#YES. yes. i should really make a hello kitty tag. Later

[daisynik7]

A Bento For Kento

Chapter 2: Two Bentos are Better Than One

Pairing: Nanami x f!reader

Word Count: ~2.8k

cw: none that I can think of!

Summary: Nanami gets a pleasant surprise from his student, in the form of a Hello Kitty bento box. Meanwhile, you are an emotional mess who loves your weirdo brother. 

Notes: Bento inspired by this: Japanese Egg Sandwich. Let me know in the comments below if you’d like to be tagged in the next chapter(s)! Thanks for reading! Likes, reblogs, and comments are always appreciated. Would love to hear what y'all think so far!

Previous Chapter | ao3 | Next Chapter

A Bento for Kento Masterlist

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Preparing lunches for Ren has been fun, but making a different type of bento three times a week is really pushing your creativity threshold. Knowing that he isn’t picky about eating the same meal every other day, you decide to cook one type of bento throughout the week. Doing it this way has made the whole process less stressful and more manageable.

As for his actual lessons, you remain in the dark. When he comes home Friday afternoon, you ask him, “How was your first week? Still determined to attend this school?” 

He kicks his shoes off and flops down, face first, onto the couch. “Yes, very determined.” He flips onto his back and reaches his arms above his head, stretching. “Can we watch a horror movie tonight? I’m in the mood for something mindless that doesn’t make me think so much. I did too much thinking this week.”

You chuckle, agreeing to his suggestion. “You pick the movie. Nothing too scary, though. I would like to sleep tonight.”

“Can we order pizza too?” he asks, staring at you with his puppy dog eyes. “I really like you’re cooking, but I just want to eat like trash and feel like trash tonight.” 

You laugh even louder, sitting beside him to ruffle his hair. “You’re starting to sound more like an adult. Stop growing up so fast or else you’ll be a miserable millennial like me.”

“Never! You can never take away my youth!” he yells, playfully flailing his limbs up in the air.

After some typical back and forth about what toppings to get, the two of you finally agree on what type of pizza to order. While waiting for the delivery, you give your brother the honors of choosing which horror movie to watch, to which he picks the number one on a list of top ten scariest films he looked up on Google. So much for sleeping tonight. 

~~~

The start of another week means a brand-new bento creation. After searching the Internet for tasty ideas, you decide to make egg salad sandwiches. These were a favorite of yours and Ren’s growing up. To kick it up a notch, you use high quality Shokupan bread, courtesy of your favorite bakery nearby. Hell, you even cut the crusts off. Impressed with yourself, you deliberate if you should change careers to become a professional chef. 

As you delicately place them in the blue bento, you hear his footsteps approach the kitchen. “Yum! Egg salad!” He looks over your shoulder to peek. “And with no crust?!”

You turn your head to face him, grinning. “Yup. Pretty fancy, huh?”

“It’s amazing! The bread looks so fluffy,” he notices, poking at it. He hovers over the bowl of egg salad, still half full. He stares at it for a moment before asking, “Is there a lot left?”

“Yeah, looks like it. I’ll eat it some of it later. Maybe I can give the rest to the neighbors – ”

“Can you pack me an extra then? I’ll eat it!” He starts opening up the cupboards, looking for another box. 

“You want two bentos?” 

“Yes! Please! I’ll eat them both, I promise!” 

You’re surprised, but also flattered. Has your cooking improved so much that your teenaged brother actually craves two servings of your food? Maybe you really should become a chef.

Ren continues to slam the cupboards, his search for another container growing futile. After you’ve had enough, you head to your room and yell out, “Stop! I think I have one in my room, hold on.”

After you find what you’re looking for in your closet, you return to the kitchen, bright red Hello Kitty bento box in hand. “Let’s use this. Do you mind?”

He smiles wide, all his teeth showing mischievously. “This is perfect.” His enthusiasm throws you off. Teenage boys sure are getting weirder and weirder.

~~~

“Hello mentor!” Ren greets as he enters the conference room.

Nanami lifts his head up to return his greeting. “Hello Nakamura, did you have a nice weekend?” 

Ren sits down at an empty desk, unzipping his backpack to retrieve a notebook and pen, all while recounting his weekend activities. Nanami listens intently, simultaneously pleased with how prompt and prepared his student is for their lessons. 

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, they start today’s class. They delve into a more intense subject: curses. They review previous missions that Nanami himself participated in, some of the content being disturbing and gruesome for the average person. To his surprise, Ren doesn’t seem fazed. When he asks questions, he is analytical and intrigued. Nanami appreciates this, as he himself likes to separate sentimentality from work. 

They go through three different case studies until it’s time for a break. He expects that Ren has another delicious feast ready for him in his backpack. He’s had one every single day they’ve had their lessons. Last week, it was the same for all three days. He wonders if it’s different this time.

For some reason, Nanami keeps forgetting to find another bakery that sells ham and cheese sandwiches. He is without a lunch again. He gets up from his desk and walks down the hall into the break room to prepare his tea. This will have to do for now. 

He returns to the conference room, freshly brewed green tea in hand, noticing that Ren is already halfway through his meal. Egg salad sandwiches today, one of Nanami’s favorites. 

Back at his seat, he is shocked, and horrified, to find a Hello Kitty bento box waiting for him on top of his desk.

Whipping his head towards his student, he asks nervously, “What is this?”

Ren smiles, cheeks stuffed like chipmunk. “It’s for you!” Bits of egg salad come flying out of his mouth. “Sorry,” he mutters, swallowing his food all at once. “I couldn’t stand another day seeing you just drink your tea. I had my sister make an extra.” 

Nanami stares at him, then at Hello Kitty. Her black eyes and red ribbon peering into his soul. 

“Well, aren’t you going to eat it? It’s not like Hello Kitty is a curse,” Ren snorts, amused at his own joke.

Still hesitant about this odd situation, he clarifies, “Are you sure you don’t want this? Your sister packed this for you.” It’s not for me, he thinks.

He munches on a cucumber slice, responding, “The only reason I asked her to pack an extra was so I can give it to you. It’s the least I can do since you’re teaching me so much.”

There’s a lump in his throat, an unusual sensation Nanami isn’t familiar with. It’s been a while since someone showed this kind of generosity to him. It wasn’t as if people in his life mistreated him. It’s just nice to be acknowledged. 

He remains standing over the desk when Ren mentions, “Hello Kitty was not my choice. You can blame my sister for that. It was the only one she could find. But I think it fits your personality perfectly,” he teases.

Cracking a tiny smile, he says, “As long as the food is good, I don’t mind it.” He finally sits down and opens the box, bidding farewell to Hello Kitty’s face in the process. 

Underneath the cover is an egg salad sandwich, exactly like the one Ren just devoured. He notices that it’s on Shokupan bread. Good choice, he muses. He handles it with care, relishing the softness, appreciating the meticulously trimmed edges. Once he bites in, his eyes almost roll to the back of his head. Creamy, pillowy, not too salty, and slightly sweet. It’s simple and luxurious all at the same time. Purely exquisite.

Maybe it’s because this was his first taste of real food all day. Maybe it’s because it seems like a gift from his student. Maybe it’s because it makes him feel special. Whatever the reason, he can admit to himself that he is really enjoying this. He’s thankful to be wearing glasses to prevent his pupil from witnessing the dumb expression on his face. It’s embarrassing. Out of character. 

“Pretty good, right? It was our favorite growing up,” Ren mentions, finishing off the rest of his cucumber slices. “She got this bread from a bakery near us. Said the type of bread makes all the difference. It all tastes the same to me.” He has his feet up on the desk now and starts to rub his belly, relaxed and well nourished.

“Your sister is right; it does make all the difference.” Nanami swallows the last bit of his first helping, then starts nibbling on the second. “This wouldn’t be as tasty if it was on generic grocery store bread.”

Ren stifles a laugh and leans further back in his chair to give him an amused look. “Ha, I didn’t expect you to use the word ‘tasty’. It’s funny hearing it from you.”

He wipes his mouth. “Well, it is tasty.”

“I’ll make sure my sister knows her egg salad is tasty,”

“Why are you saying it like that?” He frowns at his student, but when he only responds with a snicker, he chooses not to ask the question again. 

He finishes the rest of the box, leaving no crumbs behind. Hello Kitty returns in plain view as he places the cover back on, handing it to Ren. “Thank you, Nakamura. This was a pleasant surprise.”

“No problem, mentor! Like I said, it’s the least I could do. I’m learning so much from you!” Ren beams at him while he puts both containers away, notebook and pen placed back in front of him.

“Shall we continue the lesson then?”

They go over three more case studies until it’s time to go. Ren asks well thought out questions, taking diligent notes all the while. Nanami explains a few techniques he used in one case study that he personally handled. 

After Ren leaves, he gathers up his suitcase and prepares for his journey home. He’s not as exhausted as he was last week, which he’s thankful for. I should probably find a café, he thinks, scrolling through his phone to look up locations nearby. He won’t subject himself to a single cup of green tea at lunch any longer. That sandwich gave him the energy he needed, but he doesn’t want to assume this is a recurring thing. He finds a café close to the office, setting a reminder for himself to stop by before their next lesson. This will have to do for now.

~~~

You’re already wrapping up work when Ren comes home. “Hey! How was today? Learn anything new?” you ask, closing your laptop. 

He drops his backpack on the floor and sits on the couch, yawning. “I’m learning a ton. I feel like I’ve already gone through half my notebook with all these notes!” 

You sit next to him, watching him open his backpack to retrieve his notebook. As he flips through the pages, you notice a variety of scribbles, as well as some strange doodles of little monsters with bulging eyes. The last page he lands on has a drawing of one long line with hash marks scattered evenly across it. There are notes scrawled around it, the numbers “7” and “3” popping up continuously.

Oh god, this is some cult shit. Panic begins to set in. You’re tempted to start interrogating him. Before you lose your cool, you listen to your inner voice reminding you to trust him. 

Sensing your internal crisis, Ren smiles and waves his hand in front of your face. “Sorry, I know it looks weird, but I promise it’s good.”

What the hell does that mean?! It’s good?!  His response doesn’t alleviate your worries, but as you gaze at his precious face, you realize that he’s putting so much work into whatever this is. It must really be important to him. 

You force a grin and state, “If you say it’s good, then it’s all good.” You reach into his backpack to grab the two empty boxes. “Wow! You must have really liked the sandwiches. I can’t believe you ate both!” 

“Yeah, they were amazing! So tasty! It reminded me of the first meal I ever had when Mom and Dad took me in. It was the first time I ever met you. I ate my whole sandwich in just a few bites, and you gave me half of yours without even thinking for a second. I’ll never forget that.” He smiles at you affectionately. “Actually, I gave the extra one to – ” 

He pauses, noticing the tears streaking down your face, nose sniffling noisily.

“You-hic-you-hic hic-remember that?” you manage to blurt out, your face getting wetter from your embarrassing tears and snot. You promised yourself you wouldn’t get emotional if he brought this up, but you can’t help it!

Concerned, he faces you and places a hand on your shoulder. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you cry! I was just telling you how good it was! It’s a happy memory. I’m happy.”

You wipe your sleeve across your cheeks. “I-hic-just want to make sure I’m-hic-being a good sister.” It takes another minute to steady your breathing. “I know you can’t tell me everything, but if these bentos are the only thing I can do to support you right now, I’ll keep doing it! I was surprised when you asked for another one. I’m just so happy that you like it!” 

He gives your shoulder a small squeeze, smiling. “You’re the best sister ever. I mean it.”

Before you get emotional again, you stand up to wash the boxes in the sink. Halfway through, you remember him trying to tell you something right before you interrupted him with the waterworks. Nothing else is mentioned about it the rest of the night, so you leave it be, thinking it must not be important. 

~~~

Wednesday comes around and Nanami finally remembers to visit the café to pick up his lunch. Unfortunately for him, no ham and cheese. He ends up settling for the less satisfying turkey sandwich. 

He heads up to their usual conference room and settles in. Within minutes, Ren arrives, greeting him as he takes his usual spot at one of the empty desks. They continue their lesson on curses and different abilities that have been used to exorcise them. Nanami references several Jujutsu sorcerers and explains each of their “innate techniques.” He asks Ren if he is aware of any special abilities he might have exhibited throughout his lifetime, to which his pupil acknowledges several odd occurrences he experienced as a child. This helps put some of the pieces together. He’s pleased at the progress they are making. 

They take their break earlier than usual, their stomachs growling with hunger. Nanami hears his student digging through his backpack while he reaches into his suitcase for the sandwich he picked up earlier. He’s startled when Ren appears next to him, holding out the wretched Hello Kitty vessel. 

“Here you go!” he says, placing it on Nanami’s desk, walking back to his own to start munching happily on an egg salad sandwich. 

He wasn’t expecting another bento box today. He actually came prepared this time with his own meal. But he can’t shake this feeling of guilt, as if it would be a sin against humanity if he denied this delicious treat. As if Hello Kitty herself would scorn him for life. 

Also, he’d be lying to himself if he said he wasn’t secretly hoping for this. 

Luckily, he hasn’t taken the food out of his briefcase yet. I’ll just eat it for dinner, he thinks, placing it back to the bottom of his case. 

He stares at Hello Kitty, welcoming her reappearance on his desk. He thanks Ren, then opens the container to start eating. It’s exactly how it was on Monday. Tasty. “Are you sure your sister doesn’t mind making an additional box?”

“She doesn’t mind at all. I think she gets a kick out of it. She actually got emotional about it the other day.”

As he recounts the story, Nanami can’t help but admire his student for remembering a touching memory over something as simple as a sandwich. He also respects the way he describes his sister. She seems nice, he speculates, picturing what she might look like, just so he can put a face to a name. 

Deciding that his thought is innocent enough, he comments, “She seems nice, Nakamura. You are lucky to have a sister like that.” Immediately feeling awkward saying something sentimental out loud, he adds, “I guess I’m lucky too because I’m reaping the benefits of her generosity. Even if I do have to see this damn cat every time.”

Ren chuckles. “Well, get used to it. You’re going to see a lot more of Hello Kitty, whether you like it or not.” 

Nanami smiles. He definitely could get used to this. 

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Tag List: @liliorsstuff-blog @hughugh20

[seokolat]

Get to know a simmer 🌷

thank you @damseljamsel for the tag!!

Show your wallpaper : It’s obviously Lana de queen 💅

Last song you listened to : Happiness is a butterfly still by Lana del Rey ahah

Currently reading : Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka 🫶 his poetry is my weakness

Last movie : I watched the new Spider-Man (Across the Spider Verse) with my crush aaa, it was so cool!!

Last show : Watched friends yesterday evening

Craving : I’m actually not hungry at all but I’d like to have a piece of that olive cake my best friend makes sometimes lsmsks

What are you wearing right now ? Pyjamas, I’ve been CC hunting all morning 😭

How tall are you ? 5’4 I think

Piercings : Industrial and lobe piercing on the ears 😵 Thinking about getting a belly button one

Tattoos : None but I’d like to have some later !

Glasses/ Contact : I should be wearing my glasses all the time, but I only wear them for school and while playing video games ☠️

Last thing you ate : Melon :0

Favorite color : Forever a pink girly, always loved this color

Current obsession : Ngl I’m pretty obsessed by my crush at the moment 😭

Any pets : Yepp! Two kitties and one sweet dog who’s my baby and favorite person in the world

Favorite fictional character : I really love Hello Kitty and yes she does count my girly

Last place you travelled : I went to London for my study trip with my whole class, it was amazing!!

I’Il tag ; @d4isy-nukes @moonfromearth @apricote @nihilismtrcit @aurorangen @virsancte @aries-sims

But everyone feel free to ignore this !

[ze-maki-nin]

Pumpkin Cookies!

Requested-Na! I came up with this idea with some ideas from @sugarrbbee!! Thank you <33 (Again-)

Pairing: C!Niki x Gn!Reader

Idea: You bake Pumpkin Cookies with Niki!

Tags/Warnings: None, Fluff! (If there is any warnings that I missed pls tell me!)

A/N- This is SUPER long! Like 2,716 words long!(Not including this beginning part and the endnote thing!) It's also my first fic so please dont be rude/mean!

* . °•★|•°∵ ∵°•|☆•° . ** . °•★|•°∵ ∵°•|☆•° . ** . °•★|•°∵ ∵°•|* .

The sun shone through the light blue curtains, making you stir in your bed. Groaning, your teary eyes blinked open.

"What time is it?" You murmured, turning onto your back slowly. Bringing your hands up, you slowly rubbed the tears out of your eyes. Yawning, you sat up, the soft blanket falling off of you.

Looking over to your nightstand, the black clock read '7:10' "It's so early" You grumbled, glaring at the alarm clock. Slowly pulling off the rest of the blankets and swinging your legs over the bed.

You let your feet dangle for a minute, staring off into space. You then huffed and jumped off the comfortable bed, landing on the cold, wooden floor. Stretching your arms over your head, hearing popping noises.

You huffed and dropped your arms, walking over to your dresser. Opening the middle drawer and pulling out a black sweatshirt and pair of jeans.

You closed the drawer and made your way to your connected bathroom to get ready. You set your clothes on the counter and walked over to the shower, turning it on. Warm steam slowly started to fill the room.

* . °•★|•°∵ ∵°•|☆•° . * After the shower* . °•★|•°∵ ∵°•|☆•° . *

Turning off the water, you got out and reached for your towel and wrapped it around you. You pulled out the blow dryer from a drawer and plugged it in, then turned it on.

The hot air blew on your face, making you smile at how warm it was. You then turned it so it was blowing on your wet hair and started drying your hair.

You turned off the blow dryer, setting it down, and started running your hands through your hair. Humming a tune, you picked up your clothes and started getting dressed.

Once the jeans were on all the way, you picked up a brush and started brushing out your hair, getting all the naughts out. Putting the brush and blow dryer away in a drawer, you picked up your dirty clothes and walked out of the bathroom to throw them in the dirty basket.

Walking back over to your dresser, you pulled out some socks from the top drawer, closed it, then sat down on your bed to put them on.

You huffed, looking at the clock on your nightstand, it read '8:20' "Time for breakfast" You mumbled, standing up and walking over to your door. Opening your bedroom door and walking out, closing it behind you.

Heading down the warm hallway, you made it to your living room. You looked around it, trying to spot your black cat Nightmare. Your brows furrowed not seeing the cat anywhere. Taking a couple steps towards the couch, stopping right behind it.

You looked down and saw a black fur ball "Silly Kitty" You giggled, petting their head. The cat stirred in its sleep, but not waking up. You hummed and headed towards the kitchen.

Heading towards the fridge, you pulled out some eggs. Setting them down on the counter near the stove, you closed the fridge and headed to a coupard and pulled out some toast, a pan, and some non-stick cooking spray.

You put the pan on the stove top, turned it on, and sprayed some cooking spray in it. Turning around, you put the spray back and waited for the pan to warm up. Once it was warm enough, you picked up the eggs and cracked them into the pan.

Sizzling sounds filled the kitchen as you pulled out some ingredients to make coffee. You finished pulling the ingredients out and started making it.

You paused, looking back at the eggs in the pan and set everything down. You walked over to the pan and flipped the eggs. You grabbed the bread out of its bag and put it in the toaster.

You huffed, turning back to your coffee to see Nightmare up on the counter, swatting at the cup "Don't. You. Dare." You said slowly, staring your cat in the eyes.

Nightmare just stared back, their tail swishing back and forth, and swatted the cup off the counter, all while looking you in the eyes. They then turned around and started sassily walking away.

You just stared at the broken coffee mug on the ground, the coffee that was in it spreading all over the floor "Stupid Cat" You grumbled, turning of the stove top, so you dont burn your eggs, and bent down to pick up the glass pieces.

"That was my favorite mug too!" You groaned, standing up and carefully putting the glass shards in the trash. You grabbed a mop out of the closet and started cleaning the coffee.

Once you finished cleaning, you put the mop away, planning to clean it later, and turned towards your eggs and now done toast. You grabbed the toast, buttered them, and put them on a plate, along with the eggs.

Bringing the plate over to the dining table, you sat down and began eating, without a coffee. You finished up your breakfast, picking up the plate and heading to the kitchen to put it in the sink.

Once you finished putting everything away, you walked out to the living room and saw Nightmare stretching on the couch. You sighed, shaking your head, heading over to them.

You gently picked them up, them meowing in protest but stopped once they felt your hand on their head "See. It's not that bad you Crazy Cat" You said, walking towards the door.

You set the fluffy cat on the ground, and slipped your boots on. You stood back up, Nightmare climbing up you side and laying on your shoulders.

"Lets go Nightmare" You said, petting their head and heading out the door. You smiled, breathing in the fresh air. You closed the door behind you, locking it, and headed towards the center of town.

Walking along the path, Nightmare asleep on your shoulder, you waved and smiled at the people.

"Y/N!!" You heard someone yell. You turned your head to the side to see Tubbo running towards you with a big smile.

"Hey Tubs!" You said back, ruffling the boys hair, being mindful of his horns. Tubbo just giggled, playfully smacking your hand away.

"Stop it! Anyways! Do you think I could talk with you? We haven't talked in so long!" The boy said, bouncing on his feet.

"Bubs! We talked yesterday!" You laughed, smiling at him

"I know! But it feels like we haven't talked in forever~" He whined, pouting at the taller person. You just chuckled and waved him to follow you.

"Alright!!" He said excitedly, running to catch up to you.

You just smiled, shaking your head at the boys excitement. You reached up and started petting the lazy cat around your shoulders, listening to the boy ramble.

You hummed, agreeing to whatever the boy next to you was saying.

"This is my stop" You said, nodding towards Nikis Bakery.

"Awww~ I wanted to talk to you more~" He pouted, crossing his arms and stomping.

"Oh hush you baby! We'll talk tomorrow!" You said, ruffling his hair again

"Promise?" He said, looking up at you with his big doe eyes

"Promise! We can even go to your house and hang out there!" You said, kissing his forehead

"ALRIGHT!! SEE YOU TOMORROW!" He yelled excitedly, running away, probably to go find Tommy.

You chuckled, shaking your head and walked towards Nikis Bakery.

You opened the door, the bell chiming above your head.

"Hello and Welcome-Y/N!" Niki said, running over to you and giving you a hug.

"Hello Sweets!" You chuckled, hugging her back.

Nightmare jumped off your shoulder and onto hers "Hello there Nightmare! How are you?" She asked, petting the Gender-Neutral cat, who just meowed back in response. Niki just giggled, watching as the cat jumped off her shoulder and towards the little corner she had made for them, it had a cat bed and some food and water.

She turned back towards you, eyes sparkling in excitement "What are you doing here? I didn't know you were coming over!!" She said, dragging you behind the counter.

"I thought I'd help you with baking today!" You said, letting her drag you.

"Really?! Alright!! What should we bake?" She said, stopping in the kitchen and turning around to look at you.

"Well I thought we could bake some Pumpkin Cookies!! Since it's almost fall!" You said, smiling at her.

"OMG! YES!!" She said excitedly, jumping around her kitchen and grabbing ingredients.

You chuckled and started gathering the pots/mixers/utensils/etc. for you guys. Setting the last of the stuff down next to Niki, who was rocking back and forth on her heels.

"What’s first Chef Niki?" You asked, smiling at the excited girl

"First! We have to preheat the oven to 350° F. and GRease the baking sheets!" She said, taking out the baking sheets.

