#and like she kept commenting on my exams and stuff that i had a great way with words

[prinzessinpluto]

the way i am annotating this book would make my hs german teacher weep with joy.

[thewritersaddictions]

Day Seven: Rick Grimes + Virginity

The longest crush you had ever had on someone was the guy who lived across the street. Your dads best friend for years now. They both at the sheiff department. Cruisers partners.

You aren't sure how it managed to be just the two of you in your backyard but as your stared at him catching the sun rays in the sexiest way. You felt you body tingle the same way it always did when you looked at him. His deputy unirform hugging him all in the best ways possible.

But right now he was just hanging at your house his son at his mothers for the next few weeks at least until summer break was over. Your own classes long over and you didn't start back up at uni until the fall. A whole great, long summer to oglle over your crush.

Your father was on duty, and had asked Rick to come over and make sure that you were getting on okay since you just managed to get all your stuff out of thier bags and get settled into the summer.

Your body floated in the water as you let the sun soak into your body with ease. It wasn't until you heard shuffle from above the water did you look up towards where Rick was sitting before. He was no longer there rather now he was sitting at the edge of the pool his legs dipping into the pool water.

Blue swim trunks that caught your eyes the seconds you opened the front doors. Southern words that dripped from his mouth. "Do you mind if'i just use your pool for afew?" You nodded, but now here you were.

"You look like you're enjoying yourself sweetheart." Rick commented. He had always used that nickname. Ever since you had lived across from him, that was now at least ten years ago. Now you were twenty-two and still waiting for him to just drop to his knees and beg that you were all he needed.

Dreams are always better in your head.

You hummed, "It's better then the stupid cold dorms at the uni." You said. He nodded and watched as you went back to sun bathing on top the water. You didn't hear him slip into the water.

A tap on your shoulder brought you out of your daze. "Rick?" You muttered as you shifted in the water. "You know you haven't said much about your time in the city. Why don't you tell me all about it." Rick is coaxing you, but you're so dumb you follow along. Ignorant to the way he's circling you, the way he's been eyeing you from his seat at the pools side.

"There isn't much to tell, exams went well, and my roomate brings every guy she mets back to the dorm so studyin' is a bitch." You shrug the last bit off. The words leave a bad taste in your mouth. "What do you mean sweetheart? You aren't beinging any lucky guys home… I mean um back to your dorm?" You shake your head water flinging to other parts of the pool.

"Oh, please I don't believe that." Rick tries, "You don't have a boyfriend, or girlfriend if you're into that sorta thing. Fine by me sweetheart." You chuckle surprised partially by his questions, but most surpised by how Rick hasn't realized that are not anybody's type.

"No I'm not really anyone's um type… guys don't really want a virgin…" Your hands smakes over your mouth

"Look I'm sorry I didn't mean…" From up to this point Rick had kept his distance, but now he was crepping closer and closer to your body. "No need to be ashamed sweetheart, this is not something that has to happen the minute you get out of high school, and anyways some guys don't how to treat a girl like you." Rick mumbles on as he activly pushes you up towards the wall of the pool.

"What do you mean?" You ask. A smirk grows on his face, "I just mean that you need an experinced man is all." "Like… um like you?" You ask, confindence coming out of nowhere. He nods, he whispers into your ear real close, "I see the way you look at me. Doe like fuckable eyes that you've got sweetheart." Even though the water is warm around you his words send shivers down your spine. "Will…' you bite your bottom lip as your back hits the wall. "Will you teach me then, Rick?" You're not begging but the way you melt agasint him and the wall says otherwise.

Smirking "Of course sweet thing." He says as his hands get to work under the water. Your binki top is off in a few seconds and the bottoms float to the top of the water. "Now that's much better, you've been showing yourself off to me ya know." You shake your head. His hands ghost over your tummy, and up to your breasts. Grabbing a hand full before falling in to kiss your chap lips. He moans into it and your melt into his touch.

Unaware of the hard on growing in his swim trunks. "You want me to fuck you good sweetheart?" He mumbles into your lips. You nod and moans as his fingers start to play with your clit. A new sensation washing over you. You brain becomes fuzzy as the feeling washes over you. Your head falls back over your shoulder blades.

"I gotta get you all nice and wet for me sweet heart. Can't go breakin' my brand new toy can I?" He plays with your clit until he's satisfied with both you and himself. He doesn't even get out of his truck just still them down his tan thighs. "This is gonna hurt, but baby that just means you'll end up lovin' the feeling." You brace yourself as the tip of his cock prods at your clit, and moans fall from your lips. The next thing you know without a hesitation or warning he's slipping his cock to the hilt. Your sobs are silent as you try to get used to the feeling. "Oh sweet jesus, Rick you feel… oh shit Mr. Grimes." You can't handle the thought of words, the sensation of his cock as the pain subsides.

He fucks you nice, and slow until he wants more from you. Moaning into the hot summer air. You aren't even worried about your father catching you, or what the neighbors might think you're just glad that right now he's fucking you so good you can't even remember what the hell your name is.

"Yeah come on darlin'… I can feel it coming squeezing me so tight I can barly move." His words are sending you closer and closer to the edge. "Y/n, sweet heart.… I want ya to cum all over my cock okay, can you do that for me? Can you do that for your dad's best friend? Can you be my dirty little virgin slut?" His words send you over the edge, and everything goes white. Your hands squeeze at Rick's shoulders and your legs wrap around his waist.

"Not gonna let go are ya?" His moans turn into groans and his grip on your hips turns into a death grip. His head falls between your shoulder and neck as his thursts become hard, and chatoic. He cum deep inside you and doesn't let go of you until he slips out of you, and looks at how fucked out you look.

Rick can worry abou the consquence later.

Completed on: 06/20/23

Posted on: 10/07/23

Kinktober 2023- @lanad3lreyscokewhor3 @homelanderscumdump @hummusxx@chvnsdimple @vvitzvafflezvv @lokisivy @claud-blood0703 @iliketoreads-stuff @all-that-glitters-is-treasure@clearscissorsbonkgiant-blog @lxonix--ac @piecesofx @mortallyswimmingpainter @playwithfire99 @fucak @everythingneytiri @lovetheos @xxxxxoseungxoooo @durazopato @hotpead42069 @oddseabiscuit @capoda @witching-hour @viviwows @lover103 @alexlovesfiction @katiecat10 @electricfans @jianasmind @max-505 @powerbun21o @the-horny-simp @missy420-0 @jaq-dav @arescosplays

The Walking Dead Master List // The Law Master List // Kinktober '23

[noctisfishing]

The Grand Enlightenment - Chapter 06 (FINAL)

01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06

Summary: Koushiro and Hikari are dating, and they’ve been keeping it a secret from everybody else. But as it goes with any secret, well-kept or not, discoveries are bound to happen in the end.

Rated: T / Comedy & Romance

Ships: Koukari & featured/mentioned: Taiora, Kenyako, and Mimato

Notes: Last chapter! Thank you for reading and for your support. This was fun. I hope to share more of my stuff with everyone soon. <3

Read below the cut, or click here for the start of the fic: AO3 | FFN

~*~*~*~*~

"What's eating you, Yamato?"

Yamato blinked his thoughts away to reveal a curious-eyed Taichi sitting across the table from him.

"Final exams are about to start, right?" asked Jou, who sat beside Yamato.

"Yeah," said Taichi. "I can't wait until they're over."

The three young men each had an open bottle of beer and empty plates of food they had just finished eating. They had slouched back into their respective chairs and Yamato knew that the two felt just as full as he did.

Yamato had invited Taichi out to celebrate the announcement of his internship, and he had asked Jou to come along, too. He figured that it would also be a break from their daily grind of school assignments and other projects.

Although, contrary to Jou's suggestion, Yamato had not been thinking about his final projects or the big presentation he had been preparing for. In reality, he had been thinking about a big secret - the one that Koushiro and Hikari had been keeping, and that Mimi hardly contained the moment she stepped through his door on the day she found out.

"KoushiroandHikariaredatingandTaichihasnoidea," she had spilled out in a single breath.

Yamato wasn't as close to Hikari, but he understood why she and Koushiro kept this from Taichi. And, knowing Koushiro, who kept his relationship endeavors to himself, Yamato figured that Koushiro wouldn't tell Taichi about Hikari right away out of his respect for her.

Still, the discovery was intriguing for Yamato to think about, even if it distracted from hanging out with the clueless older brother.

"Things are going great, though!" Taichi said. "Once this term is done, It won't be long until Sora's lease is up at her apartment. We've been talking about finding a place together."

"Wow, that's great!" Jou said.

"That means you'll be moving out from Koushiro's apartment," Yamato observed.

"Yeah." Taichi's smile appeared to wane from the comment. "He'll be cool with it, right? I mean, I haven't been there lately and I'm always at Sora's place. It's like I practically live with her."

"So, you haven't told him, yet?" Jou asked.

"Not yet. I'm not sure how he'll react. But, he's my best friend and we've talked to each other about all sorts of things, even if either of us think it's hard to talk about."

The table fell silent. Taichi fell into a contemplative state while Jou eyed him with a small frown. Meanwhile, Yamato took in the conversation, finding irony in the grander scheme. Jou couldn't have known what Yamato and everyone else had known; otherwise, his facial expression and body language would not have appeared as relaxed.

Yamato took a swig of his beer and set the bottle down.

"You really need to talk to Koushiro," Yamato said.

"I know," Taichi droned with a sigh.

"No, Taichi. You really need to talk to him. I know you are at least responsible enough not to wait until the moment you move out. You two are better friends than that."

"You're right. Like, Kou wouldn't wake me up one day and announce that he's getting married and he needed me to be the Best Man."

Yamato pressed his lips together.

"Where… did you get that idea?" Jou asked, appalled.

Taichi burst into laughter. "Relax, I was joking! He never tells me anything about his love life, but I don't see him pulling something like that on me."

At that moment, the sound of ringing surrounded the table. The three of them took out their phones in unison.

"Oh, Hikari," Taichi said, and Yamato viewed the same name on the group chat message on his screen.

.

Hikari: I'm free from today's exam. Anyone Home?

Takeru: we're all here, come on over.

Miyako: Even the girls are all here! Hurry up!

Koushiro: I'll be over in a few.

.

At that moment, Yamato had an idea.

"Now's your chance, Taichi."

"Hmm?"

"You have your mind set and you know you won't change your decision. It's better for him to find out sooner rather than later."

"I agree, Yamato," said Jou. "Why not nip this in the bud now? That way, you wouldn't feel like you were keeping something from him."

"You're right," said Taichi. "You both are."

They waited until the hostess arrived to help with the bill, Jou and Yamato splitting the amount. Then, the three of them walked out and headed to the apartments, and Yamato couldn't help but think that the advice given to Taichi was also beneficial for Koushiro, and even for Hikari to hear. As the three of them left the restaurant, Yamato typed out a text to Mimi only and hit "Send":

Yamato: We're heading over there now. Do. Not. Tell. Anyone.

~*~*~*~*~

Mimi squealed as she read Yamato's text. She had been roaming around the boys' apartment, chatting and talking animatedly about her day that she did not realize that Yamato had sent her a message. Twenty minutes before she had actually read it.

"What happened, Mimi?" Sora asked.

Mimi froze, feeling Sora's and Miyako's eyes turning to her. She was sitting on the couch of Daisuke's, Ken's, and Takeru's apartment and was suddenly in the center of attention.

"Nothing," she said, more quickly than she realized would raise suspicion. Thankfully, the long strands of her hair fell over her face to hide her horrified expression from them.

Yamato coming over with Jou? And Taichi?! Everyone knew that Koushiro was still in his apartment, and that Hikari was with him. The fact that Yamato didn't want Mimi to say anything only meant one thing: that he intended to expose Koushiro and Hikari's secret.

Mimi knew that Yamato was not going to tell Taichi directly. He was a kind, honest person, and he wanted Taichi to find out for himself. Even if he had to deliberately force Taichi in the right direction.

Uggh! That boy…

"Did Yamato do something?"

"What?" Mimi looked to Sora, who tilted her head to the side, then laughed.

"Your reaction is a lot like mine when Taichi does something."

Mimi realized that she had groaned out loud.

"You're telling me! I just can't believe that Yamato has the nerve to come over-"

"Wait, did you say what I think you said?" Takeru asked from the kitchen. "Yamato's coming over?"

"No way!" Daisuke said. "Is he bringing Jou and Taichi with him?"

"Wait, what?!" Miyako cried, standing up from the couch.

Sora rose from her spot immediately. "Mimi. Do we have time to tell Koushiro?"

There came a knock at the door. Silence fell among everyone in the apartment as voices came from the other side. Mimi widened her eyes as she looked toward the door that opened from the outside.

"You know, you really didn't have to knock, Jou," said Taichi as he, Jou, and Yamato appeared as the door opened.

Yamato met Mimi's gaze, and she made sure that he noticed her displeasure. He didn't add any words to contribute to Jou and Taichi's banter, and no other words from him were necessary in directing Taichi - he had already done his job by telling Taichi to go here.

"Taichi!" Sora called, the tone in her voice with a note of apprehension. "You didn't tell me you would be here."

"Well, I guess you can call it a surprise, right? Even Jou is here!" Taichi slapped Jou's back before turning around and heading straight toward his apartment.

Sora tried to rush to him, but Mimi knew that she wasn't going to get to him in time. The rest of their friends began to move all at once, although it was as though they were going in slow motion. Daisuke, Takeru, and Ken fumbled with utensils and set them down before they ran out of the kitchen. Miyako followed Mimi as they hurried behind Sora, the first to reach the doorway. Everyone watched with intense anticipation. Yamato and Jou turned to face the door to the other apartment, Yamato watching with silent determination, and Jou with utter confusion.

When Taichi turned the knob and pushed to open the door, Hikari was already standing there to greet him. Mimi caught Hikari quickly running her fingers on the side of her head to flatten her stray tufts of hair, but other than that, Hikari looked as normal as she did when they saw her earlier that day.

"Oh, hey, Hikari," Taichi said. "Were you waiting for me?"

"Sure!" she said with a shrug and a smile. "I figured you were going to show up to your own apartment tonight, so I thought I'd hang out here until you did."

But it took a moment for Taichi to reply - one long, concerning moment that intensified the tension building in the dead silence over the whole group.

"Where's Koushiro?" Taichi demanded suddenly, and Hikari's cheerful expression turned dark.

~*~*~*~*~

One look was all it took for Taichi to figure it out.

Hikari saw it as Taichi stared at her after her greeting. She tried to flatten her hair and straighten her blouse and her skirt, but she knew that her hair wasn't as sleek as it normally was. She forgot to fasten the top button of her wrinkled blouse, and she was sure that the collar was crooked to reveal the strap of her tank top falling off her shoulder.

She had wanted to see Koushiro first before they walked across the hall together, but she couldn't help it. She couldn't resist the temptation to make out with him, his sweet lips on hers, his hands running free all over her. They let themselves get carried away again, carelessly forgetting about the unexpected. The moment they heard voices in the hallway, it took them only so long to fix themselves before they tucked their secret away again.

But as Taichi saw right through her, Hikari knew that she couldn't keep that secret hidden from him for very long.

"Koushiro!" Taichi yelled as he stepped forward, just as Hikari stepped in front of him.

"Taichi, hold on a minute," Hikari said. "Let me explain-"

"Koushiro!" he repeated.

Koushiro appeared from his room, his plain white shirt showing underneath his unbuttoned plaid shirt. His hair still had its spikes but showed signs of disheveling.

"Koushiro, tell me what is going on here?" Taichi's voice was lowered, but he seemed to be restrained.

Hikari glanced at Koushiro who stared back at her, his questioning eyes waiting for her to give him direction. She knew that Taichi needed to hear the truth from Koushiro the most, so she gave him a nod, and she watched as Koushiro took a deep breath.

"Hikari and I have been seeing each other for a few months," Koushiro replied. "I know this might come out of the blue, but we didn't want anyone to make a big deal out of this, and we didn't know how you would react."

Taichi's eyes flashed. "Why would you think I would make a big deal out of this?!" he asked with his voice raising in volume.

"Taichi-" Hikari started, and she saw in the corner of her eye that Sora and Yamato held their palms to their forehead.

""Why didn't you just tell me up front?" Taichi continued. "I can't believe you both have been fooling around behind my back! I don't believe this. My best friend and my sister…"

"None of us knew about them at first, Taichi," Sora said with an exasperated sigh. "You're not the only one they hid this from."

"So, then, if I'm not the first to know, and you all knew, then I must be the last. Geez! What gives?"

"Um, I didn't realize what was going on until Kou's confession to you," said Jou. "So, technically I'm the last to know…"

"Oh."

"Taichi, we aren't just fooling around," said Hikari, feeling guilty from her brother's reaction. But now that Taichi knew about her secret, she knew she had to pour out the rest of her feelings, whether or not it convinced him. So, she walked over to Koushiro's side and took his hand. "I love him."

Hikari's cheeks burned after her reveal, and she felt more vulnerable as Taichi kept his eyes on her. Then, she felt Koushiro's hand grasp hers tighter as he cleared his throat beside her.

"I love her too, Taichi," Koushiro said with confidence, though Hikari turned to see his cheeks tinge with pink.

Taichi stepped back from the two of them, his mouth hanging open in surprise. Everyone that stood behind him watched and waited in suspense. Hikari couldn't tell his reaction, and she gripped Koushiro's hand in anticipation.

Then, Taichi started toward her and Koushiro. Hikari had no idea what he was going to do. Was he going to grab her shoulders and scold her? Was he going to take a swing at Koushiro? She didn't know whether to step back or throw herself in front of Koushiro, but she was too panicked to even move.

But instead, with a jolt, she was pulled in against his chest. The others gasped from afar, but it took a few moments for Hikari to realize what was happening. Taichi had wrapped his arms around Koushiro and Hikari together, holding them together in a tight embrace.

"Taichi…?" Koushiro began. "This is a change…"

"I can't tell if you're still mad or not, Taichi…" Hikari added.

Taichi loosened his arms and the three of them pulled away to face each other.

"I'll be honest, I wish you both told me about this sooner. But, I realized something when you did. Neither of you are going to say things like that lightly. Hikari, when you say that you love someone, I believe it. Koushiro, I trust that you always mean everything you say. And I'm glad you said it to her."

"Taichi…" Hikari's eyes welled up as her brother stared back with a smile. She leapt into his arms to hug him once more.

Taichi laughed as he held them both, and Hikari noted a tone much more cheerful than before. "My best friend… and my sister… I can't believe this!"

"Oh my gosh!" Miyako whispered but loud enough for everyone to hear. "Is he crying?"

"And you aren't?" Mimi asked.

"I'm not," said Jou, who had been dabbing his eyes a few times already.

Sora joined Taichi's side soon after, kissing his cheek before giving Koushiro a hug, and then Hikari. The weight of worry on Hikari's mind lifted the longer she realized that Taichi accepted her choice, and that him finding out about her and Koushiro wasn't as bad as she thought it would be.

She felt Koushiro's hand slide around her waist behind her. With a smile, she held Koushiro closer to her, relieved that she no longer had to hide anything from her brother as well as all of their friends before them.

"Say, Taichi," Yamato said as he approached. "Weren't you going to tell Koushiro something?"

"Oh, right," said Taichi. "Koushiro, I've been talking with Sora about moving in together soon."

"You were?" Koushiro said. "That's great!"

"You really think so, Kou?"

"Of course it is!"

"You two were practically living together already, anyway," Hikari said with a giggle. She watched as Taichi laughed, and she noticed that he seemed to be more relaxed, maybe even relieved, than he was a few moments ago.

"Hang on a second," Daisuke chimed in. "If Taichi's leaving, then that means Koushiro will need to find a new roommate."

"I already have someone in mind," said Koushiro. "I was thinking that Hikari should move in with me."

"You were?" Hikari asked in surprise.

"You were?" Taichi added blankly.

"Not right away, of course!" Koushiro said, waving his hands frantically in front of him. "I could use the extra room as a separate office space whenever I work remotely. The idea of her moving in with me might be premature, but it was just an idea…"

"I can't believe you were thinking that far ahead," Hikari said, her heart fluttering.

"But they will be sure to tell you when it happens, right, guys?" Sora said slowly with almost an exaggeration. Both Hikari and Koushiro nodded simultaneously with vigor.

"Ha! I'm sure they will," Taichi said, his expression softened.

As Taichi turned away, Sora waved her hand gestures and facial expressions to Koushiro and Hikari, implying that neither of them should worry about any of Taichi's reactions.

Hikari turned to Koushiro and they shared a smile, followed by a laugh.

"Let's make sure that he's the first to know," Hikari said.

"Deal."

+owari+

I may not be as active but trust me when I say I'm still tinkering with my fics. I hope to share more things soon.

'Til next time, stay safe, stay warm, and stay enlightened~

[winvterstan]

𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 || 𝐛.𝐛.

pairing: bucky barnes x F!reader

request: So, what if like at the end of endgame, Steve and Bucky talk about how Steve isn’t coming back like how he does in the movie but when Steve is supposed to return, Steve sends back Bucky’s first love which is the Reader and it’s super cute and fluffy and maybe there could be a flashback from back in the 40s of reader and Bucky in love and maybe when reader found out about Buckys death and stuff. - @livbarnesx

summary: When Steve is supposed to return after putting back the stones, there is someone else with him and a certain soldier couldn’t be happier.

A/n: I LOVED THIS REQUEST AND I LOVED WRITING IT. I know it took me FOREVER to write it but school and exams kept me really busy during this summer, BUT I'M FINALLY BACK BABY!! I promise I’ll start writing all the requests I recived. I hope you like it! <3 The parts in italics are flashbacks

Divider by @firefly-graphics

warnings: mention of death, crying, a bit angst(?), fluff, google translate lol

word count: 2.9k

Please don’t repost, copy or translate any of my works on other platforms. Likes, comments and reblog are really appreciated<3

𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬 || 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 || 𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

“Are you sure you wanna do this?” Bucky asked as he and Steve started to walk in the wood near Tony Stark’s house. Or what used to be Tony Stark's house.

"Yeah, I need to put all the stones back to their places. And, who knows, maybe I'll get to see her again" Steve he answered with a dreamy look.

Bucky knew he was referring to Peggy, his first great love, that he could finally hug again after all this time, which was one of the things that the former winter soldier couldn't do with his.

They reached the platform where it was all going to happen. Bruce, or the Hulk, he still didn't know what to call him, had moved everything he needed in the woods after the explosion occurred at the compound. With Bruce there was Sam who had come to assist his friend.

“I’m going to miss you, buddy.” Bucky said welcoming Steve in a big hug.

“Don’t do anything stupid until I get back”

“How can I? You are taking all the stupid with you“

Steve stepped onto the platform, took Mjollnir in one hand and the box containing the gems in the other. He took one last look at his friends and waited for the countdown to finish. After five seconds the suit closed and he disappeared.

"How long is this gonna take?" Sam asked with a hint of concern in his voice.

