#I love how she’s taken the role of the one with the spray bottle trying to keep those old men from making out. our warrior

[astronomodome]

Hermitcraft Season 10: GeminiTay’s Yaoi Nightmare

[thisisarcanereverie]

What it Means to be Worthy (Thor x Reader)

ULTIMATE MASTERLIST

THERE IS SMUT IN HERE 18+ YOU THIRSTY SONS OF BITCHES.

WARNINGS: unprotected sex (wrap it up pals) Do NOT read unless you are 18+. 

Also I have never written smut before so I hope it’s ok. I honestly couldn’t have written it if I hadn’t been listening to Deity by Valeree (highly recommend listening while reading the smut. It will probably make it better.) 

“Thor,” you called the God of Thunder, “Thor it’s (Y/n).”

You heard a small grunt coming from the living room as you entered through the front door. You immediately went to cover your nose from the stench that invaded your senses upon entering. 

It seemed as though the whole house smelled of rotten food, sweat, and something akin to a pigs feces. It was a smell that you never quite got used to, even after 2 years of smelling it every day. 

You quietly made your way through the house until you saw a sight you were quite used to seeing now. 

Thor on the ground, shirtless, covered in sweat and grime. His beard was filthy from vomit and dandruff and his hair greasy and matted to his head. 

There had been a time where he cared so much about his hair that he got triggered if you had tried to trim it. 

After 2 years of seeing this scene before you, it failed to surprise you. 

Now it just angered you. 

You knew you couldn’t understand the pain he was in, he lost his entire family, half his people, and Asgard. 

Sure, the people of Midgard were generous and gave your people sanctuary, a place for your people to call home once again. 

But that didn’t stop you from missing Asgard’s golden palace and it’s mountains of lush green forests. How you missed running with Thor and Loki through those forests after dark to get to the highest peak you could to watch the glittering of the gold during sunrise. 

You had been playmates with the Princes since infancy. You had trained and fought alongside them in battle, joined them in celebrations after each conquest, mourned the loss of Frigga with them. 

You went with Thor all those years ago to retrieve Loki and joined the Avengers with him. 

But now the Avengers were gone, long since disbanded before the battle of Wakanda. 

You weren’t angry at him, your anger was towards the cruel fate that had befallen your precious friends. You had cared for Loki, almost as much as Thor if not equal to. 

If you were honest, you weren’t in better shape. Your grief had taken hold of you as well. Your kind smile had turned cynical. Anyone who tried to get close to you often was met with your icy glare and scoff. 

Thor was the only one who brought out the caring person you once were. 

With a deep sigh you expertly walked around the empty booze bottles and to the grieving man before you. Thor may have gotten soft around the middle but he weighed about the same as you slumped his arms around your shoulders. Thor groaned and went pale, his eyes barely opening. 

“C’mon blondie,” you softly spoke, “let’s get you washed up.”

You half dragged the god to the bathroom, he threw up halfway there but you paid no mind. You would clean that after getting him in the shower. 

You didn’t bother stripping him before setting him in the tub. Without warning or mercy you pointed the shower hose directly at his face and turned the water to icy cold. 

Thor yelled at the icy feeling, borderline pleading, for you to turn off the water. However, over the course of 2 years the patience you had for him had worn thin and so you continued to spray until the stench subsided a little. 

Thor was fully awake and sober now, seeing your figure as clear as day tower over him in the tub with a look on your face akin to a mother scolding a misbehaving child. 

Thor felt so small and powerless under your gaze and he loathed it. 

“You could have stopped a while ago.”

“This needs to stop Thor.” 

Your hands motioned to him, Thor once admired those hands and the strength that they had. Now he just found them annoying. 

He found you annoying. 

You came by everyday and pulled him out of his stupor, clean up after him a little, and try to clean him up. You treated him like a child who couldn’t take care of himself and he loathed it so. 

“I am King of Asgard you do not get to tell me what to do.”

“What King would wallow himself in such a way.”

He bolted upright and stood in the tub, successfully towering over your frame, you had gone too far. You didn’t get to say such things to him. 

What Thor didn’t count on was the world getting fuzzy and a little dark when he stood up, so although he towered over you he was as stable as a wind chime. 

You held onto his frame to prevent him from falling flat onto his face. You felt Thor stiffen under your touch. 

You knew Thor was now sensitive and insecure in areas he never was before. 

It seemed like yesterday that he was admiring himself in one of Asgard’s golden mirrors, his long hair had looked like spun gold in Asgard’s sunlight and his figure was that befitting of a god. 

But none of that had ever mattered to you, even when Thor became full of himself to the point of him being ill tempered and arrogant, you couldn’t find it in yourself to ever give up on him. 

Not that you tried to give up on him anyways.

Loki had asked you one day why you didn’t. Why didn’t you give up on the golden prince when he clearly would never feel the same way. 

“I love him too much to be without him. Even if that means watching him parade himself around as a peacock and watch women fly to him like bees to honey.” 

Then Thor was banished and the only reason why you didn’t follow was due to Loki’s intervening. 

Then Thor met Jane Foster. 

The memory of the beautiful scientist brought back bittersweet memories. You had never seen Thor so deep in love, and that made you both sad and happy. 

Happy that he finally found someone who could keep him humble and who he loved just as much as you loved him. 

Sad that when you often caught Thor daydreaming, that it wasn’t you he was daydreaming about. 

You shook yourself out of your thoughts and sat the giant on the edge of the tub while you went to gather fresh clothes for him. 

You gathered a simple sweatshirt and pants for him to pull on once he was finished with his shower. 

As you set the clothes beside the sink you couldn’t help but feel the gnawing feeling in the deepest parts of your heart and the nagging thoughts in your head. 

You knew that Thor was hellbent on this self destructive path and you knew that there was nothing you could possibly do to prevent it. 

It was either you let Thor drown himself in his despair or you let him drown you with it as well. 

You had accepted long ago that Thor would never see you as anything more than what you had always been. 

His playmate since infancy. 

The girl who got a starry look every time he entered a room. 

You had saved up money from the jobs you had worked over the past 2 years, you finally saved up enough to get away from New Asgard. Leave its people to the hands of their self pitying King and Val. 

It wasn’t like they needed you or the other way around. 

No one would notice your absence. 

You began to pick up around Thor’s home, recycling empty liquor bottles and trashing pizza boxes and rotted food. Vacuuming the carpets and dusting here and there. 

This will be the last time you do as such. 

You needed to leave, staying here and wallowing in Thor’s despair and depression as much as your own wasn’t good for you. And you knew deep down you had been enabling him, every time you cleaned his house and washed and fed him you knew that he only got worse and that you were supporting him when you did this. 

You needed to leave for Thor’s sake as much as your own. 

You wondered how long it would take him to notice. 

You couldn’t bring yourself to tell Thor, you doubt he would even care at this point. 

The walk back to your house was only a few minutes, having moved into the house closest to his in case of emergency. 

Most of your things were packed and already in your apartment in New York waiting for you. Well things of value, the rest you had sold online, it was amazing what the internet could do. By far one of the greatest inventions on Midgard in your opinion. 

All that was left to do was, pack a few pieces of clothing and toiletries. 

And write a goodbye letter to Thor explaining where you went and why. 

You had avoided writing it, not wanting to say goodbye. Not wanting Thor to not care. 

It wasn’t like you were completely leaving Thor, Valkyrie (Val as you called her) assured you that she would make sure he didn’t starve or drink himself to an early grave. 

You trusted her to make good on her promise. 

You leaving wasn’t even your idea in the first place, Val had tried to get you to leave a year earlier, but you were too stubborn to leave then. 

You grabbed the piece of stationary and began to write. 

‘Thor, 

By the time you're sober enough to read this I’ll already be gone. I don’t predict that I’ll be back. 

Val will be making sure you don’t starve or drink yourself into an early grave in my place. 

I just can’t do this anymore Thor. 

I had loved you since we were but children running around the palace gardens, I still do. However I accepted the fact that you could never see me as anything more than your old playmate and dear friend so long ago. 

I had tried to be by your side in a supporting role no matter how much it had hurt me. 

When you became an arrogant ass I tried my hardest to explain away your tantrums. 

When you came back from banishment I listened to you swoon over Lady Jane Foster with a smile on my face even though it tore me apart. 

I had stayed with you, took care of you. It took me so long to realize that I had just been enabling you this entire time. 

I had been supporting your self destructive behavior and I refuse to play that part any longer. I need to leave, not just for me but for you. 

You need to sort through your emotions, you need to learn how to handle yourself by yourself. You need me not holding your hand when you do that. 

I need to discover for myself what it means to be worthy-’

A loud pounding at your door disrupted your train of thought as you wrote. Normally no one would bother you, not unless it had to deal with Thor. 

The floorboards creaked as you made your way to your door. The pounding had not ceased until you flew the door open to reveal Thor. 

His hair was still damp from his shower and the sweats you had picked out were already stained from the beer he held in one hand. His sky blue eye was hidden behind dark shades. 

“(Y/n),” Thor said, “I need a thing.”

“Thor right now isn’t a good time.” 

“Don’t worry Lady (Y/n) it won’t take even a second I’ll be in and out.” Thor assured, flashing you a smile that could make your legs go weak. Despite how much hurt you were in you were still no match for Thor’s charms. 

“What thing do you need?”

“Just a thing I’ll know the name of it when I see it.” 

You stepped aside as you let Thor in, hoping that he won’t notice the lack of furniture or the note left on the table. You decided to let him be while you went and finished packing whatever was in the bathroom. After that you went back to the living area where you had left the note only to see Thor sitting on the couch, his fingers clenching the paper tightly. He had taken his shades off, the deep dark circles stood out against his skin a tribute to how tired he truly was. 

He looked up and you were taken aback by the sorrow that filled his eyes. red rimmed the blue eye as fresh tears began to fall. 

“You weren’t supposed to read that yet.” 

“And when was I supposed to read it then?! When you were god knows where you will be!” His voice bellowed as tears continued to fall down his cheek. 

“Thor please don’t yell.” 

“No (Y/n)!” he cut you off, “you,” his finger pointed at you, his gaze as intense as lightning, “you don’t get to leave like this. You don’t get to leave me too.”

“Thor I don’t have a choice,” you argue, “I need to let you go. I need to find who I am without you and you need-”

“DO NOT TELL ME WHAT I NEED!” 

You could hear thunder roaring in the distance outside, lightning danced around his fingers faintly. Thor had never scared you, but right now you were close to it. 

“Thor,” you say calmly hoping somehow your calm tone will calm the God of Thunder, “I’m sorry for choosing the cowards way, I wanted to avoid this.”

“Did you truly think you would be able to avoid me for long.” The lightning had yet to cease but his eyes seemed to stop glowing ever so slightly. 

“I didn’t think you would have noticed for at least a few days.” 

“Why would you think I wouldn’t notice immediately?” He asked like it was the most incredulous question. He took a step closer to you while you took a step back. Thunder still roared outside and lightning still curled around his fingers. Thor furrowed his eyes in confusion until he finally seemed to hear the thunder storm outside and realize he had scared you. 

Thor had scared you. 

Immediately the pain in his chest worsened with the guilt that he had scared you. That he had so little control over his powers when he was so emotional. Slowly he closed his eyes and he took a deep breath in and out. He then felt his powers subside and the thunder had stopped. 

You could see his shoulders hunch forward with shame and you instictivly placed a hand over his shoulder to comfort him. Thor was quick to envelop your hand with his. Holding onto your hand for dear life. 

Your eyes then met, closer than you had ever been before. 

“What thing were you looking for?” you asked softly, “you said you came over for a thing.”

“I lied,” Thor admitted softly, “I just didn’t want to be alone.” 

The next thing you knew was the faint taste of beer and blueberries on your lips and strong, calloused hands making their way to your shoulders. 

Thor was just as good a kisser as you imagined. Lips moving expertly over your own, moving against yours so desperately. Like a man dying of thirst. 

You knew you should push him off of you, but for one second you wanted to enjoy his lips on yours. Kissing you like you had always wanted to kiss him. 

You moved your lips against his, relishing every moment. Because you knew you wouldn’t be able to kiss him again. 

Only when Thor's hands traveled to your waist did you break away. Albeit, you couldn’t push him further than just enough to give you some breathing space. 

“Thor,’ you said, “you’re drunk you don’t want this.” 

‘When will you stop telling me what I want and don’t want.” His lips moved from your lips to the corner of your mouth and slowly made their way to your neck. 

“Thor I do not want this if your reasoning is impaired.”

“I appreciate the thought dear one, but I only had half a beer tonight.” 

Asgardians could handle their booze well, especially Thor. For Thor to be the least bit intoxicated he would have had to drink 3 large bottles of Asgardian booze. However, when it came to Midgard it took 4 large barrows of Midgardian beer for it to have the same effect on him. Thor mostly drank it for the taste.

“Unless you would rather I stop.” Thor said, before his hands had removed themselves from your waist you stopped them. 

With every ounce of passion in you, you grabbed a handful of his long hair and pressed your lips to his. 

It was a mess of passionate and needy kisses and moans. Thor’s battle-worn hands had roamed over your body in a desperate need to feel you. 

He was quick to rid you of your shirt, hands feeling every inch of naked skin as he could. Holding you like you were the only thing keeping him grounded to the earth. 

You moaned as his hands found your breasts, his large hands covering them over your bra. Your hands made quick work with your bra, removing the suffocating fabric before lifting Thor’s shirt. 

you felt him stiffen as you rid him of his shirt. 

He wasn’t as muscular as he had been 2 years ago, however it took more than 2 years to completely diminish what his body had been. Although his stomach had softened as well as his arms. You didn’t care in the slightest, loving Thor in every shape he came in. 

Your hands lovingly brushed over his torso as you began to leave open mouthed kisses down his neck, over his chest, it wasn’t until you were at the waistband on his sweatpants did he bring you back up and kissed you with fiery passion. 

Thor laid you in front of the fireplace that you forgot you lit a while ago. Honestly a little surprised that the fire was still going. 

You didn’t have much time to think about that as you felt Thor’s lips travel  from your neck and over your breasts. Your nails scratched the floor beneath you as you felt him at the waistband of your jeans. 

You felt Thor pause and you looked at him. 

“Are you sure dear one?” 

Your heart melted at the new nickname, as you nodded to him. However that wasn’t enough for the blonde adonis as he traveled up your body and littered your neck in open mouth kisses. 

“I need to hear you say you want this dear one.” 

“Please Thor,” you pleaded as he ground his hips into yours slowly, your hips meeting his as his pace slows even more successfully driving you insane. 

“I need you Thor.”

“What do you need dear one?”

“I need you to finish what we started.” 

With that Thor slammed his lips on yours as he rid you of your pants, underwear included. He leaned back and his eyes drank in your figure illuminated by the fire light. You were breathtaking, any one would buckle at the sight of you. 

Pride swelled in Thor’s heart as this view was reserved for him only. 

Just as you were about to say something you felt Thor’s beard tickle the inside of your thigh and without warning Thor dived in. 

Your hands immediately flew to his hair and grabbed fists full of it, anything to tether you to reality. 

As Thor worked his magic on your bundle of nerves your moans filled the empty house. Thor moaned as your grip on his hair tightened which sent waves of pleasure throughout your body. Thor lifted your legs over his shoulders and gripped your thighs firmly as his tongue worked faster. 

Just as you were about to reach your blissful release you felt him pull away. Your arousal practically dripped from his lips onto his beard. 

He rid himself of the last piece of clothing before capturing your lips once again. Unlike the kisses from before, this was gentle and sweet. You could taste yourself on his lips as he tenderly kissed you. 

You slowly ran your hands over his chest, committing him to memory. 

Thor pulled away from your lips as he entered you. 

Your mouth let out a silent scream of pleasure as Thor let out a shaky breath of pleasure. Thor waited for a few seconds, relishing in the feeling of you around him before finally moving his hips against yours. 

Thor was soft and slow in his thrusts, making sure to worship every part of you. His lips were everywhere, from your face to your breasts. 

You met in time with his thrusts. The only sound in the room being your shaky breaths, moans of pleasure, and skin on skin. And it sounded like a chorus to you. 

Thor’s thrusts became erratic and unyielding, the knot in your stomach was on the verge of bursting when Thor whispered in your ear. 

“Let go dear one, I’ll catch you.”

With that the knot had become undone, leaving your body shaking from the overwhelming pleasure. 

Thor had not been too far behind you before he too reached his climax. 

Thor laid down beside you, still coming down from his high. You laid your head on his chest and he instinctively wrapped his arms around you. 

This was everything you had ever wanted, to lay beside Thor with his arm beside you. Well almost everything. 

As Thor began to play with the ends of your head as you replayed the past two years in your head. 

“I think you may have been right.” Thor broke the silence, you lifted your head off his chest to see his gaze distant as he stared at the ceiling. 

“When have I ever been anything otherwise.”

Thor’s chest rumbled in laughter as unshed tears began to fill his eyes. He refused to cry, not now. 

“I agree that you need to leave dear one.” Thor’s voice cracked, “I have become a pitiful king to my people, but I have been an even worse friend to you.” his eyes left their place on the ceiling and rested on your face. “You have been faithfully by my side ever since either of us could remember. You had defended me when I didn’t deserve it and loved me when no one did. Not even myself.” His calloused hand caressed your cheek, thumb brushing the tears that had escaped your eyes away. “you don’t deserve to drown in my despair with me. You deserve a life of adventure and you deserve the time to figure out who you are.” You pressed your forehead to his as tears leaked out. “I need to let you go.”

---

Thor had spent the night committing every touch and every scent to memory. He had no idea when his feelings for you grew to such lengths but he knew now that he had figured it out much too late. 

He wasn’t the man you deserved by your side. 

Thor waved you off at the airport and watched as the metal contraption took you away from his side for the first time since his banishment all those years ago. 

He hoped that if you returned he would be a man worthy of you again. 

Thor only wished he knew where to start.

[just-call-me-the-intrusive-thot]

Soulmate September - Day 16

Day 16 - When your soulmate listens to music or is singing, you hear it in your own head as well. (Songfic, Crazy = Genius by PATD)

Pairing(s): Romantic Intrulogical, Ambiguous/Romantic Analomus, Background Roceit [the Janus part is ambiguous but whatever], Familial Logicality, Familial Virremile, Background Remile [again hinted]

TWs: swearing, sexual themes [light but they’re there], makeouts, Remus being Remus, drunken behaviour, pyromania, vomiting [not graphic just mentioned]

–

“Either of you pyros got a lighter I can borrow?”

Logan sighed, not making much in the way of eye contact with the emo sitting in the cell next to him and his soulmate. He dug into his jean pocket and lazily tossed the lighter to the boy clad in so much black and purple he looked like the sapient embodiment of a bruise.

“Keep it.”

“Oh. You sure? This is a pretty sweet lighter-”

“I insist.”, Logan groaned, running his hands down his face, “It’s not like I’ll be needing it ever again after this.”

From beside Logan, Remus slung his arm to the side, flopping it about limply to swat at his soulmate, “Shuddafuckup”, he slurred, hauling himself upright from his slumped over position, “S’gonna be fiiiine. Roman said he’d bail us oooouuuut, so fuckin’ chill-”

“Your brother told you last week that he would give us a ride to Dairy Queen but instead he was too fucking busy getting to third base with his boyfriend!!”, Logan snapped. Ugh, he would regret that in the morning. He ran his hands through his hair anxiously slicking it back. How had the night gone wrong so fast?...

-

‘You can set yourself on fire! You can set yourself on fire!’

Logan wasn’t sure what it was about the glowing ember embrace of a flame that drew him in toward it like a moth with a death wish, but as he allowed his soulmate Remus to haul his ass towards their usual hangout with the promise of some pretty choice items to burn, he found that he couldn't care less.

As he approached the overpass with his soulmate chugging a whole half a bottle of tequila without blinking, Logan wondered how he ever survived before without this whirlwind in human form.

‘She said at night in my dreams

You dance on a tightrope of weird

Oh but when I wake up you're so normal that you just disappear

You're so straight like commuters with briefcases towing the line

There's no residue of a torturer inside your of eyes’

“Check it the fuck out, babe! Did I bring the goods or what?”, Remus grinned nearly as brightly as the shine on the rather expensive looking crimson car - he guessed it might have been a Mercedes, but car brands all looked the same to him really - parked under the overpass. Logan didn’t have a particular favourite item to burn, but when Remus walked over in his lime green hoodie that barely covered his black leather shorts and fishnets to pose seductively on top of the hood? Logan hadn’t wanted to incinerate anything more in his life.

“You… How on Earth did you come by this?!”, he ran his hand along the curve of the hood, unashamedly letting his hand roam over Remus’ thigh. 

His soulmate hummed, leaning in to steal a kiss, murmuring softly against Logan’s lips, “If I told you I might’ve hotwired it just this afternoon? Is that a turn off or a turn on?”

Goddamn him, Remus knew just how to speak right to Logan’s soul.

“The latter, and you know it.”, Logan all but growled into their kiss.

‘She said you're just like Mike

Love but you wanna be Brian Wilson, Brian Wilson

Said you're just like Mike

Love but you'll never be Brian Wilson’

In the back of his mind, Logan did wonder what his father and morally conscious little brother would think; if they knew he snuck out to satisfy his pyromania, make out with his feral cryptid of a boyfriend, and engaged in petty acts of vandalism and thievery from time to time. What would Thomas and Patton think of their stoic, orderly son and big brother who - instead of studying for his undergraduate degree in astrophysics - would rather spend the night getting dangerous and dirty alongside his soulmate who had literally just admitted to auto theft  to acquire a ridiculously expensive car for him to burn?

The thought was there for all of two seconds until Remus’ tongue licking into his mouth banished it away. The only thot he needed tonight was the one driving him crazy with a kiss alone.

‘And I said (hey ay, ay)

If crazy equals genius (hey ay, ay)

If crazy equals genius

Then I'm a fucking arsonist (hey)

I'm a rocket scientist (hey hey)

(Hey ay, ay)

If crazy equals genius (hey)

You can set yourself on fire (hey ay)

But you're never gonna burn, burn, burn (hey ay)

You can set yourself on fire (hey ay)

But you're never gonna learn, learn, learn hey!’

Knowing they came here for a reason, Logan reluctantly ended their makeout session and grabbed for his trusted blue lighter.

“How full is the gas tank?”, Logan made sure to ask, popping open the door to the driver’s side to see what was left in the car. Might as well keep anything worth selling.

“Not sure.”, Remus shrugged, twirling the keys around his finger excitedly while he finished off their first bottle of the night, “Wanna help me make sure there’s nothing left?”

‘She said darlin' you know

How the wine plays tricks on my tongue

But you don't seem to change when you stuff all of

your feelings with drugs

Other boys you may have dated serrated your heart with a slice

But the cut of your love never hurts baby, it's a sweet butter knife’

Logan wasn’t sure how Remus managed to look even more majestic every time he looked at him, but as he clung tight to the hand rest above the passenger window while his soulmate pulled off his sixteenth donut in a row, all he could think about was how lucky he was to have him. Like a trickle of water turning into a river, Logan recognised the beginning of Na Na Na starting to play in his head. Of course. He knew Remus well enough by now to know that was coming. The humming under his soulmate’s breath also gave it away somewhat. 

While Remus kept trying to empty the tank, Logan couldn’t help but feel nostalgia for their first meeting; Remus’ older brother Roman had asked Logan to stand in for the theatre department’s regular dramaturge when Logan began to hear the beginnings of Avenue Q’s The Internet Is For Porn begin to invade his mind. Luckily for him, it hadn’t taken long for Remus to saunter over and try to flirt with him, humming the exact tune Logan had been hearing the whole time.

From there, they’d begun dating though it took a good few months before Logan would join Remus in his fantastical ramblings. He lamented on how he felt trapped by a father who meant well but expected so much from him, how stifled he felt having to be a role model to his living marshmallow of a little brother. How Logan just wanted the fun, exhilaration of doing something extreme for a change.

With Remus’ encouragement, Logan opened up about his pyromaniac tendencies which his soulmate was 110% onboard with. Ever since, the underpass had become their dirty, out of the way, graffiti scarred home away from home. Where Logan could indulge the urge to burn away his stresses and lose himself in Remus’ mantra of doing whatever the fuck they wanted.

‘She said you're just like Mike

Love but you wanna be Brian Wilson, Brian Wilson

Said you're just like Mike

Love but you'll never be Dennis Wilson’

With the car finally seemingly out of gas as it shuddered to a stop, Remus fluidly slid out of the open window - you know, like a normal functional human being - and slid across the hood of the car to open the door for Logan, “Alright, time for this bitch to burn!”

Logan was more than happy to get down to the main event after doing a last quick sweep of the car. All he’d found worth keeping was the planet shaped air freshener; so sue him, the sweet scent of mixed berries was delightful. Whipping out his lighter, Logan escorted Remus a safe distance away and pulled out the hairspray he’d swiped from his room earlier. He aimed the spray towards the car - making sure it wasn’t against the wind or pointed back at himself, he preferred to keep his eyebrows, thanks - and watched as the plume of fire engulfed the car’s seat cover. 

Crackling flames. Straining metal. Hissing fabric burning to a plastic like mess. It was a symphony and Logan was it’s conductor.

With his boyfriend wrapping his arms around his shoulders, Logan tilted to kiss him once more as the heat of the fire caressed their skin. Remus’ eyes never once left Logan, seeing his soulmate delight in an act of pure mindless vandalism, watching the way Logan looked truly free, sent his heart racing. In compliment, Logan turned back to Remus, grinning already at the shades of orange and yellow that painted his handsome features. He always thought Remus was at his most beautiful that way.

‘And I said (hey ay, ay)

If crazy equals genius (hey ay, ay)

If crazy equals genius

Then I'm a fucking arsonist (hey)

I'm a rocket scientist (hey hey)

(Hey ay, ay)

If crazy equals genius (hey)

You can set yourself on fire (hey ay)

But you're never gonna burn, burn, burn (hey ay)

You can set yourself on fire (hey ay)

But you're never gonna learn, learn, learn hey!’

Logan couldn’t tell you what happened next; one minute the two of them were watching the flames while his soulmate continued his campaign to destroy his kidneys with alcohol, the next Remus was sitting in his lap leaving hickeys all over his neck while Logan let his hands roam around under Remus’ hoodie. In the back of his mind, Logan could make out the beginning of a song he didn’t recognise at first, but as the lyrics kicked in, he let out a breathy chuckle. Of course, trust Remus to pick a thematic piece of music for the night’s events. As the song got louder - and Remus marked him more needily - Logan found he rather liked the song. He’d have to ask Remus what it was called later.

‘You can set yourself on fire (hey)

You can set yourself on fire (hey)

You can set yourself on fire (hey)

You can set yourself on fire’

The next thing either of them knew, there was a vague clattering noise followed by a  thunderous metallic bang. Followed by another, then another. One after another for a total of seven times before it finally quieted down. No music, no bang, just the fire crackling away. Thoroughly shaken, Remus and Logan untangled themselves from each other, the former demanding all too loudly, “What the creme fresh fuck was that?!”

“I-! I have no idea-”, Logan began. There wasn’t anything that would’ve done that inside the car, he’d checked. However, as he rounded the car, giving the flames a wide berth, Logan noticed someone laying on the ground on the other side of the car; dressed in a dark, patchy hoodie and ripped jeans, a plume of purple dyed frizzy hair poking out from the hood. He looked like your run of the mill emo. For a second, Logan was worried he and Remus would have to dispose of a body, but fortunately the young man groaned and began to sit up. To his side, Logan winced at a metallic glint blinding his vision.

The spray can doing so had clearly rolled out of the bag full of other cans, all in different colours. At least now Logan could put a face to the rather beautiful graffiti that tattooed the underpass as well as what had exploded in the fire as he noted the burst open paint cans under the car.

“Are you alright? What the hell happened?”, Logan questioned firmly, though he knew the disoriented emo on the ground likely couldn’t answer right away. He assumed from the way the young man rubbed the back of his head that he’d taken a rather nasty fall. The anxious artist seemed to remember exactly where he was, eyes blown wide in fear, 

“Dude, get outta here quick-”

“There he is!”

Three officers rushed towards the two of them prompting the emo and Logan to make a break for it, being sure not to run into the inferno. Remus pretty quickly got the idea and joined the two of them. It seemed neither of the three of them knew exactly where they were trying to run to, but a silent, unspoken agreement saw them all heading for the same direction. Looking back on it, Logan wondered if parting ways and heading for his car with Remus could’ve at least seen them with a better chance of getting away. 

But hindsight is a bitch that wakes up seven hours late and didn’t even bother to bring Starbucks. 

‘And I said (hey ay, ay)

If crazy equals genius (hey ay, ay)

If crazy equals genius

Then I'm a fucking arsonist (hey)

I'm a rocket scientist (hey hey)

(Hey ay, ay)

If crazy equals genius (hey)’

Before long, all Logan could hear was his sneakers scraping the ground and his own breathing competing against his heartbeat to dominate his ears. The urge to stop and breathe was intense but it felt as though doing just that would send the world crashing down around them. 

Of course, prolonged exercise and a stomach full of alcohol wasn’t the best combination. 

“‘M gonna fuckin’ puke-!”, Remus huffed, trying to cover his mouth with his hand. 

“Just hold on, Remus, we’re-!”

Logan watched in horror as his soulmate stopped to empty his stomach, unintentionally doing so in a way that blocked off the hoodie clad young man trying his best to keep up.

“Ah sHIT-!”

He didn’t need to look back; the clattering of the satchel, the mutual yelps of surprise and pain, Logan kept running even as two of the officers apprehended his soulmate and the hooded lad. The guilt would catch up to Logan before the third officer did, or it would have if he didn’t mistime his turning around the next corner only to end up nearly getting run over. How poetic; from making out on a car hood to being cuffed against one. Had Remus not been busy insulting the officers’ mothers rather colourfully, Logan theorised he would’ve no doubt made some innuendo about it.

Exhausted from their chase and thoroughly cuffed, all Logan could do was let himself be loaded into the back of the cop car with Remus and the anxious emo.

‘You can set yourself on fire (hey ay)

But you're never gonna burn, burn, burn (hey ay)

You can set yourself on fire (hey ay)

But you're never gonna learn, learn, learn hey!’ 

-

“Mmm… Logan, can you-”, Remus burped a little too wetly for it not to make Logan feel as queasy as Remus looked, “Can you stroke my hair? Pleeeeeease?”

Sighing in that playful kind of annoyance only true love can allow, Logan did as asked. The night may wind up with him being harshly reprimanded by his father and possibly losing his come-and-go privileges, but at least for now he had Remus.

“...... I’m sorry.”, came the rough voice of the emo in the cell next to theirs, “You both wouldn’t be stuck here if it wasn’t for me.”

Remus just gave a dismissive grunt in reply while Logan assured their cell companion, “While you may have led the police to us, I doubt our proclivity for fiery vandalism would’ve kept going undetected forever.”, he looked the emo up and down, “Might I ask,...?”

“Virgil.”

“Virgil,”, Logan repeated, “Might I ask how you ended up stumbling across us?”

Virgil shrugged, “I’ve been painting the underpass for years. Pretty much everything down there’s something I’ve done.”. 

He chewed the inside of his cheek, “I had a shitty night so I came down to paint something when I walked in on you two getting all ‘friendly’,”, he airquoted, “So I went to go home but I got stopped by an officer and started panicking. So I just…. ran.”

His posture curled a little while he twirled Logan’s lighter between his fingers in a stimming action, “Then I realised I was way too fucking close to the fire and I blacked out.”, Virgil embarrassedly pulled his hood up, “Fire scares the shit outta me, always has. Next thing I knew, I woke up with you staring at me. You both know the rest.”

Logan nodded quietly. It really did fill in a few gaps, “I can’t blame you for not wanting to stick around. I do apologise that we inadvertently ruined your night.”

Virgil shrugged, “Eh, it’s alright, it’s just gonna suck having to have my dads bail me out again. Not that dad would mind but pops will probably gimme another lecture about ‘unhealthy coping habits’ again....”

At that, they sat for the most part in silence. Then that song began to trickle into Logan’s brain again. As nice as it had been in accompaniment to their antics before, Logan found it almost grating now. He sighed and gently nudged Remus, 

“Re-”

“Logan, babe,”, Remus groaned, beating him to the punch, “Can you fuckin’ give it a rest with the music? M’fuckin’ head hurts.”

“....But you’re the one who’s been thinking about that song, right!?”, Logan’s concern was obvious. Remus caught on as well.

“No!? I thought it was you!?”, he sloppily hauled himself onto Logan’s lap, pressing their foreheads together, “Issokay babe, I won’t let-”, he stifled a burp though it did nothing to save Logan from Remus’ drunken breath, “Won’t let fate change our soul bond! I’ll fuckin- I’ll whip out my brain surgery skills right here if I gotta-”

“Remus!”, Logan sternly held him back a little, “Calm down, let’s just try and think rationally, okay!?”

“.... Have you ever MET me, you stupid sexy science bitch?”, Remus cackled at the alliteration.

“Please be serious for once.”, Logan sighed, fixing his glasses in a self calming gesture, “Do you know the name of the song in your head?”

“Yeah, iss fuckin’ um...”, Remus clicked his fingers in thought, trying to place it, “S’fuckin Scream In The Club, or some shit who sings it...”

“..... You mean, Panic At The Disco?”, came Virgil’s voice from the neighbouring cell.

Remus pointed dramatically, “THATS THE BITCH!”. He put his fist to his chest to stifle another burp, instead taking a second to turn and spit out some of the awful taste on his tongue, “Fuckin’... the lyrics were like…. “You can set yourself-””

“- On fire?!”, Virgil finished, looking rather interested in the conversation now.

Logan nodded between the two of them, “Yes, that’s the same opening line I remember. Virgil, I take it you’re familiar with the song?”

“Well yeah, and I’ll do you one better. Uh,....”, he rubbed the back of his neck nervously, “I’ve had that song stuck in my head all night.”

Remus and Logan shared a look of shock. Could Virgil really be their soulmate? It would explain the times when they would hear music that didn’t seem to line up with each other’s tastes. Before Logan could propose a test, Remus was way ahead of him; he rolled his eyes as the music flooded into his skull. 

Virgil brightened up, “Ashnikko, huh? Good choice-”

“HOLY SHIT, LOGAN, WE GOT-! WE GOT ANOTHER ONE!!”, Remus screeched, wriggling excitedly in Logan’s lap, almost causing his boyfriend to drop him.

“Indeed.”, Logan sighed fondly as he tried to get Remus to sit back down on the bench instead of his lap, “So now you better call Roman and see if he can bail us ALL out..”

----------

... I know I won’t probably be able to catch up but hell with it, I love some of the prompt ideas, I’ll just stop tagging the blog if I run over at this point.

A big thanks to @accidental-sanders for the idea for this one, it was really fun to do.

@tsshipmonth2020

Taglist: @somehow-i-got-an-account   @cateye-glasses   @fandomsofrandom

[trevardes]

sail anywhere

Spoilers for Critical Role C2 EP141!

Fic: Sail anywhere Words: 1807 Summary: It hurts a little when they say Kingsley’s name. Rating: T Warnings: none Also on AO3 here.

It hurts to be born.

He thinks this must be true for all living things, but most of them don’t remember the moment. He does; he remembers it all. The smell of flesh and decay around him, and the astonished, painfully hopeful faces of eight strangers gathered in a circle around him.

Later, he’ll hurt for not remembering the lives they tell him he used to have, but in the moment he’s consumed by physical agony from his wounds and the heart-wrenching feeling of emptiness, of lacking something crucial. He’s nearly broken, only partially fixed both inside and out, and he wants to scream but only manages a whimper.

“Mollymauk?” the big one with the white hair and the tears slipping down her face asks, and it hurts to say no.

-

The grove heals him slowly like it heals the others, and he learns to walk and talk and not fear them. They have it in them to fight and injure, he knows, though he wasn’t present for the fight with the other wizards. Some of these people are clearly disappointed that he’s different from what they expected, but none of them seem inclined to take it out on him. Instead, they bring him food and blankets and awkward smiles, doing their best to support him as he takes his first steps in the world, sees his first sunset, his first sunrise, his first rainstorm.

It hurt to be born, new and wrecked and fumbling, shoved into a broken body, and it hurts to heal. It hurts to sit still as his muscles and skin slowly come back together, adding new scars to the old, distorting some of the tattoos on his skin. Empty spots amid them seem to stare at him, though the others tell him the eyes that used to be there are now gone forever.

-

Nicodranas bustles with energy and life, and it’s there that he finalizes the decision to call himself Kingsley. It’s not quite right, but more so than Mollymauk or Lucien would be. It’s something he thinks he could grow to be, with time, with some care and some time to find out who he’ll end up becoming.

“Kingsley”, Yasha says softly as he’s preparing to make the trip to Fjord’s ship. She turns the name around in her mouth with care, and the sadness of her smile hurts him - it hurts, it hurts - but it also feels good. Like perhaps he can have this, perhaps he can try something on his own. He wants to be Kingsley - not because he cannot be Mollymauk, but because he doesn’t yet know who he can be, and burns with the need to find out.

“Love”, he says back, just to see her lips quirk into a sweet smile, even as her heart breaks a little in her eyes. “Yasha”, he continues, matching her soft tone. He isn’t the man who was important to her, who experienced so much with her, but she’s already important to him, somehow. “This isn’t a goodbye.”

“I know”, Yasha says and reaches out carefully, taking his slender hand in her own, the size of it dwarfing him and the warmth making his heart hurt.

“I’m going to go with Beau, to find Zuala’s grave. My wife’s grave.” There’s a deep sadness in her, but it gives way to a fierce joy every time she sees Beauregard or mentions her. That whole situation is a big can of worms Kingsley doesn’t know he wants to dip into just yet, so he doesn’t ask.

“And after?” he asks instead, as if that’s any easier a question. She has an answer prepared, however, and she tells him in hushed tones.

“Beau will continue as an expositor, and I’m so proud. She’s perfect for it. The thing is… I don’t know what I’m perfect for yet, except that I want to be for her”, Yasha says. “So at least for a while, I’ll just go where she goes, see how I like a quieter life. Maybe we’ll settle down somewhere.”

She wants to rest and to find herself through finding peace. Kingsley gets that, but he knows that’ll never work for him.

“Send word once you know where you’ll be. I’ll come visit”, he promises. “At some point - not yet though, and not for a while, I think - I’d like to hear about Molly from you.”

Yasha squeezes his hand and gifts him a smile that makes him see how she can so easily turn a difficult person like Beau into sappy mush.

“I would love that”, Yasha whispers, and though it hurts, Kingsley thinks he understands Beau, thinks he understands why Mollymauk would decide Yasha’s card had to be Love.

-

Kingsley loves the sea, and he thinks it might love him back. Most things in the world are large and new and painful, and the sea is that as well, but it still feels like home. Every place it takes him offers something new to experience, something new to be.

Fjord and Jester and the rest of the crew at his back, Kingsley stands at the prow of the ship, squinting in the sunlight reflecting off of perfect turquoise water. Seagulls fly overhead, calling to each other, and the wind pushes the ship hard as it splits the roiling surface like a knife. The water goes on forever, disappearing behind the horizon, and Kingsley smiles. His hands grip the railing and he leans forward, tail flipping behind him in excitement, his black coat billowing in the wind. There are other ports to see where he’s going, people to meet, treasure to find and to take, and this right here is something he thinks he can learn to be. This him who feels sea spray and sun gentle on his skin, this him whose newly short hair whips in the strong wind and whose chest is filled with - yes, hurt, still, but also wonder and joy and sweet longing for the unknown.

