#because I'd forgotten how much both she and her voice have changed over the course of the series

[chronomally]

I saw a post that was like "they made Xiao Lanhua's voice so annoyingly high so it would work with the body swap" and like yeah but I think it's also a good indication of her character growth? She sounds SO different in later episodes after she's left Shuiyuntian and experienced what life is like outside of Arbiter Hall compared to the beginning of the series when her major concerns were

Changheng

Fixing her immortal root

Passing the test so she can serve in Changheng's house

[captains-simp]

Wanda Maximoff ~ Fake It Till You Make It

Wanda version of this fic as requested by @yeetus-thyself

7.7k words

Warnings: shitty family and homophobia

[ masterlist ]

Buy me a coffee ☕

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Pleeaasse, Wan" You pouted once again. You had been begging Wanda for the favour for an hour now; her stubborness was proving hard to overcome.

"I'm busy." Wanda said, her accent strong as she walked around her appartment to collect things for her next mission.

"But will you be busy on the 10th?" You asked from the couch where you watched her disappear into various rooms as she talked.

"I thought you said it was a few days." Wanda quipped, seemingly only giving you half her attention.

"It is." You confirmed with some hope.

"So I'd need to clear my schedule for more than just the 10th." You huffed and rested your head on the back of couch.

"Yes you would. I'm sure Natasha can manage without you for a few days."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that." She muttered.

"Please, Wan." You tried. "I need a win." Wanda stopped by the kitchen counter and gave you a long, considering look. You had long given up on your puppy dog eyes and instead copied her expression as you chewed on your bottom lip.

"I'll think about it." Wanda finally said before grabbing something from the cupboard. It was the best response you had gotten all night and you knew you wouldn't get anything more. So you accepted it and hoped for the best.

Your parents had invited you to their cabin for a few days just like they did every year. It was a beautiful place. You could spend your whole visit in the forest along the back. Or swimming in the clear lake that was a short walk away. The cabin itself was the cosiest place you had ever been and had been where some of your best memories had happened as a kid.

As you got older things changed. Being around your family, especially your parents, wasn't as enjoyable. They had high expectations for their children, expectations that your siblings had met without a problem but ones that you had struggled with. You enjoyed your life. You had the kind of relationships you had always hoped for, you loved your job and you had the perfect balance of the two. But you could never shake the feeling that you had failed.

Your brother was a surgeon who always told you all stories of the lives he saved and the close calls he had swooped in to save people from. One of your sisters was some hot shot lawyer who had done great things like help people wrongly convicted but still put dangerous people back on the street. And your other sister was the CEO of an energy company that you never quite understood. They even all had equally successful partners who loved to talk about themselves as much as your siblings did. You didn't have any of that. But you did have Wanda.

Knowing the Avengers was the only thing about you your family took interest in. They were always subtly hinting at wanting to meet your friends. But you knew the Avengers had to endure enough fan service and didn't want to push your family onto them, especially with how annoying they all were.

However as your family's unrealistic expectations reached their all time high you were sure you wouldn't be able to handle another trip with them without a win, and you were far too petty to take the moral high ground and just not go. Not to mention that was a huge part of you that was dying to see what the Wanda girlfriend experience would entail. Yep, that was what you were asking of Wanda. To pretend to be your partner for the duration of the trip.

You knew it wasn't a smart choice. That if Wanda agreed your crush on her could get out of hand. You knew you would end up getting too caught up in the act. You could have, no - should have - asked Natasha or Yelena or even Carol if she was around. But your family knew you were the closest with Wanda and she would be the one it felt the most natural with, and the most believable. At least, that was what you told Wanda.

"When are you going?" You asked, changing the subject in hopes that Wanda wouldn't suddenly conclude she didn't want to do it (then you really would have to ask one of the others).

"Tomorrow." She answered, keeping her focused tone.

"When will you be back?" You attempted to keep the concern out of your voice but the glance the redhead gave you told you you hadn't done a good job.

"The day after." She said, softer this time. You nodded as you looked down at your lap and tried not to think about everything that could possibly go wrong on her mission.

"Be safe." Wanda strolled over to you and placed her hand gently ontop of yours and gave it a quick squeeze.

"Always."

*

"Got any plans Saturday night?" Natasha smirked knowingly at her friend as they preped for their mission.

"No." Wanda replied as she adjusted her earpiece.

"Nothing with y/n then?" Nat asked, partly genuinely but mostly knowing Wanda would still say no.

"Nope." She said again, biting the inside of her cheek in consideration before speaking again. "Not this Saturday."

Natasha raised an eyebrow in surprise and interest. Wanda rarely made any kind of special plans with you as you would always hang out casual and it was never anything fancy or different. She had always wanted to though.

"Plans for another time?" Nat continued as she double checked her pack.

"Maybe, I'm still thinking about it." The redhead turned fully to her friend at her words, confused at why Wanda was hesitant to spend time with you. "She wants me to go to the cabin with her and her family." Nat had heard all about the infamous cabin and your family.

"That sounds fun." Nat nodded. The cabin sounded fun. Your family did not.

"As her girlfriend." Nat's eyes widened excitedly but before she could speak Wanda clarified. "Her pretend girlfriend."

Nat paused and looked as though she was going to speak for several seconds until she stuck to just giving a confused look.

"Yeah." Wanda sighed. "Thinks it would seem impressive." Wanda had tried not to be hurt over that. She knew you weren't just friends with her to show her off to people, because you never did. But it hurt her to think the only time you could see her in a romantic way was when you were pretending.

"Well," Nat muttered as she adjusted the zip along the front of her catsuit. "Fake it till you make it." It was Wanda's turn to give Nat a questioning look. "Maybe it'll be an eye opener for her."

"You think I should do it?" She asked, fully open to hearing and accepting her friend and mentor's advice in that area.

"Definelty." Nat confirmed. She wasn't sure about it for the reasons she said though. Wanda's crush on you was obvious to everyone except you, just as it was vice versa.

*

You had been overjoyed when Wanda told you she would come with you to the cabin and play along as your girlfriend. She had told you when she came back from her mission, in fact it was the first thing she said after she had let herself into your appartment. It was never really brought up after that, but you couldn't deny you were incredibly anxious on the week leading up to the visit.

On the drive up to the cabin you and Wanda stayed in a comfortable silence most of the time, clearly both lost in thought. You had the radio on for background noise more than anything else, but you would occasionally lightly tap the steering wheel if there was a tune you recognised, oblivious to Wanda's acknowledging smiles.

"So what's the plan?" Wanda asked as she looked at you expectantly. Right, of course the Avenger wanted a strategy.

"Keep things simple, I guess. They know how we met already so we can just say at some point we took things a step further than friendship." Wanda didn't seem convinced at the simplicity of that. "Look they're not going to want to hear about us, not much at least. They prefer the sound of their own voices, they'll be trying to impress you is all."

"Impress me?" Wanda asked.

"Yeah, hope you warm up to them so one day they can invite you to their snobby parties." Wanda chuckled her heart warming laugh as she glanced out of the window, knowing there was a lot of truth to what you said.

"And what are those like?" She enquired curiously.

"I wouldn't know, I've never been invited." You said simply. You had gotten over that a long time ago, gotten used to being forgotten. Wanda clearly hadn't though.

"It will be an honour to turn them down." Wanda said. You shook your head and smiled at her. That did sound pretty nice.

When the cabin came into sight between the trees your nerves spiked. You figited in your seat and bit your lip when you saw some of your family gathered outside, their attention instantly on you. You shot Wanda a quick smile which she returned before you got out of the car.

"Y/n! So nice of you to come." You mum said as her eyes flickered to Wanda more than you. She opened her arms for the shortiest hug in human history before turning to Wanda. "You must be Wanda, we've heard so much." You mum insisted as she brought the redhead in for a hug too. She raised her eyebrows at you over your mum's shoulder and you bite back a laugh.

The others came over to greet you and mainly Wanda in a rush, overwhelming both of you.

"You two will be in the upstairs bedroom on the left." Your mum told you as you went to grab your bags. You did a double take, convinced you had heard her wrong. That was the best room in the house. A big difference from being in the small room in the basement every other time you had been there.

"First one on the left." Your dad confirmed. There was no way your parents were going to be in the basement so you wondered who else had been moved around but didn't ask, knowing whoever it was wasn't going to be happy.

You and Wanda made your way up to the room and you couldn't help but smile at the sight of the spacious room and the door you knew led to your en suite.

"That was...a lot." Wanda summarised as she said her bag under the bed.

"I would tell you it gets better but I don't want to get your hopes up." You sighed as you got a couple of things out.

"It's just a few days." Wanda said despite the fact you should have been assuring her.

"Yeah." You nodded and stared down at the floor. "Now c'mon." You suddenly said as you took ahold of Wanda's hand and laced your fingers together. You missed the startled blush that crept onto her cheeks when you turned around.

Your family were sat outside whispering amongst themselves when you returned. Their interested gaze fell to your entwined hands in an instant.

"So you work with the Avengers?" Your brother, Dalton, said as soon as you both sat down.

"I do, I'm one myself." Wanda said as she continued to hold onto your hand.

"Must be crazy, what are they like?" He enquired.

"They're good." Wanda said simply. Everyone clearly expected something more but Wanda pretended not to notice making you smile.

"I almost did business with Stark once, decided against it in the end." Claire announced proudly. You and Wanda exchanged knowing glances. Stark had told you all about his encounter with your sister, it definetly wasn't her turning him down.

"I was invited to one of his parties." Anna said quickly. "I was busy that night unfortunately."

Bull. Shit.

"Yes I remember working with Doctor Strange when he was still in the medical profession." You gave Wanda an I-told-you-so look as your family erupted into conversation over who had the most contact with the heroes. That had to be a new record of how quickly they started talking about themselves.

They continued like that until your mum called everyone in for dinner. The food smelt undeniably amazing as you took your place at the table next to Wanda and eyed the dishes infront of you. Your parents efforts to impress the redhead weren't all that bad.

Your family continued to catch up and and you and Wanda half listened as you ate. They were all doing as well for themselves as ever and still hadn't learnt any modesty.

Although you were proud of your siblings for what they had all achieved, Wanda had contained four potentially devastating bombs from going off in the space of half an hour a week before but she wasn't going to bring that up anytime soon. Eventually though, the attention turned to you to bring you out of your silence.

"And you're still working in that little café, y/n?" Your mum asked curiously.

"I own it, mum." You corrected quietly as you stabbed some pieces on your plate.

"Ah yes, quite the contrast though, isn't it. Between you two." She said as she pointed at you and Wanda with her fork. You didn't say anything to that because you felt there really wasn't anything to say in response. It wasn't like you hadn't thought that exact thing every now and then.

"The team loves it." Wanda said suddenly making everyone, including you, look at her in slight surprise from speaking up. It hadn't taken your family long to learn Wabda wasn't much of a talker, not to them anyway. You couldn't get her to shut up half the time. "At least one of us goes everyday. If we're lucky we all can. Nothing beats it." She defended simply before turning back to her food to show she wasn't going to say anymore. You smiled down at your plate at her words and the truth of them.

No one said anything in response, clearly shocked from this new information until Dalton spoke up.

"But doesn't Stark like fancy, top of the line, restaurants? I can't imagine him in some random coffee shop, no offence sis." He nodded towards you though you knew he didn't mean it. He couldn't let you have just one win.

"That random coffee shop has catered some of Stark's parties. Not that many though." A smug smile crept onto Dalton's face as he opened his mouth to make a snarky remark but Wanda cut him down again. "Because y/n's invited to the rest as a guest and a close friend." Your family stared at you with open mouths.

"You've been invited to Stark's parties?!" Anna exclaimed. In your defence, your family never wanted to hear about your life so you never got the chance to tell them anything.

"It's not really my crowd." You shrugged. "I just go to hang out with them after." Dalton's jaw clenched in annoyance and he didn't say anything for the rest of dinner. It was only really your mum who kept talking. Telling everyone about her latest travels that fell on death ears.

It was certainly a first for your family.

When everyone had finished their food you and Wanda excused yourselves and said goodnight before retiring to your room. Wanda shut the door gently as you collapsed onto the bed on your back and glared at the ceiling. The redhead shuffled around quietly to get her toothbrush and toothpaste and some other things you weren't really paying attention to and went into the bathroom.

When she came back out she was in her bedclothes and lifted your feet off the floor to turn you so you could fully lay on the bed. You smiled at her weakly.

"You should go get changed." Wanda said as she got her laptop out her bag. "Then you can pick a movie." She announced when she had gotten under the covers and started her laptop. You smiled more and nodded.

You tried not to think about your family and everything they had said at dinner as you got changed but it proved difficult. Everything they had said echoed around in your head but most of all you couldn't shake the disregarding ways they said it. It was as though you could do no right with them. Maybe they would never be proud no matter what you did.

You placed your toothbrush back I'm the holder and rinsed your mouth before heading back into the bedroom to an awaiting Wanda.

You got under the covers next to her and rested your head on her shoulder as you glanced at the Netflix screen and pointed to one of the comedy movies.

About ten minutes into the movie Wanda spoke. "You okay?" She whispered as she continued to look at the screen although that wasn't where her focus was.

"Yeah." You whispered back.

"You can talk to me." She said after a second." You moved your head away so you could see Wanda clearly.

"I'm so glad you're here." You said honestly. She smiled and nodded as her eyes searched yours.

"I'm glad I'm here too." You knew Wanda wasn't glad she had to spend the time with your family. She was glad that she could support you despite their efforts to bring you down. You were incredibly lucky to have her.

You rested your head back on her shoulder and neither of you spoke for the rest of the movie. Or the rest of the night. You must have fallen asleep about half an hour in.

*

Wanda was one of the most intimate people you had ever met. It was mainly something she aimed towards you and Natasha but didn't refrain from comforting others and giving hugs to anyone who would take one. She never held back at all with you, as far as you knew. But when you woke up and couldn't tell where your limbs started and Wanda's ended, you were still surprised to find yourselves like that. Butterflies flew around in your stomach in a way you knew was dangerous but couldn't help but love.

You were resting your head on her rising chest and had your arm slung across her stomach. Your legs were tangled together and her arms were holding onto your waist. A warmth spread through you and you decided to settle back into her hold and closed your eyes with a content smile.

You had about ten minutes to enjoy that before Wanda woke up. You could feel the moment she realized you were so close, she physically froze. You waited in anticipation for something for several moments until your friend very slowly unhooked her legs and guided your body to lay against the mattress and pillows as she slipped out of bed towards the bathroom.

You sighed when you heard the door close and rubbed your eyes slowly, knowing you should get up but wishing more than anything that you could return to how you woke up.

"Morning." Wanda croaked when she left the bathroom and saw you sitting up in bed.

"Morning." You said back with a smile and tried not to focus on how ridiculously attractive her voice sounded.

You gathered some random clothes into a bundle and went into the bathroom to change again and brush your teeth. When you came out Wanda was pulling her shirt over her head and gave you a generous view of her toned stomach. That training with Natasha really was paying off. Your face heated up when you saw it and you turned away to pretend you hadn't seen when Wanda noticed you.

"Don't make a sound." Wanda warned. You glanced up at her with some confusion. "I don't think your family's awake yet, that means we get the kitchen to ourselves." She grinned and you did too.

You and Wanda had gotten so used to getting up early for your jobs you forgot other people would still be sleeping. It was hard to break out of the habit but it proved useful.

The pair of you made a quick breakfast and ate it outside thanks to the warm weather even at that time. But soon enough your parents came downstairs and ruined the peaceful atmosphere with the clanging of pots and loud convosations.

You wandered around the side of the house and saw the old table tennis table that bad been folded away years ago and hadn't been set up since. You went over and started setting it up when Wanda joined you and eyed the table with a glimmer of mischief.

The redhead wasn't all that competitive, in fact you were pretty sure she let other people win games on the regular to make them feel better about themselves. But there was an undeniable spark of mischief in her eyes when she saw the table.

