#back then i didn't like it much. it was annoying how slow the oven was and i thought the cakes besides the brown round one looked dumb

[flash-from-the-past]

Cake Mania

[lillsisamarshmallow]

Moving day! (17)

Summary: Y/n spends the next week searching for a new house, and when she thinks luck has run out, something odd happens. Driving hybrids, polite agents, giant IKEA, being crushed by a falling mattress covered in plastic… who knew moving houses was so difficult.

Word count: 5.7k

Warnings: None! Let me know if I missed any!

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I sighed as I slowed the car down before the red light, taking a moment to rest my head in my hands, hoping to ease the stress that had been bubbling up inside me. It had been almost 2 weeks since we temporarily moved into Jisoo’s house, and we still weren't having any luck finding a new place. I was on my way back to the cafe from a viewing that I went to alone. That house definitely wouldn't work. I thought to myself, the photos were deceiving to what it actually was like, and the agent was really rude the whole time, rather than showing me around the house she kept taking photos in front of it, posing.

Rolling my eyes at how annoying the agent was, I grunted at the idea of another house being crossed out from the list. Let's just hope the next one is better. I tried to think positively about the next house as I started driving again. I was heading to the cafe to pick up Namjoon and Yoongi since it was their turn to come to one of the viewings and honestly this next house looked perfect, but I couldn't help the small voice in the back of my head that was whispering negative thoughts and making me doubt our chances with this house.

I pulled up in front of the cafe and made my way inside, I saw a few of our regulars and I gave them a welcoming smile as I made my way into the kitchen walking past Hobi and Jimin who were manning the register. I opened the door to see Jin and Yoongi cooking whilst Namjoon was taking drinks out from the cooler. I giggled as the sight of bright green caught my eye from the tape of the floor, the lines Namjoon and Taehyung weren't allowed to cross.

“Is it time?” Yoongi asked as he was the first to notice me. I nodded my head as I walked over and sat down on a stool while I waited for them to get ready to go. I watched as Yoongi untied his apron and lifted it over his head, making sure not to get it caught on his ears. He folded the apron neatly before telling Jin when to take the food out of the oven, to which the older man nodded. “How was the house you just saw?”

“Not great if I'm being honest.” I sighed before jumping off the small stool, I walked over to the plate of freshly baked almond croissants, I haven't eaten yet today, and I was starving. “It would have never worked, and I didn't like the agent lady.”

I heard Yoongi hum at my response from behind me. I quickly reached out and grabbed one of the delicious-looking croissants and stuffed one end into my mouth. I turned around and asked them if they were ready to go, but what was supposed to be a question came out as an incomprehensible mumble due to the pastry that was blocking my words. I watched as Yoongi gave me a gummy smile as he laughed and nodded his head, Namjoon walked over to us too with a smile on his face.

We walked through the cafe and out the front, saying goodbye to the others on our way past them. As we made our way outside Yoongi gestured for me to throw him the keys, which I gladly did. I was happy to take a break from driving. We all got strapped in the car and I gave Yoongi the directions and we set off to the next viewing.

I happily munched on my late lunch as I watched yoongi drive. I liked watching him drive, I couldn't explain why, but I couldn't drag my eyes away. I noticed that I had been caught by how he started smiling and glanced away from me and out his window. I blushed as I readjusted myself to sit up straight and look out my window. Large trees lined the road, the canopy almost fully covering over us, just allowing small patches of light to seep through the branches and their leaves.

The area looked serene and quiet, occasionally we’d pass a small turn, but our map said to keep going.

“The next left.” I said to yoongi as I looked at the GPS map on my phone that I had punched the address of the house into. Reaching the right turn we made our way down the very long, skinny driveway until the trees pulled back and opened into a field, and in the centre was a rather large wooden house, it had small garden beds in the front of the porch, but they had no plants in them, indicating that the place had been vacant for a while.

“Woah.” I whispered as the full house came into view, my mouth opened in shock, it looked amazing, better than the photos, it had 3 levels, the top being more of a covered seating area, it had a full wrap around porch outside and multiple stairs to get up to it.

The gravel crushed under the car wheels as Yoongi pulled off to the side to park the car. The 3 of us made our way over to the front of the house where there was an agent waiting with the keys and another handful of people who were also interested in the house.

The lady welcomed us all before unlocking the doors, allowing us to roam around on our own. The bottom level had the living room, laundry, kitchen, all the basic things and the second level had all the bedrooms. The kitchen was gorgeous, and I couldn't help but think of how much Jin would love it. There were two large common areas downstairs too.

My mouth was open for most of our self-guided tour, everything was so amazing and checked all of our boxes. I bounced around on the balls of my feet as I couldn't contain my excitement, Namjoon and Yoongi followed behind me. I could hear them chuckling at me and mumbling to each other, trying to remember everything so they could tell the others when we got back.

Making our way upstairs to the bedrooms the first one we walked into was the largest according to the map on the website.

“This would be your room.” I said to both of them we had a quick look around, it could definitely fit a large enough bed for them all. The next 3 rooms were all the same size, the ones that I had suggested would be used so the boys could have their own areas for hobbies and such. The last room was at the end of the hallway, and it was away from the others for a bit. We walked in and had a look around, it was the only room with its own bathroom. It wasn't as big as the first room, but it was bigger than the other 3. “And this would be my room.”

We kept looking around and everything seemed perfect. The backyard was large and even included a section of the woods surrounding the house. It had more garden beds on the side, presumably for veggies and similar things. I let the boys go and have their own look around while I leaned on the railing of the porch.

“This house is beautiful, right?” I looked to my side to see the agent lady lean down beside me, I smiled at her and relaxed in the informal atmosphere that she brought with her. She had long brown hair that was tied in a loose but professional bun at the back of her head, she looked over to me, her eyes were brown, and she wore pink lipstick. She was really pretty and oddly familiar. “My name’s Irene by the way.”

I stuck my hand out to shake hers as she introduced herself to me. “Hi, I’m Y/n.” I saw her eyes widen slightly at my introduction.

“Y/n?”

I nodded, I smiled as I looked back out into the yard. “It’s a very beautiful house, everything we were looking for actually.”

“Oh? Have you been looking for long?” She asked curiously.

“Just over a week, but we haven't had any luck yet.” I explained to her as I sat up to face her politely. “We’re staying with a friend for now, but we really need to find somewhere.”

She hummed at what I said before speaking. “Is it just the 3 of you?”

“Uhh- no. There’s 5 more of us. Hence why we need a big house.” I chuckled. We kept talking for a bit as we sat down on one of the seats, a few other people came up to her to ask some questions and a few people let her know that they weren't interested and headed out, but she didn't seem to mind.

Eventually the boys came back to me, and we were the last group to leave the house. I watched as Irene locked up and made her way down the stairs to stand near us. “Did you like the house?” She asked politely.

“Yep, it checked all of our boxes, I can't wait to tell the others about it.” I exclaimed as we began walking back to the cars.

“That's great! Well, I'll be sure to keep a look out for your application.” She grinned before winking my way, I still couldn't shake why she looked so familiar, she's probably just in a lot of ads or something.  I nodded my head and laughed as we went our separate ways. The whole ride back to the cafe was just us discussing the house, what we liked, what we didn’t, whether or not the others would've liked it and if I should make an offer for it. 

I was laying on the couch, my head propped up on Hoseok’s lap as Taehyung laid on my stomach with his body between my legs. We were all watching a movie in the living room. I don't remember what it was called, but I was constantly confused by how many things went unexplained. I moved my hands up to rest over my chest, the fabric being loose meant that I didn't have to worry about being tangled up in it. It was Seokjin’s jumper, or at least I think it was, I don't remember. The boys kept giving me their jumpers and jackets. I wasn't sure why, but I wasn't going to complain since they kept me warmer than my own jumpers and it reminded me of them.

The jumper was big on me which meant that I could snuggle my face into it, the scent of vanilla and cherry had ingrained itself into my nose as I breathed around the oversized jumper. I could barely keep my eyes open as I kept skipping bits of the movie accidentally. The main character was annoying and so was his love interest, but the others seemed to enjoy it. 

I felt my phone vibrate in the pocket on the jumper under Taehyung's head. He lifted his head up slightly so I could reach into my pocket and grab the device. I mumbled a quiet ‘thanks’ before raising the phone up to my face. The light shone into my eyes making me squint, but after a few seconds they adjusted and I was able to see, as I read my top notification my eyes widened at what it was.

I gasped loudly as I sat up straight, I stared down at my phone rereading the notification, I heard a grunt as I realised that I had disturbed the big cat hybrid, he shuffled down more, his feet kicking into Yoongi as he moved his head to rest on my thigh instead. “Sorry.” I mumbled quietly as I reached one hand to pet his ears and play with his hair. I smiled at him before moving my gaze back to my phone.

I opened up my email app so I could properly read the whole thing, my face lit up as I kept reading until the end. “Guys, I got the house.” I exclaimed as I quickly reread the email from the company again making sure I hadn't misread it.

“What? No way. It's only been a day.” Hobi said from behind me, to which I passed him the phone so he could also read the email. “You got the house?”

“We got the house!” I cheered as everyone joined in excitedly. “Irene must have said something.”

“Wouldn't that be weird, you only met her that day, right?” Namjoon asked from across the room. I thought about what he said. He was right, I had only met Irene that day and we didn't know each other that well, why would she do this? I wondered in my head, it wasn't like we knew each other or anything, just our conversation while we were at that house.

“Maybe she thought I was pretty?” I half joked with the boys, I was genuinely clueless as to why she might have put in a good word, maybe she didn't, maybe we were just lucky. The boys laughed at my statement as we all sat in the living room practically bouncing with excitement. Everyone was so happy that we were able to find a place and it made my heart swell as I watched them all talk about it, knowing that I had done well. 

We discussed when to start packing up and when we would get everything moved in, we drew up another small basic map of the house and the boys started deciding who would share which rooms, some decisions were left up to a game of scissors, paper, rock, there was a lot of yelling.

Eventually, after deciding who was sharing which room, we all decided to think of a collective theme for the main area of the house and what types of furniture we would need. The house came with a few pieces of furniture, but we would have to buy a lot of our own and since Jisoo didn't have any room, I had to get rid of my old furniture. Which meant a trip to a furniture store to get everything.

I looked up at the big neon sign that was now slightly distorted from how close I was underneath it. The small trees and bushes outside were a vibrant shade of yellow and orange, which unfortunately did not match the building too well, but that didn't matter. The cold wind was strong today, and I tried to dig my hands further into my pockets to stop the cold from freezing them solid.

We all quickly made our way inside the giant store to get out of the cold weather, it wasn't even winter yet. I grumbled at how much I hated the cold weather, before remembering how beautiful it can be at the same time. The ground is covered in a white layer of soft snow, icicles hanging from trees, and intricate little snowflakes landing on your nose. I loved winter.

I was grateful when we got inside to realise that the store did crank their air conditioning all the way up like some places did. I sighed and took my hand out of the pocket of my puffy jacket that was laid on top of a jumper that was not mine, I rubbed my hands together quickly before taking a few steps further into the store. It was quiet and empty, not a lot of customers, not a lot of employees, the background music was low, and I could hear the rustle of leaves against some of the windows.

I saw an employee make his way over to us and ask his typical questions, but I let him know that I had it covered and then he went back to his seat behind the weirdly tall counter.

“Okay, game plan.” I said, turning around to face the troops and clapping my hands together. “What’s the game plan?”

“We should split up.”

“But what if we all choose different things? I’ve got the list.”

“Well, how about we stick together until we get most of the stuff, then we can split up and get the rest of it?” Jimin suggested. It was a reasonable idea, and for that reason, we chose to ignore it.

Everyone had ended up splitting and spreading out around the store, Namjoon had the list, and both me and Yoongi knew most of it off the top of our heads since we were the ones who made said list. I had gravitated over towards the bedroom section where I began to choose a bed from myself before someone walked around the corner.

“Oh? Hey, Y/n.” Taehyung said nonchalantly as he walked around the corner with Jungkook hot on his tail, I smiled at the 2 as I walked a few feet over to them. “Are you looking for a bed too?”

I nodded back at him as I spoke about one that had caught my eye earlier, but I wasn't dead set on anything. We continued to wander around for a bit, they both seemed to know what they were looking for, so I just tagged along behind them. Eventually we came to a wall and sat down in the corner of the room. It was the largest bed I'd ever seen, it would've fit at least 7 people, maybe even 9.

I watched as Taehyung and Jungkook raced for the bed before jumping onto it and laying down. I laughed at them as I ran to join them, the bed was soft and plush, and I basically sunk into it. I gasped at how great of a bed it was before I sat up onto my knees, making sure not to put my shoes on the display bed. 

“This bed is humongous!” And it’s so soft too.” I exclaimed before flopping to the centre on my stomach, I could have fallen asleep right then and there. “I didn't even know they made beds this big.”

“They used to have a few of these back at the shelter.” Taehyung just so casually said before he rolled off the bed. Shelter? I thought to myself.

“The shelter?” I asked whilst trying to haul myself up off the almost too soft bed.

“Uhh-yeah. The one that me and Jungkook were at.” Taehyung spoke, almost like he was trying to correct a mistake. I didn't want to push as I noticed the 2 men become quieter, so I put the thought and my questions aside and walked over to the sign with the information for the bed. I scribbled the exact name down before leading the boys back to the normal beds so I could choose one.

“It’s perfect!” I exclaimed as I got off the 27th bed I'd tried. It had a white bed head that had small shelves in it, and intricate designs, the base had underneath storage and the mattress was amazing. “Welp, that’s the beds checked off the list, where to next?”

Eventually we found ourselves in the living room area of the shop, where we quickly ran into Yoongi, Jimin, and Hoseok, eliminating the couches they had already looked at, and we started walking down the isles searching. The boys made a point to try every single couch we passed and put on posh accents whilst they spoke about each couch. Yoongi and I stood to the side as we watched them play, discussing the different couches we saw and laughing at the others.

Soon enough we found the perfect couch, there were enough seats for everyone plus some, it was crazy comfortable and was a dark grey in colour. After adding it on to the list we figured, no, we hoped that Namjoon and Jin would have the other major items covered.

Safe to say that our shopping trip went smoothly, for the most part. Hobi got lost in the bookshelves, Namjoon broke a display lamp, Taehyung and Jungkook almost got us kicked out, and when we left, we accidentally picked up a random stranger thinking it was Yoongi, who was sleeping in the beds. We didn't realise until we were leaving the parking lot.

Today was going to be long… and stressful. I thought to myself as I looked back at the full car from the rearview mirror, but I couldn't help the smile on my face. The keys jingled in my hand as I looked down at them, a few plain silver keys. I made a mental note to get a few more sets cut for the boys and to buy us all different keychains, I grinned as I thought of some ideas.

I hesitated before twisting the key in the door, but finally it was unlocked, and I pushed the door open and walked into our new home. It had an old wood smell to it, it was comforting, but I couldn't wait until it smelled like home. We didn't have much time to gawk at the house as pretty soon the furniture trucks showed up and the workers started unloading things and we all had to move them to the right areas.

“Oh! That one goes over there!” I yelled out whilst pointing over to the kitchen, the worker nodded and started moving the box that way whilst I held back onto the large mattress in front of me and began pushing it again. The mattress was heavy, but I was able to make it to the foot of the stairs. I sighed out annoyed before a light shone down for the heavens, my saviour.

“Here Y/n.” Hobi said as he reached for the other end of the rectangle, I thanked him and smiled up the stairs towards him. With our teamwork we were able to get the mattress onto the stairs, he pulled, and I pushed as we worked our way up. We were about halfway up before disaster struck.

“Y/n?” I heard Namjoon call out from somewhere below me. I turned towards him and hummed out, hoping he would find me from my sound. “Oh, there you are.”

Namjoon smiled at me, his dimples showing which completely pulled my guard down. He gestured towards something that he was holding, like he wanted me to take a look. I walked down the stairs, completely forgetting about Hobi and the big mattress that was still halfway up the stairs. 

I looked down at what he was holding as we both questioned the weird item that he had found, it was some statue. A chicken statue. The chicken looked like it was originally white, but it had years of dirt caked onto it, it had a brown, copper base with different carvings on it. It was a weird little thing, but it was also kind of cute. Absorbed by the small statue, I didn't hear Hoseok’s cries for help.

“Y/n? Y/n? Hello?”

“Y/n!”

“Y/N!”

I heard the banging as I turned back towards the stairs. I didn't have time to react as the mattress came tumbling down the stairs and towards me. It knocked me out, taking me down with it, just barely missing Namjoon who had stood next to me. Now he stood, confused, as he looked down at the mattress that laid flat on the floor, with me underneath it.

“Y/n!”

I grunted out as the light came back into my vision and I could breathe without inhaling the weird smell of plastic. I let my lungs fill with the fresh cool air as I tried to sit up, feeling two hands pushing my back and helping me. I could see the panic on their faces as they both looked down at me from their crouched positions next to me.

I laughed out as I shuffled slightly so I could sit more comfortably, I crossed my legs and held a hand to my chest as I caught my breath. I assured them both that I was okay, but when I went to pick the bed up again, they beat me to it. They both moved the bed upstairs and into my new room with me guiding them.

“We can just put it here for now.” I pointed over at the wall adjacent to my bathroom. “I haven't exactly decided how I’m going to set it up yet.”

I spent a few more seconds glazing around the room as I thought of different ways to decorate and move my furniture to fit the space, but I quickly dismissed the thoughts as we all headed back downstairs to help the others with the last of our boxes.

I flopped back onto our new couch, which was slightly harder than I'd like, but it was brand new. I sighed out loud as I lifted an arm over my head, resting my forearm across my forehead as I looked up. I felt the couch shift and dip slightly several more times, accompanied by several signs that fell in time.

“Who knew we'd need so many chairs.” I heard Taehyung whining from somewhere on the couch. I sat up and laughed slightly as I shook my head. I had a bit of a headache from all the pushing and pulling, my arms and legs felt like jelly, and my stomach felt as though it had been carved out with a spoon, but it was worth it.

I looked around me, the living room and kitchen were the only places that had been completely unpacked and decorated, most of the other rooms were still a bit bare and had brown cardboard boxes littered in them. The coffee table that sat in the middle had a small vase on it with some fresh flowers I made sure to pick up this morning, and it had a stack of coasters next to it and a small trinket dish.

This was the larger of the two open areas and so we decided to buy a tv for this room, I looked over to my left. The large black screen stood out against the wood texture of the walls. There were 2 large plants positioned either side of it, another trinket dish sat in front of it, underneath it was filled with a few movies and games along with organised cables and docks.

I smiled as I looked at the room that we had come together to create, I looked at the boys as they all took up different places on the couch, I couldn't help the smiling that spread of my face, or the burning that started as a spark in my heart before spreading to the rest of my chest. It hurt, but I could tell it was a good thing and so I embraced it as I sat and watched the boys. My boys

“Do you think we could plant flowers out the back?” Namjoon asked while looking over to me, I nodded my head before responding.

“Yeah! Flowers and maybe some vegetables too. We could set up an outside area too, with tables and chairs.” I exclaimed excitedly. We all continued to discuss random things about the house and what we could do with it, the boys even played a game of scissors, paper, rock to see who would share rooms.

The doorbell ringing was a pleasant distraction from our conversation, we all knew exactly what it was. We all got up and while me and Jimin headed to the door the others headed into the kitchen. I opened the door and smiled kindly at the delivery boy. I thanked him as I took the bags of food from him and handed a few over to Jimin to carry.

When we both got back to the lounge room the others had already bought us our own cutlery and bowls to eat from. The bags seemed to instantly get torn apart as I put them on the table. Within seconds I could hear the sounds of plastic lids being popped off containers and chattering as I took my seat between Jimin and Jin. The surface of the coffee table was now full of different takeaway containers that had various foods in them, my mouth watered at how good some of it looked.

“Let's dig in.”

I picked up some japchae and moved it over to my bowl, but before it fell down another pair of chopsticks stole it from me. I looked up to spot Jungkook grinning cheekily at me as he plopped my japchae into his bowl, I pouted at him and turned the other way, pulling the takeaway container closer to me to hopefully stop any future attacks on my food.

Finally, I was safely able to transport the food into my own bowl, I put the container back down before shuffling back into the couch and crossing my legs as I dug into the food. It was great, not too strong, a perfect balance of vegetables and noodles, I hummed out in joy, and I kept enjoying my food.

My attention was drawn away and a pair of chopsticks floated in front of me, dark, sticky noodles wrapped around them. I followed them over to Jin who looked at me kindly. He gestured for me to open my mouth, so I quickly swallowed the food in my mouth before opening it. Jin pushed the noodles into my mouth and I closed it so he could take the chopsticks out, I chewed for a bit before my face lit up as I faced him and nodded my head fastly, not being able to speak, I gave him a thumbs up and watched as he giggled lightly while looking at my full cheeks.

I finished my noodles and hesitantly looked over to Jin's bowl, I looked back up at him and he gave me an approving smile and I quickly dug my utensils into his bowl and took out some more of the noodles with the dark sauce on them. I chewed on them happily and I sat up straight and looked around. I was swaying side to side lightly in my position, a side affected by good food.

Jimin leaned over to me and pinched some of the food from my bowl, I looked over to him and he chewed on it, his cheeks puffed out full of the food and his lips pursed tightly as he chewed. He seemed to be thinking about the food before he swallowed and gave me a bright smile, his eyes creasing until I could no longer see them.

I took that as him enjoying the food and I smiled back at him before I looked in his bowl, he had some kimchi in his. I looked across from us on the other couch, Hobi and Yoongi sat close to each other, Hobi had his legs on the couch, perched up near his chest. They seemed deep in conversation and passed the food between each other, sharing. I smiled at the both of them as I looked over to the two youngest pack members and Namjoon, who were all watching the tv intensely, completely focused on what every movie they had out of.

Jungkook sat in the middle, him and Namjoon eating from the same bowl that seemed to have more noodles in it, Taehyung had his own bowl with various foods in it, but no kimchi. I unfortunately wasn't able to order a less spicy one for him and myself, but that was fine because we had a lot of other options.

Jin put another mouthful of noodles in front of me which I gladly accepted as I smiled happily, still slightly swaying side to side, but the boys didn't seem to mind it. The night continued on as we all sat together in the lounge while we ate our first dinner in our new house. At some point I had given up on getting my own food as Jin seemed pretty content with giving me food from his bowl, and honestly, I didn't mind.

The sky became deep dark with small specks of sparkling stars, silent except for the rustle of leaves and the happy chirping of the crickets, the sky was clear, and the air felt fresh. I said goodnight to the boys as I retired into my own room, I looked around the empty box. I hadn't finished unpacking, my mattress was laid on the floor with a few blankets and pillows and a small lamp beside it.

