#I swear the months are just passing us by. how did we arrive in April again?

[dadbots]

April, huh….

[highdramas]

steady now | b.b.

𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝'𝐬 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞 | 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

pairing: bucky barnes x fem!reader

warnings: language, possible tfatws spoilers, mention of death? sort of? mention of the blip mostly, some angst, references to sexxxx babie

word count: 4.3k wowie

summary: bucky is not the only one with amends to make.

note: here’s another installment in the twalb story <3 again, you don’t have to read these in order, they stand independently, but they do all work together! PLEASE leave feedback/reblog! this is extremely helpful for me writing future parts to know what everyone likes or doesn’t like! i’m extremely proud of this part so i really hope that you all enjoy it as much as i’ve enjoyed writing it <3

enjoy! <3

there was once a time where you loved california.

there was once a time where you had a boyfriend with an easy smile and charming demeanor and a family in ventura. his name was felix, and you always told people that he could make anyone fall in love with him with nothing but that stupid smile of him-- of course, you never said how that upset you. you never said how it hurt when the waitress looked at him with dazzling eyes and how he seemed to relish in the attention.

you never voiced how he seemed to eventually bore of the attention that you gave him. you never voiced the way that you wished he would look at you with those dazzling eyes and give you that breezy laughter and that look that said i have you in the palm of my hand.

he did. he didn’t need to give you that look to know that.

sometimes, you wonder if he felt any sort of relief after the blip. you wonder if when you dusted right before him, if he felt like he won in some sick way. of course, you know that he would never admit that. he would never make that known to anyone. maybe even himself. but subconsciously… you wonder if you were simply an accessory that was worn out of convenience, and if your fading from reality was the biggest convenience at all.

it’s sick. you know it’s sick, and likely not true. but still. you wonder.

when you returned, the first thing that you did when you got your hands on a cell phone was call him. you called him and you cried and you said that you were okay, you were here. you asked him what the hell happened. you asked him if it had really been five years.

you heard a voice in the background. it was feminine, light, airy. the voice of a fairy. you’ll never forget hearing that voice. you learned later that she was his fiance.

you’ll never forget the sort of heartbreak that you felt. it was visceral. the knowing-- the knowing that it wasn’t your fault, it wasn’t anything that you did. it was merely the absence of you. you still wonder how long he mourned. you wonder how long it took. you saw him only a handful of times after you returned. he had cried, and you had stared, unsure what to say.

how do you apologize for fading from existence?

that was the first time you saw him. the second was worse.

the second, you were angry. you were angry and you lashed out. what was supposed to be an easy dinner turned into an explosion of tears and fury, the words this isn’t fair and what was i supposed to do? wait for you? and so desperately you had wanted to say yes. you wanted to say that you wished he had held out hope, that he stayed up and dreamt of you and that he was devoted.

it was a selfish thought. he had told you politely to not contact him again.

you had learned that he had moved back to ventura with his fairy girlfriend from some casual facebook stalking. they bought a house on the coast. they’re planning a wedding.. she is beautiful, and you noticed something from the pictures you see of them together right away. he looks at her not like he was charming her, but like she was charming him.

that’s what made you realize he was never yours to begin with.

now, you’re in california again. now, bucky sits beside you and he drives and you control the music. now, he looks at you like you have hung the stars in the sky and propped up the moon. and you look at him the same way.

bucky has amends to make, but so do you.

when he reaches over and places his hand on your thigh, you smile. you place your hand over his and you squeeze. you’d insisted that you two rent a convertible, and though he rolled his eyes, he obliged. you drive down the pch and it is april and the sun is warm and inviting but not abrasive. he wears sunglasses and he doesn’t wear the gloves. he wears a short sleeved shirt.

it’s enough to make you smile and lay your hand back against the seat and make you think: everything happened just the way it should.

bucky is here to extend his amends to the chaplin family. well… really, he’s here to set them up with the CIA. they’ve been hydra sympathizers for years.

you, on the other hand, are here to extend amends of your own.

bucky knows. bucky knows and he watched you recall the story with tears blurring your vision. you would hiccup and say, “i’m sorry. i’m not sad over him, not anymore. i’m just sad that i could be forgotten so easily.”

he had held your face in his hands and he swiped at your tears and he said, “you’re impossible to forget.”

at first, when you brought up coming with him, he had been hesitant. his endeavors with the amends and with sam, he tends to like keeping separate. you get it. you know he doesn’t want to put you anywhere near the danger that he encounters, even if that maddens you. but then, your face fell and you held out the wedding invitation that had arrived in your mailbox. “i want to go.”

bucky takes it and he studies it and he clenches his jaw. he looks at you through his lashes. “i’m going with you.”

now, the wedding is in three days. you wonder if he was surprise when you sent in your rsvp marked yes. you were surprised that he invited you at all.

once, you remember him saying to you, “sometimes, you have to extend olive branches. you’re too damn stubborn for your own good.”

this is your olive branch.

bucky squeezes your thigh and his thumb makes small circles and it instills a calm in you that you haven’t felt since you stepped foot on the plane. he glances over at you. “we don’t have to go.” this isn’t the first time that he’s said this. “we can stay in our hotel all week. i’m sure we can find something to do.”

your jaw drops and you look over at him and he has that smug look on his face. it’s been nice, watching him slip into ease with you. “you are such a pig.”

“i’m just saying, we have options.”

you laugh and you swat his hand away. he grins and he places it on the head rest, his fingers idly playing with a few strands of your hair that blow in the wind as he drives. you pull up to the hotel and you check in and bucky carries all of your bags, which you try to object, but he simply does not care. you fall back onto the mattress and he follows suit and he presses his lips to yours, presses them to your pulse point, your jaw. he whispers against your skin that you are beautiful. he whispers against your skin that you’re an angel.

angel. he always calls you that.

hours pass and you spend most of them beneath bucky, breathless. eventually it is the middle of the night and you have done nothing but fuck and you’ll be the first one to admit that they were hours well spent. he’s propped up on an elbow and he looks down at you, dewy and heavy lidded. “why’d you want to come out here? to the wedding?”

you can’t help but laugh. “that’s what you want to talk about right now?”

he blushes, moves to hide his face, but you beam and you place your hand on the side of his face. you push yourself up and sit criss cross, holding the sheet to your body, facing him. he follows suit.

the two of you do this back home. whether you’re sitting on the living room floor or in bed. it’s easier to talk in the dark, bucky once said. you’d never forgotten. so, this became a sort of unspoken ritual. you would sit with your knees brushing and you would talk and you would laugh and you never wanted this to change.

“i guess i don’t know why i wanted to come.” you reach for his hand and he offers it to you. you run your fingers along the golden grooves, and you swear that you see the hairs on his opposite arm begin to stand up. “i didn’t want to be seen as the bitter ex. i hate-- i hate being perceived. you know? like, i can’t control how anyone views me. i can’t control them thinking i’m crazy or irrational. but… they don’t know anything at all.” bucky’s eyes never leave you. “i wanted to come because i feel like i’m ready to face it. the truth of it. i don’t feel fearful of it all. i used to feel so… gross. gross about how i reacted and how i felt. i felt so selfish. but now…” you can’t help but smile a little bit and you touch the place on his chest where his heart lies in his ribcage. “i’m glad for it. all of it. it’s stupid, but… it brought me here.” you lean your palm into his chest just slightly more. he covers your hand with his and he pulls you in, your hand splayed out on him.

bucky is softening before you. so often you are the one who offers an ear and a comforting touch, but he is happy to repay the favor whenever you need it. “you’re too strong all the time.” his words are definitive, with no room for arguing. “you were hurting. you’re allowed to hurt. you didn’t have a choice in missing out on five years while the world went on without you.”

of course, you know he’s right, but it just feels good to hear it. it feels good to hear it from him. “and he was an asshole.” bucky’s jaw sets. “he had five years to mourn you and your relationship. he barely gave you a month. what sort of guy does that? to a girl he loved?” he shakes his head, as if shaking the thought from his person. “if that were me, i would’ve…”

you watch as he trails off. he looks down and away. you gently take his face and move it up, getting him to look at you again. he gives you this smile that is equal parts sorrow and loving, and you wish you could take away all his pain. “i’d mourn you for life. and i… if i got the chance to have you again? i’d--”

“bucky.” you cut him off smoothly and you shake your head. “that won’t happen.”

he smiles. “i know.” he pushes your hair back and his hand rests on the back of your neck. “i just can’t imagine someone having you and not--” he shakes his head. “he’s a fool.”

gently, your hands lay on his knees and you lean forward. “you asked why i wanted to come,” you whisper, your lips nearly touching his. “i wanted to come because i want to thank him.” you press your lips against his, and his hand goes to splay on your back, pulling you in nearer and nearer. “he recommended the apartment building.”

bucky grins and you connect in every possible place. you roll between the sheets once more and eventually, sleep overtakes you.

the days leading up to the wedding pass by in a relative blur. bucky goes to make his amends and though you offer to come, he shakes his head. “i’ll be quick,” is his promise, and he keeps good on it. he’s gone barely two hours.

you spend time on the beach and sight seeing. you don’t know if you’ve ever seen bucky this… relaxed. yes, he’s always slightly more alert than your average citizen, but you will never fault him for that. you go and get ice cream and you sit on a little bench and bucky stares at you. “what?” you asked and you raise your brows. “something on my face?”

“actually, yes.” he reaches out and swipes your bottom lip, coming back with some strawberry ice cream on his thumb. he pops it into his mouth and it makes your heart plummet to your stomach. “yum.”

you all but drag him back to your hotel.

finally, it is the day of the wedding.

bucky has been ready for hours. he likes unbearably handsome-- you’d gone with him to a shop in new york and had helped him pick out some new slacks and a nice fitting shirt. he had chuckled at the way that the pants hit his ankles and said, “it’s definitely not the forties anymore.”

you had picked out a sage green silk dress, and you smooth it out in the mirror, tilting your head to the side as you looked at yourself. bucky approaches you from behind and you’re so stuck in your own head that you hardly notice him until his hands are on you. they go to your shoulders, rubbing soothing circles into tense muscles with his thumbs. “you look beautiful, doll.” he leans forward and he presses a chaste kiss to your shoulder, which makes you smile, because it’s so him. “i wanna kiss you but i don’t want to mess up your makeup.”

“like that’s ever stopped you before.”

“i’m a gentleman.”

a smirk works its way onto your face and some of the nervous, fluttering monarchs in your stomach have begun to dissipate. you turn and he gently holds your face, examining it. he opens his mouth to say something, laughs, and closes it. “i don’t even know how…” he clears his throat. you swear that tears prick at his eyes. “i don’t even know how to say how much… how perfect you are. i’ll never be able to say it properly.”

everything about james buchanan barnes makes you melt, and this is no different. you sigh and you lean your body against his, and he holds you ever close. “thank you for coming with me,” you whisper into the skin of his neck. “i needed you here.”

he holds the back of your head carefully. “i’d follow you anywhere, doll.” he pulls back and his hand holds your face, and the vibranium is like a kiss to your cheek. “may i kiss you?”

your lips part and you nod-- and he takes his time kissing you. he kisses you long and tender, making sure that you feel everything. sometimes you think that this is easier than talking for him-- this is the way that he can show you how perfect he finds you. it’s better than any words he could string together.

the ride to the venue is somewhat of a blur. bucky doesn’t take his hand off of you-- it’s constantly holding yours. from the car to the walk inside to taking your seats-- you can feel the eyes that are glued to you, but you can feel bucky’s hand in yours more. you can hear the muffled whispers of gossiping friends and family, but you hear bucky’s murmured complaints louder, and they make you laugh.

felix is at the altar already. he’s talking with a groomsman and he laughs at something and you smile a bit. he looks happy, you think. bucky’s arm is slung across the back of your chair and his fingers trail up and down your shoulder, his eyes fixed on you.

you turn to look at him, too. you lay your hand on his knee and your smile says your thanks over and over and over again. bucky’s eyes flick to the altar, and he sees that you’ve finally been noticed. felix may be looking at you, but you will never know. you are looking at bucky.

the ceremony is pretty. bucky’s bored, you think-- that thought is enough to make you chuckle. felix’s fairy girlfriend is exactly what you gathered from the pictures-- she is energetic and kind, she is sweet and beautiful. the more you think, the more you watch the way that felix looks at her, the lighter you feel.

a part of you had feared that you would never get over him. that you would never get over the what if. possibilities tended to haunt you, but now, being here… you had known for a long time that not only had you gotten over him, you had found something so much better than what you had. but it’s the thought that thrums through you that you were not expecting.

you can see this for yourself. one day. bucky at an altar in a suit, you in white.

you smile to yourself in your seat. bucky looks over at you. you look over at him, just for a moment. your heart feels full.

felix begins his vows. “carly,” he begins and he clears his throat. you can tell that he’s already getting emotional. “never did i once expect to find you. never did i expect to find someone who fit with me so… completely.” you watch as his hands shake as he holds the piece of paper. “but i did. and i’m so lucky it was you.”

his vows go on, and they are beautiful. through it all, you can sense bucky beside you, entirely attentive to you.

the reception is on the beach. the sun is setting, and it is stunning. the food is good and every gives speeches and toasts and you’ve been placed at a table with some friends that both you and felix had known. of course, when shit hit the fan with you and felix, you hadn’t exactly kept in touch, but they’re kind nevertheless. some recognize bucky, and the questions they ask make you cringe. “so… winter soldier,” one of them, kya, begins. “you actually did all of that bad shit?”

it takes everything in you not to lunge across the table. bucky’s hand finds your leg underneath the table, already knowing what you’d like to do. you open your mouth to interject, but bucky cuts you off. “hydra did.” he gives a clipped smile. it leaves no room for discussion.

they ask about the avengers and about thanos, and all of it makes you roll your eyes. they talk to bucky as if he’s a toy rather than a human being. as everyone is mingling, you see the couple beginning to approach your table. everyone cheers and scoops them up into hugs. it makes a part of you sad. not because of him, but because it’s another reminder of how life went on without you.

you and bucky stand and approach them. you can almost feel bucky’s hesitation as he sizes up felix. the protectiveness in his stance makes your heart swell. carly smiles at you, but you can tell that there’s a hint of nervousness in her demeanor. “hi!” she says and she looks between you and bucky. “we were both so happy when we got your rsvp. a little surprised, but…”

your eyebrow raises and you look at them. “i wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.” you place your hand on bucky’s arm. “felix, carly, this is my boyfriend, james. james, felix and carly.”

he shakes their hands and you note the way their eyes flick to the metal one on the other side. bucky and carly begin to make awkward small talk, and you look at felix. he looks at you. there’s something knowing in the stare. “want to take a walk?” he asks, nodding towards the beach.

you nod. felix turns to carly and you turn to bucky, who has a slightly concerned look written on his face. “it’ll be fine.” you lean in and you kiss him, wanting to take any insecurity from him. “play nice, but not too nice. if they say anything stupid, call them on it.”

bucky smirks. “you got it, doll.” he looks to felix and nods to him, and there’s something in bucky’s eyes that must scare him, because you swear felix pales slightly. and then you and felix set off.

for the first part of your walk, both of you are quiet. it’s as if both of you knew that this was inevitable, and now you’re just trying to figure out where to start. both of you begin to talk at the same time, and it causes awkward chuckles to fill the air between you. you stop by a log and you sit, staring out at the ocean. you cross your legs and you look over at him to find his gaze still on the ocean. finally, it moves to you. “i’m sorry.” you both say it at the same time.

a sad smile settles onto your face and you look away. “you first,” he says.”

“i’m sorry.” you look at him again. “i’m not sorry for the way that i felt. i’m not sorry for hurting. but i am sorry that i lashed out. i was… angry.” you suck in a breath. “people who stayed… they’ll always carry the grief and the trauma of those five years. but the people who came back? we came back to a world that had moved on. i can’t… i can’t explain to you how hard that was. it wasn’t just you. i lost everything.” you shake your head. “i took it all out on you. all that hurt. and i’m sorry for that.”

felix nods his head. “i’m sorry that i wasn’t more understanding of what you were going through. that i just… cut you off.” he swallows. “i had five years to come to terms with the fact that you weren’t coming back. even when you were back, it almost felt… fake. like i was looking at a ghost.” he swallows. “but i missed you. i want you to know that i missed you, and i thought about you.”

a small smile works onto your face. “thanks.” you look towards the crowd, where people are laughing and dancing. “she seems great.”

felix looks over his shoulder. “she is. she keeps me… in check. i can be kind of an asshole. i don’t know how either of you dealt with me.” this makes you laugh and roll your eyes. “you and bucky barnes, huh?”

“i have you to thank for that.” he looks at you in confusion. “the building you recommended me? we were neighbors.” you smile, thinking back on the memory of bucky barnes at your door, asking if you needed help building your cat tower. “he is the best thing that has happened to me,” you say it with no hint of hesitation.

felix smiles. “he looks like he’s crazy about you. he barely looks anywhere else.”

you bite down on your lip. “yeah, i’ve heard that before.” the wind ruffles your hair slightly, and you look at felix and he looks at you. “i’ve spent a lot of time being angry at you. i don’t want to be angry anymore.”

he shakes his head. “i don’t want to either.” he pauses. “maybe… maybe, one day, the four of us could… you know, get dinner or something.”

“yeah,” you nod your head. “one day.” you stand, and he follows suit, and you look up at him. “thank you. for inviting me.”

“thank you for coming.”

there’s a level of awkwardness that rests between you, and you think that perhaps it’s inevitable. but also, you can’t help the sense of relief.

part of you thinks that he’s itching to hug you, and you may be extending some forgiveness tonight, but you’re certainly not there yet. you begin to walk towards the party. “c’mon. you need to go to your bride.”

when you return, you think bucky might be ready to drive his steak knife through his eye. you approach him from behind, wrapping your arms around his shoulder and bending so that your face is beside his. “miss me?”

he snorts. “you have no idea, doll.”

you watch as felix makes his way to carly, and you meet his eye. he gives you a slight nod and a knowing smile, and you return it.

there’s a weight that’s lifted off of your chest.

“c’mon,” you say to bucky, tugging him up. “we’re going to dance.”

he groans and you laugh, pulling him by the hands to the dance floor. just as you are, you make me feel so young begins to play around you. as you step onto the dance floor, you begin singing the words quietly to him. your dancing slows to a light sway, and in your ear, bucky begins murmuring the words to you.

your eyes flutter shut and a sweeping calm comes over you. “you know… i never thought i would get married. did you?”

bucky’s hands have a firm place on your waist. “i grew up in the forties. of course i thought i was going to get married,” you two spin slightly. “but, after everything… i didn’t think that was ever going to be in the cards for me.”

your breath catches. “and now?”

“now?” bucky asks into your ear. “i can only dream i get lucky enough to have you as my bride.”

your cheeks grow warm. “mrs. barnes…” you lean back to look at him. “has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?”

the look on bucky’s face, you don’t know if you’ve ever seen that look before. “yes.” his voice is so firm it nearly brings you to your knees. “yes, it does.”

you two slow to a halt and bucky tilts your chin up. “guess i have some work to do,” his lips ghost over yours. “mrs. barnes.”

the world around you stops, and in that moment, it is only you and bucky. it is you and bucky at your ex’s wedding, and there is nowhere else you would want to be.

you’re beginning to understand why bucky likes making amends.

[favefandomimagines]

Happens For A Reason (d.s.)

Summary: after rudy breaks up with you for elaine, you’re thrusted into the arms of none other than drew starkey.

AN: i wanna marry drew starkey and idk why it took me so long to write for him

also: i know rudy and elaine wouldn’t be the kind of people to do this, this is entirely a work of fiction! no hate to either of them, especially elaine!

You saw it coming. That was the worst part about your ever so subtle break up with Rudy. It was subtle to the fans but you, and everyone else, saw it coming. The second Elaine came into the picture, it was a matter of time before everything went to hell. 

You had been dating Rudy since a few weeks after Outer Banks started shooting in May 2019. Now seeing as its April 2020, the rumor mill hadn’t stopped since Elaine’s numerous posts of Rudy.

Drew had known Rudy was going to break up with you for Elaine for a few days and it was killing him not to tell you. 

Rudy had confided in him that the relationship with you just wasn’t working anymore. He said he loved you but he couldn’t stay with you when he had feelings for someone else. 

Drew told Rudy it was going to hurt your regardless and Rudy just couldn’t accept that he was going to cause you pain. 

But then it happened. And the worst part was that you didn’t yell, swear at him or get angry. You were quiet, though he could see the tears brimming in your eyes. 

“That’s it? Just, ‘okay?’ You’re not going to yell at me?” Rudy asked you. “I knew this was coming. You and her had been inseparable for months. I was just in the way.” You said sadly. “I still love you, Y/N.” He said. “Not like I love you though.” You replied. 

A solemn silence fell upon the apartment as you sat down on your couch. “I think you should go.” You said quietly, quickly wiping the tears from your cheeks so he wouldn’t see. 

Of course he felt guilty. He never wanted to hurt you and yet he ended up doing so by making you feel like you were in the way.  

You sat on your couch, bringing your knees into your chest to make yourself feel calm. You were on the edge of a full blown panic attack because you felt like you weren’t good enough. 

Your boyfriend broke up with you for another girl. What did she have that you didn’t? Aside from Rudy now. 

After a few minutes passed by, there was a knock on your apartment door. Whoever it was, you didn’t feel like the company. 

Drew left Rudy’s apartment and quickly went to your’s the second his friend returned. He could tell by the look on Rudy’s face that you probably weren’t in the best state of mind. 

He knocked on your door and waited for you to answer but that never came. 

“Y/N, I have a key so I’m just going to come in anyways.” Drew said from the other side of the door. You didn’t move though. Not feeling like removing yourself from the comfort of your couch. 

The door opened and Drew stepped inside, seeing you clinging to yourself on the couch. “Y/N,” He started, walking towards you with haste. He sat down beside you and pulled your distraught figure into his chest. 

He held you close as you silently cried to him. “Why wasn’t I good enough?” You asked. Mostly as a rhetorical question but Drew needed to tell you that you were wrong. 

“Y/N, you are more than good enough. Rudy’s an idiot and I know one day he’s going to regret ever letting you go.” Drew told you. 

In the moment, you didn’t believe him. You thought you’d always be second best. 

Over the next few weeks, a whirlwind of things happened to you. You began to realize that your relationship with Rudy was simply because you felt like it was right for you to be together. Your characters on the show were love interests, so of course lines were going to blur. 

Outer Banks had been picked up for season 2 but amidst the pandemic, no one knew when filming would start. 

