#IM EARLY I KNOW IM SORRY BUT I FINISHED SOONER THAN EXPECTED

[animehideout]

I think a lot about jjk men being angry because their gamer girlfriend ignores them 😩

(sorry for the writing, english is not my first language

JJK Men x Gamer GF

a/n: Hello anon thank you so much for your request. I had fun writing this one. I really hope you like it 🫶🏻

( Requests are open )

Characters: Gojo Satoru / Toji Fushiguro / Ryomen Sukuna / Nanami Kento.

Gojo Satoru:

Satoru has been very busy with endless missions lately, getting home really late.

To ease your lonliness, you started gaming.

Well till it turned into addiction.

You were kinda mad at him for not making time for you or at least speak to the higher-ups to take some days off.

But you never talked that out with him, since you didn't have the chance to express yourself.

He surprisingly arrived early tonight, excited to spend the night cuddling with you while watching movies.

But he didn't expect you to have your eyes glued on the screen in front of you while gaming like a maniac.

The room echoed with the sounds of keystrokes and game music.

He jumped in excitement to surprise you but no reaction.

“huh? baby! Im hooome”

“hey” you smiled unenthusiastically at him and quickly turned your focus back on your game.

He raised his eyebrow, watching as you delve into your virtual world, a world seemingly more captivating than his presence.

Would try everything to bring your attention towards him.

He knows his touch makes you weak, so he leaned in wrapping his arms around your shoulders, kissing the top of your head, wishing to draw your attention away from your screen.

“I missed you so much babygirl”

His attempt failed miserably, you just hummed in return completely ignoring him.

When his affection didn't work he started teasing you attempting to provoke you and get a reaction out of you.

“You sure you can play this game? I feel like you suck at this”.

When his teasing fell on a deaf ear as well, his frustration reached its peak.

His calm and amused voice turned into an annoyed tone.

“ARE YOU REALLY GONNA IGNORE ME FOR THAT STUPID GAME Y/N?” he would yell in an unusual harsh tone.

The question hang in the air as it left you momentarily stunned.

“Why the hell are you yelling?” you would question.

“Oh so now I got your attention?! I've been trying to talk to you for half an hour now and all what you did is playing your stupid game”.

His anger was very evident.

He would remove his blindfold throwing it somewhere in your shared bedroom.

“So you got mad because I was focusing on playing my game but you didn't consider that I'm probably the one who's mad because you're never home” you let out of everything, confronting him.

“you're comparing this stupid game to my job?”

Oh boy he fucked up, he didn't get the whole point.

After raging and snapping at you he would give you the silent treatment.

Of course his narcissistic ass wouldn't apologize first.

He's convinced that it's your fault even though he was offensive as well.

You would eventually say sorry and he'll show you his bright smile at the spot.

Both of you would talk things out and find a solution to spend more time together.

“so we good now baby?...can we cuddle?”

“yeah Satoru just lemme finish this round” you would joke.

Toji Fushiguro:

As much as he enjoys your giggles and the way you throw cute tantrums while playing, he HATES IT when you're completely engrossed in your game, oblivious to the way he's sitting there watching you.

Kinda paradoxical.

He wished to have you in his arms.

Or having you on his lap while making out.

But all of these were just thoughts crossing his mind cuz you don't seem like you're finishing your game any time sooner.

And that annoyed him to the core.

“y/n, y/n ?”

“HOW LONG IS THIS GOING TO TAKE”.

You didn't even hear him with having your headset on.

He's very possessive of you and he wants all of your attention to himself.

Especially when you started chatting with your friends, while playing together.

That shit was his last straw.

“Thats it...get your ass over here y/n”

You would look at him in disbelief.

Mouthing “my friends heard you”

“oh trust me I don't give A SINGLE FUCK” he would yell again.

You apologized to your friends and quickly paused the game.

“Are you out of your mind Toji why did you say that”.

“Why did you apologize to your friends while I'm the one you should apologize to”

He would stand up approaching you, narrowing his eyes, clearly pissed.

His giant figure making you take a step back, trapping you between him and your desk.

“Now what should I do to you for ignoring me for too long huh?” he whispered.

You started stuttering, his strong aura did things to you.

His narrow eyes piercing through you, sending shivers down your spine.

“I- I'm s-sorry” you gulped.

“What a good girl...now turn off that computer before I smash it and get your ass on the bed”

Well you had no other options, so you obeyed him.

Unless you want to act bratty which will result in him punishing the hell out of you.

Would spend the whole night cuddling you, literally smashing you in his strong arms, never letting go of you. 🫶🏻🥹

“But Toji I really need to use the bathroom”.

“Nuh-uh”.

Ryomen Sukuna:

Two possibilities, whether you're too bold or you're suicidal and have a death wish to test this man's patience.

They just released this new game and you're completely obsessed with it.

You would spend hours playing it, luckily Sukuna was busy with some things so he didn't notice the way that game took your whole attention and energy.

He wants to be the one taking all of your time and energy.

But when he does notice, oh god, run or pray for your life.

“y/n come here let me kiss you”

“one second!!!”

He would look at you in disbelief.

Cocking his eyebrow, while leaning back .

Even though your back was facing him, you could feel the daggers he was sending your way.

“I said NOW”

“Please baby, I'm winning be there in a sec-”

You didn't even get to finish your sentence when he threw your whole set up off of your desk.

Your eyes would widen in shock.

You don't know if you should feel sad that your whole gaming set up got destroyed or scared that you're the one about to get destroyed.

“You dare to ignore me.. that's bold of you y/n” he would say in his deep voice, making your chest tighten.

“I'll only allow this once, there won't be a second time... do you understand?”

You would nod immediately.

He would throw you on his shoulder taking you to your shared bedroom.

“You need to be taught a lesson after all”

Of course he wouldn't apologize that he got angry at you.

I mean, it's Sukuna we're talking about.

The next day, Sukuna would surprise you with a new gaming computer with complete setup.

You've never imagined him doing this gesture but you truly appreciated that the king of curse actually considered your feelings.

“I don't understand what humans find so entertaining in this game... you should try murder is much more fun..”

You would happily unbox it and place it on your desk.

“Now, Doll next time when I tell you to stop you stop immediately without any stupid excuses”.

Nanami Kento:

Would be home after a long day at work.

Brings dinner with him and expects both of you to eat together while talking about your day and future plans for the weekend.

Only to find you in a dark room, only your computer screen glowing.

“y/n I'm home darling!”

“oh hey there baby” you would simply say eyes still glued on the game.

He wouldn't think much of it even though you were used to jump on him, embracing him in a long hug and telling him how much you missed him.

But lately all what you've been occupied with is this game.

Would give you space, while he takes his time to shower, prepare the table for both of you to have dinner.

“y/n dinner is ready, let's eat”

“yeah yeah I'll be there in a sec Kento” you said, agressively pressing the buttons on your controller.

He would sigh and head to the kitchen, to wait for you there.

Half an hour has passed, an hour and you didn't show up yet.

“shit” you said to yourself when you checked the time.

You ran downstairs to find him on the couch watching TV.

You slowly approached him and sat next to him.

“ken-”

“you don't have to say anything y/n”.

Your heart ached because you know you screwed up.

He would ignore you, his eyes fixated on the big screen in front of him.

You would place your hand on his lap but he would reject you.

“Kento please”

He would start lecturing you.

“You know, that was extremely childish y/n.. I've been waiting for us to have dinner together since the moment I left the morning.. that's what keeps me going.. knowing that I'll come back home to find you..but you did what? you ignored me”

He would be really furious but he kept it to a low and cold tone.

No matter how much he gets pissed he'll never raise his voice at you.

You would look down, embarrassed and feeling extremely guilty.

“I'm your husband y/n , lately you're not fulfilling your duties towards me like I do to you..”.

He is a responsible man, and he believes in efforts from both sides.

You would end up crying.

And he'll end up apologizing even though it was your mistake from the beginning.

He hates seeing you cry, especially because of him.

He regretted getting angry at you.

Between sobs you managed to explain to him that you were trying to win an award by getting the first place in this game.

Would bring you to his chest, holding you close.

“shh I'm sorry.. that's okay. I understand. I'm sorry if my words were harsh”

Would wipe your tears.

Doesn't go to work the next day and spends the day with you while you teach him how to play.

Thank you for reading (⁠♡⁠ω⁠♡⁠ ⁠)⁠ ⁠~⁠♪

[e-munson666]

WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!

++Protective!Eddie Munson × reader++

(Eddie comes home early and sees you on a ladder. The poor man almost has a heart attack why are we stressing him out???)

Content/Warnings ⚠️: Language, smoking, but just lots of fluff. Protective boyfriend Eddie. Pet names (sweetheart/baby) but no gender specifics, this ones for everyone.

@krys-orion tagged on request

🖤Lady Hellfire🖤

Eddie had clocked off early from his mechanic job, finishing the minor repair he had on the books much sooner than he had expected. He double checked his work before driving home to surprise you.

What Eddie wasn't expecting was the surprise he himself was in for. He pulled up to the trailer you both shared, renting one the next street over from Wayne's. He got out of his van and suddenly heard a ruckus coming from above him, he looks up and his heart jumps into his throat.

You were high up on a ladder, fooling with the TV antenna, leaning a little too far to the side struggling with the prongs.

"SWEETHEART WHAT THE FUCK ARE DOING?!" Eddie yells, completely terrified you were going to fall and break something.

"Oh my God Eddie" you gasp, immediately climbing down from the ladder. When your feet were safely on the ground you look up and see Eddies chocolate eyes widely staring at you. You blush in embarrassment, knowing he was scared and upset.

He gently grabs your shoulders before taking a deep breath, "Seriously baby, what were you DOING up there?!" Trying keep a calm low tone to his voice, despite his adrenaline pumping fast in his body.

"I'm sorry Eddie!" You respond quickly, "The T.Vs acting up and I thought I could fidgit with the antenna and get it working right." You confesses watching the look of shock spread across his face.

"Sweetheart" Eddie sighed, "why, WHY didn't you go get Wayne instead of climbing up there yourself. Do you have ANY idea how dangerous that is. You seriously almost gave me a fucking heart attack" Eddie rants. "I mean Jesus H. Christ baby"

"Im sorry Eddie! Wayne was just here earlier installing the new locks and I didn't want to bother him again, I felt bad." You admit quietly.

Eddie drops his hands from your shoulders, providing a loud slap when they hit his thighs. He takes a second to slow his breathing before he continued.

"Shit sweetheart, Wayne LIVES for that kinda stuff" he states, digging into his pockets to grab a smoke. He lights it and takes a long deep drag.

"Please, PLEASE don't ever do that again, I swear to God you almost just killed me babe" he half laughs

"I promise Eddie, I'm so sorry I scared you!" You say, wrapping your arms around his waist.

"I forgive you, but you've coming to work with me tomorrow." He says, kissing your forehead and tickling your side just long enough to get a steady giggle from you.

He pulls away from you slightly, big doe eyes meeting yours. He smiles down at you before gently kissing your lips. He pulls away and says sternly, "Im not joking sweetheart, you're a fuckin menace when left unattended."

*

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A/N: I hope you enjoyed this cute little insert. As always, let me know if you want to see more in the comments!

[harry-writings]

The Happy Years

- The one where Y/n is unhappy in her engagement and finds an escape with her former lover

Part 1

Masterlist

(A/N) IM SO EARLY IM SORRY I KNOW I SAID 9PM BUT IM DONE SO MUCH SOONER THAN EXPECTED OKAY IM SORRY LOVE YALL <3333

-

Three years later.

The heaviest of thunderstorms hit the city of London by early morning, the loss of the sun and the gloom of the day leaving Harry bedridden for the first time in weeks.

He always tried his best to avoid days like this — trapped within his home, caged in memories that make every step he takes heavier than the last, wishing for just the smallest taste of salvation — because it’s when he’s left alone between these walls that the darkest parts of him come out, ravaging, feeding off of what’s left of him.

Rain reminds him of the day Y/n left. Thunder reminds him of Malibu. Malibu reminds him of all the things he ever used to do with her — on the bed, on the couch, in the hallways.

There’s no escape from what he’s done.

But when the time hits two in the afternoon and Harry still hasn’t gotten up from under his blankets, he decides that doing even the bare minimum with his day would be some sort of accomplishment.

He decided to get the mail.

And what a terrible decision that was, Harry thinks, as he sees an envelope addressed to him in unfamiliar handwriting by an unfamiliar name. Something about it upsets his stomach and throws him off key, knowing in his heart that he shouldn’t open it, but it’s heavy in his hands and he can’t ignore the temptation of it all.

Another terrible decision he’s made.

Please join us for the wedding of Alfie Lexington & Y/n Y/l/n.

Saturday, September 25, 2021 at 3:00 PM.

Dartmouth House. Mayfair, London.

The downpour feels like a drizzle compared to the cries Harry lets out as he reads the wedding invitation, his worst nightmare playing out right before his very eyes and if he wasn’t already so fucked up, he’d try his best to ignore it.

Y/n played her move. She wants him to strike back. She wants to win and watch him lose more than he already has. That’s all she has left of him.

His lips tremble as he sniffles, the invitation shaking between his palms as he lets reality sink in.

Y/n is getting married.

Y/n is happy.

Y/n is going to spend the rest of her life with somebody other than him — somebody that was once his friend.

It's unfathomable to him. The connection him and Y/n shared was unlike any other. They were drawn to each other instantaneously, their feelings of infatuation never once dying down because it was simply incapable of doing so.

They put each other first. They made each other better people, helped each other grow through all the droughts and winter days, and continuously found ways to become closer to one another. They were so comfortable and confident in their company, and so every day they spent together within those four years had never been anything less than pure happiness.

They were meant to be. He didn’t see it then, but he sees it now, and now that’s all he sees because everything he sees is her. 

To know that it’s no longer the same for her kills him from the inside out, because now she really doesn’t belong to him.

He lets out a sound that can only resemble what would be a whine and a groan made together, sobbing as he flips the invitation around, only to find another saved date he just doesn’t have the heart to see — an engagement party for all the invited to join.

He’s so overwhelmed with devastation that his brain becomes fogged, his body disassociating from itself as he rips the invitation apart, growling and screaming and wailing as he just keeps ripping it and ripping it and ripping it.

He’s destroying it in the same way it destroyed him until he gives up, slamming his fists down upon the counter, losing control of himself beneath all his pain and regrets. This wasn’t how any of this was supposed to happen. This isn’t what was supposed to come from this life.

He’s barely surviving as it is.

And he just needs to see her again.

But he doesn’t know how he’d react once he does. Whether he’d want to kiss her, to hate her, to love her all over again, he doesn’t know. His entire world is collapsing and he doesn’t know how to save it from falling apart. He can’t take any more risks when it comes to her.

But what is love without fear and danger? What would it say about him if he were to walk away from this now instead of trying just once more with her?

So with a heavy heart and a sobbing chest, he doesn’t take his chances.

And Y/n simply just couldn’t believe the sight in front of her.

Harry is standing at her doorstep, soaked head to toe, shaking in his bones. His lips are a light shade of blue and his eyes an alarming shade of red, somehow wetter than the rest of him. And as the thunder rumbles beneath her feet and nearly sends her to her knees, it goes to show her that he really is here, standing at her doorstep, and it’s not just a dream.

And she must have been struck by the shock of his presence because her tongue is suddenly tied, her throat dry, her lips fallen open yet forgetting how to breathe.

She just looks at him, soaking him all in, trying to understand what exactly led him back to the biggest mistake of his life.

“Harry?”

“So that was your way of getting back at me?! After three fucking years?!”

Her mouth falls open in disbelief, her eyebrows furrowing in defense. How he could possibly accuse her of something she didn’t even do — considering she hadn’t made any attempts to reach out to him since the moment she left Malibu — makes her feel even more betrayed than before.

He should know her better than this. He should know her from the inside out at this point, but she supposed three years really is a long time, because she’s never seen this side of Harry before. He seems so different to her now.

“Don’t you dare come to my home and try to make an ass out of me! Since when have I ever been the kind of person to get back at somebody?!”

Harry stutters for a moment, his anger and jealousy and hurt blinding him from the truth that Y/n never goes out of her way to get even. Her heart is too big, but he can’t shake this feeling that the person who sent him the invitation was out to do him harm.

And nobody had more of a reason to hurt him than Y/n.

“So the wedding invitation, then? You had nothing to do with that?”

He speaks it condescending, as if he didn’t believe a word she said, but that’s not what it comes down to. It comes down to the fact that she has moved on and found herself somebody so much better than him, and he has no one.

She shakes her head as if to gather her thoughts, confused about how he even found out about the wedding considering Harry quit the firm just hours after he left Malibu, leaving him with no contact to anybody that had any string tied back to her.

“Of course I had something to do with the wedding invitations! I’m the one getting married!”

She pauses then, her cold demeanor dropping into something Harry wants to say resembles a hint of relief, but it’s much more cross than that, much more serious, and he doesn’t expect what’s coming next.

“That’s what this is about, isn’t it? Me getting married?” She speaks it through a small, bitter laugh. “I should have known the only way you’d fight for me was by being with somebody else. You never could stand being second to me, as ironic as that is.”

“I could give two shits about you getting married.” He lies through clenched teeth, his stomach sick at the mere thought of it. “But I do have an issue with you inviting me to your wedding after walking out on me.”

Her head snaps back up to him.

“Wait, Harry, what are you talking about?” She frowns, trying to make sense of it. “I didn’t invite you to the wedding.”

Why would she?

They are no longer friends, no longer much of anything, so for her to take time out of her day to sabotage anything but herself wouldn’t feel right to her. Besides, it was her decision to never speak to Harry again, she wouldn’t ever take her word back.

Harry frowns then, too, because she isn’t faking her emotions. She’d always been terrible at doing so, and the way her eyes scream and beg for answers can’t go ignored. He, again, feels like the absolute worst person in the world.

“Then who did?” He whispers.

There’s only one possible answer.

-

Seven months ago.

Alfie insisted that he and Y/n had a New Year’s Eve party. They’d never had one before, as Y/n much preferred staying in with a bottle of champagne and celebrating with a lobster dinner and late night reruns of The Honeymooners.

But Alfie was persistent. Very persistent. Too persistent. So persistent she had no choice but to give in, and she just didn’t understand why.

She didn’t understand it as days passed and all Alfie talked about was the stupid party. She didn’t understand it when he rented out one of the most expensive venues. She didn’t understand it when he laid awake the entire night before, too anxious to fall asleep. She didn’t understand it when he asked her to wear his favorite dress.

She wished that she did the moment it happened.

The clock was ticking.

“Five!”

Alfie reached for Y/n’s hand.

“Four!”

Y/n noticed something shift in the air.

“Three!”

Alfie reached his other hand into his pocket.

“Two!”

Y/n knew what was coming.

“One!”

Alfie dropped to one knee.

“Happy new year!”

It was every girl’s dream — the fireworks, the balcony, the view, the prince charming that would whisk her away to spend the rest of eternity together — yet it couldn’t have felt any more like a nightmare.

It wasn’t what she wanted. Not then, not ever before, not once during the span of their relationship, and time seemed to have stopped moving forward.

There she was, in the center of the universe as everybody stopped and stared, gasping and gushing at the sight of a man on his knees for a woman. An act of vulnerability, of love, of submission, yet it didn’t feel like any of those things.

It all felt so wrong.

She began to cry.

To everyone else, it seemed as though she was crying from happiness. Her devoted boyfriend of two years finally asked for her hand in marriage, to be the mother of his children, to spend the rest of their lives tied together by a vow, unable to be broken. So it was no surprise when everybody let out an awe of endearment, nobody (not even Alfie) knowing her well enough to distinguish the difference between her happiest and saddest cries.

Harry would have known.

And that was all it seemed to come back to in that very moment in time.

Harry.

What she would have given to feel his hands on her waist, blocking her body from view with his, taking her away from all the unwanted eyes on her fragile body. He would have done it in a heartbeat because he always did — he always found a way to help her escape her horrifying realities, even the sweetest of ones.

What she would have given for it to be him kneeling in front of her… this all would have been so different.

Her lover of two years was promising her a future, yet all she could think about was somebody stuck in her past, yet so heavily prevalent in her present.

But she couldn’t say no. How could she when everybody expected the answer he was looking for, ready to toast to the bride and groom? How could she when phones captured the beginning of the rest of their lives, ready to share for all to see?

But she couldn’t say yes, either.

She settled for a nod of her head.

The crowd cheered, some clapping, others clinking their glasses, lovers kissing. She only caught a glimpse of those celebratory moments before everything around her drowned in her tears, voices of congratulations so distant beneath her heavy, hyperventilated breaths.

Alfie embraced her, then, and she felt his laughs of euphoria rumbling in his chest as hers met his, and she couldn’t even pretend.

She rested her chin on his shoulder, her expression void of everything that she should have been feeling. And her eyes went blank as they caught a reflection of her through the balcony windows — the last time she ever saw herself for what she truly was.

-

That same day.

Y/n was a mess waiting for Alfie to get home.

Seeing Harry again filled her with so many different emotions, she didn’t know which one to start with. She wanted to cry, wanted to scream, wanted to destroy everything and everybody that dared get in her way, she wanted to disappear. Yet she had done none of it. All she could manage to do was pace around her bedroom, biting at her nails and getting lost in her scrambled thoughts, her mind and body moving at a million miles an hour, unable to be tamed.

This is precisely the reason Y/n never wanted to see him again.

He does things to her, he always has. She hardly has any control over herself whenever it comes to him and she fucking hates it. No matter how sad, how mad, how hurt or how upset, there was something about his presence that made her see past all of that. It saddens her how much she used to love it.

But her moods swing at her relentlessly, the sadness turning to anger because yes, she is angry. She’s angry that he still has this much of a hold on her, especially after everything he’s done, and she’s even more angry that he hasn’t yet apologized for it.

Because it was all getting better. The constant wondering about what he’s doing or who he’s with and the continuous string of thought always leading back to him was all finally falling into its place. She was finally finding her place.

And then her fiancè did this.

When she hears the bedroom door open, she hardly gives Alfie any time before she starts a fight, wishing nothing more than to take it all out on him.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?!” Y/n fumes, everything tainted red with anger as she looks into his eyes and feels nothing but hurt and betrayal. “Inviting Harry to our wedding behind my back?! Do you not remember what he did to me?! Do you not realize what you just did?!”

He frowns, not sarcastic or menacing, but he genuinely seems upset that she’d ever even ask him such a question.

“Y/n…” Alfie sighs, and she suddenly hates the way he’s always managed to remain calm in the most heated of arguments. She wants to start a war with it, to go for the kill, to make him crawl and beg and bleed for her forgiveness. “Of course I remember what he did to you, which is exactly why I did it.”

Her hands turn to fists.

“Are you kidding me?!”

“I wanted to hurt him for hurting you! God damn it, Y/n… after finding out what he did to you all I could think about was ripping him to pieces and that urge never left me, especially after we got together.”

He slumps himself down at the foot of the bed, loosening the tie around his neck, almost too aggressively. And if she wasn’t so out of her mind enraged, she would try her hardest to understand his side.

But there is no excuse for this. There’s no excuse for any of it.

“So now you use our marriage as a way to get back at him?!”

Y/n may not love Alfie the right way, but she had never stooped so low to treat her marriage like a weapon, ready to strike at any moment in time. It wasn’t something she used to inflict pain onto anybody else but herself, no matter how hard it had gotten.

And though she once believed their engagement meant more to him than it ever meant to her, she can’t help but feel as if that’s just another lie she’d been forced to live with.

He went behind her back deliberately to hurt somebody even she never intended on hurting. He knew what was to come of this and yet here he is, letting it all happen for satisfaction’s sake.

It feels like all she will ever be is used.

“Is that what this is to you?! A point on your scoreboard?! A big ‘fuck you, i won!’?”

“Isn’t that what this is for you?”

“Don’t you dare turn this into my problem.” She spits through clenched teeth, punching at the dresser beside her with the side of her fist, face burning with fury. “I’m not the one sending him our wedding invitations!”

“And I’m not the one staying up past midnight scrolling through pictures of him on my phone!”

Her mouth shuts then, her hard and pressed features softening at the unexpected turn of the conversation.

She had been looking at pictures of Harry almost every night since Malibu, she just never expected to get caught. She could physically feel Alfie fall asleep against her, so she always waited thirty minutes before she took her phone out, looking back at everything that once was.

It was the only thing she ever truly wanted.

It’s what she kept going back to — a habit that came as naturally as telling her best friend about her day, about her perspectives on the world, about the lack of guidance in her life — like a phone call at the end of the day as a way to unwind.

She had make believe conversations with him as she scrolled endlessly through her favorite photo album, the thickness of his accent engrained in her mind as she thought of everything he’d say to her if he were still around. And if that wasn’t enough, she’d live vicariously through the memories they made together and replay those moments all night, until they lulled her to sleep.

“I told you from day one that —”

“That you’re never going to let him go, I know. I know that he was the love of your life at one point but this is just pathetic now, Y/n. Absolutely nothing short of pathetic.” She frowns, his choice of words making her heart sink because he knows exactly how to do it. And he sighs, rubbing his hands up and down his face as if he were in agony. “I didn’t know this was the kind of shit I was signing up for.”

Her eyes brim with tears but don’t offer anything more, only upset that he couldn’t find a way to understand her when she’s trying so hard. But he never has and he never will — not in the way she needs him to and not in the way that could ever make this work.

“I’m not sorry for what I did.” She confesses sadly, her bottom lip between her teeth and fingers picking the skin around her nails as she tries, yet again, to make him see. “He was my best friend before he was anything else to me. There was a time in my life where he was all I had.”

And though her heart is still with Harry in every aspect of every way, it’s true. He was her best friend and that’s what she misses the most. There was so much to him that meant so much to her and none of it could ever be replaced, not even by Alfie.

“You know I love you but you also know I'm not the same woman you fell for in Malibu. I’m my worst self when I don't have him around and your favorite parts of me don’t exist without him. Don’t pretend like you don’t see that.”

His hands twitch against his lap, his shoulders slumping because it’s true. The most lively and brightest parts of herself had died the first step she’d taken away from him that night. Sure, she’s still the most resilient and beautiful woman Alfie had ever known, but she’s never been the same since then.

She’s still in love with him and there’s nothing for him to do about it. He didn’t see it until he saw the way she sulked over Harry that night, all those years later, with a diamond ring on her finger that just seemed to weigh her down even more.

None of this means anything to her.

“It’s been three years, Y/n. Just find yourself a new best friend and move the fuck on already. I’m getting sick and tired of this.”

What he doesn’t understand is that she is, too.

-

Two weeks later.

Y/n shouldn’t be this alone at her own engagement party, but it’s the impossible things that always manage to find their way to her.

The party consisted mostly of Alfie’s friends, considering Y/n is much more of an introvert than he is and the small number of friends she does have seemed to have disappeared within the sea of unfamiliar faces. She felt lost for a moment, but when she finally found her fiancè, he had been too invested in his own friends to spare her a single one of his glances, and it soon became disheartening to wait for him to acknowledge her when the thought of her never once crossed his mind.

So she ends up on the steps of their back porch, sipping on a glass of champagne, overlooking the garden, breathing in the silence.

She closes her eyes and succumbs herself to the summer breeze, wondering what she has to do to find a single glimmer of happiness. Her life is just so sad, a labyrinth of betrayal and hurt and heartbreak she can’t ever escape.

Darkness is all she sees when she thinks about her future. There is nothing for her to look forward to. Every day will come and go the same way it has been — unwanted, dreaded, wasted, another failed attempt of contentment. It all seems so hopeless to her now.

