short, unamused friend.

“…Go to sleep. Do not stay up working or you’ll feel worse tomorrow than you do now.” Taehyung groaned.

“But-.”

“Tae.” Jimin huffed, pouting Taehyung groaned.

“Fiiiiiine.” He said. Jimin nodded, finally turning on his heel and heading down the hallway to the elevator at the end. Halfway down the hall, Taehyung waved him off and finally closed the front door. Almost immediately, as if he didn’t hear a word his friend said, Taehyung turned back to his work desk and the paintings that surrounded the top and bottom of it. He huffed. “There’s no way I can sleep now.” He mumbled to himself, walking towards the work desk. He plopped himself down and began shuffling through some recent doodles he had been doing. “I need to get some work done.”

As Taehyung began to skim and doodle, he found himself extremely lost in thought. He was so focused on making sure that he had something new and exciting ready for the end of the month. He was so busy in thought that he had blocked out the rest of the world as soon as he sat himself down in that seat. It was a trait that caused many nights where he would stay up to meet the sun. However, back then, he was unemployed or working part-time, and could afford to go to sleep at his desk for ten hours at a time. This was no longer the case. And Jimin knew that as well, probably even better than Taehyung did.

Taehyung was so focused, he didn’t hear the click of his front door or the slow creaking of it opening up behind him. He didn’t hear footsteps step into the front entrance or the door close behind him. However, he did hear a loud, and extremely annoyed-.

“BEDTIME, KIM TAEHYUNG!” The high-pitched voice startled Taehyung right out of his seat, and he practically darted to his room like a child who had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Jimin watched him scurry to his room with his tail between his legs, and he huffed, quickly following after him. “I swear to God, I’ll burn your vendors permit if I find out you fucking stayed up all night.”

“Okay, Mom,” Taehyung shouted from under the covers of his bed. Jimin sighed, crossing his arms. “Telling me about the biggest opportunity of my career is going to keep me up anyways, you know.”

“Yeah, you said that about the last art show I managed to get you into,” Jimin said. “You’ll thank me when you wake up tomorrow with no bags under your eyes.” Taehyung snorted.

“That’s funny. Those bastards live under there now, rent-free and I can’t kick them out because each one has two kids.” Jimin chuckled a bit.

“Goodnight, Tae,” Jimin said. Taehyung only groaned, keeping his head under his pillow as he heard his friend make his exit and close the front door behind him. Once Taehyung was alone, he poked his head out from the covers and stared up at the ceiling. He wanted to get up, he wanted to get up so bad and start to work, his fingers were itchy and eager to draw or paint or something. He gripped the sheets, however, because he knew Jimin was right. He needed to sleep and get ready for the next day. He couldn’t have another mess up like he did today. Not if he could help it.

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

Taehyung found himself scratching his head as he headed into the building early the next morning. He couldn’t stop thinking about the night before. He was so excited, then anxious, then excited again that he had to get up and pace the room a few times when sleep wouldn’t overtake his body. When the sun came up, he managed to squeeze in about 6 hours of sleep, which when paired with two cups of coffee, was perfect for him. Taehyung put his hands in his pockets as he headed down the hallway, passing Seokjin’s office. As he passed by, he heard voices talking inside. As he got closer, he could hear the voices even clearer. And neither of them seemed happy.

Inside, you were pacing Seokjin’s desk, hands behind your back. Seokjin was sitting at his desk, eyebrow raised in confusion as he watched you.

“Will you stop pacing?” Seokjin asked. “How about you finally tell me what’s on your mind instead of rambling to yourself.” When you finally stopped, you turned to him.

“Do you think your lecture yesterday got to him?” You asked curiously. Seokjin groaned, his head lolling back in his chair to stare up at the ceiling. “Sir, I’m just asking-.”

“I know it did. He looked upset. Now can you stop with all childish behavior please?” Seokjin sounded extremely annoyed. You blinked, the sound of the more annoyed President Kim making its way into the room over the jovial and upbeat Kim Seokjin. You stopped pacing and turned to him. “Seriously, it’s getting old and I’m getting frustrated.”

“N-no, listen. I’m not trying to give him a hard time here-.”

“Yes, you are,” Seokjin said simply. Taehyung blinked, now finding himself pressed up against the door to get a better listen. “It’s enough now. I spoke to him; he knows what is expected from him and now you need to stop.”

“But President-.” You tried to continue but Seokjin stood up. He was much taller than you now, and as you tilted your head up to look at him, you could see how annoyed he was, the fire burning in his eyes. That scary demeanor only made him seem ten times taller, and you a million times smaller. It sent a shiver up your spine.

“I swear to God if you keep this up, I will send you home and have Hoseok run the class himself. You’re not doing any favors to yourself or the kids by acting this way.” Your heart immediately sank into your chest.

Inside, you had your arms crossed and your eyes cast down to the floor, chewing the inside of your lip. Seokjin groaned and ran a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry, that was too far.” He said.

“You’re probably right though.” You said softly. “I just want to make sure that the kids are safe no matter what. It’s nothing against him.”

“It seems that way,” Seokjin said. “You were in there; did anything looks out of place yesterday other than him looking a bit tired?”

“No.” You said.

“The kids are fine. If it happens again, it’s for me to worry about, not you. But I trust that it won’t.” Seokjin walked over to you, placing a hand in your hair. “You feel this upset about his hiring?” You shook your head.

“No, not anymore. I know the kids like him and I know in my soul that him working here eases my workload a bit and I should be happy but I don’t know. I want to do it all; I’d teach the physical education if I was athletic at all.” Seokjin laughed a bit. “I can’t describe it.”

“But that’s not Taehyung’s fault.”

“I know.” You admitted. Seokjin grinned a bit.

“So, what do we say when we know we do something wrong?” Seokjin hummed, a mocking tone in his voice. You grimaced as he began to laugh once more, feeling even worse hearing this being said to you instead of saying it to a misbehaving child. You pouted.

“President, please-.”

“What do we do~?” he repeated. You groaned.

“Say sorry.” You mumbled, huffing. Seokjin laughed once again, and you couldn’t help but grin a bit too.

“Then shall we? He must be here by now.” Seokjin spun you around and began leading you towards the door.

The sound of footsteps heading towards the door made Taehyung’s eyes widen. He didn’t want to be caught eavesdropping! His eyes scanned the left, right, and even the ceiling, hoping that a magical hiding spot would appear. However, just as he was about to hide, the door opened and he saw Seokjin and you walk into the hall. He stood at attention; eyes cast to the floor.

“Uh…Good morning…” he said after a long silence rang through the hallway. When he looked up, he saw Seokjin grinning ear to ear.

“Good morning, Taehyung. Do you feel better?”

“Yes. It won’t happen again.” He quickly assured. Seokjin nodded his head. Suddenly, he patted your shoulders quickly, and your eyes shot up from the floor as well, coming in direct contact with Taehyung. You felt your stomach do a flip.

This must be what the kids feel like when I do this whole speech to them. You thought to yourself.

“She has something to say to you,” Seokjin said. Taehyung looked at you, and you forced out a deep breath, crossing your arms. Taehyung put his hands in his pockets as you stayed silent. However, after a slight shake of your shoulders, and the sound of Seokjin’s annoyed voice behind you uttering your name, you huffed. Your heart was pounding

“I’m sorry, okay?” you said. “I shouldn’t take my insecure anger out on you and it was rude and unprofessional….” Taehyung blinked a bit. Unprofessional, hm? It hit Taehyung differently hearing the word directed towards someone else. Taehyung nodded his head after a moment when he realized you had stopped.

“Oh, uh-.” Taehyung stuffed his hands in his pockets, pursing his lips as he tried to think of what to respond with. “Don’t worry about it, okay? I just want us to work…you know…well. So, let’s just have a clean slate?” Pulling one of his hands out of his pocket, he stuck it in your direction. You looked down at it, before glancing back up at him. You huffed, smiling a bit as you stuck your hand out and shook it firmly. Taehyung grinned a bit, and you noticed for the first time how boxy and warm his smile was. Just as you took a moment to admire it, a voice was heard behind you.

“I didn’t buy it, should I have you do a deep bow to him and apologize that way?” Seokjin asked. You immediately turned in the direction of your grinning President, who began laughing as you playfully punched him in the shoulder. “Ow!” He gasped as he continued to laugh.

“Would you stop causing trouble at every turn?” You asked, pouting. Taehyung blinked, unable to hold back an amused chuckle. You looked over at him, a pout still stuck on your face, along with a few tints of blush. “What’s so funny?!”

“….I would really accept your apology if you do a deep bow,” Taehyung added. You huffed.

“I’m going to my classroom.” You said, storming away as the boys continued to chuckle behind you. Suddenly, Taehyung stopped laughing, eyes wide as he remembered what he was planning to stop them about in the first place.

“Ah, w-wait a second.” Taehyung began, turning in your direction.

“NO! I don’t want to hear it, bullies.” You huffed, closing your door with a playful force that shook some of the wall posters nearby. Seokjin snickered as he saw Taehyung push his lips together in annoyance.

“What did you have to tell her?” Seokjin asked curiously. Taehyung looked over at his boss, before sighing.

“Well…” Taehyung pushed his fingers together. “My manager got me a vendor’s permit at the Ilsan Arts Festival this month.” He began. “And well…I wanted to ask if you guys were able to come and see me….” Taehyung waited for a response. He had never really asked anyone to see his work at a show before, as a lot of them were smaller and pretty intimate, only containing the managers, a few family members, and some art critics. Occasionally, the public would come, but in small droves due to low capacity. However, this was now a huge art festival that could hold tons of people. And he wanted his coworkers to be there. For a moment, there was no response from Seokjin, and Taehyung got a bit discouraged. He most likely has plans. Taehyung thought to himself. Taehyung looked at him. “I was going to ask her, and Hobi-Hyung and Yoongi-Hyung too…” Taehyung added.

“Hmm, you’re going to show your art?” Seokjin asked. Taehyung nodded. “…Consider us all there, then.” Taehyung blinked.

“Really?” Taehyung asked, eyes lighting up in excitement. Seokjin nodded.

“I think it’s a great way to promote comradery between everyone here once and for all.” Seokjin clapped his hands together. “I’ll call Yoongi, you tell Hoseok when he gets here.” Taehyung nodded and Seokjin patted his shoulders, a grin on his face. “This is exciting. I finally get to see your work in person.” Taehyung nodded.

“Y-yeah. I’m excited too.” He admitted. “It’s one of the biggest art shows I’ve gotten to show my work at.” Seokjin nodded.

