#accidentally made up a character who's Just The Professor Himself Kinda. sorry guys not everyone is cut out for the writer's room !!

[poorly-drawn-puppet-history]

so let me get this straight, watcher:

An unknown party is planting VHS tapes on your own set weekly, containing ad reads by:

a self-proclaimed professor

who mentions unfortunate encounters with horses

who has an 'estranged wife'

whose jacket is tan and tie and red

who is a 'gamer'

whose image flickered in like a hologram in an earlier ad read,

and you want us to just like, not think Something Smells Fishy. OK...

[softyoongiionly]

Fear and Dumplings: Chapter Seventeen

Confronting your fears for a final grade sounds unappealing but, with Yoongi as your partner, things might not be so bad.

Summary: You’re in your final semester at University when your Abnormal Psychology professor assigns you a partnered project surrounding your greatest fears. Lucky for you, your partner just so happens to be a cute boy named Min Yoongi.

Pairing: Min Yoongi x Reader

Genre: Underground Rapper! Yoongi, Soft!!! Yoongi, Fluff!!!, College! Yoongi, Sub! Yoongi

Word Count: 9.1k

A/N: Hi friends! Here is a new chapter for you. I know it’s been a super duper long time since I’ve updated this series but, I plan on wrapping up the current timeline (wink wink) within the first half of the year! Special shoutout to my amazing friend @bulletproofbirdy​ who I love so so much. Without her big genius brain, I would literally not be able to get through any of my wip. Another huge shoutout to @gldnrecs​ @kithtaehyung​ @yoonia​ and @randombtsprincessa​ for being my lil hype team. I love you! Also, thank you to everyone over at @bangtansorciere​. I am so grateful to have met so many lovely new friends this year! okiii bye. I hope you like it!

NOTE: all bolded words indicate when characters are speaking Korean

Warnings for this Chapter: ok here we go…(TRIGGER WARNING)

moderate angst, drug use (marijuana), mentions of anxiety, brief allusions to physical abuse, very brief allusions to drug addiction, alcohol 

Chapter Seventeen: Daegu and Dirty Laundry

No thoughts, head empty (and in Yoongi’s lap)

The two of you are in his living room, bags packed by the front door, awaiting the cab to take you to the airport.  

In a few short hours, you were leaving on a plane to Daegu to visit Yoongi’s older brother and, you can tell by the way he’s shuffled around all morning that he’s anxious.  

Thankfully, Hoseok and Namjoon woke up with him, knowing that emotions would be high and well- offered to get him high.

“This is a really good indica strain hyung,” Hoseok assures him as he hands over a zip-lock bag, “I rolled a joint with this last night and passed out in like 30 minutes.”

Yoongi, dressed in an all-black sweat outfit, accepts the bag into the palm of his hand, before grabbing the pipe that’s resting on the couch cushion beside him.

“Did you get it from that same guy?” Yoongi asks, his voice heavy beneath the obvious tension he’s feeling.

Despite his attempts to remain casual, you know him well enough to feel how nervous he is. He’s practically vibrating beneath you but, you know that pointing this out will only make it worse so instead, you merely rub the outside of his thigh whilst he packs his pipe. 

“Yeah, Jin’s friend-” Hoseok responds before nodding to Namjoon, “He’s honestly killing it right now. Jin told me he’s made like 5 grand already.”

Namjoon raises his brows, “Really? Damn, that’s impressive, I’ve never heard of anyone taking off that fast.”

“Jin has a lot of contacts-” Yoongi offers, adjusting the bud once more before grabbing his lighter, “it probably helped him get started. Plus, I think a lot of people around here have been looking for a good plug. Whatever he’s doing is working though, the high from last night was pretty good.”

At Yoongi’s comment, Hoseok’s lip melt into a salacious smirk as he raises his brows and jerks his chin towards you, “Are you sure it had nothing to do with that one over there?” He teases, “Yah, what are you so quiet for? You haven’t given me shit all morning...”

His comment makes you giggle but Yoongi cuts in before you’re able to respond.

“She’s tired, leave her alone.” He scolds but his lips twitch at the sound of your laughter.

Hoseok snickers as you finally decide to sit up. You can feel Yoongi’s eyes on you even as he lifts the pipe to his mouth. Tucking yourself into the side of the couch, you finally decide to add to the conversation.

“Is the guy you pick up named Yugyeom by chance?” The sleepiness in your tone is more obvious than you were expecting and, it makes Yoongi smile to himself whilst he lights his pipe.

Namjoon nods, “Yeah, it is. Do you know him?”

Yoongi’s attention is on you even as he inhales his first hit, the nerves in his body standing at attention, waiting to be soothed.  

“He was in my human sexuality class.” You remember, with a grin on your lips, “That’s actually where I met Jin too. I just had a feeling that it was him because, he literally always came to class high. Plus, him and Jin were like inseparable.”

Namjoon winces, “Of all the people to get stuck learning about sex with. I’m sorry...”

This makes you laugh, as your mind journey’s back to all the days you spent trying not to make a scene as Jin made sexual puns in the middle of a serious lecture.  

“It definitely kept things interesting...” You offer, “I’m glad to hear that Yugyeom is thriving on his own. He mentioned his dad wanted him to join the family business but, I could never picture that man in a suit.”

Hoseok chuckles before his face tightens with intrigue, “Oof that makes one of us. He would look fine as hell in a suit.”

Namjoon grins, nudging Hoseok with his foot, “You got a thing for him?”

For the first time, you see a hint of shyness overcoming Hoseok’s demeanor but he shrugs it off, trying to appear casual, “I mean- I don’t know about all that. I’m just saying that he would look good in a suit.”

“You’d both look good in suits- together...” You offer, grinning at him, “Maybe in a private venue somewhere...”

Hoseok rolls his eyes but the smile creeping onto his lips is unmistakable, “Shut up- you guys are fucking wild. All I said is that he was hot...”

Giggling, you shrug your shoulders before nodding over to Yoongi, “Yeah well that’s how it starts-” You warn, “Then the next thing you know, you’re sitting on the subway, simping over a selfie he sends you.”

Yoongi’s soft lips immediately turn up in a small smile, the shy boy in him peeking out. At first, he says nothing as he merely passes the pipe to Namjoon, who mirrors a similar expression.

Hoseok is back to his normal mischief, feeling relieved that the heat is off him for the time being.  

“Are you saying you’d marry Yoongi then?”

He expects you to be flustered by this question but, the answer is simple.  

“This man?” You raise your brows as you point to Yoongi, “You’re asking me if I would marry this man right here? Hoseok- I would wife this man up so quickly, it would give you whiplash.”

Your comment causes the three of them to laugh and, to add to the shifting vibe of the room, you feel Yoongi wrap his arm around you in an effort to pull you into his side.

“You can’t say shit like that right in front of them, they don’t need to see me soft...” He mumbles shyly in your ear before kissing your cheek, his heart singing with validation.

“Hyung, you act like we don’t already know who whipped you are for this girl.” Hoseok laughs, eagerly accepting the pipe from a coughing Namjoon.

Yoongi ignores him with his arm still around you, checking his phone with the other hand, “The cab should be here soon, do you need anything before we go?”

“Hyung, you’re gonna leave your piece here right? Cause we kinda need it-”  

Namjoon eyes him suspiciously, “What happened to your bong?”

Hoseok cringes, “I may have accidentally dropped it off the rooftop...”

Namjoon’s eyes blow wide open, “What the fuck were you doing on the rooftop to begin with?”

“I wanted to vibe! The bud was good and, I wanted to listen to the J. Cole album and get in my feelings hyung, get off my dick-” He laughs, playfully defensive.

“Hey that’s J Cole song-” You point out giggling at the double meaning, the exhaustion from earlier finding you once again.

“Exactly, I’m glad you caught that-” Hoseok winks at you before Yoongi finally responds.

“I’m not going to take my pipe through international security. Pot isn’t legal in Korea so, I wouldn’t be smoking while we were there anyway.”  

“Oh shit that’s right-” Namjoon remembers, “I really need to keep up with what’s been going on back home, I heard they were opening the discussion about it recently but, I haven’t kept up with it.”

Hoseok interjects, “What about your brother? He probably has connections.”

Yoongi shrugs, “He might but, I'm not going to worry about it.” He glances at his phone again before turning it towards you, “Our car is here, you ready to go?”

You offer him a small smile as you nod, your cheek tingling still as he places another kiss to it.

He stands up first before holding his hand out to you. Eagerly, you lace your fingers with his and, hoist yourself off the couch.

“Alright you two-” Namjoon stands too, brushing his hands over the front of his hoodie, “Try and send us updates when you can yeah?” He shoots a look towards Yoongi that is filled with an emotion that breaches casual concern.  

Yoongi understands perfectly, offering Namjoon a solemn nod in return as he pats his shoulder, “Yeah I will. I’ll text you when we land...”

Moments later, the two of you are in the back of the cab. Yoongi takes the middle seat so he can be close to you, his fingers are interlaced tightly with your own despite the fact that his hand is already sweating.  

He’s anxious.  

You can feel it and, you’re faced with two options.

Address it

Distract him  

It’s not an easy choice but, you figure this weekend will already be filled with heightened emotions so, you’re not sure if you should breach this topic so early. At the same time though, you don’t want to act like nothing’s wrong and dismiss what he’s clearly feeling.  

So, you land somewhere in the middle.  

Yoongi’s jaw is loaded with tension as you reach over and turn his face towards yours. He doesn’t register what you’re doing at first but he is in tune with your touch as always so, he doesn’t question it.    

Leaning in, you tuck your lips between his own, whilst your free hand comes up to encase the side of his face. You feel him relax beneath your kiss, a sigh leaving his nose as he kisses you back slowly.  

You pull away, pecking at his lips a few times, your thumb rubbing over his cheek.

“It’s going to be ok.” You murmur softly for the sake of his privacy, “We’re going to get through this.”

Yoongi’s eyes open just enough to show you the sheer amount of trust present in them.  

He believes everything that comes out of your mouth and, despite the anxiety that’s raging inside of him, he knows you’re right.  

Pressing his cheek against your hand, a soft smirk graces his lips as he resists the urge to pour his heart out to you for the millionth time.

“I wish it was socially acceptable for you to kiss me like that every time I feel like this...”

You giggle, pecking his lips again for good measure, “It would make our psych presentation really interesting that’s for sure.”

He chuckles, his face adorably smushed against your hand, “I keep forgetting that we have to do that. I don’t even remember the last time we worked on it...”

“Me neither.” You say at first before your eyes light up with realization, “Oh my god wait- the last time was when we watched that horrible spider movie at my apartment! Ugh no wonder I couldn’t remember, I’m pretty sure I've blocked those images from my mind as a coping mechanism.”

Yoongi’s face lights up along with you, “Oh shit, that’s right-” He laughs, “Did we even finish our lists?”

The two of you share another round of laughter, caught up in the ridiculous realization that you had lowkey abandoned your final project.  

You lean over to pull your phone out of your purse, “Here let me check-” Scrolling through your notes app, you find the project tab before allowing your eyes to wander over it, “It looks like I still have deep water and you technically still have night clubs and horror movies. But I mean- you did perform in a night club recently so I feel like that should count.”  

He nods thoughtfully before his face lights up with realization once more, “Oh yeah, I already wrote about that in the research journal, I forget to tell you. That was definitely more of a direct confrontation than I was planning.” He chuckles, “We did sit on the beach and read terrifying facts about the depth of the ocean for mine, would that be enough for you to write about?”  

The two of you have maneuvered so that you’re tucked into Yoongi’s side again, his arm draping comfortably around your shoulders.

“You still have horror movies left though so, I feel like I should maybe confront one more directly too. Besides, I have a feeling that I’ll be able to distract myself in the water if you’re there-” You mumble suggestively, which causes him to smirk as he leans his head back against the seat.

“Oh yeah?” He jerks his head towards you “How so?”

Resting your face on his chest, you smile to yourself and think of a response that’s appropriate for a perfect stranger aka your cab driver, to hear.

“Cause if something touches my feet in the water, I could simply latch myself to your back for safety purposes.” You explain matter of factly.

“If something touched your foot while we were in the water, I’d swim away so fucking fast- I don’t think you’d have time to latch on.” He explains through his laughter

Scoffing, you smack your hand against his chest as you sit up fully, wiggling out of his grip, “So you’d just leave me to die???” You accuse, “Also, last time I checked- you weren’t an Olympic swimmer, what makes you think you’d just zoom out of there???”

Yoongi’s cackling at this point, his hand on his stomach, his previously tense features now smoothed out beneath his amusement, “I’m not saying I would leave you necessarily-”

“Necessarily!” You point out, laughter erupting from your lips as you pinch his side, “After everything we’ve been through, you’re really just gonna let a sea monster eat me!?”

His eyes widen, as his laughter increases, “A sea monster?! Who said anything about a sea monster? Where did they come in????”

“I said something touched my foot???? Obviously that means there is a sea monster, lurking in the depths, trying to eat me and you-” You poke his sternum, “You just said you would leave me to die!”

Yoongi’s face is reddened with the force of his own laughter, his hand subconsciously coming up to cover your own. With his eyes tearing up and his mouth parted to make way for his giggling, you can’t help but admire how beautiful he is.  

Especially when he’s laughing...

He wipes his eyes with his free hand, still chuckling lightly to himself even as he brings your hand to his mouth, “Alright, alright- let's be clear- I would never leave you to die.” He promises, still smirking as he kisses the back of your hand, “Realistically, I’d probably panic and jump on YOUR back.”

With narrowed eyes, you wiggle the fingers he has pressed to his lips, “Well I don’t know how that would work out because, I’d probably you know- swim away so fucking fast that I don’t know if you’d have time to latch on...”

Yoongi snickers as you imitate his voice but, rather than retaliate he simply tugs you by the hand his currently holding and, kisses you.  

It’s soft and sweet- lasting only for a few seconds until he’s pulling away.

“Thank you for coming with me.” He says suddenly, the volume of his voice decreasing significantly.

And as usual, you know that he wants to say way more than he does. But you’re perfectly fine with that.

Yoongi’s subtly is a specific brand and, you’ve grown to love how the little things he does allows him to pack so much emotion into a simple phrase.  

