#and cringe is dead so fan kid fun is back on the table

[transselkie]

Ok, I'll bite: Hilda/Claude/Lorenz, what's their deal? (I enjoyed FE3H a lot! Played all the routes, though it's been a while, and the only pairings I still have any attachment to are Felix/Annette and Annette/Mercedes...)

Thank you so much for asking, I’m sorry for the wait. My first two attempt at this ended up being five/six page essays. I have been. Trying to whittle it down.

The core fundamental is that I genuinely believe the three of them bring out the best in each other, are capable of challenging each other in ways that are necessary, and ultimately balance each other out. Explanation under the cut.

Politics is incredibly important to both Claude and Lorenz, and the three of them are good for each other politically. And not just because of crests or titles.

Lorenz and Claude challenge each other politically in necessary ways for their own growth and success.

Lorenz holds Claude accountable for the decisions he tries to make behind closed doors.

Claude shows Lorenz that the belief system he’s been raised in is fundamentally flawed and broke.

Hilda’s interpersonal skills make her a good diplomat to balance the boys out.

She shares Claude’s ability to manipulate others through charisma but is less willing to go to nefarious places with it. When Claude gets lost in the gambit she can reel him back in.

She’s genuinely liked and trusted by her peers in all the areas that Lorenz fails struggles with.

They’re basically fluent in different languages. Claude can talk strategy, Lorenz can talk nobility, Hilda can talk people.

Interpersonally, they understand and benefit one another.

Claude hides behind a mask of charisma to feign the illusion of openness yet despite his best attempts Hilda and Lorenz see him holistically.

Hilda/Claude A support - Hilda: “If you understand me so well, maybe it's because you're no different. When you smile or laugh, it's not sincere. I can tell. I've only seen you genuinely smile a handful of times.” 

Lorenz sees him for all his worst qualities first (lying, scheming, deceitful) and yet still ultimately concludes that he’s a good and moral man worthy of his position.

Claude doesn’t want anyone to see behind the mask because the mask is an armour protecting him from a world that wants him dead. But both of them look him directly in the eyes and tell him I see you, I see all of you, even the things that you don’t want seen, and I’m standing by your side anyway.

And again, they keep him grounded.

Hilda hides behind her charisma and lazy persona to keep other peoples expectations of her at bay. Claude and Lorenz both help her thrive past her fear of disappointment.

Claude sees right through her act (see A support)

She’s his second in command. If she dies he says every strategy he had was planned around her survival. He understands where her strengths and interests intersect and utilizes them. And she seems to take genuine pride in that work.

Lorenz doesn’t see through her but he values her and encourages her anyway. She’s literally playing him but his response is just so genuine she starts matching his effort anyway without even intending to. She is used to being treated like a liability, but he never treats her that way.

Left to their own devices the boys will work themselves to an early grave and forget to have a life without politics. Hilda will not let that happen.

Lorenz was raised to be a nationalist and taught to believe that he alone had the skills to, basically, make the Alliance great again. Literally, his father had the only known heir murdered to help him advance to the Dukedom. He has some shit to unlearn and they were here to help him unlearn it.

Canonically, Claude’s mere existence and proximity to him helps Lorenz unlearn and re-evaluate his fathers teachings. And while its not his responsibility to educate there’s no way Mr. I-Want-To-Tear-Down-The-Walls-That-Divide-Us isn’t readily doing so on purpose.

Hilda, on paper, should not make a good noble and yet everyone loves her and hates him. He will question why, and he will realize   that his restrictive worldview caused him to miss both of their best qualities.

Seeing them succeed interpersonally will show him he’s been wrong and encourage him to grow and change. And when he does, they will be there to celebrate him. 

That pathway accomplishes all the things I’ve already spoken about - Lorenz realizes his belief system is flawed, and Claude and Hilda have love and support offered to them through the parts of them they see as most unlovable.

He is the only member of this trio that is actually being open and honest with others. He might be lying to himself but he will tell you exactly what he’s thinking. And he’s going to hold the others to his standards of honesty too.

I genuinely believe they’d all be best friends. 

It’s honestly harder to argue that Claude and Hilda aren’t canonically really good friends. Do I even need to defend their friendship.

Claude and Lorenz love a good debate/game of strategy. They might drive each other insane while at the academy but they’re intentionally meeting up for chess weekly minimum.

Hilda and Lorenz absolutely do tea dates and gossip. She’d find him so funny, and he wouldn’t know what to make of her but she’s fucking Hilda Valentine Goneril. 

❤️💛💜 BONUS! ❤️💛💜 

There’s also just so much humor and fun to be found with this dynamic. To display this, my peak academy dynamic for them is as follows:

Lorenz is convinced he’s living in a spy thriller. Claude is an Almyran spy and he is going to prove it.

Claude is a little intimidated by how close to the truth he is but Lorenz is just so pathetic he basically discredits himself. He’s Threat Lite. He needs to be watched but is mostly just a funny little guy to him. It’s a spy thriller to Lorenz but Loony Toons for Claude.

Claude and Hilda are just besties who are casually sleeping together. They gossip. It’s fun.

She’s also besties with Lorenz. They have tea and gossip and she thinks that whatever is wrong with him is so so fun.

I can not stress enough that this is just high school for her.

Lorenz however is ALSO living in an Austenian drama. He believes Claude and Hilda to be courting, a heart breaking reality as he has found himself falling for Hilda.

Hilda watches the boys play weirdly homoerotically charged games of chess like “omg you want to fuck each other so bad it makes you both look pathetic”

She WILL say as much to both of them who are equally horrified by the accusation. “I think if you fucked you’d fix each other actually.” They staunchly disagree.

They are 100% blaming those embarrassing dreams they keep having on her and absolutely nothing else.

Anyway, I could literally continue talking forever. Their ship song is In the Middle by Dodie. hilclaurenz is everything to me. Thank you for listening  ❤️💛💜

[seeuonadarknite]

puppy — yandere oikawa tooru x f. reader

hi i got inspired by @vermiliren’s yandere prompts and used two different prompts 😳 it’s been a while since i’ve watched hq (need to get caught up tBH) but the hq boys are fun to write for and i wanted to try it out with oikawa so i’m sorry if i didn’t portray him right-

warnings: toxic parents, kidnapping, abuse, noncon, degradation, facefucking

"Seriously? You lost another game?" The tantalizing tone of Oikawa's mother made him want to cringe.

It felt as if all his parents cared about was his volleyball career. They never asked about his wellbeing, they never asked about his grades, and they never asked about his social life. All they seemed to care about was volleyball.

And that's all anyone really cared about when it came to him. He was the great king, after all. He may have had good looks, but his fan club would have never supported him if it weren’t for his talents. It sucked.

Glancing up at his mother and father, who both seemed very distressed at his recent loss, he sighed. "Sorry, ma. I know you were rooting for me. I'll get em next time!" He sent his mother his signature grin, in hopes of receiving reassuring words or at least a smile back.

Nothing. She didn't even bat an eye. "Go to your room. I can't bear the sight of you right now." It was as if she wanted to call him a pathetic, good for nothing kid. It was frustrating; having parents that lived through him. If he wasn't successful, then they weren't successful.

The pressure was immense. Not only did he feel pressured by his team and fans, but his own parents too! If he made a simple mistake, he'd be done for. His stress was building up; he needed to relieve it before he messed up again.

Pushing his seat backwards, Oikawa departed from the dining room table and made his way down the stairs. His room was pretty secluded, he opted on taking the basement because it was spacious and pretty soundproof. He didn't have to worry about his parents hearing him yanking it, right?

Wrong. He didn't have to worry about the girl that had been locked down there in his closet. Without time to spare, Oikawa pulled the closet door open, revealing your peaceful, unconscious body.

It was really a shame that he had to disturb your peace. "Wake up, puppy." Your bloodshot eyes shot open, only to meet with your kidnapper's dull brown ones.

How long had you been in here? It was really a mystery to you. Oikawa had purposefully taken all clocks out of the room. He didn't want you to have a sense of time, he wanted you to suffer. He believed you deserved to go through the same misery that he did.

"You love me, right? So you wouldn't mind me using you to destress. It's real tough being in my shoes, you know? You have it easy!" The way he spoke sickened you.

It was as if he believed you were living the dream down here. You didn't have to go to work or school, so what was there to complain about? All you have to do is sit back and let Oikawa use you however and whenever he pleases.

Unfortunately, you were far too weak to fight back. Your body was scattered with bruises, scars, and love bites. He ruined you; you were a perfectly clean canvas before he painted you with bruises. All you could really do was beg. Beg like a pitiful puppy at the mercy of a cruel owner.

"Please, T-Tooru.." You knew how much he enjoyed hearing his name roll off of your tongue. "..Don't do this. I'm— I'm still sore from last night!" And you were. The previous night he had yanked your hair, slammed your face into the hard flooring, and fucked you from behind. All because you told him you missed your family.

A small chuckle sounded throughout the four walls of his room. What were you thinking? He couldn't care less about your wellbeing. "I will use you however I want to."

These were the last words that fell from his mouth before shoving you to the floor and placing a foot in between your breasts. "Beg me to stop." He looked down at you with a terrifying gleam in his eyes. One that told you that he could kill you if he wanted to.

"P-Please! I-" A fit of coughs erupted from your throat. "..can't breathe!" You felt as if you were about to lose consciousness when he finally stopped applying pressure and removed his foot. However, your torment didn't end there.

Dragging you up by your hair, Oikawa sent you a glare before giving you another command. "On your knees." Before you could receive another unethical punishment, you quickly obliged, getting into the said position. The position made you wince a little, thanks to the bruises that covered both of your knees.

Oikawa smirked at you before unbuckling his belt and pulling out his cock. "That's a good girl! Now, suck." He didn't even give you a chance to retaliate as he nudged the tip of his cock up against your lips. You reluctantly parted your lips, allowing him to push himself further into your mouth with ease.

Your pace was slow and lethargic whilst you uncoordinatedly swirled your tongue around the length of his cock, pumping whatever you couldn't fit into your mouth with your hand. Unfortunately for Oikawa, you had little to no energy, so you didn't put much effort into your movements.

This just wouldn't do. It felt like he was getting sucked off by a zombie. Letting out a dramatic huff, Oikawa gripped your hair with both of his hands, pushing your head down to the base of his cock. Your eyes had widened as you gagged, feeling the tip of his cock hitting the back of your throat. You couldn't throw up, especially not on his cock. He'd fucking kill you if you did. But god, his cock was making you gag like crazy. It'd be a miracle if he managed to cum without making you vomit.

Whenever he would pull your head away and give you a second to breathe, he'd immediately push you back down, thrusting into your mouth as if you were some sort of toy. Maybe he had forgotten that you were human, just like him. Hell, maybe you had too.

His hands mercilessly tugged at your hair, causing pain to course throughout your scalp. You let out a small whimper, sending vibrations through his cock. This action only caused him to pick up the pace of his thrusting. "Fuck, you really know how to turn a guy on, eh?"

His fingers crept up onto your head, purposefully digging his short nails into your scalp. He loved seeing the pained expressions you'd make at him as you gagged on his cock. "If only the school knew where you really were.." He grunted, temporarily pulling his cock out of your mouth to bask in your expression. It was perfect, he loved the way your pupils seemed to dilate ever so slightly at his taunting words.

"You're not dead! You're here with me, taking my cock like the slut you are— fuck!" Just degrading you like this really turned him on. His cock twitched inside of your mouth one last time before he shot his load into your mouth, filling your oral cavity with his semen.

"Don't even think about spitting it out. I'll just make you lick it off of the floor like the puppy that you are." You knew better than to disobey him. His threats weren't empty, and you'd prefer not to taste the floor; Oikawa was enough.

Pulling his lengthy cock out of the warmth of your mouth, Oikawa watched as you reluctantly swallowed his sickeningly salty semen. Not only was the flavor revolting, but the substance was thick and always stuck to your throat. It was gross.

Oikawa watched your face contort into a cringe as you finished swallowing his semen. God, this was a sight he'd never grow tired of. Crouching down to reach your height, he leaned down and pressed a chaste kiss to your forehead.

As he leaned away, his eyes made contact with yours. It was odd, the glare in his eyes had softened. Was he really going to act like he didn't just force you to down his cum just a minute ago?

Caressing your cheek with his hand, he let out a dreamy sigh. "You’re such an obedient little puppy.”

[randomdash]

My long Ass Random Kravis Rant

I loved Kourtney and Travis in the beginning, and now I find them so trashy and repulsive. There, I said it. Their PDA is so overwhelming that it makes me cringe and uncomfortable to see—I think they like this factor, making others uncomfortable.

I was a Blink fan back in the day, not major. Not having seen Travis Barker in a while made me look him up to see what he’s been up to. I went back and reread his book, and I watched Meet the Barkers on YouTube; I never watched the show on MTV. I thought the show was okay. It’s pre-Kardashian reality TV. I remember hearing a buzz about the show even if I didn’t watch it because it was shocking that the dude whose voice you never heard was having a reality TV show. He was the member of Blink who spoke the least.

Travis is the same attention-seeking guy (he openly admits he loves being on reality TV and was trying to get a new show with his kids recently). He’s the same very affectionate PDA-heavy type that he was back then. In the very first episode of Meet the Barkers, you see Travis on top of his wife, dry humping her on a pool table in public while being filmed. In the next few scenes, you see them making out on the side of a red carpet event while his other band members are being interviewed. Then Shanna rubbed his back and hugged him, holding him in her arms, almost to console him with affection. Nothing is wrong with this, but it’s like he loves affection all the time. It seems too tiresome to me. Maybe it’s his coping mechanism?

Not to be ungrateful to those who like it, but my husband is also very affectionate, and I am just not as affectionate as I’d like to be, so we have healthy bounds we set for each other, so both our needs are met, including me needing my space sometimes. Still, my husband is getting that affection he desires. I would be so overwhelmed by a guy like Travis, though. He seems fun for a one-night stand but long-term? I don’t know how Kourtney does it. Obviously, she loves him, and it’s her thing, but I thank goodness I don’t have to deal with someone that affectionate all the time. All the constant touching would drive me crazy. Sheesh!

Get back for a minute, let me breathe. For me, less is more meaningful and passionate.

That’s why we live in a world where people are different. I get it. Maybe I’m a prude and am the only one in the world feeling this way?

Back to the Meet The Barkers, there is a moment where Travis and Shanna are getting their marriage license, and Travis wants to run his fingers through her hair multiple times from root to tip, all while he is on his phone, mind you. They make out, and he rubs her boobs and her ass as they are waiting in line as if he just cannot wait for the sex he can get at home or even in the car.

You can go home to do all that, but you don’t because that’s you’re thing, right? Being so touchy-feely in public. That’s cool, I guess.

This PDA was making the wedding license guy so uncomfortable. Travis didn’t seem to care, and Shanna seemed like she was on the fence. This extreme PDA is his thing.

As far as the PDA, whomever Travis is dating, he will do this with. Kourtney should not feel special by him being this way with her, but more so expect it from him. It’s his personality. I’m happy for her if this is the first time she is experiencing such affection and if she is the type that likes it. Good for her, if this is what she wants and she is happy.

Kourtney spent many years being unhappy. Everyone deserves to be happy. Kourtney and Scott were so toxic, and many of us were fooled by how good they looked together.

The new mirage is Kourtney and Travis are so happy and in love and perfect in comparison because we see all this extreme PDA engagement from Kourtney that we have never seen before, I think not.

I’m happy for Kourtney if she is happy. Change is good, and I think both she and Scott are damaged and toxic people together. Just because they were together all that time 10+ years, with kids, doesn’t mean they have to be together.

We see a new Kourtney getting everything she never did with Scott, but her and Travis's relationship is presented in such an extreme, in your face, fashion that it doesn’t feel authentic all the time. You read Travis’s book, and he describes all the PDA and sex that he loved to have in great detail. He said he and Paris Hilton had a thing that he couldn’t work out because they didn’t have good sexual chemistry. It seems like this man has slept with everyone. In his book, he mentioned girls would show up at his door and just knock, and he’d let them in for a good time in the earlier Blink days.

Is it the rockstar life, or is it the sex addict life? Both? Kourtney has had her share of dating around too. Remember Miami season 1 Kourtney wilding out or hanging out with Kendall’s younger friends after Scott? People have probably signed NDA’s left and right on both Kourtney and Travis’ sides. Think of all the hookups we don’t even know about.

I bring all this up because Kourtney is with Travis now, and they have blended their families. They are neighbors. It’s a serious situation. I worry for Kourtney. I know she doesn’t care or need me to worry for her, but she’s been morphing into someone else. Travis Barker is the same, but Kourtney is not. She has changed her ways so much that her sister and Mom are defending her behavior, saying her PDA with Travis is cute and this and that. They are a little older to be coming across as cute, in my opinion. At the same time, I’m sure Kourtney’s family just wants to see her happy after the dead-end of Scott.

Kourtney will make her own decisions. It’s her life, and all we can do is just look on and let her live, but as someone concerned about her during the show's filming through the years, I worry how much she has changed herself while she has been with Travis. At what point do you feel so engulfed with someone that you lose yourself?

He has you feeling good but do you really feel good?

How does a photo OP of making out in the bathroom improve yourself? You know you are being photographed, so how does straddling your man in public with your thong showing through your butt cheeks and skirt help your relationship? Does doing these things make a person happier? Does it prove you ARE happier? After all, you cannot help yourself because you’re so in love? Is that it? Are you coming on to your boyfriend because you’re afraid you will lose him if you don’t? Have you always been this way, but you were holding back?

All the questions that will never get answered.

In Travis’s book, he claims to have had the best sexual chemistry ever with his ex-wife Shanna. On their honeymoon, they were breaking into places to have sex. First, who does that? Second, does that weigh on Kourtney? Has she read his book, I wonder? Shanna was around Travis as recent as during the beginning of the pandemic. Does knowing his ex’s history make Kourtney insecure? Why the change in Kourt? If Kourtney doesn’t jump on Travis in public, laying on him or straddling him, or touching tongues in front of others….will he think less of her? Or is Kourtney just that in love?

To be honest, Kourtney seemed a little uncomfortable lately. That smile in the bathroom video looked a little fake to me and hard to watch awkward, but who am I?  

I am no one but an anonymous person on a blog. Maybe I am a bit too conservative for someone in their thirties? Perhaps it’s not that deep, and I’m looking too close. Again, this is just my opinion, and I’m not trying to come off as a hater, so sorry if I have. I’m merely just observing what I have noticed through the years. I think the old Kourtney would have things to say to this new version of Kourtney. And that word rhymes with Slore. Respectfully, I’ll try to keep an open mind in the future. For now, I’m going to go outside and touch some grass.

[itslunarwritesstuff]

Movie night

Prompt: “This movie is really scary, but you’re so into it I’m trying not to cover my face the whole time but- WHAT IS THAT”

Word Count: 2,600

Pairing: Shawn Hunter x Fem! Reader

Summary: Weekly movie night at Y/N’s house isn’t exactly what Shawn planned when Y/N picks a horror movie for them to watch. The thing is Shawn hates gore-filled horror movies they scare him half to death but refuses to bruise his ego by telling her and not wanting to disappoint his girl. 

Contains: Fluff, Cuddling, Hair playing, and braiding. 

Y/N/N: Your nickname Y/C/H: Your color hair

Y/L/N: Your last name

___________________________________________________________________________________

It’s the last class period of the day and thankfully it is a Friday so the weekend is coming shortly. 

Y/N is separating her books between what she needs for the weekend and not. 

When she is finished she swings around with her backpack on her shoulders and runs face-first

 into someone.  

Books flying onto the ground and Y/N’s body as well, it takes her a moment to register that this has actually happened and then she sits up pulling her shirt back down to cover her exposed stomach that must have ridden up from the fall. 

That someone is quick to bend down and offer her a hand up and help with her books, that someone being Shawn Hunter her boyfriend of only a few short weeks but a friend of much longer. 

“Y/N I’m so sorry are you okay” he apologizes. 

“No worries honey” Y/N smiles up at him. 

Shawn turns his head as to not look directly at her, his face full of embarrassment from her falling and the casual nickname. 

Mustering up some courage to speak he grabs her books off of the tiled floor and says “So are we still having movie night at your house tonight”?

Shawn hands Y/N the stray books and notebooks and she answers “Yuppers, my parents gave me the okay the other night, and get this! They’re letting us use the basement with the bigger TV; perfect for ‘The Gore Saga: Knife to meet you’”!

Trying to convey the same excitement as she is Shawn lies right through his teeth saying “That sounds awesome, I can’t wait”. 

For a little background, Shawn hates horror movies with gore. Paranormal he can deal with, maybe even psychological thrillers, anything but gore. But it was Y/N’s turn to pick the movie and he didn’t want to be the one to ruin anything for her. So no matter how much he squirmed and cringed he decided he will not say a word on the matter; for her sake and his, he did have his own pride to look out for as well. 

After all of her belongings were stowed away in her backpack she swung the object back over her shoulders and turns her head over towards Shawn’s then spots Cory and Topanga. 

Y/N wouldn’t want to leave her friends out so she tells Shawn “I think we should invite Cory and Topanga, I think it would be fun to have the four of us hanging out”. 

Before Shawn could protest she was already walking over to the infamous couple. 

Shawn usually wouldn’t be against having his two best friends come along but knew if he chickened out they would most definitely poke fun at him and his pride couldn’t take that hit. Also, he wanted to be alone with Y/N cause the difference between tonight and the other movie nights they have had; is Y/N’s parents were gone for the weekend. And Y/N’s older siblings would be the ones “watching them” which meant they could basically do whatever they wanted. Which meant he gets to spend the night, per Y/N’s request of course. 

“Hey Y/N, Shawn how are you guys”? Topanga asks. 

“Besides falling back there, Doing pretty good. Hey, we wanted to ask you two a question” Y/N answers. 

“Okay shoot”.

“So Shawn and I are having a movie night tonight and was wondering if you guys wanted to join us.” 

While Y/N said this Shawn stood behind her swinging his arms and overtly mouthing the word “No”. 

Cory is confused and doesn’t get the memo and almost says yes but Topanga gets the hint that Shawn wants to be alone with Y/N for the night and jabs her boyfriend in the side. 

“We actually have our own date planned tonight but thank you for the offer,” the girl opposite Y/N says. 

Cory still doesn’t get the memo and says “We do”? 

“Yes Cory, remember”?

“No actually, which is alarming cause I remember anything and everything Topanga related,” Cory says with a genuinely worried expression on his face scratching his head.

Topanga leans over and whispers in her partner’s ear, a sudden look of understanding coming over him. 

“Right that date thing” Cory laughs and says “You two have fun...lots of fun” a cheeky smile insinuating something else and walking away behind Topanga. 

“Was he being weirder than usual or was that just me” Y/N turned and asked Shawn. 

“It was definitely him, Trust me”. 

“Okay, will you walk me home. I really don’t want to take the bus today”. 

“Yeah of course. One second let me just grab my bag from my locker”. 

After Shawn grabs his backpack filled with his overnight things and his books that Y/N made him begrudgingly put in there too; they head towards her house. 

It is a nice spring day the only downside was the slight chill in the air despite it being sunny outside. 

Even though Y/N had a sweatshirt on she was still freezing, it was as if Shawn sensed this and put his arm around her shoulder her hand coming up to interlock their fingers. They walked in sync staying close on the narrow sidewalk. Most of the walk was silent because they spoke through touch and subtle glances. 

When they arrived at Y/N’s house her parents were still home but there was no worry, they trusted the two teenagers and her parents just adored Shawn. They wanted Y/N to be with Shawn before Y/N even knew she wanted to be with him. 

“Hi Mr. and Mrs. Y/L/N almost ready for your weekend getaway,” Shawn asked her parents when they entered the house. Suitcases were lined up next to the front door. 

“Almost, we are just going down our checklist making sure we don’t forget anything.” Y/N’s Mom said frantically checking boxes on the slip of paper in her hand. 

“We left money on the kitchen table for food tonight, so you guys order whatever you want for your movie night” Y/N’s Dad informed them. 

“Thank you, Dad. Love you guys have a safe trip” their daughter pulled each of her parents into individual hugs. 

Her Mom gives Shawn a hug as well “Love you Shawn, be good okay” he nods and returns the squeeze. Y/N’s family has always been there with open arms for the Hunter boy since they were kids. He even stayed with them for a while as well as the Matthews when his Dad went looking for his Mom a while back. 

Y/N’s Dad opted out for the hug and gives Shawn a handshake instead saying “The Gore Saga huh, you’re a braver man than I am Shawn. I have no idea how she enjoys those movies”.

Shawn just laughed as the adults made their way out of the house. 

Later after the pair have eaten and gotten everything set up; blankets and pillows on the couch, refreshments, and the rented VHS tape of ‘The Gore Saga: Knife to meet you’.

Shawn gulped on the couch while Y/N slid the tape into the VCR; she hurried back over to the couch excitedly and all of Shawn’s fear disappeared when she hopped onto the couch next to him. Her smile wider than ever and her head rested on his lap, he distracted himself from the film by running his fingers through her hair. Sometimes making short little braids then pulling them apart right after, and for the most part, his tactic worked. Until she sat up and stretched out next to him to make herself more comfortable, he didn’t have her touch to soothe him anymore. 

(Warning descriptions of gore coming up)

After a few minutes a pretty gruesome scene unfolded on the screen in front of them; its the part of the movie where the killer gets one of the dumb ones who run into every trap he has set while trying to run away, and this guy was now being ran through a humongous factory meat grinder...and he’s dead. Blood, guts, and bones is all that comes out of the other end. 

Shawn could no longer keep his composure he was bugging big time, but when he looked over at Y/N he saw the opposite expression on her face. Where his face was full of disgust and fear, hers, on the other hand, was full of glee and joy. Who would have known that the sweet Y/N Y/L/N was a gore fan, the same girl who cried when they were nine because some kids destroyed an anthill at recess. 

Again he couldn’t hold it in anymore. “Y/N”? he softly pleaded her name. 

She turned her body towards him her eyes barely leaving the screen she was so captivated. 

“Yes, Shawnie” she continues. 

“Could you please come back over here and let me hold you or you could hold me, Even better”! Shawn reached out for Y/N desperately. 

Scooting back over to her guy she motions for him to lay on her lap and god does he! He clasps his arms around her left one holding it against his chest. She senses some of his discomfort, and she makes work by running her nails down his scalp and a rushed breath and hum escaped Shawn’s lips. 

Putting her focus back on the TV while she continued soothing the boy who laid on her legs. 

Another putrid scene of killings displays on the screen and Shawn jumps from underneath her. 

“Shawn, Baby are you okay”? Y/N asks concerned her fingers brushing her sweet boys face. 

“I’m sorry babe it’s just this movie is really scary, but you’re so into it I’m trying not to cover my face the whole time but- WHAT IS THAT”! Shawn screeches. 

Y/N jumps at the shrill noise of his scream but cannot help but laugh shortly after. 

He is just too adorable sometimes, she would have never thought her hot shot of a boyfriend would be squeamish of a little gore. 

Never the less she smiled at him still clinging her arm to his chest while his head laid on her lap.

“Babe, are you okay,” she asked still giggling. 

“Yes …” another blood splatter to the screen made Shawn jolt yet again. His eyes showed defeat as he finished “...No, I mean. This gore stuff isn’t exactly my favorite. 

“Well, why didn’t you just tell me that earlier, Duckie” Shawn always had a soft spot for that pet name it was one she didn’t use often but when she did it made his heart flutter beyond words. 

“I didn’t want to ruin your fun, Y/N/N,” he said sheepishly. 

“Oh, baby. That’s very sweet of you but I have plenty of other movies we could watch. I’ll finish this one another time, no big deal” Y/N let out a breathy laugh at just Shawn being Shawn, and the whole ‘I’ll watch it because you enjoy it’ thing made her stomach flip. 

Giving Shawn another option she says “How about a romantic comedy”? Shawn nodded his head frantically. He would deny it if anyone else knew but Y/N knew Rom/Coms were secretly his favorite. 

Sadly he peeled his body away from hers so she could go and eject the tape and put the new one in. After sliding in the much less graphic film she was less than surprised that she saw Shawn waiting for her to cuddle him on the couch, he had moved from one end to the other where the couch had an ‘L’ shape so they could hold each other while still being able to watch the movie. 

But she wasn’t complaining, whenever she got to touch Shawn in this sweet innocent way she felt like when you do when you’re at home safe and most of the time drowsy. 

She laid there in between his leg;  back laid back against his chest. He had his arms around her torso playing with her fingers that laid relaxed on her sides, and his face was buried into her hair. 

“Shawn darling, what are you doing” she giggled at the tickle of his nose brushing her jawline while he smelled her cascading locks. “Mhm your hair smells so good, and it’s so soft.” his hands slip away from her sides as he starts to comb through the Y/C/H that covered Y/N’s shoulders. After he got all the small knots out, he started braiding her hair again but this time all together instead of little strands. 

