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writingonleaves · 1 year

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like you were my closest friend - tyler seguin

pairing: tyler seguin x original female character

warnings: swearing, some angst, mostly fluff

word count: 4.1k

based on: "maroon" by taylor swift, title from that song as well

author's note: okay this isn't my favorite one because i think it's a bit rushed, but i thought i'd put it out anyways. would very much like to emphasize that this is fictional and i'm rooting for segs and his hot wife!! im a sucker for right person wrong time vibes and shit happening at weddings so here's a combo of that! also maroon is so seggy coded and you can't tell me otherwise

*****

Carmen Valez was 19 and stupid when she first met Tyler Seguin.

Working at a tattoo shop to make extra money while trying to put herself through college, she was cleaning up from her boss’s last scheduled appointment of the night when in came a group of rowdy guys. It wasn’t the first time a group of drunk guys came in looking for a tattoo. She had listened as her boss Ken came out and did his spiel and she heard laughter and some agreements so they couldn’t have been that drunk because her boss would’ve put up more of a fight.

When she first saw Tyler, she recognized him immediately. Growing up in Boston in a family of hockey lovers, how could she not recognize the rookie who had just won the Stanley Cup? As she turned the corner even more, she saw Brad Marchand and all she could think about was that she couldn't wait to tell her brothers and dad about this.

Ken introduced her to the guys and asked her if she could set up some things. She waved in greeting and nodded, going in the back to gather the supplies needed. She tried to stifle a yawn as she re-sterilized the needles, but it didn’t work.

“Long night?”

She whipped around to see Tyler peeking in behind a curtain. “Are you looking for something?”

“The bathroom. But I think I found something much better.”

She couldn’t help but roll her eyes, “Go to the end of the hall and it’s on your right.”

“Thanks,” he tilted his head to the side. “Are you the one who drew those flower designs that are hanging up in the hall?”

“I am. Ken asked me to draw some things so the shop wasn’t only filled with his designs.”

“You tattoo as well?”

“Oh, no way. That’s all Ken.” She shrugged. “I’ve designed some, but never physically tattooed them on someone. My hands are too shaky.”

“They’re beautiful.”

“Thank you.”

He hummed and then went on his way to the bathroom as she finished gathering the supplies and went outside with them.

Ken became the guy Tyler kept coming back to for his tattoos so she got to know him and despite his reputation as a partier and womanizer, she found him endearing, often making conversation with him during his longer sessions while Ken was working on him on the table and she was doing schoolwork or doodling in the front.

It was a weird friendship because Tyler was rarely stationary in Boston and Carmen was attending Northeastern University and they really didn’t mix in any of the same circles but they kept coming back to each other. Their friendship developed to the point where he would come by on his nights off to her off-campus apartment with takeout and they would flick on a movie. He told her about his insecurities of having such a fantastic rookie year and then never amounting to anything else and she told him about her confusions of what she actually wanted to do with her communications degree. He talked about how hooking up with girls was easier than seeing if someone was only using him for his image and she talked about her view on relationships and how long distance never works.

He would invite her to games and she’d come along sometimes, dragging her best friend along with her to TD Garden. She knew all about his lifestyle and how he’d hook up with girls left and right but when she was with him, she always only saw a 20 something year old boy who was thrust into stardom really quickly and who was fucking up like anybody else his age but being overly criticized for it because of his job. She didn’t really see him as anything more than a friend, truly. She could admit easily that he was objectively attractive and probably too charming for his own good, but she saw him as one of her dearest friends more than anything.

(Even if she had the slightest feeling that she wanted to be more during those years, heart fluttering when he texted her to make sure she got home safe after late nights or winking at her and throwing her a puck at one of his games, causing her to grin like a middle school girl with a crush, she always pushed it away)

So when she was in the Cape celebrating the Fourth and news broke out that the Bruins had traded him to Dallas, she felt her heart drop. She ventured to a quieter area away from the celebrations and dialed his number. She wasn’t sure if he’d want to talk, but she couldn’t not call him to see if he was okay.

From the sniffling on his end, despite what he said, she knew he wasn’t okay, and told him that when she was back in the city, she’d come around to his place with food, wine and hugs.

The next week, when he opened the door, she dropped everything and just embraced him, holding him for several minutes as she tried to keep her tears in. She pulled away and just apologized for bringing some cheap rose that her roommate left at her apartment a couple of months ago instead of an actual nice bottle and he just laughed. She set up food from their favorite takeout place and they automatically went through all of these motions but with a sad feeling in the air. This night was going to be the last one of these, before he went back home the following weekend to Canada to spend the rest of his off season there and then head to Dallas. His apartment was already bare, having gotten started on moving out as soon as he had gotten the call.

She tried so, so hard not to cry as they put on Great British Bake Off and talked and somehow they started reflecting on numerous random moments and memories they had shared the last three years and they were both laughing as he complained about her almost spilling her wine like usual and she just threw her napkin at him. For the first time, he’s the one who splashed his wine on her t-shirt and he hiccuped and apologized and offered a shirt for her to change into and she waved him off, a blush on her cheeks either from the alcohol or from his proximity or both.

At one point, they ended up on the floor cuddling with his dogs and he asked how they even ended up there and she snorted, referencing the two bottles of rose they had downed and he had snorted and flashed her a stunning smile and her heart cracked a bit more.

They were both dozing off on the couch — his arm thrown over her as she cuddled into his chest because they both had always been touchy when they were drunk — when he said something that would forever plague her memory.

“I should’ve asked you to be mine.”

She blinked and shot up, looking down at him. “What?”

“I-I should’ve just asked you on a date. You could’ve been mine this whole time.”

“Tyler. You can’t say shit like that if you don’t mean it.”

“What makes you think I don’t mean it, Car?” He shot back, sitting up. “I know I’m drunk and I know I’m about to leave this city and maybe never see you again but of course I mean it.”

She squeezed her eyes shut as the tears fell. “Tyler.”

“I don’t regret a single moment of our friendship. I just regret that I never told you how I felt until it was too late.”

“You’re drunk. You don’t know what you’re saying.”

“Stop trying to discount my words because I’m drunk,” he said sternly. “I love you as a friend, of course, but I-I love you as more too. For awhile now, I think. And it’s okay if you don’t feel the same and again, I’m the dumbest guy alive for bringing this up tonight of all nights but I just…I had to tell you before I left.”

She put her head in her heads and started crying softly. “I love you too,” she admitted through her tears. “I-I just never said anything because I didn’t think you were looking for more. Jesus, I literally know two of the girls you’ve hooked up with the past year. Do you know how annoying and gross it is to hear about your performance in bed while I’m trying to cram last minute for an exam?”

He chuckled and she looked at him again and saw that there were tears running down his cheeks as well. “We’re both stupid, aren’t we?”

“We are.”

He looked up at the ceiling with quivering lips. “I’m not going to ask you for more, no matter how much I want to.”

She nodded vehemently and cupped his face with both her hands, wanting so bad to kiss his lips and using every part of her strength not to. “You’re going to be amazing in Dallas.” She brushed a falling tear and tried to give him a reassuring smile as his top lip quivered. “You’re going to become a lover of the heat and look amazing in green and start liking country music and I’m going to make fun of you for all of it.”

“But you’re not gonna be there.”

She swallowed with a small shrug. “Who knows? Maybe a job in Dallas will open up after I graduate.”

“You wouldn’t take it. I wouldn’t let you. Your heart belongs to the Northeast.”

“You’re not the boss of me,” she weakly protested, slapping his arm and making him chuckle.

But he was right. And she hated that he was right.

She watched his eyes flit to her lips and she hoped that he was also fighting the urge as he placed a kiss on her forehead, which somehow was probably worse than if he had just kissed her.

“I’m going to miss you so much.” He said, voice cracking at the edges.

She squeezed her eyes shut, not being able to say it back because she didn’t want to completely break down. “Let’s get some sleep.”

That last night, they fell asleep on the couch like they had done numerous times before and he sent her off in the morning like he had done numerous times before, except this time she held onto him as tight as she could. Maybe if she kept hugging him, he wouldn’t have to go.

But he had to. And he did.

Carmen Valez was 22 when she saw Tyler Seguin again.

After graduation, she had gotten a job in New York, and he was in town playing the Rangers. They had gone out to dinner and then to a bar for drinks and things fell back into place as they leaned in close to each other the whole night and she kissed him, bringing him back to her apartment. She woke up with marks on her collarbone and memories of his lips all over her body and cursed herself as she watched him peacefully sleep next to her because she was still in love with him.

He had woken up with a soft but sad smile. “Has your view on long distance relationships changed?”

She bit her lip, shaking her head. “I’m sorry.”

He swallowed. “Don’t be. It’s not your fault you’re the easiest person to fall in love with. Can I ask one thing though?”

“Of course.”

“If your view does change, give me a call?”

“Tyler-”

“I’m serious. Whether it’s 10 days or 10 years from now, call me.”

A tear had slipped out from her eyes when he pulled her into his chest, placing a kiss on her forehead.

Carmen Valez was 27 when she realized her view on long distance changed. And the first person she thought of was Tyler Seguin.

They had kept in touch very sporadically throughout the years over text and had tried to meet up everytime he came to New York to play, but the contact became less and less as the years went on. She tried to pretend it didn’t hurt. She had no right to be hurt. He could live his life however he wanted.

She was going down to Dallas for one of her coworker’s weddings and was tempted to call Tyler to see if he was around — for the first time, she’d be where he was instead of the other way around — but she didn’t bother because it was the off season and she figured he was home in Canada.

As she walked into the venue, she was shocked to see Tyler speaking to the bride’s grandma. She couldn’t help but smile at how gentle he was, soft smile on his face as he tucked the grandma’s hand into the crook of his elbow while leading her to her seat. He looked so handsome in his gray suit.

Gosh, he’s changed since they met in that tattoo parlor in Boston. They both have. But something about his smile makes her realize that almost nothing has changed at all.

When he sees her, she swears he lights up and her stomach flutters. She notices quickly that he’s a groomsman, if his matching suit with a couple of the other ushers indicates anything. He strolls up to her with his signature charming smile and she can’t help but roll her eyes.

“Funny seeing you here.”

She scoffs, before stepping forward and hugging him tightly. “Hey Ty.”

“Hi Car.” He turns to her coworker with a stunning smile. “And hello Car’s friend. I’m Tyler. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too. I’m Samantha. How do you two know each other?”

She exchanges a look with him, because it’s a long story. But she settles with, “Ran into him when he played in Boston and I went to college there, and he didn’t leave me alone.” The three of them laugh.

“I’m assuming you both are here for the bride?”

“We are.”

He offers an arm to the both of them. “Follow me, ladies.” Carmen can tell Samantha is charmed as she rolls her eyes but grabs the crook of his elbow anyways.

After he escorts them to their seats, he has to bolt and just bids them farewell with a kiss on Carmen’s cheek and a promise to save her a dance later before ducking out of the church, presumably to help out with some behind the scenes stuff.

As soon as he’s out of earshot, Samantha gives her a skeptical look. “We’ve been working together for two years and you failed to tell me that you know Tyler Seguin? You know I grew up a Stars fan.”

“It’s never come up.”

“Fair.” She blinks, looking for something in her coworker’s face. “You love him, don’t you?”

“What? No, of course-”

“Nice try. If your heart eyes hadn’t given you away, it was your response just now. You’ve always been a bad liar. What’s the story between you two?”

She sighs, staring at the front of the church at nothing in particular. “We met when I worked at a tattoo parlor in college and he came in and we became really good friends. He got traded to Dallas and then told me loved me on his last night in the city. Knew I didn’t believe in long distance at the time so didn’t ask for more. We slept together around a year later. My stance on long distance hadn’t changed. We’ve seen each other sporadically when I’m free and he’s in New York for a game, but not much recently.”

Samantha whistles. “Sounds like a lot.”

Carmen just snorts. She has no idea.

“So you still love him.”

Carmen just sighs.

“I think he still might love you too.”

Carmen snorts, smoothing down her dress. “How could you possibly know that? You met him for maybe two minutes.”

“Maybe it’s the fact that we’re at a wedding and this could be a scene from a Hallmark movie, but I’m also pretty sure he also had heart eyes when he saw you.”

Carmen just hums, and Samantha drops it, as they shift to other safer topics.

The ceremony is stunning and the bride is gorgeous and the groom is beaming, yet besides when the bride walked down the aisle, she can’t tear her eyes away from Tyler, standing at the front with a constant happy look on his face. As he walked down with an accompanying bridesmaid on his arm, he caught her eye and shot her a sly wink and she knows she blushed and she didn’t even try to hide it.

The next time she caught him was well into the reception, after dinner had been eaten and the dance floor was starting to open up. She had just finished her drink before she felt a tap on her shoulder, looking up to see Tyler with an outstretched hand.

“Dance with me?”

Without giving a verbal answer, she takes his hand and lets him lead her to the dance floor. She wraps her arms around his neck as his hands settle on her waist.

“You didn’t reach out to tell me you were gonna be in town.”

“I figured you’d be in Canada for the off-season.”

He hums, but he doesn’t buy the excuse. To be fair, she doesn’t either. “It’s really good to see you, Car.” He says, and she might be imagining him pulling her closer. “You look beautiful.”

“So do you.”

He smirks and she feels like she’s 19 again. “I look beautiful?”

She rolls her eyes. “You do.” She says softly. “How have you been?”

And then they start catching up, and it’s so damn easy, as the conversation flows from hockey to her advertising job to their memories in Boston to their mutual friends who just got married to their families and it feels like he’s still on the Bruins and she’s still at Northeastern. At some point, they migrate from the dance floor to the empty-ish open bar and they’re still talking and she realizes how much she’s missed having him in his life.

When she voices that out loud, his beaming smile dims the slightest. “God, I’ve missed you so much. Is this what I’ve been missing out on?”

“Don’t even start, Seguin.”

“What?”

“Blaming yourself or whatever you’re about to do. If we’re gonna blame someone, it’s all on me.”

Their first seconds of silence fall between them. “How has that been, by the way? You got a lucky guy back in New York waiting for you?”

She snorts. “Absolutely not. You? I hope I didn’t steal you away from a date or something.”

“Nah. No one for me.”

“Not at all?”

“None who have meant as much to me as you.”

She feels like her heart’s been sucker punched. Typical Tyler Seguin. Always going in for the kill.

She switches topics. “I-I watched your Stanley Cup playoff run. You played really well. I’m sorry it wasn’t the result you guys wanted.”

“You watch my games?”

She swallows. Busted. “I try to whenever I can, even though I still feel like I’m betraying my Bruins when I do.”

He laughs, still a bit shocked. “I’m sure they’d forgive you. I was a Bruin, after all.”

She downs her drink and asks the bartender for a water. “I missed you,” she says quietly once the bartender is out of earshot. “And I always loved watching you play. Figured it was the next best thing.”

“You could’ve called. Or texted. I would’ve answered.”

She shakes her head. “That would’ve been unfair to you, especially with how I left things off.”

He chuckles, albeit sadly. “Carmen. I’m kinda weak when it comes to you. Always have been.”

She squeezes her eyes shut, a tear falling as she feels Tyler place a warm hand on her thigh over her maroon dress. “You give me way too much power.”

“I don’t think I could ever give you what you deserve, no matter how hard I try.”

Carmen wipes the tear away with a small smile. She pokes his chest. “How do you come up with this shit?”

He laughs, taking a sip of his beer, before his face settles into a more serious expression. “Can I ask you two questions, though? No bullshit. Just the truth.”

“Yeah, of course.”

“Do you still love me?”

She nods at an embarrassingly fast pace.

He swallows. “Oh.”

She picks at her nails, suddenly unsure. “D-Do you still love me? It’s-it’s totally okay if you don’t. I mean, I wouldn’t expect you to. It’s been years and we don’t really see each other much anymore and-”

“Of course I still love you.” She whips her head up to stare at him in shock. He runs a hand through his hair with a huff.

She puts her hand over his that’s still resting on his thigh and interlaces their fingers together. “What’s your second question?”

“Do you still not believe in long distance?”

“I’ve been thinking…I think I’m open to trying it.”

His eyes flash in surprise as his lips turn up into a hopeful smile. “Really? You’re not fucking with me?”

“Since when have I ever lied to you, Ty?”

“Can I have a third question? And maybe a fourth?”

She rolls her eyes fondly, squealing a bit as he brings her stool even closer to him. “Was that it?”

“Smartass.” She nods at him to ask. “Would you want to try? With me?”

She swallows. “Yes.” She thinks he physically lights up, like a lightbulb with a new battery, but she holds a hand up. “But Tyler, things have changed. We’ve changed. Is this…is this really what you want? Am I really who you want?”

“I left Boston eight years ago in love with you. Here I am, eight years later in Dallas, still in love with you. Probably more in love with you, actually, which I didn’t think was possible.” He grabs her hands and lifts them to his lips to kiss her knuckles. “When do you head back to New York?”

She blinks at the abrupt change of subject. “Um, I’m actually in Dallas for another week for a work conference. So not until next Sunday.”

He grins. “Stay at mine then. Please.”

“Tyler-”

“I’ll have to head back to Canada for a couple weeks for things I can’t reschedule, but then, if you let me, I’d love to come to New York and spend some time with you until I have to come back to Dallas for pre-season.”

“Tyler, that’s…how are you so confident and sure about all of this?”

“Because it’s you,” he says. “And I love you. I’m not wasting this chance that you’ve given me.”

She bites her lip, trying to take it all in. “I’m going to need to grab my stuff from the hotel tonight.”

“Deal. I’ve only had like, two beers in the last three hours anyways. I can drive you.”

“You know that I’m not just going to…drop everything to come to Dallas, right? My job and my life is all in New York.”

“I’d be a dumbass to expect that. Your heart belongs to the Northeast.”

She smiles, momentarily flashing back to the last time he said those exact same words and how similar and different they are now. She leans forward and kisses him sweetly, like he’s coming home from a game, like she’s in the middle of cooking dinner, like they’ve been doing this all their lives. She then pulls him up and drags him back to the dance floor.

“Would you have called me?”

“I don’t know,” she whispers into his chest, immediately knowing what he’s referencing. Eight years later and she still remembers that night like it was yesterday. “What if you were in a relationship or something? That would’ve been unfair to everyone.”

“I wouldn’t have been.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do. Because I’ve always loved you. At this point, I’m pretty sure that I always will.”

“Thank you,” she whispers. And as he presses a loving kiss on her forehead, she hopes he understands what she’s trying to thank him for — for coming into that tattoo shop all those years ago, for all the nights and memories in Boston that involved takeout and Netflix and endless fits of laughter, for always believing in her, for waiting for her and being understanding even when she broke his heart.

For loving her.

“By the way,” Tyler says as he twirls her around, hands immediately attaching to her waist once she’s facing him again. “I always loved you in maroon.”

#k writes #hockey fanfiction #hockey fanfic #dallas stars #tyler seguin #tyler seguin fic #tyler seguin blurb #hockey blurb #tyler seguin x oc

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ragingbookdragon · 3 years

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You Light The Spark In My Bonfire Heart

Kyle Rayner x Batbro One-Shot

Word Count: 2.7K Warnings: Explicit Language

Author's Note: I HAVEN'T HAD ANY WIFI ALL DAY BUT NOW I DO AND this is my new obsession and pair and you can tear it from my cold dead hands. Enjoy! -Thorne

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

Kyle had an easy morning routine: get up, eat breakfast, brush teeth, workout, shower, drink protein shake, and draw. It was simple and effective, and helped him maintain a sense of normalcy that he didn’t always have when he was up in space. He typically started out with sketching small things, mostly faces and limbs from memory, the occasional suit redesign, then he’d get into the bigger works, drawing comic panels and the commissions he had. And while Kyle loved to be up in space, to be a Green Lantern, drawing felt like coming home to him, like it was the natural state. That being said, he didn’t love being interrupted when he was in the middle of something important—it was bad for the groove.

***

As the second round of knocking sounded on his door, Kyle grunted and stood from his desk, padding through the hallway to his front door; he flicked the lock and pulled open the door, surprise etching across his face when he saw the eldest Wayne leaning against the door frame—rather cockily, Kyle added, because the soldier’s arm was propped on the frame, the other stuck in the side-pocket of his dark tactical bomber jacket.

“Good morning, Kyle,” he greeted with a smirk. “I hope I’m not interrupting.”

The Lantern blinked, shaking his head. “Uh, no, you’re not, (Y/N).” he looked at him. “What are you doing here?”

(Y/N) shrugged. “Had some business to take care of for my dad, and since I was in the area, I figured I’d drop by and see if you wanted to get some lunch with me.”

Kyle took a moment to lean out the doorway slightly, looking down the stretched hallway. “How’d you know where I live?”

“Please, a magician never reveals his secrets,” he deflected coolly, gazing at Kyle. “What do you say? Wanna get some lunch? I know a really good sports bar that serves great food.”

He looked back at (Y/N) and smiled. “Yeah. Let me go get dressed.”

The soldier merely winked in return and with fumbling hands, Kyle managed to shut the door before his cheeks burst into flames, hurrying back to his bedroom to pull together an outfit that would impress the man.

***

Kyle almost dropped to his knees when he saw the car parked outside his apartment building, and (Y/N) knew it too, because he chirped, “Gorgeous, isn’t she?”

He nodded dumbly. “Is this a McLaren 720S?”

“Mhm.” He opened the doors and slid into the driver’s seat, looking through the passenger door. “Coming?”

“Am I ever,” Kyle breathed, climbing into the seat, immediately running his hands along the dashboard and seat. “I’m in love.”

“Wait till you hear her purr,” (Y/N) said, closing the doors, and pushing the ignition. The sports car roared to life and he grinned at the way Kyle’s face melted. “Yeah, she’s a beauty.” He put the car in drive and looked through the side mirror, then pulled out onto the street.

“Is this one of your dad’s cars?”

“Nah, I bought this for myself a couple months ago.” He pulled the sunglasses from his t-shirt and put them on. “This and an Audi TT.”

Kyle huffed a laugh. “Jesus, you billionaires live it up, don’t you?”

(Y/N) smiled. “Hey, I live life in the fast lane. Might as well drive in it too.” He pushed a button on the touch screen and music filtered through the speakers, and Kyle’s face pinched in confusion. “What?”

“This isn’t—James Blunt isn’t the music I figured you’d play.”

“What’d you think I’d be listening too? Rock?” he chuckled, turning the volume down a bit. “Don’t get me wrong, I listen to all kinds of rock music, but I figured you’d want something easy rather than head-bang your brains out rock.” (Y/N) stopped at a red light and glanced over. “You can look through the artists on my phone if you want.”

Kyle shook his head, relaxing into the seat as the melody flowed through him. “No, I like this artist.” The soldier merely smiled in return, pressing the gas pedal again, and Kyle suddenly remembered something. “Speaking of artist, I saw the canvas in your bedroom the other day. Do you draw?”

(Y/N) hummed. “Not like you. It’s more of a pastime than a lifestyle.”

“You’re good at it. You’re painting your family in their suits. Details and designs included.” The artist regarded him with impression. “That takes skill.”

“I’d like to think I just have a steady hand and a lot of patience for stressful tasks.” (Y/N) turned the wheel, coming up behind a line of cars. “It’s an easy way for me to relax and mentally run through past events.”

“Like what?” Kyle questioned curiously.

(Y/N)’s eyes narrowed, but not in a loathing way, more of a thoughtful one. “Missions, conversations, things I could’ve done differently, things I will do differently.” He shrugged again. “Painting for me is just a time when I think about everything and nothing.”

“Well, you’re great at it, (Y/N).”

He snorted. “It’s just a bunch of paintings of my family and friends and military shit.”

Kyle blinked and leaned over. “Wait, is that painting in the den—”

“The one of the F-18 Super Hornet?”

“Yeah. You painted that?”

(Y/N) nodded. “Yep. I got Hal Jordan to take me up in one a few years ago and decided to commemorate the trip.”

“Wow,” the Lantern breathed. “I stared at that canvas for at least an hour the first time I saw it. I was just so blown away by how amazing it was.” He chuckled and shook his head. “And to find out, you drew it and not some world-famous painter.”

“Hey, I could be world famous if I wanted.” (Y/N) shot back, turning onto a less busy backstreet. “I just choose to retain my talents for family and friends.”

“Because of your job?”

“That too.” He agreed. “My squad and I take careful precautions to avoid our faces being seen during any missions for the safety of our families.” His face turned as solemn as his voice. “We do what we do to make the world safer. To keep our families and friends safe. It’s imperative that we’re not seen.”

Kyle cocked a brow. “But you’re Bruce Wayne’s son?”

“I am,” he nodded. “But I’m not as…out as the rest of my siblings. You’d be able to recognize them from press photos, but me not so much.” (Y/N) pulled into a parking spot outside the bar. “People only recognize me when they see the name on the credit cards. And I prefer to keep it that way.” A goofy smile crossed his lips. “The high life isn’t for me.”