The champagne doesn’t stand a chance when it comes to a lonely Y/n, and it isn’t nearly enough to curb her mood, either as she huffs at her empty glass, wishing she had taken another.

She sets it down next to her, placing both her elbows on her knees, getting lost in her world of sorrow, long forgotten by her lover.

Harry is the first one to find her.

He had parked his car across the street from her shared home with Alfie, and even from his distance he knew Y/n wouldn’t be inside. He knows her too well to know she wouldn’t find her place in crowded rooms where the attention is all on her, even if it was all in the comfort of her own home.

And the fact that Alfie didn’t know her senses of belonging well enough to accommodate them made him seeth. She is an independent, a lone wolf, a woman who moves solely in her own way and anybody who’s ever loved her knows that above all else.

He doesn’t care for her.

And he doesn’t need to go looking for her because he can feel her, as if the universe somehow bent its laws of gravity and pushed him straight to her back porch steps, where he finds her all alone.

She nearly jumps out of her skin when she feels a hand fall softly on her shoulder, but immediately sinks into comfort when she sees that it’s Harry moving to sit beside her, his hand refusing to pull away.

Finally, she has a friend.

“Hey.” She says softly, one of the corners of her lips turning slightly upward at his unexpected visit. “I didn’t think you’d come.”

He smiles briefly at her before he overlooks the garden, his fingers squeezing at her shoulder before resting his palms over his lap. And there’s something about being next to her again that makes everything around him fall back into place. This is where he’s meant to be.

“Honestly, neither did I, all things considered.” They both let out a chuckle, the atmosphere between them so horrifically sad yet so incredibly right. “But I just really felt like I had to be here for you tonight.”

Despite the years that had passed and everything that drove them apart, Y/n remains who he loves most in this world. His connection to her never died, so the sudden gusts of off and disturbing feelings Harry used to get whenever Y/n was troubled had never left him. He felt it all just as strongly — her anxieties, her fears, her tears and everything in between. And he’s glad that part of them never died because the look in her eye tells him everything he needs to know.

She’s absolutely miserable.

She sighs, the corners of her lips falling as she stares at her engagement ring, her thumb and pinky twisting it around her ring finger, itchy and heavy no matter which way it's worn.

“Me and Alfie aren’t doing so well.”

She didn’t have to say it because he can already see how treacherous they are together, but that doesn’t make it any easier for him to hear.

He lost his right to be selfish with her in Malibu, and though he does gain a sense of happiness knowing he may have a chance with her again, it’s significantly outweighed by her sadness. Nothing had ever pained him more than that.

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

She shakes her head, her fingers reaching up to tuck fallen pieces of hair behind her ear.

“Don’t be. I don’t really know why he decided to do this, anyways.”

Harry’s lips fall.

“Marry you?”

Y/n’s leg begins to shake, her greatest and most absentminded nervous habit. And Harry had always been quick to place his hand over her thigh and rub at the surface, meeting her eye halfway and taking a deep breath in, to which she would always follow. He hesitates to do so tonight, but settles for it anyway.

She looks appreciative beneath it all.

She’d forgotten about Harry’s subtle favors over the past three years, so to feel it all again when she has been so low and neglected feels like a blessing to her. It feels like somebody finally cares for her, and that’s all she had been wanting all along.

Harry, she feels, is the only one who ever truly has.

“We just never talked about it. It was this big, ginormous, unavoidable, life changing question thrown at me with no warning at all.” Her forehead falls to her palms, as if humiliated by the memory. “In front of everybody.”

Harry’s heart crumbles from within him because nothing Alfie has given her has been anything she’s wanted, and that’s not what she deserves.

He remembers it so distinctively now — the way she poured her heart out to him just a few months before Malibu. It was the third Valentine’s Day they’d spent together and Y/n got so drunk, she spent nearly the entire night venting to him about everything she’d feared when it came to her future relationships.

With her head on his shoulder and her leg slung over his hips, Y/n’s thoughts were so destructive, she couldn’t bear to entertain them any longer, so she decided to let it all out.

“And what if my boyfriend proposes to me in a room full of people? I’d drown in sensory overload. And what if I want to say no? Or maybe? Or yes, just not right now? With all those people looking at me? I think I would pass away.”

Harry looked down at her in subtle curiosity, his fingers playing with her hair in the way they always liked. She was the only thing in his sight that wasn’t spinning out of his control.

“So how do you want to be proposed to?”

She hummed, as if contemplating her answer. But she knew. She already knew.

“In bed, probably. It’s so intimate and private there. So non-traditional. You’re the most done down at your first hour and something about someone wanting you at your worst, forever, is so poetic.”

She looked up at him with doe eyes merely seconds after.

“Will you make sure he does that for me, please? Promise me you’ll try.”

He smiled the best he could at her, pressing his lips down to her forehead. They lingered there for a moment, and Y/n’s breath was taken away.

“I’ll make sure of it.”

What makes the memory even worse was how much he really did love her and how blinded he was to it. He kissed her. He held her. He played with her hair. He slept beside her that night. He kissed her again goodnight. He brought her breakfast in bed the next morning. He did it all over again.

It couldn’t have been any more obvious.

But there’s something about the way she hasn’t expressed any of those concerns with Alfie that doesn’t sit right with him. It just doesn’t make any sense to him.

“Been with him for how long now, two years? And you really didn’t expect him to propose to you? Have you met you?”

She sulks herself deeper into her knees.

“I don’t know. I guess — I guess I just never really thought about it.”

Never thought about it?

“But you’ve always wanted to get married.” He says it more like a question than a statement, genuine concern and confusion in his tone of voice as his eyebrows furrow, trying to comprehend it.

She looks up at him with a void, empty expression.

“Yeah, but never to him.”

Her eyes linger on Harry’s for just a beat longer — just long enough to catch a glimpse of the way his lips fall and the way his face drains of color — before she blinks away from him, turning her gaze back toward the garden. The flowers have never looked so lifeless.

“Y/n… if I had known how you felt, I —”

“It wouldn’t have mattered.” Y/n shakes her head, looking back down at her trembling hands, tears now burning in her eyes as the sudden sadness of the conversation starts to weigh down on her. “You had four years to feel the same for me and you never did. My feelings would have done nothing to yours.”

“And I never did?” Harry asks incredulously, his voice low and faltered behind the heaviness of her words. “Is that really what you’ve been living with the past three years?”

Loose tears begin to fall down her cheeks because yes, she has been living with his unrequited love for six years and no, it’s never gotten any easier. It’s pathetic and ridiculous and the most unexplainable form of grief she’d ever carried, but it’s the most devastating kind. “How could I think any differently?”

“Because it was real, Y/n. Fuck.” He lets out a strangled, dry chuckle upon his words as he runs his shaking fingers through his hair. He’s nervous, absolutely terrified because if he fails to show her how deeply he feels for her now, he may never get the chance to again, and losing her is no longer an option for him. Not when she’s so close. “Because you know me better than anybody else and you know I wasn’t faking it with you. How could I have been? You would have seen right through me and you know it. You always do.”

Perhaps the love blinded her. Perhaps her heart was so invested it deceived her to see only the things she wanted as a subconscious form of self-preservation. It’s not an impossible possibility, and it’s certainly one she believed in throughout all this time, but a part of her can’t help but find a hint of truth stuck somewhere between his words.

The kissing, the touching, the tasting, the laughing and the loving did feel real to her. It felt real when she saw the way he smiled after every one of their kisses, and the way he reached for her when it was just to two of them, like he couldn’t get enough, and the way he moaned against her, and the way he told her he loved her, like he meant it.

She knows all of his movements and all of his habits — knows all the signs of his stress, his sadness, his tension, his ease. She knows the emotions he wears and the ones he doesn’t, notices everything he does and doesn’t do, and never once did anything he did with her seem anything less than genuine.

She hates that it’s taken her so long to see that, but it doesn’t fix all that he had broken now that she does. She wishes that it could, this life would be so much easier for her to live.

“You really hurt me.” Her voice quivers, low and quiet as she speaks her truth, and it breaks his heart all over again. Never has he heard her sound so sad in his life, and it’s all because of him.

“You think I don’t know that? I hate myself for everything I put you through because you didn’t deserve it. You didn’t deserve any of it.”

He pauses, waiting for her to say anything else, but it doesn’t come. All there is for her to offer are her silent cries and waterfall eyes.

“That night with Lydia… nothing happened. She caught me off guard and I panicked because how could I not? She was giving me everything I thought I wanted yet all I could think about was how I wanted it to be you.” Y/n’s breath falters then, a knot forming in her chest as she revisits the sight of that horrific night. “I tried so hard to talk it out with her, but she wouldn’t let it go. She kept persisting and persisting and she didn’t give me the chance to explain myself before you walked in on us.”

She didn’t truly know what happened between him and Lydia, but she had her ideas. Whether they kissed, touched, confessed their love or crossed bases, the truth would have only made it worse for herself. Ignorance was bliss when it came to them.

But she didn’t think nothing happened, either, especially when the first words that Y/n heard Lydia say to him that night was I love you, too.

Too.

Too.

Too.

Like he said it first.

She really hopes he didn’t, but she’s so afraid of his answer that she doesn’t ask.

But she doesn’t say anything else, either, because there’s so much more she needs to hear from him but she doesn’t know where to start. She doesn’t know what to do, yet she wants to know everything.

“You were all I ever wanted and I’m so sorry for the way I had to find that out. I’m so sorry that I had to hurt you to realize how ridiculously in love I am with you.”

And how ridiculous it’s gotten.

“It haunts me. It follows me everywhere I go. Every morning, I think about the way you slept beside me in Malibu and how perfect you looked before you even had the chance to wake. I still reach for you even when I know you’re not there just so I can say I tried. Every time I walk the street, I somehow convince myself that I see you walk past me and I always turn back just in case I missed you. Then I spend the rest of my day wondering where you are and how much happier I’d be if you were with me.”

And it’s all so true.

She is around him at all times. Her spirit lingers in the air he breathes, her shadow alive in every ray of sun that touches his skin, unable to be soaked away. The ghost of her is everywhere he is, always, and it pained him just as much as it comforted him.

“I come across all these women and go on all these dates in hopes to find someone that makes me feel half the things you do, just to go home hours later and watch all the stupid videos and photos I’ve taken of you throughout the years because it’s you that my heart is after. Nobody else.”

She melts into herself at his confession.

To know it wasn’t one-sided — the longing, the missing, the wanting so bad that he couldn’t help but look back at all their memories together. Whether he was beside those women or not, she had done the very same thing, and it’s almost as if those hidden moments of desperation were a silent call to one another.

He reaches his hand to her thigh again, his skin warming her to her bitter core, setting a fire in her that had burnt out many years ago. And she doesn’t stop staring at it.

“I love you, Y/n. I love you more than I’ve ever loved anything else in this world. I love you so much that it drove me crazy to think about you spending the rest of your life with somebody else because I couldn’t imagine spending the rest of mine without you. But that’s my heartbreak to live with, not yours.”

But it is. It is because he’s the only one she’s ever wanted and living her life with someone else was once unimaginable. It still is. Even through her relationship with Alfie and everything they’ve built together, it wasn’t ever the same.

And it’s not a matter of her not loving him, because she does, just not in the way she loves Harry. He is a high she constantly fiends for, an intoxication that keeps her wild and free, an addiction like no other. Being without him makes her feel sober — in a constant state of withdrawal, falling down deeper into her urges, dependent solely on her relapses — and Alfie is just the mild distraction.

All of this is her heartbreak.

His fingertips rub softly at her leg.

“You’re the best person I’ve ever known. I don't know how I’m ever going to find a way to move on from you, and I don’t know if I ever will, but at least I had the chance to tell you everything you deserved to know. I didn’t think I’d ever have it.”

She still doesn’t answer him, but he didn’t expect anything more.

He wishes he could stay with her for just a bit longer, but he doesn’t want to overstay his welcome (if he could even call it that). And he starts to cry as he thinks about leaving her alone again.

She’s forever going to be his hardest loss.

“I have so much more I want to say to you, but this is your night with Alfie. I don’t want to be the one to hold you back from it.”

He squeezes the top of her thigh, dreading the let go. This may be the last time he sees her or speaks to her for a while, and that in itself is enough to make this so much harder on him.

“I’ll miss you everyday.”

He can’t even look at her as he says it.

His eyes are flooded with sadness as he stands from where he sat beside her, shaking fingers wiping at his tears, his heart the emptiest it’s ever been yet his chest heavier than ever before.

It suddenly dawns on her that she never wants to see him walk away from her again. She doesn’t want to go another dreaded day without him beside her, or go the rest of the night thinking of everything she could have said, but didn’t.

She wants him. She loves him. And she doesn’t want him to go.

“Wait.” She grabs his hand in both of hers before he can make it too far, her eyes wet but the brightest he’d ever seen them. “The party doesn’t end for a while and — and Alfie hasn’t come looking for me since it started, so…” She hesitates, his hands still in hers, and everything is right in the world again. “Do you want to take a walk with me? It doesn’t matter where just, please stay here with me?”

And how could Harry ever say no to her?

He lifts her up from where she sits, the first real and genuine smile he’s seen out of her since they’ve reunited spreading on her lips, and he wouldn’t trade this for the world.

They stray further than expected, catching up on everything they’ve missed throughout the years. It all feels so easy and so right, as if time had hardly passed between them, yet they’ve never felt more apart. Never once did they expect to live in each other’s world through late night storytelling and clandestine getaways.

They laugh. They cry. They reminisce. And they don’t let go of each other’s hand the whole night through.

-

Y/n returns to the back porch a couple hours later, grabbing the finished champagne glass she’d left on the top step to seem as inconspicuous as possible. Not that she necessarily has to, she doesn’t feel as though she’s done anything wrong, she just couldn’t imagine what would come from this if Alfie was to find out.

She slides the back door shut quietly behind her, the remaining guests only giving her a small smile of acknowledgement, none at all suspicious. Some offer her hugs and mingle with her, congratulating her as if it were their first time doing so, telling her how perfect of a marriage she and Alfie are going to have.

If only they knew.

But it isn’t until the last of the lingering guests make it out the door that Y/n and Alfie are left alone — the most dangerous place for them to be. And neither of them speak a word to each other, just meeting eyes for a brief moment in time, as if avoiding everything else that came with the night.

The air is heavy, the chill brutal, but it’s what Y/n is so used to. This is her normalcy.

“I’m glad you had fun tonight.” Y/n says plainly, gathering all the littered champagne and wine glasses floating around the kitchen.

In any other circumstance, she would have stood her ground much more strongly, but the bitterness inside her subsided to something much sweeter after her time with Harry. The weight of the world is gone, it seems, the moon and sun and stars aligned perfectly in her universe. She is weightless, floating, her spirit dancing along the edges of her own personal heaven.

The silence Alfie responds with doesn’t strike a nerve like it usually would. It rather goes unnoticed, only furthering her into her illicit dreamland.

Harry’s touch lingers on her skin and she can feel it all the same even though he’s gone. A shiver runs down her spine as she thinks back to the way his lips pressed against her cheek before parting ways, muttering the quietest goodnight, lovie against her skin, leaving her breathless.

She is endlessly hypnotized by him, forever under his spell, as if his lips were made of magic.

And Alfie’s heart sinks when he sees the look on her face. It’s been years since he’s seen it, yet it’s all so familiar once he does. It’s the same look he fell in love with when he first met her in Malibu.

It’s all so clear to him now.

“So we’re just going to pretend that you didn’t leave our engagement party with Harry?”

Y/n lifts her head to look at him properly for what seems to be the first time tonight, his question catching her off guard since she had so rightfully assumed he wasn’t concerned about her whereabouts, and Harry didn’t make his presence known to anybody but her.

But she doesn’t fight it, doesn’t deny it, doesn’t try to scrape for excuses that’ll only dig her in deeper because she doesn’t regret what she did or why she did it. She has no reason to.

“And we’re just going to pretend that you didn’t completely exclude me from our engagement party?”

Alfie’s hands slam against the kitchen counter, a bitter and sarcastic laugh falling from his lips, as if she had said something untrue. “So I don’t give you attention for two minutes and you decide to run off with some other guy?”

“Two minutes? Try two hours on a night that was supposed to be for us.” It’s her turn to slam her hands down, except hers land on her thighs. “I was sitting on our back porch all night and nobody, not even you, came looking for me.” She sits down on the island stool with burnt-out eyes and heavy shoulders, drained from the reality of their relationship, tired of trying for somebody that’s never held her heart the right way. “Harry was miles away and even he found a way to find me.”

And just like always, it all circles back to Harry.

She’s never been one to compare — verbally, at least — so there is a gloom that hovers over her after she says it, the guilt settling in her bones, but it’s the reality of their situation. An old lover held his hand out to her while Alfie refused hers, and it ended up exactly where it had always belonged.

“All you had to do was ask me to be with you.” He sighs, depleted, because it’s true. He would have been there the second she called his name. It’s the fact that she didn’t that shows him how incompatible he is with her wants.

“I shouldn’t have to.” She frowns, fingers fiddling with the skin around her nails as she contemplates what there is to say next. “Is that how this marriage is going to work? Me begging you to be there for me all the time? Because I’ve never been that kind of person. I will never be that person.”

Alfie breathes heavily in response but doesn’t know what else to do or say to get her to stay. She’s slipping right through his fingers and he can physically feel it — can feel the way she feels for another man, can see the way her eyes refuse him, as if hiding away from something.

But this isn’t about him, it can’t be because it was all going so well, so much better than ever before and nothing ever pushed her away, until Harry.

This is all him.

“You know he doesn’t love you, right?” Alfie breaks the silence, her heart along with it, because she needs to be reminded how badly he had done her wrong. She wouldn’t be turning him into the villain if she did. “He lied to you. He used you to get what he wanted. He —”

“He does love me.” She interrupts him because she doesn’t want to hear it. She doesn’t want him to talk her out of this, no matter how much she should. But it’s on the tip of her tongue, almost breaking from its resistance, and she can’t swallow it back down now. “He was there for me more than you were tonight and he’s not even the one I’m engaged to.”

Another deafening silence.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

He understood her, loud and clear, but she’s speaking between the lines. There’s a part of her that’s holding back from something and he already knows what it is, he just needs to hear her say it.

So she does.

“I’m in love with him, Alfie.”

If the confession of her disloyalty wasn’t enough to tear her apart, the choked back sob she heard from Alfie undeniably did so.

She shuts her eyes, pained, unable to take it.

He doesn’t deserve this, but she’s left with no choice. She’ll only hurt him more if she stays.

So she doesn’t.

-

The morning after.

Harry didn’t know what was to come after he confessed his love to Y/n — whether it be a new day of a new life away from her, or the beginning of something so beautifully timeless, he had no idea.

The closure warmed him enough to lull him to sleep, to keep him deep in a dreamstate where all he envisioned was sunny days and the touch of her hand in his. He had never felt so light, so free, so liberated from the cage of guilt and unspoken truths that even if he were to never see or hear from Y/n again, it would have been okay.

He said what he needed to say, she heard what she wanted to hear and that’s all he could have done without interfering with her relationship.

But what he wakes up to is far from anything that ever crossed his mind.

Seven missed calls and five text messages. All from Y/n.

H, please tell me you’re awake. I need you.

I ended it with Alfie.

I don’t have anywhere to go and you’re the only person I want to see right now. Can you meet me at the coffee shop? I really need to talk to you.

Please wake up.

H?

Harry sits himself up in a state of panic, his eyes jumping between the time she had messaged him last and the time it is now. And he springs himself out of bed when he realizes that he hasn’t missed out on her yet, planning to get to her as fast as he can as he throws yesterday’s outfit, not at all caring about how it makes him look.

She ended it with Alfie.

He’s the only person she wants to see right now.

She needs him.

That’s all he can process as he scurries down the street, thinking of everything he has left to tell her to try and win her heart again. He knows he’s undeserving of it, and she does too, but that doesn’t stop him from loving her the way that he does.

His life is meaningless without her, so dry and bleak and depressing he can’t live another day like it. He can’t and he won’t because he’s going to fix this. He has to fix this.

And it doesn’t take him long to find her because there she is, sitting at their usual outdoor table, a large hot tea held between her hands, her leg shaking, her eyes distant. It's such a heartbreaking sight, and he suddenly wonders if she ever sat there after their breakup, waiting for him, hoping he’d do the very same.

The thought makes his head twitch to the side and fingers twist with guilt because no, he never did. He never went back to that coffee shop since the goodbye. It would have hurt too much, it would have reminded him of everything he’d ever done wrong and he couldn’t bear to face the person he once made of himself.

That person died along with her.

She stands from her seat when she sees him walking toward her, exhausted mentally and physically enough to nearly fall from her feet in the process. But her heart is racing a million miles an hour, her stomach fluttering as he grows nearer, her senses of anything but the love she has for him disappearing to nothing, as if it were just the two of them.

And she just needs to know if it feels that way for him, too.

“Y/n —”

“Did you mean it?”

Harry hesitates then, stopping in his tracks, his head tilting at her in curiosity but his features are softer, sadder, as if the question somehow broke him down further than before.

She doesn’t need to elaborate because he already understands what she’s asking. It was his mistakes and his selfishness that led her to question all his intentions, to doubt every sentiment he’s ever given to her, to wonder what was real and what was pretend.

But he doesn’t know what to start with, he doesn’t know what she needs to hear from him to be satisfied with his answer, or know if what he doesn’t say is what breaks this relationship.

“I need you to look at me and tell me that you meant it.” Y/n demands when he fails to answer her, tears flooding yet her face pressed and hard, committed to hearing every last bit of truth he has left. “Because I gave up everything I had for just the smallest possibility that you did. And that may make me weak, that may make me pathetic, and I may hate myself for the rest of my life knowing I made that decision but I can’t help feeling the way I feel for you.”

This is his last chance.

The window of opportunity is open and he is more than willing to dive head first out of it, but he can’t get ahead of himself. One wrong move, one wrong word, one wrong anything and he will have to endure an eternity of misery without her.

So he gives her more than she demands.

He grabs her face between his two hands, gently stroking her cheeks with the pads of his thumbs, his gaze set on hers so that she can see how deeply he feels for her and how desperate he is for her forgiveness.

“I meant it.” He breathes out, his lips so painfully close to hers, she can feel his breath as he talks and it makes her legs shake from beneath her. “I’m in love with you. You’re all I think about. You’re all I want.” He leans in closer, ever so slightly, just so the ghost of her lips can meet the ghost of his. “There’s never been anybody but you. Just you. Only you.”

Her breath stammers, quivering and cracking as she flutters her eyes shut at his words, unforgiving tears pouring down her cheeks. And she doesn’t know why she’s reacting this way — the love of her life is giving her everything she’s ever asked for and yet all she can manage to do is break down from everything she’d been keeping inside for so long.

He knees buckle as a particularly violent sob nearly takes her down, and if it wasn’t for Harry’s strong hold on her, she’s sure she would have collapsed to the floor.

Her tears, his shirt, his hands, her back.

This is the closest they’ve been to each other in so long, his heart nearly shatters along with hers. He missed this more than he missed anything else in this world.

“Don’t cry, baby. It’s alright. You’re alright.” Harry shushes her, his lips settling on the top of her head as he presses chaste kisses on it, his fingers combing through her unbrushed hair. “I’m with you, okay? I’m never leaving you again.”

And he holds her for a while, tying her together as she falls apart in his arms, vowing to her over and over again that this is all over. All the pain is over. Everything will be different now.

And it was.

It felt different when Y/n and Harry spent the rest of the morning sitting in their favorite coffee shop, at their favorite table, drinking their favorite lattes. It felt different when Harry reached his hand over to hold hers, this time with no ulterior motive.

It felt different when she held his hand back, and when she smiled down at where they were intertwined, as if they were an extension of each other.

And unlike the last time they were there together, he doesn’t have to let go.

[fredshufflepuff]

— anon’s request: ok so since i too am a whore for angst. how about the reader and rafe having a summer thing as a kook (maybe she goes to the pogue school but is a kook) and once she goes back to school, they drift apart and rafe gets jealous of her spending her time with the pogues. then maybe he sees her again at mid summers all dressed up and remembers he still loves her. please break my heart with this, im in need of a cry and then maybe put it back together with some fluff at the end? please

— warnings: fem!reader, brief smut (skip if uncomfortable), asshole!rafe for a good chunk of the imagine, language, angst, fluff.

— word count: 2,166

IT all started when you bumped into rafe at the country club on figure eights.

you didn’t normally hang around that area, but you were hanging out with sarah that day—which meant eventually running into her brother.

she tried to keep you away from him, just because he had no filter and didn’t think twice before voicing his opinion, but sooner or later your interaction with the boy would happen.

“oh god” sarah mumbled causing you to raise your brows, a confused frown on your face as she signaled to look behind you.

you turned around not so subtle to see rafe cameron making his way down the grassy hill, a golf club in one hand and a can of beer in the other.

“hey little sis, when were you going to introduce me to your friend here?” the boy spoke, a small grin on his face at seeing her roll her eyes.

“i wasn’t planning on it, you know—considering how you’re an ass.”

a small giggle fell from your lips as rafe turned his attention back to you, the sides of his mouth curling slightly at your reaction.

“well since she won’t introduce me, i will” he said, his figure leaning over yours which was sat on the grass.

he tossed his most likely expressive golf club to the ground to extend his hand out to you, which you hesitated to take before slowly reaching for it.

“i’m rafe cameron.”

of course you knew who he was, everyone did.

“y/n y/l/n.”

YOU thought the interaction with sarah’s older brother was in the past, not having to see him again since you weren’t planning on going back to figure eight or the club any time soon.

but when you found yourself in his bed getting the absolute daylights fucked out of you, you knew right then and there that this wasn’t a one time thing.

“fuck rafe,” you moaned loudly, your head thrown back against the pillow as your eyes fell shut from the feeling.

he slide his cock in and out of your needy hole as you whimpered from under him, his toned body pressed against yours as you jolted from each thrust.

“m’gonna cum, flood this needy little fuck hole” he spat, his hand coming down to grab your face and force you to open your eyes.

“please, rafe. please fill me up” you begged, your little moans and pleads sending the boy over the edge.

as soon as he gave you permission to cum you didn’t hold back. it felt like your entire body had shut down as your head fell to the side.

rafe sent a rough thrust into your quivering body before emptying himself inside, making sure to keep himself as close as possible in order to not let any leak out.

“fuck,” he groaned in your ear, his body pressed against your small one as your hands came up to rest in his hair, pulling on it gently as his cum filled you up.

later that night you didn’t bother sneaking back out to your place, instead rafe suggested you actually stay—running you a hot bath before ordering take out.

it surprised you really, considering how you didn’t know what you guys were.

you both agreed to only be friends with benefits when this all started, but now you didn’t know if you wanted that or not.

you wanted something more with the blue eyed boy.

“what are we?” you asked while laying in his arms, the feeling of his breath trailing down your neck giving you comfort.

“friends with benefits.”

no hesitation was found in his voice. it was quick and sudden, just like your heart breaking.

“oh.”

you didn’t talk much with rafe after that night—leaving early in the morning to avoid further interaction.

rafe didn’t suspect anything though, knowing how busy you usually get with school and home life, but after that single day turned into almost a week, he knew something wasn’t right.

usually you’d be around the house or at the country club, but it felt like you were almost avoiding him.

when school started up that’s when things really started to hit for rafe. you were not only distancing yourself from him, but now you were hanging out with the pogues.

to him you had wiggled yourself into john b’s friend group, getting closer with everyone but mostly jj, the one pogue he despised more than the others.

it was the night of midsommars and you were preparing yourself to see rafe, your nerves seeming to skyrocket every time his name was mentioned.

