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kanmom51 · 1 month

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Jikook in bed - Part 1

I am pissed and in a not good way.

Worked over 4 hours writing this post, saved to drafts only for the whole damn thing to just disappear.

Did I mention I am pissed?

Cause I am.

Ok, let me take a breath and try to put down on paper my thoughts, hopefully I will remember some of them. Sob sob.

Jikook in bed.

Who would have thought that I would be writing a post about Jikook in bed?

Please don't answer my rhetorical question, lol.

Who thought after the Jikook drought we got in 2023 that we would be getting this, eh? And yet, here we are. Me losing count of the number of posts I’ve already written about episodes 1 and 2 alone of Are you sure?! And I’m not done yet. And another episode is coming today!!!

Did I mention just how overwhelmed I am? In the very best way. Well, other than being pissed at Tumblr for throwing away my hard work. 😭😭

I’ll be breaking this down into 2 parts because damn it, there is so much to say about these two short clips we get of the two in bed. Both playful. Both sus as shit. If shit is sus – I guess we can ask JM on his thoughts about that – yes I did go there. Poor man is not going to live this down, and now I understand why he kept asking if this could air – not because he was worried about their flirty handsy moments. NOPE. But because of the shit, lol.

Ok, so part 1 will be focusing on the brushing teeth in bed, while part 2 will focus on the handsy cuddly butt wacky master bedroom action.

When watching the whole brushing teeth in bed I had to ask myself a multiple why’s?

Why brush teeth in the bedroom?

Or more so, why in that bedroom?

Why not in the bathroom?

Perhaps because we would see they are both using the master bedroom ensuite?

It’s not that we couldn’t deduce that from the footage, but that would take more looking into, which let’s be real, most army don’t do. They watch it once or twice and many don’t pay attention to the details. A lot of details need us to view the footage multiple times something that most army are not into – they don’t care to find out more. They see the surface, JK and JM being cute, and that’s enough for them to say “oh, they are so brotherly…. Such brotherly love…” without wanting to see anything else.

But if you do look closer you see A LOT.

You see that JM does the tour of the house, showing us 4 bedrooms, first one being a master bedroom with a king size bed and an ensuite he shows us.

An ensuite we later see JK in while preparing to go out shopping.

So yes. They were both using the same bathroom in that huge modern fancy house with 4 bedrooms and obviously more than one bathroom that happened to be the ensuite to the master bedroom.

And perhaps they didn’t want it to be too obvious. Because why use that same bathroom?

*side note: at this point, when JM goes to check on JK there is clearly a staff member in there with them. The way the camera moves the angle of filming changes, it's clear that is not a static camera, unlike the ones we got from the bedrooms and hallway at night and in the morning. It looks like the staff member is using JM's go pro to film that and as JM walks out of the bathroom the camera changes hands and JM has it. And I state this because most of the time there wasn't staff in the house with them. For a lot of the time they had the house to themselves. My educated guess would be that just like we saw they had control over the cameras in the house, could easily turn them on and off (JK with the hallway camera), they were the ones to decide when the staff can join them in the house to film or resume filming.

Another possible reason why we got the bedroom scene would be that they didn’t want to place a camera in the bathroom, which they obviously didn’t. I mean, that bathroom was rather small – you know, as ensuites usually are, and having them both stand there and brush their teeth would be cramped and uncomfortable (we saw that in Sapporo we did have them place that camera for us to see them brush their teeth side by side). Also, obviously they wouldn’t want permanent cameras placed in the bathroom for privacy reasons – duh. Even if they did have control over turning the cameras on and off. In Sapporo it’s clearly a camera they set up themselves, one they could just pick up and take away. They placed it there for the purpose of filming themselves brushing their teeth side by side.

So basically, imo, this whole brushing teeth in the bedroom JK was supposedly sleeping in was a combination of it all.

They wanted us to see them brush their teeth prior to going to sleep. They didn’t want us to see that they were sharing the ensuite bathroom (the bathroom connected to the room JM was sleeping in).

And the cherry to top it all is showing us this is where JK is going to spend the night.

Because that was somehow something they needed to show us.

Unlike the cabin with the one bed, that didn’t ‘allow’ for another option, the two spending the night in the same bed while there are another 3 lovely empty rooms available, would be too much perhaps.

You know, deniability and all.

Makes even more sense seeing this was filmed in July 2023, and the two did not know just yet what lies ahead of them when it comes to their enlistment.

Let’s talk about that for a sec, why don’t we?

Those cameras in the house, they were placed ahead of time. Before the two arrived. I’m talking about the permanent cameras – the ones downstairs, the one in the hallway, the one in JK’s bedroom, the one in the master bedroom.

This was decided ahead of time – that they will not be sharing a bedroom. Not on camera anyway. And this wasn’t their decision!

I don’t think that JM asking while standing in that room whether to sleep together with JK, adding a comment about getting hit was an actual contemplation on his part. I think it was him signalling that it’s definitely an option and perhaps the reason why he won’t be is because of not wanting to get hit. Him doing all of that when JK is there in the room with him (probably going through his luggage which was probably there too – we don’t get to see, but it makes sense seeing how small the other room was and the fact that JK was using the ensuite). We also see JK throw something onto the bed – perhaps a heat pack he took out of that luggage? But he’s there and they leave the room together shortly after.

"Should I sleep next to Jungkook tonight? Will he hit me again?"...

Again, let me be clear here with what I’m saying. JM asking this was a mute question, and he knew it, seeing that they were both well aware of the fact that cameras were already placed in the two bedrooms expecting them not to be sharing that bed. At least not on camera.

And you know where else you see that bemusement about the separate beds?

In the trailer where we get them in Sapporo the two standing in the hotel room JK asking JM which bed he wants to choose. JM’s reaction super telling.

And what about the house in Jeju? Clearly that second bed was brought up from the room downstairs (we know that from the original layout of the house). Yes, Tae was joining. But wouldn’t that be less sus them sharing a bed? We’ve seen them all share beds in previous content. Tae literally shared one with his mates back in 2022. I guess that the idea was to show us that when there is an option they won’t share a bed? That the CT cabin was a ‘must’ as there was only one bed and there was no choice? Strange, seeing that there were other options for cabins that were not 1 shared bed. Well, never mind that. In any case I guess there was need for the deniability, seeing as to how cozy those two were the next day in that one bed in the master bedroom.

Seeing that plus knowing they shared a bed could be construed as too much perhaps.

Btw, you know what that whole scene in bed reminded me of?

Remember that time JK was asked what his favourite memory from their trip to Tokyo?

Remember his answer?

JM staying up until 5 am on his phone and sleeping in the next morning?

Sorry, but that constant smirk on JM's face... to die...

and

Yes Jeon. "He" didn't sleep at night. That's why both of you overslept the next day.

*Side note: at the end of the interview/sit down JM won a gift which guess who was given straight away?

Well, them in bed together there in CT, seeing those few seconds we were allowed to see (with the many cuts) – that is how I picture them in Tokyo on that trip. Those calm almost boring moments in bed together. On their phones. Snuggling. Playing. Just enjoying being next to each other, just the two of them, outside world be damned.

That is what JK loved most in Tokyo. That is what was most memorable to him (our introvert sweetie).

And he got that here as well.

You could argue: "what's the difference here from the two spending time together in bed in Seoul at either of their palaces?" And my answer to that would be:

EVERYTHING.

How can you even compare? Being back in Seoul, with all the playing around their schedules and stress and pressures and anxiety that still linger even when you are home, even when you are together with your loved one. You can't compare it to this. JM taking the time off to be with him. JK taking the couple of days off during his promotions for his first solo debut. Getting away from it all. Spending those 3 days together alone. No work. No stress. No pressure. Even with JK feeling physically off and JM's diarrhea. Just the two of them, away. Away from everything and everyone. Having those tiny every so important soft moments.

Or in layman's words: having a cuddle at home is not the same as having that cuddle when away, taking that time to spend together as a couple. It's just not the same. It's so much more. And that is also why it was so memorable for JK back in 2017.

I’m getting kind of emotional here folks. Don’t mind me.

Let’s get back to the brushing teeth in bed, shall we?

Again, in the second bedroom and not the master, even though it’s the master ensuite they are using as a bathroom!!

Why not see them brush their teeth on the master bed? Yeah, I think I answered that one already. We weren’t supposed to deduct that JK was using the master ensuite.

We were to know that JK was sleeping in that room, we even got to see him go to sleep and wake up there. It was very important that we see that. Not make a mistake that maybe, just maybe, they spent the night together.

What do I think, you ask? I will tell you, even if you didn’t ask, lol.

I think that JK probably did sleep in that bed for a bit. A BIT. Like a really really short bit.

I also think that they spent much time together in that one bed in the master bedroom. They got the pre-sleep cuddles (that we didn’t get to see) and they got the post-sleep cuddles (that we also didn’t get to see – and I’ll get into that in the next post – just saying that JK walking into the room and out of it after he woke up – the first time he goes in and out – there was a HUGE chunk cut out of the footage).

Oh, and they got the post-JK eating crap for breakfast- cuddles too.

This isn’t going the way I wanted it to, lol. I’m talking too much about stuff that is meant for part 2 of Jikook in bed. You see, this is why it is all intertwined and if there wasn’t an issue with image limits or readers losing focus with too long posts this would all be one post. But 'tis what 'tis and I have to stop talking about the master bedroom!!!

So, back to the toothbrushing.

This was them:

JK literally pulling JM down to lie on the bed.

The giggles (oh, what I want to say now and am holding myself back).

Their playfulness is on another level.

Add the legs over shoulder.

After JM laying his legs on JK's shoulders, JK grabbing the legs and pulling JM even closer in.

I love how with Jikook we live on moments that remind us of other moments. And this one kind of reminds me of another moment back from 2019 during rehearsal for the LY concerts, JM coming in behind JK to hold him and JK pulling JM's arm in for an even closer hug.

And we have cuts, of course.

So many of them.

Including this one.

And this one.

The cuts. We should talk about them for a sec.

There is hours and hours of footage, and obviously there are things that are deemed to end up on the editing room floor. Footage that might be boring or irrelevant to whatever it is they want to be showing us. There is also a time constrict that needs to be kept. Understandably not everything can be left in.

But it’s some decisions that make you raise an eyebrow. Some of those editing decisions that make you think – why cut this? Why not leave the flow?

And these moments are exactly those type of moments.

Obviously the fans will go crazy for seeing them be so playful and mucking around. They are brushing their teeth and it’s clear this isn’t something that is going on for too long of a time. So, why not allow us to see the FULL interaction? I think we know the answer to that, don’t we? Once again it’s those two being too much. Too obvious. Too handsy. Too couplie.

How exactly does JK end up with his back to us?

Why is he with his back to us?

Why is the whole scene with JM’s legs hanging over JK’s shoulders cut short?

And why does JK continue to be with his back to us after this has clearly ended and JM is sitting on the edge of the bed?

I kind of think that I know why JK was sitting with his back to us, and why it’s cut at that point and we never get to see them get out of that bed.

Great time to sign off.

See you for part 2 of Jikook in bed.

#Jikook #Kookmin #Minkook #jungkook #Jimin #JK #JM #Are you sure? Jikook

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starstruckgoateepuppy · 17 days

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i was a dick, it is what it is

mina x f!reader

synopsis: you wanted to die so bad, and when you try, you forget about how much it would hurt your mina

genre: angst, fluff

warnings: mentions of pills, vomit

wc:854

a/n: my mimiwimi 🙁 i have so many drafts goodness its short but oh well sorry to disappoint

you held the pill bottle in your hand. you were crying, no one was home, no one to stop you. but why were you hesitating? you felt so helpless and at that moment you wanted to live, you wanted to live peacefully and happily without any problems. but who doesn’t have problems?

you had your mom and dad who was never around, you had some friends who you treasured very dearly, and your girlfriend who you would kill for. you were struggling so much and no one was there to save you from it, you didn’t want to burden anyone.

you hated that you felt this way, you hated that everyone had to see how messed up you were. you wanted to care for people, not needing them to take care of you. you plopped the pill in your mouth, swallowing it.

suddenly in your dilemma, you hear a buzz from

your phone. a notification from your precious girlfriend. you read it carefully, you read it again and again. you suddenly drop the pill bottle and regret everything you did. what did you do? why were you doing this? you had so many people who cared for you. you started to remember that, you forgot about it. you ran to the bathroom as fast as you could. forcing yourself to throw up the pill you just swallowed.

“hey lovely, you know that i miss you and i care for you so much right? xoxo your girl, minari”

that was a text that was sent a few seconds ago and a text that mina probably didnt know saved you from almost not being there anymore. you were struggling trying to vomit the pill out. you didn’t want to die anymore. you wanted to hug your girlfriend, your mother who cared for you when you were at your worst, even when your father was being horrible and argued with your mother so many times. you couldn’t imagine how much she would be grieving if you left.

your mouth was full of the white substance from the pill that was meant to unalive you. you vomited it out? hopefully. you wanted to stay, get some help. you felt painful in your heart, you wanted to live but the pain was unbearable. at least you were trying.

you hear the front door open. your mom came home, you run into her arms. surprising her a little, she hugged back tightly, kind of choking each other but you couldn’t care. you almost did not have the chance to hug her again. you kept remembering the message mina sent you. you had to meet her now. you had to tell her everything and tell her all your feelings and problems you have kept to yourself all the months. and how much she has helped you mentally.

“mom can i go to minas house?” you look up at her, loosening the hug. she nods, knowing that you had to say something important.

she went into your room after you left, not wanting to invade your privacy but just wanting to sit on your bed thinking. as she sat, she felt something hard after placing her hand on the bed. she saw the pill bottle, she stared at it closely. tears welling up from her eyes. she couldn’t believe what she saw, she really hoped you were safe, she couldn’t imagine you gone, the very room she was in, your body was almost found dead in. why was she only finding out about this? she felt so guilty she never realised any of this sooner. you were such a cheerful person, never once would she have thought you felt like this. it pained her as a mother that you felt this way. no wonder that was the most warming hug you have ever given her.

your frantic knocking on minas front door begging for her to open up and hug her as tight. you never left the house for days, saying you were sick and your body was sore. it never was, maybe your heart was. you haven’t met your baby in weeks and you never realised how much you took her for granted. you regretted ghosting her without telling her why you weren’t coming to school nor texting her. she was also helpless but she knew something was wrong and knew it was a problem for you to fix. she trusted in you that you would never do something like that on purpose to make her feel bad.

you were a great girlfriend in her eyes, anyone could see how much you cared and loved her. she couldn’t imagine a world without you. although she almost had to.

the creak of the door as it opened up to see a beautiful black haired woman with the brightest gummy smile you have ever seen. she smiled so hard her cheeks were hurting, how could she not knowing you were just fine? you lifter her up, letting her gasp in surprise. you were so happy and grateful God gave you another chance and the realisation that you have people who care about you.

#starstruckgoateepuppy #twice #wlw #twice mina #mina #myoui mina #twice x reader #twice x y/n #fem reader

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its-your-mind · 10 months

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Some Thoughts on the importance of physical touch and connection for the Hells: A reflection on the new animated intro.

In general, I think the Hells are a really strange and special group, especially for a dnd party. They pretty much laid all their baggage on the table within the first week of meeting each other (What the Fuck is Up With That?) almost as a litmus test: "hey, here's all the shit that comes with being me, last chance to run away if that's too much."

and none of them did. and they all kept choosing to stay, even as shit got even weirder and more and more disturbing answers came to light. I think that continued choice from all of them - to stay - is what makes the bonds between the Hells so deep and so special.

okay trauma analysis and party dynamics is a DIFFERENT POST but it was all RELEVANT INTRODUCTION bc the CHOOSING TO STAY and the KNOWING EACH OTHERS' SHIT are like. key components to understanding why I am so feral about this. okay hopefully you will understand. the body of my essay is below. it has pictures. it got... too long. so. it went under a read more. yw. anyway click below if you want a very detailed analysis of an animated intro that is literally only one minute and thirty seconds long

For the first bit, character intros for Fearne, Orym, Imogen, Ashton, there’s no physical contact.

BUT. First intro of hells as a team. Ashton Trauma Flashback interrupted by laudna approaching slowly from beside him with her hand gently in front of him to signal her presence without startling him, and THEN just talking at them. Bringing him out of those flashbacks. Reminding him where he is and who he’s with.

And tbh? For Ashton? Touch is always iffy, so this is almost a more understanding and kind way to bring them out of the flashback. Just physical presence is good! UNLESS. (unless) first actual touch. Fearne stealing their coin purse, so gently that they don’t even notice it (FLIRTING THROUGH THEFT callowmoore my beloved)

(also grabbed the cap that shows her with his coinpurse these fucking ANIMATORS)

okay pt 2 FLYING OFF THE AIRSHIP

Ashton's first instinct and priority is grab laudna’s hand bc he KNOWS she is made of paper mache and he is ALWAYS watching out for her out of the corner of his eye bc she is breakable and he’s not gonna let her break bc he KNOWS what it’s like to be breakable and need someone to catch you when you’re falling but ANYWAY. he grabs her he uses his hammer as a fulcrum to throw her at Imogen

because OF COURSE he knows that the safest and most comfortable space for laudna is in imogen’s arms. and the two of them wrap their arms around each other and hold tight Superman style bc ofc they do and once laudna is in imogen’s arms she’s absolutely delighted by this whole situation bc OFC SHE IS

(tf do you mean I can’t add more than ten images on mobile UGH fine I’ll finish writing then draft and move to PC the images are IMPORTANT TO MY POINT anyway insert lesbians here) (note from future mind: I have decided that these pic descriptions i left for myself to grab the right images are fucking hilarious so they’re staying in yw)

Then fearne (who had been on her way in that direction already) swoops under Ashton to catch him as he flips over from the momentum so he can land on her giant bird back and she can fly him away.

(Pics: It’s fine to touch Ash if you’re saving their life)

(also not pictured: chet staying on the ship but losing his hat, orym grabbing it out of the air, imogen casting fly on fcg right before she catches laudna, fcg flying over to grab orym) All of this happens in six seconds by the way. One round of combat. These animators are fucking incredible.

BACK TO CHARACTER INTROS laudna who is ofc alone and in the dark at the bottom of the Sun tree, reliving her past…

(Pic: sad lonely laudna)

right up until Imogen puts her head on her shoulder, and the darkness burns away into light. She doesn’t say anything, or talk with laudna - all it takes is that physical reminder that she’s not alone anymore, that there is warmth, that she is surrounded by a family who loves her so much they chose to turn down comfortable beds in a lord’s manor so that they could join her in sleeping at the bottom of the Sun Tree. (Fav lil detail - fearne wrapped around Orym like he’s a teddy bear, and holding tight to laudna’s blanket to make sure she can’t go anywhere.)

(Pics: THE POWER OF LESBIANS AND FOUND FAMILY)

fcg. Fuck. Starts with their flashback, with their red eyes and their buzzsaw, but almost immediately we see Ashton reach out to grab their shoulder and Orym whip out a vine to tie up their saw.

(pics: reaching out even if it might hurt youuuuu)

Imogen goes on her knees and wraps her arms around FCG’s other side, and the rest of them all gather around him, holding him to keep him and each other safe, but mostly just grounding him in the present by surrounding him physically until the flashback fades and he’s once more aware of his surroundings.

(Pics: what the fuck they just need to be held)

(once shit has calmed down fearne uses this opportunity to pick Ashton’s pocket again. Flirting through theft).

(Pic: fearne is a menace to society)

final fight scene. fuck yes.

(Pic: IT’S THURSDAY NIIIIIIIIIIIGHT)

This is mostly just giving all of them room to be badasses (as they deserve) - but there are some things!! First!!

(pics: THESE WITCHES BE BITCHES minus fearne sry fearne we miss u but you are on fire and laudna is made of wood currently)

Imogen and laudna casting spells back to back, trusting each other to take care of what’s on their side. Inseparable, even in a battle where their party has scattered to fight other enemies.

BUT. The BIG thing though in this sequence. Maybe my favorite part? Idk I don’t have a favorite. But!! Orym. taking out four of Otohan’s shadow knights. then facing off against her personally!! And it’s one-on-one, because this was Orym’s task alone - to find the person who attacked his leader and killed his family. He’s angry, but mostly he’s honed-in and focused and determined. This is his mission.

(Pics: WHO’S JUST A LIL GUY NOW HUH)

But then, when Otohan pushes him back…

(Pic: fuck. shit. fuck. im. fine. anYway. them.)

FCG and Ashton are there right behind him, and they put their arms out and catch him so he doesn’t fly back any farther. And there’s this look of surprise on his face, because once he lost Will, he never expected there to be anyone else standing behind him, ready to catch him. And yet, here they are.

(Pics: fuck yes fuck yes fuck yes GOOOO ORYM!!!)

They give Orym a push forward and follow behind him, and he walks back towards Otohan with confidence. Lil grin on his face, brisk walking pace - he even does a little fancy sword swoosh! Because maybe he’s not strong enough to take out Otohan on his own. But the thing is, he’s not alone anymore.

(Pic: THEY.)

None of them are alone. And whenever any of them forget, or slip into old habits and memories, the rest are right there to reach out a hand to remind them.

Building a family out of broken pieces is difficult even without an apocalypse. But the Hells have shown each other, over and over and over, often with their actions even more than their words, that they really are dedicated to this family that they've built together. This intro fucking slaps so hard and the animators deserve so much praise for how incredible this intro is

#Tbh I could (and probably will) write multiple essays on the new intro but this is the one I love the most #no I’m not touch-starved what are you talking about #critical role #bells hells #c3e76 #cr3 #c3 #cr3 spoilers #c3 spoilers #bells hells intro #ashton greymoore #laudna #fearne calloway #imogen temult #fcg #orym of the air ashari #chetney pock o'pea #bells hells animated

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about-faces · 3 months

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Last night, I was once again struggling to actually write smut for a Harvey/Bruce/Gilda fic, when I noticed a very timely new guest comment on my Gilda fic, Bust. It was the first truly critical response I’ve gotten so far, and while that sort of thing would normally send me into a depressive tizzy, I actually found it really interesting!

So instead of actually writing the ship, as I should have been, I wanted to take this opportunity to think about just why the heck I shipped them in the first place.

Here’s how I responded, with added scans to hopefully better illustrate my point, plus some additions that occurred to me upon drafting this post:

I’m actually glad you raised this point, because I would have felt the exact same as you just a few years ago!

I’m gray-asexual, and I used to be a bit bothered by the rise of Bruce/Harvey shippers, because it was their canonical platonic FRIENDSHIP that mattered so much to me. I gradually warmed up to the shippers, because 1.) I realized I was ace and they probably weren’t, and 2.) they at least understood the importance of Bruce and Harvey’s bond, which is more than I can say for LOTS of official DC media.

Still, something bugged me about the ship, and I realized what it was: the lack of Gilda from the equation. She’s always been deeply important to me, especially her scant older appearances, and erasing her for a Bruce/Harvey ship (even one I’d come to appreciate) didn’t sit right with me.

But like you said, it’s not canon, and I’ve always been deeply invested in canon, even the stuff that’s frustrating and contradictory. So yeah, the throuple would have bugged me too.

Except! It all depends on WHICH canon you’re talking about!

So over the past 15 years, I’ve been obsessed with tracking down the entirety of the obscure, forgotten Batman newspaper comic strip from 1989-1991. I’ve posted the entire thing at @batman-daily, and I strongly encourage you to check it out. A couple years ago, I reread it and noticed something really interesting: the remarkable relationship between Bruce, Harvey, and the latter’s wife, Alice, who is Gilda in every way but name. They are all mutual friends, with Alice even going to visit Bruce alone to help/bully him to take care of himself.

It all reads like a perfect long-game setup for a love triangle, or for Harvey—having become Two-Face—to go after his loved ones in a jealous rage, like he did in Paul Dini’s “Two-Timer,” a story which notably showed that Grace had feelings for Bruce.

With that in mind, consider the final story arc of the newspaper strip, wherein Bruce acknowledges his OWN feelings for Alice and PASSIONATELY KISSES HER, all in a hilariously roundabout way to save her marriage to Harvey! It makes sense in context and is frankly hilarious.

And it works! Because Harvey isn’t jealous! The love triangle conflict you expect NEVER HAPPENS! Because they all love one another! And that love saves Harvey in the very end!

Was it explicitly a throuple? No, but nor have Bruce and Harvey ever canonically touched dicks. And yet the love between Bruce and Harvey in canon is true and real enough that shippers who want to make it sexual are perfectly allowed to do so, because it’s the love that matters. At least, for those of us who aren’t afraid to acknowledge the love between men, platonic or otherwise. And that love is rooted in canon.

So consider this: the mutual three-way-love between Bruce, Harvey, and Alice/Gilda is ALSO canon. That comic strip has been officially accepted as DC multiverse canon in the “Crisis on Infinite Earths: Absolute Edition,” which designated it as Earth-1289.

Furthermore, there’s something else you need to consider: the fact that Harvey HAS been used in love triangles against Bruce in several stories in recent decades. I already mentioned “Two-Timer,” but there’s also Nolan’s “The Dark Knight,” the animated “Gotham By Gaslight” film, and the Telltale game. In various ways, these stories serve to throw a wedge in the friendship between Bruce (the protagonist, whose story serves him) and Harvey (the guy who is going to lose it all, the woman included). I hate that shit. I hate the contrived drama that’s meant to stir up needless added conflict between two men who love each other.

