#also yes I made this in ms powerpoint

[dip-and-pip-bips]

This popped in my head as soon as I was able to get tickets for the show so I decided to unleash it's terribleness to the world

Enjoy!

[leoba]

Medieval Self-Insert Fan Art: Two amazing examples

Last night my favorite Discord server had an anniversary party, and we all presented to each other like the nerds we are. Usually when I present at conferences I post the talk to my blog, but this one felt like it would make a great inaugural post for this new Tumblr (which is going to be my personal-official space in the same way my Twitter account is now)

I gave a little presentation on MEDIEVAL SELF-INSERT FAN ART with two examples, and I share the slides and my comments here for you.

The first example: Owner portraits in books of hours, for when you want to hang out with Jesus and the BVM.

First, what are books of hours? Books of hours are...

Books of hours can be personalized in a variety of ways (for much more about personalization check out Kate Rudy’s book Piety in Pieces: How Medieval Readers Customized their Manuscripts, which you can read for free here). Owner portraits are part of the creation of the book of hours, so it might be more correct to call them commissioners portraits (I don’t think I’ve ever seen them called that, though). The person commissioning the book would work with the artist or artists to determine in which scene they would be included. In every case I’m aware of, owners are presented in supplication - kneeling, with hands together in prayer - and on the edge of the picture, present and part of the story, but not central to it.

Following are many examples of owner portraits from several different manuscripts in Philadelphia (all of which were digitized through the Bibliotheca Philadelphiensis project).

Some portraits, like this one from PMA 1945-65-14, show the book’s original owner. This is Étienne Thirion, in his own frame, kneeling at prayer, in a page facing the Annunciation - as though he’s watching, or perhaps considering the story, but not part of it.

More commonly, the owner is painted into the frame. Here, in this example from FLP Lewis E 112, he joins a couple of angels visiting with Mary and Baby Jesus. Unlike the previous example, we don’t know the name of the original owner.

Owners didn’t only include themselves in happy scenes. In this example, from UPenn Ms. Codex 1056, the owner (in traditional 15th century dress and a black coif) joins the women grieving for the recently deceased Jesus.

Here’s another happy one, from FLP Lewis E 123.

The original owner of PMA 1924-19-1 includes two owner portraits, one with Mary and a nursing Baby Jesus and one with the deceased Jesus laying in God’s the Father’s lap.

One more! Another woman (yes, women owned books of hours and other books, and had them made), and like the first one we looked at, she’s in her own frame, looking at or contemplating Mary and Jesus on the facing page.

That’s the first example of self-insert in medieval art. The next example is a single manuscript, rather than a genre, and although it is religious it isn’t only religious:

U. Glasgow MS Hunter 231 is a collection of devotional and philosophical works, copied in the 14th century (here’s a blog post about it, and this post includes photos from the blog). It includes a lot of texts by the 1st century Roman philosopher and rhetorician Seneca, which I find incredibly amusing for some reason. I guess I don’t think of Seneca as being terribly popular? But there’s a lot of him here.

Here’s a photo of the book from when it was featured on Coffee With A Codex (I forgot to hit record until 10 minutes in, oops). That’s Seneca there between Plato and Aristotle, with gray hair and a pink hat. We’ll take a closer look at this illustration later.

More details about the contents of MS Hunter 231.

Animation works better in PowerPoint but I’m doing my best to give you the experience. I love this manuscript for a lot of reasons but one thing that strikes me (aside from the self-insert fan art) is how oddly it contrasts with itself.

First, it has some really fantastic illuminations made by an identifiable artist (“Master of the Taymouth Hours” - so called because he is also responsible for illustrating a book of hours called the Taymouth Hours, now London, British Library, Yates Thompson MS 13). They are detailed and colorful and the gold has been incised with designs (seriously, look at the gold in the photos, it’s so well done). So whoever had this manuscript made wanted premium art.

Second, in contrast, the script isn’t great. It’s an informal gothic cursive script. That’s it on the right; on the left, another manuscript, also written in England at about the same time, written in a more formal gothic textualis quadrata script (it’s FLP Lewis E 84, a theological miscellany). The cursive would write more quickly, take less time to write, and would thus have been less expensive. So while the texts are important to the commissioner, the writing of that text appears to be less important than the artwork.

Third - the parchment. It’s not great! There are a lot of uncut edges (this photo is from a different manuscript, UPenn LJS 24, but this is the kind of thing you’ll see in MS Hunter 231), holes, and visible hair follicles.

Again, this means that great parchment wasn’t the commissioner’s priority. Not great parchment, not a great script, but really fucking great art.

And who is this commissioner? Here he is with Mary and Baby Jesus and a couple of angels - he’s pictured very much like the owners in the owner portraits, kneeling, hands held out in prayer.

His name is ROGER OF WALTHAM and we know a bit about him! We even have an idea of what he looked like: wavy gray hair, long on the sides and back but cut with a tonsure around his head, and a gray beard. He’s pretty distinctive-looking.

This is just to give you a sense of size. It’s not a really huge book (see my hands in the screenshot further up), so that illuminated initial isn’t big. But it’s so well done!

Here’s a close-up! Again, it’s the same style as an owner portrait (I mean... it is one, really, just in this purpose-made book and not in a book of hours). That’s Roger at the bottom, dressed in red.

And here he is again, watching the Blessed Virgin Mary be assumed into heaven after her death.

And again! Waiting patiently for Eucharist.

And with Mary and Jesus! (You can really see the design in the gold in this photo)

With Mary and Jesus again.

... and again. (I love that patch of gray on his forehead)

Here’s a larger illustration, Jesus crowning Mary... and there’s Roger kneeling at the bottom, yet again.

And here he is at the Crucifixion.

Here’s a fantastic full-page illustration. That’s the head of God at the top, with some angels, and in the middle is Saint Benedict and Saint Paul. And there? At the bottom? Who’s that?

Let’s take a closer look.

squints

It looks like Roger. And Roger! (I’m not 100% certain that is two Rogers, the fellow on the right could be someone else, but I wouldn’t exactly be surprised if it was two Rogers)

Finally, Seneca. Here’s Roger hanging out with his favorite philosopher! (No beard but maybe this is young!Roger?) That’s Seneca on the left, slightly higher in the frame, with Roger below, in the position of teacher and student. This is a pretty typical artistic trope that you see a lot (I’ve included another example from FLP Lewis E 37 just below).

And finally, the pièce de résistance: We return to this photo of Plato, Seneca, and Aristotle (we know who these are because they are labeled).

Seneca - in the middle, facing the reader head-on, an indication of his importance - looks familiar. Take a closer look. Closer. Closer!

The wavy gray hair? The beard? I’m not the first person to note that Seneca looks an awful lot like Roger of Waltham. His final self-insert: literally making himself into his favorite philosopher.

Thanks to Julie Gardham, Senior Librarian at the University of Glasgow who introduced me to MS Hunter 231 and Roger of Waltham’s place in it.

[corrupted-unicorn]

As someone who is studying to become a professional artist, I love "bad art" more than ever.

Ok but for real I love "bad art" so much. Sonic OCs and sparkledogs made by 13 year olds on Deviantart with MS Paint. Entire comics drawn on spare homework pages, all graphite, all used paper. Attempts at cartoons made on Powerpoint or on free/cheap video editing programs.

When I was younger I got mocked for my "bad art" and thought the only way to "repent" from my artistic sins (what nowadays is called "cringe") was to make fun in turn of others' "bad art", as if it was the curse from The Ring. It also created huge insecurities in my own artistic ability, as if it had to be "good enough" to be protected by mockery, and never showed anything again until a decade later.

It also prompted me to "get better", but there must be better ways to prompt artistic growth than through mockery. One thing my personal demon never told me, one thing I found out myself, is that there's more to art than just skill displayed. There's trying to convey what's on your mind on paper, or on screen, or on other physical materials. There's genuinity in the emotions and feelings and stories you're trying to convey. Even if that emotion is just simply "I made up a little guy in my head and I think they're very cool"

Of course, because most of this art comes from the artist's own interests and inner world and not, say, making it for money or popularity, it also means it can be incredibly niche. Specific. Self-indulgent. In other words, it means it's not art "for everybody" - it's mostly art made by its artist, for its artist. You'll find lots of "bad art" that you'll find unappealing and/or uninteresting. And that's okay! That's part of the beauty of it - the very reason this kind of art is made is because the artist wants it to exist by any means available to them - even if that means cheap, unprofessional tools. And that's where the genuinity, the passion, the "magic" comes from.

And yes, sometimes, I'll still have a laugh at "bad art". But please, understand: that laugh doesn't come from a place of mockery. I do not intend to ridicule, or make artists feel bad for something they made. I might find their art unintentionally funny because of their lack of artistic or storytelling skills stops them from truly conveying what they intended, but rest assured, it's a laugh of celebration, of enjoyment. Maybe it's not the reaction expected but it means it awakened an emotion on me: charm. That's something lots of professionally made art (those gorgeous digital paintings with the light on point, those intrincate models of realistic weapons, those films that rack up a million billion bucks on theatres all over the globe) doesn't achieve. Because it doesn't ring with me. But "bad art" did. Even if it's the funny bone. Laughing is human. Art is, above everything, human.

[volturialice]

3 and 20 for the ask game?

3. What is that one scene that you’ve always wanted to write but can’t be arsed to write all the setup and context it would require? (Consider this permission to write it and/or share it anyway)

this one is hard bc I have an entire 50k+ scrivener doc of scenes just like this. But I guess if I had to choose, I’ve always wanted to write a scene about what jasper and maria would say to each other in the present, now that they no longer have to lie. I’m so interested in what they are to each other, how they see each other and how that’s evolved. I find it fascinating to imagine how they would talk about their history and their issues with the benefit of hindsight and independence from each other.

20. Tell us the meta about your writing that you really want to ramble to people about (symbolism you’ve included, character or relationship development that you love, hidden references, callbacks or clues for future scenes?)

Lol. So, sooooo much.

people were just asking about this little tidbit on discord, so I’ll talk about it here in case anyone’s interested.

No, the town names from Perdition are not (to my knowledge) real places! But yes, about 70% of them have some kind of secret significance (I make no secret of the fact that I’m an etymology bitch.) I’ll put some hints/answers under the read more at the bottom of this post, but first, more rambling.

Perdition in general is both interesting and frustrating to write because it is deliberately historically inaccurate—it takes place in a geographically impossible caricature of Fantasy England™ and I do a lot of research (like, A LOT—my outline/research doc is 7k words) mainly so I can say “ok so real life would have been like this but that’s not useful to the story and/or Sexy so we’re throwing it out the window and writing this dumb anachronism instead” (I feel like it’s important to know what the actual history was before I bastardize it.) It’s really revealed all the gaps in my medieval history knowledge. Truly I could do an entire supplemental powerpoint comparing actual history to my silly fic that takes place in a Medieval Times restaurant, but the biggest things I’ve messed with are a) certain cultural attitudes and practices towards fortune-telling from an (English) Catholic Church standpoint, and b) how the actual Smyrniote Crusade worked.

Oh, and I’m never gonna describe anyone’s pants because they would all have been wearing hose and I hate that lol

send me meta asks

Town name clues below

Aberstowe - town where the story starts. “Stowe” just means like a village, but “Aber” means “fork,” like a fork in the road. Haha get it 🥁🤪

Kirkmere - city where they were supposed to take Alice for trial. “Mere” is another generic “city/town” suffix iirc and “Kirk” means “church.”

[redacted] - town coming up that has both a meaningful prefix and suffix and that’s all I’ll say

[redacted] - Alice’s hometown has an extremely on-the-nose name. It’s not naming a werewolf “Remus Lupin” but it’s in that zone

others - for Marcote I was kind of playing with the word “mar,” as in to injure or disfigure. Wythe and Hareswold I kinda just made up because they sounded right.

I also have a hilarious map hand drawn in the equivalent of MS Paint so I can keep track of my own silly fake geography lol

[wendystales]

Memories - lrh (Chapter Five)

Memories (also available on Wattpad)

Chapter Four ※※※※※ Chapter Six

Noah parks the car in front of a beautiful house. My stomach churns more every second and I almost throw up when Leah opens my door. I spent the whole way rehearsing what I was going to say, but in truth, I can't remember anything and I have doubts if I will even be able to say ‘hi’.

“Well, Noah's house is down the street, we'll be there. In case it goes wrong, just call, text or shout, I don't know. We come running. Now, just in case you are okay, just don't send anything.” Leah fixes my hair and coat.

“Good luck!” Noah gives me a kiss on the cheek, before they get in the car.

I take a deep breath about five times before I press the bell. I hear the house door open and I almost pass out. Seconds later the gate opens and I feel my pressure drop slightly.

“Marnie? How did you get here?” he looks for a car, but the twins are gone.

“The wonder twins brought me.” I shrug.

“Why are you here?” he doesn't look happy or sad to see me.

“Hm, I need to talk to you. About the two of us, more precisely.” I press my fingers against each other, noticing my trembling.

“Okay, do you need help to get in?” he asks pointing to the boot on my foot. I accept the help and with support I enter his house.

I stand in the hall while he closes the door. We head to the kitchen, where he offers me a drink, but I refuse. If I drink something now, I’m sure I’ll get it out.

“So, what do you want to talk about?” he asks with a fake smile.

“Do you know.” I speak softly and awkwardly.

“About your meeting with Stephen? Yeah, I know.” he raises his eyebrows quickly, before opening a bottle of water.

“Luke …” I start, but he interrupts me.

“What? Isn't that what I'm thinking? Or was he the one who kissed you?” Luke doesn't change his tone of voice, but it still hurts. I am even ashamed to say that it was both alternatives.

“I really had no intention, he took advantage of the moment.” I try to defend myself.

“Yes, Marnie, that's what he does, what he's always done and what he's always going to do.” he look at me upset.

“Please try to understand me, I needed to see him, I needed to talk to him.” I'm starting to despair. It looks like it will come to nothing.

“The worst thing is that I understand, Marnie. I don't know how things are in your head, but if you needed it, we would arrange it, because all we want to do is help you.” he hits the bottle against the island's hail.

“I never wanted any of this to happen.” I look back at him after a while. “Both the accident and Stephen. If I had my head in place, I wouldn't have let any of that happen. Sorry.” Luke cuts eye contact and stares at the floor. “I never meant to hurt you.” I whisper. “And I will understand if you hate me for the rest of your life. Believe me, I hate myself a lot now.” I finish.

Luke lets out a humorless laugh and I notice his teary eyes.

“That's the problem, Marnie. Since I saw you, I try to hate you and I can't, you must know why.” he throws the ball back to me.

Cause he love me. I look away, not being able to sustain it. I know the answer, that's the shit. I sit on the stool facing the glass door leading to his garden. Luke sits next to me and we stay like that for a few minutes.

“I just don't want him to manipulate you, or hurt you. Marnie, I know how this story still moves you, how it is still hurt. I don't want to have to see you go through this again.” he vented, visibly tired.

I can't say anything for a few minutes. My mind spins at high speed. I review all my memories with Stephen at school, on the afternoons he took me to the beach or the pier and everything seemed perfect, like in a movie. I feel my heart race in nostalgia and longing. Even angry, even disgusted.

“When he kissed me …” I start, but Luke tries to interrupt me. “It didn't feel right. It wasn't him.” I finish quickly, returning to face him. His blue eyes look at me with a mixture of pain and hope. “I know I don't remember you and us yet, but something inside me knows and I want to hear that thing, but at the same time, I feel like an intruder in my own life. As if I were an impostor, the bad twin. In my head, I was going to leave everything the way it was, untouchable, so that when the ‘real me’ came back, everything was in place.” I vent.

It is horrible not to fit in with my own life, with my own self.

“What if doesn't come back?” he asks quietly.

“I freak out.” I shrug, making him laugh lightly. At least I made him laugh.

Of so many people at that intersection, of so many cars, mine had to be hit. In the midst of this confusion, if it had to happen, then I would prefer it to be a total blank, forget everything. Perhaps it was easier to start from scratch, than from a crucial point for what I have become today.

“What made you believe the story?” Luke asks quietly.

“I wrote in my diary, shortly after we met and probably I tell you. Everything that happened that day.” my throat closes when I remember the written words. “It was hard to believe my mother, because I know she couldn't stand him, but I couldn't help but believe me.”

“I thought you stopped with the diary.” I look at him confused “That's what you said to me, a while after you told me about the day and about the diary.”

“Did you read the diary?” I ask with my breath caught. I remember everything I said about him. I feel my cheeks heat up. This is what I haven't read all yet.

“No, you never left.” he shrugs. I breathe relieved.

We stayed in silence for a while longer. It is strange that even with all this hurricane, I feel very comfortable with Luke. My body recognizes him.

“Honestly, I'm trying to absorb everything. I'm upset with the kiss, but, deep down, I always knew you weren't to blame, but it still hurts. Deep down, we both know we need some time and I don't want to lock you up to me.” he speaks looking at the garden.

I look at him confusedly.

“Are we breaking up?” I don't know if that's what I wanted.

“It doesn't have to be an end, just a break.” he shrugs.

“Luke, a break, is a disguised ending.” again he laughs, I don't know why.

“Deep down, you're still the same Marnie, even though you feel like an intruder.” he looks at me with a smile and again, I feel intimidated around him. I look away. “I don't want to break up with you, Marnie, but I know you need space and time. Like me. It's just a break, but if you meet someone and don't want to come back… I will understand and respect you.” he explains.

So it seemed easier, meeting someone new, starting from scratch. New memories, without having to stick to the past, without trying to reconstruct everything. It looks so easy, why does it seem so wrong!?

“What if you find someone?” I ask quietly, looking at the drawings of my cast, as if that were a thousand times more interesting.

“I doubt it, but if it does, I'll talk to you first and we'll see what to do. You need to get close to the people and I don't want to be a hindrance, they are your friends too and you need them.”

I need you too, hell. I bounce mentally, without the courage to say it out loud. I know I need him, but I can't make him stay if he doesn't feel comfortable.

“Won't be that weird climate? I don't want it to be that thing just because I arrived, you have to go and vice versa.” I face him. Luke watches me for a few seconds before proceeding.

“There's no reason to be. We are fine, we always have been.” he assures me.

I roll my eyes, visibly irritated. Why does he have to be so understandable? Couldn't he yell at me and hate me? It would be much easier to go on like this.

“You can't be real.” I mumble, making him laugh again, but this time louder.

“Come here.” he gets up and pulls me into a hug.

Luke was taller. Much taller. Then it got a little difficult, without being able to stay at my tiptoes. He notices and sits back down, burying his face in my neck. I close my eyes, feeling its scent bring me a sensation, but it doesn't bring me any memory.

Still hugging him, I scan his refrigerator, seeing a polaroid of ours holding Petunia, his little dog, glued to a drawing. In art, I see Luke, me, Petunia and my brothers all holding hands and several flowers around. I soften seeing that he still keeps everything.

“ I'm sorry.” I whisper again.

“It's okay, M&Ms.” he whispers back.

I leave the embrace, feeling lighter and calmer. Luke still gives me a kiss on the forehead before I pull away completely. As good as the mood was, I was not going to push my luck, I had better go. I send a message to Leah and wait.

“Er, Ash commented on a dinner on Friday, are you going?” I ask.

“Still don1t know.” he sighs. “But it is very likely. You want me to go?” he questions uncertain.

“Yes! I would like it very much. It will be good to be with everyone.”

“Then I go.” he gives a closed smile.

“Er, before I go …” I feel embarrassed again “What about Petunia?”

“Do you remember her?” question incredulously.

“It was one of the first things I remembered in PowerPoint.” I reply shy.

“Do you remember her and not me?” he remains incredulous.

“ I'm sorry.” I don't hold it for a long time, I cover my face and start laughing, really nervous. Luke stops with his hands on his hips, shaking his head.