You feel lucky to love such a special person.  

“Of course.” You return his simplicity, pecking his lips once more before settling back in your original position.  

The airport was a blur.  

You’re thankful it passes quickly because, the process of getting through security makes you anxious.  

Yoongi ushers you into your seat before taking both of your bags and, storing them in the overhead compartment. You can’t help but smile as he turns to help an older woman with her luggage as well.

He smiles ( :] ) at her, bowing his head slightly as she thanks him. Yoongi offers her a tiny wave and takes his seat beside you, not noticing the way you smile fondly at him.  

When he takes his seat beside you, the two of you settle into a comfortable silence. Once the flight crew permits it, Yoongi takes his laptop out and begins toying around with one of his songs. You pull your headphones out as well and find one of your favorite playlists. Leaning back against the seat, your eyes eventually begin to droop until you can no longer keep them open.  

The next thing you know, you’re being woken up by someone gently patting your thigh.  

“Sleepy girl...” Yoongi croons in Korean, the sound of his voice alone making you smile, “We’re landing soon.”

Slightly disoriented, you blink your eyes a few times before you’re finally able to focus on your boyfriend’s face.  

You slump against him, rubbing your cheek against the material of his hoodie. He chuckles softly, his arm sliding out from underneath you in order to drape across your shoulders.  

“I’m sorry I fell asleep.” You mumble

He chuckles again, nodding with a false sense of consideration, “Ah yes, you missed so much. Two hours ago, the flight attendant came by and asked if we wanted anything to drink. It was a wild ride...”

Giggling sleepily, you shake your head at his sarcasm before pointing at his laptop.  

“Were you working on your composition project?”

He bites his bottom lip and shakes his head, a bashful expression on his face “No, it was just a song I’ve been working on for a while now.”  

He leaves it at that and, due to the signal from the flight crew, Yoongi begins putting his stuff away as the rest of the cabin prepares for landing.  

“Are we taking the train?” You mumble, still fighting off the remnants of your nap.

Yoongi purses his lips, his eyes narrowed in concentration whilst he scrolls through his phone.

“No, I have a cab waiting for us.” He responds, “It says it’s already here. So, when you get out of customs, just meet me right outside. It should just be a straight shot from immigration.”

You nod and rest your head back against his shoulder, “Okay.”

He puts his phone away, allowing his hand to find yours. Intertwining your fingers, he takes a deep breath- his mind clearly elsewhere. You squeeze his hand to acknowledge this but, the two of you don’t comment on it.  

There is no need.  

With the tightening of your grip, so much has already been said.  

Less than a half hour later, the two of you are once again seated in the back of the cab.  

“It’s probably going to rain a lot while we’re here.” Yoongi explains, his voice low and slow, “This is Daegu’s rainy season. I’ve been checking the weather periodically and it looks like there might be a storm coming but, it doesn’t look too severe.”

You look at the window after his comment, noticing that the sky is overflowing with heavy clouds, swollen and gray with the promise of rain.  

“We’re approaching monsoon season, we call it uh- jangma.” He tells you and his explanation makes you smile.  

Despite the circumstances, you’re very honored and excited to be in Yoongi’s hometown. You know the memories he associates with this place are complex but, there is a shift in his tone now and, he sounds eager to teach you about this place: the place he called home for so long.  

And you’d gladly listen for hours.

“Jangma-” You repeat, trying to get the pronunciation right, causing him to refocus his attention back on you. He smiles softly and nods,

“Good job.”  

Your heart skips a beat at his approval as you return his smile, “Is there gonna be thunder?”  

Yoongi chuckles, “Do you want there to be thunder?”

You nod eagerly, “I love storms. When I was little, I would just sit at the window and watch them go by. I’m pretty sure our neighbors thought I was crazy. But I don’t know- I've always had a thing for bad weather...”

He smirks, glancing out the window and then back at you, “That explains a lot.”

Giggling, you cock your head, “What do you mean?”

Yoongi gestures to himself, his now playful gaze looking at you expectantly. You laugh at his insinuation,

“I see the resemblance.” You concede, gently patting his cheek, “You’re not nearly as gloomy as you think you are though.”

“To you-” He retorts, “You always forget that...”

“Pleaaaase.” You disagree, “You’re soft for other people too, don’t lie. I’ve seen the way you deal with Namjoon and Hobi...”

He shakes his head, “Yeah but things are still different with you, I don’t think you realize that.”

You nudge yourself underneath his arm once more, cuddling up with him as best as you can in the back of a cab.

“I know you’re especially-” You emphasize the word, “soft for me. I’m just saying that you come across more approachable than you think you do.”

Yoongi smirks to himself, seemingly understanding something that you don’t.  

“Soft is an understatement.” He retorts, turning to kiss the top of your head.

“Whateverrrr.” You tease him, your eyes trailing down to focus on his hands, “I’m still right.”

He chuckles, his figure shaking lightly beneath you, “You usually are.”

The cab pulls off of the highway, and it’s then that you begin to notice the way the scenery around you shifts from a middle class/ metropolitan vibe to something much much...fancier.  

Through the winding streets, the cab begins taking the two of you up a pretty steep hill before turning onto a street full of ridiculously nice houses.  

White marble, giant glass windows, and driveways filled to the brim with luxury vehicles zip by as the car turns down another street. Similar in theme but greater in size, the new street had much larger houses on more sizeable plots of land- likely designed to give the owners privacy amongst their neighbors.  

You can feel Yoongi’s eyes on you then and, you know very well that he’s observing your reaction.

He knows that even though he told you his brother was wealthy that, that phrase alone wouldn’t be enough to properly convey what that entailed.  

“This neighborhood is really beautiful,” You observe softly, eyes still glued to the window, “The architecture is so different than anything I’ve ever seen.”

And of course, this makes Yoongi smile.  

Because of course, you aren’t making a fuss about the degree of luxury before you. You’re finding the beauty in what otherwise is a very stressful situation.  

Finally, the cab pulls into a driveway right behind a black Tesla before putting the car in park.  

He and Yoongi exchange a few words in Korean as Yoongi hands him a small wad of money.  

“Thank you.” You murmur to the cab driver with a slight bow of your head to which he responds with a tight smile and a similar bow.  

You and Yoongi unload your bags from the trunk and as he is reaching for your hand, the front door of the house swings open.  

A man a few inches taller than Yoongi steps out. His black hair is neatly arranged in a middle part and he’s dressed in a beige turtleneck and white slacks. As he comes closer, the resemblance between the two of them is staggering.  

“Hello!” He calls with a warm smile, his voice bright, “Welcome! Come on in, the rain is supposed to pick back up soon.”

His expression only glows as he spots his younger brother. He looks excited to see him but, his movements are apprehensive.  

The unspoken tension is already present and, you can feel Yoongi almost freeze up as he draws near. Subtly, you coax him along offering his brother a warm smile as the two of you approach the landing just in front of his door.  

Normally, you don’t get nervous when meeting new people but, this situation is laced with so much complexity- you aren’t sure how to act.

Thankfully Yoongi finally speaks, “Good to see you hyung. Thank you for having us on such short notice.” His tone is almost unrecognizable as he gestures to you, “This is my girlfriend Y/N. Y/N-” He gestures back to his brother, “This is my older brother Geum-jae hyung.”

Bowing your head slightly, you smile once more, “It’s very nice to meet you, thank you for having me.”

Geum-jae nods, eyeing you softly as his lips press into a tight line, “It’s so nice to meet you Y/N. I promise you, the pleasure is all mine.”

Yoongi motions for you to step in front of him so, you follow his lead and trail behind his brother through the doorway.  

Geum-jae's home resembles a marble statue. It’s clean, beautiful and, elegant- but lifeless. Geum-jae has artwork of various styles all over his walls, crisp white couches, sleek granite countertops and, stainless-steel appliances however, there is not one bit of evidence that anyone even lives here. The house feels empty despite the amount of effort put into its appearance.  

It makes you sad.  

“You have a beautiful home.”  

Your voice echoes off the dead weight of the walls, the paintings themselves seeming to arch a brow at your comment. Geum-jae however, smiles and nods graciously,

“Thank you. I just moved in not too long ago so, there is a lot I want to do. I definitely could have used this one’s expertise-” He nods to Yoongi, “He was always really good at that kind of stuff...”

Your boyfriend smirks, his eyes taking in his surroundings but failing to really focus on anything; he was too wound up, “You could have. I would have charged you though...”

Geum-jae chuckles and you see him glance at Yoongi fondly for a split second before he quickly reverts to his casual demeanor.  

“I put you guys on the second floor facing the skyline-” He gestures to the ivory staircase, “I’m sure you want some time to freshen up and relax so, please take all the time you need. I’m having BBQ brought over tonight but, if you’re hungry- feel free to help yourself to whatever is in the kitchen.”

Yoongi allows you to step in front of him whilst taking the suitcase from your hands. The two men follow behind you as Geum-jae continues laying out the plans for the evening,  

“I have a few virtual meetings to attend that I wasn’t able to move around but, I will be free as of 7 this evening. Until then, please make yourselves at home. I am really-” He seems to take a deep breath for emphasis, “really happy to have you here.”

“Thank you hyung.” Yoongi smiles slightly once the three of you reach the outside of the guest room, “Good luck with your meetings. Let me know if you need help with dinner.”

Geum-jae responds with a tight nod, “Will do. I’ll be in my office so, feel free to explore.” As he pushes open the door for you, he allows his own pained expression to meet yours, “I’m honored to meet you Y/N. Thank you for coming all this way with my brother.”

“Well-” You squeeze Yoongi’s hand gently, “He’s lucky I like him so much...”

Cheeks flushed, Yoongi rolls his eyes and shakes his head, but his lips are practically puckered against the smile he’s trying to stifle.  

“That’s fair.” Geum-jae chuckles, “Let me know if you two need anything. I’ll just be downstairs...”

With that, Yoongi pushes open the door and allows you to step inside before following behind you.

“Wow.” You whisper to yourself as you take in the scene before you.

The walls are painted a soft gray and surrounding only three sides of the bedroom. The fourth wall is made entirely of glass and given that the house rests upon a hill, you’re able to make out the skyline of the inner city. A giant four poster bed sits in the middle of the room, covered completely in a white duvet and three rows of pillows. Dark gray curtains sit on either side of the massive window as various muted colors accent the room in the form of a dresser, two nightstands and, a set of couches at the end of the bed.  

Yoongi is silent behind you as he sets the bags down at the entrance of the room. He pushes the door shut and allows his eyes to move over the space for a moment.  

It's nice, he thinks, but he can’t find himself to be very impressed.  

He knows where this money comes from and, even though his brother is out of the crime sector now, it still feels strange to acknowledge his wealth.  

Noticing his silence, you turn towards him, eyes tracing over the features of his face to assess his mood.

With a slight and subconscious pout, he looks at you, his body seemingly full of a breath he wants to take.  

“Do you want to lay down for a bit? I know you didn’t sleep on the plane.”  

At your offer, he seems to deflate slightly, lips turning up at the corners, “I think I want to shower first...”

Immediately, you nod with an encouraging smile, “Yeah go shower babe, I’ll just-”

He interrupts you, sticking his hand out and flexing his fingers in a grabbing motion, “Come with me.”

His offer makes you giggle, “You want me to shower with you?”

Yoongi closes the distance between you, using his grabby hands to lock onto your hips, “No, I meant like come with me as in come watch me...yes I want you to shower with me.”

Your laughter heightens as you pinch his side, causing him to recoil before chuckling.

“You’re such a punk today...” You scold.

Yoongi simply chuckles warmly as he kisses the side of your head, the tone of his voice lowering significantly, “That usually means something to you doesn’t it?”

It does.  

It usually means he’s having trouble vocalizing his needs and, he’s in need of attention. And the type of attention is usually a specific brand.  

And it usually comes with a little bit of pain.  

However, you don’t think it’s a good idea to indulge that side of Yoongi’s desires at the moment because, his emotions aren’t fully organized. You know the talk with his brother is causing him a lot of stress and, as much as you liked to wreck his body right now- you know it’s best to wait until later.  

That doesn’t mean you can’t take care of him though...

“Come on-” You urge him, grabbing his hand and practically running towards the bathroom, “Let's get you clean, king.”

He laughs, stumbling into the bathroom which is just as nice and similarly colored as the room.

“I’m a king now?”

His question goes over your head as you notice the ridiculously oversized bathtub in the center of the room. Biting your lip, you turn towards him and point at it.

“Do you want to take a bath instead? The shower looks amazing and all but- this thing literally looks like a jacuzzi.”

Yoongi eyes it curiously, his teeth finding his bottom lip, looking a little apprehensive, “How would you want to sit in it though? I kinda uh- I kinda thought maybe we could stand under the water for a bit together, like last time...”

He wants you to hold him.

He’s not going to say it but, he needs it.  

Like really bad.

You can see his nerves creeping into his posture so, you decide to act quickly before he somehow convinces himself that he’s being too needy.  

Looking around the room, you spot a few things that could aid in his relaxation: candles, bubble bath, a neatly folded pile of fluffy gray towels...

“I’ll show you.” You assure him, “Close your eyes really quick- no peeking. I have a plan...”

Yoongi looks at you, suspicious all over his face, “I’m scared.”

Giggling, you raise your brows for emphasize, “Oh you should be-”

He can’t help but smirk at your tone despite the anticipation swimming in his gut. He trusts you though so, instead of arguing- he shuts his eyes.  

Shuffling around the bathroom, you set things up in record time, turning the water on, pouring the rose scented bubble bath beneath the stream, and lighting a few candles along the ivory counter. Yoongi maintains his smirk the entire time, folding his arms across his chest, stifling his desire to make a snarky comment.  

“Alright,” You sigh, dusting your hands off, “Ta daaaaa.”

Yoongi opens his eyes, blinking a few times before taking in the scene in front of him. It changes his smirk into a grin really quickly as his cat-like eyes flit over to you.

“Are you planning on sacrificing me?” He quips, nodding to the candles.

Snorting, you roll your eyes, “If you keep talking shit, I just might-” You threaten, laughter forming on the tail end of your sentence, “Get naked...”

Yoongi snickers, his face full of satisfaction as his finger tuck beneath his hoodie to tug it over his head. The two of you undress in a small bout of silence and attempt to sneak glances at one another’s naked form.  