Y/N tried her best to pay attention to the love story in front of them but was more distracted by her own, right here in her basement. If she were coyer and the movie wasn’t on she would most likely jump this boy, just to shower him in kisses.

After a while long after Shawn had stopped playing with her hair, Y/N relaxed into his frame, her hands and legs tangled with his underneath the heavy but comfortable knitted blanket on top of them. 

Then came a scene where the guy and the girl have their first kiss and with all of the emotion that’s been building up, they physically cannot keep their lips off of one another and a makeout session ensues. 

Just thinking about Shawn kissing her made Y/N instantly blush, even if they were way past first kisses. 

And now Y/N was the one who couldn’t hold it together anymore, she needed kisses Now. 

Turning in Shawn’s arms she misplaces his head from the crook of her neck where every once and while leave soft little pecks across the splay of skin on her neck and jaw. And it was making Y/N’s body flush with anticipation, but nothing came of it. 

Shawn looked surprised that Y/N had moved but all he softly said was “Baby whats wrong? Do you not like the movie”? And he tucked the loose hair around her face back behind her ear. His hand lingered on her cheek thumb grazing the almost invisible baby hairs that tickled while he does so. 

Instead of answering his question Y/N leans in slightly, puts her arms around his neck and toys with the hair at the nape of his neck sending shivers down his spine. 

Knowing what she wants, she makes eye contact with the beautiful boy in front of her and asks “Can I have a kiss please” with the softest voice because she is still afraid he might say no and he is allowed to say no. 

Wasting absolutely no time he closes the gap between them as he cups her face with one hand and the other holding her lower back in a way to balance her almost. Their lips moved as one and Y/N couldn’t help but smile into the kiss a giggle about to pop because of her happiness. 

But before she could, Shawn was laughing and he had to pull away to compose himself. 

Y/N chuckled with him “What’s so funny huh”?

“You’re just so cute and polite. I love that you always ask me before kissing me. And honestly its sometimes surreal that you’re my girl ya know, I mean look at ya.” 

“You aren’t so bad yourself Hunter. And I enjoy being ‘Your girl’ very much”.

Y/N fanned her hands out on Shawn’s chest keeping some distance between them while they spoke so she could see him properly. 

Shawn leaned back in asked “May I kiss you, Princess” “Of course” she answered shortly attaching her lips back to his in a hurry. 

It’s safe to say that the movie was long forgotten for the rest of the night, they were too wrapped up with each other.

[mosh-4]

new friends, new music | A.I.

Ashton Irwin Imagine:

Ashton Irwin – you’re their opening act, and you write a song with Ash.

singer!y/n x Ashton

(the first song is Tennis Court, and the second is Ribs, both by Lorde. let’s pretend here, friends)

 Being the opening act for 5 Seconds of Summer is great. You were loving it. The energy and support from the crowd was life changing.

However, part of you felt like there was something missing. You felt out of place. Every night, you would perform the same set of songs you had written for yourself while at your university, and your manager had encouraged you to record them and put them out. You were a baby musician and followed their guidance, but now that you have grown, you can’t help but feel like your music isn’t ‘you’ anymore.

To you, it felt sloppy and anti-climactic. If you weren’t confident or happy with your music, how could the crowd be?

You wouldn’t blame them if they put you on blast on twitter. You felt the same way.

The solution to your problem was to just not write bad songs. Easy right? So, you spent the majority of your bus time either sleeping, eating, or writing music. It wasn’t horrible.

You were on bus two with the second opening act. They were a three-member band, and you got along with them pretty well. You wouldn’t personally choose to hang with them, but you lived together on a tour bus so you couldn’t really escape them.

The bus assignments were pretty loose. You slept on bus two, but you weren’t confined to it. The members of the other opening act occasionally spent their time on bus one with headliners. You cherished that time because it was quiet enough for you to work on your new music, and you could be as loud as you wanted.

The tour was currently traveling from Charlotte, NC to Nashville, TN, and you were alone in your bus. Or, so you thought.

***

You were sitting in the back lounge of the tour bus with an acoustic guitar resting on your lap and a pair of rose gold headphones resting on your head.

You began to strum opening notes of the melody you were working on while humming and mouthing some lyrics to go with it. You would stop every once in a while to jot some notes down into your little notebook. You had been in your head for quite sometime until you decided you needed a break.

You played through the work in progress once before you got up to lock it in your brain. You strummed and sang along with the lyrics you had just written as loud as you pleased. Once you finished and felt content with your work, you got up to grab a snack and drink from the kitchen area.

With your headphones still securely placed on your head, you began to blast some Panic! At the Disco and scrolled through Instagram as you trekked to the kitchen. Following your usual route without paying attention, you climbed onto the booth table seat to reach the top cabinet that you placed your snacks in. You placed a hand firmly on the wall to keep your balance.

Unfortunate for you, the bus hit a bump in the road causing you to teeter off the booth seat with your graham crackers in one hand and you phone in the other. You braced yourself for your inevitable fall before you felt a hand grab you by the waist.

“oh my god.”

You jumped from the sudden contact and pulled yourself away from the person after regaining your balance.

Your mighty savior laughed at your outburst.

“are you alright?” the Australian asked after he quickly finished laughing.

You looked up and slid your headphones to rest on your neck. The one and only Ashton Irwin sat at the very booth seat you had just climbed on. You had nearly stepped on him.

“I’m fine. You just scared me,” you said taking a breath. “I’m sorry. I was in my head, and I totally didn’t see you there.”

“don’t sweat it. It’s fine,” he said glancing to your box of graham crackers. “you might have to share some of those with me, though.”

Now that you had finally calmed down, you set the box down on the table before moving the grab a water from the fridge.

“do you want anything to drink?” you asked in an attempt to be hospitable to guy you had nearly climbed up just to get a few graham crackers.

“I’m good. I helped myself earlier,” he said while scrolling through his phone.

You grabbed a drink for yourself before taking a seat across the table from him.

To be honest, he was kind of intimidating, and you had never really had a conversation with him. Of course, you had listened to his music, and you were a fan. He and the rest of his band just felt unapproachable to you.

He typed a few things into his laptop before going back to his phone.

“i-uh-can go if you’re super busy,” you said preparing to leave him a sleeve of graham crackers and head back to the lounge.

He immediately snapped his eyes to you.

“no,” he said quickly. “I’m not doing anything important. I’m just putting some dates and events into the calendar on my phone that my manager emailed the band. You don’t need to leave.”

“okay, are you sure? I don’t mind.”

“no, seriously. You should stay.”

“okay,” you softly said as you opened a sleeve of graham crackers.

You slide the half open sleeve to him, and he grabbed two before sliding it back to you.

“so how come you never hang out with everyone in my bus?” Ashton asked with an eyebrow raised to you.

You grabbed a cracker for yourself. “I like to work on some stuff when its quiet. Nothing personal against hanging with everyone, I just need a moment to myself.”

“cheers to that,” he said tapping his graham cracker against yours.

“so why are you visiting bus two?” you leaned back in your seat.

“it got a bit chaotic in bus one, and I needed a break for myself,” he paused to take a bit. “I could feel a migraine coming on.

“oh, do you need something for it? I’ve got ibuprofen-”

“nah,” he shook his head. “I had a small nap, and it went away.”

“oh okay. I’m sorry if I was being loud back in the lounge.”

“no, you were fine. It was calming,” he admitted while examining your face. “whatever you were working on sounded really good. Are you going to add it to your set?”

You took a swig of your water. “I’m not sure if I want to. The song feels too personal to share right now. I don’t think I’ll be playing it until I start putting out music that’s more me, you know?”

“that’s more you?” he squinted his eyes at you. “not a fan of your current stuff?”

“hardly,” you admit. “it just feels too out of place. Half of those songs I wrote at 2 am for a music theory class in college, and the other half are manufactured pop rock songs. My manager wanted me to put out an album so badly that he didn’t really care what went into it, and now I can’t perform them without cringing. I’ve just- uh- I don’t know- like- I feel like I’ve just kinda-I don’t know-”

“you’ve grown,” he shrugged.

“yeah. I have,” you pause looking him dead in the eye.  “and I need my music to progress with me.”

“I get that. You’ve found the music you want to make, and you want to perform music you’re passionate about rather than the stuff you’re given. Nothing wrong with that,” he shrugged before leaning forward. “so how many do you have written?”

“songs?”

“yeah, how many songs do you have written?”

“like twenty, but I only like four of them.”

“counting the one you were working on earlier?”

“no, that’s not finished yet.” You took another chomp out of your cracker.

“okay,” he nodded. “can I write some stuff with you?”

“really?” you almost choke. “you want to work with me?”

“yeah, why not?” he smiled. “we’ve got nothing to do for the next three hours.”

***

You and Ashton sat on the floor of the lounge working out a song. You both had guitars on your lap while you worked out melodies. Ashton was tapping out a beat on the body of the acoustic he was borrowing. You hummed along to the melody you were working on before snapped up straight and slung the guitar off your lap.

You leaped up to grab your notebook from the couch and began to flip through it until you found your page. You set the book down in front of you as you place the guitar back on your lap.

“what if, it went like this,” you started before strumming the melody. You began to sing:

“baby, be the class clown,

I’ll be the beauty queen in tears

It’s a new art form,

showin’ people how little we care”

“I like it, yeah, yeah, let’s keep running with it.”

“okay, keep the beat that you were doing,” you said before you went back to your singing.

“baby, be the class clown,

I’ll be the beauty queen in tears

It’s a new art form,

showin’ people how little we care

We’re so happy, even when we’re smilin’ out of fear

Let’s go down to the tennis courts and talk it up like yeah (yeah)”

Ashton let out one of his bleated laughs. “where did you get ‘tennis courts’?”

You let out a little laugh as he distracted you from you train of thought. “I went to a private high school. We had tennis courts that the popular kids hung out at.”

“that’s ridiculous,” he laughed.

“I know.”

***

“But my head's filling up with the wicked games, up in flames

How can I f*** with the fun again, when I'm known

And my boys trip me up with their heads again, loving them

Everything's cool when we're all in line, for the throne

But I know it's not forever (Yeah)

Baby be the class clown

I'll be the beauty queen in tears

It's a new art form showing people how little we care (yeah)

We're so happy, even when we're smilin' out of fear

Let's go down to the tennis court, and talk it up like yeah (yeah)”

You sat singing the song you and Ashton had just finished into your voice memos while he tapped out the beat for you.

“that was so cool.”

You smiled sheepishly at the drummer after you had finished voice-memo-ing your song.

“thanks.”

“that’s gonna be a banger,” he laughed adjusting his hair. “what else do you got in your little book?”

You laughed before tossing it into his lap. “beware, some of it’s angsty, but I trust you not to judge too harshly.”

You stood up to grab you both some more snacks and waters while Ashton flipped through your countless pages of lyrics.

“hey, I like this one,” he shouted from the other room.

“which one,” you shouted back.

“it feels so scary getting old.”

Your feet padded into the room with your arms full of the box of graham crackers and waters.

“that’s a dark one.”

“I don’t judge.” He said looking up from the one of the pages. “it’s that all you eat?”

Ashton laughed at you as you shoved a cracker into your mouth. So much for not judging…

“is there something wrong with that?”

“extremely,” he laughed grabbing a cracker for himself. “you do eat other foods, right? With nutrients and stuff?”

“yeshf,” you replied with a full mouth. “it’s a snack. I’ll eat actually food when we stop for dinner.”

“can I buy you dinner?”

“uhhhhh-”

“so that we can talk about more song ideas, you know?”

“oh, yeah, sure,” you nodded. “I would like that.”

“cool, so let’s work on this one,” he said directing your attention to the page with the lyrics written on it.

“damn that’s angsty,” you said after you scanned the page. “let’s do it.”

***

“This dream isn't feeling sweet

We're reeling through the midnight streets

And I've never felt more alone

It feels so scary, getting old

I want 'em back (I want 'em back)

The minds we had (the minds we had)

How all the thoughts (how all the thoughts)

Moved 'round our heads (moved 'round our heads)

I want 'em back (I want 'em back)

The minds we had (the minds we had)

It's not enough to feel the lack

I want 'em back, I want 'em back, I want 'em

You're the only friend I need

Sharing beds like little kids

Laughing 'til our ribs get tough

But that will never be enough”

You bopped back and forth to the beat as you sang along to the beat Ashton was giving as you sang the song you had just thrown together.

When you finished, Ashton let out a whistle.

“another one, baby, another one. THIS IS ROCK N ROLL BABY,” he screamed excitedly as you laughed before collapsing onto the couch next to you.

Both of your heads’ rested against the same cushion just inches apart.

“I’d say today was quite productive,” you whisper tiredly between the two of you.

“we did good,” he raised his hand to bump his knuckles against yours.

“we did. Pretty good team, huh?”

You were both stuck in a post-songwriting-genius session haze, and both of your eyes linger just a little too long on each other.

Thankfully, the bus lurched forward as it stopped at the rest stop to fill up and for everyone to grab dinner, which pulled you both from your little world.

Ashton was the first to break the gaze as he pulled himself off the couch to help you up.

“c’mon, let’s go get some real food.”

You groan as he yanks you up from the couch before you head to tear apart your bunk to find your pair of converse.

 …and that’s how you became best friends with Ashton Irwin…

.

.

.

hi friends! i know it’s been a while, but i’m back. let me know if you want to see more singer!y/n x Ashton xx - mosh

[aconstantstateofbladerunner]

Complete Butterfly Outline

Howdy friends.  The following is the complete chapter by chapter outline for Butterfly.  Now that the fic is finished and some people want to see it, I figured there was no harm in sharing.  Maybe this will help some of you better your own outline process.  Note that not everything that appears here made it into the fic, and some things that did don’t appear in this outline.  Some events are also in different order due to me changing my mind during the actual writing.  Feel free to ask me questions about those discrepancies or anything else.  Please enjoy!

Butterfly

The first over-night trip off campus since the training camp is supposed to be a break from anxiety.  But between concerns of history repeating itself, a major research project, and a bleak introduction to chaos theory, Izuku has too much on his mind to properly enjoy the fresh air.  But those worries are a light breeze compared to the thunderstorm that accompanies what he finds on the outskirts of town.  Or rather, what finds him.

1. Chaos Theory -thankful -comic book assignments -sound of thunder -butterfly effect -field trip

2. Yakku -bus ride -small town hero work -interject about butterfly -Cheat-A demonstration -talk with all might

3. Small time -community engagement -reports of stolen food -first day tour and fun, photos with fans -heat lightning -second day early morning patrols -groups: Sero, Toruu, Deku with hero -different route than normal -bullies, can’t threaten with quirk, but has his body -investigate diner -dead bodies

4. Let’s Talk About Anything Else -deku falls back on a table -kitchen covered in blood and black feathers -body: slash across stomach and eyes, other exposed shoulder blades -three form a perimeter while hero investigates -backup arrives, kids dismissed -hug -might have gotten there sooner had they taken a different road -statements and debriefs -return to hotel, can’t eat -hang out in room, read to pass time -talk about comic projects -nightfall’s, others return -Momo makes plushies -animal jokes -can’t sleep

5. The First Rung of the Spiral -third day, more patrols -stolen food in the night -seminar “That was... definitely higher than in practice.”  “Oh good, it wasn’t just me.” -feels like a warm hug, full body feeling of when all might ruffles his hair -“this is mine.  This is me.” -izuku gets through but get sick afterwards from anxiety -secret lake, something in the distance, canceled -watahashi - cross bridge -hibiki - echo -takuya - open also -dead deer -sleep on bus by All might, anxiety subsides

6. Nothing is Okay -week passes -Tsuyu dreams of drowning, talks to Deku -anxiety returns with a vengeance -occasional intense back pain -counseling with hound dog, recommends something from home -pissed that they didn’t receive immediate grief counseling -speak with recovery girl about pain, nothing physically wrong -prescribes a sleep aid, anxiety meds left open -return to dorm to find his leftovers missing

7. Part of the Job -training: escort -dread and erased quirk -deku’s team loses fake civilian -takes it hard -stays later to talk to Aizawa -more complaints about missing food -Mineta brings thank you gift, gourmet popcorn -pain hasn’t stopped -return for movie night: Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths -brief talk with iida -if we were to meet ourselves, we wouldn’t recognize ourselves -“saying the same thing over and over isn’t exactly helping either.” -deku can’t sleep, returns to his own bed

8. Yakku’s Finest -small town investigation inconclusive, murderer remains at large but reports of stolen food have stopped -diner money left untouched but larder picked clean -blood set, attacked in the night -quirk discussion, vague, strained relationship, -teleported in from somewhere, teleported away -DNA testing to be done on feathers “Did you ever go to investigate the houses with stolen food?  When was the last instance reported?”  “Four days after the murder.”  “How far back can your quirk see?”  “One day.”  “How many days has it been?”

9. Dread -awake from pain -reading news updates -school forum rumors about stolen food

10. The Mind Killer -earthquake rescue training -keep notes on others to make up credit -dread not as bad -still has brace, sleepy and sick from concussion -pretends to be better -argument after almost throwing up -getting late -all might was never able to find his all star Superman trade reading online -picnic table with mirio, suneater, and eri -babysitters -talk about projects, mirio did shadow cat and suneater did animal man -brings up Superman’s suneater -all might approaches, chastises him for staring at a screen while he has a concussion, offers Superman trade instead -discuss the fall -what’s one more scar? -“why didn’t you tell me?” -“I don’t know” -“you could have been killed.” -dread tells him he only cares for one for all -phone call -mom going out of town -izuku lies -banging down the hall -getting closer -deku hides behind door -thing hesitates in his room, goes to door -wing claw and eye reveal -calls for help, thing vanishes -no evidence -“I felt it breathe on me.” -most don’t believe him

11. Ache -hospital -nothing wrong -can’t enjoy getting the brace off -another little scar -recoverygirl argues with nurse -all might arrives with stuff -tells izuku to call his mom -confesses to illness -schedule specialist appointment -nothing on cameras -explain Midoriyas condition -compare notes with Jakku -all might calls Gran Torino about izuku’s symptoms -aoyama thinks about Midoriya during earthquake simulation -others ask about the seizure but he doesn’t have answers -put together a card and nice dinner to welcome him back -try to make food himself -update from Aizawa : Midoriya coming back, tired, don’t bother him -izuku breezes past everyone, uraraka follows -has an attack on the stairs -never happened before -retreats to room, leaving uraraka behind

12. From the Outside -bakugo dreams of the sludge villain -sees deku in the crowd, yelling sorry -wakes up, goes to bathroom -finds a black feather, thinks it’s a prank -realizes he would have done the same thing back in middle school -destroys it (invisibitch) -thinks he’s being merciful -izuku keeps thinking he sees the creature out of the corner of his eyes -pain comes randomly -can’t sleep -anticipation of pain keeps him awake -rubbing against ribs -move up appointment -talk with midnight -fanmail activity -“I am the American father waiting on the porch with a shotgun for whatever pathetic excuse for a date is gonna try and take my little angels to the prom.” -wants to hug him, he hates hugs -“I can only do so much” “so much is better than nothing” -rumors of people suddenly unable to use their quirks -might be an illness or one for all hurting him -gives in to anxiety medication -needs to get in contact with a specialist for nerve damage -takes up hound dogs suggestion of something from home

13. Nostalgia For The Future -deku goes home for a plushie, brings todoroki -mom isn’t home -todoroki likes his house, feels small but full -nothing about his dad -“would being his son make his obsession more or less weird?” -declares intent to become a hoarder -confesses to dream about losing his quirk and father hurting him for it -Despite recent trauma, deku hasn’t dreamt at all -swaps a book from all might for one of mom’s -nerve specialist, dendrite -rash -“as a fan I was impressed, but the doctor in me couldn’t help but cringe”. “See?  He gets it.” -neurotoxin as anesthetic (but why) -all might watches procedure -“the scene brings to mind ritual sacrifices from old movies” -maybe attacked during procedure, mess with vitals and life support -chemical evidence that izuku’s brain is firing off pain response -common fixation in young empaths, recreate perceived trauma in themselves -“was there?”  “...I could see bones poking out...” -basic testing comes up negative -“When you hear hoofbeats, think of horses not zebras”. Here we have a zebra -someone is using an empathy quirk on him -someone ate his leftovers -old all might plushie pats bunny -he was so done.  So done, that as he laid down to make a futile effort at sleep, it crossed his mind that maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to never wake up. -izuku did wake up; to see Mini-him standing on the ground with a hole in his chest and a slash across his eyes. -wake up to bunny plushy with tears that mirror original victims

14. The Rolling Thing With Wings -Aoyama saw it this time -“Midoriya’s villain is real”, -something is for sure on campus -Aizawa and other teachers immediately go out and search -cold rain -lights catch black feathered mass that rolls away -Aizawa can’t get a good look -thing tries to flee but keeps getting cut off -uses dread quirk, flattens teachers -finally sees it, it cancels his quirk before he can -vanishes -hound dog smells izuku -back to dorm, all might and students comforting izuku -plushie remains the same but camera footage shows nothing -Aizawa and izuku compare dread effects -realizes it may go after his mom

15. Bittersweet Release -Inko arrives at mustafu train station early in the morning -phone call from Aizawa telling her not to go home -wait to be escorted by heroes -calls izuku, he confesses to what’s been going on -doesn’t want to risk putting her in the line of fire -kids spend the nights in the dorm shelter -“The villain was able to hover right over Midoriya’s bed while he slept.  Any one of those nights he could have killed him.  And since we didn’t have any evidence, we assumed he was having nightmares like everyone else.  Do you understand the gravity of what your inaction could have brought on?” -discussion of feelings with hound dog -apologies for doubt -rejoin students -news, villain warning issued -connections to missing food -anyone paying attention could figure out victim is izuku -harsh criticism of UA -izuku elects to take responsibility -hound dog leaves for meeting

16. Table Scraps -hound dog comes in late, cloth tied around mouth in place of muzzle -villain smelled like Midoriya, that close -teachers check security, limited evidence, suggest a quirk that can reverse/move outside of time -connection to missing food -Noumu theory is proposed due to multiple quirks and black appearance -all for one still in prison, twice? -similar to Yakku, get in contact -pathfinder shows map of trails -only found perimeter -entered town to chase the bus -villain seemed to stop existing -one missing quirk: night vision -meanwhile, pro heroes patrolling near apartment -“oh please.  All mights had a kid at UA since my parents were in school.” -spot a figure go up the stairs and enter with a key/silhouette in the window -nobody from the family is supposed to be nearby -go inside and confront the middle school-aged boy, mass under shirt -find him wandering the house, ignoring them -introduce themselves -he goes to sit on the main bed, eating, heroes angry -“waiting” “for who?” “My family” -“my house” -“NO”

17. Voight-Kompff -stitches out -out running for the first time in weeks -one for all makes him feel whole, pictures the previous users welcoming him back into their embrace -breath deeper -“this is mine.  This is me.” -“izuku wasn’t a spiteful person.  Not at all.  He got angry at villains for hurting people, yes, but he couldn’t recall at time where it felt personal.  So it came as a bit of a shock when he found himself pondering if the villain’s wings were hollow, like in birds.  They would break easier that way.” -“hopefully, it wouldn’t come to that.  But knowing his luck, he’d treat it like an inevitable.” -full cowl practice interrupted -“once it’s gone I can be with mom.” -medical exam with officers present -increase in students asking for sleep aids -izuku called back again, this time with teachers -karma for complaining about uraraka -gives back minihim -2 heroes murdered in his apartment the previous evening -it isn’t the artificial dread, it’s real -Like before: no security footage, food stolen, wiped search history, this time it seems clothes and personals were also stolen -“quirkless virus” show similar symptoms as victims of all for one -some have different quirks than before, usually minor -most are regular civilians, no hero, cop, or medical staff until murders -murder of diner owners still unclear -pattern, no pain on nights food is stolen -stealth quirks, likely to make another attack -DNA of feathers came back -same as izuku

18. Powder Keg -toga told to investigate league contact -warehouse trashed, dead everywhere -“Oh, yeah, no, they’re dead.  And whoever did it was super sloppy.” “Hang on, Dabs, I’m getting another call.” -answers dead guy’s phone -“how did I ever survive without the preserve jars?” -rumors of someone who broke into UA by themselves, after Izuku -elects to investigate -Superman presentation -outside heroes on campus -Outfield, izuku debates talking to him -unsure if they know the dna connection -calls mom, asks about family -we didn’t want you to feel like you were being replaced -class exercise, warned not to push it -izuku does something during exercise that spooks outfield -sleep in shelter past three nights -villain warning issued -other students don’t know about Izuku’s DNA -sleep in shifts -all might stays close -tries to text mom good night, signal can’t get through the concrete -eri is there, tries to cheer him up “Zawa said there’s a bad guy after you.” “She’s your biggest fan.”  “She might have to fight Kota for that.” -tells her she should go somewhere else since the bad guy is targeting him -she’s having none of it -later, eri and all might asleep on either side of him -keeps an eye on the door -hears sato’s phone buzz, he waves him off to signal his shift is over -lays back, tries to relax -sudden tightness in chest, opens eyes to see the other one standing on the ceiling directly above him

19. Fish in a Barrel -Aizawa realizes its a set up -the other one tries to stab him with the wing spike, eyes glowing red to erase his quick -rolls to cover eri and calls to the others -hits him in the head, disabling quirk -takes out lights -everyone tries to go for him, easily thrown back -slashed across multiple chests -the other tries to go for the door, todoroki freezes it -the other burns and breaks it down, vanishes -chase with bakugo, find toga -“my dad could breath fire” -teacher question how it could have gotten in with so many standing guard -it must have come in with them -mislead the heroes -comfort eri -wounds tended to -Tooru seriously hurt, crying, outlined by blood -idea floated to move izuku somewhere else -toga found wounded at the edge of campus

20. Walk Without Rhythm -“you’re sending me away?” -talk about moving izuku to protect the others -say goodbye outside, the want to lure it -switch trains last minute -dread fades -Aizawa says goodbye -appearance change -tooru wake up in hospital with parents -They met all might, other kids here and awake -tiger comes in with brace, izuku broke his shoulder -all might went back to help -discuss, don’t think the nomu was intentionally hurting them -tell that to midoriya -what are they doing with him -encounters old bullies who act like fans -Aizawa back with the others, discuss -public place.  Hundreds of people. Broad. Fucking. Daylight. -pathfinder there, nomu was inside for hours, quirk that displaces itself -nomu is intelligent, understands aizawa -only superfans and former students know him -izuku mentioned his father was as much of a fan -toga unresponsive -maybe move him to another safe house, evidence that the other is locating quirks through police records, he’s gotten through most defenses -victims have minor records -mom moved around too, discouraged from contacting her -better to hide, all might’s house -end of the day, tired and sweaty -brush appearance change out of his hair, hug -it’s the first time all day he’s felt like a person -“I’m sorry I left you behind”

21. All in All -izuku stays up late to call his dad -argue about timing -“sorry I didn’t call.  I wasn’t sure of your schedule in this mess and I didn’t want to bug you. “Sure” -mostly unaware of what’s happening, mom told them to talk -changes the subject to the Jakku seminar, tries to relate to quirk hurting him -thinks his dad only likes him for his quirk -“you can’t keep crying like this every time you’re stressed.  Youre sixteen, way to old to be crying like this.  You’re a hero.  Villains aren’t going to wait for you to get yourself together.” -“look, if you’re not gonna be invested in the conversation, maybe you should hang up, and we can talk later, ‘Kay?” -Skype call with Toga -managed to talk to it briefly, voice changer -the villain didn’t like her, in denial -said he would fix it -crusty and gross, waste of a healing factor -deku-kun is here, isn’t he? -tells jokes to distract from Dad -all might’s in specialty housing for tall quirks, modestly decorated with comic merch and newspapers -device to hide his life signs -fanart from Young Izuku on the fridge, bought the magnets just to put it up -old classmates posting about him online, he’s a cool hero -forum trolls, could probably take them -“I thought you were supposed to be discouraging me from picking fights with villain’s every other month.” “Oh hey look at that, you made a quip” -talk about feelings ⁃ is my rambling annoying, endearing -“it’s okay to still be upset, you know.  You don’t have to move on right away.” -year newspaper -butterfly returns to U.A., breaks window, noises, squeezes through naked -students pretend to sleep, half in costume -it passes over them

22. Idle Imprisonment -day 2, report comes in, three critically wounded policemen not far from u.a. -izuku does class work ⁃ all Might pins points on a map, far off -day 3, more reports of missing and mismatched quirks: tracking and radar -day four: 4 civilians and 1 hero murdered, several others injured -feathers through the eyes -mt lady back in action -izuku can’t take it, wants to go out and confront butterfly -massive argument with all might, hides in room again -“cabin fever!?” -all might figures he’ll try to sneak out, overhears him struggle, his windows don’t open

23. It Matters -later that night, all might offers dinner, goes to watch tv -izuku slinks out and eats with him on the couch -“think I don’t know how it feels?  To be stuck inside safe while the thing that hurt you is running free to do more harm?” -“I miss it sometimes, but I get to spend more time with you” “I’m not worth it.” -“if it hadn’t hurt me, I might not have met you.  Either my time limit didn’t force me to hear you out or I might not have come back to mustafu at all.” -back and forth about izuku’s worth, “are you trying to convince me to be happy or regretful” -“ok, lets try this: what do you hate about me?” -“I hate that you don’t trust me.”  “And you constantly treat me like a little kid!  Hate that too!”  “You are a kid!” -“I want you to tell me one thing you don’t like about me.  As a person.”  “Why?”  “If I have to be honest about how I feel so do you.  You only ever say nice things.  You act like there’s nothing wrong with me but there is.  If you don’t tell me, I’ll have to keep guessing.”  “...  back in the shelter, after the villain attack...  that was the only time I’ve ever heard you truly laugh.” “...  that’s it?” -“I, I’m not a fan of how you talk about that video of my debut.” “But, But It was a great rescue-“  “It was awful,” he snapped.  Midoriya recoiled.  Good.  “It was so awful.  Hundreds of people died.  Most of the people I pulled to safety didn’t pull through.  I hear them screaming still in my dreams.  I hated every second of that night.  And I hate that you love it.”   -“That shot one shot, the one people plaster everywhere, of me coming over the ridge carrying a dozen people?  Half of them were already dead.” -“How did you even see that anyway?”  “Mom said the news was running a special for the twenty-five year anniversary...  I watched it with my dad...”  “and you would have been what?  Two, three?” -talk about debut -tells him about Nana and his childhood -hid from villain’s like this “I loved her like my mother.” “Did she love you as a son.” -“it doesn’t matter.” It does. -talks about how izuku is great -never initiated a hug before, what else could he do besides pull him closer? -“I hate yelling at you.  You’ve had too much of that in your life.  I just want you to be happy.” -“and I’m going to keep you here until you realize how much you matter” -caught between child and adult, wonder what he’d be like had he never influenced him -will the scars on his arm grow with him? -he wanted to just keep holding him, to make up for all the times he should have but didn’t. -carries him to bed -“I can walk.” “I want to carry you.” -he’s going to be okay.  He’ll grow up.  Conquer the world with his smile.  Be the unshakable pillar the world needs, all Might had no doubt.  But not tonight.  Someday, but not tonight.  Tonight, he is a small terrified child, separated from his family, and on the run from an unknown horror.  Tonight, he deserves a moment to be scared and sad, and be comforted. -life sign hider gone -prays he stays just this small forever -he’s like a son to him -he stays for a while after he falls asleep, just to be sure

24. The Other One -all might dreams of his death at the hands of all for one/wolfram -wakes up to alarm, needs to eat -izuku inspired him to keep living, gets up to check on him -remembers the dream theory, goes to check his fridge -closes it, butterfly is right there -smells him before he sees him -running down a list of ways to get a hit in, major blood vessel in the temple -“Hello” silence, “are you all might?” Ask about fighting the ‘same’ villain Beat him with the help of his student Butterfly gets angry, the other one -“he’s almost shocked to here a human voice come out of it...  a young voice.” Other what -comes into the light, more scar than skin -talks him down, reaches out to touch him -doesnt believe -same shoes, faded and frayed and falling apart, but the same -never one to talk down hostage/suicide -says his name -butterfly stunned, cries at the kind touch -hug -same eyes -he’s izuku again

Reveal post - https://lckhr.tumblr.com/post/175255988293/okay-villaindeku-is-so-popular-right-now-but

I want to add to this real quick because I just dug up my original notes I wrote at 2 am last summer when I first thought of this fic and it reminded me of some stuff. The world of My Hero Academia is set up in such a way that whatever bullshit power you can think of will probably fit.  A lot of superhero universes have that, but something about MHA makes it so much more pronounced.  Combine that with the idea of All for One, a quirk that lets the user wield an unknown number of powers, and there is some serious potential to absolutely abuse the setting. The idea was to create a lone villain that could perfectly counter everything thrown at it, to the point where it feels like a supernatural monster.  Security?  Quirk that prevents cameras and sensors from recording its image.  Evidence?  Quirk that rewinds time on displaced objects.  Witnesses?  Quirk that prevents people who are already asleep from waking up.

