#I never heard someone say 'I'm surrounded by idiots' without using a single word before

[bmblboop]

Jaune: How old is [Oscar/Ozpin]?

Nora: You mean in normal years, or possessed-by-an-ancient-immortal years?

Jaune: ...Is that like, dog years?

Ren: *ImSurroundedByIdiots sigh*

[abimess]

Midnight kiss

Natasha Romanoff x Reader

gif is not mine

Masterlist

Summary: It's New Year's Eve and all you wanted was to kiss your crush at midnight. Things don't go as intended, but you were far from complaining. [Requested]

Warnings: smut (18+ only!), top!reader, bottom!Natasha, fluff

Pronouns: not used || Word count: 1.880

And here is the last story of our Christmas Special!!!! I hope you all enjoy it!!!

And most importantly: Happy New Year, everyone!!! I imagine everyone is already in 2022 by now but for those who are not, see you on the other side!!!

Christmas Special Masterlist (Read on: Wattpad)

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The tradition of kissing someone when the clock strikes midnight on New Year's Eve has always been your favorite tradition. But that was only until you fell in love.

Natasha Romanoff is without a doubt the most attractive and sweetest person you have ever met. You never planned to fall in love with her, however, after all, she is your mentor.

You did anyway.

"Hey, Wands!" You greet the redhead amiably, a huge smile on your face that she reciprocates with ease after taking her eyes from the surrounding party and bringing them to you. "Who are you kissing at midnight?"

"What do you mean who I'm kissing, Y/n?" She comments amidst a giggle, grabbing a drink from one of the passing waiters around. "Vision."

"Any chance I can convince you to kiss me instead?" You ask charmingly, wiggling your eyebrows, and the woman looks at you playfully.

"Even though the offer is very hard to refuse, I'm obviously kissing my boyfriend on New Year's Eve." She replies amused, and when you huff heavily, she laughs. "But what's up with the despair?"

"Yelena is kissing Kate and I just heard Carol asking Maria." You reply, pointing at the people discreetly throughout the ballroom of the Avengers complex. Wanda frowns. "Why don't you ask Nat?"

"I can't ask Nat!" You reply exasperated, and the redhead smiles provocatively. "Oh yeah, it would compromise your top-secret major crush." She jokes, and you roll your eyes, your cheeks heating up.

"I don't know why you don't talk to her, actually, everyone knows already." She comments casually and you turn to her with wide eyes. "Did you tell people?"

"Of course not, you idiot!" The redhead defends herself, patting your shoulder, "I didn't even need to, you're even more clumsy around her. I wouldn't be surprised if she already knew too."

"That's even worse," you grumble, finishing your drink in a single gulp, "if she knows and hasn't said anything about it, it's because she doesn't want anything to do with me."

"Don't be silly, Y/n, Nat loves you," Wanda replies truthfully, but you shake your head. "Not like that."

"You won't know if you don't ask." The redhead replies in a sing-song voice, her arms crossed, and you laugh through your nose. "I don't mind living in ignorance." You say cowardly, and Wanda rolls her eyes amused. "Nat is not an option."

"How about one of the guys then?" She suggests, but you scoff, looking at her with an incredulous frown. "I'm not kissing a guy on New Year's Eve, Wanda, it's bad luck."

Wanda laughs at her antics, shaking her head before saying, "then I don't know what to do to help you, my friend."

"Well, I do." You retort easily, waggling your eyebrows again, and Wanda rolls her eyes, an amused little smile on her lips as she pushes you away slightly, "Get out."

"Thanks, witchy." You say next, and the redhead smiles lovingly before you walk away.

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Your friend's words echo through your mind for every moment after the party. And noticing that it is almost midnight already, you take a deep breath to gather your courage.

"Hey, Nat, how are you enjoying the party?" you ask casually, your heart about to burst out of your mouth.

"It's nice," she replies, her eyes meeting yours briefly before returning to the guests around the party, "nobody's done anything stupid yet so I'm waiting."

You chuckle softly, earning an amused smirk from the redhead next to you in response.

"So," you begin awkwardly, drawing her eyes back to yours, "do you know who you're kissing at midnight yet? It's almost time." You ask hopefully, but earn a snort from the woman. "No one, this tradition is stupid."

"Yeah, totally." You agree amid a forced laugh, averting your gaze from hers, and Nat frowns. "Why?"

"Nothing, I was just talking about it with Wanda earlier." You explain, pointing to the other redhead in the room, who is chatting animatedly with Vision and Steve, and the furrow between Nat's eyebrows only widens. "She asked you?"

"No, no, she's kissing Vision, of course." You reply and watch Nat's expression relax considerably. Not knowing what to take away from that reaction, you sigh.

"Well, I'm gonna go get something to eat now." You say next, scratching the back of your neck awkwardly. "I hope someone does something stupid soon."

"Me too." She replies with an amused smile.

As you turn away from Nat, you walk toward the exit of the party.

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"Of course you'd be holed up here even on the holiday."

The amused voice sounds just as you open a new document to design improvements to your outfit, and you smile. "Work never stops."

"Yeah, but you should." Wanda retorts as she closes the door, and you shrug as you stand up. "Running away from a certain redhead?"

"Of course, the last thing I wanted was to see you." You reply playfully, and when she rolls her eyes in amusement, you laugh softly.

"I tried to ask her, but she didn't want to, and I thought staying there at midnight would be awkward, so..." You explain, slurring the last word as you shrug, and Wanda nods slowly.

"Well, it's not midnight anymore, but you still deserve a New Year's kiss." She says, walking over to you. You frown in confusion, but the next moment she is leaning over and giving you a kiss on the cheek, and you laugh softly.

"I'm not a guy, so no bad luck for you." She says amusedly as she pulls away and you smile genuinely at the redhead. "Thanks, Wands, you're a great friend."

"You have no idea." She retorts with a knowing tone, a little wink sent in your direction. Before you can ask what she means by that, however, she turns around.

"Happy new year, nerd." She says as she reaches for the door and you laugh softly, sitting back down in your armchair. "Happy new year, witchy."

It doesn't take long for another interruption to occur.

"Hey," this time you look up suddenly, your voice giving you the chills she always does, "Wanda told me you were here. She also told me... a few other things." Nat says awkwardly, her eyes scanning yours for answers, and you scoff, but you're not angry. "Of course she did."

"Why didn't you tell me?" She asks next and you smile small, shrugging. "You didn't seem very keen to kiss anyone when I came to talk to you."

"I saw you talking to the other girls all night, I thought you'd already asked someone." She says next and you frown. "I wanted to kiss you."

"You did?" You ask, not being able to disguise your surprise, and Nat smiles as she nods. You give a low chuckle. "Too bad it's not midnight anymore then."

"We can pretend it is." She hits back at the same instant, an amused expression on her face. "5." She begins, and you give a small chuckle before joining her.

"4."

Nat steps forward and you feel your heart beating violently inside your chest.

"3."

You close the distance between you with a single step, her eyes locked on yours.

"2."

Her hands on your shoulders, yours on her waist.

"1."

Your lips meet in the next moment and you both sigh at the sensation.

The kiss is shy and slow as you get to know each other. But it doesn't take long for what you feel for each other to consume you completely, you deepening the kiss as he does so.

As you start to take a few steps with Nat, she squeezes your shoulders before moving her hands up to the back of your neck, keeping your face glued to hers as the kiss doesn't stop.

The redhead moans softly as her back meets the wall of the lab, and a wave of goose bumps ripple through your entire body. Realizing what is about to happen, however, you pull your face away from hers.

"Are you sure about this?" You ask breathlessly, losing yourself in the redhead's dilated pupils. Nat smirk, breathing as uncompromised as yours. "Just touch me once."

The next moment she kisses you again, giving you no room for a retort. Not that you had anything more to add anyway.

You slide your hands to Nat's ass, squeezing the flesh as you press it against you, and the redhead sighs against your mouth.

As your hand circles her hips toward the front of her, the redhead descends her kisses to your neck, sucking and nibbling at your skin and making you see stars already.

Sliding your hand into Nat's pants, you both sigh heavily; she from the feel of your fingers on her most sensitive part, you from the wetness caused entirely by your touch.

You begin with slow movements, exploring and getting to know this whole new side of the woman you have so longed to know.

With each right movement, Nat groans against your skin, her fingers holding you to keep you as close as possible and to maintain her own stability.

When your fingers find her entrance, you feel Nat hold her breath. But when you push your fingers inside her, the redhead lets him escape all at once, a loud moan accompanying the movement.

You work your fingers masterfully, one of them stimulating her bundle of nerves while two others pump in and out of her in an increasing rhythm.

The surrounding air is filled with gasps, moans, and the sounds of skin meeting skin.

With her eyes squeezed shut, Nat rests her head against the wall, and, completely mesmerized by her beauty, you move forward, connecting your lips to hers in a rough kiss.

As she matches him as best she can, Nat slides her hands into your shirt, scratching your back with her icy fingers somehow burning your skin.

It doesn't take long for her to reach her high after that, amid moans of your name and breathless pleas for you not to stop. You hold her firmly against the wall as he comes, her walls squeezing against your fingers meets her body trembling against yours.

When she reaches the edge, she brings a trembling hand to your wrist, asking you to back off, and you reluctantly obey.

You make a trail of kisses down her neck as Nat tries to catch her gasping breath.

When she does, however, she pushes you away slightly. You frown in mild apprehension, but soon her hand finds yours, her fingers intertwining with yours.

"Come on," she calls out amidst a gentle smile, and you frown as she begins to lead you to the entrance of the room, "this isn't where I expected our first time to be." She explains sweetly and you give a husky little laugh.

Nat continues to pull you in then. And, smiling, you would go anywhere she wanted to take you.

Taglist: @yuhloversxx @madamevirgo @an-evergreen-rose @helloalycia @wandas1mp @cantcontroltheirfear @diaryoflife @cristin-rjd @ensorcellme @aimezvousbrahms @natasha-danvers @purplemeetsblue @randomshyperson @peggycarter-steverogers @b0mbdotc0m @ethereal-pxradise @stephanieromanoff @tomy5girls @gingerbreadcookieforlife @imapotatao @musicinourlips @xxxtwilightaxelxxx @allfiguredout @olsensnpm @magicallymaximoff @nothing-isimpossible @mionemymind @itsmionet @xastrydx @sxfwap @nicole-rayleigh-hot @wellsayhelloaagin @midnight-lestrange @1-800-depressedlesbian @b-5by5 @blackwow34 @nervoustrack @somewhatgreatexpectations @yeetus-thyself @chelleztjs18 @franfineashell @mrromanoff (if you wanna be tagged check the form on my BIO)

[i-need-air]

"Dude" — Bakugou Katsuki x Reader.

Summary: Your former bully, Midori, has confessed her undying love for one of the most famous guys at U.A.; you're just venting gossiping about it with Mei, not knowing Bakugou Katsuki is right around the corner, listening;

Warnings: None. Well, Bakugou Katsuki having various anger induced strokes > the normal > no warnings; light crackfic? subtle ending;

Word count: 4.5k;

[ Part 2 ];

"She confessed to him." You grinned, throwing a bunch of fries into your mouth like the absolute animal you were.

Mei on the other hand continued her work on whatever in the world her new prototype, or "baby", was. Still, you had the honor of having half of her attention, which was a compliment to say at least.

She just smiled, shaking her head, leading you to continue, not knowing a blond was quite literally behind the corner, just outside the door leading to the support department, frown on his face.

"She came to class giggling like an idiot saying she's got a plan." You made a face into the distance, remembering your classmate's obnoxious squeal. "Ugh, she started telling the Divas how she's gonna have The Bakugou Katsuki in the bag." An ugly snort left your body, which earned an amused chuckle from Mei.

Both of you were pretty well known to be very good friends, and as much as you hated to admit it, you were both quite the social pariahs too. She was a little bit strange or weird, as some called her, but not for a single second she cared, which was the reason you admired the girl so much in the first place. Meanwhile you've taken the role of the bitch of the whole school by far. Sadly, you were placed in the same class as your archenemy, only increasing your chances of being called said endearing term.

Middle-school was a nightmare to say at least, getting bullied for your looks, the way you spoke or dressed, anything really as long as you were the one being mocked. And who was the one doing the bullying? Midori. Stunning, graceful, baby-faced Midori. Petite yet elegant, a devil in disguise. Whoever crossed her path suffered her malice unless she had something to gain from them.

And now, sweet Midori was in the U.A.'s General Studies, coinciding with you in the majority but not all classes. It had to do with the tragedy that your quirk was so rare that the principal Nezu had to adjust a new schedule just for you. Just kidding, it was amazing. The actual tragedy was seeing her face every day.

Back to your heartbreaking backstory and origin; time made you tough, comments made you build a wall so tall and thick nobody could crumble it. Backstab after backstab made you learn that not everyone has good intentions, but in your loneliness you found Hatsume Mei. So honest and dedicated, so raw and passionate. A good person. The type of person your parents promised you'd someway cross paths with and gain such a strong friendship that nothing could tear it apart.

Becoming friends with her was easy, kinda. It took snapping back at Midori when she started her normal bullying routine on Mei, which ignored it without a care. You stepped in and the rest is history. It did feel good though, calling her a pathetic bitch before turning to the stranger with a cool gadget in her hands to compliment it. And, since she's a sucker for her babies, you had to deal with an hour of sparkly eyes and monologues about her plans and prototypes.

Funny girl, Mei. You remember thinking but the following day you passed by her usual spot to fill your curiosity, asking if she did solve the problem she was complaining about.

"He was the one she was planning to ask out?" She screamed at you, head inside a giant metal gauntlet and the reason you two started talking about said man in particular. News were extra-fresh anyway.

"Oh, yeah!" You shook your head, ashamed to exist in the same general proximity as a person like your former bully. "He's gonna be so rich and famous!" A high pitched squeal left your mouth as you tried to copy her voice. "Poor fucking guy, if only he knew."

"But people know she's a bitch!" She screamed again, repairing or adjusting something with almost all of her body inside the gauntlet. A smile, genuine and soft this time, formed on your face. The pink-haired girl wasn't one to talk bad about others or even care, but it was clear she wasn't particularly fond with Midori either, although the conversation was more for you to vent rather than gossip. Sure it was.

"Like the people from the Hero Department even care about us, the commoners." With a roll of the eyes, you followed. "If he's smart, he'll run away. If he's an asshole, he could use her too."

"What do you mean?" Pink flocks of hair suddently submerged from the gadget, eyes curious zooming on you. That probably got more than 50% of her attention and it was a new personal goal while she was at the workshop.

With shrugged shoulders, your answer came nonchalant. "He could date her and dump her like she's nothing. Would serve her right for all the shit she's talking about him." But the only response you got was a short quizzical look, followed by your exagerated sigh. "She's talking shit about him constantly, but then says he's hot and that his personality doesn't matter anyway. Money, fame, looks. She has a whole fucking life-plan! Then calls him a rabid dog!"

"Woah—" that surprised her.

"Woah indeed! Insane. It's insane. I don't know the guy but no one deserves that shit." When you got no response, you continued your speech, munching in the food with passionate hunger, words coming out almost indistinguishable. "Doubt he'd play her though. He looks like a smart guy. I've seen the Sports Festival—" you picked up your burger, giving it heart eyes. "—and I've seen the news. He's probably a good guy too, the issue is people don't see that and... Well, I understand what's it to be judged... Not many have what it takes to be a real hero but he does. Hope he finds happiness in life." Much talk for someone that doesn't know shit about the guy in particular, but even so faint, your gut instinct was trained well enough to spot malice and he lacked that. "And a therapist." And there's the little shit in you that had to drop a cheeky comment.

Mei's gaze turned downwards and even if you could see her brain do mental gymnastics to solve whatever problem she had in front of her super-eyes, she also contemplated your words with great care.

"He comes here from time to time—" she grins, smacking the grenade looking gauntlet with her weird utensil. "I noticed you two are similar." Your face twisted, eyes wide towards the girl.

Similar how? He was loud, bold with a foul mouth, definitely needed a therapist for those unresolved anger issues... But he was also bright as in whenever he went, people looked in his direction, like he shined; obviously strong, also from what you've heard smart, popular, lucky to be surrounded by kind people. Example being that very nice pink girl that had a joyous conversation with you the very first day of school and, much to your surprise, continued greeting and having sweet small talks with you every single time you saw each other. Or the blond haired guy that showed off a little bit too much and made dumb flirty comments with no bad intentions, the same blond that waved at you with enthusiasm when you'd cross paths. There was the red-head, Kirishima, that was an absolute gentleman, opening doors for you even if you had two functioning hands and smiled so bright it made your corneas burn, or also the dark haired guy, Sero, that you've seen helping literally anyone in need around the school campus with an easy going attitude and gentle grins. Bakugou Katsuki was surrounded by good people, good heroes just as amazing as him and if they liked him, he must've definitely had some good in him, right? Another point appeared in your mental presentation about the brash hero in the making was that he was way too attractive but the wise burried deep inside of you made that particular point dissappear. No need to think about that. Overall you weren't even remotely similar. Not even close. Two completely different human beings from two completely different worlds that would never collide. With that being said, there was the small chance that Mei hinted for you to get a therapist too, who knows.

"How even—"

"I mean!" She screwed something in place. "I mean in your— determination?"

"I wouldn't know that." You muttered.

"He screams I'm gonna be the best every time he's here—"

"Cute..." You vomit that endearment without thinking, but thankfully it got ignored.

"—and it always reminds me of you." A small chuckle left your mouth.

"Don't make fun of me."

"You say it too~"

"I just heal, Mei, it's not the same." Principal Nezu's speech, the speech he gave your parents months into the first year as they found themselves aware of your power made you hold your words. You had it in you. The potential. If incredible people like your teachers, like Shuzenji Chiyo or Principal Nezu twisted things around for your quirk, for how rare and powerful it is, you'd accept it.

"But you're gonna be the best healer ever, aren't you?" She taunted.

"Of course. Which reminds me—!"

"Hmm?" Her attention faded away slightly, but it wasn't a problem.

She cheered, both at you and at her finished masterpiece and proceeded to eat too, passing through the lunch hour without interruption.

"Recovery Girl is putting me on active duty at the infirmary from now on. Finally!"

Innocent pale purple eyes stared into deep crimson ones, furrowed brows covering them.

—

Bakugou Katsuki wasn't one to enjoy being annoyed or surprised and this extra managed to make him feel both things in a short notice.

Everyone around him froze in fear or wonder, awaiting his response without breathing or moving an inch. Meanwhile Whoever-she-was held a pink envelope in front of him, a perfume too sweet coming from it making him want to literally gag in the spot.

Another thing the boy did not appreciate was to have someone bullshit him. His senses were telling him to back off, alarms ringing in his head and those purple eyes held hidden intentions; he wasn't having any of it.

"Fuck off." He snapped, yet his stance was casual as he refused to move out of her way since she was the one that had the audacity to run into him.

Some gasps, even coming from his so-called idiotic friends, could be heard and an indignant Bakubro behind him as he got slapped in the shoulder but he did not care. Not until her lips started to tremble as she retreated her confession letter towards her chest dramatically. His eyebrow started to twitch at the sight.

It was a spectacle for anyone surrounding him.