“I’m going to get in first and then you’re going to sit in front of me, between my legs...” You explain, trying not to shiver as the cool air of the bathroom begins to grow uncomfortable.

His brows raise, “Between your legs?” He confirms, “Say no more...”

Once again, your eyes are rolling but this time, there is a smile on your lips as you move to take your spot beneath the warmth of the water. Yoongi has to take a deep breath as he watches you, his emotions brewing dangerously beneath the surface at the sight of the woman he loves.  

He still doesn’t fully understand it.  

He is still meet with endless confusion when he starts to think about why you’ve chosen to be with him but, he knows better now than to question it.  

You have your reasons, he thinks, and he has a million of his own.  

Looking up from beneath the mountain of bubbles, you pat the top of them, looking at him expectantly, “Come here.”

He grabs the hand that you extend towards him, balancing himself on it whilst he steps into the tub. Modestly, he turns his body away from you for a second so he’s able to bend down before pivoting beneath the water and settling against your chest. The bathtub is big enough for the water to go past his shoulders and, he feels his entire body relax once he feels your body against his.  

“Comfy?” You check, draping your arms across his chest.  

Yoongi nods, his head leaning back and resting against your left shoulder. Once it lands there, you turn and kiss his temple which then prompts one of his hands to reach up rest on yours. Silently, you place a few more kisses against his hairline, allowing him to decompress however he wants to, not wanting to pressure him into talking about anything.  

And he doesn’t, at least not for a while.  

The only sounds between the two of you are the dribbling of water from the faucet and the low whisper of breathing. Every so often, you kiss his temple, just so he knows that he isn’t alone.

“Seeing my brother is really difficult.” He mumbles, eyes still closed, hand still on top of yours, “Even just seeing his face- it brings back a lot of memories.”

You nod, “I can imagine- especially since it’s been so long.”

Yoongi sighs, his eyes fluttering open and honing in on the ceiling, “I haven’t seen him since I was 18. He came to Sejin’s place just before I moved in with Namjoon. He tried to talk to me to let me know that he was leaving the business but, I barely said anything. I was too angry at him.”

Using your free hand, you rub softly at his chest under the water, silently encouraging him to continue.  

“He never helped me when my father would-” He takes a deep breath through his nose, his throat bobbing as he swallows on the exhale, “the time I told you about, when my father hit me...that wasn’t the only time. It happened often towards the end.”

Your eyes shut momentarily, the pain of Yoongi being harmed stinging your heart like a shot.  

“I’m so sorry.” You whisper, kissing his temple again.

Yoongi’s face turns slightly into your lips, his hand squeezing over yours, “Don’t be. It was a long time ago. I held onto my disappointment in him for a while until I realized something: the only reason my father every laid his hands on me and not Geum-jae hyung was because, I stood up to him.”

“Geum-jae hyung never did and, I think he still carries that regret to this day. I can see it all over his face...” His voice is so low now that it barely makes it above a whisper, his eyes seemingly elsewhere. “Is it wrong that I feel like- like I didn’t just come here to save Sejin’s studio?”

You shake your head, “Not at all...”

He swallows again and takes another deep breath through his nose, “It’s hard you know- during winter break especially; everyone would leave campus and go home for the holidays...and I never knew where to go. For the first two years at school, I spent Christmas alone until Namjoon’s mom finally called me and told me that if I didn’t come back with him, that she was going to make him sleep outside.” He chuckles, smirking slightly at the memory.

Your heart fills with despair then. You didn’t piece it together that Yoongi would have stayed behind during the holiday season. There was so much to unpack from the tragedy that he’s endured; it didn’t even cross your mind.  

“Namjoon’s mom was right to threaten you-” You affirm but then you shake your head, “I don’t think there could be a wrong reason to come here. You deserve to have whatever kind of closure or healing that you need.”  

“I wish I knew what I needed...” He admits, licking his lips before turning towards you, his brown eyes holding all the emotions he can’t vocalize, “I wish everything was as easy as this.”

Following suit, you turn your head so that you’re facing him, “So do I. But I’ll always be here through all the not-so-easy stuff.”

Yoongi smiles then, soft and sweet, delivering a kiss to match. He relaxes into you, brushing his tongue along the inside of your lip just for a moment before pulling away.

“I love you Y/N.”  

“I love you too Yoongi.”  

Eventually, you both got out of the bathtub and into the shower so, that you were able to get clean properly. After a few hours of catching up on missed calls/texts and relaxing, Yoongi gets a text from his brother saying that dinner would be ready in 15 minutes.  

Geum-jae had the finest BBQ in the city delivered and prepared right in his dining room. Banchan lined the center of the table, slabs of meat were grilled one right after the other until the three of you tapped out.  

It passed easier than you thought it would. Yoongi and Geum-jae relaxed in the face of a meal, the conversation flowing effortlessly between them as if no time had passed. It was a touching sight to see and, you hoped that it meant their discussion would come out easier.  

You take your leave after you help clean up, thanking Geum-jae for the incredible food and, letting Yoongi know that you’d be up in the room checking on something for school if he needed anything.  

Which was a total lie but, you needed an excuse to leave them alone for a bit.  

Yoongi feels his heartbeat pick up a bit as he watches you leave the room, the realization of what was coming finally hitting him.  

“Hyung-” He wants to rip the band aid off. “Is it alright if we talk for a moment?”

Geum-jae raises his brows at the switch in languages and nods immediately, gesturing to the table, “Of course. Can we sit here? Or would you rather talk in the living room?”

Yoongi shakes his head, “Here is fine.” He sits back down in his original seat and, rubs his palms against his jeans.

Geum-jae takes a seat across from him, gazing expectantly at his younger brother, “What did you want to talk about?”

Despite Yoongi’s anxiety, he understands that being to the point would be the most effective way to communicate. He wasn’t sure if any past issues would come up but, right now his concern was on Sejin.  

“I know that I told you I needed your help with something but-” Yoongi begins, “It isn’t me who needs your help exactly...it’s Sejin.”

Geum-jae purses his lips, his hands coming out to clasp rest on the table, “Is he alright?”

“The landlord for the studio he runs is increasing his rent again and, he doesn’t have the money to keep it open...” Yoongi’s explanation gets a little rushed as he gets more and more nervous, “I have some money in savings to help out with rent for the next few months but, it’s not enough to keep it open long term and-”

Geum-jae cuts him off, “Tell Sejin to call me. I will send a team to his location to sort everything out. It wouldn’t be a bad building to purchase but if Sejin is willing- then maybe he can look at other properties and I’ll have the money wired over to him.”

Yoongi can’t hide the shock on his face, “Wait- are you serious?”

“Of course. Sejin is one of my dearest friends. I owe him a lot for what he’s done over the years.”

In this moment, regret washes over Geum-jae's face, his eyes reaching out to Yoongi’s in hopes that he understands what he’s alluding to.  

And obviously, he does.  

“Why didn’t you just call me?” Geum-jae continues, tilting his head to get a better look at Yoongi’s expression, trying to read him, “I’ve always told you that if you ever needed anything-”

“I haven’t talked to you in 8 years hyung, I wasn’t just going to call and ask you for a favor.”  

Geum-jae nods, his face tightening with solemnity, “I understand.” A brief moment of silence passes between the two of them before a sigh comes from Geum-jae, “There is so much I want to say to you Yoongi, I don’t even know where to begin...”

Yoongi stays quiet.  

He doesn’t know either.  

He just knows that the only way to get rid of the heaviness in his chest is to talk about it.  

“I suppose I could start with an apology.” Geum-jae concludes, shaking his head as a light scoff leaves his lips, “I could never find the words to express how much regret and shame I feel inside. I could never explain how sorry I am for not protecting you, for not being a better example, for not having a backbone, for being selfish...I was blinded by greed. I couldn’t see what was in front of me.”

Yoongi swallows back his emotion, dreading the way his eyes begin to sting.  

Geum-jae continues, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment, “I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness. I just want to apologize and tell you that, even though I played no part in the man you’ve become, I am incredibly honored to call you my brother.”

It isn’t easy but, Yoongi manages to contain the tears that desperately want to fall from his eyes. His chest tightens as he hears his brother’s words. He wades through all the bitterness he feels towards him, allowing himself to feel the full force of his approval.  

“I forgave you a long time ago.” Yoongi swallows, avoiding direct eye contact with him, “I just wish I understood your actions. You were my hyung, I thought you would have protected me and-” Yoongi blinks away the tears as quickly as he can, “and I still haven’t been able to accept the fact that you didn’t...”

Geum-jae shakes his head, “I wanted to protect you. I just didn’t know how- I was scared of him too. You had more courage than I did. It doesn’t excuse my actions but, it’s the truth.”

Suddenly, he reaches out and places his hand overtop of Yoongi’s, a pleading expression on his face, “That’s why you got out. That’s why you have a life. You have friends, you’re about to graduate university and, you have Y/N...” Geum-jae's voice breaks at the end, “Because of your strength, you finally found happiness.”

Yoongi looks at his hand, observing the evidence of his life present on his skin. Scars, burns, callouses, needle marks...

“Are you saying that you haven’t?” He asks, still not meeting his brother’s eyes.

“I’m not even close.”

Finally, the two meet each other's gaze. For a moment, they just stare, glistening eyes to glistening eyes. Overcome with years of repressed emotions, fueled by the desperate need to try and break the cycle, they wordlessly convey an unspoken emptiness.  

They have missed each other so much.  

“I am here now.” Geum-jae promises, the first tear dangerously close to falling, “Hyung is here if you’ll have him. I want to be in your life but, I understand if you want nothing to do with me.”

Yoongi blinks now, and the tears land upon his cheeks, “You’re my hyung...” And it really is a desperate proclamation, “...you’ll always be my hyung...”

The chair screeches against the tile, causing Yoongi to jump in his seat until he realizes what his brother is doing. Rounding the table, stands to the side of Yoongi with open arms and his own tears atop his cheeks.

He eyes him for only a few seconds before standing up suddenly and accepting Geum-jae into his arms. The two of them seem to collapse against one another. Yoongi breaks down and sobs in the arms of his older brother.  

Just as he would have when they were young.

When times were hard and he could take shelter behind the one person who made him feel safe, the first person who ever showed him love.  

“I’m so sorry Yoongi-ah.”  

His words cause Yoongi to squeeze his eyes shut as he nods against the expensive fabric of his brother’s dress shirt, “I know.” He sniffles and pats his back, “I know you are.”

Meanwhile...

You’ve been upstairs, straightening up the bedroom and trying to pass the time without worrying excessively about your boyfriend’s well-being.  

Which turns out to be impossible...

Cleaning around the room/bathroom only takes you about 20 minutes before your flopping onto the massive bed and, pulling out your phone. Scrolling through Tik Tok, you hope for a substantial distraction and, lucky for you- one arrives.  

But, it isn’t on Tik Tok...

Jungkook: So you know Jimin right...  

The text from Jungkook confuses you as you’re pretty sure it's like the middle of the night back home and, it’s not like him to text you outside of the group chat.

You: I have heard of him yes

You: Isn’t he like your boyfriend or something?

Jungkook: ha ha

Jungkook: about that

Jungkook: what if he wasn’t my boyfriend anymore?

Your eyes widen and, you immediately sit up in bed and hover anxiously over your phone.

You: !!! WHAT DO YOU MEAN

Jungkook: shhhhhh don’t yell

Jungkook: my future fiance is sleeping...

You’re about ready to get on a flight back home to kick his ass before your vision focuses on the word he’s just sent.

You: excuse me  

You: YOU’RE WHAT ???????????

Jungkook: …

Jungkook: What did I just tell you smh

You: *whispers* WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT JUNGKOOK

Jungkook: -____-

Jungkook: can I call  

You: ?????? Obviously!!!!

Seconds later, Jungkook’s name illuminates your screen.

“Good evening,” He begins calmly, “I’m having a panic attack...”

You giggle, “What’s going on????”

“Well you see- I am in love with Park Jimin and I fear it may be terminal.”

“Terminal huh? Is that how you describe a lifelong partnership with your one true love?”

“...yes.”

“Jungkook,” You urge him through your laughter, “What is going on?”

You hear him sigh, “I think I’m going to ask Jimin to marry me.”

Squealing, you jump up on your knees, “Wait seriously?! Jungkook!”

“Yah! Don’t yell at me! This is all your fault!”  

“My fault??? How is this my fault?”

“Well technically I guess- it's Yoongi’s fault because, he’s the one that convinced me to get in touch with my feelings or whatever- either way, I am STILL the victim. And now I want to be with him forever and it’s disgusting...”

You flop back against the pillows and laugh again, “If Jimin knew this was how you were telling people you were proposing, he would kill you.”

He doesn’t hesitate, “He’s going to kill me either way Y/N...it’s bad- the other day, he sent me a selfie and, I had heart palpitations for like 15 minutes.”

“If your man doesn’t give you heart palpitations then, that isn’t your man.” You conclude.

“Y/N...” Jungkook whines now, sounding very much like the boy you met back in middle school.

“Jungkook...” You whine back causing him to finally chuckle on the other end of the line.

“I’m scared...”

“I know but, you and Jimin are so perfect for each other, there is no way that this wouldn’t work out.”

“More perfect than you and Yoongi?” He teases, reverting back to being a little shit.

And his question makes you scoff, “Oh sweetheart- obviously not. But second place isn’t bad!”

He laughs now and it’s the full bellied sound that you love hearing.  

“You really think we’re perfect together?”

Despite his inability to see you, you smile at his need for validation,

“Duh. You two are literally soulmates.”

Jungkook is quiet on the other line but when he speaks again, you can hear the giddiness in his voice, “Ok so...will you help me then???”

Back downstairs, Yoongi and Geum-jae are sat at the bar in front of the window that faces his backyard. As he predicted, the rain came back in full force and is now propelling itself against the clean glass. After their emotional encounter in the dining room, Geum-jae suggested that they have a drink together and relax for a moment.  

He had poured each of them a glass of wine, ensuring not to fill his glass up too much.  

“Your girlfriend is a wonderful woman; you made a good choice.”