“We’ll talk more later, so get ready for the day.” Taehyung nodded as the duo parted ways. As he passed your room, he peeked into one of the windows beside the door. He could barely see inside from behind the construction paper rocket ship on the door, or the multitude of big stars and a moon on the wall. He had to poke his head in the ‘O’ of the phrase “Lift Off to Pre-School!” that was plastered on top, and he accidentally knocked down a cut-out astronaut with Lia’s name written on it, which he had to sneakily put back in its place. However, when he finally got a good look, he saw you standing by the board. Your back was toward the door, a marker in your hand as you began writing and drawing on the board. Taehyung couldn’t see the entire thing, since your body covered most of it. However, when you looked to your right, he saw the profile of your face and pursed his lips. The look of absolute focus on your face was a vast contrast to the puffy cheeked, childish pout that was on your face only minutes before. He couldn’t stop staring as you tugged your hair into a scrunchie ponytail, before walking over to one of the cabinets and opening it, now completely hiding from his view behind the door, only your feet poking out. Taehyung, realizing he should probably step back, went to do so, when he heard a high-pitched voice.

“Your classroom is down the hall, Taehyungieeee~.” The voice made Taehyung jump, and he spun around to see Hoseok, standing behind him with a grin. “Are you spying?”

“Yes! I mean no.” Taehyung said quickly, cheeks flushed. Hoseok immediately covered his mouth to stifle a laugh. “…I just wanted to see what she was doing. I wanted to ask her a question but-.”

“She’s probably lost in thought right now, there’s almost no getting to her while she’s in prep mode,” Hoseok assured. “Want me to pass a message along?” Taehyung looked back into the room for a moment, seeing you close the closet and walk over to one of the desks, squatting down to its level and spreading out materials.

“Well, I have an art show at the end of the month, and I want everyone to come and see my work,” Taehyung said simply. “She just apologized to me for the ways she’s acting, but Seokjin-Hyung kind of forced her so I don’t know if we made up or not, and I don’t want to be a bother.” Hoseok sighed a bit, fixing his bag.

“I’ll tell her. She’ll come if I force her.” Taehyung looked at his Hyung, who was now smiling with a finger pressed against one of his dimples.

“I guess she can’t say no to that face, huh?” Taehyung mumbled, amused a bit by his childish Hyung. Hoseok laughed a bit.

“You’d be surprised, but I can be pretty convincing when I want to be.” Hoseok patted Taehyung’s back. “I’ll suggest it. See you later.” He grinned. Taehyung nodded, finally heading to his room as Hoseok entered the classroom. He took another glance into the classroom, watching as Hoseok approached you, a spring in his step. When you turned to face him, Taehyung took that as his time to leave and make his way to his classroom. As he sat down at his desk, his eyes scanned the walls, the off-white paint slowly being covered up in all directions by scattered collections of the student’s dried artwork. All he could see as he scanned the room was his childhood bedroom, which looked extremely familiar visually. Scribbles and sketches covered all of his carefully placed wallpaper, crumpled up paper took up more of the floor than any number of toys ever could. He felt as if he was eight years old again, kicking his legs at the desk in his room as he continued to draw on a sheet of slightly crumpled printer paper. He could even hear the footsteps of his mother approach him from the door.

“Taehyung, have you even finished your homework?” She asked. Taehyung looked up, his pencil gripped tightly in his hands.

“No.” He said, much to his mother’s disdain. “But I don’t need homework, Mom. I’m going to be a great artist one day, just like Vincent Van Gogh!” A deep, frustrated groan escaped his mother’s lips as she hit him over the head just slightly, making the boy pout. “Ow!”

“Enough with that nonsense. No son of mine is going to struggle his way through life. Art is a fine hobby, but be practical.” Taehyung watched his mother yank the paper from in front of him, crumpling it up in her hands. “Now get your homework done, and don’t even think about coming out of this room until it’s all finished.” She demanded. Taehyung watched her storm out, slamming the door and ending the conversation right then and there.

Taehyung’s memory was pulled away by the sound of his phone vibrating. When he looked over, he saw Jimin’s face showing up on it. Quickly he answered it.

“Uh, hello?”

“Hello, future Van Gogh~.” Jimin cooed happily. “Just calling to tell you that I found out exactly where our vendor spot is going to be for the festival. I sent it to you over text but was shocked to not receive a reply right away. Are you working on lessons or something?”

“Oh uh, no,” Taehyung assured. “I just kind of zoned out. Took a trip down memory lane, I guess…” Jimin hummed. “I’ll check the text message right now, though. Thanks.”

“So, what’s the status with your coworkers?” He asked curiously.

“Well, President Seokjin said he can get everyone to come, but Hoseok-Hyung is going to sweeten the pot for her to say yes,” Taehyung said. “So…yeah.” Jimin grinned.

“That’s great.” He said. “Okay, well if you’re not dead, I need to get back to work before Namjoon finds me and beats me up for sneaking off. I’m supposed to be getting him important documents.”

“Enjoy…” Taehyung said. Jimin laughed a bit, saying his goodbyes before the two of them hung up. Taehyung set his phone down and looked at the desks before him. The materials for the day needed to be pulled out, and Taehyung needed to get an example or two prepared for the children to use as a guide for the craft. He stood up, cracking his back as he strolled over to the cabinet, pulling out a bunch of dollar store mirrors and setting them down. He also collected a stack of paper and a box of markers and crayons. He had planned to have the students pair up and draw each other. His example was done, not forcibly of course, with Jimin before today. He was curious to see what such young minds could see when doing this, and how they were able to put that into a visual art on paper. It was bound to have a few laughs. Taehyung looked up at the clock, knowing that he had more than enough time, and he could probably go outside and greet the kids with you and Hoseok, so that was exactly what he planned to do. Strolling out of his room, he saw you and Hoseok already heading down the hall towards the door, talking to one another. As he watched you, he glanced back inside of his class, seeing the two weeks’ worth of artwork that scattered his walls. As he stared now, he was no longer being brought to the past, but instead was being shown the future. The pictures on the walls morphed from cute and amateur children’s work to abstract, stunning canvases of magnificent artwork. Taehyung could recognize some of the portraits as his own, but some he couldn’t recognize visually, but he could identify them deep in his soul as if they were his, he just didn’t know it yet. He could see the vendor spot perfectly in his mind, though he had no idea what it looked like for real. All he knew was that every day that passed, every hour that passed, every minute that passed, he was closer to it. As he closed the door, he hurried towards his coworkers, hoping to catch up with them in time.

He just couldn’t wait for it.

“Hey, guys.” He said when he approached. You and Hoseok turned your heads, only Hoseok offering a smile to Taehyung. “I wanted to come to say good morning to the kids today.”

“…Okay.” You said simply, turning back around. “Hoseok told me you’re showing art at the Ilsan Art Festival this month.” You said simply. Taehyung nodded.

“Uh yeah.” He glanced in Hoseok’s direction, who offered his friend a smile and a thumbs up. “My manager got me the spot through work. I was hoping you guys could come and see my real art.”

“What? Do your paper plate goldfish with glitter not count as real art?” You teased, smirking. When you didn’t get a reply, you turned over your shoulder to see Taehyung, and Hoseok did not look amused. “…What? I was joking.” You had to clarify, though it didn’t seem to help. You sighed.

“Anyway, are you coming? President Kim said everyone was going to, but-.”

“I uh, I mean I guess.” You looked over at him once again. “The way I’ve treated you…and you still want me to come?” Taehyung nodded.

“Well, yeah of course.” He said simply, putting his hands in his pockets. “I want you all to see my art. Besides, I think we’ve already realized as a group that I’m the nicer coworker out of us.” Hoseok snickered as your eyes widened. Taehyung couldn’t help but grin his little boxy grin. “What? I was joking.” Now, Hoseok began to laugh, and you turned to him.

“Oh, but you laugh at that!?” You asked, which only made Hoseok laugh harder. “It’s not funny!” Taehyung watched you shove Hoseok, and despite the annoyance etched on your face, a smile found its way on there as well. Taehyung smiled as he stared at the scene before him, and he could only imagine one thing.

He could only imagine how stunning your face would look sketched out on a beautiful, white canvas.

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milstrim · 4 years

Text

Rise From the Ashes; Just to See You Again

Chapter 5: Penny Parker

"Miss Parker."

Penny looked up sharply at her teacher's reprimanding voice, snapping her computer shut, almost flinching at how suspicious that was. She hadn't been looking at anything weird, just...herself. Well, theories about Spider-Woman (though the media called her Spider-Girl, much to her annoyance).

"Mmhm?" she hummed, her lips pursed as she tried to appear as though she had been paying attention. It worked about half the time.

"You still with us?" Mrs. Warren asked.

"Uhh, yeah. Yeah, yeah," she looked at the equation on the board, hoping it had been what she'd been talking about, "Um, mass cancels out, so it's just gravity times sin."

"Right," she praised, turning around and walking back to the front of the classroom, "See, Flash, being fast isn't the same as being right."

Oh my, God, Penny thought, about to bang her head on the table. Flash? Why did Mrs. Warren think that was a good idea?? As if he read her thoughts, Flash turned around in his chair and mouthed, "You're dead."

Great.

She didn't let it get to her though, Flash couldn't hurt her, not really. Still, she was just a little uneasy the rest of the day.

Once the final bell rung she rushed out the doors, reaching the gate before anyone else even stepped outside and leaping over it with ease. The teen ran to her usual spot, grabbing a sandwich from Mr. Delmar's on her way, and changed into her suit. Electricity seemed to flow through her as she pulled her mask on and began to swing through the city. As she landed on an especially tall building, static crackled in her ear.

"Ned Solo to Spider-Girl. I repeat, Ned Solo to Spider-Girl," said her best friend, his voice as clear as if he were standing right next to him. The earpieces they had made were really holding up.

She snorted at his words, cracking a smile and trying to contain a laugh.

"Spider-Woman, Ned. Is it really that hard to remember?"

"Ned Solo, " he replied, putting on a fancy accent, "Sorry, though. Anyway, how is the earpiece holding up?"

"Sounds like we're right next to each other," she answered, "How's the camera?" She had installed a small camera of her own creation into her lenses, and Ned had linked it to his computer so he could watch and alert her of crimes after tapping into the police scanner.

"Sweet. I finally get to experience being a superhero first hand!!"

"It's really not that exciting," Penny told him, leaping off of the building and shooting a web, "For me anyway. The most exciting thing we'll see is someone robbing an ATM machine."

She was right. Spider-Woman patrolled the streets of New York for nearly five hours, and a lot of it was spent goofing around. Don't get her wrong, there was plenty of crime in Queens, but it generally wasn't enough to keep her busy for a whole afternoon. Ned somehow managed to stay on the whole time, though he did start doing his homework halfway through. Penny did have fun taking pictures though, getting some nice angles for The Daily Bugle.