"What's going on?" Shushes and whispers.

"Bakugou Katsuki just got a confession!" Gossip.

"What!? Who?!" Confusion.

"You said Bakugou Katsuki?!" Shock.

"Oh, she's pretty!" Awe.

"He told her to Fuck off! What an asshole!" Outrage.

"Is that Midori?" Surprise.

"The nerve—" Anger.

"Midori from—" Disbelief.

"Oh, my God, she's really doing it~!" Giggles.

He frowned deeper. If people were to talk about him, they should be talking about all the crap he's been doing and all the lives he saved, not because of a fake bimbo decided to cross his path.

Bakugou wasn't stupid either. With time he knew these things would eventually come in his direction, stuff he'd have to deal with in the future as fame would take over, but not now. He did not have time to entertain this show anyway.

There was only one destination in his mind and she was keeping him in the middle of the whole school cafeteria with prying eyes on them both.

"Bakugou, do something, she's about to cry!" Dunce Face harshly whispered, but turned towards the white haired girl that looked devastated in front of them. "Ignore him! Ask me out, I would never make you cry!"

He rolled his eyes so back in his head it almost hurt. With a need to hurl the food he just ate, he made a step to leave the scene but small hands with claw-like fingernails gripped his arm and he looked at her in utter disgust.

"No, I would never! He—" she sniffled but had no tears in her eyes. He gave her a scowl, trying to take his arm out of her grip but she scratched him in place with her tiny rat hands. "You're the one I love! I—" her bangs covered her face as she continued her show.

"Bakugou! Dude! Do something!" Shitty Hair said, his dumb and blind trust in people buying the act. A vein almost popped on Bakugou's forehead.

"I fucking said—" he pulled his arm so hard she fell on her knees by his side. "Fuck. Off."

Another set of gasps filled the room.

"Bakugou!"

One thing he did not want, even if he could tell it was a foul theater, was to hurt somebody. His asshole act ended at that but his pride stopped him from saying anything.

Glancing to see if she's hurt, Pink Idiot was by her side, helping her up and asking way too many fucking questions.

"No, I'm fine..." she said with such a meek voice he scoffed, also hearing all the shit everyone around him was talking.

"He's such a brute."

"What a mean guy—"

"She's crying!"

"Fucking asshole."

He gritted his teeth.

After the disaster with the League of Villains in the first year, people started to respect him for who he was yet one single, minuscule shit like this and they were all at his jugular.

"I took Bakugou-san by surprise." She excused his behavior to Ashido, which then suggested they should eat lunch together sometimes to make up for the trouble after apologizing in his behalf.

"Yeah, we'd love to have you around! Isn't that right, Bakugou?" The apologetic and almost pleading voice of his blond friend, if he ever was going to call him that anymore, just made him bare his teeth. If they wanted to get played like fools it was their problem, not his.

And that's how he found himself eavesdropping on the weirdo and an extra.

And with a single "Whatever." he left the cafeteria, going to check if his gauntlets were ready, annoyance oozing off him, making the sea of people part from his path. Except he didn't notice you rushing away a little bit in front of him, holding a bag of food, all amused.

Why the fuck was everyone talking about him? Can't they fucking keep his pretty name outta their mouths? With time and without finding a reason why the hell he was glued in place, he listened attentively, his suspicions confirmed and his ego hurt, but whoever was talking about him calmed his nerves a lot. He just needed to put a face to that voice. Just to see who's gossiping about him, nothing else.

—

With a full belly and a whole afternoon to study by Recovery Girl's side, you marched towards the infirmary after you bid your farewell to Mei. There was still time to walk around, grab something sweet for later and save any poor soul that Midori decided to sink her teeth in. It was common at this point, you getting in between her and her victims and taking the hit, yet somehow also being called a bitch by everyone. That's how high-school worked. She did have friends and they spread any word she spat. Vultures.

It was fine though. Hero [Y/N] is there to save the day no matter what. You scoffed at your own stupidity, turning the corner just to step on a leg that was sprawled on the floor.

He clicked his tongue, getting up with no worry in the world, but made no action to leave, settling for observing and analyzing you way too intensely.

"Watch where the fuck you're going, idiot." The man of the hour, the guy you've defended in front of your friend just screamed at you as he dusted off the imprint of your shoe left on his pants. Meanwhile you just paled in place before regaining your composture.

"Why are you sitting on the floor?" You said, tilting your head with a frown, already knowing you will not apologize.

Unimpressed by what was going on, even if you truly couldn't point out what really was going on, you made an attempt to move past him towards the vending machines not far behind, but he caught your arm in a firm grip.

You blinked stupidly at the skin contact.

"Heard you were talkin' shit."

Your stomach dropped. Legs almost gave up too if it weren't for his iron grip holding you still. In the silence and at the satisfaction of the reaction you let out, he smirked and raised his chin, only Mei's singing voice coming from her workshop could be heard. Realization hit you. Hit you? Bitchslapped you in the face and left a mark for sure, because your cheeks started feeling heated, tingly.

He dragged you away, maybe to have the privacy to murder you in peace, but your common sense kicked in and you came back from the land of the mortified.

Much like he did before, action you saw with your two own eyes and repeated, you pulled out of his strong grip and stared as he turned towards you, mouth already opened to probably eat you alive.

"I wasn't talking shit about you, dude." You quickly spoke first.

"You don't fucking know me." He growled back, taking a step towards you but like hell you'd back down.

"Don't need to be besties to say what I said." Without understanding why he was so agitated, the only thing left to do after this beautiful turn of events was to defend the honor remaining in you, so you raised your chin to be at par with him. The action clearly took him by surprise, making him glare more, if even possible.

"I don't fucking appreciate when extras talk about me behind my back!"

"I don't give a shit what you appreciate, dude." Your laugh was the complete opposite of his menacing loud voice, like ying and yang.

"Bakugou, the name's fucking Bakugou, you extra!" Bakugou recovered quickly at your snappy self, getting more bothered as you talked.

"Okay, dude." His hands fisted, shaking in place as he stared you down but did not continue.

Silence; the hallway was now filled with silence as he boiled in his own anger and as you raised your brows in confusion. Now what? Was it time to leave? You've never met anyone like him, this was peculiar—

"NOW IT'S WHEN YOU FUCKING TELL ME YOUR SHITTY NAME, YOU FUCKING DUMBASS!"

A second passes; two; at the third you're wheezing your lungs out, laughing at the ridiculousness of the scenario.

"What the fuck are you LAUGHING AT?!" His voice got louder just to top your howling. You did not expect that.

Through a sigh, regaining your breath, you say "It's [L/N] [Y/N].", seeing him retreat in his form and cross his arms. He was still seizing you up.

"If you have shit to say to me, say it to my fucking face, understood?"

"I—... Say what now?"

"I—." He copied in a mock, getting an incredulous look from you. "You stupid or what?" Your upper lip lifted, ready to cuss him to infinity and beyond but he continued. "Like about that bitch from before and shit—" even if he still was loud, he placed his hands in his pockets and looked more interested in the way the tiles on the wall were placed instead of your person. "An' like you told the weirdo—"

No time to be shocked at the implied; his last word enraged you, making your body shake with rage. "Don't fucking dare to call her a weirdo ever again."

Like a challenge, he snapped his face back at you, ready to take it.

"Or what?"

"Listen here, fucker—" now that was a nice surprised face he was pulling. "Just because I gave you a pat on the back in there doesn't mean you can disrespect people just because you think you're the shit. You're not. Now get out of my fucking way." With a final push to his shoulder, your mind was focused on going to the infirmary, steam almost coming out of your nostrils.

"Hey, extra!"

Ignore him, ignore him, ignore him. went through your mind, marching away without a glance back. Not until—

"[L/N]! You're a healer, hah?" That's interesting. He stood where you left him, watching.

"What's it to you?"

Someone sane would've left at your tone but this guy walked towards you then showed you his arms, recently scratched. Images came back to you about the cafeteria incident but did not underst—... did he want to get healed?

You scoffed.

"They're scratches, dude."

"They annoy me. Now heal." All the energy you had left in your body was channeled towards the slow blink you threw at him, at which he scoffed. But they did look nasty— and Midori did them. It was a curse by itself to look down at your own arms and remember that face, so the guardian angel in you decided to take control and be the better person.

Gentle fingers barely tapped his muscular arm. Smile crept up on your lips, feeling absolutely delighted at his obvious stiffness at the skin contact and the clear interest in his eyes, specially when the scratches started disappearing into nothing, leaving smooth silk skin under.

"Hey— Wha— Where the fuck do you think you're going?!" raspy voice got lost in the distance and one thought in your head.

"Want a lollipop for being a good patient too?" You mock and his face explodes in all shapes of red. It would've been great to mock him more, enthralled by his reactions, but with that you turned and left, ignoring the tingling under your fingers that should not be there and your stomping heart.

Did he wait all the lunchbreak to talk to you?

—

A long queue was ahead of you, earning the longest sigh out of your lungs. Life was pain sometimes. Mei couldn't hang out, food was too far away, the delicious croissants Lunch Rush made ran out as far as you could see. Pain. Just pure pain.

And disappointment. When you walked away with your food in a bag, maybe to sit under a tree and enjoy some peace and quiet, you saw her. Midori sitting at a table you did not expect. At the same table where Ashido Mina, Denki Kaminari, Kirishima Eijirou and Hanta Sero sat at. Good people. Honest, good people about to get bitten by a snake. If she was there, then Bakugou decided—

"You. Sit."

Thinking about the boy somehow summoned him behind you. Food in hand and bored expression on his face, he passed you not without giving you a stink eye. Indeed, disappointment.

You shrugged, trying not to pay much attention to the pang in your heart as you moved forward, but a voice— his voice stopped you in your tracks.

"You. Get the fuck out of my face." His growl made everyone around him turn to watch, you being one of them. There was no excuse to what came next, no way to run away past it and dissappear. He nodded his head at you out of all people and pointed at the seat still occupied by Midori; her purple eyes big, shocked, running between your frame and the blond's.

Do you know what it felt to be put in the spotlight without warning? Well, congratulations because that was your life now.

"Ba—Bakugou-san?" Her voice, now highed up and meek followed, then a small scream as Bakugou slammed his food on the table. His friends sat there, wide-eyed, but made no attempt to interrupt.

"Did I fucking stutter, bitch? Or want me to turn into a rabid dog for fucking real?"

You choked on your own spit, bag of goodies about to drop on the floor once you saw her horrified face. She knew that he knew. And when her pale eyes, filled with sudden malice, act dropped, turned to you it's when you realized she figured out where he found out from.

Not like you cared, really, but the little shit that always had to poke out every time she was in the same room as you decided to finally show up, making you wave and send her a wink.

"I said MOVE!" now— that growl, raspy and filled with anger startled her. The orange juice in her hands spilled all over her uniform and woke her up from whatever delusion she was in. With zero time to reconsider, every belonging of hers was picked up with trembling hands and she ran away to her group of cockroaches.

A smile was already settled on your face; your brain was storing that whole interaction deep within, ready to bring it back up whenever you needed a good laugh.

Life was pain and disappointment, you say? No. Life was great. Or more importantly, Bakugou was. Not like he needed to know. But he was a decent guy as he proved—

"THE FUCK YOU STANDING THERE LIKE A DUMBASS?! I SAID SIT!" —to be a pain in the fucking ass and the bane of your existence.

You gave him a face then turned to walk away, even rushing more when you heard his chair screeching on the floor. The exit was so close, so near, freedom never felt this great, the sunlight kissing your skin giving you a new hope to live. But not for long because he grabbed your hand and started dragging you towards his table.

Your hand was in his hand and he was dragging you—

Your hand— his big, warm, a little bit sweaty hand—

How could you ruin such a beautiful moment? Eyes on you two, shocked, silence, his adorable red ears being the only thing you could see as he was completely in front of you, still dragging you towards his friends...

"Did you wait all lunchbreak yesterday to talk to me?" You collided into him as you finished the sentence, his way taller form stiffened so much you felt you single-handedly broke Bakugou Katsuki for good.

But when he turned... Oh, when he turned. Biggest deer-caught-in-the-headlights eyes you've ever seen on anyone, cheeks painted so red you almost melted in the spot, lips trembling as his head worked a thousand miles per second just to find a retort. And you prepared yourself for—

"NO, I FUCKING DIDN'T! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, YOU FUCKING EXTRA? I'D NEVER WAIT FOR SOMEONE LIKE YO— ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME!" Mina's waving hand caught your attention and smiled at her. Your hand was still in his, gripped harshly as he still hasn't noticed it's still there.

"Hey! [L/N], long time no see!" She cheered, ignoring the living shit out of her screaming friend, like she's used to it.

"FUCKING LOOK AT ME WHEN I TALK TO YOU—"

"Hey, chill, dude. Now let go of my hand, I wanna talk to Ashido." You smiled sweetly, making extra effort to wave your linked hands arond until he finally noticed. He zapped his hand away so fast, like he's been bitten by a wild animal. Maybe even a rabid dog, if you will.

You couldn't ignore your own flustered state as you walked past him, giving him a one up, adding the absolute scandalized face he had into the back of your mind for safekeeping.

"Come sit with us!" The pinkette offered.

"Oh, hey, I know you! You're by Hatsume's workshop all the time!" Kirishima intervened with a surprised face that broke into a grin. "Nice to officially meet—"

"I fucking said." he appeared, sitting in front of you. "My name's Bakugou."

"Ok, dude, but I'm talking to someon—"

"BAKUGOU KATSUKI!" Could be heard from the stratosphere.

Note: I just realized Midori means Green [ fucking duh ] but I'm not gonna change the name or her description. I think her parents fucking up her name was the start of many accidents leading into the Midori we all know and hate. Also, I know you understand. We all know a Midori in our lives. Much love.

Note 2: I keep editing it but tumblr dot com slash Install App on Phone fucks my editing and switches paragraphs all around! If you find any PLEASE tell me, I'd really appreciate it!!!

[fanficsrusz]

Lure Of The Maw Chapter Two - Henry Cavill Pirate AU

Warnings: Eventual Smut. Kidnapping. Mentions of physical harm. Men being Pervy. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR OWN SOCIAL MEDIA CONSUMPTION. NOT ME. THEREFORE I DO NOT ACCEPT ANY RESPONSIBILITY IF YOU GET TRIGGERED FROM THIS POINT ON. If you read and you feel like I’ve missed a T/W then please let me know nicely and I will adjust ❤️.

Pairing: Y/n x Pirate Henry cavill

Word Count: 4.3k

Summary: Y/n’s sheltered life comes crashing down when pirates use her to get what they want.

A/n; I take way to long to update anything but here we are 😂. I still have no idea what I want to happen do enjoy the nonsense until i finally get a proper plot.

Chapter one

Sleep came like the falling of an axe. I knew it must come but I fought it with everything that I had. Those defenceless hours, oblivious to my surroundings, were enough to light up my whole body with fiery sparks that make me want to scream with anger and cry with fear. I am utterly wired until that time when I cannot fight it anymore and the sleep is as instantaneous as it is unwelcome. I have some warning though, when my thoughts become intertwined with random ideas, impossible ideas, I seek my flimsy bed, not what I'm used to, and hope I can get maybe even an hour's sleep before I have to experience the horror show that is reality.

Tucked into the little shelf that night, the sleep pooled on my eyelids, and the wooden ship was filled with the soft sounds of people sleeping. The wind swooped up, over the heights of the sails, rushed and rustled through the creaking beams, and gradually ebbed away through the crags to silence that wasn't filled with the waves crashing against the side of the ship. No longer did the rocking make me feel sick, but instead created a soothing rhythm to which rocked me to sleep.

The previous day had been quiet, nothing to feel the numbing void of darkness that was offered from the bare walls. Those few hours alone was enough to make me crave any type of communication, any voice, any entertainment. But instead I only found comfort in the darkness of my eyelids.

I had no idea how long I had been asleep for until I woke to the sound of breathing that wasn't my own. It was heaving, like a man's and rapid as if he's run into the room. I listen, still, trembling as the memories of where I am rush back. He's moving slowly, his heavy feet creaking floor boards that are silent for me.

"Wake up, Princess" there booms that deep voice that still sends shivers down my spine and despite the heat that floods my body, I remain still in the poorly lit room. I can hear him lean against a beam in the room, his hands tapping gently against metal - probably his sword, or belt buckle. The way he calls me princess is more of a sarcastic humour rather than being respectful and I fight the urge to roll my eyes beneath my closed lids.

I can hear him huffing to himself when I don't respond to him and within seconds he's calling out to me again.

"For God sake, heavy sleeper are we?" I hear his weight shift again and this time the heavy strides of his steps come closer and before I can even register anything, I can feel his hand on my shoulder as he roughly shakes me.

My eyes shoot open as a gasp leaves my lips and he pulls away from me. I sit up straight and throw my legs off of the bed as I jump to my feet, trying to make my body appear as large as possible, as if he was a bear.

"I would prefer it if you didn't lay your dirty hands upon me again, captain!" His title came out as a bitter poison that I hoped would cause him some pain, something I had come to do just as he called me princess. I could have walked away had it not been for the smirk. That little rise in the corner of his mouth he was oblivious to combined with the cool detachment in his eyes that was mixed with a playful gleam of excitement that seemed to spark in his eyes.

I had unintentionally given him inner delight. He was savouring the moment as if it was a sweet nectar.

"Sleep well?"

Maybe it was his stupid face or his stupid tone, or maybe just my lack of control but I once again found my self taking a swing at him with as much ease as the restraints around my wrist would allow. But with a grunt Henry caught my wrist mid air.

That deep, low, chuckle that only he could manage echoed through the cabin again and I felt my teeth dig into my cheeks as he tightened his grip on my wrist.

"Barely even awake and already taking swings at me." his smirk remained unchanged as he stared down at me and with a rapid jerking motion of my arm, I pulled my hand from his grip.

"You're going to have to be faster than that next time"

Henry's stillness scared me. Perhaps it is the faint sunlight making his skin gleam, or the lack of wind letting every hair hang without movement, I'm not sure. He doesn't even blink. Our bodies sway with the movement of the ship, a lazy and understated rocking motion. It's times like this where if this was someone else, I would turn away and try to hide from their gaze, but not with Henry. He had this power over me that even I couldn't explain.

Henry had quite forgotten what one can see in peripheral vision and his eyes are walking from my hair line to my feet and back up again. In short, he is staring and there seems no end to his fascination. The only time his gaze breaks is when I clear my throat in an attempt to calm my thumping heart.

"I guess I will just keep on practicing".

With a swish on my dress, I take my seat again, holding my back straight and folding my arms as best as I could as I turn my gaze to the small window in the room.

I can feel Henry's gaze on me for a moment longer and from my peripheral vision I can see his tongue lick over his bottom lip.

"I have some businesses to talk to you about". The playful tone in his voice had stilled and instead was replaced by a more serious one and I rolled my eyes.

"And what's that? Is my scent to hypnotic for your idiotic crew" sarcasm.

I expected some sort of laugh or sarcastic comeback but instead all i got was a serious response.

"We have received word from your father" just like how Henry had turned serious, I too felt my body stiffen as I snapped my head to look at him, analysing to see if he was telling the truth.