“Says the man that drives a 710 horsepower sports car.” Kyle shot back with a grin of his own and (Y/N) stuck his tongue out as he turned the car off and opened the doors.

“Okay, I’m not actively in the high life but that doesn’t mean I don’t like luxury.” He closed the car doors and opened the front door to the bar for Kyle. “After you.”

“Thank you.” He replied, and walked inside, only stopping to turn and ask, “Do you want to sit at the bar or a table?”

(Y/N) tipped his head to the side. “I’m down with both, but I like the bar more.”

“Bar it is,” Kyle said and slid into one of the chairs, (Y/N) the other, and an older man wandered over.

“Well, I’ll be damned, is that (Y/N) Wayne I see?”

He turned, expression morphing into joy as he reached out and shook the older man’s hand. “Jack, it’s good to see you.”

“It’s good to see you son. How’ve you been?”

“Ah, you know me, sir. Nothin’ changing but the weather.”

Jack snorted. “And the desert where you dig sand outta your ass.”

(Y/N) chuckled. “Damn straight.” He looked at Kyle. “Kyle, I’d like you to meet Jack Dagher. He’s an old CO of mine.”

Kyle shook the man’s hand. “Pleasure to meet you, sir.”

“It’s all mine,” Jack replied. “It’s been a while since (Y/N) brought anybody here.”

At that, Kyle turned to the soldier who was busy looking anywhere but his face. “Is that so?”

“Oh yeah. Sonovabitch doesn’t bring his dates here unless he really likes ‘em.”

(Y/N) coughed, glaring at the man. “Alright, we get it. Aren’t you supposed to be taking orders?”

Jack gave him a smug look in return. “What can I get you boys to drink?”

“I’ll take a beer,” Kyle said, and Jack rolled his eyes.

“No shit, kid. What kind?”

(Y/N) snickered as Kyle flushed. “Uh, a Heineken.”

Jack sighed. “And he had such potential. (Y/N)?”

“Gimme a strawberry daiquiri then water after.”

“Still ordering fruity drinks, huh?”

“Hey, they get you drunk faster than horse piss does, you old fart.” He shot back and the old man chuckled.

“Touché.” He slapped the bar. “I’ll bring those to you with an order of chili fries.”

“Thanks Jack,” (Y/N) smiled, watching the man walk off before turning to Kyle who was watching one of the baseball games. “You like sports?”

He tipped his head side to side. “I don’t not like them. I was never a sporty kid in school, but I like watching them.” He looked at the solider. “What were you like in school? Jock or prep?”

“Probably a bit of both,” he answered. “I played sports and had the highest grades.” Shrugging, he added, “And being a Wayne boosted me into the top tier of schools, so, there’s that. To be honest, I think all of us Wayne kids were and are a mixture of every stereotypical category.”

“I can see that,” Kyle laughed. “Especially with Jason and Dick.”

“Shit, I was talking about Timmy.” (Y/N) said. “That kid’s a grade A nerd.”

“He is, isn’t he?”

The two of them laughed and a woman placed their drinks in front of them, both giving their thanks as they took sips.

“Can I ask you something, (Y/N)?”

“My muscles are one hundred percent real. Especially my abs. Which you’re allowed to feel on in envy if you want.”

Kyle snorted into his beer, wiping his mouth. “No!” a few more chuckles passed his lips as he wiped the bar. “Are you…you know…?”

“A Leo?” (Y/N) offered with a smile, but his eyes told Kyle he knew exactly what the Lantern was asking, and he said, “I like the liquor, but I don’t care what label it has on it.”

The other man smiled. “Yeah, that makes sense.”

“But if you want the technical term, I am pansexual.” He regarded Kyle a moment. “You?”

“Bisexual.”

His lips pulled in an impressed fashion. “Pretty fly for a bi guy.”

Kyle gaped at him for a moment, then shoved (Y/N) in the side as he buried his face in his arms and laughed. “You’re so stupid.”

“Ah thank you,” he grinned. “I get it from my old man.”

“You,” he cut himself off with a cackle. “do not get that from him.”

“Look, you know the big man in the suit. You don’t know the complete goober we live with,” (Y/N) chuckled, smiling at the waitress who placed menus in front of them; he picked his up and flipped through it.

“What do you recommend?”

“Hmm…anything with bacon on it.” He showed the menu. “If you like salads, get the steak and blue cheese one, it’s fantastic. Or if you’re more into tacos, they’ve got these awesome shrimp carnitas with chili peppers.”

Kyle’s brows furrowed as he looked the menu over. “What are you gonna get?”

“My usual. Tomahawk steak with garlic butter and mashed potatoes.” (Y/N) groaned and rested his head back. “I haven’t had a good steak in months, and I can just taste it already.”

“So, you’re a meat and potatoes kind of man?”

He grinned, keeping his eyes closed. “Unlike the cup noodle and Hawaiian roll man beside me.”

“Ouch. Hit me where it hurts.”

“C’mon Kyle, hit me with your best shot.”

“Better watch it, (Y/N),” he grinned. “You might be the next notch in my pencil case.”

“You’re such a nerd.”

***

“Holy crap,” Kyle breathed, hands resting lightly on his stomach. “I’m stuffed.”

(Y/N) moaned. “Stick a fork in me. I’m done.”

“Done?” their waitress laughed. “You haven’t even finished your desserts yet!”

“Oh God, don’t make me,” the Lantern whined. “I’ll explode.” He looked over. “(Y/N), take one for the team.”

“Pass,” he replied. “I think I’ve gained ten pounds just looking at the rest of the cheesecake.”

The woman laughed. “I’ll wrap the leftovers for you boys.” She wandered off, leaving them alone, and a blaring ringtone filled the space between.

(Y/N) jumped a little, pulling his phone out of his pocket. “Do you mind if I get this really quick?”

Kyle shook his head. “Go ahead.”

He slid his thumb along the bottom and rested the phone on the bar. “This is Wayne.”

Captain! Finally. I’ve been texting you all afternoon.

“I know,” he snorted. “I’ve been ignoring it.”

Yeah well, the longer you ignore me the slower it takes for the radar dish to get replaced.

“What are you talking about?” (Y/N) asked. “I thought you’d procured one.”

I did. Then the buyer told me I wasn’t registered for official military hardware.

He frowned. “That’s odd. You did contact Thomas, right?”

Yeah. Beady eyed looking motherfucker who serves on the George Washington, right?

“That’s him.” (Y/N) hummed. “Tell you what, I’ll call him later this evening and get it all sorted out, yeah?”

Sounds good. Hey, did you take that guy out yet? Your little brother won’t stop texting me about some twinkie you’re into.”

(Y/N) froze as he felt Kyle’s eyes drilling into the side of his head and he stuttered, “Uh, Nadeen, now’s not the best time.”

What do you mean best—oh…ohhhhhh. I, uh, I gotta go, Captain.

“Yep. Bye.” He locked the phone and shoved it back into his pocket, refusing to meet Kyle’s eyes. “So…you catch the baseball game?”

“Which one of your brother’s thinks I’m a twink?” Kyle asked. “Wait, don’t tell me. It’s Jason, isn’t it?” he grunted in his throat, deadpanning, “I can’t believe my best friend thinks I’m a twink.”

“It’s Dick, actually.” (Y/N) grinned, turning to face him and he reached over, pinching Kyle’s cheek. “It’s just ‘cause you’re so cute and perky.”

The Lantern merely glared at him, griping, “I’m not as strong as you, put I can punch pretty hard.”

“Ooo, those are fighting words,” he shot back with a smirk, letting Kyle go. “Careful, I’m ticklish.”

“I feel like I’m talking to Hal.”

(Y/N) whined, all but collapsing onto Kyle who started snickering. “I’ve just been murdered.” He buried his face in Kyle’s shoulder. “Can’t believe I was just compared to Highball. The world must be coming to an end.”

“Oh, come on, you big baby. You’re not dying.”

“I am!” he turned his head, gazing at Kyle. “You’ll have to carry me to safety.”

“I don’t think I’m strong enough to carry you.”

“Are you calling me fat?”

“I did not say that.”

“You did, but in more words.”

“Alright, now I’m talking to Guy.”

“THAT’S SO MUCH WORSE!”

***

He leaned against the door frame as Kyle unlocked his front door and pushed it open, turning to look at him. “I had a lot of fun today, (Y/N).” he murmured. “Thanks.”

Winking, he replied, “I’m glad you did. I’d like to do it again soon if you want.”

Kyle nodded. “I’d like that.”

They stared at each other for a few moments and (Y/N) smiled, patting the door frame. “Well, I’d better be heading out. Have to get home in time for dinner.” He paused, giving the man a warm look. “Thanks for having lunch with me, Kyle.”

He’d not gotten two feet from the door when Kyle’s hand wrapped around his wrist. “Wait.” He turned and the Lantern leaned forward, pressing his lips to (Y/N)’s cheek. “Be careful on your way back.”

“I will,” he murmured, watching Kyle wave and disappear into his apartment, the door shutting behind him.

185 notes · View notes

quirklessidiot · 4 years

Text

Title: coward :: warm saki for the cold nights Pairing: Y/N x Miya Atsumu Genre: angst, romance, and very slow burn [ex to lovers au] Warnings: Cursing, alchohol, mentions of unprotected sex, unplanned pregnancy, and mentions of abortion

Synopsis: Atsumu deals with heartbreak again and while doing so, receives an unexpected call that may just help bridge you two again.

notes:

someone said that my character for atsumu was differently written from most fanfiction. tbh the only fuckboy i see in haikyuu is Yuuji HASHHSSHAHA have u seen the piercing and how agressive he is. that def screams fuck boi

also i will be closing the taglist already after this chapter :/ if you guys don’t want to be tagged in the side stories, just message me hehe its not a problem (also i will be updating the side stories every FRIDAY’S) the drabble requests will be open for ten drabbles after the side stories hehe ily all so much. stay safe and i hope you enjoy this chapter!

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Atsumu watches you walk out of his life again for the second time.

He doesn’t know what to do or why he’s here on his bed, playing with the silver ring band that he was supposed to give you six years ago after he’d been accepted in the jackals. As much as he was heartbroken by the fact that you didn’t want to get married then, he still wanted to give you a simple ring band as a promise that marriage was never the only way to get him to stick around you.

He couldn’t throw it away even after all these years.

Now that he looks at it, he’s reminded of that time you left him. The first time.

He really thought it would hurt less this time around. It was the second time after all but it still stings especially now since it was right at his face. He lets out a bitter chuckle, ‘selfish, huh?’ he thought.

Those words were odd coming from you.

In the two year span of your relationship, you were never the selfish one. In fact, he came to the late realization that he was the selfish one between you two in the relationship. Atsumu always thought physical and loud declarations of affection were the key to a healthy relationship, mundane things like sleeping next to each other or being there everyday (hence why long distance relationships were a no go for him) but you, you took it up the notch.

It may have been your first relationship but you were better than any girl he had dated. He realized then that maybe that's why you broke up with him, because you probably thought that he didn’t care to know more about you (when in actuality he was just too scared to ask because he might lose you if he did)

The phone starts to ring and as much as he wants to ignore it again, something tells him that he should answer this unknown contact.

“...Yo, this is Daiki.”

He blinks as he hears the deep voice of the basketball player, wasn’t this supposed to be his rival? How the hell did he even get his number?

“I heard Y/N pushed you away again like before, want to grab that drink?”

Atsumu doesn’t know why he agrees right after.

They ended up at a private japanese bar, apparently they had the best saki in the whole of japan and Daiki was willing to treat him despite the high price of alcohol because of what happened between you two, “You look like shit, man.” he points out as soon as he arrived, “No offense. Then again, that’s what I looked like when Y/N first rejected me.”

Atsumu sits across him at the booth and ignores the man’s statement about his looks, “Do you still like Y/N that way? Even after she rejected you a lot?” he asks, suddenly.

“After I realized how much she liked those kid’s father. I sorta gave up.” He laughed as if it was nothing, “He was hard to match, Y/N was begging me not to go to him to punch him in the face, she was in tears that night.”

“He’s a lucky bastard.” Atsumu spat bitterly, pouring more sake on his cup, “I’m guessing you know this guy?”

“Of course I do.” Daiki began, “Only recently though, Y/N never told anyone who the dad was. I had to figure that shit out on my own.”

Atsumu stares at his drink for a moment and swirls it around, he wants to know but at the same time he doesn’t. What would he even do if he knew? Would he find him and punch the asshole in the face for doing that to you? He’s starting to get Daiki, whoever this guy was, he was impossibly hard to match.

“I want to be in her life.” Atsumu confessed, “I want to replace that bastard’s place.”

Daiki’s eyes crinkle in utter amusement, just how long was this cat and mouse game going to play? What would happen if he told this blonde guy? Would you talk to him after he told Atsumu why you left? Would Daiki even be able to handle you leaving him?

Daiki’s take a deep breath as he ponders on that thought. He was willing to risk it though. He sees the genuineness in this guy’s eyes. From a man to a man, he could sense it. God, if only he had been a bit more pushy towards you back then about the whole tell-your-boyfriend thing, maybe you’d have it a bit easier now.

“What’s stopping you?”

“Y/N.” The blonde shrugs, the mere mention of your name stinged like the alcohol he was drinking, “I can’t force her. I can’t repeat the same mistakes I made before. Relationships were never her strongest suit and I feel like I forced it on her.”

“You didn’t.” Daiki proclaims, the basketball player ponders for a moment in deep thought, “The thing about Y/N is that she’s careful with whom she wants to be intimate with. The reason why she probably said yes was because she saw something in you but in the end…” Daiki paused, he’s not sure what to say next, this was a sensitive issue after all, “In the end, her fear got the better of her…”

“Sometimes I wish I could take it all away.” The setter quietly confessed, recalling the fear in your eyes back then made him sick.

In the two-year relationship you had, it had always been about him. He really had the audacity to proudly proclaim that he loved you yet it seemed more like you had loved him more.

It showed when you’d quietly just hold his hand and draw small circles on it after a loss, how you’d listen to his stories without interruptions, how you’d help him out in classes that he had a hard time at, how you’d prepare a hot meal for him every night he stayed up later to train, and how you’d silently just let him snuggle on your chest after a long day. It was those little things, things he realized later on that you’d never do to other people but he was a special case.

It was always about you taking care of him and putting him first.

It wasn’t openly affectionate like the girls he had before or after you, you had your own little way.

It was always about wanting to get a physical reaction from you, he was too blinded to the fact that it was never your type of thing.

He was the taker in the relationship, you had always been the giver.

Daiki was silent once again as he observed his devastating figure, “You really love her, don’t you?”

“I do.” he chuckled, “People tend to call me a fuck up for that but they don’t get it. When Y/N shows a little side of her, you...you can’t stop loving her, ya know? God, when she smiled and laughed at me for the first time. I knew at that moment that I wanted to hear that beautiful sound for the rest of my life.”

It felt good to get that out of his chest for once, ‘samu would call him a sappy piece of shit if he had heard that but it was the raw truth. Every word he said, every feeling he tried to express, it was all so genuine and that’s what made everything so painful.

God, the saki was getting to him. He can’t believe he told Daiki out of all people about this.

“You said you wanted to know who the father of those kids was, right?”

Atsumu stops whatever he’s drinking and feels his ears perk up at the sound of that. Daiki looks dead serious as he downs the saki straight-up, the next few words sobers the blonde setter because it’s not what he expects.

“Y/N told me the father was her first boyfriend, a boy from tokyo university.”

Atsumu feels his heart thumping fast as he makes his way to your apartment in the dead of the night, the alcohol long gone but the words of Daiki still stinging and fresh, a father? Was that why you ran away?

Because you were pregnant with his kids?

He curses underneath his breath as he finally parks his car in front of your apartment, he’s still shaken by the sudden revelation and he feels like kicking himself, how he could’ve been so stupid? He should’ve known something was odd when you suddenly disappeared and broke up on the phone.

While he was enjoying his life as a pro, you were out there fending for the kids alone.

He shakes his head.

“...I can’t tell you why Y/N ran away, it’s better if you heard the story from her.” Daiki’s words echo in his head, “I know she placed a lot on your plate these past six years but she has her reasons, I’m not saying that you should forgive her immediately. I’m just asking you to listen.”

Atsumu gets out of his car and takes out his phone, calling the number he got from Daiki. You had never exchanged numbers even after all that had happened. Now that he noticed, you were keen on distancing yourself from him. Ever since the beginning, you were so adamant to push him out of your life in the same cold way like before.

How could he not have noticed?

He curses himself in his head, for all the times he had to be slow, why now?

“Hello?” Your voice is groggy, signaling that you were asleep, “May I know who's on the line?”

“I’m downstairs.” he blurted out, not knowing what to say, he knows you recognize his voice, “Can we talk Y/N?”

“Miya-san? What are you?- It’s almost twelve-”

“One last time, Y/N.” He pleads, voice soft as he says your name, “Please?”

You hang up soon after, he doesn’t care if he has to stake out here in his car for the whole night and wait for you to come down in the morning. Right now, all that matters is you.

Only you.

Thankfully, he doesn’t need to do that since he sees you going out of your apartment a few moments later in a large black coat with mismatched socks, if it weren’t for the gravity of the situation, he would’ve teased you for your unusual get-up.

“I thought I told you that I didn’t want to have anything to do with you anymore.” in contrast to your soft tone, your words are harsh and if it were the old him, he’d have back down but he knows something now.

He takes in a deep breath and lets out a drawling sigh as he removes his scarf, “It’s cold tonight.” He observes, ignoring the harsh words you said as he inches closer to you to wrap his scarf around your neck.

“You smell like alcohol.”

“Aomine-san and I went out for a drink.” He recounts, tying the scarf on your neck. He sucks in a deep breath before he says the following words, “You know Y/N, you never told me his name.”

“Excuse me?” You're confused by the sudden words as you try to remove the scarf but he stops you and grabs a hold of your hands instead, clasping his fingers on yours like the old times. He loved the warmth you radiated. It always felt nice.

“The name of that bastard who left you.” He stated. He’s so close to you to the point that you could smell the saki and perfume on him, hear his ragged breathing, and hear the thumping of his heart. You try to remove yourself from his grasp but you’re trapped in his stare and tight hold, “What’s his name, Y/N?”

“I told you, it’s none-”

“Just a name, Y/N.”

Silence ensued between you two and you nervously gulp down.

So it really was him.

This was now or never.

“Just for one moment, can you stop running away from me?” he begs, as he inched closer to hug you and place his head on your shoulder, “Just stop running, Y/N. You don’t have to tell me what happened and why you ran away back then, just let me love you now and be a father to those kids.”

It's silent for a moment and he feels fear engulf him again, his confidence slowly vanishing. Were you going to push him away again?

Yet he feels you starting to tremble on his hold and something wet on his shoulders, he suddenly stands up straight to find you crying on his shoulder, “You’re so fucking stupid, did you know that?” you suddenly cried, “I literally broke up with you on the fucking phone, ran away from you-”

“Yet you never forgot me and raised those kids very well on your own.” He hummed, cutting you off as he rested his head on top of yours, still hugging you tightly. Yes, this was right, the warmth that he wanted was right here, he was finally at ease.His anxiety was slowly dwindling, “God, I should’ve tried harder to not make you feel that way before.”

“I-It’s my fault.” You stammered, “I kept doubting you and kept running from you.”

“You must’ve been scared, sweetheart.” He murmured, cutting you off as he ignores you recounting your past ‘mistakes’ --- he wouldn’t call it mistakes though, they were the seeds of doubt that he planted on you, so he was technically at fault there, he should’ve tried harder to not make you feel that way. He should’ve been more observant ---- He buries himself on your scent and draws small circles on your back to soothe your shaking figure. You’d do this to him a lot before, it was his turn now to return all the comfort and support you gave him.

Atsumu slowly lets go and sees you’re a mess in front of him from the red rims under your eyes to the wet cheeks to your non-stop shaking figure.

‘...You always had trouble expressing yourself naturally to people after all.’

No, it seemed like you had turned it off towards other people except your kids. Atsumu noted how strong you were towards your kids, how you tried hard to build a home for them and be the most genuine mother you could be, it breaks his heart that he wasn’t there to help and support you.

He slowly brings his hands up and softly cups your cheeks to wipe the stray tears, “I know that I can’t take all your problems and baggage away for a night but I’ll be here, Y/N. I’ll be here even if you’re annoyed, I’ll be here even if you throw me out because of the confusion you have with your feelings. I’ll stay. Permanently, no take-backs.”

You shakily lift your hands to grab a hold of his rough hands and squeeze it to make sure this is all real, that this wasn’t a dream.

“You’re an idiot.” You sniffle, taking in his warmth and basking on it, “I really told you to be selfish, for once. Why can’t you do that?”

“That’s ironic coming from you.” he mused, “You were always the giver in our relationship in your own way, you raised our kids in the best way possible. I could think of a million ways that you were the giver in our relationship and I was more of the receiver.” Atsumu chuckles at the irony as he slowly runs his fingers through your hair. He feels better now that everything is out of the way, that he can finally hold you with no restrictions. The little family with you that was supposed to be a fleeting moment, was now slowly becoming a reality.

“In the end, all that matters is that I love you. It’s never changed for the past six years, Y/N. I doubt it’ll change in the long run.” he confessed, leaning in to give you a brief kiss on the temple. You feel yourself start to calm down as you rested on his chest and listen to his heart beat.

You missed that sound, the sound of home.

It takes a while for you to actually settle down and sit with your kids, Atsumu reminds you that you could take your time in the introductions, even volunteering that he could help you with it but you decided against it in the end. This was your responsibility. You still had to make up for the past six years of heartbreak you gave to the poor man and your kids.

Atsumu doesn’t shy away though, he comes by after his morning training during your lunch break to have lunch with you and even volunteers to pick up the kids after class before his nightly training.

Slow pace and baby steps as he’d like to call it.

“Jiji’s acting weird.” Yuuto frowns as he picks on his fish with his chopsticks, “He’s been hanging around us too much, kaasan.”

“Yeah!” Youta echoes, “Is he going to be like Daiki-ojisan? Is he going to be our ojisan?”

You place your chopsticks down and stare at the pair in front of you. It would be hard to explain to the pair about Atsumu and his relationship with them, you almost wanted to call the man himself to help you explain but you decided against it.

This was now or never.

“Can kaasan tell you something?” You softly ask, placing your chopsticks down, the steamed fish long forgotten.

“What is it, kaasan?” Youta asks innocently, tilting his head just a bit, “Did jiji do something again? Should me and yu do something about it?”

“No,” you shake your head, “It’s...It’s about your otosan…”

Silence enveloped the table, the boys never talked about their father in front of you because they noticed how sad you’d be by the mere mention of their father yet that didn’t stop them from asking around your close circle of friends like Atsumu and Daiki. Did you find out about their interest? Were they going to be scolded?

“I...I want to introduce him to you…” You slowly began, “he...he’s come home…”

Youta and Yuuto’s eyes widen immediately, “He? He has?” Yuuto suddenly exclaimed, standing up from his chair. You could detect the excitement in his eyes, “What does he look like, kaasan? Does he have the same hair as us? Does he look like us? Did- did he get all his dreams?”

“Is he a doctor, kaasan? Or does he play sports like Daiki-ojisan and jiji?” Youta adds, wondering out loud, “Weird. We’re not that famous yet, kaasan. Is he going to be proud of us?”

You feel your heart thump and your eyes water at the question as you swallow the lump on your throat, “He’s, he’s very proud of you.” you try to blink away the tears, “In fact, your otosan was very scared because you might hate him.”

“Is that why he wasn’t able to come home?” Yuuto asks quietly, he had always been smart for his age.

You were silent for a moment and you take in a very deep breath, when they were old enough you’d tell them all about what happened, in the meantime, you’d tell them a simple explanation, “No, it was kaasan’s fault...Your otosan wasn’t able to come home because of kaasan…”

“Will...will you tell us why, kaasan?” Youta questions, you could tell that he was scared to ask that question.

“Because kaasan was scared…” You paused, trying to find the right words to explain to them, “Kaasan had you when me and your otosan was still quite young so kaasan ran away…”

“Did o-otosan not want us then?” Yuuto quivers, his lifted spirits now down, you could tell that he was trying to hold it in. You immediately had to stand up and rush to their side to comfort them, “Of course not!” You exclaimed, taking their hands and bending to their level, “It’s just, kaasan had very bad things happening around her that she had to run away.”

“Are...are the bad things gone now then, kaasan?”

You turn to Youta whose eyes were soft and spirits down too, he seemed to have grasped the situation yet at the same time, he couldn’t get it. Maybe it was a big kids type of thing? Would he understand this all when he was older?

“Almost…” You quietly replied, you knew you still had a lot of things to fix within yourself like Atsumu had said, it’s not something you can ever get rid of but it’s never bad to take a helping hand once in a while, “Your otosan is helping me and you guys are helping me too, so they’re slowly disappearing…”

“When...when will we meet him? Our otosan?”