Despite the afternoon being boring, things had gotten a little more intense recently. She'd been encountering a lot of alien weapons, though she'd never actually managed to get one from someone, or a name. They always either hit her or something else, making her have to stop instead of grabbing the people and the guns. She was looking around for leads, but had none at the moment, she wasn't exactly a detective. She figured that if she continued patrolling she'd be likely to find more of the weapons.

It was dark by the time she climbed into her room, ripping off her mask and throwing it on the floor. Thankfully, she had remembered to actually close her door before she left for school that morning.

Penny could hear May bustling around in the kitchen, she could smell it too, though she wished she couldn't. Hopefully they'd go to that new Mexican place a few blocks over, it had really good enchiladas. She quickly changed into some shorts and a sweatshirt and headed in the main room, grabbing her backpack so she could do her homework on the couch.

"Hey, May!" Penny greeted cheerily, "Can we get Mexican tonight?"

"I made lasagna!" her aunt protested, waving a rag at the burnt lasagna as if it would help. Penny raised an eyebrow, a small smile gracing her lips. May furrowed her brows in response, but it was playful.

They did end up getting Mexican, and a guy from another table ended up hitting on May, who never quite got the hint. It was kinda funny to be honest.

"So, your birthday's next week," May commented after dinner as they walked down the street, making their way to the apartment.

"Yeah, I know," Penny sassed playfully, which made May swat at her.

"Fifteen's a big deal!" she insisted, suddenly going serious, "I know things have been tough lately, what with...but I still want you to have a good birthday."

"I'm fine, May, really. I don't want anything big."

"What do you want?"

"I..." Penny hesitated, "I wanna go to the Stark Expo."

May paused, clearly hesitating.

"The Penelope Stark Expo? That thing Stark does every year?"

"Yeah, it's like a fundraiser, for people who would be around his daughter's age or whatever. They do science exhibitions and stuff. It's free to go to, I just wanted to walk around," Penny rushed. May wasn't a huge fan of Tony Stark, and after what they had seen on the news about the Expo in 2010, she hadn't been too keen about Penny going.

"I don't know, Penny, the Avengers will be there an--"

"Exactly! The Avengers! It'll be safe as long as they're there, I mean, that's their whole job," Penny interrupted, wondering if one day that would be her job.

"Trouble follows the Avengers. I honestly don't think it will be safe, and I get that it's a good opportunity for you, but I'm just not comfortable with it."

"Please, May," Penny whined, "I really want to go! I promise it's all I'll ask for, and I only want to go one night, it's not like I want to go every day of the week."

"No, Penny."

"But, May--"

"I said 'no,' Penny, you can't go!" May said, her voice firm and frustrated.

Penny shut up then, and the two walked in silence up to their apartment. She didn't want to make May upset. Her aunt had been so fragile since Ben died (and if was being honest with herself, she had too), so she'd been doing everything right to the best of her ability. She cleaned, she kept her grades up, she stayed in Academic Decathlon, and she even got a job at the Daily Bugle to help make ends meet, which was like the easiest job ever since all she really had to do was take selfies. Except for Spider-Woman, she had done everything right, and her aunt didn't even know about Spider-Woman.

So she kept quiet as they walked into the apartment, finishing her homework and going to bed. She fell asleep immediately, though her dreams were plagued with screams, an echoing gunshot, blood that filled the streets and stained her hands and arms, and the feeling of being ripped away from strong, comforting arms.

When Penny woke up, gasping, it was 3 AM and she felt hot and itchy all over. She tried to go back to sleep, but to no avail.

Penny climbed out of bed, her mattress creaking as she swung her legs over the side. The teen walked over to the window, sticking her hands on it and opening it slowly, not wanting to wake up May. She then climbed out and onto the wall, the chilly night air biting her skin and washing over her with relief. With surprising energy for the time of night, she jumped from her fire escape to the roof, escaping the pressing confines of her room.

There was no moon that night, and being in New York City, there weren't any stars either. Still, she could make out plenty from the lights of the city skyline. The cool night air washed over her, blowing her curly hair, which she'd cut to her chin recently, as she stared at the cloudy sky, wondering if she would ever be able to make the difference she was hoping for.

He shot up in bed, grasping the ghost of his arc reactor on his chest as he let out a pained gasp. It had been a nightmare, just another nightmare tormenting him when he couldn't protect himself. He sucked in a stunted breath, managing to take in a little air as he wiped at his clammy and sweaty face, blinking away tears that streamed down his face and found their way into his mouth as it hung open in the attempt to breathe, to feel his chest loosen.

It took several minutes, in which he stumbled out of his bed, managing to not wake Pepper, and shuffled to sit in the chair facing the New York skyline. The man stifled his gasps and continued to wipe uselessly at his wet face, his hands too sweaty to make any difference. When, after several minutes of suppressed panicking, he finally calmed down he managed to actually think.

The dream had started off so nice, well, not nice, but normal, nonthreatening. But it quickly devolved into the same pain he'd been feeling since he'd lost Penny, the constant cloud of rage and grief that hung over him day and night, no matter how he tried to escape it.

The nightmare had been more of a feeling that anything; the way she'd been ripped from his arms, the creeping of the gas as it wrapped around his throat and tied him down. But then it had changed, turning into a faceless woman falling whom he failed to catch, her fingers slipping through his, and though he didn't recognize the woman, and though she had been dead since she was four, it had been Penny.

It had been like Pepper, too much like Pepper, like he was unable to catch his family, to protect them.

"Tony?" Speak of the devil, "It's late. Are you okay?"

"Fine," he replied, but his voice was taut and he knew she wasn't fooled. She never was.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked softly, entering his view and sitting on the footrest in front of him. He just leaned forward in response, taking her hands and pressing his lips to them gently. He didn't speak for a moment, and Pepper didn't make him, just waited patiently, her blue eyes sad.

"It was about Penny," he admitted, "I couldn't...I didn't catch her. She just...fell, and I didn't catch her, I couldn't even hold her."

Pepper placed her hand on his cheek soothingly, and he leaned into it, placing his hand on top of hers.

"Oh, Tony," her voice was so soft and so heartbreakingly sad, "It wasn't your fault, you know it wasn't."

"I was her dad, Pep," he croaked, "I was supposed to protect her, that was my job. What happened to her was my fault."

The woman only sighed, knowing it was a losing battle. It had been an ongoing fight since his daughter's kidnapping, and no amount of therapy she'd made him take or time he'd had had made him believe anything else.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, the two of them staring out the floor-to-ceiling window companionably until Pepper got up. He didn't make any moves to follow her, or to even watch her, just staring out over the city blankly. His fiancée returned, though he didn't know how long she'd been gone, sitting in the chair with him this time and spreading a large book over their laps. It was a dark blue--Penny's favorite color--with large and elegant lettering on the front, simply titled Penny.

Pepper had given it to him on the first anniversary of the worst day of his life, and though he wasn't much of a crier, he'd shed more than a few tears when he'd opened it.

Tony opened it now, flipping through every page reverently, pausing to look at the photos of Penny, to admire every drawing she'd ever given him, from ones of unicorns and dragons to ones of the two of them, usually including Platty. His chest hung heavy as he and Pepper flicked through the memories of the best years of his life, to the years now permanently stained by grief.

"It'll be okay, Tony. It'll be okay."

No it won't.

"I know."

#Iron Man #spiderman #irondad #spiderson #spiderdaughter #spiderwoman #penny parker #female peter parker #tony stark #fanfic #irondad fanfiction

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redcrossroads · 5 years

Text

Alone Is In The Past Family Is Now

@plaidsleep I’m your secret santa for @dgmsecretsanta2k19! Your prompts were a godsend and I hope you’ll enjoy what I wrote. I wish you a Merry Christmas and hope you’ll have fun reading this~.

Also, lots of gratitude for the wonderful team hosting this event! Happy holidays everyone!

Summary: It’s Wisely’s first Christmas with his family since reincarnating. They’re a noisy bunch of eccentrics and while he loves them he’s not a fan of enduring the Christmas party Sheryl will force them to attend. Having accepted his fate as he doesn’t find any excuses believable enough to explain his absence, he doesn’t expect Tyki to kidnap him straight out of bed first thing in the morning.

„What’s the point of this?”

Snow crunching underneath his boots Wisely makes a face when smoke is blown into his face. The smell of tabaco is sharp in his nose, his sense dialed up quite a notch due to his genes. Another sharp breeze of icy wind ruffles his hair and he mourns the loss of his scarf shielding his forehead from the cold in this weather.

“Can’t you guess, Mister Lack of Privacy?”

“I don’t need to guess.”

He huffs as he tugs his hands into his pockets. Eying the people pushing past them with thin veiled annoyance. The thoughts tumbling inside the minds of these simpletons are nothing but a headache in the making. Huddling a step closer to the Tyki in hope of distancing himself from the on slaughter of people Wisely lets his lips curl into a smirk as he glances up at the man busy sucking smoke into his lungs.

“It’s not like you’re difficult to read. Your mind is an open book to everybody willing to take a look with barely any words written on the pages.”

“Careful now. I’m not above leaving you out here to fend for yourself.”

It’s a half-hearted warning at best. But it’s one Wisely choses to heed for once. After all the trouble the man went through to get him up and dressed for the weather without anyone noticing them sneaking away for the day when Sheryl would be out for blood since they would miss the Christmas ball he’s planned is enough of a gesture of kindness to mind his manners for now.

He’s grateful for every second he’s away from all the horrid Christmas singing Road will force the family to take part in. Itchy clothing far too formal for his tastes and Sheryl insisting he’d dance with Road to represent the family while ignoring the deafening noise of the upper class and the girls making eyes at him.

Tyki could have went out without him in the first place. Which of course doesn’t mean Wisely won’t be throwing him under the buss if his adoptive father comes looking. Or worse if Road came looking for them. Shuddering at the thought of what would be another tantrum of the painful sort, he tries to block out these thoughts.

“Are you cold?”

Tyki blinks, glancing down at him with outright amusement tugging up the corners of his mouth. The cigarette hangs between his lips, burning away in the cold winter air.

“No, just thought of what Road will do when she finds out we went to the Christmas market without her.”

Wisely grins when Tyki ends up choking on an inhale of smoke, thumping him on the back. He gets a glower in return before an arm pulls him closer around the shoulders, pulling him into a headlock as Tyki rubs his knuckles viciously over his head. He yelps in protest at the rough treatment of his hair, feeling the sting of his scalp.

“Ow, ow, ow!”

“Not so funny now, is it genius?”

Tyki drawls out as he lets up with his fist. The smug grin on his pale face tinted with blotches of pink from the cold is an irritating thing to see.

“Didn’t see that coming, huh?”

“Bugger off!”

Puffing out his cheeks Wisely scowls. The arm settling loosely around his shoulders is a comfortable weight but he has half a mind to shrug it off to show his displeasure. He glares at the people daring to send them dirty looks, wishing he could melt what little amount of brain they had without attracting attention.

