aaaaa4art

[hobisexually]

x

[bonjour-rainycity]

Making Amends

Summary: Five years, you thought he was gone for good. After the War, he disappeared. Now, after months of zero contact, he shows up at your bridal salon. A somewhat bitter Reader and a post-FATWS Bucky

Pairing: Bucky x F!Reader

Word count: 2381

Warnings: Mentions of past violence and killings, adult language

I sigh, securing the train of the dress so it doesn’t drag against the floor. The dress is stunning, as they all are. This one—pouffy, ivory, grand—has a bateau neckline and falls to the floor in a long, glittering train.

The glitter gets everywhere.

I bend down, trying to wipe some of it off my pants leg, then work on my blazer. Every day, only black clothes. It’s tradition, but a stupid one — the glitter stands out on my clothes more than it does on the white dresses.

“Miss, someone’s here to see you.”

I grit my teeth, digging my hands into the fabric of the dress. The receptionist is young — barely out of her teens, really — and still quite new at her job. She, like others, disappeared on that awful day five and a half years ago.

The day I lost everything.

And she’s here today because of my friends’ sacrifices.

I try to remind myself to be patient. “We’re appointment only, Lydia. Tell her to call, make an appointment, and come back then.”

“R-right,” she stammers, and I can hear the bottoms of her heels scraping against the floor as she shifts her weight. “It’s just—well, he said it’s really important, and wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

That gives me pause. He?

As a product manager at a bridal salon, my day is mostly spent in the company of women. Brides, their mothers, bridal parties, wedding planners, etc. There’s the occasional fiancé, father, brother, friend come to support, or a groom shopping for a dress, but overall, men tend to stand out.

“Fine, send him in,” I allow. It’s obvious he’s not listening to Lydia, but I know I’m more intimidating than she is. I’ll tell him to schedule an appointment. “And then do me a favor — there’s a list of designers on my desk upstairs. Can you give their offices a call and update the contact info for each brand representative?”

She sounds relieved. “Sure, no problem.”

As the sound of her heels meeting the ground fade away, I breathe in the sweet, floral-scented air. We’re under-booked today. There are only a few brides occupying our east fitting rooms, so I’ve decided to spend my afternoon in the west, making everything look perfect for the weekend ahead. Having this section alone — just me, the soft piano music playing over the speakers, and the dresses — is almost peaceful.

It would be peaceful if I were anyone else.

I continue to straighten the dresses. Everything needs to be perfectly spaced, meticulously tucked and folded to make each dress impressive in its own way. There’s no room for imperfection, here.

The sound of heavy boots clicking on the floor rings through the empty room. “Hey, Doll.”

My body runs cold.

That voice. I know it well.

My mind flashes to late nights, stealing smiles and kisses, tight hugs, adoring eyes.

And then falling to the ground in grief. Changing outfits to attend my second funeral of the day. His. And, after years of grieving, healing, and suffering through, one chance to fix it all. The joy of having him back. Locking eyes on the battlefield.

And then nothing.

Nothing.

All my air leaves me in one, quick, sigh. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

I turn, both dreading the sight and longing for it.

And just like that, standing between two rows of eggshell and pearl and ivory, he’s here.

Dark denim jeans, a deep blue shirt—long sleeve, knowing him—a grey button-up open on his chest, and two thick gloves, despite the summer heat.

I cross my arms.

He purses his lips together and raises his eyebrows, crossing one foot over the other casually. “So, bridal, huh?”

I feel my jaw clench. “I’ve got to make a living, don’t I? Evidently you do, too.” I can’t stop the bitterness from seeping into my voice.

He sighs that long-suffering sigh, one that tells me he’s more resigned than upset. “I wanted to come back.”

I turn my attention back to the dresses, walking down the row of gleaming white. “No one was stopping you.”

He turns to face me as I continue my inspection of each and every gown. “It’s not that simple. I—I was working hard. I had to get freed from him.”

I grit my teeth, fighting the urge to feel something. But of course, I do. Ever since I’ve known Bucky, he’s been wrecked by the things he’s done and terrified he’ll be called to do them again.

Terrified that he’ll lose his mind once again to the assassin.

When I saw him on TV, in a random news report from months ago, I’d broken down into sobs. I’d fallen to my knees and said prayer after prayer of thanks. Because the clouds had faded from his eyes. The fear, the ever-present dread, was gone. He stood taller, more assured —

Happier.

I knew then, that somehow, he’d gotten the Winter Soldier out.

I bend down, fluffing layers of crinoline in a ballgown. “You’ve been in the news.”

He hears the accusation in my voice. You’ve been back for months.

He approaches me slowly, coming to stand in front of me as I straighten. “I had a job to do.”

“What, the new Captain America doesn’t allow cell phones?”

He ignores the jab. “Doll, I had to wait to make sure, to be sure, but I’m safe, now. I’m not him anymore.”

“Bucky, I always felt safe with you,” I whisper, the emotion nearly winning. “I loved you more than anything. And despite what you said — that you loved me, too — you just left. Five years I waited for you. I didn’t think there was any way I would ever see you again, and then by some miracle, after so much loss, you came back! We fought in a war together. We killed. And we won. And then you disappeared. It’s been six months! I-I mean, I hate to think the worst, Bucky, but I really thought—” I cut off my words then, unable to continue without dissolving into tears.

His jaw tightens in that heartbreaking way it does when he’s sad, and he reaches forward. When I don’t protest to his gloved hand on mine, he pulls me into a hug. I want to melt into him. I want to collapse under nearly six years of unresolved grief, stress, worry, and let him hold me up, let him bear this burden for just a few minutes.

But that’s not the way I’m made.

I’ve entrusted my heart to him too many times.

And every time, I’m left alone and broken.

I push myself out of his arms, wiping my tears away quickly. Once again, the dresses act as my anchor, my distraction. I gather one in my arms, crossing the aisle to re-hang it in its proper place.

Bucky watches from a distance.

His hands are tucked into his pockets, and he looks at me sadly for a while before his eyes turn to the ground.

Silence falls between us. The only noises are the coos of elated brides and their adoring guests coming from the east side of the building.

After a while, Bucky raises his head towards me. “Does working here make you want it?”

I sigh. He can’t do that. Can’t come in here after so much time away with zero contact and then casually ask me stupid questions. “Want what?”

“You know,” he shrugs, leaning against the receptionist’s desk. “It. A wedding, a marriage, a…life.”

I purse my lips, shaking my head. I reach to adjust a hanger slightly out of my arm span, trying my hardest not to sound sad. “I’m not the kind of girl you marry, Buck. Not anymore.”

He scoffs, making a face. “What does that even mean?”

I turn on him, more than done with this conversation. “Exactly that! I see it every day — brides come in here, all starry-eyed, happy, innocent. They’ve got love, or at least the excitement of planning their ‘big day,’ and they just glow with all the life in them. I don’t have that, not anymore. I—” I lower my voice, gritting my teeth against the emotion that attempts to fight through. “I’ve killed people, Bucky. For a long period of time, that’s all I did. And, look, I’m really, really happy for you being able to heal and move on and be freed, but I can’t do that. I can’t come back from who I turned out to be.”

“That’s bullshit. You did what you had to do.” He pushes himself off the receptionist’s desk, adamant. “Every life you took was to stop the slaughter of others. You can’t blame yourself for that.”

“I can.”

We stare each other down.

He’s always had a good stare.

Steady, intimidating, unwavering. It’s like he can see into the depths of your soul and know he can outlast you.

But I work with furious mothers of the brides.

I raise an eyebrow, showing him I will not back down from this challenge.

He blinks and moves his gaze past my right shoulder. Something shifts in his eyes. “You’ve got a client.”

I force my expression to soften, maneuvering around Bucky to grab the clipboard from the receptionist’s desk. I give him a look that clearly says do not move, and hurry to the front door to welcome the bride and her guests in. Amidst the flurry of excited chatters, gushing about wedding plans, and a clear description of what she does not want, I check them in on the clipboard and take them to the east wing to meet a consultant. When I return, Bucky is exactly where I left him.

He smirks at me. “What the hell was that? Your voice rose like three octaves.”

I roll my eyes. “It’s called customer service.”

He shrugs, leaning against the desk in a way I should not find ridiculously attractive. “Well, why don’t I get any of that?”

I grit my teeth. “Because they are going to buy a dress, which will pay my salary, which will make me happy. You on the other hand, have caused me nothing but anger, sadness, and worry.” I blink, absently shocked that all that truth escaped despite my best efforts.

Something flashes in Bucky’s eyes—regret, maybe—but he covers it well, tilting his head to the side and keeping his playful tone. “Really? Nothing but that? Gosh, I must have been a terrible boyfriend.”

I dig my teeth into my lower lip, staring down at my clipboard. It’s been six months. You may as well continue with the honesty. You don’t know the next time you’ll have a change to talk to him like this. “Buck…” I approach him slowly, buying myself time. Too soon, I come to stand in front of him. “You were a great boyfriend. I…” I sigh, shaking my head. “I thought you were it. I didn’t want anyone else. And we were happy, overall. You know—up until you disappeared without so much as a text and ignored me for six months.”

A muscle twitches in his cheek. He leans forward, locking his eyes with mine. “We were good together. I loved you, more than anything, I—well Doll, I still love you. And look, I know I’ve messed up. In more ways than seems is humanly possible, but I,” he sighs, shaking his head. “I’m as clean as I’m ever gonna get. I shouldn’t have disappeared without warning. I should’ve called when I left Wakanda. I should’ve let you hear from me rather than seeing me on the news. I should’ve come back and done the work to rebuild what I broke. I’m sorry. I really am.”

I feel the clipboard digging into my stomach. I don’t move. I stare at him, terrified of the way his words, the honesty in his eyes, makes me react. Too easily, my walls are coming down. “What did you come here for?”

“I—just,” he digs his hands into his pockets, sighing lowly. “I’m back in town. And I’m here to stay for a while. If you’d allow it, I’d like to try to make amends.”

Don’t do it, I beg myself. Don’t set yourself up for more pain.

In the face of my silence, he nods slowly, taking on a look of sad understanding.

“I work till seven.” The words rush from my mouth before I can stop them, before I can think of the consequences. I grip the clipboard even tighter.

Bucky raises an eyebrow, the start of a smile tugging at the edge of his lips. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” I nod, my heart racing at the prospect of being with him again, of maybe fixing things. “I live in the same apartment.”

He grins fully now, but at my stern look, attempts to wipe it off his face. I’m still mad at him, he shouldn’t get too comfortable yet.

But the light doesn’t leave his eyes and, despite my fear that this will all turn out terribly for me, I feel my own lips threatening to turn up.

He pushes himself off the desk, standing closer to me than I think either of us intended. “Can I take you out?”

I release a long breath, not moving from my spot despite our proximity. “Yes.”

He nods slowly, not pulling his gaze from mine. “It’s a date.”

“It’s a trial period,” I correct, unable to keep myself from teasing him a little.

He tilts his head to the side, laughing indulgently. “Alright, I deserve that. Then, sure, I’ll pick you up at eight for our trial period.”

He smirks cockily at me, winking in that way he knows makes my knees weak, before turning and swaggering to the door.

Despite our play, he’s not getting off this easy. There’s a lot we have to work through, and we might not even be compatible anymore — he knows that, too.

But for just this moment, I allow myself to enjoy feeling comfortable with him, joking like we used to. When his gloved hand reaches for the doorknob, I call after him, keeping my tone light. “You’re on thin fucking ice, Barnes.”

He turns his head to mine, nodding solemnly in a way I didn’t expect. “I know, Doll.”

A/n Whoops, couldn’t get this one out of my head after seeing Bucky in FATWS, so here’s some angst, bitterness, and hopefully a little hope! 

|masterlist|

[babyboibucky]

Babysitting Bucky - Part 4

Pairing: FATWS!Bucky x Reader

Word Count: 1,644

Summary: You’ve been assigned by the government to keep an eye on the Winter Soldier to ensure that he was no longer a threat to the world.

A/N: Things are getting interesting for these two lol, if I missed out on anyone in the tag list, please let me know. If you would like to be added, please also inform me whether it’s for this series only or for everything Bucky xoxo

MASTERLIST

-

FOUR

It was a little past nine in the morning when you heard Sam and Bucky arrive back at the compound. You leaned against the counter in the kitchen as you waited for the two men to show up and when they finally sauntered in, you immediately cleared your throat.

"How was your run, Mister Barnes?" you asked, lifting a brow at Bucky.

Sam rolled his eyes and groaned, "Please don't tell me you need to join us on our daily morning jog too."

You held up a hand at Sam, "Mister Wilson, I do not care for you." Turning your gaze back to Bucky, you crossed your arms over your chest. "So, how was the run?" you asked again.

"Damn, lady." you heard Sam utter under his breath as he walked towards the fridge to fetch himself a glass of water.

Bucky merely shrugged, "It was good. I mean, I was three laps ahead of Sam the entire time so yeah." he explained and smirked at Sam who grunted in response.

"Oh and we passed by a civilian who tried to use my trigger words and it almost worked. Almost."

Bucky must've have noticed the slight change in your demeanor because he immediately let out a chuckle, "I was kidding, Agent. Nothing happened. We literally just ran."

You scoffed, "Do you really think that this is all a joke, Mister Barnes? I asked because I need to send a weekly report to the government and if they notice even the slightest discrepancy, they will apprehend you. Like I said, I am not an enemy. I may not be a friend either but I reassure you, Mister Barnes, I am more than willing to vouch for your stability. That is if you participate and help me out here."

As much as you hated the fact that you needed to always be around Bucky wherever he went, it wasn't like you had a choice. Besides, you believed that he was no longer a threat but you needed evidence. You needed something to present to the government to make them believe so. You also understood why Bucky behaved the way he did but was it really so hard to participate?

Bucky heaved out a sigh, "I'm sorry." he mumbled. "It's weird...to have someone follow you around when you do normal stuff, y'know?"

Taken aback at how quickly Bucky apologized, you nodded in understanding and apologized for being aggressive as well.

"We have training later, maybe it'd be better to have you spar with Bucky instead. Might make things less weird for him. Only if you can handle the cyborg." Sam chuckled.

"I look forward to it." you smirked.

---

It was three in the afternoon when you went to the compound’s gym. Sam and Bucky were already inside the boxing ring, sparring. You watched for a while as you wrapped your hands with bandages; you eye the Winter Soldier carefully, analyzing his every move.

Hit, evade, kick, punch, evade, punch.

Every single time he tried to hit Sam, the latter was able to avoid him. You noticed that Bucky had a certain pattern that he followed. A few more attacks later and Sam was able to knock him off, pinning him down on the ground.

“Man, you’re getting rusty.” Sam commented, offering a hand at Bucky who remained on the ground.

“He was restraining his moves.” You interjected as you walked towards the ring, bending down as you slid beneath the ropes.

Sam lifted a brow at you as he watched you enter the ring, “And why would he be restraining his moves?” He asked.

You shrugged, “If Mister Barnes stopped pulling his punches, you would’ve been sent to the ER by now.”

Sam scoffed in offense. It wasn’t your intention to belittle the Falcon, in fact, he was holding up against a super soldier pretty well. However, Bucky was an enhanced human being and had vibranium for an arm. He knew the extent of his skills and was aware of the fact that Sam wouldn’t be able to take every single blow if he wouldn’t restrain himself.

The Winter Soldier would injure Sam without a doubt, but Bucky Barnes? He wouldn’t hurt a fly.

“The Winter Soldier wouldn’t have given you a chance to evade his attack. Am I right?” You turned to Bucky who was obviously surprised at how you easily figured him out.

He shrugged, “You tell me, Agent. I’m not the one tasked to find out the answer to that.”

Sam hummed, “Yeah, okay. Point taken.” He said. “Barnes is yours, Agent.” He smirked and moved out of the ring.

He sat on the bench facing the ring, looking forward to see you spar with Bucky. You, on the other hand, was just as excited. You could sense that the two still doubted your skills; maybe showing off your capabilities would help in gaining their respect and cooperation.

“Do I need to pull my punches, Agent?” Bucky cracked his neck.

“I don’t know, Mister Barnes. Do you?”

You didn’t give Bucky any chance to respond to your question and immediately ran towards him, using a foot sweep to trip him. Bucky was caught off guard and found himself on his back with you quickly moving to straddle his metal arm with your legs, pinning him to the ground.

“Holy shit!” You heard Sam guffaw as he clapped his hands.

“Shut up, Sam!” Bucky choked out before using the entire strength of his metal arm to throw you off of him.

You groaned when you landed on your front, quickly rolling to the side when you sensed Bucky’s attempt to hold you down. A combination of punches and kicks were exchanged between the both of you, with Bucky gaining the upper hand when he twisted your arm behind your back, holding you tightly against his chest.

“I don’t think you’ll like it if I stopped restraining myself, Agent.” Bucky said, voice deep and rough.

His grip on you tightened as you tried to fight him off. Heaving out a deep breath, you relaxed and let out a groan. Thinking that you probably realized that winning over him was futile, Bucky loosened his grip on you and you took it as a chance to stomp on his foot before throwing your head back, hitting his nose with the back of your skull.

“I think I can take it, Mister Barnes. Try me.” You boasted, quickly moving away from Bucky.

“I’d rather not.” Bucky responded.

No words were exchange from then on, only grunts and breaths as the two of you continued to spar. At times, Bucky would have you tackled on the ground only for you to choke him with your thighs, flipping him over as you tried to land a hard punch that he easily caught with his metal hand.

“That all you can give me, Mister Barnes?” you leaned forward as you straddled him, your fist still in Bucky’s metal hand.

He darkly chuckled, “You know I can do more, I just prefer not to.” he said and let go of your hand before grabbing your arm and throwing you over to the side.

“Yeah, well I guess you’re a coward for holding back.” you panted and sprinted towards Bucky, using the momentum to throw your legs over his shoulder, twisting your body as you brought him back down to the ground ala Black Widow.

You immediately got up and moved away from Bucky who lifted his head and stared at you with a frown, “Where did you learn that?” he asked curiously.

“Your babysitter Black Widow-ed the shit outta you.” Sam chuckled.

Bucky rolled his eyes as he got up from the ground, “Do you ever shut the fuck up, Sam?”

“Do better, Mister Barnes. You’re putting the Soldat to shame.”

 A split second. All it took was a split second for Bucky to tackle you onto the ground with his metal hand loosely wrapped around your neck. Your eyes were wide as you looked up at Bucky, the glint in his eyes long gone and replaced with something else.

Anger?

“Do not ever compare me to the Soldat.” he said through gritted teeth.

His hand remained wrapped around your throat but they didn’t budge, didn’t tighten nor shook in an attempt to do so.

“Why not?” you lifted a brow.

“I may still be the Winter Soldier, but I’m not the same man I used to be. I’d rather hold back and lose to you, Agent. Because the Soldat doesn’t exist, not anymore.” he said.

You knew it was a low blow to try and trigger him. You felt bad for doing so, seeing how he reacted to your statement when you brought up his dark past. But at the same time, his actions relieved you. Even with him hovering over you, metal hand wrapped around your neck, you didn’t experience any sort of worry nor fear. He was firm yet gentle with how his fingers remained loose around you.

Bucky was in full control of his actions.

You stared up at Bucky’s eyes and realized how blue they were. When you didn’t budge beneath him, Bucky let go of your neck and got up but immediately fell to the ground when you tripped him with your leg.

“That’s what I thought, Mister Barnes.” you said as you stood up, dusting your hands off. “You’re not dangerous. Thanks for the cooperation, I’ll include that in my weekly reports.” you said and slide out of the ring.

“All that for a test?” Sam incredulously asked as he watched you retreat from the gym.

You turned around, “It wasn’t a test, Mister Wilson. That was me trying to get to know Mister Barnes better.” you said and left the gym but not before hearing Sam’s comment about you.

“Man, we underestimated your babysitter.”

---

Babysitting Bucky Tag List:

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Everything Bucky Tag List:

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[tomboyneedshercoffee]

Thin Ice || Peter Parker x reader

Summary: Midtown’s Decathalon team decides to go on a snow trip and Peter does his best to impress Y/N even though Brad Davis has his eyes on her too. 

Word Count: 2.5k

Author’s note: DUDE this is so fun to write. This will be a mini-series so expect more parts and if you wanna request something for this series, just send em cause I’m open to all ideas. I’m a big snowboard fan so hopefully, you guys enjoy! Also, the ski resort Keystone is real and I go snowboarding there so I can definitely include pictures of my trip to paint visuals for yall.  

Warning: Foul language and mentions of blood

part one || part two || part three || part four || part five || part six || to be continued 

The Decathalon Team got to choose where they wanted to go for their winter trip and for this year, they got to choose between a ski resort in Colorado or another extremely terrifying Europe trip.  The overwhelming results of the vote was for the ski trip since no one wanted a repeat of last year (especially Mr. Harrington) so the students packed up their snow clothes and headed to Colorado.

Out of everyone going on the trip, you were by far the most excited. You weren’t originally from New York so something about snow always seemed magical in a ‘hypothermia isn’t so bad’ kind of way. While you and others were super psyched to go, there was one person that dreaded the trip and that was Peter.

He didn’t know how to ski or snowboard and most importantly, he hated the cold. The idea of going on vacation meant escaping what you were used to, so what was the point of leaving New York, a placed that snows heavily, for another colder place?

“ Need any help Pete?” You smiled as Peter stopped struggling with his ski boots.

You. You were 100% the only reason why he was going on this trip in the first place. His heart swelled as he took a quick look of you up and down; even though you were wearing a bulky snow jacket, you still took his breath away.

Peter snapped out of his longing gaze and stomped his foot hard into the slot, making you and Ned jump slightly.

“ I think I got it. Thanks though,” Peter smiled as he huffed, a bit out of breath. Peter looked down at your board and he furrowed his eyebrows,” you’re gonna snowboard? I thought Mr. Harrington said we were all taking ski lessons?”

You shook your head and unclipped your board, holding it tall next to you,” Nope. Brad and I asked Mr. Harrington if we could go down the Flying Dutchman before lunch and he said as long as we stay together we should be fine.”

You and Brad were always two peas in a pod since your families were extremely close and that worried Peter. Peter felt that everything Brad was, Peter wasn’t, especially when it came to sports or natural charm. It was something Peter struggled with a lot; being a superhero gave him the gift of dominating the athletic world if he wanted to but if he wasn’t a jock then, why should he be one now?

“ Wait, that slope is a blue. Isn’t that like hard?” Ned asked as you shrugged, motioning to Brad that you were ready to head out.

“ Not when you’re a master snowboarder like me,” You teased as you looked down at Peter, who was struggling to get up from his skis,” here, let me help you. I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”

Peter didn’t even have time to stop you before you grabbed his hands and helped him stand up straight, adjusting to the balance nicely. You smiled sweetly at him as you brushed off a clump of snow rested near his shoulder, lightly brushing up on his neck with your ungloved hand.

“ Nice Pete, look at you! You’re practically the next Chloe Kim...if you were a girl and a snowboarder!” You exclaimed as you ignored their confused expressions.

“ Hey Y/N, ready to go?” Brad asked as he looked between the three of you,” stay safe out there fellas. I heard the bunny slope is extra icy today. I Don’t want to see any of you get a bloody lip.”

You slapped Brad’s shoulder as you turned your attention back to Peter and Ned,” Don’t listen to him, you guys are going to do great. Save us a seat at the lodge, yeah?”  

You gave a small wave before following Brad through the snow towards the ski lift as Peter glared down Brad.

“ He is always ruining my plans! I thought he was supposed to be gone for basketball training. I was going to be super romantic and teach her how to ski like Dove Cameron in Cloud 9,” Peter sighed as he fumbled with his skis already.

“ First of all, that’s not what Cloud 9 is about at all. Secondly, why would she waste her time at ski lessons if she already knows how to do that and snowboard?” Ned asked, thinking his friend couldn’t get any dumber,” but you have a better shot than Brad, she’s like your twin but cooler.”

“ You sure about that?” MJ asked out of nowhere, startling both Peter and Ned,” Y/N is literally out of your league and Brad’s. Everyone on the science team has had a thing for her so what makes you so special?”

Again, his friend was right. He could think of a handful of his classmates liking Y/N at some point which made his heart sink.

“ You’re right. There is nothing special about me besides you know…,” Peter shook his head and stuffed his hands into his pocket,” I just like her a lot, I don’t know how else to explain it.”

Peter was usually never so down on himself, especially when it came to girls his age. With his past crushes, they were way easier to talk to but when it came to you, he was a blubbering mess. It didn’t make it any easier that you were the full embodiment of the ‘girl next door’ with your heart of gold and witty charm.

“ You just got to impress her at her own game,” Ned said as Peter looked up at him, nodding,” girls love guys who go out of their way to be interested in something they like. Show her how much skiing skills you can get down in a few hours and she’ll be all yours.”

It wasn’t the best idea but Peter had no other option than to learn how to ski in one-afternoon session. While MJ said that Peter was completely hopeless, Peter knew that the first step at winning your heart was to learn how to not embarrass himself.

That whole afternoon, Peter tried, again and again, to get down the bunny slope without falling on his face. Everyone said skiing was way easier than snowboarding but Peter just couldn’t control his speed going down the bunny slope. Time and time again, Peter would make it halfway down the beginner slope with ease but panicked towards the end and fell. At the end of the lesson, his knees and elbows were completely bruised but that didn’t stop him from trying.

While Peter was doing his best to get down the bunny slope, you and Brad had just finished with your three-mile one. You clipped off your board and took off your goggles, looking at yourself through Brad’s reflective ones.

“ I look like I just went through a hurricane,” you laughed as you took out your messy ponytail and tried to pat down your hair,” did you have fun?”

Brad took off his goggles and shook his hair with his hand, letting the freshly fallen snow fall out,” Are you kidding? That was awesome, especially that part where the slope dropped off towards the end. I’m impressed that you could keep up, I didn’t think you had it in you.”

“ Me?  I’m impressed you even made it down the mountain since half the time you were freaking out about ‘Oh what if there’s an avalanche!’” You mimicked as the two of you shared a heartfelt laugh.

Brad pushed your shoulder lightly as the two of you headed towards the lodge where everyone else in your group would be waiting. You checked the nearest clock tower and realized that you still had thirty minutes before lunch.

“ Hey, I think they’re still at the bunny slope, did you wanna go see how they’re doing?” You asked as Brad nodded enthusiastically.

“ I’ll be surprised if they made it in through the afternoon with all of their limbs intact.”

Peter stood at the top of the bunny slope, breathing in and out slowly. He could see you and Brad walking towards the bottom where some of your classmates were already waiting.

“ Maybe I shouldn’t do this. What if I fall and she thinks I’m some clumsy idiot?” Peter asked as MJ rolled her eyes.

“ Look, the worst thing that can happen is that you fall, big whoop. Also, you can’t back out. There is no other way down since the ski lift just closed so…” MJ shrugged simply and patted Peter’s back a bit too hard,” Woman up.”

MJ slid her goggles down over her eyes and gave him a last look before going down with Cindy. Now, Peter was all alone as MJ’s words replayed in his head. The worst thing that can happen is that he fell. He replayed that over and over again before he took a deep breath, secured his helmet, and made his way down the slope.