You’re silent for a second and you nervously tell them to wait a moment as you go to your room to take out a Polaroid, one with you and Atsumu in it. It’s an old one, taken on your last anniversary. It’s one of those memorabilia's you kept of him that you could never throw away.

You come back to the table and sit across them as you place the picture in front of them, “You’ve met him already…”

Youta’s eyes widen, “Isn’t this…”

“Jiji?” Yuuto finishes, jaw slacken.

You couldn’t tell if they were happy or disappointed at all. Their faces were bare stripped of emotion, the only thing you detected was shock.

“It was never your otosan’s fault, I…” You shakily sighed, holding in the tears, “It was mine, I’m so sorry…I’m so so sorry…”

At that moment, you really didn’t know how you should face them or how you should explain it to them, you were so caught up in your fears and anxiety that you didn’t notice how soft their features became, “Will you tell us?” Youta asks.

You look them both in the eye.

“Will you tell us why where we’re older, kaasan?” Yuuto adds.

Your shaking ceased when you heard those words.

Ah yes, they were their father’s kids. Always so patient, always there to listen to you. How were you blessed with such good kids? You broke down a smile reserved just for them.

“Yes, when you’re ready and older.” You affirmed, bowing down in apology, “I hope you’ll be patient with me then.”

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#miya atsumu x reader #miya atsumu imagine #miya atsumu scenarios #miya atsumu fanfiction #miya atsumu #atsumu x reader #atsumu #atsumu angst #atsumu fluff #miya atsumu angst #miya atsumu fluff #haikyuu imagines #haikyu!! fanfics #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu scenarios #haikyuu headcanons #haikyuu angst #haikyuu fluff

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canary3d-obsessed · 4 years

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Restless Rewatch: The Untamed - Episode 02

Warning: Spoilers for all 50 episodes!

(Masterpost ) (Previous Episode) (Next Episode)

Donkey Riding

way ho and away we go, donkey riding donkey riding way ho and away we go, riding on a donkey

Wei Wuxian and Apple are doing their best for the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Xiao Zhan had trouble riding the donkey sitting side-saddle, so the Department of Questionable Practical Effects made him a fake leg to wear while riding regular style.

Can you spot it? It’s very hard to spot. It is very convincing.

Simple Pleasures

Wei Wuxian takes his time wandering up the nearest mountain, and half of the cultivators in the land also wander up this mountain because...Night Hunting! The cultivators are hot and thirsty from walking because they forgot that they all know how to fly.

Wei Wuxian relaxes by a well and listens to people stanning him.

Also

I’m going to say it: Wei Wuxian never met a drinking vessel he couldn’t blow.

Everything is Beautiful at the Ballet

The actress who plays A-Yan is named Zhang Linran. She probably has studied dance since she was 4 and now she gets her big break which turns out to be feeding an apple to a donkey. So let’s pause for a second to look at how beautifully she moves.

Reunions are Awkward, Part 1

Wei Wuxian meets up with one of his family members and it goes super well.

I...like Jin Ling? He’s much less of a douchebag than his dad, his uncles Jin, Jiang, and Mo (the three stooges), and every damn one of his Jin cousins. He’s genuinely brave (his Dad’s primary good quality) and his hair is on fleek. He’s still a whiny diaper baby, but I like him.

(much more after the cut!)

Then Jiang Cheng shows up, looking fine as hell and radiating peak arrogant-prick energy.

When he discovers that ‘Mo Xuanyu” stuck a piece of paper to Jin Ling, he tells the child to literally murder him. Excellent uncleing! A+++++ would recommend.

“In fact, literally murder anyone who uses Yiling Laozu’s tools, like talismans, lure flags, or spirit compasses - basically murder everyone in the Lan Clan plus those other fanboys we saw coming up the hill. Then get out there and make some friends, goddamn it!”

These nets full of cultivators on this daytime night hunt are the only time we ever see anything in a net during a night hunt. In fact dudes constantly go night hunting and the only prey we ever see is rock lady, murder turtle, and a couple of rag mops in the lake.

You Are Not Qualified to Speak to Me

Also radiating arrogant-prick energy on this occasion is Lan Wangji. He has been using pettiness as a weapon since long before he met this Jiang Cheng turkey, and he *brings it* when Jiang Cheng tries to have a conversation with him.

Letting your eyes wander everywhere except to his punchable face while you ignore his passive-aggressive questions? Quality work.

Dropping a silence spell on his child and then letting your own child explain it to him? Golden.

Lan Wangji is never ever going to forgive Jiang Cheng for what he did on cliff day, and his silence here is as pointed as an ice pick. I suspect the last words Lan Wangji actually spoke to him were “Jiang Wanyin, stop it,” sixteen years ago.

Jiang Cheng is actually the bigger person in this particular interaction, visibly mastering his temper and telling Jin Ling to take his medicine.

Reflecting

Wei Wuxian hangs out by a beautiful river and hallucinates for a while. River Jiang Yanli is nurturing and River Jiang Cheng is pissed off, so there are no surprises there. River Jiang Cheng thinks that Wei Wuxian is a promise-breaking douchebag. He’s not exactly wrong.

Courtesy of convenient gossiping cultivators, Wei Wuxian discovers that the 16 year old arrogant kid from the Jin clan who his brother from the Jiang clan has custody of is actually and quite obviously Jin Rulan.

Well fuck I guess now I care about something, that’s inconvenient.

Needing to help parent the child of the sister who parented him is what draws Wei Wuxian fully into his new life.

As soon as he has this realization, Apple comes back from roaming around, and never gives him any trouble after this for the rest of the story. Which...probably doesn’t mean anything.

Wen Gravesite

Does Wen Ning hang out here because it’s where he and his (dead) people came from? Oh great, now I am sad.

Judging by all the leaves on this grave thingy I’m going to say that this grave tender dude is, ah, not very good at his job.

Get him, Jingyi!

I feel like maybe we all focus too much on how Lan Jingyi is so hilarious and sardonic and not enough on how he is a such a biscuit.

Soul Grass

As mentioned in the previous post, Chinese spiritual concepts don’t always translate well into English. Soul grass? Sure, why not.

This is where Wei Wuxian’s Sherlock Holmes brain starts to work, although he still doesn’t remember really basic stuff about Dafan Mountain. Dying and changing bodies is rough on the old neurochemistry. This creates more opportunities for flashbacks, however, and if there’s one thing The Untamed deffo needs more of, it’s kissing flashbacks.

Temple Statue

Presumably grave-tender dude is also in charge of clearing away spiderwebs at the temple, because it’s not getting done.

Jin Ling walks into the temple blaspheming at full volume.

Since this isn’t a Greek story, he isn’t immediately struck blind for this. Then when he wishes for the statue to come alive, it obligingly does. Everything’s coming up Rulan!

Wei Wuxian shows up to rescue all the kids by throwing talismans at the monster which does not tip anyone off to who he is.

Baby Cultivator Babysitting

Lan Wangji chills out in the cultivators’ pavilion with Jiang Cheng and their mutual hate boners.

Meanwhile, Wei Wuxian forgets all about his nephew and turns into cool professor guy, explaining the basics of soul-eating to the baby cultivators and gleefully encouraging their fear of Hanguang-Jun’s punishments.

Because the Lan babies are good filial children they are super respectful and engaged with this random adult who is lecturing them. They also - like their own Hanguang-Jun at their age - see and admire Wei Wuxian’s intellect. It’s easy to forget how extremely smart Wei Wuxian is, because of how extremely dumb Wei Wuxian is.

Lan Jingyi suddenly figures out Wei Wuxian is not crazy.

Bis. Kit.

Then Rock Lady shows up and Jin Ling sticks 6 arrows into her while Lans Jingyi and Sizhui stand around not bothering to draw their swords.

I see a lot of comments about the bad effects in the statue sequences but I think Rock Lady is all right. The figure animation is decent and the lighting is no worse on her than on everything else in the scene. Her hair is nice, for a rock person.

Admittedly I just finished watching Guardian which has CGI monsters so bad they may have injured my retinas and possibly also my DNA, so the bar, for me, is pretty low. Rock lady clears it with room to spare.

Note: Wei Wuxian’s flute playing does zippity towards controlling the statue. Not sure what his plan was here.

Wen Ning Kicks Ass

Now we get to meet Wen Ning, who appears to be a stone-cold badass. Later we will discover how hilariously inaccurate that assessment is.

While all versions of Wen Ning are delightful, this version of Wen Ning is also...strangely attractive? He’s got a Patti-Smith-Horses-Era vibe here, instead of his more usual lost-baby-dork vibe. And his dreamy “I have nails in my head” expression is intriguing.

I mean, he’s not a total snack like zombie Song Lan or pre-zombie Song Lan or blind Song Lan or post-zombie Song Lan, but this look is a good one for Wen Ning, is what I’m saying.

Reunions are Awkward, Part 2

Lan Wangji, who has 99% already recognized Wei Wuxian because of the haunted sword and the fierce jawline and beautiful neck and tiny tiny waist, is summoned by his flute playing as inexorably as the Ghost General was.

Jiang Cheng also recognizes Wei Wuxian and goes into full beatdown mode, thwarted (silently) by Lan Wangji. Wei Wuxian attempts to preserve his incognito by sassing Jiang Cheng in as sibling-like a manner as possible.

Hanguang-Jun’s Pro-Ghost Agenda Has Been Clear for Some Time

This Jiang/Lan fight is hilarious when you consider the implications.

Macroexpression vs. Microexpression

Mo Xuanyu brought Wei Wuxian back using sacrifice summons, a dark ritual invented by Wei Wuxian that he, most likely, did NOT show to Lan Wangji back in the day. So it’s a pretty safe bet that Lan Wangji doesn’t know that Wei Wuxian was gifted a body, rather than stealing one.

when your brother turns around, you must whip him you will never live it down unless you whip him

When Jiang Cheng lets loose with Zidian, it’s not just because he’s angry. He’s using purple power to force Wei Wuxian’s ghost out of the body he’s apparently possessed. And Lan Wangji instantly STOPS him from doing that.

Clan Leader Jiang: this person has been possessed, against their will, by an evil ghost

Future Chief Cultivator Lan: Counterpoint: I am banging the ghost

Flashback Time

Welcome to your 30-episode flashback!

Once I used to join in Every boy and girl was my friend Now there's revolution, but they don't know What they're fighting

Let us close our eyes Outside their lives go on much faster Oh, we won't give in We'll keep living in the past

Road Tripping to Summer School

Gosh I’m looking forward to younger, kinder, more relatable Jiang Cheng.

...prick.

Incidentally, until now this episode didn’t know that Jiang Cheng has smile muscles, and neither did the person who glued his wig on for him.

I Like Rabbits

Here we have our first rabbit in a large collection of rabbit iconography that appears in The Untamed.

Instead of sending everyone to the Wikipedia page for Tu'er Shen I’m going to take this opportunity to rec the short film Kiss of the Rabbit God by Andrew Thomas Huang (tw: blood, tw:body-mod cutting) which you can read about and watch over at Nowness.com

Particularly if you are a queer person of Chinese heritage, check it out.

So. What the fuck are these? Are they food?

Are they made from wax? Or corn starch? or pig intestines?

Wei Wuxian runs off to get laid drunk and Jiang Cheng grumps about it. Jiang Yanli reminds him that being free is a Jiang Clan Rule, so really Wei Wuxian is following the rules by not following the rules. Does that mean he’s not free? My head hurts.

Jiang Cheng: yes but grump grump grump

Jiang Yanli: Nothing bad will ever happen because of A-Xian’s choices, trust me

Outro

Wei Wuxian faint tally: one Caught by: the cold hard ground

Soundtrack: 1. Donkey Riding by Great Big Sea 2. Living in the Past by Jethro Tull 3. Whip It by Devo

Fic prompt: Lan Wangji’s internal monologue while he sits in the pavilion with Jiang Cheng

If you write a fic from this prompt and want to share, please post a link in comments!

Bonus: Wang Zuocheng, macro-expression king

Episode 03 Restless Rewatch coming soon!

#the untamed #fytheuntamed #the untamed spoilers #the untamed gifs #the untamed stills #my gifs #my stills #restless rewatch #restless rewatch the untamed #canary3d-original #wei wuxian #jiang cheng #lan wangji #lan jingyi #c-drama #bl drama #the untamed memes

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turquoise-skyyyy · 4 years

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The Solution To Everything(Is Hair Dye)

Note: Human AU! First time posting writing on tumblr lmao, and I wanted to try a bit of a different writing style... so there’s that.

Just a little writing practice paired with Marellinh fluff n kinda angst ig :)

Word count: uhhh i went overboard

Blurb: Linh is lonely, with no one in the world left by her side, hurt, by all that she’s lost, and possibly has an ever-so-slight crush on her elusive blonde neighbor. Marella needs someone to dye her hair within the day, and Linh happens to have exactly what she needs, in more ways than one.

When Linh wakes late in the night, startled from her dozing state on the couch in her dimly lit living room to the sound of persistent knocking, she certainly doesn’t expect to find the blonde neighbor she’s been inconspicuously watching— she’s still trying to convince herself that casually watching the girl enter her house anytime she got the chance wasn’t stalking— for the past three weeks since she moved in next door to be on the other side. And when the panting girl in front of her sucks in a breath, Linh definitely doesn’t expect the words that spill from her lips—

“Can you dye my hair?”

Linh blinks with bewilderment, still trying to process that the girl is here, on her doorstep. Not to mention really, really pretty. Annoyingly so, to the point where Linh’s tired brain has to avert her eyes to focus on forcing her mouth to form words.

“What?”

The girl smiles apologetically, and suddenly Linh’s throat feels dry. The girl’s beauty is much more manageable from a distance, through subtle glances out of the corner of her eye across the hall.

“My roomates— screw them— dared me to dye my hair bright green by tomorrow. I lost a bet.” She looks away. “And you have green hair dye, so...”

Linh stares dumbly, trying to puzzle out how to respond to such a random, odd request. Though she moved into the apartment complex almost a month ago and her maybe sort of possible little crush lives just next door, her mind is still trying to register the fact that they have finally crossed paths. And the girl has come to her, no less.

“How do you know I have hair dye?” The hair dye is something she’s gotten to send to Tam. The silver in his hair is something he kept in long after she cut it off and cut off their parents. He still hangs on, and Linh wants to change that, even if they haven’t spoken in a year. She isn’t going to send it though, she knows. She always chickens out. Her brother’s silence for the past year isn’t easy to face. Still, she buys brightly-colored dyes frequently on the off chance that a lightning strike of confidence will hit her. It hasn’t happened yet, but it’s a comforting routine anyway.

The girl blushes, scratching the back of her neck bashfully and shifting from foot to foot. The movement draws Linh’s eyes to her shoes. They’re ratty sneakers, and upon closer inspection, it looks like there are messy, multi-colored words scribbled all over the sides. The weird shoes match the long, tacky rainbow socks that go up to her knees and the bright, tie-dye, too big sweater draped over her surprisingly small frame, with black leggings to top off the outfit underneath.

“Well, I saw you coming back in from the supermarket yesterday and there was a box of green hair dye poking out of the bags...” she trails off. “Oh my god. I sound like a stalker, don’t I? I swear I’m not.”

Linh can’t help the delirious, sleep-deprived giggle that escapes at the words. It’s ridiculous to her, that the girl she’s been following and observing as subtly as humanly possible because she’s just so pretty and Linh wants to know everything is the one worrying about being a creep.

The girl grins at her laughter, the question still burning in her eyes, which are an even brighter shade of blue than Linh realized up close.

She clicks her phone on, checking the time discreetly. It’s late, nearly midnight. The hair dye takes at least an hour, most likely more, to finish. She has an exam at nine the next day that she still hasn’t studied for and she hasn’t yet messaged Tam for her daily one-sided check-in that he never responds to, or even reads.

She looks back up at the girl with thin braids threaded through thick, golden locks, framing beautiful ice blue eyes set in a still blushing face, waiting for her at her doorstep with an open gaze and just maybe, an open mind.

Her stupid, fluttering heart makes a decision before her rational mind can catch up.

“Come on in.”

-ˋˏ *.·:·.⟐.·:·.* ˎˊ-

The girl, who introduces herself as Marella, asks her if she’s always so quiet.

Linh snorts, resisting the urge to point out that Marella is the one invading the house of a relative stranger in the middle of the night. Of course, there’s also the fact that she let her, and that isn’t even considering how flustered the blonde makes her. Especially in such close proximity, where she can smell the faint lavender wafting off her hair. Linh never would have pegged her for a lavender girl.

And when she leans closer to touch up the roots again, she realizes that Marella smells of something spicy. It’s good, comforting, like the home-cooked meals made with love that Linh only ever got to experience in other people’s houses because hers never truly felt like home, or the smell of wood when it was burned in a desperate attempt to keep the warmth in the winter because woolen hats and group hugs were never quite enough to warm everyone’s toes.

Linh has to remind herself to keep working her fingers through the hair.

-ˋˏ *.·:·.⟐.·:·.* ˎˊ-

Linh is thankful when the summer sun finally leaks away and is replaced by autumn wind. There’s something calming about the crisp air blowing through the hair that escapes from tightly-zipped thin hoodies and the leaves bleeding red and gold. She much prefers it to the heat of the summer, or the harshness of winter, the temperatures of which she can never quite escape from completely.

When she pulls open the doors to a nearby cafe and lets the smell of warmth and caffeine wash over her face, and falls into line to order, she isn’t expecting to be behind a girl with a mane of blonde hair that’s streaked through with bright green that hurt the eyes and small braids that sway when she shifts. And Linh’s weeks of watching from a distance pay off— and the hard-to-ignore green certainly helps— because she recognizes the girl immediately.

It’s Marella, sporting the new, significantly greener look that she gained by Linh’s own hands. Linh blushes at the reminder of the night weeks ago. She’s surprised to find that it was the first time she’s seen the girl since their unintentional night together. She’s been so occupied with settling in, getting organized, figuring out independence, and attempting to reach out to her absentee brother, that she hasn’t even noticed the girl’s absence. It seems her creeper skills have gotten rusty, which should make her happy but instead causes the barest amounts of disappointment to creep up. Even from afar, Marella is lively and brightens, or at least eases, the monotonous days that all seem to bleed into each other in one eternal, never-ending passage of pain.

“Hey!” Marella’s voice jolts Linh from her thoughts. “Nice to see you here!”

“H-Hi!” Linh stutters. She thinks the girl’s impossibly blue, intent gaze will always catch her off guard.

Her gaze shifts to the green in Marella’s hair, the harsh coloring softened by the sunlight streaming in through the windows of the cafe and bouncing off the bright strands.

“Your hair looks nice.”

Marella touches a hand to her neon green-streaked look and smirks. “All thanks to you.”

Linh’s cheeks warm at the praise. By the time they reach the orders taken down, Marella has somehow convinced Linh to sit and drink with her. She takes Linh’s wrist lightly and guides her to a table, an action that makes Linh’s face heat again. She looks down at the thin fingers encircling her arm to make sure she isn’t dreaming, and is elated to find that she isn’t.

And sitting in that booth, sipping their warm coffees and exchanging even warmer smiles, Linh’s romantic fantasies from afar suddenly seem a lot closer than she ever thought possible.

-ˋˏ *.·:·.⟐.·:·.* ˎˊ-

Linh isn’t sure exactly how she’s gone from watching her neighbor from a(very far) distance to being dragged into her unfamiliar apartment to be introduced to her roommates, but she can’t say she’s complaining.

As nerve-wracking as it is to be inside Marella’s house, she has to admit that the chance of pace from routine is something she would have been too scared to do herself. Had Marella not knocked on her door and practically shoved her out of her own with an evil grin on her face and into the girl’s shared one just minutes before, she might have stayed holed up in her own apartment forever, seldom leaving and only ever for basic necessities.

Patterns are nice, reliable, and most of all, consistent, something that Linh has never had before, and up until a year ago, had given up on attaining, but there’s something undeniably exciting about throwing caution to the wind and launching herself into a new situation.

However, there is the slight problem of said new situation happening to be making a good impression on her crush’s roommates, who are all staring down at her stoically in a solid line of four with their arms crossed and their gazes narrowed. It reminds Linh of the stereotypical movie tropes in which the overprotective dad interrogates the unnecessarily perfect Mary Sue’s new boyfriend when she brings him home for the first time, and she has to force herself not to laugh in the faces of the people glaring down at her. They’re all at least half a head taller than her, excluding the brunette girl, who has the most terrifying expression of them all on her face.

Three hours later, Linh is laughing tears of joy and drinking hot cocoa with whipped cream and cinnamon with the scary roommates in their warmly lit, cozy living room, who’s first impression couldn’t have been more wrong.

The scary-looking brunette girl isn’t actually one of Marella’s roommates, instead living with the other brunette, her brother, at home with their parents. Her name is Biana, she has an attachment to the color purple that everyone else seems to make fun of her for, and an affinity for randomly throwing out the others’ clothes and replacing them with ones she deems good enough to be seen out with.

Her brother, who’s name is Fitzroy— everyone teases him about this— is better known as Fitz. He is smart, put-together, and as Marella refers to him, their group’s resident “tired dad”. He’s dating Dex, the nerdy but sarcastic actual roommate of Marella.

Then there is Sophie, who was in the kitchen when Linh first came in, and Keefe, the former being Dex’s cousin and Marella’s second roommate who is constantly done with everyone’s shenanigans; Marella claims that Fitz, the actually responsible one, can never be bothered to do anything about their spontaneous endeavors most of the time. The latter, on the other hand, is the most mischievous of the bunch who Linh also knows the least about. His smiles and grins are the most abundant, but also the most weighted. Linh suspects there is a lot more to him than she’ll ever be able to fully grasp.

Linh’s surprised with how well she fits in with these people. They seem so much lighter and freer than her, a girl still tainted and chained down by the past and the experiences that came with it. They welcome her with open arms, and hours later, when dusk falls and it’s time for her to leave, the wrap her up in a hug and make her swear she’ll come back .She sinks into the hug, thinking that after knowing their light, she can’t possibly stay away.

Linh will forever owe all this new warmth in her life to Marella, who is perhaps the warmest of them all.

-ˋˏ *.·:·.⟐.·:·.* ˎˊ-

Fluffy blankets are good. Warm, cozy, comfortable, the kind of little thing in life that makes most people feel fuzzy feelings of nostalgia as they think back to the times they wrapped themselves up in warm blankets on the days they were feeling overwhelmed by the world, when they sat in messily-built blanket forts with their best friends and told scary stories during the devil’s hour with only a flashlight illuminating their evil grins, or the fights with their siblings to get the bigger portion of the blanket when they were forced to share a bed.

Unless that person is Linh, in which case all chances of that were stripped away by a pressured childhood where no room felt safe when her parents were near, friends were disapproved of, and anything that could knock the Song family from the top was discarded before either of the children could protest.

But whether it’s a childhood like Linh’s, or one where everything went perfectly, the fact can generally be agreed on: fluffy blankets are a good, good thing.

But Linh doesn’t think she was ever aware just how perfect fluffy blankets can be until they came piled in the arms of a blonde girl with tiny braids and green threaded through her waves at the door.

“Movie night?” Marella asks, wiggling a laptop in her other hand. “I noticed that you don’t have a TV yet.”

Linh lets her in, eager to spend more time with just her and especially eager to share another night with just the two of them. The idea of being in a dimly lit room wrapped in blankets with their bodies pressed together and only the light of a screen illuminating their faces doesn’t hurt either.

They curl up together on the couch without a second thought, as if they’ve been doing so all their lives. Linh adores the way Marella’s head fits in the crook of her neck like the last missing piece of a puzzle, and holds her breath as the blonde reaches across her and presses play on Netflix once they’ve settled.

When the girl falls asleep on Linh’s shoulder an hour later, she cuddles closer to the warmth of the fluffy blanket and her— crush, or love, maybe, she doesn’t know— pressing to her side.

-ˋˏ *.·:·.⟐.·:·.* ˎˊ-

As nice of a distraction as Marella and her strange roommates can be in the months that pass, Linh has to come crashing back down to reality at some point. And crash she does, when the banging on her door at nine o’clock at night opens to the face she knows as well as her own.

Her brother, approaching her for the first time in years, bringing nothing but news of their father’s death.

Linh knows she should be feeling something. That she should be falling to her knees and sobbing dramatically, like a protagonist in a drama novel, or maybe grabbing his hands and begging him to tell her that it isn’t true. Instead, when Tam bears the news, all she can do is match his emotionless expression. After all, what is there to feel?

And why is she in such desperate need of comfort when, truth be told, she feels no suffering?

She can’t explain her mind’s twisted way of thinking, but she does know that it’s what leads her next door, and what pushes her to throw her arms around Marella’s neck when she comes to the door decked in pajamas and those long, irritating rainbow-striped socks that she loves so much.

Linh likes to believe that it’s her petty grudge against the annoying socks that makes her cry on Marella’s shoulder that night, but hiding from the truth isn’t as easy as she likes to believe.