“ARE you feeling okay, y/n/n? you’re all jittery” kie pointed out, her eyes locking with yours through the vanity mirror as you slowly brushed through your hair.

“i’m okay, kie— really. just nervous for tonight i guess” you shrugged, your response seeming convincing enough as she nodded.

“hey slow pokes! hurry up or we’re going to be late” jj called, pounding on the door making you and kie jump.

“fucking assholes” you mumbled.

MIDSOMMARS was something you always looked forward to.

the lights, the food, the beautiful dresses and people you got to meet—which was rare considering how almost everyone there were stuck up kooks who’s only personality trait was having money.

all except rafe.

he was different towards you, a lot different it was scary.

“jj, don’t get into any more fights, k?” kie sighed, licking the pad of her thumb before dragging it across his face—getting rid of the dirt that had formed there.

he didn’t say who specifically it was with—the fight—just claiming it was with some stupid kooks who didn’t know when to stop talking.

“yeah yeah” he mumbled, running his fingers through his hair before sending you both a small smile.

he picked up his tray and spun it on his finger before sending her a wink, a blush coming to kie’s face as she quickly looked away.

“soooo, you and jj....” you said, the girl’s eyes rolling as she playfully pushed you away.

“enough about me, what about you?”

“me?” you raised an eyebrow, “what about me?”

“don’t play dumb, y/n/n. i’ve seen you come back late with hickeys.”

you grabbed a glass of champagne from one of the waiters walking by and took a long sip from it, your eyebrows twisting together— “this is good, you should try it.”

kie was about to protest until the music started to kick up again, your favorite song playing making you gasp.

you quickly placed the glass on an empty table before taking her hands and pulling her towards the dance floor.

“let’s dance!”

unknown to you—rafe had been watching you ever since you stepped foot into the venue.

IT was almost one in the morning when everyone had left, you and kie sitting at one of the empty tables while you waited for jj to finish up.

you hadn’t had that much to drink, but you could say you were a little tipsy.

“ready to go?” jj asked while throwing his arms around you both, a sarcastic grunt dropping from your lips at the sudden weight.

“we were about to leave yo-”

“well, well, well...if it isn’t the golden trio” a familiar voice spat, your head snapping to the side as your eyes fell on the devil himself.

rafe cameron and his little minions.

“if it isn’t daddy’s money, dumb, and dumber” kie snapped back—referring to topper and kelce who were standing on either side of him.

“put your dog on a leash maybank before we do it ourselves” rafe threatened, only causing jj to break from your side and lunge at the boy.

“jj, stop” you said, grabbing his arm as kie yanked him back, “he wants a reaction.”

“i didn’t see you there, y/n. so quiet and small, hard to notice you.”

which was obviously a lie. rafe noticed you the second he walked into the stupid party.

“what do you want, rafe? getting bored at the country club?” you asked, your lips dropping into a fake pout.

“actually the country club is entertaining, unlike some needy bitches who can’t satisfy my needs.”

your face dropped as kie gasped beside you—jj completely unaware of what was going on but still pissed at the way rafe was speaking to you.

rafe’s face dropped slightly at the realization of what he just said, nothing but lies falling from his mouth as his eyes filled with guilt.

“fuck you.”

YOU didn’t remember much after that. just the events taking place of jj trying to throw another punch at the boys before getting dragged away by kie.

the poor girl was trying to control her hot headed friend while the other was on the verge of tears.

but you refused to cry.

in front of rafe or not, you would not let yourself cry over him.

all you remember is crashing at john b’s house and waking up with a massive headache.

your legs were draped over kie’s as the two of you slept on john b’s bed, the boys taking the couch in the living room.

light from the outside peeked through the curtains as your eyes slowly adjusted to the brightness.

your phone laid next to you on the comforter as your hands dragged it closer.

what you weren’t expecting was a shitload of texts from rafe.

rafe cameron: i’m really sorry

[sent 1:34am]

rafe cameron: y/n

[sent 1:34am]

rafe cameron: i didn’t mean anything i said

[sent 1:36am]

rafe cameron: i was drunk and wasn’t thinking

[sent 1:40am]

rafe cameron: please hear me out

[sent 1:41am]

rafe cameron: meet me at our place

[sent 1:49am]

rafe cameron: 7:30am

[sent 1:51am]

you groaned loudly while reading his texts, the need to throwup swirling in your stomach as you tossed your phone to the side.

you ran your hands over your face as you thought on what to do, biting your bottom lip in the process as you stared at the wall in front of you.

after what felt like an hour of pondering, you let yourself slip off the bed and grab your hoodie that was thrown on the floor.

you were going to see him.

‘WHAT if she doesn’t show’ rafe thought to himself as he sat in the sand, his eyes locked on the waves crashing in front of him.

he was stupid last night.

the boy made a stupid mistake that he regretted deeply.

he just needs to show you how sorry he is.

“rafe.”

his head snapped in the direction of your voice, your figure standing a few feet from his as he then quickly stood up.

he dusted off his pants before nervously making eye contact, his throat suddenly drying up as he attempted to swallow what felt like a rock.

“y/n, i’m s-so so sorry for what i said yesterday. i-i didn’t mean any of it-”

“so what? i’m supposed to forgive you?” you cut off, raising an eyebrow as his mouth fell slightly, “what if it happens again?”

“i-it won’t! i swear it won’t. i was just drunk and jealous and really fucking stupid” he blabbered on, his hands shaking as he tried to defend himself.

“jealous?” you asked, your eyebrows furrowing together as he nodded his head shamefully.

“of you and that stupid pogue.”

“jj?!”

he seemed to visibly retract from your words, his eyes narrowing as he bit the inside of his cheek.

“yeah, him.”

“so you acted the way you did...because of jj?” you slowly asked, his eyebrows knitting together as he stared at you.

“i didn’t mean it, y/n...” he frowned, his face dropping slightly as you waited for him to continue, “please give me another chance, i’ll show you how sorry i am—how much you mean to me.”

it was quiet for a good minute as your thoughts swarmed your mind for a response.

“rafe...”

“y/n, please.”

another minute went by, the only sound coming from the waves crashing along the shore.

“fine.”

IT had been five months since you forgave rafe, and things were honestly going better than you had expected.

after that morning on the beach he took you out on a proper date—ending in him walking you back to your house and even stealing a kiss.

he even stopped starting fights with jj and the other pogues, wanting you to know that he was better than that.

“WHAT do you want to watch?” rafe asked while flipping through channels, one hand holding the remote while the other rested on the small of your back.

“m’not sure, you can pick.”

he hummed in response before clicking on some random channel, not really planning on watching it anyway.

he tossed the remote to the side before looking down at you, admiring your relaxed state with your arms wrapped tightly around his torso.

“you know i love you right?” he suddenly asked, his voice low and soft as he stared at you from above.

“why so gushy, rafe?” you teased, your own head angling up to see him better.

he was so beautiful.

“i’m not gushy,” he rolled his eyes, “i just wanted to remind you.”

you blushed at his words before nuzzling back into the crook of his neck, your lips kissing the delicate skin making him smile.

“i love you too, rafe.”

🏷rafe cameron taglist : @jordynsharum

a/n: could you tell i didn’t know how to end it

[too-gay-for-marvel]

just this once pt.3

a/n: i know im technically a day late, but we stopped very late. but its here! and its gonna be a decent amount of parts, so be prepared, besties

Word Count: 2,439

Warnings: smut implications

Pairing: Natasha x Reader

(pt.1 pt.2 pt.3 pt.4 pt.5 pt.6.1 pt.6.2 pt.6.3 pt.7 pt.8)

Natasha had to admit, she hated how understanding Maria was. She had gone home and told Maria what you had said, expecting to become single almost as soon as she had finished talking. But no, Natasha had finished her rant, and Maria had taken a deep breath before saying “I’m sorry,” and dragging her into a hug.

She would’ve handled a “we’re over” much better.

But it helped ease some of the guilt that she was carrying around with her. It lifted some of the weight that had been keeping her head down and feet dragging. And with Maria being the most understanding person in the world, now she could live her life. Did she forgive herself? Fuck no, but at least she could move on with Maria.

It helped that you kept to what she had told you.

In the months after learning the truth, she never saw you. Her feet never took her to your suite, her thoughts never trailed to that night. Well. Not during the day. She… didn’t want to talk about the dreams.

Natasha was able to go a solid month without seeing you, and even though the back of her mind kept telling her to talk to you, she had stayed away. She had kept to her “honey do” list, went on her missions, and just lived her life.

Until Fury stuck his nose where it didn’t belong.

“You two have a mission.”

Natasha looked over to where you were standing, over in the corner as far away from her as you could be. Your eyes were down, only occasionally darting up to look at Fury when he was talking. She could see the fins on your arm flare out a bit before relaxing again, along with the slight twitch of your gills.

“Can this mission not be done with one person?” Natasha asked, her eyes still locked on you; you shifted your weight from one foot to the other.

“It requires stealth and…” Fury looked over at you and sighed. “Gills.”

“And here I thought you kept me around for my good looks,” you teased with an upturn of the corner of your mouth.

“When do you need us?” Natasha asked, and your half smile fell as quickly as it had appeared.

“You leave bright and early, 0400.”

With that, Fury left the room, leaving you and her alone. She took note of your fins staying flared, and took that as her sign to leave. Your feet shuffled, and she moved slower just in case, but you never reached out to her. That was all Natasha needed to head back to her room to prepare for tomorrow.

Tomorrow came far too soon, and it felt like only moments later that Natasha was standing in the hangar, watching you prep your gear.

Incorrectly.

“Your holster’s backwards,” Natasha pointed out.

“It is not, I’m testing something out,” you shot back without looking up.

“Whatever you put in there is going to fall out,” she continued.

You ignored her, but tried to turn it around without her noticing. She did. A silence fell over the both of you as you continued to get ready. Natasha had already gotten all of her stuff, but you continued to move around. You grabbed your belt and a harpoon, all of them quickly attached at your hips.

You maintained your relentless pace, her face pressed against the wall as you held your hand to the back of her neck. She felt you thrusting into her, most likely leaving a bruise on her ass and hips, but all she knew was that it felt so good she could only think of one thing-

Natasha turned her head away, a slight blush dusting her cheeks. If anyone noticed, they didn’t say. She refused to look at you until you stood up straight, geared up and ready to go. Your suit told her that there was going to be some sort of underwater aspect, and that gave her a bit of insight as to what was expected of the both of you.

The quinjet ride was awkward, to say the least. You stayed in the back while Natasha flew. She was thankful that you were keeping your distance. If you had been close, it was very possible that Natasha would have lost her damn mind.

Your suit always did do something to her.

You hadn't even bothered to take your pants off; just pulled them down far enough for you to get your strap out. Her fingers scrambled to grab purchase of something, anything, but your suit was still wet from the mission. Almost as wet as she was.

Natasha shook her head, trying to physically remove the memories. She was going to kill Nick when she got back.

She needed to focus on the mission. There was no need for it to be anything other than a mission. Get in, map out the building, get out. You would cover the lower levels, she would cover the upper, it shouldn't take more than an hour.

It was a slow descent to the checkpoint, but easy enough. You spent the last few minutes braiding your hair, keeping it out of the way and showing off the shaved part of your head. Natasha remembered teaching you how to tie those braids.

Once the quinjet was landed and you were both on solid ground, it was straight to business.

"Once you get back to solid ground, your pants and gear should be in a backpack marked on your locator," Natasha said.

"We'll meet up in the eastern stairwell," you continued, not even skipping a beat. It was like nothing had ever happened.

"Comms on?"

"Gonna miss me?" You asked, cocky as ever, but you turned the comm on anyway.

"Just get moving," Natasha huffed with a roll of her eyes. "The sooner we get in, the sooner we're done."

"See you in a minute," you winked and mock-saluted before jumping down into the hole that would be your entrance.

It's what she hated about you; how you could so easily act like nothing had ever happened.

Natasha closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Just one. Then it was time to get moving. She finished pulling her cap down, mostly covering the top half of her face before finishing the walk to the guarded entrance

She flashed a badge and they let her in without a word. One of her easier infiltrations, if she were being honest. Just went to prove that as long as she acted like she belonged, no one would question her. It was easier to blend in if you acted like there was no need for it.

Starting from the top, Natasha made her way down the building, mapping corridors, potential hidden rooms, rooms of interest. By the time she made it to your meeting point, she had marked more than enough information to assist in future missions.

All she needed was your half and she could go home.

The door to the stairwell was thrown open, slamming against the wall and causing Natasha to flinch ever so slightly. You were still soaking wet, trailing water behind you, and you didn't have your gear.  In fact, you didn't have anything.

"What happened?" Natasha asked. But the sound of an alarm being set off was answer enough.

"It wasn't me," you stated simply.

Yelling echoed in the corridor behind you, and you gave Natasha A Look. That was all she needed before you both took off running down the stairs, skipping three or four at a time. She heard a *squeak* and turned around just in time to see you fall flat on your ass with a loud grunt.

“Get up,” Natasha groaned.

She didn’t wait for you to get up on your own, instead decided to grab your arm and yank you up. Except for the fact that she had forgotten how wet you were, and how slippery your skin could get, and you ended up falling back onto your ass a second time.

“Some help you are,” you growled as you managed to push yourself back up onto your feet.

“If you weren’t such a freak, this wouldn’t even be a problem,” Natasha shot back.

You both continued running, finally reaching the bottom floor just in time to hear echoed footsteps a few floors above you. Natasha opened the door and pushed you in, quick to follow after. She shut the door and grabbed the extra harpoon bolt from your hip, shoving it between the door and the wall while you protested.

“Get going,” she said as she continued to push you forward, looking for a way out.

“We could always go through the sewers,” you suggested with a shrug when you both came to a halt in an intersection that you swore you hadn’t seen yet.

“I’m not escaping in a fucking sewer,”Natasha shot at you. “You were supposed to find us a way out.”

“It’s not my fault someone ratted us out! I don’t like being stuck with you either!” You shouted back.

“Oh sure, after all of that bullshit a few months ago, now you don’t want to get stuck with me?”

“Listen, I said I was-”

“They’re around the corner!” A voice shouted. You and Natasha shared a look, and Natasha managed to pull you into a closet just in time for footsteps to be heard coming in your direction.

“We should’ve taken the sewer,” you whisper-yelled as Natasha tried to ignore how close to you she was.

If you two had been any closer, you would’ve been inside each other, and not in the enjoyable way. Natasha’s arms were pinned in between the both of you, and she could feel your ribs under her fingers. Her ear was pressed to your body; she could hear your irregular, three-pump heartbeat loud and clear. There used to be a time she would have enjoyed being so close.

You were both silent as you waited for the footsteps and yelling to die down. Even when they had faded, you stayed still, hoping that they wouldn’t open the closet as a last resort. Your body heat was comforting, and Natasha almost found herself forgetting the danger that was just around the corner. But then you gave an awkward cough and shifted, and Natasha was brought back to the fact that this wasn’t supposed to be enjoyable.

“I think we’re safe,” Natasha mumbled.

“Let’s get out of here,” you agreed as you cleared your throat again, still incredibly uncomfortable.

You reached around her and opened the door, the both of you practically falling out of the closet. When Natasha stood up straight again, she brushed the nonexistent dirt from her suit and avoided your gaze at all costs. Only when she had regained her composure did she turn to you again.

“You mentioned a sewer?” Natasha asked, completely defeated.

You nodded and started running in the opposite direction of the yelling, leading her down corridors until you both reached a manhole cover. Natasha could smell the sewage without opening it, and she could only imagine how terrible it would be once she jumped in. But there didn’t really seem to be any other option, and you were already prying it open just enough for them to slip in.

“Ladies first,” you gestured.

“Gee, thanks,” Natasha groaned as she took her last breath of semi-pure air and jumped in.

The stench was worse than anything Natasha had ever smelled before. All the death and ruin she had witnessed, and she still believed that this was worse. She couldn’t even attempt to guess at what was causing the smell, but she didn’t think she wanted to know. Maybe it would be a little more tolerable if she just pretended it was nothing.

You jumped in after her and pulled the manhole back into place, and just like that, it was like neither of you had ever been there. You didn’t wait for her as you started making your way out of the building, and Natasha quickly followed suit. She didn’t understand how you could breathe the air like it was nothing, but maybe it was part of your physiology. Maybe you were just lucky.

It felt like an eternity before you both ran into a ladder that would take you out of the sewer. You yanked the manhole cover aside and Natasha went up first, gasping when she smelled the fresh air. It was like being reborn, she thought. Her cells felt rejuvenated and her skin felt cleaner.

As soon as you pulled the cover back on, you both ran back to the quinjet as fast as you could. The stench of sewage followed you, stuck to your clothes; they would probably be incinerated when you got back to the tower. But you were out, and you could head back with enough confidence to tell Nick that you had at least gotten half of the building mapped out.

“You fly, I think I’m drying out,” you groaned. Natasha didn’t argue.

She sat in the pilot’s seat and set a course for the tower, wanting nothing more than a hot shower and a good sleep. But she looked back in time to see you stripping your suit off, groaning as it literally peeled off. Inch by inch, she saw your shoulders, your spines, your back, those abs.

You were never one to let anyone see you undressed, but Natasha loved that she was allowed. The way you shifted and twitched when her fingers ran over your skin, when you whined if she kissed that spot on your back. Loved the feel of your abs flexing as you thrusted into her at an inhuman pace that had her moaning and cumming for hours and-

“Nat, pull up!”

Natasha felt your hands covering hers, yanking up, and the real world unfolded before her eyes. The ground was quickly approaching, and the sound of the air rushing past the quinjet was enough to make Natasha’s hands shake. Only when the jet was back up and on course did she start to settle.

“Are you trying to get us killed?” You shouted, but Natasha just turned back to the front, trying her hardest to ignore the stinging in her eyes.

You grumbled and walked off, and Natasha could feel the frustration radiating off of you. But she didn’t really care anymore. She had nearly gotten you both killed because she had been too busy remembering you railing her. Natasha couldn’t do this anymore, couldn’t be around you anymore.

Not if she wanted to stay alive.

[someonestolemyshoes]

Hi! Have u done any pregnant Hanji and overprotective daddy Levi already?? Yep i think im craving for more domestic levihan family, im sorry 😭

Im a bit new here in the community, and when i read ur works, i fell in love with it already, thank you for existing!!! 💖💖💖

Hello anon! Thank you so much, I’m so glad you enjoyed my other fics :3 Sorry for the very long wait for this one, I've been struggling to find the time/motivation to write lately, but I'm feeling a little better and I figured I'd get to work on some of my prompts. Starting here!!

It ended up a little less domestic and a touch more angsty than I had originally planned, but only for a moment--happy endings all round! 

Warning: this does start off with non-graphic depictions of nausea/vomiting, I hope that doesn't bother you!

Hange had been feeling unwell for days.

It wasn't an uncommon occurrence—Hange tended to wake up feeling nauseous some days, most often when she'd neglected to eat a decent meal the evening before—but this was the fourth morning in a row now, that Hange found herself bent over the toilet bowl in the early hours of the morning, heaving up nothing but acid and empty air. 

She retched until her stomach ached. There was nothing left to bring up, but her gut still rolled unpleasantly and there was a telling tremor under her tongue that warned her it might be best to stay in the bathroom a little while longer. She settled heavily against the wall to catch her breath.

It didn't make any sense. For most of the day, Hange felt fine. A little tired, maybe, but that was only to be expected after spending half the night every night on the bathroom floor. Tonight, no doubt, would follow the uncomfortably familiar routine: Hange would dry-heave a little longer, until the queasiness abated enough for Levi to convince her to come back to bed, and then she would toss and turn, too warm beneath the bed clothes, until she could fall into a restless sleep. She'd wake up feeling a little groggy, a little bleary, unreasonably hungry, but after a coffee and some breakfast she would feel well again. Perfectly normal.

Like clockwork, Levi appeared in the doorway just as Hange had flopped herself back over the toilet. She felt his palm, cool and soft, press against the back of her neck. Hange gathered her hair back from her face with both hands, braced her elbows on the toilet bowl, letting out a groan of discomfort as her stomach twisted, threatened to revolt again. Levi's thumb rubbed soothingly against her neck.

Sure enough, she brought up nothing more, but she gagged plenty, and found herself gasping for breath by the time she leaned back against Levi, aching and exhausted. His lips pressed into her damp hair.

Levi was as silent as always. His touch was pleasant, his presence welcome. Hange needed the hand he offered to pull her to her feet, needed his reassuring grip at her hips as she brushed her teeth and rinsed her mouth out. Her quaking knees felt unstable beneath her. 

He lay facing her after they got into bed. Hange was sprawled out atop the covers, shifting restlessly to find the coolest patches on the bed. Levi watched her for a moment, then said, "This isn't normal."

Hange only grumbled.

"You said you'd book an appointment with the doctor."

Hange grumbled again. Levi ticked his tongue and rolled to lie on his back, staring at the ceiling.

"Call tomorrow."

"If I didn't know better," Hange said sluggishly, "I'd say you were worried about me."

He scowled and rolled onto his other side, his back to her now.

"No, just sick of waking up at half four every morning to drag you back to bed."

Hange managed a small, wicked snicker, but shuffled across the space between them and pressed an apologetic kiss to the back of his neck.

"Must be dreadful," she said. Her voice sounded raw, hoarse. She buried her nose into his hair and took a long, deep breath. Levi grunted, but reached back and pulled her arm loosely over his hip. He knotted their fingers together loosely.

"Call them, Hange."

Hange gave his fingers a gentle, reassuring squeeze.

"I will."

**

Hange prided herself on being a reasonably intelligent person. She had two degrees, was working towards her doctorate, and already had her name on a small handful of peer-reviewed research papers. She spoke multiple languages, read dissertations for fun, kept a (in Levi’s words) disgustingly realistic human skeleton in a box under the bed for study purposes, and had spent the better part of the last 26 years of her life studying human biology and physiology.  

How she had not predicted that she might be pregnant was almost unfathomable. 

She left the doctors office in a daze with an appointment card and several pamphlets in hand. She had been referred hastily to a midwife and the hospital would soon be sending out a date for an ultrasound—“As soon as possible,” the doctor had said, “since you’re not sure how far along you are.” 

The thing is, Hange had been on the same birth control pill for years now. Forgetful as she may be about many, many things (like eating, and bathing, and washing the dishes and taking out the garbage and and and), Hange was religious in taking that damn pill at the same time every single day. She had never missed it, not even once. Without a regular cycle, Hange had no way of predicting when they had conceived, and the doctor was eager to make sure no essential landmarks in her antenatal care were missed, if they could possibly help it.

The thought had never even crossed her mind. It seemed ridiculous now, in hindsight. The sickness was one thing, but now that she thought about it, there were a whole host of small oddities that Hange could easily attribute to pregnancy. Lethargy, and bloating, heartburn, and she had been peeing more than usual—Hange groaned, and scrubbed her hands over her face. She should have suspected, at least. Should have put the pieces together sooner. 

But, stupid and naive as it may be, she hadn’t thought it possible. Why worry about it, when Hange had taken consistent precautions to avoid it? 

She felt queasy the entire bus ride home. 

It wasn’t that she was against the idea of having children. One day, maybe. When she had finished her doctorate, got herself a steady, well-paid job. When she and Levi had moved out of their tiny, cramped apartment into somewhere bigger, somewhere more suited for a family. 

And god. Levi. 

This was something they’d never really talked about. For his part, Levi never seemed all that interested. He was good with Hange’s nieces and nephews, and Erwin’s son adored him, and he hadn’t showed any express dislike for children, but—well, tolerating other peoples little brats and raising your own are two very different things. 

What if Levi didn’t want the baby? What if he did? Hange wasn’t even sure herself what she wanted to do about the whole situation—what if she didn’t want it? What if, after some reflection, Hange decided now wasn’t a good time? Could they even afford a baby right now? Hange’s money was tied up in her education, while Levi was just making ends meet at the office. They got by well enough with just the two of them, but add in a baby? A whole other person, entirely dependant on them for support? Hange could barely feed and bathe herself, some days, never mind responsibly care for a child. 

By the time the bus pulled up near the house, Hange felt more distressed than ever. Levi, at least, was at work until the evening, so she had a few more hours to herself to mull everything over, but the entire situation made her stomach clench and churn unpleasantly with every new thought. 

The prospect of having a child was terrifying. The prospect of not having this child was nauseating. 

Levi had left the flat in pristine condition when he had left for work, but Hange barely had the energy to feel even a little guilty as she shrugged off her coat and kicked off her shoes, leaving both strewn about the floor. She dumped her bag and made her way sluggishly through to the bedroom. 

Levi had made the bed. The sheet was stretched flat over the mattress, the pillows perfectly fluffed and set against the headboard. Hange’s nightshirt, one of Levi’s old, baggy shirts, too stretched and threadbare for him to wear, had been folded neatly and left on her side of the bed, her slippers lined up smartly with the bed frame. For some reason—hormones, she told herself—her eyes watered, and a lump swelled in her throat. She sniffled pitifully as she stripped off her clothes and pulled on the shirt, clambering into the bed and tugging the sheets until the cocooned around her. 

Hange passed the rest of the day tossing and turning in bed. She tried to nap, but her mind was too restless, occupied with thoughts of the baby, with the concept of having to tell Levi when he came home. She could try to lie, say the doctors had done some blood work, that she was waiting on the results of some test or other, but Levi knew her too well. She could never lie to him, and her despondent state would give her away before she had the chance to say anything. 

The sun was beginning to set by the time she heard Levi’s keys in the door. She felt exhausted, head aching with all the thinking, considering, weighing up her options; with running over every possible outcome she could imagine. Keeping the baby, getting rid of the baby, Levi not wanting the baby, Levi leaving over the baby—every scenario she could imagine was worse than the last. There was only one idea that she had hardly dared entertain, in fear of disappointment if things didn’t work out. 

She heard Levi call out for her, but gave no answer. She listened, curled up in a ball on her side, as he shuffled around, no doubt picking up her coat and shoes from where she had abandoned them. And then he made his way towards the bedroom, steps soft on the plush carpet. The bedroom door creaked open. 

“Hange?” 

She made a small, warbled noise under the bedclothes. Levi came to sit on the bed, the mattress dipping beneath his weight. His hand found the curve of Hange’s hip. 

“How was it?” 

Hange made another noncommittal sound. She wiped her nose and eyes on the sheets, but didn’t dare show her face just yet. She wasn’t ready. She had never prepared for this conversation, never even imagined it before today. It was too soon. Not enough time to rehearse. 

Levi’s hand moved to her back, rubbing lightly up and down her spine, before dropping to the mattress behind her. He leaned over her, and she felt his lips press warm and gentle to the point of her shoulder. A fresh wave of tears poured over the bridge of her nose and down the side of her face. 

She tried to be quiet, but something—the shake of her shoulder, perhaps, or the shudder of air as she tried to take a steadying breath in—gave way to her crying. Levi moved off the bed, but Hange felt his fingers prying lightly at the sheets, pulling them down until he could get a good look at her face. He was kneeling by the bed now, face level with her, and he looked at her with worry pinching deep creases between his brows. 

“Oi, what’d they say?” 

Hange bit the inside of her lip and rubbed her damp cheek on the pillow. If Levi was bothered by her using their bedding as a tissue, he didn’t show it. He simply looked at her, eyes darting over her face, searching. It occurred to Hange then how this must look to him. She had gone to the doctors due to unexplained, violent sickness, and now she is in bed, hours later, still crying about whatever news she had received. 