-

“Do you think you’ll ever remember any of… any of Molly’s memories?” Fjord asks one night after a long card game and half a bottle of rum they’ve split between them. It’s just the two of them in the captain’s cabin, Jester having left earlier to spend some time listening to Orly’s stories from his youth.

Kingsley tilts his head, considering. He takes his time, secretly enjoying the way Fjord shifts uncomfortably as he waits for the answer. Kingsley suspects the man wouldn’t have taken this up if it wasn’t for the alcohol; it’s a difficult subject and Kingsley may have been a bit harsh in the way he’s tried to make them believe he isn’t Mollymauk and never will be.

“I’m not sure”, he finally says. “I haven’t so far, so I think it’s unlikely, but who knows?”

Fjord nods gravely. “Caduceus told me he asked the Wildmother to put Molly’s soul back, and that she did, but I suppose it’s a little more complicated than that.”

Kingsley toasts to that with the last dregs of the rum. “Maybe our soul is the same, but I’m still… well. I don’t know, but I’m not him.”

“That’s alright”, Fjord says, and from anyone else it might sound like an empty platitude, but not from Fjord. His tusks are digging into his lip nervously and his eyes flicking up to meet Kingsley’s and back down again. “You’re good, whether you remember or not. We have all that history with Molly, but those memories aren’t going anywhere, even if you find your own path. We have a future with you in it now, and that’s worth it.”

“Oh, Captain, I do so love it when you talk to me so sweetly”, Kingsley grins, and only laughs harder as Fjord sputters and covers his face with a hand, flushing.

The rum is gone, but there’s always sweet, sparkling rosé to be had thanks to Veth. Kingsley takes out the flask and takes a swig, offering it to Fjord. He takes it, looking thankful to be able to give his mouth something other to do than talking. Kingsley teases him further just for the hell of it, winking and blowing him an exaggerated kiss. Fjord groans and shoves his shoulder, smiling.

-

Years pass and the memories never return.

Kingsley is still empty, in a way; he can feel the absence of Mollymauk, of Lucien, but gradually he grows to fill some of that space. He has a hundred adventures with Fjord and Jester, many visits with Yasha and Beau, with Caleb and that elusive drow of his, with Veth’s family and at Caduceus’s beautifully melancholy little temple home.

He visits every major port in Exandria, tastes every drink and learns dirty words in more languages than he can count. He works and steals and charms and <em>lives.</em> He knows many women in many ports, and many men and many others, and is first surprised and then delighted to find that his empty chest can light up with love for any of them, for all of them.

He doesn’t have a home port like Fjord and Jester do, not even after he eventually has his own ship and crew who call him Captain, or when they start operating out of Darktow Isle, and that’s just fine with him.

He does often sail to Nicodranas, not in small part because of an elusive wizard of his own. Caleb would be proud if he knew, Kingsley thinks with a private smirk as he makes his way towards a tall tower to meet a certain handsome elf, already thinking of smooth brown skin on golden yellow sheets, of their quiet, snarking conversations afterwards.

The memories never return, and eventually Kingsley stops wishing that they did, stops dreading the day they might.

-

He does hurt for the Mighty Nein for losing their friend. He hurts for Mollymauk even as he names his ship after this person he’s taken to referring to as his brother, and he carries a measure of guilt; if Kingsley had never been born, perhaps Mollymauk would have lived. He would’ve reigned glorious over whatever piece of the world he would’ve chosen, and people would have loved him, that much Kingsley knows. He feels like a murderer some days, but on others it’s easier to just vow to make good use of this life he has been given.

Mollymauk would have lived this life to its fullest, and Kingsley has every plan to do the same.

He has his crew at his side and people he calls friends and joys and loves scattered on every shore in Exandria; he has the wind in his hair, the sun bright and sweetly painful in his eyes; he has everything he needs and more.

Kingsley Tealeaf smiles through the small, lingering hurt and sets a course for the horizon.

[shenanigans-and-imagines]

Tell us about your bottled up OC lore

Everything below the cut. I’m serious when I say it’s long.

Loki x Sigyn (Logyn)

Incredibles AU:  Sigyn is a superhero and Loki is her sworn arch nemesis.  They’re flirted, fought, and occasionally teamed up to take on bigger threats. But, when an act passes forcing all superheroes to go into hiding, Loki finds it’s not fun being a villian without a hero. He finds Sigyn and the pair of them eventually fall in love, get married, and settle down with a couple of kids.  But even if Loki can’t deny the happiness his new life brings him, are part of him longs for the adventure and excitement of yesteryear.  He’s given an opportunity when a package arrives asking him for his “unique insight” on an upcoming project.  How can he resist?

Look, I just want an opportunity to write them both as parents and also have some awkward PTA meetings between him and Sigyn’s fellow hero co-workers.

Just a big ol’ Hunger Games AU that I literally forgot about until just now: Start of the revolution against President Doom lead by survivors of the Hunger Games with Steve Rogers and their new symbol. It’s just two random kids in this universe not one boy one girl.

Tony Stark: Stark is a favorite of the capitol and builds a lot of their tech.  He was taken into the games at 15. During the games he was blasted with some shrapnel and had to hide out in a cave.  There he met Yinsen and he took pity on Tony.  He helped Tony build a makeshift arch reactor to survive the games. Yinsen was killed and Tony survived by inventing weapons and blasting his way out.

Bruce Banner: Bruce is more of a hermit to the public eye, but still close friends with Tony.  He was forced into the games at 13.  Starting out as a rather timid and quiet boy he spent most of the game simply trying to stay out of everyone’s way, hiding in caves, trees and so on.  It came down to the last handful of kids and none of them were particularly motivated to kill the others since all of them had done what Bruce had done and hid.  To spice things up the game masters sprayed aggression toxin into the air.  All the kids were susceptible to it, but Bruce was the worst.  He ended up killing all the kids himself with his bare hands. Although the toxins did wear off Bruce still fears that anger inside of himself.  He suffers from PTSD and when he is angry he does become violent.

Thor Odinson: Thor is another one of the capitols darlings.  He and Loki entered the games together during an anniversary game in which if one was chosen and had a sibling that sibling must enter the game as well if they are at age. If by the end of the game both siblings are left standing, they can both live.  He was 16 at the time.  Thor relied on his strength with his preferred weapon being a large hammer. He was also one to form alliances with other members while Loki remained wary.  In the end there was Thor, Loki, and two other members of their alliance. Thor wanted to be fair and give the two other survivors a chance.  Loki took the opportunity to poison the water they stole from him and Thor in the night. Thor was at first disgusted with what his brother did, but over the years accepted that Loki did it to save both of them.  

Loki Odinson: Along with Thor he is a capitol favorite.  While Thor plays up the honorable warrior persona, Loki relies on the charming scoundrel. He entered the games with his brother at 15.  Loki relied heavily on his wits and traps to survive.  Once the alliance was broken he knew the other team would not kill him and Thor in their sleep, but they would steal some of their supplies.  Loki made sure to leave food and water in the open for them to take, all of it poisoned.  He does not regret anything he did in the games since it lead to Thor and his survival. What he hasn’t told Thor, or anyone, was that he knew that if Thor got in his way of living, he would have let Thor die.

Natasha Romanov: Game master for the reunion Hunger Games, Natasha is actually working for the rebellion as a double agent.

Clint Barton: He is one of the less praised winners; he makes less of a secret in his distaste with the capitol.  He doesn’t have any family for the capitol to threaten, so he sometimes says things he shouldn’t.  Clint entered the games when he was 14.  His brother Barney was chosen as well.  For most of the games Barney watched after Clint, both of them were skilled archers and shot at opponents from the trees.  Towards the end of the game Barney went down to get some food while Clint waited for him.  Barney was captured and tortured by some of the other kids to find out where Clint was, but he didn’t spill.  That night Clint heard a boom in the sky and he woke up to see that Barney was dead. Clint spent the rest of the games looking for the rest of the kids and killed them all.  Clint is more than ready to fight the capitol and shows it enough for people to catch on it, but not enough for the capitol to kill him.

Juliet Holden: Juliet remains out of the public eye if she can avoid it and spends as much time as she can with her family. She was forced into the games at 17 along with a girl named Beth who as 16.  They stuck together throughout the games.  Juliet used more hand to hand combat and hiding while Beth was more of an inventor.  During an attack Juliet got shocked and Beth helped her through it.  Juliet got out alright, but she lost a lot of her pain censors meaning she could take a hit longer.  Beth took inspiration and made some make shift gloves that could shock opponents to death.  Beth was eventually killed leaving Juliet the winner.  Juliet still feels survivor’s guilt about Beth since she was the smarter one between the two of them.  She hates the capitol with a burning passion, but unlike Clint has a very large family she needs to protect and care for.

Sigyn Odinson: Wife to Loki, their wedding was shown throughout the capitol making Sigyn as much as a capitol darling as Loki.  This was planned by both Loki and Thor to keep Sigyn and Jane safe.  If they were capitol favorites the capitol would be less likely to hurt either of them.  As a result she became one of the few non-winners to be invited to the capitol. She knows how to be charming and play the role of the dutiful wife.  Unfortunately with this new found confidence Thor started speaking more freely his dislike of the capitol.  President Doom knew he couldn’t hurt Thor or Loki or their wives so he turned to their children.  Jane couldn’t have kids so Loki and Sigyn’s children were forced into the games. Both boys died leaving Sigyn devastated. She no longer went to the capitol with Loki and was an adamant planner in taking down the capitol.

Poe Dameron x Lana Solo (Polo)

Modern AU: I wrote a sum up of it here

Bodhi Rook x Sera Darros

YouTuber AU: Linked Here

Coffee Shop/College AU: Linked Here

10 Things I Hate About You AU:

Jyn: Kat  

Sera: Bianca  

Bodhi: Cameron  

Cassian: Patrick  

K-2SO: Michael  

Baze: Mrs. Perkey  

Chirrut: Mr. Morgan  

Draven: Dad  

Male OC: Joey

Roadtrip AU:

Sera is going off the college and her adopted brother Cassian and his best friend Kay are helping her move across country.

Along the way they spot a woman having trouble with her car and offer her a ride to the nearest gas station to call a tow. The woman reveals herself to be Jyn Erso.  She’s going cross country to meet her father who she hadn’t seen since she was about eight. When she calls the tow they say they can’t get if fixed for a few days.  Sera then offers for her to join them on the trip since they’re going in the same direction.  Jyn agrees and they’re off.

They travel for about a day when the car breaks down and they have to get it fixed.  They go to a local mechanic where Bodhi is working.  As he fixes the car he and Sera strike up a conversation where she tells them where they’re going. Bodhi says that he’s going to the same school she is, transferring from junior college.  Sera then offers that he come with them since she wants to know someone when she gets there and it would be fun.  Cassian begrudgingly agrees since the car isn’t at it’s best and having a mechanic on hand would be helpful. 

They travel for another couple of days before eventually reaching a small camp sight.  They had been driving all day and all need some rest.  The nearest motel is miles always so they decide to camp out. Sera pulls what she can out of the car and makes up a camp using her blankets and sheets.  They all have a nice night bonding and fall asleep under the stars.

When they wake up the next morning they find that the car has been stolen and the only things they have left are what they took out of the car the night before.  Luckily, a couple, Baze and Chirrut, overheard they’re plight and offer them to ride in their RV.  Chirrut and Baze are both former priest road tripping across the country to see what they can see. 

Hawkeye Pierce x Elizabeth “Doc” O’Neil

Soulmate AU: Linked Here

[emospritelet]

Manifesto - chapter 11

Last time, Sutherland offered Belle a drink in his office. Here's what happened next

[AO3]

-

Belle rolled her shoulders tiredly as she made her way back to her apartment. Her body was aching, as though she had been running for miles, and she wanted nothing more than to take a shower, put on her PJs and chill out. She stopped off for a bottle of wine, a bar of chocolate and a punnet of summer berries in the shop next to her apartment block, and ate a piece of chocolate as she rode the elevator upwards. It looked as though she would be dialling out for dinner. Perhaps a pizza.

Her phone buzzed as she entered the apartment, and she smiled as she saw Merida’s name flash up.

“Hey,” she said, tucking the phone between neck and shoulder as she put down the wine and searched for a glass.

“How’s it going?” Merida was almost shouting into the phone. There was background chatter and laughter and the clinking of glasses. “Did you hand Sutherland his arse yet?”

“We had a bit of a spat,” said Belle, twisting off the top of the wine bottle. “Just a minor one, though. Are you in the pub?”

“Yeah, me and Leroy came out for a sneaky pint or two.”

“Is everything okay at the library? I just got back to the apartment and I’m gasping for a drink, but I should really call Ariel.”

“She said to tell you everything’s fine,” said Merida. “Building still in one piece. Books safe and well.”

“Good.”

“Anyway, don’t change the subject! Tell me how the meeting went!”

“Oh, it was - well, it was exhausting, actually,” sighed Belle, pouring wine. “I’m not sure how much we actually achieved. Maybe I’ll know more tomorrow.”

“Did you give your presentation?”

“Yeah, that part went okay.” She took a sip of wine. “Some of the people there seemed convinced. Not the guy from the Treasury, but Sutherland says if it was up to him they’d never spend anything, so I’m not sure what I could have done to convince the man anyway.”

“And you left Sutherland in one piece?”

“Just about,” said Belle dryly, and hesitated. “I had a drink with him.”

There was a spluttering noise at the end of the phone, and Belle had a vision of Merida spraying Leroy with beer.

“What?” choked Merida. “You went for a drink with him?”

“It’s not like we went to the pub for pints and whisky chasers,” said Belle. “He had booze in his office. He offered me some. Brandy. Just a small one.”

“And - and what were you doing in his office?”

“Oh.” Belle chewed her lip. “I - uh - we were talking about the library. He’s released some grant money to local authorities. Should mean I can get some funding for the next year or two.”

“Well.” Merida sounded satisfied. “That was all his doing? What you said must have made an impression on him, then.”

“He says he just changed the eligibility, that’s all.”

“Was this before or after the drink?”

“Before, of course!”

“Even so,” said Merida. “Try shagging him, you might even get enough for a pay rise.”

“Oh my God…” Belle shook her head as Merida cackled. “On that note, I’m gonna finish this wine and take a shower.”

“Okay, but we want an update when you get back,” said Merida. “And hang in there, you’re doing brilliantly!”

“Thanks. Miss you guys.”

“You too.”

Belle hung up, taking another drink of wine and sighing loudly. She carried her glass over the couch, flopping onto it and letting her head roll back against the cushions. Merida’s teasing had had the unfortunate effect of firing up her imagination, and she wondered how many glasses of wine she would have to sink before she stopped having visions of the Prime Minister shoving her against the wall of his office and kissing her hard.

-

Sutherland had managed to get through the papers that Anna had left with him, and had scrawled notes in the margins indicating his preferred course of action from the suggestions given. He had a meeting scheduled with the US President at nine p.m., and a briefing paper had been set on his desk along with a cup of coffee, which was now cold. The door opening made him look up, and Anna breezed in, looking refreshed. He wished he felt the same.

“Oh, you’ve been through the papers,” she said, checking the folder on his desk. “Anything you wanted to talk through?”

“I don’t think so. Graham seems to have everything well in hand.”

“In that case I can give you these.” She slipped another folder out of her bag and dropped it on the desk. “Revised figures for the meeting tomorrow, along with a statement from Sir George about how we’re going to bankrupt the country if we agree to anything other than the status quo.”

Sutherland chuckled as he picked up the folder.

“I assume you’re exaggerating only slightly.”

“A tiny amount,” she allowed. “Today went well, I thought. Considering the competing interests.”

“And strong personalities,” he remarked.

“You always said a robust exchange of views makes for stronger policy.”

“As long as it doesn’t come to blows, yes,” he said, and it was her turn to chuckle.

“The lovely Miss French left you in one piece, then,” she observed, and he snorted.

“Just about.”

“I told her about the grant programme.”

“Yes, so she said.”

He thumbed through the papers once before realising he hadn’t taken in a single word, and hesitated before he spoke, feeling the smooth paper between thumb and forefinger.

“I had a drink with her,” he said, and Anna let out a tiny squeak of surprise.

“What, here?”

“No, we went to the bloody pub, what do you think?” he said impatiently. “Yes, here. She apologised, and - and I offered her a drink. Brandy. Just a small one.”

“Well.” Anna pursed her lips, a tiny smile lighting up her eyes. “Nice to see you two getting along.”

Sutherland grunted something.

“You did get along, I take it?” she pressed, and he sighed.

“We were very civil.”

“Civil is - something, I suppose.”

He made a non-committal noise at the back of his throat, pretending an interest in the papers, but he could feel Anna’s eyes on him, as though she knew he had more to say on the subject. Eventually he looked up.

“I told her about the divorce,” he said. “And - and about not wanting Ellie to work in Westminster, and why I got into politics in the first place. I was even honest about it. God knows why.”

“Hmm.” Anna pursed her lips. “Not like you to get personal with strangers.”

“I know.” He shook his head, turning back to the papers again. “She’s unsettling.”

“In what way?”

“In – I don’t know…” He waved a hand. “I’m not sure I understand it myself.”

“Did you decide this before or after the drink?”

“Oh, long before,” he said immediately. “Having a drink with her just made me – acutely aware of it.”

“Well, she’s only here tomorrow,” said Anna. “Are you going to the meeting? I managed to carve out two hours in your diary, but you don’t have to.”

He hesitated. No, he didn’t have to. No one would expect him to. He had more than enough things clamouring for his attention, after all.

“Perhaps it’s best that I don’t,” he said. “Ella can give the group a good enough steer, can’t she?”

“I’ll give her a call, let her know,” said Anna. “You sure this isn’t just because you’re scared of Miss French?”

“I am not scared of her,” he snapped, making her grin. “I just - I just have more pressing business than scoring points in a shouting match.”

“Speaking of, we have PMQs to prep for,” she said, and he groaned, slumping in his seat. “No rest for the wicked,” she added.

“Indeed,” he said wearily, running a hand over his face. “Alright. Let’s go through these papers, then talk PMQs, then I have to speak to Washington. And at some point I suppose I’d better get some sleep.”

“Optimism. I like it.”

He grinned, swatting her with the papers, and waited for her to pull her chair around to his side of the desk. It was best that he left the meeting to Ella, and concentrated on running the bloody country. There was certainly no reason for him to want to sit in a room with a bunch of people who couldn’t agree. He got enough of that in the Commons. A vision came to him: a pair of clear blue eyes flashing, the allure of a challenge, and he pushed the image away. Miss French was far too distracting.

-

Belle spent a restless night, disturbed by several unexpectedly erotic dreams that left her flustered and aching. She took a long shower to revive herself, and then went for a brisk walk to pick up coffee and a croissant, which she ate sitting on a bench overlooking a nearby park. It was still early, not quite seven-thirty, and she didn’t have to be at Downing Street until nine. One more day of fighting her corner and standing her ground, and she could return to Avonleigh with some small sense of achievement. The coffee was hot, and she removed the lid to help it cool enough to drink, hissing in vexation as she saw she had forgotten to add milk. The aroma was delicious, the coffee darkest brown, and she was reminded of Sutherland’s eyes watching her over his brandy glass, the tip of his tongue wetting his lips.

Shivering, she took a sip of the coffee, wincing as it scalded her tongue. A good thing the discussions would be ending that day. They would have further meetings, of course, but she had been assured that most of those would be held virtually. Time and distance would deal with her crush, and she could go back to running the library and having the odd disastrous date to remind herself why she was single. She just had to get through one more day.

-

Belle hadn’t expected to feel disappointed by Sutherland’s absence. She had told herself it was likely he wouldn’t be there; as Prime Minister he must have a hundred demands on his time that were more important than one policy. Anna was also absent, no doubt organising his day with her usual aplomb, and so it was left to Ella Deville-Waters to chair the meeting. There were more arguments about the scope of the policy, with Archie playing the role of peacemaker as Belle exchanged increasingly waspish comments with Sir George King.

By the time four o’clock arrived, she was ready to drop, and almost sighed in relief as Ella announced that they were done. She felt as though she had been wrestling live alligators all day, and rolled her shoulders as she shrugged on her jacket.

“It’s been a pleasure working with you, Belle,” said Archie, holding out his hand. “I suppose the next time we meet it’ll be online.”

“I guess so.” She shook Archie’s hand, ignoring Sir George’s baleful glare. “Thanks for the links to those papers you mentioned, I’ll be sure to read them.”

“Of course. Happy to talk through any questions you might have. You have my email.”

“I do.” Belle smiled at him. “Safe journey home.”

“You too.”

He smiled back, picking up his briefcase and heading for the door, and Belle shoved her papers in her bag, nodding to Ella. The sooner she got out of there, the sooner she could be home.

The air in the room had been dry, and consequently Belle was parched. She rummaged in her bag as she hurried along the corridor, fishing out a bottle of water that slipped from her fingers just as she reached the corner and bounced out of sight. She darted after it around the corner and squeaked as she collided with something warm and solid and smelling of expensive wood and warm cloves.

Sutherland had managed to keep himself busy enough that he hadn’t thought about Miss French more than perhaps half a dozen times. He had been pleased with himself, convinced that he would be able to put her from his mind completely once the day was over. That all changed at just after four p.m. as he walked from his office to the Cabinet Room. One moment he was talking over his shoulder to Anna, the next he found himself with his arms full of Belle French, her wide blue eyes staring at him and her lips parted in shock. She was pleasantly soft against his chest, her perfume drifting into his nose, but he barely had time to react before one of the Special Branch officers was there to peel her off him.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry!” she said breathlessly, upper arms held firmly from behind by the officer. “I’m so sorry, I wasn’t paying attention!”

“That’s - that’s quite alright.” Sutherland nodded to the officer, who released Belle immediately. “I take it you’re on your way back to Avonleigh?”

“Yes,” she said automatically.

Her cheeks had begun to redden, agitation plain in the rapid rise and fall of her chest. It was painfully arousing. He kept his eyes on hers, his own heart thumping hard, and Belle licked her lips in a nervous gesture. Sutherland blinked rapidly.

“Well,” he said. “Encounters with you continue to be - bracing - Miss French. I wish you a pleasant journey. No doubt we’ll meet again.”

“I - yes. Thank you.”

She squeezed her eyes shut with a pained expression, then shook her head and stalked past him, shoulders stiff. Sutherland watched her go, short skirt wafting around her perfect legs.

“The Cabinet?” prompted Anna, and he shook his head, turning back to her.

“Yes,” he said. “Right. Yes.”

He fell into step beside her, his skin tingling from the unexpected pleasure of having Miss French in his arms. She had felt as though she belonged there and that – well, that was a dangerous path for his mind to take.

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

Once Bitten, Twice Stupid 193

193 When Lance fell asleep, their roles had reversed. Keith calling Shiro to check in, after overhearing how they hadn’t really talked to anyone. The conversation with his brother wasn’t that long due to him not wanting to leave Lance. Knowing Krolia, whatever advice she’d given him was probably shit, though, as Lance had said, his mother was probably the closest person he could turn to advice for this. Coran may have had a pretty interesting past, but as far as Keith knew, he’d never been on the end of being pregnant. Pidge... wasn’t exactly maternal, and Allura... was Allura. She’d make a good mother... in her own way. Maybe this trip would have been better if they’d invited the others? Not so much Rieva and Matt, but Pidge and Hunk. “Keith?”Hearing Lance call his name, he forced himself out the bathroom. It was now closer to dusk than to dawn. Lance had needed time to cry out his frustrations“Hey, beautiful. How are you feeling?”“Better... thirsty... and sorry”Sorry because they hadn’t been to see his dad yet... Keith was slightly annoyed by that fact, but not mad. Lance hadn’t asked for his ego to start being a pain in the arse, and with all the stress he’d been putting himself under, he really needed the rest“Do you want some blood?”“We didn’t do my injection”Fuck. He hadn’t thought of that“Do you want to go the bathroom, and I’ll get it organised?”“Okay” It felt like nothing now to draw a bit of blood for Lance’s injections. The fear of the curse had lessened. Lance would have never tried to feed off Matt or Rieva, even in a desperate situation. But whether it be luck, or Lance’s own curse, it seemed to kill the werewolf curse before it could turn their twins. Maybe Lance had a point about some of their more careless activities? They shouldn’t be able to stand being in the same room, they both shared moments with their egos that really hurt, but he hadn’t been thinking of his own safety since turning. Just the safety of everyone they called family. Coming back from the bathroom, Lance sat beside him on their bed. Resting his against Keith’s shoulder, he sighed softly “Okay... inject away”The injection always only took a moment. In, inject, out, then Lance would rub at the healing mark. His boyfriend sighing again, overthinking things“You needed to let it out”“I know. I feel like I’ve brought the whole mood down and I hate it. You must be starving”Yep. He was. His metabolism was something crazy. The amount of food he consumed was frankly scary“I’m okay. Here, have some blood and we can think about getting something to eat”“I thought I had this planned. You know? We’d have breakfast, than go see your dad. Clean his grave up. Talk to him... A mental breakdown wasn’t scheduled”“Are they ever? Did mum help?”“She’s no Mami when it comes to advice. She said to chuck my fear out the window”Keith snorted“Right. Because it’s totally that easy. Was she okay?” They didn’t know if she was coming or not. Not with her work schedule. Keith kind of hoped she would, yet she’d made indications of it. Like, would he even recognise his father’s grave? And what did he say? “Yeah. She was her usual self. I called her for advice, but I know she was disappointed it wasn’t you”“Nah. She loves you. I think she even likes you better than me”“She’s your mum. She loves you. She’s pretty worried how this is affecting you. I could tell”“I’m okay... kind of. I’m getting there. Umm... Nothing time with my beautiful boyfriend won’t fix” Lance groaned at him“Babe, you don’t have to try so hard. It’s okay. I’m hardly beautiful... I’m like... the very definition of a wreck right now”“You’ll be okay. Here, wrist or um... neck?”“Wrist... sorry... it’s just easier in this position”“Don’t be sorry. I’m not sorry”He’d noticed something. Lance only liked to feed on his neck when they were making out or in the heat of things. His fingers when Lance was trying to be quite mid do“I am. I love you so much. So so much. I neglected your safety... and you’re still being... so good to me”“Idiot. I love you. Your hunger won’t last forever. I should have gotten some blood into while you slept... it’s bad to let your... um... levels drop”“I’ll be okay. They’re still okay... I think one of them tried to break my rib when I was in the bathroom” Keith loved hearing the twins were moving. Even when it was uncomfortable for Lance, he felt like he was hearing cute stories he wouldn’t be able to forget. He didn’t think he had the patience to be pregnant... which only made him prouder of strength Lance showed“They take after you. All silent and deadly”“Babe, I’m not a fart”Keith hadn’t thought of that, chuckling as he shook his head“I know. You smell awful in a good way. Not like my lactose farts”“Eh. They’re part of you. A couple of wads of tissue up my nose and you’d never tell”“I’ll remember that for next time. Here, eat something. Don’t be afraid if you need a little more” That was something else Keith noticed. Lance took care with the amount of blood he took from him, but the volume seemed like it would be a lot for a human. Very rarely he felt light headed, questioning if he’d be conscious if he was still human. He’d never tell Lance. He’d freak out immediately, plus fluids and a good meal had him back in shape in no time. Lance moaned as he bit into Keith’s wrist, reminding him he’d have to make more of an effort. Maybe it’d be for the best if he ran an IV line for Lance tonight, just to get his hunger knocked on the head completely. Pulling off, Lance lapped at the trails of bloodied spit left on Keith’s arm. The wounds starting to heal instantly“Better?”Catching a few small beads pushed out by the healing wound, Lance hummed “Mmm... I know this isn’t comfortable for you”It shouldn’t have been hot, but it was. It stroked his pride to provide for their boyfriend the one thing he needed above all else“I’m fine, babe. As long as you’ve had enough”“Yeah... I’m good. I’m still sorry. I think I’ve been taking more and more of late”“Nah, it’s fine. But I was thinking we should probably set you up with an IV later, seeing how little you ate today. You need to keep your fluids up”“But keeping my fluids out means I have to pee”Whining at him, Lance was too cute“I love you and your walnut sized bladder anyway”“I think it’s more like a grape at this stage. I’m sorry my ego chuckled a wobbly... and that we spent most of today in bed”“There’s nothing more that I love, than spending the day in bed with you”“Pervert. I’m serious though. I don’t want to be scared like that. I want to see where you grew up. I want to know everything about you. All of it”“You might not like all of it”“I don’t know. I think we both know that I’m like crazy stupid in love with you and all those little things that drive me crazy only make me love you more” Keith groaned softly. He’d become weak to Lance. Last real story he had left to share with his boyfriend was the night Shiro saved his arse. Lance knew most of it. Keith couldn’t remember what he’d told him, nor was he sure why he’d never told him all of it. Being on the streets had taken a toll, and the thought of a warm bed and decent shower left him going with people he already knew were no good for him. They’d offered him a good time when he’d been so completely done with fighting to be alive“Alright. How about we go get dinner and figure things out from there”“Mmmm... sounds good to me. Let me change, then we’ll go”“I probably need to freshen up too”“I hate to say it but we both kind of stink” From sweat. Under the blankets left them both sweating in their sleeps. Lance smelt deader than ever, with Keith not far off. Personally he didn’t mind stinking of Lance, but Lance felt like he needed to do more to protect Keith with things like being careful with his scent“Want to take first shower while I look for somewhere good to eat?”“Sounds like a plan... I... don’t know if I’ll freak out again”“It’s okay. If you do, we can totally go. I know we’re here to see my dad, but your safety and comfort comes first. I don’t want you to think you have to hide things from me”“I know. I won’t take too long”“Don’t go rushing. The last thing we need is for you to slip. That sounded harsher than what I meant”Lance shook his head at him“It’s okay, we both know I’m a klutz. I’ll be careful. We’ve come this far. I’m not about to risk them”“I’m worried about you, too. I don’t want you being hurt”“I’ll be fine... Let me freshen up, then you can take me out for dinner” Lance kissed Keith’s wrist where he’d fed. Keith couldn’t believe the passage of time since meeting Lance had moved so fast. It must have been a year now, or very close to a year. This time last year, he’d have thought himself turned and cursed with a single bite. The Blades really did teach some total bullshit when he stopped to consider all of things he hadn’t thought of before. He’d been such a dumb arse. Luckily he had Lance to set him straight... or not so straight... though he wasn’t sure what he was as it was Lance he loved and not only his physical body. Realising how easily he could fall into an internal debate over all of that, he gave a shake of his head. Lance said he’d let him take him to dinner, so that’s what he was going to do. *Holding Keith’s hand, the freshness of the night felt nice against Lance’s skin. Keith either hadn’t bothered looking up somewhere else to eat, or he’d been trying to please Lance, resulting in dinner at the same restaurant they’d had breakfast at. This time Lance figured out what was wrong with the place. As they’d finished dinner, the waitress had come to collect to their plates, on her arm balanced by the nozzle was a bottle of orange scented surface spray. Being a public restaurant, smells of all sorts bombarded his senses from the moment they walked. With so many scents, he hadn’t consciously noticed the orange surface spray. The fact that Sendak still held such a hold over him left Lance unable to enjoy his meal. The atmosphere of the restaurant was good, Pidge would have loved the idea of sneakily signing them up for the weekend Karaoke competition, then abusing everyone heckling her over bad singing... He missed those days. He missed not being pregnant and not fearing his scent. Heck, he missed ghost hunting. He missed watching Pidge get super enthused as Hunk prayed for it all to be over. The restaurant was the kind of place he could see himself having a few quite drinks had the place been in Garrison. The kind of place that Sal’s had been to them before he’d had to hideaway his changing body. The Lord knew he was looking forward the day they could all go out again. He was going to order the biggest, greasiest, slimiest, cheesiest pizza in existence. Maybe even have Sal get some cigarette ash in there for that true diner flavour... “Want to take a walk?”No. Maybe... He wanted to go home to bed... but he’d spent the day in the hotel room. Staring past Keith, the stars twinkled over the town as if trying to say that nothing bad could ever happen here, which was a bold faced lie if ever there was one. Keith drew strength from the moon, and both of them had eye sight sharp enough to walk around in the dark safely enough... plus... it’d give them time to get the layout of the town down... His boyfriend seemed to be oblivious to internal wavering, Lance wondering if this was his way of easing into things he either wanted to tell, or easing into seeing his father... or even a chance to cover his arse when Shiro asked how much of the town they’d gone out and seen“Sure. There’s a park a few blocks down. I saw it on the town map”“You saw a town map?”“Did you really not look this place up at all? They have a similar lay out to Garrison, which makes sense in a way... they were both trade posts at some time, though I’ve got not idea what they could have pulled out of all the sand”“I didn’t even know that much. It’s like... all I remember is the shack... all of it feels like being on another planet”Lance slid his hand into Keith’s “It’s a good thing I’m here to keep you grounded. Don’t even think about packing your bags for another planet. You’re not leaving me behind”“I’m sure that if I ever got spirited away into space, you’d be right there with me”“Yep. Probably screaming my head off the whole time too”“I think I would be too. Let’s go, I’ll follow your lead”“Don’t you always?” Keith kissed his cheek. Lance blushing lightly as his boyfriend replied “yep”, followed by two more kisses on his cheek. Lance would follow Keith to the ends of the Earth, with Keith just as happy to follow him instead. Unless one of them made the decision, they’d be following each other around in circles for the rest of their lives... That didn’t actually sound too bad... Walking down to the park, the town had a nice vibe to it. Lance felt bad for whoever was in charge of cleaning the park’s rubbish bin after his dinner decided to make a reappearance before they’d reached the toilets towards the middle of the park. Cleaning up, and using the facilities, the pair of them settled themselves down on the swings. It’d been months since he’d been on a swing set, in Cuba, yet it had to be longer for Keith. Dragging his feet in the sand to make a heart, he supposed they looked like a couple of kids up to no good. He’d seen enough memes that he knew adults missed swing sets, and he knew he definitely counted in their ranks. Pushing off lightly, the chain creaked under his weight. A memory of Veronica coming to mind from back when having a baby brother that was a vampire was something cool. He’d wanted to go higher and higher, the pegs of the swing set shaking, so Luis and Marco held it down as he swung as high as he could get. He’d been sure if he’d gotten a little higher he could have looped the chain around the top, but Papi had lost it at the four of them“You seem happy”“Mmm. I like swings”Letting the swing slow naturally, Lance grinned at his boyfriend mischievously. They had the whole playground to themselves “What about you? What’s your favourite piece of playground equipment?” Keith hummed. He’d been making a mound between his shoes, trying to keep the sand from slipping back down “I hate the monkey bars”“Oh? What’d they ever do to you?”“A shit kid at one of the families threw a rock at me because I could pull myself up to sit on top of them. It hit me in the head and I fell off backwards”“Wow. That kid sounds like a wanker”Keith nodded, expression semi serious “They were. I got in trouble for falling off”“That’s kind of what kids do though. They play and climb... it’s what kids are supposed to do”Keith sighed, before shaking his head“It doesn’t matter now. I can’t even remember their face, let alone why they through the rock”“They were probably jealous because you’re so much cooler than them. I bet you were a totally rad kid. I wish I’d known you then” Lance didn’t think about what he’d said. He felt like kicking himself as Keith mumbled “Right. The fucked up orphan no body wanted was a “rad kid””“Hey. No. No. That is not on you. Not at all. Adults are supposed to be there and be the strong ones. Not kids. I sincerely wish I could lord over every single person who hurt you, how fucking amazing you are”Keith gave a scoff of disbelief. Lance saddened that his boyfriend’s anxiety had gotten to him this badly. Climbing off his swing, the vampire wrinkled his nose at the sand pouring into his shoes as he moved to stand behind Keith“What are you doing?”“I’m going to push you?” Wasn’t that obvious? He’d waddled his pregnant arse all the way behind Keith. The only logical conclusion was he was going to push him on the swing“You don’t have to”“Maybe I want to? Maybe I want to play in the park because there’s no one else around. No bad scents. No blood. No spirits. No yucky feelings other than the sand under my socks...”“It is a nice park”“Right? Now, hold on” Pushing Keith on the swing, Keith gradually loosened up, even starting to laugh as Lance backed off and watched“You can do it, babe!”“I’m totally going to jump off, you know that, right?”“It’s like an unwritten law of swinging, seeing how far you can jump”“I think I have an advantage...”“Doesn’t matter. I’m totally challenging you to a swing off once these two are born”“That’s not fair, you’ve got wings”Lance huffed. They had a mind of their own, much like the rest of his body “Which are mostly useless. I can’t even fly around as a bat”“That’s fine. Ready?”“Go for it!” Keith jumped a little too soon, half faceplanting in the sand. With the way he landed, Lance rushed to his side to find his boyfriend laughing“Are you okay?”“I fucked that up”Kicking Keith lightly in the side with the toe of his shoe, his boyfriend rolled over, smiling like an idiot. Lance’s heart had stopped with the way Keith landed, now the idiot was smiling so happy he felt all warm inside “You had me worried!”“I guess I’m not that great at sticking the landing”“You weren’t that great at jumping. You went before the swing was at the right height!”“You make it sound like you’re training me for the Olympics” Channeling the best sports commentator voice he could, Lance’s voice wobbled slightly as he tried not to laugh at how funny he was“You don’t get at a ten-point-zero for your landing. Zero style. Very simplistic. Could this spell the end for Keith Kogane’s budding career before he even goes professional?”Keith laughed. A proper unguarded laugh. Lance feeling the luckiest man in the world to hear it “I’m being serious!”“Uh huh. Sure you are. You know, the stars are really pretty. I feel like I can see them way better than before”“That’s because all your senses increased. Werewolves and vampires are kind of night creatures”“I still don’t know how to turn into a wolf. I don’t know if it counts”“It totally does... Now, are you getting up? Or should I pick you up in the morning?”Keith patted the sand next to him“You could come down here”“Or you could come up here... I’m too pregnant to deal with sand”“Fair point. We have the whole park to ourselves... I don’t think I’ve ever really... just... you know...” That Keith hadn’t played on a playground saddened Lance. Even as an adult, playgrounds were still fun. With no one around to watch them, there was no point being responsible adults“You know, there’s a slide over there... and a flying fox...”“Babe...”Keith tried to dismiss the idea, Lance using “boyfriend” which proved very effective. Damn Pidge. She’d gone and put that back into his head at her birthday party“Come on, it’ll be fun. I mean, I probably can’t use the spinner, not unless you want to scramble the twins, but the slide never gets old”“Fine, but if we get in trouble, you’re taking the blame”Lance shrugged. They weren’t violating any laws that he knew of. They weren’t intoxicated. Nor were they committing property damage or trespassing“The lawyer in me tells me it’s going to be okay”“I’ll remember that when I get my one phone-call”“You better. Though it would be a conflict of interest to represent you, so let’s not get in trouble?” The did indeed get into trouble. Keith got wedged in the kids slide, and Lance was too tall for the flying fox, so that was disappointing. They were still messing around when the lights of a cruiser flashed red and blue, the two of them called over by a police officer who looked unable to catch them, even if they had been human. Swallowing down his fear, Lance took Keith by the hand, walking him over to the officer when Keith kept telling him they should run. Getting closer, the man clearly didn’t expect two fully grown adults to be playing in the park so late at night. “Officer, how are you tonight?”Putting on an air of responsibility, Lance felt he’d be the more convincing adult of the pair of them“I had a call about teenagers mucking around in the park. Want to tell me about it?”Keith snorted with laughter, Lance stepping on his foot to shut him up“That was us, sir. I’m sorry if we created a disturbance. We’re on holiday, you know, before the twins come, and wanted to have a little fun. I had no idea we we’re causing a disturbance” Keith tried to muffle his laughter, Lance mentally rolling his eyes at his boyfriend who was clearly upsetting the police officer. Huffily, the man asked“So I’m not going to find any of that junky paraphernalia you young people are into these days?”“No, sir. I know we might look young, but I’m 46 and my boyfriend here is 28. No drugs, or alcohol, sir”The man looked them up and down, Lance waited for something along the lines of “I wouldn’t lie to a police officer, if I was you”. Instead the man sighed“Look. You can’t be playing in the park at midnight. You’re obviously not locals. You staying at the hotel?”“Yes, sir. My boyfriend is a photographer, we’re travelling to work on his portfolio. Sorry. We wanted to have a little fun with no one around”“I’ll have you save that sort of fun for a more appropriate environment. Get in the back, I’ll give you both a ride back”Lance immediately shook his head“We’re both able to walk back...”“That wasn’t an invitation. We get a lot of blow ins for this damn Easter festival the town insists on having. The last thing I need is the pair of you thinking your entitled to cause trouble. Get in” Lance felt like a scolded school child as he did as he was told, Keith sliding in beside him, though his boyfriend still thought they should run. Clipping their belts in obediently, Lance bit his bottom lip. Maybe they’d gotten carried away? He didn’t think they were being too loud. All they’d been doing was acting like idiots. They hadn’t damaged any property... plus Keith had gotten on the spinner, which had been hilarious given how much strength he could put into a spin. His boyfriend had gotten off with shaky legs, tripped, fell in the grass and burst out laughing. Lance knew he should stay quiet, but this was a golden chance“Excuse me, have you been an officer here very long?”The man met his eyes before pulling away from the park curb“Long enough” Damn. He wasn’t giving him anything“Do you happen to know anything about the fire that took place here about 20 years ago?”Keith’s heart started racing harder. Yeah. He should have been considerate about Keith’s feelings, but this was like the perfect chance“Oh, I know about that fire alright. One dead. 250,000 dollars worth of damages. I don’t know why you’re bringing that up, but you’re best dropping it. A lot of people were hurt by that incident. Damn candle left unattended. The place went up faster than a whore’s knickers drop”“If one wanted to know about the fire, is there a local registrar office?” The office pressed the breaks suddenly, instead of gently stopping at the stop sign“Look. I’m sure you’re nice... whatever you are. But what happened that day is no laughing matter. We lost one of our own that day. It’s an ugly scar on the history of this town and I won’t have the pair of you treating it like a joke”Whelp. He’d gone and made him angry“I mean absolutely no disrespect. It’s such a horrible thing to have happened. When you saw you lost one of your own, I assume you mean an officer?” Resuming driving, the man sighed at him as if he was stupid, their eyes meeting again in the rear view mirror “No. Not an officer. One of our local fire fighters. They tried to stop the blazing jumping house, when the second floor came down. Horrible tragedy. We lost a fine man that day”“Did you know him?”“Aye, we all did. Bit of a loner. Kept to himself, especially after his missus skipped town. Heeee... had a boy from memory. Hard worker though. That boy... he was tiny thing of a kid. Still, he gave everything he could to that boy. He ended up vanishing, just like his mother. Couldn’t tell ya where she went. Up and vanished as suddenly as she appeared here. No idea how the pair of them met, and before we knew it, she was up the duff, then gone a couple of years later. Couldn’t handle the stresses of being a parent, if you ask me anything about it”“And all of this is public record?”“Bits and pieces. Look. I won’t tell you again, losing Joe hurt a lot of people here. He was a good man. Kind of man you never really knew what was thinking. But when he saw his boy, he’d light up like a goddamn Christmas tree. Loved that kid, he did. He was real torn up when his woman shot through, but never blamed his boy. We often used to wonder what happened to that kid, ah, but I suppose it’s one of those things you’d never know” The officer was letting his accent show. Keith seemed on the edge of tears“Say we didn’t want to drop it, is there anyone from around there that we can talk to about it”The man fixed him with a glare“People move on. Dredging that up again is only going to cause pain. If I hear you two are stirring up trouble because your curious over something that is none of your business, I will escort you out of town meself” That mean there were indeed people out there who’d been around at the time of the fire and may remember Keith, and his father... and that the council office should have record that’d help them place the pieces of that day together. The last few minutes of the drive was in silence. The officer having to squidge himself out the door in order to open the back door of the cruiser to let them out. The man really didn’t know what to make of Lance, he got it. He looked like a woman and sounded like a man. Some people were so damn backwards that they couldn’t accept change. Lance still opting to be polite, on the off chance they crossed paths again “Thank you for the ride. We’re sorry we caused you trouble”“Don’t let it happen again. There’s laws about these kinds of things. Consider yourselves both lucky and warned”“Yes, sir. Thank you” As the police cruiser left, Keith collapsed against him, sniffling as tears rolled down his face. His boyfriend wrapping his arms around him with a little too much force“Babe?”“He... loved me”With his arms pinned, Lance could only raise his hand enough to pat Keith’s arm “Yeah, babe. He did. I’m sorry I didn’t ask if it was okay to ask, but the opportunity to know something more was right in front of us”“He... he still went back in... he...”“He loved you. He loved you, and I know I’m not him. I could never know what he was thinking, but I think all he wanted to do was stop the fire before more people were hurt”“He left me”“Not by choice. You heard that guy. He loved you. He adored you. And he was so proud to be your dad. You... you were loved. You are loved”“Can we go back to the room?”Lance’s heart was breaking for his boyfriend. Sure, they’d learned a little and tomorrow Lance wanted to hit up the council to dig up whatever he could on Keith’s father’s past, but right now...“I was thinking the same thing. I want to hold you”“Please?”“Always, babe. Always and forever” ReplyForward