At the mention of you, Yoongi’s lips twitch, his eyes watching the droplets of water chaotically race down the window, “Thank you. But, it was her who chose me, I’m still working out exactly why.”  

Geum-jae chuckles, “I see you’re still selling yourself short ah? Did you two meet at school?”

Yoongi smirks, “Yeah, we met 6 months ago in my psychology class. She was my partner on our final project.”

“Ah.” He nods, “Things blossomed that way then?”

Yoongi’s heart throbs a bit as his brain begins its recollection of his time with you.  

So much has happened during your relationship, he forgets that he hasn’t known you all his life.

It certainly feels like he has.  

“Yeah.”

Geum-jae chuckles, “You’re so reserved about her.”

Yoongi knows what he means. In the Min family, you always say things as they are. You don’t sugarcoat your sentiments and you definitely don’t play coy.  

“I can’t help it-” He admits, and he can feel the heat on his cheeks now, “I find it difficult to talk about her...”

His brother bites his bottom lip, unable to help how endeared he is, “Can I ask why?”

Yoongi leans his cheek against the palm of his hand, still focusing on the rain, “It’s overwhelming.”

Geum-jae seems to understand but he chuckles anyway, “Do you plan on marrying her?”

His question hangs in the air for a moment. Yoongi’s brain once again travels elsewhere, and he is bombarded with images of you walking down the aisle. He has to take a deep breath as he forces the thoughts out of his head; he’s cried enough this evening.

“I would marry her tomorrow.”  

Geum-jae's laughter increases now but now it bubbles over his lips in an excited fashion.

“Yahhhh! Look at that eh?” He congratulates him, “It’s safe to say you’re off the market for good then? Because I have a few of my friends who have been asking about you.”

This finally makes Yoongi laugh as he turns towards him, “That’s flattering.” He means it too but, he speaks the next set of words with all of the conviction he can muster, “There is no one else for me though.”  

Geum-jae grins proudly and with a raise to his brows, he lifts his glass, “Well, let’s drink to that then.”

The clinking of crystal signifies so much. For now though, Yoongi allows it to represent the future and, all of the possibilities it may bring.  

[elysianslove]

hi! how have you been since the hell that ensued after halloween is?

also could you do a batboys college au? like their major and how the reader would meet them and all that jazz? 👉👈

-🐥

hi anon!! i’m not sure what ur talking about @ the halloween stuff hvsdhjs but! here are the batboys hc’s! i’m not very familiar with duke thomas’s character enough to write about him tbh, so he’s not included here :( but if you want me to add him let me know!! i hope you enjoy!!

dick grayson

out of all the batboys i really didn’t know how to choose a major for him

but

i think he’d do law tbh, specifically criminal law 

his main motivation to become a police officer in bludhaven had been to be able to help people in any way he can 

i forgot if it’s canon or not but he does realize how corrupt it is and he quits but that’s another thing we won’t get into that lmao 

anyways yes let’s just stick with law 

meeting you ! 

he shares one or two courses with you

one that’s really early in the morning 

and one that’s later on in the afternoon 

dick is like a magnetic okay

anywhere he goes people are just attracted to him

like literally he will breathe 

but someone call the ambulance there’s a person that’s passed out bc of how beautiful he is

but this is an 8 am class 😃

so there’s no way ur awake enough to notice him

coincidentally he sits next to you one time

and this is the one time

you decide

yeah lemme just fkn sleep is uni even worth it 

dick definitely notices right away but he doesn’t say anything 

he thinks you look so cute passed out on your desk like this 🥺

when the professor signals the end of the class, he watches as people file out and then he just leans over and nudges you slightly 

you nearly punch him bc he scared you ❤️

he just laughs and goes “class is over” 

you just sigh like the guilt starts to hit you and your heart begins to sink

and he sees your disappointed face and just goes 

“i took a lot notes. i can share them w you?”

lifesaver in every single way dick grayson 😻😻😻

you had another class that you had to run to and you were rushing

he was like “dw i’ll just give them to you whenever i see you next” 

and you 🏃🏻‍♀️ outta there

imagine ur surprise when u enter class at 12 pm and he’s there in all his glory 

after the lecture is over, he walks up to you as you’re packing and asks if you want to go to the coffee shop nearby 

to take his notes of course

and you finally register just how handsome he is 

so obviously you say yes wtf

and the rest is history 😼

he asks you out, properly, pretty early on tbh 

so unfazed lmfao 

now you take naps on his shoulder instead of the desk 💞💞💞

soooo into pda 

kisses u when he first sees you

when you’re parting ways

when he feels like it

straight up cuddles w during lectures i’m not even joking 

it’s disgusting how cute you two are 

gets you coffee for all those 8 am classes u have w him hehe

study dates always turn into karaoke sessions somehow don’t even ask lmao

jason todd

english literature 

this is a collective agreement right? 

right

definitely english literature 

i dont even think he wants to go to uni but he’s going to waste time plus this is bruce’s money 😏🤑

your major doesn’t necessarily have to be english literature as well

but you share one class

and my god 

you two disagree on everything

like every little thing

at this point if he says something and you slightly agree internally you’ll still say some opposing shit 

that’s kinda what draws you to him 

at first you genuinely had nothing against him

but then this kind of rivalry developed for no specific reason 

but it was fun

and he was hot

so seeing him get flustered or angry made him even hotter somehow 

but then

but t h e n

you’re not sure if your professor like ships you or something

so you’re assigned a debate topic on one of the books you’d discussed in class/one of the books you’ve read outside, and within each group are the two sides for and against 

not only were you in the same team as jason, but you were on the same side as him

so you had to work with him

the audacity of the professor omg 

but jason needs this course 

and 

well you don’t but it’s too late to back out now 

you two meet in the campus library after deciding on a book with the other two of your team

and 

honestly??? 

you two work so well together 

like insanely well

during the debate you destroyed the other team 

spoiler alert 

doing so well with jason kinda made you like hot and bothered 

seeing him in his zone

sexy <3 

what i mean to say is

you both end up making out in some storage room lmfao 

or hate sex 😏

professor has a phd in matchmaking 🤔😻

i think you two don’t admit you like each other

bc you’re both stubborn as fuck

but eventually you’re literally on his lap on his couch and it just hits you

and you lean back and go

“wanna go out w me” 

and he just shrugs and goes “sure” and pulls you in for more kissing hehe

he’s not v good at the boyfriend thing tbh

you have to chase him around and be like “sir!!! did u forget about me huh!!!”

he doesn’t mean to i promise

he gets all blushy and flustered once he realizes 

only ever into pda if he’s insanely jealous 

will straight up make out w u regardless of where u are or who ur with lmfao 

he’s still getting used to the little intimacies and all 

debates in class are so much more fun now cause he finds it so hot when u get all riled up hehe

that eng lit professor is so happy for you two omg

tim drake

okay i also couldn’t really decide for him

but maybe he’d study something like physics (or maybe computer engineering/computer science) 

idk u have to have a death wish to wanna major in physics so tim’s major it is

i’m not sure how it works for every other uni but my uni requires 6 credits of sciences to graduate 

so let’s say for the sake of this hc u take like just the first level of physics to get 3 credits 

and 

you’re struggling 😃👍🏼

so you like approach your professor with a few questions before the quiz 

but tim is also there

and he kinda makes small talk while you two wait outside the office

and he asks why you’re here

you show him

and he’s like “oh i took this course w the same professor as well, i could help?” 

it’s like an angel had descended from the heavens for you personally 

you take his number and decide to meet up with him after a few hours 

he’s of so much more help than your professor would’ve been, even if ur prof is a really nice and smart person 

and he’s super like

patient with you? 

also he pays for all the coffee and snacks you’re getting after you already get them 

ur like bruh i didnt 

dont pay pls

and he’s like no im loaded let me 😼

swooning <3 

and guess what!! 

you ace the quiz out of some miracle

first thing you do is text him and he congratulates you 

and then

bc ur not blind and tim is so fucking cute

you’re like “can i take u out to thank u” 

tim’s brain stops working but ! 

he does say yes eventually 

he becomes your designated physics tutor + your amazing boyfriend

being with tim is so like

chill

it’s a very relaxed time 

lots of study dates! and cafe dates! all hours of the day whether the sun is up or not 

into pda but to a certain degree 

like yes of course have a kiss pretty baby 

but also it will only be a small peck

any time anyone passes by like common rooms you two will be there snuggling on the couch, one or both of you completely passed out 

damian wayne

business major 100% 

or a bsba econ major, which is basically the business side of economics 

he has to take over his father’s company one day duh 

also i genuinely think damian would excel in this field 

he’s a very keeps to himself kinda guy in uni

like you only ever see him in your common classes and then he just

disappears 

anyways there was this party that everyone was going to, and damian wasn’t planning to

but dick accidentally read some groupchat’s messages and was like are u going

damian went 🏃🏻‍♀️

but dick was like go and try to make friends !!!! 

and dames cant say no to his big bro 🥺 so he goes

stays in a corner on the settings app the entire time

like half an hr in he just leaves and is walking home/back to his dorm when you come like rushing up to him 

you’re zooming 

and then you just latch onto his hand and lean up to press a kiss to his cheek, whispering in his ear “this person’s been following me for like 15 mins just please go along w this” 

he kinda stiffens but when he does notice that there’s a person eyeing you he slips his arm around your waist and just carries on walking

he walks you to your home/dorm and is like

so awkward 

but it’s okay ! ur a people’s person enough for the two of you 

you thank him so much over and over 

and then you’re like 

“can i take you out on a real date?” 

and then he becomes ur real boyfriend hehe

is still super stiff but it’s only bc he’s so hyper aware of how attractive you are

and i’m super positive he doesn’t have that much experience with dating so 

you hold the reigns 

but he’s a great boyfriend all in all tbh 

super attentive, super protective, and so loving 

isn’t into pda especially on college campus but he does like subtle pda

things like linking your pinkies or giving you his hoodie to just parade around campus hehe

end note; i’m sorry if these feel rushed or anything like. i used to be an avid writer for the batboys, but i just haven’t been feeling it lately. i still love to write from them bc i know these boys so well eeeeppp. anyways feel free to request some more!!

[bunnyywritings]

nice to meet you..?

bakugo katsuki x fem!reader

𝕤𝕖𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕤 𝕞𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕝𝕚𝕤𝕥 - 𝕟𝕖𝕩𝕥

[a/n: it’s finally here! Part one of ‘time to hit the books’ it’s a little nerve wrecking since I’m not very confident in writing these types of au’s BUT I’m excited to see how this turns out and I hope you all enjoy! Also, sorry it’s a bit short, I promise the next chapter will be more interesting since this is more of a introduction chapter -yours truly, bunnyy -`ღ´-]

“Alright everyone, remember to cram as much studying as possibly over the next couple of weeks. If you fail this exam, I will fail you and you will have to take summer remedial lessons.” Everyone cringed at the thought of spending the summer in a classroom. “With that being said, class is dismissed. Get outta here.”

Excited chatter filled the room as everyone was packing up their stuff. Relieved that the school day was finally over. You had started to walk out with Denki when you heard Aizawa call out to you.

“Can I have a word with you?” Surprised you nodded, Denki muttering a goodbye before walking out.

“What’s up Mr. Aizawa? Is uh...is everything okay?”

“Well yes and no.” His uninterested tone doing nothing to quell your nerves. “As you know, the OWL exams are coming up. And, well, to put it bluntly...” he seemed to be a bit conflicted on his wording. “Your grades are slightly above average so there’s no problem there but you scored very low on every practice exam that we’ve had so far and as your homeroom teacher, I’m concerned.”

An embarrassed blush made it’s way to your cheeks and the tips of your ears. “Y-yeah...” You scratched the back of your neck. “I tend to test really bad, so I am a bit worried.”

“As much as I trust you to study hard, I want you to have someone to help you improve your test scores. So I’m assigning you a tutor.”

“Oh...okay. That’s understandable.”

“You may not have met him yet, he’s in my morning class but he’s an honor student and he’s gotten the top score each practice exam.” Just then, the door forcefully swung open. An angry looking blonde kid swaggered through the door. His disheveled tie had the gryffindor crest on it. “(Y/n), this is Bakugo Katsuki, he’s going to help you study for the OWL exam.”

“Tch, so this is the extra they needs help?” He scoffed. “Listen up you hufflepuff dimwit, I’m only doing this so I don’t get docked grade points. Don’t think I’m doing this willingly.” His growl caught you off guard. He was definitely not your stereotypical gryffindor.

“Uhhm o-okay. That’s n-no problem hehe.” You laughed awkwardly, not really knowing how to respond to such bold distaste.

“I trust that the two of you will make up a schedule and keep to it.” You nodded while Bakugo just huffed in annoyance and shoved his fists into his trouser pockets. “Alright, you’re dismissed.” And with that, Bakugo high-tailed it out of the classroom.

The entire way to the dormitory, you were trying to decide whether working with this Bakugo character would work or not. Entering the common room, you were met with greetings from everyone that was lounging about.

“So what happened with Aizawa?” Denki asked as you dropped your bag on the ground and slumped onto the couch right next to Ochako.

“He’s requiring that I get tutored for the upcoming exam.” You groaned.

“Well, you have been doing pretty bad on the practice exam.” Ochako smiled sympathetically, patting your back softly.

“Who’s your tutor?” Sero asked, taking the seat beside Denki.

“Uhh Bakugo Katsumi? No...Sashimi? OH! Katsuki. Bakugo Katsuki.” You nodded thoughtfully. “He’s uh very interesting.”

“No kidding, that kid is kinda a jerk.” Ojiro scratched his cheek softly. “You know Midoriya, in our class?” You nodded, “That Bakugo kid constantly bullies him.”

You gasped. “No way, but Izuku is so sweet...” As conflicted as you were, you knew that there was probably more to this Bakugo kid than anger. But as you sat there, the others continued to voice their obvious disdain for the kid.

“Hey guys...maybe we shouldn’t be so mean about it. There has to be more to him than that, he’s probably s-super nice once you get to k-know him.” You stuttered in defense of your tutor. Whether you personally knew him well or not. You instantly realized that was the unpopular opinion.

“(Y/n)’s right, we shouldn’t be bad mouthing someone we don’t know.” Tsu agreed, which made everyone hesitantly drop the subject.