"What?"

"Read for yourself" He produced a single piece of parchment from his pocket, the bright red wax sigil was one I was oh so familiar with.

With a push I was on my feet and with two large strides I found myself inches in front of Henry as I snatched the paper from his hands. My eyes skimmed over the cursive letters, my mind numbing at the words that laid there.

"It seems we have a deal"

Shock brings a quietness within, a moment to feel my emotions change gear and numb my soul for what is to come. My brain stutters for a moment and my eyes take in more light than I expected, every part of me goes on pause while my thoughts catch up.

"Looks like he really does care about you after all" Henry's sarcastic tone returns and for once I don't know what to say.

"No" that's the only word on my mind as I reread the words over and over again. "My father would have never made a deal with people like you!"

"Well whether you believe it or not, Princess, your father has agreed to disburse the taxes back to my people in exchange for your safe return".

My eyes glance up at him through my lashes and I shove the paper back into his hand as I turn my back to him, not quite sure what I was feeling. How could my father bargain with - pirates?

With a sigh Henry continues.

"I'm just waiting for word from a friend in the village to make sure he does what he says and then your father has demanded that I leave you with a fleet of his royal guards, about a four days journey from here" I hear his voice waver a little and all I do is remain silent.

"So that's it then? I can go home in four days"

"As long as your father keeps his end of the deal then you will be sipping tea and eating your fancy pansy food by the end of the week and I will be nothing more than a distant memory"

That's what I was afraid of. Maybe it was seeing the same castle walls for the past countless years or the constant routine of being followed by guards everywhere, but with Henry, I felt a spark of excitement, endless thoughts of what could happen rather than knowing every little detail of what my future holds. And even if Henry didn't say it, I could see the look in his eyes when I disobeyed him or talked back to him. He enjoyed it just as much as I did.

His face remained motionless for a second more before his lips turned up again in what I had come to assume was his factory setting.

"Did you think I was lying? That I wouldn't keep up my end of the deal?" he chuckled lowly as he stepped forward and I felt my feet remain in their spot. "Just because I'm a pirate doesn't doesn't inherently make me a liar"

I could feel his breath on my face, the smell of alcohol strong but not unbearable, instead it was almost intoxicating but for all the wrong reasons.

"I had a mission princess." I watched as his eyes darkened and I felt the way his warm, rough fingers found my skin, wrapping around my neck with ease as he gently squeezed. I could breathe but I was more than aware that he could take that from me at any moment. I didn't move, didn't jump or didn't scream. I only stared at him, watching my reflection in his eyes.

"It wasn't to take you…. To torture you or - have my way with you" I heard the desperation in his voice and I to felt a familiar warmth in my stomach as I tried to control myself.

His eyes remained focused on me, as did mine on him. I swallowed hard and it made me all the more aware of his hand on my throat and the power he held over me.

Just as the warmth became almost unbearable, he pulled his hand away and it left a burning that I know no one could even recreate.

"No. It was to simply get your father's attention" Henry cleared his throat as he turned away from me, trying and failing to hide the fact that he was readjusting himself. "and Now that I have that, you can rest easy. Enjoy your few days at see and then you can be back home"

Seeing the effect I blatantly had on him made my heart twirl and hearing his voice made my stomach flutter. I can't help but feel this way about him.

Pin-drop silence...? How is that remotely possible with my heart somersaulting. His mahogany hair moving through his fingers as he brushed it back in a way I have come to adore and his cerulean eyes locking onto me as he turned back to face me in a trance with such intensity; looking away is unthinkable. His eyes constrict as he winked at me, unaware of the repercussions. The dimples that indent in the corners of his embellished skin is my last coherent thought as I become painfully aware of the silence that wrapped around us.

I felt the heat rise to my cheeks as Henry looked in my direction, he grinned and I snapped my head away, knowing that if I continued to stare I would get lost in his big blue eyes. I could feel his eyes still on me, I silently inhaled and exhaled, hoping that his thoughts about me were good.

"I'm hungry" I quickly spurt out, not really knowing what else to say. What else could I say? I want to feel your touch on me again? I don't want to go back home because I can't stop thinking about what could happen between us? You make me feel something I've never felt before? I want to have your cock as deep inside me as humanly possible? This man was turning me into a harlot.

Henry smiled to himself, his eyes dropping as he inhaled deeply.

"Very well, i'll send something in".

With a nod of his head he sent a member of the crew off to fulfill my request. Henry turned around to leave but not before taking one last look up and down my body. He may have thought I didn't see that, but I did.

"Captain?" I called out hastily and he stopped in his tracks and his attention was back on me.

I said nothing and only extended my binded hands in his direction. Henry raised his eyebrows in confusion before finally letting them fall as he realised what I was asking of him.

"What? No!" he huffed out a chuckled and I let my arms drop back to my body

"How does once expect me to eat with these"

"Well you seemed to manage quite fine when trying to attack me earlier. Not to mention how you busted my lip not too long ago as well" Henry crossed his arms and my face remained stoic.

"it's not going to happen, Princess. No offence but I don't fancy waking up with a knife to my throat" I opened my mouth to protest but decided against it seeing as he was half right.

I felt my lip twitch in annoyance as I suddenly accepted the fact that the binds were there to stay for a while longer and I shifted on my feet.

"I don't blame you. I would do the same if I was in the same situation - fight back that is." His eyes softened a little in reassurance and my heart once again flipped. "But nonetheless, the ropes stay tied".

Henry once again turned to leave me but for some reason I just couldn't stop myself. I wanted him to stay with me almost.

"My father really isn't a bad man" I watched as Henry's shoulders stiffened and he sighed heavily.

"How I do wish to live in that fantasy world you get to live in"

He slowly turned again and the soft expression and playful smirk were gone, instead replaced with an angered grimace.

"He is a bad man. He's a murderer and a thief." his eyes remained dark with rage.

"Let's just say I wouldn't lose a night's sleep if I got the chance to kill him myself, I can tell you that" his rage subsided a little as he noticed my wide eyes and his chuckle once again filled the room.

"Don't worry, princess. Your daddy's going to be just fine unless he goes back on his word. if he takes you and then goes back on his promise, he's going to lose more than just you. He'll lose his limbs, his eyes, he's tongue and just about everything else".

I remained silent through his little threat. Henry huffed a little, running his hand over his beard.

"I'm not a monster, princess. I may be a brood and violent at times. But I have my reasons for the way I am. Can you say the same for your father?" His voice became softer and calmer than I had heard before. I couldn't tell who was lying. Him. Or me. The one person who kept saying my father wasn't a monster.

I saw those gravity-drawn shoulders painting a picture of Henry's heart, as if neither it nor his soul would welcome a beat. I see in his eyes that his brain had built some new walls with him so lonely on the other side. I too knew that same feeling as I felt the tears burn the edges of eyes.

My eyes fell to the floor and I watched as he stepped closer to me, his hand coming to tap my chin, forcing me to look up at him.

His eyes were so different in that moment, more soft than I knew eyes could be. The dangerous pirate who could kill me at any second was gone and instead they were the eyes of one who cared deeply. If it were anyone else I would drop my gaze, but with him, I'm drawn in closer, always wanting more. In his eyes is humanity, the person he really is and not what the world saw him as.

"The world is a cruel place and the truth is cold, y/n" he spoke my name with such delicacy and it made me feel warm inside. Never before did my name sound so beautiful.

"you've had the luxury of hiding from it, but I haven't. You could judge me for the way I turned out and I can sure as hell judge you too. Safe, naive, sheltered, believing that everything is good and all is right. All the while my people are being beaten, hung, dragged behind on horses as they scream for their lives - " his voice grew in volume and the rage he felt was understandable and I felt sorry for him. " - and for what? For not being able to pay some ridiculous tax?"

Henry's breathing became heavy, rugged and uneven and my heart ached to hug him, to apologise for everything.

"All I can say is ask him yourself when you get back. See if his eyes speak true to his innocence." Behind that icy stare was a mountain of pain, yet extracting it would bring pain and instability.

We stood in silence, the only thing keeping me from crying was the fact that my teeth dug into my cheeks, a trick I was taught by a maid to control my emotions years ago.

Neither of us moved until a knock filled the silence and we both shifted away from each other. I wiped my eyes of their vacant tears and Henry cleared his throat. I turned my head away from the man who entered the room with a tray of food, and I listened closely as I heard two sets of footsteps leave the room without another word.

~~

My thoughts were blank. What a strange occurrence. Normally my thoughts were twisting and turning; suffocating me with their whispers. But now, nothing. What did I know? I knew nothing. I lived a lie and now I didn't know what to do.

I chewed my nail impatiently, my foot bouncing against the wood below them and I needed answers of the truth.

"Princess!" that deep voice called out to me from down the hall outside my room and I jumped to my feet, straightening out my dress a little in the process.

The second I saw his head of hair peer round the door, I allowed my face to hold its stoic position as I waited to see what he wanted.

"Good evening. How was your dinner?" His eyes fell to the empty plate that once held an array of foods from chicken to nuts and dates, not what I had expected from a pirate ship. In all honesty they could have given me a stale piece of bread and I would have consumed every crumb within seconds.

"It was satisfactory" I held my head high as he picked up the plate and handed it to someone else.

"Oh my sincere apologies on behalf of the ship's cook for disappointing your majesty" he gave a small bow and it stunned me how his cocky nature had quickly returned and I was still caught up in my emotions.

"Are you mocking me, Captain?" His eyes squinted slightly as he drew out a long hum before nodding profusely.

"hmmm, yes" he laughed loudly and I rolled my eyes.

"Well if that is all you intend to do I request to be alone"

"That's not all I came down here for".

He peeked my interest and I peered at him intently.

"No, I came to check in on you. Give you a little bit of company" Henry looked around the room as if he had never seen it before himself as he took a seat on a chair that sat in the corner, the wood creaking under his weight.

"it does get awfully lonely down here and something tells me you aren't one to go without attention"

I stared him down and blew a strand of hair from my face.

"Don't take me for a fool, captain" my voice was strong and unfaltering and Henry held his hands up defensively.

"Caught me in a lie you did" he chuckled again before sitting back comfortably. His eyes stared at my body again before landing on my face that I was sure had a tint of red.

"Alright, I confess - You fascinate me"

Words left me as my mind went blank.

"w-what?" the only word that seemed I was able to speak.

"Well I just can't stay away. I'm actually going to miss having you aboard. You've got a fire inside you that no one seems to dampen. Never before have I had someone speak to me the way you do. I thought about the day someone finally did and I imagined what they would look like. But a princess never seemed to fit that description. You're definitely more than I bargained for".

I felt almost embarrassed as he stared at me, the warmth in my stomach almost matching the warmth that radiated from my chest.

"Not once have you wailed or cried in self pity. You haven't begged for your life or your father's" he shook his head as he seemed to remember something, an inside joke maybe. Henry wagged his finger at me and chuckled.

"But you. You take swings at me, spit in my face and you fight back".

I felt a small smile pull at my lips as pride filled me.

"So?"

"so, if I stay here for a little while will I get hurt again?"

The smile on my face grew a little at the admittance that I had managed to hurt him.

"No" I simply said, taking a seat on my bed.

"tell me. Will you be happy to return?" The smile I had faded just as quick as it had appeared and even I didn't know the answer to that but thankfully Henry was too eager with his questions to allow me to linger on that one.

"What's it even like there? To live in luxury? I reckon my imagination doesn't do it justice"

I felt a sarcastic remark bite at my tongue and I couldn't control it.

"It's more than an animal like you deserves" I glanced at him briefly with a glint of resistance before turning my gaze back to the wall.

"Oh I see. You know it's funny, princess" Henry stood from his seat and slowly marched to stand in front of me, hands behind his back as his eyes remained on me. "Your lips insult me… But your eyes twinkle as they do"

I swallowed the lump in my front as I crossed my legs and straightened my posture.

"I have no idea what you are talking about"

Henry chuckled, stepping closer to me before leaning down so his face was inches away from mine.

"You know what I think? I think I am no more of an animal to you than you are a rich, spoiled brat to me" our eyes met and I could see the resistance that both of us held. His eyes flickered down to my lips for a second and I could tell he didn't mean to do it. "I think we both know that there's more to each other than meets the eye"

I so badly wanted to reach out to him, to run my fingers through his salty hair. But my pride held me back and Henry thankfully stood up.

"Be honest, there's a part of you that's thriving on all of this. Being amongst pirates and being at sea away from civilization and prying eyes. And being more than a pretty face in a perfect little world" his voice turned dark with desire as I stared up at him, not quite sure what to say.

"So you admit you think I'm pretty"

"and you don't deny anything else"

We both held our gazes strong and anyone could feel the tension that surrounded us.

"You see, I can be quite perspective - for an animal" He chuckled lowly and I still remained silent.

"Well princess, I bid you goodnight. I'm going to be turning in soon."

Henry turned to leave and I suddenly found my voice.

"Can you leave a candle burning?" Henry smiled and simply nodded, pulling a match from his pocket and sticking it to create a flame that lit the room much more.

"I'm sorry for leaving you in the dark, princess." he smiled softly.

"And maybe a blanket?" Henry's eyes flooded with guilt as he finally noticed the way I clung onto myself for any warmth.

"You've - you've been cold?" I watched as his gaze turned to his men who stood outside the door and their faces turned white with fear.

"My sincere apologies, Princess. My men should have been on that and I promise you the right consequences will be taken"

I laughed quietly as I watched the men scramble to find a blanket and within seconds one was being handed to me.

"Now for God's sake we are not your servants, no more requests".

I wrapped the scratchy blanket around my body but I couldn't care less because the warmth was all I needed.

"Good night, princess"

"Good night, captain"

Tbc

(tags will be added in reblog)

[dracowars]

forbidden | draco malfoy

pairing: draco x slytherin!reader

word count: 3,6k

summary: where y/n and draco have to endure a very special type of detention

a/n: welcome to my first ever one shot. i hope you enjoy it! please let me know if there are any mistakes.

warnings: none

universe: harry potter

Honestly you weren't really surprised that Professor Snape gave Draco, Harry and Ron detention for nearly blowing up the whole potions classroom when fighting over the ground unicorn horn, an important ingredient for The Antidote to Common Poisons.

But what you weren't expecting was that Snape gave you detention as well, just because you sat in the center of it. Any attempt to convince him otherwise was useless.

And now here you were, in front of Hagrid's hut, the moon shining bright, the only light coming from the hut and your dim lanterns. You'd rather be in any other place you can think of. Everywhere except here. The sooner it ends, the better.

Yet the three idiots next to you still yelled at each other for what already feels like hours. Not even Filch nor Mrs Norris, who escorted you here after curfew, could bear their stupidity any longer, so Mr Filch knocks against Hagrid's door and runs off with a malicious giggle, but not before wishing y'all good luck, of course. You, for your part, could really need it.

"Can't believe I have to spend detention with you again, Potter", Draco spat, his voice full of disgust. The whole day he'd told you about how Harry and him already had detention in their first year at Hogwarts. That time they were lead into the Forbidden Forest and since you are now at Hagrid's hut in the middle of the night, you can already imagine exactly what your detention consists of this time.

Goosebumps spread all over your skin when you only think of the Dark Forest. Yes, you were sorted into Slytherin but that doesn't mean that you can't be afraid. You were, in fact, scared of many things but going into the Forbidden Forest was definetely very high on that list.

Draco noticed your change of behavior while listening to his story of his 11 year old brave self and suddenly had fun frightening you. Not that you were already scared enough of only the thought to go into that damned forest.

Even though he promised to protect you all the way, you were sure that when they were in first year Draco was the first to run and leave the others for death. But he would never admit that and maybe, just maybe, he actually grew up a little bit since then.

You've actually known him since you can remember. Your families, both pureblood, are very close, they even went to Hogwarts together in their time, which let to you and Draco being childhood friends. So when you went to Hogwarts yourself, you were happy to have your best friend by your side and when you got sorted into the same house, Slytherin, you couldn't have been any happier.

Eventually these long years of friendship turned into something more in your fourth year. (Maybe already earlier, you weren't quite sure.) Neither of you wanted to admit it at first but you were meant to be. Anyone could see it from a far. Everyone shipped you since first year and now, in sixth year, you are a happy couple for nearly three years with just a few minor disagreements here and there.

"Ah. The usual suspects", Hagrid mumbles as soon as he spots you after opening the heavy door, Fang, his over-sized Boarhound dog, directly running in Harry's direction. "I don't know why I thought it would be someone else. Feels just like yesterday that we went into the Forbidden Forest, right?"

Hagrid's mention of the Forbidden Forest makes shivers run down your spine right away. This reaction of your body didn't go unnoticed though and you feel the warmth of Draco's body as he scoots closer to you.

Despite Draco's cold demeanor outward, he has a very pleasent warm body temperature. You found out about this feature when you started becoming 'more than just friends' over the years. And now it is hard to imagine life without this warmth.

"I thought getting into sixth year would finally safe us these kind of detentions", Ron whines which Hagrid only response to with a laugh. "No matter what year you are in, Ron, there is nothing more beautiful like an adventurous walk through the forest in the middle of the night. Trust me", Hagrid smiles proudly. "What do we have to do this time?", Harry asks, also not very fond of the idea to go into that forest again.

Even though you were friends with Draco for so long, you actually liked the golden trio. You don't have much to do with them, only a few courses together, but you don't hate them at all. In your opinion they are actually very kind, which Draco, obviously, doesn't approve of.

"Not much, in fact. A creature was hurt last night and I really don't know which one it is. All we have to do is to find the injured creature", Hagrid explains while taking a huge crossbow, leading you right to the entrance of the forest. "Not very challenging, is it?"

"But you do know that there are werwolves in there, don't you? Besides all the other.. dangerous animals that thirst for our blood", Ron complains, while Draco seems to have laid eyes on the crossbow.

"What weapon do we get to defend ourselves?", he interupts Ron's expressed thoughts and points to the weapon, which Hagrid answers to with a sigh.

"You're a wizard. I don't think you need any other weapon than your wand, Malfoy", Hagrid scoffs and goes past him. "Now. Since I'm able to learn from my mistakes, not like others..", he mumbles the last part. "Harry and Ron, you will go this way. Draco and Y/N take the other direction. Please make sure to not hurt anyone or anything."

"A-Anything?", is the last word you hear Ron mumble as you started walking in the different direction. Or more like Draco pulling you behind him into the Dark Forest.

You tighten your black cloak around yourself as you shiver. The Forbidden Forest seems to be even scarier in the night. Even scarier than you expected it to be in general. The only sounds you can hear are your footsteps on the mud, caused by the rainy weather these days, and here and there something that sounds like a very aggressive raven.

"Snape should have just deducted our houses points and not let us go into this dumb forest again", Draco mumbles in front of you while leading the way, not really knowing where to search either. The dim warm light of the lantern he holds up makes his hair shine bright and is the only thing that makes you feel at ease a little bit. Something familiar.

A sudden crack behind you, sounding like a branch that has been stepped on, makes you stop in your tracks abruptly. "What was that, Draco?", you ask, the fear in your shaking voice clearly audible.

"Don't worry about it, love. I'm sure it was just a stupid animal. Let's go on", your boyfriend responds and takes your cold hand in his again.