The covers felt foreign to my skin as I pushed my bare legs under them, the bottom of my shorts riding up ever so slightly. I punched the pillows until it was soft enough and I laid my head to rest on top of it. I nuzzled further into it and wriggled my body trying to get used to it. I reached out and shut off the small lamp, enclosing the room in a blanket of darkness with only the low glow of the moonshine peering through the curtainless windows.

I sighed out as I tried to put my mind to rest, I tried counting sheep, mathematical equations, making up silly stories, but I couldn't bring myself to sleep despite the tiredness that embedded itself into my bones. I opened my eyes again and grounded as I turned the small lamp on again, a warm glow now accompanying the moonlight. I sat up before flopping back down again, moving my position slightly so I was now laying on my back. I started up at the empty ceiling.

I looked side to side as I wondered why I couldn't sleep. A weird feeling had entered my chest since I came in here and it felt heavy. Emptiness. The room felt empty, a large room with nothing to fill it, loneliness. It wasn't a feeling that I was fond of, it was the type of feeling that would haunt me at night and allow my greatest fears to invade my mind and destroy me.

And for that reason, I had to get up.

I sat up abruptly and with a bounce in my step I hopped over to my door and switched the light switch before turning around to face my room. I had all my boxes labelled and separated into different groups in different areas of my room. I thought this feeling was coming from my unusually empty room, so I started to unpack my things. I popped in my earphones before I got started, pressing play on my playlist.

First, I put together my bed frame. I must have moved it 13 times before deciding on a location. I covered it in my sheets and blankets and topped it off with my pillows in a fancy way. I unboxed all of my clothes and started organising them into my closet. Next was the bathroom, shampoo, conditioner, towels, soap, everything I needed. Then came my desk, my drawers, a few posters, a carpet, I hung up some cute fairy lights too, accompanied by some fake vines and flowers, and a few real plants around the room too. Until eventually I had spent the early morning unpacking. The sun shining into my room made it look beautiful, but I was too tired to realise.

A/n: New chapter! A little late (I’m posting this as I eat my sushi 🍣) but I hope it’s worth it. The furniture store is suppposed to be an IKEA, but like, I’ve never been to one so idk what they are like. Anyways, I hope everyone is doing well, thank you all so much for 800 followers! (Wtaf??? 😭 ilysm !! 🫶💜). It’s kinda weird how quickly Y/n and the boys got their house, right?

Wonder why that is… 🤔

Oh well! 🤭 Hope everyone has a great day or night, and a lovely weekend! Thank you all so much for reading! 💜💜💜

[velvetydream]

꒰ :🥀 [ Unexpected visitors - Welcome to Aurora ] ”♡ᵎ꒱ˀˀ ↷ ⋯

Part 6 - Unexpected visitors

Summary: After the things that happened on Mavery everything was supposed to go back to how the daily life was, while tracking down another crew, but two little visitors made a change of plans.

Pairing : Pirate! Hongjoong x Fem! Reader

Word count : 3.5K Words

Genre : Fluff, Romance, Slow Burn

Warnings ➵ Kids have injuries from another crrw

a/n : Finally got around to write the next chapter this is rather a little fillet chapter with a guest apperance of someone from my other stories!♡ Let's see how many will know who it is!

《 Masterlist 》

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A few days have passed by since the incident on Mavery, and Hongjoong has been a bit more strict with Yunho and Seonghwa since then, giving them tasks from day to night. Though it feels like he was slowly warming up to you, he doesn't glare at you that often anymore and even talked to you.

The next approach now was apparently an island some pirates often visited who stole something from Hongjoong that he wanted back. According to Mingi, though, it would still take some time till you guys would reach that island, making you go back to your daily tasks of training, helping Mingi, and looking for jobs to help out around the ship.

"Yeo I didn't eat-!" Mingi got kicked out of the kitchen sitting on his but in front of the door like a kicked puppy now. "Did Yeosang catch you stealing pie again?" Giggling at the offended man, he immediately shakes his head as he gets back up on his feet. "He accused me but I didn't! For real, this time, it wasn't me!" Mingi pouted as he walked past you, a soft pat on his back before you joined Yeosang in the kitchen, he looked obviously distraught. "Is the whole pie gone?" You ask, approaching the annoyed man as he looks over to you, nodding, disappointed. It was supposed to be a surprise for the guys, Yeosang bought the best products on Mavery for it. "I could help you? I mean, my baking isn't as good as yours, but I have this nice receipt my mother taught me; not much is needed either!" Yeosang looked at you with hopeful eyes, making sure you got access to everything you needed before bringing the dinner for the crew upstairs, leaving you to be on your own.

First, you needed some apples, washing them before putting them to the side, five to be exact. Turning around, you got the flour, milk, and eggs out; it was amazing to have fresh ingredients after stopping at an island. Mixing everything together, you went to grab the five apples to cut them up, but suddenly there were only four. Looking down at the floor, if one might have fallen down, you raised your eyebrow; maybe you counted wrong? Getting back to using the four you had, you put the pie into the oven before turning to clean everything up, Yeosang coming back just in time. "Thank you so much again! By the way, have you seen Seonghwas dagger? He mentioned how he left it on a table upstairs but it's gone now.." Raising your eyebrows in confusion now. First the pie, then the apple, and now the dagger?

"Yeo, could it be possible we have an unwanted guest on board? First, the pie, then an apple went missing just now when I was preparing the cake, and now Seonghwas dagger.." He nodded, acknowledging your assumption and making a little noise. "Better go and tell Hongjoong, I'll take care of the kitchen." Nodding, you quickly clean your hands before making your way to the captain's quarters, knocking before entering. "Hongjoong, Yeosang and I assume we may have an unwanted guest on board; a pie went missing, then an apple, and now Seonghwas dagger." The captain now looks up from his papers with and raised eyebrow as if you're crazy for disturbing him for something like this. "It was probably Mingi and Yunho? Mingi probably ate everything, and Yunho probably put the dagger away, assuming it was from your training." Your head sways from side to side now as you deny his assumption. "That can't be; Mingi said he didn't; the apple went missing when I turned around for a bit; I would've noticed Mingi, and my training is later today; he couldn't have mistaken it for training equipment." A sigh leaves Hongjoongs lips now; standing up now, you just now notice he is wearing rather simple clothes for once, a low-cut blouse and some high-waisted pants, some belts adorned his waist, and a necklace hung around his throat with a pendant. "Alright let's clear this up."

He follows you outside, ready to solve this and get back to his work. "So who ate the pie and stole the apple? And who took Seonghwas's dagger?" His voice sounded pretty annoyed, looking at every member of the crew, none stepping forward to admit who it was. "No one? Does it have to be the hard way?" His eyelid was now twitching in irritation from his crew. "Captain? You should look at this, this seems rather interesting." Yunhos voice sounds now, his eyes looking between some barrels. "What is it now?!" Approaching the barrels followed by you, you gasp when your eyes land on two children. The girl, looking around 6 years old, was holding the missing dagger in her trembling tiny hand, outstretched to the three of you, while her other arm was around a boy barely 4 years old probably, an apple in his hand, the empty pie tray beside them.

All three of you were rather speechless seeing the children there; Seonghwa approaches now, gasping softly when he sees the children, tears now slowly running over the girl's face upon seeing more and more people. "There there, no need to cry, pretty princess; how did you two get lost here, mh?" Seonghwa sat down in front of them now, pushing Hongjoong to the side with a side remark that his scowl was scaring the kids. The kids were trembling visibly, they must've been frightened to the core. The girl looked around till her teary eyes came to a stop on your face, her tiny hand slowly loosening around the dagger as your hand reached out to hand it to Seonghwa before sitting down before the two children. The girl took one last glance at the man around her before pressing her face to your chest, trying to hide from all the intruding gazes around her. The tiny body of the girl was shaking with sobs now, and her brother was looking confused at his sister now, clutching the apple tightly in his hands. He was also visibly frightened, but his brain wasn't quite able to grasp the situation. "Do you want to see something amazing? One of our members can break that apple in half with only his hands, how about you come out so he can show you." Stretching your hand out for the boy, he crawls over to you, laying his head on your shoulder now, before looking at all the people around him.

"It's okay now, you two are safe.." The girl's violent sobs slowly subsided to silent tears rolling down her chubby cheeks. Standing up with her in your arms now, you softly take the hand of the boy and lead them through the crowd that has gathered to your quarters, Seonghwa and Hongjoong behind you. "Get back to work, nothing to see here!" Hongjoong barks, before closing the door, watching you sit down on the bed with the girl on your lap. The little boy tugged on Seonghwas pants softly, holding the apple out for him and motioning for him to cut it up, making the male sit down with a smile and start to cut the apple into little bunny slices with his dagger. Taking a seat beside you now, Hongjoong looks at the girl all over, noticing rope burns on her wrist and bruises on what he could see of her arm, making his breath hitch. His eyes glance over to Seonghwa, who has noticed the same on the boy and is now meeting Hongjoongs eyes.

"How did you two get on here?" Hongjoongs voice was soft as the girl looked at him, his hand reaching out to push a strand of hair behind her ear before wiping her tears away softly. She looked over her shoulder to her brother, who was happily eating the apple slices Seonghwa made him with a smile, before casting her eyes back to Hongjoong. "We ran away from pirates that captured us and.. I saw you rescue this girl on the island so.. We hid on here.." Her voice was trembling and her tiny hands shaking, what this girl must've been through already in her young years of age. "Alright, you're safe now, you don't have to worry anymore. Where are you two from? We'll bring you back." Hongjoong had this soft look in his eyes, the same he looked at you with when you were crying on Mavery. "We're from a small kingdom to the east, it's called Horizon. Our parents are the king and queen." The girl explained, making your eyes go slightly wide; you have heard of that kingdom but never got to encounter it in any way; your parents had talked about it a few times. "I see; we will take you back as soon as possible; you two should probably sleep a little bit now." Looking up into your eyes you nod softly, laying the girl down in your bed, Seonghwa doing the same with the boy, before putting the blanket over them. "It will take a while, but we'll make sure you're back with your parents soon." Smiling at the softly, the girl thanks you quietly, before both slip into dreamland and the three of you exit the room.

"Mingi, we'll take a course to Horizon; we'll search for those assholes later. First, we'll get those kids home and then go find them." Hongjoong barks an order to Mingi and the crew, making the tall man nod and run to the steering wheel with his compass and little map book in hand. Mingi had a small book full of maps he personally took care of; it was a little help for him every time he had to quickly change course. "We'll probably take around five days to reach that island; I know it's a lot to ask for, but please look after those kids in the meantime, make sure they eat and rest well." Nodding, you saw another side of Hongjoong yet again today; he was truely different than you had assumed at first.

The kids slept rather long, both of them waking up in the evening when the sun was setting, peaking their heads out to watch some of the crew. "Oh, you two are awake! How did you sleep?" It was Wooyoung who approached them with a big grin, crouching down to them, the girl stepping protectively in front of her brother. "My my, you are such a brave young lady, protecting your brother with your whole being mh?" Another voice, this time it was San approaching, crouching down beside Wooyoung. "This is Wooyoung, and I'm San; we never got to know your two names; mind telling us?" San smiled at the sweetly; the girl was slowly letting her guard down, looking at San; he somehow had a comforting aura around him, yet she couldn't pinpoint why; it was as if she knew him. "My name is Eunhee.. And my brother is Heejun.." She mumbled softly, making San smile at her. "I see; you two are probably hungry, mh? Let's go eat something?" Holding out his arms for them, the siblings looked at each other for a second before holding onto his neck as he stands up with both of the children in his arms, carrying them over to where Yeosang was giving out the dinner for everyone.

"Three plates please!" San beams at Yeosang, who smiles at the two kids in his arms, calling you over. "Oh, you two are awake! How did you sleep? I see you meet San and Wooyoung!" You greet the two kids, who smile at you for the first time, handing Wooyoung two plates as you carry two more over to a table. "They even told us their names, Eunhee and Heejun!" San explains, pointing at the girl and then the boy, amazing how quickly they seemed to trust him. "What pretty names! Enjoy your food and then you can go back to the room or enjoy some more time with Sannie and Woo!" You softly pat their head, before returning to help Yeosang with the food. "She reminds me of my mom, so elegant and lovely, yet strong." Eunhee tells San, while her brother was already feasting on his first warm meal in probably days or weeks. "Oh really? She is definitely a little sweetheart. She hasn't been with us for too long, but everyone loves her and how nice she is." Wooyoung explains to Eunhee now, making Jongho behind him scoof. "And this! Is the man that can break an apple with his hands! Come on grumpy bear, show the kids." Wooyoung tosses Jongho an apple now, making the man glare at him, but can't resist the excited eyes of the children, showing them how he breaks an apple with only his hands, making their mouths open wide in awe, as he places each half on their plate now.

"Where are you, by the way, going to sleep when the kids sleep in your bed?" Yeosang leans against a table now as he finally gets to eat his own meal. You didn't even think about this, pondering over his question for a second before shrugging your shoulders. "I'll probably sleep on a chair in the room or maybe with all of your guys downstairs?" You mumbled to yourself now. "Over my dead body will you sleep down there with all these men. You'll take my bed till we drop the kids off, I'm used to napping on my chair." Hongjoong appears behind you now, making you a bit startled. He wanted you to sleep in his bed? Along with him staying in the room? "Oh, I can't accept that! I wouldn't want to take space from you!" Shaking your head in denial of his offer now, he raised his eyebrow. "That wasn't a request or offer, that was an order." He explains to you now, making all movement stop and your cheeks turn a soft hue of pink. "Besides, Joongie barely gets any sleep, a little workaholic, you see~" Seonghwa buts in, running away after dropping off his empty plate before Hongjoong could hit him.

So it was decided you would be staying in Hongjoongs quarters for now while the kids were on board sleeping on his bed, while he would either sleep on his chair or the small couch in the room. "Seriously I could also take the couch.." Pulling the blanket over your legs, you look over to the man at his desk, a pair of glasses perched on the bridge of his nose now, looking over to you from his book. "Seonghwa already told you, I barely sleep overall, so why should I let you take the couch and end up with back pain when the bed is fully free." He shrugs his shoulders as he goes back to reading; he had a point, of course; you still felt rather bad to take up his bed, but apparently, discussing it wasn't going to happen, so you simply turned around and laid your head down on the pillow. It smelled like him; Hongjoong always had this fresh smell of lemons and mint, yet something spicy, too, along with a tinge of a iron smell. The smell was soothing, so you quickly fell asleep in his bed.

The first night was calm, you woke up to an empty room, hearing Hongjoong bark out orders to his crew as you get ready, peeking in to see the children still asleep, making your way over to Yunho for your morning training. Since you weren't able to train yesterday due to the kids, Yunho decided to do a double lesson this morning, making sure you got all the training Hongjoong asigned him to do with you. It was a calm morning; the kids soon woke up; Seonghwa helped them wash up and then gave them some breakfast while they watched you and Yunho train in awe.

"Did you two sleep well?" Approaching the siblings now after you handed the sword you were using to Yunho, sitting down beside the girl now. "Pretty well, the bed was really comfortable! Thank you for letting us sleep there!" Eunhee was so polite in her young years already making her remind you of yourself, smiling softly at her as you softly pat her hair. "Of course, we want you to feel comfortable on the way back home." Looking up now as San approaches you three, taking a seat beside Heejun, you had no idea but it seemed like San was drawn to them, obviously having a soft spot for the kids. "You'll soon be home again with your parents, it will probably only take a few more days." Sans's voice was soft when he spoke to them; it was adorable, honestly.

So the days went on, you and San spent most of the time with the kids, cheering them up when they missed their parents, while at night, you tried to get enough sleep, despite knowing Hongjoong was in the same room.

So here he was, sitting at his desk, the last night before you guys would reach Horizon to bring the kids back and go back on to track down those thief's. Whimpering caught his ear as he looked up now, his eyes moving over to your shaking form; you were probably having another nightmare. He often heard you at night, the soft whimpers and cries in your sleep, a name he assumed of your brother tumbling from your lips. Standing up with a sigh, he slowly approaches your bed, taking a seat beside you as his eyes scan your scrunched-up face. Tears were slowly running down your cheeks, lip tugged in by your teeth, making Hongjoong cringe; he swore he could see a drop of blood from the way you were biting down. Screw him. If anyone came in, no, he would kill them. Pushing off his boots, he softly laid down beside you, his arm coming around your waist as he started to softly whisper to you. "It's fine, you'll be okay.." It reminded him of San when he first joined, Wooyoung often told him of the night terrors San had. Running his thump over your scrunched-up forehead and nose now, watching your face slowly relax as his thump traces down to rub away the tears. "I told you, tears don't suit your pretty face.." A low sigh escapes the captain's lips, and his fingers softly tug on your lower lip now, making your teeth release it and a soft whimper escapes your lips. "Finally.." Watching you peacefully now, his eyes were suddenly feeling way too heavy, resting his head beside yours now as his eyes close, his arm around your waist drawing you closer to him.

Soft knocks wake you up from your sleep, noticing something heavy on your waist as you look behind you to see Hongjoong's peacefully sleeping face. At first, you wanted to scream, push him away, but then you remembered Seonghwas's words, carefully pushing his arm away to not wake him up; as you scoot off the bed and exit the room, one last glance at the sleeping captain. "Morning, Hongjoong isn't here?" Seonghwa looks confused at you, as you were the one to exit the room and not his captain. "He's asleep; let's not wake him up; you said he doesn't sleep well often." Moving past him, you notice that you were finally docked at Horizon. The island was lively, a rather sunny and warm one, with colorful flowers growing everywhere, making you watch in awe. "Different from your kingdom mh?" Seonghwa asks you, nodding at his question, noticing now how some of the members had already gone into the town to collect some things. San was sitting to the side, getting the kids presentable; most of their injuries were by now gone and treated, thanks to Yeosang. "Let's get those kids home." Hongjoong finally joins you, stretching his arms and yawning, his coat on now. "Seonghwa you take the kids, let's go." Following the order, Seonghwa takes the kids as they wave goodbye to San; just as you are about to join Hongjoong and Seonghwa, your captain stops you. "Did you forget who you are? Where you're from and who is searching for you? You can't join, stay here with San." Watching them leave with a pout now, San comes to stand beside you. "Don't be sad; he still leaves me here too, when they have to talk to higher-ups." Looking confused at him for a second now, he just shrugs his shoulders as he goes over to help Wooyoung carry some things he and Yeosang bought on board.

It took roughly an hour till Hongjoong and Seonghwa came back, a little bag in their hands. "We'll be going as soon as everyone is back; they were rather thankful and rewarded us nicely for bringing their children back," Hongjoong explains to the crew now before moving to his room.

The next stop would be an island where a rather famous crew often resided, the crew that stole something from Hongjoong he badly wanted to have back.

[ladybellissima]

Finding Love Katakuri x Reader Part 40 End

"(Y/N) my dear… Wake up. We are here…", Katakuri's voice let her eyes slowly open and with a short yawn she stretched her arms. Realizing what he had said and looking into his smirking face, she gasped surprised and hugged him tightly of pure joy. Chuckling of her sweet act, he placed a kiss onto her forehead and took her bridal style to walk back to the cockpit. Sitting down in his seat, he placed his wife in his lap and guided the ship to the port of whole cake. It was really happening. Finally they were back home.

(Y/N) 's eyes widened of the sight before her. She totally forgot how literally sweet everything looked and how much she had missed it. The beautiful colors, extraordinary designed houses made out of chocolate and candy.

Absolutely stunning.

On top of that it was a beautiful day. The sun shone brightly down and let the sweets glister. Coming closer, they could see chess soldiers gathering together and looking quite surprised and most of all irritated. The news spreaded quickly, like a crossfire, after the pink bonbon stopped before sweet city. Oven was eating dinner, the moment a bunch of soldiers rushed through the doors like maniacs. Annoyed he scolded them to be more sensitive and most of all not so damn loud, but their message let his whole world spin like a ferry wheel. Mouth agape he first had to collect his thoughts. Shocked and uneasy of what to believe, he jumped to his feet to stumble out of the room quickly. On his way he was met with Brulee, Daifuku, Flambe…the list went on. More and more siblings followed his trail stunned and excited to see what was going on outside.

"Can you believe it?", Brulee breathed out stressed of what to think either about the news.

"Out of nowhere… I don't know Brulee. I hope she is in there.. I hope she is okay.", he spoke, while he was fighting with his inner self of what to feel. For happiness it was too soon. Who knows what was going on. Getting down to sweet city they were met with hundreds of chess soldiers, who were guarding the bonbon ship nervously. The familiar mass of pink gave the Charlotte siblings goosebumps. It sure looked like it was traveling through a battlefield and it sure meant a disaster for the one who caused this damage. Getting to the front, the sibling's look fell onto the entry of the submerge ship, which slowly started to move. Nervously they watched how the door opened. Gulping stressed Oven could hear silent footsteps, which came closer and closer.

Was (Y/N) really coming out there?

After all the despair they had been through, would she be back? Save and sound?

Gasping, shocked shouts of "Look there", were called after a familiar silhouette stepped out of the vehicle. Bright and beautiful shining eyes which had tears of joy in them, looked up to them and let the charlottes sob bitterly.

There she was.

After days, weeks and months of horrors, she was finally back at whole cake.

"I am back…", (Y/N) spoke, while tears rolled down her cheeks. Everyone was relieved and happy, nevertheless the moment felt also bittersweet for them.

"Come on. Don't be so slow…", (Y/N) called out into the ship and let everyone raise their brows in confusion, but then it hit them like a ton of bricks.

"This…. This isn't real..", Oven gasped and fell to his knees, while Brulee shut her mouth with one hand to control her outburst of emotions.

With one big step the sweet general of the big mom pirates stepped out of the ship carefully and faced his siblings with an uneasy look on his face. Still wearing the red scarf, he got from (Y/N), and only dressed in black pants, he felt kind of vulnerable without his usual look. But at that moment nobody really cared at all.

"Brother Katakuri….", everyone was crying out and comprehending what really happened now, while their brother watched their distress sadly.

"I didn't mean to worry you so much.",his deep usual strong voice let them cry even more. Even in this unusual outfit, even in this heartbreaking moment, he looked intimidating, tall and confident like the pirate he always was.

"You idiot…. What are you saying. We thought we will lose you. You and (Y/N).", Brulee cried out and his next words let her eyes widen. It let everyone's eyes widen.

"I am sorry. I missed you too."