"Alright! I'll preheat the oven!" You said, walking over to the oven and preheating it, then heading back over to Niki.

"Okay! Now we're going to combine 2 1/2 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg and 1/2 teaspoon of salt!" She said, taking out all the ingredients excitedly.

"That's...A lot...." You said, sweat dropping at all the stuff in front of her.

"Well Duh! They're P u m p k i n" She said, looking at you with a 'Duh' face.

"Right right" You said, bringing your hands up in defence.

She just giggled, turned back to the ingredients and started putting them in. You smiled, dropping your hands to your side and walking to her side. You watched as she carefully put in the dry ingredients in the medium sized bowl.

You then smirked and walked behind her. You then carefully wrapped your arms around her waist and-

"AAAA! Y/N!" She screamed, dropping the teaspoonful of baking powder onto the floor. You laughed, spinning in a circle while gripping onto Niki.

"PUT ME DOWN!!" She yelled, gripping onto your arms and laughing.

You laughed and put her down gently. She quickly turned to you and jumped at you, wrapping her arms around your neck and legs around your waist.

"WHOA!" You said, wrapping our arms around her waist so she wouldn't fall. Niki giggled into your neck, hugging you tighter. You just smiled, hugging her back just as tight.

She jumped off of you "Come on! Let's continue baking you trouble maker!" She said giggling and heading back to the ingredients. You just chuckled, shook your head, and walked back towards Niki.

After you guys finished with the dry ingredients, Niki pulled out a large mixing bowl "Okay! Now we need 1 1/2 cup of sugar and a stick of butter!" She said, taking out the sugar while you softened the butter.

You dumped the two ingredients in the bowl and set it on the mixer, turned on the mixer, and then started blending it.

"What next Niki?" You asked, watching as she got out some beat pumpkin (Pumpkin paste? Idk-), a large egg, and vanilla extract.

"We need to add a cup of beaten pumpkin (Or pumpkin paste-), 1 large egg, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract!" She said, handing you the egg while putting in the pumpkin.

"You got it!" You said, carefully cracking the egg into the mixing pull, as to not get any eggshells in. You walked past Niki, who was now putting in the vanilla extract, and over to the sink to put the eggshell in.

You then washed your hands of the egg and small shells, dried them off, and then walked back over to Niki.

"Now we have to slowly add the flower mixture in!" She said, grabbing the medium sized bowl and slowly dumping it in. Once she finished she handed you the bowl.

"Go put it in the sink pls!" She asked, smiling at me as she got out some spoons.

"Yes Ma'am!" You fake saluted, making her giggle, and walked over to the sink, carefully setting the bowl down.

You walked back over to Niki, wiping the imaginary dust of your sweater "Is it ready?" You asked, hugging the smaller girl from behind.

"Yup! Now we just have to scoop it on the cooking sheets!" She said, handing you a spoon to help her.

You two started scooping the cookie dough onto the sheets, making them a medium size. Once you finished filling up the cookie sheets, you put them in the oven for 15-18 minutes.

"Lets clean up a bit and then get working on the drizzle!" She said, dragging you over to the sink to clean the dirty dishes you guys used.

You just chuckled and rolled up your sleeves, turned on the water, and started cleaning. You grabbed the soap and started to clean the medium and large sized bowl, Niki putting more dirt dishes in the sink.

The oven dinged, signaling that the cookies were done.

"I'll get the cookies out and put them on a cooling rack (?)" Niki said, taking out some cooling racks and setting them up.

"Okay!" I said, finishing the last dirty dish as Niki took out some oven mitts and carefully took out the cookies. She then carefully took the cookies off of the pan, with a spatula, and set them on the racks.

You turned off the faucet, dried your hands on a towel, and pulled down your sleeves walking over to Niki, who has now finished putting the last of the cookies on the racks.

"There! Now we just have to wait for them to cool and make the glaze!" She said, taking off her oven mitts and setting them down. She headed over to the coupards and pulled out a small bowl and some ingredients.

"Okay! We need to add 2 cups of sifted powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons of milk, 1 tablespoons of melted butter, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract!" She said, adding all the ingredients in while you watched.

You looked over to the cookies, then back to Niki, who was manually mixing the glaze, then back over to the cookies. You started quietly walking over to them, and took one.

It was warm, not too warm, but the right amount. You brought it up to your mouth and

"NO!" Niki screamed, snatching the cookie from you and setting it back on the rack

"You have to wait Y/N!" Niki scolded you like a mother would her child.

"Sorry! But they look so good!!" You whined, pouting at her.

She just sighed, grabbing your arm, and pulling you over to the glaze she finished.

"You can help me drizzle the drizzle over the cookies! And then you can have one!" She said, handing you a spoon, put some cookies on two plates,and set one in front of you, the other in front of her.

"All you have to do is put some drizzle on the spoon and drizzle a bit over the cookies!" She said, showing you how to do it.

"Okay!" You said, copying her actions and drizzling some drizzle over the cookies.

You two continued drizzling some stuff over the cookies until they were all covered in drizzle.

"There! Now you can have one!" Niki said, putting the two spoons and bowl in the sink and started washing them.

"ALRIGHT!!" You cheered, picking up one of the cookies and biting into it.

"Hmmm!" You hummed in delight

"These are so good!" You said, shoving the rest of the cookie in your mouth, making Niki giggle.

Nightmare walked into the kitchen, curious of the noise that was coming from the place. The cat saw Niki giggling next to you and You shoving another cookie in your mouth, crumbs getting on your face and clothes. Walking towards their owner, the cat pawed at your leg.

"Hmmm" You hummed, looking down at the cat

"Hey Nightmare" You greeted the cat with a smile, leaned down and picked them up.

You giggled, Nightmare licking the crumbs off your face.

"It seems Nightmare likes the cookies as well!" Niki said giggling, petting the fluffy cats head, making the cat purr and lean into her hand.

* . °•★|•°∵ ∵°•|☆•° . ** . °•★|•°∵ ∵°•|☆•° .

I'm the cat Hehe-

ANYWAYS!!

Hope you guys like it! It took so long to write and edit!!

I'm not super proud of it but it's good for my first fic!!

Taglist: @meliancries @dawnfallx @forefinn @angstyx @pastelpeaxch

[ayybtch]

You’re Worth A Perjury Charge

Bucky Barnes x Reader

Part of A Mutual Weirdness

Summary: Bucky finds a kitten outside of your apartment and brings him inside. You make him be a responsible adult and take the cat to the vet to find out if it's microchipped, but Bucky is so head over heels for his newfound furbaby he’s willing to risk legal repercussions. 

Word Count: 2,422

Warnings: None! Bucky being absolutely adorable with a cat

A/N: So I didn’t previously have a tag list for this series, but I started one for my Wanda fic and a couple people asked about it for this so I’m starting one! Let me know if you’d like a tag! Additionally, you don’t have to have read the part before this but it’s a little funnier if you have given that the script is flipped between them. 

“Uh, Bucky, what the hell is that?” you ask, eyes wide at the wet ball of fur poking out of Bucky’s leather jacket. 

Bucky looked down at the little white cat, smiling as it meowed softly. “I found this little guy by the trash cans downstairs. It was raining so I couldn’t just leave him there.” 

You stared at him in disbelief.  “If that’s where you found him, how do you know he isn’t one of my neighbors’ cats? I get wanting to get him out of the rain, but the heart eyes you’re giving him makes me think you want to keep him.”

Bucky frowned at you, “Of course I’m keeping him. Look at him, he’s soaking wet and looks half starved! Clearly, he’s not being taken care of if he does belong to someone, so really I’m just doing everyone here a favor by taking him in.” He glared at you as you started to laugh.

“Oh, I can just see the headline now: ‘Former Winter Soldier Locked in Cat Custody Battle’. Some little old lady who just adopted this cat - ” you laughed too hard to speak for a moment, “- is going to go berserk and sue you for everything you’re worth just because you like her cat.” 

Bucky huffed and opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by the cat meowing. The smile on his face as he stared down at the little bundle of fur made you melt, though you did your best to hide that fact from Bucky.  

Bucky nodded along attentively as the kitten continued to meow. “I know, she’s being so inconsiderate of your well-being, isn’t she? She’s worried about some little old lady suing me over you. Well, guess what? She can sue me all she wants, I’m not letting you go. Even if I have to lie to a judge and say ‘I plead not guilty in case of the missing cat. Please ignore the gentle meows coming from inside my jacket - ” He paused again as the cat continued to meow. “Mhm, you are absolutely right. You’re worth a perjury charge.” 

What on Earth was happening here? You are the animal crazy one, not Bucky. Yet here you are, being the reasonable and responsible adult in a situation involving an animal. The irony of the situation hit you and you couldn't help but chuckle. 

Your laughter eventually died as you noticed the heart eye expression on Bucky’s face. He was already completely enamored with the kitten. Sighing, you knew you needed to find a middle ground and fast. 

“Bucky, baby, would you at least be willing to take him to go see a vet? We owe it to whoever might own the cat to see if there’s a microchip. If there’s not one, we can get a check up on the little guy while we’re there and make sure he’s good to go.” 

Bucky stared at you suspiciously for a moment before responding. “What do you mean ‘good to go’? You don’t mean to get rid of him, do you?” 

You shook your head. “No baby, I just want to make sure he’s okay so you have a happy, healthy kitty in your life.” You almost didn’t get your sentence out before he was squishing you into a hug. A small gasp escaped his lips and he pulled away abruptly.

“I could’ve squished the baby! Are you okay?” Bucky pulled out the cat and examined him anxiously. A small squeak left the cat, confirming he was okay. 

While he agreed that a vet visit was in order, the new challenge was figuring out when to take the cat. Bucky refused to take him back into the rain, claiming it was going to make him sick. You conceded and agreed to let the kitten stay until the weather broke. That was all Bucky needed to start trying his hardest to convince you that he should keep the cat regardless of what the vet said. Every time the cat did anything cute, Bucky was gasping and pointing out how cute he was. He almost started crying when the cat pounced on a random sock laying next to the coffee table, swearing up and down he had never seen a more precious sight in his life. 

The number of pictures Bucky was taking of the kitten as he explored the apartment was hysterical. Any time he took an exceptionally cute picture, he immediately sent it to you. You currently had 18 unopened messages from Bucky, each one a different picture of the cat. You finally had to put an end to it once the kitten curled up on a pillow in the living room, settling down for a nap.

You tugged on Bucky’s hand and led him over to a barstool and gestured for him to sit. You made two sandwiches, handing one to him once it was done. The two of you ate in silence. It wasn’t until you were almost done eating that you spoke.

“You know, it’s kind of refreshing having you be the one that’s animal crazy for a change.”

Bucky smiled at you sheepishly. “What can I say, you’ve rubbed off on me.” His voice was teasing as he spoke, but the slight blush on his face suggested this was all just as unexpected to him as it was to you. A second silence fell over you, but this time he was the one who broke it.

“So what should we name him?” he asked, pulling out his phone and scrolling through the new pictures on his camera roll. 

You sighed and put your head in your hands. “Baby, I know you’re excited but remember what we talked about. We don’t know if he belongs to anyone yet. Let’s not go getting ahead of ourselves.”

Bucky sighed and nodded slightly.

Four days later, the two of you walked into the vet’s office hand in hand. It was the earliest appointment you were able to make without it being an emergency and you were worried that the extra few days did nothing but increase Bucky’s attachment. The kitten was adorable, you couldn’t deny it. There were times you thought about how nice it would be to finally have a little furry companion but you refused to keep an animal that could belong to someone else. 

Once the three of you arrived, you were checked in promptly by the receptionist and were led into the exam room by an overly peppy vet-tech a few minutes later. Once inside, she gently grabbed him out of Bucky’s arms and made kissy noises at him as she began her portion of the exam. 

Watching the kitten refuse to hold still during the weighing process was amusing to say the least. He kept moving around and trying to jump off the scale. It took several attempts, but she was finally able to record his weight. She fared a little better while taking his temperature given she was holding him, but the kitten still wiggled trying to escape her hold. 

“I wonder why he’s being such a spaz right now. He had no issues with me holding him yesterday. At least, none that I noticed.” Bucky paused and turned to face you, confusion written on his face, “Did he give you a hard time when you held him?” 

The vet-tech chimed in before you had the chance to respond, “He’s probably just decided you’re his person. Cats are a lot like people in that they pick their person and trust them to do things they don’t trust anyone else with. He doesn’t know me, so it makes sense he’s being a little fussy.” She set the kitten back on the exam table and he jumped into Bucky’s lap.

Bucky stared down at the little bundle of fur that was now purring as he rubbed his face against Bucky’s stomach. His expression was a mixture of shock, joy, and love. 

For the first time since Bucky had walked in with the cat, you truly contemplated helping Bucky keeping him even if he was microchipped. He was going to be crushed if this cat belonged to someone else. Your stomach twisted at the thought. If we can’t take him home, we’re immediately going to the animal shelter and Bucky can pick out as many cats as he likes, you thought. 

A knock at the door pulled your thoughts back to the room. A new woman in a white lab coat walked in with a smile on her face. “Good morning everyone, I’m Dr. Brown. I hear you guys were lucky enough to find a cat, is that right?”

Bucky nodded and looked down again at the cat with a smile, “Yes ma’am. I found him in the alley next to our apartment.” He carefully picked up the kitten still laying on his lap and handed him out to her. 

Dr. Brown smiled again as she reached out to grab him. “Why hello there handsome, how are you doing today? I’m gonna check to see if you’ve got a microchip which won’t be too bad, but I may have to give you a couple of shots -” her sentence was cut off by loud meowing from the kitten, almost as if he understood what she was saying. 

She chuckled before continuing, “I know, I know. Shots aren’t fun for anyone. But let’s find out about your microchip and finish the rest of the exam and see if they’re needed before we start complaining too much.” 

Bucky reached out and gripped your hand tightly as she set him down on top of the exam table. She held a small rectangular device just above his shoulder blades for a few moments before setting it down and continuing with the exam. She spent the entire time talking to the cat as she went about the exam. She checked both of his ears and his mouth before moving on to checking on the various limbs in his body. Once the exam was complete, she turned to face the two of you.

“Well, good news on all accounts. Mister Man here is a perfectly healthy kitten. He looks to be about 16 weeks and is in great shape all things considered. He does not have a microchip though, so that leaves us with some options moving forward.”

You let out a sigh of relief you didn’t know you were holding in. Bucky remained silent, though his grip on your hand grew slightly tighter. Dr. Brown didn’t wait for a response before continuing. 

“If you want to keep him, we’ll microchip him and start giving him his first round of shots today since we don’t know if he’s had any so far. We’ll also send you home with a little goodie bag with some treats, a small toy, and a packet with some basic information about caring for a new pet. If you don’t want to keep him, you guys are free to go and we can take him to a shelter from here. Fostering is another option if you’re not interested in keeping him but also don’t want him to go to a shelter.”

Bucky, who almost seemed to be in a daze after hearing there was no microchip, was suddenly brought back to life. “We’re keeping him,” he said firmly. The smile on his face was contagious and soon everyone in the room was smiling just as wide.

“Very well then, let me go get what I need so we can finish up here. I’ll be right back,” she said. You waited for her to leave the room before turning to face Bucky. 

“Well, since he’s officially yours now, I think it’s finally time for you to start thinking of names.”

Bucky chuckled, “Yeah, about that... I kind of already named him. I decided on a name after you went to bed the first night he was in the apartment with us.”

You faltered for a moment, unable to hide your shock. “O-okay. What are we calling him?”

“Alpine. It seems like a good name for a cat.”

Twenty minutes later, you and Bucky were walking out of the vet's office feeling lighter than you did when you first walked in. Bucky was beaming as he looked down at Alpine, who was now officially his according to the paperwork stuffed inside his jacket. His joy was contagious and you were starting to feel the same sort of excitement Bucky had been feeling ever since he came across the poor thing in the alley. 

“So what do we do now?” you asked, moving closer to Bucky. He wrapped his free arm around your waist and thought for a moment. 

“Well, now that there are no foreseeable perjury charges over a cat in my future, I think it’s probably time to focus on my newfound fatherhood.” 

You groaned as he spoke, “Does this mean I’m going to have to put up with Dad jokes from now on?” 

The shit-eating grin on Bucky’s face answered for him. 

The walk back to the apartment was quick. The two of you spoke occasionally, but mostly enjoyed the quiet comfort of just being close to the other. Once you arrived at your apartment building, the doorman greeted you. You were ready to wave and keep walking, but Bucky held you back.

“Hey man, could you get a picture of the three of us? We just adopted this little guy and I’d like a picture to commemorate it,” Bucky asked, letting go of you to pull out his phone. The doorman nodded and took the phone.

Once he was done, Bucky thanked him and the three of you finally made your way back to the apartment. As soon as he was inside, Alpine jumped out of Bucky’s arm and made his way to the couch. He curled up in what was now officially his spot, making your heart swell. You turned to see if Bucky noticed, but he was too focused on his phone. 

“Already sending pictures of Alpine to Steve and Sam to brag about your newfound fatherhood?” you teased, arms wrapping around his middle as you spoke. He shook his head no and remained focused on the phone. Just as you were about to ask what he was doing instead, Bucky turned his phone around so you could see his screen. 

You were stunned, completely unsure of how to respond to what you were seeing. Slowly, you opened your mouth and tried to find the words, “Bucky, please explain to me how our cat already has a verified Instagram account?”

[littlebookreader]

Ego ne hic quidem

This has two parts: Information and the fic itself. For slightly easier accessibility, I will put both in this post itself.

Some information first:

Summary: Fleet looks for a missing cat. (For the Tueday prompt ‘Favourite Main Character’ of the Victoriocity Appreciation Week 2021. Takes place a week after ‘SMS Brandenburg’. )

Fandoms: Victoriocity(Podcast)

Rating: General Audiences

Relationships: Gen, F/M

Word count: 912 words

Characters: Inspector Archibald Fleet , John Balmoral, Edward Sandringham, Clara Entwhistle, Mrs. Pomligan (mentioned)

Additional Tags: Missing kitty, tumblr info makes its way into this(for some reason), Sanmoral being actually useful in this, the wheel and paper becoming friend will also pop up later, shipping if you use a fine tooth comb, can’t really think of much else, author regrets everything, no beta we goose chase like Fleetwhistle, here you go

@victoriocity-appreciation for the Favourite Main Character.

Part 2 of Love, Actually.

This was the information. For the rest of the fic, it’s all under the cut.

Fic: 

Running a new detective agency with your partner can be quite the task, as Fleet was slowly beginning to learn. Over the course of the last week, he’d been dragged all across London to find the owner of brooch, more or less reduced his inhibitions about the Flying Circus, been switched off and kidnapped subsequently, and succeeded in taking down a nationwide spy ring. There was another little(major) worry he’d had, but he didn’t quite wish to think about it, right then.

Right then, he was a machination, a true marvel of science, set off to go find a missing cat.

He had made it something of a habit to reach the offices early, in case something truly threatening should cross his desk. Clara, surprisingly, had turned out to be something of a night light, and stayed the evenings, even wandering the area till as late as three in the morning.

Right then, this had actually worked out in her favour, so Fleet was left all alone hunting for a miniscule cat in a city that he could only describe as being larger than life.

“Come on, Archie, you can find a cat. Surely.”

“And I have no doubt, that you can.”

He jumped back, surprised, only to find that it was the team who’d dragged him into the mess that was the previous week, in the first place.

“Aren’t you supposed to be off doing secret missions for the Queen and suchlike?”

Balmoral, was it, rolled his eyes, while Sandringham(Vidocq’s twin child, if he remembered correctly) smiled cryptically. “That’s for us to know, and you to never find out.”

“Hopefully,” he muttered. “Then if it isn’t for a mission, what EXACTLY are you doing here?”

“Oh, we just thought we’d say goodbye.”

“Goodbye.”

“Yes, goodbye.”

“So, why do you have to find a cat?”

He shrugged. “For a client. It’s almost relaxing in a way, not having to deal with some nationwide conspiracy for once.”

The partners laughed, following which Balmoral added: “That’s there. I almost envy your simplicity, detective.”

“And your stupidity,” Sandringham snarked.

“I will have you know; I have almost found the cat.”

“Have you now?”

Fleet may have learned how to keep secrets over the years, but everyone he ever spoke to, generally agreed that he was a terrible liar.

“No, not really. I do not even know where to start!”

“Well, I used to own a tabby at university once-“ Sandringham nodded in agreement, as if remembering something fondly. “and she went missing for a bit, when I was in my final year. As if on a wild impulse, one day, I left out an old jumper that she loved sleeping in and some water in a bowl, where I’d seen her last. Three days later, I found her, sleeping in it, as if nothing had ever happened!”

Fleet gaped; he had to admit, this had never really struck him as a possible solution. Now that Balmoral had described it, practically pointed it out, really, he knew exactly where to start.  

“That-that actually makes sense, thank you!”

“Happy to help, detective.”

With that, the two left, while Fleet rushed off towards what had been the former location of the Tower, and made the preparations accordingly. As he began laying out the owner’s clothing, he heard footsteps approaching.

“Hello, I’m sorry I’m late, Augusta had this whole incredible assignment about a wheel and a paper becoming friends- What are you doing?”

“Oh, we had a client today who lost her cat. This is how I plan to find her.”

“Looks fascinating, let’s hope it works!” She paused, then added, “I thought I’d find you here actually.”

“Oh, and why is that?”

“Well, it’s where the Tower used to be. I would understand if….” She trailed off, letting her concerns hang in the air.

“Ah, don’t worry too much about it.” He continued to work, while he talked, though there was something about Clara’s very presence that seemed to speed the entire process along. He couldn’t quite explain what, but it wasn’t…….unpleasant, exactly.

He finished the set-up, looked up at her and asked, “Should we leave?”

“Absolutely.”

Neither quite had the heart to hire a cab, so they walked back to the coffeehouse, where they would resume their work.

“There’s actually a reason why I went looking for you.”

He raised an eyebrow, confused. Clara hadn’t seemed all that worried when she first arrived….or had he simply failed to notice? “What was it?”

“Er, I think it’s best if you just saw for yourself.”

She flipped through her notebook, a new acquisition, and pulled out a small piece of paper, neatly folded in the pages. “I found this slipped under our door when I reached the offices. What do you think it means?”

He blinked at the words, scrawled across in a neat cursive. Ego ne hic quidem. “I-I’m afraid my Latin is rather poor, Clara.”

She looked back at him, unimpressed. “I know what the phrase means, Fleet. I’m not even here. It’s what I said to you when we visited the crime scene and you didn’t want me to keep interrupting. How would they know?”

He pursed his lips, realization slowly dawning on him. “Someone is watching us. If we don’t find out who, and fast, it could mean trouble.”

They looked at each other, then quickly raced back downstairs to ask Mrs. Pomligan what she knew about the note, and who might have delivered it.

[milknette]

day 18 - bookstore

cause lately i don't even know, what page you're on.

tumblr month: @auyeahaugust

links: ao3 | ff.net

THE first thing Marinette thinks as she pulls out the notebook is, that doesn't belong there.

And she's right— she knows Fu's Bookstore in and out; it's been her favorite place starting from when she discovered it in high school, and Marinette's practically lived there ever since.

(It's come to a point that some customers have assumed she's worked there, asking her questions as if she were an employee. Marinette still answers them even if she's not, just for the simple reason that she can.