[readyplayerhobi]

Silver Bells and Cockle Shells

; Widower Single Dad!Hoseok x Reader

; Genre: Angst, fluff, smut

; Word Count: 22.2k

; Warnings: Mentions of death, grief, depression, insinuated blowjob and car sex, penetrative sex, masturbation, fingering

; Synopsis: Jung Hoseok has three beautiful daughters whom he loves more than anything in the world; Soo-ah, Ji-eun and Ji-soo. For five years now, it’s been only them and him against the world. But what happens when he wants to bring someone new into their lives?

; A/N: Hello, this is something I just randomly got in my head. Was meant to be a drabble...ha, evidently not. I half edited this but full honesty, I got bored and just wanted it out! If you like it, pleeeease reblog it! Leave me lovely comments and feedback, send asks and like it! I hope you enjoy this and that...it’s not boring or anything ;-;

; Sequel - Sleigh Bells Ring

-

“Soo-ah!” Hoseok cursed, frowning deeply as he bent over and picked up the toothbrush she’d carelessly dropped to the floor after she’d brushed her teeth for bed. “Pick up your stuff after yourself!”

Sometimes he felt like he spent half his day chasing around after his daughters to put his house back together. Honestly, going to work could be classed as a relief at this stage in his life. Pausing for a moment, he stared at himself in the finger printed mirror before letting out a deep sigh and rolling his eyes. 

He was too young to be thinking like that. At only 33, he was pretty sure that he should only just be experiencing the stress he’d endured for the past ten years. His friends certainly were only just beginning to understand what he’d gone through.

Already, Jimin had started whining about how tired he was with his newborn son which was making Namjoon start to blanch whenever they met up and the conversation started. His own wife was due in three months and Hoseok was looking forward to being as smug as humanly possible whenever the younger man complained himself.

They’d all had to endure years of Namjoon saying it can’t be that bad and encouraging them all to simply remain calm and all that bullshit he spouted in his daily role as a psychiatrist. It had made Hoseok want to hiss fire at him when the man had no concept of trying to cope with two colicky babies alongside a five-year-old who tantrumed over the wrong breakfast cereal.

The man had it coming, Hoseok swore. A small, sinister part of him was hoping that Namjoon’s baby would be the antichrist but then he pushed that thought away. In actuality, he hoped that Namjoon and his wife would have the most pleasant experience as parents.

No matter what, he was positive it would be better than his own experience.

Putting the toothbrush back into its place, he crouched down to grab the cleaner and sprayed the mirror in an even coating, placing the bottle back before grabbing a cloth and wiping the mirror clean. It was stupid, but the pristine surface soothed a part of him that screamed out at the sheer tornado of chaos his children caused.

His love for his daughters was infinite and he would happily give up his own life to protect them and ensure their unending happiness; but sometimes he also just wanted to scream in frustration. Sighing heavily, he rests his hands on the counter and looks down into the sink, brows furrowing together once more as he notes the stains of toothpaste spit that has dried on the porcelain and a deep groan runs through him.

A full clean of the house will have to be done this weekend. He’ll have time to do it as his parents are taking the girls to the aquarium and then a movie for the day after a sleepover. And then, after a whole day of cleaning, they would come back to a nice house with everything in its place and it would all go back to looking exactly how it had in the morning within hours.

Rubbing his hand over his face, he licks at his lips and looks back in the mirror. Said hand soon moves to run through his hair, pushing the sleek, black strands out of his face and he notes idly that he needs to get it cut. The sides are getting too long and he scowls slightly, pushing at the hair that should be shaved close to the sides of his head.

Maybe he could take the girls to get their hair done and then ask if the hairdresser would quickly do his as well. They’d be entertained with each other for a while, surely? Or maybe he could run out on Saturday while they’re gone and get it sorted. He did need to go shopping to buy groceries for dinner and it would make sense to do it at the same time. Hoseok had become very adept at finding time to fit multiple things together.

His stomach flipped nervously as he thought about dinner. 

If everything went right with the conversation he was about to have with his girls, then Saturday evening would be the first time he would introduce you to them. For five years now, Hoseok had raised his beloved daughters as a single father.

It hadn’t been out of choice. 

His eldest daughter, Soo-ah had turned ten-years-old in March this year. She’d been born when he was 23, a surprise pregnancy with his college sweetheart. They’d married a year later and Hoseok had enjoyed four wonderful and happy years with Soo-ah and the woman he’d considered the love of his life, Yoo-jin. 

A second pregnancy occurred when they had both been 27; this time it was planned and very much wanted. On October 29th, two beautiful twin girls had been born and Hoseok’s heart had swollen even more with love and affection. Ji-eun and Ji-soo were perfection in human form to him.

October 29th had also been the last day his wife had been alive. 

Complications from the strain of birthing both girls had taken his wife from him, and he’d suddenly been alone in the world with three daughters relying on him. Grief had taken a backseat as he’d thrown himself into the three innocent lives that needed him so desperately and it had been the hardest thing he’d ever done.

Crippling depression had hit him hard with the loss of Yoo-jin and sometimes the very sight of his kids had caused him to burst into tears as he’d thought about how she wouldn’t get to see their daughters grow and experience life. It had been even harder with two newborn girls who had demanded every moment of his time and attention, leading to him having to take time off work as a software engineer at first and then work from home once his leave ran out.

What had been even worse though, was that not only was he trying to cope with his own grief but that he also had to cope with Soo-ah’s. She’d been only five-years-old. Her mommy and daddy had gone to the hospital one day and had promised to bring back her baby siblings.

Only daddy and two sisters had come home. She hadn’t understood why mommy wasn’t coming back and for two whole months, Soo-ah started and ended every day asking when mommy was coming home. Everytime, his eyes had watered and his throat tightened as he’d had to tell her that mommy wasn’t going to come home, that she’d gone to the sky to watch after them all.

They say kids understand more than you expect, but it had still taken a long time for her to grasp the concept that her mommy was gone. He hadn’t been able to say that she had died, and he’d broken down the night that she’d turned six. Hoseok had tried to make it a happy and fun time for her, but it had only been five months since Yoo-jin had passed and Soo-ah hadn’t been coping too well.

She’d been happy at the start of her party, accepting her presents from all her friends and her many uncles and aunts who doted on her immensely. Her grandparents had already visited earlier in the day and Hoseok knew that everyone was spoiling her to try and make up for the one thing missing from her day.

Later on, she’d begun to act out and had a tantrum that resulted in the party ending earlier than expected. Hoseok had known that she might exhibit behaviour like this; she was just a child and it was a big emotion for her to compute. The happiness and excitement of everything, combined with seeing the other kids with their mom’s had simply been too much.

When he’d put her to bed that night, giving her lots of extra kisses and cuddles, she’d been quiet and sullen. It had broken his heart and yet again, he hadn’t known what to do. There wasn’t a manual for this.

But what had destroyed him had been what she asked him, her voice tiny and more than a little fragile as she curled up in his arms beneath her Mickey Mouse bedding. 

“Mommy’s dead. That’s why she’s not coming home. Right?” How he had got the strength to carry on that conversation with her without falling apart right then and there, he’d never known. But he had. And then he had checked on the twins before falling into his own bed, his pillow soaked with his own tears as pain had eaten at him.

Five years had passed since, and with time it had gotten a little better. His heart no longer aches when he thinks of Yoo-jin and he could talk about her openly with a smile. He made sure to keep her photos in the house for his daughters, reminding them of their mom and letting them know that she loved them. Each of their rooms, the single for Soo-ah and the room that Ji-eun and Ji-soo shared as they refused to sleep apart, was decorated with pictures of Yoo-jin and Hoseok.

It made him sad to know that he had no photos of Yoo-jin and the twins for them, but they’d never asked about her either. They had never grown up with a mom, so they never thought anything of it. Soo-ah had though, and while she had slowly turned back into the happy and loving girl he’d known, he knew that she would never forget her mom.

Nor would he want her to.

But for five years, he’d only limited himself to one-night-stand’s in which both he and the recipient were abundantly clear that there wasn’t going to be anything further. He hadn’t wanted to engage in romance, hadn’t wanted his feelings to get involved. All he had wanted was the relief of an orgasm and the intimacy of another person for a few hours.

His parents had encouraged him to go on a few blind dates in the last two years, and he had done so reluctantly. Even Yoo-jin’s parents had told him that they wanted him to be happy, even if that meant finding someone new to love.

It was hard though. He’d felt disloyal with the first few dates, even if they’d just ended up in casual sex before never seeing each other again. Most of them hadn’t been interested in anything further with a man who had three young daughters. He hadn’t been interested in them once they gave him that opinion.

So he hadn’t bothered mentioning it after, because he simply hadn’t wanted to engage in anything that would involve feelings. 

Until you.

He’d met you a year ago, when Jungkook’s wife had brought you to one of his summer barbecue get togethers. It had been before anyone else in their friend group besides from Hoseok and Seokjin had had kids, so it had been deemed a kid free event to allow the parents to kick back and relax.

Yoo-jin’s parents had taken the kids for the day and Hoseok had got to simply be himself for a few hours without having the stress of constantly checking on what his kids were doing. He’d discovered that three children meant three times the amount of potential damage and carnage that could be caused, and minus another parent figure resulted in just overall disaster material.

Hoseok still shuddered in horror whenever he thought of the supermarket experience from two years ago. Even now, he refused to go back there from sheer embarrassment.

But you had simply been there as a friend, and at first he hadn’t even paid attention to you in any way other than simple respect. You’d been sweet and friendly, if a bit shy as it had been obvious that everyone knew each other except for you. Chae-young, Jungkook’s wife, was a colleague of yours and you’d become close through a mutual love of equestrian activities.

At the time, that was as much as he’d known about you alongside your name, age and that you were the manager of a sales team in an office. There hadn’t been any need for him to know more, but by the end of the night he’d been quietly endeared by you.

He hadn’t laughed as much in years, his smile bright and wide on his face while he talked intently with you. For three whole hours, you’d both been in a little bubble of shared mutual interests from tennis to dancing to pop culture. Neither had noticed the subtle glances everyone was giving each other as they watched their friend, who had spent so many years with his light dim and subdued, come to life before their eyes.

Before he’d even realised what he was doing, you had both swapped numbers and he’d enjoyed a few weeks of casual interaction via text. He’d enjoyed the conversation with someone new and had been determined to not let his busy life get in the way.

Even better, you’d already known about his kids and hadn’t been bothered in the slightest. In fact, you’d even been inquisitive and he’d happily discussed them, pride behind every word. The texts had soon turned into phone conversations which soon turned into video chats.

Soon enough, he’d been meeting you for lunch in the city at a cafe that was between both your workplaces. Hoseok hadn’t realised how close Chae-young worked to him until then, and he’d enjoyed his lunches more than he ever had with the easy conversation that flowed between you both. 

It was ironic really. He’d spent so long not looking for anything that he didn’t even realise when something wonderful fell right into his lap. And you were wonderful, beyond wonderful.

For the first time in over a decade, Hoseok had gone to bed early to simply lay there, curled up under the covers, while he texted you like a teenage boy with his first crush. And that’s what he’d felt like, even if he hadn’t quite realised it. Every text had made his stomach flip and every call made him breathless with nerves.

He found himself going to the bathroom before lunch, checking over his hair and looks before meeting up with you. Things he saw in the store that reminded him of you found their way into his basket before ending up in your hands, all to see that pretty smile that made him feel so funny.

It had been so long since he’d dated properly, so long since he’d liked anyone in more than just a lust filled euphoria, that he just hadn’t realised what was happening. And it had taken his mom, of all people, to point it out to him.

He’d been at theirs one afternoon, the girls playing in the living room with the toys their grandparents had accumulated over the years while he sat at the island in the kitchen. His mom had been watching him for five whole minutes instead of preparing the meal for that night, observing the way her son smiled and laughed to himself, eyes locked on his screen.

It had made tears come to her eyes when she had realised that she hadn’t seen him like this since Yoo-jin had been alive. She had queried him who he was talking to, causing him to casually say your name without a second thought. And then she had asked him how long he had been dating you, which had thrown him for a loop.

“I’m not dating her. We’re just friends.” He hadn’t even realised he’d said those fateful words out loud, hadn’t realised the meaning of what he’d just said. In his mind, that was exactly what you were. Friends.

Which was why his mom had given me an exasperated smile and a shake of her head. “Hoseok, sweetheart. If you’re not dating her, then you should be. I haven’t seen you this happy in...a long time. Especially not with another woman.”

Hoseok had frozen then, staring down at his phone with a frown as his mother’s words had finally penetrated the shield that he had held so tightly around his heart for half a decade now. The last text you had sent him had been something stupid, but he’d gripped his phone tight as he’d realised she was right. You made him happy, you made him want to try.

And that made him feel guilty.

She’d spent the rest of the afternoon convincing him that it was okay to move on, to truly move on and find happiness with someone else. That night, he’d refrained from texting you as he’d tried to compute his newfound emotions and find a place for them to sit alongside everything else in him.

For so long, he’d thought that Yoo-jin would have been the only woman for him. The woman that he would grow old with, be buried next to and so forth. And then she had died at only 28, and he’d been without her once more. He’d spent years convinced that he should stay loyal to her, after all, they hadn’t broken up.

But as he’d laid there that night, he’d worked through the guilt that wracked him as he’d realised that he didn’t want to be alone anymore. He didn’t want to wake up alone, in a cold bed and come home to only his children. Hoseok loved his kids, he truly did, but he wanted someone that he could talk to, laugh with, argue with if necessary, be intimate with. 

He wanted someone to love again, and he wanted to be loved in turn.

Everyone had always said that he had a big heart, always ready to bestow it on whoever had his affections that day. A smile that could light up the sun and so forth. And for five years, he’d only poured love into his daughters because they were all he had.

As he’d gone to sleep that night, he had contented himself with the knowledge that he was no longer happy with his lonely situation. But he planned to do something about it, because he had also realised that he liked you, and he wanted to pour that love into you too if you would let him.

The very next lunch he had with you, he had asked you on a date. His confidence had faltered halfway through as panic had suddenly set in, worry that you wouldn’t want to date a 33-year-old father of three. But you had smiled brightly, face lighting up with such happiness and excitement that he’d been unable to not smile back, before eagerly accepting.

That had been six months ago, and he had fallen in love with you slowly every day since.

Despite this though, he had yet to introduce you to the girls. There were many reasons for this and he’d been pleased that you had accepted them all without complaint. The most important reason was because Hoseok hadn’t wanted to introduce anyone to them if it wasn’t going to end up serious.

It would just hurt them if you broke up and they never saw you again, and he wasn’t ready to impart that kind of emotional turmoil on his little girls. Secondly, he hadn’t wanted to pressure you into doing anything with his kids when you didn’t have to. You weren’t their mom, nor were you looking to be and he didn’t want to force that role on you. 

He’d wanted you to feel comfortable enough to finally meet them, and he’d wanted to feel comfortable enough in his relationship for you to meet them. But also, he’d just wanted to enjoy you to himself without the interference of children.

Hoseok loved his kids, he would never give them up and his whole life revolved around them really. Yet his relationship with you was the first thing in five years that he’d had solely to himself, untouched by their presence. He felt selfish thinking that way, but he’d just wanted to enjoy you a little longer without the pressure of parental expectations.

After six months though, he’d finally decided that it was time. It had been a huge decision, and he’d agonised over it a few weeks before finally talking it through with you. He’d had to be sure that you even wanted to meet them, because as worried as he was for how his daughters would react to you, he couldn’t even imagine what it must be like for you.

You’d started dating him in the knowledge he had three kids, but knowing and actually seeing and being a part of those small lives was entirely different. Most women probably didn’t start dating someone with a ready made family, and he’d stressed a little over that.

Dating him seriously meant you would be directly involved with his daughters. He didn’t want you to think that he wanted a second mom for them, because he didn’t and he doubted his daughters wanted that either, but it would be hard for you to avoid some parental activities.

And that wasn’t even thinking about whether or not you actually wanted children in the future. There was a chance that you might think he might not want more kids because he already had three, but you had none. Overall, it had taken a lot of thinking before he’d finally proposed the idea of introducing you.

He wanted to be able to bring you home, cuddle up with you on the couch after a long day without having to worry about the girls finding out. Eventually move onto you staying the night, hopefully one day in the future even moving in together. He had kids, yes, but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t have a relationship like everyone else.

Hoseok wanted to give you as normal a relationship as he could, despite the three extra people he came with as standard.

You’d been sweet about the whole thing though, consoling him and letting him know that you were supportive of whatever decision he made. There weren’t enough words in the English language for him to convey how much he appreciated how easy-going you were about it all and he’d just fallen even harder for you.

It was a little odd really, how quickly he’d realised he loved you. Admittedly, he’d spent months without even realising he liked you, but he’d told you those three special words within three months. He’d taken half a year to tell Yoo-jin, and he wasn’t sure what that meant. If it meant anything.

But all of this was completely moot if his girls decided they didn’t want to meet you. They were allowed that decision, and Hoseok was fully prepared to love you separately for a while until they got used to the idea. He didn’t want to, but he wouldn’t force someone onto them if they didn’t want it. Nor was he willing to break up with you solely for that reason.

He loves his daughters, but he refuses to let them rule his life entirely. Just as he works hard they’re happy, he knows that he’s entitled to happiness himself.

Pushing away from the counter, he takes a deep breath before heading into the twin’s room. The bathroom was the one all the girl’s shared while he had his own thanks to the en-suite. Something he was positive that he was going to be very thankful for when they all hit teenage years.

The twin’s room was pure chaos, as expected. He’d long since given up trying to keep this room tidy. Instead, he would simply go through once a day and make it look less like a bomb had gone off in it. 

There was plenty of room in the house for them to have a room each, there were actually two spare bedrooms in this ridiculously large house he’d bought with Yoo-jin years ago. It had been cheap purely because it had needed to have a lot of stuff fixed in it, but over the years he’d worked with both friends and family to turn it into the family home it was today.

But splitting the twins up had proven to be an unthinkable act. He’d tried it once when they were four and they’d screamed and cried for hours before going quiet. Thinking they were asleep, he’d gone to check on them only to discover that Ji-eun had gotten out of her bed and was curled up in Ji-soo’s bed.

The very next day, he’d moved her stuff back into the room and they’d been content ever since. Twins were funny, he mused to himself as he watched them both lying beneath Ji-eun’s Iron Man bedding, his iPad in Ji-soo’s hands as they both watched a movie.

He had refused to let them have an iPad, even a joint-owned one as he didn’t want to end up being that dad whose kids spent all their time on a screen. Even now, they were limited to only two hours of screen time a day. Soo-ah was the same, only she was allowed to use the computer to do her homework when necessary as well.

It caused them to whine a lot but he instead encouraged them to play, read books or even use the board games he’d bought. Thankfully, they were pretty happy with it despite the minor whining but he knew that his policy was going to have to change soon. Particularly for Soo-ah.

“Hey you two, how are my little pumpkins?” He said with a bright smile as he crouched down next to the bed. Two sets of identical eyes flicked over to him, their warm chocolate depths filled with sleepiness and fondness swelled in him.

“Hi daddy,” Ji-soo whispered, the tiny mole on her cheek being the only way to distinguish her from her younger sister. Her black hair shone with health in the warm light of the Avengers lamp on the bedside table and Hoseok reached out, stroking the flyaway strands down. Ji-eun was too busy watching the iPad and he smiled, resting his head on the bed next to them both and watching quietly.

There was only a few more minutes until it was over, and he took the tablet from them before switching it off and placing it next to him on the floor. The door creaked open and all three looked over, taking in Soo-ah’s frown as she looked at her sisters and dad.

He’d asked her to come into the twins room once she’d gotten into her pyjamas and he grinned at her mismatching clothes. A Mickey Mouse t-shirt was combined with Batman bottoms but he chose not to say anything as she flipped her long, black hair behind her shoulder in a movement that reminded him so strongly of Yoo-jin.

The twins were growing to look like him, but Soo-ah was all Yoo-jin. It was a soft ache sometimes to look at her, but it just made him love her all the more.

Gesturing to her with an open arm, she tucked herself into his side where he knelt and he kissed the crown of her head with a loud ‘mwah’, enjoying the way she wiggled and whined in protest. She was reaching the age where affection from him was met with embarrassment but he didn’t care.

“Are you all excited to go to grandma and grandpa’s tomorrow?” All three of them nod, excitement lighting up their eyes and he has to bite his inner cheek to stop the grin that wants to paint itself onto his face. His parents spoil them, they truly do. He has no doubt when he picks them up on Saturday that they’ll have eaten their weight in sugary goods and will likely have another toy each.

“Good, they’re looking forward to having you too. I want you all on your best behaviour, yeah?” Each little girl gives another nod and he goes soft with pride for them all. They were truly the most important things in his life and he squeezed Soo-ah a little tighter in response.

“So...err,” He paused, brow creasing as he realised that he didn’t know how to go about this. “On Saturday, we’re going to have dinner with someone. She’s...she’s someone very special to daddy.”

“Is she your girlfriend?” Ji-soo asks innocently, her eyes filling with curiosity and he smiles in response, running his fingers through her hair once more before nodding.

“Yes...she is. I...she’s been daddy’s friend for a while now, and daddy really likes her. So...I want to make sure that you all are okay with that? I don’t want to bring her if you’re not going to be happy.” This is possibly one of the most awkward he’s things he’s done in a while but he preserves, hoping that his daughters will understand and accept.

“Do you love her?” Ji-eun asks and Hoseok freezes, his eyes widening. He feels it’s far too soon to confirm that for them when he’s only just telling them so he shakes his head instead, leaning over to kiss her forehead.

“I like her a lot. She makes me very happy and I want you all to get to meet her. She’s excited to meet you if you want to. But it’s only if you want to.” There’s silence for a few moments more before the twins nod enthusiastically with smiles that resemble his own so much.

“Okay daddy.” They both respond at the same time, causing him to chuckle as that odd twin telepathy happens again. It weirded him out sometimes but it mostly just made him glad that they had each other.

Soo-ah hasn’t responded and he looks down at her, noting the way her eyes are downcast and her body is tight. His heart sinks slightly, knowing that she was going to be the one that he had the most trouble with. 

She was the one who remembered her mom, who vaguely remembered scenes of her mommy and daddy hugging and kissing, whispering they loved each other. It was always going to be the hardest with her, and he wondered how long it would take for her to accept it. If she ever did.

But then she surprises him with a slight shrug, her fingers tracing unseen shapes into his jean covered thigh, her lips pursed out in a tiny pout. “Okay dad.”

Her tone isn’t nearly as enthusiastic as the twins and he frowns slightly, kissing the twins goodnight and turning the lamp off before he gently encourages Soo-ah out of the room. She doesn’t speak on the way to her own bedroom, the interior of this room a soft purple that’s decorated with numerous horse posters.

Without a word, she climbs into her bed and curls up with her back to him underneath the covers. His heart clenched tightly as he sits down next to her, the mattress dipping and causing her to roll slightly towards him. Neither says anything for a moment as he simply runs his fingers through her hair gently, enjoying the way it feels and thinking about how big his little girl was getting.

“Soo-ah? Are you really okay with it? It’s okay if you’re not,” He whispered, looking away from her to the bookcase opposite him that’s filled to the brim with books. “She’s nice, I think you’ll like her. She goes horse-riding and knows so much about them.” 

“What about mommy?” And there it is, the very thing he was looking forward to least. His breath leaves him in a deep and heavy sigh while his head drops down momentarily as he tries to put his thoughts together into cohesive speech. This is all very new and alien to her and he’d always known it was going to be a tougher sell to her than the twins. They’d only ever had daddy, she’d had both.

“Mommy is still here with us Soo-soo, she’s not being forgotten. I still love her so much and I know that she still loves you. Y/N isn’t going to replace mommy, I swear.” Soo-ah stays curled up, her body tight and he grits his teeth, hating that he had to go through this with her.

“What if you fall in love with Y/N and forget about mommy? I don’t want another mommy. What if she’s mean? What if she hates us and tells you that she doesn’t want us?” Wow, this is way more questions than he’d anticipated from merely asking if they’d be okay with meeting you but he got the suspicion that these were things Soo-ah had worried over for the last few years.

Which meant he had to go very carefully, otherwise things could go very wrong.

“You’re not going to get another mommy, I don’t want that for you. You had one mommy, and you always will. Y/N doesn’t want make you unhappy, she’s not expecting you to love her or treat her like a mom. She also doesn’t hate you and she would never tell me make me choose. She’s known about you all the whole time I’ve known her and she’s excited to meet you all. I’ve told her so much about my smart girls. And she’s not mean. She’s one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. I wouldn’t bring someone into your life that I didn’t trust and like. I swear Soo-soo.”

She’s quiet for a moment longer before shrugging again, her body relaxing as she lets out a deep sigh. “Okay,” His shoulders relax as he senses the acknowledgement in that one word. “I love you daddy.”

Biting his lip, he knows that she’s still not entirely okay with it and he also knows that he’s going to have to be very careful on Saturday. He loves Soo-ah, but he knows that she can be temperamental around things like this, with valid reason, obviously. But he also knows that she doesn’t really know what to think, hence her calling him ‘daddy’, something that she hadn’t done for 3 years now.

“I love you too Soo-soo.” Bending over, he kisses her head goodnight before leaving her room too, resting his back against her door as he lets his head fall back and a deep sigh leaves him. He hopes you know how much he truly loves you with how willing he is to let you into his life, because for him and his little family, this is the biggest earthquake to strike since the death of Yoo-jin.

Only this time, he hopes that that result afterwards would be happy instead of painful.

-

Hoseok lets out a happy groan of delight as he bites into the greasy pizza, the tangy cheese contrasting wonderfully to the meaty pepperoni and rich tomato base. It tastes far too good and a voice in the back of his mind tuts at the wilful carbs he’s adding into his body. He’s not as young as he once was and keeping off the weight was beginning to be a little harder nowadays, but he pushed that thought firmly away.

You liked his body, even if he wasn’t as toned as he had been ten years ago. But whatever, you weren’t dating 23-year-old Hoseok and 33-year-old Hoseok didn’t give a damn when the pizza tasted this fucking good. 

A light chuckle sounded from his right and he glanced over, finding you watching him with amusement dancing in your eyes while a bemused smile played on your lips as you chewed on your own slice of pizza. Once you’d realised that you’d caught his attention, you swallow your piece before leaning over to wipe at the grease on his lips with undeniable affection and his stomach felt a little bit fuzzy.

He was being honest when he said that you made him happy, because you really did. In fact, he was pretty sure that this was the happiest he had been in five years and sometimes he got a little sappy and emotional about it. So long had been spent purposefully isolating himself for his daughters that he hadn’t really understood what he was missing out on again.

But, he conceded to himself, he was glad of that as well. Because he wouldn’t have started a relationship with you if he’d started dating earlier. So he was content with his earlier decisions, content with you.

Having kids and losing a wife had really turned him way more emotional than he’d used to be, but he reasoned that it was okay. He’d just learned what it was like to lose something he loved dearly, and he had spent years regretting not loving Yoo-jin more fiercely. Which was why he was determined to make sure that you knew exactly how much he loved you, for however long you both lasted.

He would not make the same mistake twice.

“Enjoying that?” You ask him, expression mischievous as you take the pizza crust he hands you and start to eat it with a joyful hum. Hoseok simply watches for a moment before nodding with a grin.

“Do you know...how nice it is to get to eat junk food?” A snort leaves you as you roll your eyes, shifting until your back is against the cushion on the couch and you pull your legs up. You’re only wearing some bed shorts and an oversized logo shirt with the Star Wars logo on it, both faded from overwashing but still comfortable.

“Am I supposed to feel sorry for you? You’re the one who chooses the meals in your house. If you want junk food, then just eat junk food.” The way you say it is completely casual but Hoseok gasps in mock outrage, a hand resting on his chest.

“How rude! You’re supposed to be complimenting me on how wonderful of a father I am because I make sure my daughters are eating the healthiest food! Did you know, we haven’t had chocolate in our house for over a year now? Only health snacks allowed.” A droll stare is all he gets in response and he squirms slightly, trying his hardest not to let his lower lip pout out.

You were two years younger than him and also childless, yet sometimes he felt like you were the older one and also the parent. 

“Blatantly false. I distinctly remember you eating a Kit Kat the other week in bed when we facetimed. I thought lying was bad Hobi?” You’ve got him there and he finally lets his lips purse before he chuckles in defeat, nodding his head.

“Okay fine, we have one day of junk food a week. But they’re not allowed anything unhealthy unless they’ve done something really good, like got a really good grade or done some chores around the house. Me on the other hand...well, let’s say I might have a secret stash hidden somewhere in the house that little girl’s can’t reach.” His hand waves airily as he speaks and you burst into laughter, reaching out with one foot to push at his thigh.

Without even thinking about it, he lowers his hand to rest on your leg and runs his fingers along your skin affectionately. There’s no pizza left anymore and instead he focuses on sliding his hands along your calf, digging into the muscles there and massaging gently until you let out a soft sigh.

Silence falls between you both, the comfortable kind where neither of you feels the need to speak. The television is playing some Netflix Original series while the lingering scent of pizza still fills the air.

He’d come over to yours for the night, enjoying the fact that he was actually able to spend the whole night with you. His parents had asked to have the girls last week tonight and he’d agreed happily, knowing that it meant he could spend more time than usual with you. Staying over was only possible when the girl’s were not home, and that was pretty rare.

Your apartment was pretty small, the size dictated by what you could afford in combination with the car you had and the salary you earnt. But he liked it all the same. It was filled with a combination of pop culture in the form of figurines and plushies everywhere alongside beautiful paintings that hung on the walls or elegant photographs of landscapes. 

Candles dotted the area, a few lit to fight the pizza scent with vanilla and he smiled as he felt himself relax both physically and mentally. There was no hint of children here, no toys thrown around or crayons half hidden underneath furniture. He obviously loved his kids but sometimes it was nice to just...have somewhere that didn’t look like Toys R Us had thrown up in it. 

In actuality, he found dating as an adult slightly odd. The last time he’d properly dated had been with Yoo-jin, and that had been over ten years ago. He’d been a student when they’d got together, only 21 and he’d had a young adult’s mindset to go with it too. At the time, all he cared about was his grades, partying, getting drunk and getting laid.

Not necessarily in that order.

Okay, definitely not in that order.

A job, taxes, bills, childcare, children and so forth hadn’t even entered his head really. Dating back then had simply meant meeting up with Yoo-jin after class and going back to the apartment he’d shared with Yoongi and Namjoon, fooling around for a few hours before crashing in bed. Maybe going to a party or actually doing his homework.

The most stress he’d had was exam period, or maybe that time he forgot to hand in his term paper and he’d been handed his ass by Professor Lee in History of Medieval Europe. That hadn’t been fun.

Dating had been almost...relaxing with how carefree it had been. How unburdened with the stress and realities of life.

Dating now was far different. Now he had to fit in his dates with you in his lunch breaks or the rare evening he could get someone to watch the girls. Talking was relegated to when they were in bed and a lot of the conversations often ended up being about world events or problems with a job or co-worker. It felt mundane and if he thought about it, boring, but he oddly didn’t mind.

Being with Yoo-jin in the early stages had been exciting and fun, dates being extravagant and wild. Being you was different. In Yoo-jin, he’d sought excitement but with you he sought comfort and quiet. A way to simply be Jung Hoseok, the man, again instead of being Jung Hoseok the father or colleague.

He felt a little sad that he didn’t get to experience the wildness with you, but then again, he felt far too tired for that anyway. It was only 8pm and he was already contemplating asking if you wanted to go to bed. Not even for sex, but just because he was tired. 

Though he wouldn’t say no to sex. 

That was definitely something that he’d discovered was perhaps even better than with Yoo-jin, which he’d felt a little guilty about at first. Sure, he perhaps couldn’t go as often as he had when he was 21 but it was just...better.

Both of you were far more experienced and knew exactly what you liked and didn’t like in the bedroom, and you were both mature enough to be honest and open about it. He’d been mortified to find out that he hadn’t actually given Yoo-jin an orgasm for six whole months because she’d been too shy to tell him whereas you’d told him exactly what to do for the very first time you’d slept together.

He’d been a little shocked actually, but it had resulted in perhaps the best sex he’d had in a long time. Particularly for two people who had never had sex with each other. And yet it had; he’d never felt such an intense and emotional connection with someone before and it had even frightened him a little bit, made him feel disloyal because he couldn’t ever remember Yoo-jin like that.

It had taken a quiet discussion with Namjoon over his guilt to realise that the sex was probably better because you were the first person he’d slept with that he’d been friends with beforehand, who he’d fallen for long before. Yoo-jin had been a one night stand that had turned into something more, but he’d known you for months.

Sex with you was some of the best he’d ever had, and it blew his mind even more because you hadn’t even had a huge amount of it in the past six months. The lack of time he had for meeting up with you meant that there just wasn’t time for it and so he’d had to fit it in where he could.