25. Butterfly: Origin -“as hard as he tried throughout his life, Toshinori knew he could never be Superman.” -“He wants to hurt your boy/ but he is my boy” -all might feeds him, too thin, still heavy -talks him into taking a bath while he makes him a warm meal -Texts his izuku to be silent and contact Naomasa -stolen possessions with his clothes, folding quirk, , flattening, sticker quirk -cries at the red shoes -butterfly comes back out, reveals wings -all might makes him a cutout shirt and sling for vestigial wings -its a cold night,hairdryer, hopefully izuku sees the opportunity -“he’s so gentle.  The boys arms are thinner than his.  It’s wrong.  He feels like any pressure greater than a brush will shatter bones.  He could break his fingers with a pinch.  But maybe he should.  This is a villain.  It tried to kill my boy.  But he is my boy.” -“did you ever fly?” “Once” -“it’s okay, you didn’t know.” -getting scolded for hurting himself is universal -so is being a chatterbox -considers Christmas present in the closet -tells him to lay down on the couch and watch tv -butterfly asks about one for all, consent -admits to killing Mirio -all might asks about all for one, vague backstory -noticed something was wrong after usj -“he said there was a time where there wasn’t a single child in Japan born without his permission.” “It was a mercy killing at that point.” -more time in a day, imprisoned for seemingly twice as long -drawn to yakku by picture of lodge that looks like apartments -“I heard someone say my name” -lie, offered to trade quirk, got in a drunken fight -has both parents quirks, implied to have killed Dad -wanted to scare his izuku into going home, no one was there, took it out -has mom’s quirk, “someone else lives there now.” -tried to find mom, “once he’s gone, I can be with mom.” -“I’m only hurting me. I’m not worth it -inter-dimensional quirk, -Inching closer to all might -you didn’t say that, the other you did -all might confronts him on his crimes, defense is that they started it -“you’re not right” -puts head in all might’s lap and moves his hand to his head -found izuku, jealous of his life, not sure what to do -realizes that izuku has one for all -“WHY” -describes the sludge villain incident -compare outcomes -butterfly gets upset, prepares to strike -all might says sorry

26. Bizarro -izuku listening in the whole time -attacks butterfly as he’s about to strike -wounds all might in the chest -butterfly screams accusations -brutal fight, bitten ear -izuku stands up to dread -ripped vestigial wings clean off -fight, flees at approach of heroes -wind and rain enter through broken window, mess up all mights hero shrine -izuku still feels like he has grime on his hands from the wing -its me -hospital, all might severely injured but stable -sneaks into room -stabbed where his lung used to be -“Did I ever apologize for saying you couldn’t be a hero?” -apologizes through tears for saying izuku can’t be a hero -sad hugs -tells nurse that he’s his son

27. Same -thinks butterfly is holding him -Aizawa says nurses told him all might was with his son, calls it inappropriate -hesitant to leave all might -please don’t take him from me -all might holds onto him for as long as he can -Aizawa wants to call them over dramatic, but this feels warranted -it’s me, i know -news from kids perspective -Sero -escorted everywhere, never alone -no way to tell what’s going on -wake up, check the news -need to confront butterfly -meeting in a moving vehicle -Pathfinder there, special sunglasses -how many were killed, lie -Butterfly’s notes, crinkled and overfilled, izuku can read them -addresses, quirks? -safe places, food,  Trying to find home -plan A, swan dive -he was trying to get me to kill myself -plan b, kidnap to other dimension and kill, pose as the same one having been tortured -what’s plan c? -more missing quirks and murders, offensive capabilities -pathfinder attacked, quirk stolen -team of heroes go over what they know about him -analysis of wing he ripped off -rapid nerve death, theorize that his healing quirk is killing him -why hasn’t it? Quirk preventing organ failure -once the body runs out of fat, it goes for muscle -after muscle, it goes for cardiac muscles -that’s what the dread is, empathy -perpetually on the brink of a heart attack -means they might be able to go all out against him -uses inter dimensional quirk to conceal movement -ask izuku what he could mean by the right quirk -memory alteration, body swap -all might Skyped in “You’ve been trying to clean up the mess the other you made, let me do the same.” -you didn’t fail, the other you did -how to restrict movement, only ever does it outside -shelters never built in his world -set a trap, need a place that doesn’t exist in butterfly’s world

28. The Net -go through the tunnels to the main shelter under the school -can’t discuss the plan Bakugou tries to ignore him and unpack his stuff Izuku flinches from contact -says goodbye to classmates I love you all, thanks for being my friend...  you have no idea what it’s meant to me -don’t talk like that, it makes it sound like you’re not coming back! -hugs -midnight cries -talk with Bakugou -shapeshifter butterfly -it’s a forced smile.  “Forced” is the only way to describe it yet if feels like it isn’t enough. -new bunker at UA -limited air conditioning -pathfinder walks him through messing with his quirk -i got your letter -did you know them?  They were good people -didn’t mean to be so harsh, people get hurt when you aren’t good enough -step outside briefly, the world is so much more vibrant without his quirk in the way -“it’s a tomb” “yeah.  Let’s make sure it’s not yours” -obvious trap, he won’t be enough -need bait -all might about to be discharged -agrees to stay as the casualties of the trap will be sent to the same location -inko enters, told to wait for her son there -got stolen stuff back -izukus first all might toy -talk with all might, maybe izuku’s Dad, left around the time he was quirkless -I want to push him forward, but also want to shield him from the world -welcome to parenthood -asked for blood drawn

29. You Shoot It -dream of deer in the woods, all turn to look at him together, one missing a face -toga disguised as izuku’s mom, distract him long enough to ceil the doors -no sign of butterfly -concern -butterfly enters by bending the door, an army of bugs -Izuku watches from another room, he’s a last resort -toga tries to convince him to stop fighting, can’t -something off -tries to stab him, nothing -turn around -cut to Aizawa -Bakugou seizing, that’s not Deku -“suit up” -strangled -fight -Cementoss seals the door -upgraded -pain sharing, metal feathers, ribbon skin, black bone, fero blood, wing spears, teeth bombs, throw feathers, telekinesis, fire breath -attacks do nothing -it’s an illusion -turn around, butterfly strikes while looking at him reveals partially healed form, antlers Flee out the room, fighters overrun by cockroaches Erasure is his most powerful quirk Izuku flanks him and kicks him in the skull, blocked by antlers -antlers become bendy and grab him Butterfly tries to go for izuku’s eyes using mom’s quirk -other heroes quickly tossed aside -chase down izuku through the maze -fold hole in the wall -punch in the jaw, teeth explode -izuku nearly overpowered -held down completely -strangled

-Aizawa and the class rush to the entrance, blocked off -must be a fail safe, butterfly was meant to break in -break down the doors -what if butterfly manages to escape -mina’s acid, strong punching, laser, explosions Aoyama asks for braces or someone to hold him while he blasts the ground -anger he doesn’t have the right quirk -knows his is the only one that can disable butterfly -they have to take the risk

-held down completely, erasure flickers -Pathfinder hits him with a baton and tries to choke him, distracting him -only one eye -izuku breaks free with 100% -smashes Butterfly’s eyesocket with his knuckle -blood splashes in his face as he flees -scream behind him -arm strained, can’t tell if it’s broken -pathfinder’s fate unknown -brief visions, body swap quirk Realize butterfly has been holding back because he wants a healthy body Test how much

-aizawa run through the maze -find pathfinder -hear screaming

-leap though illusion and snap off one of butterfly’s wings -tear membrane with own feather, cut between broken bones -it tries to crawl back to him -illusion breaks, revealing deer skull -flee, openly crying, bleeding tears -lock hands, izuku breaks others fingers, -wings burst from his back, heroes hold back wings -powers through pain and dread Leaps up and smashes the floor to pieces -butterfly screaming at him Jump at each other -Spears izuku in the back Break through the ceiling -Aizawa erases his quirks -restored appearance fades, more decayed than ever -izuku kicks and breaks his neck

30. YU SHOOT ITT -izuku was fading -a round face, a thin face, green eyes both -something shiny bobbing in and out of sight -butterfly stream of conscious -reuse lines from before -senses izuku in the other room -force shared pain and empathy as he’s dying -izuku screams in agony -felt his stomach split again.  A candle to a forest fire.  Pathetic. “This is mine.  This is me.” -shared perspective -why do you deserve to be happy and i don’t -you kill people, tired to get me to kill myself -but before, i didn’t do anything wrong -why did it all go so bad? -gets up, floats with his quirk -barely copies normal movement -Floats to the door -Aizawa stops him -hard to breath -feels his mom and all might comforting him -that’s really mom -force the connection harder -stop screaming i wanna hear what mom’s saying Aizawa cuts him off again, he cries Feels his bones sink -“do you think if I die in this world, I can still be with my mom?” -goes down struggling -“it’s not fair”

31. At Rest, At Last -izuku flatlines but is revived -undo the latches on his costume Taken back for surgery Sit in the hall and cry for hours -a defibrillator is for a different kind of heart attack -so that’s what it was?  A heart attack? Doctor rushes by with an ice box Explain to aizawa that izuku flatlined -butterfly is dead, new despair -took his stomach for izuku -inko and all might go to see butterfly -inko wants to see him, takes a moment to recognize him -that’s her baby -screams -hugs and apologies -all might would have gone to stay with him -they both despair but are thankful for their son -“he was barely five years old, and he was ready to accept that his family didn’t want him.” -goes back to izuku -his hand is bigger than hers, when did that happen?

-final casualty count, pathfinder dead (?) along with several police officers -doctor recounts the autopsy -butterfly was dead on his feet, practically killed him -barely enough muscle to hold his own head up, let alone stand -“in my unprofessional opinion, this was a mercy killing.” -Aizawa looks at the body, that’s midoriya -Aizawa wants to try and bring him back with eri, Might not work, Might traumatize her -argue, all Might says he was too far gone, they wouldn’t be able to shield him from criminal charges, record like his would net him the death penalty anyway, stuck in a cage again, all that hate and fear in his heart left to fester in a padded cell for the rest of his life -thinks he would come after izuku again, what do you think that screaming was?  He was trying to take him down with him. -not hurting anyone else, not hurting himself -“He said he wanted, more than anything, to rest/stop fighting/for the pain to stop, and now, he has.” -“Aizawa-kun. ..  Please let him rest.” -Aizawa leaves before he can break down

-toshi looks over butterfly -“an innocent butterfly, drowned in mud and crushed under the boot of the world.” -not innocent, but he felt someone should be there to see him off -Apologizes -runs hand through his hair, shushes him even though he’ll be silent for quite a while -hesitant to leave him -that’s my boy...  That could have been my boy -bodyswap lingers in his mind -kisses his hairline, touch of cold lingers -goes to wash his hands and face before returning to izuku -wakes up later -“he’s dead” “I know.”

32. All Those Moments -

-aizawa drives back to ua with midnight -she tries to joke with aoyama about makeup, he’s not having it -won’t go into details about butterfly -mic greats them at the gate, hug -comes back to dorms to welcome party “Midoriya’s villain is dead.” -they cheer -Bakugou pulls him aside to try and get answers -people who’s job it is to save lives should never celebrate the death of another human being, be relieved, be thankful, but do not celebrate -don’t cheer for death -cries while holding eri -mic and midnight ask him what’s wrong -he was just a Kid

-do you want to be buried or cremated, inko can’t stop thinking about that phrase -3 services in three days -mass wake for officers -izuku makes rounds, “your child/spouse/parent” saved my life -inko almost couldn’t get out of the car -izuku said he had to come -pathfinder funeral, mention the teens and neji -he saved my life, i want to be worthy -crematorium, limited service in his home town -service in jakku -speak briefly to stripes -ask to speak at the wake, doesn’t have the best luck with speeches -mom asks why, he didn’t really know him -Jakku heroes offer him a job, we’ll save you a spot says he never wants to come back here -pass a boarded up diner -I’m his mother, i should be here -never spoke with butterfly, never in the same room when he was alive -cold gripping horror at burying her own son -service ends in slow motion -no words exchanged -silent for the whole long drive home -dotes on izuku at home -not home, couldn’t bare the thought of sleeping where someone died -all might rented a place/or all might’s apartment -he carries around his all might and blankie -makes him food, watches tv -cuddle in her bed like when he was small -her sweet baby boy grew up to face unfathomable horror -wants to promise no one will hurt him again, they both know she can’t

-villain graveyard -“Izuku Midoriya, 16 years old, at rest at last tailored clothes around his wings, buried is his shoes -izuku goes to butterfly, stares His bones wouldn’t burn He suffered 16 years old, seventeen in a few months, he’ll grow.  Live. Make sure he keeps living ⁃ Took midoriya to view the body before it was buried.  Stared, said nothing -all might dusts of the grave, leaves a few flowers and food -still conflicted, butterfly was worse case scenario, uses it as motivation to protect his boy -he longs for some sign.  Waits for some great vision that the boy is well in the end.  A butterfly wing broken wings that still flies.  One on the tombstone.  It’s the dead of winter.  Him coming to him in a dream, face full and bright and back bare of those fowl wings that shackled him to the earth, and promising him that he’s not in pain anymore.  But it never comes.  Butterfly died in agony, after years of torture, alone. -“Toshinori wasn’t a religious man, but he still hoped that, if something did become of young butterfly in the en`d, that he at least got to rest.” -he might be moving into the same new building as the Midoriyas -picks up Izuku from first therapy session, not much to say -you’re my boy aren’t you? -don’t want to say anything that makes him spiral further Do you remember what happened before this all started? -we talked about Superman, you said your name was inspired by all Star Superman -and... -rumors about being his son, “I don’t mind” -cry, hug and a kiss on top of his head -sixteen years old, he’s my son -return home -izuku stares out the window Take him to the tokoyaki stand Sit on the beach wall -cuddle like they did the night before butterfly attacked -izuku crawls up his sleeve and presses his forehead -yeah.  Yeah you’re mine.

⁃ When Butterfly was around, he never had nightmares.  Now that he’s dead, Izuku has nothing but. -izuku can’t sleep, -home doesn’t feel like home anymore -people died here, in this world, and the other one -has nightmares when he’s awake too, they’re memories -likes All Might’s thin arms, likes to be carried, better than those too big that held him like a pet while the bones in his back pulled away from the rest of his body. -checking himself in the mirror, scars on his chest fading fast, no evidence if he covers it up -asked the doctors to remove his scars when he went back to get his stitches out, just the ones from Butterfly, back to what he was before -regrets it -looked butterfly in the face, up close, in the eyes, and though: that’s not me.  It can’t be -looks at himself now, his own face in the mirror, and thinks: that’s not me.  It can’t be -too thick, skin to smooth, hand in his hair to search for antlers -I’m me, aren’t I? -text from friends, excited to have him back -compulsion to go outside, he does -it’s cold out without a shirt, starting to snow -I could just go -wants to run, from what? -doesn’t want to face the others How can he just go back to normal? -if i don’t say something now, i never will -wake up mom, I’m ready to talk about it now -sees all might in the kitchen again, mom too -visions of the other ones life

-Bakugou s body, swollen and broken -desperation to find a school that will take him -walk past the gates -sell blood -luxury apartment -All for one, first quirk are the cherub wings, small, but his -not the only one, testing multiple quirks, isn’t sure when he becomes the favorite -wings are painful coming in, all for one holds him -gave in eventually -can’t see all of the wings in the mirror, shine green in the light -lakies make fun of his failure, requests quirk to stop crying -creates copy of all for one -usj, something wrong, gets erasure -flees out the window, can’t get home, returns willingly -tested on with mutation quirks as punishment, cries when he discovers minor telekinesis -isn’t there for Kamino allegory, acts desperate to save Sensei, erases immortality quirk -tries to go home again, authorities mistake him for villain, programmed to attack -he finds Dad.  Dad, who hadn’t so much as touched him in a decade, picks him up and holds him like its nothing.  He kisses his head and calls him baby and tells him everything is going to be alright because he’s here now.  And it was for a while.  He fed him and bathed him.  He sleeps tucked close to his chest like when he was little, even if the wings took up a lot of space.  He has to comfort his father when he cries for mom, since he can’t cry anymore.  He and takes him to the doctor.  They don’t know how to help him.  He says he wants everything but moms quirk to go.  Dad doesn’t understand why he has it.  He doesn’t listen.  He never does.   At least you aren’t quirkless anymore Steals dad’s quirk to teach him a lesson about being quirkless Dad only came back for mom.  He said so.  He was missing for over a year and only came back after mom went missing.  He blames him.  He burns off the tips of his wings. -they think he’s a villain -Kills mirio -trades quirks for money, later just food -chase anything related to mom -wanders to Jakku, ua goes there around this time of year and he saw an ad for a lodge that looked kind of like home -hears his own name -demands the bridge quirk guy trade him, had enough -kills.  Jumps.  Sees himself, up on a stage in a hero costume from his dreams, smiling among deafening cheers.  And he shares his dread. -sees both of himself, locking eyes in the ambulance, round face, thin face, green eyes both, watching and feeling each other die

-run back inside -wake up mom and all might -i don’t think I’m me anymore -stuck with all this anger and hatred and fear -can’t tell the difference -all might says he feels guiltily instead of angry -but i am angry -writes as he talks -it’s like one glass of water being poured into another glass of water -hard to tell where the first ends and the second begins and you can’t separate them -did he take something from you -don’t know -“after all that, do you still think you made the right choice?”  “Never came into question.” -has his whole life ahead of him -going to die eventually -takes out notebook -“Butterfly” crosses it out, rights his own name -lies between the two people who love him most -all might’s hand on his chest, holding him -other arm curling mini him to his chest -mom has his blankie -izuku has his all might plushie -tomorrow, he goes back to all his friends at the best hero school in the country -people like him, he has fans -almost too good to be true -this is all butterfly wanted -all i ever wanted -more than i could have ever asked for No one stalking me, no one chasing me -I’m home -do i deserve it though? -have to make decisions, could spiral -have to go back out into the world and keep living -for now, he let himself feel happy -the two sides agree to feel happy -“this is mine.  This is me.  And there’s nothing I can do about it.” -and for now, I’ll let it make me happy -this is mine, this is me -deep under guilty happiness, lies dread he knew could only come from himself. -this dread could only be his own.  Maybe it was always. -it’s mine.  It’s me. -whoever i am, I’m alive -no matter what i do, whoever i am, I’m me.  I’m me.

[wreckofawriter]

The Colors of Us

Pairing: Blaise Zabini x muggle!reader

Word Count: 2.6k

Warnings: tiny bit of swearing, drinking

Request: @prettylittlehiddles: Hey! I'm completely in love with your work! Could I perhaps request one where Blaise Zabini meets the muggle!reader in a cozy cafe and then their relationship grows, but after a month or so, he has to leave to attend to something in the wizarding world and returns to meet the reader again who has hopelessly fallen in love with him just by losing her mind over not being able to see him? Thanks!

A/n: tiny bit more angst than intended, mostly fluffy. Hop you like it!

    Blaise pushed open the door to the small cafe to find it surprisingly busy, it's usually quiet atmosphere replaced by one of chatter and laughter. He ignored it, heading to the counter and ordering a drink, turning to look for a place to sit after he did so. His eyes scanned the small room finding a few seats open, unfortunately, their tables were not. He began to judge the people sitting near each available chair. One was next to two girls a bit older than him who were laughing together over frappuccinos, another an elderly couple and the final small booth, a figure curled behind a book occupying one side. 

    As his name was called he grabbed the coffee and made his way towards the empty side of the booth. You had your nose buried in a book a pair of headphones on your head. Your knees were pulled to your chest, your back against the window behind you. You looked up as you felt a tap on your shoulder. 

    Blaise stifled a chuckle when your gaze met his, you looked like he had awoken you from a deep sleep your eyes wide, hair a bit disheveled as you pulled your headphones around your neck. 

    “Can I sit here?” He asked, “The rest of the cafe is full.” 

    You seemed to take a second to process the information he had just given you before nodding and grinning at him, “Sure.” 

    He smiled back, sliding across form you and taking a sip of his drink. “I’m Blaise by the way.” He spoke sticking out your hand. 

    You shook it, “Y/n, its nice to meet you.”  It fell silent as you pretend to read peeking over your book at the attractive man sitting across from you. You blushed when your eyes met cursing yourself mentally. 

    “What are you reading?” He asked cringing at his generic question but happy that the silence was gone. 

    You held the book up so he could see the cover, “Freiheit 451.” you responded before lowering it and stirring your own drink. 

    “A classic.” he grinned, “Have you read it before?” 

    “Yeah but it when I was really young so I had a hard time understanding it.” You explained, “It still makes me mad though.” 

    “It makes everyone mad.” he chuckled. 

    “Yeah, I guess that’s kinda the point.” You shrugged, “I take it you’ve read it.” 

    “I did last year I think actually but I much prefer The Long Rain, less popular but good never the less.” He explained.

    Your eyes shone a bit as he spoke, “I haven’t read that one, so it’s good?”

    “Definitely.” He smiled leaning forward o his elbows.

    “Okay, what’s your all-time favorite book?” You asked before smirking, “I feel like you would have sophisticated taste.” 

    “I do?” His grin widened, “Why’s that?” 

    “I don’t know.” You huffed, “You just..do. So what is it?” 

    Blaise hummed thinking, half about what his favorite book and half about what he would think would impress you. You, of course, didn’t know the difference. “I’m going to have to say Catch-22.” He decided, it was only a half-lie, he quite liked the book he just liked a few others better. 

    “Very good choice.” You smiled, “Mine’s To Kill a Mocking Bird, I wish Harper Lee wrote more than she did, one book isn’t enough.” 

    The conversation continued branching from books to bands to movies. Your own book was closed and in the seat next to you as you leaned forward towards the boy smirking across from you. You bit back giggles as he told you stories of his friends, your coffee long gone cold. 

    He glanced at his watch and clenched his jaw, “I’ve got to go.” He mumbled standing from his seat. 

    “Oh.” You attempted to mask your disappointment with a small smile. 

    Blaise smirked back, “Are you available tomorrow?” 

    “I think so.” You answered scrunching your brow, unsure. 

“Can you meet me back here at noon?” He asked placing his hands on the table and lowering himself to your level. 

“S-sure.” You stumbled over the simple word, he was close, too close. You could smell his cologne, something you were sure cost more than everything you were wearing combined, his breath was peppermint coffee. 

“Great.” He grinned, “I’ll see you then.” 

“Okay.” You breathed out, so suddenly infatuated you were sure he had cast a spell over you. Your cheeks burnt with firey blossoms, your mind seemed hazy. 

He stood up and walked away with a small wave. 

You squealed the second he stepped out of the door, slamming your hands over your mouth. 

Blaise pretended not to hear despite the widening smile that found his lips. 

The next day you awoke uncharacteristically early, you got ready in a flash despite still having an hour before you would even begin to have to make your ways towards the cafe. You busied yourself with reading, managing to finish Fernhiet 451 and suddenly wishing you could set it on fire all over again.  You left your house about 20 minutes before noon a new book, Cold Mountian, lodged under your arm, your wallet stuck in the back pocket of your jeans. You could not keep the boy from your thoughts. His everything remained in your thoughts as you boarded the bus and hopped off four stops later. You got to the cafe ten minutes early and was surprised to see Balise already inside, sitting at the same booth you had occupied yesterday. 

You took a deep breath, gathering yourself before entering. You walked over to the booth but before you could sit down he had risen, handing you a drink and practically dragging you from the shop. 

Bewildered you stopped after reaching the sidewalk, “Blaise! What was that?” 

He only smirked back his eyes sparkling, “We have to hurry, it’s a good thing you weren’t late.” 

“What?” you asked.

He reached into his pocket and removed two tickets, “My mom gave them to me yesterday after I met you and I thought it would be fun.” 

Upon closer inspection of the tickets, you gasped, “Holy shit! How did you get those?” 

He shrugged, “Come on we’ve got to go, it starts in like 20 minutes.” Then he stopped smile faltering, eyes falling, “I mean unless you don’t want to go, I didn’t really ask you or anything.” 

You laughed, “Are you kidding, you scored tickets to Phantom of the Opera and you think I’m not going?” 

His lips turned up again, “Then let’s go.” 

And you did. 

Day after day you met up with Balise, your summer went from a dull grey to splashed with vibrant colors you didn’t even know existed. Every day he would have some other amazing and over the top activity for you to do. He took you to Italy insisting his mother honestly did not care. You went cliff diving into the Mediterranean Sea, he took you to Greece, you saw the ruins of the Parthenon and in Rome you and eat at some far too expensive Italian restaurant before viewing the Colosseum. Blaise was like a deity that had been sent to make your life incredible. 

His bottomless amount of money confused you at first until you went to his house, or I guess you should call it an estate. His mother wasn't exactly fond of you but in all honestly, you didn't care all that much, Blaise was about as connected to his mother as you were. 

Three days before you began your final year of high school you and Blaise lay on the hood of your old Subaru tipsy on cheap beer as you stared up at the constellations. 

"How the hell do you know so many of these damn things?" You giggled as Blasie explained yet another group of stars you barely recognized. 