“Michael went to hike the observatory and offered to take her. Maybe I’ll take her on Friday.” he smiles.

“Thanks!”

I hear the car and say goodbye to him. As I expected, Noah and Leah look closely at the two of us, like two curious children. Luke helps me into the car and gives me another kiss on the forehead.

“Please take good care of her.” he asks leaning against the window.

“I don't know what you mean by that.” Noah is offended. “If you still refer to the day she tried to escape and hung in the bathroom window, it was only once! And I was busy doing my feet.”

“Wait, what?” I ask scared from the back seat.

What the fuck did I hang on the bathroom window?

“Long story, I'll explain later.” Noah counters.

We said goodbye again and left. I stick my head out of the window, waving at him.

I don't know what my future is with Luke, but I was very happy that we got it right. And, deep down, I didn't lose hope, after all, I already fell in love with him once, nothing prevents it from happening again.

“So?” Leah asks.

“We took a break, but we're fine.” I smile happily.

[...]

I leave the closet wearing a black cotton dress, because it was the easiest clothes to wear, because of the boot. The hair stuck in a ponytail, due to the heat. And without makeup, I'm not into it.

“Well?” I ask Noah, who was lying on my bed reading a magazine that I was on the cover.

“Beautiful as always. Ready?” he throws the magazine on the chair, coming towards me.

“No!” I give a nervous smile.

“Everything will be fine. Everyone is crazy to see you. You will love.” he hugs me, rocking me from side to side. “Shall we go?”

I confirm after a sigh. Everyone was at Ashton's house, ready to see me, and as ready as I felt, deep down, I wasn't.

The rest of my week was quiet, few memories, but a lot of pain in my arm, but the doctor said it would be common for one day or another to hurt. My father, my mother, Leah and Ashton came to visit me almost every day and after much conversation, I convinced my mother to return to her home. So at the end of the day, I was alone. Which is great, because I have peace and quiet to put my ideas in place.

On the way to Ashton's house, I go over some points with Noah so as not to be embarrassed, I know they are not expecting much from me, but even so, I prefer to avoid constraints.

As we get closer to the house, I feel my stomach churn. I try to snap my fingers, but with a hand in a cast it doesn't give much. When we park at the door, my legs freeze and I need Noah to help me more than usual to get out of the car.

Noah rings the bell and the laughter that filled the house ceases. Ashton opens the door and, when he sees us, opens a smile, hugging me and pulling me inside. I take his arm and follow him into the living room, where everyone is standing looking at me anxiously.

Michael. Kyleen. Calum. Luke. Leah.

“Piggy!” I shout excited when she comes towards me.

“I still can't get over it.” I hear Luke speak indignantly, but I do not answer, because I am focused on that huge and cute four-legged being.

After falling apart with Petunia, I again lean on Ashton who brings me closer to them. Luke and Leah are further behind, since she practically lives with me and I’ve seen Luke before. I stick to Ash more, like a child afraid and embarrassed to talk to strangers.

“Hi!” I wave after a sigh.

Everyone gives a bigger smile and waves back. It's so weird, the way everyone looks at me, I know they know me and that's what scares me. Ashton sits me on the couch and everyone sits around me, staring at me, like I'm an alien.

“Okay, this is getting weird and uncomfortable.” I comment by holding the air.

“Sorry.” everybody talks.

“It's just… it's weird, you don't remember anything, none of those last years?” Kyleen asks curiously.

“No, no. In fact, I remembered a few things already, but in the beginning, nothing.” I give a closed smile.

“And how do the memories come? Do you have any pain?” I turn to Michael, who looks at me impressed, as if I'm a superhero of the video games that I know he plays.

“No, no pain. Do you know when you drink a lot and have a hangover that you don't remember at first and then during the day, the memories come?”

“Yes!” everyone responds, much to my surprise.

“My God! You guys drink it, huh.” I comment scared. Everyone looks at each other with a laugh. “Well, it's like that. They start popping up in my head. Sometimes out of nowhere, sometimes because of some video, photo or text.”

“Aah” they speak in unison, again.

“Any more questions?” I control the smile. My God, they really look like kids asking questions with an adult.

“Have you remembered all of us?” I look at Kyleen again. Unlike the photos, she now has several strands colored by her long hair.

I dry swallow. How to answer that without causing it?! I had remembered almost everyone but Luke. I had no direct memory of him. If he showed up, it was like an extra, deep down, far away. However, nothing he and I. Soon who I was most curious to remember.

“So-so. Nothing too direct, but everyone has already emerged in some way.” I try to answer, without being very clear.

I glance at Leah almost shouting ‘change the focus’ and luckily for me, she understands.

“What about your arm and your leg? Do they still hurt?” she shrugs.

“Not much and I made a point of reserving a space for you.” I extend the cast of my arm and in less than two minutes, everyone is proofreading to write things.

We ended up eating right there, each with a plate of pizza on your lap. I was still watching everyone, I didn't know who I was looking at, since everyone was talking together. To Noah's happiness, I remembered his hair and again Calum and I were out of breath from laughing.

In revenge, Noah commented on the day that I, drunk, tried to escape through the bathroom window and got stuck, leaving only with a lot of butter. I cover myself with the pillow when he throws the photo, my God what have I become?!

Suddenly, my mind starts to form another puzzle.

““I take a deep breath, feeling my body, especially my head, tingling. It's already the third round and I need to win again. Also because I bet with Ashton that I beat Mike and his friend, that I have no idea who he is.

I kiss the ball and throw it in the direction of the blue cup. The ball rotates around the edge and falls into the cup beside it. I shout with the whole audience at our side, celebrating. Mike turns the glass around reluctantly, while I continue my victory dance.

His friend takes the ball and plays, hitting it too. I turn the glass over, just like Michael a second ago. I blink a few times, already feeling drunk and very light. If a wind hits, I fly away, for sure.

Kiki takes the ball and closes an eye, aiming. I don't know if it's the high and mixed level of alcohol in my blood or if it really happened, but I swear I saw that little ball going in full slow motion into their last glass, signaling our victory. Three-time champions.

I raise my arms, giving, perhaps, the biggest scream I have ever given. I hug Kyleen jumping and spinning in place. However, doing this drunk is not the best option, since in a few seconds, Kiki and I were sinking into the pool.

I come back to the surface watching Mike roll over on the floor laughing and Noah looking at us both confused and angry, as always he was responsible for us. Poor boy."”

I resolve not to interrupt the conversation about the trip to Hawaii. Michael was laughing out loud as they left that Mark alone in the market. Leah once again withdraws in regret.

“Say, the sex was very good, right? Because you stayed with him for three months, something had to be really good.” Calum asks.

“Worse than not, I pretended every time.” At once, the whole room explodes in laughter. “It was a difficult time and he was always available.” she tries to justify herself. “And so complaining about it, worse than Mark just Emery.” she points to Ashton and everyone says "uuh".

“What?” I ask lost. “Was she boring?”

“Boring? Boring?” Mike raises his voice indignantly. “Luke is boring, she was unbearable.” I hold my laughter watching Luke look at Mike in offense.

“ I'm not boring.”

“Of course it is, I don't know how Marnie put up with you and your little jokes.”

“Because you never heard hers.” Luke counters and now I feel offended.

“Hey! My jokes are not bad.” I throw the cushion at him.

“Damn the jokes, let's talk bad about Emery.” Kyleen begs sly.

“I was afraid of her. She entered Calum's house by jumping over the wall, who does that?” Mike reveals.

“Was my house a pet and the hotel room in Denmark? It came out of nowhere. But nothing beats Mitch's birthday party.” Calum raises his eyebrows and once again, everyone is laughing, remembering.

“What?” but does it cost them to tell everything at once?

Noah once again takes out his cell phone and hands it to me. The video shows me and most likely Emery, tangled in a blur of hair pulling and scratching.

“That's not me.” I say in total shock to see my face very well lit.

“Oh, yes it is.” Noah answers.

“In total anger held for four long months.” Calum complete.

I watch Luke trying to get away from her, while Jack from All Time Low, tries to hold Emery. In the background I notice Calum sitting drinking, watching everything in peace. Noah was trying to get in the middle like Ashton. Leah and Kyleen shouted angrily for me to punch Emery and Michael… well.

“Who recorded this?” I ask seeing everyone pointing Michael. I look at him in awe. “Michael!”

“You wanted me to do what? I had been waiting for this moment for months.” he defends himself.

“But why did this happen?” I hand the phone back to Noah.

“Because Emery was kind of obsessive and crazy!?” Kyleen answers quietly, before drinking the beer.

“Emery never liked you and the girls, but mainly you because of our friendship. Because we were doing yoga all day. She was very jealous and you knew it, but you stayed in your corner, didn't provoke her.” Ashton responds with a grimace, perhaps knowing that the ex affair's paranoia was nonexistent. “Until that day, Emery, I don't know, freaked out and both started to argue.”

“Until you freak out and fly on her like a lioness.” Leah completes with a smile on her face.

“My God what have I become?” I sink on the couch, astonished.

“Calm down, we didn't even tell you about the time you climbed on Calum’s roof to jump into the pool and got stuck in your pants.” Michael ‘tries’ to calm me down.

[soramel]

Chained to you (Part 2)

genre: angst, romance, unconventional relationship warning: eventual smut A/N: cross-posted from wattpad; updates are uploaded there first

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Part 2 words: 5.7k

The car rolled off to a much narrower street an hour later. The place he's driving into is in the middle of the woods. You wondered if you actually led yourself into his bear trap. "You're not going to kill me here, are you?" you asked in a serious tone although you intended it to sound like a joke.

You became a bit nervous when Taehyung didn't respond.

A decent modern cabin appeared in your line of sight. Its façade is adorned with huge thick glass panes. The car turned to a halt. "We're here," he announced.

Still unsure of the situation, you shook your head then headed out of the car anyway.

An old couple welcomed you to the place. They were wearing warm smiles as they greeted Taehyung and you.

"It's been a long time, Taehyung. You've grown so much." the older woman gushed. Taehyung politely chuckled as he gave them brief hugs, "I missed you and uncle a lot. Sorry for coming in a short notice."

The older man laughed, "It's alright, we regularly clean the cabin so it's not much of a preparation. Let's head inside first. I'll take your luggage, Ma'am."

You shyly gripped your bag, not wanting the old man to carry a light luggage for you. He reminds you so much of your grandfather, "It's not heavy. I can carry it myself, sir."

He waved his hand off and said, "I insist. You're a special guest here, allow me."

But really, you couldn't.

Taehyung held you by your waist and said, "Let uncle take your bag, we still have to show you around the house."

That was just an excuse for you to let go, but there's something in his tone saying that you should follow what he's saying. So, you conceded, giving your bag to the man.

As you walk inside, the lady briefly briefs Taehyung as to how the cabin has been. You saw paintings and some interesting ornaments. The place looks like an ideal vacation house for holidays.

"I cooked your favorite. It's not much because I just brought some stocks from our quarters instead of buying from the market. We'll head out later to shop," the lady told Taehyung. Then he politely said his thanks.

The old couple climbed up the wooden staircase while you and Taehyung followed behind. They led you to a room. He then turned to them and took your bag from the man. "I'll take it from here, auntie, uncle. We'll go to the dining room after."

The lady replied, "Ah, we'll be leaving now for the market. We'll leave you by yourselves."

You bowed at them as they turned on their way.

He then closed the door and headed to the office table and set your bag there. "They're our caretakers here. If you need something, you can ask them."

You nodded as you looked around the room. It's minimally decorated that you guessed it's a guestroom. It has its own little walk-in closet and bathroom. You walked back and saw Taehyung sitting by the couch at the foot of the bed, watching you. "Is there wifi here?" you asked. He nodded, "You can ask auntie later for the password."

You sat on the bed, deep in your thoughts. Now what? you wondered. Maybe you can book a flight to somewhere. Doesn't matter where that is. Running away from all of this is still the most appealing thing to your mind right now. But what about your responsibilities?

You were pulled out of your reverie when Taehyung spoke.

"What are you thinking?" he asked.

Raising a brow at him you retorted, "You're still here?"

"You intrigue me, princess."

You scoffed at that. "A lot of people are interested in my life. You're welcome for having the front seat."

"Hmm... I don't think I'm a mere audience. Am I not your knight?" he asked with that teasing smile on his face that you badly want to wipe off.

"I'll be downstairs. I'm sure you're hungry. Don't take too long," he said before heading towards the door, leaving you alone.

#

"You can stay here as long as you want, Y/n. It's safer," he told you after the meal. He was watching you the whole time as if you're a puzzle that he's trying to figure out. You're used to being watched but having this kind of attention from him is bothersome.

You sighed, torn between freeing yourself from this and your responsibilities to your employees. Back in the room, that was the only time when you think about the post you left today. A one day off won't hurt, but how long can you go on like this? It's such a waste that your professional life is too tied with your personal one. Running away from all of this will also give your opponents a reason to kick you out. Not everyone is in favor of having a young single woman in a high position.

"That night..." you started. He then waited for you to continue. He had a hint on what you wanna talk about. "Did you know that it was me?" you finally asked. It felt like you just dropped a bomb in the silent dining hall. He didn't reply right away, weighing your expression. So you told him, "Tell me the truth."

Without hesitation he then admitted, "Yes, I knew it was you."

You were dumbfounded at his revelation. You were suspicious but it feels different coming straight from him. He then said, "But I wasn't planning on sleeping with you that night," for a second, uneasiness flashed his eyes, different from his usual calculated yet playful persona. "But I guess, I'm just a man with needs. You were smoking hot in that skimpy dress," he added further, throwing you a smirk. Then he's back again to the man you knew.

That afternoon, you opened your phone and started making calls. Instructing your secretary to send you urgent matters through email.

"But ma'am, what about your scheduled meetings?" he asked after noting down your instructions.

Sighing, "Who are the ones for this week?" you asked. He cited a long list in a timeline order, telling you that he already had the meetings for this day on hold until further notice. Most of them were for internal purposes and some were proposals from other companies.

"Meeting with finance and marketing will be done online. Same time. For the others, have them send their written reports. I'll expect those in my inbox on the day of the scheduled meeting. For the proposals, send me their pitch but if they insist on meeting me personally, have it on hold."

You felt sorry for him, the work sounded a lot but you needed to prioritize. "I'm sorry, Jae. I have personal matters to settle and I'll come back as soon as I can. Just give me a week."

"It's okay, Ms. Y/n. You've been working hard for the past months. Don't worry too much. I hope everything will be fine soon," he said though he's wondering what kind of problem you're having to not go to work given that news about your engagement just got released. He assumed you're spending more time with your fiancé now that he just got back from America.

"That's all, I'll be waiting for your emails by the end of the day," you told him before ending the call.

Now all you have to do is wait. You sighed, slumping yourself back on the bed. However, peace didn't last that long as your phone rang again. Your friend Sunmi's calling.

Annoyed, you still picked up the call to make her stop, "Sunmi," you greeted, your voice cold. "The news of your engagement was like wildfire online. They're saying it's the same man that you were with that night. How can that happen?" she asked frantically. Then followed up, "Are you okay? I'm worried."

"I had no idea they're the same. I don't remember his face, that's why. And I'm okay. Don't worry."

Still, that didn't send her comfort. "Where are you? I'll visit you," she said, her voice laced with concern.

You shook your head, "Don't. I'm with Taehyung. We went outside town," you told her wishing that this would make her stop.

"Look, Sunmi, I'm really busy and I'm still working remotely. Again, I'm doing fine and don't worry too much. It's burdening. I'm an adult," you added. You sounded harsh over the line and it made you feel a bit sorry, but you didn't take back what you said.

She then said, "Okay. Just take care of yourself," before the line went off.

#

So, for the next few days, you sulked inside the room, working. Taehyung did the same. He stayed true to his words when he told you that evening that he'll be keeping his eyes on you. You just bump into each other when you go to the dining room for lunch or dinner. Neither of your parents disturbed you knowing that you guys are together. Taehyung assured them that you're doing fine.

Feeling stuffy for burrowing in your own hole for the past two days, you went out to work in the living room. You were on the sofa when the door to your right opened, revealing Taehyung. He's wearing black shirt and shorts. That room was his office, you took a glimpse of it yesterday when you were taking a coffee break. His brow raised up when he saw you dressed up.

"I have an online meeting at 10," you simply said even though he didn't ask. Today's meeting is with the marketing department.

He simply nodded, then said, "I thought you'll be thinking over things, Y/n. But you only drowned yourself with work."

"Just keep on being a good boy, alright? I might reconsider being married to you," you retorted. That earned a smirk from him then followed by an incredulous chuckle. You didn't mean what you said though. You still wanted out of the arrangement. You were thinking of alternatives that you can present to your parents and the Kims. Those thoughts have been keeping you up at night.

Taehyung finally left you alone, heading towards the kitchen. You set up your things on the table and waited for the call.

When he came back to your area, you were already discussing with the marketing team, asking them questions about the powerpoint they sent you. He sat on the single-seater couch, watching you while sipping his coffee. You couldn't help but raise a brow at him.

He did nothing to disturb you, but his stares made you uncomfortable for some reason. Then after a few minutes, his phone rang. This halted your discussion with the team. You threw him a warning glance. Taehyung stood up and went to his office to answer the call. When the door fell shut, you turned to the camera. "I'm sorry, you may continue," you muttered.

After a minute, Taehyung stormed out of his room and called you, "Y/n"

You looked at him with irritation, "I'm in a meeting, Taehyung. Can you please go away?"

He just ignored you and went upstairs. You sighed at his attitude. Then your phone rang. Seeing that it's your father, you declined the call.

Irritated with the interruptions, you then turned to the marketing team, "Have this project approved by the finance department as soon as possible. Then prompt the booking department so we won't get overwhelmed once the promo's been released."

At that, the marketing manager wrapped things up by giving synthesis and informing you that the minutes would be forwarded to your secretary.

You were skimming through your emails when Taehyung rushed down the stairs. He's now dressed up with shirt and trousers, looking troubled. His keys were in his hands as he told you, "Your mom's in the hospital."

Your heart dropped at the news. "What? What happened to her?" you asked him, frantic. Your mother has a healthier lifestyle. She had these planned meals prepared by her dietician, she wouldn't sleep later than 10 pm, she regularly goes to her yoga sessions, she's more careful than you.

Tears sprang up in your eyes as you asked, "Is she fine?"

Taehyung sighed, "She was being rushed to the hospital when I talked to the security team."

"It was a car crash. The driver's dead, her head of security too."

The information made your knees wobble. Taehyung had to assist you to go in his car while you couldn't stop the tears from falling, blurring your vision. Questions flooded through you but you were too shocked to sort out your thoughts to speak them out.

The whole car ride was silent contrary to the beating of your heart. You're nervous, afraid, shocked, you were feeling all things at once for your mom that you failed to notice when Taehyung's phone kept ringing.

He declined every call that showed up on the dashboard. He just focused on bringing you there safely. Broken out of your own thoughts, you texted your father with shaking hands. Telling him that you heard the news and that you're on your way now.

When Taehyung's phone rang again, you disconnected it from the dashboard and answered his phone yourself.

It's Mrs. Kim calling.

"Yes, Mrs. Kim. We've heard of the news. Taehyung is driving me to the hospital," you told her in the calmest manner you can muster but a hiccup escaped your mouth. You've been crying the whole time, devastated by all the bad things that could happen to your mom.

"Darling, stay strong. We're also on our way. Tell my son not to rush, okay?" she sweetly said, her voice laced with worry.

When you ended the call, Taehyung told you to turn his phone off. You didn't protest and followed his command.

