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floralseokjin · 3 years

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⤑ made-up love song ix.

Your first encounter with Kim Seokjin doesn’t go so well, nor your second, or your third… and maybe that’s because it shouldn’t work on paper. You’re an elementary school teacher, never left the country despite hitting the third decade of your life not so long ago, and you’re unable to remember the last time you dated. He’s the dad of one of your students, nearly a decade older than you and divorced. Oh yes, and just another minor detail – he’s a multimillionaire.

Your lives are lightyears apart, yet somehow, your paths having now crossed, things just seem to fall into place…

pairing; kim seokjin x reader au/genre/warnings; strangers to lovers, romance, single dad! seokjin, ceo! seokjin, elementary school teacher! oc, age gap (oc is 30, seokjin is 37), seokjin is a dilf, angst, soojung and oc’s mother being the best, minor food mention (not feeling hungry when stressed), hope, the tiniest bit of fluff, a cliffhanger of sorts! words; 6,161

Read Seokjin’s chapter ix here

↪︎ chapter index

chapters; i • ii • iii • iv • v • vi • vii • viii • ix • x • epilogue (+ drabbles)

Soojung found you curled up on the sofa a few hours later when she came home from work. You’d tried watching television, hoping the distraction would be successful but your mind just wouldn’t switch off, replaying the day’s earlier events. You didn’t want to think just yet but that’s all your mind could do. Going around and around in circles. Hearing Soojung’s keys in the door you felt a wave of nausea knowing you’d have to talk about it. Not that you didn’t want to confide in your best friend, it was just explaining everything meant that it was all real…

She stuck her head around the door, sounding momentarily confused. “What are you doing back already? I wasn’t expecting you until la– Y/N?” She caught the look on your face immediately and just like she knew something was up. She rushed over. “What’s wrong? What’s happened?”

Instantly you felt your face crumble, tears blurring your vision. “It’s stupid really,” you insisted, wiping your eyes as she came to join you, a protective arm wrapping around your shoulders. The small action at least made you feel a little better. “I don’t understand why I’m crying.” You hadn’t felt the need to cry until now. Maybe it was because you could always be vulnerable with your best friend. You didn’t need to be strong. She’d seen you at your worst.

“Did…Did you guys argue?” She sounded unsure, confused as to what could be the issue.

You sniffed, composing yourself. “No. Not really,” you let out a groan, “oh, god, Soo. It was awful. Seokjin’s ex-wife turned up…”

You spent the next fifteen minutes telling her what happened, although a lot of it was a blur of raised voices and insults. One thing you knew for certain though, was that you’d never felt so awkward in your entire life. You’d watched your boyfriend arguing with his ex-wife feeling so incredibly out of the loop it was embarrassing.

You’d never demanded to know every single detail about his marriage – you hadn’t even wanted to know. It wasn’t your business after all, nor did you want Seokjin to relive things he didn’t want to, or dwell on the past. You understood that more than anyone, what with your relationship with Donghae, but he’d openly revealed a lot to you. He’d confided in you, shared some hurtful details of his divorce and in turn you had entrusted him with your own past, your own bad memories…

There had been many surprises this afternoon, but one certain revelation kept replaying in your head. It was all you could think about. To learn he’d left out something as major as getting cheated on… Having to find out like that… You were still reeling from the bombshell. Why hadn’t he told you? You’d both been through the same thing… Didn’t he trust you enough? You didn’t understand and you couldn’t stop yourself from feeling hurt.

“You don’t think he’s still in love with her, do you?” Soojung asked hesitantly.

“No,” you shook your head. Regardless of the mess that were your thoughts right now, you didn’t think that at all. Yes, it was easy to let your doubts take over in the first few moments you’d set eyes on Nana, she was beautiful, although you hadn’t expected anything less, but you knew not to feel paranoid when it came to that. Regardless of today’s shock, you didn’t doubt Seokjin’s feelings for you, and you knew very well he no longer loved his ex-wife.

“I think he’s just very bitter about everything,” you continued. “Mostly about how infrequently she sees Arin.”

“Do you think it’s a problem?”

Shrugging slightly, you didn’t really know what to say. “She’s been seeing her quite often lately. There was last weekend, but it shouldn’t have been that much of an issue.” Seokjin hadn’t been angry over that, or at least he hadn’t let on he was… Maybe he had and had just hid it well. With that thought, you remembered something. “It was just her face… while Seokjin was saying all those things to her. She looked so upset… I’ve never seen him like that.”

It had been jarring seeing him so angry. He was usually soft-spoken and well-mannered. Even when he was irritated he stayed silent. You understood that he was only human, everyone had emotions, and his had bubbled over today, but it was still surprising. You hadn’t been expecting to be in the middle of a shouting match between him and his ex-wife.

“But you knew they didn’t get on?” Soojung gently prodded, rubbing your upper back.

“Yeah.” You swallowed. “Just seeing it in person… I can’t believe he didn’t tell her about us.”

Your mind was all over the place, unable to concentrate on one issue for long enough. You really had been living in your own little world this entire time. So incredibly happy and blissfully content. It had been so easy to forget that Nana existed when it came to your relationship with Seokjin. To you, she was just Arin’s mom, who she spoke about sometimes, but not very often, in your presence. It was easy to put her to the back of your mind, it was easy not to think of her at all. Why would you? You didn’t even know what she looked like until today. All the photos you’d seen of a younger Seokjin, of Arin as a baby, had never once included her. You knew who she was, knew her name, but that was all.

So you’d just assumed she knew about you too. You’d assumed Seokjin had told her without needing any confirmation. You’d assumed she’d known that you would be looking after Arin last weekend. You’d assumed she was perfectly fine with it. In reality she had no clue you existed. You were almost certain Seokjin hadn’t done it maliciously, he wasn’t that type of man, but seeing him today, how casually he had brushed off her concerns… As much as it had hurt to be thought of as a stranger, you understood why that was the case. Seokjin hadn’t. As stubborn as always, he refused to see where he had done wrong.

“That is a bit odd,” Soojung agreed. “And even though she was a bitch to you, I guess I’d be pissed too if I found out the way she had.”

You snorted softly. Soojung had been ready to fight when she’d first heard the things Nana had said to you, but she knew you were fine, you could handle yourself. “Ugh, it’s all such a mess,” you groaned. “I would’ve never looked after Arin last weekend if I’d known Nana had no clue.” You should have made sure. Why hadn’t you?

“I guess Seokjin had his reasons,” Soo reasoned. “Maybe he knew how his ex would react.”

“Maybe,” you agreed before sighing. “I don’t know. There’s things he never told me either.” Maybe you were finding out that Seokjin was a very secretive person, who knew… “She cheated on him, Soo.” You were back there again. Soojung hummed in understanding. “Is it silly of me to be upset?”

“No, it’s valid.”

“I told him about Donghae,” you whispered. “I really opened up to him and he was so sweet and understanding. Why didn’t he tell me he’d been through the same thing?” No matter how many times you went through it in your head you couldn’t think of an answer. It didn’t make sense. Especially because he’d opened up to you so easily in regard to everything else. What made this so different?

“Maybe he just didn’t want to make it about him,” Soojung offered.

“I don’t know… Maybe.” You groaned, thinking you were being selfish. He probably had a good reason when he didn’t tell you. There were more pressing issues right now anyway… You knew that, and immediately your head begin to spin again.

“The whole stepmom thing,” you muttered, “it’s left me a little frazzled.”

Soojung kept up with your disorderly thoughts expertly. “In what way?”

You gave a little shrug, voice barely there because you didn’t want to admit it out loud. “It made me question things…”

“I thought you liked where things were heading?” Your best friend couldn’t hide the shock from her voice.

“I do,” you replied, “or at least, I did.” Where were things actually heading? You didn’t know anymore. “I just wasn’t really thinking.”

“Of what it all meant?”

You nodded slowly. “I lost myself for a while.”

In a way, you had been in your own little bubble for these past few months – you, Seokjin and Arin. You’d had the most amazing summer, falling harder and harder for Seokjin and in the process Arin had captured your whole heart. She was such a sweet little girl, humorous and thoughtful, Seokjin and Nana had brought her up well. Your time together had been incomparable, your happiness unmatched, but in the process you’d ignored a few things.

“So what are you saying?” Soojung asked gently.

Your throat felt dry. “I’m afraid it’s all moving too fast.”

It was a lot to take in. You had been together barely four months but here you were thinking about the word stepmom. How scary the word sounded, how scary it felt…

“You want to slow it down?”

“It’s probably too late for that,” you chuckled quietly. You felt your heart squeeze. “Soojung, I think I’m in love with him.”

It felt almost relieving to confess such a thing, despite your heavy heart over today. Your feelings had been harder and harder to ignore these past couple of weeks, but you’d tried your best, not wanting to rush anything. Right now you were confused and hurt, but one thing was blatantly clear. You loved him.

“It’s scary,” you whispered, feeling Soo rub your back again, listening silently. “Falling so fast.” Especially after everything you’d been through with Donghae. You were scared. Despite opening up your heart to Seokjin easily, this was different. Things seemed so complicated now, when not six hours ago they had been nothing more than simple.

“Today was a massive reality check,” you scoffed. “I’ve been spending these past few months playing house with Seokjin and Arin, it was bound to catch up with us sometime.”

“You liked it though,” your best friend encouraged, voice gentle. “I’ve never seen you so happy… Not since… Well, not even then.”

“Everything just felt so… perfect,” you agreed. Everything had slotted into place easily. “And natural, and just, nice.” For lack of a better word. Your brain was pulp.

“Arin obviously felt comfortable enough to call you her stepmom in front of her own mom?” You didn’t even notice Soojung’s change of direction.

“I don’t know, I think she was just confused. You know what kids are like together. She heard her friend talking about it and they probably got excited.”

“Would you like to be her stepmom?”

You paused then, realising what had just happened. She knew you well, knew what was bothering you, conflicting your mind. You gave her a small smile. “She’s a sweet child, but it’s not that simple right now. It’s not only my decision either.”

Truthfully you hadn’t thought about it before today, but now it was one of the things at the forefront of your mind. If everything worked out okay then you and Seokjin would only grow more serious. From strength to strength and what did that mean? However, now you knew that Nana wasn’t exactly your biggest fan… You felt fresh frustration, deflated yet again. Today had gone terrible.

“You’re right,” Soojung agreed, “but it’s something you need to be comfortable with too.”

That was true. These were things you needed to talk about with Seokjin. Then again, maybe you should’ve talked about them before. You had no clue how he felt regarding the topic, well… not explicitly anyway.

“Seokjin comparing the both of us made me feel horrendous.” You found yourself admitting. “I’m not trying to be Arin’s mother. I wasn’t even trying to be her stepmother. Not yet. I haven’t thought about it until now. I just… I loved being a part of her life in my own little way.”

You never wanted to replace Nana. You hated thinking like this, but what if Seokjin had been looking for that the whole time? A new mother for his daughter… You were almost positive that wasn’t the case, but you were so drained right now, your mind was all over the place. You kept replaying in your head what he had shouted at Nana over and over again.

“He can’t expect you to take on that role, not when she already has a mother,” Soojung said carefully. “But you can be there for Arin in other ways – in similar ways. You’ve been teaching and caring for kids for years, so I hope you’re not undermining your capabilities.”

You smiled then, grateful, leaning on her shoulder. “Thank you.” You definitely weren’t doing that but being a teacher and a mother were two totally different things. Especially when it wasn’t your biological child.

“Ugh, I’m just exhausted,” you groaned, laying back against the sofa and shutting your eyes. “My head’s a mess.” You didn’t want to talk about it any longer, switching off sounded really good right now and Soojung understood that perfectly.

She tapped your arm. “I’m going to cancel my plans with Tae.” You opened your eyes, mouth open ready to fight. “He’ll be fine.” She insisted. “Me and you are gonna get takeout and ice cream and just stop thinking. We’re going to pull the One Tree Hill boxset out and pretend we’re still in high school.”

You weren’t going to lie, that did sound like fun. It was also foolproof. You’d been doing it since you were seventeen, when Soojung had got dumped for the first time. “Great idea.”

She leaned in for a hug. “You told him you need space to think, so that’s what you’re going to do. But not tonight. No rush.”

As she pulled back you took her hand, giving it a soft squeeze. “I love you.”

“And I love you,” she grinned. “Now, let me grab my phone.”

You woke up early the next morning, like really early, 5am, which wasn’t ideal seeing as you’d struggled to get to sleep the night before. Your mind and heart felt heavy, but you forced yourself to get up and shower because there was no point trying to fall back to sleep for an hour. You had school, and that meant you had to try your best to look presentable for the kids – and happy. A bunch of 6-7 year olds were scarily talented at reading an adult’s mood you’d come to find out.

You didn’t eat much of your breakfast, which wasn’t a surprise because when you were stressed or sad you never felt practically hungry anyway, and left for work long before Soojung even had a chance to wake up, thinking your classroom so early in the morning might give you some sense of clarity. Either that or stop the buzzing of your thoughts that couldn’t seem to keep away. The change of scenery would hopefully do you some good.

You were at your desk trying to organise your planner for the week ahead, 7:04am, when your cell phone began buzzing. You looked across at the device, face up a few inches away from you and felt your stomach squeeze. Filling the screen was a picture of Seokjin and you at an amusement park he’d dragged you to over the summer, like the big kid he was at heart. Seeing his smiley face made your heart hurt. You thought about leaving it ring, you could pretend you were busy and let him leave a message, but no matter how much you wanted to do it, you couldn’t.

The phone felt heavy in your hand as you picked up. Your voice didn’t sound like yours. “Hello.”

“Y/N,” he breathed, sounding somewhat relieved. You had taken a while to make your decision. “Are you free to talk?”

He sounded tired and unlike his usual self, and a part of you wanted to rush over and talk to him in person, to check in on him and see how he was doing, because as much as yesterday hadn’t been nice for you, it hadn’t been too great for him either… However, you knew that was a bad idea, you’d said you had needed time. A few hours wasn’t that.

“Um, yeah,” you replied, opening your mouth again to remind him about what you’d said yesterday, but already he was rushing forward, eager to say his piece.

“I’m sorry I didn’t call last night, I guess… I guess I needed time too.” He sounded hesitant, and you didn’t have the heart to tell him you had never been expected (nor wanting) a phone call. “Do you want to meet up for lunch?”

Your voice was gentle. “I don’t think that’s a good idea today.” Maybe he’d misunderstood you, you needed longer, besides, things weren’t going to get sorted out in under an hour during your lunch break from work. It wasn’t as simple as that – you wished it was.

There was a pause his side, then – “Are you sure you’re not mad at me?”

“Seokjin, I’m not mad,” you sighed softly. “I’m just…” What were you? Frustrated more than anything. It was hard to explain. In a way you felt sorry for him, but you also felt sorry for Nana. “I have a lot of questions that I don’t think I’m ready to ask just yet.”

His voice was careful as he asked you, “When do you think you will be ready?”

“I don’t know,” you told him truthfully. “I need time to think and it’s pretty hard when I have work all week.” Neglecting your job was foolish – impossible to think of, actually.

“I understand.” Of course he did. He was nothing but understanding when it came to you and your relationship together. That’s the Seokjin you knew and adored… the one you loved…

“Is Arin okay?” You found yourself asking. You knew you should probably say your goodbyes, but you’d woken up feeling terribly guilty that you’d just upped and left her like that yesterday. “I’m sorry I ran off without saying goodbye to her.”

“She’s doing okay, I tried telling…” He trailed off suddenly, and you guessed he thought he was overstepping the mark. The mark you’d put in place. “She asked where you went, I said something came up.”

“Oh.” You’d thought about popping your head around the door and saying goodbye yesterday but just couldn’t do it. You hated to think she’d thought you had left her too. “I really am sorry about that.”

“Y/N, it’s fine. Please never be sorry,” he murmured softly.

You smiled sadly at his sentiment. “Are you okay?” You shouldn’t really ask, not when you needed to hang up and take that space you both needed, but you couldn’t help yourself. It felt wrong not to check in.

“Could be better,” he chuckled slightly. You appreciated his honesty. “You?”

“The same.” There was no point pretending. “I think some space will do us good. Let’s just think about everything and then we can talk.”

“Okay,” he agreed simply. There wasn’t much else he could say. If he disagreed in any way you knew he would never tell you. He wanted to respect your wishes.

“I’ll call you towards the end of the week?” You could get through the work week, have some time to yourself in the evenings and then meet up on Saturday.

“Yeah, that sounds good. I agree.” Yet, he sounded a little dejected.

“Okay.” You had to leave it at that. “I gotta go,” you told him, even though you were in no rush to leave for work, already in your classroom.

“Of course, bye, Y/N.” You heard some background noise and then a familiar voice in the background – Misook. As it was for you, life went on. Arin had to get ready for school, he had to get ready for work… You couldn’t both wallow in self-pity all day. “Take care,” he told you. It sounded awkward, as if he didn’t know what to say.

“Bye, Seokjin.” You felt just the same. Even right at the beginning your phone conversations had never been this wooden.

You hung up first, and then there was silence, except for the ticking of the clock on the wall opposite. You watched the red second hand move, feeling as if it was mocking you.

The week was slow. It was an average one, but it dragged by. On Monday you had to sit through the usual chitchat inside the teacher’s lounge during lunch, catching up on everyone’s weekends. When Eunbi asked how yours had gone you’d breezed past it, expertly changing the subject to her weekend visiting Jungkook’s parents. Other than that, there was really no need for Seokjin to come up in conversation, which you were thankful for. You spent the rest of the week busy with the children, staying behind a lot later than usual just because it was easier inside your classroom.

At home you found yourself missing Seokjin like crazy. Ever since your first date you’d been in regular contact throughout the week, and then when things had gotten serious, you’d spoken to him every day – even if it was just on the phone in the evenings once school started back. For all contact to be gone was strange. You hated it, felt as if a part of you was missing. But you knew it needed to be done. As the days went (dragged) by you no longer felt overwhelmed by Sunday’s events. The shock had worn off and you had time to dissect it all, whether it be over dinner on your own when Soo was working late, or when you were in bed for the night, waiting to drop off. The more you broke it down the easier it was to place things in different categories. All the things that had shocked you, the things that had hurt you, and then finally, the things that had made you feel guilty.

On Thursday night you promised your mom you’d have dinner with her. Jonathon was abroad visiting his children and she hadn’t been able to get time off work to join him. She was bored at home all alone, so you really couldn’t say no despite a part of you wanting to. Before you arrived you’d made the decision not to tell her about your…what could you call it? It was hardly an argument with Seokjin. A disagreement..? Whatever it was, you didn’t want to worry her. After all this time she was over the moon you’d finally met someone you really cared about and you knew it was stupid, but you didn’t want to make her worry.

However, that all went out the window as soon as she opened the door to you. She was your mom for crying out loud, who could you confide in if it wasn’t her? She listened to you attentively. All your thoughts, all your worries – even if the potatoes were at risk of cremating, and it felt good to have your mother by your side.

“Seokjin is a lovely man, anyone can see that, but he’s allowed his flaws. He’s only human,” she reasoned, your conversation coming back to the way he’d acted around Nana. You knew your mother was right, and you were in no way judging him for it, but it had been very jarring seeing him change so suddenly. “Obviously he and his ex-wife bring out the worst in each other. Sounds to me as if they’re so used to hurting one another it’s become the norm.”

You nodded in silent agreement, thinking back to them hurling abuse at one another as if it was the most natural thing. In a way it had turned into a competition. Who could hurt one other the most. In the end, Seokjin had dealt the final blow. You. You could still see the hurt on Nana’s face now, even though it was days ago. It made your chest heavy all over again. You told your mom just as much.

“There’s no need to feel so guilty, love,” she told you, wrapping an arm around your shoulders. “None of this is your fault. Seokjin, whether it was intentionally or unintentionally, used you as a way to hurt Nana, and you need to tell him that you’re not okay with that.”

That was the part that had hurt the most now that you’d had enough time to think. Above all else, not telling Nana about you, the catalyst that led to his divorce, it was being used as some kind of weapon that stuck out. You had never wanted that. You had never asked for it.

“You are his girlfriend first and foremost.” Your mom continued. “Yes, you care for Arin but these things need to be spoken about first. You have never wanted to be, nor felt like you were the child’s mother. You know your boundaries and so should he.”

She was correct. You’d been so hesitant not to overstep the mark these past few months. You’d even been in two minds whether or not to offer to babysit Arin that weekend. You’d thought Seokjin understood that, your cautiousness when it came to the role you played in her life. After all, your relationship was still new, and Nana was very much a part of Arin’s life. However he had disregarded that all to throw a few cheap shots.

Your conversation shifted to Arin then. It was easy to sympathise with her, after all you’d been in her shoes once. Parents who seemed to fight more than they did talk. It had gotten better for you though, their relationship turning amiable once the divorce had settled. For Arin, it seemed to be only getting worse. You wished you could talk some sense into Seokjin. He might’ve thought that Arin was okay with her parents barely having any contact but you knew that wasn’t the case. It had been very telling to hear that Arin never brought Seokjin up in conversation with her own mother. That’s why it had taken Nana so long to find out about you. Deep down that little girl knew that her mom didn’t want to hear her dad’s name, and that was heart breaking.

Somewhere along the way, your mom asked you what you thought about Arin calling you her stepmother. Despite it being done innocently, the weight of the word meant so much more to the adults in the situation and you agreed. It had been strange to hear, and not just because it had come from Nana’s mouth. You were serious about Seokjin and could see a future with him, and that meant being in Arin’s life permanently. That word wasn’t so farfetched and you’d had plenty of time to think about it this week. What it meant for you, Arin, and of course Nana.

“How did you feel when dad first met Dahae?” You asked your mom. These things had never really come up in conversation before, which was surprising, but right now you needed any advice and insight you could get. Your mom had been in Nana’s shoes once after all. All those years ago.

“I was…happy for him,” she replied hesitantly. “It took time. It’s a confusing thing. I no longer loved your father but it felt strange to see him with someone else. Of course, everyone is different. Not one relationship is the same,” she added.

You nodded in understanding. Your father had met Dahae, his wife, when you were twelve. You had grown up with her and it didn’t feel odd to think of her as a second mom. You still called her by her name but when in conversation with others you often referred to her as your stepmom. Always had, for as long as you could remember. Maybe it was after the wedding, but you couldn’t be too sure. Definitely before she gave birth to your siblings though.

It was different with Jonathon. He’d always been “your mother’s husband” and not because you didn’t care for him or think he was a lovely man. He was, and you liked him very much, it was just… You were an adult when you met him, twenty to be exact, living across the country for college. The bond wasn’t quite there like it was with Dahae, but your mom understood that – so did Jonathon. But it made you pause and think. You’d never asked your mom how she felt hearing you call Dahae your stepmother. It had never crossed your mind until now.

“I didn’t like the idea at first, I have to admit, but who would?” She confessed. “It’s hard not to feel hurt or threatened, a whole load of different emotions,” she gave a small shrug, “but meeting Dahae, and seeing how kind a woman she was, and how much you meant to her made me see things differently.”

You smiled, silently hoping that one Nana would think and feel the same way when it came to you. You could only cross your fingers and try your best in the meantime.

Your mom nudged you, a playful lilt to her voice. “I think you’re very lucky to have two wonderful women in your life that love you and want the best for you – and yes, that’s a brag on my part.”

You laughed with her, but your worries were getting the best of you again, turning you sombre. “What if Nana never accepts me though?”

“I think you should only think about that if it happens,” she replied. “There’s no point expecting the worst right now.”

You still didn’t feel very hopeful though, it was probably written all over your face. Sweeping some hair out of your eyes, your mother’s voice was soft. “Love, she had no idea you existed, I think her anger was warranted.” A pause, tone changing. “Although, not at you. I’m not very happy about that.”

You chuckled at that. “It’s fine. You know I can look after myself.” You were feisty when you wanted to be, or scrappy as Seokjin had so comically put it once.

Wrapping an arm around you once more, she squeezed you gently. “Talk to him.” She urged. “You miss him. This time apart is getting pointless, you already know how you feel.”

You did. Your feelings were as strong as ever.

You had been itching to pick up the phone last night and just call him already, but you’d said Saturday. You only had one day left at work, you could hold out until then. It would be better that way, you didn’t want to interrupt a potentially busy day. Friday’s were often crazy for him, you didn’t want to be a distraction.

However, come morning break you bumped into Hoseok coming out of your classroom, eager to rush to your car and grab the apple that must have rolled out of your bag and onto the seat. (Hopefully – if it was on the floor it was going in the trash ASAP).

“Hi, Y/N. How are you today?” He politely asked.

“Fine, thank you.” Talking with Hoseok always came easily, regardless of his position as the principal. “Glad it’s the weekend tomorrow. How about you?”

“My thoughts exactly,” he laughed, before adding, “Although, I hear Arin’s started hers early.”

“Oh?” You were immediately lost. Had you missed something? You hadn’t seen Arin at school all week, which wasn’t strange. Your paths rarely crossed these days unless you were on yard duty, and if you were being honest, you were glad it hadn’t been this week. She must have had an inkling something was wrong right now, she hadn’t seen you at all since Sunday, so you were relieved to know you didn’t have to answer any awkward questions. It was selfish, you knew that, but you couldn’t help it.

Hoseok looked confused by your reaction, but carried on regardless, shaking it off. “Seokjin called up yesterday, said she’d be visiting her mom earlier this weekend if it was possible. I figured maybe you and he had plans for tonight.”

You froze, forcing yourself to reply because your boss was waiting for one. “Oh, no.” You swallowed, coming up blank. “No plans.”

If Hoseok noticed your woodenness he didn’t let on. “One day couldn’t possibly hurt her education, right? But don’t tell the board I said that,” he added with a laugh.

You made yourself join in, although your mind was racing. “Secret’s safe with me.”

He smiled at you, giving you a nod. “Enjoy your weekend, alright? See you Monday.”

Thank God he had somewhere to be. You nodded back, watching him already begin to walk away. “And you, Hoseok.”

You proceeded to sit in your car for twenty minutes, half eaten apple already turning brown as you racked your brain. It wasn’t Nana’s weekend to have Arin. Was something wrong? You were probably being silly, conjuring up the worst case scenarios for no reason. If something had happened, Seokjin would have contacted you. He knew he could always count on you, but… You had told him you needed space and he’d agreed. He was a man of his word, so if something had happened, what if he thought he couldn’t call you?