"For him, as long as he needs. For us five seconds." Bruce answered trying to make his voice sound confident. He was worried, it was plausible, the fate of humanity depended on this mission. "Returning in 5...4...3...2...1"

Nothing happened.

"Where is he?" Sam was starting to panic.

"I don't know he should be here." Bruce began fiddling with the various computers that controlled the machine.

“Bring him back”

“I’m trying”

Meanwhile, Bucky still had his eyes on the car. He knew Steve's plan had worked. He was living his life with Peggy, as he deserved. He thought he deserved it too. He deserved a happy life with his great love. But he couldn't have it.

While he kept thinking he found himself facing the lake. He looked up and saw it. A much older version of Steve sat on a bench while he scanned the horizon. After a while Bucky noticed a second figure rising from the ground. He was confused but the second person seemed familiar to him. It was a girl. He could tell by her small body. Then she turned and Bucky's heart skipped a beat. He rubbed his eyes. She could only have been a hallucination. He thought he was going mad. When her eyes met hers the world stopped. Maybe he was still in his bed and he was dreaming. It had already happened. When he didn't have nightmares he always dreamed of her. He dreamed of the life they could have had together and all their memories.

"Bucky? Is that really you?" he woke from that trance when she called him. Unbeknownst to him, tears began to fall from his eyes, but before he could say anything he was interrupted by a very confused Sam, who was now facing the lake too,

"Who is that? What happened?" from his voice you could hear all his confusion.

"That's my girl" Bucky replied without stopping crying. The girl approached him and Bucky waited to wake up any second from this dream that seemed so real when he felt a slap on his cheek.

He put his hand on his affected cheek and looked confused at his girl - yes cause that was his girl, his great love - waiting for an explanation. When he saw that she began to sob he held her in a strong hug that was worth a thousand words. God how much he had missed her.

"Y-you promised you would come back, why d-did you leave me alone?" her words were muffled by his chest, but they were still understandable.

“Y/N love, look at me. Doll look at me. I'm so sorry. I never wanted to leave you alone. I missed you so much, my love." Bucky said between tears and dissolving her embrace he cupped her face and kissed her.

At that moment everything disappeared. All those years they hadn't spent together, all the tears shed. There was only them and their love.

A few hours later they were in Bucky's apartment lying on the bed, Y/N with her head on Bucky's chest, who had his arms around her waist,

"So let me get this straight." Bucky repeated to confirm that he understood the explanation just made by his girlfriend "Steve brought another suit with him, to give it to you since he had already planned to bring you back here to me?"

“Yes, James, this is the second time I've told you. He told me that he would’ve felt too guilty leaving you while he was living his life with Peggy and you were here alone with Sam, who from what I understand you don't get along very well with." she said with a little laugh as she thought back to the discussion these two had had a few hours earlier when Sam tried to hug Y/N, to welcome her and Bucky was on the defensive,

"Yeah uh well here we-" he tried to explain but was immediately interrupted by her voice.

"Buck, you don't have to explain to me, it's normal not to get along with everyone," she said, starting to draw circles on his chest with her finger.

"God doll, you don’t know how much I missed you." he said and then planted a kiss on her head.

"Do you remember the day we met?" she asked after a few minutes passed in silence in each other's arms.

"How could I forget it doll, I was saved by the love of my life"

When Bucky woke up the first thing he felt was pain. On the right hip, precisely. He tried to figure out what caused him and slowly flashes came back to him.

The mission with the Howling Commandos to another Hydra base. Steve ordering them to split up to outrun the enemy soldiers. A squadron surrounding him and Dugan. There were gunshots and then only darkness.

As soon as he opened his eyes he looked around and realized he was in a sort of nursery. He noticed the figure of a girl not far from the cot on which he was lying. She was standing near a table where she was setting up ampoules, probably containing medicines. He was behind her so he couldn't see her face, but he understood that it was a nurse wearing her uniform. Bucky tried to sit up but while he was doing it he emitted a small moan, caused by the pain at his side, which immediately caught the attention of the nurse who turned to help him.

"Sergeant Barnes you’re finally awake." she said in a soft voice, showing him a smile and Bucky looked up in her direction.

When he paused to look at her he was petrified by her beauty. Her long Y/H/C hair was styled with big curls, just like those of all girls for at least five years, and her Y/E/C shone thanks to the dim light that was in the room. And her full lips were highlighted with a layer of red lipstick.

"I am agent Y/N Y/L/N. Tell me, how are you sergeant?" she asked, awakening him from her trance.

"W-what happened?" he asked still slightly confused as to why he was there.

“Well, Sergeant Barnes, you should be the one telling me that. I just helped you not to die. What do you remember?" as she talked he walked over to the table where he had been before and took out a patient health form that he would have to fill out.

"We were on a mission a-and Steve... wait, Steve where is he? He is alright? I have to see him now!" He said and then tried to get up in an attempt to go find his friend but was stopped by Y/N who began to reassure him.

“Don't worry, Captain Rogers and all of your companions are fine. You were the only one seriously injured" she said and then helped him sit comfortably on the bed.

“Have you known each other for a long time? You and the captain, I mean” she asked curiously. She was very intrigued by Bucky and she had decided she wanted to get to know him better - formally, of course. Or at least that’s what she kept repeating herself.

"First of all, let's stop with these formalities, start calling me Bucky, doll." he said, tired of being addressed like a gentleman, and then resume "to answer your question, we've known each other since we were little and I saved his ass from fighting in the back streets of Brooklyn."

She let out a little laugh. An angelic sound in his ears. Maybe it had been too much time away from women, but he couldn't approach her like the girls he'd dated before the war. She was different. He was also slightly intimidated by her charge, it was quite rare to see a female agent, and knowing one fascinated him, a lot. He would certainly mention it in his next letter directed home, to his sister Rebecca who always wanted to serve the country as her brother and Steve did.

He woke up from his thoughts when he saw that Y/N was heading towards the exit. He didn't want to miss such an opportunity and above all with a girl like that. They were at war after all. He could have died overnight. Driven by a sudden surge of courage, he recalls her attention by calling by her name, causing her to turn in his direction.

"Yes, James? Is there any problem?" she asked slightly worried. Deep down, though, she knew she wasn't just worried as a simple nurse cares for her patient.

“No, absolutely doll. I just wanted to ask you if you knew when we can go back to town." Y/N could see the hope in his eyes as he spoke.

After thinking about it for a while, the girl spoke the words the soldier had longed for. "In a couple of days, I think, why?"

“I was wondering if, uh, if you'd like to go dancing? Together with me, I mean. But you probably already understood this. Well, you seem very intelligent and you are also beautiful. If you don't want to come I understand perfectly well, don't worry- " he asked stammering. He had never stammered. Especially in front of a girl. God the effect this girl had on him.

"Bucky!!" she yells, laughing at him, to stop him before he starts with a meaningless monologue “I'd love to come and dance with you. And thank you for the compliments,” she continued and before starting to blush.

"Really?! That is, ahem cool. See you on Saturday then doll." he tried, in vain, to cover his surprise and happiness, but she did not miss the smirk on his face.

“See you on the dance floor, soldier. And please don't be late.” she said before approaching his bed and then printing a kiss on his cheek, smudging it lightly with her red lipstick, and walking away towards the exit, giggling after having a last glance at Bucky finding him intent on touching his just kissed cheek with a surprised look on his face.

After they were lying down for a while, Bucky felt the fabric of his shirt get wet where Y/N was resting with his head.

"Doll, what happened? Why are you crying?" he asked, worried, sitting up with his back to the head of the bed, to be able to hold her in a hug.

"It's just that- I can't belive you're actually here with me after I thought you were d-dead." she began to speak while continuing to cry as Bucky stroked her cheeks to stop her tears. "It was so hard when Steve told me you were gone."

Y/N was disinfecting a soldier's wound when her attention was drawn to a group of soldiers who had gathered at the entrance to the division, giving the impression that they were waiting for someone. It was at that moment that she remembered that at any moment the Howling Comandos would have to return from their mission in the Alps.

Bucky's last mission. If it had been successful the Hydra would have been defeated and consequently, the war would have come at the gates, which meant that there would be no need for the Howling Commandos and Y/N could have asked General Phillips to resign as there would be much more nurse than necessary.

She tried to hurry to medicate the soldier, still trying to do a good job, and then run out of the crowd that had now formed. She was so excited. She would see his Bucky again after many months apart from each other.

She still remembered their last conversation before he left to destroy various Hydra bases.

"Please be safe, don't do anything stupid, and always listen to Steve." she said with a few tears in her eyes, that were ready to fall on her rosed cheeks.

"You have no faith in me, doll." he said chuckling, bringing her closer to him by the hips.

"I'm sorry, I trust you really, just promise me you'll come back." she responded di lei tightening her arms around his neck di lei.

"I promise, doll. I'll come back to you. After all this we will retire, we're going to live in a beautiful house in the suburbs, we'll get married during summer in a small church and then we'll have a bunch of kids running around." he promised before gently kissing her lips.

That night a bunch of I love you and promises were whispered and a lot of kisses were shared.

As soon as she got out of the tent, Y/N stopped in front of the big crowd, noticing that many soldiers and some nurses turned to look at her with a dark look. Their relationship became common knowledge across the field very quickly when a group of soldiers caught them kissing while dancing on their first date. People were moving to make room for the soldiers to pass, and in no time she found herself face to face with Steve.

Her eyes wandered in search of Bucky, not finding him next to the captain, as usual for her.

"Y/N" Steve spoke her name in a voice so low that she had barely heard it.

"Steve, where is Bucky?" she asked not finding her boyfriend nearby with her eyes.

"Y/N come with me." he told her, and then took her gently by her arm, without giving her time to protest.

They arrived at one of the offices when Y/N spoke again, feeling her anxiety rise along with tears.

"Steve please tell me where Bucky is. He's coming, right? Is he okay?" unknowingly she began to cry while she talked.

"We were in the Alps, we got on the train to catch Zola when some kind of robot attacked us. He opened a hole in the train, B-Bucky tried to grab onto one of the railings but...the train was going too fast, he couldn't take my hand. He told me to-" Steve started crying too before being interrupted by a sobbing Y / N.

"Please Steve, I don't want to know what he told you to tell me. I don't want to know that he asked you to tell me that he loves me, or that I have to move on. Not when he can never tell me again. I can never go on, not without him. He promised me. He promised..."

Y/N was now drained by tears and she couldn't stop sobbing and thinking about Bucky and his promise. Home, marriage, children. Now they couldn't have any of that. Because he was gone.

"This is just a bad dream Y/N, wake up. You just have to wake up and you'll be in your bed with Bucky next to you, ready to hold you." Y/N repeated before her legs gave out and she fell to her knees. Fortunately Steve, with his vision still clouded by her tears, managed to take her in her arms before she fell to the floor.

"It's okay Y/N, don't worry. Everything will be alright. We'll be alright." Steve tried to reassure her.

But she knew she wasn't alright. Not when Bucky wasn't going to be here with her comforting her. Not when he was gone.

And they stayed like this, for who knows how many hours, in each other's arms, crying and hugging each other, thinking that the most important person in their lives was gone and there was nothing they could do about it.

After hearing the story of how his girlfriend and best friend reacted to his "death", Bucky cupped Y/N's cheeks and then shed all her tears with his thumbs.

"Y/N, love look at me." he said in a low, sweet voice, then continued talking. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. But, now I want to keep all the promises I made to you. We will buy that house in the suburbs, we will get married and we will have wonderful babies, just like you. I love you so much, doll."

"I love you too, my soldier." she told him showing him a small smile.

He slowly leaned in, before kissing her softly. Y/N couldn't believe it, after all this time they were together again.

"I promised I would come back to you."

---

Bucky Barnes taglist: @buendiabebeta @justreadingficsdontmindme @leyannrae @unedibledaisyduck

[wallflowerimagines]

oh hello!! i found your blog and i’m so amazed at what you write! i’m unsure if i’ve asked here before, or if this is my first time. how would the lords react to a young F!reader who has liquid mercury wings, and also doesn’t know how to smile (yet)? lil ‘kuudere’ mercury angel lmao. i hope this isn’t too much to ask ^^ tysm and stay safe!! 💛

Thank you! 💛 This is my first time getting this ask. I've interpreted it as more of a child/young teen reader, let me know if you envisioned it differently!

Alcina Dimitrescu

Congratulations! You've just been adopted! 🎉🎉🎉

All of Alcina's mom instincts just clicked on the minute she saw you. You're so small. So cute. She felt the same instant connection to you as she did to her three daughters.

Without even being able to really process it, you're given a room, an entire new wardrobe, and three older sisters who adore you just as much as their mom does. Honestly, it's a little disorienting.

Alcina is a little worried about the fact that you seem to have no real emotions, but she's a patient lady who believes firmly in communication. If you like something and tell her, she believes you. Some people just don't emote that well, after all. She gets used to it very quickly.

(And if anyone even so much as makes a snippy comment about your face or tone, they're straight up dead.)

She is the kind of mom who wants ALL the pictures of her darling children, and makes you sit for many, many formal portraits--some of which she even paints herself.

She likes incorporating Angelic imagery in all of your portraits, too. Your wings are beautiful, and she wants to make sure that you never have insecurities about your appearance or your abilities. If she can show even 1/10th of how perfect she finds you, she calls it a mission accomplished.

Alcina never expected you to smile for her, honestly. You had limits, and she respected them. But when she unveiled the newest family portrait--with all of her children featured prominently--to her surprise she spots a small, trembling smile on your lips.

And when you say 'Thank you, Mother'? Alcina gets really emotional, and even a little teary eyed.

She Immediately drops to her knees and pulls you into the BIGGEST hug. You are always welcome.

Donna Beneviento

But if you're baby, and I'm baby, then who's driving the bus?

Donna does not know how to interact with you. She's already quite inexperienced with social interaction, and without the feedback that she normally gets from people's facial expressions, she's left floundering.

She's really trying her best, too! It's just, your voice doesn't even have the slightest bit of inflection. Are you happy? Sad? Give her a hint she is suffering.

Your deadpan tone just CRACKS Angie up, though.

Angie bridges the gap in your relationship. She is talkative and wacky, which fills the awkward silences between you and Donna very easily.

Similar to Donna, you find it very easy to talk to Angie! She doesn't force you to smile, or talk, or do anything you might be uncomfortable with. She's playful and loud, so you don't have to try very hard around her.

Eventually you two reach a peaceful, relaxing medium. Donna slowly accepts that your words are meant to be taken at face value, and with that realization a lot of the stress between you two melts away.

Also, if you let her make you clothes? She👏is👏 LIVING👏

She loooves to make things for you, and the wings only offer a welcome challenge. She's never worked with anything like that before, and she's so excited!!!!

Angie also wants you to fly around with her in the yard! The three of you actually have a lot of fond memories of outdoor tea parties where Donna primly sits in a chair, watching with a small, happy smile on her face as you flutter through the air with a SCREECHING Angie in your arms. She's having a BLAST!!

It's the first time she sees you smile, too, and it just makes her own smile grow. She never thought she'd have another sibling, but life really is full of surprises, isn't it?

Salvatore Moreau

Salvatore is SO concerned...

You're really young, left alone, with an obvious physical difference that can be spotted a mile away. Someone could target you very easily, and despite your wings he doesn't know if you could safely defend yourself. He really wants to help you out, but uh...

Kids are consistently terrified of him? He doesn't know if you would accept his help or run away screaming.

...but your clothes are so ratty, and it's so cold outside...

Moreau decides to sneakily leave you some cheese and a spare scarf on a rock in plain view. When he sees you put the scarf on and absolutely DEVOUR the piece of cheese, it steals his resolve.

He winds up leaving you a small trail of cheese pieces that lead to his home, and sets up a small separate nest like area for you. It's entirely enclosed, warm and far enough away from his room that he hopes it won't spook you. This will work great!

Little does he know, that you were only a few paces behind him the entire time, and when he finally finished with the setup, he turned around to find you hovering in the doorway, expression blank as always, and mouth full of cheese.

Moreau screamed

You seem happy enough with the new setup, though, and begin to follow Moreau around like a baby duck.

Dr. Moreau Time: He does give you the occasional exam to test your reflexes. He's worried a little bit about the composition of your wings--Mercury is a chemical that is known to cause madness and nerve damage with extended exposure, especially in young children.

He wants to ensure that you're safe from harm, both physical and mental!

One night, many weeks later, when you two are seated side by side watching a movie, you flop into his side with a small smile on your face, and fall asleep. Moreau tries not to wake you up with his overwhelmed sobbing.

Karl Heisenberg

Hello?? Child?? Why are you here???

Karl doesn't quite know what to do with you, at first. He's not bad with kids, per se, but it's suspicious for him that you just so happen to have a variant of his metal powers and were found wandering around outside the Factory.

He suspects Mother Miranda immediately--are you a spy? Another one of her victims? He doesn't know, and until he does you will be fed, clothed, and kept at arm's length.

Once he confirms your lack of involvement in her schemes, he engages with you a lot more.

Initially, just kind of baffled by the fact you don't emote, but upon further thought he totally gets it. Emotions suck, man. You don't gotta express more than you have to around him, he's cool with it.

He's more used to being a Fun Uncle rather than a dad (he's totally helped Alcina's daughters sneak out and cause mischief before this), so he only vaguely knows that you should probably have a bedtime, regular meals, and a social circle? He'll halfheartedly try to enforce stuff, but if you push back at all he just let's it go.

He, uh, will also let you help him mess around with corpses for the soldats? Definitely not age appropriate, but still, he wants to share his passion with you and teach you a little bit about metalwork.

One day, he does a little metal bending trick in front of you and makes you a flower, just to show off. Your eyes just LIGHT UP and the tiniest little smile shows up on your face, and when you reach your hands out to grab it--

Something deep in his chest just seized up all of a sudden. Shit, that's cute.

Shit, does that mean he's attached??? FUCK, WHEN DID HE GET ATTACHED??

[smilexcaptainx]

Final Exam

Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader

Request: Could do an imagine with Peter Parker where the reader is overworking herself trying to study for an exam. Peter invites her to do things, but she always refuses because she feels like she needs to keep studying. Peter decides to get together with The Avengers and plan a little fun activity to trick her into doing so she can finally learn to have some fun. Thanks!

Warning(s): None

A/N: I hope you enjoy!

Word Count: 869

masterlist

When you first met Peter, you knew you two would be best friends. You two were the dynamic duo. You were so intimately close to him, he shared his biggest secret to you. You always thought Peter was heroic, but when you discovered that he was an actual superhero, it was awesome.

Peter always claimed that you were a great escape from his superhero schedule. Whenever you two were together, it was as if he was a normal teenage boy. What you weren't aware of though was that he had a major crush on you. He thought you didn't know, but knowing Peter, he's pretty bad at hiding things.

You knew that Peter liked you, and the feelings were mutual, but you just didn't know how to express it the correct way. Currently, it was finals week at Midtown High School and you were overwhelmed with the textbooks, papers and relearning everything from the very beginning of the year.

Peter claimed that you knew what to do. You've been studying for the final exam ever since the beginning of the year. Yet, you still felt like you couldn't do it. You didn't feel prepared. Peter has been your study partner for the past study dates, and even he believed that you were going to ace the exam.

It was difficult for you to convince yourself that you were going to do well. On the days that you didn't study with Peter, you would study alone in your bedroom. Peter was concerned because he didn't want you to overwork yourself. He has seen you when you overwork yourself before, and he hated seeing you so run down.

Peter decided to visit you in your bedroom this morning, and no surprise, Peter found you on your bed with papers scattered all around you.

"Y/N, I have two tickets to go see Volunteer Of Stardust tonight at the movie theaters," Peter announced, waving the tickets in the air. He sighed as he didn't see you look up. "Come on Y/N. We've been wanting to see this movie ever since it got released."

"I know Pete, but I have things to do," You commented, swinging your eyes up to see his disappointed face. "I'm sorry but maybe we can see it next week. You can get Ned to go with you. I'm sure he'll want to go."

"I don't want to go with Ned," Peter claimed. "I want to go see the movie with you Y/N."

"That's sweet but—"

"When will you take a break?"

"After I take the exam."

"Whatever," Peter sighed, opening your bedroom door back open. "I'll be at my place if you need me."

Peter slammed the door behind him, giving you the impression that he was mad. You stared at the door, wondering if you needed to catch him before he left. You looked back at your stuff. You had to admit, you have been studying for a long time. The movie was something that you wanted to go see with Peter for a long time.

You huffed in defeat as you closed your laptop and move the papers aside as you slid off of your bed. Luckily for you, Peter's place was in walking length from your home. You left your bedroom and went outside to see if his car was still present. As you turned the corner to the driveway, you were immediately pelted by a nerf dart.

"What the—"

"GET HER!!!"

You shrieked in fear as you felt what felt like a thousand nerf darts hit you. You soon felt a tap on your shoulder. You turned to see Peter holding two nerf guns.

"Here take one!" Peter shouted, tossing you a nerf gun. Surprisingly, you caught it. "Let's destroy them!"

You cocked the gun with a smile. You had forgotten how much you loved nerf gun fighting with Peter was. You ran to take cover from the darts. You kept peeking out of the bush and started shooting everyone else, except for Peter. The people that you hit dramatically fell to the ground and acted like they were out.

After a while, it was down to only you and Peter. You got out of your spot and saw him slowly walking up to you. His gun was facing you, so you pointed yours at him.

"There can only be one Y/N," Peter called out, gripping tighter onto his gun. "And it's going to be me."

You shot the first dart but Peter was quick and dodged it. He ended up shooting his shot and got you straight in the face. As the dart fell to the ground, you groaned in frustration. You dropped the gun and Peter just laughed. He put his gun down and walked up to you.

"I win."

"Yeah yeah I know," You replied with a smile. "That was fun though. Thanks Peter."

"You know what else would be fun?" Peter asked, slowly making his two tickets visible again. You rolled your eyes with a grin. "Volunteer of Stardust?"

"I'm down. Let's do it Peter."

"YES!" Peter screeched in joy, engulfing you in a tight hug. You laughed as he picked you up off the ground. "WOOHOO!!!"

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

Feedback is always welcome!

I do not own this gif.

Credit goes to the owner!

my wattpad

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@altriestowrite

[tobesolonely]

queen anne’s coffee

A/N: hello everyone! I am not D/deaf or Hard of Hearing. However, this was requested more than once I wanted to do my best to provide. In this story, Y/N is a part of the Deaf community. if I have misrepresented the Deaf community in any way or wrote something inaccurate or offensive, then please DO NOT hesitate to let me know (respectfully, of course!) i wanted to fulfill this person’s request and be as inclusive as i could, as i don’t typically see stories with a Deaf!reader. shes short and sweet but i hope you all enjoy anyway! as always, feedback is very much welcomed and appreciated! :)

Summary: Y/N visits Harry’s coffee shop every Tuesday and Thursday and always orders the same thing. Harry HAS to get to know her!!!

word count: ~1.7k

my ko-fi! thank you :)

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

Every Tuesday and Thursday at exactly 3:50 PM, Y/N placed an online order that consisted of an iced chai tea latte with oat milk and a butter croissant from Harry’s coffee shop, Queen Anne’s Coffee.