You watched Peter go down halfway before turning to your friends, who had already put their skis away. You threw your board and your helmet down and placed your hands on your hips, watching everybody’s tired expression.

“ How did you guys do? Wasn’t it exhilarating!” You asked excitedly as everyone at once talked about their day.

“ Considering that there weren’t any serious injuries, I’d say it was the best day ever,” Mr. Harrington said as he smiled with pride,” I’m glad you and Brad are back in one piece. I was worried I wouldn’t see you two at lunch.”

“ Yeah, we’re surprised too! Actually, there was one part of the slope where-”

The whole time you were talking, you didn’t notice how fast Peter was coming down the slope and all of his practice on a smooth landing had completely left his mind. Peter couldn’t control his route and once he knew that he was headed straight towards you, all he could do was brace himself.

Before anyone could react, you felt Peter collided straight into you, his helmet immediately making contact with your face as the force made the two of you crash backwards. Peter’s skiis hit you so hard, you could feel all of the air leave your body and once again after your back hit the snow behind you.

Everyone around you gasped as you and Peter cried out in pain, a whole vocabulary of curse words came out of Peter’s mouth once he realized what he had done.

“ Holy shit Y/N are you okay?” Peter asked as he was the first to get up, but tripped over his skiis, sending him back into the snow.

You felt like you were seeing stars but you tried your best to not cry in front of all your peers. Brad and Cindy rushed towards you as his eyes grew big.

“ Oh my god Y/N, your lips is bleeding,” Cindy shouted which made Peter feel like he had just committed murder.

You touched your lip tenderly and looked down at your hand to see that it was bleeding a lot. You stared at the blood and then looked to Peter who looked like he was about to cry. Even though you were in a lot of pain and you definitely had a concussion, you didn’t want Peter to feel bad. He was always so sweet to you and the last thing he needed was to feel guilty.

You shook your head and tried to stand up but you were too dizzy,” No! I’m fine really I’m okay. Check on Peter if he’s okay, I-I feel great.”

“ Y/N I am so so so sorry-”

“No Pete I’m the one who needs to be sorry,” you said as you let out a soft laugh,” I should’ve been more aware of my surroundings. Don’t even feel bad you weren’t going that fast.”

If Peter didn’t feel guilty enough, your words made him feel even worse especially since he knew you were lying to spare his feelings. Even after getting slammed, you were still apologizing up and down like you were somehow to blame.

Brad kneeled beside you and place a single finger out,” Okay Beautiful, follow my finger, I’m gonna make sure you didn’t hurt that pretty little head of yours.”

Peter’s stomach twisted into knots but you just nodded and followed his finger, doing your best to do as you were told while Mr. Harrington went to get a medical assistant.

“ Y/N I’m gonna ask you some questions,” Brad said as you nodded once again, your eyes drifting towards Peter.

“ What’s your name and where are you?”

“ Y/N L/N. Keystone Colorado.”

“ Where do you go to school?”

“ Midtown School of Science and Technology.”

“ Great, who is the President of the United States?”

“ Ugh Brad. Don’t make me say his name.”

Everyone around you sighed happily as Brad laughed and nodded,” Yep, she’s okay. I’ll be back with something for your lip okay?”

Brad turned to Peter and looked him up and down, almost sizing him up,” Try not to injure her again when I’m gone, Parker.”

Peter nodded and kneeled next to you with a sad expression plastered on his face. He felt like he had ruined everything with you but you were just too nice to tell him off. He was thinking that you were probably so pissed at him when in reality, you felt the complete opposite.

“ Don’t listen to Brad, he’s just protective,” You said as Peter pressed a thick napkin that was in his pocket from this morning and pressed it down on your bleeding lip,” please don’t beat yourself up about this Pete. We both know it was just an accident.”

All Peter could do was blurt out again how sorry he was for hurting you. If this didn’t make you hate him, he wondered what else you could withstand. Hollywood had lied to him; It wasn’t like the movies where the cliche of falling over each other was romantic cause Peter felt absolutely mortified.

“ Stop being so nice to me. I don’t deserve it,” Peter huffed as he examined your face,” I could’ve killed you.”

“ That’s a little dramatic don’t you think?” You asked as you scooted closer towards Peter and placed your hand on his knee to leverage yourself,” if I can survive the blip and Calculus, I think I’ll be more than okay.”

Peter tensed up as you touched his knee lightly and with Brad and Mr. Harrington coming back with a first aid kit, he quickly pulled away from you, leaving you embarrassed.

“ Here, do you need me to carry you over to the lodge so you’re more comfortable?” Brad asked as Peter looked away and turned towards Ned, who was whispering to him.

“ I’m okay to walk now,” You said softly as Brad extended out his hand for you to hold. You looked back at Peter who stared at you before turning away again, shaking his head. You held Brad’s hand as he helped you up and once you were on your feet, he didn’t let go of your hand.

“ Don’t worry, Dr. Davis is going to patch you up,” Brad smiled as the two of you walked hand in hand back to the lodge.

Peter slumped down in the snow next to MJ who was quick to comment.

“ Apparently falling isn’t the worst thing to happen after all.”

[dreaming-of-assclass]

AssClass Christmas Fics: Part 1

Group 1 + gift-shopping 🎁

In which Kataoka is tired, Isogai is stressed, Maehara is a wholesome idiot, and Okano and Kimura are the embodiment of chaos.

Genre: Fluff, Humor, Wholesomeness, Slight angst on Isogai’s part

Length: 3,133 words

..................

—————

In hindsight, Megu should’ve known better than to come.

It had seemed innocent at first when Maehara brought the idea up in their groupchat. He wanted all his closest friends to band together and take a trip to the mall for “some good ol’ Christmas gift-shopping.” He said it wasn’t likely they’d get to hang out all together until after winter break. Ok, fair point.

But now, as she sat exhaustedly in the dressing room of some teen store, surrounded by heaps of clothing, she realized she’d made a mistake.

“Hinano, please tell me this is the last one you’re trying on,” Megu begged as she reached for another garment. “We’ve been here for at least an hour and a half.”

“Mmm...I just have to find a matching pair of shorts,” Hinano hummed, at least looking somewhat apologetic. She gave Megu a wink. “After this, we’ll be all done!”

And with that, the smaller girl dashed off, probably in search of one of the store workers.

Megu groaned, giving a pitiful glance at the bag sitting besides her. She’d purchased one outfit, a matching belt, and a set of earrings already...while her friend was still not even close to being done.

“Might as well check what everyone else is doing.” Megu pulled out her phone and texted their groupchat. 

Kataoka: Where are you guys?

She got a reply a moment later.

Maehara: me n isogai r grabbing smth to eat rn

Maehara: but we’re gonna go to some store after

Ah...probably to get some gifts for Isogai’s siblings, Megu remembered fondly. 

“Oh, Megu, she’s still not done yet?” She snapped up to see a somewhat flustered Touka making her way into the dressing room.

The class rep sighed with a tired smile, setting her phone down. She shifted a bit to make room for the other girl. “No, not yet...did you get what you were looking for?”

Touka nodded excitedly, pulling out her gift bag. It was very small and plain-looking, nude with only a red ribbon tied around. She handed it to Megu, a shine in her eyes. “Yes. It’s perfect, exactly what we were going for.”

Megu opened up the bag and reached for the item inside. It was small yet carried weight, and was surrounded by fancy parchment paper. She delicately opened it, careful not to rip anything. “Oh,” she breathed. Touka was certainly right.

It was perfect.

Nestled within the folds of parchment paper was a lovely ornament, shaped like a rose and made of dazzling stained glass. A thousand colors reflected off of it as she gently held it up in the light of the store. 

Touka smiled softly, leaning into her seat. “I thought a rose would be fitting after, y’know, Karasuma-sensei’s love declaration in October,” she laughed. 

“True.” Megu laughed as she carefully set the gift down back into the bag. “No but really, I can’t imagine anything better than this for her. She loves roses and it’s sophisticated, but still...can remind her of our class.”

She patted Touka’s shoulder, her gaze soft. “We made such a good decision entrusting her Christmas gift to be picked out by you.”

Oddly, Touka’s face turned a bright hue of red and she glanced away, clearing her throat. “It’s no problem! I’m happy that I picked something okay.”

Before Megu could question her, their third companion came back in a flurry of more clothing. A pair of pants flew and knocked against Megu’s face, and she wiped it away tiredly. “Hina! You said one more thing!”

Hinano was already turned towards the changing stall, struggling to carry her massive load. “I know, I know, I’m sorry! But they have a sale!”

“Still-!”

“Wait, really?” Touka shot up, her eyes bright. “I gotta go look for some stuff too!” Within seconds, she was dashing towards the racks of clothing in the store, right into the massive crowds of people already scavenging for good sales.

Oh boy. Megu mentally prepared herself for a moment before following her. Might as well take advantage of the sales too, she thought wryly. She had been looking for a new pair of boots lately...

.................

__________

“Yo, how about this one?” Hiroto asked, wriggling his eyebrows and holding up a video game-themed hoody jacket. It was child-sized and looked incredibly tiny against his large frame.

Yuuma looked in his direction, still combing through a rack of items himself. “Cute.” He grinned.

He reached over and touched the material thoughtfully. “Quality seems pretty good too. It’ll last him a while.”

“Yeah!” Hiroto agreed. “It’s super cozy, and will help him a lot in winter.”

“Okay, we can put this in the cart.”

Hiroto obliged and the two boys moved on from the clothing area. “Nothing else?” He questioned, giving a passing glance to aisles around them.

Yuuma hummed. “Well, we got a pajama set for both of them...a dress...two pairs of shoes, and now this hoodie. I’d like to get more but it’s Christmas, right? They’d probably like some new toys, not a ton of clothes.” He laughed.

“Ah, true.” Hiroto pushed the cart towards the toy section, following his best friend’s steady pace. This part of the store was incredibly hectic, and the sound of children’s cries and laughs filled it endlessly. Stressed parents flew around, trying to find the perfect toys. Boxes were everywhere, and it was very much a mess.

He barely caught Yuuma’s wince. As someone who also worked in a service industry, around Christmas time no less, Yuuma was probably sympathizing with the store clerks who’d be tasked to clean up.

They reached a random aisle that ended up holding all the lego sets. “I should get a couple of these,” Yuuma mused, looking around. “They love Legos, especially the bigger sets.”

“Uh huh...” Hiroto grasped his chin in thought, leaning his forearms onto the cart handle. “What about this?” He reached over and grabbed the box set. 

Yuuma leaned over to see it. “A firetruck and station,” he read. “589 pieces.” He smiled, looking up at Hiroto. “Perfect. Let’s grab it.”

“Awesome.” Hiroto was glad he was some kind of help. He knew this time of year was always incredibly stressful for his best friend, who not only had to study but work at the same time. And Yuuma would always buy his family some type of presents, so there was that added financial stress...

Not to mention...

Yuuma would never outright say it, but Hiroto knew that his father was on his mind even more than usual during the Holiday season, a time that places so much emphasis on family. 

The thought made his chest tighten. Hiroto always swore to himself that he’d help Yuuma and his family to the best of his ability, and it went tenfold during this goddamn month. 

The two looked some more before coming up with a few more toys. There was a science kit for his younger brother, and some new race cars. And a babydoll and a slime-making box for his little sister. The two kids would share the Lego set, and their older brother would help them build it.

“Now we just need to swing by over there,” Yuuma told him, gesturing to the side of the store where mainly women’s products were. Things like fancy soap, candles, etc. 

It was definitely a gift for his mom.

“Sure.” They made their way over, Hiroto still pushing the cart. “Hey, Isogai...” The name slipped uncomfortably from his tongue, leaving a taste of unfamiliarity. 

“Yeah?” Yuuma asked, looking through some house decorations. Hiroto took a short breath.

“Your family will love and appreciate whatever you get for them. It’s always the thought that counts, and that’s like...times ten with you. You’re a really good son and big brother, and that alone means so much to them probably.”

There was a pause.

“So please don’t stress yourself out, looking “for the perfect gift,” Hiroto added quickly. “They love you so much...”

Well, so much for nice encouragement. He just blurted out everything.

The sound of gentle laughter rang out, and he glanced up to see Yuuma looking back at him. His best friend’s eyes crinkled in a charming way as he spoke.

“Thanks, Hiroto...I couldn’t have gone through all this without you.” He ran a hand through his mop of dark hair. “And I don’t just mean this past month...thanks for being my best friend.”

He continued. “It’s when you say stuff like that...that brings me back down to Earth,” Yuuma admitted. “And I can actually...relax, even for just a little bit.”

Oh...

Hiroto coughed lightly, before beaming at him. “Well, duh~what are best friends for?” He winked. “I’ve always got your back.”

“Same here,” Yuuma replied, his gaze soft. 

His phone buzzed and he pulled it out, brows furrowing slightly. “Ah, Yada texted.”

Yada: help megu almost fought some girl over a pair of tights on sale

Maehara: LMFAOOOOOO well did she win?

Yada: ya of course

Kataoka: - _ - she deserved it

Isogai: Haha

Kataoka: also sorry to interrupt but

Kataoka: where the hell are okano and kimura????

.................

_________

“I can’t believe you actually had a good idea for once,” Okano muttered, the blue light from the game reflected in her fierce gaze. “Coming to the mall arcade instead of doing some boring shopping.”

“Yeah, well, at least one of us used our brain cell today,” Kimura shot back, his thumbs moving rapidly. “If it was up to you, we’d still be circling around the penny fountain.”

Okano snorted. “Shut up.” She picked up the pace on the controllers, feeling a familiar drive to win piling up inside of her. 

Ten seconds later, “You lose!” was flashing at her on the screen while Kimura jumped up, throwing his arms up in victory. “Aw, hell yeah!”

“Fuck!” Okano hissed. “One more time!” She demanded, turning towards him.

Kimura smirked, calming down. “No thanks, I’m getting bored of this one now,” he replied nonchalantly.

Okano rolled her eyes. “Fine.” She looked around at the arcade interior, her gaze scanning around for anything that seemed interesting. 

“Oh! I love that game!” She exclaimed, gesturing to an iceball set up. “Come on!”

“Sure!” Kimura followed her towards the machine, seeing nothing else to do. “I bet I’ll win~” He sang smugly.

“You wish,” Okano scoffed, choosing the one on the left while he moved to the right. She inserted the proper number of tokens before smiling satisfied at the way the machine lit up. “I’m a beast at this game. Maehara can tell you himself how I literally destroyed everyone at this last summer.”

Kimura did the same and they both waited for the number of balls to roll down towards them. “Huh. We’ll see about that.”

“Just shut up and play already.” She had already thrown her first ball, smirking at how it fell into an 100 point slot. “Ha!”

“Lucky shot,” Kimura mumbled, tossing his first one. It fell into the Zero slot, much to his disappointment. “Shit...”

Thankfully, Okano didn’t pay attention. She was much too preoccupied with tossing her own balls, which all landed in the 100 or 250 slots. 

Kimura picked up the pace and continued his game. He groaned as all of them fell into the 10 point slots. The number of tickets coming out on his end was nothing compared to Okano’s long chain. Well...maybe my pitching is shit after all, like Sugino said. I should fix this...

“Done!” Okano shouted, throwing her last ball that fell into the 100 slot. She grinned at her list of tickets before looking over at him. “What’d I tell you, huh?” 

Kimura rolled his eyes, grabbing his final ball. Gritting his teeth, he tossed it with a carefull turn of his wrist. He watched in anticipation as the ball glided over all the slots...before falling right into the 5000 slot.

“Oh shit!”

“Woah!” Okano yelled, her eyes wide. “Oh my god, Kimura! You got the highest number!”

“I did!” He shouted back, somewhat in a daze. 

“That’s amazing!”

For a moment, it was like they weren’t rivals. Just a moment though.

Okano punched his shoulder, her lips curved. “Beginner’s luck,” she teased, but the fire never left her eyes.

Kimura laughed before his gaze fell back on his tickets. “Ah...it’s taking a while, isn’t it?”

Okano looked at it with a frown, pursing her lips. “It shouldn’t be.”

“Let’s give it another minute,” he suggested.

Five minutes later, Kimura felt like screaming. “My major accomplishment!” He sighed dramatically. “And no one was around to see it but you!”

Okano rolled her eyes, hopping off the floor where they’d been crouching. “Get up. Let’s go find a staff member.”

“Yeah...” Kimura stood up, shoving his hands into his hoodie pocket. “Uh hello? What are you staring at?” He questioned.

No answer, as Okano looked thoughtfully at the game machine. “Earth to Okano~” He sang, waving a hand in her face.

Then she did it.

Something he hadn’t expected, but really it shouldn’t have even surprised him.

Okano swung her leg out before letting it collide against the machine’s ticket base. A booming thud rang out.

And almost immediately, tickets began streaming out. 

Kimura’s jaw dropped.

“There, it’s all fixed,” Okano smiled with a shrug.

“Are you crazy?” The words escaped his mouth instantly. “You pulled out some assassin moves just to fix a ticket machine?!”

“Well yeah~You can get your tickets now!”

“How did you even know that would work?! And doesn’t your foot hurt like hell?”

Okano laughed. “Honestly, I had no idea if it would work. But it did!” She glanced at her foot. “And it doesn’t hurt. That part of the machine is pretty hollow, and my foot has hit harder things so...”

Kimura frowned at her.

“I promise it’s fine!” Okano held her hands up. “Woah...look at your tickets! I think you can get a stuffed animal with this number!”

“Yeah maybe-” Kimura was cut off by a stern voice barking at them.

“Hey! You kids!”

They both jolted up as one of the mall security guards stormed towards them, followed by as pissed-off arcade worker, who pointed at them. “Those kids broke the machine to steal extra tickets!”

Kimura felt his mouth go dry. Still he tried to shout, “Wait no! It’s a misunderstanding, I got 5000! But it got stuck-”

And then he was cut off by Okano yanking his arm away with a strength he could only imagine having. The next few seconds felt like a blur and before he knew it, the two of them were running in the lobby of the mall.

“Come on, you idiot! You’re the fastest runner in the class, act like it!” Okano yelled, purposely agitating him. Still, Kimura fell for it and his speed increased immensely in just a second. Now, Okano was trying to catch up to him. 

Kimura dashed through the numbers of people walking by, being mindful to dodge anyone, especially the elderly or some children... He shouted out a “Sorry!” and an “Excuse me!” as he moved.

It sounded odd but he could hear Okano’s footsteps behind him, even amongst the clusters of normal civilians. Probably from all the times they trained together. Her steps were light and bouncy, barely touching the floor as she kept a stable balance. He always thought to himself how Okano moved like she could walk on air.

He made a sharp turn around a mall corner, narrowly avoiding a collision with three girls just trying to walk by. “Ah, I’m so sorry!”

“What the hell- wait...Kimura?” One of the girls breathed.

Kimura’s head snapped up at the familiar tone and he realized in horror who the girls were. “Kataoka! Yada! Kurahashi!” He laughed sheepishly. “How’s your shopping going?”

“Fine~!” Kurahashi chirped, somehow balancing five huge bags on one of her arms alone.

Kimura smiled at her. “That’s good...” He laughed nervously again. “Well, I should continue on my way-”

Kataoka leveled him a sharp glare, leaning in closer. “What do you think you’re doing, running around the mall like a maniac? And where’s Hinata?!”

“Uhm...”

“There you are!” All four of them jolted, looking up to see the security guard. Standing right beside him was a very annoyed-looking Okano, crossing her arms. Ah, so she got caught...

“I’m gonna need you to come to our office,” the guard spoke sternly, looking straight at Kimura. 

He sighed, stepping forward to comply before passing a pleading glance to the girls. Kurahashi frowned, Yada sighed, and Kataoka shut her eyes irritably. Then she spoke. “Officer...we’re friends with them, so we’ll come along too, if that’s okay.”

“Alright then.”

The girls followed them warily and Kataoka leaned in to whisper to Yada. “I hope your negotiating skills will come in handy now...”

..............

________

“Oh man,” Maehara wheezed, clutching his stomach. “Banned from the mall for a month?!” He burst out laughing again.

“Yeah...” Kimura’s head was dropped into his arms, which rested on the table of the cafe they were at.

“I’m glad you find this act of immaturity so funny,” Kataoka commented dryly, taking another sip of her latte. The liquid scorched her throat a bit, but she needed the caffeine at that moment. 

“Actually, I find it hilarious,” Maehara corrected. “Seriously, how did all that even happen? Why’d you run away?”

“I’d like to know too,” Isogai chimed in tiredly.

“Uh, haven’t you heard of fleeing from the scene of a crime?” Okano snapped, but it lacked its usual bite as she reached over for her hot chocolate.

“That only works if you can’t get caught,” Yada pointed out with a giggle, adjusting her scarf.

“Aw man,” Maehara chuckled, toning it down at the sight of Okano’s pout. “It’s okay guys. We’ll laugh about this in the future.”

“You’re laughing about it now,” Kataoka muttered sourly.

Maehara ignored her. “One day, we’ll look back on this as a super fond memory,” he said confidently, throwing an arm around Kimura.

“Not to mention, it was pretty cool how you used your kick, Hina!” Kurahashi chimed in, hugging her.

“Yeah, pretty badass,” Isogai agreed, flashing her a smile.

Okano’s lips curved up. “Thanks, guys...”

“I guess the whole thing was pretty ridiculous,” Kimura said. “Sorry for stressing you out, Kataoka...”

She waved him off but her gaze softened. “Just don’t let this happen ever again.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Maehara clasped his heads behind his head. “Ah, by the way, I’m gonna have to leave sooner than I thought.”

Yada squinted at him. “...Why?”

“Well, there’s this Christmas event at another store where they need a guy in a Santa costume...and you know...the elves are all pretty girls, so I gotta help them out-”

All his friends let out a collective groan. 

[bvckys-doll]

Freak the Freak out

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x mutant!reader (guest appearance by Alpine)

Word count: 2.2k

Summary: Never call a mutant a “freak”. You will regret it.

Warnings: 1% angst, mention of cock warming, a bit of language, Bucky being a cute boyfriend (if that’s a warning) so fluffy/pre-smut ending

Author’s note: Finally I can give you another Bucky one shot. Wrote all my exams and i’m waiting for the final results. Now i can focus on my writing again. So happy. Hope you like this! Reblog, comment, like! Love you! <3

You can find my main masterlist here! (because i’m too dumb to put a link in my bio)

Being a mutant has its perks but also its bad sides as well. Not every day is a good day but not every day is a bad day either. Over the years while (Y/N) lived with the Avengers in their huge headquarters, she had managed to get her forces under control to a large extent. Still, it was never a good idea to tease her. She would not describe herself as sensitive, but there were certain situations where she could not always hold herself back. Like that one time when some guy insulted Bucky in front of her, she almost killed him by accident. Luckily, her friends and her boyfriend stood by her side.

James could understand very well even though he didn't have a secret power to control except his strength. Still he knew how hard it was to control his feelings when it came to his family and friends. (Y/N) also spent a lot of time with Bruce since he mastered the art of controlling your own anger issues.

However, unfortunately, there were situations which could not always be avoided and none of the others knew that such a situation was imminent.

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

Violet Finegan was a beautiful and talented young woman but also the daughter of one of the biggest billionaires in the United States, Andrew Finegan, and the new protégé of the Avengers. After her father contacted Tony as they were old colleagues, Tony decided to help him after a very long and extensive discussion with Andrew. Apparently he had made a deal with a certain mob boss and that had put him in a very dangerous position and now he and his daughter Violet had a death threat on their hands.

It had already been two weeks since Violet had moved to the top floor and taken it up completely. Not that anyone was complaining, (*cough* (Y/N) *cough*), but the other members of the Avengers were used to sharing a floor with two others. Why would someone need so much space?

She even considered on bringing her entire household with her and it was annoying. (Y/N) tried to like her. She tried very hard but since Violet wanted everything she casted her eye on, she chose him. James Buchanan Barnes. Or like (Y/N) liked to him: her boyfriend.

From the first moment when Bucky shook her hand and Violet smiled at him a little too long, (Y/N) knew. She knew that girl would be big trouble.

Since her first day at the headquarters, Violet always tried to find an excuse to be alone with James. Sometimes she would ask for help even if Bucky couldn't help her in the slightest - like when it came to the modern technology.

But slowly but surely it was too much for (Y/N)'s liking.

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

“James is a really good listener, don't you think?“ Violet was leaning against the wide kitchen island while (Y/N) was about to make herself a cup of coffee. The young mutant had just taken a shower, her hair was still a little damp, after the long training session with Steve, Sam and Bucky down in the training area. (Y/N) was sure she would feel the blows for weeks.

For a short moment, (Y/N) let her eyes wander to Violet who apparently was trying to provoke her with her winning smile before (Y/N) replied with a charming smile on her lips “Well, i should know it. After all, he is my boyfriend, isn't he?“

“Are you really sure about that? The way he's been acting, I'd never assume he had you as his girlfriend.“ Violet chuckled and watched (Y/N)'s reaction carefully to plan her next step. She loved to drvie people crazy over and over again. She knew that she had an effect on men when they were around her and Violet loved it. Nothing gave the young lady more pleasure than that. Nevertheless, (Y/N) tried not to be upset and fished her favourite cup from the shelf, which Bucky had given her for Christmas last year. She took a deep breath and stared at the coffee machine to stay calm before reacting again to Violet's statement “Why? How is James acting?“

“Well...“ Violet began, still smiling and thinking before she went on “he's been pretty attentive the last two weeks i've been here. He always listens to me when I need help or comfort. After I had a nightmare the day before yesterday, he even came to my floor and made me a tea afterwards downstairs in the kitchen. He is such a gentlemen. I was even allowed to play with his cat. She's crazy about me.“

Exactly at the same moment the said cat came toddling into the kitchen around the corner. With one leap, Alpine jumped onto the kitchen island and stretched herself while Violet tried to stroke her fur. But before her fingers could even touch her snow-white fur, Alpine hissed at her briefly and reared up. Laughing, (Y/N) watched Violet as she retreated in horror and watched Alpine jump onto the other dresser and then nestle to (Y/N)'s side. Triumphantly (Y/N) stroked the little one through her white fur coat with a smile on her lips and tickled Alpine behind her ears which she loved above all else.

“Yes, I see it. Alpine seems to really love you.“ she laughed softly as Alpine curled up next to the warm coffee machine and dozed a little. (Y/N) could literally feel it seething in Violet when one of her first lies came to light before (Y/N) asked her “And when exactly was Bucky supposed to have been with you the other day? You know he was with me all night. I would have known if he'd left.“

“How do you know that? After all, he was the Winter Soldier for a reason. You never saw him come or go.“ Violet replied briskly as (Y/N) raised one eyebrow and answered with a smile “Let me put it this way, Bucky was busy with other things at the time. So when I say he was busy treating my pussy, I don't mean Alpine. I know it's really none of your business but James loves cock-warming and if I say I would have noticed it, then I mean it.“

Now Violet was completely speechless and her mouth was open. No one had ever talked to her like that before and she wouldn't take any shit from (Y/N).