You pulled your phone out of your bag at the thought, clicking on his contact but stopped yourself when you saw the time. You had just under five minutes to be back at class… I’m being irrational, you told yourself. If something was wrong he would have informed Hoseok, and the principal sounded absolutely fine. You were worrying for no reason. If something had happened, something bad, he wouldn’t hesitate to reach out to you. You knew that, and so did he. Only a few more hours and you’d get to talk to him. Most of those involved sleep. You could wait until tomorrow morning. You could.

You couldn’t.

It was half 9 and you were home alone. It was Soojung and Taehyung’s date night and she was spending the night at his place, so all you had for company were your own thoughts – and RJ, the alpaca plush Seokjin had won for all those months previous. You couldn’t possibly wait until tomorrow, your mom was right, what was the point in waiting when you knew how you felt. You wanted to see Seokjin, to talk to him and feel him. You missed him like crazy.

Turning the television down low you grabbed for your phone which had slipped in between the sofa cushions. This time you didn’t hesitate, no work commitments calling your name, and dialled Seokjin’s number straight away. He picked up after only two rings.

“Y/N,” he breathed, sounding more than surprised.

“Hey, you,” you smiled into the receiver. It felt good to hear his voice again.

“I wasn’t expecting you to call tonight.”

“Sorry, I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

“Of course not. Well,” he paused to laugh, “I was just about to head to bed.”

He sounded a lot like his usual self tonight, it eased your mind. You laughed along softly, a confession slipping past your lips. “I was going to wait until tomorrow but Soojung is with Taehyung tonight and being alone means I can’t stop thinking about you.”

You heard a sigh of relief his end. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you all week.” The longing in his voice didn’t go unnoticed. “Are you ready to talk? I’m willing to answer any questions you have.”

“I’m ready,” you nodded. “Should I come over? I don’t want to do this over the phone.”

“I can come to you?” He suggested instead. “Arin’s with Nana until Sunday.”

“Oh.” You thought to ask him how come, but stopped yourself, you could get to that in person. He didn’t sound upset, which you took as a good sign. “Okay. Now?”

“It’s not too late?” He checked.

“No, it’s fine.” You were eager, shaking you head as you replied, and you couldn’t stop yourself from smiling. “I really want to see you.”

You could hear his smile too. “I’ll be there soon, okay? Really soon.” You heard his footsteps along the floor, the sound of a drawer opening as if he was finding something to wear.

“Don’t speed,” you added, as a joke more than anything.

“Of course I won’t,” he laughed. “I’m going to hang up now but I won’t be long.”

“Okay, see you soon, Seokjin.” It was silly, but you didn’t want the phone call to end even though in under half an hour he’d be here.

But you could be patient.

You could.

Written 2020 - 2021. Please refrain from posting my work elsewhere. No translations allowed. © floralseokjin 2021

#seokjin fanfic #bts fanfic #jin fanfic #fic:mls #floralseokjin:writings

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liliesinrequiem · 3 years

Text

Confession

A/N: Hello! I’ve returned with the final part of this mini(?) series! I hope that you are able to enjoy this! I’m sorry for any errors in this. I’ve been nervous about posting this because I struggled with the writing for this and just finding the words that made sense together. Though I still have a lot of feelings about this, I hope that it isn’t bad and that it’s enjoyable.

This is a continuation of this story: Poem (Kaeya x Reader) and you can read it to be able to understand some of the parts better, if you want.

Pairing: Kaeya x Reader

Summary: Kaeya finally tells you what you’ve been wanting to hear for a while.

CW: None

You and Kaeya were underneath the giant tree’s branches in Windrise. A moment of calm for the two of you. The aftermath of the Windblume Festival had caused a lot of work to flood in from all corners. It seemed to get more stressful with every year that passed by. You were already stretched thin before the Festival and even more so after it. In the face of all the work you had to do, Kaeya had offered to take a break in the afternoon and the two of you found yourselves going to your favorite location: the tree in Windrise.

It had once been the place that you usually spent time in whenever you were not busy with school or in helping your mother out with her own duties around Crepus’ house. Kaeya frequently joined you to the point that the two of you always went out together to the tree after a while. You’d shared many moments together underneath it.

As you stared at the clouds that passed through the sky, you thought about your relationship with Kaeya. The two of you had been in a stand-still of sorts. You thought about the poem that he had given you during the Festival. It was neatly pressed into the pages of your journal. You had hoped that the exchange of poems would have pushed for something more but Kaeya had been rather evasive about it. When you had tried to get to speak with him, conversations were cut short by more work coming in. You had slightly lost your courage, if you were being honest. What if you had gotten the wrong signals? Sure, the poem of his indicated that he did reciprocate, but he had also been drunk when he gave it to you. What if he never intended to do so? Maybe that’s why he had been avoiding the conversation. Maybe he just wasn’t sure on how to let you down gently. You had spiraled thoughts that ranged from him not knowing what to say and him just wanting to let you down.

“Do you remember that time that you ran off and came here after you had argued with your mother?” You were pulled from your racing thoughts by his question. You looked at Kaeya. He was lying down, as opposed to your leaning against the tree, and looking at you with a smile. You did vividly remember that day. Even though you tried to not remember the embarrassment too much. It just came back to haunt you at times. It seemed that Kaeya would be the reason this time.

“Of course! Mother was very upset with me that night,” you said. Had Kaeya not managed to smooth out the situation, you would have probably been grounded for an eternity.

“What was the reason that you two argued again? Something or other about us sharing a last name in the future?” he asked. You bit your cheek as you grew embarrassed at the memory. Your mother had initially joked about you and Kaeya being a couple after you had come home late from spending the day with him. As someone who had been denying the feelings at the time to not ruin your friendship with him, you had gotten rather upset that she had figured out your feelings. It meant that everyone probably knew about your feelings and you had run off in a moment of heated emotion. You knew that she had meant no ill towards you when she had made the joke but it had caught you off-guard.

“Kaeya! I thought I told you not to speak about it!” you said. The embarrassment of the memory was still there. He had been the one to find you when your mother had gotten concerned that you were nowhere around in the city. It had been awkward to explain to him why you were crying by the tree. While you had omitted the part where she had figured out your feelings, you had mentioned her marriage joke.

“Didn’t you say that you were running away from Mondstadt and never looking back because of it? Would marrying me be that bad?” he asked. You furiously shook your head. Marrying Kaeya would probably be one of the least worst options in Mondstadt out of all the eligible bachelors that you knew. There was a reason that he was the ‘top candidate for grandson-in-law’ by the older people in the city.

“No! Of course not,” you quickly said. You covered your face before saying, “That wasn’t the reason I wanted to run away.”

“Then what was the reason?” he asked.

You kept your face hidden before responding, “SheknewthatIlikedyou.” The words were too muffled and quiet to be understood. You heard him chuckle a bit, probably at your inability to admit it loudly. While you did think that your feelings were obvious, you were too hesitant to actually admit it outloud. Especially because of your own fear that he actually didn’t feel the same way.

“Well, it must have been something to get you this embarrassed to this moment. Maybe we should have run away if it still gets you like this,” he teased.

You looked up from your hands and at him. “We?” you asked to make sure that you had heard right.

“What? Don’t you remember what I told you when you said that you’d run away?” he said.

“You said that you’d run away….but I told you that I couldn’t drag you away with me…” you trailed off. By the point that he had told you that, you had started to calm down significantly. “To be honest, I thought you were joking,” you mumbled.

“I was being very honest that day,” he whispered. You were not entirely sure that he had been. The more you thought about it; however, it had been the most serious that Kaeya had been with you in a long time. There had not been an ounce of dishonesty in his voice. The only other time that could come to mind was when he had knocked on your window soon after Crepus’ death.

“But you had so much in Mondstadt at the time to just up and leave. Didn’t you?” you asked. He had already begun his own steps towards becoming an exemplary knight and you had been working on your studies to become a Maid of Favonius. You couldn't fathom the idea of him just leaving Mondstadt easily.

“My dear (Y/N), if you’re not here to nag me, then what’s the point of sticking around? I’d get bored without you.” Though dramatic in delivery, the unspoken knowledge that he’d feel lonely hung over the two of you.

“Don’t worry, then. You’re stuck with me for the rest of your life,” you teased as you lightly poked his side.

“(Y/N),” he said, seriousness in his tone. A shift from the dramatics of earlier that took you a bit off-guard. For Kaeya to be serious, it had to be something important that he wanted to say.

“What?” you asked.

“I do hope that you know that I mean it when I say this: your presence in my life has been one of the only reasons that I continue staying in Mondstadt,” he said. You felt your heartbeat quicken.

“Kaeya-”

“Let me finish,” he said as he put his hand up. You closed your mouth and nodded. “You’ve been my most steadfast friend for all these years. The one person that I have been able to rely on without doubting your intentions because I know that all you do is out of kindness. While I cannot predict the future nor do I want to, I do hope that you continue being in my life. Though, I’d prefer it if we weren’t friends.”

“Not friends? How am I going to be in your life if we aren’t friends?” you asked. Your voice sounded confused but you had a small suspicion as to what he was implying. You just wanted confirmation before you said anything. The thoughts you had earlier came racing back as you waited for him to respond.

He smiled. “I was originally going to tell you during the Windblume Festival. The poem was meant to be this whole thing that I had planned out but then I got drunk and just ended up giving it to you without doing everything. But it doesn’t matter. I want to tell you now.” You got more excited. “What I wanted to tell you then was that I’d like for us to be together,” he said. “Not just partners at work or just friends. Partners in life. I don’t know where the road of life will take me, but I know that I can face any of it if you’re by my side.”

You sat there, frozen at his words, processing that he felt the same way about you. Years of going back and forth with each other, never once making too many drastic moves across the board, culminated. Kaeya felt the same way that you did. “Oh, Kaeya...I feel the same way,” you replied, “I was so worried after the Festival that you had regretted giving me the poem but I’m so happy. I’m so happy that you feel the same way as I do!”

“(Y/N)...” He closed the distance between the two of you. The moment that you had daydreamed about for ages finally came true when Kaeya kissed you and you kissed him too. When the two of you pulled away, you could barely hold yourself together as you threw your arms around Kaeya and knocked him down to the ground.

Laughter filled the air at the joy of everything. “I’ve waited so long, Kaeya,” you said. The prior worries of what everything meant melted away at his confession to reciprocating your feelings. The years of having spent back and forthing with each other were over. You looked at him and the two of you shared a smile. He wrapped his arms firmly around you.

“Maybe your mother was right about our future,” he said.

“Are you proposing as well?” you joked.

“Not just yet,” he answered. The implication that he would in the future made you even happier. It seemed that your mother had, in fact, been correct. Perhaps one day your last name would be the same as Kaeya’s.

“I’ll look forward to it,” you said.

#kaeya x reader #kaeya x you #kaeya x y/n #kaeya genshin impact #fluff #genshin fluff #genshin impact imagines #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact x you

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dameronology · 3 years

Text

love in the time of p.t.a meetings {marcus moreno} - 2/5

summary: your kid has taken a liking to marcus moreno - and frankly, so have you {series masterlist}

warnings: swearing, mentions of divorce & very brief mentions of his wife’s death

i don’t normally update series this quickly but this was originally one imagine that reached about 11k words lmao so it’s all written, just being split up. i’ve also decided it’s gonna be 5 parts instead of 3, cos i reread the ending and realised i was not done by a longshot. enjoy!

- jazz

Mondays. You hated ‘em.

Everything just seemed so...amplified. The peace and relaxation of the weekend was over and everyone had to go back on the grind. The traffic always seemed worst, the clock seemed to tick backwards and you just wanted to be at home, in bed. After an incident involving the dog, a toaster and a small pan fire, you were already running twenty minutes late and you knew in your soul that your child’s shoes weren’t on the right feet. That, and also he was wearing a Chewbacca onesie to school. It had been a compromise. As in, he was refusing to go to school unless you let him wear the damn thing. It was a compromise. You’d lost.

On the bright side, the past weekend had been the best you’d had in a long time. Jack had spent all of Saturday afternoon at the Heroics headquarters and he was so worn out, he’d slept through all of Sunday. Marcus Moreno must have a been a fucking wizard, because you’d been trying to tire the kid out for five years. You made a mental note to do something in return, though you sensed there was nothing on God’s green earth that could possibly amount to babysitting the world’s most exhausting child for six hours. You were allowed to say that, because Jack was your world’s most exhausting child and you wouldn’t have changed him for anything.

‘New week, huh buddy?’ You glanced at Jack in your rear view mirror. He was sat on his booster seat, legs dangling back and forth and a power ranger action figure in his hand. ‘A fresh start.’

‘Can we listen to the song from Cars?’ Jack ignored your comment.

‘You gotta try and behave yourself this week. You’ve seen what happens to people who do follow the rules, right? They get to go work at the Heroics-’

‘- I wanna listen to the song from Cars!’

You wanted to have a deep conversation. Jack wanted to listen to Life Is A Highway. That was...actually, it was exactly how you’d expected that to go. It wasn’t that off of the time you were trying to explain your divorce to him and he’d interrupted you to demand that you put Toy Story on.

‘Sure thing, kid.’ You rolled your eyes, reaching across to hand him on your phone. ‘D’you know how to spell it-’

Your sentence was cut off by the sound of guitars blaring from the speakers. At least he could work out Spotify.

By some miracle, you managed to make it the school with a few minutes to spare. Because most people had dropped their kids off earlier (see: on time), the lot was pretty empty. That meant you could once again dump your car without regard for the painted white lines -- who had time to park properly on a Monday morning? That was for people who had their shit together.

Leaping out the car, you almost cursed when you tripped over your heels. You didn’t have to wear them, but since you’d started working in a managerial role at your office, you figured it made you look a little more professional. And what was the harm in being a few inches taller? It made you feel powerful.

‘C’mon, J.’ You pulled open the back door, helping Jack leap out the car.

‘You know, I’m starting to think you can’t park your car at all.’

‘Marcus!’ Jack practically flew out the car, his tiny body suddenly jolting with excitement.

‘Morning, buddy.’ He replied; he then moved his brown eyes to gaze at you, offering a smile. ‘Hey.’

‘Hey, how you doing?’ You greeted him. ‘I don’t normally see you here in the mornings.’

‘Yeah, I normally drop Missy off at the front but it was one of those mornings, you know? She was taking a little more convincing than usual to go in.’

‘My kid is in a Wookiee onesie and backwards Thomas the Tank Engine shoes and you have the audacity to ask me if I know those mornings? I am those mornings.’ You replied.

Marcus chuckled. ‘I think it’s a look. I especially like the Lightning McQueen sunglasses.’

‘Do you have a super suit?’ Jack asked. ‘Can I try it on?’

‘C’mon, Jack. You’ve already managed to get a tour of the HQ.’ You ruffled his hair. ‘And we gotta get going to school.’

‘But I wanna ask more questions.’ He muttered. ‘I have over a hundred.’

‘Don’t I know it.’ You murmured under your breath. ‘But school is more important.’

‘I don’t wanna go anymore.’

‘I let you wear the onesie. That was our agreement, remember?’

‘All good superheroes have to get an education.’ Marcus reasoned. ‘And if you go in, maybe I can show you my suit at some point?’

'Okay!’ Jack grinned. He wrapped his arms around your waist in a quick hug, before peering up at you with a toothy smile. ‘See ya later!’

He turned on his heel and ripped his backpack from your hand, suddenly speeding up the path and towards school. Had...had that just happened? For once in your life, had you not had to wrench him from the car and wrestle him through the school gates? Move aside, Harry Potter, because Marcus Moreno was the new wizard in town. You might have been a little jealous that he was so good with your son but at the same time, it made you like him even more. He was the first parent at the school that had leant into Jack’s wild tendencies. And, whilst you tried not to think too much about it, even his own dad had struggled to do that. It made your heart warm a little.

‘You are seriously my favourite person.’ You chimed, leaning back against your car.

‘Kids with character are way more fun than kids who are well-behaved.’ Marcus replied.

‘I spent forty-five minutes scraping string cheese out the USB port of my computer yesterday, but sure.’

He chuckled. ‘No, I’m serious. I don’t encourage Missy to misbehave but she does get herself into some situations. I choose to see it as a testament to her intelligence rather than disobedience.’

‘I refuse to believe for a second that Missy ever misbehaves.’ You shot back back. ‘She seems so well-behaved.’

‘What you see in the parking lot is not a reflection of our whole lives.’ He reminded you.

‘Right, because despite appearances, I’m actually a very put together parent.’ You snorted. ‘But I get what you mean.’

‘I gotta get to work now, but it was good to see you.’ Marcus pulled his car keys out his pocket. ‘I was serious about that suit thing, by the way. He saw my katanas on Saturday.’

‘Katanas?’ You spluttered. ‘My kid managed to start a fire last week out of nothing and you want to give him katanas?!’

‘Maybe I can show you how to use them.’ He flashed you a smile. ‘And then you can pass on the knowledge.’

‘That’s probably an even worse idea.’ You shook your head with a laugh, pulling open your car door. ‘I’ll see you around.’

‘You as well. Have a good day, pretty lady.’

Did you stop thinking about your exchange at any point during the day? Absolutely not. In fact, you’d already written an email to the local deed poll office to change your legal name to Pretty Lady.

No, but in all seriousness, you’d been a little giddy about it. Had he been flirting? That didn’t seem like a long shot. You got on well, you’d hung out a bit over the weekend and not to toot your own horn, but you were by no means bad looking. Tired and a little frazzled, sometimes? Yeah. But anyone would have been lucky to have you and you were doing a better job at recognising that, especially since your divorce.

You were almost ecstatic when it got to 4PM and you hadn’t received a single call from Jack’s teachers. That meant that he had behaved, and what Marcus had said had worked. Because you worked past his finishing time, he usually went to the after-school club till you could come to collect him - it had been a lifesaver, especially since you couldn’t always leave early. He usually came home with some kind of weird arts and crafts. Last week, it had been an unidentifiable item made of dried macaroni and glitter. He’d placed it pridefully on the old fireplace in your lounge.

After saying goodbye to your co-workers, you headed out the building. Your office was right in the city centre and not too far out from the school. It was a nice place to be; your lunch hour, when you could head out to a street cart and eat your food in the local park, was usually the highlight of your day. It was when you could exist just as you. When you were at work, you were in charge on your entire department. When you were home, you were a parent 24/7. That time to yourself was vital.

As you were heading to your car, your phone began to ring. Your heart almost jumped out your chest when you saw Marcus’ name - he hadn’t called you before, only texted to sort out the previous weekend’s plans with Jack. You quickly organised yourself (he couldn’t see you, dumb ass) and cleared your throat.

‘Hey, everything alright?’ You brightly greeted him.

‘Hey! Are you out of work now?’

‘Yeah, I’m literally just leaving. What’s up?’

‘Look, I hate to do this but I’ve had an emergency at work - superhero related, you don’t wanna know - and I’m not gonna be out for hours.’ Marcus sounded stressed. Yeah, I feel that you thought. ‘Would you be able to pick up Missy and possibly have her for a few hours? If not, that’s totally-’

‘- I’d be glad too!’ You interrupted him. ‘I owe you one anyways for the weekend. And this morning, actually.’

‘You don’t owe me anything.’ He sounded surprised that you’d even imply it. ‘But I will definitely owe you for having Missy.’

‘Hey, it’s cool!’ You insisted. ‘Do you want me to drop her off at yours later?’

‘I can come and collect her if you text me your address?’

‘Perfect.’ You smiled. ‘I’ll see you later then?’

‘You’re a lifesaver.’ Marcus said. ‘I’ll text Missy to let her know to find your car instead of mine. I would ask for your plate number, but your car is...’

‘...bright red, covered in dents and hard to miss?’ You finished his sentence.

‘Exactly.’

You’d been in the same situation before; pulled between work and parenting, with Jack stuck at school and an important meeting that felt like it was never ending. It was hard to get a sitter on such short notice - or afford one, sometimes - and it was just another one of the million, stressful situations that single parenting could get you into. If you could help Marcus even a little bit, of course you were going to. You knew he’d do the same for you. Heck, he had done the same for you.

Jack and Missy were both chatty on the way home. Given that she was a little older than him, her conversational skills were strikingly better. It was nice to ask someone about their day and not get where are my Cheetos? as an answer. From what you gathered, she hated science class, enjoyed gym, and her favourite subject was lunch. That didn’t come as a surprise to you - her dad was a literal superhero and probably encouraged physical activity.

(You’d seen his arms, okay? They were more than enough to go on. I digress).

The only thing that made you wish you’d had a little more notice on having her for the evening was the state of your apartment. The place wasn’t bad; you’d lived there for the better part of eight years, and it was crammed with soft furniture and millions of blankets, as well as photos of you and Jack and his questionable art projects. It was just that you hadn’t done the dishes that morning, there was a mountain of shoes by the door and the pancakes from the previous night were still stuck on the roof.

Missy barely blinked an eye; the minute she saw your dog, she’d abandoned her bag and was playing with him.

‘Hey buddy!’ She grinned. ‘What’s he called?’

‘That’s Oppy.’ You replied, hanging your jacket up. She didn’t need to know that it was short for Optimus Prime. No guesses on whose idea that had been.

‘He’s so cute!’ Missy continued. ‘I’ve been asking dad for a dog for ages but he won’t budge.’

For some reason, that surprised you a little. Marcus might have been the leader of a super-hero team and a public figure, but you could tell he would do anything for his daughter. You knew because it was the same for you with Jack. He might have ruled your whole life but you would have hung the damn stars in the sky for him if he asked

‘They’re a lot of work.’ You reasoned. ‘I have to wake up every morning at 6AM to make sure he gets a walk. Then there’s the matter of-’

‘- mum! Optimus Prime pooped in the bathroom!’

‘The matter of that.’ You murmured under your breath.

The rest of the evening went pretty smoothly. You fed the kids some leftover takeaway and between the dog and Netflix, they were easily entertained. Jack seemed to take a liking to Missy, which was good because it meant he wanted to sit with her the entire time instead of bouncing off the walls. She had the same patience as her dad, especially when he asked her a million questions about superheroes. It took her twenty minutes to convince him that Batman wasn’t her uncle, and a further fifteen to make him believe that she hadn’t met Captain America.

Jack had asked you a few times about whether or not he would get siblings. Of course, it would be different to any interactions with Missy because he would have been the oldest, but it did get you thinking. You were finally in a place where you were moving past your former relationship and healing from the wounds. Time wasn’t much of an issue either - you’d had Jack when you were young and barely out of college. You couldn’t possibly imagine having any more kids right now, not when it was just the two of you, but in the future? You’d never rule out meeting somebody new. If anything, you were hopeful. Your first relationship had been your only one, and it had ended badly. You wanted to experience love for what it actually was, and not what you thought it was supposed to be.

Not long after 7PM, there was a knock on your door. By that point, both Missy and Jack had passed out on the sofa with Star Wars playing quietly in the background. It had been her idea to watch it - she had good taste. Marcus had clearly done a good job.

‘Hey!’ You greeted him as you pulled open the front door. ‘Come in quick, it’s fucking freezing out there.’

‘Thank you.’ Marcus came inside, dusting a few snow flakes out his hair. ‘Seriously, I can’t say it enough-’

‘- it’s fine!’ You shook your head, offering him a smile. ‘Missy’s been great. She’s really chatty and it was nice to have a coherent conversation with someone that isn’t about Paw Patrol. But was everything at the office okay?’

He was quiet for a minute. ‘Yeah. We uh, we lost someone. A hero.’

‘Shit, man. I’m sorry.’ Your voice fell quiet. ‘You wanna come in? You look like you could probably take a moment.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘Of course! Missy and Jack are both asleep on the couch anyways.’ You pointed through to the living room. Marcus leant over to have a look, smiling slightly at the sight.

‘Thank you. I’d appreciate that.’

He took a seat at the kitchen counter. Your old bar stools were a little old and wobbly, but Marcus didn’t seem to notice. If anything, he admired the place. It was cluttered as hell and filled with useless, old items - cook books you didn’t use, random magnets, assorted toys - but it was nice. His house always felt a little cold and clinical. He’d moved a lot over the course of Missy’s life and now that he was retired from the field, he’d sworn to her that their current house was going to be permanent. Whether or not it felt like home was another question entirely.

‘I would offer you a drink but all I have is..’ you paused, opening the fridge. ‘Nesquik, vodka or apple juice.’

‘You know what? A Nesquik doesn’t sound too bad.’

‘I like your thinking, Moreno.’

After quickly fixing up the two drinks, you slid into the seat beside him and handed him one. You had never in a million years imagined a situation where Marcus Moreno would be in your kitchen drinking chocolate milk, but here we were. It had clearly been a long day for him and you had enough of those to last a lifetime, so you knew how it felt. Coming home after a day that had beat your ass into the ground and having to put on a brave face for your kids was difficult at best.

‘Are you sure you’re okay?’ You gently asked.

‘Yeah, I’ll be okay - it just always fucks me up a bit.’ Marcus murmured quietly. ‘Hits a little too close to home.’

He wasn’t an idiot. He knew that you knew what had happened to his wife. You knew why he’d retired, and why he and Missy had moved away from their original city six years ago.

‘Sorry, that was too deep-’

‘- it wasn’t!’ You quickly cut him off. ‘I’ve had random women come up to me at pick up time and say they’re sorry to hear about my divorce. People I don’t even know. So really, after that, nothing is too much.’

He smiled slightly. ‘They always say they’re sorry but why would you bring up a subject if you have to apologise for it?’

‘Exactly!’ You replied. ‘Especially when I’ve moved on. It’s been a year.’

‘It’s the same with me. Missy and I miss her everyday but we don’t mope about it. We just...we look back with fondness on the good memories we have. You can’t move forward if you’re stuck in the past, no matter how much it sucks.’

‘That’s...that’s wise.’ You blinked in surprise. ‘S’pose that means I should take down the dartboard I have with my ex’s face on.’

‘From what I’ve heard, he seems like he should have more than a dart board.’ Marcus snorted - then he froze. ‘Wait, not that I’ve heard stuff, I mean...I don’t listen-’

‘- Marcus!’ You whacked his arm. ‘It’s fine. One of the other kid’s mums started telling me about the terrible divorce someone was going through but she realised she was gossiping to the one who was going through it.’

‘I don’t know how much of what I’ve been told is true, but it sounds like it was bad.’ His hand hovered over where yours was rested on the counter.