And then, on the other hand, you have Mariko Tamaki’s Gilda story from “Batman: Black and White.” Tamaki depicted Harvey and Gilda being in a distant, loveless marriage, where even on their wedding day, he was constantly ignoring her in favor of work. The only person who could actually get his attention was Bruce.

At the time, this felt an awful lot like that problem I was talking about with the Bruce/Harvey shippers: raising up the gay ship while throwing the woman under the bus. In this case, for the purpose of doing an avenging girlboss take on Gilda. I hated that too, especially when Tamaki didn’t even follow through with the gay subtext in her next, miserable Two-Face comic.

You know that meme of a bride, groom, and best man all kissing one another, while the bride flips off the cameraman in the end? @whipbogard redrew the Tamaki wedding scene as that meme, right around the time I reread the comic strip. And suddenly, everything clicked into place for me.

After a lifetime of never, ever having any serious fandom ships, I fell in love with the idea of Bruce/Harvey/Gilda. Take what the comic strip did and bring it into the mainstream canon I love to spite the canon I hate.

In those great old Gilda stories, she saw through Harvey’s bullshit and knew how to reach him, however temporarily. She could do the same with Bruce. She’d be a valuable third voice for the ongoing toxic relationship between Bruce and Harvey, the one who could love them both while also getting to be frustrated with how fucking stupid and fucked-up both these men are.

Before she was reduced to a ride-or-die killer housewife in "The Long Halloween" (which, I'll grant you, has its own appeal), classic Gilda would actually stand up to Harvey and tell him to cut out his shit or else. I love the idea that she can also see right through Bruce, understanding how very alike he and Harvey are, even if they don't want to admit it.

Writing Gilda this way speaks to me as a longtime fan of both men, while also wanting to try to develop her place, as a woman stuck in the middle of their decades' worth of conflict and angst. She sees these men at their best, worst, and most pathetic/ridiculous, and while she's got the nerve to stand up for herself and call them out as needed, she still loves them nonetheless. For me, Gilda has become the voice for fans just like me, who are helpless to stop Batman and Two-Face from continuing the cycle of violent, toxic friendship, but still loving them nonetheless, and always hoping for the best.

So, at this point, let’s say I’ve at least managed to make you grudgingly accept my reasoning for the relationship. Even if that’s true, I’m gonna guess that the mention of a threesome felt like it came out of left field. I can’t argue with that. I wanted to actually write that as its own smutfic but, being ace, I struggle with that. But I really liked the idea, and as I was writing this, it just really wanted to be mentioned, so I included it.

The response has been positive (until now), which indicated to me that I had been successful in introducing Gilda as a viable third into a slice of fandom which had only shipped Bruce and Harvey. This is fanfic, after all, such things are expected, even encouraged, so I leaned into it.

Now, if I were ever (un?)fortunate enough to write for DC, officially? I doubt I’d have the nerve to go that far. But I’d still want to at least embrace the polycule-coded relationship between those three that we saw in the newspaper comic strip. I think it adds a whole new, refreshing spin on their ongoing dynamics, while being rooted in relationships that were established all the way back in 1942 by Bill Finger.

Finger’s story, at its heart, was all about how love can save a life. How love is the only way to defeat the villain. For Harvey Kent’s part, Gilda’s love was every bit as important as Batman’s unwillingness to give up on his friend. So I’m just taking it one step further within the freedom allowed me by fanfic.

Sorry for the length of the reply, but as you can see, I only came to this shit after several decades of thinking about 80+ years of official material. I hope I have at least been able to lessen your feelings of being jarred out of a story you otherwise seemed to appreciate. For my part, I hope to further develop the potential of this fucked-up polycule in future stories, and maybe—just maybe—I’ll be able to get you on board too. Hope to see you then!

(art by ofossart)

#I hope I actually managed to address that person’s criticisms #I worry that I just took this opportunity to ramble about the ship #Because I really do empathize with their complaints #gilda dent #harvey dent #gilda gold #batman #bruce wayne #twoface #two face #two-face #dc comics #dc fanfic #batman fanfiction #Batman fanfic

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scoonsalicious · 6 months

Text

Unwanted: Chapter 9, Unselfish - Pt. 3

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Avenger!Fem!Reader

Summary: When your FWB relationship with your best friend Bucky Barnes turns into something more, you couldn’t be happier. That is, however, until a new Avenger sets her sights on your super soldier and he inadvertently breaks your heart. You take on a mission you might not be prepared for to put some distance between the two of you and open yourself up to past traumas. Too bad the only one who can help you heal is the one person you can no longer trust.

Warnings: (For this part only; see Story Masterlist for general Warnings) Language, mentions of past trauma, Pocket's self esteem issues.

Word Count: 1.8k

Previously On...: Jade's really doing her best in insert herself into Bucky's life. After forgetting all about you when he walked off with her at Central Park, you and Bucky have a talk, and he seems to see where you're coming from. Hopefully, you've reached an understanding.

A/N: FINALLY! Some quality Pepper Potts. I weirdly love writing her, for some reason, and she played a larger part in my original draft of this story, so I am so happy to finally give her some time to shine. To everyone getting hit by the Nor'Easter this weekend, I feel you. Currently snowed in and freezing. It's supposed to be Spring, damnit!

Banner By: The absolutely amazing @mrsbuckybarnes1917!

Thank you to all those who have been reading; if you like what you've read, likes, comments, and reblogs give me life, and I truly appreciate them, and you!

Taglist: (Please let me know if you’d like to be added!) @jmeelee @cazellen @blackhawkfanatic @les-sel @marcswife21 @buckybarnessimpp @mrsbuckybarnes1917 @erelierraceala @hayjat @capswife @itsteambarnes @jupiter-107 @marygoddessofmischief @sebastians-love @learisa @lethallyprotected @rabbitrabbit12321 @buckybarnesandmarvel @fanfictiongirl77 @calwitch @fantasyfootballchampion @selella @jackiehollanderr @wintercrows @sashaisready @missvelvetsstuff

The next day, you called upon the one person you knew had been in your shoes and you hoped could help you make sense of your emotions. You knocked on the door of Pepper’s office, letting yourself in when she called out an invitation to enter.

“Pocket!” She put down the file she was perusing and stood up, walking around her desk to embrace you. “To what do I owe the pleasure, honey?”

“Hey, Pep,” you said, returning her hug with all the affection you felt for her. “Do you have a minute? I was hoping to talk to you about something.”

“For you?” she asked, motioning for you to sit in one of the armchairs that sat near the windows. “Always.” She called for her assistant to bring you both a pot of tea and you made idle small talk while you waited for it to arrive.

“So,” she said once her assistant brought the tea and poured you both a cup, then departed with orders to hold all Pepper’s calls, “to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit? Is it business or personal?”

“Personal,” you told her, taking a sip of the Earl Grey.

“Did something happen with you and Bucky?” she asked, concern lacing her voice. “Did he do something?”

“No,” you laughed, though there was no real humor in it. “God, no. Bucky’s been perfect. I’m worried that I’m the problem.” You put your cup down and looked at her. “Pep, when you and Tony first got together, how did you handle it?”

Pepper leaned back in her chair. “You’re gonna have to be a bit more specific, honey. Tony’s given me a lot to handle over the years.”

You snickered at that. “Yeah, fair enough,” you said. “I guess I’m not really sure how to word this. We both know that, before you, Tony was a… well…”

“A giant slut?” Pepper offered.

“I was going to say something like ‘amorously adventurous’, but yeah, ‘giant slut’ also works,” you said with a laugh. “Even after you two became an official couple, women were still throwing themselves at him. How… how did you deal with it? Sometimes I just get so angry, so jealous, I want to scream. I hate feeling like this.”

Pepper reached across the coffee table and took your hand in hers. “Oh, honey,” she said, her voice conveying her sympathy. “I’m going to tell you something that took me a lot of time and pain to learn: You can’t control what other people are going to do. I won’t lie to you, it wasn’t easy for me. Every woman who made a pass at Tony, I kept thinking ‘she’s prettier, she’s smarter, she’s younger; why would he choose me when he could have any or all of them?’"

“But,” you began, “you’re Pepper Fucking Potts. You’re amazing.” The thought distressed you. If someone as absolutely wonderful as Pepper struggled like that, what hope was there for you?

“That’s what Tony said.” Pepper offered you a wistful smile. “I had to realize that it didn’t matter what any of those other women did, how they threw themselves at him. The only thing that mattered was how Tony reacted to them, and whether or not I trusted him. And I trusted him. So, you have to ask yourself: Do you trust Bucky?”

You nodded fervently. “With my life,” you said.

“No offense,” Pepper began, “but he’s your teammate. Yes, you trust him with your life, but you could say the same about Thor, or Clint, or even Rhodey. Do you trust him with your heart?”

“I do.” There was no ounce of hesitation in your answer, no pause for consideration. You trusted Bucky implicitly, with every fiber of your body and soul.

“Then you have to hold onto that,” Pepper said. “Like I said, you can’t control what other people are going to do, but you can control how you react to them. If you trust Bucky, then why waste your energy worrying about what someone else might do? Especially if you don’t have any doubts about how Bucky feels about you.”

“I know,” you sighed, “but it just feels like it’s so much easier said than done. Like, I know he loves me, but I’m so scared that one day, he’s going to wake up and realize that I’m just not worth it. That he could do so much better. Or that I’m holding him back. Did you know I’m the first person he slept with since the ‘40s?! What if he decides that he wants more? That, even though he loves me, I’m just not enough to keep him satisfied?”

Pepper exhaled and scooted forward in her chair to be closer to you, taking both your hands in hers. “Honey, I might be biased because you’re essentially my sister-in-law and I love you so much, but you are, by far, more than enough. I know you get caught up in your head, and that all of this relationship business is brand new to you, but you’re extraordinary. Look at everything you’ve overcome and where you’ve gotten yourself. Do you know how many people who have been through what you’ve endured would have just given up? Or settled for so much less?”

You halfheartedly shrugged your shoulders. “If it hadn’t been for Tony, though, I–”

“That’s bullshit and you know it,” Pepper interrupted gently. “Tony just saw what was already inside of you. He saw your drive, your raw talent. He knew you were starting from behind the finish line, and he just provided the resources to help you catch up. If you had been brought up the way you should have been, the way you deserved, with the love and support that parents are supposed to provide, I have no doubt that you would have found yourself here on your own eventually, with or without any assistance from Tony.”

Your throat caught with the weight of Pepper’s words. You held the CEO in the highest esteem, and to hear her speak of you this way filled your heart. “I wish you and Tony had been my real family,” you whispered, hoping to keep the cracks in your voice in check. “I love you both so much.”

Pepper’s face softened. “We might not be your blood family, honey,” she said, her eyes growing glassy with unshed tears, “but never for a minute think we aren’t your real family. You’re the family we chose, just like I hope we’re the family you chose.” You nodded in agreement– they were the family you chose– the entire team was, but Pepper and Tony were special. “I wish you could see what we all see whenever we look at you,” she said.

You swallowed thickly. “I wish I did, too.”

“Can I make an observation?” Pepper asked gently, as though afraid of overstepping. When you nodded, she continued: “Being loved has always been transactional for you. You were never allowed to just be loved for who you were; your sad excuse for a mother and her monster of a boyfriend made you work for it in the most horrible ways imaginable. They gave you less than the bare minimum, and only if they felt you’d earned it from them. That’s no way for a little girl to grow up. And it breaks my heart, because now that you’re surrounded by people who love you for you, and a man who would literally die for you, who sees no other woman than you, you’ve been so conditioned to think that, if you’re not actively working to earn that love, you don’t deserve it. And Pocket, honestly, nothing could be further from the truth. You make all of our lives better just by being in them.”

You looked down at where she still held your hands in hers. God, you wanted to believe her. She made it sound so fucking easy.

As if sensing your hesitation, Pepper went on: “I’m going to make a recommendation,” she said. “I’m making it not just as your friend, but as a sister and your boss, because I think it would be beneficial in all aspects of your life right now. You’re free to do with the recommendation whatever you like; I only ask that you seriously consider it.”

You looked at her, anxiety beginning to course through you as you ran through all the possibilities of what she could possibly have to say. You nodded for her to continue.

“I want you to consider getting yourself back into therapy,” she said, gently squeezing your hand. “We can all tell you how wonderful you are, how worthy of love, until we’re blue in the face, but it’s not going to do any good until you actually believe it.”

You looked down, ashamed to meet her eye. You had been in therapy for years while you were in college and when you first started working for Stark Industries, but you’d prided yourself on your progress and had stopped attending sessions a long time ago.

“I know you’re private when it comes to your past,” Pepper continued, “and that you don’t want anyone thinking less of you or pitying you because of what you’ve been through, but honey, it’s not healthy for you to go on this way. You’re in a whole new phase of your life right now that should be filling you with joy, but you’re unhappy. I’m not saying that to make you feel bad, or to make you feel like you can’t handle it, but don’t you think it would be good to have some help? Maybe you could talk to Tony about accessing his Virtual Therapy program. That way, you’re not divulging your secrets to a real person, but you’re still getting the help you need.”

You looked at her, considering her suggestion. It had a lot of merit, and you wouldn’t have to open up to an actual person, just FRIDAY. And Tony had created it, had trusted it with his own issues, so you knew the system would be secure, and just as good, if not better, than speaking to a human therapist.

“Yeah, okay,” you finally agreed. “I’ll talk to Tony and see what we can set up.”

The relief on Pepper’s face was palpable as she stood, pulling you up so she could embrace you again. “You’re so important to me, Pocket,” she whispered. “To all of us. None of us want to see you trapped in your head. You don’t deserve that.”

“Thanks, Pep,” you said, squeezing her back. “I’m so thankful to have you in my life.”

“I am, too, honey,” Pepper said, stepping back and releasing her hold on you. She brushed away a strand of hair that had fallen into your face. “Anytime you need anything, you know where to find me.”

You nodded, thanked her again, and made your way out of her office. Once back in the hallway, you pulled out your cell phone, dialing Tony’s number.

“Hey, kiddo,” he answered. You could hear the sounds of DUM-E extinguishing something in the background; he was obviously down in his lab, setting something on fire. “What can I do for you?”

“Hey, Boss,” you began, taking a deep breath, “I need to ask a favor…”

<- Previous Part / Next Chapter ->

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky x you #bucky x reader #bucky fanfic #bucky barnes #bucky barnes fanfic #bucky x female reader #bucky barnes fic #bucky barnes fanfiction #james bucky buchanan barnes #james buchanan barnes #mcu bucky barnes #james barnes

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a66-1 · 4 months

Text

starving

part 1 | part 2 [you're here!]

Simon x Fem!Insecure!Reader.

finally got the idea for part 2. excited?

me too

TW: Talk of ed's, negative self talk, low self esteem, bad mouthing (from reader to herself, comes with the territory) cursing, self harm. i tried not to be too descriptive with the reader, so EVERY insecure girlie who reads this feels seen.

semi proofread bc who cares

The next morning was exhausting as the last.

You got up early to go running. If you ever have the chance, you run until the sun comes up. You need to stay fit if you want a boyfriend. It was easier when you were on your meds. Almost like you had the will to live those mornings.

You were back at the house around 8 am. You weren't scheduled for work today so... You headed back to bed and really, just slept the day away

You woke up around 5 pm. 5, really? God, you are just some depressed child.

You got out of bed for the second time, and changed into a dress. It was hard seeing yourself in a dress after 2 years. You stopped going out because alcoholism and anti-depressants aren't really two peas in a pod, are they?

Well this is why you quit. You dropped your therapist and your meds because you were better, and your mom stopped helping with the payments, and now you can go back to partying.

Minus the heavy drinking.

Hopefully.

You tear your eyes off yourself. If you stare too long, you'll end up convincing yourself to stay in bed longer. You configure the rest of your outfit, and grab a small black purse. Throwing your phone in it, you leave the house quicky. If you don't, you might properly convince yourself you're just as ugly as you thought..

The drive to the bar was silent, save from the honking cars around you. Fuck, what if this is the wrong idea? I mean the looks everyone will give you, you look so bad and so ugly and god this was such a bad--

You hear a car honk behind you. The light turned green. You lower your head, sighing, and taking a left.

Once at the bar, you slip into one of the seats nearer the back, feeling uncomfortable in the seat. Adjusting your dress down, you cringe while looking around the bar. There's so many pretty women here, and comparatively you are way under them.

You order a drink, sipping on the alcohol for the first time in months. Fuck, your therapist would be losing it if she knew you not only stopped meds but started drinking again...

You rested your head in your palm, watching others interact. Pretty women just have a way with men, a way you've never had. The buzz of the alcohol was enough to make you not question why nobody has interacted with you, other than the bartender. People probably think your such a loser, I mean, who would just sit here and drink--

"Hey. You're, uh.. That girl from yesterday right?" A gruff voice appears behind you. You flinch forward, whipping your head around.

Oh. This guy.

You slowly put your drink down, your palm over the top of it.

"And who are you?" You ask, eyeing the man. He didn't have his mask on. He was... Really cute.

"A customer." He sat next to me, his eyes trained on mine. I felt sort of flushed under his gaze.

Fuckin' small world.

You spent some of the night talking with him. Still don't know his name, or why you ran into him here, but you don't care nonetheless.

You were looking for sex this night but... Is a connection so bad?

Like you could make a connection with someone who is out of your league.

thank god i finished this. 3 drafts later, and im sorry its kinda short. trust part 3 is gonna have the good stuff, this is kinda a filler so it can get to the good stuff.

ily babes...

-a661

taglist:

@i-am-hungry-24-7 @arminarlertssword @haven-1307

#simon ghost riley x you #simon ghost x reader #simon riley x reader #simon riley x you #simon ghost riley x reader #simon ghost x you #simon fluff #simon ghost riley #simon riley #simon ghost fluff

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drawnfamiliarfaces · 8 months

Note

Do you think Kim is worried that out of all the HoM, she is the only one who does not have super powers? Well, or the guys worry about her more than the other guys on the team, she’s an ordinary person

oh dude, i've had a blurb about something like it in my drafts for forever since someone asked about my hc for the homies (still working on that ask but hopefully gonna post it soon), but Imma answer this one, so in short - yeah! Kinda.

Kim is not really worried per say, after all she is one of prime examples of human in their peak condition (her whole family is kinda like that, good genetics amirite?) and she has some enhanced equipment to aid her, not to mention all the experience to rely on - BUT she is very aware that out of all of them, she can be the most vulnerable, especialy when it comes to taking hits. Unlike Danny, Jake, Jun, Rex, Jenny, and to some degree Ben and Randy, Kim can't get up after an injury as easily (and neither can Zak actually). So she compensates her human vulnerability by being/fighting smarter and quicker and more precise. I mean, with right equipment and strategies she can win in a VS against most of them, so I feel like she is very... Batmany in that sense, lol.

So, because of that, others know that Kim can handle herself just fine whenever they face off someone/thing that could be considered too dangerous to a normal human - mostly because they know that unlike them, she won't throw herself onto the path of danger recklessly.

But there is also this awareness they all have whenever it comes to their entirely too human friends, to protect the ones vulnerable (I mean, almost all of them have human friends who they had to save from trouble, so their spidey sense of 'squishy friend in danger!!!' is very well developed), so it obviously extends to Kim.

Though I prefer to call it 'covering each other's vulnerabilities', than just worry/fretting, - they cover Kim's back, and she is just as diligent in watching theirs. Because sometimes being human is the best defense, and some other times all those heavy hitters need a reminder that just because they can take those hits and limp away barely alive, doesn't mean they have to.

#que?#hom au #hom au q&a #when i got this ask i was like 'OH i was just thinking aboutsomething like that recently!'#and then i legit struggled to write it out lol #kim possible #jake long #jenny xj9 #juniper lee #danny phantom

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cookiepie111 · 1 year

Text

I'm insane HOWEVER! König with milf darling.

A/A This piece is finally escaping draft hell! Again started as rambling so sorry if its all over the place. not proofread, feedback would be appreciated 🙏🏾( Hopefully, part 2 at some point, eh🫠) x black fem reader

It stared out small, nothing terrible. He'd just admired you and your strength. Being a single mum wasn't easy.

The lady next door who's always so kind dropping leftovers at his house, she'd bring over missed letters and parcels to him.

He notices how you're always rushing back home whenever you drop something off as your youngest chases after you outside. He makes sure to come to you now.

He's seen you through the window struggling with your kids trying to guide them to the door with bags of shopping. Tapping away at the sink his eyes following you with shopping. He should help you, yet he stood there thinking a little while longer racking his brain for... something.

He can't help but project. Are you managing okay where is husband he must no good if he's not around if you're constantly struggling.

You'd invited him over a handful of time merly pleasantries, he refused each time. This time, when standing at your door, waiting for you to find his parcel, "Can I come in?" You're surprised he refused your previous offers, and frankly, you're a bit scared to have a man so.. intimidating in your home. You look to the side, hesitating "sure"

He sits at your coach, dwarfing the space around him. The scene before you reminds you of Alice in Wonderland, as if he'd drunk a position to grow making the biscuits in his hand look comically small. looking around your house, toys, books, honestly half your house was just scattered about. pictures of you and your children on the shelf, yet no baby pictures. Strange.

He's laying on the seat in his house, he's antsy, hasn't done anything in a while, in the army there's structure and routine he hadn't planned to be off for this long. He needed to put himself to work.

He felt bad, he was reminded of his mother he wasn't much help back then not much he could have done, but its different now, he can still help a mother in need right?

It wasn't exactly intense work, but it was something, your house needed a bit of help, and it wouldn't hurt to do something to keep his body busy. You were adamant he didn't need to. "You don't work, you don't eat, you've been feeding me for some time, let me put in the work." He was so flat with his delivery, A shocked look was all you could give him. that seemed to squash any argument in you.

He got work picking up the toys and items putting them in the fabric box, so flimsy. "You need a proper place to put this stuff. Your lack of furniture and storage, you should have spaces for these in your kids room". he thinks he's helping giving you good advice.

his words come out harsher than he expected. You tensed under his words, you'd been working yourself crazy trying to get your two kids settled in. You didn't want your oldest to become a second parent to their siblings. Between working and looking after your youngest, you simply didn't have time. You were making do with what you had. You didn't need this man shaming you. "Yes I, I'm trying." He hadn't meant for his words to come out as criticism of you. He turned back at the ground. "Wait here"

You turned looking out of the window huh?! He was dragging a cupboard out his house "wait wait what are you doing" was he serious? You could get a cupboard later. It took a lot of convincing that you didn't need it he could put it back in his house. If your neighbours were to look outside, they'd see your panicking form waving arms about over a confused giant. He let up but left at "fine tomorrow we can go and buy new cupboard"

" I can't I have to stay with my kids"

"Bring them" You're pretty sure he was giving you an order there, no room for discussion. This man is really throwing you for a loop, you're only pulled out of confusion when your youngest pulls on your leg. 'How did they get out so fast?!'

#könig x reader #könig x black reader #call of duty x reader #cod x reader #call of duty fic #cod konig #könig headcanons #cod fanfic #call of duty fanfic #cod mwii #x reader #call of duty #cod

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licorice-tea · 8 months

Text

Young And Dumb.

Pairing: Trafalgar Law x reader

Content: Strawhat reader, gender neutral reader, reader is flirty and bold, cursing, allusions to sex and a threesome, no actual sexual content!!!, pining, kissing 🤭, misunderstandings/ miscommunication, a little bit of arguing, hurt/comfort <3

Word Count: 1.7k

A/N: kind of been in a writing slump these past few days, so i just wanted to write and post something, you know? it’s weird bc i have a ton of wips in my drafts, but none of them really felt finished, so i did this whole thing in maybe 2 hours? hopefully it’s enough to pull me out of my little funk so i can get back to posting more regularly! anyway, enjoy!

Law respects you. He respects your choices, your independence from him, even your crew that he doesn’t always like personally. But one thing he absolutely cannot stand is when you do things like this.

The first thing he hears upon walking up to the deck is giggling. Bothersome, but not too loud or unusual that it throws off his routine. Besides; he’s sure his crew must be glad to be above the waves for once, and happy to have the company of the Straw Hats as well. The two crews had wound up with their ships anchored next to each other in the middle of the sea, and agreed to stay there before their courses diverged once again.

He sees you talking to Penguin and Shachi- the source of said laughter. But, Law does a double take when you let out a shriek of laughter. Then he realizes just how closely the two of them are standing to you. You’re not even on the same crew as them, but you look real cozy with Penguin’s hand around your waist and Shachi’s on your shoulder. Of course, he knows your friendliness can border on flirtation (and desperately wants to be on the receiving end of that flirting right now instead of his crew members) but that logic does nothing to calm him.

Law’s perpetual frown turns into a full on scowl as he marches over to the trio you’ve formed. “Penguin! Shachi! Have you…” he loses his train of thought when you give him a quizzical expression, and realizes there is nothing that they haven’t already done. “Your chores. Below deck.”

“Sure have, captain!”

“Yes, captain!”