By the time you arrived in the hospital, press people were already there, all of them are held up outside, being guarded. When they saw Taehyung opening the door for you, they immediately ambushed you with questions. It angered you when you heard them asking about your upcoming wedding and whether your mom's accident would affect the plans.

You gritted your teeth in anger as you did your best to ignore them. It's insulting how those people would take every opportunity they could to butt in at such private matter. Your mother's in the hospital, fighting for her life, for god's sake.

The guards cleared a path for both of you while Taehyung protectively held you by his side as you walked in.

You found your father standing outside the operating room, he was pacing back and forth. Upon seeing you, he went up and gave you a pat as if saying everything will be alright. It was a weak convincing on his part when he himself didn't even look collected.

The waiting was excruciating. You didn't notice that you've been holding Taehyung's hand tightly. You let go immediately upon realizing this.

"I'm sorry," you muttered, gulping.

"It's okay," he simply replied.

#

The doctors ran more tests on your mother when she failed to wake up after 24 hours. The accident caused her a brain injury and she was diagnosed with hypoxia. She's now in a coma and it could take a few days or few weeks for her to recover. The doctor told you to prepare for the worse, but you couldn't fathom a worse scenario than this.

Your feud with your father was put on hold as you almost spend every night with your mom. You would go to the office in the morning then to the hospital late in the afternoon, continuing your work in her room. The time you'll only go home is when you're reminded by your bodyguard which was assigned by Taehyung himself.

It may be deemed unnecessary but as investigation is being conducted, the Kims cannot compromise your safety. Their security company, among of their others, was the one in charge with your family ever since, including your businesses. The accident happened under their watch, but as of now, no one is to blame. Yet.

For your peace of mind, you even hired a private investigator on your own, meeting him discreetly as much as possible.

It was already six in the evening when Mr. and Mrs. Kim knocked on your mom's suite. You gathered your energy to come up with a smile, but it only crossed your face halfway.

"Darling, are you taking care of yourself?" she greeted worriedly, pulling you into a hug. You were surprised when you saw Taehyung.

After the operation, his parents left first but he stayed. Feeling burdened about it, you thanked him and told him to go ahead.

Sitting at the receiving area, 2 meters away from your mother's bed, you gathered the unkempt papers laying on the coffee table.

"Sorry for the mess," you uttered.

Then opening the topic, you asked, "Is there any update on the investigation?" turning to Mr. Kim.

The latter exchanged a look with his son before saying, "The truck was hi-jacked and we couldn't trace the driver yet. We looked into CCTVs but the team couldn't find anything."

You let out a sigh. It was the same report you got from your hired investigator this morning.

"There has to be someone behind this," you muttered, looking over your mother. The tubes attached to her body pains you. Sorrow crossed your eyes as you wished you could take her place.

Clearing his throat, Mr. Kim added, "I talked to your father about this. It could take a lot of time before we figure things out because, if ever, he himself has a number of opponents up his sleeve."

This is the first time someone actually attacked your family. Threats were a common thing, but no one dared to lay a finger on you, your mom, and your dad. Though your security is always prepared for this kind of scenario.

Chuckling bitterly at the thought, it looked like they weren't.

The question that's been bugging your mind is why now?

Is it because he's running for the next presidential election?

If that is so, why was your mom the target?

Aside from the situation at hand, the vacancy in the board left by your mom as the chairwoman is stirring ruckus. You haven't issued any announcement yet, but others are asking about her condition.

The stocks surprisingly didn't take a hit at the news of the accident. If there is something that bothers you more that you think will be harder to handle, that would be the board of directors of your holding company.

Simply put, they're still doubtful of you.

You glanced at Taehyung, who is sitting to your right across his mother. The second he met your eyes, you immediately averted his gaze, clearing your throat.

"Thank you for taking care of my mom's case personally. It makes me feel more at ease," you told them in a nonchalant manner.

"Don't mention it," Mr. Kim said.

With fidgeting fingers, you started the question you've been meaning to know about, "I would want to visit the family of her driver and head security-"

"You can't," Taehyung interrupted, making you snap your head back to him.

"It's not safe," he added when he saw your furrowing brows.

"There's no need, Y/n. Your father sent something for them. They understand the situation," Mr. Kim followed.

You didn't utter a reply, if they wouldn't want to divulge that information, you can have your secretary look for it. You could go there yourself, it's not as if they need to give permission.

Besides, who would think of attacking you in a simple funeral? They won't think you would have the heart to pay attention to those who worked for your family.

Still, you feel bad about the loved ones they left. They could have a daughter like you.

They protected your mom, they've done their duty, and you're sure if your mother is only conscious and well right now, she would've done the same or maybe more.

Taehyung let out a loud sigh, "I'll come with you,"

The man quite knows your stubbornness. He witnessed it first-hand and your loaded gaze somewhere which signals that you're deep in your thoughts made him agree to have it your way, but under his watch.

#

You glanced at your car through Taehyung's side mirror. Turning back your attention to the man beside you, you wonder why you're letting him have his way. Based on your interactions, it's as if you embraced the idea of him being your husband. So far, he's been reliable and respectful of your own space. That's what you thought of him. And the night you spent together.

You cleared your throat at the inappropriate images that flashed your mind. Digging your nails to your palm, you reprimanded yourself.

The silence was cut off when a phone call went through his dashboard.

Lana calling...

Taehyung declined the call right away only for it to pop up again. He seemed irritated this time.

"It might be important," you muttered. He didn't reply and just dropped it, giving you a cold shoulder.

The phone dinged. You unintentionally gazed on his phone between the two of you because of the noise.

Call me. I miss you.

You then immediately turned your attention to the passing streetlights. You felt guilty that you've seen something you shouldn't have. At the same time, there's an underlying feeling that started to simmer within you.

The whole car ride was spent in silence until you reached your family's mansion.

Taehyung waited downstairs as you changed into something more appropriate for a funeral. Frankly, he could have just met you at the memorial but he insisted on going with you all the way back to your house. That's why you offered to ride with him while your driver and bodyguard followed behind. It was out of courtesy, which he didn't decline.

After changing your clothes, you went down right away, not bothering to check your appearance. However, as you trailed down the stairs, Taehyung was nowhere to be seen.

When a staff member passed by, you asked about the man you came home with. She then led you to your father's study.

The doors were closed and only faint mutters of two men in conversation can only be heard. It piqued your curiosity so instead of barging in like you did before, you slowly walked close to the door.

"... so I'm not marrying her," you heard him say, his voice dark and cold. The pain that wretched your heart upon hearing those words shocked you. Your eyes welled up inevitably despite willing yourself to control your dam of emotions.

A dead silence followed his statement.

You should have been thankful of him giving up on you. And by him talking to your father directly like this, the old man might even consider cancelling the marriage you dreaded. You should be grateful, but all the more, Taehyung's sudden change of mind on the matter confused you.

You wondered if there's something wrong with you. Did you do anything that turned him off during the time you spent together in his family's cabin?

Does he have someone else?

That thought fired up jealousy you did not think you could harbor.

"I can make her change her mind, Taehyung. Just let her warm up to you more. That would help," your father sternly told him. Your brows knitted in further confusion.

"She thinks she will be marrying me for the wrong reason. Y/n's not ready."

Your tongue tastes vile in his reasoning. He even had the guts to use you as an excuse. If you only know, it might have been because of your family losing control of your company due to your mom's condition. He might think that being married to you will only be an unnecessary responsibility when he can take over by himself. Maybe he's using this opportunity to run off and be with his lover.

Lana

The name flashed in your memory.

You felt bitter. No one dared to reject you in your years of existence. If not, you were the one who used to run away from men who expressed their interest in you.

How dare he?

Before you knew it, pride took over your being as you carefully opened the door.

With a smirk on your face, you asked Taehyung, "Who says I'm not ready?"

"Tae?" you said in a sweet voice. You feigned your innocence and soft demeanor, but only vile venom coursed through your system. No one rejects you. No one will take over the empire your mother built alongside with your father. You will secure your power. You will make sure everything will fall into its place.

#

Two nights after, he fetched you from your house to have your first public date. He booked a table in a grand hotel downtown for the whole thing and told you beforehand to dress casually. So for this night, you opted for a white broderie long sleeve minidress.

"We just have to put up a show, right?" Taehyung asked, his tone bored, while cruising down the road. You nodded, then you realized his eyes are on the winding road, he can't see you. "Yeah," you muttered.

The white outfit is ironically in contrast with his. He's in a black suit, looking elegantly casual. Thanks to the turtleneck sweater. This guy has some good fashion sense, you noted. With his perfectly parted hair, he looked exquisite.

You didn't dare to ask him why he thought of backing out from your marriage. He didn't care to ask for a reason on your sudden change of mind.

"We can continue with the prior arrangement. Let's get married," you followed through after sweetly calling his name that night. The statement sounded like a challenge as it rolled off your tongue.

Taehyung just gazed deep into your eyes. His face was void of any emotion. In a flicker, you saw his jaw tensed in irritation. He glanced down the floor before a faint smirk appeared on his face.

"If that's what you want then."

You were taken aback at his acceptance. You expected him to protest, but he surprisingly went on. Taehyung turned to you father then gave the man a curt bow.

"It's getting late. Y/n and I should go so we can come back as soon as possible," he said to your dad. "Have a good night, sir."

The old man slowly nodded, "Take care of her."

"I will."

You never dreamed of being a slave to this powerplay. You thought you have enough guts to not go down that path, but here you are.

Going back to the present, you threw Taehyung a glance, observing his side profile. The passing lights casted shadows on his face, illuminating his eyes, highlighting the point of his cheekbones down to his nose. Your eyes traced the line of his jaw when he turned away as he navigated the car to a left turn.

You wondered whether you'll learn to love this man. Yet again, you're afraid of him not reciprocating if that happens.

Taehyung handed you a jewelry box when you reached the foot of the hill.

"Wear it," he simply said when you opened the box.

It's a tiffany ring adorned with a diamond stone. The halo setting framed the center diamond, making it look bigger. It's beautiful, but too 'in-your-face' for your liking.

With a sigh, you wore it unceremoniously on your left ring finger. You glanced at his hand that was on the steering wheel, looking for a ring. It was hard to see in the dark but you quite glimpsed a glint of a metal.

You swallowed the bile you felt in your throat. The whole ride was silent after that. Only the smooth running of his car's engine can be heard.

Arriving at the hotel's driveway, you didn't wait for him to open the door. The action earned an irritated look from him. Taehyung gave his car key to the valet attendant before holding your waist, startling you.

He leaned towards your ear and whispered, "This better not look like our first date,"

"Alright?" he asked through his teeth.

From an outsider's perspective the picture looks sweet, but if they can only hear the threat in his voice...

You noticed few people were staring, recognizing the both of you. Feigning a smile, you touched his arm. Despite the high heels you're wearing, he still stood taller that you needed to look up.

"Of course, Tae," you said to him, your voice dripping like honey. He replied with a half-smile before leading you inside.

The two of you graced the foyer like a power couple. Curious glances were thrown and few whispers flew around. All the while, Taehyung didn't care and just walked straight.

You smirked to yourself when the receptionist led you to the middle table in the restaurant. The stage for tonight. However, the table is set for four.

Taehyung pulled you a chair then sat beside you.

"Are we expecting somebody else?" you asked him.

"My friends will join us. I haven't seen them since I arrived home and they're insisting to meet you. I didn't notice your dress is too short," he said all the while scrutinizing you. You glanced down but you were fine with it. So, you shrugged him off. You're more bothered that he invited his friends over on your date. Not that you want to be left alone with him.

Taehyung turned to the waiter who stood by your side. Putting an arm at the small of your back and casually placing one hand over your lap, he ordered the waiter to come back later once the others had arrived.

His closeness made it hard for you to breathe. You muttered silently, "Don't you think you're touching too much?"

He smirked at your question. "I touched more than this, princess. Want a reminder?"

The boldness in his voice made you blush.

"Don't look. A board director of yours is here," he said in a low voice before fakely fixing a strand of your hair.

His ring band gleamed under the chandelier lights. A simple intricate design carved into the metal.

He looked you in the eyes and said, "I guess that's a good audience, right? One credible person to confirm the news around."

You can't help but chuckle, "You and my mom would make a good publicist," you silently uttered as you placed your left hand on his shoulder, smoothing down the fabric.

"That's fair. I admire your mother for handling your family's image. Works so much in favor of your father, don't you think?"

You smiled bitterly at that. He's right. Your mom's a good homemaker too while maintaining a respectable figure in the business world.

"You should've told me your friends will be coming," you muttered, changing the topic. You're more nervous now that others will witness this whole fiasco at a much closer distance. Then you asked, "Do they know that this is all pretend?"

His jaw tensed as he answered a firm no. "So, you better act whipped for me," he added. Scoffing at his command, you retorted, "I can't be easily whipped, Taehyung."

A low chuckle escaped his mouth. "Right. But you're my wife, so..."

You glared him down. You're not yet his wife.

He just raised a brow at you before staring back. His eyes piercing through. He's too close like this. You're already blushing at the distance, but you didn't want to back down.

"Kim Taehyung!"

Turning to the sound of the voice, two men were making their way to your table. One of them is familiar. You didn't know Taehyung is friends with Park Jimin, a famous celebrity. After side-hugging Taehyung, he offered you his hand.

"Y/n, nice to see you again," his voice teasing. You reciprocated him with a friendly chuckle and acknowledged him, "Park Jimin, it's been a long time."

"I hope your mother gets well soon," he told you with a gentle smile. It tugged warmth in your heart, the guy is charming as always. "Thank you," you replied.

Taehyung watched the friendly exchange with a careful gaze. You turned to him lovingly, starting your act for the night, "We see each other in some function events. You haven't told me you're friends with him, Tae."

His other friend then stepped forward. He has an ebony hair, his doe eyes crinkled as he smiled at you, "I'm Jeon Jungkook, it's nice to meet you, Ms. Y/n."

You shook his hand and repeated his name for you to remember, "Pleasure's mine."

The dinner looks pleasant. Although you were uncomfortable with the lies that have been spewing out of your mouth. You let Taehyung take care of you though you can very much well slice your own steak. It was a challenge not to roll your eyes out of absurdity.

"When's your wedding, Y/n?" Jimin asked in the middle of the meal.

You were caught in surprise. You haven't talked about it yet, you just handed the task to your secretary yesterday.

"The soonest," Taehyung chirped in.

Jungkook's eyes widened a fraction while Jimin just grinned at Taehyung's answer. The younger then asked, "Before the elections?"

That subject was an open secret that no one talks about. Instead, you replied, "Soon as we settle things, we'll send out invitations."

"So, you started preparations already. It's sad that you'll go through this alone, given your mother's condition," Jimin stated. You sent him a reassuring smile.

"It will be fine. I have people to do stuff for me," you told them.

"As long as we'll get married. I'm pretty chill with the details," you added. For it is true. If you could skip the wedding ceremony, you would. Those moments are reserved for a true special someone, but the situation is different for a woman like you.

You thought you should give your secretary a raise. The morning you asked him to contact a wedding planner, he gladly accepted the task. He knows your taste so you let him fix most of the things.

You did not even ask Taehyung for opinion since he left the details to your care. He only had one condition: the soonest, the better. You remember him telling you when he was driving back to your house that night. That night when you started this million dollar show.

[saundraswriting]

Interior Design Ch. 6: First Day

SUMMARY: Today marks your first day as a SI employee...more specifically the Avengers' personal interior designer.

WARNINGS: None.

NOTES: Sorry it has been a while. Been busy. 

As always you can read it on Ao3 here!

Masterlist // Ao3 // Previous

The next morning you were up with the sun. You laid in the bed for a moment, relishing in everything that happened yesterday. You sat up in a quick movement. 'I have to give Ms. Potts the contract. I have to get my sample books here. I should also finish with the other clients I have waiting too. I should speak to each member I can to get a idea...maybe a powerpoint to show the difference in styles.' You thought to yourself. A plan in mind you got ready, silently thanking the universe for dry shampoo. Once done, you pulled out the contract and read it over before signing it. There wasn't anything you were against, so you signed and placed it on your desk for later. You decided to head to the kitchen, remembering the sleek looking espresso machine on the counter.

You headed out, your bag full of your necessary tools. You were deep in your tablet by-passing everyone loitering in the kitchen as if by magic until you got to the machine. Not hesitating you grabbed a mug and set the machine for a quad risotto shot and waited for it to brew. While waiting your phone rang, you answered it knowing it was one of your clients.

"Yes, ma'am? I am sorry I had to take an unexpected trip out of the city. What can I do for you?" You said pulling up her file on your tablet.

"Y/N, I love your work always, but this time something happened. The table just doesn't fit right. I am very unhappy. I hate glass top tables and the coffee table is glass." Your client said.

"Ma'am...I would never had ordered you a glass table. I have a distinct note in your file. I will immediately look into this. Please give me a moment. The company is still there correct? I will call you back in a moment." You hung up, muttering under your breath before calling another number. "You idiots. Get that table out of there. That is the Tohru account not the Bells. Yes. I know. I have the order right here. I ordered the gold leaf marble table, that glass table isn't to be delivered until next month. Take it back right now." You demanded, rubbing you forehead harshly. "Thank you very much." You hung up, you began typing rapidly on you tablet at the same time asking you phone to call your client. "Ma'am, they will be taking that table back this minute. I am sorry for the confusion. I had to take a trip unexpectedly and wasn't there to oversee everything. I hope you can pardon this mistake. I will be seeing you in a few days when your actual piece comes in. I am currently emailing the company to ensure this next delivery goes off without a hitch." You finished your email with a glare to your tablet.

"Thank you so much, Y/N. I appreciate all the effort you put into this. You are always so good to us. I'll send you a tip right now for all your help." Your client bid you good bye and hung up. A second later your phone chimed with an alert your client had deposited a large tip with only a smiley face emoji.

"She is too much. My goodness." You slumped against the counter and remembered your coffee that was probably done brewing. You pulled your mug over and fixed it up. The first sip has you moaning in pleasure. "It isn't even 8 am." You whispered into your mug.

"You gonna join us for breakfast or keep murmuring sweet nothings to your coffee?" Clint asked from the table. You tensed expecting comments on your lack of manners.

"I am so sorry. I am a coffee addict. Nothing before coffee. I don't really eat breakfast, but thank you. I did want to talk to you if that was okay?" You asked hesitantly.

"Sure. I don't mind. Honestly this is probably the best time to get us, before we scatter for the day." Cint answered.

"Oh, good." You hurried over and pulled out your notebook. "I need to get ideas from all of you. I have some examples of different styles and themes to give you ideas. I need preferences and things to get samples ready. I am starting with your individual rooms. It will help build a connection between you and I." You told them. "I have several other things happening at the moment so I will be coming back and forth for a while which is why I want to get ideas so I can build layouts and idea boards and bring them to you for approval." You continued. "I know that it seems overwhelming but my job is to make it less so. If you even have 15 minutes at some point today to speak with me I would appreciate that. My job is to do all the work. Your job is to say yes or no. So who wants to go first?" You looked up from your notebook to meet several curious glances.

"I have some time around 10:30 or so. I can meet with you." Clint said. His agreement seemed to break the ice and everyone else began chiming in on when they could meet. They all were cooperative in making it easy to meet with them, and once breakfast was over Tony came in.

"Mr. Stark, can I ask a favor? I was wondering if you could escort me to Ms. Pott's office? I have the contract all signed and I have a question for her." You asked. Tony nodded. The table began dispersing and with it you did. You gathered your things and waited in the kitchen.

"You're leaving? " Steve asked with a pointed glace at your bags.

"Yes, Captain Rogers. I have things to do at my office and all of my things are there. I have a lot of work to do before I start working. I have to speak to Ms. Potts and then I have to meet with all of you and then I will be on my way back home. I am just trying to be one step ahead of the game." You explained.