‘The rumours pretty much get the gist of it.’ You replied. ‘But we were talking about your thing, so I don’t wanna take away from that.’

‘Hey, it’s okay.’ He finally moved his hand, fingers gently curling underneath yours to intertwine them. ‘If even half of the whispers are true, he sounds like an asshole. You and Jack both deserve better than that.’

Whatever people had said, it had sort of covered the gist of it. You’d married too young and had a kid too young - your ex had been a terrible husband and an even worst husband. He’d chastised Jack for being...well, being Jack. He’d stay out late with his friends, spend money on things neither of you needed and tried to make you take the blame for it all. After giving him a few too many chances, you’d finally reached breaking point and kicked him out. Filing for divorce and taking on being a single parent was single-handedly the hardest and bravest thing you’d ever had to do. In a way, you were glad you’d done it when Jack was still so young - he didn’t really understand any of it, even when you’d try to explain it in child friendly terms.

‘I think people judge me for it a little sometimes.’ You confessed. ‘They see me struggling but they know I made the choice to separate from him, like I brought it all on myself.’

‘That’s bullshit.’ Marcus plainly stated. ‘Parenthood isn’t a dependent thing based on whether or not you’re still married to the other parent. It’s unconditional and permanent.’

‘I should tell him that, but I also don’t want him back in our lives.’

‘I know it’s none of my business, but he doesn’t deserve Jack. He’s one of the best and brightest kids I’ve ever met.’

‘Thank you. I’m glad he doesn’t seem like a complete lunatic.’

‘He doesn’t deserve you either.’ Marcus continued. ‘Again, I might be out of place saying this but you are...you’re amazing. I was a wreck when I was suddenly on my own and you’re still holding everything together and working your ass off.’

‘You’ve noticed?’ You quirked an eyebrow.

‘Yeah, in passing.’ He admitted. ‘I remember I once saw you carrying three separate science projects at once and then Carol made a passing comment that you were on your own and...I just kinda admired you from afar.’

‘You, Marcus Moreno, admired me?’ You blinked at him in disbelief. ‘I find that hard to believe.’

‘I wish I’d had my shit together half as much as you did when I lost Missy’s mum.’

‘But the difference is you didn’t have a choice in your situation. I chose to boot his dad out-’

‘- you gotta stop discrediting yourself.’ He shook his head. ‘And stop blaming yourself. You did what was right for your kid and that is the most admirable thing of all.’

‘You really think so?’

‘I know so.’

The conversation slowly drizzled away, leaving you two to just look at each other. It was hard to tear yourself away from his brown eyes - there was a lot going on behind them. Fear, pain, anguish, admiration. He was one of the most mind-blowingly impressive people you’d ever met; single dad, superhero, electric car owner. He probably didn’t have a mortgage too and that was kinda hot. You were none of those things and yet, here he was, with you, managing to connect on a level that you never had with anyone. Both of your situations were tough, but they’d brought you together.

Marcus Moreno was pretty fucking fearless (came with the job, you figured), and he wasn’t afraid to make the first move. He slowly inched his head forward and in return, you gravitated towards him. Your lips met halfway in a soft kiss, his hands moving to firmly hold your waist as he pulled you closer.

You almost stumbled out your chair with the movement, but his grip on your hips meant you didn’t slip. Instead, he placed you up on the counter, standing up as he did. It took you a moment to adjust to the position, but with your legs resting on either side of his, you could reach forward and lean on him. You had one hand tangled in his hair and the other on the back of his neck - you’d surprised yourself with that. It had been months since you’d kissed anyone, but you weren’t as rusty as you thought.

‘Oh my god, is the superhero gonna be my new dad?!’

Marcus suddenly jumped backwards at the sound of Jack’s voice. He was stood in the doorway, post-nap hair covered by a lopsided Chewbacca hood. His eyes were like dinner plates, even though he was grinning from ear to ear.

‘Uh...’ you glanced between him and Marcus. ‘We were just...we were...’

‘I had something in my eye.’

‘He had something in his eye.’ You quickly agreed. ‘But now it’s out, so Marcus is gonna go home.’

He knew you didn’t mean it rudely - it was more of a desperation thing. The longer he stayed, the more questions Jack would come out with. Missy could have overheard too and that would have been twice as much to explain. So really, the sooner he got out, the better.

‘Yeah. I’ll uh, I’ll grab Missy.’ Marcus said, scratching the back of his head. ‘Thank you again for looking after her.’

‘You don’t need to keep thanking me.’ You shot back.

He disappeared into the living room for a moment, reemerging with a sleeping Missy in his arms a moment later. Your eyes met again, and he gave you a soft smile.

‘I’ll call you.’

‘Yeah, sure.’ You nodded. ‘See you, Marcus.’

True to character, the next hour was spent being pelted with questions from your over-curious son. He didn’t shut up once when you were bathing him and he got even louder when you were reading him his best time story. On the bright side, you’d managed to get him to change out of his slightly manky Wookiee onesie and into a clean Buzz Lightyear one. Normally, you would have argued that he couldn’t live in pyjamas, but if it kept him quiet? It was a price you were willing to pay.

‘Night, kiddo.’ You pressed a kiss to his forehead, switching on his nightlight. ‘Remember our deal, yeah? If I buy you a Happy Meal tomorrow, you won’t mention what you saw to any of your friends?’

‘You said library was bad.’

‘No, it’s bribery.’ You corrected him. ‘And do as I say, not as I do.’

‘Sounds bad, but okay.’ He sleepily murmured. ‘Night.’

‘Night.’ You stood up, flicking out his bedroom lights.

‘Wait, mum!’ Jack suddenly sat up, as though he’d remembered something. ‘You never said no.’

‘No to what, buddy?’

‘When I asked if the superhero was my new dad.’

Well, fuck.

taglist: @naivara-duneimith @1-2-3-4-5metalfingers @likeshootingstarsinthenightsky @lyanna-the-giantsbane @phoenixhalliwell @crazycookiecrumbles @bitchin-beskar @comphersjost {message me to be added!}

#marcus moreno x reader #marcus moreno imagine #marcus moreno x you #marcus moreno x y/n #pedro pascal characters #pedro pascal character headcanons #pedro pascal characters x reader

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freddie-weaselbee · 3 years

Text

Kiss Her You Fool//F.W.

Pairing: Fred Weasley x Fem!Reader

Warnings: Very brief mentions of nudity (skinny dipping), one argument, mentions of food

Summary: The countdown is on until Fred and George plan on making their grand exit from Hogwarts. But that means Fred only has a short amount of time to finally confess his feelings to his best friend.

Prompt: Kiss Her You Fool by Kids That Fly

Word Count: 4.5k

A/N: For @amourtentiaa's writing challenge, with the song Kiss Her You Fool being the prompt. Second fic in Abby's Week of Weasley !

~Abby's Week of Weasley Masterlist~ ~Masterlist~

Five Days Left

Stop making up your excuses

Call her up, tell her you forgot something

“You’re staring again.”

Fred ignored his brother and continued to watch you and your friends spread out on the courtyard grass. He watched as you sat up and brushed the leaves out of your hair, laughing at something that your friend said. He admired your glowing smile, which always lit up the room. Your perfect, beautiful smile.

“Fred,” George said, this time a little more forcefully. Fred shook his head and finally took his eyes off of you, much to his disappointment. He blushed profusely and turned back to his brother, who was holding a list of all the things they would need to do before their departure in 5 days. “You’re whipped.”

“Am not!” Fred argued. “She’s just nice to look at, that’s all. Plenty of girls here are nice to look at.”

“Mhmm,” George replied. “So is that why you’ve turned down any advances from the other girls who are nice to look at? Just admit it, little Freddie’s in love!” George sighed dreamily, only to be met with a punch to his shoulder from his annoyed twin.

“She’s just my friend! My best friend. Even if I did see her that way, which I don’t--” George gave Fred an unbelieving look but Fred continued, “--it’s not like she would feel the same way. And we’re leaving in 5 bloody days! There’s no point.” He huffed and put his head in his hands, wishing there was some way that everything could work out perfectly for him and you.

“Stop making up your excuses, mate!” George said, completely done with his brother’s antics. “Just go tell her how you feel. Worst case scenario she rejects you, we leave in a few days, and you both have a few months to get over it. You’re making this too complicated.”

Fred looked back over to where you were, seeing that Roger Davies and his friends had made their way over to you and your friends. He noticed the small blush that appeared on your face as Roger brushed your hair behind your ears, and Fred had to pry his eyes away before he got even more upset.

“I can’t lose her, Georgie,” he said softly. “She’s my best friend. I need to have her in my life, even if that means just as a friend.”

George rolled his eyes but patted his brother on the back comfortingly. “You have to tell her some time, or you’ll go the rest of your life regretting it. You only have 5 days left before we’re gone for good.”

Fred nodded, courage surging in his chest. 5 days. That’s 5 chances to tell you and hope that against all odds you felt the same way. Feeling at peace with the time he had, Fred finally put his focus into helping his brother plan, but not before taking one last look over to where you laid so serene in the afternoon sun. He still had time.

Four Days Left

It's worth more than you are thinking

Don't be a fool, tell her you think she's cool

Fred stood alone outside of Snape’s classroom, leaning up against the cold corridor walls and waiting for the teacher to arrive. He was already in a fowl mood that day, and receiving detention from his second least favorite teacher didn’t help him at all.

He was considering just skipping detention altogether--what would Snape be able to do in a few days when Fred was no longer a student?--until he heard a familiar voice calling his name from down the hall.

“Freddie!” Fred’s mood did a complete 180 as he saw his favorite person come running down the darkly lit corridor toward him. Throwing yourself into his arms, Fred swung you around before placing you down and leaving a quick kiss on your forehead, a friendly gesture that he always did when greeting you. “I’m so glad you’re here, I thought I was going to have to handle the Greaseball all by myself!”

Fred laughed at your excitement, equally relieved that he wouldn’t be alone as well. He kept his arms around you, enraptured by your electrifying gaze. A harsh cough broke you two apart and you turned to see Professor Snape standing behind you.

“I should not have to be reminding you,” he drawled, “that in accordance with our Headmistress’ orders, boys and girls are not permitted within 8 inches of each other. As a punishment for that unnecessary display of affection, I’ll be adding an extra hour onto your detention for tonight.”

“Oh no!” you cried in mock horror. “Another whole hour spent with my best friend? Professor, how can you be so cruel?”

Fred beamed down at you proudly, your sarcasm and attitude always making him fall in love with you a little bit more.

Snape was not amused. “Two hours.”

You sent Fred a quick wink before following your teacher into the dark musty classroom.

Stalking dramatically around the room, Snape explained your task for the night, which consisted of cleaning every single one of the cauldrons, even the broken ones that no one used, with a brush smaller than your toothbrush. You leaned your head on Fred’s shoulder when Snape’s back was turned, sending a warm tingle down his spine.

You quickly shot away once Snape turned back, but luckily he didn’t seem to pick up on anything. “I hope that you two can make my room spotless?”

“Yes sir!” you said, saluting him. He grumbled something under his breath before exiting slowly, leaving you and Fred alone.

You hopped up on one of the desks and patted the space next to you, gesturing for Fred to join you. “So, what do you wanna do?” you asked him.

“Shouldn’t we, I don’t know, clean quickly so that we can get out of here?” Fred answered.

Suddenly you grabbed Fred’s cheeks in your hand, squeezing tight and looking at him suspiciously. “Who are you and what have you done with Fred Weasley? The Freddie I know and love would never actually want to work in detention.”

Fred smiled through his pinched cheeks, shaking out of your grip. “As much as it pains me to say this,” he said, “I don’t have time for mischief at the moment. I’ve just… got a lot going on. Big things are happening soon.”

You scooted closer and tried to read him. Fred would never pass up the chance to goof off during detention, especially when it was detention with you, and you knew that. “Hey, is something going on? Are you alright?”

Fred put on a fake smile and turned away from you. “I’m fine, love, just a little stressed out lately.” He should tell you that he was leaving. He’d been keeping it between him and George, and he knew the longer he waited the more it would break you to hear. But looking at your concerned expression laced with love and compassion, he knew he couldn’t bear to see you sad on his behalf. It could wait.

“What’d you even do to end up in here?” he asked, quickly changing the subject.

You shrugged. “Snape blamed me for cheating on my Potions assignment, which I didn’t, and even if I did I wouldn’t be stupid enough to get caught. But he wouldn’t listen, so I snuck into his classroom last night and set off a bunch of fireworks, courtesy of you, Mr. Weasley! The products you gave me for my birthday worked perfectly, thanks!”

You kissed his cheek, and he stuttered out a “you’re welcome,” hand coming up to touch the place where your lips were moments before. “Wait, so he caught you then?”

“Of course not!” you said, rolling your eyes. “I’m far too smart for that. He gave me the detention because he thought I had cheated, and he doesn’t have enough evidence nor suspicion to pin the fireworks on me. I figured if I was going to get a detention for something I didn’t even do, I might as well do something to deserve it!” You hopped down off of the table and went to grab the tools you needed for cleaning, an awestruck Fred watching with his mouth hanging open.

In Fred’s eyes, you were amazing. You were feisty, headstrong, and so incredibly smart. Not to mention he thought you were absolutely breathtaking, especially when you got that cocky and mischievous glint in your eyes.

“You’re so cool,” he sighed, making you turn to him with a slightly confused smile.

“Not the usual compliments I get from you, Weasley, but I’ll take it. I think you’re cool too.” You handed him a small brush and got to work on the cauldron nearest to you, scooting over so Fred could join you.

The two of you worked in comfortable silence, something Fred desperately wanted to preserve. As much as he yearned to tell you his feelings, he still had 4 days. It could wait until tomorrow.

Three Days Left

Stop waiting for a fairytale to

Take you away, don't wait for someday

Fred relentlessly combed his fingers through his hair, one moment deciding it was too messy and the next deciding it wasn’t messy enough. He’d been standing in front of the mirror for the last 30 minutes trying to figure out what he should wear, how he should style his hair, whether or not he should wear rings (he finally settled on yes) and pretty much everything else he could worry about for a date.

Except this wasn’t a date.

As much as Fred wanted nothing more than for him to hold your hand and walk through the Hogwarts halls as the cutest couple at the school, which he was sure you would be, this outing was just as friends.

Ever since you were both 14, you decided that once a month you would spend the day together, just the two of you. As friends. Sometimes it was informal, like hanging out in his dorm room or pulling a prank on a teacher or Ron. Other times it was very much like a date, where the two of you would get all dressed up and go out to Hogsmeade or find a secret spot on the Hogwarts grounds to spend your day. Today, the day trip was the latter.

Already late as it was, Fred decided he was content with how he looked, or at least as much as he could be. He grabbed the bouquet of flowers he had picked earlier and rushed out the door, having to listen to teasing from George, who had been watching him nitpick over his outfit and hair the entire time.

He sprinted down to the Middle Courtyard, hoping that you wouldn’t be too mad at him for being as late as he was. He came to a jolting halt when he saw you.

There you were, standing in the middle of the courtyard, a beautiful red sundress hugging your figure perfectly. Your hair was laying loose, but it looked as if you had curled it slightly, making it cascade past your shoulders and sway slightly in the wind. In your hands you clutched a picnic basket and blanket, prepared for your date/not date with Fred.

He walked up to you slowly, wanting to admire how angelic you looked for a bit longer, but you noticed him too soon for his liking. “Hey Fred, oh what are these?”

You were gesturing to the flowers he was holding, stems breaking from his harsh nervous grip. You took them from him gleefully and smelled the delicious scent, sighing in content and hugging them to your chest.

“You didn’t have to do this! I promise I’ll still be your friend even if you don’t bring me flowers every time we hang out,” you said.

“I know, but I wanted to see the cute look on your face when I gave them to you,” Fred said cheekily. You giggled bashfully and handed Fred the picnic basket so you could link your arm with his. The two of you made your way down to the Black Lake, Fred taking the lead and bringing you to a place you’d never been before.

“Where are we going?” you asked, too impatient for Fred’s surprises.

“It’s a secret darling, you’ll have to wait and see.”

You groaned and hit your head against Fred’s shoulder, continuing to ask and complain until you finally arrived at your destination. It was a beautiful clearing deep in the Forbidden Forest, a place Fred had found a few months ago when he was out exploring with George. There was just enough sunlight to create a small patch on the ground where you could both lay out in the warm daylight as you ate and talked the day away.

“This is beautiful!” you exclaimed, running over to set up the blanket. “How come you’ve never taken me here before?”

“We just found it,” said Fred. “But when I saw it, the first thing I thought of was taking you here.”

“You’re so sweet,” you said, pulling him down onto the blanket with you.

You and Fred enjoyed your picnic, occasionally throwing small bits of food at each other and rolling around in the grass. At one point you saw a small bunny hopping by and you immediately shot up to get a closer look.

As you moved closer it hopped away but you stayed standing, letting the sunshine hit your face with a dazed smile on you. You spun around a few times, soaking in the moment and trying to remember everything you could about this perfect day.

As Fred watched you, he couldn’t help but think that he was in a fairy tale. You were the beautiful maiden--no, beautiful princess. Yes, his princess. And he was your prince, and the two would run away together and spend the rest of your lives having wonderful picnics in the warm seasons, and dancing in the rain when the storms came around. He would sweep you off of your feet and you wouldn’t help but fall madly in love with your best friend. With your prince.

Now could be a great opportunity to tell you. To confess his feelings and deep rooted love. But today was perfect. If things went wrong, it would ruin this perfect day for the both of you. So he decided to wait, if only to preserve this memory. This moment in time when everything was how it should be.

There was no rush. He still had 3 days left. It could wait until tomorrow.

Two Days Left

She's thinking the same thing as you

Don't be afraid, dreams aren't found they're made

Fred was pulled away from subtly packing his things by the loud laughs that came from outside of his dorm, down in the common room. One particular laugh, the one he could distinguish from a mile away, caught his ear, and he rushed down the steps to see you and your friends standing by the fireplace, completely soaked.

“Do I even want to know?” he asked, catching your attention. Your friends gave each other looks, seeming to know something that you didn’t. One of them whispered something to you before leaving you alone with Fred, who was still awaiting an answer.

“We may or may not have gone skinny dipping in the lake,” you said, hand covering your face with embarrassment of being caught by your friend. Fred laughed at your confession, trying to distract himself from the thoughts of your naked body swimming through the glistening waters that kept popping into his head.

“And you didn’t invite me?” he said, crossing his arms in disappointment.

You chuckled and moved to the couch, wrapping a blanket around you tightly. “Ah yes, we all know you would never pass up the chance to join a bunch of naked girls in the lake, would you?”

Fred’s face dropped at your lighthearted joke, wondering if that was all you saw him as. Some player who wouldn’t hesitate to shag a random girl he thought was hot. Before he could think too much about this, he saw you shiver rather fiercely and he quickly went to join you on the couch.

“You alright, darling?” he asked as he wrapped a warm arm around you.

You nodded unconvincingly, teeth chattering loudly. Fred pulled you into his lap, putting both arms around your waist and leaning his chin on your shoulder in order to keep you as warm as possible.

“Thanks, Freddie,” you said gratefully. You moved to lie down and pulled him with you, entangling your limbs so that you were soaking up every bit of warmth he could give you, and Fred would give you the entire sun of it meant you would be happy.

You softly closed your eyes, a small smile resting on your wet features. As you nodded off to sleep, Fred thought back to all of the times George had mentioned that you felt the same way. His twin was positive that you were in love with Fred as much as he was with you. In moments like these, he allowed himself to believe his brother. He allowed himself to hope that you liked him too, and that it was your dream to be with him. Because it was his dream to be with you. He just had to stop waiting to find it and instead make it come true. But you were sound asleep at this point, cozied up next to Fred. He didn’t want to wake you up from your slumber. It could wait until tomorrow. He still had 2 days.

One Day Left

Cause you've only got one chance

You've only got one chance

It was your stirring and quiet moans that woke Fred up that morning. You were still asleep but trying to shift to get into a more comfortable position. His arm was hugging you tightly, your back pressed against his chest. He didn’t want to move from his position, but he needed to get up to finish his last full day at Hogwarts. His last day.

You groaned again, reaching your arms out to stretch and let out a loud yawn. You turned over so that your face was right next to Fred’s and you jumped when you noticed he was already awake.

“Hey,” you whispered.

“Hey,” he said back.

You looked so pretty lying there, hair ruffled and clothes a mess. No matter what state you were in, he always thought you were magnificent.

Kiss her you fool

You reached up to rest your hand on Fred's cheek, giggling as he leaned into the touch and shut his eyes. This was it. He could move in, close the gap between you. This might be his only chance to do so, and he couldn’t waste it.

Just as he mustered the courage to proceed, you slowly sat up. Fred sat up with you, wondering what had distracted you from the moment you were both having. He saw you looking at his shirt pocket, the one holding a piece of parchment on it. In your close embrace and drenched state last night, the water had made its way to the paper, causing it to become transparent and some words were becoming visible from the outside. A few of them being ‘escape from Hogwarts.’

In one quick moment you snatched the paper from him and moved to the other side of the couch. Your eyes hurriedly scanned the paper, not believing a word of what you were reading. Fred’s heart was racing, knowing that you were now holding the detailed plan of what was going to go down tomorrow. If only Fred could go back to the way you were moments before, clinging together with your lips seconds away from touching.

Kiss her you fool

“F-freddie,” you stuttered, still not wanting to accept that what you were reading was true. “What is this? Please tell me this is a joke, yeah it’s a joke right? You’re not actually leaving tomorrow, are you?”

Fred hesitated, dismayed that you had to learn about his plans this way. “Y/N, it’s not what it looks like.”

“Oh?” you asked, starting to get angry. “It’s not what it looks like? What it looks like is that you and your brother are leaving the school tomorrow for good. And you didn’t even tell me?! Do you care so little about me that you decided you could just up and leave without even saying goodbye?!”

“No, Y/N, it’s not like that!” Fred said, tears welling in his eyes. “I was going to tell you weeks ago, but I didn’t want you to be upset--”

“Weeks ago?” you nearly shouted. “You’ve been planning this for that long and you didn’t bother to at least give me a hint about it? I can’t believe you.”

“It’s not like I’m trying to hurt you!” Fred said, tears finally rolling down his cheeks. “This is our dream! George and I are finally opening the joke shop we talked about. Surely you can understand that we need to follow our dream.”

You stood up, brushing off your clothes and glaring at your best friend. “Of course I can understand. I would never stop you from following your dreams. But I thought that maybe you cared for me enough to let me in on them. But apparently I’m just another thing for you to leave behind, is that it?”

Fred was frozen, hating that he was the cause of your pain, that he was the one making you angry. The only thing he ever wanted to do was make you laugh and smile, to make you feel loved and safe. He just wanted to hold you, kiss you. To tell you that you were the most important person in the world to him.

Kiss her you fool

“I could’ve helped you!” You were tugging on the ends of your hair, hoping that this was all a dream. That Fred wasn’t really leaving. “I could’ve even gone with you! I’ve always supported your shop. I could work there with you!”

“Yeah,” Fred scoffed. “I’m not letting you give up your entire life just for me.”

“You are my life!” You were crying at this point too, tears pouring down your red cheeks. “All I want is to spend everyday with you! Fred, I love you so much, and if you didn’t even bother to tell me about your plans, then it’s quite obvious that the feelings are unrequited.”

Fred surged forward as you backed away, hoping for you to calm down and hear him out.

“No, Fred, I…” your voice shook as you continued to move. “I need to be alone right now. I’m sorry.”

You fled out of the Common Room and back to your dorm, slight sobs echoing against the walls.

Fred sunk back onto the couch, not even bothering to muffle his cries anymore. He had missed his chance. All of those times he could’ve told you how he felt and asked you to come with him, or at least asked you to be his girlfriend and wait a few months until you graduated. But he had missed his chance. There was only 1 day left, and he blew it.

Kiss her you fool

No Days Left

This was it. This was the day Fred and George had been waiting for for months. The one they had planned out meticulously, not only to escape, but to also provide Harry Potter and his friends a needed distraction for whatever they had gotten themselves into this time. There was no turning back.

Fred had locked himself in his room and cried all day yesterday, an act that obviously didn’t go unnoticed by his brother. George walked up to his twin and laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Ready Fred?”

Fred took a deep breath and sighed. “Ready George. Ready as I’ll ever be.”

The twins raced toward the entrance hall, hearing loud shouts and grunts behind them. A crowd started to form, many students with wide grins on their faces and, of course, Dolores Umbridge herself, looking more furious than Fred had ever seen her.

“So!” she shouted. “You think it amusing to turn a school corridor into a swamp, do you?”

“Pretty amusing, yeah,” said Fred, confidence in his plan and abilities rising. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed a figure pushing through the crowd to get a better look. It was you, eyes puffy and red, wearing a pair of pajama bottoms and one of Fred’s sweaters you had stolen from him months ago. You must’ve been in bed and come running to see Fred’s final takeoff.

Fred’s attention snapped back to his inquisitors at the mention of him and his brother learning a lesson about the consequences of wrongdoing.

“You know what?” Fred asked. “I don’t think we are. George, I think we’ve outgrown full-time education.”

George beamed proudly and spoke much softer than his brother. “Yeah, I’ve been feeling that way myself.”

“Time to test our talents in the real world, d’you reckon?” He caught your eyes in the crowd, a small, pained smile gracing your lips.

“Definitely,” said George. Together they raised their wands and called for their brooms, which came rushing through the halls straight into their hands.

They jumped onto their escape vessels and did a few laps around the courtyard outside. Fred was about to yell back at Umbridge a snide remark, but he stopped when he saw you once again. He swooped down and hovered next to you, not getting off of his broom. His hand reached out to push a strand of hair behind your ear and you stepped closer to him. Fred was so caught up in the moment that he didn’t realize Umbridge was drawing nearer.

Cause you’ve only got one chance

You’ve only got one chance

“Kiss her you fool!”

George, growing impatient of the games you and Fred were playing, shouted from above. So, listening to his brother’s orders, Fred hastily pulled you toward him, sighing against your magnificent lips. It was everything he had expected and more, fireworks seeming to erupt in his stomach with every passing second your lips were on his.

Unfortunately, Fred was on borrowed time, and he darted away just in time to avoid being grabbed by Filch.

“Wait for me, will you?” he called down to you.

“I’ve only been waiting for the last 3 years,” you shouted back. “What’s a few more months?”