"You played this before?" You asked convosationally.

"I have." She said as you both automatically took up your positions of opposite ends of the table.

"Me too." You said confidently. "A lot." Wanda hummed in acknowledgment and swivelled her bat in her hand and stood ready. You smiled at her seriousness for the game.

You served surprisingly well for someone who hadn't played in a few years and Wanda was able to hit it back with ease. Once you had developed a steady pace you started hitting the ball more daringly to Wanda who was caught off guard before she started doing the same.

The moment you missed the ball a small smile tugged at the corner of Wanda's lips, her celebration was short lived when you suddenly sent the ball back her way until it was too late.

"That wasn't fair!" She exclaimed childishly.

"That was tables tennis." You said seriously but started smiling again.

Wanda huffed dramatically and flipped you off as she trudged back to the table and served the ball with force. You managed to send it back but took a step away from the table in caution.

You continued like that for a while. The competition tension rising as you picked up the pace, one of you occasionally getting a point before the other evened it out.

At one point you were vaguely aware of Dalton sauntering over to see what you were doing and arched his brow at the sight of the table.

"We still have this thing?" He questioned and you hummed quietly in response, too focused on the game.

"Hey Claire! Get over here, we're playing table tennis." You rolled your eyes at the intrusive and could sense Wanda refraining from doing the same until an idea popped into your head.

You caught the ball in your hand and smiled at Wanda's protests as you moved round to her side of the table just as your sister came out.

"I didn't even know we still had this." Claire laughed as she picked up another bat from the box.

"Maybe we should take it back with us." Wanda whispered to you and you bit your lip to contain your smile because yes, yes you should.

Inevitably, your siblings sucked at table tennis. You had suspected as much you just never thought they would be as bad as they were. They missed almost every hit and everytime they did they got increasingly angry, which meant they ended up flaring their arms around like idiots. It was a memory you would be sure to treasure.

"Stupid game" and "probably broken" kept echoing across the table until your siblings finally stormed off to throw a tantrum.

The rest of the day went by quietly. You and Wanda sat by the lake for most of the afternoon to enjoy the sun and heat. You reveled in the most recent memories of your siblings embarrassment and had to keep hushing down to childish whispered whenever one of them was nearby.

Surprisingly, dinner went by peacefully too.

You weren't asked anymore questions at the table. Instead, your family were content with talking about their upcoming plans between stealing glances at you and Wanda that the redhead never failed to notice.

The pair of you slipped off to your room the first moment you got and easily fell into bed besides one another. Wanda picked out a DVD from her bag of an old Sokovian show she used to watch as a child and had you hooked on as well as teaching you the language.

She settled down beside you and within the first few scenes she wrapped an arm around your shoulder so you could sink into her further like she did sometimes when you watched things together. You were barely paying attention to the series after that.

Despite trying to keep your focus on understanding what was happening in scenes of the show, you couldn't help but want to melt under the warmth of your best friend. You hoped it was something you got to experience more, you felt safer than you ever had in Wanda's arms.

Little did you know that having you in her arms was the most comforting feeling Wanda ever experienced and she always tried to do it as little as possible to refrain from falling for you more. It never worked.

*

You had thought waking up in Wanda's arms the morning before had been the best thing to awake to. But that day when you woke up not only were your legs tangled together again but the redhead was slowly stroking your hair while your head rested on her chest.

It was a gradual gesture that maintained a perfect rhythm and made you want to fall back asleep. But you were afraid you would mistake it for a dream later on. No, it was definitely real.

Luckily, your head was already tilted upwards slightly so when you secretly opened your eyes to risk a peek at your friend you saw her staring out the window as though she was in a trance. She was clearly so deep in thought she hadn't noticed you wake up, you had never seen her like it. But the feeling was too good to ignore, too compelling.

Soon enough, you found yourself drifting off back to sleep.

*

When you woke up again Wanda was gone. Her absence left an emptiness you knew wasn't good for you. As the days of your visit went on your fake relationship with Wanda was going to effect you even more when it was over.

Over...you couldn't think about that.

Once you got up and got changed you found Wanda in the kitchen looking at the news on her phone as she sipped her coffee.

"Morning, honey." You grinned. Wanda blushed slightly into her coffee, something you thought was undeniably adorable.

"Morning yourself." She tried to play off smoothly making you grin more.

You made breakfast for you both just as your mum came into the kitchen and greeted you both with an overplayed smile, already talking to Wanda about an upcoming party that she should go to. Wanda mumbled something about a busy schedule as you managed to whisp her away outside with your food.

Eventually, you and Wanda became bored with sitting around in the house when you had such amazing surroundings on your doorstep. You declared that you were going on a walk with the redhead and left before any of your family could invite themselves to go with you. Especially as you had told your friend to wear her swimwear underneath her clothing as you had a surprise for her.

You made a point of holding Wanda's hand as you left and once you were far away from the house went to take it back only for her to hold on tighter.

"You never know where they could be lurking." She joked as an excuse, so you starting swinging your arms playfully as to assure her you wanted your hands to stay linked together too.

You spent hours in those woods and was thankful for having a spy best friend who of course knew to pack the essentials like food and drinks so you could stay away from the house as long as you wanted.

The redhead brought so much you were able to have a small picnic on top of a hill that overlooked the large lake that stretched out all the way back to the house. You remembered thinking up stories as to explain the strange shape and curves to it as a child.

"It's beautiful here." Wanda said as she picked some grapes from the bunch between you.

"It is." You agreed with a fond smile.

"I used to want to live in a place like this." She muttered, sparking your interest.

"In the woods?" You asked curiously and she nodded.

"I thought I could retire to the woods and get a small cabin and I could grow my own food and that was all I needed." You hummed with a smile as you studied Wanda's features.

"Sounds lonely." You thought aloud.

"I'd have a cat." She said simply making you laugh. "I never used to think that but now when it crosses my mind and I picture that life... I picture someone else there with me." You knew she was imagining it as she spoke and you wished you could see exactly what it was she wanted.

"We could always downgrade the holiday house." You half joked as you nodded in the vague direction of the house. "Make it a simple cabin."

"We?" Wanda asked hopefully, the emotion clear before she had a chance to conceal it.

"There's no one I'd rather run away and live in the forest with." You joked although there was a lot of truth to your words. The redhead considered you for a while before smiling and nodded as though she had reached her own internal conclusion.

"Come on." You said suddenly as you stood up and dusted yourself off.

"You want to go back?" Wanda asked and you grinned.

"I'm going to show you that surprise." You declared and packed the remaining food away. Wanda did the same, eager to see the surprise you kept secret the whole way.

It was quite a way back to the house. The whole time Wanda kept asking more questions about it but you wouldn't say. She could only make guesses based on the swim wear which should have left only a few options, non of which she got right.

Finally, you arrived where you wanted to and grinned at Wabda before starting towards the edge. The redhead frowned as she watched you approach the ledge and became worried when she invisioned the steep slope that didn't always lead to water straight down. If you were to fall... your friend didn't have to wait long to see that. You slipped along the edge and disappeared from her view as she gave a startled cry and sprinted towards the edge and knelt over with wide eyes, expecting to see something that could haunt her forever but instead she saw you on a wide ledge but seven feet below her.

To your left was part of the ledge that had been dug into randomly and acted as perfect aid to get back into the woods above.

"Come down here." You beckoned as you starter to take your top off. Wanda's eyes widened more and quickly turned around and dropped down next to you steadily.

She glanced over the side of the small ledge to glance at the fifty foot drop into the water. There was nothing in the way to fall onto but there was no telling how deep that water was.

"You can't go in like that." You laughed as you kicked off your shorts and pushed them to the side.

Wanda's face heated up at the sight of you in your y/f/c bikini as you assessed the view. But even in her flustered state she was able to put it all together.

"You want to jump down there?" She exclaimed making you laugh.

"I've done it tones of times." You assured. "It's fun."

"It's a death wish! What if the waters not deep enough?" She questioned making you laugh more.

"Are you scared, Wan?" You teased as you took a step towards her making her avert her eyes from your form. She scoffed to play it off.

"Of course not." You hummed in faux belief.

"Well then I'll see you down there." You grinned and took a couple of steps back until your feet were no longer on the platform and you were plummeting down towards the water where you landed with a splash.

Wanda held her breath as she waited for you to resurface for a few agonising seconds. When you did with a gasp and started kicking around frantically to keep yourself afloat with your built up adrenaline the redhead sighed in relief and started taking off her own shorts and shirt and placed them next to your things.

You've jumped from higher. She told herself as she rocked on her feet. And you have powers! She argued back before she shoved those thoughts aside and threw herself off the ledge and into the water below. You laughed as she came back up and pushed her hair away from her way. You swam closer to her and saw her wide smile.

"Fuck." Wanda whispered with a laugh as she looked back up from where you had both come.

"Told you it was fun." You teased as you tried not to focus on the low cut on her bikini bra.

"Yeah yeah." She laughed and paused when she looked past you and saw you were surprisingly close to the house. She could see the outline of your family sat outside.

"They're looking." Wanda muttered. You could tell by the look on her face who she was talking about. It wasn't like there was anyone else around either.

"Do you think they've caught on?" You asked nervously as you stared at Wanda's brown eyes to stop you looking at your family.

"Maybe..." She considered and glanced around. "It's not like we've been acting like that much of a couple." You scoffed at that.

"At home everyone assumes we're dating and the one time we need it be believable it isn't." You rolled your eyes but couldn't help the smile.

"I know." Wanda laughed for a second but then paused. "Then let's give them something believable." She gently placed both her hands on your waist and pulled you slowly towards her. You let her guide you and took extra notice of the water droplets across her face. You almost trembled when your bare stomachs pressed together in the water lightly.

Wanda's soft hands left your waist and gripped your thighs to pull you up to wrap your legs around her own waist. You couldn't help but giggle at the gesture as you wrapped your arms around the redhead's neck and held onto her waist with your legs in a lock.

"Can I?" Wanda whispered when she lifted your chin with her finger and her other hand came round the back of your neck.

"Just shut up and kiss me." You demanded with a playful smile and leaned in to do it yourself.

You smiled into the kiss and felt Wanda do the same. It was everything you had ever imagined it to be. Her lips were soft and fell into place perfectly against your own as they moved together. Your mind was hazey and your stomach was doing flips at the realisation that you were actually kissing your long time crush. You forced yourself to remember that it was all a show. That Wanda didn't mean it. But she put on a believable act and kissed passionately, even slipping her tongue through your parter lips to explore your mouth further.

When she eventually pulled away you rested your foreheads together to catch your breath and grinned as you closed your eyes.

"You're a really good kisser." You blurted out making Wanda chuckle.

"Not too bad yourself." She teased.

"I hope not, we're gonna have to do that again." You smiled and instantly realized that sounded like a confession you desperetly wished you could claim. "You know because...Once probably wasn't enough to make it entirely believable." You rambled and Wanda nodded somewhat stiffly and let your legs drop back down. You wanted to say something to her, anything but it was all stuck on the tip of your tongue.

Just as you opened your mouth to speak, a small murmurarion of starlings flew across the lake, some of them skimming the water then gaining height again as they got closer to you and Wanda. You both ducked instinctively as they flew over your heads and off towards the forest again as you watched them in awe until they disappeared. You glanced up at the sky and noticed the sun had gone behind a cloud, ableing you to continue looking up at the other birds higher up.

You kicked your legs up slightly so you could lay on your back and outstretch your arms to keep you afloat in the water so you could stare up at the sky without hurting your neck.

You didn't realise Wanda mimicked you until her hands brushed against yours. She withdrew it as soon as you touched and went to murmmer an apology but you smiled and held onto her hand as you both lay watching the birds.

Neither of you had to say anything. It was a comfortable and peaceful silence that was occasionally filled with birds chirping or the sound of a calm breeze. Of all the things you expected to feel on that trip, relaxed was not one of them.

You stayed like that for a while until you were both snapped out of your daydreams by the distant yell that declared dinner. Well, you had to go back to them eventually.

Both of you took your time swimming back to dry land and only felt a shiver when you left the water and the breeze hit you. Wanda spotted and reached the towels before you and wrapped yours around you tightly. You thanked her with a small blush as you both sauntered up to the house where the mouthwatering smell of a barbecue greeted you. Your dad was leaning over it while shooing your brother away as he tried to offer his 'help'.

You and Wanda went inside to change swiftly and came back outside as the food was being placed on plates and your mum finished setting up the buffet. Everyone starter helping themselves and you piled as much food as you could onto the plate. You parents had asked what food Wanda liked and when you gave them a brief list you added in a few things you knew you both loved.

"You gonna eat all that?" Anna asked as she eyed all the food on your plate. Guilt and insecurities washed over you until Wanda purposefully grabbed a large handful of small sausage rolls and put them on her plate that was piled with a considerable amount more food than your own. You smiled at the reassuring gesture as she sat down with a satisfied grin on her face when she saw Anna close her mouth to stay quiet.

"Thanks." You whispered to her as you sat down.

"If you don't eat all that I will." She declared. You were pretty sure she went back for seconds.

Instead of disappearing back to your room like you did the previous nights, you and Wanda stayed with your family for a while after dinner. It wasn't to do with their company, more the mesmerising fire in the firepit you all sat around. You were cuddled up into Wanda's side with a blanket over both of you as you stared at the flames, smiling at their small flickers and dances.

"So Wanda," one of your sisters began, "are any of the other Avengers...you know." She nodded her head in the direction of you both.

Oh boy you though.

"I don't think it's my place to say." Wanda said because yes, a lot of the Avengers were queer.

"Oh come on, you can tell us." Anna encouraged as she sat forward eagerly.

"I could, but I'm not going to." Wanda continued to defy.

"Lay off it guys." You mumbled but was ignored. Your family took it in turns saying her teammates names in hopes of sparking a reaction, clearly forgetting they were facing someone who had been trained by Natasha Romanoff.

"Stark!" Claire said but was instantly shut down by the others.

"He's married!" Dalton objected.

"Could still be bi though." Claire tried but Dalton just scoffed.

"I suppose there's going to be more surprises."

"What does that mean?" Wanda asked with narrowed eyes, feeling protective of her teammates. Dalton met her gaze with his own challenging one.

"I just never thought one of the Avengers would be a dyke." You felt Wanda stiffen as you all held your breath. There was no way to tell what was going through the redhead's mind, especially as after all those years of friendship you still didn't even know what team she batted for. She was an ally at least, but would she see this as her battle to fight?

Upon getting no reaction, Dalton continued. "It makes sense why you'd hang out with y/n though, we always knew something was wrong with her but-"

"That's enough." Your mum snapped with a guilty expression she failed to mask. You swallowed hard and moved to get up, deciding you had heard enough.

"Then you're idiots." Wanda stated as she glared daggers at your brother while you sunk down.

"I'll have you know I have a doctorate-"

"Your idiots." She repeated. "There's nothing wrong with y/n, which is impressive considering she's grown up around you lot." You looked at your friend in awe as she continued.

"She's the most amazing person I've ever known, including any of the Avengers. She's everything that you're not and I'm lucky to call her my girlfriend. It doesn't matter what any of you think of her, I love her and I always will." She declared as shot daggers at each individual family member who had fallen silent. She took your hand and pulled you up from your seat to take you inside.

You couldn't get her saying she loved you out of your head. You reminded yourself over and over again on the way to your room that it was just an act. That the redhead was making her point. But God, how you wished it was real.

She was so gentle with you as she guided you through the house. When you got to your room and broke down sobbing she held you on the bed for a long time until your cries turned to sniffles. The thing was, you weren't sure what you were crying over. Sure, what Dalton had said had hurt. As did the confirmation that your whole family had always looked down on you. But you had known that was the case for a long time, you had moved on from it.

Instead, you may have being crying over what you didn't know and didn't have. How much of what Wanda said was true? It was all based off of something that wasn't real. What if she saw you the same way your family did?