“I’m fine,” she said. Levi’s tense shoulders relaxed a fraction, but his face remained pinched, frowning and concerned. Hange wanted to tell him quickly, simply, like ripping off a plaster, but the words would not come. She opened her mouth, but her throat constricted painfully. 

Eventually, she said, “my bag. There’s some stuff in my bag. Have a look.” 

Levi gave her a somewhat quizzical look, but stood, dropping a quick kiss to her temple before going to fetch the bag, and dipping his hand in to fish out the contents inside. 

Hange watched with her breath held and her stomach clenched as Levi pulled out the handful of leaflets and turned them over, looking at each one in turn. His eyes widened fractionally as comprehension dawned on him. His lips pressed into a thin line. Leaden weight settled in Hange’s gut. She curled into a tighter ball, pressing the bedsheets over her mouth and nose, waiting for him to gather himself enough to say something. 

After a moment, he spoke. 

“That’s all?” 

Huh? “Huh?!” 

Hange disentangled her arms from the sheets and sat up, staring at him. Levi moved to sit on the edge of the bed again, a scowl back on his face, though there was an intriguing flush high on his cheeks as he whacked her lightly on the top of the head with the leaflets. 

“Stupid four-eyes,” he said, exasperated. “Crying like that. I thought you were dying.”  

“I’m pregnant.” Hange said the word slowly, carefully, in case Levi had somehow misunderstood. He had the audacity to look at her like she was stupid.

“I can see that.” 

“And you have nothing more to say about it? That’s all?” 

Levi shrugged a little at her. Aside from the small patches of colour in his cheeks, Levi seemed wholly unfazed by the revelation. 

“It’s just a baby. We can handle a baby.” 

“That doesn’t terrify you?” 

Levi scrutinised her for a moment, before he said, “are you scared?” 

“Yes? Yes! How are you so calm? We can’t afford a baby—we don’t have the time for a baby? Where will they going to sleep? We don’t have a spare room. Can we get time off work to take care of a baby? How will we pay for childcare when we can’t be around?” 

“Hange,” Levi said, putting a stop to her rambling. He watched her with a pinched stare. “Do you not want it?” 

Hange had spent the majority of the day mulling over this same question. Staring a family was a huge, life-changing commitment, something that required  careful forethought and planning. They had not had that luxury. Hange was pregnant now. She had doubts and fears, more than she could ever express, but the idea of simply having a baby—of having this baby—wasn’t upsetting. In the small, brief moments she had allowed herself to imagine a future where she and Levi were parents, where they weren’t wanting for money or time, where things were well, she felt happy. Giddy. The prospect was almost exciting. 

“It’s not that,” Hange said earnestly. “I do—I’ve been thinking about it all day, and I—I do want it. But I just—we had no time to prepare. We have no savings, we have no space, I’m a mess. How are we supposed to take care of a tiny person? Babies are hard work, Levi.”

“You’re already hard work.” 

Hange laughed weakly, and wiped at her face again. Levi pressed a kiss to her raw cheek. 

“We’ll figure it out,” he said.

Hange leaned into him, sighing quietly. 

“Is this the kind of thing we can just figure out?” 

Levi hummed, shrugging his shoulder. His fingers skimmed up beneath Hange’s shirt, splaying over the small of her back and pulling her closer. 

“Why not? We’ve done a good job bullshitting our way through everything else.”  

Hange laughed lightly and bumped the side of her head against Levi’s.  

“This is different, Levi. This is a person. A tiny little person who is going to need me and you to do everything for them. What if we can’t do it? What if we mess up?” 

“Hange.” Levi pulled back a little and his hands came up to grip either side of her face, forcing her to look at him. “Stop. I know all that. But if you want the brat, and I want the brat, we’ve got no choice but to get on with it.” 

“I know, I know, but—wait, you want the baby?” 

Levi maintained eye contact with her, but it seemed to take a concentrated effort to do so. The flush of his cheeks deepened a little and his lips quirked at the corners. No doubt to compensate for the show of emotion, he pulled his face into his customary frown. 

“It’s fine,” he said. Hange fought the urge to roll her eyes and caught his hands as he lowered them from her face, pulling them into her lap. 

“Are you saying that because it’s already too late, or do you want to keep it?” 

Levi’s face took on a look of constipated strain. He curled his lip as though in distaste, then hooked a hand around the back of Hange’s neck and pulled her face to his abruptly, smacking a kiss to her lips. He let his forehead settle against hers and stroked his thumb over the hinge of her jaw. 

He fought to keep his tone neutral, but Hange could hear the happy tremor in his voice as he said again, “It’s fine.”

For the first time since hearing the news that day, Hange allowed herself to feel excited. To accept the idea that she and Levi were about to start their own bizarre little family. That Levi was still with her felt incredible enough, but to know that he was pleased—it was more than she could ever have hoped for. Hange gave a wet laugh and kissed him again. 

“Are you allergic to looking happy?” Hange asked as they broke apart. Levi clicked his tongue and pulled back to flick her square between the eyebrows. She laughed a little louder and leaned to wipe her runny nose on his shoulder. Levi muttered under his breath, but didn’t push her away.  

“Okay,” Hange said, after a moment. She sat back and pushed her hair back from her face. “Okay. We’re having a baby, then.” 

Levi’s rubbed the smile from his lips with the back of his hand, nodding. “We’re having a baby.” 

Hange sunk down to flop back over the pillows. Levi looked down at her, head tilted, chewing the inside of his lip. Hange reached up to brush his fringe off his forehead, warmth spilling in her chest when he held her hand close and turned to kiss her palm. 

She smiled a little playfully, and freed a leg from the sheets to dig her toes into his ribs. 

“If I’d known you wanted kids I would have been significantly less stressed, you know.” 

Levi quirked a brow at her. 

“I’ve told you that before.” 

“No, you haven’t.” 

“I have. At your sisters wedding.” 

Hange racked her brain, searching for the conversation. She remembered the occasion, and she remembered that she and Levi had somehow ended up babysitting Hange’s family brood. She remembered Levi, wrestling to keep her youngest nephew on his lap while the eldest, still only five or six at the time, was clambering up the back of his chair, sticky hands tugging at Levi’s collar. Hange fought hard to recall more of what was said, but could remember nothing at all of Levi announcing that he had wanted one of his own. 

“You said these brats aren’t so bad,” Hange said slowly. 

Levi nodded at her. Hange waited for him to elaborate, but he didn’t, only looked at her like there was nothing more he needed to say. 

“That’s it? That’s your idea of telling me you want kids?” 

“The hell else could I have meant?” 

Hange dug her toe at him again but Levi caught her foot this time, pushing it firmly down onto the mattress. Hange reached for him with both arms instead, curling them around the back of his neck and tugging him down quickly. He toppled over her with a quiet oof, and Hange rolled them quickly, straddling his waist and dropping her weight down onto him. 

“That is the kind of thing you say clearly, Levi! These brats aren’t so bad—you’re ridiculous!” 

Levi wrestled with her arms a little longer before giving up and bringing his hands instead to rest low on her hips. He watched her with a curious expression on his face, something open and soft, and then his eyes roved down to her abdomen and his thumbs brushed inwards, beneath the hem of her shirt, stroking over her lower belly. 

This time, he didn’t fight his smile. 

He reached up and pulled her down by the neck, and kissed her soundly. Hange melted against him, welcomed the press of his tongue between her lips, shuddered pleasantly when he nipped at her bottom lip. She went with him willingly as he rolled them both over, nudging a knee between her legs and settling his weight against her. 

She was spreading her legs to make space for him, when he paused suddenly, and pulled back, leaning over the bed and scooping through the discarded back of leaflets. Hange, winded and dishevelled, watched him incredulously as he flicked through the contents of one, then tossed it aside and opened another. 

“What are you doing?” 

Without looking up, Levi replied, “Checking.” 

“Checking what?” 

“I wanna know if we can still—” he waved a hand between them, and went back to searching. 

“We’ve been—” Hange mimicked his gesture, “—up until now anyway.” 

Levi looked up at her, looking mildly horrified. He held up one his open leaflet and said, “You’ve been drinking alcohol, too. You’re not supposed to do that. And look, here—you’re not supposed to overwork. You’ll have to take on less hours at the university. And you’ll eat. Proper damn meals. Every day.” 

Hange flopped back against the pillows, eyes rolling, watching as Levi picked up each new leaflet in turn, pointing out every little adjustment that Hange would have to make. 

“This one says you should get eight to ten hours sleep per night. Every night. And not so much coffee, the caffeine’s bad for the baby.” 

The baby. It sounded surreal. It sounded ridiculous. Levi shifted to sit against the headboard beside her after opening the chunky little What to Expect While Expecting volume Hange had been handed while leaving the doctors. He seemed thoroughly engrossed, and seemingly unaware when one of his hands reached out to pull Hange’s hair free of its ponytail and sink into her hair. She hummed happily as his nails scraped over her scalp. 

Things were still scary, and Hange was still uncertain about how this whole adventure might turn out. But Levi was still with her, and Levi was happy, and that—

—Well, that was good enough. 

[officalaizawa003]

Bruno finds love

Two years later, Bruno is 52 and is sitting outside of casita. He sighs as he looks out at Encanto. His life is perfect. His family had forgiven him and accepted him back, he was no longer hated, and he hadn't been happier in a long time. Expect..he could be happier. Bruno had always had a dream to find love and was planning to pursue that dream by the age of 40, but with what had happened, he never got the chance. And besides, no one in town was gonna wanna marry him. Both his sisters had happily married and had children but what about him? Maybe he should travel. He's always wanted to do that! But again he cant. His place is here at home and the mountains are too high for him to climb. Bruno sighed again and used one finger to pat the rat on its head.

“BOO!”

“AÍ!” Bruno threw the rat behind him as Mirabel’s upside down head appeared. “Mirabel! Why must you always scare me? You're gonna give your uncle a heart attack! I'm at that age now!”

Mirabel giggled, “Sorry tió Bruno. What are you doing out here by yourself?”

“Ah, don't worry about me. I'm not doing much. Just thinking.”

“About what?”

“*sigh* You're not gonna let it go are you?”

“Nope!” Mirabel smiled as she leaned on his shoulder.

“I was..I was thinking about an old fantasy of mine.”

“Fantasy?”

“Yeah. I had this fantasy when I was your age that I would find the woman of my dreams and marry her. Have a kid or two I don't know. But with my power came a bad reputation and that goal was harder to reach every day. I told myself I would get married by my 40’s but..you know the rest.”

“Well why don't you get out there. It's not too late!”

“Look at me míja, I'm a 52 years old man. And besides, everyone in the village is happy with their life. It's not like some 50 year old woman will climb over the mountain looking for a husband.” Mirabel sighed. Bruno was right. All the villagers had already settled down at this point. She felt bad for her Tió. Bruno noticed that Mirabel had gone quiet and chuckled, “Hey kid, it's okay! Your uncle will be just fine. Some people are better off alone. And that's okay.” Bruno patted her back before the bell in town rang. It was time to head back in town to go help out, “I’ll be okay. Don't stress out about it.” Bruno stood up and his rat that he threw earlier had finally made its way back to him. He picked it up and put it on his shoulder and Mirabel watched as her uncle walked into town.

:read more

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bruno and the madrigals had finished up early in town, so they were able to head home sooner than usual. It was around 6:00 pm and the madrigals were about to eat dinner when there was a knock on the door. Camilo called out, “I got it!” and walked towards the door. Only a few seconds later, Camilo called out, “Uhh mi familia? You might want to come to the door…”

The family looked at each other and got up from the dinner table and walked to the door. Camilo opened the door fully and the family gasps. A woman with brown curly hair and a single gray streak in her hair walked in. She had tan skin and wore a white tank top underneath her crop top green jacket. She wore combat boots and light blue shorts. She smiled, “Hello, my name is Mariana. I heard you all are the Madrigals?” Abuela nodded, “Yes we are. Im the head of the house. My name is Alma. I don't recognize you, Mariana. Do you live in town?” Mariana laughed, “No. I'm a traveler. I've traveled all around the world and I've been looking for a place to settle down. I found your town on accident and I thought it was the perfect place. That is..if you’ll have me?”

Alma smiled, “I've never seen someone able to climb those mountains before! It would be a sin to make such a beautiful young woman like you climb all the way back over. Of course you can stay. But there is a slight problem. There is no homes in town for you to stay in.” Mariana’s smile slowly faded as she bowed, “I completely understand. Im sorry for wasting your time.”

Mirabel noticed Bruno’s eyes locked on her, he was grabbing his shawl near where his heart was. And his checks were…pink. Mirabel, don't waste another second, “Wait!”She turned to Abuela, “Hey we still have the nursery upstairs! She can stay there! It’ll just be until a new house is built! Pleaseeeeee?” Abuela clapped her hands together with a confused yet happy expression, “That is a wonderful idea, Mirabel! She can stay here!”Mariana is dragged back inside by Mirabel.

Mariana smiles, "Thank you! I've never been shown so much kindness! But I only know one of your names. If I should be staying with you all, may I at least get your names?" Before anyone could answer, she practically teleported to Julieta and shook hands. She went down to each family member, getting their names and thanking them.

Until she got down to Bruno. She stuck out her hand and said, "Mariana. Nice to meet you!"

Bruno hesitated but smiled back and shook her hand, "Bruno. Nice to meet you too." Suddenly a rat climbed out from Bruno's shawl and onto her arm. "Oh my god I am so sorry! Here let me get him-"

"Oh no it's fine! I love animals! Mostly small rodents like this one! Oh you're adorable! And actually, this is a girl! She's much smaller than a regular sized male rat."

The madrigals' jaws dropped and so did Bruno's. Mariana looked around, "Oh I'm sorry! I didn't mean to geek out, I just really love rats!"

Bruno chuckled, "No it's okay! I love rats too! They're loyal as long as you keep them fed!"

Mariana laughed at that, "Your so right, Bruno! Gosh I've never met someone that had the same interests as me! It's like fate brought us here, ya know?"

Bruno blushed slightly as he took his rat back. Mariana turned to Abuela, "So uh, where is this nursery anyways?"

Abuela closed her mouth and cleared her throat, "Oh it's uh upstairs. Can you show this young woman to her room, Camil-"

Mirabel cut her off, "Yeah great thinking! Bruno should lead her to her room!" and started pushing Bruno towards Mariana. Bruno whispered, “What are you doing, Mirabel?”

“Helping a fantasy come true. Just play it cool, Tió.” Bruno is shoved towards Mariana and Mariana giggled as she moved her gray streak of hair out of her face. She held out her hand and Bruno took it. He led her up the stairs as they talked. Abuela smiled as she closed the front door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It was dinner time and the family was sitting down about to eat. But something was missing. Or someone. Bruno wasn't there and neither was Mariana. Abuela sighed, “They are probably lost in conversation. Dolores, can you go fetch them?” Dolores nodded and left the table. Meanwhile upstairs…Bruno had just finished helping Mariana unpack and the entire time they were discussing their interests with each other.

Bruno dusted his shawl off, “Welp, that's the rest of it! I hope you don't mind such a small room.”

Mariana shook her head, “Nonsense! An old woman like me doesn't need such a big room.”

Bruno perked up, “Old? What do you mean old?”

“Oh haha! I'm 50 years old, dear. Traveling and such keeps me looking and feeling young! My birthday is tomorrow. July 20th.”

“You're only a year younger than me then!” Bruno said with way too much excitement in his voice.

“Yeah it would seem so! Guess it really is fate.” Mariana thought for a moment and with a nonchalant voice, she asked, “So, where is your wife?”

Bruno choked for a minute and coughed, “What?!” “Yeah your wife! A could only assume a guy like you is already married.” “Oh no no no im single haha. I've been focused on my family recently and the thought of getting married has only just been brought up.” Marina smiled at him, and gave him a kiss on the check, “Well then it must be my lucky day.” Bruno’s checks lit up with blush and his eyes widened. He gasped softly and opened his mouth to say something when there was a knock at the door. Dolores opened the door, “Sorry to interrupt anything but Abuela says it's time for dinner.” Mariana nodded, “We’ll be right there!” Dolores closed the door and smiled. She had been listening through the door. It was clear Mariana had a thing for Bruno but she questioned Bruno’s feelings for her. She shrugged to herself as Bruno and Mariana left the room.

Mariana whispered, “Keep that a secret, okay?”

Bruno chuckled, “O-of course! I'm the master of keeping secrets!”

Mariana smirked, “We will see~” And they walked downstairs.

At this point Bruno’s checks were bright red and his heartbeat was quick. He sat down next to Félix and Camilo and his leg was bouncing up and down. He was trying to calm down. Everyone started eating and Bruno was zoned out. He was replaying the moment in his mind again. What had just happened, he’s dreaming, right?

“Bruno, Is everything okay? You haven't touched your food.”

Bruno snapped up. Julieta was touching his shoulder. “Oh yeah, I'm-fine. Thanks sis.”

Bruno picked up his food and started stabbing at it. Julieta lifted up his head softly and felt his checks, “Aí! Bruno! Your checks are so hot! Here eat this!” Juelita took a piece of food off of Bruno’s plate and stuffed it in his mouth. Bruno chewed and swallowed, “T-thank you amada, but as I said before, I'm fine.” Bruno’s checks stayed red. Aǵustain sat Julieta down and calmed her down. He cleared his throat, “Maybe he just needs some water. It was hot today and he worked very hard. Drink some water, Bruno.” Bruno nodded and picked up his glass of water. As he lifted it up, his hand shook and a little bit of water spilled. The family watched as he downed the entire glass down and said nothing as he started eating quickly. Bruno soon sat up and ran upstairs, not acknowledging anyone or anything. The family’s eyes quickly set to Mariana, who was giggling. Abuela cleared her throat, “What happened upstairs, Mariana? We’ve never seen Bruno like this before!”

Mariana smiled, “He helped me unpack and then we talked about how we like traveling and rats. After that, I asked him where his wife was, he said he didn't have a wife and I told him that a man like him deserved a wife and his cheeks went red. I don't know why, it was just a compliment.” Pepa’s mouth dropped open and a thunder cloud started forming. Mariana looked up, “Uhhh what is that?!”

Abuela sighed, “Pepa! Your scarring her!” Pepa just thundered more. Abuela sighed, “I am so sorry. We don't mean to scare you! Pepa cant control her emotions very well and-”

Mariana exclaimed, “Wait what? Why is there a thundercloud?! Is anyone else seeing this?” Mariana got scared and ran out of the room. Pepa huffed, “I wasn't about to let her try and flirt with my brother and get away with it.” Abuela shook her head and stood up. She was going to have to explain a lot. She got to the stairs and saw Bruno and Mariana standing together hand in hand. Marina smirked at him, “Master of keeping secrets, huh? Yeah some master. ”

“I'm sorry, I panicked..but I didn't say anything! You gotta give me some sort of credit.” Bruno noticed Abuela and quickly pushed her hand away. “Mamá heyyy! W-what are you doing here?” Abuela frowned slightly, “I was just coming to explain to Mariana what happened and-” Mariana cut her off, “Oh yeah, Bruno why is there a thunderstorm in the middle of your kitchen right now?” Bruno chuckled and walked away with her explaining the family’s gift. Abuela sighed and walked back into the kitchen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “And when she was five, she lifted up her Julieta with one hand with no problem. It was crazy!” Mariana laughed, “Woah that's insane! What's yours?” Bruno looked confused, “What's mine what?”

“Your gift!”

“Hah it's more like a curse!” “Come onnn you can tell me!”

Bruno rubbed the back of his neck, “I can see the future”

Mariana practically jumped onto Bruno, “Tell me the future!”

Bruno shook his head, “I don't use my powers anymore.”

“Pleaseeee?” Bruno sighed, “Come with me. We need to go to my room” They got off the bed and walked to Bruno’s room.

They walked up the stairs and sat in the sand. Bruno cracked his knuckles and held out his hands, “Hang out, it gets a bit windy.” His eyes glowed green and sand started to swirl. He looked around and saw a vision forming, “Look over there!” The vision was of Bruno hugging Mariana tightly. They pull away from the hug, still holding each other. They laugh and then they lean into a kiss slowly. That vision flashes to Bruno holding a child and lifting it into the air. And another vision with Bruno lifting up his hand and Mariana lifting up her’s. They press together and their hands have rings on them. The vision ends and Bruno holds the vision. He shows it to Mariana. They both dont speak a word. They’re speechless.

Suddenly Mariana smiled, “Guess it really is fate. Still think your power is a curse?” Bruno shook his head violently and hugged Mariana. Then he jumped up, “We have to tell the family!” Mariana shook her head, “Slow down, Mi amor! I just got here today. If you tell them, “Hey, even though I just met this girl today, I'm going to marry her,” they are going to think you're un poco loco, dear. Lets just take it a day at a time and let them catch on, okay?” Bruno smiled, “Okay. Come on, let's get you back to your room before anyone catches us.” They laughed like little kids as the ran out of Bruno’s room and into the nursery. Where they both accidentally fall asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The next morning…

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

“Mariana? May I come in?” It was Mirabel. And if she opened that door, she would see Mariana laying on Bruno’s chest while playing with his hair. Even though Bruno was still asleep, she pushed him off the bed and underneath the bed. “Yeah come in!”

Bruno woke up and quickly realized that they almost got caught and stayed quiet. Mirabel opened the door, “Hey um..do you know where Tió Bruno is? He’s not in his room.” Mariana shook her head and smiled, “Haven't seen him all morning. Maybe he’s going out for a stroll?” Mirabel nodded and turned to leave before saying, “Hey, can I tell you something?”

“Sure.” Mirabel walked back in and sat on the bed, “My tió Bruno..he’s..he’s always had this dream of marrying and I know your not his age but do you have any friends around 50-52?” Mariana laughed as Bruno cursed in Spanish under his breath. Mirabel was ratting him out. “Actually, I just turned 51 today. And I don't have many friends close by.”

“Really? You look so young!”

“Thanks! I get that a lot! Anyways, Bruno wants to marry huh? Thanks for the heads up. If I see any of my friends I’ll let them know.”

“Okay, thank you Mariana!” Mirabel stood up and left. Mariana burst out laughing, “You’ve always wanted to marry, huh Bruno?” Bruno slid out from under the bed, his cheeks turning red again, “I couldn't tell if she was trying to help or make fun of me.” He smiled and they laughed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A month later…

A new house had finally been built and the Madrigals reserved it for Mariana. It would be their last dinner together. And again, Bruno wasn't here and neither was Mariana. Abuela was tired of sending people to get them. Abuela wanted to know what was going on, now, “Dolores, can you hear Bruno and Mariana?”

“Yes I can.”

“Tell us what they are doing!”

Dolores leaned to the side, “They are running out of Bruno’s room…they’re near the stairs. Mariana says she thinks she's in love with him…Bruno feels the same… Mariana just kissed him.” Dolores went back to eating like nothing happened. Everyone shrugged until they gave it a second thought. BRUNO AND MARIANA KISSED?! They all ran to stairs and saw Mariana with her hand on Bruno’s check as she kissed him. Bruno’s eyes were wide but slowly closed. He seemed to relax. Mariana pulled away and smiled and he chuckled.

“ So uh…when is Abuela gonna get some more grandchildren?” Camilo said, breaking the silence. Felix elbowed him.Bruno and Mariana froze. Bruno slowly turned towards his family, “ uhhhh surprise?” Mariana rubbed the back of her neck, “ Bruno that was the wrong thing to say-” Pepa starting thundering and tried to climb up the stairs, Felix held her back, Camilo, Antino, Lusia, and Isabela, looked in confusion, Mirabel was trying to hold back her squeals and Abuela…well nobody could read Abuela’s face. Abuela walked up the stairs and looked at Bruno and Mariana. Everyone stayed silent. Abuela looked at Bruno then at Mariana. She watched as Mariana grabbed Bruno’s hand and gave him a look that said ‘Everything will be okay’. Abuela looked at Mariana, “ You're no longer welcome at the Madrigal home and you are not allowed to see Bruno any longer. Your house is on the other side of town. Now leave.” Bruno looked hurt and Mariana’s head dropped. Pepa, Felix, Julieta, and Agustuin chuckled. Bruno spoke up, “ Mama it was not her fault-”

“ I don't want to hear it.” Abuela said as she turned, “ If you want to say goodbye, help her pack.” Abuela walked down the stairs and pushed everyone back into the dinning room.

Bruno looked over at Mariana who seemed near tears, “ I'm so sorry, Bruno..I didn't mean to cause any trouble..”

Bruno hugged her tightly, “ Its okay…I’ll see you around. I promise. I’ll bring Ratty too.” Mariana hugged back, “ Okay…Come help me pack?” Bruno nodded and they went back to the Nursery.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Abuela why did you do that? Bruno seemed so happy!” Isa, Lusia, and Mirabel were upset with Abuela for saying that. They haven't seen Bruno that happy since he was accepted back into the family. Abuela chuckled, “ Oh this is a test for Mariana and Bruno. To see if they truly love each other. I did it to Felix and Agustin. And they passed.”

Lusia crossed her arms, “ Why test her? She seems to really love him.”

Abuela smiled, “ Its just to make sure. I don't want my children getting heartbroken.” They heard the front door open and they watched from afar as Bruno hugged her one last time before she walked out. Bruno looked at his family and went back up the stairs. He didn't come to any meals for the past 2 days. But today he was forced to by his hunger. So in the morning he was in line to get breakfast. He put his hood up and grabbed a plate. He overheard Pepa talking to Felix, “ That woman was getting on my nerves. Always making us wait to eat dinner and flirting with my little brother. How dare she. Mama should have kicked her out a long time ago.” Bruno grabbed his food and was about to run about inside when Casita closed the front door on him.

“ You haven't eaten with us in a long time, Bruno. It's time for you to embrace your family.” Abuela said as she sat down. Bruno mumbled, “ I don't even want to be outside…” before sitting down and eating slowly. Stage one of the test was in motion. After everyone was finished, Bruno stood up to go back inside when he was lifted up by Lusia and carried into town.

“ Sorry Tio Bruno but you need some fresh air. Abuela’s orders.” Luisa said as she placed him in the middle of town and pulled off his hoodie. Bruno sighed and walked around. He walked aimlessly, lost in thought, when he bumped into an apple stand. “ Oh, I'm sorry! Here let me pick them up.” Bruno started picking them up one by one until someone else started helping. He put them back into the basket, “ Thanks for the help-'' he stopped. Mariana was smiling at him. He took off his hood and smiled. He heard his family calling for him and exclaimed, “ Quickly show me where your house is!” Mariana without a single word grabbed him by the hand and showed him a two story, brown house. He nodded and ran off. He returned to his family in high spirits and a smile on his face. His family noticed. Phase one complete.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bruno again was forced to come to dinner by Abuela but that didn't put him down. He ate so fast that by the time his family was about to ask him why he was so happy, he had put his plate in the sink and was running up the stairs again. He slammed his door and then there was silence. Abuela smiled, “ Dolores, what is he doing?” Dolores poked her ear out, “ He’s mumbling to one of his rats. He’s going to sneak out to see her tonight even if it kills him.” Abuela nodded, “ I'm glad he’s doing well. They might pass.” Pepa thundered, “ He better not! I don't like the looks of her!” Everyone rolled their eyes at Pepa. She didn't “like the looks” of Augustus when he was first introduced to the family. Phase two was in motion.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ That night Abuela stayed up later in the night to see Bruno crawl out of his room. He snuck into Isa’s room and came out with a bunch of red roses. He looked around and crept out of the front door. Abuela nodded to herself and went to bed.