And you and Drew had started going out. It started slow, him not wanting to rush you or make you feel like you had to go out with him just because he had feelings for you. But the pandemic had other ideas; the two of you ended up being on lockdown at his apartment. 

But neither of you were complaining. You got what you could from your place before hunkering down at Drew’s.

It started out as you sleeping on the couch and various nights of binge watching Netflix. You didn’t tell Madison or Madelyn, in fear of it getting around. The only person Drew told was Austin. Mainly because he had waited so long to be with you he needed to tell someone. 

But fans started to notice. Your instagram pictures had the same background as some of Drew’s lives. You’d post a story of a movie and an hour later, Drew would do the same.

Eventually you moved from the couch to Drew’s bed (not sexually). You and Drew got unbelievably close and soon it was time to make it official. 

And it was the happiest you had been in quite a long time. Finally you were in a relationship where you didn’t feel second best or as if you weren’t good enough. Drew made sure you knew that you would always be the first choice. 

__

Outer Banks was finally back to filming in Charleston and you were thrilled. You hadn’t seen any of your cast mates since before the pandemic. 

You and Drew had arrived shortly after everyone else and met them at Chase’s apartment that night. After the daily COVID test you all would have to endure. 

“We’re here!” You greeted as you stepped into the apartment, Drew’s hand wrapped tightly around yours. 

Madison and Madelyn ran to you and hugged you tightly, one that you happily returned. “I missed you! Where have you been? You and Drew went AWOL for like two weeks.” Madelyn said. 

“We had a little getaway for a bit before all the craziness started. Wanted a little relaxation just the two of us.” You answered. “Seriously you guys are the cutest couple ever. Instagram won’t stop talking about you two.” Madison said. “It’s been, what, five months?” Madelyn asked. 

You nodded your head, a sappy smile plastered on your face as you thought about he past five months Drew. “Look at her! She’s blushing!” Madelyn commented. 

You and the two girls were in the kitchen talking, while Drew was with the rest of the guys. “How are you and Y/N?” Chase asked. “We’re great. Like seriously, it’s been amazing. It doesn’t feel like it’s only been five months.” Drew answered. 

It was clear that Rudy was a bit uncomfortable with the subject matter since you were his ex girlfriend. “Okay, there’s something I want to tell you guys.” Drew started. “And what is that?” Austin asked. 

They watched as Drew subtly fished something out of his pocket and all their jaws dropped when they saw what was in his hand. “Dude, no way.” Chase commented. “Are you serious?” JD asked. “Yeah, I got it a couple weeks ago.” Drew answered, a smile on his face. 

“I know it’s only been five months but I’ve loved her since that first month on set. The timing just wasn’t right.” He added. That was clearly a dig at Rudy and what had gone down between the two of you. “Don’t you think it’s a little early to get engaged? I mean, I get why’d you want to, you’re 26 but does she? She just turned 22.” Rudy interjected. 

Drew felt he had no right to judge him on his relationship with you when he was the one who broke up with you to begin with. “Well, if you actually paid attention to her instead of another girl while you were dating, you’d know that she wants to get married and start a family by 23.” Drew snapped. 

“That is true.” JD said bashfully. It seemed that Rudy was so preoccupied with another girl that he didn’t bother to listen to you and everyone else did. No wonder it was so easy for you to move on. You were being treated better than he treated you.

“I don’t know when I want to do it but I want to do it soon. While we’re here because this is where we met.” Drew explained. “I think it’s a great idea. You two are great together and I’ve definitely noticed a change in Y/N. She’s been way happier.” Austin said.

Drew smiled as he looked at the ring in his hand. He went to great lengths to find the perfect ring for you and that was making a fake pinterest account to follow your engagement ring pinterest board.

“Have you told the girls?” JD asked. “Are you kidding? They’d 100% tell her and I want this to be perfect.” Drew said.

Rudy sat there silently to himself, listening to Drew talk about amazing you were and proposing to you. He didn’t need to be reminded of how great you were because he already knew that. He knew better than anyone, he dated you for a year.

“Did you hear about Rudy and Elaine?” Madelyn asked you. “No, what happened?” You asked. “She cheated on him. A few weeks ago actually.” She explained. “Really? Is he okay?” You questioned. “He says he’s fine but I know he’s devastated. I mean, he did let you go for her and it bit him in the ass.” Madison answered.

Of course you felt bad for Rudy. It’s a terrible feeling to be cheated on and you wanted to make sure he was okay. “Should I talk to him?” You asked. “I think he’d appreciate that.” Madelyn said.

After everyone had settled down, you had gotten Rudy’s attention and asked him to join you outside on the balcony.

“What’s up?” He asked. “I, uh, heard about you and Elaine. I’m really sorry.” You said. “It’s okay. It was probably my karma. I let go of the best thing I had and then this happened.” He said.

“Rudy, it happened for a reason. I was devastated after you broke up with me. I thought I wasn’t good enough for you. So, I know how you’re feeling. Like you weren’t good enough and you clearly didn’t make them happy. It sucks but you’ll be okay. I’m okay now.” You told him. “Does he make you happy?” He asked.

You thought back to all the times you were at your lowest and Drew was always there.

“Yeah. Yeah he does.” You said with a smile. “That’s all I want. I just want you to be happy.” He said. You gave him a friendly hug, mainly for closure.

You both walked back inside and Drew pulled you down to sit on his lap. You pressed a kiss to his forehead as you fell into casual conversation with everyone.

Drew looked up at you as you laughed and smiled with your friends, completely enamored with you.

He knew you were it for him and you knew he was your endgame.

__

Drew had been planning your proposal for a while. It was now October in Charleston and the whole cast was going to the South Carolina aquarium on their day off.

Madison’s girlfriend, Mariah, was also in town visiting and Drew felt it was perfect.

Madelyn would have your parents on Facetime while Chase had Drew’s. All of the people you loved in one place to celebrate you and Drew.

You were walking through the giant ocean exhibit, admiring the animals, holding Drew’s hand.

All of your friends trailed behind, not wanting to ruin your moment.

Drew stopped you and you looked at him with furrowed brows until he got down on one knee.

“What the hell?” You questioned. “Y/N, you are the greatest thing that has ever happened to me. Since the day I met you, I knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. Even when I didn’t have you, I knew we’d end up together. And I know it’s been about seven months but there’s not a doubt in my mind that I want you to be my wife.” Drew started.

Madelyn and Madison were crying, the boys were smiling, Rudy more than the rest. He could see how much Drew loved you, more than he ever thought he could.

“So, Y/N, will you marry me?” He asked. “Duh! Of course I will!” You answered. Drew smiled and placed the ring on your finger.

@y/n__: umm WTF i’m engaged?! i love you to the moon and beyond @drewstarkey​ 

@rudeth: congratulations you wonderful humans! i love both of you

@madelyncline: i’m not crying, you’re crying 

@fan1: OMG YAY CONGRATS

@fan2: my otp is getting married!!!!!! 

@drewstarkey: i love you more (oh and thanks for agreeing to spend the rest of your life with me)

[ggukkiedae]

❝𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕔𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕦𝕡❞

𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚎𝚜:

⇢ hannah meets up with one of her close friends to catch up; alternatively: the fox and the quokka meet again

⇢ set in mid april 2021

𝚛𝚎𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚜:

⇢ conversations written in italics are spoken in english. feedback is highly appreciated!

Hannah shook her head fondly as she watched Yoonmi race down the hall towards the recording studio frequently seen on vlive. She and Yeonjun exchanged amused looks as the young girl excitedly entered the room, yelling the name of her older brother.

“Come on,” Yeonjun placed a hand on her back and sped their pace up, “or else Chan hyung’s gonna use us not being there as an excuse to stay longer.”

She scoffed at that, following Yeonjun regardless. “Please, he’d drop everything for Yoonmi anytime, and you know that.”

Yeonjun’s laugh was the only response she got as they entered the studio. The door opened immediately as they arrived in front of it, revealing Yoonmi dragging a chuckling Chan away to probably her manager’s car.

“Looks like they’ll be gone for a while,” Changbin laughed from the inside before nodding at her with a smile and turning to Yeonjun. “Let’s go before Wooyoung and Haknyeon decide to make us pay for being late.”

Yeonjun nodded and stepped out with Changbin, ruffling her hair on his way out. “See you in a bit, Hannah.

She glared at him a little before turning towards her friend who remained cleaning up the studio. They haven’t been able to see each other since their promotions overlapped. Or since the award shows, actually. “Hey, quokka.”

“Miss foxy,” Jisung playfully bowed at her before continuing to gather up his stuff, “long time no see. You hungry?”

“Always,” she playfully rolled her eyes at him, “or have you forgotten already?”

“Not when you and Yongbok have been constantly sending each other desserts. No cookies recently?”

“Yoonmi makes the best cookies, and she always sends some over to Chan hyung for you guys. Felix told me.”

The betrayed look he had on his face when he realized this made her laugh. It dawned on her that, though Chan may have told Felix to let the others get some cookies whenever they want, Felix must have kept it a secret. He loved Yoonmi’s cookies, so it was no surprise.

“He never told us!”

“Come on, let’s go eat.”

The two friends found themselves in the JYP cafeteria, food paid for with Jisung’s credits. He had a whole set of food in his tray, which was quite a drastic difference from her single bowl of salad. He frowned when he saw her tray.

“Just a salad?”

She shrugged. “We’re in the middle of promotions, so I’m dieting.”

“Nope,” he placed a plate of pasta on her tray and some extra side dishes, “your boyfriend and members are gonna kill me if I don’t feed you. Our food’s all organic, anyway. It’ll be fine. We’re sharing side dishes, by the way.”

She rolled her eyes but followed him to an empty table. They settled across from each other and began digging in. The conversation carried smoothly, as if they didn’t have a solid four or four months of not seeing each other. It switched from the food to normal catching up to preparations.

“Your comeback’s really good, by the way,” Jisung noted. “I listened to the whole album. Really good. You worked on lyrics, too!”

“Just a bit,” her tone was humble as she moved the salad around on her plate. “I thought it was fitting since it’s our first full album, so I did my best. Sorry for bothering you for help, by the way. I know you’re pretty busy with Kingdom.”

“Please,” he shook his head, “I needed the distraction. We were so caught up on preparing for the show, so I needed to forget it just a little.”

“How are you guys, by the way? I’ve seen your past few performances.” A teasing smirk made its way up to her face while she looked up from her food to meet his eyes. “I liked your cover of I’ll Be Your Man. Very impressive high notes there, mister main rapper. Very desperate.”

Jisung snorted and tossed a little sausage from their side dishes onto her plate. “Shut up, you know the performance is supposed to seem desperate.”

“What’s coming up? The collaboration stage, right?” She took a moment to recall the last episode’s ending. “It’s a shame that you guys aren’t working with The Boyz. You, Eric, and Sunwoo rapping together would have been cool.”

“You’re friends with Sunwoo?”

“We’ve met, but you already know I talk to English line the most.” She jolted up straight upon remembering something, startling Jisung into hitting his leg against the table. The boy curled in on himself a little, making her laugh. “Sorry about that. Did you hear? Changmin oppa invited me to co-host your sports day!���

That was the reason why she had been in a meeting the day before right after their schedules. She didn’t expect that she’d be brought straight to the company right after her schedules with NCT Dream, much less did she expect that she’d be meeting with a few higher ups and some Mnet staff alongside her senior for a cameo.

Jisung raised an eyebrow at her. “What? You’re coming to watch our sports day?”

“Co-host, but yeah.”

“This is gonna be so funny,” he laughed. “You know that, even if you have a boyfriend now, Juyeon hyung has an idol crush on you, right?”

“Stop!” Her hand went to her forehead in embarrassment. “Eric always mentions it whenever we talk, I swear.”

The smirk on her friend’s face sent a chill down her spine. “But there’s also Seonghwa hyung and Chani… Oh my god, man! What is it with you and these older guys, huh?”

“One more word out of your mouth, Han Jisung, and I’m telling Chan oppa that you had a crush on Yoonmi.”

Ah, yes. This short-lived crush her friend had on her other friend which amused her to no end every time he’d talk to her about how Yoonmi’s lyrics hit different, how her on stage persona is captivating, how she’s adorable in BTS content, or how her rap is unmatched by any other girl idols. Jisung, like many other fourth generation idols (and some from third generation) had fallen for the international sweetheart, and she made sure to tease him about it whenever given the chance.

Jisung groaned, “Of course I tease you about other’s having a crush on you, but you can’t tease me about people liking me.”

“Hey, if it means anything,” she began, “I used to like you the slightest bit back in late 2019 when we did those collab stages. Nothing much, it died as soon as it started, so don’t get too cocky.”

The slightly astonished look on her friends face made her remind him that it was a momentary thing rather than a prolonged crush. This, of course, didn’t stop Jisung from poking fun at her.

“Aye, I’m so telling your boyfriend,” Jisung laughed.

She gave him a pointed look. “Nothing is kept a secret in our group, and he’s in the same unit as one of the people most overprotective of me.”

The 00-liner wisely kept his mouth shut, making her laugh. A silence passed between the two before they silently agreed on not speaking about these infatuations ever again. She finished the last of her food before rummaging around her bag and pulling out a small bottle. It was something she didn’t use often, but prefered whenever she didn’t have to promote. Black nail polish.

“I brought this, by the way,” she mentioned as her phone started ringing. “I don’t know why you asked for it, but here you go.”

“Nice,” he took the bottle, “now answer your phone while I finish my food.”

The familiar face on her screen brought a subconscious smile to her face the moment she got her phone out of her pocket. It was her none other than her boyfriend, Liu Yangyang. She chuckled a little before answering the phone.

“Hey, Schnucki. I’m with Hannie right now. Jisung, say hi.”

She brought the phone closer to Jisung’s face, where he awkwardly greeted the boy on the other end of the phone. The awkwardness made her laugh and take it back. Maybe she should have waited until after he swallowed before making him say hi.

“Me again!”

“Have you eaten dinner yet?” Yangyang asked her with the slightest hint of concern in his voice. “Renjun told me you skipped out on the food your manager got you guys on the way home.”

“Hwang Injun, that snitch.” Her mumbling was easily caught by Jisung who snorted in amusement. She lightly smacked his arm from across the table then went back to her conversation. “I just ate dinner! JYP Entertainment’s special organic food is pretty filling, don’t worry.”

“Alright,” his voice sounded relieved. “How long are you gonna be there? Will you be back too late? You still have an early start tomorrow.”

She chuckled at her boyfriend’s questions. Ever since their jacket shoot, her schedule had been filled with preparations for NCT Dream’s comeback. Yangyang had been texting her good morning everyday without fail and constantly checking up on her to make sure she was still functioning properly somehow. For some reason, she found this endearing about him. He usually wouldn’t seem like that type of boyfriend, but he is.

“I’ll be here until Yoonmi finishes shopping for her future nephew and Yeonjun oppa comes back from dinner with the 99s. Hannie’s taking care of me, don’t worry.”

Jisung’s scoff from across the table made her send him a pointed look.

“Could you put me on speaker?”

“Hold on.”

One more warning look was sent towards Jisung as she placed the phone on the table. Jisung looked at her curiously before turning towards the phone.

“Yangyang?” he called out cautiously.

“Hi, Han,” Yangyang greeted. “I know we only spoke a few times, but I hope it’s not too much to ask to take care if Hannah?”

“No problem, bro,” the Stray Kids member nodded despite the fact that the WayV boy couldn’t see him. “We’ll just be here in the company, there’s a bunch of places to lounge in and a lot of food.”

There was a laugh from the other end of the phone. “Thanks for taking care of my pet fox.”

“Excuse me,” she interjected, making the two boys laugh, “I will sheer your hair off your head, you sheep.”

“Kidding! Anyway, Han, you’re Hannah’s friend, so I’m trusting her with you. As a friend, right?”

Jisung chuckled. “Of course. No need to worry.”

Hannah snatched up her phone and turned speaker off before the conversation could get any longer. “Is that it?”

“I’m at the dreamie dorm right now, so I’m expecting cuddles when you get back.”

A slight chuckle escaped her lips as she playfully rolled her eyes. “As long as you’re out of the dorms by 1:30am at the latest, okay?”

“Of course, babe.” The wink was evident in his voice, she didn’t even need to see him to know he did. “I’ll see you later, okay?”

“See you later, Schnucki.”

With that, she hung up her phone and looked up to find Jisung looking at her with a teasing smile. “What?”

“You’re so whipped,” he drew out. “Honestly! The smile on your face says it all. It’s different from when you’re talking to your members or your other friends.”

“My smile?”

Looking back on it, Jeno did mention that there was something different in the way she looked at Yangyang. Donghyuck mentioned it as well while jokingly whining about her not giving him as sweet of a smile. Even Yoonmi told her that she sometimes catches Mark smiling at her the way Hannah smiles at Yangyang. Was it really that noticeable?

With a shake of her head, she picked up the black nail polish bottle once again. “What do you want to do with this?”

“Could you paint my nails?”

[andilovetowrite]

The Chosen Couple (Part 2)

Peter Parker x Reader

(The reader is an Avenger)

Summary- Peter and you have a movie night to celebrate the school year ending, but the night takes an unexpected turn.

Warnings- Lots of fluff, interrupted confessions and some minor angst. I think a swear word or two with some fighting, but nothing graphic. Oh, also someone getting shot...

Posted: April 24,2021

Word Count- 2k

Here is Part 1 and Part 3

Watching Harry Potter on a rainy night in Queens while sipping coffee under a soft blanket with your best friend is the best way to live life. You both were almost halfway through the first movie, seeing Hermione and Ron argue back and forth. Meanwhile, Peter and you were too busy having one of your own.

“Okay, Ron is clearly out of place for wanting to go run around the castle, especially as a first-year!”

“But he just wanted to explore and figure out why Snape was a rat! Plus, they didn’t ask Hermione to come along with them”, Peter argued back, crossing his arm over his chest, making his biceps bulge against his thin sweatshirt. Resisting the urge to look at them, you retorted.

“Thank god she was with them! Otherwise, they would’ve died in the first 10 minutes.”

“Nuh-uh, they are smart.”

“So they think” We stared intently at each other until Harry’s voice cut in from in front of us, making both of you look back at the screen.

Looking at Peter from the corner of your eye, you tried to suppress a smile, but it broke through, making him smile as well. You let out a small laugh, grabbing another cookie.

“We do this every time.”, Peter said, elbowing you lightly.

“I know”, you said, playfully rolling your eyes, “you should just admit that Hermione makes the best decisions.”

Chuckling, he threw a few chips at you, making you gasp. Jumping up, you grabbed the pillow closest to yourself, chucking it at him. Hitting him smack across the face, his eyes widened. Throwing a hand over your mouth, you tried to stop the bursts of laughter that threatened to burst from you. “I’m sorry! I thought you could dodge that? You know, with your Peter Tingle?”

Peter groaned, throwing his head back. “Oh my god! Don’t ever say Tingle again. May saying it as it is bad, but you too?”

Smiling at his expressions, you sat down again, starting the movie again. He grabbed you closer, resting his head on your shoulder, arm wrapped around your waist. Usually, you wouldn’t mind, but this time, your heart was racing, whether it be from all the laughing or the fact that you and Peter looked very much like a couple, with his hoodie on you and arms circling your body, basically cocooning you. Hoping he couldn’t hear your heartbeat, you were proven wrong when he raised his head, looking concerned.

“You alright? Your heart’s going crazy.” Nodding too quickly, you looked back at the screen, trying to look engrossed in Professor Quirrell. You realised your mistake too late. “Okay, now I know something is wrong because you don’t even care for Voldemort’s funky face!”

“Nothing, I’m just exhausted”, you said, faking a yawn, “Sorry Pete, but I think I’m going to hit the hay. See you in the morning!” Standing up in one go, you started walking towards the door hurriedly, but a thin, sticky fluid attached to your elbow pulled you back in.

Ugh, you thought, wanting just to go back to the compound and get under your bed, burying these feelings under layers of logic and facts. Which all said that Peter thought of you as a friend, and saying anything would ruin what you have right now. Gasping as Peter pulled you back, you fell back, straight into his arms.

“Uh uh”, he said, clutching you to him tightly, making you feel his abs behind your back, which, unfortunately, didn’t help the red tint adorning your cheeks. “You never bunk movie nights. Especially not Harry Potter.”

He looked up at you, a soft pout on his lips, as he cocked his head to the side, puppy eyes showing through. You gulped harshly. “Uh, so…. I’m just a bit bored. I mean, I know every single line to Philosopher’s Stone.” Inwardly sighing at your answer, you looked at him, trying to judge what was going on in his head.

“Aw, c’mon. Every line?”

Glancing at the screen, you recited the following line without even trying. “It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that”, you said, along with the voice of Dumbledore in the background. Raising his eyebrows, Peter nodded, still looking skeptical.

“Alright then. I mean, it is your night; let’s do what you want”, he said softly, smiling. Gazing at Peter, you grinned back, staring into his warm, brown eyes. Seconds passed, but you honestly couldn’t let your eyes leave his. And I could feel a low tingling in your abdomen. This moment felt so familiar but so foreign at the same time.

When you dad and mom left you at Tony’s place when you were only ten years old, you remember asking the mysterious man, who turned out to be your uncle, to see the brown-eyed boy across the street. He reluctantly agreed, driving you in his fast, flashy car to your old house. Running out of the vehicle, you bolted up the stairs, not stopping till you knocked on Peter’s door. He had opened the door immediately, flashing a conserved, small smile at you. Looking at him, you remember bursting out in tears at the sight of him, pulling him close to give him a bone-crushing hug. Shocked by it, Peter hugged you back, whispering soft words into your hair. Then when you were finally able to stop the steady flow of tears down your cheeks, he slowly pulled off you, staring you in your glassy, tear-riddled eyes. After promising each other that you would constantly visit the other person’s house and try and call each other, you mournfully said goodbye. You began walking sullenly back into the car, where Tony took your hand and told you to call Peter downstairs. After that, he took both of you out to ice cream, ruffling Peter’s hair and winking at you in the back seat.

Another time was right after your first fight as an Avenger.

It had been a small mission, just stopping a drug cartel from taking place. You remember Peter knowing that you were avenger straight away, him being the first one to ever see your controlled powers. Tony had been preparing you for this mission for months, making you train with Natasha and Steve for weeks on end. The instructions had been simple. Infiltrate the market, grab the dangerous serums that were being traded and knock out a couple guys. Simple, right?

Not that much. The first part of the mission was fine, when you went with Nat to the back of the market. You kept telling her that you could take care of yourself. All you had to do was stay at the exit, make sure that no one would escape the place before the police showed up. Pushing Nat out, you told her to go help out Tony in getting the serums. Reluctantly, she had walked away, making you stand all by yourself. Not but five minutes later, you wished she didn’t go away.