"I'll take your bags to the door for you while Tony takes you to Pepper. I will see you later." Steve grabbed your bags but you stopped him with an arm on his.

"Thank you, Captain Rogers. Can I also ask if you would sit in with Sargent Barnes' meeting? I don't want to overwhelm him." You said, looking at the ground.

"Yeah, of course. I'll have him come to mine, how is that?" He suggested. You smiled up at him gratefully.

Tony came that minute to walk you to Ms. Pott's office. Steve took your bags like he said he would. On the ay there, you made a point to learn the way, not wanting to be escorted back. Tony disappeared when you arrived offering "Meetings, you know." with a quick wave.

Pepper was more that willing to hear out your requests for several of you favorite catalogues and sample books to be ordered for the Avengers to look through. She also accepted your contract with a bright smile. She also gave you her personal cell number and a few other important people in case you needed them. You also got your badge and biometrics scanned to finish your hiring process.

You headed back to the Avenger's side, seeing the living room empty you set up in there, getting more ideas together for the meetings. You were scrambling putting together examples of some of your favorite design motifs like industrial, contemporary, oriental, art deco, bohemian, Scandinavian, rustic, country, modern, classical, minimalist, coastal, glamourous. You also added geometric, traditional, transitional, floral and such. You tried to keep it simple but informative. You listed pros and cons of all of them and before you knew it Clint loudly arrived in through one of the openings into the living room.

" Hey, kiddo. I just need to grab a drink and then we can get started. Do you want anything?" Clint said as he walked by.

"No. I am-" You tried to deny him, you were interrupted by F.R.I.D.AY.

"Agent Barton, Ms. L/N has not had any thing by mouth since breakfast and that was only a large coffee. You should ask her again." Friday told him. She sounded almost disappointed in you. You narrowed your eyes at the ceiling, unable to make words only noises.

"Get used to it. That is what she does. She loves us as much as an AI can. Now, let's try again. Can I get you something to drink?" Clint shook a bottle of water and raised an eyebrow.

"I guess I will take a water. I swear if my meetings run late because of bodily functions, I will never forgive her." You threatened. Clint laughed.

"You heartrate skipped implying that you don't mean that, Ms. L/N. But I appreciate the sentiment." F.R.I.D.A.Y. said. You just sighed and shook your head.

"Come on, Agent Barton. We should get going. This isn't going to take long. All this talk is for it getting you opinions on the very basic thing...theme. You pick what you like, what parts you don't ad I take that information to find pieces to go in your room and then we put it all together. I will do this for everyone in every room and then for the common rooms I will take the common things or needs and then ask everyone's opinion." You explained.

"You will do this for everyone today? That seems a lot." Clint said.

"I need to get ideas, that is all I can do. All my sample books and such are in my apartment. I will have more to work with when I come back. I have some pressing work to do to. I am have clients currently." You patted the seat next to you, gesturing at tablet, notebook and laptop before you. "Shall we get started?"

The meetings with the Avengers went well. The start of each meeting was rocky but as they warmed up, it got easier. You got about 1/2 of those who had rooms, You still needed the more...Very Important Powerful Beings and their opinions. But this was a start. There wasn't much repetition the styles they wanted, and it honestly went how you had predicted. Clint had chosen a geometric motif with hints of industrialism. Natasha had gone with muted bohemian style. Wanda had chosen a more glamorous bold style while her brother had chosen a soft coastal theme. Vision agreed with Wanda's help a very bare bones approach considering his android-ness. He accepted a sleek contemporary look but only to satisfy you and Wanda. Tony was a very new age tech room that you figured would end up being a crash pad and extra lab. Thor went with a more traditional art deco theme, it seemed to make him happy and sad at the same time. Sam was the most undecisive until you convinced him of the perks of mid-century modern vibes. Bruce wanted a more classical theme, a relaxing space to turn off. You made some notes to help that idea stay number one. Steve and Bucky took some time.

"Sargent Barnes, I know this seems like a lot but I promise, nothing you say here is your forever answer. You have time to change your mind, if we finish and you don't like it so be it. We will work on it until you do. This is your room, your space. You don't have to answer to anyone on why it is the way it is. My job is to make you happy and comfortable. So just answer my questions honestly and then we go from there. if you aren't sure then that is okay too." You pulled up some of the more radical themes you had worked on. You felt him saying 'no' would be first easier than saying 'yes'.

"That is gaudy. I was alive when that was losing steam as a trend. I don't want to relive it." Bucky denied the art deco, bohemian, glamorous, nautical and new age theme.

"That is a great start. However this is where it gets tricky. You know what you don't like, but now we need to find what you do like. If you like a whole idea, great. If you only like pieces of it, also fine. My job is to make it work." You next pulled out some of the rustic, industrial and minimalistic ideas. The palette was a little warmer than Steve's Scandinavian minimalist choices. Bucky like the wood/metal contrast and the open concept and natural lighting seemed to catch him too. You had an idea for the ceiling to have it painted to look like there were pipes and so made a note. You also made a note about a pipe bookshelf and plant wall.

"Captain Rogers, Sargent Barnes. This was fun. I will be having some magazines and sample books delivered here for everyone to look through if they want. If not we will have plenty of time to talk about it. Sargent Barnes, I know today was a lot for you, but I have to say...I am very proud of you. Today can't have been easy with the interrogation as light as it was. I unfortunately have to get going. I need to be in the city for the next few days but if you or anyone else has questions, I left my contact info on the fridge." You stuck you hand out to shake and Steve snorted.

"A minute after meeting me, you gave me a hug and made me cry, now you want to play coy and offer a handshake? I don't think so doll." Bucky pulled you into a fast hug before bidding you good day and heading back to his room. Steve gave you a slightly longer hug, beaming at you.

"You are amazing. I never thought we would be doing this today. He seemed like he was having fun. Thank you again. It means a lot to us that you are working so hard." Steve said.

"Captain Rogers, you all save the world weekly. The least I can do it make your bedrooms into a safe space. Now, are you gonna be a punk or you walking me out?" You asked winking with a smirk.

The two of you walked to where Happy stood next to a car that you were sure already had your stuff packed. "I am glad he trusted me enough to talk with me. I want him happy, and comfortable. Tell everyone I said bye and I will see them soon!" You squeezed Steve's arm before heading to the car, letting Happy open the door for you.

Happy opened the door for you to exit the car. You bid him a warm goodbye, taking yourself and your bags up to your apartment to begin the hard part-putting the ideas of others into a plan of action.

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

So what did you think? How am I doing? Thoughts, comments, concerns?

[shadowywerewolfqueen]

Sweet Ride

For Suptober Day 10: Sweet Ride

“Did you see the awesome motorcycle parked in the staff parking lot in front of the astronomy building, the one with the solar system painted on it?” a student asked from the front row of Dean Winchester’s Advanced Mechanical Engineering class.

“Yeah, dude, it’s so fucking lifelike! The details are astounding, I mean the paint job is better than some of the satellite images we have of the planets,” another student replied.

The first student looked at Dean who was pulling up the PowerPoint for the day’s lecture. “Hey, Professor Winchester, it looks like you might not have the sweetest ride on campus anymore.”

Dean looked up and grinned as he thought about his precious car. He owned a 1967 black Chevy Impala and he treated her like the queen she was. “Well, Ms. Adams, I’d have to disagree with you. Ain’t no motorcycle going to be able to compete with my Baby.”

“I don’t know, have you seen this bike? It looks like it was custom built along with the custom paint job. Do you happen to know who it belongs to?” the other student asked.

Dean smirked. “Sorry, Ms. Davis but I don’t. I got here pretty early this morning because of a project I was working on. When I find out, I’ll be sure to let you know.” Dean finished pulling his lecture up before saying, “Alright, guys, hush up and sit your butts in a seat. Time to get started.”

Once Dean’s three morning lectures were over, he packed his bag and headed to his office. He worked on grading his classes’ latest rounds of projects and inputting grades into the computer. He was so caught up in his work, he didn’t realize how late it was until there was a knock on his door.

He looked up and called, “Come in.”

The door swung open and Dean smiled at seeing who was standing in the doorway. “Hey, baby. I lost track of time; Sorry for not meeting you after your lecture.”

Castiel Winchester shook his head as he walked into Dean’s office, shutting the door behind him. He walked right up to his husband and bent over to slide his lips against Dean’s in a short but tender kiss. “It’s ok. I got caught up with a student anyways. Did you still want to take the rest of the day off?”

Dean leaned back in his chair, pulling Cas into his lap. “Of course I do. It’s your birthday and I have every intention of making it the best birthday ever.”

Cas rubbed his nose against Dean’s as he whispered, “That’s code for we’re going home and having awesome sex aren’t we.”

“You know it,” Dean said as he looked lovingly at Cas. He couldn’t help but grin at the man he loved. Cas was not what one would expect when then they thought of a college astronomy professor. The tips of his hair alternated between being dyed blue or green, he had piercings in his ears, and he had tattoos on both arms. Dean was unable to resist running his fingers along the bees and flowers on one arm and the constellations on the other. 

Dean wasn’t the most stereotypical professor either. While he didn’t dye his hair or pierce his ears, he did have a nose piercing and a lip ring. He also had tattoos on both his arms. One was a green dragon wrapping around from his wrist to his shoulder. The other, a bass guitar with the names of his favorite bands on it and musical notes swirling around it. Dean also never wore suits and ties, preferring his jeans, plaid shirts, and leather jacket.

The college Dean and Cas worked for had been hesitant when it first hired them, afraid of how their appearance would affect the fellow staff and students. By the end of their first semester teaching, the college begged them to pick up more classes as there were lines of students wanting to take their classes. They were now going on their tenth year of teaching.

“Dean, where’d you run off to sweetheart?” Cas asked, reaching up to cup his husband’s jaw.

Dean shook his head. “Sorry, baby, got lost in thoughts of you as usual. Happy birthday, Cas. I love you to the moon and back.”

Cas smiled as he leaned forward and kissed Dean. “I love you to the stars and back.”

After they shared a few more kisses, Dean pulled away. “So, I have your gift.”

Cas tilted his head. “I thought you said you didn’t buy me anything.”

Dean smirked. “I didn’t. I made it and painted it myself.” 

Dean loved being a college professor, but he had a few hobbies he was very passionate about just like Cas. Cas was obsessed with bees and gardening meaning their house and yard was an array of color all year round. Meanwhile, Dean worked on cars at his Uncle Bobby’s garage and painted in his freetime. He had actually sold a few of his pieces and sometimes did commissions for close friends and family.

“Is this the project you’ve been working on that’s been making you come into work so early for the past few weeks?” Cas asked with a grin.

“Maybe,” Dean said coyly.

Cas slid from his husband’s lap. “In that case, let’s go see. I already dropped my bag off in my car before I came over. I may have gotten a little distracted by this awesome motorcycle that was sitting in the parking lot. It’s custom built with the most amazing paint job of the planets and the solar system.”

Dean stacked his papers together and slid them in his bag before shutting his computer down. He hefted his bag on his shoulder and grabbed Cas’ hand as they walked out the office. “Sounds like an awesome bike. Whoever owns it is super lucky.”

Cas sighed. “I’d say. I wish I could afford a bike like that. I mean I love my jeep, but you know having a motorcycle has been a dream of mine.”

Dean pecked Cas on the cheek as they walked towards the staff parking lot. “I know baby. Hopefully, you’ll have your own bike someday.”

“It’s ok sweetheart. As long as I have you, that’s all that matters. Now, I thought you were going to show me my gift,” Cas said, confusion evident in his voice.

“I am,” Dean said with a grin.

Cas looked around. They had arrived at the parking lot and there was nothing but the usual cars and trucks. He could make out his Jeep parked next to Dean’s Impala and of course his eyes lingered on the motorcycle he was telling his husband about. Other than the bike, there was nothing out of the ordinary. “I don’t see anything.”

Dean squeezed Cas’ hand and started walking towards their cars. He came to a stop right in front of the bike. “So, you like this bike, huh? I couldn’t imagine why Mr. Astronomy Geek.”

Cas shoved him lightly in the shoulder. “So, I love looking at the stars. It’s not like you don’t drool over some blueprints and three-D printers.”

“Do you want your present or not?” Dean asked with a laugh.

Cas chuckled. “I’m sorry. Yes, I would.”

Dean stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled out a key ring with two keys hanging from it. He grabbed Cas’ hand and dropped the keys in it. He nodded towards the bike and said, “Happy birthday baby.”

Cas’ eyes went wide and his mouth dropped open in surprise. “Wait, the bike is mine? But how? We can’t afford something like this with the house payment and my jeep payment.”

Dean stuck his finger over Cas’ lips, effectively silencing him. “You can when your awesome husband built and painted it for you. I promised Chuck I’d pick up some extra classes over the summer and asked for an advance on the paychecks. When I explained why, he was happy to do so. She’s all yours Cas.”

Cas threw his arms around Dean’s neck and sealed their lips together. He slipped his tongue inside Dean’s mouth and deepened the kiss. When they finally broke apart, both of them were panting. “Dean, this is the most awesome gift I’ve ever gotten! Thank you so much! I love you!”

“I love you too, Cas. Now we have the sweetest rides on campus although Baby is still better,” Dean said a little defensively.

“I might have to disagree with you on that one, but I’ll admit they are both sweet rides,” Cas said before once more sealing their mouths together. Best birthday ever!

[quicksilversquared]

A Very Jagged Take-Down Ch 2: Career Day

Marinette knows Jagged Stone, everyone knows that. She’s his favorite niece, never mind the fact that they aren’t actually related. And Jagged Stone is really famous, the exact kind of person that Lila loves claiming connections to.

That was never going to end the way Lila wanted it to.

(a collection of one-shots)

links in the reblog

It was that time of the year again, when they talked about career paths and jobs to think about and explore at school. No one was expecting them to know exactly what they were going to do, but it was a chance for them to learn about other jobs outside of the ones their parents had. Their teachers talked about different careers in the field they taught, and they had the occasional presenter come in to talk about less common jobs that the students might want to consider.

And of course, along with those presentations, they asked students to invite parents or friends of the family to come in and talk about their jobs. Marinette had already had her dad come in the previous year and her mom's job was pretty much the same, which meant that if she wanted to have someone come in, she would have to ask another adult.

Lila, as might be expected, was making a big deal about the whole thing. Her mom was too busy to come in, naturally, and her dad was traveling out of the country- he had wanted her to come along, but she had wanted to stay with her friends, of course. Then she had asked Ladybug, because as her best friend, Lila had thought that she might have a chance. Lila had thought of Ladybug because of Alya, she had told her captivated audience, because she and Alya were such good friends and Lila had wanted to give Alya another chance to get an interview with the superhero since it had been a couple months since the last personal interview on the Ladyblog.

Unfortunately, Ladybug just couldn't spare the time to slip away from her regular life for a classroom presentation. That was a huge disappointment, of course, but maybe she could try again another time!

Marinette rolled her eyes as she listened. Alya was assuring Lila that that was understandable and that she really appreciated the attempt to get her an interview with Ladybug, and it was so sweet of her to try.

Just like always, Lila was claiming connections without anything to back it up and everyone was just lapping it up.

"I might ask Jagged Stone next, because I'm sure everyone would love to meet with him," Lila gushed, and everyone exchanged excited looks. "I mean, it's hard to know if he'll be able to come, since he's so busy and is always coming in and out of Paris, but I want to try for all of you!"

"Who wants to bet that Jagged Stone will be 'out of town'?" Adrien asked, sidling up to Marinette's side. "I mean, there's probably going to be at least a week's worth of 'oh, he's trying to clear his schedule' before she tells the class that."

Marinette glanced to the side. Adrien looked pretty downcast, and it was no wonder why. Last year, he had tried so hard to get his father to come, only to be disappointed. This year, he had tried to ask again, even asking if maybe Nathalie could just bring Mr. Agreste's tablet in and he could just give a short talk from the comfort of his office, but it was a no-go from the start.

Bringing an adult to talk wasn't a requirement, of course, but Adrien was definitely was feeling like the odd one out.

"Yeah, that sounds about right," Marinette agreed. She glanced over at Lila, who was being assured by Rose that surely Jagged would do his best to come in for her. "And then it'll be a last-minute thing, and she'll feel so bad about letting everyone down-"

"-and everyone will rush over themselves to assure her that it's fine," Adrien finished. He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, you're right. And if Jagged is in town, then she's going to claim that he has an appointment or something that he can't reschedule." He let out a long breath, glancing away. "She's not going to be the only one not bringing someone in. Father said no, and Nathalie apparently has a meeting to go to at that time, too, so she can't come."

Marinette felt bad for him. Having his adult figures being so flaky and unavailable, when Adrien was so eager to get that attention...that had to stink. Before she could try to comfort him, though, a thought struck her. "Wait, what about the Gorilla? He's bound to be free, right?"

Adrien worried his lip. "Yeah, but...Marinette, he can't talk. He's mute. There's no way that he could do a presentation."

"He could do a powerpoint!" Marinette pointed out. "With words on the slides. Then he wouldn't have to talk, just flip through the presentation. We wouldn't be able to do questions aside from yes or no ones, maybe, but that's fine. It might be worth asking."

Adrien had perked up, nodding. "Yeah! Okay, I'll ask and suggest that. I'll try not to get my hopes up because, well." He shrugged, and even though he was trying to hide it, Marinette could see the pain in his eyes. "My father's staff might be known for their punctuality when it comes to getting what he wants done, but not when it comes to what I want. The Gorilla is the best about that, though."

Marinette smiled as Adrien's enthusiasm returned. the light returning to his eyes as he considered how to ask the Gorilla. She was glad to be of help, of course, but now she had to figure out who she was going to ask to come in. Madam Chamack was a possibility, if she could get Alec to cover for her, and Alya would probably be super-excited to get to talk to an established reporter and maybe pick up some tips, but...

She shot another look in Lila's direction, trying not to scowl as Lila fluffed her hair and smiled at her audience. Truth be told, Lila's lies had given her an idea. It might not work, but, well, if it did...

It was worth a try.

  As expected, Lila sadly announced to the class five days before their class's parent presentations that while Jagged Stone had done his best to be in Paris for their career day, his manager just wouldn't let him change his schedule around. He sent his regrets and wished them a rock 'n roll day, of course, but he just couldn't make it.

And also as expected, Lila shed crocodile tears over the fact that she now was the only person who wasn't going to have an adult coming in to present, only to have their other classmates rush to comfort her. It was understandable that she might have more trouble finding someone to could come in, because she hadn't been in the country long! Most of her contacts were scattered across the globe and had busy schedules, so they couldn't be expected to come in just for a classroom presentation. Because of time zones and busy schedules, none of them could Skype in either.

(Lila had glared at Marinette after she had made that (perhaps somewhat less than innocent) comment. Clearly she didn't appreciate someone trying to find a workaround to her lies and evasion.)

And then finally, finally, presentation day arrived.

"My presenter is going to be arriving late," Marinette told Ms. Bustier as soon as she arrived to class. "He'd like to go last, if that's all right?"

"That's fine," Ms. Bustier told her. "I think everyone else wants to do their presentation sooner rather than later so that they can get on with their day, so it actually works well. Are you sure that they'll be able to make it?"

Marinette nodded. "Yeah! Yeah, he'll probably arrive at school halfway through class and just wait in the hallway so that he doesn't interrupt, he said."

Ms. Bustier nodded in understanding, waving Marinette towards her seat as her attention moved on to the next couple adults entering the room. Marinette went, grinning at Adrien on her way.

The Gorilla had been more than happy to come in as Adrien's presenter, and Adrien had been over the moon when he told Marinette. Apparently his bodyguard was used to people not paying him much mind, so being asked was a real honor. He was happy, Adrien was happy, and Marinette was thrilled that her suggestion had turned out so well.