And when Marella wraps her in a fuzzy blanket that rains tufts of fine fluff on their heads and pulls her in close, Linh has a hard time believing fluffy blankets aren’t the answer to all the world’s problems.

Confidence has finally come to her, and she’s able to give Tam a box of hair dye before he leaves. She doesn’t know if he’ll use it, or when she’ll see him again, but the smallest spark of light in his eyes when he takes the dye and turns it over in his hand is enough hope for her.

-ˋˏ *.·:·.⟐.·:·.* ˎˊ-

When Marella appears at her door in the middle of the night this time, weeks since Linh’s father died and they last saw each other, Linh is surprised that she isn’t surprised. After all, surely there’s something seriously wrong if the only thing she says when someone comes knocking at her door at exactly three minutes past midnight is, “Did you bring the hair dye?”

She pulls the blonde inside softly, takes the fuzzy blanket still draped on her couch from their movie night, and wraps it around the girl’s shivering frame. Marella starts to sob on her shoulder. Her fingers wrap around Linh’s neck and latch onto her, bringing them both down to the carpet when her knees give. Linh immediately wraps an arm around her and holds her close.

Linh doesn’t know what’s wrong, but she does know that Marella is leaning on her for support, and she does know that she will always be here, for as long as the blonde might need.

When she finally stops crying and lets Linh reach gentle fingers to wipe her cheeks, and pulls out electric blue hair dye that brings a smile to both of their faces, Linh has a hard time believing that hair dye isn’t the cure for everyone’s sorrows.

-ˋˏ *.·:·.⟐.·:·.* ˎˊ-

Linh finds it funny that one can promise themselves one thing-- that they are going to try as hard as they can not to connect with others as a means of protecting themselves, for example-- but still end up breaking the promise if the right temptation crosses their path.

And her temptation? A certain blue-eyed blonde with now bright blue highlights who’s devious smirks and snarky words can snap Linh’s resolve in a second. She knows she should hate her for it, but surrounded by mischievous roommates with twinkling eyes and light smiles filled to the brim with warmth, she can’t help but snuggle closer to her weakness.

Her weakness, who is currently failing to dominate the board in a (not-so)friendly game of Christmas Monopoly. Marella informed her that it’s a holiday classic when she dragged her inside the house just an hour before, but judging by the rabid way the players are screaming at each other, Linh can’t say she agrees.

“What do you mean, the empire kind is the wrong kind?” Keefe screeches. “Duh, it’s easier!”

“For you, maybe! But it’s not the original!” Dex retorts.

Keefe jabs a finger at the board. “Then why are you still playing and why are you in second place?” He throws his hands up. “If you’re so mad about it, then stop playing and let the rest of us noncomplainers win.”

“Noncomplainers isn’t a word, Keefe,” Fitz says, idly shuffling the assortment of multi-colored money laid out in front of him. As banker, he’s the calmest and least angry of the bunch, though there’s something oddly menacing about the way he rearranges his money with careful, poised fingers.

Keefe, Dex, and Fitz are circled around the board, all nursing mugs of hot cocoa(which Linh has realized is a sort of trademark for them) in between bouts of shrieking, while Sophie left a little while ago to buy original Monopoly just in case Keefe and Dex destroy the board. Linh laughed when the exasperated blonde said it, but now she can see why it’s a legitimate concern.

Linh curls her cold feet in from her position on the long couch, and Marella automatically shifts the fluffy blanket they’re sharing to fully cover her toes again. Linh smiles up at her gratefully, and Marella offers a small smirk back. Then she goes right back to screaming. Linh debates calling Sophie and asking her to bring back ear plugs too.

“Whatever,” Biana scoffs. “You’re all sore losers.”

She is currently winning, as she has been for the entire game, and she glares down at the boys huddling around the game board from her perch in one of the armchairs.

And on it goes. At the end of the night, when Monopoly money is scattered on the floor and a smoking dinner that’s just a bit too salty is shared and hastily wrapped presents tied with glittery bows are exchanged(Marella is too impatient to wait for Christmas morning), Linh finds herself full of more love and joy than she thinks she ever has been in her entire life. There’s something oddly comforting about being with people who care for and accept her, even if it’s by default or association. Having someone who cares is a rare light in her life that most people take for granted.

Especially when there’s the smallest chance that the person who truly holds her heart returns her feelings.

-ˋˏ *.·:·.⟐.·:·.* ˎˊ-

It’s the night before Christmas and Linh can’t sleep.

It’s the tossing and turning type of ‘can’t sleep’, the kind where Linh lies awake long after dark waiting for her mind and conscience to stop running around in circles around her head, the kind where her insecurities grow claws and fangs and sink them in skin-deep, where there is no light slipping through the cracks to keep them at bay.

And Linh hates that kind of ‘can’t sleep’.

It makes her antsy, on edge, and the urge to pace itches at her feet. The unfamiliar surface of the floor of Marella’s bedroom only makes matters worse, and as softly as she tries to twist under the thin covers, it doesn’t take long for the rustling on the floor to alert the blonde girl dozing off above her.

Marella slides to the floor sleepily before Linh can whisper a protest and lands next to her on the mattress with a grunt. Linh rolls over to face her, and is startled by how close their faces are. She can count the light freckles on Marella’s nose and cheeks when she’s this close. Moonlight is streaming into the room through the cracks in the shutters of the window, painting streaks of glowing white on the blonde’s face. She always looks beautiful, but Linh finds there’s something especially intimate about her in this moment. The air is suddenly buzzing with palpable tension, making her palms go slick with sweat and her mind hyper-aware of every movement. She can’t take her eyes off Marella.

Then, girl of Linh’s dreams breaks the stillness, leaning forward and pressing soft, sleepy lips to her own.

She’s asleep by the time she draws away, but Linh is shaking with adrenaline. It’s the moment she’s waited for so long she can hardly think of a time where she didn’t want the blonde.

And yet.

Linh’s the kind of girl with baggage, with the kind of ‘skeletons in the closet’ that people run away screaming from, not because it’s scary, but because it’s messy. Complicated. It bogs everyone who knows down, making every action in her presence laborious and painful with the knowledge of her past. Even her brother, who once promised to be by her side forever, wouldn’t stay.

She knows it’s irrational, but suddenly she can’t imagine how to face Marella.

She slips out of the apartment in the early hours of the morning so Marella’s blue gaze can’t stop her from running away. But despite her misgivings, the insecurities that still haven’t retracted their claws, and the voice in the back of her head whispering that she has to have imagined it, Linh can’t stop touching a finger to her lips, long after she’s left the buzzing moonlit atmosphere that allows slips of self control under the cover of night.

-ˋˏ *.·:·.⟐.·:·.* ˎˊ-

It’s been weeks. Three weeks and five days, to be exact, and Linh still can’t figure out how to face her.

With every day that passes, she can feel the strong bonds they formed weakening. That’s one thing about relationships. They need an equal amount of effort. If Linh doesn’t put in enough, the object of her affection slips between her fingers before she can blink. That’s how she lost her brother, her friends, and any last semblance she might have had of “family”.

That is, until Marella.

She was persistent, even in the beginning, fighting to spend more and more time with a mildly resistant Linh, until she found it impossible to stay away. Her light is unlike any Linh has ever known, wild and fluid like an eternal flame that can’t be doused. That flame kept Linh alive for all these months, and yet here she is, ignoring it. Maybe even putting it through pain.

It takes a month, but it finally comes to her.

She realizes now that love isn’t something that affects only her, and that she isn’t the only one to win or lose in it. She isn’t the only person in love.

Love is two people, three people, ten people, a hundred people. Love is everyone who forces themselves into her life with the intent of staying no matter how dark it gets. Love is the flickers of light in the night and the bold streaks of sun in the morning. Love is the twinkling stars splattered across a purple painted sky.

Love is illumination. Love is clarity. Love is a path paved special, with different twists and turns for everyone.

Love is...

Marella.

Love is Marella.

-ˋˏ *.·:·.⟐.·:·.* ˎˊ-

Weeks of radio silence after months of talking nonstop is hard to bounce back from, and they both know this well.

But Linh comes back anyway. She comes knocking on Marella’s door exactly a month after they last talked, this time she being the one to approach at random in the middle of the night. When the door opens and she smiles apologetically, pressing a butterfly kiss to Marella’s forehead and pushing a big blanket and a bright, eye-melting color of hair dye into her arms in a silent apology, all Marella does is smile and pull her back in for a real, proper kiss.

Yeah, neon green and fluffy blankets are the solution to everything.

#i did a thing #well this was fun #kotlc #kotlc au #marella redek #linh song #marellinh #the amount of times i wrote 'marellinh' instead of marella is ridiculous #i refuse to go through and edit this again #skyyyy'swriting

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shelby-love · 5 years

Text

CONNOR RHODES

An attempt at being low key.

Requested: yes

Prompts: none

Warnings: none

Authors note: Son's name is Isaac. I don't like the end but hey.

"It was that bad?" Connor asked for the twentieth time. With a mug of coffee in his hand he leaned against the counter of your marble kitchen and sighed.

"He told me as soon as he got in the car." You tell him again. Your husband let's out a wow.

Your 5 year old son Isaac came from Pre-K and told you several kids had asked him if his dad owns the big Dolen Rhodes department store their mom's buy clothes at.

"Tell me again how do those kids know about the store?" Connor snorted when he saw your mortified expression because he wasn't taking you seriously. You reached for the spatula that was on the counter but stopped immediately once you saw your baby son standing by the fridge in his pj's.

Connor placed his mug on the counter immediately and tackled your son in a big hug while smiling brightly.

You take that moment to put the spatula away.

Isaac, who was sleepy three seconds ago is now a little ball of energy. He's laughing and giggling in his dad's arms too happy and excited to notice you.

"Isaac what about mommy?" You pout and try to get your sons attention. You hear Connor say no but when Isaac starts to squirm he eventually let's you take your son in your arms.

You shower your baby in good morning kisses and eventually let him stand on his own feet.

Mornings like this are always amazing. Connor gets to say goodbye to Isaac before he leaves for work.

You gaze over at your husband and then look at the clock. "Honey?"

"Mhmmm?" He says, too occupied with his son to notice the clock.

"You're late."

"I'm what?" Like he doesn't believe you, he turns his head to look at the clock. "Shit."

You look at him with the look that clearly says that you'll kick him with the spatula if he doesn't stop using language. "Look buddy... I gotta go now but I'll be back before you know it and then we'll hang out okay?"

Isaac nods and bids his dad goodbye, Connor downs the rest of his coffee before leaning in to kiss you. "I'll be back before you know it."

"Yeah, yeah.. You better." You feel like a high school girl when you're by his side. He grabs his car keys and practically runs out of the house in his black doctors attire.

"Isaac sweetie... Tell me more about the kids from yesterday."

***

You're currently sitting on your big sofa and watching your son draw. Isaac is switching between his colored pencils faster than some five year olds. He informed you that he's drawing you and Connor with him in his room.

Since you're not allowed to look and there's nothing fun on the TV, you let your eyes roam around the bright room until they fall on something that looks a lot like a wallet.

You stand up and walk towards the object that caught your attention until you make out the shape and realize it's Connor's wallet.

You take it in your hands and look through it. His ID, credit cards, drivers license, cash and a family picture of the three of you alongside a picture of you two back in the day when you were still dating... Everything is neatly stored inside. He forgot it.

You sit back down and think about what you want to do with it. Bringing it to him sounds normal and reasonable only nobody knows you're even married. You think about what will happen when you get there. How will you ask them to let you see Chicago Med's gem without telling them you're his wife.

Why you're keeping this a secret it's because of your son. The exact reasons from this morning. His last name alone raises questions and you and Connor just don't want him to go through the recognition he will have to go through once people find out.

But you also talked about that when your son turned five. He told the other kids off, he stood up for himself and that's absolutely amazing.

"What's that?" You ask Isaac and point to a grey building on his drawing.

"The hospital. Dad helps sick people there." He says proudly.

"Do you want to visit dad with mommy?"

He rises his head immediately and beams at you. His soft curls start bouncing when he begins to nod happy about your proposal.

"Let's go get dressed then."

***

"Look mommy loook!" You glance at your hyper son through the rear-view mirror. You're pretty sure Connor gave him a full tour of the famous hospital because he recognized it the moment you parked the car.

"Are you excited?" You ask him with the same amount of energy he answers it. You check your purse to see if you have Connor's wallet before you exit your car and help Isaac out.

Hand in hand you two make your way to the ED where you know your husband is currently at as he's on trauma today. The waiting room is not full so there isn't a big line.

A middle aged woman sits at the desk, she smiles warmly at Isaac before turning her attention to you. "How can I help you today?"

"We're here to see doctor Rhodes?" You say nervously.

"Do you have an appointment? I'll let you know that doctor Rhodes is on trauma today." She tells you information you already know. "I'll tell you what. Why don't you give me your name and I'll give him a call, he should be starting his break right now. You're in luck."

You try to act surprised. Its not like you planned your visit while he's on his break.

"Y/N. Y/N Rhodes." The woman raises an eyebrow, probably shocked.

It took her a few seconds to compose herself before she eventually stood up and went to fetch your husband.

Isaac shifts his weight from one foot to another, its a clear sign that he's tired of standing. Thankfully the woman returns and the doors slide open. Behind her, Connor is beaming as he takes in the sight of you.

"Daddy!!!" Isaac runs straight into his dad's embrace. Like every time Connor catches him and wraps his arms around the miniature Connor. You can definitely see that they're a father and son.

"Hey buddy! What are you doing here?" He asks once both of them are calmed down. Isaac looks at you, "Mommy say you forgot your wallet!"

To prove it you grab the wallet from your purse and show it to him. Connor gives you his little eye roll and greets you with a kiss "I bet you did it on purpose."

"I did it because I didn't want the police to arrest you because you don't have your license." You give him a smile before adding, "Also we were trying to be low key. Weren't we Isaac?"

Isaac's smile falls as soon as he rememberes what you told him in the car. "Okay Isaac. We need to be really quiet, we're surprising dad. No one can know okay?"

"It was an attempt, I'll give you that." He says. "Look let me put the wallet away and then we'll go get some food in the cafeteria."

You give him a look that he completely dismisses. "Now that you're here I want to show you off to the whole world. C'mon."

With Isaac in his hold and your hand in his the three of you make your way through the overly curious ED all the way to the doctor's lounge. Connor puts Isaac on the ground and he immediately runs to the couch in the corner.

"How's work so far?" You ask him while you lean against the couch.

"I was mostly invisible until you showed up," both of you look outside the comfort of the lounge. Every set of eyes is trained on you.

Still dazed you say, "Yeah I somehow doubt that babe." Your eyes are trained on a beautiful dark skinned lady in the nurse attire who's looking at you curiously.

"Just trust me." He places his hand on the small of your back and helps you and Isaac out.

"Yes ladies and gentlemen this is my wife Y/N and our son Isaac. You can take a picture, it'll last longer!"

You turn and exit the stunned ED.

#chicago med imagine #chicago med fanfiction #chicago med #connor rhodes fanfiction #connor rhodes imagine #connor rhodes

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be-the-spark-flyboy · 4 years

Text

Hard Feelings

Call It What You Want (8/?)

Series Masterlist

Pairing: Poe Dameron x Reader

A/N: this slow burn is annoying even me

Chapter Summary: Thank god for Rey

Warnings: swearing, sed Poe

Word count: ~2k

It isn’t the ideal weather for a walk but Beebee seems thrilled at the prospect despite the cold. His tiny boot-clad paws pattering alongside Poe, forever his loyal companion. The park isn’t completely void of human traffic, though it’s a lot busier when it is warmer.

Poe finds a seat far enough from the road and the sound of traffic while Beebee happily traipses through the frozen ground looking for stray twigs and running in circles chasing his tail. Poe watches him play, entirely in his own world.

Poe started the day feeling anxious about talking to you. Then he was disappointed that he couldn’t get you to meet up with him. He was mad at himself for kissing you instead of telling you that he broke up with his now ex-girlfriend first. Now after seeing you with Ben is he supposed to be mad at you for letting him kiss you? It hurt seeing you with Ben and all the resentment he felt was directed towards him and not you.

Who’s to be blamed for this? What was he supposed to do now? How was he supposed to feel? If there was one clear emotion he felt atop of everything else, that would be confusion.

Poe whips out his phone, dialling the one person that could make him feel better. It doesn’t take long for his dad to pick up the phone.

If only there weren’t so many miles between them. The distance isn’t new to him. Poe spent so many years of his life wishing he wasn’t so far from his dad, wishing he could just run to him whenever he wanted to instead of settling for a phone call. But that never stopped him from seeking out comfort from Kes Dameron.

The first question he asks once Poe greets him is, “What’s wrong, Poe?” Looks like nothing escapes his dad’s notice. Is he that transparent? It must be the years of experience dealing with his constant moods over the phone. Poe sighs, rubbing his temples with his free hand.

“Nothing. It’s just, there’s just a lot going on,” he answers. “How are you?” Kes recognizes the weariness in his son’s voice right away. It isn’t the first time he’s hearing it.

“I’m fine, just had lunch,” Kes begins to tell him about his day then quickly launches into a story about how a few people from his work covered his coworker’s car with post-it notes as a prank a few days ago.

His voice feels like a warm embrace in the unforgiving cold. Suddenly Poe is taken back to his childhood home, sitting by the fireplace watching with rapt attention as his father spun tales about anything and everything.

In his presence, nothing could harm him. Nothing could stand against Kes Dameron’s dogged determination to make his loved ones happy. The events of his day slowly become a distant memory in Poe’s mind as he laughs along with his dad.

“Better now?” Kes asks after a while.

“Yeah, thanks dad,” He did feel better.

“You still don’t wanna talk about it?”

“Not right now, no,” Maybe not ever, he thinks. Would it be so bad to just forget about everything?

“I’m here if there’s anything you need, okay?” Kes offers. His words bring a smile to Poe’s face.

“I know dad, I love you,” Not the worse day. He’s had worse before, he was fine.

Beebee nudges his feet as he hangs up, bored of playing with stray twigs by himself. Or maybe he was just cold. Poe lifts the corgi onto his lap, tucking him into his jacket, his head adorably jutting out. Beebee headbutts him on the chin.

“Looks like I need a shave, huh?” Poe asks him. “Actually, I think I’m gonna let it grow out a bit more,” He says, running his palm over his face, the light stubble grazing against his palm. Beebee looks up at him, tilting his head to one side as if he was pondering it.

“You think that’s a good idea?” Beebee lets out a small yip in response. “Yeah? Okay, then. I guess we’re growing a beard,”

—-

Poe never texted you after. It had been a few days since the kiss you really wanted to forget about but couldn’t. But you still needed to talk to Poe. You didn’t want to avoid him forever, neither could you pretend like nothing happened especially after running out of the house like that. You figured that he’d want to meet you some other time but he never texted again.

You think about asking Rey about him when she comes over in a few minutes. She’d help you. But you’d have to tell her about kissing Poe, assuming Poe hadn’t already told the two of them, which seemed impossible.

You use the remaining few minutes to tidy up a few things around the house, trying not to think too hard about anything. It was just Rey, she is your friend, she will help you.

At the sound of the doorbell, Jessika springs up from her seat to get to the door. “Rey!” You hear them enthusiastically embrace, having not seen each other since the new year's party.

“We getting pizza, or do you guys want something else?” You ask and you get a chorus of agreement as a reply.

“I got us some wine,” Rey grins, pulling out two bottles from her bag.

Two hours and two large pizzas later, the three of you sit squeezed together in the couch, a movie droning in the background that none of you pays attention to. The alcohol draws more giggles from you as you sip wine from ceramic mugs, well into the second bottle by the time you finish your dinner.

Jessika animatedly recounts the story of how she saw the most attractive person in the world in the coffee shop that morning. Having already heard that particular story always twice, your attention slips away to your earlier dilemma. The wine certainly boosts your confidence ‘cause you’re sure you never would’ve gotten the words out if you were sober, but you dive headfirst into the question without any warning.

“Did Poe, um, tell you anything about the other night?” You hesitantly ask her just as Jessika finishes her story, absentmindedly picking at a thread on the blanket. “You know when you were at the dentist and I came over?”

“Before you say anything, I need to tell you that Poe broke up with Sarah weeks ago,” Rey interrupts you before you start on a downward spiral talking a million miles per hour. She’s glad you brought it up, because how was she supposed to ask you if you kissed her childhood best friend/ roommate?

You remain eerily silent for the while after whispering an oh at the revelation. Weeks ago? Long before he kissed you. Why didn’t he just tell you that? Oh, wait, because you ran out of the house after that and avoided him. You certainly owe him an apology.

Normally Rey is content sitting back and watching the drama unfold in people’s lives around her. But this was two people she really cares about, running circles around each other. Technically, meddling is justified if the parties involved were both dumbasses, right? And the only possible way to do that was to throw all the facts out in the open, hoping it would clear some things for you and at the same time try not exposing Poe too much.

“The guys saw you and Ben the other day at the diner. They had to leave before they could say hi, though,” Rey tells you.

“Oh,” That was something you didn’t expect her to say. “You know Ben?” You ask voicing out the first question in your mind.

“Yeah, he’s Poe’s godmother’s son,”

“Oh!” You suddenly exclaim. “He is Ben. It’s the same person! Ben Solo is Leia Organa’s son?” Rey nods laughing at your surprise. “I didn’t think he was that Ben, you know because they don’t have the same last name,”

“Are you dating him?” She asks.

“What? No. We’re just friends,”

“She’s not dating Ben, she’s meant to be with Poe!” Jessika cries out, dramatically flopping over the backrest

“Shut up, Jess,” you groan as Rey joins her, cackling. A thought hits you from nowhere all of a sudden. One you don’t like all that much.

“Does Poe think I’m with Ben?” Rey answers with a high-pitched, drawn-out, ‘maaaaybe?’ and you want to crash your head against the greasy pizza box. “I’m too sober for this,” You settle for draining the remaining wine from your cup instead.

“Why do they hate each other that much anyway?” You ask after a while. Sure, Poe mentioned some childhood animosity between him and Ben. But it looked like it was much more than that.

“Oh honey, you need more wine for that,” Jessika pours more into your cup, refilling hers and Rey’s as well. Of course, Jess would know. You would’ve asked if you weren’t too busy trying to stomp down your feelings for Poe.

“Sarah cheated on Poe with Ben,” Rey casually responds.

You splutter into your cup, almost choking on the liquid. “What?” Rey nods solemnly.

That was just great. Now you have to explain to the guy you like that you are not dating the guy whom his ex cheated on him with. And Ben. What was he thinking?

“How did that happen?” You ask.

“Well, it was early in their relationship,” Rey shrugs. “She convinced Poe not to dump her sorry ass after that,”

“Jesus,” You breathe. No wonder everyone hates her so much. “Oh god, what do I do now?”

---

“Stop that,” Snap nudges Poe who ignored him and continues to click his pen incessantly against his notebook. “You’re fucking annoying, what’s the matter with you today?” Poe tosses his pen on the table.

“It’s nothing,” He replies half heartedly. Snap knows that isn’t the case. He knew the last time his mood was this sour. But he was no longer dating Sarah, so...

“Is it Ben again?” Poe’s eyes immediately flicks up to the man in question sitting a few rows before him, shooting a withering glare to the back of his head. That is answer enough for Snap.

“What did he do this time?” The question comes from behind Poe this time as Kare leans forward between the two of them.

“It’s none of your business, Kare,” Snap tries to shoo her away. “And you two should pay attention, I’m not sharing my notes with you again,”

“Shut up, I’m not talking to you,” She waves him off, directing her attention back to Poe as Snap rolls his eyes at her. Poe angles himself to face her as he tells them both about what he saw at the diner.

“That doesn’t really mean she like him, right? She kissed you,” Snap interrupts.

“I thought you were paying attention to the lecture?” Kare snaps at him.

“Shut up, I’m not talking to you,” Children, Poe thinks.

“She was wearing his jacket,” He continues, ignoring their bickering. “And she blew me off to go get lunch with him,” he shrugs. “It adds up,”

“Do ya’ll mind? Some of us come here to study,” Hux sharply interrupts from beside him, looking down his nose at the three of them. Signature sneer on his pasty face.

“Sorry Hugs,” Poe drawls, turning to the front.

He manages a few productive minutes of actually paying attention before his phone chimes in his pocket earning another glare from Hux. He rolls his eyes, pulling his phone from his pocket to switch it to silent. Then the notification catches his eyes. You texted him. Curiosity gets the best of him and he opens it.

Hey, sorry I couldn’t make It for lunch the other day. Would you like to go today?

Did he want to anymore? He had half a mind to blow you off. That may be a little petty but it definitely sounded appealing. Poe places his phone back in his pocket. He’ll just text you after class.