Mister Fu doesn't mind either, assuring her that he loves the company and spirit she brings to the business.)

So Marinette always makes it a point to help whenever she can; her own personal way of saying thank you for providing her with a second home.

Today, she's organizing the books and placing them on their proper shelves.

It only takes a moment for her to notice the out-of-place and bright red notebook peeking out from the selection for Books About Superheroes.

"Weird," she quietly mutters to herself, wondering if someone had left it behind by mistake.

(But in case it was, then why would they shelf it, of all things?)

Curiously, Marinette opens the notebook.

On the first page, written in almost perfect handwriting:

'Up for making a new friend?

If yes, turn the page and write something!

I think that together, we'll be meowvelous.'

On the bottom is a drawing of an all-too-familiar catlike superhero, but was depicted so poorly that she almost couldn't identify it at all.

Marinette sighs.

Okay then. Guess she'll be writing something after all.

.

.

Adrien almost trips as he runs to the bookstore.

Maybe today. Maybe today someone actually replied!

He sneakily makes his way to the shelf, carefully watching to ensure that nobody's looking behind him. Adrien wraps the black jacket closer to his body in an attempt to hide himself.

Then, he opens the notebook.

First, he thinks with complete joy that, someone read it! This actually worked! He'll have a new best friend like in those coming-of-age movies and—

He flips to the next page.

'Please don't use the bookstore for your antics and jokes. I'll leave the notebook here for you to take back.

And Chat Noir, really? We all know the superior hero, and it's not him.'

Drawn below is an extremely intricate drawing of Ladybug, the superheroine of the Miraculous comic, arms out and holding her token yo-yo.

The sketch is so perfect that Adrien's tempted to rip the paper off and keep it for himself.

Instead, however, he decides to write back.

.

.

'Hey, it's not like I hate Ladybug, but we have to give Chat Noir some credit too! His puns are purrfect; absolute comedy gold.

But I love your drawing! Are you an art major?'

'His puns aren't all that clever. And you're not that great either, come to think of it. Maybe you could learn from Ladybug and start speaking more seriously?

And not an art major, but I'm in fashion design. I just like sketching in my free time. You, on the other hand? You could do with some practice. :-)'

'Then, teach me maybe?'

'Believe me, we're going to need a lot more notebooks if you want that to happen.'

.

.

Marinette doesn't know what makes her keep replying.

Maybe she doesn't want to lose a possible customer. Maybe the boredom of summer was finally getting to her. Maybe it's the fact that she pitied him because of his poor drawing skills and pure lack of taste in choosing superheroes.

Or maybe— maybe it's because she wants to know more about the strangely-optimistic and overly-friendly mysterious boy hiding behind the notebook's cover.

They continue their writing exchange for months.

(And have consequently gone through their fifth notebook to date. She figures that if they didn't doodle as much, they'd probably end up wasting much less paper.

But then again, Marinette does like seeing his awkward drawings decorate the pages.)

.

.

Their first argument over paper starts when Bookstore Stranger uses two whole pages to draw Ladybug and Chat Noir— sharing a kiss.

She doesn't even compliment him on the drawing.

'WHY ARE THEY KISSING?'

'Why not? I think they're in love! :'

'No, they're just partners by profession. A romantic relationship ruins their whole dynamic!'

'Well, I don't think that's true… if anything, that'd make their relationship that much stronger.'

'They don't even know each other beyond their masks! They can't possibly love each other without knowing their true identities.'

'So what? We don't know each other's real names.'

'Yeah, and we're not dating. Your point?'

The message doesn't come in the next day like it always does.

In fact, it doesn't come at all.

.

.

Marinette stops by the bookstore every morning.

Then every afternoon.

And even when it's closing time.

She arrives with a hopeful smile, then leaves feeling dejected and upset.

Maybe even angry.

Mister Fu asks her what's wrong.

"I found a stray kitty, and I think he ran away."

.

.

It's two weeks when she finally decides to get over it.

Marinette takes the notebook, a poorly-written #5 on its cover, and decides to throw it away.

She's two steps away from the trash can when she realizes that she can't get rid of it at all.

.

.

A month later, Marinette's taken a job at Fu's Bookstore.

It's a lazy Sunday, and she leans her head on the desk in front of her— eyes almost closing from how quiet it is.

Until the jingle of the door opening effectively wakes her up from her nap.

She rubs her eyes as the stranger walks up to her.

"Hi, I'm looking for this specific book and I just can't find it where I used to, so…"

"Okay, let me help you out," Marinette remarks, before turning to the desktop. "What's the title?"

"I actually don't know…"

She raises an eyebrow, then nods along. (Sure, she's gotten customers like this before.) "Can you describe what the contents are like, then? Or the design of the cover?"

"It's filled with sketches and some nonsense…"

"Nonsense?" Marinette wrinkles her nose. What a cruel way to describe a book someone's worked so hard on.

"I mean—! It's nonsense to everyone else, but not to me. And hopefully not to her either…"

Now, this is dragging on longer than it should.

"Then just describe the cover, please."

He brightens up. "Yeah! It's this bright red book; notebook, really, with the #5 on it? I know it should be around here somewhere, and I need to find it, I need to find a way to connect with her again…"

"..."

"See, I know it's not a real book, and I'm sorry I just snuck it here, but it's so important to me and…"

Marinette mutters unintelligibly.

"Sorry, I couldn't hear…"

She says it again.

"Can you repeat that?"

A third attempt.

"Please, just one more time—"

Visibly irritated, Marinette grabs a book from under her desk and places it in front of him. The number almost gleams as it's exposed to the light.

"That's exactly it! Thank you—"

"You can't have this."

"What?"

"It's my property."

"Look, I know I kept it in your library but…"

"No. We worked on it together, and you got to keep the last four so it's my turn."

"But—

Wait."

He looks up at her, eyes widening in surprise.

"Ladybug?"

She points at her name tag. "Marinette, actually. But hello, Chat. It's been awhile."

[naughtyskz]

I decided to post a kim hongjoong fanfic it's a smut lmao it sucks cuz i write it anyways hope u enjoy it.

⚠️disclaimer this contains 18+ content and sexual actions⚠️

Teachers pet |K.HJ. 😳💦

It was a normal morning in your boring school you were just walking through your school hallways and talking to your bestfriend Lisa yall were talking about basic thingz when Lisa asked you" y/n did you heard that there's gonna be a new teacher" she said you were confused because no one told you that "oh really and how long you knew that" you asked her she made weird face before thinking "erm I don't know probably 2 or 3 weeks why" you were shocked because nobody told you that "and why you didn't told me that 😒" you said "umm because I thought that you knew 😁😅" she said "and from who should I knew that" you said pissed off "well teachers said that on the website" she said "ugh lisa you know that I don't go on that website" you said rolling your eyes "YAH you promised me that you'll start to go on that website" she said angrily "ohh oops heh umm ye well I

kind of lied to u heh 😅" you knew it was a bad when Lisa gets mad so you started to run "ahhhhh someone help me she's gonna kill mee" you said as you

were running for your life when you bumped into something really hard, you fell on the ground on ur butt "ah! owww" you said "oh sorry" someone said, that voice was unfamiliar it was deep but at the same time it was soft but raspy, you fell in love with that voice, then you looked up and saw the most hottest man in the world, you've never seen someone THIS hot in your life "um hello are you okay? HEYYY" he was waving his hand in front of your face then you snap out of ur dIrTy thoughts "uh erm heh I'm fine 😅 what about you are u okay?" you said he looked in your eyes then smirked and said "yes I'm okay ??????" you didn't heard the last world "um okay the bye i gotta go bc my class is starting in few mins"you said "oh okay bye" he waived at me and disappeared in the school hallways.

Then someone suddenly touched your shoulder "AH" you screamed and turned around and then you saw lisa "yah! Why? Do you want me to have a heart attack" you said she giggled "ye i do 😃 anways who was that boy he's hawtttt" she said "ye i know right like bruh his so fucking hot" you replied then checked the time "oh fuck it's already 3:57PM *your class starts at 4PM*WE WILL BE

LATEEEEE" you said running to the

class, Lisa is really fast she was already at the door and went it, the bell rang and you were still running thru the one stoopid hallway you were mad and sad cuz you hate literally HATE the math teacher, you've finally reached the door and went in the class when you opened the door your eyes widen you saw the hot boy from earlier teaching the class you were shooketh you stood there in the doors when you heard a voice calling u "miss you're late" he said in firm tone which was really sexy and it kind of turned you on, you tried to act cool cuz you could feel The sweat on your face "yes and it was just a few mins" you looked at his tag "Mr.Kim?"said while looking at him right in the eyes making interesting eye contact then he smirked and said "de te nti on" *ᵈᵉᵗᵉⁿᵗⁱᵒⁿ* in really rude and sexy tone "WHAT WHY 😒" u replied "why u talked back so u deserve it" again the same toneeee you were already dripping you couldn't take the sexiness this man had "go and sit on your place miss" you heard him saying, you went and sit on your chair the class continued normally *time skip *it's the end of the

class everyone has already left, the only

one who was in the class was u and the Mr.Kim you were in ur place looking everywhere just to avoid the eye contact with Mr.Kim suddenly you heard a voice "sooooo why you were so rude to my in front of the class" Mr.Kim said firmly but teasingly, again it turned you on..... "I-I don't know..." you replied instantly he smirked and said "you know that bad girl deserves to be punished" you looked at him shooketh and made eye contact that made the atmosphere even more sexual than it was before"what do you mean by punished??" you said raising your eyebrow "oh kitten you know what I mean" he said while coming to your desk, you could clearly see the lust in his eyes they were so dark but so beautiful at the same time, he stopped walking when he reached your desk and he came closer with his face then whispered in your ear "kitten tell daddy what you want" he whispered in your face in extremely sexy and raspy voice, your face turned red as tomato but you pushed your shyness to the side and whispered back in his ear "ahhh~ daddy i want you inside of me" you said that in the most seductive tone as you could, he raised his eyebrow and whispered back

"awh is my kitty needy for her daddy"

again the sexy tone you were already dying coz of how horny you were the only thing you were carving was his touch "ah daddy pleaseeee i need you" you said getting up from your chair and coming even closer to him, when you were so close to each other that you could feel each others hot breath, he picked you up and made you sit on your desk and started to kiss your neck

You left out soft moans that turned him even more, your hands were in his hair and his hands were taking off your clothes while kissing your neck, after you were completely naked the only think that was left on you was your underwear, he looked at you up and down and bite his lip "damn kitten never thought you would wear this kind of sexy underwear" he said in your ear then bite your earlobe "a-ahh~ w-well i like this kind of type of underwear" you said while looking at this lips he saw that you were looking at his lips, he came really like REALLY close to your face and before he kissed you he took off his tie and wrap it around your eyes so that you wouldn't be able to see what his doing, he kissed you, that kiss was so lustful and rough you obviously kissed

him back and wrapped your arms

around his neck then you heard "ahh my kitten is so needy, what do you want your daddy to do" he said in raspy voice and sexy voice "ahh daddy please I want you to be inside of me" you said in whiny tone "hmmmm okay" he said in teasing tone, then he started to kiss your neck again and his kisses then traveled to your chest, he took off your bra and started to suck on your right boob while playing with the left boob, your mouth left out a soft whiny moan "a-ahhh~" you could feel on your skin that he smirked, then you felt him taking off your panties, the feeling of the cold air hitting your wet core....could feel he was starting at your wet pussy so you said "daddyyyyyy don't stare" he looked at you even tho u can't see "hmm I'm not staring I'm enjoying kitten" he siad after that you could feel a hot breath on your core "a-ahh daddy please don't tease me anymore" you said that in whiny tone, after that you felt him leaving soft kisses on your core and kitty licking, suddenly you felt him slide in his tongue you moaned out louder "A-ahhh dadddy" he started to suck and pumping his tongue inside of you like a crazy, and that drived u crazy, he eated you out like he

have never eaten before, you were close

"O-ohHh d-daddy im close" and he suddenly stopped and you gave him "😒" look "oh no kitten not yet" he said, then you heard that he was un buckling his belt and slide off his pants with his boxers then he came closer and started to rub your clit with his cock "ahhhh mr. Kim pleaseee" you moaned out "no it's daddy kitten " he said in firm voice and slammed into you really hard without even looking at the fact that your virgin, you screamed out because of the thickness and length he smirked and started trust slowly you were already moaning mess "ah a-ahhh d-daddy p-please f-fasterrr" you tried to say he smirked "as you whish kitten" and started started to trust into you like a crazy, he fucked you so fast and good "do you like that hmm you little slut" he said, you look at him and said "u-ugh ah hhh y-yes d-daddy your cock feels soo good around my thigh pussy hmm" you moaned out, he loved the way you were moaning his name and the expressions you were making, suddenly he wanted to switch positions so he untied the tie around your eyes and you've finally seen him and his dick..... It was HUGE amd he looked extremely hot with that messy hair tho the he ordered "get on ur

fours now!" shit u were even wetter, but u did as he ordered and got on your fours, then he slammed into you again and again u screamed but this time he started to trust into you really hard, when he was normally trusting into u it was already hitting ur g spot and that shit drived u crazy, now it was driving you super crazy you were letting out little screams cuz of the pleasure he was giving u but once again he he changed his pace and started to trust FAST and HARD.... At this point you were literally screaming and crying while he was enjoying the view, he pulled ur hair and started to kiss ur neck while pounding into u, he was fucking u so hard and fast that your desk was creaking, but soon or later his trusts got sloppy and you were really closer to ur orgasm "i-I'm c--Close d-D-daddyy" you couldn't even speak u barely said those three words u started to clenche around him "a-ahh kitten if u continue to clenching like that then I'll come in few seconds" he said in raspy voice and that pushed u over the edge "A-A-HHHHHHH DADDDYYYY I'M CUMMIG!!" you said screaming ur lungs out "a-ahHhh I'm cumMing hhhh" he said growling out, then he pulled out and said "kitten want this to happen

more often?" u were still catching ur breath "yes daddy" you said. THE END CUZ AIN'T TRYING TO MAKE THIS SERIES. ANWAYS HOPE YOU ENJOYED IT BYE.

[outcast-thingz]

That One Song

(I may change the title later)Hello my lovelies, I'm back with another song fic. I had a daydream while listening to this song and this is what happened😂😂

Pairing: atsumu x reader? Not really sure how to label this one

Summary: Girls night out! At least that was the plan. Just because your friends couldn't come didn't mean you couldn't go. A night of dancing and you catch someone's eyes. Next thing you know you meet his crew for the night. Who would have known dancing would get you into a little (harmless) trouble

Warnings: lyrics are a bit NSFW, it's a night club so the dancing isn't exactly clean either😂😂

       The dance floor called to you like a siren. Unfortunately, none of your gal-friends could come out tonight but that wasn't going to stop you from having a fun night. To ease their mind you texted them where you were whenever you changed locations. The current club you were in seems to have good music. You'd been on the dance floor for the past four songs without a break. The next song starts and nothing changes, you stay on the dance floor.

        Dum-pa-dum Dum-pa-dum The music wraps its sneaky strings around your limbs and body controlling you like a puppet. Dum-pa-dum dum-pa-dum left to right, left to right, your hips move to the beat. You allow yourself to be the music's little puppet as you get lost in the melody. Not much of the song passes when a feeling begins to tug at you. Your gaze follows the feeling. Amongst the crowd of people, a pair of honey-brown eyes stood out. The intensity held your eyes captive yet after a single blink they were gone; they had disappeared into the crowd. Soon enough you found yourself looking around to find the eye's owner. You accidentally back into somebody and quickly spin around to apologize.

       "He- eEeEEeeEy~ you're pretty cute." The man you bumped into seemed crossed at first but quickly softened when setting his eyes on you. The light shined against his yellowish blonde hair. His piercings were kind of intimidating.

"Hey blondy, get those hips moving we didn't come here to stand around. Oh. Why hello there~" a man with brown hair whines until he sees you. 

"I uh… I'm sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going." You finally blurted. The two narrowed their eyes and smirks crept on their faces.

"You know, you could make it up to us" the blonde started,

"By dancing with all of us for a few songs." The brown hair man finished. 

"All of us?" You lifted a brow daringly. The brown one looks back over his shoulder to speak,

"Hey! Living sun, Kitty, what do you think?"

Bouncing over was an energetic, spikey, white and black-haired man. His golden eyes filled with the natural high of exercise.

"Hey, hey, hey. Sounds like fun to me Oikawa, I'm down for it," boisterous man cheered. "Kuroo, what do you think?" Yet another man appeared. This one had black hair and a mischievous vibe about him. Really they all have a mischievous vibe about them but he was more like a scheming kind of mischief. The new man quickly bopped all of them on their heads,

"You idiots, you going to scare her away and Astumu will be pissed at us. Let's not forget who's paying for our drinks tonight." He grins at you whilst pushing the other guys out of the way. He stretches his hand out to you,

"My name is Kuroo, please forgive my crew, Terushima, Oikawa, and Bokuto. You are extraordinarily cute but to us, you're  ~off limits~" he emphasizes while eyeing his friends who either roll their eyes or scoff. "We would be delighted if you would join us for at least this song." he kept his hand out until you gently shook it.

"Y-Y/n…" is all you could manage to say. 

       All of the confidence you had started your night with disappeared. Here you were in just about every girl's dream, surrounded by tall, attractive, and athletic-looking men. Yet you found yourself a stuttering mess. You took a step back as the song reaches a quiet part. A hand finds it's way to your shoulder gently holding it. You lift your head and meet those captivatingly intense eyes from before. It was impossible to look away.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, princess. The names Astumu. We've been watching from afar for some time, you really have some moves. I'd like to see how you do with a partner, can you do that for us?" He spoke with a friendly tone but his eyes made it seem like he was commanding you. Who knew dancing was going to be the thing to get you in trouble. After catching your breath you are able you calm yourself enough to respond.

"Y/n, a pleasure to meet you Astumu. Let's hope your feet can keep up with mine~!" The tease that slipped from your mouth surprised everyone, including you. Even so, that was enough permission for them. 

       The song kicks back into high gear and the first man to take you hand was Terushima. He pulls you close to him and lifts one of your legs to his hips.

"Vamos, fiesta; I want you, señorita," He sings the lyrics as he leans back still keeping you close so you lean with him. Oikawa is next. Terushima lets you slip from his grip as Oikawa takes one of your hands and twirls you around. He dips you whilst continuing the lyrics,

"I'm gonna kiss all your body; Sharp breath, gripping the bed sheet."

Kuroo slips his hand underneath your back and lightly pushes you up till you're standing straight. He pulls you towards him keeping your back facing him. He wraps his arms around you. Then he crosses them so his right hand is holding your left and vise versa. The lyrics continue

"Baby girl, yeah, I'mma put it in; I can make your bed shake." Slips away and Bokuto fills his spot seamlessly. He leans you to the left while he leans to the right,

"I can be your sin." He now leans you to his right as he leans to the right,

"Your hands scratching against me." During both moves he kept his eyes locked on yours. Suddenly he twirls you off and it almost feels aimless until you're caught. A finger under your chin and a thumb resting just below your lip helps lift your head to once again meet Astumu's intense gaze. 

"One look," he quickly move his head beside one of your ears, "I know that you want me." Tingles run down your spine, the hair on the back of your neck raises, and your body tenses up as the last lyrics are whispered. 

       You are spun around again and pulled from Astumu by Terushima and Oikawa.

"Baby girl, won't you come my way?" Now you stood in the middle of a circle made up of the five men you are dancing with. 

"Tell me all the things; that you wanna say," the boys appear to be singing in unison and encouraging you to dance. You shrug and let the music once again slink his strings around you; you let it make you a puppet. The boys sway and watch as you entertain them. You honestly didn't mind since the whole point of coming out tonight was to dance; having an audience was just a bonus. 

"Baby girl can you say my name; show me all the ways; you can move that thing," as the lyrics end Astumu works his way up to you. He pulls you close wrapping one arm around your hips. The other hand takes hold of your closest hand. The two of you sway and rock to the slow part of the song.

"I don't wanna to take you nowhere; I don't wanna waste your time; Baby girl, would you come my way," he lifts your head again like earlier with the hand that held yours. "Baby girl would you come for me?" You can't help but giggle and thank the gods that the club lights were hiding the major blush on your face.

       You dance the rest of the song with the boys and hit the bar. That's where you learn Astumu called dib the moment the boys laid their eyes on you. After some more talking, flirting, and exchanging of numbers you all head home. You immediately tell your gal friends of tonight's adventure and remind them that they really should have gone. Feeling a bit jealous, the girls ask if you'd be willing to ask the boys to go out tomorrow night. You laugh and ask away. A unanimous response of yes came back. 

"I guess tomorrow I'm going your way aren't I? Astumu?" You hummed to yourself before landing on your bed and promptly passing out.

Tag List: @1tsnoya @oof-she-needs-therapy @red-riot-rat @squishytenya

[b0n-chann]

Homecoming//Prologue

Pairing: Javier Peña x oc

Summary: Javier returns home to Texas after taking down Pablo Escobar. While trying to adjust back to a “normal” lifestyle, his life is thrown into a loop when he finds out he’s a father to a five year old boy. Evelyn Crawford, Kingsville Elementary’s newest kindergarten teacher, gains a last minute addition to her class and notices the struggles of a father and son.

Author’s note: I originally had this idea for The Mandalorian but it ended up being a little bit of a headache trying to make it an AU. I really loved the idea though so I thought Javier would be perfect! Also, I know I usually write for the reader but I started planning this out, an OC seemed more fitting. And yes, of course I know that Javier Pena is an actual real life person but we’re talking about our best boy in Narcos here. Please let me know what you think and if you’d like me to write this little piece out! ☺️

Javier opens his eyes. 5:57am. “Never can get those last few minutes of sleep, can I?” He grumbles to himself. Knowing it’s no use, he hits the silence button on his alarm clock and sits up and swings his legs over the side of the bed. Scrubbing his face in his hands to wake himself fully, he sighs, thinking about the day planned ahead.

The Murphy’s decided it was time to settle down, and they decided to do it in the same town where Javier lives. After all, Miami didn’t seem to be the place they wanted to raise Olivia in. They visited Javier earlier in the spring and immediately fell in love with Kingsville. Much to Javier’s chagrin, Steve called him not even a month later to tell him that they were planning on moving over. “The DEA wants me to help head up their office over there,” Steve tells him over the phone after giving him the news.

“Uh huh,” Javier replies, knowing where this is going.

“They’re offering you a spot too, you know.”

“Yeah.”

“And?” Steve asks.

“I don’t know. Seems...stuffy.”

“Well think about it. I know you’re gonna miss us running around like cowboys but we could really be doing some good on the home front.”

“No promises, but I’ll think about it.”

“That’s all I’m asking for, amigo.”

“Alright you gringo hillbilly, give me the details when you move so I can help you out.”

And that’s how Javier found himself agreeing to pick up the Steve and Connie from the airport, two hours away.

Javier takes his time getting ready, being an early riser allows him the luxury. Looking around his small home, he realizes how little he’s actually done with the place. He moved back home to be close to his dad, but after buying the first decent house he could find, he really didn’t do much with it.

