#anyway read capri for clear skin

[bluebutter-art]

spicy art under the cut 😳

Some Captive Prince sketch dump (and they get progressively messier the way down you go)

[idontplaytrack]

Listen

Capri Donahue x Harper!Sibling reader

Warnings: MDNI, dom!Capri, sub!reader, oral, fingering, overstimulation, light bondage, multiple orgasms, squirting

Read as a standalone fic, or after ‘Never Lost’ for more context on the storyline!

“So you told Darby about the powers?”

“Kinda had to, she saw me use them the other night.” Capri replies nonchalantly. “And after what I did, she couldn’t say much about them anyway. But, we’re fine now. No more stupid drama.”

“Really?” You asked, a bright smile on your face. Probably the first one all weekend since before the car nearly hit you.

The weather was gloomy, rain was about to fall given the way you kept hearing thunder roaring in the distance. Paying no mind to that, you looked into the mirror in front of you, checking your skin before drying it with a face towel. While doing so, you felt Capri staring at you intently. Your bare body. Next, her arm snakes around your waist as she shifted into her position behind you, hugging you. Her chin rested on your shoulder as she whispers, "I love you." It gave you that warm and fuzzy feeling in your stomach...those words. But also that forsaken rush of heat downwards.

"Why so clingy, babe?"

"No reason." She spoke, pressing a soft kiss in the crook of your neck. That action sends an electric shock down your spine, making you take in a sharp breath. "Listen- remember I said the other day that we should take it to my house. And now that we are...what do you say we do just that?" Her hand traces your side as she asks.

You chuckle, catching her drift, "I say, okay."

"Good." She says as her other hand- her left hand reached up the front of you body and just held your breast in her hand, massaging it ; That gesture successfully elicits a whimper from you. "Remember that talk we had awhile ago about doing some things to spice it up?" She asks, now you were overly aware of the fact that her bare body was pressed up against yours. "Yeah." You respond. "Last week, I got us a little something to use."

"What?"

"Give me a minute." Her hand gropes your ass cheek shamelessly as she leaves the ensuite bathroom, "I'll be right back." You hear her walk into her closet, opening a drawer then some shuffling and other clattering sounds that you couldn't make clear.

However, when she returned, your question was answered. "That is not a little thing."

"It's not that big." She smirked, looking down at the harness she'd put on, leaning onto you to graze the shell of your ear.

"Capri, you know I've never-"

"Well, do you want to try it? For me to use it on you?"

You pondered for a moment, observing her face, how the damp shoulder-length hair stuck to her skin, but also seemed to perfectly frame her face at the same time. Her full breasts inches away from you, you looked at her hands, then her lips as you began to fantasise and crave for her touch. "I do." You agreed with a tiny nod of your head. She grins, saying, "I'll work you up to it with my fingers first." As you gave her another agreeing nod, she cups your face and both your lips quickly melted into one- her free hand carries on groping your other breast that she's neglected for a minute or few, honestly. Subsequently, her hand that was cupping your face makes its way down between your legs, gathering some of your arousal on two fingers as they began to circle your already sensitive clit teasingly. You weren’t one to brag— she was. But the two of you were rather…active.

Slowly, she flips you over so your back was against her and your front was pressed up against the cool granite countertop. “I want you to look at yourself in the mirror, babe.” She whispers, pushing your back lightly so you were now bent over. You flinch as the warmth of your skin became one with the coldness of the countertop. “Watch how your face changes when I fuck you.” She tells you. With you, her bark was always worse than her bite. She’d never order you around. Her next move was to hold both your wrists together behind your back, “I don’t want you to touch yourself though. Leave that to me.”

You didn’t say anything back, but your body reacted. She feels your wetness grow, her fingers even slipping from its spot unintentionally. She holds the sensitive bundle of nerves in between two fingers and gives it a light pinch. Another whimper easily falls from your lips, more came out when she repeatedly does the same thing. Eventually, a moan erupts from your throat as she pulls her hand away. She hears you gasp, but you almost instantly feel her again- her index and middle finger spreading your lips apart and dipping her middle finger in. She begins at a languish pace to build up your arousal but quickly reciprocated your noises of approval by picking up her pace, and her mouth marking your neck. The index finger joins the first, curling up to hit you exactly in your g-spot every time she pushed into you. On top of that, once she’d let go of your wrists, she gives you a resounding smack on your ass. “Oh, fuck!” You panted, a high-pitched whine following your cry.

“Watch, baby.” Capri reminded you softly.

“Okay.” You gulped while feeling her fingers trace your ass cheek randomly. Her fingers entered you again, resuming its motion to bring you closer to your climax. Capri’s thumb ghosted your clit, close enough to know it was beginning to pulse. So, she pulls her fingers out the furthest she could without leaving you, continuing this for awhile before you let her hear that you were clearly frustrated and wanting more from her. Capri’s been watching you in the mirror to see your face- tears were brimming in your eyes as you begged her for more, you swollen clit desperately needing more stimulation than it was getting. Capri knew that- she could feel you. You were aroused but not exactly close yet. Her hand doesn’t leave you, but you see her bend down to find something in one of the drawers. Lube. She got a generous amount of it onto the strap, “You ready, bunny?”

————

Your breathing hitched, giving her an eager nod in response. Your body was yearning for more and this seemed like it. You could feel Capri teasing your folds with it while watching your face for any sort of confirmation- which you gave to her in seconds. You felt the tip of it at your entrance, and as the tip gets pushed into you, your mouth was hanging open as a high-pitched moan comes out of it. Capri smirked when she heard that- it was like music to her ears and she couldn’t get enough of it, of you. She started slow to help herself gain a comfortable momentum, but once your moans and whimpers fell from your lips in an unending manner she took it as her cue to pick up her pace and push herself into you, deeper.

“Oh, my God.” You gasped at a completely new sensation. You were completely filled out but the strap, feeling the pressure on a completely foreign spot, deep inside you. Capri seemed to know what it meant, her hand rubs your clit as she stood still, letting the tip of the strap keep its pressure on that spot. Shamelessly, you were crying. Capri started moving again, the strap pounding into you purposefully, her hand rubbing and pinching your clit. You started to feel a familiar coil in the bottom of your abdomen, and you alert Capri that you were close breathlessly. What she does? It pissed you off in the moment- she pulls out completely.

“Capri, Capri. Please.” You begged, “Capri, I’m so close.”

“I know, I know. Baby, shh.” She shushes you, her hands on each ass cheek as you saw her disappear in the reflection. In the next few seconds, you feel her kiss your clit. So gently, but your knees buckled. Capri keeps you steady, though. You gathered she must be on her knees as she ate you out, but that was a thought quickly gone from your mind when you felt her tongue pushing into your tight entrance mercilessly. You could barely keep still, nor stay standing. Once her mouth fully attaches onto your cunt, your body reacts. It takes this as cue to unravel, filling her mouth with your juices. Even then, she doesn’t stop, her tongue carries on flicking your clit like it was on a mission, lapping up your juices but you were almost instantly dripping again. You couldn’t hold it in anymore- you cried. The tears just fell like no one’s business. You could feel yourself throbbing as she continued to give you the stimulation. But you didn’t stop her- for some reason, you didn’t want her to stop. She just felt so fucking good. Before you could register what was happening, you came again. Then, she lifted your leg up so that your foot rested on the counter. “You okay?” She asks you as she positioned herself. That was when you saw her face- god, her chin was dripping with your juices. “Yeah. I- I’m fine.” You confirmed, then feeling her hands on your ass again.

“You’re so hot, baby.” She licked her lips, swallowing, “You wanna keep going?”

You were so fucked out that that was all you wanted now. So, you agreed. And she does just that. The strap was pushed back into you in one swift movement, no resistance at all. She moved ungodly fast, forcing a string of profanities, her name, whimpers, moans and cries to resound through the bathroom. Capri loved it- you saw her face - that proud smile plastered on her face.

Your knees began to shake so she held a hand on your waist. “Capri- I- oh, my God- what is- oh, fuck. Oh, my God-”

She chuckles breathlessly, “Holy shit. Oh, God that’s so hot.” Her pace slows down, eventually pulling out completely and ditching the harness. And you, you were still…going.

“Oh- oh, God. Thank you.” You managed.

“You did fucking amazing.” She steps over the puddle she caused on the floor and leaned down to kiss your lips after wiping her mouth off, brushing the hair out of your face. You smiled weakly as she hoisted you up bridal style and brought you back to her bedroom, carefully placing you on her mattress.

“I can’t believe I did that.” You reached out for her face so you could kiss her again.

“I know.” She grins, giving you yet another kiss before laying down with you. “I love you so much.” Content, you smiled, snuggling against her bare chest with your arms wrapped around each other.

————

After a little while, she leaves you to get you a drink of water which you gratefully accepted. “I’m gonna go clean that up then we’ll go take another shower to clean ourselves up.” She smooches your cheek before entering the bathroom again.

“Okay.” You said as she walked away.

After that was done, the both of you took a quick shower then went to order some food, watching some TV while waiting. “Can you walk?” She teases.

“Do ya think so?” You sassed.

“Okay, okay. Don’t move.” She chuckles, which turned into a signature cheeky smirk, “Which flavour do you want? Chocolate Fudge Brownie, Strawberry Cheesecake, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough?”

“Cookie dough.”

“Okay.” She grabs the mini cups of ice cream then shut the fridge door. “Do you want anything else?”

“No.” You shook your head no as you watched her walk back to you.

“Here you go.” She hands your ice cream to you, which you immediately dug into.

“How you feelin’?” She asks, biting the tiny spoon in between her teeth as she reaches for the TV remote.

“Uh- a little sore. But you probably know that.” You blushed.

“Do you want painkillers?” She asked worriedly.

“Mm, no. I think I’m gonna be fine.”

“Alright. Just let me know if you need that or anything else.” She says while leaning onto you, resting her head on your shoulder as she ate her dessert.

[harocat]

For WIP Wednesday I wanted to babble some on how I imagine all the realms in the Love Between Fairy and Devil minibang (@lbfad-minibang) fic I'm working on. Btw posting for that starts on DECEMBER 8TH AHHHHH. For the three realms of the far future, I have a few inspirations. Lots of text under the read more lol.

I've mentioned Mad Max for Cangyan Sea, but I do want to be clear that Cangyan Sea is not a post-apocalyptic setting. They have grown and adapted into a desert culture over time. Though they aren't as populous as they once were, they're not in danger nor are they struggling for resources. There is water and food readily available, and they do trade with Shuiyuntian and Haishi City.

There is a lot of vehicle use, mostly adapted from what's found in the mortal realm. However, vehicles are powered by cultivation as opposed to fuel.

Clothing is layers, not much skin showing, as is consistent with desert cultures, but combined with some of the signatures we know of in Moon Tribe culture.

For Shuiyuntian, I decided to lean into the fact that it seems to be, despite the forest we do see, mostly surrounded by and above water. Thus, they are a water based culture now. My inspiration for them was the 2013 anime, Suisei no Gargantia. In this story, in the far future the Earth has become a water planet, and cities are made up of giant floating barges. These massive barges contain whole cities, with their own economies, agriculture, currency, etc. They do have some land to utilize (unlike Gargantia), but it is limited.

Much like Cangyan Sea, the aesthetic is a bit more rustic, but neither kingdom is in dire straits.

The climate is warm and subtropical, so clothing tends to be thin and breathable without many layers. Sandals, shorter sleeves, etc. Again, combined with some of the signature aesthetics we know exist in fairy culture.

In both cases the lush, elaborate lifestyles you may have seen in the past aren't really a thing any longer, but in general, the populations are healthy.

Items are used longer, clothes get more worn before being replaced, and in general, there isn't as much extravagance.

Cultivation does many of the same things electricity does in the mortal realm (light, fuel, etc.)

The modern mortal realm matches up to our own as as far as technology and equivalent time period goes. The main difference is that I wanted to imagine a China that had been free of the impact of imperialism. It just felt kind of fucked up to have this fantasy version of China, but still have it go through all the same nonsense our own world has gone through.

There is some western influence in architecture, clothes, and technology, but what is there is due to legitimate cultural exchange over time. Architecture is a mix of traditional builds, sometimes using more modern materials like glass and steel, and styles that originated outside the country. Clothes are all over the place. The train platform that's one of the first places they end up at is described as featuring people in 'Lucheng garments that look somewhat familiar', people in t-shirts and pants/jackets and slacks/etc., and people in a mishmash (XLH ends up in what is essentially a hanfu top and a pair of capris).

Because this is a fanfic, and they don't spend THAT much time in the mortal realm anyway, I won't be delving much into how this affected politics, law, and social norms, but you are free to imagine the differences.

(A thing to note is that unlike modern China, men have hair lengths of all types, from long like DFQC's own to cropped short, and it's considered normal.)

There is NO cultivation. Humans lost the ability to cultivate around the same time DFQC and XLH were sealed away forever ago. Magic and immortals exist only in folktales.

The one place that remains essentially the same is Xilan. There is limited use of it by both Shuiyuntian and Cangyan Sea, but old tradition and legend dictates that it mostly be left alone.

Haishi City has become a go between for the two kingdoms (which it sort of already is in canon). As a city that falls between what has become a large sea and an expansive desert, it is foggy and warm. There's little to say about the ecosystem outside the weather, as it's pretty much buildings top to bottom with little to no 'natural' spaces. I imagine it being super populated and set up on 'levels' like the city of Chongqing. I'm not sure if we'll ever make it there in the fic, but that's how it exists in my mind.

[spencerreidsconverse]

When Evil Doesn't Sleep

summary: Spencer has been gone far too long on a case and when he finally returns home, reader shows him just how much she missed him.

word count: 3.4k

warnings: smut, implied dom/sub undertones, pet names

Pairing: Spencer Reid/Female Reader

A/N: My first fic!!! I hope you all enjoy! <3

“Y/n I’m really sorry but it looks like the case is going to take a lot longer than we thought. We had a recent development and the profile is now pointing to a partnership so now we’re hunting down two unsubs”. You sighed as Spencer rattled off his apologies through the phone before putting him out of his misery “Spencer honey, you don’t have to apologize. Quit worrying about me and focus on catching the bad guys.”

To say you missed Spencer would be the understatement of the century. He had been in Utah for six days already and now with a pair of psychos your odds of finding him in your bed by the end of the week were growing increasingly slim. It didn’t help that you had been swamped prepping for an extra class you’d agreed to take on at Georgetown where you worked as a Criminal Psychology professor. Between both of your hectic work schedules you hadn’t had a real weekend to yourselves in a few months, and while you knew when you first started dating Spencer that it was an inevitable of his job, it had never been this crazy before. They say evil never sleeps but lately it hasn't even taken a catnap.

“I love you Y/N. I promise I’ll come home to you soon and take you out on a real date. I’m sorry darling, I have to go. I’ll text you when I get to the hotel tonight and if you’re still up we can talk for a bit okay?”. “Alright Spence, I love you too. Stay safe okay?”. “I promise, goodbye love.”

Your farewell barely made it past your lips when the dial tone cut you off and once again your boyfriend of three years vanished from your side of the country. You let out an exasperated sigh before reminding yourself that there were other people who needed his help and that you could wait for his attention - at least until that night. Continuing the trek up the stairs of your and spencer’s shared apartment, you managed to haphazardly balance your grocery bags in one hand while unlocking the door and disabling the security alarm, internally cringing at the high shriek that rattled through your brain.

Walking through the living room, you sat the bags on your kitchen counter and began reorganizing the small fridge space to fit all the perishables you had brought home, absentmindedly hoping they wouldn't spoil now that it would be just you for several more days. Moving to the cupboard you replaced the few grab and go snack boxes you had made up to try and encourage Spencer to eat more throughout the day and refilled the paper plate stash that quickly became a requirement after you realized neither one of you could tolerate doing dishes every night. You ripped open the cardboard packaging of yet another microwave dinner and set the timer before leaving to change into more comfortable attire.

Opening the door of your shared bedroom, the smell of vanilla wax melts and dryer sheets hit you like a brick and immediately sent a pang of loneliness through your chest. Spencer was usually around by the time the chores needed done, and you rarely had to do them yourself. Unfortunately, the laundry was piling up and you needed something to distract you so you spent the day running errands and cleaning the apartment more thoroughly than necessary. You walked over to the stack of black dresser drawers and pulled out the first pair of pajama pants you touched, Spencer’s old caltech sweats that now fit you far better than him considering he had received them when he was 14. They looked more like capris on him now and it was embarrassingly difficult to convince him to buy a new pair that fit him properly. You slipped on a tank top and pulled your hair back before making your way lazily to the bathroom to take off the remnants of your simple makeup.

After scrubbing your face clean and pulling your dinner out, you moved to ready the couch for yet another night of binge watching cheesy 90s movies. You selected Clueless and watched the vibrant colors pop across the screen while you dived into your meal, making a poor attempt to ignore the slight freezer burnt taste that lingered after every bite. You finished your dinner and set the bowl aside before covering yourself with a blanket and allowing yourself to sink into the cushions, desperately awaiting Spencer's text.

You were jolted out of your doze by the loud buzzing of your phone against the wooden coffee table. Clumsily you reached for it and managed to swipe the answer pad before it sent your genius to voicemail. “Hello?” you managed before a yawn ripped its way through you suddenly. “Hey Y/N, I’m sorry it’s so late. I didn't mean to wake you, I figured you’d still be up. You should go back to bed love.” For the first time, you noticed the neon green numbers on the microwave. 12:30. You stifled another yawn and shook your head in an effort to wake yourself further “No way, I just dozed off while watching a movie. I was waiting to talk to you. Besides, I’m up now anyways so you might as well stay on with me for a bit. Did you get any further today?” “Well, JJ had the idea that the partners were originally a typical dominant/submissive partnership but that something in the dynamic must have changed because the MO began to deteriorate. We think the partners must have split up now, because we’re finding similar pieces of the previous MO at separate crime scenes.”.

You processed the information he fed you slowly due to your semiconscious state but eventually you put your words in order well enough to respond. “That should be helpful though yeah? I mean, they’re used to working in a partnership so being suddenly separated from your other half so to speak would throw you off track quite a bit right?”. You could practically hear him smiling through the phone as you drew the conclusions the team had come to only a few hours prior. “Yes. We’re hoping to be able to draw them out and trap them. Play them against each other.”.”Does that mean I can stop sleeping on the couch soon?”. You heard him let out a dejected sigh - you knew he hated that you would force yourself onto the cramped couch when you had a king sized bed a few hundred feet away but he understood.

When he had come home in the early hours of the morning after an abrupt end to a case a few weeks after you had moved into his place, he had caught you curled up on the sofa with a throw pillow stuffed under your head. When he questioned you about it the next morning, you simply answered that the bed felt too big without him and that you couldn’t stand the empty feeling. “Sooner than later I hope my love. Y/N I really wish you wouldn’t do that to yourself. It’s horrible for your body. It can put you at a much higher risk for chronic back and neck pain as well as-”. “Spence. I’m not a giant like you are. I fit on the couch much better than you do, and I barely notice the difference.”. You both cringed, hearing the lie clear in your voice. Still, Spencer must have felt bad because he humored you. “If you're sure. What did you do today my love?”. You smiled sadly hearing in his voice just how desperate he was to escape from his reality and come home to you.

”Well, I straightened the house. In fact, it’s so clean i think we could use it as a sterilization room.”. He let out a soft chuckle and you could hear him begin to relax as you recounted the rest of your day, excluding the part about the microwave dinner. Spencer loved to tell you how many of the ingredients were one step away from processed garbage and you decided to opt out of the lecture for the evening. He had more than enough to worry about without having to focus on your diet while he was away. After a half hour of light conversation, a loud yawn betrayed you as you were excitedly discussing the cute puppy you had met on the way to the market. Spencer immediately requested that you hang up and get some more sleep but you refused. After a few minutes of bickering, you relented on the condition that he would read to you until you had fallen asleep. You curled up under the fluffy blanket as Spencer’s even voice recited the collection of Grimm’s fairy tales quickly lured you to sleep.

You woke up the next morning as sunlight peered through the curtains, stretching your body out to ease the aches from the previous night. You smiled softly as your screen lit up with a text from Spencer wishing you a good morning and an update that they had a solid plan for boxing in the two unsubs that afternoon. “If all goes to plan I should be carrying you to our bed before midnight tonight.”. Your smile widened and you sent back “Can’t wait to truly see you - and love you- tonight. I’ll be waiting.” You plugged your phone into the charger and straightened up from the night before when your phone went off again. The one word message glared at you from the screen and you let out an involuntary giggle. “Tease.”. You hoped it gave him something to look forward to until he was back in your arms. You sent back a simple “XO” before deciding to reread one of your favorite books for a few hours to kill some time. You made yourself a sandwich for lunch and had a few glasses of water as the clock slowly ticked by. You were over halfway through the lengthy novel when you received another message.

“We apprehended both unsubs. Hotch is postponing the paperwork until Monday so we can go straight home. I’ll see you in a few hours baby.”.  You jumped slightly in celebration before finishing your current chapter, marking your place, and all but skipping to the shower to shave and exfoliate your skin. You knew Spencer would still be heavily worked up once he arrived home and luckily, his favorite release included intertwining your bodies as close as possible and loving you sweetly and slowly.

You took your time in the shower careful not to nick yourself with your razor. You scrubbed your scalp with your nails, letting your stress and soreness melt away under the steam. You waited until the water ran cold before turning the knob and stepping out, wrapping yourself in a fluffy towel and blow drying your hair until it layed perfectly even. You applied lotion all over your skin and stepped out of the bathroom to slip on your black silk robe, knowing it wouldn’t be worth it to dress up further. Spencer would be desperate to feel your skin against his and any fabric in his way didn't stand much of a chance.

You made an actual meal for dinner, a pasta dish with chicken that could be easily reheated for Spencer when he grew hungry later in the night. You helped yourself to a serving and after quickly cleaning up the kitchen and storing the leftovers, you retreated to the bedroom to wait for his return.

You were half paying attention to the feed you opted to scroll through on your phone when you heard the door creak open and bags drop to the floor. You set your phone on the bedside table and ran towards the foyer, all but throwing yourself at the exhausted man in front of you. He took a step back from the impact but still enveloped you in his arms and pulled you impossibly tight into his chest. “Hi baby.” you whispered against the scruffy skin of his jawline, peppering kisses up towards his earlobe. He let out a long sigh of relief and picked you up off the hardwood floor, wrapping your thighs around his waist resulting in a high pitched giggle to erupt from your throat. He kissed you then, slowly at first but quickly building more passionate. Your lungs were burning when he finally allowed you to pull away, opting to kiss down your neck to your collarbones and the skin of your chest that was newly exposed as your robe slipped open.