When you stopped crying you became aware of Wanda gently stroking your hair as she rested her head on yours and held you close to her. You remembered the memories you had accumulated over the past few days with her. The kisses, the hand holding, the nights together, how she stood up for you like no one ever had. You loved her so much.

"I think we should go tomorrow." Wanda mumbled and you nodded into her shoulder.

"I'm not going to leave you though, you know that right? You can stay at mine and we'll watch more of those crappy American movies you like." She mocked lightly making you chuckle against her. "Whatever you want."

"I just want you." You said honestly. You knew you shouldn't have said that, but you were too emotionally drained to care.

"I just want you too, y/n." You pulled away from the redhead to look at her clearly.

"I don't think you know what I mean." You sniffed and she smiled at you fondly.

"I mean what I said earlier, around the fire." Your eyes widened slightly and you held your breath.

"It was all an act though." You whispered and Wanda chuckled as she exhaled sharply.

"No y/n." "I think I am inlove with you." She said as she took ahold of your hand and searched your face for any signs of a reaction to her confession.

"Me?" You questioned, not quite believing it.

"Yes you, idiot." You smiled and sighed in relief, not being able to find the words to express your overflowing happiness and numerous other emotions you couldn't quite pinpoint. You let go of Wanda's hand and brought them both up to cup her cheeks. You had done a lot more handholding than kissing in the previous few days. It needed to be evened out.

You closed the gap between you and kissed Wanda with just as much passion as you had in the lake, except all hesitation and questions were gone. Because you knew she loved you. Oh God she loved you. You grinned into the kiss at the thought and felt her hand fall to your hip while the other caressed the side of your neck in the most gentle manner you had ever seen from her.

When you eventually pulled away you rested your forehead against hers, a smile still playing on both your lips.

"Told you we'd have to do that again." You said and and laughed. "I love you too."

"Well I hoped that wasn't a pity kiss." She joked and you smacked her arm playfully.

"It definetly was not and I'll prove it to you by taking you on a date when we get back." You promised as you sat back to look at her clearly.

"Oh yeah?" She asked with a playful smirk and leaned over so her face was inches away from yours.

"Yeah." You said back.

"Well until then, my real girlfriend should definetly just keep kissing me." She said as she pushed you down gently and kissed you again. You smiled against her gleefully.

"Your girlfriend would love to."

[wastelandcth]

Love Again - cth

sad disco - part one

summary: used to be afraid of love and what it might do but goddamn, you got me in love again. 

author’s notes: thanks again for your patience on this one! based on love again - dua lipa!

warnings: mentions of sexual themes, mentions of food, angst. 

masterlist || request ||  join my taglist!

Sometimes, Calum's heart beat so loud that he was sure the entire world could hear it. He felt the pounding in his chest, left breathless by the sheer power of the muscle that kept his blood pumping. Sometimes, Calum thought that his heart had simply forced itself into hiding, protecting Calum from any more hurt and heartbreak. Those were the times where the pounding was dull and ached, almost as if the one thing keeping him alive was the reason for him shutting down. He liked to think that's who he could blame now, his heart for wanting to protect him from another heartbreak. 

But no, Calum had done that on his own. 

Calum had barely left his house. Ever since that night when he'd been a fool and let you go, he had decided that hiding away in his house was his best course of action. He had hated the way the tears in your eyes fell down onto Ashton's shoulder. More so, he hated the fact that he was the reason for those tears. He hadn't known the true reason until early the next morning when his pounding headache and the blaring phone had woken him up. He'd winced through Ashton's explanation of the night's events after Calum had been left alone in a club, wishing that he could just erase the night and never had it have happened. 

"She's....she's really hurt man, you should really talk to her," Ashton sighed, the man sounding way too awake and not hungover like Calum was, "You both need to tell each other the truth."

"I doubt she wants to talk to me," Calum sighed, "I'm going to give her some space."

"Cal-" Ashton started, a sigh evident in his voice as Calum interrupted him.

"Thanks for taking care of her, Ash."

You weren't sure where things had gone wrong. You'd never been one to cry over useless drama or men, especially not when those men were nothing but a friend to you. But life had a funny way of throwing curveballs at you and you'd found yourself stuck on your living room couch most days, staring up at the ceiling to try and stop the tears. Those pesky tears that fell no matter how many times you tried to convince yourself that you were stronger than this and that a man was not worth your tears, especially one who had technically done nothing wrong. Sure, Calum had been single, he'd been allowed to dance with whoever he wanted to because he was an adult and that was his business. But Calum had never wanted to dance with you. 

It had been two weeks since that night, where you shamelessly cried to Ashton as the city lights passed by the two of you, two weeks since Calum and you hadn't spoken. Before, when things were nice and friendly, you two couldn't go a day without talking. Text messages, phone calls, and airdrops were common occurrences between the two of you so the radio silence was killing you. The number of times a funny picture or tiktok reminded you of him, the urge to send it to Calum forcing you to push more tears down, had been too many in the past couple of days. You'd even cut off nights out with your friends, fearing that Calum would be there and you'd be forced to talk about that night. It hurt, even more, knowing that the thought of going out again to that club wouldn't be the same, that dancing would never feel the same. All because of a stupid man with an addicting smile and humor to match your own. 

Calum had been hesitant about Ashton's proposal. He was used to having nights out together, getting dinner, and then going back to his place to watch a movie or play video games until the mind-numbing hours in the morning. But Calum hadn't left his house in weeks and he knew this was Ashton's way to tell him to get his shit together and get over himself. He knew that this game night was just another way for Ashton to knock some sense into him, a way for Calum to maybe score some free food and booze and pretend to listen to his friend tell him to get his head out of his ass. So without another thought, Calum grabbed his jacket and made his way to Ashton’s house.

Ashton had promised you that the movie night would consist of watching shitty romcoms, eating ice cream, and having way too many fries from McDonald’s. You’d been wary about the night out, knowing that Ashton had been trying to get you out of your living room for days on end, but you knew that he had been trying his best to make you feel better. A night out was what you needed, the lack of socialization and the promise of ice cream the pushing force to get you into your car and driving towards Ashton’s house. As you pulled into the driveway, you saw Ashton standing outside, waving over at you and grinning.

“You made it! Come inside,” Ashton cheered as you got out of the car, leading you into the comfort of his home, “The pizza should be here soon.”

Walking into the living room, you froze as you saw a familiar head of curly hair sitting on Ashton's couch. Calum, who was way too focused on the video game in front of him, looked just as breathtaking as he always looked. His messy curls were splayed across his forehead, his shoulders tense as he took a sharp turn on the race he was in. He looked so beautiful and all the sadness from the past weeks disappeared the second you heard him laugh. But the familiar sound of a car leaving a driveway made your shoulders and your breath hitch when Calum's head turn and his eyes met yours. 

"Oh..." Calum breathed out, his eyes widening as he set the controller down, the screen behind him coming to a still, much like the air between you both. 

"Hey you two, it's Ashton," Ashton's voice rang out from a speaker, "Please don't hate me but we all know this was meant to happen and it's been weeks so...." he chuckled nervously, "You both have feelings for one another and I'm not going to let you through that away. So, I'm leaving you two alone and I just hope you guys don't fuck on my bed." 

You both stood in silence, listening to Ashton's words echoed in your heads as you both stared at one another. Calum's eyes watched as you slowly walked towards the couch, watched as your hands cupped the side of his face, and pulled him into a kiss. The kiss made you both gasp into each other's mouth, made you both finally jump across that thin line you both had danced around for countless nights and countless days. It was the scissors that finally snipped the string that had strung between them. The kiss was all the words that neither of them could say. 

The door to Ashton's guest room was pushed open, the darkness of the room hiding both of you. The bed was creaking, every thrust and every rock of hips met with the sound of skin meeting. Calum's silver chain was hanging above you, brushing against your chest with every thrust of his hips, the cold metal a relief from the heat that spurred between you both. Your hand found Calum's arm in the dark, trailing down his forearm until your fingers wrapped around his wrist and brought it up to your neck. 

"Fuck, baby," Calum breathed out, his ring-clad fingers wrapping around the base of your throat.

As the mattress underneath you both rocked and the headboard bumped into the wall behind you, you felt closer and closer to Calum. You felt the passion through every rock of his hips, through every grunt and breathy sigh that left him. It was all the passion and unsaid words that had gone unspoken between the two of you for months. And when the high came crashing down upon you both, when the moans echoed through the room and hips stilled, you knew that you'd found the one who made your heart race again. 

"I'm sorry," Calum mumbled and sighed quietly, "I...I should've called earlier and tried to fix this, I just...I don't even know," he sighed and shook his head as his fingers traced soft circles onto your hip.

"No, I was just, I never even thought you could ever have feelings for me and I hurt my own feelings," you mumbled and frowned, "I pushed you away and I can't even begin to apologize."

"I think we were both just...scared?" he sighed and shrugged, "Afraid of whatever we were headed towards."

"I was afraid to lose you," you whispered, "Afraid that I had lost you that night when I saw you dancing with her."

"I wanted to show you I could dance," he chuckled quietly and bit his lip, "I saw you dancing with that guy and I...I don't know I thought I could make you jealous enough to have you dance with me." 

"You could've just asked," you whispered and shook your head, "I'd always dance with you."

And in a way, Calum knew that meant that you loved him too.

Your soft breaths hit Calum's neck, the soft puffs of air leaving him in disbelief that you were actually laying next to him. The past few weeks had left him wondering if he'd ever get to see you again, to be next to you. But the night had changed in such a quick instant that Calum had forgotten he was in Ashton's house for a second.  He'd gone from playing video games on his best friend's couch to sleeping with the love of his life, finally telling you the truth about how he felt. He'd gone from being someone who tried to run away from love, run away from being open, to let himself be vulnerable in front of someone who he'd hurt. He wasn't afraid of letting his feelings be known any more and even if it felt surreal in that bed where you slept next to him, he could believe that he was in love with you. 

All he had to do now was take you out dancing

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[onlyfreds]

Miss Americana and Her London Boy | F.W.

Title: Miss Americana and Her London Boy (x American!reader, Muggle!Au)

Requested: Yes/No

Summary: Y/N goes on a vacation in London to find experience, adventure and memories. But after she meets Fred Weasley, a London Boy. She heads home with not only the experience and the memories, but also love.

It all started in a café in London.

You had gone on a vacation in London to do a little sightseeing and also to cross another thing off your bucket list.

You entered the café that my friend had recommended to you, ordering a peppermint mocha.

On your way out, you accidentally bumped into someone, the coffee only missing you by the skin of your teeth.

“Oh Merlin, I am so sorry.” The man who bumped into you suddenly apologized, his British accent ringing clearly through his voice.

You looked up to get a better look at him, his ginger hair was windswept as if he had just gotten back from the beach. His eyes sparkling in the sunlight. A small, apologetic smile on his lips.

“No, it’s fine.” You said, “I was the one who was looking where I was going."

He smiled, shaking his head, “Nonsense love. I almost spilled my coffee on you.”

You laughed, “If we keep on going on like this, we’ll never finish. So, let’s just call it quits."

He chuckled, “Whatever you say love.” He then offered his free hand, “I’m Fred by the way. Fred Weasley.”

You smiled, taking his hand and shaking it slightly, “I’m Y/N, Y/N L/N.”

“American?” He asked, as the two of you walked down the avenue together.

You chuckled, “The accent gave it away, didn’t it?”

Fred took a sip of his coffee as he replied with a small laugh, “A little bit.”

“So, where do you live in the States?” He asked.

“New York.” You simply stated.

He smiled, running a hand through his hair, “It must be a blast. Living in the Big Apple.”

You laughed, placing my free hand in the pocket of my jeans, “Most of the time. I did come here to have a vacation.”

“So, how long are you staying in London for.” He asked.

You shrugged, “About a month.”

“A month?” He asked in disbelief, “You’re staying here, on a vacation, for a month?”

You laughed, “Why not? I have been dreaming of this vacation ever since I was five. So, I decided to just make the most of it.”

Fred shrugged, a small smile adorning his handsome features, “That makes sense.”

You stopped at the beach where you were supposed to meet your friend. You turned to Fred, “Well, I better go now. It’s been nice having a little chat with you.”

“My pleasure.” He said, taking out a pen and a piece of paper from his pocket as he scribbled something down on it.

“Here’s my number.” He explained as he handed you the piece of paper, “Just in case you want somebody to show you around or you just need someone to talk to. Give me a call and I’ll be there in a jiffy.”

You smiled, gently taking the piece of paper from him, “Thanks Fred. I’ll see you around?”

He took your free hand, raising it up to his lips as he kissed along your knuckles, “You’ll surely will.” He said with a small wink before walking away.

--

“Who was that?” Your friend, Claudeth, asked as you walked towards her.

You gave her a look of confusion, “Who’s who?”

She rolled her eyes at you, “The cute guy you who was talking to you just now.”

You felt a blush rise up to my cheeks as you avoided her gaze, “Oh, that was Fred.”

“Oooh.” She teased, nudging your shoulder, “Somebody’s got a crush.”

You jokingly pushed her away, “I don’t have a crush on him!”

“Yeah, right.” She said, “If you don’t have a crush on him, then why are you blushing?”

You felt myself get redder, “Okay, I may find him a bit cute." Your eyes widened as you realized what just said, "Not helping Claudeth!”

Claudeth looped her arm around yours as the two of you walked through the beach, “Come on, tell me more.” She encouraged.

You rolled your eyes, “Well, we bumped into each other outside the coffee shop you recommended me. We chatted on the way here and he gave me his number.”

“What?!” She looked at you with wide eyes, before starting to shake you vigorously, “That’s a sign! He’s obviously your soulmate!”

You laughed at her antics, “Does him giving me his number already make him my soulmate? Seriously Claudeth, give me a break.”

“According to your story, you and Fred just met today. And after a few minutes of chatting with him, he already gave you his number. Just trust me and my matchmaking skills Y/N.” She said.

You rolled my eyes at her for the umpteenth time, “Whatever.”

--

You leaned back against the headboard of yout bed, scrolling through your social media, a bit bored. Claudeth was out with her boyfriend so, you texted the person you couldn't stop thinking about.

<Hey Fred! It's Y/N.

Not even a minute has passed before you received a reply.

>Hey love! What's up?

You smiled to myself as you typed out my reply.

<Well, remember your offer about showing me around London?

>Of course sweetheart! Why?

<I was wondering if you were still up for the it.

You smiled giddily as you read his reply.

>I sure am! Text me your address and I'll be there in twenty minutes.

You quickly typed out my address as you hopped out of bed to change.

You were still deciding whether a denim jacket would go with jeans you were wearing when your best friend suddenly called.

"Hello my soul sister!" You greeted, resting your phone on your shoulder as you pressed your ear against it, going through the rest of the clothes you packed.

"What's got you in a cheery mood today?" Claudeth asked, sligthly amused.

You hummed, "I think it's the fact that Fred is coming over in fifteen minutes. And tell me honestly, does a denim jacket go with jeans."

She laughed, "Yes, denim jackets do go with jeans. And in return, you have to give me some tea about your little 'date'."

You rolled my eyes as you put on the jacket, looking at yourself in the mirror, "It's not a date Claudeth. He's just showing me around."

"Yeah, yeah, then you'll be calling me tomorrow at his apartment..."

"Claudeth!" You chastised my best friend.

Her laugh could be heard as her boyfriend playfully scolded her, "You didn't have to be so mean."

After she had recovered from her laughing fit she said, "What? I'm just saying."

You heard a quick knock on the door, "I'll talk to you later. He's here."

"Go get your man soul sister!" Claudeth cheered on before you dropped the call.

You glanced at your image one more, fixing your hair a bit before grabbing your shoulder bag and opening the door. Being met with the sight of Fred, a cute smile on his face, his hair windswept just like the day you two met.

"Thank you so much for coming on such short notice." You said, closing the hotel door behind you.

He seemed in a daze, as if distracted by something as he just looked at you, his eyes glazed over.

"Are you okay Fred?" You asked.