“S-still, I wonder what James sees in you. Look at yourself. You're not even pretty. You're...just a freak like little Maximoff and her brother. You've caused us enough trouble for years. We'd all be better off without you anyway.“ Violet growled at her poisonously and glared at (Y/N) with her dark brown eyes.

All of a sudden a glass of water that stood next to Violet burst into a thousand little pieces. Violet cried out in panic when one of the splinters caught her arm. (Y/N) had clenched her hands into fists as Violet held her arm and whimpered softly. With a serious voice (Y/N) turned completely towards her while her eyes light up in a dark blue “No one calls my friends...freaks..“

Fearful Violet retreated towards the door when her gaze caught the scene outside. Through the wide glass facade she could watch as the sky slowly closed in and dark clouds gathered in the sky as a loud thunder could be heard. With eyes widened in fear, Violet's gaze shot back to (Y/N) who now slowly but surely came closer to her.

But before anything worse could happen, some of the other team members stormed into the kitchen. With wide eyes Bucky watched his girlfriend while her gaze was still fixed on Violet with blue glowing eyes. Immediately he went over to them and moved between the, so that (Y/N) turned her gaze to Bucky who calmy reached for her hands which were still clenched in fists.

„Easy, tiger. We don't wanna cause a commotion here.“ he stroked her arms briefly. That's when Bucky noticed how tense she was. Carefully, he put his hands on her cheeks and put his focus on her (y/e/c) eyes as her gaze kept wandering over to Violet. Gently he kissed the wrinkles that had formed between her eyebrows, noticing how she started to loosen up. Slowly he saw the darkness in her eyes dissolving and she calmed down as Bucky watched her and took her hands in his. Soothingly he stroked the back of her hand and kept eye contact with her as a tear rolled down her cheek.

“It's all right, baby doll. I'm right here. I got you. No one's gonna hurt you. We have everything under control.“ he whispered in a soothing voice as a sob came over her lips before (Y/N) buried her face in Bucky's chest and clawed her fingers into his shirt. Calmly he wrapped his arms around his girlfriend and kissed her forehead while Violet stood behind them, completely bewildered, not knowing what to say. In the end she was the one being attacked by (Y/N), not the other way around?!

“Miss Finegan? Come with me. We're taking you to Dr. Cho.“ she heard Steve's formal voice behind her and turned to him. Before she could say anything else, he added “We treat all people here with respect. No matter how different we may be. We are all equal here. Tony will see that you're placed elsewhere. Someone who insults or otherwise harms any part of our family has no place here.“

Violet looked at Cap in horror and tried to defend herself “But she started to att-“

“Just get out of here, Violet“ James interrupted her briskly and held (Y/N) in his arms who was holding onto him for dear life. He had to keep himself from getting angry. Without saying another word, Steve led Violet from the kitchen upstairs to Helen's office.

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

Later in the evening (Y/N) and Bucky were lying in his bed together, with Alpine lying right between the two of them. They were taking turns in petting her to keep her satisfied. Another episode of Brooklyn Nine Nine was playing on his television but not even Jake's adorableness could distract (Y/N) from what happened before.

At first, (Y/N) didn't even notice how Bucky kept glancing at her as she stroked the white cat's fur, making her purr contentedly. Only after a few minutes did (Y/N) catch his gaze and immediately knew what he wanted. Sighing she looked back at Alpine “Honestly, I don't really wanna talk about it“

“Then let me do the talking and you just listen, okay?“ Bucky sat up properly and leaned with his back against the bed wall which caused Alpine to slip from his lap and cry out in outrage before she attacked Bucky's metal arm and gnawed at it, which didn't bother him of course. (Y/N) stayed on her side and looked up at him as he started “Steve showed me the footage from the security camera earlier before you lost control.“

“I haven't lost control over my powers. I wanted to hurt her. That was on purpose.“ (Y/N) interrupted him immediately and looked back at her hands, which were somewhat scarred from the last mission. Bucky sighed and looked at her “I understand you. I would have done the same thing, but...we have to learn to control our anger. Next time...just kick her in the shins and she'll have a nice bruise.“

(Y/N) smiled to herself and then looked up at him “That sounds like a good alternative. But she is not the only one...I'm sure there are still enough people who think like her. That...we're nothing but a bunch of stupid freaks that get kept around here so we don't blow shit up or anything.“

“Hey...“ Bucky leaned over her and stroked her cheek whereupon Alpine jumped out of his lap and snuggled up on her blanket at the end of the bed. “You are not a freak, baby doll. Not you. Not Wanda. Not Pietro. How many times have you saved people's lives. They should be more grateful. And if anyone calls my beautiful, wonderful, adorable girlfriend a freak again, I'm gonna rip their heads off with my damn metal arm.“

“How romantic, Sergeant.“ (Y/N) smirked as he grinned back at her “Yes, I was a real romantic back in the days.“

Smiling, he leaned down to her and kissed her gently on the lips while she ran her fingers through his hair and pulled at it briefly. A soft growl escaped Bucky's throat as he mumbled into the kiss “Don't start something you can't finish, baby girl.“

“Oh don't worry, sweetheart. I can.“ (Y/N) replied while they continued to kiss whereby she moved her other free hand into his sweatpants. But just before she could go on, she paused as Bucky started to kiss down her neck and collarbone “Wait...if Steve overheard the whole confrontation between Violet and me...then-“

“Yeah, sweet cheeks, he heard everything. He said he'll be permanently damaged because of you because he won't get that scene out of his head.“ Bucky laughed and buried his face in her neck as (Y/N)'s face turned red.

Poor Stevie...

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

So i’m thinking about creating a permanent taglist so if you want to be on it, send me an ask or reply to this post! Thanks!

[puckinghell]

Mittens | Tyson Jost

Summary Requests: you never wear mittens so i knit you a pair and leave them for you to find as a gift from an anonymous person because i’m shy

and

your family ditches you for the holiday so i take you home with me, except my family thinks we’re dating now, and i don’t know how to tell them that we’re not Word Count: 3.8k Note: this is dedicated to @thesmutpeasant‘s knitting behaviour

---

When you finished your PR degree, you wouldn’t have said that working for a hockey team was your ultimate dream. You didn’t even know hockey. But working for the Avs has pretty much been the best time of your life, so far.

Where else could you spend an hour of your work day talking about Christmas gifts? 

So far, the boys have decided that for Christmas, Gabe needs to get some hairspray, Z needs a new wardrobe, and Mikko needs a girlfriend.

“What about Tyson?” you ask JT. “Have you gotten him a present yet?”

JT laughs. “No, I haven’t, but I think someone should get him a blanket or something. He’s not good with the cold.” “Hey, fuck you!” Tyson yells from the other side of the room. “It’s freezing here, we can’t all be cold blooded like you!” JT huffs. “He says that, but he’s dressed like he lives in California or something. Never wears a hat, or gloves. And then he complains about the cold all the time. One night he even asked if he could have my duvet.” “That was in Winnipeg, and you know how cold Winnipeg is,” Tyson protests. “Besides, I asked you to cuddle me warm first, but you said no.” It’s teasing, and JT rolls his eyes, but you know Twitter is gonna explode at this. “Thanks boys,” you say, putting down the mic, and the cameras finally leave the room. “What do you want for Christmas, Y/N?” Tyson asks. Out of all the boys - although you would never admit it - you like Tyson the most. He’s always chatting with you when the cameras turn off, and he asks you things like he cares about the answer. You’ve become friends, in the past few months. He’s also really cute. You shrug. “Some sleep would be good,” you say, because it’s been a long road trip, and Tyson laughs. “Same.” --- The next morning Tyson brings you a cup of coffee to the plane. “How is she gonna sleep on the plane now?” Burky teases, and Tyson turns bright red. You make sure to take a picture of Burky from an unflattering angle in retaliation on Tyson’s behalf. Not that it necessarily makes Burky look any worse - that guy doesn’t have bad angles - but it’s the thought that counts. You sleep on the plane and keep yourself busy during the day, but when the evening rolls around, you sit in your quiet apartment and busy your hands as your mind winds down. Knitting may sounds like a grandma hobby, but it calms you down, thank you very much, and it means you’ve always got a personal gift for someone. For Christmas, your grandma has asked for a scarf, your mom wants a hat, and your aunt asked if you can knit a romper for your few months old niece. You have no idea how to do that, but surely you can figure it out. However, today, you don’t really feel like knitting any of those. Knitting those requests feels a little too much like work, right now, and you wanna knit just to knit. You don’t even realize you’re knitting mittens until you’re halfway through the first one. You don’t need mittens; you’ve got a good selection of them, a wide variety of colors. You remember your talk with JT and Tyson, yesterday. There’s someone who needs them. --- It’s weird, that’s something you’re sure of. To just give Tyson a Christmas gift, a handmade Christmas gift, and not have anything for the other guys. They would chirp you to hell and back and you’re not sure you’re ready for everyone to know about your teeny tiny crush on number 17. However, you can’t deny the fact that you knitted these mittens with only one person in mind, and it would feel weird to give them to anyone else. So, one morning, when Pepsi Center is still dark and there’s nobody around, you put them in Tyson’s stall without a note and decide to never think about it again. Which would be easier if you’re not the one having to do pregame interviews that day. “So, the Blues are obviously the reigning Stanley Cup champions...” - EJ pulls a face and you can’t help but agree - “how can you make sure you take the two points here tonight?” “Probably score some goals,” EJ says with a deadpan voice and a wide toothless grin, and you’re about to yell at him for being an awful person to interview when there’s a loud noise on the opposite side of the locker room. “Ah, sick!” The entire room turns to Tyson, who is beaming with excitement and looking at the mittens in his hands. “Someone got me gloves!” “Those aren’t gloves, those are mittens,” Cale says wisely. Tyson stares at him for a few seconds, then obviously decides to ignore him. “There’s no note,” he wonders out loud, and you really, really hope your blush isn’t too noticeable. EJ’s eyes are a little too fixed on your face. “Maybe it’s a secret admirer,” Mikko offers. “Maybe it’s someone who’s just as sick about you complaining about the cold as I am,” JT says. “Where are my mittens?” Z ponders. “You’re not getting any, you don’t deserve them,” says Nate, and Z goes to put him in a headlock. The boys start arguing about why they do or do not deserve mittens and EJ turns back to you. “So,” he says, “any more questions?” --- The boys win in OT and there’s excitement radiating through the locker room. You’re not doing the postgame; Lauren is, but you follow her around anyway, mostly because you love the locker room after a win. The happiness is contagious, and you find yourself smiling all evening. Most of the guys have gone home when Lauren packs up her final stuff. “What a game to end with before Christmas, huh?” she says, giving you a quick hug. “Merry Christmas, Y/N!” “You sure you don’t want to come?” JT’s voice is filled with enough worry that it catches your attention. You pretend to focus on packing your bag, the door slamming shut behind Lauren as she leaves. It’s just you, JT and Tyson, now. “Nah, man, it’s okay.” Tyson sounds a little down, which is not what you would’ve expected, after he scored to put them into OT earlier. “You’re with your girl, and I don’t wanna be a third wheel. I’ll be fine.” “But you can’t be alone on Christmas.” JT is clearly indignant. 

You’re just standing up when Tyson gives JT a playful shove. “Go, Comph. Go have a fun Christmas. I’ll be chill here.” JT rolls his eyes but gives Tyson a quick bro hug. As he’s leaving the locker room, he sends you a smile, a “happy holidays” and then he’s gone. You turn to Tyson. 

“You’re staying here for the holidays?” Tyson shrugs as he puts on his coat. It’s not nearly thick enough to be a winter coat, and he’s not wearing a scarf. He does however, take the mittens and put them on his hands. “My mom is on a cruise and Kacey is celebrating Christmas at her boyfriend’s house. Everyone is leaving me alone this year.” He’s trying to sound light, like he’s joking, but there’s a sharp edge in his voice that tells you it matters more to him than he’s willing to let on.

Something squeezes in your chest. Nobody should be alone on Christmas. “My family is coming to my apartment on Christmas Eve to have dinner, do you want to come?” You blurt it out before really thinking it through; it’s probably gonna be hard to explain to your parents, that you’re suddenly having a guy over for Christmas, and maybe Tyson will think it’s weird that you’re asking him: you just heard him tell JT no, so why would you think he wants to come hang out with you? But when you brave looking up at him, Tyson is smiling widely. “You sure?” he asks. “Is it not too much trouble? I can help you cook if you want. Or, you probably don’t want that, because I suck at cooking, but I can do whatever else you need me to do. I’d bring gifts for all your family, of course, and…” He’s rambling, and it’s cute. “Tys,” you interrupt him, and you can’t help how fond you sound. “They’ll love having you around. My dad is always saying it’s not fair, four girls and one guy, and my sister is bringing her girlfriend, so I could use a partner in crime, too.” “Okay, that’d be awesome,” Tyson says truthfully, “thanks so much, Y/N.” He smiles at you brightly and then puts on his mittens. “Dude, these are so warm, I love them.” You nearly promise to make him a hat and scarf too, but then you figure you might’ve exceeded your maximum amount of weird for the day by inviting him to Christmas dinner, so you quietly follow him out to the parking lot while he excitedly chatters about Christmas movies. --- It’s the morning of Christmas Eve and you’re this close to having a mental breakdown. Your house is a mess; you figured you didn’t need to clean it, your family has seen it all, but now Tyson is coming and you would like him to not think you’re the biggest slob in the world. Also, there’s the fact that an extra mouth to feed means more food necessary, so you have to go to the store and get more groceries. All in all it means that when your doorbell rings, you’re still wearing an old Avs hoodie and leggings, and you’re pretty sure there’s cookie dough in your hair because you decided you needed dessert after all. It’s not like Tyson gets to sin all the time. Christmas is as good an excuse as any. “Hey,” Tyson smiles. He’s looking annoyingly nice, wearing a grey jumper and dark blue slacks. As soon as he sees the state of you, he frowns. “What is that in your hair?” “Cookie dough,” you tell him honestly. “You look nice.” “Thanks,” Tyson grins proudly, “I Facetimed Kacey to pick out the colors.” He walks into your apartment like he’s been there a million times before, pushes a bottle of wine into your hands and starts unpacking the bag with presents he brought, putting them under the tree. “Am I early?” “A little,” you admit. “I, uhm, kinda still need to shower. You know, get the cookie dough out of my hair.” You think about it, for a few seconds, then decide that you can trust Tyson with this one thing. “Can you take the cookies out of the oven in 10 minutes so I can shower?” Tyson nods, throws you a thumbs up and then parks his butt on the couch like that’s where he belongs.

It makes you feel... things.  And, well, you might take a little longer to get ready – putting a little more effort in your make up and hair than you would’ve if it had just been your family -  but the last thing you expect when you come back in is for everything to be ready. Except it is. There’s candles lit on your coffee table and the presents are all under the tree. Your mom has a glass of wine in her hands and greets you with a “honey, there you are!” Your sister and her girlfriend aren’t there yet, but your dad is standing at the dining table with Tyson. The dining table is fully laid and Tyson has a half eaten cookie in his hand. “Sorry,” he grins, when he spots you. “They just looked too good not to touch.” You must’ve been staring at the scene a little sheepishly, cause your mom laughs. “You okay there, honey?” 

“Uh yeah,” you bring out. “I see you met Tyson?” Your mom���s face instantly brightens. “Oh yes, we have, but if you want to do proper introductions…” For a split second, you panic, because you don’t actually know how to introduce Tyson – a friend? A coworker? You can’t really say an unreachable crush – but you’re saved by the door bell. “Y/N!” your sister says, giving you a quick sideways hug. “Amy and I brought some extra wine, in case you didn’t have enough booze and we have to listen to dad talk about baseball all evening while sober…” She stops dead in her tracks as soon as she sees Tyson. “Oh, hello.” “Thanks, Meg,” you mumble. “We uh, have enough, probably, cause Tyson brought some too.” Meg turns to you, wiggling her eyebrows. “A boy that brings wine? Keep him around, will ya.” You’re about to tell her to shut up, when your mom stands up. “Time for dinner!” --- It turns out Tyson fits in with your family right away, and you’re not even halfway through the night when you realize your catastrophically big mistake. Seeing him like this, as if he’s an integral part of your life already, does nothing to help your massive crush on him. Because Tyson is perfect. He talks sports with your dad and interior design with your mom – “My mom used to redecorate our place every year or so, you pick up some stuff” – and falls into a flawless routine of teasing you with Meg. He tops up glasses, passes the salt without being asked, and every now and then he sends you a smile that has your stomach turn in your body. It’s not until after dinner, when you’re standing in the kitchen with your mom, cleaning dishes, that you understand your mistake has been even bigger than you thought. “I’m so happy for you, sweetheart,” your mom coos. She’s looking at you with fond eyes. “I was worried, you know, that you never introduced us to a boy or girl. I don’t want you to be lonely here in Denver. But Tyson is such a lovely guy. You can tell he really loves you.” You can… what? “Oh, no, mom,” you stutter, “he’s not… He doesn’t…” “Oh, but he does,” she interrupts. “I see it in the way he looks at you, you know. When a person really loves someone, it’s in their eyes. And Tyson looks at you with love. You deserve someone who cares about you, babe, and I’m just so happy you’ve got someone here in Denver, when we’re so far away. I just don’t want you to be alone.” And, fuck, your mom clearly thinks you’re dating Tyson, and you realize you still haven’t introduced him properly to your family, of course they think you’re dating, who brings home a guy to Christmas for platonic reasons? You know you should tell her that you’re not dating, you know that, but she looks so genuinely happy, and you know if you tell her now it’ll break her heart. Quietly, you sneak a glance towards the living room. Your dad laughs at something Tyson says while Tyson ruffles through Meg’s hair. She swats at him, and Amy is smiling. Every single one of them would be upset to hear that Tyson is nothing more than a crush that’s way out of your league. 

You know you have to tell them. But maybe just not tonight. Maybe, just for one Christmas, you can let them be happy. “Thanks, mom,” you force out a smile and your mom returns to the dishes. It’s not even a few seconds later that Tyson wanders into the kitchen. “Hey,” he smiles, “can I help?” He leans into you and puts a hand on the small of your back and your heart flutters and it’s innocent, sure it is, he’s just trying to be friendly, but your mom gives you a knowing look as she says: “Sure, you guys finish up here,” and demonstratively closes the kitchen door behind her, leaving the two of you alone. “Your family is awesome,” Tyson grins, as he starts to dry the dishes. “Meg tells me you guys go skiing every February. Me and Kacey usually try to go during bye week, Meg said maybe we can go together!” And something inside of you bursts. “My family thinks we’re dating.” Tyson frowns, puts the plate he was drying down. “Oh, really?” He doesn’t sound upset by the fact, simply curious, and you sigh. You’re gonna have to explain this one. “I guess I just didn’t really think to tell them who you are or like, what we are? And so they just saw that I invited a guy to Christmas and they assumed that we’re together. They absolutely love you, Tys, and they always worry so much about me having a boyfriend, and I just…” You pause; you know you’re turning red and it’s impossible to get out the words. “Hey, it’s okay,” Tyson says gently. He reaches out, his hand landing on your arm in a gesture of comfort. “You don’t have to tell them now. We can just… date.” He flushes. “Fake date, I mean. For tonight. Or, like, however long you need us to.” “Really?” you ask, relieved, and Tyson laughs. “Don’t sound so surprised. As if it’s such a hardship, to pretend to be your boyfriend.” He shoots you a wink, puts the final plate away and wanders back to the living room. Leaving you absolutely stunned, wondering what just happened. --- “Gifts!” Meg says, clasping her hands together. “The true meaning of Christmas!” Your mom gives her a disapproving look, but even your dad is eyeing the presents under the tree with a little too much interest.   “I’ll go first,” Tyson says with shining eyes, “being the new one in the family, and all that.” “Ah, yay, it’s not me anymore,” Amy giggles, and you swear to God you are going to die. Somehow, despite not knowing your family, Tyson nailed his gifts. Your dad is over the moon with his new slippers, your mom keeps sniffing the scented candle he gives her, and Meg smacks Tyson across the head with the Avalanche beanie he got her, until she notices there’s two tickets to a musical that Amy has been wanting to see in there. 

You’re a little jealous, because you love gifts like that, until Tyson hands you an envelope. “I heard you tell Gravy how much you like them,” he says, and he sounds a little off. Nervous, even. “And if you need a plus one…” He wiggles his eyebrows and laughs, but even his giggle comes out a little nervous. In the envelope is two tickets to your favorite band, who are playing in Denver next month. You didn’t end up getting tickets cause they were sold out stupidly quickly and were ridiculously expensive in resale. “Oh my God, Tys, that’s way too much,” you tell him in awe, but Tyson just shrugs. “No use for an NHL salary if you can’t spend it on the people you care about.” It sounds weirdly genuine, a deeper level of something ringing through, but it’s way too much to unpack right now. You feel a little stupid about your gift for him, now – a nice wallet cause his old one looks like it’s been through a lot – although Tyson seems really happy with it, even gives you a hug to say thank you. For the rest of your family, you’ve got a normal gift and something knitted, as extra, and it’s not until you catch sight of the deep frown on Tyson’s face that you realize something. Fuck. You forgot about the fucking mittens. “Isn’t it cute, Tyson?” your mom says, as she wraps the scarf you made her around her neck. “She always knits people gifts. I swear it’s her way of saying how much she loves them. She spends so much time on these.” She pauses. “I mean, you’ve probably been with her while she makes them, you know.” “Yeah,” says Tyson, slowly, although you know he has no clue. After that, it’s like you can’t even really enjoy the rest of the night; you can’t focus on the Christmas movie Meg puts on, can’t focus on how cute it is when she cuddles up with Amy, can’t focus on how fondly your mom is smiling down at you or your dad’s soft snores as he falls asleep halfway through. You can focus on Tyson’s thigh pressed against yours, and how you have no idea how to explain to him why you knitted him those mittens. Finally, your mom stands up, gently kicks your dad’s legs, and smiles at you. “I think it’s time for us to go,” she says. “I’m sure you two wants to enjoy some part of Christmas Eve in privacy, too.” “Mom,” you scold her, feeling your cheeks heat up. Tyson grins at you. By the door, as your mom gives you a hug, she whispers: “He’s a keeper, honey,” and you nearly tell her everything. “Yeah, he’s alright,” Meg says way too loudly, and you hear Tyson giggle in the background and you decide to shut up. The door closes behind them and immediately, Tyson stretches out on the couch. “Ah,” he says. “I’m pretty good at impressing the in laws, no?” You don’t remind him that they’re not actually his in laws. Instead, you fall back onto the couch and groan. “Are you not gonna make fun of me for knitting you mittens and leaving them anonymously in your stall?” you ask, because you might as well get over it. Tyson frowns. “Why would I do that? Those mittens rock, my hands haven’t been cold since.” You blush. “Yeah, but, don’t you think it’s weird that I made those? I didn’t make any for the rest of the team.” For a second, he seems to think about that. Then he moves a little closer, his hand coming to rest on your thigh. Electricity zips through your veins at the contact. “I kinda hoped that meant something,” Tyson says slowly. “Tell me if I’m wrong?” You only had two glasses of wine but you feel like your world is spinning as Tyson moves closer tauntingly slowly. Finally, his lips touch yours, and you understand every cliché ever written into any romantic Christmas movie. When his hand moves to your thigh, settles on the skin right below the hem of your dress, you yelp.

“How are your hands still cold?” 

Tyson chuckles. “I mean, I haven’t been wearing my mittens, so...” 

---

Years later, you’re laying on the couch with your daughter, watching a Christmas movie after having just set up the tree.

“Daddy, what was your favorite Christmas present Santa ever gave you?” your daughter asks. 

Tyson sends you a private look above her head, then focuses on her. 

“A pair of hand knitted mittens.” 

“Like the one mommy made me?” she asks, and he grins.

“Yeah, kinda like that.”

[bittywitches]

16 with ethan?

Okay @vintagedolan lowkey this is what would’ve happened in downhill if Grayson hadn’t been an ass lol (jk idk anything about winter sports)

16. Riding together up the ski lift. 

This day wasn’t supposed to start with you and your bundle of nerves. Today was going to be a fun holiday with you and one of your closest friends, but when he ended up in bed sick that morning, you knew you weren’t going to be able to drag him out of bed and to the slopes. His head was burning up with a fever, probably because you guys hadn’t been wearing the proper clothing when you took that pitstop to play in the snow. You’d both gone to bed alright but now he was a sneezing mess. The plan was for you to stay back and take care of him, but he’d insisted you go anyways, not wanting to ruin your vacation as well. You were grateful, but still a bit upset that you had to do this all by yourself.

So when you were checking your phone to send one last text to your friend telling him you probably wouldn’t respond to him for the next hour or so, of course you were nervous. But the sudden voice you heard behind you only made that spike even higher.

“Hey, hold on!” You turned to see a boy in a thick jacket and black cargo pants running up to you. His short hair was freckled with white snow, and he had a quiet smile on his lips. “You dropped this.” He held his hand out to you, and you saw that he was holding one of your gloves.

“Oh!” You reached into your pockets and found only one of them in there. You took it from him, your cold fingers grazing his surprising warm ones as you did so. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” He smiled, before turning to jog back towards the two people he’d been talking to. You slid your phone into your jacket pocket, zipping it closed before bending down to pick your board up off the ground. Your eyes seemed to follow him as he left, you slipping on your gloves as they did so, but you quickly turned away when you saw the other man with him look up in your direction, causing your face to heat up. You shook your head, then set off for the slopes.

・ ・ ・

Originally, you and your friend were going to go for the Black Diamond, considering you both had a good amount of experience and were pretty good on the slopes. However, you weren’t feeling as confident without him by your side, so you decided to ease in at least a little bit by going for the Blue Square trail first. You had to wait quite a while before you were able to finally get to the front of the line. Eventually you got there, and you slowly glided down until you hit the red marker, your left foot buckled into your snowboard. You felt someone coming up behind you, and the person slid to a stop next to you.

“Hey, it’s you.” You looked up to see the same short haired boy, but now his hair was covered by a cute little beanie and his goggles were hoisted up on his head.

“Oh, hey!”

You replied, looking back behind you waiting for the chair lift to come. When it did, you both gently sat back on the seat, and he reached up to grab the bar above your heads. He looked at you, and you hovered your arms up so he could pull the bar down.

You gave him a quick smile, then looked down. You always liked to watch your feet gradually leave the ground, then see them suspended in the air. Your board gently rested on your other foot. You looked back up at him, deciding to fill the silence. “Where’s your friends?” 

His head was turned away from you, watching the trees far off in the distance before turning around at your voice. “Oh, they decided to start on the easier slopes.”

“Ah.”

“You flying solo too?”

“Yea. My friend was supposed to come too but he got sick.”

“Aw, that sucks.”

“Yea.” The sun reflected off of his goggles, and you had to squint a bit to look at him.

“So, you done this before?”

“Oh yeah. I skied a lot when I was younger, but I started snowboarding a lot last winter.”

“You good?”

“I’d like to think so.” You both giggled. “You?”

“Yea, I come lot with my brother so I get a lot of practice.”

You nod your head. “Shouldn’t you be doing one of harder ones then?”

“I like to work my way up.” He responded. “Might as well get the most of all the slopes.”