The day started out well, with a few parents starting the day off. Then there were a couple aunts and uncles, and then the Gorilla went. His normally stoic expression was clearly happy as he flipped through his presentation. A somewhat robotic voice read off the words on-screen for him, and he smiled even wider when his presentation ended and everyone applauded him.

Considering how long he had apparently worked for Mr. Agreste, Marinette wouldn't be surprised if he was used to going unappreciated.

There were two more presentations, and then it was Marinette's turn. She had texted her presenter as the previous person had wrapped up, and now she was watching as a shadow moved down the hallway towards the door. Everyone else turned to look as the handle turned, and then the door opened.

"Heya, kiddos!" Jagged Stone said cheerfully, sticking his head in. "Is this the right spot for my presentation?"

  The great thing about Jagged Stone, Marinette reflected as "Uncle Jagged" very enthusiastically told the class about his first-ever CD, was that he was really good at blatantly ignoring awkward situations and confusion and just plowing on like nothing was wrong.

And boy, were most of her classmates confused.

Marinette worked to keep a straight face as she glanced from Jagged Stone to the rest of her class, the audience full of puzzled faces. While the realization of what must have happened had clearly sunk in with some people- in front, Adrien was clearly trying not to look too amused and across the aisle, Chloe had clearly caught on and was sending quite smug glances back at Lila- everyone else still seemed to be hung up on the fact that Jagged Stone was in their classroom when Lila had said that he wouldn't be in the country at all.

Well. Almost everyone else. In the back, Lila looked like she was torn between burning fury and terror. She had gone pale the moment that Jagged Stone had burst in, and now-

Well, now it was just a matter of time.

Marinette could almost see the thoughts running through Lila's head. There was no getting out of this, and Lila had to know that. As soon as Jagged Stone finished miming air riffs and headbanging his way through his presentation, there would be questions about Lila and her connection with him. Even if there wasn't time at the end for questions, there was no way for Lila to explain why Jagged Stone had come for Marinette after she had claimed that Jagged Stone couldn't make it, especially considering that Jagged Stone hadn't acknowledged her at all. It wouldn't be long before the other students and the teachers would start looking a bit harder at all of Lila's other stories. And once those stories fell apart...

Marinette was not going to start rubbing her hands together and cackling. She was not. She was a superhero, not a supervillain.

(Besides, Marinette had actually asked Jagged Stone to make sure that there wouldn't be time for questions. They wouldn't be about his job, anyway, just about Lila's supposed connections to him, and- well, Marinette didn't want to end an otherwise lovely presentations with shouts and accusations. Jagged's presence was enough to set things in motion.)

Next to her, Jagged Stone was still going strong. Now he was showing off some of the different vocal techniques that he had been taught over the years, running through his clean, classical singing, to a belt, to a more gravelly tone, and then faux-opera. There were a few styles that Marinette had never heard him use in any of his songs, but clearly he practiced them on a regular basis.

"Ah, sometimes I get stuck in one style and forget how awesome it sounds when I mix it up and do other stuff," Jagged Stone said contentedly once he had finished with a few lower growls. "It's easy to get stuck in a particular, comfortable style of singing instead of switching it up, but I don't want my songs to sound too similar, so it's good to practice and have the option to use different styles! I see different vocal coaches on a regular basis to practice and try to expand my range. Just like my instruments, my voice is a tool, too. Or maybe I could say it's more like a toolbox, and each style is a tool- and I want to have the best assortment of tools in my toolbox."

Marinette grinned. She could tell from the twitching of Jagged Stone's fingers that singing in the different styles had inspired a new song and he was itching to write it down. Clearly his hasty exit at the end of his presentation now wouldn't be just for show, and Marinette had to wonder how far he would actually get before giving in to the need to write his sudden burst of inspiration down.

If Jagged Stone lasted all the way to his waiting car, Marinette would count herself impressed.

"There are many things that are great about being a rock star," Jagged Stone continued, grinning widely as he started in on what definitely sounded like the wrap-up for his presentation. "The concerts, getting to travel, getting to meet all sorts of cool and talented people- like Marinette here!- and being in a position where I can help get them the attention they deserve... it's all very cool. But it's not all lights and hairspray and getting to sing my own songs on the worldwide stage."

Jagged Stone glanced over the class, eyes glimmering in excitement. Marinette tried not to frown in confusion. What did he have up his sleeve now?

"There's the tabloids, of course, and dealing with them is never fun," Jagged Stone told them. "That, and sometimes people who've never met me like making up little details about my life to make it seem like we're close or something. I've seen that plenty before, and it's always because people tend to treat people that have connections- real or fake- differently, giving them their way." His eyes slid over the class, and Marinette could tell that more people had caught on to what was going on. Next to her, Alya had gone stiff. "Even if there's nothing to back those claims up."

There was a long pause.

"But luckily, I know all of you would be too smart to fall for someone like that!" Jagged Stone chirped, beaming out at the sea of frozen faces. "I wish more people were that smart. So many ridiculous rumors about me wouldn't get anywhere if people just took a second to think about what they heard and consider if their 'source' is actually reliable!" Jagged Stone made a face, then shrugged. "But honestly, as annoying as it is when I have to deal with paparazzi or stalker fans or people trying to claim connections to me just to make themselves look good, I wouldn't trade my job for anything else. Being able to make a living out of writing and singing my songs- well, not everyone gets so lucky, and I remind myself of that every day."

"Thank you, Mr. Stone," Ms. Bustier said politely, stepping forward. She glanced at the clock. "I'm afraid that we're out of time for questions, but I would like everyone to give a big round of applause for Mr. Stone and for all of the other adults who took time out of their mornings to come in and talk to us!"

Marinette grinned, joining in with her other classmates as they applauded all of their presenters. That had gone perfectly.

  "Well, that was...interesting."

Marinette grinned as she turned around to come face-to-face with Adrien. He looked amused as he watched Jagged Stone dart off across the courtyard. Students spun to stare as he passed, whispering to each other in clear disbelief. "Yeah, he did a really good presentation, didn't he? I mean, he went off script a little bit at the end there, but other than that he was pretty well behaved."

Adrien glanced over at her, a slight bit of confusion washing over his features. "Yeah, I- I noticed that he didn't actually address any of Lila's claims. I kind of thought that he would, and that was why you asked him to come in."

Ah. So that was why Adrien had come over. He seemed more curious than disapproving, though, so she was guessing that he liked her approach.

It was taking the high road but with a little push. Just a small one.

"I thought about it. After all, Lila has shown that she likes to just come up with more lies to cover when she's been called out, so absolutely demolishing her lies so that she wouldn't be able to find an out... it was tempting." Marinette tugged on the end of one pigtail as her gaze trailed around. The rest of their class- minus Lila, who had immediately fled to the bathroom, and Chloe and Sabrina, who couldn't be bothered to join- were gathered in a huddle in the hallway. Marinette could spot more than a couple phones out, presumably finally looking Lila's claims up for once. "But..."

"But?" Adrien prompted, and she could feel him stepping closer. "But you didn't."

"I decided that it could backfire. If anyone specifically called Lila out by asking about a specific story, they could be targeted by her getting akumatized again." Not that anything could entirely stop Lila from getting akumatized- after all, Marinette was pretty sure that Lila actively wanted to be akumatized, considering some of the timing and things that she had seen- but it might keep her rage from being quite so targeted. "And, well- mostly I wanted to make people come to their senses in a way that couldn't really be as easily framed as malicious, because I know Lila loves playing the victim. Maybe she wouldn't be able to get out of the lies, but she could try to take one last swing at me and claim that I was bullying her with using a celebrity to individually call out her lies, and I didn't want her to be able to do that." That was what Marinette had been most worried about, actually. After all, that would be a kind of over-the-top way to call Lila out, even if it had seemed necessary considering the fact that no one was listening to Marinette otherwise. That grain of truth might have been enough for Lila to take it and run with it.

Marinette wasn't about to allow that, so she had done her very best to flatten that possibility. She had asked Jagged Stone to ignore everything she had ever mentioned about Lila and instead give a completely normal presentation, no call-outs here, just a contact of hers who Marinette thought might give an interesting talk. If asked, she might bend the truth a little bit and claim that she had reached out to Jagged Stone before Lila had claimed that she was going to ask, instead of afterwards, but that would just be so that she wouldn't be demonized for actually making use of her connections for once.

"Nice thought," Adrien commented, sounding impressed. "That's totally something that she would try to do, you're right. And now- well, I bet she'll still try, but no one with any sense will listen."

"That's the hope." Marinette worried her lip for a moment, wondering if maybe she should go down to the bathrooms too and make sure that Lila couldn't get akumatized, but the thought was abandoned after a moment. It would be too hard to transform unnoticed with so many people milling around between classes, and knowing about the possible akumatization might give Lila- and therefore Hawkmoth- too many clues about her identity. Instead, she flashed a quick smile at Adrien and took a step towards their next class. "Should we head to Civics before Madam Mendeleev decides that we're all skipping and starts handing out detentions?"

Adrien laughed. "Yeah, we probably should. Lead the way."

As Marinette headed down the hallway, she couldn't help but smile. Everything had gone off smoothly, and now- well, now she could look forward to a future with far less manipulation from Lila.

And that sounded fantastic.

[thtdamfangirl4]

some archie facts for y’all

i probably should be doing homework or sleeping but nah ARCHIBALD Q PEMBERTON

his favorite Taylor Swift song is Cornelia Street

his ringtone for Nathaniel is Fireproof by One Direction

his ringtone for Octavius is Wannabe by the Spice Girls

his ringtone for Reginald is the audio of that video of the screeching grinch in yoga class

his favorite Bath and Body Works scent is Champagne Toast

he is super rich but still does not understand the concept of super expensive wine like please just go to wegmans for white wine

he, too, has a never-ending powerpoint proving that Larry is real

he’s like... weirdly good at cornhole

when ben was like 3 archie accidentally taught him the word “fuck” and he had to pay him $5 to pinky promise he wouldn’t say that word anymore (he of course says it anyway)

sometimes he wakes Nathaniel up in the middle of the night just to ask if cereal is a soup

he has beautiful handwriting

one time the bois were going out to a nice dinner (this was before he had confessed how he felt to nathaniel) and he saw nate dressed up in a suit and he looked so good that archie straight up pretended to throw up not six minutes after arriving at Octavius’s to meet before leaving because he couldn’t take it, he needed to go home, and of course Nate offered to go with him and he is immediately like NO NO I’LL BE FINE YOU HAVE TO GO and then he calls gigi and she comes over and they listen to taylor swift and talk about how hot nathaniel is and drink wine right out of the bottle

he makes and fills out a march madness style tournament bracket for every season of the bachelor/bachelorette

he was on step 23 of a 64-step plan to propose to Nathaniel when Nathaniel did it first

he has not one, not two, but three wedding binders, and he makes a fourth once he and Nate get engaged

he loves harry styles more than anything in the world but somehow Louis is still his favorite member of one direction. he’d die for him in an instant.

despite being hopelessly in love with nathaniel and basically impervious to all other people, he is still a raging bisexual. never forget.

if you try to talk to him while he’s watching pirates and the carribean: the curse of the black pearl, he will punch you in the throat (unless you’re nathaniel, in which case you can really get away with anything you want)

he plays the piano but cannot figure out the guitar

he sends shirtless selfies from bed and other thirst traps to Nathaniel on snapchat all day long but Nathaniel just sends back regular selfies and they affect Archie even more than his affect Nate lol

he reads Red, White, and Royal Blue for the first time and talks about nothing else for an entire month. he gets the bois and the gals to read it too. He reads it like every two months at least.

if you find him laying face down on the living room carpet while If I Could Fly by One Direction is playing on repeat, do not interact. he’s goin through something.

He has both Mamma Mia movies memorized word for word, complete with choreography

sometimes he remembers how poorly marilyn monroe was treated and he gets so angry that all he can do is rant and he has to smash something

he cannot pass by a face painting station at any festival, carnival, amusement park, or fundraiser without stopping and getting a giant butterfly on his face

he has 17 tabs of fanfiction open on his phone at any given moment

on their first wedding anniversary, nathaniel recreates the date Ben did for Leslie on their first anniversary on parks and rec, and Archie can’t stop crying and laughing and yes he is very impressed with Nate’s emerging scrapbook skills

after his kids are born, he can no longer listen to Never Grow Up by Taylor Swift without full on sobbing (ps he and evie use this song as their father-daughter dance at her wedding)

his favorite color is yellow but it’s also the shade of green of Nathaniel’s eyes

he thinks that the different colored m&ms taste different

he has an embroidered jean jacket like elton john’s and it’s his favorite thing in the world. octavius made it for him for his birthday one year.

i’ll give you more some other time but this is what’s come off the top of my head in the last half an hour. enjoy

[prettyinlimegreenboots]

“Look, I dressed up as you.”

It was that time of year - Halloween was upon them and decisions about what to dress up had to be made. As teachers at the high school, they had to be very careful in selecting their costumes. Katherine had told Jack that she was going as Minnie Mouse and told him he had to figure out his own costume, as he kept turning down all of her suggestions.

The school’s annual dress up day was here and Kat donned her Minnie Mouse outfit and raised an eyebrow at Jack when he came down the stairs that morning. “Do I even want to know what you’re going as?”

“The kids will figure it out right away.” Jack laughed motioning to his muscle shirt, black jeans, and tennis shoes.

She shook her head at her fiancé. “If I don’t know what you are, how do you expect high schoolers to figure you out?”

“They’re cooler than you Kat.” He stuck his tongue out, gathering his bag and lunch, before heading out the door.

Sighing, she gathered her stuff and followed him out the door, knowing it was going to be a long day.

Walking into the still quiet school, they signed in before Jack gave her a quick kiss, each heading in different directions. She headed towards the English hallway while Jack headed towards the History wing. She had first period English 9 that she needed to prepare for.

She had just uncapped an orange dry erase marker, when her door flew open and a cry of happiness filled the room. “Oh my gosh you look amazing!!”

“Thanks Race. As do you!” She grinned looking at his Mario costume.

He moved the mustache with a grin. “Thanks. Spot is a great Luigi.”

“Of course you two would have matching costumes.”

She wrote out the question of the day on the board, looking at her friend. “What’s going on? Anything big happening today?”

Race shrugged. “Same old same old in science class. We are going to do some experiments that’ll be pretty cool. What did Jack dress up as?”

“You’ll have to go find him and let me know what you think. I have an idea but not a positive one.” Kat shrugged, sitting at her desk and pulling up the PowerPoint she had created for The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

“Are you planning on scaring the kids today?” Race grinned, knowing that Kat was prone to do that on the haunted holiday.

She grinned, shrugging. “Maybe. You never know. I’ve got four classes today so we’ll see what happens.”

“Have fun today and I’ll see you at lunch.” She nodded at him, watching him as he left the room. She sighed, getting ready for her first class and the rambunctious kids that were in the hallway.

By her second class, Journalism, she had successfully scared her first class and was well on her way to scare her next class when Mollie, a junior, raised her hand and gave Kat a look. “Uh Ms Plumber?”

“Yes Mollie?” Kat paused in writing on the dry erase board to look at the girl. “What’s up?”

She looked around the room at her peers and smiled. “Do you know what Mr. Kelly is supposed to be? All he said is that we were smart and we could figure it out.”

“What was he dressed as?” Kat asked, raising an eyebrow.

Snickers came from several parts within the class. “He has on a muscle shirt, black jeans, and tennis shoes. His hair was all messed up too. I figured since you two are engaged ….”

Kat smiled as the girl trailed off. “Unfortunately, Mollie, I don’t know what always goes through Mr. Kelly’s head. So I apologize, but I don’t know what he’s dressed up as.”

“It just doesn’t make sense.” Daniel, a senior, piped up giving his teacher a grin. “His costume is kinda lame.”

Chuckling, Kat smiled. “I’ll let him know you said so, Daniel, unless you’ve already told him.”

“At least one of you have brains …. at least we know what you are, Ms. Plumber.” Alexa, another senior, grinned. “Your fiancé missed the mark.”

She put her hand up, grinning. “You’ve made the point that Mr. Kelly doesn’t know how to properly dress for Halloweeen. But we’ve got stuff to cover. Now, turn to page 394 and start reading that section.”

And with that she continued her lesson.

12:15pm

Walking into the teacher’s lounge, she found the table with Spot and Racer and grinned at their matching costumes. “Hey fellas.”

“Hey Minnie.” Spot grinned. “How’s your day been?”

She unpacked her lunch, a PB&J sandwich, carrots, and Oreos before shaking her head. “If I have one more class ask me about Jack’s costume, I’m gonna scream.”

“Funny they’re asking me in my classes too.” Race shrugged. “I let them have a minute before we blew up some stuff out in the courtyard. They were distracted after that. Do you know what he is?”

Kat shrugged as the man in question came in with a huff. “What’s wrong?”

“No one gets my costume.” He collapsed into his chair, eyeing the three of them. “No one gets it.”

Spot raised an eyebrow, knowing he was going to regret asking the question. “Well who are you supposed to be?”

“Look, I dressed up as you.”

Silence fell on the room, as the three looked at Jack before dissolving into laughter. Kat and Race leaned against each other as they laughed loudly. Others in the lounge laughed as Jack looked at Spot. “Well no wonder no one knows who you are?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jack’s eyes went wide.

Spot grinned. “I don’t wear that to school. That’s a weekend outfit. The kids don’t see me in that.”

Jack’s eyes went wide, thinking back on his usual outfit. He usually was in jeans, a wife beater and a flannel over the top of it. As a school mechanics teacher, he typically had grease stains all over the clothes.

“Great idea but poor execution!” Race nodded, grinning at his friend. “But for your fiancée’s sanity and mine, will you tell the kids who you are? Both of our classes have asked, taking up valuable time in our lessons.”

Rolling his eyes, Jack agreed. “Sure. But I should tell them that I’m something else.”

“Nah tell them you dressed up as Mr. Conlon and just watch their reactions.” Spot grinned, knowing some of Jack’s students were in his classes. “I’m sure I'll hear the laughter all the way down in my wing.”

Kat gave him a grin. “Can I give you some advice?”

“What’s that, sweets?” Jack leaned over closer to her.

Laughing, she pushed his face away when he got a bit too close. “Find a different outfit for this weekend’s party. The guys won’t appreciate you dressing as Mr. Conlon.”

Race and Spot both laughed, nodding. “Listen to your fiancée for once in your life, buddy. She’s actually right about that.”

He shook his head, leaning over to kiss Kat’s cheek before nodding. “My costume for this weekend is gonna be amazing. Just you wait and see.”

The bell rang as they packed up their stuff and headed back to their respective rooms to finish out the day. Kat shook her head, hoping the day would soon finish and she could head home. She also grinned knowing that Jack dressed up just for a laugh and she loved him for it.

Thanks @cutesiewoojin for sending in the prompt!!

[sdottkrames]

You’ll Always Be Adored By the Things You [Save]

@comfortember prompt 12: Emotional support pet

Summary: Her name is Tess, and everybody adores her.

Notes: I honestly just love Tom and his love for Tess. They are the cutest! I’m thinking about making more with Tess, so if you like this, let me know and maybe I will! 😊

Also: Lucy and Rocky were the names of my dogs growing up. Lucy was a sassy, adorable Shih Tzu, and Rocky was the kindest, gentlest Boxer you’d ever meet. They both have since passed (they lived very long, happy lives) but I wanted to add them in this story somehow. I’m just a cheeseball. Also, Zendaya (MJ) Played a character named Rocki in a Disney show called Shake It Up, so it was a little nod to that as well.

Read on AO3: Here

“Tony, I’m really worried about him.”

May poked her head around the corner of their apartment, making sure Peter was still asleep. His breathing was too even for him to be faking, and she sighed in relief before continuing.