Opening his arms she could see the soft smile by the look of his eyes and without to hesitate she jumped into his arms and clinged onto him desperately. Not only Brulee. Everyone came to his side and clinged onto his leg, arm, chest with a dead grip, while crying and shouting how much they missed him. (Y/N) smiled happily and was about to step back to gave them more space, but Pudding grabbed her hand and pulled her into a tight embrace with other siblings close by.

"(Y/N).. We were so worried. But you made it. You really made it and brought him back home."

It took them awhile to calm down and Katakuri had to pull his wife up to his chest and step further away to not fall into the water of their outbursts of emotions. All eyes were on the sweet general and his beautiful wife and Katakuri knew all too well what they were thinking right now.

What the hell happened? And how could they get back to whole cake together?

After minutes of silence, Katakuri sighed deeply. Honestly he wasn't in the mood to explain anything now. He just wanted to rest, have a shower, have his clothes and his old self back. Plus, spend long needed time with his wife, but they deserved information after everything they had been through.

"Is Mama still at Wano Land?", Katakuri asked seriously and Brulee gave him a short nod as a yes. Relieved to hear that, he placed (Y/N) down and turned to the submerge ship. Oven clapped his shoulder in a friendly way and scratched his head uneasy at the sight before him.

" Mama's ship needs some repairs.", Katakuri spoke and got a chuckle of his brother.

"You mean a complete makeover. This ship is a disaster. Thank god Mama isn't here..", Oven spoke and ordered to get the ship into the Underground entry. (Y/N) watched her husband discussing things and realized how she missed seeing this intimating and strong sight of him. It was only a short time since he had arrived, nevertheless everyone was listening to him eagerly to fulfill his orders. Smiling slightly, she leaned against a close by tree and enjoyed the fresh air, mixed with the sweet scent of the island. After such a long time she was able to really relax. To calm down and feel save. No running away, no hiding and suffering. Just stay and enjoy the moment. A shadow at the sky got her attention and the next moment she was met with a news coo.

"Ah the daily news. Always a pleasure.", Brulee spoke in a mocking tone and came to her side to pay for the newspaper. Like always she delivered the news to Oven and didn't notice that a piece of paper landed on the ground. (Y/N) was about to call out to her, but stopped midtracks after giving it a closer look. It wasn't just an ordinary paper, like an add or part of some news.

That would have been way better than that.

Mouth agape she grabbed the wanted poster and read through the text with an horrified expression. In the corner of his eyes, Katakuri could see that something was off and stopped his talk with his brother to get to her side.

"What's wrong?…", he started and the next moment grabbed the paper roughly from her hands to read the text with widened eyes.

" Wanted

(Y/N) Charlotte

Alive

1 Billion berries

"

Above the text was a picture of a breathtaking young woman, dressed in a marine dress and smiling one of her beautiful smiles. It seemed like a dark cloud hovered over Katakuri's head, while his hands were shaking of anger. His eyes were piercing the text, mostly the word alive, because he knew all too well who was the one who caused this.

"Katakuri…?", (Y/N) asked worried and stopped after she noticed his more than pissed look. Seeing her in the enemies clothes, still looking beautiful, but also it let the words of captain Coby pop up in his mind.

"She has to move to his private chambers."

"Like hell this will ever happen.", he growled pissed and let (Y/N) look at him confused.

"This damn bastard…. I swear if he tries to attack us…dares to come closer to you, I will not only kill him.", he growled and got frightened looks from his siblings. Oven and Daifuku were able to snatch the paper out of their brother's hand and read through the news stunned.

" (Y/N)? Is that you? In a marine outfit? ", Daifuku asked shocked and again she was confronted with her picture.

"You see… How should I start..", (Y/N) stuttered nervously and thought about it, if she really should talk about that, because Katakuri was already on the verge of exploding.

"She entered marineford undercover and became a marine to safe me.", Katakuri cut in and let the others gasp of surprise.

"But she got the attention of this fleet Admiral bastard Akainu and now he is after her..", he added with a growl which let not only (Y/N) shiver.

"Sure. This man would never accept such a failure that you were able to get him out of prison.", Oven started, but was roughly grabbed by his collar and pulled close to Katakuri's face.

"You think that's it? This damn bastard wants (Y/N), because he likes her. He is after my wife, because he wants her in his bed.", Katakuri hissed and let his brother's eyes widen like saucers.

"He.. What?", everyone shouted, while looking at (Y/N) who was fighting for words.

"Crazy right?..", she spoke uneasy and gave her husband a sad look.

"What now?", she asked, while Daifuku balled his fist and let the paper scrunch up to a ball of the build up hatred against the marines.

"We will make sure to guard every outpost, every corner of whole cake with enough soldiers. Plus Flour island. I don't expect that they would come to whole cake for you. Never would they dare to attack Mama directly, but who knows. I will make sure to keep you safe here.", Katakuri spoke pissed, while (Y/N) hugged his arm to calm him down.

" I can't believe it. Our (Y/N) is official a pirate. ", Brulee spoke with a smile.

" Now the world nows who you are and where you belong. ", Daifuku added with a smile.

" and I am sure Mama will be happy too. She always loves to see a new wanted poster with her last name on it. ", Oven spoke amused and gave Katakuri a proud smile. He knew what they were up to. They wanted to make the best out of this situation. In a way they were right. His mother loved such news. It sure would be a great help with all the other problems they still had to deal with. But most of all they were safe now. That was more important than anything else.

"I need some rest…For now we will stay at whole cake.", he spoke exhausted and took (Y/N)'s hand in his to signal her to go. Nodding happily, she let herself guide to the path of whole cake chateau. At the back they could hear everyone cheer to have their brother back. With big smiles on their faces, they watched their brother holding his wife's hand, a gesture they never thought to see ever.

"Katakuri.", (Y/N) spoke and let him look down to her sweet expression.

" I am really sorry… I never thought that this man would… ", she stopped mid way to avoid making her husband angry again. "Is it that bad to be on that list?", she asked seriously and let him stop for a moment. Sighing he thought for a moment of what to say. Sure she didn't know exactly. This wasn't something she had to deal with ever in her life.

"What do you think? To be wanted means you will never be able to go out there freely ever again. There will always be a shadow haunting you down… Forever. Not to mention what this lava shithead will do… ", he spoke strained and got irritated of her smile. Giving his hand a short kiss, she smiled even wider into his stunned face.

"But you will be with me. Right?", her words let his heart flutter and suddenly this problem didn't feel difficult anymore. Nothing seemed difficult anymore.

Smiling under his scarf, he got down to her level and slowly reached for his scarf. Stunned she watched his actions mouth agape. Was he showing his face here? Outside? With still his siblings at the back, who got eyes like saucers after noticing his actions? Looking back to the others, (Y/N) got kind of nervous. These intimated moments were only held in private. To be seen like that with others, made her cheeks flush furiously.

A soft fabric landed around her neck.

A familiar scent, which she adored so much.

Noticing the red scarf around her head, she was met with the face of her smirking husband, who placed the accessorie around her too, to have her close. Hidden behind the fabric nobody was able to see what she could see. A smiling sweet general, who pressed his lips against hers. The time stopped, nevertheless they still could hear the cheering at the back of having such a sweet moment in front of them.

"always my sweet wife….", he whispered against her gasping lips of his passionate kiss.

"I will stay by your side forever…. "

Xxx

End - one special left 🥰

Such a sweet Sweet General…. Thank you so much for reading. And feel free to leave a comment. I always love to read feedback and support from you. Any idea is welcome!

Have a nice day! 😊

[brick-a-doodle-do]

Special Valentine

Happy Valentine's Day brick!

Here's the story that goes with that picture I drew for you!

Word Count: 1.3k

The day typically would have been seen the same as any other, but on this particular slow morning a certain disguised hero was already having the time of his life. Like usual, he'd woken up way before his roommate had and was already in the kitchen tending to their breakfast and a secret snack he was making specifically for this day. He laughed to himself as he took and spun a few times while mixing the dough up, humming in delight at the particularly powerful strawberry smell. His ears stayed poised to listen for his roommate unlocking the door, hoping the smell of food would lure him out somehow. With that thought in mind, he sped up, moving quickly as he pieced together the treats out of that dough and got them on pans, then in the oven.

He dusted his hands off before sneaking over to the hallway the other's bedroom was in, standing out of sight around the corner as he heard movement from inside. He grinned and pressed his back up against the wall in an attempt to remain fully hidden, keeping his squirming tail behind him so it wouldn't give him away. The ambush was complete when the door clicked, pure silence followed as his roommate listened to the silence suspiciously, then the smallest sigh and movement. He found it strange that he could never hear them walking, but the slight shift of the scales on that long tail was enough to give it away.

The instant his roommate stepped to the corner, the cat leapt out at him with a playful roar and latched onto the much taller man. Like always, he was immediately growled at as the dragon, Irzayn, glared at him and started trying to pry him off. "Will you stop doing that?! Get OFF!" He was trying and failing to pull the smaller man off and it was only agitating him even further.

Varazae laughed merrily and eventually shoved himself away from Irzayn, narrowly missing the irritated swipe of sharp claws. The dragon never really hurt him even when it did connect, but he didn't feel like having another shirt torn. "But why not? You're not even awake when you come out of there! You are now!" His tail wiggled slightly from entertainment and he hurriedly spun around to dash back towards the kitchen after receiving a murderous look. "You can't kill me! I'm the cook!"

Irzayn narrowed his eyes but gave in with a grumble, lazily heading to the couch and sitting down, turning on the TV. It was immediately showing news of a recent bloodbath that ended with the hero's loss, and the escape of Voidshire. They both watched the TV, but with different thoughts. Varazae felt rather…depressed over that fight. He had also taken part in it but for some reason kept being the only one left unharmed against that villain. Irzayn, however, felt extremely annoyed that they were blaming the bombs on him and that he hadn't gotten that artifact without getting hurt. He was still sore from it, one reason he never liked being jumped on.

The two did their normal activities, Irzayn watching the news while Varazae fussed in the kitchen. He wanted this to be a masterpiece, and judging from the lovely smell floating from the oven and how the dragon kept glancing over impatiently, he figured he'd gotten it down pretty good. With a flourish, he got the treats out of the oven and set on the stove to cool down some. The especially strawberry flavored cookies sizzled further on the hot pan as they finished and the cat smirked, wondering if he should mess with them. He doubted Irzayn knew what day it was.

He gave a nod after a little more before he playfully called out, "I'm all done!" He had to hold back a snicker when he heard the other get up so quickly. Irzayn always did like strawberries, so he guessed this much was natural. Even so, he waited for the tall dragon to enter his kitchen before grinning up at him. That blank, tired, annoyed, and unbothered gaze was all he got in return, like usual. He hummed in thought as those strikingly unique golden eyes drifted towards the pan of cookies. "...do you know what day it is?"

Successfully, that yanked those amazing eyes right back to him. "...why? It's just Tuesday—" He was cut off when the tiny cat stood on his toes and his hand shot out, hooking Irzayn's neck to yank him down lower so their faces were closer. His eyes went wide and he yelped, "Vara—"

A finger touched his lips and the cat looked serious for a few moments, before the gaze softened and he gave a sweet smile. "It's Valentine's Day. I made you cookies, don't you have something for me?" He really didn't think the dragon would, but he wanted to mess with him some. He was met with a long stare before it turned more annoyed than anything. What he didn't expect was for the dragon to nod and reach into his pocket. "What…?" Vara's eyes widened when he caught sight of a little charm, one that you'd hang on your bag. It was a little kitten playing with a croissant and…to be honest Vara had no clue where he could have found something so weird.

But once it registered he gasped and dove for it, reluctantly pulling his finger away from Irzayn's surprisingly soft lips as he tried to get the charm. But Irzayn held it out of reach above his head as he stood back up, frowning for a long few moments before allowing a smirk. Varazae proceeded to growl, his tail flicking in agitation. "What? You expect me to give it to you after what you did? You haven't even paid me yet—"

Vara promptly shoved a cookie in Irzayn's mouth, watching the dragon double over and cough, having nearly choked on it. The cat snatched the charm from his suffering roommate and stuck out his tongue at Irzayn. "Thanks Irza! Hope you liked you're cookie~!"

Irza proceeded to give him a glare, still clutching the counter and trying to breathe, but pushing himself back up and finishing the cookie properly. Even he couldn't hide how his long scales tail wiggled happily. "Shoving it down my throat is not a nice way to trade."

Vara shrugged and grabbed a cookie before bolting so he could avoid being grabbed. "You're the one who started messing with me!" He always found it hilarious how angry Irzayn's face could be when his tail gave away what he was actually feeling. The motions were so similar to a cat's that he had no trouble learning the body language either. Now in the living room and out of reach, he spun on his heel and smiled brightly at his counterpart. "Thank you Irza! I mean it! Happy Valentine's Day!"

Irzayn watched him retreat and rolled his eyes, but when Vara spoke again, he couldn't help but stare at the joy on his friend's face, his heart feeling like it skipped a beat. A hand flinched towards his chest as his eyes went wide again, but he turned his head away. In a much quieter voice, he muttered, "...yeah. Happy Valentine's Day…" He didn't know what that feeling in his chest was, or why he felt it with both Quickvine and Varazae, but he'd never admit to it. Just like he'd never say how delicious these cookies were, and how much a precious friend he thought Vara was. Yep. Just another typical morning for the hero and villain pair.

—

END

Hope everyone has a lovely Valentine's!

(brick here)

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH EFSDJFSAFKDEWKSFDEWKSAFEWSAFC I WAS NOT EXPECTING THIS TO BE IN MY ASKBOX ????? WHAAA 3D THIS IS AWESOME AND FUCKING ADORABLE !!!!! VARA JUST SHOVING THE COOKIE DOWN HIS THROAT AND ATTACKING HIM IS SO CHAOTIC I LOVE IT :DDD THANK U SMSMMFSNDFJDS FEWSD

[littlekohai77]

Eleceed x oc

Chapter 9

Word count: 1627

\/\/

So Hwa-Young always stands in the kitchen and watches as the food cooks. No matter if it'll take 3 hours for it to cook, she staying there watching it.

~~~~~~~~~~

Arthur was quite annoyed that he's roomie won't come cuddle him and instead chooses to stand in the cafeteria kitchen and watch as the food cooks.

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥?

Some food taking his crush's attention away from him? Ain't happening on his watch.

Waltzing into the kitchen, he processeds to try every method in the book to get her to come to back to the lounge with him, his patience wearing thinner at every failure.

He pokes and probs at Hwa-Young, the latter remaining ever so indifferent.

She insisted that he go back to what he was doing instead of wasting his precious time pestering her, she said all of this with her back turned to him, facing the stove. It infuriated Arthur how she hadn't even looked at him once.

Giving up, he pouts, crossing his arms and huffing. Mumbling "Why do you even do this anyway? "

Making her finally look at him.

Arthur cheered internally at this.

◡̈⋆ⓎⒶⓎ!(*´∇')ﾉ 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦.

Hwa-Young pretended to not hear the sudden increase in his heart beats.

Being able to hear ones heart beat is an ability she never told anyone, only one person knows about this ability, Seongik Han, her old man.

She mainly never tells her allies about this for the fear of them suddenly avoiding her.

She hates the fact that she has grown soft to people she's better off not trusting.

But there's not much left to do now, feelings don't just vanish away. Lying seems like the safest option for her heart, even if it kinda makes her feel a bit guilty for some unknown reason.

"You really wanna know? " She quirked a brow, loosely crossing her arms over her chest. The fabric of her hoodie wrinkling up.

"Of course I wanna fucking know. " He huffed with a pout, still upset. Untangling his arms, he lays his hands on the counter behind him, using them as support to lean back a bit as Hwa-Young went beside him and also leaned back on the counter.

Turning his head towards Hwa-Young, he moved his chin to motion her to explain herself.

Hwa-Young sighs and rubs her temple. Getting the feeling that he won't leave her alone until she elaborates.

"Well, way before old man took me in, when I was about 9 I think? I used to survive on my own. I used to speak Arabic back then. Why? I don't fucking know. I didn't remember where I was from or why I was alone.

I survived by either begging or stealing.

Child me really had strong sense of morality. So, I was rather hesitant about stealing.

One day I finally went 'fuck it' and stole something.

I almost got caught with how slow I was which wasn't surprising considering I haven't eaten shit in the past three days.

What I stole was a pack of instant ramen.

I lived or more like hid in an abandoned building at that time. And luckily the stove was still functioning and there were a few pots.

Reading the instructions was the hardest part, honestly. It was in Korean and at that time my Korean was a bit rusty.

By following what was written on the packaging I let it cook and went to sit down in another room.

That other room had an old sofa and with how tried I was, I just couldn't resist the temptation to laying down.......That was the first mistake.

After laying down fatigue hit me like a truck and I didn't even realize when I fell asleep.

That was the second and biggest mistake.

When I had woken up there was smoke everywhere. Remembering the pot on the stove I rushed to the kitchen and in my hurry and panic, instead of turning off the stove stupid dumb little me lifted the pot with my bare hands.

I got second degree burns from that. When I realized that I had just touched it without oven mitts or anything protecting my hand. I kinda panicked again and dropped it, making it fall to the floor and also give my feet 2nd degree burns in the process. How fun. "

She lifted her hands to show him the marks he had always been confused and asking about.

Arthur's eyes widened, he could still see the faded scars. He raised his hand to lightly graze it against her faded scars. He took her hand in his, wearing an unreadable expression.

Hwa-Young tried tugging her hand out of his grasp, wearing a blank yet flushed expression.

But he had no plans of letting her go so easily, she eventually gave up, looking somewhere other than his face, hiding her face that was raising in temperature.

Arthur smirked evilly, amused at her cute attempts to mask her shyness.

Caressing her hand with his thumb, his expression turning soft, an almost sad smile on his lips.

"I-I was coughing and crying like crazy. I felt like shit. The food was nothing but ashes. I had nothing to eat.

I really wanted to cry more but I didn't. At that point of life I realized that crying never fixes shit.

So, I wiped my tears not really caring how it stung my burns.

I suffered two more days of starvation before an old grandma offered to cook for me if I cleaned her house. The grandma I later ran away from.

So, lesson learned. Always watch the food as it cooks. "

After finishing her story she expected him to go back to his room but instead was surprised when he wrapped his arms around her.

Her eyes widening, cheeks becoming red.

She hated how this was making her heart race, not understanding what she should do with her hands that were awkwardly hanging off to the side she settled with awkwardly running her hand up and down his back.

Little did they, they were being watched by a certain someone.

That certain someone clenched his fists in rage and jealousy, muttering something under his breath as his crimson eyes bore into the raven head.

\/\/

"Was it you who suggested the idea to Mr. And Mrs. Bryan? " Hwa-Young spoke in a monotonous voice, her expression pointed.

Arthur could be seen nervously looking around on the other end.

"Well.....it wasn't really me who brought it up and it seemed like my opinion didn't matter. And marrying you doesn't really sound that bad. "

"Does it really mean anything to you? " Hwa-Young questioned with a monotonous look to mask her desperation. She's feels lost, she, herself doesn't even know what she is desperate for.

"Does it mean anything to YOU?"

Arthur dodged the question, instead answering it with another question.

"Do you want it to mean anything? "

She retorted, using an eraser to roughly erase the wrong answers she had written on her notebook. With a troubled expression she kept roughly rubbing the eraser against the paper, eventually tearing the paper. She put her head down on the table and let out a defeated sigh.

"Ok, this is just confusing. If you don't want it to happen then just say it. " Arthur stated in a frustrated tone.

Don't get him wrong, he wasn't annoyed at Hwa-Young, he was just upset at the possibility that she might not want to be with him.

He was confused with the things she was saying.

He sighed, bringing a hand up to rub the back of his neck.

"Hwa-Young, you don't have to talk about it right now. We can talk once your ready." He said with the ghost of a smile on his lips.

Hwa-Young peaked from underneath her white lashes, wearing an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry for wasting your time like this. "

"Nah, it's okay. "

"So, you agree that I was wasting your time? (￣へ ￣ 凸" Hwa-Young inquired, sitting up straight, her arms crossed over her chest and a pout on her lips.

"Wait! That's not what I meant-" Arthur rushed to defend himself, raising both his arms in front of him.

"Nah, I'm just messing with you. " Hwa-Young assured, biting her lower lip to stifle her giggles, wincing when she put too much pressure on the cut.

"How'd your lip get busted?"

"Well, I was playing a rhythm game and things kinda got intense and..... Yeah.. "

Hwa-Young shrugged both her shoulders.

"Why do you torture your oh-so-kissable lips that I would absolutely love to suck on? Why? " Arthur blurted out, his eyes widening when he realized what he just said.

"What? Σ(゜゜)" Hwa-Young was shell shocked.

"What? Σ(゜゜)" Arthur was embarrassed.

Not being able to face her anymore, Arthur abruptly ended the video call.

~~~~~~~~~~

📝Author📝:

Breaking News!

If your receiving this right now, it's because you just said something excessively fucking cringy to the person you like.

Locals are gagging and throwing up on the street from secondhand embarrassment and are begging for you to stand up and get a grip after saying that absolute word vomit.

Enjoy the new 3 am thought that will keep you up for the next seven years and that VIP pass to cringefest you loser simp.

More on this later, I'm Stanzi Potenza and this is Call Out News.

~~~~~~~

Arthur read the new message.

He just wants to bash his head into the wall at this point.

~~~~~~~

"Well, whatever that was. I have two more people to call anyway."

Hwa-Young sighed, brushing off what Arthur said.

[rivangel]

(っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ Levi Month - Day 1 ♥ @levievent

⇨ pre canon: first time

♡ ship ⇨ Squad Leader!Levi x Scout!afab!Reader

♡ content ⇨ established relationship, afab reader (same height as Levi), first time, subby+virgin Levi, guided masturbation, edging, praise

♡ word count ⇨ ~1.7k

You’re waiting behind the bathroom door to scare him, which makes you a brat if he's ever encountered one. He'd make you wait an annoying length of time to bore you, but he forgot his clean clothes on the dresser. All he has is a towel over his shoulders. He wraps and secures it high on his hips before leaving. When he does and you burst out from behind the door with a bat-like hiss, he makes his annoyance clear with a single stare. You, in your thin cami that's practically glued to the shape of you from your shower, and a cute pair of panties.

"Very funny." He starts to look away because your nipples are practically poking through, and even if you were dry, not much would be left to the imagination.

"Sorry, I wanted to hurry because you're always so quick—I didn't really dress," you chuckle. "Sorrryy..."

It's not so rare anymore to see Levi flustered, but it always gets to you the same, such a serious hardened man blushing and avoiding your gaze. But to your surprise, he marches up to you first, and kisses you.