“Next time I’m going to blurt out your embarrassing thoughts to everybody at the dinner table. Every single one. No matter how vile or dirty they are.”

“Sure, go ahead. I’m not ashamed by pleasure.”

Tyki winks, taking out his cigarette before flicking it into the snow.

“I’ll tell Desire you love him. I wonder how he would react if I tell him how much his little brother thinks about getting his hugs—”

Tyki’s smile slips from his face. Dread in its former place. “You wouldn’t.”

“Are you sure?”

Wisely’s grin is full of teeth. Tyki shakes his head, shuddering at the thought as he steers them into another direction. They take the left turn at the cross road, the Christmas lights getting brighter as decoration fills up the streets beyond the single lights they passed.

Ribbons of red hung upon small trees lining up the sidewalk into the market place. Ornaments of golden paper hung from the branches, flickering in the bright lights of the street lamp. A large tree stood in the middle of the place with a golden star at the top and little angels of wax fastened upon the pine needles. The bustling of people marching from one booth to another made the place seem crowded. Children were laughing, running around while throwing snow as they sung off-key Christmas songs and lullabies to the wind. The smell of sweetness coming from the central is drawing people in like moths to a flame.

Tyki lights up another cigarette.

“I’d say stay close to me so you don’t get lost but I doubt I’d be able to lose you with what you’re wearing.”

Frowning as he glanced down at his outfit Wisely raised a brow.

„Got a problem?“

„No,“

Tyki makes a face, lips curling as he blows out a cloud of smoke into the air.

“As long as I don’t have to wear one. I’m all for not giving a shit about appearances but that’s where I draw a line.”

“You’re just jealous the Earl made mine with more care than yours.”

The sweater is a deep forest green, knitted by the Earl. In the middle of the chest is a replica of his demon eye in monochrome colors while small pieces of glitter were stuck onto the center. It’s warm and comfortable and it’s the first piece of clothing made for him by another person.

He wears it with pride.

“It’s hideous.” Tyki says, disgust wrinkling his nose and Wisely sticks out his tongue as they observe the people wandering about.

“It’s perfect.”

He’d never make the Earl sad by refusing to wear his gifts. The others ought to follow his example. It’s not as if the twins could look any more horrid with their makeup than they do now.

“Fine, fine.”

Flicking away ash as he draws his arm away from Wisely’s shoulder to brush his hair away from his face with his free hand, Tyki holds out his hand.

“Let’s go. We can’t stay in one place for long.”

“Really?”

Letting out a sigh Wisely narrows his eyes at the offered hand but takes it into his own nonetheless. Lean fingers curl around his own with surprising strength before their joint hands are tugged into the pocket of Tyki’s coat to keep them warm.

“I’m not a child.”

“You’re my nephew. Can’t have you running off now, can I?”

Not waiting for an answer Tyki drags him towards the masses of noisy people buzzing around not unlike a stingy wasp out for a fight. Wisely scowls as people brush past him, their shoulders nudging him to make space for themselves. Giving them the evil eye, he tries to block out the mindless noise.

“We should buy some sweets for Road.”

He offers, squinting at one of the booths selling candy. Knowing her it’d make little difference to the crime they committed in not taking her along with them but her temper tantrum of violence would be softened a bit with the peace offering. Perhaps enough bribery will get the job of distraction done and he’ll manage to make it to the Earl’s bed to hide for a nap.

“Good thinking. I knew I took you along for a reason.”

The praise falls flat in the face of teasing. Not appreciating being treated like a dog Wisely digs his nails into Tyki’s palm hidden from view and relishes in the wince the man gives.

“More like dragged me straight out of bed to kidnap me.”

He mumbles into his scarf warped around his neck instead of his head knowing a turban would attract too many stares in the streets.

People would take a second glance at that, but not at a starving child begging in the streets.

Humans really are the worst sort of sinners.

His line of thought is interrupted as Tyki rolls his eyes, tugging him to stand in line at one of the booths. The chatter around them fades into static noise as he focuses his attention on Tyki’s voice.

“By the time you managed to get your ass out of bed Sheryl would be breathing down our neck.”

“That didn’t mean you had to yell to wake me up.”

The perks of having a soundproof room for his headaches could also be a curse. Wisely’s not planning on letting go of that. As soon as the holidays are over, he’ll get revenge.

“Be thankful I didn’t pour water over your head.”

Wisely opens his mouth to reply but their conversation is cut short as they’re at the front of the line. Tyki buys a variety of sweets, from chocolates to Christmas crackers and roasted almonds and cookies.

“Do you want anything?”

“Not from here.”

The plump man behind the counter twitches at his rudeness but doesn’t comment on it as Tyki stuffs the package of sweets into his other pocket and walks off with him in tow.

Snow beings to fall and the children near them stopping in their giggling to shriek in excitement.

Wisely grimaces at the sound.

“C’mon, let me treat you to some hot chocolate.”

Tyki seems to notice his worsening mood and the beginning of the headache forming. Offering no protest Wisely finds himself holding a steaming cup of pure sweetness as the woman behind the counter of another booth coos at the apparent act of kindness.

“Is that your son?”

“Afraid not, Miss. He’s my nephew.”

Tyki sighs as he crushes the butt of his cigarette with his boot, looking like he mourns the loss of nicotine on his tongue. Wisely scowls, sullenly sipping on his drink as he watches Tyki lean against the counter to chat up the woman.

Cupping both hands around the hot cup, he buries his nose into his scarf, narrowing his eyes in impatience.

He manages another five minutes as he lets the chocolate coat his tongue and chase away the chill of winter before the high sound the woman produces with her laughter grates on his nerves and he clears his throat. The snow flakes landing inside his cup make the appeal of a hot drink tasteless.

“You’re wasting your time, uncle, not only is she married and thinking about cheating on her husband, she’s also got another guy on the side. I doubt you’d want to catch the disease she’s worrying about either.”

“Why you little—”

“Alright! That’s enough, let’s go.”

Tyki spins him around, taking his shoulders before shoving him as far from the spluttering women yelling curses their way as he can. Cup flying from his hands Wisely lets himself be pushed along a safe distance until he digs in his heels.

“You’re annoying when you’re grumpy.”

“Your flirting is tacky. You could have done that at the party as well. But you dragged me out into the cold with the promise of a good time. All I see are noisy brats.”

Tyki frowns, still holding him at the shoulders but facing him now. They ignore the curious glances from the passersby with ease. His brows furrowing as he looms close before he nods and pulls away.

“Do you have the medicine from the Earl with you?”

“No,”

Wisely whines, the throbbing of his skull not easing up with all the noise around. He tugs at Tyki’s coat sleeve.

“You dragged me out the door before I could get them.”

It’s no secret he’s prone to headaches with his demon eye. But unlike last time, this one came didn’t come from a fight but from an overload of mindless information spinning around his ears. The cold doesn’t help. He wants his bed, warm and save and quiet. Maybe with the Earl’s squishy form hugging him close. It’s been far too long since he’s had this family, so he’s not ashamed off his neediness.

Even if it can be a bit too much from time to time. He’s getting used to the new personalities trying not to get them mixed up with the old ones he knows and the fact he was the last to join the party of their siblinghood stings inside his chest.

“I guess this time I’ll take the blame. Is there anything I can do?”

While the question sounds exasperated Tyki’s eyes are a soft amber, the frown on his face full of barely concealed concern as he reaches out to brush off the snow on his shoulders and head. Hands running through his hair, gently messaging the scalp, it does little to help with the sharp pang of pain inside his mind.

“Got the short end of the stick as the only Noah likely to suffer from headaches of all things.”

“—Then again, maybe I should’ve asked before I dragged him along.”

“Wouldn’t have been much of a surprise…”

“…wanted him to have a good time.”

“Instead of hiding away and boring himself to death at some sleazy party—”

“Can’t stay holed up in his room all the time—”

“Not really. I’ll let you know if I can think of something that’ll work other than the Earl’s medicine.”

He offers a wry smile, cheeks flushing a bit at the thoughts he’s read. Warmth chases away the biting cold and gratitude blooms in his chest at the thought of no longer having to spent his time rotting away on the streets. Tyki blinks at the change in his mood, narrowing his eyes before he grins.

Wisely startles as he’s pulled along the streets with no warning. They leave the Christmas market behind in favor of Tyki dragging him along and for a moment, he thinks Tyki must have seen Road or another member of the family to flee at such a quick pace.

It’s not the case when Tyki takes a sharp turn after several streets, drags him forward and trips him face first into a pile of snow.

“Cold things can cure headaches, don’t they?”

Throwing a snowball in Tyki’s laughing face is Wisely’s answer. His laughter is cut off as he gets a mouthful of snow and Wisely doesn’t hesitate in scooping up another one to hurl it at the man. It hits him in the throat. Tyki hisses at the sharp sting of frost before he offers a feral grin.

“You’re going to regret that.”

It’s a threat and the next snowball Wisely throws goes straight through the man.

“Shit.”

Tyki chuckles, eyes gleaming as they crinkle with mischief. A grin stretches across his face from ear to ear and Wisely flinches at the sight.

“Oh yes. Let’s see how this will work out for you, smartass.”

“Hold on, that’s cheating!”

Wisely is running across the open field they managed to find, scarf becoming loose and flying over one shoulder in the breeze. Warm puffs of air cloud his vision as he pants from the exercise, cursing as he hears the crunching of footsteps in the snow behind him come near.

“Too bad for you I’m an expert cheater.”

Tyki shouts, tackling him into the snow. Wisely shrieks as he faceplants into the coldness. Tyki’s weight on his back is heavy and warm and no matter how hard Wisely buckles and tries to crawl away the man doesn’t move an inch. He kicks out when a hand dumps snow on his head, rubbing it in as his face is pressed onto the ground.

“Get off me!”

“Or what?”

Good question. Wisely grunts as snow slides down on his back.

“I’ll make your head explode!”

Tyki pauses. His voice is uncertain when he speaks and Wisely doesn’t have to try to read his thought to deduce what he’s thinking.

The weight on his back shifts nervously. “Can you actually do that?”

“Are you willing to find out?”

He spits out through clenched teeth, lashing out with a fist. He gets Tyki right in the side of his throat. The man chokes, hands flying up to shield his neck as he topples off of Wisely’s back to the side. Rolling over, so he’s lying on his back he waits until Tyki’s wheezing for air is down to normal breathing again.

Minutes pass as they lay in the snow, letting it soak through their ruined coats. Over their heads is a blanket of grey, shielding what little sun might’ve shined through the dark clouds from sight. Snow continues to drift to earth, melting upon making contact with their skin as they breath invisible clouds of hot air into the early morning breeze. Their chests rising with each beat of their former excitement of a chase.