All three of you look at him expectantly, unsure of why he’s still standing before you. “Are you ok, Law?”

“Ok?” No he wasn’t fucking ok. How could he be when two of his closest friends were throwing themselves at you, and you were letting them? They didn’t even know how he felt for you- no one does- but still. This was just too much for him.

“I need to speak to you, y/n-ya.”

With regard for his serious tone and expression, you wriggle out from between your two friends and follow Law all the way to his office. When you get there and he finally shuts the door, you don’t sit.

Instead you approach him, “Is something wrong? You seemed really upset.”

He looks down at you with a frown. You can tell he’s contemplating his next words before answering, “…Everything is fine.”

“Oh? Ok, so… why are we here then?”

Law breathes deeply, and exhales in a huff. “I need to tell you something.”

“Is it… serious? You’re being kind of weird, Law.”

“I am not.”

“Hm, well, no; you are. But what’s up?”

“I-“ he stops himself and sighs again before continuing. “So dramatic,” you think to yourself. “You shouldn’t get so close to Penguin and Shachi.”

You blink a few times, shocked. He could either be confessing his overwhelming love for you (which you highly doubted, Law had never seemed to reciprocate your affections for him) or giving you some spiel about inappropriate relationships. “Excuse me?”

“They do this kind of thing all the time, y/n-ya; messing around with random women and men, and-“

“And what, Law? I’m an adult, for fucks sake, I don’t need anyone telling me what to do.”

“You don’t understand, they- they want something from you.”

“I know damn well you’re not lecturing me on my sex life right now, Trafalgar Law.”

His face gets hot just from the thought of it. “I am not! But you can’t-“

“Yes, Law, I can. I’m not going to, wasn’t even planning on it; all I did was flirt with them. But believe me when I say I can.”

He’s silent, with an expression akin to that of a bewildered fish. Then it morphs into more of a frown. “I-“

“Don’t even continue with that thought, because you’ve already managed to piss me off beyond belief. Just- just get out of my way.” You step around him and fling open the door to his office before storming off.

That evening, the two crews gather on the deck of the Thousand Sunny for a feast. You find an empty seat, and soon enough Penguin and Shachi place themselves on either side of you.

“Heyyyy y/n.” The first greets you with a sort of awkward, nervous cadence.

“Hey guys, sorry I left without saying bye earlier.”

“Oh it’s fine, you’re good…”

“We’re sorry too.”

This makes you quirk an eyebrow in confusion and look side to side at either of them. “Why would you be sorry?”

They shoot a quick glance at each other, but it’s very obvious because they have to look across you to do so.

“Did you know that, well… Law sort of…”

“He has feeling for you. Big time.”

You almost spit out your drink. “What? Oh, ok, real funny guys-“

“No, no we’re serious!”

“Yeah! You should hear the way he talks about you-“

“All good things, of course, it’d be hard not to- But anyway he was never going to tell you because he doesn’t think you’re interested, blah blah blah-“

“Which is why we decided to try and make him jealous!”

“…I’m so confused right now. No, not even confused just… surprised?”

“Don’t blame yourself, Captain’s hard to read sometimes.”

“Good thing we figured it out for you, right?” Shachi elbows your side, clearly pleased with himself.

“Uh huh...”

Penguin continues “Anyway, we thought it worked when he said he needed to talk to you earlier, but when you came back you seemed sort of upset.”

“Yeah, well he was kind of acting like a dick.”

He sighs, “Law means well, I swear. He’s just… he’s not the best with matters of the heart.”

“That’s ironic.”

Shachi leans over you to address his friend. “Not the best? C’mon man, he has zero experience.”

“Shh! We want y/n to feel for him, not pity him.”

You laugh, “Right, so… what should I do?”

“Do you like him back?” Such a childish way of saying it.. but you do. And you had, for a while, but you’d never acted on your feelings because he’d never seem to like you as anything other than a friend. Until earlier today, when his jealously led him to say some kind of rude things to you. It was no excuse, but it explained why he’d acted the way he did.

You smile softly and look down. “I do.”

“Then go talk to him!”

“Yeah, go talk to him y/n!”

The two men excitedly get you up out of your seat and (gently) push you toward where Law is leaning on the railing of the deck. You laugh and go along with it- if what they were saying is true, what could be the harm in being honest about your own feelings with him?

You walk briskly toward Law, but with purpose, And when you stop in front of him, he looks up from his cup like a deer in headlights.

He quietly greets you with a nod. “…Y/n-ya.”

“Law. Can we talk?”

He nods and follows you to the starboard side of the deck, far enough from where the dinner and light music is. You come to a stop and turn to face him.

“You know, I’ve been talking to Penguin and Shachi…”

Law deadpans, still annoyed about how they were all over you earlier. “Mhm.”

“And they told me something about you. I didn’t really believe it, at first, because you never… Well you never acted like you do, but-“

“Like I what?”

“Like you… have feelings for me?”

“Shit.” He was going to kill them after this. Or at the very least, make sure they had the worst of the chores on the Polar Tang for the foreseeable future. “They… They told you that?”

“Yes, but-“ Law turns and tries to walk off with his fists clenched, before you stop and grab one of his wrists. “I feel the same way, Law. If it’s true, of course.“

“It is.”

You smile. “If you were jealous earlier, you could’ve just said so. Then I wouldn’t have gotten angry with you.”

“You’re not interested in them?”

“No, we’re just friends… But I didn’t think you were interested in me, either, so I didn’t see the harm in flirting.”

Law shrugs, looking down at his shoes. You’ve never seen him so shy. “Well, I didn’t think you felt the same way, so I never, uh, confessed.”

“Well,” you take a step closer, and risk your chances by gently lifting his chin with one hand. “I do.”

Law’s eyes roam over your face, mouth gaping as he searches for his next words. He wants to say something suave and impressive, to take back control of the situation when you so clearly have him wrapped around your finger. However, he comes up with nothing, and decides to try something new instead. Maybe your boldness has simply inspired him to suddenly come up with this master plan, or maybe he just can’t think of anything else with you standing so close; but he kisses you.

It’s slow and hesitant for the first few seconds- you think he’s probably new to this by the way he lips press into yours forcefully and without much intention. You wrap your arms around his neck and pull him closer, guiding him to sink his lips into yours rather than have them press flat against each other. He follows suit, then pulls away for a quick breath before going right back for you. He sighs into the kiss this time, and your lips part ever so slightly. He takes this as opportunity try and go a little further- his tongue passes in the slit between your lips and you open them further to let him. What had started off as a small kiss quickly becomes a less than innocent make out session. Law is bold with it, too; nipping at your lips and causing you to gasp so that he can take you by surprise and kiss you that much more deeply (on more than one occasion.) You can both practically feel the tension built up over months of pining after each other dissipating.

At long last you pull away, for fear your mouth will go numb if you let him bite your lips one more time.

And Law asks, slightly panting; “How was that?”

You laugh, genuinely surprised that he’s concerned about his performance in what might’ve been was the best kiss of your life. “Perfect, Law. Just perfect.”

#one piece x reader #fanfic #one piece x you #one piece #x reader #law x reader #law fluff #law x you #law x y/n #misunderstanding #miscommunication #trafalgar law #trafalgardwaterlaw #trafalgar d law x reader

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coveholdenmyluv · 1 month

Text

I. Midoriya - New Beginnings

Synopsis. Stained and calloused, the commission has nurtured your palms into silent artillery and trained you to fight the wolves they throw you in with. Not at all accounting for the possibility that you too might learn to bite the hand that feeds you.

Or alternatively - in which the Hero Commission recruits YOU to go undercover as a student in UA to keep a certain class, who already seems to be a magnet for trouble, in check...

It's safe to say you get a little more than what your briefing covered.

A story of the finding of self love, a family, and a new beginning.

Series masterlist.

Chapter warnings. emotional manipulation, minor death, this is sort of a set up chapter?, kind of a long chapter, the latter half is very chill. pls read prologue first!

Chapter synopsis. You’ve been summoned to the HPSC headquarters! Hopefully they’re planning on giving you that vacation you dream of.

1| Only in Our Dreams. 10.9K words

"Mercy, please! I swear, we meant no harm. It was just for some extra cash, I've got my girls at home!"

The man cowered near the back wall as you intimidatingly stepped towards his hunched position. The leisure steps you took barely made much noise at all, yet the soft pats of your boots were deafening. His whimpers reached their maximum volume when the soles of your feet came into contact with a limp limb laying on the concrete, and his head flew every which way to gaze at the lifeless bodies of his companions strewn around him.

He feared to meet the same fate.

"Do they have a mother?"

"No!" The man shrieks, "That's the reason that I'm doing what I'm doing. I just want to give them a better life." He explains honestly. "I've barely even found a babysitter, I've got my ma watching them!"

You chuckled bitterly at his justification - instantaneous hysteria that you've heard countless times before.

"Illegal drug trafficking, right? How's that working out for you and your girls?" You asked in a sneering manner, to which he simply sputtered as he struggled to elucidate any further. "I've gotta say, you're good at what you do. The police are having a hard time tracking you down. But of course, your little side hustle has been causing the citizens in Kyushu to grow rampant. The heroes based in the area are beginning to go into overtime, thus leaving them tired and malnourished. We can't have our dutiful saviors walking around enervated, can we?" Your right palm lifts into the air and a crisp chill invades your palm whilst the radiant gleam of your dainty sun mark begins to swell.

"No, please! My girls- You're a hero aren't cha'? You can't- you wouldn't!" He squeals and squirms as you corner him. His eyes gape at you in horror and look to nearly burst out of their sockets as his pitiful cries reach their peak.

"Your girls will be better off with your ma." You state as your palm draws near his face. "Scum needs to be dealt with, you understand, don't you? This is for the good of our cause."You rasp, steeling yourself to proceed with the actions that will surely haunt you until the moment you reach your deathbed composed of wilting and withering black dahlias.

"You're no hero, you're the devil incarnate. An angel of death! You'll get what's coming to you, Aeron. Mark my words, I'll be cheering for your downfall from hell-" He begins, only for his ardent proclamations to dwindle in their power as your palm finally makes contact with his rugged skin.

You watch as his limbs go limp, surveying his body for the telltale signs of the remaining life to dispel. Though, those aren't what notify you of your completed mission, instead it's the warm draft that floods your body and inhabits every crevice available.

The feeling is supposed to invigorate you, supposed to bring forth newly born vitality, but in reality it makes you nauseous to the point where you yearn to clutch that wretched right palm onto your lips.

"Go ahead and save me a spot then. If those are the consequences of fulfilling my purpose, then so be it." Your excruciating voice grinds out. You can nearly taste the bile adhering to the walls of your throat, forcing your retreating hand to clutch into a fist and fingernails to pierce into the skin of your palm.

Nausea.

You hate the rising feeling of nausea - with nausea comes profuse perspiration, retching, dyspnea, and remorse.

Your line of work bears no room for penitence.

With corpulent and dense inhalations, you gather your bearings to go forth with the completion of your mission. Slipping your cell phone out of the pouch strapped to your waist, you dial the numbers ingrained into your muscle memory - carved and sealed with cement into your bones.

"Assignment fulfilled. Another clean job." You state in a low tone into the speaker.

"Nothing but the bodies is being left behind, correct?"

"Affirmative. Not an ounce of blood spilt."

"Heavenly. Flawless work once again, Aeron. Attain the photos and head west once more. We have more to discuss, my dear."

"Roger that, ma'am. Arrival time should be soon, expect my appearance at ten past eleven hundred."

"Noted. You've done us well, hero."

The long tone indicating the call had ended allows the knot in your chest to lessen its grip and release the breath you hadn't quite heeded before. The hand clutching your phone lowers itself to your side as the corner of your lips soften and warmth fills the apples of your cheeks. The crease to your brow alleviates and you can feel the effect the praise has on your conduct.

It's almost pathetic how easily your nausea fades at the approval the woman expresses for your actions.

After you comply to your post mission orders, you make your way to the vehicle delegated to take you to and from your superiors. There, a very much not unexpected ring tone chimes in your ears.

"Gooood morning!"

Your hand instinctively pulls the device away from your ear drums, a wince creasing your face. "Well, it was just a second ago." You grumble into the speaker.

"You left the house before I could tell you, punk. What did we say about wanting to start having breakfast together again?"

Your eyes soften and guilt paws at your insides at his reminder. "I know, I'm sorry. I had an early mission and didn't want to wake you. It was very last minute too." You explained.

"They aren't overworking you again, are they?"

"What? No, it's fine- I'm fine. It was an easy one today, so."

Keigo audibly sighed on the other end of the line, "I still don't like how all of your missions are classified. You'd think that I of all people would be spared some info, but alas, I guess I'm not trust worthy enough for that."

"Don't say that, it's just... different." You attempt to expound without unveiling what the commission deems as too much. Tip-toeing the edge of compromise and divulgence. "Besides, I'm never allowed any details pertaining most of your missions either. It'd be unfair if you were the sole exception. You're not as special as you think you are, Hawks." You subtly tease.

His buoyant guffaw resounds in the confined space of the cabin you sit in, forcing your lips to purse in amusement. "Ouch, I'd beg to differ." He retorts. "Anyway, where are you headed now? It sounds like you're in a car." He asks.

"Yeah, I'm heading west. Wish me luck. Do you think they're finally summoning me for that vacation time I requested? Bali sure is calling my name." You suggested sarcastically. In reality, you knew the notion was far too good to be true, though that never stopped you from entertaining the idea.

"Only in our dreams. Maybe if you told them you were going somewhere nearer than Indonesia? What about Honshu? Mount Fuji might be cool to see, right?"

You appreciated Keigo's willingness to join your wishful chants, even if it was all for naught. "Do you think it's possible to build a house directly on it?"

He laughs at your question and you can almost visualize the way he clutches his stomach, which he is definitely doing considering the slight wheezes you caught lingering in the sound. "No sane person would risk their life to live on a volcano, psycho." He berates.

You shrugged, "But, just imagine the view. Hell, even a home at the base would be divine." You suggested, telling yourself these were merely words, though deep down you know that some amount of truth laid hidden in the thick of their woods.

"Tell you what, in a couple of years we'll actually start looking into it. Who knows? Perhaps by some work of a miracle we'll be in a situation that allows exactly that by the upcoming." He offers, and a fond smile paints the skin of your lips as your eyes soften once again, though this time it was not because of grasping praise. This time, your cheeks filled with warmth at the thought of one day living in a cottage in the middle of nowhere with nothing but yourself and the man you see as your own blood. Well,him and Kitty. "By the way, I'm talking about the vacation thing, not the living in a volcano idea. That is suicidal."

"Only in our dreams, big bird." You sighed in resignation. "Anyway, how's Tsukuyomi doing?" You asked.

"He actually just walked into the office," He announced and you could hear the faint excited greeting he dealt the boy with upon his arrival. "We might head out on a patrol soon." He informed you, which you assume was his way of making the teen on the other side of the line aware of as well.

"Alright I'll let you go, but take the boy out for a walk along side you, at the very least. Don't leave him behind, you know he's the only one who genuinely still attempts to sustain the same pace as you." You reminded. The intern had expressed his annoyance with his lack of contribution towards any successful arrests during his time at the agency so far, and to be frank, you couldn't blame him. To most, Hawks moved too fast to be able to cooperate with properly.

The man also continued to claim that his interest in mentoring a student from UA was nothing short of a sudden change of heart, which you still don't quite believe. While your trust in him runs deep within your veins, with every passing day you grew more wary. Something in your instincts warns you that there has to be some underlying issue revolving the situation. An issue you wouldn't be surprised to be signed and dated by the Hero Public Safety Commission themselves.

But, you knew when not to pry.

"Yeah, yeah." He had begun to leisurely waft away your advice, before his tone of voice differed from any he had used in your entire short conversation. "Hey," The words he spoke next were low and dangerous.

"Be careful."

The leisure grip on your cell phone tightened, your fingers acting as the bars to the cell withholding the quiver of your lip, masking the trepidation creeping its way up your throat and replacing it with insouciance.

"Aye aye, captain."

Heavy footsteps coming from yourself and the guard behind you reverberated off of the long barren walls of the hollow hallways in the Heroes Public Safety Commission headquarters. The aroma that filled your nostrils was overbearing with the scent of recently used cleaning products and your dead dreams...

Okay, perhaps you were being a tad bit dramatic, but not without good reason!

Although you pledged your life to the commission's cause and would never dream of disobeying your saviors, you were still at the peak of your adolescence - with raging hormones that demanded an eye roll every fifteen minutes. Every time you trudged the same path down the abyss hallways, a minuscule portion of your soul would wither. It was not always like this, though as you aged, the officers that directed the trails that which your life would take grew bolder. So much so, that the last dozen twists and turns had left a sanguinary in their wake.

The exchange would go as such: you would receive the orders and complete them without error.

It's what you are a paragon at, obeying orders was a phenomenon that was drilled into you as a small child. These missions and interactions with the higher ups were meant to stay within the walls of this very building, meaning you couldn't even vent to the sole person that could possibly understand. Keigo was excellent at keeping the two of you in check for the public, while you were the perfect underlier pulling the strings to keep the public in check for the commission.

After all, it's what you were born for. The reason you were gifted with the quirk that you wield; your inherent purpose.

Knuckles meeting cold metal pulls you away from your thoughts, muscle memory working in your favor, having knocked on the slate grey door innumerable times before. It doesn't take long for it to be slid open by another man dressed identical to the one behind you. They donned all black attire bar the small pieces of armor in different locations of their body, presumably to better suit their specific quirks. Once all of the weapons strapped in various places on your body were removed and within the safe keeping of their arms, the guard behind you turned his stance to guard the door you stepped through.

Security doesn't abate for the higher ups anymore, not since the incident with the former chairman years ago.

The slight shuffle from the black boots of your hero costume announced your arrival. Near the wide windows and before the ash colored desk placed in the vacant room stood the woman you've acquainted yourself with since you were young. A woman well into her fifties dressed in a lilac pencil skirt, and matching button up with white heels, crossed her arms and upturned her nose well into the air at the sight of you. She had always done that, you presumed the reason was to assert her rightful place above you, something you found that you never minded and had coerced out a side of you that forced your own nose to face the ground in submission.

A man not too far behind her in age was also a ways away from her side, though you had never been in contact with him as you were with the woman. He sported light slicked back grey hair and a black suit, with a stern expression gracing his wrinkly features. You had met him over the years, but due to the strict rules of your earlier tutelage, you were never given the chance to interact with many other than the few you are still allowed to now in the present.

"Good morning, Aeron. Thank you for coming here on such short notice, and especially after a mission so well done." She spoke gently.

Aeron is who she spoke of, your hero name and the only moniker attached to you to exist. Whether she still remembers your birth name or not you were clueless of. The only person you knew of with that knowledge was Keigo, albeit even he only made use of it in the safety of your own home. Though he never failed to remind you he thought it suited you better than, 'Aeron, goddess of battle, slaughter, and war', chanting about how smoothly the name you were born with rolls off the tongue.

'Always the charmer, that one.' You reminisced with an affectionate smile.

"Good morning, Madam President. As always, I am glad to have been of aid to you and make it my duty to meet your expectations." You say as you bend over in a bow to present your respects.

"We're enrolling you into UA High." The man spoke curtly.

Sustaining your position while nodding your head, you reply, "Yes sir, UA High- wait what?!" You end with the raise of your head as you direct your shell shocked irises their way. The woman herself froze along with you, it seemed as if she was going to keep the small talk flowing before her intentions were thwarted. It was almost comical how large her turquoise eyes had widened. Standing upright, you clear your throat and speak with noticeable cracks littered in your question. "P-pardon me, could you repeat that?"

'Hooooly shit, oh my gosh. Okay, I've never asked for shit but just this once, can any celestial being work their magic or whatever and make them not make me kill a kid!? I'm gonna need so many vomit bags if I were to go through with this. Screw that, would I even be able to? Well... maybe if one were to turn out to be a sick pervert with no boundaries and god awful balls on their head, than yeah okay I can roll with that-'

Not without giving the man a dirty glance, the chair woman tries her best to mend the unraveling situation before her. "What he meant to say was that, we need you to go undercover as a student at UA High." She says, satisfied and clearly very confident that her statement would be enough to ease you into compliance.

It's safe to say that it was far from enough, very far. Like, miles away. What ever happened to 'hello' or 'how was your day'?

"Right, uhm... If you don't mind me asking, why would I need to do that?" You ask, masking your dubiousness with a forced comprehensive expression.

"I'm sure you've heard of the recently infamous class 1A, correct?"

"Yes, they're all the citizens are speaking about. Especially, due to the recent events of the sports festival a few weeks ago." You answered, before the realization dawned upon you. "Wait a minute, are you trying to tell me that my mission is to enroll into class 1A? I'm not understanding, why the hell would I need to do something so distressing?"

"Calm yourself, Aeron. We simply want you to be and act like a mere late enrollment. We need someone on the inside to keep an eye on those children. They need to be kept in line." The president says.

"I assume you're aware of the USJ incident? After their performance at the sports festival, we know for a fact that the USJ won't be the last of the trouble they get themselves into. Most recently, we have reason to believe that a group of three students, all from class 1A, were heavily involved in the Hosu incident which involved The Hero Killer: Stain. Far more involved than the reports state they truly were. Of course, we don't know this for a fact, so we won't act on this situation specifically, but that alone is enough to raise alarms for us." The man explains.

The Hosu incident happened just two days ago, in which The Hero Killer: Stain was finally apprehended and sent to Tartarus Prison. The reports stated that The Flame Hero: Endeavor was the hero that defeated and arrested him, saving three student interns. You hate to admit it but considering the class was only in their first year, if what they were suspecting is true then these instances were very alarming.

"The group of three students you believe to be heavily involved, they were the interns, weren't they? Who were they specifically?" You ask.

"If the reports were telling the truth - Tenya Iida, Shoto Todoroki, and Izuku Midoriya. All of which made it to the top ten in the Sports Festival."

You hummed in thought, "Tenya Iida and Shoto Todoroki... both of these students hail from powerful families. I'm assuming if your theory is true, the cover up was not purely for their sake. Something like this could tarnish the reputation of hero society as a whole, considering one of them is the youngest son of the number two hero. Someone had to have taken this into consideration..." You deduce, but these thoughts only thrust you into confusion once more.

The only person you could think to make the decision of fabricating headlines for the sake of hero society's reputation is the woman before you. But if that was so, why was she acting clueless?

"Aeron, I know that look. Don't go poking your nose in situations you have no place in, this isn't the first time and I can certainly make it so that it ends in the same way it did last time, if you're so hellbent on making this a habit." She warns in a sickeningly sweet tone, her voice contradicting the fangs presenting themselves in her eyes.

"Apologies, President." You hastily correct yourself and force yourself to redirect your attention to the situation at hand. "That won't be necessary."

"We simply need someone to act as a sort of bodyguard for the time being, as well as giving them slight shoves in the right direction. If even one of them shows signs of acting up, you know what to do. You'll need to send reports of your time with them and if any extra measures need to be taken, we'll handle it. It won't be forever." The woman said in an attempt to ease your worries, though you couldn't tell if her sympathy was authentic or spurious, which admittedly frightened you to no end, considering one of your redeeming qualities involved easily reading the people around you.

"So... a spy?" You point out, which was not far at all from the truth. They want you to send reports of your time at UA, which more than likely will be done in secrecy.

"Well, more of a bodyguard spy sort of situation..."

"They would never let me in this late into the year, they're most likely gearing up for final exams right now. Not to mention, babysitter was never on the resume that I turned in." You state matter-of-factly.

"Except, you never turned in a resume, Aeron."

"...My point still stands."

"You're the only one we could trust with this, and the only one with the skills to pull this off."

"That's just because everyone else here is an ancient geezer-"

"Aeron." The woman cuts you off sternly, and in another much softer tone of voice, she tries another tactic. "Remember, we're the ones who saved you from your old home. Don't you want to repay us in the form of your loyal services? You've pledged your life to our cause, you certainly remember what that cause is, correct?"

In a matter of milliseconds, your expression alters itself. Your eyes soften their natural edges and your body translated every form of meek. Almost robotically, you site the words ever so familiar to your tongue. "I pledge to lie my life down for the cause of protecting and serving our society, bettering the lives of the many civilians housed on our soil."

"That's right, and you were cursed with a quirk that directly contradicts life as we know it. We're the only ones that can aid you in putting it to good use and help you repent. After all, the only thing that it's useful for is death, you're lucky that I'm here to guide you and allow you a way to do good things with it. You're already on the route to becoming a true hero." She explains and then gifts you a gentle and motherly smile. "This is your purpose."

She poke the truth, and that fact was the reason you sometimes despised the ability you were born with.

"Right," You utter softly, and after a few more seconds of your pondering, in a voice more fragile than before, you ask, "And this is absolutely necessary? Those kids are training to become heroes, you saw their performances. In my opinion, they're more than capable of taking care of themselves. I'm not so sure they need my guidance." You say sincerely.

This time, the man speaks up. "It is just a precaution. You said it yourself, those kids are very promising, they're our future. You and Hawks are the best of the best that we have had here with us, but that just isn't enough. It'd be a shame to see such talent go to waste."

You allow another round of seconds to escape your grasp as both adults await your response in silence.