—-

The Dameron taglist (open): @writefightandflightclub @arkofblake @yougottakeeponkeepinon @multifandomlife22 @skymerons @smol-peter-parker @rae-rae-patcha @demigod-dragonrider-schoolidol @spider-starry @hkmultifandom @cloud-leader @elmoakepoke @staringmoony @valhallavalkyrie9 @the-cry-of-youth @liadamerondjarin @m1rkw00dpr1ncess @takemepedropascal @xremember-me-notx @softly-sad @loserbelle @littleeuphoriaelf @missmadwoman @gottalovethefandom @seejayyou

#poe dameron #poe x reader #poe dameron au #poe dameron x reader #poe #poe fic

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dragonrajafanfiction · 3 years

Text

Inner Demons

Ten minutes after midnight, Zihang felt the sudden rise in Carli’s chest that signaled another nightmare. It stirred him out of sleep and he woke up, already cradling her out of instinct, one arm curling about her shoulders under the blanket. He still hadn’t fully awakened but he could feel her pulse under his hand.

Her body suddenly jolted and she whimpered. Fully awake now, Zihang sat up slightly. Her hand was over her mouth.

“You alright?”

“I bit my tongue.”

“You were probably grinding your teeth…” Zihang only obliquely referred to her frequent nightmares, eager to help her move her mind away from them. “Let me see.”

She looked at him with a surprised innocence and then stuck out her tongue.

“It’s still there.”

She let out a whistling laugh. “Don’t tease me when I’m just awake. It’s not fair.” She turned away, bashful.

“Do you want some warm milk?” He asked, kissing the back of her shoulder.

“Yes please.” She flipped the covers over her face.

He poked her ribs through the blanket just to hear her giggle. Once he was certain she wasn’t overly upset, he walked away. Still, he called from the kitchen. “Soy or Almond?”

“Almond!”

“Do you want cinnamon with it this time?”

“...yes.”

“...one spoon of sugar?”

“...Yes!”

Her voice sounded alright. It was a promising sign. When she’d returned from her island project, she was exhausted for three days, not getting out of bed. A sneak peek at her arm revealed a very light scarring through her tropical-sun tanned skin where needles had been inserted, likely to draw her own blood.

Her blood had special properties to suppress instability in hybrids, but the effects were temporary, at most, lasting two weeks. It was likely that she was making frequent draws and banking them.

She was giving so much of herself.

This thought filled his head as he watched the timer on the microwave countdown. Caring for her like this gave him scant comfort. Her energy was back. They had returned to their morning workouts, their training, their routine. At first, this warmed him inside to new levels. He truly had missed her. But the deeper he dove into the familiar, the more he found himself in strange waters.

Despite all their trauma, these nightmares weren’t as frequent before. Carli would find herself lost in thought more often, forgetful, and, worst of all, self condemnatory. She apologized more. She needed more reassurance that he was not angry when there was never going to be any situation that he could ever feel angry with her.

The microwave beeped and he opened it up and checked the heat. It was true that she had left him for an extended period, but he had coped. Her apology wasn’t what he wanted.

What he wanted, he wasn’t sure he could ask of her.

He returned to her room with the milk. She was sitting up, on her phone, but quickly put it away when he entered the room. “Is Ru’Yi alright?”

“How did you know that was her?” She watched him move around the bed. “She’s on some school vacation. Apparently a cruise.”

“Where?”

“She didn’t say. Only she was accompanied mostly by ‘neato Africans.’” Carli said, making airquotes. She accepted the milk with a quiet thanks.

He sat down next to her, dressed in nothing but a pair of blue boxers. She leaned against him and he rested one hand around her waist. “She really has grown up well. You did a good job.”

“I did half a good job, Zihang. Team effort.” She elbowed him slightly.

“It wasn’t really effort. I enjoyed it. Very much.” He glanced at her to gauge her reaction.

“You’re a good dad.” She said, mentally lost in some memory. She tilted her head up at him. “We should visit her when she gets back. I’m sure they’ll let us back on campus.”

He hadn’t told her about his infiltration of the campus without authorization. Hopefully, it wasn’t recorded. “Probably.”

“What do you mean probably?” She put the cup back on the side table and shuffled back beneath the blankets. “You got some sort of record?”

“Not as far as I know.” He reached over to tuck her in. He then kissed her forehead. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

“Okay…” She whispered. “Love you.”

“Love you.” He turned out the light.

He closed the door behind him as he left and grabbed his phone from the hall charger. Then, he made his way to Ru’Yi’s old room.

She’d taken many of her belongings with her. Her laptop was no longer on the desk and her favorite pillows and blankets were gone. The night stand and many of her clothes that were in it were missing. Indentations were left in the carpet where they had been.

Zihang leaned against the doorway, letting the thoughts run their course. No matter how good of a father Carli thought he was, he couldn’t help but regret that he’d stumbled out of the gate. Carli never blamed him for his supernatural banishment for Ru’Yi’s first few months of life, but that didn’t change the fact that he’d missed her birth, missed holding her. Her earliest childhood photos was her in the arms of another man.

Zihang wanted another chance. Would Carli allow him that? He had asked before, and her response was that it was just too dangerous. Now though, she had a breakthrough for her treatment for the over concentration of dragonblood. Was it too early to ask?

If her reaction to asking about her first child - a dull, deeply painful silence - was any clue for the answer to that question, that answer was yes. Zihang had not followed her into the red well. He’d fought his hardest to install high powered explosives to stop an influx of dead waiters into Japan. He’d blacked out, completely exhausted.

When he woke up, he found out that Carli had been horrifically injured. Lu Mingfei and Gen Chisei weren’t much better off. Everyone else that had entered that well had died. For days, Carli experienced uncontrollable bouts of crying. That’s when he’d learned about her inability to save her child. As a comfort, he offered to adopt him as his own and have a little funeral ceremony for him.

There was no body buried underneath that headstone behind Norton Hall. Just a few baby clothes, a pacifier and toys he would never get to enjoy. Along with that, they buried a note that said, “Mommy and Daddy loved you.”

Carli spent her pregnancy with Ru’Yi in terror that something similar might happen to her. She would lie awake at night, tormented by the memory of her over threshold child and projecting that onto scenarios about the future.

Recalling these things, Zihang felt that he was selfish every time he desired a son.

He looked down at his phone. Perhaps if he could figure out a little bit more about what happened, he could overcome this foolish desire of his. Carli had left him an important clue.

He scrolled down to a blank number on his phone, one only he would recognize, and dialed it. It rang once, twice, a third time. Then it picked up. There was such a long silence on the other end that Zihang started to wonder if he’d been disconnected, but then a deep voice answered him. “What happened?”

Zihang was caught a bit off guard. Was it foolish of him to call for such a petty reason? He had no reason to believe that Chisei would be happy to hear from him. They weren't particularly close. “Is this a bad time?”

“I’m assuming you were calling about your wife. I can’t imagine any other reason you’d want to talk to me.”

“Not even about the swords?”

A pause. “Okay that’s another reason…”

“But this is about Carli. Do you have a few minutes?”

“Tell me what happened.”

“I wanted to know what happened in the Red Well.”

“She hasn’t told you?” Surprise colored his voice.

“No. It’s too painful for her. If I ask her about it, she shuts down.”

“Even after all this time…” He wondered outloud.

“You’re not subject to the rules of the Executive Department any longer as well.” Zihang added.

“I swore to non-disclosure, but because it’s you, and you’re no longer affiliated with Cassell’s Enforcement Division, I’ll make an exception. What do you want to know?”

“I want to know specifically about what happened to her child.”

“Some things are better off unknown. You saw how she reacted to the events. Your knowing what happened will affect you needlessly.”

“I have suffered enough loss to last a dozen lifetimes. I can tell you from experience that not knowing is far worse than knowing," Zihang replied.

Chisei kept a thoughtful moment of silence and then sighed deeply. “While I organize my thoughts, why don’t you tell me what you know about the child?"

Zihang tilted his head slightly. Was he hesitating? Chisei’s personality was not robotic or unfeeling. He just pushed those emotions aside. Hearing that he needed to organize his thoughts reminded him of Carli’s reaction. Her mind would immediately jump to the worst of her ordeal.

“He is of the genetic material harvested from her under duress by the Comemnus Corporation. Herzog bought it in an auction. Her egg was combined with another man’s sperm in an effort to make someone who could turn into a full-blooded dragon. Albeit a weak one. That man was initially assumed to be you, but could have also been your brother.”

“It was my brother. He was Chime’s son.”

Zihang was silent, letting that knowledge sink in. “Does Chime know?”

“No. And you’re not to tell him. It would just give him yet another reason to hate me.”

Zihang privately thought that Chime would be just as angry such knowledge was kept from him. “He was in the Red Well to harvest the White King leech?”

“By the time I arrived, the baby had already been given dragonblood and converted into a monster. There was no way to rescue him from the start. But Carli couldn’t control her maternal instincts. When I tried to kill the baby, she fought me with all her strength. The wounds I received were inflicted by her. Not Herzog. Thanks to her interference, Herzog was able to get the upper hand.”

“He pinned her to the ground with my sword through her. He drained the child’s blood right in front of her eyes... while she screamed at him.” He paused. “That’s all I remember.”

Zihang leaned against the wall, the phone held to his ear, finally understanding why she was rendered so speechless, the heart ache, the nightmares, the deep and unrelenting grief. “How did… how did she escape?”

“I don’t know.”

“Is the child’s body still down there?”

“Even if it was, what would you do with it?”

“We didn’t have a body to bury. She seemed very heartbroken about that. I want to help her.”

Chisei laughed softly. “Closure, huh?”

“If not closure… I can at least grant her a means to move forward.”

“That’s not something you can grant Zihang. When I agreed to assist her in ending the inherent cruelty when it comes to handling hybrids like her child, I thought she meant the human experimentation required to get someone overthreshold. This need for greater and greater purity, pushing that threshold between human and dragon, is what creates these people in the first place. Treatments were an attractive option as well, but I never really bought into it. A cure for the madness that turns them into a Dragon’s servant would cause the opposite effect -- The deliberate creation of hybrid monsters with the sole purpose of using them as weapons.”

The tension rose even as his voice lowered in a growl. “You know what happened in Japan, how threatened Tokyo was when Erii got out from under Hydra supervision. Can you imagine a world filled with monsters like her? But Carli didn’t listen to me, because I had no other solution than death for them. She thought she could do better. She’d made her mind up. If you want to help her move forward, help her let go of that fantasy.”

Zihang felt himself growing colder and colder inside at these words. The hope of ever having a second child grew more remote.

“That’s all I want to say about it. I hope you call me again with a more pleasant subject.”

Zihang found his voice. “Thank you. I will think on your words.”

“You’re a logical person, Zihang. Clear eyed. I’m sure you’ll be able to succeed where I failed. I understand her feelings, but I can’t tolerate them. Not on something as crucial as this. She wasn’t born or raised as a hybrid. And, if I’m to understand correctly, neither were you. You’re better able to sympathize with her without losing sight of the truth. I hope you get her to understand. If she succeeds… I can’t imagine what she’ll unleash on to this world.”

---

In the Atlantic, on the opposite side of the churning clouds that signaled the awakening dragon, another vessel bobbed in the waves. It was much smaller than the Aido-Hwedo Aircraft carrier and it’s presence was lost in the massive radar noise caused by the dragon’s stirring. The anomaly had grown to hurricane size but unlike a hurricane, it was completely immobile. The waves it was kicking up tilted and tossed the boat like a bath toy, but it stayed afloat.

Tom had to lean against the wall to keep from falling over as he made his way to the mess, that is, the kitchen. He didn’t know anything about nautical terms, but he was learning bit by bit, coached by Ms. Sakatoku and Zero who were captaining the ship.

He heard a sound, a single foot fall on the metal step. He whirled but she was already on him, like an attacking shadow with terrifying eyes, blue irises with red pupils in a face that was completely black as though covered in ink. She hit him like a battering ram, slamming him into the metal wall of the ship.

He closed his hands around her neck and held her teeth away from his face. Her hot breath hit him, she was so close. He could scarcely breathe for fear. He pushed upward with arms made powerful by hours of flight time until she fell all the way back slamming her head to the floor.

Her claws flashed by his neck and he ducked away but they caught his collarbone and dug in. He scrambled off her, bleeding down his torn shirt.

She didn’t attack again. She turned and ran up the stairs, leaving Tom trembling.

Appetite gone, he stumbled back up to the deck, whimpering and bleeding, casting nervous eyes behind him. She must have been waiting for him on the stairs to come down to breakfast. “Mr. Lu! Mr. Lu! Cadance attacked me again!”

Despite the morning light, the skies above were as dark as early evening. Mr. Lu was standing on the deck in a long trench coat, staring out over the water. Tom’s nose caught the scent of tobacco. A curl of smoke rose up from a cigar in his mouth. Tom paused. He’d never seen Mr. Lu smoking before. Mr. Lu shook his head slowly. “Attack her back. She only does it because she knows she can get away with it. You don’t see her attacking Kasio...”

When Tom didn’t answer, he faced him fully. “You’re still suppressing it. That’s good in a way but in the end, unless you embrace that side of you, you’re just going to die.”

Tom lowered his eyes. “I’m sorry, sir.”

“Don’t apologize to me. Apologize to the people who will mourn you when you’re gone.”

Tom lifted his head in shock. Mingfei Lu’s tone was warm but his words were like a winter wind.

Mingfei made no attempt to comfort him or even check on his injury. He merely stood there, watching him with copper colored eyes. “Let me tell you a story, about when I first got onto Cassell grounds.” He tapped his ashes over the railing of the boat. “I was completely overwhelmed. They had just opened up the Day of Liberty and all around me was gun fire. Everywhere a bullet hit a person, they would fall, stained with red, just like a dead man. I thought the people around me were dying. I laid down, hoping to pretend to be among the dead.”

He chuckled. “I didn’t fool one person… the person I was in love with. She stood over me, recognized me, smiled at me. I thought I was saved. And then…” He simulated with his hands, a gunshot. “She was taken out.”

“But she was still alive right…?”

“Yeah but I didn’t know that!” The amber in his eyes faded but then came back with glowing brilliance. “I burned inside. I thought they’d killed the only person I… Even now.” Mingfei’s chest rose and fell.

“I took the gun from her and killed the person who had shot her. Then I turned it on the two people in front of me. Caesar Gattuso and Chu Zihang, the top students in all of Cassell College and presidents of the most prestigious clubs. Caesar I didn’t know, so I shot him first. Zihang…” He paused briefly. “He recognized me, called my name. Even though he was stronger than me, faster than me… even though he knew I was the weakest of the weak in high school and he had faced down the strongest in Cassell and beyond. He met eyes with mine, he dropped his weapon and surrendered, even though he knew my weapon was fake. Why do you think that is?”

Tom stood quietly.

Lu Mingfei puffed his cigar. “I shot him anyway. The past didn’t matter, the future didn’t matter.” He turned back to the waves and leaned against the rail. “Carli… Carli… you can’t sleep and it’s making me upset.” He muttered.

Tom wondered if perhaps Lu Mingfei was losing his mind. Tom’s concern certainly wasn’t pressing at the moment. “Alright.”

“When you get breakfast, be sure to bring some to Kasio as well. Ask Zero where he is on the ship. Probably in one of the maintenance crawls.”

#Class of 2032 #Dragon Raja

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kneamet · 4 years

Text

Angel of cards (12/16)

Trigger Warning: no.

Summary: Joker, Mr. J, anarchist psychopath, Tom Hiddleston. He had many nicknames. Joker was Gotham’s most dangerous and insightful man, with sharp makeup and horribly memorable scars on his face in the form of a smile. He was absolutely crazy and deadly. No one knows his real identity and everyone is afraid of his cruel jokes. But what happens when he becomes obsessed with an ordinary girl?

She belongs to him. No one can take her away from him. Even The Batman.

Chapter twelve: point of no return

"So Harvey Dent didn't make it home," the Gotham Police Commissioner said in a calm, but slightly anxious, and broken voice.

Gordon's brow furrowed and he only drew it closer to the bridge of his nose, clasping his hands together. The Joker, who was now in the room with the lights off and James, only smiled slightly.

Did this wonderful commissar have any negative feelings for him? It's really wonderful, really. The Joker, just the Joker, always found Gordon a very nice and interesting person. In the Komi Republic, to be more precise, the only person in whom that very piece of light remained in a dark and unenlightened city.

Even Batman himself, this personification of "kindness and honor" was more likely... just a toy that, although it wanted to protect Gotham from crime, but which will definitely cross the very point of no return and madness... He just needs to be pushed to do it.

"Of course not," the Joker said, smiling. Damn, he thought, starting to brush his scars more. The handcuffs, which rubbed the skin and made it difficult to touch the scars, were extremely difficult. And why are they so big?

"What did you do to him?" in a steely voice, without ceasing to be serious, the man asked, to which the Joker raised his eyebrows and made an actor's surprised face, slightly opening his mouth.

Although he couldn't hide the fact that Gordon liked him too much. He looked a lot like the Joker's father. Not at his stepfather, not at his beloved mother's boyfriends, but at his own father, who always helped him until he died.

The Joker didn't really remember the cause of his father's death. Either because of the accident, or he was killed in an alley, or he committed suicide himself. He didn't remember. I was too small then. Nor did his mother help him to console himself afterward.

"I? I was here," the Joker clearly said, gesturing at Gordon, who was concentrating, unlike the man himself, on absorbing all the information that was being conveyed to him. "Who did you leave him with? With your people?" The Joker smacked his lips, starting to scratch his hands and trying to make it not visible. Unfortunately, his gloves were taken away. What an injustice, isn't it?

"If they're still your people, of course, not Moroni," the damn Italian guy, who's playing the hell out of himself. The same to me, a criminal authority, that even during the day is afraid to attack.

The Joker smiled at Gordon, who took a deep breath. That's right, contempt. Yes, and a misunderstanding. Didn't they understand that he wanted to make the world a better place? And that was the difference between him and Batman.

"It doesn't bother you, Commissioner... realizing how lonely you really are? " loneliness... what do these people know about real loneliness and misunderstanding? That's right, nothing. Although, when you get lost and all your loved ones abandon you, you realize that it's time for the exodus. "Do you feel responsible for Harvey Dent's current situation?" it was a quick throw-in. He didn't care about Harvey Dent, though. Yes, he was also interesting, but if you compare all his advantages with those of Gordon, you can immediately understand who has more of that light in the dark.

"Where is he?" it was obvious that Gordon was trying to restrain himself and not yell at the criminal present, with whom he had to babysit and interrogate. It's just a pity that James didn't know that this most ruthless criminal had saved him.

"What time is it?" he asked quickly, trying to distract attention.

"What's the difference?" asked Gordon, seemingly oblivious to the Joker's random throw-ins.

"Depending on the time, he may be in one place or several," he said, prioritizing and moving his cuffed hands as if to indicate something.

"Since we decided to play games... I'll get a cup of coffee," Gordon jerked his chair around, which was a little jarring, and headed for the lighted door, tugging on the handle.

"The game' good cop, bad cop', guess what? " the criminal smiled and straightened his green hair with shaking hands.

"Not really," Jim smiled for the first time. A pleasant smile, Joker noted, just like his father's.

***

"Daddy, daddy, look, I'm a pirate!" exclaimed the little curly-haired boy, drawing from his bosom a small sword as tall as he was, and pointing at his father with it. The boy towered over his father, standing on the couch.

The man just smiled sweetly. He considered his son the most important thing in his life. A ray of sunshine, not a child. A kid who deserves better.

The man's smile faded for a second. His mind began to recognize the unpleasant thoughts and he looked away, looking at his hand, which had only a couple of badges left on it. One week or seven days left. Not much to catch up on.

"You will be my navigator," the boy said proudly, sheathing his sword in an imaginary scabbard. The man smiled and knelt ostentatiously, raising his hands in the air as if in surrender.

"But who are you, my dear boy Tom?" asked his father, with a mocking smile. Tom smiled fondly and drew his sword again, pointing upward.

"I'm your captain, and if you don't listen to me, I'll kill you!" the boy exclaimed loudly, raising his eyebrows and opening his eyes wider with excitement. He poked his father with his sword, and the latter, like an actor, fell from his knees, falling down as if struck by a toy sword.

"Dad, are you okay?" Tom threw the sword aside and ran to his father, sitting on his knees and leaning forward to face him. The man lay motionless until he suddenly opened his eyes abruptly and raised his hands to his son's sides, whose gaze changed from alarmed to smiling-frightened.

"Gotcha, little imp," the father whispered softly, beginning to tickle his son. There was a loud laugh from little Tom that couldn't be stopped.

***

"Where are Dent and Blake?" a loud bass voice asked, as if driven through an auto-tune. The Joker looked up. That's right, Batman, how could he forget that he was here.

Oh, how harsh he is now. It's like something out of a superhero movie that Tom loved so much when he was a kid.

Wait, did he say his angel's name? His favorite angel? How dare he, no one can say her name, only himself. And this guy in tights. More precisely, it wasn't a leotard, but it wasn't important at all.

But now he needs to be distracted from that. Is he interested in listening to talk about his angel? No, the Joker would definitely talk to Batman about his angel and maybe...

No, Tom! Don't even think about the Joker's favorite angel! It belongs to him, not to you! The Joker shook his head and licked his lips, scratching his head at the same time. That idiot Tom, you don't come here at the right time. Don't stop the adults from talking.

"That's right, don't stop the adults from talking," the Joker muttered as much as possible. It's a good thing that Bruce Wayne, who is hiding under the mask of Batman, does not have such a developed hearing. It's really nice. "These mafia idiots want to take you out... to bring back the past, " he said, blinking rapidly and repeatedly, licking his lips again, and lowering his head, but not taking his eyes off it. "But I know the truth. The situation is not reversible. You changed everything. Forever, " he shook his head and pointed at the man who had slightly opened his mouth with his hand.

"Why do you want to kill me?" what a languid voice, the Joker noted. Is Batman trying to pick him up? Maybe remind him that he has his favorite angel?

"I don't want to kill you," the Joker said, shaking with laughter. His laughter was too crazy, too selfish, too much... "What will I do without you? Robbing the mafia again? " Suddenly, his sudden laughter came to an end. He adjusted his suspenders with his right hand and shook his head. "No, no. No. No you... you complete me, " as if explaining something to a small child, the Joker said, gesturing with his hands again. Wait, did they take the handcuffs off him? He looked down. Really, how nice

"You're a creature who kills for money," Batman said sternly. The Joker saw his lips tighten. Another person expressing contempt for him? What kind of bad luck is this, the Joker asked theatrically in his head.

"Don't talk like everyone else. You're not like that, even though you want to be, " the criminal advised, as if saying something obvious. Well, it might have been obvious to him, but it wasn't obvious to Batman. Although, maybe the Joker was accepting his mental abilities? "To them, you're just crazy... like me. They need you now... and you'll get bored... they'll throw you out like a leper. Their principles, their code... these are just words that are forgotten at the first danger, " the Joker said, watching as Batman's face, or rather only his lower part, twisted his lips more and more.

Oh, dear, dear Bruce Wayne, why are you so angry?

"They are what the world allows them to be. I'll prove it. When things are bad, these... civilized people... they'll eat each other. I'm not a monster. I can see right through them, " obviously, right? Joker thought, but he hardly expected to be taken by the shirt now. Batman, clearly already angry, leaned him against the wall.

"Where are Dent and Blake?" the man spoke through his teeth. The Joker's mouth dropped open. His jaw was shaking.

"You have rules. Do you think you'll be spared? " he asked, holding onto Batman's strong arms. Hell, really strong. What a strong man he is.

"I have one rule," Bruce said, Oh, sorry, Batman, only pushing the Joker harder against the brick wall.

"That's what you'll have to break to find out the truth."

"Which one?" asked Batman, loosening his grip slightly, as if interested. The Joker could feel his scowl.

"The only reasonable way to live in this world is to live without rules. And today you will break your only rule," lowering the Joker to the floor, Batman only put his foot on his body, pinning him down. Oh, the Joker sighed slightly. No, he rarely felt pain, but now it really hurt. It's unpleasant when you squeeze your stomach with a foot made of some kind of plastic. He laughed hysterically, trying to hide the pain he felt from the world. "There are five minutes left, so you'll have to play my game... If you want to save one of them”, just give him a little push, the Joker thought to herself, and he'll be broken.

"'Them'?" there was so much hopelessness in his voice. It seems that this little rich boy has begun to understand something.

"For a moment, I thought you were right, Dent. When he rushed after her," Batman grabbed the Joker's suit again and pushed him painfully onto the table, quickly closing the door with a chair that only hindered them. Let us at least perform some useful function.

"Look, a. Does Harvey know about you and his baby? Are you in love with my angel after all?" Joker asked casually. Rachel, unlike Dent, had never interested him. An ordinary, boring person who reminded him too much of his mother. Her name was Rachel, wasn't it?

"Where are they?!" the man roared, grabbing the Joker again, but this time throwing him to the floor. At this, the criminal only laughed. How funny it is. Same to him, hero.