"Our school makes us take astrology." He shrugged. 

You laughed, "Of course it does." 

Things fell quiet. The chirp of crickets who would be dead in a few weeks echoing around you. The warmth of summer was dying and you were dressed in a light sweater and a pair of Blaise’s sweatpants cinched tightly around your waist. 

You yawned turning to look at the boy only to find his eyes already on you. You swam in the chocolate brown reflecting the stars above you. Your heart throbbed when he smiled at you. You could feel your cheeks begin to heat and you hoped he would blame it on the slight breeze that rolled through.

He didn't. 

You leaned closer to the Slytherin, his breath fanning across your face. He could smell your perfume, an intoxicating scent. His hand wandered around your neck, tugging you closer. Your eyes slipped shut and your lips met. 

The kiss was soft and slow, his lips slightly chapped, his breath was warm and inviting. You slipped your hand around his shoulder and his tongue slid across your bottom lip. Then suddenly, as if struck by something, he jerked away, sitting away from you. 

Your eyes snapped open, a shiver running through you, you felt suddenly cold without Blaise's heat. 

"I'm sorry y/n." He spoke quietly. "I shouldn't have done that." 

"Why not?" You asked desperately, just wanting to taste him again.  

He paused, "We're drunk." 

"I'm not drunk." You stated, "Are you drunk?" 

"No." He answered numbly, sliding from the hood of your car. 

"Than what's up Blaise?" You questioned standing as well.

"I just- ya know- I mean your-" he started multiple sentences as unsure what he was saying as you were.

"If you didn't want to kiss me Zabini you could have just told me." You explained, "I wouldn't have held it against you or anything." 

"No. It's not you. I wanted to kiss you I really did. It's just that-" he sighed biting his lip, "I mean I'm leaving for school tomorrow and I won’t see you for months and I mean your a muggle and everything, god this is so confusing." He groaned letting his head fall into his hands. 

"I'm a what?" You asked slightly annoyed at this point.

"Nothing." He mumbled. 

"Look if this is about your school, I can wait, I can write to you ya know, I mean after this year you're done right?" You said stepping closer to him. 

He let out a shaky breath, "I think I need to go home." 

You squeezed your eyes, tears threateningly close to spilling over but you bit your tongue, "Okay." 

You both got into your car without a word. The silence was suffocating. 

"Are you good to drive?" He asked hesitantly. 

"I'm fine." You snapped back, you knew you shouldn't be mad, it was his choice if he didn't want to kiss you, he had no obligation to you. Yet a fire burned, anger causing your jaw to tighten and your eyes sting. 

The drive back was silent, the only sound being of the tires on the road and the occasional tick of your blinker. You pulled in front of his estate and stopped, your grip on the wheel turning your knuckles white. 

"I'm sorry y/n." Blaise's voice was melancholy, it only made your throat swell, breathing becoming more and more difficult. 

You swallowed everything inside you and turned to smile at him, "It's okay." Your voice was overly cheery. 

He licked his lips, "I guess I'll see you later." 

"Yeah. Goodbye." You forced out. 

"Goodbye." He responded shutting the door and turning around. A small wave over his shoulder being the last thing you saw before tearing out of the driveway, tears streaming down your cheeks. 

You didn't even make it block before pulling over and breaking down at your wheel, sticky tears dripping onto sweatpants you would never be able to return. 

Blaise swore harshly slamming into his house. His own tears had gathered in his eyes, attempts to blink them away were fruitless as they spilled down his cheeks. 

His mother appeared a few doors away and made her way towards him, "Were you out with that filthy muggle girl again?" 

"At least I wasn't killing another husband." He spat back. 

She shot him a glare, smirking when she noticed his tears, "You ended it didn't you?" She grinned, "Good for you, I didn't think you had the guts." 

"Fuck you." He sneered before turning on his heel and heading towards his bedroom. He still needed to pack. 

Your senior year of high school had the worst start imaginable. You were already heartbroken and you hadn't even dated anyone. You supposed that was the issue. Your friends did their best to help you, they were good. You moved on, well you pretended you did. You didn't date anyone, you made out with one person at a party and immediately regretted it, you had thought it was Blaise for a second. 

The boy plagued your mind. His smirk haunted your dreams, his touch ghosting your thoughts. His laughter constantly echoed in your mind. It was almost psychotic how much your mind wandered towards him. You had had a summer which had been a daydream, the following school year being a nightmare only seemed fitting. 

You buried yourself in your schoolwork, applied for scholarships, plowed headfirst into your sports, took overtime at your part-time job. You didn't think of the handsome boy that you had spent your months of happiness with. Your world faded to grey as his colors were washed away by the hell of high school and the feeling of heartbreak.

The year was over in a flash, you were soon crying on a stage with your friends in a gown and black caps. You wiped your tears, sitting with three of your friends in the middle of the football turf. You laughed as one of them told you a story about her first attempt running hurdles. 

Your giggles stopped suddenly as someone appeared from behind one of the bleachers. Noticing your mood change your friends followed your gaze, she gasped,

"Is that the boy? Blaise?" 

You nodded numbly, in a daze. 

"Should I go beat him up for you? " she asked cracking her knuckles. 

You spared an empty smile, "I'm okay." You stood brushing off the pants you were wearing, having traded in the black gown hours ago. 

As you stood he suddenly broke into a run. You did the same and all too quickly you stood in front of the tall boy, his hair had grown longer, wrapped in tight curls. He had a small scar under his right eye. He looked tired. 

"Y/n, I'm sorry." He spoke quickly, "I should never have said what I did, I'm so so sorry." 

Your heart thumped anger and sadness washing out of you "You're lucky I like you so much." You whispered, "Now kiss me properly."

He did as he was told, sweeping you off of the ground his arms around your waist and tugging you towards him. You snaked your hands around his neck pulling him impossibly closer. You titled your head upwards allowing him to deepen the kiss as you opened your mouth. He tasted like peppermint and lime, so sharp yet so amazing. 

You pulled away and he set you back onto your feet. Ignoring the whistles and catcalls from your friends"I missed you like hell." You confessed. 

He laughed, his hands coming to cup your face, "Never as much as I missed you." His heart throbbed as your eyes began to gloss. "I'm so sorry for ever leaving you as I did."

You lunged forward, burying yourself into his neck, "I think I love you, Blaise." You whispered into his ear. 

"I know I love you." And your world was once again flooded with color. 

Taglist:

@accio-rogers

@roslea

@k3nz-doodl3

@theseuscmander

@sleepingalaska

Masterlist

[bellatrixobsessed1]

Kissing Dead Pearls (Final Part)

There are places where lives unfold and places where lives come to an end, more often than not these places are one and the same. Sometimes these places are quaint harbor towns where buildings are centuries older than any of the citizens currently hustling in and out of them. Sometimes these places are have cliffsides that are older than even the buildings, worked at and eroded by waves significantly more timeless than them. Often these cliffsides see thunderous clouds and tempestuous waves, lit by forks of lightning and filled by curtains of rain. And more often than folks like to admit, these towns have their ghosts; sails on the horizon during a storm, ladies in billowing white dresses that stand at the edge of cliffs, and speters that travel through arches of limestone. It might be that the towns folk get bored and invent legends, or perhaps it is a tourist thrill, still it could be that some of the inhabitants need a good ghost to keep them secure in the realm of the living.

In such a town, the rain could be pouring and lightning could be bursting in the sky. People might be rushing to pack in their picnic food and snatch up their umbrellas. Some of them are too late, like a boy named Jet and a girl named Jin. Their umbrella has lifted out of the sand and is riding the gales out towards the sea. It wasn’t his idea of what a date should look like, but at least it was a thrilling one.

Others have more luck on their side; more or less. A married couple could be safely tucked into their restaurant had they decided to take down their patio umbrellas and move their chairs inside sooner.

Inside of a restaurant called La-bsters there is a rather interesting cluster of people. Mostly there are tourists and people who have hustled into the building for shelter from the rain. But there are also two teens interviewing for their first jobs. A girl will venture out of the town for the first time to study marine biology and her friend, Toph will take her place waitressing for the restaurant. There is also a bald boy and his dog, the three are an inseparable duo and Aang swears that he will teach the dog to be a good employee too.

The restaurant is cozy. It is home. In a quaint harbor town that seems caught within a bygone era, anywhere is home really. It is no wonder that some people are hesitant to leave. When home is so warm and inviting, so safe and unchanging, why would a person ask to leave?

For some it is a need for change, a yearning for something new. A desire to see the world with a knowing that they can come back to their harbor town and see it nearly as it was when they had left. Nearly, but not quite. For everything evolves. Everything changes. And if you know a place well, then the most subtle of changes are extraordinarily profound.

The rain pummels the roof of La-bsters as Toph high fives Aang, “Congrats on your first summer job, Twinkle Toes!”

“Yeah, you too.” He smiles meekly.

“When do we start?” She asks.

“How about on the first day that we have some sunny weather?” Hakoda offers.

A table away sits a group of four, they split a platter of fries, onion rings, and hot wings. Azula douses the wings in an extremely generous amount of spicy dipping sauce. “Seriously, I can’t eat this!” Sokka exclaims, eyes watering. “My mouth is burning!”

Azula smirks. “Yes, that’s the point. Either you’re going to build up your spice tolerance or I am going to have all of the wings to myself.”

“Not if I can help it.” Zuko plucks one of the wings. He takes his first bite. After swallowing he clears his throat. “I’ve been meaning to ask you something, Katara.”

“Go ahead.”

“We’re still having a hard time building the lighthouse back up after how far behind we’ve fallen. I was planning on opening up a restaurant of my own. It’s going to be more like a bakery and I’ll run it from the lighthouse.”

“My idea.” Azula cuts in.

“I thought that it would be smart to…” He backtracks. “Azula thought that it would be smart to partner up with La-bsters. It’s going to be folklore and ghost story themed and stuff. Do you think that your parents would want that.”

“Ask them, Zuko.” Katara laughs. “They’ve never said no before!”

“Speaking of parents, how has your dad been?” Sokka asks, nostrils still flared from his second attempt to eat one of the wings. He fans his face.

“He’s a year sober now.” Azula replies.

“He and uncle are planning some kind of road trip to relive the glory days.”

“Why are you cringing?” Katara laughs.

“Do you know what their glory days looked like?” Zuko asks.

“Father just wants to make up for wasting so much of his time on drinks and grief.” Azula shrugs. Silently, she thinks that he just wants to enjoy one more summer before life moves on. Or maybe she is just projecting; for as much as she had fought Sokka on it, it would be nice to have one last summer where everything is as it was, simple and thrilling. Now that she has eliminated his hesitancy, she will indulge him in one more summer of old habits and nostalgia.

She will begin it with one final surf competition and end it with the annual beachview music festival.  That will be nice, considering that they’d missed last year’s. She peers at her surfboard, which she has propped up against the corner. She is going to miss it, how could she not when she had spent so much time riding waves on it? But it is time to put it aside, the sea calls her in a different direction and she has already made the necessary arrangements to answer it. And besides, she thinks it would be kind to allow Chan and Ruon their time to shine. They have more passion for the sport than she. They have worked their whole lives for that competition.

They will be performing Port TuiLa’s first partner routine. ‘Brave and risky! Daring and fun!’ So the townspeople declare. She will do her own routine, but it will be more lax and mundane. Her father and uncle will be there with bouquets of hibiscus, lais, and smoothies, weather she wins it or not. There will be a party in their backyard, a BBQ that doubles as her birthday party and her victory celebration. She will slip an invite to Jet; if he makes an appearance it will be just like old times. If he steers clear...she supposes that, that is just the nature of things. People get hurt and people grow apart.

“Go and ask them, Zuzu.” She nudges as Hakoda enters the building completely drenched.

Zuko takes a deep breath, stands, and rolls his shoulders. Azula rolls her eyes. “So dramatic. How long have we known them?”

Katara laughs and gently pushes him forward.

“Have you decided what you are going to do yet?” Azula asks.

Sokka bites down gently on his cheek. “Khozen has been teaching me to sail again. I know that you wanted me to leave Port TuiLa but I don’t think I’m ready for a change that big and I don’t really like the idea of college anyways.” He rubs the back of his head. “I was thinking of learning to fish, that way I can help bring in some seafood for La-bsters and be around for mom and dad after Katara leaves.”

Azula blinks. “That actually sounds like a good plan.”

He chuckles, albeit, a little nervously. “Yeah. I figured that, that way I could start something new but also stick to the place that makes me happy.” He pauses. “It’s just gonna be weird not having you guys around.” He gestures to she and Katara.

“You’ll have Zuko.” Katara points out.

“We’re trying to make him feel better, Katara.”

“I can still hear you guys!” Zuko calls.

Sokka gives a snorting laugh. The kind that works its way around the table and reaches the door. From its frame a sopping wet Mai remarks, “well that’s my one laugh for today.”

“What are we talking about?” TyLee asks.

“Plans for the future.” Azula pulls up a chair. “Suki and I are going to beauty school! She wants to learn to do special effects makeup. I’m going to make everyone in Port TuiLa beautiful!”

“Good luck with Long Feng.” Mai mumbles and helps herself to a french fry. “I’m going to study mortuary science. It’ll give me something to talk about at dinner.”

“What about you, Azula?” TyLee asks. “You still going to pro-surf?”

It hadn’t really taken much thought to decide, not when the path had made itself so clear. She shakes her head, “no, I have something different in mind.”

“Does father know?” Zuko asks, taking his seat.

“He will.” Azula replies. That is her only hang up, the prospect of disappointing him. But she thinks that her desired career is admirable enough. Surely it is indisputably well suited to her. “I’m going to be a coast guard. I already have experience, more than I should.”

The sea has taken a lot from her but she has taken a lot back. And she will take more back, more and more until it doesn’t hurt. More and more until she knows that she can see her mother again with the ability to inform her that her death didn’t amount to nothing. The waves may have stolen her life but they haven’t stolen the energy she put forth.

The sea will take more lives, likely it will take them right out of Azula’s hands. But it will take less than it would have if she gets her way.

“Thanks to you,” she looks at Sokka, “and all the attention that your story got, I think that my chances are very good.”

“Hey, can we stop talking about the future now and start living in the moment!?” Toph calls. “I’ve got five dollars for the jukebox and twenty for the arcade.”

“How about we spend twenty on the jukebox and five on the arcade?” Sokka asks.

Azula elbows him. “Do you even know twenty dollars worth of good songs?”

“I know plenty of amazing tracks!”

She slings her arm around him. “Your music taste is still stuck on hits from ten years ago.”

And so they listen to twenty dollars worth of songs that she hasn’t heard since they were kids. Their summer starts with the past and plays out as it always has, right until when the leaves would start to change. And just as they always have, they close the summer with an all night music festival on the beach. Sparklers, smoke bombs, and melting ice cream cones. Fireworks and kisses and the same gaggle of friends. The same group plus one, not that Jin hadn’t been an amusing addition.

.oOo.

It only makes sense that she departs on a stormy night. Her car is loaded and the remaining tents and banners of her goodbye party flap in the wind. Sokka presses his head to her forehead and gives her a rather lengthy kiss. Long enough to have her father retreating back into the house to fetch her a parting gift. She won’t open it until she reaches boot camp. It is a simple photo album that her mother had made.

She pulls out of the kiss and Ozai hands her the giftbox. “Your mother would be proud.”

“And you?”

Ozai sighs. “I think that you already know the answer to that.” He ruffles her hair. He hasn’t done that in ages. “I best see you in a uniform when you visit for the holidays.”

“You will, father.” She smiles.

“Take care of father?” Azula requests quietly to Zuko. “Keep him on track, okay?”

“I’ll keep him busy.” Zuko promise with a gesture to the lighthouse and his brand new business. “Trust me, I will.”

She doesn’t doubt it in the slightest. “Alright, well I’m getting soaked so…”

“I’ll see you later, Azula.”

She nods and gives a little wave.

Sokka puts his arm around her and leads her to her car. She buckles herself in and turns her head for one final kiss. “Call me when you get there.” It isn’t a question. “Of course I will, Sokka.” She answers anyhow. He waves again and she rolls up her window. Windshield wipers throw drops off of the window as she steers her way down the winding lighthouse driveway.

The Sea Candle rests on the cliff shining her way as it always has. And it will be there to guide her home when the day comes. She casts one final look at the town in her rearview mirror. She can swear that, in the beam of the lighthouse she can see faint sails, bobbing haphazardly in the waves.

[an-ambivalent]

World Of Greed [Yandere! Mafia! Jungkook] [Reader-Insert]

Warning: As this story contains yandere themes, the characters display behaviors that can be triggering or uncomfortable to read. Read at your own risk. This work is purely fiction. I do not believe any of the mentioned members would display any sort of this behaviour irl.

Word Count: 3.8K

In the hours when passion was burning hot, and breaths were stolen in the most pleasantly suffocating way, the atmosphere of the night had been feverish. Now, it had shifted into an atmosphere where comfort and love shared between two people, annihilated any chances of insecurities or doubts. The hands that had caressed, felt, and massaged your body to elicit the perfect pleasure, now held you close tightly. The hold on you was protective, as if you were the most precious treasure in this world. The kisses that were messy, hungry, and deep not too long ago, were now slow and gentle with a hint of slight exhaustion in them.

As if you were two bodies who shared the same mind, both you and Jungkook sighed in content as he pulled away. Jungkook gazed at you with raw emotions of love glossed in his irises, and the intensity of it caused your cheeks to redden. You felt flustered, and embarrassed all of a sudden. For this reason, you  lightly pushed his face to the side so he would not be staring at you.

“You’re so embarrassing,” You squeaked, and Jungkook snorted. He grabbed your wrists off his face, and then pulled you closer. He guided your arms to hang loosely around his waist, before he grabbed your face in between his hands, and started to squeeze your cheeks softly.

“We are literally naked right now and we just finished having sex. You were shameless then, and now my staring makes you feel ‘embarrassed’?”  Jungkook asked, and he poked you in the stomach. This caused you to let out an ugly sound that was a mixture of a laugh and yelp of pain.

“Stop it! Don’t do that! You know I’m sensitive,”  You cried, and that did nothing to stop him. It only encouraged him because Jungkook began to poke you gently on the ticklish parts of your body. You tried to grab his wrists in an attempt to stop him. Albeit, your efforts were useless.

Jungkook’s lips formed into a wide smile as he watched you struggle in vain. However, eventually, he stopped when there were literal tears forming at the corner of your eyes, and you were clutching your sides, and groaning in pain.

As you gasped to finally catch your breath, Jungkook patted your head.

“There, there child,” Jungkook mocked. Your eyebrow twitched, and you shoved his hand away.

“I’m not a kid,” You snapped, and a shit-eating grin appeared on Jungkook’s face.

“You call me daddy though--”

“I swear on my family’s name Jungkook if you don’t shut up I’m going to murder you,” You hissed, as your face had nothing but red embarrassment written on it.

“Awe but--” Jungkook began, however he was cut off when your phone started to ring loudly. You glanced over to the bedside table beside you. Your eyes widened when you saw the name of the person who was calling you.

You inwardly winced as you swiped to answer it.

You had one of your hands over Jungkook’s lips to prevent him from speaking, and with the other, you  held your phone shakily. You breathed out deeply in a last minute attempt to calm your beating heart, before you brought your phone to your ear.

“Hello Yoongi,” You greeted, and your eyes swept over to Jungkook, whom’s eyes widened at the words you spoke. Instantly, you averted your eyes away from him. You cringed when you felt Jungkook glaring at you harshly. You knew you were going to be in big trouble with Jungkook afterwards.

“[Name], where are you?” Yoongi asked coldly, from the other side of the phone. Your volume without your phone being on speaker was loud enough that Jungkook was able to hear what Yoongi was saying clearly. And you knew that with each passing moment, you were digging your own grave deeper.

“I’m with a friend,” You lied quickly.

“What friend?” Yoongi enquired, and the suspicions etched in his voice was more than evident.

“A friend… Y-You don’t know-- don’t know her. She’s a new friend,” You stammered, and after doing so, you bit your lip in nervousness.

“Get rid off her. You know we mafioso don’t anything new or friends. We stick to our family. Send me pictures of the dead body once you’re done so I know you aren’t lying. I want to see fresh blood [Name], not dried,” Yoongi ordered, before he hung up.

The sound of the hang up beep echoed in the silence of the room for a bit as you removed your hand from Jungkook’s mouth. You did not acknowledge him, or even spare him a glance, because you fell back lifelessly.  Your worry over Yoongi’s request started to overwhelm you.

“What am I going to do? Yoongi is going to kill me if I don’t kill someone,” You murmured, and groaned.

Jungkook pressed his lips together and watched you breakdown silently. Then, like a hush whistle of the wind, he spoke.

“One of my men probably killed a girl or someone tonight. I can order them to take pictures and send them to me, and then give them to you,” He offered, despite the traces of anger in his voice. You froze, before you whipped your head towards him. Your eyes widened, and a bright smile was on your face. The sight of it caused Jungkook’s heart to ache.

“Ah! I keep forgetting that you’re a mafia boss when you’re so sweet to me all the time. You would really do that for me?” You asked excitedly, and feeling slightly relieved.  

Jungkook cupped your face, and brought it closer towards his. He leaned down until his lips were only a bit away from yours. As his breath fanned your face, he rubbed your cheek with his thumb softly.

“Of course, I would do anything to make you happy. As lovers, it's important for us to help each other, and be open and honest,” Jungkook began harshly. You furrowed your eyebrows in confusion when his eyes narrowed into a glare at you.

“Honesty [Name]. That reminds me, I’m always doing so much for you, and you barely return the favour. You haven’t even told your family that you’re mine, have you?!” He hissed. His words were an honest accusation, and the bluntness in it, replaced whatever relief you had felt with anxiety.

You tried to talk your way out of it.

“Jun-Jungkook you know that I can’t do that. Our families-- our families hate each other and are enemies. If they find out, then there’s no telling what they’ll do especially Yoongi--” You stammered, but Jungkook cut you off.

“I can defend myself [Name]. I’m the leader of one of the most powerful if not the most powerful mafias out there. Do you really think your family, who’s lower in ranks, would have anything against me? If they try to hurt me, I can handle it. If they try to hurt you, I’ll hurt them. What more reassurance do you need?” Jungkook asked agitatedly. His words struck a nerve in you, especially when he said he would hurt your family.

You knew from experience that Jungkook was a man of his words. He never said anything he did not mean. So, the weight of his words just felt heavier. Hence, you knew that the promise to hurt your family if they did not approve of your relationship with him, was a definite one.

You liked Jungkook, but you also loved your family.

“Jungkook, it’s not that simple--” You tried to say, before the black-haired male scoffed.

“Are you kidding me?! It's exactly that simple [Name]. You can’t keep hiding the truth about us forever. What are you going to do when we get engaged or marriage? Lie to them about the ring on your finger and why you suddenly aren’t carrying their last name but mine? ” He snapped, and the his grip on your face tightened slightly.

Your response was not what Jungkook wanted to hear.

“M-Marriage? Jungkook you aren’t serious about that are you?” You said, and Jungkook froze.

“What?” He asked coldly, as he removed his hands from your face.  Usually, Jungkook was always bright and loving around you. So, the sudden lack of emotions on his face, caused your stomach to churn in discomfort.

You gulped.

“Y-You aren’t serious about marriage, right? I thought we were just having fun--”

“You thought I was just fun?!” He snarled, and he distanced himself away from you.  The abrupt loss of his warmth near you left you feeling cold and shivery.

“Jungkook, no, wait! Listen to me--” You said, and tried to reach out to him and grab his hand. Just as your fingers brushed against his wrist, he slapped your hand away ruthlessly. Then, as Jungkook scavenged for whatever clothes of his he could find, and began to put them on as fast as he could, he glared at you harshly.

“You’ve made it very clear about how you feel about me [Name]. I was a fool to think you were any different,” Jungkook murmured, and the heartbroken expression his face hurt you physically.

Then, before another word could be said, Jungkook grabbed his belongs, and stomped out of the hotel room you two were in. On his way out, he shut the door behind him brutally. The sound of it resonated in the emptiness of the room; and that was the last sound you heard from him that night.

You had stayed locked up in your room continuously for a week. You only left for food, drink, toilet or wanting to freshen up in the bathroom when you knew no one else was home. Well, no one that would have cared.

Within this week, during you moping, Jungkook had not contacted you even once other than to send the picture of a deceased body that he had promised. In that text, he had only attached a picture and there was nothing else — no ‘hello my darling, this is for you~’ or a set of cringey emojis which would make you want to facepalm at how cheesy he was. It may not have seemed like a big deal, but it was.

Jungkook showed you affection in the littest ways. You had noticed his lack of affection, and being exposed to his coldness, affected you more than you would have liked it to. It was a cold slap in the face from reality that made you realize that in the littest way he made you happy in, were no longer there because of your actions. The absence of his sweet gestures made you realize how much brighter your life was with Jungkook in it.

You would be lying to yourself if you said that you did not notice how Jungkook had began to develop feelings for you. At first, you had hooked up with him in order to be rebellious against your family rules, and go against the restrictions Yoongi made you live under. It was unexplainably exhilarating and thrilling to hold the power of your own life in your hands for once, and go behind your family’s back by sleeping with one of their most wanted enemy. Your love story with Jungkook began as cheesy as any other; you met him at a club, and had hooked up that night. One hook up led to another. With every next hook up, things started to become more personal, and the hours you two spent together continued to increase. You had not even realized when you came belong to Jungkook; it just happened. There was nothing else to it.

While over time, you and Jungkook had your disagreements and small arguments from time to time, the silence, or the heavy feelings from the fight had never lasted this long. Jungkook would usually send you a sweet text the next morning with an apology, and you two would return to participating in your secretive and intimate rendezvouses at night.

You knew it was unfair of you to keep hoping for Jungkook to contact you again when you were the one who was at fault. And it was in that moment you understood just how much Jungkook had spoiled you, and how much you had taken him for granted. Jungkook was right; you needed to stop lying and wasting time. It was time for you to decide where you wanted your relationship with Jungkook to head.

You were forced to return to reality, and step out of your head when there was a knock on your door. You heard Yoongi’s familiar cold voice from the other side of the door.

“[Name], come out here right now. I don’t know what’s gotten you so upset that you’ve locked yourself up in your room for the past week, but I’ve given you enough time to be dejected about it. Get out here and talk to me about it,” He ordered, and you wiped the few tears that were welled up in the corner of your eyes. You reluctantly stood up from your bed, and made your way towards the door. You knew from first hand experience  that whenever Yoongi asked someone to do anything, it would be in their best interest to do it. Despite the soft spot he had for you, you were no exception to this rule. So you did as you were asked, and you opened the door.

The sight of your red and puffy eyes, along with the tears that had visibly dried on your skin, made Yoongi’s eyes widened. It surprised him greatly since you barely ever cried.

“[Name]? What the hell? Who did this to you?” Yoongi demanded. Instantly, Yoongi had wrapped his arms around you, and brought you in towards himself for a hug. You returned his embrace weakly, and laid your head on his shoulder. The moment Yoongi started to pat your head, you busted out in tears, that you had been trying to hold back this entire time. Your sudden and unexpected outburst was awkward for Yoongi.

“If this is what I said about your new friend, and that you needed to kill her, you don’t have to if she means so much to you—“ Yoongi blurted, and this caused a broken laugh to escape your lips.

“It’s not that. Well, kind of. There’s something I have been hiding from you Yoongi,” You began nervously, pulled away from his hug, before you wiped your tears with the sleeves of your shirt.

“I’m scared to tell you,” You admitted honestly, and averted your eyes away from him.

In silence, Yoongi gazed at you for a bit. You did not notice how his eyes narrowed at you ever so slightly. Subsequently, Yoongi settled his hands on your shoulders, and gave you small smile in reassurance.

“[Name], I think of you as my own sister. Whatever it is, I’ll support you—“ Yoongi started, but he was cut off, when one of your mafia underlyings ran towards you two like his life depended on it.

“Sir Min, the leader of the Jeon gang is here—“ He said, and Yoongi instantly whipped his head towards the guard.

“What?!” Yoongi hissed. In one moment leading to another, Yoongi’s entire demeanour changed. He was no longer relaxed the way he had been with you, and his shoulders tensed. His glare was icy and harsh. He took out a gun from his waistbands as soon as he could.

“If we’re being attacked by the Jeons, then why the hell aren’t you defending—“ Yoongi’s words died on his tongue, as the guard before him was knocked out.

Yours and Yoongi’s eyes widened when you saw Jungkook standing there with a gun in his hand. His eyes were stoic as he watched the guard fall. Instantly, Yoongi held his gun up sideways towards Jungkook, ready to shoot him.

Yoongi’s stare hardened.

“What the hell are you doing here?” He asked, and stood up as tall as he was able to, in order to hide you behind himself from Jungkook’s sight.

“I’m here for [Name],” Jungkook said, before he loosened his grip on his gun, and allowed it to fall on the floor carelessly. He put his hands up in mid-air to emphasize that he meant no harm.