Meanwhile with Bruno…

He had been waiting forever to see her again (even if forever was two days). He snuck out to the town. The only thing that lit up the town was the moon. He ran to Mariana’s house and threw a rock at her window, but she was already waiting for him. She opened her window, “ Your not supposed to be here, Bruno. You could get in trouble.” Bruno only chuckled as he placed a ladder under her window and dug it into the dirt so it wouldn't fall, “ You shouldn't be worried about me. I'm a grown man, I’ll be fine.” He climbed up it and gave her the flowers. She smiled as she took them and they talked all night. As the sun began to rise, they looked back at Casita. He would have to leave again soon. Mariana played with his hair, “ One more thing before you go?” Bruno’s checks went pink again, “ Anything for you, mi amor.” They leaned forward and kissed. Mariana and Bruno didn't know it yet, since as soon as they finished kissing, Bruno practically slid down the ladder, threw it to the side and waved goodbye, but he had lipstick on his lips. He entered his house just in time because everyone was waking up. He ran to his room and acted as if he was just waking up. He waved to Mirabel and Isa who saw him and tried to hold back laughter. He just shrugged it off until Pepa started thundering again and Julieta burst out laughing. Did he have a rose petal on him or something? “ What's so funny?” Pepa growled, “ Nothing…” and stormed off. He rolled his eyes and went for breakfast. Camilo was on the ground laughing, Lusia was chuckled while shaking her head, Antonio was giggling and the Felix and Agustuin were just whispering to each other. Something was going on. Abuela sat down for breakfast and looked across the table to see Bruno with lipstick on his lips. Abuela held back her laughter and put on a serious face on, “ Bruno Madrigal…why do you have lipstick on your lips?” Bruno raised his eyebrow in confusion, rubbed his lips and looked at his hand. Mariana had red lipstick on that night and neither of them noticed that he had lipstick on.. Bruno kept calm and shrugged, “ I dont know.” and kept eating. Abuela smiled.Phase two complete.

Bruno wiped off the lipstick and held his breath, knowing his family would question him. Camilo smirked and turned into Mariana and did kissy faces at Bruno. Isabela used her vines to pull him away from Bruno. Bruno sighed as Pepa thundered more and more. Today was gonna be a long day. As soon as breakfast was over, Bruno rushed over to the town. He bought flowers, chocolate two cheap rings. He turned around to run home but saw his family in the plaza where he was. He put the items he bought into his shawl and walked home with a hood over his face. When he got home he sighed and relaxed but saw Mirabel looking into the bag. He cringed, “ Please don't say anything to Abuela, Mirabel…” Mirabel smirked and ran out the door yelling, “ Abuela! Abuela!” Bruno was slightly shocked, why would Mirabel do that? He had to hide all this stuff quick. In fact he had to hide himself. He ran upstairs and looked all over for hiding places. He was about to give up when one of his rats squeeze through a painting. His old hiding spot. He looked out onto the front yard. His family was coming. He quickly went behind the painting and looked around. It had been so long. He ran all the way to his back room. Everything was still here expect his clothes and paintings. He sat down in his chair and relaxed. A rat cuddled up next to him and he accidently fell asleep...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Bruno suddenly woke to a rat nibbling at his hand. He pulled his hand away and quickly realized he had fallen asleep. He ran out of the walls and looked at the nearest clock. It was past the time he was meant to meet Mariana. He grabbed the items he bought and ran to her house, hoping it wasn't too late. He arrived at her house. Luckily for him, she was already waiting for him. When she saw him, she blew a kiss to him and winked. Bruno chuckled and blushed as he pretended that he caught the kiss. He climbed up the ladder, not noticing that it had already been set up for him.

Mariana smirked, " Took ya long enough. I was getting sleepy."

Bruno rubbed the back of his neck, " Sorry mi amor. I accidentally fell asleep while hiding away from mi familia. But I brought you these, if these make it better." Bruno held out the flowers and chocolates to Marianna who took them slowly and awkwardly.

Bruno raised an eyebrow, " Is something wrong?"

Mariana shook her head, " No no nothing is wrong Ti- I mean Bruno. I just need to tell you something. But in order to do that, you need to come inside.

Bruno chuckled, " You know I can't do that, Mari. If my family found out-"

Mariana cut him off, " Please Bruno? It's very important!"

Bruno looked back at his house and back at Mariana, " Aye..you know I can't resist it when you beg like that...alright alright fine. But we have to make it quick, okay?"

Mariana smirked, " Heh..deal~" Bruno climbed in and dusted himself off. Mariana quickly closed the window and locked it.

Bruno smiled, " Sooo what did you want to tell me?"

Mariana crossed her arms, " I wanted to say..." suddenly Mariana turned into Camilo, " Gotcha~" Bruno's smile quickly faded. He realized that this was a trap. He sped to the bedroom door but when he opened it Luisa was there. She walked in and Bruno backed up.

Bruno chuckled nervously, " Y-you guys really gonna do this to your old Uncle, huh? Come on, let's just pretend we didn't see each other, yeah?"

Luisa and Camilo lunged at Bruno and with ease they captured him. Bruno struggled in Lusia's grasp as she carried him back to the house where Abuela and everyone else was already waiting. Bruno was set down softly and Lusia blocked the door.

Abuela shook her head, "Bruno...I don't even know what to say to you right now. I already set the rules for you and Mariana and you refuse to listen."

Bruno looked down and rubbed the side of his arm. After this his every move would be watched and he'd never be able to see her again. If this is how it was gonna end he was gonna say something.

He lifted his head and put his hands in a fist " I don't understand why you don't like her, but I love her! A-And if you can't understand that then...then..." but the words fell flat. Nothing came out after that. He looked back down. Abuela continued to yell at him about how he shouldn't be in love with Mariana but Bruno couldnt hear her. He was lost in thought. For once he had a good vision and now none of it could come true. He let a tear fall from his eye and it seemed Abuela noticed.

She sighed, " Do you REALLY love that pathetic traveler girl? I mean really Bruno, even you could do better. And now you're crying over her."

Bruno snapped up. What did she just say? Bruno without a second thought shouted, " Call her name one more time and I swear I'll become a real bad omen this time! Yeah I heard you a little song about me. That's how you want me to be? Then that's how I'll be. You can make songs about how evil and creepy I am all you want but Mariana is not pathetic. She's someone worth crying for and if she can't see that then you're all blind!" Bruno flipped up his hoodie and went up the stairs. He didn't want to be a Madrigal anymore. He opened his room, locked the door and flopped on his bed with his eyes closed." Your not gonna say hi?" He heard Mariana's voice.

Bruno sighed, " I thought I locked the door..Camilo got out. I'm not playing these games today, kid."

" *laughter* Come on Bruno, look at me! I'm not Camilo."

Bruno turned over to face the wall, " Well then I guess my name isn't Bruno. Now get out, Camilo. Don't make me get up."

"*sigh* Just look at me. I swear it's me."

Bruno rolled his eyes and sat up quickly, " Camilo I swear-" He stopped. He stood up and pulled off his hood. He couldn't tell if this was a sick joke or..

Bruno slowly put his hands on her waist, " Okay...if your Mariana..then you'll let me do this." Bruno slowly leaned in. He really didn't want to kiss his nephew and hoped that if it was Camilo, he wouldn't call his bluff and just leave. But no. Mariana stayed right there and even leaned in herself until their lips met. Yeah..this was Mariana.

Bruno pulled away from the kiss and smiled, " MARIANA! God I thought I'd never see you again! Where were you? I was at your house and you weren't there and I-"

" I know."

Bruno paused, " What..?"

" I know what happened. Camilo and Luisa brought you back here. I knew what was happening. In fact, your mom brought me here. I told her everything! " Bruno backed away. Had SHE set him up?

Mariana quickly realized that he looked concerned and chuckled, "No no not like that! You see, your mom has been testing us. To see if we truly love each other. I passed by allowing you to always visit and treating you well and today was your final test."

Bruno facepalmed, " Oh well in that case I just failed.."

Mariana looked worried, " Why?!"

Bruno sighed, " I just told my family that they were blind and that I'd become a villain because they made me out like one."

Mariana facepalmed and Bruno pulled something out of his pocket, " Mariana..if this really is the last night we get to be together then I want something to remember you by. So I got these rings. They're promise rings."

Mariana smiled, " Okay, what are we promising?"

Bruno smiled sheepishly, " That we'll never forget each other no matter how far we are."

Mariana nodded, " I promise." and Bruno slid the ring onto her pointer finger. He did the same for himself. He lifted up his hand and Mariana did the same. They pressed their hands together and nodded to each other. Bruno yawned. He was so sleepy. He and Mariana laid in his small bed together and fell asleep. The next day, Mariana was very talkative to the Madrigals while Bruno didn't come out of his room and Mariana had to bring him food. Bruno was called to the dinner table for the final decision. Mariana had to force him out of his room. He stayed quiet while Abuela walked in. He was clearly anxious. His leg bounced quickly, his body was shaking with fear and when he thought he might just scream, he felt two hands on his shoulders. He looked up and saw Julieta and Pepa smiling softly at him even though he had yelled at them earlier.

They hugged him and at the same time said, “ Don't worry hermanito (little brother)” Before leaving the room with the rest of the family.

Mariana held his hand and squeezed tightly, giving him a look that said, “ Everything will be okay.” Bruno was starting to dread that look. It was the same look Mariana had given him the day they were forced to separate.

Abuela sat down and cleared her throat, “ Bruno and Mariana, as you know, I forbade you both to see each other ever again. Even with these demands, you continued seeing each other every night doing…* whispered:I don't even want to know what you were doing with Mariana, Bruno…* and was inevitably caught.” Abuela looked at Bruno, “ You disobeyed me, Bruno. You would sneak off to see a woman then to listen to your family?”

Bruno said nothing. Abuela turned to Mariana, “ I allowed you to stay in Encanto and you repay me by making my innocent son a troublemaker.” Mariana took a deep breath in and out. Abuela stood up, whispered to Casita, and walked over to them. The chairs they were sitting on got spun around to face Abuela. Abuela took the hood off of Bruno’s head. Abuela made them look her in the eyes and then she smiled, “ You clearly have a strong bond and love for each other. And clearly, even if you did not pass the test, Bruno wouldn't stand for it. So it seems I have no choice but to pass you both. You two may be together. Welcome to the family, Mariana. You’ll make a wonderful madrigal and even better grandchildren!”

Bruno choked, “ Grandchildren?!”

Mariana laughed, “ Actually Alma, you just gave us a wonderful idea~” Mariana nudged Bruno who hid his face in his hands. Alma laughed.

“Alright, come here you!” Bruno stood up and quickly pulled Mariana close. This was the first time Bruno had the confidence to make the first move. They kissed and smiled at each other. They opened the dining room doors and everyone cheered when they heard the news. And that was happy ever after for the two of them..or was it?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~A few months later…

Bruno rubbed the back of his neck, “ Are you sure you wanna try this? I mean we are both in our 50’s! Isn't it a little too late for us to be trying this?”

Mariana smiled, “ Don't worry so much Bruno. If it works, it works! If it doesn't, oh well! We tried and that's all that matters!”

Bruno sighed, “ Okay but what if I hurt you?”

Mariana rolled her eyes, “ In that impossible situation, I'd tell you. But Bruno, sweetie? Your skin in bones, you won't be able to do much damage.”

Bruno laughed, “ That's true! Alright alright…I can do this…ready?”

Mariana nodded, “ I'm ready when you're ready.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A month later….

Mariana sat up quickly and shook Bruno, “ Bruno! I think I left something in the oven! Could you go get it for me, dear?”

Bruno chuckled, “ You're lucky you've been feeling sick recently. But regardless, I will do anything for you, amor.” Bruno bowed dramatically and walked to the kitchen. He opened the oven door and smelled the air. Fresh bread..mmmm! He pulled the tray out of the oven and shouted to Mariana, “ It's okay, baby! It's only 3 pieces of bread!” Mariana walked in, “ What type of bread?”

Bruno shrugged, “ I don't know, a loaf?”

Mariana laughed, “ Oh Brunito, you're so silly! Their buns!”

Bruno smiled sheepishly, “ Ohhhh haha that was kinda obvious huh? But why do you have 3 buns in the oven?”

Mariana gave him the look of, “ Come on bruno, you can figure it out!” and bruno just repeated the sentence in his head. She has 3 buns in the oven..she has 3 buns in the oven…she has a bun in the oven and theirs 3 of them…Bruno gasped when it clicked and quickly looked over at her. She nodded and Bruno just stood there with his mouth hanging open.

Mariana began to worry, “ Brunito..? You okay?” She started to cry a bit, “ I'm sorry if your unhappy with me-”

Bruno hugged her, “ No don't cry! I'm overwhelmed with joy! We're gonna be parents! And its triplets! Oh the family will be so happy! We have to surprise them!”

Mariana wiped off her tears, “ Okay..let's tell Alma and the grandkids last. Put the buns back in the oven for Julieta, Pepa, Felix, and Agustuin. They’re my next victims mwahaha *cough cough*”

Bruno chuckled, “ You should rest first, mi amor. I don't want you to hurt yourself or our little sunflower seed.” Mariana laughed at the nickname Bruno gave their future child. She sat down and sighed. Bruno brought her tea and sat next to her.

Later on with Pepa…

Mariana called out, “ Pepa! I forgot something in the oven and I feel sick. Can you take it out for me?”

Pepa nodded, “ Sure.”

Pepa stepped into the kitchen and from a distance, Mariana could hear Pepa open the oven door and then saw a rainbow form over Pepa’s head. Pepa walked back up the stairs and looked at her.

Mariana smiled, “ Surprise!”

Pepa picked her up and shouted, “ I'M GONNA BE A TIA AGAIN!”

Mariana thanked the lord that the rest of the family was out on the town,” Don't squeeze too tight!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Later with Julieta… Mariana, Julieta, and Bruno were sitting in the kitchen talking when Mariana smirked, “ Hey..check the oven for me. Bruno and I have a surprise for you. You know your food references so this should be easy for you to figure out.”

Julieta raised an eyebrow with a small smile, “ What are you two up to?” and opened the oven door. She gasped loudly and took a step back. She quickly turned around to face them, “ Are you serious?”

Bruno chuckled, “ You're gonna be an aunt again, sis.”

Julieta started crying and hugged them both.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The next day….

Mariana again asked the same question to Felix and Agustuin at the same time, and they congratulated the couple and even made fun of Bruno by saying things like, “ Woah Bruno I didn't know you had it in you!” or “Oooo Bruno’s getting it on, huh? Never thought a rat man would get some~~” And Bruno just blushed and got shy.

Camilo’s turn…

Bruno smirked, “ Hey Camilo? Remember when you asked when Abuela was gonna get some more grandchildren from me and Mariana?”

Camilo chuckled at the memory, “ Yeah that was a funny joke.”

Bruno chuckled lowly, “ At first it was a joke, but it's not a joke anymore~”

Camilo paused for a moment, trying to understand the joke. Then it clicked, “...Are you serious?! Oh my god…c-congrats Tio!”

Bruno laughed at Camilo’s awkwardness.

Dolores's turn…

Mariana tapped Dolores on the shoulder, “ Hey D-” She cut her off, “ I already know you're pregnant with triplets…trust me..I know…”

Mariana didn't understand what she meant by that until she remembered her gift, “ Oooo sorry Dolores…” Dolores shuddered and cringed at the thought of what she was forced to listen to that night.

One by one grandkids were told and they all were happy.

Antonio asked where babies come from (awkward)

Mirabel asked to feel her stomach (very wholesome)

Isabel asked to name “it” (meant to be wholesome but was just awkward)

Lusia smiled and told them she would decorate the nursery for them.(very wholesome #2)

Now it was Abuela’s turn. And Bruno suggested the idea for this one.

Mariana sat on the edge of Abuela’s bed while Abuela did the same, “ What did you want to tell me?”

Mariana held up a paper cut out of a baby, which folded out into 3 babies. Abuela gasped. Just like how she did it, “ Mariana…im so happy I allowed you to be with my Brunito. You will be the most wonderful mother to your children!” Alma started crying and Mariana hugged her, “ Thank you, Alma. I will make you proud.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “You got it Mari! Breath and push! Julieta! Get another arepa for her!” Pepa called out to Juletia who came rushing in with a plate of arepas. Bruno waited anxiously, pacing back and forth outside the room, hoping Mari would be okay. One baby is hard enough but three?! Bruno was surprised he didn't bite his whole hand off.

After a whole two hours, the town doctor came out, “ She did great. Three healthy babies. Two boys and one girl.”

Bruno sighed a sigh of relief, “ Can I see her?”

The doctor patted his shoulder, “ Yes but be quiet. She’s resting.”

Bruno nodded and stepped into the nursery. She had gone into labor so quickly they didn't have time to bring her to a hospital so she gave birth in the nursery room. He was quietly greeted by Pepa and Julieta who were fanning themselves off.

He smiled at her and whispered, “Oh mi amor..i was sorry worried. How ya feeling?”

Mariana chuckled slightly, “I'm very tired but I'm holding up. Why don't you look at our children?”

Bruno turned to the three cribs beside the bed.

He smiled as he picked up the first young boy and handed him to Mariana,” What were you thinking of names, sweetie?”

Mariana kissed the young boy’s head and smiled, “Hmmm…how about Angelo? Angie for short.”

Bruno nodded and picked up the second boy, giving him to Mariana as well, “I was thinking of Elonzo or Lewis for this little guy.”

Bruno nodded again, “ Okay mi amor. Make sure you decide soon.”

Mariana smiled, “ I want you to pick the name for our little girl.”

Bruno picked her up and gave her a kiss on the forehead, “ Luna. 100%”

Mariana nodded and Alma came in. She cooed over the three children and asked to hold Luna. A few minutes of being held and Luna began to cry. Alma tried to calm her down, Mariana tried to calm her down, Pepa, Julieta, but none of them could. But as soon as she was handed back to Bruno, she got as quiet as a mouse.

Alma chuckled, “ Looks like someone already has a love for her father before she’s even opened her eyes.”

Bruno held his finger out to Luna, who instinctively started chewing on it. Bruno laughed softly, “Hello Luna..welcome to the world.” Luna opened her eyes for the first time and as soon as she saw Bruno she smiled. Bruno felt his heart warm up. The two boys woke up as well and opened their eyes. Everyone in the room welcomed Angelo, Elonzo, and Luna to the world.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A year later, Mariana came home from a day out on the town in which Pepa and Julieta had pestered her to join them and wouldn't take no for an answer. When she got home it was night time and the entire town was creating a path that led up the stairs.

Mariana looked around, “What’s going on? Is someone getting their gift today?”

Mirabel smiled as she stood by Mariana’s side, the new miracle candle in her left hand. When Abuela died, a candle was place at her grave and it became the family's second miracle. She hooked arms with Mariana and led her up the stairs. She was told to close her eyes and as she did, she heard footsteps then a creak in the floor.

Mirabel let go of her arm, “ Alright, now open them.”

Mariana opened her eyes and her head was led down to the floor. She gasped as a clearly embarrassed yet flustered Bruno was down on one knee, holding out a ring to her.

“M-Mariana, you have changed my life for the better. You helped me fulfill my dreams of finding love and having children. Now let me repay the favor by fulfilling your dreams. You always said you wanted to get married and have a big ceremony so let's do it. Mariana, will you-”

Bruno was cut off as Mariana threw herself to her knees and hugged Bruno, “ Yes yes yes! I will marry you!”

Everyone laughed as Bruno exhaled, “ I held my breath that entire time. I was so nervous.”

Suddenly, Elonzo wobbled over to Mariana, taking his first steps. Mariana gasped as Angelo did the same and hugged onto his mom. Luna stood up and fell back down.

Bruno looked at Mariana, “Lets see who she comes to.”

They both held their hands out to Luna, encouraging her. Luna looked at Mariana and drooled a bit. Then she saw her dad and started giggling, stood up with no problem and started taking a step towards him. She kept going, taking her time, before tripping and falling right into her fathers arms. She looked up and smiled when she realized that he caught her.

Bruno laughed, “ Good job, Luna! That's my girl!” He turned to Angelo and Elonzo and hugged them too, congratulating them for taking their first steps as well. Suddenly the candle burned brighter and Mirabel smiled, “ I guess Abuela blesses the marriage.”

Bruno smiled sadly, “ I wish she was here to see this.”

Mariana placed a hand on his shoulder, “She would be proud.”

Suddenly two yellow butterflies landed on his nose. Mirabel and Bruno looked at eachother, knowing exactly what this meant. The butterflies each landed on each child and then flew away.

The end.

FINALLY DONE THIS STORY TOOK 4 DAYS TO COMPLETE AND I AM SO HAPPY WITH HOW IT CAME OUT! I started writing this on a google docs and needless to say, its 25 pages long on google docs! This is offically the longest story I have completed without doing parts. If you guys want, I will do a sequel on how Bruno, Mariana, and his kids are doing in the future. Let me know how you like it!

@sara576sf

@sleepycatzawa

[vibraniumphoenix]

until you came along. [ b.b ]

a dad!bucky barnes x fem!reader wherein bucky finally gets to meet his little one.

WARNING: bucky hinting about his past but aside from that nothing else! maybe this fic giving you baby fever idrk, time is set somewhere after the events of tfatws, and lowercase intended!

A/N: hi my baby fever is torture and im dragging you along with me. dad!bucky has been stuck in my head for so long now and i’ve been feeling guilty abt not sharing that with you. please reblog the post, it really means a lot!

---

if someone was to tell bucky from a few years back he would be an expecting father, he would probably chuckle bitterly as he turned down the idea; but here he was now, rushing in the middle of the car-filled streets of new york, to finally meet his new born baby.

he cursed under his breath as the cab he was in turned into another corner that had cars barely moving, fingers drumming against the sides of his thighs as he tried to calm himself down, his right arm pulling out his phone to see multiple messages from your mother, asking where was he as you were already in active labor一 that was several hours ago.

he and sam were on a mission, taking down some mafia gang that wanted to smuggle in illegal goods in trade for stolen a truck filled with stolen vibranium; his mind replaying how he didnt want to leave the hospital and stay by your side, but you pushed him to go, not expecting that the infant would arrive later that day.

as soon as he saw the tall building of the hospital you were at, he paid the driver and got out of the car, sprinting all the way to the entrance where his father-in-law was waiting, “i’m so sorry i couldn’t come sooner一” were the words that left bucky’s mouth until he was cut off, “it’s alright, you should head up, your little one’s waiting upstairs.” your father said, patting him on the back as he motioned with his other hand to go.

weaving his way inside, he quickly found your room and composed himself, standing up straight as he caught his breath, smoothing the invisible wrinkles on his clothes before slowly opening the door, peeking his head through its crack to see your sleeping figure on the bed, your mother sitting right by your side.

“bucky!” your mother quietly greeted, standing up to give him a hug. her smile was wide as she stared at his almost organized look, his hair still in a disarray from the rush he was in moments prior. “both of your angel’s are sleeping as of the moment, you should get some rest too, son. me and f/n will go home and set everything up for the baby” she calmly said, motioning the seat that she was previously in.

a small smile formed on his lips as he nodded, wanting to actually take a seat and be with you. “thank you for looking after her, ma.” he answered, hugging the woman tightly before letting go, waving his had as she left the room.

he quietly walked over and took a seat, observing the small sleeping figure inside the clear bassinet next to your bed, tears forming up in his eyes to see such a peaceful little face. gently raising a single digit over the crib, he gently caressed the baby’s hand which held onto his finger, “hey there, little one. I’m your dad.”

---

you stirred awake, body feeling extra sore still from giving birth, you were about to open your eyes when you heard bucky’s voice, “... and i was probably more scared than your momma could ever be at that moment, my little angel.” you opened your eyes a little to see bucky carrying the infant in his arms, sat down, slightly facing the window.

the warm rays of the early sun peeked through the blinds of the window, illuminating the peacefulness displayed on his face, “when your momma said that she had a suspicion you were in her belly, she was scared that i would leave ‘er, since we weren’t even into a year of dating一 little did she know that i feared what would become of us.”

your heart broke silently as you tuned into his confession to the baby, “i’m way older than your grandma and grandpa, i’m afraid that i could never see you grow up, i’m afraid that your momma would leave me for someone younger, that could be better a dad than old me.” his voice was soft, fragile almost as cradled your son.

“but i set those fears aside when i saw you sleeping in that crib of yours, lookin’ so angelic as you slept. i could have only wished to start a family before since i… i was considered to be someone so dangerous; i’ve always thought i would never find love but momma came along and proved me wrong, and now you’re here with me.” bucky continued, raising the small babe up to place a gentle kiss on his forehead.

“i’ve seen so much on this earth that i thought i’ve seen everything it has to offer. your dad’s cool since he got to fight such a big alien and so many bad guys before but i never really realized how much of life i missed until i saw you open your eyes and look at me. i’ve never deemed my life so… worthy until i you and momma came along.” bucky finished, bringing up his flesh hand to wipe the tear that had managed to escape, sighing softly.

you also brought a hand up, wiping the tears that you didn’t even notice away before quietly calling out your husband’s name, making him look back at you with a big surprise, quick to get on his feet and sat by your bed, his flesh hand holding onto yours as he leaned down to place a kiss on your lips. “how long have you been up, darling?”

you smiled tiredly, “just enough time to hear you ramble on to your son.” your tone light and teasing, making the latter chuckle in embarrassment that you had caught him being so soft, “who knew mr. bucky barnes could be such a softy.”

“for someone who just gave birth, you sure are in a teasing mood, baby.” he groaned, shaking his head at your antics. “i’m sorry i couldn’t be here for you when this little troublemaker arrived, y/n.” bucky apologized, looking at you with a small yet disappointed smile. “i knew i should have never taken up that mission.”

you squeezed his hand, shaking your head firmly. “no, james, don’t ever blame yourself for that.” you started off, “i said that you should go一 besides, you’re here now, with me and our little prince and that’s what matters.” you reassure him, bringing his hand up to your lips to place a gentle kiss on his already healing, bruised up knuckles.

bucky sighed softly, knowing better than to argue with you about that, “i know better than to argue with you about that, y/n.” he retorted softly, heart filled with love as his vision bounced from your featured to the sleeping one in his arms, gently exclaiming, “my god, i love you both so much.”

you laughed softly, warmth spreading throughout your body at the sight of the, now two, men in your life, “and we love you too, bucky. we love you too.”

---

[hoe-doroki]

Can I request some tender loving from soft dom deku and female reader?

Very swnsual

Just you've been together forever and waking up from an afternoon nap together

You're feeling particularly loving. Like you have so much love to give that your hearts just gonna burst if you dont show it to him.

I'm just in a soft Feku mood, let him run his fingers through my hair and tell me im his sweetheart, im his girl.

Thank you!

Hi, dear! You wanted a loving Deku to top you, well you came to the right place. Not quite dom/sub, but I think I squeezed in some of the things you wanted. Hope you like it! ;)

minors do not interact

warnings: 18+, mild breeding, mild praise kink; everything’s mild, lol

genre: smut, fluff

wc: 2.1k

edit: I no longer write x reader but here’s my old masterlist - mobile | desktop

The sunlight was bright in your eyes before they were even open. You scrunched your face to fight off that red glare behind your lids and turned away into a mess of soft curls.

That you could wake up looking at.

When you opened your eyes, your husband’s face was aglow with the high midday light. His jaw was slack, mouth partially open—he was still well asleep. Izuku was always so tired from work that he could sleep through anything, cheeky sunlight included. Of course, this was only when he was feeling safe, which usually meant with you. With you he could sleep undisturbed, at peace.