He carefully made his way back to your room, continuing his kisses back up to your shoulder, stopping only to leave marks you knew would only grow darker as time passed. At the very least he was sure to only mark you in places you could cover with little difficulty. “I missed you so much Y/N. The entire ride home all I could think about was you waiting for me in our bed. My gorgeous girl.”. You felt your chest heat up at his words of admiration, wrapping your fingers into his curls and pulling his lips towards your own once more.

You felt him groan against you and moved to quickly unbutton his shirt, slipping it down his arms and tossing it in the general direction of the hamper. He pulled you up with him then, so you were both on your knees, chest to chest as he pulled your robe fully down your back to the swell of your ass where he grasped at you through the slick fabric. You let out a whine and you pulled his belt off, undoing his jeans desperate to continue. He grinned against your neck and pushed you down so you laid flat on your back, completely exposed to him. He kissed at your stomach, making his way down to your inner thighs. He licked a slow wet trail from your pelvic bone to the top of your clit as you whimpered desperately. “Spence, please… I need more”. He humored you, creating slow small circles with his tongue moaning at the taste. You cried out as he created the perfect amount of pressure on your clit, legs threatening to close around his head when he moved to slip one of his fingers easily inside you as the mix of your own wetness and his saliva aided him. He smirked as he felt your thighs flex before using his left hand to throw one of your legs over his shoulders at a time. He pushed a second finger in, curling them up to perfectly reach your g-spot with every thrust. Soon though, you grew impatient with just his fingers. You needed more and you knew just how to get it.

“I want you so bad Spence. I’ve waited for so long and I just can’t anymore. I need to feel you deep inside of me.”. You were positive those words would leave him just as needy as you were and he proved you right when he kicked his pants the rest of the way off and went to line himself up against you. “Wait.”. He stopped immediately, examining your face for any indication of what was wrong. “What’s the matter baby? Are you okay?”. You shook your head and smiled at his concern before switching your positions so his back was resting against the pillows as you straddle his thighs. He smirked at you as he caught on, trailing his hands up the front of your legs to rest at your hips. “You gonna ride me angel?”. You responded with an eager nod and he squeezed your hips, pulling you up further so you were hovering above him. “Sit pretty like my good girl then.”. You whined softly at his words before slowly sinking yourself down around his length, sucking in a harsh breath at the stretch. Even with how wet you were, the adjustment took longer than usual due to the dry spell you were both suffering from as of late.

When you finally felt stretched out enough to move, you slowly ground your hips forward flush against his. He groaned out, lifting you back up so you were almost completely off of him before pulling you back down. You moaned both at the sensation and the idea of being manhandled by the genius below you. You realized what he was asking though, and began bouncing yourself up and down his cock, stopping every few thrusts to grind your clit down on him. You let out soft moans, and after a few more minutes you felt his fingers dig deeper into your hips and his breaths quicken. You knew he was close and as if on cue you started rubbing fast circles against your clit as he spoke again.

“Baby girl I’m getting close. You gonna cum with me angel?” You nodded furiously in response and you felt him start thrusting up to meet you. You panted as you hurried towards the edge of your orgasm, holding on until his thrusts grew sloppier. “You ready to cum with me baby? You gonna cum on my cock?” “Yeah.. gonna cum all over your cock Doc.” You fought to keep the grin off your face when he moaned at the title. He thrusted deep into you twice, before he ordered your release. “I want you to cum now baby. Cum all over my cock.” You felt your orgasm rip through you, electricity shooting through your limbs. Spencer groaned loudly as you tightened around him before pulling you down deep and releasing inside you.

You both fought to catch your breath as you rode out your highs before you found yourself slumping against his chest, suddenly drained from your activities. You felt him chuckle at your drastic change in energy as he wrapped his arms around you again. “I know you just washed the bed sheets and we’re both sweaty but do you think a washcloth will suffice for tonight?”. You nodded against his chest before slowly lifting yourself up and off of him, rolling onto your back on the other side of the bed. Spencer swiftly made his way across the hall, returning to wipe you down gently with the warm fabric. You shivered as the cool air dried your skin, watching him move throughout your room.

He slipped on a fresh pair of boxers before tossing the washcloth in the hamper along with his previously discarded clothes. He hung your robe on the back of your bedroom door then flipped the light switch off before rejoining you in bed to slip under the blankets with you. You immediately curled up into his chest, sighing contently as the sound of his heartbeat filled your ears. You kissed his chest and whispered goodnight, drifting into your first real sleep since before he left.

The next morning you and Spencer went shopping after you successfully convinced him to upgrade to a smart phone with video call abilities. He had begun to shut down the idea as he always had before but after the mere suggestion of what it could do to better your late night hotel room chats he was the one pulling you towards the nearest phone shop. You smiled politely while Spencer took his sweet time weighing the pros and cons of each model, letting your mind drift to the first time it would come in handy. As you finally neared the checkout counter, you took Spencer's hand in your own and gave it a gentle squeeze. After running his card through the machine, the salesgirl gave him the small plastic bag and wished you both a good afternoon.

As you exited the shop, you looked up at him, nudging him to get his attention “What do you think of an app controlled vibrator?”. He stared at you incredulously for a few moments, almost stopping dead in his tracks. After recovering from the initial shock at the vulgarity of your suggestion, he shook his head with a soft smirk and nudged back against you. “Tease.” he called you once more. “That’s the reason you love me right?”. He pulled you into his side, kissing you softly. “One of many Y/N. One of many.”

[dcforts]

[week 3: i can still recall our last summer]

1.6k, pre s12.

Dean said it was too hot. He’d said it fifty times already since they left the bunker this morning and they were not even halfway through the journey.

He huffed and puffed, saying how uncomfortable he was in his jeans and tshirt and how much he hated his sweaty skin sticking to the vinyl seat. Cas tried to look sympathetic.

“I can’t even look at you right now,” said Dean, his eyes on the road, little drops of sweat above his upper lip. “At least loose the trench coat. I feel like I’m wearing it, it’s making me physically sick,” he said overly dramatic.

Cas indulged him and slipped it off, took off his jacket as well and loosened his tie.

Then he unbottoned his cuffs and rolled the sleeves of his shirt up to his elbows. He did a pretty nice job of it, he thought. He'd had done it a couple of times before, but Dean always said it looked messy and usually rolled them down again to do them himself.

Cas didn't mind that too much; Dean's fingertips travelling up his arms felt different than anything else he'd have ever experienced and he kind of started anticipating it.

Dean must have felt really bad today though, because he didn’t do anything but throw a quick look at him. Despite not being affected by it, Cas could tell the weather was unusually hot and Dean was definitely not used to it. Still, he could do with a change of topic.

Dean seemed to cheer up a bit when they passed a sign saying they were nearing a gas station, but then spent the time it took to get there to complain some more and apologize to his girl for not thinking of getting her a drink sooner. Cas managed to avoid making a comment on Dean talking about his car like that.

The place was pretty much empty. There were only two pumps that looked pretty old and a little store behind them. Dean stopped the car at the pump closer to the road and wriggled in his seat to take out a few dollar bills from his jeans, “I’m gonna get gas, could you go ahead to pay and get me something to drink?”

Cas nodded, “Sure.”

So he stepped into the store where the A/C was blasting and some mellow music was playing in the background. He wandered towards the fridges that held the beverages and spent a while trying not to feel overwhelmed by the choices available.

He knew what kind of beer Dean preferred, but it was too early for that. He scanned the shelves and looked for something that seemed refreshing.

There was one kind of juice that promised to be a "Natural Fruit Drink" and was stored in little colourful pouches. It looked refreshing enough. He grabbed two lemonaded drinks and a big water bottle.

“Would you consider this being a refreshing beverage?”

The old lady at the cash register smiled at him as if he was being funny, “Sure. There’s only one*, right?” she said, winking. She looked like she was expecting a reaction from him, but Cas didn’t know what to say. First of all, he was paying for two pouches.

“Uh –"

“Nevermind, dear,” she huffed a laugh, “you were probably too young to remember.”

That was highly unlikely, Cas thought. Thankfully she was handing him his receipt already so he was able to get away from the conversation with a, "Have a good day, ma’am.”

When he got outside Dean was waiting for him leaned against the Impala. There was no one else still, so he wasn’t in a hurry to free the space and lose the shade of the canopy over his head.

He had his arms crossed and looked like he was thinking intensely. Probably a way to murder the Sun.

He looked up when Cas approached, “What you got for me?”, he said and when he saw what he was carrying, he had the funniest reaction.

He started laughing.

“What?”

“Capri Sun?” he laughed some more, genuinely delighted, “God,” he said, taking one of the pouches from Cas, “Wh-why did you get these?” he asked in a silly voice and didn’t even wait for Cas to reply. “I haven’t had one of these in like – forever.”

He turned the pouch in his hands and then his smile softened and disappeared. He cleared his throat and knitted his eyebrows.

“You don’t like it?” Cas asked, confused by the sudden change of expression. “I also got you water.”

“Uh – no,” said Dean, “No, nothing like that. It’s just –” he was still turning the thing in his hands and not making any move to start drinking it. “These remind me of my mum?” he said like it was a question. He looked up at him and let out a little laugh. “It’s – weird. I can’t really – I mean I was three. I know I can’t possibly remember, and maybe most of the things are like – a wish or a dream or something, but – You know when you get like, memories from tastes and stuff? Like in In Search of Lost Time.”

Cas didn’t really know.

It must have read on his face because Dean snorted, “Forget it,” and kept going, “It brings me back to when I was a kid and – I don’t know.” He looked at the pouch. “I think it was summer? Must have been summer. I don’t even – She’d like, take me to the park, I think. I don’t remember Sam being there, so it must have been the last summer where it was just me and her, you know, before she – ” he trailed off, his hand gently squeezing the pouch. “Yeah. Anyway, I don't even know if it's real. Could be a commercial or something." He clicked his tongue, then finally jammed the straw in the plastic and brought it to his lips.

Cas was still standing there, his hands full, watching him as he drank. There was more to the story and he didn't want to interrupt. Sure enough, Dean added, “Anyway, when she was gone and we got on the road, money got a bit tight. I remember crying and kicking ‘cause my dad wasn’t buying it for me. That I remember well. I remember I learned not to ask for it anymore. So I had kind of – forgotten about it.”

He fell silent. Dean's childhood had been unfair and tragic and if Cas could have had the power to do something to set it right he would have. Dean rarely talked about it so casually. He didn't seem sad like other times, but as he finished his drink, Cas still felt the need to tell him, "I didn't mean to upset you."

"No, I'm not upset," he was quick to reply, shrugging, "I mean, real or not, it makes me feel good." He flashed out a smile, "It's making me feel good right now," he said, raising his eyebrows playfully at him, "Guess it'll remind me of today now too. And at least I'm sure this is real."

“Is today really a good memory?" asked Cas, skeptical, "You complained all the way here. And I thought you said, 'I'd rather go back to Hell than live another day like this.'"

Dean snorted, “Yeah, well," he said, one corner of his mouth going up in half a smile, "the weather is not all there is."

He looked away and walked a few steps to throw out the empty pouch. On his way back he headed straight towards Cas, and came to stand very close to him.

Cas blinked, “Do you want the other one?”

Dean smiled like he was being funny. “Nah, I’ll drink that later,” he said, but still took out of his hands both the water bottle and the juice and Cas didn’t understand what was going on when Dean sent them bouncing onto the backseat from the open window, barely taking his eyes off of him. Cas could not help but stare back.

“What-" he tried to ask, but Dean was already cupping his left elbow with one hand, soon joined by the other and unrolling the sleeve of his shirt. Oh.

Dean lowered his gaze as he worked and Cas took the chance to stare at him from such a short distance, focus on his eyelashes, his sweaty brow, the dark freckles on his skin. He was really close, closer than Cas thought he'd like to be in this heat. Cas' arm dangled by his side like a dead weight when he released it and his right arm was already halfway up in offering. Seeing that made Dean smile a little.

They were really close.

They were really close and Cas kind of wanted to step closer.

“You are so bad at this,” Dean huffed, his fingertips and knuckles brushing his skin. Cas thought it hadn’t looked that bad, but Dean would surely know better than he. He'd almost finished rolling up the other one as well, and he was slowing down his movements.

Cas wished he had four other arms.

"So -" Dean said, taking his time to smooth the last of the wrinkles, "How about a deal? If I start complaining too much, you -", he pursed his lips like he was thinking it through, but he was just trying to be funny. Cas found him funny, "you can play some music, drown out my voice."

"Do I get to choose the tape?" Cas asked, feigning innocence.

Dean looked up to give him an unamused look that said he was taking it too far, but when their eyes met he realized Cas had been waiting for that and was actually holding back a grin.

So Dean puffed a sigh to smooth the smile that was threatening to curl his lips. It didn't really work so he had to look away to hide it.

"Fine," he said in the end, finally letting go of his arm. He gave him a pat on his shoulder as he walked past him. "I'll let you choose the tape." He pointed a finger at him from the other side of the car. "Just this one time."

Cas was fine with that.

*a reference to the 82' commercial you can see here - just a fun a coincidence that it's the same year Dean's referring to :)

@bend-me-shape-me said #deancassummerprompts21 and I said YES

[flyinglotus777]

Fleeting Lotus

An usually sunny day on September 22nd. Reminiscing on the great remembrance of the 21st night of September. Although the sky was clear, my thoughts were cloudy. 3 years had passed since the death of my mother and I celebrated how I celebrated any other anniversary in my life, with a pack of menthol cigarettes and a book to get lost in. The pick for the day was Harry Potter: Order of the Phoenix. My mother and I shared a love for Harry Potter, she introduced me to the series. I had a strange feeling that judgement was coming to me swiftly much as it met our three estranged heroes.

A knock at the door.

“Los Angeles police, open up.” an assertive, but comforting voice commanded.

I open the door to be greeted by a beautiful detective James. First name unknown. She had a slicked back, long curly ponytail and eyes of warm chocolate. Her skin was sun kissed and I found her presence to be encapturing. I wonder what she wants with me.

“Good morning sir. I am detective James. I am aware that your girlfriend, Lauren, has been missing for a couple of days and I would like to ask you some questions.” Her eyes pierced at me with persistence. Her tone sounded as if she was asking a question, but I knew she would come again if I denied. Maybe with more reinforcement.

“Uh, sure. Come on in.” I shut the green door behind her and light a cigarette. If I am to be interrogated, I shall answer in smoke.

“Sir, can you put that out?” 

“No, but I’ll open a window for you. You can sit by it.” I turn on a fan and open a window. I open the blinds slightly to see the families laugh and play in the shallow, motel infested pool. What a bunch of turds, I laugh to myself. 

I grab a seat for the lady and one for myself next to the ashtray. I see her eyes wander in silent judgement and amazement of the room. 

“There you go, Ms. James. Now what can I help you with?”

“Your girlfriend, Lauren Alexander-”

“Ex. I don’t make love to the dead,” I chuckle.

“She has been missing for over five days. We are doing an investigation and asking all close friends and family members about her whereabouts and when they saw her last. Why do you say she is dead?” she asks unsteadily, gripping the upholstered arm chair.

“Well, five days missing in this city means you’ve been kidnapped or killed. Especially for women, I’m sure you know that all too well yourself ma’am. Besides, I am the one who called to inform the police of her absence.” I take a drag and relinquish the air and stress I had built up inside of me for the past few days. She eyed me up and down as I spoke, taking notice of my fully unbuttoned beige, roaring tiger print shirt to reveal my white Hanes undershirt matched with my khaki capris. I placed my leg over my ankle so maybe she would catch a glance of my Nike socks and birkenstock combination. I did dress myself today after all. Her eyes read suspicion, but somehow I could tell she was doubtful of me. 

“Well, I would just like to ask some questions and I will be on my way.”

“Ask away. How rude of me. I forgot to mention, my name is Jacob Whitmore. My friends call me Jakey, but they haven’t been calling me as much lately.” I took another drag. Nothing screams rise and shine like a nicotine coated menthol and sitting across from an upgraded police officer.

She shakes her head in disgust and despair. “Mr. Whitmore-”

‘Please, call me Jacob.”

A heavy breath followed by a restrained urge to eye roll left the detective. 

“No more interruptions please. Where were you on Thursday, September 18th?”

“Well let’s see.” I begin to close my eyes and play in my hair in an attempt to rush my memory to the present. I need more nicotine for this. “I remember waking up that morning in my downtown Los Angeles apartment, noisier than ever that morning. Lauren had made me her classic breakfast special: bland eggs with turkey bacon and 3 chocolate chip Eggos before rushing off to work. She worked multiple jobs. She walked dogs in the morning before heading off to her fabulous mansion tour of house cleaning. Demeaning, but rewarding as me and the bills always thanked her.  I had suspicions that she had been cheating on me. I found love letters in her pockets while doing the laundry. I was a stay at home while she took care of me in between jobs. I know, you don’t find too many of us house husbands,” I said, smirking at the unimpressed detective. 

“Anyways, I decided that day I was going to follow her. Do some investigating of my own. I could’ve asked her, but I wanted to see for my own eyes the poor bastard that she was playing. You see, she loved me. We were in love and inseparable. She would be playing this rascal, but still wishing the man sweetening her gears was me.” I lit another cigarette, thankful for the lotus shaped ashtray that contained a mountain of my remnants over these past few days.

“Self absorbed, maybe but that was the kind of love her and I shared.” A smile shot across my face uncontrollably. “To my great fortune, she was loyal. I watched her rip the gardening boy a new one as she proclaimed her love for me. Lauren had the mouth of a New Yorker with the face of an angel.” A chuckle escaped through my lips along with the smoke. “I was so happy I bought her roses, her favorites. Yellow bodies with pinked tipped petals. I bought her three bouquets and decided I was going to make her favorite, fettuccine alfredo. Then I was going to lay her down like I was a handyman and the Lord hand delivered me a golden pipe to fix all broken faucets in the city.” I ashed my cigarette and began to spiral as the next menthol met my lips. I could see the concern on the detective’s face as my demeanor began to colden. 

“I made her dinner. I cleaned the apartment. I lit candles on the table and on the counter. I wasn’t too big of a romantic, but I knew how to set the mood.” I chuckled as I hunched over in my chair, staring at the ground. My hands began to tremble. I abandoned my dear ashtray for the floor. “I called her five times in the first round, no response. The clock struck 5:30, and I knew that was the time she was usually getting onto the bus. Sometimes she had went to the gay bar on Melrose, the one with the illuminated turtle splashing into an ale of beer. That quacky place,” I begin to rub my head in distress. “But she texted me that she had a long day and would be coming home as soon as possible to run a bubble bath. I was going to fuck her in the tub too.” I place my hands in my head as I wipe the tears from the corners of my eyes, sucking them back into their place. The detective has been silent, but watching me in suspense like an audience member of a Shakespearan tragedy. 

“By 8 o’clock, I still had no response or sight of her. The candles were melting down to the stem and the alfredo might as well have been frozen. That’s when I made a call to the station.” I stepped on the menthol delight to extinguish it before lighting another. Only four left in the pack. Fuck. I hope this wasn’t going to take much longer.

The detective nodded and I noticed she was taking notes. She seemed very good at her job. “I have some more questions for you...Jacob” she ended her sentence hesitantly, but her soft tone comforted my damaged soul. She shifted in her seat to her legs being crossed as if she was finally finding comfort in her 1940s styled chair. “Now we visited some of her colleagues and friends who reported a similar story to you, minus some details. We have no leads, as we have already contacted the gardener who had matching alibis. The bar said she had not come in that day. We’re still recovering city footage of her traveling throughout the county.” I picked my head up to meet her eyes. My emerald eyes glisten as she asks, “why did you decide to rent out this motel room the night of September 18th?”

“Well, I couldn’t stay in the apartment knowing that something had happened. You see, today marks the anniversary of my mother’s death. She would come here often.” Detective James nodded as if she understood. 

“I’m so sorry to hear about your loss. Would you all come to vacation here?”

“My mother was a hooker. She would bring male and occasionally female clients to this location.” I said nonchalantly as if I were telling a relic of an old friend. “My father abandoned us when I was freshly born and she needed some way to support me and my brother. When she couldn’t find someone to watch us she would have us sit in the parking lot. In the parked car of course. One night I came stumbling in to beg my mother  to take us home as the clock was striking midnight and the car felt like an overworked camel hump to sleep on. I didn’t know what she was doing at first, she would always say business. I thought she was like a wall street business shark working men for their hard earned cash. I was partially right. I remember hearing these weird, promiscuous noises screaming through the lotus flower tapered walls. That’s my favorite part about this place.” I said drawing our attention to the decorum. “The pink flowers draped on the walls. Lotus flowers are supposed to be a symbol of purity. My innocence was extracted from me that night.” I take a hard drag on my cigarette in pain of irony. The detective stared at me in awe and pity. Before she could speak, I continued on with my story.

“Something inside of me told me to stay out, but my 7 year old brain was too curious not to open the door to see my mother getting pounded like the whore she was. The man just smiled at me and asked if I wanted a turn. I turned around and ran away. I vowed to never bring it up or let my brother know.” I shake my head reliving the trauma and seeing my last cigarette. “She was a good woman. She took care of me and my brother and made sure we had more than what we needed. Lauren kinda reminded me of her. Now they’re both angels watching over me.”

Detective James watched the flame from the lighter and then proceeded to scribble down an additional note. She had a confusing look on her face as if she was missing a piece of the puzzle.

“You know,” she says softly. “It hasn’t been confirmed that Lauren is dead. She may still be alive.” 

I shrug, “I abandoned false hope long ago. Is there anything else I can help you with, Ms. James?”

She starts to gather her belongings, but pauses for a second as she spots my unzipped suitcase. I could tell the puzzle pieces in her brain were looking for the missing link. Before she can answer, I say “I’ll walk you out,” managing to produce a smile. I’m just happy to reup on Ms. Mary Menthol.

She nods with a smile to mirror mine. “That is all for today. Thank you for your time and I am sorry life has been unkind to you.” Her tone rang defeated. I’m unsure if she was more saddened by my life or the unsolved case. We shake hands and I turn to reach for the door. As my back is turned, the sly bitch kicks open my suitcase to reveal a half kilo of my delicious cocaine, a machete with dried blood painted on it, and hand written notes I had written for my sweet Lauren. The next thing I know, I turn around to a gun pointed in my direction and me being handcuffed. Just as I thought I was in the clear. The scene played like a slow motion, silent film.