“I’m not here to fight or cause trouble. I just need [Name],” Jungkook said.  Yoongi scoffed as he motioned towards the lying guard, and other underlyings who would be in a similar situation as him.

“Mean no harm? You knocked out my men,” Yoongi snapped. In response, Jungkook sighed, feeling as if this entire talk was a major waste of his time.

“Yeah knocked them out. I did not hurt or kill them. Doing that wouldn’t be hard for me. Taking over this entire mansion would not be hard for me but I didn’t,” Jungkook explained. After realising the truth in his words, Yoongi narrowed his eyes suspiciously, but nonetheless lowered his gun.

“I’m here to make amends and tell the truth since someone here wouldn’t,” Jungkook began, and his eyes flickered to yours in a slight glare. You already felt overwhelmed with your shame. So, you glanced away from Jungkook in order to avoid his stare. You focused your gaze on the ground instead. However, before you had glanced away, you noticed how Yoongi had spared you a glance.

“[Name] and I have been seeing each other for a long time. I’m really serious when I say this and mean each and every word of it. I’m in love with her and there’s no one else I’d rather spend my future with. I wouldn’t really care about familiarities, but I will since it's important to her. You and the rest of your family is a part of her, like mine is a part of me. I was a fool to say what I had. I don’t want to see her in secret or behind your back anymore. So, will you please give us your blessing?” Jungkook asked, and bowed.

The unexpected turn of the situation had you gasping in shock. The sorrow that was eating you away was diminishing, and there was an unexpected bubble of joy forming. You knew that Jungkook was dedicated to you, but you were only now realizing the lengths of his loyalty and dedication to you. For him to approach someone beneath him, and suck up all of his pride for your happiness, it made you feel giddy in all sorts of way. Thought, it also manifested your guilty over how you had taken advantage of  his love for you. In that moment, you decided that you were going to be better — you were going to be better and give your all to Jungkook, the way he gave you all of him.

You failed to notice how Yoongi was watching you closely, and how his lips had almost twitched up in a smile. However, he kept his stone cold expression on his face as he spoke.

“What if I don’t let you date her?” Yoongi asked, as Jungkook stood up to his full height again, and gave Yoongi a sickeningly sweet and wide smile.

“Then I’m afraid I’ll reject your request to give the control of your gang over to me, and you’ll be left falling in shambles like you are now. It is in your best interest to listen to me,” Jungkook said smoothly, and Yoongi scoffed at him.

“You’re an asshole, a cunning and manipulative asshole. Welcome to our family Jeon Jungkook,” Yoongi said, and held out his hand. Jungkook grabbed it and shook it firmly.

“The pleasure is all mine,” He replied grinning, as his eyes shifted to yours, and he smirked at the baffled expression you wore on your face.

You turned towards Yoongi and glared at him.

“What does he mean by us falling in shambles?” You asked incredulously, and Yoongi scowled.

“Exactly what it sounds like. We’re becoming too weak and if we don’t team up with him then others will destroy us. You didn’t think that all this time, I let you sleep with him for no reason or that I didn’t know about your relationship with him, did you?” Yoongi said, and your cheeks redden in embarrassment.

“N-No, of course not!” You replied. There was an odd high pitch in your voice as you had spoken, that had made it more than obvious that you in fact, did not know.

Yoongi sighed, before he pecked you on your forehead. He turned towards Jungkook with a sharp gaze.

“You better look after her and cherish her. If you hurt her, then you’ll regret it. Your help be damned,” Yoongi threatened, and Jungkook grinned.

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” He responded simply, and Yoongi nodded in approval.

“Good. Now, I guess I better leave you two to solve your drama. I can literally feel the sexual tension and it's so disgusting,” Yoongi exclaimed, before he walked out of your room, and shut the door behind him.

For next few moments, all you and Jungkook did was stare at each other, and you gulped.

“Hey,” You greeted.

“Hey,” He responded.

Then, it hit you all at once; the regret, the guilt, the love, and the fact that you were finally seeing Jungkook again. You ran to him and wrapped your arms around him tightly. You nuzzled your face in his shirt.

He returned your embrace by wrapping his arms around your waist. He lifted you up, and instinctively, wrapped your legs around his waist. You kissed him deeply, and passionately for as long as you could, before you broke away.

“I’m so sorry Jungkook. I’m so sorry for hurting you. I promise I won’t do it again,” You cried, and pecked his lips softly as an apology.

Jungkook smiled at you. “Thank you [Name]. I’m sorry too, I should have been more understanding about your reasons,” He said, and tightened his grip on you.

“You’re too good for me. I can’t believe you came here to ask Yoongi for his blessing just for us to date,” You said giggling.

The happy expression on your face caused Jungkook’s smile to widen. He loved it when you were happy and smiled, especially when he was the reason for it.

He brought you closer to himself until your body was pressed against his, and your lips were only few inches away. His breath fanned your face, and his whispers were promises that were dangerous, but oh so delightfully romantic at the same time.

“I did it because I love you [Name], and I’d do anything for you. I’d end the world for you if you wanted me to,mo chuisle mo chroi.”

GOOD ENDING

[talltalesandbedtimestories]

A View To A Winchester (Part 15)

Series Page

Summary: Julie’s starting a new life after divorce in a home with a very nice view.

A Dean X OFC story. I got this idea staring out the view of my home office window and thinking how nice it would be to have Dean Winchester to ogle.

Section Word Count: 4,200    

Section Content: fluff, flirting, angst, bullying, R-rated language 

~~~~~

Dean called Cas and told him he was running late. And that Julie would be coming to the festival as well. “Another date?” Cas asked. I guess this is another date. Doing everything out of goddamn order again. What’s new? After a lengthy list of what Cas and Jack shouldn’t discuss or bring up, Cas ended the call with, “I guess that only leaves the weather. When it doesn’t directly relate to signs of an impending Apocalypse, of course.” Smart ass.

Dean drove round to pick up Julie in Baby, freshly washed and rumbling for attention. He rolled up her driveway and stopped at the edge of the front walkway. She hopped off the front stoop wearing faded jean shorts and a white t-shirt that read “Italians Do It Better” in green, white, and red block letters. He caught that cute little skip she usually only did when she thought no one was watching. A high ponytail bounced to match the lightness in her steps. Sun reflected off the large brown lenses of her sunglasses. She leaned into the open passenger side window.

Looks like a fucking college girl. Dean mentally cursed at his cock for springing to attention. And I’m acting like a fucking horny teenager.

“You clean up real nice.” Dean cleared his throat.

She smiled. “So do you.”

“Hop in, sweetheart. I don’t want to have to speed this time.”

She laughed and climbed in. “I don’t think my heart can handle another one of those drives.”

He reversed down the driveway. “Just don’t want to disappoint Jack and get there too late.”

A frown stared back at him after she fastened her lap belt. “You can blame me.”

“I don’t want to have to explain why you’re to blame.” He grinned.

“Fair enough.” She crossed those legs that reminded Dean of a 50s pinup girl. Nice and curvy in all the right places. Her attention turned toward her open window. The breeze played with the wispy hairs she hadn’t wrangled into the ponytail. She pulled at a strand that got caught in her candy apple red lipstick. Dean licked his lips. How does acting like a horny teenager differ from me acting like my usual, horny adult self?

“I’m glad you said yes to coming out with me, us.” Dean tried to revert to some neutral conversation.

“Thanks for inviting me.”

“There are a couple rules, though.” He smiled.

“Rules? Wow. Do I need to walk six feet behind you at the festival? If so, you can drive me right back home.” She pursed her lips.

He raised a hand. “Okay, rules was the wrong word. More like warnings, I guess.”

Her arms were crossed now. “That doesn’t sound any better.”

“If you haven’t noticed, I stick my foot in my mouth. A lot.”

“I haven’t noticed, which is odd considering how much I stare at your mouth.” She shot back in a sarcastic and seductive tone.

Damn. Not helping me focus here, Jules.

“You’ve met Cas. And, Jack is sort of a chip off the old block. But, a little better adjusted.” Turns out a five year old nephilim has better social interaction and communication skills than a two-thousand year old angel. Who’d have thought?

“Okay. I’ll keep that in mind.” She nodded.

Dean raised a finger. “One thing he always wants, though, is to ride shotgun in Baby.”

“I have no problem being relegated to the back seat. I probably won’t get as queasy.”

Dean narrowed his eyes. “Is that a shot at my driving?”

She grinned and looked back out the window.

“Hm.” Dean turned up the volume on the stereo a little more to compete with the wind for the rest of the drive.

~~~~~

The expected awkwardness occurred once Dean arrived at Cas’s house. Cas forgot to invite them in after announcing he needed a couple more minutes and instead shut the door in their faces. Dean shrugged. “Sorry.”

Julie laughed. “It’s fine.” She turned and wandered down the path to look up at the cottage front. “It looks like a cute place from the outside.” Dean joined her, standing close enough to sniff the perfume she wore. “Is he worried I might find the dead bodies he’s hiding in there?”

A nervous laugh bubbled up from Dean. “Two guys, you know, the place can get messy.”

The door opened and Jack walked out, closing the door behind him. “Dean.” Jack smiled from ear to ear. He strolled with that goal oriented, mission style of his.

Dean patted him on the shoulder. “Hey, Jack. This is Julie.”

He tilted his head to Julie and outstretched his hand. “Hi, Julie. Nice to meet you.”

Julie removed her sunglasses and offered Jack a warm smile. “Nice to meet you.”

“Cas’ll be out in a minute. I love festivals.”

Julie’s eyes widened. “Do you?”

“Yes, especially this one. It’ll be the second year in a row we’ve gone to the Italian Festival. Did you know Saint Anthony of Padua is the patron saint of lost things?”

Dean held back a sigh.

She nodded. “I did, actually. I went to Saint Anthony’s elementary school. We learned a lot of things about him.”

“Does it actually work?”

Dean watched Julie try and track the conversation with her eyes. “Does what actually work?”

“Praying to him to help you find something you lost?”

“My mom would say yes. I’m not quite convinced.” She smiled.

“Are you Catholic? Since you went to a Catholic school.” Jack started his interrogation.

“Whoa, easy tiger.” Dean interrupted. “Remember what we said about politics and religion?”

Jack thought for a moment. “Don’t bring them up if you can help it?”

Dean winked.

Cas slammed the door and jolted the three of them where they stood. He marched to the tiny group and nodded. “Hello again, Julie. Lovely weather we’re having.”

Smart ass.

~~~~~

Julie turned out to be exactly the insider Dean needed when they drove through Little Italy. She navigated him around the tiny side streets. They found a parking spot beside a line of row homes. Dean began to parallel park Baby into the tight area.

“You hate parking your car on a city street.” Cas reminded Dean, seated next to Julie in the back.

He turned around to glance between the two of them through the rear windshield as he reversed. “Yeah, well, I hate paying twenty bucks to park in a lot even more.” He smiled at Julie. “I should take you with me everywhere.”

He couldn’t see the reaction in her eyes shielded by the sunglasses, but her cheeks reddened.

“That doesn’t sound like a feasible request, Dean.” Cas turned to Julie. “You have your own life and daily obligations, correct?”

Jack sighed. “He’s flirting, Cas.”

Dean shook his head and righted himself in the seat to finish parking. “Think I can borrow you a bit longer, Julie, so you can direct us on foot the rest of the way?” He side-eyed Cas. “Alright if I ask her that?”

Cas nodded. “That seems fine.”

Julie laughed.

~~~~~

The four city blocks around Saint Anthony’s school and church were decorated with Italian flag streamers draped from every available electricity and streetlight pole. The streets were flooded with a river of people. Cas and Jack had disappeared into the two blocks comprising the fairgrounds a half hour ago.

The aroma of sauce and grease and beer had been too much for Dean. He asked for Julie’s opinion on what to try. She suggested a panzerotti and vinegar coated french fries. Her memory did not falter as she parted through the bodies to the food stand she had in mind. She told Dean she frequented this one often as a pudgy kid. After waiting in line for ten minutes, they searched for a place to sit.

Dean and Julie deposited their red and white paper food trays and large beer cups at one of a dozen picnic benches under a tent. The festival goers around them were enjoying a band’s rendition of an Italian folk song.

Dean sat and inspected the panzerotti. “What is this again?”

Julie placed her glasses on the table top, rubbed her hands together and leaned in close to him. “Deep fried dough with a molten, delicious mix of sauce and mozzarella inside. It’s like a stromboli bomb. I’d tell you to be careful, but there’s no way around it. First bite’s gonna burn no matter what.” She grinned. “So good. You’ll need that beer.”

Dean smiled and tore into the panzerotti. The contents seared his lips and mouth. “H-H-Hot!” He exclaimed and chugged down some beer. He swallowed and sighed. “Awesome.”

She laughed, nibbled at the corner of the treat in her hand, then fanned her mouth. “I can’t believe they’re allowed to sell these without someone signing a waiver first.”

Dean chuckled and blew on his snack, shoveling a couple french fries in while he waited for it to cool down. He noted the families and crowds, the conversations and music swarming all around. It felt stuffy, the heat of the nearby stands cooking and frying trapped under the tent. “This wasn’t as much fun last year. I basically just stood in the center of the fairgrounds with Cas while Jack hit every single ride. Three times each at least.”

Julie smiled. “Don’t they know how much you love food?”

“Oh, they do. But, it was more about giving Jack the chance to experience it, you know? And, helping Cas through it.”

She picked at the dough with her fingers and munched with care. “They both seem nice. But, what’s their deal? I don’t know many kids that call their parents by their first name.”

How do I always tell her the truth, now, without telling her everything. “Jack didn’t start living with Cas until a couple years ago. So, the dad/son thing is still kinda new for both of them.”

“Divorce?”

“He was never married to Jack’s mom.”

Julie nodded. “Yeah, I guess that’s tough all around.” Dean watched her as he took another bite. He cringed at the hot sauce hitting his tongue and the expression on her face that was leading to another question. “So, you said you knew Cas for a long time. Did you two come to Delaware together? Did he work with you and your brother?”

He chewed, thinking. “He’s helped here and there over the years. When business slowed… I knew Cas would be lost for a while. I got my footing and told him this would be as good a place as any for him to start over with Jack.” The look she gave made him self-conscious. He patted a scratchy napkin around his mouth. “I’m covered in panzerotti, aren’t I?”

She shook her head, lids blinking slow, taking him in. “No. You’re all about saving people, huh?”

He smiled at her wistful expression. “Kind of hard to shake, I guess.”

“Julie!”

Dean cocked his head to the other side of the picnic bench at the call.

Julie’s eyes widened. “Maggie! How are you?”

“Good. Haven’t seen you in forever!” The tiny brunette was pushing a stroller. A passed out toddler covered in chocolate ice cream stains swayed in the seat.

Hm. Should share some ice cream with Jules after this. I bet she likes sprinkles.

Maggie’s big blue eyes surveyed Dean. He nodded at the acknowledgement. She looked back over to Julie. “How are you? Visiting your mom? How’s she?”

“I’m good.” Julie stated. Dean noticed her posture stiffen, putting a little more distance between them on the bench. This isn’t a “nice to see you again” situation. “Um, mom’s good. I see you have another little one.” She smiled and motioned to the child.

Maggie beamed back and pushed the stroller back and forth with one hand, on autopilot. Dean caught a weariness and exhaustion in Maggie’s smile. “Yeah. Davey, Jr. Just turned two a couple weeks ago. Dave’s grabbing some food with Madison. I think the last time I saw you was at the Flower Market years back. Maddie was four maybe.”

Julie nodded and smiled. Tight lipped and on guard. Yeah, she’s not one to give a lot of info to just anybody.

“I’d met your husband, Steve? How’s he?”

And there it is.

Julie cleared her throat and shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. We, um, we’re divorced.”

Maggie clutched her chest. “Oh my God. I’m so sorry. I had no idea.”

Julie shook her head at Maggie. “Of course you didn’t. Or, you wouldn’t have asked.” She turned and looked at him, her eyes screaming SAVE ME. “This is Dean.”

Dean whipped out his best smile and nodded again. “Hi there, Maggie.”

Maggie fiddled with her hair. “Hi.”

“Hey, Mag. I found Rich and the crew over by the grandstand. They’re saving us seats.” A tall, tubby man saddled up behind Maggie. He held a tray filled with grease and sweets and sipped on a huge soda cup.

“Where’s Madison?” Maggie looked over her shoulder.

“Caught up with some school friends. Gave her the last of the tickets.”

“Dave, do you remember Julie? She was in our class at St. Anthony’s.”

The blue eyes scrunched together under a low riding ball cap. A long slurp and then recognition followed. He pointed with the soda cup. “Julie Jelly Belly! First in the lunch line, last to get picked for Dodgeball.”

Maggie smacked her husband’s rather pronounced beer belly. Dean swore he heard some liquid slosh around in there. Julie’s face reddened. What a dick.

“What?” Dave asked with a shrug, then slurped again.

Maggie shook her head.

Dave gave Julie a leering once over. “You look great now.”

Dean leaned into Julie and wrapped an arm around her waist. “Amazing how some people just get better with age.” He made sure Dave heard his voice, loud and clear, above all the noise.

Dave’s vacant expression was the only response he got back.

“Well, we’ve got to go. But, it was great seeing you!”

Julie waved.

The couple wandered off. Dean watched Maggie smack Dave on the back once they were out of earshot.

Julie laughed. “God, sometimes I forget how little some people change. And I had a crush on him back in school.”

“On that?” Dean frowned. He pulled Julie closer.

“He was cute back then. Still a dick, but cute.”

“I wouldn’t have been a dick to you.” He whispered in her ear.

Julie pulled away to stare at him. She looked like she’d sucked on a lemon.

“I wouldn’t have.” He repeated. “I was never the popular kid. We moved around too much for me to make a name for myself. I hated guys like that.”

“Well, you wouldn’t have noticed me, I’m sure.” She shook her head. “And, that’s okay.” She smiled. “You notice me now.”

He lifted his chin and looked down his nose at her. “Well, I definitely wouldn’t have picked on you. I protected Sammy from asshats like that. Gave them a proper beat down or wedgie when they deserved it.”

“Sammy had a good big brother.” She grinned. “Finish your panzerotti. We’re going to go take a walk through the fairgrounds next.”

He nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”

~~~~~

At some point during their carnival exploration, Dean’s fingers had interlocked with hers. It may have been so he didn’t lose her in the crowd and pulled her through a massive bottleneck. But once he did it, feeling the warmth and tight grip she returned, he went back to hold her hand throughout the late afternoon that stretched into early evening.

“Aw, this is my game!” He fished a couple bucks out of his pocket and sat on a spinny steel stool attached to a makeshift plywood floor. “Want to try?”

“I’m not very good at shooting games.”

He tapped the stool next to him and placed the buy-in on the counter for them both. “Humor me, sweetheart.”

Julie sighed and sat. The game attendant swiped up the cash and flicked on their mounted water guns. “Step right up and take a chance!”

Dean tested the turning radius of his weapon. A tween sat to his right. He passed the time as they waited for two more contestants and spun in his seat toward Julie. “Just have to breathe into it beforehand. Get your sight level and don’t squeeze the trigger until the buzzer goes off.”

She smiled and nodded, leaning down to try and line the gun up with the bullseye target directly in front of her spot. Her sunglasses rested in the collar of her shirt. From Dean’s perspective, she seemed to be enjoying the time with him.

“Dean!” Cas’s deep baritone startled him out of staring at Julie. He marched up and stood between their stools in his pale green button up and khaki cargo pants. “We’re almost out of tickets.”

“Are you asking me for money to buy more?” Dean raised an eyebrow. Jack was on Julie’s left and they chatted.

“Of course not. I have my own earnings. I just wanted to make you aware that we’ll probably be done soon and ready to leave.”

“Well, we need two more players.” He nodded to the empty spots next to Julie. “Why don’t you and Jack give it a try?”

Jack shrugged and sat next to Julie.

Cas looked at the attendant. “What’s the hoped for outcome if one wants to win?”

The wrinkled man pointed to the horses at the left of the huge game display. “You get your horse to the other side first.”

“Fair enough.” Cas wandered over next to Jack.

“Alright.” Dean smacked his hands together. “Game on!”

~~~~~

“That kid cheated.” Dean mumbled, marching away from the game seven minutes later. He had Julie by his side, hands locked together again. “No way he won three games in a row fair and square.” Jack and Cas caught up to his gait on his left.

“His reflexes and speed could just be better because…”

Cas put his hand on Jack’s shoulder. “I advise you to stop talking now.”

Dean cocked his head to see Julie grinning. “Did you find all that amusing, Jules?” He tried not to grin back.

She stopped in the middle of the path and looked upward. Dean, Jack, and Cas all halted in a delayed response. “Hey Cas, how many tickets do you have left?”

“Eight.”

“Could we all go on that?” She pointed up to the three story high ferris wheel in the middle of the fairgrounds. The massive steel spoked frame was decorated in what looked like thousands of multicolored lights.

“I’m not opposed to it.” Cas replied.

Julie stared at Dean and squeezed his hand. He sighed. “Sure.”

The line for the ride wasn’t very long. Jack and Cas filed in ahead of Dean and Julie. When they rocked off in their own carriage they gave the waiting couple a friendly salute.

“Are you thinking this ride will calm me down?” Dean passed the tickets to the attendant and tugged her up the rickety aluminum stairs.

She slid next to him on the hard seat. “Not really.” She shivered.

“Chilly?” He asked.

“A little.”

He wrapped an arm around her shoulder. The bar secured them in their carriage, they rocked backwards and up, and Dean’s secure footing disappeared. The evening sky above the rooftops and tree canopies turning deeper shades of blue as his eyes gazed higher.

“I kind of just wanted to get you alone for a little while.” She whispered, nuzzling into his neck.

“Hm.” Dean closed his eyes and smiled when she shivered again. They floated and swayed in a static spot as another group got on the ride.

“If you were perfect at that game, too, I would have thought I was dreaming again.”

“Again?” He rubbed her elbow. The carriage jerked up another click and stopped. Cas’s and Jack’s sneakered feet dangled above them.

“I don’t remember anything after Ina touched me, once we got to the shopping center and I parked the car.” Dean’s body turned rigid at the mention of the Jinn’s name. Julie slipped an arm around his waist and burrowed closer. Her warm breath bathed skin along his t-shirt collar. “I thought maybe she had drugged me. That’s what I asked the doctors. But, they said nothing came back in the tests to suggest that.”

His other hand latched onto her forearm.

“It wasn’t like I woke up in that bed as if no time had passed between the car and the hospital. It wasn’t a snap of the fingers. Have you… have you ever dreamed and felt like you’ve lived days, even weeks during it?”

‘Why, yes, Julie. I was kidnapped by a Jinn, a magical creature that feeds off human blood and puts its victims in a comatose, dream state. Hate to break it to you, but that’s exactly what happened to you, too.’ If I’m truthful right now, she might jump out of the damn carriage. “Weeks?” Avoid answering at all costs.

“That’s what happened. I was living my life. But, it was this, fantasy life. Just me… and you.”

Me? His thoughts focused on the night he’d found Julie. The Jinn was spouting some shit. Julie dreaming about me. The ferris wheel rotated without a hiccup with all its passengers accounted for and aboard the ride. The cool night air trailed over their entangled limbs. Goosebumps formed over her skin. He wondered how much of it was the wind or his fingers brushing along, needing to touch as many parts of her as he could. I was in her fairy tale life. Like the one I had, so long ago. The one that brought mom back to life and teased me with what could have been. Before she was really brought back by Amara, like a game show parting gift. ‘We appreciate you playing Dean. You were going to blow yourself up to save the world, but big sis and universe creating bro here worked it out, thanks to you.’ He stared at the back of Jack’s head. And there’s the former archangel slash human whose unstable powers took mom away again. A quick stab hit his heart. Here we are: one big happy band of misfits. Yeah, explaining supernatural stuff is going to have her looking at me like I should be committed.

Dean figured they had about eight cars to unload before them once the ride was done. They swirled and spun. The festival lights, the crowds, the noise; it all dipped close then faded away. He wanted to know specifics from Julie. The worry that his curiosity would only lead to more of her questions made him hesitate.

“Still there, Dean?” She tugged at his shirt.

“Yeah.”

“I freaked you out.” She stated.

“No. No.” He tilted his head down, nudging her forehead with his nose. He needed to look into her eyes and provide some reassurance. Those brown eyes were wide and cautious. He flashed her a smile. “What did we do in this dream of yours?”

Her eyes crinkled up with her grin. “A lot of what we started to do earlier today... in my bedroom.”

A brow lifted. “Why Julie, was I your sex slave?”

“Pretty sure there was mutual agreement in all of the activities that occurred.”

He bent down and kissed her, soft and slow. “I don’t doubt it. Was that all that we did? Cause that sounds like an awesome dream to have under any circumstances.”

“Not all. We just spent a ton of time together. Looking back on it now, the parts I can piece together, I should have known something was off. Because it was literally only you and me. In our neighborhood, in the city, taking drives along empty roads for miles.” She smiled. “I felt safe.”

He played with the tip of her ponytail as the carriage swung to a stop, almost at the very top of the wheel. “It sounds like that’s what you needed and your brain gave you that calm. That safety.”

“Well, then, you were just what I needed.” She kissed his cheek. “You were perfect. But, I gotta say, you were even better than what I could’ve dreamt up today, when you...” She trailed off when they locked eyes again.

“When I what?” He offered his best innocent expression.

She blushed.

“Come on.”

Her eyes drifted to his mouth. “When you ate me out.” The blush deepened under the ferris wheel lights. She licked her bottom lip, the red stain worn off it hours ago. It took a second for him to realize she mimicked his response to her statement.

“Sweetheart,” he sighed, shifting in the uncomfortable seat, his excitement growing at their proximity and the intimate confession. “You’re killing me, you know that?”

“Let’s put you out of your misery then.” Her lips brushed against his ear. “Can I come back to your place tonight?”

His eyes widened. “Well, I was already planning on staying over at yours... but, wherever. Long as we finish what we started.”

“Good.” She caught his lobe between her teeth.

Dean moaned. Gotta live up to this unstoppable sex machine she’s built up in her head. Yep, I may die tonight. But, what a way to go. Sure as hell a thousand times better than death by bacon. And, I fucking love bacon.

Part 16

Series Page

[masterweaverx]

The Familial Blooper Reel

"Ladies and gentlemen," Yang proclaimed with a smile, "we have arrived in Argus."

"Argus!" Ruby gasped.

"Argus!" Weiss cried.

"Argus!" Blake exclaimed.

"It's only a model," Maria grumbled.

"Hush," Oscar admonished.

Qrow chuckled. "On second thought, let's not go to Argus. Tis a very silly place."

Yang rolled her eyes as the entire group burst into laughter. "Yeah, yeah, classic sketch. Come on, we need a serious take, guys, I've had my butt on this bike all day!"

Oscar looked down at his script. "So, in this scene, you glomp me."

"Yep!" said Nora brightly. "It'll be fun!"

"...can I get a stunt double?"

"Oh come on, I'm not that bad!"

Various hums of consideration came from around them.

"I'm not!" Nora protested. "Really, I'm not--" She looked around for any sign of support.

"We can't get you a stunt double right now," the director said, "but we can get you a bluemat and up your hazard pay."

"Alright, I can live with that."

Nora threw up her hands. "I AM NOT THAT BAD!"

"We should probably start looking for a ship," Blake mused, not catching the uncomfortable look Nora and Ren shared.

"Start looking?" Yang laughed. "Okay, so we've got Whiterose, Ladybug, Enabler, Monochrome, Freezerburn, Bumblebee, Nora's Arc, Martial Arcs, Boop, Lancastor, Sugar Rush, Crimson Lotus, White Knight, Nordic Winter, White Lotus, Dark Knight, Thundercats, Ninjas of Love, Dragon Slayer, Pink Lemonade, Sunflowyr--"

Ruby sighed as Yang inhaled deeply. "No no," she said, holding a hand out to Maria, "let her get it out of her system."

"--Rose Garden, Snow Pines, Deadly Nightshade, Summer Sun Harvest, Compost King, Valhalla, Lotus Garden, Moonshine, Twin Reaper, White Russian, Nightcap, Phoenix, Jaundice, Hammered, Paper Cranes, and that's just with the people here who were in prior seasons taking two to a ship!" Yang finished with a grin.

"Cute," Blake said with a flat look. "Let me rephrase. We should probably start looking for a vessel capable of taking us across the sea."

"And stop looking at the stupid fan memes," Weiss added.

"But the stupid fan memes are the best part!" Yang whined, still grinning.

Adrian pulled himself up onto the couch Blake was sitting on, eyeing her curiously.

Blake glanced at him as he rose to his feet and wobbled across the cushions. "Uh... hey. What... what are you doing?"

"Hrglm," he explained, pointing at her.

Blake's ears flattened. "Yeeeeeah, I have no idea what that means..."

Adrian sat down heavily, eyes wide in amazement.

"...what?" Blake's ears perked up. "What are you looking at?"

Slowly, the child rose his hands to his head.