"I'll think about it."

"..."

"Oh, you're not asking me, are you?"

"No no, we'll allow you to think it through this time." The woman assured you. You nod in appreciation and let your gaze fall to the ground as even more beats of silence gloss the room. Both adults seem to find the ceiling highly interesting.

"Have you thought about it?" They ask in unison.

"Why bother calling this a proposition when you know that I can't possibly refuse?"

"Well, technically we never called it a proposition-"

"Fine, you're right. We won't try to deny it." The woman admits, suddenly getting serious.

You exhaled in exasperation, giving the idea further thought. This particular mission differs from any of the others you had ever embarked on. The closest experience you've had to attending a class is the sporadic lectures run by Mera you are required to attend whenever your superiors see fit. Actual school is something you had never thought you would have the chance to experience, and you were unsure if you ever truly wanted to. Though, this would allow you to brighten society's future without using your quirk for sin. A path to brighten Keigo's future and aid in the accomplishment of his long term goal, something you longed for:

Aiding in the achievement of his dreams, his prosperity, and his happiness.

You bow once again, the small wisps of hair on your forefront falling forward along with you. "Enrolling into UA High School - If babysitting some brats is what it takes to ensure a bright future for our people, then I'll gladly take on that task."

You are Aeron, a mere girl whose hands have been stained alizarin crimson with sins that could never be undone. You long to live in a world where peace and tranquility are innate, especially to the person you hold dearest. You've pledged to lie your life down for the sake of society's future, but you intuit that you'd lie down society's future for his.

"Wait wait wait, can we hit the pause button for a sec?" You blurted as you sat in a cushioned rolling chair. Your elbow was propped onto the table as your palm held the weight of your right cheek, and countless files with the words 'Top Secret' stamped in red ink were sprawled across the table before you. "I'm still not so sure this can truly be considered top secret, taking into account how frequently I'm seen with Hawks. I don't mean to sound like I've got a big head, but we can't ignore the fact that I'm not a complete nobody. People are bound to recognize me as Aeron and word will get around that I've joined UA... not that I'm doubting these orders, but wouldn't that just garner more attention towards these students? Bringing further problems their way?"

The last two weeks have been filled with back to back meetings regarding your mission. Yokumiru Mera, a member of the HPSC that you had come to know since your youth, was dictated as your supervisor for your time at UA and he is not enjoying the responsibilities it entails anymore than you are.

His heavily lidded eyes gradually slid to acknowledge you without so much as an ounce of enthusiasm painting his dark irises, and in a weary voice he replies, "The mission's endgame itself is the aspect we consider to be top secret, Aeron. Your identity wouldn't, nor could it, be kept a secret. We understand that you're no stranger to the public's eye, and although you might not be as relevant as Hawks currently is, you certainly aren't too far behind."

You brow quirks curiously, "Right," you hum, "So, I'll keep being regarded as my hero name for the entire time that I'm enrolled into UA... because that isn't suspicious at all." You mutter.

The man was either too sleep deprived to recognize your sneering or he was purposely ignoring your attitude. "Yes, that's precisely what you'll be doing. Since your birth name has ceased to exist for a while now, it'd be far more suspicious to suddenly present yourself with a newly constructed alias. You'll just be the Aeron the citizens have already acquainted themselves with - a late enrollment with no connection to working directly under the commission's command as an agent aiding the next generation of heroes and making sure none of them get themselves or anyone else killed. At all costs."

You sighed dreamily, "Ah, yes. Aeron: the alluring, mysterious, up and coming, symbol of hope, poster girl-"

"Aeron." Mera grumbles harshly. "You haven't even been in any posters." He mumbles.

Your concerns made sense, there was no doubting that fact. But, like always, the commission had already taken care of most details, so in full transparency- it was the hours upon hours of sitting in meeting chairs and browsing PowerPoints that was inducing your complaints.

"We've taken care of your admission, so there is no need for an exam to determine your eligibility. According to these documents, you were enrolled through recommendations." He assures you.

"What about my living situation? Am I expected to walk to Musutafu every morning?" You question, and then move to thread your fingers together and wring them pleadingly, "If that's the case, can I pretty please with an ice cream sundae on top be assigned a driver?" You plead.

"We've already secured your housing in an area near the school. Of course, you'll be living on your own for the time being." Which wouldn't be a problem, considering independence is lulled along with the territory of being a child soldier.

"Did you get me an Airbnb?"

"That is irrelevant. Now, onto the next topic that we need to cover." He diverted and then altered the screen being projected onto the wall to display the first of many files you were expected to review and memorize.

"These are the students you will be required to befriend in order to make the job easier."

That is a detail that should not prove to be difficult for you, having had interpersonal skills drilled into your psyche from a young age, making you a master at deception and infiltration... if only you were taught how to wield those skills against the teenage mentality and intellect.

"First up-"

A photo of a boy with lustrous blond hair parted on its side and gleaming amethyst eyes appeared on screen, along with a list of various details regarding the flamboyant adolescent.

"Yuga Aoyama. Age is fifteen and birthday is May thirtieth." Mera begins to read the information on the list whilst you held a copy of the file in your hands.

"Oh, I know a fake French when I see one." You mutter to yourself, squinting at the photo.

"One hundred and sixty eight centimeters tall, or five foot six. His quirk is Navel Laser, which grants the user the ability to fire sparkly twinkling laser beams from their navel." He continues in a drowsy tone. "His recently chosen hero name seems to be 'Shinning Hero: Can't Stop Twinkling'."

With your brain already working on committing every possible detail to memory, your eyes narrow in inspection, "Okay, that weirdly makes sense. I just hope he doesn't regret that when he's older."

"He seems to highly value vanity, as well as always have a smile engraved onto his face. He can usually be seen eating alone, by choice, and is an overall highly flamboyant person."

You internally questioned how they had even acquired such personal information, including his eating habits. Given the numerous photos to support these claims, you guessed that the commission already had their eyes trained on these students far before they decided to ask for your support.

Though you soon would be replacing those exact eyes acquiring the information they deem necessary, and the thought of such espionage left a bitter taste on your tongue.

This time, the screen flickered to display a girl with a rose colored complexion that matched that of her hair. Her irises, though portraying a vivid yellow, contrasted the pitch black of her sclera.

"Next, this is Mina Ashido. She is currently fifteen years old and her birthday is July thirteenth. Her quirk is called Acid which is pretty self explanatory, it allows the user to create corrosive liquid from their skin, with it being naturally resistant to the acid it produces. Her chosen hero name is 'Pinky', and she seems to be highly outgoing. She doesn't excel academically, but more than makes up for that in her athleticism."

"Mina Ash-i-do." You drawl out the syllables of her name. "These first two students were matched up for the first round of the one v one battles during the sports festival. If my memory serves me right, Ashido displayed her athleticism by swiftly dodging Aoyama's spurious attacks, leading to her victory." You ponder aloud.

"Having a quirk that conveys power has little to do with victory. If you're loaded with stamina, that alone has the ability to take you a long way, as you know." Mera adds with a knowing lilt. "Moving on."

The photo faded to display a pale skinned girl with pitch black pools for eyes and swamp green long pin straight hair.

"Tsuyu Asui is fifteen years old and was born on February twelfth. She's on the shorter side, at one-fifty centimeters tall, making her four feet and eleven inches."

Your head tilts and your eyes squint as you inspect the image before you. "She... sort of looks like-"

"She wields the quirk called frog, which is so self explanatory that I won't even bother to elaborate. Her hero name also hints at this, being the 'Rainy Season Hero: Froppy'."

"Kermit." You finish.

"She's a straightforward and aloof child who can sometimes come off as very blunt. She's the eldest of her siblings and would quite frequently act as their main caretaker, this resulted in the molding of her very mature and responsible ethics. She also excels in aquatic environments."

Before Mera had uttered a peep about her quirk, you had already held an inkling of what it might be. While she was still undeniably human, her appearance did, oddly enough, resemble that of a frog.

From what the man in front of you has told you, she, nor the prior two students, would not pose a threat to your mission. This was a good sign.

"Next, Tenya Iida."

This boy being shown had inky navy blue slicked down hair and eyes the color of freshly bloomed saffron, framed by a pair of silver eyeglasses.

"He's fifteen years old with his birthday being August twenty second and he is one hundred and sixty nine centimeters tall, or five foot ten and a half."

"This is one of the students who made the top five in the sports festival, though I don't recall seeing him at the award ceremony." You utter aloud.

"Because he didn't attend the award ceremony, I'll get to that soon." Mera answers your obvious question. "His quirk is engine, which allows the user engine-like protrusions somewhere on their body, allowing them to move at extraordinary speeds. This child has them on his calves,"

"Which is almost too perfect for the intended use." You finish.

"Precisely." The man agrees, "His hero name was formerly 'Tenya', but has recently been changed to 'Turbo Hero: Ingenium'."

"Like his older brother, which if I remember correctly, had those engine-like protrusions on his arms. He was also a recent victim of the Hero Killer: Stain, wasn't he?" You ask.

Mera nods his head, "Correct, unfortunately we have yet to know if or when he will make his recovery, but it seems that Tenya has taken the liberty to keep the legacy going."

"I see."

"You are to keep an extra eye on him, Aeron. After all, he was one of the three children who encountered the Hero Killer, and we still don't have a clue if the reports were tampered with. If it comes to be that he engaged in combat with Stain, that means he is more likely to break the law once more in his deluded sense of justice. You are to prohibit that, by all means possible. Or, at the very least, do what you can to keep him from being caught." He whispered his last sentence underneath his breath, though he couldn't bring himself to meet your eyes.

"Essentially, I am to act as his PR specialist..." You mutter in return. Was all of this simply a ploy to make the President's job easier for her? You suppose you shouldn't complain in that case, as you were grateful for any opportunity to repay your debt towards the woman.

Still... you couldn't stop yourself from internally groaning at your new job description.

"As you know, he comes from a family of successful heroes, which means he doesn't fall short on the topic of wealth. An influential family like that should not have their name tarnished by the scar of a mischievous adolescent. See to it that it doesn't." Mera continues swiftly, "He is also the class representative and extremely dedicated to his studies. He previously attended Somei Private Academy, and placed sixth in the UA entrance exams, with fifty two villain points and nine rescue points. He is a stickler for the rules, ironically, and will snitch on you if given the opportunity."

"How fitting."

The photo then transitions to that of a female with short auburn hair and doe auburn eyes. Her full cheeks were adorned with a natural rosy blush, adding to her enchanting charm.

"Wow, she is beautiful." You utter breathily.

"Ochako Uraraka, age fifteen, with her birthday being December twenty seventh. She is one hundred and fifty six centimeters tall, which translates to five foot one and a half. Her quirk is called zero gravity, which allows the user to remove the effects of gravity from solid things upon touching them with the pads of her fingers."

Your brows raise at the description of her power, "That has a grand amount of potential, if honed correctly."

"Her hero name is 'Uravity', and she placed third in the UA entrance exams, with twenty eight villain points and forty five hero points. She is bubbly, empathetic, determined, and a quote 'cutie patootie'."

"A what?-"

"Unlike her previous classmate, she received the short end of the stick when it came to her financial situation."

'She reminds me of Kirby...' You entertain yourself.

A boy with blond hair slicked forwards, instead of the common opposite direction, and pitch black eyes came next. "Mashirao Ojiro is fifteen years old and was born May twenty eighth."

'Kind of plain looking.' You think.

"He stands at one hundred and sixty nine centimeters tall, five foot six and a half, and has a quirk named tail, which grants the user a prehensile appendage that extends from their lower posterior. His chosen hero name is 'Martial Arts Hero: Tailman'. The only other notes we seem to have gathered are that he has a quote, 'wack quirk and wack look that certainly won't help him climb any ranks after graduation' end quote."

"Oof, so harsh yet so true." You wince.

"Don't be rude." Mera offhandedly scolds. "Moving on, Denki Kaminari is fifteen years old and his birthdate is June twenty ninth. One hundred and sixty eight centimeters tall, making him five foot six short."

"He was born with his future merch logo imprinted in his hair. I'm not going to lie, that's kind of iconic." You comment regarding the boy with blond hair, and a unique black lightning bolt on his left side. His eyes, which were arguably the most striking thing about him, were a shade of metallic yellow that nearly mimicked pots of gold.

"His quirk is called electrification, which grants the user the ability to charge in electricity and emit it out of their body as a sort of protective aura that electrocutes anyone who attempts to form contact."

"Which they'd be stupid to do." You comment before shaking your head in disbelief, "So many powerful quirks with so much potential in one place, it's almost unreal."

"His hero name is 'Stun Gun Hero: Chargebolt', and he's a very friendly himbo with excellent social skills. He's a well meaning jokester that hits on women, and sometimes men, respectfully."

You give yourself a moment to digest the information, pondering if this was actually imperial to your mission, which you realize is probably not the case.

"Who is writing these notes?" You ask.

"Irrelevant." Mera answers curtly, "Next is Eijiro Kirishima."

"Oh, this was one of the guys who had the only tie in the sports festival. If my memory serves me right, he won that tie breaker, correct?"

"Very correct, like the others, he is fifteen years old and was born on October sixteenth. He's one hundred and seventy centimeters tall, making him five foot seven. His quirk is called hardening, which gives the user the power to harden any part of their body. This quirk protects them from most physical threats. His hero name is 'Sturdy Hero: Red Riot'."

"That's my favorite one so far."

"He is a beefy himbo that placed second in the UA entrance exams with thirty nine villain points and thirty five hero points."

Your brows raise slightly, "Impressive."

"He has a scar right above his right eye and... hmm..." Mera seemingly begins to trail off, his dark eyes squinting at the file he holds in his hand.

"What?"

"These notes are stupid, I don't want to read them." He states and the screen flickers as the next student's portrait is displayed instead.

"No way hold on, I want to know everything Mera. What if I need this information one day?"

"Trust me, you won't need to know this. Much less, see it in writing. Let's move on-"

"You know, you saying that is just making me want to know more. Come on, I thought we were cool."

"I am cool, you just wouldn't leave me alone since the day you learned my name."

"It's a cool name, I like names that roll off my tongue like that."

"I digress, if you want to know so bad, read it yourself." He says and slides his version of the file across the table, having it land directly before your eyes.

"Oh." You sigh, reading the bullet point that Mera was being dramatic about, "He has a 'big ahh forehead'..." The urge to look at the small photo of the red head at the top of the page was instinctual, anyone would have done the same. So that's exactly what you did. "Well, they're not wrong."

"Aeron." The man grits, rolling up one of the many files he had left and bopping you on the top of the head with it. "Don't be rude. You have to learn to be their friends, that can't happen if you don't learn to filter your opinions."

Fixing the hair at the top of your head, you groan, "Aren't you supposed to be able to be yourself with friends? What's the point of establishing myself as their companion if I can't even do that?"

"Not in this case, no. Keep in mind, this won't be a normal 'friendship', your relationship with these children will be completely fabricated. Fake. You need to put a leash on yourself and, if needed, present yourself with an entirely new persona in order to fool them."

You grumble, "Well, don't be surprised if I don't end up their friend at all. I'm not going through with this to make friends."

"You kind of actually are, that's sort of the entire mission."

"Well, I won't be enjoying it."

Mera chuckles, "There's no harm in milking this for what it's worth, why not go and bask in the positives your mission might bring you? Friends your own age would do you some good, at least I think so, anyway. Not to mention, a break from whatever the President has cooking up for you in the future."

You stutter, "What? Don't state it like that, I'm very grateful for the opportunities the President has granted me."

"Sure, kid." The man relents, and for a moment, if you were somehow a passerby watching this moment from the outside in, you could have see the turbulence, or perhaps guilt?, knotting and twisting itself in the visible disruption on his face. The hesitation he feels in continuing to push you so far, in aim to create some robotic servant who would never even think to make the same mistakes as the ones before her.

"Let's continue," He decides. "Now, Eijiro Kirishima is known to be a very kind student, and his hair takes a full three minutes to set. He is also a fake red head."

"What's his natural hair color?" You ask, intrigued.

"Black."

"I could see that."

"Next, we have Koji Koda. Age fifteen and birthday is February first."

This student's appearance surprises you, as it seems his body is a permanent version of Kirishima's hardening quirk. This boy has no hair at all and was only blessed with small beady irises.

"One hundred and eighty centimeters tall - six foot one. His quirk is anivoice and it allows its user to communicate with and command animals through speech. His hero name is 'Petting Hero: Anima', and despite his quirk, his personality is much mellow, as he rarely ever utters a word."

Mera doesn't waste time exploring this student further, as he swiftly moves onto the next. This student dons dark brown spiky hair and black eyes. Though, his lips were the most attention stealing aspect about him, considering they were bigger than the average pair.

"Rikido Sato. Age fifteen, birthdate June nineteenth. One hundred and eighty five centimeters tall making him six foot one. His quirk is sugar rush, which allows the user to multiply their strength five-fold for three minutes for every ten grams of sugar they ingest. His hero name is 'Sweet Hero: Sugar Man'. Due to his quirk, he has developed a grand skill for baking."

"I'm so jealous right now." You mutter, "Do you think he'll make cake when I join the class? Considering I'll have to be their friend, it'd be stupid to decline, right?" You ask Mera.

"I'm glad you're taking my advice of milking this for what it's worth, though I'd prefer if you went about it for the interactions these children could bring you." He answers.

"So, is that a yes?"

"Probably." He answers, "Next, Mezo Shoji."

This student had silver hair that was parted and styled to obstruct his right eye. A light blue mask consumes the rest of his face, leaving very little of his actual face to see the light of day, and unlike the two most people are born with, this boy has six arms.

"He's fifteen and one hundred and eighty seven centimeters tall, making him six foot two. His quirk is named dupli-arms and it grants the user a set of arm-like tentacles adjacent to their arms that can transform into duplicates of any other body part. Hero name is 'Tentacle Hero: Tentacole'. The only notes we have of this one are: always has a mask on, gentle giant, selfless, and empathetic."

"This quirk just screams that he'd be an ideal scout." You determine.

"Kyoka Jirou," This time, there was a girl on screen. She has short length indigo hair and triangular onyx eyes. Cables the color of her pale skin were connected to her earlobes, making her quirk a simple guess. "Age, fifteen, birthdate, August first. She's one hundred and fifty four centimeters tall, making her five foot one and three fourths. Her quirk is names earphone jack and it grants its users long controllable earlobes that work like headphone cables. Jirou's earlobes are shaped like jacks at their ends, allowing her to plug them into a variety of objects. Her hero name is 'Hearing Hero: Earphone Jack'. She has a very laidback personality, is a talented musician, and can be empathetic towards those she deems her friends."

'She has bottom lashes to die for.' You notice, though you decide to keep that thought to yourself.

"Hanta Sero is fifteen years old and was born on July twenty eighth. He is one hundred and seventy seven centimeters tall, which translates to five foot ten." This student has pin straight black hair that went to about his neck, and matching color eyes. He also has probably the most straight teeth you had ever seen. "His quirk is called Tape, and it allows the user to eject adhesive tape from openings located on both of their elbows. His hero name is 'Taping Hero: Cellophane'. The notes on him are claiming that he is very sociable and laid back, though also loud and humorous."

"Tape elbows?" You hum, and Mera could have sworn he saw a visible question mark floating above your head. "I'll admit, I like the hero name. It's catchy."

The next student was someone that has recently become very familiar to you, given his internship at the Hawks Agency.

"This is Fumikage Tokoyami, he's fifteen years old and his birthday is October thirtieth. He is one hundred and fifty eight centimeters tall - five foot two inches. His quirk is Dark Shadow, which grants the user a shadowy, monster-like being from within his body that they can materialize and de-materialize at will."

It's almost comedic to hear Dark Shadow described as some sort of vicious 'monster', considering during which the time that you had acquainted yourself with its owner, he was anything but.

"His hero name is 'Jet Black Hero: Tsukuyomi'." Mera continues.

"Hearing his hero name in full is always so damn cool."

"He is relatively reserved, noble, dependable, and regarded as a very strong student. He placed ninth in the UA entrance exam with forty seven villain points and ten rescue points."

"Considering the amount of aspiring contenders, he placed pretty high in those rankings." You point out.

As the screen transitioned to another student, you realize that you recognize this one immediately as well, his two toned hair being a dead give away.

"Shoto Todoroki is fifteen years old, and stands at one hundred and seventy six centimeters, making him five foot nine inches tall. His quirk is named half cold half hot, and it allows the user to generate ice, frost, and low temperatures from the right side of their body and fire, flames, and high temperatures from the left. However, the user is unable to manipulate either element that comes from an external source; additionally, they can only create them from within their own body. His hero name is 'Shoto'."

Pursing your lips, your fingers tap against the desk as you squint your eyes at the portrait. "A boring hero name is bad for marketing. Though, at least he's good looking."

"He would formerly come across as cold or aloof, but he has recently noticeably grew to be more open and friendly. Although, he is highly intelligent in his studies, he is on the denser side when it comes to social interactions. He is wise, powerful, intelligent, popular with the ladies and also very fortunate when it comes to his parent's financial situation. Which is expected as the son of the number two hero."

"It seems he underwent character development?" You ponder, "I support that, I guess. Wasn't he also one of the students that was implied to have been involved in the arrest of the Hero Killer: Stain?"

"Great memory, Aeron. Indeed he was, which is why he is another you will have to keep a mindful eye on." Mera advises you, "I've heard he is a tough one to decipher, but I trust that won't pose too much of a problem for you."

"It won't." You confirm.

"Now this next student is," He changes the photo displayed on the wall, but for some reason it seems the projector has ceased to function.

"Mera, what happened?"

The man gives you a blank stare in return, "What do you mean?"

"The projector isn't working. It's not showing the photo, I've told you before, this thing is ancient. Who even uses projectors anymore?"

"Nothing is wrong, the student is right there."

"Are you blind? There's nothing there."

"Aeron, that is the student. Toru Hagakure, age fifteen. One hundred and fifty two centimeters tall, making her exactly five feet. Quirk, invisibility. Hero name is 'Stealth Hero: Invisible Girl'."

You remain silent, mouth slightly ajar and eyes anywhere but the man before you. "Well... now I feel bad."

"Take it in stride, Aeron. Don't embarrass yourself any further. Anyhow, moving on, she is very outgoing and girly." Mera continues, not at all deterred by your glare.

"Whatever." You grumble as you cross your arms before your chest, "She totally stole my brand with the stealth part."

"Next up, Katsuki Bakugo. Age is fifteen years old, birthdate is April twentieth."

Though, your pouting doesn't last long as you almost explode with laughter at the arrival of the next photo.

"His quirk is called Explosion and this quirk allows the user to emit explosions from their hands by detonating the nitroglycerin like substance that they sweat. His hero name is still undecided and he placed first in the UA entrance exam with seventy seven villain points and zero hero points. His personality seems to match his quirk. He excels both physically and academically. He perfected reading at the age of four and is considered a natural born genius. Though, he has trouble working in teams and is victory thirsty. Due to his parents both being fashion designers, he grew up very fortunate."

"They should have kept his photo blank like the last student, they did him so wrong using the one from the sports festival." You murmur, before you begin to dwell on the information Mera had provided you. The blond seems very well off. Granted, the only view you were granted of the boy was at the surface, but if you were to judge him at that level, you wonder why he looked so angry all the time.

The photo of the blond boy then transforms into another, creating an almost comical contrast.

"Izuku Midoriya, age fifteen. Birthdate is July fifteenth. Height is one hundred and sixty six centimeters tall making him five foot five and one fourth. His quirk is a physical enhancement type of quirk that boosts physical abilities. His hero name is Deku, and he seems to be timid, polite, determined, and he also talks to himself a lot. He placed seventh in the entrance exam with zero villain points and sixty rescue points."

You hum as you inspect the photo, the one that Keigo had pointed out had made him look as if he desperately needed a toilet, and yet again you get that annoyingly nagging feeling creeping up the back of your neck.

Why does he always give you goosebumps?

"This one and the one before look as if they are total opposites, even their points in the entrance exam were basically inversed." You point out.

Mera chuckles slightly, "It's funny you say that. According to our espionage, they've known each other since childhood."

Your head tilts in curiosity, "So, they're close?"

"You could say so."

Your eye twitches in irritation, "I still don't think I like this guy. He gives me the heebie jeebies. I mean, come on... nobodies hair is that fluffy." You grit.

"I think there are more pressing matters regarding this one, Aeron. For example, this was one of the other students involved in the arrest of the Hero Killer."

"Yeah well, I had already gathered that he's someone I needed to keep on my radar even before the president had informed me of that incident. Considering the fact that he uses a quirk like a toddler first manifesting their own. It's so weird. I don't know of any other quirk that hurts someone as much as his hurts himself, and especially as a teenager. You'd think he'd have a grip on it by now."

"It'd do you well to keep in mind that, that is what UA is for. Helping teens learn more about and improve their quirks. Perhaps he was just a late bloomer? Or maybe that's just the card he was dealt. Quirks evolve with each generation, implying we cannot rely solely on past records. We have to learn how to adapt with the new age of heroes we are being dealt. And, considering this year's sports festival performances, we've got a long way to go in regards to preparing for the year they graduate and become pro's." Mera continues to school you, only forcing your pout to grow in volume. You hate it when he makes sense.