“So how about that potions class, huh?” That seemed to put everyone in the right mood as they laughed and reminisced on your earlier class when Professor Midnight mixed the wrong things in her couldron and made it explode.

The rest of the day had gone like that, you guys were just talking about whatever until it was time to head over to the grand hall for dinner where you all split off to your respective friend groups.

“Hello.” You sighed as you slipped into the seat, greeting Shoji and Tokoyami.

“Hello (y/n). Is something the matter, you seem worried.” Tokoyami tilted his head to the sided, Shoji nodding in agreement.

“Well, the upcoming OWLs are getting me a little stressed PLUS Aizawa gave me a tutor to help me out but-“ You were cut off by a loud commotion a few tables away.

“Get out of the way you damn nerd!”

“S-sorry Kachaan!”

“DON’T CALL ME THAT!”

“But that’s him.” You face palmed, finishing your sentence.

“Bakugo is your tutor?” Shoji’s eyes widened.

“Well yeah but I don’t want to make any assumptions until I actually get to know him...you know?”

“You know, sometimes you hufflepuff’s are exactly what you’d expect.” Shoji chuckled teasingly, shaking his head. “You’re too kind for your own good.”

“Well, is that such a bad thing?” You tilted your head in thought.

Once dinner had started, the three of you had talked about how classes were going and maybe making plans to head down to hogsmeade during the weekend. Both Shoji and Tokoyami were Ravenclaw, and it showed. They were the most chivalrous and studious people you knew, but in terms of houses, not everyone was the stereotypical house expectation.

“Hey, (y/n)?” You turned to see Todoroki, he was one of the few Slytherin you knew.

“Oh hey Shoto.” You tried hard to suppress your blush. “Do you have the your notes for herbology? I would like to borrow them, if that’s alright. Your notes are usually very neat and comprehensive.” Your cheeks burned with the blush you were holding back.

“Of course! Thank you. C-can I give them to you after dinner?”

“That sounds quite alright, I’ll head to your common room later. Thank you (y/n).” Then, he left. Leaving you a blushing mess as your two friends poked fun at you. Bakugo had seen the interaction from the corner of his eye and growled, turning back to his food and continuing to eat. You were none the wiser.

You were giddy as you walked back to your house dorm and rushed to your room, Mina and Ochako jumping at the sudden intrusion. Both confused at the smile on your lips and the blush on your cheeks as you grabbed your bag and started to rummage through it.

“What’s got you all worked up?” Mina giggled.

“Oh n-nothing. Make sure your out before curfew or Professor Aizawa will kill you.” You giggled, despite the warning in your words and before they could question you further, you rushed out once more. The moment you stepped out, you were met with the sight of Shoto leaning against the wall near the entrance. He was in a simple black jumper with his house crest on it, and some grey sweatpants.

“I hope I didn’t keep you waiting.” You called out softly, causing his to stand up straight and approach you.

“No, that’s alright. He smiled softly. Bakugo had hid behind the corner once he had hear the two of you talking, teeth gritting at how stupid it was. He watched as you timidly handed the slytherin boy your notebook, and how your blush intesnsified when your fingers accidentally brushed against each other’s.

He got even more frustrated at how his chest constricted. Why was he so angry? He had seen you at the start of the year but had never talked to you, he had seen you interact with his friends before and he always found himself looking at you during breakfast or dinner time. He was always entranced by your smile, or the slight snort in your laugh when Shoji or Tokoyami said something comedic.

“I hope I can re-pay you. Maybe you’d like to join me to hogmeade on Saturday? I’ll treat you to some butterbeer for the trouble I’ve caused you.”

“It’s really no problem, I-“ You paused when he took a step forward, leaning down inches away from your face. “Please, I insist.”

You swallowed nervously, “O-okay sounds good. G-goodnight Shoto.”

“Good night (y/n), see you in class.” You bit your lip as you watched him walk away.

Not only did he despise Todoroki but he was his rival too, since both of them were the captains of their respective quidditch teams. So the fact that he was making you stutter and blush, he also had done something he previously never could’ve done...actually talk to you.

“Hey, idiot!” You jumped, the sudden loud voice shaking you from your daydream. “Our first study session is Friday night, after dinner. Got that?! We can study in your stupid common room since the extra’s in ours never shut up.”

“Oh uhm okay, sounds good. Thanks Bakugo!” Your smile caught him off guard.

“Whatever dunce-head, I’ll see you then.”

You watched as he stomped away.

“What’re you doing out of the dorms? Curfew is in 10 minutes.” Aizawa’s voice made you eyes widen.

“I-I was just gonna head in, g-good night!” You panicked and ran into the dorms.

“MINA!! Code red!”

“Crap! Bye Uraraka, (y/n)! See ya later!” She grabbed her things and rushed to the false bottom under your bed. There was a secret stairwell that led straight to the kitchens and passed the normal entrance. It was very useful to use as a way to grab some midnight snacks. You quickly got ready for bed, getting some homework done before settling under the silky bed covers and plush pillows. You had quidditch practice in the morning so you needed to get some rest. All that was on your mind though, was your outing with Todoroki and your Studying with Bakugo. You’d be lying if you said he wasn’t handsome but his attitude was a little off putting. Still, you didn’t want to pass any judgment until you actually got to know him.

That’s if he gives you the chance.

ᴛᴀɢʟɪsᴛ (open): @stargazerunlimited, @ohbois-biggay-bnha

[bookwormdeen]

Love 101 (Aşk 101) Theories and Connections

Hi! I am back again! This time I have theories. I was reading some theories about the TV show and guess what? I played Sherlock and investigated some of them. Follow me! 

I did a playlist to you listen while reads my crazy text.

--------------The playlist -------------  

I put there some 1990-2000′s songs + covers + songs from the show

I don’t know turkish songs, if you know share.

SOME FINDINGS AND OBSERVATIONS

1. Eda is the source of problems

Don’t judge me. Eda is a good person and character, I love her draws and attitude. I want to prove another thing here. Let’s focus in three big confusions that happened: the debate one (EP1), the broke up of their early friendship (EP3) and the laboratory fight (EP7). All of them had Eda involved in the first moment or as a catalyst that only made things worse. 

In the debate she messed with lights and threw a sticker in Kerem’s face. When Sinan panicked with Işık act, Eda said “We were not friends anyway” and she hurt Kerem’s feelings too. She burst and everyone went sideways. And she played with Burak, that later provoked that huge fight in the laboratory. 

“Troublemaker is you middle nameeeeee” - Olly Murs song. 

I think that Eda is a match to where is the fire. This can explain why she feels guilt of something. She was the center of another problem. 

Also, the older Eda feels sorry for what she became: what her parents wanted. She lost her attitude, angry and fire. Something happened to her prefer marriage and children. Remember when Sinan told her that she prefers someone making her decisions? This happened because she was running away of something, a problem that hurt her feelings. She ran away from who she was. Heavy.

2. Something surely happened to Sinan

Now don’t cry thinking he is dead. I will present some things to push that away. First: Love 101 is a comedy-romance. Meaning: they don’t go really deep into mind problems, they make it a trait (like eating disorder, depression, mania). So, Sinan did not commit suicide or died, because is too heavy to let the story proceed.

Second: Is love 101. How to love. How love create, ruin and heal. Is admiration, passion, entertainment.  If he dies the episode will be named after what: Lost, Hurt? I will not even come closer to it.

Third: Is a kid’s show (PG-13 rated). Do something big as a death will hurt the plot’s drama quality. And, suicide can’t be portrayed, so chill out kids. A thing that is possible is accidental death (Sinan, the guy that was hospitalized in the fight, Kemal or Burcu). 

Fourth: He is the narrator big love. Sinan appears a lot because Işık likes him the most and wanted to know him more deeply. Even if something really bad happens to him (STOP), we will not know now but very later in the show. She would crash with his death and she seems quite calm now, not crying or grief, just nervous to see them and not lose the house. She even sits in his bed, upstairs. So they were quite a romance. 

YES. I AM HOPEFUL. Stop saying that Sian dies because I will not take it. I will hate Netflix and the world.

Sinan is a good person reader. Is impressive actually. He hides his emotions but read it very well. He has scars. They eventually will come between him and Işık. Surely.  

If he is not dead, then what?

Something, maybe his grandfather’s death or university mixed with group fight and love problems will make him go away and never look back (that house for him is a sad place guys). Maybe he left without talking to anyone and Işık couldn’t contact him, but, for love, she stayed looking his house. Or maybe they were not a thing anymore (runs away).

Oh, and the prison choice (cringes). Seriously? He spend all his life alone and then, maybe, more 20 years alone? Unacceptable. 

People told me that his name appears in the prison scene but I really couldn’t see it. Does anyone have it? In my opinion, would be unfair make a person so lonely like this all his life. The show wants to end it with hapiness, how it would be possible after all this pain? If Sinan was in prison, no one visited him? that hurts.

The thing is, we will know what happened to him slowly because it is a result of what made the group went sideways and don’t talk for 20 years. What I mean: big huge separation situation --> Sinan leaves or dies.(no,no,no). 

So his abandoned house is a proof that something surely happened.

3. The show may have a format to keep interest

Cliffhanger = More seasons, more public. Smart move. The show is simple but want it to get attached emotionally and mentally. I learned with Sinan, yay.

The plot may go: (counting 8 episodes)

Take in count that the house is dangerous to stay in. So, they might take it to another place and see each other’s lives closer. This is excellent to the plot. I don’t think they will cry and hug in front of the door. 

We will also supose that is 5 people. 2 we already know.

1 --> More story, solve some mysteries (who is at the door); things get good at first moment (love and self acceptance); 

2 --> Things get bittersweet (love but parents and more problems). For me is by the end of the Ep 2 and on. 

3 --> (if only one more season, a forth person appears by S2E4, then a fifth by the end or S2E7). This person (for me not Sinan yet), will clarify somethings and contribute to the story with more details. Problems that start to hurt them. So, EP 5 - Ep7 will hurt.

4 --> Things get really bad; if they have a third season, we will not have the forth person, will end up just like S1E8 or, as I said, he will appear in the S2E7. 

If only a second season, EP 7 - EP8 the fifth person appears and they finish the story together, end.

Following all my theory it will go like this: Osman - Kerem or Sinan. I am not sure who will take up all the heavy stuff and end up being the last. For now they put this weight in Sinan and maybe is to play with us. 

4. What bound them, can destroy them

The thing is, they are a thigh fit as a group. Emotional and explosive. They lash at each other and have some friction along the way. Osman is more neutral. In the episode 3, where they cry and do crazy things after their fight, Osman is simply not there. He is simple, only said: You got what you wanted Sinan. Done. 

So, they can fall apart actually without big evens like death and murder. Somethings hurt deeper, like words, misunderstandings and separation. Their parents evil powers for example. I mean, in their first fight they were arguing about a test. Simple things + emotion = BOOM

5. Character development 

Here we go. Remember I said that Osman doesn’t have emotional outbursts? 

He goes on with his business and things. We see him crying with his father and being upset about his business fail but he always get over with using a plan. Unfortunately, his leadership will not keep the group bonded but he is the healing remedy, surely. I hope he open up more. Be more more emotional besides his carisma and soft friendship. He is a good boss, good son, good friend, bad student; what else more? He is such a good leader. Will he sacrifice himself for all them?

And, who is Kemal really? He is a sweetheart with an armor but what happened to him, besides being an ex-basketball player? Will his romance really last? The characters in the show are deep, they have personality. Kemal seems simple to me sometimes. His relationship with Sinan can develop and we can see more of his demons (besides his attitude) and story.

All they got better but we have a way to go. Kerem has to be less violent, Eda has to try being herself again; Işık has to be more mature because Sinan will need her a lot and if she can’t stand up her mother it can go really wrong. Sinan has to confront his parents more, get less lonely somehow. He is the only one that is slowly healing himself but nothing changed: he still lives alone, this still hurts. 

We will see they get much better, but, again, they end up not really good 20 years later. We will see a regression in so many points.

 6. They maybe can be students still

Words matter. A lot. Before the boarding Karakis (the principal) said that a friend of his would call the Minister and make that a majority board. Maybe he rushed it to grab the teens and the expulsion is not valid. Also, for me, Işık was only suspended. Why burn her uniform? (Her mother will kill her, I would too).

The scholar year in Turkey ends around June. Why expel them so close to the end? And, I think that are finishing the 2 year of High School, not the third. If not, they lose the hole Burcu-Kemal arc and their common place.

Maybe they can all move to a nearby school, even with bad records, and have another challenges. This is unlikely, even if I think that school conflicts got saturated. 

The other part of this theory is my home-made timeline. In 19th May, the would have an event that is important in Turkey (the red umbrella ones). They were close to finish the year and go to summer time (I want this really, would be fun).

7. No earthquake okay!

I saw some theories about it. Nobody will die in the 1998 and 1999 earthquakes. They were far away from Istanbul and the only one that got to the city were far away (geographically) from the school and Sinan’s house. I made a post about the locations, see here.

I received more of Burcu dying in a earthquake. In my CURIOSITIES post I said that Sinan was taking Işık home after being in Eda’s house. Eda lives in   Kadıköy in my opinion, so Burcu does too. This neighborhood is in the Asian side, while the earthquake affected the European side. Very far away. For me is kinda impossible to make this a bid thing. Why Burcu would be so far away from her house, the school that she teaches? Strange.

8. New challenges

Burak told Eda: You don’t get to play with people lives. Ouch. Is true. Not only him had his chance being the “villain”. We have...  The english teacher that likes Kemal; the professors; the parents being mad about the speech thing and even a few classmates (if they come back). 

Their parents seems to be in a contest of who is the worse, maybe not Osman’s father, that’s why I think that he is more calm and centered, despite being money drived. Society pressure (college, money, marriage) will get to them too.

9. The true always comes out

Well, well, well. When one makes a plan, in the movies and TV, they always confess it, but in Love 101, this moment is not entirely solved. Sinan told the group that now Kemal knows about the set up? Probably no. Eda finds Burcu’s behavior strange but it ends there. Oh-ohh. Ops.

 Maybe their teacher now will not stick out for them anymore. She was afraid of deciding their lives but they were deciding hers. If they come back to school and do something wrong again it will be worse. 