For the first time in well over ten years, he’d actually had freaking car sex. And it was not as pleasurable as he remembered. His cheeks flushed as he recalled that incident vividly. It was perhaps not his best moment sexually, but you’d both handled it so well.

it hadn’t even ended in an orgasm because you’d got cramp from bending over and he’d hit his head against you when he’d jerked forward in worry. It had ended up with you back in the passenger seat and giving him a blowjob while he’d felt guilty as hell over not being able to properly reciprocate.

But even that had proven how compatible you were with each other as only minutes later, with his cum still dripping down your face from where you’d overestimated your deep throating abilities and practically coughed it all back up, the two of you had been giggling like teenagers at the failed sex.

A snort leaves him as he remembers it and he shakes his head in response to the look of query you give him, tugging at your leg until you give in and move over to him. He smiles in victory as you curl into his side, your warmth pleasant against him while he wraps his arm around you comfortably, pressing his lips to your head and simply taking the smell of you in.

You smelt like the perfume he’d bought you for your birthday last month, a fruity candy scent because that’s what you loved above all else and he loved it. It made him want to eat you, and he felt a stirring in his groin as he considered doing just that.

“Are you sure they’re okay about tomorrow?” Your voice is soft and quiet but he can hear the insecurity behind it. He understands why. The two of you had made sure to have an in depth conversation about what would come about from you being introduced to his daughters.

You’d known that it would mean sometimes you would come to his place which would mean interacting with them on a personal level. Dates would sometimes end up being family events and they would come in tow. Quite simply, the longer you continue to date and the more the two of you settle into your relationship, the more integrated you would become into his own family.

He could hardly date you seriously and never include you with his own family. Particularly if he ever hoped to move you in one day. No, you would need to know what you were getting yourself into and needed to be accepting of that.

Just as he didn’t want to force something on his daughters, he didn’t want to force a family on you.

As much as he said to Soo-ah that you wouldn’t be replacing her mom, it would be impossible for you to not take on some mother aspects for them. Firstly, it just wouldn’t be fair to be in a long term relationship with him and never expect to do anything with his kids considering how young they were.

Secondly, you were a kind and nurturing person anyway. He had no doubt that whenever you eventually moved in, because he was pretty positive that would be happening in the future, you would want to actively try with the girls. How receptive they would be, he didn’t know.

But if you wanted to try with them then he certainly wasn’t going to stop you. If they didn’t want to reciprocate then they wouldn’t have to and he’d make sure that you knew that too.

“Well...I mean they’re only kids, so I can only really take them at what they say. The twins probably don’t understand properly but I don’t expect them to. They never got to be with Yoo-jin so, this is all new to them. For them, the only thing they’ll probably get upset is that daddy will have someone else that he’s going to pay attention to. Soo-ah though?” His tone turns a little unsure without him even meaning to and you wiggle against uncomfortably.

“She’s the one who’s going to be harder to get through to, isn’t she?” Hoseok hugs you tighter to him as the despondency in your voice and he wishes that he could take it away, but you’re right. Soo-ah is the mystery in the whole situation and she could make everything perfect or it could all fall apart.

“Yeah. She’s...she’s worried that I’m forgetting her mom or that you’ll try and replace her or something. A valid concern for her to have, but I think it’s going to take a while for her to come round to it. To everything really. To you being in our lives, to me loving someone else. It’s going to be hard on her and I wish I could make it better for her but...I can’t. I’ll just have to work with her and show her that being with you isn’t going to mean that Yoo-jin didn’t exist.” 

You push up from him at that, a hand resting on his thigh and he looks deep into your eyes for a moment. He sees love for him there but also concern for his daughters combined with uncertainty for yourself and he can’t stop himself as he leans forward, pressing a soft kiss to your lips.

“I don’t want to take the place of their mom. Especially not for Soo-ah, I can’t even imagine what she went through and...that’s not what I want. I’ll try ready hard with them, I will. I swear. And I won’t get too offended or upset if they get angry at me. I know it’s a hard situation for them to get used to. It’s just been you four for a while now and I’m the interloper.” His heart warms at your words and he hugs you tighter to him, kissing your forehead hard before resting his nose against you.

“That’s why I love you. You know that? Because you care and you don’t push. I appreciate that so much. They’ll come around to it, even if they’re not happy at first. I don’t expect them to be happy, but I can’t be forced to be alone for the rest of my life just because they don’t like it. I...I feel a bit guilty saying this but...I deserve to be happy too.” A soft brush of your lips against his neck lets him know that you agree and his racing heart settles a little.

He’s nervous for tomorrow, yes, but he knows that he’s right. It’s been years of loneliness and now he’s finally ready to accept someone else. And he knows that his daughters would come to like you just as much as he does. Hoseok doesn’t expect them to love you, and he never would, but he hopes that they’ll at least come to like you.

“Anyway, let’s not focus on that right now. We’ve got that bridge to cross tomorrow. Tonight is just me and you, the last night of it being just us,” His brows wiggle suggestively and you roll your eyes in response, lips quirked up in amusement. “How about we take this to the bedroom?”

An unladylike snort leaves you as you push up from him, grabbing the pizza box and heading over to the kitchen to throw it away as he turns off the television.

“Really? You want sex already?” The exasperation in your voice causes to throw a look of outrage at the kitchen door but you’re not there to experience it so he just grins instead, grabbing both your phones and heading over to your bedroom.

“I just meant going to sleep you horndog! God, I thought men were supposed to be the ones who always thought about sex?” He calls out, biting his lip in amusement as he plugs your phone into the charger by your bed and places it on the bedside table.

The screen lights up momentarily and he grins as the lockscreen image pops up; it’s of him kissing your cheek in a park. It had been one sunny lunch and the cherry blossoms had been out in force, providing the perfect backdrop for a perfect picture.

He jumped in surprise, letting out a yelp and dropping his own phone onto the table with a clatter as two hands grip his ass firmly before they slide round to his stomach, wrapping him in a tight hug while you giggle and press kisses to his back.

“How can I not think about sex when my boyfriend is this hot?” The pink painting his cheeks is slightly embarrassing but he can’t stop the primal flush of pride at your compliment and he wants to roll his eyes at himself. 

Turning around, he looks down at your pretty face and bends down to press his nose against yours in a butterfly soft kiss before catching your lips with his for a proper kiss. His arms move to wrap around you in turn, holding you tightly to him and for a few minutes, he just focuses all his efforts into exploring your mouth in a slow yet sensual kiss.

By the time he’s finished, you’re slightly breathless and he admires the dazed look in your eyes, lips swollen and the stirring in his groin he’d felt earlier becomes even more insistent. Perhaps too insistent given the way you look down at his crotch with a raised brow before glancing back up, biting your lip.

“You might want to go to bed but I want you, so how about it daddy?” He pauses, looking at you with a carefully blank face.

“As long as you never call me that ever again then sure. I think I can forego sleep for a little while longer,’ he grins broadly before stepping back. “So undress for me princess. Let me see how hot my girlfriend is.”

“Yes sir.”

“Oh...now that...I like.”

-

Waking up the next morning was surprisingly nice and he simply laid there for a few minutes in the quiet, taking in the way your scent saturated everything and how warm the bed felt. When he finally did open his eyes, he was met with the sight of a clock that read 8am.

Surprise flooded him for a second before he stretched out, groaning softly before smiling and simply laying there. He hadn’t woken up as late as 8am in years and it felt freaking glorious. Half of him wanted to roll over and simply go back to sleep, but he knew that his body wouldn’t let him now that he’d opened his eyes.

You on the other hand, were curled up in a ball next to him beneath the covers, your back facing him. A few ideas ran through his mind, wondering whether he should just get up and go shower or if he should spend some more time with you.

Time with you won out, as he knew it would have. He wasn’t going to turn down a morning with you without kids, no way in hell. And so without another thought, he rolled onto his side and curled up behind you, humming contentedly as the warmth of your body seeped into his own.

“Princess...priiincess,” He cooed into your ear, grinning as you shuffled slightly in his arms and let out a quiet croak in response. “Are you awake?”

There was no doubt about it, he was being a little shit right now and doing the exact thing that he whined at his own kids for doing on the weekend. But he didn’t care, because he found your response far too cute.

“No.” The pout you must have your on your face is abundantly evident and he laughs, pressing a kiss to the back of your neck. He wouldn’t kiss you, because he’d discovered that you really hated kissing with morning breath. Not that he was a fan either, but sometimes he just...wanted to kiss you really bad. 

Though sometimes he had regretted it, but he just pushed those thoughts out of his mind. No, he wouldn’t kiss you today. At least...not until you’d both gotten up and brushed those pearly whites until the kiss would be minty fresh from both ends. 

Instead, he just squeezed your body tighter to him and let out a quiet sigh of satisfaction. It was easy to forget how nice it was to just lay and cuddle with someone he loved; the warmth of you, the smell of you, the touch of you. It all merged together until he felt himself start to drift off once more, eyes closed and breath levelling out until you suddenly turned in his arms and he jerked awake once more.

An amused laugh left you as you looked up at him, eyes bleary with sleep while pillow lines creased your sleep swollen cheeks and his eyes narrowed playfully. “I thought you were sleeping.” He mumbled, burying his face into the slope of your neck while his hand moved to lay flat on your stomach, fingers stroking absentmindedly.

“Hard to sleep when I’ve got your hard on pressed against me.” Hoseok grunted at that, his fingers darting up to pinch at the nipple that made itself present through the thin material. A yelp left you before you laughed again, taking his hand and trapping it between your chin and shoulder.

“Don’t get too flattered. If I had a dollar for every time I woke up with an erection then I’d probably be just as poor because I’d have spent it all by now. But you get the point.” Your lower lip vanishes beneath your teeth as you hum, brow furrowing slightly.

“Are you saying that you don’t find my sleep face and morning breath attractive?” A snort leaves him as he presses his nose against your cheek, kissing the softness there slowly.

“I find you more than attractive missy, and you know that. I believe this is the first time we haven’t fucked after waking up together.” Pouting, you turn your head until you’re looking directly at him and he ducks his face slightly so that he’s not breathing directly on you. He did that once. 

Once.

“Don’t give me that face. The only reason I’m not balls deep in you right now is firstly, because I need to go shower and then head home to clean up and secondly...I don’t have another condom.” Your face contorts on itself before sighing, your hand moving to brush over his boxer briefs and he lets out a hiss of breath as he feels you move against his cock.

“I could suck you off.” It’s almost innocent and he glares at you, lips pursing before he pulls away, rolling to the side and departing the bed before you can entice him any further.

“That’s not...I mean...minx.” You just grin at him before getting up yourself, letting him see the way your shirt has twisted on you in your sleep, clinging tightly to your curves. His hands clench automatically as he huffs out a breath, staring at the sight of your boy shorts that cup your ass so beautifully.

He was trying to be good here and you were ruining all his intentions.

“So...you don’t want a blowjob in the shower then?” There’s not even a chance for him to respond as you tug off your shirt, revealing the delectable sight of your breasts as they’re revealed to the morning air. Without even looking at him, you head towards the bathroom door.

Indecision fills him as he stares at the door, the straining erection in his underwear telling him to go but the logical part of his mind reminding him that he is, in fact, an adult man and not a horny teenager. But then your panties come flying through the door, landing in a heap and he lets out a deep groan before striding over.

He may be an adult, but he’s an adult who damn well likes your mouth on his cock and he is not turning that down. Not today, when later on will be stressful. Right now, it’s time to just enjoy you while he has you entirely to himself.

Inside the bathroom, he finds you merely brushing your teeth at the counter but your eyes move to land firmly on his and he desperately wishes he didn’t find it so weirdly attractive to watch the way your arm moves. But then he realises it’s what you want as your free hand slowly trails down your body, reaching the hair at the apex of your thighs.

Swallowing thickly, he lets out a slow breath before reaching around you for the toothbrush you’d given him to use here and carefully begins to brush his own teeth, trying his hardest not to look. This was not supposed to be a sexy activity, and yet here he was, eyes glued to your hand while his own hand tried to brush his teeth.

A quiet moan slips from your mouth, eyes fluttering shut and your arm shudders slightly, pausing in your movements as the fingers between your thighs work at yourself and he hisses, brushing far quicker in his haste to be done. He doesn’t want you to get all the fun, no way in hell. 

Leaning over, he spits out into the sink and is suddenly reminded of all the times you’ve chosen to spit instead of swallow when you’d blown him and he has to repress the urge to giggle. Instead, he washes his mouth and realises you’re doing the same next to him, head so close to his own that he has an almost preternatural awareness of you.

Glancing up into the mirror, his breath escapes in a rush as he sees you bending over the counter, one elbow resting while your other hand moves in slow circles between your legs, now spread wider. Oh, this is just not fair, he thinks to himself before his eyes narrow.

“I thought I was getting a blowjob?” He asks, moving upright and looking down at you with an imperious brow raised.

You watch him with innocent eyes in the mirror, your own brows raising to complete the facade while you bite at your lower lip. “Did I say that? I thought you didn’t want anything.” The last syllable ends on a soft moan and his hands finds your hips without him even meaning to as your eyelids flutter shut, mouth opening in a perfect circle as soft moan leaves you.

It’s like a lightning bolt to his groin, cock aching at the sound and he realises he can hear wetness as your fingertips slide between your folds. His own fingers itch with the need to take over, to feel that slickness and rub till you’re breaking apart against him.

“Well...it’d take a strong man to turn this down princess,” Moving behind you, he presses his front to your back firmly and mouths a hot kiss to your shoulder, tongue working slowly before he looks back up into the mirror and smirks at how you watch him with those needy eyes. “I’m not that strong.”

Without another word, his arm comes around to your front and he pushes your hand out of the way, his own delving into the gap and his fingers finally rub against your clit. You’re already slippery with your own desire, worked up from your own touch while you’d been safe in the knowledge that he was carefully watching.

Your head falls back against his shoulder, even at this awkward angle with you bent over the counter but he just focuses on kissing and sucking at the sensitive skin of your shoulder and neck. He makes sure not to leave any marks on your neck but he’s more than giving with his attention, his free hand moving around to massage your breasts firmly, playing with your nipple till you push back against him.

“Condom…” The word is panted out from you, your hips gyrating against the firm touch of his fingers on your engorged nerves and he doesn’t even notice it at first. Not until you’re shifting position, trying to reach over to the drawer by your side. He pauses in his movements, fingers half inside you at this point and watches as you tug open a drawer and pull out a foil wrapper.

Looking back in the mirror at you, his brows raised in a combination of surprise, amusement and mild rebuke. “Wow...you really are a little minx, huh? Keeping condoms in the bathroom and not telling me. I’d say naughty girl but right now, I approve.”

A low laugh leaves you as you tear the foil with your teeth, pulling the condom out and handing it back to him. He kicks off his underwear quickly before giving himself a few firm strokes, breath coming a little quicker from the friction but he’s more than excited to be inside you already. It’s not even been 12 hours since the last time he’d fucked you.

Once on, he reaches between your legs once more and plunged two fingers inside of you, checking that you’re more than wet enough for him without needing to get any lubrication. Sometimes you needed it, sometimes you didn’t. Today appeared to be a didn’t, and he wondered if you had some kink of mirror sex kink because you were already near enough dripping for him.

Grinning, he lined up his cock and rubbed the tip against you, rocking his hips forwards and back in slow motions to let your juices coat his cock. The sensation has you gasping softly, causing your own hips to push back as you try and shift enough to find the right angle to get him to slip inside.

He lets you take control for a moment, watching intently as your pussy finds his tip, the engorged head slipping into your sopping entrance. Holding your ass with his hands, he slows your movements down and slowly penetrates you until he’s balls deep inside, breath leaving him in a slow and controlled exhale as you squeeze tightly around him.

His eyes roll slightly at the sensation and he can’t help but grip your ass harder, tutting slightly. As said, you’d already had sex in the last twelve hours and it had been two rounds worth. He’d been proud of himself for producing two performances like that in such quick succession but he had no doubt that you were feeling at least a little bit sore right now so he tried to go slow for you.

Turns out you didn’t want slow and a soft, keening whine leaves your mouth as you try to push back against him harder. Glancing into the mirror, he has to bite his lower lip to stay quiet as he watches the pleasure filled expression face back at him, your eyes screwed tightly shut while your mouth falls open.

The thrusts he makes into you might be slow, but they’re also deep and each movement has you jerking forwards slightly. It causes your breasts to rock with each slap of his hips against your ass and he watches, entirely mesmerised by the movement and wanting to see how you react when he’s fucking you harder.

“Hobi.” You mewl, the sound strained and yet oddly high pitched as one hand moves back to grasp at his hip, trying to pull him into moving faster in combination with your squirming ass and he brings down the flat of his hand on your rounded cheeks chidingly. The sound is loud in the quiet of the room but your inner muscles immediately grip in tighter, the sensation causing him to choke for a moment and his brows rise in amusement.

Well, someone liked being spanked. He was definitely going to remember that for future events.

Any hope he had of being gentle with you to avoid soreness is gone though and it’s clear to him that you’re wanting it harder and faster than he’s going. So he decides to give you it, his hips moving forward faster until the bathroom is filled with the lewd sounds of skin against skin, slick wetness, breathy pants and lust filled groans and moans.

“Come on princess,” He grunts deeply, kissing your shoulder before his arms slide around your waist. One pushes against the counter, giving him extra balance as he thrusts while the other dips back between your legs, the slippery mess there making your soft warmth even more delightful.

The combined touch of his fingers and cock increases your moans, though they’re more like vocal hitches of breath that whine with stroke inside you. Your own hand moves to press down on his own, rubbing furious, tight circles into your clit while he continues to slam into you. The wetness has to be leaking down your thighs now, coating your inner legs and the thought turns him on almost as much as the completely fucked out visage he gets to watch in the mirror.

Breath coming quickly, he pants into your ear before moving his lips down to kiss at your neck frantically as the pleasure in his groin tightens furiously, the need to move faster and harder so strong as he feels the impending release of his orgasm. He desperately wants you to come first, but sometimes that just doesn’t happen and he can’t help it as your pussy flutters around him once more, tightening viciously and he succumbs to the waves of pleasure that flood through his body.

A long and drawn out moan leaves his mouth, high and filled with pure satisfaction and carnal pleasure as he moves inside you slowly, pulling every bit of pleasure he can out from your warm depths before it feels too much for him. Hissing lightly at the overstimulation, he refuses to move as his fingers move back to your clit, rubbing at you in quick, fast movements that have you shivering in his arms as needy moans leave you.

Tiny movements of your hips as they gyrate and the clenching of your pussy has him whining quietly but he doesn’t move, determined to get you off as well. Sometimes it didn’t happen and you’d push his hand away, but this time you keep him firmly against him until your body seizes tightly around him, muscles stiffening before convulsions take over.

His cock slips from you in the midst of your orgasm but you don’t notice, not when his fingers keep moving and prolonging the pleasure until your hips shift away from his hand, the subtle movement telling him to let go. Heavy panting is all that remains in the room and he strips the condom quickly, throwing it away before wrapping his arms around you and hugging you to him tightly once more.

“Fuck...I was not intending that. I was trying to be good.” He mumbles against your shoulder, not noticing the way you give him a tired smile of affection in the mirror as your hand comes up to run through his messy hair. 

“I didn’t want you to be good. I wanted you to fuck me good and hard, and you did. So thank you.” You murmur, turning around and pressing a kiss to his lips firmly. Neither of you move for a few moments, simply enjoying the post-coital bliss of an orgasm induced intimacy before Hoseok finally pulls away with a contented noise.

“Okay princess, now that we’ve got even more dirty...let’s finally take that shower.”

-

Hoseok finally manages to leave your house an hour and a half later, meaning that he’s running behind on his own internal schedule and he feels the slight anxiety that he always does when he’s not being on time. With three kids, he’s had to learn to strictly regiment his time if he ever wants to get anything accomplished.

Whether they obey or not is a different story entirely.

After getting out of the shower and pulling on some clothes, he’d then been forced to sit down on your couch while you cooked him a quick breakfast. The very idea of having food cooked for him by someone who wasn’t his mom was bizarre after so many years, but he’d enjoyed eating the over cooked toast and bacon more than he’d like to admit. 

He’d originally intended to run out to the grocery store and grab the food for dinner before heading back home and cleaning everything up. Only you’d looked far too anxious about tonight when he’d been on his way out, shooting multiple questions at him that gave away your nerves and he’d felt sympathy swell.

It was easy for him to focus on his girls and worry about their reaction, but he had to try and remember that this meeting involved you as well. And you were at a severe disadvantage in that you are the odd one out, the one intruding into his family unit.

So he’d found himself asking if you wanted to help him before he’d even realised. Part of him felt bad about it as it meant that the girl would be coming home to someone they don’t know, but he figured that they already knew they were meeting you anyway. It would at least allow you to calm yourself down and get a little more comfortable in his home before you finally meet his daughters.

Which was why he was currently walking down the aisle of the grocery store, hand tightly entwined with yours as he pondered what to make for dinner. He was actually glad that you were here for that and he posed the question to you, causing you to hum lightly as you lean into him.

“What do the girls like?” The question throws him a little and he frowns, looking at the rows of microwaveable rice before glancing back at you.

“Well...what do you want to eat though? You’re the reason we’re having a special dinner.” He can hear the soft sigh you give, your head resting against his shoulder and his chest warms at the small gesture of affection. It might not seem much to others but to someone as romantically starved as him, it was unbelievably fulfilling.

Pulling away from him, you move back until you’re gently tugging at him to move and he follows you quietly. “No, we’re going to cook what your daughters love to eat because this is going to be an awkward time for them and their favourite home cooked meal will be one less thing they have to worry about. So what do they like to eat?”

His heart flips at the concern and warmth in your voice, causing him to smile as he glances down, tugging you closer and kissing your forehead quickly. “We’ll make lasagne, they all like that and it’ll give us plenty of food. You like that right? And I know you like garlic bread.”

You grin impishly at that, nodding enthusiastically and he chuckles. “I’ll go get the stuff for the bread, you get the stuff for the lasagne yeah? Should I…” A pause causes him to look at you with a raised brow, watching the indecision flutter across your face before carrying on. “Should I get them anything? Like...a present or...chocolate or something?”

“No, don’t get them anything. I mean maybe you should but...I don’t personally like the idea. I don’t want them to feel like you’re trying to buy their affection and love. Just...be yourself.” There’s a brief hesitation before you nod almost shyly, arm moving to cover your stomach in a protective gesture before you head off in search of the ingredients.

Time seems to move faster after that and before he realises it, it’s already time for him to go collect the girls from his parents. The house had been fully tidied and cleaned, though he’d wondered why on earth he was doing that when you were literally cleaning it with him but something he’d discovered today was that apparently you had a strange kink for cleaning.

Not even sexual, you just liked to clean. He’d laughed when he’d discovered that, your excitement at the Dyson vacuum cleaner he’d produced spurring on the new revelation and he’d proclaimed that he had a house that would bring you eternal joy.

Three children meant there was no such thing as a clean house, just organised chaos. And sometimes not even organised, just plain chaos. 

But true to your word, you hadn’t uttered a single complaint and had instead sung loudly to the music he’d played on the speakers that were connected to his phone. He’d had a whole moment of affectionate bemusement as he’d watched you wiggle around the living room, singing while you even dusted for him.

There had been a few moments of quietness from you when you’d noted the pictures of Yoo-jin on the mantle of the fireplace. He kept a few dotted around the house for the girls and he’d worried for a moment that you’d feel jealous or annoyed.

Instead, you’d simply picked up the silver framed wedding photograph, taking note of the younger Hoseok in a suit and the pretty girl in a beautiful wedding dress next to him, both smiling so brightly with a small Soo-ah in his arms. It was his favourite picture of Yoo-jin and he still felt a bubble of love for her when he looked at it.

Which is why he hoped you wouldn’t be mean. And you hadn’t been, instead looking at him with a small smile and carefully placing the frame onto the floor before moving the others as well. “She was beautiful.”

And then you’d knelt down on the floor and carefully polished the frames until they were spotless, giving them a level of care and attention that had him having to leave the room so that you couldn’t see the tears in his eyes.

Once he’d recovered himself, he’d gone back in and sorted out storing the many toys away while telling you stories behind some of the pictures and preening ever so slightly over how you cooed over the photos of his daughters. Damn right they were cute.

Now though, he was shrugging on a jacket and picking up his car keys to go get them and bring them home. It’s only when he looks back round that he sees the way your shoulders are curled inwards, making yourself small while your hands cross over your chest. 

Moving back over, he hugs you tightly to him before kissing your forehead as your chin rests on his chest, nerves evident in every part of you. “Hey, come on. It’ll be okay. Remember, if they don’t respond well tonight then it’s just the first time. Don’t take it to heart.”

“I know. It’s just...I don’t really know what to do, you know? Never met my boyfriend’s kids before.” A quiet laugh leaves him before he dips down, pressing his lips to your own in a quick kiss.

“I love you,” He turns around and heads to the door, knowing that you’re probably going to end up cleaning something else. Part of him wonders if he should have you leave and come back in half an hour but that seems stupid. So he shakes his head and opens the door, looking back at you and smiling. “Please, try and relax a little.”

“Okay. Love you.”

-

Pulling into the driveway, Hoseok takes a deep breath to fortify his nerves before glancing into the mirror to check on the twins in the backseat. His parents had, as expected, spoilt all three and the twin’s were coming home with Funko figures each to put on their shelves while Soo-ah had a ridiculously thick book of horse breeds.

One day, he worried that he might be expected to buy her a horse. He didn’t like horses, and he certainly didn’t want to own one. You were currently convincing him to let her have horse riding lessons and he was considering it as her Christmas present, but he still worried immensely that she would get hurt.

Still, she was slowly proving that it wasn’t a phase and he knew that he was going to have to relent sooner rather than later. He didn’t want to be the dad who stifled her passions and dreams, even if it could potentially cause interest.

“Okay everyone, we’re back. Now...as I said before, Y/N is already here. She helped me to make dinner and clean the house for you guys! So it’s all clean. Ideally, I’d like you to keep it clean but I know you rascals,” He eyes the twins at that and they both give him identical toothy grins. “Are probably going to mess it all up.”

“Grandma was excited.” Ji-eun blurts out, her expression mischievous as if she was fully aware that she was tattling on his own mother. He can’t help the smile that spreads as he imagines his mom gushing to them. She’d spent years now trying to get him to finally move on, so needless to say, she’d been beyond ecstatic when he’d told her last week that he was going to introduce the girls to you.

“Grandma needs to learn to keep her nose out,” He mused quietly before laughing. “Anyway, I’m just going to ask one last time...please be good for me? Be on your best behaviour and be polite. You don’t have to like her, but I did not raise rude girls, right?” 

The stern look he gives the twins causes them to give him carefully blank faces as they nod slowly. He eyes them for a moment longer, knowing that trouble was never far with them, before turning to Soo-ah. She sits next to him in the passenger seat quietly, arms wrapped around the book and her hair in low pigtails.

“Soo-ah?” She tenses slightly when he says her name before looking at him, her brown eyes filled with so many emotions he didn’t understand. But despite all that, she nods slowly while her lips purse out.

Before he can say anything else, the twins are rushing out of the car and bolting over towards the door. He swore under his breath before getting out of the car himself, watching with resignation as they rush inside.

Looking back at Soo-ah, he sees her quietly getting out and closing the door in a much more gentler fashion than her excitable sisters. Hoseok can’t help but walk over to her, crouching down and looking up at her as he takes one of her hands gently between his own. The fact he has to look up at her now while crouching makes him sad, yet he’s so proud of her too.

“Soo-soo...if you don’t want to do this then you can tell me. You don’t have to meet her. I can ask her to go home, or I can take you back to your grandparents if you want. I’m not going to force you to do something that you don’t want to do, okay?” The only sounds for a few moments are the chirping of the birds in the trees that line the street and a car engine in the distance.

“It’s okay dad. She can stay. I’ll meet her.” His brow creases and he reaches up to run his hand down her hair slowly.

“Are you sure?” One more time, just to make doubly sure because he knows his daughter well. And he knows that she’s not entirely happy, but what can he do when she’s verbally telling him it’s okay? He’s giving plenty of chances for her to back out and he wouldn’t be mad at her. Sad, yes, but not angry. 

“Yes daddy.” And with that, she heads into the house as well. He’s left to stand there, face grimaced as he wonders if he should just call it all off. But then he suddenly realises that you’re on your own in there, with his daughters.

“Shit.” He curses and runs inside, faltering in the doorway that leads into the living room. The twins are sat on the couch while Soo-ah is in the arm chair, all three quiet and looking at you like you’re something fascinating. They’re pretty relaxed whereas you’re stiff as a board in the doorway to the kitchen, a brittle smile on your face that turns into one of relief when you see him.

“Hey err...we’re back? Obviously.  Erm, okay well. Girls, this is Y/N, my...girlfriend,” He doesn’t really know if he’s meant to be introducing you as that or just his friend, but they’d already figured it out the other night anyway. “Y/N, this is my eldest daughter, Soo-ah. And this is Ji-soo with her hair down and Ji-eun with her hair in a ponytail.”

“Hello Y/N.” The twins said at the same time, their voices light and whimsical and he almost hisses at how creepy they sound. They’re doing it purposefully, he can see the shine in their eyes because they know people find it weird when they do that. Soo-ah simply gives a polite hello of her own, dipping her head ever so slightly in welcome.

“Hi...erm,” He can tell that you’re struggling to say something and he so desperately wants to go over and place a reassuring arm around you. But he can’t, because he feels he should be with the girls instead. “It’s nice to meet you all. Your dad has told me so much about you.”

The sudden ringing of an alarm in the kitchen interrupts whatever else you were about to say and Hoseok jerks, eyes glancing behind you to the room. “Okay, girls...clean up and then come to the table. Be quick, we’re having lasagne.”

That gets a bright smile from all three as they jump up and rush towards the bathroom situated downstairs, eager to wash their hands before going into the dining room. You’d set the table earlier for him once he’d shown you where everything was and even now, you were helping him by bringing some of the food into the room.

His daughters were smiling in delight as he served the lasagne out to them, his own stomach rumbling at the smell and he realised belatedly that neither you nor him had eaten since breakfast. The plate you place down with garlic bread is soon emptied, with Hoseok making sure to grab two pieces and place one on your own plate.

It’s odd, having five people at the table instead of three, he thinks to himself as he sits down after handing you the plate with your own lasagne. All of them are used to it being just the four of them, with Soo-ah normally sitting next to Hoseok while the twins sit opposite. But today, Hoseok is sat at the end of the table with Soo-ah next to him on the right while you’re next to him on the left. 

It unnerves him a little, taking this weird head of the table position but he doesn’t mention it as he takes a mouthful of lasagne. A quiet hum of appreciation comes from you and he glances over, chewing and smiling at the way your eyes close in delight.

“Daddy! Ji-soo has more than me!” Ji-eun complains before shrieking as her sister pinches her arm. Already, Hoseok has visions of a full fight blowing up between the two because if they’re not being sweet with each other then they’re having astonishing fights and Ji-eun is already turning around to retaliate.

“Hey! What did I say earlier? Best behaviour. Do not fight.” Hoseok hisses at them, eyes narrowing as he gestures a finger at them. Both girls slump down in their chairs, sauce covered lips pursing as they glare at each other. 

And then, as always with their contradictory nature, Ji-soo carefully cuts a piece of lasagne and places it on her sister’s plate without a word. Ji-eun smiles happily and eats it, doing a little butt wiggle dance in her seat in victory and Hoseok has to fight the urge to laugh at them.

Glancing at you, he notes your widened eyes at his sudden rebuke and his cheeks heat up. “Sorry. You get used to it. They’re either working together to cause trouble or they’re fighting with each other.”

You nod slowly at his explanation before a wry smile spreads, eyes flicking back over to the girls who are now sat being good as gold. “It’s okay. I had a friend in high school who was a twin. They had the worst fights but you did not want to come between them. It must be nice to have someone who will always be there for you.”

“You know someone with a twin too?!” Ji-soo exclaims loudly, her pretty eyes going wide with astonishment and Hoseok doesn’t even bother to stop his laugh this time. They’d never met any other twins before and they knew from people’s reactions that they were pretty special.

“I did! I’m not friends with them anymore but she had a twin brother, not a sister like you two. They had a special language that they would talk in and only they understood it.” At that, Ji-eun is the one to squeal in excitement as she claps her hands.

“We do! Daddy hates it when we do.” He grumbles good naturedly at that, pointing at them with his fork before taking another bite of lasagne with a grin. 

“Yeah, it was very strange listening to them. But that’s special though, it means that only you two will ever be able to understand it so it’s something that only you share.” They nod slowly, smiling brightly at your encouragement and his heart warms at how they seem to be pretty accepting of you so far.

His eyes flicker to Soo-ah who’s eating methodically, keeping quiet. She’s always been a quiet girl, but he feels like the silence is more oppressive this time and he chews slowly, wondering how to get her involved too.

You’re talking to the twins now about your favourite Marvel movie, because he’d told you all about their love of the superhero genre and it was a pretty easy way to win favour with them. It seemed to be working too, as Ji-soo was sidling up to you as close as she could get in her chair, her eyes stern with concentration as she discusses in her five-year-old language why she thinks that Black Panther is the best movie.

Which is then countered by Ji-eun’s outraged shout as she disagrees vehemently, proclaiming that the best film is obviously Captain Marvel because she’s a girl and she’s cool and powerful. It leaves him to smile as he rolls his eyes, you throwing your own hat into the ring with the suggestion that your own favourite film is the first Avengers.

He contemplates if he should have warned you about the fact that they’ll never stop talking now that you’ve shown an interest in their favourite subject ever. At least he’d never really mentioned their second passion lately which was Pokemon. 

Admittedly, he was on board with both of these passions but he’d spent so long now discussing them with two overly eager daughters that the very subjects inspired more of a sigh than excitement. Though he would still be taking them to see every film that came out.

“Soo-ah, did you know that Y/N goes horse riding? She even used to do show jumping in high school.” He gestures towards you with an overly bright smile, hoping that discussing his eldest’s favourite passion would encourage her to engage with you in the same way.

All he gets is a sullen look and a shrug before she puts another forkful in her mouth. Despair fills him momentarily but he’s surprised when you take the initiative and take up the conversation he’d suggested. He hadn’t even realised you were listening to him.

“I did! I used to go to competitions on the weekends with my horse, Artemis. She was a really good jumper but I wasn’t very good with her unfortunately. We never really won anything but it was just for fun. Now I just ride whenever I get time. Artemis is pretty old now so we just go trail riding.” Hoseok smiles as your eyes light up as you discuss your horse.

He knew that you were expecting to lose her any time now and it would probably hugely devastate you. After all, you’d had her since you were only 14 and she was still here, 17 years later.

“Cool.” Is the only response he gets from his daughter and he has to bite his tongue in frustration. He’d known that she was going to be the hard one to crack, but he didn’t think she was going to be this cold about it all.

“I think you’d like Artemis, Soo-soo. She’s a...Dutch Warmblood?” He looks at you in question, relieved when you nod in confirmation before he’s smiling back at his daughter. “You told me about those, right? They’re supposed to be really good at that kind of stuff? Maybe, if you want, Y/N will let you ride her.” 

“Of course, she’s really sweet and she’d be good for someone who’s never ridden. She’s old now but as long as you’re not mean with her then she’d be happy to take you round a ring. I think that you’d find her very pretty. She used to be dapple grey but is now just pretty much white.” You say with a smile, turning your head as Ji-soo asks if she can ride too.

“I don’t care.” Soo-ah says suddenly, her voice firm and raised and Hoseok looks at her sharply. Her cheeks are flushed while her brows dip inwards, annoyance and anger written all over her face. “I don’t care about your stupid horse or your stupid riding. I don’t care!”

The silence at the table is awkward after that and Hoseok feels numb, unsure what he’s supposed to do to resolve this situation. So he carefully places his cutlery down on his cleared plate and coughs quietly, giving Soo-ah a smile.

“Soo-ah, sweetheart. It’s okay-” He’s cut off immediately though, as if a switch has been flipped in her.

“Stop saying that! It’s not going to be okay! Because she’s going to come here and ruin everything! You’re going to forget about mom and we have to accept her! I won’t! I don’t care about you! I hate you!” She spat viciously at you but despite her anger, there’s tears brimming in her eyes and Hoseok has never felt more helpless. “I don’t want to talk to you! My dad might love you but I won’t! I never will! I love my mom!”

And with that, she slams her chair out of the way and storms out of the room. The thundering of her feet on the stairs as she runs to her room is soon followed by the resounding slam of her bedroom door and Hoseok feels stunned.

Blinking for a few moments, he watches as the twins faces crease slightly and he can see the tears in their own eyes as uncertainty and fear fills them. They glance between him, you and the doorway and he knows they don’t know what to do.

Are they supposed to be angry with you too, like their sister? He doesn’t want that, and so he clears his tight throat and smiles at them both, a little stiff but they still relax a little.

“It’s okay. Soo-ah’s...not happy about me bringing Y/N here. And she’s allowed to feel that, I’m not mad at her,” Okay, so he was a little bit as she’d just been incredibly rude and mean but it was already fading because most importantly, he understood her. “If you aren’t happy either, then you can tell me. It’s okay.”

Ji-soo looks at him, her beautiful brown eyes shining with unshed tears that she wipes away with a firm hand before shaking her head. “I’m okay daddy. Is Soo-ah okay?”

“She...will be. I’m sure. She’s just...it’s hard for her.” He smiles slightly, moving into Soo-ah’s chair to brush a few strands of hair out of Ji-eun’s face as she watches him quietly. Without even saying anything, she shuffles closer and leans against his side.

“Because she had mommy right?” The question is quiet and his throat feels so tight that it’s hard to swallow. They may only be five, but his twins are so smart and caring.

“Yeah, because she had mommy. So she remembers her, and she’s just worried. But we’re not gonna forget about mommy. She will always be important, okay?” He presses his lips to Ji-eun’s head, kissing her hair before looking at Ji-soo and giving her a reassuring smile.

They’re both quiet for a moment before nodding, and his heart swells with emotion as Jisoo turns to you and takes your hand in her own small ones. “It’s okay. We like you.”

He doesn’t get to see your reaction as he’s looking back at the doorway, wondering if he should go to her and check that she’s doing okay or just let her cool down. On the one hand, he doesn’t want her to feel suffocated when she’s obviously upset but at the same time, he doesn’t want her to feel like he’s abandoning her.

“Go.” You whisper and he looks back sharply, catching your eye as you gesture your head to the door. “It’s okay. Go.”

He stands up and goes to make a move before hesitating, uncertainty in him. You give him another nod and he lets out a deep sigh as his shoulders fall.

“I’ll be right back,” Hoseok smiles awkwardly, mouth stiff as he avoids your eyes. “Be good girls okay? I’ll be back in a few minutes.” He bends down and kisses the twin’s heads, taking in their expression to make sure they’re okay and feeling a bit of relief as their faces are cautiously neutral.

“It’s okay Hoseok, go check on her. I’ll be okay. I’m sure that we can find something fun to do, right?” You give him a tight smile, nerves evident as you look back at the twins with tentative hope. They’d reacted pretty well to Soo-ah’s outburst but he was worried that they might be mean while he was gone. But you give him a ‘go’ look and he knows that you can look after yourself.