He snapped out of his trance, blushing slightly at the fact that he got caught, "Nothing, you just look absolutely stunning." He said, adding a small wink at the end.

You felt my cheeks heat up as you looked down at your feet, avoiding his gaze, "Thanks."

"Where exactly as you taking me?" You asked as both of you walked down the avenue.

He smiled, "You'll see."

You playfully raised a brow at him, "How do I know that you're not some part of gang or something and is actually kidnapping me?"

His laughter rang through the air, "Then, I wouldn't be walking with you out in the open. I wouldn't even give you my number in the first place, the fbi and the police can track that."

You chuckled, "Smart. Very smart."

After a few more hours, we arrived at a park.

Fred stretched his arms out dramatically, "Behold, one of the best parks in London."

You laughed at his antics, "I'm relieved. With all the secrecy I thought you were taking me to see the Queen."

"If you want too, I can arrange that." He joked as we laughed.

"So, are you up for an adventure?" He asked.

You scoffed, "Have you forgotten who you're talking to? I'm a New Yorker, I'm always up for an adventure."

He chuckled, handing me a helmet as we walked towards the bikes, "Well come on then, we wouldn't want Miss Americana to get bored do we?"

You rolled my eyes playfully as he gave you a teasing smile.

--

The two of you sat by the curb as Fred handed you a bottle of water.

"Thanks." You said, taking a small sip, "How much?"

He smiled, shaking his head, "No need. It's on me."

We went on a few more rounds before nightfall came, Fred then escorted you back to your hotel.

"Thank you." You said as we reached your room, "For coming quickly on such short notice. And for the little adventure as well."

He smiled, "It's my pleasure Y/N. And I'd happily do it again. So, are you up for another adventure tomorrow?"

You bit your bottom lip, looking down at your feet to keep the blush from rising up to your cheeks, "Sure, why not?"

He placed his hands in his pockets, "See you tomorrow then. G'night Y/N."

"G'night Fred." You said, as you entered your room, closed the door and leaned against it. Closing your eyes as you committed his dreamy smile to memory.

--

"No! No! You can't tell me that it's not a date!" Claudeth said dramatically.

You giggled, "Why not?"

"Because," she elongated the last sylablle to emphasize, "You have been 'hanging out' with him for literally the past two weeks. So, you can't tell me that it's not a date."

You rolled your eyes at her, "Just because Seth asked you to be his girlfriend after a week of seeing each other, doesn't mean my future boyfriend has to do the same."

You ducked as she chucked a pillow at you, "Hey, hey, that makes it obvious that Seth is my soulmate. And I am sure that Fred is yours."

You then heard a knock on the door, "That's Fred, I gotta go now!" You said, heading to the door.

"That's what I'm talking about." Claudeth muttered to herself as you opened the door.

"Hi Fred!" You greeted as he gave you a smile.

"Hey love." He said, before turning to my best friend, "As usual, I'll be stealing your friend for a little while. Hope you don't mind."

Claudeth nodded as she gave him a smile, "Go ahead, don't let me stop you. You can even take her home if you want."

"Claudeth!" You scolded.

She gave an apologetic but teasing smile, "It was a joke. Now, run along you two."

You gave her a death glare before closing the door behind yourself.

"I'm so sorry about her." You apologized as you and Fred entered the elevator, heading down to the lobby, "She can be a bit of a crackhead at times."

Fred chuckled, "Don't worry about it. I might actually take up her offer and bring you home."

"You've got to be kidding me!" You said, playfully hitting him on the shoulder.

"I'm kidding." He said, accompanied with a small laugh.

When we walked out of the hotel and kept on walking until we stopped in front of a black scooter.

Fred handed me a helmet, "Well Miss Americana, what do you think?"

You stared at him in awe, "I didn't know you had a scooter."

He chuckled, "Prepared to be surprised then."

He put on a helmet before climbing on the scooter, holding out his hand, "I thought you were a New Yorker." He teased, "What's taking you so long?"

You playfully rolled my eyes as you strapped on the helmet, "There's something called 'patience' London boy." You retorted as you climbed on behind him.

"Hold on." He said, before starting to drive through the bustling streets as you wrapped your arms around his waist.

After a few hours, you stopped at some park.

"Where are you taking me?" You asked as he pulled you through the trees.

He shot you a wink, "You'll see love. And I'm sure you'll love it."

We walked into a clearing that looked like something out of a fairytale.

Trees surrounded the clearing, a small footbridge led to a nearby lake that glistening under the light of the sun.

You smiled, "It's beautiful Freddie."

He chuckled, tucking a stray piece of hair behind your ear, "I knew you'd like it."

"How did you find this place?" You asked, sitting by the edge of the footbridge.

He sat by the space next to you, "My twin and I found it while my family was hanging out at the park. Wandered a bit too far from the group and ended up here."

"A twin?" You asked, "I didn't know you had a twin."

Fred laughed, "Not just a twin. I have four more brothers and one sister."

"Wow." You grinned, "That is a lot."

"Only child problems Miss Americana?" He teased.

You laughed, "Unfortunately for you, I'm not an only child. I happen to have a younger sister, her name is Ahnica."

He tsked, "Cute. But not as stunning as Y/N."

"You always know what to say, don't you?" You said, trying to keep the blush from rising up to my cheeks.

"It's all part of my charm, isn't it?" He said with a small wink.

"Cheeky, that's for sure."

When nightfall arrived, it also started to rain.

"We're too far from your place." Fred said as we drove through highway, soaking wet from the rain, "Do you want to stay at my flat at least until the rain stops."

"Sure. Whatever works." You said.

We went up to his flat after he parked his motorbike.

As soon as you walked through his door, he immediately threw a towel around me, fussing over me.

As if he wasn't soaking wet as well.

"Fred." You said in an attempt to calm him down, "Stop fussing over me. You're also soaking wet. I can handle myself."

He shook his head, droplets of water flying all over the place, "You might get sick. You might catch a flu or something."

You rolled your eyes at him, grabbing a towel and putting it around him and drying his hair, "You keep on worrying about me getting sick when you're just equally soaked as me."

He chuckled, "Easy there Miss Americana. You don't have to lecture me."

You scoffed, "Not only cheeky. But, stubborn too."

"You love it anyway." He teased.

"Whatever." You said, trying to hide the small smile that was growing on your lips as I sat down on the couch.

Fred headed to the kitchen, coming back holding two mugs of hot chocolate.

"Here." He said with a small smile as he handed you a mug, sitting down beside you.

"Thanks." You muttered, looking up at him, offering him a small smile.

We talked with each other just like we did during the day we met, the feeling of tranquility and peace feeling the atmosphere.

"It stopped raining." Fred pointed out after a little while.

"Oh." You said, trying my best not to sound disappointed, "Well, I better be going now."

"Wait." He said, desperately glancing at his watch, "It's too dangerous to go out alone this late at night. You could stay the night if you want, but if you don't, I can always escort you home."

You bit your lip, "I appreciate the offer Fred. I really do. But, you've already done so much for me. I can't ask you to do anything more."

He chuckled, shaking his head as he stood up, "I insist love. It's absolutely no problem."

"Fred, seriously, I can't. That would be asking for too much." You tried to reason.

But he wasn't backing down, "I insist. You've only got two choices, it's either you stay the night or I'm taking you home."

You sighed, "Fine. But, I'm taking the couch. No buts, no ifs."

He chuckled, "Whatever you say Miss Americana."

"Do you ever stop being so cheeky London boy?" You asked with a small smile.

He grinned, "Never."

You went into the bathroom to change into the oversized shirt and shorts Fred had let me borrowed.

When you had finished, you saw Fred sitting on the balcony.

You chuckled quietly, opening the slide door and stepping outside.

"That's pretty dangerous." You said, "You could lose your balance and fall 50, 60 feet? You'd be lucky to still be alive at that rate."

He smiled, "Aren't you a New Yorker? You should be used to the chaos."

You climbed over the balcony and sat beside him, "Just because I'm a New Yorker doesn't mean that I do things that will put my life at risk."

He looked at you, "Well, you're doing the same thing right now."

"I guess that you have that affect on me then." You said, looking at him.

--

"I can't believe that you're already leaving tomorrow." Fred suddenly said, causing you to look up from your coffee, since he decided that both of you should spend your last day at the place where you met.

You chuckled, tucking a stray piece of hair behind my ear, "Time really flies when you're having fun."

You looked at the ginger in front of me. Something about him was... off today. He was quieter than usual.

"Hey," you said as your thumb rubbed small circles at the back of his hand, "are you okay? You seem a bit quieter than usual."

He bit his lip as he looked at you, "No, I'm absolutely fine sweetheart."

You gave him a skeptical look, "I can see it in your eyes, there's something bothering you."

Fred sighed, "It's just been something that I've been thinking about for the past week."

You licked my lips, terribly concerned, "Then tell me, maybe I could help you with it."

He interlocked our hands together, "Will you promise that whatever happens with what I tell you, it won't affect our friendship at all?"

You nodded, "Of course it wouldn't."

Fred took a deep breath, as if preparing himself for the worse, "Spending the past month with you has been the highlight of my entire year. I will honestly tell you that I've been dreading the day that you would have to go back to New York. I have been dreading the day you'll leave and possibly not come back."

You gulped, "Freddie, you're scaring me."

"If I don't tell you this, then it would be my biggest what if. I love you Y/N. More than a friend, more than anything else that I've loved before. It's perfectly fine if you don't feel the same and turn down my offer. But, Y/N L/N, will you be my girlfriend?" He said with a hopeful glint in his eyes.

You smiled as you nodded, "Yes Fred. I will be your girlfriend!"

He grinned, standing up and pulling you into a passionate kiss.

"Thank goodness!" He said as we pulled apart, "You've just made me the happiest man alive."

You giggled, "Well then, that makes me the happiest person to ever walk the planet."

"But, how about the distance?" You asked, "New York isn't on the other side of London."

He licked his lips, "Well, that's what technology is for, isn't it?"

You laughed, "You are a smart cookie."

The time flew by, before you knew it, Fred was taking you back to the hotel for the last time.

--

"Got everything packed?" Fred asked as he rested a hand on your suitcase.

You looked around the room, already feeling a bit nostalgic for the place that had served as your home for the past month.

You nodded, "Yeah, everything's complete."

We walked out of the room, climbing into the cab that brought you to the airport.

We were silent for the most of the journey. Fred holding on tightly to your hand as much as possible.

When we arrived at the airport, Fred stayed by your side during everything, check-in, immigration and now the moment you dreaded the most.

"So, this is it." You shrug, trying to keep the tears at bay, "I have to go."

Fred sniffed, obviously trying hard not to cry, "I know. But, I don't want you to go."

You gave him a small smile, "I don't want to leave yet too, baby. It's not like I have a choice. Besides, that's what technology is for."

He pulled you into his chest, hugging you tightly, "Yeah, but it's not the same as having you here with me." He said, now openly crying.

"Hey, hey." You said, my tears now dripping down my cheeks, "Don't cry. Just call and text me anytime. Don't think about the timezones. Okay? I don't care if you call or text me at 3 am. I will answer."

Fred sniffed, wiping the tears from you cheeks, "Okay. But, I'll be seeing you in two months."

You chuckled, "Two months? I'll try and get a ticket."

My boyfriend gave a small smile, shaking his head, "I meant me. I'll be visiting you in New York in two months."

"Really?" You said in awe.

He nodded, "Yeah. Now before you protest, I already bought a ticket."

You flung my arms around his neck, "You're the best boyfriend ever!"

"You're the one who brings out the best in me." He whispered.

"Passengers of flight 2B5567 please head to the boarding gate immediately." Someone said over the intercom.

Fred and you pulled apart, profusely wiping the remaining tears from our eyes.

"This is it." You said again.

He nodded, "The 'it' we can't avoid no matter what we do."

He pulled you into a passionate kiss, one where we poured all of your love into it. For one final time.

You grabbed my luggage, heading towards the gate when you suddenly didn't care about missing your flight.

Your let go of your luggage, running into Fred's arms as you threw your arms around him, pulling him in for another kiss.

"Last reminder, all passengers of flight 2B5567 please head to the boarding gate immediately." The intercom sounded again.

"Sweetheart, I love you and all, but you're going to miss your flight." Fred said.

You nodded, taking off my bracelet, it was the one you were wearing the day you met Fred.

You handed it to your boyfriend, seeing his expression falter a little, "I can't take that princess."

You gave him a reassuring smile, "You can and you will. Whenever you miss me, just hold this and think that I'm holding your hand."

He sniffed as he took it, "I love you." He said, his voice cracking a little.

"I love you too." You said.

"Go to the gate." He urged, "The plane won't wait for you."

You nodded, giving him one last smile before heading back to your luggage and going to the gate.

"'Till we meet again, Miss Americana." He said with a small smile, his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

You waved goodbye, "Till our next adventure, my London boy." You said before showing the attendant my ticket and heading into the plane.

𝚃𝚊𝚐𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝:

@lumosandnoxwriting ​ @wand3ringr0s3 ​ @famdomhideout ​ @nova-darling @gaycatlord-stuff ​​  @pandaxnienke ​​ @escapingrealitybyreading (If you are crossed out, that means I can’t tag you)

[impala1967dwinchester]

Dean Winchester: Miracle and Simon

Pairing: Dean W. x Wife!Reader Pov: Dean Warnings: Fluff, a little bit of angst, Dean, dogs, talk of infertility, sadness, overall fluff, comforting Dean, Sam is mention. Summary: Y/n and Dean learn after a long time of trying for children that Y/n is unable to bare a child. With this news, they decide to wait. When Dean comes across two very cute pups how can Dean pass it up? Word Count: 2.3k A/N: Written for band-psychos 1.5 followers writing bingo challenge. This is sad, but good at the same time. By the way, I have absolutely no clue what it's like to be told that I won't be able to have children, so what I may say may be wrong. Also, I'm sorry if this is something that affects you. Square: First Pet

Dean Winchester Master List

Main Master List

Tag list: @band--psycho @akshi8278 @deanswaywardgirl @hit-meup69 @doctorlilo @fofisstilinski @wonderfulworldofwinchester

Month, turned into years of trying for a baby. It was okay in the beginning, but it turned into constant disappointment. Not disappointed in Y/n or myself. Just overall disappointment in the situation.

How we had been stripped of the ability to have kids. Y/n being stripped of the chance of being the best mother I know she can be. I felt more hopeless, and helpless than I had in any other part of my life.

My darling wife unable to bare a child, unable to be the most gifted thing in life. Unable to become a mother. That day was horrific, She cried in my arms and spent the drive back home in silence.

She stayed away, she had moved back into her old room. Forcing everything that we had built to be crushed. She pushed everything and everyone away.

It was horrible, she wore her ring still. Years of marriage, years of trying. Years of our life being shut out. Being put behind a wall because she felt as if she wasn't enough, wasn't worth being with.

There were nights of course I'd try and make conversation with her, but it always ended in silence, or in me talking enough for the both of us.

The few months that she pushed me away were the hardest, hearing the loud sobs echo through the halls. Not hearing her voice at all was the worst of it all, not being able to see the bright smile that used to blossom on her face was horrible.

So many things that I wish that I could change for her, so many things that I wish that I could make better. Better for her, better for me, but most importantly better for our relationship.

Finally one night.

Hearing a soft knock on my door, even with it being ajar. "Dean.. Can I come in?" Y/n asked, barely poking her head into my, our room. I was still a little confused on that one.

"Of course honey," I said pulling the bedspread back so if she wished she could climb into bed with me. She walked in slowly, not bothering to shut the door behind her.

She wore an old shirt of mine, sleep shorts, and her slippers. She looked just like she has always looked comfortable, but the look on her face was a displacement of how she looked. Her voice was white, heavy purple and black circles under her eyes, her face even looked a little bit too skinny.

Y/n say slipping her slippers off before climbing to the bed with me. "Hey." She said timidly like, "Hey baby," I said. During the time she had taken to be by herself, I had done more than enough research about what happened when women learned that they were infertile.