What if Karakis discover about Burcu’s bold move with the fire alarm? He is pissed more than never now. No laboratory; he didn’t get to humiliate the group. He will be worse than ever if they come back;.

10. Yes. 5 plates, cups and chairs. 

The camera angle wants to play but if you pause, you can see two times the same thing, inside and outside the house.

11. The guy in the farm is Osman. End.

Now, Sinan may be in prison or a successful person (the one that is eating). If you consider that the one that has his letter in the pocket is Osman again, Sinan is the only one that is hidden. He did not appear yet. Pick one and Kerem is the other.

If you have questions like me, see HERE.

Leave comments so I can investigate your theories, haha!

See my first edit here (Sinan x Isik). With HALSEY’S SONG, BE KIND.

XOXO. 

[jamesashtonisbae]

The Freshman Series Ch. 2

Word Count: 4,577

Pairing: James x MC (the series), Chris x MC

Rating: Mature 18+

Warnings: Language, sex

Summary: Ch.2 of Book 1 of The Freshman by PB.

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, they belong to pixelberry studios.  A lot of dialogue is from PB.  I will change the storyline a bit when things are out of character for people, particularly Lacey and James. 

Ch. 2

"Chris?” Lacey asked incredulously.  “You're my roommate?"

"That's why I recognized the name Lacey!  Nice to see you again... roomie!" Chris exclaimed, hip bumping Lacey.

"Yeah... great to see you too," Lacey shook her head incredulously.  She was still shocked, and had yet to take in the rooftop.  Had she taken it in, she would have known that it overlooked the English building, and that she could see the twinkling lights of the city.  It was pretty and shone of the future, it shone of possibility.  All of her possibilities were before her on this roof.  She wasn’t entirely sure if that included Chris.

"So... what about this roof, huh?  You can see the whole town from up here..." Chris gestured towards the cityscape.  Lacey joined him, leaning up against the railing.  She noticed that he wasn’t looking out at the city and was now looking at her.  Their eyes met and he smiled.

"Yeah!  So beautiful..." Lacey said softly.

"'Beautiful'?  I can only assume you're talking about me,” a tall, quirky guy said.  She took in his outfit and noted he had styled his clothing very intentionally, but very casually.  Classic sprezzatura.  Lacey could feel energy rolling off of him, and her face lit into a smile as she turned to say hello.

"I wasn't-" Lacey started.

"I'm just messing with you.  I know, I know, I can come on a bit strong.  The name's Zack, but you can call me your number one fan because you are straight-up crushing that look,” Zack said with a laugh.

"Nice to meet you... It sounds like you know fashion!" Lacey smiled at him, knowing her outfit was not that great, but that she did look super cute wearing it.  Chris had confirmed that the minute he saw her up on that roof.

"Well, one of my ex-boyfriends was a model, so... kind of?" Zack said tilting his head off to the side.

"I'd say that makes you our resident fashion expert,” Lacey threw her arm around his shoulders.

"Please promise me that means we can go shopping together sometime,” he implored.

"Ahhh!  Only if I get to come too!" Kaitlyn exclaimed, throwing her arms around both of them.

"Sounds like fun,” Lacey said, happy she had found some people who seemed to be pretty cool.  Zack, Abbie, Kaitlyn, and… Chris.  What she was going to do with Chris was still a mystery to her.  He seemed to be interested in her, but then there was Becca. Lacey was having a really hard time reading him.  But she thought he was really attractive, and he seemed to be a caring, kind guy.  He went out of his way to grab some napkins for her, he took the brunt of her fall the instant they met.  He didn’t even know her and he was looking out for her. Maybe she should see where it could go… What were the odds she would meet that hot guy across the quad?  He was probably just going into the English building to use the bathroom.  And he was probably a professor or TA and it would be inappropriate.  Yeah, it would never happen.  Chris seemed more than willing to at least get to know her, maybe she should give him that chance.

"I feel like we're still missing someone..." Abbie said, looking around the rooftop, pulling Lacey out of her own thoughts.

"There he is!" Chris said, pointing across the roof.

At the far end of the roof, Lacey spotted a guy sitting by himself looking out at the stars.  He was wearing a flannel short-sleeved shirt and had dark, floppy hair. With a grin, he gazed up at the sky.

"Tyler!  Enough with the shy nerd act!  Get over here and talk to our new roommate!" Zack yelled, gesturing for Tyler to join them.

"Oh... hey there.  I was just trying to see if I could spot Cassiopeia.  The constellations are just a little different here than back home in California,” Tyler mentioned as he sauntered over.

"You're into stargazing?  I used to do that all the time when I was little,” Abbie said, turning her attention to Tyler. Her eyes were lighting up and she didn’t seem to notice anyone else in the moment.  Tyler, on the other hand, was getting very nervous.  Lacey giggled at how cute they were.

"Oh really?" Tyler finally managed to sputter out.

"Lacey, sidebar,” Zack touched her arm and gestured over by the doorway.

"Okay, just to fill you in, my boy Tyler has a massive insta-crush on Abbie.  And I'm making it my mission in life to get those two crazy kids together.  Are you with me?" 

"You want me to play matchmaker with you?  Consider this match made,” Lacey responded, with a grin.  She knew that Tyler was going to have to overcome the nervousness he experienced when he was around Abbie.  It was cute.  But if they were ever going to go out with one another, something was going to have to be done.

"Glad to have you on board.  Let's get started,” and he was off.

As he headed back to the group, Zach pretended to trip and accidentally pushed Abbie into Tyler!

"Tyler, I'm so sorry!  I... er... thanks for catching me,” Abbie stated, placing her hands on his forearms.

"Any time!  Uh... I mean.. any time you fall into me!  Not... any other time!" Tyler said, standing her up and patting her shoulders before turning around quickly.

"This could take a while,” Zack said what everyone was thinking.

"So... what now?" Chris asked the group as they all joined together on the furniture.  It was comfortable, wicker furniture, with vibrant pillows on the seats. And matching wicker tables.  He sat down on the ground in front of Lacey.

"I think this is supposed to be a party, right?" Lacey asked, pushing herself up on her chair and leaning forward.

"Maybe we could start with some drinks?" Chris noticed Lacey was trying to push them to do something, to start some sort of conversation.  And he reached up and squeezed her knee.

"Uh, Lacey, I've got a bottle of wine down in my room.  Want to help me go get it?" Kaitlyn asked, making eye contact with Lacey, then glancing down to Chris’s hand on her knee.

"Do we really need two people to grab a bottle of--" Lacey started.

"Just come on!" Kaitlyn drug her away before she could finish her objection.  They hurried downstairs, and Kaitlyn pulled her into the kitchen as she started fishing through the cupboards.

"Okay.  Confess.  You're into Chris, aren't you?" Kaitlyn asked as she rummaged through the cabinets to find the wine.

"What?  Me and Chris?" Lacey sputtered.  It wasn’t like she wasn’t initially attracted to him, or that she wouldn’t want to be with him.  He was sweet, he was thoughtful, kinda funny, seemed to be worth having interest in.  But Kaitlyn didn’t need to know all of that.

"I'm just trying to warn you... I'm pretty sure he mentioned something about a girlfriend,” Kaitlyn said, leaning in conspiratorially, “But if you ask me, he’d choose you in a heartbeat.”

"What?  You mean Becca?" Lacey asked.  Becca had told her they weren’t together. Maybe something had actually changed in the past couple of hours.

"The bossy sorority girl we ran into at Welcome Week?" Kaitlyn inquired.

"Yeah. When we first met, she was, like, Exorcist-level possessive of him,” Lacey said.  She seemed to remember Chris being uncomfortable with her, but she had been wrong before, she could be wrong again.

"No, the girl Chris mentioned wasn't Becca.  It was someone from back home,” Kaitlyn said.

"Huh.  Now I'm curious..." Lacey wondered why he was flirting with her if he had a girlfriend.  And why he hadn’t told Becca he was seeing someone while she was all over him.  It wasn’t really fair to either of them for him to withhold that information from them.

"I'm pretty sure I know how to get him to spill his guts,” Kaitlyn interrupted her thoughts.

"Oh yeah?" Lacey was kind of curious. It would rule out Chris as someone to date if he wasn’t single. 

"Oh yeah.  Watch and learn, my young apprentice.”

"Aren't we pretty much the same age?" Lacey asked incredulously.  

"Details, details.  If we play our cards right, you'll get to ask Chris anything you want…”

Lacey followed Kaitlyn up the stairs, a little confused.  Back on the rooftop, Kaitlyn opened the bottle of wine and starts pouring it into glasses.  She leaned over and whispered to Lacey. "This is step one."

"Okay..."

Kaitlyn handed Chris a glass of wine.

"Heh.  I'm more of a beer guy, but thanks,” he said, tilting his glass towards Lacey, who had taken her seat on the couch behind him.

"Want a drink Lacey?"

"Oh, ah, no thanks.”

"So responsible... I'm impressed,” Kaitlyn stated as she poured a few more glasses for the rest of the group

"Oh.  I just don't drink,” Lacey said.

“Why’s that?” Chris asked.

“Well, for starters it’s illegal.  And I don’t need it to have fun.  I don’t care if other people drink, but it’s the decision I made for myself, and I don’t regret it.”

Chris smiled over at her and took a sip while making eye contact with Lacey.  Zach passed out the rest of the glasses, and Tyler poured Lacey a cup of sparkling cider to toast with.  

"To one hell of a freshman year!  Cheers, everyone!" Chris raised his glass.

"I'll drink to that!” Zack said with a shout.

“Cheers, everyone!” Lacey raised her glass, and everyone took a drink.

"So what now?" Abbie asked, as they settled into a bit of an awkward silence.  Even though they were all trying to make friends, they were a bit unsure of how to interact with one another in that moment.

"I'm glad you asked, Abbie... I think it's time for us to play some Truth or Truth,” Kaitlyn added.

"What's that?" Abbie asked, knowing the answer, but still needing Kaitlyn’s explanation.

"It's Truth or Dare... except you have to pick Truth,” she explained.

"No dares?  So no one's running naked through the quad?" Zack asked, a bit disappointed if he was ever asked to admit it.

"All in good time.  We've got a whole year together, after all,” Kaitlyn said.

"Fair point.  Since it was your suggestion, why don't you answer the first truth, Kaitlyn?" Zack asked.

"Oh, why don't we start with someone else?  Like... Chris, for example?" Kaitlyn protested.

"Nice try! Go ahead, Lacey!  Ask her something!"

"Okay, Kaitlyn... Tell us about your first kiss!"

"Ugh, you just had to go there, didn't you?" Kaitlyn took a sip of her wine and lolled her head backwards.

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to…” Lacey started, unsure of if Kaitlyn wanted to talk about it.  She probably shouldn’t have asked.

"No, no.  Rules are rules.  My first kiss was in middle school with this guy named Aaron.  We were at a party, and we were all playing Seven Minutes in Heaven.  And Aaron had just eaten a jalapeño on a dare,” Kaitlyn explained, wincing.

"Hot," Abbie added as a comment.

"Yeah.  Really hot.  When I came out of the closet, I was blushing, and everyone thought I liked him, but it was just that stupid pepper! I haven't gone near guys or jalapeños since,” Kaitlyn grimaced,

"That's too bad... ‘cause jalapenos are bomb,” Tyler said with a laugh.

"Yeah, and so are guys,” Lacey added, turning to Abbie and winking.  Abbie let loose a cackle and leaned forward, clutching her sides. 

"I'll take your word for it.  Who's next?" Kaitlyn queried.

Soon, it was Zack's turn to ask a question.  He put on an exaggerated thinking face and scratched his chin... "Hmm, what to ask, what to ask... Got it!  I want someone to tell me their ultimate fancy!  Sorry, ultimate fantasy... this is some strong wine!"

"Or you're a total lightweight,” Kaitlyn threw out that possibility, resulting in a pout from Zack’s end of the couch.

"Says the girl who's gone from sitting on the couch to lying on the ground after two glasses..." Chris pointed out with a laugh.  He was getting looser and more open with the glass of wine he’d had as well.

"What?  It's comfortable..." Kaitlyn said, stretching her arms and legs in the air and waving them around.

"So Zack, whose ultimate fancy did you want to hear about?" Lacey pressed.

"You know what... I already forgot!  Who should I ask, Lacey?" Zack asked her, leaning on her shoulder from the three drinks he’d had.  Everyone seemed sleepy but Lacey, but she didn’t bring it up.

"Chris,” Lacey said matter-of-factly.

"Okay Chris.  I want to know your ultimate fantasy,” Zack said, nestling into Lacey’s shoulder.  Chris set down his glass, which he’d only filled once. Lacey assumed he wasn’t going to pick it back up again.

"Wow. Let's see.  Nothing too crazy... Like, I'm a fireman, and I save a girl from a burning building.  And then she's really... grateful.  You know what I mean,” Chris added, winking at Lacey. 

"Oh yeah, we definitely know what you mean,” Kaitlyn giggled, curling up in a ball on the floor.

"Interesting... I guess we should be careful not to leave any candles burning up here... or maybe we should leave them burning,” Lacey winked back at Chris.

"That part is up to you, I guess,” Chris said, leaning towards Lacey.  After Zack had moved off of the couch, Chris had moved and sprawled out on the same couch as her, but now his shoulder was pressed into hers.  He leaned in and whispered, “Wanna try it out later?” Lacey pretended not to hear.

The game continued as Lacey waited for her opportunity to ask Chris a question...

"Ugh, don't freak out, but... I've never actually kissed a guy,” Abbie said.

"Wait not even one?  I've kissed, like, twenty!" Zack exclaimed.

"On the same day?" Tyler asked incredulously.

"Very funny, Tyler.  Although... three of them were on the same day, yeah,” Zack added with a giggle, grabbing Lacey’s leg and trying to get her acknowledgement.

"...and the best part is?  I never got caught,” Kaitlyn said with a snort.

"Okay, you're officially the coolest person I've ever met!" Zack shouted, wrapping his arms around Kaitlyn.

"Who skinny dips in a public pool?" Lacey asked, knowing she wasn’t un-fun, but she wasn’t super daring either.  She probably would have done it if her friends had done it, but she wouldn’t have done it on her own.