So he heads out, feeling a little bad that he’s leaving the table but he has to at least check on Soo-ah. He isn’t sure if he’s supposed to be ignoring her or not but that feels wrong in his gut. She’s already worried about things he doesn’t even know yet, he’d rather not add to that by not coming to see her. At least she knows that her dad is always there for her, even when she doesn’t want him.

Her door is firmly closed and he stands outside it for a moment, hands clenching and unclenching as he’s unsure what to do now. This isn’t a conversation he really knows how to have, but he takes it as a positive really. It at least means that her life since Yoo-jin’s death hasn’t been too tumultuous. 

Taking a deep breath, he raps his knuckles against the door quietly and leans forward, his ear almost pressed to the door. “Soo-ah? It’s dad...are you okay?”

Silence answers him and his stomach sinks. He desperately wants to go in and comfort her, make her smile or just talk to her about her concerns but he’s been very clear over the years about their personal space. A closed door means that he can’t enter without their permission.

It might seem a little extreme given young they all are, but as the only male in the house he felt it was necessary to set those boundaries. When their door was closed, he wouldn’t go in unless invited. They’d grown to be pretty respectful of that for him as well and he was immensely relieved at the high levels of trust they all had with each other all ready.

They needed to know that they had a space that was private and safe, only for them. Which is why he lets out yet another deep sigh, his forehead resting against the white painted wood. It’s at moments like this that he wishes Yoo-jin were still here, so that she can help.

A flash of guilt runs through him then, both for wishing that she was alive when it meant he wouldn’t be with you but also because he is here with his daughters and Yoo-jin isn’t. Swallowing, he pushes that thought away before trying again.

“Soo-soo...I’m not...I’m not mad at you. I know you, and I know that you’re not mean or cruel. You’re just...I know this is confusing for you, and it’s hard. I’m not angry, and neither is Y/N. We understand, but I wish you’d talk to me. Please, let me know what’s upsetting you exactly.” Hoseok really isn’t sure what he’s meant to be saying to her but he’s speaking the truth; he isn’t mad with her.

He was at first, when the biting words spilled out of her. Firstly because he was simply shocked that his daughter could be that rude and mean but then secondly because he’d seen the hurt that had flashed over your face at her blunt rejection. But that had gone quickly when he’d seen the film of tears that had glazed over his little girl’s eyes and he’d known that she only lashing out because she was confused and scared.

“Soo-soo…” His voice trailed off, uncertainty over what to do when he heard noises from inside and his heart jumped a little. 

“Go away dad,” Soo-ah’s voice was strained and he could practically hear the tears, causing his face to grimace as his paternal instincts screamed at him to go to his hurting daughter. “Leave me alone.”

“Soo-ah...sweetheart…”

“Go away!” The words are shrill and he closes his eyes, feeling his whole body drain of energy as he recognises a losing battle. Well, no one can say he didn’t at least try. And at least he’s come to her, even if she doesn’t want him there. It’s not even one of those scenarios where she’s telling him to go away but he can tell she actually wants him there.

This is one of those times when she evidently wants to be left alone. So he will, for now at least.

“Okay Soo-ah, I’ll go. But I’m downstairs if you need me. Just come, or call, and I’ll come up okay? I’m not mad, you can talk to me,” He rests his hand on the door, trying to push through his love and affection to her. “I love you.”

With that, he lets his shoulders slump in defeat, waiting a few moments longer to see if she would come out before walking back down the hall. As much as he’d love to sit and wait her out, he has two other daughters that he needs to be worrying about. Two twin five-year-old’s, actually, who he’s left alone with you.

The realisation causes him to pause, eyes widening as he realises the carnage he could have potentially left you with. They’re handfuls with him, and he at least has the authority to ground them or tell them off. He can’t even imagine how easily they’re running you around.

Rushing down the stairs, he moves into the dining room only to pause in confusion, noting the suspiciously clean table. Heading through to the kitchen, he hears the dishwasher running and is even more confused.

The girl’s don’t know how to use the dishwasher, which must mean that you’d put them in there for him. Guilt rises immediately as he realises that you’ve cleaned up dinner for him, giving him one less thing to do. He appreciates it, but at the same time, he can’t help but think his mom would be scolding him right now.

You’re a guest in his house. Therefore, you should not be cleaning up after yourself. He should be doing that for you.

A sudden peal of bright, girlish laughter from the living room distracts him and he headed through the doorway in pursuit of it. The scene he comes across makes him pause in surprise, head tilting for a moment before a smile spreads and he rests his shoulder against the frame.

None of them have seen him yet, but the twins had you down on the floor with them as they showed you their expansive toy collection. Currently, they had the whole set of Avengers dolls along with others he’d bought for them from the Marvel collection. They were most definitely superhero girls, and currently they were fighting over who got to play as Captain Marvel.

Despite the fact they had three versions of her, but he’d discovered over the years that if one of them wanted something then the other wanted it twice as much. You were sat between them both, a bemused smile on your face as you held a Shuri and Black Panther doll in each hand, looking them over intently.

“Hey, hey! Come on now, let’s not fight, yeah? How about...neither of you be Captain Marvel because you’re both fighting? Why not be someone else? Shuri’s really cool,” You wiggle the doll with a grin, brows raising as you raise her arms up and pretend to fire lasers like in the film. “And then we’ve also got Nebula!”

“Nebula’s bad!” Ji-soo pouted, flopping down onto her butt and crossing her arms. Ji-eun pushed her immediately, laughing loudly as her sister fell over.

“Nebula’s cool! I wanna be her.” She grabbed the doll from you quickly and grinned up at you, pushing the sheet of black hair out of her eyes and behind her ear. He really did need to get their hair cut. It was a mess of tangles as usual right now, causing him to sigh as he knew how much of a struggle it was to get them to sit still and have their hair brushed.

“Nuh-uh, Shuri’s the best. She’s smart. I’m smarter than you.” Hoseok has to bite his lower lip to keep the chuckle inside that so desperately wants to escape as he watches your face fall slightly as they begin to fight once more. Welcome to his world, he thinks to himself, fully amused.

“Hey now, what have I told you both about fighting?” He says sternly, heading into the room and standing over them both with raised brows. There’s absolutely no need to look at you, because he’s fully aware that he’s using his dad voice right. 

And he was equally aware of your thoughts about his ‘dad’ voice, given all the times he’d been on the phone with you and suddenly had to to tell them off, or when he’d given them their goodnight call when they were with their grandparents. It had made him embarrassed at first, to realise his voice changed that much but you’d just been thoroughly amused.

Ji-soo immediately smiles at him, rushing up to her feet and running over to him with Shuri clasped tightly in her hand. He laughed loudly and came back over with her, small hand clasped tightly in his own as she directed him to sit on the floor next to you. Looking over at you with a small smile, he leans over and whispers to you.

“Thank you for cleaning up, but you really didn’t have to.”

“Hoseok, I was alone with twin five-year-old’s that I don’t know. When I’m anxious, I clean. Besides, it wasn’t any trouble and they wanted to help.” His brows rose at that and he looked back at the twin’s, taking in the sloping noses that resembled his own so strongly.

“Wow...so it’s just daddy that you won’t help, huh?” Pressing a hand to his chest, he pouts dramatically in a wounded tone that has Ji-eun giggling as she launches herself at him and settles in his lap. She’s getting too big to be doing this, but he won’t complain. One day, she won’t do it all.

“Daddy said we have to be good.” His heart warmed at that and an immense flush of pride swelled deep within, pressing a kiss to her head in pure paternal love. Glancing back at you, his cheeks flushed slightly at the look of adoration you give him and he just knows that you’re internally screaming at his interaction.

“So. If you’re Nebula, and Ji-soo is Shuri...then what can Y/N and I be? What about...if I’m Captain Marvel?” Ji-eun gasps loudly, shaking her head furiously and he splutters out a mouthful of hair as her ponytail smacks him firmly in the face.

“No daddy! You can’t. You have to be Iron Man!” He lets out another gasp, not actually bothered because Iron Man was cool but he’d actually wanted to be Captain Marvel. The film was great, sue him.

“Why? Because I’m a boy!” Yet he doesn’t push away the Iron Man doll, he calls them dolls purely because figurine is probably too hard for them to say to right now. The red and gold figurine is well used, scratches and dents marring the plastic surface from the intense playing they’d given him over the years.

Which included seeing if he could fly by throwing him out of the window onto the drive. That would have just gotten an eye roll from him normally, except they’d thrown him with some force and he’d landed firmly on Hoseok’s car. Who would have known that such a small toy would cause such a scratch on the windscreen?

“No daddy, because Y/N can be Pepper.” Ji-soo hands you a doll, smaller than the others and from the Iron Man 3 film but just as good. You take it from her with a gracious smile but he can see the confusion in your eyes as to why you have to be Pepper Potts and not one of the other superheroes. 

He doesn’t even think to question the fact that his kids that are doing that odd thing where they both seem to know exactly what the other is thinking. 

“Why Pepper? Why can’t she be Captain Marvel if I can’t?” Playfully, he pushes at the doll in Ji-eun’s hands and she giggles sweetly, looking up at him with those warm brown eyes that he loves so dearly.

“Because Iron Man loves Pepper, and you love Y/N.” Well...there’s not much room for argument there really. His cheeks once more flush red as he steadfastly avoids your eyes, oddly embarrassed at his daughters for outing him so thoroughly to you. You knew he loved you obviously, but the easy acceptance with which they react makes him feel a little odd. 

He doesn’t really know why, but he pushes it away and takes a deep breath. “Okay sweetpea. Now then...what bad guy are we fighting?” 

-

Soo-ah doesn’t come down for the rest of the night, nor does she let Hoseok into her room whenever he comes to check on her. It fills him with worry and he knows that he spends most of the night looking at the ceiling in anxiety.

He knows that, because he’s had more than a few comforting touches or smiles from you throughout the evening. An hour of playing with the twins had soon turned into them sitting with both Hoseok and you on the couch while episodes of Pokemon played on the flat screen television.

They seemed to have got along with you pretty well, and while they certainly weren’t being overly accommodating, they had been open enough that he got the impression that everything was going to be pretty okay with them. You had enough common interests with them to keep them entertained and he had the added benefit of them both being influenced by each other.

So if one really liked you, then the other would come around soon.

Ji-soo in particular seemed to be the one that he suspected would latch onto you with a few more visits. She was already more than enamoured in the stories you’d told her of the places that you’d been over the years and he wondered if you knew that you were probably going to end up with two little shadows soon enough.

After a few episodes of Pokemon, he’d put on Detective Pikachu at Ji-eun’s request because you hadn’t seen it before and they found that to be a complete travesty. It had been around 8pm then and he was being generous in letting them stay up later than he normally would in honour of your visit.

The first hour of the film had involved you having to spend more time listening to the running commentary from the twin’s as they explained important plot points, or what they was important, and point out every little thing. He was pretty sure that you hadn’t actually been able to properly watch any of it, and he made a mental note to watch it again with you at a later date.

And then everything had gone silent. He’d been so invested in his own thoughts and worry about Soo-ah that he hadn’t even noticed until the credits were rolling and no one had complained about it.

Turning his head, he couldn’t help the smile that spread over his face as he took in the sight next to him. Something he probably hadn’t expected to happen for months, but evidently all three were more tired than he’d anticipated.

Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he quietly unlocked it and turned on the camera before taking a picture. Staring at his screen, he grinned and set it to his home screen and placed his phone on the arm of the couch.

Ji-eun was curled up next to her sister, her head resting on Ji-soo’s shoulder until their hair blended together perfectly. Ji-soo on the other hand, was curled up into your side, your arm resting around them both while your head had fallen back against the couch, all three sleeping quietly and he felt a ridiculous amount of warmth and love for you all.

Carefully, he stood up and lifted Ji-eun up as slowly as he could so as not to wake her. She made a soft little noise of complaint in his arms but didn’t stir, not until he was shifting her bed covers until he could get her beneath them. Ideally, he’d like to get her into her pyjamas and have her brush her teeth, but he knew that if he tried to wake her then he’d just have grumpiness followed by an inability to sleep for another few hours.

So this time, he’d let them sleep in their clothes. 

He repeated the same actions with Ji-soo before giving them both a kiss on the head and whispering good night to them, turning off the lamp in their room and closing the door behind him while their night light glowed warmly. Heading back downstairs, he was left with the sight of you fast asleep on the couch.

Hoseok realised that he really, really liked the sight of you in his home like this. It was an odd feeling and he shook his head, moving into the kitchen and looking in the fridge. The dish of lasagne had been left on the side, some foil covering it as it had cooled and he looked inside casually.

There was one slice left, and without a word he put it into a small tupperware tub before heading back into the living room. Crouching down next to you, he placed his hand on your knee and pushed gently while calling out your name to wake you.

A quiet groan left you as you blinked blearily, eyes glazed until they focused on him. They were blank for a moment before filling with warmth as he smiled up at you. Glancing to the side, you frowned slightly at the missing girls and he laughed slightly, standing up and taking your hand to pull you up.

You wobbled slightly, leaning your weight against him as you got your balance but he took care of that by wrapping his arms around your shoulders and hugging you to him tightly. Neither said anything for a few minutes, just simply enjoying the feeling of being in each others arms and he wished that you didn’t have to go.

“Tonight was...good. I love the twins already, they’re...characters,” You chuckle against his chest and he can’t help but laugh in return as he nods. “But sweet. I really like them. And who knew you were this good at cooking hmm? Really got myself a man who can do it all huh?”

His cheeks burn bright red then as he makes a few protesting noises but you shush him loudly, leaning your chin on his chest to look up at him with an adoring expression. “I love you. Your family...is wonderful. I can feel the love between you all, it’s...really nice. Even with Soo-ah. I was a bit awkward but I can understand why she feels like that. I hope that she can come round to me.”

“I’m sure she will. One day. I’m not going to push her though. I feel bad about it because I knew she wasn’t okay with it, but she kept telling me she was. Maybe I moved too fast with it all.” You shake your head in response, tightening your arms around him and pressing a kiss to his chest.

“She’s a big girl, and if she tells you that she’s okay with something then you have to take her at face value sometimes. We all do things that we don’t really want to do. I get the feeling that she was trying for you and at least the ice is broken now. If she refuses to have anything to do with me then...that’s within her rights I guess. At least I’ve met her. Don’t beat yourself up about it, please.” He lets out a bone deep sigh before nodding slowly.

“Okay. Thank you. For today...everything. I...despite the thing with Soo-ah, I’m really happy. Like...really, I’m so glad that the twins seem to like you a lot.” Pulling away from him, you grin as you head out into the hallway and grab your jacket and bag.

“I’m glad that you’re happy. You deserve some happiness too Hoseok, remember that.” Nodding, he catches sight of one of the photographs of Yoo-jin on the wall and swallows thickly. You were right, he did deserve to be happy as well. Yoo-jin wouldn’t want him to wallow forever.

“Oh, you can take the last of the lasagne. This is not going to get eaten unless it’s by me having midnight munchies, and I do not need the extra weight.” Patting his stomach, he held out the container which you took with a bemused expression.

“You make out like you’re overweight Hoseok. You’re not. You’re cuddly sized.” The teasing in your voice causes him to roll his eyes but he just accepts you hug once more, the muffled thanks from you taken in gratitude as he takes a deep inhale of you.

“Be safe. Drive carefully. Text me when you get home.” You exaggeratedly agree to all of his demands before he lets you go, standing in the open door as you turn to him and pull him down into a goodbye kiss. It maybe goes on a little too long, but he doesn’t care.

“I love you.”

“I love you too. Text me.” He says sternly, wagging a finger in your direction as you head over to your car in the darkness.

“Yes dad!”

“Don’t start that again!” But his protest is pointless as you just laugh and get into your car, reversing out of his drive and pulling away. He watches until he can’t see your tail lights anymore before heading back in and locking the door behind him.

His usual nightly routine is followed after that, but after he brushed his teeth and had done his business in the bathroom, he heads back over to Soo-ah’s door and knocks lightly. There’s no answer, and he wonders if she’s gone to sleep.

It makes his heart hurt to think that he can’t resolve this tonight with her, but he decides that he’s going to try and heal the rift between them tomorrow. He has to. He can’t go on with his little girl being mad at him.

After a few more minutes of silence, he sighed heavily and turns off the light before heading into his own bedroom. He spends half an hour beneath the covers of his bed, scrolling through social media and the news on his phone. You haven’t texted him yet, and worry fills him when suddenly, a light knock reverberates around the room.

Sitting up suddenly, he frowns and calls out for whoever it is to come in. The door opens slowly and he’s met with Soo-ah, dressed in her pyjamas and her hair still in the pigtails from earlier. She looks shy and hesitant, her gaze on the floor as one hand crosses over the stomach, holding the doorknob firmly.

“Can I come in daddy?” Immediately he’s nodding, opening his arms to her and she quietly closes the door behind her before rushing over, climbing onto the bed and burying herself in his arms. Even in the dim light of his bedside lamp, he’d recognised the swollen red eyes of someone who has spent a long time crying and he coos to her softly as she wraps her arms around him tightly.

Laying back on the bed, he pulls her with him and kisses her head. “Soo-soo, what’s wrong? I’m not mad at you.”

“Really? I was mean though.” Her voice is more childlike than he’s ever heard it and his heart tugs for her.

“Yeah, I’m not mad. I mean...I wish you hadn’t been mean, but I know that it’s a tough situation for you. Y/N wasn’t mad either. I just...I wish that you would have told me that you didn’t want to and I would have told her to go home. You’re important to me Soo-ah, your comfort is important.” He whispers to her.

“I was okay with it, I swear. I was worried, because I don’t want her to take mom’s place. But I know you like her. And you’ve always been alone,” She pauses, burying her face in his chest while her small arms squeeze him tighter. “I tried, but...I just...I was angry. She’s pretty and smart and funny, and you look at her all funny and it made me angry because she’s not mom.”

Hoseok blinks a few times, trying to stop himself from crying as she blurts out all of her inner feelings. He can’t even imagine how hard this has all been for her, but he lets her continue.

“I want mom, I want mom because she’s pretty and smart and funny too but mom is dead so I can’t have her. But if you’re single then she’s still here. Y/N means that she’s not here anymore, because Y/N will be here and you’ll take down her pictures and then she’ll be our mom but she’s not our mom!” Her words are fast and staccato, not really making too much sense but he doesn’t say anything about it. She’s only ten, and she’s just worried and upset about everything.

“And the twins were being so nice and they didn’t seem to care! I just wanted to scream at them! What about mom! Why does no one remember mom?!” A hiccup soon turns into a sob then and he hugs her tighter to him, letting her cry out her frazzled emotions.

“No one is going to forget mom, okay? I’m not going to forget her and she’s not going to disappear from this house. She will always be here, because you and your sisters are here. There were always be pictures of her in the house for you and I will always talk to you about her, whenever you want. I miss your mom so much, and I still love her. My relationship with Y/N doesn’t mean that she’s going to be forgotten, because she isn't. She is important to all of us and Y/N knows that. She doesn’t want to take your mom’s place, because that place is your mom’s, like I said before.” Pressing a kiss to her head again, he swallows and contemplates how to continue.

“I won’t ever expect you to call Y/N mom, and neither will she. I know you Soo-ah, and I know this is hard for you. Harder than for the twins, because you got five with your mom. But don’t be mad at them. They don’t know any different than it just being us four. They never got to have mom with them, so to them this is all new. I just...I love you all, and I don’t want to hurt any of you.” The final sentence is whispered and he feels more than a little despair.

Silence falls between them for a while before Soo-ah speaks once more.

“Tell me about mommy. Was she nice?” He’s nodding before he even realises it, flicking through his memories of the 7 years he had with Yoo-jin before finding a story for her. And so for the next hour, he proceeds to regale his daughter with all the stories of her mom that she’d never heard before. Stories he’d forgotten over time, but now remembered so vividly.

Glancing at the photograph on the other bedside table of her, his heart hurts as he remembers his beautiful wife. Kissing Soo-ah’s forehead, he smiles down at her.

“You look just like your mom. I know that she’d be so proud of you, you’re such a good girl. I know that she loves you a lot, just like I do. Don’t ever doubt that, okay? No matter what happens, I love you and your mom loves you too.” Soo-ah’s eyes fill with tears once more and she sniffles.

“I’m sorry daddy. I’m sorry I was mean to Y/N. I don’t hate her.” He laughs softly, pulling her back into a bear hug and squeezing her until she giggles, the sound making his heart soar.

“I know you don’t. I know you Soo-soo, and you’ve got too big of a heart to ever hate anyone. She knows that too.” Soo-ah quietens after that and he hums lightly, some song he heard a long time ago but can’t remember the name of. It seems to be working as Soo-ah’s eyes droop closed and she fights desperately to stay awake.

“Tell her I’m sorry. I’ll be nice next time. I swear,” She mutters, voice thick with sleep and he grins and acknowledges it. “Will she still let me ride her horse?”

He desperately wants to laugh at that and part of him wonders how much of this is because she wants to ride a horse. But he’s not going to look a gift horse in the mouth, pun fully intended. He would give Artemis a big, juicy carrot whenever he saw her.

“She’d be happy to. If you want to, then I’ll let her teach you how to ride as well.” A tiny noise of happiness leaves his daughters mouth but she doesn’t say anything further, eyes closing finally before she’s fallen fast asleep.

He doesn’t expect this to be the last time she’ll have an issue with him dating you, in fact he fully expects more issues as she comes to terms with her feelings regarding the whole thing. But at least she came to him and told him what was upsetting her. And more than that, she had apologised for her behaviour. He wanted to apologise to her as well for putting her into the situation, but instead he was just going to have to make sure that he paid more attention next time.

For ten minutes, he simply enjoys the happiness he feels from the reconciliation with his daughter and the exultation he feels at the fact he’s not having to go to sleep with her angry at him. Finally though, he gets up and carefully takes her to her own bed, musing to himself how he ended up doing this with every daughter tonight when he hasn’t had to put Soo-ah to bed like this in years now.

When he gets back to his own, he sees the message icon on his phone blinking and eagerly jumps back into bed, turning the screen on to see that you had finally texted him.

[9:31pm] Y/N: I’m home :)

[9:31pm] Y/N: I stopped at the store and they had a 2 for 1 on your shampoo. 

[9:32pm] Y/N: You can keep one here and take the other home :)

[9:32pm] Y/N: Also bought a candy bar. I’m eating it now. Mmmm

He grins at your texts and shakes his head before his fingers are flying across the screen, typing out his own response.

[9:35pm] Hoseok: Mean, you know I can’t eat candy

[9:36pm] Y/N: We established that was a lie yesterday Mr Jung

[9:36pm] Hoseok: :(

[9:36pm] Y/N: I’d share my candy with you :)

[9:37pm] Hoseok: Ha. Thanks. For the shampoo too <3

[9:37pm] Hoseok: I just put Soo-ah to bed. She came to me. Told me why she was mad. She says sorry

[9:38pm] Y/N: She doesn’t need to apologise! She’s allowed to be mad. Is she okay?

[9:38pm] Hoseok: Yeah, it was exactly what I thought. Worried about her mom. I just have to make sure she knows I won’t forget her

[9:39pm] Y/N: You won’t. I don’t want to take her place. Even though I kind of am but you get what I mean

[9:40pm] Hoseok: I do. And I love you for it

[9:40pm] Y/N: I love you too

[9:41pm] Hoseok: She also wants to know if you’ll still let her ride Artemis

[9:42pm] Y/N: Lol, of course! 

[9:42pm] Hoseok: Kinda said you’d teach her how to ride too

[9:43pm] Y/N: Haha, again, of course. I’d be happy to for you :) and the twins if they want

[9:43pm] Hoseok: Thank you. I’m gonna sleep now. I love you <3

[9:43pm] Y/N: I love you too <3

He grins at the final message before placing his phone on the bedside table and looking at the picture of Yoo-jin and him on his own table. Smiling softly, he reaches out and brings it closer to him, rubbing his thumb over her face beneath the glass.

“I hope you’re okay with this baby. I’m sorry you can’t be here, I wish you were. I hope you’re not mad at me for being with Y/N. I think you’d approve though, I really love her a lot already and she makes me so happy. I miss you, but I hope you’re okay with me moving on. I won’t forget you though, like I told Soo-ah.” Placing the frame back on the table, he turns off the lamp and curls up beneath the covers with a sigh before drifting off to sleep, his dreams filled with his daughters, you and Yoo-jin as a happy family together.

[jamiedc-they-them]

Sibling Duty Part 2.5 (Platonic)

Requested Imagine - “I know you're vibing with your Sibling Duty series but I've imprinted on Bobbi acting like a mother hen/big sister and would adore some more of that with the reader? Not sure when to set it besides before they left the show though, only if you're up to it, of course! Love your work a lot!”

AN/ Hope it’s ok that I made it tie into the series :) I apologise if it wasn’t what you wanted. But I hope you like it!

To be honest, maybe running away with no plan wasn’t the best plan. In fact, the issue was that there was no plan at all. You just ran as far as you could. You had let your sister down; you had let anyone down. You had burnt yourself up trying to save her and everyone.

As bittered as you were by the sadly sobering fact that you couldn’t do that, you also realised that you weren’t fully burnt out.

You were still here. That candle wasn’t fully burnt out yet.

The truth about not being able to save everyone was a hard pill to swallow. But drinking alcohol? That was piss easy, just sip, and swallow the devil’s drink that seemed to soothe your darkened soul.

You knew that you could easily solve the issue of the candle not fully being out yet, all you needed was a blade from your ability then you were done.

Yet, something was keeping you here. Threw the drunken nights, you would remember it; those words from your sister….which one, you couldn’t remember fully. But that didn’t matter, you remembered the words.

“You’re not expendable, Y/N. No one is, ever. No one has a life you can just throw away.” You drank from your bottle again, trying to go into a peaceful slumber once again.

To forget the lies those words held.

You had no idea where you sister was, you just hoped far away from what you were doing.

You weren’t dead, you weren’t SHIELD; but you weren’t fully done yet with the whole stopping evil thing. Although, now it was stopping evil by evil. You weren’t legally allowed to chase the Watchdogs and kill them.

Did that stop you though? Of course, it didn’t.

If you were going to go down as a drunk, you might as well doing something not completely shitty.

However, as you laid down, a knock at the door got your attention. You sat up, cautiously, grabbing the pistol that lay by your pillow at night. You cocked it as you picked it up.

You put your hand to the door, taking a tense breath, before opening it and putting the pistol to the chin of the newcomer without a second thought.

The sight of who it was, however, made you stop.

Bobbi-fucking-Morse was the woman whose chin was currently being pressed against with your pistol.

Your eyes widened, freezing for a second as you looked at your old friend that had sacrificed but her life for SHIELD. She was gone, pronounced….something, you forgot. You had forgot, or rather tried to forget all the details in the binge.

No thoughts of those you cared for, maybe it’d make it easier for you to disappear too from theirs when you were gone.

You immediately pulled the pistol back, trying to pretty much dive back into your van and – well, you didn’t really have a plan after that. The main one being to just get away and start again.

“I’ve already punctured your tire, Y/nn. You can’t get far.” She said. You sighed, of course she’d thought of that.

Continuing that sigh, you faced her, putting a confused smile on your face, “What the hell are you doing here Bobbi? Why did you find me? Why did you find me? – Wait, is Daisy ok?” You started off easy with the questions but became panicked near the end.

Bobbi smiled, shaking her head, “Got a tip that you might be I came here to see you; And I have no idea, sorry, kiddo.” She said, listing the answers to your questions.

You nodded, “Wait….who gave you the tip?” To that, Bobbi held out a coin.

“Flip it, I’ll tell you if you’re right or wrong.” She simply said.

You took the coin, doing just that. It landed on the heads, “Coulson?” You asked. Bobbi nodded her head.

Your gaze then turned more suspicious, “How the hell did Coulson get a hold of you and know what I was doing?”

She cocked her head to the side, “You really think that Phil Coulson, of all people will just give up on you or Daisy? Or anyone on that team? He sent me because if he went, it’d look suspicious. So, he sent someone whose off the grid.”

“But….you’re happy with Hunter, aren’t you?” You questioned, worried that you would be the cause of the death of a metaphorical thing this time.

“We are,” She assured, seemingly noticing your bubbling anxiety over it, “We agreed I should be the one to come see you, though. Both agreed I’d be better at handling this.”

“You mean the broken sister? Trust me, Bobbi, you don’t need to sugar-coat it.” Normally, that would be in a joking manner, but this time it was played completely straight.

Bobbi got into the passenger seat when you moved to the drivers side, “I’m not here to do that, I’m here to help you.” She sat in the seat, looking over at you as you only stared out the window.

You scoffed, “With what?”

“With this whole Watchdog thing. Your not as careful as you might think you are, Y/N. Noise is still noise.” She told you.

“You really aren’t going to leave, are you?” You asked.

“Y/N, Coulson may have asked me to come here, but I did of my own volition.” She softened her voice as she said that part.

You met her eyes, seeing nothing but warmth, love, and honest in them. She held you look with those emotions, only awaiting your reaction.

You bit your lip, bit it hard as you knew that she wouldn’t leave you. You knew she had too much of an instinct when it came to you younger folk.

“Here,” She said, handing you a button “It’s a beacon, just press it and I’ll come to you. Just in case we get split up.”

“Fine.” You said, turning on the engine and taking the beacon.

You did your best to ignore the grin she held as you did so.

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As said before, Bobbi seemed to have an instinct when it came to you guys (you, Simmons, Daisy and Fitz) she just had a way to know when something was wrong and whatnot. Granted, you had that as well, but Bobbi had more experience with it.

When you first met her, a part of you may have felt a bit threatened at the idea of her taking over the elder sisterly role. Despite Daisy’s assurances, it was Bobbi that had calmed your nerves.

“I’m not replacing you, Y/N. You were first, I’m just here as a kind of backup, to lighten the load a little. Make sure you take care of yourself, too.”

 That load now seemed to be your own shit, not someone else’s. That, in Bobbi’s book, was a vague step in the direction known as, “good”.

Even if it meant driving to a local hangout of Watchdog members. You knew that they were going to be having a big meeting later, you just had to find out where.

So, Bobbi just looked out the window as you drove, it was a nice place you had chosen to bunker down it; remote but completely isolated from life. However, the Watchdogs had chosen it too for those same reasons.

 Now, she didn’t really know this area, but you obviously did. That was shown by the way you got you both to where you apparently needed to go in pretty much no time at all.

“Here, this is where some of the sons of bitches are.” You told her as you cut the ignition and leant back in your seat as you looked at the place, a simple warehouse. Granted, it was simple on the outside, but on in the inside was people you were anything but good.

“Alright, let’s take this slow,” You rolled your eyes, “I mean it, Y/N. We go in through the back, get some sort of surprise one them.”

You debated it, knowing who you’d normally do it, a quick run and gun. But, thinking about it, you knew she had something in that plan.

“What if they’re gone by the time we get in?” You questioned.

“Well, better to miss and track them, then go in the front and they be the only ones to come out.” She fired back at you.

“Fair.”

 You both went around the back, the van parked at the front to cut them off. You entered, crouching, and using the crates that were in there as cover as they had their meeting. God it was disgusting, about how Inhumans needed to be taken out.

You looked at Bobbi, the woman hidden a little ways away from you. She met your eyes; and, despite being the one who brought you around the back, from here she seemed to be open to whatever way you wanted to handle it.

You knew that they had been after Daisy for a while now, that she had been disrupting them, just like you. It wasn’t exactly a connection or similarity you had wanted with your sister. In an attempt to fix what you had broken by protecting her, it seemed she had only gone out of her way to make it worse for herself.

You sighed, knowing that you had failed even more in your role as the elder sister.

You looked over, seeing the dogs as they spoke, “So, we meet up with the others later, talk about Quake? Or the other one?” One of them asked.

Before they could even get an answer, a gunshot went off, his blood hitting his mask, but part of it spraying through the holes in it. You continued to fire your weapon, Bobbi moved from behind the crate, shooting one in the leg as you went for the kill shots.

They were all gone, all except for one. One who crawled on the floor was he went for his gun.

“That was reckless.” You forgot that about your friend, she was blunt when it came to you all and you scared her, or she was worried.

“I was not.” You defended.

“You went in without a plan.”

“You looked to me for one, look how that went.”

“We have one –” You both stopped when you – out of the corner of your eyes – saw him bring out a pistol and you both fired at him in sync, “—Had one to find out this meeting place from. We find that, we find them, and we stop them. They’re after Inhuman’s –”

“They’re after Daisy.” You said, firmly, bringing it back to your main reason of being after them. You knew what you did before wasn’t right, and it had caused a strain, but doing this could maybe help a little. It wasn’t what you were doing before, so you were aware of the damage you had caused. Besides, this time too you were well away from her, helping her with everything that was happening from afar by doing a little, not as much as you did last time.

Besides, they were after other people too, your sister just happened to be atop of the list. You didn’t know where you were on it, you didn’t care to be honest. You just cared those others that were on it didn’t die.

“They’re after Daisy, and others. We’ll find the fucking meeting place, this place isn’t exactly big, Bobbi.” You snapped, rooting around in a guy’s pocket for something, only to come up blank.

When you turned to announce it to Bobbi, you saw her holding up a broken phone with a cracked, but still readable screen. On it, was a text message.

“It’s coordinates, to a place not far from here. That’s probably the meeting place.” She told you.

You breathed a sigh of secret relief at the fact you had found it. That you had this moment of victory.

That soon changed to worry, at least in Bobbi’s parts as she held out a phone to show you what else was on it.

A name that you had  hoped she would’ve missed.

Your own.

“Y/N….why the hell didn’t you tell me?” She asked, voice holding a slight bit of both worry and betrayal to it.

She then continued to scroll, finding something that made her eyes widen, “They’re planning a big attack on an Inhuman safe house.”

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

Bobbi had been angry; she had been loving and caring. It all seemed to meld into one when it came to the four of you. However, this time, you were focus of that.

“When were you going to tell me?” Was what she had moved onto now as you both drove back to where you had started, there was shop nearby for you to get supplies from. It wasn’t exactly a ‘shop’ but more of a black-market kind of place.

Either way, it was the only place to get what you needed to take the bastards down.

“I wasn’t.” You were blunt, deciding to not beat around the bush and try and lie, seemed you both were just as bad as each other when it came to trying to lie to your loved ones.

“Why not?” She was being confrontational now. To be honest, so was your response.

“I never asked for you to come here, Bobbi. I never asked for you to help me. If you hadn’t, I’d have already gotten the information out of the guy by now and be on my way there.” It was harsh, and you saw the hurt that she was hiding behind her eyes.

“I’m not going to leave you, not like this –”

“God, you’re just like them.”

“And that’s a bad thing?” She asked.

“No, it’s worse. I don’t need this whole older sister talk, Bobbi. Worse comes to worse, I don’t make it out of there and stop them,” She hated that you shrugged, “I’ll just be a name on a list. They’ll get over it. Besides, if anyone needs this talk, it’ll be Daisy.”

 You had parked up and left for the shop, this time Bobbi hadn’t stopped you. You both seemed to know that you needed a small break, as much as you were a younger sibling to her, she knew when to hold back a little.

It as an alleyway, one that changed every time, but still an alleyway none the less. You walked down the newest pick, finding your guy at the end of it with a van that he then opened. He had made a name for himself as a reliable weapons vender, he had quickly become one of your favourites.

“There she is.” He said, smiling at your approaching figure, “What’ll it be today.”

“Heavier shit than usual.” He nodded, but looked a tad impressed.

“Finally giving what’s what to them, huh?” He asked as hr brought out an assault rifle.

You chuckled as you took it, putting it in your bag, “Exactly, they’re planning something, so I’ve got to at least try and stop it.”

“Good luck to you sweetheart. But…be careful? Can’t have me losing my most loyal customer.” He laughed, but you could tell the words were sincere.

Either way, it didn’t sit right with you. You felt off at it, but knew he was mostly harmless (Despite the massive amount of weapons behind him).

 You took the bag, swinging it over your shoulder and making your way back to the van. Just as you reached it, it erupted in a fireball. The blast knocked you back but didn’t drop the bag. In fact, it only made your fall more uncomfortable.

“Bobbi!” You cried out, remembering that she was in there. A black van appeared, parking with a skid as Watchdog members pilled out, firing at you as soon as their feet touched the floor. You pulled out one weapon, firing all the rounds to cover your escape. When you ran out, you grabbed a another, doing the same thing.

“Bobbi!” You called to the van you used to call home, but (obviously) didn’t get a response. Your power started to take hold and you felt it. More than that, you let it. You knew that this was most likely it, why not go own swinging?

Your power fully took control, darkness becoming you as you let it rip. Cars were flung and people thrown up only then to come back down.

Your power was darkness, you had plenty of that within you.

As it died, however, you felt a pain in your body. You looked down, seeing a blood stain on you that only grew more and more.

Your power made you almost unstoppable in terms of offense, not defence. Daisy’s power could do both, yours could only do one.

As you fell, you heard someone calling out your name. Hands then pressed against your wound. As you opened your eyes, you saw it to Bobbi.

“Hey, Y/N, stay with me. Stay with me. Come on. Comme on, kiddo, breath.” She begged you. You did your best to give her what she wanted, but you were fading.

You made your peace with the fact that this was it, that you would die here at your lowest point.

You let the dark take you, only this time in a different meaning of the term.

 What surprised you, however, was that you woke up. You woke up and felt something where your wound once was. It was a bandage, one that had been put tightly onto said wound.

You tried to move, but footsteps immediately started to come towards you. A bottle of water was placed down in front of you, “Don’t rip your stiches. I worked hard on them.” Bobbi admonished, slapping your prying hands away from you body that was previously losing blood.

“You brought me here.” You immediately felt stupid for saying it like that.

“Of course, I did. I told you, people still need you. Plus, you’re my friend, I’m not just gonna leave you to bleed out.”

You sighed, putting your head against the wall, “Thank you.” You were quieter, but she still heard the words. It wasn’t like there was much else to hear, besides cars passing.

“You’re welcome.” She meant the words; she took a sip of her own water.

She then held up the button you hit, “Turns out it was useful after all huh?” She said in a, ‘I told you so’ kind of way. You smiled a little at her words.

“Turns out it did.” You agreed.

“They’ll be doing that attack, soon.” You said, slowly trying to stand. Bobbi made her way over to help with that, getting you to a table where she had laid a map, “We need to get to them before that happens.”

“Which way in, though? It’s a barn, so there’s a few.” She said, pointing to those entrances you could take.

“Not the front door, that’s for one.” She looked at you with a smile, glad that you were putting that off the table.

“There.” You said, pointing to one.

“Ready to go save some Inhumans and kick some ass?” You asked your older sister.

“You know it.” She answered, bright smile not leaving her face for a moment longer.

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

Together, you entered the barn through the back, this time both on the same page with the plan. As you both crouched through it, you listened to them once again talk about it. This time, though, the big guy was there, the leader of this op was there.

You looked to Bobbi, seeing she had noticed the same thing. She thought about it, before shaking her head, knowing that it wouldn’t work in your favour. Still, she didn’t seem against trying to bring him down.  

You both then fired at the same time, bringing the Watch Dogs down. They fell, others trying to escape. For once, their bravado and confidence had died, instead replaced with fear.

Seemed the Inhuman hater’s had flaws. They weren’t as big as the thought. Some tried to fight back, but you used cover instead of tried to get the shot off first. The shots hit the crate. Bobbi, seeing the Watchdog member shooting at you, she turned her pistol to him and took him down.