As you kept going through the tall trees for a few minutes you realize that you've gotten very far into the Forbidden Forest already. All you can see now are trees and not even the moon shines through the dense leaves over your heads anymore. The thick layer of fog around you doesn't make the weird feeling in your stomach better either.

Draco keeps strolling around, searching for any evidence for an injured creature and you turn around, still feeling anxious of someone - or something - following you two.

Your heart stops as the lantern, that Draco held up seconds ago, falls to the ground with a loud crash. Your whole vision goes black and darkness surrounds you. A few bats, startled by the noise, fly away.

"Draco?!", you shout and don't dare to move a single muscle. Your breath is so slow, you don't even know if you're still breathing at all. Another sound is heard from your right and you turn around, only to face more darkness.

"Draco Lucius Malfoy! This is not funny at all! Do you hear me?!", you yell again while getting your wand out of your pocket. Pointing it forward, you quietly say: "Lumos."

As soon as the light erupts from the tip of your wand, blinding you for a brief moment, a white, light-lit face appears right in front of you.

"BOO!", the face shouts directly at you.

You let out a scream, stumble back a few steps in shock and rest your hand against your fast beating heart. The next thing you hear are the echoing laughters of your boyfriend.

"You should've seen your face!", Draco laughs and throws his head back. You swallow heavily and take a few moments to calm yourself down, a tear on the edge of falling. "I hate you so much!", you yell at him and hit his shoulder a few times as anger replaces your fear. "You know exactly how scared I am, dumbass!"

"I could not not take this opportunity, love", he giggles, making the blood in your veins boil. But before you can scold him any further, he stops laughing all of a sudden and his suddenly widend eyes are locked on a point directly behind you. "Y/N.. Don't turn around, okay? Don't move", he whispers and points behind you with a slight head movement.

"I'm not that pathetic, Draco. I'm not gonna fall for that again", you roll your eyes and cross your arms over your chest while turning around. As soon as you did, it feels like all life left your body at once.

Two round yellow eyes, emerging from the sinister undergrowth, are directly fixed on you. A small cone of moonlight falls through the rustling leaves as a slight breeze passes and the creature in front of you turns out to be a werewolf.

Your breath gets caught in your throat as the wild creature comes closer, snarling. "RUN, Y/N!", Draco's loud shout makes you flinch and he grabs your hand, knowing that it is too late to not make any noise, pulling you closely behind him. You nearly stumble over all the sticking out, large roots on the ground but the adrenaline that rushes through your body makes you run as fast as you can.

"Stupefy!", Draco casts the Stunning Spell and shoots it at the creature while running. A jet of red light emerges from his wand but misses the werewolf by a few centimeters. It is now catching up with you even faster than before. "Damn it!", Draco curses.

Your legs already start hurting from how fast you were running. You see a dim light between the trees in front of you and a glimmer of hope runs through you. As you get closer by every second you realize that it's not Hagrid, as you hoped, but none other than Ron and Harry. The confusion is clearly written on their faces.

"RUN!", you tell them, grabbing their hands as you pass them to pull both of them with you. It doesn't take them long to realize what you were running away from.

"Bloody hell!", Ron whimpers beside you and lets the lantern fall to the ground. By now the four of you lost every sense of direction and the only thing that keeps you from giving up is to not get torn into pieces.

Again you take a look back over your shoulder to see how close the wolf has come and in this exact moment of unwariness, you trip over and fall to the ground with a cry. Immediately you try to straighten up but a sharp pain runs through your body and leaves you whimpering in pain.

"Stupefy!", Harry now attacks the beast and actually hits it this time. The wolf falls back a few meters through the air and lands on the ground with a thump, motionless.

"Y/N! Stand up, come on!", Draco helps you up and notices your pained expression. From that moment on your fear is reflected in his eyes. He bends down and frantically picks you up in his arms. Unfortunately, the werewolf has recovered from the spell quickly and is running towards you again, growling and barking dangerously.

But before you can escape this time, another creature that you can't really make out because of the darkness at first, suddenly throws itself on the wolf, fighting a bitter fight with it. You can only stand there and watch in shock.

"Buckbeak!", you can hear Hagrid's voice from the distance and the majestic hippogriff lets go of the much smaller animal, which is now also winzing in pain and then finally leaves you alone.

"What did you do?! How did this happen?", Hagrid scolds you as soon as he arrives, his eyes fixed on Draco immediately. You bite your lower lip to hold back tears as you let yourself sink down from Draco's arms and onto the ground with his help.

"The werewolf attacked us out of nowhere", you explain with a quiet voice and touch your ankle, regretting it right away as you hiss in pain. "It was noone's fault, Hagrid."

"This is exactly the reason why students shouldn't go into the Forbidden Forest, you-", Draco aggressivly starts but you pull on his sleeve, making him look at you. His facial expression softens at your action.

Buckbeak stands close behind Hagrid and observes the situation curiously. Hagrid sighs loudly, his breath becoming visible in the cold air of the night, and pets Buckbeak gently.

"Fine. Let's get you out of here first and then we will look at the damage", Hagrid suggests and Draco and Harry help you stand up again. "I c-can't walk", you hiss after placing your injured foot on the ground, withdrawing it straight away.

"Come here, Y/N. Buckbeak will help", Hagrid waves you over to him and before any second thoughts could cross your mind, you were already seated on the hippogriff's back. While you're still busy with getting comfortable on the creature you unexpectedly feel a pair of hands sneak around your waist closly from behind. Draco had jumped onto Buckbeak as well, with Hagrid's permission of course, and whispers an apology in your ear.

Finally you are able to relax a little while you feel Draco's chest against your back. A cozy warmth emanates from him that has always made you feel at ease and the cold air surrounding you makes it even more comfortable.

With a whistle from Hagrid Buckbeak sets itself in motion and leads you out of the forest, directly back to Hagrid's hut. You had completely lost every sense of time while you were in there. While to you it seems like several hours have passed, it was probably just one.

Draco jumps off in front of the hut and helps you get down, his grip very strong on your hip. You gently stroke over the soft head of the hippogriff and smile weakly at it.

Draco doesn't waste any time and takes you to the warm hut, where he seats you down on one of the chairs and carefully places your leg on his thigh. While watching your boyfriend take care of you so caringly and gently - a side not everyone knows of him - you don't even notice that a few tears finally found their way over your cheeks, which you were able to hold back before. Everything that happened tonight hits you all at once in this moment.

Eventually, Draco's gaze meets yours and he immediately pulls you into a warm, firm and loving hug. "I am so so sorry, love. I shouldn't have scared you. If I hadn't been this stupid, then we wouldn-", he stumbles over his words but you place your index finger on his lips softly. "I'm okay, Draco", you smile at him, even though your ankle doesn't feel anywhere near okay.

"I told Madam Pomfrey what happened and she will be able to heal it quickly, and even though she wasn't very happy that I asked for her help at this hour, she would like to see you at the Hospital Wing", Hagrid tells you as he comes back into his hut, Ron and Harry curiously looking past Hagrid and at you. The guilt is clearly written on Hagrid's face.

"I'm sorry I couldn't help but somehow I just couldn't come up with the right spell!", Ron rants while he and Harry approach you. "How about we help you get into that hospital wing?", Harry offers their help with a smile, which you gladly agree to. Draco on the other hand throws a disapproving look at him, his protective boyfriend instincts very active after what happened today.

Still, he lets Harry help him get you out. Your arms are each wrapped around their shoulders so that you can at least hobble and not have to be carried.

"I will talk to Professor Dumbledore about getting rid of these kind of detentions", Hagrid utters, looking to the ground in shame. Buckbeak senses Hagrid's sadness and lays his head on his arm. Releasing your arm from Draco purposely to tap Hagrid's shoulder soothingly, Draco holds you tightly at your waist in an instant, still afraid that you could lose balance any second and fall again.

"Please don't worry, Hagrid. It's not your fault", you try to cheer him up. "Thank you and also you, Buckbeak." At the mention of his name, Buckbeak turns to you and it almost looks like he actually understood what you said, lowering his head a little as if he would bow.

"I hate to admit it but I guess I have to thank that.. chicken of yours as well, Hagrid", Draco clears his throat. "Thank you for rescuing us."

You know exactly how difficult it is for Draco to thank someone. He rarely does, only because he never really learned how. However, the few times he actually does, you can't help but feel warmer inside. This is what distinguishs him from the evil guys.

With these last words and a nod from Hagrid's side, Draco leads the way into the building and they help you to the first floor, Ron opening the doors for you. You arrive at the Hospital Wing, where Harry and Ron seperate from you and go back to their common room.

Madam Pomfrey treats your sprained ankle and only half an hour later you are dismissed from the Hospital Wing. It feels like you've never hurt yourself in the first place, but Madam Pomfrey still wants you to rest and take care of yourself. Your boyfriend clearly agreed to that and insisted on carrying you back to the Slytherin common room, where you arrived only seconds ago.

It is already so late in the night that not a single soul is in the faint green room, everyone fast asleep for hours in their comfortable beds. You feel exhausted after this eventful night and tiredness is slowly overcoming you.

"Where do you think you are going?", Draco's determining voice asks you with a hint of reproach when you were just about to make your way to the girls' dormitories. "To sleep?", you deadpenned.

"You won't go anywhere except my prefect room. Oh, and you will most certainly not go", he commands and before you know it, you're in his strong arms again and on the way to his room. If the way wasn't so short though, you could have fallen asleep right there in his arms, your cheek on his shoulder and one hand against his warm chest.

Despite telling him that you are fine for the tenth time now, he still insists on taking care of you. He borrows you your favorite sweater of his - although you don't quite understand how it found its way back into his closet because the last time you checked it has been in your room - and softly puts you to bed under the thick dark green covers out of silk.

What you don't know, however, is how much he actually blames himself for what happend tonight. He feels guilty because it should have hit him and not you. After all, he accidentally lured the werewolf into your direction by frightening you. He knew you were scared, you told him before. Nevertheless he thought it was funny to scare you. And now you got hurt because of him.

He climbs in beside you and pulls you closely to him, your arm wrapped over his waist and your head on his chest. He gently runs his fingertips over your delicate skin and through your hair. You feel his steady heartbeat beneath you, softly inhale his scent and close your eyes.

"I love you so much, Y/N. I'm sorry for everything", Draco whispers barely audible and places a kiss on your forehead, then another one on your temple. "I love you too, Draco", you absently smile and put your hand on his jaw, lift your head slightly and then give him a kiss on his chapped lips. "And please stop apologizing, alright? It was not your fault."

You can clearly see that he thinks about whether or not to reply but you beat him to it. "Listen. I don't blame you at all. It was a misfortune, nothing more and nothing less. All I need is your company right now. I need you by my side, Draco. Always", you explain and give him a genuine smile in hopes to make him feel better and to finally stop blaming himself.

He replies with an equally genuine smile and gives you one last kiss before he pulls you even closer, as if he's scared of losing you. Still, after your kind words, he actually feels better now and he smiles to himself when noticing your quiet snoring.

And that night Draco definetely made sure you wouldn't have any nightmares at all.

[violetfaust]

I'm interested in hearing more about why you think Margot should've been Rumbelle's daughter. Sounds interesting, but what would that mean for her enchanted forest life? I think her being Robin Hood's daughter would've been fine if not for Zelena

Okay, Nonny, since you sent this a few days before Mother's Day, I'm gonna finally take the opportunity to try to sum up and speed-run the Belle's Daughter Margot feelings that have haunted me for THREE YEARS. Buckle in; this will be more than you or anyone asked for.

Disclaimer 1: It's been, well, three years, so my memory of Curious Archer and their story is not perfect; could be off on some details here. And Disclaimer 2: I really loved Tiera Skovbye as Robin/Margot; she did a lot with not much screen time, and she and Rose had fabulous chemistry. So although she was well cast as Robin Sr.'s kid, Tiera would be perfectly believable as a Rumbelle daughter, too--maybe give her some low-lights and call it a day. We keep Tiera as Margot in this rewrite. Okay: onward.

(Since one of the few things that would have to change about Robin if she were Rumbelle’s daughter is her name, I’ll just mostly use her Hyperion Heights name “Margot” throughout this post for simplicity.)

First and foremost, the foundation of everything: Margot is so like Belle! She is so like her. They have the same love of adventure, a similar sense of humor. She took Alice on a date to a bookstore. Most of all, she has Belle’s ability to see past “the mask of the monster” to a person’s heart. There was a great scene where Tilly explained that she didn’t want Margot to see her “bad days” because she thought it would be “too much,” and Margot said words to the effect that she was there for the bad as well as the good.

Obviously, people don't have to grow up to be exactly like their parents (Belle and Rumple sure didn't)...BUT. In fiction, one of the fun parts of next-gen stories is for the audience to see how their favorites' personalities are passed down. It's just more fun to see a Henry who has parts of Regina/Emma/Neal than one who doesn't; it's fun to see Lucy resemble little Henry. And it would be fun to see Margot be like her parents (she is very like Robin Sr; not so much Zee). Seeing a character who has so many of Belle's traits becomes just more...fun...when she learned them FROM Belle.

The family feud Rumple/Hook angle turns Alice and Margot’s relationship up another roman tic notch. A classic trope! It’s about reconciliation and love remaking and erasing those old grudges. Which is even more important when we’re supposed to believe that the evidence of Rumple’s final redemption is his saving Rook.

On a more macro level: the entire claim that OUAT is "a show about hope" COLLAPSES because it ends with the annihilation of the Stiltskin family. Rumple, Belle, and Neal are all dead; Henry doesn’t acknowledge them as his family; and Gideon is a friendless and forgotten orphan in another world. I did my rants about this three years ago, but long story short: the show’s not about hope unless it’s hopeful for EVERYONE. And having at least one of Rumbelle’s children alive and happy at the end (with her True Love and friends and acknowledged as part of the family) would fix that. My objection has never been that Rumple (and even Belle) die, but the way it happened.

And of course, Rumbelle needed to have at least one other child because Kitsowitz managed to deny them even one single shared happy moment surrounding Belle’s pregnancy with Gideon and his birth. Even if the audience didn’t get to see it (and we could have gotten a glimpse in Beauty), we deserved to know it happened.

Finally: Zelena did not belong in S7, period. I know it was fun for her fans! (Although apparently there weren't enough of them to positively affect the ratings, meow.) I do know! But it was bad storytelling. She served no point in the larger season arc, and the serial witch killer plot that was invented to serve her was one of the worst and most stupid things Kitsowitz came up with in seven years, and ate up time that could/should have gone to develop other characters. (Driz and Ana come immediately to mind, instead of having them shunted off to another universe, but also Henry/Cinda/Lucy and of course Rumple since his plot was coming to a close.) Zelena didn’t even get any significant growth herself, or develop her relationships with Regina or Robin. She still didn’t express regret for the horrible things she did to characters we love (Rumple, Neal, and Robin Sr.); the only result of all that screentime was to give an unrepentant rapist a love story with a person--we barely see and have zero investment in. And even that was ultimately negated at the end of the season, because in the finale Zee’s back in Storybrooke sans Boo Bear.

So, all that said: what would have to change about Margot’s, and Curious Archer’s, FTL storyline to give us Margot Gold?

Her name—but actually very little else. (And frankly it would have been more respectful to have Belle name her daughter after Robin Sr., who was actually her friend, than for Zee to name her kid after the man she raped, manipulated, and ultimately got killed—but that ship had sailed.)

Belle and Rumple could have given their daughter any number of fairytale names after people they know, aka fresh take on a Disney character. My favorite possibilities are Aurora (and then Curious Archer could have been Curious Beauty, and done a riff on the Sleeping Beauty story as part of their FTL backstory, with a built-in TLK) and Merlin (very pretty for a girl, I’ve always thought).

But the character herself would have been very much the same: she could be Rumbelle’s jock daughter, trained in archery and swordsmanship by family friends (Merida/Mulan/Charming), but always feeling out of place in her family of scholars/sorcerers/nerds.

I am SO sorry for the length of this--there's even more under this cut!

Robin/Margot felt insecure about trying to live up to her father’s name; Rory/Merlin/Margot could have similar anxieties trying to live down her father’s Dark One rep. There could even be a similar story where she was born with magic (like Robin was) but loses it or chooses to give it up—something that would estrange her further from her family. Or, if she was Merlin, she could keep her magic but be reluctant to use it, and part of Curious Archer’s Hyperion Heights arc would be both Margot and Tilly discovering and accepting their magic. (Sapphic sorceresses for the win.)

Now, one of the cutest things about Alice/Robin’s FTL dynamic was Robin being a girl from the Land Without Magic finding her feet in an enchanted forest, with Alice’s help. But it would only take a little finessing of S7 Rumbelle’s story to get that for Rory as well. (Of course, any decent story would have a LOT of finessing of Rumbelle’s plot so that Belle didn’t die and put Rumple on a suicide mission, but again—assuming the ship has sailed…)

Say that Rory is five to six years younger than Gideon. The Rumbelle family spend a dozen years or so traveling the realms, but then Rumbelle decide that they want Gideon and Rory to be comfortable in the LWoM with their extended Charming family, so they settle back into the Pink Palace so the kids can get a LWoM education. They still take occasional journeys, often Rumbelle going to save some hapless souls, but Rory grows up primarily in SB with very few, vague memories of all the fascinating places they visited when she was a small child. This feeds her hunger for adventure along with some envy of Gideon for having so many more fairytale experiences—another thing that makes her feel like a misfit in her family. So, presto, when she moves to FTL she and Alice have pretty much the same meeting/adventures.

One of the key notes of Rumple and Alice/Tilly's relationship, showing his growth and making it so special, was how he chose to set her free of being the Guardian or whatever, allowing her to be free and get what he never had, the chance to grow old with the woman she loves. And that would be weakened if Rumple knew that by choosing Alice's happiness over his own, he was also choosing his own daughter's happiness (because we know Rumple picks his kids over himself ever time). But--he doesn't have to know WHO Alice's True Love is when he makes that choice. He could just know that there is someone, or simply realize that Alice deserves her freedom for her own sake. (Rumple's daughter also getting happiness would be a side benefit that he didn't learn about till later, and have the added perk of Rumple actually getting a narrative reward for doing something good. Which almost NEVER happened! Bonus.)

Finally: I do understand that Robin's presence on the canvas was important to fans of Robin Sr.--getting to know he's remembered and having someone carry on his legacy. Of course I get it--Rumbelle and their family not having that is my biggest complaint (of so so many).

But we don't need a grown-up Robin Jr. to be Robin's legacy. Let her stay a cute background kid with perennially baby Prince Neal. There's already a character, one we're invested in, to carry on for the Hoods: Roland. And again, it would be satisfying for the audience to learn that a five-year-old orphan wasn't shunted off from what family he had left (Regina and Henry) into another universe and never heard from again. If Kitsowitz didn't waste time with Zelena, they wouldn't have needed the idiotic Jack-is-Hansel-the-serial-killer twist, and we could have have had Roland filling the role of Henry's best friend/little brother (and therefore Lucy's fake HH dad--God, that plot was bad all the way back in season 1; why Kitsowitz why?). We'd see Roland onscreen, part of the family, at the end of the show, perhaps with his own True Love (Drizella, maybe, or better yet Gideon) and happy future.