Fred was overflowing with happiness. The girl he was absolutely in love with was finally, after long last, his. “I love you, Y/N!”

“I know, you’re not very subtle. But I love you too.”

Fred blew you a kiss and sped up to meet his brother, grinning like an idiot as they soared off into the sunset.

“Looks like you didn’t miss your chance after all,” said George, giving Fred a soft punch to the arm.

“Yeah,” said Fred, “looks like I didn’t.”

Tag List: @famdomhideout

#abby's week of weasley #fred weasley x reader #fred #fredweasley #fredweasleyfic #fred x y/n #george weasley #hogwarts #harrypotter #fred weasley #amourtentiaa's writing challenge

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outerbankspreferences · 3 years

Text

Just Breathe - JJ Maybank

Request: hello hope you have an amazing dayy so far! I've been soooo stressed out with assignments lately and i was wondering if i could have a jj maybank imagine? 😁 just something about jj comforting the reader by bringing her out to see the sunset 😅 hope thats okay!

Word Count: 1344

Warnings: Slight mental breakdown (idrk)

A/N: This is my first request hope you like it!!

It had been one of those weeks. It seemed that every teacher at school had multiple assignments due. Not too mention that you started the week off with a stuffy nose, which was weird because living by the ocean, it almost never happened. Your boyfriend JJ told you that you needed to be out more, and not worrying about school so much. He wasn’t wrong, you had spent most of your time ether home, or at the school library trying to finish everything. You were working on your history paper when you get a text from JJ.

JJ: Hey, what are you doing?

Y/N: Not much, just at the library trying to finish the history paper.

JJ: We’re all going surfing this afternoon, why don’t you take a break and come with us?

I smiled, he knew how much I loved surfing, it’s what brought us together. I’m not the best surfer in the world, but JJ was always trying to teach me new tricks. I loved listening to him explain things to me. I worried about him, he always thought he wasn’t smart enough for me. I’ve told him countless amount of times that I loved him, and it didn’t matter to me. He didn’t realize how smart he was, he was street smart and around her that is worth a whole lot more.

The sound of my phone going off pulls me back to reality. It was JJ calling me. I laugh a little, he’s so impatient. “Hey babe, why didn’t you answer my text? Are you coming with us?” he asks into the phone. I can hear the others in the background getting all their stuff together. “No J, I don’t think so. I need to finish this paper and get started on the rest of my assignments. Did you finish your paper?” I hear him sigh into the phone. “Y/N Y/L/N, when have you ever known me to actually do the assignments, plus I didn’t take that course. Someone told me that Mrs. Riley is a bitch about homework. You’ve been working all week and I miss you. Come out today and finish your homework tomorrow.” He tried to reason with me. I thought about it for a minute, and almost gave into the peer pressure. Looking down at all the work I still had to do if I went out today, I wouldn’t have enough time. “Sorry love, but I can’t go out today. I need to finish. I should be done after tomorrow and then I’m all yours. I promise.” It was his turn to sigh. I could tell he was disappointed. One thing about JJ Maybank is that he hates being told no. “Alright just don’t stress yourself out like last time. I love you.” “I won’t I promise, be careful out there. Tell everyone I’m sorry. I love you too.” “I’ll tell them” and with that he hung up the phone.

I felt bad. I know he wants the best for me, but I have to finish. I throw my head on the desk of the library and let out a groan. After a few minutes I get back to work on my paper. A few hours later, two coffees, and one breakdown I finally finished. I pack all my stuff up in my book bag, and head for the doors. I didn’t realize how late it was until I looked at my phone and saw the time 6:40, I wonder if the Pouges finished surfing. I open my snapchat and look at Kie’s story. She’s the only one who can afford a waterproof case and she loved taking our photos. Watching them all have fun made me upset. I was upset that I missed out on surfing. I screenshot some of the photos she took of JJ. He was so photogenic but hated having his photo taken.

When I got home I noticed that my parents cars wasn’t in the driveway. They must have been out. I unlock the front door and go straight for the kitchen. I read the note my mom left behind. “Sorry honey, we had some errands to run. Suppers in the microwave. Love you.” Looking in the microwave, they made lasagna for supper. JJ’s favorite. I text him to come over and have supper with me. I make myself a tea and try to relax for a minute. I was thinking over everything that needed to be done still. Homework, laundry, work, school. It was all so overwhelming right now. I had no time to just breathe. I could feel the tears pricking my eyes, and I took a long shaky breath.

I was to consume with my own thoughts that I never heard JJ come in. I jumped a little when I felt his arms around my waist. “woah, sorry Y/N/N, didn’t mean to scare you. What’s for sup—hey now, what’s wrong beautiful?” He holds my face in his hands. They’re warm and rough from all the work he does on cars. His thumb gently wipes my tears and that’s when I breakdown more. The simple gesture was enough to bring my walls crumbling down. Not that it was hard with him. “I don’t know *hiccup*, I’m so stressed with everything, and I *hiccup* still have so much to do. *hiccup* and I have a stuffy nose.” He laughs at the last part. He knew you weren’t feeling good on Monday, but he assumed it passed because you hadn’t mention anything about it. “JJ this isn’t funny.” I cry out to him, a little pissed he’s getting amusement out of my dilemma. “No, you’re right bub, it’s not funny. Come on, I know what’ll help.”

We walk out my back door out to the hammock I got when I realized how much JJ likes them. I set it up right by the water so we could lay there. “You need some fresh ocean air Y/N. You’ve been stuck inside all week, no wonder you have a stuffy nose.” He had grabbed a blanket from inside and laid on the hammock making grabby arms at me. “you need a good cuddle session, and we can watch the sunset your favorite thing!” I smile and crawl into his inviting arms. I snuggle my head into his neck and lay small kisses there. “Y/N don’t get me horny in the hammock. It’s too hard to have sex out here.” I laughed out loud thinking of the time we tried to do it in John B’s hammock and kept getting our legs stuck. JJ wraps his hands around my waist, fingers rubbing small circles into my hip bone. It was calm. Like nothing matter in this very second but the two of us. It was the attention and distraction I’ve been craving all week. After a while, my nose isn’t stuffy anymore, and I mentally curse because he was right. JJ speaks up, “I know you’ve had a lot on your plate Y/N, but you need to take time to breath. I hate seeing you all stressed out and upset. I know I’m not much help with your homework, but I’m sure missing one assignment isn’t going to kill you 4.0 GPA. I love you so much, I don’t want you to be upset.” I nod along with what he’s saying. I had to agree, it probably wouldn’t kill me to miss an assignment every now and again.

“Do you want to go back inside love? Are you hungry?” JJ asked looking down at me. I meet his beautiful blue eyes. Like an ocean its hard not to get lost in them. I look back out to the water. Soaking up the last bit of the sunset. This was perfect. I never wanted to leave. “No, I think I want to sit here for a little longer. Is that okay?” You ask, even though you already knew the answer. “Of course, anything you want. I love you.” I look up at him, and smile. “I love you too, so much.”

#jj outer banks #outer banks #jj mayback x reader #jjmaybanks #jj maybank imagine #jj #rudy pankow #rudy pankow imagines #rudy pankow x reader #submission

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fukurodaze · 4 years

Text

fear of losing

pairing: exboyfriend!oikawa tooru x fem!reader genre/s: angst, pining, some kinda fluff word count: 2k warnings: mentions of inferiority complex (both reader and oikawa), mild swearing, reader passing out from over exhaustion synopsis: you never realised that hurting oikawa tooru meant hurting yourself.

lowercase intended.

oh, god. you hate him. so much.

so much that you refuse to loop your arms around oikawa tooru’s neck when he carries you, bridal style, across the hallways of aoba johsai high school. you’re only half conscious, but you use every bit of consciousness to stay limp in oikawa’s arms, as if making it harder for him to carry you; as if he would give up on carrying you and leave it up to someone else. as if.

it’s as if you hate that he still cares about you. and it makes you feel so utterly shit because you’ve spent so much time shutting him out, yet he welcomes you in his arms, his heartbeat fast in your ears.

he still cares, huh?

it’s all a blur until you wake up to the smell of antiseptic solution and a hard mattress underneath you. the white light is bright in your eyes, which doesn’t help with the painful ache in your temples. your throat is dry, your limbs weak. you turn to your side, body crawled up in a little ball. you feel small. somewhere in the room, you hear dialogue between the nurse and a familiar male voice nearing you, and you debate with yourself whether or not to keep your eyes closed or sit up.

“oh. she’s awake.” too late.

the nurse calls your name and you have no choice but to get up and rub your temples. it still aches.

“she passed out during fifth per-”

“during maths. fifth period.” you throw a glare at oikawa, and he takes a step back. when the nurse asks you whether or not you’ve been eating or sleeping properly, you only attempt to answer.

“it’s exams next week.” the nurse only raises a brow, and you’re told that answer’s not good enough.

“i like to revise. and it’s not like i’m going to pull all-nighters during exams. i’m not that stu-”

“you shouldn’t be pulling all nighters, l/n. not at your age, at least.”

you stop yourself from scoffing at her words, and your eyes roll ever so slightly in annoyance when the nurse goes to get some vitamins from the drawer. oikawa sees it, and makes a mental note to rephrase the nurse’s words to you once you’ve swallowed the vitamins.

your eyes flicker over to oikawa, eyebrows furrowing at how he isn’t leaving. rather, he’s sitting on the chair opposite of the bed, and as you set down the glass of water, your mouth dries up again, this time not because you hadn’t drank anything for twelve hours, but because you’ve seemingly forgotten how to talk to oikawa tooru.

when the room is quiet and the nurse goes back to clicking on her desk, oikawa stirs. “when was the last time you slept?”

“i’ve done this before, i’m fine.”

“you’re not answering my question.”

there’s a cracking silence that strikes the room. “i told you, i’m-”

“no. how long?”

“i still eat regularly, so it’s-”

“one day? two days?” his voice is soft, but firm, too firm, that you can’t take it.

“since monday.” you mumble, but you know he can hear. it’s thursday afternoon. you tuck your hair behind your ears, eyes downcast, not ready to meet his disappointment.

oikawa stands up halfway before he sits himself down again. his laugh is dry when you hear it. “you finally broke.”

your voice quiets down, but you force it out. “how are you any different?”

oikawa stirs in his seat once more, as if he’d been well aware of how he overworks himself, too.

“how are you any different when you need a fucking knee brace when you play? how are you any different when you can’t seem to catch a motherfucking break, but you still act like you’re above it all?”

“this isn’t about me!” oikawa grips the sides of his chair, holding himself back. he wants to storm off, because he knows what you’re about to bring up, but he stays back.

“no. it is. you don’t have the right to talk to me like a little child because we are the same. and i know that because you and me, we both know that we,” and you voice starts cracking, “that we- we are never going to be-”

“stop it.”

“we will never be... there.” you curve your words a little, not wanting to feel the pain yourself.

push him out, push him out, you tell yourself. it doesn’t matter if you hurt yourself, as long as he’s gone, you think. you don’t want- no, you don’t need him to care for you. all he’s going to do is treat you like some spike for his ego, as if saying, look here! this person can’t hurt me!

you look back at oikawa, and his head is turned away. his arms are folded as he slouches on the chair, his uniform rolled up to his elbows. you hear no response.

“that’s enough,” he speaks, and you feel the tears prickling in the corners of your eyes. they’re hot against your skin, and as they threaten to come out, your neck feels itself warm up with the rest of your body. you’re frustrated. so, so frustrated that it makes your blood boil. so, so frustrated that you can’t even look at oikawa because he’s your reminder that there are people who can get into class 6 without trying as hard as you did.

now that the tears are falling, your hands fly to your face, embarrassed that you’d dare to cry. it’s a sign of weakness, isn’t it? you believed that tears were better released on stuffed pillows and thick duvets, not in front of people who would, eventually, see you melt down, peeling away layer by layer.

and you can’t stop crying. your breathing is fast and you don’t think you’ll be able to come back for seventh period, so you fold your knees into your chest, as if curling yourself up into a ball meant disappearing from the world, even if it was momentary.

but you find that you can’t disappear even when you’re so tired you feel like you could stop breathing, because there’s a dip in the mattress and you find yourself leaning into oikawa’s side, craving anything more than the feeling of hot tears down your cheeks. his right arm wraps around your side, rubbing up and down the top of your arm. your mind travels back to the end of your first year, where you had first seen oikawa tooru in all his inglorious glory, laying limply against the gym wall, volleyballs scattered left and right. it was a time when you had barged into the gym, asking if you could stay there for a little while since all the teachers had locked up the other classrooms. you remember he looked surprised - offended, almost - but you paid him no attention as he practiced hundreds of rounds and you revised tens of times.

it was also the first night he walked you home, even if your houses weren’t near each other. one night after another, oikawa was the boy you shared big small talk with on sidewalks and asphalt platforms. it was him, almost every day. oikawa became well acquainted with your taste in music, and he’d take it up on himself to hum to each song on your playlist as he walked you home, one of your earbuds in his right ear with the other in your left ear. you, on the other hand, made friends with most of the volleyball club and the cheering squad due to your frequent attendance at his volleyball games. you had even learned how to do an underhand volleyball serve, and you remember oikawa’s stifled laugh as you knocked the ball into the ceiling and onto your head. he was sweet.

and it seemed like you two worked out - really well. one day, your late nights at the gym turned into an early afternoon after class, where he came up to your desk and asked if you wanted to “go together”. you found that it had been a date after he kissed you at your doorstep, and you took his hand when you found out you wanted to kiss him again.

but screw him, right?

yeah, screw him and his group of fangirls. screw him and his soft smile. screw him and his know-it-all-i’m-so-much-better-than-you petty personality. you’ve convinced yourself you hated him because stress and a fear of losing built up in both of you to the point that you two had thrown at each other words as poisonous as mercury. that was the catalyst of the end of it all. and you feel even worse now because you are crying on oikawa’s shoulder two weeks after your “breakup”; two weeks after you told him things made to hurt him.

oikawa stays in silence, running a hand through your hair as you grab onto his school button up for dear life. he’s hardly seen you cry before, but in this moment you feel like oikawa is the only person that you’d let yourself be so weak to. you hate it, but you start to think about oikawa for once.

the brunette’s feet swing back and forth, and soon, yours are too, following the nonexistent rhythm of his legs hanging off the elevated mattress.

you feel your sharp grip on his shirt loosen into softer edges, your arms coming to hug the entirety of his torso instead. you know you’re going to walk around with swollen eyes for the rest of today and maybe even tomorrow, but you couldn’t care less now that the tears have finally ran themselves thin. you breathe steady.

oikawa doesn’t stop the hand in your hair or the swinging of his feet, but he turns more to face you, meeting your glossy gaze. it’s when you look into his deep eyes that you find kindness and care, something you’ve overlooked far too many times.

you don’t want to hear his voice, or see his face, or ever interact with him ever again. but right now you can’t help but tear down your own walls just to end up in his arms because the truth is that you miss him, so, so, so much.

the pads of your fingertips shake around his middle and your cheeks start to rise when oikawa takes his other hand in yours in a slow movement, and, surprisingly, your fingers intertwine with his. it’s a wave of relief oikawa doesn’t know how to describe, feeling like nothing and everything at the same time.

your head presses against the wet patch on his shoulder, and you take a deep breath.

“can i walk home with you?”

oikawa’s hand in your hair freezes for a moment before it travels down to your waist, keeping you close to him.

“rice balls on me?” his voice is low, almost like a whisper.

your eyelids are heavy enough to give up on staying awake, drawing themselves like magnets. but you manage a nod and a positive hum as you unknowingly drift off on his wet shoulder. you think you’re calmer now, your mind going blank, finally, temporarily, as you let aside your pride for today. frankly, you’re still embarrassed and scared and nervous, but there’s always something unmistakeable about oikawa’s care.

it makes you feel like maybe, just maybe, you don’t have to stay up all those nights or score full marks on everything - the same way oikawa felt his aching muscles soothe when you’d drag him out of the gym late at night. it makes you feel content, and oikawa can see it; a slow smile planted on your face as you finally fall asleep.

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weirdkpopgirl · 3 years

Text

A Day to Remember

Title: A Day to Remember

Genre: Fluff...pure fluff

Warnings: mentions of food and skinship

A/N: I know I’ve written a lot of angsty stuff here. But I felt like writing something extra fluffy today. So please enjoy ^-^

Word Count: 1487

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

“Coming!” Y/n rushed to go answer her front door, after hearing the doorbell ring. Her mouth dropped in agape when she opened the door to see a cute boy with black hair and light brown highlights. The boy greeted her with a warming smile and open arms.

“Jungwon-ah? What are you doing here?” She asked as she went to hug him. The two teenagers squeezed each other tight, taking in each other’s scents.

“We were given one free day before our comeback,” Jungwon explained, pulling away to have a proper look at his girlfriend. “I wanted to see you.”

Y/n smiled but she couldn’t help but feel a bit wary. This past month, Jungwon had been so busy with preparations for his group’s comeback. Him, being the leader only added stress to his responsibilities. Y/n didn’t know why Jungwon was using his spare time to see her instead of his other friends or family.

She wanted to ask why but she held her tongue. She too had been busy herself with school and it left her missing Jungwon more than she’d like to admit. Even if she might regret it later, she decided to be selfish just this once.

So after quickly grabbing her purse and phone, she let Jungwon take her to wherever he planned to today. Their first stop was at a puppy cafe.

“Oh my gosh, they’re so cute!” Y/n beamed as she kneeled to pet this one fluffy white dog.

Jungwon smiled, satisfied with her reaction. Y/n was a reserved person and she didn’t express her emotions often. But she had moments like these where she couldn’t help but show some sort of excitement. Jungwon found that aspect of Y/n to be one of the many things that he found attractive.

When it came to ordering drinks and baked sweets, the couple bickered on who would pay. Y/n knew that Jungwon would never let her pay for everything, but she at least wanted to cover the drinks.

But Jungwon was persistent and he won the small disagreement by saying, “You paid the last time we hung out, Jagiya. Let me pay this time.” Y/n pouted, realizing that she had nothing to argue with.

After sharing food and laughs with the furry animals, Jungwon took Y/n to the mall to go shopping. There was nothing, in particular, either of them was looking to buy. The time there was mostly spent walking around and talking about what had been going on the past months. Jungwon told her about funny things his hyungs and Niki did while Y/n talked about all the tests and quizzes she’s had to take one week.

Before they left, Y/n did end up buying something for both of them. Couple outfits! It was something she often saw other couples do and she had secretly been wanting to try with Jungwon. Jungwon happily encouraged the idea and the two walked out of the mall wearing matching light blue over-sized hoodies with simple black pants and white sneakers.

“Do you think it’s too much?” Y/n whispered to him, self-consciously.

Jungwon squeezed her hand, “I think we look good. But as long as you like it, that’s all that matters.”

His sweet words left her feeling at ease. That was one of the things she admired about Jungwon, he was always so attentive and caring. Jungwon often surprised her when they’d be on a call and he’d bring up something he remembered she told him once.

By the time they left the mall, it was late into the afternoon. Jungwon asked Y/n if she wanted to go see if they could catch a movie, which she agreed to.

“What movie do you want to watch?” Y/n asked as they entered the theater, holding hands.

Jungwon glanced over to the list of movies that were supposed to be playing today. There were so many to choose from. He knew that Y/n wouldn’t want to watch a horror movie. Not because she was afraid, but she preferred watching something scary when they were alone at his dorm or her house. The two discussed what to watch as they waited in line, eventually settling on a musical film.

Once they bought the tickets, Jungwon got some popcorn to share with Y/n. He laughed when he saw how Y/n’s eyes lit up when she saw the young boy walking to her with a bucket of buttery goodness.

The movie was enjoyable to watch for both of them. It had everything, music, comedy, drama, sadness, and romance. Jungwon liked it but what kept him smiling was that he got to hold Y/n’s hand the entire time. The more he looked and thought about Y/n, the more he realized how strong his feelings for her had become.

Jungwon never put much thought into dating, Y/n didn't either. He wanted to focus on debuting, while she focused on getting into a good university. There was no room for distractions, was what Jungwon thought to himself at the time. But then he met Y/n and everything changed.

Y/n wasn’t a distraction at all. She was understanding and never expected him to text her every day or spoil her with gifts. She was perfectly content with listening to him talk about his day and giving words of comfort when he was feeling down. She was something that Jungwon never knew he needed and she didn’t need to say anything for him to know she felt the same way.

Jungwon reflected on all of this, as they walked back to Y/n’s house. It wasn’t exactly midnight but Jungwon knew he would have to head back soon. Then Y/n had school the next day too. Both were disheartened that the day was coming to an end so soon.

“Thank you for today,” She said when they arrived at her front gate. “You didn’t have to do all this for me, you know.”

Jungwon caressed her hand, “But I wanted to. You deserve so much more than this.”

“You know I’m not picky,” Y/n smiled weakly. “I was really happy today, all thanks to you.”

Jungwon didn’t say anything more but responded with a warm embrace. “Text me when your exams are over. I promise to buy you something good to eat after promotions are over.”

“Okay Eomma,” She teased. “Make sure that your members are healthy. But make sure you take care of yourself too.”

Jungwon chuckled, “And you’re the one calling me mom?”

The two exchanged a couple of laughs before finally parting ways. Y/n sighed sadly when she saw Jungwon’s shadow disappear from her sight. She turned to go inside her own house but was interrupted by the sound of brisk footsteps.

When she moved to look, Jungwon was rushing back towards her direction. Why was he coming back? Did he forget something?

Before she could say anything, Jungwon cupped her cheeks and pulled her in for a long, heartfelt kiss. Due to his sudden actions, Y/n was unable to process everything at first. But somehow her body quickly adjusted to the situation.

As if it came naturally, she closed her eyes and placed her hands on Jungwon’s shoulders. Giving in to his touch, she let Jungwon deepen the kiss and enjoyed the moment.

Despite how affectionate they could be with each other, Jungwon and Y/n didn’t kiss lip-to-lip very often. Which only made the kiss right now even more meaningful. Jungwon hoped that by this gentle but passionate kiss, he could convey all his feelings for Y/n.

“What was that for?” Y/n asked when they pulled away.

“Just because…” Jungwon spoke softly. His eyes were pouring into hers with a strong sense of sentiment in them.

“I love you.”

Her eyes widened, barely believing what she had just heard. Jungwon’s cheeks flushed pink and his gaze dropped to the concrete ground.

“It-it’s okay if you don’t-”

But before Jungwon could finish, Y/n unexpectedly tugged the collar of his shirt and pressed a chaste kiss on his lips.

When she pulled away, Jungwon saw the shy smile on her face. She herself, was slightly flustered by her unusual reactions. But she refused to let it bother her.

“Me too,” She practically whispered.

She felt a little lightheaded. Maybe it was from kissing so long or maybe it was because Jungwon just told her that he loved her. Maybe it was both.

“I love you, Yang Jungwon.”

A relieved smile stretched across Jungwon’s lips, revealing those dimples that Y/n loved so much. He hugged her for the umpteenth today and they gently pressed their foreheads against each other.

Today was most definitely a day to remember

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#enhypen #enhypenwriters #yang jungwon #pure fluff #enhypen fluff #kpop fic #jungwon #jungwon fanfic

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fromthedeskofelizabeththird · 3 years

Text

Haunted

Scoop of the day is a writing challenge with a difference. Each fic is built from a set of (for the most part) randomly generated prompts and could be about just about anything, from breakups to smut to found family. Let’s enjoy some ice cream 🍦!