You shared a nod together, before something caught your eyes, “He’s getting away!” Bobbi called out, pointing to the leader escaping.

You knew you might be able to catch him, but you then saw the other Watchdog truck’s pull up. You looked to the leader and back to the truck. Old you would’ve gone for the man no mater what. However, you knew that you would be cut down if you tried.

“Hold them back!” You yelled to your sister. She looked and nodded, the two of you shooting at the new batch of Watchdog members.

However, another car pulled up. This one had the logo of the place you were tyring to run from big and centre on it. The SHIELD logo.

It was a group of SHIELD agents, all getting out to help you not be so outnumbered.

You fired, hitting one Watchdog member, before the SHIELD agent fired at the last one.

Finally, it was other. The plans of the Watchdogs was thwarted, at least for a moment. It was a start.

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

The agents were getting ready to take you back, to take you home. As you got ready, Bobbi approached you, “So, end of the line.” She told you, the two of you sharing a timid smile.

“Yeah….That button wasn’t just for you, was it?” You asked her.

She tried to keep a straight face, before she smiled, “Told you some people need you.”

You smiled, sneaky bitch.

“Thank you.” Oh, you must’ve said that out loud.

“Yeah, that too.” She laughed, “I’m gonna miss you, Y/N. This was kind of fun.”

“In a fucked-up way.” She nodded, “Thank you….for taking some of that load off of me.”

“Of course, we’re family. It’s what we do.”

You smiled, hugging your older sister. She returned it, chuckling before pulling away, “Time to go home.” She told you.

“Yeah.” You agreed, going to the open door in the SUV. As you got ready to enter, you looked back at Bobbi. She gave you a smile and a nod, on your returned.

You had a long way to go, but this was a start.

[addercharmer]

Izumi had slept next to Keigo again, he had woken just after midnight with a scream and both Izumi and Nezu had raced their way into his room to find the boy curling up as small as possible under the desk in his room. 

It took half an hour for the stoat to coax Keigo out and back into his bed, where the elder had shuffled around blankets and pillows until it felt more like a true nest. 

Nezu then had Izumi climb into the base of the bed, Keigo had quickly snuggled into her side, Nezu then climbed into the nest and settled above their heads. They had all fallen back asleep and no other nightmares had woken them. 

Izumi's inner alarm woke her and she groaned a little at the weight that was sprawled on her chest. A squeaking laugh from near her head had Izumi sighing at the fact that Nezu now would have photo evidence of them sleeping together. 

"Morning dad." Izumi croaked out, then she started to wiggle her way out from the nestling. 

"Bathroom, then we gotta talk." She tells him, there hadn't been any time the night before. Nezu had gotten an emergency call to do some analysis on a well known villain group of this time. 

Izumi stumbled to the bathroom, she emptied her bladder and washed her hands, before making the snap decision to take a shower. 

She didn't let herself linger under the spray no matter how much she wanted to, she washed her hair and put in the conditioner to soak in as she washed her body, then rinsed out the creamy substance. 

Wrapping her hair and body in towels she then scurried to her room. Izumi had no plans to do anything today unless it involved her rosefinch so she pulled on a pair of black leggings and a lightweight sweater dress. She stopped in the bathroom long enough to grab a brush and hair ties, and hang her towels up to dry. 

Skipping down the stairs Izumi was greeted with the mingling smell of coffee and tea, in the kitchen there were cereal boxes and a half liter of milk already on the table, along with bowls and spoons. 

Izumi sat quickly and combined the cereal and milk into a bowl, she dug in with a hum of enjoyment at the sugary meal. Nezu slipped a large cup of coffee on the table by her elbow before taking his own seat. 

"I didn't get to tell you, but some stuff happened at the mall." Izumi started the conversation after they had both finished their food. 

"When we got the preening brushes I suggested we look at the ones for hawks and Keigo flinched pretty hard." Nezu's eyebrows scrunched a little and he let out a hum. 

"The specialty stores for physical mutations had hardly anything for winged people, but when I was little originality my mom was friends with fashion designers...if you were okay with it I could try to make contact, they were family friends and I could maybe tell them that Inko is my sister, aunt Mitsuki never had the best memory, and if we could find and doctor some photos it would work as evidence." Izumi rambled, she was a little nervous about suggesting this, but at the same time she believed it could be good for the future if she could put herself in an older sibling or aunt role for some of her friends. 

"Good idea, what would you say about wanting to get back in contact?" Nezu asked her. 

Clearing her throat a little, Izumi thought carefully as she sipped her coffee. 

"Aunt Mitsuki has always had a huge soft spot for kids, not that anyone could tell. Inko from what her medical history says had been in and out of rehab for the last four years, it's caused a lot of problems with her mental health. It would make sense to say that you adopted me after you found me bleeding from being bullied at a foster home, and not in Inko's care." 

Izumi sighed deeply. "But that's more the in depth story, in reality I could simply explain I am Inko's sister trying to get in contact with Mitsuki because I remember she was into fashion and I need help with my newly adopted siblings wing mutation." 

"Hmmm, good good." Nezu's tea cup clacks when it's put back on the table. "Let's go braid your hair and we can work more on the back story and get those photos ready." The stoat directs already moving to the living room.

Izumi followers close on his tail, sitting in front of him after putting the hair brush and ties on the couch. She's also pulling the coffee table and her laptop closer so she can find pictures as her dad works his magic on her hair. 

"Lay out your life as Inko's sister." Nezu tells her as he starts running the brush through her hair. 

"Well, I was a sickly child, I spent most of my early life in hospital. It wasn't until I was ten that I got better, I was back in my parents care for a year and a half before the accident that took their lives happened. I was quickly placed into foster care when Inko refused to take me in, five months later you found me and adopted me. Then we can just say the truth from there. My quirk developed under extreme stress, I had a lot of healing, I finished school within six months of living with you, I have several degrees, I am a fashion disaster, and now you are adopting a severely abused boy." As Izumi speaks she's hacking through Inko's computer, phone and cloud account for photos.

Nezu is finished braiding her hair into twin tails when there are feet thumping their way down the stairs. Nezu gets up and goes to help Keigo in the kitchen as Izumi starts doctoring the photos to include her. 

She can hears dishes flatted as Nezu loads them into the dishwasher, then he's dragging a box into the kitchen, it's one of his case file boxes that he gets from the police force to help solve crimes. 

 

It takes two hours for Izumi to doctor the photos, replace the originals with hers in both Mitsuki and Inko's devices and cloud account. When she's done Keigo is just sitting down next to her with his hair and wings still wet and a towel in his hand. 

"Let me help rosefinch." She laughs lightly. 

Gently she rubs the towel through her hair, it's not as thick as her own so it takes less time to get it only damp, with his wings she carefully runs it down in the same direction that his feather go, it takes time but soon they are only slightly damp as well. 

"Give them a fluff and a shake for me." Izumi tell Keigo, she had looked up some care tips before she first went to bed last night. 

Keigo follows her direction without any hesitation, when he's done he looks like a fluffy baby bird and Izumi falls a little more in love. 

"Go get your oil and comb, I'll give you a preen before we figure out what to do today." Izumi drops the towel she had been using over Keigo's head and it earns her a laugh before the boy is sprinting away.

He's back faster than Izumi thought he would be, just before he sits again Keigo fluffs his wings and Izumi spots his hair fluffing up with the feathers, Izumi has to work hard to stop herself from laughing. 

Once the oil is in her hands and the comb is sitting on the couch between them Keigo stretches his left wing out, Izumi opens the bottle noticing it's a light vanilla scent as she posts some out into a cupped hand. 

Snapping the bottle shut again she puts it beside the comb and then runs her hands together. 

Making her hands into loose claws she starts at the joint where wing meets skin, she takes her fingers through the feathers twice just to be sure she has them all coated before moving on to the rest with the same care. Izumi needs to recoat her hands with oil three more times before the whole wing is finished. 

Next she picks up a wide toothed wooden comb and starts to drag it through the feathers again, realigning any with her free hand as she goes. Izumi does this twice before she and Keigo switch sides to do the right wing. 

The longer Izumi presents Keigo's feathers the more relaxed he becomes, little chirps and coos leaving him. 

"All done." Izumi tells Keigo, she hands him back the preening items and gets up herself to clean off her hands. 

"Nee-chan, what are we going to do today?" Keigo asked Izumi from the stairs. 

"What do you want to do?" Izumi asks right back, as she starts pulling out things to make sandwiches. "Lunch first though. You too dad." 

Izumi quickly puts the sandwiches together and on one big plate. Keigo had come and grabbed smaller plates for each of them to use. 

"Can we play a game after?" Keigo asks as he grabs a sandwich. 

"What kind of game? I know my friends picked a few out, those should be in your room. But we can go outside too." Izumi eyes Nezu who still hadn't taken a sandwich, as he hits to reach for another paper Izumi taps his paw and pointed looks at the food. 

"Really?" Keigo asks, sounding more excited about being outside than he had about playing a game. 

"Mmmyep, I even know where the park is." Izumi tries to sweeten the deal, and with all the cyber stalking she has done on Endeavour she knows that Rei takes the kids there every Sunday afternoon. 

Nezu must hear something in her voice that has his head snapping towards her, she lets her grin turn a little feral. 

"Mmm dad will even come, I saw a family there, two children had ice quirks and one had a really powerful fire quirk, the fire user looks about your age." Nezu's answering toothy grin is enough for Izumi to know she was understood. 

"I haven't been to the park since I was taken." Keigo says with a sad sniffle. 

"Why don't we make it even better and I can invite my friends too, then you can meet Oboro and Nemuri." Izumi offers, she knows that it's going to be hard, Keigo had been deprived of so much that everything was going to be a new experience again. 

"Shō-nii and Zashi-nii?" Keigo perks up a little, and Izumi is so happy that her little rosefinch liked them. 

"Yep!" Izumi says back just as chipper. "I just have to message them and ask, dad has to clean up his papers and the dishes."

Mouse?Bear?Human?: My rosefinch hasn't been to the park since the commission took him, he would like to play with you all. 

IBreakGlass: be there in under 2 hours gotta finish my chores ಥﭛಥ

FemFatale: shō and I will be there in 30

LoudAssCloud: u sure? 

                           : I just mean what if were 2 much?

Mouse?Bear?Human?: He will be fine, he loves Zashi and Shō. 

                                        : He's already dubbed them Zashi-nii and Shō-nii, and I'm sure you will be Obo-nii soon enough. 

LoudAssCloud: (　-_･) ︻デ═一 ▸

                           : (*ฅ́˘ฅ̀*) .｡.:*♡

                           : be there when I can

LoudAssCloud is offline.

[merryfortune]

Day 9 /Sunflower

Clover and Violets 2021

Ship: Resurrectshipping | Catherine/Cyndia 

Universe: Duel Monsters

Word Count: 1,548

Rating: T

Tags: Pre-Canon, Adultery, Internalised Homophobia, Questioning, Missed Connections, Alcohol & Cigarettes

   The show had been fantastic. A vivacious shower of glitter and sparkly lights. It had completely and utterly taken Cyndia’s breath away. She couldn’t believe it. She was the sole person in the crowd who stood on both her feet, both her little kitty cat high heels, giving the magician and his stagehand a standing ovation.

   “Darling,” Pegasus hissed, “people are staring.” He leaned in hard to his lover.

   Cyndia huffed and she shook off his pet name for her as well as his sudden and unusual care for his - their or maybe just her - image. He had never cared for people staring so why was it an issue now?

   “Let them.” Cyndia told him, firm but under her breath.

   Pegasus shook out the ruffles of his own malcontent and Cyndia continued to applaud the end of the show. She was breathless as the thick, velvet curtains fell close with a swank and a swish. She grinned and she stood still where people were already perhaps a little too quick to leave.

   “We should see if they would let us backstage.” Cyndia excitedly suggested.

   “I do not believe that Pandora man is worth the time.” Pegasus sighed and shrugged.

   Cyndia groaned. “Oh, please, what do we have to lose?” she insisted and she knew damn well it wasn’t the magician man himself whom she was enamoured with. 

   He would never spill the secrets of his magic but there was a possibility someone else would. Someone with long, slender legs and silky, golden hair and luscious lips and wore fishnets and a bunny suit without the ears. Oh, Cyndia was blushing a rose pink just thinking about her. And how she could never tell her fiance about her feelings, as sudden and effervescent as they were. They were too out there but she wouldn't exactly say that she felt paid attention to by Pegasus right now.

   He rolled his eyes. “Anything for my wife to be, I am nothing but a slave to my passion for you, Cyndia.” he declared in his whimsical, airy voice. It seemed contradictory and it was but Cyndia let him be.

   Wearily, Pegasus got up and Cyndia began to sashay out the side of the seating. They trekked down the velour handled steps and with a flash of his cash, Pegasus got Cyndia the little present which she was after. She was so excited to be backstage of the casino with the magician and his assistant. 

   The walls were neater than they thought, a pastel orange with noticeable yellow hues, maybe a sepia. The trims were cream and looked just as frothy in their architecture. The doors were studded with buzzing lights and the like. Coming inside, it was an olfactory attack of chintzy perfumes and hair spray.

   “I’m always happy to meet my fans.” Pandora boasted.

   “How wonderful.” Cyndia said through gritted teeth. She flashed Catherine a look but Catherine looked away from her.

   She tucked a strand of her hair back behind her ear; the glitzy jewel in the stud of her earring caught the fluorescent light and dazzled Cyndia all over again. She wanted to get a little bit closer and to do that, she put her hands on Pegasus’s arm.

   “Say, dearest,” she began saccharine, “I’d love to get some make-up tips from Miss Catherine there, why don’t you and Pandora go take a light outside, hm?”

   Pandora laughed. “Does it really shine through my being that I’m a smoker?” he asked.

   “You reek, darling, of smoke. Anyone could make an educated guess about your bad habits.” Catherine giggled.

   “That I do, that I do. But I didn’t peg you for a smoking man, Crawford.” Pandora said, all too loudly.

   “Only cigars, of which I have a few and some, I’m even happy to share if you feel so inclined.” Pegasus said.

   “I’ll take the ones you don’t like out of your case, if you would be so kind.” Pandora offered.

   With that, the men were conveniently shuffled out of the backroom and now it was just the women and it wasn’t exactly the quiz show live connection that Cyndia had been hoping for it. It was actually a little bit awkward. A terse atmosphere of stolen glances and listening to tinny casino music emanate down from the main of the building. But Cyndia didn’t want to waste her chance with such a beautiful woman.

   She inched closer but Catherine played the role of a fortune teller. She stood tall, in her high heels with red soles, and held onto a chair, keeping her back straight and her diaphragm as tight as a drum.

   “Having relationship problems?” she asked.

   “Only a little.” Cyndia confessed. “You?”

   “Me too.” Catherina professed in equal admittance. “I can’t solve mine so don’t go hoping I can solve yours.”

   “Is it that obvious?” asked Cyndia, cringing at her own naivete. 

   “Like you wouldn’t believe.” Catherine lamented. Her expression, particularly in her eyes which were a honey brown colour and they looked melancholic yet snide. “I just wish he would stop spendin’ money we don’t have on his darts.”

   “I just wish that Pegasus would look at me and see a person. Sometimes, I swear, he looks right past me.” Cyndia said.

   Catherine sighed. She searched the vanity but quickly found what she wanted. A bottle of purebred Tennessee whiskey. It had sunflowers on the label and looping typography for its brand. Catherine didn’t pop the cap on it but she let the drink inside, a gorgeous amber, swirl against the glass.

   “Cheers to terrible men.” Catherine said.

   “And cheers to the women who put up with them.” Cyndia added and Catherine smirked. “I just think your really pretty.” Cyndia kept talking and now she was sounding like she was a child;; she chastised herself for it. “I’ve never felt that way about a girl before, you know?”

   “Mm, it is a bit confusing.” Catherine agreed.

   Finally, she did pop the cap on that whiskey and she turned it over. It would make a fine tumble glass. She’d take a drink and then Cyndia would take a drink. That would be all, or at least that’s what Catherine thought.

   Only, Cyndia came closer. She had such a peculiar way of walking. It was almost like she was floating, like a bubble, like a ghost. She laced her fingers over the bottle of whiskey, over Catherine’s hands and Catherine’s heart did something unexpected. It skipped a beat. She let Cyndia steal a sip straight from the lips. The taste of it singed her mouth, she winced and Catherine hiccupped as a laugh.

   But it wasn’t just the whiskey that Cyndia sampled - and Catherine let her taste it as well. The taste of her own kiss and it was everything that Cyndia had hoped for. It was plasticine and rosy. The only shame was how the taste of that whiskey burned her but she liked it. It was something different and it was something intoxicating. It smudged her nude pink lipstick on the way back. On the not quite retreat because Cyndia wanted to kiss Catherine more but it didn’t seem appropriate. She wanted a taste, a sampling, not to be drunk and especially not drunk with things she couldn’t have forever.

   “Thank you.” Cyndia whispered.

   “No worries.” Catherine replied, taking a swig of whiskey from the rim of the whiskey, unbothered but she thought it sweeter than when she had been drinking with her boyfriend. 

   The moment lingered somewhere far away from saccharine, thank goodness, Catherine thought. She drank a little bit more; Cyndia declined, happy to watch and even envy the whiskey droplets on the cupid’s bow of Catherine’s sublime lips.

   The men respective to their lives returned sooner than they thought. Neither of them noticed how their leading ladies had smudged lipstick. Both lied too expertly, like starlet actresses with a script, about what they had talked about. Already concealing their feelings.and going back to how they had been before. Before they had been imperfect strangers. Stealing glances; barely acknowledging one another save for the indirect.

   But gosh did Catherine savour that whiskey one last time as she and Pandora said goodbye to their impromptu guests. She was chided as rude but Cyndia wanted to disagree. She didn’t. But she did steal one last look and finally, their gazes met and for a moment, it was like starlight. 

   What exactly was stopping them from running away, they could go and join a circus together, it couldn’t be that hard. Catherine was already halfway there as a stagehand to a second rate magician and as a toy company aficionado's human toy, Cyndia wasn’t all that faraway either but they didn’t.

   They just bid each other their ados with the sour knowledge this was it and all they it would be. And they felt like sunflowers trying not to wither. Cyndia had to look at Pegasus; Catherine had to look at Pandora; they were just sunflowers following the suns that their lives already presently revolved around. Because that’s all that sunflowers could do. Stop and stare; steal glances and other longing gazes. But that wouldn’t stop them from being wistful for other stars and flames they might have been able to have kindled in another life. 

[wordynerdygurl]

Costumes & Kittens

Summary: You convince Loki to dress up for a Halloween party and then enjoy a private after party.

Loki x Reader

Warning: SMUT, Funny, Loving Loki

"Are you really going to put on a costume?" Sarcasm dripped from every syllable Loki uttered over the idea.

"Heck yes! And you are too! Right?... Right?" But the look on Loki's handsome face explained exactly what he thought of the idea. Begging him you continued, "Oh, come on! It's so fun!! You get to be someone... or something else for a night."

Waiting for the walk signals to change, Loki looked up and down the street but not at you while saying, "I understand the custom. The appeal of it... but isn't this just child's play? Nonsense?"

You shrugged. "So what if it is? What's so wrong with letting your inner child out to play?"

"My inner child is a miniature frost giant with daddy issues and a desire to conquer... I don't think that's a costume one buys at Target, dearest."

You laughed, he wasn't wrong, really. "No, I guess not... but maybe you're looking at this all wrong. Maybe the question is, 'If Loki Odinson could be anything, what would he be?' Ya know what I mean?"

Shrugging Loki replied, "Anything? I'd be King of Asgard. Or the Universe."

"Be serious for a minute?" It's a tiny bit exasperating trying to explain these kind of things to Loki.

"Serious about a children's fancy dress party?" His eyebrows lifted archly.

"No. Serious about the question. What does Loki want to be when he grows up?" Punching his strong arm playfully, you drive the point home by batting your long lashes at The God of Mischief. He pulls you into a one armed embrace and kisses you sweetly.

"You know I'm over a thousand years old, right? I'm technically over grown at this point." Loki reminds you as he pulls open the door to your favorite restaurant.

"Funny, you don't look a day over 800." Loki nods, chuckling at your quick wittedness. You lean against him, waiting for the hostess to acknowledge your famished existence.

"So, you're going to dress as what, exactly?" Curiosity had Loki caught in its web. Reaching up on tiptoes you kiss his cheek and reply, "That, my dear, is a surprise, unless you want to do a couples costume? Like Doc and Marty... or Westley and Buttercup?" Loki scrunched his nose up.

"Ok. Too soon... so, what about you? Any ideas of what you'd like to be?" The pair of you are flirting like a teenagers as the restaurant hostess finally smiled at you. Leaning into your neck Loki nips your ear gently then husks, "The man who makes your quim quiver."

"How many?" The hostess, slightly put out by your public display, is looking at you with impatient eyes. Your mouth has gone dry with lust so Loki answers, "Just two, dear."

---

"This party is amazing!" You shout to Wanda over the pulsing music. She looked so cute as a rainbow unicorn, her golden horn bobbing in time with the 'Monster Mash'.

"You look so good! Oh my goodness, how funny!" Doubling over, Wanda was in tears at your costume, and you had to admit it was pretty hilarious. "Nat! Come here!"

"Noooo! This is great!! Loki's gonna lose it!" Natasha clutched her flapper's boa closer as she giggled.

"Thank you guys! I worked really hard on it!" You were incredibly proud of your look tonight. Black boots laced over your calves to your knees. The armour you'd pieced together from leather scraps and duct tape hugged your torso in green and gold flaring into a matching skirt. The best part was the flowing emerald cape that had started life as a satin sheet but now followed behind you like a green shadow.

Recreating Loki's horned crown had taken weeks of meticulous papier mache, sand paper and gold spray paint but damn, you felt like Asgardian royalty. Did Loki have this sense of power all the time? You shivered a little at the thrill of it.

Knocking back a long swig of your beer, laughing at Sam and Bucky dressed in those tuxedos from Dumb and Dumber, you realized this party was in full swing. Maybe that's why you were taken by surprise when a low, familiar voice crooned in your ear, "My queen."

Spinning on your heeled boots, you found Loki at your side, hands behind his back, smirk firmly in place. His eyes swept over you, taking in the details of your costume with a raised eyebrow, causing blue flames of excitement to curl low in your belly. You felt a creeping blush rise over you and channelling your inner God of Mischief you defiantly raised your chin Loki's direction.

"Yes... kitten?" Now, Loki called you kitten almost everyday, and it never failed to make you purr. Tonight, you used the endearment because the Trickster was dressed in a jet black three piece suit, black shirt and tie, with two tiny ebony cat ears on his head. His cheshire grin didn't hurt his ensemble at all.

"You look... well, almost as good as I do in that suit." His tone is light but you read a touch of approval in the mix. With a hand over his heart, Loki adds, "I'm honored that you went to all this trouble, little one."

Feeling emboldened by the role you're dressed for, you look down your nose at Loki, just like you'd seen him do countless times before. "Trouble? Not at all. This was something I had lying around. I thought these mortals would appreciate seeing a goddess in all her splendor."

Laughing, Loki replies, "Well you are certainly fearsome, my lady. And may I say, you have excellent taste."

You laugh too, "You may! Come on, let's get you a drink!" Grabbing Loki's hand in yours you pull him towards the bar. The crowd thins a bit as you get further from the music so it's easier to chat. Once you each have a cold beer, you perch on the countertop while Loki leans against the kitchen counter, again looking you over.

"I would be a beautiful woman." He stated wistfully. You snort, almost spitting up your suds. "I don't know about that, but you're a pretty sexy cat, Loki." You reached out and flicked one of the furry ears.

After a sip from his bottle Loki counters, "Of course I am." Curling his free hand into a claw, he does his best feline impression, "Meow!"

With a wide smile you casually say, "You dressed up. I wasn't sure you would."

"You said I could be anyone or anything." Loki's lip lifted into a knowing half smile. Nodding, you concede, "I did." Clinking the necks of your beer bottles together you flash Loki a slow smile. You draw your bottom lip between your teeth as you look at your black kitty cat, practically purring yourself. Loki watched your mouth move, his own lips parting slightly, as he leaned towards you.

You closed your eyes in anticipation of Loki's lip lock when you heard, "Reindeer Games! That is not an acceptable costume!! You can't just wear your battle gear..."

Tony stopped short when he saw your head snap around, golden horned crown bobbing slightly with your movement. Loki peeked at the intruder over your gossamer green shoulder. "Oh. My mistake. Great outfits. Party on." And with that Iron Man, dressed in a perfect replica of Elton John's glitter baseball uniform, swiped a bottle of vodka, and swaggered towards the noise.

"Wanna dance?" You're hopeful that he'll say yes because Loki is great on the dance floor, and he knows it. Grabbing you each a fresh beer, Loki nods, "Yes, my liege." And you laugh again at his deference to your implied title. "Then let's go!" Impatiently you stride back to the waiting crowd of friends singing and partying the night away.

The night passes in a blur of dancing, drinks and laughter. Everyone gets a kick out of you as Loki. You play up the role, ordering people to kneel like he would usually do, cracking sarcastic comments and snide remarks with regularity. You're overconfident and you're high on the bossy bitch this get up brings out in you.

"Kitten, grab me another, will you?" Rubbing under his chin like you'd do to a real little black kitty cat, you stroke one of Loki's velvet ears sweetly before brushing a kiss over his lips. He moans softly at your gentle petting and murmurs, "I think this kitten is ready to call it a night, darling."

You catch his eye and see what he's really saying. It's bedtime, not lights out, something that causes a blush to rise over you. Swaying away from Loki you tease, "You got it, cool cat."

Goodbyes take forever because all of you are well over the tipsy line. Wanda squeezes you for five minutes, unwilling to part from you, trying to tell you a story that she swears is hilarious but you just can't seem to follow. Tony tries to steal your crown but you wrestle it away just in time, blocking Steve from snatching it back again. You wave at Natasha but she's got Bucky pinned under her on the sofa, his orange top hat perched on her head and his hands on her ass.

Loki was waiting for you at the elevator, doors open. "How did you leave everybody?"

"Natasha and Bucky are totally hooking up tonight!" It spilled out of you with a drunken laugh as you stepped inside the mirrored moving cube. Pushing the down button with a skeptical smile Loki asked, "Really? Any other odd couples come out your costume convention?"

Suddenly serious, you step into Loki's space saying, "I'm going home with a black cat. That's fairly odd, since, ya know... I'm allergic to cats."

"I promise you, this tom cat is hypoallergenic. No mangy fur... no troublesome litter box." Boxing Loki against the reflective wall, your eyes lock on his ice blue ones, "And is he well behaved? I don't want a naughty kitty in my bed."

Swallowing thickly, Loki husked, "Maybe just a little." You pushed your body into his, collapsing the space between you, kissing along his throat. Loki lifted his chin with a hungry moan as you nipped his Adam's apple, leaving your mark on his pale skin. Grazing your lips over his strong jaw you make sure to pay extra attention to that sensitive spot just under his ear, where tendon and muscle meet.

"Good kitty." Your whispered praise makes Loki blush faintly, his trousers tighter now, as his body responds to your devious teasing. Pushing away from him when the elevator dings, you clasp his hand and drag an excited Loki into the night air.

With your heavy boots and swirling cape it seems like your stride has widened. There's a power in you that dressing like The Trickster has released and it made you feel other wordly. If you were behaving like your god, cocksure and dominate, then Loki was a mewling furball right now, content to be led wherever you went. You lace your hand to Loki's and start steering you both through the neighborhood, back to your home.

It takes a little bit longer than normal as the streets are full of Halloween party people enjoying the chance to be different for a night. You have your keys ready so it takes no time to slip it into your lock. As you bend over, ready to turn the knob, you feel Loki at your back. His strong hands roam over your hips tugging you into his hard, honed body.

"Uh uh little kitten. It's not time to play just yet." You admonish him while forcing him to release you. "Darling!" It was a whine. You'd never heard Loki beg before and the sound of it made your core clench, unchecked excitement coursing through you. Stepping inside, finally, you didn't pause for a drink or a trip to the ladies room. No, you stomped right into your bedroom, Loki in tow.

There's a moment right before snowflakes start their fall when all the world waits in quiet silence for the flurry to begin. A beat, maybe two, where the balance of nature breathes before being tipped one way or another.

This night, when you faced Loki across your soft carpeted floor, dressed in a replica of his armor, you felt that peaceful pause. Loki stood beside your closed door, eyes snapping with unreleased heat, looking sweet as homemade sin, in that black double breasted suit with pointed pussy cat ears and a hungry grin.

To him you looked like a vision come to life. Where Loki was long and angled hidden in that leather and steel, you were curvy and soft. The corseted costume accentuating your bust, those tall boots lengthening your legs, even the helmet looked sexy and dangerous framing your sweet face.

"Loki..." Reaching out a hand to him, you felt the world tip into frenzy as the flurry started.

It took him two steps to reach you. One hand wrapped around your waist, tucking you into Loki's side, the other curled around your neck, supporting it, as your mouths met. Feasting on your lips like a starving man, Loki deepened the kiss when he buried his hand in your hair and pulled your head back firmly. You felt his other hand brush over your ass cheek before Loki squeezed down hard.

Moaning, "Loki... Loki..." you were being driven out of your mind by his talented tongue. His hand followed the hem of your skirt and you moaned when you felt Loki's fingers slide under the elastic leg of your panties.

Placing a flat palm against Loki's chest, you push away from his embrace. He lunges for you once more but you wiggle free of his grasp, cheeks enflamed and breathing hard. You stop to straighten your helmet before asking, "Little kitten... your goddess has a question for you. Why is no one licking my thighs?"

Loki growls, sounding like an actual rabid animal, as he stalks over to where you're standing by the bed. He shoves you down to the mattress, following you into the soft surface, and kisses you deeply again.

"Be gentle, little kitten..." You teasingly remind the dark prince who is laying between your parted knees. Looking down at you like a cornered mouse, your black cat promises, "You're going to find out that kitties have claws, lovey."

Without pausing, Loki's palms push roughly over your long leather boots. You sigh when his rough skin connects with the smooth satin of your inner thighs. He follows the path blazed by his hands with his moving mouth. A lick, teeth tasting, thumbs kneading, trailing closer to your apex, warm and wet and waiting. Loki switches sides, searing his route to your molten core into your memory.

Reaching for him, you run your hands through his long dark locks, fingers connecting with those little furry triangle ears. You groan when Loki yanks down your underpants, pulling them free over your footwear. Echoing your need, Loki chuckles, "Look at this... my queen, wet and writhing before me. Being me for a night did this?"

Eager to get Loki back to business you counter, "Yes... it feels... amazing."

Rich laughter bounces around your bedroom as Loki says, "It certainly does! Listen, I really like this suit, so give me a moment, won't you darling?"

Sitting up on your elbows, cape bunched beneath you, legs open obscenely you stare at Loki, already loosening his tie. "Um... your queen is NOT ok with taking a break. Get over here and finish what you started!"

One arm free from his dark coat, Loki freezes. "To do that I need to be unencumbered by these clothes, my lady."

Huffy now, you grumble something about rotten timing and shimmy your skirt off without leaving the bed. Loki's shirt buttons are abandoned as he watches you, naked below the waist, corset and cape still shrouding you, helmet on but askew. It's ridiculous and righteously sexy.

"I'm just gonna do it myself. Don't worry Loki, I've got it." You move your hand down your soft tummy, closer to your throbbing clit, anticipating the firmness of your arousal.

"Wait! That's not fair!" He has one leg out of his trousers, hopping around, trying to get them off so he can get back to getting you off.

"Fair schmair, kitty cat." Your fingers spread your lower lips, sweetly dipping into your wetness, the friction making you shiver. Loki, naked except for those ears, locked a tight hand over your wrist. "Allow me."

You try to shrug him off but Loki is able to bring your hand to his lips. Slowly he draws those tasty fingers into his warm mouth savoring your flavor. Blue eyes piercing yours, Loki drops your hand, saying "Now... my troublesome little dictator, this kitty thinks you need a tongue bath."

It's your turn to growl. Loki's strong hands fan over your hips, sliding seductively over your legs. You gasped when he jerked your booted knees over his broad shoulders bringing your liquid center closer to his hungry mouth. Exhaling a hot breathe against your aching cunt, Loki chuckled lowly as you thrust forward, searching for his touch.

Your sigh of frustration turned into a squeal of pleasure when Loki licked firmly through your drenched skin. Flicking his tongue over your clit with tiny licks, like a cat lapping at milk, Loki had you near to climax in minutes. His cat ears tickled the rarely touched place where your pelvis meets your thigh, sending shivers through you. With a rough bite to your straining nub, he pulled away. "Loki! Keep going!", you practically shouted.

But you needn't have bothered. Slowly circling your fleshy pearl, Loki drew it between his soft lips, sucking lightly. You bucked against this delicious torment but Loki's grip on you tightened. His thumbs opened your dripping slit, giving him full access to plunder your depths with his articulate fingers.

Rocking your hips against Loki's hand, his mouth still taking nips and nibbles of you, your orgasm gains power. Your breathing catches, happy hums streaming out of you, as your inner walls tighten around Loki's driving digits. "Loki...... I'm going to cum..." It's a warning and a promise.

"Oh, sweetling, let go. Let me feel the power of your pleasure!" When Loki pressed down on your clit while curling his fingers against your velvet walls you lost your battle with control. First your muscles locked together in glorious, bone cracking tension, then you fell apart like a puppet with cut strings.

Loki stroked your silken skin through your climax, easing your body back to earth. Instead of stealing your energy, your release made you want more. Rolling up onto your knees you reach for your little kitten, tangling a hand in his ebony locks, before forcing your lips together.

You rush your hands down Loki's strong core, over the corded muscles of his abdomen, stopping at the heavy length of his cock. Through gritted teeth Loki sighs, "Careful darling."

"Would you be careful, my kitty cat? I don't think so." Sliding your soft palm along his steel length, you add a touch of pressure, and rub your thumb across his glistening head. Stroking Loki, you kiss him again, your tongue working against his mouth to the same rhythm as your hand.

Loki breaks your grip with a strained groan. "Inside you. I have to be inside you.", he whispers as he drops his forehead to yours, staring into your eyes.

Tenderly you sigh, "Fuck, Loki. That's hot."

Smiling broadly, he nods, "I know, Right?"

Before you can respond, Loki's laid himself on your bed, back resting upon the headboard, his erection proud and ready. "Come here!" Patting his lap, excitement evident, he's in a rush for you to join him.

Pausing to unzip the restricting corset you've been in all night, you let it and the satin cape slide off your shoulders but you keep the boots on. Loki's eyes drink in your gorgeous body, his bottom lip held in anticipation. You reach up to remove the paper helmet hugging your brow only to stop when Loki hummed, "Keep it on."

Giggling softly you nod. There's something carnal about your near nudity which makes you feel emboldened. It's that same power you had in Loki's costume, the feeling of infinite possibilities, all uniting for you. The thrill of it makes you slick with need for the wicked man you're straddling between your thighs.

Your pelvis streched over Loki's, his straining cock pressed between your bodies, those large hands of his molded to you hips. Stroking his length once more, you raised up on your knees and guided him into your tunnel. Loki pushed down on your curves, driving himself inside of you with glorious purpose in one stroke.

Stuttering out a curse word, your head fell back, exposing your neck to Loki and his ravishing lips. With his strong arms pulling you tighter, you rolled your being onto his, taking more and more of Loki's body each time.

When his lips found your breast you groaned. Out of instinct you gripped Loki's head and pulled him closer. His hands drifted down your spine, over your ass cheeks, and hugged you tighter than you thought possible. Your nipples were covered in wet kisses, faint impressions of Loki's teeth were red on your skin, and still you wanted more from him.

Grinding together, your sensitive bud rubbing so deliciously against Loki, your body nears the peak of its passion. His grip on you drags you down, harder and harder, spearing your spiral of desire. Your tender walls shudder around the hard heat of his member. "You're going to cum, little one. I can feel it. Please, please cum for me."

The humid breath of his broken whisper in your ear sends your body into bliss. Shuddering around Loki's bones, you hear him grunt and hold your hips wide over his own as he spills his sexual release into your receptive skin. Gripping him hard enough to bruise, you're locked together, sharing a single body... a single breath.

It takes you both a long while before your breathing returns to normal. Never taking his precious blue eyes off of yours, Loki brushes a stray strand of hair behind your ear. "I hope my queen is satisfied..." he teases.

"Hmmmmm... yes... yes she is... and my scary black cat?", you ask as you flick one of the flocked ears, now slightly askance. "Oh, he'd purr in pleasure... if that were possible."

Loki stirs inside of you making you jump. "Wait... please. Just a little longer, Loki." You're not ready to let go of his body, his spirit, his heart, just yet. Wrapping your arms across his shoulders, you rest your chin in the crook of Loki's neck and idly play with a lock of his hair.

"Loki?" You murmur, drowsy and still a teeny bit tipsy.

"Yes, darling?" He turns his bright eyes to yours.

"Next year we're going as Westley and Buttercup, from The Princess Bride..." You yawn and slide off Loki's lap, wrapping the comforter around you both.

With a gentle smile, Loki answers, "As you wish, little one."

[need-a-fugue]

Why Not? - Chapter Six

Summary: With a garage to run and a young daughter to, well… run after, Bucky Barnes doesn’t exactly have time for dating. And with his relationship track record – and the constant meddling of a certain overbearing best friend – he’s not so sure that’s a bad thing. But then he meets Annie – a rather insistent, pretty damn cute fellow car enthusiast – and it’s got him asking himself, despite all his hesitations, why not?

Author’s Note: Written for Little Darlin’s Mystery AU Challenge. Thanks to @sourpatchkidsandacokecan​​ for triggering this… sprawling thing simply by supplying me with the prompt of Mechanic!AU for Bucky. It’s taken on a life of its own already… look at what you’ve done! 

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x OFC

Warnings: Bit of angst, mostly fluff. 

Chapter Six

The next morning passes in an odd – and oddly wonderful – whirlwind. 

Annie wakes with a jolt, landing face first on a foreign floor, some sort of Lego action figure stabbing into her palm when she tries to right herself. “Oooow,” she moans, languidly shoving away the offending toy and rolling over onto her back. She cracks a single eye open, squinting to see the edge of the overstuffed couch she only vaguely remembers snuggling back into after dinner – and several beers – the night before. Another small moan escapes her as she drops her forearm across her eyes to block out the early morning sun beaming in through the wide-open curtains across the room.

Light, plodding footsteps sound in her periphery, a rather amused, “Hey, doll,” rumbling through the still air of the room.

Her arm shifts and again she cracks open just one eye, sneering as the sun works to blind her. She cocks her head to the side and blinks repeatedly, anxious to solidify his bleary form, to confirm that the smug-as-hell smile she hears in his voice is in fact perched across Bucky’s lips as he looms at the end of the sofa.

“I though you said the couch was good,” he teases brightly, his tone far too cheery for so early in the morning. “Not sure why you chose the floor.”

She shifts and rolls, slowly – very slowly – pulling herself upright and leaning back against the couch. “I fell,” she mutters, rubbing her fists into her painfully dry eyes. She peels them away with a grimace, stares down at her hands with suspicion, as though they had somehow caused her the discomfort. “And I slept with my contacts in.”