You see the cops had been trailing my alias for years as I had developed an itch that only holding a dead female corpse could scratch. Fell for my act didn’t you? I was sure hoping detective James would. I played the role so well I deserve to host the next fucking emmys. You see I’m not a bad guy, just a tortured soul. I was going to marry Lauren, I really was. She discovered I had killed my mother and was horrified by my actions. She was never supposed to find out. That sweet little Sherlock went rummaging through my stuff one day innocently only to be greeted with the same murder weapon that matched the description of my mother’s murder weapon and soon to be hers. I was tormented by my own thoughts and other kids for my mother’s actions. Although her intentions were in good faith, they created a world wind of hell for me. I plotted the move since I was 16. I figured sure people could clown me for having a whore as a mother, but would they say the same if she was dead. Then that makes you a shitty person. Call my mental twisted, but you try walking in my shoes and telling me how the fuck you like those roses. I’m ritualistic in my attacks as to why I was planning on burning the evidence that night on the day of my mother’s death. I figured her soul would take care of it, but it seems as if it had a vendetta to avenge me. As for the cocaine, my only mistake was not head diving straight into the baby powder while sweet cheeks handcuffed me. I hope they sell menthols in prison... 

[marvels-writings]

Escape (4)

| Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 |

Series Masterlist

Maria Hill Masterlist

A/N: Question, does everyone plan their series? I checked my plan for this and all it said was ‘Talking, being a smartass then escaping, then the INTENSE PART’ for this part, which is basically what happens but like, still.

“You said you didn’t want this life, I can get you out of it.” Maria offered, you groaned.

“I doubt that, but tell me how anyway.” You said, smirking and walking to sit next to Maria on one of the barstools. Your knee brushing hers lightly as you turned to face her, Maria subtly clenched her jaw, causing your smirk to grow, this was going to be better than you thought.

“If you work for SHIELD for a year, they could get your criminal record cleared and a fake identity.” Maria offered, clearing her throat when your knee brushed hers again. You rested your head on your right hand, observing her as she turned to look at you. 

“A year of following orders?” You asked, unamused as you raised an eyebrow. 

“I might be able to get you in with the Avengers for some time.” Maria thought aloud, you tilted your head skeptically.

“You’re telling me the minimum to get out of this is to either work for Nick Fury or Captain America for at least 6 months?” You verified, Maria hesitantly nodded, about to pull some files out of a bag which had been resting next to her when you spoke.

“You can’t just clear my record if I promise to lay low for a year?” You asked, exasperated, Maria raised an eyebrow.

“You expect me to trust the word of a liar?” Maria asked you grinned apologetically, looking down at the ground before meeting her cyan gaze.

“If you’re mad at me for the date, I am sorry about that.” You apologized, fidgeting slightly with your hands.

“Why did you do it?” Maria asked, you half shrugged in response.

“I didn’t have a better way to spend the night, and you asked me out too politely for me to reject.” You told the last part of the sentence a lie.

“So when is the backup going to take me in?” You asked Maria’s eyes widened, you sighed and slid off the stool, walking towards your room with Maria following you.

“There were files in your bag, but any third rate agent could see you pressed a button of some sort, since I didn’t agree to your terms, you’re calling backup to take me in.” You explained, walking into your room to change.

In all honesty, you didn’t want this to happen, you should’ve checked your bags for trackers. This was one of the few hideouts you liked, now SHIELD knew about it. You knew you could get out of this easily, Maria knew it too.

“I don’t have an alternative for you,” Maria stated, standing in the doorway, curious to what you were doing, she had a few knives tucked into her dress, a thigh strap holding a gun but she didn’t want to attack you.

“Well I have an alternative, turn around so I can change.” You quipped, moving to quickly take your shirt off.

Maria turned around quickly, a prominent blush on her face, you used the opportunity and hurriedly slammed the door shut, shutting in the deadbolt and moving to your closet to get the tactical suit. You heard the brunette trying to kick down the door and groaned, tripping over your suit as you rushed around to get as many of your belongings as you could into your backpack.

Black cars with the SHIELD logo skidded to a halt just outside your house, you saw them through the window and picked up a grenade you had in one of the drawers. You smashed open a window with the nearby lamp, throwing the grenade near the cars so they couldn’t chase you. The cars turned over, the damage wasn’t too bad. 

you glanced back to make sure no one had been killed before grabbing a few time bombs from a hidden compartment in your closet. After slipping on the bracelet to activate the time bombs, you tucked a few in your pocket.

“You know, this was one of my favorite hideouts you’re ruining.” You shouted through the door when you heard the front door being broken down.

“If you’d agreed, this could’ve been your home,” Maria shouted back, you heard rapid footsteps approaching your door. 

You hid a time bomb inside the closet and rushed to the ensuite bathroom, leaving another bomb there and climbing out the large window and jumping onto the grass-covered floor. You looked around, SHIELD cars surrounded the house, there was an empty spot where the woods were, but you needed to make sure the house was blown up in case they arrested the person you’d bought the house from. 

You threw a knife at the thigh of the SHIELD agent guarding the front door, planting a bomb there, and shoving the agent behind the car so they weren’t affected before running towards the woods, hesitating to press the button on your wristband to set off the bombs. The only papers showing your existence were in the closet, you clenched your jaw and squinted your eyes shut, pressing the button and watching the house blow up. 

The rest of the agents rushed in and made their way to the back of the house through the forest where there was a car that hadn’t been turned on its side. You quickly ran in, grinning when you noticed the agent had left the key in before backing out of the road and driving as fast as you could away from the burning house, regret filling your head. 

-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

After a few hours of driving on the highway, you ditched the car away from a road, making your way into an abandoned building to change into a fav/color crew neck sweatshirt, high waisted black leggings, and black sneakers. You moved to the side of the road, making the hitchhiking signal on the road heading towards the city.

A kind woman in her mid-forties noticed you and stopped, welcoming you in. You scanned her, she drove a black land rover, she wore navy blue capris and a light blue, quarter sleeved t-shirt. She had dark brown skin tones, hazel eyes, and short black hair, she smiled at you and welcomed you in. 

You made up a backstory about running away from your parents and trying to find opportunities in the city, she bought the story and offered you some money which you quickly rejected. She drove you to the heart of the city, pointing out a few cheap hotels to stay in on her way before dropping you off at an indie coffee house.

After ordering a cinnamon hot chocolate, you flopped down on one of the couches near the back of the shop, near a few bookshelves. You took a book off the bookshelf and started reading, your backpack leaning against your seat. The waitress gave you your drink and chatted with you once in a while as she worked. You read and had your drink for almost an hour, ordering another drink just to feel a little peaceful.

The waitress got off her shift and sat next to you on the couch while talking to you about your book, she was nice. Her name was Maxine, she had a light brown skin tone, blue eyes, curly hair, and an athletic build, she talked to you about random things, about her job and everything she could. You smiled at her and continued talking, trying not to attract the attention of anyone else, until you noticed a large explosion near the cafe.

You tugged the backpack near to yourself and looked outside, there was a tall man encircled in a fire, most of it shooting out of his hands at some Iron Man suits. 

“Why the heck is the iron legion here?” Maxine asked, you shrugged, clenching your jaw as you debated to engage or not. 

The suits were blown out of the air by fire blasts, all of the people in the coffee shop ran towards the back door, Maxine tried to get you out but you said you’d help a few people then go with her, but you had other plans. You noticed a few of the Avengers get involved, it wasn’t like them to get involved on the streets.

You groaned and rushed out the door, pulling a few knives out of your pocket as you analyzed the scene in front of you. The man was tall, average build, styled black hair and sharp features, he wore some sort of a tactical black suit with the sleeves cut off, he scowled at you and started throwing fireballs. 

You dodged them easily, glancing around to see SHIELD agents coming in from both sides of the block, there were Avengers trying to shoot at him and stun him. Tony Stark, accompanied by Falcon, the Black Widow, and even Captain America was trying to stop this homicidal maniac.

“Ma’am, you need to get away from this scene.” Steve Rogers walked over to you, you raised an eyebrow at the statement. 

“I think I know how to handle myself, star-spangled banner.” You quipped, using one of your knives and throwing it at the psychopath's thigh when he wasn’t looking. 

The man screamed out pathetically, yanking the knife out of his thigh and throwing at you, you pushed the man in front of you out of the way, ducking under the knife smoothly. Steve’s eyes widened and nodded at you, rushing off to shield an agent who almost got blasted. 

The Avengers could do little to nothing at a distance, Iron Man was flying in the air, shooting blasts which the man somehow dodged easily, trying to shoot him out of the air while keeping everyone at a distance. 

You ran into the coffee shop and grabbed the fire extinguisher, taking it towards the fight with you as quickly as you could. 

“Cover me!” You screamed at an agent, he looked at you confusedly.

“Do as she says.” A familiar voice commanded from behind you, you whipped your head around to see Maria standing there, decked in a tactical suit similar to the rest of the SHIELD agents but in navy blue.

You grinned and gave her a nod, the agent shot at the man, turning his attention away from you and exposing his back to you. You pressed the pump on the fire extinguisher, instantly knocking out the flames dancing on the man’s back. He looked stunned, looking down at himself, you threw a small taser in his direction where the extinguisher didn’t blanket him, he shook and fell to the ground. 

“And remind me who you are?” Tony asked, gesturing to you while still flying, he was stunned that a woman in civilian clothing had just taken out a threat who he couldn’t.

You rolled your eyes and started walking away, slinging your backpack over your shoulder. You were stopped by someone yanking the back. 

“You know you can’t leave,” Maria stated, you almost groaned when you turned around.

“But you know I have to.” You answered, meeting her intense gaze.

“If I asked you to stay, would you?” Maria asked, her voice soft and hesitant. 

Your eyes widened slightly in surprise, you were at a loss for words, you opened and closed your mouth like a fish, trying to think of something to say but you couldn’t. You searched her blue eyes for an emotion, something that would tell you she was lying, but it was sincere.

“I don’t know, I really don’t, I wish I could give you an answer.” You answered, sighing and gesturing to the mess around you, shifting your weight slightly as you looked down at your feet.

“Just come with me for a few days, we’ll clear everything out so you can escape this,” Maria said, thumb hooking under your face to force you to look up at her. 

You bit your lip, unsure of what to do, you knew you had to decide soon when you noticed SHIELD agents and some of the Avengers approaching you to ask questions.

“Fine,” You sighed, Maria, smiled at you, taking her hands away from your face and winking at you before heading off to deal with everyone else. 

Maybe Maria could help you escape.

| Part 5 |

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A/N: I tried to go one day, one day without writing and I started to lose my sanity, anyway I knew this part was long awaited so tell me what you think!

[trashboatprince]

I’m working on a main story for my Reverse Omens au, but for right now, I really wanted to do something with Aziraphale the Demon opening up his shop.

So, here’s a little something while I work on the main story for Sour Blessings. I had to do a bit of research for this, so you’re welcome.

Summery: The opening for A.Z. Fell’s Antiquities and More is on Friday, however, the demon Aziraphale may have to put that opening on hold, indefinitely, due to an unexpected promotion.

Not if the angel Crowley has anything to say about it!

Warning: Reverse Omens, the other demons and angels are not swapped, these two fools are in love but they won’t admit it so it’s getting the ship tag.

Aziraphale (formally Azrafel) is a half-deaf, white cat demon, Crowley (formally Samael) is a rainbow boa angel and the one who tempted Eve (There is a reason for this!).

Rewrite of the infamous Bookshop deleted scene.

On with the fic!

--

Can’t Have That Now, Can We?

--

Aziraphale, formally known as the demon Azrafel until he stole back his original name, was more excited than he had been in years.

Finally, after so many hiccups, missions, and simply being absentminded about his goal, he was opening up his shop! Well, not officially, he planned on being open to the public on Friday, but he was allowing for guests today!

So far, the only person invited is his dear angel, Crowley, who he knows will be here promptly at a quarter past eleven, the redhead was also so good with time.

Proudly, Aziraphale looked up at the sign that had just been installed this morning. A. Z. Fell’s Antiquities and More, it read with a shine of silver paint on a dark blue background. It was beautifully fitting for the man-shaped being, fitting his color aesthetics. He practically purred in delight as he stepped through the doors, happily hearing a jingle of a bell above his head.

The demon hummed to himself a song from an opera he had attended a few days ago, carefully lining up some of his collection he had noticed he bumped out of place. His shop was going to house his massive collection of antiques, a term he had adored using for the collection since it was first coined during the 1400’s in references to ancient artifacts.

He finally had a place for all his stuff, things he had hidden all over the world, bought, traded, stolen, made himself, gifts from his favorite snake, all in one place now! Sure, it took him centuries to finally settle down, but 1831 was a good enough time, right?

Well, there had been an attempt a few centuries ago, back in the 1500’s, but it had been a bookshop next to a printing shop that had printed a book he really had wanted, but a mission to China had prevented that. And had also resulted in him not paying rent on the shop and having gotten in trouble with Hell for something stupid, he couldn’t pay the rent and lost the first shop.

Anyway, he happily likes to forget that happened and has instead tried again! Same location too, second time’s the charm!

Aziraphale wasn’t finished setting up though, he still had more stuff in storage that he needed to bring in, but his angel had said he’d help up with bringing that in. He wouldn’t help with the organizing though; Crowley knew from experience that Aziraphale had a way of organizing his clutter in a way that worked for the cat. Especially when it came to certain collections, like his massive library and his collection of rare snuff boxes.

As he carefully aligned a bronze statue of a rather specifically detailed and accurate horse he got as a joke gift from Crowley, he heard the jingle of the bell above his front door. He cupped his hand over his left ear, trying to hear who it was, couldn’t be Crowley, it was too early still.

Then he smelled the scent of festering mold and swamp scum, along with other unpleasant things, and he felt his skin prickle.

With a held back sigh, Aziraphale put a fake smile on his face, turning to face his fellow demons, hoping his beard hid the fact that his mouth twitched. “Hastur, Ligur, to what do I owe the pleasure of two Dukes of Hell in my shop?”

The two demons stood by the open doors, dressed in rather shoddy clothing, meant more for the lower class than the higher, as Aziraphale himself was dressed to blend in with. However, it was good to note that this time they actually wore clothing that would help them blend in, rather than how they dressed the last time they ‘visited’ Aziraphale. He would never forget those sins against nature.

Neither of them smiled, they just stared, before Hastur stepped forward. “We’ve orders from Below for you.” He ground out, making Aziraphale raise an eyebrow.

“Orders? Strange, normally Hell just burns a message in one of my books or screams at me from an envelope nowadays, don’t usually send messengers to tell me what my next job is.

“It’s not really… orders.” Ligur spoke up, waving a hand, completely bored of this already. “’s more like you’re getting somethin’.”

Aziraphale blinked, cupping a hand over his ear again. “Come again?”

Hastur made a face. “Think of it as… bad news, but not really bad news, more like good news, but we can’t say that shit, so it’s bad news, but not that bad-”

“I… I got it.” The cat sighed, holding up a hand. “Is it about the second revolution in France?” He had sent in a wordy letter to Hell about how he had helped kickstarted that event, even though he hadn’t actually done so. He and Crowley had taken a trip to the south of France and got dreadfully wasted and somehow ended up on the Isle of Capri.

“More like a bunch of things you’ve done, Azrafel.” The chameleon demon spoke and ignored the face Aziraphale pulled, hearing his old name. It has been centuries, and no one cared that he stole back his angel name, they just ignored him, thinking he was edgy or something. “Apparently, you’ve done your job to such extremes that Hell is oddly impressed.”

This can’t be good.

“And because of this, you’re going down to Hell, promotin’ you back to Downstairs. Heard you might get a cushy job runnin’ the torture department, lucky bastard.”

Aziraphale blinked, trying to register what this meant. “But… I’m opening this antique shop on Friday. If Master Hatchard can make a go of it, then I think I can really…”

“Hm,” Hastur pondered for a moment, “actually, I think that’s an idea, whoever replaces you up here can use this place as a base of operations.”

This got a look of disgust from the cat demon. “Use my shop?” The nerve! No one was allowed to use his shop; this was for him! And maybe Crowley, because he knows that wily angel will also laze about wherever Aziraphale is staying.

Neither demon seemed to give two shits about what Aziraphale thought of this. “You’re bein’ promoted,” the frog demon shrugged, “you get to go back home.”

“Can’t imagine why anyone who wanna spend more than five minutes on this waste of space.” Ligur commented, look at a bell jar on a shelf, containing a taxidermized scene of insects dancing at a ball. The chameleon on his head licked its lips.

“Azrafel’s been on this shithole for almost six thousand years,” his companion replied, “that’s some impressive patience, I can’t stand doin’ tasks up here that take longer than a day. Just plant bad ideas in a human’s head and let ‘em do all the work. Still, gotta give kudos where kudos is due…”

He dug into the pocket of his grubby coat, pulling out a box, covered in stains that Aziraphale really didn’t want to know the origins of. “Apparently, this is for all your bad work.” He said in a tone that clearly didn’t hide his jealousy and bitterness.

Hastur opened the box and Aziraphale stared at a rather lovely, shiny medal. He had seen this kind before, proudly worn by members of the Dark Council.

When they said he was being promoted… oh, oh bugger, this was a Promotion.

“I don’t want it.” Aziraphale spoke without much thought. He glanced up and nearly screamed, because right behind Hastur and Ligur, was a redheaded angel, giving a cheery wave.

The grandfather clock off to the left happily showed that it was exactly a quarter past eleven in the morning. It was the worst possible time for Crowley to show up.

--

With a skip in his snake-skinned step, Crowley turned a corner down a street in Soho, a box of the finest chocolates under his arm. He had dolled himself up for today, putting on his finest dark gray suit, his pink shirt clear and ironed, and a new hat sat happily on his head, decorated with a gold-plated apple blossom.

It was over-the-top, but the snake-eyed angel was known for being flashy and showboat-y with his appearance.

He spotted the shop at the corner and picked up the pace, mentally counting down the seconds. He loved being exactly on time, but he also loved putting Aziraphale on edge when he was a few minutes late.

Crowley got right up the steps at exactly 11:15, noticing that not only were the doors opened, but two figures were standing in the doorway, with Aziraphale stared past them. And right at Crowley, with a look the screamed ‘oh bugger’.

The demon licked his lips, stammering as he tried to speak to the two strangers, who Crowley hadn’t quite realized were demons. “B-But only I can properly thwart the good deeds of the angel Cr-Samael!”

Crowley stopped smiling, tilting his head, eyebrow raising over his dark shades. He held up the package, smiling, and mouthed ‘chocolates’ at his best friend.

“I don’t doubt that,” the blond-haired demon spoke, “whoever replaces you will be as bad an enemy to Samael as you are. Baphomet, maybe.”

The angel looked horrified and disgusted. He looked towards Aziraphale and mouthed ‘Baphomet?! Baphomet’s a wanker!’ The gray-haired demon shifted on his feet, trying to ignore Crowley to not draw attention to him.

“Samael’s been here just as long as I have, and he’s wily! And cunning, and brilliant, and oh…” Aziraphale was a bit flushed in the face and Crowley perked up, smiling brightly.

“It almost sounds like you like him.” Hastur spoke in a tone that was clearly not pleased with this.

“I loathe him!” Aziraphale shouted, though his face still burned red. “And, despite myself, I respect a worthy opponent! Which he isn’t because he’s an angel, and I cannot respect a demon. Or like one!” He tacked on quickly.

Hastur actually smirked, crossing his arms. “That’s the attitude that Hell likes to hear. I can see why they’re bringin’ you back.” He stepped forward, pinning the medal to Aziraphale’s dress jacket, the shorter man holding his breath at the bad smell coming off of Hastur. A quick glance over the other’s shoulder let Aziraphale know that Crowley was out of sight, hopefully he knew to stay away until these two were gone.

“So…” Aziraphale started, “we’re going straight back, now? Before the grand opening?”

“Ehh… soon.” Hastur waved a hand. “Got a job to do, then we’ll be back for you.”

--

The job was a simple corruption on, convince a human in charge of a respectable pub to take in bribes, sell illegal content under the counter, and convert his pub into a drug den in later years, that should do the trick.

And to help with that, they decide to plant things in the backroom of the pub for the owner to find, miracled with a temptation to put the pieces together. Ligur stood outside the backroom’s door while Hastur moved to remove the contents of his pockets in the room.

He pauses, however, hearing voices outside of an open window.

“Are you certain that we are unobserved,” it was the voice of the angel Samael, “of glorious being of God’s divine will?”

There was a strange, echoing voice that followed right after, layered as if multiple voices spoke at once. “No one is listening, oh angel Samael, the Lefthand of God.”

Blinking, Hastur steps onto a crate under the window and, using his true eyes, peeks out the window, only the top of the head of his frog looking into the alley behind the pub. He could see Crowley, standing before a cloaked figure in white, the latter having their back turned to the window. He slipped down a bit to not be seen, but still remained close to hear.

“Curses.” The angel hissed. “If only I could understand why my blessed plans are always so brilliantly thwarted! It’s as if the forces of Hell have a champion here on Earth who contaminates my blessings! Who overlaps their own dark influences on my own good ones! Who thwarts me… thwartingly…”

Unbeknownst to the demon on the other side of the wall, the cloaked figure that Crowley was speaking to was actually just a tailor’s dummy from the tailor shop just next door. Crowley was practically tickle-me-pink with delight of how much fun it was doing this. He absolutely loved when he got to flex his acting skills.

He continued the act, putting on the heavenly voice once more. “Why, Mister Crowley, you must not be downcast. I hear news that will bring joy to you and all the powers of Heaven! They do say as how the demon Azrafel, your nemesis, is being sent back to Hell!”

Crowley knew he was acting slightly to broadly, but it was the style of the time, so it was necessary.

“Can this be true?” He continued in his normal voice. “I was going to throw myself into a pit of Hell Fire in my despair at once more being beaten by the demon Azrafel! But such excellent news! Only Azrafel knows my ways well enough to…”

“Thwart them?”

“Exactly. Now, let us retire to church, and pray to the success of good on this Earth, thanks to Hell’s foolishness!”

Hastur heard the other walking off before he moved out of the room, well, he might have to have a conversation with Aziraphale it seems.

--

“So, I’m… not going anywhere?” Aziraphale asked, mismatched eyes staring at the two other demons, the pupils growing with possible hope.

“Change of plans.” Hastur grumbled. “We need you here, in this shop, battling good.”

Ligur slapped the Aziraphale on the back a few times, nearly knocking him over. “Carry on battlin’ that pain in the ass angel. I’m sure Hell’ll understand that you’re needed here more than down there.”

“Keep the metal.” Hastur poked at it against Aziraphale’s chest, making him wince at the pressure of the jab.

“But I don’t understand…” The cat demon blinked, suddenly realizing he was all alone in the shop now, the scent of sulfur starting to mellow out. With a snap of his fingers, the shop suddenly smelled of flowers, thanks to the lovely potted plant that just showed up next to him.

With a heavy sigh, he shook his head, moving around a shelf to try and return to his previous task of worryingly set up his collection.

“Well, that was fun.”