“He’s been off ever since the...the blip. I can tell. He’s been eating a lot less, and I looked at his grades the other day. Tony, that boy has never gotten below an A-, but he got a C+ on his last Physics test. And that’s not even including the fact that he was stabbed last night because his Peter Tingle isn’t working right.” Her voice was rising in pitch and volume, right in time with the panic that was welling up inside her. 

May and Tony had been having weekly conference calls about their resident spider since May had found out about it, and they’d quickly picked it back up once they had been undusted. Their normally lighthearted calls filled with mostly laughter had taken a more somber tone recently. 

Tony hummed on the other end of the phone. “I’ve been worried, too.”

Those words, though not necessarily helpful, made May feel less alone. She was grateful someone was helping her take care of her nephew because he was doing a terrible job of doing it himself, as evidenced by the stab wound on his left side. He’d come home weak and bleeding the previous night, and May had hurriedly patched him up, her training as a nurse the only thing keeping her panic in check.

“I honestly don’t know what to do, May. We tried letting him come to us and that didn’t work. I’ve got a list of great therapists-”

May cut him off. “He’ll never do that. I already tried that one, and he insisted that he didn’t want me paying money for him. I even pulled the whole “your mentor is a billionaire, and he would want you to get help” card, but he was pretty adamant.”

Tony sighed, and May felt it echo deep in her bones. They ended the call shortly after, no closer to a solution for Peter than before.

The next week on their call, Tony’s voice was considerably more lighthearted. She attributed it to the fact that Peter hadn’t been injured that week, but then he excitedly announced that had “the best idea!”

May’s eyebrows rose, even though she knew Tony couldn’t see them. “I’m listening.”

“Okay. How do you feel about dogs?”

“Oh,” May breathed.

“Yeah. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it earlier.”

“Me either. He’s been asking for a dog since he was, like, 5. The only problem is,” May said, biting her lip. “Our landlord doesn’t allow dogs.”

“I’ll take care of that,” Tony promised, and May nearly snorted at the thought of their stuffy, no-nonsense landlady getting a visit from Tony Stark. She pitied the woman.

***

“Ms., ah, Levitt, is it?” 

The lady looked up from her desk, and immediately blinked in shock. Tony internally rolled his eyes when the lady blushed and started trying to fix her hair, the look on her face one he’d seen on way too many women in his earlier years.

No chance, lady, I’m married. He thought, but flashed her a kind smile, anyway. “Are you the landlady of this apartment building?”

“I am. Pleasure to meet you, sir.”

Tony shook her offered hand, not holding on for a second longer than necessary. “Likewise. I am here on behalf of the Parker family...apartment 96. I was thinking about getting Peter an emotional support animal. He blipped, and has been having trouble adjusting, and I heard cute, fluffy animals work wonders. But I understand you don’t allow those?”

Levitt’s smile hardened. “Yes, I’m afraid we have a non-negotiable no-pet policy.”

She obviously hated animals. And probably little children. Figures. Luckily, years watching Pepper hand stuffy businessmen their behinds had taught Tony a thing or two. He could handle this lady.

“Well, I took the liberty of reviewing things, and did you know that, by law, emotional support or therapy animals must be allowed in any building? That includes yours. Now, I understand that there is a fee associated with having a therapy animal, which I will cover, and of course proper documentation, which I have right here.” Tony produced the paperwork, signed by Dr. Cho, stating that Peter should be allowed a therapy animal of his choosing. “If there are any further problems, I’m sure my wife would be happy to speak to you. She and our lawyer will be handling any legal issues.”

Tony watched in satisfaction as Ms. Levitt’s face blanched, knowing she was beat. Nobody could go up against Pepper Potts-Stark and win. 

She breathed heavily through her nose once then plastered a smile back on her face, though it didn’t meet her eyes. “That won’t be necessary. We value the Parkers. The fee is an extra $125 a month. Once you have the animal, bring the proof of licensure and ESA status, and we should be all set.”

Tony had her put his card on file so the payment would come out of his account. This was his gift to Peter (and May. Though she wouldn't admit it, he knew that she also loved animals and would have bought one (or two) if they’d had the money) and then stood to leave.

“Have a nice day,” he said, giving Levitt a cheery wave before waltzing out the door. He had a kid to surprise.

***

“Tony, really, where are we going?”

“For the millionth time, I’m not going to tell you, so stop wasting your breath.” Peter huffed indignantly, and Tony shoved his arm playfully. “Patience is a virtue, underoos.”

“And pride is a sin, yet here we are,” Peter quipped.

“Yes, here we are,” Tony said, grinning as Happy pulled the car into a parking spot in front of Rocky’s Shelter and Supplies. Tony had spent hours researching adoption agencies around, wanting to find a really good one to support, and Rocky’s had been one of the best he’d seen. Plus, they had a great variety to choose from. (And no, he hadn’t been crying looking at all the animals, who told you that?)

Peter’s reaction was everything Tony had hoped for. The kids brown eyes got impossibly larger, and filled with tears.

“R-really?” He squeaked. “But our apartment doesn’t allow dogs.”

Tony grinned. “I threatened to sic Pepper on her.”

Then Peter was hugging Tony around the middle, murmuring an unbroken stream of thankyou’s. 

“I heard you’ve been wanting one for a while, and May and I figured having a furry companion might help with everything. You gotta promise-“

“That I’ll take care of it? Of course I will! I’ve been preparing for this my entire life! When I was 11, I made a PowerPoint presentation demonstrating proper care of a dog, just to show Ben and May I would take care of one. I wanted a dog soooo bad. I can’t believe I’m actually getting one.”

Tony chuckled at Peter’s rambling. “I’m glad you’re excited. But I was going to say you gotta promise that you’ll take better care of yourself, too.”

Peter nodded fast, his curls bouncing, which was endlessly endearing. “I promise!”

“Then lead the way.”

They spent time with a number of different dogs, taking their time to find just the right one. Tony could tell he was going to have to physically restrain Peter (And himself, if he was being totally honest) from buying every single dog in the shelter. The kid dragged him to every cage, exclaiming how cute each “pupper” (what even was this generation’s lingo?) was, and blinking back tears at nearly every one. 

Then Peter met Tess.

Tony had started believing in love at first sight when he’d seen Pepper in that purple dress she’d worn to a charity event years ago. Then he’d been absolutely sure of it when he’d held Morgan in his arms for the first time, the love he felt for her so strong and immediate and real that it had chased away the fear of becoming his dad that threatened to paralyze him. 

But feeling it and witnessing it was two different things.

He wondered if he’d looked like Peter when he’d laid eyes on the two most important and precious women in his life. The little gasp, the soft smile, the look of complete awe. Basically, the definition of the heart-eyes emojis.

“This one,” Peter breathed, his voice thick with emotion. “Can I meet her?”

The lady helping them, a sweet girl named Lucy, unlocked the cage and brought the beautiful grey pup over to the room for humans and dogs to meet, and as soon as Peter was close enough, she was all over him, her tail thumping with abandon.

“Yeah, I think we’ll take her,” Tony said over Peter’s delighted giggles.

***

Tess loved everybody, but it was no secret who her favorite was. No matter who she was with or what she was doing, as soon as Peter was in the room, she was right by his side. She was his shadow, following him around like a planet following the sun.

So Tony should’ve realized that something was wrong when she came trotting into his lab without Peter.

Granted, it wasn’t uncommon for her to come get pats from someone else when Peter wasn’t available, like when he was at school or on patrol or asleep. But Tony should’ve known that at 4 PM on a Thursday, Peter should have been doing none of those things. It was a lab day, Peter’s day off from Spider-Manning, and too early for the normally energetic kid to be asleep.

As it was, Tony was so focused on fixing Dum-E (who had spun too hard showing off for Peter the other day) that he just patted her head without looking. He nearly dropped his screwdriver when Tess gave a high pitched yip.

Tony finally looked up. “What’s the matter, girl. You gotta go out?”

Tess barked again, high pitched and insistent, her big eyes so expressive he could almost see what she was thinking.

“Peter,” he gasped, his stomach plummeting all the way down to his shoes. “Where is he, girl?”

Tessa tore out the door needing no further prompting, Tony right on her heels. She stopped outside Peter’s door whining anxiously, and Tony quickly opened it, dread filling him.

His first reaction was relief. There was no blood, at least not that he could see. Then his worry returned even stronger because Peter was laying on the ground not moving and there wasn't any blood. At least blood made it easier to identify the problem!

“Friday!” He choked out, rushing to Peter’s side. He was still breathing, but it sounded noisy and labored. He was also conscious, but Tony couldn’t tell if that was a good thing or not because there was so much fear in his eyes, and it broke Tony’s heart right in two.

“Dr. Cho is already on her way, sir. If I may, it appears Peter is having an allergic reaction, going into anaphylactic shock. You must keep him awake until the Dr gets here,” Friday answered.

Teas whined again, nudging Peter’s hand.

“Good girl, Tess. You’re such a good girl!” Tony said, patting her head then turning to Peter. “Well kid, if you didn’t want to do lab day today, you could’ve just said so. No need for all the theatrics; that’s kinda my department.”

Tony kept rambling, slapping Peter gently whenever he started to close his eyes, until Cho was rushing in. She quickly stabbed him with an epipen and started to prepare him to go to the infirmary, pausing when Tess growled, the first time she’d ever done that.

“Easy, Tessa-girl. She’s helping Peter. Let’s go with ‘em, yeah? You can keep watching our boy.”

They made their way to the infirmary, where Peter was being given medicine to combat whatever had caused him to react that way. Tony nearly doubled over laughing when he heard what it was, the stress making him slightly hysterical. It really wasn’t funny.

“Peppermint?” He asked Peter later, once Peter could talk and had been deemed out of the woods. Tess was curled up as close as she could to him, and Tony was sitting on the chair next to the bed.

“I just wanted a peppermint hot chocolate from Starbucks. I used to love those,” Peter pouted. “But apparently Peppermint is toxic to spiders. I guess I hadn’t had any peppermint since the change.”

“Well how about never do that again. My heart cannot take that stress.”

Tess whined in agreement.

***

Tony was quickly learning that Tess was a lot like Peter. Her ability to get everybody to love her, for one, and her penchant for cuddles.

Which is how Tony found himself one Friday night squished on the couch with a teenager tucked tightly into his side and a 30 pound dog laying across his lap while watching Bolt. They were both happily situated, Peter nearly purring as Tony ran his hands through his hair and Tess’ tail thumping gently against Tony’s leg. He pretended not to like it, but he was so comfortable, he quickly fell asleep.

He didn’t sleep very long.

Soon after his eyes closed, he woke up in a panic, his heart beating rapidly, a sense of panic overwhelming him. He couldn’t remember what the dream that woke him up had been about, which only made the sense of foreboding worse. He closed his eyes again, pretending to still be asleep as he quietly struggled to get his breathing under control.

Suddenly, a weight settled on top of him. He opened his eyes in surprise, and realized Tess had climbed into his lap, putting her head on his shoulder and her front paws on his chest. It was strangely comforting, her weight and warmth, but surprising nonetheless.

“Whatcha doing there, girl?” He chuckled.

“Pressure therapy,” Peter answered. “Something I taught her to do whenever I’m having an anxiety attack or sensory overload. It helps. She must’ve sensed you were panicking.” 

“Huh.” Tony shook his head in wonder.

“You alright?” Peter asked, tentatively.

“Yeah. Just a bad dream. I don’t even know what it was about, just left me feeling anxious.”

Peter nodded, and slid his hand into Tony’s. Boy and dog didn’t move a muscle until Tony’s heart was a normal rhythm again. Or...maybe a little while after that. They really did love snuggles. And Tony...yet another thing they had in common.

Luckily, he loved them both right back just as much.

[fxkthatdairy]

The Principal’s Office: Part Two ~Grayson Dolan

Overview: (Y/F/N) (Y/L/N) was the new 5th grade history teacher at The Dolan’s Private academy in New Jersey. She moved from across the country to teach at the school. On the first day, an unexpected visitor stops by her classroom to check in on her. What happened when they fall head over heels for each other? Check out to see.

Warnings: None in this chapter

(Y/N)’s alarm began to ring at 5:30 in the morning. She rolled out of her bed and turned her alarm off. She stretched out before walking into her bathroom. Today was her first day teaching and she was excited and nervous at the same time. This was her first job as a teacher and she didn’t know how the kids would like her. Then she realized that Grayson would be there and her heart started racing. She snapped herself out of it realizing he would never be with her. Reason one was the fact that he was technically her boss and reason number two was the fact rarely did the hot guys fall for the history nerd who’s never even had a boyfriend before. She sighed and stripped from her pajamas and stepped in the shower. She took a quick shower and got out and dried off. She did her normal morning routine, curled her hair and slipped into her first day outfit which was a pair of dark green jeans with a white button down and gray sweater on top of that, a pair of nude flats and her purse(visual below).

She grabbed everything that she was going to need including all of her lesson plans for the week, her laptop, her phone cord, her good pens that she specifically bought for grading, and a few little decors to make her room unique. She moved all her stuff to her car and began heading to work. The school was about 20 minutes away from her house and she used those 20 minutes to mentally prepare herself for this day. When she arrived at the school she parked in the teachers parking lot and grabbed all of her things and made sure to throw her lanyard with her ID on it so that she was able to get into the school. She scanned her badge and quickly looked to see what hall she was on and what her room number was: 319. She walked down the long hallway until she reached the 300 hall and walked down in finding room 319. She room was larger than the rooms that she remembered from her fifth grade classes but then again she attended a public school. The room had rows of desks, a large white board, a projector screen, plenty of closet space, a beautiful white desk with a fairly comfortable leather chair, and a huge computer monitor. She placed her bag down beside her desk. It was now around 7:15 and she had an hour and 15 minutes until school started. She began pulling out the stuff she had brought to decorate her classroom and desk. She placed her pictures in her desk that included the pictures from her graduation, her family pictures, a picture of her and her mom, and many of her at historic sites. She plugged in her essential oil machine and put in a slight bit of peppermint oil in. She began hanging her history posters and maps from every topic in the semester and wrote her name on the white board in cursive. She also set up the calendar that she had bought and arranged the desks how she liked them.

“You’re here fairly early. I thought I was the only one here this early.” A voice said from the door way. That voice belonged to the one and only Grayson Dolan; the principal of the school.

“Yeah, I wanted to make some personal touches and make sure I was prepared for the day. I hope you don’t mind.” She said as she noticed he was looking around.

“These photos are beautiful. You seem very passionate about History and your family. I find that very admirable Ms (Y/L/N).” He said. Her heart fluttered almost out of her chest.

“Thank you sir. My mom has always been there for me. History has been apart of my life since as long as I can remember.” She said and made sure everything was in order before she walked back over to her desk.

“Well I’ll swing by later to check on you and see how you are doing. Maybe I can bring you lunch around lunch time. Have a fantastic day (Y/N).” He said and with that he was gone. The one thing (Y/N) didn’t know was that Grayson Dolan was absolutely in love with her. He felt a connection with her that he’s never felt before.

It was now 8:15 and she had 15 minutes until her first class of the day would arrive. She sat down in her leather chair and turned the projector on and pulled up her welcoming PowerPoint that she spent a good three hours making. Her plan for today was to introduce herself to the class and get to know some of her students. She then went and stood in front of her door to welcome the children into the classroom. The school bell rang indicating that school had begun and she had five minutes before all her kids needed to be in her classroom. As all of her students filled her room she welcomed them with a warm smile and handshake. The tardy bell rang and she shut her door making sure that it locked in compliance of school rules.

“Good Morning and welcome back to school. I hope each and every one of you had a fantastic weekend and let me be the first to welcome you to fifth grade History. My name is Ms. (Y/L/N) and I’m so ready for this year with you guys. Now it’s time for role.” (Y/N) spoke and everyone was present so she sent in attendance and then grabbed the remote to change the slides as she stood to introduce herself to the class.

“So I thought instead of giving you guys work on the first day, that we would take this time to get to know each other starting with myself. If you can not tell, this is my first year here and by my accent you can tell I am not from around here. I actually moved here from Oklahoma and this is my first year teaching actually. I grew up in a small town in Oklahoma with my mom and sister and brother, I’m 25 years old and I went to school at Oklahoma University on a full scholarship ride. I’ve been to almost every historical monument in the United States and have met several past presidents. I also am a very hands on teacher and I’ll try and start bringing some historical artifacts that I’ve collected over the years next week but it depends on if I can get them out of my moving boxes. Now does anyone want to share anything about themselves.” (Y/N) spoke. About 10 kids hands shot up. She called on the first kid she saw. He was sitting in the front row and looked like an athletic kid.

“My name is Thomas and I played football and baseball all summer and I made the All Regional Leauge in town. Also why history?” He asked.

“Well I was never good at math so I knew that would not be an option. I liked English but I didn’t want to grade a lot of essays. The only science I ever really got into was medical science and I’m terrified of blood and needles so I fell in love with history. Plus everything has history, your family, your town, even your pets have history. History is all around us and it shapes the world today.” She said and a few more kids shared their stories and soon there was only five minutes left of class. She grabbed the packet of information to send home to their parents about the class and passed them out.

“Please get these signed and returned between tomorrow and Friday. Have a fantastic rest of the day and I can’t wait to see you guys tomorrow.” She said as the bell rang. The next three classes went that way and now it was time for lunch. She sat down at her desk and rubbed her sore feet from standing. There was a knock on her door and then the door opened revealing Grayson.

“I brought lunch. I hope you don’t mind. I brought some chicken salads.” He said with a smile as he handed her a salad.

“Thank you so much.” She said with a smile on her face.

“So how’s your first day been so far?” He said as he pulled up a chair to your desk so that he can eat.

“It’s been wonderful. The students have been so respectful and amazing. This job means a lot to me and it’s perfect. I’ve had no problems at all today except the pain in my feet from standing but I can get over that soon.” She said with a laugh.

Grayson laughed as well with one of his gorgeous smiles, “Well that’s good. I’m glad you’re enjoying this. Sometimes the students are a little too much to handle when you get into the higher grades especially. Apparently I’m almost every 8th grade girls crush and it’s honestly kind of creepy some days. I’m 30 for Christ sakes.” He said with a laugh.

(Y/N) laughed remembering her awkward phase in 8th grade when she thought she was going to marry Tom Cruise. “It’s just something they go through during that awkward transition in life. I went through it, my sister went through it, I’m pretty sure my mother went through it. That’s why I picked fifth grade, they have no clue or really no interests in relationships.”

“That’s true. Well lunch is almost over and I would love to get to know you more other than helping you move in. I would like to take you out to dinner this Saturday. I’ll give you time to think about it and no hard feelings if you say no. I’ll text you the details later. Have a great rest of the day (Y/N).” He said as he put his chair back where he got it and left the room. Her heart and mind were spinning. He has just asked her on a dinner date. Her BOSS just asked her on a dinner date. The man who stole her heart with a smile asked her on a dinner date. She couldn’t even fully function. She quickly shook out of it as the bell rang signaling the end of lunch. She finished off the rest of her classes before 4:30 came and she was finally able to go home. She grabbed all of her belongings and made sure everything was off before heading home. She stopped and grabbed her something to eat before heading back to her house due to the fact that she has no groceries at home. When she got home she processed long and hard about her current situation. She went to bed that night replaying every possible outcome in her head whether she said yes or no. As she was laying down her phone buzzed: One New message from Grayson Dolan.

Hey (Y/N), it’s Grayson. I would love to take you to Juliane’s Seafood and Steakhouse this Saturday night at 7:30 to get to know you more. I really hope you come, I really enjoy hearing your stories and you intrigue me. Once again no harsh feelings if you don’t want to go. It’s only if you feel comfortable. I hope you enjoyed the rest of your night. Anyways have a good night and see you tomorrow 🙂

(Y/N) thought long and hard with her decision and finally responded....