"Killing is also a choice," the Joker tries to deny, raising his hand and leaning one on the floor.

"Where are they?!"

"Choose," the man delivered the ultimatum, biting his lips lightly and licking them again, hoping that everything was fine with the makeup. Most likely, it is unlikely to wash off. "Your friend, the district attorney, or his beautiful fiancee. Or maybe you want to bring my angel back to you? You have nothing to threaten me with. All your power is useless, " he was acting psychologically on him. He encouraged me to make this choice in every possible way. On this difficult and disturbing choice. A choice that can affect a large number of people.

"Don't worry, I'll tell you where they are. Both. That's the whole point. You'll have to choose," Batman opened his mouth, looking into the eyes of the possessed man.

This is the point of no return. That moment was the tipping point. He will let the darkness into his heart. The hero who, without blinking once at eye contact with the abyss, looked at it directly, looked away for the first time.

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barkadasesh · 3 years

Text

"THE COFFEE"

In a small far away town, there is a boy named Bert, he is very cheerful, talented, brave and also a

dreamer. He lives in a small house patched with woods and ragged fabrics that doesn’t seem to stand

when hit by a single storm. He is alone since his mother passed away after he was born and also his father

later on because of an illness that is impossible to be treated since their family is very poor. In the

morning Bert works in a small coffee shop as a janitor and in the evening, he works as a dishwasher in a

Restaurant. Even though he works day and night, the money that he gets always goes to his rusty and

precious tin can that serve as his “minibank”.

One night after his duty from the Restaurant, he walks slowly on the empty alley as the moonlights

lighten the way up the tiredness registered on his face and his shoulders seems so heavy that any minute

his body will collapse. The young boy walks as if he carries all the problems in this world, he feels empty

aside from the tiredness that soothes his entire body. When he finally got home, he sat on the wooden

chair beside his house under a leafless tree. He put up his legs, hugged it and begun to cry in pain.

“Mom, Dad I don’t know what would be my purpose here in this world. I’m so tired please give me

strength” Bert said while looking in the dark sky while his eyes became blurry and tears fell on his

cheeks. The sky is clear, the stars shine bright, the big bright moon and its moonlight embraces a young

boy who only feels pain and emptiness crying like there is no tomorrow for him.

The next morning, he woke up early and did his routine. He sat on his favorite wooden chair and sipped

his coffee. A slight smile registered on his face as he saw the clear morning sky, heard the chirping birds

and felt the cold wind. “What a peaceful day to start-up” he said while smiling.

“One of these days I will buy a new shirt, this one I’m wearing is so ragged” he giggled bitterly.

While on his way to the coffee shop where he is working, he saw a little girl looking in the jar of candies

near his workplace. He comes near the little girl and asks her “You want some of this?” the little girl

nodded slowly as shyness registered on her face. Bert searches his pocket if he has some coins, he finds a

penny and buys one candy. He gave the candy to the little girl and to his surprise a teary eye displays on

the cute eyes of the little girl. “Wait why are you crying?” asking the little girl while he wiped the tears

with his thumb.

“I’m so happy that’s why a tear fell from my eyes. This is my first time tasting a candy, it is so delicious.

Thank you so much mister” the little girl said smiling genuinely. Bert smiles too as he sees the happiness

in the eyes of a little girl, his heart feels happy. “What a wonderful thing to start my day” he said while

going inside the coffee shop.

A tiring day again as the coffee shop slowly filled with a lot of customers and the seats started to dwindle.

While wiping and cleaning the table of the previous customer, Bert was surprised when a girl his age sits

unto the table, he’s cleaning.

“Good day ma’am, please let me finish this immediately so you can order without a problem” Bert said

while smiling to the girl.

“Yeah, sure take your time” the girl smiled back. Bert finished up cleaning the table and go to the kitchen

to clean there too. Bert peeks at the table he recently cleaned and there he saw again the girl writing

something on a notebook. The shop is full of customers that’s why the manager asked Bert to serve the

upcoming customer since the other staff is busy too. Seems like fate is on his side, the one that he first to

serve is the girl he saw earlier. As usual when he reached her table, out of curiosity Bert peered a little at

what the girl was doing and he saw some drawings of food and some notes. Due to fear of getting caught

he cleared his throat and approached the girl.

“Hi ma'am, here is your order of cappuccino and a slice of toasted bread. Enjoy your coffee” he said

while smiling at the girl.

“Thank you!” the girl said as she smiled back.

Bert can’t help but to smile like his heart tells it so. Filled with joy he suddenly remembered that there is

no person in the town smiling at him truly except the little girl he helped earlier that morning. Bert

continues serving the customers with a smile and more energetic. Due to tiredness, he forgot the person

who made him work happily. After the morning shift he came back to his house to rest a little since his

morning schedule is hectic. He rested a little and lay his back to his bed but drowsiness enveloped him so

he suddenly fell asleep. Later on, a ray of sunlight hit his face and he woke up, he stretched his arms and

seemed like he rested enough. Suddenly a shocked expression displays on his face as he remembers that

he has a night schedule. He panicked and immediately fixed himself while looking in a small mirror, he

walked faster but soon he ran because the sun was going to set and it means that he is late for work. When

he arrived at the Restaurant, he saw a person standing at the back door and he was surprised to know that

it is the manager that seems like waiting for him to arrive.

“Good afternoon Mr. Velazquez, I'm sorry for being late please give another chance to work here” he

sincerely begged to Mr. Velazquez to allow him to work again. A despair registered on Bert’s face as the

manager didn’t allow him to work.

“I’m so sorry but the policy is to be on time, policy is policy Bert you know that”. The manager walked

away and went inside the restaurant.

Bert left sitting beside the door hugging his knees and his eyes showed nothing but misery. He stood up

and walked slowly as if his soul wandered and left his body. While walking he passed by the coffee shop,

he looked inside and he saw a lot of people drinking, chatting and eating.

“Seems like this shop is my only hope” he said while smiling bitterly.

On the inside of the coffee shop, a girl saw Bert passing by and examined why he is walking like that. She

looked at him with an inquiring mind. She remembered that he’s the one who served her earlier that day.

She immediately finished her coffee and to her curiosity she stood up and went outside the shop. She saw

Bert in an alley walking so she followed Bert behind, until she saw Bert go inside a small house made up

of woods and ragged fabrics. She was left speechless as she realized where Bert is living and what life it

has, she hid behind a tree not so far away from the house and there she saw Bert sat in a wooden chair

while its face was like in edge of crying. The girl left dumbfounded as she imagined how tough Bert is

and how it endured all the misfortune that he experienced.

“You smiled genuinely and I thought it was normal but like what I saw in your eyes is just pure sadness”

the girl uttered in despair.

The girl took the notebook out of her small shoulder bag, she sat beside the tree while looking at Bert’s

current situation. She draws everything she saw right at that moment from birth sitting on a small wooden

chair to its house and an unvarnished tree standing beside it.

“I hope to be friends with you and make you smile since you deserve to be happy too” she whispered to

the cold breeze enveloping the surrounding that afternoon.

The next morning Bert goes to his work earlier since it’s payday and he is excited to buy a new shirt that

he can use in his work. Seems like it's a very lucky day for him because the manager of the coffee shop

approached him and wants him to work fulltime. Bert’s heart and soul can’t contain the joy he felt after

what he heard from his manager.

“Thank you so much sir, thank you for giving me this opportunity” he exclaimed happily and the manager

replied “I think you don’t know this but I’m keeping an eye on you since you work here and all I saw is a

very hardworking young boy who works with dedication. You deserve it, don't lose that fighting spirit,

okay?” Bert answers with full of energy and pure happiness “Yes sir, I will!”.

Bert’s smile can’t be removed and he cleans the kitchen happily like he is totally enjoying his work. One

of his co-workers called him and said “Bert, can you do the serving for now? One of our servers got sick,

can you do this? I got permission from our manager don’t worry since the customer is escalating, we will

need an extra hand”. Bert does the request without hesitation and the barista; his co-worker thank him for

doing it. He helped them merrily and got close to other workmates since they now recognized his

existence.

While he carefully wipes the glass cups, the door opens, which means there is a customer then when he

looks at it, he notices the familiar small beautiful face, long dark brown hair that falls on its shoulder and

a smile that seems so long since the last time he saw it. It was the girl who’s smiles melted his heart and

then he approached it.

“Hi ma’am what is your order?” he said while looking at her. “I want a cup of cappuccino,” the girl

replied while smiling to Bert. After Bert finishes the order, he goes back to give it to the girl whose he

wants to know the name of it. He carefully places the order at the table and when he is going to go back

the girl calls him. “Hi I’m Freya” she said while extending her arms towards Bert and he brushes his dirty

hands to his apron immediately accepts Freya’s hands and shakes it gently. “Hello, I’m Bert” replied

shyly while scratching the back of his head using the other hand. “I’m lonely right now, can you join

me?” Freya said calmly. Bert was going to say no when Freya smiled and said “Don’t worry I already told

it to the manager. Then after that they talked like they knew each other for a long time, they laughed and

shared their thoughts cheerfully. In the distance near the table of Freya and Bert the manager smiled while

looking at them and a tear fell from his eyes and whispered “Finally Bert earned a friend; his smile is so

pure”.

“Here look at it” Freya took her book from the small bag and gave it to Bert. Bert opened it and to his

surprise he looked at Freya with a curious look. “It's you Bert, I don’t know why but it seems like we are

destined to meet each other. When I saw you that day you passed here walking like a zombie, I followed

you and there I saw you cried and it's so painful to see those eyes flooded with tears.” Bert was shocked at

what he saw at the notebook and to what he heard from Freya” at the back of his mind something popped

up “Is it the sign I’m waiting for?” he whispered unconsciously. Seems like Freya is an angel sent by God

for him to push forward and be a better version of himself.

Days have passed and the two enjoy each other's company and later on became best friends. Freya is now

working at the coffee shop along with Bert and they both work passionately as their friendship grows

stronger. Bert got promoted to be a team leader after a year of working and now enjoying his busy life.

One afternoon Bert and Freya visit a cemetery “This is where my parents were buried. I want to show

them that I am now a stronger and braver person, I hope they are proud of me” Bert said while a tear

escaped from his eyes. “They are Bert, they are proud of you” Freya said while patting Bert’s shoulder.

Bert wiped his tears and looked in the sky “Thank you for giving me a person who will inspire and push

me to go forward” he smiled so happily.

“Sometimes their times that God will measure how long we will persevere and how we accept his

challenges. When the times comes that we felt like giving up he will do everything to help us. I think he

sent Freya to me to be a torched of my new beginning. - Bert

(Short Story by Patrick Ofialda)

#BarkadaSesh #StayConnected

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noctisfishing · 4 years

Text

A Night at the Summer Festival

Day 2 - First Date

#noct writes taiora week 2020 [ 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 ]

@taioraweek for more Taiora love! @noctisfishing for Taiora/Digimon writings and more. :)

Setting: Digimon Adventure tri. timeframe / AU

Tags: Fluff, Romance

Minor pairings: Takari, Joumi, minor Kenyako

Notes: Their first date is at a summer festival because I was inspired by this beautiful fanart. There will be no goldfish or candy apple, but I promise it’ll be equally as sweet.

This may not show up in the tags because of the links but I’d like to add them for context. Here is more on the yukata (even the drawing in the link could be of Sora, lol!) and info on some of the mini-games and food stalls at a Japanese summer festival. More references at the end of the fic!

Also... Koushiro couldn’t make it to this event... (My deepest apologies to my Koushiro fans. I hope we can still be friends)

~*~*~*~*~

"So, you've finally asked her out, huh?"

“Let’s not talk about this, Hikari.”

Hikari grinned upon entering her and Taichi’s bedroom, catching sight of Taichi who was draped in blue. His brows were furrowed as he lifted his arms, looking down at the yukata he had focused on putting on properly.

“I think we should, given the occasion,” Hikari said, stopping in front of Taichi to help wrap the robe and obi around his waist. She had already put on her own lavender-colored yukata with the help of her mother, including the flower clips in her hair to match.

Taichi lowered his arms, entrusting his younger sister to help him look like less of a fool in his yukata. “You’d think that a first date would be small and simple, like catching a movie, or a walk in the park.”

“A summer festival is just as fun, Taichi. An amazing event with an amazing girl like her. Right?”

“R-right…” Taichi stared to the side, feeling the burn on his cheeks from Hikari’s widened grin. He knew that she was highly amused by his reaction. “I guess I’m lucky that Dad had his old yukata for me to borrow.”

“I’m sure Sora appreciates it! Wait until she sees you in this - Taichi, stop fidgeting.”

“Sorry,” he muttered.

He had only turned his head to try to look down at what the yukata looked like on him, but he lifted his head up and faced forward to let Hikari continue her magic.

“Okay! All done.” Hikari patted either of his shoulders. “It’ll be fine.”

“I hope so. Thanks, Hikari.”

After what seemed like forever while their mom convinced them to pose for pictures, Taichi walked with Hikari to the front of the shrine where they planned to meet Sora and Takeru. The two were already waiting in their own yukatas, with Takeru donned in green and staring in amazement as Sora did a casual turn with the geta on her feet to show off hers.

At the turn of her head, her eyes lit up when she realized that Taichi and Hikari had arrived.

Taichi was suddenly speechless.

“Hikari! Taichi!” Takeru called with a wave. He joined Sora walking over to them.

Hikari kept walking, but Taichi stopped, at a loss for words. Sora’s red hair was styled in a bun with a lock of her hair coiling down the frame of her face. Her yukata was patterned with florals in different shades of ruby, with a crimson obi tied in a tachiya-style knot at the back .

“Come on, you slowpoke!” Hikari yelled.

The other three laughed, but hearing that brought Taichi back down to Earth. As he caught up to them, he remembered that he didn’t want to embarrass himself or mess this up. He had even agreed with Sora beforehand that they didn’t have to treat this like a date to keep the pressure off between them.

“You look amazing, Sora,” Taichi blurted.

“Well, thank you,” Sora said, taking her hand to tuck her hair behind her ear. Her face began to match the color of her yukata. “You look nice, too.”

Taichi wondered if that was too cheesy to say. So much for embarrassing himself.

“Tell me I look amazing, too, Taichi,” added Takeru with a grin. Hikari giggled as she attached herself linking her arm through the hook of his elbow.

Taichi grinned. “You clean up nicely, Takeru,” he said, suddenly recognizing how close Takeru and Hikari were to each other.

“We’ll be heading off,” Hikari said with a wink. “We don’t want to intrude. Maybe we can meet up around here when the night is over?”

“Sounds good,” said Sora. “You two have fun!”

“Don’t worry,” Takeru added as he looked to Taichi. “I’ll keep an eye on Hikari.”

Takeru stole a kiss from Hikari before putting his arm around her waist as they walked away. Taichi couldn’t help but watch, and he wondered if it was actually Takeru that he needed to keep an eye on.

“Taichi.” Sora gently took hold of his forearm. “They’ll be fine. Don’t worry about them. We’re here to enjoy ourselves, right?”

Realizing this, Taichi let out a sigh and relaxed his shoulders. “You’re right.” he said, and his worries seemed to disappear when his eyes met hers and they exchanged a smile.

The two then entered the festival side-by-side observing the rows of stands on either side that sold food and various items, and some that hosted mini-games.

“Let’s get some takoyaki at the first stand we see,” Sora said as they walked through.

“Heck yeah!” Taichi replied just as his eyes landed on a mini-game stand a few yards in front of them. “...I have an idea.”

Sora stopped and looked at the stand he was looking toward, reading the sign, “Kingyo!” She looked to Taichi with a knowing stare. “Loser pays for the takoyaki?”

Taichi grinned. “Let’s do it.”

However, both of them ended up being the loser. They each made two attempts at scooping for a goldfish, all attempts which ended with broken pois and fish squiggling back into the mini pool. Taichi noticed a few other people playing, however, and noticed how easily the paper poi ripped no matter how delicate they tried to be.

“Hey-!” Taichi began with annoyance, but Sora immediately grabbed him and walked him away from the stand.

“It’s not worth it, Taichi,” she said with her expression just as irritated. “Either way, that was a waste of yen, wasn’t it?”

Taichi knew he didn’t want this to sour the rest of their night, so he figured he would try to lighten the mood.

“Yeah… and here I was thinking that you were a master of fishing, Sora.”

She smacked his shoulder as he laughed. “Meanie.”

“Anyway, where to next?”

Suddenly, a loud gasp was heard nearby, followed by a familiar voice.

“Hey! It’s Taichi!”

As both Taichi and Sora turned their heads, they saw Daisuke quickly approaching, with Miyako, Iori, and Ken following behind. Miyako gasped as well, and both Daisuke and Miyako walked around them, staring at their yukatas in adoration.

Taichi should’ve expected an interruption like this given the popularity of end-of-summer festivals like this one.

“Wow, Taichi!” Daisuke exclaimed. “You look really cool in that-”

“Sora!” Miyako chimed in. “You look like a goddess! Oh my gosh, I can’t believe-”

“Calm down, you two!” Sora said, laughing nervously and waving her hands in front of her. “There are other people wearing these, too!”

Miyako pouted. “I should’ve worn one! I would’ve looked way nicer on this date with Ken.”

“Speaking of,” Iori added with a tempered reaction. “I think we should leave these two alone. Pardon the intrusion, Sora, Taichi.”

“Wha-?”

Daisuke was cut off by Ken pushing him in the other direction as his cheeks flushed, most likely from hearing Miyako’s comment. His other hand grabbed hold of Miyako’s elbow, pulling her away with a look on her face that was as confused as Daisuke’s. Iori was the last to follow behind them, but not before bowing politely at Sora and Taichi.

“I’ve always liked Iori,” Taichi said with relief.

“It was nice to see them, though,” Sora replied. “Come on - let’s find another game I can beat you in.”

“You’re on, Takenouchi.”

They found a stand with a ring toss game which both of them were eager to play. Tossing a ring at the same time, Sora and Taichi watched their own rings land around its own toy, making their game a tie.

“I got you a present,” Sora said with a smile and holding up a mini cartoon-ish dinosaur, orange in color.

“No way. I got this for you!” Taichi raised his palm to show the toy of a bright pink bird sitting on top of it.

The two of them laughed as they swapped their presents to oogle at for a few moments; then, Sora put them in her small bag. Taichi was happy to see Sora smile. He knew that she was having a good time, and he hoped that it would continue as the night went on.

As they continued to walk, Taichi noticed more people walking alongside them. The festival was getting busier, and he sensed that even Sora knew it when he felt her hand touch his forearm once again.

“Don’t worry!” Taichi said with a smile. “I’ll make sure we don’t lose each other!”

“Maybe I’m more worried about you losing me,” she teased.

He laughed to himself, not mentioning his heart beating as she held onto him.

However, he nearly jumped in fright as he felt a hand touch his other forearm.

“Hey there, handsome!” Mimi said with a wink and a grin.

“Ah! Hey Mimi!” Sora said cheerfully.

“I wanted to see what you guys were up to, and I figured that Jou and I would join you!”

Oh no, Taichi thought.

“Well, Mimi…” Sora began. Taichi could tell that she didn’t have the heart to tell Mimi otherwise.

“It’ll only be for a little bit!” added Jou who peered over from Mimi’s side with a sheepish smile. “Right, Meems?”

Taichi’s eyes darted over to Jou who mouthed a ‘Sorry!’ to him.

“Well, we were thinking about getting takoyaki,” said Sora. “Why don’t we all get some together?”

“Let’s do that!” Jou chimed in “My treat?”

“Oh, isn’t Jou such a sweetheart?” Mimi said cheerfully.

“He’s quite the charmer!” said Taichi, knowing that Jou was doing this out of pity, especially after being on the receiving end of Taichi’s death stare.

But Mimi had already let go of Taichi’s arm and stopped walking, making the rest of them stop with her.

“I see cotton candy! I totally want some!”

“Then, I’ll go buy some for you,” Jou said, gently pulling Mimi towards the stall and away from Taichi and Sora.

Mimi cupped her hand on Jou’s cheek. “You’re such a sweetheart…”

“Wouldn’t you know it,” Sora said just as Jou and Mimi left. “A takoyaki stall.”

“Ah…” Taichi turned to look and saw that there was no line in front of it. He realized at that point that the competition between him and Sora was at a draw, so he decided to change the rule of the game. “How about some takoyaki on me?”

“But, Taichi, neither of us are winning,” Sora said, which Taichi knew that she would point out.

“Then, we’ll just say that you’re the winner here.”

“Aww…” Sora began in a playful tone, mimicking Mimi as she held her palm to Taichi’s cheek. “...you’re such a sweetheart…”

The amusement and laughter only lasted a few moments, as Sora’s face turned into a shade of pink; and she must have removed her hand when she felt Taichi’s face warming up in turn.

“I’ll- be right back!” Taichi said, knowing that him being flustered was obvious.

There had already been one person ahead of Taichi when he approached the food stall. Taichi stood behind him and noticed he was wearing a green yukata, although it might have fit loosely for someone his size. The guy’s hair was short, spiky and blond under the straw hat that he wore, and Taichi wondered why he looked so familiar.

“One takoyaki, please,” the guy said in an apparently hushed voice, but Taichi was able to recognize that voice from anywhere.

“Yamato?!” Taichi said, making the guy jump in his spot.

He turned to Taichi, staring daggers and holding a finger to his lips. “Not so loud!” he hissed.

“What’s the-?!” Taichi caught himself nearly yelling, then he lowered his voice. “What’s the deal?!”

“Next, please!” yelled the stall attendant, and Yamato stood to the side with Sora while Taichi put in two orders. When he met with the two of them, Yamato hunched over as though he was hiding himself with Taichi and Sora.

“I just wanted to check out the festival on my own without getting noticed, you know?” Yamato explained. “Some people have already been staring at me longer than they should but I don’t think they recognize me.”

“People are going to stare at you if you’re wearing that hat after the sun goes down, anyway,” Taichi said, feeling the need to point that out.

“Right now, I’d rather be the weird kid with the hat than be Yamato of ‘Knife of Day’.”

The takoyaki orders were called, and Yamato and Taichi got theirs, with Taichi handing one to Sora. But just as that happened, a loud scream nearby reached their ears.

“Aahh!! You were right! That is Yamato! The lead singer of ‘Knife of Day’!”

As more heads turned and the squeals of excitement grew louder, Taichi’s eyes widened and he turned his head to Yamato.

“You probably should not have said that so loud…” Sora added.

“Gotta run,” Yamato said, just as he darted in the direction in which the majority of the crowd was travelling.

It amazed Taichi how many people recognized Yamato. Many of the girls in yukatas began to run in Yamato’s direction, some of them running in their geta and tripping over themselves.

Sora gasped as a few girls ran past. As she turned to dodge out of their way, she had slipped on her own geta and started to tumble backward.

“Sora, look out-!”

Taichi caught Sora just before she toppled to the ground, his back against the crowd while he felt more people whiz by. The moment he felt it was safe, he helped Sora stand.

“You alright?” he asked, searching her face for any sign of trouble.

“Well, our friends didn’t make it…” Sora frowned at the dinosaur and bird toys that she took out of her bag; they were now in pieces of pink and orange. She also looked down at the ground where her takoyaki had fallen. “I really wanted that.”

Taichi held his up and smiled. “Here, we can share mine-”

Startled by the sudden push at his back as one more crazed fan zoomed past, his hand was forced open, letting his takoyaki drop right next to Sora’s.

“Oy.”

Turning to the stall, Taichi saw the attendant hold up a pair of takoyaki orders and gestured to him to take them.

“Oh, no, sir- that’s okay! You don’t have to do that-”

The attendant pointed into the crowd, where Taichi and Sora found Mimi happily strolling with her cotton candy, and Jou giving them a thumbs up, quickly followed by the gesture to zip their mouths shut.

“Good ol’ reliable Jou,” said Sora, who grabbed the orders and handed one to Taichi.

He couldn’t help but laugh along with her.

As the night went on, they continued their walk down the festival rows. But Taichi noticed that Sora declined to do anything else. She didn’t want to get any more food, nor did she want to play any game, or even to try their hand at another fish scooping game. He was wondering if she was no longer having fun, if she even had any from the start.

“Can we get out of this crowd?” she asked.

“Okay.” Taichi looked around, realizing that they were both in the middle of a sea of people going in every direction. Looking ahead, he found a clearing where they could make their escape. “Hold onto me.”

Taichi led the way, holding her hand tightly as they weaved through the crowd together. They passed by people cheering as a young boy caught three goldfish at one stall; a couple winning a ticket for two free bowls of ramen from pulling a string from a senbonhiki stall; and a group of friends decided to pop confetti into the crowd, showering bits of colorful paper all over.

Soon, the lively noises were far away, and Taichi and Sora found themselves on a grassy hillside where the moon slowly rose over a large lake. Right behind them was a bridge where people were already lining up against the guardrails.

“I guess we found a great spot,” Sora said. “Let’s find a place to sit.”