Aziraphale yelped, jumping a foot in the air as his hair and beard puffed up from the shock. He turned, finding a certain angel, basking happily in a chair that had been swiped from the King of Spain in the late 1300’s. “Crowley… w-what are you doing here?” He asked, approaching the redhead, who just smiled, holding up the box of chocolates from behind.

Aziraphale chirped in joy, taking the box. “Oh, yes, thank you, darling!”

“’s nothin’, kitty cat. I think you deserve them now than you did before those two idiots showed up.”

“How… much of that did you see?”

Crowley shrugged before getting out of the chair, stretching. “Well, I arrived to see that you were stuck dealin’ with two idiots, and that you needed help. So, I may or may not have helped you out of a bit of trouble, again. Nice medal, the Dark Council kind? Wow, that’s a hell of a promotion, kitty cat.”

Aziraphale frowned and removed the metal from his jacket, tossing it towards Crowley, who caught it with ease. “I’ve done so well at my job that I was promoted to join them! I mean, it’s not the worst promotion I could get, in fact, any demon would give up their whole… well… everything to be part of that group! But I must admit, it would be too much, I’d be allowed to do whatever, but I wouldn’t be able to work and stay on Earth.”

“Sounds like a shit job to take, Aziraphale.” Crowley commented, looking over the metal before dropping it into a clay pot. “But hey, you get to stay here!”

“For some reason…” Cat eyes turned, staring directly at snake ones, hidden behind dark lenses. “What did you do?”

Crowley grinned brightly. “Oh, just pulled off some theatrics.” He wiggled his fingers and Aziraphale groaned. “I told you I was good at this! I should join a theater, get my name out there! I’ll even do those boring, sad Shakespearean plays you like so much!”

“Uhg.” Aziraphale rolled his eyes before looking at Crowley, smiling. “Still, thank you for helping me today, darling. Now, how about the two of us enjoy this delectable box of goodies you got me, I have a lovely red that we can drink alongside them in the back, found it while bringing things in the other day.”

“Sounds delightful, kitty cat.”

END

--

Well, this was a lot of fun to write!

In case you wanna know what they look like, Aziraphale looks like Martin from Prodigal Son (except well dressed in a light gray and dark blue Regency outfit), and Crowley looks like David’s portrayal of Richard II (in a dark gray and pink Regency outfit).

Hastur and Ligur look like characters from Oliver Twist haha.

In case anyone was wondering why Aziraphale owns an antique shop, it was because as much as I love the bookshop still being part of a Reverse Omens au, I also really loved the idea of going off the little fact that book Aziraphale also collects old snuff boxes and it went from there that he just collects all sorts of things.

Oh, and Hastur left Aziraphale on Earth cause if he's really the only one who can 'stop' the Heavenly might of Samael, the angel with the title of Destroyer, well... yeah, might as well leave him to deal with that mess.

Thanks for reading! As always, drabbles are open! 

[enbyleighlines]

This is prompt 3 of 3! Thank you again for so many amazing drabble requests! I’ve really enjoyed working on these

Here is Jiang Cheng / Nie Huaisang: Flowers

—

Jiang Cheng quickly realizes that there is one downside to taking Nie Huaisang to a zoo for their first date. Namely, that it sets a prescedent for more unconventional dates. It’s not like he can fall back on the traditional dinner and a movie. Nie Huaisang’s expectations are probably a lot higher than that.

So after some deliberation, and some internet research, Jiang Cheng decides to take Nie Huaisang to a botanical garden.

On the drive over, however, Jiang Cheng starts to doubt himself. Is a botanical garden too grandiose for a second date? Or perhaps it’s too archaic? Will Nie Huaisang think Jiang Cheng is trying too hard?

These thoughts plague Jiang Cheng until he arrives. Then he catches sight of Nie Huaisang, and his frontal cortex momentarily shuts off.

Nie Huaisang is wearing sunglasses and a wide-brimmed sunhat, with a vibrant yellow flower tucked into a green ribbon. They also have on a short-sleeve blouse with a high collar and pearl-like buttons, jean capris, and sandals with more flower-themed buckles. They look like a preppy socialite, but somehow they make it look good.

It’s eerie, how just one glance can make Jiang Cheng feel like he’s gone braindead. He shakes his head, forcing his mind to reboot. Then he strides over.

“Hey, Huaisang,” Jiang Cheng calls.

Nie Huaisang removes their sunglasses, and gives Jiang Cheng a smile that reaches all the way up to their eyes. “Cheng-xiong,” Nie Huaisang greets, “Hi! I hope you brought sunscreen.”

“Sunscreen?” Jiang Cheng repeats dumbly.

“Yes, sunscreen!” Nie Huaisang pulls forward a small bag they had on their back, and fishes out a tube of sunscreen. “We’re going to have clear skies all day. I brought some extra water, too, in case we get thirsty.”

Jiang Cheng marvels as Nie Huaisang cups his hand and squeezes some of the sunscreen into the palm. Their hands are so soft.

“You really thought of everything,” Jiang Cheng says. He can still feel the warmth of Nie Huaisang’s touch even after they pull away. The effect is only slightly lessened when he begins rubbing the cool sunscreen into his skin.

Nie Huaisang shrugs and looks away. “I like to be prepared.”

Jiang Cheng knows that Nie Huaisang can get a little dodgy about compliments. That’s only one of Huaisang’s many oddities and complexities. They can be so confident one minute, and so bashful the next. Even after being friends for years, Jiang Cheng is still figuring them out.

“Anyway,” Nie Huaisang swiftly shifts the subject, “Which path do you want to take first? I’ve never been here, so you can lead the way.”

“I’ve never been here before, either.”

Nie Huaisang blinks. “Really?” They ask, “How’d you know this place existed? I’ve never even heard of it!”

Jiang Cheng winces, but he stays honest. “I did an internet search.”

There’s a second of silence, and then Nie Huaisang bursts into a stream of delighted giggles. It’s the kind of full-body laugh that makes the skin around their eyes wrinkle.

Jiang Cheng flushes. “Hey—”

“That’s cute,” Nie Huaisang interrupts, before Jiang Cheng can get the wrong idea, “That’s so cute! Cheng-xiong, you’re too cute.”

Now Jiang Cheng flushes for a different reason. He glowers off into the distance, since he can’t muster the nerve to glare at Nie Huaisang directly. Jiang Cheng has never thought about himself as cute before. He wants to keep being cute, for Huaisang.

“Sorry, I’ll stop laughing.” Nie Huaisang reaches over to take Jiang Cheng’s wrist. Their thumb presses against his pulse. “Let’s head into the garden.”

—

The botanical garden is, Jiang Cheng learns, far more interesting than he had anticipated. He chose it only because he knows Nie Huaisang likes pretty scenery, and what could be prettier than a giant garden? But even Jiang Cheng finds himself mesmerized by the vast array of plants. He had no idea there were so many different kinds of trees.

It’s kind of like walking through an enchanted forest. The narrow pebble paths lead them in winding circles, over a babbling brook, through curtains of willow trees, and into a maze of flowers.

Nie Huaisang is insatiable. They keep stopping to take pictures with their small camera. They even take the time to read the carved stone plaques detailing each plant’s scientific name. Their eyes burn with a fire Jiang Cheng remembers from their first date, in the wolf enclosure. Jiang Cheng also learns that when Nie Huaisang is in laser focus mode, little can be done to win back their attention.

But there’s something about standing back and watching Nie Huaisang get all fired up over mundane things that makes Jiang Cheng supremely happy.

The flower maze is not only a feast for the eyes, but for the nose, as well. The fragrance in the open air is crisp and not overwhelming, like it might have been in an enclosed space. The flowers themselves almost look unreal. They are far more varied than Jiang Cheng thought possible. Many droop like bells, while others have intricate patterns on the petals.

Nie Huaisang all but swoons over them. They spend the most time by the orchids, admiring the unique shapes and textures of the petals.

Some of the orchids are so strange that they seem like they belong on a different planet. Jiang Cheng catches sight of one with feathered edges, like the wings of a bird. The scientific name reads: ‘Habenaria radiata’.

“Hey,” Jiang Cheng says, “Come check this one out.”

Nie Huaisang turns and loudly gasps. “A white egret orchid!” They coo, and squat down to get eye level with them.

“A white what?”

Nie Huaisang doesn’t dare tear their gaze away as they breathlessly explain, “A great white egret is a kind of bird. It’s also called a great white heron. They’re my favorite kind of shorebird. So elegant, just like these flowers.”

The flowers are indeed very pretty, but Jiang Cheng can’t help but stare at Nie Huaisang.

Their eyes are sparkling, their lips parted and soft, their faint smile hypnotizing... Jiang Cheng takes in all of these features, trying to imprint it in his memory. Nie Huaisang is so... cute. Not just on a surface level, but all the way down to their big, easily overexcited heart. How did it take Jiang Cheng this long to see it?

But that’s not quite right. Jiang Cheng has always seen how special Nie Huaisang is, it’s just he’s never allowed himself to focus on it before. If he did, he might have to investigate his attraction to them.

Such a thing would have been impossible, when Jiang Cheng was so insecure about his manhood. Now he’s free to admire Nie Huaisang’s beauty all he wants.

Nor is he limited to simply stand back and stare.

When Nie Huaisang straightens back up, Jiang Cheng tilts their head towards him with a finger.

Nie Huaisang’s breath catches, their lips still parted and soft.

Jiang Cheng leans forward, in a soundless request for permission. Huaisang meets him halfway, joining their mouths with a breathy sigh.

Conscious of their location, Jiang Cheng keeps their kiss short and sweet. Yet, when he pulls away, Nie Huaisang seems dazed, like they’re waking from a deep dream.

“What was that for?” They whisper.

But Jiang Cheng can’t give voice to his thoughts. He’s never been good at that, and besides, it would probably just come out wrong. So he kisses them again, on the lips, and then one peck for each cheek.

Nie Huaisang giggles under the barrage of affection. Their skin is warm with a blush that makes their face rosy pink.

“Jiang Cheng,” Nie Huaisang murmurs, speaking softly into the space where they’re sharing the same air, “Thank you for taking me out. I’m... I’m so happy.”

Jiang Cheng cups Huaisang’s flushed face in his hands and gives them another kiss on the mouth. This one lingers, with Jiang Cheng savoring the sweet, vaguely minty taste of Huaisang’s breath.

They part again. Nie Huaisang giggles. “Jiang Cheng,” he pleads, “Say something.”

“I appreciate your passion for this stuff,” Jiang Cheng tries, “You just... appreciate things so damn much.” He hopes Nie Huaisang understands what he’s trying to say, because he’s sure he’s messing this up. “It’s... cute.”

“You’re cute,” Nie Huaisang retorts.

“Thanks,” he returns, awkwardly.

“Mm.” Nie Huaisang presses a kiss to Jiang Cheng’s nose.

And then they continue on down the path of flowers. Jiang Cheng holds Nie Huaisang’s hand in his, fingers interlocked. It’s incredibly romantic, and Jiang Cheng immediately feels good about the location he’s picked for their date.

He’s just going to have to keep getting creative for their subsequent dates...

[avengerscompound]

Second Home

Second Home:  A Clintasha Fanfic

Buy me a ☕ Character Pairing:  Clint Barton x Natasha Romanoff x Reader

Word Count:  1279

Rating:  M

Warnings:  Sex tallk, minor injuries

Synopsis:  You, Clint and Natasha, have a second home in the medbay.

Second Home

The three of you spent a lot of time in the medical bay.  Far more than anyone else really.  Except maybe the doctors.  No, wait, probably more than them too, because they went home at the end of the day whereas you three couldn’t always do that.

There was always some injury.  Broken ribs, cracked metacarpals, concussions, stab wounds, blood loss, gunshots, back injuries.  Mostly to Clint really but given that there were three of you and two of you had no superpowers at all and you were always fighting, it made a lot of sense.  These glass-walled rooms with bright unnatural light had become just as much your home as your actual home.

It was Clint’s turn.  Again.  He had broken two ribs and fractured his wrist as well as his nose.  Again.  He also had three stitches in a wound on his head and another five on one in his side.  He sat up in the bed with monitors strapped to him drinking an apple and cherry Capri Sun.  Natasha sat beside him looking at a tablet while you had curled into him on his other side.

“I don’t even know why I’m drinking this.  It tastes like medicine.”  Clint said without even taking the straw out of his mouth.

“They didn’t have straight apple and you’re conditioned to drink one whenever you’re in here,”  Natasha answered without looking up from her tablet.

“Apple Juice tastes like wood glue.”  You said poking the pouch in Clint’s hand.  It sprayed it into his face.  “Oh god!  Sorry!  I didn’t mean to do that.”  You yelped jumping up and grabbing some paper towels from the roll on the wall.

“God damn it!  Why me?  It’s not bad enough I’m busted up, now I have to be all sticky from juice?”  Clint whined as he took the paper towels and wiped himself clean.

Without looking up, Nat snorted.  “Juice face.”

“What did you think was going to happen when you did that?”  Clint asked.

“I didn’t think.  I just poked.”

“I’ve got a better question.  How do you know what wood glue tastes like?”  Natasha asked finally looking up.

“My dad was a carpenter.”  You answered slightly defensively.

Clint tossed the ruined paper towels into the trash and looked at you with an eyebrow raised.  “And what?  He fed you pieces of wood and made you drink wood glue?”

“Damn.  I thought the Red Room was bad.”  Natasha teased.

“He didn’t make me drink wood glue.  But he did let me make things out of timber offcuts and I’d get the glue on my hands and then I’d chew it off.”   You explained.

“That’s weird.  You know that right?”  Clint said.

You poked him in the side.  “Yeah okay, circus boy.”

“Stitches!”  He yelped.  “And don’t make fun of my tragic backstory.  It was traumatic.”

“Sorry, Clint.”  You said.

He pulled you back against him.  “You will be sorry when I divorce you.”

“Oh, I hope you do.  Then I’ll marry Nat.”  You shot back.

“Yeah, you will.”  She said, leaning over and kissing you.  Her hand went to your hair and her tongue teased your lips open and dipped into your mouth.

“No way!  Nat was mine first.  If anyone gets to marry her it’s me!”  Clint complained.

“I think Nat gets to say who Nat gets to marry.  Besides, neither of you are getting a divorce.”  Nat said.  “You gotta stop using it as a threat.”

You nuzzled into Clint’s neck, smelling the mixture of soap and antibacterial was on his skin.  “Yeah, he’s all talk anyway.”

Clint tilted his head and captured your lips, kissing you long and slowly, his hand tightening on your hip.  His tongue swirled with yours and the longer it lasted the more tightly he pulled you against him.  He broke away and leaned his forehead against yours.  “Keep kissing me like that and you’re gonna need to follow through.”

“Excuse me?  You started it.”  You snarked.

“Besides.  No one is following through with anything.  Not after that nurse walked in on us last time.”  Natasha said rolling her eyes.

You and Clint started giggling.  “Her face was classic.”  You said.

“So we’re not traumatizing any more medbay staff,”  Natasha said.  “Agreed?”

“Fine.”  Clint huffed.  “But I’m jumping you both as soon as they let me out of here.”

“Yeah, yeah, tough guy.  You’re not jumping anyone in the state you’re in.”  Nat snarked.

“Then you can both jump me,”  Clint said waggling his eyebrows.

You kissed the corner of his jaw.  “Maybe.  If you play your cards right.”

“I am very good at cards.”  Clint teased.

“God, you two.  I thought I was the one with the infinite sex drive.”  Natasha groaned, picking her tablet back up.

“You don’t get to own the copyright on horny.”  Clint teased.  “I’m plenty horny.”  He pulled Nat close to him and kissed her hard.  You leaned your head against Clint’s chest as the two of them locked lips.

Natasha was the one who pulled away first and she tapped his cheek with her palm.  “What did I just say?”

“No blow jobs in the medbay,”  Clint huffed.

“No anything in the medbay,”  She said pecking his lips.  “Now, keep your pants on.”

“I don’t even have any pants on,”  Clint said lifting the blanket up so he could show his hospital gown.

“And with a semi.  What the hell, Clint?”  You said whacking his shoulder.

“What?”  Clint squawked.  “Like I can control it.  You two were making out with me!”

Natasha shook her head.  “Oh no, you don’t.  You made out with us.”

“No way!”   Clint protested.  “I’m an invalid.  Innocently minding my own business in a hospital bed.  Just trying to recover.”

“There is absolutely nothing innocent about you, Clinton Francis Barton.”  You scolded.

Clint’s eyes went wide and his mouth dropped open.  “You just used my full name!  Natasha!  She used my full name!  Am I in trouble here?”

You leaned in close to him, teasing your lips over his jaw.  “You bet your ass you are.”

He grinned and brought his lips so they were hovering over yours, taunting you.  “Oh, I like the sound of that.”

You kissed again and his fingers dug into your thigh.

The door opened and someone cleared their throat.  “Agent Barton,”  She said.

You broke away, heat filling your face.  She moved to the end of the bed and picked up the chart reading it over.  She looked over a few of the machine readouts before looking down at the chart again.  “Everything looks good.  If you would rather stay overnight that’s fine, but I’m sure we can send you home with some painkillers if you would prefer.”

“Nope,”  Clint shouted jumping out of the bed and knocking you and Natasha sprawling.

“Clint!”  You yelped.

“You just flashed the doctor your dick!”  Natasha added, smacking him.

“I did not!”  He said pulling his pants back on.

“Yeah, you kinda did.”  She said pinching the bridge of her nose.  She went to the cabinet and unlocked it, taking out a few bottles.  “Make sure he takes these.  No, more than eight a day.”

You nodded taking them from her.  “Thanks, doc.”

“Try and stay out of here for a week, would you?  I’d really appreciate it.”  She said.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t get your hopes up,”  Natasha said patting her on the shoulder.

Clint slung his arms around yours and Natasha’s shoulders.  “Now I think there was some follow-through promised.”  He said.

Natasha sighed and kissed his cheek.  Maybe this was like a second home, but it would be a lot better to be in your actual one.

[elisaphoenix13]

The Doctor Is In

(5 times Stephen took care of Tony and Peter and 1 time they took care of him)

Stephen fled from the Tower the moment heavy metal music echoed through the surrounding floors of the lab. It wasn't that he hated the music, it was the fact that he knew exactly what it meant.

Tony and Peter were blowing things up.

He could meditate through a majority of things that went on in the Tower. Like if Clint and Sam took over their living room to play video games, Peter crawling all over the ceiling, Tony  cursing at something he's tinkering with on the coffee table...or Clint crawling through the air vents. Their floor was constantly taken over by the other Avengers, and he had grown used to it, but explosions from the lab was another thing entirely. It was random and had different levels of noise that startled Stephen's astral form back into his body and left him momentarily confused and disoriented. Not a fun feeling.

Stephen sighs when Wong drops a stack of books on the table in front of him and he opens a single eye. "Do you mind?"

Wong ignores him as he sits down. "AC/DC?"

The sorcerer supreme stretches out in his chair. "Metallica."

"Wouldn't blasting music hurt Peter's ears?"

"He's used to it. He's usually the one controlling the volume anyway." Stephen slumps in his chair.

"How's motherhood treating you?" Wong grins.

Strange groans. "Not you too. How did you know?"

"Tony calls you Mama Bear almost all the time. It was obvious." Wong flips through one of the books. "...and I heard Peter call you Mom."

"That boy will be the death of me."

"I thought I saw some more grey hair."

He wouldn't be surprised. Both Peter and Tony had very little consideration for self-preservation to the point that...well...they were blowing things up in the lab. He could confidently bet the Eye of Agamotto that he would go home to at least one of them in need of first aid. Bruce only helped them in emergencies for how often they got themselves into trouble. He was tired of fishing glass out of broken skin because of a stupid idea.

"I'm tempted to cover them in bubble wrap so I can have a minute of peace without having to worry about what trouble they're getting into."

"Your domesticity is nauseating."

Stephen smirks. "You're just jealous."

"Hardly."

Stephen's phone starts ringing and he looks at the screen, sighs, and answers.

"Yes Spiderling?"

"Holy crap! Where are you?! Dad got knocked out by the fire extinguisher--"

Stephen coughs to hide his laugh. He was definitely going to watch today's recording of the lab to see how that happened. "I'll be there shortly."

He hangs up before Peter can utter another word and glances at Wong.

"What's the damage this time?"

Stephen grins. "Technical knockout by a fire extinguisher."

Wong laughs.

_______________________

"Peter I swear--" A Lego smacks painlessly against Stephen's forehead. "Did you just throw a Lego at me?!"

The teen flattens himself against the ceiling. "That was my venom! I'm a spider!"

The Vishanti are testing me.

Peter had just recently gotten all of his wisdom teeth pulled and was on very strong pain killers. Something Stephen prayed he would never have to give the boy again because he was a menace. Peter refused to stay in bed and had taken to the ceiling instead, leaving Stephen no choice but to follow him and try to coax him down. He hoped to whatever entity that was listening that the boy wouldn't fall and hurt himself.

The first thing he tried was Levi but Peter stubbornly clung to the ceiling so he had to wave the cloak off from that attempt. Bribing him with ice cream was a dead end as well.

"Spiderling, you don't spit venom." Then another idea came to mind and Stephen didn't know why he didn't think if it before. "How does a movie night with cuddles sound?"

Peter looks at the sorcerer and seems to think over his offer. "'Kay."

Peter was a sucker for physical contact no matter how high he was.

Stephen sighs with relief when the teen moves down from the ceiling and immediately clings to the older man's front like a baby. The sorcerer wraps his arms around Peter to hold him steady, and makes his way back to the boy's bedroom where he gently deposits his burden. He murmurs to the boy to stay while he leaves to change into something more comfortable, and thankfully returns to Peter's room a couple minutes later to find the boy curled up under his blankets.

"Where's Dad?"

"At an Accords meeting. He'll be back by dinner." Strange slips into bed next to Peter and the teen wastes no time in curling up against him. "What do you want to watch Spider-Baby?"

"Disney movie."

Stephen has Karen (Tony connected Peter's AI to his bedroom) start a Disney movie, and gently strokes brown curls. It didn't take long for Peter to pass out between the ministrations and snuggling. One would think the boy was touch starved.

_____________

The tower was calm. Peter was at school and Tony was at a meeting, so Stephen felt he could relax. He really should have known better. As soon as he stretched out on the couch with an actual book not related to the mystic artes, Tony strode out of the elevator with blood streaming down his temple. The sorcerer sighs when his boyfriend flops onto the couch when he sits up, and he retrieves the first aid kit and some ice through a couple of small portals.

"I'd ask how your meeting went but that would be pointless."

Tony hisses when Stephen applies some antiseptic. "The meeting was fine. The private meeting Ross wanted...not so much."

"Just say the word and I can have him free-falling for a couple of hours."