Y/N never forgot to add, “warmed up pls! thank you :)” in the section for comments, and she always tipped. She would then come into Harry’s shop approximately ten minutes later, walk up to the ‘pickup’ counter, grab her items, smile at Harry, and promptly leave. Harry never even so much as said hello to her, but he was irrevocably captivated––even if she was a complete stranger.

Harry decided that when Y/N came in today for her usual, he’d finally talk to her.

Business had been unusually slow for a Thursday afternoon but Harry didn’t mind–when Y/N came in, he’d be able to have a proper chat with her without having to rush the conversation along to help other customers. His gaze kept floating up to the cat-shaped clock hanging above the door, anxiously awaiting 3:50 PM when Y/N’s order would come through on the iPad and he got to read the words, “warmed up pls! thank you :)”

Harry didn’t know why he was so nervous to speak to her. As the owner of his very own coffee shop (and it’s only employee), he got to know the people who came in regularly well, even developing genuine friendships with some. It bothered Harry that this beautiful person gave him business two days a week and the only thing he knew about her was her name, which is only because he can see it when she places her order online.

When the iPad Harry keeps plugged up atop the counter chimes, he doesn’t even have to glance at it to know it was Y/N but he does anyway, feelings of excitement bubbling in the pit of his stomach. He was finally going to talk to her! Harry contemplates scribbling his number on the side of her cup as he’s writing her name but decides against it, not wanting to be too forward before they even formally meet.

When Y/N comes in ten minutes later, Harry can immediately sense something is wrong. She hardly looks up once as she shuffles from the door to the counter, hoodie pulled up and drawn tight over her head.

“Are you okay?”

Y/N doesn’t look up or even acknowledge the fact that Harry spoke. Even though there’s only two other people in the shop besides them, Harry figures she might think he was talking to someone else and addresses her by name.

“Y/N?”

She still doesn’t address Harry as she gives him a small smile before hurriedly exiting the shop, the bell above the door signaling her exit.

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

When Tuesday comes, Harry’s out of bed before his alarm jolts him from his dreams.

He thought about Y/N all weekend as he impatiently awaited Tuesday’s arrival, excited over the prospect of finally seeing her again. He hoped she was doing better today than she was last week, and he really hoped she was in the mood to chat with him today.

Harry’s grateful the shop is busy today. It helps to keep his mind off of Y/N, and his eyes off the clock. When the iPad chimes at 3:50 on the dot, Harry decides he’ll wait until she comes in to prepare her order. It didn’t take him over two minutes, anyway. He figures this will give him a bit more time to chat with her, at least say hello and see if she’s doing better.

Much to his pleasure, Y/N has a big smile on her face when she bursts through the door ten minutes later. She floats to the pickup counter, then furrows her eyebrows in confusion as she looks up at Harry.

“Sorry, I’m working on your order right now,” Harry grabs a purple marker off the counter, scribbling Y/N’s name on the cup used for iced drinks. “How’s your day so far?”

Harry watches as Y/N cocks her head to the side in confusion, then pulls her phone out of the back pocket of her jeans. She quickly types something before holding her phone out for Harry to take.

“I can’t hear you! I’m Deaf.”

A look of realization floods Harry’s face as he reads what she said. He now understood why Y/N didn’t answer him when he tried speaking to her last week, and he’s secretly relieved that she wasn’t ignoring him because she hated him or anything like that.

“I know a bit of sign!” Harry types before handing Y/N back her phone. He watches as her eyes skim his words and she looks up, a toothy grin plastered on her face.

“Great! This is much faster.” Her hands move quickly as she signs. “Did my order work or not? Wi-Fi is bad at home today.”

Harry realizes he doesn’t know as much sign language as he thought he did.

“OK. I am rusty.”

Y/N smiles at this and pulls her phone back out, typing what she just signed to him before passing it back to him. A look of realization floods Harry’s face as he learns she was just asking if her order came through alright, seeing as it was not yet ready. Too embarrassed to tell her he intentionally waited until she arrived to prepare her order, he just nods.

“I’ll have it ready in no more than two minutes… and refund you, too. I’m sorry for the wait.” Harry looks up at Y/N as he passes the phone to her, eyes not leaving her face as he tries to gauge her reaction.

“No!” Her head shakes as she signs. “Happy to pay. Thank you.”

Harry understands Y/N but refunds her, anyway.

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

“Why do you always come Tuesday and Thursday? Same time?”

“Exams every Tuesday and Thursday.” The look of obvious dissatisfaction on Y/N’s face makes Harry laugh. “Your chai and pastries cheer me up after.”

Harry’s face turns red at Y/N’s admittance, so he instead looks down, pretending he’s distracted by something on the iPad. He decides at that moment that he will no longer charge Y/N for her oat milk latte and croissant. She was a college student after all––if her financial situation was like Harry’s in any way when he was in college earning his business degree, it would probably be beneficial for her to save her money, anyhow.

Ever since Harry and Y/N’s first real interaction, Y/N had been coming into Queen Anne’s nearly every day, school supplies and laptop in tow. She always sat at the table closest to the front counter, directly in Harry’s line of vision so they could sign to each other.

Y/N provided Harry with some much needed (and enjoyed) company when business was slow, and she was helping him brush up on his sign language. Harry learned that Y/N is Deaf; her hearing is completely gone in her left ear and almost completely gone in the right. She’s the only person in her family who is Deaf. She also hated eggs, is lactose intolerant (hence the oat milk), has two older siblings, is a master’s student, and a plethora of other things that Harry had committed to memory.

“Thank you. I’m glad you enjoy.”  

“Who is A-N-N-E?”

Harry grins. “My mother. Back in London.”

Y/N’s eyes widen. “London? Amazing! You must have an accent.”

It dawns on Harry that Y/N has never heard his voice before. “Yes. Are you from here?” Y/N nods in response.

“Whole life. Small town, but it’s home.” Her pinched hand moves quickly from her mouth up to her ear.

“Sorry. What?”

“H-O-M-E.”

A look of realization floods Harry’s face as he nods in response, signaling for Y/N to give him a moment as the bell above the entrance jingles. It seems as if the few people who walk through the door act as a catalyst for others to enter, and soon Queen Anne’s is at maximum occupancy and Harry is trying to make several drinks at once while taking orders. He locks eyes with Y/N a few times and she gives him a sympathetic look, not able to do much to help him out.

Harry decides that once business dies back down, he’ll find out if Y/N is interested in a part-time job.

⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

Y/N was interested in a part-time job.

She was a fast learner and a hard worker. Harry was more than delighted to show her how to make every drink on the menu, and consume her failed attempts. It was nice having someone else behind the counter with him––he wished he’d gone about hiring someone to help him much sooner, but he was glad to now have Y/N by his side.

“So much chai! I thought only I drank this stuff.”

Harry’s gaze lingers on Y/N for a beat too long, causing her to shift slightly. Harry’s hand moves to scratch the back of his neck. “Yes. I like chai. With milk.” His hand forms a ‘C’ then closes to form an ‘S’ twice for the word “milk”.

“Regular?” One of Y/N’s eyebrows raises as she asks her question, setting a hot chai latte atop the “pickup” counter.

“S-O-Y.”

Y/N lets out a quiet snort of laughter as she shakes her head. It was the first time Harry ever made her laugh out loud. After hearing her laugh once, he never wanted to stop––it was music to his ears. “Not surprised!”

Harry’s eyes crinkle at the corners. “Why?” His eyes remain on Y/N as she walks around the small area, cleaning up a small coffee spill she had earlier.

“You just are a S-O-Y boy, H. My S-O-Y boy!”

Harry’s cheeks immediately turn pink as they did the first time Y/N said something that flustered him, but he doesn’t look away.

“You’re my O-A-T girl.”

⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

Thank you everyone for reading!!! This is only the beginning of Y/N and Harry I think <33

[mrkcore]

𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐎𝐍 - 𝐡.𝐫𝐣

𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: huang renjun x reader

𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬: fairy(faerie)!renjun, human!reader, academia aesthetic, royalcore, medieval setting

𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬: you meet renjun one night. from that time on, you wait patiently for him every night.

𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: fluff, angst

𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠(𝐬): none

𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 2k

𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨: talking to the moon - bruno mars

𝐚/𝐧: renjun fic because it’s his bday :3 (i researched a lot about faeries and fairies, but none of them fit the concept i planned, so i kinda just merged some stuff i saw, so this probably isn’t the most accurate, and it is fiction so yeah) i tried to be a lot more descriptive in this one (cuz i’m really bad at that), so pls gimme feedback that would really be appreciated tyvm <3

a part of @nakamotocore​​‘s cliffhanger collab!

(comment here to be added to the taglist!)

another day has come to the end. you’re finally back in your room, sitting at your desk, trying to finish the work you didn’t finish from your classes.

you sigh. even after lighting all of the candles in your room, you’re still feeling unmotivated to continue your language work.

so you pull up your mythology textbook, and take a sneak peek at tomorrow’s topic: fairies.

“fairy, also spelled faerie or faery, a mythical being of folklore and romance usually having magic powers and dwelling on earth in close relationship with humans. it can appear as a dwarf creature typically having green clothes and hair, living underground or in stone heaps, and characteristically exercising magic powers to benevolent ends; as a diminutive sprite commonly in the shape of a delicate, beautiful, ageless winged creature dressed in diaphanous white clothing, inhabiting fairyland, but making usually well-intentioned intervention in personal human affairs; or as a tiny, mischievous, and protective creature generally associated with a household hearth.”

reading on, you’re slowly feeling your eyes droop, tiredness flooding your system. before you know it, your eyes close and bring you to a quiet slumber.

something is tickling your nose, and more is tickling your arm as well. 

did you forget to close your window? or is it the dust from your shelves coming to haunt you for not dusting them for over a month?

you get up drowsily, trying to find the source of the disruption.

your candles are still lit, but it’s still dark outside, so it’s probably not morning yet. you turn around to grab the shawl you discarded on your bed, and put it on.

you reach out to close your window, but to your surprise, there’s a boy. sitting on the ledge of your window. 

and he has wings, sparkling transparent wings.

you’re in awe. from this angle, the moonlight shines just right for his beautiful wings to glisten as they flutter. 

you don’t realize, but you’re slowly walking towards him. your body gravitating towards the strange but stunning creature. 

he hears the floorboard creaking underneath your feet, and turns around to look at you.

you’re shocked by his appearance. 

he’s heavenly. his round, gentle doe eyes are iridescent, sparking while he’s staring at you. dainty, plump, parted lips, and a button nose. you’ve never seen anyone’s features as pretty as his. 

“oh, you are awake now.” his mouth turns upwards into a smile. you’re baffled. “i hope i was not the cause that woke you, how did you rest?”

the creature turns around and flies right next to you. you instinctively sit down on your bed, and he follows suit. 

“i-, i slept well?” you answered hesitantly. you check your watch discreetly, displaying the time, 1:35 am. the boy–or being, sitting besides you catches the action, and leans in to view the interesting gadget. 

he scares you a little bit, and you quickly scramble to put it back into your pocket. he looks at you with great curiosity.

you wonder if he’s ever been in contact with humans before.

“so uh, what is your name?” you try to strike up a conversation now that you know he is able to speak. 

“i do not really have one, but you can call me renjun.” he beams. “and you? what should i call a beautiful lady like yourself?”

you’re blushing with how polite, charming, and poised he is.

“my name is y/n.”

and that’s where it all began. 

renjun came to your window every night when the moon comes at its brightest. it became part of your routine, and thankfully you didn’t have a roommate, so you stay up every night just talking to him.

for some reason, your lack of sleep did not affect you as much as you thought it would. the headmaster, teachers, maids, they always told students to get a full night’s rest so you’d be at your fullest learning capacity. but you’ve never felt better. you never asked what renjun was, it never came up during your late night discussions. you knew from his appearance that he was somewhat like a fairy, but you never asked him about anything, even though you were always curious. 

renjun’s sudden arrival into your life made you feel so bubbly and warm every single day. all of the girls in your class have noticed, so has your homeroom professor. 

“y/n! y/n!” they called to you during lunch break the day after your first encounter with renjun. “you seem so happy today even though we had an exam, what are you smiling so brightly about?”

you wanted to keep him as your little secret. so you just smugly smirked at them.

“none of your business.” you bite back before turning around to walk away.

they all squealed. 

“it’s a boy!”

“definitely a boy.”

“nothing else would be as exciting!”

whispers went around the classroom, and the girls were happily gossiping amongst themselves. your teacher even giggled a bit when she thought the class wasn’t looking. your classmates ask every single day, but you don’t cave. still pleased with the spectacle you’ve stirred up.

but it’s true, you’ve been much happier. strolling the school grounds with a skip in your step, a cheerful mood during class every day, and finishing your homework (renjun insists you do it before he visits so you are free to talk).

you’re so excited for your late night chats with him that you rush to your room to finish your work for the day. surprising all of your teachers of your newfound burst of productiveness.

you feel over the moon.

until he disappeared.

renjun stopped showing up at your window one day, out of the blue. no explanation, no nothing. it’s not like you had any other form of communication with him. so he completely went off the grid. leaving you by yourself.

for the first week, you didn’t accept that he just left. so like usual, you patiently waited for his arrival with the moon shining brightly.

but he never came. for weeks and weeks, you’d wait to no avail of his presence. 

you know he’s somewhere out there. somewhere far away. you want him back. 

your neighbours think you’re crazy. 

sitting at your open window, staring at the moon, and barely getting any sleep.

but they don’t understand. 

no one had ever listened to you as attentively as he did. no one cared to listen to you talk about your hopes and dreams, how your day went, what colour you found the prettiest (if you were wondering, it is green, renjun’s wings are a pretty light green), what pastries you enjoyed stuffing yourself with, your comfort book, no one. 

he’s all you have.

so like a hopeless, smitten, lovestruck girl, you sat quietly with the cold breeze blowing into your room at night from your window.

weeks go by, and you’re still waiting for his visits. at night, when the stars light up your room, you sit by yourself, talking to the moon. trying to get to him, in hopes he’s on the other side, talking to you too.

you’re feeling like you’re famous, the talk of the town.

your bright spirit you had before was gone, and you kept your head down at day. 

everyone was talking about how you got dumped, or got your heart broken by the boy you were head-over-heels for. they say you’ve gone mad; yeah, you’ve gone mad.

but they don’t know what you know.

‘cause when the sun goes down, someone’s talking back.

around 3 months later, you’re sitting at your desk, finishing work. you look up, and suddenly, the moon starts lighting up brighter, flashing.

you’re in disbelief, did the moon just, blink at you? 

then, a shadow of a figure with wings appears, and waves at you. 

that familiar figure, renjun.

was this renjun reassuring you that he hasn’t abandoned you? 

this ignites that spark inside of you. not thinking rationally anymore, no longer somber, you instantly get up to scramble to the window to sit down.

while you’re speaking, the moon blinks, as if he’s talking back.

so again, at night, when the stars light up your room, you sit by yourself, talking to the moon. trying to get to him.

until that stops too. 

the moon stops responding to you. no signs of anyone, and the moon looks more dull than before.

you wonder to yourself, “am i a fool, who sits alone, talking to the moon?”

you still stay up to mindlessly talk to the moon, in hopes he’s on the other side, talking to you too. does he ever hear you calling? ‘cause every night, you’re talking to the moon, still trying to get to him.

then, one night, you fall asleep again. 

trying to study for your project, your mythology textbook is still open. you don’t mean to, but school has been tiring, and you couldn’t help it.

but you wake up to the familiar tingling sensation on your arm. you open your eyes, and see renjun’s gaze on you. head rested on his hands, with his arms on your desk.

is this a dream? you feel faint. is this really happening? was he really in front of you? 

your eyes roam renjun’s face desperately. his eyes, his hair, his moles, his nose, those kissable lips. all the same like you remember.

“you’re awake.” he says. “i’m sorry i was gone for so long, i had some complications and was unable to travel.” 

renjun smiles, apologetically.

“i’ve missed you, sweetheart. how have you been?” 

your eyes zoom in on his lips.

“kiss me.” you blurt out before you can stop yourself. renjun seems surprised as well.

“sweetheart, are you sure you want th–” 

before he even finishes, you crash your lips onto his. 

they’re as soft as you imagined. his lips taste sweet, like the nectar of the beautiful flowers in your school gardens. 

he deepens the kiss, and you let him. feeling over the moon.

when the both of you pull away, things go back to normal. renjun is diligently listening to your rambles, and you’ve never felt better.

when the moon starts to disappear, you realize it’s time for him to go.

“you should probably go home.” you said, sadly. “you said you had some important things to do, so i must not distract you from your work.”

“oh sweetheart,” renjun chuckles. “but i’m already home.” he says with a eerie smile that makes you stop.

“pardon me?” you reply, slightly terrified by his change in tone.

“you heard me little human,” he licks his lips menacingly. you flinch when his hand travels up to your face to caress your cheek. “i’m already home.”

tears are flooding your eyes as renjun’s fingers grow longer into claws and he wraps them around your airway.

“you humans think you can just come into our homes and destroy our land, families, our lives.” he growls. “YOU TOOK EVERYTHING AWAY FROM US.” 

renjun screams, his hand forcing you to look at him. his eyes are no longer the soft doe ones you knew, filled with rage and hurt as he poured his emotions onto you.

“now we’re taking it back.” he snickers. “this stupid building you built upon our old home, it will be gone.”

his hand squeezes tighter on your neck and you’re quickly losing consciousness.

“and we’re starting with you.” renjun taunts, his normal hand coming up to your face to caress it again. 

“it’s a shame thought,” he shrugs, seemingly defeated. “i kinda liked you.”

he drops you on the floor, and you’re gone. 

tears still flowing out of your eyes as renjun walks out of your room.

“unlike the fairies, faeries are considered to be evil, horrid, and mischievous creatures. the faeries are evil, unfriendly, and cruel spirits. the faeries are a bit dangerous also. humanity destroying most of their lives, they seek revenge to take back what once was theirs.”

©mrkcore, 2021.

[cocobeanncteez]

ATEEZ Wooyoung- School President (Oneshot)

Genre: light angst, suggestive/steamy, high school au.

Pairing: SchoolPresident!Wooyoung x badgirl!reader

Warnings: none.

"Miss L/N, detention after school till 4 p.m." your chemistry teacher said, making you mentally groan. It was the last class of the day and you were dying to go home, but now you had to stay for an extra hour. All your classmates turned to look at you, but they weren't surprised. "You still haven't submitted the assignment."

"Can I just submit it tomorrow?" you asked in a bored tone.

"No, you were supposed to submit it a week ago," she said, gathering her stuff to leave the class. "Detention with Mrs. Hwang today." You heard people around you snicker. Well, fuck. Mrs. Hwang was the strictest teacher in school. Even you were scared of her despite your badass attitude.

You got up from your seat, leaving the classroom with an annoyed expression on your face.

"Detention again, Y/N?" your bestfriend asked as she made her way to you with your other friends.

You rolled your eyes. "Ms. Jang will never fucking let me live in peace. I'll see you guys tomorrow," you said, making your way to detention.

You were surprised to find the room empty. Usually, there would always be about three or five students. Since no one was here, you decided to ditch; you would skip school the next day so that your teachers will forget about it. You turned around to leave, but ended up bumping into someone, slightly startling yourself.

"What are you doing here?" you asked, raising an eyebrow at your school president and heartthrob—also called 'senior's eye candy' at your school—Jung Wooyoung.

You had to admit, he was certainly the most handsome guy you've ever seen. Jung Wooyoung was absolutely perfect. Every girl wanted him and every guy wanted to be him. You were sure half your school tried to hit on him despite the fact that he has a girlfriend.

"Unfortunately, I'm here to make sure that you won't escape detention as Mrs. Hwang is busy, so take a seat," he said, moving around you to sit on a chair and taking a notebook out of his bag.

You always found Jung Wooyoung very interesting. Other guys like him—the nerdy ones—can't even talk to you, let alone look you in the eye. Jung Wooyoung was the complete opposite.

You sat on one of the chairs, immediately taking your phone out.

"You can't use your phone here," Wooyoung said, not looking up at you from his notebook. "Why don't you complete your assignment?"

You scoffed. "And if I don't? What are you gonna do about it?"

"Nothing," he said, looking at you. "It's not affecting me in any way, so I don't care. However, Ms. Jang is gonna fail you again if you don't submit your assignment."

You knew he was right. And that annoyed you; you really just wanted to shut his pretty mouth up.

"Whatever," you mumbled, taking out a notebook and the assignment sheet to start working on the reactions you had to write.

However, you were completely blank. You didn't know or understand a word given on the sheet. You bit your lip as you stared at the sheet, wondering what to do.

Finally, you took out your phone and googled all the reactions, easily finishing the assignment in less than half an hour.

"You know, you won't be able to copy during finals," Wooyoung said, closing his notebook. "Even if you're copying now, at least learn what you've copied."

"I didn't ask for your comments," you retort. He was about to say something, but his phone rang.

"Hey, baby," he answered. " . . . I'm in charge of detention today . . . Oh, that's okay," his face fell slightly. " . . . No, it's alright. We can go some other day . . . Hmm, I love you too. Bye!"

You snorted, feeling bad for the boy. You were surprised someone as smart as him hasn't figured out that his girlfriend has been cheating on him. You've seen his girlfriend shoving her tongue down random people in the club, and hitting on people at your school. You remembered how shocked you were when you first found out that she was cheating on him; because why would anyone cheat on someone as perfect as Jung Wooyoung?

"You can leave now," Wooyoung said, getting up from his seat. "Detention is over." You nodded, leaving as fast as you can, just wanting to go home and sleep.

"Your grades aren't very bad, but they aren't great either, Y/N," your class teacher said. "You'll get into an average college with these grades. But I know you can do much better. So I've asked one of the prefects to tutor you in Chemistry and Physics."

You groaned. "Can I do it by myself?"

"You wouldn't do it by yourself," she said. "Anyway, Jung Wooyoung will be tutoring you. Discuss and decide your timings with him. I expect you to score well on the next exam. I do not want to see you fail in any subject again." Before you could say anything, the door to the staff room opened, revealing none other than Jung Wooyoung. "Ah, Wooyoung, I just told Y/N that you will be tutoring her," she said. "I'm expecting you to do a great job."

Wooyoung smiled. "I won't let you down, Mrs. Park. But Y/N must put in efforts or else there's no point," he stated in a polite tone, and you rolled your eyes.

"Yes, that's true," she turned to look at you. "I'm expecting nothing but your best efforts, Y/N." She's always expecting something, huh, you thought. You only smiled, bowing politely.

"I'll do my best."

-

"What the actual fuck is this?" you mumbled, staring at the lengthy derivation written in Wooyoung's notebook. He rolled his eyes, so tired of hearing you say that to literally everything you saw written in his notebook.

"Ah, why did they have to make me tutor you of all people?" he whined. "You clearly haven't paid attention in class for even half a second."