The back door had flung open, the metal flying at your face. Feeling the purple light buzz in your palms, you were able to narrowly throw the thick door to the side. Five men had run out, none of them having any weapons in their hands, and you could hear Tony in the background blasting off. Pushing yourself off the ground, you tried to grab the running men, throwing any materials in front of them, making their escape hard. However, this was the bad part. Casually walking out of the back door, a dark haired man with one arm raised his arm, a small hole in his metallic arm and shot at you. You weren’t even able to see who he was. Falling to the ground, you grunted, running your hand over the small bullet hole in your thigh. Pressing the com in your ear, you called the team, asking for help immediately. You hadn’t ever been shot in your life, so the blinding pain that had gone up your body had you whimpering on the ground. Thor had arrived soon after, looking around to find who shot you, but the man had disappeared. He picked you up, quickly flying you back to the tower, but you wouldn’t have known what had happened next, since you blacked out the minute your head hit the nurse’s bed. When you had woken up, the first thing you saw was a worn out Peter. Slumped back on a chair, fast asleep was Peter. you saw Tony walking back and forth outside the door, but when he saw you looking around, he had run in, quickly hugging you.

“Are you alright? How the hell did you get shot?!”

You opened your mouth to speak, but found you couldn’t say anything, your throat parched. “Oh yeah”, he said, handing you a small glass of water. Gulping it down quickly, you placed the glass down, looking at Tony, your eyes almost falling down. “Some guy walked out after you got the package. Had some type of electronic arm and had bullets in his arm. Couldn’t get a good look at his face though.”

Tony cursed under his breath, telling you to stay put, but before he could go, you grabbed his suit, pulling him back. Whispering, you asked him, “How long has Peter been here?”

“Oh, the kid has been here for 3 days straight”

“Three days!?”, you asked, forgetting to be quiet. Jumping up at your voice, Peter ran over to you, his hair messy and eyes red and puffy.

“Y/N!”, he exclaimed, practically throwing himself on you, hugging you tightly. “I thought you had died when you didn’t get home that night”. Shuddering against your shoulder, you pulled him closer.

“You can’t get rid of me that easily”, you said, trying to make the air lighter. Looking at Tony who was standing at the door, he gave a tiny smile, walking out and leaving both of you alone.

Thinking back on these times, you could feel your heart squeeze tighter at the thought of ever losing your best friend, but you couldn’t take it anymore, couldn’t act like you two were just friends. Okay, Y/N, you can do this. After years of convincing yourself that you didn’t like Peter Parker, you were done with the lies and foreign feelings.

But suddenly, just as you were about to open your mouth, the lights flickered for a beat and then completely blacked out. Blinking quickly, you tried to get your eyes to adjust to the darkness, blindly reaching for your phone but going face-first into Peter’s body instead.

“Oof”, you said, pushing yourself off him Laughing, we both tried to compose ourselves, stumbling around the room. Tapping your wrists slightly, a small purple light showed up, lighting up the place around us.

“Okay, why don’t I go find a flashlight?”,Peter asked, walking towards his room. Nodding, you went the opposite direction, towards the door, hoping to get some light from the road outside. But when you got closer, you saw the mysterious box Tony gave Peter earlier. Curiosity took over you as you moved closer, carefully opening it to see what Peter was so embarrassed about earlier. To say you were shocked was an understatement.

Inside the wooden box was a small bouquet of roses. Fresh red, white pink roses. Next to them was a small box of chocolates. Specifically, Dairy Milk. Under that was a book. Your favourite book. In a brand new cover, crisp and clean against the red paper in the box. Stunned, you carefully picked it up, running your fingers across the embossed cover page. But your attention was detoured because there was a black card at the bottom of the roses, crumpled up hastily. Ah that's what Peter read earlier!, you thought, picking it up, smoothening it out. Your eyes roamed the page, reading the sprawled writing of Tony’s writing.

Hey Peter. Found this under your bed *smirking face*. Thought you might need it soon. Go get her Underoos!

Feeling your face heat up, you read the card again and again. Could it be for you? Could Peter actually like you back? But you got your answer quite quickly.

“What are you doing?!”, Peter asked, running quickly to you, webbing the box shut.

“Uh, just checking out what was in the box…”, you said, crossing your fingers behind your back. “Who’s it for Peter?”

He stared at you, and for a second, you thought he was going to say your name, tell you that he liked you back, tell you that he wanted to be more than friends. But it all went down the drain, and your heart sunk to your stomach when he blurted out. “MJ! It's for MJ.”

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

Oof, Peter. MJ? That’s not gonna go well. Anyway, thank you so much for reading all the way down till here, and I’ll be putting out the next part in a few more days.

[purple-dahlias]

“What’s the point?” for recovering!au?

thank you for the request! sorry this has taken such a long time to get out,  but it’s here now! 

trigger warning for eating disorders, relapse and hospitals  

“You heading for the OR?” Connor asks, falling into step beside Ava as they exit the lifts together.

“Yep,” confirms Ava. “Got another CABG scheduled. Been almost practically back to back all afternoon. How about you?”

“Surprisingly, I’m free now. Patient cancellation.”

“Lucky you,” Ava grins as her phone pings in her pocket.

Taking it out, her eyes scan the notification, smile dying on her lips.

“Ava?” Connor asks, concern filling his voice as he eyes the expression on Ava’s face.

“It’s Sarah,” she manages, the words heavy in her mouth. “She collapsed in the ED.”

“Again?” Connor remembers the last time this happened, a little over four months ago.

Ava nods, knowing exactly what Connor is thinking. “I have to go,” she says finally. “Could you—“

Connor doesn’t let her finish her sentence.

“Go,” he says, placing a hand over her shoulder. “I’ll take your surgery.”

“Thank you,” Ava whispers, gratitude in her eyes as Connor waves her thanks away, nudging her gently back in the direction of the lifts.

“Let me know how she’s doing, yeah?” She hears him call as she steps into the lift, anxiety filling every inch of her.

The last three or so weeks had been insanely busy, for both Ava and Sarah, what with the way their shifts had worked out. It had meant in the end the two had always ended up missing each other, with one leaving as the other arrived, or one returning when the other was preparing to go. And with that, there had been little communication, other than perhaps a passing hello in the corridor, a kiss goodbye, or a hug before having to get out of bed at some ungodly hour. So having this knowledge, and with what she had just learnt, Ava knew this was a red flag. She knows almost exactly why Sarah had collapsed, and it’s hard for her not to blame herself.

Maybe, she thinks, if she had made more of an effort to ask, had paid more attention, had passed over some of her surgeries or post-ops to Connor, anything so that she could have been there more, she might have seen the signs.

She hopes, oh how she hopes she is wrong, and that this is completely unrelated, and that she is blowing this out of proportion, that there is some other, alternative reason.

But she just can’t shake the sick feeling that pools in her stomach as she exits the lifts beyond the Emergency Department.

She’s wracking her brain, trying to think of any rhyme or reason why this could have happened, if indeed it is what she thinks it is: the thought she just can’t seem to rid her mind of, the one that she keeps coming back to.

“Where is she, Maggie?” Ava asks, on seeing the charge nurse.

“Treatment four,” she hears, and doesn’t stick around for any more, heading straight there, heart beating at what she knows is well beyond the normal rate.

Ava pulls back the curtain to find April adjusting an IV line, while Natalie scrolls through what must be Sarah’s test results on her iPad, concern written across her face.

But her eyes fall on Sarah, lying there, looking so small and frail in her hospital gown.

“What happened?” Ava demands, and April leads her outside, just beyond the curtain, with Natalie following.

“Natalie called her down for a consult. Things were okay until she collapsed right there in front of the patient. Scared us all half to death,” April informs her softly.

“You might want to see these,” Natalie says, and Ava doesn’t miss the sadness in her tone as Natalie hands her the tablet.

It’s just what she had thought they would show, and Ava shakes her head, blinking back tears as she sees how much damage had been done, how much progress had been reversed in just 3 short weeks.

“According to her charts it looks like she’s missed her last two appointments with Dr Richardson. Did you know things were bad with her?” Natalie asks, a hand to Ava’s shoulder, and Ava feels like the worst person in the world.

“No,” she hears herself say, though it doesn’t sound at all like her voice.

This is all your fault. If you had paid more attention, this wouldn’t have happened.

“Ava,” she hears Natalie, noting how the doctor had switched to the voice she often heard her use with paediatric patients. “None of this is your fault.”

It’s as though she can read her mind.

“But it is. Sarah is supposed to be my responsibility,” Ava hates the way her voice sounds, broken, as she runs a hand through her hair.

“Some things you can’t control,” April says beside her. Ava knows she means well, but it’s all just wrong and backwards. Because for Sarah, this was all about control. Ironic, really.

“For now,” Natalie begins, that coaxing voice back, “you should just be with her.”

Ava just nods, letting the curtain fall behind her as April and Natalie take their leave.

She takes a shuddering breath and drags the stool to Sarah’s bedside, where she sits, taking hold of the thin, limp hand of her girlfriend.

“Ava?” Comes a voice, weak beside her, and Ava swears that if she wasn’t a cardiothoracic surgeon, she would have thought her heart had stopped.

“I’m right here, Sarah,” Ava tells her, squeezing her hand gently.

“Where am I?” Sarah asks, a little groggily.

“In the ED. April said you fainted.”

“Oh,” returns Sarah, her voice small, panic filling her face as she notices the IV line in her hand.

“Hey, hey, relax,” Ava croons, taking hold of both Sarah’s hands when she sees how distressed she is. “It’s just some fluids to help give you your strength back. You need them, okay bokkie,” Ava continues, using the pet name.

“No, I don’t! What’s the point?” Sarah cries out, every word punctuated with an agony that pierces Ava’s very soul.

“Nothing I do will work and I’m just so tired. I’m a psychiatrist. I know this is bad! I shouldn’t be having this problem. Ava you know I try, but…” Sarah trails off, and Ava can’t help but notice the way Sarah runs a finger over her clavicle, a subconscious habit she had.

“Sarah, I can’t even begin to imagine how hard this must be for you,” Ava begins after a pause. “But—“

“Then don’t,” Sarah grits out, harshly, cutting Ava off. “Please, Ava, just go,” Sarah practically begs, bunching up the thin bed sheets and turning to face away from her.

Ava sits there, a few moments longer, until it becomes clear that this won’t be going anywhere, that Sarah isn’t ready to talk.

Twisting her hands, she lets out a sigh she hopes is mostly silent.

“Okay,” she says, willing the heaviness in her voice not to be too pronounced. Ava stands and moves to adjust Sarah’s pillow just how she likes it, the only way she can think of right now to give Sarah a little more comfort. “But Sarah,” Ava gently tells her, “I’m here for you, okay. No matter what. Please know that.”

There’s no response. Not even a shift in the bedsheets. And if the machine monitoring Sarah’s vitals wasn’t still beeping quietly in the background, well, Ava doesn’t want to give much rise to that particular thought.

With a final kiss to the top of Sarah’s head, a last attempt to let her know she is here, Ava turns to leave, drawing the curtains back around Sarah.

“Well?” Natalie asks her from her position at the nursing station, breaking away from a conversation with Maggie.

Ava just shakes her head. She doesn’t know quite what to say. What does one say? Besides, Ava really doesn’t wan to have to talk right now. With anyone. All she can think about is how much she had let Sarah down. How she should have been paying attention. And now she couldn’t even get Sarah to talk, much less get to the bottom of what triggered this.

-

It’s windy up on the balcony, and the evening is drawing in as Ava stares out onto the city of Chicago, a hundred thousand lights twinkling below. There’s still no more word from Sarah herself. Only that Ava can gather loud and clear she wants to be left alone. Which is especially hard to know.

“Hey,” a voice says beside her, making Ava jump. The fact she didn’t even hear him coming is a telltale sign something is wrong. Ava normally never misses anything.

“Your CABG went off without a hitch,” he begins lightly, trying to gauge Ava’s mood.

“Wish I could say the same about other things,” Ava deadpans, staring off into the distance, her focus on nothing in particular.

“How’s Sarah?” Connor frowns, leaning against the railing.

“Nat messaged to say she’s being transferred up to a bed to stay overnight for observation. She still doesn’t want to see me.” It comes out a little cold, detached. And honestly, Ava’s just feeling more than a little numb right now, so that assessment it’s about right.

“She’ll come ‘round,” Connor assures, putting an arm around Ava, who leans into him.

“Ooh my ears are burning,” comes a familiar voice from behind.

“Oh, hey Nat,” Ava manages a weak, sort of washed-out smile.

“How are you holding up?”

How was she? How did one answer that? How was someone dealing with all of this supposed to be?

Connor’s phone buzzes, breaking the silence.

“It’s Latham,” he says, checking.

“You’d better go,” Ava tells him, grateful for the diversion.

“It’s gonna be okay, Aves. You’re gonna get through this. You both are.”

“Thanks,” Ava sniffs as Connor pulls her into a tight hug, wanting desperately to believe his every word.

And then he’s gone.

“How’s Sarah,” Ava asks, eyes trained on the spot Connor had just vacated. She’s almost afraid to hear the answer.

“Pretty much the same. I’ve paged Dr Charles though. I hope you don’t mind?”

Ava shakes her head sadly. “Maybe he’ll have better luck than me.”

“Oh, Ava,” Natalie hums, holding her close, up there on the balcony. She doesn’t even care that Nat is probably using some of the tactics she uses on kids down in the ED. Because all Ava wants to do is believe things will be okay.

“How about I drive you back to yours so we can grab some things for Sarah?” Natalie suggests, filling the silence, smoothing Ava’s hair.

Ava agrees with a small nod. That seems like a logical suggestion. And in any case, she’s not sure she should be driving herself anywhere right now.

“Great,” Natalie says softly, her arms still safely around Ava. “And Ava, I promise you: everything will work out. It may not seem like it right now, but it will.”

There’s a fierceness in her voice, and Ava just clings to her. She wants to believe her. Wants it to be true with her whole heart. Because it has to be.

[yandere-mha-blog]

Hello author here to bring a couple of after stories for cute aggression, hope you enjoy them, they will published at any time so enjoy

After story #1

Words:3847

Everything with Katsuki was going well, ever since the news of your quirk and you taking a  bit of time to yourself and casually going on dates with him, it had been going well. The only thing that you didn't like was the fact he was so busy with work, so dates were scarce, and what was even worse was the damm reports that swarmed the two of you when you were enjoying some street food.

Katsuki ended up exploding a camera, and getting in trouble with the Hpsc, you were in the background laughing at the abusrtry of the citation, what you didn't like was when someone shoved a camera in your face, katsuki being well katsuki was still over protective, even with the nullifying bracelet on, so seeing a reporter get thrown across the street by and angry katsuki while you were just trying to enjoy your crape.

Of course the reporters did see the nullifying bracelet and started asking questions, and Katsuki in all his glory told them to shove their damm questions up their ass, shit them out and step in it, always subtle. .

Right now you were reading a magazine, it was getting late you wondered if Katsuki was going to call tonight, he was always so busy it kinda sucked not being in his aprtment now, but this arrangement was the best at the moment, you tossed your magazine on the coffee table and sat back going on your blog feed, maybe being the ‘girlfriend’ of Katsuki bakugou, the second strongest hero in japan, was giving you a lot of attention not all good attention.

“She ain't even that pretty, why is he dating her.” “She looks so dull :/ Bakugo deserves better if you ask me.”

“Isn't she just distracting him from his hero work, how selfish can this woman be.”

“Why is he dating someone who is so weak looking, you think katsuki would be into stronger women.”

“Yall just jealous.” you said sticking your tongue out at the phone before going back to looking at funny bunny videos, when your phone finally rang, seeing  “angry pompom boyfriend” pop up.

“Hello~” you chirped

“Hey, you picked up on the first ring, you've been waiting for a call?” he asked

“Maybeeee.” you said “how was work, make anyone bleed?”

“ONly the ones that deserved it, altho i got scratch on my arm, not important-”

“NUcked how deep is the cut, i know when you say a scratch it usually means you need stitches!” you said

“Okay fine three stitches, it isn't anything stop worrying about me.” he said

“Can't stop me.” you said

“Look im going to be fine stop worrying about me, anyway an old class mate invited me to this dumb event, and did youw ant to be my plus one?”

“Really what class mate, what's the event?”

“THe hero Froppy, she has this water park , and she invited all the classmates, except for one to join.”

“Ohhh frobby, the frog one, yes her, well the thing is i would love to go but i have a problem.”

“What?”

“I don't have a bathing suit and I'm not a good swimmer.” you said

“I'll take you bathing suit shopping dn keep you in the kid section.” KAtsuki said

“I'm not a kid.” you huffted

“Well you said you swim like one.” Katsuki said “besides it will be fine if you are going to be surrounded by a bunch of heroes no one is going to let you drown.”

“True, but do they know of my quirk?” you asked

“The doctor said your quirk isn't really effective if it's just a couple of hours, you can explain it to them or I can.” KAtsuki said “So you want to go or not?”

“Yes, I wanna go.” you said “where and when should i meet you for bathing suit shopping?” “I'll pick you up tomorrow around 3.” Katsuki said

“I can meet you there, you know.”

“Just let me do this.” Katsuki said

“Okay thanks katsuki, also don't stress your arm out mr stitches.” you said

“It's almost healed anyways.” Katsuki said “i'll be there at 3 so be ready.”

“I will, byeee love you suki.”

“Don't go all soft on me.” KAtsuki said as you could practically feel the heat from his blush through the phone “...bye.” Click

He was so awkwardly cute sometimes, hard to believe that he tried to keep you locked up in a remote cabin in the woods a few months ago, still a waterpark, they were always so expensive so you never want, i mean the beach and bathtub were just as good, it was mostly spending time with Katsuki you were happy about.

So when Katsuki was standing outside your apartment, at 3:10, waiting ten minutes as you were putting your hair up, you opened the door

“Finally took you long enough, when i say 3, i mean 3.” he said

“And you should know by now , I'm probably going to be ten minutes late.” you said “also is that anyway to speak to your partner.”

He flicked your forehead

“Well it's rude to keep your partner waiting, now let's go.” Katsuki said as you walked to his car, and turned on the music, you were mumbling the words under your breath and bopping to the beat with your head. Katsuki was unknowingly tapping the steering wheel with you.

You finally arrived at the swimsuit shop and happily made your way in only to see katsuki take a seat outside the store

“Ahem.” you said

“What?” Katsuki said

“Aren you going to come in with me?” you asked

“I'm pretty sure you can dress yourself.” Katsuki said, you sighed

“Okay fine Guess I have to deal with all the leechers' eyes on me when I try them on.”

“What?” Katsuki said

“Don't you know there are always those men who like to hang around to be able to see women in swimsuits, and there are a few bikinis in there that look cute.” you said knowing how to push his buttons, so he went in glaring at any dude who even glanced your way, you were looking through the racks of swim sits and held up one that looked more like it belong in a lingerie section

“Katsuki, why are they selling a swimsuit that's just a bunch of strings?” you asked and he put it back on the rack and replaced it with a one piece, you kept looking and saw one that made you laugh

“Hey katsuki you never told me you had a swimsuit deal.” you said holding up a Dynamigth brand bikini

“Wasn’t my idea when they said a swimsuit line, I thought they were talking about athletic swimwear.”

“Hmm, maybe I should get this.” you said and he put it back on the rack and put a different one on

“No.” he said bluntly, he was so easy to tease, you found a couple more you liked, but you were torn between a cute pink one, and black and orange one

“What's taking so long in there?” Katsuki asked as he was slumped against the wall

“I can't decide.” you said, “Katsuki 1 or 2?” 

“1” he said

“Okay this one it is then.” you said walking out in the orange and balck one, before he pushed you back in

“Okay looks great now go get dressed and let's check out already.” he said

“Geez you hate it that much.” you said

“It's fine.”

“Oh so just fine.” you said

“I said it looks great, look can we leave now, i hate swimsuit shopping.” Katsuki said

“Never would've guessed.” you said, walking out in your clothes with the orange swimsuit in hand, as you went and checked out, you passed by the mens swim suits and then had a thought

“Hey Katsuki do you need new swim trunks?” you asked

“No.” he said “I buy the same black swim trunks from the same brand every summer.” Katsuki said

“That is so like you.” you said eye a pair of pink swim trunks with white teddy bear faces on them.

“No, I see what you are looking at, and I'm saying no.” Katsuki said, as you tugged his sleeve

“Can you at least try them on?” you said

“No.” Katsuki said

“Pretty please.” you said

“Adding pretty to the front isn't gonna change my mind.” he said, and you stared at him giving him that look”Don't you dare.”

“Suki, can you pretty please with a cherry on top, try them on.” you said, and that's how you got Katsuki To wear a pair of pink swim trunks with white teddy bear faces on them, he looked extremely pissed off like usually, as you were smiling happy to yourself

“Aww you look so cute.” you cooed and took a photo

“I swear i'm never going to forgive you for this.'' Katsuki said as he closed the door and walked out of the store, you wrapped your arm around his and happily strolled around the mall, getting some Boba together, it wasn't a surprise Katsuki got a Mangoada. You were happily sipping on the peach one you got, as katsuki tried to harass you to try some, even though time and time again you made it clean you didn't like the spice.

Still the two of you saw the time and had to get going to enjoy the water park. Katsuki seemed a bit on edge, maybe seeing his old classmates was making him nervous.

“Oh wow is that momo, and Shoto?” you said “They are in the same ranks as you, oh look it's Kaminari and denki.” 

“Hey look who decided to come join us.” Denki said as Katsuki parked his car and mumbled under his breath and walked out “Look, Mr. Antisocial decided to join us.”

“Can it.” KAtsuki said

“Or what you’ll blow my head off.” Denki then shut his mouth as he saw you come out of the car “I mean...heyyyyy (name)!”

“Hi denki.” you said

“Oh so this is Katsuki Girlfriend.” Sero said, popping out from behind Kirishima “gotta ask what does this little lady see in that brute over there.”

“Katsuki is a great boyfriend.” you said “your name is Hanta right?”

“OH please just call me Sero.” He said sticking his hand out and you shook it only to be taped to his hand “Gotta say im stuck to you.”

“Watch yourself.” Katsuki said pulling you hand off, and just great another flirt, so now you had to deal with denki, sero and kirishima to an extent, the red and white one didn't seem too interested “and look here is the thing about my girlfriend, i think she should explain it though.”