Wisely nudges Tyki’s shoulder with his own. “Thanks.”

“For what?”

Tyki asks, pursing his lips as he turns his head. His hair is curling at the edges, framing his face in a wild fashion from the row they had. Pale skin pink and glossy from the water of melted snow he looks like a drowned cat with the way he blinks the flakes from his eyes, some clinging to his hair.

There’s a limit to obviousness…and you’ve surpassed it Joyd.

“I’m not spelling it out for you if you can’t figure it out yourself.”

Sitting up Wisely brushes the snow from his clothes. His sweater and coat clings to his back and the sensation of drenched clothes on his skin is disgusting. He wrinkles his nose as he stands.

“Not sharing what you know kind of makes you useless.”

Tyki grumbles as he picks himself up but there’s no bite behind his words.

“Sheryl will have a fit when he sees us like this.”

“I hope you haven’t crushed the candy for Road in your fall. She won’t be pleased if you did.”

Tyki blanches, checking his pockets with an urgency lacking all of his fine grace. Wisely smirks when the cursing starts, watching the man pick out crumbles of cookies with a look of pure terror on his face.

“Shit. I’ve got no money left.”

“That’s too bad. Good luck in telling her what happened.”

He doesn’t wait for a reply as he rushes down the street. He ignores Tyki’s shouting as he runs back to the main street, pushing past the people with barely a glance to see if Tyki is following.

His priority is getting to safety. His advantage is he knows Desire will look for Joyd first, which will give him additional time to make it to the Earl’s bed. A safe heaven where no fighting shall take place. An unspoken rule nobody dared to break.

Too bad Tyki won’t make it there in time.

Hours later under the bright lights of Desire’s over the top decorations with Road in his arms swaying to the beat of one of the cheesy Christmas songs she’s taken a liking to, red dress swaying from side to side, he sees Tyki walk in with a suit. His face twists into a grimace when Road winks and he scurries out of sight. Despite hating the formal clothes he wears, the people chattering around him, the stuffy hot air and the loudness of the obnoxious orchesta shattering his eardrums Wisely finds himself smiling.

“What’s up with that? You hate parties.”

Road’s eyes are brighter than the lights illuminating the room, a thing only happiness manages to capture and bring forth on her face. Wisely shrugs, smile stuck to his face as he sighs.

“Don’t make me answer questions you already know the answer to. It’s exhausting and you’re the only one here who knows anything aside from me. Playing dumb is more Joyd’s thing.”

“Already choose a favorite, I see.”

Road chuckles, lips twisting into a smirk that has him fearing she’ll stomp on his feet despite having the ability to see it coming.

“Tyki is rather endearing. I’m sure he’ll be willing to sneak away with you as soon as Daddy will leave him out of sight. I might be willing to distract him for you.”

“Why?”

“Don’t be a hypocrite, Wisely.”

She chides as the music comes to a stop. Not giving him the chance to make a choice she drags him away from the dance floor, heels clacking with every step.

“I like seeing you happy. Family is special, you know?”

Standing on her tip toes, she plants a kiss on his cheek leaving a bright red mark before she skips ahead and clings to Sheryl’s arm. Tyki glances up and when their eyes meet Wisely rubs at his forehead, gesturing towards the double doors across the room with his head and gets a grin in return.

“Come Daddy, dance with me! Wisely isn’t feeling well!”

“Of course, my dear!”

Road’s a horrible liar, Wisely thinks fondly as Tyki plays along and they flee out the double doors so he might get some fresh air to feel better.

In the last few years he’s never felt happier.

#dgmss2k19 #d gray man #dgm fanfic #wisely #tyki mikk #christmas fluff #Wisley x Tyki #noah family #platonic relationships matter #can be seen as a ship #my writing

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geekygoddesss · 6 years

Text

“When are you going to...”

Luke

"...Get a haircut?" I ask my boyfriend who is too busy looking at his cellphone while laying his head on my tummy, giving me the opportunity to play with his curls a little bit. It was one of those days, days of extreme relaxation, where none of us really wanted to move at all, just relax, enjoy each others company, have random conversations… I think this is random enough.

"Not today, or tomorrow, or next week..." he mumbles lazily, still playing with his phone. He turns around, looking at me with an eyebrow raised "Why?" He asks in curiosity "don't you like it? I thought you liked tugging it when I-" he says but stops to have a laugh when I slap his arm to make him shut up.

Yes, sometimes he could be a bit of a pervert.

"I do like it" i say pouting and still running a hand through his hair, feeling the softness of his blonde hair against my fingers "but I miss the quiff though," I say shrugging a little.

I have to admit, ever since Luke decided to style his hair a bit better a couple of years ago, I was here for it, seeing how he went front his “too straight hair” phase to the “quiff” situation was pretty much a game changer for him and I loved the way he looked with that new style. About a year ago he just gave up on it, he cut his hair and just let it take his own way naturally, which at first was pretty normal, but then it grew and grew and kept growing, until it formed curls that now touched the middle of his neck and covered his ears, I could say this was his “Lazy hair” phase and he wasn’t mad at it, he was in fact very comfortable, I respect that. But I still miss the quiff.

He sighs deeply, going back to his previous position and staring at his phone "it's not coming back, babe" he says.

I chuckle a little, running my fingers through this scalp and massaging it "What about just like, short hair?" I suggest innocently.

"I would have to go to the Baber for that, I think I’ll pass" he excuses himself, just groaning at the thought, I knew how lazy he actually was for this things "let me be, woman" he says, lifting his hand and reaching for the side of my hip, squeezing on my soft spot and making me break in a short fit of giggles.

"I let you be!" I argue as I move away from his hand and try to speak like a normal being "I just love your old look that's all"

He laughs, sitting up on the bed and turning around. He was showing me a teasing smile and shaking his head a little.

"Aw" he says sitting up moving up a bit to lay by my side, moving up shortly to peck on my lips before laying in his spot and picking up the remote beside me "but I'm a man with a hundred looks, honey" he says, winking.

And sure he was, he has too much to show up with his style and I could not wait to see what he had next.

Michael

"...Shave?" I whisper in his ear one Monday morning while we laid together, legs intertwined and skin to skin while the only sound in the room was the singing birds from outside and the wind softly hitting the window ever so slightly.

"What do you mean?" He mumbles turning his head to me.

"I mean that I want you to shave" I say running my hand up and down his chest. Feeling him relax under my touch "don't misunderstand me, I love your beard, it's just..."

"Just..." he mimics me waiting for my answer. a teasing tone in his voice and a small smile on his lips.

"Scratchy" I say tracing forms on his chest with my fingers.

"You want me to shave because my beard is scratchy?" He says in a scoffing tone, laughing a little as he took the liberty to run his fingers through my hair and caressing my scalp "I Don't know" he mumbles in a soft voice.

“Please?” I say, In a begging voice and looking up at him with big puppy eyes “I promise, you look so incredibly handsome like never before, Michael, you are the light of your band with that beard-” I keep talking but he laughs hard, shaking his head at my words and running his fingers through my hair as he laughs “But it’s itchy”

“Hm” he says, really thinking about it for a brief second, If he wanted I could give him a million reasons why he would look better shaved right now, but I don’t think I need to, I think he knows it perfectly. “You weren’t complaining about that earlier” he concludes, throwing at me a teasing look.

“Mikey” I groan, suddenly blushing hard, too hard for my liking. I hid my face on his chest for a small second but right after I was sitting up on the bed and covering bare chest with the sheets and raising my hand to place it softly against his scruff “I really hate to be the one telling you this” I mumble, as I caress it softly “But it’s time”

He smiles and laughs at me again. He takes my hand in his and spreads kisses in each of my knuckles, to then place my hand again on his own face and leaning into it, feeling my touch. It was not that I didn’t like it, I do, but I had my personal reasons to want it gone, first and foremost, because he looked cleaner and more put together, I could kiss him without that barrier of hair interrupting me from spreading my love.

“Okay” he says, opening up to the idea of shaving for the first time in his vacation break, or that’s what I thought before he looked down at me and said “You do it”

I frown, a little confused at what he was saying “Do what?”

“Shave my beard” he explains, again moving my hand from his face and lacing our fingers together.

I am instantly blocking that idea away from my mind, nope, that could not happen, so many things could go wrong with that and I would rather it didn’t.

“No” I say, shaking my head at the thought “I’m going to cut you, no”

“No you won’t, I’ll guide you” he says as if he could convince me that easily “What are you going to do when I’m all old and gray? someone has to do it for me” he says kissing my knuckles again.

“That’s years from now” I laugh at his dumb excuse “For now I would like to not hurt your precious face”

He is laughing again, taking my compliment and feeding up his ego. “Precious face” he says, his eyebrows moving up and down in one funny face. “Actually I was going to shave anyways but the thought of you doing it, It’s kind of hot”

Ha, it’s a pun, I get it.

I laugh a little, moving upwards to cuddle in his arms and let him wrap me in a hug.

“You’re just so lazy” I say, softly nudging his side.

We laugh together, he pulls me in for a kiss, places his lips over mine and slides his tongue in my mouth, I kiss him back, feeling the kiss deepen up, but then he takes the big chance to rub his cheek against mine and making me feel his beard more than ever. I yelp and push him back as I laugh, he was teasing me and that was not very nice of him.

“That I am” he says, moving over me and getting up the bed in one skilled move “Your wish is my command, lady” he says, kissing my cheeks before stealing the sheet from me and wrapping it around his hips. “I’ll be back with a brand new baby face” he says, giving me a playful wink.

I gasp at the sudden breeze running through my body and roll on my stomach, grabbing my own covers and putting them over me. but I ignore what he just did.

“Thank god” I say rolling my eyes, watching him disappear in our bathroom.

Honestly, whether he shaved or not he would always look handsome to me, but sometimes, it was very necessary and one thing was for sure, He would always look hot in any way possible.

Calum

"...get a dog?” I let out, as Calum sits in the other side of the table.

A very casual and perfect summer day for going out and hanging in a Starbucks, Calum decided it was a good idea for us to get out of the house a little and take a walk around. He leaves the cup of coffee in front of me as he takes a sip of his own, his eyebrows frowning underneath his sunglasses at my sudden question and apparently finding it weird, I guess that’s how you start a conversation.

“What?” He asks, leaning back on his chair and pulling his shades up.

“When are we getting a puppy?” I ask again, a little giggle leaving my lips as I rest the straw on the corner of my lips.

“I didn’t know you wanted a puppy” He says smiling a little, watching me as I took the first sip.