"No one told you to accept it," you said, ignoring his last comment.

"I had to," he scoffed, stretching his arms out, making you glance at the veins on his arms. "Extra credits, you know?"

"Nerd," you muttered under your breath. He heard you, but didn't say anything. He began teaching you how to derive it; you paid attention for the first few seconds before zoning out. When you zoned back in, he asked you to explain what he just explained. You bit your lip, thinking of what to say.

He sighed. "You didn't pay attention again."

"I zoned out, sorry."

"That's what you said for the previous derivation," he said, a disappointed look on his face while he packed up his things.

"You're leaving already?" you asked, glancing at the time on your phone; you still had twenty minutes left.

"I'm not going to waste my time teaching you right now," he said. "You clearly aren't in the mood to focus." You only scoffed, watching him leave the library. You bit your lip, feeling kinda bad for not paying attention when he was making an effort to teach you.

The look of disappointment he showed you had somehow made you determined to prove that you could focus and do better.

You were at Wooyoung's house, sitting on his bed and scrolling through your social media while waiting for him to finish changing out of his uniform. You spent an entire two weeks studying your ass off, and you were proud you made a big improvement, thanks to Wooyoung. He was quite surprised that you were actually making an effort to understand whatever he taught you. You both even became friends, and you were quite happy about that.

"I'm done," he said, coming out of his bathroom, making you look up from your phone. You held your breath at the sight of Wooyoung dressed in grey sweatpants and a black tank top. You couldn't stop yourself from checking him out: the veins running down his muscled arms, his exposed collarbones, his sharp jawline, his plump lips . . .

You were so immersed into checking him out, you didn't realize he was doing the same to you. He loved how your uniform skirt rid up your thighs, and how another two buttons on your shirt were unbuttoned, exposing a little bit of your cleavage. Before you knew it, he was slowly making his way towards you, eyes now locked with yours.

"Let's start, hmm?" he said with a smirk; he knew you were checking him out.

You clear your throat a little. "Yeah, let's start."

You spent the next half an hour trying to pay attention to whatever Wooyoung was teaching you. It didn't help that he absentmindedly placed his hand on your knee, or brushed your hand with his; he knew exactly what he was doing to you. Your mind kept wandering to the things you want him to do to you right now on his bed.

" . . . and now you should tell me," he leaned a little close to you with a smirk, making your heartbeat speed up. "Which formula should be used?"

"Fuck this," you muttered, pushing the books aside before straddling Wooyoung's lap.

"Took you long enough," he chuckled, and you crashed your lips on his. He instantly kissed you back, hands moving to grip your waist. You wouldn't admit it to anyone, but you have been dreaming about kissing Wooyoung the second he talked back to you a year ago.

You pulled away to litter his neck in kisses, sucking the skin gently. He groaned softly, making you smirk. "Fan of neck kisses?"

"You have no idea," he said, hands moving underneath your skirt to grip your bare inner thighs. He gave it a squeeze, making you involuntarily grind down on him. He moaned at the feeling, encouraging you to do it again. You moved your lips back to his, grinding on him even more. Wooyoung's hands slipped into your panties, grabbing your ass to help you grind down on him faster. The friction made you moan, craving for more. You tugged on his shirt, breaking the kiss to let him pull it off. You ran your hand down his toned torso in awe, loving the feeling of his abs beneath your fingertips. Your eyes widened at the tattoo above his hip bone. "You have a tattoo?!"

Wooyoung gripped your hips, moving you off of him so that he could hover over you. "Mhmm, bet you never expected the nerdy school president to have a tattoo, huh?" Your hands moved to his hair, playing it with while he began to kiss your neck, driving you crazy.

Wooyoung kissed down your chest till where your shirt was unbuttoned. He glanced up at you, fingers toying with the buttons. "Can I?" he asked. You nodded, letting him unbutton your shirt and slip it off you. You sucked in a breath when he ran his fingers over the lacy material of your bra.

"Take it off," you whined, making him chuckle.

"Patience, baby," he said, one hand gently rubbing your thigh.

But you really didn't have any patience right now.

You brought his lips to yours while you moved his hand to touch you where you desperately needed him, surprising him a little. He kissed you back hungrily while his finger moved on your clothed clit, applying pressure, making you get wetter. Your moans made him smirk; he loved how he was the reason behind it.

You both got startled at the sudden sound of his garage opening. He halted his movements, pulling away from you instantly.

"One of my parents is back from work," he said, quickly putting on his tank top and handing you your uniform shirt. You quickly buttoned it and straightened out your hair; you really did not want Wooyoung's strict parents to suspect anything since they already did not like the idea of him tutoring you in his final year of high school.

Wooyoung's father knocked on his bedroom door before opening it, finding you and Wooyoung busy writing equations.

"Oh, hey, dad! How was work?" Wooyoung asked with a sweet, innocent smile like as if he wasn't smirking a few minutes ago while touching you.

"Hello, Mr. Jung," you said politely.

"Hello, Y/N," he said. "Work was all right, as usual. How is your tutoring session going?"

"Good, dad," Wooyoung said, trying to control himself from smirking. "It's going really great."

[panharmonium]

@dreamersscape said: 

Part of why I like Shikamaru testing the would-be chunin with Kakashi’s principles so much is that Kakashi living by those words keeps Obito alive through them, right?  And Obito already had those values, but he was verbalizing them in connection to why he believes Sakumo was a hero, so this combined principle that defines who Sakumo, Obito, and Kakashi are, is now going to live on in Naruto, Shikamaru, and the rest of their generation.  And ofc “don’t put the rules above your comrades” is a good way to live regardless of whether any of their names are attached to it…I dunno, is it dumb to just want this to be Kakashi’s legacy over his other prowess/renown? (x)

NO IT IS NOT; I AM RIGHT THERE WITH YOU!  (And I agree with what you said, that this is likely already how he’s going to be remembered - and I’m so grateful for that, because I think we know that there are many things in Kakashi’s life that have brought him renown but that he doesn’t want to be remembered for.  Thinking specifically about that scene where Kakashi takes out an enemy and Yamato makes that comment about “keep this up and you’ll be famous,” and Kakashi is clearly so uncomfortable with that...Kakashi doesn’t want that kind of recognition, the kind you earn from being particularly efficient at killing people.  He doesn’t want to go down in history as “cold-blooded Kakashi” - that was never something he wanted to be known as in the first place.)

Anyway, I was partway through writing the below post when I saw your replies about Kakashi’s family/legacy in relation to the new Chunin exams, and I just went, “we REALLY are having the exact same thoughts about this show” 🤝 so I’m just turning the rest of this post into a response to your comments, because I could not possibly agree with your angle on this topic more, and I knew my response wasn’t going to fit in the replies XD

The thing I kept thinking about when I saw that Shikamaru’s version of the Chunin exams was passing/failing students based on Kakashi’s criteria was that this is a HUGE paradigm shift for the Leaf Village (and for shinobi culture as a whole).  The new exams say that if you abandon a teammate to complete your mission (aka to pass your test), you’ve made the wrong decision.  The mark of a worthy shinobi, in this new framework, is your commitment to choosing people’s lives over the success of your mission.  But to have something like this enshrined into the Chunin exams would have been unthinkable in earlier generations.  When Kakashi’s father made a decision like this, he was breaking the law, and nothing about his choice was considered honorable or worthy or in any way acceptable.  He was blamed for it by the Land of Fire and the Leaf Village, “slandered and vilified” by his peers (even the ones whose lives he saved), and hounded to the point of suicide.  And even as little as four years ago, when Kakashi started working as a Jonin Leader, his philosophy for evaluating genin was still notorious, and his standards were considered to be abnormal (“It’s a good thing we didn’t get that jonin everybody talks about”/“Who does he think he is, making up his own criteria?”).  

But just a few short years later, the script has been completely flipped.  Now you can’t even become a chunin unless you demonstrate your commitment to putting your comrades’ lives first.  And I just keep thinking about how that must feel for Kakashi, to see the systems that punished his father so mercilessly finally start to crumble and fall.  To see a shift in the culture that indoctrinated Itachi and brainwashed Yamato into murdering family and friends, on the pretense that it was necessary for the sake of a mission.  To see the values Kakashi has tried to live by ever since Obito’s death incorporated into the official structures of the shinobi world, when previously they were grounds for vicious persecution.

To have Sakumo’s choices validated and affirmed by the shinobi world’s promotion structure when just a few short years ago those choices were universally reviled and earned Sakumo nothing but shame, hatred, and harassment must be such an emotionally overwhelming experience for his son, who went through his own kind of crucible in the wake of Sakumo’s departure but ultimately came out the other side more committed to his father’s ideals than ever.  To finally see things changing, and for these changes to be the direct result of Kakashi’s own teaching choices - I can’t imagine what that must feel like.  I don’t even think that Kakashi ever expected to see a world that’s progressed this far, to be honest.  He made a decision to embrace his father’s values, yes, but he did so long before they were considered acceptable, long before they were something he could ever expect to be rewarded for.  That’s why Obito told him “no matter what the village or anyone else may say, I think you’re a great jonin” - he knew Kakashi broke the rules to rescue Rin the same way Sakumo broke the rules to rescue his comrades, and he knew it was entirely possible that Kakashi would catch flak for it upon returning home.  In the shinobi world, the mission is absolute, and people who buck the system are branded as traitors.  If the Battle of Kannabi Bridge had gone poorly because of the detour Kakashi and Obito took, Kakashi may not have been welcomed home quite so warmly.  

Kakashi never really expects his choice to be rewarded or respected.  But despite this, and despite the fact that he knows the potential consequences better than anyone, he chooses to stand by his father’s values anyway.  He makes that decision the day he loses Obito, and he never looks back.  No matter how lost he becomes, or how much pain he goes through (I’ve thought this world was hell, too), he never loses sight of this one thing: he’ll never abandon a friend, and he’ll never bow to anyone who tells him that his mission requires him to do so.  That’s true throughout his time in ANBU (if your orders are to kill a friend, then those orders are wrong.  and the one who gave you those orders is wrong!), and it’s true when he becomes a teacher, too.  He persists in his convictions, no matter how unpopular they are, and he teaches them to an entire generation of children, even when people keep giving him the side-eye for failing entire teams of genin year after year.  

He never expects his behavior to make this kind of difference, and he’ll probably never give himself credit for any of the changes that we’re starting to see now, but the only reason these things are happening is because of the choices he made back then.  The new world we’re on the brink of building now is a direct result of Kakashi having taught his students the values that his father and Obito died for.  Kakashi’s teaching is what helps Naruto go from “when I become Hokage, the whole village will have to stop disrespecting me and start treating me like i’m somebody important” to “how could i ever become hokage if i can’t even save one friend/a true hokage never steps over his comrades’ bodies.”  It’s what helps Sakura go from “you obsessed about Sasuke, who was gone, while Naruto was right in front of you and you wouldn’t lift a finger to help him” to a decision to put her feelings for Sasuke aside in order to release Naruto from the promise he made to her, which is killing him.  It’s what helps Sasuke go from "you thought [your teammates] were so far beneath you they were worthless” to “I don’t ever want to see that again - my trusted comrades falling right in front of me,” as he offers to die for them against Gaara.  It’s what helps even Neji Hyuga go from a disdainful “who does he think he is, making up his own criteria” to an affirmation of those same criteria when telling the Hidden Rain ninja “it’s just the Chunin exams.  The safety of our teammate is more important than passing.”  

All of the changes that we’re seeing now are happening because Kakashi was committed to teaching the next generation the lessons he feels are important, contrary to widely-held public opinions and in defiance of the people who made a near-successful attempt at turning him against his own father: We never abandon our friends.  We never sacrifice our comrades.  If your orders are to kill a friend, then those orders are wrong.  We do what’s right, not what we’re told.  

The Hatake clan may not have a hereditary jutsu to be passed down to others, but THIS is their legacy.  This massive sea change in shinobi culture, the hard-fought shift away from a repeat of the tragically sacrificial Sakumos and Itachis and Tenzos of the old shinobi world, the total inversion of Mission > People to People > Mission - all of that started with Kakashi’s father, who died before he could see his work completed, but whose torch was picked up by Obito, and then by Kakashi, who made it his mission to pass on those ideals to the Leaf Village’s children, some of whom are now making policies that affect promotion criteria for the entire shinobi world.  

Just...I’m thinking about Kakashi taking Sakura out to celebrate and to hear all about her test, and I know she won’t even give Shikamaru’s last question a second thought, because to her it’s just natural that they’d be tested on that; Kakashi’s been testing them on that stuff since day one; it doesn’t even occur to her that there’s anything novel or strange or revolutionary about it; it’s just expected and accepted by her entire class that the principle “people are more important than rules” is something all shinobi should understand - when in reality, things have NEVER been like that before, and it’s taken SO much work to get here.  A question like this being included as pass/fail criteria on the Chunin exams would have been unimaginable just a few short years ago.  Kakashi’s father was harassed to his death for answering this question in the exact same way that is now required of anyone who wants to pass the test.  

What an incredible feeling that must be for Kakashi, who worked so hard and endured so much to keep these values alive.  To see how far the world has come - and to know how much of this progress is the result of his own choices, which he never thought would amount to anything so substantial - what a bizarre, beautiful, bittersweet feeling that must be.

[mrsalwayswrite]

To Call Forth Love - Chapter 9

Yay! Next chapter! True confessions, this *sorta* slow burn is killing me....and i’m the one writing it! (sorry not sorry?)

Warnings: some swearing, nothing really, Hvitserk being a good bro?

Words:7100 (I hope these longer chapters make up for the wait)

Tag List: @youbloodymadgenius @evelynshelby @pomegranates-and-blood @deans-ch-ch-cherrypie @heavenly1927 @zuxiezendler @punkrocknpearls @love-all-things-writing @southernbe​

Series Masterlist

The ringing of her phone had Kari dropping the leggings she was folding on her bed to quickly snatch it up. 

 "Albus!"

 The voice on the other end sighed. "You know I hate that nickname."

 Kari laughed, picking the leggings back up to fold. "But it fits you so perfectly."

 "I am not an old wizard."

 "I'll give you that, but you're studious, kind and too wise for someone your age. So close enough."

 "I suppose if I haven't been able to convince you to drop that nickname for the past ten years, I won't be able to now."

 "Nope." She cheerfully said. "So, how are you? Your mother still wreaking havoc in your life?"

 "She set me up on a date last week." He grumbled after a moment's hesitation. 

 In her mind, she could imagine him sitting at his desk with a slight furrow between his brows and lips pursed as he lamented his mother's involvement in his love life. This would not be the first time he complained to Kari about this topic. "Ohhhh? How did that go?" She asked, even if by his tone she could already guess his answer. 

 "I know my mother means well, but the women she thinks I should date…." He trailed off with a forlorn sigh. 

 "Not your type?"

 "No."

 "I'm sorry. You'll find someone and your mother won't be able to help but love them."

 He snorted inelegantly. "I won't hold my breath for that."

 "See, you're so wise." She teased, smiling as she folded a work shirt. "Now, what else is new since last month?"

 The two spent the next hour talking. It had become their tradition after she moved. Hearing the gentle cadence in his voice, his quiet chuckles, it sent a wave of nostalgia washing over her. He was the only person from England she still kept in communication with, the only one who knew where she was. The last string tying her to her prior life. Although she would not have labeled him her best friend, they were certainly close and even more so after she moved. In their monthly conversations, they would chat about anything new in their lives, TV shows watched, books read, his latest exams in university. He always made sure to inform her what he knew about her family. Something she was grateful for but it always felt like a knife to the heart after. 

 As they talked, she finished folding her laundry, a necessary evil in her opinion. Once done with that, she moved on to the package she received in the mail today. It was addressed to her but the sender was a designer name she would never be able to afford in her lifetime. She shook her head, wondering what surprise the youngest Lothbrok had bought for her. 

 Listening to him regale her with the latest family drama of his, she opened the package and had to muffle a gasp at the two dresses that lay inside. The first was an off-the-shoulder, black skater dress that would reach mid-thigh in length. It was a classy and elegant cocktail dress that reminded her of the dress she wore on her and Ivar's "date" but way more sophisticated and stylish. It was the second dress that made her pause and wonder where Ivar thought she would ever wear something like this. It was a deep red evening gown, the hem long enough to trail slightly on the ground. The dress was gorgeous with a tight bodice and slight flair of the skirt. It was the slit in the skirt that touched her upper thigh and the sheer middle of the bodice that made Kari raise her eyebrows. The gown was the perfect blend of chic and sexy. What was Ivar thinking? She would feel so self-conscious and she never went anywhere fancy enough to wear it. Though as she stared at both dresses, she decided it never hurt to admire them on the hanger, even if she never got the chance to wear them. As her friend continued speaking, she hung both dresses up in her closet, making a mental note to talk to Ivar. 

 "It's probably good your brother moved out last year." She commented, tucking her laundry basket away in her closet. 

 "Yeah. He only comes over to the house if he has to." He said with a resigned sigh. After a long moment of silence, he spoke up again. His voice hesitant, almost remorseful, as what had been obviously on the tip of his tongue finally came forth. "Your mother has been talking about trying to find you again."

 Kari froze, her mind shorting out and heart rate skyrocketing as his statement sunk in. "What…. what did she say?"

 "Not much that I overheard." He confessed, sympathy in each word. "How much she misses her only daughter and feels abandoned by you. She has been telling people that you're doing charity work in another country when they ask about you."

 "It's been almost two years… I hoped…" She slumped onto her bed, legs wobbling and mind whirling. 

 "That your mother would forget about you?"

 "I don't know. I just…. I don't know."

 Silence reigned for a moment before he spoke again. 

 "Are you ever coming home?"

 "I…. I don't think that's home anymore."

 "I miss you." He whispered. 

 Tears welled in her eyes. She took a deep breath forcing them back, but knew her shaky voice betrayed her. "I miss you too. Maybe you can come visit me here?"

 "That would blow your cover."

 "Could we meet up somewhere? You take a vacation or something?"

 "I'll consider it…." His voice trailed off, only to come back stronger. "You know, when you wanted help to leave England, I thought it was just a temporary reprieve. I didn't imagine you would stay away."

 It felt like a knife twisted in her gut, because he was right. She had never thought she would be gone this long. "I know…. I just…. I like my life here. I don't…. I don't want to go back to that."

 He sighed as if giving up on convincing her to return. "I understand. I'll always be here for you. I still think of you as one of my closest friends."

 "Same. We've known each other since we were thirteen. A few countries between us isn't going to stop that."

 He chuckled. "Right. Well, I'll still hold you to your promise. If we're both unmarried by thirty-five, we'll have a courthouse wedding to keep our families off our backs."

 "Sounds good." She laughed out, wiping the tears from her eyes. 

 "I have to go. I'll text you about when we can catch up next month."

 "Perfect. Stay safe, Albus."

 "You too, Abs."

 "Ugh! That nickname is worse than yours!" She groaned, hearing a small chuckle on the other end of the phone. "Bye!"

 After hanging up, she stared at her phone for a minute, the smile fading as her mind revisited the conversation. The weight of everything slammed into her, her body no longer able to support her under the strength of her duress. She crumpled onto her bed, curling into a fetal position, tears streaming down her cheeks. It hurt that England no longer felt like home to her, but neither did where she currently lived. What hurt and confused her most, was when she thought of being home- Ivar's face filled her mind's eye. 

 *****

 "Thank you everyone for coming to class today. I'll see you either tomorrow or next week." 

 With the lights still dim, Kari turned off the soothing water music over the speakers in the yoga studio room. The women who had been laying in corpse pose on their mats began to rise and gather up their personal items. A quiet murmur of voices replaced the music in the enclosed room. She waved at a few of the regulars as they left her class. Even if she was not the one doing all the poses, by the end of class she still felt refreshed and rejuvenated. It always brought her joy to see people come in, stressed or anxious, and leave her class with a smile on their faces or just looking less tense. 

 Through the mirrors along the wall at the front of the room, she could see the tall, statuesque blonde making her way over, yoga mat tucked under her arm. 

 "Hey, you doing anything for lunch?" Gyda asked, coming up beside her. Even in leggings and a tight tank top, she looked like someone off the covers of a women's magazine. All Kari could figure was it was in the Lothbrok blood. 

 "Um, working on inventory?"

 "How about instead you come out to lunch with us?" She motioned vaguely towards Torvi, who was gathering up her yoga mat. "We planned on stopping at that new boutique down the strip. So, we can just meet you for lunch when you're done."

 "Really?" The brunette was startled by the offer. Sure, she had gone out with Gyda a few times but never with Torvi too. The three would chat occasionally before or after class and she liked Torvi's no-nonsense attitude. They had flippantly made comments about the three of them going out but to actually hear they wanted her presence both surprised and warmed her heart. "Torvi is okay with this too?"

 Gyda rolled her eyes. "Yes. So…. Yes? No? Don't leave me in suspense."

 "Yeah, I'd love to."

 "Great. Text me when you're done and we'll meet up."

 "It'll be at least half an hour…." 

 Gyda waved her off, her voice growing louder. "That's fine. Torvi takes forever when she browses anyway."

 "Sorry, I like to think through my purchases before I buy something!"

 Kari smiled at Torvi's retort. The other blonde was checking her phone, a smile on her face though as she peered up at her sister-in-law and her yoga instructor. 

 "Are you joining us?" She called over. 

 "Of course, she is!" Gyda replied, before Kari could respond. "But she's only coming if you swear not to share any stories about you and Bjorn's kinky sex life. Nobody wants to hear that."

 Without a word, Torvi gave her the middle finger salute, before looking back down at her phone. 

 Gyda chuckled then turned to raise an eyebrow at the shorter woman. "Unless you're into that kind of stuff…."

 "Oh gods, Gyda! No!" Her face flushed at the thought. 

 "Hey, it's the quiet ones who are the kinkiest. I bet Ivar would like that." She laughed as Kari tried to swat at her. Taking a step back, she pretended to zip her lips. "Don't worry, your secret's safe with me. Text me when you're done! We can meet at the café down the street. " 

 Kari waved at Torvi as the two blondes walked out of the studio room. Quickly, she hurried to finish tidying up. It had been a long time since she felt this excited to go out to eat with some female friends. A handful of times she had gone out with some coworkers or Lydia. In the beginning she was excited when Alana would invite her out with her friends to a club or bar but Kari quickly learned that was not her scene and began making every excuse possible to not be forced out with them. She always felt like an afterthought amongst the group, especially since getting drunk nor sleeping around was not her style. This time, she had high hopes for spending time with Gyda and Torvi. It would be nice to have female friends again. 

 The door to the studio room opened and Lydia popped her head in. "Almost done? You've got a visitor out here and he's causing quite the distraction." She said with a distinct shit-eating grin and wink before ducking back out. 

 "He?" Kari questioned out loud, although her mind suspected who it was. He was the only one who ever visited her. Slipping her phone into the pocket of her maroon leggings, she gave the room one final survey, wanting it to be ready for the next class before she left. With a nod, she headed out, the door swinging shut behind her. 