“That’s true.”

“How about you? Sounds like you’re pretty good.”

You chuckled. “I was going to go to one of the diamonds, but I’ve actually never snowboarded on my own before. Bit nervous about doing it without anybody else with me.”

“Well that makes sense, can be a bit unnerving to feel like nobody’s gonna be there.”

“You wouldn’t even know the half of it.”

The boy went quiet for a moment, but then said “Wanna go down the slope together?” When he turned to look at you his jacket rubbing against itself made a little sound. “Yknow, since it’s your first time.”

“Oh! No, it’s okay, you don’t have to do that.”

“I don’t mind.”

“You probably don’t want me weighing you down, though-”

“No, seriously. It’s all good. I’m used to snowboarding with my brother or some friends too, so.” He shrugged.

You smiled. “Alright, as long as it’s okay with you.”

“One hundred percent.”

“Thank you. It’s really nice of you.”

“Don’t even mention it. Oh- I’m Ethan, by the way.”

“Y/N.” You both awkwardly shook hands, but smiled at each other nonetheless.

“Oh-”

He tapped your shoulder then nodded forward to signal to you that you’d reached the summit. He raised the bar above your heads, and you both twisted your legs so you landed on your boards, gliding gently towards the start of the trail. 

“Alright, gimme a sec.” He pulled his gloves on and put on his goggles, and you followed suit. “You ready?”

“Yea.” You looked down the trail, seeing many people racing down the slope, getting smaller and smaller the farther away they got. You took in a deep breath.

“Hey.” You felt Ethan’s hand on your shoulder, and you looked back at him. He looked a little goofy with his goggles on. “You’re gonna be fine.”

You grinned. “Yea, I know.” You paused. “Hey, wanna make this interesting?”

He tilted his head at you. “How so?”

You bit your tongue. “Wanna race?”

“Oh, are you sure you wanna do that? I don’t think you know how good I am.”

“Are you underestimating me?”

He held his hands up in defense. “Of course not.”

“Then how about it then?”

He finally returned your enthusiastic grin. “Alright. Bet.”

“Okay, on the count of three.”

He nodded.

“One, two…” You suddenly pushed with your foot, gliding forward and then down the slope, out of sight. 

“Hey, no fair!” He yelled, but laughed still, chasing after you.

You both raced down the mountain, and you could see him gaining on you through the corner of your eye. He passed you for a moment, but he had to swerve to avoid a tree, giving you an advantage. Snow was flying as you seared through it, and it would’ve definitely gotten in your eyes if it weren’t for your goggles. The wind was cold and almost painful against your face, but the exhilaration of the speed made it seem infinitesimal. It’d been so long since you felt so free and alive like this; You were loving every moment of it. 

You were both neck and neck, one of you gaining on the other every few seconds, but eventually you ended up gaining a much larger lead.

Ethan was competitive, sure, but for some reason it was like this fire was set within him with you. He needed to beat you. He had to win. So he leaned forward, gaining more and more speed, eventually passing you with the biggest grin on his face. He looked back to you with a victorious expression for just a split second, but that was enough for him to lose focus on what he was doing. He had tried to look for you when he looked back, and it made him swivel a bit, rendering him unable to notice the icy patch he’d just slid onto. His head jerked forward, and he tried to right himself, but when that didn’t work he tried to stop, redirecting his board to get it across the run. However the icy slope made him overshoot, and he fell back, his feet flying up into the air and his shoulder crashed into the ground. 

You’d had your eye on his grey jacket since he passed you, so when you saw his fall you gasped, immediately stopping as fast as you could. You quickly unbuckled yourself form your board and picked it up, running as fast as you could to Ethan’s fallen body.

“Oh my god, are you okay??” You asked incredulously, crouching down next to him to turn him around onto his back.

“Fuck, yea. I’m good.” He tried to sit up, but his arm buckled and his back fell against the snow again.

“Jeez, come on.” You grabbed his arm and helped him up, dragging him to the side of the slope so you wouldn’t interrupt any of the other skiers. 

“What’d you land on?”

“My arm.” He went to grab his shoulder, but winced when he did.

You took your gloves off and stuffed them into your pockets, running your hands up and down his shoulder. “Does it hurt bad?” 

“Not too much. I don’t think it’s sprained or anything.” He stretched his neck out, pulling it away from his hurt arm. “God dammit, I’m sorry.”

“What the hell are you apologizing for?”

“Well I kinda took the fun out of the race, for one thing.” He laughed.

“Don’t worry about that. What’s important is you’re okay.”

“I’m good. Promise.” He sighed. “Probably might wanna take a little break, though.”

You laughed. “Sounds like a good idea.”

Luckily for you both, you were already pretty close to the bottom of the slope so you and Ethan were able to walk the rest of the way down.

“Sorry for ruining your run.” He said once you’d reached the bottom.

“Don’t worry about it. It was still fun.” You smiled. 

“I guess I’ll see you later then?”

“What? No! I’m not gonna leave you like this.”

“I was just planning on heading out.”

“Where’re you staying? I’ll drop you off.”

“No, there’s no need for that, really.”

“Come on, it’s basically my fault you’re hurt.” You went to hold his arm but he winced again. “See?”

“It’s okay, I’ll just wait for my friends. You go have fun or whatever.”

“No, it’s fine. It’s kinda cold anyways and I think my nose might freeze off.”

He laughed. “Okay, well, what do you wanna do then?”

You thought for a second. “Wanna… go get some hot chocolate? There’s a cute little coffee shop near here I passed by.”

His eyes brightened. “Yes, absolutely.”

You smiled. “Okay, let’s go.”

[ssa25]

Naruhina - Save My Soul -NH2020

For Naruhina2020 March (Bodyguard AU) and April (Celebrity AU)

A/n: Re-posting this long oneshot after major edits. I’d blundered previously when I posted this with huge chunks of old drafts attached at the end, smh. If you have read this story before, please ignore this post.

Rating: Mature

Warning: Modern AU with RTN Hinata and RTN Naruto

-

Hinata knew how some people have fetishes. She never thought she had one. Until that moment.

Wait. Would it still count as a fetish if she found that particular body part extremely sexy and distracting on only one specific person?

Sitting in the back seat of her chauffeur driven customised Maybach, Hyuuga Hinata could not take her eyes off of the large manly hands of her bodyguard who was sitting in the front passenger seat. Her nipples puckered and rubbed against the lace of her bra under the short black dress, as flashes of those very same hands skimming over her body, played through her mind. Especially how his long fingers had pinched and thrust into parts of her anatomy that had made her scream and tremble in toe curling pleasure. Involuntarily, her thighs clenched together at the reminder. 

She had to force herself to look away from the man who was absolutely unaware of how his mere presence was wreaking havoc on her mind and body. Not even the constant chatter of her relatively new, chirpy assistant Matsuri, who was sitting right beside her, could pull her thoughts away from the self destructing path she was seemingly on.

Get over it, get over him, she told herself.

Uzumaki Naruto did not want her. He had made it clear. That one particular night, exactly nine days back, had been etched, engraved and embossed into her brain, was supposedly a slip-up on his part. A rare moment of weakness, was how he’d labelled it.

He was her bodyguard. Nothing more, nothing less.

So why did her body yearn for him? Had she imagined the explosive chemistry they had shared in bed? Was she not his type?

The whole world assumed that being a young famous singer-songwriter, she had more men in her life than she could handle. But little did they know that all through her existence, she had been left sorely disappointed by the men who truly meant something to her.

-

As soon as she entered her suite at the hotel, she flung her crystal studded killer heels to the side and made a beeline for the well stocked mini bar. 

She had only had a few cocktails at the lavish and exclusive birthday bash of a world renowned, award winning artist, at his sprawling mansion in the outskirts of the city. Usually, she preferred to be in control of her senses at these events. She absolutely hated the idea of other people witnessing her in a weak moment.

It was probably one of the very few traits she had inherited from her now-estranged father. Her already precarious relationship with her only living conservative parent blew into smithereens when she decided to pursue her dreams. 

But that topic was a terribly sore spot for her, and she did not even want to think about it. The only thing she wanted was to drink herself to numbness, now that she was back in the security of her room. Just so that, she could stop feeling unwanted and unrequited emotions and just drift off to sleep.

She could hear Naruto stepping inside the suite, but she willed herself to not glance back at him. He would sleep on the sofa bed in the living room like he had done the night before.

He had been hired by her label’s President to protect her. After she had, apparently, irked quite a few psychopathic, batshit crazy fangirls of the famous rockstar Sabaku Gaara. Just because they had casually dated for a few months last winter. They went especially haywire when the man had written an entire song about her and had openly admitted to it in an interview.

Their relationship ended prematurely, but the threats became progressively scarier and outrightly morbid. That’s when Naruto was taken on board from an elite security organization. He was to protect her, accompany her everywhere for the foreseeable future and always stay within reach. 

Lucky her.

Hinata picked out a small bottle of red wine on impulse and carried it to her room. She shed down to her lacy underthings and poured out a generous amount of the merlot into a bulbous glass.

Taking it to her ensuite bathroom, she began wiping off her makeup in preparation for bed. The process had become so common for her, she was lost in her musings while doing a perfect job of stripping her face bare. 

Refilling her glass again, she lifted it to her lips, when it was snatched away. The harsh tug of Naruto’s fingers made her gasp and spill some wine on her chest. She had not seen him enter her private bathroom.

“What the fuck are you doing?!”, she snapped at him. “You spilled wine on me!”

His gaze flickered to her wet cleavage before he looked away. With his jaws clenched, he poured the drink into the sink and looked at her with a less than pleasant expression.

“You should know better than to drink irresponsibly. Matsuri has already reminded you that you have an early morning meeting with Mr. Senju. The last thing you need is a hangover.”, he uttered those words with a straight face. He tried his best to seem unaffected.

She forced a smile on her face. “I can’t sleep without getting myself drunk. Unless you can think of another way to tire me out. That might just help.”

She was shamelessly coming on to him, but at this point she could care less. Or it was probably just plain ol’ liquid courage.

“Go to bed, and count sheep, for all I care.”, his voice was steady but she could see the inkling of desire in his azure eyes.

She wanted to egg him on, and brought her hands to the front clasp of her bra. “Oh, come on, help me out a bit. Just one more time.”, she was almost playfully begging him now. And she knew she would take whatever he would throw at her. It probably went against feminist ideals, but she was never this weak for another man. She needed him like no one else. Why did he not get that?

“Don’t you want me again?”, she propositioned him and unhooked the wet lace bra to tempt him further.

But before he could get an eyeful for her naked heaving chest, he turned around to walk out of her bathroom. She could only laugh, while her heart squeezed painfully inside at his outright rejection.

“You’re such a pussy!”, she commented mockingly to goade him further.

And lo, behold, it made him stall at the door. His fists were clenched at his sides, but he did not retaliate with words. Just when she felt a sliver of doubt that he would walk away, he swung around and marched over to her, capturing her burgundy stained lips under his hungry ones. 

She moaned audibly at the surge of passion in their liplock, it positively made her giddy. His hands pulled and pressed her body against his, before cupping her perky round bottom and lifting her up against him.

Hinata squealed into the kiss at the sudden change of altitude, but she did not dare break away from him. She needed him so badly that she grasped at his short hair desperately to gain leverage and rub her core against his hardening length.

She heard him groan out loudly and then he pulled away from her lightly bruised, swollen lips, as he joined their foreheads and continued what she had started. Holding her from her bottom, he pushed her against the nearest wall and started thrusting upwards for some desperately needed friction. The silk of her panty was really thin and flimsy, and the ridges of his jeans gliding over her most sensitive point was delicious.

“Yes!”, she cried out. “Naruto… Please!! Don’t stop…!!”

Her hoarse pleading made him curse out loud. Abruptly, he her away from the wall. But instead of taking her to the bedroom like she had expected, he stepped into the large glass walled shower.

Unceremoniously, Naruto pulled the tap handle and the shower sprayed them with really cold water. She screamed as the icy water fell on her skin, instantly cutting off the heat of their encounter.

“F*ck! What the hell?!”, she scrambled out of his grip and out from the chill of the water. “What was that for?”

The cold spray had drenched Naruto, by the time he turned the supply off.

“That was me trying to act on the shred of rationality left in me.”, Naruto said seriously while rubbing a hand across his hair. She shivered and wrapped her arm around her naked chest.

“Oh, for f*ck’s sake, do you have to be so rational all the dam* time?!!”, her voice echoed against the walls. “What’s wrong with you??!!”

He slipped out of the shower cubicle and threw the nearest dry bathrobe at her. She quickly pushed her arms through it to cover herself. Doing what he did was humiliating enough, especially after she had literally begged him to take her.

“Call me old fashioned, but I prefer my women sober in bed…”, he replied with a snort.

“Oh just stop with that holier than thou attitude… I’m barely tipsy… You’re the one who’s got his panties in a wad for no reason.”, she let her frustration speak through with zero filter. “Seriously, have you ever let yourself get carried away by your instincts? Instead of being so dam* uptight 24/7?...”

“Oh, I’ve tried it… Look where that got us…”

“You say it as if it was bad for you…”, she followed after him into the bedroom.

“That is beside the point… You, Miss Hinata Hyuuga, are my employer… It is inappropriate for us to sleep together...”

“It’s a little late for worrying about appropriateness, don’t you think?!...”, her voice was laced with sarcasm. “Surely you realise that or have you lost your memories while perched on your moral high horse?”

Naruto gritted his teeth and glared at her with icy blue eyes. “I haven’t forgotten anything… But I have more self respect and pride than repeating my mistake of being your rebound hookup.”

She felt hurt by his accusation. “Is that what you think? A rebound?... Gosh, Naruto... I have been over Gaara for months...”

“Well then, what else is it??”, he demanded.

She was tongue tied by the abruptness of his question. What was it? 

She was crazy attracted to him. She cared for him. She wanted him to do unspeakable things to her. She wanted to do similar things back to him. But that was as far as she had thought.

Seeing her speechless, he nodded curtly. “That’s what I thought.”

He moved away from her before her muddled brain could make a sense out of the deviation their conversation had taken. Naruto picked up his wallet, blazer and keycard before walking towards the main door.

“Get some sleep… Please… I will be right outside.”

Hinata could not utter the right words to stop him. Even if she desperately wanted to. 

-

By eight o’ clock next morning, Hinata was seated in an upscale rooftop restaurant that was famous for its breakfast menu. Mr. Senju was notorious for being an early riser, and he believed in using as much of the daylight as possible to conduct profitable business.

Clad in a flowy lavender maxi skirt, a white lace crop top and a pair of comfy birkenstocks, Hinata was half heartedly listening to Mr. Senju. Her mirrored sunglasses provided her the perfect ruse to hide her tired eyes and also to frequently glance over at Naruto, who stood a few feet away, where he had the perfect vantage point of the whole setting.

Matsuri sat beside her, jotting down important points that were discussed. By the end of the meal, Hinata had agreed to lend her voice to a character of a big budget animated movie that would be produced by Mr. Senju. Few remaining details would be ironed out by her label before she would sign the contract.

“Then I’ll see you back in the city in two weeks, Miss Hyuuga.”, Mr. Senju shook her hand. “It was a pleasure meeting you. Have a good day!”

Hinata smiled widely and bid him goodbye.

“Wow… That was definitely worth losing a few hours of sleep…”, Matsuri commented.

Hinata nodded listlessly, and nibbled on the poached eggs. She would have certainly liked Naruto to join her at the table, but he had maintained the cool aloof demeanour from last night. Like they only worked in a professional capacity.

Hinata could not openly make any grand gestures towards him because the restaurant was decently filled with posh clients.

From behind her shades, she had even noticed more than one woman staring in the direction of the tall figure of her bodyguard. And it lit her with jealousy. It was absurd. She had no claim over him, but she wanted to gorge the eyes out of any woman who so much as second glanced at him. Curiously, she had never felt this possessive about any of her past boyfriends. Not even Gaara, who the craziest female fandom their music industry had ever seen.

Speaking of the devil.

Gasps and murmurs filled the air, as Gaara Sabaku waltzed into the establishment like he owned the place, with his manager right behind him. Most patrons were affluent enough to not stumble out of their seats to approach celebrities for an autograph or selfies. But there were quite a few heads turned and much interest shown, when the red haired rockstar made a beeline for her.

“G-G-Gaara!”, she squeaked and flushed uncomfortably. Hinata was amused to see her so flustered. Especially, when she was quite unaffected by the famous actors and singers at last night’s bash.

Hinata got up from her seat to greet her ex-boyfriend.

“Hinata… What a pleasant surprise to see you here…”, Gaara spoke fondly as he engulfed her in his arms.

Hinata was a little taken aback by his enthusiasm, but she let it slide. There was nothing wrong with acknowledging an old friend or acquaintance with a genial hug. But she noticed the way Naruto had become stiff and alert, standing a few feet away from them.

“It’s nice to see you too Gaara… Weird running into you here… What are you doing so far off from the city?”, she asked him casually.

“Same thing as you. I made it to the party a little late last night… My flight got delayed on my way back from Seoul… By the time I got there, you had left…”, he explained.

“Ah, yeah…I was feeling a little tired…”, Hinata replied. She felt a little uncomfortable by Gaara’s attention, so she deviated from their conversation. “Gaara, this is my new assistant Matsuri… Matsuri, this is Gaara… You might know him….”

Gaara nodded at her nonchalantly before focusing back on Hinata. “How long are you here for?”

“Umm… Just for tonight.. We will be driving back to the city tomorrow morning…”

“That’s great! We must have dinner together tonight. Especially when we are both staying at the same hotel.”

Hinata was quite surprised at his invitation. She could see from the corner of her eyes, Naruto got closer to them and stood behind her protectively.

Was he jealous? Or was this a part of his job?

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea Gaara…”

“Come on, it’s just dinner… I won’t try to kiss you or anything… Unless you want to, ofcourse!”

Hinata fixed him with a mocking glare. She had separated from him on amicable terms. He was not keen on her suggestion of breaking up. But as a free spirited musician himself, he loathed the idea of binding her to him against her wishes. So he let her go. Now, even the thought of having dinner plans with him seemed to hold no attraction for her. Deep down, she realised the reason why.

“Haven’t we had enough problems because of our past? Being seen together again in public would be asking for more trouble.”, she tried to reason with him.

“Fine, if that’s your worry. How about you come over to my suite? We can have a private dinner where no one can see us.” Gaara glanced at Naruto and added, “You can even have your guard installed outside my door to keep an eye out for you.”

She really wanted to decline his invitation without seeming rude or uptight. But it seemed a little difficult now, with Gaara being insistent and the eyes of other patrons of the restaurant on the two of them.

She lowered her voice and replied, “How about I think about it and text you back?”

Gaara smirked and nodded. “Okay. Remember, I will be hoping for a yes.”

He flicked her chin lightly, like he used to do when they were back together, and moved towards his reserved table.

With that, Naruto suggested they make a move out. He trailed closer than ever before, and kept a light protective hand on her back while the few paparazzis outside clicked furiously. She wondered if Gaara’s invite had spurred this extra protective and possessive streak in him. The idea of making him even more jealous appealed to her. But she absolutely hated toying with people to play games like that. She wanted him to want her back without any underhanded tricks in play.

Once back inside the car, Matsuri asked incredulously, “You are not seriously thinking about going out with him, are you??”

Hinata rested her head back and watched Naruto for any sign. He did seem a little stiffer than usual, even as he was busily texting someone on his phone.

“Technically, it’s not ‘going out’... More like ‘dining in’... But I haven’t made a decision about it. Yet.”

A full minute later, her phone pinged and she took it out to read the new text message, thinking it might be from Gaara.

‘For your eyes only. Make sure no one is peeking into your phone.’

It was from Naruto. When she raised her head up, she saw Matsuri trying to inconspicuously peek at the text. She understood that Naruto might be trying to communicate with her without Matsuri knowing about their recent past.

“Who was that?”, she asked nonchalantly.

“Uh, no one.”, Hinata lied easily.

Seconds later, another message popped up. This time she was careful about not letting wandering eyes stray over to her phone.

‘I have to warn you about something. But what is most important is for you to NOT panic. Matsuri has a carving knife in her bag. She picked it up from the restaurant. Beware. Do not engage her in any conversation about Gaara. I have alerted the police, we will get you to safety soon. Just keep calm. You will be fine.’

Hinata grew pale as she finished reading the text. Why would Matsuri pick a knife? Slowly, the pieces fit together, and she realised that her new assistant was one of the psychopathic fans of her ex-boyfriend.

“Was that Gaara?”, Matsuri’s suspicious voice broke her trance.

“Umm… No…”, she replied faintly and looked outside the window to hide any signs of distress on her face.

“I think meeting Gaara again would not be good for either of you.”, her assistant kept talking.

If Naruto had not warned her, she would have snapped back at Matsuri and given her a piece of her mind. And that would have been disastrous. She looked to the front and found Naruto looking back at her. He gave her a small reassuring nod.

“If he thinks-“

Naruto interrupted her just as she spoke. “We’re almost here. It will be ideal for both of you to discuss this in the privacy of the suite, while I run a small errand.”

Soon the car stopped, Naruto jogged out to open Hinata’s door.

“You did good. I am here with you, don’t worry.”, he muttered close to her ears.

Hinata felt safe in his presence and she had to stop herself from leaning into him. The trio moved through the hotel lobby that seemed quieter than usual. Matsuri did not suspect a thing, but she raised an eyebrow at him when he joined them in the elevator.

“I thought you had an errand to run.”

Hinata understood that she was trying to get rid of Naruto to confront her in the suite.

“I do. I just need to grab some papers from my suitcase.”, he lied easily.

As soon as  they entered the suite, they were confronted by the police who were waiting for them. Matsuri turned vicious when her plan was foiled. She tried attacking Hinata even with so many officials around, but she was easily tackled by Naruto.

“Stay right where you are!!”

Soon, she was handcuffed and dragged away, but she kept hissing and cursing at Hinata.

“B*tches like you don’t deserve any love!! You f*cking wh*re!!!”

Hinata was aghast watching the complete switch in her personality. It was chilling to realise that someone who harboured ill intentions for her was kept close.

Her sight turned blurry as she stood rooted to her spot. Whether they were tears of relief or shock or exasperation, was anyone’s guess.

Naruto dealt with the police officials quickly before he went up to her. Wordlessly, he gathered her in his arms and hugged her tight.

“I don’t know why I am crying… I am not a crybaby…”, her words were muffled by his suit jacket.

“It’s okay… It’s okay to feel the way you do...I’m right here for you.”

But she shook her head and looked up at him. “How did you realise…”

Naruto explained his observation of Matsuri’s expression when Gaara came into the restaurant.

“It was somewhere between shock, awe and fanatical lunacy… And when he kept his attention solely on you, she looked vengeful… Both of you were too busy chatting to notice the stark change in her demeanour…”

“Oh…”, she pondered over the events. “So, that was why you stood close to me… Because of Matsuri… Not because you were jealous?”

Naruto sighed and lifted her face up to him. “I was jealous. Extremely so. But even in that moment your safety was my priority.”

Hinata looped both her arms around his neck. “Oh Naruto….About yesterday-“

“Don’t worry about it.”

“No… Let me say it… When you asked me about what you meant to me… I was unsure of how I could put my feelings into words… It might not be love yet, but you are so much more than a rebound… No, actually let me rephrase that… You are nothing like a rebound… I feel very very strongly for you…Honestly, I always keep thinking of you, my eyes keep looking for you... So much so that I’m afraid it might turn into an obsession.”

He smirked and leaned his forehead towards her. “Are you sure that’s not the after effects of the traumatic event talking?”

She grabbed him by his lapels and mockingly glared at him. “Don’t make fun of my feelings for you. I know what I want. Besides, I would hardly call this encounter traumatic. It was shocking and a little scary, but I can get past it. I’m stronger than you think.”

Naruto nodded and looked away from her gaze. “And you are sure you don’t mind that we have almost nothing in common… I mean, you could do much better than me.”

Hinata rolled her eyes at him, “You sure like doubting yourself for someone with so much pride and self respect.”

He just shrugged, “Just putting it out there… Fair warning… I am not easy to get rid off… So I just want to cover my bases…”

“That’s strange…”, she replied with a frown. “I was going to give you the same warning.”

“There’s one thing common between us then.”, he commented before asking. “Shall we seal the deal with a kiss?”

“Only a kiss??”

-

Over the next few days, Naruto and Hinata received several phone calls informing him about the development of the case against Matsuri. She had confessed to all accounts of threats and intention to harm but pleaded not guilty citing mental instability.

x

Note: Apologies for the very late entry. And also I would like to apologise to fans of Matsuri, she was portrayed negatively in this story, but I assure I have nothing against her! If anything, I like to feature her as Hinata’s friend in a lot of ny other stories.

[artificialqueens]

Cause Though the Truth May Vary, This Ship Will Carry (Gigi/Nicky) - Campvanjie

AN: Based on the prompt: “You weren’t supposed to hear that.” - “Well, you shouldn’t be saying it then.” A slight AU Gigi/Nicky, little bit of unrequited crushing and a lot of fate, originally posted to my old AO3 account on May 24th, 2020. Edited as well to add non-binary pronouns for Gigi out of drag, as the original used male pronouns. Don’t worry, I’m the original author and only want all of my stories collected under one pen name.

Summary: Nicky and Gigi strike up a friendship online, but just can’t meet until the time’s exactly right.

CW: slight mentions of homophobia.

The sun’s almost setting on an August day when Gigi flicks through the games in their library, bored of sniping enemies from rooftops, set on finding something else that has a competitive mode, kicking underneath the bed to find their headset. It would probably be best to at least try to talk to other people, and maybe even count up all the times people call each other gay without even realizing they’re talking to someone, who’s made sixteen dollars an hour dressing up as a girl and working at the rock climbing wall for all of high school.

There’s gay, and then there’s Gigi Goode; with a closet hanging full of custom couture, not that they’d ever admit to their mom that her work isn’t the worst.

There’s only one player in the team’s group chat, as Gigi adjusts their headset so they can talk into the mic.

“Hello?”

“Hey.”

“Hi!”, laughs the voice in his headphones; crackling as Gigi shoots and blows apart a box in the game’s lobby. There’s an accent there he can’t quite place, not that it matters so much, since the guy on the other end easily guides him through the map and even cracks a couple of jokes as one of the other team’s players is booted off a cliff. Maybe he’s Spanish, or Russian, since there are lot of Russian people on the server at this time of almost- night.  

They queue for another round, his player’s character stopping next to a poster of one of the girls in the game.

“I like her, do you?”, he asks, and Gigi cringes a little. Straight guys were fucking exhausting, but this was just embarrassing-

“Like, this coat, with the belt like this, makes her waist look like she is a wasp. The insect, not the white people.”, he keeps talking, and Gigi’s eyes widen a little.

“Yeah, I’d buy those boots.”, they joke, hoping that whoever it is, will take it in stride, and he won’t have to listen to someone who’d been cool for the past half an hour, suddenly start losing their mind over how gay that was to say out loud.

“The boots? I want this hair- I want just Mortal Kombat hair but like this color, and maybe instead of a gun I want the scepter, like Sailor Jupiter. You’ve seen that, yes?”