His voice is a bit more distant, emanating from the other room perhaps – she honestly still can’t quite see – when he asks, “You wear contacts?”

“Yeah,” she sighs out, pulling herself up onto the cushions and gathering the blanket that he had handed her the night before, his hesitant offer replaying in soft echoes – You sure you don’t want to crash in my bed? I mean… and I’ll stay out here? Or you can take Lana’s… she’s got an army of stuffed animals to guard you all night… keep you safe – as she lazily crumples the cover and positions it beneath her cheek. Her face twists, brows knitting tightly together as she blinks heavily a few more times, trying to seat the contacts in place, hoping the burning will stop. “Is that a turn off for you?”

By the time she opens her now red and watery eyes, he’s magically by her side, two mugs of coffee in hand. She sits upright and he offers her one, a wicked little grin just barely hiding behind the lip of his own mug as he takes a single, steamy sip. “Contacts? No.” He shrugs. “That hair though? Well, if that doesn’t turn a guy off, nothing will.”

She pulls in a sharp breath, almost a squeak, and reaches up to feel the wildly tousled rat’s nest piled on the top of her head. “Shit,” drawls out of her, a long, regretful moan. She hands him back the mug of coffee and bolts up, making a beeline for the bathroom, harshly tugging at the deeply embedded ponytail holder as she goes.

“I’m only kidding, doll,” he calls after her, doing little to hide the gentle chuckles pulling from his chest. He follows her down the hall, leans lazily back against the wall – double fisting their coffees – and watches her through the open bathroom door as she studies herself in the mirror. Red eyes narrowed and rapidly blinking, she finally manages to pull out the rubber band and begin picking at one of the more gnarly knots left in its wake. “Can you even see what you’re doing?” he asks, cocking his head and watching with a mirth-filled gaze as she inclines closer to the mirror.

“No,” she despairs finally, dropping her hands and frowning at the blurry mess of a reflection.

Bucky lets out another little laugh and scoots into the small room behind her, delicately stepping over a felled towel. He sets down the mugs on the cluttered countertop and ticks his chin towards them. “I didn’t know how you like it,” he says, leaning over and grabbing a bottle of detangler from off the side of the tub. “But there’s milk and sugar, if you want.”

“Black’s fine,” she breathes out, reaching for one of the mugs. “Like my soul.”

“Sure,” he smirks, an utterly disbelieving expression showing in the mirror as he steps back behind her and begins to spray down her hair.

A single, luscious sip of the thick, dark liquid is all it takes for Annie’s senses to begin to waken, to register the heat permeating off the body at her back and the heavenly smell of the coffee in her hand, the delicate scent of the detangler spurting out behind her curling round it. Her red-rimmed eyes remain trained on the man in the mirror as he thoroughly wets down her wild locks in Johnson & Johnson spray. “You gonna comb it out for me too?” she asks, cocking a teasing eyebrow high.

He glances up at her in the mirror, wiggling his own brows in response as he holds up a bright pink brush, pressed-on Disney princess stickers peeling from its back. “I’ll have you know, I’m an expert at this. You’re damn lucky I’m here.”

She stifles a laugh – can’t quite hide the beaming smile, though – and takes another sip of her coffee before leaning back her head and letting him brush through her hair. “Just full of surprises,” she quips lightly as he makes quick work of the thick tangles.

“I’m a man of many talents,” he mutters behind her, his face set and stern as he focuses on the task at hand.

He’s not lying when he says he’s an expert at detangling. She barely feels a thing as he brushes through, firmly laying an open palm at the back of her skull as he runs down the length of her tresses. She finds herself wondering how bad Lana’s thick, curly hair must get that he’s managed to gain enough practice to perfect these moves. It’s sweet, she thinks to herself, her gently waking mind beginning to wander.

She hadn’t known that he was a father when her crush on Bucky first sprang to life a handful of months ago, didn’t realize that there was a little girl who sat at the very center of his world. But meeting Lana that day at the garage – and seeing the two of them together – very quickly made her realize that there was no him without her.

And she liked that.

Annie had never dated a single dad before, never sought one out… nor avoided them like the plague, unlike so many of her friends. Aside from the handful of failed attempts her father made at getting back into the scene, the only real experience she’d ever had with dating dads was when her college roommate found out that her boyfriend had a kid he’d never told her about. She’ll never forget sitting on the dingy dormitory floor with her, lamenting in tandem how awful it was that this man had effectively hidden the fact that he had a young son from her for months. It wasn’t even the lying and secrecy that troubled Annie so much – though her friend was pretty damn upset about that part. It was the fact that anyone could compartmentalize a child. The fact that he could so easily separate the two sides of himself – the father and the boyfriend, the caregiver and the lover – made her question his overall integrity… and his virtue as a human being.

The truth is, any man who’s able to so easily disentangle himself from his own kid – to swiftly abandon such responsibility and love – isn’t a man she’d care to get to know further. But Bucky? He’s been nothing but utterly transparent – not only about just having a daughter, but about the role she plays in his life… in who he is. And damn if that doesn’t set off a budding excitement deep down inside that makes her desperate to know more.

She glances back at his reflection in the mirror, sees his eyes narrowing in deep concentration as he works his way through the final, most unruly knot of all. Her still bleary eyes take in the thick wave to his own hair. And she bites down on her bottom lip to suppress the urge to reach back and run her hands through it.

It’s no more than a few minutes before he frees her, setting down the big, pink brush and offering an accomplished nod before picking his coffee back up and sidestepping out the door. “Better take out those contacts,” he tosses over his shoulder, never catching – thankfully – the hooded desire clouding her gaze.

She frowns suddenly, blinking around the fire in her eyes. “I don’t have another pair,” she mumbles blankly. “Or my glasses.”

He pops his head back into the bathroom, wide grin on his face as he says slyly, “Guess I’ll just have to drive you home in the Cobra myself, then. Wouldn’t want you wrecking such a beauty.”

000

He does drive the Cobra, in fact. Though not back to her place. By the time they’re ready to go – sugary cereal and another cup of coffee filling them both up – it’s late enough that she begs him to just take her straight into work.

He shakes his head in a sort of disappointed chide, no doubt wanting to reprimand her for spending too much time at work – at least, she assumes that’s the case, because his expression mirrors her sister’s perfectly when she confronts her over that heavily debated issue. But he agrees nonetheless, wide grin never leaving his face as he drives the perfect convertible deep into Manhattan, down to the Stark Industries tower at its heart.

Annie rushes off to her office to change – pulling her glasses from her desk too so she can finally see – and returns with an out-of-breath thank you, a bright and beaming smile, and a nervous, delicate kiss to his cheek. She arranges to have a town car take him back to the garage – “There are always snacks in the back,” she tells him sneakily. “Be sure to grab some cookies for Lana before you get out.” – and lingers out on the sidewalk, waving goodbye as it pulls away.

He texts – no more than thirty seconds later – asking if he can take her to dinner. Tonight… tomorrow… any damn night of the week.

She’s about to text him back – thumbs lingering over the phone, bottom lip pulled taut between her teeth, only barely staving off the wide smile tugging at her face – when an all too familiar voice sounds playfully – and a bit intrusively – from the doorway. “Whatcha doin’?” Tony asks, watching her with more than a hint of amusement as she perches with her hip atop her desk, staring longing down at the phone in her hand.

She lets out a small, surprised gasp, eyes shooting up to see him leaning lazily on the doorjamb, ankles and arms both casually crossed. “Tony,” she mutters by way of hello. Or perhaps by way of fuck off.

He unfolds his limbs and saunters into the small office. “Saw you come in on the security cam,” he says, idly raking a finger over the side of her desk as he approaches. He sidles up beside her, leans on the dark oak with his hip butting up next to hers, and reaches out to give a small tug at the gray suit jacket she only just put on. “Didn’t look like you were wearing this.” He raises a curious – and also rather knowing – brow. “Looked more like you were wearing the same thing you had on yesterday.”

She shifts to face him, narrowing her eyes. “Aren’t you supposed to be in Sri Lanka?”

He shrugs – “Left last night.” – and swipes at his palms in a gesture of finality. “Made the deal… moved on.”

She pulls away and circles the desk to drop down into the small office chair behind it. “These are the kinds of things you should keep me in the loop on, you know?” she mutters, entering in her password and quickly scrolling through the daily and weekly schedule on her computer. “Looks like you were supposed to have a nine o’clock with the CEO of – ”

“Yeah, yeah,” he interrupts blithely, waving a dismissive hand through the air. “I canceled it. It’s fine. No messes for you to clean up this time. I promise.” She raises a wary brow. “I promise.”

“Alright,” she capitulates, swiftly pushing the thick-rimmed glasses back up her nose. “In that case, you should probably check in with Pepper and see what she needs you to do.”

He lets out a loud psh. “She’s got it under control.”

Annie looks up at him from over the top of the glasses. “Tony, your wedding is in a month.”

“Six weeks,” he argues blandly. “Six and a half weeks.” He slides to the very corner of the desk, twisting further to face her as a sly expression takes over her face. “And don’t you try to distract me from your love life by citing my own. I’m not that easily swayed.”

Her head drops, eyes turning back to the computer screen before her as she lets out a warning, “Tony.”

“I checked on the Cobra first,” he goes on, unaffected by her lame threat. “Everything looks good.” He shrugs. “I didn’t notice any bodily fluids anywhere, but… should I get the blacklight?”

“Tony!” she shrieks, jolting upright in her chair. A bright blush shoots up her neck, causing him to almost giggle with delight.

“Is that a no?”

She releases a small, rather despondent-sounding grunt. “No. Of course you don’t need a… blacklight. God. Who do you think I am?”

He shrugs, absently fiddling with the pens kept in the Good Morning, Sunshine! mug at the corner of her desk. He frowns down at the far too jolly smiling sun on the cup and mutters, “I think you’re a woman who needs to get laid.”

She leans back with a huff. “Tony, we’ve had this discussion. You can’t say things like that to an employee.”

“One day I’m going to put you in charge of HR,” he says, his tone almost threatening.

She settles a stern stare on him and begins a slow, steady rock in her chair. “Maybe I’d like to head up HR.”

He waves a dismissive hand through the air. “Nah, you like people too much to be one of those soul crushers. You’re better than that.” He pushes off the desk and waggles a pointed finger at her. “You,” he intones deliberately. “I have plans for you.”

“Well,” she breathes out, pulling herself back up to her desk and shooting a quick glance at the chiming reminder on her computer. “I hope that someday you’ll tell me about them.” Her eyes fixate on the new emails – nothing of any import, but a decent distraction all the same – as something churns and whirs with anticipation deep down in her gut.

“Someday I will,” he announces. “But in the meantime, I want you to at least try to focus on your personal life. I mean… not so much that you’re not here for me every time I need you…”

“So, every minute of the day?” she chirps with a sardonic lilt.

“But… well, I think you should at least try to find someone worthwhile to bring to my wedding.”

She looks up at him, a bemused expression building as a small grin grows. “Are you saying I should ask Bucky to be my plus one?”

He rolls his eyes – “No.” – and then drops a languid sigh. “I don’t know, kid. Are you sure about this one?” Her brows tug together confusedly, sparking a slight chuckle from her boss. “I get that the whole mechanic thing is a turn on for you. And, sure… I’ve seen the guy…” His face pulls into a teasing smirk, brows wiggling wildly. “Hot to trot.”

“Tony,” she chokes out amid a soft, bubbling chortle.

“But,” he goes on, tone turning somber. “He’s got a kid. And an ex. And that’s a lot of baggage for someone your age.”

“I’m almost thirty,” she tells him pointedly.

“Which is young. Trust me.”

“Tony,” she starts, tone matter of fact. “I’m okay with the kid. And the ex… although, I haven’t actually met her yet.” She drops a quick shrug.

He stares at her for a long moment, pensive expression settling on his face. “You’ll never come first, you know,” he utters finally, a tenderness to his voice. “I think you deserve to come first.”

Her eyes shift away from his achingly sincere stare. And she shrugs again, a tightness in her shoulders anchoring the forced casual gesture as she lets his words seep into her. “We’ve only been on a couple of dates anyway,” she intones softly. “It’s not like… it’s not like I’m expecting anything. We’re just… having fun.”

He nods, lips pursing. “Fun is good. You deserve fun too.”

Her lips quirk into a crooked smirk. “I deserve so much,” she mocks lightly.

He raises a brow, gives her as stern a look as he can muster. “I’m just trying to look out for you, kid.”

“I know,” she capitulates easily. “But, like I said, right now… this isn’t anything… serious. It’s not like you need to start your security checks just yet.”

“Oh, I ran those weeks ago. He’s clean. Mostly. One arrest in his early twenties… drunken disorderly. But… who among us, am I right?” She raises a rather rebuking brow. “Yeah. No, not you, obviously. Which is kind of my point. You’re… good, Annie. And that means you deserve good. And I’m not saying that this Bucky isn’t good. I’m just saying that you need to make sure he’s… good for you. Before you let yourself get too charmed. I met him, remember?” He shrugs, that teasing glint returning to his eye. “I was charmed.”

“Okay, Tony. Thank you,” she says, rising from her seat and taking hold of his arm. “Thank you for your concern. And for your… wisdom.”

He spins as she ushers him to the door. “Thank you for seeing that I’m so wise.”

She gives him a small shove out into the hall, soft chuckle spilling from her lips as she says, “I promise to be careful. Okay?”

He snorts in response, tiniest grin pulling at his lips, and he cocks his chin toward the cell left abandoned on her desk. “Better go text him back,” he intones lightly. “Nothing kills a budding romance like ghosting a potential suitor right after spending the night with him.”

000

By the time Bucky makes it back to Brooklyn, it’s after nine, the shop already having been open for over an hour, though he has a hard time feeling guilty about being late after Steve’s blatant tardiness the day before. Until, that is, a long and drawn-out whine greets him the moment he steps through the door.

“Daddy,” Svetlana drones as she hops directly into his path. Her tiny hands are tightly fisted, resting on her hips as she stares him down with an overdone frown. “You’re late!”

He stops short and quickly bends over to sweep her up into his arms. “I know, baby doll,” he breathes out gently. “I’m sorry.” He gives her a little jostle – and a wide, wily smile – as he moves towards the counter where Steve stands, finishing up with a drop-off. He glances to the side and sees a giant donut box sitting open on the counter next to a half-empty bottle of apple juice, and he rolls his eyes at his friend’s utterly predicable attempt at breakfast.

Steve shoots Bucky a grin and tells the man in front of him – who looks way too damn old to be driving –  that his Caddy should be ready by four. Then, after nodding a thanks to the old man and turning his attention entirely to his friend, he cocks a teasing brow and asks, “Where were you?” The question comes out with more than a hint of innuendo, his bright blue eyes positively gleaming as he waits for a response.

Bucky merely shrugs, still too preoccupied with erasing the glum look from his little girl’s face. “Did you miss me that much?” he asks Lana, pressing his lips into her curls and breathing in the soft scent of lavender baby shampoo. She says nothing, simply nods and wraps her arms tight around his neck, curling in close. “You smell good,” he prattles into her hair. “You get a bath last night?”

“Yeah,” she sighs out, voice sounding oddly dejected. He gives her another light bounce and she lets go of his neck, pulls back from him a bit so she can look him in the eye when she declares, “I like it at mama’s because… ‘cause… I can be a fish. Or a turtle. Or… or…” She spins in his grip and looks to Steve for guidance.

“A mermaid,” he croons with a wide grin as he leans casually over the counter.

“Yeah.” She shoves her hair out of her eyes, a hint of frustration blooming in her still-sour face as she squints at the sun filtering in through the wall of windows. “But… but… she don’t have all the bubbles.”

He smiles to himself, thinking about the absolutely astounded look on his baby’s face when he brought home a bubble bath variety pack a few weeks back. “Well, we can’t all be perfect,” he mutters lightly as she curls into him once again, scrunching her face and shifting to bury herself deeper into his chest. She huffs out an irritated breath and he glances up at Steve, shooting him a questioning look.

He lets out a long sigh. “Somebody didn’t want to go to bed last night,” he explains, raising an accusatory brow as he ducks his head to peek at the well-hidden little girl. “Too excited to hang out with mommy.”

She lets out a small grunt and tucks herself further into Bucky, rubbing her face into his chest as she turns away from Steve with apparent disdain.

“Uh-huh,” Bucky mumbles, hiking her a bit higher with his left arm as his right hand winds into her dark hair. “And Natasha was too happy to be back home to tell her she had to go to bed.” Steve’s lips quirk down as he lets out a casual shrug. “And even though this baby is tired as can be, you filled her up on sugar,” he says, eyes ticking towards the mostly empty donut box on the counter. “Am I right?”

“Svetlana,” he utters, voice a low, conspiratorial whisper as he tries once again to reach her. “I think your dad is on to us.”

Bucky merely rolls his eyes as his hips begin a slow sway, the little girl’s body growing steadily heavier in his arms as he gently rocks her.

“Either that,” Steve starts again, teasing glint returning to his gaze, “or he’s just using you to avoid telling us where he was all morning.”

“I texted to tell you I’d be late,” he returns, the words spilling softly from his lips, just above the crown of Lana’s head.

“You did,” he hums with a nod. “But that still doesn’t answer the question… where were you? And who were you with?”

Another eyeroll, this one even deeper. Yet he can’t quite keep the small, crooked smile from splitting his face, even as he offers a short snort in response. He turns away from Steve and pulls back a bit, ducking his chin to look down at his little girl, her tired, glassy eyes still open and blinking up at him. “What else did you do last night, huh, baby?” he asks, eager to avoid the knowing smirk plastered across his friend’s face.

But of course, Steve’s not one to back down. Not ever. Hell, if he knew how to effectively shut that guy up, he’d have been able to save him from his fair share of ass beatings… probably would’ve been able to save himself from a few as well. “What did you do last night?” the blond counters cheekily, winking over at the pair.

Lana lets out a long yawn, ignores her uncle entirely, and tells Bucky, “We had spaghetti and meatballs. And then dinosaurs.”

“You had dinosaurs?” he asks, eyes widening as he gazes down at her. “Did Steve put ‘em on the grill for you, or did you have to eat ‘em raw?”

“No, daddy,” she says, leaning back in his grip again and slapping him dully in the chest. “They’re on TV.”

“We watched a movie,” Steve corrects with a soft laugh.  

He looks up at him with an accusatory note. “Please tell me it wasn’t Jurassic Park.”

He scoffs. “Are you nuts? She’s with us for the next three days. I’d only show her something that’ll give her nightmares on a night that you have her.”

“Littlefoot,” Lana murmurs softly before pressing her thumb into her mouth, tucking herself back into her father’s hold, and letting her eyes finally flutter shut.

Bucky huffs out a sigh, his hips still absently swaying in a soothing rhythm for the girl in his arms. “I hope you’re happy,” he whispers over the top of her head as she burrows deeper into his chest. “She’s not gonna nap this afternoon now.” He sets off for the back office, taking short, lazy steps along the way.

Steve follows hot on his heels. “S’fine,” he offers with a shrug, hopping in front of him to swing open the door. He turns and digs around in the corner, eager to find the fleece Cars blanket that lives here for just these occasions. “That’s pre-K’s problem.”

“Uh huh,” Bucky mutters, pacing slowly back and forth in the small space for a few minutes more. He coos gently to the baby in his arms, pressing his nose to her hair and giving her the occasional small bounce, a habit picked up from when she was so tiny and delicate – and also loud as fuck. He’d had no idea that a baby’s wails could reach that earsplitting decibel, nor that he would ever be so desperate to make a noise stop. Natasha’s presence seemed to calm her right away, back in those first days and weeks. But Bucky… he had to work for it, building different routines of pacing and swaying, rocking and bouncing, shushing and cooing until finally some combination of them all might get her to settle.

Steve waits until he can hear the small, telltale snores of sleep emanating from the little girl, and he steps back to let Bucky gently deposit her onto the sofa by the window. Then he drapes the blanket over her, tucking it loosely around her curled-up form. “I’m gonna have to call them and tell them she’ll be in late,” he mumbles to himself before pressing a quick kiss to her temple.

“Yeah,” Bucky murmurs distractedly as he waits for Steve to follow him out of the office so he can pull the door most of the way shut. They step back over to the counter at the front of the shop and he pats down his pockets, just now remembering the cookies he’d stashed from the town car. He pulls them out and drops them into the open box of donuts before plucking the last remaining blueberry cruller and biting into it.

“Uh,” Steve starts, staring blankly at the cookies. “Where did those come from?”

He swallows down the pastry and glares at his friend for a moment, seeming to think long and hard about just how much he really wants to share, unsure if it might come back to bite him. Ultimately, though… “Annie stayed the night and she slept with her contacts in… couldn’t really see in the morning, so I drove her to work and she sent me here in a town car. Which had snacks,” spills swiftly out of him. Then he shrugs, casual as can be, and shoves the rest of the donut into his mouth.

Steve stares, slack jawed and silent, the corners of his lips ever so slowly rising into a coy smile. “She stayed the night?” he asks, shoulders pulling back and face taking on an almost exhilarated glow.

“Relax, pal,” he tells him, scrubbing his sticky hands clean with a loose napkin and reaching around the counter for a bottle of water. “She slept on the couch.”

His brows curl together. “Okay… but before she hit the couch…”

Bucky can’t help the playful grin that graces his features, his head shaking back and forth as he watches his friend rock expectantly on the balls of his feet, excitedly fishing for gossip. “What, now that you’re all settled, you need to live vicariously through someone else?”

“I’ve always lived vicariously through you, Buck,” he says as though it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “And besides, I’m not excited for me, I’m excited for you.”

“Really?” he asks, voice swimming in cynicism.

Steve pulls back a bit, face tightening, genuinely affronted. “Yeah, really.”

Bucky merely takes a long pull of the water, nodding absently but saying nothing in return.

“What, you think…” He shakes his head, confusion washing over his features. Confusion and… dismay. “I don’t get it,” he says softly. “I like Annie. I mean, I only just met her. But she seems great. And you… you deserve someone great.”

He gives him a bit of a snake-eyed glare, eyes narrowed incredulously. “Someone great or just someone?”

“What? Buck… what are you talking about?”

“C’mon,” he says, a bit of nonchalance slipping into his otherwise stilted tone. “You and Nat want me to find someone so you don’t have to keep feeling guilty.”

Steve’s eyes blow wide. “Uh, no. No, that’s not it at all.” He looks across the counter at his friend, solemnity clouding the piercing blue of his eyes. “We don’t feel guilty. Not anymore, anyway. I thought… I thought we were past that.”

Bucky swallows thickly, his breath stuttering in his chest. “I… we are… but…”

He shakes his head languidly, a bit of a frown tugging at his lips. “Buck, we just want you to be happy. And not because… because we feel guilty or, I don’t know, bad about anything that happened. Because the way things happened… You and Nat had been broken up for a long time.”

“I know that,” he interjects stiffly.

“We want you to be happy because we love you.”

His eyes shift away, gaze turning down towards the counter and focusing on each and every chip and scuff that mars its surface. “I know,” he admits, sounding all too regretful. He looks up after a moment, feeling Steve’s eyes boring into him the entire time. “I know,” he says again with a tight nod.

He raises a brow and offers a quick nod himself, a wordless, good, glad you get it. And he asks again, “So, what did you do last night?”

Bucky lets out a long, deflating sigh, shoulders drooping as he drops his elbows to the counter and leans heavily atop it. “We… I don’t know,” he mutters, almost sounding as though the whole thing is just too painful to talk about.

Steve groans. “You know, back in the day, you had no problem telling me all about your sexual escapades. Even when I – politely – asked you to shut the hell up about them.”

“First of all,” he intones, raising a brow at the man across from him, “I mostly did that because you told me to shut the hell up.” A small shit-eating grin tugs at his lips. “You’d blush so hard,” he teases with a short chuckle.

“Shaddup.”

“Second of all,” he announces, pulling himself upright, “there were no sexual escapades. Get your mind outta the gutter.”

He shrugs. “So what did you guys do? I wanna know. I gotta see how it stacks up to my night with spaghetti and mermaids and dinosaurs.” He cocks a brow and ticks a sly smile. “We also had a magical tea party before bath time. Can you beat that?”

He thinks about the princess dress – and the fairy wand that Annie found just after dinner and used on him, casting magical spells that resulted in a rather weird and kind of lame game of truth or dare – and he grins to himself, cradling the memory deep down inside. “No. Can’t quite beat that.”

“But… you said you drove the Cobra this morning?”

“Yeah,” he returns, a bright sort of enthusiasm washing over him. “And a little last night.” He gives a subtle shrug. “Annie was pretty tired after we stopped for ice cream, so she let me drive for a bit.”

“Back to your place?” he asks, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

“Yes, back to my place. Where we talked, ate Chinese food, and went to sleep. Then I helped get her to work this morning, and… that’s it.”

He lets out an almost surprised sounding, “Hm,” earning him little more than a questioning look from his friend, a rather impatient look, truth be told. “I don’t think you’ve mentioned talking to a girl in a long time,” he says then, expression thoughtful.

Bucky’s countenance cracks, his forehead wrinkling in confusion. “What do you mean?”

He shrugs. “Well, it seems like every date you’ve been on over the last few years has either been a disaster or, you know… a one night stand. I don’t think I’ve heard you say that you’ve spent time actually talking to someone in a while.”

His eyes tick nervously away. “I guess.”

“And you liked it?”

“Talking to her? Yeah, sure. I told you, she’s nice.”

Steve nods, brilliant smile pulling across his face. “So you’re going to see her again? I mean, two dates filled with talking… this could be big.”

The expression on his face is so over-the-top excited that Bucky can’t help but laugh, even through the rather intense eyeroll. “Yeah, I’m gonna see her again,” he replies, corners of his mouth shifting and setting into a beaming grin. “I like her. Alright? Is that what you want me to say? You want me to admit that I like her?”

He laughs as well – bright and buoyant – nodding all the while. “Yeah, man. That’s exactly what I want you to say.”

[meganshinsou-tm]

Crimson|Ink (m.)

↳ chapter three: lying from you

❧ genre:  tattoo-shop/hitmen au | tattoo artist/hitman kirishima

❧ fic warning: major character(s) death; happy ending

❧ chapter warnings: none

❧ chapter song: Lying From You by Linkin Park

♬crimson|ink playlist | ♧ character profiles | artist credit

[multi-chap masterlist] [previous chapter - next chapter]

"Who?"

Denki grit his teeth as electricity sparked from his palms, "(Y/N), you asshole! What did you say to her to make her cry!"

Kirishima's face went from amused to blank. Even if making you hate him was his end goal, he never meant to make you cry. 

Sighing, the red-head went back to cleaning up his mess from before, finally setting his tattoo machine and used utensils back on the tray. Kaminari wasn't happy with his lack of response and sent a bolt of electricity to the metal rolling tray. Kirishima was fast enough to remove his hands from the object and gave the yellow-haired male a look of disbelief.

"Dude what the fuck is your problem! You hardly even know the girl, now you want to fight for her?"

"Whether I know her or not, it's uncool to make a woman cry you moron. You've been a real dick to her ever since she stepped foot in here, for no reason! What the fuck is your problem!"

The two glared at each other and were at a stand-off. Sero and Bakugou had finally made their way to the room, both stopping at the doorway and staring at their friends who were in a fighting stance. Sero went to break everything up but the blonde held him back by the shoulder. He wanted to see how this played out, to confirm his suspicions. 

Kirishima looked over Denki's shoulder to Bakugou.

"Are you gonna let him really just start some random fight with me over some dumb girl, right here?"

Kirishima’s words only added fuel to Denki's fire and the electric male lunged at him. Kiri was taken off guard and actually tackled to the ground. Immediately Denki was using his quirk to subdue his much stronger friend. Kirishima hissed and growled as he was legitimately shocked a few times before he could harden his skin and pushed Denki off of him.

"What did you say ass-wipe," Denki sneered as he threw a punch to Kirishima's jaw.

As if a strike of luck, Kirishima had let go of his quirk the second before the incoming fist made contact with his face. Shockingly the hit rocked him on his heels, his hand went up to rub his jaw as he moved it around. Rage finally settled in his veins when Denki smirked and chuckled at him. A “you fucker,” came from his lips before he lunged at his friends waist and drove him into the ground, causing them both to slide to Sero and Bakugou's feet. Quickly, Kiri had his foe turned over on his stomach and his arms pinned behind his back, holding his face to the ground.

"I said we didn't need her around here, and we don't! You all fucking know that! Why are you suddenly letting some pretty pair of eyes make you forget what we really are huh? When I said we need someone to work here, I meant someone like us, not some random girl that can be a liability," Kirishima growled looking up from Denki and to his other friends.

A booted foot came into contact with his forehead, forcefully pushing him off of Denki. Sero bent down and helped his friend up to his feet. Bakugou smirked and walked over to Kirishima, crouching before him, both sets of red eyes burning holes into the others soul.

"You don't think I thought about that dipshit? Sure taking this job will put her in danger, but who better to protect her then us huh, and I know you'd be the first fucking one to take a bullet for her if it came down to it, wouldn't you?"

The red-heads eyes widened and he gulped. 

In the background Sero groaned at the sudden realization, Denki of course was still left behind. He quirked a yellow brow at his friend and questioned what that meant. Sero rolled his black eyes and flicked Denki's forehead. 

"He's fucking in love with her you moron."

"What? If he likes her so much then why was he being a massive dick to her," Denki replied throwing his hands up.

"I don't fucking love that brat, far from it," Kirishima growled and pushed Bakugou away so he could stand to his feet.

"Not yet at least," Bakugou chuckled and stood up.

Kirishima ignored the blonde and went to discarding the used needles and equipment from your tattoo session. He couldn't believe what was happening to him right now. Of course Bakugou would be the one to see right through him, it's been that way for years. 

The red-head may look and seem intimidating from the outside, but deep down he was a major teddy bear and believed in shit like love and finding the one. It only depressed him even more knowing that that life would probably never happen for him, not in his line of work. It was too dangerous for him to get attached and reciprocate feelings for another, to let them into his life. He already had five other people to worry about, he didn't need to add you to the list. Not after they all had failed one of their leaders already.

"Anyone have a way of getting in contact with her," Bakugou questioned, making Kirishima freeze and turn around.

Denki immediately spoke up and waved his phone in the air, "I got lil'mama's number right here!"

"Okay, how did you get her number before me or plain face over here," Bakugou questioned and snatched the phone from his hand.

Kaminari just smiled and ruffled his hair, "A good player never reveals his tricks of the trade gentlemen, I'm sorry."

Sero scoffed and slapped the back of the yellow-haired males head, causing him to yelp and glare. 

"You're no player Kami, just a dumbass."

"Thems fighting words man, wanna go?"

Sero chuckled and quickly pulled Denki under his arm in a choke hold, ruffling his hair and teasing about how he just got his ass kicked by Kirishima. Denki struggled under Sero's wonky elbow and whined to be freed.

"That's enough idiots. Denki, get ahold of (Y/N), see if she wants to grab coffee or something with you and Sero and you two get her back here ready to work," Bakugou commanded tossing the phone back to Denki.

Kirishima growled and stormed towards Bakugou, fuming and steaming at the ears, "Are you fucking serious? Didn't I just say –"

"Yeah I heard ya shitty hair, but you don't make the decisions around here!"

"Neither do you asshole," Kirishima replied as he went to punch Bakugou.

The blonde deflected his attack by grabbing his wrist and bringing his knee up to Kirishima's torso with so much force he hunched over and gasped for air. Holding and twisting his arm back, Bakugou leaned in close to Kirishima's ear.

"No I don't, I didn't want that shitty title, but I do have his ear in all the final decisions. I'm also your elder and I think you need to remember your fucking place before I have to remind you."

Kirishima panted and side eyed the blonde who was grinning at him. Sero and Denki both whistled and looked everywhere but the altercation happening before them, swaying back and forth on their heels as they tried to keep from snickering.

"You and I both know we need some extra help up here if we want to find the fucker that killed Yagi. Having a plain normal girl will help to keep our own 'normal' image up, plus she's destined to bring in more business with that quirk of hers and maybe we can finally get out of this shitty role. You can have everything you want, including her, without any worries or fears. Until then you know we always protect our own, and no one will even think about touching a pretty little hair on her pretty little head. Do I make myself clear?"

Kirishima grunted and pulled, but Bakugou's grip only tightened. 

The red-head didn't want to give in, he didn't want you around at all. He knew he'd go crazy having to see your face every day, smell your intoxicating scent and hear your sweet voice. He'd be forced to see that damned smile and those massive eyes. You'd become the death of him, and Bakugou was right, no matter how much he wanted you to hate him, he'd still take a bullet for you.

Kirishima didn't know why he was so head over heels for you already, maybe it really was love at first sight. Since seeing your unhealed scar, he felt the need to protect you, to know more and to go find the monster who did that to you. You'd be so much better off had you not walked into that shop, now you had everyone intrigued and gunning for your return and stay. Kirishima knew he'd be outnumbered and knew he should quit while he was ahead.

Sighing and finally relaxing, Kirishima nodded, "Crystal."

Bakugou immediately released his friend and helped him to stand straight again, nudging his shoulder with a grin before turning to Sero and Denki.

Raising his hand, Denki cleared his throat before speaking, "Not that I'm complaining or anything but why do we have to fix his fuck up?"

"Because you idiot, you really think she wants to talk to this asshole again? I expect you at least try to apologize to (Y/N) the next time you see her. We're a family here, we don't have to like each other but we respect each other, got it?"

All three of the men in the room nodded and agreed with their elder. Before leaving, Bakugou made sure to remind Denki of his task and that he'd be making his own phone call. Sero followed after the blonde, leaving Denki and Kirishima to their selves. 

Kirishima turned and started to clean up his studio, grabbing disinfectant and spraying down the tattoo chair. Denki walked over and took the bottle and sprayed the empty tray and counter tops before taking some paper towels from the red-head. They worked together cleaning the room before Kirishima gathered his things and they headed out.

"Look I'm sorry bro. I didn't know your reasoning. I just lose it when I see someone crying. I just got this overwhelming big brother vibe and I wanted to defend her."

Kirishima smiled and placed a hand on his friends shoulder, giving it a squeeze. "It's no problem man, I needed my ass kicked. It wasn't manly of me to treat her that way, but it's all I can think to do."

"So does this mean you're still going to be an ass to her?"

Kiri nodded and frowned, "I can't let her think she has a chance, not if it means endangering her life. The less she knows about us the better. If me being a jerk to her will make it easier for her to leave when the time comes then I'll do it. I don't want another body to bury."

Denki sighed and shrugged his shoulders, "Bakugou is right though, we'll protect her, so why not change?"

"It's complicated dude, and I'm tired. Let's just drop it."

The two had finally made their way back to the front of the shop. Sero and Bakugou were talking among themselves before turning to look at them, who had obviously made up by now. Denki and Kirishima gave each other a firm fist bump and the yellow-haired male smiled and chuckled before crossing his arms behind his head and sauntering to his other friends.

"Well my dudes, until Rockhead over here stops acting so dumb, that little dime is free real-estate!"

You sighed and checked the time on your phone as you walked from the vehicle and towards a coffee shop. You looked at the name of the shop before re-reading the text Denki had sent you, just to make sure it was the right place. 

A gust of chilly wind flew by, making your scarf almost fly away until a familiar cheerful voice sounded off.

"I got it cutie!"

Turning around a smile grew on your face upon seeing Denki jog your way with scarf in hand as his other clasped the collar of his coat close to his face. Sero trotted behind him pulling his beanie over his ears. You were happy to see both of their friendly faces and eagerly gave them both a hug, Denki went the extra mile and pecked your cheek, making you blush and playfully shove him.

"Let's get your cute butt inside before you freeze to death," he suggested and motioned you towards the door.

Sero ran to open it for you and nodded when you gave him a 'thank you'. Once inside the three of you ordered drinks, to which Sero insisted on paying for. There was no arguing since Denki pulled you away and to a table close by a window, leaving the black-haired male on his own. You gave him an apologetic smile and you could swear he blushed. Denki pulled your stool out and took your hand gently to help you up and onto it. He sat in a stool right next to you and rather close, making your knees brush and flashing you a literal heart stopping smile.

"Okay Denki, why am I here? I can just tell you have something up your sleeve."

"Aww, what if I genuinely wanted to spend time with you cutie, would that be so bad," he questioned and batted his lashes.

"No, it wouldn't but you're really laying on the charm right now, and if you wanted to spend time with me, I think you'd want to alone. Sero being here has me suspicious, like he's your wing-man for something."

Denki smirked and brushed back a strand of (h/c) hair that fell in your face. "Alright shorty, you got me. We're on a mission, to get you back into the shop and working for us."

If you had your drink you would've spit it out instantly from the laughter spewing from your mouth. At the right time Sero had popped up, drinks in hand and asked what was so funny.

"You two thinking that I'd even consider working at that shop, that's what's funny."

"Aww, come on (Y/N), hear us out please, if we don't return with good news Bakugou is bound to throttle us!"

You quirked a brow and sipped on your warm tea, Sero sat down on the opposite side of you and Denki. 

Why Bakugou wanted you there so bad had you intrigued. He was the one to mention it and offer the spot to you but you didn't understand why he seemed so hellbent on getting you back there. Or why any of them did, except for that red-headed jerk. If he wasn't there you honestly wouldn't think twice about the job. Who wouldn't love to work in a shop full of drop dead gorgeous tattooed men, overbearingly flirty ones at that.

"What does Bakugou want with me?"

Denki chuckled and raised a brow, "Among many things, he mainly wants you to work for us. Be our image when people first walk into the door."

"Remember I told you, we don't get a lot of female clientele," Sero questioned before taking a sip of his coffee. "Our shop can be the nicest and most modern looking shop on the street, but when most chicks walk in and see Bakugou's mad face or Kirishima's soul crushing eyes they tuck tail and run in the opposite direction. We thought if we had someone cute, feminine, sweet looking then maybe it could bring in more business. Plus, we have some other things going on as well, and having an extra hand around to answer the phone, emails, make appointments and such would be a major help."

You looked at your cup, the tip of your fingers tracing the rim of it as you took in Sero's words. You wanted to help them out, really. Being new to the area, you could use the job, the money, the friends. Also working with a band of heavily tattooed and intimidating looking guys wouldn't be so bad for other reasons. You just couldn't get over the fact though that Kiri seemed to despise you so much, for no reason. He went as far as to say the job wasn't even real and –

"I thought you guys didn't need me," you coldly replied, remembering the way Kiri said it to you.

Denki placed his hand on your forearm and Sero placed his on yours that laid on the table. You didn't flinch or seem taken off guard, you felt comfortable around these guys. You looked up to see Sero softly smiling at you with a gentle squeeze of your hand.

"Look, I know Kirishima was a jackass to you and you don't deserve that at all."

"Damn straight you don't, in fact I defended your honor and opened up a can of whoop ass on him," Denki chimed in.

"You didn't," you replied with a snort.

"He tried, Kiri won though, but it was a valiant gesture," Sero nodded and smiled at Denki. "Even Bakugou chewed him out for you. You see (Y/N), one of us may be a total dick, but the rest of us have your back. We'll keep his hard-headed ass in line, I'll tape his mouth shut if I need to, Denki will attempt to shock the shit out of him and Bakugou will blast him into oblivion."