“Thanks katsuki, i have a quirk that has a tendency to make people's emotions about me a little, off the charts with how they feel about me, so Katsuki is wearing the bracelet since there was a incident in april, denki and kirishima were there.” You said and Sero nodded his head

“Noted.” He said patting your head And katsuki slapped his hand away “you sure the bracket works though

“You should have seen him before he had that on.” Denki said,as the front door opened and froppy waved them in

“HI everybody, glad to see those who could make it, I'm surprised to see Bakugou here.” she said

“Sweet lets go!” Kirishima said and you walked in and went into the changing room, a little weird to be left alone with another pro hero, still you got in you bathing suit and momo came out.

“Oh hello.” She said “I didn't get to introduce myself earlier, im Momo.” she said “you are (name) right.”

“Yes, that's me.” you said “So you were one of Katsukis classmates?” “Yes I was, he was...interesting back then.” she said  as the female gym locker slammed open

“Heyyyy heyyy.” you heard and saw a head of bright pink hair and skin walk in “MOMO! “Mina you were able to make it.” she said

“Sure was and….wait a second who is this, i don't remember this face being in our class, she looks a little younge.”

“Oh i'm Katsuki girlfriend.” you said, and she let out a loud gasp

“NOOOO WAYYYYY.” she said “YOU HAVE TO TELL ME HOW THAT IS, TRUTH BE TOLD KATSUKI WAS VOTED MOST LIKELY TO NEVER DATE OR MARRY.”

“Mina you are a little loud.” Momo interjected

“Ohhh sorry.” she said turning back to you “is that why you choose the orange and balck swimsuit, tell me everything.”

“You will have to excuse Mina, because she loves other people's relationships.” Momo said, and mina looked at her and gave a mischievous smile

“Speaking of relationships, how are you and Todoroki doing?” she asked

“There is nothing of that sort going on between us.”Momo said,as MIna kept pestering her for information, you decided to leave the locker room, only to see Katsuki waiting by the bench right outside of it, making you jump.

“You ready?” he asked solving an inner tube at you

“Yup, A girl named MIna showed up late.” you said, and Katsuki let out a grone, as Momo walked out looking disheveled as MIna followed and looked at katsuki.

“Still why couldnt of Jiro come?” denki said as kirishima have hima reassuring pat on the back

“Hey be lucky this many classmates were able to come

“Still jiro would have known the best music to play over the loudspeakers and holy moly of god look.” Denki said, as Kirishaim inked him on the head “ow.” “Don't go ogling the girls dude.” Kirishaim said “OH WOW MOMO YOUR MUSCLES ARE REALLY IMPRESSIVE.”

“Thank you kirishima.” she said and getting in the water

“Hey hey hey.” Mina said “i don't hear you saying my muscles are impressive.”

“Oh, well they are.” Kirishima said as Mina put him in a headlock and noggied him, at least you know where Kirishima got his sense of greeting from. Shoto was in the wave pool in an innertube with his eyes closed, he almost looked dead. Kirishima was running away from mina and jumped into the pool splashing you and Katsuki on the side, you shrugged and jumped in with the inner tube, katsuki had his feet in the pool

“Aren you coming in?” you asked

“No thanks.”Katsuki said, as you saw a blob of red under the water swimming towards Katsuki and then grabbing his nakel pulling him in, kirishiam popped his head above the water and was laughing and swimming away from his friend who was out for blood, you sighed wishing you could play along with them, when sero jumped in next to you.

“Hello again.” he said, and you gave him a polite smile

“Hello.” you said

“So i'm guessing you can't swim that well?” Sero said, you nodded, so he pulled out a piece of tape from his elbow and attached it to the tube, and started swimming, pulling you alone “Off we go.”

You were laughing as Katsuki finally got his hands on kirishima and threw him over his head and kirishima landed about a good five feet away with a loud splash, katsuki ran a hand through his hair before looking over to where you laughing was coming from, and he nearly blew a gasket. He swam over and grabbed the other side of the tube

“Hey, what do you think you are doing?” Katsuki said as he wasn't really asking

“OH hey bakugou, im hanging out, she can't swim that good so im giving her a free ride.” Sero said acting all innocent as sero pulled the tube towards him, and then katsuki pulled it back, you weren't really into the whole tug of war so you slipped out the bottom, katsuki looked down and let go causing the tube to smack Sero in the face, as he pulled you above water

“Hey what was that , you can't swim well.” Katsuki said, “Look, just get on my back.”

“Okay.” you said as you latched yourself on his back and he started swimming off

“He is so whipped.” Denki said to sero

“Haha definitely.” Sero said rubbing the red mark that was on his face, Momo was int he wave pool talking to Shoto as he just nodded his head, as mina came by with Kirishima to you and katsuki

“Hey wanna chicken fight?” she asked

“What's that?” you asked

“It's when you sit on someone's shoulders and then you try to push the other person off.” she said

“Hmm sounds interesting but I'm at a disadvantage here.” You said, “What do you think katsuk.”

“Eh.” KAtsuki said

“He is just chicken he is going to lose.” Kirishiam said

“Definitely.” MIna said

“OH you are going to regret saying that.” Katsuki said “(name) get on my shoulder now.”

“Uhh okay.” you said getting on and MIna sitting on kirishima

“Ready set...go!” she said pushing on your shoulder, oh so this was you were supposed to do, you grabbed her shoulders as Kirishima dn Katsuki were trying to remain balanced

“You are going down.” Katsuki said

“Haha you think your girlfriend can beat a pro hero.” Kirishima said, and that comment made you upset, now you want victory.

“Katsuki move back...now!” you said as mina lunged forward and Katsuki dogged her and she fell face first into the water taking kirishima face with her, they both emerged looking angry at both of your dirty tactics to win, as both of you were laughing, kirishima grabbed katsuki ankle again and dragged him under, you started splashing as Kirishima caught you.

“Katsuki let off an explosion underwater sending a stream of water smack dab into Kirishima face as he took you back, mina was laughing at Kirishima face of shook, denki was also laughing in the background.

Over all, every eventful day at the water park it was getting rather late so the pool lights came on, and katsuki was pulling you along by your arms as you were kicking your legs.

“YOu can be a perfectly good swimmer, you should practice at my pool.” Katsuki said, as sero and denki were lounging the chairs and mina and kirishima were racing down the water slide, Shotot and momo were in the lazy river.

Tsu came out from under the water and said that the park was closing soon, shoto and momo were the first to leave, maybe mina was right, something could be going on between them, or they were good friends.

Katsuki was drying your hair off as Denki kept commenting on how he wasn't doing it right and he was going to rip your hair out, sero pulled him away and the two of them left. And Kirishima had to drag Mina out since she was suggesting a  sleepover in the water park.

“Later guys, it was nice seeing you again (name).” Kirishima said

“You too.” you said and waved them off

“Byee it was nice meeting you.” Mina said

“Byee you too.” you replied, as katsuki removed the towel  from your hair

“Did you have fun today?” Katsuki asked

“SUre did, and I think I learned to swim a bit better today as well.” you said, “I'm hungry and tired though.”

“Well...i mean, if you want, i can make you something at my house and stay over, like old times...only if you want.”

“Hmmm tempting.” you said “you aren going to lock me up right.”

He flicked your forehead at that comment

“NO dumdum, remember this bracelet I'm wearing.” Katsuki aid holding his wrist up only for you to notice it was gone, then katsuki noticed it was gone as well “...fuck.”

“Uhhh katsuki where is the bracelet?” you asked

“SHit it must of fell off when i was swimming.” Katsuki said “hey frog girl i lost something in the pool!”

“What was it?” she asked

“MY nullifying bracelet.” Katsuki said 

“Oh, yeah you were wearing a bracelet when you came here, i'll go scoop out the pool for you.” she said and jumped in the water, as you are starting to get a little on edge.

“Hey, look don't worry, i've only been around you a couple of hours, I'm sure.” Katsuki said

“...you asked me if you wanted me to come to your apartment, what is that supposed to make me think when the thing is off.” you said

“Hey it wasn't like that okay, look i mean i miss you and all that sure, but i'm not going to try that bullshit again.” Katsuki said as you scooted away from him

“I think i should go in the washroom till you get it back on.” you said getting up and walking into the women washroom and sighing, you scratch the back of your head, how long was the bracelet off.

“Found it.” Tsu said handing it back to him, Katsuki quickly snached it back and put it on and let out a sigh of relief

“...thanks...look can you go in and tell her it's found.” Katsuki said, she just nodded, it was weird to see Katsuki that freaked out, she went in and found you on the bench inside

“Hey, I found that bracelet.” She said “I don't really know the whole story but it seems really important, you both seem a bit freaked out?”

“Oh you found it, thank you.” you said looking up “And yeah it's kind of a long story.”

“You had a quirk you didn't know about that makes people's emotions about you more extreme?” She asked, you nodded her head “Well at least you know that Katsuki likes you, truth be told not a lot of classmates ever thought he would be in a relationship, and when he got into a bad one we were worried, still he seemed more worried to get the thing back on.”

“Really?” you asked, she nodded

“Yup, Bakugo has been extreme his whole life however, but I'm sure even his care for you is the same as in his hero work, Bakugo has always been the type to put his 100% in everything.”

“Yeah he really is great, I'm just worried.” You said

“Well you should talk to him about it, because he had a very worried expression on his face.” She said “I am going to have to close up now, hope you two sort everything out.”

You walked out and saw Katsuki waiting by the car, you walked over

“You all good-” he started but you cut him off with a hug “why what are you doing?”

“Physical affection.” you said your words muffled by his chest “Sorry for getting so freaked out, i know that you would tell me if you were starting to feel that way again.”

“You are really dumb soemtimes.” Katsuki said, patting your head “you still wanna come over for dinner?” he asked and you nodded your head.

One step at a time you supposed 

[huihuiheart]

Competition - Shownu Drabble

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Monsta X Masterlist

For my April Drabble Event based on this

Req:    Sports!au (Shownu swimming & reader rugby). enemies to lovers #39 you confuse me with Shownu 

Pairing: Hyunwoo x Gender Neutral! Reader

Genre: Angst, Fluff

Summary: You two were the pride and joy of your school. Still doesn’t mean you two had to get along, but maybe that’s exactly the reason that you would.

Warnings: I know nothing about rugby, so if something is in accurate...sorry. Partial nudity? (Shownu doesn’t wear much when swimming, but that’s it.), some angst, some arguing, swearing, in all pretty safe.

Note: I did do a little bit of rugby research to try and figure out what I was talking about for this, but I don’t know how well it worked...I just kind of laughed over the position name number 8 and got more confused after 20 minutes, so yeah...

Word Count: 1,174

Your school wasn’t necessarily known for its sports prodigies, well until more recently anyways. Having not one, but two teams leading the way as everyone in the country kept an eye on your school knowing those teams would be the ones to beat this year. The first being the team you were a part of, the rugby team. You were team captain and had managed to lead your team all the way to the championship semi-finals last year. Your team had been preparing for the next season ever since though and the improvement showed. The other team is your school’s swim team, led by Hyunwoo. Your school had lucked out on Hyunwoo’s arrival last year when he had moved to your area. Him being all that the swim team needed to give them that push to success. 

You two were the talk of the school, the team captains everyone had their eyes on. You’d think being the popular sporty students would mean that the two of you got along, however that was nothing like reality. The two of you didn’t get along in the least. Maybe it was a competitive nature or the pressure always on the two of you, maybe it was the fact that you two had no personal life with everyone constantly pestering you about competitions and being the best. Or maybe it was simply due to the fact that you both knew what would happen if you were to get along…

Still, you found yourself at the next swim meet, like you had all the previous ones. Staying off to the side while watching the competition with mild interest. The part of you that loved sports admired what the swimmers did, yet it also wasn’t your sport, so things could distract you from the competition itself. Things such as Hyunwoo’s body to be specific. His toned figure on display at every competition and despite your differences, you’d be a liar and a fool if you didn’t admit he was a gorgeous man. 

Looking around though you noticed that currently it was the women’s turn to compete and so Hyunwoo had yet to even show up. Something that you didn’t realize would happen right by you. Hyunwoo leaving the locker room to head towards the competition, but having to pass you to get there. Looking at you with furrowed brows, stopping when he reaches you.

“You know Y/N...you confuse me.” Hyunwoo hums softly, drawing your attention to him. You lean back against the wall, crossing your arms softly and noting that he was in his swim gear now, perfect chest on display. So he would be competing. 

“And why is that Hyunwoo?” You inquire, keeping your voice down to not draw everyone’s attention to the private conversation of their two stars.

“Well we don’t necessarily get along...and yet you’re here at every meet. Why?” Hyunwoo questions stealing glances out at the competition and you take your chance to appreciate his form a bit more while he wasn’t looking.

“We might not get along, but in a way, we both do the same thing. I don’t have to like you to admire the effort and determination that you and your team put into being the best at swim meets. And besides that...the school is counting on the both of us, so I’m going to be here to support you guys. Despite what you and I think of each other.” You explain, causing Hyunwoo to raise a brow.

“Is this your way of saying you’re the bigger person here? Or trying to guilt me into saying you’re a good sport and coming to your games?” Hyunwoo’s tone almost mocks slightly, obviously not buying your act. Not that he had much reason to, even if you were being genuine.

“I don’t really give a fuck what you think Hyunwoo.” You hiss softly, voice harsher despite staying quite still, “ What you think doesn’t matter to me, I’ll do what I think is right no matter your opinion. Now shut up before you speak out of your ass again and go get your head in the match. Your team is waiting for their captain.” 

Hyunwoo leaves hearing your soft huff, doing as you told and getting his head into the competition and leading his team onto another win. Even so, you chose not to hang out for the celebration...you came to show support, not to be there for Hyunwoo to gloat to later. Him looking up to watch you walk out behind most of the crowd and something hitting him. Making it up in his mind then that he’d show up at your next game. 

It wasn’t exactly like the swim meet though, there was nowhere he could wait it out in hopes of getting a passing chance to talk...to apologize for what he did that day you were there to show support. So he sat himself down to watch the game and do the same for you. Slowly becoming more and more enthralled with watching you play, he realized it really wouldn’t be hard to develop the habit of coming to your games to cheer you on...not when it came so naturally to you.

Time got away from Hyunwoo however and a few months passed, yet he was at every game cheering you on. Something your friends had noticed and pointed out to you early on. Until one of them nudges you the day after a big game at practice.

“Your new fanboy is heading this way.” They whisper, laughing a little before running back onto the field. Leaving you to turn and find Hyunwoo walking over.

“Hyunwoo, I don’t have time for this today.” You sigh softly, too tired in the middle of practice to fight with the man coming over to you.

“Just hear me out please, I’m not here to fight...I just came to apologize.”Hyunwoo flushes a little and you find the sight somewhat endearing, “I was wrong that day...even though we haven’t really gotten along ever I was wrong to speak to you like that. I don’t know your reasons, and I don’t need to know them. You were there to support us and I was a dick...I’m sorry.”

His apology surprised you a little, it's not usually something you exchange, “It’s alright Hyunwoo, I’m sure I’ve done the same to you in the past too. We both can get a little heated at times. Thank you for apologizing though.” You smile at him, hoping to prevent an awkward silence to follow, “ So have you had fun at our games?”

Hyunwoo nods, beaming a little bit despite his blush deepening, “I have! They’re really fun to go to...though, maybe you’d like to help teach me a bit more about rugby?��

“Hyunwoo, are you...are you asking me on a date?” You ask, feeling your own face heat up when he nods shyly.

“Yeah...I guess I am. Though I can’t promise you it’ll put an end to all the competition between us...but a little friendly competition could keep things interesting, right?”

[busterkeatonfanfic]

Chapter 29, Part I

Buster had hoped that the picture would progress more smoothly back in Culver City. New York had been recreated on Lot Two in no time and was ready for filming by the time he returned to M-G-M on Monday the 30th. He was finding that even without the onerous script, however, he just couldn’t go back to the way he’d done things a few short months before.

When arrived on the set, he hadn’t wanted to get into the scenes of him and the girl right away. Instead, he pulled Bruckman aside and chewed over ways to lead the audience into the story, break the ice a little. Maybe a fussy grande dame carrying too much weight wanted a portrait of her little boy. Buster could see them in his head, the fat lady brushing the shoulders of the kid’s jacket, posing him just so. When she wasn’t looking, the scoundrel would stick out his tongue or thumb his nose. In the meantime, he—that is to say, the photographer—would be growing more and more frustrated with the boy. After being scolded by the lady, who wouldn’t hear that her perfect angel was monkeying around, he would finally take the portrait and show her the result. Upset, she’d blame the kid’s behavior on him. The conversation would get heated, drawing the attention of a drunk panhandler who would ask for his portrait to be done too. After all, his cup was full of pennies, wasn’t it? He could afford it. The lady would object. No, her boy was first in line. There’d be a yelling match between the two, the finely dressed fat woman and the ragged skinny drunk, followed by some shoving, in which Buster became collateral damage when the drunk ducked a punch. The hullabaloo would attract a crowd, and finally a policeman (giving Buster a suspicious look as though he was the cause of it all) would disperse the crowd. Buster would be left on the sidewalk, unpaid for his portrait of the kid and worse off than when he started.

This idea having occurred, he’d called to the crew to get him a fat lady, a kid, and someone who could play a drunk. They just looked at him like he had three heads.

“What’s the big idea?” he’d said.

“C’mere, I wanna word,” Sedgwick had said, frowning over the cigarette between his lips.

They’d gone around the corner until they were out of earshot, then the older man rounded on him. “What in the fuck was that?”

“What in the fuck was what?” said Buster, genuinely baffled.

“All the business of ‘Get me this, I want that.’ You made me look like a damned ass in front of my men.”

“How?” said Buster, astonished.

“By undermining my authority, that’s how. I’m the director. You barking orders makes me look like a spare prick.”

Buster had tried not to gape. He felt his own anger begin to rise. Wanting to keep the peace, though, he’d swallowed and said, “Well, I’m awful sorry. It’s nothing personal, honest, I just never worked another way. It won’t happen again, alright? You have my word.”

Sedgwick’s shoulders had relaxed somewhat and his expression softened. “Thanks. Look, I know it’s got to be tough to adjust, but we do things different. Just watch. You’ll see it’ll get taken care of.”

The scene didn’t get taken care of, despite Sedgwick’s assurances. Buster had stood back chain-smoking and watching calamity unfold. The kid was uncooperative, too green to be anything other than nervous in front of the camera. The fat lady couldn’t seem to understand that the camera couldn’t see the kid when she stood in front of him in all her overproportioned glory. The drunk couldn’t take direction at all, to the point that Buster suspected the drunkness wasn’t an act.

Finally, Sedgwick had thrown up his hands. “This is a disaster. Buster, line these god damn people up and get this fucking shot over with.”

Buster stubbed his cigarette out. “Me?”

Sedgwick had looked pained. “Yes, you. Who else?”

Feeling satisfied inside, Buster had taken over and soon had all parties in line and the scene rolling right along. In the days following, Sedgwick didn’t try to interfere with him and he didn’t try to interfere with Sedgwick, and they grew to like each other. A large man, he had a big appetite and liked to come over to Buster’s half of the bungalow to eat an elaborate lunch cooked up by Caruthers rather than patronize the studio cantine. Buster dubbed him Junior.

Even though Weingarten was up his ass about something every other day, shooting was going alright, too. Maybe it wasn’t the way he was used to working, but at least he’d gotten three-quarters of his control back and could dispense with things like jewel thieves and kidnappings.

As April gave way to May that week, he stayed overnight at the bungalow. On Wednesday he managed to sneak Nelly in. They had to forgo their usual activities beneath the sheets owing to her monthly visitor, but they had a nice dinner of roast lamb and potatoes and tried a few foxtrots in the front room, bumping into furniture because was hardly any room, then Nelly practiced her lines while he smoked and perused the latest pile of newspapers and magazines that Caruthers had left.

On Friday night, he drove back to the Villa. He arrived just in time for dinner, catching Natalie as she passed through the atrium.

“Hello, Nate,” he said. He’d just hung his coat and hat and kicked off his shoes.

“Oh, you’re back in time for dinner,” she said without a smile. He could tell by the way she said it that it was a question in disguise: Why haven’t you been home for dinner?

“Well sure, it’s Friday night. Ain’t filming tomorrow. I’m staying at the bungalow while we’re filming,” he added.  “Toldja that.”

“You didn’t,” she said, unsmiling. “You didn’t say you were staying at the bungalow this week.”

He considered his wife’s unhappy countenance and tried to remember if he’d called her on Monday. He’d had dinner with Sedgwick, then there was a bridge game and drinks with some of the M-G-M brass. Sam Goldwyn had been there. Or had that been Tuesday night? He couldn’t remember, and couldn’t remember calling her. “I thought I did. Honest. I got caught up in stuff, I guess,” he said.

“Oh, your card games?” she said, hand on her hip. She looked beautiful, all polish, poise, and elegance. “Maybe with that girl from your picture? Marceline?”

His eyes widened. “Marceline? You mean Marceline Day?” He knew he ought to be used to Natalie’s jealousy by now, but sometimes it flew at him out of the blue and smacked him straight in the face like that baseball last July. He’d hardly filmed a single scene with his newest leading lady, let alone entertained thoughts of seducing her.

“I simply find it incredible you’d forget to call me over a card game.”

“Well, it’s true whether you believe it and I said I’m sorry.” He reached for her arm. “C’mon, let’s not fight about silly stuff.”

“Oh, I agree it’s silly alright,” she said, brushing off his hand. “I didn’t make it so, you did.”

“Nate,” he said. “The kids. C’mon, they’re in the other room for Christ’s sakes.” In an attempt to extinguish the argument, he grabbed her by the shoulders and kissed both her cheeks in quick succession. “Please? You’ve got me tomorrow and Sunday. I’ll spend all that time with you. I’m all yours.”

Natalie grimaced. “I’m leaving tomorrow afternoon for Lake Tahoe. With Norma. Don’t tell me you forgot that too.”

“Of course I didn’t,” he lied. He had no recollection of her telling him about Lake Tahoe, though supposed it had been discussed in New York when he was listening with half an ear. “Let’s make the most of tonight then, and tomorrow morning.”

“We’re having veal for dinner,” she said, ignoring his offer.

“Good. I’m hungry.”

It wasn’t much of a truce, but he treated it like one and put his arm through hers and walked her to the dining room.

Natalie went to bed early that night complaining of a headache and was too preoccupied the next day buying new outfits for her trip with Norma to trouble with him. “I’m sorry, but it’s supposed to be warm and we’ve got to have some lighter dresses for the trip,” she’d said just before departing.

He tried to distract himself golfing with Tom Mix, but kept getting stuck on thoughts of his wife like a skip in a record. There had been a time when Nate had loved him and they’d gotten along, he could almost swear by it. He’d once spent hours with her mother and sisters, not resenting them for taking up Natalie’s time and attention. Rather, he had been glad to be in their midst even though Peg had never made a secret of the fact that she didn’t think him good enough for her middle daughter. It had been easy then to love the people who loved Natalie.