Gigi blinks a couple of times. He’s serious?

“Like, of course. Yeah.”

“She’s a Mugler bitch. Hm, aren’t you?”, the voice teases on the other end; kicking at one of the boxes in the game.

Gigi is silent, as their queue timer runs out, and their team join another game which is already active when they’re dropped in.

“It’s the Hermes winter collection.”

“What?”

“That jacket is a dupe from the Hermes winter collection. You said Mugler-”, Gigi repeats, blasting through a wall in the game.

“Oh- oh you’re saying- this past winter! Of course! Maybe someone on the design team is also a fan?”

“Maybe.”

The two of them finish the round, and Gigi eagerly hits yes; when a little box pops up to add TheNickyDoll to their friends list.

(Gigi adds him back on Discord, too- because they’re probably not taking the Xbox to college, and then, they can send pictures right away.

He’s not a serial killer, and he’s cute.

Gigi can’t help but wonder if Nicky thinks the same of them.)

They slowly knit together in between Gigi’s first semester, and when Nicky moves into a new apartment in the eleventh arrondissement in Paris, and pops a bottle of champagne against his camera on his phone, propped up in his new kitchen. He plays with the zipper on his hoodie, and Gigi still can’t help but be surprised with how simple his wardrobe is.

Gigi spends hours carefully curating their wardrobe, though they supposed in Europe, there were just better pickings.

“Don’t you have friends?”, Gigi jokes, shirtless against the white brick walls of their dorm.

“Everyone will be over later, but I just wanted to do a toast for your timezone. It will be like three am for you when everyone else gets off work.”

“So this is a private party? Well… okay let me get my card.”

“Seriously? Not that kind of party!”

“Didn’t say it was. Congratulations, by the way. I got you something! Well like, I found it, and it’s so you-“

Gigi flicks the camera to face forwards, swinging to a painting hanging in the closet.

“Aw, well you didn’t have to- what the fuck is that?”

“Putin! I painted him in like the eighth grade. My mom was dropping off some stuff last weekend and I can mail him-“

Nicky’s eyebrows shoot up, pots and pans clattering on the other end of the line.

“Bitch, I am trying to not be the victim of a hate crime.”

Gigi laughs a little bit, flipping the camera back to focus on their face.

“I never asked, what do you even do?”

“What?”

“Like you- you have a job right? What’s your job?”

“Ah, I’m working, well I worked at a makeup store, but now I have some contracts, and maybe, you know- this neighborhood is where all the bars and the clubs are. If there’s no work on the runways maybe some will be looking for new girls.”

Gigi’s cheeks run hot for a moment.

“Wait, you- you’re a girl?”, they ask weakly, hoping it won’t absolutely ruin their entire… whatever it is, when you’d rather have a private housewarming alone in bed, than pretend to enjoy the beers that are flowing through the rest of the hall downstairs.

“Only when I’m being paid. Do you know- well, you have to in America you have RuPaul’s show- it’s like that-“

“You do drag? Wait, really?”

“Shhhh.”, he stops them, pressing a finger between his lips. “It’s like, I haven’t got any bookings yet but some of the clubs are interested- some of the parties, too. I can be a bottle girl.”

Gigi simply blinks repeatedly in the screen.

“What- is that too gay? I thought we were both pretty gay.”

“Yeah. Yeah. Hey-“, Gigi keeps the camera on their face, their eyes flicking up towards the naked mannequin resting against the closet door. Most of Gigi’s things were still at home, but there was a black feathered swimsuit they’d been working on- if they took out the waist just a bit-

“What’s your favorite color?”

“Wow, we are getting deep in, Dr Phil.”

“Seriously, what is it?”

“I’m feeling pink recently. Usually just- something simple. Blue. Black. It’s soothing.”

“Black is not a color.”  

“Then it’s my favorite not-color.” Nicky pours from the bottle into a flute on her counter. “Get something to drink, come on.”

“Uh-“

“Doesn’t matter what. Come on!”

Gigi reaches for Red Bull, yesterday’s alcohol mixed into it, tangy and stale in the metal can.

“Okay.”

“Pace a Salute!”, Nicky cheers, and they clink their drinks against the camera.

-

Two months later, there’s a wrapped package on his stoop, covered in foreign postage, wet at the edges like it’s been through- what Americans would call the ringer, the labels so scratched over he can barely make out the return address, when he cuts the cardboard open on his kitchen counter.

If this was that stupid Putin painting, he was deleting Gigi from his entire life-

Inside, is fabric folded in paper, a little cloth ribbon tied around where a card is tucked in.

“I dont know what your actual skin tone is because you need better lights but merry Christmas if it doesn’t fit or doesn’t match sell it on eBay and get better lights”,

Gigi has written, in neat, large letters.

Nicky carefully unfurls the rest of it, and there’s a blue and pink bodysuit inside, accented with green and yellow panels that glitter like the facets of a diamond, and a yellow jacket, the bottom cut off just below the ribs, hemmed in thick stitches so the fabric won’t roll up.

Had Gigi gone and had this made? Or was it off the rack?, he wondered, digging for price tags and labels in the fabric.

Nothing.

Shit.

He fires off a message to Gigi, who is still showing as offline, given it’s probably six in the morning where he is.

14:17

-

How much is this “gift” you got me? Wtf…

FaceTime me later.

There’s predictably no response, and that night; he paints carefully in the mirror in his bedroom, laying out the little black dress he had chosen for the performance on his bed.

At the very last minute though, it’s that little suit from Gigi that wins out, nude panels sliding over his tights as he shimmies in front of the mirror.

It’s not perfect, but it all looks very nice.

When later comes, Gigi is wearing a red wig with blonde streaks that she runs her long fingers through, winking at the camera.

“My mom’s actually a professional seamstress. It didn’t cost anything, babe.”, she says with a little shrug, a tight yellow dress barely moving around his shoulders. There’s always a party here; and Gigi can’t imagine hating it more, the little college town bigger than he was used to, and yet still- too small for what she really wanted.

“If you want other stuff, I’ll send it. There’s lots of stuff that I don’t really wear anymore and we kind of have the same style. It’s not like anyone can say anything, then they’d have to admit they’ve seen me out in public. Or I could even make you something, I’m bored all the time.”

“Why are you doing this?”, Nicky asks.

“I dunno. It’s not like you’re my competition. You’re my friend.”

19:41

-

Anyway, I’m dropping out of school, getting a nose job and moving out to LA.

Gigi types out on their phone, underneath the table at their family’s annual thanksgiving dinner.

19:41

-

Maybe not all at once.

Nicky’s reply comes lightning fast- making Gigi grin.

“Are you seriously getting nudes right now?”, one of their brothers asks, and their mother glares at the both of them over the table.

“I’m getting some new sketches from my atlier in Paris.”, they seethe, glancing back down at the floor. Nicky’s been trying to teach him French, like it’s something that occupies them so that Gigi doesn’t implode; in between sending him links to his favorite shows to watch, and YouTube links to makeup tutorials.

(He still hasn’t figured out if Nicky means it; or if he’s trying to be shady, and just doesn’t know how.)

“Atlier is where you get the clothes made, dumbass. Mom’s sewing room isn’t Paris.”

“Shut up!”

“All of you just stop-”

19:43

-

It’s a hard time in life in general.

Try not to listen so much to those voices in your head.

Nicky’s text pops up with a loud, mechanical pinging noise, three dots still hovering under the message as Gigi forces looks up from the screen and glowers across the table as they reach for more baby carrots.

19:43

-

Make mistakes, but not too many, haha. You’ll figure it out.

If it makes you feel a little bit better, I’m moving to San Fran

19:43

-

What? For real?

Gigi’s nails frantically tap over the screen.

19:45

-

Yes! I bought a ticket.

And my husband called an immigration lawyer, we’re going to get my green card situation set.

“Lawyer-”, Gigi gasps; and their entire family pauses, glancing over the table at them.

“Jesus Christ. You did it, didn’t you? You got arrested your first semester, and you weren’t even gonna tell us-”

“You weren’t supposed to hear that.”, they snap, flipping the bird at their oldest brother.

“Well, you shouldn’t be saying it then.”

Their whole table erupts in a discussion Gigi can’t pay any attention to.

19:50

-

Cool.

That means I get to see you soon.

It’s gonna be great.

They taps ou, and close the app with a smile.

-

They hadn’t known if Nicky even had a boyfriend, not that it mattered; until it did.

Apparently; he had been married, for almost the whole time they had known each other- a blow Gigi hadn’t quite expected, to leave them as breathless as landing in Los Angeles; the shock not setting in, not in full, anyway- until they are standing in a new apartment, looking down at a menu of instructions on how to set up the wifi in the unit, fingers hovering over everyone in contacts.

They can’t call their mom; not this soon, and their brothers would tell her, and the whole plan would crumble; just like everything had with Nicky; whose calls Gigi had declined for the past solid month; the nights they had spent with their phones propped up behind desks and dressing room mirrors fading into something beyond memory; that they refused to think about any more than they had to, the messages asking if they’re alright answered in curt, short replies.

How could they have been so stupid, thinking that they were talking-talking, teasing that Nicky and they were friends; when Gigi didn’t even know what his real name was.

(Unless it was Nicky?)

Shit.

Gigi waits for their phone to load into the app, and refreshes the friends list a couple of times, until they can see Nicky’s icon at the top, the side of the circle cut through with a little green dot, and taps twice to start a call.

“Hi?”

Nicky’s greeting floats in the air, between a breath and utter silence before Gigi swallows their pride, pressing the phone to the side of their face.

“What do you know about connecting a router to a tower if I live on the…um third floor?”

The line crackles, but soon there’s a tiny, familiar chuckle. “First of all, that is not how you do any of that-”

They talk a little more, every day; in between, Nicky moves to New York and Gigi cuts a tape that they put in the mail with a wink. They’re due for a visit home soon, and carefully proposes- maybe it’s time they meet Nicky. New York isn’t far at all, and a layover would make for a cheaper flight, anyway.

-

Their plans stack up in hours of calls; and Gigi think they’re almost back to normal. Until, three days before the flight is supposed to leave, there’s a call they had forgotten to wait for, and their fingers hover over the message box below Nicky’s name, vibrating with anxiety and excitement all at once.

09:22

-

Hey. I had a family thing come up.

Gigi types, and then erases the text, steeling themselves as they taps out another one that makes a little more sense, and doesn’t seem like such a lie.

09:30

-

I’m so so so so sorry about this

I had some things come up and my trip fell through.

They send this instead, surprised to see Nicky start typing back immediately.

09:35

-

You’re not going to believe this

I have some work things that started recently and so it would have been really shitty to have a guest over now.

09:35

-

No way!

09:37

-

Yeah. :(( But we’re gonna hang out someday, I swear!

09:37

-

Dont worry! You’re definitely gonna see me.

Real real real soon!

-

“-Where do I go?”, Gigi asks, pulling at the bottom hem of the ornate jacket she wore, fiddling with the gold telescope in her hands. The lights behind the set burned brightly, making the thicker bottoms of the outfit feel much warmer than he had remembered them being.

“Go to that green square on the ground, and wait there, when you see the little arrow light up, you can enter the Werk Room and then we’ll have you stop inside, get your opening line, and let you see the other girls.”

“Okay.”

He does as he’s told, prancing in and kicking his boots in front of him as the lights move to capture Gigi’s entrance, his head only snapping to the side when given the signal, so he can see the others who are already crowded around the pink tables he’s only dreamed of seeing for so long.

“Holy Shit…Nicky?!”

In reality; Gigi can see far more of the detail of Nicky’s face; of her eyebrows and carefully painted cheeks and lashes, of all the effort that they had only really talked about, his eternal summer tan and the long fringe of black hair that he’s always nudging across his forehead, or slicked against a beanie, gone behind a platinum blonde veneer that’s so much brighter than Gigi has ever seen. She’s thinner, and taller, careful breaths underneath sequinned shoulder pads, knees knocking together as she gasps.

“Gigi!”

Widow and Crystal glance at each other over the pink table.

“Hold up, you guys know each other?”

In the flesh; Gigi is impossibly small, the sharp angles of her face, and the dark brown hair that sticks up in angles which Nicky traces against the white of his pillows in his bedroom on the screen of his phone in the morning, taped underneath a gold-tipped pirate hat, and lush, wavy curls. She looks like a model on the runways where Nicky used to work; so close to him that he can feel Gigi’s breath on the back of his hand, as he tightens his grip around the epaulets on her shoulder.

“Gigi Goode.”, she repeats, and Gigi giggles a little at that.

“The Nicky Doll.”, she laughs, and her voice sounds so much more solid, than it ever has over every crossed wire.

Gigi’s hand swings, squeezing Nicky’s tightly as they swing around the table; like the others who are there don’t matter at all. She rests her head on Nicky’s padded shoulder, cocking it just slightly, waiting there, as Crystal’s eyes flash at the scene before them.

“…and may the best woman win.”, Gigi whispers, only for Nicky to hear.

[candy-and-writing]

Fresh Mountain Air For A Not So Fresh Beginning

Summary: After a mission went horribly wrong, and resulted in you getting hurt and suffering from major PTSD and anxiety, your boys move you to the mountains to heal

Warnings: 18+, implied rape, past rape, PTSD, anxiety attacks, PTSD attacks, smut, oral, minor angst

Taglist: @imsonick @forever-a-cynical @captainn-americaa @natdrunk @patzammit @stupendousshepherdloverpony @thereluctantlady @bangtan-serendipity​

I am NOT responsible for your media content consumption. This work is not intended for those under the age of 18 due to explicit sexual content and/or dark themes. By reading this work you agree that you are at least 18 years of age. I do not consent to have my work posted on any third party app or website; if you are seeing this work anywhere other than tumblr and archiveofourown, it has been reposted without my permission.

Steve sat on the balcony, hot mug of coffee in hand as he watched Bucky raise the axe and bring it down, chopping the wood into two. The weather was supposed to get bad this week, so he made sure everyone was doing their chores now in case they lost power. You were sitting on the couch, humming along to the radio as you finished folding the laundry. Steve had gone into town for groceries earlier this morning and did the dishes, and Bucky was chopping firewood. You were pretty high up in the mountains, so the forecast wasn't clear on exactly how bad it was supposed to be. If you had to go a few days without running the dishwasher, it would be alright.

Steve came back inside, shutting the screen door behind him. He set his coffee down on the dining table before taking his coat off, moving to hang it up by the door.

"Hey," you said, folding one of Bucky's shirts in your lap. "Buck almost done?"

"He should be, he's got enough wood to keep us warm all winter."

You stopped, a pair of boxers in hand as you looked out the window. "If he doesn't come in soon, you might have to go get him. It looks like the wind's starting to pick up."

Steve nodded, setting his mug in the sink. He'd wait for Bucky to get in and have his coffee before he washed it.

The door that led to the garage opened, Bucky bumping it closed with his backside. He struggled to toe off his shoes, a string of curses leaving his mouth. His arms were full of chopped firewood, his nose and cheeks rosy from the cold. His recent haircut was hidden underneath a woven cap, keeping his ears warm. He was wearing the heavy wool flannel jacket you liked to steal from time to time when you were cold.

"Hey, doll," he greeted, piling the wood on the rack by the fireplace. Steve was right, he chopped enough wood to keep you warm all winter. "How's laundry goin'?"

"I'm almost done," you replied, a warm smile on your face. "If you want me to wash those, though—" you gestured to his clothing, "—you should change. I think I could manage to scrape together another load with the clothes from last night and this morning."

Bucky shrugged. "They're fine, sweetheart, don't worry about it."

Steve asked where Bucky had put the rest of the firewood, he responded with, "out in the garage. Figured it'd stay dry there."

You finished folding the laundry as Bucky warmed up with a cup of coffee, talking to Steve about the impending storm. When he finished his coffee, black with a little bit of sugar, Bucky and Steve met you in the bedroom to help put the clothes away. Bucky put things in drawers, and Steve handed you clothing to hang on hangers. That was what you always did, it was your routine. It worked. And when Buck was done putting the folded clothing away, he helped between handing Steve empty hangers and handing you the hangers that had clothes on them.

It was moments like these that made you forget the reason you moved up here. That made Steve retire early and made Bucky available only for short and sweet missions. The reason you had nightmares and woke up screaming each night, and your boys would struggle to comfort you because you were so stuck in your own head it became difficult to tell what was real.

It would be six months tomorrow, if the calendar was correct. It wasn't marked or anything, but it was easy enough to count down the days, the weeks, when they've been so blatantly haunting you. Like Steve said, one day at a time, and you counted every single day, waiting for it not to hurt anymore.

You had been on a mission with Bucky. Steve was with Sam in a small Siberian town while you two were in Turkey. It was hot and bright and it was sweaty. It's one of the reasons you moved to the mountains, to avoid the heat.

You had been checking out some old HYDRA intel. Bucky thought it was probably nothing, but you needed to be safe rather than sorry. It wasn't a big deal.

It wasn't supposed to be a big deal.

You and Bucky had split up. He took the upper levels and you took the lower ones. You had made it to the basement, so far finding nothing but empty file cabinets, too large of spiders, and outdated technology. Bucky had been sure to tell you to make sure and check that none of the computers worked.

You remembered calling Bucky through your comms. He said he hadn't found anything, and you were about to say the same. You had barely taken two steps into the room when you heard something shift behind you. Before you could turn around there was a sharp pinch in your neck and you winced, stumbling. Your vision became cloudy and your head spinny and you fell over before you even realized it.

When you awoke, Bucky was chained to the wall. You were chained down in the middle of the floor, your uniform gone. You—

"Y/n? Sweetie, you with us?" Bucky's voice dragged you from your thoughts. Steve was looking at you, a hand reached out and eyes full of worry. Bucky wore the same expression.

"Yeah," you smiled. "Sorry, I just blanked for a second. What were you saying?"

Steve continued to look at you with his worrying gaze. You just smiled at him, hopefully convincing him you were fine.

"I'm trying to convince Steve we need a dog," Bucky said. "We talked about it, but Steve still has a stick up his ass."

"I don't have a stick up my ass," Steve argued. You huffed out a laugh. "If we get a dog, we'll have to build a fence. And in moments like this when the weather is bad, we'll have a hard time taking care of it. We've had this discussion, Buck."

"So we invest in a therapy dog, those are a thing, right? It'd be trained, and we can have it to help Y/n. Or myself, Lord knows I need a dog sometimes."

Steve sighed. "You're not gonna let this go, are you?"

Bucky smiled. "I'd be willing to negotiate a cat?"

Steve looked over to you. You just smiled and shrugged. You both knew he wasn't winning this argument.

"We'll look into it after the storm," Steve sighed, defeated.

A smile broke onto your face, Bucky following. "Maybe Pepper can find some shelters?" you suggested.

"Yeah, I'll talk to her."

You kissed his cheek. Bucky pulled him in for a kiss, grabbing your hand and pulling you back into them. He kissed your head, Steve hugging you.

"I want a golden retriever," Steve demanded. You laughed.

"Deal."

••••

You lost power by eight o'clock that night. The wind was howling outside your windows, the blizzard knocking against the glass. You were eating ice cream and drinking the bottle of wine Steve had bought for date night when the TV shut down and the lights turned off all at once.

Steve had lit as many candles as he could while Bucky gathered your collection of many blankets. You sat on the floor, wine in hand and wrapped in a knitted blue throw while playing a game of Monopoly.

"That's bullshit!" Bucky shouted, throwing his hands up. "That's the fourth time I've landed on this stupid thing. Y/n, baby, please, you gotta help me out here."

You giggled. "I'm not trading this property with you, Buck. Not unless you give me an offer."

"Come on," Bucky whined, "work with me, baby."

Your eyes widened as your mind flashed back to that night, back to the basement. Come on, baby, work with me. You felt his hands on you, his fingers creeping up your skin. Bucky watched the color drain from your face, tears prickling at your eyes.

"Doll?" When you didn't respond, Steve realized what was happening.

"Shit, Buck, she's having a flashback." Steve stood, swiftly tucking his arm under your knees and picking you up.

It'll feel real nice, baby, just relax.

"I'll put her playlist on, can I do anything else?"

Steve was careful to set you on the bed, still cradling you and wiping the tears from your cheeks. Even in the dim lighting of the candles, he could see the fear in your eyes. "Warm a kettle over the fire, we can make her some hot chocolate."

Bucky nodded before rushing out of the room. You were shaking now, struggling to catch your breath.

"It's alright, baby, it's okay," Steve cooed. "You're safe, you're home. No one can hurt you, you're safe." He gave you a quick squeeze, his arms tightening around you.

He went through the list your therapist gave them back at the compound. Soft music, check. Dark room, check. Tight hug or pressure from Steve or Bucky, check. The weighted blanket was under the bed, he could have Bucky grab it if you wanted it.

Get her to open up, don't let her close herself off.

"Sweetie, I need you to talk to me," Steve uttered. "I can help get you through this, you just need to talk to me, to us."

You took a couple shaky breaths, opening your mouth before closing it again.

"The. . . the basement—I—and. . . and Bucky—"

"Buck is just fine, sweetheart," Steve answered, smiling slightly. "He's making you some hot chocolate."

You looked up at him, your eyes wide and watery. "He is?"

"Yeah, he should be in any minute."

You mouthed a silent 'oh' and curled back into Steve's chest. Bucky stepped in the bedroom quietly, a mug of hot chocolate in hand. He handed the black and gold star-spangled mug to Steve—it was your favorite, you claimed it reminded you of both your boys. Your hands shook as you took the mug from Steve, your grip lax and careful as you took a small sip. You mumbled a small thank you and looked at Bucky, who gave you a sad, small smile.

"Keep talking, sweetheart," Steve whispered into your hair. "Can you tell me five things you see around you?"

He heard you swallow, gathering your voice, and you started looking at the room around you. 

"I, um—I see Bucky," you said, your voice unsure. "I can see your shirt. . . the painting you made for me for my birthday, the wall, and the lamp."

"Good," Steve praised, "that's good. Tell me four things you can touch around you?"

You took another sip of the hot chocolate, the hint of cinnamon leaving a ghost of a smile on your face. "I'm touching my favorite mug, the one Bucky got me for Christmas last year. I'm touching the bedsheets. . . I'm touching you and your shirt by leaning on you, and if I reached I could touch Bucky."

Bucky reached out and took your hand in his, rubbing his thumb along the skin below your knuckles. You sighed, relishing in his touch. He asked you to name three things you could hear, Steve kissing your temples.

"I can hear your voice, I can hear Steve's heartbeat, and. . . and I can hear the wind outside."

"You're doing so good, doll, we're almost done. Name two things you can smell?"

You thought for a moment, inhaling to smell your surroundings. "I can smell. . . the hot chocolate you made me, with the cinnamon in it. And. . . I can smell Steve's cologne."

"One thing you can taste?"

The hot chocolate, you replied. Steve smiled and kissed your forehead, hugging you as Bucky squeezed your hand.

"How do you feel?"

"Better," you sighed. You clenched and unclenched your hand, your nerves tightening after the anxiety started to fall. Your head ached, your brain pounding at your temples. "I'm sorry I. . . freaked out."

"You don't have anything to apologize for, sweetheart," Bucky said. "We just want to make sure you're alright." You nodded, closing your eyes as you focused on Steve's heartbeat jumping steadily through his sweater.

"Can you tell us what caused this?" Steve asked. You were silent for a long moment, thinking back. You weren't quite sure yourself—one second you were drinking wine in the living room with Bucky and Steve, and the next you were in bed, clutching onto Steve because you couldn't breathe.

"I think—I think Bucky said something," you said. "Something that. . . that he had said and it just—it made me spiral."

"I'm so sorry, doll," Bucky said, kissing your knuckles as he looked at you apologetically.

"What did he say?" Steve asked.

You shook your head. "I don't know." You pushed your mug into Steve's hands, and he set in on the nightstand by the side of the bed. Your hands covered your face as you stifled a sob.

"Come here, sweetheart." Steve's heart broke as he hugged you closer to his chest. Bucky crawled over to the empty space on the bed next to you and rested his hand on your stomach, kissing your head. "Talk to us."

"I thought I could get past this," you told them, crying. "I—I can still feel him, I can still feel his hands on me and I don't know how to get it to stop!"

Steve looked over to Bucky, who looked back at him sadly. It was hard, seeing their best girl like this, and they were never quite sure how to help you. You didn't like them touching you a certain way after you were attacked, but maybe—just maybe—that was what you needed.

"How 'bout Stevie and I try something different tonight?" Bucky said, running his hand up and down your arm. 

"Like what?" you sniffled.

"We know you haven't wanted us to touch you since. . . you know, but do you think that would help?" Steve asked, looking down at you. "You keep feeling him on you, maybe we can help wipe him away? We're willing to wait as long as you need us to, baby, we just want to help you."

"I—I don't know."

"Are you willing to try?" Bucky whispered against your temple. "If you don't like it, tell us and we'll stop. Is that okay?"

You thought for a moment, nodding carefully. Steve placed a chaste kiss on your neck, inhaling your scent.

"Are you sure? We don't want to pressure you—if you don't feel comfortable doing this, we won't."

You shook your head. "I want to try. I want to see if I can do it. . . please."

More than anything, you wanted to please your boys. You wanted them to be happy and proud of you, you craved their appraisal like an addict craved pills. You weren't sure this was going to work, but you wanted to try, you'd try anything just to be able to feel Steve and Bucky touch you again.

Steve placed his hands under your arms, lifting you and shifting you so you sat in between his legs. Bucky crawled so he kneeled over you, and suddenly you were trapped. But that was okay, you were safe. You were with the two people you trusted the most, and you trusted they'd take care of you.

Bucky cupped your cheek with his hand, bringing you in for a soft kiss. Your shoulders relaxed as you leaned into his touch, Steve trailing kisses down your neck. You hesitantly moved your lips against Bucky's, placing your hands on his face and bringing him closer to you. You let out a whimper as Bucky licked your lips, asking for access. You allowed it, opening your mouth and letting his tongue roam with yours. He pushed you against Steve's chest, your back collided with solid muscle, Steve's hands trailing up under your sweater. You shuddered at the warmth, at the ghost-like touches he left in his wake as Bucky buried his hands through your hair.

It was almost too much, their touches, the way they were everywhere all at once. Their touch burned, but in a good way, almost. You didn't want them to stop. If they stopped now, you were certain you'd combust.

"Can I take this off?" Steve husked against your ear, tugging at your sweater. You nodded, and he was quick to pull it over your head, leaving you in your push-up bra.

Steve bit back a groan, nibbling on your ear as Bucky trailed sloppy kisses down your jaw. You whined out a moan, Steve grabbing at your breasts. A spark of panic shot through you and your eyes shot open. You pulled away from Steve, pushing Bucky away.

"Hey, hey, sweetheart," Steve cooed, reaching out to grab your arm. "It's okay. You're okay, baby. It's just me."

Your chest fell and rose heavily. Bucky cupped your cheek, kissing your nose. "It's just us, doll. You're safe. . . . Do we need to stop?"

You looked up at him. You didn't want to stop, you wanted to enjoy them, you wanted to make then feel good. But this damn sense of panic wasn't going away.