The butterflies in your stomach quivered as you rolled to one side to fully face out of the sun and towards him. The back of his hair was still dark, damp from the shower he’d taken before you’d convinced him to crawl back into bed. Even the number one hero should sleep in on a Saturday off from work.

Of course, he hadn’t. So after he’d returned from an early run to the gym, you’d managed to pull him back in for the rest that you knew he needed. His eyelids had still been just a pinch too heavy, his smile a tad too slow—though no less genuine.

You pressed your nose against the freckles on his cheek, warmed by the sun. You couldn’t remember the last time the two of you had awoken in such glorious sunlight. All the skyscrapers in the city made true beams of sun rare in your apartment. But today, it seemed, you’d gotten lucky.

“Honey?”

Your eyes had fluttered closed again against Izuku’s soft cheek, so you opened them to see the light twitches of Izuku’s cracking open.

“Sorry, did I wake you?” you asked, your mouth millimeters away from his jawline, tantalizingly close.

“Mm, that’s okay.” Izuku rolled over so that he was facing you, a smile spreading across his face. “Hi.”

“Hi,” you returned, your teeth just barely showing in a grin as Izuku found your hand beneath the blanket and intertwined your fingers with his. He brought your hand up to his mouth and kissed right below where your wedding band was, the scratches on the white gold glinting in the bright sun.

Izuku’s eyes were a wide meadow of grassy green in that moment as the sun glinted off of them. His pupils were shrunk to pinpricks, totally focused on you and a little cross-eyed as you lay nose to nose. “That was a good nap.”

“Mm, yeah.”

Your feet were rubbing together lightly, knees knocking as you both slowly surfaced from the haze that sleeping in the middle of the day always painted over you. It only felt natural that, as you did, the crown of your head tilted a little further into the pillow and your chin angled a little closer to your husband. Your noses shifted from rubbing affectionately to slotting together as you exchanged soft kisses. After a moment, Izuku pulled apart, lips curling up, brows raised under his curls that were flat from the pillow.

“Very energizing nap too, right?”

A smirk pulled at half your face. “Something like that.”

You met back again with a little more gusto, Izuku’s hand pulling from yours in order to cup your chin while you brought your hand to his shirtless back, pressing him closer to you. You raised your left leg up underneath the blanket and hooked it over Izuku’s thigh, and you could quickly feel his need growing beneath the boxers he’d thrown on out of the shower.

Izuku’s tongue just tasted like Izuku—familiar from whenever he had time for morning kisses before duty called. But the rest of him was nothing but clean: fruity shampoo from the shower, the slight musk of his aftershave and deodorant, the very light pine from his bodywash. It all was soft but not trying too hard.

“God, I wish I had more days off,” Izuku groaned as he naturally started pushing you onto your back, the hand that had been on your jaw now down to the fleshy part of your shoulder as his torso fell over yours.

“You don’t,” you said, almost giggling at what a lie that had been. “You just wish that you had more time.”

His eyes were soft as he pulled back to look at you. You could see in flecks of dark jade the hints of regret that Izuku always held. There was never enough time to be a hero. Never enough time to be a husband. Even if he spurned one and took on the other exclusively, it would never be enough. So he made do with what he had and, over the years, had put every effort into making time for both, doing everything with that inimitable Deku ardor.

“I do,” he said. “God, I do.”

You were completely on your back now as he pressed between your legs, which came up to hook around his hips. He leaned into you heavily, against your mouth, against your core. His intent had grown quickly, as it always did, and yours was rising to meet him.

The tee you’d thrown on had ridden far higher than your panties and Izuku had one hand creeping under it, cupping one of your breasts as he ground against you. A few moans escaped you as he kissed you passionately, just as he had when your relationship had been new. But now the passion was matched with experience; he knew your every spot, every desire almost better than you did. Soon he was rising off of you, the hem of the shirt clenched in his hand. You arched up for him to pull it off of you and then relaxed back down.

You expected Izuku to follow you immediately, but instead one hand passed over your hair and he smiled.

“You’re beautiful,” he stated. “Just, like…really, really amazing.”

You preened at the praise and it compelled you to hook both hands around Izuku’s neck and pull him back down to you. You met no resistance as his mouth fell back against yours, his hands pressed on either side of your hips as he began rutting against you through your undergarments.

“God, Izu,” you breathed as, even through his boxers, the head of his cock managed to meet your clit. Your panties were clinging to the slick that had already formed, and his thick shaft was keeping them stuck while you just wanted them off, sooner rather than later.

“I know, honey,” Izuku groaned, grasping the elastic of your panties in both hands. “God, I always need you so much.”

“Me too,” you said, bringing your legs together so that Izuku could pull your panties down and throw them to the ground.

His boxers were next, not getting the delicate treatment that your underwear had gotten. He tore them off, betraying his eagerness as he immediately went to the bedside drawer for your half-empty bottle of lube, squirting some generously in his hand. He fisted it over his cock before taking his slick hand and pressing it against your pussy, rubbing four fingers up and down over the breadth of your sex. You gasped, arching against the bed at the direct contact, suddenly so much warmer than you had been a moment ago, from your cunt to your breasts now bathed in sun.

“Are you ready for me, sweetheart?” Izuku mumbled against your mouth as his body came close and his hand, the one puckered with scars, rubbed against the roundness of your hip.

“Please—need you,” you said, practically quivering for him as his wet dick slid over top of your needy hole.

“Okay, gonna take you so high,” Izuku said as he grabbed his cock and readied it against your entrance and you felt the hot stretch of him pressing into you.

“Yes,” you whispered as he sunk in, the perfect shape and contours of his cock brushing all the familiar spots inside of you until he bottomed out. Then he took your hand in his again, forehead pressed against yours and began long, deep thrusts.

“God, I love you, honey,” Izuku said as the pace slowly increased, his pelvis slapping into yours with a wet clap at every full thrust. “You feel so good for me. So hot and tight.”

You just whined in response as you lifted your hips to his. Maintaining his pounding, Izuku reached for one of your pillows and, without prompting, you raised up enough for him to slide it under you so he could hit all your secret places with every thrust.

All you could do was grip him tightly as he had his way with you. Your fingers clenched around his, your legs around his waist, and—most of all—your throbbing cunny around his hard cock.

God, he was right. You didn’t get to have him like this enough. He was so good—so strong and kind—and you loved him so much that it was never enough.

“Close, sweetheart?”

“Yes!” you cried as one hand crept down to your clit and started rubbing a slick pattern on it. “Fuck, fill me up, Izuku.”

Izuku grunted as your walls squeezed around him a little tighter. “Not yet, sweetheart. You don’t get my cum until you finish.”

Everything got hazier as you closed your eyes to the sunlight, overcome by the sensations on your clit and in your cunt—even more so when Izuku bent his head and began suckling on your neck. All you could focus on were those three points, each becoming stronger and stronger in your brain until you suddenly gasped, legs shaking around your husband as he pulled your orgasm out of you, stoking it as he kept thrusting into you.

“There it is, honey,” Izuku said, and you could feel him smiling against his neck. “Now do you want my cum?”

You could do little more than whine for it as you came down from your orgasm, desiring to make Izuku feel as good as you did, for you to give him a shred of the pleasure that he did you. So you squeezed him tighter around the waist and drew him into you, wanting nothing more than his cum deep inside of you the moment he finished.

“Please, Zuku,” you breathed. “I love you.”

His brows screwed together, tight with concentration as his pace sped up to full speed—the tell tale sign that he was reaching his end.

“Uh—Oh god,” Izuku grunted as he began to spurt inside of you, painting your insides with liquid heat. “Fuck, I’m cumming. Gonna fill you so good.”

He was already making good on his word. Some of his essence squeezed out as his thrusts continued, making a mess of you both. You just held him as he slowed down, his heavy breaths pushing his stomach into yours until finally stuttering to a stop. Just before he fell boneless, he wrapped both arms around you and flipped you onto his stomach where he could hold you close.

“You’re so good for me, sweetheart,” Izuku said, pressing a kiss to your shoulder and running his hands up and down your bare back.

“Mm,” you hummed, eyes closing against Izuku’s chest as you felt him slip out of you and your combined fluids begin to dribble out. “Making a mess.”

“That’s okay,” Izuku said, one hand moving up to the base of your hairline and playing with the tiniest strands that lived there. “I’ll get you cleaned up in a minute. I’m just not done holding you yet.”

You weren’t done yet either, so you made sure to hold him everywhere you could. You straightened your legs a bit, tangling them with Izuku’s and kept your arms loosely wrapped around his neck. His body was so warm, so strong. He held you like this often enough that you knew that you weren’t too heavy on top of him—he’d proven you wrong too many times when you’d tried to argue with him.

His chest had broadened with age and was just perfect to lie against, whether with just a head and a hand or with your whole body like now. And he’d only gotten stronger in his years as the number one hero. In a few minutes’ time, he’d lift up the both of you and carry you to the bath, despite having taken a shower himself just before your nap. His gnarled hands would pass softly over your skin, cleaning you up and loving you well.

But, for now, you lay as the day’s sun traveled over your interlaced bodies. You lay until it passed your toes, until it left the room. Even without it, you were still warm.

[toskarin]

(long, very sorry!)

i finished the fate route!!!! i couldnt finish it friday and i couldnt play saturday, so i took longer than i would have preferred;;; i think i have strong feelings abt it? this may be a situation where in two and a half hours i send another ask saying "i was stupid this is what i really think"

i think that, for one, what i Wanted is like, a happy ending where saber and tohsaka and emiya and everybody all live together happy endings yknow - but i think, while i dont know abt the other two routes, that Doesnt Fit This One! i think the emphasis on how arturias end goal isnt morally bad wouldnt have hit as well / at all if it ended with her happily living with shirou

as well: EMIYA IS,,,, WAYYYYY BETTER. in the beginning i was actually DREADING having to play 60 hours or whatever of this guy but he is way better way fast, and i actively liked him by the ending

arturia is really well written too!!!! my like,,, big fear is that. maybe some of the characterization she got in this route will be tossed aside in the others where she is not the only focus? i really hope thats not the case but im a bit worried

illya, tohsaka, and sakura the most didnt get very much, and it was kind of deadly for sakura. again this might be a situation where the only solution is to finish the game, but sakura at the moment comes off as mildly annoying at best and im just waiting for her to get more

gilgamesh ruled, fantastic villain! this is me cheating a little bit using knowledge i had previously, But. im relatively confident that archer will get more to do in the tohsaka route, ofc, and in the sakura route like. i dont know how to describe it, but i think she basically goes insane and kills people? like i think shes a tornado im honestly not sure

part of me wishes that they stuck to the horror side that we saw with the coffins near the end? i want more of that Tone, and you said a while ago that like. each route Felt Like Another Game, so part of me is hoping that i get that in blade works or heavens feel (im not sure which is first)

to be more succinct: i really liked the ending, and i think they did a really good job of making me like shirou and arturia, who are ofc the most important people to like in this route. my biggest fear is that it wont give arturia as much to do in the tohsaka route, and i really hope we get huge tone changes as well - more of the scary bits!

im gonna go through the bad ends now - i dont think there will be TOO much super interesting stuff, but i thought the few tiger dojos were cute and i love fujimura so

ty for posting abt this game often enough i played it!!! its a huge fucking blast - sorry for sending such a long ask, again!

first and foremost, MAJOR congratulations! having finished Fate route, you've officially had An Experience that you literally can't currently have any other way (not even in a pretentious vn fan way, but in the sense that the deen adaptation makes a lot up and mixes in other routes, so the full vn story is literally only possible to experience this way!)

the framing of the final scabbard scene is one of those things that's like, absolutely a "you've gotta see it to believe it"

anyway I'll keep my reply brief because I'm gonna reassure you a lot at once and don't wanna spoil anything too specific, but the next few routes absolutely play off the characterization you've seen so far and use it to allow the main cast to develop faster, and then deeper as they progress into further exploration. so while not quite a sequel, expect Saber, Shirou, Rin, et al to experience growth moments sooner to the point where each following route feels like a sequel more than a reversion to zero

also, rest assured that horror is on its way. nasu just likes to tease the full scope of how bad things are in early routes

so glad you get to enjoy it (relatively, given how impossible a true blind read is haha) with fresh eyes! enjoy UBW when you get around to it; it's raw shounen glory, and honestly holds up so well it could've been written today

also, food for thought, notice that shirou's role in the story is actually best described as "heroine" and would traditionally be filled by a female character. just a neat little subversion that's half a product of fate originally being an otome on first draft and half a product of nasu's genuine interest in playing with themes of gender

[bts-reveries]

young one | 8

one image at the end

You just left Jungkook and Sian to go to work. You were currently driving while listening to songs playing on the radio, just thinking to yourself.

You couldn’t wait for the time when you could finally go back to your normal life. You know? Being able to see your son for longer than 2-3 hours a day. You wake up, get ready for class, sometimes make breakfast, wake up Sian and help him get ready, but mostly Jungkook does that. Go to school, get home from school, do school work, get ready for work, leave for work, work for hours, then get home, and sleep. It sounds a lot worse listing it like that, but you feel like you really don’t have time for anything else. The days where your professor lets you out early, or your boss tells you to go home sooner are your favorite days. You hope that one day you’ll be able to take Sian to school. As of now, Jungkook is the one who takes him to school since you go to class before he does. It sucks.

But again, you’re doing this for him!

-

It’s been a few hours since you came to work. Same thing goes on everyday. You stand in the hostess stand to welcome customers in and seat them. Some listen, some refuse, some are polite, and some say things that you wouldn’t want any of your nieces and nephews (and son of course) to hear.

Sometimes you see familiar faces, like friends from high school or college… from the first time you went to college. Those are never fun.

You were looking through the reservation lists when you saw a figure walking up to the stand.

“Hi, welcome to House of Cards! How many will be dining in tonight?” you say as enthusiastically as you can sound, gathering some menus.

“Oh, Yn? Is that you?”

You look up to the woman who said your name. You were quite confused, not remembering who she was.

Until.

“We were in the same Stats class in uni-- well, until you dropped because of--” the lady, who you now remember as one of the girls you worked on a group project with, gives you a sheepish look. “How’s that going by the way? Are you still with the dad?” She says, putting on a sad face, pursing her lips.

You laugh slightly, nodding your head.

“We’re all doing great, thanks for asking,” you smile awkwardly at her.

“Not married yet though?” She says, looking down at your ringless finger.

“—So I’m guessing just the two of you tonight?” You say, diverting the conversation back to work.

“Oh! Yes, just us two,” she says, turning to the man next to her. “It’s our anniversary.” You fake a smile for the two.

“Happy anniversary! Let me get the two of you seated.”

-

“YN!” Your head shot up from the computer screen in front of you to the sound of some familiar voices.

Your face lights up and a huge smile spread across your face when you see your girls running towards you.

“What are you guys doing here??” You ask, not seeing any of their significant others or kids with them.

“We missed you,” Yuna pouts.

“I missed you guys too, my break’s in ten minutes,” you say. You grab six menus, turning back to them. “Let’s get you seated first though.”

-

In your thirty minute break, you sat and talked with your girls. Something you’ve been needing for a while.

“So how’s school going?” Mae asks you. You shrug.

“Tougher than I thought,” you laugh half heartedly. “My professor is pretty hard on us, so I can’t miss any classes. And if I really have to, I’m screwed because I have no one to ask if I missed anything.”

“I don’t know, but it was a lot easier before I had a kid? I mean, still hard of course, but now I have to go to work right after I finish my assignments and I barely have any time to spend with my family,” you add.

“It’s understandable, you’re still adjusting. I know you’ve probably heard that a hundred times,” Sarang says. “But after a bit, it’s going to be easier to handle. Everything will fall into place eventually.”

You groan, dropping your head onto the table. Your cheek falling onto your arms.

“I hope so, I expected my life to be all in the right place by now,” you say.

“And what was it supposed to look like?” Sohyun asks.

“Well before Sian, I thought at this age I’d be ready to get married, had my career sorted out, and then eventually have a kid. After Sian, I thought at this age, I’d have a good, stable job and that I was at least engaged or already married. But right now I’m a full time student and a part time hostess at a restaurant. And a mom, but not a wife, nor am I close to being one,” you say sadly. Byul pouts, petting your head.

“Well, we might not be where we expected to be at this age, I know for all of us, we’ve been through things our younger selves would have never imagined to be, but like what Sarang said… it’ll all fall into place in the end. So don’t lose hope,” Bora says, smiling down at you.

“I’ll hold on,” you say, staring into space. Specifically the direction of where you seated your old classmate.

“What are you looking at?” Yuna asks, turning to the direction of where you were looking.

“You see that girl in the green dress across from the guy with the fidgeting fingers?” you say. The girls turn and nod.

“We were groupmates in college. I never liked her. I think her boyfriend’s proposing to her tonight. She mentioned to me that it’s their anniversary.” Right when you say this, the guy reaches into his pocket, pulling out a small box.

“Oh…” Mae says, watching the girl get proposed to right in the middle of the restaurant.

“Don’t look,” Byul says, covering your eyes, making you giggle.

“It’s okay,” you say, pulling her hand down, and sitting up.

“My time will come one day. I will get that degree, get a job, marry Jungkook, and have another Sian,” you say to yourself, and out loud to your friends. A smile lit up on all of their faces.

“To Yn!” Sarang yells out, holding up her glass of water. No one was drinking alcohol tonight but you all raised up your drinks anyways.

“TO YN!”

You seven were too caught up and into the moment to remember that a proposal was currently going on and that your coworkers and other guests were clapping for the newly engaged couple that you didn’t see the dirty looks coming your way.

“I never really thought of how I want to get proposed, but if Jungkook ever mentions it to any of you, or any of the guys, please tell him not to do it in the middle of a restaurant.”

Sohyun laughs, pointing her glass of raspberry ice tea towards you, “will do.”

-

“Yn,” one of your coworkers called. You turn away from your girls, looking up at him.

“Hm?”

“Your breaks over,” he says.

“Oh--”

“Aww, no,” Byul says a bit too loud, quickly slapping her hand over her mouth. “I mean, y-yeah Yn, you should get back to work,” she says, nudging you out of the seat. You and the other girls couldn’t help but laugh.

“Okay, I’ll be right there,” you tell him, turning back to your friends.

“I’ll see you girls later,” you say, walking back to the hostess stand in the front of the restaurant.

“Yn!” You turn to your name being called and you see that girl from your class showing off her ring to you. You gave her a smile, giving her an awkward thumbs up before turning back around to roll your eyes.

Just a few more hours and you’re out of here.

young one

♛ part eight: ringless ♛

pairings: photographer, dad!jungkook x hostess, mom!reader

a/n: sorry for the lack of posts! hoping to get back on that grind 😣

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[ren-therose]

Greetings and salutations! I just woke from a sleep to send in this request. I was wondering if you could do something with the Criminal Minds crew along the lines of the reader being absolutely exhausted and stressed from a case that they stay late at the office and fall asleep in the bullpen. Im just wondering what everyone’s reactions would be when they all come into work the next day and find the reader like that?

Okay so I was literally about to finish this when all of my work got deleted and I am so freaking frustrated. I hope I can remember everything I wrote and include it. Also, I see the Heathers reference and if you are interested, I might be willing to do some JD or even Rrrrrrrrrronica one-shots. 

The BAUs Reaction to Finding You Asleep (BAU!Team X Reader

Word Count: 979 words

Summary: This is how I’d imagine the members of the BAU would find you after you fall asleep in the bullpen. 

You basically grew up in the BAU. From the high school seminars presented by former BAU agents, to when you were inducted into the academy, the BAU was another home to you. You were one of Rossi’s top students in his class he would put on for trainees. When you finally passed your training, it was no wonder that Rossi put in the request to have you transferred to the BAU. Unfortunately, as most members of the team would sooner or later encounter, you were targeted by an unsub. Though you ultimately killed him in a standoff, you were left distressed due to the lack of answers you would never get from the unsub. 

After you return home, you stay a little later than expected at the office. By midnight, most of your coworkers trickled out. You however, fell asleep in the midst of the paperwork. This is how the team responded:

Hotch: In complete honesty, Hotch probably didn’t leave either. He saw you when he came out early in the morning, and sighed as he realized what he was about to do. He came down into the bullpen and gently woke you from your sleep, and helped you up into his office. He let you lay on his couch, drifting back to sleep, with his jacket wrapped around you. He even let you miss the briefing, and caught you up on the newest case in the jet. 

Morgan and Garcia: When Morgan finds you there, he is...awkward to say the least. After a few minutes of watching your crumpled body keeled over on the desk, arms protecting your head like you were in trouble. He called Garcia, and once she told him that he needed to bring you “in his big, strong, chocolatey arms” down to her office, where she could take care of you. Needless to say, you were confused to wake up in the resident BAU hunks arm, which would prompt for a great story in years to come. 

Rossi: He doesn’t have the name “Papa Rossi” for no reason. When he comes in, he gently wakes you up and brings you into his office. When he shuts the door and asks you whats wrong, you immediately break down on him, while he holds you in a large brace. When you begin to quiet down, he places you down on the couch to sit, while he makes you a classic italian espresso (after first offering a little whiskey, which you politely decline). You sit and talk until the rest of the team comes in to the facility. Ultimately, he invites you over for dinner to keep talking that night, which you happily accept, knowing how amazing his pasta was. 

Emily: Em knows what it is like to not want to return home alone. That’s why when she sees you sleeping at your desk, she wakes you up, and tell you that you should take the day. When you protest and tell her that you didn’t want to go back to your place, she grabs you by both arms and tells you that she isn’t making you go home- you can stay with her until you were ready. You stay at her place for the day until she comes home, where you watch dateline, eat pizza, drink wine and talk about the good and the bad of your lives both in and out of work. 

Spencer: Gosh, even though he was boy genius, he was also pretty smitten with you. Not that it was inherently romantic, but he was very protective of you. Slumped over on your desk, your hair crumpled and makeup just slightly smeared, he decided that he wouldn’t bother you. When you did wake up, he was sitting there next to you, flipping through your files and finishing up your paperwork. As you slowly came to your senses, the smell of sweet coffee infiltrated your nose, and you perked up to see him looking over at you, a lopsided smile across his lips. You smiled back, wiggling your eyebrows as you glanced down at the coffee. He pushed the cup towards you, and it was in fact doctored to your liking. He knows what kind of coffee you like. 

JJ: JJ comes in and would definitely cover for you. She would stay with you until you woke up, or needed to be woken up. When you wake, she would ask if you have your go bag still, and would move you into a conference room so that you could change. She would even help do your hair and makeup to make sure that by the time the rest of the team got there, they wouldn’t even realize what had happened the night before. 

BONUS

Luke: When he walks in and sees you there, he would go back out to his car and go back home. When he comes back, Roxy would be with him. Walking up to you, puppy in tow, Roxy would sit next to you and rest her head on your lap, nudging you with her big nose. When you stirred from your sleep, Roxy got excited and started licking your face. A smile came across your face as Alvez started laughing, happy to see that you were okay. He let Roxy stay with you until he had to take her back before the plane left. You subsequently became his dog sitter when he was out of town.

Gideon: He is not gonna do shit. Sorry. Dad Gideon might come by, drop a book and it startles you, but he won’t talk to you about it until later. When he does, he would apologize for being so abrupt, and would then comfort you because in truth, you can’t help but cry when talking to him. Your guard would completely come down with him and you would allow yourself to cry on him. 

[honeypirate]

Don’t forget part three

Part one part two

Aizawa x fem reader

Cannot stop listening to sour candy by black pink and lady Gaga and I think hizashi Would be all over that but for some reason it won’t let me link that song so here it is on YouTube and I linked the other

Todays the day!

You were up early, your nerves kept you from a good night's sleep but you didn't mind it very much. You dressed in a black tailored suit pants with tapered legs, a white v neck bodysuit(so you didn’t have to worry about tucking, and a black blazer. You put on some heels and some makeup, leaving your hair down but pulling a few strands back and pinning them, before putting on a little perfume. You check the time and gasp, you only have a few minutes before you have to go and you’re only semi sure about where the meeting room was. You grab your keys and phone before locking your door and heading out to the meeting, a travel coffee cup in your hand as you sip the hot liquid, the sting on your tongue keeping your mind off the nerves.

You walk into the main office and then head up the stairs, you see a flash of familiar messy hair rounding the top of the stairs as you look up from the bottom, a surge of excitement flooding through you as you take the steps up.

You turn left instead of right, heading down to Nezu’s office before the meeting. “Y/n! Im glad you are here safe and sound. As you know, classes don't start for the next few days so this is just a preparatory meeting to introduce you. I heard you ran into Present Mic!” you smile and nod “I did, it was good to see him again. I’m excited to be here, thank you again for the opportunity” you bow your head and he smiles.

You hear the talking from the room as you follow Nezu down the hall, your hands clasped behind your back. “Welcome everyone to our first meeting of this school year. As you all know Vlad King is injured and a new teacher will be taking over class 1 B. That teacher is Y/N Y/L/N” he gestures to you and you bow to them for a moment before standing up straight and smiling. “Im looking forward to working with you all” you say, making eye contact with Hizashi who looks like he is going to explode from excitement. You smile and shake your head before your eyes land on the man who was staring into your soul from next to Hizashi.

Aizawa can’t believe what he is seeing. The new teacher is you. Not a man. The beautiful woman he used to love. Back in his life and now teaching with him. He kicked Hizashi under the table for telling him the new teacher was a man. When you meet his eyes you can see the blush dust his cheeks and the shock in his eyes. You wink at him and he feels like his heart is going to pop.

“y/n you can take the empty seat next to Present Mic” Nezu says and you nod at him before making your way around the table, Hizashi immediately moves chairs so you would end up sitting between him and Aizawa and you chuckle softly.

“Surprise Sho” you whisper and he chuckles “you’re my new neighbor” he whispers back and you nod, excitement in your eyes from being able to see him again. This was an unreal experience. “Come over for dinner tonight, you and Hizashi, i’ll cook and we can catch up” he nods and you lean over whispering the same thing to Hizashi before you turn your attention back to Nezu and the meeting.

After the meeting you stood up and Aizawa pulled you into his arms “how come you didn't come see me sooner?” he asks and you laugh, pulling back you cup his cheek, he looked the exact same except much more exhausted now. “Yama made me promise not to. To keep it a secret” Hizashi had left you two to catch up and tell the other teachers to leave you be for a moment but you didn't notice, it was like your world was Aizawa.

“What an ass” he says and you chuckle “you’re still the same boy, just grown up now. And handsome god when did you get so good looking?. God I missed you” you say and wrap your arms around him again. He laughs and hgs you back “you're one to talk y/n” he says “#3 pro hero in America, rated the best looking female hero of the year” you blush and laugh as you finally let go of each other “titles that don't mean much, you knew that was never my goal. Plus it’s not my fault i was blessed with good genes” you joke and he chuckles, it was much more than that, you were beautiful but you also glowed with happiness and goodness. You were always pure and lovely and it just grew as you did. You were even more beautiful than the pictures he has seen online. “You kept tabs on me?” you ask and he nods “of course! You’re my best friend i wanted to make sure you're safe even if we didn't talk as much” you place your hand on his arm “didn’t talk as much Sho we haven't talked for over 10 years” he blushes “I’m so happy to see you again y/n. Truly. I’m happy to have my best friend back”

Nezu comes to get you. Telling you that you had loads of paperwork to fill out. “Dinner tonight. My place. 6pm. Tell Hizashi the time because he left before I could.” he nods “see you then” the moment you are gone Hizashi is right next to Aizawa, elbowing him and wiggling his eyebrows “what dya think? She's grown into a very beautiful woman huh SHO?” he says and Aizawa rolls his eyes with a sigh, he felt like he was in highschool again. “You heard her about dinner?” he asks as he pinches the bridge of his nose, “sure did!” Hizashi answers and Aizawa just leaves to go do his own school planning.