"I'm still going to be wary of him. That much you can be sure of."

"Well, why not make it apart of your mission to aid him in learning to control this quirk? Since his inability to handle it is bothering you so much." He suggests.

"What? No way. I'll avoid him every chance I get."

The blond man simply sighs in resignation, probably deciding the argument was not worth whatever he was getting paid to be here. "Sure, let's move on." Mera alters the photo to display the next student.

"Oh, brother." You mutter, recognizing and already feeling the incoming headaches this next student would bring you.

"Now, I don't want to spend any more time than I have to on him. So, forgive me if I skim over his file." Mera decides, and his dark under eyes only seem to deepen. "Minoru Mineta, fifteen years old and born October eighth. He is one hundred and eight centimeters tall making him only three feet and six and a half inches short. His quirk is called pop off and it allows the user to produce sticky spheres from their head that they can pluck painlessly. His hero name is 'Fresh-Picked Hero: Grape Juice'. Mineta is perverted, small, and surprisingly intelligent. He is one of the ones you'll need to keep an eye on the most. Specifically because you are female, a quality he takes great interest in."

"Blech."

"And finally-" Mera begins, the screen displaying the photo of a girl with long silky black hair tied into a high pony. "Momo Yaoyorozu, age fifteen, and birthday is September twenty third. She is one hundred and seventy three centimeters tall, making her five foot eight. Her quirk is called creation and it allows the user to materialize different objects, such as weapons and tools, from any part of their body. Her hero name is 'Everything Hero: Creati'. She is highly intelligent, self conscious and another one fortunate in the money department. She is also the Vice Class Representative and gained some popularity due to her recent internship. You can probably see her on a billboard due to a popular commercial." He finishes with a sigh.

Your brow raises in intrigue, "Really? Good for her. Not to mention she is rich, pretty, and smart. Whoever sits up on the high throne certainly does pick favorites."

"Now Aeron, I know I've already reiterated this plenty of times, but I feel like I need to do it once more. The key to success is to gain the favor of at the very least, most of these students. That means, you'll have to appear affable and sociable towards them. So you know... not yourself." Mera explains, gesturing towards your slumped form.

His words have you rolling your eyes in order to hide the way in which your jaw almost dropped at his blunt words. Though, Mera certainly was never one to filter his own sentences. "I know, Mera. I have to learn to get along with them."

"Not only that but we want you to become someone that they can rely on. It is both beneficial for the mission end game and for the information that you are expected to relay back to us." He elucidated. "Think of it as becoming, somewhat of an older sister figure towards these kids."

"I could never be an older sister to anyone."

"Well, try."

"That reminds me, I'm a year older than all of them, what's up with that?" You ask.

"Paperwork is very easy to forge miss Aeron, during your time there, instead of a sixteen year old, you'll go back to being a fifteen year old instead. Which shouldn't be too much of a change, there really is no difference."

What he said was true... to most. But to your sixteen year old mind, there was a colossal gap between the cerebrals of a sixteen and fifteen year old. Withholding yet another eyeroll, you simply nod your head as stiffly as you could.

Mera stifles a yawn and rubs his eyes in exhaustion. "Alright, let's call it a day and get some food into our systems, yes?" He offers and you swore you could've kissed his feet.

"Yes, please." You say exasperatedly. "What do we have on the menu today?" You ask, expecting the normal portions that included your protein, carbs, fibers and vitamins. Nothing more, nothing less.

"Why don't we get sushi today?" The man offers, and you can almost see the ghost of a smile playing on his lips. "My treat."

"Wait, really?" His offer understandably astonished you, leaving you gaping at the older man, before you narrow your eyes suspiciously. "What's the catch?"

"Don't make me regret this, just come on." He says and wearily starts his waltz towards the door.

Your eyes widen in shock at his kindness, and an excited smile embraces your face. Not needing to be told twice, you very quickly gather your files into a pile and place them into your bag.

Madam President and as well as Mera had made it crystal clear that if these files were to fall into the wrong hands, it'd be the demise of UA...

...so they very wisely let you, a teenager, handle them.

And so with another day of review complete, you make your way to the sushi place across town for the first time ever.

As you step foot into your eerily quiet penthouse, you yawn and stretch your arms high above your head, feeling as though you could touch the clouds even though you were nowhere near your elevated ceiling. The only word that roamed your mind as you thought of your subject today was... unique? Or perhaps interesting was a better way to describe the class, but one thing you knew for sure is that they were bound to be a handful.

You briefly wondered if they had ever heard your name in passing, or perhaps glanced at a photo online that the paparazzi had taken of you. What was their opinion on you, a mere stranger, and how would that opinion change when the day to meet them face to face had arrived?

For a second, you even pondered if your opinion of yourself would some how alter itself.

But, that was obviously a stupid thought. There's no way a measly group of teens would ever affect you that much. Not that you've ever met or interacted with a group of teens before. In fact, if not for Tokoyami, you would have never interacted with someone your age up until this point. You hoped the rest of his class was at least somewhat as tranquil as that boy had came off in your short interactions.

Soft snoring suddenly reaches your ears and forces you to follow the sound. Those snores lead you to your couch, and as you walk up behind it, you take in the sight that was Keigo, fully decked out in his silk sleepwear, sprawled out on the cushions. Though, the detail that really makes you reel is the fact that he's not alone.

Kitty is curled up on his back as Keigos supple wings cradle her slightly. Kitty seems to have awoken, blinking her sleepy eyes up at your form. And for the first time since you've been recruited for the mission, the fact that you'd have to leave them behind, even if just for a short while, fully marinates within your brain.

And it hurts you, because they're the only constants you have in your isolated life. The only constants that you don't mind, and the only ones that bring you peace.

You detest the fact that you'd be leaving Keigo alone, yet again, due to the commissions orders. But what else was there to do but accept it? It's not as if you could go against their commands, and even if you could, you don't think you'd have the will to. Because, as independent as you truly are, it doesn't escape your mind that at the end of the day, Madam President is a person you would always recognize as one of your main dependents. It was simply the way in which you were raised.

After slipping out of your clothes and replacing them with what was, coincidentally, a matching set of silk sleep wear as Keigo, which was totally not done on purpose? You have no idea why anyone would suggest that, you grab two blankets from the closet, and carefully drape the first onto the form of the man currently snoozing and use the other for yourself as you settle in beside him.

And after one large red wing subconsciously decides to drape itself over your frame bring you closer to his body, you decide that no matter how many expensive or fluffy blankets you coddled yourself with, none would compare to the warmth that this moment brings you.

You're grateful for the peace you are allowed and you secretly hope that your slumber isn't intruded on by the horrors of your nightmares once again.

As you allow your mind to doze off, you can't help but wonder how school- or your mission would go about. You don't quite recognize the feeling that is in your chest at the moment but you know that what ever it is, you don't want it to flee.

A/N: two chapter set up is DONE. Let’s get into some canon content next! The next two chapters are out now!! Lmk if you want me to make a tag list!

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comics-and-fanworks · 2 years

Note

Idea for you class salt after the class is out of school and in the real world.

Marinette's phone gets broken so badly she needs a new number. She only tells a few her new number no one from her old class has it.

Some of her old class goes to bakery to ask why she hasn't called them back when they called her. They get told her phone got broken and all that.

The class member goes okay tell her to call me when it gets fixed or replaced it is important.

Only her parents forget and when said class member comes back later is told that but is also told Marinette has a new phone now. But not a new number.

Classmate rushes out to call her so she can fix their problems like always only it goes to voicemail as the person whom has her old number is like I don't know this person calling me. It goes on and on till it gets bad and the person with the new number goes to the police with worry over the threats they are getting.

Should I be worried for myself or the person they are trying to reach

It comes to a head when alya talks max into hacking the location of the phone and they go to have a talk with Marinette only it's not her

Thank you so much for the request! It's my first one so I went a bit overboard and wrote a lot! So sorry it took me so long to get to this! I'm taking organic chemistry over the winter so that has been kicking my ass. The first draft was deleted, so hopefully, this is a better version! Thank you for your patience with me!