 In the large open area, she understood what Lydia meant by 'causing quite the distraction'. If she paused for a moment to drink the sight in, no one could possibly know, right? 

 Ivar leaned his shoulder against a wall, arms crossed over his chest with the sleeves of his dress shirt rolled up to display his toned forearms. His dark locks were pulled back loosely in a man-bun, a few tendrils slipped free. Even in jeans, braces and smart-looking leather shoes, he looked quite handsome. With no cane in sight, it must be a good day. 

 Kari noticed more than one pair of eyes lingering on him from around the studio although he did not seem to notice as he stood there talking with Gyda and Torvi in hushed tones. The latter said something that immediately caused Ivar to narrow his eyes at her as he snapped a comment. 

 Even from across the room, Kari could read the tension in his frame and decided to intervene before he caused a scene. Walking over to them, aware of the many sets of eyes upon the group of three, she fixed a smile on her face. Once those intense, blue eyes locked onto her and his posture softened marginally, her smile transitioned into a genuine grin. "Hey, Ivar, what are you doing here?" She asked, coming to stand between him and Gyda. 

 "Do I need a reason to come see you?" He smirked down at her.

 That look released butterflies in her stomach but she ignored them to tease him back. "Usually that's how it works."

 "And if that reason is to fulfill my quota?"

 The blush that rose to her cheeks was so hot, she wondered if you could fry an egg on her face. Immediately, she dropped her chin to her chest, willing the warmth to vanish. 

 "Hmmm…. that blush for me, kattungen?" He shifted closer so his mouth was near her ear, his question asked in such a lecherous tone, Kari felt her core clench. 

 "Shut up." She mumbled, pushing him away. He rocked back on his heels, a smug grin on his face, and an amused chuckle leaving his lips. 

 Gyda patted Kari's shoulder, drawing the brunette's attention upward again. "Text me when you're done. We'll leave you with this grumpy asshole. I'm sure you can think of a way to cheer him up." She winked as she took a step away. 

 For a moment, Kari wished the ground would open up beneath her. Between Gyda's teasing comments and Ivar's blatant remarks and heated looks, Kari's face was going to be permanently red in an endless flush. 

 "Good luck on your trip, Ivar." Torvi called over her shoulder as she followed Gyda. 

 "Oi! Tell Bjorn to keep his big fucking mouth shut!" He yelled after the blondes; the tension returned with Torvi's parting statement. Glaring at the door the two women passed through, he muttered something in a foreign language as he rubbed his hand over his mouth. Briefly, his thoughts seemed to take him elsewhere but he quickly snapped back, blue eyes finding Kari once again. 

 It was only something she had realized lately, but when he looked at her, that consuming and burning gaze landing on her with all the impact of a sledgehammer, it made her feel like the only woman in the room. It was such a cliché thing, something stupid out of a romance novel, but it was the only way she could describe the feeling. When he looked at her like this, nothing else mattered in the room. She had his whole attention, all his focus. It was heady and powerful and terrifying and astounding. The weight of others watching made her skin itch but with his gaze locked on hers, lips tilted up slightly in the hint of a fond smile, she felt in the eye of a hurricane. 

 Her blue-green eyes dropped to his chest, unable to maintain eye contact when it left her feeling so flustered. Tugging on her earlobe, she quietly asked. "What are you doing here? I thought I wasn't seeing you until you picked me up for dinner tonight?"

 "Something came up." Silently, he reached over and grasped her hand, causing her head to jerk up. Intertwining their fingers, he watched her with regret in his eyes. "I have to fly out to Italy in two hours."

 "Oh. Is everything okay?" That was not what she had expected to hear. Her heart plummeted that their dinner would have to be canceled but tried not to let it show. 

 "Is there somewhere we can talk in private?"

 "Um, sure." Emotions flickering between curiosity and concern, she guided him back to the studio room. The weight of eyes lingered as they walked, especially since he refused to release her hand. A brief glance at the front counter, only to see Lydia and Sasha both staring at her with amused and proud smiles, had Kari trying to hurry out of sight with Ivar in tow. 

 Soon as the door shut behind them, hiding them from view, he pulled her against his body, one arm wrapping around her waist, trapping her against him while the other hand gripped the back of her neck. He kissed her passionately, like a man dying of thirst and only she could save him. 

 "Ivar…." She tried to pull away, aware she was at work and anyone could walk in. Instead, he held her tighter, molding her body to his. The drugging kiss that followed had her all but melting against him, knees weak and her resolve disappearing like smoke in the wind. When she opened her mouth, inviting his tongue to dance with hers, the growl that erupted from him was so thready and rough, it called to a primal part of her, making her warm all over and a tightness grow in her belly. 

 It had been two days since they had seen each other and she genuinely missed him. They had been texting during that time, but it was not the same. She missed his presence, his touch, his kisses, his grumpy comments and the way he made her laugh. Even when he annoyed or frustrated her, he still was the color in her otherwise monochromatic world. And with each day that passed, her desire to push him away fractured a little bit more. 

 When their mouths finally unlocked, both panting and lips swollen and red, she was almost shocked the nearby mirrors were not fogged up. Breathless and overwhelmed, she pressed her forehead to his, her arms around his neck. For a minute they stood there peacefully, only the sounds of their ragged breathing and the occasional noise from those outside of the studio room broke through their tranquility. 

 "What's going on, Ivar?"

 "Something with work." 

 "Does this have to do with why you've been so busy?"

 He sighed but when he spoke in a hushed tone, the rage painting each word was undeniable. "Someone on the inside has been selling information about us." She gasped, shocked but when she tried to pull away to look at him, he tugged her back against him, placing his chin on the top of her head. "I think I know who the fucker is."

 "That's why you're going to Italy?"

 "Hmmm."

 "Will you be safe?"

 That made him chuckle, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Are you worried about me?"

 She thought about making a joke, about teasing him about his recklessness. Instead the question knocked the air from her lungs momentarily, because the truth was, she was. What little she had gleaned about his work when he needed to vent, there was still an element of danger to it. She tipped her face up to look at him, her answer a quiet murmur that did nothing to hide the emotion behind her words. "Yes…. I don't know what I'd do if you got hurt."

 The amusement in his eyes drained to be replaced with a softness that made her heart clench. He inhaled sharply and glanced away for a moment. "Fuck, kitten…." When he turned back, he kissed her tenderly, a slow melding of their mouths like the taste of her was a fine wine he wanted to sip on endlessly. There was a promise in his action, just as much as his words when he finally whispered against her lips. "I'll be safe, just meeting with a contact. That's all."

 "Okay, just please be careful." Worry still tainted her, but she trusted Ivar to keep himself safe. He had been doing this job far longer than she had known him. 

 "Don't tell anyone about what I've said. No one else knows."

 "I promise. Not a word."

 "Good girl." He swatted her ass, making her squeak and glare up at him. "I'm going to have Hvitserk check up on you later."

 "That's not necessary." She tried to say. She would hate to be a waste of time for the older Lothbrok. The look he gave her said to not argue with him. "Fine," she dramatically sighed, "maybe him and I will watch movies and cuddle since you're soooo busy. I wonder if he'd think my bed is comfy enough or if the couch is better?"

 "Don't you fucking dare." He growled, gripping her waist in a possessive hold. 

 She just laughed at how easy he was to wind up. It was mean and she knew it. 

 He nipped at her bottom lip. "Keep playing, Kari and I'll have to punish you."

 "I have no idea what you're talking about." She batted her lashes at him, failing to suppress a childish giggle. 

 He rolled his eyes, the twitch of his lips betrayed his amusement. "I need to go." He softly said though he made no move to release her from his arms. 

 With that a wave of worry and fear cascaded over her, it was unfounded she knew, but it still threatened to drag her into its depths. Not giving it a second thought, she raised up on her toes to plant a lingering kiss on his lips. 

 "You're not helping." He muttered, never removing his mouth from hers. 

 "Maybe take the next flight?"

 "Don't tempt me, vixen. I'll lock that door and have my wicked way with you right fucking here until everyone hears you screaming my name."

 Between the image he painted in her mind and his mouth having moved to her pulse point, heated arousal pooled between her legs. She gulped, her mouth suddenly dry and words sticking to her throat.

 He leaned back, a devious smirk on his lips at her obviously flushed face. "No, my priestess," he purred, a filthy, predatory glint in his blue eyes, she could not help but gasp as her knees threatened to buckle under her. "When I finally have you, it'll be somewhere I can both worship you and fuck you all night long without fear of being interrupted."

 She let out a shaky breath. "But, um…. we…. ah."

 "Soon, Vakker, blir du min." He kissed her roughly, as if sealing his words. "I do need to leave. Walk with me." He took her hand, leading her out of the studio room, giving her no choice but to walk beside him. Not that her brain was fully able to make coherent decisions at the moment. 

 As they walked towards the front of the building, she wondered if their make-out session was obvious. Her lips felt red and swollen and a blush still colored her cheeks. A glance at Ivar showed his lips fuller but he appeared so calm and collected it was unfair. 

 "Did you like the dresses?" He asked, breaking her out of her thoughts. 

 "I do. They both are gorgeous, but they're too much. I don't have a reason to dress up that fancy."

 "With me, you will. I'll get you some casual dresses too."

 "Ivar…." She whined. 

 "You need more clothes, Kari."

 "Fine. Not because I want more clothes but because I know you'll buy them for me anyway."

 He winked at her, his tone smug. "I always get my way."

 "You're unbelievable."

 They stopped beside his SUV, parked next to the sidewalk. His driver was already in the driver's seat waiting. Kari made sure to wave at the man, earning a nod back from him. The driver was a huge guy with long, thick locks of white hair and a scar on his face. He intimidated Kari but she tried to ignore that and be friendly. Even if Ivar made fun of her for it. 

 "I should be back tomorrow unless some shit comes up." Ivar stated, opening the back door. 

 "Okay. Be safe."

 "Stop worrying. Shit. I'll be fine." He remarked, sliding into his seat. Before he closed the door, he met her gaze. "I'll text you."

 She smiled in acknowledgment and stepped back, giving him a quick wave as she headed back inside and his SUV started off.  

 Lydia leaned against the front counter with Sasha and Alicia now, all three watching her with expressions ranging from amused to shocked. 

 "Um, I'm going to…. go on my lunch break now." She mumbled and hurried away to grab her purse from the office, the sounds of laughter following her. 

 The stray thought crossed her mind that she would need some new bras if Ivar was set on buying her new clothes. Not that he would see those bras, but it would be good to have…. and maybe some matching panties.

 *****

 Summer was transitioning to fall, cool undertones intermixed with the residual warmth of a September evening. 

 Kari stared at the book in her lap but the words blurred together no matter how many times she reread the same line. She loved reading outside, sitting on the small patio behind the townhouse, especially when none of the neighbors were out. She could pretend it was her own place of solace, being out in nature. The sunlight shined through the line of pine trees separating their row of townhouses from the ones behind them, bird songs mixed with the sound of traffic from the nearby roads. She much preferred this too being stuck indoors. 

 Today though, her mind drifted like the breeze, but it all centered on a conversation she had not even ten minutes ago. If she listened closely, she could hear Alana through the screen door, making her dinner in the kitchen. She knew it was not Alana's fault, but the conversation still felt like a rug had been yanked from underneath the brunette. With everything going so well in her life, of course fate had to throw her a curveball. 

 Now her mind scrambled as what to do next. 

 A sound from her left had her glance over to see Erik stepping out of his back door. A boyish grin lit up his face when he saw her. 

 "Hi, Kari. Beautiful evening, isn't it?"

 "Yeah. It is." She gave a half-hearted smile, watching as he closed the door behind him and stepped closer. 

 "Mind if I join you?"

 She waved a hand at the patio set. "Not at all." Hopefully talking with Erik would be the distraction she needed for the moment, to pull her out of her quagmire of thoughts. 

 Dropping onto the cushioned chair to her left, he ran a hand through his dirty blond hair. In jeans and a t-shirt, he appeared ready to relax for the evening. 

 "What are you reading this time?" He asked curiously. This would not be the first time he had found her outside reading. 

 She reclined on the two-person, cushioned couch, legs up and bent with her open book resting against her thighs, wearing her typical leggings and slouchy shirt. At his question, she flashed him the cover. "The Princess Bride."

 "Isn't that a movie?"

 She pretended to gasp in horror. "Yes, but the book is still a classic."

 He raised his hands in surrender, grin spreading across his face. “If you say. Not really my taste. So how was your day?"

 "Nothing exciting. Yours?"

 "The usual. Customers thinking they could do my job better than me."

 She winced. "I know the feeling."

 They made small talk for some time, talking about work and a documentary he recommended for her to watch. They argued which was the better coffee shop nearby, something they continuously disagreed on. Soon the upsetting conversation with Alana drifted to the back of her mind. It did not take long for her to close her book and set it on the ground so she could be fully invested in the conversation, especially when Erik became so animated about a topic, his hands waving around like a conductor in his enthusiasm. It was an endearing trait of his, but also alerted her to settle in because it meant he would not need much encouragement to keep talking. 

 The opening of the sliding door behind Kari stunted their conversation.

 "Kari, someone is here for you." Alana said sweetly, stepping out onto the patio. 

 Unsure what she meant and since Kari never had visitors except for Ivar, she finally turned around. Only to be met with the view of Hvitserk leaning against the doorframe, a smirk on his lips. Standing there looking quite handsome in a dark navy business suit with a white undershirt, sans tie. Even his hair was nicely pleated back, making him look very professional and attractive. 

 "What are you doing here?" She asked in surprise, wondering if he just got off work. 

 Pushing off the doorframe, he meandered past Alana to approach Kari's side. "I came to check on you." He answered easily then scooped her up like she weighed nothing, making her squeal, and casually resettled them on the couch. Now he sat where she had been with her tucked against his side and his arm behind her. She also noticed how he purposefully put himself between her and Erik but chose not to comment on that. 

 "Ivar sent you, didn't he?" She grumbled, poking Hvitserk in the chest. "I told him it wasn't necessary."

 "Well, you know him." He shrugged, that teasing smirk still adorning his lips. When she tried to poke him again, he snatched her hand and held it hostage, even as she tried to tug it back. Ignoring her, he turned his attention to Erik. "Hey, man. I'm Hvitserk."

 "I'm Erik. I live next door." He responded warily, eyeing up the man as if debating to be friendly or not. 

 "Ah." With that understanding, Hvitserk seemed to give Erik a more assessing look before peering down at Kari. "You eat dinner yet?"

 "Sorta. I'm not too hungry."

 Alana spoke up from leaning against the other chair. "If you're hungry we can order something, Hvitserk. It's not a big deal."

 Kari's head whipped around to stare at her roommate in shock. Never had Alana played the hostess to Kari or anyone she knew. Then she really noticed the coquettish look of her roommate- the fluttering lashes, the sensual biting of her bottom lip in mock innocence, the way she casually leaned against the chair in a way to best highlight the curves of her body. Kari wanted to sigh. Of course, the only reason Alana pretended to care was to try and entice Hvitserk. An attractive man in their home, it was as if Alana could not help herself. 

 Apparently the flaxen-haired Lothbrok noticed her flirtatious manner also. He tipped his head, eyes blatantly tracing over her body with appreciation. Kari could see the blonde preening under Hvitserk's gaze. 

 "Did I fuck you?"

 What confident, amorous expression on Alana's face dropped in a second. "Excuse me?"

 Hvitserk waved a hand dismissively. "Sorry, you seem familiar but I can't remember…. Did you fuck one of my brothers?"

 Anger transformed her face, making her rigid and lip curled back in a snarl. "Fuck you, asshole." She shrieked, then stormed back inside, slamming the door shut. 

 He chuckled. "Huh. I take that as a yes…. ouch!"

 Kari slapped his chest. "That was extremely rude and insensitive."

 "Why? Because it's the truth?"

 "You can't just…. ask something like that." She turned to look at the closed door, wondering if she should go apologize to Alana and check on her. After a moment's debate, she turned away from the townhouse, figuring seeking out Alana would most likely end up with a door slammed in her face. 

 Hvitserk shrugged, pulling his phone out of his pocket and checking it before slipping it back in.  

 His nonchalance baffled Kari. Did he not care that he just humiliated her roommate? Should she make him apologize? Though she doubted he would. Finally, she settled for just muttering, "you Lothbroks are unbelievable."

 "Oh, are you related to…." Erik's question trailed off. Where he once had been relaxed back in the cushioned chair, now he sat tensely, one of his hands tapping his knee repeatedly. 

 "Ivar? Yeah, he's my brother." Hvitserk said with a knowing smirk. 

 "He's, um…"

 "A crazy, mad bastard? Yeah. Don't recommend getting on his bad side."

 "I was going to say intense."

 Hvitserk threw his head back as he laughed. Even Kari smiled at the hesitant way Erik answered. Intense was an understatement for the youngest Lothbrok. "Yeah, he's family." 

 Erik then motioned between Kari and Hvitserk. "So are you two…. just friends?"

 Before Kari could explain, Hvitserk jumped in to answer. 

 "Ivar and I share her."

 Immediately Kari choked on air due to his candid response. Her gaze darted to Erik in horror, seeing his jaw dropped and eyes wide as saucers. Beside her Hvitserk cackled like a hyena at both of their expressions. 

 "That's not…. ugh! No!" Kari tried to speak, once she could functionally breathe again, only to cover her face as her words tumbled out of her mouth inelegantly. 

 "Awww, come on, Kari. You know I'm teasing." The elder Lothbrok tugged her hands away from her face, which only caused her to bury her face in his shoulder. "We know Ivar doesn't share. But if you ever get tired of his cranky ass, I'll be more than willing to show you a good time."

 "Oh my god." She mumbled to herself, completely mortified. The evening had been going so well, and now…. all of this. Whose grave had she accidently stepped on today? 

 Erik awkwardly cleared his throat as he rose to his feet. "Um, I'm going to go."

 "I'm so sorry, Erik." She elbowed Hvitserk when he refused to release her hands, earning an 'oof' from him. Turning her body to give Erik her full attention, she continued, hoping this had not ruined their friendship or his night. "I know this is last minute but do you think you can give me a ride to work tomorrow? If you don't want to, that's fine, especially after all of this, I wouldn't blame you."

 "No, no. I mean, sure. It's not a problem. Just, ah, text me when you're ready."

 She smiled gratefully at him. "I will. Have a good night, Erik!"

 "You too, Kari." He gave her his signature boyish grin. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he looked at Hvitserk. "Nice meeting you."

 "Yeah, nice meeting you too." He said back, draping his arm once again behind Kari. 

 Erik gave Kari another brief smile before disappearing back inside his townhouse, the door sliding quietly shut behind him. 

 Hvitserk continued to stare where Erik disappeared for a long minute before muttering, "boy better watch himself."

 "What are you talking about?" She sighed out, feeling the lurking sensation of a stress headache coming on.  

 "He wants to fuck you. Ivar won't like that."

 "What is with…. No. I'm ignoring all of that." She pressed the heels of her hands against her eyes. "Ugh, my evening was going so well until an hour ago."

 "What happened? That guy showed up to bother you? Want me to tell him to lay off?" His questions came out in rapid-fire, concern infused in his voice. 

 "No, Erik is fine. It's …. it's nothing like that."

 "So, what happened?"

 "Nothing important. Have you heard from Ivar?"

 He raised a brow at her dismissal but changed the subject. "Yeah, looks like he got what he needed so he'll be back tomorrow morning."

 "Oh good."

 "Hmmm…. which means he'll want to take you out tomorrow."

 "He bought me some dresses." She softly confessed, fiddling with her diamond stud earring. 

 "I'd recommend wearing one of those."

 She swatted at him, only to mirror the easy grin on his face. After a moment, she asked, "I just…. is it weird for him to do that?" 

 "What?"

 "Buy me stuff."

 "Does it bother you?"

 "I don't know."

 "If you want my advice, I'd say to let him." He lifted a finger to silence her protest. Her mouth snapped shut at his pointed look. Once he was sure she would not interrupt him, he spoke. "Ivar has never been good with…. verbally expressing affection, something I am sure he learned from our father. So he buys gifts, something he can touch and control. If he's buying you gifts, not out of obligation but because he wants to spoil you, then you mean a lot to him."

 She pondered his words and how she felt about them. Never did she want Ivar to feel taken advantage of by her, especially in regards to his money. She would rather tear her own heart out than make him feel used again. It grated slightly how freely he wasted money on her. The dresses were lovely, something she could only dream of having with her current salary. But she worked hard for her life, to be independent. Even whenever they went out to eat together, he never let her pay for her own meal. She had given up that fight already but this…. It felt different. Yet what Hvitserk said slunk back to the forefront of her mind. If this was his way of showing affection, of letting her know he cared about her, would it do more damage to refuse his gift?

 "How did you become so insightful into Ivar?" She teased, deciding to think about this more later. 

 He laughed, flicking her ear with the hand he still had behind her. "Out of necessity. I don't think anyone can fully understand him, not even himself."

 "He's complex." She agreed. 

 "That's a nice way of putting it." He tipped his head to the side to meet her gaze. "Now, tell me what happened earlier."

 "You're not going to let this go, are you?"

 "Ivar told me to check on you. If I left you trying to hide tears and he found out, he'd probably break my hands or legs, not sure how particular he would be."

 Biting her bottom lip, she debated blowing him off again. It was not his problem, she could deal with her own issues. But there was something about Hvitserk that made her feel comfortable around him. Even though he was under no obligation, he seemed to actually care about her. 

 Finally, she gave in with a sigh, laying her head against his shoulder. "Alana said…. Um, this townhouse belongs to her uncle. Him and his family moved into a bigger home and instead of selling this place decided to rent it out for a little extra cash. The rent is minimal, since he isn't renting to really make a profit. It's honestly the only way I've been able to afford being here. Well, Alana told me earlier that he is having to increase our rent. She didn't really tell me why but now it's going to be an extra 300 a month…. and I don't have that. So unless I want to find somewhere new to live, it kind of looks like I need to get a second job."

 He waited a moment before flatly stating, "have Ivar pay the extra. Fuck, he'd probably pay your whole rent if you asked him too."

 "No! I don't want that!" She sat up so fast, it was a miracle she did not fall off the couch. Her eyes turned to the brother beside her, wide and pleading. "Please don't tell him, Hvitty! I don't want him thinking I'm using him for his money. I…. I need to do this on my own somehow. I'll figure it out, honestly. I just wasn't expecting this to happen, that's all."

 "You really don't care about our money, do you?"

 "No." It broke her heart a little at the shock in his questioning tone. Did any of them ever expect someone to care about them without the influence of their money? 

 He stared off into the distance before looking back at her with a solemn expression. "I'll make you a deal. I won't say anything to Ivar about this, but if you are struggling, even if it's just one month's payment, you come to me and I'll help until you get your head above water again, got it?"

 "Why would you want to help me?" She quietly asked, meeting his gaze. 

 He smirked. "I like you. You're genuine. Plus, you're also great for Ivar. I'd like you to stick around and if this is one way to help with that, it's an easy solution." He narrowed his eyes at her as she started to protest again. "Don't fight me on this."