More info about the challenge here

Pairing: Tamaki Amajiki x Reader

Rating: Gen

Flavour(s): Milk Chocolate, Cherry Chocolate Chip

Prompt: 16, Panic, 30, Fulfilment

You don’t believe in ghosts, so who is it that’s following you?

~~~~

First things first, you weren’t a paranoid sort of person.

You believed in coincidences and twists of fate.

You were also, however, starting to believe in ghosts.

It all started when you moved into the dormitories after summer break. As strange as it sounded, you couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching you. You lost track of how many times the hairs on the back of your neck stood on end, only to look over your shoulder and find no one there. Sometimes, when you were alone in the kitchen, you were sure you heard someone whispering your name.

The other girls in your class blamed it on stress. After a while, so did you.

You took to making chamomile tea and listening to whale sounds before bed. You found meditation and yoga exercises on the internet and tested them out. It worked for a time.

The moment you returned to classes, however, it started all over again. You broke out in goosebumps as you swept the floors after class; heard footsteps behind you, only to find no one there.

You were sure you were going crazy. How else could you explain such a strange turn of events?

It was a mystery and one that only got worse over time.

One afternoon, you pulled a note from your shoe locker. You didn’t recognise the handwriting, though the message was all too clear:

Meet me on the roof after school.

Under ordinary circumstances, you might not have reacted in the way you did. Unfortunately, you hadn’t been sleeping and your reaction was one of fear. Someone wanted to fight you up there. It was the only explanation that made any sense to your nervous mind.

You spent the rest of the day trembling, worrying who you had angered enough to warrant such a threat. Had this person been stalking you the entire time, preparing for this moment?

You were so overtaken by your own nervous mind that you answered questions wrong in class. You were off your game during physical ed and even walked into doors. By the time the last bell sounded, it was like a funeral march.

You had spent the day deliberating the best plan of action. Should you confront the mystery person or avoid them? If you avoided them, would it only make things worse?

You hugged your books to your chest as you passed the stairwell, so focused on your shoes that you ended up walking straight into another passer by.

“S-s-sorry!” you cried out, jumping back, heat flooding your cheeks when you realised who you had crashed into. “Oh, Amajiki, I’m so sorry!”

Of course you’d crash into him now of all times, when you were terrified out of your wits. You’d fiddled with your hair and clothes so much that you looked more than a little scruffy, and you’d spent so long crying in the bathrooms and splashing your face that your professor had gone so far as to take you to one side and ask if you were sick.

Tamaki rubbed the spot on his chest where you’d crashed into him, taking in your bedraggled appearance.

“A-are you okay, (Name)?” he said, eyes wide with worry.

“I’m fine,” you said, though you didn’t believe it. “I’m... I’m...”

You’d had a crush on Tamaki ever since your first day at UA. Unfortunately, it seemed that every time you spoke to him, you ended up embarrassing yourself somehow and today was no exception.

Before you could stop yourself, your eyes blurred with tears; hours of nerves and sleepless nights catching up with you all at once.

“I’m fine,” you said, reaching up to wipe them off on your sleeve, “I’m okay, really.”

Tamaki looked like a deer in the headlights at the best of times, but now he looked lost at sea, stammering out noises and looking round the corridor for help, reaching out to touch your shoulder, though chickening out every time.

“U-u-uh, (Name), w-what’s-”

“They’re going to fight me,” you wailed.

“Who? Who’s going to...”

You pullled the note out of your pocket and unfolded it for him to see, hands shaking from nerves as he read its contents.

“They want to see me on the roof,” you said. “I don’t know what I’ve done to upset them.”

“I-I’m sure that’s not it,” said Tamaki, “m-maybe they just want to...to...uh.”

He didn’t finish his sentence, instead blushing brightly.

“Will you come with me?” you sniffled. “I’m scared to go alone.”

"I-I’ll come with you,” he said. “I’ll s-sit with you until they get there.”

“You will?”

You would almost certainly be embarrassed about this later. Of all of the pretexts for being alone with your crush, you couldn’t have ever predicted this one. Not only were you going to be alone with him, you were going to be alone with him in floods of tears, terrified someone was going to throw you off the roof or worse.

You were still wiping away your tears as you climbed the stairs, Tamaki several steps in front. You were close enough to feel the heat radiating from his body. You could have reached for his hand if you wanted to, though none of that came to mind until much later. All you could think about was every time you had felt eyes burning on the back of your neck; every time you had heard footsteps behind you and found nobody there. You were too shy to go out of your way to antagonise people. You couldn’t fathom why someone would hold enough of a grudge to call you out like this.

You didn’t realise you’d been holding your breath until you reached the roof and gulped in the cool air. Tamaki held the door open for you, glancing around the roof as you stepped through.

“L-look,” he said with a smile, “there’s no one here.”

"They’re late,” you said in disbelief. “I never thought they’d be late.”

“Don’t worry about it,” said Tamaki, pointing towards a low wall. “C’mon, I have some snacks. Let’s, um, let’s wait here for them.”

You nodded and followed him to the wall, slowly seating yourself beside him.

“Here,” he said, holding out a pack of chips, “help yourself.”

You accepted his offer, peering out at the skyline as you chewed. Under ordinary circumstances, you would have been excited at the prospect of sitting with Tamaki like this, but right now you were too anxious to enjoy it.

“I’m sorry,” you said with a sigh. “You’ve probably got thousands of other things to do.”

“It’s no b-bother.”

Five minutes passed, then ten. Before you knew it, you’d been sitting there for half an hour with no sign of anyone else.

“I can’t believe they didn’t even show up,” you sniffled, getting up. “I’m so sorry... I’m...”

“I’m sure they d-didn’t want to fight you,” said Tamaki with a smile. “I don’t think anyone would want to fight you.”

“Maybe not,” you said, surprised at how disappointed you actually were.

You had been afraid, that much was true, but you’d also hoped to find answers. Maybe you would find some clue to their identity; a reason for their actions over the past few months. Surely once you found out who they were, you wouldn’t need chamomile tea or whale music. You wouldn’t need to feel so nervous once you knew the reason why.

You didn’t know why you had expected it to be so straight forward.

“Thank you,” you said, turning to Tamaki with a smile, “for staying with me. I was really scared...and...”

“It’s no b-bother,” he said again, a dusting of pink across his cheeks. “I’ll wait here a little while... keep an eye out in case anyone comes.”

“You’re such a good friend, Amajiki,” you said, feeling more than a little bit sheepish. “I’ll... I’ll make you something delicious for dinner today!”

He nodded at that, watching as you sprinted across the roof and back out of the building, going over ingredients in your head. You’d observed him enough to know the kinds of foods he liked.

He leaned back in his seat as you disappeared from view, sighing as the evening breeze ruffled through his hair.

He squeezed his hands into fists, cursing his own anxiousness.

He knew exactly who had written the note; whose footsteps you kept hearing.

He knew it wasn’t a ghost or anything remotely malicious, just the actions of someone trying to find the nerve to confess. Someone who, much like you, had had a crush for most of their time at UA.

“Friends... huh.”

#bnha #amajiki x reader #amajiki tamaki x reader #tamaki amajiki x reader #scoop of the day

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drabbles-mc · 4 years

Text

My Plus-One (Part 1)

EZ Reyes x Reader

Request by the lovely @ly--canthrope: The reader has a large ball/award ceremony/something fancy to attend. Her and Ez have been in each other's lives for years and they make a promise that each year, if there is an event to go to, they would go together. Its been a few years since this tradition has played out, and it is brought up in conversation (maybe talking about their plans for that week, what they are doing and busy with etc) and Ez goes, “I am busy, I am going with you to your event” and he is a pure gentlemen (You can decide thing like; are they bordering that blurred line where they are really affectionate with one another and time frame like, he could be at uni still and travels to go see her just for this event because its special to her)

Warnings: none. just some good old pining 🥺🥺

Word Count: 3.4k

A/N: I loved writing this so much wtf. I switched up the timing of it a little bit but I think it worked out well! I got a little carried away with it (hence the 3.4k lmao) but I just love EZ and I’m a sucker for friendships with feelings. Please enjoy! (requests are always open)

EZ Tag: @noz4a2 (if you wanna be added just shoot me a message!)

(Part 2)

You wandered around your small studio apartment, phone held loosely in your hand while you video-chatted with EZ. Both of you had long since given up on making sure that you held the camera at flattering angles. Besides, you were trying to make dinner and not even EZ could stop you from getting food.

“So glad I get to have this conversation with half of your face,” he laughed, shaking his head.

You held the phone up so you could get a better look at him—he was sitting at the table in his trailer, phone propped up as he typed away on his laptop. “This better?” you laughed as you tried to set it up on your counter so he could see more of your face.

“Much,” he smiled, “I miss you.”

You glanced over at him as you turned the stove on, “Miss you too, EZ.”

“So,” you could hear the clicking of his keyboard in the background, “what’re your plans for the week?”

“Meh, not a whole lot going on. I do, though, have a gala for work this Saturday.”

“Oh?” he raised his eyebrows, “Sounds fancy.”

You chuckled, nodding as you waited for your water to boil, “Yea, kinda. I was thinking,” you looked at him through the lens of your phone, “If you aren’t busy, and if you really miss me, you could maybe come and be my date. It’s all paid for and everything already. All you’d have to do is show up and be my arm-candy,” you batted your eyelashes.

“Ah, like the good old days.”

“C’mon, it’s been a while since one of us had to drag the other to an event that was way above our paygrade.”

“What’re you talking about? You just drove out to visit me last year for an event.”

You rolled your eyes, “Your patch-in party is not the same as a fundraising gala, Ezekiel. Although,” you laughed, “it was undoubtedly more fun than this is going to be.”

“Giving me the hard sell, Y/N,” he laughed and shook his head.

“If you’re too busy with club shit, I get it. I know I didn’t really give you much of a heads-up.”

“Well…” he dragged out the word, milking every letter for all it was worth, “I am gonna be busy.”

“Fuck,” you sighed, “I get it, I do. Sorry I always protcrastin—”

“Let me finish,” he smiled, “I’m gonna be busy with you, so I’ll let the guys know that my weekend is booked.”

You laughed, clapping your hands excitedly, “Yay! Oh, I can’t wait to see you. I feel like it’s been forever.”

“Because it has,” he waited for you to look back to your phone, “When was the last time you came back home to SanPa?”

You sighed, shaking your head, “God, like, six months maybe? Maybe a little more? Work has just been nuts, you know?”

“You think they’re gonna relocate you back closer to home any time soon?”

You shrugged, “Not sure. I hope so, though. I miss bugging you all the time in person not just by blowing up your phone.”

“Well, you’ll get to bug me in person all weekend. Text me your address and anything else I should know. I can probably come out Friday night if that works for you?”

You nodded, “Yea, that’s fine by me. You can crash here if you want but I gotta warn you, my place is wicked small.”

“I’m currently living in a trailer, Y/N,” he chuckled, “I’m sure we’ll be fine.”

“Alright,” your heart felt so much lighter knowing that he was going to be able to go with you—you hated going to these kinds of things by yourself, “I’ll text you all the details and stuff later this week.”

“Sounds good. Go back to making your gourmet ramen over there,” he chuckled, “I’ll see you soon. Love you.”

“Love you too, EZ,” you waved goodbye before hanging up the call. You let out a sigh of relief as you tucked your phone back into your pocket.

The week seemed to fly by. Any time that you felt yourself getting stressed, or overwhelmed, or homesick, you remembered that you were going to be able to spend the whole weekend with your best friend. It made the rest of your problems seem so insignificant. Every night you’d come home and you’d see your dress hanging against the door of your closet, begging to be worn. You’d smile and run your fingers along the fabric whenever you’d walk by it. Back when you were in high school and college, the two of you went to everything together. Each prom, award ceremony, induction ceremony, friends’ weddings, you name it, it was the two of you showing up together no matter what. You had your own unspoken language, knowing when the other was ready to tap out and call it a night. Sometimes to keep things interesting you’d try to sneak out unseen, other times one of you would come up with any excuse you could so that you could leave early without anyone giving you a hard time about it. It’d been a few years since either of you had an excuse to get dressed up together.

You were finishing cleaning up your apartment when you felt your phone going off in your pocket. You glanced down and smiled at the sigh of EZ’s name on the screen, “Hey, what’s up? Everything okay?”

“Yea. I think,” he chuckled, “I think I’m outside the right building? Everything looks the same here.”

You laughed as you walked over and peeked out your window. Sure enough, you saw him sitting, leaning against his bike, “I see you. I’ll be right down,” you hung up and made sure to close your closet door before heading downstairs to greet him.

You came barreling out the front door of your apartment building, tackling him in a hug. He laughed, sweeping you up off of your feet and swinging you around as he held you tight to him. You wrapped your legs around his waist, forcing him to hold you for a few moments. It had been way too long since you last saw him in person.

“I’ve missed you,” you mumbled against his neck.

“I’ve missed you too.”

You finally let go, dropping your feet back to the ground. You helped EZ get his two bags and had him follow you up the stairs to your apartment. You kept apologizing in advance for the fact that all you had was a studio, so there wasn’t going to be a lot of room, and there was no grand tour to give him. He smiled and shook his head, constantly telling you that he didn’t care.

You opened the door, dropping one of his bags next to the couch, “This is,” you chuckled, “my beautiful kingdom.”

EZ smiled as he looked around your apartment. It was a studio, so there wasn’t a whole lot of space, but it was all modern and renovated. He was impressed by how much you had managed to utilize the space. He also liked being able to see how you chose to decorate a space that was completely your own. The last time he got to visit you, you had been sharing an apartment with a roommate and the two of you had completely opposite tastes in décor. He liked the vibe you had created—a lot of bright, happy colors. He recognized some of the art on the walls as things you had commissioned your friends to make for you because you liked having things that were one-of-a-kind.

“This is a pretty great spot, Y/N.”

You smiled, “Thanks. It’s home for now,” you sighed, “I have no guest room to offer you, but the couch does pull out so you won’t be too crammed for the next couple nights.”

He chuckled, nodding, “I appreciate it.”

“You eat before you left?”

He nodded, “Yea I’m all set. Didn’t want to be taking any of your ramen from you.”

You gave him a playful slap to the arm, “So considerate.”

The two of you spent the night sitting on the couch together catching up, a show on the television just for background noise. It crept late into the night before the exhaustion started to show on EZ’s face. He had had a long day but he was enjoying the fact that he was actually face-to-face with you for the first time in months.

“I’ll let you get some sleep,” you smiled as you stood up off the couch, “If you’re up for it in the morning there’s a really good coffee spot a few blocks from here.”

He smiled, nodding, “Sounds good.”

“Bathroom is right through there if you wanna change. I’ll see you in the morning,” you leaned in and gave him a hug that you dragged out to last a little longer than you usually would, “Goodnight.”

The morning and afternoon flew right by, and before you knew it the two of you were getting ready for the gala. You chastised EZ for leaving his dress clothes in his bags for so long. All these years and he still hadn’t figured out that they needed to hang to cut down on wrinkles. You ironed out his slacks and shirt, impressed by the fact that he had also brought a suit jacket. It was an all-black ensemble that you knew would make your coworkers drool over him, and you were going to soak up every second of that.

You left the bathroom open for him to get changed as you retreated to the semi-privacy of the space that passed for your bedroom. You shimmied into your dress, pulling the straps up onto your shoulders. You zipped it up as much as you could without risking ripping any of the stitching, thankful that you had EZ to help you with it the rest of the way. You looked at yourself in the mirror and smiled, still loving the dress as much as you had the day you tried it on in the store.

You had settled on a deep burgundy dress. It was a little low-cut, but not so much that you felt overly exposed. It was floor length, and had a slit up to just below your hip that you could only see once you started walking. You had picked up some simple jewelry—a few gold bangles and a long necklace that draped down your chest. Deciding to pull the whole look together with your favorite pair of black heels. A little height boost when you were walking with EZ never hurt.

“Hey, EZ? Can you come finish zipping me up?”

You heard the sounds of his dress shoes on the hardwood. He poked his head around the half-wall that separated your bed from the rest of your apartment. His eyes grew wide as he took in the sight of you. He cleared his throat, trying to get his thoughts in order as he remembered the actual reason you had called him over.

You pulled your hair off to the side and turned so your back was to him, thankful that it gave the added benefit of hiding the giant grin on your face. He tried to be as gentle as possible, the rough pads of his fingers grazing lightly against your back as he pulled the zipper up the last of the way.

“You look amazing, Y/N,” he smiled at you.

“Yea, we clean up alright, don’t we?” you patted his chest, practically salivating over the sight of him in dress clothes for the first time in years. You reached and undid the top button of his shirt, allowing a little bit of his collarbone to be exposed.

“Feeling a little risqué tonight?” he chuckled.

“Who knows when we’re going to get to do this again?” you smiled, “Might as well make the most of it.”

“I was gonna offer to take you on the bike,” he laughed as he looked you up and down for the hundredth time in two minutes, “But I don’t think that dress would make it.”

You nodded, “You’re right. We’ll take my car,” you walked over and grabbed the small clutch that you had picked up just for this occasion, pulling your keys out of it, “You ready?”

“I think so,” he patted his pockets down to make sure that he still had his phone and wallet, “You gonna give me the dirt on all your coworkers on the ride over?”

“Of course,” you smiled as you ushered him out the door, locking it behind the two of you.

You parked the car at the venue and EZ all but leapt out of the car to come and open your door for you. You chuckled as he held his hand out to help you step out onto the pavement. He hadn’t even wanted you to be the one to drive there, but you insisted since he knew nothing about the area.

He gently wrapped his arm around your waist as the two of you walked into the venue. You knew that your coworkers weren’t expecting you to show up with a plus-one. You had been quite clear about the fact that you weren’t dating anyone, and that no one at your job interested you enough to break your, “I don’t date coworkers” rule. There were quite a few lax jaws as the two of you strolled into the event room. Anyone else might have been nervous, but EZ saw how much you loved it and he was eating up every second of it.

You brought him around and introduced him to everyone, reveling in the fact that his arm never left your waist. After a handful of introductions, you dragged him across the room to introduce you to your boss.

“Cynthia,” you smiled wide, “This is my friend Ezekiel. Ezekiel, this is my boss Cynthia.”

“Please, call me Cindy,” she held out her hand, eyes slowly raking over the man you had put in front of her, not that you could blame her, “It’s nice to meet you, Ezekiel. I have to admit, Y/N here is a bit of an enigma around the office,” she turned her attention to you, “You look amazing, by the way.”

You smiled, “Thank you, so do you. A little more than business casual, huh?”

She laughed, nodding, “That’s for sure,” she paused, “Also, don’t forget, it’s open bar. So help yourselves.”

You tapped your fingers together mischievously, “Ah, don’t mind if I do.”

“I’ll make sure to catch up with you two later,” she smiled at EZ, “It was nice to meet you, Ezekiel.”

“Nice to meet you too,” he nodded politely before she walked away, swept up in a sea of other conversations.

“Remind me to keep a close eye on you around her,” you laughed, “Don’t want her snatching you up.”

The night wore on, and you were impressed with how easily EZ blended into the crowd with everyone from work. He made his way through a lot of small talk, a lot of, “So how do you know Y/N?” and other questions of the sort. The whole night he couldn’t help but to keep looking over at you, making sure that he had physical contact with you in one way or another. You couldn’t pretend that you minded it.

By your fourth glass of wine EZ had managed to get your keys from you, promising that he would drive the both of you back to your apartment safely and responsibly. His largest obstacle of the evening was hiding your bidding number sign from you so you didn’t spend money that you didn’t have.

“You’re the one who told me,” he said quietly in your ear, trying to suppress a laugh, “that your financial contribution was the, and I quote, buttload of money you paid for our tickets here.”

You huffed, trying and failing to give him a displeased expression, “But I wanna feel like a fancy rich person, EZ.”

He smiled at you, resting his hand on your thigh, “You’re certainly dressed like one, Y/N, so for tonight that’ll have to be enough. And besides, I’m your personal chauffer, so it doesn’t get more fancy rich person than that.”

You smirked over at him, placing your hand on top of his and interlocking your fingers, “I’m really glad that you’re here.”

He squeezed your fingers lightly, “Yea, me too.”

The evening was beginning to wind down, and EZ could see it on your face that if he didn’t get you out soon, you were going to start causing trouble. It was fine when the two of you were out among people you didn’t know, but he didn’t think that he’d be a very good friend if he let you start drunkenly stirring the pot with your coworkers. He convinced you to start saying your goodbyes, his hand placed on the small of your back as the two of you maneuvered through the small crowds of people in the event space.

You were walking through the parking garage, your hand entwined with his as you swung your arms back and forth, “What a night!”

EZ chuckled, spinning you carefully so you didn’t fall over, but still got to enjoy the flow of your dress when you spun and moved, “I’m honored I got the invite.”

“You sure you’re good to drive?”

He laughed, nodding, “I’m sure. Not like you could take over for me anyway.”

He helped you into the passenger seat before going around and getting in, sliding the seat back so he could actually fit. He chuckled as he saw you out of the corner of his eye, peeling your shoes off before you even left the parking garage. The whole drive home you went on and on about how much your coworkers loved him, you could just tell. He smiled and nodded, letting one hand stray and come to rest on your thigh.

He parked outside your apartment building and you looked over at him with your biggest puppy-dog eyes, “Ezekiel, I don’t wanna put my shoes back on. Will you carry me upstairs?”

He laughed and nodded, “Yes, but only because tonight you’re a fancy rich lady.”

“You’re so good to me. I love you,” you smiled over at him.

He felt his heart beating harder inside his chest, “I love you too.”

He carried you bridal style up the stairs with such ease. You loved every moment of it. He held onto you as you unlocked the door, still wrapped up in his arms. You giggled into his neck as he kicked the door shut behind you and turned the deadbolt. He carried you to your bed, setting you down gently. You smiled up at him from your mattress, reaching out and taking his hand in your own.

“I’ve missed you so much, EZ.”

He traced his thumb over your knuckles, “Yea, I’ve missed you too.”

Before he could walk out to collapse on the couch you asked him, “Can you help me with my dress?”

He swallowed hard, nodding, “Yea, of course, whatever you need.”

You pulled your hair off to the side again so he could pull the zipper down. If you didn’t know any better, you’d say that there was a slight trembling to his hands as he fumbled with the zipper, pulling it down slowly. He took a deep breath as he gently pushed the straps down off your shoulders. You hummed in approval as you leaned back against him, melting into him as he wrapped his arms around your waist. There were a few beats of silence before you felt him lightly press his lips against the bare skin of your shoulder, gently kissing the soft skin there.

Your breath caught in your throat and it took you a second to get the words out, “You could, um,” you were thankful that you weren’t facing him so he couldn’t see the nervousness on your face, “you could stay in my bed tonight…if you wanted. It’s probably…you know…more comfortable than the couch.”

His lips were still pressed against your shoulder and you could feel his laughter vibrate against your skin, “Yea? You sure?”

You turned around so you were facing him. He leaned in, resting his forehead against yours. He was holding you close enough that you were certain that he could feel your heart palpitating, “Yea. I’m not ready to give up your company yet.”

He kissed your forehead, “Let’s get to bed then.”

#mayans mc #mayans fx #mayansmc #mayans mc imagine #ezekiel reyes #ezekiel reyes imagine #ez reyes #ez reyes x you #ez reyes x reader #ez reyes imagine #ez reyes fanfic #ezekiel reyes x reader #ezekiel reyes fanfic #fanfiction #my writing #drabblesmc #request #ez request

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beelshamburger · 3 years

Note

Diavolo and 36: kissing away tears

Aw that's cute! Sure thing

36. Kissing away tears (Diabolo x MC)

After a long day of fights, school, drama and more, you were finally going to get some rest!

Even if it was fun to stay at the Devildom with demons who were really interesting, you still hadn't fully gotten used to the change, and we're still a bit antsy about all of the things that had happened.

You had been near death's door so many times, at one point actually dying, and to say that you had gotten over it was an absolute lie. Not only that, you still had to deal with all the school work. You'd think they give you a break for almost dying, but apparently, if you weren't dead, then you still could do some fun algebra homework! Awesomeeeeeeee.....

You looked at your desk filled with a bunch of notebooks, papers, and work sheets all half done. You weren't getting anywhere, and you just felt like you really couldn't talk to anyone about what you were feeling.

Suddenly you felt something wet stream down your face. Were you... crying...?

You tried to wipe away your tears, but they just keep coming, unable to stop.

You were so focused on trying to stop that you didn't hear or notice the door open, and Diavolo walk in. His cheery demeanor immediately faded once he saw you crying in the corner, and he quickly ran over to you and kneeled down in front of you.

"MC...what's wrong? Are you alright? Did anything happen with the brothers, or did anyone try to hurt you- because I'll go and talk to them right now and-"

"No, no Diavolo it's...it's fine. I'm not hurt or anything, and the boys haven't done anything wrong either. I'm just...I've just been really tired and stressed lately...schoolwork had really been taking a toll on me..." You sniffed, trying to not look at him.

"I see....is there anything I could do to help? I can explain anything you don't understand, just tell me alright?"

You looked up at the beautiful demon in front of you, and immediately broke down. Diavolo clearly didn't expect that response, so he just stood awkwardly there until he decided to go and hug you, petting your head.

"Now, you mustn't cry...."

You shook your head. "S-sorry, it's just....y-you're so nice Di-Diavolo and, and I just- thank you. I would really appreciate your help."

Diavolo smiled and wiped away your tears with his finger. "Of course. Let's get rid of those tears, shall we?"

You nodded, and then flushed a fiery red when Diavolo went and kissed your cheeks, and right under your eyes. You had expected him to take a tissue or something, and you blushed st the contact of his lips against your skin.

When he pulled away he smiled to at you.

"There, now the tears are gone...ah, MC is everything alright? You've gone red, I just heard from Leviathan that in his shows whenever a character was sad they'd kiss the other's tears away and I thought it was something common, sorry if I made you uncomfortable..."

"No! Not at all, I enjoyed it!" You blushed harder at that. What??? "I-I mean, well it was fun, well it was nice! I've never, no one has ever really done that for me and well, yeah it was great, I feel even better already!"

Diavolo smiled brightly at you. "So it worked?!"

"Yeah! Yeah kisses really help....thank you Diavolo. I really appreciate everything you're doing for me..."