"I want to keep going," you told them, eyes watery. "I want to make you feel good, I want to feel good. I just. . . can't stop this."

"Just relax, baby," Bucky muttered. "Focus on us. On our touch. Know that it's us and just focus on how good we'll make you feel."

You nodded, leaning back against Steve's chest. You told him he could touch you again, guiding his hands to your chest. He added the slightest pressure and squeezed, your breasts in his hands as you shuddered out a breath.

"Oh."

"That feel good, baby?" Steve asked, kissing your neck as Bucky attacked the other side. You nodded, sighing as you melted into his touch. "I bet it does, sweetheart. I can't imagine how you feel, not being able to let us make you feel good. We're here now, we're gonna take real good care of you."

"I love you," you sighed, digging your nails into Bucky's hair. "Both of you."

"We love you too, doll." Bucky kissed down your collar bone, his lips at the edge of your bra. Steve reached and unclipped your bra, letting it slide down your shoulders. Bucky was quick to dispose of it, throwing it to the floor. "You're so beautiful, baby."

You cried out Bucky's name as his lips latched onto your nipple, Steve rolling the other one between his fingertips. You focused on your boys, on the sensation of Bucky—of his tongue swirling against your hardened bud, of his hand cupping your cheek, of his hand in your hair. You focused on Steve—on his hands, on the solid muscle behind your back, of the feeling of his hair in your fingers.

Bucky's hand fell to your pants. "Can I take these off, baby?"

You nodded, afraid to use your voice. He unbuckled your jeans, slowly sliding them down your legs, off your feet. You had on cheeky lace underwear. Suddenly, you thought back to when you used to wear much less conservative underwear. Steve and Bucky always liked those—your decorative thongs, your favorite pair used to be lace with flowers. You got rid of them after you were attacked, but maybe you could get some new, less casual ones.

Bucky licked his lips, staring at your clothed core. Steve's hands kneaded at your breasts, thumb brushing over your nipple as he kissed a line on your shoulder. Bucky was quick to pull at your underwear, leaving you completely exposed.

"You okay, sweetheart?" Steve asked quietly. You nodded, keeping eyes on Bucky.

Bucky looked up at you, eyes dark. The flickering flame casted a reflection upon his face, giving him a goldish glow. The wind howled outside, ice hitting the window. Normally, that sound would've had you jumping three feet into the air in terror, but now you couldn't care less—too caught up in the way Bucky's eyes darkened as he asked for permission. When you nodded, he slid down, laying on his stomach, and dove in.

You had almost forgotten what it felt like to have Bucky's tongue wrapped around your clit. You moaned as he licked up in a broad swipe, focusing the tip of his tongue on your bud. Steve massaged your chest, tweaking your nipples and running over them with the pads of his fingers.

"Oh, God. . ." you whined. "Keep going, please. Don't—don't stop."

"Wouldn't dream of it, princess," Steve moaned.

Bucky continued to work his mouth on you until you were burning, writhing and struggling in both his and Steve's grasps. You were sure you were going to explode. When Bucky entered a finger into you, you cried out. It wasn't enough. You needed more.

"How's that feel, baby?" Steve cooed, hands focusing on your breasts. "Buck doin' good?"

You nodded frantically. Steve chuckled in your ear, voice gravelly and low.

"Buck here almost couldn't wait any longer, all we wanted to do was get his mouth on you, sweetheart. It's what he dreamed about when he touched himself, when he sucked me off. He's been waiting for this."

Bucky hummed into your flesh, sending vibrations up through your clit. He was careful as he pushed a second finger into you, looking for the spot inside you that could shatter you. That coil inside you was tight, threatening to explode and send you over the edge. You began to babble, endless pleas of 'don't stop,' and 'Bucky, please.'

He pushed the pads of his fingers up, still teasing your bundle of nerves and that was all it took. You cried out, the coil snapping like a taught rubber band and you grinded back into Steve as you tried to pull away, overstimulated. Steve shushed you, whispering in your ear as Bucky rode you from your high until it was simply too much. You whined, your voice cracking, and Bucky seemed to get the message. He pulled away, his chin slick with your juices. Still blissed out, he hooked his finger under your chin, bringing you in for a sloppy kiss. You could taste yourself on his tongue, salty and tangy.

You didn't realize you were crying until Bucky wiped away a tear. "You okay, doll?"

You nodded. "Yeah. . . yeah, I just—I hadn't realized how much I missed this. I'm sorry I made you wait on me."

"You have nothing to apologize for, sweetheart," Steve said, kissing your cheek. "We'd wait as long as you needed us to."

You sat up, turning so you straddled Steve's lap. You hung your arms over his shoulders, brushing your noses together.

"Can you do something for me?" you asked, your voice low and sultry in post-orgasmic bliss.

"Anything," Steve answered, ask too quickly.

"I want you to fuck me. I want you to erase any memory of that man inside of me. Can you do that?"

"Happily."

He kissed you then, loving and dominant and so incredibly Steve. Bucky kissed up your neck, sucking a deep red spot next to the many Steve had left. You whimpered into Steve's lips, dragging your hands up his shirt. He pulled away for a second, discarding his shirt and sitting up on his knees, shimmying off his pants. He turned you around before settling back down, having you straddle his thighs.

"You sure you're up for this, baby?" Bucky asked, kissing behind your ear as his fingers danced around your nipples.

You nodded, whining. "I—I can do it."

Steve hummed, feeling himself brush against your folds. Bucky gave you his signature dorky smile, which you returned as best you could. Steve eased into you slowly, both men watching for any sign of discomfort. You were wet enough, but you were still awfully tight. Tighter than usual. Even after your orgasm, Steve was having a hard time fitting himself inside you.

The three of you haven't had sex since before the attack. Bucky and Steve had quick shower sex in the morning sometimes after a run, when they were sure you were still asleep, but they didn't like doing it without you. You were apart of them, doing such an intimate act without you didn't feel right.

Steve groaned at the feeling, the silky heat of you clutching him like a vice. He grunted, wrapping an arm around your front and hugging you close to his chest, carefully rocking his hips up. His thrusts start out slow and deep, until you're writhing and mewling for more.

Bucky crawls up and straddles both you and Steve, his tongue curling around your nipple. He wraps his tongue around your bud, sucking lightly. You let out a whimper, moaning as Steve speeds his pace up, pounding into you in the most delicious way. Bucky guides your hand and wraps it around his cock, moving it up and down in long, slow strokes. You withdrew your hand like he had burned you, your eyes wide. Steve stills inside you, watching your back muscles tense.

"It's okay, doll, it's just me. . . . Do we need to stop?"

You blinked. "No, no—I'm okay. I'm sorry."

"Are you sure?"

You nodded. "Please, I want to keep going, I can do this." You reached out and grabbed for his length, your nimble fingers wrapping around him.

It's just Bucky, he won't hurt you. You're safe here.

Quickly, you fall into the rhythm Steve has set, your other hand moving to clutch Bucky's shoulder as he fucks into your hand.

It's easy, the three of you moving in tandem. You don't know how long it's been, how long either of them have touched you like this, or when you last touched them. You feel guilty now, forgetting something that made you feel so good.

"Steve," you moan. "Bucky, please."

"You're doing so good, baby," Bucky praised. "You—ah, fuck—you feel so good."

You whined, Steve picking up his pace. You weren't going to last much longer, not with Steve pounding into you the way he is, not with him groaning in your ear and not with Bucky using your hand to get himself off.

"Can I come inside, baby?" Steve moans. "Fill you up, wash out every memory of that day. Fuck—we're gonna make you feel so good, sweetheart, all you have to do is let us."

"Yes," you nodded frantically. "Yes, please, please. I need you. Come inside, please, Stevie."

Bucky reached down and rubbed at your clit, sending you over the edge. You screamed, seizing up and convulsing around Steve's cock. Steve cursed, feeling you pulsate around him. He came with a grunt, coating your walls with his cum. Bucky finished soon after, covering your stomach with his cum.

You released Bucky, falling back against Steve in exhaustion. When you opened your eyes again, Steve was petting your hair while Bucky cleaned up his mess with a wet washcloth.  Steve whispered sweet nothings in your ear, running his fingers through your sweat soaked locks.

I'm so proud of you.

You did so good.

So perfect for us.

We love you.

After Bucky tossed the cloth in the wicker laundry basket, he laid down in the space next to you, hugging you close to his chest. Your hand rested across Steve's pecs, your head above his heartbeat.

"You did so well, sweetheart," Bucky purred, tracing circles along your back. "How do you feel?"

"Good," you hummed, snuggling closer to Steve's warmth. "Real good."

"That's amazing, baby," Steve murmured. "Did it help any?"

You nodded. It helped a lot, actually. The throbbing between your legs was welcoming, euphoria coursing through veins. You hated yourself for connecting your boys with the kind of hate you experienced, for making them wait so long.

"Let's go to sleep, doll." Bucky kissed your shoulder. "We can talk more in the morning, if we have power I'll make some waffles."

You hummed in content, sleep overtaking you. Bucky wrapped an arm around your middle, with Steve wrapping his arm behind you both.

"I love you."

[parkaiur]

Snowy Days - Jihoon

❀ genre: college life + romance + a dash of angst 

❀ word count: 5491

❀ a/n: just read the tags below but if ur too lazy to basically: don’t expect lots of updates and i just wrote this as a form of therapy for me. i guess i missed writing and needed to rant /shrugs/ 

also this title sucks but idk what to do with it either LMAO 

❀ ❀ ❀

It was a quiet, winter evening; the snow was gently falling outside and the laughter of college students filled the dorm hallways. 

I, on the other hand, was curled up in a ball on my bed, reading a book. The soft sounds of my hand turning the pages lulled me in a dreamland of swoon-worthy boys. 

Suddenly, I heard a loud bang. 

I flinched and jumped up on my bed to see what had dropped. 

“Sorry! Just dropped my pan, how’s it going?” I sighed thankfully, realizing it was just my roommate, Naeun. Naeun was a freshman like me; we hadn’t talked much before rooming together. We got along most of the time, but being around people just irked me sometimes.

I pointed at the book, trying to hide the girlish daze in my eyes. 

“Just reading, like usual.” I kept my words short, hoping she would get the hint that I wasn’t in the mood to talk. It wasn’t like I was mad at her or anything, but I need my breaks with all the socialness of college. I don’t think people understand how tiring it is for introverts to have to be “on” all the time; “on” meaning social. 

She nodded. “What book?” 

“It’s called ‘Win Some, Lose Some’ by Shay Savage. It’s a really amazing novel about a boy who was Autism and a girl who ...” I trailed off when I realized she had her back towards me. The sound of her pots and pans flying into her drawer was distracting. “A girl who befriends him basically. How was your day?” I asked politely. 

I braced myself for her long winded answer. Most people just say “good” or “it was pretty alright” but not Naeun, she pops off and talks about things no one really needs to know, and no one really cares. 

“It was okay. I saw one of my friends on campus and I waved to her because it’s so weird, right? Seeing people you know on such a large campus. And then I walked to English and my professor was just such in a good mood today, she’s so nice, I love her.” 

I smiled carefully, hoping she doesn’t realize how much I do not care about who she waves at or how her professor looks. 

“Then, I went to the library and did some of my math homework and I got started on the next chapter. And then I started to do my English homework which I got kind of stumped on. Anyway, all I could think about is this big burrito when I was studying.” She took out two large burritos and plopped them on a blue plate. 

I nodded and told her I was going to go back to my book. She nodded and right as I was about to plug in my earbuds to drown out her voice while I read, she stopped me with her voice.

“Hey, I’m bored, do you think Ahyoung and Somi are busy?” I took out my earbuds once more and shrugged. 

“Probably not.” 

“Hm. Is it cool if I invite them over? I mean, you don’t have to say yes if you just want to be alone, I know how you get like that.” 

I forced an awkward smile. “Um, I actually want to just chill and be alone, but you can always go to their rooms... they live in the same building.” I tried not to let my annoyance show in my voice, but it was rising. 

She furrowed her brows and sighed. “Yeah, but they’re so far...” She whined. 

Don’t roll your eyes. Don’t roll your eyes. Don’t roll your eyes. 

“I mean, they always come to our dorm, maybe go to them today?” I really didn’t care what she did, I just wanted to be alone. 

I turned on my music and opened my book so I didn’t have to hear her complain. She went back on her phone and I was content reading in peace. 

Five minutes later, I heard loud knocking on the door. 

What? She did not just...

“Oh, hey, Ahyoung! How’s it going?” 

No way, she did not just invite people over after I told her not to. 

I felt my blood boil, but I tried to keep my calm. I was not going to make a scene, especially since Ahyoung was my friend. 

I locked eyes with Naeun, who I visibly glared at. 

“It’s chill, y/n, you don’t have to talk we are just gonna hang a bit and then go watch some TV.” 

I bit my tongue to not snap at her. Her insensitivity was rubbing me the wrong way, but I didn’t want to blow up. We were all adults here, I didn’t want to seem like a child who got irritated when they were forced to socialize with their mom’s friends. 

Soon, I heard another knock. 

“Hey, Sooyoung! Come in, we are picking a show to watch.” 

I tried to calm down and read my book, but when I say I want to be alone, I really mean I want to be alone. 

I felt myself boil over in anger as I could still hear them over my earbuds. Their laughter and constant chatter couldn’t be tuned out. 

“Ok, we are gonna go to the lounge and watch TV. High five!” Naeun held her hand right in front of my face and I hit it just to make her leave. I swear, I’d rather hit her face instead. 

As soon as I heard the door slam shut, I pulled out my earbuds and went to rinse my face. 

How insensitive of her! I explicitly told her not to invite anyone over to the dorm, and there she goes. She can’t walk up one flight of stairs to see our friends?? So fucking rude. 

Living in the dorms as an introverted person was terribly hard. I don’t even know if introverted is the right word for it anymore if I want to go days without talking to people. And it sucks when no one truly understands me and doesn’t take my words seriously. 

I groaned and stared at myself in the mirror.

“Just two more quarters and you’re free for the summer.” 

I sighed and wiped my face on my towel. 

College was hard. 

I had found my group in college, but unfortunately, I had made the same mistakes as I did in high school. First, I stayed connected with some friends from high school who I had planned on cutting off. And most importantly, I put too much time and effort into people who disrespect me and don’t care for me. 

And now I live with someone like that. 

It angered me to feel so out of place, so alone in the dorms even when I had friends. Whenever I wanted to escape, there was no where to go. All my friends were here. 

I clenched my fist. 

All of a sudden, I couldn’t just sit down and read. I glanced over in the corner of the room and saw the camera from my photography class sitting there. 

I looked outside my window and saw the soft snow falling down. 

I quickly pulled on a warm, puffy jacket, jeans, and headed out to take some photos with my trustworthy camera. 

-----

The air was colder than I remembered. I felt my nose crinkle as the wind blew snow into my nose. 

The city was beautiful; it was painted in white sparkles. I snapped a few photos and took a deep breath. 

I loved being outside and having no one notice me; this was one of my favorite things about living in the city and college in general. I snapped pictures of groups of people walking across the street. The blur of the street lights combined with the softness of the snow captivated me. 

“Some nice pics you got there.” 

I jumped at the voice and almost dropped my camera; thankfully, it’s always wrapped around my neck.

“Oh gosh, I’m so sorry! I didn’t think you’d get so scared.” 

I looked up and saw a boy around my age staring at me. And dang, was he cute. 

I thanked God for the weather because my cheeks were already red. 

“Uh, um, it’s fine.” I fibbed quickly. I felt awkward because I didn’t know how to act around guys my age, especially ones as cute as him. 

Be friendly, be friendly. He just wants to be friends.

“Um, I’m y/n by the way.” I took out my hand to shake his. He chuckled and reciprocated the action.

“Jihoon, Park Jihoon. You live in this building too?” He pointed at the building next door to me. I shook my head and watched as the snow fell onto my shoulders.

“Oh no, I live in this one.” He nodded. “Are you a freshman?” I asked. 

He laughed heartily. I liked how he didn’t hide his emotions. “Oh no, I’m a sophomore this year but I’m an RA in this building.” 

I made an “O” shape with my mouth. “Ah, a resident adviser. I’m applying to be one next year, kinda nervous but hopefully I’ll get the job.” 

His eyes widened. “Oh really? I rarely meet people who want to baby a bunch of freshmen.” I laughed at his comment. “But hey, it’d be cool if we were in the same dorm next year. You could teach me to take such pretty pictures.” I laughed and flipped through the photos on my camera out of habit.

“Don’t get your hopes up, I haven’t even been accepted for the job yet. Also, I’m taking photography 101 with Professor Lee Miyoung, I’m sure she’s a better teacher than I am.” I teased. 

He shrugged. “Well, I doubt she’s as pretty as you.” 

My heart froze. 

W-what? Did he just flirt with me? Oh god, what do I say now? How do I flirt back? I-

“Sorry, was that weird? I wanted to call you pretty but I didn’t mean to lowkey talk about a professor’s beauty either.” He looked mildly embarrassed when he shook out his hair full of snow. 

I gave him a small smile. “Um, no, not weird, it was actually kind of smooth. I don’t really know how to respond to flirting.” 

Oh my god. I just said that. 

His eyes lit up mischievously as I tried not to blush even harder.

“Oh flirting? Is that what we are doing?” He teased.

“Technically, that’s what you are doing.” He laughed loudly and his voice echoed throughout the streets. I only hoped to have that loud of a voice as an RA. 

“You got me there.” He then looked down at his watch and frowned. 

“What’s wrong?”

He looked up at me with his soft brown puppy eyes. I swear this guy is too cute to be real. “Um, my shift is starting soon.” He then took out his phone. “I know we just met, but you seem pretty cool-”

Before he could finish, I took his phone and typed in my number.

“There, now you can teach me how to be an RA and I can teach you how to take photos.” I said as confidently as I could. 

He seemed a bit surprised at my voice, but nodded.

“Sounds great, see you later.” He waved to be as he walked away, but slipped on a patch of snow. 

“Ah, be careful!” I shouted. He gave me a small smile and walked back into his dorm.

Well, at least this day ended on a high note. 

-----

“Hey, where’d you go last night? We were wondering where you were at.” 

I’m an adult, I don’t have to tell you everywhere I go.

I bit back the words and forced a small smile. “Oh, I just went to take some photos for my photography class. The snow looked really pretty last night.” I left out the minor detail that a cute boy started to talk to me. I wanted to keep the giddiness to myself. 

“Oh cool. I just came back from the gym. I saw a really cute boy in there. He was really fit, dark skinned, dark hair. And he smiled at me and I smiled back. We didn’t get to talk because I was so out of breath, but I hope he’s at the gym again.” She went off without me asking her too. 

I understand that I’m being a bit tough on her, but she irritated me first by inviting people over when I told her not to. People always talk about communication in college, but sometimes people just don’t listen to you. 

“Cool, hope you see him again.” I said nicely. I have to put on a nice face with my roommates, as I don’t want to be in an awkward living situation. 

“Yeah... how was your day today?” 

-----

“And then she just invited you guys over, disregarding what I had just said before! Isn’t that rude?” I voiced to Ahyoung, my best friend. I’d known her before going to college, well, I’ve known her since we were 8. 

She looked a bit hesitant on what to say. 

I went on about the situation. “I’m not saying I hate seeing you guys, but you know how I get when I want to be alone. I...I just want to be alone and it makes me crazy when I see people. Plus, I told Naeun I wanted to chill out and be alone and then she just invites you guys over, without telling me?? I’m not crazy.” I ranted. 

Ahyoung sighed and took a sip of her coffee filled with milk and sugar. 

“I mean, she did say she was inviting us over in the groupchat.” 

I glared at the younger girl. “Excuse me, I was sitting right next to her, she knows I didn’t check my phone. It’s rude to not tell your roommate you’re inviting people over, and it’s even ruder when we just talked about how I didn’t want her to invite people over. It’s not like she forgot within the five minutes.” 

“True. That wasn’t nice of her.” I noticed she hesitated on saying anything bad about her. We were all friends, but I was the one who had problems with friends in the group, as usual. I didn’t like very many people, but I was civil and nice to everyone; that’s what being an adult is all about. 

“Yeah...” I trailed off. I don’t know when it got so weird between us, but it felt like I couldn’t talk to my best friend about things in my life. I didn’t even tell her about the cute guy who flirted with me. Deep inside of me, I knew she didn’t deserve to know these things about me when she didn’t want to hear the bad parts of my life. 

It felt like everyone wants to be around me when I’m laughing and joking, never when I’m serious and want to talk about my feelings. No one wants to listen when I want to rant about real things in life, yet they love when someone rants about some “dumb” thing a girl did in the hallway. 

I didn’t get why they judged people before they knew them. I always tried to talk with people before I made judgements, yet people think it’s weird when I judge people I talk to. That’s the way you’re supposed to judge people... when you get to know them personally. Duh.

As I was talking, I saw her eyes focused on something far away from me. 

I turned around and saw her crush standing there. She stopped listening to me as he waved at her. I saw her eyes bright up when she saw him and I grew annoyed. I was telling her about something that was bothering me, and then she chooses a boy over me. Not cool. 

“Hello? Earth to Ahyoung??” I teased. She shrugged me off. 

“He’s so cute. I know he doesn’t like me, but I can’t help myself.” 

I snorted. “Yeah, he doesn’t like you and actually, he only dates white girls and you my friend, are not white.” I knew I was being harsh, but I hear about him every single second and it angers me when I want to vent about something in my life and she doesn’t think I’m as important as her crush.

She flinched at my harsh words. 

“You just wouldn’t understand, you’ve never had a crush before. You’ve never been in love before.” She said matter of factly. 

Ouch. 

This was all true, but it hurt when she said it like that. I’ve never felt romantic love, wow, thanks for reminding me. Maybe I’m too busy taking care of my dumb friends who don’t care about me. 

Maybe.

-----

“Bye, see you later.” I waved her off as we both went to class.

As soon as I turned around, I saw a familiar face. 

Jihoon. 

I fixed my hair and prayed none of my mascara had smeared on my face. 

Be confident, make friends. 

“Hey, Jihoon.” He turned around with a confused look on his face. I felt a leap in my heart when he smiled at me.

“Oh hey y/n, it’s weird to see you without a camera.” He joked. 

I felt my heart skip a beat when he said my name; I was so used to people forgetting about me. 

“Hah, well it’s weird to see you in the daylight.” I joked. When I saw him left an eyebrow, I knew I said something wrong. 

I felt my face burn up at my own words. 

“Not like that.” I blubbered out. He let out a light laugh. 

“Well, I mean, you’re right.” He took note of my embarrassed state and changed the subject. “So, what class are you headed to?”

“History of the Ancient Greek and Roman worlds, how bout you?” 

“Woah, what an interesting class. I’m heading to choir practice actually.” That made me stop in my tracks.

“Wait, you sing?” 

He chuckled. “Yup, that is what you do in choir.” I felt a bit embarrassed at my statement. “I’m joking, I’m joking, but yes, I do sing. Have been doing so for my whole life.”

“I did choir up until high school, I didn’t feel good enough for college. I still don’t know how to read music and it’s been years.” 

“It’s hard, but you get used to it. You should give it a shot if you really want to though. Or come watch one of our performances.” I smiled at him.

“One day.” I stopped walking and pointed at the building in front of us. “This is me. I’ll see you later?” 

He nodded and smiled. 

“I’ll see you later.”

-----

Two weeks had passed and I hadn’t seen much of Jihoon. We waved to each other in passing, but it was midterms soon, and exams were the only thing on my mind. We sent each other memes daily though and we just got each other’s humor- that was rare. 

I was filling out my history study guide until I heard my roommate, Naeun, walk in.

“Hey, y/n~ Ahyoung, Sooyoung and I saw you talking to a boy yesterday~ Oooooooo what’s his name?” 

She sat right in front of me, not giving me any personal space. 

I tried not to blush but honestly, my face was turning red because I was so annoyed at her.

“His name is Jihoon. He’s an RA in the dorm next to us, we met at an RA informational meeting.” I lied. I didn’t want to tell her I ran out of the dorm because I couldn’t handle her and people.

“He’s cute, nice body too.” I felt a an overwhelming sense of jealously and protectiveness wash over me. I hated it. I didn’t want to be this person. I probably only felt this way because I didn’t like Naeun right now. 

“Yeah, you can have him if you want. I’m not into him.” I lied. 

She raised a brow. “Really? Don’t be upset if he falls for me then.” I knew she was joking when she flipped her hair dramatically, but I wasn’t into it. 

I felt my buried insecurities rise when I stared intensely at her face. Her eyebrows were neatly plucked, which I was always too scared to do. Her skin was tanned and even, not blotchy and red like mine. Her fashion was trendy and most boys liked her because of her socialness, on the contrary, I was awkward and mean to boys, unintentionally. 

I just went back to doing my homework, shaking off the comparison. 

-----

Later that night, I saw a message pop up in my texts which was weird because I usually mute everyone.

‘hey midterms are killing me and i dont understand anything... want ice cream?’ 

I tried not to laugh even though both my roommates were at the library. 

‘uhhh shouldnt u be studying if u dont understand anything?? mayb??’ 

‘LOL thats not how it works young padawan’ I rolled my eyes. He thinks he’s so much older than me. 

‘also I don’t eat ice cream, i don’t eat dairy’

‘... aight imma head out’ 

I snorted and tilted my head back in laughter. 

‘ok, no ice cream... what DO you like?’

You. I like you. 

... Definitely not sending that.

‘UMMM i like hot chocolate?’ 

‘okay, i’ll be at your dorm in 5. what is your room number again?’

‘303′ 

‘aight’ 

I looked down at short shorts and tank top and then at the harsh winds outside. I threw on a pair of cute leggings and a heavy sweater. I put on a black jacket over it and placed a beanie on my head. 

I did my brows and put on a few swipes of mascara. I carefully applied my lightly colored lip balm and sprayed face mist to look dewy and cute. 

Is this a date? Or is this just two friends being adventurous? 

Whatever, I want to look cute at least.

Seconds after I finish, I hear a knock at my door. I took a deep breath.

This isn’t a date. This isn’t a date. Calm down.

I opened the door. 

He was wearing a puffy jacket and dark black jeans that outlined his thigh muscles. Yum.

I also noticed he was wearing a gray beanie... which was identical to mine.

“Cute hat.” I noted. He grinned and tugged on my beanie. 

“Same goes for you. Ready for some hot chocolate?” 

“Yes, where are we going to get said chocolate caliente?” 

Jihoon gave me a weird look. “Chocolate what?” 

I stared at him, stunned. “Chocolate caliente. Caliente means hot in Spanish. Therefore, hot chocolate. You didn’t take Spanish in high school?” 

He shook his head. “Nope, I took Japanese because I’m a weeb.” I snorted. 

“Wow, I should be surprised but I’m not.” He pushed me playfully and I tried not to freak out over the warmth of his skin. 

“You’re telling me you don’t watch any anime?” 

I rolled my eyes. “Of course I watch some anime. But am I full blown weeb... no.” 

He narrowed his eyes at me. “I can change that, don’t worry.”