TW: swearing, minor threats of violence

~~~~~~

"Well shit," Marinette's day was already bad, but this was just throwing salt into the wound. She had started her day with her phone blowing up with requests from her (former) classmates and friends. Ever since she returned from College they had gotten right back to their usual B.S. "Mari I need a new dress for a meeting with Prince Ali," "Marinette! I told my team you'd design some sick jackets for us and you'd have them done by our next swim meet!" "Girl! I need three new outfits! Adrien and Lila are taking me with them to a fashion show and this is my chance to interview some top designers! Oh sorry, you're not invited." She was up to her neck in demands and requests, to the point she was seriously considering closing her commissions, not like her former friends paid her anyways. THEN Hawkmoth decided that she hadn't suffered enough, she had to deal with Volpina, Frozer, AND Prime Queen and it was not even lunchtime. Volpina was easy enough to take down, why Lila was akumatized is anyone's guess. Frozer was a bit trickier, and since Chat had no plans of showing up she had to bring in Ryuko and Viperion. The trio ended up fighting Prime Queen, who was convinced that LadyNoir would still happen and the Cat Hero's absence was due to a lover's quarrel. Marinette was finally able to return to the alleyway she had transformed in... only to find her shattered phone. It must've fallen out of her suit's pocket (she had redesigned her costume since returning to Paris, she wanted a more mature, fashionable look) when she was rushing to get to the battle.

"Great! Just Perfect! This is just what I need now!" She sighed picking up the shattered phone. There was no way this was salvageable, the impact of hitting the ground had practically broken the thing in half. Tikki knew her chosen was stressed, between being Ladybug, being the Guardian of the Miraculous, building a blossoming fashion empire from scratch, and having to deal with her former friends' constant demands it was only a matter of time before she lost Marinette to Hawkmoth's akumatization. The goddess recognized that this was just the opportunity she needed to help her chosen, and she would start by helping Marinette cut off the people hurting her most. "Marinette! I have an idea! Why don't you get two phones? One can be your work phone, and the other can be your personal one. That way you won't have to worry about your work stuff getting lost in your personal stuff. You can get new numbers for both too!" Marinette looked at the Kwamii with some confusion, "Why would I need to change my number?" Tikki sighed, "Marinette, they haven't been very good friends to you, they haven't even been your friends for a while now. Think about it, your former classmates don't talk to you unless they want something, they expect you to use your connections to benefit them but won't return the favor, and they promise you and your time to other people without your consent. That isn't right babybug, friends don't treat friends like that. They don't even pay you for your time, effort, and the cost of materials!" Marinette knew that Tikki was right, but she was still hesitant, "But..." "Would Kagami text you expecting you to make her something and refuse to pay? Would Luka text you telling you that he promised another musician you'd make their wardrobe by their next concert? Would Kagami and Luka use your work to get ahead, and then refuse to extend the favor? No, they wouldn't! Those are healthy friends babybug, you can give them your new number, I know they'll understand!" Marinette thought about it for a moment and decided that Tikki was right. With a renewed conviction she made her way to the nearest tech store to begin to take control of her life again.

Adrien was frustrated, he had been texting and calling Marinette all afternoon but she wasn't answering! That wasn't like his princess, so something had to be going on, but there wasn't an Akuma on the news, Ladybug, Viperion, and Ryuko defeated the three earlier today. He did feel a little guilty that he didn't go to help, but he was busy! He had modeling shoots all morning and then joined Lila and Alya for lunch discussing their upcoming trip. The topic eventually turned to the Wayne Gala that was approaching as well, with both models confirming they had been invited. Well, Lila had only been invited because she was an official Gabriel representative, but she didn't need to know that. The brunette was currently making a big show of bringing Alya as her plus one, which brings Adrien back to his current predicament. When he arrived home, his father told him that he had to invite Marinette Dupain-cheng as his plus one no matter what. Both Agrestes had been shocked when she had rejected Gabriel's offer to join his company, but her answer had been reassuring, "I greatly appreciate your offer but cannot accept it in good conscious. Adrien has been my friend for years and I would hate to potentially harm his, the company's, and my reputation by accepting. I am worried it could be misconstrued as me gaining the position, not by my own talent, skill, or merit but because I had a connection to someone with considerable sway." His father didn't seem to pick up that the last bit was about Lila, but seemed content. In fact, Gabriel had complimented Marinette's business savvy and remarked how good it would be if she followed in his footsteps by building a fashion house from scratch. He had mused that it would be even better to have the two great fashion houses merging together instead of just taking Marinette in as a designer. Now that Miracle Design Clothing (MDC) has risen to compete with the likes of Gabriel and Style Queen, his father had decided now was the time to begin winning Marinette over.

Adrien would never admit it to his father, but he had his own motivations for being so on board with the plan to invite Marinette to the Wayne Gala. They were now in their mid-20s, and everyone in Paris wanted to know everything about the Agreste Heir's love life. Lila had hinted multiple times that Adrien was dating her, so much so that the media was beginning to spin her narrative. However, Adrien wasn't entirely out of the running yet. He knew that the Wayne Galas were always a media frenzy so if he, a fashion empire heir, showed up to the Gala with Marinette, a rising star in the fashion world, on his arm the media would quickly assume they were dating. It was a brilliant plan, Marinette was charming, beautiful, intelligent, and incredibly talented. His father held her in high regard, and he knew that if Gabriel approved of him dating anyone, it would be Marinette. Besides Adrien had a trick up his sleeve, he knew Marinette was in love with him, or at least that was what Alya had told him. She told him about Marinette's crush right before the ravenette left for college, hoping to embarrass her former best friend. Their old class still believed what Lila had said about Marinette being a bully. In their get-togethers they would often mock the designer's success, reassuring Lila that the only reason they talked to her was to get stuff from Marinette. While it upset him a little to know Marinette was being taken advantage of, a larger part of him felt like she deserved it since she didn't listen to his advice about Lila. Oh well, it was her own fault. Adrien was brought out of his thoughts by Alya's shriek.

"OH MY GOSH! The Waynes just announced the Designer they got their Gala outfits from, and it's Marinette!" Adrien choked down a laugh at the sour expression Lila wore, as Alya continued to read, "The article says that Marinette and Timothy Drake Wayne met while they were in college, and he thought her designs were so incredible that he referred her to Bruce Wayne himself! She's considered a family friend and received their order along with an invitation to the Gala! Why didn't she tell me any of this??" 'Maybe because you only talk to her when you want something' Adrien thought as their former classmates began to text. Alya was trying to call Marinette, most likely to scream at her for not letting Alya in on such a big story, but she couldn't get through. "Ugh! Marinette is ignoring me! Who does that stupid bitch think she is?" Lila's eyes sparkled as she saw a chance to jump in and control the narrative, "I know right? You'd think she'd be more grateful after I introduced her to Timmy- oh I've said too much," She batted her eyelashes and made a show of covering her mouth. "YOU introduced Marinette to the Waynes? Girl you've gotta give me the details!" "Well, Marinette was going to college in Milan, and I happened to be there for a modeling shoot," That part was actually true, Adrien was sick and couldn't make that shoot, "We happened to bump into each other at a cafè, and Marinette apologized to me for how awful she was to me in our youth. She told me that the only reason she did what she did was that she was jealous and felt threatened by me, you were right Alya." That was how Lila worked, she mixed a little bit of the truth with what someone wanted to hear, which caused the lies she told to pass by noticed. "Anyways we had lunch and caught up, she was showing me some of her amazing designs," as much as it pained Lila to admit it, Marinette was truly talented. In fact one thing she regretted was not working harder to deceive Marinette back when they were still in school, if she had known Marinette would be so successful she would've fought like hell to take the spot of Marinette's Best Friend away from Alya. She would've been MDC's top model, instead of having a stagnating career as just another practically nameless model for Gabriel. "I remembered my dear friend Timmy, we met when my mother was stationed in Gotham, he had told me that the Wayne family needed suits and dresses for their upcoming Gala and that Gabriel was too busy." Another partial truth, Lila didn't know any Wayne, but she knew Gabriel was too busy being Hawkmoth to make their outfits. "I gave him Marinette's number as an olive branch because I had thought she changed, but I guess she was lying. Oh and Alya? Adrien? Please don't mention my friendship with the Waynes, I don't want people thinking they can get to them through me." Lila smirked as both Adrien and Alya promised her they wouldn't say anything.

When Marinette told them she was cutting off her former friends for good, Tom and Sabine were over the moon. They knew about the Lila situation and all its complexities after the faux fox tried to infiltrate the bakery and convince them their daughter had stolen her necklace. They almost fell for it, until Tom remembered that Marinette had been helping him in the bakery during the time Lila said their daughter took the necklace. He had sternly told Lila that there was no way Marinette could have done it, and even offered to show her security footage that proved Marinette was not the thief. Instead, the brunette stormed out of the bakery, and Tom and Sabine knew they had to talk to their daughter. After a bit of gentle prodding, Marinette broke down and told them everything. She told them about Lila, her classmates, and Adrien, and she told them about everything they were putting her through. They were horrified, and that feeling was solidified after Lila got Marinette expelled. After their daughter's name was cleared, that useless principal was trying to dodge removing it from her record, until Sabine threatened to contact the school board about how their daughter was expelled without an investigation. They did everything they could, but it seemed Lila had everyone else in her pocket, and it seemed to stay that way once Marinette returned from college. She had swung by the bakery and explained that her phone had been shattered while she avoided the akumas, and she was taking this opportunity to change her number and cut those leeches off. Sabine and Tom promised that they would say nothing because it was only a matter of time before her former friends wound up at the bakery because of the radio silence from Marinette.

The chiming of the doorbell confirmed their fears. In stormed Marinette's old class, with her former friend Alya leading the pack. They could see Lila hiding in the back, and decided it would be better to say nothing. "Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Dupain-Cheng! We have a problem and thought you could help us. We've been trying to get in contact with Marinette all day, but we can't reach her and we wanted to make sure she was okay." Sabine smiled as she tried to hold in her rage. They weren't here because they were concerned, those brats wanted something. It would appear that Alya and co didn't know that Marinette's parents knew Lila was lying or what they did, so Tom decided to answer in a way Lila couldn't twist. "Oh, she came by earlier today and let us know that her phone was broken. She dropped it during one of the Akuma attacks, and it was pretty smashed up. She told us to let you know if you came by since she would be off the grid until it was fixed. It might be a while though, it was almost as bad as the time it got caught in the bread mixer!" His answer seemed to calm the group down, typical clumsy Marinette strikes again. "Ok, well can you please let her know to reach out to us once her phone's fixed?" The two nodded and promised they would, and watched as the group of adults left. Sabine turned to the freezer, "They're gone! You can come out now!" The two chuckled as their daughter slowly poked her head out of the walk-in freezer, ready to dash back in at a moment's notice. Yeah, they're glad Marinette was finally cutting those people off and the bright glow in their girl's eyes confirmed it.

The Gala was in a few weeks, and Marinette was STILL radio silent. Adrien was pacing back and forth in his room, trying to figure out what to do. Her social media was most likely controlled by an assistant like his was so he couldn't message her there, he couldn't get into her studio without an invitation or employee badge, and he realized he had no idea where she lived so he couldn't even pay her a visit or send a letter! "I don't know what to do! No one has heard from Marinette and her parents promised they'd talk to her about it!" "Maybe she finally got tired of your bullshit and decided to cut you and the rest of those users off," Plagg snapped from somewhere in his room. After The Paint Incident, Plagg's attitude towards him seemed to change. He snapped at Adrien more, called Adrien out on his behavior, and started giving Adrien harsh (and desperately needed) advice. Other than that, Plagg was getting on his case about slacking off on his duties as Chat Noir, claiming that his behavior was a disgrace to the legacy of the Cat Miraculous. Adrien was getting fed up with him, hadn't the stupid cat heard the saying 'if you can't say anything nice don't say anything at all?' "Marinette wouldn't do that! We're her friends!" "Some friends. And some friend YOU are. You knew Lila was lying and let her wreck Marinette's school life, get her expelled, and continue to lie to everyone. You told Marinette to shut up and take it, news flash kid, the high road does not mean stay quite and let people hurt you! YOU currently know that YOUR friends only care about what they can get from her and that Lila is planning to pull some bullshit at the Gala, but all you're concerned about is making sure karma doesn't bite you in the ass!" Plagg roared. It was hard to argue with the little god without sounding like a hypocrite, but Adrien was going to try. "Well... When Marinette agrees to go to the Gala with me I can fix everything! She likes me, so we can get together, and I can get Lila to apologize! Once everyone knows they're on good terms things will go back to how they should be!" Plagg was paying more attention to the cheese he was juggling, but he did glance back at Adrien, "One, IF she decides to go with you. Two, she may not even feel that way it's been years. Three, How are you going to get a narcissist to admit to wrongdoing? Four, How does Lila apologizing change how your ex-class treat Mari when that's how they treated her before Lila showed up?" Adrien chose to ignore Plagg and tried calling Marinette again.

Alya was STRESSED. The Gala was coming up and she needed a new dress that would wow everyone and make her stand out from other reporters. She had already secured her Press Pass, and because she was Lila's plus one she could actually get into the Gala. The only other reporters with that privilege were Clark Kent and Lois Lane, close friends of the Wayne Family. Lila offered to get her a Gabriel Original but she turned it down, both girls shared a sentiment that Gabriel's designs had really been declining. "I think it was the loss of his wife. She was his greatest inspiration, and especially with Hawkmoth on the loose, I can understand not wanting to leave your house. Maybe he's just out of touch," Lila had told her, and Alya agreed. What she needed was a Marinette Original, something to show she was in with both designers. She was thinking of something fox-inspired, to pay homage to her time as Rena Rouge. She'd talked to the other girls about why Marinette had never told her she would be designing for the Waynes, and they reassured her, "Well, maybe she thought you wouldn't be interested or were too busy?" Rose offered. "You didn't really report on fashion until Adrien and Lila took you to that fashion show. Maybe she thought you wouldn't be interested." Juleka suggested. "Als, you're overthinking it! Mari didn't tell you because she couldn't! A family like the Waynes has wicked good lawyers, they probably made her sign an NDA." Alix concluded. They were probably right, Marinette would have told her if she could have, and Alya needed that dress. So there she was at Tom and Sabine's bakery again, asking about Marinette. "Oh, she just called this morning! The damage was too severe, so she had to get a new phone." Sabine told the young reporter, who thanked her lucky stars. As she left the bakery, she sent a text 'Mari's back!'

Adrien nearly dropped his phone when he got the text from Alya, before excusing himself to run upstairs and call Marinette. The phone rang, and rang, and rang, before the call was answered, "Hello? Who is this?" A woman's voice answered, but certainly was not Marinette. Adrien was floored, he was sure he dialed the correct number. "Um hi. I'm looking for Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I'm a friend of hers and was calling to speak to her." "Oh really? Well if you're her friend maybe you can explain to me why the second I had this number activated my phone was bombarded with calls and texts demanding things from dresses, to invitations to some Gala, and all kinds of other demands." Wait, had Marinette changed her number? No, she wouldn't have. "Listen, lady, I don't know if you find this funny but I KNOW Marinette wouldn't change her number. If you're her assistant you better give the phone to Marinette NOW or I'll see to it personally that you're fired!" Marinette should really have taken care to not hire such incompetent people. It was unfitting of an eventually-to-be Agreste. "I don't know who you think you are but I will make one thing clear: I DO NOT KNOW A MARINETTE DUPAIN-CHENG!" The line went dead. Adrien pressed the redial button, and felt his stomach drop as the call didn't go through, he had been blocked. From the way the group chat was blowing up, he could guess the others were getting the same response. Lila was going on and on about how Marinette was abandoning them in their time of need, and adding fuel to the fire. Adrien decided he was going to do damage control. He had thought a bit about what Plagg had said and realized that he needed to show Marinette that he was still on her side, besides it would be tougher to get everyone to make up if they were mad at her for something her crappy assistant did. He sent the chat a message, 'Guys relax. The woman on the phone wasn't Marinette but has her number, so she's probably a new assistant! Miracle Design Clothing has really exploded since the Waynes announced she made their outfits for the Gala so Marinette probably hired some help and the lady didn't know who we were. We can try again later.'

Lea Dubois was having the roughest week in all of her fourty-three years. She had gotten a new phone, since she her old one was stolen, and decided to get a new number with it. Not even a couple of minutes after activating her phone it began blowing up with calls and demands for a Marinette Dupain-Cheng. After a particularly snobby boy threatened to get her fired from a job she didn't even have, Lea decided to do some snooping and figure out who this Marinette Dupain-Cheng was. Googling the girl's name directed her to a Miracle Design Clothing website, and after scrolling through she found a tab labeled, "Founder." Clicking on it, she saw a picture of a smiling young woman with shiny black (almost blue) hair and sapphires for her eyes. She was a truly gorgeous woman, and from what Lea read very talented. That explained the demand for clothing. She decided to check social media next, and quickly found articles about how the rising star had been personally invited to the Wayne Charity Gala! That explained all the calls from people claiming to be Marinette's friends and demanding to be taken to the Gala, to that one girl who demanded an interview and a dress for the Gala. Lea went through the messages that quickly went from demanding to insulting and toxic, and thought to herself, 'I see why that girl changed her number, I hope she knows these people aren't her friends.' She decided to look up the people who had called her, and see what she could find out about them. A girl named Alix and a boy named Kim were both athletes, although both played for the minor leagues of their respective sports, but it did explain the requests for jersey designs. A boy named Ivan and two girls named Juleka and Rose had been calling about outfits for their next concert, apparently they were in a band called Kitty Section. Lea vaguely remembered that it was a popular group, before their lead guitarist was kicked out and went solo. Two girls named Sabrina and Mylene had asked her to create costumes for a production in the Théâtre du Châtelet, a boy named Max called asking for a suit for his new tech reveal, and another boy named Nino asked her to design a couple of album covers!

A few other people called, but they seemed to be genuine friends. One standout was a boy named Nathaniel who had called twice, once to congratulate Marinette on her work with the Waynes and invite her to an event for his comic. The second time was to apologize to Lea when he found out Marinette had changed her number. He had also apologized for the harassment his (and apparently Marinette's) former friends had been throwing at her. He explained that when they were younger, Marinette didn't know how to stand up for herself, and was pressured by her teacher to constantly put her needs on the back burner to help her classmates. Nathaniel told her it had gotten better when Marinette left for college, but now that she was back in Paris, things had gone back to the way they were. Instead of their teacher, the role of pressuring her had fallen to three people, Lila Rossi, Alya Césaire, and Adrien Agreste. That last name caught her attention, could that have been the bratty boy who threatened to fire her? "Sweetie I hate to do this to you, but if you have time could you meet me in person? We have a lot to discuss, and I'm beginning to worry for Marinette." Nathaniel had agreed and had said he was bringing a couple of Marinette's friends, her real friends. "They've been harassing us too, maybe we can look into getting a restraining order or something." And that was how she ended up in a cafe sitting at a table with some of the most impressive people she'd ever met. There were Nathaniel Kurtzberg and Marc Anciel, the power couple of comics. She hadn't read comics since she was a little girl, but her nephews talked nonstop about the Ladybug comic the two had started in collège. Olympian fencer Kagami Tsurugi, and hit rock artist Luka Couffaine. There was academy award winner Zoé Lee and fortune 500 company founder Chloé Bourgeois.

The group exchanged pleasantries and got right to business, "So we heard from Nathaniel that you got Marinette's old number and that your phone has been blowing up with all the shit she used to get," Luka said. Lea nodded, "Yes. They refused to believe that she'd changed her number and one man even threatened to get me fired! I don't know what job he thinks I have that he can influence, but I digress. " "Ugh. That sounds like Adrien alright. I swear it was like a switch flipped in his head during Collége, he's acting like I used to," Chloé had come to terms with the kind of person she was, and had taken the steps to apologize and change for the better. A part of that was she swore never to touch a Miraculous again, she had become aware enough to realize that when given that much power she would be tempted to fall back into her old ways. "It's telling that their first reaction to being cut off is to harass an innocent person instead of reflecting on their actions and what lead them to that point," Kagami said, "I think we owe you an explanation since you have unfortunately been dragged into this." Lea nodded, that sounded good. "They weren't always this bad, well they weren't always this blatant about it. For a long time, Marinette was happy and popular, hell even when I bullied her she didn't seem bothered. Then Lila Rossi transferred. That girl is the type to convince people that two plus two equals five, you know what I mean," Lea nodded, her ex had been like that. "Well anyways, Marinette saw through her bullshit and called her out for it, so Lila declared war. Before anyone could process what happened, Lila had convinced the class that Marinette was the Devil's spawn. She even managed to get Marinette falsely expelled, and while that was reversed, it was the moment Marinette realized she couldn't rely on her classmates. Alya was an up-and-coming journalist and her best friend, but if she couldn't bring herself to fact-check this girl's stories..." Chloé paused to take a sip of her drink, and Lea thought of something, "Maybe Alya did fact-check and knew Lila was lying. I did some research before I came here, and I know that Alya ran the Ladyblog. I also know that her videos featuring Lila are her most viewed videos, but when I looked at the comments I noticed that a ton had been deleted. Maybe she knew but saw how much attention her blog was getting, and chose to ignore Lila's lies, or maybe she believes them, I don't know." The group continued to chat about their situation and were snapped out of it when the door to the cafe was flung open.

Alya was gonna kill Marinette when she found her. How dare she hire someone and not tell them who she was?! How dare she do that to her friends?! Doesn't she realize they need her? It didn't take much to convince the others, specifically Max, to ping the location off of Marinette's number and track it down. If she was going to be bitchy and ignore their calls and messages and hire some dumb assistant to annoy them, they were gonna make her pay! They had tracked her location to a cafe in the fashion district and were waiting for the last of the group to arrive. "I don't understand why she's being so petty," Lila whimpered, fighting back tears, "You all have been nothing but kind to her even when she's been such a nasty person!" "I don't understand it either," Sabrina said, "It's like a switch flipped in collège or something." Well whatever it was, they weren't gonna let her get out of this! Once Kitty Section had arrived, the group stormed into the cafe ready to give Marinette a piece of their minds! To their surprise, Marinette wasn't there. Their old friends turned enemies were there and sitting with them was a middle-aged woman, was she the one who had been answering from Marinette's number. "Where's Marinette?" Alya demanded. Chloé and Kagami lept to their feet. "She isn't here, and unless someone is dying you are not getting in contact with her!" Chloé was a lot less polite about it, "Wow, I'm surprised none of you got the memo. You've been cut off!" The older woman turned to face them, and Adrien snapped at her, "You! Are you Marinette's assistant or something? Get her here now!" Oh, that was it, Lea walked right up to him, ready for war. "I will do no such thing because I am not her assistant! I did not even know who Marinette was until you people began blowing up my phone with demands! I have never met more selfish people! And you," she pointed at Lila, "I've heard all about you and what you've done to that poor girl!" Lila began to sob, wailing about how she didn't do anything, and that she had been trying to mend bridges with Marinette by introducing her to the Waynes.

"Woah, Woah, hold on! You did NOT introduce her to the Wayne Family," Luka stood up and walked over, Lea noticed how Kitty Section seemed to shrink under his gaze. "Marinette met the Waynes at a fashion show in Gotham that Jagged Stone took us to. She met Selina and the two hit it off like a house on fire," Luka pulled out his phone and showed off pictures of a much younger Marinette with a woman who could have passed for her mother. "Notice the date? She was in high school when she met them. Here she is at Selina and Bruce's wedding. Know why she's there? She designed Selina's dress." The dress was a stunning white with elegant black lace. The top resembled the head of a cat, and if you looked close enough you could see little cats and bats hidden within the lace. "Marinette's been the Wayne Family's go-to designer for YEARS. Hell, the Waynes were at her graduation party, and the opening of Miracle Design Clothes Studio, and have been to every major life event she's had since she met them." Luka showed them More photos of Marinette and the Wayne family. "I don't know how you could introduce her to people she's known for years," Luka said, "Not to mention Stephanie tells me they're desperate to either adopt her into the family or have her marry into it," Marc added. All eyes were on Lila now, she had told them all that she'd introduced Marinette to Timothy Drake Wayne and that was how Marinette got the job, but with all this evidence it was clear her lie was dead in the water. Lea turned back to the group, watching as the realization crossed their faces that Lila had lied, and had most likely lied about various other things. Turning back to the people she had met she said, "It was very nice meeting you all. Please pass on my concerns to Marinette, and let her know if she ever needs friendly advice, she knows what number to call,"

The Wayne Gala was very... Awkward for Adrien. After their failed attempt to confront Marinette, Lila got exposed, and in the excitement, it came out that he knew about what she had been doing. Simply put he was excommunicated from the group. They figured that if they cut him, Lila, and Alya (who had doubled down on Marinette being the problem until it came out she knew Lila lied and had said nothing to protect her views) out that they could apologize to Marinette and she'd take them back. Their pleas on social media brought attention to the situation, and Marinette's friends and parents were more than happy to tell the world what happened to their favorite designer. When he, Lila, and Alya walked into the Wayne Gala, they turned heads but not for the reasons any of them had hoped for. People were polite to their faces and when speaking to them, but Adrien could hear them whispering behind his back. He needed to talk to Marinette, if he could smooth things over with her then maybe, just maybe this could be salvaged. However, the Wayne Family seemed to personally take offense to his plan, because whenever he saw Marinette (and she stood out in an absolutely jaw-dropping sparkling red mermaid cut dress) she was whisked away before he could say anything. First, it was Selina, who lead her over to some of his father's former clients and proudly told them the story of how she met the young designer. Then it was Bruce Wayne himself who came to introduce her to the Kents, who much to Alya's dismay didn't even glance her way. Finally, it was the Wayne Kids who were determined to dance with Marinette all night, Adrien swears Jason was smirking at him. Eventually, she broke off from the main party with Tim and the two were chatting on the balcony. This was as close of a chance as he would get.

Marinette was having an amazing night! She met so many amazing people and made so many new contacts! She even set up an interview with Lois Lane! She could feel Alya fuming on the other side of the room, and tried her best not to think about it. She knew Adrien, Lila, and Alya were at the Gala, and she knew what had happened a few weeks before. While she was happy Lila was finally exposed, she had moved on. She got to dance with each of the Wayne siblings, but her favorite dance had to be with Tim. When Selina had introduced her to him, their reaction to each other was to freak out. Tim was over the moon to meet the designer he'd followed for years, and Marinette was ecstatic to meet the young Wayne CEO (whom she may have had a bit of a crush on). The two had exchanged numbers and talked constantly, building up a close friendship. As time went on her crush on him grew as well, but she was too nervous to risk their friendship and say anything. Eventually, when she thought her feet were going to fall off, Tim led her over to the balcony. There they talked quietly about anything and everything when a cough interrupted them. There was Adrien, with a charming smile, but Marinette had learned not to be fooled. "Hello, Adrien. Enjoying the Gala?" Marinette asked, she knew he was up to something, and from the way Tim looked at him, he could sense it too. Marinette decided to take control of the conversation, "I heard what happened. With Lea Dubois and the phone number and everything. To put it lightly that certainly wasn't your best moment." "Well, I... I never thought you would change your number, so it kinda threw me for a loop. Anyways, I wanted to apologize for the part I played in all of this. I really dropped the ball and it lead to you getting hurt I never intended for that to happen," "Yet you continued to let Marinette's former friends use her for free things?" Tim butted in, holding up his phone and showing various text messages between Adrien and his friends. Adrien's face darkened, "How the hell did you get those?!" Tim just threw his head back and laughed. "I'm a tech prodigy. Finding texts is a piece of cake. I started looking after Nathaniel told me about what happened in the cafe. I also found the texts between you and your father, and no I won't let you use my girlfriend as a publicity stunt. We were gonna announce our relationship tonight-" Adrien turned around and stomped off before Tim could finish his sentence. Marinette sighed, he really hadn't changed. Turning back to Tim she asked, "Since when are we in a relationship?" The raven-haired boy blushed a little, "Well Unofficially since your graduation party, but neither of us knew it at the time. Officially now... If you want. If not that's cool and we can just pretend this never happened. Damn Adrien! I had a plan for this but he had to show up and ruin it!" Marinette chuckled and brought Tim's hand up to her cheek, smiling up at him fondly, "Officially now is fine with me."

#vixin-unchiha #adrien salt #lila salt #maribat #marinette deserves better #marinette dupain cheng #class salt #timinette #tom and sabine sugar

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felixsramen · 1 year

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Taste pt.2

It's long but it's a second part to taste. Hopefully you guys will enjoy it. I think I'll make it a short little series. This one has been marinating in the drafts for the longest time to be honest.

Here you were waking up in Minhos bed. Minho in front of you, Felix behind you, and Hyunjin behind Minho. You don't remember much besides falling asleep in Minhos car. You do remember however fucking all 3 of them in the dance studio. You have no regrets about it but your body says otherwise. It was sore. Terribly sore.

You shimmied your way out of Minho and Felixs grip careful to wake none of them up. You felt like a mess as you enter the bathroom. The mirror confirmed what your thoughts were. Your hair was everywhere and your lips plump. Maybe one of the boys had one of your hairbrushes. It wasn't the first time you had slept over with them but it was the first time you had slept with any of them much less 3 of them.

You check their cabinets and see none. Maybe Chan had one. He always seemed to have your stuff. You walk out of the bathroom and see all 3 boys laying down still asleep. You really didn't want to wake them considering they were probably exhausted and had stayed up longer than you.

You open the door as quietly as you can. Walking into the hallway as it was quiet. You open the unlocked door quietly. You look over to see him asleep in his chair near his desk. His head resting on his knuckles as he sleeps.

You sneak into his bathroom. Opening the cabinets and you finally find one of your brushes. You come back up looking in the mirror and you almost have a heart attack at Chan standing at the door.

"Don't you know you should knock before entering?" He says arms crossed leaning against the door frame.