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

That was part two! Sorry for the cliffhanger but hey it builds suspense ☺️ I’m really enjoying how this story is turning out and I hope you guys are too 😊 part three will be out in the next few days.

Tags: @pineappledols @frickin-bats @graysavant

[jungkooks-left-tiddie]

I hope you get run by a fucking aeroplane ❤️

Warnings:  Mild cursing, Old men being assholes.

Word Count: 2.8k words

Kavya

August 27th, 2020; 6:30pm

New Delhi, India. 

"Is the editing for the new manuscript done?" Kavya leaned down to assess the work that was being done. 

"It's coming along well, ma'am. Just cleaning up the text." The intern gave her a nervous smile.

 "That's good to hear." She said, going through the progress that the editing department had made. "Be sure to crosscheck after you're done editing." 

"Yes, ma'am!" Just then, Kavya's secretary came rushing in.

"Ma'am you have a meeting with the Illustration Team in a few minutes," Kavya glanced at her watch and frowned upon realising that she didn't have much time to make it across the building to the main conference room. 

"Thank you, Mitra. Just hand me my iPad and I'll be off." Kavya briskly walked to the room where the meeting was meant to be held, greeting the workers passing by. 

"Ma'am, the cover design team is ready with their designs," Rachel, the head of the cover design department dressed Kavya.

"Wonderful! I'll ask Mitra to schedule a meeting when I'm free," Kavya paused, glancing at her schedule, "Actually, could you please e-mail it to me?" Rachel smiled gently.

"Of course we can, I'll make sure you get the updated presentation with the notes and all of the other requirements as well." 

"Thank you so much; you honestly have no idea how much you've helped me today." Kavya shook her hand and hugged her for a moment. 

"Of course. I understand how much stress you're under, the least I could do is help you out!" Rachel smiled yet again. 

"Rachel, you're a life-saver and I would love to stay and chat, but I've got to get going to the Illustration Team's meeting," 

"Of course," Rachel made shooing motions with her hands, "Off you go!" Kavya laughed and ran towards the direction of the main conference room. 

"Ma'am you're here!" The head of the illustration team, a man in his mid-40's named Mohammad Aamir smiled and shook her hand. 

"Thank you very much Mr Mohammad. I'm truly excited to see what you have planned for today." 

"Oh I assure you, Ms Agarwal, you will not regret trusting Mr Mohammad's department this time," Two of the workers in the marketing department took their seats as Aamir gestured one of his workers to begin the presentation.

Kavya took out her iPad and started noting down the small changes and corrections that needed to be made. This launch was going to be one of the biggest events in the history of her company and she needed to make sure that everything was immaculate, including the character drawings that would be included in this particular book. 

"We initially had a bit of a dilemma deciding what features this character should have; but we managed to get through all of it and decided upon 5 main options," The character designs were on display, impressing Kavya as these were much better than she expected. 

"We have also included 5 sub-designs, for a more variety of options," The worker turned to face the board members in the meeting room, 

"It's also worth mentioning that we have designed a variety of expressions, postures, and costume; keeping in mind the aesthetic impact and its significance to the storyline,"

"We have constructed the design for the costumes in the locations after carefully studying the different kinds of clothing worn by the locals and also not forgetting the cultural significance of the clothes and accessories," He flipped to the next slide. Kavya was thoroughly impressed until now, but of course, all good things come to an end.

"So as you can see here, the inspiration for the design of the diving gear was inspired by the modern-day swimsuits, focusing especially on the plunging necklines—"

"Pardon my interruption, but why does the diving gear look like a swimsuit? I thought I put special emphasis on the fact that the scene consisted of the characters going scuba diving?" The person presenting the PowerPoint looked uncomfortable under Kavya's piercing gaze. 

"Yes, but isn't this what women wear for swimming?" 

"They do, but this is what women wear when we're talking about beaches and swimming pools; not when they're going 140 feet underwater. Do you not know what scuba diving is?" 

"Yes, ma'am; but actually—"

"Ms Agarwal, are you not overreacting? It's a great marketing point. I mean swimwear is swimwear, am I right?" Gopal Das, a pesky man on the marketing team snickered, clearly proud of his seemingly intelligent statement. 

"Mr Das, It seems that your age has dwindled down your common sense. I'm sure all of you present here know that scuba divers have to wear protective gear to make sure they survive the pressure that the water exerts at that deep of a level. I'd like to see you dive in the Bay of Bengal with nothing but your underwear. Should be easy, right?" That seemed to shut the man up, but of course, sexist fuckers are everywhere. 

"I agree with Gopal sir, this-" The man said, pointing towards the pathetic excuse for a scuba diving suit, "Is a great attention point. People want this."  He crossed his pudgy hands. 

"I have said it before and I will say it again," Kavya took a deep breath and looked at them angrily. "I'm not going to compromise knowledge over what you claim are marketing points. I have made it clear time and time again on why design accuracies are important; and I stand by my statements." Kavya tried to convey her point in the most diplomatic way possible, but these two dumbasses were really testing her patience. 

"Well, we will not compromise sales to something as trivial as a mere swimsuit," 

"I agree with Mr. Roberts. It seems to me that you are letting your personal experiences get in the way of what could've been a successful launch!" If Kavya was mad before, she was absolutely furious now. 

"Mr Das, Mr Roberts, that's enough." The stern voice of Aamir snapped her out of her rage. 

"Let me make one thing crystal clear. So as long as you are in this company, you will not promote objectification. It's not that hard to think from the brain and not your genitalia." She glared at the two men. 

"To answer your previous statement Mr Das; yes. My experiences are getting in the way. So are the millions of people who constantly face the same issues." 

"Do you want to know what I think Mr Das?I think you and Mr Roberts are letting your personal fetishes come in the way of what otherwise was a great illustration. It's honestly not that hard to keep your perverted tendencies to yourself. And if you refuse to follow basic human decency; we'd be extremely glad to find a replacement." She had enough of their boomer heterosexual bullshit. 

"Now if you'd excuse me," She gathered her things and exited the room in fury. To think that she had hoped men would change; but as always, they continued to disappoint her (Like they do in bed). 

"Ma'am, wait!" The person presenting the PowerPoint came up to her. "I'm sorry for the disappointing design of the diving gear today. I wanted to use a complete different idea, and a much more humane and accurate one, but Gopal sir insisted that I use that for better marketing," He apologised, bowing his head slightly. 

"It's ok, uhhhh..." 

"Pavan, ma'am."

"Right. It's ok Pavan. I'm glad you are one of the few people in the illustration team with basic human decency. I understand your position, and I'm glad that you approached me. I also first-handedly know how much of a douchebag Gopal is," Kavya smiled slightly, hoping to ease some of his nerves. 

"Thank you so much Ma'am! I promise I won't disappoint you next time!" He bowed. 

"You better not. I have seen your skills, and you're far too creative and talented to let a person like Gopal boss you around." She patted his shoulder, smiling when he thanked her repeatedly. 

"Yes, Ms Agarwal," Aamir walked up to the both of you, looking extremely down, "I apologise for the way Mr Das and Mr Roberts spoke this meeting. It was completely out of line and disrespectful of them. I assure you, if I had known of this issue--"

"Mr Mohammad you don't have to apologise," Kavya smiled at him. "It wasn't your fault, so you must stop blaming yourself. I know those two men disturbed the flow of the meeting, but I stand by my previous comment. Pavan here," She looked at the employee, who was a little flustered, "Had amazing designs up his sleeves and the presentation overall was not bad."

"I think we can definitely improve some of them, but the inspiration, cultural and locational significances were completely accurate," Aamir looked a little bit happier after that statement. "I have noted down the changes that need to be made, and if you could e-mail this presentation to me, I would gladly note them down in the respective areas so you and your team could correct it." Pavan nodded enthusiastically. 

"I will send it to you very shortly ma'am."

"Excellent! I'm afraid I must go now," Kavya frowned a little.

 "Of course Ma'am. It was an honour talking to you,"

Kavya couldn't be more happier that  she that she could finally go home. Those last 30 minutes in the conference room were the most exhausting 30 minutes in the entire month. And suffice to say, she was ready to flop down on her bed and take a much-deserved nap.  Of course she knew that she had a shit ton of work to finish before sleeping, but the thought of doing it in the comforts of her home gave her something to look forward to. 

"Tired?" Maya Patel, her friend and CEO of Patel Publications, leaned against the doorframe.

"You have no fucking idea," Kavya started packing her stuff, getting ready to leave. 

"How was the meeting?"

"The most irritating meeting I've ever been to. Two hours of amazing illustrations and all of that had to come to an end because of two old men's perverted tendencies. 30 minutes of continuous sexism and objectification does things to one's brain." 

Maya looked like she'd smelled something nasty. "It was that bitch, Gopal; wasn't it"

"Yes, but this time he had a little minion. It's that other guy you hate, Kevin Roberts."

"Ugh," Maya made a puking face- "I hate them both so much, I always wanted to kick their pathetic asses out. And now my dream is finally coming true!" They laughed. 

"But seriously. I am going to fire them. There have been way too many complaints about them in general and I finally have the proof I need."

"Oh when you do fire them, please invite me so I can record that shit in full HD," Kavya walked inside the elevator, Maya following shortly behind. 

"No, because you will go on a vacation. That I asked you to go to." Maya crossed her arms. 

"More like forced me to go on one," Kavya snorted, but stopped once she noticed the stern expression on Maya's face.

"Ok look, I'll take a vacation when I want to," Kavya made her way to the parking lot where her Kia K5 was parked. 

"Besides, you need the new manuscript, right?" She smiled at Maya, who shook her head and smiled lightly. 

"I do, but that doesn't mean I don't want you to take a short break. It's concerning how much stress you take up. I just want you to relax" 

"Ok, I'll think about it. For now, I just want to go home and take a long nap," Kavya switched on the radio and set out on the road, noticing how most streets were suspiciously empty.

'That's weird,' She thought, 'The streets in Delhi are never empty.' She brushed it off and flipped through the radio stations to find the ones that played old songs, her personal favourite. 

The peaceful melodies of the retro songs calmed her on her drive back home. They were the kind of songs that put you in such a trance that you don't know where the time flew by. And of course, very shortly, she parked her car in her buildings allotted parking space. 

She greeted the security guard who was on patrol and entered the elevator. After entering the passcode to her apartment, she directly went to the fridge to get some cool water.  

Kavya then tossed her blazer and purse aside, ran to the bedroom, flopped on the bed and groaned loudly. Paying no mind that her lipstick would most likely stain the towel she had lain on the bed.

"I better freshen up," She sighed and went to complete her nighttime routine, which just consisted of taking a long hot shower and doing her 7-step skincare routine. After which she folded her clothes and tossed some of them in the washing machine. 

A late-night snack was well due, as Kavya did not have her dinner yet; and of course, Red Wine is a must!

"11pm chicken sandwiches are the best," She munched on her sandwich as she scrolled through her twitter to see what her friends shitposted today. 

She doubled in laughter over Maggie's posts, nearly choking on lettuce. Eventually she calmed down and filled herself in the news and gossip she's missed out on. 

"This is the best time of the day," She told herself as she read the texts she'd received today. 

The conversation seemed like it had no end to it, so Kavya skimmed it until she saw herself tagged. 

To say that she thought about it would be an understatement. Kavya had no clue for how long she sat there thinking about the road trip before the notification of the email brought her back. She slapped her face a few times to prepare herself for all the work she had to finish.

The entirety of the next 4 hours was spent in Kavya carefully noting down every single detail and making the necessary changes. And soon enough it was 3 am and she was finally done with both the cover design and the character designs. Throughout these 4 hours, however, the only thing on her mind was that road trip idea her friends were talking about.

So she made up her mind. Kavya quickly emailed the corrections she'd made in both the documents. And dialled Maya's number.

"Heyy, Maya? Remember that vacation you were talking about? I'm going to take it."

[staytheb]

Gotta Go

Pairing: SF9′s Youngbin x OC [Seul] || TBZ’s Sangyeon x OC [Yeon] Genre: slice of life, slight fluff, slight angst Word Count: 3,482 Summary: Seul and Yeon are both at work, but suddenly have to leave. Although Yeon returns to work and Seul doesn’t. KYB: errands/acting secretary || LSY: report

Warning: um... nothing i guess? lol

well, hello! it’s been a while. got in a mood to write a bit and to distract myself and came up with this. this again is originally another work i had, but re-did it for this. so i combined Seul and Yeon in this bit tying them in a little better compare to separate stories of theirs. other than that, not sure how this will go as i just found an old work and this came about. sorry that it’s not like a full story or anything, but i hope you enjoy it as much as i wrote for it. lol but yeah the title is bleh and i just need to title it with something and just came up with that. well, happy reading and kthxbai, Admin Lia~

Seul sat in-between Inseong and Dawon as the Marketing Department was having one of their quarterly meetings. This was the first meeting that Seul was present for since she started working for NEOZ Group a few months ago.

"Ms. Lee, you sit right here next to me." Youngbin stated as he motioned to the seat left of him for Seul to take.

"To better assist me."

Youngbin cast his personal assistant a friendly smile and Seul nodded with a small smile as she quickly stood while the two males sniggered knowingly at her. Seul slightly hushed them to stop it before making her way towards her boss and sat to his left while glaring at the two males who only cast her playful smiles. Seul cast Youkyung a smile who was sitting to the right of Youngbin, but the female only rolled her eyes before turning away from Seul. Seul brushed her off and got herself situated and glanced up to see that Dawon had purposely chosen to sit across from her with a playful expression.

"Why are you sitting right there?" Seul whispered as Dawon grinned before answering.

"So that I can watch you fall asleep like you've done back in school."

"That's messed up and I've never fallen asleep. I always doodled and pretended like I was paying attention. Thank you very much."

"Now that's messed up."

The duo's conversation was interrupted when Youngbin started the meeting.

"Good morning, everyone." Youngbin greeted the employees as he held a small remote control for the powerpoint presentation.

"For this meeting, we're going to discuss last quarter's activities, the activities for this quarter, and the social media and video advertisements for Mrs. Bages' product launch."

Within ten minutes of the meeting Seul already lost interest and began doodling on the agenda out of boredom to keep herself awake. Of course she listened in on what was being talked about, but for her she retained information better when taking partial notes. A moment later Seul's attention went to a small balled up piece of paper thrown by Dawon. She shot the male a blank look as Dawon signaled for her to open it. She did so and saw that Dawon had written 'you're gonna get caught' and in response she crumpled up the paper again with the male pouting.

Soon enough Seul was snapped back to reality five minutes later when she felt something hit her arm again. She looked towards Dawon who grinned at her while pointing at the papered star he had flicked at her to open it. Seul ignored him and pushed the paper back towards the male as to not wanting to deal with the whole note passing situation if they were caught. Dawon quietly rose from his swivel chair to retrieve the note and once he successfully got it back he had sat down only to crash to the floor with the chair rolling away once he tried to stand back up. All eyes were on Dawon as he silently laughed at his embarrassment and continued to just sit on his knees instead of back onto his chair.

"Is everything alright, Mr. Lee?" Youngbin asked while pausing in mid-speech.

"Ah, yes, I'm fine. Just wanted to test out the rolling chair." Dawon replied nonchalantly as he attempted to do just that.

"I thought you tested that out the first time we held a meeting." Youngbin said in amusement while Dawon coughed to hide his embarrassment again.

"Did I? I don't remember."

"I see. Well, let me finish this up and you can present your data analysis with Yoonho afterwards."

Youngbin continued on with his talk for another few minutes before handing it off to Yoonho and Dawon afterwards. Seul paid attention for a few seconds before realizing that she already knew what it was about as she had helped Dawon and Yoonho prepare this just a few days ago. Seul's attention went back to the paper before her as she continued to doodle various things. Unconsciously her right hand had slipped into her dress' pockets and was surprised when she pulled out a strawberry starburst. She had forgotten that her outfit actually had pockets for once. She happily unwrapped the sweet-tart treat and popped it into her mouth.

"What do you got there, Seul?"

"Nothing for you."

"That's not nice."

"Yeah, well, you should probaby shut up as we're in a meeting."

Seul wasn't aware that she was casually speaking with Youngbin as she was more focused on her candy.

"Really? Anwyays, are you going to share, Seul?"

The same male voice asked her and she automatically responded with something she would say to her sister upon hearing her name like always still not aware of the sitaution.

"Not with you."

Before realizing that it wasn't Yeon, but her boss that had asked that question. She hastily looked over at Youngbin with a sheepish look.

"Ah, sorry about that, Mr. Kim. I didn't mean to be so frank with you. My apologies. Um, but here you go, sir."

Seul whispered in embarrassment as she slid a lemon starburst towards the male while thinking why he had called her so casually within the work setting and of their different ranks. Youngbin chuckled softly as he took the item hiding the fact that he enjoyed the reaction he got out of his personal assistant.

"It's okay, Ms. Lee."

Seul just nodded although she just realized that he had addressed her properly this time. She didn't have much time to think about it until she noticed a small piece of crumpled paper coming into her view. Seul raised a brow wondering who it could be until she noticed that Inseong was looking at her expectantly. She realized it was him as he shot her a knowing look. Seul rolled her eyes, but actually went to read it since Inseong wasn't anything like Dawon. That was until she read the content and knew that he was just like him as Inseong had written if she liked their boss or not. Seul shook her head as a response, but Inseong didn't believe her. She didn't care if he did or not.

Once the meeting was over, Seul returned to her desk tired and hungry as she felt drained for some odd reason. It wasn't even lunch time yet. She tiredly placed her head on top of the files of her desk while her desk phone machine was flashing red indicating she already had a voicemail to respond back to. Seul sighed as she closed her eyes to recuperate before going back into work mode. It didn't last long as her short break was disrupted when she heard a file or two slapped against her desk. Seul lifted her head to come face to face with a gleeful looking Dawon. She did not like the look on his face.

"Yes, Dawon?"

"So, you and the b-"

Seul interrupted him.

"There's nothing going on between us."

"Oh, c'mon, don't lie."

"I'm not. Seriously. There's nothing going on between us."

Dawon was gonna tease Seul some more, but she glared at him.

"Don't you have some other work to finish?"

"Well, yes, I do."

"Then why are you standing there?"

"To bother you like always."

"Gosh you're so annoying."

"I know, but anyways, you an-"

Seul shot him a dark look.

"You should probably shut up."

"And if I don't?"

Dawon grinned at her mischievously.

"hen I'ma beat you up."

Dawon backed off from the subject.

"Okay, whoa, whoa. Calm down. Usually that's Yeon's line, but alright."

Seul rolled her eyes.

"Because you talk too much and like bothering people for the fun of it."

"You right."

He chuckled.

"Anyways," Dawon changed the subject, "I need to discuss with you about what cake to get Hwiyoung for his birthday coming up soon."

"Why do you need to discuss that with me?"

"I wanna get everyone's opinions and help on it."

"You don't need my help. You can do that by yourself."

"I could, but I remember that you used to bake, right?"

"Not really."

"But don't you make cookies for Jangmi?"

The phone on Seul's desk rang and she ignored Dawon to answer the call.

"Hello, this is Seul Lee of the Marketing Department of NEOZ Group."

Seul reached for a pen and paper as she took down the caller's message and Dawon reluctantly returned to his desk. For a good hour and a half Seul had been constantly talking on the phone with clients about business ordeals that she hadn't realized her own phone going off as it was muted, but set to vibrate mode. Seul also hadn't paid attention to the beeps that sounded when she was speaking with the clients indicating that another caller was trying to reach her. So when she heard her name called by her sister while in mid-talk with another client she was confused.

"Yeon?"

"Yo, we gotta go." Yeon told her as she came up to her desk almost out of breath.