"That would be counter productive since I'm trying to keep you and Peter out of the Accords. You're both special cases."

The doctor finishes by applying a butterfly bandage and then hands Tony the ice. The engineer did have legitimate reasons for keeping Stephen and Peter away. Stephen was the Sorcerer Supreme, and had a responsibility to protect the world from magical attacks. Peter was simply underage.

"Head feeling better?" Stephen asks softly.

Tony nods and grimaces as he places the ice pack on his head. "I think I'll live."

Scott slips into the living room and sits in an armchair sipping at a juice pouch. "Hey Strange, your Mama Bear is showing."

"That better not be Peter's Capri Sun."

"Case and point." He grins and loudly sucks every last drop.

"Quit raiding my fridge Lang." Tony snarks.

"Quit buying all the good stuff." Scott kicks his legs up onto the coffee table and turns on the t.v.

Stephen simply laid out on the couch again with his legs across Tony's lap and read while the other two watched reruns of Friends. He would take the quiet while he could. It was a rare occurrence.

____________________

"Doctor Strange, you have an incoming call from Peter." Victor calls from his bracelet.

Stephen sighs and puts his tea down to pull his phone out of his pocket. He was at school so either he had gotten into trouble (Not likely unless it was an attack an earth kind) or he wasn't feeling well. Something still unlikely because of the spider bite.

"What's wrong Spiderling?" The sorcerer asks when he accepts the call.

"Uh...Doctor Strange?" That was not Peter. In fact it sounded like...

"Ned? Where's Peter?"

"We're in the boy's bathroom on the second floor. I think Peter is going through a sensory overload."

Shit. That was the one thing that Peter truly hated. "Alright. I'll be there in just a minute."

Stephen hangs up, uses his magic to change into his street clothes, and then opens a portal to just around the corner to the school. With long strides, he shoves his way through pedestrians and into the school and makes a quick stop in the office.

"I'm here to pick up Peter Parker." The secretary looks up, blushes, and reaches for the intercom phone until Stephen reaches out and stops her. "Please don't. He's not feeling well and the intercom will only make things worse. I know where he is if I may go get him myself."

The woman quickly gathers herself. "Of course sir. I just need your name and have you sign him out."

When he relayed his name to her, she looked at him with a mixture of confusion and skepticism, but thankfully cleared him to retrieve Peter. She was probably wondering where his robes were since he was dressed like any other person.

Stephen rushes out of the office and up the stairs and to his relief finds the bathrooms fairly quickly. He wrinkles his nose in disgust as he walks in but says nothing when he spots Peter curled in the corner with his hands over his ears. Ned looks up and relief crosses his features as he promptly moves away from his best friend and the doctor takes his place and gently pulls Peter's hands down.

"I'll get you home in just a second Spiderling." Strange looks up at Ned and accepts Peter's backpack from him. "Thank you for calling me."

Ned nods. "I can call him later and tell him what his homework is."

"I'm sure he would appreciate that."

He then turns and opens a portal, the sound of the sparks drawing a whimper from the suffering teen beside him, and Stephen ignores his breaking heart as he helps Peter through. He closes the portal and leads the teen to his bed where Peter quickly sheds everything but his boxers to, Stephen assumed, get rid of his itchy clothing.

"Karen, Overload Protocol please."

In an instant, the window is covered, the lights are dimmed, and Peter finally relaxes when the room is soundproof and nearly dark. Stephen gently lays the covers over his son and Peter cracks open an eye in response.

"Mom?" Peter croaks out.

"Just relax Spider-Baby."

Peter nods and rolls onto his side before settling against his pillow.

_____________________

An explosion startles both Stephen and Happy from their naps on their respective couches, and both jump to their feet before rushing down to the lab. The sorcerer punches in the code to open the lab door and he looks around the trashed and smoking lab for Peter and Tony, faintly registering that DUM-E was successfully taking care of any fires. He soons spots the engineer slumped against the wall and he rushes over before kneeling down to examine him and tend to his injuries.

"I've got Peter!" The bodyguard yells from the other side of the room. "He looks fine. Just knocked out!"

Stephen exhales when he finds Tony in the same condition. "Tony is the same. It must have been a repulsor explosion."

Tony groans and slowly opens his eyes. "Peter..."

"He's alright. What happened?"

The billionaire stands with the doctor's help and rubs the back of his head. "One of my gauntlets short-circuited."

Happy approaches them with a smirk. "The kid just woke up and he's talking a mile a minute. I'm pretty sure he's fine. I'm going back upstairs to finish my nap."

Tony rolls his eyes as Happy leaves the lab and both parents walk over to Peter to find him patting DUM-E.

"Good job putting out the fire buddy. Now Dad won't have to donate you to a community college." The robot trills at the praise.

"Now FRIDAY is risking reprogramming." Tony says irritably.

"I tried to warn you Boss but you didn't listen." Could AI be annoyed? FRIDAY definitely sounded annoyed.

"That sounds like something you would do." Stephen drawls and Tony throws his arms up.

"Traitors! I'm scrapping FRIDAY and breaking up with you!"

Peter looks up at Tony's declaration and watches the couple in alarm, but Stephen simply smiles and the teen relaxes and turns his attention back to DUM-E. The poor kid really feared that his family was going to fall apart over something trivial and it hurt Stephen. It really showed how much Peter loved them.

"You won't have anyone to kiss your boo-boos then."

Tony stares at Stephen until he barks out a laugh that turns into something hysterical. "That's true. Brucie isn't the type." He finally wheezes out.

Stephen then decided to take it a step further. "Besides, if we break up, I'm taking Peter."

The boy himself pouts. "Don't drag me into your marital problems."

"Okay, first of all kid, we have to be married to have marital problems. Second, Stephanie, he was my kid first."

"You guys might as well get married. You already act like an old married couple." Peter grumbles and the older two glance at each other.

"...and there's the headache I get from dealing with you two." Stephen says and rubs his temples.

_____________________

+1

Stephen groggily opens his eyes when a cool hand finds itself on his forehead and he purrs when he finds Tony leaning over him. Something he would completely deny later because he wasn't even aware he could even make that noise.

"Feeling under the weather Mama Bear?"

"I'm fine."

"I'll believe that when you stop trying to hack up a lung while you're sleeping."

The sorcerer bats Tony's hand away and sits up, only for his boyfriend's hand to settle on his chest to stop him from getting up. It was weird for him to be fussed over and he also wasn't about to let a cold keep him from the research he needed to do.

"If you put one foot on the floor I am going to sic Peter on you."

That actually got Stephen's attention. Tony had gotten sick a few weeks back and when Peter got wind of it, he hovered. The teen took it upon himself to make sure that the engineer took some medicine, fed him, and even checked in on him to make sure he was resting. Stephen found it hilarious and let the boy help take care of Tony as long as he didn't disturb him.

To be on the receiving end of that though? That was a scary thought. He was the doctor in the family. He was supposed to worry about them, no matter how many headaches that might cause, not the other way around.

So he laid back down.

"That's what I thought. The only acceptable reason for you to get out of bed is for the bathroom."

"Asshole."

"I love you too Mama Bear. Now let us take care of you." Tony kisses his forehead. "I'll send Peter in with some water and pills."

Stephen glares up at him. "You're going to let him hover anyway?"

Tony frowns. "He already knows you're sick. He promised not to hover."

"...fine."

After Tony left the bedroom, Stephen expected Peter to stumble in a couple minutes later.

He never did.

Tony was the one to bring him whatever he needed, and the doctor immediately knew something was wrong. It took him a few minutes to think about what happened, but then he finally remembered Peter's enhanced hearing. The boy probably heard his parents' earlier conversation and assumed Stephen didn't want to be bothered by him and decided to stay away and respect his wishes.

Just the thought squeezed the sorcerer's heart painfully.

Precious, wonderful Peter ignored his own insecurities so Mom could rest without disruption.

Tony's cellphone ringing pulls Stephen out of his own head and he watches as the older man looks at the screen. He grimaces in irritation before pocketing the phone and places a glass of water on the nightstand by Stephen.

"Pepper needs me for something SI related."

Stephen waves him away. "I'll be fine. I'll have FRIDAY annoy Bruce if I need something."

Tony opens his mouth as if to say something but seems to think better of it and closes his mouth again. Stephen relaxes against his pillow when the billionaire leaves and allows himself to doze off until a thud and a soft curse wakes him later in the evening. Blue eyes blink open at the disturbance and he immediately makes eye contact with doe-like brown eyes wide with horror.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you! I'm only in here because Dad asked me to check on you. Y-You're obviously fine so I'll...go. Yeah." Peter turns to leave and Stephen quickly reaches out and grabs his sleeve.

"Come here Spiderling."

"I swear I wasn't hovering!"

Stephen smiles softly and pulls the younger onto the bed next to him. "You can watch tv if you want...just keep me company."

The horror slowly eases away as the sorcerer pulls him into a hug, and Peter quietly turns on the tv with low volume. If this wasn't enough to show his son he wasn't bothered, he didn't know what was. He really did need the company though. After living in the chaos of the tower for months, the quiet was unnerving.

Stephen found that he really didn't mind.

[omgjasminesimone]

Homecoming Part 2

Bryce x MC

Previous Part: Part 1

Next Part: Part 3

Rating: Light NSFW

Summary: Bryce and Casey start their Hawaiian vacation by meeting the Lahelas for brunch. Things go as badly as Bryce expected.

Author’s Note: My head cannon is that Bryce’s father rejects his own Hawaiian culture due to self-hatred issues. This was alluded to in Tattoo. Let me know if you’d like to be tagged in future parts!

Word Count: 3700

Bryce awakens slowly as soft hands caress his bare chest, full lips pressing against his neck, and then his lips. He responds automatically, even though he’s half asleep, his hand rising from the sheets to tangle in her dark curls as he kisses her back.

She straddles his waist without breaking the kiss, her hands tangling in his hair. One of her hands trails down his chest, over his abs, lower.

She reaches inside his low riding pajama pants and grips him in her hand. He groans as he hardens. Casey chuckles. “Good morning to you too.”

Bryce’s eyes open, looking up at her with a grin. “What did I do to deserve this kind of wake-up call?”

Casey grins back at him. “You forgot to close the curtains last night. And the light was hitting you just right. You looked like-“

Bryce interrupts. “A Greek God?”

Casey rolls her eyes at his vanity, releasing his manhood. “You looked good. Really good.” She leans down and kisses him again.

His hands squeeze her rear end through her boy shorts. “What time is it baby?”

Casey pulls away to look at the clock. “5:30 in the morning.”

“You couldn’t have waited a few hours to jump me?” He jokes, pushing on the small of her back so she’ll let her hips fall against him.

“It’s 11:30 in the morning Boston time. And we went to bed Boston time, so it’s definitely time to get up.” After arriving at the hotel from the airport, they had eaten at the hotel restaurant, showered, and then fallen asleep almost immediately upon their heads hitting the luxurious down pillows.

“Well, even though it’s ungodly early Hawaii time, I can think of a few ways to pass the hours before we leave for the day.” He tugs her shorts off.  

Two orgasms later they shower, separately because Bryce can never keep his hands to himself, before heading off to enjoy the resort pool. It’s still early, so they have the whole pool to themselves. Casey sits near the pool’s edge with a book she’s been reading for the last year. She’s still only halfway done. Reading for pleasure is a rare treat now a days, although she has read countless medical textbooks and journals over the last year. Her feet dangle in the cool clear water.    

Bryce surfaces at her feet after swimming several laps at an athlete’s pace, tossing his hair to dry it somewhat. “Are you really not getting in?”

“Maybe later.” She says flippantly, not bothering to look up from her book.

Bryce takes her feet in his hands, absentmindedly rubbing his thumb over the shooting star tattoo on her ankle. He waits a few seconds. “It’s later now.” He tugs her feet, and she barely has time to drop her book onto the dry pool edge before she’s under the water.

She comes up sputtering, glaring at her boyfriend.

He chuckles,  releasing her feet and gripping the back of her thighs, pulling her to him and encouraging her to wrap her legs around him. “You look so good in that swimsuit.” She glances down at her dark green bikini. It is a good color on her. He kisses her, pressing her back against the wall of the infinity pool.

She bites his bottom lip roughly, following up by splashing him. He rubs the chlorine out of his eyes, releasing her in the process. “Hey!” He complains.

She splashes him again, lazily treading water. “That’s for pulling me in. You almost made me get the book I borrowed from Sienna wet.”

“I’m sorry. Can we kiss and make up now?”    

Casey rolls her eyes, but indulges him anyway, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and kissing him deeply. They’re so absorbed in each other, they barely notice the rest of the hotel waking up and joining them at the pool.

“Cannon ball!” A red headed child yells, effectively breaking them from their spell when they’re drenched in water.

Casey runs a hand through her damp curls, and then lightly runs her thumb over his kiss swollen lips. “You couldn’t find an adults only resort?” She jokes.

Bryce smiles, kissing her thumb before speaking. “There are a few, but they were so much more expensive.”

“Does this place at least have complimentary breakfast?”

“It does, but my sister invited us to family brunch. Can you wait, or do you want to grab something before we head out?”

“I’ll wait. But let’s go back to the room so I can get ready. I want to make a good first impression.”

Bryce tightens his grip on her, hugging her to him. “It doesn’t matter what they think about you. I know exactly who you are, and I like everything about you Dr. Valentine.”

“I like you a lot too Dr. Lahela. But be that as it may, I’m still going to put some effort in.”

…

..

.

Bryce glances at Casey from the driver’s seat of their rented car as she finishes twisting her dark curls into a delicate updo, a few tendrils framing her face. His eyes scan over her outfit. She’s put on a pretty red and purple floral strapless dress, completing the look with white wedges. She’s even wearing some light make-up. He’s not used to seeing her with makeup. When you have to be at the hospital at 5:30 in the morning, the extra few minutes of sleep is much more important than some lipstick and eyeliner. He thinks he likes her natural look better, but she didn’t ask so he keeps his opinion to himself.

He has put no such effort into his own appearance. Simply sporting a white button down, comfortable beige capris, and sneakers.

He allows one of his hands to leave the wheel, intertwining their fingers so she’ll stop nervously drumming on her thighs. “You have nothing to be nervous about baby.”

“I just want them to like me.”

“It doesn’t matter.” She wishes he would say, “Don’t worry, they’ll love you.” But he doesn’t. Just keeps insisting that it makes no difference.

“You haven’t told me anyone’s names.” Casey realizes.

Bryce takes the freeway exit, nearing their destination. “My father’s name is Aoloa. My mother’s name is Kate. My brother’s name is Francis. And my sister is Abigail. But I call her Abs. Francis’ wife will probably be there too. Her name is Gabrielle. And my nephew, Haku.”    

Casey nods, retaining the new information. “And how old are your siblings?”

Bryce merges into the left lane, taking the next turn. “Francis is 5 years older than me. So he’s 32…no wait he’s 33 his birthday was last month. Abs is almost three years younger than me. She’s 24, turning 25 next month.”

“And your nephew?”

“Haku is 8.”

Casey does the mental math in her head, realizing Abigail must have had him while still in high school.

Bryce sighs as he turns onto a residential street. “We’re here.”

Casey’s jaw drops as she takes in the monumental mansion they’re approaching. Bryce stops at a large ostentatious gold gate, opening his window and typing a passcode into the security system. The gate opens, swinging inward.

Bryce stops in the round driveway, full of cars much more expensive than the one they have rented. He looks at her nervously. “Say something.” He begs.

“Your parents are a lot more than comfortable Bryce.”  

“It doesn’t matter.” He repeats, once again. “I don’t like to tell people because I feel like they assume I’m just some spoiled rich kid who never had to work for anything. And that’s just not how it is Casey. Sure, my dad paid for private school and summer immersion programs in Europe, but none of that was for me. It was for him.”

“Was the down payment really a loan? It looks like it wouldn’t set them back at all to just give it to you.”

“It wouldn’t, but they didn’t. It was definitely a loan.” He takes a moment to compose himself. “Are you ready?” He asks.

“Are you?”

He smiles, squeezing her hand. “No, but I’ll never be ready.” He takes a deep breath before getting out of the car.

They walk hand and hand to the door. She hears him give another dramatic sigh before ringing the doorbell.

The door opens, a tiny native Hawaiian woman with dark brown skin standing in front of them. Her face lights up as she spots Bryce. “Bryce!” She exclaims as she hugs his waist tightly, since that’s where she can reach on the much taller man.

Based on everything Casey knows about his family, she thinks this woman can’t be his mother.

“Kehlani, I missed you.” Bryce says softly, hugging her back.

“Then you should have come home! I haven’t seen you since Haku’s first birthday!”

“You know it’s hard to get back here from the mainland. But the mainland has been good to me in many ways. The most important one right here. Kehlani, this is Dr. Casey Valentine, my girlfriend. Casey, Kehlani, she basically raised me.”

Kehlani smiles. “Don’t let your mother hear you say that. I’m just the lowly maid now, with Haku moving out soon and no need for a nanny.” Kehlani turns to Casey. “She’s so beautiful Bryce! And a doctor too? How’d you get so lucky?”

Bryce wraps an arm around Casey, pulling her to his side. “Hey, she’s lucky too. I’m quite a catch.”

Casey smiles at Kehlani, offering her hand for a handshake. “Nice to meet you Kehlani.”

Kehlani ignores the offered hand, pulling Casey into a hug. “Nice to meet you too Casey!” She releases the doctor, locking the door behind them. “Everyone is in the dining room. Do you remember your way around here?” She asks.

Bryce shrugs. “I’ll manage.”

Kehlani heads back to the kitchen and Bryce tugs Casey towards an ornate hallway. She distractedly looks around the foyer, at the large chandelier, the obviously expensive art lining the walls, a large family portrait hanging over the double staircase. She picks out Bryce in the portrait right away. He’s wearing a suit, hair slicked back in an unfamiliar style, lips tight and unsmiling. He can’t be older than 12. A hand rests on his shoulder, behind him his mother staring at the camera with a small disingenuous smile.  

Casey is surprised that his mother is white. He never mentioned that to her. Her blonde hair and blue eyes stand out amongst her varying shades of bronze skinned children and her husband, whose complexion reminds her of Jackie.

She loses sight of the portrait as they make it into the hallway, taking a sudden right and entering the dining room.

“Uncle Bryce!” Haku drops the toy car he was playing with, running into his uncle’s arms. Haku’s loud declaration draws the attention of everyone else in the room to their arrival.

Bryce smiles, the most genuine smile she’s seen out of him all day, rustling Haku’s dark hair. “When did you get so big young man?”

Haku grins, revealing missing front teeth. “I’m the 3rd tallest in my class!” He brags.

Abigail approaches next, throwing her arms around Bryce in a warm hug. “I’m so glad you’re home.” She breathes in his ear.

“Like I’d miss you wedding Abs. Even if you are marrying a douchebag.”

Abigail’s eyes narrow. “Bryce.” She warns.

“Sorry. I’ll try to keep my thoughts to myself.” He seems to suddenly remember that Casey is there. “Abs, Haku, this is my girlfriend Dr. Casey Valentine.”

Haku waves at her and Abigail gives her a handshake. “Nice to meet you Casey. Last time I skyped with Bryce when he wanted to give me a Boston house tour, he couldn’t shut up about you.” Abigail is very pretty. Bryce’s brown eyes, complexion a mocha color a little lighter than his, and her hair a deeper brown that flows down to her waist.

Francis approaches. All the Lahelas are so pretty. He looks a lot like Bryce, but hair cut shorter and slicked back. His face is more severe, with stronger cheekbones and a more pronounced nose. “Well, I haven’t had the pleasure of hearing about you Dr. Valentine. Nice to meet you.” He kisses her hand, and she can’t help but blush a little.

Bryce glowers behind her. “Francis.” He greets coldly.

Francis nods. “Bryce.” He returns with the same indifference.

Bryce’s eyes fall on his sister-in-law, who’s gotten up to stand beside her husband. “Gabby.” This greeting is warmer, polite.

Gabrielle smiles. “Good to see you Bryce. And nice to meet you Casey.” Gabrielle looks a lot like Bryce’s mom when she was younger. Blonde hair, blue eyes, that ‘all American’ girl next door look.  She’s more voluptuous than Kate was in her day though. And Gabrielle seems to be flaunting this in her too tight red dress. She seems to be at least ten years younger than her husband.  

Bryce’s father is the next to leave his seat and approach the newcomers. He shakes Bryce’s hand, which Casey thinks is a strange way to greet one’s own son. His hair has greyed since the portrait was taken, and he’s gained some weight, but he’s still a very attractive older man.

“Casey, this is my Dad, Aoloa.” Bryce introduces, releasing his father’s hand and placing his hand on the small of her back.

“Everyone calls me Al.” He corrects, shaking Casey’s hand. He squeezes just a little too tight.

Bryce’s mother doesn’t stand, continuing to enjoy her mimosa at the table. “Come say hi to me dearest.” She slurs her words slightly, and Casey tries to pretend not to notice.

“Mom.” Bryce greets shortly, not moving from his current position.

Casey walks over, Bryce’s hand falling from her back. “Nice to meet you Mrs. Lahela.” She offers a handshake.

“Kate is fine.” She claims as she reaches for Casey’s hand, missing at first, her blue eyes looking glassy. Casey moves her hand to grip Kate’s, shaking softly. Casey can see some grey at Kate’s roots, but the rest of her hair is dyed the same platinum blonde from the portrait. Unlike her husband, and despite all the drinking, she has managed to maintain her figure. Appearances seem to be very important to the Lahelas. Although this is just a family brunch, they are all dressed in expensive labels that Casey recognizes from goofing around in Nordstrom’s with her roommates, trying to find the most overpriced items.

Bryce pulls out a chair beside his sister. “Honey, have a seat.”

She raises an eyebrow, he’s never called her honey before. It’s always babe or baby (lover sometimes when he’s trying to annoy her since he knows she hates that word). It’s like he’s putting on a show for some reason. She takes the offered chair, allowing Bryce to push it in.

He takes a seat between her and his mother, allowing Kate to place a sloppy kiss on his cheek. Her deep red lipstick that seems inappropriate for family brunch stains his cheek.

The rest of the Lahelas return to their seats just as Kehlani and another maid enter the room with the first course.

A decadent parfait is placed in front of Casey, an expensive golden spoon as well. Casey worries that maybe the spoon is for decorative purposes, and waits until she sees Aoloa use the spoon from across the table before she dares to.

“So where’s your future husband Abs?” Bryce asks, breaking the silence that has descended around the table.

“Ryan had to work. Some important business deal.” Abigail replies, waving her hand dismissively.

“Dad says Ryan is a workaholic. And that a real man spends time with his family.” Haku interrupts, messily eating his own parfait, using his fingers instead of the spoon.