There had also been a time when Nate and him had talked about more than the children, kissed in more than a perfunctory way, and shared more than just a house and money. To this day he couldn’t understand why it wasn’t that way between them anymore, couldn’t remember when they’d begun to drift apart. He was pretty sure she had still loved him when they’d moved into the Villa. When had she stopped? Why had she stopped?

Tom would bring him back to reality at intervals, reminding him that it was his turn to put. He’d forget about Natalie for a couple minutes, but the needle would return to the beginning of the groove and he’d start worrying all over again. If only if he just—maybe if he just …

That night, he got roaringly drunk at Marion Davies’ party, not bothering to see Natalie off at the train station when she left late in the afternoon.

The Villa was vacant the following day, his sons having been kidnapped by Constance and all the servants but Caruthers dismissed until Monday. Their benevolent mistress had decided they could do with a little holiday as a treat. Tired of fretting about Natalie, he drank some black coffee to tame his headache and called Nelly afterward.

Note: I know you’re all sick of waiting, so I decided to publish Chapter 29 into two parts. The second part will likely be longer. Sorry I’m so busy, but 🤷‍♀️

[selfless1978]

<previous

next>

BROWN AND BLUE

“Leo?”

The eldest looked up from the book he really wasn’t reading. The pages seemed to be just a blur of nothingness in front of him. He sighed and closed it before putting it down. More and more his hobbies seemed to fail in bringing him any kind of comfort.

“What is it, April?” The large turtle asked as he got to his feet to greet her and Casey as they walked in. It didn’t escape his notice that both looked a little hesitant to disturb him.

“Chief Vincent is asking for your help.” April herself looked at the large turtle, her eyes full of sympathy. “I...told her that you guys might not be ready yet, but she’s pretty desperate. She does send her condolences and understanding. She wouldn’t have asked if it wasn’t pretty bad.”

Leo looked away from her, tears building in his eyes. Tears he was quick to hide by turning and walking away towards the kitchen.

April and Casey exchanged a worried look, not sure what was running through the leader’s mind.

“What does she want?” Leo asked over his shoulder. A shoulder that was drooped in defeat. He continued his trek towards the kitchen, needing something to soothe his mind. Couldn’t he even mourn his loss in peace?

“She didn’t really go into many details. There is a problem topside with an individual. They can’t catch her much less contain.” The couple followed him into the kitchen where the large turtle was making some tea. “But she did tell me this person is very dangerous and unstable. She’s suffered some losses trying to corral her on her own. Leo, it sounds pretty serious.”

“Very.” Casey chipped in. “She keeps blowing shit up. Personally I think what ever is going on is out of their league.”

“Which is why she is asking for your help.” April leaned on the doorframe, watching her friend as he made his tea.

Leo was quiet a long moment. This simple seeming task taking all of his attention. Only when his cup was finished and was about to be set to steep did he speak again. “I see.” He still didn’t turn to face the pair. 

Then the cup was almost slammed onto the counter top as he whirled around. The hot liquid sloshing over the sides. Both humans winced. 

“I just lost my father and she wants me to go put out her fires?”

“Leo, people are getting hurt.” April kept her tone calm. “She doesn’t know what else to do.”

Leo’s eyes remained hard for a long moment. The struggle to balance his grief out with the dire situation was clear to see on his face. And it wasn’t an easy one for him. “Fine.” He finally sighed in defeat. “We’ll meet with her tonight. Usual time and place.”

April and Casey nodded. Casey turned to leave, but April stepped forward and wrapped her friend in a hug. “I know this is hard, Leo. I miss him too.”

Leo didn’t say anything as he accepted the hug. There was nothing he could say that would make any of this better.

.

.

They arrived to find Chief Vincent already waiting for them. A folder in her hand and an anxious expression on her face. Some of the tension left her features at the sight of the four brothers, only to rise again at the obvious signs of grief on all of them. Mikey was somber and quiet, Raph was glaring at her while Donnie looked like he didn’t even want to be out here. Even Leo’s gaze was hard as he approached.

“Thank you for coming.” 

Only a brief nod was her reply from the leader.

“I’m sorry for-”

“Just get on with it.” Raph growled. “Your condolences ain’t gonna bring him back.”

The woman just nodded and handed over the file to Leo, not wanting to anger the big turtle any further. 

“This her?” Leo asked as he opened the file and began to browse.

“Yes. Her name is Victoria Self. A few months ago her children were put into foster care. They stayed in State custody while she was told to get her life on track.’

Leo frowned a little as he browsed through more. “Not signs of any criminal history. Nothing.”

“She didn’t have anything.” Vincent agreed. “Been clean. Served a few years in the military, got out and lived a normal life. Got married, had two kids, divorced. She only came onto our radar because her kids were taken. Even then she seemed ok. Came to visit them every week. But no progress was made to better her situation so they stayed in foster care. Then, about a month ago, the kids were forcefully taken from the social worker. The attack put him in the hospital in critical condition. But he was able to tell us that it was her.”

“How so?” Leo handed the file to Donnie so he could look over it.

“He heard the kids call her Mom.”

Leo nodded. “Go on.”

“Obviously, we went to arrest her. I don’t know how, but she managed to take down the entire swat team and five or six patrol officers. Leonardo, all of them claim she moved impossibly fast and beat them easily before destroying the vehicles.”

“One woman took down all of them?” Raph raised a brow.

“Yes. Very easily. And-”

“Chief Vincent!”  

For the second time tonight she was being cur off, this time by her assistant running forward. Her face pale. “There was an attack on a federal prison in Georgia! Almost the entire compound was destroyed!”

“What?”

“That’s not all.” Jade continued, handing over another file. “There was also reports of a woman assaulting two individuals in a truck stop in Tennessee. They were able to get pictures of the perpetrator from the security cameras. It was her.”

The police chief began to swear under her breath as she took the file. Which Leo immediately took himself. He opened it and pulled out the pictures within. Indeed it was the same woman that was pictured in the other file. 

��There were numerous injuries. And one causality. One of the inmates was found with his head caved in. With a hammer, of all things.”

“Do we have information on the inmate?”

“Yes ma’am. One Rudy Barlow. Sentenced for murder and child molestation.”

Once more Leo took the file and handed it over to Donnie. “See what else you can dig up.” Donnie nodded. It was rapidly becoming clear to him that his friends were indeed right to pass the message along. For just a single woman to do all this and avoid, or better said beat, her way out of capture was indeed no small matter. “Have her children been seen anywhere?”

“So far, no.” Jade answered. “All the footage we get from her are short, fleeting ones. But none of them have the children with her or anywhere near her.”

Leo nodded. They must have been taken and hidden somewhere. That meant she was going out alone. She would return to the city just to get them if for no other reason. “Alright, Chief Vincent. We’ll look into it.”

“Thank you.” She looked relieved. “I didn’t want to put this on you. But didn’t know what else to do. She has easily taken down or just flat out outran any of my officers. We just can’t get our hands on her.”

Leo looked up to the heavens a moment. His eyes lost in the stars as he searched for something he could never see. A low sigh escaping the mentally weary turtle. He wanted nothing more than to just hide in his home and come to terms with things, but he knew his father would frown upon him letting the chaos continue. Chaos that seemed to be ramping up. 

“It’s fine.” He said quietly in return. “Father would have wanted us look into it. To stop the casualties if nothing else.”

Leo then turned and headed toward the edge of the rooftop. There was nothing else he could do here. Donnie needed time to look the files over and see if he could find more information on her. “We’ll keep in touch.”

He then led his brothers off of the rooftop and out into the night.

[ms-rampage]

Eden’s Gate: Eden’s Gate Chapter 3 - No More Lies

Warnings: Swearing, slight angst. Paige is somewhat of a bitch in this. 

Word count: 1.7k

This is a short follow up series to Kidnapped leading up to the nuclear holcaust, and the beginning of New Dawn. 

Summary: The Winchester family work on tracking down Joseph Seed. Paige finds out about Kate’s pregnancy.  

Guest OCs: Barbara Teller (FC: Katey Segal), Morgan Costello (FC: Kathryn Newton), Ryan Cho (FC: Ryan Potter), Sarah Dunham (FC: Toni Storm), Ivan Wren (FC: Dylan Spouse) Isaiah Wren (FC: Cole Spouse). 

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

A week has passed, and Kate is indeed pregnant. 

Fucking hell. John Seed was fucking right!!.

She’s most likely due April/May of that following year.

She can’t let anyone know just yet, especially now with everyone that is busy tracking down Joseph Seed. Wanting to kill him. 

Carrying the spawn of John Seed. The child might end up being a sadistic little shit just like him. It’s a matter of time when her stomach starts to get bigger. Paige is not far ahead of her, but she still doesn't have a baby bump just yet.

She radios Wheaty, telling him to meet her at the Whistling Beaver Brewery. He agrees, and will meet her there. 

Paige, Mandy, Kenny and everyone else is working with what Rachel had given them. She knows, she has to tell them, sooner or later Paige is starting to show signs of her pregnancy. She threw up that morning, and is eating excessively.  Kate knew it was a matter of time before she would go through that as well.  

Her and John had sex the night before his death. That was August 14th, now it’s August 26th. A little over a week, 9 days to be exact. Paige is probably 5 days to a week ahead of her.  Not sure how she was able to keep track of all that. Kate goes downstairs to where the others are. Including Rachel.

“Hey” Paige says, looking up from her laptop.

“Hey” she responds. 

“Are you hungry?!?” Mandy asks, who is cooking.

“Umm, no I’m good. I’m about to head out, and meet up with Wheaty” she says.

“Okay. Don’t get pregnant” Paige jokes, not looking up from her laptop.

Kate furrows her eyebrows at her. “I won’t” she responds. 

Rachel looks up from her book, and looks over at Kate.

“I’ll be back later” she says before leaving to her car. 

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

After a 20 minute drive, Kate arrives at the brewery.

She’s a little early, so she sits down at a table, and waits for Wheaty. 

“Kate?!?” a familiar voice calls out.

She looks over to her right, and sees her long time friends Morgan, Ryan, Sarah, Ivan and Isaiah. 

“Hey!!” she says, standing up to give them all a hug. 

“We heard about what happened to your sister” Sarah tells her

“I told them” Ryan says, “Paige was my cage cellmate at St. Francis”.

“Yeah, yeah. We got her back, and Jacob paid the price” Kate says.

“And we also heard about you, and Wheaty killing John” Morgan says, through her teeth. Nudging her elbow at her. 

Kate nods her head, “Yeah. Yeah. I killed him. Well Nick Rye shot his plane down. Their trash talk to each other was hilarious, comedy level, and all we have left to kill is Joseph”.

“Sooo who are you meeting here?!?” Sarah asks.

“As a matter of fact, I’m meeting Wheaty here” she says.

“It took ya long enough.” Morgan jokes, “He’s a great guy. You deserve the best”.

"John's a douche, you deserve the best" Ivan tells her. Playfully hitting her shoulder. 

She nods her head with a smile. 

“Yeah I know. So Ryan, why did Jacob have you locked up?!” Kate asks.

He hesitates, “Because of my knowledgement in chemistry, and I may have caused some trouble in his region when he was still alive”.

“I got caught as well” Morgan says.

Kate’s eyes widened “When?!?”.

“A few months ago” she replies, "I was able to escape. Overnight". 

They chat for another few minutes, and they leave. 

Kate sits back down, and waits for Wheaty.

5 minutes go by, and he walks through the door.

“Hey” she says, when he sees her.

“Hey” he responds, kissing her, “So why did you call me here?!?”.

“I’m pregnant” she says, “I took a test, and it came back positive”.

His jaw drops open, “You serious?!?”.

She nods her head, “Yeah”.

“Do the others know?!?” he asks, “Your family?!”.

She looks down, “No. None of them know about it”. She sighs, “I don’t know how to tell them”.

“You don’t have to tell them it’s John’s. Just say it's mine” he tells her. 

She nods her head, “I can. I can. I’m a good liar, and all. But I can’t lie about this”.

“Faith is living with us. She’s helping us track down Joseph” she says.

“Can you trust her?!” he asks.

“She knows I’m pregnant”.

Wheaty looks at her confused, “What do you mean, she knows?!?. I thought no one else knew about it?!". 

“I never told her, or anyone. But she “sensed” it. She said I’m having a girl”.

He looks around in confusion, “She said you were having a girl?. When it’s not even an embryo”.

“That’s what I thought” Kate responds, “Unless she’s a witch or something”.

They chatted for a couple of hours, and they went back to their places.

Wheaty the Wolf's Den, and Kate the Winchester-Smith compound.

Arriving home around 6:30pm, the sun is barely setting. Kate walks through the front door, and is greeted by Barbara.

“Hey sweetie, your sister told me you went on a date?!. Who’s the guy, or girl?”

Kate chuckles, “He’s a part of the Whitetail Militia, he’s the host of a pirated radio broadcast, and is the best thing that has ever happened to me”.

She goes upstairs to her room. A few minutes later, Rachel knocks at her door.

-knock knock knock-

“Yeah?!” she responds. 

The door opens, and she sees Rachel walk in.

“Hey Rachel” she says.

“So how was your date?” she asks.

“It went good. We had a great time” she responds. 

“Did you tell him?” she asks.

Kate looks up at her, “About what?”.

“Your pregnancy” she whispers.

“Oh, oh right!!” she chuckles, then clears her throat. 

“Yeah. yeah I told him. Because he was the only one. Before you knew of my pregnancy”

“Are you going to tell the others?” she asks.

“I’m gonna have to” she mutters, “I’m gonna have to. Maybe now, or when everyone is here” she says again, looking down at the floor.

Rachel nods her head, “I know you're scared”.

Kate looks up at her.

“I know you’re scared, because it’s John’s, and Paige doesn’t like him. I know you’re scared that Paige might not love you anymore. That she might feel betrayed”.

Kate lets out a short breath, “Yeah, Yeah. I know she’ll be angry, but she’ll get over it because John is dead”.

As they're talking upstairs, downstairs in the dining room. Paige gets a lead on Joseph’s whereabouts, by hacking into the Hope County’s police system, and finding his location, or at least where he was in the last few days. 

She wanted to tell Kate in a private conversation before she told anyone else.

She goes up stairs to Kate’s room, she’s about to knock on her door, but stops when she hears her, and Rachel talking.

As much as she doesn’t like eavesdropping. 

She listens in on their conversation from the hallway, and regrets it.

“So when are you gonna tell them?!” Rachel asks Kate. 

Kate sighs, “I’ll go downstairs in a bit, and tell them. Paige might hate me for it. But I just need to get it off my chest.”

Confused, Paige puts her ear to the closed door. Trying to hear what else is being said. 

There’s a few moments of silence in the room.

“I can’t believe I’m carrying John Seed’s kid” she says, with so much frustration in her voice.

Paige hears this, and her blood starts to run cold.

“What?!?” she whispers to herself. Eyes wide. 

“I’ve thought about abortion, but I can’t do that” she says, “I can just lie, and say it’s Wheaty’s kids. She won’t know”.

“Come on. Let’s go downstairs and tell the others” Rachel tells her in a reassuring voice. 

Paige quickly goes back downstairs before they leave the room. She is fuming. 

“Hey did you-” Kenny asks her before getting cut off by his angry wife. 

“No!” she raises her voice, almost yelling.

He looks at the others confused, and back to his wife “Umm okay what’s wrong?!?”.

“Don’t worry you’ll find out in a few minutes!!!” she says angry, leaving the room to go outside. 

Kate, and Rachel walk downstairs to the living room. 

She clears her throat. 

“Hey guys there’s something I want to tell you, and I want everyone in here”.

Everyone comes into the living room.

“Where’s Paige?!?” she asks.

“She went outside” Kenny says, “Paige!!”.

Paige walks back inside, arms crossed and angry. She takes a seat on the arm of the couch next to Kenny.

Kate takes a deep breath, “So what I wanted to tell you guys was-”

She gets cut off by her sister, “That you’re pregnant?!?”.

Kate’s eyes widened, and all of her color drained out of her body.

Everyone looks at Paige, and then back at Kate.

“Kate you’re pregnant?!?!” Mandy asks.

Paige stands up, “Yeah, she is. With John Seed’s kid!!!”.

A loud gasps between all of them. Everyone, staring at each other in shock. Heads turning to one another. 

“But John Seed is dead!!!” Martin says. 

“This was before his death. I’m guessing. Am I right Kate?!?” she asks.

She nods her head, “Yeah. Yeah it was the night before I killed him”.

“And you had sex with him. I knew, I shouldn’t have let you untie him.” she says, running her hand through her hair before placing them on her hips. 

“Okay. So what if he got me pregnant!?!?!” she snaps at her, “He’s dead, and I can raise this child on my own”.

“Kate” Paige mutters, pinching the bridge of her nose, “That’s not the point. You’re carrying the spawn of John fucking Seed!!!!”.

Paige groans into her hands. 

“And you were gonna lie, and tell us that it's Wheaty’s kid. Weren’t you?!?!”.

“He knew I was pregnant, and he knows it's John’s. He told me that he wouldn’t mind being a stepfather to the child”.

Everyone looks back, and forth at the two sisters. 

“He also told me he wants to be there for the both of us” she says, placing her hand on her belly.

Paige looks out the window, her back to the others.

Everything felt like it was moving painfully slow. Time freezing, slowing down. After a few minutes, she turns back around, and says.

“No more lies Katella, okay? I’m sick of it. I tell you everything, and I mean everything. You gotta do the same with me. From this day on there will be no more lying, keeping things from me, or bending the truth, and everything in between.”

Kate nods her head, “Okay”. 

“And not just this. From the time when you lost your soul, getting a hit on demon blood, saying “Yes” to Lilith, and not saving me in Hell. Everything!!. You promise?!”. 

Tears begin to stream down Paige’s face, and Kate’s as well. 

She nods her head once again, “Okay. Okay I promise”.

[alchemicalterror]

Self-implemented Parole

[ Below is a transcript of an RP between @askanarky​ and ol’ Jonny boy, involving Anarky’s breakout and aftermath. WIth special guest @riddlesandqueries​ and @echoandquery​

Trigger warnings: Adolescent Homelessness, swearing. ]

Fuck. Shit. God dammit. Fuck, Lonnie swears to himself, couldn’t stay hidden for two days, could he?

Here he is, leaning against the wall of the dentist’s-office-turned-failed-comedy-club-turned-pirate-radio-station-slash-hideout he’d been spending the day at. Beside him’s a wooden baseball bat, blood-red paint dripping down the business end, three posters, and an overfilled olive drab backpack absolutely covered in patches and safety pins. In his hands, a box of old clothes and records.

Bitterly, Lonnie wonders how much weight he’d lost. Six and a half months was a lot longer- or maybe shorter?- than he’d fully realized.

God, why’s he even humoring the old man? Ten bucks and he could already be gone. He’d find another shitty landlord to blackmail for an equally shitty studio apartment, and life’d go on like he never left.

...But then again, that wasn’t him. And plus, he owes Jon a lot and did kinda call him ‘dad,' and plus, he couldn’t feasibly cut him out entirely unless he left Gotham for good, and why would he do that, he’s got work to continue-

”Fuck.” Lonnie mutters under his breath, shifting his weight to his other leg.

"Fuck." Jon mutters, pulling his coat in tighter. He doesn't know jack shit about hijacked radio towers, and while his car is an unremarkable, beat-up old junker that he's had for years - it runs fine, there's no noises or weird smells, but the body has seen better days - why run into a headache with traffic, gas mileage, potentially being seen at an intersection with a recently escaped convict...?

'Course, nothing could hide how tall he is. And god damn it, it's April, it's supposed to be warm....

Jonathan mutters against the cold in vague irritation, gravitating towards the next set of charity drop-off boxes in vain hopes of actually tracking down the runt. Jesus, he should've asked for directions. At least he's in good shape.

"Me an' my motherfuckin' ide--" Pause. Squint, at someone who fits the stature in a beat up black hoodie, with a box.

"....Kid?"

The good thing about oversized hoodies is that, if you’re drowning in them enough, it can almost conceal how high you jump when something calls an epithet that can apply to you. Immediately, Lonnie crouches to quickly, but gently place his box down and grab his baseball bat in his place, then raises himself up into half of a batter’s stance at the source of the-

Wait. Tall man, absolutely orange hair, in a thrift-store jacket and blue jeans. Of fucking course.

”Jesus Christ,” he half-mouths. He lets his stance relax and his arms hang limply down in an exaggerated 'I-don’t-wanna-be-here' stance. “‘Ay.” Lonnie’s stage voice is remarkable, if a bit higher than his normal growl.

Jonathan grins, a bit, despite himself. Baseball bat? Good lad.

He lifts a hand in a wave, chuckling. "Nice to see you ain't without means, boy." Jon murmurs, nodding at the weapon. "Half kickin' myself I didn't get directions when abouts I could, I been walking around back alleys all afternoon."

"Legs could use a break, and I saw a beaten-down dive up the block some, folks don't glance at your face even when you're ordering in places like that. You wanna coffee or somethin' before we ship out?"

“....” Lonnie turns away for half a second, letting a puff of air escape his clenched teeth. “Hey, you said you didn’t need them.”

Hypocritical, coming from him. He’s at least trying to be a little friendly, through the obvious voice crack and the constantly-correcting tone. “...Fine, I guess? I mean, I’ve got what...” He backs away and unzips the front pocket of the backpack on the ground. A cheap leather wallet spills out (along with six separate embroidered circle-As in various shades of crimson.) He unfolds it and squints between the pockets, “....twelve...? Dollars on me? That’s enough for, like, a sandwich.”

"Come off it kid, I got paid yesterday, you ain't gotta spend what little you got on a sandwich. Save it, s'good to have bus money." And with that Jon turns, and waves Lonnie follow him. Tall as he is, he's long ago adopted a sort of ambling gait to make it easier for other people to keep up with his long stride.

The diner is, as estimated, utterly apathetic to the arrival of both Jonathan and Lonnie, save for the motions of seating them both. No odd looks are given to Lonnie's box of things, nor -- if he brought it along -- his bat. He was half-heartedly offered the opportunity to drop it in the umbrella rack, if he wanted to.

Jon takes a booth with a high back, and turns his attention toward the menu.

Lonnie, in fact, does put his baseball bat in the umbrella rack (only in Gotham,) and swings himself up onto the booth, squishing himself into the corner and placing his box under the table. His backpack’s placed right beside him.