I almost moaned at the taste, I love this drink, He knew what I wanted so well. I swallow it down quickly though, I need to elaborate on my point. “Well, I love dogs” I say shrugging, it was really the only reason I need, dogs are the best. “think about it, We’re not old enough or ready for a baby but we have a big house and we have a stable relationship, so why not?” I smile.

again, It was the only point I needed to expose right now. We have been dating for a very long time, we know each other more than ever and we have been living under the same roof for about three years or so, I think it was the right time. It’s been a while since I’ve been thinking about a dog, but bringing it up seemed like a hard step for me, I didn’t know how to say it, how to elaborate it and after a while or really meditate it, I decided, I’m just going to say it and see what happens, It’s not a bad question after all.

“I don’t know I didn’t gave it a thought” he says, looking up at the sky and thinking about the idea for a solid minute. I wait for his answer and deep down I spect for it to be a yes or a no, but things weren’t that easy “would it be my dog or your dog?” he asks, a smile on his face as he drinks from his cup.

I laugh, clever question.

“I can share” I shrug, leaning my elbows on the table and resting my chin on my hand.

He laughs softly, shaking his head a little and copying my movements and resting his chin on the back of his hand. “It doesn’t seem like a bad idea” he says shrugging “you would get company when I’m gone”

“And a fluffy son to play with” I add, a big smile on my face.

I was doing it. He was buying it, I could see it in his face, he likes the idea, he really likes it. Something inside of me snaps in emotion at the expression of his face, I really didn’t thought it would be so easy. I need to keep talking.

“I love dogs” I say, smiling and switching my position to grab his hand.

“And I do too” he says, letting my hold his free hand and lacing our fingers together. his fingers were warm against my cold hand and that comforting heat was just the one that made me feel home, I love to have him close to me in any way.

“Babe, this is a big step” he says, now in a more serious tone as he squeezed my hand softly.

“Is it?” I ask, my eyebrow raising a little bit and my head leans to the side just a little. He nods, not saying a word but still keeping it serious. “Well I guess it is” I sigh, nodding as well, he was right. would be happy to give it with you”

He smiles at me, leans to kiss the back of my hand and looks at me in the eyes. “Yeah me too”

my eyebrows raise even more as a wide smile appears on my face. “So…”

he hawks a little, fixing his position on his seat just a bit and grabbing my other hand “(Y/n), would you adopt a puppy with me?”

I suppress a laugh at all this formality but can’t seem to hide my excitement when a loud and clear “Yes!” comes out of my lips.

I lean across the table, just enough to kiss him on the lips for a short moment to then sit back on my sit, giving small jumps of joy on my spot. I was too happy, I couldn’t even describe how happy I actually was, I tried my best to control myself and not seem like the crazy overexcited lady that makes a scene in the middle of Starbucks.

“Oh my gosh, finally!” I say, cheering, lifting my arms in the air as if I was doing a little victory dance. “This is going to be so much fun”

He keeps looking at me with a weird smile, I smile at him noticing his gaze and quiet state. So I raise my eyebrow in a questioning look and without saying much, I lean to rest my weight on my forearms and listen what he has to say.

“You were planning this all along, Were you?” He says, with a hint of teasing in his smile.

“In my defense, it was easier than I thought” I say shrugging and going back to doing my dumb dance.

“Hm” he says, chuckling a little and leaning on the table to kiss my lips very shortly “I love you”

“I love you more” I sing in a childish voice, leaning again to press his lips against mine one more time.

Oh, gods, I love him so much, there is honestly no words for me to explain it. I couldn’t wait one more second to give this step with him. It seemed right, it feels right and it seemed like the best thing we could do to make us stronger. Because we were already strong, but this would bond us even more, we would be unbreakable, more than we’ve ever been.

Ashton

“... teach me?” I ask, looking around the room and checking every single instrument around.

He turned around, leaving his notebook on the table in front of him as he sat down in front of his desk, full of papers and full messy notebooks for him to look at. Even on his days off, he would be the kind of person who liked to immerse himself in a bit of work. He has been here in his studio for a good portion of the day an I was starting to miss him, being alone with him in the house was not fun at all, especially when I knew he could be relaxing but still, he’s here working on stuff.

“Guitar or drums?” He said, almost as a mockery. Taking another of his many books and opening it in the middle, taking a short look at it before turning to look at me.

“Whatever you want” I say, keeping my tone serious, walking around and sitting on the armrest of his chair. I rest my hand on his back and give him soft rubs, trying to get him a little more relaxed.

“Right now?” he asks, looking up at me and resting his hand in my knee.

“Yeah” I nod, shrugging a little “We have the day for us anyways” I chuckle, moving up and taking the full liberty to sit on his lap. If I could spend some time with him, what if it was doing something he loved? Maybe I would like it as well “So?” I ask, kissing his cheek softly.

He chuckles at me, hugging me close and kissing my lips shortly. “Sure baby” he said, palming my thigh softly to then get up and carry me with him.

I laugh at the unexpected move, I was not used to being carried like this, but I couldn’t say I was mad at it, so when he set me on the couch, it was somehow of a big relief for me, for the unfamiliar feeling but at the same time I felt weird, because I just loved when he held me. “I can’t say you wouldn’t be a sexy drummer but we have neighbors and they don’t love me playing so let’s go with guitar” he said, chuckling as he grabbed his acoustic guitar and moved to the big sofa with me.

“If that’s what you think it’s right” I smile, shrugging a little as I sat up straight for him “I’m ready”

“Okay” he nods, basically crashing on the sofa with me and laying the guitar on my lap “Now, I don’t know the most but I know the basics, don’t judge me”

I chuckle, shaking my head as I say “You play pretty songs”

“Yeah but you know” he explains, moving to strum each string just a bit and check if it was tuned “Mike hasn’t tutored me in a long time”

he fixes the guitar in my hands, checking for me to have the best position I could for playing, and when he considered I was ready, then we went at it. That’s just how we spend hours and hours just here, him teaching me and me doing the best I could to do a good job on this.

Turns out I wasn’t that bad, sometimes my fingers felt too short for this, but if I was being honest, I was having a lot of fun with this, It felt educative, intimate and like something we should have done a long time ago.

He would correct me and let me try one and a million times for me to get it right and I loved it. I loved learning new things and especially, I loved learning new things with him.

“I wanna try something” he says, after a lot of hours later when I couldn’t stop strumming the same five chords now that I have finally mastered this little piece of a song. “Just to see if you learned well, You are going to play for me” he says smiling and moving closer to me.

I don’t know what he wants to do, if I am being honest, but I have a slightly suspect when he moves to sit even closer and takes the guitar from me to place it between both of us. “Great synchronization exercise, by the way, I will strum the strings and you will mark the chords for me up here,” he says, guiding my hand to the neck of the guitar.

“Oh man,” I chuckle, shaking my head “Is this something to make me feel dumb about my coordination?” I scoff

“Never” he said, chucking to then fix his hold and nod to me.

I take a deep breath, It was a nice exercise, but I hope we get away with it. I nod back to him “Okay, go”

He strums the chords up and down, in the same rhythm we have been repeating for over two hours already, I concentrate on his rhythm but also in the placement of my fingers. Making sure my fingers are on the right spot every time I have to change chords and also making sure I do it on the right time, trying for this exercise to come out perfect. It was easier than I thought, if I was being honest, I was having fun.

“You did so great!” he cheers, one we finish the exercise, moving the guitar aside and lifting his hand for a high five “Oh my gosh, you did it, baby!”

“I don’t suck that much!” I say, high fiving him and holding our hands together. “Yay”

“you’re doing this now but how knows, maybe you’ll be the master of guitars soon” he chuckles, leaning in and pecking my lips shortly.

“I’ll be better than your friends!”

“You’ll be better than me”

We laugh together. I hug him, making sure to him as a brief thank you for passing one of his many talents to me in a small but meaningful way. I press my lips to his once, caressing his cheek softly and go to make the kiss deeper this time, but when I go to kiss him even more, he pulls apart and gets up from the sofa, leaving me hanging and definitely surprised. Rude.

“Ash?” I ask, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Hold on” he says, going quickly to his desk to pick up his phone “We need to do it again” he says, showing me a smile and setting his phone camera on a good angle for us. So we get in position and repeat it.

Somehow it’s kind of funny for me, it seemed like some playful thing to do between the both of us, I was having fun but he was having much more fun than I was having.

and that is the story on how not only I started playing guitar but also how we became the Instagram couple, right away. Maybe this was destined to happen.

#5sos preferences #luke hemmings imagines #michael clifford imagines #calum hood imagines #ashton irwin imagines

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quecksilvereyes · 6 years

Text

On Lies, Broken Glasses And Ten Year Old Clothes

„You‘ve got to be pulling my leg, Shin'ichi.“ Ran takes off his glasses and puts it back into the drawer. His children‘s clothes fit perfectly, the old fabric is itchy and stiff. „As if I wouldn‘t recognise your dad‘s glasses, give me some credit here.“ She furrows her brows. „Do you think my memory is that bad?“

„Give me back my glasses, I can‘t see anything without them!“ He tries opening the drawer, raises the pitch of his voice.

„No can do! You don‘t even have glasses in there, they‘re on the floor, you great detective.“ She crosses her arms in front of her chest and Shin'ichi takes a step back. He stares at the broken pieces in front of him.

„Ran, dear, look closely. That boy is at most seven years old. How could he be Shin'ichi?“ Professor Agasa’s voice is unsteady and coarse and Shin'ichi presses his back against the bookshelf behind him.

Ran turns around, hands on her hips. „How am I supposed to know that? He probably got involved in something far too dangerous again.“ Professor Agasa takes off his glasses and starts cleaning them with his lab coat.

„So“, Ran looks at Shin'ichi. „What‘s with the charade?“

„Oh come on, my dad isn‘t that good, but he didn‘t drink away all of his brain cells yet.“

„You sure about that?“

„Quit being so cheeky, I‘m over three feet taller than you, Mr saviour of the japanese police force.“ Ran crosses her arms and Shin'ichi takes a few steps to the side.

„Alright, alright, I won‘t.“ He sighs. „Why can‘t I just stay home with a giant bowl of ice cream and hide in my bed?“

„And feel sorry for yourself? Not on my watch. Plus, use your brain. If you stay with us, you might be able to stay on their trail better and if they‘re not total idiots, they‘ll check if your house looks lived in – they‘ll find nothing but dust and children‘s clothes where they belong.“ She grins. „And I have a good reason to put you in a cute jumpsuit.“

„Don‘t you dare!“ Shin'ichi‘s cheeks feel hot and he pushes the glasses that have slipped to the tip of his nose back where they belong.