"...Oh." Blake rolled her eyes. "Yes, I have big ears on my head." She twitched them in demonstration.

Adrian twitched his own hands.

Blake quirked a brow, her ears swiveling forward.

Adrian bent his hands forward, tongue sticking out in concentration.

Blake crossed her arms. Her ears, pointedly, folded back.

"Hrrnmmm..." Adrian, after some thinking, managed to put his hands flat on his head.

A sly grin began to grow on Blake's face. "Hm." One ear rose up.

Adrian blinked. Slowly, he lifted one hand.

Blake let her other ear rise, facing sideways. Adrian, after some thought, cupped his other hand toward the table. A brief chuckle escaped Blake's lips.

"Okay, let's kick it up a notch."

She let an ear bend so it was perpendicular to her head--a bit of a strain, but possible. Adrian managed to bend his wrist to match.

Blake stretched her ears so that their tips touched--just barely. He found mimicking that to be easy.

Very slowly, Blake folded her ears back. Adrian was mimicking her action when suddenly they shot up to full height, and he squeaked as he brought his hands back up.

She began to rotate one ear back and forth so it was rowing through the air, while the other twitched side to side like a metronome. He stared in fascination, trying desperately to match her actions with his hands--

"Are you two having fun?"

Blake jumped, looking behind her at the smirking Yang. "Wh--! No. Well, maybe he is. I'm just, you know, he's here, it keeps him entertained--"

Yang glanced at Adrian, who had put his hands up straight when her ears perked up. "Yeah, I guess they're easily amused at that age."

Blake rolled her eyes. "Come on, you know I don't do kids."

"Mmmhmmm."

She folded her ears flat, completely ignorant of Adrian putting his hands against his head. "I don't! This is just a coincidence!"

"Mmmmmmmmmhmmmmmmmmmmm."

Blake glanced back at Adrian, who still had his hands flat on his head. She unfolded her ears and sighed when he put his hands up. "Now look what you made me do, you made me look ridiculous in front of my costar."

"Mblrgl?"

"Look, just..." Blake reached out, paused halfway, and put her hands on the cushion. "Hands down. Okay? Hands down."

"Yeah, you're never going to be able to convince him to do that," Yang said casually. "You need to give him something else to focus on."

Blake turned to her. Her gaze dropped to her metal arm. She glanced up at Yang's face, eyes pleading.

Yang sighed. "Only for you. Hey kiddo!" She waved a golden hand. "Look at the flashy lights!"

Adrian's eyes went wide when he saw the indicator lights on Yang's arm flicker on and off.

"So, Saphron." Blake looked over at the woman curiously. "You're the only Arc living here?"

"Yep! Moved out the second I could. Jaune and I are the only two living away from home." Saphron smiled fondly, her voice taking on a teasing lilt. "I guess he just wanted to be like his big sis."

Jaune rolled his eyes. "I, uh... hrrm..."

"Awww..." Saphron pinched his cheek. "~You didn't de-ny iiiiit!~"

Jaune pushed the hand away, which led to Saphron pushing back, which led to a little slapfight--that ended abruptly when she leaned back with a yelp.

"Oh geeze--" Jaune pulled his hands back, leaning forward. "I'm sorry, are you okay?!"

"Those are metal gauntlets, bro, soft slaps! Soft!"

"I am so so sorry--"

"It's fine, it's..." Saphron groaned. "Ow. Okay, I'm going to have somebody look at this, I'll be back for the next take..."

"We should probably start looking for a ship," Blake mused, not catching the uncomfortable look Nora and Ren shared.

"So where have you guys been staying?" Oscar asked Jaune.

"Uh.... heh, um..."

"There you are!" called a woman from across the street, waving to the group.

Yang turned around and gasped dramatically. "IT'S ME FROM THE FUTURE!"

Blake groaned. "Come on, take this seriously! I don't want to be stuck doing this scene the whole day!"

"And then, I dragged the Nevermore up the cliff so fast that when I got to the top..." Ruby spread her hands. "Its head flew clean off! Pop!"

Adrian gasped.

"I know! I was surprised too, but I hid it. I turned around with an epic pose."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "And then the director yelled at you for breaking an expensive piece of puppetry, and we had to swap out the Grimm hordes with the White Fang extras until the studio gave us a bigger budget for the season 2 finale."

"Oh come on, that is so not my fault! And they ended up using that take anyway!"

"I was looking forward to fighting the Petra Gigas. But who ends up fighting it? Team RNJR, that's who!"

"Hey, you got to take out that Lancer nest."

"I got to stand in a half-set and point my sword out at a greenscreen."

"But we did have that traintop fight with the Manticores and the Chimera."

"Yeah," Weiss conceded, "that was pretty fun. But it's called a Sphinx."

"It was clearly a chimera!" Ruby protested. "With the tail and... whatever." She turned back to Adrian. "Anyway, so that's how we filmed the initiation scenes. Do you want to hear about how we shot the fight with the Paladin?"

Adrian nodded. "Rgmrl!"

"And you're sure it's alright if we stay with you?"

Saphron smiled at Weiss's question. "Of course! We're happy to house Huntsmen and Huntresses."

"You all risk so much to keep people like us safe," Terra affirmed. "It's the least we can do. Especially for an elite Huntsman like yourself." She gave Qrow a disapproving frown. "Although I will say I was surprised to learn you had students helping you. Is that even... legal?"

Ruby gave Qrow a look. When he didn't respond, she elbowed his arm.

"Uh, of course. Think of it as an extended training... thing. Trust me, I..." He paused. "...have totally forgotten my line here, so I'm just going to level with you, these kids are the stars of the show and I'm just a cocky old guy who they put up with to pay the bills."

"Yep," Ruby agreed to the snickers of the others, "he's dead weight, and we only keep him around to sign the legal adult stuff. That's why we're so glad we found Maria."

"They took one look at my resume and they had to have me," Maria proclaimed. "Of course it's still a probationary period, but I've already increased their effectiveness by seventy percent."

"The only, hee, problem we're having is accommodations," Yang added. "We, haha, we don't have her favorite flavor of nuts."

Maria sighed sadly. "Such good kids, they can't be blamed for the economy."

Terra nodded somberly. "Oh, I understand, I completely understand."

"We should probably start looking for a ship," Blake mused, not catching the uncomfortable look Nora and Ren shared.

"So where have you guys been staying?" Oscar asked Jaune.

"Uh.... heh, um..."

"There you are!" called a woman from across the street, waving to the group.

Yang narrowed her eyes. "Is that...?"

Jaune cringed just a bit, but smiled and waved back. "Hey, Saph..."

Ruby gasped, pointing at the woman, then to Jaune, eyes darting back and forth.

Yang smirked. "Hello kiddos. Look at your sister. Now back to me. Now back to your sister, now back to me. Sadly your sister isn't me, but if she stopped using NPC-scented body wash and switched to Old Spice she could smell like me."

Weiss pinched her brow. Ruby groaned in exasperation. Nora started banging her head on a nearby lamppost.

"Look down, now back up, where are you?" Yang continued. "You're on a movie set with the sister your sister could smell like. What's in your hand, back at me, I have it. It's a cyborg arm with two tickets to that thing you love. Look again, the tickets are now flowers! Anything is possible when your sister smells like Old Spice and not an NPC. I'm on a catgirl."

"Yes you are," Blake deadpanned, "and the catgirl is not happy to have to do this scene AGAIN."

Yang leaned down, holding out her hand. "Flowers?"

"Uh..." Nora glanced back. "Guys? The baby's, uh, playing with a boom mike here..."

"Oh no." Jaune knelt down in front of Adrian. "Hey, can you give that to me? That's not a toy, you know?"

Adrian looked up at him. "Grv?"

He blinked, looking at the speakers across the room.

"Yeah, that's a microphone, it--"

Adrian held the microphone to his mouth. "Agrbo." He stared at it carefully. "Gra... bla gra."

"...yes," Jaune said. "Now. Can you give me the boom mike? We don't want to break it."

"Braga glrm narg arga nrv ragm."

Jaune sighed. "Sis? A little--"

"I've got this." Ren knelt down. "Glrg mra grrmgaa?"

"Fay!" Adrian put the boom mike down and toddled off.

"...How?" Nora demanded.

"It's a tonal language," Ren explained.

"It's literally gibberish!"

"You just need to pay more attention."

"Shut up there's food!" Ruby proclaimed, taking some sandwiches from the shared plate and handing them to the others on her couch. The others grabbed their own sandwhiches, Ruby taking a couple more, and all of them began eating. Saphron and Terra smiled at each other fondly.

Then, loudly, a song began to play. "~The vengabus is coming, and everybody's jumping--~"

Terra quickly pulled out her scroll and hit the receiver button. "Uh, hey mom! Oh, I'm fine, we're all fine, but, um, this is kind of a bad time. Yeah, sorry, you know how my brother-in-law is starring in that TV series? Well, we're cameoing, and filming right now, so... no, I get it, I get it. I'll call you back, okay? Okay. Love you too!"

She put the scroll away with an awkward smile. "Uh, are we going to have to redo the scene because of that?"

"Well," Ruby said, "probably. But that means we have to get more sandwiches, so it won't be for a while."

Weiss quirked a brow. "Vengabus?"

"Oh it used to be her favorite song," Saphron said gleefully.

"Honey--"

"She'd just get up and dance to it whenever it came on, like, hips everywhere, knees pumping--"

Terra put her face in her hands. "Oh my god."

"I'm telling you, it was a thing of beauty!" Saphron turned to her. "We've got to get you dancing again. Hey, script people! Can we write a scene with my wife dancing?"

"No!" Terra shook her head. "No, no dancing! I'm not dancing!"

[hockeyrpffanman]

Island Under the Stars

My submission to @sidgenophotochallenge‘s second writing challenge.

Rated PG-13

Just over 5k of Sid’s POV pining and fluff. 

There is an optional explicit 1.7k porn with feelings companion fic if anyone is interested in reading that as well. 

~~~ 

“It’s so... Cozy.”

Sid can hear the hesitation in his voice and it makes him cringe a little. It’s not that he’s ungrateful for the opportunity to come on vacation with Geno, but he had something entirely different in mind. This should be something he expects out of Geno though. There is nothing that is ordinary or simple when it comes to Geno. He lives out loud and loves to have fun. So renting an island away from the public eye for a getaway vacation before the season starts should be nothing surprising at all considering the source. 

What Geno fails to tell him, outside the fact that it’s an island, is that the only shelter on the island is a small dock that they came to via boat and a small cottage on the west side of the island that will maybe fit them both if they unpack just right. Cottage is a very strong word for the structure they’re staying in. It’s really more like a shack with dry wall and generator run electricity.

Sid walks into what would probably be considered the kitchen and sets his bag down on the table. Looking around he doesn’t find much more space than he did from the door. It’s a tiny kitchen, more like a galley than anything else, with a wood stove and a fridge that looks like it came from the fifties. Sid cautiously opens it, but sighs in relief when he sees that it’s not only clean and functional, but is full of food for their week stay. Happy with what he finds he closes the door and returns to the living room where Geno is just standing from putting his bag down. 

“It’s good, right?” Geno says, all smiles and excitement. Sid doesn’t have the heart to bring him down with his thoughts on the house. He looks like a kid in a candy store, or that he just got the goal of the game. He’s so proud of himself and it makes Sid smile to think about how happy he is. 

“Yeah, it’s great. I see the fridge is full,” Sid comments as he continues to take in his temporary surroundings. The shack is at least clean, he’ll give the caretaker that much. Sid wonders how much use it actually gets.

“Oh good! I ask them to stock fridge before we come. Get all your favorites,” Geno replies walking into the kitchen, Sid presumes to check for himself. Sid knocks on some walls to check for integrity which satisfies him when they don’t immediately fall down. He makes his way over to the only door in the house and immediately feels dread, knowing what he is about to find. 

Beyond the door is the bedroom, just as Sid expects. Also noting the king size bed in the middle of the far wall. The only bed in the whole house. He should have seen this coming. He turns back to assess the couch and finds Geno’s chest in his field of view. Sid yelps and stumbles back into the room, catching himself on the bed and sitting down. Geno laughs and sets his bag down on the side opposite of where Sid was sitting. Sid glares up at him, but he continues to laugh anyway. 

“I guess I’m claim this side then,” Geno says as he starts unpacking his bag, putting clothes away in the drawers of the dresser next to him. Sid takes a moment to calm his erratic heartbeat before grabbing his bag as well. It’s not that he doesn’t like the arrangement, on the contrary he likes it a lot, but being on an island alone together, sleeping in the same bed, is much different than sleeping in the same bed as teammates on the road in a hotel. Sid feels his face heat at the implication. 

They unpack in relative silence which isn’t uncommon for them. Their relationship is basically body language and silent cues on the ice. They practically know what the other is thinking before they even have to ask or say it. Sid walks into the bathroom, which is tiny, of course, and is unsurprised to find that there’s only one sink. Also barely enough room to turn around let alone stretch out to dry off. Sid hums thinking sarcastically to himself, So much for showering together... Geno takes the opportunity to walk up behind him again and whistles. Sid jumps at the unexpected presence, much to Geno’s entertainment. 

“I’m so glad I can entertain you. You’ll have me dead from a heart attack by the end of the day,” Sid cries as he holds his chest with his hand, falling back up against the opposite wall. 

“You so jumpy today, Sid. No one is here, but us. I not bite you,” Geno laughs and winks as he brushes by Sid to put his things away. As Sid predicted, there is barely enough room for both of them in the bathroom. Geno brushing up against him makes him realize his statement and Sid blushes again. Sid can only hope he didn’t say what he thought out loud. He takes his leave from the bathroom and finishes his unpacking. 

~~~

The day is beautiful with clear skies and bright sun, so they decide to explore the island some. They walk the beach first, noting the island’s size is probably only an hour’s walk total. As they walk further down the beach Sid realizes that there really isn’t anyone else around. They stop a little ways down the beach to view the horizon on the shack side. The mainland can be just viewed as small peaks on the horizon. Far enough away to be secluded, but not so far to be stranded if help was needed. They talk about hockey and the start of the season for most of the walk. It’s something that they’re both passionate about and it’s an easy subject for them to talk about. 

They make their way up the beach and into the small wooded area where a trail leads into the middle of the island. Wildlife on the island consists mostly of birds. Their calls are the background music to their travels. The trail leads to the opposite side of the island which has a fantastic view of the ocean. They set up camp there on the beach for the afternoon.  

 “I’ve been waiting to get in the water since we got here,” Sid says pulling his shirt over his head. As he frees his head and looks over he watches Geno do the same thing. His chain dangles free from the garment and bounces lightly back against his chest. Sid’s eyes fix on the point where the cross hits Geno’s chest. Objectively Geno isn’t built, but he’s got enough shape from summer training that it’s noticeable. Sid has always found Geno attractive, but he’s also never given himself the opportunity to look either. He keeps his head down or pays more attention to media while in the locker room.

Now that he has the chance to look he takes in his fill. His skin is tan, but still paler than if he spent all summer in the sun or at the beach. He drags his eyes down his long torso enjoying how Geno’s muscles contract nicely as he moves. Sid shakes his head to clear it as his eyes trail lower along the light amount of hair leading to his waistline. He’s unsure if he’s been caught staring since Geno is wearing sunglasses with a reflection, but if he notices he isn’t saying anything about it. 

“Yes, it’s nice out. Good day to swim and snorkel,” Geno comments while applying sunscreen. Sid gestures to Geno for the bottle and starts putting some on himself. He certainly doesn’t want to spend his vacation burnt and miserable from it. 

“Put some on my back?” Geno asks turning away from Sid and pointing with his thumb. Sid nods as if Geno can see him. He squirts some lotion into his hand and rubs them together to warm it. Geno’s skin is warm and smooth under his touch. He starts at the top and works his way down quickly, attempting to keep his hands on Geno short and sweet. No need for him to suspect anything more than Sid putting the lotion on. Sid’s cheeks burn once more.  

“Missed a spot up here, Sid.” Geno says tapping his neck. Sid lightly smacks his arm and tells him “I did not,” but completes the task anyway. Geno is smirking at him when he turns around. He indicates for Sid to turn around as well and takes the bottle of lotion from Sid’s hand. When Sid doesn’t immediately comply he turns Sid around himself. Sid jumps and yelps a little when Geno applies the cool liquid directly on his skin, but is immediately compliant when Geno starts rubbing the lotion in.

He’s aggressive with his motions at first, applying the lotion all over his back with wide swipes of his hand, jerking Sid’s whole body, but then he slows down and starts to massage the lotion into his skin. Sid isn’t a huge fan of massage. His muscles in his back and shoulders are so tight from all the years of carrying his guilt and tension. He’s never really been able to find anyone who does the job to the extent he needs without making him cry out, or hurt for days after.

However Geno’s hands are just the right amount of smooth and rough from callouses, his touch is just enough to massage the muscle, but not push into him. Sid holds in the sigh he wants to let out. He feels Geno slowly sweep his hands across his lower back and Sid can’t help the involuntary shudder it brings out of him. So it’s been a while, sue him. Geno makes a point to put the lotion on his neck last and pats his shoulder when he’s done. Sid wakes from the trance Geno had put him in and hopes Geno doesn’t notice his awkward walk to the ocean. 

~~~

Geno wasn’t lying when he said the fridge had all of his favorite foods in it. Steaks, salads, pastas and ice cream, all the thing he could dream of left in the fridge, cupboards and freezer. It was a smorgasbord of food that has Sid drooling just thinking about it. He decides to keep it light with grilled chicken salad for dinner. They can save the steaks for later in the week. Sid brings them out to the grill, which is being incredibly nice considering it’s a broken campfire grill that they had to fix the bottom with a cookie sheet, and hands them to Geno who already has the fire going. 

Like anything they do together, they’re completely in sync of each other. Geno doesn’t even have to ask for the spices or the tongs before Sid hands them over while he concentrates on his own task of making the salad. It’s awfully domestic of them and it makes Sid think things he doesn’t like to think about. Not to mention having just wrestled Geno in the ocean for ten minutes has made him feel all sorts of other things. He feels his face heating up and coughs which gets Geno’s attention. 

“Okay, Sidney?” Geno asks with some concern. Sid shakes his head, unable to get his voice out quite yet and mimes that he’s going to grab drinks. Geno arches an eyebrow but nods and turns back to the grilling chicken. Sid hurries back to the shack and closes the door as he walks in, holding himself up against it. He’s a fool for feeling like he does, but he’s a happy fool so he’ll take it. He gathers himself and grabs two bottles of beer from the fridge before returning to the grill. 

“It smells good, Geno. Who knew you were such a great chef?” Sid teases. Geno puffs his chest up and looks at Sid as he smugly replies “Of course. I’m best.” Sid laughs and pushes his arm away. 

“You’re such a shit, you know that?” Sid replies, hip checking him as he walks by to finish making his salad. 

“No, no. I’m best, remember?” Geno says looking directly at Sid with a smirk on his face. Sid momentarily stops to look at Geno’s face. When he finally comes out of his stare he realizes he’s been looking to long. To cover he takes a cherry tomato and throws it at Geno, narrowly missing him on purpose. Geno barely had to dodge it before he grabs some raw chicken and stalks over to Sid. Sid’s eyes go wide as Geno continues toward him with a manic grin. 

“Geno, NO! That’s gross. No! Geno, wait!” Sid cries running away from Geno as he chases him with the chicken around the yard. 

~~~

The rest of the day is a lazy affair. They mostly sit around by the small area of beach near the shack and sun tan. It’s really a time where Sid should be getting in the zone and ready for the season, but he can’t come up with the energy to care at the moment. He’s currently pretending to sleep in his chair while he watches Geno, through his sunglasses, next to him. He’s topless and he’s got his shorts pulled up into his groin, attempting to tan his still pale legs. Sid had laughed out loud when Geno hiked them up, despite how much Sid wanted to run his hands all over them. Geno, unaware of Sid’s thoughts, flipped him off and almost ripped the shorts off which had Sid laughing and turning his head. 

The teasing and fun is all well and good, but Sid has been in love with Geno for a long time and now it’s just a reminder of what he can’t have. He wants to have his cake and eat it too. He knows that isn’t practical considering their job, who they are, where they sit on the team. It would be incredibly unfair to both of them to get into something that might change everything they’ve sacrificed so much for. Fairness and longing aside, Sid wouldn’t want to change anything about them or how they got here. It’s half the reason he loves what they have together. It’s half the reason he loves Geno if he’s honest. 

Geno is oblivious to all of his thoughts, reading some Russian novel as he lays back in his lounge chair, once again, conveniently found in a small shed behind the tiny shack that Sid is coming to find is either enchanted or cursed. Coincidence is not something Sid has come to believe in. Fate is more believable, but not something Sid is considering at the moment. Geno has one arm behind his head acting as a pillow while the other holds the book open. It’s convenient that the arm holding Geno’s head is the one closest to him, his bicep contracting into a nice bulge that his head is resting on. 

There’s something about Geno, besides his muscles and his general appeal, which draws Sid to him. His soft eyes and attentive gaze, the way he goes out of his way for anyone, regardless of who they are, the way he drops everything for Sid whenever he asks, it’s everything about him that makes Sid melt when he thinks about him. He watches Geno read for another 5 minutes before no puts the book down and stretches both arms above the chair and yawns. Sid swallows and feels like it’s the loudest thing he’s ever done. He knows he’s blushing, he hopes he can blame it on the sun and poor application of sunscreen. 

However, he watches as Geno returns to his original position and turns his head toward Sid, just watching him. Sid is suddenly very conscious of the fact that he’s also topless and can now feel his blush traveling down his neck and into the top of his chest. He watches Geno watch him for an unknown amount of time. The more that time passes the more he wonders what Geno’s thinking. He worries that Geno knows he’s not really sleeping, but then he watches Geno try to reach for him, but stops midway and pulls his own hand back. Sid wants to reach out to him, but before he can even lift a finger Geno is standing and walking back to the shack. Sid can only lay and try to calm the swirling thoughts in his head at what’s happening between them. 

~~~

Clouds blow in that evening, covering the night sky. It’s a good metaphor for Sid’s state of mind. Geno takes his walk shortly after he left the beach and hasn’t come back. Sid would worry, but he’s only been gone two hours. He still isn’t sure what’s going on, but he’s aware that Geno doesn’t know he knows what occurred. Sid took the opportunity of being alone to shower and change into his sleepwear for the evening. Even with the extra time he spent in the shower and his nightly routine Geno still hasn’t come back. 

The sun was near the end of setting and Sid was now in full worry mode. The island wasn’t very big, Sid could easily trek it to go find him, but there wasn’t really much on the island to have concern about that Geno could get into trouble with. Sid is about to walk out the door to go find him when Geno opens said door and bumps into him. 

“Geno, Hi! I was just about to come look for you.” Sid says still very much in Geno’s way of entering the shack. Geno seems fine, he doesn’t look upset or angry or like anything is bothering him. Maybe Sid was just looking too far into things again. He has a habit of doing that when it comes to Geno. 

“Went looking around the island more. Found something earlier while we walk and forgot to pick up. Took longer than I expect. Couldn’t find it,” Geno replies. They’re still standing in the doorway, Sid realizes, and he backs up, allowing Geno to step inside. Geno slides by him, placing his hand on Sid’s waist as he does so, but doesn’t linger as he continues to the kitchen. Sid sighs at the touch and turns to walk back to the bedroom. There he realizes that now is the moment of truth. They’re going to sleep in the same bed, on an island, far away from the prying eyes of the public, together, for real. Sid sighs again and just flops onto the bed, arms spread wide and face down into the mattress. 

It’s actually a really comfortable mattress considering the shack surrounding it. Sid swears there’s something supernatural happening surrounding this shack, but he can’t pin point what it is. There’s too much coincidence happening for his liking. He hears Geno approach the door behind him and laugh, most likely at his positioning on the bed. Which is fine, Sid can live with the chirping. 

“Sid, you can’t have the whole bed. I told you this my side of the bed. Already claimed.” Geno comes up behind Sid and physically man handles him to “his side” of the bed. Sid yelps and laughs as Geno moves him into position. Sid shoves him as he gets into bed and that opens the flood gates. They wrestle on the bed, limbs catching and shoving, hands grappling and groping, trying to take advantage and get on top. They laugh together as they roll around on the bed getting sloppy and tired as they go. Naturally, Sidney gets his hands in the right spots and flips them so he’s straddling Geno’s chest and pins Geno’s hands above his head. 

“Gotcha!” Sid exclaims leaning heavily against Geno, breathing heavy from the workout. Geno is also breathing heavy, his chest heaving against Sid’s abdomen as they lay there together in the bed. They’re staring at each other, the tension escalating quickly. Sid isn’t exactly sure what’s going on in Geno’s head, but it’s something. His eyes are searching and Sid wants to know what for.

They seem to be frozen there, just staring back at each other, waiting for the other to make the first move. Sid can feel himself getting hard the longer they lay together and he needs to move. He’s too far up on Geno’s body to feel whether or not he’s hard too, but if he’s being honest he shouldn’t even be thinking that. Geno is his best friend, he doesn’t want to lose that if his feelings aren’t returned. It’s too much of a risk to even think about finding out. 

With that thought he’s quickly up and off Geno’s chest, rolling off the bed. He quickly walks into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. Sid turns the water on in the sink and splashes his face with it. The cold water does little to alleviate his spinning thoughts. It does even less to help his scarlet face that’s staring back at him. He splashes his face a couple more times and soaks his face once with water in his hands before taking a towel and drying off. He feels no different, but looks more like a drowned rat than he did earlier, but he’s hoping Geno is sleeping when he walks out.

He’s in luck because Geno is already under the sheet and facing toward the far wall when Sid steps out of the bathroom. Although he’s glad there’s no awkward gazes or words to exchange, he’s still upset that the moment has been and gone. He crawls onto his side of the bed and tucks himself in, suddenly exhausted from the activity of the day and from the wrestling they just did. Sid has no trouble falling asleep that night. 

~~~

The week flies by quickly. They get into all sorts of activities on the island even though it’s deserted. They go snorkeling the day after they arrive and saw a huge school of fish just off the beach. They take a boat out into deeper waters another day to snorkel and fish for dinner that night. They explore the middle of the island more and find some interesting plants and birds that have settled there. They find a couple fruit and berry bushes around the island, but considering neither of them are experts in horticulture they leave them alone. Instead they collect some wood and branches for a fire. 

They haven’t really talked about what happened the first night and Sid is okay and upset about it at the same time. Nothing has really changed at all, except maybe Geno’s been more open and hands on than he usually is. They’ve wrestled plenty more since the first day on the bed. It seems like every time they get in the water Geno is tackling him, or when they’re playing a game of volleyball and Sid unfairly spikes the ball away from Geno he’s suddenly in the air and plummeting to the ground tangled in nothing but Geno’s limbs. Sid lives for these moments of fun. He’s never laughed so much in his life. 

At night they share the bed on opposite sides, nothing but a good night between them. Although Sid swears he wakes up hotter than when he went to bed, it’s been some of the best sleep he’s had in a long time. His dreams are filled with the fantasies he’s had of Geno since he met him and he’s always waking up hard and aching for touch. Geno is never in bed when he wakes up either, which is surprising all on its own considering he’s not a morning person. Sid won’t look a gift horse in the mouth though, they’re taking full advantage of their time off before season starts. If that means getting up late to sleep in then he’s not complaining. 

It rains two days before they’re set to leave, as Sid was expecting considering all the cloud cover they’ve been having in the evenings. It’s a pretty easy going day for them, which is good considering all the activity they’d been doing. They lounge around the shack, passing the day with movies Sid brings up on his laptop. His collection is pretty large. Geno whistles in approval. He knows quite a few titles in Sid’s list of movies, some of them being his favorites. Sid blushes, very well knowing they’re Geno’s favorites.  

As they watch movies they slowly gravitate toward each other. They start at complete opposite ends of the couch, but with every adjustment, or whenever one of them gets up to get something from the kitchen, they end up closer than the last time when they settled in. By the time they got to the last movie they were sitting side by side on the couch. It wasn’t long before he felt Geno slide into him and his head hit Sid’s shoulder. The movie was just about over. Sid didn’t realize they already burned through their entire day just watching movies. He adjusts his body so Geno is leaning in a straight line rather than at an angle that will leave him sore later. 

Sid cards his fingers through Geno’s hair as he finishes the movie. It’s almost an unconscious movement. Geno’s breathing evens out and he starts to snore as the ending credits roll. Sid doesn’t have the heart to wake him so he maneuvers himself so he’s lying back against the arm of the couch and let’s Geno slide down onto him so his head falls onto Sid’s neck. He grabs the blanket off the back of the couch, again convenient, and throws it over them. He wraps his arms around Geno protectively and rests his head back. 

The rain outside leaves the shack with the pings and taps for background noise. It’s kind of soothing really. Sid is just about asleep when a crack of thunder rips through the house and startles them both awake. Geno tries to sit up, but loses his grip and lands right back on top of Sid.

“What’s that?” Geno asks attempting to get up again. Sid grabs him by the shoulders and steadies him as he sits up. 