“Just a place to sleep,” he thinks to himself as he finally gets up from his bed. He doesn’t even take two steps when he feels a nudge at his feet. He looks down and sees his cat, Rusty. The orange cat looks up at him and meows. “Alright, let me feed ya, you mangy animal.” Javier pours some food into the bowl on the floor. Rusty wasn’t so much Javier’s pet as much as he was a stowaway. He had seen the orange cat around his father’s ranch before. Somehow, he snuck his way onto Javier’s truck and has been with him ever since. Javier didn’t have the heart to send him back.

By the time Javier took a shower, ate breakfast and read the paper, he was almost fifteen minutes late. “Shit!” He exclaims throwing his shoes on and grabs his keys. As he is about to leave his house, the phone rings. Javier stops for a moment, considering on picking it up but at the last second decided to let the machine get it. It was probably a telemarketer anyway. “Look after the house, will you?” He says to Rusty, who’s lounging on the couch before closing the door. Javier shakes his head as he walks to the car. “Talking to the cat...guess I gotta get our more.”

——————

“Hey Javi!” Connie says and waves overhead, trying to get the man’s attention. She holds on to Olivia as Steve grabs their bags. “Well...he dresses like he’s still in Columbia?” She laughs. “It’s 100 degrees out and he’s still in a button down shirt and jeans. Just missing the leather jacket.”

“I think Javi has always dressed like he’s in Columbia,” Steve says with a laugh as they make their way over to him. “Hey Javi!” Steve greets him with a hug. Their time in Columbia really made them inseparable.

“Hey guys,” Javier says. “Or should I say welcome home?” As annoyed as Javier was when Steve first told him they were moving into his neighborhood, he had to admit he missed having them around. None of his old friends, not even his father, understood what he went through and they all treated him like he was a celebrity. All Javier wanted was to just be Javier again; not Javier Peña who took down Pablo Escobar.  He wasn’t entirely sure if taking the job with Steve at the DEA  office was a good idea anymore. 

“You’re looking good, Javi,” Connie remarks. She smiles at Olivia, who’s dangling over her to trying to reach out to Javier.

“Hi!” She says.

“Wait. She talks?!” Javier exclaims.

“Yeah she walks too.” Steve snorts. “She’s four now. Or were you expecting her to stay a baby forever?”

Javier blinks at him and shrugs. Sure, he had thought about having kids at one point in his life but ever since Columbia he never considered it again. Hell, he didn’t even think he’d ever settle down and get married.

“Let’s hit the road.”

——————

Another two hours later, Javier and the Murphy family finished dropping off the luggage they took with them to their house.  Javier had been receiving their boxes for the last month with all their belongings so with everything yet to be unpacked, they decided to make their way to Javier’s for the afternoon. 

“Sorry, I know there’s not much in here,” he apologizes before opening his front door. 

“It’s okay,” Connie replies. “....just a little...empty? Do you even live here Javier?” She says with surprise written on her face.  The walls were barren, the living room held a small couch with a television set and from what she could see the dining room only had a small table with two chairs. She couldn’t even imagine what the kitchen looked like. 

“Yeah, yeah. I know. I’m working on it.” Javier rubs that back of his neck in slight embarrassment. He really didn’t know what he wanted to do with the place. Just at that moment, Rusty jumps up from behind the couch, effectively scaring Steve. 

“You have a cat.” 

“Yeah, his name is Rusty.” 

“You have a cat, who you named Rusty, but you can’t even furnish your house?” Steve asks, still surprised. 

“Look, are you going to keep giving me a hard time? He jumped in my car while I was at my dad’s and I couldn’t get him to leave. So here we are.” 

“So here we are.” 

“Will you stop repeating me?!” 

Connie and Steve just laugh at him.  Olivia stumbles over to Rusty, interested in the orange fur ball. “Kitty!” She exclaims as she pets his head.  He bumps his head into her hand and purrs. 

“Looks like she likes him,” Javier speculates. “You guys want a cat?” 

“Oh no, sir. That’s your roommate.” Connie says, trying to shush him.  The last thing she needed right now was a pet. 

Just as they begin discussing what to have for dinner, the phone rings.  “Just one sec,” Javier tells them as he walks into the kitchen. 

“Hello?” 

“Hi. Yes, may I speak with Javier Peña please?” 

“Speaking.” 

“Ah hello, Javier. My name is Christina and I’m a social worker with Kelberg County. You’re a very difficult man to get a hold of I must say, I’ve been trying to reach you all day.” 

“Social worker? What the hell is a social worker trying to get in contact with me for?” Javier thinks to himself.  “How can I help you?” 

“Well, Mr. Peña.  I have your son in custody with me at the moment.” 

“Wait. WHAT?!” 

Tag list:

@momc95 @electricprincess888 @maia-hocane @lamnothome @highonsoundwaves @tedpicklez @renreypoe @mabelleen @cryptkeepersoul @holamor @mando-vibes @lustriix @katialvi @spookyold-saintjm @sarcasm-n-insomnia @awesomefandomsunited @sentimental-ghost @mrsparknuts

[helgabatwrittings]

You and Me Against the World, M’lady

https://archiveofourown.org/works/25014643/chapters/60632809

Hi, I’m back!! And with a prompt for day 2: Stargazing, for @ladynoirjuly2020 .

As always, I want to tag @sassykittynoir , @miraculouslyinloveagain and @smileytrinity, you guys inspire me so much to write, I hope you like this! In fact, I hope everyone likes this xD! Let me know what you think!

                                                            ***

Patrol was by far the highest moment in Adrien’s week. Both he and Ladybug were getting overwhelmed by the crazy amount of schoolwork, on top of Akuma attacks and their extracurricular activities, and so, and for Adrien’s misery, their nightly meetings had to be cut short to once a week. Nevertheless, Adrien would take the most out of it, every minute that he spent with his lady was precious, he couldn’t give himself the luxury of wasting them.

Today, however, he was exhausted! His tiredness could be explained by an accumulation of the last week’s increasing hours of modelling, photoshoots upon photoshoots constantly sneaking their way into his schedule, followed by an intense fencing training every morning before classes started in preparation for an upcoming tournament, the piano lessons that lasted for at least two hours, by his father insistence, the Akuma attacks that also didn’t give any of the heroes a break, and the lonesome meals were all taking a toll on him. Besides, today he couldn’t go to Marinette’s, she said she wouldn’t be home that night, she had a family event or something like that. He couldn’t exactly tell what plans she had for the night since she stumbled upon her words too much for a congruent phrase to be comprehended. It shouldn’t matter what she had planned anyway, she didn’t owe him an explanation, and yet, he was still bummed that he wouldn’t be seeing her.

Beep beep! He looked at the lit screen of his baton, noticing the text Ladybug had just sent him, “Good Evening, Chaton! I have a surprise for you! Come meet me at our spot! Bug out!” He smiled goofily. What had his lady prepared for him? She never failed to impress him.

Adrien vaulted through the rooftops, as fast as his exhausted body could go. He got to the Notre Dame tower where they usually started patrol, and there she was. In all her majestic glory, sitting on a towel, next to a large basket, which he suspected contained some delicious treats inside. She was gazing at the shining Parisian view, transfixed by its beauty, so she didn’t seem to notice his arrival. Adrien smirked.

Silently tiptoeing until he was right behind her, he crouched to her height stealthily, “Evening, M’lady!”, Adrien greeted her in a louder than normal tone, exactly the volume he knew would startle her.

As expected, Ladybug jumped, almost knocking her head on his chin, “CHAAAT! You scared me!!” Despite her annoyed voice tone, Adrien could see a slight smirk gracing her lips.

“Awww, buguinette, you looked so peaceful staring at the view, I didn’t want to disturb you!” He teased her, flicking one of her ponytails.

Ladybug lightly slapped his hand away from her hair, “Well, since you’ve decided to be such a brat tonight, I guess I have no other option but to take this picnic basket home!” She booped his nose and chuckled, “Guess I’ll have to feed these croissants to the stray cat that visits me every night!”

Adrien gasped dramatically at this new revelation, not only was she taking the croissants he loved away, but another cat was keeping her company?? “Noooo, Buguinette! I promise I’ll behave!” To prove his point, he sat on the chequered towel, his hands resting on his legs to keep them from bouncing in excitement.

“Well, since you promised!” She sat right next to him, stretching right over his lap to reach the basket that was just next to Adrien. His cheeks went immediately scarlet, and his heart must have doubled its rate. God, this girl had such an effect on him! She had him right on the palm of her hand, Ladybug would be the death of him. Let it be known, Adrien Agreste would die because Ladybug, Paris darling, would kill him with her beauty and angelical grace!

And the worst, the absolute worst, is that she knew exactly what she was doing! She could have asked him to grab the basket, but nooo… She really wanted to end him, uh? Hawkmoth was an amateur next to his lady. She was the real criminal mastermind in Paris for what she was doing to him.

“-at…”

God, could his face get any warmer? He swore his blood had been entirely deployed to it so that LB could see exactly what she had done to him.

“-hat…”

If his heart continued to pump at this rate, Adrien would have a heart attack, he was certain of it.

“CHAT!!” His attention immediately drifted to her. Ladybug was holding a pain au chocolat, her eyes had this sparkle Adrien was used to seeing when she was amused with something, although her face was trying to pull a blank expression. “Do you want this pain au chocolat or not?”

“What?” He asked in a daze.

“Hello! Earth to Chat Noir!!” Ladybug mocked him, lightly knocking on his head.

“I’m here!” He jumped, finally realising what Ladybug was offering to him. He could never say no to those heavenly sweets she brought from time to time. They were on par with the pastries Marinette offered him every time he visited, and those had no competition in Paris. He grabbed the pastry, while Ladybug took a croissant from the basket for herself.

She wasn’t exactly talkative, but neither was he. They ate the pastries in pleasant silence, although Adrien was still a bit confused about why they were skipping patrol to have a picnic.

“Uh… LB?” Her eyes were closed, a pleased smile was gracing her lips while she slowly chewed on her croissant.

“Yes, kitty?” His heart jumped a beat at hearing the affective nickname Ladybug sometimes used for him.

“Why are we doing this? I, I mean, not that I’m not loving to spend some quality time alone with you in this romantic setting.” He wiggled his eyebrows, flirting with Ladybug to mask his nervousness.

“Well, I don’t know about you, but my life is kind of chaotic right now, and Hawkmoth has not been going easy on us. I just thought we deserved a night off, that’s all.” Her bluebell eyes established contact with his own, and his brain immediately turned into a jumbled mess. Seriously… How could he have any rational thought when his lady looked at him with that gentle expression of hers. Was she even aware of the power she had on him? How, with only a simple look, could she freeze his entire being and capture his heart to be forever hers? Some of Hawkmoth’s Akumas must have taken refuge in his belly, he could feel them inside as Adrien kept watching Ladybug in all her grace munching on her croissant. He knew that if he stood in front of a mirror at that moment, his face would be the same colour as his lady’s suit.

He needed to distract himself with something else, otherwise, his brain would start to make up these crazy scenarios and he wouldn’t be able to deal with them, especially not in front of Ladybug. Damn those teenage hormones!

Adrien looked up to the clear night sky, gazing at the stars above them. Physics was always a passion of his, especially Astronomy. He remembered spending countless nights alone in his room, back when he only had Chloé in his life, gazing through his floor-to-ceiling windows. He owned several stars charts, and his mum had also gifted him a next-gen telescope so he could further feed his passion. He had learned all the constellations, and it was those that had kept him company and helped him stay grounded when he was going through the painful grief his mum’s disappearance had brought upon his life.

“What are you looking at?” Ladybug looked down at him. When had he lied down on that rooftop? Adrien was so distracted gazing up at the sky, that he hadn’t noticed the change of position he had adopted. The fact was that he was currently lying on his back. And his Lady had asked him a question. “I’m only looking at the stars… They look so pretty, tonight. Almost as pretty as you, m’lady!” He chuckled.

“Silly kitty! And here I thought you were finally thinking of something smart for a change.” She teased him, and Adrien put a hand on his chest, gasping dramatically while a pleasant warmth spread through his chest.

“Seriously Chat! You are awfully distracted today. Something wrong?”

Adrien shrugged, “Nothing’s wrong, Buguinette. Don’t worry. I guess I’m just more tired than usual tonight.” His eyes drifted to her face, and his heart missed another beat. Maybe Adrien should ask his father if he could see a doctor, these many palpitations were definitely not normal.

Ladybug lied on her back, her body turned in the opposite direction to his, with her head right next to his shoulder, so close that he could feel the heat radiating from her, and that was enough for his brain to lose any kind of logical thoughts once again.

He avoided turning his head towards her, Adrien knew he wouldn’t be able to resist kissing her lips if he did so.

He heard her huff, “I swear, no matter how many times I read about constellations, I can never identify them. Like, for example, I know that “W” is one, but I don’t know which one!” She pointed, and Adrien followed her gloved finger.

“That’s Cassiopeia, M’lady.” He chuckled.

“Cassiopeia? What even is that?” Ladybug asked dramatically indignant. Adrien loved how full of life she always was.

“Cassiopeia was Andromeda’s mother, and incredibly arrogant and vain. This led to her downfall when she made Poseidon become irate, and the only solution for it was to sacrifice her own daughter, which was later saved by Perseus. Poseidon still thought that Cassiopeia deserved to be punished so he turned her into a constellation.” He explained.

“Wow, Chat! How do you even know that?” Ladybug looked at him and Adrien could feel her breath on his chin.

“I love astronomy. Feels like it was ages ago since the last time I looked at the stars though.” He stated simply as an image of a green-eyed blonde woman appeared in his head.

“It’s so sad that her daughter almost paid for her arrogance…” He heard her voice quivering with emotion. Adrien turned his head toward his lady. Their lips were so incredibly close to each other, it would be so easy to capture them with his own. But he would never do that. He would never take that step, not without her permission.

Ladybug looked stunning lying on that rooftop. The moonlight gave her this ethereal shine and accentuated the blue highlights of her hair. Her cerulean eyes were piercing his soul, they were so close to each other that he could discern all the different blue tones in them. He could count all the freckles adorning her face, and he swore he saw a subtle red hue spreading on her cheeks. He had stopped breathing. Adrien could no longer feel the chill of the night, only the heat radiating from her skin and breath which ironically made his hair stand on end.

Adrien needed to break their eye contact, or else he didn’t think he would survive, he needed to start breathing again anytime soon, right? Her eyes, however, had trapped him in a hypnotic spell which Adrien was certain he couldn’t escape from, and also, he didn’t want to end this moment so soon.

His heart constricted as he was the first one to look away. He knew he shouldn’t get his hopes up. Ladybug liked another boy, and he should respect that.  But the way she was looking at him, could it be? Could she possibly care for him as more than a friend? She was a puzzle in his life, one he couldn’t solve no matter how hard he tried. He shook his head trying to get rid of these thoughts. His Lady wasn’t really his, she liked another boy. Besides, he was already dating Kagami. And Marinette? Marinette was a whole other mystery for him. Wait, why did he suddenly start to think of Marinette? Plagg was right, love was way too complicated.

[amwritingmeta]

JiB10

So, last year, for various reasons, I didn’t actually put down my experience of JiB, but are y’all ready to hear all about this year’s experiences and adventures? 

Well, in condensed form. I mean, what is this - LiveJournal? (okay yeah kinda is but no not going into excruciating detail here just the best bits) (the choice cuts, as it were) (watch me go full butcher) (it’ll be entertaining I swear) :P

So, firstly, I’m a panel rat. I fucking love those panels. All the panels. It’s mainly why I get the Angel Pass, because the seats are so good and I’m all about them good seats, yeah? 

I have friends who spend a whole lot of time in line for ops or for autos and I just… can’t… do that. Not when there’s talking happening and answering of questions and just that room being MAGIC, because the entire con feels so inclusive and filled with open-minded like-minded human beings who share in our love of this glorious show.

I started a JiB Log, but figured I’d get too distracted to actually update it regularly, because that’s what last year was like. When you’re not in a panel you’re either walking to grab something quick to eat (have to commend the little smoothie place at the airport, because they did good sandwiches and really good coffee at a reasonable price) or you’re heading to the hotel bar to get absolutely plast-… No, actually didn’t do that this year, so correction: or you’re heading to the hotel bar to see who’s there and catch up with people who have been to their ops and are still shaking with excitement. 

(you can also comment on the wonderful imagination of strangers in the ladies’ room when you see them shaking with excitement and are dressed up in bridal gowns) (okay there was one lovely dressed up as a bride so maybe plural is the wrong way to go but the sentiment holds true) (JiBers - you are so fucking awesome and I LOVE YOU ALL)

Okay, so wanna know the most basic things I’ve learned about how to JiB? I mean… if you don’t, then stop reading, I guess, because imma tell ya. #fairwarning

Bring Snacks (you won’t regret it) 

Bring Alcohol (you won’t regret it)

Good Footwear (you won’t regret it)

Clothes For Every Occasion (you may regret it if you overpack) (don’t overpack) (Google “packing tutorial by Jensen Ackles”) (worth it)

Choose Wisely (just general solid advice) (I mean, get your priorities straight) (panel rat or up close and personal kitty cat) (or both) (sidenote: I take it choosing to be both is quite stressful) (make sure that your stress sensors are up and that you don’t overdo it) (switching between rat and cat is bound to be internally messy) (okay that actually came out as not haha solid but actual solid advice so yeah) (be prepared that doing both is difficult!) (and having lots of ops and wanting to do all autos means probably missing a whole lot of panels for standing in line and waiting) (even the solo panels with the main players or - and I will question your sanity - the joint panels that close the weekend) (well not the very final panel) (nobody missed the J2M panel because all ops and autos had closed by then) (but yes prioritise wisely)

Be Open (because, no matter what, you are bound to meet someone you click with at this event) (most people) (actually every stranger I gave a throwaway comment to) (were so chill and happy to have a brief chat or share a moment with me) (so even if you’re traveling by yourself you are bound to feel embraced) *jazz hands rome magic*

Pinches of Salt (take everything you see and hear with healthy pinches of salt) (I briefly forgot about this on Monday morning and oh boy I could’ve saved myself a world of stupidity if I’d only remembered it yeah?)

MNC (get your sweet ass to the Monday Night Concert because both my years of JiBing it has been mind-blowing) (this year was better than last year honestly) (which I did not think could happen) (they are the bee’s bees and the bear’s bear) *throws all the love at them*

When it comes to impressions and memories made this particular trip, I feel like the whole week has been one long run of blessings. Sincerely, it’s been - oh what’s the word again? --> MAGIC. 

I’m not going to go through all the boring personal moments of Holy Fuck *jazz hands rome magic* but I will just say that I think I stepped out of passport control with the widest smile, and it barely left my face for the entire weekend. The panels were wonderful this year. I’m still on a high. No, seriously. It’s almost a week later and I haven’t been hit by the JiB blues yet, and perhaps I won’t this year.

*prays I land a pass for next year* *GAH* *the nail-biting begins*

Confession time? (…when in Rome)

Confession 1 — I have such a crush on Rob. I mean, I’ve had it for years, but time to make it official, I guess. He just seems like the sweetest, loveliest human being and watching him sing is like… watching the stars light in the sky. He is such an amazing singer and performer. He made me cry. He sang Fare Thee Well and he made me cry at the Monday Night Concert. 

*no I was NOT drunk* *though damn that G&T was strong* *oh btw the drinks in Rome are amazing and worth the money because extra alcoholic* *like damnnnnn* *just as an aside* *but also bring your own bourboun* *winks at @waywardliliana* *sup gurl?* *winks again* *winks some more* *can’t stop now* *licks lips* *yeah I know* *uncomfortable?* *licks lipssss againnnnn* *okay stopping now* *….or am I…….?*

:P

Confession 2 — The panel-watching truly is a huge amount of fun. This year there were a lot of things said that made me want to jump up and down in my seat, because it gives me a lot of hope for season fifteen and Jensen provided most of it on the Saturday, and then Jared was pretty much agreeing with Jensen’s assessments of how the brothers’ journeys should end on the Sunday, and I was like GAH! *happy* And then Misha throws in his belief that there needs to be a sacrifice and tragedy and we all went NO! Also his fear that this family of ours will disperse and we all went NOOO! :) Anyway, these are all stated observations, but the confession is this:

As much as I love spending time in a space that is occupied by some of my favourite human beings on this planet (oh but they are), what makes JiB so truly, deeply, personally special is meeting up with friends who otherwise live too far away to see on the regular. All of us convening in this one place to share in this one great love is like electricity through your veins. It’s like… well, it’s like going to a place of worship, and I think you know what I mean. When you’re in a room with a group of peope who’s energy jives with yours, then your energies align, and resonate, and then — MAGIC.

It’s magical. It’s fucking magical. *jazz hands*

Shoutout to everyone I managed to see this year who have not yet been lip-licked at in this post (or real life), whether it was much too brief (so many of you were much too brief) or whether we spent quality time, seeing you all really made the trip sparkle: 

@captainhaterade - who made such a fantastic and impromptu seat mate - thank you, Emily, for having me next to you for most of the weekend! :D 

@eriquin - Meghan, it was so lovely to meet you and I’m thrilled you and Emily both enjoyed your first con, very happy I got to be a part of it! :)

@trickster-angel - my dear Chiara, it took us a few tries, but we finally got to sit down in the Corner (if you get to go next year then I think this may be where we’re all just convene from now on) (*suggestion*) *nobody puts us in a corner except us!* :P So good to meet you!

@inacatastrophicmind - Mara! We met much, much too briefly, but I’m so, so glad we did! See you around tumblr, my friend, and hopefully at JiB11! :)

@misskittyspuffy - aw man, Aurelie, we kept missing each other and I really wanted to sit down and have a proper lunch or dinner, but at least you and--

@assbuttboyfriends - hey, Claire, my dear, at least you and Aurelie aren’t that far away, right? Come visit me in London, I tell ya! :D Otherwise, proper plan-making for next year. xx

@bold-sartorial-statement - a brief hello was still a good hello! Hope you enjoyed the con! xx

@jenmdixon - it was good to say hello to you, my dear, and really hope you enjoyed the con (and didn’t die under those lights because it got HOT) (no wonder the actors are fan-addicts) :) xx

@purgatory-jar - Elena, it was, as ever, fantastic to see you and I’m stoked I got to have a proper lunch with you this time around. You have always been and will always be one of my absolute favourite artists in this fandom and, by extension, anywhere. Already a star, girl!

Shoutout to @northern-sparrow - I was sorry that I missed you at the bar, but there’s always next year. Hope you enjoyed the con and thanks for asking The Perfect Question. :D xx

Finally, @godshipsit​ -- Alessia, my friend, you are this calm, welcoming, very dear part of Rome and JiB for me (last year you supported me so much just by being there) and you are simply brilliant! *all the prettiest flowers at your door*

And to my two felines who are tumblring, but not very often: Laura and Steph, you wonderfuls! Thanks for all the laughs!!

*I now proceed to throw love at you all*

Confession 3 — I have a Favourite Moose. Nope, it’s not who you think it is. (girl, I almost put the hashtag on here but in the current climate) (I think I’d just better not) (especially since I wanna tag you) (hey, Moose!) (hey @natmoose!) (yes you!) (Nat-Blue!) :) #theconversationalists 

Now, the highlights from this years con are too numerous for me to write them all down, really, but here’s a taster:

Ricky Whittle (the man is a genius comedian)

Rob talking about how his fandom experience has changed since he, for the first time, is seeing comments like “I hate your face” (the way he says “I hate your face”) (*giggle*) (also it’s such a question of tone because most of those “I hate your face”s are probably said with loads of love) (because Chuck going ultimate big bad toxic masculinity representative is fucking BRILLIANT) *love to hate his face* 

Matt telling the airplane story

Alex reenacting different parts of the airplane story

Alex choosing Jasmine from Aladdin to put a spin on and making the twist that he’ll rob the wishes from Aladdin like -->

Alex: *sings* I can show you the world *interrupts* I’m just like yo, just give me these wishes. Don’t mess with me. How about this? I’ll show myself the world, okay?