"Heroes, Lacey.  Heroes." 

"Okay, Tyler... I dare you to kiss..." Zack started.

"You can't dare me to kiss anyone.  There are no dares!" Tyler protested.

"Oh yeah, I forgot..." Zack, sighed in disappointment.

"Damn... I was hoping I could dare Lacey to plant one on me..." Chris said, leaning into her shoulder a bit harder.  Their eyes met, and he grinned.

Lacey bit her lip and smirked in his direction.

A few rounds of questions later, and it was Lacey’s turn to ask Chris. 

"Looks like it's your turn to ask me a question, Lacey,” Chris smirked over at her, his eyes softly peering at her.

Kaitlyn leaned over to whisper to her while she think of a question, "Try not to be too obvious Lacey."

"Chris... have you ever been in love?" Lacey asked him, making hard eye contact with her.

"Dang.  Lacey going straight for the serious topics!" Tyler shouted, a bit too loudly.  Probably the alcohol.

"It's okay.  Yeah... I was in love, once.  Throughout most of high school, actually,” Chris leaned over, looking up at Lacey through the tufts of his hair which were covering his eyes.

"So you dated the same girl through all of high school?!" Kaitlyn said, also very loudly.

"Basically.  Hurt pretty bad when she broke it off, but... those were good times."

"Sounds like she was pretty special to you,” Lacey whispered, her hand finding his knee.  She squeezed softly, and they made eye contact again.

"She was.  I wasn't going to get into this, but... My ex's name is Nicole.  And she's the first person I ever loved.  We were together for three years.  But when she decided to go to another college, she dumped me on the spot,” Lacey could see the pain in his eyes as he smiled at her.

"That's so... harsh,” Abbie slurred.

"To be honest... I'm still not over her.  And it'll probably be a while before I am.  That's why I promised myself that I'm just going to have fun here.  No serious relationships for at least a year!" Chris said with a brilliant grin.  Lacey shook her head.

"Huh.  That's idiotic.  How can you make such a stupid rule?  What if you miss out on the love of your life because you don't want to get 'serious'?" Lacey started defensively. He was flirting with her like he was interested.  No Lacey, this is college.  People don’t always have serious relationships in college. A lot of the time, flirting is just casual.  All Chris wants is something casual.

"Well... I kind of assume the love of my life would be willing to wait a year for me to figure things out,” Chris said pointedly. Did he think Lacey was implying she was the love of his life?  She had just settled on things being casual with him.

"You just keep telling yourself that..." Lacey muttered.

"Listen, enough about me.  Can I ask Lacey a question in return?" Chris asked, turning to Kaitlyn, who was sprawled across the floor.

"What do the rules say, Kaitlyn?" Lacey put her hand on Chris’s knee as she leaned over to ask Kaitlyn the question.

"So far it seems like the rules are whatever Kaitlyn wants them to be..." Zack said from the floor.  He had moved there after the fourth, or was it fifth, bottle was opened.

"Ask away, Chris,” Kaitlyn sang.

"Okay Lacey, what's your take on love?" Chris nudged her and tilted his head.

"Love is just a chemical reaction,” Lacey stated plainly.

"Is anyone else shivering?  Because that was ice cold,” Zack shouted out into the night.

"Hey she's not wrong..." Tyler said, laying across his chair.

"Still... even if you believe love is purely chemical, it still affects you the same.  It still feels real,” Chris said, putting his hands on hers.

"Hmm... I guess my flawlessly logical brain had never thought about it that way,” Lacey teased.  There was a magnetic pull between the two of them, and she couldn’t deny it.  She was practically in his lap, their lips were practically on one another’s.  If he so much as twitched, they would be kissing.

"Interesting... very interesting,” Kaitlyn was obviously watching them gravitate towards each other.  And they were not watching anyone else.

A few rounds of drinks and questions later, Abbie looked at her phone to check the time.  "Well, I've hit my embarrassment quota for the night, so I think I'm going to turn in..." 

"What?  It's so early!" Kaitlyn shrieked. Lacey knew that Kaitlyn needed to go to bed.  They all did. Lacey wasn’t tired, and Chris didn’t seem to be either.  His face was pressed into her shoulder, and every so often, he would whisper something flirty into her ear.

"It's two in the morning..." Tyler said.

"Exactly! Honestly, I'm a little tired.  But I just want to say this is the most fun I've ever had,” Kaitlyn started trying to get up.

"Me too,” Tyler got up and started toward the door.

"It's going to be an amazing year.  I'm so glad I have you guys as suitemates,” Abbie shouted out, leaning on the couch to get up.

"And on that note, I'll see you in the morning,” Kaitlyn said.

"I actually think I'll head to bed, too.  Besides... we've got plenty of nights like these to look forward to, right?" Zack asked.

"I guess you're right,” Kaitlyn said. Everyone was making moves towards the door, except for Chris, whose hand had moved to Lacey’s shoulder and was lightly massaging it.

As Kaitlyn and the others left the roof, she shot Lacey and Chris one last, meaningful look.

"What was that look all about?" Chris asked, having torn his eyes away from Lacey’s long enough to see Kaitlyn.

"Uh nothing!  Just... one of those looks, I guess!" Lacey said, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly, while Chris took her hand and pulled her up to walk to the railing.

The two of them gazed out over the starlit campus, Lacey shivering in the night air.

"So... not tired?" Chris asked, running his hands up and down her arms to warm him up.

"Not yet.  And I want to savor this, you know?  Our first night as a suite,” Lacey said, leaning into his shoulder, wanting to be close to him, like she had been all night.

"It all starts here.  You nervous?" Chris asked, wrapping his arms around her.

"A little.  You?" Lacey glanced up at him.

"Oh, I'm terrified.  But it's a good kind of terrified.  And… so long as you're around, I'd say there's a lot to look forward to,” Chris stared deeply into her eyes, reaching over to pull her even closer.

"Chris, you must think you're pretty smooth, huh?" Lacey asked him.

"Not at all! I've dated exactly one girl, Lacey.  Unless you're counting the time I picked a flower for a girl in my kindergarten class.  I'm the exact opposite of smooth, trust me,” Chris said, running his finger down her arm.

"Well... you could've fooled me,” Lacey tilted her head up to look into his cornflower blue eyes.

"Really?" Chris asked, surprised.

"Really.  But don't let it go to your head, big guy,” Lacey punched his arm softly.

"Listen... I know I must be throwing out mixed signals.  The truth is, I'm really not looking to start anything serious.  But... here, in this moment with you. Things just feel... right,” Chris said, gazing down at her.

"Chris,” Lacey started, “let's go to my room.”

"God, I was hoping you'd say that,” Chris said, pulling her down the stairs, hand in hand.  They were giggling giddily, sparing glances at each other.

"So, this is my room... you might recognize it from your similar room down the hall,” Lacey said, pulling him into the room, and spinning around.  

"I like what you've done with the place,” Chris chuckled, pressing a hand to Lacey’s back and pulling her closer to him.

"Yeah, I have a lot of unpacking to do... But all that can wait,” Lacey said as she wrapped her arms around him, rubbing them over his back.  She pulled Chris in close and tilted her mouth up to his.  Their lips met in a passionate kiss as they ran their hands over each other, pulling on each other’s clothes, somehow not close enough to one another.  She pulled his shirt up over his head, running her hands over his chiseled chest. She expected him to be ripped, but not this ripped.

"Someone's in a hurry..." Chris said, Lacey swallowing his words in a kiss.  She pulled him closer, and then pushed both of them toward the bed.  Lacey shoved him down, then crawled on top of him, running kisses down his chest.  Then, she decided to stay there.  He moaned as she bit his chest softly.  The moan spurred her on, as he ran his hands under her flannel.  She could feel herself becoming more and more aroused by the moment.  Chris’s lips were on her forehead as she kissed up his neck, teasing him with soft playful kisses, and then sucking hard, but not long enough to leave a mark.

"Oh, I'm just getting started..." Lacey smirked up at him through her bedroom eyes.

Without another word, Chris rolled over on top of her, pulling off her shirt as he went.

"Nice move,” Lacey whispered from underneath him.

"I thought you'd like that,” Chris said, running his hands down her newly bared sides and then under her underwear.  She bucked her hips up towards his hand, and he moved it lower.

Lacey let out a long moan, kissing him on the mouth again.  He continued to work on her with his hand.

“Chris, don’t you dare stop now.”

“Whatever you say.”

He continued, eventually taking off both of their clothes and meeting her where she wanted him most.

Later, Lacey and Chris lay beside each other, their faces nearly touching on the pillow.  He stifled a laugh, his blue eyes crinkling at the corners.  

"What are you laughing at?" Lacey said, pressing her finger to his forehead crinkle.

"I'm not laughing, I just... I don't know.  I'm happy I guess,” Chris smiled.

"Me too.  This was... nice." 

"It really was."

Lacey smiled and looked down shyly, her fingers tracing figure-eights on Chris's upper arm, their legs tangled up beneath the sheets.

"Well... I guess I'll head back to my room.  Unless... you want me to stay a little longer?" Chris looked over at her hopefully.

"I don't know... do you want to?" Lacey asked, pulling him impossibly closer.  Even though she was content with it staying casual, she didn’t think it would be too harmful for him to spend the night.

"Yeah.  I do." Chris pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"Good answer,” Lacey responded, slipping into sleep.

What seemed like a moment later, Lacey’s phone rang, waking her up.

"Ugh, what time is it?" Lacey moaned, noticing she was laying on top of someone’s arm, quickly remembering that she had hooked up with Chris.

Lacey carefully groped in the sheets for her phone, trying not to wake him, and found it beside her pillow.

"Four missed calls?  From my parents?  What the..." Lacey asked.

She walked down the hall and stepped out into the chill morning air to take the call.

"Mom?  What's going on?  Why did you guys call me four times?" Lacey questioned, very concerned.

"Lacey, there's something I need to tell you..." her Mom said.

"Did something happen?  What's wrong?" Lacey asked, still very worried.

"It's your father.  He... lost his job.  We can't pay your tuition!" her mother exclaimed.  Lacey could tell that her mom was so torn up about it.  She felt badly for her mother.  But she thought about the hot quarterback in her bed, and she instantly became frustrated.

"But, but... I haven't even started classes yet!  Mom, don't worry.  I'll figure something out."

"We're so, so sorry about this, Lacey.  We're going to make this right, okay?  Your father just needs some time to find a new job.  We love you!" 

"Yeah... I love you too,” Lacey said, a bit downcast.

She hung up the phone.

"This can't be happening... What am I going to do?" Lacey asked, mostly to herself.  She was so worried that she was going to have to leave, that as she walked back to her dorm, she almost ran into the attractive guy she’d seen across the quad.

“Oh, sorry!” she exclaimed, a few tears on her cheek.

Concern lit up the man’s features, “Oh, it’s okay. Do you need something?  Are you okay?” 

“Yeah, fine.  Sorry.  I’m a bit distracted.  Thank you though.”

Lacey pushed past him and into her dorm.  What was she going to do?

[boyfriend-kisser]

“Stark’s Shadow” Fanfic/Oneshot/Headcanon thing I wrote?

Characters: Tony Stark and a daughter character I made up ‘cause Morgan didn’t exist yet. JARVIS is also there.

Summary: Tony Stark and his daughter Avery have the dream father-daughter relationship. After starting early at MIT, just like her father, Tony notices that something seems wrong with Avery, and the answer surprises him a little. Avery’s birthday’s in a few days, so Tony decides to show her present early to cheer her up.

Warnings: Nothing super intense - there’s a bit of angst. Mentions of Tony being promiscuous in the past.

Important notes about this Marvel AU I have in my brain: - IW/Endgame haven’t and won’t happen.  - Pepper and Tony got together, but not for a very long time. Pepper left Tony completely shortly after the events of Ironman 3 - Tony didn’t destroy his Iron legion nor did he have his arc reactor heart removed - I made up something called the “New Avengers” project just for the hell of it but I feel like it’s explained well enough

Author’s Note: Idk this was just an idea dump that I kinda fell in love with so I hope you guys enjoy? Lmk if you want me to write more? Feedback’s appreciated? ALSO - I WROTE THIS BEFORE ENDGAME HIT. THAT’S WHY I DIDN’T JUST USE AN OLDER VERSION OF MORGAN OR WHATEVER. I WROTE THIS TO HELP MYSELF SUFFER THROUGH THE EVENTS OF INFINITY WAR AND I’Ve evidently picked it up again to help myself through Endgame so enjoy?

Tony sat in his living room, tinkering with a new, prototype helmet as he waited for the door to open. The house was quiet, nothing but the sound of the fountain in the entrance hall, metallic clicks and clangs from the project Tony was working on, and the constant quiet whirring of the thousands of machines in the Stark building was to be heard. Soon enough, Tony heard a new sound, a modern doorbell and JARVIS’s voice alerting him that his daughter had arrived home, just on time. Tony stood up with a huge smile, and went into the entrance hall, welcoming his child home with a small “Hey, kid.”

Avery glanced up at her father and gave him a small smile. Still, Tony noticed that her green eyes were missing their normal sparkle, and her usually confident stride was replaced with that of a heartbroken child.

“Hey, dad,” she replied in a voice near silence, before trying to casually trudge away. Tony stopped her by quickly stepping into her path and putting a hand on her shoulder.

“Wait, what’s up?” he asked in a calmer tone, suddenly worried for his young prodigy. He knelt down as to look up into her eyes. Avery took a long breath in, and was silent for a second, before grinning and shrugging.

“Nothing, dad. I’m tired is all – first month at MIT is way different from what I’m used to, y’know?” she laughed.

Tony knew his daughter was lying, but he still gave her shoulder a squeeze and smiled back, saying “You worried me there for a second, thought you were about to tell me it’s too easy for you... Or that you miss my lectures.”

“It’s not too easy,” Avery said, blushing embarrassedly and wiping her dad’s hand from her shoulder, “and I’m having a great time in real lectures with other... People.”

Tony laughed and stood up, “It’s okay to admit it, it was easy for me too.”

She seemed to falter for a minute, and looked like she was about to say something but stopped. She shook it off and gave him one last grin before starting back off to her room.

“I’ll be working so if you need me, just let JARVIS know!” Tony called as he went toward the stairs down to his lab, picking up the helmet he’d been working on on his way down.