He’s already small- especially compared to Jonathan- but he seems determined to make himself even smaller. Lonnie hunches over the table and scrutinizes the menu with one exposed eye, rapping his free hand on the table. Jonathan receives the occasional upwards glance from him.

Coffee. And a sandwich. Jon picks both, mentally placing his order, and sets the menu down.

"...After we order, I got some things to ask, arright?" He murmurs, keeping his voice low; the staff might not care, but patrons could. Best keep mumbly.

"Dinner's on me whatever you got to say, upfront. Ain't contingent on you givin' me answers you think I'm gonna wanna hear."

(The waitress does drift by, uninterested and unimpressed, to take their orders.)

Watching the waitress approach means Lonnie didn’t have the space to answer Jon in full; Instead, he flashes a thumbs up his way.

BLT, cherry Coke. Lonnie deserved something sweet, he thought. His menu comes down after Jon’s, and he doesn’t fully turn to place his order. He does, however, have the common sense for manners; “I’d like an egg BLT and a cherry Coke, please.”

"And I'd like a tuna sub and a black coffee, please, miss. Thank you kindly."

Their orders are noted down, and she drifts on to her next engagement - and Jon leans on the table, looking Lonnie over. Where to start. "....You got a place to stay?"

“I’ll get one.” Lonnie murmurs, implying that the answer’s actually no. “Old landlord probably won’t let me back in, not like I was actually paying for my old apartment anyway...” He murmurs as he passes the saltshaker between his hands. "...Right." Jonathan says, nodding slowly. "...If you need a place to crash a li'l while while you work him over, y'know - I got a guest room. Ain't got much more than a bed and a couple boxes and a desk, but it's dry an' the door locks." "...And like, if puttin' out on your own for a place don't work, I don't mind if you stay, right?" .... Hm. The saltshaker rests in his left hand.

“...You’re serious? C’mon, your job’s probably already batter-fried as is, if anyone finds out-”

Lonnie doesn’t trail off, per se, more than he just lets his throat close a little. “...Really? You really don’t-“

He’d be an absolute idiot to decline, but there had to be some kind of catch - ? - but Jon’s not that much of a jerkass.... "Kid, much as I'm sure you could find someone whose arm you could twist for a place, it don't sit right with me to just leave you in an alley to do that. I got the room, and - well, Arkham can just deal." Jonathan’s tone is flat.

"What they don't know ain't gonna hurt my career." Lonnie puts a fist to his rapidly-splitting mouth and exhales sharply. “‘Guess that is true,” he answers, then shakes two fingers at Jon. 

“...Shit, thanks, I guess? I didn’t... really expect you to show real concern, holy shit...” "What, you think it was just for appearances?"  Jon chuckles, genial. "Naw, son, I try to actually care 'bout the folks I work with, didn't get into this business on accounta I don't care about people."

"Look, after Dinner I'll help you carry shit, since I left the car at home." “Okay.” Lonnie doesn’t particularly feel like pushing it any more, so he doesn’t. 

“...How’d I not notice this place before?” He asks, mostly to himself. Or maybe he had, and he’d forgotten about it. Was it even worth forgetting?  Ech, everything was so overwhelming. As their food and coffee comes around, Jonathan turns his attention to the rogue chat, securing something, before starting to eat. Tuna melts are truly the mac and cheese of the sandwich world, and hard to get wrong.

[ Dr_J_C ] - Hey, Eddie, you on. [ E?Nygma ] - Yes? [ Dr_J_C ]  - You got a cab company you trust to keep their yaps shut [ E?Nygma ] - My henchwomen. [ Dr_J_C ]  - ...Think they'd be willing to come pick up me and a runaway? Wound up cross town and the kid's got luggage [ E?Nygma ] - Only one way to find out, really.

[ DM: E?Nygma to E&Q: Ladies? ] [ DM  E&Q to E?Nygma: [Q] You need something, Ed? ] [ DM: E?Nygma to E&Q: Yes, if you have the time tonight. Dr Crane is asking me about securing private transit that doesn't talk too much, if you catch my drift. Since you're both the pair I trust most on the matter, I thought I'd ask if you'd be willing to go fetch him and cart him wherever he needs to go. He's not in a stabbing mood, so it shouldn't be risky. ] [ DM  E&Q to E?Nygma: [Q] Not in a stabbing mood? Color me surprised.. but sure thing, Boss! [E] Dr. Crane requires transit? We aren’t busy, so we’ll be glad to pick him up, when needed. Anything that’s said will stay in the car, don’t you worry. ] [ DM: E?Nygma to E&Q: Peachy. Make him buy you dinner, huh? I'll forward the address: you know what to do if he starts giving you trouble, and where to send the bill. Thanks so much. ]

[ E?Nygma ] - Good news, Jonny, they'll do it. Have an address? [ Dr_J_C ]  - Yeah, hangon.... Down town, Eighth and Tuppence. The shitty diner.

[ DM: E?Nygma to E&Q: : Eighth and Tuppence, the "shitty diner", as he put it. ]

[ E?Nygma ] - I told them to make you buy them dinner. 

[ Dr_J_C ]  -  Yeah, sure, doesn't have to be from here. We just got our food, so - give it an hour? [ DM: E?Nygma to E&Q: He's asked for you to come in an hour, so you have time to get ready. ]

[ E?Nygma ] - Done and done, don't leave them waiting.

Before eating, Lonnie removes the top slice of bread from each sandwich half and salts the (perfectly over-medium) egg on top, then slides the salt to the other side of the table. He almost chokes on his first bite. God, he missed real food. "...Arkham food, huh." Jonathan chuckles, humorlessly. "Shit, every time I've gotten outta there, pizza boxes have looked appetizing."

"Eddie's henches are gonna be givin' us a ride. They ain't snitches, and I fancy our chances in one'a their cars than on foot."

“...Tall punk one n’ a short one?” Lonnie clarifies through a mouthful of BLT. Gulp. “Nice.”

“...Spent his ketchup money on Walgreens eyeliner and a burger. Should probably get online and tell ‘im once I get home, huh.” He pauses, putting down his sandwich for a second. “I told you the ketchup thing, right?”

Jonathan grins, lifting his coffee in a weird sort of salute. "Sure did. Bet you made with Eddie, right? Eyeliner and a bite's a good cause, then. He chomps down half his sandwich before turning his attention properly to coffee.

"...Good-ish news, the Asylum is pretty sure I didn't help you break out." "So they prob'ly ain't gonna assume I came got you, neither."

“Thank god,” Lonnie comments. “Like, not just ‘cuz your job’s still safe, that’s great, but god, I didn’t spend three weeks figuring out like, 80 million people’s schedules for a friend in a high place to get the stick, it’s my damn credit.” He pauses for a sip of soda. “...Is that the right metaphor? Doesn’t matter. ‘S.... nice y’aint in that deep shit.”

Another pause. “Jesus Christ, I just said ‘y’ain’t’ in complete earnest, what the fuck are you doing to me?” Lonnie laughs, leaning his head back and pulling down one eyelid. Jonathan barks a cheerful laugh, and even that is ignored by the utter apathy that is a back-street diner in Gotham. He shakes his head until it trickles down to a snicker and, grinning, drains the rest of his coffee before his attention returns to the perfectly adequate tuna melt.

"Naww, they had me doin' damage control, after talkin' to me a bit and nosing some at my notes. Shit, I didn't know a damn thing about your plans, and it showed, son, so oughta be fine."

"New's being shitty about it anyways, though, m'sorry about that." “I~’m aware,” Lonnie chimes rather sardonically, waiting to swallow this time. “Eh, GCN’s a bunch of corporatist bullcrap anyway. They don’t think I’m a real dude, I know they aren’t a real news station, cancels out.” It really doesn’t cancel out, but the shrug indicates either he’s actually fine or he doesn’t particularly want to talk about it.

Jonathan slowly nods, and makes a mental tick to get a tee-shirt made inviting people to physically fight him if they want to call Lonnie a girl. That's a dadly thing to do, right?

"...So,” Jon starts, slowly, “Y'all called me dad."

Groan. “Uh, I’m sorry?” Lonnie shrugs to accompany the nonapology— not like it was worth applogizing for. “Slip of the tongue, like callin’ a teacher ‘mom,’ y’know?”

He sucks the rest of his Coke down and sets the tall plastic glass back on the table. Jon laughs, sitting back himself and uncrossing his arms. "Dunno where all I said I was upset about it, son." His grin is lazy and easy, and he just shrugs.

"Y'all see me as a father figure?" ... Does he? ... “I mean— you’re what, two and a half times my age n I’ve seen more of you  in the, what, three-ish months since you took my case than anyone else, not to mention you’re like...” Lonnie cycles through various expressions as he speaks, apparently directing his explanation at his fingernails. (Note the lack of a solid answer.) 

He doesn’t mention what Jon’s like. Soon, he throws his forehead into one hand, rubbing his temples.

“I mean—- no, but also not no?” "...So, solid maybe." Jon suggests, wiping crumbs off his hands with a chuckle. "Right, well that ain't somethin' you gotta come up with an answer to today, son. Right now, priority's makin' sure you don't get picked up by the cops two days after a breakout."

"And,” he adds, “Not leavin' you to find a half-comfortable Alley to try an' make a sleeping spot from."

“Mmh,” Lonnie affirms through his last bite of BLT (emphasis on the L.) “In my defense, I spent like... the first third’a my sophomore year doin’ that, I’ve got practice.” He jokes, sending finger-guns Jon’s way. “But yeah, let’s leave that for later, ‘kay?”

"Sounds good." Jonathan pulls out his wallet, leafing through it and leaving the bill in cash, with a generous tip. No, the bill hasn't actually arrived yet, but he's pretty good at math. Something about being a Chemist, maybe. 

"Ed's girls oughta be here in a nother couple minutes, so - you wanna hit the washroom or anything 'fore we head outside?"

[youarejesting]

BTS365 Prompts

[Masterlist] 

Please tag me in your work if you use my prompts. I want to see your work. Ever your Jester.

Tell me your birthday and I will tag you on your special day!

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         April 23rd - 29th

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Kim Seokjin: DNA

You were visiting your friend. She had given you her address as you both had plans next week but you wanted to surprise her so you arrived early driving into the gated community. It was a whole town fenced off. Weird. You passed through security by dropping the name of your friend you were visiting and headed through. 

You pulled up in a guest parking lot and walked to her house knocking. She grabbed you pulling you inside, “who knows you are here, did anyone see you?” “No but why is this place so cult-y I mean that rose business is everywhere the flags the buildings it’s even on that damn necklace you are wearing, if this is a cult I have to get you out. Don’t drink the kool aid”

She tried to rush you out the door telling you to get in your car and you both could leave, “look you have to go quickly out the way you came, if they find you I don’t know what will happen”

You were scared because she wasn’t joking there was no ‘haha just kidding’ no ‘April fools’ this was serious. She was serious. You went to race back to your car when you heard a chorus of howls. You were soon surrounded. By wolves? Pausing as they growled around you. A man coming out and leading you across town. 

After the regular interrogation who are you, why are you here? You made it to a large building; it looked like a large frat house. You were led inside and to a door, standing there you smelt something pleasant, a soft jasmine, and cedar with a sharp fresh aqua. The moment you stepped inside you felt his presence, lowering your head like everyone else you felt weak. His back was to you and you didn’t know what was happening but the scent was all over the room and instead of being overpowering like axe body spray. This made your head fog up in the most pleasing ways. 

“I heard you trespassed on our land sweetheart?” The word wasn’t spoken with endearment, as he pulled your chin up, your eyes caught his seeing a golden spark fill his dark eyes. He had stilled for a moment, your eyes scanned him over he was devilishly handsome and had broad shoulders, strong arms, his waist was thin and his legs firm. Your eyes met his once more realizing how you were blatantly ogling him.  “Mine”

Min Yoongi: Pretzel

“Welcome everyone to the weekly CBM meeting, I see a lot of new faces so let's begin with introductions and why you are here?”

”Hello I am Kim Seokjin, I’m a werewolf, I have been coming here for three months because I accidentally shifted one night and my bonds broke, and they found me lying in the park and deemed it inappropriate. So now I spend every Wednesday for the next six months coming to Creature Behavior management”

“Hi I am Jung Hoseok I um saved a girl from drowning and swam her up to the beach but when I pulled her out of the water and shifted back I had no pants and her father beat me and I am here to prove I am good and I mean I get to meet new friends so it can’t be too bad right?” “I am Min Yoongi, a Zombie, strictly vegetarian, I just wanted a pretzel and apparently it’s considered inappropriate to threaten to eat someone if they try to push in line”

You couldn’t help but laugh at that and the zombie looked at you across the room swinging your legs back and forth on the chair. “I would let you eat me” You giggled watching his pale undead cheeks stain a dark grey. “My name is Y/N and apparently refusing to let a guy get you a drink at a house party makes me a tease and when you refuse their advances, they try to take you to the bedroom anyway, Yet when you refuse again publicly they accuse you of using your succubus powers on them. Then when you actually use your powers on them and force them to make out with one another, they don’t seem to like that”

“Ahh... my undead heart, you are my soulmate.” Yoongi laughed along with everyone in the circle muttering under his breath quietly but you still were able to catch it. “Marry me” “Okay bring the documents baby we can get married” You smiled and he lent forward licking his lips eyeing you up and down.

“How's next Wednesday for you?” “I will wear my best dress” You winked at him and he snapped his teeth back at you.

Jung Hoseok: Scale

Your father was a fisherman, and you spent your childhood years on the water. Sitting on the bowsprit legs dangling as you sang songs dreaming of pirates and mermaids and sea monsters. You would sing songs you made up and sometimes when you looked really hard you could see figures moving under the water. It was all the brilliance of a childhood imagination. But here you were years later a young lady home from the city, your father readied the boat some of the fishermen were new and some of their eyes lingered a little too long for your liking. 

You sat on the bowsprit singing the old songs from when you were a kid, it was nostalgia and you remembered every word. Arriving at the usual fishing spot you swear you saw something move under the water. You grinned as your childish wonder had obviously come back to greet you. 

You continued singing and playing on the ship sticking to the bow you loved looking over. The waves picked up but they did it so often you barely shifted. Your sea legs had long since been of use. “You might want to go in girl if it’s too scary for you”

You rolled your eyes standing and walking down the bowsprit like it was a tightrope grabbing the thick metal cord standing on the very edge. You were happily spinning around the cord when you definitely saw what looked like a torso. You saw it again. “Man overboard” You called across the boat. Everyone scrambled and you jumped in after him. 

Just as you reached the area you had seen him he was gone, you turned to face a giant wave taking a deep breath. 

You were pushed down hitting the side of the boat you tried to swim but the force of the wave was so strong. Arms wrapped around you and your eyes flew open seeing him the man in the water he looked oddly familiar. He swam quickly to the surface and held you there to breath. 

“I never thought I would see you again,” he grinned and you felt the heat in your cheeks. “You used to sing all the time here, oh there is another wave hold your breath or whatever human thing you do” he tucked you against him and swam quickly under the wave. 

You felt him rolling his hips against you and you tried to push him away, you had just met what the hell does he think he is doing. Looking down your eyes widened and looked away quickly. He wasn’t trying anything with you, the roll of his hips was how he swam. He was an actual real life mermaid. “Hang in there darling, I will bring you to the surface” he swam you to the boat. 

Kim Namjoon: Pin

Watching the streets, the humans were getting smarter, locking themselves away at night, but what was this? A little girl walking the streets no more than four or five calling out for her mummy. Taehyung held his hand up telling his men to wait now wasn’t the time to strike; they had to be patient. “Mummy” she called crying, she tripped the scent of blood filled the air as she had scraped her knee. She cried hysterically and the door opened. 

“Darling are you hurt?” The girl nodded, tears pouring down her face, her little heart beating hard from the hysteria. “Come to me okay” she whispered and the little girl got up and walked over. Taehyung signaled to his people and they dropped down from the roof into the shadows. 

“They are coming Abigail bring the girl inside” “Where is my mummy?” She cried “please my mummy?” Men came out guns pointed at the red eyes glowing from the shadows, “is she human?” “She is bleeding, vampires don’t bleed” “Come inside sweetheart” the woman said and the vampires started to attack each human was captured and tied, each dragged back to the castle.  “We brought dinner sir?”

“Shut that child up” Namjoon waved his hand and Taehyung did just that and the room fell silent as her body fell limp on the floor.  “Okay not only did you steal my prey you snapped my neck?” The little girl shouted and with a loud crack her neck sat normally on her shoulders. She stood up, form changing from a child to an adult. “I spent years perfecting my skills of shape shifting to lure people out and you want to steal my kill.”

Namjoon’s eyes widened, “Restrain her” and she was taken to the cells except being a shapeshifter it didn’t last long even if it was bars of silver. Namjoon was in an important meeting when a cat jumped onto his desk and transformed into that woman again. He leaned back in his chair pissed, she talked too much. His hand gripped around her throat tightly and she smiled unaffected despite the little uptick in her artificially beating heart. 

“You can’t kill me” she scoffed “I can damn well try” 

Park Jimin: Zipper

Running through the forest on your early morning jog, you let your mind wander. The music in your ears takes you away to another world as you put one foot in front of the other. Before long you realized something was wrong you weren’t on the path. 

The tree’s were dense, the air cold and your music cut out your phone battery dying, something was seriously wrong. Walking along scared this is when someone either dies or the early morning jogger finds a dead body, it’s always the joggers. What did they ever do?

The sky darkened and it started to rain, an hour lost became two, three, four until the small glow behind the rain clouds disappeared and it rained on through the night. You were cold but you kept stumbling around looking for the path looking for something. 

There was a light in the distance and you strode over without hesitation, behind you it sounded as if someone was singing it was beautiful too beautiful for a creepy night in the forest. You continued toward the fire but the singing got louder. 

The voice was angelic and it almost pulled you away but the thought of warm fire kept luring you in. It was a camp, there was a fire and a big pot over it, there were people walking around. On closer inspection the people looked unnaturally long and thin and all you could smell was a bitter rotten scent. You almost stepped into the camp when you noticed hoof prints in the mud. All too soon you realized the singing had stopped when a hand covered your mouth you couldn’t move your body frozen. 

“Shh, don’t make a sound or they will kill you” the angelic voice whispered gently singing and walking you backwards. You were entranced by the words flooding your mind and making your head spin. The figure behind you tripped and you fell with an audible groan. 

“Run” he grabbed your hand taking off through the trees, those things roared and you heard loud hooves and grunts that seemed so close to you. 

The man in front of you was wearing a cloak and had such an agile form he moved like a serpent or cat so smooth and graceful. His body Zipping in and out of the trees, unlike you, who stumbled and tripped hitting every branch along the way. The screech behind you sent chills up your spine and you started to turn to look behind you. 

“Don’t look at them! just keep moving we are almost there” Wherever there was you were unsure. There was a weird feeling like you had just dived into warm water and you felt safe and he slowed down. 

“We are safe here, come inside you are all wet I will get you some clean dry clothes” he returned and you saw just how beautiful he was. “Please don’t look at me, I know I am nothing like the men you are use to, tall, strong, bearded protectors like that with broad shoulders and big muscles, it’s just Fae are smaller with weird features so I am just”

“Beautiful” you whispered your words shocking him. 

Kim Taehyung: Honesty

Kim Taehyung had lived in the elven city all his life and was a little odd for an Elf. His features were a little different for any normal elf as well, his ears stuck out a little more and his features weren’t as pointed as the other elves. He had a strange view of the world and didn’t think the same way as everyone else. For one he was too playful for any young adult elf, he was expected to be more mature for his age and two he had a wolf companion. Mind you it was a tiny thing, a runt of its litter and super fluffy with dark fur that shone in the sun. All this wasn’t passable for a common elf but to make matters worse. He was Prince Taehyung, the middle child he had one older brother and one younger sister.

Walking into the city you were confused, Your parents wanted to unite the kingdom’s and have you marry someone of the royal family. You hated it, of course you had been disciplined every day to act like an elf but you didn’t want to live your life stifled by propriety and poise. You reluctantly waved out the window and stepped out in your frankly too big dress, your father greeted the other elven King and you saw the first Prince step forward and kiss your hand like a gentleman but you hated it he was textbook royalty and just as you hid your disdain behind your lace fan another prince ran in his hair a mess of twigs and from his knees down was just mud and grass stains and following his muddy footprints was a tiny fluffy wolf trailing his own paw prints across the marble floor.

“Please forgive my son” the queen turned to her son and gestured for him to leave and he bit his lip looking upset. “How about we adjourn to the dining room for some refreshments?”

“I would like to bide in my room, if you could kindly escort me whilst on your way to your Quarters? I need some time to collect my bearings after such a long journey?” You used your fake princess act and the younger prince nodded looking slightly alarmed at his family, his mother nodding earnestly and he swallowed, gesturing down the hall.

“I deeply apologize for my current disheveled appearance, I was in the garden” “Your hands seem clean?” You said curiously “I was wearing gloves” he grinned “Ah gloves” Once out of sight you bent down “And who is your tiny companion?” The wolf jumped up placing his dirty paws on your dress.

“Princess!” He looked ashamed “Your gown” “Oh well, it is dirty now, what's a little more?” “Princess I must implore” His voice came out more like a deep childish whine and you couldn’t help the elated feeling it brought you. “Implore all you wish, but I will not yield”

“Stubbornness is unbecoming of a Princess” “Do you know much about being a Princess?” “Sadly my knowledge in that area is limited, but, I believe it shan't be different from the wonders of being a prince.” “You too recite somber balladry and compressing yourself into derisory bodices”

“I don’t know what you just said but it sounded fancy” He smiled sheepishly. “Can we drop the act, I feel you hate being royalty as much as I do” “If I am honest there are not enough fanciful words that can express my loathing for being born royal, I am a laughing stock of the village Prince Taehyung thank the stars he is the second brother he is as odd as he is odd looking”

“I think you are handsome, more so than your brother, I would love to bask in your very presence and gaze upon the pleasantness that is your beauty. Perhaps we should switch places and you can be Princess y/n” “Your room Prince Taehyung?” He grinned

“I see Shall I escort you, to your room Princess y/n?” “How kind of you but I am simply at the end of the hall, do not trouble yourself?” “When we have composed ourselves and our outfits, Can I have the pleasure of escorting you around the uh courtyard perhaps?”

“Perhaps the library instead, if I am caught outside once more the queen will have my head” He took your hand and flushed a little as he pressed his lips to your hand softly. “I will be eagerly awaiting?”

Jeon Jungkook: Batman vs Ironman @yungisseesaw

It had been years since Jungkook’s people and the Human’s world became one, it was strange like two alternate timelines crossed over joining into one. The humans were not so welcoming for the first few years and so growing up Jungkook had people stare and judge him for his differences.