“You still didn’t tell me where we are going.” My fingers felt crisp from the cold air. It wasn’t snowing tonight, but the ground was still white. 

“Aha, we are going to my favorite cafe called ‘Pink Heart Cafe’. It is decked in pink hearts.” 

“As expected from a Pink Heart Cafe.” I joked. In the near distance, I noticed a sign that had a baby pink heart that wrote ‘Pink Heart Cafe’ in cute lettering. 

I crinkled my nose from the cold air. “What, you don’t like pink?” 

“No, no, I love the color pink actually. It’s just kinda cold out here.” He nodded. 

“Maybe it would be warmed if we held hands... maybe.” 

For the first time, I felt comfortable with someone’s flirtatious comment.

I smirked and hooked my hand with his. I felt my heart beater faster. Much faster. And I loved it. 

I saw him smile widely and hide it with his hair. 

“I’m a lucky guy.” He whispered. 

We walked into the cafe. 

“Hi! Welcome to Pink Heart Cafe, for here or to go?” 

“For here, please.” The woman nodded. 

“Please take a seat. We will come take your order soon.”

We took our seats in the corner, next to the pink fairy lights. I was in love with the aesthetic. 

“Cute place. And fancy it seems, they come take our order at the table.” I sang a bit of Twice’s Fancy. 

“Oh gosh, you love Twice?? Me too!” I shrugged nonchalantly. 

“I mean, I like them, their songs are cute and catchy but I’m not a diehard fan.” 

He frowned. I can change that too. 

I sighed and rolled my eyes dramatically. “Wow, it seems like there are a lot of things you want to change about me. What do you even like about me?” I teased. 

He smiled harder and I noticed a blush on his face. 

“Uhhh, that’s a good question. I like... I like how you’re honest with your emotions. I like how you’re good at photography. I like that you want to become an RA because of the money and--” I gasped and pushed him on the arm.

“That’s not the only reason! Yes... the pay is good, but I like helping people.” 

Our laughter died down as he gazed at me intensely. 

“You like helping people? Tell me more about that.” 

I paused. No one had asked me that before. 

“Um, no one’s asked me that before. I guess I just like to see people happy. I like appealing to people’s emotions and most times, I’m pretty good at making people like me.” I said honestly. I saw his face light up at my words. “And I also want to be a teacher after I graduate, so being an RA would help improve my social skills and teach me how to interact with those younger than me and work through their problems. I don’t know, people say it’s hard and that it can be tough if kids come to you with suicidal thoughts and feelings of anxiety and depression, but I mean, I just want to do it and give back to the community somehow... I don’t know. ” I mumbled off, feeling like I said too much.

His gaze was so serious, I was scared I bored him to death.

He leaned closer to me and I freaked out. I held my breath, waiting for what was next until he spoke. 

“You’re so awesome.” He finally said. 

That... that was surprising.

“Um, thanks?”

“I’m serious! That’s so amazing why you want to be an RA. Honestly, I took up this job because it pays well and I’m good at talking to people, but sometimes I couldn’t care less about my residents. I like how you’re so kind to people.”

I laughed, “I’m not that nice.” 

“Yeah right, you were nice to me the first time we met. And I could’ve been a creepy dude and I almost made you break your camera.” 

“Well, I was nice to you because you are a cute boy.” He choked on his drink at my blunt words. I grew shy all of a sudden and laughed with him. 

“Jesus, give a boy a warning before you say such words.” He was pink in the face and I felt my heart warm. 

“It’s true, you are attractive. But it is also true that I’m not nice. My roommate is irritating the heck out of me and I have to tell myself every time I talk to her to say nice things and not hurt her feelings ‘cause she’s so damn sensitive.” 

He paused for a moment. I was nervous he would think I was a bad person. Which... technically is what I’m trying to convince him of. 

“Wow, you just got ten times nicer.” Now it was my turn to choke on my drink. 

“What? I just told you I have to force myself to be nice to my roommate even though I just want to snap at her all the time.” 

Jihoon leaned back in his chair with a smug look on his face. “Exactly! Most people would’ve just called her a bitch and moved on! Moved out or from what I’ve seen, some girls do mean shit like throwing another girl’s clothes out of her closet or flirting with her boyfriend. You... you just be nice when someone is mean to you.”

“She’s not mean, just rubbing me the wrong way.” Jihoon rolled his eyes.

“See? You are still defending her even though I’m sure she’s putting you through more than other people would take.” 

I shrugged. “I don’t know, most people don’t take me seriously when I talk about it.” 

“Try me.” 

I hesitated at first, but when I saw his open and honest look, I spilled.

“Well, I’m quite an introverted person so I need my alone time. And when I told her, this was actually the night that I met you, um, I told her that I wanted to be alone. And then she invited people over to the room and yes, they left soon, but when I’m in my isolation mood, I just... I just don’t even want to look at people.” 

He stared at me with a curious look so I rambled on. “I know, it’s dumb-”

He placed a gentle hand on top of mine.

“No, that’s not dumb at all. She should’ve respected your words. I would be so mad. Give me more!” He pounded his fist on the table for dramatic effect. 

I felt my heart lighten when he wanted to hear more of my words. I was so used to people ignoring me and brushing over my concerns.

“Uh, well, just... well not just Naeun, my roommate, but some of my friends in the same dorm as me. They are just really judgmental and the negativity just pains me. I don’t like judging others before getting to know them, so hearing them talk bad about random people they don’t know just pains me. And I’m no saint, yes I judge people, but I make sure I talk to them first and get to know them before I make judgments.”

Jihoon smiled. “You keep getting better the more I get to know you. I do the same thing, my friends think I’m crazy when I say ‘hey that dude looks kinda mean and no one likes him, i’ll be friends with him’!” 

My eyes widened. “Oh my god, that’s how I met most of my friends!” 

We laughed as we bad mouthed our friends and the people who have hurt us. 

“Why do you stick with such crappy friends? No offense, you deserve so much better.” 

I shrugged. “I mean, everyone says that to me and truly, I don’t even know. I just feel so connected to them now and they have their good moments-”

“Good moments aren’t enough if they consistently hurt you.”

“I know, I know! I just... maybe I’m not that good of a person then if I stay with them. Like people say, you are who your friends are.” 

“That’s bull, you’re a good person, I know that. And your friends don’t even care to listen to you rant, I can tell I’m the first person you told all this stuff too because you have flames in your eyes. You deserve friends you can trust and are able to rant to. I promise.” 

I bit my lip, thinking of what to say. 

“Thank you, I guess I just think I am helping them by staying with them. I don’t want to hurt their feelings.” 

“Just know that you have me now, and if you ever need to rant or vent or whatever, I’m here for you. You have me now.” 

I felt a wave of emotion wash over me. No one’s ever said that to me before and meant it. I know he meant it, it was written all over his face. 

I nodded slowly, accepting the moment we were having. 

We sat in a moment of silence until the waiter came for the check.

I dug through my pockets to get out the ten dollar bill I stuffed in there. 

“Hah funny,” Jihoon chided when he whipped out his card before I could do anything. I gasped. 

“Ah, Jihoon, I brought money!” 

He tsked and stood when the waiter gave him his card back. “Yeah right, I’d never let a girl pay on the first date, that’s like... illegal.” I rolled my eyes, until I realized what he had just admit.

“Date?” I questioned carefully. 

He looked away from my gaze, like he didn’t mean to say the word. 

“Yes... date. Do you have a problem with that?” 

I grinned.

“Nope.”

[cinnamon-dragon]

ADAINE ABERNANT - playlist

[fireteam-dauntless]

A Tale of Two Guardians XXXI

Part I of the Destined Series Chapter 31 : Regicide

word count : 5.7K (grab your tea, this one’s a biggie) masterlist | tag list : @mail-me-a-snail @basically-nacl @galagd @speed-boop @lady-efriyeet

CW: corruption, mental instability, major character “death”, self injury.

I woke the next morning and the bed beside me was cold.  I sat up and yawned.  I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the window.  My hair was messy and my eyes looked tired.  I stretched my arms and then ran my hands through my hair.  I didn’t know that Maverick had left me last night.  I slept far too well.  Better than I had in weeks.  I rolled out of bed and grabbed a robe.  My apartment was chilly.  The temperature was dropping day by day as the seasons were changing.  Winter was fast approaching.  I pulled on the robe as I walked down the stairs slowly, only to be met with the sound of sizzling food and the aroma of freshly brewed coffee.  I walked downstairs and into the kitchen, and there Maverick was, cooking breakfast at the stove.  His Ghost was talking to him, telling him how to cook whatever he was making.  I smiled to myself and leaned against the door frame.  I didn't say a word.

“Be careful Maverick, you’re going to burn it!”  His Ghost scolded.

“I don’t know!  I’m really trying, okay!  Now hush before you wake her up.”

I watched as he flipped the spatula in his hand and heard the pan sizzle.  I smiled softly and walked into the kitchen, my bare feet silent on the floor.  The table was set with orange juice, plates, and silverware.  I was so flattered by his lavish attempts at making me breakfast.  

I walked up beside him and gently wrapped one of my arms around his back.  He jumped a bit and looked down, and he smiled at the sight of me.  I peered around to see what he was making, he was making French toast.  “Turn the heat down,”  I said as I reached around and turned the knob on the stove to medium-low, where he had it at medium-high.  “It will cook evenly that way.”

“Well good morning, Angel,”  he said happily.  “Did you sleep alright?”

I shifted around and hugged him from behind, my head leaning against his back.  “Mmm… better than I have since all of this started.  You think the Vanguard would be okay with us breaking protocol like this?”

“Ikora and Cayde, maybe.  They both have sympathy for you and I, and I know Ikora knows about us.  You know, because her Hidden are everywhere.  And Cayde’s, well, Cayde.  He loves breaking rules.  But Big Blue?  No way in hell.”

“That’s still two-to-one.”

“Yes it is.”

He moved around me and over to the table, then dished out the food to each of us.  At least, more for me than himself.  We sat down together and ate breakfast mostly in silence.  We spent most of the morning and early afternoon relaxing in the living room.  Maverick was telling me stories about his adventures that he hid from the vanguard.  I was sketching on a bunch of loose leaf, and the papers were scattered all around the room.  He was sitting on the corner cushion, I was laying on my back, head in his lap, knees propped up with my sketchpad resting on my thighs.  I could feel myself dozing off every now and then as he played with my hair, and he would wake me by either gently ticking me or giving me soft kisses.  I didn’t even think about our impending mission, but as the day rolled on, I was becoming more and more anxious.

I didn’t even want to put my armor on.  I was dreading this mission.  When it was reaching three o’clock and we were going to have to meet the vanguard in a few hours.  At least, Maverick was.  He was to get the mission briefing before we left for the Dreadnaught.  Skinner and I were going to be waiting for him in Orbit.

While I was armoring up, taking my time, dreading each piece that I pulled on, Maverick came into my bedroom.  I only had my pants and boots on so far, so I was only wearing the form fitting undershirt.  I looked up at him and gave him a wary smile.  He walked over to me quietly and knelt down in front of me.  

“It’s almost over,”  he said quietly.  “We are almost there.  This is it, Angel.”

“I know,”  I replied.  “I just… I have a really bad feeling…”

“Me too.”  He took my hands in his and squeezed them gently.  “But we will win, I promise you.  We'll make it out, together, as a team.”

I nodded.  “I know.  You should be heading out to the Vanguard, I’ll be waiting in orbit with Skinner.”

“I know… Meet Skinner in the Hanger.  We’re all riding in on my ship.  I’ve given you both access to it.  He’s going to take it to Orbit and I’ll be meeting you there.”

I nodded as he walked out of my room.  I finished gearing up, took my Monte Carlo, 1000-Yard Stare, and Choleric Dragon SRT-49, and left my apartment.  I was listening to some pre-Golden Age music records that I had found a long time back, the date on the record somewhere in the 1940s.  But it was Frank Sinatra, and the jazzy, vocal pop vibes gave me a sense of freedom and never failed to calm me down.  I met Skinner in the Hanger, my heart feeling lighter, my hope for victory stronger.  Light always prevails in Darkness.  For there is no darkness without light.

“Well, you seem to be in a better mood than just about everyone I know,”  Skinner commented as he approached me.  “Nice to see that someone on our team is hopeful.”

I smiled at him, but it was hollow.  I could feel the pit in my stomach growing.  “I have to hold tightly onto my hope,”  I said.  “Without hope…”  I looked away from him.  “Without hope, I have nothing left.”

“Aww, c’mon, Storm, don’t say that.  You have me.  And you have Maverick.”  He wrapped an arm around my shoulder and gave me a hug from the side.

“I know,” I said.  “You guys… you are my hope.  You’re my family, you know that?”

“Yeah.  And you’re mine, too, Punchy.”

I laughed aloud.  “We should get into orbit.  Maverick’s expecting us.”

The Hunter nodded and we walked up to Amanda.  He gave the Shipwright Maverick’s ship codes, and we boarded.  Skinner took his place in the co-pilot seat and I took my seat behind the pilot’s seat.  He flipped all of the switches the ship hummed to life.  We waited for Maverick in orbit, in silence and mutual discomfort of what was to come.

Twenty minutes later, Maverick appeared on board.  He walked up into the cockpit with Skinner, gently kissing the top of my head as he passed by.  He took his place at the pilot controls and plotted our course for the Dreadnaught.  Before we left, he turned in his seat to look at us.  “Listen, I know…. I know I’ve been a shitty fireteam leader lately.  But no matter what, we are going in there as a team, and we stick together.  No matter what.”

“Semper fi,”  Skinner said.  We both looked at him with our heads tilted.  It sounded oddly familiar, like I knew what it was, but I wasn’t sure where it was from.  “Oh… it’s a pre-Golden Age saying from America in one of their defense divisions.  Marines, I think?  It means ‘Ever Faithful, Ever Loyal’.”

I smiled.  Of course, that’s where I heard it.  I had read about it in some old American war papers and it sounded off in my dreams.  “Oorah.”

“You’ve heard it?”

“In a distant dream, like a memory of my past.”

Maverick grinned.  “Alright team, let’s finish this.”  

He turned back to the controls and Skinner turned back to his, then we made the jump from Earth to the Rings of Saturn.  The entire time, we were all in silence.  Despite our overall sense of confidence in our abilities, it was clear that we were all on edge.  We landed in the Hull Breach, and the Vanguard channel started to come through, loud and clear.

“All of this was set in motion long ago,”  Eris said, sounding just as depressing as usual.  “He calls out, and the Darkness answers.”

“Okaay!”  Cayde cut in.  “Creepy sidekick.  Check.  Roguish commander.  Check.  And then we have the Fireteam, my greatest success story.  I'd say we're ready to get this done.”

“Push back the dark,”  Eris continued.  “End it.”

“She’s right, Fireteam.  There’s no doubt in my mind this could possibly work.  Now, get to that rupture.”

Maverick took the lead, motioning us to follow him.  And we did, straight through the wrecked Cabal ship to the Mausoleum.  When we got into the area, Cabal and Hive were fighting each other, along with Taken that were starting to pollute the area. We had to fight our way to the rupture.  It was never easy.

“Okay, this is where the Rupture should be,”  Maverick said as we approached the dias that we last fought the Echo of Oryx.

“Get it open!”  Cayde insisted.  “Once you’re through, send your coordinates.  We’ll lock down your signal and deploy reinforcements.”

As we approached, Maverick pulled out the Crystal.  The Rupture opened abruptly, making us all jump back ever so slightly.  

“The rupture can sense the soul you hold.  You are Ascendant!”  Eris exclaimed.

“Time to go kill a king, eh, Fireteam?  Good luck.”

Maverick turned around to look at us.  Skinner reloaded his shotgun and pumped it, ready for whatever army was on the other side.  “Well,” he said.  “I’m ready when you are.”

He looked at me directly, and I could feel his worry, but I didn’t want to let him feel mine.  I gave him a nod.  “Let’s go.”  

The moment we passed through that Rupture, with no exit behind us and nothing but static on all of the feeds, I got that sick feeling in my stomach again.  I was right.  We were trapped here.  “We’re going to have to finish this on our own,”  I said quietly.  “All of the feeds are dead and my Ghosts scans are returning nothing.”

We started to proceed forwards.  The only clear path was down this long hallway. Lanterns that lined the sides lit up as we passed by them.  Something about this place, the way it acknowledged our presence… it was like there was always going to be eyes on us.  That something was watching.

“We’re definitely… somewhere,” Maverick said as we slowed down.  He turned to look behind us at the lit lanterns that emitted an ominous yellow-orange glow.  “No sign of Oryx.”

As we approached the end of the hall, the ball of Taken energy, the one that led us here, the one that led my team on Phobos, appeared.

“Hey, Maverick, remember that bad feeling I told you about?”  I said as I held fast to my gun.  “It’s getting worse.”

“I hear you,”�� he replied.  “Let’s just keep moving.  We’re bound to find Oryx somewhere in here.”

As we approached the Taken light, it fled further down the hallway, down the stairs and to the space between the pair of steps.  Skinner scoffed.  “Well, now we know we have his attention.  Hi, Oryx, you murderous bastard.”  I followed the two of them down, pausing a moment to gaze down scope at the platforms across the chasm.  They were empty, then again, the entire area was.  Like a stage.  The moment we reached the orb, Taken started to spawn in the room.  Immediately, Maverick started calling out orders.

“Skinner, on my six!”  He shouted.  “Storm, get up high and take out those snipers!”

Skinner nodded and ran down the steps with Maverick.  I ran back up and crouched at the top, positioned my sniper at my shoulder, and started taking out the Taken Hobgoblins.  One by one, they disappeared into nothing, but I had to take cover after every kill because they would send three projectiles at my location.  As I took out the last one, I opened the feed with Maverick and Skinner.  “How’s it going down there boys?” I asked as I peeked around the corner.  I started to snipe down what I could while they were running around like madmen, killing all of the Taken they set eyes on.

“Be better if you weren’t stealing all of my kills,” Skinner laughed.  It was obvious that he felt better now that he was finally getting some action out there.  While he was distracted stabbing a Psion, I sniped the Knight that had crept up behind him, finally ending the battle.  Skinner turned around and looked up at me.  “Really?  I had him!”

“Yeah, you’re welcome,” I chuckled.  I started to walk down to join the two of them.  Maverick gently clapped a hand on my shoulder.

“Nice shot, Storm.  Now let’s keep moving.  Oryx must be deeper inside.”  We walked up the stairs to the upper platform, and stood before a door that stretched from the floor to the ceiling.  We must have stood there for maybe a full thirty seconds before it opened for us, making me more and more anxious the longer we had to wait.  But when it finally did open, we walked through into the adjoining room, where another alter hosted a rupture.  However, before we even got far into the room, a Shadow of Oryx appeared, his voice screaming in both the room and taking over our comms.

“You… are the last hope of the Light?”  Oryx said as he gazed over our team.  “I have taken entire worlds!  You are not worthy to face me!”  The shadow disappeared and the rupture opened.  Ta’aun, the Hand of Oryx, the same Centurion that we saw him take in our first trip to the dreadnaught walked out and immediately began firing down on us.  Maverick crouched down behind some of the barricades in the room, Skinner and I behind another.  We all took turns getting his attention and letting the others shoot him.  Skinner and I were doing most of the damage while Maverick kept him from looking at us.  Before we could kill him, Baxx, the Hand of Oryx, the Ogre he took while we were stealing the Shard of Crota’s crystal on the Moon, walked through the rupture, and it closed behind him.  This just made everything more difficult, as we couldn’t keep damaging and distracting at the same time.

“Any ideas Mav?”  Skinner asked over comms as he dove behind another barricade, somewhat closer to the two Taken Ultras.

“Just one.  You got your Tether?”

“Um, duh.  I’ve had it for like twenty minutes now.  Just waiting for your signal.”

“Good.  Storm, you got your Radiance?”

“Just finished charging up.  I was hoping to keep it charged in case things get dicey when we fight Oryx, though.”

“Fine, keep it.  Skinner, on my mark, tether the two of them.”

“What mark?”

He didn’t need an answer.  Maverick jumped up and pulled a Hammer of Sol out of thin air, the clang of it loud and distinct as solar energy enveloped his body.  Skinner jumped up seconds later, pulling the Void string of his bow back, and shot an arrow right between the two bosses.  They flinched as they were tethered to the arrow’s landing mark, and their mistake was not starting to shoot again.  Maverick threw hammers quickly and precisely, until they fell and disappeared, defeated.  I came out from cover and caught up to the two of them.  

“Wish I could have helped you two better,”  I sighed.

“No worries, it’s better that you save that radiance for a time of need.  There’s only so much those fusion grenades can do.”  Maverick threw his last hammer at the last thrall left in the room.  Shortly after, the rupture reopened, almost like it was welcoming us into it. 

“Well,”  I said as I loaded a few fresh rounds into my sniper.  “Looks like we’re worthy now.”

We walked through the portal and it put us in a very narrow hallway.

“How many more of these damn things do you have to go through?” Skinner asked, irritated.

“I don't know, Skinner, hopefully that was the last one,” Maverick sighed.

We exited the Hall and came out to a big doorway on the other side of a chasm with Hive guarding it. There was no visible way across before Oryx began speaking.

“Come for me Warrior of Light! I will finish what Crota began!” As he finished speaking, the Hive guarding the door ran through it as if they were summoned back. As the last of the Hive went through the door platforms began to materialize. We made our way to them when I motioned for the two of them to stop.

“I'm not going first, not after last time,” I said firmly.  The last time I stepped foot on one of those platforms, it went out from beneath me and I fell to my death.

“Come on Storm, Oryx challenged us and by the Sword Logic he can't play dirty. At least he's not supposed too.” Mav said hopefully, “Eris said so.”

“Fine, but if this bridge fades from existence, I'm jumping off,” I said.

“Good luck with that Warlock,” Skinner mocked.  I lifted my gun his way then towards the bridge, and he held up his hands in defense, but laughed and went first anyway.  We walked across the bridge and stopped in front of the door.  Two giant carvings of stone on either side.

“Hold on,” I said and pulled out my Ghost, “Peu de lumière, who are these carving for?”

“Well obviously one of them is for Crota's,” she while she examined the one on the right, “but this one, there isn't anything in the World's Grave on it, but the engraved name just says Nokris.”

We walked through the giant door and were met with another carving.

“Let me guess this one is Oryx?”  Mav said.

“Yes it is.” 

We walked around the statue to a Taken flame on the ground.

“Oooh! I want to touch it!” Skinner shouted gleefully and ran toward the flame.  Before Maverick could stop him, he was close to it and it shot down the hall, and it left a trail behind it.  Then it ran up the door and it made a symbol, Oryx’s symbol.  It glowed white then darkened to a reddish-orange color before the door opened.  And there stood the Hive King, standing there covering the room in Darkness, chanting some kind of ritual.  I couldn’t see him, but we could sense his presence in the room.

"This is it, this is where it ends."  Maverick said, "let’s go guys."  Maverick took out his Necrochasm, the weapon he obtained from killing Crota.  It was almost fitting.  As the door closed behind us, the Darkness rushed to Oryx.

"At last!" He yelled as his sword levitated up from the ground and he grabbed it effortlessly.  "I will have vengeance!  It will feel good to kill the two Light Warriors who killed my kin!" He then glanced at me and I could feel his three eyes burning into my soul, so I positioned my rocket launcher on my shoulder.  "And a third as a trophy."  I closed my eyes for a brief moment.  He knew. 

“Maverick,”  I said over our private channel, my voice almost shaking.  “He knows.  He knows I survived Phobos.”

Before Oryx could make his next more, out of pure rage Maverick took out another round of Hammers of Sol.  But just before the first hammer collided, I felt all of my energy drain and I stumbled, as did Skinner.  The Hunter grabbed hold of my arm and dragged me behind cover.  When Maverick’s hammers were spent, he jumped behind cover with us.

"What happened? What did he do?"

"I don't know," Skinner said 

"It felt like he was draining my Light." I said.

"Your Traveler's Light can not reach you here!" Oryx taunted.

"If he keeps doing that I don't know if I'll have my Radiance for when I need it."

Oryx once again began the ritual and targeted Maverick with it, so he took out his Gjallarhorn and shot a rocket at him, breaking his focus once more. And he vanished and summoned Taken to take over.

"Yeah." Maverick said bitterly.  He must have had his light drained. " That's unpleasant, but let's kill these Taken and draw him out again."  It was more Acolytes and Hobgoblins.  We killed them without a problem, though it almost felt too easy.  Oryx then appeared to the right of the room and beckoned to us,  "What you call Darkness is the end of your evolution." He then raised his hand and the air around Maverick started to crackle, and before we knew it, hot, taken energy exploded right where he was standing, moments after he was able to dive out of the way, but the armor on his shoulder was singed and he looked hurt.

"Mav! You alright?" Skinner asked.

"I'm fine, just focus on Oryx!" he shouted.

Skinner and I both fired on him, and I emptied the last of my rockets into his skull, and yet he barely flinched.  Oryx summoned Taken Captains and Psions to keep us busy as he began his ritual again, this time targeting Skinner. 

“Skinner take cover!”  I shouted, dragging him out of the Captain’s line of fire.

“Storm keep them off me!”  Mav shouted.

“Sure thing,” I said and jumped out of cover and drew the attention of the Taken away by running through them, firing my auto rifle at the Psions and dragging a Captain’s attention away from him.  Maverick was launching more rockets at him, and the tracking clusters broke his focus once more.  We killed off the second round Taken before Oryx began to speak again.

“The Darkness is a gift!” He declared as he appeared at the pool on the outside and summoned Taken Phalanx's and Thrall again.  But instead of trying his luck with a ritual again he started to fight by rushing one of us firing his Darkness blasts and trying to kill us with his sword.  When he tried to attack one of us, the other two would attack on Maverick’s signal.  Once again, he vanished from sight but this time a giant blight formed around the pool of Hive gunk and it went quiet.  No more Taken spawned in the room and Oryx never came outside.  It was absolutely silent.

“What do you think he's planning?”  I asked. 

“I have no idea, but keep you guard up just in case.” Mav said.

Minutes passed and nothing happened. Skinner was just kicking around rocks. “Man, Oryx is being such a…” before he could finish his sentence he was surrounded by Taken energy. “Wh-What the fuck?!” He yelled before disappearing.

“Skinner?!” Maverick and I yelled together.  Maverick ran over to where he was.

“He's… he's gone.” he said.  He started to shake, whether from sadness or rage I couldn’t tell.  “No! I will not fail again!”  He then jumped up and unloaded his magazine at the blight, the magazine emptied in no time but he kept the trigger held down. 

“Maverick!” I said as I walked over to him carefully, placing my hand on his rifle.  I tried to put myself in his line of sight.  Firing into that blight was doing nothing.  “Mav, please just… lower your weapon.  There's nothing we can do, we… we just have to hope he's strong enough to survive whatever is in there.”  He slowly lowered his rifle.

“But… but he's gone Storm, I don't want to lose my best friend to Oryx.”  As his anger passed it was replaced with sadness, and his body language showed it.  His shoulders slumped and his arms dropped to his side.  “Storm I can't lose him, he's one of the only friends I have left.”