He smiled at you. "of course! It's no problem." And then he'd pet your head gently. "Now, why don't you start telling me about the things that you don't understand? I'll clear up any questions you have!"

That afternoon you two spent the whole day with each other. Even if you got along pretty well with Lucifer, you got goosebumps when he came into your room with cookies and glared at you, probably jealous and wondering why un the world the future Demon King was teaching you some math equations.

You spent the time sitting beside each other, your shoulders touching. Even better, Diavolo was a pretty good teacher, and you got the hang of things quickly. Not only that, but you got to spend time with Diavolo!

Once you were done, you yawned and thanked him once again for helping you. You walked Diavolo over to the door and opened it, waving him goodbye.

He was leaving when he suddenly turned around.

"Diavolo, did you forget anything?" You asked, and he chuckled and leaned close to you.

He kissed you.

Your eyes widened and you felt your puske quicken as Diavolo smiled at you and waved his hand, leaving, as if nothing had happened.

"Goodbye MC! Feel free to call me if you have any more questions!"

You nodded, still in shock, and slowly closed the door, touching your lips.

Maybe algebra wasn't that bad, and next time you could ask him to help you with demon studies too.

Prompt from: kissing scenarios

#obey me #obey me Diavolo #obey me diavolo #obey me beelzebub #obey me leviathan #obey me mammon #obey me satan

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five-rivers · 3 years

Text

Long Night in the Valley chapter 12

The scene shifted the moment Tempest woke up. They were outside, on a street in the middle of the city. Storm clouds circled overhead.

Tempest stood in front of them, hands in her pockets, a bland expression on her face.

“So,” she drawled. “You’re Nine’s friends.”

“Uh,” said Ochako, taken aback. Right after Four had said she wouldn’t talk to them, this was disconcerting. “Yes?”

“I’m his teacher,” said Aizawa, stepping forward.

“Yeah? You think you’re doing a good job raising up little child soldiers?”

“Excuse me?” said Aizawa.

“You heard me.” She shifted her gaze to Ochako, then to Todoroki and Iida. “I bet Souma told you I wouldn’t be talking to you.”

“He did say something along those lines, yes,” said Iida, even as Ochako worked very hard to elbow him.

“I can follow why he’d think that,” Tempest said. “I spent most of my life fighting against the government. Lord knows I wouldn’t have approved of him choosing a ‘pro hero’ to follow after him.” She took her hands out of her pockets to make air quotes. She was wearing brass knuckles. “Whatever a pro hero is supposed to be. Government lackeys. Cops and war criminals with a different name. I’m shocked he pulled a halfway decent person from the muck.”

“We’re not war criminals!” protested Iida.

“Oh, yeah? I forgot, the Geneva convention was nixed, wasn’t it? They had this big meeting and decided none of it applied to metahumans, and then, bam! Everyone’s a metahuman, so it doesn’t apply at all, huh? Neat, right?”

“What we’re doing now might not be what you’re used to,” said Ochako, “but it’s the way society works, now.”

“And we’re not killing people, like you did,” said Iida. Ochako winced at his combative addition.

“I did what I had to, to get people out of the torture camps,” said Tempest. “People like my little sister. You know what they did to her? They thought her power was just controlled by her voice. So, they cut out her vocal cords.”

“They don’t do that anymore,” said Todoroki.

“You think a government like that is just going to stop doing things? Without people making them? Without being forced?” Tempest laughed and looked up at the swirling sky. “Maybe you do. You’re just kids, after all. But tell me this, do you think they didn’t know exactly what was happening to your family, Todoroki Shouto?”

Aizawa cleared his throat. “What’s your point, here?” he asked. “What do you want from us?”

Tempest looked back at Aizawa. The coldness in her brown eyes made Ochako shiver. “We could have kept you out,” she said. “That Suzuki idiot, too. Do you know why we didn’t?”

“Enlighten us,” said Aizawa.

“Because the way we do it would cause irreparable brain damage. We know, because we’ve done it before. I thought it was worth it, but the others didn’t want to hurt ‘Nine’s friends.’”

“Are you implying that we aren’t Midoriya’s friends?” asked Todoroki, frowning.

Tempest huffed and wind whipped down the road, making Ochako cover her face.

“No. To be honest, I’m not completely sold on Nine, either. He wanted to part of the system so bad, and that’s not to mention—” she huffed again. “At least he knows what it’s like to be on the other side of the equation. You four, though… I’m stuck with Nine. I don’t owe you anything and you’re causing all these problems. What I want from you—”

Behind her, lightning snapped down from the sky.

“—is to prove to me you’re worth it.”

“Vlad, the police were able to find your car,” said Powerloader, holding his hand over the receiver of the staff room telephone.

“Oh, thank goodness,” said Vlad. “I hate taking public transportation.” He paused. “I mean, uh, did they find Yagi? Is he alright?”

“No, they didn’t find Yagi.”

“Great,” said Vlad. “So, ask them when I can pick it up. Why are you making that face? Did Yagi total it? I bet he did. ‘Symbol of Peace,’ my—”

“No,” interrupted Powerloader. “Yagi didn’t total it. Or crash it. It was parked in an alley near the Musutafu entertainment district.”

“Where Midoriya had that fight with Hawks,” said Vlad, putting his head in his hands. “It got wrecked by one of them, didn’t it?”

“No,” said Powerloader. “It was parked in an alley. They found it on a security camera. It isn’t there anymore.”

“They took it again?”

“The League of Villains took it.”

“You’re joking.”

“I wish I was.”

The bus felt empty with half the class missing. The remaining 1-A students (plus Shinso) were all huddled together at the front, mooching off of the teachers mobile hotspots.

“Did my email go through yet, kero?” asked Tsuyu, leaning over her seat to look at Denki’s computer.

“Not yet,” said Denki. “I’ve got all the pictures you guys sent arranged, but I wish we had more video material. Ashido was the one with the most…” He sighed. “Ashido, gossip queen, when you wake up I will apologize for all my comments about your hobbies.”

“I have some videos of Midoriya.”

“Trust us, Mineta, no one want your videos,” said Yaoyorozu.

“Huh? Why not?”

“Tell us this. How many of your videos are actually of Midoriya and don’t just have him incidentally in the background while you try to film girls.”

“None of them,” said Mineta, obviously not seeing why this was wrong. “Why would I film Midoriya?”

“Mic,” said Midnight, “please remind me to sign up the walking lawsuit for some sensitivity classes. How did Eraser miss this?”

“Unfortunately, Shouta is about as sexual as the average rock, so…”

“Remind me to sign him up for some training, too, then.”

“Will do.”

“Walking lawsuit?” asked Mineta.

Everyone else sighed. Then Denki’s laptop pinged.

“Huh. I just got an email from Principal Nezu.”

The adults, including Green Light, the bus driver, blanched. Adults were bothered by the weirdest things. In the end, Nezu was just a guy with a quirk, right? A hero, even! Principal Nezu, the Education Hero!

Okay, he’d scared Denki (Mr. Terrible Grades) a lot in elementary and middle school, but really.

(Okay, the crane thing at the Final Exam had been high-key terrifying, but he was trying to get past that.)

“Huh,” repeated Denki, having read the email. “That’s interesting.”

“What is it, my electric friend?” asked Aoyama, drapping himself sideways across his seat.

“Aoyama-san,” said Midnight, “don’t put your feet on the windows.”

“Principal Nezu sent me a link to an ‘All Might adopt a kid’ fanfiction, and it’s by—”

“Midoriya writes fanfiction?” asked Shouji, evidently surprised into using his real mouth to speak.

“That’s cute, kero,” said Tsuyu. “It must have been before he met the real All Might, though.”

“No,” said Denki, “it was last updated just a couple of weeks ago, and, well… Midoriya didn’t write it.”

“So, who did?” asked Yaoyorozu.

“Not Nezu, right?” asked Jiro, winding her earphone jack around her finger.

“There’s no way, right, Kaminari-san?” asked Present Mic, nervously.

“Uh, no, no, it’s, uh, it’s All Might. According to Nezu.”

A beat of silence.

“What?”

Denki inserted his pinky into his right ear, trying to clear it. Man, if the Bakusquad had been here rather than the quiet half of the class…

“Yeah, it says here that this serves All Might right for working on this during school hours?”

More silence.

“Green Light, the road!”

“Oops, sorry!”

“Hey, guys, are we sure that All Might didn’t, you know, kidnap Midoriya rather than the other way around? Guys?”

Gran Torino, also known as Torino Sorahiko, was an active hero. That meant late nights and late mornings. He was also an old man. A very old man. Late mornings often turned into noons and afternoons.

Sometimes, during those noons and afternoons, he liked to ignore technology and the outside world for a good long while. Maybe read the paper a little bit. Or one of those terrible romance novels Nana had left him in her will.

Still, he was a hero, one wrapped up in something best described as a two-hundred-year-long shadow war, so eventually he did turn on the news.

Only to see Toshinori’s boy fighting Hawks on live television.

Not to mention Toshinori hanging out in the background with a shaved head.

And the ticker said UA student Midoriya Izuku kidnaps Symbol of Peace.

(Which was the dumbest thing he had ever heard, and under other circumstances, he would have been rolling on the floor laughing.)

Gran Torino was an old man, but, luckily, he only felt like he was simultaneously having a heart attack and a stroke. His body was more than functional enough to place a not-at-all panicked phone call to one Tsukauchi Naomasa.

Tsukauchi Naomasa was incredibly busy. That busy-ness was divided mostly evenly between desperately trying to find his best friend (who had evidently decided to make a hopefully brief foray into kidnapping teenagers) and trying to figure out what the commission was taking, because it had to be illegal. Oh, and putting together a complaint that the commission was infringing on police prerogatives.

Honestly, he wasn’t sure how much traction that last would get, since pro heroes had been steadily gaining more and more responsibilities even as the police were losing both them and the power that came with them. Not to mention Midoriya’s stunt with Hawks… Which… Naomasa just wanted to know why? What had the point of that been? On either side?

(Sometimes he wished he were friends with normal people. Like… he didn’t know… an accountant, maybe?)

(Not that he would give Toshinori up for the world. Just, some normalcy would be nice, too.)

He took a deep breath, remembered what he always told Toshinori about stress, and took a mouthful of room-temperature coffee.

In that thirty-second period, two more problems presented themselves to him.

One, his cell phone began to ring, displaying the contact information for Gran Torino.

Two, his email softly pinged, and a message from Principal Nezu asking for any images or videos Toshinori might have sent him slid into his inbox.

Briefly, Naomasa considered ignoring both of them, but that wasn’t a realistic option and was irresponsible besides. Contrary to his character.

He picked the lesser of two evils and answered Gran Torino’s call.

Garaki was going to have a mental breakdown. This was fitting because his car had broken down. Midoriya Inko was asking him if he thought that his ‘friend’ might come pick them up, if it was safe. If his ‘friend’ had a car.

This last had almost sent him into hysterics. Gigantomachia in a car oh-ho!

Except it wasn’t funny at all, as this was almost certainly going to result in his death at the hands of All for One. No matter that he considered the man his very dearest of friends, he was under no illusions about what All for One would do to him over this inexcusable error.

Perhaps he should just cut his losses and get one of the remote-activated noumu to come for them.

Then, inexorably and inevitably, things managed to get even worse.

“Stop the car!” shouted Tomura.

“But you said not to—”

“I know what I said! Stop the car!”

Tomura twisted to see out the rear passenger window. Everyone else turned to follow his gaze, effectively blocking his view.

“Get out of my way!” demanded Tomura.

There was some awkward, half-hearted shuffling.

“Does that look like anyone to you?” Tomura hissed.

“Yeah! Like the doctor!” said Toga.

“I’ve never seen him standing up, though,” said Spinner, dubiously. “It seems out of character.”

“I didn’t know he owned a car,” mused Compress, rubbing the bottom edge of his mask.

“Not him!” snapped Tomura. “The woman!” He pointed angrily at the rapidly approaching woman with green hair, narrowly avoiding dusting Mr. Compress’s top hat.

“Eh? What about her?” asked Spinner.

“Doesn’t she look familiar to you?”

“To be honest, everyone without mutation quirks looks kind of the same to me.”

“Someone without face blindness.”

“Oh! She looks like Izu-kun! Do you think that’s his mom?”

The woman knocked on the window of the car. Twice, unhelpfully rolled it down.

“Thank you so much for stopping, we—Oh!” She took a step back.

She apparently recognized them. Joy. He was going to unpack his feelings about this woman later.

“Hey, doc,” rasped Tomura, annoyed. “What the hell have you been doing?”

“Ahem,” said Garaki, finally stepping out from behind the car. “I didn’t expect to see you here, Shigaraki Tomura.”

“Because you blew us off and stranded us in the middle of Musutafu?”

“No,” said Garaki, in a way that absolutely meant ‘yes.’ “I knew you were resourceful enough to safely make it out of the city.”

“Oh, yeah? Really? You—”

Compress chose that moment to slam his face into the back of Tomura’s head. Tomura steadied himself automatically on one of the car’s uprights, which cracked dangerously under his hand. He pulled back as if burned.

When he looked up, the gremlin’s mother was halfway to the tree line with – What was that in her hand?

He looked back over his shoulder.

That was Twice’s goddamn mask.

Compress, for some reason, was also missing his stupid mask (and covering his face like the dramatic weirdo he was), and Toga basically had hearts in her eyes. Spinner was being Spinner, and therefore ninety percent useless. He was lucky he was fun to play games with.

How to make her stop?

“Hey!” he shouted. “We have your son!”

This was a lie, as far as he knew (unless Dabi had snatched him on his way back; it wasn’t impossible), but, he was a villain.

The green-haired woman stopped and turned back, allowing Tomura a full view of her expression.

He decided that he regretted everything.

“Okay,” said Izuku, multitasking by letting Two pick the lock on the League’s safe, “considering Gigantomachia’s ability to track by smell and the questionable running water, we can’t just sneak out. He’ll find us. So… I think our best play is getting him to attack Shigaraki, and then when they’re both distracted, we run for it.”

Toshinori nodded and sighed. “If only we had a giant jug of perfume. We could throw it at his face and disrupt his ability to smell us.”

“I mean, I found a whole bunch of garbage a way back. That isn’t perfume, but it does stink.”

“No, no, your plan is superior. We’d draw too much suspicion if we attacked him like that. Perfume could be written off.”

“Yeah, I can see that. Because perfume is a ‘nice’ thing.”

“Indeed.”

“It isn’t actually very nice to have it all over you, though,” said Izuku.

“No,” agreed Toshinori. “It isn’t.”

The safe popped open.

“I won’t ask if you don’t.”

“Deal.”

“But, anyway, assuming we do get away, what then? Where do we go? And—Wow. The League of Villains is broke. I almost feel bad.”

“I was going to say Deika, but that’s too far, now, and we don’t know if Gigantomachia will come after us,” said Toshinori. “Drawing him to a place full of civilians would be irresponsible.”

“Yeah,” said Izuku. He frowned, pulling his head from the safe, and glanced out the window. “What about the Wild Wild Pussycats?”

“What about them?” asked Toshinori.

“They’re near here, aren’t they? And they’ve got that whole complex, so, I mean… I don’t know how they feel about us right now, but it wouldn’t be a terrible place to hide. Would it?”

“I’d hate to bring all of this down on them as well,” said Toshinori. “But… That being said, I don’t believe they’re actually there. They were taking some time off because of what happened to Ragdoll.”

“That makes sense,” said Izuku. “Should we take the risk?”

“I’m unsure if we have a choice, my boy. We could try roughing it, but that puts us in a very vulnerable position.”

“And we can’t stay here, with the League.”

“No, we can’t.”

“Okay.” Izuku sighed and started to thumb through the League’s collection of fake IDs, looking for something he could use. “Wild Wild Pussycats it is. We’ve got to convince Machia to attack Shigaraki, and… then we sneak out the back while they’re fighting.” He shook his head. “It sounds really unheroic when I put it that way.”

“Under these circumstances, I think heroic is the set of actions where no one dies.”

His mentor was right. Izuku still felt weird about this, though. (The pettiness was completely different.)

Not to mention…

He put the last of the fake IDs away and massaged his temples. “They’re doing something weird in there,” he said. “I’m going to check on them. I might be out of it.”

“Don’t worry,” said Toshinori, patting Izuku on the shoulder. “I’ll keep an eye on things out here.”

(Perhaps all of this could have gone unsaid, what with their connection, but saying things out loud made them easier to organize.)

“Hey!” shouted Izuku over the roaring wind. “Stop that!”

“Are you going to fight me, Nine? All by yourself?”

“No,” said Izuku, somehow contriving to look down his nose at her despite the height difference and the fact that Tempest was floating several meters in the air. “I won’t have to. Because I have a secret weapon.”

Ochako could almost see Tempest roll her eyes.

“And,” shouted Izuku, “do you seriously think I just wanted to be part of the system? Are you serious? I wanted to help people. People the system failed. It isn’t like they’re responsible for the system either!” He waved his hand to indicate Ochako, Iida, Todoroki, and Aizawa.

“I’d argue about your hobo teacher. Is this your secret weapon?”

“No, this is, Great-Aunt Miranda.”

Tempest opened her mouth, then closed it again. The wind began to die down. “I’m – I don’t know what the point of that was—"

“Neither do I! What’s the point of this?”

“The point is determining whether or not you have people you can rely on, or a bunch of backstabbers who’ll hand you over to a government lab as soon as it’s convenient!” She stabbed a finger at Ochako. “She’s just in ‘heroics’ for the money!” She pointed at Iida. “He’s only here because it’s traditional for his family.” She gestured at Todoroki with her other hand. “He’s doing it mostly out of spite. And who knows what your hobo teacher is doing this for!”

“There’s nothing wrong with any of that!” protested Ochako. “You must have your own motivations, too!”

“She does!” shouted Izuku. “Considering what they are, you have no room to be criticizing Iida! Besides, you don’t even like me!”

“This isn’t about liking you or disliking! You’re the—” Tempest visibly cut herself off, then took a deep breath. She set herself down on the street. “Knowing what we do now about certain things, a fourteen-year-old would not have been my first choice.”

“Excuse me! We’re all sixteen!” said Iida.

“You’re sixteen now, it’s – The fact of the matter is that you’re children. Naïve children.”

“Oh my gosh, you were younger than I was when you—”

“I was kidnapped and tortured—”

“I know, but why are you taking it out on—”

“By the government that you are trying to lick the boot of—”

“Did you see what they did to Suzuki?”

Ochako felt like she was spectating a very passionate tennis match.

“If it means anything,” said Aizawa, dragging himself out of the pile of rubble he’d been thrown into by the wind, “I’m just trying to keep my kids alive as long as possible.”

“Then expel them! Stop them from becoming literal child soldiers!”

“I do,” said Aizawa.

“He does,” confirmed Ochako, who was well acquainted with Aizawa’s reputation.

“He really does,” seconded Todoroki.

“I used to see Tensei’s group chat, and every time he expelled someone…” Iida shivered.

“Huh,” said Todoroki. “Is that why you’re so… insistent about rules?”

“Of course not! Rules are important regardless of why so many students were expelled during the first month of school!”

“So, why didn’t you expel these ones?”

“If you honestly believe the problem child wouldn’t have flung himself at the first villain he saw after that and dove straight into vigilantism, you don’t know him very well.” He sighed, standing, and brushed dust and pebbles out of his tracksuit. “That goes for these three as well. They’re insane and it’s not my fault.”

“Isn’t saving others what heroes do?” asked Izuku, walking closer to Tempest. Ochako wanted to run out and grab him, but this whole ordeal had just shown how useless that would be. “No matter what?”

“Not no matter what. This is why I…” She shook her head, sighing. “Not no matter what.” She leaned forward, her hands on her hips. “Don’t die. You do realize what will happen if you die, right? I don’t have to spell it out for you?”

“N-no,” said Izuku.

“Besides which, I’m not a hero.”

“You saved people,” protested Izuku.

“And, as your friends pointed out, I’ve killed, too.”

“I know,” said Izuku. “But you aren’t a bad person.”

“Lots of people kill during wars,” said Ochako, going to stand by Izuku, “and that’s what you were fighting in, wasn’t it? I mean, I don’t know a lot about that time, but…”

“You wouldn’t. It’s been over a hundred years.”

Izuku nodded. “This fight isn’t doing anything, though. None of us want them here if the vault opens.”

“The what?” asked Iida. “The vault.”

“Hopefully,” said Izuku, “you won’t have to worry about it.”

“The fight did do something, though,” said Tempest.

“What?” asked Izuku.

“For one,” said Tempest, “it made you think. For the other…” Her eyes flicked over Ochako and the others. “Everyone you fight will have their own reasons. Remember that.”

As they walked down the street, storms still brewing overhead, Ochako kept catching glimpses of children in the alleyways and cross streets.

“Who are they?” she asked, unable to help herself.

“My sister and I,” answered Tempest, brusquely. Ochako, watching the back of the woman’s head, saw her twitch slightly towards one of the alleys. “About the time we were taken.”

“Taken by who?” asked Todoroki.

Tempest laughed. The sound was entirely humorless. “That government you’re so eager to serve. You’ve noticed, I hope, that my sister and I aren’t completely Japanese?”

“Yes?” said Todoroki. “I’m not blind, after all.”

“Todoroki,” said Aizawa in a warning tone.

“Good for you. Our mother was Japanese. Dad was American. We went back and forth to see the family. Problem was, everyone on Mom’s side quirks. We didn’t even realize it. The government tracked the weather disturbances to our movements and raided our family reunion. Never saw my parents again. Never saw anyone, for that matter, except my sister and my aunt – Dad’s side – who tried to smuggle us out and got shot for it. We spent four years in that hell before Ryuji rescued us.”

“You’re more open about this than I would have expected,” said Aizawa.

Tempest sneered. “Why wouldn’t I be? I’m a terrorist, and people only become terrorists if they want to make a statement. Which I did. Trust me when I say this, Nine, if the hero commission took you into ‘custody,’” she spat the word like it was dirty, “you’d be in the same boat. What do you children think they do to all those high-profile criminals in Tartarus? The ones that are held indefinitely in a private prison without even a show trial?”

“I know, Three,” said Izuku, far more calmly that Ochako would have been able to. “That’s one of the reasons I wanted to be a hero. It’s easier to change systems from the inside.”

“Not this system.”

“No,” said Izuku, “but then I had no idea this part of the system even existed. They do a lot to hide it, after all.”

“Hm,” grunted Tempest, skeptically.

The buildings began to thin out, interspersed with wilderness. The road rapidly graded narrowed into a one-lane road, then gravel.

“Is this normal?” asked Ochako.

“We have more control over our environments than the other ones. You’ve noticed that only Eight and Nine had multiple versions of themselves running around and being confusing.”

“I didn’t do that on purpose,” said Izuku.

“Exactly. Any of us could send an army of ourselves against you. Only those two don’t have a choice about it. Amateurs.”

“Shouldn’t they have had the same amount of time as—” started Ochako. She broke off as a series of concrete walls topped with barbed wire rose up in front of them, scraping at the surrounding trees, shedding clumps of dirt.

The trees fell away, leaving a clear, baren space between the walls and the trees. Slightly beyond the structure moonlight glinted off the surface of a lake.

“Well. Welcome to Jinoshi Lake Camp, kids.” Tempest turned, putting her hands on her hips. “This is where I met Ryuji. And…” She glanced up at the walls. “This is as far as I go.”

“You aren’t going to show us where to find this ‘Ryuji?’” asked Aizawa.

“I promised myself I’d never go back there.” She jerked her head over her shoulder. “I’m not revisiting it for you.” She started walking away. “Have fun.”

#bnha #boku no hero academia #fic #my fic #long night in the valley

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wiypt-writes · 3 years

Text

Stark Spangled Banner

Ch 18: Told You I’d Say Yes

Summary: Steve, Katie and Sam begin their search for Bucky and they uncover something that makes Steve start to question where their priorities as a team should lie. Decision made, the two of them head back to the Tower in New York to join up with the other adventures, and when Katie’s 30th birthday arrives, Steve asks a very differen question…

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

Warnings: Bad language words, smut (NSFW), no under 18s. And a whole lotta teeth rotting fluff…

A/N: I think this is my favourite edit yet, @angrybirdcr

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Katie Stark and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Chapter 17

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Steve had no real leads and as such he, Katie and Sam spent weeks combing through the information that Natasha had provided, using JARVIS to translate the Russian which none of them spoke of course. It was hard work, stressful and gave them nothing of real use either, other than give them a bit more of an understanding of who the Winter Soldier was, so to speak, and then Sam had a brainwave. If Bucky was starting to get his memories back and pieced together that he had been working for Hydra under duress, he might go looking for answers, possibly even revenge.

They decided to start in the nearest Hydra base they knew about from the leaks on the internet, and as such they were now ransacking an old abandoned bank in the financial district in the middle of the night.

What they found wasn’t great- a dozen bodies of dead Hydra agents. Most looked as if they had had their throats crushed apart from one who was sat in a chair, a bullet between his eyes. From the look, and smell, they’d been there a while.

“That’s an execution.” Sam muttered, nodding at the man who had been shot and Katie looked at him as Steve simply turned and walked from the smaller room, back into the larger corridor. He made his way down, pulling open a thick door into the main vault and stopped dead as he saw some form of chair in the middle, surrounded by restraints and a device that looked like some kind of macabre halo. Steve felt his mouth go dry as he looked at it. I was some perverted form of the chamber he’d been in when they’d administered the serum…

“Looks like they were deleting data when they were interrupted…” Sam bent over to get a closer look at the computer to the side. Katie passed him the device she had brought and he plugged it in and started the data mining. As Steve made his way towards the two of them, Sam frowned and clicked on something that caught his attention and immediately the sounds of tortured screams filled the room. Katie jolted slightly as Sam took a step back, the three of them glancing at the screen which was sat on the desk. And all 3 wished they hadn’t. As there, on the screen Bucky was strapped down the halo-like contraption lowered onto his head.

“Turn it off!” Katie instructed to Sam, who moved to cut the footage immediately but Steve grabbed his arm.

“No…” he said firmly, his eyes fixated on the grim footage in front of him, his chest heaving with anger.

Finally the screams stopped and someone was saying words as they were in Russian but when they finished Bucky slumped down in the chair staring blankly ahead, as he spoke a single sentence, his face and voice completely void of expression and emotion.

There was a moment of silence when Steve suddenly snapped grabbing the edge of the table and flipping it over with a loud crash, all of the equipment and computers meeting a rather abrupt end along with it. He felt sick, upset, angry…and he couldn’t help but feel this was his fault for leaving his friend behind.

“Steve?” Katie asked anxiously, whilst she watched his shoulders heave with anger.

“Let’s go.” He instructed sternly, already making his way to the exit.

“Steve?” She called again.

“Now.” He bit back.

Steve didn’t speak a word whilst they drove home. Once they were in the apartment he stormed straight through the hall and up the stairs to the bed room. Katie turned to Sam who was hovering in the hall.

“That went well.” he quipped.

Katie sighed, walking into the kitchen and handed Sam a water which he thankfully took, draining it in one go.

“The thing is, Sam…” she ran a hand over her face “It’s gonna get worse, the more we dig, the more we’re going to find.”

“Yeah well, on that note I’m going to go back to the bank, do a bit more digging of my own tonight.” Sam sighed “See if I can find something that would give us an indication as to when exactly Bucky hit the base, might help us piece together a timeline of sorts.”

“Alright, but be careful, yeah?”

“I’m always careful, sugar!” Sam grinned, and Katie rolled her eyes. “Listen, you gonna be ok?”

“Yeah, I’ll give him some time. He’ll come round, he’s just…” she paused searching for the right word before she concluded “sad.”

Sam nodded “Call you tomorrow then, I’m at the VA in the morning but my afternoon is free”

“Will do…oh, and Sam?”

He turned around and Katie threw him the keys to the Q5 as he still hadn’t replaced his car. “Take this, but bring it back in once piece.”

“Cheers dude!” He beamed, catching the keys expertly before he headed out of the door.