I really, really very much like Alexander Calvert, okay?

Briana being distracted by herself on the stage monitor (she’s gorgeous and she knows it and is also open about how it costs her a lot of money and time and effort and how that’s not for everyone and real beauty runs so much deeper) (which is why she is the most gorgeous woman)

Jared telling us all to shut up during his Sunday morning solo panel (and basically all of his time on stage, but especially this half an hour of stage time, because my GOD he was in such a good mood)

Misha

Jensen going off on a minor rant about Game of Thrones S08E05 because yesssss

Jared doing that jump-and-a-skip at his panel with Misha

Jared’s panel with Misha

Jensen telling Misha he loves him and them hugging, only for Jensen to turn it into a joke and pretty effectively demonstrating how this is how they interact and they don’t mean anything by taking the piss out of each other because yesssss

sincerely, all the solo panels (especially Jensen’s, because he’s so sincere and open and honest about how seriously he takes his work and it’s gorgeous and inspiring and always has been and always will be and)

I mean, Jensen lying flat on his back on that stage and Misha saying You Sexy Bitch is very, very, very… overt. I side-eye. But with a whole lot of appreciation for the balls on those two. I’d venture that they know exactly what they’re doing, and I’ll forever wonder what the percentage is between performative and spur-of-the-moment. Sometimes I think you can tell, but… oh, they know what we like. Usually. :)

Jared bringing the dirty. I just love his filthy mind.

All of their filthy minds tbh. 

Singing Carry On My Wayward Son in the hallway after the final panel is just… one of the best parts, and this year they all came out and high fived and gave hugs and… it was special 

The Monday Night Concert surpassed last year’s and went on for nearly two hours and was deeply moving for many reasons and I wish to the good Heavens (…okay you know what I mean) that Jensen and Briana will record Shallow because I think their version beat the original (damn Briana’s voice is just… damn!) (and I can’t talk about Jensen singing please don’t make me talk about it) (…) (thank you)

Also Richard Speight Jr because Richard Speight Jr!!

Also just Jason Manns because Jason Manns!!

And The Four Cheese!!

See, there’s just tOO MuCH STuFF

<3

And now it’s over and I’m still hopped up on the adrenaline and the happiness and Jensen talking about spreading happiness (I believe it was either during the opening panel with he and Jared on the Saturday or his solo panel later that afternoon) made me feel light as a feather, because he’s right. A healthy dose of real happiness builds you up from the inside out and makes you believe you’re worth it. All of it, yeah? And that, whatever comes your way, you can handle it. Oh, it can be a struggle, but if you only dare to be open, then good things, my peeps. 

Good things do happen.

I hope to see you next year!!

[disorganizedkitten]

I am bad at posting in multiple places but if you follow A study in Friendship now’s the time to catch up. We’re at chapter five now, and it’s over 5k!

 Yeah, I’m surprised too.

 I asked about a tag list and then someone reblogged but Tumblr is a butt and I’m having trouble seeing what they said if anything, so I’ll be working on that too.

 Anyway! You can find Chapter five over on AO3 or right here on Tumblr because I’m on a computer and feel like it. First full chapter on Tumblr!

Chloe had not, in fact, left her alone once the week was up. Instead, Sabrina learned that Chloe had been holding back over the past month. Go figure. And while Sabrina still had some problems defending herself, for every scathing comment Chloe sent her way, one of her friends would have a supportive comeback.

In short, life wasn’t perfect, but it was pretty amazing!!!

Did she mention she had seven friends now? Seven!! Marinette, George, Alya, Calista, Rose, Nino, and Adrien. And she was on tentatively good terms with the rest of her fellow students. That had never happened before! She could greet people and be greeted back, positively.

And sometimes it wasn’t her making first contact!

Like today, for instance.

“Good morning Sabrina!” Calista called, waving excitedly in the hallway.

“Good morning Calista!” Sabrina couldn’t help the smile as she dashed up and hugged Calista. “Did you have a good afternoon?”

“Oh it was amazing! I ended up in the catacombs, which yes I know is really dangerous, but I found some really cool stuff. I’m even checking with my dad to see if it counts as property open to the public. And even if I can’t keep it, I have like twenty pictures.”

“Oohh,” Sabrina breathed. Calista had shown in the past week that she had an affinity for finding the coolest things in the most random places. “Can you text me some of them? Or are they all on your camera?”

“Camera,” Calista said sadly. “But I’m going to print them this afternoon. The brooch was so pretty!” Calista sighed wistfully. “Anyway,” she turned her full attention to Sabrina. “How’s your turtle set coming along?”

“It’s coming,” Sabrina answered, rocking on the balls of her feet. “I think I’m ready to put a finishing coat on the main beads, finally.”

“Aw yes!” Calista jumped. “I can’t wait to see the finished product. I have told you how talented you are with beadwork, right?”

“You have,” Sabrina answered around a smile. Calista had said it at least five times in the past week. Especially after Sabrina had given her the star bracelet. Which Calista had worn every day since.

“Well I’m saying it again, you’re super talented, and the turtle set is going to come out looking so amazing.”

“I’m glad you think so,” Sabrina blushed.

“Cally!” One of Calista’s classmates skidded up to the pair. “Cally! Christian and Lucien are trying to claw each other’s hearts out.”

Calista sighed. “This is what I get for running for class rep. Well, better go stop them from getting hurt. See you later Sabrina!” She waved, her classmate latching onto her arm.

“See you!” Sabrina waved as Calista was dragged off by her classmate. Sabrina continued along the upper hallway to her classroom.

“Hey Sabrina!!” Alya leant over Marinette’s empty seat and held out a fist, Sabrina tapped it happily with her own as she passed.

“Hi Alya!

“Morning Ivan!” He glanced over at her, and she caught a small smile as he nodded to her before resuming his conversation with Mylene. Sabrina was… bad… in the love department, but even she could see how in love the two of them were.

Finding someone that compatible for herself in a few years would be a dream come true. For now though, Sabrina would just watch their love bloom happily.

She walked up to her seat, stopping to greet her almost-friend in the back row. “Hi Juleka.” the goth gave a tiny one-handed wave and muttered ‘Hello’ back.

Sabrina even chanced a wave at Nathaniel before she turned and slid into her seat. The redhead gave her a similar wave as Juleka had.

“Good morning Sabrina!” Rose called, skipping up the steps. “Good morning Juleka! Good morning Ivan! Good Morning Adrien, Good morning Mylene! Good Morning Alya! Good Morning Nino! Good morning Nate! Good Morning Max! Good Morning Kim!”

A chorus of ‘Good morning Rose!’ echoed back at the peppy blonde. Rose smiled as she slid into her seat in the back row.

Chloe stalked into the room, head held high. She sent a smirk to the back of the room, and Sabrina shivered. That was not a good kind of smirk. Sabrina hoped that Chloe was just acting haughtily to ride on her father’s coattails. M. Bourgeois was on his way to winning the mayoritorial elections, again. M. D’Argentcourt had been thoroughly humiliated throughout his campaign. At times it seemed the entire city was working against him.

Power players such as Andre were probably why the Americans had a limit on how many terms a leader could serve.

Sabrina listened in on the various conversations as she waited for Mme. Bustier to arrive.

Max was describing an idea for an AI with emotions to Juleka; Rose, Alix, and Mylene had started to talk about shades of the Color pink, and Kim was saying something about not being afraid of anything Ivan would ever know about, - spiders, if it hadn’t changed from when Sabrina had gathered blackmail info last year so that no one would run against her and Chloe in-

Oh crap.

Class representative elections had been making their way around the school this month. Calista had just been voted in on Friday.

Her life had changed a lot in two months. A lot, because she used to have the dates to start gathering information ingrained into her internal clock, and knew exactly what it was for every time. She had thought her secret hunting urges were just because she was so excited about Kitty Section forming and that she knew Nathaniel had been working on a secret project. She’d completely forgotten about elections.

Sabrina had never considered herself someone for whom adaptation was easy, and yet here she was.

“Oh it would be amazing if we got cushioned seats this year. Do you think that whoever gets elected would do that?”

Mylene hummed. “I don’t know, Rose, Chloe definitely wouldn’t.”

“Well no, but Chloe doesn’t have to be the rep this year.”

“She doesn’t?”

“I mean,” Rose took a breath and then leaned forward so she could talk to Sabrina. “Bri, are you gonna help Chloe run for rep this year?”

Sabrina wasted no time shaking her head, keeping her gaze stubbornly on Rose’s face. “Nope.”

Rose smiled, turning back to Mylene. “See?”

“Yeah, okay. But who’s going to run instead?”

“Good question!” Rose leaned over her desk again. “Bri, are you going to run?”

Sabrina paused at that. She hadn’t thought about it. She considered it for a moment, waving to Marinette as she entered, then turned and told Rose she really didn’t know, adding on a “besides, I don’t think I’d be that good at being in charge. I might run for assistant rep.”

“Wait does that mean we’ll have fair elections this year?” Marinette asked, turning around in her seat.

Sabrina nodded.

Marinette pumped her fist. “Yes! Have we decided who’s running this year?”

“I want to run for rep,” Rose admitted. “It’ll be fun to try.”

“I’m running too!” Kim added loudly. “This time she can’t hold my fear of spi-something against me!”

“Can’t I, Kim?” Chloe’s icy voice interrupted. Sabrina watched as she sashayed up the aisle and slammed her hand onto Kim’s desk. “I don’t have anything new to use against you, but don’t think for a minute that I won’t use what I still have.” Chloe turned her glare to Sabrina. She flinched. Chloe looked triumphant about that. “I don’t need Sabrina to keep you plebeians in line.

“Anybody who runs against me this year will meet the same fate as previous years.” She yawned into her hand. “I’ll just have to go without an assistant this year.” Chloe turned away and sashayed back down the stairs. She slid into her seat, head held high.

Mme. Bustier clapped her hands before the conversation could continue.

The subdued attitude carried through the rest of class, and only worsened when Mme. Bustier officially announced that the Class Representative election for their class would happen this week, and that anyone who wanted to run needed to decide by fourth period, and have their paperwork in by Tuesday morning.

“I had been so excited,” Rose lamented, setting her tray down between Juleka and Sabrina. The entire class, sans Chloe, had gathered for lunch in the cafeteria.

“Is Chloe really that bad of a class representative?” Adrien asked.

The emphatic Yes from the rest of the class had him flinching. Sabrina felt a little sorry for him. She , at least, had no misconceptions as to what Chloe was like when they were friends. Or, less misconceptions. It was worse from the other side, but not by too much.

“I don’t think we should let her have her way this year.” Alix stated. “I mean, Marinette already told her to take her bad attitude somewhere else, why don’t we all help reinforce that idea? Between the, what, thirteen? Of us, most of her threats won’t actually mean anything, right?”

“Yeah!” Kim cheered.

Max cleared his throat. “As much as I hate to kill the mood, Chloe's threats do still apply. She can still spill secrets, and she has enough pull with the school board that she can still carry them out, just not with the same amount of ease as previous years.”

Alix groaned, laying her head on the table. “Her tyranny has to end somewhere.”

“What if we blackmail her back?” Juleka asked, forking a piece of (furd) into her mouth. Sabrina jolted, staring at her flabbergasted. Apparently she wasn't the only one, because Juleka shrunk in on herself a bit a moment later. “It was just a suggestion.”

“There's got to be someone she has nothing on,” Alix huffed. “Wait a minute, Sabrina?”

Sabrina froze as all eyes turned on her.

“Alix, what are you asking?” Ivan asked, a hint of accusation in his tone. Sabrina wasn't sure which girl it was truly aimed at.

“Who doesn't she have blackmail on.” Alix said again. “Sabrina, you know this, right?”

Sabrina nodded slightly. She didn't like it when the past was brought up, she had tormented them so much, but it was inevitable in this situation. She took a deep breath before answering, hoping her voice stayed factual and firm. “Kind of. I don't have anything on Marinette, Alya, or Adrien. But Chloe might have found something else since I left.”

At her words, the class erupted. Sabrina winced at the overlapping yells, moving to cover her ears. Some of the noise was cheers, some were questions, Kim was making a lot of it, really it was just too much, too much, she couldn't think, how could thirteen people make so much noise-

There was a bang as Marinette stood up, slamming her hands onto the table. “Guys!” her shout cut through the din surprisingly well. The class turned to look at Marinette instead of each other. “One at a time,” she ordered calmly.

Sabrina lowered her hands back tO her lap, taking a deep breath in the relative calm.

Rose raised her hand.

“Yes Rose?”

“If you run, do you think we can build a petition for scrapbooking club like we did for the art room?”

Marinette flushed scarlet. “I don't think I'll run, but I can definitely help you set that up if Chloe closes it.”

“Girl, why wouldn’t you run?” Alya asked. “You might be the only one who can.”

“What?” Marinette sat back down, turning so she could focus her incredulous look on Alya. “I can't lead people! And even if I could, I don't have enough time to do so properly.”

“Well I can’t be class rep around the Ladyblog, and Adrien is always busy.”

Sabrina could bring up a few examples to fight most of the points Marinette had brought up. The time one was the only thing she couldn’t argue against. But.. Hadn’t she said she wanted to be assistant rep? After running both her and Chloe’s lives for years, there was at least one thing she was good at, and that was managing events around the rest of lives. And time as a whole. As long as Marinette was okay with that, of course. “I could help with the time thing,” she rushed out, closing her eyes. She didn’t want to see what they thought of that. Rose would be supportive, but she didn’t know how the others would act. There was no sound from the rest of the table. Had she just ruined their friendship by going against what Marinette had said? Oh she hoped not, she had only been trying to help!

“What about your own schedule?” Marinnette asked.

Sabrina opened her eyes. Marinette didn’t look mad, thank goodness. Instead she looked… worried?

“Oh I can manage mine with time to spare!” she assured her. “It’s not a problem to help, really.”

“If you’re sure you want too, that could work.” Marinette said slowly. “But I don’t want to be an absentee rep for everyone.”

“I could run with you, and we could work together, like with the project! Find times that work for both of us, and then just plan a few weeks in advance.”

Marinette’s smile was worth taking the chance to say that. “I think that could work.” Rose started clapping, and soon the entire class was too. Sabrina blushed at the praise. She just kept topping herself at how happy and important she could feel. They weren’t clapping only for her, of course it was for Marinette too, but still.

***

Sabrina rocked on her heels at the apartment door. Marinette had offered for her to come over Tuesday night for them to get a strategy working. Sabrina was late, an akuma had attacked while she was on her way to Marinette’s house. She hoped Marinette wouldn’t be upset. There were footsteps on the other side, and then Marinette yanked the door open. “Sabrina are you okay?”

“Yeah. I was able to hide.” Sabrina assured her quickly. “Oh thank goodness.” Marinette hugged her. “Come on in.” she pulled back and opened the door wider. Sabrina smiled and followed her inside and upstairs. “So where should we start?” Marinette asked, plopping into her desk chair and sliding over to her desk. She picked up a box and a screwdriver off her desk, and then spun to face Sabrina. “Do you mind if I work while we talk?” Sabrina shook her head. “Not at all! What are you working on?”

“A locking box,” Marinette shrugged. “I figured that even though she shouldn’t realistically be able to get up here, I might as well lock up my diary anyway.”

“Better safe than sorry,” Sabrina agreed.

“Do you want me to make you one too after I’m done?”

Sabrina shook her head. “I’ve got my own measures. Thank you for the offer though!”

Marinette smiled. “Good on you.” “So how are we running this campaign? Chloe normally trys to ruin her competition, but that doesn’t seem like a very you thing to do.”

“Definitely not,” Marinette agreed emphatically. “I was considering a full speech, you know?”

“I can help with speeches,” Sabrina agreed. “And you’ve come up with some good ones on the spot before, so this one is bound to turn out amazing!”

Marinette giggled. “Thanks Sabrina.

“Oh! We have to do the paperwork first! How did I forget that?” Marinette spun her chair again, setting the box on her desk so she could open up her computer. A few minutes later her printer was running. “Okay, there’s that.”

Marinette handed Sabrina her set of papers, and sat down with her own. “Do you need a pen?”

“Yes please,” Sabrina answered. Marinette passed her a pen, and they got to work. Line one; year, class, and name.

As it turned out, Marinette did a lot more work than Chloe ever had while they ran. In years past, Sabrina and Chloe had won immediately for lack of competition. Now, she and Marinette were running against Chloe. And even though they knew most would vote for them instead, Marinette was determined to be a worthy candidate, not just someone who was voted for instead. And that was just from the first night of planning and preparing!

Sabrina loved her.

Laying on Marinette’s bedroom floor, Sabrina ticked off another few boxes concerning her health status before looking back up at Marinette. Marinette was beside Sabrina, her cheeks puffed, and her legs kicking back and forth violently. Sabrina pursed her lips, looking down at the next question on the form. Why do you think you’ll be a good candidate? That one was tricky. Why did she? Organizational skills would work as a reason, right?

“Sabrina, did they nominate me just because I wasn’t Chloe?” Marinette asked, flopping onto her back.

Sabrina looked over, puffing her own cheek. “I doubt it. You have the makings of a good leader. You’re super nice and check on everyone. Or, almost everyone.” She didn’t name the one person she didn’t think Marinette took care of, that was obvious. But still. “That’s what the representative does anyway, right? Take care of everyone?” And really, Marinette had a big enough heart to take care of even Chloe if it came to it.

Marinette sighed. “Yeah. I just don’t want anybody to think I’m only doing it because it’s my responsibility.”

Sabrina hummed. “I don’t think anyone would think that. I mean,” she forced a laugh. “Look at me! I went from the second most hated girl in our grade to someone with actual friends in four weeks after you offered. And that was all before this.” She looked down at her hands. “They’d have to have pretty bad memories to think you only help because you have to.”

Marinette chuckled. “I don’t think we have anyone with memory problems in our class.”

Sabrina smiled, and turned back to her forms. The sound of pencils reigned for a minute, and then; “Thank you Sabrina. I needed to hear that.”

“No problem.”

You know, support for her friends and good at making things happen were both things that would be good on this. She might as well. In the margins, she ends up scribbling an extra note. Mostly to support Marinette.

***

“How do you speech?” Marinette asked, glaring at her tablet screen as though it had personally offended her.

This prep meeting was at Sabrina’s house, so they were sitting on Sabrina’s bed to brainstorm and write Marinette’s electoral speech.

“Be personal, don’t ramble too much, stay engaged, metaphors are only good if they’re simple or you explain them, bulletpoint a point a minute if you have that much time or that many topics, uhhh,” Sabrina leant over Marinette’s side to look at her screen. “That looks pretty good, actually. Do you want me to start the stopwatch and see if it fits in the time?”

Marinette shook her head. “I’m gonna revise it again first.” Sabrina shrugged. “OKay.” She sat back up, and pulled her beadwork back onto her lap. She was working on a new set of more casual jewelry, pink flowers for this one’s theme. The turtles weren’t done yet, she had run out of the type of clasp and hadn’t been able to get more yet, but she was okay with that.

“Ah-ha!” Marinette exclaimed. “I think I got it! Where’s the stopwatch?”

Sabrina grabbed it from it’s pocket on her lap tray. “Right here. Want me to watch it?” “Sure. Thank you!”

Sabrina set up the clock and started counting down. “Three, two one, go!” She hit start, and Marinette took off, her voice loud, if a bit shaky.

“So as you know, I’m running for class rep-”

***

“Alya I think I’m gonna die,” Marinette said in lieu of a usual greeting as she slid into her seat.

It didn’t help Sabrina’s nerves at all.

Alya sighed, turning slightly to look at her friend. “Marinette, you’ll be fine. You and Sabrina worked on this all week, you’re going to kill it.”

“But what if we don’t?” Marinette asked, grabbing Alya’s shoulders.

“Marinette, you’re going up against Chloe.”

“Which is why I’m worried!” “You’ll be fine. She’s not that big of a threat.” Marinette didn’t seem convinced, but she let the subject drop. “Any luck getting an interview with Ladybug?” she asked instead. As Alya descended into an excited ramble about the two minutes of talking she got to do with Ladybug yesterday, Marinette did a half-turn and waved. Sabrina waved back, trying to smile. She didn’t really feel it had come out right.

She was really nervous. Really, really nervous. They had been prepping all week, but there was still a small margin for error. And that small margin would become a big margin if there was an akuma attack or if Chloe came up with a really good plan.

“Are you okay?”

Sabrina jumped at Ivan’s question. “Yep! Of course! No problems here! Not nervous or anything! Heh.” From the look on his face, he didn’t believe her in the slightest. “No,” she sighed. “I’ve broken away from Chloe, but this is the first time I’ll be directly opposing her since the project. I’m worried.”

Ivan shrugged. “We’ve all been scared of Chloe at one point or another. Don’t worry, if she tries anything, we’ll have your back.”

Sabrina smiled. She and Ivan hadn’t talked too much in the four weeks since she started to sit by him, but she felt like they were almost friends anyway. “Thanks Ivan.” “Alright class, settle down. Before we start our lesson today, I have to remind you that elections are this afternoon at city hall, so be sure to be there!”

Sabrina felt her gut clench again, and she stubbornly did not look towards Chloe’s bench.

Classes passed in a blur. Sabrina almost never had trouble paying attention, but today she was very out of it. She kept going through scenarios in her head that grew increasingly dire as the hours passed. The only things she could remember in detail were the talks inbetween classes. A lot of ‘good luck!’s were sent their way, and George and Calista even pulled her aside to give her a few packages of chocolate. Calista had said something about being excited to see her in presidency meetings.

Sabrina was really glad they had an hour between school and the elections. It was set so kids in fencing or scrapbooking would be able to go to both.

Sabrina stood on the school steps, trying to figure out where she’d go in the interim. She and Marinette had decided that the best thing to do would be to go propless, so she didn’t need to go home. She found herself watching Chloe saunter up to her car. Her dad had officially won the elections today. It was a fact that just made Sabrina more nervous. Chloe turned at the door, and smirked. Sabrina whined in her throat. Was it too late to back out?

“Want to spend the wait at my house?”

Yes, it was. Sabrina turned to shook Marinette a shaky smile. Marinette needed the support. “That sounds amazing.”

“You don’t sound too good,” Marinette noted. “Are you going to be okay? Do you just need to breathe for a bit?”

“I think so,” Sabrina nodded. Breathing sounded nice.

“Come on, we can watch a few episodes of something while we wait.”

They ended up watching lighthearted and simple cartoons, while eating some of Marinette’s scarily large cookie collection, to keep them from fretting too much. Eventually though, the alarm to start towards the city hall rung, and they were pulled back to the present.

“Ready?” Marinette asked, slinging her purse over her shoulder.

“Not at all,” Sabrina admitted.

“Me neither,” Marinette confirmed. “Better when it’s over, right?”

“Normally,” Sabrina agreed. “We should go before I decide I can’t.”