You can tell it was meant to be quick, but you tilt your head and lean in, unable to resist, savoring his soft lips and breathing in the clean soap on his oven-warm skin. You wrap your arms around his slight shoulders as Levi struggles with one hand busy keeping the towel in place. Your chest, pressed against his and his light breaths fanning your cheek. He makes a small noise and shifts a little strangely.

You try to pick up on the cause without stopping. On some more thought, you press your hand to the small of his back, and feel heat pool low in your belly to find him completely hard against the front of your thigh. It's honestly funny you didn't notice before unless Levi was putting effort into hiding it.

It's not the first time—you've came close, but—

You hum as your lips smack tenderly. You’ve slowed down. You decide not to press him, instead taking his hand from your waist, lacing your fingers, and bringing them up to the bold swells of your chest through your sheer shirt. His breathing stammers for a solid second, kissing now distracted as you show him—because not only does he seem shy, but unsure of—how to touch you.

Of course, it’s Levi, so he learns quickly, applying just the amount of pressure that leaves you aching to yank your top off so quick, slowly flicking your nipple with a deft thumb. As this goes on the kiss grows deeper.

You practically taste his mint dentifrice in the back of your throat when you whine, and start to reach between you to begrudgingly separate, and ask. You're slightly grateful you did at the sight of his flushed cheeks and thick lashes contouring lidded eyes, silvery blue.

You agree through your gazes more than with words, and you pull up your shirt. Levi still has one of his hands still holding up his towel, but he still helps, delicately gliding it up the full stretch of your waist, and your breasts.

Reluctantly, giving plenty of an opportunity to do something else, after your shirt drops at your feet you start to take his hand, in the end causing his towel to drop as well with the cushy whoosh of fabric.

He kisses you quickly, then your neck, breathing heavily just like you are. His lips are hot, and the trail of saliva he leaves behind quickly cools on your skin, sending shivers up your spine. You guide his hand again, and this time Levi is sucking the tender skin of your neck between his teeth while he fondles your tits with an unmistakable want that just had to’ve been brewing in him for ages.

You run your fingers through his hair and he raises his head, explaining, or rather failing to, "I..."

He must be inexperienced, and it's not surprising someone like Levi is struggling. There is nakedness—you're in the military after all—but then there's his firm cock, hard against your thigh. You suggest, simply, that he lay down. Don't worry about anything else.

The mattress seems to welcome you two. In the heat of another embrace, you pull away with him, your delectable little captain, pressed against the bed under you.

"What if you touched yourself for me? Let me see what you'd like me do to you."

Levi is so shocked by the proposal he's rendered speechless, but he's just as hesitant to come up with a counterargument that he'd like more. He’d like everything. He’d like it if you’re in control. Make him. Make him yours. It wouldn't be far from the truth to admit he doesn’t know how to do that himself.

"If that's what you want," he imparts simply. "I'll do that for you."

God, you want him. You give him more space as he props himself up a little and spreads his legs, and, he looks so good. His cock is thick, much than its length and more than makes up for it, already glistening and beading with cum from being "teased". Black hair is finely groomed, and mostly shaved below his hips. You're tempted to touch yourself with just the knowledge of how desperate he is for you, how deeply his desire runs just like yours.

You squeeze your thighs together gently, watching him with salacious intent.

He can barely look at you. He sucks in a breath when he starts to stroke his tip, with slow, little twists of his wrist. He's raw and overstimulated already.

"How long..." He squirms. "...you want me to do this?"

"Mm... I want to touch you already, but this is good, too. Isn’t it good?"

"…It’s boring, and—and you’re a pervert.”

"Mm, I know, baby."

He talks big, but he's sweating, his face and ears warmed peach-pink. He grips his inner thigh, seemingly unsure of what to do with himself while he plays with his cock—or, unable to be sure. So you tell him, in front of him just shy of doing these things to him yourself: rub your thigh. Sink in your nails. And his breath hitches from the bite of pain. That's almost what it'd feel like if I used my teeth on you. Rub your nipples for me…

He follows all of what you want from him, if with shy fingers at first. Asking how good it feels is too much for him to answer with his voice, but his reactions are answer enough.

"Such a good boy, Levi..."

He moans loudly, slow to muffle his mouth with the back of his wrist, eyes shut tightly. You start to slide down your wet panties.

You see his jaw tightening and toes curling in the crisp sheets in some efforts to be quiet, but it seems like you've finally found something Levi can't do. Whimpers slip out, his voice bleeding into his growing panting and making him whine. By this time, his cock is glistening, you're hearing every fast stroke in his wet fist, and you have him obediently fondling his balls, tensing in anticipation for his orgasm. And he's starting to find his voice again.

"I’m—…”

“‘I’m’?”

“I’m gonna cum,” he gasps.

Surprisingly, he doesn't seem to notice you coming between his open legs. "Shh, don't worry about anything else—I just wanna see you feel good, okay? Alright if I do this?"

His eyes snap open and see you there between his shaky, wiry thighs. The second you lay your hands on his skin, his fist falls down to the base of his cock, squeezing with his head falling back in order not to cum. Your eyes are trained on his clenched ab muscles, and his fat swollen cock giving thick throbs, which are borderline painful by his small gasps. It twitches in his fist, the tip red and angry.

"—...Y-Yes," he eventually answers, "Just do something, fuck..."

Your heart hammering, so turned on that you’re completely out of breath, you climb on top, resting on his hips. You're so wet, to your complete embarrassment—shifting like that reveals that you’re dripping. Levi grasps your hips as if to steady you, but unless you tell him to, he won't dare risk doing something wrong to you. You bring his hand up to one of your breasts, and he groans, following your example without hesitating.

"I want you to cum first," you purr, lightly caressing his cock so it's against his navel. Suddenly he's practically shaking. His hips instantly lean up, seeking more.

"I'm gonna cum. I'm so close. Fuck," he whimpers, closing his eyes and turning his head away like he's done many times. Your hands glide up his abdomen, as pale as snow and so hot before starting at his balls, sliding your pussy up the surface of his shaft, firm against your clit. You moan, Levi freezes. He gasps, his head falling back as his whole body suddenly tenses. You keep grinding, but move slow. It hits him for a few seconds, then you moan, eyes fluttering transfixed on his precious expression of bliss as his cock eagerly pulses, several times while being pet by the slick melting heat of your pussy. It shakes through him like thunder as his release spurts and makes a mess of his belly. He whimpers and groans for your name. You're exhilarated, watching it splatter as far as his heaving chest. He shakes rhythmically through every second spent in bliss, then starts to shiver as he passes his peak.

Then his cock twitches. You notice it isn't going down the moment his hands fall firmly on your hips, and squeezing. You shudder with delight as you lean forward, intent on kissing him through the rest of this wonderful night.

Levi month masterlist | More Levi

[casspurrjoybell-26]

💖Sweet Revenge💖 - Chapter 10

*Warning Adult Content*

Blake Welling

Downtown Ashville is no metropolis but even so, it's hard to find parking and Aaron ends up in a spot some distance from the restaurant.

I've put more strain on my leg than I should over the last few days but he already seems on the edge of a bad mood and I don't want to risk pushing him over it by complaining.

'Peppino's Pizzeria' is a small, cozy place with lots of dark wood, dim lighting and an enormous wood-fired pizza oven.

The place is almost full, so we sit at the bar.

Not exactly the image I had in mind when I envisioned bringing him out to dinner but I'll take what I can get.

"What do you like on your pizza?" he asks.

Ever since we got in his car, there's been a weird, blank look in his eyes.

I can't tell if he's just tired or if it's something else but I wish I could make him laugh or smile.

In fact, any expression would be better than that cold, emotionless stare.

"When it comes to pizza, I'm pretty basic. Pepperoni's my favorite but I'll eat just about anything except the extra-veggie kind. I mean, if I wanted a salad, I'd eat a salad."

It's a sad attempt at humor, made even sadder when his expression doesn't change at all.

"We'll get pepperoni then," he says.

The pizza's amazing.

The conversation . . . not so much.

I try to draw Aaron out and get him to talk about himself or his work or his family or anything but I end up holding the silence off on my own.

By the time we walk back to his car, even my most optimistic inner voice is giving this date a failing grade.

We're about halfway there when I can no longer hide the fact that my leg hurts and I start to limp.

Aaron notices after a few steps and stops.

"Are you okay?" he asks.

"You're limping."

I wave him off.

"I just overdid it hanging bikes and moving boxes and stuff. It's no big deal."

He doesn't say anything more but he walks extra slow the rest of the way.

We drive back in silence.

My mood has been steadily slipping towards the edge of darkness all night and I'm almost out of the energy it takes to keep it light.

Aaron parks on my side of the street, close to my shop and we get out.

"Well," I sigh.

"I enjoyed the pizza."

I'm not sure what else to say.

'I wish you didn't hate me. I wish I'd never hurt you. I wish you'd let me kiss you.'

"Goodnight," I say and give him a smile that I know doesn't reach my eyes.

I turn and take a few steps and then he stops me.

"Blake, wait..."

I stop and turn back.

Aaron's expression is finally something other than blank, though it's not much better.

He looks vulnerable and a little scared and a little defeated.

"I haven't been fair to you tonight," he says.

"I started out determined to have a bad time and to make sure you had a bad one too. You don't deserve that."

Yeah, I do and I should probably have said as much but instead, I see my chance and seize it.

"Hey . . . you wanna watch a movie? You can choose."

I know I sound pathetically hopeful.

"No," one word and my hope is crushed.

The corner of his mouth twitches and then... finally... he smiles.

"No," he says again.

"I picked the restaurant. You can pick the movie."

~♡~

My apartment's not big but I have a normal-sized sofa and an adequately large TV.

I get us a couple of beers and we sit with one space between us as I set up the show.

"What genres do you like?" I ask.

"Romance and horror," he answers promptly and I laugh.

"What?"

"Uh, nothing."

Actually, I'd thought he was joking.

"How about Chocolat, then? It's kind of a sappy chick-flick but it's got candy in it. Eye-candy, too, if you like Johnny Depp."

He shrugs.

"Anything's fine."

I start the movie and it seems I've chosen wisely.

Somehow, Aaron's never seen it before and he gives a running commentary on the chocolate and the scenery, the music and the actors.

Usually, it would annoy me to have someone talk that much during a film but it's more than I've heard him say yet and somehow everything out of his mouth is sweet and funny.

About halfway through he starts to get quieter and I can tell he's tired.

I take a risk and put my arm around him, pulling him against me.

"Here... you can stretch out like this. I know you're tired."

For a second it seems like he's not having it but then he relaxes and leans against me, pulling his legs up on the sofa and lying on his side.

I hope he can't feel how hard and fast my heart is beating because it's sort of pathetic how thrilled I am just to have him this close.

The movie rapidly loses my attention.

His black hair is fine and soft and he smells like sugar and cocoa and underneath that is his own subtle male scent.

I don't know if it's pheromones or just soap and clean skin but it's driving me crazy.

His long lashes cast fan-like shadows on the smooth curves of his cheekbones and the soft swell of his lips draw my eyes like a magnet.

Then his eyes flick upwards and he sees me watching him.

"What?" he asks, dark brows raised.

His eyes shine like blue topaz in the light from the TV.

"Aaron . . . can I kiss you?"

"I don't know," he says, looking down so his eyes are veiled.

He looks back up and a little smile curves his lips.

"Can you?"

My breath catches on the hope that's suddenly stuck in my throat.

"May I?"

He reaches up and loops an arm around my neck, pulling me down.

His mouth seems to melt like butter against mine... soft lips and a warm, wet tongue.

I explore him gently.

At first, he's passive, letting me have the pleasure of discovery but then I feel his tongue slide past my lips and he turns the tables.

Raising himself, he twists to straddle me, so his head is slightly above mine and angled down and we're pressed together chest to groin.

As he kisses me I slide my hands beneath the hem of his shirt and over his body.

He's slim and smaller than me but not soft.

I feel taut muscle beneath his smooth skin and I can tell it's the strength of deliberate training.

He pulls back and a strand of saliva connects our mouths.

I wipe it from his lips with my thumb and look up at him with breathless adoration.

He smiles and it's beautiful.

"I love your smile," I say.

"I wish I saw it more often."

And just like that, I fuck things up.

His smile... rare, beautiful thing... flickers and dies and I see the blankness creeping in at the corners of his eyes.

"Aaron," I say, brushing the back of my hand against his cheek.

"Baby, don't do that. Don't keep it all inside, okay? If you ever want to talk . . . I'll listen."

Abruptly he pushes himself off me and gets up.

"You don't know me, Blake," he says, his voice isn't angry or cold.

It's just . . . tired.

"You don't know anything about me and I'm not your baby. I'm sorry. I can't do this. Thanks for the movie. Goodnight."

He's gone before I can gather the thoughts he scattered with the touch of his lips and stop him.

[taughtcruelty]

“I need you to be patient with me.”

NO ONE SAID THE BEGINNING STAGES OF A ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP WITH PEOPLE SHE ONCE DESPISED WOULD BE EASY, but tory supposes making @taughtmercy dinner at the larusso household is a small - but positive - first step towards trying to repair bridges that were never built in the first place. it's a slow process, but a slow process is better than nothing. & awkward, but tory's doing her best not to focus on that part, even if it's prevalent with her interactions with sam & miguel... she finds her interactions with robby are a little more natural, & ethan feels... safe to her, in a way she's never felt before. she's grateful for ethan & robby.

it's like the two boys were the missing parts of her, the parts she didn't realize she was missing until she really got to know them. robby first, then ethan second. the feelings she had for them developed organically, & blossomed. she's never felt this content & this happy before in her life.

she knows that amanda hasn't exactly warmed up to her completely, & she might never. that's fine - while mrs. larusso knows a little more about her life now, tory doesn't expect her girlfriend's mom to act like everything's fine & dandy, or to roll out the red carpet every time she's at the house. it's why tory's usually at ethan's apartment, her enemy-turned-friend-turned-boyfriend having more than enough space to accommodate the five of them. miguel's there now with ethan. she's practically moved in there with ethan & robby at this point. she's even wearing one of ethan's white, freshly ironed dress shirts right now because her selection of shirts is running low. miguel has pretty much followed in robby's footsteps - by that, she means that he's basically moved into ethan's apartment with him & robby.

she thinks she's next on that list, & she's excited for that.

tory tends to cast glances at the alarm systems set up throughout the house, which were put up because of her. again, not that tory blames them for doing that. but staring at the alarm systems has become a bad habit, even if she's not doing it intentionally. her eyes always drift towards the nearest one whenever she gets lost in her own thoughts.

candidly, she's surprised that amanda let her into the house today with nothing more than a slight smile & a quick greeting, before she had to leave with daniel & anthony. it's just them in the house until they return.

tory clears her throat, but she doesn't take her eyes off the pasta she's making herself & sam for dinner. ❝ i'm sorry about my behavior today, sam. ❞ & genuinely, she is. she'd been icing everyone out today at training, her partners included. she'd even yelled at emma, who'd only been trying to help her, which annoyed icarus & charlie big time. neither teen likes it when someone yells at his wife, who is nothing short of angelic. she'd been the first one to welcome her into miyagi-fang. tory felt awful afterwards, & iced everyone out to try & prevent that from happening again. including her boyfriends & girlfriend.

( despite this being her third - nonviolent - visit to the home since she started dating sam, she hasn't gone near the at-home dojo since her fight with sam, & she has no intention to. )

tory's no chef, not in the way ethan is, who can make meals fit for a michelin-starred restaurant, but she knows how to make pasta. almost anything else that requires a stove is out of the question, though, & the simpler meals she makes pale in comparison to ethan's cooking, but food is food, & she wanted to do something nice for her girlfriend. while waiting for the pasta to finish cooking, she glances over at sam's face, trying to gauge how she's feeling right now.

tory turns off the burner. using oven mitts to lift the hot pan, she walks over to the sink & strains the pasta, shaking the strainer out thoroughly once the resulting billow of steam subsides. she carefully puts the pasta back into the pan, beginning to add some butter, mixing that around so it can melt quicker, when suddenly:

❝ i need you to be patient with me. ❞

sam's unprompted words catches the blonde a little off guard. she momentarily freezes in the middle of stirring, suddenly glad that sam can only see her back & not her confused expression. the words cause a sharp stab of guilt to rise in her chest, & it causes her to pause before placing the jar of pasta sauce down louder than she means to. it's because she's surprised, not because she's angry, starting to stir the sauce into the pasta. she takes a few moments to think of how to reply. after sighing lightly, she spins around, facing sam. her expression is understanding, & a little guilt-ridden. that seems to be one emotion she's been feeling a lot of lately. her shoulders slump, & she fidgets with the buttons on the cufflinks of her ethan's shirt, which is far too big on her. she's practically drowning in the fabric, but she feels secure wearing it.

❝ i know. i'm... ❞ she hesitates, an apology burning on the tip of her tongue even though she knows she's apologized to everyone in miyagi-fang more than she can remember, sam especially. she sighs lightly. ❝ i... i don't expect you to be fine immediately now that we're together. we don't live in a fantasy land. ❞ she responds quietly, as if she's trying to diffuse a bomb, breaking eye contact with her AS IF SHE'S WORRIED THIS WILL START A FIGHT BETWEEN THEM. she prays it won't, she's trying to be better not only for her partners, but FOR HERSELF. ❝ i'll be patient with you, if you promise to be patient with me, too. deal , sam ? ❞ tory inquires, lips curling up into a soft smile, keeping her tone light.

[fangirl-everythang]

Mirrors C.T.H

Summary: Calum and Y/n's schedules haven't lined up in a while. When they finally do, Calum decides to try a reflective persuasion if you will.

Warnings: Daddy Kink, Swearing, Spit, Slapping( well maybe one), Just lots of smut.

Word Count: 2691

A/N: This was inspired by @ContentCalum on Instagram. 10/10 recommend for short blurbs. (ALSO posted on Wattpad)

Can't wait to see you, princess, xxx.

That was the last text I got from Calum after he told me he was coming home. Today was my day off so I spent the day doing some housework. The four of them really do a number when they're together. Recently our schedules haven't been matching and I rarely see him. Just brief periods between my early work schedule and his unpredictable night/ whenever the fuck Michael wakes up studio times haven't left us much time together.

While that's in the oven I can shower. Deciding against pajamas I just grab one of Calums shirts because it smells just like him. Usually, I wouldn't wear a bra but a bralette won't hurt. With the hot steam rolling down the sides of the shower,  I let the water hit my sore muscles. Work has been overly stressful. Between this new launch and creating a new marketing scheme, you would think we were planning the Met Gala. Putting those thoughts work thoughts aside, lathering and scrubbing every area of my body that has seen this house today. Afterward gotta lotion up because ashyness is not an option, sliding on the matching lace panties and Calums shirt that comes down to my mid-thigh.

Going back downstairs to turn the oven off I get started on the sides. Cauliflower mac and cheese isn't as bad as it seems, hopefully. "Duke do you think your daddy will notice?" He looks at me with those cute eyes, not a care in the world, guess not. The sound of the door opening has Duke happily barking and running away from me. Following not too far behind our fury son I see Calum kneel next to Duke.

"Hey Bud, did you miss me?" he asks playfully petting the sweet creature. He cuddles into Calum further when he looks up at me, "Hi princess."

"You know I think it's unfair when you ask Duke does he miss you when I'm standing right here." I grin. He stands up grabbing my waist "Well I know you missed me love." he smiles.

"Did I? You're kind of annoying." He gasps playfully holding his heart. Leaning my head back I reach up to kiss him. He takes his time bringing his lips to mine so I put my hands on his cheek and bring him closer. His soft lips against mine send me into a frenzy. God, I've missed him like crazy. Parting all too soon he leans his forehead on mine. "I love you." he rasps.

"I love you too bub." I grin going back into the kitchen. "Did you want to eat first or?" I ask looking at him questioningly.

"It's 4 pm Y/n." he chuckles. Well, we can eat later then, he concludes.

"Well, it's our first time together in forever, what now?" He has a smirk on his face and reaches for my wrist. "What is it Cal?"  he walks away and up the stairs leaving me to follow him. I should turn the oven off. Glancing over to Duke he's in his little bed laying down. Being so cute I had to take a picture...or three. Taking my time up the stairs to admire the pictures of the cute doggo, "Cal look at these pictures of Du-What are you doing?" He continues to play with the reflective furniture.

"Do you know how good you look in the mirror? I couldn't stop thinking about all the dirty pictures you sent me," He stares at me through the mirror. "You're lucky I wasn't here babygirl." My cheeks flush as he pushes me closer to see our reflections dancing in the mirror with a tight hold on my hips.

"You're my distraction," he whispers as he slowly begins sucking underneath my ear, leaving kisses down my neck. My heart rate increases as his tongue touches a sensitive spot, shivers running down my spine. "As much as I want to tell you how beautiful you are, well you've been a bad girl hmm?" His hand lightly trails across my neck, his eye contact never leaving as he snakes his other hand towards my front over my clothed womanhood. "Answer me." His grip becoming more firm on my neck.

"Yes daddy." he hums in approval as he lifts his shirt above his head exposing his tan torso. "Look at how sexy you are baby." but he didn't seem satisfied when my eyes stay glued to the ground. He could have any girl he wanted and yet he chose me. I'm not skinny whatsoever. I have more tits than ass and rolls for days. The stretchmarks that litter my body don't bother me but most aspects of everything else does. His hand reaches for my hair in a tight fist forcing me to look up at our reflection, my core aching at the sudden pull.  "I'm speaking to you." he says very sternly, "I guess I'll just have to make you listen."

Stripping himself of his pants and sitting on the edge of the bed right in front of the mirror he opens his legs and pats me over. "Sit." I obey him, anticipation building in my core. His hands roam my body freely lingering wherever they please. He begins attacking my neck slowly dragging his finger across my thigh "Look at you, acting like a good girl hmm?" he moves the cotton fabric up to my waist giving him a view of my panties from the mirror "'gonna be good for daddy?"

I nod silently, he shakes his head in a disapproving manner. "Use your words Love."

"I'll be good for you daddy." he hums in approval, spreading my legs apart. He traces his finger along the outskirts of my panties, my hips thrusting lightly "excited now are we?" he smirks looking at the wet spot through the mirror. Calum slides the thin material to the side, lightly grazing my clit. My eyes momentarily closing at the brief touch before his other calloused hand reaches up, grabbing my jaw, forcing me to to look up. "You're going to watch as I tease your cunt. You're going to cum on my fingers, then you'll watch as I devour your pussy. Close your eyes even once and I'll force another out of you. Got it?" He has a fire blazing behind his golden-brown orbs.