So, that's it: the combination of Margot Stiltskin-Gold and Roland Hood tightens and heightens the storytelling throughout S7, closes some plot holes, and actually fulfills some of the show's stated themes. Who knew!

Anyone else want three years of OUAT theory vomit? 😋 Shoot me an ask!

(I actually have another one, god help us all, but I might save it till Father's Day...)

[everyhowlmarksthedead]

❛ JUST ONE NIGHT ❜

Part III

with Johnny ‘Coco’ Cruz.

Warnings: angst af, not sorry.

Word count: 2k

Chapter Index.

Aurora says: this writing hasn't been edited, you may find some grammar mistakes, I'm sorry about that!

Gif credits: @fromthesixteenthfloor

Masterlist.

Maybe you should have accepted the invitation from Mardi, your best friend, staying at Santo Padre instead of occupying your parent's house in San Diego. But the pain was too strong to stay there, with the risk of finding Coco walking through the streets or driving his motorbike. You haven't known anything about him for the past five days, and if you've been about to call him hundreds of times, fortunately you haven't. The one who has tried to put in contact with you has been Bishop. He has called for the last two days. But, what would have solved answering the call? Probably nothing. So you just let your phone ring, having a sip from the last bottle of tequila left.

Alcohol isn't the solution, but it's enough to hush your demons, alleviate the pain and make you sleep. So you have been drowned in a bucle of drinking the mexican drink for excellence the whole day, until your body asks you to stop and the hangover hits your head with painful lashes. Since you met him, you have been dreaming about a life together, about trips, about days at home doing nothing, about helping him every time he feels down. About whatever. But he was right. You knew about club shit when you started dating. What you weren't expecting was the kind of things he told you last time you were together. You don't need Coco to be on you the whole time, but if you read your text messages, every twenty yours there's one from him just sayin ‘yeah’ and ‘no’. That's all.

He wasn't busy with his own business to see what he was doing, and you were living it. You were sleeping alone, not knowing anything about his situation. You were passing the days alone, waiting for anything, with the anxiety and the sadness oppressing anatomy, squeezing your heart without mercy. But you loved him. You kept trying to hold him, to save him somehow, until you understood that there's no salvation for someone who doesn't want to be saved.

Cleaning a wild tear, you step out from the sofa, grabbing your house keys and your credit card to get out from it. You truly look like a mess, wearing a pair of long grey sweatpant, a white long shirt and some sneakers. Your hair is tied in an undone bump, no makeup in your face, but two black marks under your eyes. Almost dragging your feet on the ground, you lead your steps to the nearest shop to buy more tequila and maybe something to eat, because you have forgotten when was the last time you had a decent meal.

“Do you know what you're gonna tell her?” Angel drives by his side and behind Bishop, Tranq and Taza, highing his voice over the engine's buzz.

“No!” He just utters under the black bandana.

It only took Miguel five minutes to find you, after checking that you didn't cross the border to Tijuana and that your parent's house in San Diego was having in use the electric and water suministers. Packer sent someone to assure that you were really there, before giving Bishop the green light. Coco has never been more nervous than today, about to reach the place, trying to not think in a speech. He wants to tell you what he really feels from heart, without planning absolutely nothing. He wants to be sincere with you and finally break down the walls around him to let you come in. The last days have been an odyssey for him, being controlled every single second by the crew to not do any crazy shit, after hearing him asking to let him die. And, of course, it's going to be worse in case you declined the idea of coming back to Santo Padre with him, giving Coco a second chance. That's what it hurts the most, the fact that he believes you're not going to open him the door or, if you do, it's going to ask him to go to hell.

Reaching the white house with a blue rooftop, the Mayans park their bikes next to the sidewalk, under the attentive, confused and scared gazes from your neighbors. Getting up from them and taking off the helmets, to leave them over the seats, Angel palms his back trying to cheer him up and give him the strength and the motivation he needs to begin walking through the paved road breaking the garden in two sides. Brushing his hair back, followed by his brothers, he takes a long breath before calling the doorbell. One time, two times… Eight times. Coco understands that you don't want to see him, huffing resigned, but when he's about to turn around and leave the porch, Angel forces him to keep trying.

“Mami… It's me, Coco”. He says biting his bottom lip and licking his incisors. No answer. “Listen, I just… 'am sorre' 'bout all the shit I made. 'Bout pushing you away, 'bout talking you with those… fuckin' manners and 'bout forgetting the most special day of my life. 'Am so fuckin' sorry”.

Nothing. Not a single sound by the other side of the door.

“Keep trying, Coco”. Gilly whispers narrowing his left shoulder.

“Yo, ah… 'am fuckin' sorre'... I know you deserve better. I know you deserve someone who lives for you, for makin' you happy, for takin' care of you, and I know I didn'. And maybe it's too late to regret but… I will keep the promise of changin', of being a better man for you. The one you deserve. Just… fuck, please… Give me a second chance”. His voice breaks as he talks, feeling the tears piling up in his eyes because he doesn't have any answer from you. “Lis—Listen. Prez gave me some time out an—”.

“Yes, I did, kid”. Bishop interrupts him for a second, trying to be helpful.

“And you know… You have told me a lot of times that… you wou—would like to go to Disney and… I was thinken' about… goin'. Together. Onle' you and me, (Y/N). We can go on my bike, or… or in your car, or… use mine… I don' care, I don' give a shit, I will carry you from Cali to Orlando walking if you ask me for”.

Coco is about to cry from one time to another, feeling Angel gently caressing his back. He, better than anyone, knows how much he loves you and how much he cares about you. And maybe his friends didn't do the correct thing with you, but he's badly trying to fix up things between you two.

“Do you… Do you know that if yo—you shout ‘Andy is comen'’ all those… idiots from Toy Story have to fall down? Jus—Just imagine us sitting on a bench… screaming it the whole time, or… following them around the park…”

The guys can't help but chuckle, because they know you two are really capable of spending a day like that. Like two children.

“And you can… put me one of these... fuckin' Mickey's ears. I promise I won't complain”. He sighs bowing his head down, with a disgusting pain getting installed inside his throat. “And… there are a lot… of things about Marvel too… and shows and… a lot of things”.

Coco is breaking into pieces being ignored by you, starting to cry like a hurt kid. He's aware he has lost the best person he could find on earth. His soulmate. His best friend. He knows that it's only his fault. He can't blame his family, nor the club. Because it was enough to sleep with you at home, instead of staying at the scrapping. It was enough texting you one time a day.

“Fu—Fuck, mami, 'am realle' sorre'... You don' have to say something now… but, I don' know… maybe in some days. Now 'am feelin' what you felt and… it's a damn shit… 'am fuckin' sorre', I swear. I never meant to… you through this”. Hardly sniffing and barely breathing, he cleans the tears running down his face. “I will… stay around, in a hotel… if you wanna call me, or… maybe see me to talk alone… I don' know… whatever you want… Or, if you want me to go… ju—just tell me and I will… leave you in peace”.

“Let's go, Coco…”Taza says, placing a hand on his nape.

“No, no… What if I ju—just wait here, till she opens me the door?”

“It's better if you give her some time to think about it”. Bishop shakes his head for a second.

“Yeah, but… what if I ju—I just stay here? Maybe she… doesn't want to talk 'bout us because you're here”. He insists, but Angel is not going to let him do that, surrounding his shoulders with an arm.

“She will call you, hermano. You will see, ah? Seein' you on Mickey's ears worth it.” The oldest Reyes says then, turning around to come back to their bikes.

You are there. Standing up in silence at the beginning of the garden. You have been there the whole time, listening every word Coco said. His wide eyes are fixed on yours, holding a box of Don Julio between your arms, and a big cardboard bag full of doughnuts of different flavors hanging from your closed teeth. Angel pushes him with both palms on his back, forcing his brother to walk towards you. Spitting the bag over the box of tequila, EZ comes closer to grab them and free your hands, before throwing your keys to his old brother.

“The kitchen is at the end of the hallway”. You just say, waiting for them to come in.

“(Y/N), 'am so—”.

“I heard everything you said”. Interrupting him, you close both arms over your chest, wrinkling your nose. Trying to process everything. “The night of our anniversary, I was about to ask you to marry me. One day I went to the clubhouse and heard you talking with Angel, because you were scared of me thinking you were crazy for proposing. So, I was about to do it”.

“I wan'et. I wanna marry you and… being together all my life”.

“You fucked me up badly, Johnny. Really fucking bad”.

“I know, I know… But, please. Gimme a last chance, ain't fuck it up again. And I know you don' believe me, I get it, I earned that shit, but I will show you every day, mami. No more nights out of our home. No more days without calling or texting you, I will do it every hour. And I will not… talk to you again like a fuckin' shit”. He looks and sounds sincere, with his reddened eyes begging you. And you're conscious that Coco is as destroyed inside as you are. “Please…”

Heavily sighing and rubbing your forehead, you lean forward to kiss his cheek, before surrounding him with both arms to hug him tightly.

“I fuckin' love you, (Y/N)”. He cries now, collapsing under your grip without can't avoid it.

“I know, Coquito”. You whisper caressing his messy hair, pushing him closer.

Feeling him again is like coming back to life, kissing once and once his face and trying to clean his tears, breaking you a little watching him like that. Clinging his hands in your thighs, he urges you to wrap his waist with both legs.

“And of course I want to marry you, shithead”. You say, making him chuckle between tears, sinking his face into your neck.

“I love you more than anythen', I swear to God. And I will… make you happy as you deserve”.

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[xenolithium]

Silent Confidence (America & Romano)

Lovino rubbed furiously at his eyes, listening absentmindedly to the clicking of his own heels as he sped off down the hall. What a joke, what a fucking joke. Was repeating itself over and over in his mind. He was the one who put all the effort into that presentation, not his brother and yet no one bothered to let him speak!

He turned a corner, just barely ducking past a startled Tolys as he did so. Continuing to walk, even when the other said something to him in concern for his well-being. Though the brunet didn't seem to care enough to follow, simply letting him be as he tried to find some place quiet to sit and have himself a cry. 

Some people called someone like him over dramatic and over emotional. And he told people like that to shove it. He didn't need to hear shit from those who barely gave a rat's ass about him. 

He swung open a random door with a clack, hoping it wasn't a broom closet as he hadn't been paying attention but luckily it wasn't. It was a small break room that most of the other nations seemed to be avoiding, or perhaps they didn't know it was there. It was decked out with everything one might need to relax for a few moments. It had a fridge, counter space, stove, sink, kettle, microwave, the whole nine yards. In the center of the room, currently bathed in sunlight from large windows nearby was a couple of couches, facing each other on either side of a coffee table. Lovino's eyes froze in their exploration as they landed on a person's form. 

Alfred was sprawled out across one of the couches, his suit jacket and tie cast aside. From the doorway, Lovino could see he was fast asleep. Sunlight dotting his thick blonde lashes and his hand rising and falling where it was placed atop his stomach. He stretched slightly in response to Lovino slamming the door open, but otherwise he remained unaware of his surroundings. 

"Idiot. What the hell is he doing here?" He whispered to himself as he closed the door a little bit more softer than he did when opening it. Walking up towards the plush carpet in the center of the room and plopping himself on the couch across from America. From there he crossed his arms and glared daggers into the sleeping American's face, tears still brimming his eyes as he silently blamed Alfred for all his problems even if that wasn't true in the slightest. He still didn't try to help though!

Alfred twitched again in his sleep, his lips parting to make way for his tongue momentarily before he turned his head towards Lovino and went still. "Where's your stupid brother, huh? The maple bastard. Doesn't he know you're here?" He asked, but garnered no response to no one's surprise. Alfred was out cold and it would take much more than a few mumbled words to get him going again. Though Lovino didn't expect a response, nor did he care for one. "Did he ditch you because you've got shit for brains? Wouldn't blame him, you're a fucking loser." For some reason it felt good to curse and insult someone without having any negative repercussions. It was almost therapeutic in fact.  

Lovino laughed wetly under his breath, "no response? Whatever, I bet someone like you couldn't come up with anything worth my time any way." He swallowed thickly, wiping his tears from his eyes again. "So how was the meeting? Pretty great, huh? It's pretty fucking great that no one notices the work I do!" He slapped a hand over his mouth and stiffened when Al shifted again, holding his breath and cursing himself internally for being too loud. But when Alfred stilled, he breathed a sigh of relief. 

"Don't fucking wake up, you hear me, asshole? I'm not done telling you how shitty you are." This time his voice was a bit strained and muffled by his hand, but it's not as if it mattered since no one was listening. 

He stared for a moment after saying that, his gaze growing more and more blurry as he focused on Alfred's face. His stupid, dumb, beautiful face. Why was he crying? It's not as if it was that big a deal. He sniffled, his chest shaking as his body was wracked with silent sobs. Curling in on himself a little as he let his emotions wash over him, gripping his thighs with his hands until they turned white. 

"Someone like you couldn't do anything, you understand that, America? Nobody notices you, nobody cares. You're just this expendable loser that gets tossed aside in favour of your brother, every single time." He paused to swallow and take a breath before continuing. "Even when you try your best, no one cares. You got that? You got that?" He closed his eyes, taking in shaky breaths to try in vain to reel in his emotions, but nothing of the sort ended up happening. "Nobody loves you…"

When Lovino finally got himself to look back at Alfred, he was making a face in his sleep. Not of anger or hurt, but concern, his eyebrows knitted together as he tried to understand whatever was happening in his dream. His lips parting again as he whispered something. "Don't - don't say that...don't say that. I love you."

Lovino's heart skipped a beat and his eyes widened as he stared at Al in shock, having not been expecting a response, let alone that. Even if the words themselves weren't genuine, they were enough to have him quiet down his sobbing and stare at the man across from him in disbelief. "What?" He whispered dumbly, jumping when suddenly the room was overcome with a loud beeping. 

Alfred suddenly slamming his hand down on the phone next to him to shut it up as he opened his eyes. "Already?" He mumbled to himself, sitting up and stretching before turning to look at Lovino, blinking stupidly for a moment until he realized something was missing, picking up his glasses from where they were resting next to his phone to put them on. He then returned to starring for a moment before putting on his usual stupid grin and waving lazily, "yo, what's up?"

"Don't, yo what's up me, shit stain!" He snapped, Alfred not phased in the slightest by his grouchy attitude as he tried to hide that he had been crying. 

"What crawled up your butt and died?"

"I could ask the same of you!"

"Wait…" Alfred trailed off and Lovino stiffened, thinking for a moment that Alfred had heard all the things he had been saying to him while he had been asleep, feeling almost guilty because he hadn't meant them (not towards Alfred any way.) "I didn't think anyone noticed!" He whined, seemingly embarrassed over something. 

"Noticed what?" Lovino asked exasperatedly, unsure of what the hell America was on about. 

"My stomach really hurt, okay? I didn't mean to." It took Lovino a second to realize what the hell Al was saying, but when he did he picked up the nearest object (which happened to be a stapler) and threw it at his head. 

"You're disgusting! Maybe if you didn't eat nothing but garbage that wouldn't have happened!"

Alfred caught the stapler in midair, placing it next to him with a pout. "I don't eat garbage."

"Yes you do. I see the shit you eat!"

"If you wanted some, you could've just asked~"

"In your dreams, as if I want to smell like a walking landfill everywhere I go!" 

There was a silence between them as the only thing that filled the air around them was Alfred's laughter. Lovi glaring at him while he laughed until he felt something tug at his own lips, rubbing at his eyes as he let the carefree atmosphere wash over him. 

"Why were you crying though?" The blonde male suddenly piped up. This was one of the few moments when Lovino wished Al was actually as stupid as he acted sometimes.

"I wasn't crying."

"Uh huh and the sky isn't blue."

"Don't sass me."

There was another bout of silence as Alfred leaned back and crossed his arms, raising a brow and waiting for Lovino to continue with something more but that never happened. Instead he was met with the Italian turning to look at anything but him. 

"Well it has to be something."

"That something is none of your fucking business." 

Alfred sighed, realizing he wasn't getting anywhere fast and he probably wouldn't be anytime soon. Why did he feel like he missed out on something important while he was fast asleep? 

"Fine, keep your secrets," Al shrugged, Lovino seeming disappointed in the fact that he gave up so quickly but not pushing him to continue pestering him either. "Anyway, our break is over soon."

"That's nice," Lovino snapped. 

"Are you going back to the meeting?"

"No." Lovino turned to glare at something outside one of the windows. "It's not like I'm needed any way."

Alfred blinked in understanding, realizing he was being given a hint here, even if it was small and off-handed. "Who told you that?"

"No one had to tell me."

"So then you don't really know if it's true."

"..." Lovino opened his mouth, but then promptly closed it again. Not really knowing how to respond to this. His lips pressed tightly together as he thought those words over. "What exactly did I do to make anyone think otherwise?"

"What exactly do I do to make anyone think otherwise?" Alfred repeated, raising a brow. 

Lovino barked a laugh, "I think we all want to know the answer to that question."

"Lovino, I'm being serious."

"You're America for fucks sake, what kind of question is that? I'm not even half a country," Lovino immediately argued, making an exaggerated gesture at the blonde male to accentuate his point.

"So? It's not like I'm doing anything different from you in a meeting. I don't get the red carpet rolled out for me, we all sit down and do our thing. Besides, your presentation was really good."

That last comment caused Lovino to grow stiff once more, but this time out of shock. As he inspected Alfred curiously, trying to figure out what secrets he held to be able to know such information. "You knew it was mine?"

"Yeah?" It took Alfred a moment to realize why he didn't think that was the case. "Just because your brother presented it, doesn't mean it's not your work. I can figure out your handiwork from a mile away. I mean you used to work for me, remember? I don't forget that kinda thing."

Lovino was blushing softly, staring down at his hands which were placed in his lap snugly as he took in this information. To think Alfred bothered to remember little things like that about him made his heart feel warm. Sniffling as he relaxed his shoulders and finally felt a little better about himself and what he had done. Because someone had acknowledged it. "Thank you."

"Huh?"

"I'm not repeating myself asshole, open your ears next time," he huffed. "I didn't think you were creepy enough to remember things like that though."

Alfred chuckled, "well, I am. So, since we're ditching the meeting--"

"We're?"

"Yeah, since we're ditching the meeting, how about we stuff our faces!"

"I thought you said your stomach hurt?" Lovino replied suspiciously, squinting at him in annoyance.

"So?"

Lovino stared at him for a long moment in disbelief, before sighing. "Fine, but I'm choosing what we eat."

"Sounds good to me~"

"Anything food related sounds good to you," Lovino spat.

Alfred grinned at him with that wide, friendly, pearly white grin he gave everyone it seemed. But despite knowing that, he found himself attempting to give one back. Even if it was wonky and hardly noticeable. To others he was still mostly scowling, but it was that quiet effort that Al seemed to key in on the most. 

"See? Now you're getting somewhere!" He jumped up and reached over to give the Italian a pat on the back. Which was way more rough than Lovino wanted a pat to be (curse America's ripped, muscly body that he never got to see) and also unwanted. He quickly shoved Al's hand away, glaring at him for suddenly thinking it was a good idea to touch him. Alfred chuckling sheepishly and rubbing the back of his head as Lovino got up and cussed him out under his breath before storming towards the door. America watched him like a lost puppy, thinking that now the whole ditching the meeting to eat brunch was off the table because of what he did. 