You finish all your paperwork and get shown around by Midnight, you shadow her for the rest of the day to see how she prepares and to be able to ask her any questions you may have. At the end of the day you sit down with Vlad King to go over how he teaches and what he expects of you. You felt like you were glowing all day, you had no doubts you would be amazing at this.

When you got home you tidied up and changed into a pair of distressed black jeans and a loose white shirt, something you could feel comfortable in. You pour yourself a glass of wine and sip it as you start some music, playing a mix of easy songs you could sing along to as you start dinner. Youre in the middle of sauteing vegetables and singing and dancing along to Sour Candy, you almost missed the knock on the door, you turn the stove off and head to open it but before you reached it Hizashi walked in holding a melon and hitting the chorus perfectly, causing you to laugh and continue belting it out as you take the melon and dance into the kitchen with it singing “I’m sour candy, so sweet and i get a little angry yeah sour candy” Hizashi harmonizes the yeahs with you and takes your hands dancing around the kitchen as you sing together “im super psycho make it crazy when I turn the lights low” he lowers his voice and spins you in circles while singing the “Take a bite take a bite” the song ends and you burst into laughter with him as you part.

As the song turns to Ice Cream (melted version) you finally get to look him over, hes wearing dark jeans and a hoodie with his hair down, he looked good. You liked his relaxed a lot better than crazy bird hair. “Yama I missed you so much” you say and he smiles “I missed you too Y/N but believe me Aizawa missed you the most” you feel your cheeks flush and you turn, going back to the stove to finish dinner. “Really?” you ask, trying to sound nonchalant but he saw right through you, sliding up beside you his back against the countertop as he looks down at you, a smirk on his face and his arms crossed, you pick up your wine glass and finish the rest of it as he starts to speak “oh yeah. One time, don't tell him i told you this, but one time he..”he leans in to your ear “You left your door open” Aizawa says as he appears in your doorway, glaring a Hizashi, hating the way he felt jealous of his proximity to you.

You beam at him as you turn around, looking him up and down and appreciating what he was wearing, black jeans and black shirt with his hair in a low bun, he looked classic and hot. You throw your arms around his neck “Sho im so happy you’re here” you say quietly into his neck as you hug him. The nervous knots in your belly turning into butterflies and leaving you feeling confident and comfortable. “I brought some wine, I heard it was good for housewarmings. I see Hizashi brought a melon” he says and you bust up laughing “well he smashed mine yesterday so it was repayment” you take the bottle from his hands and smile warmly at him “this is perfect, do you want some?” he nods and you look at Hizashi holding it up and he gives you a thumbs up.

After dinner the bottle is empty and you’re sitting around your table laughing at their stories, sharing your own and catching up, you keep catching Aizawa’s eyes on you and your cheeks flush every time you make eye contact, he is the same boy you used to love underneath all the experience and life he has went through. You can see the growth these two have been through and they certainly see yours. “I’m sorry i never kept in good contact. I uh” you finish your glass and set it aside “I heard about Obero and after that I was too afraid to check up on you guys. I thought ignorance was bliss but I missed out on a lot. I thought you would have forgotten about me honestly” you chuckle and Hizashi shouts “we would never forget you!” causing you to jump in your seat “I’m not used to that anymore” you say as you hold your heart “Yamada maybe you could get us some water” Aizawa says and Hizashi nods knowingly, standing up and bounding off into your kitchen.

“I promised I wouldn't forget you little Bug” he says and you blush as you meet his eye, the wine making your skin tingle, you reach out and take his hand and he brushes his fingers softly against yours before holding it tight. “We heard the news about your father and I tried to get a hold of you but couldn't. I’m sorry I couldn't be there for you.” he whispers and there it was, all the situations addressed, you nod as your mind goes back to the incident.

your father was killed in a villian attack in the university he worked at a few years after you moved, your mom was a hero as well but you guys moved farther east once the villain was captured. She retired soon after that and you were accepted into a hero college in the states so you stayed there.

Hizashi comes back with three waters and when he notices your hands together he smiles and takes away the plates, retreating back to the kitchen.

“I should have tried more to stay in contact Sho, I’m sorry” he shakes his head and gives you a smile “Don’t worry, okay? I didn’t try hard enough either. So how about we just do our best with our time now?” your cheeks flush and you nod “I’d like that”

Tags: @spicy-therapist-mom @emilhyfries

[lunatic-fandom-space]

Comparing RWBY and YGO DM: The Handling and Evolution of Themes

Hey! Its been a hot minute since I last posted anything RWBY-related but Im laying in my bed right now and Im sick and bored so I guess we're doing this. Today I will do my best to analyze what I percieve to be the main themes and messages of both of these shows, or more specifically, how theyre handled narratively. Im mostly focusing on that part because, while these series do have similar themes and messaging, they are still a few things in which they are wildly different. And with that, lets start with this essay-post-thing!

1. Theres something we need to adress first

Okay so, before we can really talk about this, theres something I feel the need to clarify here: Neither of these stories was "planned from the beginning".

Now, I dont think a story being planned from the beginning or not nesscessarily makes the story any better or worse by default, however, it is still important to acknowledge because the way the story is planned is going to affect every facet of it. Things are not going to be foreshadowed properly, things are gonna be set up only for nothing to come of it, the story might drastically change directions, characters might act differently, etc, etc.

And, this is bit off-topic but, it's much better to just admit that the story was not planned than trying to pretend that it was. Like, there are a lot of reasons why I tend to be so forgiving towards YGO even though its not very good, but one of them is definitely the fact that, as far as Im aware atleast, the guy who wrote it isnt pretending to have had this big master plan all along and neither is the fandom. With RWBY on the other hand... yeaaaah, its kinda the opposite. From what Ive seen of RWBYs fandom, there seems to be this pretty popular narrative that everything was planned even though it clearly wasnt. Thats pretty bad and honestly lowers my opinion of the writers so much more than if they would just admit to not having a proper plan.

Like, I initially consumed YGO like this: Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Monsters, Yu-Gi-Oh (aka Season 0), like, a quarter of the Yu-Gi-Oh manga (I still havent finished it)

In all three of these we have the character of Yami Yuugi, or just Yami. Broadly speaking, he is an ancient egyptian gamer spirit who lives in a magical puzzle that has not been solved for 3000 years until this highschooler named Yuugi Mutou comes along and solves it, thus setting him free and allowing him to possess Yuugi and have access to the vague magical powers of the puzzle.

In Duel Monsters he's perfectly fine most of time, morally speaking. There is an instance of him almost murdering a guy and its a bit unclear what exactly happens to those he mindcrushes but overall he's very much a pretty good guy. In Season 0 most of what he does is set up these games for bad people, where they will go insane no matter what they do. From how I understand this whole Shadow Game, Penalty Game stuff, if you lose a Shadow Game, you get violent and intense hallucinations and you will always cuz yknow, gamer spirit. But if you try to cheat, which most of the bad people do in this show, you get violent and intense hallucinations as a punishment.

Since the two anime are generally considered two different continuities, its perfectly fine that Yamis characterization is wildly different in both of them. But in the manga both of these characterizations appear, basically one after the other with no real arc or consequences, for that matter. Why is that? Simply put, someone thought it was a good idea to try to turn an episodic, very slice of life-y light-horror manga into a more traditional, more plot-driven battle shounen. From what Ive heard, it was apparently largely because of network interference or something, but the point is, it changed directions incredibly drastically with little planning and everyone knows this and I can understand that for the most part.

In RWBY we have the character of Blake Belladonna, who, in the first 3 volumes/seasons atleast, was this aloof, more toned down loner-type character with a pretty strong sense of justice. She's an in-universe marginilized racial minority and she clearly cares about racial injustice. The way its initially framed makes it seem like she had a very hard life and no stable support system, which is what eventually pushed her to join a Civil Rights group/Terrorist organization (good god, the Faunus subplot is so awful, I could write a whole essay about it but Im already de-railing rn so I'll just save that for later).

Then, in volumes 4-5 it turns out her father is actually like, the mayor or chief of this island-place called Menagerie and she grew up in this big mansion with multiple guards/servants. Oh and also, apparently "space is a commodity" on there, so theres that. She still retains large parts of her personality but she's kinda like, worse somehow I think. I cant really describe it in a meaningful way but I hope you get what Im saying anyway. Then in Volume 6 she confronted her emotional abuser Adam (sorry for not mentioning him sooner but yeah, he was like, her abusive boyfriend, which is something that a lot of people disagree with but I wont really say anything about it either way because I dont really feel any specific way) with her friend, Yang, and ended up killing him.

After all that, she pretty much lost the rest of her personality, as well as her arc about all the Faunus stuff. She just kinda became the meek, generically nice, recovering abuse victim. Why? Well, the actual reason is that they didnt plan out shit and are just kinda flying by the seat of their oversized clown-pants and if they and the fandom just admitted it, I would have less of an issue. I still wouldnt be as forgiving towards RWBY as I am towards YGO because the crux of the issue, for me, is just that I dont particulary like RWBY but also like. Do you really expect me to take MKEK seriously as writers after admitting to not have a timeline because iT wOuLd CaUsE pLoThOlEs?

However, since they want us to believe that everything was planned out from the beginning, the explaination would be.... Idk, they deliberately butchered one of their main characters?? Because.. they hate her?? Maybe????

So yeah, that was quite a detour however, I would like you to keep this mind going forward.

2. Themes of the Early Series'

First, what do mean by 'Early Series' for both of these shows respectively? Well, for YGO that would have to be Season 0 or if youre reading the manga, everything pre-Duelist Kingdom. Basically, the part of the series thats a episodic, very slice of life-y light-horror series.

For RWBY that would be the first three Volumes, also known as the Poser-Era. Back then it was just kinda an action series that took place at Anime Warrior Academy (also known as Beacon) with some pretty bare minimum worldbuilding, character-driven plots and developments but now its more of an epic high-fantasy story with more of an emphasis on plot as opposed to just action.

The themes and messages in Early YGO are kinda vague, very confusing to me and if you were to follow any of it literally that would be pretty bad. For now Im just gonna say the main themes are Friendship and Identity and mostly focus on the Identity aspect.

Now, it took me a little while to figure out RWBYs deal but I think the main themes for Volumes 1-3 are also Friendship and Heroism. Once again, I'll mostly focus on Heroism and touch on Friendship more briefly later.

I dont have much more to add to YGOs themes right now, so I'll briefly go over Heroism in RWBY.

In RWBYs setting there are these man-eating monsters called Grimm that have basically infected the planet. In order to deal with that, they have people called huntsmen and huntresses that kill them and protect people. Theyre trained at special academies like Beacon and go on missions there and stuff like that. Our four main characters, Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang, are training to become huntresses and one day they go on this mission to clean up a grimm infested city block with one of their teachers. Obviously, that takes a long time so they have to camp out in one of the empty houses. Weiss, Blake and Yang cant sleep because theyve been thinking about this question that their teacher asked them when they were fighting grimm: "Why do you want to become a huntress?"

They have a heart to heart and we find out about their motivations; Weiss wants to bring honour back to her family, Blake want to distance herself from the White Fang (that terrorist organization I mentioned earlier) and as an extension from Adam, Yang wants to have a life of adventure. They also talk about why Ruby wants to be a huntress and it turns out that she judt wants to help people. Unlike the others, she has no motivation besides that. We're meant to listen to that and look at her as a sort-of personification of Heroism: kind, but not naive, strong and most of all, selfless. The others on her team are not portayed as bad for not being like Ruby by any means but we are clearly meant to admire her the most out of all of them.

Okay, now comes the part Ive been looking forward to the most:

3. How did these themes evolve in the Modern Series'?

Alright, before we can really delve into the way they evolved in YGO I'll have to give you a brief summary of the character progression. At the start of DM, during the Duelist Kingdom arc, Yami Yuugi is just that; A darker Yuugi. Hes more confident, bolder, his voice is deeper, hes somehow taller, more ruthless, all that good stuff. Notably, he doesnt actually seem more skilled than Yuugi even at the start of this story, but he's still dependent on Yami. Yami on the other hand, has no identity of his own or even hints at one at this point. He's just The Other Yuugi.

Then during the Battle City arc, they find out that Yami was actually a pharao prior to being sealed in the puzzle, he just didnt know because of amnesia, I guess. So now they need to find out his real name and then send him to the afterlife because hes meant to be dead, but not before saving the world from being swallowed by darkness, which is also a thing they have to do now.

Then we finally get to the Memory World arc, where Yami, Yuugi and the rest of the gang astralproject to ancient egypt via puzzle magic. Yami is trying to figure out what the hell is going on and who all these familiar people are, while Yuugi & Co are trying their best to help him. Then some weird shit happens and it turns out that all of that is not just Yamis sealed away memories, but also a giant D&D Shadow Game that will destroy the world if Yami loses. So now theres Pharao!Yami who is still clueless on the metaphorical and literal playing field and Player!Yami, who is kinda controlling himself now? I guess?? Yamis opponent, The Spirit of The Ring, has something similar to that going on where hes both controlling and properly participating in the game. So Player!Yami is now fighting against Player!TSoTR, Pharao!Yami is now fighting against Thief King Bakura (who is like, the human, ancient egyptian version of the Ring Spirit) and Yuugi is now fighting against Yami Bakura (who is like, the human, modern japanese version of the Ring Spirit). Yuugi gets Yamis real name, he and the gang go over to Pharao!Yami and tell him his name, meanwhile Player!Yami is also somehow helping as well and they defeat the Ring Spirit, thus saving the world. Then they travel to modern Egypt, the Ceremonial Duel happens and Yuugi wins, sending Yami to the Afterlife where he can finally rest and that was the series!

I originally wanted to recount the stuff that was going on with the Ring Spirit and his host as well because they parallel eachother, but this summary is already far too long and I think youll get the point without me needing to explain any more.

My point here is, that the story went from being vaguely about Identity, maybe? to being very clearly about Self-Discovery and Learning to Be Independent. I think this is a very good way to evolve the messaging of your story. How does RWBY track on that?

Well, uh... its not great. I will acknowledge that they have tried to introduce new themes and ideas since, even though I wont really be talking about them in this post. But yeah, the whole Heroism thing really regressed.

Like, I didnt explicitly say it when I was explaining grimm earlier, but theyre not going away. The grimm have always been there and people who sign up to become huntsmen and huntresses are effectively signing up for a job that will never truly be done, no matter what they do. Characters like Ruby and even more minor ones like Phyrrah have shown us that that doesnt matter when youre a hero. No life isnt worth saving, no grimm isnt worth killing, no criminal isnt worth arresting. Then, in volume 6 they find out about Salem. Salem is the Big Bad of the show, shes immortal, controls the grimm and is supposed to be very powerful.

What do our heroes do? They give up. Sike! They were just mindcontrolled by monsters or some shit, of course they didnt give up their mission (which is to bring an Important Macguffin to a city called Atlas, sorry I didnt mention it)!

But then they arrive in Atlas (which is llike, a city thats floating over another city called Mantle) and yknow, they do some plot stuff thats not really important right now until the city gets invaded by Salem and this big grimm army she has.

What do our heroes do? Well, Ruby, Weiss, Blake and some side characters are chilling, drinking tea in a mansion and Yang and the B Team were actually trying to do something, but even those efforts seem incredibly minimal.

Oh wait, I also forgot to mention that Ironwood (a fairly minor, vaguely antagonistic character up until now) wanted to lift Atlas even higher to save Atleasian civilians from danger while leaving Mantle vulnerable to Salems invasion.

What would be the most heroic thing to do?

A) Let Ironwood lift Atlas, get as much support as they can down to Mantle and save as many Mantle civilians as they can from the invasion

B) Prevent Ironwood from lifting Atlas but then split up in order to protect both Atlas and Mantle civilians

C) Prevent Ironwood from lifting Atlas and then dont do anything else

Congrats! If you choose C, you think exactly like the writers!

And I just

This is so mindboggling to me, I feel like I shouldnt even have explain how this is bad. And like, it wouldve been so easy to actually make them seem herokc through their actions, to make it seem like they did try but no.

I have never seen a central theme be this botched, how in the world did they do that? Why did they think it was a good idea for Ruby "The Embodiment of Heroism" Rose to sit in a mansion doing nothing, no planning, no organizing just ..... God, how are they this bad? Like, this doesnt even have anything to do with it being planned in any way, this is just straight up incompetence

4. Very briefly touching on friendship

The friendship is awful and its not solely because they all have the same opinions. They barely interact with eachother outside their designated pairs which leads to it all feeling incredibly hollow. Theyre also practically indistingushable from one another now, which is a shame because it wasnt always like that. Like, I dont think the characters were that well-developed in earlier volumes but they were very well-characterized. But now we've gotten to a point where you can literally copy and paste one characters dialogue onto another and literally nothing changes, it really sucks.

5. Some closing words

Damn, this took way longer than I thought it would and now Im pretty exhausted. I have no idea how yall always write these but props to you! I feel like this ended up a bit rambly but overall, Im pretty proud.

Please let me know what you think of the points I brought up! Id also really appreciate some tips on how to get better at these longer posts because I am planning on writing more in the future (not the near future, probably but yknow).

Thats all I have to say for now, thanks for reading!

[chimswae]

BTS Caretaker CH32

Summary: She may think she has Bangtan Sonyeondan wrapped around her fingers. She may think it is easy to love the members equally without hurting any soul. She may think the boys wont fall head over heels for her. She assumes it is okay to show a little love and affection towards the boys, what if she gets it all wrong? What if it only brings more complication to her already complicated life? Can she survive their charms? Will she be able to resist them? What if they just wont let her go?

- Pairing: BTS x Oc ( Yoongi x OC, Jungkook x OC)

- Genre: Fluff, Slight Angst, Romance, Idol!au

- Word Count: 4, 450

- Author Note: Sorry for super late update i was busy with my work and new semester begin today :< so it took most of my time! anyways, here is the update! :) so im sorry seul is dumb and confuse, and when i wrote this i also confuse lmao so hmm, she has no intention to toy yoongi or kook heart. 

Previous | Next

Chapter 32

Betrayal. Anger. Confusion.

Yoongi found himself gawking at the despicable scene in front of him, just when he thought Seul showed him a signal which he assumed only meant for him. There she was sleeping peacefully under the thick duvet, clinging onto Jungkook as though her life depended on it. Clothes scattered on the floor were enough to give him a short run up about their little deeds last night.

Rubbing the back of his head in frustration, he steadied his heavy breathing. Think rational, don’t jump into conclusion. You drag yourself in this, why are you upset? Yoongi clutched his fist letting jealousy engulfed his heart.

Should he wake these two up and make a scene? Or should he just walk away and talked to her about this after the tour?

None of the choices above could help him in resolving this unsettling feeling. He needed a closure. His thin lips were pressed into a thin line as he scrutinized the couple diligently, not breaking any eye contact. Much to his distaste, Jungkook shifted his position very slightly baffling the older guy. He certainly had no plan to face Jungkook, like hell if he planned to confront him, how he’s going to get started?

This was awkward.

Abort mission. Abort mission.

Yoongi turned around to leave the room however Jungkook hoarse voice put his steps to a halt “Yoongi hyung?” he called out softly. He swore in his head for creating this mess. Jungkook lifted Seul out of the way carefully, moving silently and pulled the duvet to cover her body.

The older guy made no move either as he waited Jungkook to speak, “Hyung..what are you doing here?” the latter let out a small grunt, while putting on his shirt and pants. Yoongi frowned hearing his indifferent voice as if he did nothing to irk him.

He glanced at Seul whom fast asleep and tore his gaze at the exhausted young man before him “You and I, in my room now. We need to talk” he sneered lowly and exited the room. Confused, the younger guy walked after Yoongi feeling the goosebumps all over his body. The topic of the conversation involved Seul and him, he could tell from Yoongi’s burning eyes.

                                                                         This thing enraged Yoongi.                          

Jungkook closed the door behind him and planned to clear the misunderstanding before his hyung jumped into conclusion, things would get complicated that way. As he was about to open his mouth to speak, the older guy beat his him in doing so “Did you guys do it?” Jungkook’s face hardened.

“What-?” he flinched.

“I said, did you guys do it?!” he repeated with slightly annoyed voice. The memories of last night reappeared causing the maknae to feel self-conscious about it. Why was this thing matter to Yoongi? He never questions his hyung intimacy with Seul, only god knew what they did behind his back.

His brow pinched together forming a deep frown, “Why are you so interested in my personal life?” Jungkook mumbled under his breath.

“Because I happened to witness both of you naked under the blanket. Don’t you think it gives me enough ideas what you both up to last night? How far did you go?” Yoongi crossed his arms, with his hard fixated on him.

“That is none of your business” he blurted out.

“It is my business! We promise that we are in this together, if you are sleeping with her then what it makes me then? A one-night stand?” frustrated, Yoongi snarled garnering Jungkook’s attention. The latter brained his friend words, making sense out from it and it finally dawned on him, Yoongi and Seul were having that kind of relationship too.

His heart was pounding as if he had just run a race, he stroked his tousle hair in anger “You…” expelling a long sigh, he continued “You and Seul did….it? ”Jungkook didn’t even dare to finish his sentence as they exchanged a look.

Even though, Yoongi felt rueful over the fact that Seul was being intimate with two guys at once, he realized Jungkook was not the one to be blamed. It was their fault for not having any self-control. If there’s one person that’s partially guilty, then it the person would be Seul.

Screw Ji Seul for leading them on.

Again, they forced the girl to agree with their crazy ideas. Could they have expected this at least? Like they had a control over Seul’s feelings and actions. They should have expected the unexpected because it bounds to happen, sooner or later.

“We didn’t go far. Seul and I were having that moment, however we snapped out from it before we lost ourselves” Yoongi pursed his lips in annoyance and staring at Jungkook with a strained, and expectant glance.

Jungkook looked down while shaking his head “We went halfway, she stopped me before I could make another move. I should have controlled myself!” he said as he sunk on Yoongi’s bed, heaving a deep sigh. Leaning against the wall, a small smile played across his face “This is so fucked up Kkuk. What if..we ended up sleeping with her for real? Neither you nor I would like that to happen, do you? I don’t like sharing” he professed.

“What make you think I like sharing her with you?” he snapped.

Yoongi hissed “I vow to myself that I won’t let girl issues come between us, now look where it brings us? We need to put a stop to this” he groaned.

“How? It is not like we can force her to give us answers?! She…is having a rough time. This is not a good idea. I cant hurt her…I promise to protect her” he muttered.

“Rough time? Is there something that I must know?” the anger inside him had subsided. All he cared was Seul’s well-being. He couldn’t remember when the last time was they had a heart to heart talk which involved her life. It had always been about him and him. Not that he remembered, if there was time Seul bring up a topic about her.

“Someone from her past make an appearance again. There’s a lot of things that we don’t know about her, hyung. It made me realize how it is not easy for her to make up her mind. She had a traumatic past” Yoongi’s ears perked up in curiosity. Hesitant, Jungkook took a long pause as the older guy urged him to continue with his story.

Yoongi had the right to know the truth.

Will Seul kill him if he spilled her secret? But it is Yoongi though, she cares for him. If she wished to bring this relationship to whole new level, she got to trust Yoongi.

Seul, please don’t kill me. Im afraid of hyung’s wrath more than yours. Jungkook prayed in his head, and finally unravelled the mystery of Ji Seul life. Called it dramatic, Min Yoongi really exaggerate his reactions and in the middle of the conversation, Yoongi would punch the mattress under him jolting the younger guy in pure horror.

This was the exact reason why he feared Yoongi’s wrath more than others. Unexpected reaction and action came from him was the worse thing on planet. “Fuck. Why didn’t you tell me earlier?!” he snarled angrily, though he had no reason to be mad at Jungkook. The emotion took over his sanity, he was at the verge of killing someone at this rate.

“I discovered the truth last night, what do you expect me to do? Come running to your room and let you swear at me for waking you up from your deep slumber!” he rolled his eyes, judging his hyung mentally.

“If that is what you need, then you should have come sooner! She fucking cried and you-ugh what an asshole, I swear if I have an image of him in my head..I will not spare his life“ scowling, Yoongi grinded his teeth suppressing his anger.

To be reminded of Seul’s past was repugnant to him. Now, that he shared half of the burden with Yoongi at least they could protect her from the evil man. If that’s what Yoongi planned to do since he insisted on getting the answers from Seul.

“Alright, this is out of topic. Do you think Jimin hyung and Seul are as close as us to her?” Jungkook said out of the blue alarming Yoongi in his seat. “Do you think they ever-Impossible right? We are talking about Jimin here. He is not that type of guy who will do such thing” he assured himself to not let negativity consumed his brain.

“Duh, it is Jimin hyung! The guy who ripped his shirt on stage, and the same guy who used his sexiness to kill girls’ heart. Do you think he is not capable of such thing? Do not belittle him” said Jungkook in an irritating manner.

“Yah! Why are you bringing him up? I am sure there is not much progress in their relationship, just because.. I rarely see them together. She has been sticking like a glue with Jin and you, I should be worried of Jin than Jimin”

Jungkook massaged his forehead “Jin hyung.. Jin hyung..” he hummed incoherently.

A loud grunt behind the partition brought their attention to the sleepy figure “Whose unpleasant voice is that calling my name so early in the morning?” Jin yawned loudly, kicking his blanket off him before sitting up in annoyance. Yoongi and Jungkook froze as they totally forgot about Jin’s existence in the same room, he wondered if the guy overheard their conversation earlier.

“I will go check on Seul. We will talk about this again later” he murmured lowly enough for Yoongi to hear, as he left the room.

 ----------------

The boys had finally left for their Japan tour and would not be home for two weeks or more. Despite their hectic schedule, they would come back in between to settle some stuffs in Korea but there could barely breath Korea’s air. They would need to leave immediately the day after for their tour.

Seul returned to her daily routine, tending her job at the tea shop and as the caretaker except she’d come less to clean since they’re not home. Most of the time, she would spend her time at work with her friends and Hoon made a frequent visit to her workplace just to get his free brownies. Impudent boy.

“We are short of fresh milk, I will be out to buy it. Watch the counter” Wongeun set his brown apron on the table. “Will you be alright alone? Hwasa is out for delivery but she will be back soon though” Seul chuckled.

“Hey this is not my first time alone, stop being dramatic.  Just go, we need those fresh milk” she dried her hands and returned to the cashier counter. Ruffling her hair, Wongeun gave her a final wink as he exited the store with a playful smile.

The business at this hour was not busy in comparison to lunch hour break giving Seul time to breathe and clean the place thoroughly. Three hours till the closing, Seul decided to kill time and polished her skills in baking a red velvet cake. Recently, Wongeun taught her how to bake one since he wanted to make it as their signature cake.

Humming to random songs, she dropped the ingredient carefully inside the glass bowl with a wide grin. Nothing could beat this excitement to see the result of it. Occasionally, she would glance at the counter if there’s any presence of customer. She was immersed in her creations to notice someone presence behind her.

Seul felt a hand slid down her arms, brushing her skin from behind cause her to turn around in fear facing the individual. Her face felt upon seeing the uninvited guest there, and it made her super conscious of her surroundings. She pressed her back deeper against the marble counter as if it could take more of her weigh, to create a huge distance between him and the older man.

“It is nice seeing you again Seul” his dirty voice haunted her once again. A voice that she tried so hard to forget now came to torture her again without mercy. There was a tiny voice in her head telling her to scream and sought help, she just wanted to escape from here. Breathing in the same room as his disgusted her.