"Yes sir." nodding along as his fingers begin tapping on my clit. "Good girl," he whispers before dipping his middle finger into my sex, the digit easily slipping in. "Nuh that way." he reminds me once more to look up into the mirror. The glass allowing me to see everything at once, the way he looks at me hungrily, his slender finger shining with my arousal. I can see his other hand going to reach for my breast before I feel it, the mere fact causing a moan to leave my lips.

"Awwwe you like watching yourself being played with huh?" he maintains eye contact with me through the mirror, as he adds another finger into my throbbing hole. His length pressing into my back, hardening with every sound from my mouth. "Rub your clit y/n."

My hand following his orders adding more sensation to my building orgasm. The scene before me so pleasingly intimate and erotic.  "Cal I'm goin-" My back arching into him as my orgasm takes complete control of my body, his eyes on me every step of the way.

He brings his fingers to my lips, allowing me to taste myself, whimpering himself when I take his fingers into my mouth, sucking them as if they were his member.  I release them, clean, turning to face him.  "I thought I told you-" I lean forward straddling his waist, kissing him roughly. "I know but I want to please you too Cal." Before he can respond I gently slip off the bed, face to groin. I pull down his boxers just enough to release his straining cock, gently stroking it in my palm.  "Let me take care of you," I smile at him, pressing a kiss to the side of his shaft "Please daddy." He groans, swiping his thumb over my lip and nodding. We've been apart far too long, aching to taste him once more.

I lick his shaft, tasting his pre-cum on my tongue, he lets out a sigh of relief, embedding his hand through my hair.  "Mhmmm just like that princess." He moans as I take most of him in my mouth, cupping his balls and pressing my forefinger lightly on the skin between the two. The feeling of him in my mouth forces my mind to wonder about him being inside of me, stretching me in the best of ways, a moan finds its way out from my throat around Calum causing his hips to thrust more. I clench my thighs together to provide some friction for my thoughts, I reach my hand between my legs relieving myself from all the arousal. "Get up." he demands, seeming almost angry. Not wanting to question him I rise confused by the sudden change of tone, knowing better than to say anything.

He removes any fabric left covering my body aggressively, not saying a word.  Pushing me back till my knees cave against the bed causing me to fall back onto our shared mattress. He places himself between my legs, rubbing his length along my core painfully slow. "Please, I need you Cal."  He continues gazing at me through his lust filled orbs, desire seeping from his pores. He pushes his tip in and then taking it out, the feeling gone as soon as it had appeared. A whine erupted from my lips, he chuckled to himself. "Remind me again y/n," he states in a hushed tone, "Are you to touch yourself without my permission?" He looks at me, his finger dancing over my sensitive nub but neglecting it furthermore. Accepting my silence for an answer, "And yet you did." His head dips down encapsulating my nipple in his mouth, a breathy moan leaving my lips as his hands roam my body freely. My hips thrusting trying to create some- any friction. "Cal I won't do it ever again, just please- please fuck me daddy. " A stinging on my cheek causing a gasp to leave my lips, surprised by this side of Calum. Still shocked, he places his hand firmly on my cheek pushing my face into the mattress. The only thing in view is the mirror with his gorgeously tanned tattooed body on top of mine, hand still placed on my face. He leans in dangerously close, moving a strand of hair aside slowly, his fingertip leaving the slightest touch before putting his hand back with the same pressure as before, "Now watch sweetheart." he darkly whispers.

Before I could question it his entire length thrust in me at once, a broken moan escaping me. With the side view, I can see him pounding into me, each thrust harder than the last. "Fuck- so wet hmmm, such a good whore." he moans, I nod under his hand clenching walls around him, tilting my pelvis to meet his. He removes his hand from my face to apply pressure to my clit, hitting a particularly blissful combination.  "Fuck Cal right there!" I scream as the bedrocks underneath our sweaty bodies. He slows his movements savoring the view before him, his good girl-now fucking onto him, desperate for release. Her hair frizzy, eyes fluttering from excessive pleasure, he never wanted it to end. "I love you y/n."

"I love you too Calum." I reach up grabbing his neck to pull him back to me, our lips meeting once more passionately while he thrust into me again. He presses my body closer to his as my legs wrap around him for dear life, my hands holding onto his as if he'd disappear. "Can I cum please?"  He grunts, nodding his head in approval of my very much needed release. Unable to focus on anything but the eruption of pleasure from my core, repeating a slur of Calums name over and over again like it is the only thing I've ever known. His release following shortly after, the warmth of his seed filling me. His panting is my focal point upon return, watching as each breath falls from his swollen plump lips. I giggle moving some of his sweat-coated hair from his face, "Welcome home Mr.Hood." He smiles laughing at my gesture, "Quite the welcome it is Miss Y/L/N" He pulls my face forward once more placing a soft kiss to my lips, which is happily returned before he pulls me to the edge of the bed, still seemingly connected, placing me dead center in front of the mirror once more. Looking at him with a curious glance, he notions to the mirror as I watch his every move. He pulls his softening member from my core, a gasp leaving my lips due to the newfound vacancy.

His eyes never leaving mine as the smirk on his face grows, kneeling between my thighs. I lean up on my forearms to see both him and the reflection better, the handsome bassist looping his arms around my legs, keeping me in place. "Look how pretty baby." He says watching our fluids drip out of me, his tone of admiration never wavering. My hips jut back as he strokes over my clit, still hyper-sensitive from the orgasm just moments before.  As I retract my pussy away from his devilish grin he rumbles a low growl, attaching his lips to my center, his wide hands gripping my hips with brisk strength-leaving prints in their path. His tongue lapping my hole over and over again. He replaces his mouth with his fingers, the scissoring motion driving me on edge once more.  He leans over me, tapping on my lips to which I comply with his wishes, opening my mouth. He smiles before releasing the cum-mixed spit down my throat, swallowing our combined fluids moaning as he returns his mouth to my pussy. My wetness glistening all over his face as he continues to but himself in me. Seeing his back muscles contract in the mirror each time he moves, watching him devour me in the most sinful of ways. I can see it all, moans leaving my lips between my pleas for him to stop his assault but nonetheless, he persists until my legs are a quivering mess around his head. My bare breast rising with every sharp inhale, my back arching further into him, hoping to get away but he keeps me planted there in front of him.

"I need to- Cal can I-I- fuck please" The words barely able to leave my lips, he stares at me nodding but never removing himself from my core. My orgasm ripples through me, forcing my body to compromise, stiffening as I release on Calum's tongue. My hips riding his tongue exactly where I need him as my fingers grip at his hair, hearing him moan at the feeling sending an aftershock of vibrations through my center.  An unholy slurping noise from Calum is the last thing to be heard as he joins me again on the bed, pulling me into him. His lips providing every emotion needed. "I missed you."

I laugh at his cute post-sex neediness, "I missed you too Cal." He pats my head, letting his hands rake through the mess of hair on top of my head as I trace over his feather tattoo. "Did I ever tell you how good you taste?" he murmurs, shrugging lightly to himself, "Fucking delicious." His hands lingering the curves of my body before he places two fingers on my clit. "No, no, no not again." I chuckle pushing him away as my body shudders from the sensation.

"Hmmm I suppose we'll have more time today." he rasps. "Indeed we will." I smile placing a kiss on his cheek. Let's just say the night was more than eventful, happy to be in each other presence again.

A/N:

WOW long time no see! I can't wait to get back into the flow of writing and now that the semester is over I have more time lol.

I hope you're all hanging in there alright!

xoxo-Janelle

[clairecrive]

“Small thing” - Alfie Solomons x reader

A/n: So, I failed to post this on saturday but here it is! Thanks again for requesting @fifty-shadesof-tommyshelby! I changed a few things however I hope you’ll like this!

Summary: Alfie can’t help but step in when he sees that the man you were talking to was about to hit you. Then, one thing leads to another and eventually it’s your shared love for animals that’s what brings you together.

Word count: 2.2K (roughly)

TW: violence on animal, abusive behavior but fluff overall

Tag list: @mollybegger-blog, @evelynshelby, @br0ck-eddie, @of-love-and-of-the-sea, @shadow-of-wonder, @fandom--0verdose, @innerpaperexpertcloud, @sopxhiea, @fuseburner, @ashesbelle (let me know if you wanna be added or removed)

(this beautiful piece of art was made by @fortunetellingnonesense. she has other amazing art so go check her out!)

“Hey, stop! What the hell are you doing?!" Your voice resounded in the streets, its echo jumping through the buildings amplified. You weren't one to shout, nor did you get into fights easily. But if there was one thing you hated, it was bullying. Especially when those pieces of shit always picked on people half their size or age. It wasn't fair and showed how insignificant they were. However true that might be, the cuts and bruises that their kicks and fists would leave on them weren't insignificant. Especially compared to a smaller body such as the one of this little kitty that piece of shit on the other side of the road had decided to kick. 

Unfortunately, it had taken the small kitten cries for you to notice what was happening. But now that you had, you couldn't turn a blind eye to it. Not even if you weren't a strong muscular person and there was no one in the streets could give you a hand. Given the hour, the street was deserted.

"This little shit has decided to pee all over my doorstep. That’ll show him." Not happy with the kick that had probably broken the kitten's ribs, the bloke spat on its trembling body and was about to keep going. 

"Don't you see that it's a little kitten? They don't even know what a doorstep is." You pointed out incredulously but wasn't it obvious? 

"You almost killed him", you added to show that it was totally unnecessary and simply a dick move. 

"I don't fucking care. He peed on my doorstep and I taught him a lesson." His voice became even harsher as he bragged what he thought was a grand gesture. But really, he only proved your point further.

"You're a piece of shit." Simply put.

"Oi, lady, I don't know who the hell you think you are but ain't no one gonna talk to me like that." You could see that he trying to make himself look bigger and threatening but you didn’t expect anything less from him and were set on not let him win.

"If only you cared about yourself just half as much as you cared for others than I wouldn't have to point out the obvious." Dismissing him, you turned towards the poor kitten that was pathetically laying on the floor. Their breath was uneven and you could tell they were having trouble doing so. 

Your words must have confused the man, who apparently wasn't accustomed to a more complex way of speaking. You hadn't apologized but he wasn't sure that you had offended him either. By your tone though, he figured out that it must have been the second. And of course, his ego was bruised. 

"Right, you sl*t, it seems that you need to be taught a lesson too." Too busy cooing over the small thing, his words didn't even register. It was probably going to be too late once they did but luckily for you, a guardian angel interceded for you. 

"It ain't very manly to hit a woman, mate, right." A loud husky voice spoke behind you and you looked up, cradling the kitten to your chest, ready to make a run for it if it came to it. A tall figure of a man leaning on his cane with a big hat that cast a shadow over his face was the newcomer. You had never seen this man before but one look at him was all it took to understand that you did not mess with him. If you didn't want to end up bloodied and broken, that is. 

The bully was about to shoot a retort but the burly man spoke again before he could, "Just like hitting small animals. What fucking beast would do that, hm." And then he spoke no more, only stared at the guy. You found amusing how big and mighty the guy was trying to be just a moment early when it had been only you, and how scared and spineless he was being now, under the stranger's unwavering stare. 

It only took a minute, maybe even less, for him to lower his head and retreat. 

"That's right, no more lesson teaching for you, bastard." You snickered, mocking him. When the man in question turned to send a death stare your way, you shivered and moved behind the stranger's back, just to be sure. 

"Keep on going, mate." The stranger said fully ridding you of that menace finally. 

"Asshole", you muttered under your breath as the man disappeared into his house. You must have been louder than you thought because that prompted the stranger to look at you. 

"What are you doing, lass, getting head to head with a guy bigger than you, eh. Got a death wish?" As you were standing close to him now, you were able to see his face clearly since he was looking down at you for the height difference. What a lovely face. A guardian angel had sent him for sure because there was no way that such a handsome and kind man would stumble into your life by coincidence.

"Look, he almost killed this kitten and was definitely going to if I hadn't stopped him." You didn’t move to put some space between you. His eyes were too mesmerizing to look anywhere but at them and the way his lips trembled before forming a small smirk, was too endearing to miss.

 The stranger’s name turned out to be Alfie, but that wasn't the only thing you ended up knowing about him. He was a fellow animal lover and the human of a sweet bullmastiff. He had a trusted vet and offered to take you to him. On the way, you got to know each other. Albeit, he did all the talking, only stopping to let you answer the many questions he asked you, it wasn't annoying as it may sound. His rumbling was… comforting, in a way. It gave your mind no room to think back about what happened or worry about what could have happened if Alfie hadn't shown up. It only allowed you to lightly caress the kitten's fur and hum now and then to what he was saying. 

———————————————————————————

And after months of knowing him, you could vouch that it was. 

He was an interesting fellow, this Alfie. Such a scaring looking guy, all burly and dishevelled. His cane angrily stomped the ground, his boisterous voice and confident stride successful kept away any wandering eye and unwanted attention despite how difficult it was to not notice them walking down the street.  Of course, since you had just met him, you couldn't know that this happened mainly because of his reputation. And you would have never guessed either because despite his rough exterior, there was an underlying tenderness in the way Alfie looked at the small thing in your arms and how quickly and unprompted he had offered to help. It was the recipe for a sweetheart, wasn't it? 

"Right, I reckon we should get him some help, don't we?" Alfie couldn’t help but find you amusing and was more than willing to spend a little more of his time with you. His day had been uneventful up until now. Besides, the small thing in your arms did need help.

After the kitten was entrusted to the vet's care and eventually saved, Alfie, moved by your love for animals, had asked you to take care of his boy, Cyril. Of course, you happily took the job. Yes, the money was good and certainly helped but you mainly agreed because of him. As naive as it sounds, Alfie had made a really good impression on you that day and always had been the portrait of the perfect gentleman around you. 

He would welcome you in and offer a cup of tea when you’d get to his home in the morning and another one when he'd come home in the afternoon before you'd leave. And whenever he needed to stay at the bakery until late at night, he'd phone and tell you either offering to have someone walk you home or when you'd refused to leave Cyril alone - that was your job after all- he had given you one of the spare rooms for you to crash in and get some sleep, always with the promise of a raise for the inconvenience. 

You were titubant at first, yes Alfie had always been nice to you but was it enough to trust him? Eventually, you caved and stayed the night. The door of your room locked and a route for a quick escape already in mind. You'd soon find out that you wouldn't need it though. Alfie had come home a little past midnight and despite the late hour, he didn't go to bed straight away. Instead, you heard some noises coming from the living room. 

Curiosity got the best of you and you ventured downstairs. You had cooked a small dinner and left some for him in the oven. Alfie however, hadn't even noticed. The concept of a cooked meal was new and far away from him, his nightly routine mainly consisted of whiskey and the papers he'd brought from the office. 

Coming home to someone was also something out of the ordinary for Alfie, so when your silhouette appeared in the doorway he thought he was hallucinating. The whiskey made him a little slow but his mind still worked quickly enough that you didn't notice his moment of disorientation. 

That night turned out to be an interesting one for both of you. Looking back to it, it was also a kind of turning point in your relationship. Whiskey proved to be something that made Alfie even more prone to speaking and since the night is young, you two talked a lot, and you inevitably ended up feeling closer to him. 

After that night, Alfie made sure to come home a bit earlier so that you could talk a bit before you had to head home. And you ended up spending more nights at Alfie's too. 

Today was one of those days when Alfie said he would come home in time for tea. So, as usual, you had got everything ready, the cookies you had just taken out of the oven were nicely arranged on a plate beside the two steaming cups of tea. 

———————————————————————————

"We are restless today, aren't we? But we just came back from our afternoon walk, so what can I do for you, eh?" You were sure you sounded utterly ridiculous, using a baby voice with him but you loved doing so whenever you talked to him. And you’d swear that he could understand you. 

"A-ha, these are not for you sweet boy," you tutted at Cyril when he tried to help himself to the food.

It felt like a crescendo, your relationship getting out of the acquaintances’ stage and entering something blurry that you still couldn't figure out. All you knew was that it was warm and it felt a lot like home.

"Alright, alright, I'll give you some cuddles." Yeah, maybe you were a little soft on him but how could anyone be anything but when he looked so cute laying on his back with his little paws in the air?  

Exactly. 

The sound of the door closing caught your attention and you got up from the ground and walked in the hallway to meet Alfie who was taking his hat off. 

"Welcome back, Alfie. How was your day?" Walking to him, you helped him take his coat off. After hanging it on the coat rack, you turn back around to listen to his answer. You expected him to have moved away instead you found your faces extremely close after you had turned around. 

A gasp left your lips when your noses brushed whereas Alfie appeared unaffected. His eyes flickered between yours, his moustache tickled your upper lip as he spoke, "it's about to get a lot better, it seems pet. What do ya think?" He whispered on your mouth, referring to your previous question. 

The kiss was slow at first, your lips were cautious of each other, tentative and shy. Then Alfie’s hand reached the back of your head and it was like a flip had been switched. Only a  brief pause to get some air, your forehead touching, before your lips reconnected. This time with far more hunger, like you had been waiting for this moment. And in fact, you had been. 

"Look who's decided to join, cheeky bastard", Alfie commented, amused at his dog who was now panting on his leg. Cyril barked as if he had understood his human and you couldn't help but laugh. This dog was something else. 

Your hands trailed on his shoulders up to his neck while the kiss grew more desperate and Alfie pushed you to the wall behind the coat hanger. His hands began wandering trailing down on your body and his mouth was about to follow when something humid and wet interrupted them. 

Your eyes bore into his then flickered to his mouth, so close to yours, before you answered him. "I wholeheartedly agree." And that was all he needed to hear before his mouth was on yours. A shot of electricity ran through you when he did.

"I'm sorry mate, but this is a dance for two," Alfie gave him a loving pat on his head, "now where were we?" he turned back to you before connecting your mouths again. 

[magalidragon]

Silent Shadows | Chapter 14: the journey | a teaser

"How are things with you and Arsehole?"

That was pretty not at all subtle. She rolled her eyes. "Arsehole?"

Arya shrugged. "He's been a total toolbox the last few days, I wanted your take on why." She wagged her tongue and eyebrows. "You not putting out or something?"

"Arya!"

"What? Maybe he just needs to get laid."

She rolled her eyes, her turn now to be irritated. She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back against the exam table, wrestling with telling Arya the full truth. It wasn't like she didn't know. By now, six months after she'd gone to Essos for her surgery, things had shifted, enough so that the ones closest to her and Jon were fully aware of them.

It had gone around town rather quickly, the vet moving in with the deaf wolf owner. It took a few months, her possessions slowly migrating from the apartment above the office to Jon's house-- their house-- until one morning Jon just asked her flat out if she wanted to move in. He had been very Jon about it all.

He was brushing his teeth, while she washed her face, side-by-side sinks, very domestic, and after he spit out the toothpaste, met her gaze in the mirror and signed: "Do you live here now? If not, you should." Then he turned around and walked out.

Dany raked her fingers through her hair, letting it fall out of the messy braid she'd tugged it into that morning, in a rush to get out and to the clinic in time for her first appointment. The distance between the house and the clinic had been the only thing she didn't much care for when it came to moving in with Jon. She began to rebraid her hair, quietly speaking to Arya. "It's jus tbeen hard, the last few months."

"I know," Arya murmured.

They were referring to Ghost's attack, the terrifying moment when they thought that all would be lost. She had been more scared than any moment in her life combined, focusing on every ounce of training in her bones, healing the animal that gave her loved one his voice. Without him, Jon could not speak, and with everything else in their life, losing Ghost was not an option.

Thank the gods that had not happened, he was recovering well, still weak and slow, but healing. So was Jon, his heart having been ripped from his body at the sight of his beloved companion bleeding in the snow, and lying in the operating room while she stitched him together. They had been through too much to let it get to them, but it had been exhausting.

Six months of constant upheaval, they were still there. She figured Jon was allowed a few days to be an arsehole, even if it pissed off Arya. "I told him I didn't want to do another round yet," she mumbled, digging her toe into a groove in the tile. It was aged, desperately needing replacing, just another thing on her 'to do' list.

Coat rustling, Arya moved back from the window, and went over to stand next to her, lightly touching her hand. "I'm sorry," she mumbled.

"It is what it is, you know?" The surgery had been successful, Mel said, removing scar tissue and other adhesions, and so with the first round they hoped it would take, but she was prepared for the worst. It hadn't, which had been devastating for them both.

She blamed herself for getting Jon's hopes up too. He was all in, from the moment he'd appeared in that hospital hallway to the way he'd 'artfully' proposed he'd be her donor. They didn't speak much about another round, until two months later, and that hadn't worked. This time she was saving up for another go, knowing Jon could afford it but not wanting his trust fund to be depleted because her stupid body couldn't do the one thing that it should do as a female.

Arya quirked her lip. "It just isn't time. Ghost's attack, moving in together...perhaps it's for the best right now."

"Yeah, I tell myself that too." They didn't bother to prevent it, didn't stop, but she was growing weary of 'scheduling' their lovemaking to when it was most conducive to pregnancy. She chewed her bottom lip, thinking of the box that was in her bag, waiting for when she went home, just in case. She was late. Maybe this time...

She didn't want to tell Arya just yet. She didn't even want to tell Jon. Sometimes she didn't even want to tell herself. It was a constant struggle. She chewed on her bottom lip a moment and then forced a smile, when Arya gave her a furrowed frown. "I'm fine," she lied.

"Uh-huh."

Of course Arya would not believe her. She was so protective. It was a blessing and a curse. She patted her hand, reassuring. "Seriously. Things will be fine. We're also getting used to things."

"Like what? Can I help? Gendry moving in with me was the weirdest thing ever. I thought I knew all his strange habits but then..." Ayra shuddered. "Men."

Dany laughed. She shrugged and knelt down to pet Lady, needing something to do with her hands. "Oh just all kinds of things. I had to get a sleep mask for his light alarm. Learning how to approach him so I don't scare him. Sometimes the silence can be a lot. I don't watch much TV but it's odd."

"He doesn't care about that, you know."

"I know, but I do." There were also the flashing lights on the microwave, the oven, and some other assistive devices she hadn't realized were even there until she moved in. Strobe lights in place of smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Red blinking light over the door if someone was there, motion detected. There was also a vibrating device in the bed, she'd discovered, that could be hooked up to alarms to wake him, but he didn't use it.

"Freaks me out sometimes," he signed, when she asked why not. He smiled lecherously. "But we can find an alternative use for it."

Jon, always the resourceful one.

She clipped Lady's leash to her harness, standing and passing it over to Arya. "Then there's just the weird habits. You're right, men are weird."

"Jon has to be the weirdest."