Once he was gone, Katie walked over to the sofa and dropped down onto it, pulling out her phone. She knew it was late, but Tony answered straight away.

“Did it work?” She asked instantly.

“Did it work…” Tony snorted “I made the damned device, of course it did. JARVIS took everything off their system…he’s already sifting through and cross referencing… any mention of Barnes in any form he’ll find it.”

“Thanks Tony.”

“There is something he has found thought, that’s kinda interesting, but also very worrying.”

“What?”

“He found an encoded list of locations, locations for HYDRA bases across the globe. Curiosity got the better of me, and I ran a couple of cross checks on the bases that were already captured or infiltrated, and it matches 80%…”

“Yeah, there’s bases out there that didn’t fall… that’s what Fury’s doing, you know this.”

“Well here’s the thing…” Tony sighed “That 80% rallies to around 10 bases. One-Eye-Willy knew about 6, which he is currently working on with SHIELD or whatever they’re called now. The other 4 were unknown, until now.”

“Shit.” Katie sighed. If they had gone unknown, unchallenged, then it was possible that more of Hydra remained than they thought.

“Pretty much what Fury said when I called him.” Tony replied “Anyway, I think it’s time we put the band back together Kiddo…”

She groaned. “Steve already turned Fury down to find Bucky first.”

“Well, for once I’m inclined to agree with the Goth Pirate.” Tony continued “I think rounding the last of these bastards up is slightly more pressing than Spangles chasing his old school buddy.”

“Don’t call him that…” She sighed, rubbing her hands over her face.

“Fury says he’ll make contact with Natasha and Clint, no idea how to reach Point Break though. I called his girlfriend, or paramour, whatever, who said he was off chasing something, no idea what, but when he comes back she’s gonna tell him we’re looking for him.”

“I’ll talk to Steve…but I can’t promise anything.”

“If anyone can talk him round it’s you.” He said, his voice adopting a more sympathetic tone “You know, there’s no reason why we can’t look for Barnes along the way. I mean it’s all Hydra, right?”

“Yeah, good point. Let me talk to him. I’ll call you tomorrow, or later today, whatever.”

“No sweat, take care. Love you kiddo.”

“You too Tones”

Katie dropped her phone onto the couch and sighed. Time to tackle Steve. She unzipped her combat boots, shucked them off and headed up the stairs. She gently opened the bedroom door and saw Steve, hair damp from the shower, led on the bed, looking up at the ceiling.

“Hey.” She crawled onto the bed next to him and propped herself up on her elbows so she could look at him.

“Hi.” He rolled his head to accept the kiss she offered as she reached a hand up to twine in the hair at the top of his head. “I’m sorry.” He leaned into her hand like a dog seeking attention. Katie opened her arms to let Steve snuggle into them, like a child, as she rolled onto her back, his head laying on her chest as her hand continued to tangle in his hair.

“Do you think we’re wasting our time? Looking for him?” Steve asked after a moment.

Katie hesitated, choosing her words carefully. “Bucky has been brainwashed and tortured by HYDRA for longer than I’ve been alive. It’s going to take more than saving you from the river to bring back the man you knew” she took a deep breath “I think we’re going to struggle chasing someone as resourceful as he is when he doesn’t want to be found. And we may have another problem…”

“Like what?” He asked, frowning at her.

“I just spoke to Tony. J has been going through the info that we pulled from the servers. Apparently there’s a list of 4 secret Hydra bases that no one knew about, not even Fury, that didn’t go down when we took out SHIELD.”

Steve let out a groan “So now I have to choose, between Bucky and taking down what remains of Hydra…”

Katie kissed his head sympathetically as the turmoil raged within his brain. They couldn’t let Hydra get a foothold again. But he didn’t want to let Bucky down either.

“You know, going after Hydra might help.” Katie spoke softly “I mean, we have nothing other than vague ideas and supposition about where Bucky is or what he has planned next. We might find something along the way. In the meantime, Sam can keep working our current angle and line of thought.”

“You’re right.” he said after a pause “I’ve tried twice to bring these bastards down. I can’t let them slip through my fingers a third time.”

*****

“Gotta say Cap, you’re looking better than last time I saw you.” Tony grnned as they entered the lab in the tower.

“I feel it!” Steve smiled, shaking Tony’s hand.

“What you looking at?” Katie asked, nodding to the screen, taking in the map.

“Got JARVIS running a bit of an analysis on the bases we found out about. Terrain surrounding them, best places to land the jet, potential areas of weakness that kinda thing.” He said, “Could take a while but, best to be prepared with some form of plan I suppose.”

Katie turned to Steve, grinning, about to launch into a rendition of “Star Spangled Man with a Plan” but Steve gave her a filthy look, knowing full well what was going through her mind. She grinned at him innocently and he turned his attention back to Tony.

“Any news on the others?”

“Banner is due back at some point tomorrow. He’s at some kind of Scientist band camp…” Tony waved his hand. “Barton is on his way, but you already know that. As for Nat…well she said she’ll be here when she can…which just leaves Point Break to show, whenever he’s back from riding the rainbow road that is.”

“He’ll turn up.” Katie shrugged “If all else fails I’ll do what he told me to when we needed him.”

“Which was what?” Steve asked, looking at Katie, frowning. As if she knew how to contact him and hadn’t said anything…

“Stand on top of a tall building a shout.” she said, grinning. Steve gave a roll of his eyes as Tony snorted. “Although I think he may have been joking.”

“Maybe we should get him some kind of Bat Signal” Tony mused “but with a hammer instead of a bat.”

“No.” Katie shook her head and Tony pouted at her.

“Why do you always piss on my parade?”

“Because your parade is usually dumb. Look we’re gonna go upstairs and unpack a few things.”

“Sure.” Tony nodded. “Oh, happy said he’ll get your apartment in DC cleared over the next week, and I thought we could go for something to eat tonight. Do the whole…” he waved his hand in a circle motion as he looked back at the screen, “fmily thing.

“Sounds great.” Katie smiled, looking at Steve who nodded, thankful of something ‘normal’ to look forward to, and the pair of them made to leave.

“By the way, I renovated the living floors so your Penthouse has had a bit of a facelift.” Tony said. Katie stopped and turned to face him.

“What do you mean facelift?” She frowned “I liked my floor…”

“Yeah but when I did the rooms for everyone else they got new furniture so I ordered you some too. If you don’t like it you can change it, no big deal. I didn’t change the décor to much…I know how much of a princess you are about people touching your stuff”

“Princess here technically owns forty percent of this tower so…” She flicked him the finger and he rolled his eyes.

“Yeah yeah…there’s a spare suite for you anyway Spangles opposite Thor’s, you know, just in case you get pissed off with her. No one would blame you if you did…”

“You’re a dick.” She rolled her eyes at her brother and turned back towards the elevator.

In all fairness Katie did actually quite like the changes Tony had made. Her penthouse spanned the entire floor below Tony’s whilst everyone else shared a floor a couple of levels down with another Avenger. Perks of ownership, after all. There was a new coffee and cream coloured L shaped sofa in the room, a walnut coffee table replaced the glass one that had been there, and a brand new HD OLED TV adorned the wall opposite, along with a media system. A state of the art sound system was installed and the kitchen was completely new and had been knocked through to the dining area giving them a huge open plan space similar to the layout of the apartment in DC. There was frankly the biggest bed Steve had ever seen in the bedroom and the furniture was sleek, with a slightly smaller TV adorning the wall opposite the bed. The en-suite now sported his and hers sinks along with a double shower, a corner spa tub and there was a smaller bathroom just off the hallway along with another bedroom, a study and a balcony spanned the entire length of the floor, which was accessible from the main bedroom and the kitchen-diner. It overlooked the New York skyline and contained a small patio area and a hot-tub along with some outside furniture. But true to his word, Tony had kept the colour scheme. Different shades of blue throughout the bedroom, steel grey in the kitchen and warm coffee and walnut colours in the lounge.

Steve loved it.

As promised, late that evening, the two of them accompanied Pepper and Tony out for dinner. They had gone to Anatolia’s, an Italian restaurant on the outskirts of Brooklyn much to Steve’s delight. It had been a really nice evening, the 4 drinking and eating far too much but as Tony had pointed out, things were about to get a little bit crazy so who knew when the next time they would get chance to relax and socialise was.

“Other than your 30th that is.” he said, looking at Katie over his wine.

“So there is something planned…” she grinned.

“Maybe.” Steve shrugged. Oh, he had something planned alright. He’d spoken to Tony about it a week or so ago, the Inventor gleefully agreeing with his idea.

“Man, my little sis is turning 30 in 3 weeks…I feel so old.” Tony continued to grumble.

“You are!” she teased.

“Yeah but not as old as your boyfriend…”

“Well done, you almost went a full evening without mentioning it.” Steve dead panned, folding his arms.

“You know he’s technically younger than me, Tones.” Katie said “

“What?” Steve looked at her, “How do you work that out.”

“You were born in July 1918 right, went into the ice in, what, March 1945?”

“Yeah…”

“Woke up in May 2012. So when you count how many years you spent actually awake and living, and not taking a cold nap, you’re really only 29 this time round.”

“So Captain America is your toy-boy?” Pepper giggled. Katie shrugged and took a sip of her wine as Tony and Steve looked at one another, both of them wearing expressions of bewilderment.

“Wait, does this mean we can throw a Happy 97 minus 67 party for Spangles next year?” Tony grinned and Steve let out a groan.

“See what you’ve done?” he looked at Katie with exasperation, and she just shrugged.

The night ended with a few drinks in a bar before a car picked them up and the couples both bid each other goodnight before going their separate ways

“That was proper pizza.” Steve said as they walked out of the elevator into their living area, the panel sliding in place leaving the door hidden.

Katie laughed as JARVIS gently flipped on the ambient lighting. “Well you certainly enjoyed it…getting through 2”

“Yeah, think the last 3 slices were a mistake” he mumbled as she headed into the kitchen. “They’re sitting in me like a brick.”

“Awwww poor baby!” she mocked thickly. “Getting so old you can’t even have a few slices without indigestion.”

“Hey, I’m younger than you, remember?” He laughed as Katie pulled 2 beers out of the fridge handing him one as she glided past him to flop onto the couch.

“I’m gonna regret pointing that out, aint i?” She laughed as Steve nodded.

*****

Katie had a meeting with her Editors and New Business department the next morning and Steve had a job of his own, a different mission that he was fucking nervous as hell about. He asked JARVIS where Tony was, who located him in the large, open plan main common room area of the tower, the one Loki and the Hulk had decimated 2 years previously.

“Tony you got a minute?”

“S'up Cap?”

Steve took a deep breath “I err…” his palms suddenly felt sweaty. “You know I love Katie and…" He cleared his throat before he looked Tony square in the eye, surprised to find the man watching him, warmth across his features. “She’s the most important thing in my life, and I…well, I wanted to ask for your permission, to ask her to marry me.”

“My permission?” Tony quipped.

“Well I’d normally ask her dad but…”

Tony smiled and glanced down at hands before he looked back at the blonde haired man stood besides him. “You gonna do better than a ‘we can get married if you want’ outside your apartment door?”

Steve let out a sigh and shook his head “she told you about that?”

“In the hospital” Tony smiled.

“Not my finest moment” Steve rubbed at his temple.

“Oh I dunno.” Tony said pushing off the front of the Bar area where he had been leaning. “Given the fact you were inches from death she was pretty upset at the fact she told you to come back with a Tiffany special…”

Steve smiled.

“You got one yet?” Tony asked. “A ring I mean.”

“No.” Steve shook his head.

“Well it just so happens I know one of the consultants at Tiffany.” Tony smiled, and Steve looked at him, his face creeping into a smile as he knew that this was Tony’s confirmation he was giving him his blessing. “Whenever you’re ready, I’ll make a call.“

The two men looked at one another, sharing a silent moment of respect before Tony reached out with his hand and Steve shook it, a shit-eating-grin spreading across his handsome features.

“Oh fuck this, come on Spangles, bring it in. I’m secure enough in my sexuality to hug another man.” Tony sniffed, and Steve stood up off the bar stool with a chuckle, the men exchanging a quick embrace, punctuated by a lot of back slapping.

“For what it’s worth…” Tony smiled as he stepped back, his eyes shining with emotion. “You make her happy, you treat her right, you put her first and I’ve never seen anyone metaphorically slap her back into place as well as you do….sorry, lot of dust in here…” he wiped at his suddenly watering eyes, water that may or may not have been tears before he took a breath and looked at Steve again “I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather grant permission to.”

Steve smiled, his own eyes shining with emotion.

“And I’m pretty sure you’d have gotten it off dad too.” Tony nodded at him and Steve looked at the floor for a second before he glanced back up at him, taking a deep breath.

“Thank you Tony.”

*****

“What is this?” Thor’s voice was loud. “I can’t see them…”

“No you turn it…hang on” The 4 Avengers in the lab looked at one another, Tony grinning from ear to ear as Jane was trying to explain how to use the video call facility on her phone.

“He’s worse than you!” He grinned up at Steve who merely rolled his eyes as Bruce stifled a grin.

Eventually Thor’s face, or rather his left nostril filled their screen and all of them urged him to move the phone away. Finally he did so, and his handsome face beamed down at us all.

“Greetings!” he smiled “It is good to see you all again, Little Stark you look as radiant as ever.” “Thanks Thor!” Katie laughed as besides her Steve bristled a little bit.

“Jane says you need my help.”

“Yeah, we got a job Point Break.” Tony said.

“Is this to do with SHIELD and Hydra?” the God’s deep voice rumbled.

“You know about that?” Katie asked.

“Of course, it was all over the news. I watch that now, with Jane” he said, a glint in his eyes, “But that reminds me, I have a bone to pick with both you and the Captain…”

Steve frowned and looked at Katie, the pair of them sharing a glance before they looked back at the screen.

“I saw you both on the television fighting SHIELD alongside the Birdman…” Thor continued, ignoring Katie and Steve’s laughter as they both thought of Sam’s face if he could hear that nickname, “Why didn’t you call me? You know how much I love fighting.”

“They didn’t send for me either…” Tony said, putting his hand up.

“Call you, do you have a cell phone?” Katie looked at Thor.

“No, what for?”

She didn’t reply, instead she looked away trying not to laugh at the perplexed look on the God’s face

“We have a lot of loose ends to tie up.” Steve spoke, steering the conversation back to the purpose in hand. “Not all of Hydra went down when we took SHIELD out.”

Thor’s face split into a grin. “More fighting?”

“More fighting.” Tony said, as Banner let out a small sigh.

“Why is there always fighting?”

They explained the basics of what was going on to Thor, before he promised to join them as soon as he could and then Banner headed off to shower and to unpack following his trip.

“I’m going to head to the office for a few hours.” Katie said. Steve nodded.

“Tony and I have stuff to do.” he said simply, but met her gaze with a passive one of his own as she glanced at him, arching her eyebrow.

“Ohh…I get it…” she grinned, “You’re sorting my birthday surprise. Cute.” As she turned to go she walked straight into the desk behind her, jabbing the corner harshly into her thigh.

“You alright?” Steve asked, trying but failing to hide the chuckle in his voice at her clumsiness.

“Thanks for your genuine concern.” She grumbled, instantly rubbing where the sharp corner had dug into her. “Shit, that hurt…Jesus fucking Christ…”

"Ooooh, hey. You kiss Spangles with that mouth?” Tony raised an eyebrow at her

“Yes, Tony, I kiss him all over with that mouth.” She glared at him as she rubbed her thigh. “Every inch of –”

Tony clapped his hands over his ears. “Lalalalalalalalala! I can’t hear you!”

Once Katie was out of earshot, Tony turned to Steve “You get it?”

He nodded, holding up his mother’s ring that he had managed to slip of when Katie was sleeping.

“Alright, let’s go.”

They drove the short distance into Manhatten, and Tony parked his car up in a private space behind the department store they were visiting. Steve followed him into the store where they were greeted by a small, grey haired mousy looking man dressed in an immaculate 3 piece suit.

“Mr Stark, Captain Rogers.”

“Hi Robert.” Tony smiled at him, clapping Steve on the shoulder “Take good care of him, he’s shitting himself.”

Steve sighed and shook his head but the inventor had already wandered off to the other side of the store, examining something in one of the glass cases.

“It’s perfectly understandable to be nervous, it’s a big thing.” Robert smiled, gesturing for Steve to follow him. He did, as they walked across the store to a small room at the back. Steve walked in and dropped into a seat. “So, do you have anything specific in mind?”

Steve took a deep breath, “Something elegant, but flashy enough to be special, I’ve no idea really, other than she prefers white gold to yellow.”

Robert smiled at him, “White gold or platinum. Ok. Any idea on the cut of diamond?”

“Princess.” Steve said, smiling. That he did know, from way before they were even dating.

“Oh my god!” Katie said, looking at the gossip magazine Natasha was reading, as Steve peered up at them from the seat behind his desk. “That’s fucking hideous.”

Natasha snorted “20 carat apparently.”

“Who the fuck needs a 20 carat ring?” Katie shook her head.

“I dunno, not something Tony would buy for Pepper?”

“Nah he isn’t that tacky.” she shook her head “And I’d kick his ass, it’s so…garish.”

“I don’t think the cut helps” Nat said, holding the magazine up “It’s a Brilliant, so looks a bit..”

“Shit?” Katie offered and the girls laughed “Seriously, if I ever have a man who’s ready to propose you better tell him it’s Princess or bust…”

He and Robert chatted for a few moments, Steve assuring him that the budget was healthy, whilst the man headed off into the store and came back with a few options set on a blue velvet tray of sorts. Steve’s eyes were instantly drawn to one in the middle. It was held a large diamond and was set into an elaborate clasp which melted into the band which was studded with smaller diamonds.

“Ahh yes.” Robert smiled as Steve picked it up “That’s one of my favourites. It’s a Tiffany Novo…”

“Sorry, did you say Nova?” Steve’s head jerked up, a smile on his face.

“Novo, Captain.”

Close enough Steve thought as he grinned.

“Princess cut with a Pave set Diamond band in platinum. That one’s a 2.05 carat, but we can do it smaller.”

“No, this one is perfect.” Steve smiled, looking at him.

“Well, that was easy…” Robert quipped and Steve nodded, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah…” he let out a chortle of a laugh, “you had me at Novo.”

Robert frowned, but didn’t ask for an explanation. “That one there is Sixty-Six thou…”

“Holy shit.” Steve exclaimed, before hastily apologising for his outburst. He knew he had said he had a decent budget but…

“However, Captain, seeing as it’s you, I can shave twenty percent off that, leave my commission.” he man smiled as Steve began to protest “And offer you a further ten percent for Tony being a regular customer.”

“I couldn’t…”

“You guys saved my daughter’s life in New York.” Robert looked at him, smiling softly “She was in the bank.”

Steve took a deep breath and shrugged, a faint flush on his cheeks. “Just doing my job.”

“So am I. So we’ll call it forty, and I’ll throw in an extra eighteen months care package. So she can bring it in to be cleaned, repaired should anything happen to it over the next three years.”

Steve hesitated, it was a lot of money. He knew he had enough, more than enough. His wages from SHIELD had been generous, plus his Army back pay that Katie and Fury had secured for him had been piling up and earning interest, but he still wasn’t used to being able to just flash it around. Plus now he wasn’t technically earning either…but the more he looked at it, the more he just knew it was right.

And she was worth far more to him than anything money could buy.

“I’ll take it.” He nodded, decision made.

He handed Robert his Ma’s ring, which Katie had had resized to fit properly and Robert nodded, smiling as he slid it onto a measuring cone.

“You’re in luck Captain. We have one that size in stock so you can take it away today. Whilst we’re here, would you like me to give this one a polish?”

“Oh, err, yeah, great.”

He shook hands with the man and headed back into the store where Tony was now leaning over a cabinet, talking to a blonde haired assistant. He pointed at a necklace with an obscene price tag, and she nodded, picking it up and turning around.

“Something for Pep.” he said, gesturing to the gift as he nodded at Steve. “You know, just because.” he frowned “That was fast.”

“Found the perfect one.” Steve smiled “It’s called a Novo”

“Nova?” Tony looked at him, eyebrow raising as he smirked.

“No, Novo…although that’s what I heard too at first.” Steve laughed.

“Huh.” Tony said, as Robert approached them. He opened the box he was holding and reached in for the ring, setting it down on a velvet tray again to show to the men. It was even brighter in the store lights than in the room. Steve heard Tony whistle at the side of him.

“That’s a rock and a half Cap.”

“She’s worth it.” he shrugged, simply. “I just hope she likes it.”

“If she doesn’t we can exchange.” Robert said, as he finished his inspection and after making himself happy the ring was perfect he boxed it up and handed it to Steve in a Tiffany bag.

“Cap, you could propose with a ring pull and she’d say it was perfect.” Tony smiled.

“Now you tell me.” Steve said, handing over his credit card.

*******

“Shit, shit, shit…” Katie was panicking. Her ring was gone. Steve’s Ma’s ring. The one he had given to her at Christmas. The only real thing he had of his mom left. She’d ransacked the bedroom, living room, her office. “No,no…”

She made her way back into the kitchen, looking everywhere, before she headed into the bathroom. Nothing. She collapsed onto the closed toilet seat, her head in her hands as she began to cry when she heard the elevator door open.

Steve stopped as he walked into the living room, frowning at the utter chaos that greeted him. Cushions were all over the place, drawers in the large unit were flung open. Immediately he went on the defensive, knowing it was ridiculous as there was no way anyone could have gotten in here, but still…

“Katie?” he called. Katie’s head jerked up and she wiped her eyes

“Bathroom.” she said back, and he could tell from her tone something was wrong.

“Doll, what’s going on?” He strode into the bedroom and then stepped into the large en-suite. She’d been crying. “Baby?” he crouched in front of her.

“I…I’m so sorry…” Her voice cracked. “But your mom’s ring… I can’t…”

Steve felt a sudden pang of guilt, she was distraught, thinking she had lost it. He hadn’t thought of that.

“No, sweetheart, it’s ok, I’ve got it.”

“You do?” she frowned.

“Yeah.” he reached into his shirt pocket and pulled it out. “I was looking at it when you were asleep last night and thought it could do with a bit of a clean-up so I took it off and Tony took me to a place Pepper takes hers…”

Katie looked at the ring, before she felt her anger simmer over.

“You complete ass Steven Grant Rogers!” she yelled, hitting him in the chest “I’ve spent the last 3 hours out of my mind with worry…”

“I know, I should have told you but I wanted it to be a surprise.” Steve lied, hoping to god for once she wouldn’t see through it “I’m so sorry!”

She snatched it off him, returning it to its home and she glared at him, before looking down at it.

“Well, it does look nice and shiny” she said, admiring it and Steve let out a sigh of relief “Don’t touch my stuff.”

“Your stuff?” he looked at her as she wiped at her face.

“Yes, my stuff.” she repeated petulantly. “You gave it to me, remember. It’s mine.”

He was about to laugh and call her a brat, when there was a loud clap of thunder and a flashing of bright white light, punctuated by various rainbow colours, outside the bedroom window and they both turned their heads to look at it.

“Thor!” Katie said, jumping up and beaming.

“Am I forgiven?” Steve asked, rising to his feet. She turned and looked at him, rolling her eyes at the injured puppy dog eyes he was giving her.

“Pull another stunt like that again and I’m imposing a sex ban for a week.”

“Yes Ma’am.” he grinned, giving her a peck on the lips.

****

Thor’s arrival spurred the Avengers into getting down to some real planning, and when Clint arrived that day too, bringing with him the news that Natasha would be with them by the middle of June- she was on some kind of trip with Fury-those of them present began to take all the information they had, planning their first raid on one of the uncovered Hydra bases, this one being on the outskirts of Seattle.

“Your call Cap.” Tony looked at Steve, his jaw was twitching as he turned over the pros and cons of hitting the base whilst they were still one down on the team. Eventually he made his decision and looked around the team.

Suit up…” he said, straightening up “Wheels up in 20”

Behind him Banner groaned.

He needn’t have worried though, there was no need for a code green. In fact, it was a bit of a damp squib. There were minimum guards to take out and all in all it was relatively easy. There were also no computers, just a truck load of paper files which they meticulously boxed up and loaded onto the jet.

Over the next two weeks they hit the remaining unknown basis that they had discovered, and every one of them was the same. They were clearly never used as main strongholds, more like storage facilities if anything. Steve was frustrated, Katie knew that. But as she and Tony pointed out to him, they had a hell of a lot of information to comb through. They liaised with Fury, who had nothing new to add, other than that he would be in touch if his team needed help about the remaining bases in Europe.

As such they spent most of their time filtering through the information they had gotten from the bases, along with the boxes of files that Fury and Hill had pulled from SHIELD. Banner and Katie (when she wasn’t working) set up a simple filing system as they went along, cataloguing each bit of paper information so they knew where to find it in future, and could add to it as they went along.

There wasn’t much to go on, they didn’t find any new information, and nothing on Bucky, but there was one name that continued to crop up time and time again.

“Baron Von Strucker…” Katie said to the team which was congregated in the lab. “I’ve gone through the information available, including what was dumped on the internet when we released all the files…it isn’t pretty reading.”

Clint lounged with his feet up on the desk munching some popcorn. He offered it round and Tony took a hand full.

“Not likely to be where Hydra is involved.” he said, leaning against a desk, chucking the popcorn in his mouth.

Steve who had been flicking through a file clucked slightly with his tongue and shook his head “Says here he trained with Jasper Sitwell at the Preparatory Academy.”

Tony began choking and at first Katie thought it was reaction to the fact that Hydra had an academy but she soon realised, as he was pointing at Clint with a disgusted expression on his face that it was the popcorn. She grinned- Clint like his popcorn laced with cayenne pepper.

“What is wrong with butter and salt?” Tony gasped as Clint explained what was on the corn through his laughter. Thor reached over curiously and took a handful before declaring, much to Clint’s annoyance, that he enjoyed the spicy snack.

“He had his fingers in a lot of SHIELD pies” Katie continued “He was running the SHIELD STATION, which is the Scientific Training and Tactical Intelligence Operative Network, an R&D facility which was established to conduct investigations on the material retrieved from the ground during the battle of New York, you know, the shit Fury said he had destroyed?”

“Alright.” Steve nodded “Dig up what you can on it and then we’ll go from there. From the sounds of it he seems like the one we should be focussing on.”

Katie nodded.

“But not tonight.” Tony said, looking at Steve “I think we deserve a break, especially seeing as it’s someone’s 30th tomorrow.”

The room cheered and Katie rolled her eyes “Yeah yeah…don’t remind me.”

*****

Katie woke the next morning to soft kisses peppering the side of her neck and a deep burn growing at her centre as she was slowly pulled to consciousness. She let out a low moan and felt the lips at her throat spread into a sly smile

“You dreaming about me?” her Soldier whispered.

She bit her lip, arching her back and leaned into him as his hand splayed on her stomach, pulling her closer before she felt his fingers sliding down gently to the space between her legs. She didn’t say a word, she couldn’t. It was all she could do to simply groan as he gently pushed two fingers inside her, before he moved to massaging her spot. She pulled her legs together suddenly, thighs tightening as the muscles in her core clenched.

“You want more?” he asked, voice slow and deep.

She nodded eagerly, moving so that she was lay on her back and finally opened her eyes.

Steve gently moved, so his knee was positioned between her legs, sliding his T-shirt over her head before one hands moved up her body, tracing her ribs before he started to caress her breast, the other fingers continued to stroke inside, making her groan more and more. He placed a soft kiss on her jawline and smiled at her.

“Happy birthday, Gorgeous.”

His words undid her, and she let out a sound that was halfway between a gasp and a squeal, feeling for him under the sheets “Steve…” Every inch of her was on fire and he wanted him. “Please…” she begged, her voice catching as he moved over on top of her fully, shoving his boxers down and she let out a long shaky moan as he entered her.