“Hank.” Al says sharply, glaring at his grandson. “No one wants to hear what your no-good father has to say about any of this.”

“Dad.” Abigail’s tone is icy and her eyes have narrowed. “Don’t talk about Kahoni like that in front of his son.”

Bryce eye’s narrow as well. “Hank?” He repeats.

“Yes, Haku has decided to go by Hank now. It’s more American, more respectable.” Al reports.

“What’s unrespectable about a traditional Hawaiian name?” Bryce challenges.

“Bryce.” Francis warns, glaring at him from across the table.

“Haku, honey, do you want to eat in the living room where you can watch TV?” Abigail offers to get her son out of the room. Haku nods gleefully, scrapping his chair across the floor loudly before running out.

Casey watches Haku leave, feeling like he is the safest thing to look at in the tense room.    

“So Casey Valentine,” Al starts, changing the topic. “Valentine is English, or Scottish, but you look……exotic. What are you exactly?”

Casey winces at ‘exotic’. Surprisingly, she’s been asked this rude question before. Usually, she just answers ‘human’ and leaves, but she’s less inclined to be rude to her boyfriend’s father, even if he’s being rude to her.

Bryce looks like he’s about to say something, so she places a hand on his knee and squeezes in a manner she hopes is reassuring.

“Valentine is Scottish. My father’s grandfather immigrated to the Dominican Republic from Scotland. So my dad is Dominican, mostly. And my mom is African American and Mexican. So I’m a little bit of everything.” She answers.

“So if you guys have kids, they’ll really be mutts, huh?” Al asks with a smile.

Casey’s eyes narrow. Sometimes, she does refer to herself as a mutt when she’s talking about her genealogy, but she says it in an endearing way. The way Al said it was lacking any of that warmth.

“We don’t all share your obsession with whitening the Lahela bloodline Dad.” Bryce says sharply.

“Bryce.” His mother warns this time, pausing for the first time in her consumption of the champagne and orange juice.

“What?” Bryce insists. “We all know it’s true. That’s why he spent so much time poisoning Abby’s relationship with Kahoni.”

Al snorts angrily. “Kahoni is a no-good Hula performer with no prospects who knocked up my sixteen year old daughter. Abigail finally came to her senses when she left him.”    

“And now she just happens to be marrying the son of an important business prospect, who just happens to have blue eyes and blonde hair. I’m sure you had nothing to do with that.” Bryce retorts.

Al’s eyes narrow at his middle child. “I’m not sure I like where you’re going with this.”

Kehlani returns just then with the second course, waffles with fresh fruit. She pauses as she takes in the tension in the room. “Do you guys need anything?”

“More champagne would be great.” Kate slurs.

“Oh my god Mom it’s not even noon.” Bryce exclaims, standing from the table. “I need a minute.” He mutters before storming out of the room.

Casey stays and eats her waffles in silence, all the Lahelas attempts at small talk with each other quickly sputtering out. Bryce doesn’t return.

“I’m going to go check on him.” She finally decides after 15 minutes have passed. “Does anyone know where he might have gone?”

“Probably his room, go back out to the staircase, take the right one, and then it’s the second door to your left.” Abigail reveals.

Casey nods, thanking her as she stands.

“Casey.” Al interrupts before she leaves. “I wasn’t trying to offend you, and I’m sorry if I did. You’re very beautiful, and clearly smart too if you’re a doctor. I guess I was just surprised. Back in high school, Bryce used to bring home girls that looked just like his mother. Maybe his standards have changed out on the mainland.”

Casey nods tightly, that spiel doing nothing to endear Bryce’s father more to her. She follows Abigail’s instructions and knocks on Bryce’s door. “Bryce?” She calls out softly.

“It’s open.” She hears.

She walks into his childhood room. It’s sparsely decorated. Some sports equipment in the corner, photos of him and friends on his desk. And face down in his pillow on his queen size bed lies Bryce.

“You don’t lock your door after you storm off dramatically?” Casey asks.

He rolls over onto his back, meeting her gaze. “I knew you were the only one who would come after me.”

She joins him in bed, cuddling into his side. He drops a kiss on her forehead. “I’m sorry about them.” He apologizes.

“You don’t have to apologize for your family.” Casey insists.

He shakes his head. “I do though. Because they bring out the worst in me. I shouldn’t have just left you down there. I shouldn’t have let them push my buttons like that. I don’t want to mess us up over them.”

“I wouldn’t let you mess us up. Not when my roommates have already replaced me for when our lease is up so I have to move in with you.” Casey jokes.

Bryce chuckles. “I’m serious though baby. You’re the best thing in my life.” He tilts her chin up to look at him. “And I love you.”

Casey’s eyes widen. He’s never said that before. His eyes scan her’s frantically as she remains silent.

He runs a hand through his hair nervously. “You don’t have to say it back right now. We’ll get there when we get there…”

She interrupts him with a tender kiss. “We’re there. I love you too Bryce.”

He grins, looking happier than she’s ever seen him. His lips claim her’s, and it quickly becomes heated. She rolls on top of him, straddling his hips.

“How many girls did you sneak up here in high school?” she questions as he rubs her thighs.

“None anywhere near as beautiful as you.” He answers immediately.

She smiles, “Good answer.” He tries to kiss her again, but she stands. “Let’s get back down there. I could smell some amazing dessert and I don’t want to miss it.”

Bryce sighs. “Do we have to?”

Casey nods. “But afterwards, we can go back to the hotel and then you don’t have to see them again until the wedding.”

Bryce scoffs. “As if I could be so lucky. There are countless wedding events that I’m required to be at. With those people.”  

…

..

.

Taglist: @octobereighth @sibella-plays-choices @hazah @akrenich @lovehugsandcandy @professorortegasstudent @regina-and-happiness @brightpinkpeppercorn @choicesarehard @lizeboredom  @desiree-0816 @hellooliviaolivia @dreaming-of-movies @friedherringclodthing @weaving-in-words @fairydustandsarcasm

[silluuuu]

Found It Once, You’ll Find It Again

It’s here! Resbang 2018!! Check it out!

Found It Once, You’ll Find It Again Rating: T for language, alcohol consumption, ouija board shenanigans, stickshift-centric innuendo Pairing: SoulxMaka Summary:  When Maka goes to visit her grandmother in New England, she’s ready for a summer of relaxation, reading, and fried clams. But when she gets a job at Skully’s, the pirate-themed restaurant in town, she ends up getting more than she bargained for. Between illicit whale watching excursions, attempting to summon demons with pizza boxes, and learning to drive stick shift, it’ll be a miracle if she gets through this summer alive. At least there’s the quiet, musically-inclined waiter at Skully’s who knows his way around a steering wheel to help her navigate the road. Read it on FFN | AO3 ! <3

Much love to my fantastic partners, whose beautiful art you can find below: @sojustifiable​: [art] @macabremermaid​: [playlist]

Big love to my betas as well, without whom this story would definitely not have existed this year: @skadventuretime, @sandmancircus, @guacamoletrash, @professor-maka & @aquabella888.

Read the beginning below!

Found It Once, You’ll Find It Again

"The ache for home lives in all of us. The safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned." - Maya Angelou

"It's a funny thing, coming home. Nothing changes. Everything looks the same, feels the same, even smells the same. You realize what's changed is you." - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

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

The old house looks exactly the same. In twenty-one summers, Maka doesn't think it has changed at all.

As she turns the corner down the drive, the little cottage by the sea comes into full view. It may be small, but the inside is bigger than it looks, all open windows and arcing ceilings. Painted a comforting beachy-gray, with scores of flowers lining the yard and disappearing behind the house to where the tall grass meets the sea. It's one of the places she feels most at home.

Maka smiles as she walks past the mailbox, which is painted like a green-and-blue striped fish with a smiling red mouth for the opening. Its eyes are extra special: a deep blue-green that matches the color of Nana's eyes - and Papa's as well - with thick black eyelashes painted in broad strokes. When she was little, Pap-Pap told Maka that he had painted it with Nana in mind, and since then, Maka always imagined that it was the first person to greet her to the house. She could always see how it mirrored the little twinkle in Nana's eye.

Feet scuffing against the gravel driveway, she makes her way to the side door of the house as soft green grass tickles her toes. Unlocked as always, the door pushes open easily, and she sets her bag down on the ground to read a note, in sprawling cursive:

At the beauty shop with the girls. Cookies in the jar! Be back by lunchtime.

love, NN

ps. I know you'll want to start, so there's a pile of wood in the basement with your name on it.

Maka smiles at the familiar signature, at the use of the two syllables in Na-na as her initials.

on it - MK, she writes, and sets off for the basement, grabbing a chocolate chip cookie on her way out of the room.

-----

"A-choo!"

It's so dusty down here. Maka winces against the bandana covering her face, which is doing little to ward off the dust and debris circling its way through the basement. She picks up the plywood again, hoisting it on her shoulder as she maneuvers her way to the outside basement door, adding it to the pile of accumulated debris on the grass outside.

"Everything all right down there?"

Maka grins beneath the bandana and tugs it off her face to answer, the ocean air touching her face like a salve. She takes in a deep breath of salty air before answering, which is enough time for Nana to sidle across the deck and peer down at her.

"Look at my hard worker. C'mon up, you've done enough this morning. Lunch is ready."

"Just give me another few minutes to clear out some more of this wood," Maka replies, pulling the bandana back up. "I'd like to get this over to the shop in the afternoon."

Nana tuts back at her, but she's already ambling back inside, and Maka's face spreads into a knowing smile underneath the bandana as she gathers up the rest of the wood and heads upstairs.

-----

The sound of the ocean has always soothed her.

There's something paradoxical about it - it always sounds the same, but every day it brings with it something new, an invigorating sense of vitality. The ocean is freezing, but hermit crabs and snails still manage to make their lives there, crawling and gliding across the sand with the constant ebb and flow of the tides. And there's something comforting about that - the idea of them thriving under the surface, safe beneath the waves. Being close to it eases her nerves.

After lunch, Maka sits on the deck, book propped up on her knees, eyes scanning the pages as the sound of the ocean punctuates each sentence. It's cloudy today, but it's still warm enough to sit outside, glass of iced tea in hand.

"Heeeere we go." The screen door slides open, followed by a hand clutching an iced tea of its own, followed by a flowy white shirt and a pair of jean capris - quintessential Nana Albarn attire for a cool summer day.

"Here!" Maka slides off the chair, jumping up to help Nana, only to be instantly swatted away with a cane. Maka sighs a little and watches Nana lower herself into a chair with zero assistance - which is the way she likes to do just about everything.

"Now you stay right there and read, don't let me bother you!" Nana takes a sip of her iced tea with pursed lips, unimpressed.

"I'd rather sit and talk to my favorite grandmother," Maka says, kissing her on the cheek, and the skin there stretches as Nana tries not to smile. "Or we can just listen to the ocean, if you want."

"I'd like a little peace and quiet, actually, after talking with your Papa for the past few minutes." Nana closes her eyes, brow creasing as she sips at her tea again.

"Did he call again?!" Maka puts her head in her hands. "You should have let me talk to him, I can get him to stop-"

"Are you kidding?!" Nana's cane slaps merrily at the table. "Three times in one morning - he hasn't called this much since you were born! I love it - it gives me a chance to give him a piece of my mind."

"Mmm." Maka glances down at Nana's glass - a bright green one, with the words Everyone's Entitled To My Opinion emblazoned on the side in white. Papa had given it to her as a present a few years back, and it's still one of her favorites.

They sit and listen to the water for a while, the slow sequence of the waves lulling her in to the kind of calm that only Nana's house can deliver. She's slowly blinking at the sun, which is starting to peek through the clouds, when she glances down at her phone and sighs.

"What's the time?" Nana asks, catching on instantly.

"Too late," Maka says, getting up and pushing in her chair. "I'm gonna take this wood into town."

She gets the wood ready, heads out to Nana's car, and stares at the transmission.

"...Crap." She'd completely forgotten that Nana's car is a manual, and completely forgotten that this is the car where the seats don't actually come down to hold all this wood she's lugged down here.

She remembers, however, that in a corner of the basement, well-suited for this job, is an old red wagon.

"Are you sure you don't want to take the car?" Nana asks as she walks down from upstairs, the handrail guiding her to the main floor. "It's a long way to the shop from here."

"I'm sure," Maka says. "It'll be nice to take a walk, anyway. I'll take a crack at the car later."

"I could call someone to help you take it down, too," she offers, though the expression on her face tells Maka that she already knows what the answer will be.

"I'll be fine," she says with a little smile, to which Nana tuts.

"I know that," she says. "My self-sufficient granddaughter. You just let me know if you need a hand, okay?"

"Yes, Nana," she says as she starts to pull the wood away, but Nana stops her for a moment to rifle through her wallet.

"Here." Even though there's no one else there, Nana slips her a ten-dollar bill with all of the smoothness and secrecy of a drug deal, murmuring conspiratorially, "Get yourself a coffee while you're out looking for all those jobs."

Maka smiles, leaning down to kiss her on the cheek. "Yes, Nana," she says again.

Read the rest on FFN | AO3 ! <3

[kitty-bandit]

In the Garden

Fandom: D.Gray-man Rating: G Pairings: Lenalee x Lou Fa Total Words: 1K Tags: Modern AU; Domestic Bliss; Fluff; Gardening

Read on AO3.

This is a ko-fi commission for @silentium-nightshade! Hope you enjoy it!

The late summer sun beat down through the leaves of the young maple tree, light dappling across Lenalee’s bare shoulders. She wiped away the sweat collecting on her forehead, taking a short break from gardening in the shade. They’d been working amongst the flowers and vegetables since mid-morning, and as the afternoon sun grew hotter, Lenalee’s energy waned.

“Lena,” Lou Fa called, kneeling next to the lavender as she dusted the fertilizer off her gloved hands. “Have you given up already?”

Lenalee smiled, graceful as always, and brushed a few stray strands of hair behind her ear. “I’m sorry. I think the sun got to me. I just need a short break and I promise to weed the vegetable bed.”

Lou Fa waved off her apologies and joined her under the tree, settling next to her in the soft grass. The smell of peonies, hydrangeas, and dahlias filled the air with a lovely fragrance, but Lenalee could barely focus on it—especially when Lou Fa’s smile distracted her so sweetly. It was too easy to fall into her innocent eyes. “Don’t worry about it! We’re about due for a break, anyway.” She nudged her shoulder against Lenalee’s, smile widening. “Do you want some lemonade? I made some this morning.”

“That would be nice, actually.” Lenalee laid back in the grass, looking at the basket of herbs and ripe vegetables Lou Fa had already plucked from the garden. The basket was overflowing with produce—more than the two of them could eat before it spoiled. She would have to figure out what to do with all the tomatoes from this week’s harvest.

“I’ll go grab us some, and maybe make a snack?” Lou Fa stood and brushed the dirt and grass from her capris, glancing back at Lenalee.

“That sounds perfect.” Lenalee watched as Lou Fa disappeared back into the house before stretching out on her back and staring up at the bright blue sky. It was such a nice day, she almost hated to waste it toiling away in the gardens. She was itching to grab her swimsuit and head to the beach to cool off, but the beds needed tending, and she knew it would rain for the next few days. If she waited to weed the garden until the weather cleared up again, the weeds would be over her head.

At least it was fun spending her day off with her girlfriend. She couldn’t complain about that one bit.

Sitting up, a few stray blades of grass sticking in her hair, she began to pluck dandelions from the grass around her. The bright yellow flowers always managed to find a home in their yard, and though most of her neighbors hated the flower and called it a weed, she rather liked them. They brightened up their yard and the bees loved them—and more bees in their yard meant better pollination for the vegetables.

She twisted the dandelion stems together, carefully weaving the ends. Slowly, the linked chain elongated, the flowers brushed up against her crossed legs as she worked. By the time Lou fa had returned, she had just connected the ends together.

Lou Fa set a tray down on the ground next to Lenalee, two glasses of iced lemonade and a bowl of cut apples, grapes, and oranges slices. She giggled as she sat down, taking one of the perspiring glasses for herself. “What are you up to?”

Lenalee’s lips quirked into a smile, soft and loving. “Making a crown for my queen,” she said, setting the dandelion flower crown on top of Lou Fa’s head.

Blushing, Lou Fa hid her face behind the rim of her glass. She wiped at the dirt on her shirt and pants, clearly flustered. “I-I’m not a queen.”

“I beg to differ,” Lenalee assured her, leaning in to press a kiss to her sweaty cheek.

Lou Fa flushed brighter yet, and made an adorable surprised sound before taking a long gulp of her lemonade. When she finally came up for air, she tried to change the subject. “I thought some fruit would be a good snack before we finish. We’ll be making dinner in a few hours, anyway.”

Nodding, Lenalee took a grape and bit into it, sighing as the flavor burst on her tongue. She devoured a few more grapes and apple slices before taking a break. She hadn’t realized how hungry she was. “What should we make? We’ve got all those tomatoes from the garden.”

Lou Fa picked a few slices of orange, nibbling on the juicy flesh as she pondered the question. “Mmm. Maybe a fresh salad? There’s some red lettuce and spinach that I can harvest—snow peas and carrots as well. We could make some chicken or salmon fillets on the side.”

Lenalee’s stomach rumbled at the thought, and she laughed softly as she took another few slices of apple. “Well, my stomach seems to think it’s a good idea. Let’s do it!”

“Okay! We’re almost done weeding anyway. We just need to check around the basil and the beans.” She tapped her chin in thought, eyes bright behind her thick glasses. “Oh! And we should thin the carrots out while we’re at it. We’ll use the small ones in the salad.”

“Can’t argue with that.” Lenalee took a long, slow sip from her glass, the tart lemon on her tongue brightening her mood and giving her a burst of renewed energy. Still, it was hard to get up off the soft grass when she had Lou Fa at her side. “Let’s just sit here a few more minutes, though.”

“Of course,” Lou Fa replied, scooting closer to Lenalee. She felt the perspiration drip from her glass and onto her bare leg, sending a chill down Lenalee’s spine. Their knees touched, clumsy and innocent, and Lou Fa rubbed her nose, smearing a few specks of dirt across her cheeks in the process. “I mean, we have to finish our fruit, don’t we?”

“Right,” Lenalee added, a grin slipping onto her face. She leaned in closer, uncaring about the sweat and dirt on their skin, and rested her head against Lou Fa’s shoulder. “We can’t waste the fruit.”

[cannedapricot]

the wind, the sky, and you.

ocean man take me by the hand. hahHAHAH i’m sorry

lmAO am i just gonna be writing seasonal fics for the dreamies or what bsefveVBIFUVE i swear i’ll write something non-seasonal one day. i had a hard time choosing between jeno and haechan for a summer fic but jeno won in the end sorry hyuck i still love you :c

you can find the spring fic i did for renjun here but it’s not in the same universe as this fic!! also,,,, the formatting looks weird on mobile ug h it ruins the flow of the story subvsoeb

word count: 6.8k of hopefully cute summer shenanigans loosely based off of nct dream - la la love. god this is long.

Summer.

This word brought utter joy to some people. 

It meant goodbye to snow and hello to sand. 

It meant laughing with friends while frolicking on the beach.

It meant clear, cloudless skies.

It meant that the icy winds would finally be replaced with cool, refreshing ones.

But to you,

it meant the arrival of hell.

You hated summer with a passion. 

You’ve read enough to know about how summer was portrayed in books. You know how highly everyone thinks of the warm season.

Cicadas called to each other gently as you sat on your porch with a book in hand. Lifting your head and looking up only to smile and wave at a small group of children passing by.

What a lie.

Cicadas did not call gently. They shouted angrily at each other like their neighbor stole their crops, staying on the porch for more than five minutes attracted multiple bugs to come at you, and children around your neighborhood liked to scream their heads off when they were bored. You could hardly find any of these pleasant.

To top it all off, the temperature was absolutely unbearable. All the fans do is direct the hot air towards you and it wasn’t like you could stay inside your air conditioned house all day either. Your mom would yell at you to “go outside and play like a normal teenager.”

Hanging out with your friends sounded like a great, positive way to spend the summer holidays right? 

Well, too bad that your friends were all dirty rich and went to a new, foreign country to spend every summer at.

Another reason to hate summer, ticked off and added onto your list.

As the sun beat down on the earth and sunflowers turned to face it head on, you chose to turn away from the ball of light and attempt to shield yourself with your hardback copy of ‘Lord of the Flies’. Walking to school under the intense glare of the sun was absolute torture. Your sneakers, worn with time, slapped against the hot concrete path as you round the corner, arm already sore from holding the book above your head.

There was really no point in going to school the day before vacation started. The teachers would all be just as ready for school to end as the students are. They’d likely open some kahoot on Disney Princesses for the students to do or they’d play some David Attenborough documentary for the class. 

Honestly, if your mother didn’t force you out the door this morning, you wouldn’t even be dealing with the sun beams. Your plan to skip and sit under the air conditioner for the whole day wasn’t going to happen, not on your mom’s watch.

You sighed in defeat as the sleek school buildings started coming into sight. At least the fancy private school you attend, (thanks to your uncle who’s the chairman), actually turns their air condionter on during summer days.

  “I’m off to the Maldives this holiday. Dad’s hosting a high school reunion over there so I guess I’ll be snorkeling all summer again.” Jisung said, sliding onto part of the bench next to you.

It was noon and the bright, burning sun was hovering right above the school. The small breeze, though pleasant upon contact with skin, hardly did anything to counter the blistering heat. Under a big, green tree you sat with two of your underclassmen, content with the shade, their company, and your book.

You hummed in response to Jisung, who had bust open and started sipping on his capri sun.

“My family’s going on a tour around Europe this summer. Eleven weeks, fifty countries. I’ll end up bringing back suitcases of souvenirs for you guys.” Chenle joked, sliding a can of peach soda across the picnic table to you before settling down on his seat.

“As expected of President Zhong.” You remarked with a smile, looking up from your book. “Remember, when you take over your family’s hotel chain, let me live there for free.”

Jisung tutted while shaking his head, his messy blond locks shaking along with the movement.

“I can never beat President Zhong can I?”

Chenle’s eyes crinkled up and his lips let out a small, high pitched giggle. With a grin creeping up onto your own face, you directed your full attention back to your novel, hoping to finish it before the sun retires.

“Say, what about Y/N? Gonna spend summer with her imaginary friend again?”

Your head snapped up at the mention of you and your ‘imaginary friend’.

“I’m telling you, Jeno is a real person!”

Both of your underclassmen shared a look before bursting into laughter. They loved teasing you, even though you were older than the two. They found your reactions adorable! 

You, however, didn’t. 

“I want to graduate as soon as possible.”

You had meet your ‘imaginary friend’, Lee Jeno, a few summers ago, during your first summer vacation as a high school student. You had been trudging home from the last day of school, your head deep in a book and barely caring about your surroundings. 