She chose the spot to lay her blanket for the two of them to sit, and she set her geta off to the side.

“Sorry about that back there. I just couldn’t hear myself think.”

“Oh, was that what it was?” Taichi asked. “I was wondering if you were getting bored.”

Sora giggled. “I’m having a lot of fun with you, Taichi. Despite all the mishaps.”

Taichi turned to her, watching her laugh as her eyes glistened under the glow of the festival lights. There was a pause in her laughter, which confused him, even as she took her hand to his hair.

“Looks like confetti is your consolation prize for the night, Yagami” she said, gently picking out the colorful pieces. “At least you got something.”

Taichi caught sight of a brightly colored piece in a lock of her hair.

“Hey, looks like you win, too,” he said, reaching for it.

Just then, the sky lit up with a flash and a pop. The fireworks show had begun, but neither of them took their eyes from one another.

“What did I win?” she asked.

“If I said it was a kiss from me… would you call that a consolation?”

It was a bold question that even he didn’t think he had the courage to say.

But in response, she brought his palm against her cheek. The flashes of light above them only made her eyes sparkle as she smiled with radiance.

“I’d say that it’s the best prize of all.”

With his heart pounding in his ears, Taichi leaned forward until his lips met hers. His emotions were as bright and colorful as the skies above when she kissed him back.

Taichi almost felt silly to worry about their first date, but even after things didn’t go as expected, he couldn’t think of anything better than experiencing it all with her.

~*~*~*~*~

Terms mentioned:

yukata (summer kimono); obi - sash that wraps around the yukata and can be tied in a knot, including tachiya-style; geta - traditional sandals worn with yukata... Poor Sora’s feet.

takoyaki - appetizer made with octopus. I really want some right now..

Kingyo [sukui] - fish-scooping game, using poi (a tool with thin washi paper) to catch the fish. There are other sukui-type games at festivals, too!

Senbonhiki - a lottery type game where you pull a string that guarantees you a prize (and the prizes vary)

#taioraweek #taioraweek2020 #taiora #digimon fanfiction #yagami taichi #takenouchi sora #tai kamiya #sora takenouchi #chosen children #digidestined #prompt fics #noctiswriting #noct writes taiora week 2020 #yagami siblings #kamiya siblings #taiora fanfiction

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creationcitystreet-em · 4 years

Text

His Southern Belle 1

Masterlist Full book 1 summary in the link

Chapter 1

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC (face claim: Rose Leslie)

Word count: ~2450

Summary: Maddi starts her new school in Brooklyn and meets some new friends.

Warnings: none

Author’s Note: I started this fic when I was still in high school, and I have worked really hard on it since. I’m not a fan of some of my writing from earlier chapters, but I don’t want to change them until I at least finish writing the entire story. I will be updating this fic here on tumblr one chapter a day until I am caught up with where I am at on the other platforms I’ve posted it. If you’d like to read ahead of that schedule, you can check them out on from the links on my masterlist. I just also wanted to make the fic available here on tumblr with the rest of my fandom interactions, so this is the plan to do that!

Unless otherwise indicated, all date entries are from Maddi’s POV.

September 5, 1932

I stood in front of the small class while my new teacher introduced me. I was in my best knee length dress trying to make the best first impression but I quickly realized the style in my hometown was very different from that of teenagers in New York. The girls seemed to have a little more money than my family as they wore nicer clothes and styled their hair to the newest fashion. My long red curls were probably a little too messy and I didn't wear the same socks and shoes as the them. I tried not to show how uncomfortable I felt when our teacher asked me to say my name to the class. I smiled and said "My name is Madeline Bennett, but my Mama and Daddy called me Maddi." I immediately heard laughter from the students and it made me feel twice as self conscious. It must be my accent, people in Brooklyn definitely sounded different than those in Tennessee. As soon as the teacher let me sit, I chose the only empty seat next to small and skinny boy with blond hair. He smiled at me but it was not cruel like the other kids when I walked to my seat, so I gave a small smile back.

During lunch, I sat alone until I heard the sound of a boy talking in front of me, "hey new girl, you know I can show you around if you want. I know some great places we can sneak off to together." I politely declined as I could tell his intentions did not seem innocent. He continued to push "Come on, look I know a lot of people laughed at you in class, but I can keep you safe baby doll. Once you're with me, nobody will be laughing." I immediately looked back down at my food trying to ignore the group of boys as they snickered behind the nameless boy who talked to me. I could tell this was probably a trick considering they were clearly still mocking me like before, and I just wanted to be left alone. I tried to hold back tears as I thought about how much I wished I could go back home with my family. I didn't want to be in Brooklyn hundreds of miles away from the only home I ever knew. I didn't want make new friends or learn how to live with a new family I barely knew. I wanted my safe little town where everyone knew who I was and nobody would dare pick on me unless they wanted my brother going after them. I missed my brother more than I ever would have admitted to him.

Just then, two more boys came to my table and I thought it would only get worse. "Leave her alone Jason, she clearly doesn't want to talk to you right now," the smaller of the two said. I now recognized him as the boy I sat next to in class.

"Alright Rogers, what are you going to do to stop me?" It was a fair questions, the boy was half a foot smaller than Jason and clearly much skinnier than the already developing teen.

"Listen Gally, I know you can see me standing right next to Steve here so you clearly should know when to keep your mouth shut. Now the lady said no earlier so I think you should respect her wishes and take your friends and leave." Jason Gally stared at the taller boy, who looked more like a man, and finally decided to leave. I continued to remain frozen in place after everything that happened, until I saw the two that helped me start to walk away as well.

"Wait!" I called to them as I wanted to tell them I appreciated what they did. They turned around and looked at me and I gathered up all the courage I had left to keep talking despite knowing they will clearly hear my accent. "Thank you for that. I got your name, Steve, but I didn't really catch yours," I said to the taller one.

"James Barnes, but everyone calls me Bucky."

"Well Bucky, Steve, thank you again."

"It was no problem, Maddi right?" Steve questioned to make sure he remembered my name correctly. I was pleasantly surprised and nodded my head yes.

I took a leap of faith and suddenly asked, "would y'all like to sit with me?" They stared at me for a second and I tried to explain myself quickly, "It's just that I'm new and don't have any friends yet. You two were so kind to stand up for me and I just wanted to know if maybe you would want to sit with me." I prayed I didn't just scare the two nice people in front of me off, but then they looked at each other and sat down across the table from me. I started to smile as they began to ask me about where I was from and why I moved to Brooklyn. "I'm from Tennessee, and I moved here to live with my Aunt and Uncle. They're the only family I really have left." they stayed quiet knowing I didn't want to go too deep into that subject just yet. The two nodded and didn't push anymore about it. I was very grateful for that.

It was towards the end of lunch and Steve said "Well Maddi, I'm glad we met you. Bucky is a year older than us but we still hang out after school. Where do you live, maybe we can walk home together?" I told them the general area I moved to and they both eagerly said they lived near there. We made plans to meet after school and for a brief second I thought that maybe moving to the big city wouldn't have been as terrible as I initially thought. I wished I could be back home, but knowing that I would never get to go back, having a couple friendly people here was the best I could ask for.

September 24, 1932

“How has school been going, Maddi?” Aunt Lily asked as I ate dinner with her and Uncle Ryan.

“Alright. I made a couple friends, but I don’t really seem to fit in with the class. They dress and talk different than back home.” I played with my food a bit while I thought about how the last couple weeks have been. Steve and Bucky were definitely very nice to call friends and I liked spending time with them, but girls still gave me strange looks and boys would bother me if I wasn’t with my new companions.

“Well, our neighbors have a granddaughter on the other side of town about a year or two older than you. I’ll see if she has any extra dresses you can have,” Aunt Lily offered. I knew she and Uncle Ryan felt bad for not having enough money to spend on me, but I really didn’t mind. With their two children already grown and moved across the country, they didn’t exactly plan to pay for an extra mouth to feed. Times were hard enough as it was without unexpected expenses. I never actually met these family members before: we never had the money to travel, but I heard about them a lot.

September 30, 1932

I wore my new dress that seemed to match more with the girls at school and it made me feel a little less nervous, but I also felt sad to be giving up more and more from my life in Tennessee. I sat with Steve and Bucky at lunch like I did everyday, and we talked about frivolous things until I asked Steve what was in the book he always carried around.

“It’s a sketch pad, I like to draw,” he said shyly.

“Can I see?” I asked and he hesitantly handed me his sketch pad and I flipped through the pages in awe. Each piece of paper had beautifully drawn pictures of buildings and landscapes. He had a few with people, but one close up of a young woman and man who looked in their early 20s. “Who are they?” I curiously questioned.

“That’s my parents,” he said quietly. “It’s from a picture when they were newly married. I don’t really remember my dad, he died in the Great War.”

“I’m sorry,” I said hoping I didn’t make him feel sad as I knew how it felt to lose a parent. “I lost my ma when I was young too, not as young but still I was 5 when she got sick.”

“Is that why you moved?” Bucky asked me.

“No, I still lived with my daddy and brother, Alex, until this summer when a storm hit and they both died. I was with a friend when it hit and a tornado took down my entire house and my family inside.”

“Jeez, I’m sorry Maddi,” Steve said as I fought back a few tears thinking about what happened.

“Don’t worry about it. I was lucky to have Aunt Lily and Uncle Ryan to take me when they heard, and now I got to meet you two so that’s good I guess.” I tried to look towards the better things in situations but it was always hard.

“Well, you’re officially our friend so there’s no getting out of it now,” Bucky said with a smirk.

“Only now it’s official? What has been the last month then?” I asked with a laugh.

“A trial friendship,” Steve stated smiling.

“Yeah, just to make sure you weren’t crazy or anything” said Bucky.

“I’m glad y’all think I’m worthy of being your friend then!” I winked at them as I continued the joke. We all laughed as we finished our food and headed back to class for the day.

December 24, 1932

“The snow is so beautiful on Christmas,” I sighed as I walked through the park with Steve and Bucky like we sometimes did together.

“It sure is, but I’ve always wanted to see snow where there were no buildings in sight. Just miles of it with nothing else to mess the blanket of white up,” Steve told me as we saw children running through the already played in snow.

“That is a sight to see, but I think that's just wasted? Look at how happy all this available snow makes everyone, that’s something worth drawing.” I said this as I knew that was one of the reasons he probably liked the idea of untouched snow: to be able to draw the scene. “Draw me and Bucky!”

“What?” Bucky questioned, not sure what he had to do with this topic.

“Draw us playing in the snow,” I requested with a smile. Bucky quickly got the idea and ran towards a clean pile. He made a snowball and threw it directly at me hitting me on the shoulder. “Alright Barnes, you have it coming to you now!” and I laughed while I ran to make a snowball as well except I missed when throwing it at him. He laughed at me until I made another and hit him square in the face. I heard a chuckle from Steve and I looked over at him sitting on a nearby bench watching us and making small rough sketches in his book. “Come one Steve, put it to memory and come play with us!” He looked slightly surprised for a second until he put his book down and came over to join our snowball fight. We did this for about an hour until we sat down on the bench to rest. Steve quickly went right back to his book to continue his scene he started on. We sat in silence for a while just taking in the day.

“What are your holiday plans, Maddi?” Bucky asked.

“I’m not sure. We haven’t really talked about it. We’ll probably go to Mass tonight and I got a small present for my aunt and uncle tomorrow. I don’t really expect much of a present for myself; besides, my favorite part has always been Christmas Eve Mass. My daddy and Alex and I would go and then always visit mama after. I guess I can’t see any of them this year since their all buried in Tennessee.” I had never really thought of that until now and it quickly took away all of my joy from playing in the snow before. “They would have liked you guys,” I added before they could reply. “You're both gentlemen and passionate about what you care for.”

“They’d like Bucky,” Steve tried to clarify as he continued to draw.

“No, they’d like you both,” I told him with confidence. “Especially you, your heart is much more kind than this silly guy sitting next to me,” I laughed as I sat between them and gestured towards Bucky.

“Hey!” Bucky said with a smile. “Just because it's true doesn't mean you have to say it!” Steve just stayed quiet and had a slight blush on his face.

I put my arms around both their necks and said “thank you for making Brooklyn more bearable.”

“You did that,” Steve said as he looked at me and I smiled back at him.

December 25, 1932

There was a knock on the door and I went to answer it. When I opened the door, Steve stood there waiting and I gave him a surprised smile. “Hey,” he started. “I know today is mostly spending with family so I’ll try to be quick. I just wanted to give you your present.”

“Steve, you didn’t have to get me anything!” I began to feel bad as I had nothing to give in return.

“It’s nothing, here.” He handed me a piece of paper and I saw it was a beautiful drawing of Bucky and I in the snow from the previous day. I just stared at it for a few seconds in awe before he continued, “Sorry it isn’t that detailed, I was trying to finish as quick as I could and the shading might not be-” I cut him off by hugging him.

“I love it!” I said as he wrapped his arms back around me. “I love the art you make, it’s so good. Thank you for giving me one, it really means a lot.” We both let go and and he was redder than I had ever seen him before.

“Well, I’ll keep that in mind,” he said with a chuckle. We then said our goodbyes and he went back home to spend the rest of the day with his mother.

Next Chapter

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staystrange · 4 years

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i’m gonna make this place your home

Schitt’s Creek • Patrick Brewer/David Rose Rating: T • ~2.5k words • ao3

Who knew that when his dad had bought David this town as a joke, he’d actually bought him the life he’d always dreamed of but never thought he could possibly have?

-or-

David and Patrick visit the house, tour the house, and move into the house.

Title: "Home" by Phillip Phillips. Yes, I know, this is the cheesiest and most obvious choice, but Patrick kinda did make "this place" (Schitt's Creek) David's home, so I stand by it.

“I just don’t think I’m finished with this place.”

If you had told David when he first moved to Schitt’s Creek that he’d face his parents and his sister in the motel room they grew to call home and say those nine words out loud and mean every single one of them, he’d have told you that you were absolutely incorrect. It did feel a little scary to say them out loud so definitively, even though he knew it was the right — heck, the only — decision; his stomach was tight with anxiety the entire day, only loosening its hold when he saw the joy on Patrick’s face as David stood with Patrick in front of the house and told him he’d put an offer in for it. Or at least, he’d tried to put an offer in; his heart was in the right place, but he had no idea what he was doing.

It had been a combination of his conversation with Patrick and his heart to heart with Stevie that had opened his eyes to the fact that everything he had always wanted that he thought he would find in New York was actually right there in Schitt’s Creek, in the last place he’d ever thought he’d find it. Who knew that when his dad had bought David this town as a joke, he’d actually bought him the life he’d always dreamed of but never thought he could possibly have? People always said that money can’t buy happiness, but David honestly thought he had a uniquely strong example to prove those people wrong. It was a little bit too much to wrap his head around, and the thought of it brought tears to his eyes, something he’d realized had been happening a lot more since Patrick wandered into his life.

Patrick, who stands next to him as they face the house they will soon be calling their home, the two of them alternating between staring at the house and staring at each other. They probably stand in front of the house for longer than is considered socially acceptable for two almost-married people who had just bought their first house together (especially because they have no idea if anyone is even home, and if they are, whether they saw any of the makeout session they’d just had on the front lawn), but they are too happy to care. They are going to get married, they are going be husbands, and this house is going to be theirs.

“At this point, who even needs a wedding, am I right?” Patrick asks David.

“Oh, I do, I need a wedding, big time,” David replies, and Patrick just smiles.

———

Even in the midst of all of the last minute wedding planning (“Oh my God, Patrick, I forgot to pick up the flowers for my bouquet and your boutonniere from the florist!” “It’s okay, David, I’ll pick them up tomorrow.”) David makes sure that he and Patrick find time to actually see the inside of the house; he thinks it would be a good idea to actually make a plan with the current owners instead of just driving by the house and staring at it like he’d done every day, sometimes multiple times a day, since they’d put the offer in.

They close the store early that afternoon and drive over to the house, David’s hand holding Patrick’s tightly between them as Patrick drives. Patrick pulls up smoothly to the curb, putting the car in park before opening the driver’s side door and quickly walking around to the passenger side to open the door for David, who can’t help but smile at his husband’s unnecessary chivalry. Patrick holds his hand out to David, who takes it, standing and using the momentum to pull his almost-husband into a gentle kiss. They walk hand and hand up the path to the front porch, Patrick ringing the bell before smiling at David.

A woman opens the door after a few moments, her eyes crinkling in the corners as her smile spreads across her face. “Well hello again, Patrick,” she begins, recognizing him from their previous meeting, “and you must be David! It’s so great to finally meet you in person — I’ve heard so much about you from your fiancé.”

David blushes a little, though he makes a futile attempt to hide it since he’s in the presence of a complete stranger who is selling them her family’s house; he’s trying to make at least a decent impression so they’ll know their house is in good hands. “It’s lovely you to meet you as well…” he trails off, realizing he doesn’t actually know her name.

“Penny,” she replies, holding out her hand.

“Penny,” David repeats, shaking her hand. Penny looks out behind him and Patrick down the path that lead back to the street, confusion shaping her features. “Is something wrong?” David asks, sudden concern bleeding into his voice.

“Oh, I just figured Ray would be here to facilitate this tour since he’s the realtor.”

Patrick can’t help but let a burst of laughter escape his lungs, prompting David to direct a horrified look at his fiancé. “I used to live with Ray when I first moved here,” Patrick explains to Penny. “I think David and I have spent enough time with him to last a lifetime.”

“Say no more, I totally understand. Why don’t you two come in?” Penny replies, opening the door wide.

“Thank you so much,” David says, he and Patrick following her inside.

David fiddles with the lower of the two rings on his left ring finger as Penny closes and latches the door behind them. As she does, another woman walks into the room, her hair tied up in a messy bun on top of her head. There are paint splotches all over her light wash jeans and grey shirt and a paintbrush is tucked behind her ear. “Hi David and Patrick, I’m so sorry I look like this; inspiration struck this morning and I just had to get started on this painting before the idea slipped out of my head.” David smiles in understanding, as does Patrick.

“This is my wife Noelle,” Penny says to David.

“Nice to meet you, Noelle,” David says. “I’d shake your hand, but…” He trails off, nodding at the paint splotches on Noelle’s hands.

“No worries, I wouldn’t shake my hands in this state either,” Noelle replies. David immediately likes her.

“Shall we begin the grand tour, then?” Penny asks.

“Whenever you’re ready,” Patrick answers politely.

“I’m going to head back to the garage and work on this painting — I mean, pack up all of the stuff that’s left in there,” Noelle finishes hastily off a stern look from Penny, but David can tell there’s no real force behind it. She waves as she heads back to the garage, and Penny smiles quietly to herself with a look on her face not unlike the one David often sees on Patrick’s face when David gets overexcited like that.

“So as I told Patrick when I called him about the house, our daughters Alexis and Daisy are off to college this fall, so we’re moving down to Florida to be near them. Not too near them though, we want to give them their space and their freedom, but we’d at least like to be in the same country.” Penny laughs. “And we know them well enough that they’ll want us to be close by for when something inevitably goes wrong in their apartment.”

“Your daughter’s name is Alexis?” David asks Penny as she leads him and Patrick into the kitchen. “That’s my younger sister’s name, too.”

“Oh, really? What a lovely coincidence.” David smiles softly. “Does she live here in Schitt’s Creek?”

“She does, but she’s moving to New York City to pursue a career in PR after our wedding.”

“Oh, how exciting!” Penny leans her back against the kitchen counter. “And speaking of, congratulations!” She gestures to David’s rings. “When’s the wedding?”

“September 3rd,” Patrick replies, a huge grin on his face.

“Oh, wow, that’s coming up! I can’t believe you two managed to find time to visit the house with all of that going on; we certainly wouldn’t have had time for anything like this that close to our wedding. And speaking of, let me actually give you the tour instead of talking your ears off.”

Penny shows them around the whole house, ideas for furnishings and color schemes popping into David’s head so fast he can barely type them down into the notes app on his phone. He shares some of them out loud with Patrick as well, and based on the grin on his face that has somehow gotten bigger as the day goes on, he loves them all. By the time they’re about to leave, David has a clear picture of exactly what he wants their home to look like, and he’s itching to grab a pencil and sketch it all out to show Patrick.

“Thank you so much for showing us around,” Patrick says when they’re back at the front door again. “And thank you so much for taking me seriously and actually calling me when you decided to sell. I’m honestly surprised you didn’t just think I was crazy or something.

Penny looks surprised for a moment. “No, of course we didn’t think you were crazy! We thought it was very sweet actually, and I’m glad we could make this happen for you.”

“Us too,” Patrick responds, glancing at David to confirm, which he does with a smile and a nod.

Later that night, David’s at Patrick’s (he basically lives there at this point, if he’s being quite honest) and he’s sitting on the couch with his back against the arm, his sock-covered feet on the cushions and his sketchbook in his lap. Patrick is draped over his shoulders, his arms crossed over David’s chest, pressing kisses to David’s neck as David draws out some of his ideas for their house from earlier that day. He’s sketching out their bedroom, humming to himself as the pencil moves on the page. After a few minutes, he turns around toward Patrick and sets the sketchbook on the arm of the couch so that he can see the page right side up.

“So this is what I’m thinking for our room. We could put the bed against the wall and paint the walls that dark blue that you like and we could get bedding to match and —” David looks up at Patrick and stops, realizing that Patrick has been staring at him the whole time he’s been talking instead of at the drawing of what David’s describing. “Honey, you’re not even looking at it.”

“Hmm, you’re very distracting when you’re excited,” Patrick responds.

“Okay, Patrick, but I need you to look at what I’m describing because I want to make sure you like it so we can order this stuff and get this all ready to go because I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be worrying about all of this while we’re on our honeymoon. I just want to focus on being with you.”

David didn’t expect to get this sappy; it must have been seeing the house with Patrick that turned him all soft. Actually, maybe it was just Patrick.

“Fine,” Patrick whines over-dramatically, kissing David’s cheek before picking the sketchbook up and leaning his elbows onto the arm of the couch. He takes his time, running his fingers over the page, careful not to smudge the pencil lines. “I love it. I love you.”

Patrick hands the sketchbook back to David, who takes it with a smile. “Thank you, I love you too. Now let me sketch out the rest of the rooms because I have so many ideas to run by you.” David turns to a blank page in the sketchbook, tapping his pencil against the page as he decides which room he wants to visualize next.

He’s just decided on the dining room when Patrick takes the pencil out of his hand. David whips his head around, incredulous. “And what the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

“Making sure that my fiancé takes a break from the constant planning and actually gets some rest since our wedding is only a few days away and I know he certainly doesn’t want the exhaustion to show on his face in our wedding photos,” Patrick replies, holding the pencil above his head where David can’t reach it from his seat on the couch. “You know I’m right.”

“Fine,” David says, closing the sketchbook and resigning himself to his fate. “But you have to come to bed too; I don’t want you to have exhaustion showing on your beautiful face either. And that goes for always, not just at our wedding. You spend way too much time working on spreadsheets and not enough time sleeping.”

Patrick laughs. “Whatever you say, David.”

———

The wedding is beautiful. Even though the rain throws a bit of a wrench into things, everyone in David’s life in Schitt’s Creek rallies together to make the day as perfect as it could possibly be. David has never felt more loved in his entire life.

None of it feels real until the day David and Patrick actually move into their house. He hadn’t realized how much stuff he’d managed to accumulate since moving to Schitt’s Creek until he had to pack all of it up and load it into the moving van. He’d helped Patrick too, especially because so many of his things had ended up at Patrick’s apartment anyway.

They stand in front of the house again, just like they had the day David told Patrick he wanted to stay in Schitt’s Creek, but this time with the moving van in the driveway and the empty house in front of them waiting to be filled with them and their lives and their love. They hold each other close, excited to begin their lives together but not really looking forward to the actual manual labor involved in unpacking everything they own. So instead they procrastinate in each other’s arms, in each other’s faces, in each other’s kisses.

When they’re finally finished unpacking, or at least as finished as they’re going to get on the first day in their new home, David sits down on their bed, pulling Patrick down beside him. “Hi,” he says simply.

“Hi,” Patrick replies. “Welcome home.”

It’s in that moment that everything hits David, even as he’s extremely distracted by Patrick’s mouth on his. He feels a sudden warmth in his chest, and he knows that Stevie was right that day they visited the house — he’d won. He’d really won.

David and Patrick wear identical ear-to-ear grins when they break apart. “I guess it’s time to start thinking about another housewarming party,” Patrick says.

“Sure, but make no mistake, I will be doing the planning this time,” David replies.

#original #fanfic #schitt's creek #david x patrick #david rose #patrick brewer #this is my first fic in almost two years!!#i had such a blast writing this #spoilers for season 6

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writingbymel · 5 years

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Syndicate - Part 5

Author’s Note: AHH a few things came up so I wasn’t able to get this up as early as I planned, I recently graduated from uni so it’s been hard to make time write, but thanks everyone for being so patient love you all for the sweet comments and feedback!