“Then let’s go.”

“Hey Sabrina?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for volunteering to have my back.”

“You’re welcome. I mean, we made a good team, right?”

“Yeah.”

They were only a block away from the hall when Marinette’s phone started going off. She dug it out, and held it between herself and Sabrina. “What’s up, Alya?”

“Chloe’s trying to buy votes,” Alya’s annoyed tone came through the speaker. “With Jagged Stone tickets.”

That sounded like Chloe.

“For real?” Marinette asked.

“For real. How close are you?”

“Just around the corner,” Marinette assured her. “Sabrina and I will be there in just a minute.”

“Alright, see you soon.”

“Jagged Stone tickets,” Marinette huffed. “Of course she’s going for a bribe.”

“We knew she would do something,” Sabrina sighed.

“Yeah. Well, let’s get in there and show her that money can’t buy everythinG!” Marinette said enthusiastically. Her nerves at least, seemed to have dissipated into fury. Sabrina couldn’t say the same for her own.

All the same, there were a lot of things money couldn’t buy. Like true friendship.

The girls entered city hall, and were greeted with the cheers of some classmates.

“Yeah! Come show us what you’ve got!” Alix yelled, her eyes alight with excitement.

Sabrina smiled a bit. She wasn’t going up against a hostile crowd. She was by Marinette’s side. She could do this.

And then the akuma attacked.

***

“I didn’t abandon anyone, Chloe!” Marinette snapped. “I got knighted while trying to close the upper windows.”

Everyone had been knighted by the end of the fight. It was scary, watching the darkness close in, not knowing if Marinette was safe - which she wasn’t - and knowing they were doomed too.

Adrien cracked some pun about it being a knightmare to be knighted, and Sabrina had to agree. She would be having nightmares for a week.

“Well, obviously only one of you showed any actual leadership skills during the attack, so I think we all know who we’re voting for,” Alya said sassily. Sabrina took s step back at Chloe’s scowl.

“Not so fast Alya,” Marinette said.

“See! She’s already throwing in the towel! Obviously I’m the best representative, I can handle the job.”

“That’s not what she said,” Sabrina muttered. Chloe’s glare snapped to her. She took another step back.

“Sabrina’s right,” Marinette said. “I said it wasn’t time for voting yet, not that I was quitting.” She turned to the class at large. Sabrina could feel a speech coming on. “I don’t want you all to vote for me based on one interaction, and I don’t want you to vote for me because I’m not Chloe. I want you to cast your votes to who you think will actually do the job best. I won’t be able to do everything, but I’m good at finding compromises and thinking outside the box. Sabrina’s extremely good at schedules, and finding all the hurdles we need to jump to get to a specific goal. We’re good partners, and I promise we’ll both do our best. So, vote for Marinette and Sabrina as Class Representatives!”

Sabrina and Alya were the first to clap, followed by Adrien and Rose, and then everyone but Chloe and the mayor. “Go ahead and go vote Class. I’m sure we’re all eager to have our representatives chosen for the year,” Mme. Bustier encouraged. The entirety of the not-nominated classmates surged forward at once.

Marinette meanwhile, stepped up to Sabrina’s side. “So, uh, that went...” she trailed off with a nervous laugh.

“As far from plan as possible?” Sabrina offered. “Yeah, that’s a good way to describe it,” Marinette agreed. “I completely forgot my speech.”

“It sounded good anyway.”

Their conversation was stopped by Mme. Bustier clapping. “Alright students! Marinette, Chloe, Sabrina, please come up so we can announce the winner!”

“Come on!” Marinette whispered excitedly, holding out her hand. Sabrina took it, trying not to squeezed too hard.

Chloe kept her head up as she joined them, but Sabrina knew the look of fury in her eyes. She bit back another whimper.

“The votes have been counted,” Mme. Bustier said. “And the winners are...” she paused for emphasise. Sabrina caught onto her wording though. She took a deep breath, and fixed a smile on her face. “Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Sabrina Raincomprix!”

Alya and Rose squealed from where they were in the crowd, and Sabrina wasn’t able to fully turn to smile at Marinette before Rose tackled her.

“You did it! Sabrina I’m so proud of you! I just know you’re going to be amazing!” Rose pulled back, wiping her eyes. “I’m so proud. You’ve just bloomed!” and then she burst into tears.

Sabrina didn’t know what to do with that. Was Rose okay? She didn’t know, but Juleka seemed to think so.

She took her friend’s arm gently. “Come on Rose, let others congratulate her too.” She looked up and smiled at Sabrina. “Congratulations, Sabrina.” Juleka led Rose over to tell Marinette congratulations too, and then Sabrina lost sight of them in the crowd of classmates. It was only her class there, but it felt like a lot more while they were all wishing her good luck and offering congratulations. Eventually the stream died down, and Sabrina could breathe again. She turned to find Alya primed with her phone.

“Come on girls, lets get some smiles! I’ve got to put this on the school blog!”

Marinette found her way back to Sabrina’s side, and they took a moment to pose. Once Alya had the picture, she rushed up to give kisses goodbye, claiming she had a family engagement she was already late for. “I guess this is it then?” Marinette said.

“Yeah.”

“This year is going to be wild.”

Sabrina agreed. It had already been wild, between the Akumas and magic and the shifting power structures.

“I’m glad I have you as a partner in this,” Marinette said, setting an arm on her shoulder. “Thank you, really.”

“I like doing things I’m good at,” Sabrina said honestly. “And I want to support you and the others. I’m just glad you gave me a chance.” “Of course.”

Sabrina smiled, and in a spur of the moment, she held out her fist. “Pound it?”

Marinette smiled even wider, if that was possible, and tapped her own to it. “Pound it.”

[t-lostinworlds]

Crush (Ethan Dolan) [3]

A/N: I am very aware that I am so slow at updating, and I am so sorry. ANYHOW! Part 3 is finally here!

Summary: What would happen if the one and only Ethan Dolan found himself crushing on a simple but closed off girl like you? Would he work hard to try and break your walls? Or would everything be too much for him? (loosely based on the song Crush by David Archuleta)

Warnings: None, maybe typos haha.

Word Count: 6,136

Masterlist in Bio

P.S. I’ll leave the tags at the bottom, so if you want to be tagged when I post an update to this series just comment/message me and let me know 💖😊 (or if you want to get tagged when I post a new fic just let me know haha)

-:-:-:-:-

Part 3

Your usual routine every time you have a day off is just being a couch potato the whole day, eating junk food while watching some random movie on Netflix. You don’t usually go out unless it’s certainly needed to. So when you stood in front of an unfamiliar building in downtown L.A., you just knew today was going to be very different than most days off.

After that night at the restaurant, you’ve received a text from James almost immediately as you got home, saying that he really does want to film a video with you, but he didn’t say what it was about yet. The both of you only talked about your schedule and when you would be free. Few days later, here you are, standing in front of James’ apartment door.

You knocked a couple of times before you heard a faint shuffling on the other side of the door. Next thing you knew, you were greeted by a glammed up James, smile wide with a hint of mischief in them. Your eyebrows met for a couple of seconds but were soon gone when he engulf you in a hug.

“You came! I’m so excited for this video oh my god!” He exclaimed, letting go of you in order for him to step aside, gesturing you to come in. You fiddled with your fingers as you looked around the place. It was nothing too extravagant but it was still aesthetically pleasing with the red brick walls, frames with motivational quotes in them and a few plants here and there. You nodded to yourself, impressed; it definitely was better looking than your tiny apartment.

“James! Why the fuck does your Wi-Fi have to be so slow!” You jumped, startled by the abrupt voice coming from behind you. You turned around to face the living room, and that’s when you saw him. To say that your heart skipped a beat would make it too cliché, but is still true to say the least.

It has only been a few days since the last time you saw him in person but he seemed to have grown even more handsome with that light scruff covering his jaw.

You hated to admit it but you have been thinking about him none stop, and not because you’re a fan of him, but because of this odd feeling that erupts inside of you whenever he crosses your thoughts. And when you watch their videos over, you found yourself staring at him longer than you should be, getting a little too distracted when he laughs or just stares at the camera too intensely as if he was looking straight at you.

You tried plenty of times to ignore this little “crush” you have on him, because you didn’t want to get hurt again, not after what happened just a year ago, but it seems to get only harder as the time goes by.

You looked at him with wide eyes, clearly surprised because James failed to mention that he was going to be here too. He was just laid flat on the couch, his phone directly on top of his face as he scrolled through it, completely oblivious to your presence.

“Don’t be rude Ethan, especially when I have a guest over.” James said from behind you but you can’t seem to take your eyes off of Ethan. You flinched a little bit when you felt a hand on your shoulder, turning around expecting James but you saw Grayson smiling down at you before turning his attention to Ethan when he spoke.

“What guest? I know it’s Grayson who just walked in so don’t use that excuse on me.” Ethan grumbled, his eyes still glued on his phone. You bit your lip to suppress a smile, looking up at Grayson who was chuckling at his stupid brother.

“Don’t say anything just yet until I give you a signal okay?” He whispered, but before you could respond, his voice already boomed around the apartment.

“(Y/N)! It’s nice to see you again.” Grayson exclaimed, giving you a quick hug. You hugged him back, still a little bit confused as to what’s happening, but you kept your mouth shut just as he said.

“Ha – ha very funny Gray, stop playing with me.” Ethan rolled his eyes, but still didn’t tear his eyes off his phone. You covered your mouth as you giggled, looking up at Grayson, him giving you a wink and a quick nod.

“What’s funny?” As soon as those words left your mouth Ethan’s head snapped in your direction, mouth hanging open and eyes as wide as saucers as he saw you standing there. He dropped his phone on his face and cursed, stumbling as he tried to stand up as quick as he can.

“(Y/N)! Hi.” He squeaked when he finally stood on both feet, swallowing the lump in his throat, his hand scratching the back of his neck while his face turned extremely red.  

“Hi Ethan.” You waved at him shyly, giggling at his reaction, feeling a little bit flattered thinking that maybe, just maybe you weren’t the only one feeling these feelings towards a certain someone.

You quickly shook your head to get rid of your thoughts, mentally slapping yourself as you realized that you are already dancing around dangerous territory.

You know Ethan is a great guy but still, you can’t be that naïve girl again. As much as you like him, you need to protect your heart as much as you can, even if that means denying your feelings for him. Maybe if he can prove himself, then you’ll try your best and open up a little.

Grayson laughed beside you; hand on his stomach as he turned around to James who was holding his phone up. “Did you get that?” He said in fits of laughter. James giggled with a nod, “Sure did sister.”

You laughed, looking back at Ethan who was rubbing his face with a groan, evidently annoyed at all of you. Well, maybe not so much at you because he can’t be annoyed at how adorable you looked today in your simple ripped jeans, black Vans, and a black rolling stones t-shirt.

Ethan hasn’t stopped thinking about you ever since the two of you met at the restaurant. Even Grayson got annoyed at how he kept talking and asking about you, pestering James at times to just give him your number already, but James is stubborn as hell, he kept saying that he should just wait.

He sometimes even tried to eat at the restaurant again but Grayson advised him to be patient, and not to be desperate.

Ethan tried to deny his attraction towards you but he just knew that what he’s feeling is not a one-time or a playful thing. He has never liked a girl this hard before, and that’s saying something because he doesn’t catch feelings for girls that easily.

“Hi.” You said with a soft smile, Ethan blinking twice before realizing that he unconsciously walked towards you. “Hi.” He responded, blushing profusely knowing how weird he must have been just standing in front of you for who knows how long.

The way you had Ethan captivated is scaring the living daylights out of him. You already had him hypnotized without doing anything at all. Your simplicity is so beautiful that he just can’t seem to get enough of it.

You stared into each other’s eyes for a moment, your smiles slowly disappearing, both your eyes speaking for themselves.

“(Y/N)! We’re ready for you!” James sing-songed, breaking the gaze between you two as you looked away, cheeks flushing. “Uh, I have to –” You started, not being able to finish your sentence as you pointed both of your hands towards James. Ethan nodded as you slowly walked towards James, getting inside a room that looks like his studio.

“Okay kitty girl, you sit here and we’ll film the intro.” James instructed after he introduced you to his editor, placing a stool behind the white table. You sat down, eyes adjusting to the bright lights. “Okay we’re filming.” James sat down beside you and smiled, clasping his hands together in an excited manner.

He took a deep breath before saying, “Hey sisters! James Charles here and welcome back to my YouTube channel! Today I am joined by a very unfamiliar face to you guys. Say hello to my friend (Y/N)!”

“Hi guys!” You said shyly, waving both of your hands. “So sister (Y/N), how about you tell us something about yourself and your taste in make-up and in fashion.” James looked at you expectantly. “Yeah, my name is (Y/N) and I’m just a simple girl who works as a server in a restaurant, nothing too special really. Make up and fashion wise, well…” You trailed off, not really sure on what to say.

“It’s okay, just take your time. It’ll look fine after editing I promise.” James reassured. “You’re doing great (Y/N)!” You heard Ethan yell from somewhere, making you blush and fumble with your words even further. James looked at you, his eyes twinkling with excitement.

“I – uh, I don’t really wear that much make up as you can see but I really love watching your videos even if I know nothing about make up you are just so fun to watch. And I just wear the usual jeans and shirt every day.” You laughed, thinking about how boring you actually are. “Aww, thanks sweetie.” James gave you a side hug before turning back to the camera.

“Yes, Sister (Y/N) here is just a shy simple girl, but we are going to changed that today by giving her a makeover!” He squealed excitedly, clapping his hands a few times. You stared at him, in utter surprise, clearly not expecting this at all.

“She didn’t know about this anyway that’s why she’s sister surprise at the moment.” James spoke to the camera nonchalantly. “Wait what? A makeover?” You asked, eyebrows knitting together.

“Yup, I thought I’d treat you with a makeover since you were so kind to us when we ate at the restaurant, and trust me guys, she is the sweetest ever. I can also see that you are very hard working so I’d really love to buy you new clothes!” James exclaimed. “Oh my god! Thank you!” You exclaimed, giving him a huge hug.

You aren’t exactly poor but you can’t really spoil yourself either since you are still saving up so that you can open your own restaurant soon, plus paying the bills doesn’t come in cheap. It makes you really happy that James is kind enough to treat you on buying an outfit.

“Don’t mention it sweetie!” He hugged you back. “And we’re going to be picking three outfits today so we better get going and you wouldn’t be able to see them until the big reveal.” He added after you guys pulled back. “Three outfits?!” you asked, your eyes bugging out of your head.

“Yes sister, we are going all out today. So chip chop, let’s go sister shopping! Ew that was so bad.” And with that both of you stood up and went outside of his studio.

“James, three is too much, you really don’t have to.” You said, still overwhelmed by his sudden generosity. You don’t really know each other that well yet, the only thing you have is what you see in their videos.

“No it really is fine. And I have a big feeling that we will be seeing you more often so three outfits is no biggie.” He brushed you off, leaving you there even more confused.

What does he mean by seeing you more often? Is James Charles planning something here? Is this more than just a simple video?

“Twins!” James yelled, catching both boys’ attention who were just sitting on the couch, on their phones. “You drove here separately right?”

“Oddly enough, yes, we did.” Ethan answered, giving suspicious looks at James. There’s something about today that makes Ethan feel a bit uncomfortable, like James and his brother a plotting his death or something. This morning, James just randomly texted him to come by at his place for something really important and when he got out of the house, Grayson’s car was nowhere to be found.

So he drove here in his Jeep, sending Grayson a quick text to where he was going. Weirdly enough Grayson responded a few minutes later saying he was on his way to James’ place too, he just needed to pick up a few things that’s why he went out earlier than expected.

“Perfect! Let’s go people!” James shouted, clapping his hands in an authoritative way, ushering everyone off of their seats and outside the door.

“So I guess were taking the Jeep since that’s the only way we all fit?” Ethan said when all of you reached the spot where the boys parked their cars.

“No way, I’m not leaving my car here. I don’t trust this neighborhood.” Grayson shook his head, holding both of his hands up as he walked over towards the driver’s seat, getting inside without another word.

“Ooh true, okay, Kelly and I will go with Grayson and (Y/N) would you mind accompanying Ethan? No? Okay let’s go! Ethan I’ll text you the address!” James grabbed Kelly’s hand and went inside Grayson’s car before you could even utter a single word. Next thing you know, they already drove off, leaving you standing there with Ethan dumbfounded.

“Un-fucking-believable.” You heard Ethan grumble behind you. “What was that about?” You asked with a small laugh, turning around just in time to see him rake his fingers through his hair with his other hand in his pocket, his biceps flexing in the process, the white shirt he was wearing leaving so little to the imagination.

No one can disagree with you when you say that Ethan Dolan is hot. Yes you’ve seen him shirtless from photos since there are quite a lot, but seeing it in the flesh is a whole different level, and he isn’t even shirtless now.

You bit your lip unconsciously and Ethan caught this immediately as he was already looking at you, a smirk playing across his face, feeling his ego shoot to the roof. Maybe he doesn’t have to worry too much about making you like him.

“Trust me, I have no idea.” He chuckled as he answered your question, making you snap back to reality, and judging by his smug expression, you definitely got caught checking him out. “What?” You asked, giving him an innocent smile, but your cheeks still turned red anyway.

“I don’t know, maybe I just caught you eyeing me or something.” He raised one eyebrow at you as he ran his tongue over his teeth, making him look even hotter, feeling even more confident this time when he saw you blush.

“Oh don’t be so full of yourself Ethan.” You rolled your eyes, the flush on your cheeks just growing even more. He laughed, turning around and opening the car door for you. “After you mi lady.” He curtsied with a grin, super pleased with himself, knowing that he has somewhat of an effect on you judging by your red cheeks.

You cocked your head to the side, looking at him cautiously as you walked forward and stood in front of him for a second. “I heard you like a gentlemen?” He gave you a quick wink and smirked, making you scoff as you got in the car, the shy and awkward Ethan from moments ago was long gone.

He jogged his way to the driver’s seat, a grin now plastered on his face. He can sense that you are trying to hide something from him. Not many people know this but Ethan is very good at reading people, whether it’s form body language or just how your eyes look.

Just as Ethan started the engine of his Jeep, his phone beeped. “Is he fucking serious?” He muttered as he read the text over and over. “What is it?” You asked with your eyebrows drawn together.

“James just texted me, but he didn’t give any address at all. He just said that I should keep you busy while he picks out the outfits, saying it should be a surprise. Then he added, ‘have fun you two.’” He answered, scratching the back of his neck, finally putting the pieces bit by bit on what James is planning all this time.

“Okay, that’s a bit weird. Are you sure he didn’t say something to you about this? Because I feel like this is more than just a video.” You giggled, thinking about how slick James can be when planning things.

“I kind of have a hunch, but I’m not entirely sure. And no, whatever he is planning, I have no idea.” Ethan narrowed his eyes at the road, scrunching up his nose as if he was deep in thought, which was very cute.

“So I guess you’re stuck with me then.” You shrugged as you gestured your hand from the top of your head to your feet, Ethan’s eyes following attentively, almost sizing you up.

“I wouldn’t mind that. I wouldn’t mind that at all. I’d quite like that actually.” He smiled at you cheekily, giving you another wink as his chin rested on his hand.

“Oh for fucks sake, stop doing that will you?” You groaned, burying your face in both your hands to hide you red face. Remember that time when you said if you’d had a dollar every time you blushed? Well, you’d be filthy rich by now, especially when you’re with Ethan.

“Stop doing what (Y/N)? Making you blush? Is little old me making you blush again?” He teased, giving you a soft poke on your side making you flinch a little bit. God this man just knows how to make you feel all tingly and soft inside doesn’t he? The way he has an effect on you is frightening.

“Just drive idiot you’re wasting gas.” You avoided answering his question as you are too embarrassed to admit so. “Fine, where to?” He chuckled, finally driving off, silently thanking James just a little bit for giving him a chance to spend more time with this amazing girl.

“Pizza?”

 ***

Meanwhile on the other side of town, Grayson trudged behind James lazily, getting more and more confused as to why he has dragged him into this “plan” of his.

“James, what am I even doing here? I clearly no nothing about girls’ fashion.” Grayson groaned when James dragged him into a Gucci store.

“Well, you clearly know Ethan and I want you to judge if Ethan would like the outfit or not.” James brushed him off, picking out a nice belt for you. Grayson furrowed his eyebrows, “You do know Ethan won’t care what (Y/N) wears right?”

“Oh no, I know that. I just want to see him all shock and everything, like completely blown away.” James said, settling with a cute and simple reversible black leather with a double G buckle that would go very well with the first outfit he has chosen.

“Can you at least explain to me bit by bit what you really are planning here? Because you only texted me and said that I should leave the house before Ethan wakes up since you have a surprise for him. And I know some of this isn’t part of the video.” Grayson crossed his arms in front of his chest as leaned over the counter, waiting for James to explain everything to him.

“It really is plain and simple Grayson. First, I wanted the two of you to drive separately so that we can just leave Ethan and (Y/N) with each other. Second, I have set up something for the two of them later on and just let this relationship blossom. You saw how they looked at each other, there is something there, and I really love being a sister cupid for once.” James grabbed the bag and started to walk out of the store, Grayson quick to catch up with him.

“Wait, you aren’t including this in the video right?” Grayson asked as he saw Kelly about to turn the camera back on.

“No silly. As much as I would like to put ‘Setting Up Best Friend with His Crush’ on the title, I want this to be private, you know how some of your fans are, I wouldn’t do that to (Y/N) and to Ethan. Besides, we still don’t know where this is going to end up. I’m just giving them a starting point, and the rest is up to them.” He gave Grayson an honest smile, in which Grayson nodded approvingly.

Of course Grayson loves their fans so much, but some of them can be a bit too much when it comes to them dating or just being with a girl for that matter. And James is right, they still didn’t know if this is going to work or not, plus it’s their choice if they want to go public.

“I feel like I’m just your private driver or something.” Grayson complained as they got back inside the car. “Oh sush, you’re helping more than you think you are sweetie.” James gave a dismissive wave of his hand, handing some bags to Kelly in the back.

“Where to next?” Grayson asked. James gave him the address to their next destination, heaving a huge sigh, Grayson slowly drove off.

 ***

“Uh, I’ll get a pineapple pizza, and…” Ethan looked up from the menu and at you. “I’ll get the same.” You smiled at the waitress. She gave you both a nod and walked away. You looked back at Ethan to see him smile at you in complete adoration.

“Do you really like pineapple pizza or are you just trying to impress me?” He wriggled his eyebrows at you, leaning back on his seat as the corner of his mouth quirked up. You scoffed, “Please, I’ve been eating pineapple pizza long before I knew your obsession about them.”

This just keeps getting better and better. He thought to himself, leaning forward to rest his elbow on the table and stared right into your eyes. “Where have you been all my life?” He muttered, his crush for you building up more and more as he got to know you better.

“You’re so cheesy aren’t you?” You shook your head with a laugh, the redness starting to tint you cheeks once again. He listed his shoulders up in a half shrug. “At least I try and I know you find it cute because you’re blushing again.” He pressed, tilting his head to the side with a proud smile, making your eyes roll.

“Shut up.” You grumbled looking everywhere but him. He held his hands up in surrender as he laughed, the beautiful sound echoing around the restaurant.