"Christopher seriously?" You say and Chan rolls his eyes. He always hated you saying that for some reason. That's why you used it so much getting under his skin.

"Yes seriously." He says his eyes go to your hairbrush.

You look at him. "So you just have a collection of my stuff now?" You ask him joking.

"Yes I'm so obsessed with you I'm building a shrine." Chan says sarcastically to you. You laugh at his response.

"Thank you for keeping my stuff and not throwing it away like Changbin did that one time." You say remembering Changbin throwing away your favorite pair of socks because he had no idea whose it was.

Chan laughs at the memory. "Doesn't he owe you another pair?" Chan says still laughing.

"2 pairs." You say correcting him.

"Do you mind if I use your shower? Minho, Hyunjin, and Felix were asleep and I didn't want to wake them." You say looking at him again.

He raises an eyebrow. "But you'll wake me up rummaging through my cabinets for a hairbrush?"

You poke your bottom lip out at him. He gives in quickly sighing. "Fine but don't ever make that face again. It's weird." He says looking at you.

"Thank you Channie." You say happily.

"Yeah yeah. Do you have any clothes to change into?" He asks you and you shake your head.

"Get in. I'll bring you some of mine in a minute." He says sighing. You nod at him and he walks out the bathroom. You strip and turn the water on. You look at the mirror. Your neck was littered in hickeys from all the boys and you could still see Felixs nail prints in your skin but you didn't mind. Your neck was blue and purple all the way down. Probably mostly from Minho.

You realize the shower is made of glass. Luckily it wasn't clear mostly fogged up from the steam coming from the shower. You step into the shower not really caring at the moment if Chan saw you naked.

You slide the door closed and sigh as the hot water hit your body. It relaxed your muscles for the most part. You hear the door open.

"I'm putting the clothes on the counter. I have a shirt and some sweatpants and a pair of socks for you." Chan says and steps out after letting you know.

You grab your hairbrush brushing your hair. It was always much easier brushing your hair in the shower. You sigh as you brush the knots out.

It was kind of crazy to you. You had went from seeing your best friends and hanging out with them and watching them dance to having sex with them in a dance studio and waking up in bed with all 3 of them.

You weren't ashamed of it. You guys were all perfectly consenting adults. You didn't know how much you loved having control though. Felix was the first guy you ever had control over. It felt good but it also felt good being fucked by Hyunjin and gagging on Minhos cock.

You don't know how long you had been in there brushing your hair and off in your own thoughts. You sighed turning the water off and stepping out of the shower. You grabbed a towel quicky drying your body and then wrapping your hair in it.

You pulled on Chans Sweatpants and Chans shirt. You pull on the socks almost falling in the process. You finish drying your hair somewhat and decide to let it finish air drying now that it wasn't dripping. You open the door met with the cold air.

You look over at Chan on his bed scrolling through his phone. Bag packed sitting on the edge of the bed. "Where are you going?" You ask him and he looks up from his phone putting it down.

"About to head to the studio with Changbin and Jisung. You're more than welcome to come by later if you want but we have to finish some songs." Chan says closing his bag and getting up.

"I wanted to let you know though that you're more than welcome to stop by later." Chan says bag over his shoulder. You nod at him.

"Don't let Hyunjin do something stupid please. Definitely don't let him touch the stove." Chan says reminding you when Hyunjin thought he could bake bread and almost had the whole house on fire. Chan ended up having to replace the stove because it was so ruined.

You cringe at the thought. "Yeah will do." You say as Chan sighs.

"Good. You're more than welcome to come in here and do whatever." Chan says and you nod. Suddenly there's a knock on the door. Before Chan can even answer the door swings open revealing Jisung.

"Come onnnnn. Changbin said we need to hurry up and get this done. I'm too tired for this and so is Changbin." Jisung says dragging his words out emphasizing how tired he was.

"I'm coming. I hope you know I don't want to go as much as you don't but we need to finish these songs for the next album." Chan says walking towards the door.

"Yeah yeah. Anyways love you, bye Y/N!" Jisung says waving.

"Love you too Ji. I'll probably be at the studio later." You say and he nods smiling as him and Chan walk out the doorway.

It wasn't unusual for Jisung to tell you he loves you. He was always an affectionate person. Jisung would tell a tree he loves it but you loved that about him.

You go into the hallway and into the kitchen it find something to eat. You had a feeling Minho, Jisung, and Felix had bought you food last night. You open the door and you were right. You were surprised it had stayed and not gotten eaten by the members.

You pull it out of the fridge with a sticky note on top saying Y/Ns food. Right under that in Minhos handwriting it says 'If anybody other than Y/N touches it I will personally deal with you.'

That explained why it was still in the fridge. You put the food in the microwave heating it up. Suddenly you feel hands around your waist.

"How long have you been up?" Mumbles Hyunjin into your neck still tired. He almost had a panic attack waking up in a bed with the other 2 members and no sign of you. He had thought you had left but he decided to go see if you got hungry after Minho reminded him.

"About an hour. I didn't want to wake you guys up. I was sure you guys stayed up late." You say and Hyunjin sighs.

"Next time wake us up. Hyunjin almost had a heart attack." Minho says leaning on the counter beside you. Hyunjin cuts his eyes at his Hyung.

You nod. "Felix up?" You ask and Minho shakes his head.

"Still asleep. I think you took a toll on him last night." Hyunjin says still holding you.

"Well I hope it wasn't too much." You say and Minho shakes his head again.

"I don't think it was just you. I think it was everything." Minho says and you nod. You try turning in Hyunjins arms to face him and he lets you but his hands never leave you.

Your eyes meet his sleepy eyes. His hair is a mess and his face is slightly swollen. Yet you think he was even more attractive like that.

You run your fingers through his hair trying to smooth it down. He sighs as your nails trace along his scalp. When your fingers leave his scalp he starts kissing your neck.

"Okay we don't need Hyunjin fucking you on the counter right now. You need to eat. Quit getting a boner like a horny teenager." Minho says watching Hyunjin pull away from you at Minhos words.

"You're just jealous." Hyunjin says and Minho rolls his eyes.

"Of what? You." Minho says sarcastically.

Hyunjin lets go of you going up to Minho. "Not of me. Y/N." He says his hand now on Minhos hips.

Minho scoffs at him. "In your dreams Hwang." Minho says pushing Hyunjin off him. Hyunjin pouts at Minho.

"You literally kissed Felix last night but you won't indulge in my fantasies for 5 minutes." Hyunjin says and Minho raises an eyebrow.

"What? You dream about me fucking you?" Minho respond wanting to see Hyunjins reaction.

Hyunjin just smirks and shrugs. "Whatever Hwang." Minho says rolling his eyes. You thought with how much he rolled his eyes that they might get stuck.

"Can I at least get a kiss?" Hyunjin says pouting and Minho crosses his arms.

"Will you leave me alone if I do?" Minho says. Hyunjin nods but you can see the mischievous look in his eyes.

"Fine." Minho says uncrossing his arms. Hyunjins hands go to Minhos hips once again and Minho doesn't push him off immediately.

Minho leans and meets Hyunjin who kisses him back. Minho tries pulling away but one of Hyunjins hands go up to Minhos face cupping it. He forces Minho to kiss him longer and Minho stops struggling and relaxes in Hyunjins grip. Minho takes over the kiss like he had taken over the kiss with you and Felix.

Hyunjin pulls away smirking. Minho glares at him. Hyunjin giggles like a school girl.

"Seriously?" Minho says and Hyunjin nods smile still on his face.

"We're never doing that again as long as I live." Minho says and Hyunjin rolls his eyes.

"Get over yourself. It wasn't that bad kissing me." Hyunjin says looking at you as you grab your food out the microwave.

"I'm a good kisser right Y/N?" Hyunjin says trying to bring you in the argument.

You don't look at him or reply instead opting to grab a fork from the drawer. You dig into your food ignoring him ready to take a bite but Hyunjin takes the fork from your hand. He dumps your food from your fork back into your bowl and holding it like it's a trophy.

"You'll get this back when you answer me." He says crossing his arms.

"I hope you know I can just go grab another fork." You say raising an eyebrow at him.

He laughs at you. "You don't think I'll stop you?" He says questioning you and you roll your eyes.

You look at Minho asking him for help but he just watches you waiting for an answer.

"Yes you're a good kisser! Now can I have my fork back?" You ask him huffing and he smirks.

"Give me a kiss first." Hyunjin says and you roll your eyes.

"I'm not hungry anymore." You say walking away from the table.

"Oh come on you kissed me yesterday! Why won't you do it now?" He asks you. You sigh knowing he's right.

"Fine but you won't ask me for anything else you promise?" You ask him and he nods smiling.

You peck his lips and he pouts giving you back your fork because he wanted to be fair.

You eat and finish your food as Hyunjin continues teasing Minho. "I'm going to go see Chan, Changbin, and Jisung in the studio. Don't burn the house down Hyunjin." You say and Hyunjin pouts.

"It was one time." He says sighing. You and Minho laugh at his words.

You start to make your way to Minho's room but you're quickly grabbed by Minho who smirks at you. Minho had a knowing look in his eyes and you can't help but tilt your head.

"What is it Minho?" You ask and he just chuckles.

Minho's grip doesn't leave you though. "Why'd you ask me that?" Minho says questioning you and you sigh.

"You look like you know something. Spit it out already." You say glaring at him.

"Feisty. Watch it before I give you something to shut that pretty mouth of yours up again." Minho brings a hand to your face cupping.

Minho continues to smirk at you. "But I guess I'll tell you...." Minho starts to trail off.

"I heard from a little birdie that someone was quite jealous hearing about our little escapade." Minho says close to your face.

"Who?" You ask and Minho just chuckles.

"A certain rapper." Minho says and your mind immediately goes to the 3 guys who were at the studio.

Minho watches your eyes widen slightly in surprise. "Jisung?" You ask knowing that Jisung has made multiple jokes about having sex with you.

"Nope." Minho says smirk still on his face.

Your eyes widen while realizing. "Chan?" You ask and you wonder if his smirk had gotten bigger at the name.

"Ding Ding Ding. What's the prize Hyunjin?" Minho says and suddenly Hyunjin is behind you.

"I think there's a lot more prizes coming soon." Minho smirks at Hyunjins words.

"Jinnie is right." Minho says before pulling away and you let out a sigh. Now you were hot and bothered.

Minho lets out a chuckle as you flick him off walking to his room to grab your bag.

#skz smut #stray kids smut #stray kids fluff #skz fluff

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littlemissfiore · 1 year

Text

Cigarettes out the Window. | Vinsmoke Sanji x fem! Reader

summary: sanji falls in love with a woman he truly loves, but faith does not grant him such luck. obligated by his family to go through an arranged marriage he does not want to partake in. sanji has to decide which path in life he wants to take.

tags: modern au!, doctor!reader, friends-to-lovers, sanji's pov, horrible family dynamics, mentions of sex, spoilers to WCI arc, no use of [y/n], angst

note: if you can read this, it means this fanfic made it out of the draft hell. it's kinda long too, was going full novel mode, chopper also doesn't exist in this au (sorry), i wanted to put my own spin on the WCI arc but if it were set in modern au, hopefully it goes well, you can also imagine this as a la!op Sanji

The Baratie was full compared to other nights. Like, god awfully full, was there some sort of special event going on? Sanji didn't know nor did he have the time to ponder something so trivial. He had tables to serve and Zeff was already losing his mind in the kitchen in desperate need of Sanji.

He took a long inhale from his cigarette before heading back inside the restaurant. Throwing it and stomping it on the ground, first clearing his throat before letting out a cough.

Shit. When was the last time he had visited a doctor? All that smoking was not good for him, Sanji knew that. Although, he could care less, fixing his posture and tie before heading back inside the Baratie.

"Where the hell is Sanji!?" yelled Zeff, smacking the kitchen counters. Sanji's footsteps were heard amongst the sizzling and loud noises in the kitchen. "Well I'll be damned, look who decided to make an appearance."

Sanji scoffs. "Decided to take a small break," he responds, picking up his blazer from the rack and putting it on. "Y'know, since I'm not allowed in the kitchen."

"You most definitely won't after this," Zeff states, even though this was not the first time Sanji heard this. "Now, get out there and serve some customers! You're holding us back!"

Usually, Sanji and Zeff would argue and go back and forth. It was tedious, but no matter how many times he tried standing up for himself. That old man would refuse to have him help out in the kitchen. Tonight, Sanji begrudgingly chooses to keep his mouth shut and head out to serve customers.

The Baratie was full, more so than other nights. It was going to be one hellish night for Sanji and the rest of the cooking crew, he was sure of it. Foolish of him to think he would be able to get out early and spend the rest of his night with his friends. Sanji made his rounds around the restaurant, making sure the guests felt comfortable and satisfied.

Everything seemed to be going okay-wait-did his eyes betray him? No. A beautiful lady sitting all by herself? Impossible!

Leaving a beautiful lady all on her own in a big restaurant like the Baratie should be a crime. Sanji watched as she looked everywhere in the restaurant, probably waiting for her date to arrive. She didn't look nervous, but one would be foolish enough to not see the obvious disappointment plastered all over her face.

Make all the guests feel welcomed and comfortable at the Baratie, thought Sanji as he made his way to the lady.

"M'lady," started Sanji. You did a little jump on your seat, surprised by the sudden appearance of the waiter. You turned around to look at him with big wide eyes, expecting him to say something. Cute, was all Sanji could think at the moment. "I'm sorry for startling you, have you decided what you would like to have for the night?"

You shook your head weakly, "No," you responded, looking down at the menu. "I'm waiting for my date but he hasn't arrived yet. Looks like I'll have to eat alone..."

Sanji was baffled. That's the only way he could describe what he was feeling right now. What kind of man left a woman alone in a restaurant, especially on a date.

"A gorgeous woman such as yourself shouldn't be eating alone," stated Sanji, a sly smirk lingering on his lips. Your date might have passed off his chance with you, but he certainly wasn't going to.

Your stare lingered before realizing he was complimenting you. You felt your face grow hot, your eyes immediately glued on the menu to avoid his stare. "Oh..! Um... Thank you!" you responded, shyly. You closed the menu and set it down on the table in front of you, turning to look at the waiter. "But I'll just have a glass of water. I don't think I'll be eating anything tonight."

Nonsense, thought Sanji. "A beautiful lady like yourself should enjoy our very best!" Sanji stated, proudly. How funny, Sanji would always complain about Baratie. Now, here he is, trying to give the best impression he can of the restaurant. You didn't seem entirely convinced, just absentmindedly staring at him. "On the house."

You smiled. "You're doing a lot more for me than my date," you gesture towards the other seat that was empty.

"And let a lovely lady like yourself be all alone tonight? Never," flirted Sanji, making you flustered. You chuckled shyly, he could tell his compliments made you feel giddy.

Before you could continue the conversation, out of the corner of his eye, Sanji could see Zeff glaring at him from a distance. While his chivalry was not a problem, the amount of time he wasted swooning over women cost the restaurant time and money.

Are we paying you to tend to customers or flirt with women?! Sanji could already hear that old man yelling at him. Before you could continue with your conversation, he fixed his blazer.

"I'm sorry, madam," started Sanji. "I have to tend to the other customers but I promise you I will be right back."

All you could do was giggle and nod your head. "Alright!" you gave him a smile before he walked off. Sanji walked past Zeff, expecting him to berate him but he just felt his gaze follow him all the way to the kitchen.

Tch! That old man was always on his ass. How could Zeff not see he was tending to a beautiful lady who's date didn't bother to show up last minute. Of course, how would he know? He's never had a wife. Sanji just needed to take these plates out to their respective tables, then, he could talk to the beautiful lady sitting by herself.

Yet, when he stepped out of the kitchen, you were no longer there. Maybe you were in the bathroom, fixing your makeup. Could you have possibly been crying? No, Sanji shakes his head. The sooner he can serve the plates, the sooner he can check up on you. You still needed your glass of water!

After he finished making his rounds, Sanji made his way to your table. He had a glass of water on his hand, setting it down on the table. You were nowhere to be found, the only thing left on the table was the menu and a folded twenty dollar bill.

Oh, you were gone.

Sanji frowned. It broke his heart to think a beautiful lady like yourself would leave out of embarrassment. It did not help that you were surrounded by people around you who had dates or friends accompanying them. What a shame, he truly wished he would have made your night.

Sanji's cough was getting worse by the day. He tried holding on for as long as he could but, alas, he succumbed to his sickness.

"Good, don't come back 'til that nasty cold of yours is gone," Zeff stated simply. Of course, he of all people would say that. Sanji felt like he could hear the man thanking the heavens from the other side of the phone. "Check with a doctor, is probably all that smoking you do."

"I'm fine," Sanji said through gritted teeth before letting out a horrible cough.

"Check yourself, boy!" yelled Zeff through the phone. "I will not allow you back into Baratie if you do not get better. So get off your lazy ass and go see a bloody doctor."

"Even outside of work, you love to order me around," spat Sanji, glaring down at his phone. "Fine! I'll get it checked out, you can stop complaining."

"Fine!" was the last thing Zeff said before hanging up.

That old man, always thinking he could intrude not only at work but in his personal life as well. Sanji coughed, holding his chest to try and ease the pain. He hadn't been to the doctor in a while, maybe he did need to check himself out.

Bzzt!

Sanji stared at his screen, reading off the text message.

Reiju Father wants to talk to you read 2:30

Sanji chose to ignore the message sent by his sister, there was no way she could convince him to talk to his father. After all these years, he wants to talk to him? After he kicked him out of his house and disowned him.

Sanji shook his head, a desperate attempt to shake off all the bad thoughts that started to crawl in his head. There was no use thinking about his old life, he was happier now. With friends who cared about him, even old man Zeff cared about Sanji in his own way.

Sanji lets out another horrible cough, man, was he feeling shitty. There was no use beating around the bush, he needed someone to take care of him. What better person to do that than the woman he trusts the most, Nami.

Sanji Nami~ I'm sick. Your presence would help me feel better ! ❤️

"Nami!" exclaimed Sanji, swinging his door wide open. He was excited to have alone time with a beautiful woman such as Nami. What else could he ask for? "And, Usopp."

Sanji frowns. "Don't get too excited to see me now," stated Usopp, holding his arms up in the air. "She told me to accompany her."

"I figured you needed more than just my company, Sanji," smirked Nami, making her way to his fridge and rummaging through it. She grabbed the first beer she could find, popping the cap off with the handle of the fridge. Oh, Nami! The woman that you are. "Ah! This tastes great! Good thing you're driving Usopp."

"What!" cried Usopp, glaring at the red-head. "Is this why you brought me all along!?"

Nami pressed her lips together. "Hmm... maybe!" she responded back, shamelessly. "You look like you went through hell, Sanji."

Sanji cleared his throat, forcing a smile for Nami even if his body felt like it was giving out on him. "You look as beautiful as ever, Nami."

"Have you ever visited a doctor yet?" asked Usopp, folding his arms. Sanji faces his friend, his blank expression giving Usopp a clear answer. "Now, that's why, you have not gotten better."

"How long has it been since you've seen a doctor?" asked Nami, sitting on Sanji's couch.

"It's... been a while," Sanji said, through gritted teeth.

"You're definitely gonna be the first one to go out of all of us," joked Usopp, earning a nasty glare from his blonde friend.

"Men..." sighed Nami, pulling out her phone. "Lucky for me, I have my own doctor. Free of charge!"

"Who?" asked Usopp, now sitting next to Nami.

It was almost as if Usopp was the one who needed to go to the doctor's office.

"I'm not saying!" Nami stuck out her tongue before chuckling. She turned to Sanji, acknowledging his presence. "She's cool, she can probably fix you up! She owes me a favor, anyway."

Sanji chuckled, heading to the kitchen to fix up a small snack for his friends. "You don't have to do all that for me, darling," he said, smiling. "I can manage."

Following right after was a string of long horrible coughs coming from Sanji. What a pain, it was unbearable he had to use the kitchen counter for support. Nami and Usopp look over at him from the couch before heading up to Sanji and leading him to bed.

"Yeah, I'm definitely calling her," grunts Nami. "This will cost you! You better feed me well once your health improves!"

Nami left Usopp alone to carry Sanji to bed while she searched through her phone. Finally finding the number and putting the call on speaker, Nami greeted, "Hello~, Love! Say.. are you free right now? I have a big favor to ask of you."

What a small world it was.

Who would've thought the girl from the restaurant was Nami's friend and a doctor. It was hilariously convenient, not that Sanji was complaining though. He was able to see your pretty face again. Just the flustered look you gave him as he laid in his bed was enough to know you recognized him.

"You two know each other already?" asked Usopp.

"From where?" Nami questioned, looking at you. From the look on your face, you were a little embarrassed that your love life would soon be on display while you're tending to someone.

"That one restaurant you told me to go to-" "Baratie, love," Sanji interrupted you. "Sorry, darling. I just work there, got to give that place some free promotion."

You chuckled.

"Stop flirting with my doctor, I don't need her running away because of your antics," huffed Nami. She turned to look at you baffled while you took Sanji's hand and checked his pulse. "Did the guy even show up?"

You shook your head, intently focused on Sanji before asking him any questions. "Something about an emergency, never texted me again," you mumbled.

Wow! That guy must've been a loser, thought Sanji. Not only had he ghosted a lady and left her alone at a restaurant, she was also a doctor. A cute doctor at that. No, gorgeous, no-wait-, a stunning woman. Ugh, thought Sanji. There were so many words to describe your beauty, it felt like he could write a novel.

"Well that guy is a loser, doesn't know what he's missing out on," cried Nami, putting her arms around you. "Don't worry, I'll marry you!"

"Yes, some guys can be dumb," stated Usopp, nodding his head.

Sanji let out a horrible cough, his body feeling disoriented as he held his chest. You searched through your bag, taking out your stethoscope and putting it around your neck.

"If you guys don't mind, can you leave us alone?" You asked, bluntly. "I shouldn't take too long, don't worry."

Even in his worst state, Sanji could feel a smile creep onto his lips. Nami did not miss his expression, giving him slight glares knowing he was secretly excited about having one-on-one interaction with a woman.

"Don't try anything weird, I can't afford to lose my doctor, they aren't cheap," said Nami, grabbing Usopp by the arms and dragging him out the room. Before closing the door, Nami points at you, "If he tries anything weird, tell me."

"Don't be jealous my dear Nami," joked Sanji, earning a giggle from you.

"As if!" with that Nami slams the door shut, leaving you and Sanji alone.

You let out a nervous chuckle. "I'm sorry, I was getting a little overwhelmed," You said. "What seems to be the problem here? You have a pretty bad cold from what I see."

"There is no problem here, darling," Sanji sits in an upright position on his bed. "It seems faith had plans for us to meet again."

"Seems so," you respond, curtly before putting on the ear tips from the stethoscope. "Do you smoke?"

"Yes."

"Hm." Was the only thing you responded with as you placed the bell on Sanji's chest. Sanji felt his heart drop, why did you respond like that? Did you find smokers unattractive? Sure he knew he had a nasty habit of smoking but he never figured it was too bad, right?

Why was Sanji doubting himself so hard? Why did his chest feel like it was all tied up in knots? He'd seen plenty of beautiful women, but now that you were in his presence he felt like he was struck by lightning. This was the first time Sanji had ever reacted like this. He usually had a collected demeanor, even when flirting with attractive ladies. Now, he didn't even know what to say, how to feel.

"Wow! Your heart is beating fast!" you exclaimed, worriedly. "Do you feel okay? I'm going to check and see if you have a fever, alright?"

You leaned in towards Sanji, the back of your hand softly landing on his cheeks. He felt his face turn red at the close proximity the two of you had. Get it together! You've been around women! Sanji scolded himself.

"You're burning up," you mentioned, sliding your hand to his forehead. "I think you might've contracted the flu, you should rest and drink plenty of water."

W-what?, thought Sanji. "That's all...?" his whisper coming out raspy. He was upset you were now leaving.

"Unfortunately for you, I am not allowed to give you any prescription medicine," you started, as you put away your things. "But if you go to a pharmacy store, you should get some medicine specifically for the flu. It'll fix you up faster, plus, you should quit smoking. At least for the time being while you recover."

There was a small silence between the both of you, listening to the rustling of your bad.

"Y'know you were beautiful that night, ma chérie?" started Sanji, staring at you starstruck. By the look of your face, you were caught off guard. He was taking a big risk flirting with you like this. "That jackass doesn't know how to appreciate a beauty like you."

Sanji watched your breathing stop for a second, taking in what was happening to you. He hadn't known you but by your reaction it seemed like you weren't used to these types of comments. What a shame, thought Sanji. He would shower you with praise every day if you would let him.

"T-thank you," you mustered the courage to say while facing down at the floor. "If you need anything, Nami has my number!"

You quickly gather your things and head towards the door, opening it. Usopp and Nami pretend to make small talk, acting as if they weren't trying to eavesdrop through the door. "I hope you get better soon!" you yelled out, leaving Sanji's room in a hurry and leaving the apartment.

Sanji's heart ached a little. He hoped he hadn't made you uncomfortable with his excessive flirting. He just couldn't resist you though. A woman of such high caliber as yourself should be showered with nothing but praise.

"You better not have said anything weird, or you're dead," frowned Nami, crossing her arms.

Even if he did, Sanji is sure he will make it up to you.

In the following weeks, no woman occupied his mind other than you. Sanji made sure to keep in touch with you, first pretending he needed another check-up to make sure he rid himself of his sickness. Then it turned from sending each other a few messages a day, to full blown conversations. Nobody had seen him like this, hell, nobody actually thought a day like this would come.

The day Sanji had confessed to his friends he had his eyes set on you, he was met with mixed reactions. Usopp and Luffy cheered him on, immediately telling Sanji to confess his feelings for you and sweep you off your feet. All Zoro could do was scoff, muttering to Nami 'let's see how long this lasts' before plopping on the couch. Sanji could see Nami's face becoming red, indicating how displeased she was.

"You womanizer!" Nami clenched her fist. "You better be serious about this! That poor girl cannot handle another heartbreak, you hear me!?"

Sanji felt a little hurt by Nami's comment but knew she was only saying it out of care for her friend. They've been friends for years, she has witnessed him flirt with almost every girl in the country by now.

"Relax, Nami, this is Sanji we're talking about," said Luffy.

"Exactly," huffed Nami, crossing her arms.

"When will we get to meet the lucky lady?" asked Luffy with a wide grin. A small smile was plastered on Sanji's face as Luffy kept asking him the same question.

Huh... Sanji hadn't thought about it. Now his mind was imagining what it would be like for you to meet his friends. His found family, how well you would get along with them. Sanji felt like a schoolboy with all that daydreaming he was doing in his head.

Vinsmoke Sanji, finally finding the woman of his dreams after spending years flirting with so many women. It started becoming more noticeable as the days passed. Before, he spent his time at the Baratie flirting with women and swooning them with free meals. Now, Zeff would catch him being on his phone, usually smiling down at whatever text message you had sent him.

Both his friends and the crew at the Baratie did not chastise Sanji whenever they saw him glued to his phone. No, instead, they would stand in front of him in disbelief. It was baffling, almost as if Sanji wasn't... Sanji.

The old man, Zeff, probably caught on before any of Sanji's friends could. He came into work more of an airhead than usual. His incessant flirting with women was now dialed back. Sanji still gave them pet names, but now he wasn't asking them for their phone numbers or to wait for him at the end of his shift.

Actually, there was one time a woman waited for Sanji at the end of his shift. Zeff was rather annoyed he had to tend to this customer when it was already closing time.

"Do you need anything?" asked Zeff, trying his best not to sound annoyed. He could tell you were nervous, stumbling on your words.

"I'm here to see Sanji, if he's here!" you said, hoping you weren't bothering them. Zeff stared at you, trying to connect the pieces together. Were you the girl Sanji was constantly messaging throughout his shift? "He told me to wait here since it's raining outside, if that's okay..."

Yes, you were the girl Sanji was so busy swooning over. "I'll bring him out for you, take a seat," Zeff walked away from you and into the kitchen.

"Hey, Sanji!" Zeff shouted loud enough for the crew to hear. Sanji appears with a dish already prepared on his hand, wondering why the old man called out for him. "Your girl is here..."

Zeff did not miss the way Sanji's eyes lit up, there was no malintent, just pure happiness. Sanji starts making his way towards you but is stopped by Zeff. "Where are you going with that plate, boy?"

Sanji didn't bother trying to argue with the old man, simply rolling his eyes before answering. "She just got off work and she's hungry," was the only thing Sanji responded with before heading out.

The crew watched in silence, surprised both men did not instantly start a screaming match with each other.

"Yep," started Zeff. "That boy is in love, Patty. Who would've thought the day would come." The Baratie crew can only snicker.

Sanji was excited for you to try out his new dish. Sure, you have already tasted his cooking since he would prepare food for you whenever he could; but this dish was special. It was something new, and Sanji could not wait for you to try it. He saw you already sitting at a table, nervously looking around at the empty space around you.

"My lovely lady!" exclaimed Sanji, making his presence known. He saw the way your eyes lit up, immediately getting shy.

"Sanji! How are you?" You asked, watching him place the dish right in front of you.

He sat next to you, he couldn't contain his excitement. "Oh, I feel much better now that you are here," flirted Sanji, making you turn shy. "I tried a new recipe, you're the first one to try it so let me know if it tastes good."

You giggle. "Whatever you cook for me, I know will be good," you complimented him, grabbing a fork and eating away.

Sanji was nervous. He had confidence in his cooking skill, he knew he was a great cook. Hell, his friends and strangers alike would always rave about his cooking. Sanji had yet to come across someone who did not enjoy his cooking. He had food critics from around the country come and visit the Baratie just to get a taste of his cooking. To Sanji, though, he could care less about the opinions of those snobby rich critics. Your opinion meant more to him than some five star review.

You seemed to be enjoying the dish Sanji made for you, seeing as you were only focused on eating. Over the past few weeks, Sanji was able to pick up on your habits. Whenever you had a rough day at work, you would enjoy eating the dish Sanji made you in silence. Even though he loved nothing more than talking to you, he'd prefer you eat first. The first week he met you, you would skip meals even though you were a doctor. From then on, Sanji made it his mission to make you a dish whenever he had the chance.

"Hm~, this is amazing, I should make you my husband," you teased. You had no clue just how much love Sanji poured into this dish he made you. You overtook his thoughts in every department, this dish was made out of genuine care for you. He would be honored if you made him your husband.

"I have some good news!" You exclaimed, wiping your mouth with a napkin.

"Tell me all about it, love," smiled Sanji, seeing your grin widen and getting all giddy. He loved how you got excited whenever you wanted to tell him something that interested you.

"There's a new aquarium that just opened downtown," you started, moving your seat closer to him. "It has all kinds of exotic fish and beautiful marine mammals!"

"Hm, maybe I should check it out, give me ideas for what I might prepare next," joked Sanji as you gasped. You slapped his arm playfully, calling him mean.

"Well... You see," you started as you twiddled with your thumbs. Sanji noticed how you refused to look him in the face. He saw your flustered expression as you tried to figure out what to say next. "A-a co-worker of mine, he gave me free tickets to the aquarium."

Sanji's heart dropped. He? As in... Male? Has somebody else asked you out on a date already? Sanji could hear his heart slowly break but he tried keeping a calm demeanor. Right now all he wanted to do was curl up on his bed and cry.

"Him and his girlfriend broke up and he didn't want the tickets to go to waste," you scratched your head, your eyes roaming around everywhere but Sanji. He felt his heart break a little more. "Anyways, he gave me two tickets... a-and I was wondering if you wanted to go with me?"

You finally look up at Sanji, your flustered expression showing all over your face. What? It had hit him like a train all of the sudden. You were asking him to go out with you to the aquarium. Sanji had prepared many scenarios in his head, but this one he did not expect. It was almost as if you were asking him out on a date.

"You don't have to go if you don't want to..." you try to hide the sadness in your voice. Sanji hadn't realized he had been blanking out for a bit, explaining why you were so hesitant.

"N-no! It's not like that!" Sanji exclaimed, desperately trying to salvage the situation. "If anything, I'm honored you would like to go with me."

Was this his chance? Sanji had dreamed of this moment since he was young. A beautiful prince finally meeting his beautiful princess, it felt like something out of a fairytale.