Living on a street just five minutes away from the beach meant that you had the choice of going down to the boardwalk and enjoying the salty sea breeze anytime you wished. But that day, you seemed to be able to smell the familiar scent, even though you were in your own neighborhood. You didn’t complain though, you rather enjoyed it. It was the really the only part you enjoyed about summer.

Only upon reaching your front door you had noticed that there was a boy squatting in the front yard of your neighbor’s house, happily pulling weeds out of the flower garden. 

Strange. You had thought. A new neighbor? But Mr and Mrs Lee never sold their house?

The brunette had noticed you staring at him. But he didn’t look away or question you. Instead, he straightened up, and stared back at you. 

Realizing that you were being a huge creep, you had dashed into your own house, a million thoughts going through your head at once. Did he kidnap the old couple that had lived beside you? Or was he their new adopted child? Flinging your book to the side and groaning, you decided to stop overthinking and hop into the shower. It wasn’t any of your business anyways.

But what you hadn’t noticed after rushing indoors, was the boy’s eyes and lips curving up in amusement before he stood up, dusted off his pants, and went inside himself.

That same summer, you had gotten to know Lee Jeno. 

You were hanging around the smoothie shack that your friend, Mark, had a summer job at on the boardwalk. Due to similar tastes in literature, you got along very well with the older boy and visited the shack whenever your mom kicked you out to talk about new book releases.

It was extremely hot that day, the sun shone down without any restraint and many people swung by to try cool themselves down with a iced smoothie. You had perched on a stool in front of the counter and watched Mark flutter around, trying to get everyone’s orders made as quickly as he possibly could. Though your book was open on top of the wooden counter, it was long forgotten as you watched Mark nearly spill some Strawberry-Banana smoothie onto himself with glee. 

You caught the eye of a familiar brunette as he neared the shack, blue surfboard under his right arm. Smiling to himself, he ran his free hand through his wet hair before walking up to the little shack.

You had smelt him before you saw him. The familiar scent of salt, getting stronger and stronger. It wasn’t like you knew it was the boy from next door exactly, you just thought it was another beach goer. But then he rested his board against the shack and sat on the stool. Right next to you. 

Frowning, you had snapped your head to your left. All the stools were vacant. The customers bought their fruit smoothie then left to head towards the beach once again, replaced by new customers who would stand around to wait for their order. 

You swore mentally. You didn’t do well with social interactions when they’re with strangers. Especially when they’re half naked from surfing.

“A strawberry smoothie please.”

Mark had raised an eyebrow at you when he took the surfer’s order. It was as if he was questioning you whether you knew him or not, but soon left to take care of the fruit drink. Then your neighbor turned to you.

“Hey, I’m Lee Jeno. The guy you stared at the other day.”

You cringed at the memory before cracking an awkward smile, eyes darting to a crowd of chatting teenagers who were waiting on their drinks. 

“Hi, I’m Y/N. Nice to meet you, Lee Jeno, the guy I stared at the other day.”

You cringed again, How much lamer could you get.

To your surprise, you had gotten along quite well with Jeno, despite him being more into sports and you more into literature. He didn’t laugh at you for liking books like some jocks would. Instead, he payed attention to every word you had gushed about ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ and reassured you that he was not at all bored when you asked him. You admit, you tend to go on and on about the books you love and the listener gets bored quickly.

But he found the twinkle in your eyes fascinating.

The two of you had walked home together. Even though the sun sets later in summer, it was as though the day went by in a flash. You suspected that the sun was jealous of you finding a new friend and decided to end the day earlier. Though you had only gotten to know Jeno that day, the two of you had talked away like old friends.

Bidding goodbye in front of your house, you counted on your fingers what you had learnt about your new friend that day. 

His name was Lee Jeno, he was from the neighboring town and was spending the summer at his grandparents house, he’s learning to surf because that’s on his bucket list which he wants to complete, he adores cats, he prefers strawberry over blueberry, and,

he always smelt like sea.

Literally no one from your school believed that you met a boy named Jeno. It didn’t help that you didn’t have his phone number either! All your play dates were spontaneous and at the most random times. For example, he had showed up at your house one morning and announced that the two of you were going paragliding. You had grinned and went with him without second thought.

It also didn’t help that everyone else in your school went somewhere else during the holiday. No one was there to back you up. 

Except for Mark. But he believes that the two of you are summer flings. To which, you deny.

Chenle and Jisung claimed that he was part of your imagination. Claimed that you had missed the two of them too much. To which, you also deny. 

But even you had started doubting his existence.

He seemed too good to be true.

The next summer, however, Chenle and Jisung were proved wrong when Jeno showed up at your doorstep with bright blue hair. You had gawked at the bright color choice whilst he just smiled brightly at you. 

“Your hair!” Had been your first words to him that summer. 

The boy’s bright smile turned into a sheepish one as he ran a hand through his brand new, sky colored hair. 

“Yeah, I wanted a change. Does it look weird? Jaemin said it looked cute on me, I’ll kill him if he’s lying-”

“No! It looks perfect on you!” You interrupted. 

You had immediately regretted saying that out loud. Feeling your face heating up in embarrassment, your hand flew up to rub the back of your neck. 

As though he had sensed your awkwardness, the boy in front of you had cleared his throat and announced that he had bought a new board, pulling you by your hand and dragging you all the way to the beach. 

The summer breeze blew past the two of you as Jeno pulled you along the familiar road to the sea, even taking the shortcut that you had discovered the year before. It astonished you how he could still remember it after a year of not even being in town.

Jeno’s laughter mixed in with the wind and passed by your ears. Unknowingly, you had started to laugh with him.The two of you must’ve looked crazy, but who cared about the people looking at you weirdly, it was summer, it was time to unwind from school. After all, your summer started when you smelt the salty scent of not the sea, but of the boy whom you associated with the sea.

The town had a fair that summer, right on the boardwalk. It was one of the bigger events the small beachside town had. 

You had been reading Eleanor and Park that evening. Snuggling into your sheets, you had decided that you’d finish reading the book before sun rose and before your room became unbearably hot. Until you heard a clunking noise on your window. Frowning, you unwillingly shuffled to your windowsill, cursing at whichever cicada thought it’d be fun to try break in. Shoving the glass pane to one side, you had stuck your head out, trying to locate the source of the noise. You surprised yourself by narrowly dodging the rock that had flew at you.

“Jeno, what the hell?” You had hissed down at the boy. “Are you trying to kill me?”

His eyes had brightened and curved up into moons when he saw you. Dropping the handful of pebbles he was throwing at your window, the boy waved for you to come down. You rolled your eyes at him before closing your window and trudging down to meet him. Your parents had glanced at you suspiciously before you assured them that you were just going out with Jeno and that you weren’t going to do anything illegal. 

"I’ll be back before twelve!” You assured them before stepping out into the darkening evening.

You found Jeno standing in your driveway, hands shoved in the pockets of his jeans and humming a song as if he wasn’t just in your backyard, throwing rocks at your window.

“Hey.” You greeted, your own hands in the pocket of your hoodie. The air was starting to cool down as the sun dived below the horizon for the day. The sky was no longer the blue that matched Jeno’s hair, but was various shades of orange, pink, red and yellow. The boy turned to greet you, the descending sun dying half of his face a glowing orange. 

“Hey.” He greeted back. “Let’s start making our way over before it gets dark.” 

You were confused at the time, completely forgetting that the fair was that evening, only following Jeno because of your trust in him. Whenever you asked him where the two of you were going, he just simply grinned and dodged your question. 

You had gasped upon arrival. The boardwalk was bustling with people, even more than there had been during the day. Usually at this time, everyone would be packing their bags, dusting off sand, and heading home for the day. Fairy lights strung from the fencing and hung from the many booths that opened just for the night. Even the nearby Ferris Wheel, that was closed during the darker hours, was open and running.

Laughing at your shocked face, your blue haired friend snorted,

“Are you sure you even live here?”

Giving him a light slap on the back, you mumbled a weak ‘yes’ before sauntering off towards the candyfloss booth, Jeno following suit. 

The rest of the night was full of laughter, teasing and challenges. You had won Jeno at the shooting games and he had won you at the claw machines. Jeno said that he’d gift you the giant Rilakkuma plush he had picked out from the obnoxiously bright machine, but ended up admitting that he had gotten quite attached to it by the end of the night. The two of you even had a good giggle when you neared the smoothie shack and caught Mark being as busy as a bee. The older boy, catching you two out of the corner of his eye, had yelled at you two to either, 

“Buy a drink or get lost!” To which you and Jeno laughed even harder at.

The walk home was in a comfortable silence. You watched as the streetlamps neared, then disappeared into the night behind you. Stars watched over your journey home, twinkling to each other as if having conversations. The summer nights were much better than the days. Even you had to admit, the gentle snoring of the cicadas were rather pleasant to the ears. Turning to your friend who had an iron grip on the bear plush, you had asked,

“Say, Jeno, what do you love so much about summer?”

His head snapped up at your question.

“What’s there not to love about summer?”

Humming, you took a sip of your raspberry flavored slushie rephrasing the question,

“Alright, what do you love most about summer then?”

Jeno smiled at this. Tilting his head so that he was looking at the stars above, he answered,

“The wind and the sky I guess.” Bringing his head down to face you once again, you saw stars reflecting in his eyes. “The summer wind is always so gentle and pleasant. And the sky’s always such a beautiful clear blue! I always get the urge to want to fly up there, you know!” 

Smiling at the gushing boy, you nodded. He liked summer as much as you liked your books. 

And maybe, you were starting to like him too.

You would be lying if you said you weren’t excited to see Jeno again this summer. 

But he was even more excited than you were. 

With Chenle’s electric handheld fan held up in front of you, you were practically being dragged out of the air conditioned school and back into the heat. The two troublemakers claiming that the three of you should spend some ‘quality time’ together before they left for vacation.

“Come on Y/N, let’s go see Mark. It’s been ages since the Fantastic Four has met up.”

“Yeah, your attempts at resisting are futile.” 

Whining, you tried, once again, to wriggle out of their grasp. The heat wave came early this year and you, for one, weren’t happy about it. Even Jisung’s promises of buying you McDonald's weren’t enough to make you agree to head to the beach.

Everyone stared at you guys with their eyebrows arched. If they hadn’t known that you three were friends, they could easily misunderstand the situation as a kidnapping. Which is what flashed through a certain boy’s mind.

“What’s going on?”

Looking up towards the source of the voice, you met eyes with a blond haired boy. A boy who smelt like the sea. Yet, your first words were, once again,

“Your hair!”

Jeno chuckled a little before responding,

“Ah, don’t worry, I didn’t dye it again. The blue just faded away.”

Letting out a sigh of relief, you straightened yourself before Chenle started elbowing you.

“Introduce us.” He whispered, smiling at the taller boy in front of him.

“Right! Chenle, Jisung, meet Jeno Lee! The boy you thought was fake.” You mouthed the last half, a victorious smirk hanging on your lips. Jisung and Chenle’s eyes widened in shock before exchanging a knowing smile.

“Well, nice to finally meet you, Jeno.”

“Ah, yeah, Jisung and I were just off to Burger King, weren’t we?”

Burger King? You frowned. Weren’t they just dragging you to the smoothie shack just a second ago?

“Ah, I see! You’re Y/N’s friends right?” Jeno asked, not a trace of suspicion on his features.

“Yes! Yes, we are! Now, if you’ll excuse us!”

“Say hi to Mark for us!”

Then you were left with Jeno. The two underclassmen slipping off with hushed whispers being exchanged. You stood there amongst the summer heat, jaw dropped in confusion as Jeno waved goodbye with a pure smile beside you. You didn’t even realize that Chenle had taken his fan with him until you turned to face the boy next to you and finding your hand grasping nothing. 

Jeno’s eyes sparkled like they always did whenever you saw him. The stars you had seen last summer never left his eyes, it seems.

“Hey.”

After clearing your throat you replied, 

“Hey.” 

Jeno’s eyes curved up into the moons that you were oh so familiar with. You’ve always found the way they curved up charming. Heck, you found everything about him charming. But soon, you find that you weren’t the only one. Your fellow students had started noticing this boy shining amidst the crowd with his blinding smile and pure heart. 

You didn’t like it.

In one swoop, you gripped onto Jeno’s arm and started leading the way to the beach, your lips pressed into a straight line. It wasn’t until you heard Jeno’s giggles that you came to an abrupt stop in the middle of the street. Then, for the first time in your life, you found the cicadas’ cries interesting. 

“What happened to you? I’m usually the one pulling you to the beach.” The summer child breathed between laughter. Feeling heat starting to consume your ears, your eyes followed a working bee as he traveled from flower to flower. Not noticing that Jeno’s teasing laughter slowly died down and changed into a small smile full of pure adoration for you. Stepping in front you, he softly ruffled your locks before starting walking again. This time, him pulling you along. Like it’s always been. But you miss the small mumble that tumbles out of the boy’s lips.

“It’s not like I mind you taking the lead though.”

“I can’t believe you still work here. Even after graduating high school.”

Mark rolled his eyes. 

“Yeah, well, college tuition fees aren’t going to pay themselves.”

Snickering into your blueberry smoothie, you watched as Mark placed Jeno’s strawberry smoothie down. Your older friend was back in town for the summer and like usual, he’s going to be working at the smoothie shack for all of his holiday. At least it was rather empty currently.

“I can’t believe the blue faded out of Jeno’s hair. I can’t call him ocean boy anymore.” Mark joked, leaning on the counter. The book you had long forgotten like usual fluttered as a breeze of wind passed by. Pushing your friend’s wire framed glasses up his nose bridge, you snorted.

“You still can. Nobody’s stopping you.”

Scowling, the black haired boy adjusted his glasses back to where they were before waving to Jeno. The ‘Ocean Boy’ jogged over to where the two of you were situated, surf board under his arm and shaking water droplets off of his hair. Reminded of the same scene two years ago, a smile made its way onto your face. Gulping all of his smoothie down in one shot, the surfer let out a content sigh. Another breeze of wind passed by, the wind chimes hanging from the shack alerting you of its presence. 

“Wind chimes? Those are new.” Jeno noted, nodding in thanks as Mark threw his plastic cup away.

“Yeah, Jaehyun added that recently.” Mark said, referring to his boss. “Said that it’ll ‘add aesthetic to the shack’ or something.”

Glancing up at the glass trinket, you closed your forgotten book. 

“I think it’s cute.”

Jeno couldn’t help but let out a smile at the softness in your tone.

“If Y/N think it’s cute, then so do I.”

Rolling over in your bed, you groaned at whatever was making that stupid tapping noise. Cracking one eye open to check the time on your bedside clock, you let out a whine. It was only five AM. You’d thought that the tapping would go away if you just ignored it and so you rolled back over. But it didn’t. Annoyed at whatever that wanted to shave off your sleeping time, you sat up in your mess of a bed, snapping your head in the general direction of the sound. Concluding that it was indeed coming from your window, you get out of bed in order to shut it up. Except you slipped on your sheets and fell out of bed. Mumbling some colorful words under your breath, you made your way across the room to slide open the window. Poking your bedhead out and squinting around, you tried to locate your biggest enemy at the moment. 

“Psst! Y/N! Down here!”

You should’ve known. Of course it would be Jeno. 

“Jeno, it’s five in the morning.”

“I know! We’re already running out of time!”

“I- What?”

You furrowed you eyebrows. Did you have some sort of thing planned for five AM?

“Come on now! I’ll wait in your drive way!”

“Alright, I’ll just change out of my pajamas-”

“We don’t have time! Grab a jacket and let’s go! You look cute anyways.”

A familiar heat started to climb up your neck and to hide your reddening face, you ducked back inside. Grabbing a random jacket, you trotted as lightly as you could as to not disturb your parents. Shutting the front door with as little force as possible, you mentally back yourself on the back for making it out. The sky wasn’t even light yet. As much as you wanted to swear at Jeno, one look at the boy completed melted any anger you had. The image of his tall frame leaning against the streetlamp just outside of your driveway, waiting, must be enough to make tons of others green in jealousy. Wrapping your jacket around yourself, you shuffled over to the ocean boy.

“Where are you taking me at five in the morning you creep.” 

Finally noticing that you’ve come out, Jeno takes your hand into his. Then breaks into a small jog to the beach with you in tow.

“The beach of course! Where else?”

You rolled your eyes in mock disbelief, even though the big smile on your face ruined your game of pretend. Did this boy know anything else apart from the beach?

The second your feet sunk into the soft sand, you stopped running. Doubled over and gasping to catch your breath, you looked up at the boy who brought you here.

“Good, we’re on time.” He whispered between breaths himself.

“What are we even here for?” You asked, grabbing onto Jeno’s arm in aid to stand up straight. Turning his head to look back at you, he flashed you his signature eye smile before saying,

“To see the sunrise of course.”

So here you were, sitting shoulder to shoulder with the ocean boy, on top of his flannel he had shed on the cool sand. The only sound being heard were the light splashes as ocean waves hit the shore. The first light had yet to break and usually, without a book, you found waiting around to be unbearably boring. But with Jeno, your unfinished story of ‘1984′ didn’t even cross your mind. The boy you had always associated with summer had his eyes closed, enjoying the cool summer air before the sun woke up and warmed the land. Your lips curved up into a sweet smile. With your knees curled up to your chin, you leaned your head on your legs, soaking in Jeno’s beauty. You always disliked the fact that your time with him was limited every year. Only during the months of summer vacation were you able to see him. It was a shame, but perhaps it made you appreciate the time with him even more. 

Suddenly, the thought that this was the last summer vacation before graduation wedged itself into your mind. What would happen after graduation? Would Jeno still be coming over every summer? Or would he be busy with work. No, he’d definitely spend it with his friends and family back in his own town right? You were about to open your mouth to ask him about his plans after graduation when he suddenly jumped up.

“Look! The sun’s finally rising!” He exclaimed, pointing to the horizon.

Giggling at his excitement, you looked at Jeno with stars in your own eyes. His smile was almost childlike in front of the giant, rising, golden star. As the sun rose and littered the sand around you in golden flakes, the birds began to start their day by singing.

“Come on, Y/N, let’s go take a skinny dip!” He said, running back and halting to a stop in front of you. His hands started to pull his white shirt up and whilst you’ve seen him surfing multiple times, skinny dipping was a whole other story. So your hands automatically went over your eyes, yelling at him to put his shirt back on.

“Alright, we’ll skip skinny dipping this time round, but do note that skinny dipping while the sun rises is on my bucket list.” Jeno said with a wide smile before rolling up his pants and running towards the sea.

As he frolicked in the shallow water, your gaze never left the young boy who loved the beach with his whole being. Against the orange backdrop of the awakening sky, the boy who brought you summer waved for you to join him. You wondered about how lucky you were to be have been able to meet him.

“You have some weird things on your bucket list for sure.” You whispered to yourself before shedding your jacket and running to join the blonde. 

Graduation? Whatever. Who cares about the future right? 

Let’s just bathe in the rays of the present for now.

 You weren’t ready for this summer to end. But alas, all good things must come to an end. 

Your room was stuffy with hot air, despite your air conditioner trying it’s best to persuade it into changing into cool air. Your summer homework was left open, yet undone on top of your desk. But how angry your history teacher was going to be was at the very back of your mind. Sighing, you stared at your calendar.

Two days before vacation ended. 

One day before Jeno had to go. 

You were being selfish, you know that, but you really didn’t want Jeno to leave. Because with his departure, your summer ends. Flopping back onto your bed, you started spacing out at your ceiling. Jeno always shows up on his last day and as expected, without fail, he’s at your window once again. You suddenly didn’t mind the tapping against your window. Moving the latch upwards, your eyes meet with the boy you’ve grown to like so much and a smile unknowingly creeps it’s way onto your face. Folding your arms then leaning on the ledge, you greet him.

“Hey.”

“Hey.” He greeted back with his signature eye smile. 

As usual.

“Is there any reason as to why you prefer to throw pebbles up at my glass window than knocking on the wooden door?” You asked, acting as if you were annoyed like you usually were. He shrugged,

“I read somewhere that it was romantic?”

Keeping up your annoyed front, you tutted at him. Even though the smile had never left your lips. After telling the blonde that you’d be down in a second, you pulled your window back to it’s closed state, closed your whirring air con, then ran downstairs. You stopped to make sure your hair wasn’t a mess before hauling the door open and stepping beside Jeno, who had started moving towards the beach the moment he saw you open the door.

The whole walk to the beach, you couldn’t help but notice how little space there was between you and the boy. If you moved your hand just a smudge closer to his, they’d touch. 

“So, what’s going on this time? Fair? Skinny dipping?” You asked, opting to stuff your hand in your pocket.

Grinning, he replied, 

“Chenle and Jisung’s back early and throwing a party. We’ve been invited.”

You had no idea your two favorite underclassmen were back in town. Neither did you know about the party they had decided to throw down at the pier. So the second you arrived, you squeezed through the crowds of people to find the trouble making hosts, nearly losing Jeno behind you.

“Woah there, Y/N, wait up!”

Stopping and turning your head, you noticed his blonde hair, gleaming in the sunlight, politely smiling at the party goers he pushed past. Finally catching up and taking his usual place beside you in the noisy crowd, he wrapped his hand around yours. Flustered, with heat creeping onto your cheeks already, your eyes darted to look into his. Jeno’s eyes, overflowing with confidence just a few seconds ago, became equally as flustered as yours. 

“Uh, wouldn’t want to get separated again right?” He mumbled, barely audible between the loud music and chatter.

“Right.” You murmured back at him before continuing to maneuver through the sea of dancing bodies, Jeno behind you in tow.

The moment your eyes weren’t on him, he cursed at himself under his breath. Why did he always lose his confidence every time you looked at him?

“I can’t believe you two came back without telling me.” You hissed between your clenched teeth, cornering the two hosts. “What kind of betrayal is this?”

Chenle and Jisung, noticing you and Jeno’s intertwined hands, giggled like schoolboys before answering, 

“A kind of betrayal that’s good for you.”

“Yeah, you should really see the sun more often.”

A amused snort sounded from behind. Snapping your head around, you found Jeno, trying his best to contain his laughter, his eyes curling up into shining crescents.

“Sorry, sorry. I didn’t mean to.” He snickered, raising his free hand to hide his smile.

“Today’s the day I throw a man into the ocean.” You exhaled, but it didn’t come out as aggressive as you wanted it to.

 Let’s be honest, you couldn’t stay mad, not when Jeno’s smile was creating butterflies in your stomach.

The boy’s hand didn’t let go of yours for the whole party. Not even when multiple people came up to ask for his number (something you still had yet to get.). He simply cracked a polite smile, then moved not so discreetly to let the other party goer see your intertwined hands. If they were still persistent about getting his number, he’d give them the number to Mark’s smoothie shack. Nothing wrong with promoting his friend’s shack right?