"I don't know about that, but he does have some quirks." He hated laundry, waited way too long to do it, and it drove her insane. There was also the way he sometimes 'pretended' not to hear when she knew damn well he'd seen her signing, feigning surprise when she asked why he wasn't 'listening.' Usually when it was related to chores. Otherwise they had settled into a routine.

Arya walked out of the room with her, allowing Lady to lead the way to the door. "Well if you ever need a drink, let me know. Tormund misses you."

"I know, I have to stop by and see him."

"Rickon also says he wrote a song about you, he wants to send it to you, but needs your email." Arya rolled her eyes. "I shudder to think what he says in it."

Dany laughed. She liked Rickon and it seemed Rhaegar did as well. He had connections to the music industry in Essos and was looking into getting RIckon's band a few gigs. "I'll let Rhae know."

"Your hottie brother is so weird."

"Ew! He is not a hottie!"

Arya shrugged. "Sansa has a crush on him, don't tell her I told you that."

Dany pretended to gag, opening the door for Arya and Lady. She gestured for her to leave, with a flourish. "And with that, I bid you farewell. I also need to burn out my eyes, because my brother is not hot." Annoying and melancholy, yes. Hot? No way.

"Whatever. I think he's hot."

"Arya!" She made a face, sticking out her tongue. "Well, then let me tell you that your cousin is super hot and kept me up all night long last night with his..."

"Ew! Shut up!" Arya slapped her hands over her ears, closing her eyes tight. "La, la, la, la!"

She smirked. "Two can play that game."

"Goodbye bitch."

"Later." She made another face and waved, Lady hopping off excitedly towards the truck. She leaned against the door frame a moment longer, watching Arya drive away. It was nice to have someone close. Someone to joke with when things got tough. Her friendship with Arya had been a constant for her to rely on during her time in the North, even during those hard times with Jon. Missandei was so far away. Even if Dany was still trying to convince her to move there, her best friend hadn't budged, citing the cold was too much for her.

After a few minutes, she closed the door and flicked the sign, closing up for the Friday afternoon. Gilly had already left, to go deal with some sort of school drama involving her sons. Dany finished up and did some paperwork, trying to distract herself from what lay ahead at home

[lydiaphantom]

Imagine: Theo Raeken And Banana Bread

Summary: Theo Raeken just knew that today is going to be a day to remember

Paring: Theo Raeken x Reader

Warnings: Some bad words?

(Sorry! Bad Grammar!)

Theo Raeken woke up this morning with the feeling that today is going to be one hell of the day. He couldn't really express this in words, but this strange sensation in his stomach practically was screaming to him that something was about to happen. Something that most likely will make him uncomfortable, and during the years Theo learned in a hard way to trust his guts.

So this uncommon feeling, Theo knew pretty well that had nothing to do with his girlfriend's cooking last night. Even though he had his guessing that you decided to improvise while preparing the dinner, he really didn't think that this was it. Memories from last evening and your late slightly burned dinner brought a smile on Theo's face so he turned to your side only to find an empty spot next to him.

A little confused Theo immediately started searching for your heartbeat, only relaxing when it was heard in the bathroom along with running water and some pop song which you were singing. With a relieved sigh, Theo allowed a small smile to return to his face. You were fine.

As you were in the shower, Theo made a decision to prepare breakfast. He was pouring an apple juice into your glasses when you entered the kitchen. Thanks to his werewolf abilities Theo heard you coming and turned just in time to leave a slow morning kiss on your lips. And the smile that he felt during the kiss was all he cared about. Your hair was still really messy after a shower, you were in his t-shirt with Spiderman and short shorts, absolutely no makeup, and, God, even though Theo was an atheist, you looked absolutely stunning for him.

"Morning, Princess," he whispered close to your lips and then stoled another kiss.

"Morning," you whispered too. "Oh my God, you made pancakes?!" you then exclaimed as you looked at the table with this light in your eyes turning to your boyfriend to left another kiss on his soft lips. "You are the best!"

"Yeah, I decided to make breakfast today, since you have been cooking yesterday. Not a big deal," Theo shrugged with this shy smile as you two were sitting not too far away from each other.

It took you a moment to respond since you already have started eating. Still not fully swallowed the first pancake you started to speak.

"Not a big deal? Theo, your pancakes are literally the best I have ever had and trust this girl," you then pointed at yourself scoffing. "I have eaten enough pancakes to know what I'm talking about," with that you put more blubbery pancakes into your mouth ending the discussion.

Not like Theo was going to argue with you, he knew better than this. He just chuckled and continued with his own breakfast occasionally glancing at you still not sure how after everything he ended up this lucky with someone like you.

Despite the contrary belief, Theo Raeken could be sweet, he may not has a big desire to show this to the world and especially the pack but there were people who have seen the soft side of Theo Raeken, and deep down he knew that all this thanks to you. And he loves you so much for it, just to have those quiet mornings with you. This daily routine as someone can say, Theo is living for it.

"Banana bread!" You shouted suddenly making Theo chokes on his apple juice.

But for moments like this? Theo is willing to die for.

This pure excitement in your eyes that he is able to see. Yep, you definitely have Theo Raeken wrapped around your little finger. And the most unbelievable thing? Theo couldn't care less about it.

"Banana bread?" he asked raising an eyebrow. When you just nod, he continued. "Willing to elaborate?"

You sighed dramatically and rolled your eyes.

"Today, we are going to bake banana bread!" You said as excited as the first time. "Look, that can't be that hard," showing Theo your phone with the receipt you shrugged.

"Uh-huh," was all he responded but you already had taken your phone away and looked at him with pleading eyes.

And Theo? He knew that you didn't even have to ask.

That why three hours later he found himself in the middle of the kitchen, which was completely covered in white flour, eggshells, and lots of banana peels, trying to measure the exact right proportion of left ingredients.

"Aaand... done!" he announced putting two-measure cups away and turning to you.

"Great!" you responded taking the third measure cup from your boyfriend's hands and adding all the content into the form. "And now we are baking it!" you said excitedly opening the oven and putting your banana bread inside. When you were done you turned to Theo with a big smile on your face only to catch him looking at you with adoration. "What?" you asked a bit confused narrowing your eyes.

"Nothing," he shrugged coming closer to you and putting his strong hands on your waist pulling you even more closer. "I just really love you," he added slowly drawing lazy circles with his thumbs on your hips.

"Yeah?" you responded turning your head a little and wrapping your hands around his neck.

"Uh-huh," he then leaned a little closer to your lips. "So much."

With the big smile on your face, you met Theo's lips in a slow passionate kiss. After some moments you two broke apart.

"There is banana in your hair," you said with a chuckle, eyes still dreamy after kiss as you tried to put the fruit away from his dark strands of hair.

"There is banana in your hair too," Theo said but instead of letting go of you he just leaned for another kiss. "Looking hot, Princess," he then added before kissing you again, not that you complained.

You made a surprised noise when the kiss started heating up and your back was suddenly pressed to the kitchen wall, but you were far away from caring.

What you were caring about were the magnificent little kisses with which your gorgeous boyfriend was peppering your neck.

You also were concerned about the fact that the front door of your house was suddenly opened and the whole McCall's pack just entered the kitchen with no one other than Stiles Stilinski leading them. Guessing by how much Theo froze in place and more unconsciously tensed so much so his hands on your hips started causing a little discomfort, he was too distracted to know they were coming.

"We caught you!" Stiles shouted and only then looked at you two, with you sandwiched between the wall and Theo, both with wide eyes completely covered in flour and bananas, breathing a little too hard for normal in the very messy kitchen. Confused, Stiles took a look around and so did the others. That was the moment when Theo found his voice again.

"What the actual fuck, Stilinski!?" he asked furiously moving from you but not too far, with his back to you he moved a little, trying to protect you from the pack's now curious glances. "Liam, what the hell?"

"Believe me, I tried to stop them," Liam started coming closer to you two. Theo just raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms waiting for him to continue. "But Stiles got this ridiculous idea," he specifically emphasized the word while looking at sheriff's son. "That you are plotting something, so word after word and here we are," Liam explained gesturing around. "But I really tried to stop them, guys," he then added in apologies.

That only made Theo throw his head back with a low groan. He was so tired of all this, you knew this better than somebody else. So you put a comforting hand on his shoulder trying to calm him down. That was your first interaction with the pack, apart from Liam who spends every other weekend with you two and with who you are practically best friends now, but regarding the pack, you honestly hope it is also your last time with them.

"Okay, are we gonna ignore hamster in the room?" Malia said clearly looking at you and your boyfriend.

"What?" Scott, who until now was staring at you with opened mouth, finally said something.

"Malia, it is elephant in the room, dear," Lydia responded moving closer to the pack.

"Who cares?!" she asked annoyed and pointed at you. "Who is she? Who are you?" Malia demanded and came fastly to you. With supernatural speed, Theo moved closer to you trying to protect, but that was the moment when enough was enough for you.

"Y/N, but that should not be your concern," you said with clear anger in your voice as you stepped aside from Theo to stand in front of the girl and others with your arms crossed no hint of fun on your face. "What should be your concern, that the fact that you all broke into my house with some ridiculous assumptions and still had something to say! Who does such a thing!?"

"We were just worrying that this," Stiles started and pointed at Theo.

"He's got a name, asshole," you interrupted.

Stiles rolled his eyes.

"That Theo was plotting something, so we decided to check," he responded with a shrug.

That was your turn to roll your eyes, but what you didn't see was that Theo did the same.

"So you thought it is completely okay to break into someone's house, just to check your stupid theory," Theo concluded coming to stand next to you.

"Well, we may or may not knew that you were staying there for the last couple of months so..." Scott started awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.

"Oh my gosh!" you groaned hiding your face in your hands. "So you actually stalked him," you said not even surprised anymore.

"I wouldn't call this stalking," Stiles objected uncomfortably moving from one food to another.

"I would!" You, Theo, and Liam responded at the same time.

"This is ridiculous," you muttered shaking your head.

"We were worrying," Scott started but you didn't see the point in listening.

"No, nada, you stop right here," you started pointing at him and by the look on your face, everyone got a pretty good idea how done you actually was. "I don't wanna hear it. Out." you then pointed at the front door which was still open. When nobody moved you raised your voice. "Out! Now!"

That got everyone in action and soon the kitchen was free from unwelcome guests with Liam, who spend every moment apologizing. When everybody finally left, you felt Theo's sneaky hand on your waist as he moved you closer to him.

"That was one hell of the show," he concluded.

"That is an understatement," you responded still looking at the front door.

"But you looked so hot protecting me," he then added leaving a small kiss on your neck.

"Yeah?" you asked turning your head a little to glace at him.

"Uh-huh," he responded while continuing with kissing. "So what now?" he asked innocently.

That was the moment when the oven made a noise.

That brought a sly smile on your face.

"And now BANANA BREAD!" you shouted excitedly throwing you arms up and with a quick kiss run to the oven to examine your creation.

And Theo? Theo couldn't help but look at you with even more adoration.

That was one hell of the day, and it was only 4.46 p.m. But with you in his life, Theo Raeken was ready for anything, even if his guts right now was incredibly concerned about the thick slice of bread you were holding in your hands for him to take.

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

Let me know what you think!

[ladybellissima]

Finding Love Katakuri x Reader Part 26

Two months. Not weeks. Two awful long months passed since Katakuri left. But what pained her the most was the lack of information about his location. No one could tell her, if he was okay. If he was already on his way back. This clueless situation was making her crazy.

"No news (Y/N). Trust him. He will soon come back. Its a long route after all… ", Oven spoke calmly and felt pity for the saddened woman before him, who just nodded shortly and left his room.

Again she walked back to her workplace with this terrible feeling inside her stomach. A few more days and he would be gone for another week. Exhausted (Y/N) let herself fall onto a chair. Just 5 minutes to rest. Since she started her work at whole cake, she was baking early at the morning till late at night. Sometimes she fell asleep at the kitchen table, but Oven took her to bring her back to her room.

"(Y/N) - san.. Here a hot chocolate.", Pudding came to her side and placed a hot cup beside her. Smiling she nodded gratefully.

"I know it's hard, but my brother sure is doing fine. He is a sweet general after all.", she spoke happily and tried her best to lighten her mood. Pudding could see how exhausted Katakuri's wife was. The lack of sleep, combined with the amount of orders she had to bake, was getting rough. But she knew that the main cause was her fear to lose Katakuri.

"I don't know Pudding… Something's off. Or is it just my mind playing tricks…", (Y/N) spoke with a bitter smile. Getting up she tied her cooking apron around her small form and dusted some flour off.

"We have much work… Streussen needs help with rebuilding the chateau.", she added emotionless and started to prepare her workplace. Pudding sighed deeply and put on her chef hat.

"Thank god Mama left to Wano. So we have more time left.", she spoke relieved and helped with the dough. (Y/N) nodded happily. That was the only thing of the past few days, which let her mood light up a bit. Big mom couldn't accept the fact that the straw hats destroyed her tea party. Her really important tea party. Getting in contact with Kaido, the ruler of the Wano Lands, she offered him an alliance against the straw hats. This lead her to leave whole cake and gave (Y/N) more freedom to get things finished in her way.

Taking the cream from Pudding's hands she watched the crimson color bitterly.

"You won't give me some rest Katakuri… What are you doing right now?..", she thought with a small smile.

xxx

On the other side, far away, across the sea, Katakuri finally stepped onto the mysterious island,which he desperately was looking for. First he wasn't sure, if this map was really trustworthy, because of the simple directions and missing islands on the way, but now feeling the soft sand under his boots, he felt relieved. It was a calm and quiet place, nothing compared to the rough travel with his ship. Giving his surroundings a close look, he didn't sense any enemies. It was really hot and in a way he felt his body slow down a bit. The island was rather small and thick of vegetation. Mostly bushes with large torns were getting in his way. Annoyed he used his spear to get rid of the plants to get deeper into the wood. The place seemed completely untouched by humans, which let him get quite suspicious. A calm island on the route of the Grand Line sure had to be a favorite spot for survivors. Plus there wasn't a single sound of any birds or other animals. There was something he couldn't really tell and his observation haki only showed him darkness. Stopping before a cave, which literally screamed to be the hot spot of something dangerous, he entered it without any hesitation. If there was something evil lurking around he sure would beat it to a pulp. If it really dares to attack him. Using his observation haki again he only found hinself like before in darkness. Irritated he shook the strange feeling off and went on to finally get the treasure. With every minute he got deeper and deeper into the darkness. Luckily he brought a torch with him. After he used some stones to lighten up his tool, he was met with a dead end. The walls glittered with a strange powder and the next moment, Katakuri felt his whole body ingulfed in it. Touching the wall to have a closer look, he suddenly felt weak. Realization hit him too late, after hearing footsteps behind him. Balling his fists in anger he could feel how his devil fruit powers left him.

"Seastone…. These bastards.", he growled pissed and got into a fighting stance. The next moment he was surrounded by 100th of marines who pointed their guns into his direction.

"It's Katakuri Charlotte of the Big mom pirates!", they whispered shocked, but still kept their position.

"Out of my way!", he spoke coldly and slashed with his spear through the group of marines. Every muscle pained like hell, but even if he lost his powers, he would kill one after another. The cave trembled of his anger and powerful punches and soon the group of marines flew out of the cave.

"Seems that we got a feisty one here.", a higher ranked marine stepped before the cave and pointed his rifle into the darkness.

"Leutnand Zotto you are shaking again."

"I am not!", he hissed back pissed and tried to stay as cool as possible, but after he was met with angered crimson eyes, he knew all too well that things would get rough.

"It's Katakuri Charlotte!!", his subordinates cried in fear while the sweet general stepped out of the cave covered in their blood. Breathing heavily he knew that his body would give up soon, but never would he let himself get arrested by these scum.

"Get the snail transponder. Call Vice Admiral Momonga for support!", he shouted to the others while Katakuri grabbed the end of his weapon, which pointed to his heart.

"What's the matter? Aren't you gonna to shot me already?", his deep voice let Leutnant Zotto got pale while his shaken fingers tried to pull the trigger.

Suddenly Katakuri felt a sudden pain on his neck. Cursing he fell down to the ground and couldn't move.

"Wow I expected many scenarios, but that out of all the Charlottes, the almighty Katakuri would come for this so called treasure is really a surprise. What a splendid catch.", a feminine voice appeared and soon Stussy made her way towards Leutnant Zotto. Shaken he fell on his butt before the growling pirate.

" Don't worry Leutnant. I shot him with a poisoned needle. Combined with the seas tone powder he won't be able to move an inch.", she explained and watched the relieved marine amused.

"I told you that this investion wouldn't be a waste of money. This powder is wonderful. And to get this map under the presents at Pudding's wedding was ridiculous easy and then you just have to wait and be on guard here on this prepared island.", she spoke happily and thought of all the things she would be able to buy now.

" Yeah great… Do you know how exhausting it was to hide here. On top boring like hell. For you it was a piece of cake.. ", the man got up and gave the giant warrior an uneasy look.

"But think of the news. Leutnant Zotto captured the man with the highest bounty. Katakuri Charlotte.", she smirked devilishly and slung an arm around his shoulder. The man felt a shiver ran down his spine and got red as a tomato. It really was a honor and thank god their plan was successful. It took them days to get the seastone powder everywhere.

Kneeling down beside Katakuri, he gave her an angered look. "I swear I will kill you..", he hissed exhausted. Chuckling she brushed some sweat off of his forehead.

"Your fate was already settled after your first step on this island. The powder is everywhere. On the sand, the trees, on every single stone. Hell I think it's also in the air. Even your haki didn't work right and so you slowly fell into our trap without noticing. Don't waste your hatred on me. Soon you will face much more hated people… ", she spoke amused and got back up.

" Cuff his hands and get him onto the ship. Update Vice Admiral Momonga."

Katakuri struggled and tried to move as much as he could, but he knew all too well that there wasn't a way out now. His hands were cuffed with sea stones as well, which pushed his weak state even more.

How could he be so stupid. He was so focused on this treasure. Just to get as quickly as possible back home and now? Desperate he thought about (Y/N). He sure wasn't able to see her ever  again and it broke his heart.

"Damn it.."

He could only imagine her shocked and devasted look after reading the news of his upcoming execution.

"I broke my promise…"

On the other side (Y/N) sat down onto her bed. With shaken fingers she held the piece of paper in her hands, the only thing which connected her with him and watched the burning end in horror. She didn't need to wait for any news. This sign was already giving her enough information that her husband was in trouble.

In deadly trouble.

She was right so damn right that something was off. Cursing under her breath she broke down onto the floor while crying desperately. Helpless and heartbroken she thought about what to do. Every idea seemed ridiculous. On top she didn't know exactly where to start.

"How? How I am able to find you?", she whispered exhausted.

Taking his vivre card in her hands, she could see that the burning stopped. Tears rolled down her face of relief. As long as the paper was still intact, he was alive. Frustrated she hugged the precious item tightly and blacked out of exhaustion. She couldn't endure this fear any longer, the hard work, the stress and the unknown before her.

"Will I be able to see you again.." was her last thought before the darkness took over.

[is0gild]

Ice Cream and Fire Oven Pizza - Chapter 29

Pairing: Elsa x Lea/Axel || Side Pairing: Riku x OC

Summary: Modern AU. She's an introvert ball of nerves who works at Ice Palace, a mall food court ice cream shop. He's the outgoing, sassy goofball who works at the Pizza Planet across the way. Hilarity, snark, and fluffy romcom hijinks ensue.

Word Count: 8,417

FIRST CHAPTER || PREVIOUS CHAPTER || NEXT CHAPTER

Credit for super friggin’ cute and super friggin’ amazing cover art goes to the super friggin’ talented ky-jane here on tumblr!

"What the everliving fuck, Lea?! Why the hell are you naked in our kitchen?!"

Riku's muffled shout had me jerking awake and shooting up in bed, my hand clutching the blanket.

"Er, heh… laundry day?"

Lea's response.

Both voices had come from the other side of my closed bedroom door. I heard a ruckus out there ensue - possibly the sounds of a chase? Wincing at the sunlight pouring in through my window, I glanced towards the clock on my nightstand. Ugh, we'd only gotten to sleep a few short hours ago.

...speaking of…

I lifted my blanket slightly away from me as I looked down at myself.

Yup.

Not a stitch on me.

Not sure what else I could've possibly expected.

My door suddenly burst open and I gasped, hugging my comforter to my chest once more as Lea came barreling in. Okay, at least he wasn't completely naked. He had one of my bed sheets wrapped around his waist. Thankfully. I don't think that my heart could have survived such a visual otherwise at this precise moment.

He leapt into bed with me, sniggering as he hid behind me. Or rather, tried to anyway. My frame was far too small to be concealing such a large man. "Mornin', gorgeous!" he chirped, planting a swift peck to my cheek.

Face heating and groggy brain still trying to catch up, I began, "I- Wha-"

"Why, Lea?! Just… why?!" Riku yelled from the other side of the door, which seemed to have hit a wall and bounced back to almost closing again. It was now just barely open a crack for us to clearly hear my annoyed roommate's voice through it.

"Was trynta scrounge something up for breakfast!" Lea called back. "El was hungry!"

...I was?

My stomach growled.

Oh. Apparently, yes. Yes I was.

...oh gosh, it hadn't been gurgling in my sleep, had it? How embarrassing.

Riku's voice snarled, "You couldn't have put some goddamn pants on first?!"

"It was an emergency! Hadta get some food in the woman, stat!"

There was a loud angry huff from the other side of the door. "Whatever, you just better not have sat on anything out here or I swear…"

It hadn't escaped my notice that Riku hadn't followed Lea in here. Perhaps the implications of Lea barging in first in his current state of undress had not been lost on him and so he was staying out there to preserve my modesty.

Rayne on the other hand…

My door banged open for a second time to reveal her suddenly standing in the threshold, a huge ear-to-ear grin splitting her face in two. "Oh my god, it finally happened!"

Rayne had no such compunctions.

She squealed before running further into the room, holding something up in one hand. "Ahh, I'm so excited! So, so happy for you guys! Oh dear lord, you have no idea how frustrating it's been watching the two of you just dancing around each other this whole time but not bloody doing a damn thing about it! It was driving me up the goddamn wall!" Turns out that thing in her grasp was her phone, or so I came to realize when she shoved it in my face, "But finally! The day we've all been hoping for is here at last! The day you've become," pause for dramatic effect,"...a woman! Halle-freakin-lujah! Do you have any words you'd like to commemorate this momentous event with?"

"Why the phone?" was my oh so moving speech as I scrunched up my face and put my hand to the device, pushing it away.

She beamed and shrugged. "I'm recording this."

"You're what?!" I blanched.