“I know Mav, we just have to wait,” I said as I walked him over to a rock and sat down.  I sat down next to him, clutching onto his hands, trying to comfort him, but I felt utterly useless.  It felt like hours past when it was only minutes when Skinner was dropped in front of us. 

“Skinner!”  Maverick yelled as he jumped up to help him stand.  “What happened in there?  What did he do?”  No damage to his armor, but he was out of ammo and his knife was missing.  He must have tried to fight whatever was in there.

He looked up at us and he was visibly shaken. “He…” Skinner swallowed, “he showed me my true fear and doubts.  Mav he's trying to break our wills, so we would be easier to take. Our strong wills and our Light makes it impossible for him to take us.”

“What?  How?”  He asked, but before he could get an answer, the Taken energy surrounded him and he was gone.  I screamed his name and ran towards the blight, but Skinner grabbed my arms and held me back.

“Storm, stop!”  He shouted, holding me tightly as I collapsed to my knees.  “There… There’s nothing we can do.  Mav’s strong, he’ll be fine.”

“No… no…” I could feel myself trembling as Skinner hugged me tightly.  “Skinner… what did you see?”

He was quiet for a long time before he responded.  “Betrayal.”  He mumbled quietly.  “Getting killed by my own team, getting killed by you… Betrayal is the worst when it comes from someone close to you.”

I looked at him, then at the blight.  “We need to get in there,”  I said quietly.  “I know Maverick’s strong, but there is only so much we can take before…”

“I know.”

There is only so much pain, so much trauma we can take before we break.

“Skinner… can you do me a favor?”

“Hmm?”

I took his hand and placed my Ghost in it, and the both of them looked at me suspiciously.  “Keep her safe.”

“Why?”

“Just… just a bad feeling.  I’m going to be next, I know… But in case anything happens to me in there, I don’t want Oryx getting a hold of my Ghost.”

“But if you don’t have your Ghost—”

Just then, Maverick appeared back in the room, standing tall, his rocket settled on his shoulder.  He whipped around as he realized that he was no longer standing in the blight.  Skinner let me go, tucked my Ghost into his vest, and walked over to him, his hands on Maverick’s shoulders before the two of them hugged tightly. 

“You’re okay…” Skinner muttered.

“He showed me our fireteam,”  Mav said quietly.  “I wouldn’t let him break me.  He sees into our minds, if we don’t kill him, he will keep trying to break us, one by one.”

But just as Maverick turned to face me, still on my knees, I watched the two of them get surrounded by the Taken energy and disappear.  “No!” I shouted.  I stood to my feet and started to run towards that blight, but the same energy surrounded me and I was teleported into darkness.  I stood and turned around wildly.  I wasn’t sure where I was.  But the darkness was cold and my skin crawled as if something was touching me, prodding at my mind.  I pulled off my helmet and tossed it aside, and clutched tightly onto my head.

I tried to block him out.

“You are weak,”  Oryx’s voice echoed all around me.  “You could not save them.”  

When I turned around, Gilly’s and Adam’s bodies were lying on the ground.  I felt my skin crawl at the sight of them, especially since I could see Adam’s face.  “You can’t break me!”  I screamed into the darkness.  My voice betrayed me and cracked with fear.  He knew everything.  I could feel his presence like tendrils pressing against my consciousness.  I tried to push him out, to ignore his presence, but it was still there, still pushing against me.  Any energy I could muster up to resist was being drained immediately.

“You let your grief consume you.  You are a shell of who you were.”

“I am not weak!”

“You have nothing left.”

“I have my team!”  I kept spinning in circles, watching, waiting for Oryx to show himself to me.  But then I saw it, and I froze.  My blood ran cold.  “That… that… can’t be.”  On the ground were the torn up Titan Mark and Hunter Cloak that Maverick and Skinner were wearing.  I ran over and picked them up, and sure enough they were real.  Tears spilled over onto my cheeks.  “No, they can’t be…”  I collapsed to my knees.  “They can’t be…” 

“They have fallen, another team you could not save.”

“Why?!”  I screamed into the dark abyss.  I could feel my heart breaking, all of the walls around me were crumbling.  I could feel Oryx prodding at my mind, but I couldn’t fight him anymore.  Without my Ghost, I was barely holding onto the Light that I had left.  I pulled off my helmet because I could barely breathe over the lump in my throat.  I couldn’t stop shaking and I clutched Maverick’s mark to my chest.  “Mon chérie, je suis désolé.  Je t'ai manqué.  Je t'ai laissé tomber.  Pardonne-moi.  Pardonne-moi…”*  I raised my eyes, and there he was.  Oryx loomed over me.  I reached for my gun, but I could barely hold it straight.  

For the first time in my years as a Guardian, I felt truly afraid.  

More afraid than I had felt on Phobos.

I stood shakily to my feet and backed away from him slowly.  “Je ne vais pas casser,”**  I spat out, like a curse.

“Why let your grief consume you?”  Oryx’s voice sounded... oddly soothing.  I mentally shook myself and tightened my grip on my gun.  I tried so hard to hold it steady.  “Why fight for the Sky, when the Sky gives nothing to you?”  

Oryx continued to move towards me, the flap of his bat-like wings knocked me back.  Every time I was knocked back, I pushed myself back onto my feet, but each time it was harder to stand than the last.  “Lay down your grief and your struggle, survivor of Phobos.”  He reached his hand out towards me, and I looked at the taken energy in his claws.  “Let my Will set you free!” 

I screamed loudly as my body was enveloped by pain.  I could see the Taken energy that started at my chest and spread outwards.  It felt like my soul was being ripped from my body.  It felt like my blood was freezing as the corruption spread, but I couldn’t fight it.  I didn’t have the willpower or the strength.  I fell on my knees and clutched my chest.

“Arrête ça!”  I screamed.  “Arrête ça!”***  

When the corruption finished spreading and Oryx picked me up by my throat, I only had a small, weak grasp left on my consciousness and my Light.  I didn’t even fight him.  When he let me go I collapsed to the ground.  When I looked up I saw that I was no longer surrounded by darkness, but instead surrounded by mist.  There was an urge in me, something primal and unfamiliar.  

An urge to kill, an urge to feed.

—————

You are a Guardian, Oryx’s voice echoed in my head.  Chosen from the dead by one of the Traveler’s Ghosts, you are a warrior forged in Light, a final hope in a universe falling into Darkness.  

You have been Taken.  

Put down your sniper, lay down your sword, let go of your Light.  Your purpose is no longer to defend.  Give them pain.  There is Magic for you, and a Knife imbued with it.  Give them their end.  You are judge, jury, and executioner. Take up the knife and use it.  

Take your new shape.

—————

I started to stand slowly.  There was a knife in my hand, the blade glowing white.  My hands and arms were filled with starlight.  This isn’t right, I thought to myself.  This isn’t you, Genesis.  You are Genesis Page, you are a warrior, you can fight—

Oryx’s voice became louder and broke my train of thought.  Deliver their pain.  Deliver their end!  Let my Will set you free!

“Genesis, no!”

I whipped around and ran towards the sound.  I didn’t even think.  I saw two figures in front of me, two targets, two Light Warriors to end.  I raised the knife, but the one in front of me was a Hunter, quick and stealthy, he was strong and held my wrist in the air.  I punched him in the gut, making him flinch and let me go, but he dodged backwards before I could land a blow.  The two of them wrestled me to the ground and I screamed in pain as the Titan knelt down on top of me, pinning my arm to the ground with his hand and his knee dug into my chest.  The Hunter held my other arm down and ripped the knife out of my hand.  I gazed up at the Titan as he pulled off his helmet and then pressed one of his hands down on my shoulder. 

“Angel,”  he said.  His voice sounded so familiar.  “Angel, I know you’re in there.”

Kill them.  Kill them!

I tried to move and look away from him, but his hands moved my face back to him and he held my face in place.  Since he let go of my arm, I reached up, but I couldn’t reach for his throat, I could only push back on his shoulder.  “Angel, it’s Maverick!  Fight him!  Fight!”

I felt something in me click, like a switch turning. I blinked rapidly and my heart thumped painfully in my throat.  “What?”  My own voice sounded foreign and distorted.  My grip on his shoulder weakened.

“Maverick.  It’s Maverick, you know me!  Do you remember Venus?  And Detroit?  What about last night?  Do you know me?”

“I—  I—”  Before I could say anything, I felt a flash of pain over my entire body, like the corruption was spreading further and deeper into me, and I squeezed my eyes shut and screamed.

“Her Ghost, Skinner, now!”

All of a sudden, a bit of my strength returned and my eyes shot open.  In one final attempt to break free, I pushed them off of me, scrambled away from the two of them, grabbed the knife that Oryx had gifted me, and drove it through my stomach.

---translations---

* “My sweetheart, I’m sorry.  I failed you.  I let you down. Forgive me... forgive me...”

** “I will not break.”

*** “Stop it!” I screamed.  “Stop it!”

[ruby-dear]

all of them except 77, 78, 81, 92 and 96

Ember, I know this was you. I’m doing it, but that’s 93 questions you’re asking for so they’re going under a cut. 

1. Talk about your first love. There have been a lot of those, so let me talk about the first one I really remember. I was in eighth grade, at the time, and she wasn’t exactly a great person looking back but she was cool and confident and she liked me, and she called me her best friend, and probably the best school-related memory I’ve ever had was her tackle-hugging me from across a classroom. I didn’t even realize I liked girls until she’d pretty much left my life completely. Maybe I’m looking at it through rose-tinted glasses now, but I think that’s okay, sometimes.  2. What’s the most beautiful songs you’ve ever heard in your opinion? Most of my favorite songs are Owl City, especially the older stuff. It has a soft, dreamlike vibe to it that I find really pretty even when it’s depressing. 3. How’s your heart feeling right now? Pretty good, I think? 4. What kind of self care is your favorite to do? The fun stuff. Bath bombs, makeup, fancy shampoo. Retail therapy actually works pretty well for me, even if a lot of the time I don’t even buy anything. 5. What’s your skincare routine? Um... Shower? 6. How did you get to be so beautiful? Natural talent and carefully learned confidence. 7. Do you have any stuffed animals? Oh, do I. I have like, seventy Webkinz, and that’s without getting into anything else. You could say I collect plushes, even if I don’t do it as actively now. I have a couple of Eevee plushes, too - I’d say I want to own all of them one day, but I’m like, 95% sure that’s not possible. 8. Best trip you’ve ever been on? Once, we went to Prince Edward Island for a week, and my mom surprised me by meeting up with my best friend’s family, who happened to have gotten a room at our hotel for one night. I think that probably wins. 9. Favorite thing about your room? That it’s starting to look like it belongs to me, even if I want to move somewhere else. 10. Opinion on love? It takes work, but it’s worth it.

11. Are you affectionate? Around people I’m comfortable with, definitely. 12. Who do you look up to? The people who have enough confidence to be unapologetically be themselves.

13. Favorite poet? Robert Frost. When I was eleven, I found a book of his poems, and I loved that book so much I didn’t pay any attention in English class at all.

14. Song that makes you happy? How about one that calms you down when you’re in a bad place? There’s a lot of songs that make me happy. Hard to go wrong with the Pokemon theme, though. As for things that calm me down... It’s Alright by Mother Mother and Misguided Ghosts by Paramore have both got me through a lot.

15. Do you play an instrument? No. I was supposed to learn piano in seventh grade, but I couldn’t read the sheet music so they never let me play, and I tried to learn guitar multiple times but it never stuck for the same reason.

16. Do you do art? Using what (pencil, watercolor, etc)? I paint, though not as often as I’d like to! Using acrylics, usually, but watercolors sometimes.

17. Do you dance? What style of dance? I took ballet as a child, til they kicked me out of class, and I still enjoy dancing but I don’t remember any of what I learned.

18. What’s your zodiac sign? Do you believe in astrology? Gemini. I think it might have some kind of truth behind it, but I’m not really one of those all-or-nothing people. It’s just for fun, you know?

19. Favorite old film? I don’t watch a lot of them. Does The Aristocats count?

20. What’s your hairstyle? It’s long and wavy. I’m getting blue highlights soon.

21. What weather is the most beautiful, in your opinion? Light rain. The kind that dries off before you get inside, when the sky is perfectly clear, but it starts falling anyway and it stops just as quickly.

22. What upsets you most about the world? That however hard we try to fix it, we’re unlikely to get very far.

23. Are you in love right now? Yes. At least, I think so.

24. Do you have a crush? If so, talk about them! I have a girlfriend. Is that the same thing? She’s cute and funny and she thinks the same things about me for some reason, and she knows exactly how much of a disaster I can be and hasn’t run away yet.

25. Do you have pets? Talk about something sweet about them! I have a cat, Little Prince. His sister died about a month ago, and she was the one who usually kept me company (total lap-cat), but ever since he’s usually either close to where I am or comes when I call him over.

26. Do you have a lucky number? Any multiple of seven, but especially fourteen. They’re my favorite numbers for the same reason.

27. Have you ever wished on a star? What about on a fallen eyelash? I try to wish on stars, when I see them. Eyelashes I’m usually more annoyed about than anything.

28. Do you believe emoji spells to work? I think anything has the potential to work, given the right amount of effort and intent. That said, I don’t think you’re going to accomplish anything drastic.

29. Do you believe in magic in general? Oh, definitely. Just look at the world we live in. How can you not believe in magic when it’s all around you? The night sky without air pollution, the sunlight dancing on the water, candy cane white hot chocolate - it’s everywhere, in everything.

30. What’s the most beautiful thing in life, In your opinion? Everything. There’s something beautiful in everything, if you look for it. Today, let’s say the feeling of sliding around on a hardwood floor in fluffy socks, dancing along to one of your favorite songs.

31. Opinion on the color pink? What about baby blue? As a kid, I hated pink. I like it now, though. Blue is my color, light blue especially (particularly with star patterns), so I’ve always liked it.

32. What instrumental sound is your favorite? Am I alloawed to say wind chimes? I’ve always thought they sounded super pretty.

33. Do you like the sound of wind? What about the sound of rain? I love them both.

34.Who makes you happy? My friends. All of them, in different ways, the people who are still in my life for various reasons. I love them.

35. What makes you happy? Light rain, strong wind, good music. My cat’s soft meow when I wake him up by accident. White peppermint hot chocolate. Fall colors, string lights, Halloween and winter holidays. Ice and snow and skating, dressing up for no apparent reason. The trick to it all is finding new things every day.

36. Imagine your ideal life, the life you wish to make, what will that look like? A house big enough for a family. A degree of some kind hanging on the wall. A life where I’m making things because that’s what I love, and I can try new things just for fun, where I don’t have to worry about money so much. The chance to get married someday, maybe.

37. Do you wear makeup? If so what’s your favorite type of makeup or specific makeup product? Favorite store to buy makeup? I do! Unless someone else is doing it for me, I generally keep to lipstick and eyeshadow. I’ve never been especially picky about what brands I use, but I usually go to Nyx because it’s on my usual route when I go on shopping trips, and I’m kind of attached now. Plus, nowhere else I’ve been in person has as many bold colours.

38. Do you wear dresses? If so what’s your favorite dress you own? I like wearing dresses. My favorite that I still have is a longer black dress, and it’s in serious need of either repair of retirement, but I got it for $20 as a cosplay outfit last year and it served its purpose. I wear it around still, sometimes, because it’s generally an easy fix.

39. Ever been heartbroken? How do you deal with it? Yeah, a few times. I vent to my friends, usually, and then I eat ice cream and listen to gnash for a while and eventually I start to feel better.

40. Who’s your closest friend? What do you love about them?

41. Introvert or extrovert? Kinda both? It’s complicated.

42. Do you like MBTI? What’s your MBTI? Is that... Fuck, is that the one with the letters? I think I got ENFP last time, and when I was younger it was INFP.

43. Would you be a fairy, a mermaid, a vampire, a siren, a or an angel? I’ve had people tell me I have ‘fae vibes’ before, so let’s go with that and hope it’s not offensive.

44. What’s the best song a friend has ever introduced to you? I don’t remember enough of them to feel good about picking one. I basically only listen to music I’m recommended now.

45. Parlez-vous français? A little, by virtue of being Canadian and having driven through Quebec. Not enough to carry on a conversation.

46. Most beautiful place you’ve been to? Prince Edward Island, hands down. It’s gorgeous.

47. Where/when do you truly feel at home? When there’s a light breeze, and the perfect song is playing, and the people I love are there. When we’re laughing with each other.

48. Does smiling put you in a better mood? Try it right now, you’re smile is gorgeous! I don’t think it does, honestly? But it does tend to happen when I’m happy.

49. Favorite shoe you own? These ankle boots I got secondhand that have little metal stars on them. I’m gonna be so upset when they finally wear out and I need new ones.

50. Can you walk in stilettos? Do you like them? God, no, I’ve tried. Any heel that’s too sharp or pointy or tall is a major problem for me. It’s part of what makes finding shoes such a pain.

51. Do you feel loved? Not always, but yeah. When I remember, or when I ask, or when I’m reminded.

52. How do you express love to those you care about? I try to tell them, but I’m also the type to engage in constant teasing. I’m the friend that punches you in the arm as a show of affection.

53. Favorite term(s) of endearment? The more creative ones. The basics don’t do much for me, honestly, but it’s more about the person saying them anyway.

54. Most romantic thing someone’s ever done for you? Make me feel like I don’t have to try so hard to feel like myself.

55. When is the happiest you’ve ever been? Walking the downtown city streets in winter. It was cold, sure, but it was gorgeous and I finally felt independent for a while.

56. Are you happy right now? Yeah, I’d say so.

57. What makes you smile? Bad jokes, among other things.

58. Do you laugh a lot? Yeah. A lot more than I used to.

59. What’s your favorite kind of aesthetic? Punk/scenecore. They’ve really influenced my more recent style choices.

60. Do you want to marry for love or for some other reason (like money)? Love, definitely.

61. What would your dream wedding look like? Do you want to get married? With someone I love, and the other people I love there too. Somewhere beautiful. I think I do, someday, but it’s not something I’m so worried about.

62. Favorite flower? Roses. Blue Moon Hybrid Tea Roses, in particular, are especially pretty.

63. Favorite artist? I don’t really have one. I do enjoy looking at art, though.

64. Favorite music artist? Owl City.

65. How kind do you think you are? Is kindness important to you? I don’t know. People seem to think I’m kinder than I believe I am. It’s important to me, yeah, to try and help people and to do nice things.

66. Ever made a playlist for someone? A few times. They were never anything special, as far as I’m concerned.

67. Do you have anything you do to physically comfort you when your sad? Such as a favorite blanket? Or a relaxing bath? Long, warm baths and cuddling with my cat. Warm blankets and stories with happy endings.

68. Early bird or night owl? Night owl. I’m a night person.

69. Morning routine? Wake up, do nothing for a while, actually get out of bed and figure out breakfast. While that’s going on, try and figure out if anything important is happening today.

70. Night routine? Get comfortable, then write or daydream til I fall asleep.

71. What is the most lovely quality a person could have in your opinion? Self-confidence and a willingness to help others.

72. Do you cry often? Does crying help you get the emotions out? Do you feel better after? I tend to hold back my feelings til they all fall out. So I end up crying at least twice a month, usually. It helps, yeah.

73. Do you like hugs? From people I feel comfortable with.

74. When was the last time you kissed someone? On the lips? Never.

75. Are you small or tall? Small. I’m 5′0.

76. Do you like wholesome memes? Yes. They’re cute.

79. Have you ever lived in a different country than you currently live in? Nope. I’ve never lived outside this city, only been on trips.

80. Do you like plane flights? Airports? I’ve only flown once, and I was two, so I don’t remember it very well.

82. The beach or a forest? Sand or bugs? Depends on the day. Today, though, forest.

83. What time of day do you tend to be in the best mood? Evening, usually.

84. Do you push yourself to act together and in a good mood even when you aren’t? Yeah, when I’m stressed.

85. Favorite kind of tree? Either maple or pine. I’m Canadian, what can I say?

86. Do you care about the health of the Earth? Yes, but there’s only so much one person can do.

87. What did you like most about your childhood, if anything? Field trips. Adulthood is sorely lacking in field trips.

88. Do you read a lot? What’s your favorite book? I used to. These days I still read, but it’s mostly fanfiction. My favorite books, though, are Tamora Pierce’s Emelan series and the first two books of Kenneth Oppel’s Silverwing trilogy.

89. What are you most nostalgic for at the moment? Trick-or-treating.

90. What’s your favorite personality trait you have? I try to let the people I love know that I love them.

91. List at least ONE thing you love about your appearance. I have pretty great hair.

93. Do you worry a lot? Constantly.

94. The dazzling lights of the city or the relaxing countryside? The city. The countryside’s nice, but the streetlights and the city skyline are what make me feel at home.

95. Ever changed the shoelaces on one of your shoes? For what reason? I actually don’t know how to tie laces, so no. I’ve never been able to pick it up. I might get someone sense to, if I could find cool enough laces.

97. Do you like doing little acts of kindness? Yeah. It feels good to make people happy, you know?

98. How’s your day/night going? Pretty good! I did just spend over an hour on this, but I finished it, so that’s an accomplishment of its own.

[ariela-of-aedyr]

Character Interview: Ariela

I was tagged by @rannadylin​. Thank you; I love this kind of thing!

Not sure who has and hasn’t already been tagged to do this, but I’ll tag: @brujahfledgling​, @goblin-deity​, @chilled-soul-speaker​, @undyingembers​ and @aph-illuminati​, if any of you would like to do it.

Dropping some of it under a Read More, as it got a little long!

--

name ➔ Ariela Ro- Well... Just Ariela, these days. Or ‘Ari’ to my friends.

are you single ➔ I’m not, darling, no.

are you happy ➔ I am, yes. I’ve had some rather trying times of late, but I’m here, with my friends, my lover, and my Vela. So despite it all, I am very happy.

are you angry ➔ Hardly ever, and certainly not now.

are your parents still married ➔ No. They were only married for a short time, then my mother returned to the wheel when I was born.

NINE FACTS

birth place ➔ A small town in Aedyr that you’ve probably never heard of. It’s a couple of days journey from Bragganhyl Academy.

hair colour ➔ naturally, it was a light green. But since... well, since what happened at Caed Nua, it’s turned white.

eye colour ➔ green

birthday ➔ I was born on Fonestu 5th, 2769. I know I’m still pretty young for an elf, but I like to think I’ve done a lot of living. In the last 10 years or so, especially!

mood ➔ Relaxed, contented.

color scheme ➔ blues and greens suit me particularly well, thanks to my natural colour scheme. Golds and browns tend to complement them quite well.

gender ➔ I’m a woman

summer or winter ➔ Summer is my favourite! I don’t really tend to feel the cold unless it’s particularly extreme, but I do so prefer the sunshine!

morning or afternoon ➔ hmm... I like aspects of both. I’m not much of an early riser, but lazy mornings in bed with Vela or my lover are wonderful. And afternoons spent in the library or the kitchen are amongst my favourite times, too.

EIGHT THINGS ABOUT YOUR LOVE LIFE

are you in love ➔ very much so, yes.

do you believe in love at first sight ➔ I love the idea of it, and I’ve read many wonderful books about it. But I’ve never experienced it myself, so I’m not sure whether it’s something that I believe exists in reality. I think that I hope it does.

who ended your last relationship ➔ I suppose that it was almost a mutual thing. We wanted different things from life; she wanted adventure, and I could never have lived with myself if I had tried to force her to stay.

have you ever broken someone’s heart ➔ I certainly hope not, but I can’t say for sure. I had multiple flings when I was younger, and looking back, I don’t know for certain if any of them had wanted something more.

are you afraid of commitments ➔ not at all, though I’m only interested in committing to the right person.

have you hugged someone within the last week? ➔ Darling, I’ve hugged multiple people in the last hour. I’m a very friendly person, with a very snuggly daughter.

have you ever had a secret admirer ➔ I had nobles that I’d never met trying to court me back when I was in Aedyr, if that counts? But I don’t know if I’ve ever had a proper secret admirer. If I have, they didn’t make themselves known.

have you ever broken your own heart? ➔ I have. More than once, in fact. I want the people I love to be happy, even if it means letting them leave me behind.

SIX CHOICES

love or lust ➔ Love. Though both are nice.

lemonade or iced tea ➔ I don’t think I’ve tried either. Are they sweet? I’d love to give them a go!

cats or dogs ➔ I’ve adopted many of both! Cats are my favourites, though. We have one on the ship at the moment, and she’s just the sweetest thing.

a few best friends or many regular friends ➔ a few best friends. I’d much rather have people that I know I can trust completely.

wild night out or romantic night in ➔ both can be fun. But nights in have been my preference of late.

day or night ➔ I love the sunshine, but the night tends to be quieter. I get a few hours to just be myself without any other obligations. So I suppose that’s my preference.

FIVE HAVE YOU EVERS

been caught sneaking out ➔ a few times when I was younger. My father wasn’t too impressed but he was never upset for too long.

fallen down/up the stairs ➔ I’m usually rather dexterous, so it’s not exactly a regular occurrence. But there was that one time that Iselmyr got me particularly drunk and I forgot how the stairs in Brighthollow worked.

wanted something/someone so badly it hurt? ➔ oh, most definitely.

wanted to disappear ➔ yes, for a long time, I thought that would be best. But not any more.

been involved in a fight you thought you couldn’t win ➔ yes. Multiple times. And it never gets any easier.

FOUR PREFERENCES

smile or eyes ➔ smile. and that adorable little blush that often accompanies it.

shorter or taller ➔ I don’t really have a preference. But both of my serious relationships have been with people taller than me, so I guess taller?

intelligence or attraction ➔ Intelligence is attractive

hook-up or relationship ➔ relationship

FAMILY

do you and your family get along ➔ that. That’s a complicated question. Father and I were always very close. And I got along pretty well with my nanny, and the youngest of my older brothers. But then members of my family tried to kill me, so... I suppose I don’t get along with them, really. I haven’t seen them in many years. Vela and I get along very well, though. And she’s my family now, so that’s all that matters.

would you say you have a “messed up life” ➔ I... suspect that other people would think that I do. I’ve certainly lived an odd life. An ‘exciting’ one, perhaps you could say. I try not to dwell too much on the negative.

have you ever ran away from home ➔ yes. After my sister paid a man to kill me, I thought that it was probably best to put some distance between us. But I’ve found myself a new home.

...And then another new one, when I lost that one as well.

have you ever gotten kicked out ➔ I wasn’t ever kicked out. But I think the assassination attempts rather made their point that I wasn’t welcome.

FRIENDS

do you secretly hate one of your friends ➔ No, though I often worry that perhaps they feel that way about me.

do you consider all of your friends good friends ➔ I’m definitely closer to some than others. But if I didn’t care for them, then I wouldn’t call them friends.

who is your best friend ➔ Aloth is both my lover and my dearest friend. We have more in common than you might think, and I just adore spending time with him. We may have been apart for some time but he’s helped me through a lot, and I’ve done the same for him, and that kind of bond is hard to break.

who knows everything about you ➔ I don’t know if there’s anyone who knows everything about me. There’s things in my past that I prefer not to think about, let alone talk about. But Aloth and Eder probably know the most, as they’re the two people I know I can trust the most.