But then, when the cute boy you’ve been eyeing the entire time slides up to you and asks for your number, you’d been ecstatic. You had tried to remove your hand from Jeno’s, but unfortunately, Jeno’s iron grip wasn’t a force to be reckoned with. The boy had seen the way your eyes lit up when the other dude came up to you. He had only seen you look at him that way and couldn’t help but let the green monster in him take over. 

“Sorry, Y/N isn’t looking for a significant other right now.” Jeno cut in, a smile that didn’t reach his eyes on his face.

“Oh, alright, I’ll try again later then, I guess.”

Eyes widened in shock, you watched as your ideal type walked back towards his crowd of friends.

Pulling Jeno away from the crowd and onto a creaky part of the pier that was significantly more quiet, you were ready to chew him out. But your friend started to explain himself without you saying anything.

“Look, he looks good, he’s got nice shoulders, and he’s your ideal type. I know.” He paused to look down at you for a second before looking back out at the calm sea. Your eyes pierced into his own, trying to figure him out. 

“But- Uh- The other day, I saw him with another girl. They were kissing and uh- I don’t think he’s worth your time.” 

He hated how just one glance at you can completely throw him off.

“Then who is worth my time then?” You asked, letting your hand slip away from his and running it through your hair in frustration. “I’ve been single all my life with no experience whatsoever, Jeno. Even my underclassmen are starting to date. If I don’t give anyone any chances, I’ll be single and lonely with twelve cats at sixty!”

“Maybe you should consider me for once.” He mumbled, not expecting you to hear it at all.

You heard it alright.

“What?” You whispered, thinking that your ears were malfunctioning. Lee Jeno, surfer boy with a killer smile, a sweetheart who had tons of people fawning over him, was asking you to consider him?

Muttering some curses under his breath, he turned to face you in the eye. The sun setting in the background making the moment to be much more dramatic than you liked it to be. The late summer sun’s golden rays highlighted half of the boy’s face and you swear, his features have definitely gotten more mature than the year before. The music from the party was still playing on faintly in the background and all you could really hear was the washing of the waves hitting the pier and your crazy heartbeat.

“I’m not going to hide it anymore. Y/N, I’ve liked you for a while now. This- this wasn’t how I wanted to tell you, but I guess it’ll have to do.” The boy you’ve grown so fond of chuckles before continuing. 

“I think it started during our second summer together. When we were walking back from the fair. You know, you looked stunning under the starlight. More so when your eyes had their own stars in them. I- I don’t know the exact moment I fell, but I remember not wanting to let you go.”

Jeno’s signature scent of sea salt was all you could smell. He was so, very, close. Your heart felt like it was in your throat. You couldn’t form words as you listened to the sweet confession.

“I thought it’d go away after a while, but when I returned back home to my own town, everything suddenly seemed dull. When I went on double dates with Jaemin and the girl in front of me was trying to chat me up, all I could do was compare her with you. Her eyes didn’t sparkle when she talked about things she ‘loved’. They didn’t sparkle like you when you got into a book.”

He was nervous. You could tell. Though he was trying his hardest not to advert his eyes from yours, his hands were playing with the hem of his shirt and his Adams Apple bobbed multiple times throughout his whole monologue. 

“So, I guess what I really want, is for you to see me in the same light.” 

The blond boy’s shoulders relaxed, finally finishing the words he had been preparing to say since meeting you again this summer. His eyes were squeezed shut, not wanted to face you and possible rejection. 

Finally finding your tongue again, you opened your mouth to speak, but was yet again interrupted by the boy who brought you summer every year.

“It’s okay if you don’t like me like that, I understand.” He said, rubbing the back of his neck, eyes still closed.

You let out a giggle of your own. 

Grabbing a fistful of his shirt, you pulled him down into a sweet kiss. Smiling into the kiss, you found that his lips faintly tasted salty.

Breaking away from him, you giggled at the sight of his eyes, as wide as saucers, in shock.

“I guess, I like you too huh. I mean, the way your eyes crease up into small moons are something I’ll never stop melting over. Also, did you know that your eyes also light up when you talk about the beach? I get jealous sometimes you know.”

A huge smile spread across the young boy’s face. Yelling out in happiness, he wraps his arms around you in a secure hug, then proceeds to spin you around in pure euphoria.

“So you’re officially mine now?”

You rolled your eyes, even though the smile on your face gave it away like it always did.

“Yeah, yeah. Just stop throwing pebbles at my window and we can work something out. I don’t find it to be romantic, sorry.”

Placing you down but hands not moving away from your waist, the beach boy rests his head on your shoulder and mumbles into your skin,

“I forgot to tell you, I got accepted into the collage a bus ride’s away from your house. On a full scholarship.”

Wrapping your own arms around your new boyfriend, you laughed.

“I couldn’t be more proud of you.”

“Yeah, but you’ll have to work hard to get admitted into the same collage.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me.”

Yeah, you hated summer.

You hated the annoying cicadas. You hated the noise the neighborhood children bought. You hated the never ending rise of temperature. You hated how your rich friends would leave you to go on vacation. 

But if a certain boy meant summer,

then you suppose you could deal with it for a little longer.

“Hey, Jeno, what’d you like about summer again?”

He pretended to think about it.

“Hm, the wind, the sky, 

and you.”

[philtaton]

Into You - A Captive Prince fanfiction

This is my gift for number 4, for the @capri-secretsanta​ event! My pairing of choice was my lovely princes and my prompt was the Ariana Grande song that I’m so happy I got introduced to. I wish you happy holidays!

You can also read the story on [Ao3]

Summary:  Damen is a bodyguard. His assignment: Torveld and his fiance Laurent. What's supposed to be a routine job breaks Damen's heart. The question is who will pick up the pieces.

"I have eyes on the hallway. The way to the elevator is free. Waiting for the all clear."

Damen squints his eyes, his arm stretched out to keep his clients from entering the hallway until the static sound of his communication line is interrupted by the rustling answers of his team members.

"Lobby and reception area. All clear." Makedon.

"Elevator One. All clear." Pallas.

"Elevator Two. All clear." Erasmus.

"I'm waiting in front of the building. I have eyes on the car. All clear." Nikandros.

Damen lowers his arm and glances back at his clients one last time. "Just like we discussed. Don't stall. Let's move."

It was a small group that sets into motion. Damen in the front, his focus on every movement. Behind him Laurent and Torveld with Aimeric and Lazar and, at the end of the line, Kastor to have their backs. Damen trusts his team with his life and that of his clients'. Why the hell Laurent insisted on having his own two bodyguards with him as well is beyond Damen but so far it hasn't been a problem. Only now they fall back for just a few seconds to check the very hallway Damen himself gave the all clear for.

"No stalling," Damen growls through gritted teeth and Aimeric gives him smug smile for it.

Then everything happens very fast.

Kastor himself pulls his gun, aiming at Laurent, Aimeric does the same, but with his gun held to Torveld's head. Both Lazar and Damen move into action, caught by surprise but not enough to forget their duty. The shot from Kastor's gun rings out the moment Damen pushes against his hand, the bullet hits the wall behind Laurent whose eyes widen and meet Damen's. For a moment there is genuine confusion and maybe even fear, then suddenly it's replaced by cold anger.

The second shot rings out, this one meant for Torveld who manages to twist from Aimeric's grasp. Damen screams no, but Laurent already throws himself at Aimeric, who shoots again, this time missing Laurent only by inches.

"We've been compromised," Damen yells into his earpiece, barely aware of the curses and commands Nikandros yells in response. He's too busy trying to disarm his brother who fights like a lion until Daman manages to slam his fist clean against his jaw and knock him out.

Damen doesn't hesitate. He leaves his brother moaning and barely conscious on the floor and kicks against Aimeric's hand to disarm him before he pulls Laurent up. Torveld's fiancé keeps trying to get to Aimeric and punch his lights out, but Damen holds him in a tight grasp while Torveld himself is dragged to his feet by Lazar who looks at Damen and awaits commands.

"Let's get them out of here."

They run. Torveld is too shocked and just follows Lazar quietly while Damen has to restrain Laurent every step until he's had enough and pins him against the wall.

Once more their eyes meet and Damen wants to pull back from the cold hatred. It only takes a moment though before he gets himself together and growls. "I will not risk your life for revenge, okay?"

"Fuck you," Laurent spits back. "They betrayed us!"

"I know!" Damen shouts and then deflates, even when his grip on Laurent doesn't ease up. Only his voice sounds softer – weaker – when he repeats it. "I know. But we have to get you two out of here. Just let me do my job… You two are too valuable."

Laurent scoffs and Damen can't even be mad at him for that. There is no doubt who's considered to be of value to this world. Torveld is the one who ended the war in his country, the one who is about to become President and sign treaties with both neighbor states, the one who can lead the whole continent into a stable future. Laurent? Laurent is just the brother of a King. He's a trophy. He knows it himself. The whole world knows it. And Damen knows it too.

"You don't even believe it yourself," Laurent says quietly and the fight drains out of him. "Let's go."

Damen steps back and almost wants to say something but Nik's voice asks for their status and reality hits him. He blinks slowly and motions towards the staircase as he pushes the button of his com. "We're coming."

---

Ten weeks. Ten weeks of asking himself why it all happened and what he could have done to prevent it. Maybe it would be different if Kastor hadn't gotten away. Like this, Damen can't ask his brother and find any answers. He only has the questions. Days of being tense and wondering if there is another betrayal right around the corner. Nights of startling awake, wondering if he missed anything.

Nothing about the situation is easy. But the remaining team stands united and somehow that gives Damen the strength to not just throw it all away and drink himself into blissful ignorance.

Rolling his shoulders, Damen slips into his suit jacket and nods at Torveld. "Ready for the evening, Sir?"

Torveld offers a smile that somehow manages to make him look desperate. "It's a celebration, right?A reason to be happy."

Damen frowns. "You're not?"

"I am… In a way," Torveld says with a shrug. "The treaty was important and now that it's signed we can finally start on the real work. But first… Champagne and handshakes. All evening. Let the fun begin."

It makes Damen chuckle and it might be the first time Torveld looks a bit more human. "Nik is waiting for you right outside. I will wait for your fiancé, Sir."

Torveld glances at the bathroom, the sound of the shower the only sound in the room. Laurent has a reputation for being fashionable late, even if it could potentially lead to a diplomatic disaster. Damen tries not to feel bad Torveld when he sighs and thanks Damen. "Don't tell him to hurry when he gets out of there. It will make him take his time."

Damen nods and watches Torveld leave, relaxing only when Nik's voice confirms that they safely made it into the ball room. Security is tight there and it's not just his own company but the intelligence service and the police as well. Damen can focus on Laurent who opens the bathroom door right that moment.

The dark towel around his hips makes his skin look even more pale and his hair is still damp. He looks bored when he plugs the hairdryer in. "Torveld couldn't wait for me, I suppose?"

Damen tries not to be annoyed. "This isn't just a party tonight. It's a symbol."

"Yes, sure," Laurent says and frowns before he picks up a small tin of lotion to tab it into the skin under his eyes. "World peace and a golden future… It all depends on brainless small talk and petite beauties laughing at jokes their husbands make. Well, petite beauties and me of course."

"You're beautiful as well," Damen says and then realizes what he just said. "I mean… You know…"

Laurent is unfazed but at least turns around to look at Damen. It's a very brief moment of attention and it makes Damen want to ask, What is it? What do you see?

But as quickly as it came, it's gone and the familiar boredom glazes Laurent's eyes over. "You can wait outside. I'll be right there."

---

When Laurent closes the door behind him, he looks stunning. The dark blue suit is classic, without anything special on first glance. But it fits perfectly, the cut showing off everything that is right with the young Prince and Damen can't help but think that maybe he was born and lived his life just so he could see Laurent in this suit. He stares for a moment longer than he should, then clears his throat. "Ready?"

"To drop some jaws?" Laurent says with a smile that doesn't reach his eyes. "Lead the way."

The guests start to mumble when Laurent enters the ballroom and they don't recognize how shallow his smile is as he makes his way across the room to Torveld to gently touch his shoulder and accept his glass of champagne. Damen keeps his eyes on both of them and he has to say that Laurent plays his part well. He is stunning, a revelation of elegance of beauty and everyone in the room, men and women alike, must think the same – nobody can touch this man.

But one can, and one does. Torveld is as smitten as the rest, his hand always roaming, from Laurent's arm to the small of his back, to his shoulder. He hangs on Laurent's lips whenever he talks and sometimes they share a look that shows how well they know each other. There is a certain intimacy there, but also a certain sadness. Maybe nobody else can see it, but Damen does. It's written into the way Torveld smiles as well as into the way Laurent keeps his shoulders straight.

Aside from this particular tension, the evening is easy. Security is high, but the people in the room are relaxed and the evening gets to the point where people get tipsy. Not drunk. They hardly ever get drunk on nights like this. But enough so people get bold. They flirt, with both Torveld and Laurent. Damen is more relieved than ever that he doesn't have to play this game when suddenly, Laurent excuses himself. And faster than Damen can look, he's gone.

Damen quickly goes after him and when he lost sight, he starts to run. Out of the room, down the heavy-carpeted hallway of the summer palace. He wants to call for backup when he spots the open glass door that leads out to the small balcony.

"You can't just run off like that," Damen says quietly as he approaches quietly. "You know that."

"I knew you'd follow anyways," Laurent replies somberly. "And like this at least I had a few seconds to myself."

The Prince seems… weary. Damen closes the balcony door behind him after he stepped outside. "Are you all right?"

"I want to go away," Laurent whispers. For a long moment he just stares out into the night, then he straightens up and looks at Damen before he lets out a laugh. "I don't even know why I told you that."

Damen shrugs. "I'm used to it. Bodyguards are like priests. The things I've heard…"

That makes Laurent squint and he cocks his head. "And you've never sold out anyone?"

"Why would I?" Damen asks honestly. "I'm proud of what I do, so I won't betray that for gossip."

"A noble hero." Laurent manages to make it sound not quite bitter. But it comes close. It frustrates Damen and he doesn't know what to reply. The silence takes over, but the tension dissolves and then it's just the quiet of the night mixed with the faraway sounds of the ballroom.

"I could take you away, you know?" It's an outrageous suggestion. Damen has no idea why he makes it. "We could say there was something alarming. Maybe a shady guy following you out on the balcony. And I had to get you out."

"And where would you take me? Out into the desert? To a shady motel where we drink cheap beer and watch awful TV?" There is amusement now. And a smile on Laurent's lips. A real smile.

Damen shrugs. "Why not? Except for the awful TV. We'd play cards."

Now Laurent laughs. And Damen grins. He wants to make that happen again. "Cards?"

"Well, yeah. I'm awesome at cards."

Laurent bites his lips, they look at each other. "How would you take me?"

"My motor cycle is at the back door. For a quick getaway."

A heartbeat or two. No more. And then Laurent nods. "Take me out of here."

--- It shouldn't be happening. It's crazy and wrong and it could ruin him. Who is Damen even kidding? It will ruin him. But it's also too late to turn back.

Laurent is clinging to him, Damen's leather jacket way too big on him and occasionally he will cry out, probably thinking Damen can't hear him because of the wind and the motor and the helmets. But Laurent is screaming his lungs out and Damen's heart beats faster because of it. Like watching a caged bird fly.

They really do aim for the desert. Seemingly endless roads and starlight like crystals woven into the pitch black night sky. They drive for an hour or two until Damen stops at a motel that looks like its best days have been behind it since the late 80s.

Laurent takes off his helmet and walks a few steps towards the shabby building. Damen expects a protest. Instead Laurent turns around and nods. "Perfect."

---

"Why did you want to leave?"

Such a simple question. And yet, it wipes Laurent's smile from his face. Damen has been trying to make it show on Laurent's face for such a long time and now it's simply gone.

"I'm not a person when I'm at those gala parties." Laurent takes another sip from his drink. It's not cheap beer, but cheap sparkling wine and Laurent has abandoned his red cup to drink straight from the bottle. "I feel like a pet."

"You're not a pet," Damen says quietly and there is this strand of hair that falls into Laurent's face. Damen tucks it behind his ear. Laurent freezes but lets it happen. "You're a person and if they treat you like that, they're all assholes."

The smile is back. Laurent drinks from the bottle again. He was right from the start, Damen thinks. It is perfect.

---

They return the next morning and Nikandros is fuming. Of course he is. And Torveld? Out of his mind from worry. Damen wants to explain, but Laurent steps forward.

"I panicked," he simply says. "The ordeal with the security breach… It suddenly all came up and I asked Damianos to take me out of the city. It suddenly felt like the only safe place."

Torveld sighs and he pulls Laurent into his arms. He's buying it. Nikandros doesn't.

---

It happens again. The next time it's a museum opening a week later and as always Laurent looks impeccable and makes sure to keep all of Torveld's acquaintances in good mood. This time he doesn't run, though. He excuses himself because of a headache. Everyone looks heartbroken, even Laurent, until Damen leads him out of the room and is about to get them a driver.

"No cars," Laurent says before Damen can get the message out. "Where's your bike? I want to rent a room again."

---

Sometimes rituals are born without anyone noticing it. Just because you keep doing something over and over again.

Sometimes love is the same. Just because someone makes you smile.

---

The first time they decide to sleep there instead of driving back, Damen doesn't like it. But he doesn't really like much about these trips. Except Laurent and the way he looks when he gets off the bike. Happy and carefree, smiling more often than not.

"They will be worried," Damen says for the tenth time. "Everyone. Torveld, my team… They'll be pissed."

"You're tired," Laurent says. "We're staying."

And so the decision is made. Damen tries not to feel grateful when he falls into bed. It's been one of those nights. One nightmare after the other. Even now the thought drives him crazy and makes him feel hot. He shakes off his jacket and closes his eyes. Then he feels a weight next to him on the bed.

When Damen looks up again, Laurent is staring at him. "Do your tattoos mean anything?"

He hesitates but then carefully starts to trace the tribal pattern that covers Damen's upper arm with his fingertips. Damen lets him.

"Some of them do," Damen says and tries not to think about his brother's name inked across his heart right next to his father's and mother's. "Most of them I just wanted because I thought they look cool."

Laurent nods. "They do. I want one too."

"Yeah?" Damen grins and props himself up on his elbows. "What do you want?"

Laurent thinks or a moment. "A kelpie."

"A kelpie?" Damen raises his eyebrows. "Seriously?"

Laurent shrugs. "Looks like a nice horse. Would probably eat you. I like that."

Damen starts to laugh and Laurent joins in. After a while, they forget why they're even laughing, they just do, until they're breathless and their stomachs hurt.

And then Laurent catches Damen by surprise.

"Thank you," he says with the kind of honesty that can't be taken for granted. "For taking me out of there sometimes. For letting me be a person for a while."

What Damen wants to say is, You're welcome.

Instead he says, "I want you to be."

They look at each other. Damen opens his mouth to say something. He doesn't. He just keeps his eyes locked with Laurent. He doesn't even breath. Not until Laurent leans in and their lips touch. It's soft and feather light.

They don't talk about it afterwards. Laurent just puts his head on Damen's chest and they both stare at the ceiling until they fall asleep.

---

After that, they don't just try to get away after parties, but on random days as well. Nikandros suspects something, but is smart enough not to say anything. Torveld might suspect something, but he just keeps smiling sadly. Laurent wouldn't stop anyways. That's clear to Damen at this point. He would either run with him or without him.

They always take the same room. They listen to music, create weird Spotify playlists and dance to them. They do play a lot of cards.

And they kiss. Sometimes that's all they do. And yet, they never talk about it. Not about what it means or what it could do to Laurent's life or Damen's career.

___

Weeks pass. Months.

Damen thinks that maybe he's falling in love.

---

"What do you mean, you've never been to an amusement park?"

Laurent runs his hands through Damen's hair as he straddles him on the worn down carpet of their room. "It means that it's very unprincely to do. So I never went."

"But… What?" Damen is shocked. It gets easier when Laurent kisses him. Still, as soon as their lips don't touch anymore, the shock is back. "You've never been on a roller coaster? Or on a Ferris wheel?"

"I've always wanted to be on one of those!" Laurent exclaims and his cheeks flush. "They look so amazing."

Damen wraps his arms around Laurent and their foreheads touch before he stretches his neck and pecks the corner of Laurent's lips. "I'm gonna take you some day."

"You mean when we move past this motel and just… drive into the sunset and never come back?"

Laurent is mocking him. Damen tries hard not to take it personal. There is something beyond the bitterness. Maybe sadness. Maybe longing.

"Would that be so bad?" Damen asks.

Something shifts. Laurent's shoulders slump and then he pushes himself up. "Can you take me back?"

"Laurent…" Damen is on his feet quickly and he reaches out, but Laurent looks up and suddenly he's that man from the gala party again. The one nobody can touch. Not even Damen.

"Please take me back."

---

After that, it's over.

There are glances, of course. And conversations. Damen is still Laurent's bodyguard after all and they work together closely. But Laurent doesn't ask for a way out anymore and Damen doesn't push.

Sometimes he thinks about it. About a love letter or a bunch of roses. Some romantic gesture that might win Laurent's heart.

But the truth is that this is a prince and Damen is a bodyguard. And what they had was a moment, nothing more. A spark.

Hope is a hard thing to kill, though. So Damen waits, patiently. He wonders if maybe some day Laurent will try to escape again, out on the balcony, then into the desert. But it never happens.

---

"Are you ready, love?"

Laurent turns towards the door. Torveld is on the other side, waiting for an answer. Two more months and they will be married. If nothing happens. Laurent closes his eyes. "I'll be right there in a few moments."

It's their dance by now. Torveld leaves with Nikandros, Laurent gets ready and follows with Damen. Nothing has changed in the past months. Only everything has changed the day before. Laurent can still hear the buzzing and he can still feel the pain. His shoulder is aching.

And he is nervous. Because in a way, this is how it started. With a towel wrapped around his hips and Torveld closing the door behind him.

Stepping out of the bathroom, Laurent finds Damen waiting. More often than not these days, his bodyguard has his eyes on the floor. Laurent needs him to look up now. He moves past him, to the drawer, and waits.

It doesn't take long until Damen lifts his eyes. Laurent catches him in the mirror. The frown, the confusion. "You got a tattoo?"

Laurent turns around, swallows hard. "Do you like it?"

Damen crosses the room and stares into the mirror where Laurent knows he can see the fresh ink. "It's a Ferris Wheel."

They're standing so close. "You said you'd take me some day."

Damen's frown deepens and he looks into Laurent's eyes, searching for answers. When he understands, his eyes widen. "Yes… I did."

"So…" Laurent pushes up on his toes and kisses Damen's jaw.  "Where is your bike?"