"Yup! To immortalize this historic occasion! Plus, I need video evidence cuz otherwise there is no way Anna will ever believe this. She's gonna flip her-" she suddenly gasped, free hand shooting forward to brush my hair back off my shoulder while getting in close with her phone again. "Holy Jesus H Christ, Lea, what the hell did you do to the woman's throat?!"

I jerked back from her touch, brow furrowing. "My...?" I brought my hand up to brush a finger to my neck. Huh. It was rather sore…

"Dude," she fixed me with a pointed look from the other side of her phone. "It's absolutely covered in hickeys."

"H-?!" I choked on the word, eyes widening and face an inferno.

"Seriously. That thing is more bruise than neck at this point." Rayne leaned in even further with her mobile, fascinated. "Would you lookit that? All the lil ones are coming together to form - dun, dun dun," her voice dropped to intone with deep reverence, "the Mother Hickey!"

I slapped a hand over the spot, trying to cover it up.

She snerked then cackled. "Oh, sweetie. Your hand would have to be the size of an extra large, double stuffed pizza to conceal that monster! Damn, Red, for real… that's a masterpiece!"

Lea gave a sheepish laugh beside me, fingers ruffling his wild bedhead hair. "Guess it is some o' my best work, huh?"

Squeaking, I burrowed into my blankets to hide from the rest of the world.

"Alright, no further comment, show's over now. Riku!" Lea gave a sudden shout. "Come corral your woman!"

I heard a slow creak from my door, then the sound of feet awkwardly shuffling in. "Sorry about-" There was a thud and Riku hissed, "Ow! ...about this, Elsa. I pr-" Whump. "Gah! Promise I'm not-" Bang. "Goddamn it! I'm not-"

"Oh for the love of…" A sigh from Rayne. "Riku! You can remove your hand from your eyes, you goob! She's hiding under the sheets."

"I think I'll keep my hand right where it is, thank you very much!" he grumbled back. He could be heard shambling about for a bit more, peppered here and there by him bumping and crashing into a few more things, before finally, "Ah-ha! There you are!"

"Ack! Riku!" The sounds of what could only be described as a kerfuffle followed. "Put me down, brat!"

"We'll, uh… go get breakfast going and give you two some… privacy," Riku grunted out. Pretty sure I could hear him now literally dragging his wife out of the room. How he managed that one-handed (as I could only assume the other was still being used to shield his eyes), I'll never know. Eventually, mercifully, I heard my door click shut.

Lea gave a soft snort. "So… wanna come out and show me your beautiful face?" he then coaxed gently.

Twitching slightly, I gripped harder at the fabric of the comforter - aka my sanctuary. "Hmm… mm-mm, no, I think I'm good in here, thanks."

There was a brief pause. Then, "Alright. Guess me and my beautiful face are just gonna have to come in there instead." The blankets abruptly lifted, but only just enough for Lea to scooch in next to me under them before tucking them back down around us once more. His shoulders hunched, sheet overhead smooshing his hair down as he shot me a grin. "Hi."

Oh gosh, it was bad enough that he'd been naked before. Now he was naked and close. Not that I could really see anything below the waist - he was still wrapped in sheet down there. Still, even though I couldn't see him in all his nude glory, didn't mean I wasn't one hundred and ten percent fully aware of it and that thought alone was enough to send the blood rushing to my face all over again.

Ugh, calm down, cheeks. You'd think after last night, there'd be nothing left to get so red over.

"Wanna talk about it?" he tipped his head to one side.

"Hm?" I hummed absently, dragging my eyes up to meet his. While the actual goods were currently out of sight, I was still finding just the sight of his bare chest rather, hrm… distracting.

He gave a small shrug, "Whatever it is that's bothering you."

I gnawed on my lower lip and glanced away, clutching the undersheet more tightly to my chest.

...last night had been…

...amazing…

...slow and tender at times, and… heated and passionate at others, as well as, er… how shall I put it... enlightening? Sure, let's go with that. But also, it'd been…

...confusing.

I mean, not in the moment itself, it hadn't been. But now…? Well, it was just… we hadn't really talked about anything beforehand. Frankly, we'd let hormones do all the talking. Hormones were a new experience for me. I'd never even had so much as an inkling of a single solitary hormone ever before and last night I'd been struck by a whole raging tsunami of the damn things. Who knew they could be so, er… persuasive. It'd been all too easy to get swept up in the torrent. But now that the storm had died down, now that morning was here and I could think more clearly, I…

Well, I didn't regret it. No, not one bit. But… I guess I just had questions. Like where did this leave Lea and me? I hadn't forgotten the little detail that he'd never really been the relationship type before, and I had no real solid reason to believe that that was about to change just for me. And what about his whole "no girls until graduation" rule? Just what had this been for him then? A temporary lapse in judgement? A moment of weakness? Yeesh, I didn't want to be one of those girls who got all, "What does this mean?" after they sleep with a guy, but…

You know what? No, there was nothing wrong with being one of those girls. Those girls were valid. Those girls had a right to know and so did I, damn it! I deserved to know if this had actually meant something to him or if I'd just been a… another notch on the headboard or… or if he'd just been sowing his wild oats or-

"Oh gosh, was I just an oat to you?!" I suddenly blurted out, snatching the comforter down off my head with a huff.

"Uh…" Lea fought with the blanket a bit himself before his top half broke free to join me out here, blinking at me owlishly. "...no?" he tried, his guyliner-smudged eyes squinting uncertainly.

Right. Good job, mouth. Way to make me sound like a total crackpot.

Inhaling deeply through my nose and then puffing out a slow breath, I gave it another go. "...was last night just a…" The blush returned as I struggled for the right words. "...a one night stand?"

His shoulders stiffened as his head rocked back. "What?! No. God no! El, I-" his hand was reaching for me, but it stopped just short of my arm. He frowned, pulling it back to instead rub over his mouth then drag along the nape of his neck with a sigh. "Shit, we're always doing things so backwards, aren't we? Kissing before we'd even so much as said our first hello to each other… Going steady before we'd even been on a single date… Now hopping into bed together before taking a minute to tell each other how we really…" he trailed off with another sigh, leaving the thought unfinished.

I remained silent, just looking down as I drew my blanketed knees up, hugging them to my chest.

Lea shifted around so he was instead facing me now, clasping his own sheet to keep it firmly wrapped around his waist. Pulling one knee up himself, he propped an elbow atop it as he bent forward to my eye-level. "Do you remember the story I told about how we met?"

My eyes blinked. "You mean the plot of Before Sunrise?"

Grinning softly now, he said, "If you'll recall, that movie starts on the train. But that's not where the story I told began."

A crease formed between my eyebrows. "No, it started with the lantern festival."

"That's right," he nodded. "...I was there, El. I was really there, same time as you."

My spine snapped straight as I inhaled, small and sharp. "You were?"

"Yup! Everything… seeing you there, the lanterns going up, even the bit about me faceplanting into a lamppost… all of it, and I do mean all of it, was true."

I gaped slightly before shaking my head slowly. "But… you said you'd never seen the lantern show."

"I haven't. Oh sure, I was there, but I was too busy watching you instead," he chuckled, tapping me on the nose.

There was a small flutter inside my ribcage. Still, I frowned. "But… but I was the one who said the city we met in was Corona."

He snorted, scratching a spot behind his ear, "Yeah, and I was floored when ya did. Thought for a sec that maybe you actually had noticed me at the festival. But nope, turned out to just be a lucky shot in the dark!" Lea laughed, then paused with a wistful smile. "...obviously in the real story, I didn't end up following you onto that train, but shit, you dunno how bad I wanted to. But I'd just sworn off girls to focus on college only the day before, and I didn't wanna be so weak as to go tossing that out the window less than twenty-four hours in." His lips then pursed to one side, eyes downcast. "In a way, maybe it was for the best. I don't think the time was right for either of us yet. I… wouldn't have been ready to be the person you needed me to be."

I didn't know what to say to that. Even if I did, I'm not sure if I would have been able to get any words out past the tightening in my throat. So instead, I just settled for reaching for his hand.

Flashing me a grin, he brought it up so he could press his lips lightly to my knuckles before going on, "But man, did I regret letting you get away without even so much as talking to you. Was kicking myself ever since, thinking I'd never see you again." His eyes crinkled as he leaned in closer now, "So imagine my shock 'bout a year later when I spot a very cute, very familiar new girl working the ice cream counter across the food court from me. It'd seemed fate had decided to give me a second chance with the divine creature from the lantern festival. I just hadta meet her."

One corner of my mouth tugged up, "What about your dating hiatus?"

"Hey now, I was just trying to get to know you! You were the one who kissed me first, remember?" his lips twisted into a smirk and I rolled my eyes, feeling heat creeping up the back of my neck. His gaze turned serious however. "...women have always kinda been a weakness for me. I'd practically made a career out of skirt chasing. Whenever it came down to making a choice between the ladies and getting my shit together, I picked ladies every time. But when I finally decided, and I mean really decided to buckle down, I cut that part of my life out completely. I thought it would be hard, but it actually really wasn't. Turns out they'd just been a bad habit I hadta kick. Having them around had been a distraction.

"But when it came to you…" his eyes softened as he reached for a lock of my hair to fiddle with. "The more I got to know you, it… The distraction was… not having you around. I couldn't concentrate on anything else… not school, not work... I was thinking about you all the time. Couldn't get you outta my head. Not for a damn second."

"Lea…" my hand came up of its own accord to brush along his cheek.

He covered it with his own, turning his head slightly to kiss my palm. "...you know with crushes, or love at first sight, or whatever the hell you wanna call it… they say you're not really falling for the person, but rather just the idea of them. That you're just building 'em up in your head, putting 'em on a pedestal… but that when you actually finally do get to know the person, it'll be a letdown. That they won't turn out to be who you wanted them to be." Pressing our foreheads together now, he nuzzled the tip of his nose to mine, "But you turned out to be so much better than I ever coulda imagined."

I scoffed, face burning as I muttered, "Sounds like someone's been watching too many of those cornball movies."

"I mean it, so shush, you," he chided, biting back a grin. Then he was shifting a little closer to me. "What I'm trying to tell ya is that you're stuck with me. I'm not going anywhere. I'm yours, if you'll have me. I am all in."

My breath hitched as I stared into those stunning green eyes of his. I hesitated for a second, my thumb idly stroking along where he still had my hand clasped to his cheek. Then I bent forward, giving him a gentle kiss. "...I'm all in too."

"Yeah?" he murmured, grin twitching wider. "So how 'bout it then? Can I be your boyfriend for real this time?"

I hummed a soft laugh, nodding. "I'd like that very much."

"Good." Lea curled a finger under my chin, pressing his lips soundly to mine. Then he used his hold on my chin to carefully turn my head to one side, eyes half-lidded as he got a closer look at, er, heh… at the Mother Hickey. "Hmm, I really did do a number on this side of your neck, huh? Gotta a bit carried away." He planted a quick peck to the tender skin there, making it tingle pleasantly. Then he was sweeping my hair forward over that shoulder and turning my head the other way, tsking, "While this side," a kiss to said side, "is looking rather neglected. You're rather lopsided here and we can't have that, now can we?"

"No?" I breathed, shivering as I felt his lips graze over my skin, my hand drifting down to trail along his chest.

"Mm-mm. Why don't we see what we can do here to correct this oversight," he said, voice low as he began nibbling at my throat. I could feel him hooking a finger into where I had the blanket hugged to my torso, giving it a gentle tug and-

My door abruptly flew open for the third time. "Elsa! I need to talk to-" Anna - that's right, Anna - gasped from where she stood in the doorway now, slapping a hand over her eyes. Lea and I jerked apart, me clutching the comforter more fiercely to my body than ever. My sister parted her fingers for a peek, then snapped them back closed with a giggle. "Oo la la! You two really go the extra mile to sell this girlfriend-boyfriend act! You do remember calling the whole thing off yesterday though, right?"

Lea hung his head and sighed heavily while I scooted off the bed with an annoyed little growl. Keeping the blanket firmly wrapped around me like a misshapen, makeshift dress, I narrowed my eyes and marched over to her. "What are you doing here, Anna? Why didn't you just call?"

"Your phone's been-"

I snatched her hand down from where it was still covering her eyes, since I refused to hold a conversation with her while she looked so silly. She blinked a couple times before a tiny laugh bubbled out of her, "Oh hi!" I merely drooped my eyelids at her and she cleared her throat, expression hardening. "Your phone's been going straight to voicemail and this couldn't wait!"

That's right. My phone was still dead and I never got around to charging it last night. I'd been a little otherwise, ahem… preoccupied.

I pinched the bridge of my nose with an irritated huff. I didn't want to deal with this right now. Taking hold of Anna's shoulder, I spun her around and pushed her back towards my door, "Fine, then just... try calling me again later."

"What?! No, wait!" Her hands flew out to grab either side of the doorframe and she dug in her heels, bringing us both to a lurching stop. "Sis, I really, really need to talk to you!"

"Well I don't want to talk to you!" I snapped back, pressing my shoulder into her back and putting my full weight into trying to get her moving again. No dice. She wouldn't budge.

"Elsa, please!" she whirled around to face me once more, unleashing the full might of her devastating pout on me.

Fudge. I'd never been able to say no to those big, sad, puppy-dog eyes of hers.

I puffed out a small breath with a scowl. Then I grumbled, "Fine. Just give me a minute to get-"

Dressed.

That's the word I'd been about to say.

However, Anna's excited squeal cut me off and she grabbed my elbow, yanking me along with her as she ran out into the living room. I tried to resist, making a desperate grab for my doorknob but only succeeded in slamming the door shut behind me before it slipped free of my grip. Before I knew it, Hurricane Anna had plonked me down on one of the living room sofas with her flumping down beside me.

"Ugh, not you too," came Riku's groan from the kitchen.

Glancing over, I saw him standing next to a pan sizzling on a stove burner, one of his hands holding a large spatula while the other blurred up to clasp over his eyes. Rayne sniggered at him as she pulled something out of the fridge.

"Hey, I tried to change," I shot back before turning my accusatory gaze on my sister. She merely beamed and shrugged in response. Rolling my eyes, I primly adjusted my blanket-dress with as much dignity as I could muster to ensure I remained one hundred percent PG. My other hand went to my hair, which was still gathered forward over one shoulder, thankfully covering the Mother Hickey.

No need for Anna to spot that, thank you very much.

"Come on, hon, let's get you somewhere where you're free to see," Rayne snorted, relieving him of the spatula and taking his hand in hers so she could start guiding him towards their bedroom.

I shot Anna a dull stare now, waiting with a frown.

Her cue to begin.

"Alright, first of all, we're going to have to come back to that later," she waved a hand towards my bedroom door. "Because okay, wow!"

"I know, right?" Rayne chimed in with a laugh, not having quite reached her room yet. I fixed her with an unamused look and she winced. "Sorry," she whispered, returning all her focus on getting her temporarily blinded husband out of there.

Once they'd disappeared through their door, Anna sat up a little straighter, squared her shoulders, and tugged at her skirt, straightening out its wrinkles. Then she took a deep breath, "Right. Okay, where to begin… well, for starters, I did not - you hear me? Not," she reiterated, striking up a finger for emphasis, "suggest the whole you and Lea thing just to keep Mom and Dad from getting mad about the whole Hans and me thing."

I gave her a flat look, quirking a dubious eyebrow.

"I didn't! I swear I didn't! My actual reasons were threefold. Count 'em, three," she held up the matching number of fingers, wiggling them slightly. Then she ticked off the first one, "A, as I brought up yesterday, I figured having him backing you up would give you the courage to face Mom and Dad. B, I thought that big, scary, redheaded ox of a man would make Mom and Dad think twice before still trying to tell you what to do. Which, in hindsight, kinda backfired… but hey, was worth a shot at least, right?" she gave a nervous chuckle.

I did not laugh with her.

She cleared her throat and hastily pressed on, "And C, it was so obvious that you and Lea had the total friggin' mega hots for each other, so I thought I might play cupid and help that along a lil." Her eyes darted to my bedroom door again before she leaned in closer, waggling her eyebrows, "You're welcome, by the way."

Now I full on glowered at her.

Sense the tone, brat.

She gulped, pulling back again, eyes darting about as she fidgeted with her fingers. Then she huffed, "And fine, okay sure, did I realize you two playing lovebirds in front of Mom and Dad might keep some of the heat off of me and Hans? Yes, but that was more of a… an afterthought! Ya know, like… a nice lil perk on the side. Was it a perk I should have taken advantage of? No. Should I have figured out a different weekend to drop the Hans-bomb? Maybe. But-"

"Sorry, sorry!" Rayne suddenly popped back into the room, sneaking past us towards the kitchen. "Just don't want the bacon to burn. Pretend I'm not here."

Returning my attention to Anna, I saw her frowning, deep in thought and possibly trying to think up a different tactic here. Then she was opening her mouth again, "Look, Sis... he and I didn't mean for this to happen-"

I scoffed, "You said that already yesterday."

"No, let me finish! We didn't mean for it to happen, but it did and nothing can change that now. And you know what? I wouldn't want to change that. I am not sorry." I looked at her sharply and she swiftly amended, "I am sorry if it hurt you. So, so sorry, you have no idea! But I'm not sorry that it happened. You have to understand, he and I… Elsa, it's nothing like I've ever known before! It… it's like fireworks! It's amazing and magical and-"

"He who?" Rayne was suddenly next to us in the living room, making me jerk in surprise.

Jeez, I hadn't even heard her leave the kitchen!

Hand covering my rapid, startled heartbeat, I told her, "Hans. My ex."

"Oh…" the corners of her mouth turned down. Then a blink and a louder, "Oh!" Followed by her eyes narrowing on my sister with a disapproving, "Anna!"

"Fireworks, Ray-Ray! Fireworks!" she snapped back in her defense.

Shaking her head, Rayne directed my attention to what she was holding in her hands - a small bowl of mixed, sliced fruit. "To tide you over until the rest of the food is ready," she explained, depositing it onto the coffee table before making her way back over to the stove.

I stared blankly at the little snack, as if not quite sure what to do with it. Then my stomach gave another growl to remind me.

Oh yeah. That.

"The point," Anna steadfastly insisted, "is that we both know you didn't love him. But I-"

A derisive snort escaped me as I started poking through the fruit. "That is so not the point and you know it."

Her face pinched in annoyance and she spat out, "But I do!"

Snagging a grape, my brow furrowed. "...do what?"

"Love him!"

My eyes widened briefly, then I shot her a dull stare. "...you can't love a man you've just been dating a few weeks."

"And why not?" she glared at me as I popped the grape into my mouth. "You and Lea have been only pretending to date for a few weeks and you're in love with him!"

Cue choking on said grape.

Blasted things are hazardous to your health!

Face roasting as I banged a fist to my chest to dislodge the damn thing and let blessed oxygen back in again, I wheezed, "I'm not- We're not- I mean, it's just-"

"Oh please!" she rolled her eyes. "It's you, Elsa. You. You're the very definition of ice queen. You don't just go around having crazy wild monkey sex-"

"Oh my god, Anna!" I buried my face in my hands.

"Don't oh-my-god-Anna me! It's true! You don't! You never do this! So the only obvious conclusion is that you-"

I clamped a hand over her mouth, fixing her with a tiny scowl. Then I said calmly and evenly, "One, it is not the only conclusion. And two, this isn't about Lea and me. This is about you and Hans." I slowly started to lower my hand but when I saw her sucking in breath to go off once more, I quickly gagged her again. Then I shot her a warning look, silently demanding that she zip it. Her eyelids drooped and I took that as reluctant consent. Taking my hand back now, I looked to the bowl of fruit once more. Hm… maybe a banana slice? Yeah, that seemed less likely to murder me. Bending forward to reach for it, I went on, "Now I know you might think you two are in love, but-"

She abruptly gasped, "Holy friggin' cow, what's that?!"

Suppressing a groan at being interrupted, I grumbled, "What's what?"

"That! On your neck!" With a start, I realized some of my hair had slipped back behind me, no longer concealing the Mother Hickey. The monstrosity had broken loose to wreak its unholy havoc. Anna gaped in pure awe, "Damn, Sis, what was that boy trying to do to you? Draw blood, the friggin' vampire?"

"She liked it!" came Lea's voice suddenly as he exited my bedroom, shutting the door behind him with a smug grin.

Cheeks bursting into flames, I grabbed a raspberry to chuck at him for oversharing.

He caught it easily and sniggered. "Thanks, babe!" he chirped, tossing it up into the air before catching it in his mouth.

Then I looked at him. Really looked at him and came to a realization.

That jerk now had clothes on.

"Hey, no fair! How come he got to get dressed and I didn't?!" I snapped, hand balling more tightly into my blanket-dress in my continued effort to keep the thing together and in place.

Anna whined in frustration, "Sis, focus! We're talking about something important here!"

Says the girl who just got sidetracked by the Mother Hickey.

"Okay, maybe Hans and I haven't been dating for long," she began as out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Lea poking about the living room in various places, searching for something. "But just like you, I grew up with him. We've known each other all our lives. I know him, Elsa. Really, really know him." At last he seemed to spot it - his leather jacket, which he snatched up now from wherever he'd tossed it last night. He came over to me and draped it around my shoulders, ducking down to brush a peck to my temple as he did so. "Know him and… and care about him. I actually feel like this has been a long time coming, Sis. That he and I were just meant to be. It's the kind of stuff that cheesy romcom flicks are made of, what everyone's singing about in all those sappy songs. Ya know… true love."

"Come on, Anna," I sighed as I tugged Lea's jacket closer, grateful for the added bit of coverage. Thumb idly running up and down the metal teeth of the zipper, I muttered, "Thought you outgrew fairytales a long time ago."

"What's with the shit-eating grin?" I heard Rayne asking Lea as he moved to join her in the kitchen.

He shrugged, plopping down into one of the dining chairs, "You'd have one too if El had just agreed to be your girlfriend."

"Oof, point taken."

"Fairytale or no, I love him," Anna said, drawing my focus back to her. "And he loves me! And I'm sorry that we went about it in the way wrong way and hurt you in the process. I really, truly am! But what's done is done. I know I don't deserve your forgiveness so soon, but I'm asking… hoping, really, that you'll still give it… because I need you right now, Elsa."

She reached out for my hand, squeezing it as her face fell as she momentarily paused. Then, "I need my big sis. Hans' parents… they're furious about all this. They didn't want their son with the second Fryse daughter, they wanted you. They're blowing a friggin' gasket, which is making Mom and Dad blow their own stupid gaskets too. Which is whatever, fine, I can take it… but not if you're mad at me too." She sniffled, eyes downcast and bottom lip quivering. "...I could really use you in my corner right now, Sis. Please."

I frowned at her, eyebrows knitting together and not saying anything right away. Then, "...you two… really love each other?"