A smile spread across your face from Sero and Denki trying their hardest to butter you up and get you to say yes. They were completely at your mercy. 

You turned to look at the golden eyed man next to you, he smiled and laid his head on your shoulder, whimping like a puppy, pouting his bottom lip. You and Sero both laughed and looked at each other, he gave you a flat lipped smile and pleading expression. Both the men were doing a damn good job at being cute and irresistible, no wonder Bakugou sent them together, it was a fool proof plan.

"I'll even bring you breakfast every morning," Sero added.

"And I'll bring you lunch!" Denki nearly shouted.

Biting on your lip you thought it over, mainly about how you'd deal with Kirishima. You couldn't just ignore and stoop down to his level of petty. You still wanted to try and make nice with him, maybe it was an off day and there was hope. Something about him made you want to try and try, even if it meant meeting rejection at each turn. He was a challenge no doubt and you sort of liked that. Plus the offerings of free food helped.

"Please, with a cherry on top," they both sung in unison.

You sighed and bit your lip, trying to hide the goofy smile that wanted to surface.

"Goddammit, okay fine! I'll do it!"

"SHE'S GONNA DO IT LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! SHE'S DOING IT," Kaminari yelled and threw his hands up into the air, making you and everyone else in the quiet coffee shop jump.

You tugged on the hem of his shirt and yanked him back into his seat quickly, placing your hand over his mouth with wide eyes as you chuckled. 

"Shut the fuck up you crazy person!"

Denki smiled and grabbed your wrist, pulling it off of his mouth and placing a kiss to the top of it. You blushed and pinched his cheek before leaning forward and placing a kiss to it. The male thought he died and went to heaven as he hummed and went all starry eyed. 

"Thank you Denki, for defending me."

"I'll do it over and over again if it means I get more of those!"

"Hey, you already have her number and got a kiss, give the rest of us a shot man!"

You looked at Sero and smiled, brushing your thumb on his hand that still held yours. For the remainder of your get together, Sero went over what your duties at the shop would be. 

Real simple stuff, keeping the place clean, answering the phone and replying to emails. Going out and getting supplies when they needed them, to which one of the guys would always tag along and help. He also asked if you'd be okay with using your quirk on their not so pleasant customers with low pain tolerances. You agreed, it was nothing to do really and made you feel needed even more. The shop was open pretty much every day but you were allowed to take any days off you wanted, it wouldn't really be an issue.

After the three of you finished your drinks you decided it was time to get back home. Denki got up and helped you down from your stool while Sero grabbed your coat and helped to put it on you. Both men hooked their arms through yours and walked you back out into the cold to your vehicle. 

You hugged Denki and kissed his cheek again before he took the key from Sero and ran to their vehicle to get it warming up. Turning, you looked at Sero who smiled. A gasp came out of your mouth when a snowflake landed right on your eye lash and made you shudder. Quickly Sero held your face in one hand and gently removed the snow flake with his fingers. You both blushed at each other when you blinked and his thumbs brushed your cheeks.

"Now is your last chance to back out, I know we laid it on pretty thick in there but if you're really uncomfortable then you can say no. I know Kirishima really hurt you the other day and we're all terribly sorry for that. He shouldn't treat any one that way."

You smiled and placed a hand over Sero's and winked, "I'm fine now Sero, really. It means a lot to have you, Denki and Bakugou back me up on this and to seek me out. I can handle myself though, I won't let Kiri get to me."

"If he does, you just come and find one of us."

You nodded and hugged the sweet black eyed male, he hugged you back and made you feel extremely warm and wanted. Before pulling away he kissed the top of your head and opened your car door. You placed a kiss on his cheek before getting in and shutting the door behind you. A massive triangular smile was plastered on his face as you started the car and drove away. Sero knew that eventually, Kirishima would be one lucky guy.

Kirishima walked down the sidewalk, hands in his coat pockets and eyes looking at the ground. His fingers dug around briefly to grasp the shop keys in his pocket as he got closer to the door. The wind nipped at his face and he pulled this collar of the coat up to shield his cheeks while his other hand inserted the key into the lock. Behind him he could hear the sound of a car door opening and closing before the horn went off as it locked. Footsteps were heard closing in near him.

"We don't open for a couple more hours," he spoke without even looking.

"That's cool," a sweet and sarcastic voice replied.

The red-head stopped what he was doing and turned his face to glance next to him. There you stood, cheeks and nose already pink from the ice-cold air. Strands of your (h/c) hair flew around your face as your eyes squinted from the gust of wind and snow. You licked your cold and dry lips before peeking an eye open to him.

"It's really cold out here Kiri," you finally spoke in a strained tone.

His brain finally started to function again and his hand turned the key in the lock. Kirishima quickly opened the door and motioned for you to walk inside, you thanked him and did so with a sprint. Once inside you could feel your body instantly defrosting, rubbing your arms as you shook the snow from your body. A chuckle was heard behind you, making your ears perk and you looked to see Kirishima smirking.

"What - are you a dog or something?"

Instantly your smile turned upside down and you rolled your eyes and removed your coat. Kirishima rose a brow when you revealed a black caged suspender skirt with a white t-shirt underneath. The caged straps of the skirt rested right under your breasts only accentuating them more. The hem of it hit you just above the knees. You walked behind the counter to place your coat on the chair, red eyes watching as your hips swayed.

"Oh hey, of course you're early! I got you breakfast, just like I promised!"

Kirishima quickly awoke from his trance when Sero's voice filled the room along with the bell on the door. Sero patted his back as he passed him and went behind the counter. You still had snow in your hair and Sero placed your food on the counter-top and helped to flick it out of the way, your eyes and lips smiled up at him from the intimate gesture, making Kirishima green with envy already. 

Sero brushed a lock of hair out of your eyes and you thanked him. When he pulled away and discarded his own coat, you rubbed the side of your neck and looked at Kirishima, standing there and staring. You offered him a smile to which he didn't return, making your heart shrink just a bit.

The bell on the door went off again and in walked Bakugou. Coffees in his hands and an orange folder in his mouth. Your heart grew again once his red eyes noticed you and smiled with the folder hanging from his teeth. He walked over to Kirishima and nodded for him to take the object, the red-head took it and looked at the front before tucking it under his arm. Bakugou offered Kirishima a coffee and walked towards you behind the counter. Sero took one for himself and went to plop down on one of the couches. You smiled when Bakugou placed himself before you and smirked devilishly down on you.

"Looks like you couldn't stay away after all huh princess?"

Blushing and biting your lip you smiled. 

"Well when you send two of the cutest agents out to butter me up, I kind of didn't have a choice, plus they both offered me free food."

Sero yelled out a 'guilty' in the background and you giggled. Bakugou chuckled and handed you a coffee, when your hand reached out to take it he pulled it back and teased you, holding it out of your reach. Kirishima rolled his eyes, drinking his own coffee as he watched Bakugou blatantly flirting with you.

"Bakugou~", you whined and reached.

Both men had vastly different reactions to the sound of your needy whine, Kirishima felt his blood boiling and Bakugou was eating it up with a shit-eating grin. 

Finally the blonde gave in and handed the coffee to you, along with a kiss to your cheek. You blushed immediately and shyly thanked him as he pinched your chin. Kirishima let out an exaggerated sigh and went to walk behind the counter to his studio, except you and Bakugou were blocking his way. The blonde grinned and threw an arm around your shoulders, walking you both to the side and out of the red-heads way as he motioned for him to walk by. Kirishima gave you a look and you couldn't decipher what it held. His hand shoved Bakugou's shoulder as he brushed past the two of you and around the corner disappearing from your sight.

Bakugou squeezed your shoulder and ruffled your hair, making a smile return to your face. 

"You're one of us now princess. Ready to get your first day started?"

"Oh, I'm ready!"

[purplesurveys]

907

Are you one of those lucky people to own a walk-in closet? lol lucky people. No I don’t have one of those. Is there a random object you own that has a huge personal significance? Well it’s more significant today because we had our virtual graduation this morning... so I’ll go with my graduation sash. Ever since I started university I’ve always wanted to wear my own sash in a physical ceremony so again, it sucks that our batch got affected by the pandemic. Do you use Google? For just about everything, yeah. Would you like to go swimming right now? That would be soooooo so nice. I’ve been going through old vacation photos and I really miss the beach. Can you play electric guitar? Nope.

Do you have an HDTV? My parents do. When was the last time you drank something through a straw? Around a month ago when my dad bought milk teas for me and my sister. Have you ever tried to teach yourself a different language? I didn’t teach myself per se, but I have tried my hand learning Spanish on Duolingo several times. It always comes in phases – I get passionate about learning and use the app for weeks, then it kinda burns out after a while. Right now I haven’t used it since I got sick in May. How long was your last phone call? A little longer than an hour, I think. It was pure silence though; we just wanted to hear each other’s surroundings. Do you need to repaint your nails? No, I never get it painted. Has there ever been a horoscope that came true for you? Psh. Are you a fan of industrial metal? Holy shit I feel so stupid right now. I thought this was referring to a literal kind of metal and I thought, that is such an odd thing to be a fan of...Google quickly taught me that it is in fact NOT a material for building infrastructure jdsskfjskf. Anyway, no I am not a fan. Are you one of those people who chew two pieces of gum, not one? Yeah, occasionally. I don’t like how one piece loses flavor all too quickly so I go ahead and pop two in. Do you have a wall calendar? Not since 2008. We only had a wall calendar in our old house; when we moved here we started to rely on digital clocks and our phones to tell the time. Have you ever taken the pictures from a calendar and used them as posters? I haven’t had a calendar like that, so no. I’ve done this with magazines though. Can you handle the cold? Hahaha no, I can’t. I was already in so much pain in 20ºC weather in Sagada, and I fared much worse in 12ºC Japan weather. I would still pick living in a colder climate in a heartbeat over a tropical one, though. Have you ever been to Canada? Nope.  Do you believe in superstitions? Just one superstition involving my university that doubles as an inside joke, so it’s not like I take it 100% seriously. It’s a generations-old joke that’s impossible to ignore if you’re a student, so I just jumped in. When was the last time you took a taxi somewhere? It was from the airport to back home, but I forgot where we landed from. Bohol I think? Palawan? I don’t even know anymore. It was so inconvenient I begged my dad that we stop using taxis as transportation for our future trips. Would you ever join the army, airforce or navy? No. How old is the person you last kissed? 22. Is there a friend that you can always rely on to get you out of a jam? I don’t think so. When it comes down to it they all have their own different things going on and I can’t just call them whenever and expect them to come to me, and that’s okay. Generally though, I think my most reliable friends are probably Andrew and Angela. What was the most embarassing thing you've had to buy? I’ve never felt embarrassed by anything I had to buy, but it can get a little uncomfortable trying to buy napkins when my dress or pants are already soaked. I get over it quickly though, since menstruations are normal lol. Have you ever tried to balance the light switch between off and on? When I was a kid. I haven’t tried it in a while. Do you believe in ghosts / supernatural occurences? They’re fun to think about, sure, and I do enjoy watching the supernatural episodes of Buzzfeed Unsolved where they go ghost-hunting. I like to think that they somehow exist, but I still also very much maintain my skepticism at all times. Have you ever mistaken a person's gender? I’ve used the wrong pronouns accidentally but I always correct myself and apologize once I’ve noticed my blunder. What was the most expensive thing you've broken? My old iPhones. I’ve also sported a few dents on my car, but I wouldn’t say I broke the car. Has anyone texted you yet today? Not text, but online chat. We had our virtual graduation this morning so my inbox was swamped with congratulatory messages and such. Did you stay calm during the whole swine flu scare? I did, but I mean I was 11 and had no clue how serious it was supposed to be. I remember cheering when they suspended classes for a week because of a local swine flu case, so yep – still ignorant back then. Is there a light on in the room you're currently in? There is, but it isn’t turned on. Are your feet touching the floor? Nope, they’re on the bed. Have you ever been in a car accident? Mild ones, nothing too life-threatening. Do you usually make back-up plans? Yeah man I’m so anxious I always have at least plans A-C lined up in my head and ready to go whenever necessary. Can you focus well in high-stress situations? Usually. Without the aid of mascara, do you have long eyelashes? I do. I get compliments on it all the time too. I didn’t realize it was apparently a nice feature to have until more and more people pointed it out haha. Is there a kind of music you listen to that helps you release your anger? Yeah I have a playlist that’s lined up with all of my favorite loud, angry punk rock music specifically for when I’m pissed off. Are you one of those people who keep their feelings bottled up? I can, particularly whenever I feel like it’s not worth it to blow up. Is one of your friends extremely odd but you love them regardless? Not really. Aya’s pretty weird but I wouldn’t call her extremely odd. Is there anyone you dread going into public with? My mom when she’s mad. Are you a victim of writing run-on sentences? For the most part, I wouldn’t say so. If I write a run-on sentence it’s almost always in an informal setting where I’m more loose with punctuation, like if I’m chatting on IM or writing an answer on here. Still, I try to avoid them and I never do it in a formal situation. Graffiti: an art or an act of vandalism? They can be both. Some people who genuinely just want to fuck around vandalize, like how I’ve seen “Mark <3 Erica” in spray paint on public walls or some similar shit lol. But a lot of graffiti are art as well; many have important messages or symbolisms to say. Do you buy things online? I’ve done it a few times. Not regularly. I like being able to see and touch something before buying it. Are you easily frightened? I definitely am but at the same time I’m really into horror movies and serial killers and a ghost-hunting series? Hahaha it’s weird. I guess I enjoy the thrill that comes with having those interests. Do you have a favorite model? Over the years I’ve loved Elizabeth Jane Bishop, Kiko Mizuhara, Taylor Marie Hill, Gigi Hadid, Bella Hadid, and (controversial pick!) Kendall Jenner. Have you ever watched Titanic? So many times. Honestly, one of my favorites. What's your current facebook display picture of? It’s my official graduation photo wearing my graduation sash! :) I finally changed it last Friday after I got the email saying I’m on the list of graduates. How about your IM display picture? My main IM is my Messenger, which also uses my Facebook photo. Is there anyone whose hair you envy? Gabie’s for one. Hers is really smooth and silky and wavy. Would you act in a movie if it offered a role? If I was going to be a mostly unseen extra in a blockbuster film and still be paid like $600 for it, then I don’t see why I wouldn’t take it. Does speaking in front of people make you nervous? Only if there’s going to be an unscripted aspect to it that’ll make me have to come up with answers on the spot, like miting de avances or thesis defense. If I have a script or even just a general gist of what I want to say, I have no problem improvising and speaking in front of a crowd. Can you read in a moving vehicle or does it make you sick? It makes me sick but it hasn’t stopped me before. Have you ever dated someone who was extremely shy? I’m the extremely shy person... Or have you dated someone who took things too fast? I felt that way with Gab at first when she wanted to have sex like two months after we started dating, though I was scared mainly because it was going to be my first time and I wanted to make sure I was comfortable. Now that I’m a little older, two months seems like a healthy amount of time. Does the idea of driving 220 mph sound exciting to you? Sounds terrifying. It could be fun, but only if we’re in the middle of nowhere where there’s loads of space to go that fast and no chance of crashing. Everyone has a weakness, what's yours? Food. Do you or anyone you know have an account on Deviantart? I had classmates in high school who had accounts but I’m not sure if they still have it, or if Deviantart is even still as active as I knew it to be. Thoughts on the Dunkin Donut commercial that says "America runs on Dunkin'"?  It’s a creative slogan but if I was American I wouldn’t want a doughnut place claiming to represent my country. It cute though. Do you bother buying movies on DVD anymore or do you just download them? I watch them on Netflix, which is still technically like buying them since we pay for the subscription anyway. Do you listen to Daughtry? No. Do you get your eyebrows waxed? I don’t. Waxing looks so painful to me. How do you take your coffee? Lots of creamer or milk, a little sugar. I like trying out different coffees, but when I’m simply relaxing I do want my coffee as least bitter as possible.  If you have a dog, what breed is it? I have an aspin mix, though we never figured out what Kimi’s other half is. And I also have a beagle. Have you found someone who makes you unconditionally happy? I don’t know if 'unconditionally’ is possible but yes, I do have people who make me very happy. Do you have a friend who always seems to be dying their hair? Not anymore. Jo used to dye her hair like every month though and she must have been able to go through the entire rainbow. She looked sooo good in each of the colors. Would you swap names with a friend? I love all their names but I don’t see why that would be necessary. Do you plan on going to university? I did. I graduated today. Guys who wear muscle shirts, yes or no? Idk man, they can wear whatever they want. Are you a fan of Carrie Underwood? No. I liked some of her singles when I was younger, but I’m not a fan in that I have her albums and know her lesser-known songs. Do you make playlists on iTunes? I used to, when I still used iTunes. I make playlists on Spotify now. Have you ever forgotten someone's birthday? I don’t think so. Are you scared of being left behind? Yessir. I’m super competitive, so I hate the feeling. Do you remember your last dream? No. I’m really bad at remembering them unless they’re nightmares or insanely strange. I do know that I dreamt while we were watching mass earlier on the television though, hahaha. Do you know someone who is an obsessed Star Wars fan? So many people in my circle are. Is politics something you don't care about? No. If there’s anything I give tons of fucks about, it’s that. What's a movie/tvshow/book/series that is way overrated? I’ll go with the first things I thought of...in that order: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before; Stranger Things (it’s good, but not as good as people hyped it to be); I don’t really read anymore; and what do you mean by series? Just realized I only gave 2 out of 4 answers lol oh well. Do you think Barbie presents an unhealthy image to young girls? I don’t like how its physical features are still unrealistic; but I appreciate their attempts at diversity. I can’t say it was upsetting seeing a Filipino-themed Barbie :) Is there a pet that you desperately want? All I ever wanted were dogs, and now I’ve got two of them. Would you ever get your bellybutton pierced? Nope. Are you musically talented? Hahahahaha Have you ever shot a gun? Not a real one, so no. Athenna’s dad had this practice gun he used for target practice (duh) and I messed with that a few times. Do you have a friend that always changes their mind last second? That’s Gabie. She’s lucky she’s my girlfriend and that I love her, because it’s actually a big pet peeve of mine. Are you not afraid to voice your opinion? Yup. The only time I don’t say it out loud is if it’s unnecessary and if it’s going to be simply disrespectful. An example would be when my uncle offered to make me a carrot cake for my grad gift, and I just said yes because it was already generous enough for him to offer me a free cake when he runs a food business. In reality it’s not my favorite cake at all; it wouldn’t even be in my top 20. Are you one of those people who are always pushing their limits? Yes, I definitely overwork myself to the point of exhaustion and burnout. But I honestly prefer doing things and being busy than sitting around. Is there a word that you will always find humorous? Bubbling. Because Drake and Josh.

Do you frown upon immature people? Typically. Have you ever slipped on ice and hurt yourself? This may have happened to me once or twice when I was still regularly visiting the ice skating rink at the mall. People were always super nice and helped me get up, though. Do you try to have an intimidating impression? I don’t try. Apparently it’s naturally the vibe I give off. Living in the big city or chilling in the country? BIG CITY. Always the big city. I’ve gone to the country/province so many times; I already know what it’s like there. I’ll always prefer a noisy city. No one seems to obey the legal drinking age, do they? Hahahaha a lot seem not to. I know so many high school kids who’ve had a drink before turning 18. Do you like your country's flag? Sure. I like that we can switch up the colors depending on if we’re at war or not. Have you ever made a totally amazing snow fort? I’ve never even seen snow before. Do you use Bounty Paper Towels? No. Are you the one usually behind the camera or the one in the picture? BEHIND If you get married, will you have a traditional wedding? Traditional, yes. Religious, no. Do you feel you’re slowly losing one of your friends? No. But now that I’m no longer in school, I really hope I’ll continue to be friends with my orgmates. I’ll certainly keep in touch as much as I can. If you draw, what's one thing you always have trouble with? Everything about it. Is there someone you know moving away any time soon? No. I do know my friend’s sister had already moved and started her new job in California, but when the pandemic started she had to go back here. This virus is just ruining so many great things for everyone, man... Allergic to anything? Nope. How many cars have you owned? Zero. I drive one; can’t say I own it because my parents bought it. What are you going to do after this? Maybe take another survey.

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

Once Bitten, Twice Stupid prt 193 prt 1

193

When Lance fell asleep, their roles had reversed. Keith calling Shiro to check in, after overhearing how they hadn’t really talked to anyone. The conversation with his brother wasn’t that long due to him not wanting to leave Lance. Knowing Krolia, whatever advice she’d given him was probably shit, though, as Lance had said, his mother was probably the closest person he could turn to advice for this. Coran may have had a pretty interesting past, but as far as Keith knew, he’d never been on the end of being pregnant. Pidge... wasn’t exactly maternal, and Allura... was Allura. She’d make a good mother... in her own way. Maybe this trip would have been better if they’d invited the others? Not so much Rieva and Matt, but Pidge and Hunk.

“Keith?”

Hearing Lance call his name, he forced himself out the bathroom. It was now closer to dusk than to dawn. Lance had needed time to cry out his frustrations

“Hey, beautiful. How are you feeling?”

“Better... thirsty... and sorry”

Sorry because they hadn’t been to see his dad yet... Keith was slightly annoyed by that fact, but not mad. Lance hadn’t asked for his ego to start being a pain in the arse, and with all the stress he’d been putting himself under, he really needed the rest

“Do you want some blood?”

“We didn’t do my injection”

Fuck. He hadn’t thought of that

“Do you want to go the bathroom, and I’ll get it organised?”

“Okay”

It felt like nothing now to draw a bit of blood for Lance’s injections. The fear of the curse had lessened. Lance would have never tried to feed off Matt or Rieva, even in a desperate situation. But whether it be luck, or Lance’s own curse, it seemed to kill the werewolf curse before it could turn their twins. Maybe Lance had a point about some of their more careless activities? They shouldn’t be able to stand being in the same room, they both shared moments with their egos that really hurt, but he hadn’t been thinking of his own safety since turning. Just the safety of everyone they called family.

Coming back from the bathroom, Lance sat beside him on their bed. Resting his against Keith’s shoulder, he sighed softly

“Okay... inject away”

The injection always only took a moment. In, inject, out, then Lance would rub at the healing mark. His boyfriend sighing again, overthinking things

“You needed to let it out”

“I know. I feel like I’ve brought the whole mood down and I hate it. You must be starving”

Yep. He was. His metabolism was something crazy. The amount of food he consumed was frankly scary

“I’m okay. Here, have some blood and we can think about getting something to eat”

“I thought I had this planned. You know? We’d have breakfast, than go see your dad. Clean his grave up. Talk to him... A mental breakdown wasn’t scheduled”

“Are they ever? Did mum help?”

“She’s no Mami when it comes to advice. She said to chuck my fear out the window”

Keith snorted

“Right. Because it’s totally that easy. Was she okay?”

They didn’t know if she was coming or not. Not with her work schedule. Keith kind of hoped she would, yet she’d made indications of it. Like, would he even recognise his father’s grave? And what did he say?

“Yeah. She was her usual self. I called her for advice, but I know she was disappointed it wasn’t you”

“Nah. She loves you. I think she even likes you better than me”

“She’s your mum. She loves you. She’s pretty worried how this is affecting you. I could tell”

“I’m okay... kind of. I’m getting there. Umm... Nothing time with my beautiful boyfriend won’t fix”

Lance groaned at him

“Babe, you don’t have to try so hard. It’s okay. I’m hardly beautiful... I’m like... the very definition of a wreck right now”

“You’ll be okay. Here, wrist or um... neck?”

“Wrist... sorry... it’s just easier in this position”

“Don’t be sorry. I’m not sorry”

He’d noticed something. Lance only liked to feed on his neck when they were making out or in the heat of things. His fingers when Lance was trying to be quite mid do

“I am. I love you so much. So so much. I neglected your safety... and you’re still being... so good to me”

“Idiot. I love you. Your hunger won’t last forever. I should have gotten some blood into while you slept... it’s bad to let your... um... levels drop”

“I’ll be okay. They’re still okay... I think one of them tried to break my rib when I was in the bathroom”

Keith loved hearing the twins were moving. Even when it was uncomfortable for Lance, he felt like he was hearing cute stories he wouldn’t be able to forget. He didn’t think he had the patience to be pregnant... which only made him prouder of strength Lance showed

“They take after you. All silent and deadly”

“Babe, I’m not a fart”

Keith hadn’t thought of that, chuckling as he shook his head

“I know. You smell awful in a good way. Not like my lactose farts”

“Eh. They’re part of you. A couple of wads of tissue up my nose and you’d never tell”

“I’ll remember that for next time. Here, eat something. Don’t be afraid if you need a little more”

That was something else Keith noticed. Lance took care with the amount of blood he took from him, but the volume seemed like it would be a lot for a human. Very rarely he felt light headed, questioning if he’d be conscious if he was still human. He’d never tell Lance. He’d freak out immediately, plus fluids and a good meal had him back in shape in no time. Lance moaned as he bit into Keith’s wrist, reminding him he’d have to make more of an effort. Maybe it’d be for the best if he ran an IV line for Lance tonight, just to get his hunger knocked on the head completely.

Pulling off, Lance lapped at the trails of bloodied spit left on Keith’s arm. The wounds starting to heal instantly

“Better?”

Catching a few small beads pushed out by the healing wound, Lance hummed

“Mmm... I know this isn’t comfortable for you”

It shouldn’t have been hot, but it was. It stroked his pride to provide for their boyfriend the one thing he needed above all else

“I’m fine, babe. As long as you’ve had enough”

“Yeah... I’m good. I’m still sorry. I think I’ve been taking more and more of late”

“Nah, it’s fine. But I was thinking we should probably set you up with an IV later, seeing how little you ate today. You need to keep your fluids up”

“But keeping my fluids out means I have to pee”

Whining at him, Lance was too cute

“I love you and your walnut sized bladder anyway”

“I think it’s more like a grape at this stage. I’m sorry my ego chuckled a wobbly... and that we spent most of today in bed”

“There’s nothing more that I love, than spending the day in bed with you”

“Pervert. I’m serious though. I don’t want to be scared like that. I want to see where you grew up. I want to know everything about you. All of it”

“You might not like all of it”

“I don’t know. I think we both know that I’m like crazy stupid in love with you and all those little things that drive me crazy only make me love you more”

Keith groaned softly. He’d become weak to Lance. Last real story he had left to share with his boyfriend was the night Shiro saved his arse. Lance knew most of it. Keith couldn’t remember what he’d told him, nor was he sure why he’d never told him all of it. Being on the streets had taken a toll, and the thought of a warm bed and decent shower left him going with people he already knew were no good for him. They’d offered him a good time when he’d been so completely done with fighting to be alive

“Alright. How about we go get dinner and figure things out from there”

“Mmmm... sounds good to me. Let me change, then we’ll go”

“I probably need to freshen up too”

“I hate to say it but we both kind of stink”

From sweat. Under the blankets left them both sweating in their sleeps. Lance smelt deader than ever, with Keith not far off. Personally he didn’t mind stinking of Lance, but Lance felt like he needed to do more to protect Keith with things like being careful with his scent

“Want to take first shower while I look for somewhere good to eat?”

“Sounds like a plan... I... don’t know if I’ll freak out again”

“It’s okay. If you do, we can totally go. I know we’re here to see my dad, but your safety and comfort comes first. I don’t want you to think you have to hide things from me”

“I know. I won’t take too long”

“Don’t go rushing. The last thing we need is for you to slip. That sounded harsher than what I meant”

Lance shook his head at him

“It’s okay, we both know I’m a klutz. I’ll be careful. We’ve come this far. I’m not about to risk them”

“I’m worried about you, too. I don’t want you being hurt”

“I’ll be fine... Let me freshen up, then you can take me out for dinner”

Lance kissed Keith’s wrist where he’d fed. Keith couldn’t believe the passage of time since meeting Lance had moved so fast. It must have been a year now, or very close to a year. This time last year, he’d have thought himself turned and cursed with a single bite. The Blades really did teach some total bullshit when he stopped to consider all of things he hadn’t thought of before. He’d been such a dumb arse. Luckily he had Lance to set him straight... or not so straight... though he wasn’t sure what he was as it was Lance he loved and not only his physical body. Realising how easily he could fall into an internal debate over all of that, he gave a shake of his head. Lance said he’d let him take him to dinner, so that’s what he was going to do.

*

Holding Keith’s hand, the freshness of the night felt nice against Lance’s skin. Keith either hadn’t bothered looking up somewhere else to eat, or he’d been trying to please Lance, resulting in dinner at the same restaurant they’d had breakfast at. This time Lance figured out what was wrong with the place. As they’d finished dinner, the waitress had come to collect to their plates, on her arm balanced by the nozzle was a bottle of orange scented surface spray. Being a public restaurant, smells of all sorts bombarded his senses from the moment they walked. With so many scents, he hadn’t consciously noticed the orange surface spray.

The fact that Sendak still held such a hold over him left Lance unable to enjoy his meal. The atmosphere of the restaurant was good, Pidge would have loved the idea of sneakily signing them up for the weekend Karaoke competition, then abusing everyone heckling her over bad singing... He missed those days. He missed not being pregnant and not fearing his scent. Heck, he missed ghost hunting. He missed watching Pidge get super enthused as Hunk prayed for it all to be over. The restaurant was the kind of place he could see himself having a few quite drinks had the place been in Garrison. The kind of place that Sal’s had been to them before he’d had to hideaway his changing body. The Lord knew he was looking forward the day they could all go out again. He was going to order the biggest, greasiest, slimiest, cheesiest pizza in existence. Maybe even have Sal get some cigarette ash in there for that true diner flavour...

“Want to take a walk?”

No. Maybe... He wanted to go home to bed... but he’d spent the day in the hotel room. Staring past Keith, the stars twinkled over the town as if trying to say that nothing bad could ever happen here, which was a bold faced lie if ever there was one. Keith drew strength from the moon, and both of them had eye sight sharp enough to walk around in the dark safely enough... plus... it’d give them time to get the layout of the town down... His boyfriend seemed to be oblivious to internal wavering, Lance wondering if this was his way of easing into things he either wanted to tell, or easing into seeing his father... or even a chance to cover his arse when Shiro asked how much of the town they’d gone out and seen

“Sure. There’s a park a few blocks down. I saw it on the town map”

“You saw a town map?”

“Did you really not look this place up at all? They have a similar lay out to Garrison, which makes sense in a way... they were both trade posts at some time, though I’ve got not idea what they could have pulled out of all the sand”

“I didn’t even know that much. It’s like... all I remember is the shack... all of it feels like being on another planet”

Lance slid his hand into Keith’s

“It’s a good thing I’m here to keep you grounded. Don’t even think about packing your bags for another planet. You’re not leaving me behind”

“I’m sure that if I ever got spirited away into space, you’d be right there with me”

“Yep. Probably screaming my head off the whole time too”

“I think I would be too. Let’s go, I’ll follow your lead”

“Don’t you always?”

Keith kissed his cheek. Lance blushing lightly as his boyfriend replied “yep”, followed by two more kisses on his cheek. Lance would follow Keith to the ends of the Earth, with Keith just as happy to follow him instead. Unless one of them made the decision, they’d be following each other around in circles for the rest of their lives... That didn’t actually sound too bad...

Walking down to the park, the town had a nice vibe to it. Lance felt bad for whoever was in charge of cleaning the park’s rubbish bin after his dinner decided to make a reappearance before they’d reached the toilets towards the middle of the park. Cleaning up, and using the facilities, the pair of them settled themselves down on the swings. It’d been months since he’d been on a swing set, in Cuba, yet it had to be longer for Keith. Dragging his feet in the sand to make a heart, he supposed they looked like a couple of kids up to no good. He’d seen enough memes that he knew adults missed swing sets, and he knew he definitely counted in their ranks.

Pushing off lightly, the chain creaked under his weight. A memory of Veronica coming to mind from back when having a baby brother that was a vampire was something cool. He’d wanted to go higher and higher, the pegs of the swing set shaking, so Luis and Marco held it down as he swung as high as he could get. He’d been sure if he’d gotten a little higher he could have looped the chain around the top, but Papi had lost it at the four of them

“You seem happy”

“Mmm. I like swings”

Letting the swing slow naturally, Lance grinned at his boyfriend mischievously. They had the whole playground to themselves

“What about you? What’s your favourite piece of playground equipment?”

Keith hummed. He’d been making a mound between his shoes, trying to keep the sand from slipping back down

“I hate the monkey bars”

“Oh? What’d they ever do to you?”

“A shit kid at one of the families threw a rock at me because I could pull myself up to sit on top of them. It hit me in the head and I fell off backwards”

“Wow. That kid sounds like a wanker”

Keith nodded, expression semi serious

“They were. I got in trouble for falling off”

“That’s kind of what kids do though. They play and climb... it’s what kids are supposed to do”

Keith sighed, before shaking his head

“It doesn’t matter now. I can’t even remember their face, let alone why they through the rock”

“They were probably jealous because you’re so much cooler than them. I bet you were a totally rad kid. I wish I’d known you then”

Lance didn’t think about what he’d said. He felt like kicking himself as Keith mumbled

“Right. The fucked up orphan no body wanted was a “rad kid””

“Hey. No. No. That is not on you. Not at all. Adults are supposed to be there and be the strong ones. Not kids. I sincerely wish I could lord over every single person who hurt you, how fucking amazing you are”

Keith gave a scoff of disbelief. Lance saddened that his boyfriend’s anxiety had gotten to him this badly. Climbing off his swing, the vampire wrinkled his nose at the sand pouring into his shoes as he moved to stand behind Keith

“What are you doing?”

“I’m going to push you?”

Wasn’t that obvious? He’d waddled his pregnant arse all the way behind Keith. The only logical conclusion was he was going to push him on the swing

“You don’t have to”

“Maybe I want to? Maybe I want to play in the park because there’s no one else around. No bad scents. No blood. No spirits. No yucky feelings other than the sand under my socks...”

“It is a nice park”

“Right? Now, hold on”

Pushing Keith on the swing, Keith gradually loosened up, even starting to laugh as Lance backed off and watched

“You can do it, babe!”

“I’m totally going to jump off, you know that, right?”

“It’s like an unwritten law of swinging, seeing how far you can jump”

“I think I have an advantage...”

“Doesn’t matter. I’m totally challenging you to a swing off once these two are born”

“That’s not fair, you’ve got wings”

Lance huffed. They had a mind of their own, much like the rest of his body

“Which are mostly useless. I can’t even fly around as a bat”

“That’s fine. Ready?”

“Go for it!”

Keith jumped a little too soon, half faceplanting in the sand. With the way he landed, Lance rushed to his side to find his boyfriend laughing

“Are you okay?”

“I fucked that up”

Kicking Keith lightly in the side with the toe of his shoe, his boyfriend rolled over, smiling like an idiot. Lance’s heart had stopped with the way Keith landed, now the idiot was smiling so happy he felt all warm inside

“You had me worried!”

“I guess I’m not that great at sticking the landing”

“You weren’t that great at jumping. You went before the swing was at the right height!”

“You make it sound like you’re training me for the Olympics”

Channeling the best sports commentator voice he could, Lance’s voice wobbled slightly as he tried not to laugh at how funny he was

“You don’t get at a ten-point-zero for your landing. Zero style. Very simplistic. Could this spell the end for Keith Kogane’s budding career before he even goes professional?”

Keith laughed. A proper unguarded laugh. Lance feeling the luckiest man in the world to hear it

“I’m being serious!”

“Uh huh. Sure you are. You know, the stars are really pretty. I feel like I can see them way better than before”

“That’s because all your senses increased. Werewolves and vampires are kind of night creatures”

“I still don’t know how to turn into a wolf. I don’t know if it counts”

“It totally does... Now, are you getting up? Or should I pick you up in the morning?”

Keith patted the sand next to him

“You could come down here”

“Or you could come up here... I’m too pregnant to deal with sand”

“Fair point. We have the whole park to ourselves... I don’t think I’ve ever really... just... you know...”

That Keith hadn’t played on a playground saddened Lance. Even as an adult, playgrounds were still fun. With no one around to watch them, there was no point being responsible adults

“You know, there’s a slide over there... and a flying fox...”

“Babe...”

Keith tried to dismiss the idea, Lance using “boyfriend” which proved very effective. Damn Pidge. She’d gone and put that back into his head at her birthday party

“Come on, it’ll be fun. I mean, I probably can’t use the spinner, not unless you want to scramble the twins, but the slide never gets old”

“Fine, but if we get in trouble, you’re taking the blame”

Lance shrugged. They weren’t violating any laws that he knew of. They weren’t intoxicated. Nor were they committing property damage or trespassing

“The lawyer in me tells me it’s going to be okay”

“I’ll remember that when I get my one phone-call”

“You better. Though it would be a conflict of interest to represent you, so let’s not get in trouble?”

The did indeed get into trouble. Keith got wedged in the kids slide, and Lance was too tall for the flying fox, so that was disappointing. They were still messing around when the lights of a cruiser flashed red and blue, the two of them called over by a police officer who looked unable to catch them, even if they had been human. Swallowing down his fear, Lance took Keith by the hand, walking him over to the officer when Keith kept telling him they should run. Getting closer, the man clearly didn’t expect two fully grown adults to be playing in the park so late at night.

“Officer, how are you tonight?”

Putting on an air of responsibility, Lance felt he’d be the more convincing adult of the pair of them

“I had a call about teenagers mucking around in the park. Want to tell me about it?”

Keith snorted with laughter, Lance stepping on his foot to shut him up

“That was us, sir. I’m sorry if we created a disturbance. We’re on holiday, you know, before the twins come, and wanted to have a little fun. I had no idea we we’re causing a disturbance”

Keith tried to muffle his laughter, Lance mentally rolling his eyes at his boyfriend who was clearly upsetting the police officer. Huffily, the man asked

“So I’m not going to find any of that junky paraphernalia you young people are into these days?”

“No, sir. I know we might look young, but I’m 46 and my boyfriend here is 28. No drugs, or alcohol, sir”

The man looked them up and down, Lance waited for something along the lines of “I wouldn’t lie to a police officer, if I was you”. Instead the man sighed

“Look. You can’t be playing in the park at midnight. You’re obviously not locals. You staying at the hotel?”

“Yes, sir. My boyfriend is a photographer, we’re travelling to work on his portfolio. Sorry. We wanted to have a little fun with no one around”

“I’ll have you save that sort of fun for a more appropriate environment. Get in the back, I’ll give you both a ride back”

Lance immediately shook his head

“We’re both able to walk back...”

“That wasn’t an invitation. We get a lot of blow ins for this damn Easter festival the town insists on having. The last thing I need is the pair of you thinking your entitled to cause trouble. Get in”

Lance felt like a scolded school child as he did as he was told, Keith sliding in beside him, though his boyfriend still thought they should run. Clipping their belts in obediently, Lance bit his bottom lip. Maybe they’d gotten carried away? He didn’t think they were being too loud. All they’d been doing was acting like idiots. They hadn’t damaged any property... plus Keith had gotten on the spinner, which had been hilarious given how much strength he could put into a spin. His boyfriend had gotten off with shaky legs, tripped, fell in the grass and burst out laughing. Lance knew he should stay quiet, but this was a golden chance

“Excuse me, have you been an officer here very long?”

The man met his eyes before pulling away from the park curb

“Long enough”