How they need space, or how they didn't like to be touched, how they could have outbursts of many different emotions. It's been five months and now Y/n's back in our bed. I'm hesitant to touch her, I think she can tell.

"Let me first say that"

"I missed you"

We spoke at the same time, speaking at the same was something that we always tended to do... God to hear her voice was amazing, like cutting butter so smooth and calming. She was so perfect to me no matter what was going on outside of this moment right now.

I smiled, and Y/n smiled back at me. It wasn't a full smile, but it was true and halfway there. "Do you want me to go first?" I asked not wanting to push her if she wasn't fully comfortable with it.

But if she wasn't comfortable with it then she wouldn't have come to my... our room and sat down next to her husband. Right? 'Stop asking so many questions.'

"If you want to Dean." She said her voice starting to waver. She's going to start crying, start talking Dean.

"I'm going, to be honest with you here. I don't know what to say.' Smiling afterward, ' I... I want you to know that you aren't alone in this, I know now that you needed your space, I want you to know that no matter what you think I don't blame you at all, not once. Because I'll forever love you. I've also been reading a lot,' Y/n was smiling now, raising her eyebrows at my reading comment. 'Anything for you Y/n you know that, but regardless I've been doing some reading on this situation, how this may affect us, you and myself. I just want you to know that I'm here for you." I said finally shutting my mouth.

She didn't look like she was going to cry anymore. Y/n was smiling a bright tooth-grinning smile. "You know Dean even when you don't know what to say you always manage to say the right thing, every single fuckin' time," She said through her smile.

Is it weird to say, but I know when Y/n is at her most happy because she curses. She spouts out every single bad curse word there is known to man. Just to tell you how happy she truly is.

God, I missed her smile. You don't realize just how much you miss something or even need it until it stops coming into your life and then comes back into your life a bullet.

I reached out to touch her, but I'm still hesitant. Very hesitant she most definitely saw that. When I went to take my hand back to my lap, she reached out grabbing my hand.

She's so soft, and her hands god how I've forgotten how much smaller her hands are to mine. Look at her hands, look at that ring, still shiny and glistening under the light of our room. That ring I think is what brought her back to me, no scratch that I think our love for each other is brought her back to me.

I had been looking for weeks after Y/n finally came back. Everything needs to settle down before I can even prompt the question to her. I want her to feel safe, I don't her to feel pressured or like I might be trying to replace the idea of children.

I again dived in and did the research for my idea. Sam even helped me, helped me to try and find the right one for her and me. Sam knows a lot of things but he especially knows this about me. When I do something I do it all the way, no half-assing anything and that only becomes ten times more when Y/n is thrown into the situation.

Doing the best research I could with the help of my brother of course. I found the best thing, not something I necessarily like the idea of but anything to help Y/n.

Anything for her.

They passed my screen, and before I knew it I was scrolling back up to them. In the loud and bold letter, it read.

These two come together, a pit bull and a golden retriever. Price is free, just come and pick them up today.

It just clicked, you ever have those types of moments. Where you can feel deep down in your mind, and body. Gosh, I'm really starting to get more and more like Sam.

I shouldn't say that because honestly, that's how it was for me when I first met Y/n. But that is most definitely a story for another time. I jumped from my seat sending the library chair to slide and then fall against the tile floor.

"Are you okay?" I heard Y/n's sweet voice ringing from behind me. 'Shit I forgot' "Yeah I'm fine, I just remember that I forgot to grab something when I was out earlier," I said, turning jamming my phone in my back pocket, calmly walking over to her, and kissing her temple saying bye.

I rushed, driving down the gravel road that leads to home sweet home. If nobody knew what I was doing they'd probably all think I was trying to get away from a murder that I just committed.

The drive to pups was silent. I'd driven baby so many times alone, but this time it just felt different. My impala was the first one parked, a few people close behind me. I rushed up to the fairly older man. He looked over my shoulder, he huffed before waving the other people off.

"Now listen heree son, I'm given' you 2 pups for nothing, so I don't want to hear anything." He said stepping down the porch and walking in front of me to the red broke down barn.

"They're in here. All yours." He said pulling back the door and then walking back to his barn house. Pointing in a very general area, there were 2 pups as the old man called them. Curled up into each other, 'cute' I thought to myself.

'I've already been gone for too long, hurry up Dean.' I said to myself. "Do they respond to commands? Like come, or no?" I asked as I slouched down to the height or near height of them. He hummed and said a few things under his breath.

"Come here," I said gently, just like if I were talking to Y/n. I know that as husband and wife you're supposed to talk about things before you just go outright and do them, but I kind of figured that Y/n wouldn't have any cons to having some furry children. It would most definitely take her mind somewhere else for the moment.

Waking them up from their shallow sleep, they were both wary at first, but grow to be giving me kisses had me rolling around on the dirty ground.

"Come on son!" The old man said. I jumped up from the ground dusting my clothes off and whistling for the dog's attention. "Let's go" They followed us out of the barn and chased after each other. There was no need for a transaction seeing as he just wanted them gone.

I whistled again, both chasing each other and coming to a fast stop in front of me. I was hesitant to let these pups in my baby, but anything for my girl, for her happiness, anything for her.

Both jumping up and finding a comfy spot and laying down. I speed back home, I'd already been gone for much longer than I originally wanted.

I once again speed down the gravel road heading to my home sweet home. Parking in the garage caused the pups to raise their heads. That being the first time, at least they don't complain about my driving like Sam does. That's rather nice.

I opened the back door and let both of them slip out. Yes at that moment I had realized that I had in fact told nobody of my plans, and I also had nothing to give them food-wise.

Letting them into the bunker they seemed to feel at home, but the more odd thing was that they didn't seem to care about anything other than finding Y/n.

An odd moment, it's like Sam said years ago sometimes animals can sense evil, so why can't they sense happiness or even sadness. I wonder?

The two of them led their own ways to the door of our bedroom. "Sit," I said quietly. They looked at each other and sat down, well actually they laid down.

I knocked and then came in seeing at it was also my room. "When'd you get back?" Y/n's honey slick voiced asked. "Just a few moments ago, love...." There was a comfortable silence between us, but Y/n always knows.

"What are you hiding Winchester?" She asked, pulling the sheets from her body. 'No don't get out of bed' "I need you to stay in bed for this surprise if you will." I said gesturing her to lay back down. " Be ready okay?" I said opening the door,

There sat a golden retriever and a pit bull. I heard her gasp "Dean?!". Behind me I saw the two dogs slowly sit up fully, they looked over at me, then over at Y/n.

I nodded and whistled. The pitbull was the first one to reach Y/n his nose nudging her arm. "Dean?" I heard again, so I turned I was smiling, the dog has already made a way onto her lap. "We.. are.. you." Y/n was most definitely stumbling over her words.

"Yes, they're ours. I thought that if we y'know. We could find a way to take care of something. I think he likes you, baby." I said walking all the way into the room having the golden following close behind me. "Yeah and I think she likes you, Dean." She said, patting the pits head.

"They need names," I said nodding to let the golden know that it was okay for her to jump up on the bed. I want my bed to remember them too, cause my bed is memory foam.

"Miracle and Simon. What do you think." Y/n said resting her hand on top of the pits head. "Whos who?" I asked, Y/n pointed at the dog taking up most of my lap, "That's Miracle" then moving and pointing over the sleeping pup in her lap snoring "This, sweet boy is Simon." She said a single tear falling down her cheek.

"What's wrong honey?" I asked "I know that I didn't even ask you if this was okay," I said worrying as more tears fall down her soft warm-toned cheeks.

"Nothing is wrong Dean, I just remembered that I wanted to maybe name our son Simon when we finally got pregnant." She said, I wiped her stray tears and said, "We've got our son and daughter just in fur version. And being together is enough for me." Kissing her forehead. A whispered, "Thank you Deanie Beanie." I rolled my eyes and kissed her forehead again.

Completed on: 05/24/2021

Posted on 05/25/2021

[cheelduh]

How to bet your way into someone’s heart. (Highschool AU)

Pairing: Childe x fem!reader

Warnings: Fake weed. Poor Signora smh. Oh yes, lots of swearing. UNEDITED ASF IM LAZY BYE.

Synopsis: Childe is being an infatuated idiot, Lisa has eyes for vending machine chocolate, and Kaeya is desperately in need of a pencil. With all these distractions, there’s no way in hell you’ll be able focus on the task at hand.

This is crack.

I don’t have time.

You think as you race down the hallway, shoes slapping against the floor as you expertly dodge multiple students in your way.

Bullet. You're as fast as a bullet, because everyone around you is a blur and you don't stop, can't stop, not until you meet your target.

It's funny how one can accomplish many challenges and feats they were unable to, merely due to pressure. Pressure is a twisted ugly thing that can gnaw its way into the pit of your stomach and grow like a parasite. Pressure is a parasite that can either bring the best in you, or the worst, but at the cost of one's peace of mind.

"Move it Signora!" You shouted a warning at the senior blocking your way. There wasn't any time for you slow down at that point, and you'd risk bumping into the breakfast club's stall if you swerved to the side, sending juice flying everywhere.

Signora's eyes widened momentarily, getting the gist albeit her anger, and choosing to back up flatly against the locker.

Her lipstick nearly slips from her fingers as you swerve past, a thick gust of wind in your wake.

It messes with the hair she woke up two hours early for.

Signora plots her revenge. You still don't have time.

You nearly kick the door to your home room down, but you can't risk the perfect image your teachers have of you. So you pat down your t-shirt, take five tempting deep breaths, and tentatively knock the door.

The door opens and you're met with a young man, familiar amber pupils welcoming you.

You try not to huff and puff at the cost of your stamina. Thinking back, there's no way in hell you could have physically been that fast.

"Good morning Y/N," Your homeroom teacher gives you a small smile, moving aside to let you in. "Class is just about to start."

You check your watch, then turn to him with an apologetic tone, trying not to crack under the eyes of your classmates. "I'm so sorry Mr.Zhongli, I slept through my alarm."

Your idiot ass forgot to set one because you studied till four in the morning.

"You're like thirty seconds late, cut the shit." Beidou boos from the back, causing your stance to stiffen.

"I don't wanna hear it Beidou. If anything, you're two periods earlier than usual." Ningguang calls her out for you, but you have a feeling it's more so on behalf of a personal vendetta.

Ignoring the two bickering, Mr.Zhongli gives you the handout. "Take a seat. Do not fret over such minuscule things dear."

Relief washes over you. Your impeccable attendance is not on the line.

Childe tries to flag you down next to him but you send him a pointed glare and sit next to Lisa instead.

"You should give him a chance you know." Lisa doesn't even have to open her eyes to know what's going on.

"Please," You scoff, digging through your bags to collect your notes. "As if I have the time to fool around with a shady kid like him."

Your friend sighs in disapproval, and makes no move to take out her own notes as Mr.Zhongli begins the lecture on the Archon war.

"You should really pay attention." It bothers you that she doesn't, but then again it's not your place to tell her what to do or not to do.

"I don't need to." She yawns, blinking an eye open towards you. "I have you after all."

"I'm tired of saving your ass." You groan and pull a pen out of your pocket to get started on the exercises as Mr.Zhongli talks in the background.

The course outline contained all the topic, and you made sure to teach yourself as much as you could before class to stay ahead.

Immersed in the worksheet, you blinked away your sleep and tried to answer as many questions as you could at the moment. You didn't hear the slight shift next to you, and the change of breathing, or the rate of which time went by.

A familiar scent makes its way into your nostrils.

"Lisa. Why do you smell like mango juul juice." You know the scent from when Signora blew a mango flavoured fog in your face yesterday at lunch when you said you were hungry.

A chuckle erupts and you freeze in place. "That's because I'm not Lisa."

You blink. Once, twice, and then crane your head to the side to meet a pair of teasing cerulean eyes.

Fingers loosening in shock, the pen drops on the desk with a short thud.

You whisk your head towards the front of the classroom, and Mr.Zhongli is nowhere to be seen.

"There's no saving you now." Childe's smirk widens, and he scoots closer to you. "Mr.Zhongli had to get something from the staff room. The staff room is near the cafeteria."

"Which is also near the merch stall." You grumbled, bringing both hands to massage your temples as a headache is beginning it's reign.

"Tsk tsk. Smart girl. I'd like to add that he's forgotten his wallet in his office as well, which is in the south wing."

"Son of a..." You mutter underneath your breath, and opt to scoot further back, but your efforts are futile because your desk is in a corner.

Your next beacon of hope is Lisa, so you scan the room full of chattering students, only to find her pestering her crush, Jean.

Shit...there's nothing getting you out of this one.

"What did it take?" Is your only question, the despair starting to brew. How much did it take for your best friend to betray you?

"A dollar and fifty for vending machine chocolate."

You take a moment to breathe, calming your nerves and burying down the urge to screech. "What will it take?"

"For what?" Childe replies back innocently, and you can't believe how fast he can change masks. You almost give in.

"For you to leave me alone."

"Aww come on girlie," He whines, closing in the distance. "Don't be so cold."

What did your mom tell you that one time? Oh yes. That if you were ever backed against a wall, then just break the damn thing down.

Too bad it's figurative. You're just about ready to sock him in the face if you didn't know he was into that sort of thing.

"I'm serious about you," He says, and it sounds so real, so genuine, nearly makes you sputter. "See? I've even bought school supplies.

He unzips his light backback and spills the contents on the table.

A lone piece of paper flies out, a lighter, and a mechanical pencil with no lead that follows straight after. There's also a pocket knife that you choose to ignore.

You're not the least bit surprised.

"First of all, how the fuck are you passing this class. Second, do you really think I'm into nerds?"

"Well, considering that you are a nerd—"

"You're making things worse."

"My bad, my bad." He rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. "But on a serious note. I'll do anything."

You cross your arms. "I'm not just another one of your conquests Childe. It's not like I have the time. There are better things to do."

"You need to relax." He says so simply, with complete disregard as to what you are trying to say.

"I am relaxed." You reply, picking up your pen to continue your work. If he's going to annoy you, then you might as well get shit done while he's at it.

You're not wasting any more time.

"When was the last time you got a full eight hours of sleep?" His voice is soft, too soft, and it's not at all like the Childe you know.

Your pen stops momentarily, but you will yourself to continue writing. The words look fumbled, but you don't care. The best thing to do is get your work done and ignore the idiot next to you.

"C'mon, Zhongli won't be back for another half an hour at least. Let's go." He kicks the bottom of your chair to urge you.

The pen shakes in your hand, and you narrow your eyes at the paper, digging holes into poor question eight. "I'm trying to work here. Let me work." You'll say anything to get him off your back.

"Fine fine fine..." He raises both hands in mock surrender. "I'll stop bothering you."

Your ears perk up at that, and you turn to him so fast he has to hold in his laugh. "Really?"

"Yeah," Childe nods along, bringing your hopes up. "If you win a bet, that is." And they're back to ocean level.

You roll your eyes. There's always a catch. That doesn't mean you're any less interested.

"What's the bet?" You ask curiously, all your focus now on him. Just as he longed for from the very start.

He flicks a thumb towards the door, leaning closer to whisper next to your ear. "We bet when Zhongli comes back."

"Are you kidding me?" You aren't bothered at all at the close proximity, mainly because you're too tired and only care about the freedom that will come with your win.

Childe, however, is a completely different story. His heart is beating a thousand times a second, but his face doesn't show it. Not one bit.

Kaeya leans in from the seat behind you two, interested in what's going on. "Ooooh secrets."

"Shut up Kaeya." Childe and you monotonously drone in sync, still having your little staring contest.

The captain of the skating team smiles, about to ask—

"No. We don't have an extra pencil. Even if we did we wouldn't give it to you." Childe finally breaks his gaze to scare off Kaeya.

Kaeya raises a smug brow, and leans back in his chair like the jerkwad he is. "Then don't let me keep you two love birds."

That's all it takes for him to earn Childe's unwavering respect and loyalty for as long as he lives.