“Why are you even wearing a hoodie? It’s hot out.” You changed the topic to try and divert the attention to something else. “Well, I’m clumsy as fuck and I don’t want to stain my white shirt.” He answered, eyes lighting up as the waitress came back with two huge slices of pizza.

“Oh wow this is huge.” He rubbed his hands together as he licked his lips, so excited to take a bite already. “Let me take a picture.” You suggested, him agreeing as he gave you his phone. He lifted the pizza up, doing silly faces and a few serious ones.

“I’m starving.” You sighed, lifting your own pizza to take a huge bite, hearing a click a few seconds after. You looked up to see Ethan holding his phone up with a chuckle. “Cute.”

“Delete that Ethan.” You glared at him, your mouth still full, but being the stubborn person that he is, he just kept snapping pictures of you as you tried your best to hide your face.

“Please stop.” You laughed as he started to make faces as if he was a professional photographer. After a few more clicks he finally stopped, giving you a wide smile, showing his gums and all. “You’re such a dork.” You can’t help but feel your heart swell at this adorable person in front of you. How can someone be adorable and hot at the same time?

The two of you continued to eat your pizza, just talking about anything and everything as you got to know each other more, finding out that the more you guys talked, the more you have in common.

Ethan found himself liking you more and more as he found out the things you are passionate about and the things that makes you, you. Ethan likes it when you talk about the things that make you who you are because it just makes you glow in such a way that has him captivated.

That’s why he silently cursed when James texted that it was time for the two of you to go back to his apartment, indicating that your alone time together is ending.

You frowned as you received the same text as well, not wanting this time with Ethan to end, but you had a video to finish so you guys paid your meal and stood up, slowly walking back to the car, the conversation between the two of you not pausing even for a second.

Ethan opened the door for you again, being the gentleman that he is. When he got to the driver’s seat, he stared at you for a moment, deep in thought.

Ethan doesn’t like to say it out loud but he does in fact get shy around girls, but something about you just wants him to be bold and daring for once, so that’s what he did.

You felt your breath get caught up in your throat when Ethan reached over you, left palm flat on the window on your side as he came face to face with you. He stared you down, your faces just inches away from each other, to the point where you can smell a hint of mint coming from his breath due to the gum he just chewed a few seconds ago.

His eyes glanced down your lips for a moment, not even trying to be discrete at all. You gulped, your hands fisting on your thighs, feeling your heart rate escalate. He looked back at your eyes with a lopsided grin as you felt his hand brush pass your shoulder, his nose now almost brushing yours.

“Seatbelt.” He whispered, before pulling away with the strap of your seatbelt in his hands.

You took a glimpse at him as he locked in your seatbelt while he watched you intently through his lashes, with you still frozen in your spot, your brain still processing how close you were just seconds ago.

You let out a deep breath that you didn’t realize you were holding as he sat back on his seat, wanting nothing more than to punch that stupid grin off of his face.

“What? Safety first.” He shrugged as you eyed him questionably, putting on his own seatbelt.

Funny how quick the tables have turned don’t you think? Earlier he was the one all awkward and fumbling when you were around then all of the sudden he’s got this huge confidence out of nowhere, making you feel so shy and intimidate by him.

“If I hadn’t known better, I’d say your hitting on me Dolan.” You teased to try and hide your embarrassment.

“What if I am? What if I like you? Would that be a problem?” He said bluntly, staring at you with a proud, genuine yet very nervous smile with both hands on the wheel just as he started the car. He knew it might have been too early for him to say that, but the short amount of time that you spent together had him so sure that he in fact likes you a lot.

That caught you off-guard by a lot, blinking a few times with your mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water, not sure on how to respond.

What a way to tell you that he does in fact like you in a way right? I mean it really that much a big of a deal, maybe he just likes you like a friend or something but the way he has been acting by only a few meetings are saying a lot.

He chuckled at your reaction and took his eyes off of you as he drove off, biting hid bottom lip to try and hide the fact that his cheeks are getting red as well. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel anxiously since he pretty much admitted himself that he does in fact like you.

To come and think about saying that to a girl you hardly know and had just met twice is a completely and utter madness. For all he knows, you would’ve think he was delusional or crazy or something.

Even admitting to himself that he likes you more than he normally should makes him think that’s he has finally lost his brain, but something inside him is urging him to continue, that this isn’t wrong.

Why would it be wrong though? After all, you don’t get to choose who you catch feelings for, it just happens and there’s nothing you can do about it, whether it’s at first sight or a couple dates after.

He stole a few glances over you as you stayed silent making sure to still focus on the road, but his foot was bouncing out of nervousness for what you would say to him.

Ethan was never the one to be bold and brave towards a girl, especially in person. I mean when you do it on text, it is so much easier since you don’t have the pressure of getting embarrassed or the fear of rejection. Plus rejection over text hurts less than getting rejected straight up front.

He was overthinking your answer a lot, would you reject him and tell him he’s weird or would you take it differently?

You still stared at him like an idiot, words getting caught up in your throat. You two haven’t really known each other that much yet, so should you say you are keen on the idea – which you very are even if you’ve only met him twice – or should you deny and hide everything to just save yourself from getting hurt in the near future?

You cleared your throat when you’ve finally composed yourself, settling with the best answer you could come up with.

“Well, if that’s the case, just so you know, I am not an easy girl Ethan. I’m pretty guarded as I may say.” You spoke with truth, settling with giving him a little warning that you are not sure about getting into something that involves dating just yet but not full out rejecting him too since you do like him, as weird as that sounds.

“I know and I am going to work hard to break your walls and prove myself, I promise. You might be weirded out by this but I really do like you (Y/N), and I’d like to see where this connection is going to take us.” He said and you can see how he truly meant it just by looking at his eyes.

“Me too Ethan.” You whispered, not really being specific on what you mean by that, if you liked him too or you’d liked to see where this is going too, or maybe it’s just both.

“Okay.” Ethan nodded and smiled, slowly driving off. At least you didn’t say no and that you didn’t like him right? Plus your answer pretty much meant you agreed with everything he said, and there was nothing negative about what he said.

The two of you continued to get to know each other during the drive back to James’ place, sometimes jamming out to the song on the radio when it was familiar to you both, just enjoying each other’s company all in all, laughing and just smiling from ear to ear.

A few minutes later, Ethan pulled up in front of Grayson’s car with a sigh, the smile still glued on his face as you guys laughed about something stupid he did when he was young. He turned the ignition off and unclasped his seatbelt, about to open the door when he heard you sigh in annoyance.

“You okay?” He turned to face you, seeing you struggle with the clip of your seatbelt. “Need help?” He added with a chuckle as you blew out air from your cheeks. “Please?” You gave him a pout as you inclined your head, Ethan’s heart stopping for a moment at how adorable you looked. God he wanted to kiss those lips so bad right now.

You stopped fumbling with your seatbelt as he reached for it, getting closer with you again. He struggled a bit, questioning why it suddenly was so hard to undo it.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know wh–“ Ethan started as he looked back up, stopping himself when he came face to face with you again. You didn’t realize how close you were until you looked down and saw his lips just there, a few inches away.

He mirrored your actions; the only difference is that his eyes lingered on your lips a little longer. He forced his eyes to look away from your mouth, his urge to just press his lips on them getting harder and harder to hold. You licked your lips unconsciously, looking down at his pink lips then back again to his eyes.

Both of you heard a click as Ethan finally undid your seatbelt, but none of you backed away. You stayed frozen on your spots, him getting so lost in your eyes, you feeling the same.

You felt a hand cup your cheek, Ethan slowly pulling you even closer until the tips of your noses touched, eyes still boring into yours, looking for any sign of doubt and found none. You felt your hands rest on his broad shoulders, your body just taking over at the moment as his lips ghosted over yours.

Ethan was about to close the space between you two, to finally taste those plump lips of yours, until you heard a loud and obnoxious knock on the car window, forcing the both of you to jump away from each other.

You turned around and saw James smiling widely as he waved his hand. You sighed giving Ethan a glance over your shoulder to see him glare at James, obviously annoyed at him for interrupting what was about to happen.

You held back a giggle, opening the door as you got out of the car, cheeks flushed as you greeted James. “I can’t wait to see you try out the outfits I bought you!” He squealed, wrapping an arm over your shoulder as he pulled you inside the building, not giving you the chance to wait for Ethan.

He on the other got out of the car with an annoyed look on his face, slamming the door harder than he should have. “Dude you okay?” Grayson asked as he saw his brother’s expression. “I’m going to fucking kill him.” He growled lowly, staring at James with his arm around you as the two you disappeared inside the building.

Grayson traced his brother’s gaze and looked back at him. “Why? What’d he do this time?” He asked, placing a hand on Ethan’s shoulder, slowly nudging him to start walking.

“I was about to fucking kiss her bro, it was so close then James decided to fucking bang on the window.” Ethan ran through his hair in complete frustration. Grayson looked at his brother shocked and amused by one, being able to get so close to a girl to a point where they’re about to kiss and two, getting completely infuriated by just an interrupted kiss. Maybe Ethan really wanted to kiss you that bad.

“Shut the fuck up Grayson. I’m not that bad at girls.” Ethan snarled, swatting his hand away as he saw the look Grayson was giving him, knowing exactly what’s in his mind. Grayson threw his head back and cackled, slinging his arm over Ethan’s shoulder, pushing him inside the building.

“Bro, relax. You’ve got plenty of chances, the day isn’t over yet. Don’t worry; you’ll get that kiss.” Grayson patted Ethan’s back. Ethan shook his head with a deep exhale. Maybe he was overreacting a little bit, but he really wanted to kiss you so bad and he was so close, James interrupting it just annoyed him so much.

Guess he’ll have to try again later then.

===

Tags: @sspidermanss @castiel-savvy18 

(this is based on the comments of the last one. I’m sorry if you didn’t want to get tagged anymore since I take so long to update just lemme know and I’ll stop tagging you 😭😅 and again if you want to get tagged just comment/hit me up 💕)

Part 4 coming soon

[higgins5]

Tag game

Oof, this is so so late, but I am doing it! And thank you to the lovely @foxsoulcourt for tagging me!

LAST

drink: Water, we are being healthy children here 

phone call: My District Manager at work to discuss my transfer

text message: One of my best friends about his terrible life choices (jk but really binge watching a show for 14 hours straight? Boy get to sleep!)

song you listened to: I’m Over You by Bryan James (it may or may not have been on loop for a while)

time you cried: Last Thursday 

EVER

dated someone twice: Haha, yep. Didn’t work out, but we’re still friends

kissed someone and regretted it: Not yet!

been cheated on: Unfortunately

lost someone special: I think we all have, but such is life

gotten drunk and thrown up: Oh god no

fave colors? Sea green, storm gray, oh I can’t believe i almost forgot! Really any deep blue or purple, like how the night sky gets just before it’s almost black

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE I?

made new friends: Multiple, and i am so greatly for all of the lovely people who have graced my life

fallen out of love: Not so much people. But things I believed I loved turned a little false, yes

laughed until you cried: Gosh, all the time. It’s awful, I call it my seal laugh because I’m laughing so hard I can’t breathe and i’m just doubled over hitting a table or my leg to express my joy because that’s all I can do

found out someone was talking about you: Just two weeks ago! And honestly I hate that. Like if you’re gonna talk bad about me just do it to my face. I’ll find out one way or another, might as well be from you

met someone who changed you: Some good people, some not so good people. But I believe it was all for a reason

found out who your friends are: Yes

kissed someone on your Facebook friends list: Hmm... Well, I do not actually have a Facebook so I guess that would be a no

GENERAL

how many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life: I guess I can clarify about FB here. My parents were always freaked out about the internet so never let me get one, and being a good child I never did- plus I was just not interested, so I just... never got around to it in adulthood. AND like whenever I needed to talk to a friend through FB I just used my parents page cause that was their solution, so there was no real need. But like, from the friends I had on my mom’s page yes, I know all of them irl

do you have any pets: SEVERAL AND I LOVE ALL OF MY FURRY CHILDREN! I have an 11yo poodle/terrier mix (mom was a poodle, dad was the terrier next door. Truly a scandal) named Bear and i love my grumpy old man to death; a 2yo boxer/husky mix we rescued that was originally supposed to be a lab which was a total lie named Nutmeg, but it’s okay I love my babe even if i can take her on a 3mi run and she’s still ready to run 3 more; an 8yo wonderfully affectionate and beautiful tabby cat named Willow; a 6 year old (oh my god, she’s 6, it feels like yesterday she was a satellite dish in a collar that meowed) purring machine tabby cat named Sage; and two beautiful girls. Lagertha and Gwenievere are two very playful and loving one year old dumbo eared rats

do you want to change your name: Eh, not really. I’ve had it for this long, might as well keep it

what did you do for your last birthday: Oh that was so fun. I went to the Melting pot (this fancy fondue place, so good) With a couple of friends and had a really great time, even though someone got me crayons as a gag gift (I.... hate, crayons with a PASSION, but she’s known me for like 10 years so of course I accepted.... hesitantly)

what time did you wake up today: Like 7:30? but i didn’t actually leave my bed until 9ish because don’t be fooled, I am not a morning person. I just run because I’m an idiot

what were you doing last night at midnight: Sleeping

what is something you can’t wait for: Figure out where life is taking me and then be a bomb ass bitch at it

what are you listening to right now: X&Y by Coldplay

have you ever talked to a person named Tom: I have, and he is a lovely person. Go talk to a Tom everybody, nice people

something that gets on your nerves: Horrible people. Like just those people that are horrible for no absolute reason. Like grow up, get a life, why do you have to make other people just because you’re unhappy. there are many people you could see for help and I have a number you can call if you need a recommendation 

most visited website: Probably a tie between Tumblr, Youtube, and Spotify

hair color: Well, naturally I am blonde but rn it’s a reddish auburn color (but hey, people ask me all the time if it’s my natural color so who knows maybe i was destined for this shade)

long or short hair: ish? It’s growing from a pixie (that I might go back to soon) so its like... not quite shoulder length yet but give it another month and we might be there

what do you like about yourself: You know what, i’m gonna give myself some love and say everything. Lol, but as a serious answer probably my personality/nature. I have a very big heart but am also incredibly sarcastic so it is a delicate balance 

want any piercings: SO many. I’m saving up to get my nose done soon (nostril) and later I’ll get my daith, helix, third piercing in my lobe, tragus, and maybe rook

blood type: Some kinda O? Honestly for someone who donates blood as much as I do, I should really know (but important blood donation note, if you wish to make sure not to do it too frequently! Healthy people = healthy blood = healthy donation receivers!)

nicknames: Gosh, too many to type. Apparently I’m just nick namey. But uhhh, the most common: Ash, Ashbash, Higgins, Higgy, Higgs, Figgins, Chief 

relationship status: Single

zodiac sign: I’m one of the twin fish babes, Pisces all the way

pronouns: She/Her

fave tv show: Don’t watch as much tv as I used to but Supernatural is always a good go to (recently I’ve been watching a lot of HGTv and doctor Phil and Hallmark with my mom though, if that’s anything)

tattoos: None (yet)

right or left handed: right handed, I’m basically useless with my left (unless an instrument is involved)

ever had surgery: Nope, and hopefully we keep that trend goin!

piercings: two ear piercings 

sports: Uh... in High School I was pretty active and track and I was a competitive shooter (air rifles- but I’m from Texas so). Nothing in college at the moment, I might try out for the track team just cause i miss bein a part of stuff

vacation: I am broke, I can only dream (but I do really wanna travel, so gotta save up!)

trainers: my totally stylish suede brown vans are my go to, but Adidas for running

eating: Currently? Nothing, but I did have some steamed broccoli and carrots&rice, and grilled chicken for dinner

drinking: Orange Juice

I’m about to watch: Absolutely nothing

waiting for: Didn’t I already answer this? it’s so much pressure. Uh... change?

want: To be successful in whatever I 

get married: Eventually

career: Haven’t gotten there yet, but everyday is one step closer

hugs or kisses: Depends on who and when

lips or eyes: Eyes. First thing I notice

shorter or taller: At 5′3 I don’t think I can even pretend to say i’m tall

older or younger: I probably fall more on the younger spectrum

nice arms or stomach: Yes

hookup or relationships: I am a committed relationship kinda person all the way. Never really understood the whole hookup thing but to each their own

troublemaker or hesitant: A hesitant troublemaker is probably more me. I say I try to stay out of trouble, but it just kinda finds me

HAVE I EVER?

kissed a stranger: No

drunk hard liquor: Yes

lost glasses: Ugh, all the time, worst is when I lose my contacts AND glasses

turned someone down: Yes

sex on the first date: Not my style

broken someone’s heart: Yes

had your heart broken: In love and life

been arrested: Nope, and i’d like to keep it that way!

cried when someone died: Yes

fallen for a friend: Yes

DO I BELIEVE IN?

yourself: Well someone has to, so might as well be me!

miracles: I do. And if they aren’t true, at least the belief of their existence helps make their outcome possible

love at first sight: In some fairytale world maybe, but for me, nah

kiss on the first date: Possibly

angels: Yes. Of what way and form I think that’s for you to decide

OTHER

best friend’s name: I have a couple because there is too much life to only need one person in it! Lexi+Brittany+Mauricio+Imaya from all the way back to middle school and Ronan (a recent addition)

And even if we don’t talk every day of our lives I know they’ll always be there for me when I need them. Good or bad. And they know I would do the same. That’s all that really matters in the end. They’re my little chosen family

(oh that got a bit sappy, okay moving on)

eye color: Light blue? Blue? I dunno, people say it’s pretty so I go with it

fave movie: Don’t really have one...

favorite actor: Yeah... same with movies, don’t have one of those either

extrovert or introvert: I like to call myself an introverted extrovert

favorite flower: white peonies 

favorite hello kitty character? I wasn’t aware there were characters aside from hello kitty....

oof this is a long post, but very fun to do! Hopefully y’all haven’t done this yet but if so well I’m gonna tag you anyways @i-h8-u-no-u-dont @pansexualpandion @rvmengf @egglorru @it-has-the-gay-fanfiction and really @ anyone who wants to do this! I’d love to see your versions!!

[cheeseeatingtrashmonster]

Happily Ever After

Lukadrien June day 30: Happily Ever After.

Thank you so much, @lukadrienjune because this was so much fun. I’m still new to the fandom, and have trouble making myself speak up and share what I make. This was exactly what I needed to start changing that about myself, and that means so much to me. Seriously, thank you.

Be on the lookout for the companion piece telling the story of how Gabriel and Nathalie met and she punched him in the face. I won’t tag it with Lukadrien June because neither Luka nor Adrien were born at the time it happened, but it’ll be up in a few days when my life CALMS THE HECK DOWN.

Read the whole month on AO3

The next morning, Adrien’s head already felt better, if not one hundred percent. His father was gone, but he knew he had been there most of the night because he had seen the glow of his tablet every time he woke. Adrien wasn’t sure what had woken him up until he saw his phone screen glowing next to him.

Luka: If you’re awake i’m heading over with herbal tea and pastries

Luka; if you’re not awake i’m heading over anyway, i worry less when we're together

Adrien grinned. He could never count himself unlucky so long as he had Luka.

He went about getting dressed and appeasing Plagg’s unending hunger and by the time he was ready, Luka was at the front gate. He came to the door with a paper bag of pastries, drink tray with four hot drinks, and his guitar.

“Hello, Luka,” Gabriel said, standing in the doorway of the office. "I'm sorry Nathalie wasn't there to let you in, she had to step out for a moment. I hope you weren't waiting long, I didn't hear the doorbell at first."

"Barely a minute, sir," Luka said.

"You don't need to call me 'sir', Luka. You may call me Mr. um... Mr. Ag... Mr. Gabriel? Yes. You may call me Mr. Gabriel."

All three of them drowned in awkwardness for a moment.

"Okay, Mr.... Gabriel."

Gabriel nodded. "Please stay off screens as much as you can, Adrien," Gabriel said. "I'll understand if you want to check the news periodically though, but be careful."

"It'll be a chill day," Luka said. "Oh, I almost forgot. Coffee? I don't know how you take it, but there's cream and sugar in the little middle thing." He held out the tray to Gabriel, who stared at it like he didn't understand the concept of coffee. "I figured you were up even later than I was, and I'm exhausted. I got one for Nathalie, too. I can leave it on her desk."

"I'll take it," Gabriel said, lifting both coffees from the tray. "She'll find me before she would find a coffee on her desk. Enjoy your morning, boys. And leave your door open, Adrien."

"He's going to drink that second coffee himself," Adrien said, stretching out on the couch when they got to his room. "If he was really going to give it to Nathalie, he would have taken sugar for hers."

"Nothing we can do about that now," Luka said. "So, wanna hear the song I was working on a few days ago?"

It was a nice, calm morning until all the screens in the room flickered on to show Nathalie wearing a butterfly mask.

"Ladybug and Chat Noir. I apologize for interrupting your day, but I have an urgent matter to discuss with you and I do not know of a more efficient way to contact you to schedule our meeting. I will wait at the Eiffel Tower for you to send a messenger. I mean no harm. Please let me know through them where you would feel comfortable meeting. Thank you for your time."

The screens all went back to what they had been doing.

"So... Nathalie's an akuma," Luka said.

"This has to be a trap," Adrien said.

"Oh, yeah, I'd say it sounds like one," Luka said.

"Plagg? Is it safe to transform?" Adrien called over his shoulder to where Plagg was pretending to nap on his desk.

"Yeah, you'll be fine."

Chat Noir transformed and looked to Luka.

"I know you have to go," Luka said.

"Do you also know that I'm worried you're going to follow me again?"

"Yes. I won't. I'll stay here and cover for you if your father needs you."

"Thank you," Adrien said, leaning down to kiss him. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Be safe."

When Chat Noir had leaped out the window, Luka muttered to himself, "I never did fully trust her."

/*****/

Ladybug, Carapace, Rena, and Queen Bee met up with Chat Noir a few blocks from the Tower.

"What's the plan?" Chat asked.

"Why are you here? Weren't you like, crushed to death?" Queen Bee asked.

"My kwami said I'm good to fight," he said.

"Are you sure, Kitty?" Ladybug asked, putting a hand on his arm.

"Ready to follow you anywhere, My Lady."

"Ugh, you two are adorable. Okay, so, I'll be the messenger. Where am I sending her?"

"Do you know where Francois Dupont School is?" Ladybug asked.

Queen Bee walked up to a very bored looking Nathalie Sancoeur. Her suit had not changed, her hair had not changed, but her glasses were replaced with the standard butterfly shaped mask in red.

"Go ahead," Queen Bee said. "Spring your trap. I'm basically expendable anyway."

"I'm aware you won't believe this, but this is not a trap. Let's get on our way to the meeting place, if you don't mind. Where are we headed?"

"I'm not leading you anywhere until you finally play your bit, so stop wasting everyone's time."

Nathalie paused, probably repressing a sigh or eye roll. She said, "A show of faith, then," and reached in her pocket. She produced a box and placed it in Queen Bee's hand.

"This is a weird trap," Queen Bee said, holding the box at arm's length.

"You don't recognize the box?"

"No. Should- Oh. Is this-"

Queen Bee flipped the box open and saw the Peacock Miraculous.

"You were aware this was missing, correct?"

"I don't want to admit it," Queen Bee said, "But I'm starting to believe that you might truly mean no harm."

"That would be encouraging if you weren't brand new to all of this," Nathalie said, clasping her hands behind her back.

"Oh, just shut up and follow me."