 "You Lothbroks are unbelievable. Fine." She laid her head back on his shoulder. "Thank you, Hvitserk…. and thanks for coming to check on me."

 "Anytime. You've got my number. Just cause you're Ivar's woman doesn't mean we can't be friends. But my offer still stands, if you get sick of him, I'll be the first to snatch you up."

 She laughed, heart feeling lighter than it had all afternoon. "Stop. I'm not Ivar's woman."

 "You keep telling yourself that."

 They sat quietly for a few minutes, watching the sky change colors. 

 "Mmmm…."

 "What?" She looked up at him. 

 He peeked down at her with a shit-eating grin. "I still can't remember if I fucked your roommate or not."

 "Gods, Hvitserk!"

 *****

 Before she fell asleep that night, she checked her phone one last time. A jolt of elation shot through her when she saw an unread text from Ivar. Her fingers fumbled with how quickly she tried to unlock her phone to read the text. 

 Ivar: good nite, kitten. C u 2morrow.

 A silly smile on her face, she replied. 

 Kari: sweet dreams, Ivar.

 After that, she plugged in her phone and curled up under her covers. Relief and excitement bled into her veins, allowing her to drift off to sleep with thoughts of the dark-haired Lothbrok coming home to her.

[vogue1994]

The bully I fell in love with - Choi Yeonjun

TW: mention of self harm? Bullying, physical harassment, yelling, curse words, Yeonjun degrades Y/n a lot... Yeonjun is an all around ass, fluffy ending, lots of angst!

Choi Yeonjun, you'd expect him to be the bad boy, or the fuck boy, or anything other than the schools smartest kid.

He's got the looks, the brains, and the charms. He can basically get anyone to do anything for him. And at one point, he had me in the palm of his hand. It only lasted a month until he did turn into a fuckboy... let's just say after things broke off with Yeonjun he also kind of bullied me for a year straight after that... with all of his friends.. it's been a year since that though, so, I guess it doesn't matter.

'Please I'm desperate, I really really want to graduate I know it didn't look like that last year but I'll do anything to bring my grades up! Seriously anything!' I begged my counselor. I was desperate to pass my final year of highschool, I wanted to because I realized the benefits of an education, plus college seems like fun.

'Alright Y/n, why don't we start off with finding you a tutor, the school can provide you with one or you can find one on your own, either way it'll cost some money, but with the school it should be significantly cheaper.'

'School! I'll look for one with the school, please give me your best tutor... please.'

My counselor smiled at me, I really don't know why but she did, I smiled back.

'Okay well the good thing is I already notified him and he's on his way right now!'

My smile dropped.

Him?

Fuck. Fuck! Fuck!!! Was all I could think while HE walked through the God damn door.

'You asked to see me?' He asked the counselor. He looked straight at her, then at me... I immediately looked away.

'Yes! Yeonjun sit down please.' She gestured to the seat next to me. God I hate this.

'What's going on?' He asked concerned.

'Well Y/n here needs a tutor. In fact she needs our BEST tutor in order to help her pass this year... she's desperate to do so.' She whispered that last part out. I made a face in reaction to her not so subtle diss towards me.

'And you are one of our best, if there's anyone who can help her out of this mess it's you.'

'Is that so?' Yeonjun asked with a smirk, looking straight at me while I tried my best to look away.

------------

I sat down in the library waiting for Yeonjun to show up. Fuck this is the actual worst thing ever. Like EVER. Seriously?! Why did I have to be tutored by someone who humiliated me daily a year ago... someone set me up... Or the universe just hates me.

'Hey.' He said softly, sitting down next to me with a few textbooks. I didn't say anything back I just looked at the textbooks.

Okay look I was never a bad student, I'd actually do pretty decent if I wasn't so behind right now, and the only reason I was behind was cause of the torment and trauma I was put through by Yeonjun.

I was still getting over all of it, I was still trying to get back on my feet. It's kind of hard whenever your told how ugly, stupid, and useless you are daily for such a long time. You end up believing it for a while. Needless to say, Choi Yeonjun really fucked me up...

'Hello?! Earth to Y/n? Did you do the homework?' He asked me as I snapped out of my thoughts.

'What? What homework?'

'You were assigned homework today in physics... don't tell me you didn't do it.'

I rolled my eyes at him.

'It's been an hour since school ended can you relax?' I shot back. Clearly irritated with him.

'Whatever just take it out so I can help your dumbass with it.'

I scoffed at his comment and took it out. I decided to bite my tongue and not say anything back, in fear things will just get worse if I do.

------------

It was the third week of tutoring with Yeonjun. It was normal, my grades were better and he hadn't done anything out of the ordinary happened, but he definitely degraded me every single time I got a question wrong.

Today I had an exam and I needed Yeonjuns help right before, like I really needed it.. I ran to the commons, I knew he was there with all of his friends and I asked him for help.

'Who are you?' Yeonjun asked with a smirk. The boys behind him started laughing as well.

'Seriously Yeonjun... don't do this right now I actually need help..' I quietly said.

'I don't know who you are,,, why would I help you? Fucking weirdo.'

I rolled my eyes and sighed.

'Great so im just gonna fail todays exam cause you won't help me. So much for being the schools best tutor you're just an asshole.' I shot back, walking away and before I knew it he grabbed my wrist forcing me to look at him.

'Don't you dare speak to me like that again, understood?' He whispered angrily through gritted teeth, his grip on me becoming much stronger, and much worse.

'Yeonjun let go you're hurting me!' I whispered trying to get out of his grip.

'Apologize.' He said. I stared at him for a moment, the tension between us getting stronger.

'No.'

He pulled me forward, making sure we were now chest to chest.

'You're going to fucking regret saying that.' He whispered, his grip got tighter, now I'm sure there was going to be a horrible red mark left on my hand.

'Now apologize.'

I couldn't take the pain he was inflicting upon me.

'Fine! I'm sorry.' I whispered out as a tear fell.

He finally let go and I pushed him away from me, running as quick as I could. A few tears rolled down my face as I checked on my wrist.

Yup. Just as I assumed. Bruised.

Once I got my test results back I felt sick. Of course, I failed.

Yeonjun made me show him the result and all he did was sigh and say 'Y/n... you are such a disappointment, do you seriously need me every time you take a stupid fucking test? Are you so dumb that you can't do it on your own?'

'Can you stop?' I asked him.

'No! Get it through your head! I don't want to always be here!'

'And I don't want you to always be here either! You've made my life a living hell for God knows how long and I don't even know why! I get that I'm an easy target but can you please just cut me a break?! I'm in this mess because of you!'

'How are your bad grades my fault?' He asked crossing his arms in front of his chest furrowing his eyebrows.

'Hello did you just fucking forget the bullying you put me through a year ago? You didn't stop until senior year started Yeonjun! It affected my studies like crazy for fucks sake I became so depressed I almost-' I stopped my self from saying too much. He didn't need to know all of the details.

'What Y/n? You almost what?' He mocked, trying to get it out of me.

'Nothing just... leave it alone, and please just be my tutor, help me when I need help with my studies, please.' I begged him, trying to shift the conversation.

He sighed and nodded his head giving me a small 'whatever.'

------------

It had been 2 months since Yeonjun started tutoring me and nothing bad happened since that last incident. He didn't bring up any of the stuff he did to me last year, and kind of kept his cool while tutoring me, he does kind of degrade me but there's not much I can do about it, besides I don't really give a shit since he's actually somewhat helpful.

As I sat in my chair and talked to my beloved boyfriend Theo, of six months I noticed something. He was being so dry..

Theo:

Yeah.

Me:

What's wrong?

Theo:

Nothing.

Me:

Why are you being so dry? Did I do something?

Theo:

Nah.

Me:

That's not very convincing...

Theo:

K.

Theo:

Okay... text me when you're feeling better I guess.

READ 6:44 PM

I sighed and put my phone down. What the hell is going on with him?

Yeonjun:

We have a studying session @ 7. Do not be late.

Me:

I'm already there

READ 6:45 PM

I rolled my eyes and went onto Instagram, and I noticed Theo posted something.

My eyes widened as I saw him laughing and smiling with another girl... he was holding her hand, kissing her cheek, making her laugh... all as if he wasn't my boyfriend two seconds ago? It was just posted on top of that. I felt my stomach fucking turn, my eyes became glossy, I noticed he posted another story and that's when my heart shattered.

He posted a video of her 'accidentally' kissing him and he just.. went for it. I wanted to throw up. My throat became dry, tears were dripping out of my eyes at this point... what the hell. Why is some sick cruel and twisted joke being played on me right now? This is exactly how I felt when I was being bullied by Yeonjun.

I couldn't help the little whimpers and cried that escaped my lips. My world of six months was cheated on me and my chest started to physically hurt.

'Y/n?' I heard someone say from behind me. I quickly wiped all of my tears away and turned around.

'When did you get here?' Yeonjun asked me.

'Um, a few minutes ago.'

'Ok good, take out your test review for algebra, i need to check it, your test is on Monday.'

I nodded my head and took it out. I handed it to Yeonjun and stared into space as he started to check it.

He made a bunch of faces here and there and that just added onto the shitty way I was feeling.

'Y/n what the hell? I taught you all of this shit a day ago! Why couldn't you get these simple fucking questions right? Are you that damn stupid? Seriously why is it not fucking clicking?' He started to degrade me once again. This was too humiliating. My eyes became glossy as I just sat there and took it, even though I couldn't.

'Are you gonna fucking answer me or just sit there and cry like a damn baby?'

I didn't say anything, I just let the tears fall.

'Y/n fucking answer me! Are you seriously so fucking stupid you cant even talk now?'

'STOP!' I screamed out loud, standing up slamming my fist on the table, making heads turn.

'Just fucking STOP Yeonjun! I cant fucking take this shit right now! Seriously what did I even DO TO YOU that's making you treat me this HORRIBLY?'

'You existed.' He said back with zero emotion. I looked at him with pure pain and suffering in my eyes.

This. This was my breaking point. I snatched the review out of his hand and picked my bag up, taking my things and exiting out of the library. As soon as I reached the steps I thanked God no one was out here. I just broke down, crying my eyes out, sobbing horribly loud.

Why is this my life? My bully is my fucking tutor, I was practically failing senior year, my boyfriend is cheating on me and flaunting about it on social media.. I mean can it get ANY WORSE?

I guess I spoke to soon because it just had to start fucking pouring, and my dad wouldn't be able to pick me up for another hour.

The universe really does hate me.

I continued to cry on the steps, eyes closed shut as my chest was still infused with pain and heartbreak.

Maybe I am too dumb. Maybe I deserve to be cheated on. Maybe I deserve to be bullied... maybe I just don't deserve happiness.

With in a moment I felt the rain stop, and I looked up, someone had put an umbrella over my head. I quickly turned around to see Yeonjun.

'What are you doing?' I asked him softly.

'I'm sorry.' I heard, or at least I think I heard it. The next thing I knew I was in his car, and he was taking me home.

Before I could exit he grabbed my arm.

'Y/n... really I'm sorry.'

'It's fine.' I whispered and left.

------------

The next day I walked the halls of school with zero emotion upon my face. I was walking to my next lunch period until a bunch of screaming voices caught my ear.

'WHY THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT TO Y/N?! HUH YOU FUCKING PUSSY WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT TO HER!!' I heard coming from one of the hallways. Quickly I ran toward the noise. A group of people surrounded Yeonjun and my now- ex boyfriend.

'Why the hell do you suddenly care about Y/n huh? Weren't you the one who BULLIED her for a year straight!' Theo yelled as Yeonjun held him up by his collar against the locker. Yeonjun looked at him with growing anger and pain in his eyes. He genuinely looked like he was about to kill Theo. With in a moment they both noticed I was standing right there.

'Y-Y/n.' Theo stuttered.

'Hey baby.' He said getting out of Yeonjuns grip and tried walking up to me.

I quickly pushed him back.

'Don't touch me.' I quietly said.

'Baby... come on..' he said and cupped my face but his touch felt disgusting to me.

'Don't touch me Theo!' I cried and pushed his touch off of me.

'Y/n..' he softly coo'd as I tried to walk off, he grabbed my hand.

'Theo let go!' His grip became tighter. I could feel all eyes on us.

'Y/n.' He said sternly. As if I was some little girl who needed to listen to him.

'Theo I'm serious let go!' Tears started to fall as his grip tightened and I let out a cry.

'S-stop you're hurting me!'

Before I knew it Theo was thrown onto the ground and Yeonjun was on top of him, throwing punches to Theo's face left and right.

'She. Said. Don't. Fucking. Touch. Her!!' He screamed in between punches. With another second Yeonjuns friends pulled him off Theo so that way he wouldn't end up killing him. I became a crying mess as it was all so overwhelming.

My vision was blurred from my tears but I could feel someone come up to me and wrap their arms around me, pulling me into their embrace. I wrapped my own arms around them as I cried into their chest.

'You're ok now I promise.' I heard Yeonjuns voice whisper and he left a small kiss on my forehead.

------------

It had been a good hour since the incident and I was now home, with Yeonjun who had a cut up hand...

We were in my bathroom, trying to treat his wounds from all of the punches he attacked Theo with.

I gently used an alcohol wipe to clean his wounds. I could feel his hand tense but he didn't make a single noise. I gently blew on it to try and see if that would get rid of the burning sensation I'm sure he was experiencing in this moment.

'I'm sorry.' I whispered softly, trying to break the silent tension.

'What do you have to be sorry for?' Yeonjun quietly asked.

'Well- it burns right?'

'That's not your fault, Beautiful .'

My eyes widened at the Nick name. Beautiful? That's what he's calling me now? He started smirking because of the way I was staring at him.

'If you like the view so much you should take a picture it'll last longer.' He teased with a smile.

I stopped staring as my cheeks started to heat up.

I went back to working on his hands and I applied the wound cream as well as the bandages, just for the gashes that looked like they needed them...

'Are you okay?' I asked him not looking away from his hands.

'I'm fine, even better since you patched me up.'

I was caught so off guard... where was this sudden kindness coming from?

'Yeonjun why are you being so nice?' I asked quietly.

'I.. I just realized I put you through a lot of stuff that you didn't deserve, I don't know why I did that stuff to you on top of that, I guess it was cause I have had a crush on you for so long and I didn't know how to show my affection towards you other than by... hurting you.'

I was taken back.

Where did the sudden confession come from?

'What? You have a crush on me?' I asked him as he stared down at his hands.

I looked at Yeonjun face. He looked ashamed, humiliated. A look i thought I'd never see on him of all people.

'Yes.. Y/n I've always had a crush on you. Ever since freshman year when I would see you confidentially walk those halls, and then sophomore year I didn't know how to act after you tried to become my friend, that instead of doing that I just ended up becoming your bully and I- it was so evil of me. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry I didn't know how to control my feelings. Please forgive me Y/n, please. I'll never hurt you again. Ever.'

'Yeonjun I-'

'Please.' He choked out, he was starting to cry. I pulled him into a hug as he cried against my shoulder and wrapped his wounded hands around back. I let mine softly stroke his dark head of hair.

'I forgive you.' I whispered.

I could feel him pull me closer and tighter in response as he cried against my shoulder. His soft whimpers soon became the only sound in the room as I tried to comfort him.

'Thank you.' He whispered back.

[headcans-oneshots-and-stuff]

Lesbian!Batsis (HC)

Requested by @iiiiisworld​: Hello first of All i love your writing so much♡♡♡♡♡♡Second of All, i saw that is said that the request are open so i wanted to ask you if you could do a one-shot of batsis getting outed as a lesbian and how the batboys and bruce would react.(if you dont want to write it its okay ♡)(Sorry if their are any spelling Mistakes , english isnt my first language)

And an Anon (I think you accidentaly sent in two, but who knows): Hey i saw that your requests are open so i wanted to ask if you could to a oneshot were batsis got outed as a lesbian by another person and like it is all on like the internet. And the reaction of the batfam Sorry if my english isnt good but it isnt my first language And if you dont like the request just ignor it Btw i looooovvvveee your wrintig sooooo much ♡

A/N: Awww thank you so much!!!! I know you asked for a Oneshot, but this concept that build itself in my mind kinda aquired its own life and fits Headcanons more, I made them more ‘story-like’ though so I hope that’s cool. Also I know you probably wanted some Angst, but I was just in the mindset of FLUFFFFFFF. (also, your english is fine ♡)

Also, I love y’all lesbians very much, you’re all amazing, breathtaking, loving and great, as a bi-sister I stand by you!!!

The only thing illuminating your bedroom was the dimly lit screen of your phone hovering only inches over your face, dangerously loose in your tired grip

What was depicted in front of you was stopping your heart in all the wrong places

The pictures and comments were all over instagram, twitter, tumblr and even facebook

Even on YouTube were first reaction videos about it, even though it had only been an hour at most since the first picture was uploaded 

There were only two original pictures if you substracted all the edits that had been uploaded and you recognized these shots immediatly

You had been out on a date with you girlfriend and the two of you had been in a small coffee shop enjoying some lunch

Because you hated all the attention that came from the media with being a Wayne you had explained early on in your relationship that you’d rather keep it in private 

So when you went out you were just ‘friends’

You made up for it in private tho 

But on that day things changed becaue your girlfriend had been really stressed with her exams lately and just needed some consolation

That was how the first picture came: The two of you sitting opposite of each other on a small table with you holding her hand ontop of it, rubbing small circles into her skin

That alone was no big thing, pictures like that were published a lot and just ended up in the big void that was the internet, but the noisy paparazzi who had followed the two of you ever since they had caught sight of you a few streets back wasn’t satisfied yet

So they followed you further when you left the shop about twenty minutes later

You had been so sure that there was no one around in the secluded area of the park you had been walking through and your girlfriend had that sad smile on her lips that she always had when things were on her mind and she couldn’t complete concentrate on her time with you

So you decided you’d distract her for a few seconds

And the second picture was born

The two of you kissing, luckily (just like in the first pic) her back was turned to the camera and her identity wasn’t traceable, one of your hands on her waist, the other on her cheeck

If it had just been that picture then sure, rumours would have started, people would’ve started asking, but you could’ve said it wasn’t you, your face wasn’t visible enough for them to claim otherwise, but with the other picture taken only minutes earlier in the same clothes with the same partner?

Now it was out in the world

But....

It didn’t really feel that bad

Of course, like always, there were hateful people who commented nasty stuff and a few even dm-ed you about what a disgrace to gotham you supposidly were, but they were nothing compared to the crowd of hundres if not thousands who commented and dm-ed and uploaded how happy and excited they were for you

Edits of pics of you with the lesbian flags were quickly making their way through the web

And it felt good

Of course you knew that wouldn’t be all of it, part of being a “celebrity” was to adress things like that and even if you realitivly kept out of the public eye you surely wouldn’t get around at least one interview of a talk-show-visit

But you’d manage, you’d managed quote-on-quote “scandals” before

Like that one time you posted that you thought Batman was a giant whimp and should finally confirm he was a giant furry - of course that happened a few minutes after you and your dad had a small falling out

You had to go on four different Gotham-based Interviews that month and constantly meet up with the PR-manager

It was...interesting... to say the least

And this now was no real difference

And, as an added Bonus, you could finally take your girlfriend to Galas and kiss her in public (if she was okay with the attention obviously, you wouldn’t drag her into that without her permission)

But I digress

That night you fell asleep calm and happy

The next day on the other hand...

I don’t think the Wayne family is the kind of family that you’d feel like you have to keep things like that from (obviously everyone is different and has different limits, but I’ll have to somewhat assume that)

So I’ll just say that you already told them

Still, they’re incredibly worried with how you’ll react to being outed against your will

So let’s just say you spend most of the day telling your (very, very, very extended) family about how you feel and that it’s okay

Jason still might or might not had trashed that paparazzis apartement and camera as a small lession about privacy, but you won’t find out about that until much later

Straight-up, Kate will take you out and spoil you just a little bit alongside with Cass who joins the two of you (My fav gay squad - or at least bi, since I headcanon that Cass could totally be bi) 

They all obviously want to show you and (mainly) the public how much they support you

So guess who sponsors the next Gotham pride? Correctly guessed, it’s Wayne enterprise Inc.

Most of your siblings (at least the ones that the public has their eyes on - see: Dick, Jason, Tim, Damian, Cass - the other ones will do it privatly) will do the typical publicity thing of posting about their support and about how much they love you and about how amazing your girlfriend is

All that

Somehow, this reveal that was planned to be a big Drama-scandal that would bring fame and fourtune to the photographer turned into something entirely else

While Kate is the Momma-lesbian in the family she keeps a somewhat low profile concerning the media (she’s still a big figure obviously, but she’s not as out there as Bruce is for example), you somehow turn into a gay-represantaion-princess for Gotham

Kinda like Hayley Kiyoko is lesbian Jesus

A lot of people dm you in the following years and tell you that you (more or less voluntary) coming out and being such a strong figure in Gotham gave them the courage to come out to their family and friends too and it will never fail to warm your heart

[kalimagik]

Not A Movie...Right?

Harry Potter x Reader 

Word Count: ~7,400

Warnings: Some cursing, mentions of sex, but that’s the only time the word is used.... 

A/N: Soooo, here’s a fic I wrote that isn’t based on a song! (Look at me trying to expand!) It’s got angst, tears, strong women standing by each other, oblivious Harry, and then fluff at the end cuz I love me a good happy ending... If you enjoy it, like, reblog, comment, or follow! You can also send me a message if there is something you’d like to see me post! still new on here, so I’m open to pretty much everything! Happy reading <3<3

*not my GIF - credit to owner

The corridors were empty, the classrooms were quiet, and the students were busying themselves outside, well most of the students. Y/N dragged her feet down the hallways, avoiding the windows, she didn’t want to be seen by the other students. Why be lost in conversation when she was lost in the thoughts that had been consuming her brain? 

Had she made a mistake? Was it stupid to get everything off of her chest? It had been four years after all, right? It was okay to feel these things. She’d hid them for as long as possible, she tried to at least. Maybe she shouldn’t have told him, but maybe he shouldn’t have kissed her after the quidditch match. Didn’t he know that would completely scramble her brain? He knew her! At least, she thought he knew her. 

“Y/N? What are you doing?” Hermione called from a little bit ahead. 

Y/N looked up for her eyes to meet her best friends’ right away. The brunette knew something was wrong, she’d barely seen Y/N in the last week. 

“We’ve been outside all day. It’s so nice and you told Ron that you were going to meet us out there. I didn’t even see you this morning. What’s going on?” she prodded, knowing that there was something more happening with her friend. 

Y/N couldn’t look at her. She knew that tears would start rolling down her face the moment she did. Yes, Y/N normally told Hermione everything, but she hadn’t told her about this yet and she’d been dealing with it all herself. So, maybe she should tell her? 

“Y/N/N…Please talk to me!” Hermione’s voice begged. Y/N finally looked up to see the concern in her friend’s face. “Oh common!” Hermione rushed to Y/N and pulled her hand until they were at the Gryffindor Common Room and climbing the stairs to their shared dorm room. Of course it was empty, everyone was enjoying one of the few nice days that Hogwarts saw. 