"Well? Are you coming, shit stain? Hurry up before I leave you behind."

"I'm coming, I'm coming. Just let me get my stuff," Alfred said, his smile returning, quickly reaching around the room for all his belongings. 

"That's it, I'm leaving you behind."

"Lovi! No, Lovi, wait!" He called as the Italian left the break room. Smirk upon his lips, having completely forgotten the reason he was crying in the first place. Well, not completely, but enough to start feeling good about himself again. Stupid American and his stupid words that always had him feeling better about himself. Did he even realize he was doing it?

---

A random plot bunny that came to me the other day and I finished this morning. I don't know why this specific scenario came to me, but it did lol!

Al wasn't dreaming about Lovi when he said he loved him, btw. He thought Matt was telling him all that. But we can pretend. XD

[curiousconch]

Exit

Chapter 6 of Ricochet (An Open Heart AU)

Catch up here: Series Masterlist

Chapter Synopsis: Heather is taken hostage, but by whom? And she isn't alone. Rafael and Bryce set tries to find the missing link.

Pairing: Rafael Aveiro x MC (Dr. Heather Song) | Bryce Lahela x MC (Dr. Heather Song)

Words: 1.4k+ | Genre: Crime, Suspense/Thriller, Romance

Rating/Warnings: Mature (16+) / violence, language

Author's Notes: Thank you so much for taking time to read this series. Please let me know if you want me to include/remove you in the tags list. Also, disclaimer: Majority of the characters are owned by Pixelberry, except the main character Heather Song and an OC Jordan Anderson.

Heather was due for another week in Johns Hopkins. So even though she didn't feel up to it after last night's fiasco, she forced herself to pack her clothes from the washer and clean out her temporary room.

She snuck glances to Bryce's bedroom door, trying to muster up the courage to face him and apologize. She was drunk last night. Drunk people make the lousiest mistakes, especially when that person is an emotional wreck. Long kept secrets of the heart creep up to the surface, often loaded with regrets like ticking time bombs inevitably blowing up the next morning.

In the end, she decided not to tell him her impassioned speech about nothing good ever happens after 2am, a reference from their shared favorite sitcom. Instead, she washed and cleaned and packed, and when the time came, left without a single word. She thought it was best to leave him be, giving them both space to process what they've just revealed. They'll just deal with it after she's done with her commitments in Maryland.

So she booked a car. And with one silent goodbye, she stepped out into the empty hallways. Her steps felt heavy against the carpeted floors, feeling more and more rueful with each. She was about to turn to the elevator bay when the fire exit flew open behind her.

Before she could turn around to see, an arm grabbed her by the waist while a piece of cloth covered her mouth and nose, muffling her shouts for help. Her head began spinning almost immediately. It wasn't long before she completely blacked out.

***

When Heather came to, she only saw darkness. Her immediate reaction was to scream, only to whimper after realizing she was gagged. Panic rose within her chest, as she struggled to think straight. She tried to blink to no avail. She was living in a nightmare, and she badly wanted to wake up. So she had two choices - either be a victim or be a survivor.

She chose the latter.

With that, she began to assess her surroundings, using her limited capabilities. She could tell that her eyes were covered, and by the tingling pain in her wrists behind her, she knew she was tied up. Strangely, her ankles were free. While most of her senses were restrained, those that weren't became magnified.

Her back felt the hard floor, she banged her head against it, confirming her theory.

Concrete? Uneven. Unfinished?

She tried to stand up, her legs felt weak, almost like jelly. She tried another time, and succeeded on kneeling. She balanced herself and used her legs to stand up, one after another.

She heard the sound of plastic rustling in the wind, and the cold night air brushing against her face.

Seems like I'm somewhere cold. Is that wind coming from large windows?

All of a sudden, she heard voices. The sounds were inaudible, but she observed intense shifts in the faint conversation.

Two voices, another room? Are they arguing?

She tried to direct herself towards the voices, taking caution not to make a noise. The volume gradually increased, aiding her to understand the conversation clearly enough.

"You're one hour late and you didn't bring enough."

"Such a whiney brat. Did you get that from juvy?"

"It's a mystery why someone haven't punched you and your perfect teeth."

"Some guy already did. But you? I bet ten grand you wouldn't. You're just a piece of shit without my funding."

"Right, without your pockets lined with cash, what are you?"

"Uh, free man with lots of connections?"

The words didn't make sense to her, but the voices that threw them around sounded familiar. She strained to get closer, trying to think who they could possibly be. Before she could hear more, she stumbled, her body making a noisy thud as it quickly planted on the ground. She felt something hard scrape against her cheek, a warm liquid trickled after, then pain.

Blood.

She shifted her head sideways, her legs dangling over something she couldn't quite figure out from the thick fabric of her jeans. Then it moved.

She gasped and retrieved her legs, her mind racing.

Who is it? Bryce? Rafael?

Her anxiety rose as she struggled with the mere possibility that she wasn't the only one kidnapped. The danger of the situation suddenly becoming more grave.

Then the body elicited a groan, a sound similar with her failed attempt to scream earlier. She heard it grumble once more, and then again. It was in the third time that Heather finally figured out who the voice might belong to.

Senator Ed Farrugia's.

Like a bucket of ice, a bone-chilling realization came to her. If they went all this way to hostage the senator, what's gonna stop them from killing her?

Her panicked thoughts were invaded by the sound of steps approaching. In an instant, she felt that she was shoved upright in a sitting position. The same person grabbed her by the collar and dragged her body back to where she came from, making her bare feet blister and bleed against the rough surface. Her face touched edges of plastic as her body followed the steps of her attacker. She tried to swallow her screams in an attempt to preserve energy, but the hairs at the back of her neck gave her fear away. She was then banged against a wall, followed by silence.

A set of steps receded, probably of the person who just dragged her back to her original place. This was quickly replaced by another set of steps, producing a distinct tapping. Different shoes, different person. First one seems like running shoes, this one sounds like leather.

Without warning, her hair was pulled backwards, making her wail beneath the cloth in her mouth. She smelled the scent of cigarettes.

"You just won't go down without a fight, eh? Well good for you, doctor. This will be all the more enjoyable."

Finally giving in on her fears, she shivered. She knew that voice anywhere. It was a sound so despicable that she hated it ever since the first time she heard it. The one man who mocked her, brought her down since her intern year. Arrogant, ambitious and immoral. All the curse words in the world couldn't describe this person. It belonged to a man she never wanted to see, hear, nor be in the presence of ever.

It was the greatest scumbag of all time.

Declan Nash.

***

Rafael was in full blown recon mode for Senator Farrugia's disappearance when he learned that Heather was also missing. Elijah called in to check if she has contacted him for the last 12 hours, he wished she did, but he told him no. When he got off the phone, the conference room he was in suddenly felt crowded.

"Dr. Song is apparently missing too," he reported to the rest of the team working on the Farrugia case. "Let's find where and when she was last seen, and start from there. I have a hunch she's going to lead us to the senator." He called IT to extract Heather's phone logs and location pings before he stepped out for a moment to process this new information. He found himself slumping in the fire exit stairwell, feeling an urge to punch the wall.

When he was about to act on it, his phone rang. It was ADA Lahela.

"Have you heard?"

"Yes, I just got off the phone with Elijah."

"And Senator Ed?"

"Yes, we're trying to find leads for the past 3 hours since we were notified."

"Okay, have you checked her phone records?"

"IT is working on it now."

"Okay. She supposedly left the condo around 4am this morning. I heard her leave. That might be a good starting point."

Rafael made a mental note.

"I'm going to meet Perry. He's in the front and center of this thing. I'll let you know as soon as I come up with anything." Raf heard Bryce say, after which the line ended.

He felt like an idiot, a sinking feeling of regret drawing him in. But he couldn't wallow in it now. Not until they find her.

There's time for that later. Right now, Heather needs me.

Fired up with resolve, he went out of the desolate stairwell and worked. He immediately followed up on Heather’s phone logs and available electronic records. He also called up field agents to go down at Bryce's complex for a copy of CCTV footage for the past 24 hours.

Once the instructions were handed over, he focused on Travis Perry. He helped himself to a cup of black coffee, willing his mind to stay sharp. He pored over Perry's file, searching for anything they may have missed.

He sighed, pushing back his emotions to the back of his mind. It's quickly becoming one of the longest nights of his life.

Author’s Notes 2: When I wrote this, I thought of merging this with the next. I just felt that they're best read together. So instead of combining the two, I've decided to publish both chapters simultaneously. Both is packed, I know, even I got dizzy writing it. But I hope you'll enjoy the roller coaster ride as much as I did. Appreciate it if you could share your thoughts!

Taglist: @ramsey-lahela @eleanorbloom @choicesficwriterscreations

[midnight-lightning]

Pizza and Family

Twilight Imagine

Pack x TransGuy-Reader

Request: Could i request a twilight imagine where a friend of the wolf pack’s tells them all that he’s a trans guy, and their reactions to it?

A/N: This is the first time for me to write about a trans guy so if someone thinks I wrote something in the wrong way or kinda dumb or anything else please please please tell me.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

You were nervous, not to say nearly afraid. And a little part of you was ashamed because of these feelings, after all they were your friends. Your best friends which you knew since ... you were practically born.

You grew up together, laughed and fought together and you always had each other's back.

But this ... was something you couldn't just imagine how they would react to. And you were afraid that the pack would never look at you with the same eyes again.

You had known it for a long time now. There was just something about the fact that in games you'd always picked the role of a guy, you always felt more comfortable in a boy group than a group of girls and so much more.

You just didn't feel like a girl. It took you a little time before you knew the reasons behind it and could finally identify yourself as a trans guy.

And today was the day you finally wanted to tell your best friends, the Quileute Tribe, your other family.

Admittedly, the last few days had passed quiet between you and the pack as you needed your time to prepare for this.

Afterwards you couldn't quite understand why you'd been so anxious as you knew your friends and their possibly reactions.

But still... the nasty voices inside your head wouldn't keep their mouth shut.

You lifted your hand to knock on the wooden door but stopped suddenly just inches away.

'You can do that' you told your self.

Yes, you will be fine.

With a deep breath you knocked three times.

One moment passed by.

Another one.

And then finally the door flew open and Embry's grinning face appeared in front of you.

"Y/N, girl! Finally! We thought you vanished without saying goodbye."

"Yeah, or one of these bloodsuckers got you," shouted Paul suddenly appearing next to Embry.

"Are you frozen or why are you two idiots still standing outside? Or no-

wait you can stay here and I'll grab more of Emily's Pizza."

"Pizza?" You exclaimed, suddenly feeling way better with the thought of sitting around in the Cosy house, surrounded by your family and eating Pizza.

"You wish, Paul, not when I get it first!"

With these words you stormed inside the house leaving the boys right behind you who just shared a grin. Yes, they were happy to have you back.

As soon as you entered the kitchen of the house, in which the pack had assembled all the heads spinned around as soon as they noticed you and just immediately they all stood up from their places.

"Y/N, nice to see ya, girl!"

"I've told you not to vanish in your school work!"

"Have you cut your hair?"

"Told you she can't live without us for too long"

You stepped into the room, the hesitation in your actions was clearly visible.

Emily frowned with concern in her eyes.

"Y/N... Is something not right? Did something happened?"

The room immediately silenced. You bend your head down a little, trying to avoid their glances, but of course you couldn't hide anything from your friends. Not these ones.

Seems like pizza had to wait.

You felt Emily's hand stroking through your hair before she softly lifted your chin to have a closer look at you.

"You can tell us everything... but you already know that, don't you?" She said and gave you an encouraging smile.

You nodded, before you stepped back a little and took a deep breath.

"Guys... I have to- no I need and want to tell you something," you began slowly and made sure to look into ever single one's eyes.

Embry, Jared, Paul, Jacob, Sam, Seth, Leah and Emily.

They had to know how serious you are with what you're going to say.

And they somehow seemed to sense it as no one of them wore their usually Grin or made a sarcastic comment.

Here you go.

"What I'm about to tell you is something very important to me. I know you always had my back, we were friends since childhood and gosh we are family today.

So I think you should be the first ones to know this...

Since a few years this ...feelings keep getting stronger...actually it was more than just a feeling.

I... i think I've always known that I was not born in the right body. I've never felt like I belong in this body ...I've never even felt like a true girl, you know what I mean? So..." You coughed and noticed your glance all again on the floor.

"So...," you heard Embry's voice. "We have another Bro? Awesome!"

You snapped your head in his direction but your view got suddenly blocked by a huge chest and before you knew you felt Jacob's firm arms around you.

"Don't tell me that you idiot avoided us all this time because you were afraid of how we would react?"

After a moment your body relaxed and you let the breath out you didn't knew we're holding the last minute.

Jacob took your silence as a answer and tousled your hair. "You're a dork, Y/N."

Then Emily took your hands in hers. "You've said we're family and family always stick together. I know it is clear but nothing will ever change that."

"Yeah, you could even be a bloodsucker and we would still love you. Well, at least-" Paul's words were silenced by Liah who punched his arm. "Shut up, idiot. Y/N could even be a great bloodsucker."

Between your tears of relief that suddenly appeared in your eyes, an amused laugh escaped you. "Don't worry, Liah, I'd always be half of a wolf," you answered then you noticed something you had forgotten to mention. "Well and there's one more thing..."

"Don't tell me you really are a Vampire!"

"Bro, no. Do I look like I'm dead?" You laughed. "No, actually it's more... you know I like the name Y/P/N more than ...you know Y/N... if it's okay for you?"

"Y/P/N? Sounds... fresh!" Answered Seth

"Fresh?", exclaimed Jared . "What are you? Ten? Oh wait I forgot, you are!"

"Shut up, dumbass!"

"Who do you call a dumbass you greenie!"

The next thing you knew both of them were in a battle, playfully fighting each other. Well more or less "playfully" at least.

You saw Sam shaking his head in disaprovement next to you before he took his arm around Emily's waist. "Well, Y/P/N, seems like there is more pizza left for us. Join us?"

You showed him you biggest grin. Pizza and family and no worries.

"You bet I will!"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

@eat-moar-veggis

[bngtanah]

I’m (not) With The Band. | o2

summary: Adrienne is an indie producer who is hired to help co-produce BTS’ next album alongside their resident producer; Suga. Despite the initial opposition on both ends, the pair spend time together, share a few stories, dreams and aspirations and begin to hit it off really well. Wrapped up in the whirlwind of late nights and heated disagreements and reconciliations, Min Yoongi and Adrienne Rolle find themselves growing closer and closer. One night they decide to cross the barrier between personal and professional and do their best make a relationship work against all odds.

pairing: Min Yoongi  x Named OC

word count: 2.2k genre: drama, romance, smut(eventually)

chapters: prologue| o1| o2| o3| o4| o5| o6| o7| o8| o9| 10| 11|

warning: light angst, smut, fluff, workplace relationship, slow burn, sexual themes, ambw, enemies to friends to lovers, developing relationship

a/n: still a fool. still re-uploading.

Adrienne had never been a shy person.

She was always the first to volunteer for school presentations even if she hated the class, she made it her duty to be friends with every single one of her lab partners in science class whether they wanted that friendship or not and she was always ready and willing to offer her opinion when questioned on just about anything.

But it seemed that being in a new country, thousands of miles from home had given her personality somewhat of a timid edge since she was currently surrounded by six energetic and talkative boys and Adrienne couldn't think of words to answer their nonstop questions. The language barrier could excuse some of her silence since she honestly didn't understand a lot of their questions, but for the things she did understand Adrienne couldn't stop herself from looking like a fish out of water; her mouth gaping open then closing quickly when she lost her train of thought.

"Where are you from?" "How old are you?" "Are you older than me?" "Should I call you noona?" "Can you give me a big part in our title track?"

The questions kept coming and Adrienne could barely keep up when a stern voice from the front of the van finally calmed the storm of inquisitive young voices.

"Calm down, kids. At least let her answer before you start asking another question." 

Adrienne sighed a short breath of relief when she was finally able to hear herself think and offered the lanky boy in the passenger seat  a small smile of gratitude.

"Okay, I want to answer all your questions. But I have a few of my own first" She said as she rested the notebooks she'd been clutching tightly against her chest onto her lap. "Well, questions and one request."

"First, I don't speak Korean that well so try to talk slowly because I didn't understand half of what you guys just said." Adrienne chuckled and looked around at the smiling and curious faces of the boys who were still facing her.

"Second, I want to make sure I have everyone's name right so I know who I'm talking to, -Jin?" Adrienne asked and pointed to the boy seated to her left a row ahead who nodded and Adrienne smiled, feeling accomplished.

"J-hope?" She asked of the next member who immediately replied yes and shot her a love bullet which Adrienne pretended to get hit by before laughing and sitting up straight again. "Would you mind if I just called you by your real name?"

"Yes, that's okay" he nodded quickly with a surprised grin.

"Okay, Hoseok. It's locked in."

She moved on to the person with the deep voice who had complimented her hair. Andy didn't quite recognize his face since in the performance videos she studied they all had different hair colors than they currently did. The only reason she managed to remember Suga's name without doubting herself was because she forced herself to, knowing that he would be the one she would most likely be talking to the most. Adrienne was still riding high on the confidence of getting the first two name's correct however so she assumed she would his name right as well. "...Jungkook?" her confidence was shot down when he didn't smile and the other boys began laughing at her mistake.

"I'm Kim Ta- Taehyung Kim" He replied in English, which surprised Adrienne to much for her to remain embarrassed.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry" Adrienne apologised quickly "Tae..hyung...V?"

He nodded and offered her a wide and boxy grin which Adrienne couldn't help but replicate, it was infectious.

"I hope you're Jungkook," She said to the next member and instead of smiling and agreeing with her like Adrienne was so sure he would his youthful features fell into something like a glare and the young boy shook his head from side to side gravely. Adrienne felt her eyes open widely and her hands flew to her cover her face in embarrassment, she was never particularly great with names but she was pretty confident that she recognized his face.

"Yah, Jungkook. Don't be like this" The member seated in the same row as Adrienne, on the other side of Yoongi spoke up.

When Adrienne peeled her hands away from her eyes and looked forward again she could see the mischievous smile budding on "Not-Jungkook's" lips before he collapsed into a fit of laughter which made Adrienne gasp when she realised that he was only kidding.

"Oh that's not funny" She replied even though she started laughing right along with him.

"We are going to have problems aren't we?" Adrienne said to Jungkook who replied with a playful quirk of his eyebrow before Jin and Taehyung shouted something about him being greasy.

Adrienne turned to her side and glanced down at the member she'd already spoken to, "I've met Suga," she muttered to the body on her side, he wasn't moving but Adrienne could tell that he wasn't really asleep. Looking up, she prepared to guess the next name but he was already speaking and offering his hand for her to shake before Andy could say anything.

"I'm Jimin" He said with warm and inviting smile "Please take good care of us." 

Adrienne accepted his handshake and found herself staring at his smile for longer than she would consider appropriate.

"Now who's being greasy?" She heard Jungkook chuckle in a murmur and that made her snap back to attention and stop shaking Jimin's hand like an idiot.