“Good?” he asked, his breath a whisper and she nodded eagerly as he began to move. His thrusts were slow but deep and powerful, every roll of his hips sent his pelvis rocking up against her spot.

It didn’t take long at all, she was so close already and Steve watched her face, not wanting to miss the moment.

“Fuck…” Her head completely dropped backwards as her core spasmed again and then she came, hard, her orgasm rolling over her in such a way it had her clinging to Steve, crying out a strangled cry as he too reached his peak, her name tumbling from his lips.

The minutes passed as they lay curled in silence, completely blissed out and relaxed, hearing only each other’s gradually steadying breaths.

Steve’s hand gently stroked the arm that was draped over his abdomen before he gently moved her to one side, sitting up. He had things to do.

“Hey…” she began to protest before he smiled.

“I’m going to make you breakfast”

“You are?”

“Of course, it’s your birthday” He chuckled, from the edge of the bed where he was pulling on a pair of sweats.

"Pancakes,” she muttered hopefully.

He laughed. “Yup,” he said before lowering his lips onto hers. They shared a long, deep kiss that left them grinning like idiots as he pulled away, hopping off the bed and pulling on a t-shirt before leaving the room.

Katie stretched out and glanced over at the clock on the bedside table. It was half 9. A perfectly reasonable time to wake up on her birthday. And the best bit was, she had an entire day of being a spoilt birthday brat ahead of her! Steve was taking her to Coney Island in the afternoon, he had been dying to take her back to Brooklyn for ages and they’d picked today to go after the team had decided to take a break from the non-stop research and missions. Then later in the evening there was some form of meal booked, although where she had absolutely no idea. She’d been trying to catch everyone out about it for weeks but failed, miserably.

She was just about to get out of bed and into the shower when she heard her phone vibrating on the nightstand beside her bed. She reached over for it, and rolled her eyes. It was Tony.

“Happy birthday kiddo! How does it feel to be officially old?”

“You still got fourteen years on me, you dick!” she said, grinning before she yawned slightly “Why are you ringing me when you’re, what? A floor away?”

“Wasn’t sure if you’d be up or not.”

“Well there’s no worries on that account as for my birthday Steve got me a new alarm clock.”

“An alarm clock?” Tony said, his tone flat

“Yeah.” she said, biting her lip as she fought to keep myself from laughing “His penis.”

There was a pause “That’s gross.” Tony groaned and Katie laughed as he continued to complain “I mean it’s bad enough knowing that you two…you know, without being given some form of mental image like that…”

“Oh quit your whining!” she grinned “When you bringing me my present?”

“Ah well, you’ll have to come get it, it’s a bit big.”

“Big?” I said “It’s not a 16 foot teddy bear is it?”

It was his turn to laugh “No, although, speaking of big, stuffed animals, what did Cap actually get you?”

“You’re hilarious, and I’ve no idea. He’s making me breakfast at the moment.”

“More sausage?” he said sardonically.

“Pancakes, actually” she replied “Which is why I need to go and have a shower before he eats them all himself…”

“Alright, come up when you’re ready…” he said. “Not going anywhere…”

By the time she made her way into the large open plan living area, Steve had already completed 2 stacks of pancakes (his miles bigger than hers), a plate of bacon and was just setting 2 glasses of orange juice down on the breakfast bar in front of the 2 plates. He looked up and smiled, she was dressed casually for a day at the fair, tight jeans, boots and long white top, over which she wore an open beige half-sleeved cardigan, and her hair was pulled up into a high, messy pony tail. She looked beautiful as ever.

“You look lovely.” He said, pressing a kiss to the side of her head as she sat down. “So, how does it feel to be old?” He could barely get the words out without laughing, and she simply shook her head at his poor attempt at a joke

“You’re such a jerk!” She rolled her eyes, as he grinned.

They ate breakfast, and then like the big child she was she demanded to know where her presents were so Steve took her hand and led her into the living room where they were laid out on the coffee table.

She opened her gifts one by one, a few items of clothing, a pair of earrings, a new set of wireless earphones that she had mused over buying and then decided not to, a gorgeous white and rose gold diamond bracelet and a leather bound edition of the Wizard of Oz book to replace the one she had lost in Malibu.

“I saw that and couldn’t resist.” He grinned, as she grinned back “oh and here…”

This was the big one. He held out the envelope and Katie looked at him, gently taking it before she slid a finger under the top to rip it open. Steve watched as she pulled out the piece of paper and for the second time that morning her mouth dropped open in surprise. It was a print out of an itinerary leaving the 30th November and returning on the 14th December, with the locations being cities in Europe- Munich, Paris, Venice, Bruges, Dublin and London.

“2 nights in each…3 in London” Steve said as she glanced up at him, unable to speak “I didn’t know what else to do and I know you’ve wanted to go back to Europe for ages, and how much you love Christmas and the markets and stuff…”

“Oh my god, Steve… ” She glanced down at the paper, finally finding her voice. “This is amazing! I don’t know what to say.” Steve felt the familiar pink tinge growing around his cheeks before she threw her arms around him, “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

He smiled and then kissed her head before he pulled away. “Shall we go and see what outrageously flashy present Tony has for you?”

“Do you know what is is?” she asked.

“I might do…” he smiled as she stood up. There was no might about it. He knew what it was. And he knew she was going to lose her shit about it.

The two of them made their way up to Tony’s main living floor, her hand in his.

“You now I’m excited to finally take you to Coney Island.” He smiled as the door to the elevator shut.

“Excited?”

"Yeah, it’s just I watched Bucky take so many dates around there and I spent most of my time wondering when I was gonna’ get to take my own gal.” He admitted, bashfully.

"God, you’re adorable,” she smiled at him as the doors opened.

“Happy birthday!” Both Tony and Pepper chimed and she grinned, stepping out and into Pepper’s arms before Tony swept her into a hug.

“Well I don’t see any huge stuffed toys so…” she looked around and Pepper snorted.

“I talked him out of it.”

Tony handed her a small box and Katie looked at him.

“This isn’t big.”

“Brat.” Tony rolled his eyes and she smirked. She pulled the ribbon of the box, took the lid off and stared at the content inside. And as it dawned on her what it was she looked up at him, then to Steve, who was watching her, an amused expression on her face, then back at the box her eyes wide.

“You didn’t?” she looked up at her brother, her mouth dropping open.

Tony shrugged “Well you buried your Range Rover and gave away the Audi so…”

She looked at him for a split second before she squealed, threw herself at her brother and then turned on her heels, running.

Steve and Tony both watched her go before they turned to one another and followed her.

“You ready?” Tony asked.

“As I’ll ever be.” Steve nodded.

“Huh.” Tony nodded.

“Ready for what?” Pepper asked.

“Oh, they’re going to Coney Island.” Tony said as they headed down in the elevator, waving away her question.

Way ahead of them Katie burst into the parking lot and skidded to a halt. There, in all its glory was her own brand new Chevrolet Camero Exorcist, the car she had dreamed of since she was a teenager. It was gorgeous. Deep blue with cream leather interior. She unlocked it and sat in the driver’s seat, taking in the smell. The head rests were stitched with the Stark Industries logo and the dash was awash with every single button and function you could imagine.

“Fire it up.” a voice said, and Tony looked at her through the open driver’s side door. She did as she was told and grinned at the beautiful growling noise it made and squealed, feeling the leather of the steering wheel.

She turned to Steve who was stood leaning slightly on the door watching her.

“Hop in soldier!” she grinned, and he smirked, walking to the passenger side.

“Have fun…” Tony said, before he turned to Steve and looked at him, giving him a significant nod and a clap on the shoulder. Steve smiled back and then sank into the leather seat. He had to admit the car was nice. Katie pulled out of the space and gave a groan that was far too arousing than it should have been.

“Oh my god…” she murmured, as she pulled onto the street. The car purred and handled like a dream. As she put her foot down it sped forward, throwing them both back in the seat.

“Easy baby!” Steve chuckled as she laughed, speeding over Brooklyn Bridge. “You’re gonna get a ticket…”

She shrugged, not actually caring at that point.

*****

Steve wound up, pitching the ball which sliced through the bottles on the stall diagonally, knocking them completely off their pedestal and sending the ball through the back of the canvas booth as it ripped a hole clean through it. Steve bit his lip, not realising how hard he had thrown it and turned to look at Katie. She was doubled over, laughing at the look on his face, and then laughed even harder at the expression on the attendants face as he glanced from Steve to the bottles on the floor, to the hole in the canvas and back again.

“Which one do you want?” Steve asked, placing his arm around her as the attendant indicated for her to pick a toy.

“I think I’ll have that one…” she said, pointing to a brown bear that was dressed in a Captain America outfit, complete with helmet and shield.

Steve shot her a look and she held out her hands, protesting her innocence. “What?”

“Good choice ma’am” the attendant said, handing over the bear “He’s an all American hero is our Captain.”

“That he is.” She grinned “He’s incredibly handsome too I believe.”

Steve cut her off as he thanked the man before steering her away as he checked his watch. They had about an hour before they needed to get back.

“Come on, let’s take a walk.”

He led them both down to the sea front, pausing to get a hot dog each, and they walked, eating in comfortable silence. The sun was still warm in the sky, the sea was by their side and Katie was lost in her own little world until she realised Steve wasn’t besides her. She turned to look for him, wondering where he was and then spotted him a few yards behind her, crouched on one knee on the well-worn wooden slats of the boardwalk.

“I told you I was gonna ask you properly one day.” He cleared his throat, looking up at her with those blue eyes she loved so much as he held out his hand, opening the small box that was inside. The sun bounced off the surface of the ring and she couldn’t see it fully but she clamped her hands over her mouth. “I know we were a little too late to be each other’s firsts, well in some ways anyway…” he said, and Katie let out a choked giggle. “But I want all my lasts to be with you. Will you marry me, sweetheart?”

“And I told you I’d say yes one day!” She said, her voice cracking with emotion as she removed her hands shakily from her mouth and nodded. “Yes. Yes of course I’ll marry you.”

A few of the by-standers who had been watching started cheering as Steve jumped up, everything around him bar his girl faded to nothing as she threw herself into his arms. He picked her up, laughing like an idiot, his strong arms round her as he twirled her round, the pair of them sharing fast, rapid dizzying pecks on the lips as he held her off the floor. Eventually he set her on her feet, an utterly stupid grin plastered on his face as he looked at her, a grin that wasn’t going to fade any time soon.

“Do I errr have to put it on myself?” She spluttered a laugh, raising an eyebrow.

“What, oh, yeah, right…” he said, stepping back and removing the ring from its home, fumbling slightly before he managed to get it out, holding it in his right hand, but before he could do anything else she grabbed his left hand which contained the box before he could slip it back into his pocket.

“You bought me a Tiffany?” She almost shrieked as she looked at the distinctive blue-green box in her hand.

“Yeah, and if you give me a second you can see it.” Steve chuckled at her. Biting her lip she held out her left hand and he slid the ring onto her finger and she let out a loud gasp.

“Stevie, it’s beautiful.” She whispered, looking at it before she took his face in both her hands. “I love it.”

“I love you.” he murmured into their kiss. He grinned and dropped and arm round her shoulder as they made their way back down the boardwalk, back to the car, Katie’s eyes almost permanently transfixed on her ring.

“You definitely like it?” Steve asked, suddenly feeling nervous as he nodded to her hand

“It’s perfect, but how did you know?” she looked up at him as they reached the other side of the road

“Do the words, ‘big, fuck off Tiffany diamond’ ring any bells?” he looked at her, referencing their conversation outside his flat a few months ago.

“Not about the tiffany.” she shook her head “But the cut. It’s a princess one, the one I’ve always wanted.

“I have a good memory” he smiled, “And I picked that particular one because its a design called a Novo. I thought he said Nova at first.”

Katie laughed as she snaked her arms round his neck. “For the record, this was much a much better proposal than we can get married if you want….”

“Are you ever gonna let me forget that?” he sighed as he leaned down.

“I think you’ve redeemed yourself…” she said as her lips met his.

****

“Tony suggested we have a drink before we meet everyone.” Steve stepped into the elevator and Katie looked at him before she smoothed down her white dress.

“So where are we meeting everyone?”

“It’s a surprise, stop being so impatient.”

“Errr. You can’t tell me off, it’s my birthday.”

“Well stop asking so many questions and just enjoy your night!”

She didn’t get chance to reply as then the elevator doors opened onto the main party floor and there was a loud eruption of noise, making Katie jump.

“SURPRISE!”

Her mouth dropped open as she looked around the room. It was decorated in banners, balloons, and now paper streamers from the party poppers that had just been exploded by their friends. Clint, Thor, Bruce, Rhodey, Sam, Maria Hill, Tony, Pepper, Lawson, Evans, a whole host of people that worked in the offices and a familiar copper haired assassin stepped forward to greet her.

“Miss me?” Nat quipped.

“I can’t…” Katie began to speak, as she hugged her friend back “Oh my God…”

“JARVIS can you record this?” she heard Tony speak. “For this is a monumental occasion. She’s actually speechless…”

Katie turned to look at Steve who had been watching her reaction with a smile on his face. He loved seeing her happy, and he was pretty sure he’d managed to achieve that several times over during the day.

“Did you organise this?” she asked

“Why do you sound so surprised?” he chuckled, stepping forward to kiss her cheek “I had a little help but yeah, it was my idea. Happy Birthday baby.”

Before she could reply Natasha suddenly spoke very loudly.

“What is that?”

“What?” Katie asked, although she knew full well what Natasha was talking about.

“Errrr that?” She grabbed at Katie’s left hand.

The room fell silent.

“What does it look like?” Katie grinned at her

“Holy fucking shit.” Steve heard Clint chuckle as he slid his arm round his fiancées waist and the two of them exchanged a smile.

“We’re getting married” Steve grinned, finally tearing his eyes from Katie to look round the room. There was a pause and he locked eyes with Tony who winked at him before there was a flurry of noise and activity as everyone surged forward to congratulate them.

Tony reached them first and the two men shared a manly hug, which included lots of back slapping before he dropped a kiss to his sister’s cheek as Katie felt a hand grab hers. Natasha scrutinised her newest piece of jewellery before she looked up at Steve.

“You picked that all by yourself?” she looked up at Steve.

“I’m not completely useless” he rolled his eyes.

“I’m impressed Rogers,”

Sam clapped Steve on his back and as the two men began to banter, Tony pulled his sister into his side.

“Congratulations Kiddo.” He said, looking down at her hand “Looks even better on.”

“You’ve seen it?” She frowned.

“I may or may not have taken him to Tiffany’s…” Tony shrugged. “But I promise he picked it all by himself”

“So you knew he was gonna ask me?”

“He asked my permission.” Tony sniffed. “Well I might not be Dad but…”

Katie noticed his eyes were shining and she smiled at him as he continued.

“I want you to know,” Tony’s voice cracked slightly “I couldn’t be prouder of you, or love you more if you were my own.”

“Stop it, you’re making me cry!” Katie exclaimed, the tears in her own eyes gently spilling out as he pulled her into huge hug and she pressed her face into his chest. Eventually she stepped back, the pair of them wiping their eyes and Tony took the opportunity of a distraction, turning to a waiter.

Steve, who had been watching the two siblings saw the emotional exchanged and he stepped forward, as Tony was yelling about champagne for a toast.

“You alright?” Steve asked, gently wiping a tear off her cheek before he slipped his arms around her waist.

“Never been happier.” she beamed, honestly, her hands winding round his neck “ I know I said last year was the best birthday ever but this has smacked it straight out of the park.”

“Glad to hear it.” he smiled, leaning down to kiss her “I love you.”

“God job, seeing as I’m gonna be your wife.” she teased, her hand tangling in the back of his hair.

“Yeah…” he said, the shit eating grin spreading across his face again as he contemplated the words. His wife. “Yeah, you are”

Chapter 19

**Original Posting**

#stark spangled banner #steve rogers #Katie Stark #steve rogers fanfiction #steve rogers fic #steve rogers x ofc #steve rogers x original female character #mcu #mcu fanfic #captain america #chris evans #chris evans characters

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wordsandshawn · 4 years

Text

Notice

Just a little fluffy imagine with four different scenarios all about knowing each other so well you notice all the little things that no one else would pick up on.

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word count: 2.2k

Today is your best friend’s twenty-second birthday. She’s throwing a little party at her house, and you are excited to celebrate her and to finally have a reason to let loose. You’re also looking forward to seeing a lot of your friends who you haven’t seen in a while. Since you all attended the same high school, a lot of Shawn’s friends will be there too, and you’re glad Shawn actually happens to be home this weekend. For once, you’re not having to go to the party alone, which makes it all even better.

You and Shawn arrive together, of course, but after greeting everyone, Brian practically drags Shawn outside where his friends are hanging out, and your best friend pulls you into the kitchen to take your first shot of the night with her and a few other friends. After that, you lose Shawn and find yourself milling around inside, talking to friends you haven’t seen in a while.

You’re a few drinks in when you spot Shawn come in from outside. He scans the room briefly before making eye contact with you and smiling then he disappears into the kitchen and you refocus on your friends. A few moments later, you’re absorbed into a conversation when Shawn walks by. He wordlessly slips you a bottle of water he had grabbed from the kitchen and briefly greets your friends before excusing himself and walking back outside to return to his friends. You unscrew the cap to the water bottle and take a sip, knowing that the water will do wonders to offset the amount of alcohol you’ve already consumed, and you’re grateful Shawn brought it to you because you wouldn’t have put in the effort to go and get one yourself.

About an hour later, you realize that you haven’t seen Shawn in quite some time, so you walk outside in search of him. You involuntarily shiver when the cool night air hits you. You’re wearing a sweater, but it’s not as thick as it probably should have been for a night like this. Making your way to Shawn, you take a seat next to him on the outdoor couch, glad that he’s sitting near the fire pit. You greet his friends and join in on their conversation. You can feel Shawn moving beside you, but you’re listening to Jon tell a story, so you don’t look at him until you feel a weight on your shoulders and glance over to see that he had taken off his jean jacket and placed it around your shoulders. He’s wearing a long-sleeved shirt, and you know he wouldn’t accept the jacket back even if you tried, so you just thank him quietly, moving your hand to squeeze his leg gently. Even after all this time, you’re still surprised when Shawn notices things about you that no one else would notice. He somehow seems to know how you’re feeling even when you don’t tell him.

It’s in his mannerisms. That’s what tips you off to recognize that Shawn is not feeling completely like himself today. You noticed the way his fingers drummed constantly on his knee until you placed your hand over his, causing him to still. He makes eye contact with you, but he doesn’t say anything, so you don’t either.

You noticed how his hair was messy when he got home from the studio, messy like he had been running his fingers through it for the past few hours, something he only does when he’s frustrated or struggling.

You noticed how his phone kept ringing, and it was always Andrew, throughout the evening. Shawn’s eyebrows would knit together each time before he answered the call. Andrew was asking about scheduling, talking details of the upcoming tour, wanting information about how the album was coming along. You couldn’t help but wonder why all of this had to be discussed at eight pm on a Monday night, but one look at the stress written across Shawn’s face and you don’t say what you’re thinking. Instead, after Shawn’s phone starts ringing a third time, you stand from your spot beside him on the couch. Walking to the kitchen, you fill the tea kettle with water and place it on the stove. Turning the dial, you listen to gas stove click a few times and then watch the fire flash to life. You retrieve two mugs from the cabinet and then dig through the pantry in search of teabags.

Shawn’s still on the phone with Andrew when you return with two cups of steaming hot tea. You hand one to Shawn, and he immediately takes it, moving his phone away from his ear long enough to press the speakerphone button as Andrew’s voice floats through the speaker on the phone. He puts the phone down next to him on the couch and scoots a tiny bit closer to you. “What were the dates you want off again?” Andrew asks.

“June 21st through the 30th.” Shawn recites from memory, meeting your gaze as a small smile crosses his face. That’s the week of your birthday, and Shawn has already told you he wants to take you on a trip, a little getaway. Most people have to request for vacation a month or two in advance, but Shawn is requesting it ten months in advance, and you know he will have to repeat these dates countless times to make sure nothing gets scheduled.

Andrew starts talking again, but you drown out his voice, taking a sip of your tea. Shawn’s drinking his tea too, but you can tell he’s still listening, even if he doesn’t really want to.

Finally, the call ends, and you put your mug down, scooting closer to Shawn. He takes the hint, putting his mug down on the coffee table too, before wrapping his arms around you. Tilting your chin up, you plant a kiss on his jaw, and he smiles. You can visibly feel his body relax next to yours as he sighs quietly. Sometimes, you ask Shawn about what’s stressing him out, ask him if he wants to talk about it, but tonight, you don’t. You know that he’ll say something if he wants to talk and having you close is what helps him relax. After the long day you’ve had, there’s nowhere else you’d rather be.

It’s just one of those days, sometimes they happen without reason. There are just some days where you feel more anxious than others. It has taken you years to learn to pick up on your own bodily cues, years to know yourself enough to know your limits and your emotions in order to be able to take care of yourself and prevent things from becoming too much.

This morning, you knew from almost the moment that you woke up that you were feeling uncharacteristically anxious, even though you couldn’t pinpoint exactly why you felt that way. Sometimes, not knowing or understanding the reason for your anxiety makes it all feel worse because you feel helpless.

You had spent the night before at Shawn’s place, and you have the morning off. You’ll have to go into work for a few hours in the afternoon, but you have the morning free to spend with Shawn before he goes into the studio for a bit. This knowledge consoles you a bit, but the feeling of anxiety doesn’t dissipate, no matter how hard you try to stop feeling that way.

It takes a while, but after you and Shawn finally drag yourselves out of bed, he suggests going to the coffee shop down the street, and you agree. It’s not a far walk, and it’s one of Shawn’s little routines, something he does often when he’s home, and he knows you’re never one to decline coffee in the morning. When you get to the coffee shop, you order first, adding a decaf onto your usual latte order. Shawn orders his americano, and you’re walking back to his condo hand-in-hand before long.

Later that evening, when you’re back from work and Shawn is back from the studio, the two of you are in his living room, sitting on his white couch. Shawn’s playing around on his guitar, and you have your laptop open in front of you, getting some work finished that you weren’t able to complete while at work. It’s a comfortable kind of calm evening, the only noises disrupting the silence in the condo are the sounds of you typing on your keyboard and Shawn strumming his guitar.

“Are you feeling better?” Shawn questions, seemingly out of the blue.

“Hmm?” You look up from your laptop to see Shawn already looking at you, one hand resting on the neck of his guitar, with the other one gripping the side. His question catches you off guard because you had never said anything to Shawn all day that would indicate you weren’t feeling fine.

“Are you feeling better?” He repeats the question with genuine care in his voice, although you had heard him clearly the first time. When you still just stare at him, wondering what he’s getting at, he explains, “I know you were feeling anxious this morning.”

“How did you know?” You question, amazed that he had picked up on it. He hadn’t mentioned it earlier.

“You ordered decaf coffee at eight am.” Shawn says as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. “The only reason I’ve ever seen you drink decaf before noon was because you felt anxious, so I just figured.” He shrugs.

It’s a Friday night and Shawn’s home, so that means that his friends are over and it’s loud and crazy and fun, and you wouldn’t have expected anything less. You show up late because you had gotten stuck at work. When you walk in the door, the music is blasting, and you’re so ready for a drink, but you want to find your boyfriend first. Shawn’s on the couch, laughing at something Brian is showing him on his phone, and he doesn’t notice you until you’re right in front of him.

When he sees you, a smile spreads across his face, “Hi Y/n! You finally made it!” His cheeks are flushed, and his smile is reaching all the way to his eyes. He stands from his spot on the couch and pulls you in for a hug. You hug him back and then tell him you’re going to get a drink, asking if he wants anything, but he just shakes his head. He pulls you close to him again, telling you he loves you, and you laugh at how he already seems pretty drunk, but return the sentiment before walking away.

From the kitchen, you pull a can of coke from the fridge, pouring it over ice in a plastic cup before looking for the bottle of rum you know has to be around somewhere, all while keeping an eye on Shawn. He’s happy, of course he’s happy. It’s a Friday night, he’s home in Canada, and his friends are all over. But there’s something about this happiness. It’s a different kind of happiness, like more than just him being excited to be home, and you’re not quite sure what it is, but you notice it.

Seeing Shawn blissful like this never fails to make you smile. It also helps that it’s a Friday night and you don’t have to worry about work until Monday. After about a half hour, Shawn finds you in the kitchen where you’re just standing around chatting with some friends. He takes your hand in his, and gently tugs. When you look at him, eyebrows knit together in confusion, his eyes are shining. He has that happy look on his face, and he gently tugs again. He doesn’t have to say anything, you say, “I’ll be right back,” To the group, and follow Shawn to where he leads you out onto the balcony.

“Shawn, it’s freezing,” You say, but stop your complaining short when you can see he’s practically giddy. “What’s going on?” You question, feeling a little bit of worry, but by the way that Shawn is so happy and has been so elated all night, you can’t imagine it’s anything but good.

“The album is done.” The words tumble out of his mouth like it’s been taking so much effort to hold in, and even in the dim lighting, you can see the joy and excitement in his eyes.

“What!? Really?” You respond in disbelief. You didn’t expect it to be finished this early, and you’re not even sure how it happened.

“Yes. I wrote the last song today, and it was one of those songs, one of those that just came out so perfectly, and it’s the last track. I can just feel it.” He’s smiling, and you lean in to hug him, squealing in excitement.

“That’s amazing, Shawn!” You say, finally letting go of him, “So that’s why you’re so happy tonight? We’re celebrating the album being done!” You shout, turning around to go back inside and celebrate because now you know that you have something to celebrate.

He takes your hand, gently pulling you back to him, “I didn’t tell anyone else,” He says once you’re facing him. “I just wanted to keep it between us for tonight. They’ll all find out soon enough.”

“Alright, we’ll celebrate later then,” You say without missing a beat.

He laughs, but then says, “Is that a promise?”

You roll your eyes and take his hand, dragging him back inside.

If you enjoyed reading this style of four different scenarios with the same theme, I wrote a few others a while back if you want to check them out: Playful, Thoughtful, and Caring

thanks for reading!

#Shawn Mendes #Shawn Peter Raul Mendes #Shawn Mendes blurbs #Shawn Mendes imagine #Shawn Mendes fic

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