The others in the office watched the interaction between the sisters.

"What do you mean we gotta go?"

"It's Mom."

Seul made an annoyed face.

"So? What about her?"

Yeon's face turned serious. This caught Seul's attention.

"Yeon. What about Mom?"

Yeon stayed silent, but Seul noticed how her sister's eyes glistened over and face read with worry.

"Hello, Mr. Kwon. I'm sorry, but I'll have to call you back another time. Something urgent has come up. Goodbye."

She hung up with a current client before gathering her things.

"Seul, is everything okay?" Dawon suddenly asked upon seeing Seul packing her things in a hurry.

"Sorry, Dawon. I gotta go."

The pair anxiously waited in the waiting room of the hospital along with their mother's boyfriend, Yongin, and their father, Kisuk, and his girlfriend, Sanghee. Yongin has been waiting for more than two hours while the sisters have been there for less than an hour, and  Kisuk and Sanghee just arrived several minutes ago. Yeon only informed Seul that their mom had fainted as Yeon was the only one that had picked up Yongin's phone call and he only informed her of that small information. Other than that the sisters didn't know anything else as they awaited news.

"Hello, good evening. I'm Doctor Oh." The doctor greeted the quintet as their attention turned to him ten minutes later.

"How is she? Is she doing well? Nothing's wrong with Narae, right? Oh please tell me that she's alright and that's nothing wrong with her." Yongin fired questions at the doctor before Doctor Oh shot him a reassuring smile to calm the male.

"Ms. Jung is fine. Are you the husband?"

"Ah, no. I'm Narae's boyfriend. Um," Yongin motioned towards Kisuk, "He's her ex-husband."

The doctor shifted his eyes towards Kisuk as everyone felt awkward at their current situation.

"What's wrong with our mom?" Seul asked, breaking the awkwardness and just wanting to get this done and over with.

"Nothing serious, but your mother is eighteen weeks pregnant." Doctor Oh informed them of the news.

The quintet went silent once more. They weren't sure what to feel, but it was Yeon that broke the silence.

"Are you saying that our mom is having a baby? At her age?"

"Yes, that is correct."

The sisters breathed a sigh of relief and the worries that Seul had disappeared although she was now slightly annoyed.

"I can't believe she got herself knocked up."

"You're telling me." Yeon agreed with a shake of her head before looking over at Yongin.

"Well, congratulations, you're going to be a father."

"Yeah, Yongin, congratulations. You're gonna be a father of a tiny human." Seul mused as Yeon nudged her playfully.

"Uh, thank you." Yongin responded while still trying to process the information.

"Yes, congratulations, Yongin." Sanghee congratulated Yongin with a happy expression while looking over at Kisuk fondly. "Hearing those words are such wonderful news, isn't it, dear?"

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, it is." Kisuk responded a bit distracted although he looked over at his two daughters.

Yeon and Seul avoided eye contact with him and just looked at the doctor.

"Is that why she fainted, Doctor Oh?" Seul asked a moment later.

The doctor nodded.

"Yes, although it was mainly due to fatigue and malnourishment. I also believe there was some added stress over the past month that had eventually overwhelmed your mother causing her to lose consciousness."

Doctor Oh handed the sisters a piece of paper which Yeon took.

"I recommend for her to rest plenty, take vitamins and supplements, eat properly, watch her stress and activity levels, exercise accordingly, and to schedule monthly or even bi-weekly check-ups with her obstetrician or her main doctor that she's currently seeing."

The sisters nodded as Doctor Oh looked to the time on the wall before returning her gaze onto the quintet.

"If you would like you're all more than welcome to visit Ms. Jung for the time being, but only one of you can stay the night."

Before Yongin could suggest for one of the sisters to do it, the pair gave it up to him.

"You should stay, Yongin. We're fine."

"Ah, yes. I think that's a good choice." Kisuk agreed with his daughters.

"Good. Ms. Jung's should be fine with visitors in a few minutes." Doctor Oh informed them with a polite smile before walking away.

"Yongin, I believe you should go in first to see Narae." Sanghee suggested as Yongin nodded absent-mindedly before doing just that.

"So," Kisuk began, but Seul cut him off.

"You and Sanghee can visit Mom. Yeon and I have other things to take care of."

"I see." Their father responded a bit dejectedly. "Well, take care."

"Thanks. You, too." Seul curtly responded before she and Yeon bid them goodbye.

Yeon was the only one to return to work as Seul had to meet up with a lawyer that finally got back to her and could only meet today and soon to go about legal procedures concerning Seokwon. At the same time something had come up for Yuna and she was unable to care for Jangmi for the rest of the day. So that left Yeon to babysit her niece at her job even though she could've just not gone back, but she remembered that she had to finish a few reports that were already due by the end of the week and didn't need more piling up.

So when Yeon appeared with her niece at the lobby Chahee beamed at the child and told Yeon that her daughter was adorable and looked just like her. Yeon had to immediately correct Chahee who quickly apologized for the assumption. After clearing up that situation Chahee had issued a special visitor pass for the child with an image of some cartoon character featured on the pass. Soon afterwards they rode the elevator which Yeon forgot that her niece found very amusing and almost continued the mini ride for Jangmi until remembering she couldn't play. Walking hand-in-hand with Jangmi who seemed to look around the office in awe, Yeon's path was stopped by two of her colleagues, Kevin and Jacob.

"So, Yeon, who is this?" Kevin asked in almost a sing-song like tone while he and Jacob crouched down to Jangmi's level.

"Hi." Jacob greeted the toddler in a soft tone. "I'm Jacob."

"And I'm Kevin. Hi." Kevin followed after.

Yeon didn't bother answering as she just let her niece greet the two males.

"Hi." Jangmi greeted with a toothy grin. "I'm MiMi."

"How old are you, MiMi?" The duo asked.

Jangmi held up three fingers as the males were impressed.

"Wow."

Jangmi giggled at their reactions. The pair continued to gush at the toddler and Yeon had to finally drag her niece away from the two males who still wanted to interact with Jangmi. Yeon finally made it to her desk as she got Jangmi situated before she herself could get herself all settled in when she heard her boss' office door opened a few seconds later. Sangyeon hadn't noticed the child while speaking to his secretary in a firm tone.

"Welcome back to work, Ms. Lee. I see that you've returned two hours and fifty-seven minutes later when I wasn't aware that you had left in the first place. Could you tell me why that is please?"

Just as Yeon was going to apologize for her abrupt departure, but she momentarily paused curiously at how detailed the time was that her boss had stated. She shook the thought away and had barely opened her mouth until hers and Sangyeon's focus turned onto the toddler when Jangmi greeted the male.

"Hi."

Sangyeon's demeanor changed as he cast the child a warm smile and greeted the young child.

"Well, hello to you."

Yeon was weirded out by her boss' sudden behavior, but didn't comment on it as to not return the attention back to her. Instead she amusingly watched the two interact with one another thinking that she was off the hook. That was until Sangyeon remembered that he was at work and reminded himself of that before he righted himself.

"Um, why is this child here, Ms. Lee?" He asked, facing Yeon again. "Is she your daughter?"

"She's in my care for the time being." She answered him. "And no, she's not. She's my niece."

"Oh. Okay, but you do know that it's not a place for a child to be. Correst?"

"I'm well aware of that, but some things came up and I'm the only one that can look after her."

"I see. Is that why you left all of a sudden?"

"No. It was something else."

"Then why didn't you pick up my calls?"

Sangyeon changed the subject in a nonchalant manner, but Yeon quirk a brow in confusion.

"When?"

"I've been calling you since I found out you left wondering why you suddenly left without my knowledge or informing me."

"Oh? twelve times?"

"I say it was less than that." Sangyeon commented casually, but he knew it was more than that if you looked through the call history.

Yeon didn't really care as she continued to speak in a nonchalant manner.

"Ah, so that was your number. Yeah, I don't pick up random numbers I don't know even if they call me many times."

Sangyeon scoffed at his secretary's answer.

"Well, now you do and you should save it just in case something like this happens again, Ms. Lee, especially as my secretary."

"Will do, Mr. Lee."

"I believe that you should do it right now."

"Do what?"

"Save my number."

"Oh. Um, sure. Just give me a moment."

Before Sangyeon could actually get his secretary to urgently do that, Yein from Sales arrived to deliver some documents to Sangyeon, but was without a doubt distracted by Jangmi.

"Aww, hi." Yein greeted the child while becoming eye level with her. "What's your name?"

"MiMi." Jangmi answered with a giggle. "Hi."

"Aww, you're so adorable." Yein continued to gush over the child. "Did you come with mommy to work?"

Yeon didn't bother to correct her colleague.

"Auntie isn't my mommy." Jangmi corrected the female instead.

Yeon slightly chuckled at her niece's words as Yein felt a bit sheepish.

"Oh, sorry."

Sangyeon coughed to get Yein's attention.

"Ahem, Ms. Ahn."

Yein didn't hear him as she was too busy communicating with the toddler. Sangyeon coughed louder and said her name louder than last time.

"Ahem, Ms. Ahn."

Yein heard him this time around.

"Oh, right. Sorry, Mr. Lee."

Yein straighten up as she handed the files over to Sangyeon.

"These are for you from Ms. Jung. She wanted to make sure they got to you before lunch time."

She bowed before hurrying away and waving goodbye to Jangmi. Sangyeon scanned the files before casting his eyes onto where Yeon should've been standing, but no longer was. His eyes wandered to find her and spotted her holding the child while making her way somewhere.

"Ms. Lee." He called out to her.

"Ah, yes?" Yeon answered while momentarily stopping to look over at her boss.

"Where are you going?"

"To the toilet. Jangmi needs to go."

"Goooo." Jangmi stressed as Yeon reassured her niece.

"Yes, MiMi, we're going, we're going."

"But I need you to in-"

Sangyeon didn't finish his sentence as Yeon paid him no mind and basically rushed off to get the child to relieve herself without causing some type of accident if she didn't get her niece to the restroom. Sangyeon tsked in annoyance before letting out a controlled breath.

"Deep breath, Sangyeon. Life happens. Just make sure she gets to these by the end of the week and everything's all good."

He let out another calm breath before placing the documents that Yein had handed to him earlier onto Yeon's desk before making his way to his own office.

[rose-demica]

Prompt: "You were so high/drunk that you made a 14 page PowerPoint on why Santa would beat Peter Pan in a fight, and I must say, you were quite persuasive."

Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Avengers

Series: The Rise of Thanos, The Fall of Loki, Sister Agents. 

Pairings: Clint Barton X Iris Coulson-Fury AND Pepper Potts X Tony Stark

Warnings: Tony and Iris are DRUNK!

Just a weird but funny Prompt fic,

Iris awakes alone on her 2nd wedding anniversary. Clint having gotten his dates and timezones confused, and rushing off in the wee hours of the morning with Pepper.

Tony, her best friend, joins her in drinking all day, and the pair start fighting over who would win in a fight, Peter Pan, or Santa Claus,

Iris sighed when she woke up alone in bed yet again, rolling over into the cold part of the bed where her lover should have been. Where he’d crawled into bed and wrapped her up in his arms the night before. She frowned when the cold sheets embraced her skin. “Agent Barton and Ms Potts had to fly out to Tokyo for an emergency meeting a few hours ago.” Iris sighed, ever since Happy had taken a well deserved vacation Clint had been attached to Peppers side, taking the role of her personal bodyguard before Tony could even accept the fact that Pepper had allowed the man a holiday. Iris shouldn’t complain, it was satisfying his itch to be out in the field, and Tony was paying him more than Shield ever could. Clint was as close to Pepper as she was to Tony, and it was no surprise that he’d chosen to stand in and protect her like he had so many times before.

"Sir requests your presence when you're awake. He's on his living floor." Iris curled herself in the sheets that held the lingering scent of her lover, taking a deep breath before she got up. "Tell him I'll be half an hour. Imma shower and check in on the twins quickly."  Fury and Coulson had taken Amelia and Evan to spend a week with their grandparents, it was so that Iris and Clint could have their second year wedding anniversary alone together. Not realizing that Clint would volunteer as Pepper’s bodyguard and be away from her side. "Of course Ma'am. Shall I call Director Fury or Agent Coulson for you?"  "Papa please Jarvis." ~~~~~♥~~~~~♡~~~~~♥~~~~~ Iris smiled to herself when she saw Tony curled in the middle of his big bed, an open book across his chest from where he'd dropped it when he fell asleep. She picked the book up, marking the page before resting it on his bedside table, watching the inventor for a moment before flopping down on the bed beside him. "I miss her," Tony mumbled, cracking open one brown eye to watch as Iris settled herself beside him. "I don't think they've been back longer than six hours all week." Iris frowned, snuggling closer to Tony's side. The older man held out his arm, wrapping it around her waist to hold her close, while she claimed his chest as a pillow.

“I told Pepper to make sure she was home today. That’s why they came back last night. I said I’d handle anything that came up. I’m sorry Ri. They were gone before I woke up.” Iris frowned, pushing herself upwards to look down at Tony.

“Come on Iris, I remembered it, and you don’t.” Tony teased, squeezing her side gently, hooking his other hand under his head as he watched her.

“The date today is the twenty fifth of May Ma’am.” Tony tightened his hold around Iris, tugging her down to curl against his chest as tears welled in her eyes. He felt the cool sting of her tears soak through his shirt as she sobbed, hiding her face in his chest.

“Jarvis.” Tony looked away from Iris as his hand ran up and down her back, offering what little comfort he could, but he knew his arms weren’t those she should be seeking comfort from.

“I have already crafted a strongly worded text message to be sent to Agent Barton, would you like to hear it?” Jarvis replied,

“Sure J, go ahead.” Tony smiled, as his AI pretended to clear his throat.

“How dare you leave your wife alone on your two year wedding anniversary. What kind of Arsehole does that!? You best have something planned to make up for slipping away in the dead of night without even so much as a goodbye. That's low, even by my standards. Still think you’re an arse. Say hi to Pepper from me. I’m mad at her too, by the way, I told her I’d handle anything that came up today so you could be here! Arsehole. Love from Genius, Billionaire, Playboy, Philanthropist, Tony Stark.” Tony fought the urge to laugh as Iris pulled away from him with a smile on her face.

“That’s perfect Jarvis!” She announced, sitting up properly and crossing her legs.

“Sent the message Ma’am. I shall inform you and Sir if there is a response from your significant others. In the meantime, may I suggest that Sir takes Ma’am out for breakfast? Seeing as everyone else is out for the day, and neither of you can cook.”

“Hey! I can make Omelettes!” Tony protested, 

“Shut up and take me out. My husband ditched me.” Iris argued back, playfully shoving the genius off of his bed.

“Fine. He owes me though!” Tony grumbled, pushing himself up off the floor and heading for the bathroom.

~~~~~♥~~~~~♡~~~~~♥~~~~~

Bruce was exhausted when he returned to the tower late that night. He expected to be left alone, Clint and Pepper were supposed to be home all day. Clint had huge plans for his second wedding anniversary, going so far as to make sure the twins would be away and convincing Pepper to keep Tony occupied for the entire day,  so to be ambushed the second he stepped out of the elevator was not what he expected.

"BRUCIE!" Iris and Tony both slung an arm over his shoulders, each had a near empty bottle of alcohol in their hand, and several more empty ones littered over the bar.

"Clint and Pepper are in Tokyo, they got called away early this morning. Sir and Ma'am are attempting to drown their sorrows in alcohol and forget." Jarvis informed Bruce, seeming to watch as the duo pulled the doctor over to the bar.

"Bruce, who would win in a fight between Santa and Peter Pan, because this one thinks it's Peter Pan, and I think it's Santa." Tony asked, pouring Bruce a glass of whiskey from a fresh bottle, before finishing the one in his hand.

"Peter Pan is thin, swift, nimble, young, and he can fly! Not to mention that he knows how to wield a blade. Santa's all chubby and jolly." Iris playfully pinched the front of Tony's shirt as insulted Santa's weight. 

"Hey!" Tony swiped at her, but she'd already danced out of his range, laughter falling from her lips.

"Not if Santa squashes Peter Pan with his sleigh," Tony grumbled, putting aside his bottle to start a play fight with Iris. Iris was laughing as she downed the last of the bottle and responded to Tony's attempted hits. The alcohol made all their movements more sluggish and uncoordinated than Bruce was used to seeing - at least from Iris, who could barely hit straight through her laughter.

"Jarvis, please tell me you are recording this?" Bruce whispered, lifting the glass to his mouth to hide his smile at his two friends.

"Of course Dr. Banner. I am also live streaming it to both Agent Barton and Ms. Potts, they're on the plane back now. Agent Barton's beating himself up that he forgot the date of his own wedding anniversary and got his time zones messed up." Jarvis responded, not worrying about Iris and Tony overhearing him as Iris tripped and thudded into the billionaire's chest. Tony wrapped an arm around her waist to keep her upright. His free hand tangling in her hair as her laughter turned to sobs. Her knees giving out beneath her. Tony was quick to lift her into his arms and carry her over to the couch, holding her close until her sobs subsided.

"Damn it, Clint." Tony disentangled himself from the younger woman, pulling the blankets from the foot of the couch to cover her as she settled into the soft cushions, stumbling towards Bruce and picking up his abandoned bottle of whiskey.

"When did you start drinking?" Bruce asked, watching Tony awkwardly clamber onto the barstool, downing half the bottle once he was settled.

"Uhrm, ten am?" Tony glanced upwards as if asking Jarvis for confirmation of his guess.

"When you got back from breakfast at ten you decided that drinking away your pain was a good idea," Jarvis replied, Bruce glanced at his watch, it had just gone ten pm now, so they'd been drinking a solid twelve hours, he had to wonder when they'd forgone glasses in favour of entire bottles.

"Thanks, J. You tell Clint he's a dick yet?" Tony slurred, pulling up a holographic screen on the bar top below him.

"Multiple times Sir," Jarvis replied, sounding almost bored of the question.

"Good." Tony nodded once to himself as he started typing.

"Tony, that can't be a good idea." Bruce tried to reach around him to minimise the document, but Tony battered his hand away with reflexes that he could have only picked up from the multiple spies and assassins that inhabited his tower.

"I'm not working on anything important. Just proving Ri wrong. Don't fret." Tony started muttering to himself as Bruce finished the last of his glass.

"Don't stay up too late." He doubted Tony even heard him as he left the room in favour of his own bed.

~~~~~♥~~~~~♡~~~~~♥~~~~~

A scream jolted Tony awake, his head lifting up from the bar to glance around the living room, trying to ignore the throbbing in his temple as he did so. The lights, mercifully, had been dimmed enough so he could just make out figures in the background. Pepper had a frown on her face as she flicked through a few documents on the tablet in her hand, speaking softly to Jarvis, he presumed. 

The scream, however, had come from Iris, who was wrapped tightly in her husband's arms - despite her halfhearted attempts to break free. His head bowed closer to hers so he could whisper softly to her. Tony smiled when he saw her arms wrap around him rather than fight against him. Iris would hold a grudge, but right now she needed him more than she needed to be mad at him.

"Still mad?" Pepper asked softly, walking to his side and running her fingers through his hair. Tony leant into her touch.

"Yes, she was distraught all day Pep. It was horrible, he took time off to spend with her on their anniversary, and I let him be taken away." Tony reached for the still open bottle of whiskey that sat on the benchtop, Pepper intercepted it before it could pass his lips.

"You two had enough. Now come on, bed." Pepper ushered everyone into the lift with a soft smile playing on her lips.

"What's so amusing Pep?" Tony asked softly, wrapping his arms around her.

"You were so drunk that you made a 14 page PowerPoint on why Santa would beat Peter Pan in a fight, and I must say, you were quite persuasive." She replied, leaning into his side with a laugh.