Once in the comfort of her own room, Y/N started to sob. How did she start to explain what had happened? Before she had to, Hermione spoke up. 

“Y/N/N. I know this has something to do with Harry. You never act like this. You’ve been up early for breakfast every morning and leave by the time I get down there with the boys. Sometimes Ron gets there early enough to see you, but then you leave before he can have a full conversation. You don’t speak during lessons and you’ve been sitting in different seats. Y/N/N, you sat with the SLYTHERINS the other day! You’re obviously avoiding him!” 

Y/N just looked down at her hands that were folded in her lap. 

“What happened? Please? You normally tell me this stuff. We’ve talked about all of your other boys before. I know that you like him. You may have not told me, but I am observant. I did notice. Just talk to me!” 

Taking a deep breath before she started talking, Y/N began the story. 

“It has been going on all year, ‘Mione. Remember when we first got back to school and we had that huge party after quidditch tryouts? Well, Harry and I just went and got some air. We were talking like we always do. You guys became my best friends in our second year, so it was easy. And it was probably the fire whiskey, but Harry started talking about how great I was. He was all of course I’ve had a crush on you before! You’re exactly my type and fun and cute. And I just sat there listening and thinking. And it was just nice to hear, but then I realized something. I could have always fallen for Harry so easily, but I always kept myself from doing it. I didn’t want to because I knew it would be too big for me. But, he, he opened the gates. It’s his fault, ‘Mione!” Y/N could feel her voice raising as she thought of how stupid she had been. 

Hermione looked at the 6th year girl, whose eyes were puffy and red, whose lips quivered as she thought about everything. Hermione didn’t want to push her anymore, but she knew that Y/N needed to get it all out. She’d been holding it in for too long and it was affecting how she was in school and with her friends and as a person. 

After giving Y/N a few moments of silence, Hermione spoke up. “So, what happened then?” 

“Well, I started letting myself fall. I was such a git! And I wanted to spend so much time with him and be around him. I mean, I always was, but it just felt different now. I wanted to be close to him and touch him and it just felt different. And he was different too! He was attentive and seeking me out and yeah…” Y/N paused as she thought. Thinking about what happened. 

“‘Mione,” Y/N whispered, “we snogged. A lot. And it went further than that. And – and I thought we were on the same page, but then he said he just wanted to stay friends because he didn’t want to ruin what we had…” 

“HE DID WHAT?!” Hermione howled. Y/N could see the rage building up on her face. She knew maybe she shouldn’t have said that.

“ ‘Mione, please don’t get mad. Don’t yell. Don’t get mad at him. It’s already happened. I made the same decision he did. Plus, I told him it was okay. I told him I was fine, so I messed up. I didn’t check and make sure we were on the same page…” Y/N tried to explain. 

“This is not your fault! Why is he so daft! Why would he do that! He did that AND THEN said he didn’t want to mess up the dynamic?” 

“Well yeah, but he’s a boy, it's fine. Seriously.” 

“Fine. I won’t yell at him yet. When did this all happen?” 

Y/N bit her lip, thinking. Everything seemed to always blend together. “Two months ago, maybe…”

“Y/N! It’s April now…What happened next?” Hermione asked, knowing the story wasn’t over. 

“Well, you know the quidditch match two weeks ago? When they beat Hufflepuff?” Y/N asked, wiping her eyes. 

“yeah….” 

“Well, I thought I had come to terms with everything by then. I went on that date to Hogsmeade and even though Zacharias Smith was an ass after, it was still nice when we went.” 

“Okay? I knew that. He was an ass…” 

“Yeah, exactly. Well, then the match came and they won and I didn’t get to see Harry because the people were just crowding and I couldn’t get to him. So, I waited for everyone to come out of the changing tents so I could congratulate our friends.. Well, Harry was the last one to come out and he was so excited that he kissed me. And I pretended I was fine because I couldn’t go through the ‘we’re just friends’ talk again. But, I couldn’t stop thinking about it after that. All the feelings that I gated off flooded right back in because it just felt right! He held me in a way that no one ever has and his lips just felt right. I couldn’t stop it!” Y/N was gasping, reliving what she had been avoiding. 

“But, you’ve only been acting strange for a week. What changed between then and now?” Hermione asked. She’d been nodding along since Y/N started. She was thinking a lot and felt pretty angry, but she was keeping her anger at Harry hidden for Y/N’s sake. 

“Well, I became overwhelmed. It’s all I could think about. It didn’t feel fair because I didn’t get to say what I really felt. I just took everything in. So, I worked up a little bit of courage and I told him how I felt last week. I said everything. I wrote it down and I just told him! But, but, but he didn’t say anything back. And when I saw him the next day, he just acted normal and as if nothing happened and I couldn’t do that! I couldn’t, ‘Mione…” Y/N felt the tears begin to swell up along the edges of eyes. 

“Wow…he hasn’t said anything?” 

Y/N shook her head. 

“And you’ve just been dealing with it and acting as normal as possible?” 

Y/N nodded. 

“But, you’ve still been avoiding him and he hasn’t said anything.” 

“I don’t think that he noticed,” Y/N said. “Of course, I haven’t seen him to know whether or not he has.” 

Hermione thought for a second. She knew that Harry hadn’t said anything to her about Y/N not being around, so either it wasn’t bothering him or he didn’t notice. Ron was always slightly oblivious, so he didn’t completely understand what was going on, but he knew Y/N hadn’t been around as much. Hermione could tell Y/N this, but she didn’t want to be the one to break her friend’s heart, no matter how honest she wanted to be with her. She couldn’t do it. 

“Do you want me to ask him what he’s thinking?” Hermione asked timidly. 

“NO!” Y/N spoke louder than she had in a while. “I don’t want him to know I told you. ‘Mione, I’ve been thinking a lot. Harry not saying anything to me is an answer. He doesn’t want me… I can’t keep walking around here thinking that he’s just going to run up to me and tell me that he loves me. That only happens in the movies and this isn’t a movie. I need to just move on, but I needed a little bit of time before that. I needed to come to that decision myself.” Y/N tried to explain, with pleading in her eyes. 

“I get that, but it isn’t fair to you…You deserve to be so happy!” Hermione argued. 

“But, it doesn’t look like I’m going to get that from him…” 

Hermione couldn’t hear it. This whole situation was ridiculous! Harry couldn’t just not say anything. If she had been in that situation, she wouldn’t have taken it! But what could she do? Y/N didn’t want her to get involved. 

Y/N spoke up, breaking Hermione from her internal thought process. “I told you ‘Mione, I just need to give myself some time to move on and I can’t do that when I’m seeing him every day.” 

“That makes sense, but I miss you! Can you please just be around more. I can stay away from him. Plus, we have to start studying for exams soon anyways. I just want to spend time with you!” 

“I’m sorry you got caught up in all of this. You don’t have to worry about me.” 

“I’m always going to worry about you!” Hermione assured her friend, fighting the internal struggle about what to do. She could do what Y/N asked and just leave it be, but that didn’t feel right. Boys this year were just messing everything up.

“I know. But we only have like two months of school anyways. It’ll be fine.” Y/N waved off whatever she was feeling, wiping away the few stray tears. 

Hermione nodded, knowing there was nothing else she could do in that moment. So, she spent the rest of the day with Y/N. She convinced her to walk around and go out to the courtyard for a bit. Everyone else was on the grounds, so it was clear. They did run into a few Hufflepuff girls, but it was fine interacting with them. 

Being a Sunday evening, the girls knew that they had a busy week, so they headed to the Common Room after a short dinner. A Harry free dinner of course. 

“You go up, I need to gather some books from the Common Room,” Hermione said as Y/N went to the steps for the dormitory. 

“Okay!” Y/N waved as she went up to their room. 

Hermione looked around. She knew it wouldn’t be long before the boys got back from dinner. Hermione noticed on her way out that Ron and Harry ate with the other boys in their dorm tonight. She waved, but only Ron saw her. Y/N was walking out of the Great Hall so quickly that she didn’t have time to stop and say hi. 

She dawdled picking up what she could, taking her time. She’d just tell Y/N that she realized she had to finish an essay if they took much longer. But, as if on cue, the portrait door swung open and in walked 5 boys. Seamus, Neville, and Dean stumbled up the dormitory stairs while Harry and Ron walked towards where Hermione was standing over her books. 

“Where have you been?” Harry asked casually. 

Hermione felt the fire inside of her flare, but she responded as calmly as possible. “I’ve been with Y/N for most of the afternoon and evening.” 

“Blimey! So that’s where you went! We sat by the lake forever and figured you just went to do an assignment,” Ron shrugged as he turned. 

“No, I went to find our other best friend. I haven’t seen her nearly at all this week and Ron said she was coming to the lake, but when she didn’t, I went to find her unlike you two blathering gits!” Hermione raised her voice. 

Ron and Harry looked at her confused. “What are you talking about, ‘Mione?” Ron questioned. 

“Have you two noticed nothing?! She’s never at breakfast with us, she skips meals, she hasn’t sat with us in lessons all week! We haven’t had our best friend! Ron, you’ve been so caught up with your break up and you, Harry, with that stupid book! We’re losing her!” 

Now, the boys looked concerned. Hermione did raise her voice at them quite often, but something about this was different. 

“What is wrong with you, Hermione?” Harry spoked up. 

“You of all people should know!” Hermione spat before picking up her books and heading towards the stairs. 

Ron looked at Harry with so much confusion in his eyes. “What’s she talking about?” he asked. 

Harry stood there for a moment before he called after Hermione. “Wait! Come back here!” 

Hermione stopped at the bottom of the stairs, taking in a deep breath before turning around. “What?” she responded sternly. 

“Can you just tell us why you’re so angry?” Harry asked, trying to get a little more information out of her. 

“It’s not my place,” Hermione barked. “Besides, it could be more efficient for me to just not say anything at all. Then I’ll just act like everything is normal!” With that small jab, she stomped up the stairs to her bedroom. She promised Y/N she wouldn’t say anything and she didn’t really. Not out right. 

Hearing the door slam, Ron turned to Harry aghast. “What was she blithering on about? Bloody hell!” He ran his fingers through his hair. 

“Fuck!” Harry cursed, when it dawned on him why she was so angry. 

“I mean, I know Y/N’s been out of sorts this week, but she gets like that sometimes. I figured it was just that thing that happens to girls every month.” Ron rambled on, not hearing Harry. “Sure, she seemed a little more rushed and like she just wanted to be alone. I didn’t think it had anything to do with us.” 

“It didn’t have anything to do with us, Ron. It had everything to do with me,” Harry flopped onto the couch as he slapped his hand over his face. 

“What are you talking about?” Ron asked stupidly. 

“I was an idiot! How couldn’t I have noticed that she was avoiding me?” 

“What?” Ron asked again. 

“Whenever you were at breakfast early this week, did you see Y/N?” 

“Yes? But..” 

“And did she always leave right before Hermione and I got there?” Harry cut him off. 

Ron sat on a chair near Harry, thinking about the past week for a moment. “Now that you mention it, I guess she did. I thought she just had assignments to get ahead on. You know how her and Hermione can be…What are you thinking about, Harry? Come off it!” 

“I’m an idiot!” Harry stood up quickly and rushed towards the stairs. 

“Harry, you know that’s not going to work…” Ron called as he heard the stairs turn into the slide to keep the boys out of the girls’ dormitory. 

“But, I’ve got to get up there! I’ve messed up Ron!” 

“You could send her a note. It's only 7:15. I bet you could make it up to the owlery before curfew,” Ron suggested, getting comfortable. 

“Ron! That’s brilliant!” 

Before Ron could continue, Harry was out of the portrait hole again. 

“OR!” Ron tried to call after him, “or you could wait until one of the other girls comes back and give them a note for Y/N…” Ron finished. “What the hell is going on with everyone?” Ron wondered as he placed his hands behind his head and relaxed in front of the fireplace. 

______________________________________________________________________________

“What took you so long, ‘Mione?” Y/N asked when she came out of the bathroom to see Hermione just putting her books down. 

“The boys came in while I was gathering my things,” Hermione responded truthfully, not knowing how her friend would respond. 

“Oh…” Y/N faded off. “Did they have a good time at dinner?” Y/N asked, trying to be as normal as possible. 

“Yeah, they did. We didn’t say much about dinner though.” 

“Oh? What did you all talk about?” Y/N questioned as she moved around the room, pulling on her pajamas and hanging up her towel. 

“Well, they asked where I went and then I kind of got angry with them…” Hermione tried to look innocent. 

“Mione?” Y/N was now getting worried. “Why would you get angry?” 

“I just, they asked where I went and I said to find you and then I got mad that they hadn’t noticed how you had been acting all week and…and _ I –” Hermione cut herself off to look up at Y/N just in time to see a horrified face. “Don’t worry! I didn’t say anything about what you told me! I can hold my tongue at least that much. But, I may have made a slight comment just to get him thinking…” 

“YOU DID WHAT?” Y/N yelled, dropping everything in her hands. 

“I don’t know if he got it. Ron was blabbering like an idiot when I came up the stairs. I just think that he owes you something! You are friends, at least! Maybe he just didn’t realize how he felt about you…” Hermione tried to explain. 

“Mione! Now he knows that I’ve been sulking over him all week! He may be daft, but he’s not THAT daft!” 

“But, you deserve to get something!” Hermione yelled out. 

Luckily, it was early enough that the other girls weren’t back to the room just yet, so Y/N had a moment to compose herself. She really despised whenever Lavender tried to act like her best friend and comfort her. It was really the worst and just awkward. That all started when Ron and Lavender dated and Y/N wound up around her more often than she would have liked. Whenever she was with Harry and Ron and Lavender always popped up to be with Ron. It was the worst. 

“What am I going to do now? I was so close to moving on, Hermione! Common!” 

“I’m sorry! I’m really sorry, Y/N/N! But, someone needed to do something. He needs to talk back so that you can actually get some closure!” 

“What did I tell you earlier! This isn’t a fucking movie! Merlin! I just wanted to move on before being around him all the time again, okay? Now I’m going to need to keep doing what I’ve been doing for a week!” Y/N ranted as she paced back and forth across the floor. 

Hermione sat there silently, realizing how what she did may have been stupid, but she was going to continue to defend her actions. “Y/N/N, I’m going to tell you this again. He needs to say something. You can’t just let him off the hook. He’s being an idiot! And –” 

Hermione was cut off by a light tapping at the window. The two girls turned to see a white snow owl. 

“Hedwig?” Y/N was startled as Hermione went to open the window to let the owl in. 

“She has a note tied to her leg…” Hermione noticed. “It’s for you.” 

“He wrote me a note?” Y/N questioned. 

“Maybe he realized that he was being an idiot. What’s it say?” Hermione asked as she handed Y/N the note and sat down next to her. 

Hedwig flew over and hooted happily as Y/N unconsciously petted her, holding open the letter to look at Harry’s tiny, scribbled handwriting. 

“What’s it say?” 

“Give me a second! I need to decipher his writing,” Y/N trembled. 

Y/N looked down at the note. It wasn’t long, it was straight forward. 

“He wants to talk to me…” Y/N sat the note down and stood up suddenly, pacing around again. Hermione picked up the note and quickly scanned it. 

“Y/N/N, he’s pretty much pleading for you to come downstairs right now. I bet he just ran all the way to the owlery to send this and get back in time.” 

Y/N stood there thinking, not sure what to do, but before she could speak anymore, the dorm door flew open. 

“Why was Harry so out of breath?” Parvati wondered out loud as her and Lavender discarded their things onto their beds. The two were giggling. 

“What’s going on up here?” Lavender asked, trying to read the room. 

“Nothing!” Y/N blurted quickly, knowing that Lavender wouldn’t ask Hermione for any details. The two hadn’t spoken in weeks. Before she knew what she was doing, she swept to the still open door. She didn’t know why she was going so quickly, but she forced herself to slow down when she was about halfway down the steps. She couldn’t seem too desperate. She had “moved on,” remember. 

As she went to take the last turn, she practically stopped. She could hear the soft voices of the boys that she knew so well. 

“Do you think Hedwig got her attention?” 

“Mate, you haven’t even told me what’s going on,” Ron pointed out. 

Y/N inched a little further down, trying to hear better. 

“I’ll tell you once I know what’s going on!” Harry practically exploded. He’d gotten better at that from last year, but his temper still spouted from time to time. 

Y/N felt her heart constrict. Was that good or bad? She moved forward just a little bit more as Harry had lowered his voice again. But, she must’ve gone a little too far and her foot slipped off the edge of the step. She felt her torso follow quickly after, tumbling down the last stairs and onto the Common Room floor. 

“uhhh, hey guys…” Y/N felt her cheeks heat up. Thinking quickly, she added, “I just left something down here…” Maybe she couldn’t do this. She’d already poured her heart out over a week earlier. She couldn’t go through the pain again. 

 When she finally stood up, she realized that her fall must’ve caused both boys to jump out of their seats. 

“What are you guys doing?” she tried to ask as normally as possible. 

“Ummmmmm…well, look at the time! I’m going to go to bed!” Ron spit out quickly, lifting his arms and pretending to yawn. “Goodnight!” 

Y/N watched helplessly as the only buffer in the room left. Now what was she going to do? 

“Y/N?” Harry spoke up, Y/N still looking at the stairs Ron had just ascended. 

“Uhhhh, hi? I’ll just grab that thing that I forgot and get out of your way.” Y/N looked around, trying to find something in the Common Room that she could claim as hers. 

“I can help you look. What did you forget?” 

Shit! Y/N thought to herself. Why was he so helpful? 

“I didn’t forget anything, Harry.” Y/N sighed. “I – I got your note. Hedwig popped in upstairs…” 

“Oh? You did? Good. That’s good because I wanted to talk to you about the other weekend and this week.” 

“You really don’t have to, Harry. I know Hermione put you up to this. It’s fine. I told you that last week. There’s nothing to talk –”

“Y/N, will you just let me say something?” Harry interrupted. Y/N closed her mouth and nodded. 

“Hermione didn’t put me up to this. I should have realized that something was wrong all week. I’m just blind and an idiot and I’ve been busy and…” Harry looked up to see Y/N looking at the ground. “That’s beside the point and not an excuse. I should have said something last week when you opened up to me.” 

Y/N lifted her eyes from the floor for a moment, waiting to hear what else he had to say because as of that moment, she did not have any words that would fit in quite yet. 

“I did the worst thing possible for that situation. I’m sorry, but I thought everything was normal between us, at least, I let myself think that.” 

Y/N couldn’t handle the rambling anymore. “What do you want to tell me, Harry? I should really get back upstairs. I can’t go through this  again. Stop dragging it out!” Well that was courage that she didn’t know she had. 

“Right, I’m sorry. I guess what I want to say is that I really didn’t know what to say then. You caught me by surprise…” Y/N stared at him. She obviously already knew this and at this point, the situation was just getting irritating. Was he going to break her heart or not? 

“In reality, I’m just scared. We’ve been friends for so long. How do you stop being friends and begin being more than that? I don’t know. No one I know seems to be figuring it out,” he added in, rolling his eyes. Y/N couldn’t help but giggle. She knew he was talking about the undiscussed feelings between Ron and Hermione. 

“And you’re just amazing at everything you do. I’m not. You deserve so much more.” 

Y/N’s heart panged at his words. Of course he was going to break her heart. Why did she bother getting her hopes up even slightly? 

Harry must’ve noticed the sudden change in demeanor of the girl standing a few meters away from her. He knew he needed to change his tactic. “You care so much about everyone that you love. I don’t know if I could be enough for you.” 

“HARRY!” Y/N just couldn’t take it anymore. “These all sound like excuses and ways for you to soften the blow. Just tell me that you don’t want to be with me so that I can go back to moving on like I was trying to do for the past week, for the past two months really!!” Her heart raced and she could hear the blood pounding in her ears. Couldn’t she just go back upstairs and flop on her welcoming bed? 

Harry stood, speechless for a moment too long. Y/N huffed and turned to go upstairs. This really wasn’t a great way to start her week, so why prolong it? But, before she could reach the steps, a hand wrapped around her wrist, pulling her back. Y/N closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She was not going to cry. 

“That’s not what I want though!” Harry blurted once Y/N turned to face him. “Y/N, I care about you so much. And I told you! I’m scared! These feelings scare me. What if something happens to you? It will all be my fault! I could never forgive myself.” 

Y/N instinctively bit her lip, taking in his words. What could she say to that? She still wasn’t sure about any of this. Why had he waited a whole week? 

“Say something?” he asked, eyes wide and looking at her hopefully. 

“Oh? Say something? Maybe I should just nod and walk away. It seems to be really effective in avoiding situations,” Y/N scoffed. She could feel her walls going up. She knew she had avoided these feelings for so long and this was why.

“I was an idiot, Y/N! How was I supposed to tell you that? It would’ve just been easier to pretend that there was nothing between us. Then I wouldn’t have to think about what I’m feeling, let alone how I could potentially hurt you.” 

Y/N could hear the sincerity in his voice. 

“I don’t know what you want me to say now, Harry. You hurt me. You played with my heart all year. You had me thinking there was something when we were ‘just friends’ according to you. That hurts!” Y/N felt her voice waiver, but she was still set on not crying. She’d done more than enough of that.

Harry looked shocked. This was not what he was expecting obviously. Just a week ago, the girl of his dreams told him that she had feelings for him and he was too daft to say anything back. He screwed up, badly. 

“My thoughts exactly,” Y/N spit as she began to pull away from him. 

“No, wait. Don’t go.” 

“What else is there to say?” Y/N asked, throwing her hands out to the side. 

“Say, say that you still love me like I know you do. You may not have used those words, but I know you do. So that I can tell you that I love you and didn’t mean to play with your heart. It wasn’t fair of me because I didn’t know what to do with my own heart. And then I could pull you in and kiss your lips like I’ve wanted to again since two weeks ago, but didn’t.” 

Y/N looked right into Harry’s green eyes. They looked as desperate as she had felt coming down the stairs earlier. 

“Please, Y/N/N?” Harry asked again. “Please, because I love you…” 

Y/N felt every time her chest rose and fell. She wanted this. She had wanted this for so long and now, here he was, fighting for her. It was literally like something she would see in one of those muggle movies, but why couldn’t she do it? 

“Harry, I want to say it. I want to be in this moment with you. I haven’t wanted anyone like I’ve wanted you in so long, but you broke me. How can I  trust that you aren’t going to want to be ‘just friends’ again next week?” 

“You can trust me. I’m your best friend. You’ve always trusted me. Don’t think I didn’t notice that you went out with Smith. I did. And it made me so mad that it wasn’t me!” Harry continued to argue and explain. He realized that he should have said this all to you months ago. 

Y/N sucked in a large amount of air, pulling her mouth muscles into her usual thinking face. What should she listen to? Her heart or her head. One telling her that this would be great and that they would be great together. The one telling her that this was what she had been wanting all year. Then there was the other side warning her that this could end in her hurt in just a few days. He didn’t seem so sure a week ago, why was he so sure now when he didn’t even realize how she was acting throughout the week? 