At the school the rest of the team got into hiding places after a quick sweep to ensure the building was empty. While they waited, Adrien thought. He had always assumed Nathalie was unakumatizable. She never seemed to have emotions at all, much less strong negative ones. He had never prepared to fight her because he had never thought he would need to.

Ladybug dropped through the open roof and landed in the middle of the courtyard. Chat Noir left his hiding spot to join her.

"Whatever this is," Ladybug said, "I'm facing it head on. No more running, no more hiding, no more waiting for this to end."

"I'm with you 'til the end, Bugaboo."

"Such a sweet sentiment," Ladybug said, playfully shoving his shoulder. "And then you ruin it with that name."

"I do what I can," he said.

Nathalie and Queen Bee arrived. Nathalie handed Queen Bee her tablet and approached Ladybug and Chat Noir with her hands raised.

"What do you want?" Ladybug asked when Nathalie was about five yards away.

"I have something for you," she said. With one hand still raised, she slowly reached in her inner jacket pocket and pulled out another miraculous box. She set it on the ground and backed up another fifteen feet, both hands raised again.

"She gave me the Peacock," Queen Bee said, holding up the box.

"Then what is this?" Ladybug said. She took a step forward.

"Be careful," Chat said.

"I am," she said.

Ladybug kept a wary eye on Nathalie, who seemed perfectly content to stand in plain sight with her hands above her head for as long as it took. Ladybug finally reached the box. Her glance bounced between Nathalie and the box as she picked it up. When she opened it, she almost dropped it again, gasping.

"Chat," she whispered. It was only his super hearing that allowed him to hear her.

"Yes, My Lady?"

"Come here."

He did, and when he saw what she had, his knees buckled for a second. She reached out to catch him without taking her eyes off the contents of the box.

Nathalie Sancoeur had delivered the Butterfly Miraculous.

"How did you get this?" she demanded.

"Hawkmoth gave it to me."

"Well he couldn't be Hawkmoth if he gave this to you," she said, snapping the box closed. "Rena?" Rena popped out of her hiding spot. "Make yourself invisible and take both of these to the Guardian."

Rena did as she was told, collecting the boxes from Ladybug and Queen Bee and vanishing on the spot.

"Why did he stop?" Adrien asked.

"He did not explain his motives to me," Nathalie said. "I would assume that he realized his goal wasn't worth the damage he was doing."

"And we're supposed to just trust that those were real miraculouses, that Hawkmoth is just giving up?"

"Miss Bee holds my tablet," she said. "I have no more answers for you. If you would be so kind as to break it and restore me, I would appreciate it."

Carapace stepped out of his hiding spot and he, Chat, Bee, and Ladybug had a hurried, whispered conversation before Queen Bee got frustrated and snapped the tablet over her knee.

"You are part of a team," Ladybug snarled as she caught and purified the butterfly.

"Yeah, I'll work on that," Bee said. "Assuming we still have jobs."

"Where the hell am I?"

The three heroes turned to Nathalie Sancoeur. She was sitting on the floor with a blank look on her face.

"You were akumatized," Chat said, falling immediately into the familiar role of Victim Support. "Do you remember what happened before this? Who you were with?"

"What did he make me do?" she asked, ignoring Chat's questions and looking straight at Ladybug.

"Supposedly, you just delivered his miraculous to us," Ladybug said.

"What?"

Nathalie's shock was nothing compared to Adrien's when a few tears escaped her eyes.

"No, don't... it's okay, it's over," Chat said, absolutely floundering as he carefully patted her shoulder with one hand.

She covered her mouth with a shaking hand. "It's actually over," she said. "No more akumas. We're free."

"Only if this wasn't a trick," Ladybug said, crossing her arms.

Nathalie quickly composed herself and stood.

"I apologize," she said. "The attacks have been a source of stress for me. If you don't need anything more, I have to get back to work."

"Wait, we need to know-"

Chat held Ladybug back, letting Nathalie leave.

"He wouldn't let her know anything, Bug," he said. "He had to be Hawkmoth to akumatize her. If she saw him, it was while she was akumatized, and she probably doesn't remember. But I doubt that he showed himself to her at all. He's hidden from us for years. He wouldn't blow it just as he was getting out."

Ladybug shook her head. "I wanted to get him. I wanted him to face what he had done."

"Me too."

The news came from Rena: the miraculouses were real. Hawkmoth was gone. The second Rena returned, Ladybug dropped her transformation. Everyone else followed suit. It was the reveal everyone had been waiting for, and so much stranger than any of them expected, with every face being a familiar one. The rest of the team left, and Adrien and Marinette were left standing on the stairs of the school.

"I'm glad it's you," Adrien said.

"Don't take this the wrong way, Kitty," Marinette said, "but I'm glad things worked out the way they did."

"What do you mean?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.

"I mean exactly what I said right before you and Luka got together," she said. "I love you, but not in the way you need. Not for either side of you. I can see that now that I see both of you as one."

"You're a good friend, Marinette," he said, reaching out to squeeze her hand.

She laughed. "Those words stung once upon a time. Now they mean the world."

"I feel the same about you," he said. "Now, I have a special someone covering for me at home." He winked. "I'll see you for patrol tomorrow, My Lady."

"Get out of here, you old tomcat."

Chat Noir climbed through the window to see Luka on his computer, refreshing the same page over and over.

"What are you doing?" Adrien asked as his transformation dropped.

Luka jumped. "You're back!" He jumped up and pulled Adrien into a hug, shifting from gripping him tightly to slightly less tight when Adrien failed to suppress a whimper of pain.

"Right, a building fell on you," Luka said into his shoulder. "Which is exactly why I'm on edge right now."

"Why are you on edge?" Adrien asked. "And how can I help you with that?" He wagged his eyebrows in case his meaning wasn't clear enough.

"There was no news. None. The newscasters gave up on trying to figure out where you guys went from the Tower. There was nothing to follow, no way to know if you were okay."

"Everyone's okay," Adrien said. "Sit down with me and I'll tell you everything."

They cuddled on the couch and Adrien recounted the akumatization of Nathalie Sancoeur, the "defeat" of Hawkmoth, and the reveal. He didn't name names, but he could see that Luka had his suspicions.

"So why did Hawkmoth choose Nathalie?"

"I didn't think about that," Adrien said. "Maybe because her feelings aren't usually very strong, so she wouldn't be a violent or unpredictable akuma."

"I guess," Luka said.

"You don't seem happy," Adrien said. "Hawkmoth is gone! The city is safe. I'm in significantly less danger and won't have to disappear on you as often. What's the downside?"

"I just wonder why," Luka said. "Why recall the previous akuma? Why quit now, after all those awful battles recently? What happened?"

"I don't even care right now," Adrien said. "I'm happy, I'm excited, and it's real." He leaned closer, running his fingers through Luka's hair. "And I have you."

Luka broke the "no screens" rule to put on a movie, knowing by now that Adrien would be asleep within minutes of it starting. When he was sure Adrien was out, he spoke to Plagg.

"It's Gabriel, isn't it?"

Plagg sighed. "I don't know for sure."

"He chose Nathalie as his last akuma. He withdrew from the fight yesterday after Adrien was hurt. And he was all but numb, emotionally, when he was at the hospital yesterday."

"Nathalie's pretty well known. And maybe it was something later in the battle, or the strain of having done two akumas back to back, that made him retreat. And Gabriel's kid was hospitalized for an injury he received miles from where he was supposed to be. That could cause some shock in a parent. Everything's explainable."

"What about the Collector? He was akumatized, so he can't be Hawkmoth, right?" Luka wasn't sure which side he was on, if he wanted it to be true or not.

"Well..."

"Plagg, I'll get you cheese if that's what you need to tell me, but I have to know. For him." He ran a hand over Adrien's hair and Adrien nuzzled into the touch even in his sleep.

"He could have done it to himself."

They discussed it a bit longer, until there really was nothing more they could say.

"I have to know."

"Why?" Plagg asked.

Luka looked down at Adrien's head resting with his face smashed into Luka's side. He didn't answer.

But he got up.

Downstairs, Luka headed to the dining room first, since that was where he had last seen Gabriel. Nathalie was in there, her work in neat piles on the dining room table. She looked calm for someone who had been akumatized less than two hours ago. He waved at her when she looked up before returning to the main hall. There was one other obvious place to look.

The belly of the beast.

"Mr. Gabriel?" Luka called as he opened the office door.

"Not now, Luka."

Luka stepped in the room anyway.

"I have something I have to ask you," he said, closing the door. Gabriel was sitting at Nathalie's mostly empty desk, for some reason, and looking sadder than Luka had ever seen him. Resounding violins and crashing cymbals of grief made it hard to concentrate, but Luka pressed on.

"Luka, where is Adrien?"

"He fell asleep. I have to ask this, because it won't occur to him."

Gabriel sighed and straightened, placing his folded hands on the desk.

"I was visiting a friend of his mothers," Gabriel said. "Yesterday when he was taken to the hospital. I hadn't checked on her in a while and was feeling guilty. Nothing compared to the guilt of finding out my son was hurt and I had missed the first few calls, I assure you."

"Not that," Luka said. "Are you- were you Hawkmoth?"

There's no lying to an empath. Gabriel probably knew that if he had been Hawkmoth.

"Why would you ask that?"

"There are signs," Luka said. "And I'd rather ask and be wrong than not find out."

"And why would you want to find out?"

"Because Adrien should know."

"Isn't that the kind of thing a parent should spare their child from knowing?"

"Not this child."

Luka was surprised at the lack of anger he faced. Gabriel was grieving, he was resigned, but from a man so angry at the world he possessed people to hurt others? Very little anger.

"Luka," Gabriel said. "You are a guest in this house. Please remember that."

Luka knew he was giving up, retreating when he could push, but maybe planting the idea was all he really could do right now. "I will, sir."

Luka headed for the door. Gabriel stopped him halfway there.

"You may still call me Mr. Gabriel."

Luka turned around. "No, I can't, sir."

Luka was halfway up the stairs before something else occurred to him. He returned to the dining room.

"You knew, didn't you?" he asked Nathalie.

She didn't look up from her tablet.

"I did."

There was nothing more to say.

/*****/

Luka waited. He waited for Adrien to recover fully. He waited for news to spread that Hawkmoth was gone. He waited for more news on Jagged Stone and Penny Rolling's pregnancy. Mostly he waited for Adrien to know, one way or another, who his enemy had been.

He didn't have to wait long. Adrien showed up at the boat in tears with his backpack and three wheels of Camembert.

"Can I stay here for a little while?" he asked in the smallest voice Luka had ever heard.

"Of course," Luka said, taking Adrien's things to his room. He yelled down the hall, "Mom, Adrien needs to stay with us for a little while!"

Anarka arrived in the doorway and scooped Adrien into her arms. "Child, anything y'need, y'let ole Anarka know. Stay as long as y'need. What'd ya bring with ye? Not near enough, child. I'll call me that Nathalie person and get ye what ye need."

She left the boys alone and Adrien sank onto the floor, leaning against the wall with his head tipped back to stare at the display of guitar picks across from him. Luka had the urge to take a picture of the unconscious model pose Adrien was doing, but it was very definitely not the time.

"I think I know what happened," Luka said, sitting next to him. "Can we talk about it?"

Luka had been afraid that Adrien would be mad that he had suspected Gabriel and not told Adrien. As soon as Luka had said that he had confronted Gabriel, Adrien already knew why.

"You wanted him to tell me himself. It was always supposed to come from him, not you."

"Yeah. If he hadn't told you soon, I would have."

"Did he tell you why?"

"No."

"My mom."

/*****/

Whether it was guilt or professionalism, Nathalie was accommodating of Adrien's flight from the Agreste mansion. She brought him clothes and toiletries that first night. She brought him anything he told her he forgot within a day. She updated the school on the situation. She started looking into Adrien's options if he decided not to return home and went over them with him. She never mentioned Gabriel directly unless Adrien asked. It was about two weeks later when Luka realized something had changed.

"How does Nathalie feel about your dad?" Luka asked, practicing juggling with Juleka while Adrien worked on homework.

"Oh, they're dating," Adrien said. "Or, 'involved' was the phrase she used. As of yesterday. She wanted me to know that she was still going to put my needs first, but I should know, or whatever."

"She's trying to show you that he's moving on," Juleka said. Adrien had felt relief when he realized just how much Juleka knew, and was more than happy to let her in on most of the secrets. She had a good perspective for this kind of situation. Morbid and cheerful, all at once.

"Maybe he is," Adrien said. "I still think he should turn himself in."

/*****/

Adrien found Luka asleep in the lawn chair on the deck one evening. Luka was curled up in almost the same way as that first time before band practice when he had found him and realized he couldn't deny how attractive he was any longer. This time he knew exactly what to do when he found him.

"You have the boniest elbows," Luka said as Adrien squirmed his way onto the chair with him. He shifted so they would both almost fit and tried to go back to sleep.

"You're really cute when you sleep," Adrien said, running a finger over the ridges of Luka's hand.

"So are you. So let's both be cute and continue this nap I was in the middle of."

"If you keep napping you're going to be up until five in the morning playing mystery games on your laptop again."

"A terrible plan, yes," Luka said, stretching, "but it's a lot of fun until seven or eight in the morning."

They were quiet for a moment and Adrien realized he had to speak up before Luka felt he needed to ask why his mood had shifted.

"I think I'm going to stay with Chloe for a little while," he said. "And then decide what I'm doing long term, either go home or get emancipated or find somewhere permanent or whatever."

Luka sat up to look at him better. "Why? We love having you here. We all want to make sure you're okay."

"You don't have room for me," Adrien said. "You have room for me to visit, but I feel like I'm in the way."

"You're not," Luka said, brushing Adrien's hair back. "You know you're not, right?"

"I know none of you feel that way," Adrien said. "But I feel that way. This is something I have to do. I need to make this decision on my own, and I can't do that if I'm letting myself assimilate into this fantasy family. I'm not leaving you, you'll still see me every day, but... Can you understand why I have to do this? That it has nothing to do with us?"

Luka hated that he did understand, and then he hated that he didn't feel more supportive.

"You're allowed to feel however you feel," Adrien said, squeezing his hand where it rested in his hair. "I'm not asking you to magically be okay with this, or telling you you're not allowed to take it personally that I'm leaving even though I promise it's not that. It's okay if you don't like this."

"I thought feelings and how to deal with them was my domain," Luka said with a small smile.

"Well, I do have a good teacher," Adrien said. He pulled Luka down for a kiss and it didn't take long for Luka to put aside the feelings of being left in favor of the evidence that Adrien wanted him.

/*****/

"Where are we going?" Luka asked, his eyes screwed shut and his arms around Chat Noir's neck.

"You'll see."

They landed on a rooftop balcony and Chat gestured towards a small entrance in the floor.

"We're breaking and entering? This was not on my list of good date ideas," Luka said.

"We're invited. C'mon!"

They dropped onto a very pink bed in a very pink room. Below the loft holding the bed sat the rest of the heroes of Paris.

"I don't think I'm dressed right for this party," Luka said, joining the heroes.

"No, you're dressed just right," Rena said. "We're overdressed."

And then she was Alya.

"Did you put them up to this?" Luka whispered to Adrien as the rest of the heroes detransformed in front of him.

"It was either Nino or Marinette's idea," he whispered back, putting his arms around Luka's waist and his chin on Luka's shoulder. "The two of them cornered me the other day and suggested it."

"And we all supported it, right, Chloe?" Marinette said, crossing her arms and glaring at Chloe.

"I threw them a party already, I support everything."

"So, I was thinking superhero movie marathon?" Marinette said. "My parents are already asleep, so as long as we don't make too much noise, we have my room and the living room to ourselves."

Maybe it was because they were feeling left out with Adrien and Luka cuddling and Nino and Alya cuddling, but Marinette and Chloe seemed to be sitting close together and whispering a lot. Or maybe they had bonded over being superheroes and had a new understand of each other. Or maybe Chloe had finally realized that pulling pigtails wasn't the way to get what she wants and Marinette had realized that love and hate are sometimes very similar feelings.

Either way, it was a nice night of superheroes and superhero movies. Adrien hadn't felt this good since his father had confessed to him.

"They're really okay with your dad and everything?" Luka whispered to Adrien when the other four had stepped into the kitchen to grab more snacks.

"They're more upset for me than anything," Adrien said. "I was surprised that none of them blame me for not knowing."

"And I'd like it if you stopped blaming yourself for that," Luka said, resting his head on Adrien's shoulder.

"I'm working on it," Adrien said.

/*****/

"I have to tell you something," Luka said. "And I don't know what I'm going to do about it yet, but... It's easier for me when I talk these things out with you, even if this time it involves you and you're going to be biased."

"I hate when you look worried," Adrien said, shifting closer on the bed to wrap his arms around Luka.

"I was accepted to the music program. The exclusive composing program that would last all summer."

"That's amazing!" Adrien attacked Luka's face with kisses. "When did you find out? Do you know who will be in your cabin? Do you know anyone else in the composers group? What did your family say?"

"I haven't told them," Luka said. "You've just started talking with your dad again, and where you move next will be decided soon, and I don't want to disappear for weeks in the middle of that."

"You're going," Adrien said.

"See, this is the bias I was talking about," Luka teased.

"I'm serious," Adrien said. "And I have something to confess."

"I hate how dramatic our conversations get sometimes," Luka said, quirking an eyebrow at Adrien.

"If your problem with going to an awesome camp that'll be really good for you and a fantastic opportunity is leaving me behind for a few weeks... then take me along."

"How? Sneak you along in my luggage?"

"Here's the confession part," Adrien said. "When you mentioned applying, I looked it up and applied to the piano program. It has a lot more spots open, so I didn't have any problem getting in. So... If you don't feel like I'd be butting in on something you're doing for yourself... there's one option to your issue with the camp."

"You really wanted to come with me even then, didn't you?" Luka asked.

"If you haven't figured out by now that I want to be by your side as often as is healthy, then I haven't done my job right and obviously need to prove this to you better," Adrien said, a growl in his voice as his eyes took on a predatory gleam.

"I might let you prove it to me anyway," Luka said. "But what about your dad? You want to just leave? Right as you two are making progress?"

"Not a lot of progress," Adrien said. "I'll be more than happy to speak to him over the phone every couple days instead of in person with my mom's portrait behind him, staring at me the whole time. I think it'd be good to get out of town and put some physical distance between us so we can focus on what the other is saying instead of focusing on trying not to make the other feel bad and reacting to and over-analyzing every little facial tic and shift in posture."

Luka looked at Adrien and saw how ready he was for this. It made him realize he was just as ready.

"So, we're doing this?"

"I'd follow you anywhere," Adrien said.

It was one of the best summers of their lives. It came in third behind the summer they married and the summer they adopted twins.

They didn't live without difficulty, but because they had each other, they lived happily, ever after.

[youngjuwu]

Tag Game!!

Tagged by @parkjinyoungnotjyp thank you, love ♥️

Rules: Answer the questions and then tag some people!

Last...

Drink: water

Call: my friend Rein

Text message: “I hope you’re feeling better ):”

Song you listened to: “Get You The Moon” — Kina ft. Snow

Time you cried: a week or two ago

Ever...

Dated someone twice: yes

Kissed someone and regretted it: nope

Been on cheap date: meaning bad or not that expensive? Bad: yes. Not that expensive: yes.

Lost someone special: yeah

Gotten drunk and thrown up: been drunk before but haven’t thrown up from drinking too much

In the last year, have you...

Made new friends: yes

Fallen out of love: yes

Laughed until you cried: yes LMAO just yesterday on the phone with Rein

Found out someone was talking about you: yeah

Met someone who changed you: yes

Found out who your friends are: yeah

Kissed someone on your Facebook friends list: no

General:

How many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life: idk I don’t use my Facebook that much, I might go one like once or twice a year 😂

Do you have any pets: one cat

Do you want to change your name: yes

What did you do for your last birthday: spent it with my eldest sister and we at half of my cake at midnight LOL and we watched a bunch of films and tv shows and I think we played card or board games and just hung out and stuff. It was super chill.

What were you doing midnight last night: I was on the phone still with Rein 😂

What is something you can’t wait for: Christmas bc I can’t wait to see my eldest sister again and I’m excited to know if she got me these two books I really want 😂

What are you listening to currently: “Get You The Moon” — Kina ft. Snow

Have you ever talked to a person named Tom: yes

Something that gets on my nerves: my dad lol

Most visited website: prob YouTube or ao3 or watchcartoononline

Hair color: currently it’s mostly brown with some faded blonde

Long or short hair: I have short hair currently

What do you like about yourself: my singing voice I like the most

Want any piercings: yes

Blood type: idk??

Nicknames: I have a lot LMAO my two most popular are Kofa and Jack

Relationship status: single

Zodiac sign: Virgo

Pronouns: she/her

Favorite tv show: Avatar: The Last Airbender; Fairy Tail; Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood; Digimon (the first four seasons); Secret Saturdays; Teen Titans; Voltron; a lost of the CW shows oof; and a lot of others

Tattoos: don’t currently have any but I have sketches of some I want oof

Right handed or left handed: right handed

Ever had surgery: nope

Piercings: don’t have any currently

Sports: I never played any but I like hockey

Dream vacation: Sweden and Scotland

Trainers: ?? No? Not really sure what this is asking lol

Eating: nothing currently 😂

Drinking: again nothing currently 😂

I’m about to watch: nothing tbh I might continue rewatching Fairy Tail later

Waiting for: dunno, I spoke of wanting Christmas to be here earlier for a couple reasons but after that I’m not really waiting for anything else honestly.

Want: more books LOL

Get married for: I would get married for love if I felt I was ready for that and my partner was ready too

Career: I don’t know? I was thinking about what I really want to do with my life the other day and I didn’t know so 🤷‍♀️ perhaps one day I’ll know and be certain

Hugs or kisses: both

Lips or eyes: both

Shorter or taller: I prefer taller when we’re talking about my idealistic partner LOL but both are fine regardless

Older or younger: oof I perfer older friends and partners but I’m chill with being around some younger people

Nice arms or nice stomach: uhhh don’t really matter to me tbh

Hookups or relationship: I’m fine with either

Troublemaker or hesitant: again I’m fine with either LOL im honestly just so chill and adaptable to most personality types

Have you ever...

Kissed a stranger: yeah

Drank hard liquor: yes

Lost glasses: yes

Turned someone down: yeah

Sex on the first date: technically kinda yeah lmaooo

Broken someone’s heart: ya

Had your heart broken: ya

Been arrested: nope

Cried when someone died: yes

Fallen for a friend: yeah

Do you believe in...

Yourself: sometimes

Miracles: nope

Love at first sight: nope

Kiss on the first date: sure

Angels: not like the religious god and Jesus angels but more like,, angels can be people?? Like when you meet someone who’s just so warm and feels safe to be around and makes others feel good about themselves all the time and just super sweet and never has a bad thing to say about literally anyone and stuff like that.. a pure soul. I believe those people are what angles are. What we as people should strive to be. Someone who leaves the world a bit kinder.

Other...

Best friend’s name: don’t have one

Eye color: blue

Favorite movie: “Inception” holds the number one spot

Favorite actor: dunno

Favorite food: dunno

Extrovert or introvert: introvert

Favorite flower: carnations

Favorite Hello Kitty characters: dunno, I was never into Hello Kitty

Tagging: anyone who sees this and wants to do it!!