„I know you don‘t like dad much, but he‘s not a bad person. Give him a chance.“

„I have a job!“ Kogorō‘s suit is crumpled, dirt stains his knees and elbows, but he grins at his daughter. „A little girl was kidnapped by a man in black! No more runaway cats!“ He reaches for Ran‘s hand and lets her help him get up. „Taxi!“

The little boy next to Ran mumbles something under his breath and bends the earpiece of his glasses. Kogorō furrows his brows. „What happened to you? Did you lose the last ten years somewhere?“ Ran giggles.

„Very funny.“ The boy puts on his glasses and Ran runs her hands through his hair.

„I told you that disguise is shit.“ She grins and Shin'ichi shows her his tongue. „Oh, dad!“

Kogorō, already halfway in the taxi, turns around. „What is it, Ran?“

„Can we come with you?“

„What do mean, come with me? This is my job, Ran. Plus, you haven‘t had dinner yet.“

„I‘m sure Shin'ichi can help you. And you promised me I‘d get to tag along on your next big case.“

„Eh, what do I care. Jump in.“

„Perfect, dad, thanks! Come on Shin'ichi, you have to practice being a kid.“

„Come on Shin'ichi, you have to practice being a kid.“ Shin'ichi climbs on the seat beside Ran, who is still giggling.

„I‘m sorry, Mr Mōri?“ Shin'ichi wipes the blood off his mouth and frowns. He coughs and Ran shoots him a worried glance. „Can I live with you until I find a way to undo the effects of this poison?“

Kogorō looks up from his wallet. Shin'ichi‘s mouth is blood red, his jacket torn. „If that‘s all“, he says and closes the wallet. „But stay out of my work.“

Ran snorts. „Or you two thickheaded idiots could work together.“

„With this little munchkin?“

„That munchkin just helped you solve a case and hasn‘t had one case he didn‘t solve. That could be good for your reputation, dad.“

„For my reputation maybe, but will you think of my ego?“

„I don‘t care about your ego!“

„Well, listen here -“

Shin'ichi giggles quietly between them and straightens his glasses. „Thanks“, he says.

Kogorō smiles at his daughter. „He‘ll need clothes, huh?“

„And new glasses.“ She yawns.

Kogorō nods. „Tomorrow is Saturday, we can go shopping.“

„Conan, you can‘t wear a suit all day! You are in elementary school, you don‘t need to wear a uniform yet!“ Ran points at the clothes Shin'ichi picked out. „That can‘t be comfortable.“

Kogorō next to her yawns. „It‘s too early for your screaming, Ran, I haven‘t even had coffee yet.“

Ran turns around to face him. „Is it my fault you‘re hungover? Make yourself useful and look for some jeans and t shirts.“

„On my way.“

„I feel like a toddler.“ Shin'ichi wrinkles his nose and reaches for the trousers Ran is holding. The bandage stretches across his chest.

„That‘s because you‘re one. Two suit coats will be enough, huh?“ She takes the fifth light blue suit coat and puts it on the hanger. „Those all look the same!“

„I can‘t wear the same suit coat every day.“ Shin'ichi pulls the curtain aside. „The trousers fit.“

„Good!“ Ran doesn‘t turn around. „Conan, you‘ve picked out“, she quickly counts the hangers, „seven suit coats that look exactly the same, were you planning on never wearing anything else?“

Shin'ichi shrugs and takes the dark blue suit coat Ran didn‘t put away. „That way I don‘t have to think about what to wear.“ He puts it on.

„You don‘t have to anyway. Who expects a child to be fashionable?“ She giggles. „Although I wouldn‘t really say running around in your school uniform every day counts as being fashionable.“

Shin'ichi closes the button. „God, it fits, how embarrassing.“

Ran turns around and smiles. „Alright, that means we know your size now and you won‘t have to try anything on anymore.“ She takes the second suit coat off the hanger and looks at the label. „This one should fit too, perfect.“

Shin'ichi climbs on the chair next to her. „Where‘s your father, anyway?“

„Hm?“ Ran looks up. „Over there, with the superhero shirts.“

„Alright, we have shoes, jackets, clothes in general and the glasses without diopters. Anyone know anything else we need?“ Ran rips the shopping list in half. „Dad?“

Kogorō takes a sip from his cup. „How about something to eat, Ran? We haven‘t even had breakfast yet.“

„Oh, we can do that at home. I‘ll just return this old stuff to Shin'ichi‘s house, you two go ahead without me.“ She puts the shopping list in her pocket and gives Kogorō the paper bags. „See you!“

„Ran, you can‘t just-“ Kogorō looks at the bags in his hand and then at his daughter, who is already running across the street. „That girl...“

Shin'ichi next to him is still fumbling with the buttons of his jacket. „Stupid child fingers.“

Kogorō kneels down in front of him, puts down cup and bags and gently removes Shin'ichi‘s hands. „Come here.“ He reaches for the buttons. „Let me help you.“

„Thank you, Mr Mōri.“

Kogorō smiles. „You should probably stop calling me that. You live with me, remember? A child wouldn‘t keep calling me Mr.“

Shin'ichi nods. „That‘s very true“, he says and straightens his now buttoned jacket. „How should I call you, then? Uncle?“

Kogorō grins and stands up. „What about ‚Uncle Kogorō‘?“ He picks up the bags. „We could tell people you‘re a foster child. Explains the different last names.“

Shin'ichi nods. „Yeah.“ He reaches for the cup and holds it up to Kogorō.

(A week later, Kogorō knocks against a door two blocks away, the business card a client gave him a year ago between his fingers. ‚Alcoholics anonymous‘, the writing above the name says. Shin'ichi sits next to Ran on the couch, an old detective movie flickers on the screen while they both sit bent over Ran‘s maths homework, the calculator in front of Shin'ichi, the ruler in front of Ran.

Two days ago, they all stepped into Yōko Okino‘s flat and saw a corpse. Kogorō doesn‘t have a headache, only trembling hands and a cigarette between his lips.

It‘s time to climb out of the beer glass and focus on thinking.)

____________________

If you enjoy my writing, consider buying me a coffee <3

#meitantei conan #detective conan #shinichi kudo #kogoro mouri #ran mouri #detective conan fanfiction #fanfiction

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erinarachma · 5 years

Text

Roya-Allyn First Meet #2

It was rather an awkward first meeting but eventually nice.

He took her to--she convinced--his favorite side of town. He greeted some people while they both took a walk; the vegetable shop lady, the older kids whom he received sweets, the men in their thirties playing dice, and a younger kid who had just finished his part-time job. After leaving the older kids at the town square, Roya pulled out his hand to give her two pieces of candies after throwing berry-flavored one into his mouth.

"Want some?" He asked. His bangs were long 'till his eyebrows got covered, she thought, it's kinda cute actually. She stopped her small steps and staring at plastic-covered, translucent candies but no movements were made.

"It's okay, I already had a lot in my drawer," he added. Allyn moved her right hand to take them from his palm and nodded in thanks.

"The endorphin, like everyone used to say. I tend to eat it when I tinkering my robots or fixing everybody's stuff,"

"Robots?" she asked. She never had seen such a complicated mechanical object around town since she lived here. Her memories never recall such technology either.

He furrowed his eyebrows. "You didn't see it earlier?"

She shrugged her shoulders faintly. "I thought that was just you repairing things like, radio or something," she replied and feeling guilty to not paying attention at him better.

"Oh, that's my job too, but Pa never give me more difficult tasks than that," he sounded slightly dispirited. While they walk, Roya knocked a can with the inner side of his left feet until it jumped up to another side of the street, clanking and whanging lightly near wooden crates. "It's so exciting to create such an artificial living thing. I want to study it deeper and the truth is, our kingdom didn't have such a specialist, "

Allyn nodded in half-understanding. Boys could be this nerd if they loved their hobbies. "BTW, are you Sir Halberick's granddaughter or something?"

Her honey-like pupils rolled to the side while creating a slight surprise jolt from her small body. "Oh, nothing like that..." she amended quickly. “He took me in after the war. He'd been taking care of me since then.”

Roya's calm green eyes appeared to be frigid and slight doleful that second. He hummed ambiguously then murmuring in silent, "After that, huh. Never get enough of it," and continued to crunch sweets inside his mouth recklessly, shoved his gloved hands into the trouser pockets.

Uneasy ambiances which prickling down between those two new-met teenagers started to tickle her sense of curiosity. She knew, more than half of total children who lived here were orphans, as a consequence of the late conflict two or three years ago. Apart from that obvious fact, he seemed to not giving too much opinion on it. Well, not that she's interested in that. She even didn’t remember the feeling of losing her parents. She budged her right hand up in idle and started to scrape candy's wrapper with her short nail. The plastic cover's edge was not seen, no matter how hard her nail grazing it. What a troublesome sweetmeat!

"Are you working part-time too?" he asked her. He started to switch his interest to her attempt opening the wrapper.

She paused her finger movement and looking up to think. "Uh, yeah. Starting next weekdays, I guess?" She answered vaguely.

“Oh... Which sector are you in?"

"I don't know. Gramps said I should meet Maggie to learn more. I'm so useless at this job, for not knowing anything,"

"Your first time in the business, huh... good luck, um--"

"Allyn,"

"Allyn? Is that your name?"

"Of course. I'm impressed on how you could have a chat and take a walk together with me in more than ten minutes without knowing my name,"

"Sorry." He coughed while looking sheepishly. "My bad habit,"

"Apology accepted," she smiled and held her laugh. "So, you joined the Petrireis too?"

"Sometimes, when I need money. Maggie knew me so well, so she always assigned me to far places for getting more bucks. Much money, many spare parts to buy. Even though in here they're more like a junk that brand-new parts," he said. His tone sounded like he's proud of his job.

"Is it fun to join it?"

The auburn-haired young man eying her innocent stare with raised eyebrows. "Well, I think it's fun. You meet people and all. You'd get to know many places. Even though I prefer chatting with other mechanics than running around in town," he shrugged. "But these days, it's so rare to see them, y'know? I think they had been moved to Tragflache, for the sake of helping those damned Rothus. Maybe my father and I just lucky to not get caught--or maybe we're too down-to-earth to not get known in this town..."

"If my gramps knows your father, then you're famous too. In my opinion, though."

"Really? Well, Sir Halberick is amazing, so we're lucky to know him. I adore him so much."

When they stepped in the border of Central Block, they accidentally stopped in front of a place. It's kind of shabby, with dimly lit room behind the dusty windows. Roya let out an 'Oh!' sounds, gestured the place with his index finger. "It's the main base," he added. Allyn trying to peek what's inside but it's too dim to view the place from afar.

"It's not that clear looking from here, isn't it?"

He sighed. "I don't have any appointments in there and I'm not in the mood to look at those packages still piling in a dreadful mountainous way, but... okay, let's take a closer look."

His long steps echoing around the corridor while his hand lightly grasping her wrist to get closer to the base of so-called Petrireis. After another three steps, Roya pointed at the woman in her orange jumpsuit and bob-styled brown hair covered in a hat who organized dozens of boxes, mouthed 'Maggie' comically and grinned before a loud voice calling his name from inside. It seemed someone caught him making fun of her.