This was his chance. Sanji had to seal the deal.

"Love," Sanji gently held your chin with his fingers, as you tried to keep your eyes on him trying hard not to show your flustered expression. "How about we make it an official date?"

Sanji felt your body tense, you always had this reaction whenever he complimented you. He wasn't sure if it was because you valued your personal space, or because you were caught up in the moment. Regardless, Sanji loved seeing your expression when he treated you sweetly.

You nodded your head. "Yes," you whispered. "It's a date."

You were so cute showing how excited you were. It was hard for Sanji not to swoop in and plant his lips on top of yours. If only he could just lean a little closer-

"Hey, you two!" a thunderous voice erupted, making you jump from your seat. Both you and Sanji turned to look at Zeff who was holding the kitchen door open. "We're about to leave, if you guys want to stay in here, be my guest!"

With that, the old man walked away. Sanji chuckled and turned to face you, "You wanna get out of here?" he asked. You nodded your head, as both of you stood up from your seats. "First, let me introduce you to this old geezer, Zeff. I promise you, he's not as intimidating as he seems."

"He's pretty scary to me," you joked. While both of you made your way to the kitchen, your hand magically interlocked with Sanji's.

How could words explain just how absolutely stunning you looked. Sanji caught a glimpse one night of how beautiful you looked all dressed up. Usually, he would see you in your work clothes, which he didn't mind, he got to see you in that white lab coat. Although, now, Sanji was able to bask in your beauty. Seeing how you put so much effort to look presentable for your date, you look so cute!

"Darling, you look absolutely stunning," complimented Sanji, taking your hand and placing a kiss on top. He gifted you a bouquet of flowers with a letter attached to it. "Read it when you get home, love."

You shyly nodded, putting the letter on your table to read for later.

Sanji held your hand, leading you to his car and finally making your way to the aquarium. You couldn't contain your excitement on the way there, explaining to him what animal you were most excited to see. It was cute, really. Nami had told him how excited you were for this date and just how head over heels you were for Sanji.

Nami I don't know how you did it, but I better hear good things from you after tonight. read 6:27pm

Sanji couldn't help but crack a smile, seeing how overprotective Nami was of you. He had no doubt in his mind that Nami would put him in his place if he crossed the line. Although, Sanji had no plans of leaving you anytime soon.

He watched you, starstruck by your beauty as you stared at the fishes in the tank. The way you stared at the fishes with such focus, pointing to Sanji every fish you found intriguing. Your skin was glowing beautifully all thanks to the water's reflection shining onto you.

"What do you think?" you asked, turning your attention to Sanji.

"I think..." He smiled, tucking your hair over your ear, before pointing at a big fish. "I think I've actually cooked that fish at Baratie before."

You gasp before stifling out a laugh. "You're cruel," you said, your eyes locking onto him.

No, you're cruel. The way you cemented yourself into Sanji's heart. The way you made him feel like he was finally allowed to be selfish. How, no matter how many women hit on him or flirt with him, you're the only one taking over his mind.

"Look at this one!" you pointed at a Green sunfish. "He reminds me of your friend!"

"Ha! That is mosshead!" laughed Sanji, pointing at the fish alongside you. He took out his phone from his pocket to take a picture of the fish. "I have to send this to the Strawhats group chat!"

As Sanji zoomed in on the Green sunfish and took a quick picture, he felt your gaze on him. He could've sworn he saw you give him a warm smile, watching him have his own fun. Sanji puts his phone away, giving you his full undivided attention.

"Sanji..." you started. He felt a shiver run down his spine as his name rolled off your tongue. Your hands were a little shaky as you went to grab his black tie.

"L-love-!" started Sanji but before he could speak, you pulled him towards you and planted a kiss on his lips.

Sanji's body felt like it was on fire. As a young boy, he always thought he would be the first one to initiate a kiss. Now here he was, getting a kiss from you first, not that he minded. If anything, it proved to him that you were just as crazy for him as he was for you.

You pulled away, refusing to look him in the eyes and planted your head on his chest out of embarrassment. Sanji couldn't help but laugh at how cute you were, you had pulled the first move and now you were acting all shy. He wrapped his arms around you, kissing the top of your head and held you closely.

Two lovers enjoying their moment, blissfully unaware of the world around them.

"What are you doing here?" growled Sanji, staring at the woman sitting on his couch. It was his sister, Reiju.

"You've been ignoring my calls," she answered, unamused.

"Yeah? Well, maybe I've been ignoring them for a reason," scoffed Sanji, taking off his coat.

"Father wants to talk to you," Reiju went straight to the point. "He's been wanting to get a hold of you."

"Tell him to piss off!" yelled Sanji, heated. "That man has done nothing good for me, I don't want anything to do with him. In fact, he was the one who didn't want anything to do with me first."

Sanji swore he saw his sister's face drop, remembering the mistreatment of her younger brother.

"I know that..." spat Reiju. "But I'm here to try and spare you the trouble. If you continue to ignore his request, he will make you talk to him."

"Like I said, he has no right trying to come back into my life like nothing happened," said Sanji. "Now, if you would kindly leave me be, I would appreciate it very much."

Reiju's eyes don't leave Sanji's intense stare, sighing, before getting up from the chair and making her way out. She gives her younger brother one last look, one of shame.

"I hope things go well for you..." muttered Reiju, already out the door.

Sanji frowned. "Goodbye, Reiju."

And with that, he slammed the door.

Sanji felt like the happiest man in the entire world.

He is the happiest man in the world.

Being with you the past few weeks, Sanji had never felt more alive. You surround everything around him, whether it be from the dishes he cooks you or the music you play for him on a daily basis. Sanji could never get enough of you, you occupied every single one of his thoughts.

I got lucky, thought Sanji as he watched you dance with his friends. The bonfire was brightly lit, reflecting an orange tint on not only you but all of his friends. This was beautiful, almost like a scene taken straight out of a movie.

Sanji felt relieved that you got along well with his group of friends. He knew they were a bit much to handle, their personalities could be all over the place. He had remembered when he met Luffy at the Baratie, he was accompanied by Nami, Zoro and Usopp. It was a relatively small friend group before it expanded.

A few years ago, Sanji would've never imagined he'd have a big group of friends; ones who he considered his found family. Not that he didn't consider Zeff and the cooking crew at the Baratie his family. Zeff was his father-figure, the one who pushed him to befriend Luffy, to pursue his dreams and aspirations.

Now, here Sanji was, with his friends and lover, enjoying the beautiful night by drinking and dancing. He was content, so much so, he was sitting next to Zoro enjoying his beer. They were always at each other's throats; but tonight, they enjoyed each other's presence as they watched the others have fun.

"You sure are happier than ever before..." muttered Zoro, taking a drink from his beer. "For a second, I thought you were joking but you actually surprised me this time."

Sanji knew Zoro was referring to you.

"What can I say..." started Sanji, grabbing his lighter to light up a cigarette. "When you meet the right woman, it changes you."

Zoro chuckled. "I like her," said Zoro, watching his friends getting more and more drunk. You were struggling to hold Luffy and Nami as they leaned on you for support. The others laugh at their two friends' antics. "She doesn't take herself too seriously, plus, she's a doctor."

That being said, Luffy grabbed onto Usopp, trying to give him a hug. Both of them were drunk, and instead of hugging each other, their heads collided. You gasped and went to check on both of them to see if they were alright.

"Plus, looks like we need one," Zoro gestured to Usopp and Luffy.

Sanji laughed.

As the night progressed, most of Sanji's friends left one by one, leaving only the two of you. Both of you were sitting on the couch, exhausted from the fun night you two had.

"I think I should start heading home..." you sighed. Sanji could tell you didn't want to leave him.

He held you closer to him. "Why not just stay here for the night then, darling?" Sanji cooed in your ear, making you giggle.

You sighed, shaking your head hesitantly. "Can't, I have to do a lot of paperwork tomorrow. You know they will go crazy without me there."

Sanji felt a twinge of disappointment, but he did not let it ruin his mood. He understood how important your job was to you, he didn't want to get in the way of things. Although, by the way you acted, it didn't seem like you wanted to leave either.

You sat on top of your legs, looking at Sanji with a flustered look. You didn't really want to go, you had to make it clear to him. You leaned in towards Sanji, giving him a rather passionate kiss.

Sanji reciprocated the kiss, putting his hands on your cheeks to deepen it. His hands landed on your cheek, neck and then on your waist, putting you two in an intimate position. This felt heavenly, you roaming your hands on his chest made Sanji's whole world go up in flames.

This felt like a natural transition to something more; to sex. But who was Sanji if he didn't make sure his lady was absolutely sure about this? Sure about taking your relationship to the next level. Sanji broke the kiss, seeing as you were straddling on his lap. You gave him a cute pout, one which he found adorable.

"Ma chérie," started Sanji, placing his hand on your cheek. "Are you sure you're ready for this?"

He could see your eyes full of nothing but lust and love for the man in front of you. You nodded shyly, but in a desperate manner, showing him just how much you wanted this without words.

"Sanji... I have never been more sure about something," you confirmed it for Sanji. "I'm ready."

And that's all Sanji needed to ravage you for the night. He made you feel so many emotions that night; love, passion and pleasure. He made it his mission to make this night only about you. Sanji wanted to show you how much you meant to him. Just how much your presence had changed his life. You made him feel special and loved, something Sanji had gone without for far too long in his life.

You looked absolutely beautiful in your afterglow. "I love you," you said in between moans.

Sanji felt his whole world being turned upside down. Hearing those three words were so foreign to him. His family never said that to him, in fact, emotions were not allowed in his house growing up. Now, the woman that he loved, who was sprawled out on his bed, was confessing her love to him.

Sanji felt overwhelmed by the sudden emotions that had hit him, he couldn't take it. How did you know? The words he needed to hear the most. Sanji felt tears well up, but he was too ashamed to let you see him cry. He buried his head on your neck, embracing you tightly and letting his tears run.

"I love you more, ma chérie."

"Finally, I am able to sit you down and have a proper talk with you..." the large man muttered. He had long blonde hair that reached his waist, a stupidly funny upwards mustache and thick blonde curly eyebrows.

Shit, Sanji really was his father's son. Out of all his siblings, he resembled his father the most. Sure, he had his mom's features passed down to him but there was no denying that the man in front of him was most definitely his father.

He chose not to meet his father's gaze, instead staring down on the floor. He could hear his older siblings cackling, Sanji knew his siblings saw him as pathetic.

"We want to expand Germa 66, establish ourselves as a powerful business," explained Judge, keeping his eyes on his son.

"Typical..." spat Sanji, clenching his fists. "So? What's that got to do with me?"

"I've met someone that could help me expand who can help us expand. But, she will only do it if someone marries her daughter."

Sanji was growing impatient listening to his father talk. If he was going to ask him to marry somebody else, the Judge was wrong. Sanji already had built his own life, one his father didn't help create. He had Zeff, his friend and most importantly, you.

"I didn't want to bother my sons about it, so I thought, what about Sanji?"

This man knew how to get under Sanji's skin.

"I always thought you were a failure, but it turns out, you'll actually be useful this time around," laughed Judge. "So, you're gonna go through with the wedding."

Sanji felt nothing but pure rage inside of him. Not only was the Judge embarrassing him in front of his siblings, but making a decision for him; one he did not decide.

"How dare you!" yelled Sanji, clenching his fists. "I will never go through with that marriage."

"Oh, is that so?" said Judge, mildly impressed by his son's outrage. It was almost as if he wasn't anticipating this sort of reaction from him, what a joke!

"I'm not asking you, I'm ordering you," spat Judge, crossing his arms. "If you don't, it'd be a shame if the restaurant you work in just so happened to get shut down."

No way, Judge was actually threatening to close down Zeff's restaurant. After he worked his ass off to build that place from the ground up, a place Sanji had spent most of his years in.

"You wouldn't dare...!" challenged Sanji. Even though he was putting on a tough exterior, he was feeling scared and helpless. The man who was so cruel to Sanji as a kid, the man who kicked his own son out to fend for himself. Now, he was ordering him to accept this marriage like it was nothing?

No, Sanji had vowed to get married to you, the person he truly loved. His mind, body and soul belonged to you, not this random person he never even saw.

"How about that girl you're seeing," said Judge. It was almost as if he was reading Sanji's mind. "She seems like a nice lady and I hear she's a doctor too. Would be a shame if all her hard work was crushed by a simple call I could make."

This was going too far, even for them. Sanji could hear his siblings snicker, all of them enjoying the scene that was unfolding before their very eyes. Of course they would find this amusing, Sanji's brothers never held any sympathy towards him. His eyes landed on Reiju, the only one who was not laughing. She avoided Sanji's stare, looking defeated as she watched her father strip away her brother's life right in front of his eyes.

"Just accept the inevitable, failure!" laughed Yonji, Sanji's youngest brother.

This was crossing the line, threatening Zeff and threatening you? The love of his life, the person he stayed up all night talking to about his dreams. No, Sanji couldn't risk being selfish. Not when Zeff's business was on the line alongside your career. You had busted your ass day and night, you would avoid sleeping and eating just to get where you were.

There was no other choice, Sanji was backed into a corner. All he wanted to do was cry but held the tears in, knowing his father and brothers would use that to berate him even further.

With a defeated look, Sanji could only stare into the abyss as he said, "I... will go through with it. Just don't bring them into this mess."

Sanji knew how horrible his family could be and their threats were no joke. They were willing to use their positions of power just to get what they wanted. He wasn't gonna let you fall victim to his family, even if it meant hurting you in the process.

Sanji could see your whole world crashing down before his very eyes. It took you a minute to process what he had told his friend, what he had told you.

"I'm getting married, I'm cutting ties with all of you," spat Sanji.

This wasn't like him. Sanji never spoke to his friends in such a condescending way. Sure, he got annoyed by their antics from time to time but it was never enough to justify lashing out at them. He felt his heart rip in two as he watched your eyes well up with tears.

Luffy and Nami stood in shock, outraged by Sanji's behavior. Luffy shook his head, refusing to accept what his friend was saying.

"How dare you say that!" yelled Luffy. "You're supposed to get married to her!"

Sanji was grateful that you had Luffy to defend you. You looked so broken, he couldn't bear to see you any longer. He knew he wouldn't be able to go through with it if he continued seeing you in pain. You didn't say anything, but your body language said enough. You were hoping this was a dream-a nightmare-you could get out of.

"Sanji!" Nami yelled out, Sanji looking at her. He felt the palm of her hand collide with his cheek. The stinging sensation was brutal, but it was nothing compared to the sight of an angry Nami. Sanji knows he failed her, she doesn't need to say it.

"You promised me, Sanji," cried Nami. He had promised to not hurt you, now here you were, crying.

Luffy was comforting you, making sure you were alright. You hadn't spoken a word, screamed or cried, you just stood there lifeless. Sanji knew he had broken your heart, but it was for the best. That's what he wanted to believe, that you were better off without him. You wouldn't have to suffer because of him.

Nami made her way to you, and together with Luffy, guided you away from Sanji. He couldn't help but let the tears overflow as he watched the love of his life leave him. Just when he thought he had a chance at happiness, it was just as quickly diminished.

I'm sorry, was the only thing Sanji kept repeating to himself inside his head.

A few weeks have gone by and Sanji felt like his soul was already sucked dry. Sanji wanted nothing more than to escape this cursed wedding, but no matter how he tried, he couldn't avoid it. Every waking day, Sanji was reminded how much of his life was taken away. He missed his friends, but most importantly, he missed you.

Sanji missed going to visit you at the hospital you worked at. He missed the surprise visits you do when he worked at Baratie. How much he loved cooking for you, every meal made out of nothing but his love.

Now, he was making a meal for his fiancée, Pudding, the woman Sanji was forced to marry. She was a nice girl, but she was nothing like you. You had a certain charm about you that Sanji found adorable. He just couldn't help but compare Pudding to you at every corner.

Like the meal he had made for Pudding for the picnic was nothing like what he would cook for you. You had your own special meal that Sanji was accustomed to, now he had to memorize a new one that wasn't even for you.

Sanji watched Pudding as she giggled, telling him a story that he wasn't listening to. He didn't mean to be rude, he was just so busy in his thoughts he blocked the whole world around him. He knew that the date was going fine, Pudding was enjoying herself.

For a short moment, Sanji enjoyed the scenery around him. There was a beautiful lake and the sun was out. Sanji saw from the corner of his eyes a familiar figure walking up towards the bench in front of the lake.

It was you.

For the first time in weeks, Sanji felt happiness fill all over him. He hadn't seen you in a long time, he was finally able to say hi to you and how much he missed you. It's almost as if he had forgotten what he put you through. Sanji was forced to come back down to reality, watching as two familiar friends sat down beside you on the bench; it was Nami and Luffy.

Sanji wasn't able to see your face, but he could tell by the way Nami was hugging you and the way Luffy put his arm around you; you were still hurt by the events that happened weeks prior. Sanji's heart ached as he heard from afar you sniffle and Pudding calling out for him. Good thing he was too far away to draw attention to himself, but there was a dark looming feeling that floated over his head.

One of guilt, regret and sadness all combined together. Guilt for the way he made you feel, promising not only to you but to his friend Nami, that he would never hurt you. Regret that he had to leave his father figure, his friends and you behind all in favor for this sham of a marriage.

Sanji was so sure about his decision. He didn't want anyone coming after you just to get back at him. He promised you he was doing you a favor by making you stay away from him and his cursed family.

But seeing as you cried your heart out to Nami and Luffy, Sanji couldn't help but think that he had made a crucial mistake. One that he was afraid he could never undo.

if this gets enough love, i might do a part two (─‿‿─) tag list: @hellotamatoe and @somiawn, thank you for your guys support ♡5

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gwiyeounsonyeon · 4 months

Text

Growing Pains CH4 (MWC 10, 11, 12!)

Pairing: RE2 Leon Kennedy x Male(Intended) Reader Summary: College AU! Your day is shit but Leon's there to take you out. Words: 3,004/200 Warnings: reader's overstimulated Notes: this chapter was originally supposed to be longer but the first draft sucked so i rewrote everything

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For the entirety of your Sunday morning shift Leon had lingered in a mostly empty corner of the cafe, he sat up at a single-person table with a laptop out, pretending poorly to be hard at work. He looked around the store often and constantly checked the time, obviously very impatient for the day to be finished and so excited he was practically vibrating the store from how hard he was bouncing his knee. You knew he didn't mean to cause you any stress but his very naive puppy-like act pinched some nerves you didn't know you had–or maybe you were just having a bad day. With your head buried deep up in the clouds, you hadnt realized that you fucked up two orders in a row until the customers had come up to angrily complain at you, glaring nastily as you apologized and made them each their correct order and gave it to them for free. Apologizing had left a sour taste in your mouth that grew as you poured the coffee down the drain and tossed the cups into the trash, you had absolutely no idea why you were getting so worked up over something you’ve done a handful of times.

You barely made it through your next customer without blowing up in their face and as soon as they left you step back from the register and start untying your apron as you head to the back, “I’m goin’ on break.” You don't mean to sound as rough as you did and you don't notice the worried looks Claire and Leon throw your way. You don't pay any attention to her as Claire follows you into the break room and you try to keep the silence between you by pretending like you dont notice her standing in the doorway with her arms crossed, “There’s something wrong with you today.” It's kind of funny, the way she says it and any normal person would take offense but you’ve known Claire for nearly her whole freshman year, so it's a lot easier to tell the difference between her being flat out rude and her just caring too much to baby you. “That so?” You don't look up from your hands, idly shuffling things around and pretending to look busy so she’d hopefully leave. “If you won’t tell me what’s wrong, then you can just go home.” Your brows furrow and you glance up at her confused, “I have an hour left, why would I do that?” She shrugs and lets her hands fall down by her sides, “I dunno…” You instantly recognise the insecure tone in her voice and pull your hands from your locker so you can stand up fully, “I’m just… worried, you’re acting weird.” Your demeanor softens, a weight settles in your stomach as your shoulders drop, you hadn't realized that she’d picked up on your unreasonably sour mood and the fact that it made her upset without you knowing only makes that weight heavier. “I-.” You start to apologize but she cuts you off by shaking her head, “Just…” She struggles to find the right words and looks off to the side, her eyes drifting to the corner of the room, “You don’t have to bottle it up… You’re not alone anymore.” Her words hit you like a bullet straight to the chest, a lump forms in your throat as you remember what you had gone through when you first met Clair.

It was bad and the knowledge that she noticed and remembered something like that gets your eyes burning, but you swallow the lump in your throat and blink the tears out of your wet eyes as you nod awkwardly, “Yeah. Yeah, I know.” She goes to say something else, her hand reaching out to you but someone rings the bell at the counter and she pauses for a second and looks over at the door, she looks back at you like she’s going to apologize but whoever is at the counter rings the bell again and then keeps ringing it impatiently. She breaks for the front, only slowing down as she rounds the corner and into the dining area to take the customers order. Once she's gone you’re left in relative silence, you sit on a hard plastic chair and lean back, your mind wondering to Clair and how lucky you must’ve been to have met her. Your thoughts keep running as you think about what kind of life she’d lead after college and if she would still be friends with you, or if she’d still be friends with Luis, or Leon. For some reason your thoughts get stuck on Leon, you wonder about his life, his major, what his grades are like but those thoughts are only brief, your brain taking you down a different train of thought.

You stare off into space as you fidget with your phone, your thoughts unhelpfully reminding you of how flawed you are and how perfect leon seems in comparison to you, you hadn’t realized you started crying until a tear lands on your phone. The interruption pulls you out of your self-deprecating spiral and back into the present moment, you wipe your face quickly and stand to go to the bathroom before Claire or someone else spots you. You lock the bathroom door and lean over the sink, avoiding looking in the mirror, you know your hair is messy, you know you have dark bags under your eyes but you know that looking at yourself will only send you back into your earlier spiral. You scrub your weary face with cold water and pat it down before fixing yourself the best you can and heading out back to the dining area. It got busy fast, you hurriedly tie on your apron to help the next customers in Claire’s long line, a decent chunk of them migrating over to stand in front of your register.

You’re too busy to notice the grateful look she gives and definitely too busy to notice how Leon’s stopped pretending to work and is now just blatantly staring at you. With the two of you working you get through the wave of customers until there’s only a few stragglers left and a few familiar faces, Luis leans against the counter by Claire looking painfully tired and they chat idly as she makes him his drink, Leon naturally migrating over to the two of his closest friends. You aren't given any time to engage or listen to what their talking about as a brick wall settles in front of you, you look up at the Tyrant, who, after being added to the group chat with everyone including Luis and some girl named Ashley who you’ve never met in person, you learned that the Tyrants real name was Mr. X. you also learned, after a lot of teasing and jokes, that no one knew Mr. X’s full last name nor his first name. “Hi. Welcome to-.” He interrupts you with a wave of his hand and a scoff, “If you can’t remember something as simple as my order then why the hell do you work here?” You will yourself not to gawk, the gall of this guy. You fix your smile that had dropped slightly and tap his order into the register a tiny bit passive-aggressively, “Of course I remember your order, it’s just customary that I-.” He cuts you off again, “I don’t care about the customs of a coffee shop run by children,” He casts a nasty look over at Clair and you have to bite your tongue to stop yourself from getting fired or sued. “Just shut your mouth and make my damn drink.” Your head aches, a dull pounding settles just behind your eyes and you turn around to make his coffee, just wanting to get his order finished so he can leave.

As you’re putting a fresh pot of coffee on to boil you see the teacher turn to Leon and Claire to ask them how they’re preparing for exams. Claire’s normal strong defiant demeanor falters and Leon just looks scared shitless, he doesn’t attempt to say anything but he doesn't have to as Claire’s already opening her mouth to tell him they had a study group. The coffee is pretty much finished so you turn back to making his drink, keeping their conversation within earshot, something about this guy made the hair on the back of your neck stand on end. Once you finish you place the lid on his cup, not bothering to snap it on correctly but he doesn't seem to notice as you hand it over, “Please be careful, our lids haven't been fitting right.” He rolls his eyes at you and tosses down the exact amount and not a cent more. When Mr. X passes Leon on his way out he glares down at him, a frown tugs at your lips as you watch Leon's face twist anxiously.

When he's out of the shop and the door is shut firmly behind him you hear the trio collectively let out a big breath, you mull over your conversation with him in your head while you shut the drawer and lean your elbows on the counter, your eyes straying out the window just in time to see Mr. X run into a trio of freshmen and spill coffee all down the front of his coat. Before you realize what you’re doing, your arm grows a mind of its own and you knock your fist against Luis’ shoulder, he looks over at you and you point out the window where Mr. X is throwing a temper tantrum about the coffee spilt on his ugly ass coat. Luis snorts, then chokes on his coffee, doubling over in a coughing fit. He nearly misses the counter when he tries to set his cup down but you catch it just in time, using his free hand to point out the window, Claire barks out a loud laugh as she slaps Luis on the back. Your eyes flit over to Leon just in time to see the tension flood out of his shoulders and a small smile tug at the corners of his lips, he senses your gaze on him and he looks over.

As you make eye contact, butterflies fill your stomach uncomfortably and your face starts to feel hot, you turn back to the register and pretend to look busy as the freshmen wander in, giggling to themselves. You miss the way Leon brightens up but you hear his excited voice loud and clear; “Hey Ashley.” Your head snaps over to them when you hear that name and you look over to see a pretty looking blonde amongst two brunette girls that are leant in close to each other whispering about something and a ravenette who doesn't look like she wants to be here. The ravenette comes up to the counter first, rolling her eyes at her friends as she passes, she looks at the menu for a while as you watch the very friendly interaction between Ashley and Leon with a bitter feeling rising in your throat. The girl in front of you clears her throat and rattles off her order, you tap it into the register while trying to listen in on what Leon’s talking about but it quickly gets very complicated as the girl starts listing off the different types of ingredients and things she wants added to her food. “I’ll go make that.” Claire sing-songs and snatches the note from your hands while she walks to the kitchen Luis trailing after her, you make the ravenette’s drink and tune back into Leon’s disturbing conversation about how Mr. X is very biased and rude, going so far as to give Leon false bad grades.

“Why haven't you reported him?” As soon as it comes out of your mouth everyone goes quiet, clearly scared of the guy. Leon shrugs and plays with his fingers, “He's scary…” You roll your eyes and toss a crumpled receipt at him, “And he’s going to keep being scary if no one does anything about it.” He watches the receipt bounce off his shoulder and roll onto the counter, he pokes it and then unfolds the paper, fidgeting with it to try to get it completely flat. You watch him as Ashley speaks up, “It's not that easy, i’ve heard that the whole staff is scared of him and that's why he’s still allowed to work here.” She speaks with wide eyes, her two brunette friends nod enthusiastically as the other girl rolls her eyes. “And you believe them? Have you not met the Chancellor?” you say, your gaze flickering back to leon as he doodles on the receipt with a sharpie, your heart squeezes at how cute he it but as soon as that thought passes through your head you force your eyes away, glancing up in time to see Ashley cock her head slightly, “No, who’s the chancellor?” You nod while pulling out your phone to google Albert Wesker, you click on the first picture and show her, the brunette girls leaning in to see too. “Oh, I know him. He comes to the store my dad works at.” When she says that Leon looks up trying to see the picture on your phone, you tilt the screen over to him and he furrows his brows, “He looks familiar, i think…” Ashley must have realized something as she suddenly gets really enthusiastic, she taps Leon's shoulder rapidly until he looks up.

“He’s the guy that donated all that money to my dad, the one we saw at the party.” Your brows raise at what she said and the unpleasant feeling stirs in your gut again, rising up into your throat like bile. Claire comes back with the black haired girls food and the other girls drift over to her to get their orders in too, once they have the shortest one waves Ashley over to order. “Why’d your dad need money?” You look over at her as she shrugs “I never asked, I just assumed it was for his business…” You’re even more confused, “Business?” The taller brunette girl nods, “Yeah, Ashley’s dad works for a really big tech business. He’s like, really rich.” You nod slowly and look over to Ashley for confirmation but before she can get a word in, the shorter girl pipes in, “Its called DSO but no one knows what it stands for but it's on everyone’s phones, see?” She holds out her phone and sure enough on the back near the bottom left hand corner were the letters DSO. You’d seen a few buildings with those letters before but you’d always assumed it was for something else, not tech stores. “Mine doesn’t.” You don’t pull out your phone but it doesn't seem to matter, both of the brown haired girls look at you weirdly and then at each other, you roll your eyes and shake your head while walking back to your register to see the time, there's about thirty minutes left until it's time for you and Claire to close.

You busy yourself with wiping down the counter as Claire makes the rest of the girls’ drinks, they thank her and pay before leaving. You watch out of the corner of your eye as Leon and Ashley hug before she leaves to catch up with her friends. You frown down at the counter as you clean it off, “What's got you down, Hermano?” You’re embarrassed at the yelp you let out when Luis sneaks up behind you and sets his hands on your waist. He laughs and pulls his hands off to stand next to you while leaning on the counter, “Where the fuck did you come from?” You slap his arm lightly, your other hand pressed over your fast beating heart. “I went to the bathroom.” He shrugs casually, like he hadn't just tried to kill you.

You furrow your brows and push him into the direction of the door, “Get out, we’re trying to close.” He holds his hands up in mock surrender as he turns to walk out the door, Leon trailing behind him like a lost puppy. They wait and chat idly by Leons bike as you and Claire close, once everything is done and in order she heads out of the shop first ticking her tips into her pocket as you reset the alarm then lock the door behind you. Claire waves you and Leon goodbye as her and Luis walk in the direction of campus, both of them having classes all afternoon. Leon clears his throat nervously from behind you, he’s holding onto the handlebars of his bike, ready to go. “Where are we going?” You stuff your keys back into your pocket as his cheeks turn red, “Oh uh… I haven't… actually gotten that far… yet…” He explains lamely while scratching the back of his neck, Your heart skips in your chest and you purse your lips trying to fight off the sudden urge to lean in and kiss him.

“Hm…” You hum thoughtfully and pull your bottom lip into your mouth to chew on it as you think. All you really want to do is go home and relax but you also don't want to leave Leon, the longer you’re around him the more addicting it gets to be around him. “What about a movie?” He perks up and nods, following you when you start heading in the direction of the theater, “What’s even on?” You yawn and stretch your arms over your head, your body feeling stiff, “There's a zombie movie playing.” You see him look over at you from the corner of your eye, you give a thoughtful nod not really thinking about it, all you want to do is sit down and maybe sleep. “What’s it about?” He pauses to think, “I think it's about a cop but that's all I remember seeing about it.”

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