After the two are done creating an elaborate handshake as a mark of their newfound friendship, you decide to just forget about the handout. It's not like you're getting anything done anyways.

"Anyways, back to the bet." Childe says, resting his cheek on his fist as he stares at you dreamily. You try not to break under his gaze.

"If I win, you have to go on a date with me."

"No way in hell—"

"Then I'll bother you for the rest of highschool."

Highschool is eternity. You don't want to live through an eternity of this.

"Fine." You answer, and for the first time he sees genuine fear in your face, it makes him waver slightly. Not enough for him to pity you.

"If I win..." You trail, thinking loud and clear as you ignore the excited chatter of your classmates. "I want you to pay attention to class."

"What?" He exclaims incredulously, blinking in disbelief. "I thought you'd get me to stop talking to you altogether."

"If you're paying attention in class, you don't bother me as much and your grades go up." You grin smartly, and oh archons it livens his entire day up, and it's only nine in the morning.

"You care about my grades?" Childe bites back a smile.

"Not at all." You lie, and quickly look away. Woah the floor tile looking trippy.

He decides it's better to get on with the bet without causing you any more distress. After all, you've given him such cute facial expressions today. He's feeling quite generous.

Pulling out his cracked-as-shit latest model phone, he unlocks it and tinkers with it a bit before turning the screen towards you.

"We'll be using this to time both of our predictions at the same time. Whoever has the closer time to when he finally swings by is the winner." The rules are simply put, no room for error.

You tilt your head in confusion. "Why am I seeing a slime review?"

"SHIT!" Childe fumbles with his phone, aggressively tapping on the screen. He lowers his head and voice as if he's been through fifty consecutive hits in the face. "It's uh, Teucer's account."

"Yeah...okay." Is all you can say.

"Ok what do you bet?" He changes the topic to unfuck the situation.

Putting a finger in your chin, you think for a minute, calculating the average of all the times Mr.Zhongli has left the classroom for a considerable amount of time.

"Fifteen minutes." You're sure of it. It's like clockwork every day.

"Hmm..." Childe crosses his arms, seemingly in deep thought. "Five minutes." He places his bet, and both timers start simultaneously.

Five minutes?! Is he serious?

You laugh inwardly. This challenge is in the bag.

The sense of victory you feel dulls when your ears pick up the echo of footsteps nearing the classroom.. Both your heads snap up to the doors.

There's something scary about Childe once his competitive side comes out. "Looks like I've won." He turns to you, eyes darkening evilly.

"What? There's no way in hell a ginger is right." Your palms are clammed up, eyebrows furrowed in panic. You calculated every single variable, how could this be?

You race to the front, Childe right on your tail as the entire class clamps up. The footsteps get louder, causing even whispers to become total silence.

Then it hits you. The shitty music about getting bitches and bars playing on the other side.

The door is swung open by Childe, and you're face to face with an idiot sophomore with a speaker in his pocket.

Childe’s grin is long gone, and you sigh in relief.

The false alarm encourages the class to return back to their idle chatter.

"Scaramouche?" Childe spits, narrowing his eyes at the unamused boy. "I thought it was Signora's shift today."

By "shift" he means being a complete dickwad and scamming fake weed to students in return for their souls. It only really works on the freshmen.

The only reason the club still runs is because Signora threatened the principal with some sus pictures she snapped of him and his assistant.

"Apparently she had an emergency." Scaramouche explains, lowering the volume on his outdated beats pill. "Something about a hair appointment because she got ran into by a, and I quote "lecherous imbecile.""

You steer clear of the conversation, finding the whiteboard far more fascinating and worth your while.

A loud cough is heard from behind the kid, and you're met with a crestfallen look on your beloved teacher's face.

You go through a whiplash of emotions, becoming completely numb towards your loss.

"They were out of slow cooked bamboo shoot soup." He sighs, handing a stack of papers to Childe, who is wearing the fattest smirk on his face at his victory. "Please hand these out to your classmates Childe, and we will begin shortly."

You check down at the timer despite knowing who’s won. Five minutes and twenty five seconds. Somehow, you don't feel as dejected as you thought you'd feel.

Maybe the date will be fun. Maybe Childe isn't so bad. Maybe...you do have time to indulge in these sort of things. If he’s so hell bent on getting your attention, perhaps it’s possible that you can make some room in your heart for him.

However, all those thoughts fly out the window when Childe hands you the new worksheet.

“I hope you're ready for our date tomorrow. We'll be sparring till sundown, and after you’ll be feeding me with chopsticks." He winks, and it makes your heart flip even though all you want right now is to go to the bathroom and barf your guts out.

Feelings are complicated.

You smile back at him nauseously, tight lipped and all, then you pull out your phone, go on maps, and search for the closest cliffs to jump off of.

After he's done, Childe slouches back in his original seat with a different kind of enthusiasm, and opens up his messages. He texts Zhongli a "thank you <3".

[desertofsnowflakes]

Incorrect Order Chapter 2 (Nessian AU)

A/N: DO inform me if you wanna be added/removed from the taglist! If you happen to find my storyline similar to another fic or one of yours, I'm extremely sorry, I might've just not known. All characters belong to the author Sarah J. Mass. Enjoy!

Summary: Don't first impressions always affect the way you see someone? Well, what more with the Nesta Archeron? Nesta meets Cassian at few unexpected places and to say it didn't go well was a major understatement. Certain circumstances make them become enemies to tolerable company to friends to lovers.

Trigger Warnings: Abuse and Swearing

1957 words | Part 1 | Read on AO3

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cassian was waiting. And waiting. And waiting. He waited for the day he would forget the woman’s face. He waited for the day he could close his eyes without seeing her blue-grey eyes blazing in anger. He waited for the day he wouldn’t burn his bacon because he was thinking about her.

He had mused, how the face of a stranger was branded into his mind vividly. He would be lying if he said he hadn’t wondered if they’ve known each other before or have seen each other somewhere, anywhere before the day in the mall—even if on photographs or at an event or at another shopping mall. Still, he desperately wanted to forget about her. He wanted to forget that she ever existed. He wanted to forget their encounter in the mall that day. He wanted to forget everything about her, even though deep down, he knew what he wanted was far from forgetting her.

But he couldn’t afford this. He couldn’t afford to think about her at all times. He was getting distracted at work. His part-time job as a martial-arts instructor and as a sommelier was in a precarious position if it went on like this. He nearly tore one of his student’s muscles in his centre and got at least 5 orders wrong at the restaurant he was working at.

On a Saturday noon, Cassian decided the best way to clear his head was to dive into a war book or reread Secrets Of The Sommeliers for probably the millionth time.

* * *

Nesta flinched at the sudden ping of the oven timer. Again. She’d been thinking about him again. This was the fourth time in the whole week when she burned her cheese sandwich and she was getting so tired of this. She urgently needed a way to stop thinking about him. To stop seeing his insufferable grin whenever she closed her eyes. To stop thinking about him at almost all times.

It struck her as odd, the fact they didn’t even know each other’s names but she kept seeing his face as if they’ve known each other before. She gasped. What if they had known each other before? What if they were probably neighbours from Nesta’s old house or classmates or maybe they went to the same college. Nesta shook her head.

But why should she care? No, she doesn’t care. She doesn’t care what his name is or if he even has a name. She doesn’t care if she’s had the misfortune of seeing him before or if that was the first she’s seeing him. Or so she kept telling herself. She couldn’t afford to have him occupy her thoughts. She had better things to do. But all these excuses weren't enough to stop her from still thinking about him.

Nesta looked at her clock. It was a Saturday, almost noon. Maybe reading a spicy book or two will help.

* * *

Cassian loved the House of Wind library and bookstore. They had a variety of books in almost any genre. He'll admit though, that some of the librarians here are better left alone. He was lucky he came here often and therefore knew a handful of the merrier librarians. He made a beeline for his favourite section, books related to wine, best books for sommeliers.

On his way to the shelves he had committed to memory, he realised that there was a big poster about their annual Free Premium Membership Fest where 20 fortunate, early birds would get their membership card updated to premium with a number of privileges. Cassian's whole being was elevated. He missed the last fest they held and had been waiting for the next fest. He wondered how he could forget such an important thing. Oh. Right. Of course. A certain lady was occupying his thoughts. He sighed. He forgot about that too.

He was quite disappointed when he reached the counter. The fest started yesterday and the computer stated that there was only one person left till 20. What truly disappointed him was that Clotho wasn't at the counter as she usually was. Maybe she'll be in the—

“If you're done staring at the computer maybe you could deign to move so it can really serve its purpose of being a public property?” Cass froze. He'd know that voice anywhere. This was the voice taunting him at all times. “And if you have coffee in your hands, I'd suggest you turn slowly.”

He smirked. So she knew who she was talking to.

“Well, looks like the damage would be lesser this time since your clothes aren't white,” he observed.

“I figured black would hide stains caused by ogling, clumsy people better than white,” she said. “Now, if you could move, I want to register for the Membership Fest.”

“Register? What do you mean by ‘I want to register for the Membership Fest’?”

“A register, you know,” she teased, “Something like a form where you fill your details if you want to join something?” She smirked at his glare.

“Well,” he said, “if there is a register let me fill it first.”

“Because your ego is bigger?”

“Ha-ha, very funny,” he dead-panned. “I came here first.”

“Here as in the counter or the library? Because I’m pretty sure I stepped into this library first.”

Cassian quickly checked the database where the information of all members appeared. He turned back to her with a self-satisfied smirk. “The database shows otherwise, sweetheart.”

She scowled. “I don’t believe you. You might’ve tampered with the information.”

He moved slightly to the side to give her a better view. Her scowled deepened.

She rounded on him. “You,” seethed. “You did—”

“Hello,” a new, shy voice said.

“Hey, Gwyn,” they both said in symphony.

A look of surprise crossed over her features before it faded away. When the woman turned to Gwyn, she wore a huge smile. “Oh, look, she smiles,” he muttered, earning him a glare.

“Is the fest still on?” Cassian asked.

Gwyneth Berdara, one of the joyful librarians here, said, “Unfortunately, not. We just got our 20th member.”

Cassian’s face fell. He noticed the same of the woman too. Gwyn, always the optimistic one, said cheerfully, “Maybe we could reserve one for the both of you next year?”

They both murmured their assent before Gwyn offered her farewell and went back to the staffroom.

The woman turned back to him. “This is all your fault,” she hissed and stalked out of the library, leaving Cassian more confused than ever.

* * *

Nesta went to the library to find solace or at least a semblance of it. Seeing the man there, however, left Nesta more rattled than she would care to admit. Rattled, and angry. Angry at the universe for giving them these unfortunate encounters. Angry at him for following her wherever she went. Angry at herself for feeling such futile emotions. Angry at her body for reacting to him.

She was also upset that she didn’t get a free premium member cr

Nesta was so occupied with her thoughts and emotions that she didn’t realise she was taking the wrong route. She wasn’t familiar with this part of Velaris. She also didn’t realise she was being followed. It was distinct, the sound of hushed breathing, of the soft thuds of footfalls. The footsteps sounded heavier which most probably meant it was a man. She couldn’t really be sure, though. This was a person who was not experienced in stalking but was trying hard enough.

Nesta knew she shouldn’t panic but couldn’t help the bout of fear that crashed through her. Nesta tried to stay calm. She tried to make sure she didn't quicken her pace. She tried, cauldron, she really did. But her fear was slowly overpowering her senses. She felt the urge to run away from her stalker.

But that wouldn’t be wise. Running away from her stalker isn’t a good choice. It wasn’t smart. Who’s to know he wasn’t armed? What if he was faster than her? What if her stalker was faster than her? He might be stronger too. He could over power her and cage her in. She didn’t even know what his motive was.

Then, Nesta made a ridiculously huge, dumb mistake. She turned to an abandoned alley. At least it looked abandoned. She let out a frustrated breath. Running away was at least better than getting stuck in an alley. So much for ‘that wouldn't be wise’. She looked around, trying to get a sense of where she was or if there were any means of escape, however meager it might be.

Suddenly, she was slammed to the alley wall. The rough cold stone was unforgiving and unyielding under her cheek. Her windpipe was closed off and she was struggling to get some air in. She fought to get free but her captor —a man, as she guessed— was too strong. Somehow, his hands felt familiar to her. As if she were long acquainted with this person’s touch.

“What do you want?” she gasped out.

He chuckled, the sound grating through her very bones.

“My little Nesta,” he whispered, his hot breath ghosting the shell of her ear. “Ever the stubborn one.”

That voice. It was one that she couldn’t forget as hard as she tried. Tomas Mandray, her ex-boyfriend, was someone not easily forgotten.

“Tomas,” she said. She couldn’t bring herself to be nice. Not now, not after how he treated her. “What the fuck do you want? Let me go.”

“I see you haven’t changed at all.”

“I can say the same of you.”

“Mhm. You broke up with me and then you called the police. Got me stuck behind bars for two fucking months.”

“Good riddance,” she muttered.

He slammed her head against the wall. Hard. Blinding pain shot through her. He yanked her hair so hard she was afraid chunks of it came out. Her head only throbbed harder.

“Manners were never your cup of tea,” he hissed.

“You were not that kind either. You were an empowering, possessive bastard and I don’t regret watching you grovel to the police for freedom for one fucking moment and I won’t ever.”

He growled and slammed her head against the wall again. She cried out and was pretty sure she heard something crack. She felt the metallic tang of blood on her lips, streaming from her nose freely.

“Oh, you will. You’ll regret everything. Every. Single. Thing. For your whole god-damned life. I’ll make sure of it, bitch,” he promised.

He tightened his grip on her hair that sent another wave of agony through her. She caught the glint of something in the fading sunlight. A knife. Of course he had a knife.

He had a knife while she was a mess, kneeling on an alley, completely at the mercy of one of the people who hated her the most. Pathetic. So, so, pathetic. She hated herself for whimpering. She hated herself for being this weak. She hated that she had gotten panicked enough that she turned to an alley, where no one would know.

Here, in this unknown alley, with the person she hated the most, Nesta Archeron was going to die. She was going to die a death as unknown as the place she was in. Maybe even without her sisters knowing. Shit. Her sisters. If only she showed all her love to sweet Elain and brave Feyre, if only she even went to meet her brother-in-laws, Rhysand, Azriel and Cassian, maybe things would’ve been different. She closed her eyes, fighting the emotion in her throat. I’m sorry Elain, Feyre, Rhysand, Azriel and Cassian, I’m so, so sorry, was the last thing in her head before she felt acute pain and succumbed to the dragging talons of oblivion.

taglist:

@im-someone-i-guess @shadowsinger07 @saltyfortunes @cressjacquine @julian-blackthorn-supremacy @champanheandluxxury @zemiraa @ladygabrielli1997 @nehemikkele

[rpmemesbyarat]

DISNEY'S "GARGOYLES" SEASON 2 QUOTES RP MEME

Why do you read that stuff?

I like a man who brings me weapons.

Nice wake up call.

We won't have to find them. They'll find us.

Revenge, as they say, is a sucker's game.

I'll settle for tearing this jerk IN HALF!

Want to see me use both hands?

That's no way to treat a lady!

That was no lady.

Thanks for saving my bacon before it got fried.

Look, just promise you'll call if there's trouble.

Go ahead, try something!

I'd love to do that again!

That wasn't a tranquilizer dart.

It was loaded with a mutagenic formula!

You don't know anything about her!

Why are you stomping on my friend here?

I was particularly proud of my death scene.

You never let me drive.

The important thing is, you're alive.

Are you sure this is a good idea?

Something's not right here.

Then you leave us no choice!

How are we supposed to find them?

Please, I beg you, be quiet.

This isn't a good idea.

I'm best qualified to go.

My memories are clouded.

Why should I trust you?

If you can't trust me, then trust your heart.

Why do you fight me, my love?

We are destined to be together for all eternity.

I will choose who I love!

Now we'll see what this creature looks like up close.

Why stare at marks on a page when you can rent the video?