Date Posted: 11/12/2019

Summary: Katherine returns to Mystic Falls. Y/N finally finds out the truth about how Katherine and Sami know each other.

Pairing: Klaus Mikaelson x Reader

Word Count: 2,700+

Parts: SYNDICATE MASTERLIST

“Why the hell did you do that Damon?” asks Stefan angrily.

“Well we weren’t making any progress just sitting around idly,” Damon says.

“I think a few of us should keep watch over Sami while we wait for Katherine to show up. Prevent her from killing anyone,” Klaus states looking around the room. “Caroline, Elena, and I can go do that while Damon, Stefan, Bonnie, and Y/N can hang around and wait for Katherine.”

“Who made you the boss?” Damon questions.

“Let’s just do what the hybrid says,” Stefan replies holding his brother back. Caroline, Elena, and Klaus make their way over to the Mystic Grill to watch Sami. Klaus turns around to give me a worried look before walking out of the door. I silently reply with a smile.

“I don’t know how Katherine knows Sami,” I sit down on the Salvatore’s luxurious couch.

“Honestly Y/N, how does Katherine know anyone?” Damon replies. “That girl has more life experience than all of us combined.”

“Katherine and I were pretty close a couple centuries ago, but she not once mentioned Sami,” I tell them. “Sami and I were friends, I saw with my own eyes that she refused to transition and she died. After that happened, I met Katherine. If they knew each other she would’ve mentioned.”

As if on cue there was a knock on the front door. Katherine.

“Oh my do I hear my sweet Y/N on the other side of that door?” I hear Katherine yell from the front porch. Stefan walks over to let Katherine in. Katherine quickly speeds over to me. “So this is your real look.” She circles around me pulling a strand of my hair jokingly. I push her hand off of me. “Pretty hostile way to greet your old friend Y/N.”

“Leave her alone Katherine,” Damon says walking up to put space in between Katherine and I.

Katherine smirks, “Y/N you always did have the bad boys wrapped around your finger. Don’t you remember—”

“Look what do you know Katherine,” I say refusing to let the situation draw out any longer than needed.

“I know lots of things Y/N. But first, I sure could use a drink,” Katherine speeds over to the alcohol collection. I roll my eyes at her, typical Katherine. She pours herself a little drink and notices half a blood bag on the table nearby. She pours that into her drink as well.

“Katherine quit playing games,” Stefan says. “What do you know about Sami?”

“Why don’t we all pay her a visit?” Katherine replies with a smile. “I mean it’s her story to tell not mine.”

We all file into Damon’s car which soon filled with awkward silence. I avoided Katherine’s gaze as she sat next to me in the backseat.

“Damon, Stefan,” Katherine sings. “You both look amazing as always.”

“Don’t even start Katherine,” Damon says. Katherine pouts slumping in her seat.

“It was worth a try,” Katherine laughs a little. “Y/N, I’ve missed you truly.”

“Well I can’t say I return the feeling,” I reply coldly.

“Y/N come on this was centuries ago,” Katherine says referring to the moment where she betrayed me.

“You used me Katherine,” I tell her. “Just like how you use everyone.”

“I’d be careful with my words if I were you Y/N,” Katherine warns. “I am friends with a hunter.”

“Bitch,” I whisper turning my attention to the window.

Damon and Stefan both look confused as they stare at the situation unfolding in the rearview mirror. “Oh look yay we are at the Grill,” Stefan says attempting to diffuse the situation. He hops out of the car as quickly as possible. I follow quickly to get away from Katherine. I see Klaus, Caroline, and Elena sitting outside of the Grill. I walk up to them with Damon, Stefan, and Katherine following closely behind.

“Where’s Bonnie?” I ask curiously noticing her absence from the group.

“Her dad wanted her home right away,” Klaus says pulling a chair from another table for me. I mutter a quick thanks before sitting down next to him.

“Leo had to go back to New Orleans,“ I add.

“You didn’t tell me that Klaus was going to be here,” Katherine says nervously looking in between Damon and Stefan.

“Is it going to be a problem Katerina?” Klaus asks.

“No not at all,” Katherine replies.

“So where is Sami?” I ask.

“She’s inside drinking away,” Elena responds not taking her eyes off of Katherine.

“Well let’s go interrogate,” I reply grabbing Katherine by her upper arm before she has a chance to refuse. Once we make our way in, I immediately recognize Sami sitting at the bar. Sami turns to see us walking towards her.

“Katherine?” Sami nervously shifts in her seat.

“Y/N here tells me that you’re threatening vampires in town,” Katherine states releasing her arm from my grip. “Did you forget my dear what you are?”

“I don’t need to answer your questions,” Sami replies. “Especially from you.” Sami pushes past me and Katherine. I quickly speed over to block Sami’s path.

“Sit down Sami,” I tell her. She groans and takes a seat at the table. Katherine smirks at me slightly impressed. “Now why don’t we start off with how you’re even still alive in the first place?”

Sami hesitates, but realizes she has no choice but to tell me, “When you thought I died I really wasn’t. After you had buried me and left, Katherine found me.”

“And I fed you blood,” Katherine finishes.

I glare at Katherine, “Why didn’t you tell me you knew Sami?”

“Because she didn’t want you to know that I was hunting vampires,” Sami says. “Katherine sent me to.”

“Why did you send Sami to kill vampires?” I ask Katherine. “Are you insane?”

“I’ve been looking for a family artifact,” Katherine tells me reluctantly. “I know a vampire has it so I’ve been having Sami threaten people to find it, but someone has been taking it a little too far to the point of killing them.” Katherine glares at Sami.

“I’ve lived decades to know that this artifact must do something in your favor,” I respond. “You’re definitely not looking for family sentiment.”

“It is an artifact to protect against and reverse the compulsion of an original vampire,” Katherine tells me.

“And why would you need that?” I ask.

“I had gotten into an argument with Rebekah and she has compelled me to do something I don’t want to do,” Katherine tells me.

“And what exactly is that?” I question. Before Katherine can answer she grabs Sami and they speed out the door. I quickly follow them outside and Katherine stops me in my tracks.

“Goodbye Y/N, it was nice seeing you again,” Katherine says as she disappears into the night with Sami.

“You handled yourself quite well in there Y/N,” Klaus smirks.

“Of course you were listening,” I laugh a little. Damon, Elena, Stefan, and Caroline approach us with looks of relief washed over their faces.

“Well I suppose this concludes our little trip to Mystic Falls,” Klaus says to them. “Katerina and Sami are both gone and once again you are all safe.”

“How do you know they won’t be back?” Stefan asks.

“I’m pretty sure they won’t,” I reply thinking about how angry Katherine was at Sami for killing vampires.

“Even if they do return, I believe you guys are able to handle yourselves without my help,” Klaus states. “But I believe it is time for me to head back to New Orleans.”

“Does that mean you’re leaving too Y/N?” Caroline asks sadly. I look at Klaus before looking at the rest of them.

“Yeah I want to get back to my apartment in New Orleans,” I tell them. “Besides I’m sure Leo is dying to hear all about my adventures here. Bye everyone! It was so nice seeing you guys again,” I exchange hugs with everyone while Klaus idly stands by.

“Are you not going to hug us Klaus?” asks Damon sadly. Klaus rolls his eyes at him which results in a chorus of laughter. Klaus places his hand on my back to guide me to his car.

“They sure are cute, even after all these years,” I hear Elena whisper quietly. I look over to Klaus to see if he heard, but his face remains emotionless. I sigh shivering a bit in the cold of the night. I could feel my heart beating in my chest as the silence between Klaus and I grew. I look up at the sky to see a lone star.

“The first star is out we have to stop and make a wish Klaus,” I say pulling him back. Ever since I transitioned, I was even more of a sucker for cheesy human traditions. Sure being a vampire had its perks, but I honestly missed the innocence of being human.

“Y/N please you know that doesn’t work,” Klaus replies continuing to walk toward the car. I roll my eyes at him. He never was a believer. I close my eyes and make a wish. I speed up next to him to catch up. “Did you really stop to make a wish Y/N?” he asks unlocking the car door and walking over to the driver’s side of the car. He taps his fingers mindlessly on the roof of the car.

I smile at him widely, “You know how I am.”

“You’re right. I do,” Klaus says with a smile before climbing into the driver’s seat. I open the door and climb into the car preparing for hours of driving back to New Orleans.

“Just a small town girl,” I sing obnoxiously and off-key. Klaus looks at me in disgust shaking his head. He turns off the radio.

“Y/N, you should stick to your other hobbies,” Klaus laughs.

I smack him on the arm, “You take that back right now.”

“I’m just telling you the truth darling,” Klaus replies. “Trust me I’m doing you a favor.”

At this point in our trip, we were close to the Mikaelson’s home. I look out the window smiling at the familiar sights of New Orleans.

“I’ve missed New Orleans so much,” I say.

“We’ve only been gone for a couple days Y/N,” Klaus says.

“No Klaus, I mean in general,” I look down playing with my fingers nervously. “You know I haven’t been here ever since… you know…”

“Y/N you know you can talk about it,” Klaus sighs. “I’ve long forgiven you for your actions. I know it was not your fault.”

“I know, but it’s still hard Klaus,” I tell him. “I still feel so guilty for trying to kill you and then leaving.”

“Well you’re here now,” Klaus replies pulling up to their home. I see Rebekah and Leo out front practicing some sort of fight moves. “Looks like they are keeping busy.”

I hop out of the car and immediately am met with Leo’s face in mine, “How was the trip Y/N? Tell me everything that happened after I left!” Leo exclaims. Klaus walks up to the two of us. “Klaus you have to tell me everything too!! I wish I didn’t leave so soon. I probably missed all the action,” Klaus laughs a little at Leo.

Rebekah soon joins us as well, “Y/N!” She embraces me in a hug. “Brother,” she leans in to give Klaus a small hug as well.

“Well we saw Katerina and Y/N’s old friend Sami,” Klaus says.

“Yeah Sami was the hunter,” I tell them. “Katherine is looking for something and she has been having Sami threaten vampires to find the artifact.”

“She is such a doppelbitch,” Leo whispers. I laugh at his comment.

“What is she looking for?” Rebekah asks.

“That’s the thing she said you compelled her to do something,” I say. “And she’s trying to find a way to not do it.”

“I haven’t seen Katerina in years I don’t know what she’s talking about,” Rebekah states angrily.

“She seemed pretty adamant that it was you,” I reply. “But that doesn’t matter all that matters is her and Sami left Mystic Falls. So everyone there should be safe for now.”

“Y/N you should stay here if Sami and Katerina are still on the loose,” Rebekah says. “You should too Leo.”

“I wouldn’t want to impose,” I say slowly looking at Klaus.

“You wouldn’t my brother would practically jump out of his skin in joy if you were to stay here,” Rebekah replies. I feel the colors on my cheeks rise.

“Rebekah,” Klaus says angrily.

“What I’m just telling the girl the truth Klaus,” Rebekah winks at me. “Come on I’ll help you move your things from your apartment.”

“Living with the Originals has been a long time dream of mine and I am honored,” Leo says jokingly bowing to Klaus.

“You are absolutely ridiculous Leo,” I say grabbing him by the arm following Rebekah.

Leo and I drag our bags into the Mikaelson home.

“How do you even have that much stuff?” I ask looking at Leo’s extra large suitcase.

“I went shopping with Beks a lot when you guys were gone,” Leo shrugs.

“Oh good you both are here,” Rebekah says coming into the room. “Leo I’ll show you your room and Y/N Klaus will show you yours.”

“Where is Klaus?” I ask.

“Oh he must be here somewhere who knows,” Rebekah responds dragging Leo by the arm. “You’ll know where to find him.”

As if on cue, Klaus makes his way down the stairs with paint splattered all over his clothes. “That’s all you have?” He gestures to my one bag before grabbing it from me.

“Yup,” I say following him up the stairs. “What are you working on?” I ask referring to his paintings.

“I’ll show you after I show you your room,” Klaus says.

“Are you sure you’re okay with me staying here?” I ask as we stop outside the door of a spare bedroom.

“You know you always have been and always will be welcome in my home Y/N,” Klaus tells me. I smile at him and he throws my bag on the large bed in the middle of the room. “Come on,” he grabs my hand and leads me to his art room. I am immediately met with a huge canvas set on an easel. A multitude of colors from blue to green to pink blend to the image of a night sky.

“Hold up is that a wishing star?” I say pointing to the middle of the painting. Klaus smiles.

“What can I say? You inspired me,” Klaus says stepping closer to me. I hear his heart beating fast, in tune with the pace of mine. “I’ve waited years to see you again Y/N. I’ve missed you so much,” he whispers placing his hands on the sides of my face. I feel him lean in and I mimic his motions. I crash my lips into his, a feeling all too familiar.

—

“Do you ever wish you were human again?” I ask. Klaus and I were looking up at the night sky laying down on the top of his roof. Klaus pauses for a bit, he sighs.

“I’m not sure I’ve never really thought about it,” Klaus rolls over to look at me. “Would you ever want to be a vampire?”

“I don’t think I’d be able to Klaus,” I reply. “I’m not strong and brave like you and the others are. I would be a terrible vampire.”

“That’s not true,” Klaus states. He props himself up on his elbow to get a better look at me. “You’re amazing at anything you put your mind to. That’s one of the many reasons why I love you.” Klaus blurts out. He pauses when he realizes what came out of his mouth.

“I love you too Klaus,” I say leaning up to kiss him.

#klaus mikaelson #klaus mikaelson x reader #klaus mikaelson imagine #klaus mikaelson x y/n #the originals #the originals imagine #the originals x reader #tvd imagines #tvd x reader #y/n

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plumblossomkun · 5 years

Text

Spirit

word count: 2232

synopsis: in which you can’t find a costume for a Halloweekend party, and the cute employee at Spirit Halloween, Wong Yukhei, is all too glad to help you.

warning[s]: flirting, mentions of alcohol, a single profanity, and a kiss.

a/n: another cute one! i was sitting in my cog. psych class this morning writing little notes on what i wanted to write for this fic and i think my professor saw me getting a little excited over it because she gave me a ? look and i was like dfghjkl i need to not think about fanfic during my one class on MWF

Every year, come late autumn, the mall pitches a large tent in the parking lot and fill it with all sorts of cobwebs and costumes. Atop it all, the grim reaper logo flies on a pumpkin orange banner bearing the name of the store, Spirit Halloween, and its catchphase, So much fun it’s scary!

“Y/n, are you ready to find yourself a costume for this Halloweekend?” Mina asks, gripping your elbow. “I can’t believe you’re actually coming along to the party this year.”

“I can’t believe my dad’s letting me,” you sigh as she drags you through the open door. Immediately your nose is flooded with the strange, zesty smell of dry ice as white smoke pools around your feet, and you cough.

A honey-haired, tall boy looks over from the cash register to your left. He waves at the two of you, with the brightest, most honest smile you’ve ever seen. “Welcome to Spirit!”

“Hello,” you reply, dipping your head in greeting.

“He’s cute,” Mina murmurs, eyes flicking from top to bottom as she appraises him. “Too bad I have a boyfriend.”

You snort. “You say that every time we come across someone remotely attractive, like you’re not whipped for Kazumi.”

“I can appreciate handsome boys.” She rolls her eyes, then gasps, spotting something at the other end of the store, pointing excitedly. “Y/n, look, there’s couple costumes! Should I force Kazu to wear one with me?”

“Hell yeah.”

“Oh my god. I think I see a honey and bee set! Meet me at the register in 30?”

“Got it. I’ll go… look for a costume.”

“Text me if you find anything exciting!”

Half-heartedly, you examine a simple witch costume, one with a long, flowing black skirt and a pointed felt hat. You’ve been a witch before, more than twice, at least, and you don’t mind the low cut neckline if it means you’re not going to spend another day looking in vain for another costume that won’t have your father up in arms.

“Finding everything okay?”

You glance at the speaker; it’s the cute boy from the register grinning down at you. He towers over you a little, and he notices when you flinch at his presence and takes an amiable step backwards, chuckling.

“I think I’m good,” is your automatic response, staring down at the plastic bag containing the witch costume.

Meekly, you add, “...If I change my mind, I’ll come find you.”

“Of course. Anything you need, you come to me, doll.” He grins, giggling a little at his own audacity, and then heads off to talk to a couple of girls in the next aisle poring over little devilish pieces and pairing lipsticks with their outfits.

Mina holds up the witch costume next to you, screwing up her nose in focus. “I don’t know, girl. I know you don’t wanna look too slutty, but you know, it’s Halloweekend. Go crazy. Go stupid.”

“I know, I know.” You take the costume back from her, and place it back on the hooks. “I just, I don’t know. I haven’t felt super excited about Halloween in a while.”

“That’s okay~” she reassures you, patting your cheeks. “Take your time, you still have one more day!”

“Yeah…” you sigh. “Did you find what you wanted, at least?”

She lights up immediately, and holds up an Adult Avocado and Toast couples’ costume. “He’s going to hate this so much, but what do you think?”

“It’s very… Californian of you.”

She laughs. “That settles it. I’m getting it. Are you going to buy any makeup or anything?”

“No, I asked Lisa to do my makeup.” As you talk, the two of you navigate through the aisles towards the cash registers at the front. “That’s another reason I want to find a costume fast; she told me it would be nice if I told her as soon as possible so she could come up with a look.”

“Hello!” the cashier greets you. “Did any employees help you today?”

“Ah, yes,” Mina taps her lip with her debit card. “I think his name was Yukhei.”

The cashier smiles fondly at the name as she rings up the purchase. “That’ll be 49.99.”

Mina swipes her card, and turns to you as the transaction loads. “Are you gonna come back tomorrow?”

“Do I have a choice?”

“Other than skipping the party? None.”

The next day you show up at Spirit alone. You’d tried to get Lisa to come with you, but she'd had refused in favor of studying for the Physics midterm, and Mina’s shift was going to run long past Spirit’s closing time of 9pm.

You hold your breath when you pass through the fumes of the fog machine this time, striding through it so quickly you miss a certain someone waving at you.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” he calls after you, his voice reeling you back. “Why in such a rush?”

Biting your lip, you backtrack to the register. “There’s a party this weekend…”

“And you’re in desperate need of a costume,” he finishes, eyes gleaming. “Well, you’ve come to the right guy.”

He offers you his hand to shake and introduces himself. “Wong Yukhei. You can call me Yukhei, or Lucas, my English name.”

You take his hand and shake. His palm is warm and callused against yours. “Y/n.”

“Well, y/n, what are you in the market for?” he asks, rounding the register to walk side by side with you down the aisle of trick or treat bowls, the ones that have little gimmicky skulls and bony hands that react whenever you reach into them. “Cute? Sexy? Spooky?”

“I don’t know,” you say, picking up a Scream mask attached to a pump meant to push a red liquid faintly resembling blood into its plastic chamber and turning it over in your hands just to do something with them as you approach the Adult Costumes section in the back. “There’s a party this weekend, and I don’t know what I want to be.”

“What costumes have you worn before?”

“I’ve been a black cat and witch more times than I can count. I was a fairy when I was a kid, once.” You replace the mask on a shelf with similar pieces.

He laughs. “Those aren’t bad. I’m sure you looked great.”

“Yeah, but they’re safe choices.”

Yukhei reaches up to grab a costume from the top row of hooks, but pauses before he grabs it, looking you square in the eye to say, “Nothing wrong with safe, doll.”

He says that, but with the smell of cedar and vanilla radiating from him as he leans down to hand it to you, you think, maybe safe is a little too boring for you.

Lisa gently pulls the hair back from your face and draws it into a loose plait. “You found a costume, huh?”

“Yeah.” Your fingers twitch as you remember how you’d taken it home and torn the plastic bag apart to really try it on for the first time, and looked in the mirror. You’d spun and marveled at yourself until you grew dizzy, and then you’d laid on your bed and laughed.

“And what else did you find?” she prods, pinching your cheek. “Cuz I heard from Mina…”

You roll your eyes. “What did she tell you?”

She pats primer on your face, and you wince at the feel of the cold cream. “That you had goo-goo eyes for a tall and tan hottie.”

“I did not!”

She snickers as she looks through her foundations to match your skin color. “Did you get his number?”

“Why would I ask for that? He was just helping me out. You know, like a normal retail employee would.” “Well, sweetie, when two people are physically attracted to each other, it’s only natural that they want to get to know each other in a more intimate way. Whether you want to hold his hand or hop on that dick, I’m not judging.”

You splutter. “I’m not going to do that!”

“Alright, alright,” she relents, spinning a brush between her fingers with a giggle, “but if anything happens, I wanna hear all the details.”

At ten past nine, you show up to the party with Mina on your right. Kazumi trails behind the two of you, tugging at the green felt avocado costume on his frame and grumbling.

The house belongs to one of Kazumi’s friends, whose parents are gone for the weekend on a business trip. It’s a lovely little villa in the midst of nowhere, with a chic, modern inside, and a wooden deck complete with a firepit, where most of the invitees sit, soaking up the autumn breeze and firelight.

“We’re going to go get some drinks,” Mina announces, turning to take her boyfriend’s hand. She looks you up and down with a grin. “Go get em, tigress.”

“You’re ditching me already?” You cling to her sleeve; while you love your costume, you don’t love the idea of walking around the party by yourself no matter what you’re wearing.

“No, I’m letting you free. Find a corner and wait for the boys to come to you, darling.” She blows you a kiss and plucks your fingers from her costume to head into the kitchen. “You’ve always been beautiful. Now unleash your inner hoe.”

The jungle juice is way too strong for you.

Still, you take sips from your half-filled cup every now and then to keep your hands from shielding your body, letting the sharp heat of the liquid sear the hesitation from your fingertips. The tight black lycra material of the SWAT catsuit on your body makes you feel like you’re exposed, every curve, every bump, every out-of-place spot on your body on display for everyone to see.

The firelight doesn’t quite reach you in this corner, though, on the cushioned wooden bench just to the right of the screen doors, so you’re not all that worried.

The polished wood of the deck creaks as a tall silhouette approaches you, and you curl your legs under your body to let them squeeze past you and the group of frat boys cheering loudly for their friend chugging the contents of a vodka bottle.

But the person sits by you instead.

“I thought I recognized you,” a familiar voice purrs. “What are the odds, though?”

You meet Yukhei’s glittering chocolate eyes with a gasp. In a leather jacket, distressed blue jeans and a pair of aviators clipped onto his shirt, and with his hair slicked back over his forehead, even in the faint light, he looks more attractive than he has any right to be.

“Greaser?” is all you can manage to say.

“Guilty as charged.” He holds his hands up in mock surrender, touching the rings in his earlobes when he says, “You look good.”

“Thanks.” Blood rushes to your cheeks, and you fiddle with with the plastic cuffs on the belt hanging low on your hips. It feels strange to be talking to him as a person and not as a customer, though his easy, goofy grin is still the same. “You’re not too bad yourself.”

Yukhei laughs, fiddling with the dozen rings on his fingers. “You should have a little more confidence, babe.”

You choke on your punch. Doll had been a safe nickname, but babe? “I’m… what?”

He shakes his head, gesturing to all of you. “Come on. You don’t think you look good?”

When you open your mouth, ready to deflect his compliment, he covers your mouth with a hand. In the firelight, the edges of his face are outlined in amber and carnelian, and heat floods your cheeks when you notice that he’s not smiling, for once, and instead looks entirely serious when he tells you, “You’re beautiful.”

He sits back, taking his hand from your skin as if the brief moment of contact has burned him. He turns his head towards the firepit, and you can see that he’s scrunching his face up awkwardly, cheeks red with embarrassment.

“Thank you,” you murmur.

He scoots closer to you, so close that your legs touch from knee to hip. “Sorry, I don’t want to invade your personal space, but I really can’t hear you.”

“No, it’s okay.” It really isn’t; his sweet, woody cologne envelops you, washing over you like the heat of the fire, and you unconsciously lean into him, cheek brushing his shoulder as you repeat your thanks.

Yukhei chuckles, and you take a deep swig of your drink in the hopes that it’ll keep you from drowning in his smile.

He doesn’t say anything for a while. And eventually, you give in and rest your head on his shoulder, watching the embers dance in the firepit and the rowdy group of boys begin to wind down for the night, sitting on the edge of the deck and pointing up drunkenly at the constellations in the sky.

It’s a little uncomfortable, resting on his collarbone, but when his arm sneaks around to wrap around your shoulders, you don’t mind at all.

And when his eyes meet yours and crinkle in a smile, and one of his hands comes up to cup your face gently, you close your eyes and lean into the kiss.

You leave that night with the taste of chocolate on your lips and his hand in yours.

#neotober #cznnet #tbh i spent way too long on this one but i kind of really wanted them to kith #nct fluff #nct imagines #wayv fluff #wayv imagines #yukhei fluff #wong yukhei #huang xuxi #xuxi fluff #lucas fluff #nct lucas #superm lucas #wayv lucas

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