Y/N looked down to where he was still holding her wrist. This wasn’t right. He should have found her days ago and said this. Or he should have said this when she poured herself out to him. He had every moment to do that! 

Y/N shook her head. She had been right to tell Hermione earlier that this wasn’t a movie. It just wasn’t. He broke her trust and he broke her heart. But, she wasn’t going to do to him what he had done to her. She was going to tell him. She was going to break her own heart. And most importantly, she was going to give herself the chance and the opportunity to finally move on. Only she was going to be able to make that decision for herself. 

“Harry, I just can’t do it. I dreamed about you coming to me, but it just doesn’t feel genuine. If this is how you actually felt, you would have said it last week. You aren’t that oblivious. You knew that was your chance if you wanted it too. I can’t just take you and pretend that you haven’t hurt me. Our chance is over. I’m sorry.” 

At the end of her words, she looked up to meet Harry’s watering eyes. She’d seen so much joy in them in the past, but now all the pain in them was because of her. She couldn’t do it anymore. She needed to get out of the Common Room, but go where? All of her roommates were upstairs and it was well after curfew. Honestly, leaving and facing the possibility of detention sounded a lot better than a room full of girls. 

“I– I have to go.” She pulled her wrist out of Harry’s grip and darted sideways towards the portrait hole. She flew out, not even stopping to see if the Fat Lady saw her, and climbed the stairs. She found herself in a 7th floor corridor before she even stopped to look around. 

With eyes threatening to spill tears at any moment, Y/N fell to the floor. I just need somewhere to cry – she thought to herself as she began to sob. That’s when she felt the wall behind her start to shift. A small door appeared and without looking Y/N crawled inside. Once the door closed, she let her head rest against it and the tears fell in steady streams. 

Rushing out of the Common Room so quickly, Y/N hadn’t seen Hermione and Ron emerge from their hiding places on the stairs. They found a stunned Harry, who was already beating himself up for how that went. 

“Do I go after her?” he asked, tears starting to stream down his cheeks. 

Hermione shook her head. “It’s after curfew and you have no idea where she went…”

“She’ll have to come back eventually mate,” Ron encouraged. “You could always just wait here.” 

Harry nodded as he let Ron and Hermione direct him to the couch. Why had he been so impulsive? Why had he waited to begin with? 

He sat there, staring as Ron and Hermione attempted to cheer him up. He knew that wouldn’t work. The only person who could make him happy ran from him. He blew it. He’d have to find a way to accept that, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to for a while. Not until she was at least his friend again because he couldn’t lose her all together. 

______________________________________________________________________________

Y/N cried until she didn’t have any tears left. Once they ran dry, she only felt numb. She couldn’t go back to the Common Room now. Knowing how stubborn Harry is, he would still be sitting there, wanting to try all over again. Y/N couldn’t take another round of that tonight. I wish that this room had a bed – She thought to herself, finally looking around. Then, there in the corner, she saw a folded up cot. That would do. On one of the shelves, next to some tissues, she found a blanket and pillow. Okay. Now I just have to wake up early enough to sneak back in and get my books in the morning. 

Feeling completely drained from the day, Y/N fell asleep quickly. She dreamed of nothing, which was a relief and in the morning, she decided that today was the day to start moving on. She would do it no matter how hard it was because this wasn’t a movie and she wasn’t going to wait around for someone who didn’t truly want her. 

With that attitude in mind, Y/N quietly left the small room of requirement and tip toed back towards the Gryffindor Common Room. It was maybe 4:30 in the morning, so she hoped no one would be up for any reason. Giving the Fat Lady the password and receiving a slight scolding for waking her up so early, Y/N shut it silently behind her. Once in the Common Room, she could see that the coals of the fire were nearly burnt out, but there were three forms resting in the chairs in front of it – asleep. 

Y/N couldn’t help but smile to herself? Had her friends been there all night? Did they really try to wait up for her? Okay…maybe seeing Harry sleeping there tensed and cold would make it a lot harder for her to move on. It was really sweet. She could only guess that Hermione was the one that kept the three from going to look for her. Y/N tip toed over to the three lumps as she summoned some blankets from the other side of the Common Room. She placed a blanket on both of them and took Harry’s glasses off his face. Then she saw the old piece of parchment open and clenched tightly in his fist. 

Of course he’d pulled out the Marauder’s Map. She could now see where she was standing next to the three of them, but his finger was stationed at the entrance of where the room of requirement usually popped up. How did he know she would wind up there? 

Y/N carefully pried the map out of Harry’s hands, so that she wouldn’t wake him up and mumbled “mischief managed” in order to make the parchment erase the lines of the castle and appear blank. Folding it and setting it next to his glasses, Y/N left the three and headed towards the stairs. But before she could get there, she heard movement. Not wanting to be noticed, she froze in her spot, hoping whoever it was had just been moving in their sleep. 

“Y/N?” a soft voice rang out. 

Y/N closed her eyes and scrunched up her face. So much for not being seen. Why had she gone over to her friends? Why hadn’t she just gone right upstairs? 

Not knowing what else to do, Y/N turned back towards the fireplace to lock eyes with Harry’s, albeit sleepy, green eyes. He looked concerned and worried, but also happy and relieved at the same time. He picked up the glasses she had just taken off of his face and put them back on. 

“Where did you go? Are you okay? We were worried when you didn’t come back,” he whispered, being mindful of the other two in the room. 

“Uhhh, yeah. I just had to get away for a while and didn’t want to face a room full of girls…” she drew out, matching his soft voice. 

“I understand. I wanted to come find you, but Hermione wouldn’t let us. I was going to sneak out after she went to bed, but then she stayed. Plus, she thought you may have gone to the room of requirement and said we wouldn’t be able to get to you if you didn’t want anyone bothering you…” Harry explained, recounting his night as quickly as possible. 

“She sure does know me well,” Y/N replied, brushing one arm with her hand. When had it gotten so cold in here? 

Harry must’ve noticed instantly because he immediately took off his jumper and tried to hand it to her. 

“No, Harry, it’s okay. I’ll just go up to bed.” 

Harry lowered the jumper, looking defeated. Now Y/N felt bad. 

“Harry,” Y/N sighed. She had really wanted to avoid this. 

“No, you don’t have to say it again. I heard you the first time. But, just let me say something?” Harry asked. 

Y/N nodded in response. 

“I don’t want to lose you. If you don’t want to be more than friends anymore, I understand. I was a complete prat, but I can’t lose you in my life. I still want you to be my friend. Of course, I won’t stop trying to prove myself to you, but that’s besides the point. I just need you with me in some way.” Harry’s eyes widened, begging her to understand. Of course she understood, that’s why she didn’t want to tell him how she felt to begin with. Why had she done that again? 

“Of course I want to be in your life, Harry. I can’t imagine mine without you, but you might have to give me some space.” There she goes, continuing to put distance between them. Harry hated it. 

“Well, how much space? Because we could keep that space to just the meter in between us across at the dinner table or…” Harry moved a little bit closer. Y/N was frozen in her spot. “Or, I could drop out of school and pretend not to go here for a month. I’ll go back to the Dursley’s if you need that much space.” 

He moved towards her again. Y/N felt her heart thump in her chest. It was too early for this. She wasn’t in her right mind because it would just be so easy to give in to him right now. Why did his eyes have to melt her insides every time? 

“Or, the only space could be the short distance when we sit next to each other in potions. Please, don’t go sit with the Slytherins again. Draco looked way too smug.” Y/N couldn’t help but smirk at that comment. He moved a few steps closer to her again. “Or, we could just forget the space…” Why oh why did he do this to her? By this point, Harry was towering over Y/N, pretty much daring her to look up at him and meet his eyes. 

Y/N could feel his breath near her skin. It was warm and slow. She knew that he was waiting for her to do something. Common Y/N, just do something! – she thought. Shit! She gave in, she looked up to meet his eyes. There was a determination she had never seen in them before. It bared into her soul. She instinctively bit her lip, she couldn’t help it. She always did it when she was nervous. 

She watched as Harry’s eyes wandered down her face and to her lips, then back up to her eyes. Damnit, she was going to give in. 

Softer than she had ever spoke, she whispered, “Maybe, space is a little overrated…” 

That was all he needed to crash his lips onto hers. His hands found their way to the nook between her face and neck and he pulled her closer to deepen the kiss. It felt like so much more than any kiss they had shared before. 

Y/N was the first to pull away, breath heavy. “This is not what I had in mind when I told myself I was going to move on,” she whispered. 

Harry chuckled, shaking his head. “No, probably not, but this way is definitely better for me,” he smirked. 

Y/N let her hand move up to hold one of his, both of which were still holding her face. No, things that happen in movies don’t usually happen in real life, but maybe this was the exception. Maybe, this was her movie. 

[thebrochtuarachs]

Arranged: Chapter 6

Modern AU. Set in present time. Where Claire and Jamie are arranged to be married.

CH: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5

AO3

A/N: Hello, everyone! I'd like to start with an apology for not updating for so so long. This story is still very dear to me, I daydream a lot of the next chapters, it's in my head and in my drafts and I just didn't realize that has been quite a while since I posted a chapter. Time flew by so quickly in the pandemic, I hadn't seen it pass. Anyway, posting this short and sweet update. Hope you like it! As always, your comments and suggestions are very much welcome :) Hope that you are keeping safe and healthy! Till the next!

XXXXX

The Ring of the Woman of Balnain – or that’s what they call the ring for generations since the 18th century.

For Jamie, it was simply his 8-times great-grandmother’s ring – a small circlet passed down his family for generations. His siblings never cared for the old thing but Jamie loved it ever since he was a wee lad and asked his parents to give it to him when he was old enough – and that time was, apparently, now.

After his mother ambushed him in the kitchen, Jamie was now in possession of one the most precious things in his life. He promised himself that he would give it to the woman he’ll marry someday as a gift and sign of his love and he hoped that the ring would bring luck in their relationship.

When he realized that Claire Beauchamp was the one, he thought about asking for the ring but then he found out about Frank Randall and had to re-evaluate his chances and options. All of his plans for him and Claire got put on hold until their parents intervened with this crazy scheme. But this crazy scheme, allow him to at least, put some plans in place.

A week later, his mother found the ring box on his bed side table, untouched and unopened.

“Give it to her. I want you to give it to Claire. It’s perfect” she heard Ellen say to Jamie who just groaned in disapproval.

“Mam, I thought we were going to do this in our own time, our own terms. Giving her this does not make all of this any easier.” Jamie replied.

“I know, son. But this has a special meaning to our family, ye ken that. Even if this arrangement is so, I would – no, we would, yer father and I – would love it if ye kept with the tradition.”

Then came one of Jamie’s exasperated sighs. “I’m no promising anything, Mam. I’ll think about it but don’t expect anything”

He and Claire hadn’t really discussed the nature of their relationship one month in since getting reacquainted. But the truth was, with all the time they’ve been spending together ( almost everyday ), they’ve gotten really close that even the people close to them have started noticing up to a point where they asked if there was something going on between them.

Of course, they denied it – not wanting anyone to know about what really was going on – saying they were just friends and reasoned the mere fact that their families were close and that was the way it’s always been for them. A damn, unreliable lie but it’s all they got.

Their research was not progressing in any form which was starting to frustrate Claire. Everything they were getting from “company sources'' just didn’t make sense in any scenario or plan. Money was not an issue, their family relations were not an issue, their business relations were not an issue… they were running out of “reasons” and “clues” but Claire refused to give up. Of course, Jamie knew otherwise but silently played along.

Thankfully, their final exams were coming and Jamie decided to put pause on everything and have a break from their research and each other - their schedule not permitting any free time. They haven’t seen each other in a week.

Today, Jamie had been in the coffee shop for hours since almost all of his classes got cancelled when his building suddenly needed to be fumigated.

“This seat taken?” the voice was unfamiliar and Jamie looked up to find Laoghaire Mackenzie looming over his table. He knew about her and her fondness of him, she was never to shy to show it anyway, but he’d never taken a liking to the lass. She wasn’t his type and he didn’t like her personality at all. Despite numerous turndowns, she was still persistent.

Sensing his refusal, she made another attempt. “The table sits four and yer the only one.” She moved the chair in front of him causing the bag to fall over and all of its contents sprawled over the floor.

“I’m sorry. Here” she said, giving some of his things as he stood to pick it up. “Well?” she asked again, waiting for his invitation. Jamie was a gentleman and seems there was no reason to give the lass a boot or the seat. He was about to reluctantly agree when another voice chimed in.

“Actually, the seat is taken.” Claire’s voice was a happy sound in Jamie’s ear. Laoghaire turned to see whose voice was cockblocking her to Jamie and frowned. Laoghaire and Claire have never had a conversation before past pleasantries and despite that, they seem to have grown a dislike to each other, an unspoken disapproval of each person’s position in Jamie’s life. Too bad for Laoghaire, Claire knew she had the upper advantage and would gladly take that road anytime around her.

Claire wore her smug face proudly as Laoghaire huffed and shoved her way past her. Jamie, to his credit, didn’t say anything but rather he smiled at her in such a way that made Claire’s heart sing and she knew it came from a place of utmost gratitude.

Claire took her seat and Jamie started fixing his bag. Upon inspection, he realized he was missing something. Alarmed, Jamie quickly put out its contents again but still, it was not there.

He stood up and looked around the floor, pacing himself around the perimeter of his area. At one point, he even kneeled and bowed down just to look under chairs.

It was still not there.

Jamie stood up, flushed and a paleness was creeping in his face. He has lost it. How could he have lost it? Did Laoghaire take it with her? How would he tell his Mam that he lost a 300-year old family ring? Questions were pouring out his mind and he felt utter despair in the situation.

He wasn’t even supposed to bring it. It was a last minute decision to have it checked and cleaned.

“Looking for this?” Claire lifted the black leather box.

Jamie turned his head so fast, Claire thought he’d trip with his own momentum. But seeing the relief on his face warmed her heart.

“Thank ye!” he sat and moved to get the box but Claire pulled it away. “What’re..?”

“What is this?” she asked genuinely. “Is this what I think it is?”

“Tis’ nothing, Claire” he said, attempting to grab it from her again but was unsuccessful. She gave him a look and he resigned. “Yes. But there’s no need to think about it now, we have exams coming up.”

It wasn’t the same for Claire. The box did cross her mind from time to time since the dinner. But she, too, resigned and gave the box back to Jamie. “Fine, okay. Can I, at least, see it though?” she asked shyly.

“What?”

“Can I see it?”

Oh. Jamie was not expecting that. He didn’t think she’d be interested at all but here they are. He looked around, checking the place. The coffee shop was sparse and there’s no one close enough to pay them attention.

Jamie then focused on her, his eyes boring intently on hers, hoping to convey a certain reverence and seriousness on what he was about to show her. Slowly, he lifted the lid of the box revealing the simple silver ring within, his eyes observing her reaction.

Claire’s eyes focused on the ring as soon it was revealed. She honestly wasn’t expecting anything but if it was an engagement ring, at least, she thought, there’d be a diamond on it.

But this one was as simple a simple band can be and she was captivated by it. “It’s beautiful.”

“I’m glad ye think so. My brother and sister never cared for it…”

“But you do.” she finished and he nodded in agreement. “How old is it?”

“About three centuries old? It has been passed down in my family for generations” Jamie shared but not giving away any more details. That was for another story.

“Alright, I have to be honest” Claire began. “I heard your conversation with Aunt Ellen last dinner. I knew about the box. It was accidental, I promise! I didn’t mean to pry.”

“I’m sorry. This is what I was avoiding. We’re in a tough spot as it is and now this. I’m sorry, Claire. Don’t think about it. I’ll deal with my parents.” Jamie rambled on his apology and closed the box.

“No, no. It’s fine. I know what she meant and I know it’s ultimately up to us.” she moved her hand to comfort him and it landed parallel to where he clutched the box. Jamie startled with the proximity but she didn’t seem to notice and he didn’t move either. “Do you think it’ll buy us time if I wore this?”

“Ye want to wear it?!”

“Why not? If it’ll buy us time, why not? Plus, it looks nothing like an engagement ring. Nobody knows if I’m with someone. If anyone asks where I got it, I’d just say I got it from a vintage store or something old family heirloom.” she reasoned.

Jamie doesn’t look convinced still so Claire held his gaze having some unspoken conversation.

“Only if ye genuinely want to.” he countered.

“I want to”, Claire replied earnestly.

After a beat, Jamie lifted his hand and held it out to hers. “Give me yer hand.”

Claire smiled and handed her left hand to his. At that moment, they felt no awkwardness in their bubble. There was a trust, a knowing, a joy, and an excitement that neither thought of and realized until later. Jamie got the ring from the box and slid it on her ring finger.

A perfect fit.

Jamie wanted to kiss the back of her palm but resisted. Instead, he gave it a gentle squeeze and let it go.

Claire pulled back and proceeded to pull out her books and other stuff on the table and Jamie settled back to his. The rest of the afternoon went by as they normally did until it was time to head home.

[nnightskiess]

‧₊° 𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐲 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐱 𝐟𝐞𝐦!𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

‧₊° 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: 𝐲/𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐲.

*.·:·.☽✧    ✦    ✧☾.·:·.*

Pansy and Y/N walked out of the Slytherin common room after having to change their robes. They were soaking wet after the students had to trek back to the castle after their Care of Magical Creatures class. Y/N was too focused on the book in her hands, trying to cram the last bit of details in her head before their History of Magic exam after lunch, to notice the mischievous twinkle in Pansy’s eyes.

“Hey!” 

A girl yelled, causing Y/N to look up. The girl wasted no time and pulled on the ponytail of her best friend.

“Oi- what was that for?!” 

“You started it!”

“I did not!”

Pansy stifled a laugh when the two passed the bickering girls— Y/N knew enough.

“Pans...”

“What?” 

Y/N rolled her eyes at the innocent look Pansy tried to portray, only Y/N knew better and looked right past it. The girl shrugged it off but decided to put her book away after seeing the look in Pansy’s eyes. This wasn’t going to be her last prank of the day and she wasn’t going to let Pansy get in trouble again.

They walked out of the dungeons, now on the first floor of the grant staircases, when Pansy’s eyes fell onto her next victim.

“Tarantalle-”

Before she could finish, something yanked her back. Y/N had a hold of her sweater. Pansy turned around, trying to appease her with a teasing pout, hoping it would do the trick.

“Pansy, no...”

Y/N softly shook her head, hoping the Slytherin would drop it after that, but also knowing very well she most likely wouldn’t.

“Y/N, yes.” She crossed her arms, tilted her head and raised an eyebrow, challenging Y/N. The smirk never left her face.

“No.”

“Hmmm, yes?”

“No.”

Pansy examined Y/N’s face and then bit her lip after seeing the determined look on her friend’s face. She silently cursed under her breath before giving in.

“Fine...”

She sighed dramatically, which only led to Y/N playfully rolling her eyes.

“I’m just looking out for you, Pans.”

“I know.” She replied, thinking back of when McGonagall caught her hexing horns on someone’s head. In Pansy’s defence, they had deserved it after belittling Y/N. But the girl had covered for her friend and thus McGonagall had no other chance but to let the two go. 

Pansy adjusted her sweater and the collar around the back of her neck, where Y/N had yanked her back.

“You got your quill and ink?”

“Why?”

“Because of the exam, of course!” 

“Ink yes, quill no. I didn’t feel like walking to Hogsmeade through the rain last weekend to buy a new one. I can borrow yours, right? Pretty, please?” The playful pout had returned to Pansy’s face.

Y/N’s serious facade broke and she cracked a smile, letting out a huff, “Fine. For the record, that pout really works, damn you.” 

“Not on Snape, though, my charm’s being lost on him.”

Y/N scrunched her nose in disgust.

“Why would you even want to pout at him?”

Pansy shrugged, “Eh, just to try it out. See if it worked.” 

“So? Did it?”

“He kept staring at me, but that could literally mean anything in Snape’s world. I’m craving pumpkin pasties, I can’t wait to give Potter more detention, I’m so happy I could almost smile.” She imitated Professor Snape’s dull and monotone voice and the two almost got away with laughing about it when once again, Pansy was yanked back by her sweater.

“Having a laugh, are we?”

Snape looked at her, and like Pansy had said before, his expression was unreadable. What Pansy did next, however, made Y/N widen her eyes and stifle a laugh. 

The corners of her lips turned into an all too familiar pout. Snape immediately let go of her, a sneer on his face before he disappeared. 

“Knew he wouldn’t take away house points from his own house. Especially not now that we need them more than ever after that shit show of a Quidditch game.”

“Pansy Parkinson, you bloody idiot. One day he will snap, you know? He can’t always look the other way if you keep on doing stuff to provoke him.” Y/N tried to reason, but was amused too.

“Good thing I always have you next to me to stop me.”

“That’ll only work if you listen.”

Pansy chuckled heartedly, “Yeah, I don’t like when people tell me what to do.” 

“You don’t? So you like being in charge? Good to know.” This time it was Y/N’s turn to raise her eyebrows and appear innocent, and a sense of triumph washed over her when Pansy blinked twice, clearly not expecting Y/N’s innuendo. 

“Okay...? I don’t know if you’ve got more where this came from but it is highly appre-” 

But Y/N paid her no mind, spun on her heel and walked into the Great Hall. Pansy let out a huff and followed soon after.

Draco saw them approach and shoved Crabbe to the side, making room for Y/N. She gracefully sat down and looked at today’s lunch.

“Make room, Draco.” 

The boy looked at Pansy, smirked, mumbled a quick no before going back to eating his lunch.

“I want to sit next to her, so move.”

He ignored her completely which led Y/N to sigh out in frustration— not again. The two Slytherins could bicker like an old couple, and Draco hadn’t forgotten about how Pansy had made a joke of his fall during the last Quidditch match— his pride was as big as his ego.

Pansy let out a huff and pushed the boy aside, stepping onto the wooden bench before standing onto the table, in between the plates of food.

“Get down!” Y/N hissed. The action had caught the attention of most students, including the teachers. She didn’t need Pansy having detention for another month, the last one had just ended and she was not going to spend every night alone in their dorm room again. 

Pansy hopped down on the other side of the Slytherin table and sat next to a quiet Blaise, who seemed unaffected by her action and moved over.

“There, much better,” She quickly kicked Draco’s leg from under the table. The boy let out a grunt. “At least now I can see your pretty face.”

Y/N looked down momentarily, trying not to appear shy by the sudden compliment. She grabbed a pastry but felt Pansy’s eyes still on her, watching her like a hawk and shamelessly eyeing her. 

Pansy smirked knowingly. She liked to say it was payback for Y/N’s comment in the hall, but knew she would’ve complimented the girl either way.

Because she did look pretty, always, but especially in the bright light of the great hall. Not only was Pansy glad to have a friend who looked out for her wherever she went, she also deemed herself pretty lucky to have the pretty Slytherin girl as her company throughout her school years.

*.·:·.☽✧    ✦    ✧☾.·:·.*