Well, I can't read and I don't think I'm missing anything.

Harrier jets! They can take off and land like helicopters. When your life's this exciting, who needs books?

Are you all right?

I had a little trouble.

This beach isn't safe after dark.

Do you need a doctor?

Come on in. I've got a fire going.

There's little I can offer in return, except my thanks.

You understand, I don't get any real pleasure from this. Well you've got courage, beastie. I'll give you that.

Funny, something about your voice made me think you were a soldier, once.

You were there.

I'm old, but I'm not that old.

I'm glad you came back.

I'm afraid I can't stay, but I think I left something on the terrace this morning.

Have you come across a large canister?

The name sounded phony.

I do know him, but he's not a friend!

A magic book?

They're worthless. No magic at all.

The written word is all that stands between memory and oblivion.

Without books as our anchors, we are cast adrift, neither teaching nor learning.

Books are lighthouses erected in the dark sea of time.

Is this how you welcome all your guests?

They have a sense of humor. You have none.

Yeah, I know, you're as relieved I am that everything's back to normal.

Wouldn't it be great to be a shapeshifter?

Well, let's just get this over with, shall we?

How can I be of service, hmm?

Out with it. I haven't got all night.

I'm sure you'll fit right in.

What is it you really want?

This just might be fun after all.

I thought everyone knew this.

Shapeshifters, elves, fairies, you mean they're real?

You mean, you thought I was ugly?

I want you to get rid of the humans. ALL of them.

Does this look like Aladdin's lamp? I have limits, after all.

Humans love a battle hearty.

I'll never get the hang of jumping off rooftops.

I'll always be there to catch you.

Do it, and you win your freedom.

It will be my pleasure. But afterwards, I'm going to need a very long nap.

There. You're free.

The sun, it's glorious! I never thought that it could feel so good.

I'm sorry about the bomb. But it proves how dangerous this case is.

When someone messes with your partner, you're supposed to do something about it.

You still haven't learned that crime doesn't pay.

A trade?

Let's just say, I don't trust you with it.

So, now you know my weakness.

Only you would regard love as a weakness.

A momentary lapse, I assure you.

Halloween! Tonight is the night!

Come on. I've wanted to stroll down a city street with you for a long time.

Marry me.

Are you serious?

We're genetically compatible, highly intelligent, and have the same goals.

You could've been hurt. I should've been with you.

Oh-well, spilt milk. Let's move on to plan B.

Don't listen to him. It's a trick! He couldn't tell the truth if his life depended on it!

Even if what you say is true, why should I help her?

Because you know what it means to lose some you love.

Not a good night for you.

You can't believe anything he says.

If someone like him can love, perhaps there is some hope for this world.

Take this as token of my love.

Upon this I pledge my heart to you forever.

Why do you need all this?

I wanted it, so I took it.

It's so unlike you to attack first.

I simply invited you here to talk.

Our past encounters have not inspired me to trust you.

It's crazy to even consider going!

I'm not interested in reminiscing!

Have you no respect for anything?

Believe me, I know exactly how you feel.

I will never be like you!

I do not wish to hurt you.

I do not wish to be you!

What am I to do?

Do nothing.

Do not worry.

Live in the moment.

Attend the petty angers and jealousies that fill your heart.

Fortify yourself with love and trust.

Fulfill the vows of love you make, for they can surely save you.

Time travel's funny that way.

Get away from me, you sentimental fool.

It's a pretty good likeness.

You know more than you're letting on.

T'was your handiwork.

very life is precious.

Take care not to become what you fight against.

Vengeance begets only a further cycle of more vengeance.

Do you want vengeance or a solution?

This is bigger than either of us has ever faced.

We'll have to work together to stop her.

Truce?

You are the cause of all this.

Humans will learn to respect you.

I would rather they fear me.

What are you doing to help?

That's one way to settle an argument.

I thought I'd rid myself of you long ago

You've forgotten about me.

You're too late. You can't save them. No one can!

I'm not here for them. I'm here for you.

I want it over between us!

I wear this as a reminder of your treachery.

Let's not start that again. You blame me, I blame you. Aren't you tired of talking about it?

I'm not here to talk.

Killing me will gain you nothing but your own death.

Death is never the answer. Life is.

I'm just so tired

Your thirst for vengeance has only created more sorrow.

I offer you one last opportunity for forgiveness and mercy.

I merely offer a sample of what you planned for me.

You have learned nothing.

I will still have my revenge!

What do we do with them?

You come in handy now and then.

I'm quite glad the plan worked.

I'm no hero, I just do my job, and my job for tonight is over.

All I want to do is hit the sack.

Why would you want to hit a sack?

How long was I out?

Even shadows must be true to their shade.

We don't need to wait for sunset.

Is it supposed to hurt that much?

Just get on with it.

Recognize the woman?

She seemed familiar, but I just couldn't place her.

You're getting real good at bypassing alarms

Don't give me credit.

It was too easy!

Maybe misery loves company.

If you're human, then you're subject to human laws.

Either way I win!

I fear no human!

There are forces at war within me.

I will return some day, if I can.

You sound like every human employee I ever fired!

Crush all of them together and you couldn't squeeze one iota of personal integrity from the lot!

No excuses, creature!

Learn to take responsibility for your own actions! And STOP whining!

Oh, I am trembling in my chair.

You believe I am not responsible. Yet I remain your prisoner?

Who said you're not responsible?

It doesn't matter that you were tricked, you know now that your actions inflicted grievous damage. Do you take responsibility for them or not?

Well, what are you going to do?

You seem distracted, having second thoughts?

We'll celebrate over breakfast.

No more excuses. I accept full responsibility for my actions. I was wrong.

Integrity is never easy. It's a daily struggle, a costly struggle.

I know I owe you a great debt for the mistake I made a year ago.

If the text wasn't new to me, it was at least worth revisiting.

All I know is I'm about to be wiped out!

It doesn't have to be that way.

I can break these chains. But only you can get me past the bars.

Automatons know nothing of betrayal or honor. They know only what they're programmed to know.

Only living beings possess the ability to change, and make new choices.

You've given me much to consider.

We are friends.

I'd rather not have your death on my conscience

You'll never reach the bridge!

You have two minutes until impact, one minute before I detonate.

I don't want any innocents hurt!

If it goes down, I'm going down with it.

I knew you wouldn't let me down.

Yes, well, you have that effect on people.

I built this company for you!

I'd probably give it to you, if you'd just stand up and ask me for it honestly!

Asking for it wouldn't be any fun at all.

'Fun' is still more important to you than honor. I can't understand that.

Well, maybe you'll have better luck relating to the next generation.

You should've heard him laugh.

Made my hair stand on end, if I had any.

Surely you know I am not in the habit of playing childish pranks or laughing maniacally in the dark.

Do you even know how to laugh maniacally?

Don't tempt me.

Typical. You do and do and do for them, and what happens? They twist the knife in you!

I think I've created a monster.

Have you ever considered the bounties of genetic engineering?

Or maybe cybernetics is more your style?

Save the horror show for Halloween.

I'm sure tired of taking punishment, and I'd love to be able to give some back

That's the source of the trouble.

I hope you not planning to eat your catch.

Now that I'm in charge, I'm not taking any more of your cracks!

You're barely our species!

I'm in charge, here!

I find him very attractive.

Well, that's sicker than usual.

I'm a partner in a freak show!

I should'a figured it was crazy to stick with this crew

And if you play it smart, there'll be plenty of lettuce for everyone!

I should get my own cable TV show.

Oh, me and my big mouth.

It is the cure! It has to be!

Of course it's the cure! You must trust me!

It was you all along! I trusted you!

You turned me into a monster and I defended you!

I'm sorry it had to turn out this way.

You always overplay your hand

Tell me something' Why me?

You're old, and getting older.

I thought you might even appreciate the opportunity.

Growing old terrifies you, doesn't it?

Nothing terrifies me, because nothing is beyond my ability to change.

True immortality isn't about living forever, man; it's about what you do with the time you have.

When all your scheming's done, what will be your legacy

You're still alive! It's a miracle!

Boy, the city sure is different when it snows.

Not a bad life, all things considered.

There is a cure. There must be!

You can't keep me in here forever!

I'll get out! Do you hear? I'll get out!

About time you came back.

Why did you kidnap me? What do you want of me?

See, it wasn't as hard as you made it sound.

Ah, you wish to be immortal.

If the procedure is successful, I'll release you.

This is just a sculpture's model. The real thing is life sized, and lifelike.

What's in this for you?

Service is its own reward.

I wouldn't even know where to start looking.

You may as well be of some use to me.

Open this cage, and I'll show you how 'useless' I am.

It's hard to top that.

What you seek demands a heavy price.

Death and old age have their price as well. And it's too expensive for me.

Without your sword, you're helpless.

Swordless? Maybe. Helpless? NEVER!

What you choose to do with your life is your own affair, as long as it's got nothing to do with me.

You're just full of surprises.

No, let him go. He's earned it.

I wish it hadn't turned out this way.

I was so close to finding out if the legend was true. Now there's no one to test it on.

Throw down your weapon!

Is this a whole city of fools and lawless ruffians?

I'm the law here, pal!

You are a guardian, like myself.

I will submit to your law.

You are learning.

It will take some time.

Prepare to do battle!

I have no fight with you.

What is this, merit badge test night?

Oh well, better make sure it's an uneven fight.

The weak are to be protected, not exploited.

Aaah, who died and made you king?

If you don't know anything, why were you shooting at us?

Do I really need an excuse to have a good time in my own home?

They say a man's home is his castle, and what fun would a castle be without a dungeon?

If it gets any more saccharine in there, I'm going to put a finger down my throat.

I'd sure like to know how you got here, but I'm programmed to shoot first and ask questions later.

I demand a favor.

Death is always pointless. That is the point.

I demand reparation! My son was cruelly and unfairly taken from me!

Death is the ultimate fairness. Rich and poor, young and old - all are equal in death.

Our planet cannot support so many lives at once.

I apologize for any trouble I caused in my efforts to reclaim it.

It seems I'm out of practice dealing directly with mortals.

It seems I am unaccustomed to dealing with a god

We have all gained rare enlightenment this night

Mmmm, what a peculiar sight.

Now, that's odd.

Do you often go wandering about at night, young lady?

My dear, are you saying you don't remember your own name?

I can't seem to remember anything. I feel lucky I know how to talk.

How did I end up in the middle of the Pacific?

I guess I could use a ride

I thought you looked familiar. We've met before.

Do you know what a scroll is?

Get your claws off me!

You might want to reconsider your request.

We're gonna die!

I will not let anything harm you.

You win. I'll behave.

I cannot believe you pulled the trigger on me.

Just shut up and land.

I just don't remember! I'm not even sure I want to remember!

I understand your words, I simply do not believe them.

You have been long expected.

This trough is filled with acid. In about ten minutes its going to do a very nasty job on that soil carving, not to mention your rugged good looks.

It's my first real stab at clichéd villainy. How am I doing?

How are you doing this? No machine can hold me!

I should sue you for trademark infringement.

I've always considered myself a trickster at heart.

History cannot be changed.

You will not win!

What are you going to do? Bite my kneecaps off?

I know from experience the transforming power of a child's love.

The future is not written yet.

I have a sunny disposition and I'm always kind to animals

I've always respected you as a fellow inmate

He's a fool, but he may be useful.

I can work with that!

Now, now! That's your friends' genetic make-up you're insulting.

You are master now?

I should've known. But why this subterfuge?

Hey, I live for subterfuge!

I do not want escape, I want vengeance!

There's no such thing as "a little" vengeance.

No catches. No tricks. No strings.

So, things have come full circle.

You know how I feel about you, right?

[jtrokujo]

𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔑𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝔚𝔢 𝔐𝔢𝔱

✩｡: * • .───── ❁ ❁ ─────. • * :｡ ✩

❝ 𝐆𝐎𝐉𝐎 𝐒𝐀𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐔 ❞

word count: 1.6k

It is evening.

But even though it's the spring season it is still fresh, but still cool.

However, it goes without saying that spring has just started.

There's a prom today, or better said now, and of course I don't have a partner.

But I don't care, why do I need someone for a dance?

In general, I haven't been a big fan of it since the beginning of the school year, I don't know why myself.

With my (color) dress and a mug with a full drink, I made my way outside.

I immediately sat down on the stairs that were in my perspective, even if it is cool I prefer to stay there instead of being lonely with my classmates again.

Out of nowhere, I was an outsider, I was never mean, I was respectful of everyone, things that a nice person does.

Or rather jujuzist.

There was still someone in my class who is a jujucist, because of my sense of smell I was able to find out, otherwise I would probably never have found out.

Although I still have 2 skills, I rarely use them because they can do more harm than the opposite.

Thought manipulation and manipulation of reality.

It's actually pretty cool and I would be lying if I said changing reality would be boring, but I'm sure a lot of people think of one thing or the other.

For example, I cannot erase the existence of someone or an animal.

Does that mean I can neither revoke extinct animals nor let animals become extinct, again should I?

I had a little hamster when I was little, she was cute and quite fluffy because of her weight.

After that day from school, I came home with joy.

Everything was good, I got a good grade, played hide and seek with some of my old friends and happened to have enough money to buy sweets on the way home.

I still remembered the tearing of my heart that no one could hear.

Because my hamster passed away.

Like I've been pushed into nowhere, into nothing.

I was lonely, even though I had family and friends, she was different, I didn't know exactly what, but I think it would be better not to know anything like that.

Grinning sadly, I drank the strange drink from my mug and looked up at the moon until someone broke the pleasant silence "Yo!"

I turn around, jerking in shock, the jujuzist, what's his name again?

Yes, I, (Y / N) (L / N), have forgotten the names of the most popular boys from my school, but I don't care that I would marry him.

The funny thing was that he always wore this blindfold, I seriously wonder if he's blind.

"May I keep you company?" he asked immediately, but he did not wait for my answer but sat right next to me.

The only thing I know right now is that he's a little weird, I don't know why, he's pretty big and a little close, too close.

I can even feel his breathing.

As uncomfortable as I feel, I just try to ignore him, because apparently he doesn't feel like having a little chat, which is why I just sit down until tonight comes to an end.

"What's your name?" the white-haired asked me, shattering all my hopes, sighing softly, I answered him "My name is (Y / N) and yours?" "Gojo."

Immediately the silence returned.

Gojo sat down in a more comfortable pose, through this pose there was finally a distance between us, but our legs touched.

I'm not that kind of girl who'd go mad about little things like that.

I'd rather go back inside instead of spending my last day of school sitting down with a classmate in silence and looking at the sky.

After a few minutes I got up and was already on my way when the voice of Gojo rang out behind me "(Y / N), wait!"

I turned around in amazement and saw that he was coming towards me and I automatically looked up because of his size.

"Yes?" I asked immediately and looked at him in amazement, only where should I look?

I can't see his eyes through his blindfold, and besides, what for?

However, this is not my business.

"Would you like to dance with me?" he asked out of nowhere.

"I beg your pardon?" surprised by this sudden question, I was glad to be able to answer normally.

"If you want to dance with me." giggled my counterpart and immediately reached out his hand with slightly pink cheeks - which luckily he could hardly see due to his blindfold - I took his hand.

Due to the loud volume that could play in the sports hall as well as hear the music, it was a bit slow, but still suitable for the mood.

He quickly put my empty cup down a little far away from us and began to guide me.

After a certain point, he turned me around so that my back was touching his abdominal muscles.

Either he just dances a little differently from the others or he does it on purpose.

Now my cheeks turned red like a tomato.

His soft lips found their way to my ear and whispered, "You're not a bad dancer, (Y / N)."

The tall man fastened both of his classmate's hands with one hand and pulled down his black blindfold with the other.

Immediately afterwards he turned her back into a normal pose so that she can move around while dancing.

That was interrupted by his eyes.

While (Y / N) tends to dance with his mouth open, Gojo prefers to grin and continues to lead (Y / N).

When the song was over, the two youngsters had stopped dancing and looked at each other rather lovingly.