"Roya!"

Roya switched his attention to that dull-looking window which divides the main street and the main room of the base. That waving hands excitedly shown from the man with thick-framed glasses and orange-blue jacket which stood behind transparent glass. She could hear a long whistle from her side and a similar wave copied by Roya.

"Hey, Tim!"

Tim mouthed something similar like 'C'mere for a second, I need to talk to you.' while continuing to wave his hand. Roya moved back for a bit and pointing at himself. The guy with glasses nodded, furiously gesturing them to come closer.

"Probably had been banging his old computer this whole weekend," he told Allyn by turning his head a bit lower. "He gets itchy when it's broken,"

The one whose Roya called Maggie before looked rather tired behind her huffs and sighs, but she vigorously scribbling down notes and counting how many boxes around her. She turned her head after lining up smaller size boxes in front of her then blinked when her eyes found a familiar figure arriving at her doorsteps.

"Oh, Roya, now isn't your shift to deliver packages, though?" she said, inclining her head in confusion while her mouth forming a circular shape.

Roya waved his right hand in front of his face, declining. "Nah, I don't want to if you offer it, anyway. I just got called by Tim," he replied. "Now we're here... why don't you ask something to her, Allyn?"

"Me?" She felt her voice squeaking like a rubber duck.

"Yes! It'll be better if you asking her questions now since this young lady is idle doing nothing,"

"Hey! I arranged packages for tomorrow shifts!" Maggie spat, her hands ready to throw him a newly arrived box of tapes.

"Is it okay?" Allyn grasped both her hands in confuse.

"Maggie, this girl is new here, you know Sir Halberick? She's his relative, granddaughter or something,"

"Ooh, then you know Calavi?" Allyn nodded. "What a coincidence! I'm her friend since school days!"

"You were young too before, huh--OUCH, it's hurt!"

"Shut up, troublemaker. Go see Tim in the office,"

It was interestingly funny to see Roya threw Maggie a deathly glare while walking past the counter full of stamped boxes and rubbed his reddened ear roughly. Her views changed. No matter how negative the perception of his in her head, Allyn started to like this young boy and his antics. It's funny and playful yet he has another serious side in him. The older woman just clicked her tongue, hands-on hip, shouting another call of Tim's full name to get out from his lair.

"So... Allyn?"

Her train of thoughts broke again after countless mind-thinking and daydreams that day. "Yes, ma'am?" Allyn answered automatically. Maggie seemed a little bit surprised. She snorted and laughed at her response.

"No, no, don't call me that! That nickname makes me feel like an old lady. Just 'Maggie'," said the brown-haired young woman, smiling.

"Okay." Like a good student she was, Allyn nodded and tried to focus on what Maggie would say.

But, Maggie just straightened her body while putting her hands on the table, her face changed in slight curious vibe. "Now, before I tell you the details of our systems, can you tell me how's Calavi is doing?"

TBC

#my posts #Roya x Allyn #tethynia

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uncannycookie · 7 years

Note

Um, you take prompts right? If not just ignore me and know I adore your work times a ZILLION! You're probably the reason why I even consider Terumob. Anyway though. The prompt: would it be at all possible to see what happened between Reigen and Teru's mom when they were alone? Or was that just boring paperwork stuff?

Thank you so much! The next chapter of ANLG and I are still at war, but at least I can work on some prompts and pretend to be productive in the meantime^^

EDIT: It’s up on AO3 now as well, so here’s the link.

Devil’s Advocate

As soon as her son and his - friend are out the door, something inside Haruka Hanazawa’s chest instantly relaxes. Her fingernails stop burrowing into the skin of her forearm quite as deeply. Even though there is still a huge, trembling force inside her that makes it impossible to let go entirely, she immediately feels much less as if she’s choking on her own breath.

Just next to the sofa, close enough to the exit towards the hallway to count as blocking the path, Teruki’s lawyer stands with his hands in his pockets, eyes trained on her.

The tall man-child assistant is whipping his head back and forth between them and the door. When he spares a glance out the window, he jumps slightly and appears to begin sweating even more.

“Oh no, don’t,” he mumbles, clumsily rushing to the door, “don’t lean against the car please!” With his hand clutching the door frame, he leans backwards in the middle of his hasty retreat and blinks owlishly at the young lawyer. “Ah, uhm, do you need me here? Are we leaving now, or…?”

The lawyer lazily waves him off without looking at him. “Go ahead and prepare the car, I just have a few things to clarify still.”

His expression is neutral but still judgmental somehow. Haruka didn’t find him intimidating at all at the start, but now it’s suddenly impossible to even meet his cold stare head-on. She focuses instead on the assistant, watches as he scrambles out the door muttering to himself about cars and respect for other people’s belongings.

She laughs quietly into the silence after the door falls shut behind him. “What an interesting fellow. Is he a cousin of yours? Friend of the family?”

Because really, she can’t imagine someone that - slow - finding a job solely based on his own merits.

The lawyer shrugs. “Not at all. Former terrorist actually. Trying to turn his life around, but, you know how it is.”

It’s beyond terrifying that Haruka can’t tell if he’s joking or not.

She laughs anyway, more than a little put out with herself that it comes out jittery and uneven.

The lawyer notices too. One of his lower eyelids twitches. Haruka grinds her teeth into a sweet smile and finally lets go of her own forearm, hands dropping to her sides and relaxing. They’re almost not trembling at all anymore.

“Now,” she starts, glad to realize her voice is mostly back to normal, “unless there was anything else, I believe it is time you left me to clean up this mess.”

The young man still keeps his face an unnerving empty mask, but at least he breaks out of his eerily frozen posture and takes a few steps forward. “I would,” he says while he begins picking up the tray and cookies that were thrown around the room. “If I didn’t know for a fact that you’re focusing on entirely the wrong mess.”

Haruka stands still and watches. He dumps everything back on the coffee table, jangling the shards of glass that are lying there in a small pile. They’re glinting gently in the light of the evening sun and she decidedly looks away.

(The phantom feeling of glass and rough porcelain shards slicing through her skin is crawling up her forearm, right along that jagged collection of thin scars that she covers with make up every morning. Sounds of an angry child’s tantrum are ringing in her ears, she almost sees things being shot around the room again by invisible forces beyond her control.)

(Her arm is itchy. That cookie tray will have to be thrown out.)

The lawyer is no longer pretending to clean up. “You know,” he starts now, still rudely watching her with his arms folded, “I just remembered something. Maybe this will interest you.”

Haruka has to try very hard not to roll her eyes. “What a novel idea,” she says politely.

The lawyer tilts his head forward, his stare unimpressed and nearly disappointed now. “You know you’re not actually being subtle, right.”

“Oh? I am quite certain I was not attempting to be.”

“Fair enough,” he shrugs. “Anyways, there was this one kid at our neighborhood playground back then, she’d always steal everybody’s toys and destroy their sandcastles and all that, nobody liked her much.”

Haruka’s face feels oddly tight, as if her skin doesn’t quite fit over the expression she’s trying so hard to keep. All this is still going somewhere she does not want to be and there is little more than enduring and waiting for it to be over that she can do. “Children can be quite a handful.”

“Oh, definitely. Especially when they do things like, for example, take the plastic shovel that girl broke and hit her right in the face with it. And broken plastic can have some sharp edges. Actually cut that girl’s nose pretty badly.” He gestures at his own nose, wiggling his fingers up along the bridge. “See, I was being a little shit and getting carried away with everybody else’s opinion of her. Not that I meant to slice her face open, mind you, that part actually scared the living daylights out of me. But she was mean and everyone hated her, so of course it was fine for me to hurt her, right?”

She wonders if he is actually trying to intimidate her with this. If he’s maybe not aware that he’s been doing that in substantially more effective ways this entire time and really just ruined a good part of the effect by making her think about him as a little brat on the playground.

Her amused answering chuckle comes a lot easier to her now. “It seems to me that somebody simply failed to teach you a proper understanding of manners.”

And that, somehow, is what makes the man break out into a wide grin. “Funny that you would go ahead and make my point for me.” His hands are up in the air and flailing around suddenly and Haruka instinctively leans back a little, even though they’re not nearly standing close enough for her to get hit.

“I mean, to be honest, the situation alone was already jarring enough to teach me a thing or two, but some serious talks about violence and respect for others with my parents definitely helped as well. Now imagine how differently that could have gone if they had been too afraid to say anything. Too put out by all this unpleasantness to take action and make sure I came away from that whole thing with the correct lesson in mind. I wonder if enforcing the impression that this sort of violent behavior gave me power over others would have led to some screwed up perceptions of myself and my place in life.”

“Dear, I believe you are babbling.”

“Probably.” He snaps his fingers once and stops gesturing quite so frantically. “Here’s the gist of it: Your responsibility as a mother is more important than your moronic fears of things you don’t understand. And that kid becoming the little tyrant I suspect he was is entirely on you.”

Haruka can feel her smile wanting to slip into a grimace, to show her teeth and snarl some choice words on how much of the lawyer’s business any of this actually is.

But there are two angry, unpredictable espers and a mentally challenged former terrorist just outside and nobody nearby who could come to her aid in time.

The smile stays where it is. “You have made your opinion quite clear,” she says, proud of how she manages to keep an even, easy-going tone.

“Glad to hear,” the man says, whipping his hand through the air once again before pointedly holding out his palm towards her. “That’d be seven thousand yen consultation fee, plus one thousand to cover traveling expenses and fifteen thousand legal advisory fee, taxes not included, makes twenty-six thousand four hundred fifty total, cash please.”

And it’s not as if Haruka wasn’t expecting this, but the angry tremble in her fingers as she grabs the money from the sideboard next to her and shoves it at the lawyer is still hard to hide. “Keep the change,” she sing-songs through clenched teeth. “I hope your parents are very proud of the kind of person you have become.”

“They’re working on it,” he says, stuffing the money straight into his pocket and pointing rudely at her. “Which is much more than anyone could say about you.”

With the last of her cash crumpled up inside his pocket, the lawyer turns away and swiftly leaves her apartment.

It’s the overwhelming relief at his departure that clears Haruka’s thoughts.

Just enough for her to finally notice that he never showed her a business card or any other form of identification.

The dawning realization that he was most likely not a real lawyer is cold and furious. She closes her eyes, leans her head back with a deep breath.

“Fuck,” she says softly to the ceiling.

The smile is gone. It left an ache in her lips.

#mp100 #mob psycho 100 #reigen #fanfiction #writing prompt #oneshot #my writing #I couldn't come up with a title for this one so there's no AO3 link yet #I'll put it up there later I think #Anonymous

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