“Seeing how hard you try to push me away, I bet you still remember me” placing his arms on both side, he trapped her in between while smirking playfully.

One of her hands clutched onto the counter, gulping the heavy lumps on her throat “Wh-at…do you wan-t..Stay..away from me” her lips quivered as she failed to hold back her fears. He smelled just like seven years ago, a mixture of tobacco and alcohol.

“Aw, I wish I can. But you are working for me, like old times don’t you think?”

Seul eyes sprung open, and she stared at him disbelief “Yes my dear, I am the owner of this place. Fate really brings us together, I like that” he moves his hand along the length of her hair and leaned in to sniff the sweet peach smell from it.

“You smell just as good as before” she palmed his chest to push him away, but his grip tightened around her wrist as fast as lightning earning a soft whimper from the girl. Tears started to cascade down her cheeks like heavy rain, fearing what he’s about to do to her.

“Lea-ve me alone” Seul pleaded.

“Aw, I wish I can my dear, but I am in charged here. It is rude to treat your employer this way don’t you think?” squishing her wrist tighter, he whispered dangerously close to her earlobe.  His hot breath fanned against her skin, weakening her knees instantly.

Tears in her eyes blurred the image around her, she desperately looked for source of help at least anyone inside the store to pull her out of this misery. “There is no one here, just us. We can have a little fun too” the man used his free hand, to encircle it around her waist crashing their body together.

Seul gasped in horror and struggled in his strong grasp. It seemed like his age didn’t deplete his energy at all. Showing no sign of giving up, she reached out to random things on the counter as a defence mechanism. Things happened way too fast, as she sensed his body being lifted off from her and not long after she saw the older man ended up against the wall groaning in pain.

“YOU RAT! YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO TOUCH HER!” the owner of the voice yelled angrily, glaring at his way getting ready to take another charge and punched the older man into a pulp. The familiarity of the voice shocked the hell out of her. She could tell who’s her saviour under the mask just by his voice.

Hurriedly, Seul went to his side, embracing him from behind “Jin..please. stop it… please” she sobbed between her words.

His heart softened, as he quickly faced the girl taking her in his arms, “Seul-ah are you okay? Did he hurt you anywhere?” she let out a long sigh of relief, grateful that Jin appeared just on time before Mr Kwon could do anything inappropriate.

Mr Kwon got back on his feet, fixing his grey suit with a smug played across his face. “We are not done Seul. I will see you around” Jin gritted his teeth, watching his figure disappeared into the darkness.

He returned his attention to the crying girl, “Calm down, Seul. I am here, he is gone” he stroked her hair and sighed deeply. “Thank you..” she had begun to tremble with a sort of frightened and frustrated fury.

Seul had never been so scared in her life ever since she escaped that gruesome phase years ago. How was it possible to fix her old wound again? Jin took his time to calm down the scared girl. Squeezing her eyes open, she looked up meeting his worried gaze “What are you doing here?” she murmured, pulling away from his embrace.

“We have to get back to studio to record new songs, but we’ll fly back to Japan this Saturday. Where are your colleagues? Why are you alone?” stroking her cheeks, Jin dried her tears and emitted a long sigh.

“Wongeun oppa and Hwasa are out to do errands. They will be back soon” as if on cue, Hwasa and Wongeun made their appearance inside the store cheerfully however only to turn serious as soon as they saw the mess and distressed looking Seul.

Hwasa lurched forward, grabbing Seul shoulder “Oh my god, are you alright? Did someone try to hurt you? Where is the thief?” her eyes scanned the area wildly and as soon as notice Jin’s presence there, Hwasa let out a high pitch holler. “You are the thief? What did you do to her?!”

Both Wongeun and Jin squirmed slightly at the squeaky voice, and before Seul could explain further, her crazy best friend had already grabbed nearby broom to hit the innocent young man with it.

“Aren’t you ashamed?! Do you think it is okay to steal something which isn’t yours?” she swung the broom towards his direction. Jin dodged the hit before it could kiss his face.

“Hwasa! Stop it! He is not the thief!” the shorter girl grabbed her arms, holding the furious girl in her stance before she could cause any harm to this idol handsome face.

She growled under her breath while shooting a nasty glare at Jin “Oh really? I am not convinced by the way how he dressed. He looked even suspicious with that mask on” Seul shook her head tiredly.

Offended by the accusations, Jin pulled down his mask a little revealing his face “If I were a thief, the only thing that I steal will be Seul’s heart” Seul cringed at his cheesiness. The tall guy who stood silently behind Jin looked disturbed by a joke that he pulled a moment ago.

Hwasa gaped “You are the Kim Seokjin! Oh my god!” the latter politely bow and smiled sweetly. “I am sorry to cause the misunderstanding. I was here when Seul was ha-“ Seul blurted out quickly, leaving Jin confused.

“I had a major headache and was about to pass out. Jin came right on time to help” their eyes met , exchanging a hard gaze.

“You sick? You should have told me Seul. I would send you back early. Now, go get your stuff and leave. You need rest” Wongeun suggested.

“I am okay, I can still work”

Jin crossed his arm “No you are not. You look pale to me, lets go back. I will walk you home” Hwasa bit her lower lips, careful not to fangirl over the attention that Seokjin showed on her best friend. She was happy for Seul just because she could see this young man before her is madly in love.

“You guys please” “Seul please listen to me for once, leave before I make you” Wongeun’s voice was stern and firm enough to intimidate her. Giving into the order, Seul made her way sulkily to her locker grabbing her things.

Hwasa turned to Jin putting her serious façade “Kim Seokjin-ssi, take care of my friend. If..i find out she gets hurt under your supervision, I will smack your handsome face with this broom” his eyes wide opened in bafflement.

Seul walloped her back head softly earning a loud protest from the latter “We are heading back home not for a war, stop being dramatic, you rude girl” Hwasa rolled her eyes in annoyance. “Get back home safely” Wongeun crescent moon eyes appeared when he smiled brightly.

 ---------------

Her place was only 10 minutes-walk from the store, but they purposely took another route which took another 15 minutes. She did not mind the long walk especially with Jin by her side. That quiet walk home was her chance to relax and gathered her thought.

Jin on the other hand racking his intelligent brain to find that one perfect word to inquire her about the incident happened inside the store. The harassment was intentional to him, he had a strong feeling that the perverted old man knew Seul.

“We are not done Seul. I will see you around” his voice rung in his head non-stop and for some reason it couldn’t be erased from his memory. A displeased grunt could be heard clearly shifting her attention to her. Seul stopped walking, interlacing their hand together surprising the latter.

Jin eyes landed on their intertwined hand, and a smile crept on his face. “Do you have questions for me?” she muttered softly.

“What questions?”

“You can’t bluff me, it is written all over your face. What’s on your mind?” Jin bit his tongue, sighing one more time. She giggled and stroked the visible line on his forehead “Look you are sighing again and stop frowning. You don’t want to have wrinkle at this age” Jin studied her face.

Her long eyelashes batting at him, and her brown eyes stared out, wide and lovely. Her beauty never fails to render him speechless. Jin shrugged the thought off and wrapped her wrist, holding it down “Lets find a place to talk” she nodded in agreement, letting Jin led the way.

As they walked to nearby park, hand in hand, Jin spotted empty bench. They sat in silent for few minutes until he finally had the courage to ask the question. “The man earlier, do you know him?” Seul knew he finally asked her about Mr Kwon, it’s matter of time.

“He is someone from my past. The memories that I had with him was horrible and pathetic” her fingers fiddled with the hem of her blouse, inhaling a deep breath. Jin didn’t expect her to tell him everything. Seul’s expression darkened as she was remembered by the past again, nothing seemed to be working every time she wanted to get rid of the horrible memory.

“Seul, if you are not-“ “My father sold me to him. Mr Kwon, that man…my father made a deal with him. In exchanged of the freedom from his debt, I have to serve Mr Kwon. He used me to satisfy his needs and..” she had a stoic expression that pained Jin. Although close to tears, she tried to make her voice sounded casual.

He stared at her in a different, and in curiosity. Jin least expected to hear such things came from her mouth. He thought it only existed in dramas or movies, so it really happened in real life. A clawing sensation tugged at his chest, her emotional pain nearly suffocated him.  

“And..I was locked in a room ever since he brought me in. I thought of ending my life right away, I couldn’t handle the pain. It was too much..I..I just..” she was not able to finish her sentence and her voice cracked. She inhaled deeply, as pain engulfed her heart breaking it like a crumbling wall.

Jin threw his arms around her protectively, caressing her long hair “I am sorry..” he whispered.

“You did nothing, don’t be sorry” she felt tears brimming in her eyes. With a single blink, the tears spilled down like a broken pipe. After regaining her composure, she settled herself comfortably in his embrace and continued with her stories. Seul thought if she told him about her dark past, it would help her to heal the wound.

Although he listened attentively to her story of life, her humiliation at the awful past got to her. She was ashamed and disgusted of it. What is Jin felt the same way? When she first opened up to Jungkook, she didn’t expect his reaction contradicted to what she imagined.

It went well despite her struggled between the sobs.

Jin took one deep breath in as soon as the story ended. “So you and Hoon are step siblings? Different father but same mother?” Seul smiled meekly. “Have you found your real father?” he looked at her with a concern look.

“I don’t know who my father is. I asked my mother about it but, she refused to tell me the truth. I stopped asking after that one time because she looked hurt and furious”

“Arent you curious?”

“I am..i really want to see him, my biological father. I wish I can find way to reach him” she murmured in defeat.

He sighed “Your father, you will find him. I..damn how should I put this, is it possible for you to quit your job considering Mr Kwon is the owner of that shop. It is risky to stay Seul-ah. Now, that he knows you’re working there, he will find way to get to you again” his hand stopped around her waist and continue to make a small circle around it.

“I need that job to cover up our daily expenses”

“But you have the caretaker job with us, isn’t it enough to pay for everything?” his brows quirked up.

“The money that I earned from that job I used it to pay mom’s medical expenses. This permanent job that I have, to pay for the bills and Hoon’s college” he gave her a disapproval look.

“If this is about money, I can help you. Your safety is my utmost priority, I want to quit that job. The things that happened today might occur again, you never know when that bastard decided to strike again. Please Seul, think about it” taking her hand in his, he brought it close to his lips, kissing it softly.

Seul shuddered at the contact of his lips against her cold skin, a gush of memory invaded her mind. The kisses that Jin gave to her when she had her panic attack made her face pink. “I will think about it” she coughed away the awkwardness.

“It is late, you need your rest too. Lets go back now” she pulled her hand form his grasp and arose from her feet. She couldn’t stop the thudding of her heart as she waited for him to come up. He smiled to himself and grabbed her hand once again making the latter to squeal softly.

“Lets go” he interlocked her fingers with his, and started walking side by side.

Underneath a sky blanketed with stars, there were two confused souls walking through the darkness. They pretended the sound of their loud heart beatings were not caused by their close proximity.

Was she swooned by Jin’s little gesture?

This work belongs to  Chimswae © 2021. All Rights Reserved

[loverontheleft]

Ready to Leap (Chapter 49; The End)

AU with B as a band teacher and reader as an English teacher. Fluff and smut. Chapters 1-48 can be found on my Masterlist in my bio.

Brendon x reader.

Warnings: So...we’ve (@beautiful-tragic-fallout) created a points system for smut. Also! The new decade brought us new scale items. Enjoy. 😘

0.25 for handjob

0.25 for fingering

0.25 for masturbation

0.25-0.5 for (mild) cum-play

0.5 for blowing him

0.5 for going down on her

0.6 for cockwarming

0.75-1.0 for sex, vanilla

1.5-2.0 for sex, advanced positions

3.0 for bondage, spanking, other kinks, or public sex.

This chapter has a smut score of 1.75, and other warnings include language, dirty talk, minor angst, fluff, literary analysis, and...that’s all I think.

I’m tired and it’s over and done and I’m at peace with it. We had a good ride, y’all. My eternal thanks to @panicsinning for blessing me with this storyline, @beautiful-tragic-fallout for helping me with angst and letting me rant about plot points, @i-think-im-ready-to-go and @yagirlcammmm for always lending an ear when I needed to arbitrate an idea with myself, my patrons for encouraging me always and telling me I’m not crazy, and all of you readers for hanging in there with me through my emotional bullshit. Maybe one day I’ll do a redux of all of this and make it something better. For now though, I hope it’ll do.

-||-

“This is-“ you falter as you step into your home. “This is weird.” Brendon’s hand squeezes yours and you squeeze back reassuringly. “Not - I don’t think it’s a bad weird. Just a strange weird. Being back.” You take a shaky breath and turn to press your face to his chest.

“I know, Kitten,” he soothes, stroking your back. “I know. But it’s okay. We’re okay.” His lips find the top of your head and you steady yourself. “Do you want to go upstairs and I’ll bring the bags in?”

“I don’t - I don’t want to go up there alone,” you finally whimper. Your eyes are closed; you don’t know what seeing the wreckage of the nursery will do to you, but you don’t anticipate it will be anything good. He nods; you feel it rather than see it, and his hand moves in soft circles over your back. “Why don’t we both bring in bags and then we can go up together?”

“That,” Brendon murmurs, “is a great idea.” And with that, you both turn and head back to his car to retrieve the small amount of luggage you brought with you on your retreat. As you trudge up the stairs, he calls your name softly.

“Bren?” You meet his eyes and he looks uneasy. “What is it?”

“Zack and I - the day trip we took - we came back here and cleaned up the nursery.” He looks down at the floor. You’re silent. “I just wanted you to know before you got in there and saw it.”

“Okay.” Your voice is flat, unsure.

“We - renovated it.”

“You renovated it?” You repeat, still unclear on what he’s really saying. He nods. “What does that mean, you renovated it?”

“I-“ he falters. “We - you wanted a big walk-in closet, so-“ you’re afraid you understand now, so you cut him off by turning on your heel and pushing open the bedroom door. “Y/n-“

You ignore him and race to the nursery room door, shoving it open. The sob that forces its way out of your body sends you to your knees. You grope blindly, tears rolling. “All of her things-“ you gasp in anguish. “Where did you put all of her things?” You turn and stare at him, fury blazing in your eyes. “Where are her things?”

“Storage mostly. And- well. Some things got thrown away.”

“You-“ you’re broken, staring at the carpet. “Storage? Thrown away?”

“Y/n, please-“

“You put our baby’s things in storage like we’d forget about her? You threw her things away like she’s trash?” You’re on your feet now, hitting his chest as the sobs wrack your body. His hands wrap around your fists and he holds you tightly.

“Y/n, take a breath.” His voice is firm and his eyes are steady on yours. “Breathe.” You take a shaky breath and he nods, telling you to keep going. “I’m going to talk now,” he says. “All of her clothing and the larger furniture pieces are in the walk-in storage shed at the back of the property. The pieces of her crib got thrown away. I also threw away the diaper genie.”

“Why would you-“

“Because we don’t need a room dedicated to her to remember her. Because we love her and will always remember her and a room dedicated to our loss isn’t healthy.”

“But what if we-“

“Don’t,” Brendon says in a low voice. “Don’t, Y/n. I know what you’re thinking and the answer is no.” You feel crushed and he must read it on your face, so he amends his response. “I don’t mean no, we won’t have more children. I want a family with you, darling. I do. But I don’t think we should focus on that right now, regardless. But what I do mean is, even when or if we have a second child, no, we won’t use this room or those furniture pieces. Y/n, we both know we couldn’t stand to have them in this space, using that furniture.” You process this and he drops your wrists. “I know. I know it’s hard. But it’s the right thing to do. Do you still want to hit me?” He eyes you warily and you shake your head wearily.

“I’m just so tired.” You feel numb and you step back from him. “I’m going to take a nap.” He can hear the dull quality in your voice and he reaches for you. You pull away though, and, stripping your clothes off, crawl into the bed that now feels so foreign. You take another hesitant breath before turning to look at him. “You can come to bed too if you want.”

He takes the invitation graciously and crosses the room, shedding clothes as he goes. When he gets into the bed, you roll over and cling to your pillow. “I’m sorry I didn’t warn you sooner,” he whispers. “I should have prepared you. I just - I really loved seeing you so content on the car ride home and I didn’t want to -“

“I understand.” It takes a huge amount of effort for you to say those words, but you realize that you do mean them. “And it’s okay. I forgive you.” Those words are easier but just as true. “It’s just strange.”

“All of it is strange,” Brendon agrees, hesitantly scooting closer to you. “Can I - hold you?” You nod and he scoots even closer, pressing his face to your shoulder. “Get some rest. I love you.”

“I love you too,” you whisper, squeezing his hand. You mean that one too. You feel a sense of relief wash over you both. You’re going to be okay.

-||-

“Darlin,” Brendon groans, rolling over and burying his face in your neck. “I don’t want to get up.” He groans again and you sigh, flinging an arm over his body. “What’s on the to-do list for the day?”

You open one eye and squint at him in the early morning light. “B, you know nothing has changed. We’ve been home for - what? Three weeks now? And the stay at home order has been in effect for...two weeks and three days? You don’t have to get up, and you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. Social distancing continues and we don’t need to do anything. We can lay here all day.”

“Mmmmmph,” he mumbles, nuzzling your shoulder. “Good. All I wanna do today is make you breakfast in bed, make you come a few times-“ he hesitates. “Is that okay?” His nuzzling of your skin becomes soft, warm kisses as you ponder. The sex has been varied like your mood - there are some days when you’re crawling up the wall for him, absolutely desperate for him to fuck you, and others when you just need to snuggle into his hoodie and turn off all the lights and sleep the days away. But his offer now-

“Uh huh,” you whisper, luxuriating in his embrace. “Yeah. You’ve been so good to me these past weeks - and I know no one could have expected this - but…you’ve made it pretty okay-” you fall silent. “So much for that New York trip, huh?”

“Yeah,” he agrees sleepily. “Don’t you worry though.” He yawns once, rolling onto his back and bringing you with him, curled into his side. “I’m still gonna take my Kitten on the best vacation when all of this is over.” You purr contentedly and kiss his chest. “I might go back to sleep for a while,” Brendon manages through another yawn. “Will you be okay?”

“Yup,” you say through your own yawn. “I’m gonna sleep more too.” You snuggle down into his arms and close your eyes. “Maybe we can finish the backyard when we get up?”

“Sounds good,” Brendon agrees, voice revealing that he’s fading fast. “Sleep well, love.”

-||-

You’re the first to crawl out of bed and you sigh contentedly as your feet hit the soft carpet. You shrug into one of your silk robes he left draped over the post by your head and, standing quietly, slip into the closet. You catch your breath the way you always do - your hand flying to your throat. You’d think you’d be used to it by now - her room, her nursery - gone. This gorgeous walk-in closet in its place. It is gorgeous, you concede, running your fingers along the glossy shelves as you pluck a pair of leggings from a pile. You wiggle them up your hips and, letting the robe drop, you cross to a different stack of sports bras and t-shirts.

You turn to the center of the room and let your gaze wander over the long table running the length of the room, covered in trays with your varied accessories and jewelry. Social distancing has caused you to par down your accessories, so you slip your engagement ring on (you always sleep with your wedding band on), and slide a pair of diamond studs into your ears.

Turning to a large 3-way mirror, you examine yourself. “Fine,” you say with a shrug. You grin when Brendon stumbles into view behind you, sweatpants slung low on his hips and bare chest still flushed from sleeping pressed against you. He comes up behind you and caresses your hips and pressing his mouth softly to your neck.

“You are fine,” he purrs, and you giggle, swatting at his ass playfully. “What?” He looks teasingly offended, and you roll your eyes. “You do! Fine as hell. My wife is fine as hell and I want to kiss her.” He nuzzles your neck longingly. You turn in his arms and embrace him eagerly. “I wanna do a lot more than kiss her,” he mumbles against your lips. “If she’ll let me.”

“Yeah,” you whisper, running your hands through his hair. “Yeah, I want you too.” He smiles once more and kisses down your neck. His hands slide up under your t-shirt and he gets it off of you with ease. It drops to the floor and he sets his attention next on your bra. He sheds that with just as much ease and his hands come up to cup your breasts.

“Look at my wife,” he murmurs in your ear. You meet his gaze in the mirror and take a sharp breath. “Look at my sexy wife. Topless and letting me feel her up, play with her nipples-“ he tugs at both gently, making you moan low in the back of your throat. “My wife is fucking gorgeous. Now to get these leggings off of her-“ he removes his hands from your breasts and slides your leggings down your thighs. “No panties?”

“No panties,” you confirm in a hoarse voice.

“What a good girl Kitten is for me,” Brendon groans, shedding his own sweatpants to stand behind you totally naked. “You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”

“Uh huh,” you gasp as two of his fingers just barely trace your heat. “I did.” He grins and kisses your shoulder. You cry out as his fingers go deep, scissoring inside you. “Oh fuck, Brendon...”

“Brace yourself,” he says in a low voice. His eyes are dark and his lower lip is swollen from biting. You obediently place both hands on the mirror and he grasps your hips with one hand; the other is still working fervently between your thighs. “You want me?”

You nod. You can feel the slick head of his cock nudging the back of your thigh. “Please. I want you so badly.” You gasp when he pushes into you in one firm thrust - “oh fuck yes!” Your fingers claw at the mirror and you lift your head to watch him pant and moan behind you.

“So fucking tight,” he grunts, both hands on your hips. “So fucking tight.” Your legs are pressed together by your leggings that are only halfway down your thighs and he’s pushing hard against the resistance.

“Remember when-“ you gasp, throwing your head back and moaning as he goes deeper, “you fucked me in your office? And had me keep my legs together?”

“Yeah,” Brendon manages, smacking your ass and working harder. “Yeah, I do. That was so long ago.”

“It was,” you agree. “It was like- 39 chapters ago.” You meet his eyes in the mirror and he looks confused -brows furrowed, eyes narrowed. “Sorry - I mean - so many months ago. What? Somebody’s saying stuff. I don’t know.” You toss your hair back out of your face and push back against him for more. “Fuck me.”

“Absolutely,” Brendon says, hips slamming into yours. Your slip of the tongue is forgotten and you whine in pleasure as he drives you closer and closer to orgasm. “Look at us,” he says gruffly. “Look at us fucking. Look at you, taking me like this.” His voice alone is enough to send you over the edge; his cock throbbing inside of you is almost too much.

“I’m gonna come,” you whisper weakly. “Oh fuck me; I’m gonna come.” He smacks your ass once lightly and tells you that you’re exactly right, you are, and you groan and press into his touch. He reaches down in front of you and grazes your clit lightly- you scream and feel your entire body go rigid as your orgasm rips through you. “Oh fuck!”

“Fuck yes,” Brendon sighs in pleasure, gripping your hips once more as he comes, pushing hard into your tightening body. “God, I love you.” His words are staggered between thrusts and you murmur it back to him as your own climax pulses in time with his. “I fucking love you.” He kisses your cheek as he pulls out of you and you whimper, turning quickly and falling into his arms. “Commere, Kitten,” he soothes, lifting you off of your feet.

“Sleepy,” you mumble, nuzzling under his chin. “I’m sleepy now. I got ready for the day and then you came in and fucked all the energy out of me.” He laughs softly and kisses your forehead.

“I’m not sorry,” he teases as he places you on the bed and tugs your leggings all the way off. You giggle and shake your head and say you’re not sorry either. “Good,” Brendon says with a gentle smile. “Now you rest more. I’ll go see what I can do about making you breakfast in bed.”

“It’s noon,” you point out as you wiggle under the sheets and blankets. He grins at you from the doorway and you feel a rush of pleasure go through your body. Your husband is really gorgeous and kind and wonderful. It’s going to be a good day.

“Maybe so. But who are you gonna tell if I make you funfetti pancakes at noon on a Tuesday?” He cocks an eyebrow at you and you grin, shaking your head.

“That’s right. Absolutely no one.” Brendon smiles like he knew that’s what you were going to say, and with one soft blown kiss, he disappears towards the stairs.

-||-

“B?” You’re sprawled over the couch with your head in his lap while he drops bites of funfetti pancake into your mouth. You chew gratefully before nudging him lightly in the stomach. “B, you know what Thomas Foster says about meals?”

“Who?”

“He’s a professor of literature at University of Michigan.”

“You didn’t study at University of Michigan, did you?” Brendon looks at you curiously. You shake your head and he laughs. “Okay, I didn’t think so. You were saying?”

“Thomas Foster. He says anytime people share a meal, it’s communion.” You blink up at him and he laughs again, running his hand through your hair. “Why are you laughing?”

“Because this is my favorite kind of communion,” Brendon says playfully. “You, naked and sprawled on top of me.” He ruffles your hair affectionately. “I wish church was always like this.”

“Hush,” you say, laughing now too. “Not communion always in a religious sense. Just - building a community.” Brendon pauses as you let this sink in. He nods after a moment, passing you another piece of pancake.

“I like that. Building a community. You and me. Our own little community here in this space, one meal at a time.” He nods again, decisively. “This Foster guy sounds pretty smart. What else does he say?”

You grin, stretching and turning to kiss Brendon’s bare stomach. “He says everything is about sex.” Brendon’s eyes light up and you smirk. “Except sex.” His face falls and you burst out laughing.

“That doesn’t make any sense!” Brendon protests, lifting you up into his arms so you’re straddling his lap. “Let me prove him wrong.” He kisses you softly and you melt, pressing against him needily. “Let me prove him wrong.”

“Prove him wrong,” you murmur, running two fingers down his chest and kissing him back longingly. “Prove him wrong.”

-||-

“You know what else he says?” You’re drowsy, wrapped in the blanket Brendon tugged from the back of the couch and snuggled into his arms. You look up at him tenderly. “Foster, I mean.”

“What?” Brendon’s sleepy too, and he has every right to be, you think to yourself. He worked hard, making you come three times on his fingers before he’d even let himself feel you on his cock.

“He says that violence and death in literature, and ultimately life, have deeper purposes. Even if that purpose is just to make some commentary on the unnecessary cruelness of the world, that’s an important message for the audience. Life isn’t fluffy and wonderful and everything isn’t going to go our way all of the time. We will get knocked down and we will hurt and we will be sad. But it’s important. Especially when the people who suffer the most keep going. Keep moving forward.”

“And,” Brendon mumbles into your neck, fingers tracing over your stomach, “do you think that’s what we’re doing?” He hesitates. “Moving forward?”

You sigh and rest your hand over his. Both of you sit in the moment, heavy with the loss of your daughter. “Yes,” you say finally. “It is. We’re not moving on. But we are moving forward.” Brendon sighs now too, closing his eyes and wrapping his free arm around your waist.

“And we’ll be okay?” You can hear the fear in his voice. “I can’t lose you, Y/n. I can’t. I’ll struggle with you every goddamn day but please - I can’t lose you. Promise me you won’t give up.” The anxiety in his eyes causes you physical pain. You knew your breakdown hurt him, and you knew it scared him - he keeps going. “I said this the night I asked you to marry me- I know it’s scary and I know it’s a lot. I know it’s a leap, but...Y/n, I knew we could make it then and I know we can make it now. Will you keep holding on with me, keep moving forward with me?”

“Yes,” you say softly. “It is scary and it is a lot and it is a leap. But there’s no one else I’d rather keep moving forward with.” He smiles and you kiss him gently. “You won’t lose me. I can’t promise much but I can promise these three things: I’m yours. You won’t lose me. I’m ready. I was ready then and I’m ready now,” you tell him. “I will always be ready to leap with you into whatever our future holds.”

The End