“I think it was thunder. We fell asleep on the couch,” Sid offers. Geno looks around for a minute, realization dawning on his face before he settles back against the couch. 

“Weird dream. Think we were on boat in the storm. Crash woke me up,” Geno explains as he rubs his eyes. 

“Yeah, you seemed really tired. We must have used up more energy than we thought this week.” Sid adjusts himself so he’s sitting perpendicular to Geno, just watching him. Geno let’s his arms fall to his lap and he looks over to Sid. Or that’s what Sid thinks he’s doing. The room is dark from them watching movies and he can just make out Geno’s features in the dim light his eyes have adjust to. He feels Geno’s hand fall to his knee and it seems to be the catalyst they’ve been waiting for. Sid trails his hand up to Geno’s and laces their fingers together. Geno’s eyes meet Sid’s and it’s taking everything Sid has to not just explode from the emotions and energy he suddenly has. Geno grips his hand back and pulls.

“Sid,” Geno whispers and before Sid knows what he’s doing he’s drifting forward. Geno meets him half way and their lips meet is a tender kiss. It’s hesitant at first, but as soon as they’re comfortable Geno is grabbing Sid’s side and manhandling him into his lap. Sid’s mind is exploding around him. It’s both terrifying and exciting, he doesn’t know which way to go. He’s been dreaming of this day for so long he’s paralyzed with indecision. Geno senses his hesitation and pulls back. 

“Sid, we don’t have to. I’m overstep. I—“ Geno’s words are cut off by Sid’s lips. He’s done waiting. Now that he knows Geno’s intentions he’s more than happy to let this play out. He runs his into Geno’s hair as they kiss. Geno wastes no time going for gold and deepening their kiss. He’s a great kisser. Not too aggressive, but putting in enough effort to meet Sid move for move. Their tongues sliding against each other, dancing together rather than for dominance. Once again their synchronization slides right into place for them, bringing out the best for both of them. Sid wants to show him how much he appreciates their bond.  

~~~

Afterwards they do get to shower together. It was very tight, but they manage well. The rain stops at some point so they go outside and both of them stop for a moment. With all the clouds in the sky over the week they haven’t been able to see the stars at all. Now that the storm has passed, the sky is wide open and breathtaking. Sid grabs Geno’s hand and pulls him out onto the lawn where they can get a better look. They lay on the ground, despite being wet from the rain, and just stare up at the sky.

The colors were indescribable, so many stars and constellations to see where there’s no light to hide them from view. They point out the ones they know and talk about how beautiful it all is. Sid could feel a lump in his throat now that they have had time to process what just transpired. He doesn’t regret it at all. It’s something he’s wanted to do almost since they met, but now he has a lot of feelings to process. Geno saves him from having to say anything when he grabs Sid’s hand and laces their fingers together. 

“Nothing change, Sid. You just know how I feel now instead of me hiding.” Geno keeps his eyes decidedly up at the stars while he confesses. Sid can tell Geno is blushing, but so is Sid and he can’t judge. 

“What if I want things to change? What if I want more?” Sid asks squeezing Geno’s hand. Geno does look at him then, those beautiful eyes searching again. 

“You sure you want that? Will be hard, Sid. So much we’ve been through. Might change everything...” Geno trails off, Sid knowing exactly where his thoughts were going.

“Yes, I want everything with you Geno.” Sid smiles at him which Geno returns as soon as he finishes. Geno rolls over on top of him and Sid laughs at the sudden extra weight until he’s kissed breathless. The sky seems to open up with shooting stars as they kiss, oblivious, beneath them. It’s there, on the island under the stars, where they start their journey, together. 

~~~

Part 1.5

[skygirl5]

Zenith Redux

A Castle Pornado One-Shot

This is a reboot of a universe from a Castle fanfic prompt over a year ago. The original 2 parts can be read under this tag; however since this is a reboot, reading the originals aren’t necessary.

Setting: Caskett AU Circa Season 3

“Ah, c’mon Kate—one more dance!” Richard Castle encouraged the moment his partner turned away from him.

“No,” she laughed as she tried to pull away from him as he scrambled to grab her shoulder, then her elbow, and finally her hand as she pushed her way through the tight dancefloor crowd. “My feet need a break, Castle.”

“Party pooper.” He grumbled at her, but she merely rolled her eyes.

“I never said you had to stop dancing too.”

“But it’s no fun if you’re not out there with me. We’ll break for two songs and then we’ll go back.”

“I make no promises.”

A few steps later they had reached their table in the seating area of the hotel ballroom and Kate turned her chair so she could sit and also watch the celebration on the dancefloor. Once down, she crossed her legs so her left shin balanced atop her right knee and she could examine the big toe of her left foot. Upon seeing the red mark, she grimaced; well that was definitely why her foot hurt. She rubbed gingerly at the angry mark made by the cross-foot strap and winced again.

“Yikes, Beckett; that doesn’t look good.”

“No kidding.”

“And here I thought you could run for miles in heels…you’re ruining the illusion.”

She let out a noise of derision as she continued to examine her foot. “First, those are heeled boots, not sandals. Second, I’m really not sure what’s going on because I’ve worn these before and they haven’t bothered me.” Granted, that was probably almost a year earlier, but how much could her feet have possibly changed between the ages of thirty-one and thirty-two?

“Want me to get you some ice?”

She shook her head and patted his arm in appreciation. “No, no; I’ll be fine. You can go talk to Espo if you want.” Kate pointed towards their coworker who was hovering by the bar, sipping his drink, and watching the crowd. As they had learned earlier that evening, Esposito was not a fan of dancing at weddings; evidently he wanted to use his time to scope out a date so Kate figured he could use a wingman.

“Nah,” Castle replied. “I’m fine right here.”

Kate settled back in her chair and gazed out at the dance floor where she caught a glimpse of the bride and groom dancing, smiling, and laughing; it made Kate smile, too. She was so happy for Kevin and Jenny and was so glad she could be there to celebrate with them. Toe pain aside, the evening had been entirely wonderful starting with a beautiful ceremony and continuing on through dinner and great speeches at the reception. Kate knew that at least in part her evening was enjoyable because of her chosen date.

When Ryan’s invitations arrived three months earlier, Kate had declined her “plus one” without second thought. She wasn’t with anyone at that moment, and didn’t want to waste time trying to find a date that might not enjoy the event at all. There would be enough people there she knew that she wasn’t worried about going solo; she knew she would still have fun. Then, the following day, Castle had asked her about her invitation and as they were chatting said, “Well, if neither of us is taking anyone, maybe we should go together.”

She hesitated for a moment before agreeing with, “Sure, Castle; we can go as friends.”

Though she picked up a brief flash of disappointment in his eyes, he quickly promised her that they would have a great time—and they had. By all accounts Castle had been the best friend-date she could have asked for. In fact, they had such a good time that it made her—no. She wouldn’t dwell on such things for she was not able to change the way the world worked.

After just another minute or so of resting her feet, Kate and Castle’s seclusion was interrupted by two women approaching from the bar with drinks in their hands. Kate recognized them as Jenny’s friends, but did not know their names. They sat at the table next to where Kate sat and she would not have thought of them again were it not for the loud and inappropriate conversation they began having.

“Oh my god, I just don’t understand how they could do this,” the first girl said in a disgusted tone.

“Sarah!” the other chastised.

“I’m serious,” Sarah continued. “There’s no way I could marry someone who isn’t my soulmate.”

“So you’ll never get married then.”

“Better than committing to something that won’t work out.”

“You can’t know that!”

“Unless they know for sure both their soulmates are dead, that’s a very high possibility. I mean, why wouldn’t you want to keep searching? I know I will and if that means I won’t get married, so what? At least I won’t throw it all away like Jenny is.”

“I kind of think it’s nice.”

“It’s stupid,” Sarah concluded.

Feeling her face flush, Kate leaned over to her partner and said, “I’ll be back. I, ah, need some air.”

“Let me come with you.”

As she wanted to escape the ballroom as quickly as possible, Kate didn’t argue. She merely stood, grunted at the return of the pain in her toe, and moved as swiftly as she could through the tightly packed tables and chairs. Once she reached the hall, she wasn’t entirely sure which direction to go, until she recalled the small sitting area tucked into one of the halls she’d traversed on her way to the ballroom. She retraced her steps back towards the lobby until she found it; mercifully it was empty.

“Sorry,” she said to her companion as she sat down on one of the vacant loveseats. “I just couldn’t listen to those women anymore.”

Castle nodded as he sat beside her. “They were being very rude.”

Kate pressed her lips together and considered his statement. She very much doubted Sarah and her friend were being purposefully rude. That was: she doubted Sarah expected her statements to be overheard. At the same time, what she said was unkind, but Kate would have been lying if she said she hadn’t had similar thoughts herself.

When Ryan announced his engagement, Kate was of course happy for her friend. With the way he was grinning so wide it would have been impossible not to be. Yet, at the same time, she knew for certain that he and Jenny were not soulmates, which caused her to wonder why they were choosing to get married. She understood that they loved together and were choosing to start a life together and she could respect that, but for Jenny in particular it seemed like merely accepting a life of disappointment, and Kate wasn’t sure she could make the same choice.

Gazing over at the man beside her, one who had chosen similarly—twice—she was curious. Clearly as Castle had married two women that were not his soulmates, he did not agree with Sarah’s statements. But at the same time she doubted there was any man in the world who appreciated the true moments of magic in life more than Castle. By that thought process, surely he wanted to find his soulmate as much as anyone, which made her curious as to why he’d chosen to marry—especially the second time.

“Hey Castle?”

“It didn’t bother me.”

“What?”

He turned to face her with a small smile. “You were going to ask if it bothered me to marry someone who wasn’t my soulmate; it didn’t.”

“Why?”

“Because I loved Meredith and I wanted a family and when she got pregnant I figured…okay, this is how this is going to go.”

“And what about Gina?”

He cringed a little and turned away. “Well…that was different and not as thought out, if I’m entirely honest, but not because of anything that had to do with soulmates.”

Nibbling on her bottom lip she asked, “But…didn’t you wonder who she was? You of all people seem like you would.”

“Of course; I still do.” He assured her. “Someday I hope to experience that; I think we all do…right?”

“Right,” she echoed, though her tone was not even the least bit convincing. Naturally, her partner picked up on it.

“What does that tone mean?”

She huffed out a breath and leaned back against the sofa. “Soulmates…it’s just always seemed like a curse, somehow.”

“How do you mean?”

“Well it’s just like that girl said. Of course I would never call Jenny stupid. I actually admire her and Kevin for their choice, but I’m not sure I could ever make it. I…I already keep one foot out the door in relationships…”

“Because you want to find him?” Castle guessed.

Kate shrugged and nodded.

In her mind, the soulmate concept had always seemed exactly as she described: cruel. The fact that women could not climax sexually without their perfect worldly partner—their “soulmate”—seemed an immeasurably cruel fate that evolution should have fixed, but it did not. Humans would never know the exact reason, but the ‘ancient curse’ theory seemed about as reasonable as any of the others. Ultimately it didn’t matter how it had begun, because the fact could not be changed no matter how much they wanted it.

Every sexual experience Kate had since her first at the age of seventeen had been, on a basic level, disappointing. True, some had certainly been more fun than others, and she certainly didn’t hate sex, but as she’d yet to find her soulmate she had never fully enjoyed it either. That was why she shied away from long-term relationships. As much as the concept angered her and she wanted to maintain the, “I don’t need a man to complete me,” mantra she had through most of her life, she wanted that lifelong partner; she wanted happiness.

Some days, that want made her furious and she hated herself for it, which was why before Castle had showed up in her life she’d been a rather angry and bitter person. Really, it was a manifestation of jealousy. Only around one quarter of the population found their soulmates so her not finding hers actually put her in the majority, but that didn’t matter. Her parents had been soulmates as were her grandparents and her aunt and uncle. To her, being with a soulmate was a norm and damn it she wanted it too.

“It’s not wrong to want to find your soulmate, Kate.”

“I know that, but…it’s been thirty-two years.” She let out a rather bitter laugh. “It’s why I…it’s why I never bother starting things because I just know eventually they won’t last. There’s no point in getting too close.”

“But…if you don’t get close enough to find out if they’re your soulmate, you’ll never find him…”

She gave him a sideways look. “Emotionally close, Castle; I’ve vetted plenty in the soulmate category.”

“You haven’t vetted me.”

Kate’s heart stuttered in her chest and she gave him a sideways look. Had he really just said that? With her jaw slightly agape, she merely stared at him before he continued in a stunningly casual manner. “I mean, by the logic you just stated, we should have done it long ago.”

“I…well…” She stammered out for a moment, trying to make her brain work properly again. Finally, she shook her head slightly and cleared her throat. Turning away from him she said, “I don’t think it’s that simple.”

“You’re right; it’s not. I think—and forgive me if I’ve made the wrong assumption here—but I think you’re afraid of this thing for the same reason I am: what if we cross that bridge and we find out we’re not soulmates?”

As her heartrate sped, Kate felt the burning of tears in her eyes, for he had captured her exact thought process. She had thought about it so many times—so many times. If Castle had been any other man she would have dragged him into her bed to see if they were a match. Then, when she found out they weren’t, they would have both gone their separate ways. It had happened to her dozens of times and for each of those times she hadn’t cared. Except with him.

Because of his, well, Castle-ness she hadn’t wanted to drag him into bed for the first few months of their partnership; he was far too annoying for her to even remotely enjoy that experience. Then, things began to change. He became her partner, and then her friend, and then her confidant. She loved spending her days with him and didn’t want to give them up, for losing his partnership would be sadder than losing yet another chance to find her soulmate.

“That’s why it’s cruel.” She brushed a tear from her cheek before looking back to him. “We can either live here in the unknown forever…or have reality break our hearts.”

He moved his hand so it closed over one of hers. “You realize there’s a third option there.”

She breathed in a shuddered breath and he quirked his lips into a smile.

“I’m in if you are, Kate.”

“Oh god, I…” She sniffed as more tears fell from her eyes. Quickly using her fingertips to brush them away she admitted, “This is really not how I saw this evening going.”

His hand had fallen to her knee when she moved hers so he squeezed her there. “I know; me neither.”

“But I suppose it’s been a bit inevitable, hasn’t it?”

“For three years, actually,” he pointed out and they shared a quick laugh. Bringing up his other hand, he brushed a strand of hair back from her face. “So, ah, I should get us a room?”

She shook her head quickly. “No I’d rather be at home if it’s all the same to you.” That way when it didn’t work out, she didn’t have to move. She could just pull the covers over her head, cry, and mourn what could have been.

“Sure; I’ll call us a car.”

“So, ah, should we have a drink first?” Castle suggested once they had arrived at her apartment.

Kate shook her head as she took off her shoes and sighed with relief at the end of her toe pain. “Ah, no…no I think I’ve had enough tonight. You can have something if you want.”

“I’m fine.”

“Okay.”

They stared at each other for several seconds before Castle stepped forward and used his fingertips to gentle tilt her chin upwards. Then, he kissed her. The kiss was not their first as they had kissed the year before during an undercover assignment. As she had been mostly concerned about their safety at the time, she had not enjoyed the softness of his lips on hers as much as she wanted to. In that moment, however, she melted into him and wound her arms around his waist.

“Mm Kate.” He hummed before kissing her again and skimming his hands down her neck to the tops of her shoulders. From there, they roamed her back until his right stretched all the way down her spine and cupped the curve of her ass.

Kate gave a small yelp when her heartrate spiked. He asked her what was wrong, and she tried to brush it off, but she couldn’t; the reality of what they were about to do was settling into her gut too strongly and wreaking havoc with her insides. “Sorry I…Jesus I don’t think I was this nervous when I lost my virginity,” she confessed. Of course during that event she was certain the smoking grunge rocker she’d been casually seeing was not her soulmate, but she’d wanted to, as dumb as it sounded in hindsight, “get it over with.”

“Well that’s certainly not a good place to start. Do you want to just cuddle for a little bit?”

She nodded in acceptance of his offer and led the way to her bedroom. He shrugged off his suit jacket and let her hang it up in the closet while he untied his shoes. Then, they climbed onto her bed, both of them lying on their sides with him spooning his body against her back. He draped his arm over her waist and pressed a kiss to the side of her neck and she shut her eyes, enjoying the feeling of him beside her, even if it would be for the only time.

“How do you have so much faith, Castle?”

“I guess I just do. I see the good in everything because it’s a better way to go through the world. If you were specifically asking about us: it’s because I’ve never met anyone who makes me feel like you do.”

She snuggled closer to him and shut her eyes. She understood that feeling as it was one she felt herself, but that didn’t make her any more confident that they were soulmates. She had seen the darker side of the world too often to have that level of faith. “How long have you felt that way—about me?”

“Awhile, but I knew for sure we were soulmates the moment we first kissed. How about you?”

“I haven’t…I never let myself think about it, because I was too afraid, but I…I finally acknowledged how I felt about you when I thought Jerry Tyson had hurt you.”

He hummed with his lips against her neck. “Yes it was thrilling to watch you burst into that hotel room.”

She let out a light laugh and turned her head so she could look at him. He was hovering over her, smiling, and her heart filled with more joy than she ever thought possible. She lifted her head enough to brush her lips over his, but that was the only indication he needed, because he immediately rearranged himself so he was laying half on top of her as they kissed. With absolutely no reason for hesitation or holding back, Kate parted her lips and took him in and—god—it was so much better than she imagined it would be.

As their kissing grew more heated, Castle’s hand skimmed down her body until he found the bottom hem of her dress. His fingertips delved beneath the fabric climbing higher and higher on her thigh until he stopped suddenly, pulled back, and moved his fingers back and forth on her leg. “What…what am I feeling? What’s happening?”

“What? Oh shit,” she cursed, a little embarrassed. “I’m wearing Spanx. Didn’t think anyone would be interested in my underwear tonight,” she added with a slight laugh.

He pulled his hand out of her dress. “For the record: I’m always interested in your underwear.”

“Perv,” she teasingly accused before rolling away from him and out of bed. “I’ll get ‘em off—hold on.”

“Let me.” He stood off the bed and joined her on her side so he could draw down the back zipper of her dress. She shimmied out of it and let it pool at her feet revealing her black bra and the black “tummy control” undergarment that went from just above her waist down to her mid-thigh.

“Sexy right?” she joked as she began to peel it down.

“You’re sexy no matter what.”

She gave him a small smile before turning her back so she could work the garment off. Fortunately, taking it off was easier than putting it on; stuffing herself into it was most assuredly an unsexy procedure, but off wasn’t as bad. It did, however, take away a bit of the mystery of the evening, as it left her completely nude except for her bra.

After tossing the Spanx into the hamper by her closet, she turned around to see her partner wearing an expression of awe. “You’re beautiful,” he told her. Then, he stood up, reached around her back and felt for her bra clasp. “And you no longer need this.”

She chuckled softly as he discarded her bra and once her arms were free she lifted her fingers to the buttons on his shirt. “I think we need to even this situation up a bit more.”

“Sounds fair enough to me.”

Once his shirt had joined her clothes on the floor they climbed back on the bed and lay side by side once again. While her hands roamed his bare chest, his began to map their way across her expanse of flesh, covering nearly every inch of surface space. As his kisses moved from her lips to her neck, he skimmed his right hand up her body and across her left arm until he found her hand. He linked their fingers together and held her hand down beside her head just as he found her pulse point. Kate let out a moan as she felt her body flush and her heart speed up again. God, he was amazing at that—just as she imagined he would be.

Castle’s kisses soon trailed down her sternum until he reached her breasts. He dragged his tongue over to her right nipple, swirled it around the tip, and then captured it between his lips. She gasped and arched her back, pressing herself against his mouth. He hummed and flicked his tongue over the stiff peak which had her rubbing her thighs together to reduce the tingling she felt there. God, it had been over a year since she’d had sex and she’d forgotten what it was like to be this turned on—to be this wet.

“Jesus…Castle…” She purred as he turned his attention to her left nipple, mirroring his actions on that side.

Her hands settled on the wings of his shoulder blades as he kissed the underside of her breasts and began trailing his lips southward. He glanced up briefly at her, winked, and he began to lavish her belly with kisses and soft nips of his teeth. Suddenly, Kate felt her chest tighten and tears come to her eyes as she had never felt such sensations before; it was truly incredible.

With nearly every encounter she had men had performed the same actions as Castle was—kissing her belly, paying attention to her nipples with their lips—but it had been so different. This was the man she had come to know over the years; the one she trusted above all else. He made her laugh; he made her feel safe. He was the one she trusted.

He was the one she wanted.

As though she’d surfaced from a long swim underwater, the notion poured over her like a breath of fresh air and for the first time Kate understood why a person might choose to be in a long-term relationship with someone not their soulmate. Sixty percent of adults still chose to get married even though less than half of them had found their mates and she knew why: because being deeply in love with someone changed everything. Everything.

“Castle,” she uttered out, her voice sounding more tearful than she had intended.

He quickly lifted his head and said, “Sorry—did I hurt you?”

“No, no I just…I wanted to say that I understand now—I understand.”

“Understand what?” he asked gently, brushing away one of her tears with his thumb.

She curled her fingertips around his shoulders and pulled his body closer to hers until their bellies touched. “I understand why Kev and Jenny got married. Why so many people do. I—I love you and it doesn’t matter how this ends because—because that won’t change; no matter what.”

A grin exploded across Castle’s face and he immediately covered her mouth with his. After a long kiss and two shorter ones, he pulled back. “I love you too, Kate. We deserve this.”

“I know.” She squeaked out.

As he trailed kisses down her body once more, Kate shut her eyes and quickly wiped away the tears staining her cheeks. She felt Castle’s hands against her legs and waited for the bed to shift while removed his remaining items of clothing, but it never did. Instead, his hands continued to caress her inner thighs and were soon joined by his lips. Her eyes popped open.

“What are you doing?”

He lifted his head and winked. “Trust me.” Then, he moved his lips back to her right thigh. Kate watched with no small amount of curiosity as he kissed his way out to the inside of her knee before switching legs and kissing his way back towards her centre. There, he settled down further against the mattress and, much to her surprise, he began to kiss her lower lips.

“Wha—“ she began, but her voice disappeared, mostly from pure shock as she had never had a man kiss her there before.

Soon, she felt Castle’s tongue sliding up and down her slit and, when it reached the top, she felt a small electric jolt that had her gasp, “Oh!” Again, Castle lifted his head and smirked, before returning to his dutiful work.

As his tongue worked her slit, she felt his thumb move up to the small bud at the crest of her pubic bone. She knew this bud was pleasurable to touch, but it always left her wanting more. In that moment, however, each time he touched it she felt a jolt that made her hips twitch and her belly tighten.

He caressed her with his tongue for several moments before moving his mouth to cover the area his thumb was touching. From that angle she could look in his eyes, but only for a moment, because as soon as he began flicking his tongue against her nub Kate was unable to stop her head from rolling back against the pillows. “God, Rick,” she moaned out. Jesus—if she’d known how amazing it would feel, she would have asked a man to do this to her ages ago!

She spread her legs even further as his tongue swirled and flicked—both of which felt incredible—but when he began to suck lightly, she cried out again and balled her fists against her pillow case. Her hips arched into his mouth and Kate felt a rush as though a wave was washing over her before a quick release of pressure left her crying out. Two tears slipped from her eyes as she lifted her head and gasped; she had no idea what the hell had just happened.

“Castle…” she managed, but he was already reacting, practically jumping on top of her and kissing all over her face.

“I knew it! I knew it! Kate, oh Kate.”

“Was that…? But, I…we—we weren’t even having sex!” She stammered out.

“Sure we were.” He grinned. “My buddy told me about that—his wife loves it.”

“I can see why,” she responded, still a bit in a daze. Then, she lifted her hand to stroke over his cheek. “Oh, Castle…”

He turned his head to kiss her palm. “I told you, Kate—we deserved this.”

Her chest filling with pure joy, Kate threw her arms around his neck and pulled him into a tight hug. Only when she did this did she feel her legs brush up against his pants and realized he was still half dressed. Pushing his shoulders down, she flipped their positions so she was on top and grinned a bit wickedly at him. “Now, let’s celebrate, by doing it for real.”

Her brain still functioning with limited capacity, Kate kissed her way across Castle’s chest and down to his belly while simultaneously undoing his belt and unfastening his pants. When she slipped her fingers inside she could feel how rock hard he was, clearly straining the fabric of his boxers to the absolute limits. Smiling to herself, she dipped her fingers beneath the waistband of his boxers and when she slid her fingers around his length he moaned out, “Jesus, Kate.”

She gave him a few strokes despite the restricted space before removing her hand. She crawled down his body and grabbed both pants and boxers to remove them together. When his erection popped free she let out a small sound of astonishment; so all the jokes about him being well endowed were not jokes after all. For a brief moment she wondered what he would feel like inside her. This was something she often did when she revealed her latest partner’s manhood, but then she realized she no longer had to wonder; he was guaranteed to feel incredible.

After tossing Castle’s pants off the end of the bed, Kate swung her left leg over his shins so that she straddled him. She used both hands to stroke her length, but as she dipped her head he stopped her with, “No—not tonight; I just want to be inside you.”

“Okay.” she agreed with a soft smile. Then, she scooted up his body until her centre hovered over him. With her left hand balanced in the center of his chest, she used her right to guide him inside her. As she slowly sank down, she met his gaze, and their jaws dropped together as she descended. “Shit, Castle,” she breathed out, feeling fuller than she’d ever felt before; he was incredible.

“Ah, Kate.” Castle grunted out. “You feel amazing.”

Kate arched her body over his, stretching out to press a sloppy kiss to his lips before she rolled her hips once, then again, and a third time before she felt him hit a spot inside her that made her gasp. She pushed herself back into a more upright position and rolled her hips again, but she didn’t find the spot. She began moving at even intervals, trying to find it again, shifting ever so slightly right and left until—

“Oh, shit…” she breathed out when she found it again.

Castle’s hands landed on her thighs and he held her tight while she thrust her hips into him again and again. With barely any thought she moved her left hand to the small nub Castle had been sucking earlier and brushed her thumb against it while she rolled her hips and—god—it was incredible.

“Rick…fuck…”

“Don’t stop, Kate—I’m right—shit—with you,” Castle groaned out.

Now almost frantic, Kate thrust her hips again and again, feeling a miniature fire burst inside her every time he hit the right spot until finally her belly tightened and the next fire burst was an all-out explosion. She cried out as her entire body trembled. Thrusting her hips once more only intensified the feeling and she was vaguely aware of her partner crying out as well, but Kate could barely move or breathe; pleasure had completely overtaken her.

Though she remained rather frozen in place, Kate was vaguely aware of Castle sitting up, gathering her in his arms, and rolling them both onto their sides so they could lay down, still connected. He dusted his lips over her brow and her nose before asking softly, “Are you okay?”

“No.” She laughed. Then, she opened his eyes to see his adoring face. Stroking his cheek she said, “It’s so totally unfair you could always do that.”

“Well now you can too,” he rationalized. Then, giving her a quick kiss he said, “So you liked it?”

She felt as though her eyes practically bulged out of her head. “Are you kidding me? Let’s do that every day!”

He smiled and hugged her close, sighing out, “For the rest of our lives, Kate.”

Tucking her head into the crook of his neck, Kate cuddled up to him and shut her eyes thinking she had absolutely no problem with that whatsoever; it would be perfect.

Thank you for reading!