Jungkook was now a Young adult and a big time nerd, he spent his time watching superhero movies and playing video games, going to the arcade and funnily enough playing DND with his friends, all of which were human. Jimin and Hoseok were roommates and they had a really cute neighbor who Jungkook had seen only a handful of times over the fence a few times which meant she didn’t know he was a centaur. So while the others went to get pizza and movies Jungkook was home alone. Him and cars didn’t really mix well, not only didn’t he fit, they made him nauseous. You had chosen that moment to invite yourself over, except in a towel. “Hello, Hoseok, Jimin, are you home, I know you said to use the key for emergencies, but my hot water ran out”

“They aren’t here?” Jungkook said hiding behind the couch she turned and squealed “They went to get pizza and movies” “Oh well is it okay if I borrow the shower, I am freezing”

“Of course go ahead?” You went upstairs and he frowned curling up on the couch trying to curl his feet up and cover himself in blankets and pillows to hide his legs from her. “We are home?” Hoseok shouted and they laid out pizza boxes and drinks. “Why do you look so pale?”

“Y/N, is in the shower right now, her hot water ran out and she asked to borrow your shower” “Dude, you finally talked to her face to face, how did she take it?” “Well I was kind of hiding behind the couch?” They looked down at the fort he had made around himself and they smiled sadly.

“Wow that feels better” “Hey, Y/N, what do you think of centaurs?” Jimin grinned dodging Jungkook’s hand as it was swinging with vengeance “Hmm uh I have nothing against them, they are people too” “Would you ever date a centaur?” Yoongi added that any girl for their best friend had to get through them first.

“I mean yeah, I don’t know how the business would work but if I like someone it’s for who they are and not what they look like, any of you could come out right now and tell me you were one of the Cenpeople and I would still love you all just the same.

Yoongi seemed to approve and ripped the blankets off of Jungkook revealing his horse lower half and his weird four legged lounge pants. “Hyung!” Jungkook tried to grab at pillows and the blanket to cover himself back up but resorted to burying his face in a throw cushion sniffling in shame and embarrassment. His ears were bright red.

You looked over at him and sat on the couch across from him, “Do you know what I have a problem with Kookie, that you think that Iron man is the best rich orphan powerless superhero when clearly it is Bruce Wayne”

“You two are still arguing about that?” Namjoon scoffed “They have been going on about it for three weeks now” Jimin grinned “It’s like their odd way of flirting I think it’s cute”

[elizabeth-234]

The Supplejack

Previous Chapter Nine: Progress

Summary: Peter Parker has been alone his whole freshman year but finds hope when Stark Industries announces a science competition. The prize? An internship with Tony Stark.

Chapter Ten: Fast-forward

-

Beginning of February  

“I think we might be able to start the full-scale model soon.”

Peter looked up from his phone, which he was reading his notes he doodled in class off of. Mr. Stark offered multiple times to get him a new phone but he preferred the simplicity of this. When he told Mr. Stark it was easier to use the man acted all offended under his smile. Teasing Peter about his inability to figure out a simple phone when they were working on building a full-scale code and model of tech for cars. It was also easier to understand his thoughts written down. While they didn’t look particularly neat on the page it made more sense to him. Mr. Stark seemed to understand that.

He snapped his jaw shut when he realized it was hanging wide open.

“Really?” He said, dropping his eyes back down ignoring the sinking feel in his chest.

Mr. Stark chuckled and went back to scanning the algorithms.

“We can get a full team in here to work on it. Whatever we need.”

A whole team? Someone to take over what they were doing? Peter flinched.

Their work had come so far. From car models went from mere imaginations, to metal models, and back to hologram full scale models. Their protocol were written in C++ after debating between the Python coding.

Peter found the time… soothing to his mind. Sometimes coming in late at night to work by himself even if Mr. Stark wasn’t there. Friday always let him in with a kind word.

He remembered the first couple of times they worked together Mr. Stark would get into a kind of trance, rock music blaring in the background. While Peter liked the music – he made his own playlist to all the songs they listened to – his head rang after an hour or so.

His expression must have revealed more than he wanted to because without comment the next time Peter arrived the music was quieter.  

It was little things like that and the temperature which had Peter settling into their work focusing more on Mr. Stark and less on Tony Stark.

With summer coming up in less months than he thought Peter was sure their time would be cut short.

What he wanted to do was ask the man himself. To beg him to continue working through the summer and next year and the next even if it meant bringing in fifty other people to work on it. He wanted to finish their project, to see their models turn into something real. Something that could help people. The selfish part of his brain suggested that what he really wanted was to continue working with Mr. Stark even if it didn’t end up helping anyone.

Instead what Peter did was stay silent and hum slightly to the music nothing about his appearance gave his thoughts away besides the fists he made every so often looking at Mr. Stark working.  

Would he even want to continue working with Peter?

-

End of February

Julia sat next time him while the subway rumbled forward. He kept his legs folded in front of him, fingers grasping backpack which rested on his knees in order to take up less space.

They already passed his stop but he stayed on like he always did riding with Julia.

“Do you really think the permission will go through?” She asked quietly. Julia had fidgeted today in the lab. Her eyes scanned the paperwork over and over making sure they filled out every form correctly. Their whole team practically had their proposal memorized with the amount of times they’d reworked it.

“I’m sure they will.” He said but continued when her expression didn’t change. “It was really good, Julia. You did a great job.”

Peter stared at the glass window on the other side of the subway. Their reflections looked back and he saw her head duck down.

The subway came to a stop and she stood to leave. She ran her hand through her hair and looked at him.

“Thanks for riding the rest of the way with me. Text me when you get home?” Her tone was quiet and it was Peter’s turn to drop his head. “You’re a great friend, Peter.”

He mumbled something and she smiled over her shoulder walking onto the platform. The doors closed behind her but he didn’t lift his head.

Peter switched trains but couldn’t stop the smile from coming over his face.

She thought they were friends.

-

Beginning of March  

“Kid… Peter?”

He blinked. Mr. Stark’s hand landed on his shoulder. His muscles tensed under the sudden intrusion but Mr. Stark’s eyes never left his face.  Slowly, he squeezed, calming Peter’s pulse, and stepped back.

Mr. Stark ran his hand through his hair.

“Time for food.” He said and waited for Peter to put all his notes away.

“I can just go home, Mr. Stark. It’s no problem.”

The man chuckled and Peter flushed knowing he said that every time.

“I already ordered your favorite from that Korean place down the street.”

Peter stopped walking before hurrying to catch up. They settled around the table piled with way more boxes of food they could ever finish. Sure enough a container of Bibimbap with all tofu, no eggs, and spicy sauce was waiting for him.

Mr. Stark began telling him some gossip he’d heard around the office.

“And how do you know about poor Mr. Singer?” He said, scrapping the crispy rice off of the bottom of the takeout box.

The man didn’t even have the decency to look ashamed when he spoke. “Oh, I just happened to be walking by when his wife came storming in.”

Peter snorted. “Friday told you. Didn’t you, Friday?” He asked over Mr. Stark’s copious denials.

“That is correct, Peter.”  He smiled upward at Friday and failed to notice the soft look Mr. Stark was giving him.

“You caught me, kid.”

-

End of March

It would have been easier to accept if the letters were stamped permanently in red across the whole paper. It would have made since in a way – been final. Instead they received a formal reply. One with fancy wording and apologies that had the vague pretense of sounding sincere and apologetic.

This made the news so much worse.

Their proposal had been rejected or as the letter said: “at this time we are not allowing student groups access to our facilities.”

Julia’s face crumpled while Frank swore. Monica began typing frantically but through it all Peter just sat there.

What would they do now?

-

Beginning of April

“You still have a lot of time to make yourself be what you want. There’s still a lot of good in the world."

They were watching The Outsiders while he waited. Peter had read it the year before in English but had missed the movie day because he had been sick.

The rain pelted down against the glass windows. Thunder and lightning battled in the sky only an arm’s length away from where they sat. He’d watched many storms pass through from his fire escape but here, this high up, Peter felt like he was inside it. Every clap of noise sent a pulse into his bloodstream pumping the blood through his veins. It didn’t key him up like it did in the apartment. The sounds were loud enough to sooth his racing thoughts enough so he could focus on the movie playing in the background and the soft sounds of response Mr. Stark was making to the movie. He felt safe there in the storm.

Of course, Peter had put up a mild protest. He’d been fine to go home, he told Mr. Stark. But the man took one look outside and suggested the movie. Food was involved, too.

It took Peter exactly thirty-two seconds to decide he could wait for the rain to pass.

An hour later, laden with stir-fry and popcorn Peter was boneless on the couch. He smiled as Mr. Stark leaned forward, his eyes focused on the screen. It was the man’s first time watching it as well and though Peter knew the ending, it didn’t stop his enjoyment.

He yawned and sank deeper into the cushions.

The day had seemed unending and filled with busywork assignments. Things that weren’t teaching him anything but would take all night to do. Ned was gone so he spent all lunch listening to Mike debate the pros of anarchy with everyone at the table. He stared at MJ until she caught him and he ran away to the library. It wasn’t until he got to the lab that he had a moment to breath.

Something touched his shoulder and then with more force he was pulled away from the couch.

The sound of the credits rolled. He didn’t realize his eyes had shut.

Peter could hear Mr. Stark’s voice whispering something and a feminine answer but his eyes stayed closed, blessedly on the brink of sleep.

His head was against a hard surface, a chest, and Peter was lulled deeper by the heartbeat within. A hand brushed back his hair after he was placed on something soft and he could swear the voice said something important but Peter was too asleep to make sense of it.

-

Ned leaned across the lunch table. His hands bordered their lunchboxes in a protective frame as Peter relayed the news from his meeting the previous week.

“I just feel so bad for those Frank and Monica. I mean they’re graduating and everything. This was their final hurrah.” He said, nibbling on a carrot.

“Dude, that sucks. What are you going to do?”

Peter nodded at the question. As it was they weren’t sure.

The prototype of the machine was necessary for them to see before they could come up with a model for themselves. He had thought about going to Mr. Stark and asking him for advice, but he decided not to in the end. It was an unfair advantage that the other teams couldn’t use. If no one else could go to the owner of Stark Industries for help, why should he?

Peter was also proud of the work they accomplished so far. Sometimes he forgot how young they all were, given the amount and quality of work they completed.

The whole experience had changed him more than that though and he was loathe to sit there and do nothing.

“I don’t know, Ned. We’ll figure something out though.”

He could only hope.

-

“Look, Peter. Mr. Stark will understand if you can’t make it today.” May spoke with an edge to her voice. “I forbid you from going.”

“May, I have to go. This is important.”

“Peter, you’re sick. It’s okay.”

He coughed into his elbow, sniffling and meagerly taking a tissue May was holding out to him with pouting lips.

Peter whispered something to her. Something he was too afraid to think but needed to say.

“What sweetheart?” She said and even though he was sick and had a fever May sat on the edge of his bed.

“It’s just,” he licked his chapped lips. “What if he finds someone else to help out?”

He thought of the team Mr. Stark mentioned before. Peter looked away from the piercing glance. His fingers fidgeted with the blanket wrapped around him.

“Peter, he would never do that. You know he wouldn’t.”

She said it with such conviction but his stomach sank. Did he know that?

May kept talking, running a reassuring thumb over his knuckles but Peter was too wrapped up in his thoughts. He went through cataloging every interaction and every word spoken between them.

Peter thought of the way Mr. Stark smiled when he came into the lab and how he would always check the temperature to make sure it was warm enough. The man practically bought the whole menu at a restaurant when Peter stayed for food and it was getting more common for him to stay after a work day. Sometimes they would watch a movie but most times he would just work on homework as Mr. Stark continued with business. But were those concrete signs? It certainly didn’t mean he would abstain from finding a replacement if the work needed to be done. Peter sighed into his hoodie, wincing at the way his stomach was cramping.

It was with the image of Frank helping Mr. Stark in the lab that Peter made his decision.

He realized May had left when she popped her head back into the room.

“Stay home, Peter. Okay? I’m sorry I have to go to work.”

His cough wracked his chest but he managed to tell her he loved her. She gave him one last searching look before she left for work.

After he heard the door shut with limbs groaning Peter got out of bed. He toggled back and forth as the blood ran to his head but with careful steps made it out of his room. His hand swept across the length of the highest cabinet and found the last packet of powdered vitamin C before mixing it in his water bottle.

There was sweat seeping into his sweatshirt and on his forehead by the time he made it to the subway platform and he shivered into it. His breath shuddered when he finally sank down into one of the empty seats, making sure to touch as little as possible. He kept his hoodie up and took small sips of the vitamin infused water, praying for an instant cure.

Friday greeted him when he got into the elevator but he didn’t lift his head up to the lights like he normally would. They burned his eyes.

“Hey, Friday.” He said rubbing his hand along his chest to stop a cough. Even to his own ears his voice sounded tired.

“Are you alright, Peter?” Friday said, softer than normal.

“I’m fine, just a cough.”

Friday said nothing but the elevators opened.

The room was void of people and Peter sat down with a heavy breath. He crossed his arms on the table in front of him. Thankfully Friday must have forgotten to put the lights on so it was dark in the room.

Every minute he sat there, Peter shrunk down until his head came to rest on his arms. Wet coughs racked his chest and he shivered again. It was cold in the room but he didn’t want to bother Friday. The curt tone he used earlier with Friday sent a guilty tendril tightening along his spine.

The doors swept open and bursting into the room with wide eyes was Mr. Stark. Peter tried to smile but from the furrow in the man’s mouth, it wasn’t as reassuring as he meant it to be.

“Kid, what’s wrong? You okay?”

Peter sat up trying to relax the ache in his muscles. He flinched back when rough hands touched his cheek before moving to rest against his forehead.

He felt silly to realize Mr. Stark had moved across the room and was now kneeling beside him. Peter concentrated on the small lines forming lightly in the corner of his eyes. For a moment he imaged being younger and being sick at home, but instead of Ben kneeling in front of him it was Mr. Stark making sure he was okay.

With a shake of Peter’s head Mr. Stark removed his hands and walked away. His voice rung out as he barked orders to Friday and then he was on the phone.

Peter gripped the edges of the counter, tears blurring in his eyes. How could he even think that? The betrayal of his thoughts sent a tear over the edge and down his hot cheek. Worse than that though was the longing he’d felt – still felt - when Mr. Stark looked at him with such concern.

It wasn’t right. It wasn’t his to want.

Mr. Stark came back and led Peter into the elevator. His tone was quiet, soothing, and Peter weakly followed him after brushing his tear away. Friday chimed in to give reports on his temperature. His brain felt fuzzy.

There was an arm, guiding him, warm across his back.

“Come on, Kid.” 


They arrived into a bedroom and dimly Peter realized this is where he fell asleep the previous month. He stopped short at the door.

“Peter?” The man spoke softly and the back of Peter’s throat itched.

“But… we have the meeting. We were going to work on …” His brain failed him at the end.

“Hey, kid. You’re in no position to be working. Hell, you’re burning up.”

He sent Peter to the bed and disappeared into the bathroom.

Peter sat at the very end of the mattress, his butt halfway off the edge. It wasn’t his bedroom, just one for guests. There was nothing in there that was his, but Peter noticed that the lamp was where he moved it before when he tried to get some reading in the morning when was there.

He moved closer to the headboard, eyes on the light in the bathroom, and switched it on.

Peter could still convince Mr. Stark they could work today. It would be fine. Mr. Stark wouldn’t have replaced him then as long as he remained useful.

“The work will still be there later.” Mr. Stark said emerging from the bathroom as if he read Peter’s thoughts. “Drink this while you take this.” He gestured to the water and Tylenol in his hand.

Peter’s protest died on his tongue and Mr. Stark spoke again.

“I’m not in any hurry to finish the project. As long as you get better.”

He blanched at the implication of the words.

There was no anger in the man’s face. Something uncurled in his chest when all he saw was concern. Ben used to wear that face well.

Peter’s eyes dragged on his cheek. Another cough stormed through his chest.

“I’ll go fill this up again. There’s sweatpants and t-shirts in the dresser.”

Peter stood up, feeling red on his cheeks. There were clothes there?

He browsed the drawers looking at the various t-shirts - all avengers themed. Quickly he got into sweatpants and sweatshirt glancing at the door back and forth.

With a speed he used when changing after gym class he shucked his shirt and pants off and into his chosen clothes, grey sweats and Stark Industries shirt. His hand brushed over the ironman one but he couldn’t quite make himself put it in.

He settled on the bed again just before there was a knock on the door. Dizziness wavered through him and Peter grasped the bedside table for support.

Mr. Stark came in carrying the glass. The covers were pushed back and Peter found himself lying down. The man hovered for a moment, his hand came up from his side reaching out before dropping back.

“Get some rest, Kid. Friday will be here if you need anything and I will just be in the living room outside.”

Peter’s eyes closed of their own accord and he nodded. Footsteps swept across the room but before the door could close Peter thanked Mr. Stark, wishing he had the right to say more.

“Of course, Peter.” Peter’s throat went tight. The door shut and Peter spun around. He didn’t want to look at the lights shining through the cracks in the door.

Of course, he said like he would look after Peter. As he would have if Peter’s mind conjured up sound for his imagination. Like he cared.

The knot loosened in his throat and Peter locked the guilt away for a moment, instead basking in the knowing someone was waiting up in case he needed them right outside this room that wasn’t technically his.

He reached up, adjusting the pillow under his head and closed his eyes.

-

Middle of April

Peter’s stomach protested as the smell of leftovers wafted from the lid he opened. The nausea from being sick still lingered and Peter found his appetite was suffering because of it.

The cafeteria, loud as ever, raged around him. He pushed the container of food away with a grimace.

Something nudged him from the side and he saw Ned’s profile looking straight ahead. He shrugged and went back to staring at his lunch. Ned’s elbow dug into his upper arm and Peter looked over while rubbing the spot of impact. Narrowly dodging another nudge, he got the hint and followed the boy’s gaze.

Peter blinked at the figure coming forward.

Flash waded through the crowds and tables. His gaze was fixed forward and now that they weren’t precisely enemies Peter let himself feel intrigued by how people just seemed to get out of Flash’s way.

He wondered why Ned was so interested in Flash until the boy in questions eyes moved and landed on Peter.

He was making his way in their direction.

Peter knew from the previous eight months how rare this was and his stomach cramped in response. His eyes flounced back to the Tupperware.

“I wonder where he’s off to,” Ned said.

Peter watched Ned in his observations not wanting to be caught blatantly staring at Flash himself. Despite the itching feeling crawling through his limbs Peter smiled at his friend and the way he moved forward so Flash’s view of Peter would be limited.

Under his lashes he looked up to see Flash continued the straight path to them. Peter held his breath and watched his legs, which seemed much safer than his face.

Flash continued forward until he was a table away. Peter finally looked up at a sound from Ned and met his eyes. The boy stared straight at him and Peter forced himself to maintain contact. Flash glanced toward the doors and back at Peter, his brow quirked when Peter’s face remained in ignorance. He did it again before veering off toward the exit.

The doors closed behind him blocking Peter’s curious gaze, food dilemma forgotten.

Should he follow?

Ned began talking about how weird Flash had been lately and Peter nodded along. His hands twisted in his lap, bouncing in time to the rise and fall of his foot against the ground.  

Without breaking eye contact with the door, he stood up, murmuring something to Ned whose eyes flickered to the door. Ned nodded without missing a beat.

As Peter was passing toward the door he briefly reached out to touch Ned on the shoulder before hurrying away. Ned was such a good person…. A good friend.

Backpack slung over his shoulder Peter followed the path his eyes traced before and saw Flash leaning against the lockers down the hallway from the cafeteria.

“Flash. Hey.” He said trying to keep the weary tone out of his voice. They’d seen each other off and on at their time at the Tower but hadn’t seen much of each other at school. In fact, the last time they talked was when Peter had a meltdown in front of him, which was slightly awkward to realize how Peter yelled at him before. Not that he didn’t deserve it.

The boy’s arms were crossed in front of him. Peter could see his shoulder’s tensing and he held his body still. Peter forced his hands to stop fidgeting by shoving them in his pockets. A blush worked its way onto his cheeks when neither of them spoke. Was he wrong? Was he supposed to follow Flash?

“So, I hear you need a connection at Oscorp?” Flash said uncrossing his arms and casually raising his eyebrow at Peter.

His jaw dropped. This was not what he expected.

“Uh… How did you hear that?” He said trying to find a semblance of rational thought.  

Flash had the decency to look embarrassed but he answered anyway, if a little cautiously. “That Mike kid is loud as shit. Anyway, do you?”

“Why?”

Flash sighed and crossed his arms again.

“Listen, I’m trying to be... decent. My dad has connections there and I could see if something could come of it.”

“Why?”

Was that all he could say?

“Is that all you can say?” Flash snapped.

Peter shut his mouth and thought about the options. He could lie. Say that they didn’t need this. Then he wouldn’t need to repay Flash for anything. But the image of Julia’s clenched hands and the hours they spent working came to mind. And he decided he didn’t care if he was put in Flash’s debt or that he didn’t know the motivations behind this act of supposed kindness.

Plus, Flash proved changed – sort of – mostly. If he wanted help, well, Peter wasn’t going to say no.

“Yeah, Flash. We do need help, if you’re willing to offer it.”

They nodded at one another before walking down the hallway too close to be considered friends but too far away for anyone to perceive them as enemies.

-

“Sorry, Monica couldn’t make it today but she said as long as we take notes it should be fine.”

Flash stood shuffling on the balls of his feet in the doorway. Julia and Frank were clearing off a spot for him to sit at the table while Peter motioned him forward.

Frank clapped Flash on the back in greeting and welcomed him.

“Thanks man. This is going to be a great help.”

When Flash sat down, moving his backpack to rest against the leg of the table, everyone stared at him. It was the first time after their sandwich fiasco that Peter had seen him look so embarrassed and out of place. He withheld a smile.

Flash got straight down to business, explain the security and how his father got them a tour and question time with the person in charge of the prototype. Julia’s hand flew over the paper trying to write every word he spoke. Without breaking his speech Flash slight a typed-out sheet of all the information. Her hand shook slightly and thought she thanked him, Peter noticed she didn’t look him in the eye.

The meeting passed quick and Peter was pleased with how much Flash got along with everyone. He and Frank spent a bunch of time talking about sports and the playoffs. After some cajoling he even got Julia to talk about their new kittens at home. In turn, Flash smiled as she told him how BOGO would steal all of Free’s food.

Flash smiled at the story. A real, teeth-baring smile.

-

Peter was used to things happening slowly in his life.