"Okay so that just leaves, Rap Monster?" The boy at the front of the minibus nodded and turned slightly to wave in Adrienne's direction "You can call me Namjoon if you want" He replied, also in English which made Adrienne knit her eyebrows together. 

"How many of you speak English?"

Namjoon laughed, making the deep dimples in his cheeks sink even deeper "Just me. V knows some English but he doesn't practice enough."

Taehyung nodded and looked at Adrienne "It's true."

Andy laughed and pulled the ends of her braids over her right shoulder "This is so great, I thought I would be lost the entire time but you speak English! You can help me! This is really really great" Adrienne rambled, her mood noticeably less subdued than when she first stepped into the vehicle.

"If you need to translate anything I'll try to help as much as I can" Namjoon reassured her.

"Good, my tutor says that I shouldn't speak English if I know how to say what I want to say in Korean so I'll try not to use you as a crutch."

"I wouldn't mind."

Adrienne grinned, holding Namjoon's gaze for a moment before glancing down at her lap while the rest of the members simply looked on with confusion. Well, all except V who could make out some of their conversation.

"I actually wanted to talk to someone about a few ideas I had in mind for your next album" Adrienne started, switching back to her cautious and slow Korean "But I'm not sure my co-producer is up for a conversation right now." She said underneath her breath and looked to her side at Yoongi who remained bundled up and still.

"Yeah, you don't want to wake him up. He didn't really sleep last night." Jin said gently as he joined Adrienne in looking down at Yoongi.

"I don't think he's sleeping, though" Adrienne answered back and leaned down to examine his face more closely.

"How can anyone sleep with all this goddamn noise?" Yoongi protested, loudly, from beneath his hood.

Adrienne jumped back and placed a hand on her heart, the sudden sound of his voice when she got closer to him nearly scared her to death.

"I knew it" She whispered once her heart rate had settled, his sudden outburst confirmed Adrienne's suspicions of him being awake. "Sorry about the noise" Adrienne stated in Yoongi's direction but he only shook his head and removed the hood covering his eyes.

He was never going to attain the amount of rest he was chasing so there wasn't any point in pretending that he could.

The group rode out the rest of the commute in relative silence, Adrienne taking the time to make conversation with the younger members while the older ones seemed to be involved in their own forms distraction or trying to rest their eyes. It took them nearly an hour to reach their destination and once the van halted to a stop everyone immediately began pouring out the van leaving Adrienne confused and stuck in her seat.

"Uh, do I need to get out too?" She called out to Yoongi since he was the last to exit the van and closest to her seat.

Yoongi pulled an earbud out of his ear and turned back to face her as if he'd forgotten she was still sitting down and hadn't joined the rest of the group when they got out.

"Yes, you need to get out of the van" He replied bluntly and watched as she gathered up her belongings and soon joined him on the pavement. They both began walking quickly to catch up with the rest of the boys who were already inside the building.

"Someone should have said something," and by someone she meant Yoongi but that didn't need to be clarified.

"It's kind of obvious isn't it?"

"Not really, I'm not being interviewed why would I need to get out of the van?"

Yoongi discreetly rolled his eyes by pressing his palm to his forehead for a few seconds before he began speaking again. This is exactly what he wanted to avoid today; having to explain how and when to do everything on their tight schedule.

"When you're with us, you do what we do," he said after a moment's hesitation, turning his head to look Adrienne full on.

"Okay, that makes sense. That wasn't so hard to explain was it?"

Adrienne smiled as she teased him and Yoongi took the time to secretly appreciate how easily her wide off-centre grin seemed to spread across her lips and illuminate her entire face. She reminded him of Jimin in that way, both of them possessed those kinds of expressions. Smiles that honestly looked painful to be so broad and enticing resting on someone's face.

"Suga-ssi!"

His name was being called and Yoongi stopped leering just long enough to notice that his members were already in the process of being seated, leaving him the odd one out.

"Find a seat," He said to Adrienne quickly before scurrying toward where the rest of BTS was seated.

Adrienne nodded and slowly turned to find somewhere to sit down and occupy herself until they were done with their interview. The rest of the staff that had walked in with them seemed to be gathering around a  certain table do Adrienne joined them here, offering everyone she recognised a small greeting before she pushed a pair of earbuds in her ears and silently turned to an empty page in her notebook and began scribbling music notes and lyrics over the page.

Listening to the different tones in all of them members voices when they spoke had given her a few ideas for something new. Every so often Adrienne would look up while the boys spoke, laughing at the silly answers to the interviewers questions or to watch them demonstrate a dance move or song lyric from their current album. She would smirk and make faces whenever she caught one of them looking in her direction, she caught Namjoon the most and one of the faces she made nearly made him laugh out loud while Jimin was answering a question.

Truthfully, she only caught Namjoon the most because her eyes tended to gravitate toward him whenever she looked up. If Adrienne had been paying close attention she would have noticed that Yoongi's eyes rarely left her when he wasn't being addressed or answering something. Initially, he just wondered what she was writing down but as the interview wore on and Yoongi became more uninterested in repeating the same answers to the same kinds of questions he began staring at her just to have something appealing to look at. The way Adrienne bit down on the end of her pen cap when she seemed to be stuck on something, and the wrinkle that would form in her forehead when she reread something she wrote down only to realise it made no sense was all, dare he think it? 

Cute.

The interview finished about an hour after they began and as everyone got up and prepared to leave their manager was informing them that the photo shoot they had scheduled next was cancelled due to the photographer injuring himself. Instead, they would all be returning to the studio so that they could get in a few extra hours of practice.

Adrienne pumped her fist silently to herself because she knew that meant that she would finally be able to get some of the music out of her head before she went crazy.

"He said we're going back to the studio right?" Adrienne asked Namjoon when she stood up to join the group walking outside. Namjoon nodded and repeated the manager's message in English for Adrienne who nodded and struck up a conversation with him on their way back to the van, leaving Yoongi to continue silently gazing from behind them.

[rixxy8173571m3w1p3]

September Song (2/3)

I’m sorry @kitten-wrath that this took so long, but I do hope you like it. @hoodoo12 @xerxezra thanks for brainstorming with me. Also, Ice Cream Rick belongs @porkchop-ao3. References to the flowers can be found here (The Language Of Flowers) and pizza rolls here (Sick Day)

Also, special thanks go to @her-victori for reading a majority of my fics in a short span of time. You Rock! As well to random anons who leave me sweet words in my ask box.

If you haven't read the first part of this fic then here's the link. (Read Part1 Here)

In this fic the reader tries to be more reserved and mature for Rick, but what will he think?

______

Chapter 2: These Precious Days

The mom and pop ice cream parlor which could be found at the edge of town offered over twenty flavors and twice as many topping options. Rick thought you'd prefer this quiet atmosphere over the crowd that would've surrounded Ice Cream Ricks truck in the Citadel; he was right. Though it really was a shame since Ice Cream Rick was actually pretty nice. After ordering, you two sat by the window with the best view of a lonely backroad and a white GMC truck.

“I-I-I like that you went for the rainbow jimmies.” Rick commented as he popped a mini gummy bear into his mouth.

“Hmm? Yeah, I like the texture.”

Which was true, but it wasn't the whole truth. You loved sprinkles on just about any dessert they could be placed on. They were fun, colorful, and your dad's favorite topping. They reminded you of good times. You continued. “And they're a classic. Wouldn't you agree?”

“I-I do. Would you say that y-your favorite flavor?”

Savoring the flavor of your chocolate ice cream, you nodded. “Yeah.”

Smiling softly, he seemed to be ruminating on this information, before storing it away and eating a spoonful of his pistachio ice cream. After a little while, he managed to get a bit of it on the side of his mouth, which made you giggle. And because old habits die hard, you picked up a napkin and wiped his face clean. Under your fingertips, his skin had that masculine roughness that came from constant shaving. Of course, you were familiar with it, but these slight reminders that came about by chance never failed to amaze you.

However, you were quick to pull your hand back because he wasn't a fan of public displays of affection, though it seemed to have the opposite effect, with him reaching out and placing your hand back on his cheek, and leaning into it. “I'm glad y-you were able to come with me today.”

Seeing as the shop owner was in the back room, you relaxed a little. “I am too.”

Rick was always a little funny when he got sentimental, which was why it didn't surprise you too much when his eyes bore through you as he said. “Me encanta estar c-contigo.”

“Rick,” you began, wanting to let this facade go and declare every single word of affection your heart felt inclined to say, but just as soon as you thought you were going to crack, you restrained yourself, and simply said. “your ice cream is going to melt.”

Several beats of silence passed, and he acknowledged what you had said, but he went on. “You - I-I sometimes wish I could carry you in my pocket, and have you look after me all the time, but th-that's silly isn't it? It's not realistic, and that w-would be selfish.”

“If it's you, then I don't think it is. While it wouldn't necessarily be practical to miniaturize me and carry me around, isn't the beauty of a relationship knowing that you're always on someone's mind and that they are out there somewhere caring and thinking about you?”

“Certainly, but what I-I meant to say is that it'd be nice if this was our life. If I could keep y-you and if you and me ugh - all th-the time…we - if we….” he faltered, fixing his eyes on something else in the room.

“You don't mean eating ice cream do you?”

With a sigh, he relinquished the hold he had on your hand, “N-no.” and continued to eat his ice cream; resigned, and slightly embarrassed. You couldn't help but feel a slight disappointment. It's not like he wanted to say the magic words. Right?

________

After ice cream, you two visited the bookstore on the corner of Kinder St and Lavue Ave; which had not only a coffee shop but a toy store connected to it. As soon as one entered into it, you were met with the latest best sellers, books on travel and wellness, as well as souvenirs; it was one of few places that didn't bother you if it was cramped. To your left next to the window were those mint boxes which said Adventure Awaits, and it filled you with gladness as picked one up; thinking of little things you'd put in it after all the mints were gone. For his part, Zeta-7 seemed to know exactly what he was going for, disappearing in the back where all the used books were. Not knowing whether to follow or look around, you just did as you pleased.

Past the Keychain holder, above the box of mini hands, you found a Mister Rogers mug. You loved that wholesome old man who used to teach lessons and play with puppets on PBS; Rick reminded you of him too. On the label, it said that when you added hot water to the mug, Mister Rogers would change from a suit jacket into his cardigan. Seeing as Zeta-7 hadn't returned yet, you decided to buy it and continued to look around until he soon returned with an older book in hand. “I-I-I hope I hadn't kept you waiting long.”

Facing the bookshelf, pulling out books that you were mildly interested in, you answered. “I knew you would show up eventually.”

Noticing the stack of books you had, he asked sweetly. “M-m-mi corazón, do you want me t-to hold those books for you? They look a-a little heavy.”

You weren't sure how long you could keep up this facade of being mature and not melting into a puddle everytime he said things like that, with him being as darling as he was. Nonetheless, you nodded and he lightened the burden on your arms.

“Wow,” he brightened. “I-I didn't know you liked Alexandre Dumas.” And picking out another book, he wondered. “Have y-you ever read this?”

“The Man In the Iron Mask? No,” you admitted sadly. “but when I was in high school I did read about a third of The Count of Monte Cristo. I even have a postcard that my old English teacher sent me from Europe that had a picture of one of the buildings that was used in the movie.”

“That's s-s-so cool. Do - do you enjoy classic literature?”

Wholeheartedly, you replied. “Isn't it the best kind?”

“I-I-I don't know,” he softened. “but I don't know what I'd do without them.”

You thought of his home library then, with its eclectic mixture of languages, colors, and topics, and it made you feel warm in your soul. “If your home library tells me anything, it's that you have a healthy appetite for books.”

He glanced at your lips after you said this, but made no attempt to follow whatever thought which might've come to mind. Instead, you two carried on a lengthy discussion on books, how many were a social commentary of the time period, and how they influenced the world you lived in. For once you didn't have to pretend you knew something you didn't, cause you did know. Quite intimately in fact. And within the small spaces between shelves and bodies, where you'd normally feel claustrophobic, you were safe amongst all the friends you had yet to meet amongst the pages, and with Zeta-7 whose warm words and tall body shielded you from the curious eyes of the cashier.

_______________

A stack of books sat quietly in the back seat of his car. Crickets chirped, and there were random feral cats here and there, but there was only you and him as far as you were concerned. September Song by Willie Nelson played on the car radio as he led you into a natural waltz next to the town lake, and moonlight reflected in his eyes. If you hadn't been so afraid of drowning, maybe you would've preferred to dance on the dock, but like this, it felt right.

Oh, it's a long long while

From May to December

But the days grow short

When you reach September

When the autumn weather

Turns leaves to flame

One hasn't got time

For the waiting game

With your head resting on his chest, he hummed along to the melody. More than once you heard a sniffle but assumed it was just Zeta-7 caught up in the moment again.

Oh the days dwindle down

To a precious few. ..

September, November. ..

And these few precious days

I'll spend with you.

These precious days

I'll spend with you.

You thought every day spent with him was precious, and you had to admit that you weren't sure at the beginning of your relationship if it would've worked out, but you were glad that the both of you took a chance, and had been pleasantly surprised ever since. And after all this time, now that it was the fall again, you wondered what the next year and the year after that would be like; the possibilities are endless. However, your train of thought was broken when Zeta-7 stopped dancing and stood there; covering his face, wanting to disappear.

“Rick?”

“I'm - I'm sorry, but I-I-I-I can't do this.”

“Can't do what?”

“I-I-I can't pretend that everything's o-okay. Something's th-the matter isn't it?”

“No there isn't.” you denied.

“Then why are y-y-you so quiet? Are w-we breaking up? Are you - are you leaving me?”

You literally wanted to smack yourself for being such an idiot. “No! Why would you think that?”

Using his phone, he paused the music and passed a hand through his hair in an attempt to calm himself. “Y-y-you haven't been yourself all evening. I thought for a moment that maybe th-things were alright back in the bookstore, but you - I know y-you were holding back. I know how much you love books, and writing is y-y-y-your passion, but you were hesitant in sharing your opinions on either subject. M-mi corazón,” he pleaded, the lines about his forehead and mouth deepening. “please b-be honest with me. Is this it?”

“No, it's not.”

Your plan, which you thought has been working went horribly wrong. So much for trying to act like an adult for once. Man, you only wanted to entice him, which you somewhat succeeded, but because of your stupid games, you'd led him to believe that you were unsatisfied with your relationship. If anything, you were unsatisfied with how you handled this. “Believe me Ricky, you haven't done anything wrong. In fact,” you sighed, your chest aching from the bloom of anxiety. “you've only been sweet and charming. But I….oh, I was only trying to impress you.”

“Huh? Wh-what?”

“Exactly. Whatever I thought I'd accomplish, it…..I only managed to mess it up. Again. You probably wouldn't get it,” Or maybe he would, but you weren't feeling like yourself. “but sometimes I feel like all you did was pull me out of my little bubble so I could wreak havoc. I'm not any different from hundreds of other versions of me, am I? Cause, if I'm like them, then how did I end up with you? How did I get so lucky to be with someone so wonderful? I hope they are happy because I am with you.”

With a hand pressed over his heart, a single tear made its way down his cheek. “M-me too. I'm so happy with you.”

“Somehow, despite all my inadequacies, you want me. I mean, is it stupid to believe that I just wanted to be different from all those other copies? That I just wanted you to think I was mature?”

Zeta-7 looked at you with a wistful hope in his eyes.“No, it's - it's not stupid. You - you did that f-for me?”

“Who else dear honey man of mine? Maybe it can't be helped and I'll just be what I am,” you confessed. “but for a moment I wanted to be different. So I gave myself the look and didn't overreact. And most of all, kept my mouth shut so you wouldn't get bored of my rambling. I know I talk too much.”

“N-no, that's not - have I led you t-to believe you weren't good enough?”

“Not on purpose, but I can't help but feel that way sometimes. We both know I'm not that special. I mean, the only impressive thing I've ever done is eat 37 pizza rolls, and not kill the flowers you gave me. I'm so sorry,” you cried, “I'm sorry you got stuck with an idiot.”

He pulled you in for a tight embrace, smoothing out your hair. “D-don't ever say that.” he cooed. “You're - you're clever, lovely, and always give me something t-t-to smile about.”

“Anyone can do that.”

Pulling back a little, he gave your shoulder a squeeze and softened. “N-no, not at all. Y-you give away dreams, smiles, and kindness. You're reliable, and I-I can trust you. And there is no one in the universe th-that could compare t-to you when it comes to being the perfect woman. If anything, I'm th-the defect here.”

“No, you're perfect Ricky.”

Placing a lock of hair behind your ear, he continued. “I'm glad y-you think so, but this isn't a-about me. You - you dressed up today, in a-a elegant dress that I'd n-never seen before,” and pressing a kiss behind your ear, he whispered with a little gleam of pride in his eyes.. “wearing the perfume I-I-I made you. Smelling like a-a dream.”

Again, how anyone considered this charmer a doofus you'd never know. “I had been saving it for a special occasion.”

“Everyday with you is - is special.”

“Oh Rick. That's…thank you.”

Pointing at your feet, “And I noticed that you're closer t-t-to my height today, but your feet must be hurting by now. Would y-you like to take them off?”

Oh, your feet were screaming. And now that you weren't pretending, you slipped out of your shoes which made you lose about four inches. Picking up your shoes and shoes and dusting them off, he continued. “That must feel better. I-I-I had to wear heels for a case once. It ugh - it's not practical when y-y-you have to run.”

“Right? I don't see how other women do it, cause I can't. I'm not even sure why I own them. I should just burn those things.”

You'd say it was half relief, half joy that made him laugh wholeheartedly at this, and you didn't see how it could be so funny. You poked him and pouted, and he delighted in this. “See?” he chuckled, looking at you in that funny way he did from time to time.

“See what?”

“This. This is th-the girl I fell in love with,” he stated matter of factly. “the one who likes t-to be comfortable, speaks her mind and prefers those jeans with th-the rip on the side. Not to mention those graphic t-shirts. Or cute pj's.”

Your breath caught a little at this confession. How could the smartest man in the universe adore an impertinent person like you? Maybe the same way you could love the smartest man; you just do. In your girlish voice, you said. “I only wanted you to be proud of me.”

Holding you a fraction tighter, he pressed a light kiss to your temple and chuckled sweetly. “Y-you already do princess. Today y-you made an effort for me, and that's impressive, but honestly, I want you t-t-to be comfortable and dress up how y-you like. You as yourself is what impresses me, because you have s-s-so much spirit, and I - that's what makes y-you gorgeous.”

This time you didn't even try to hide your blush.

“Oh Rick, hearing you say that really does make me feel silly. Why did I do this to myself? What was I thinking?”

“I believe y-you're still trying to figure it all out like the rest of us, and I can't get mad at you for th-that because you're wonderfully human. You had good intentions, and th-that's what counts.”

“Can you forgive me?”

“I al-already have.”

TBC

[urdemonfaunus]

Dedicated to @blake-belladonna-defence-force, for never gettin tired of my requests and always givin me Bumbleby fluff/angst when i most need it. As a fellow writer, i am obliged to return the favor without you asking me. I mean, respect, right??