[humanoid-lovers]

The Perry Bible Fellowship gains yet another convert... 96 pages? More than enough to convert anyone to this fellowship. This book was that good, and immediately made me a fan of its unique brand of art and humor for life. Sexually daring and intelligently flavored, "The Trial of Colonel Sweeto and Others" is easily one of the funniest books I have ever come across, and not because it's lewd or shocking, but because it deals with cartoon characters behaving like crazed adults in no more than four panels per strip. 96 pages doesn't seem like a lot, but every one of the cartoons is idiosyncratic and contains something completely new. It's unlike anything I've ever read before, and the re-readability factor of this book is high. The cover art makes it look like a children's book, but once the very first page is turned and the "For Mature Readers" sign deceptively pops up, we're in completely different territory. Animals, fairy tale characters, household objects, food and an assortment of aliens and monsters all exhibit ridiculously funny behavior and some of the jokes are so well-timed that I found myself pedaling the book to anyone who seemed even remotely depressed. Reading this short collection really brightened up my day, and I can recommend it to anyone looking for a similar fix. Go to Amazon

PBF will keep you rolling. If you love the Perry Bible Fellowship Comics online, then think of this as a hard-copy back-up. If you are not familiar with the online comics, the book definitely is NOT for children nor is it much of a story but it's instant entertainment. It's modern off-beat humor all the way through: complete with past pop-culture references, and completely random topics. Just remember to read the comics from left to right for the full effect of the jokes. (no cheating!) Go to Amazon

Excellent Comic I follow PBF pretty closely on the web, but apparently not closely enough to realize there was a book of comics coming out. A coworker a few years ago turned me on to PBF and I've grown to love the off-the-wall, demented, widely varied comics. It's probably mostly the demenetedness. Go to Amazon

Good package of twisted humor Nicholas Gurewitch's Perry Bible Fellowship is a refreshing exception among webcomics: it combines good ideas, great visuals (most webcomics seem to manage just one of these two) and twisted humor that has more than just shock value. Go to Amazon

Dark comedy Highly recommended to fans of dark comedy. I do not read many comic strips as i find the humor to be far too broad, and the artwork usually too dull. PBF changed all that for me. Each 3 panel comic tells an entire story, while also creating entire worlds. Not everyone will find the humor in PBF funny, and may very well offend those with weak sensibilities. Do you think it would be possible for you to laugh at a kid stuck in a barn buring down? Or how about a little girl and her friends being killed by a velociraptor? If you cringe at the thought of these, don't bother here. This is for fans of perverse, strange, and dark comedy. I keep this book on my coffee table and show it to guests to determine their worth as human beings. If they laugh, they are my friends for life, if they just give a puzzled/disaproving scowl, I quickly show them the door, and sit proudly upon my pedastal of self-righteousness. Go to Amazon

Like The Farside only more messed up The comics are hilarious but often dark so those with more prudish tastes should steer clear, i.e. if you find "Family Circus" to be funny then this may not be for you. These comics are not newspaper fare and like the cover warns you this is for mature readers only, so don't let the Candy Landish cover fool you. Of course they are about to set that guy on fire if you look closely at it so....yeah. Go to Amazon

Invanluable piece of literature. You're a worthless failure at life if you don't find a way to own a copy of this masterpiece. Go to Amazon

Seriously... If you are not familiar with The Perry Bible Fellowship online then you need to acquaint yourself with it immediately if not sooner. Even if you're not into comics you will love this book. Not for kids, not for conservatives but perhaps the best damn book published from an online comic in the last year, probably ever. Go to Amazon

Five Stars A perfect fit for my worldview and sense of humor Five Stars Strange indeed Five Stars love it Fun in every page Five Stars Translates Well from Screen to Dead Tree ... it's turned up missing … I think other people like it as much as I do

[guardianofjunmyeon]

Why Can’t You See Me? (Part 1/2)

Pairing: Sehun x Reader / Kyungsoo x Reader

Genre: Request based, Angst, Romance

Description: Hii, can you write a scenario where both sehun and kyungsoo love you. But you chose sehun in the end bcs you had been loving him long before you knew kyungsoo? Thank you love.

A/N: Lol i might have gone a bit away from what you expected/wanted but I will stay true to the request. I’m just going to have a bit more fun making it stressful because I like complicated hahaha

Part 1 + Part 2

“Are you sure about this? Don’t you want to drink?”

“I mean yes, but I’m fine being DD,” Kyungsoo says with a smirk as he puts his car keys in the ignition of his car. The car rumbles to life and he looks over at you with a look akin to mischief. “Besides, I don’t want everyone at the party to see me drunk. I’ve got a reputation to uphold.”

You laugh to yourself and buckle in your seatbelt as he pulls out of your apartment’s parking lot. “What reputation? This is your cliques party.”

“We aren’t a clique.”

“Mm. I beg to differ. You look like a clique to anyone who isn’t a theater nerd. Aka me.”

The two of you stop at a light and he looks at you with wide eyes smiling in disbelief. “We aren’t theater nerds!”

“All of you are in the theater program, and all of you have a huge hard on for acting. So yes. You are theater nerds.”

“It’s like you want me to turn this car around-”

“No!” you laugh and grab at this arm playfully as he continues driving towards your destination. The sound of him laughing alongside you fills the small space inside the car making your insides feel unruly, and you loosen your grip on his bicep, but not being able to force yourself to let go entirely. “It’s okay. Even if you were the biggest theater nerd on campus…I’d love you regardless.” At the…confession you guess you’d call it, you let go of his arm and settle into your seat trying not to think too hard about the deathly quiet that follows.

Heavy silence takes over until you hear him hum out a soft, “Mm.”

You stare out the window at the passing lights in silence for the rest of the ride.

People are hanging outside on the porch and lawn as you and Kyungsoo walk up the driveway to the open door where music is pouring from the house. Some people are holding cups full of whatever drinks are offered inside and some aren’t. You assume the ones without drinks in their hands are the designated drivers for the night.

Like Kyungsoo.

You see him frown ever so slightly at one of the other guests holding a cup merrily. You pat his shoulder in comfort with a chuckle. He wants to drink too you see it in his eyes, but if he drinks you’ll have no way home. Neither of you have the money to pay for an Uber home and then back in the morning to get his car. “You offered to drive. You can’t complain now,” you say half teasing him, half serious.

He huffs and walks ahead of you towards the house while you clumsily follow behind. You don’t know many people at this party. You only came along because Kyungsoo asked you to and because you heard that there was going to be free alcohol. You couldn’t turn down your friend.

But you definitely couldn’t turn down free alcohol.

The college kid budget is so real.

The party is just as loud as you expected. A whole table is set up dedicated to booze, and music pumps steadily from the two speakers belonging to the owners of the house. As the two of you enter people cheer upon seeing Kyungsoo and you hurriedly move away before he gets crowded by his adoring peers.

They just finished their last play for the year and although he wasn’t the star actor (this time) he still stole the show. You don’t remember the name of his character, but you remember the play was dark as fuck and he played one of the sons of the main character. Titus Andromecus you think it was called. You had forced Sehun to come with you and both of you were watching the entire thing in horror. Hands cut off. People raped. Numerous deaths.

It was heavy.

You shiver at the memory of the play, and make a b-line for the liquor to get rid of the initial nervousness you feel when you show up to parties that you weren’t personally invited to. Even as Kyungsoo’s guest you feel sufficiently out of place, but it’s nothing a couple of drinks can’t fix.

When you arrive to the table you see a few bottles of mainly cheap vodka and a huge bin full of hunch punch.

You have no clue what might be in the mystery punch, but it’s better than drinking straight vodka so early on, so you grab a cup and scoop some of the red drink up. It takes a single sip for your face to scrunch up in disgust.

You feel Kyungsoo’s presence beside you then. He peeks over your shoulder, all wide eyes filled with unspoken amusement at your expression. “Why’d you run off?” he asks looking at the punch in the clear bin. You cringe as you take another sip before answering.

“I knew your fans would hound you, so I went ahead and escaped. You needed your time to shine without me looming behind you,” you explain honestly.

He seems a bit unhappy with your words but doesn’t ask you to explain any further. “What’s in the punch this time?” he questions while grabbing your cup from your hand and sniffing it. He recoils and all but shoves the cup back into your hand. “Holy shit. It smells strong.”

“It is,” you croak out, throat burning. “It tastes like…everclear and some kind of strawberry punch.” You take another sip and stick your tongue out in disgust. Kyungsoo laughs and you smile through your disgust. “Poorly mixed everclear and strawberry punch,” you clarify with a laugh.

He grabs your free hand and pulls you away from the table. “Don’t drink too fast. We have a game of beer pong to win first,” he says. You see the competitive spark in his eyes that he usually tries to hide and you feel yourself giving in to him.

As you always do with Do Kyungsoo.

The beer pong game doesn’t get finished because the two guys you were playing against had started singing the entire Wicked musical during one of your turns to which your partner joined in, and soon everyone in the house was belting out the words to “Defying Gravity”. The music being played from the speaker goes from pop music to songs from various musicals and you roll your eyes as Kyungsoo’s words come back to mind.

Not theater nerds he says.

You’ve never been to any other party where musicals are played instead of regular music. No parties except theater kid parties.

And it happens every time.

You know that this means that at least half of the attendants are dead drunk at this point. You only feel slightly buzzed after having finished your first drink. With a faint smile on your face you watch Kyungsoo lean on one of his friends singing his heart out to “Morning Glow” from Pippin.

Time for another drink.

Your phone vibrates in your pocket as you make your way back upstairs after having played beer pong in the basement and you pull it out with slightly shaky fingers.

Fuck. That drink is starting to hit you.

Sehun’s name shines brightly on your screen as he calls and you don’t hesitate to swipe your finger across the screen and bring it to your ear.

“Hello there,” you chirp into the receiver.

There’s a pause before he responds. “Are you drunk?”

You snort. “I wish. No. I’ve only had one drink so far. Going for number two and three as we speak.” You hold the phone to your ear as you scoop more punch into your cup and lift it to your lips.

“Where are you?”

“At Soo’s theater party.”

“That was tonight?”

“Yep. It’s not over yet though. You could still make it if you tried, but I warn you they’ve gone into musical mode and I don’t see them leaving it any time soon.”

“…I don’t know I’m kind of tired.”

“Come on! You’ll be stuck in labs for the next two weeks. I miss hanging out with you, you know?” He starts to make excuses and you listen with a frown. He always has some reason or another not to come out. You watch the people around distractedly and smile as someone you actually know approaches you. “Kai! Hey!” you call out interrupting Sehun.

“Oh Jongin’s there?” Sehun asks in your ear. You grunt and smile to the handsome friend of your friends.

“(Y/N) right? You came to the musical party last semester with Kyungsoo didn’t you?”

“Yeah. I was at literally every show. Moral support and whatnot,” you shrug shyly and remember you’re still holding Sehun on the phone as you chat with the (you think) dance major in front of you. You fumble over your words before trying to address the guy on the phone. “Oh, uh Seh-”

“When did you and Kyungsoo start dating?” Kai cuts you off, leans on the table behind him and crosses his arms over his chest, a small smirk on his face as he looks at you. Your eyes nearly bulge out of their sockets as you’re left without words.

You feel your face heating up at the question and at the memory that you’re still holding Sehun over the phone. Why haven’t either of you hung up?! “Uh…I uh,” you cough nervously. You cup the receiver with your hand and whisper, “Uh Sehun I’ll call you later-”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m on the way. Be there in 10,” he says before the line goes dead. You blink down at your phone dumbly and then back at Kai who is looking at you highly amused with his stupid pretty eyebrow quirked as he patiently waits for your answer.

You bring your drink to your lips once more, after shoving your phone in your pocket, and swallow the rest of the slightly less alcohol saturated version of the hunch punch as you think of what to respond with. “We uh…we aren’t going out. We’re just friends,” you tell him truthfully, your words muffled by your cup.

His head tilts curiously. “So…are you dating the guy you were always sitting with at the shows?”

“Sehun?”

He brightens and smiles excitedly. “That was Sehun!? Whenever I asked him if he same to see me dance in the show he said no!” he pouts to himself and glares at nothing in the distance. “That brat.”

You chuckle. “Yeah he came with me.”

“Then he’s your boyfriend-”

“No. I’m not dating either of them. All of us…are just…friends. Okay?”

He narrows his eyes and leans forward to take in your expression. It’s then that you can smell the slight alcohol from his breath. “For some reason…I don’t quite believe that’s the truth-”

“Kim Kai!” Kyungsoo’s voice startles you and Kai apart and you bring your cup to you face again to hide the heat once more rising to your cheeks. You and the guy weren’t doing anything illegal, but you feel as if you’ve been caught in some forbidden rendezvous with him.

Maybe it’s the alcohol in your system making you feel so…weird. You scoop up a bit more punch from the bin next to you.

“Kyungsoo! I was just talking to (Y/N) about you.”

Kyungsoo looks surprised when he looks at you and you shrug noncommittally at Kai’s words, choosing to nurse your drink and get as much out of this whole free alcohol thing as you can without seriously endangering your health. “What were you asking about?” your friend asks.

You panic. Or at least that’s what you tell yourself is the reason why you do what you do next. You yelp and grab Kyungsoo’s wrist to pull him away before Kai can make anything awkward. You haven’t known the taller long, but you know enough about him to know that when it comes to Kyungsoo…he keeps no secrets.  

His laugh trails behind you and your heart flutters because there’s just something about his laugh at makes your insides flip happily. Something about being able to make him laugh that makes you happy.

You stop once you’re outside and for some reason can’t get yourself to face your actor of a friend, but when his hands cup your cheeks and force you to look at him, you give in.

Like you always do with Do Kyungsoo.

His hands are cool on you hot cheek sand his gaze is almost intimidating as he smiles and looks at you in the dim light of the yard. You feel your body swaying, but it’s not severe enough for you to care.

It doesn’t help that he’s holding onto your face so securely and making that dumb face where he’s laughing and his face squishes up and his head tilts back. Once he recovers and you’re able to get yourself to stop gushing in your head over how cute he is, he squeezes your face a bit tighter. “You’re going to be so sick tomorrow morning.”

You snort. “Am not.”

His smile widens at your denial. “Yeah you are.”

His hands squish your face lightly and he even goes as far as mocking your expression. Through your pursed lips you mutter, “I’m so sober right now. I’m fine. I’m a capable adult.”

He laughs once again and unwanted thoughts run through your head. Maybe it’s because you’re nearly drunk, but Kyungsoo looks really handsome glowing in the dim lighting of the yard at a place where he feels truly comfortable. Your eyes flicker down to his lips and Kai’s words ring inside your head. Why aren’t you dating Kyungsoo? He’s your neighbor. He’s nice. He’s all you could ask for in a boyfriend.

He cooks -hell he likes cooking-, he has a knack for taking care of those around him, he’s funny when he’s in the mood. You can’t count the number of times he’s had you in tears at the stupid things he does when he feels humorous.

You want to kiss him. Just to see what it would feel like. Just to see if it would be anything like you imagine it might be. You swallow nervously when you look back at his eyes to see him watching you carefully. The hint of a smile still lingers on his lips as he seems to sober up ever so slightly. Did he catch you looking at his lips? Oh shit how do you explain yourself? You can’t even try to tell the truth because you know that your thoughts weren’t innocent and what lie can you come up with you cover yourself-

“I like you…(Y/N),” you hear him say and your heart nearly stops beating. “I like you,” he repeats, voice steady as he speaks. “A lot.” He says the words breathlessly with no regard for the people around you, but no one seems to care about your conversation. No one seems to pay any attention, even as you feel your world closing in on you. Your heart races and you figure that it’s a mix of the alcohol in your system, your nerves, and the fact that you kind of already knew. You already kind of knew about his heart. You had a feeling, but hearing him say it aloud doesn’t floor you any less.

Speechless. You can’t find any words and you can’t get any cognitive functions to fucking work and it’s frustrating because it’s Kyungsoo. You’ve known Kyungsoo since you both somehow got stuck together in a class project with 3 other useless classmates 2 years ago. You and Kyungsoo were the only ones who actually put any work into the assignment and met up fairly often trying to get the thing done before the due date. Late night conversations. Hushed cursing. Jokes at the expense of your peers.

And…you became friends through a mutual frustration with your classmates. You learned about his interests. Started going to shows to see him outside of class. Traded numbers to keep in contact after your class ended for the semester.

Alright maybe you like him just a little more than you should a friend.

His hands don’t move from your face as you soak in his words, his confession. Not drunk enough to completely lose sight of your senses, you notice him leaning closer. Farther down towards your mouth. Your lips.

Why don’t you date Kyungsoo?

It would be so easy…

Eyes flutter closed and breath ghosts over your lips as you wait for his to make contact with your own.

“(Y/N)!” you name is called cheerfully from a distance away, and you know that voice. Know that tone. Know that feeling at hearing your name coming from his mouth.

Sehun.

Oh yeah. That’s why. Because of Sehun.

Kyungsoo and you separate quickly right as his lips almost touch yours. The ghost of the potential feeling of his lips is all you’re left with as you turn to find Sehun walking towards the two of you. You plaster on a smile when you see him approaching. Half of your heart hurts at having turned away from Kyungsoo so quickly, but the other half is beyond excited to see Sehun.

What can you do? You’re in love with him.

“You made it!” You call out cheerfully. His handsome face smiles happily and he drapes one long arm over your shoulder in a half hug. You avoid Kyungsoo’s eyes as Sehun and him greet one another.

Kyungsoo knows that you like Sehun. He knows that you like him more than you should, but he stays by your side and continues to be more than you deserve to have. Hurting himself for your sake.

But for some reason you can’t let him go.

Why won’t you stop stringing him along and let him go?

Sehun continues to talk to Kyungsoo and you accidently catch the shorter’s eyes. He flushes and looks away only to point behind himself. “I’m going to go finish something up inside and then I’ll be back out.” He smiles and cooly walks inside, but you see the way his hands clench nervously at his sides.

“Wah, you really are drunk aren’t you?” Sehun asks, bending down to meet your eyes. Face too close. You shy away and push yourself from under his arm. You like Sehun, but you don’t know if he likes you. Why won’t he stop stringing you along and let you go?

When will he see you?

“Your cheeks,” he says poking your face lightly “they’re really pink,” he says, taking your silence for confusion and your blush for nothing but a product of your drinking.

Chosing not to directly answer his question, you ask your own. “How’d you get here? I don’t see your car.”

“I caught an Uber. I finished up my work and came from my dorm,” he explains. His face, that neutral intimidating expression that scares a lot of people away.

That expression that for some reason just makes you fall for him more and more.

You’re so fucked. You know it, but you can’t control your heart. You can’t help that you fell for the boy who sees you as nothing more than a friend. Can’t help that you didn’t fall for someone like Kyungsoo who isn’t hidden from you.

You sigh internally.

“Are you okay? Do you want to go in and sit down?” he asks, concern showing on his face. You blink slowly as you take in his face. Do you want to go back in?

You smile half heartedly and wobble on your feet. “No. I need more air. I’ve…I’ve drunk enough and if I go in I know I’ll end up picking up another cup if I see any more alcohol. Go say hi to Kai and apologize for lying to him because he knows you lied to him you dumbnut. Why would you lie about not coming to see the musical he was so excited to see-”

His large hand covers your mouth and it takes you a moment to realize why your words are coming out muffled in your ears. When your mind catches up with the world around you, you take in Sehun silently laughing at you. Doing that adorable laugh where he’s smiling and his shoulders are shaking but he isn’t making much noise. Not laughing wildly and loudly.

Your heart constricts.

“Wait here. I’ll come after I find Jongin,” he says smiling in a way that hurts too much to explain. Friendly. The only thing in his smile is friendliness. Sehun runs off and you settle on the grass surrounded by drunk partygoers.

You exhale heavily.

What the fuck does Jongin know that you don’t?

[daywoonjae]

Phone

summary: in which “losing” your phone isn’t always a bad thing genre: fluffity fluff fluff pairing: Jae x Reader

March 29th, 2016. It was the day where your whole life was about to change. Everything you had worked for was finally here. Okay, a little dramatic, but today was the day of the Day6 concert. It had taken all of your “life savings” from your extra shifts at your workplace and support of your roommate to leave alone for the weekend, but you finally had the tickets in your hands and were ready to go. On the bus to the concert, you were on the phone with your roommate, Sarah. She was blabbing about her and her significant other spending the weekend together blah blah blah. But being the only single one of your friends, you were used to them going off on their love life. It was fun to listen to them though, you didn’t mind of course. Nevertheless, not having someone by you, gave you more time to find new hobbies and your favorite, music. You had followed this group since they debuted and you had always had some sort of attraction to their music, whether it was the way they performed or the presence they gave off stage that had you melting inside. Obviously, everyone had a “bias” when it came to them. You honestly adored all of them, but there was just something about the vocalist and guitarist,  Jae. He was so tall and handsome and sweet and his smile and.. Your thoughts suddenly came to a stop when the bus stopped and a flood of girls around your age and some a little younger, jumped out the bus near the concert arena. You almost didn’t get off because of your dangerous daydreaming, but you managed to get off just in time. Walking over to the entrance, there was a commotion near the arena. Figuring it didn’t really matter when you entered, because they were assigned sears, you made your way over to check it out. To your surprise, Day6 were doing a mini fan-meeting before the show for the fans that came a little earlier. You had left your apartment so quickly to catch the bus that when you went towards the fan meeting, you had nothing to have signed and nothing to offer them. There was a small booth with merchandise of the boys and thought you could buy another one and hopefully get it signed. “Yes! I’ll just ask them to sigh it for me! It’ll be small but something to make them know I’m a fan.” You made your way towards the long time and you were almost at the end since you got so sidetracked. You felt uneasy since you were going to be one of the last one to go up. They would just want you to hurry away and not have time to tell each member how much they mean to you, especially, Jae. You were next to walk across the tables when the managers had hurried faces and the members were in a rush. But there he was, in all his glory, Jae. He was sitting right next Sungjin, because you were signing with him when you noticed at the corner of your eye Jae sneaking peeks at you. You really didn’t think much of it because maybe he wanted things to hurry along, but you couldn’t help think he was checking you out? No, it couldn’t be, but wow, was he blushing? No, it couldn’t be. It was probably getting hot and he need someone to fan him, but it didn’t seem that way. After you took your time with Sungjin, you made your way to Jae. He seemed kinda off, because unlike the other members, he didn’t - or couldn’t really - look at you in the eyes. You honestly thought something was on your face or in your teeth when you smiled and said “Hello! It’s nice to meet you! I’ve been a fan since you debuted and I’m really enjoying the album!” He blankly stared and what was that? Was that blush again? He looked just like a tomato at this point. He stuttered his words, “Oh..! Th-thank you so much. I’m glad yo-you’re growing fond of me.” You smirked and turned your head at the phrase. “Wait, no! I meant US, like us as a group! I’m so sorry..” Was he really doing this? It reminded me like when a little kid is around their crush, it kinda made you feel a tad confident witnessing his bashful side. You smiled and turned to the page where it was a picture of him on the album and asked him to sign it with your name. He grew a little certain in his actions and said to himself, but loud enough so you can hear, “_________, what a beautiful name.” Now you were the one blushing as he grew confidence. When it was time to leave and head inside the arena to your seat, someone pulled you to the side, manger maybe? You thought, “Shit shit shit shit man, what did I do now? Does this mean I can’t go in the concert since I went to the fan signing..?” You had the look of defeat when you turned around. The woman manger with a bright smile gave you a string with a tag on it. A confusing look spread across your face. The manager still with a content face opened her mouth and spoke, “Oh hello! Sorry to startle you, but here’s a backstage pass to the concert! Make sure you head over there and show the bodyguards this once the concert is over!” You looked baffled, “Oh no sorry, I didn’t buy the backstage tickets. You must have the wrong person, sorry.” You bowed and almost ran away when the manager pulled you away again and said, “No No! One of the members asked me to give this to you since you were such an outstanding fan!” She walked away without letting you argue back. You stood there in awe and nearly walked away when you caught a glimpse of the members leaving the stage. You saw Jae give you a little wink and quickly run off with the other members. You couldn’t believe it, what was happening? This was a dream, right? The interaction only lasted about 5 minutes, but it felt like an eternity. Walking to the entrance made you feel excited and nervous at the same time if that was even possible. Showing your ticket and the backstage pass to the ticket holder, you had listened to their instructions for when the concert ended and after that, you made your way to your seat. It wasn’t front row, but it was still a pretty good spot. You made friends with the girls around you and chattered until the lights suddenly went off and you know things were about go down. The concert was amazing, to all the songs that made you jump out of your seat to the ones that make you want to hold the person next to you. To your wonderful surprise each member had their own little performance and you knew what that meant. Jae was probably going to sing acoustic and you were right. The way he sang was like art and when he incorporated funny “memes” made you cringe but cheer. You were thankful that he didn’t make that much of a fool of himself. He bowed and ran off stage. It was their last song and you were sad, but also super anxious because you knew you were going backstage to meet them, to meet Jae. Once the lights went on and you bid farewell to the girls that you had befriended, and it was time. You made your way backstage, exactly the way the ticket master told you to and you honestly didn’t know what to expect. You wanted for it to be how you imagined in your mind. Where it was just you and Jae backstage and he came up to you with roses and you’d ride off into the sunset, but that wasn’t going to happen. There were about 25 other girls waiting in the same place where the backstage people were. You were a little disappointed, but still hopeful that you would get to see Jae one last time before you went home. You started talking to the girls that were there while you waited, “Did any of you girls get the pass from the manger that was at the signing?” They all looked at you confused and had their suspicions. You played it cool, “Oh no! But I heard that someone got one, but she’s not here, so I guess it wasn’t true.” Luckily, all those years lying to your parents paid off when the girls didn’t suspect a thing. You were standing in front of the same manager that gave you the pass and she stared explaining what was going to happen. “Pictures and signatures are allowed. Just freely go around and mingle with the members, there will be snacks and drinks available at the tables and we’ll be done in about 30 minutes. Thank you and have fun!” “Yes, thank you!” the girls yelling in unison. Did you not get the memo of this? Guess not. The boys walked out, wearing semi-matching clothes. The only difference in their black pants and white t-shirts was that each of their names were on it. You stood there in shock, they were still glistening from the concert and they came out and yelled “Hello, we are Day6!” You couldn’t help but smile when they did, you cheered and clapped just like the other girls when they said their greeting. As the “mini-party” was coming to an end, you got about 50 selfies with all the members and shared your laughs when they told embarrassing stories of one another in the dorms. You had got a picture with everyone except, Jae. Why? Because every time you tried to go near him to ask why he gave you the pass, he “mysteriously” had to be somewhere else at that time or went along with another member. You didn’t think of it much at first until the manger came out and said to say your last goodbyes, because it was time to leave. You were feeling a bit down, you didn’t get to talk to Jae, or even get a picture with him. Day6 said their goodbyes and promptly left the room while the managers were escorting the group of girls and you. You started making your way to the exit to call your roommate when you stopped dead in your tracks. Your phone. Where did it go? No, this wasn’t happening. You had your life in there. How were you going to get home without your phone? Shit. You quickly turned around and told the manger that you lost your phone around there, “Mm, we’ll give you about 5 minutes to look for it and if not, leave you name and address so if we find it, we can mail it to you.” “Thank you so much!” you practically screamed at the manager as you ran back to the room. You searched for it franticly. Checking every corner, every table, and even inside the half empty bowls of chips on the table. You were sure you left it on a table because snacks were your forte, but it was nowhere to be found. You were disappointed to say the least. It was the third phone you lost that year and what was even more heartbreaking was the fact that you had all the pictures of Day6 and you. “Well, at least I didn’t take one with Jae, then I’d be more miserable.” you thought out loud not knowing you weren’t the only one there. “Is this what you were looking for?” a voice said, half cocky, half shakey. You turned around hopeful that someone had found your phone and to your surprise it was none other then the man of the hour, Jae. You froze and he started walking towards you with your phone in his hands. “I’m sorry.. I’m the one who stole your phone at the end of the meet. I wanted an excuse to see you without anyone here so it wouldn’t be to obvious. But that was a bad idea now seeing how worried you got over this thing. I’m so sorry..” You, still frozen, tried to get the words out of your mouth, but all that came out was, “Oh.. no.. I-I no, it’s o-okay.. Uh, I..” Jae laughed at your confused stated and handed you the phone, and with something that sound like ‘cute’ under his breath. But before you could take it he swiped it out of your hands and with a smile said “Wait, not until I get a picture with you, beautiful.” Was it getting hot in here or was it just you? Yeah, it was you and you were burning from the inside out. Of course, Jae took noticed and wasn’t the only one doing embarrassing things, because he too was quite red. After a couple of pictures and laughs while taking them, you were about to bow and leave when you were being pulled in so close you could barely make sense of what was happening. Next thing you know, you’re in his embrace. So close you could hear his heartbeat, which oddly matched yours. “I’m sorry if you thought I was ignoring you. You were just so beautiful when I first saw you and I just wanted to see you again without looking like an idiot, but look what happened. Haha, I’m still so sorry.” You smiled and he pulled you away, “It’s okay, I’m sure I would have done the same if I were you. I’m glad you stole my phone.” His had a smile that could light up the world when you said that. A manager popped out of nowhere, that same manager from before, and said with a little excitement to her voice, “Jae, you’re needed in the back. Ah, Miss _________, I see you found your phone? I’m glad you did, now if you many, the exit is this way. Thank you for coming!” You turned around and bowed to say your goodbyes to Jae, and he ran towards the back winking at you again. Man, you swear this boy is crazy. You made it to the bus stop just in time the catch it. Looking out the window you noticed that it was pretty late. You glanced inside the bus and there weren’t many people on. You grabbed your phone to start looking at the memories that happened at the concert when you had two messages from an unknown number.

Unknown: “Yo Yo! ^^ I was wondering if you’d like to get lunch with me tomorrow? It’s my day off and I’d love to spend it with you! ^^”

 You were confused, but looked at the second message from the same number.

Unknown: “Oh! Sorry! It’s Jae, I stole your phone number. I hope that’s okay with you!”

You were smiling so much it hurt. “Wow, is this happening?” was the only thing that came to mind. Today was an interesting day and you were kind of thankful your roommate didn’t come along with you. You spent that whole night texting which lead to a phone call with Jae. You didn’t even notice you drifting off to sleep. Hopefully dreaming of what was going to happen that next day.

WOW OKAY YES

this is my first scenario and i thank you so much for letting me have this opportunity to write it. thanks to everyone who has followed me the past few days and i hope you can read this and enjoy! also let me know if you want a part 2 to this! feedback is greatly appreciated!