Once he got down there, he collapsed into one of his seats. Something was VERY wrong with Avery, and for once – Tony didn’t know how to fix it. He looked at a series of pictures on his desk – one was from last year, a thirteen-year-old Avery wearing a party hat posing with the Avengers (also wearing party hats on top of their costumes) and a poster in the background with the words “HAPPY BIRTHDAY AVERY!” written across it in huge letters. Beside it was a picture of Tony and his daughter dancing at one of the many red carpet events they went to together. She was only ten and standing on her dad’s feet as they danced among all the adults. Another photo showed a seven-year-old Avery wearing an extremely oversized Iron-man helmet while sitting on Tony’s shoulders, Tony being in a full Iron-man suit, save the helmet. The final photo was of him holding his newborn baby with none other than Pepper Potts holding the child’s hand. Pepper had left when Avery was incredibly young, and Tony had been left to raise his daughter alone. Avery was the only girl in his life – and Tony discovered that that’s all he really needed. The pair were inseparable. Recently, however, Avery’s been different. She’s been more distant ever since she started her early scholarship at MIT. Tony had just been assuming it was a boy and that she’d tell him when she was ready, but he’d been getting more and more unsure as days turned to weeks. What had happened?

He slammed the photo of Pepper's face down on the table as JARVIS’s voice cut through his reminiscing.

“Sorry sir, but Avery’s having something of a breakdown – one to rival even your worst moments. Most of the smashing has calmed down, but the crying has not subsided no matter how much consolation I offer – she has also requested that I not tell you any of this, but I feel that you’re the only one who can fix her emotional state.”

Tony rolled his eyes, “What makes you think that?”

“Well, bec-” JARVIS started, but Tony was already standing up.

“Save it. Just give us some privacy for a second, would you?”

JARVIS fell silent, and Tony began the slow walk upstairs to his daughter’s room.

Tony stood outside of Avery’s door and took a deep breath before knocking.

“Avery?” he asked. There was no response.

He slowly opened the door to see Avery laying on her bed facing the ceiling, with one hand draped across her waist and the other by her side. She took no notice of her dad. School supplies and various other items lay scattered and broken around the room. Tony carefully stepped over everything and gently lay down beside his daughter, facing the ceiling with his hands clasped together over his waist. Avery made no objection.

The pair lay in silence for a while, before Tony sighed.

“What’s his name?” he asked, turning his head to look at Avery. Avery continued to stare at the ceiling, but Tony saw a puzzled look cross her face.

“Whose name?” she murmured.

“The boy,” Tony replied.

“Which boy?”

Tony sighed again, pushing the heels of his palms into his eyes as he tried to think of the best way to approach this. He accidentally whispered his private thoughts aloud, saying:

“This was meant to be Pepper’s job.”

“Well Pepper isn’t here,” Avery shot back, bitterly.

“That’s MOM to you,” Tony responded sharply without thinking, before quickly relaxing again.

“That’s Miss Potts to you.”

Tony was quiet for a second, before trying again.

“Look, just tell me which boy is giving you trouble – I want to help you, you know I do but-”

“Anthony,” Avery suddenly said, “his name’s Anthony. Anthony Stark.”

Tony was taken aback.

“You’re mad at me?” he asked, quietly. Avery sat up and hugged her knees into her chest, Tony rolled onto his side and propped himself up on one elbow. His daughter still refused to make eye contact with him, but he didn’t look away from her.

“I don’t know,” she started, “I’m not MAD I’m just... tired. I’m smart, I know I am, but it’s getting harder and harder to fill your shoes, dad,” Avery finally confided. She threw her hands in the air and slumped back down to her original position.

“Everywhere I go on campus, there’ll be a plaque or a trophy or an awards board with your name or picture on it! Everybody holds even higher expectations from me because I’m YOUR daughter. Hell, half of the teachers there remember when you were their student and the other half were students that you banged back when you were there and now they’re PROFESSORS! And if that’s not the case, they WANT to be someone who was in that position. Even some of the students in my class have huge crushes on you.”

“Ew,” Tony murmured.

“I know,” Avery said, looking across at her dad for the first time since he came in, “and now I’m questioning my own abilities! Like, if I can’t be just as good as you then I feel like everyone will judge me and I’ll be a huge failure and you’ll... and... and...”

Avery curled up in a ball again without bothering to sit up, and Tony knew she was about to cry.

���Hey, hey, it’s alright,” he began, putting his free arm around the girl, “I get that you’re probably feeling the pressure, and I’m sorry you had to grow up more or less in my shadow. And I’m sorry that it seems like everyone only knows you through me. I know that it’s scary enough having to get into college before you’re even sixteen, and having everyone be so much older than you and dumber than you is probably tough, but you have to remember that you’re one of the smartest people I know, and in no time at all, you’ll probably surpass even the likes of me.”

“You’re my daughter, Avery. Not only that, you’re my best friend. I want you to know that...” Tony picked his next words very carefully. The words that he’d never heard from his own father.

“I’m proud of you, Avery. I’m so proud to be Tony Stark, father of Avery Stark. I love you so much, and I know you’re going to do great things. So great that one day I’ll be a footnote in your successes. First, you just need to get through this, and you’ll be on your way.”

Avery was sobbing at this point. She let go of her knees and wrapped her arms around her dad, burying her face in his chest and resting her head against the softly glowing arc reactor. Tony hugged her tightly with one arm, before slowly laying himself down properly and wrapping his other arm around the small girl as well. Memories flooded back of all the times she’d cried over the years and Tony would have to hold her till she felt better. Memories of him coming back after fighting and her clinging to him like she hadn’t seen him for years. He took a deep breath and let his eyes close, drowning himself in those memories. He thought back to when Pepper had first left and he was alone with a tiny Avery, her childish innocence and happiness contrasting to his immeasurable pain. Her obliviousness to their situation had helped Tony pull himself back together and become the father she needed. He tightened his grip, fragments of memories of him soothing her nightmares, her laughing and giggling and lighting up even his worst days played through his mind. He was so grateful for her. She meant the entire world to him and more. 

Slowly but surely, she was calming down. Sure, she still hiding her face in his chest, but he could tell.

“Hey, you want to go for a trip?” Tony asked quietly after Avery’s sobs had turned to sniffles.

“Wh-where?” Avery asked, looking up at her dad with tear-stained eyes.

Tony bit his lip, before gently unravelling himself from the hug and standing up.

“Flying,” he said, nonchalantly.

“But, isn’t 48 damaged?” Avery muttered, confused.

Because Tony’s newest suit, mark XLVIII, was made of nanobot technology, it was the only suit he had that could fit Avery due to her height and figure. Normally when they went out, he’d use an older suit and let her use Bleeding Edge – but today he had a better plan. Instead of making more nanobots for his broken armour, he’d been busy setting up something else.

Tony bit his lip before grinning excitedly

“I’ve got to show you something,” he said, holding his hand out to Avery. Avery sat up on the bed and swung her legs over the edge. She looked at her dad’s outstretched hand, then at him, and snorted. She lightly bat his hand away. And he quickly straightened his jacket, clearing his throat.

“That’s not the first time I’ve been horribly rejected by a woman,” he said, looking away and pretending to sniffle. Avery rolled her eyes and stood up.

“What do you want to show me?” she asked slyly.

“It’s in the lab,” Tony said. Avery nodded, before bolting to the door.

“LAST ONE TO THE LAB IS DOCTOR STRANGE!” she laughed.

Tony immediately chased her out of the room and down the hall, but he was no match for her, as she’d already hit the staircase before he had even made it to the living room.

“JARVIS! STOP AVERY FROM GETTING INTO THE LAB BEFORE ME!” he yelled, loud enough for Avery to hear.

“Certainly, sir,” JARVIS replied, and almost immediately, Tony heard Avery screaming. He laughed as he slowed to a walk, and as he got to the bottom of the stairs, he saw his Mark XLVI suit of armour, hovering above the ground.

“Sorry, kid. It’s called parenting,” he grinned at the armour.

“Screw you, dad. You just didn’t want to be Doctor Stephen,” came Avery’s voice from inside, “also, you’ve really got to clean this suit. It smells like blood, sweat, tears and piss.”

“Guess what it’s full of, kid. And hey – language.”

Tony knocked on the chest and the suit opened up, a slightly startled Avery fell out, but Tony caught her, and set her down.

“That’s disgusting, Uncle Steve.” Avery rolled her eyes at her dad, who snorted.

The suit dropped to the ground and walked itself back into its display case, where it powered down.

"Look at you, not letting Cap forget dumb things he said that you didn't even witness. You really are my daughter," Tony murmured.

"Judging by your history, I'd be less surprised to find out Pepper Potts isn't my mother," Avery shot back with a small smile, “you got around so much that I’m sure the laws of biology could’ve been broken.”

"Hey," Tony began, trying to hide his smile as he held up a disapproving finger, "first of all, your mother is absolutely Pepper Potts. I witnessed your birth in horrible detail. Besides, nobody else would be crazy enough to insist your second name be 'Justice.' Second of all, you know nothing about my past. At all. Too young. I'll tell you when you're 45."

"Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist. That was your self-officiated title, wasn't it?" Avery said, dragging out the word 'playboy'.

Tony cleared his throat, dropped his hands to his sides and stared his daughter in the eye for a moment. She stared back with an evil smirk.

"You know far too much," Tony said, straightening his suit jacket again and shaking his head. Avery simply giggled. Tony quickly moved and stood behind Avery, covering her eyes. She groaned annoyedly.

“Really, dad?”

“It’s a surprise, honey. Relax.”

Tony lead his daughter into the lab, and noticed that the “surprise” wasn’t assembled. He let out a sharp whistle.

“JARVIS, please could you assemble the uh, birthday present?” he muttered.

“But sir, Avery’s birthday isn’t for another two days.”

“A birthday present?” Avery murmured.

“Just assemble it, bud,” Tony said to the AI, ignoring Avery’s confusion.

All Avery heard was whirring, whooshing, clicking and clanging.

“You ready?” Tony asked Avery, bending down so he could whisper it in her ear.

“You know I am,” she responded eagerly.

“Happy birthday,” Tony said, moving his hands. Avery clasped her hand over her mouth and gasped. Tears sprung to her eyes as she moved toward the Iron suit in front of her.

It was an exact replica of her father’s Mark XLVIII, but smaller and more feminine.

“It’s the newest nanobot tech, even better than mine – for now. I’ve called it the AVS-I,” Tony smiled as his daughter examined the suit, “stands for Avery Stark – of course.”

Avery was stunned. Never did she think she’d be a REAL part of this aspect of her dad’s life, though she’d always wanted to be.

She tore her eyes away from the armour to look back at her father, who was beaming at her. She wiped a few happy tears and ran at Tony, jumping on him, throwing her arms around his neck and holding on tightly. Tony stumbled a little, but managed to keep his balance as he held his little girl close.

“Thank you so much, dad,” she whispered.

“You’re getting a little bit big for this, you know that?” he murmured, but truthfully he didn’t mind. He laughed as she gripped him tighter. Slowly, he put her back down, Avery’s grip loosened, but something was wrong, so Tony continued to hold her close by the shoulders, looking into her eyes as she stared at the ground looking puzzled for a moment.

“Wait, but what about Riri?” Avery asked, looking back up at her dad.

“Who?” Tony asked, confused. He let go of his daughter and looked around his lab as if it’d give him a hint.

“Riri Williams, sir,” JARVIS cut in, “a brilliant seventeen-year-old girl who was enlisted in the Ironheart program three years ago.”

“Oh, she’s been fired. She failed her final test,” Tony said dismissively, looking back at the armour.

“What’s the Ironheart project? And what was the final test?” Avery asked, shoving her hands in her hoodie pockets and turning her attention back to the armour as well.

“The Ironheart program was SHIELD’s idea,” Tony began, gazing at the suit, “a subdivision of a ‘New Avengers’ project. A type of “gifted youths” thing. Taking kids with abnormal abilities and sort of testing their skills to see if they should take SHIELD classes. Riri Williams, fifteen at the time, was above average brilliant. She was enlisted in my subdivision of the program where I’d test her mental capacities to see how good of a mechanic, engineer and scientist she was. She was incredible, true, but she failed to recreate a full suit of functioning Iron-man armour. Plus, she failed in the fact that I didn’t like her much.”

Avery nodded, “I always thought she was meant to be a replacement for me.”

Tony’s gaze didn’t shift from the armour, but he put an arm around her shoulders.

“Never. I didn’t want to use you because I didn’t want you to be in danger.”

Avery looked up at her dad for a second, before looking back at the armour and leaning her head against him.

“I love it,” she whispered, “thank you so much.”

Tony spent a moment in comfortable silence with his daughter. He could tell how happy she was with the gift, and that made him smile.

“Try it on, I want to make sure it doesn’t implode on the wearer,” he grinned, tapping her on the back and nodding towards the armour. Avery smiled widely at him before moving towards the armour.

“JARVIS, enable embarrassing parent mode,” Tony said nonchalantly. Avery shot him a passive-aggressive grin and he simply waved back.

“Cameras are recording, sir,” JARVIS responded immediately.

Avery gingerly touched the armour, before looking back at her dad. He motioned for her to go on, before tapping the centre of his own arc reactor. Avery nodded, took two fingers and double-tapped the dark arc reactor in the centre of the suit. It immediately began to glow and the suit began to dematerialise until only the back half remained. Grinning widely, Avery got into position before stepping backwards into the armour. The nanobots began re-materialising around her, and soon enough she was covered head to toe in her own armour.

The helmet clamped shut over her face and the eyes glowed blue as Avery squealed. Tony felt himself beaming – he was so proud. Avery looked down at her hands, clenched them into fists, twisted them about. Then her feet, she stomped around a little, jumped up and down. She slammed her hands down on her stomach and chest and ran her hands down her shoulders and arms.

She looked up at her dad.

“This is SO cool,” she said – her voice sounded slightly digitalised as it came out.

“Oh, by the way,” Tony began, looking at his nails with a smirk as Avery gazed up at him, curious, “did I mention you can change the colours?”

Avery let out another squeal which quickly turned to laughter.

Tony was looking forward to their first flight.