So anyways.. Uh.. Please enjoy readin :>

Almost (Sweet Music) [Hozier; Bumbleby]

The golden-haired brawler leaned by the bar's counter, her lilac eyes seemed to be caught in some kind of trance. She stared at an enamouring sight not too far a distance. Her partner actually socialized much more now -- talking and laughing giddily with Atlas's huntsmen and huntresses that shared the same interests as her. And, some moments afterwards, the raven-haired beauty even took the opportunity to dance with the members of Team JNR and FNKI.

Yang never felt one end of her lips move upwards, a small smile etched on her mouth as she looked down at the moderately swished beer in her mug. What she did feel, though, was the presence of her younger sister. Lilac eyes that were previously trained in glanced towards the person beside her.

Ruby sported rather a huge grin as she greeted her older sister. "Hey, Yang!"

Faint smile changed into a sly smirk, her yellow-painted prosthesis ruffling the red-dyed hair of Ruby. "Hello to you too, sis." Laughing at her whines and grumbling, Yang settled her lower back once more on the polished counter. "How's your night going so far? Really looking forward with you making a move at Weiss."

The silver-eyed girl blushed furiously as she rubbed the back of her neck. It only made Yang giggle more. "I'm… uh, not…. She's too, um…"

As her voice failed her, her older sister just beamed at her, taking a sip of her beverage. "It's so funny seeing you all flustered up, Rubes." She sighed dramatically and engulfed the shorter girl into a bone-crushing hug. "My baby sister's all grown up and havin' crushes!"

"Yang -- OW -- put me down! Can't -- breathe!" Ruby managed to squeak out, randomly slapping Yang's arms and pushing her head. The blonde laughed once more before acknowledging her sister's pleas. And as soon as she got withdrawn, Ruby inhaled a lot of oxygen deeply to reclaim the lost air in her lungs. "You seriously need to stop doing that, sis. My ribs are already fine as they are, thank you very much."

"See? Ice Queen's really rubbin' off of ya. You can't convince me otherwise." Yang chuckled. Her heart fluttered inside her chest, knowing Ruby can finally focus on something rather than having her mind always scattered all over the place.

Ruby dejectedly sighed. There was no way she can turn this tide back. Arguing with the golden-haired brawler will get her nowhere. Honestly, it's like joking with a bear.

So instead of going against it, the silver-eyed huntress decided to go with the flow of the current.

"Well, what about you, sis? Let's take the spotlight off me and talk about you," Ruby said, a glimpse of slyness hinted in her voice. "Your eyes always seem to be always glued on… say… a certain Cat Faunus?"

The smile on Yang's face was wiped out and was immediately replaced by a dark tint painted on her cheeks. She felt herself sweat slightly from the heat overtaking her body. Her mouth bobbed opened and closed like that of a fish, yet not a single word was spoken. She tried to think of a great retort, but found nothing.

"I-uh… this is so unfair, Ruby! You can't turn on me like that!" Yang finally stuttered and exclaimed. Whilst Ruby just laughed heartily in return.

After that, Ruby continued. "If you really like her that much, might as well do something 'bout it, sis. Don't 'friendzone' yourself, thinking she doesn't deserve someone like you. And when you're flustered -- which is all the damn time -- go through with it. Don't let it stop you."

Yang stood there in shock and awe. Hearing those words coming out of someone younger than her -- especially her sister -- left her with an incredulous expression on her face and her prosthesis theatrically set on top of her heart.

She gasped, exaggeration displayed. "When did you get all so poetic, lil' sis? It scares me, if I'm being honest."

Ruby smirked. "Great then! 'Cause heads up, she's already flagging you down." She gestured towards Blake. Lilac eyes settled on golden ones, watching the faunus wave her hand and smile at her.

Yang swore she heard Ruby tell her something else, but she was ensnared in a trance that made her vision blue everything else but her. Her jaw slackened; her hand holding the empty mug became wimpy and shook. But it wasn't because of the bad, terrible shaking that was left by Adam. It was because of a good, nerve-wracking anxiety this beautiful raven-haired girl gave her unbeknownst to her knowledge.

Once Yang took a deep breath and finally calmed herself down, she placed the mug down on the counter, leaving the bill with it. She sighed hopelessly.

If only you knew what you did to me, Blake -- wHOA!

Her daydreaming was cut off in a rather -- might I say, curt way -- by a random, middle-aged brunet. She tried to reason with him, but was intervened once more. "Go in there, girl! The song's gon' start any minute now." He stated with so much glee, proved by the wide grin on his mouth.

"I -- what?!" was all that Yang could say before finding herself trapped in the middle of the music pub, surrounded by smiling and excited people. Her eyes searched for Blake, and they found her purposefully sauntered near the front row of mixed folks, brandishing a Machavellian grin of her own.

The golden-haired brawler barely managed to register what was happening when the resonating sound of semi-acoustic guitar being strung in a jazzy-folky way, its music just loud enough for everyone to hear. Yang circled the area and saw two figures with visible smirks on their faces. Ruby and Weiss were just beside the long-haired brunet singer plucking his way through the guitar slung over his shoulder, their arms crossed and watching the two love-drunken idiots intently.

Clapping and snapping of fingers soon followed, the familiar song finally having a name. Both of them looked into each other's eyes, already knowing what one meant. They joined in the clapping, feet unconsciously gaining speed steadily. Inches apart, Blake mouthed words at Yang.

Just like we practiced?

Yang smiled and nodded.

Just like we practiced.

I came in from the outside, burned out from a joyride

She likes to roll here in my ashes anyway

Played by the bedside, is "Stella by Starlight"

That was my heart, the drums that start off "Night and Day"

Only two words were able to describe their movements. Graceful and fascinating. At first, the idiots were insecure and not sure about their actions (especially Yang). But after some of the lyrics were sung, both hummed along the tune and began to ease up their tense selves. By the next words, Yang gave up and sang along excellently. Fast movement shifted to a slower one.

Same kind of music haunts her bedroom

I'm almost me again, she's almost you

Blake's golden eyes widened at Yang's voice. She never heard the blonde sing before, so this really was a pleasant surprise. She thought it was sweet -- almost like honey. The raven-haired girl could not contain herself any longer and sang along with her.

I wouldn't know where to start,

Sweet music playing in the dark

Be still, my foolish heart

Don't ruin this on me

Pulling each other's body, foreheads touching and noses brushing, lithe body against well-built, athletic. They repeated several motions, only altering some parts of it to make them look new. Perfect, they both thought. Just perfect.

I wouldn't know where,

I wouldn't know where

I wouldn't know where, I wouldn't know where

I wouldn't

I wouldn't know where

I wouldn't know where

I wouldn't know where, I wouldn't know where

I wouldn't know

The song skipped to their supposedly "solo part". As kinsfolk around them carried on clapping, Yang did the first part. Growing up in Patch, she learned this amazing way of dancing known as Ceili dance. Tapping the heel, ball, and midsole of her boots on the ground quickly, made a thumping rhythm that accompanied the song's beat very well. People gasped and "wowed" as she did all that with her hands behind her back. Even the repressed nerd was amazed by this, garnering a triumphant smirk on Yang's face.

Second part, and Blake happened. With her gifted flexibility and dexterity, her movements were like that of a snow or leaf letting itself be cradled away by the wind. She looked so light on her feet, it was hypnotising. Years of yoga and contemporary dancing showed its resulting fruits.

Watching her made Yang practically melt right then and there. Her knees felt weak and were starting to buckle from the view she was being gifted by the Gods. She felt as if she'd just fallen in love over this elusive faunus all over again.

The Very Thought Of You and Am I Blue?

"A Love Supreme" seems far removed

"I Get Along Without You Very Well, " some other nights

The radio news reader chimes

Reporting "Russian Lullabies"

She'll turn to me awake and ask, Is everything "Alright"

Yang, being the stronger of the two, lifted Blake to the air, earning a yelp and a giggle from her, and so does the people surrounding them. The Cat faunus suppressed her laughs using her hand, meeting lilac eyes as she looked down on her partner. Yang gazed at her lovingly, and she realized something. So… this is what it feels like to be… in love? She asked herself, the grin on her lips fading into a faint smile as she was lost in thought. It feels like… you're on top of the world.

At the realization, her smile returned. Now, it was doubled in size.

I wouldn't know where to start

"Sweet Music" playing "In The Dark"

Be still "My Foolish Heart, "

Don't ruin this on me…

Chorus was sung over and over again. Final actions were made and done. Yang and Blake both exhausted themselves, for by the last word they were both panting and breathing heavily. They were so close -- Blake's hand resting on her partner's shoulder while the other was held by another warm hand. Yang's prosthesis securely held her in position just on top of her hip. Staring longingly into each other's eyes, the blonde asked for permission. The raven-haired girl just chuckled and sighed.

"Well?" She prompted gently, and Yang was more than happy to oblige.

Leaning in, the taller woman captured the shorter's lips. Soft and innocent, they warmed into each other's touch a few seconds later. Humans and Fauna alike whooped and cheered for the two huntresses. Others were encouraged to do the same thing, while the others just smiled at the scene in front of them.

=\/=\/=\/=\/=\/=

The kiss did not become heated in any way, and after several hours of enjoying the rest of their night off, the bunch of huntresses left filled with joy and love. After all, two new pairs of lovers found a way to exhibit to the world that gender and race do not matter. What really matters?

Love.

[everyhowlmarksthedead]

❛ A NIGHTMARE ❜

with Michael ‘Riz’ Ariza and the Reyes brothers.

Request #1: Please tell me mine makes the count for the first 10 lmao But if you can. Can you please do a Riz request where the girl is a sister, possibly a Reyes sister and the two of them are secretly together. And they spend the night together until her two brothers open the door and see them?

BY @firebenderwolf

Request #2: helloooooo i would to request an imagine with riz ariza in which the reader is angel and ez sister. the plot about something fluff like cuddling or having a cute whatever is better for you. Thank you so much🤍

BY ANON

Warnings: none.

Word count: anout 1.8k

Aurora says: this writing hasn't been edited, you may find some grammar mistakes, I'm sorry about that!

Gif credits: @fromthesixteenthfloor

Masterlist.

Suddenly waking up, covered by sweat and your heart racing, you grab the baseball bat next to your bed. You're pretty sure that you heard a strange noise coming from the living room, but EZ and Angel are out of town. So you just hope that it was part of your nightmare. Slowly walking through your brother's flat, barefoot and trying to be silent, you turn on the lights. Everything seems under normality. The windows are closed and the main door is locked. Nothing is thrown over the floor and the TV is off. Coming back to your room with the same defensive position and the bat raised up in front of your eyes, ready to beat whoever's ass, you run like never before as soon as you reach your dorm. Putting the latch that Angel installed for you, for these days, you crawl to your bed to grab your phone starting to cry for no reason. Typing Riz's number by heart, you wait impatiently for hearing his voice.

“Mi amor, what's up?” He was sleeping, noticing it in the low tone he uses to speak.

“Can yo—you come to my house, pl—please?” You can't help but sob, rubbing your eyes with your knuckles.

“Shit, yes, of course, baby. Are you okay? Are you hurt?” Feeling awake, he sounds like he's getting up from his bed, looking for some clothes to wear.

“I just… have a nigh—nightmare, and I'm freak—freaking scared”.

“I'll be there in ten, okay?”

“Ok—Okay…”

You can't stop checking the hour on your phone every single second, biting superficially your nails without breaking them, trying to calm yourself somehow. You're not used to having nightmares, and usually when it happens, you don't remember what happened. But when your screen turns on again with a text message from Riz, you start to cry again unconsolable, leaving it away and getting up from your bed to run towards the entrance. And, as soon as you open the main door, you jump into him. Your boyfriend doesn't hesitate to hold you tightly, surrounding his waist with your legs, clinged to him with all your strength.

“It's okay, mi amor… It's okay, I'm here”. He whispers caressing your back, coming into the house and closing the door behind his back.

Sinking your face into his neck, you try to get a little more relaxed, less shaked and breathing somewhat better. He knows he doesn't need to say anything, being enough with his presence and his lovely touch. It's the first time he hears you cry and it's really breaking his heart. Leading his steps towards the nearest sofa, Riz sits there holding you yet, before cupping your cheek in his hands. Cleaning your tears without any word uttered, he leans to peck your lips softly.

“I'm here, mi amor, don't cry”. He mutters, leaving now some clingy kisses in your cheeks to make you laugh. At least, a little.

“Can you… please stay tonight?” You almost beg him, sniffing but not crying anymore.

“You don't have to ask for it, mi reina”. He just says, showing you that smile you love more than anything.

Riz has that power on you that anyone else has. He husks your demons, your insecurities, your fears. Anything bad that runs through your mind, he puts it down. And he does it so easily that sometimes surprises you. Resting your head over one of his shoulders, you surround him with your arms, closing your eyes just for some seconds in the meantime you recover your peaceful breathing.

“Do you want me to prepare you a tea or something?”

You shake your head softly.

“Okay, I'm gonna take you to bed, alrai'?”

Standing up from the sofa, he walks towards your room with a slow pace, until reaching it. Placing your feet on the white fluffy carpet, Riz starts to undress himself leaving only his boxers, to lie down by your side drawing you into his arms, after turning off the lights. One of his hands falls on your neck, while the other caress your skin under the short sleeve, tangling your legs with his. Placing gently kisses on your forehead, you rest your head over his shoulder, closing your eyelids. Now you feel more safe than ever, even if there's any danger close.

“I love you”. You whisper into his ear, leaning some inches to kiss his cheek.

You're not used to saying these three simple words, but instead using a lot of pet-names. So every time you utter them, your boyfriend smiles like an idiot, just like you do. You don't know how it happened, exactly. Since you two met, you couldn't avoid flirting unconsciously, until you found out that you were in love with each other to the gills. And one night at the clubhouse, he couldn't wait much more to kiss you. Sometimes it's difficult to hide it from your brothers, but it's been eight months since you started and they don't suspect anything, even if you know that one day you will have to tell them about your relationship. But for the moment, you don't want to think about it, getting more comfy under his arms.

“I was thinking of asking Bishop for some days off, so we can go somewhere”. Riz comments with feigned causality, making you laugh low.

“Sounds good”. You nod, raising your eyes towards the black ones. “Where do you wanna go?”

“I don't know… Tijuana, Los Angeles, San Diego. Depends on if you prefer more heat desert or beach”.

“Anywhere is perfect without having to hide”.

“Fuck, yes”. The mexican can't help but break into laughter. “Do you feel better?”

Turning over his side, he caresses the line of your jaw softly. You just nod in silence, before pressing your lips on his. Getting perfectly molded, you tangle your fingers in his hair, not wanting to let him go.

“I love you, mi amor”. He says between some kisses.

You wake up rested and feeling better than other nights, sticking your back to his chest and tangling your fingers with the ones around your neck and waist, shortening the distance. Feeling how Riz holds you tightly and leaves some kisses on your head, you purr softly drawing a smile on your lips. You would like to spend the whole morning like that, just enjoying his pampers in silence. But he has to work and you have to study for an exam. So that calm doesn't last long.

“Talk with your brothers about the nightmare, when they come ba—”.

“We're already here, old ass!”

Angel's voice freezes your blood. Suddenly opening your eyes and sitting up over the bed with a terrified look on your faces.

“Shit…” Your boyfriend snorts, rubbing his face with both hands.

“Maybe they didn't hear you”. You try to whisper.

“What the fuck, girl? I'm answering him”.

“Angel…” EZ's just says.

“What? He's fucking our little sister, man!”

“And you're fucking the whole Santo Padre”. Your brother responds, making you chuckle, seeing Riz getting up to get dressed.

“We're not talking about my cock”.

“Not even about Riz's”. You add then, stepping out from your dorm, walking towards them in the living room. “Jeez… You look like shit”.

Angel raises an eyebrow with his eyes on yours, before rolling them.

“Thank you, that's very kind”. Ezekiel smirks, having a sip from his coffee. “Having fun in our absence?”

“I had a nightmare. I thought someone came to… steal or something, and I was fucking scared”.

“So you call him”.

“Who else, idiot?”

“Pops?” EZ says as if it wasn't obvious.

“Guys”.

“Dirty old ass”.

“Angel, I'm gonna fucking punch you el pinche hocico”. (Into the fucking mouth).

“Fight me, gnome”.

Lifting up both eyebrows looking at him, twisting your neck, you can't believe how immature he's sometimes.

“I will call you when I'm done later, okay?”

“No, you better don't call h—”.

“Ezekiel, can you hit Angel, please?”

Your brother obeys delighted, punching his shoulder, as he used to so when you were children. And the older gives him back another, distracting them so you can say goodbye to Riz, accompanying him to the main door.

“Thank you for coming last night”. You whisper, hearing your brothers complaining about the punches, while he kisses your forehead chuckling.

“Anytime, gnome”.

“Oh, c'mon!” You laugh palming his chest. “I love you…”

“I love you too”.

Coming back to the living room, after closing the door, you continue to the kitchen to have some coffee in a mug and sit at the table with your brothers. They stop fighting, waiting for some kind of explanation.

“He runs Vicki's house”.

“And you run the whole Santo Padre”. Ezekiel is drinking when he hears you, almost drowning between some coughs and cleaning his mouth with a hand.

“Anyone know?” He asks then.

“Yeah, Taza and Bishop”.

“Girl, what the fuck? How do they know before us?”

“I went to Taza's ranch to have dinner. Like… a lot of times”.

“You went to a house in the middle of nowhere with three men older than you?” Angel can't believe you, leaning towards the table.

“Yeah, and we did an orgy. Are you fucking idiot?” You growl hitting his forehead with your palm.

“Pops knows?” Turning to your other brother, you nod shrugging as if it wasn't obvious.

Suddenly, Angel throws himself to the floor, sobbing and tangling his hands over his own chest. You two look at him over the table, watching him feigning a heart attack or being possessed. Any theory is valid for whatever he's doing.

“You fucking drama queen…” Rolling your eyes, you sit up again.

“How much time do y—”.

“Eight months”.

“AY! AY, AY!” You can't help but break into laughs, hearing your big brother pretending to be crying.

“Fucking idiot”. Shaking your head, you get up from your chair to turn the table and fall onto Angel's abdomen like a plank.

“Don' touch me, you traitor, breaking my poor heart”.

“Anything that a Reyes sandwich doesn't fix”. The other says, falling onto you smashing both.

“FUCK, EZEKIEL”. The oldest and you complain laughing, barely breathing. “FUCKING MOVE”.

Squirming in the middle, you free yourself, lying on the floor between both. Looking at them, you place your arms under their necks pulling them closer.

“(Y/N) Ariza. How does it sound?”

“If you fuckin' change the ‘Reyes’ one day, I'm gonna run over him with pops' car”. Angel grunts palming your forehead.

“I'm more into tying his feet to it, and driving through the desert”. Ezekiel opines pursing his lips in a petty smile.

“You wouldn't if I poison you first”.

“Yeah, whatever. What happened last night?”

“I think it was just my subconscious missing my two favorite boys”.

“Do you see how fake that sounds, mi dulcecito?”

“Cierra el pinche hocico”. (Shut the fuck up). You chuckle with your eyes fixed on the ceiling. “I really missed you those four days, idiots…”

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