"Oh my god, so much," she gave a weak wobble of a laugh, fingers swiping at the corner of her eye. "I love him with all of my heart and I know he feels the same way about me too."

I inhaled and exhaled softly. Then I covered her hand with mine. "Fine. I forgive you. And I'm here for you, whatever you need."

"Really?!" Anna cried out. I nodded and she broke out into a huge grin, eyes welling up even further to the point where tears escaped. Then she was tackling me in a hug that knocked the wind out of me. "Oh thank you, thank you! You're the bestest, most amazing, most beautiful big sis ever!"

Who was I to stand in the way of love?

True love, no less. Apparently.

As she pulled away, she was now a blubbering mess and I had to stifle a snort. She'd always been such an endearingly ugly cryer. Jamming the heel of her palm to her nose in an attempt to dam the flow of snot, she asked, "Can I take a minute or two to clean myself up in your bathroom?"

I gestured a hand towards the restroom door and she got up, starting to make her way over to it. "Anna," I said abruptly and she stopped in her tracks, glancing back over her shoulder at me. I hesitated briefly, gnawing on my lower lip and almost losing my nerve. But then finally I began, "Would you… that is, later, would you maybe like to…" my lips clamped shut. Oh gosh, I was getting so awkward over such a silly little question. Taking a steadying breath, I then braved a tiny smile for her, "...do you want to make some scotcheroos?"

...would she even remember?

She blinked. "You mean… as in like when we were…?" Then it seemed to click and her face did this funny thing were it both lit up and brimmed over with even more tears. "Yes! Yes, I'd like that very much! I… Just gimme a sec, I'll be right back!" Then she hastily disappeared into the bathroom, clicking the door shut behind her.

I jolted in surprise as Lea suddenly one-hand vaulted himself over the back of the couch, quick to take the seat next to me that Anna had just vacated. He gave me a toothy grin as he slung an arm around my shoulders, tugging me closer to him.

...okay, this was going to take some getting used to.

A couple weeks of fake dating had in no way prepared me for the real thing.

However, as I felt him pressing his lips to the top of my head and nuzzling his nose into my hair as he did so, I relaxed a bit into his side.

I might... enjoy getting used to this.

Now if only everything else could be so simple. In particular, my family-

"Oh gosh, my family!" I suddenly stiffened.

"Hm?" his hand rubbed up and down my arm outside the jacket. "What about them?"

I groaned, "I just finished telling them yesterday that you and I weren't dating. Now we have to tell them that we are."

Lea squinted up at the ceiling, pursing his lips to the left. "...do we though?"

"Yes! I mean, maybe not right now, but eventually."

His free hand came up to scratch the tip of his nose, then he smiled down at me. "Hey, lookit the bright side though. Now we don't have to explain any of this craziness to the mall or tell 'em we broke up or anything like that."

I fixed him with a deadpan look. "Not helping."

"Doesn't it though?"

I narrowed my eyes up at him. Then I relented with a small huff, "...okay, maybe a little."

"Can I come out yet?" came Riku's rather pathetic call from his bedroom.

"Not yet, she's still naked!" Rayne shouted back as she used her spatula to shift the eggs frying in the pan. In response, Riku made an annoyed noise that was half growl, half moan.

Reaching for a blueberry now, I asked her over my shoulder, "Hey, were you two out all night?"

"Mm-hm!" she hummed back chipperly.

"They were just walking through the front door when they happened upon me in the kitchen in nothing but the bed sheet," Lea supplied, biting into a strawberry.

Glancing her way, I cocked my head. "Where were you guys?"

"Riku surprised me with a romantic weekend getaway!" Rayne beamed, opening the fridge back up. "Speaking of, I noticed as I was dropping my bag off in the bedroom this morning that our room seemed to be a bit, er… tossed about." She wrinkled her nose, "I seriously doubt it, but you two didn't… you know... in there, right?"

My cheeks flared up. "Oh god, no! That was, um…" I cleared my throat, my fingers fiddling with the zipper clasp on the leather jacket, "...Lea was just looking for, uh… for protection."

Rayne glanced at him, eyelids drooping. "And you weren't packing any of that already, stud?"

His fingers ruffled his hair with a chuckle, "Stopped carrying anything like that on me a year ago when I called it quits with the ladies. Didn't want any excuses to give into temptation."

"Ah," she shook her head, stepping back over to the frying pan. Then her shoulders tensed and her head snapped up as a thought suddenly seemed to strike her. "Heh… you, er… didn't happen to find the, uh…"

"Pumpkin spice flavored condoms?" I said dryly and she twitched. "Yes, we did. And Rayne? You have a problem."

I felt Lea's whole body rumble with a laugh, "Yeah seriously, Raindrop, what the actual fuck?"

Turning several shades of deeper and deeper red, her eyes flicked nervously about. "S-someone gave them to me as a gag gift, I swear!" Yeah, wasn't buying it. Didn't help that Lea had found the box already opened. "You, uh… you two didn't actually… use those, right?"

"Heh… needs must when the Devil drives!" Lea snerked as I facepalmed.

Rayne silently squirmed where she stood for an uncomfortable moment as she poked the spatula at the eggs some more. Then, "...let's never speak of this again."

"Agreed," I gave a single, firm nod. Then I was standing up, slipping out of Lea's jacket and leaving it behind on the couch as I started heading towards my bedroom. "And on that awkward note, I think I'll go put clothes on."

"Lemme help ya!" Lea grinned, hopping up to his feet behind me. However, he didn't get very far.

"Ah-ah!" Rayne was suddenly beside him, snagging him by the ear. He gave a pained hiss through grit teeth as she yanked on it, forcing him to hunch down to her height so she could glare at him. "Getting clothes on that girl is the absolute furthest thing from your mind, bucko."

He clasped a hand to his chest in mock offense. "You insult me, madame! I promise I had only the purest, most honorable of intentions!" She stared at him blankly before pinching his earlobe harder, forcing a tiny yelp out of him. "Okay fine, my intentions may of been hovering, teetering towards the slightly dishonorable."

She sighed, "Need I remind you that that room is a future baby nursery?"

"And oh if those walls could talk, the stories they would tell your future bouncing bundle of joy."

Rayne scoffed, dragging him by the ear back towards the kitchen with him grunting the whole way. Shoving him down into one of the dining chairs, she snapped, "Now sit your ass down here and if you even think about taking so much as one step closer to her bedroom door, I'm gonna neuter you with this thing," she poked him in the nose with her spatula. "Capisce, loverboy?"

He held his hands up in surrender, "Capisce!"

I'd almost made it to my room when my stomach gurgled again. I swiftly made a u-turn and went back for the bowl of fruit, picking it up and carrying it back with me. For the road! As I ate a kiwi slice, Riku called out again, "Now can I come out?"

"Almost, Hon! She's heading for her door now," Rayne yelled back as she started taking plates out of the overhead cupboard, still maintaining a wary eye on Lea the whole time.

"Finally!"

However, I was only halfway across the living room when abruptly there was loud, frantic banging on the front door, nearly making me drop the whole bowl.

Ugh, now what?

"Elsa! Are you in there?" called a voice from the other side. A voice that made me stop dead in my tracks and whip around, wide eyed and cheeks bulging with fruit. More thunderous knocking. "Please answer the door, I have to see you!"

That… sounded like…

"...Hans?" I squeaked after choking my food down.

What on earth was he doing here?!

Lea's whole body went rigid as he quickly looked from me to the source of the hammering. Both eyebrows shot up Rayne's forehead. Then she was turning off the stove burner and wiping her hands on her blue plaid shorts as she made her way over to the door. She unlocked it and opened it a crack, politely but cautiously asking, "Hi, can I help y-"

Hans was suddenly shoving his way inside, pushing past her and shouting, "Elsa, where are you? We have to-" His eyes landed on me and he froze. Then determination seared across his eyes and he was marching towards me, "Elsa, I need to talk to you!"

I'd been hearing that an awful lot this morning.

I blinked, taking a step back and shaking my head, "Hans, what are you-"

That's when he finished closing the distance between us, grabbed me by the shoulders and brought his lips crashing down onto me. This time, I did drop the bowl, sending mixed fruit tumbling everywhere across the carpet. Rayne and Lea gawked at us.

I- Wha- Th- Huh-

Just what...

...the actual hell...

...was up with this friggin' morning?!

I mean, come on! More had happened to me in the past thirty minutes than usually happens to me on any normal given week!

And all while I was still wearing nothing but a stupid bedsheet, for crying out loud!

It took a split second for the shock to wear off, then I was scrabbling to wedge my arms between us, shoving him away and furiously scrubbing my mouth with the back of my hand.

"Oh hell fucking no!" Lea was on his feet in a heartbeat, green eyes flashing dangerously and face twisted into a snarl.

However Rayne stopped him with a hand on his chest. "Cool your jets, Red, and shush!"

"But-" he spluttered, apparently too outraged for words. Instead he settled for gesturing both hands angrily towards Hans with a growling huff. Rayne just struck up a warning finger at him.

Fingers abusing the fabric of my comforter as I clutched it to me desperately now, I frowned, "Hans, what is this? Why are you here? How did you even know where I live?"

His brow furrowed and he stepped closer as I hastily took another step back. "I asked your parents and they had Gerda give me the address. But that's not what's important right now. What's important is I want you back!"

Um… excuse me?!

Riku's voice once more came calling from beyond his bedroom door, "What's going on out there? Who's here?"

"Shush!" Rayne snapped back, eyes wide and unblinking so as not to miss a single second of the little soap opera now unfolding in her living room. "Things. Just. Got. Interesting!"

"But-" Riku tried again.

"I said shush, damnit!"

I just stared at Hans, jaw hanging open in disbelief. "...I'm sorry, you what?"

I must've misheard. Yeah, that had to be. It'd be the only thing that'd make any sense and-

"I want you back."

Nope. Heard him right the first time.

"Elsa, sweetheart, we were good together, right? I mean, we weren't perfect, but what couple is? We had a nice thing going though, didn't we? We belong together," he was saying now, his words soft and soothing as he started to reach for me once more.

I swatted his hands away and walked past him, away from him. Unfortunately he moved to follow, pursuing me around the room. "Hans, did you forget I left you at the altar?"

"And I'm willing to look past that!" He grabbed my elbow, making me stop and face him once more. "If I can put that behind us, then you should be able to too. Think about it, sweetheart. Things could go back to the way they were with us. We were happy, weren't we? We made sense!"

"But I don't want to marry you!" I snapped, jerking my arm free of his grasp.

How was he not getting this? Just… how?

He brought up hands in a placating gesture, "And that's fine, we don't have to get married! Not right away, anyway! It was too soon and you weren't ready, I understand that now. Getting married is not the important part. What matters is that we're together. I still care about you and after yesterday, I know that you still care about me too."

"...after yesterday?" Huh? I glared down at my crossed arms, thoroughly confused now. "...what about yesterday gave you that idea?"

"That whole little speech you gave your parents," Hans stated, as if it were obvious. "I could tell how sad and full of regret you were. Regret over breaking things off with me." Uh… what now? "I could tell you wanted me back, that you went through this whole ruse to pretend like you were okay about the way things ended between us, but you really weren't." I wasn't? That was certainly news to me. "I know you're worried you could never earn my trust back, but it's okay, sweetheart. I forgive you." ...gee, thanks? "I want you back. I need you back." He was reaching for me again, this time for my hand, "Please, if we can just-"

I wrenched my hand back, "Why are you saying all of this? You've never talked like this before. Why are you-" I inhaled sharply, suddenly hit with a thought. "...this isn't you… this is your parents talking through you, isn't it? What'd they do? Threaten to cut you off? Oh Hans, you can't just let them-"

"This isn't about them or anything they may or may not have threatened me with!" Translation: yes. Yes it was. "This is about us! This is-" His words abruptly stopped as he blinked, eyeing me up and down. "...are you wearing nothing but a blanket right now?"

Was Mr Perceptive just now realizing this?

Also, kill me. Kill me now.

"And what did you do to your neck?" he squinted, brushing my hair back off my shoulder.

And the cursed Mother Hickey strikes again!

Swear to god, I was going to friggin' kill Lea for giving me the dumb thing!

Hans gave himself a shake, face hardening. "Doesn't matter! What matters is," he snatched up both my hands now, clasping them together between his, "I love you, Elsa!"

...what was this day even?! I mean, seriously! I had absolutely zero clue what was even happening anymore!

However, his words sent a shock of a reminder through my system and my eyes darted over to the bathroom door, which Hans currently had his back to. Still closed. Still with Anna in there. What with the whirlwind the past five minutes had been, I'd all but forgotten she was still here. Oh gosh, could she hear all this?

Licking my dry lips, my gaze returned to Hans and I weakly shook my head. "You… you don't mean that. What about you and Anna? I thought you two were-"

"A mistake," he said firmly, his grasp around my hands tightening. "That's what we were. A mistake. You have to understand, sweetheart, I was… was hurt. And weak. I did something I'm not proud of. But it meant nothing to me, understand? Absolutely nothing! It's you, Elsa. It's always been you. You're the only woman for me."

"But Hans, she loves you!" I argued, wrestling my hands free of his. I could see the bathroom door behind him slowly beginning to creak open now.

He gave a derisive snort. "No she doesn't! She's just naive and thinks she does. Trust me, Anna will be fine. She'll get over it. Anyway, forget about her. The only thing I want to talk about right now is you and me."

My sister stood in the doorway, expression unreadable as she just stared silently at Hans' back. Oh Anna. Poor dear, sweet Anna. She wasn't like me. She didn't know how to guard her heart and not let people in. She wore her emotions on her sleeve. This was going to break her. What would she even say? What would she even do? How-

"YOU BASTARD!" she suddenly roared, charging towards him.

He whirled around with a startled, "Anna? Wha-"

She bodyslammed into him hard, sending them both crashing to the ground where she then proceeded to start royally whaling on him and calling him every nasty word under the sun while I and the rest of the room's onlookers just watched blankly.

...huh.

Apparently, that's what she'd say and do.

Welp. Guess that answered that.

Author's Note: Oh gosh, this really WAS a lot to happen to Elsa in the space of… yeah, 30 minutes sounds about right xD All with only that infernal bed sheet to keep her modesty intact! I just have too much fun torturing my precious awkward penguin, it's all done out of love, I swear xD Anyhoo *throws confetti and blares trumpets* it's official, Lea and Elsa are a couple for REAL this time, huzzah! Did anyone guess that Lea had actually been at the lantern festival? I dropped hints throughout the story, but dunno, maybe they were too subtle… or too obvious and just no one said anything to me xD Anyhoo, not much left to go now, just a lil bit of wrap up!

Next time, how will things unfold from here on out for our newly minted couple? Will Elsa EVER actually get to put on clothes? Will Riku EVER get to leave his own bedroom ever again? Just HOW deep does Rayne's pumpkin spice addiction really go? Is the Mother Hickey ACTUALLY proof that Lea is secretly a vampire? Will Anna LITERALLY get away with murder by the time she's through with Hans? Sorry, running on empty with questions at this point, got nothing but silly ones left for ya'll xD Anyway, stay tuned!

Thanks for reading, I super duper appreciate it! And an extra BIG thank you to those of you who’ve liked, reblogged, and followed so far, seeing those lil notifications always brings the biggest, goofiest smile to my face!

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[angelcorebabyowo]

Name: Slow dancing in the dark

Chapters:1/1

Summary: Sometimes you just have to slow dance with your friend on a balcony because there's a Masquerade party going on downstairs and both of your dates left you high and dry. Sometimes you and that friend fall in love in the process, who knows. 

Paring:Fitzroy/Argo

Word count:1,578

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"Well Fitz, care for a dance?" Argo asks, interrupting the awkward silence and stretching an arm out for Fitzroy to take. His mask, one of the ones that would only cover the area near the eyes and was more for decoration than anything, was next to him on the railing and looked as if one bust of wind would send it over the edge in a heartbeat.

"Ask properly now." Fitzroy teases and crosses his arms looking at Agro, a smile playing on his lips before whipping his eyes with the coat of his crimson suit despite not even crying. His own mask, one that covered the full top half of this face only leaving room for the eyes, was discarded on one of the few chairs that were seated against the balcony. 

"Well sir Fitzroy Maplecort," Argo started with a bow making sure to keep his arm outstretched and a wide smile, he even laughed softly before getting the full sentence out. Fitzroy's breath hitched slightly. Sure Ago had already asked him to dance but something about how it was going on this time; now that it was more in proper formatting, it felt more special somehow. He couldn't focus on anything other than the man in front of him and the soft music blasting from the downstairs speakers and even he knew what would come next.  "Seeing as we've both been left to dry, would you care for this dance?"

"I don't know," Fitzroy whispers in a tone that would only be described as longing, despite what he said though, he gently took Argo's hand and bowed before standing up straight. Despite the quiet tone, his voice was also filled with the sound of a laugh that couldn't quite come out yet, then again he mostly always sounded like that whenever in the company of the other. "But...If you insist, it'll be rude for me to decline" 

Argo grinned and stood up straight before rubbing Fitzroy's knuckles with his thumb for a second before getting himself in position, one hand on the other's waist and one keeping their hands interlocked. Argo takes this as lone of the rare chances to pick fun at the way Fitzroy was taking at the moment: "Incredibly rude, I do say."

Fitzroy doesn't comment on that but does roll his eyes playfully. "Do you even know what you're doing?" Fitzroy smiles, amused while resting his arm lazily on Argo's shoulder, the height difference wasn't too significant but ever since his recent growth the whole thing was still somewhat awkward.

"Not in the slightest," Argo smiles back shifting on his feet tying to figure out the correct footing. He's danced before of course, but that was in the past with wild movements that seemed unplanned and planned at the same time. That was the complete opposite of what was going on now.

"Then don't you think I should lead?" Fitzroy asks right as the song downstairs shifted to a more appropriate song for something like this.  He was going to comment on the timing before Argo cut him off. 

"Nah, I got this!" Argo quickly states and starts the dance,  his movements a little wobbly but at least accurate to what he was originally intended to be. Fitzroy was beyond thankful for that at least. "I swear!"

Fitzroy laughs softly, more of a chuckle, and follows his lead. Now having to go oven slower then he was used to, which in his defense, wasn't all fast. He was self taught in this department, surprisingly,  one of the things not taught at knight school was the whole ballroom dancing thing. You'd think it would be a thing but no, it was not. "If you step on my feet I will shock you without a second thought" he says after a few close calls. 

Argo smiles mischievously,  sticking his tounge out, before gently stepping on the others feet,  "Whoops." He was laughing now, and completely stopped moving as the pair got closer to the edge and he didn't feel like explaining that to people. 

"Ow! Why you little-" Fitzroy cuts himself off by just how much he was laughing. His cheeks were flushed a lighter shade of red already and worth this it seemed to only grow darker. He quickly, and at a very low voltage, shocked Argo more so to prove his point then anything. It also got him a tad seeing as their hands were still intertwined so he winced slightly. 

"That hurt!" Argo whined with a playful pout, clearly not being truly affected at all. He was still laughing and was leaning on the railing again,  still not letting go of Fitzroy's hand. While he could've looked over the edge, or at the sky and stars he continued to look over at Fitzroy with a smile on his face. 

"That's what you get!" He smiles before pulling his hand away and leaning next to him but opting to look up at the sky instead, squinting as if looking for something as he did. He was calmed down enough to not fall over after all. 

"Kwss it bewwer?" Argo jokes reverting to baby talk something he knows Fitzroy found somewhat annoying, while still looking over at said half-elf.  He just wanted to hear them laugh again, just  to hear it. Wanted to be the person to cause it. 

Fitzroy snorts and pushes him playfully, having the other stumble slightly. His blush was starting to come back but at the tip of his ears. "You're revolting!" his words dissolved into laughter that then dissolved into just stifled giggles.  

"Just for you" Argo could feel his heart pounding in his chest, hearing it in his ears as if trying to escape its prison. This really wasn't how the day, well technically night, was meant to go but he wouldn't trade it for the world. "Now, are we going to get back to this dance or are we goin'  be waitin'?" 

"Nah, I vote we just kinda sit around." Fitzroy says before doing the exact opposite, taking Argo's hand and placing his hand on the other's hip. 

"Flip a coin?" Argo pouts.

"Nope, I'm leaning because I dont trust you to fuck it up again " fitzroy says leasung the dance, the song was different but this time it was one he recognized. He didn't know the name of it obviously but he does know it well enough to softly along. 

"I am beyond heartbroken." Argo jokes with a breathy sigh but allows Fitzroy to lead, quickly catching on and just as quickly being able to do it without nearly tripping. 

It was quiet again aside from Fitzroy's soft humming and the even softer music downstairs. It was awkward but instead welcomed like warm open arms on a cold day. The pair stayed like that for a second, just dancing but then the song ended and Fitzroy went silent again but Argo was too busy listening to the heartbeat in his ears and his own thoughts swimming to realize that it was over.

That was until Argo felt his arm get lifted up and a small kiss being placed on his knuckles, quickly jumped in surprise while getting pulled from his thoughts. It was soft and maybe that was the reason he noticed it, the way his hair stood up on end. The pounding of his heart only got louder and he warned more painful. 

"It was a good night, don't you think?" Fitzroy asks, now leaning on the railing but keeping their hands interlocked. 

"Didn't go according to plan but...yeah it was nice. " Argo agrees while leaning next to him while running his thumb over the others knuckle, it was a comforting feeling. He liked the feeling of it in honesty.

"We should start heading back to our room,  it's getting pretty late." 

"Do we have to head back right now? Can't we wait a few more minutes?'

"Yeah...I guess we can, but don't come crying to me in the morning if you don't want to go to class." Fitzroy looked over at him with a small smile, the tiredness in his voice was clear but that was the only indicator that he was tired. In the moon light it seemed as if his eyes sparkled and Argo had to stop himself from reaching out and holding the others face, his hand was enough after all.

"Wouldn't dream of it." Argo whispers now looking off at the horizon trying to find another place to look at then staring his friend in the eyes.

"Oh yes you would." Fitzroy accuses and gently squeezes the others hand on accident, it felt so natural he didnt even realize he was still holding it. When he realized he looked down at it and then back at the sky, leaning on the opposite hand and not even bothering to let go yet.

Argo laughs and shakes his head "yeah, I will most definitely doing it in the morning. "

"Don't you dare!" Fitzroy challenges.

"Watch me!" They both laughed at that before scooting closer to one another.

They'd have a lot to talk about in the morning, that was a given, but in this moment they just stood there going from wild laughter to slipping into yet another comfortable silence. Not moving until people started to leave the building, and even then they where the last ones out of there. Still not letting go of each others hands.