It took him almost half a school year to decide to participate in the S.T.A.R.K competition. Days avoiding the sign in sheet until finally he took the plunge. Months after dreading nearly everything he settled into a routine. He was opening up to the people around him.

He thought back to how scary it was considering Ned’s offer to sit with him at lunch. It was weeks until he was able to go more than once a week.  He even went over to Ned’s house over break.

But all these things took time and much thinking on Peter’s part. He weighed the consequences of everything before stepping forward and rarely out of his comfort zone. That was safe.  That was good.

Things happening quickly were never good in Peter’s opinion. Ben’s funeral came and went so fast. The whole thing sped up like someone was pressing fast-forward. Though he was careful and took his time letting Sam into his life; it took but a second for her to break his heart.

That’s why when Flash sat at their lunch table at the end of the week, Peter’s stomach turned sour. He knew to expect the worse. He foresaw the worst. But there was nothing he could do or say in the moment.

Ned, after a moment of scrutiny, looked between Flash and Peter, then stuck out his hand for the two of them to shake, forever reminding Peter how forgiving Ned was.

How many second chances had Ned given him?

Just like that Flash began to eat lunch with them sometimes. Not every day, but throughout the week he would stop by and join an argument between Mike and Midge before wandering off again. Somedays he would even find Peter in the library when the cafeteria was too much for him to get through.

Flash was quieter than Ned. He would hold himself still, aware of his space at any given time and there was still tension between them sometimes. But it was nice all the same.

Peter didn’t find it so strange that Flash and him became friends so quick this time.

-

End of April

Peter looked around the lab. Scattered on the tables were scraps of paper, all smudged with crunched writing, and metal shavings discarded from the models they had built. His backpack was folded over itself on the floor by the door on top of which his jacket was crumpled.

Mr. Stark stood beside him and if Peter turned his shoulders slightly to the left he could see the slight furrow in his brow. How his hand would come up and rest under his chin while his finger traced his goatee every five minutes or so.

It was his thinking face, Peter knew.

Months of working together and Peter’s steady heartbeat was proof he was relaxed. Content.

He didn’t think about the fact this would all be ending come summer. And he absolutely ignored the itch in the back of his throat thinking about the possibility of never seeing Mr. Stark again.

“I’m still thinking we are going to totally have to overhaul the thrust mechanisms on this side, Mr. Stark. It’s working now, but barely, and it could be so much better.” He said breaking the silence.

Mr. Stark’s eyebrows rose in response but he didn’t say anything. His eyes stayed trained on the new schematics displayed in front of him. He grumbled something under his breath and Peter cracked a smile knowing he was right.

The lab settled under the silence again. Peter moved around to Mr. Stark’s other side and grabbed a Stark pad off the table.  Easily Mr. Stark stepped to the side to accommodate his reach and giving Peter enough room to work at the table.

-

Peter yawned as he opened the door to the apartment. He grabbed a box of Chex mix and sank into the couch. His phone vibrated again and shoving his hand into the box checked his messages. The group chat between everyone went off with a near consistency putting his flip phone into overdrive.

There had been time of the subway to look at it but he ended up falling asleep, waking only to find drool gathering on his sleeve where his head rested and to hear he missed one his stop.

Even though he was barely awake now, Peter considered the walk home beneficial. The moon hung in the middle of the sky decorated by a vague face and stars all around.

It let him think, at least.

His third handful came away as the rest, only the little breadsticks and the occasional rye chip. May must have eaten her way through the bag first. He set it aside feeling a cramping in his stomach. Maybe he was still sick.

He yawned again and sank further into the couch knowing he should go to bed, but his bones felt too brittle to get up.  

Everything was coming to a head soon. Midterms, Mr. Stark and their work, and the tour were compounding at an exponential rate.

It was all amazing. Peter knew he was so lucky and at times thought he dreamed it all.

But it was sometimes too much.

He wasn’t used to having so many people in his life or having to check his phone throughout the day to see who was texting him.

Who would have thought at the beginning of the year Ned and Flash would send each other memes? Or that Julia would come out and lead one of their group meetings?

Peter smiled remembering how Monica’s jaw dropped when Julia, gently, corrected her on some of the analytics. Or how she gave everyone in their group, Flash included, a newer version of the pen that landed her in the internship program.

He felt so full of life, something he’d never thought possible for someone like him.

And right now, it hurt that all he wanted to do was curl up and sleep for the weekend. He wondered what would happen if he told them. If he just needed some time to disconnect for a bit.

He knew he couldn’t do that though. They would be fine without him, they would move on and continue texting minus his phone number, and Peter wasn’t ready to get rid of them so soon.  They deserved someone who was normal, who could sit in the cafeteria for the whole week without feeling bone tired, or someone who could be fully present without worry about sneezing the wrong way.

Peter would get through it and soak everything up. Every laugh, and debate at lunch. Flash’s and his new acquaintanceship. And especially any time Mr. Stark was willing to work together. He could push through it for now.

It would be fine.

He groaned against the couch pillow thinking about everything he had to do and after looking at the calendar on the way he realized something.

It was only a week until they would tour Oscorp.

It's always one step forward and two steps back for our Peter isn't it?

a/n: Hi sweet friends. I hope you are all doing well and you and your loved ones are staying safe. This semester has been crazy, as things get in real life. My classes have been moved online so I can finally start writing again which makes me so happy. I also just wanted to say thank you for continuing to read this story. Every comment and kudos make my week so bright.

As always, I would love to hear your thoughts.

Taglist: @verdonafrost @demi-starzak @whatisthou

Next Chapter Eleven: Welcome to Oscorp

[turtles-imagines]

2003 tmnt reaction to their human s/o saying they feel lucky that they met the turtles? The turtles usually only hear humans call them monsters and not with wholesome devoted love.

Leo 💙:

- Leo loves you more than anything on the planet. He’s a total slave to love and fully accepts this fact. I mean, who wouldn’t want to date the most beautiful, amazing person in the world? And you’re just that, a person, a normal human. What if you regret this? How long until you find someone your own species to love? He doesn’t want to loose you.

- It was a casual night at the lair. The boys and Splinter had stepped out for some bonding time and Leo stayed behind to stay with you. The two of you were watching a movie when you noticed Leo was really distant. He wansnt touching you, and whenever you moved closer, he’d move away. This wasn’t the dorky loveable nerd you knew.

“Hey babe, is something wrong?” “No. Nothing’s wrong.” “Liar.”

- You pause the movie and intently stare at him. He knows you’re serious. He doesn’t want to make you worry but he doesn’t want to tell you his fears. After some prompting, he begins to open up about his phobia of loosing you. He instantly regrets it as soon as he sees the heartbreak in your eyes. How could he even think for a second that you would leave him? You love him!

- You begin to rant to him about how you’d wouldn’t leave him. Hell, Chris Evans could show up on you’re doorstep and you’d still decline the offer. You love him, and are lucky to have him. As soon as you begin to list all the ways you’re lucky to have him in your life he decides you talked too much and silences you with a kiss. You pull away and just laugh at each other.

“I’m lucky to have you too.”

Raph ❤️:

- You and Raph had been dating for about 3 months. Everything was smooth sailing so far, everything until Raph saw you in the window of a coffee shop. You said you had plans, but curiosity had gotten the best of him and he had to know what you were doing.

- Looking down from the rooftop he was able to make out a figure sitting across from you, a male figure. Raph was thrown for a loop. Here your were, his beautiful (S/O), in a coffee shop, sharing drinks with some other guy! Raph was mad but he knew you wouldn’t do this to him... would you? He decides to go back to the lair, pissed as all hell. It doesn’t help when you go to visit him that night.

“Raph, what’s up? You seem upset.” “Nothin’.” “Raph, don’t lie-” “I said nothin’ (Y/N)!”

- Upset by his outburst, you decided it was time to turn in for the night. Accept, Raph didn’t come around. It had been almost a week since you had seen him. You decided to seek the advice of someone older and wiser, I.e. April. After hearing you out she decided to do some snooping and found the cause, Raph had seen you with another guy and thought you were cheating.

- You realized what had happened. Your cousin had come to visit you in the city, and that’s what Raph had seen. As soon as you realized this you thanked April and threw on your coat. You texted Raph to get his butt over to your place. Upon his arrival you basically glomped him in a hug and started rattling off the truth about your mysterious coffee date. Raph is kinda thrown off, of course you wouldn’t cheat on him? What was he thinking?! You felt lucky to be with him, now he felt guilty. All he could do now was take you out for apology pizza.

“So, I don’t have much to thank you with but, wanna get some pizza?”

Donnie 💜:

- Exam season was the worse. Countless hours of studying, mediocre study guides, and ignoring basic hygiene. Why didn’t you pay attention more in class? And why in the hell did you decide to take advanced classes? You were so tired you couldn’t even remember your name, let alone that you had a boyfriend who was currently standing outside your window.

- Of course, you let him inside your room. He was very interested in your study set up and the 3,000 study sheets you had sprawled across your desk. Before you could even moan and word from you undead state, he was all over your textbooks like white on rice. He always wanted to go to human school. He began to rant on some math theory when he looked at you and realized how dead you looked. After some prying, it was revealed that you hadn’t slept in 3 days. You had to study. You didn’t want to fail. That’s when Donnie thought of an idea.

“I’ll make you a deal. You take a shower, change your clothes, eat something besides 2 week old pizza, drink some water, and take a nap and I’ll help you study for your exams.” “Oh my god deal. Deal deal deal deal, a thousand times deal.”

- Studying was easier with Donnie. It was more fun to study with your genius turtle boyfriend than it was to study in some dusty old library. Plus, he was a better teacher that all of your teachers combined. You actually understood the words coming out of his mouth. It was an added bonus that you had a cuddle buddy when you were on break.

- Without a doubt, you passed exams with flying colors. Your teacher had to pull you aside to make you swear to the high heavens that you didn’t cheat. That night when Donnie came to visit, you basically jumped with joy whenever you began to tell him about your test scores. You were lucky to have an amazing boyfriend who doubles as a genius.

“I’m the one whose lucky to have you. We should study together more often!”

Mikey 🧡:

- You had been playing video games at the lair with your boyfriend, Mikey. The day had been full of gaming, cuddling, and immense amounts of pizza. You realize had lost track of time when Leo comes into the room to ask if you should be getting home because it was late. The time you ask? 3 am, you were supposed to be home hours ago!

- In a paniked haze you threw on your shoes, gave Mikey a kiss, and yelled goodbyes to the rest of the family as you darted out the door. Of course, being the gentleman he is, Mikey was about to offer to walk you home. He decided he didn’t need to and went into the kitchen to make a sandwich. But just as he sat down to eat said sandwich, he realized something felt off.

“Hey guys, imma be right back. I just need some air.” “Jeez Mikey, give your (S/O) some space!”

- Using his skill set, he was able to tack the path you had taken and of course, it was right through th bad part of town. He left the sewers and climbed a nearby building and began to survey to find you, and luckily he did! But not the way you want to be found...

- You had walked right into a mob of Purple Dragons. Apparently one of them thought they may have recognized you as an ally of the turtles and thought that was good enough ground to attack on. Just as they inched toward you with their switch blades and pocket knives, Mikey jumped from the building to kick some Dragon ass. Of course, how could you not thank him and tell your turtle that you’re lucky to have him?

“Really babe? Thanks! Just next time, don’t go messing around near the Dragons.”

[fairestevies]

home isn’t a place, it’s a feeling | evie x doug

A few sweet moments in the months leading up to graduation, including Evie’s fashion business, “starter castle,” and Doug’s new band.

February

Evie sighed as she hung up the gowns she was working on for the night. She loved making dresses for everyone, but it was beginning to get a little overwhelming with graduation only a few months away. Not only was she focused on the gowns, but she still had a couple exams to study for, and had to figure out how to bring some of the other VKs over to Auradon. Needless to say, she was exhausted by the end of each day.

She flopped onto her bed, looking gloomily at Mal’s side of the room. It had been pretty empty recently, with Mal being just as busy as Evie. Being a lady of the court was no joke- she usually had a meeting of some sort every day, in different parts of Auradon. She hadn’t used her spell book once since the whole cotillion incident, and Evie was proud of that. Not to mention, Mal was getting to spend a lot of time with Ben.

Evie pulled out her notebook and added another thing to her to-do list: Talk to Doug about the proposal

Ben was planning to propose to Mal after graduation and asked Evie and Doug to be a part of the musical arrangements. Evie smiled to herself, she was so happy for her friends. Mal was going to love it.

She reached over to put her sketchbook back on her desk, but a few scraps of paper fell out. She knew exactly what they were before she even opened them. Her name was written neatly across each folded piece of paper, which she kept inside her notebook for whenever she needed to be cheered up. They were her notes from Doug, ranging from poems to inside jokes to silly stick figure drawings.

Evie smiled sadly as she opened up one of the poems. Along with Evie being busy with her business and school, Doug had been practicing late with the marching band most nights.

Evie turned to look at her clock- 9:55. Doug was usually finished around 10, so she should have a chance to talk to him as he walked back to the dorms. For now, she turned back to the poem she held in her hand. This was one of her favorites, but they were all really good. Not many people knew it, but Doug was super talented. He had a way with words, could play almost any instrument, ace a chemistry test in his sleep, and was the perfect business partner (and boyfriend, of course).

Just as she finished reading the note, her phone rang.

“Hi!” Evie chimed, as she answered Doug’s call.

“Hey Eve,” Doug smirked from the other end. “What’s up?”

Evie told him all about the dresses she was working on, and how she had crunched most of the numbers, which of course he offered to help with. Doug told her about his practice and the routine they were working on for the upcoming family events and graduation ceremonies. They liked to talk things out like this, as the other often had good ideas of what could be added or amended.

“I’m back in my room now, so I’m gonna go shower,” Doug explained. “I’ll come by tomorrow, and we can work on Evie’s4Hearts stuff?”

Evie agreed, chewing on her lip as they said goodnight. She got up and changed into her pajamas before laying back down on her bed. She couldn’t fall asleep yet, as she knew what was going to happen next.

A few moments passed before she heard a knock on the door. She answered to see a squeaky clean Doug with a smile on his face.

“You know it doesn’t count as a surprise if you come to kiss me goodnight every night?” Evie teased, gesturing for Doug to come in.

“Oh, so you want me to stop?” Doug teased back, grabbing her hand as he walked in and pulling her close.

Evie shook her head before hugging him back and burying her head in his chest, “Of course not.”

Doug smiled as he kissed the top of her head, something he could only do when she wasn’t wearing her usual heeled boots. They stayed like that for a minute, winding down after a long day.

Doug had noticed how Evie had been a little more down than usual. He sensed it had something to do with the talk of graduation starting to rise, but he wasn’t sure. What he was sure of, however, was that he was going to be there when she needed him. His nightly visits were his way of making sure she knew this.

Evie finally looked up and pressed her lips to his. “You should probably go before Fairy Godmother catches you out past curfew,” she mumbled.

Doug sighed and kissed her back one last time. “Goodnight Evie,” he said as he started to move towards the door.

“Night,” she followed, closing the door behind him.

She turned back towards her bed, noticing a new folded piece of paper on the floor, her name written across the front in the same familiar handwriting.

She rolled her eyes, and her smile widened as she picked it up.

She felt so lucky.  __________________________________________________________________

March

Evie sat upright on her bed as Doug strummed his guitar from her desk chair. She couldn’t help but smile as she watched him, so focused on the notes. Ben had wanted them to take the song that he performed for Mal when he was spelled and slow it down for the proposal. Doug had been working on the arrangement for a while, and he was playing it for Evie’s approval before he taught it to the band.

“It’s perfect,” she admitted as he strummed the last note. “Doug, you’re so talented. MIT (Magical Institute Training) is so lucky to have you as their Drum Major.”

Evie’s smile fell slightly after she spoke. Graduation was approaching faster each day, and everything was changing so fast. Jay and Doug were heading off to separate colleges, Mal and Ben were embarking on a tour of the kingdom, and Lonnie was going to play R.O.A.R. as a professional, but thankfully Carlos and Jane would still be attending Auradon Prep.

Evie wasn’t exactly sure what her future was going to look like. She and Doug had spoken about this a little, but she didn’t really have a place to go. She wasn’t sure if she had enough money to buy a castle yet, but she wanted to stay in Auradon and continue working on Evie’s4Hearts and getting more VKs into Auradon Prep. She saw college as a possibility in her future, but for now, her top priority was getting kids off the Isle.

“And Auradon is lucky to have you as their number one fashion designer,” Doug added, moving to sit next to her.

Evie nodded, her smile back in full effect. “And the number one council member in support of the VK initiative.”

Doug smirked, “And you called me talented?” He threw his arm over her shoulder as they both giggled. “I was gonna wait and tell you next weekend.... but I have a surprise.”

Evie turned to look at him, curiosity dazzling in her eyes.

“I know you’ve been worried about having a place to stay next year, but I looked over the numbers again and Evie, I think we can make it work. I found this one place that I think could be really great-“

Evie cut him off with a kiss. “Thank you,” She exclaimed, hugging him tightly.

Doug pulled her over towards the computer, and as he typed, pictures of Evie’s perfect “starter castle” filled the screen. She stood behind him, arms hugging his chest and chin resting on his shoulder as they looked through the pictures, smiling and imagining the purposes for each room.

“I can’t believe it!” Evie cheered, standing up and twirling around her room. “I’m finally gonna have my own castle!”

Doug spun around and grabbed his guitar, strumming some notes and creating a silly “Evie’s getting a castle” song. They both laughed and continued to mess around until they heard a “Knock it off!” come from the hall. 

They felt so alive.

__________________________________________________________________

April

“Okay so that’s 6 new dresses,” Evie spoke aloud as she scribbled the orders furiously in her notebook. With much of her money going towards a castle, her and Doug had been putting in extra work with Evie’s4Hearts to make up for it. 

Doug stood by the clothing rack, tagging her recent creations with one hand and calculating the numbers in the other.

“Eve, you still have a month,” he reminded her, hoping to alleviate some of her stress.

“I know, I know,” she responded, even though a month really wasn’t that much time. She moved away too quickly, accidentally knocking her notebook onto the floor, sketches flying everywhere.

Evie let out a frustrated groan as she started to gather her sketches, Doug rushing over to help. She sighed and sat on the floor, back against her bed. “Maybe I need to take a lunch break...”

Doug smirked and sat on the floor next to her. “I think that might be helpful.”

She finally let out a small laugh and looked over at him, “When did our lives get so crazy? I swear just the other day our biggest responsibility was studying for Chemistry!”

Doug laughed. “It has always been crazy since you, Mal, Jay, and Carlos arrived to liven things up,” he joked. “Plus, you’ve always been crazy about your sketches,” he added, pulling one out from the pile he had in his hands.

“That turned out to be a pretty nice dress, huh?” She smirked, admiring her old design.

Doug nodded, “But this one has always been my favorite.” He pulled a sketch of Evie’s cotillion dress out of the pile.

She chuckled, her cheeks blushing when she remembered how much fun they had dancing that night. “Making it short was the perfect call considering the amount of water that ended up on the boat!”

They continued to reminisce over some of Evie’s old designs until Doug pulled out one of the poems he’d written. He smiled to himself, knowing she kept them in her sketchbook.

“Now we can admire your work,” she beamed, picking up her favorite one.

“Oh, it’s really nothing-“

“Doug come on, this is really good,” she urged as he looked over it. “Have you ever... have you ever thought about writing songs?”

Doug pondered her question for a second. “Not really, but a few of us were thinking about starting a band this summer, you know, to stay in practice before we head off to school...”

Evie’s eyes widened. “Doug that’s amazing!” She exclaimed, searching for more poems. “Here, take some of these. I know you could turn them into great songs!”

Doug couldn’t help but smile as Evie rambled on about what the band’s look should be. She was so excited to be able to support him in something, just as he had supported her these past few years. He took her hand and continued to listen, reading over the poems. Sure, they were some of his best work, but it’s who inspired them that really mattered.  

He felt so loved.

__________________________________________________________________

May

“Wow, all that castle for such a small price!” Evie exclaimed as she faced her new purchase.

“And it’s not that far from MIT,” Doug added, taking the “For Sale” sign out of the yard and joining her to admire the starter castle.

“Now I know why it was your favorite,” Evie teased grabbing his arm. “But it is perfect, really.”

“I think Dizzy will like it too.”

Evie beamed just thinking about having Dizzy and other VKs staying with her here in only a few months, not to mention how excited she was for Dizzy to meet her friends at Auradon Prep, including Doug. “Oh, she’ll love it.”

Evie honestly couldn’t believe she was here, about to graduate Auradon Prep and now the owner of her own castle in Auradon. She had dreamed of this ever since she was little, although, at that point, she expected to marry a prince to get her there.

“I’m so proud of you.”

Evie looked at Doug, snapping out of her own thoughts and processing his words.

“I love- it!“ she started before catching herself, laughing off the word she almost said. “Let me show you my favorite part!”

Doug allowed himself to be dragged through the side door by Evie. There was a wing on the side of her new home with glass walls, letting in so much natural light.

“It’s the perfect new spot for Evie’s4Hearts,” she marveled, admiring the space.

“I can’t wait to see what you create in here,” Doug gushed, walking up to her from behind to put his hands on her shoulders and give them a squeeze.

Evie blushed, turning around to face him. “I can’t thank you enough for believing in me,” she blurted, almost unaware of the words that had come out of her ruby red lips.

“You don’t have to,” Doug soothed, pulling her close. “I’m your biggest fan!”

Evie giggled. “Mal might argue with you on that one,” she teased, “but I’m your biggest fan.”

Doug kissed her quick as they swayed in the middle of her new fashion studio. Evie’s friends would be arriving soon to check the place out, but for now, they enjoyed the peace and quiet that they knew wouldn’t last long in this house.

Evie was so excited, looking around the room and the halls beyond it. She could see the new VKs running through the halls, full of excitement and energy from trying ice cream for the first time. She could see Doug coming to visit for one of their movie nights, the two of them snuggled up on the couch.  She could see Carlos and Jane coming over to share what’s new at Auradon Prep. She could see Jay coming to visit after one of his tourney games, and Mal coming over for girl time when she needed a break from being Queen. She could see this room full of her designs and creations that were still to come.  

She knew this place was going to be special, but she didn’t know it would be where she would have to wake Doug from a spell with true love’s kiss later this summer, or where he would play her his first song from the poems he’d written in just a few weeks. She didn’t know it would be where they came to celebrate after Doug’s band’s first show, or where she received a school acceptance letter a few years down the line.

Although her starter castle allowed her to stay and make many new memories in Auradon, she knew it wasn’t just the house that made her feel at home, and for that, she was grateful.

They were home.