A few seconds later he put his blindfold back on where they were before and the conversation continued. "What do you want to do after graduation?"

"I have no idea what about you?"

The white-haired man proudly said, "I'm going to be a teacher at a school where I teach jujuzists."

The joy is clearly written on his lips and it makes me happy to see him happy even though I have known him for about 10 minutes.

"Why are you not coming?"

"I am-“

Out of shock, which was more of an irony, he took a deep breath and acted like a drama queen. "But I guess I know you're a Jujuzist."

"But how?" I asked puzzled, still stay normal.

Gojo told me that it didn't matter and offered me one more time if I would like to work with him at a school.

I mean, I have no particular career aspirations, I am a Jujuzist, I like to help everyone as best I can and I can probably improve and improve my skills.

"Yes, of course." I answered him dearly, you the silence came back again, but this was a little different from the previous one.

Gojo sat down where he was sitting before and knocked his hand next to him, hoping that I would keep him company, but I mean why not?

I sat down next to him in silence and immediately laid my head on his shoulder and looked at the moon.

TIME SKIP

Today is a special day at Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu High School.

Rather said for the students, because today the classes compete against classes.

I just hope no one would overdo it, but since I found out that someone was eating Sukuna's fingers, I've given up.

Luckily it hadn't eaten such a psycho, well, this person would probably have died by like Itadori had luck by his side.

However, I kept an eye on Gakuganji's students.

Because one of them had languished one of my students, but if I should find out that one of his students, or even all of them, one of my students is only a hair too crumbly I break every bone of Gakuganji.

But back to reality right now, all the teachers are in the room looking at the monitor.

While Gojo now and then tries to be in a conversation with someone from this room, the others prefer to ignore him.

But I can't hold it against them and even though I'm his girlfriend, I love heart, right?

Almost an hour has passed, but I can feel an uneasy feeling, I appreciated a look out of the window.

Immediately I turned around and said "We have to get out quickly, our students will probably be attacked!"

Gojo got up amusingly, of course with his comments, but it was Gakuganji, not Iori, who got the stupid comments.

We ran out as fast as we could, the so-called 'shield' leaned on the ground, but as much as I accelerated my pace I was apparently not fast enough.

Surprised, Gojo touched the 'sign', but immediately let go.

There was a small bruise on the palm of his hand, but as well as I know him and his abilities it will go as quickly as possible.

But in contrast to Gojo, Iori can go through half her arm right away.

"Is that an 'Anti-Gojo Satoru Shield'? Gojo asked us, to which I replied," Would be possible. "

The two teachers decided to watch the spectacle inside.

Gojo held my wrist, just like he did at prom, "Gojo, I have to go." "I know, but please take care of yourself."

I tiptoed a kiss on his cheek and walked away.

"You're not either, Gojo Satoru!" Suddenly a stranger yelled at me out of nowhere, well that could be something.

[clean-bands-dirty-stories]

The Best Things ~ J.V. (part 12)

A/n: I would like to apologize for not marking warnings on each part like I should have been. I get too excited to post and skip over them on accident. I’ll do my best to add them from here on! Also, I was adding the warnings as I wrote but then they didn’t save so I tried to remember them as best I could. If I forgot anything, I sincerely apologize.

Warnings: Recounting past trauma (physical abuse, homophobia), explicit talk of death, badly handling others’ trauma, light smut (foreplay: slapping, choking, degradation, daddy kink, handcuff restraining, brat/dom dynamic, punishing, teasing, masterbation)

Word Count: 5200+

MASTERLIST

The air was so thick with tension that a knife could have cut through it. No matter how much Harley was fighting his instincts to lounge and be himself - the self Jeremiah was used to, at the very least - he felt like he had to be the self he used to be. The one Bruce was expecting. Jeremiah knew Harley was trying too hard, and Jeremiah was far too easy to read - which meant that Bruce knew too. So Harley sat there trying to behave and Bruce sat there brimming with suspicion and pain and hesitation and Jeremiah sat between the two boys, wishing this had never happened and he could just escape the two brothers who seemed seconds from either running or fighting.

Echo, as if sent from God, walked into the room with a pitcher of water. They were at Jeremiah's instead of Wayne manor as Harley had absolutely no intention of being back there or anywhere near Alfred. The butler was far too good at accepting change, which meant that the man might pick up on the fact that Harley was no longer Y/n and the whole thing would fall apart. Honestly, it seemed like so much work. Harley wasn't sure why this plan was so important but Jerome was feeding off of it so Harley did it anyway because he'd said he would. If this is where Jerome lead, Harley would follow.

"So," Echo cut into the silence as she walked around pouring drinks. "How is everyone this evening?"

Harley smiled at her, amused. She was poorly hiding a sort of awkward expression that was dashed with a little humor. She was mocking them in her head; Harley could almost hear what she was thinking. A bunch of dumb boys sitting around a table unable to swallow their pride. Idiots. "Oh you know," Harley mumbled casually, shrugging. "Indulging." He motioned to his food but his words were obviously directed at the ambiance.

"Having a good time?" Echo asked.

"Not at all," Harley immediately answered with the same casual, chipper tone. Jeremiah choked on his drink as he laughed at the exchange. The humor delivered saltiness in Harley's voice and the passive aggressive mocking in Echo's had always been an exchange that could make Jeremiah chuckle at least a little. Echo and Harley were very good at banter and it lightened the mood significantly every time they went at it. After all, it was just in good fun. Bruce seemed to relax as a smile curled everyone else's lips. "So... Harley." His lips seemed to want to reject the name.

Harley's smile dropped. Hearing Bruce call him that made him uncomfortable. Not just because he was nervous about Bruce not calling him Y/n as he had all up until this point but because he had cut Bruce out of this new life very purposefully and now... he was in it anyway. "Yes?"

Echo sighed and left the room as she sensed Harley jerk back, even with her attempt to loosen everyone up. Jeremiah focused on his food. Bruce looked at Harley but Harley did not look back, instead choosing to stare at the door Echo had gone through. "Why Harley?"

That was an easy question. "When I was in Arkham, a few of the guards used to beat the shit out of me every single day to try and convince me to be straight." Harley looked Bruce in the eye when he said this, completely calm. He had long since gotten over it. "They even put me in isolation to keep me away from people who might protect me or care about me."

"Jerome." Bruce didn't form it like a question.

Harley answered anyway. "Yes. But see this is a smaller world than everyone thought and my therapist, Harleen Quinzel, became my friend instead. She's like me, but for girls." Bruce nodded, accepting that. "They couldn't kill me without having to mark me as a loss. That and they'd have lost their punching bag. To teach me a lesson, they killed her. And then made sure the TV that was never supposed to be on the news would be on the news, on just the channel and at just the time that would allow me to see her bloody, bruised, cold, dead body strewn out for the public to see. And no one gave a single shit because no crimes in Gotham get solved unless someone important is involved. And even then- well, you know first hand."

Bruce's expression grew very dark. "I didn't know."

"Of course you didn't," Harley purred, still eating as if he was talking about the weather.

Jeremiah has stopped eating. "People are really like that?" His voice was small and his eyes moved to Bruce, his hands tightening around his silverware as if picturing Bruce's face cold and dead and staring at him through a TV. Bruce felt his eyes and looked back to Jeremiah, but the red head averted his gaze to Harley instead. "I mean, people really act like that just because of... how someone loves?"

Harley nodded, swallowing the food in his mouth. It tasted like sand but he kept eating it. It made him feel powerful to while the others in the room had forgotten their food altogether. Although... Perhaps he hadn't chewed it as well as he thought because it felt as if it had gotten stuck somewhere along the way. A thick lump had lodged for a second and a sick feeling had settled in the bottom of his stomach. He hadn't thought about that image in so long... the daily bearings and the isolation and the one ray of light he'd gotten being extinguished and displayed because he had dared to be himself and therefore allowed her to do the same. Because they were different than how most people were.

"Do you know who did it?" Bruce asked.

"Yeah." That didn't seem to be the answer Bruce was expecting. "This isn't great table conversation," Harley eased, changing the subject. "But that is why I go by Harley. Do you like it?"

Bruce shrugged. "Do you still go by Wayne?"

Internally, Harley sighed. "Harley Quinn."

At that Bruce nodded. "You're not coming back are you?"

Harley laughed dryly. "You're not very good at casual, light conversation are you Brucey?"

"Don't call me that," Bruce snapped, body going stiff.

Rolling his eyes, Harley sat back in his seat. "Why not?" It came out harsher than Harley had meant it.

Meeting hostility with hostility, Bruce got angry as well. "Because that's what Jerome called me, and after how many times he tried to kill me it's not a name I like."

"Get over it," Harley sneered. "It's just a name and we're in Gotham. Trauma is kind of a part of life here. Adapt or get trampled."

Bruce jerked back. "Get over it? Since when are you...?" He trailed off, as if hesitating, before his face set and he finished his sentence with a much harder tone. "Like Jerome."

Harley felt his knuckles turn white. "Stop saying that like it's a bad thing." "It is!" Bruce hissed.

Harley shot to his feet, dropping his silverware on the table. Jeremiah flinched but Harley didn't notice. Bruce did. "Look, Jerome is fucked up and dark and broken. He doesn't have a grip on reality or know how to human because he wasn't fucking treated like one. He killed people. He was crazy and insane and unhinged and dangerous. Yeah! You know what else he was? He was understanding and accepting. He got why people lived their lives differently than he did and didn't really judge anyone, ever. He thought they were boring and chose to live differently, sure, but he lived to make people laugh and have fun. Maybe his sense of fun was fucked up, but he genuinely just wanted people to laugh along with him for once. He didn't hide who he really was. He wasn't ashamed. He didn't shun me and shove me in a corner and try to change me. He accepted who I was. He CELEBRATED me. I'd rather be with him than at this stupid fucking dinner or anywhere near you because I'm not some poor gay boy who needs saving. I'm strong and I matter and I FINALLY love myself, and you won't ever take that away from me because you see self respect and see Jerome because no one taught you that you are more important than everyone else. I refuse to sit here and let you try and turn me into some pathetic whiny brooding mess who's never happy because my priorities are fucked up. I won't be you. That isn't my goal anymore."

The room was dead quiet. For a long time, no one said anything. The brothers just stared each other down until Bruce shook his head. "Perhaps this was a bad idea."

Jeremiah pinched the bridge of his nose. "You guys are idiots." The other two in the room looked at the red head with shock. "My brother is dead, and honest to god it's a relief that he is. He's out of my life and I'm safe from him. I never had the chance to have a real relationship with him. I used to read the newspaper about your family and think that you guys were some kind of dream. Two brothers that loved each other despite everything and parents that were like... actually good people on any level." He sighed. "Obviously I was wrong. You're too busy trying to make him how he used to be." This he directed at Bruce. "And you're too busy hurting and bottling up your emotions and pushing everyone away to let anyone care about you or see the real you." This was for Harley. Jeremiah didn't stop when both other boys went to speak though. "Just shut up and make this work because you guys are the only true family you each have left. Harley, you grew up and I have to say you wear your changes very well. You're happier and sturdier and if someone isn't happy about that then they're insane. Right, Bruce?"

The Wayne boy hesitated before giving in. "Yeah. I am happy for you. I should have started with that. I just... I'm scared for you."

"Why?" Harley demanded, exasperated.

"Because I don't want you to become Jerome. I don't want you to end up like that. I don't want you to be some criminal, when you used to be the best person I knew. You said your life goal used to be being like me? No. I wanted so much to be like you. You couldn't speak about a huge part of you, but you accepted it with the knowledge no one else ever would. I refused to even look at the fact that I'm attracted to guys until you and Jerome got together and then..." his eyes shot to Jeremiah and then back. "Things happened and- and you were always so bright and happy and free. Like a bird in flight or- something." He shook his head. "You were inspiring, Y/n. Seeing you like this... it looks like you've been broken. And I just want to bring back that light you had before. When you seemed so much happier."

"I'm not broken." Harley looked at the boy who was supposed to be his brother. The boy who used to be his best friend before one lie after another had pulled them further and further apart until they were on completely opposite sides. Secrets had torn their relationship up into so many little bits it could never be repaired. They were just too different now. "I'm not lost or struggling. I'm just not... sitting there and pretending all the bad things aren't happening. The friends I have now actually like and respect me as a person, not just because I'm Y/n Wayne. I'm myself, proudly, and I wear my experiences as a reminder of what I can endure. Things hurt less. What you see isn't some poor boy waiting to be saved. It's darkness. And maybe that scares you, because you're used to hiding your darkness. But darkness, Bruce, isn't a bad thing. Darkness is what makes us who we are. Like everything it can be used as a weapon, but Darkness itself isn't dangerous. What you do with it is."

Bruce considered that for a long time. "That... is a good point."

Jeremiah released a breath. "So... truce?" The boys looked at each other before shrugging. Harley sat back down. Jeremiah seemed pleased. "Okay, now lets talk about something a little more pleasant."

"So you mean literally anything other than what any of us have been up to recently?" Harley sassed. Jeremiah shot him a look. "Okay fine whatever." He searched for some light conversation. "So you guys are like boyfriends now or what?"

That seemed to make Bruce and Jeremiah both blush and the air in the room cleared significantly. Harley pulled off being cheery and invested as he teased and prodded and asked questions and engaged. Things almost seemed like they used to be when Bruce and Y/n would sit with their parents and Bruce mentioned a girl and Y/n would go off about how he was going to be the best man or the world would surely end... but Harley wasn't Y/n and Jeremiah wasn't their parents. This wasn't Wayne Manor and as good of a server as Echo was, she wasn't a butler. She wasn't Alfred.

Under the light tone, Harley formed a plan. A plan he carried out as he and Bruce began to hang out more and more as time passed that night and stretched for a while. Jerome became nocturnal in favor of being awake when Harley finally returned at home. The boys would spend some time together and then sleep and then Harley would wake up and go out and spend time with Bruce and Jeremiah again. Slowly the time with the other boys began to cut into Harley's time with Jerome and both he and Harley were getting restless. They'd begun arguing about it.

"Stay in tonight," Jerome whined.

"Bruce wants me to come back to Wayne manor tonight." Harley sighed, an odd expression on his face. "I've finally earned his trust and am getting along with him - as much as it pains me. I think Jeremiah is talking to him when I'm not around, convincing him to behave and respect my boundaries. He calls me Harley and has stopped expecting me to be the person I used to be. I don't know, I think he'll be enough to convince Alfred though I might have to try a tad harder." He rubbed his forehead. "Soon I'm sure I'll be chummy with them again and that'll definitely lead to interacting with all of Bruce's friends - which will be a whole other adventure of its own."

Jerome huffed. "If you're going back to Wayne manor, won't Bruce want you to move back in?"

The thought had occurred to Harley if he was being honest. Where did he draw the line in being buddy buddy with his brother again? Where did he stop things? How far did Jerome want him to go? "Probably," Harley voiced, shrugging. There was a long pause. Jerome was more guarded than he usually was and it set Harley on edge. When the red head did speak, it was in a dangerously quiet tone. "Would you go?"

"W- would you want me to?" Harley was distracted by the way Jerome's Adam's Apple moved when he swallowed.

Jerome hummed. "So this is still about what I want?"

That made Harley defensive. "You think I'm dealing with my arrogant brother because I want to?" It had a biting edge to it.

"And what about my brother?" Jerome pushed.

Now Harley was confused. "Jerome I did all of this for you. To convince them you were dead so you'd be free to have some free time and then make your grand entrance whenever you wanted to. I did this because you asked me to." Jerome rolled his eyes. "You've been gone a lot. You come home... lighter. You enjoy your time with them."

"I'm sorry, you WANT me to come home miserable?" Harley sneered, his hands coiling into fists.

Jerome's eyes darkened. Harley realized what was happening. Before he could react, Jerome's hand shot out, fingers curling around Harley's throat. Jerome pressed his boyfriend against the closest wall, his face close and words sharp like knives. "You're getting angry again. Talking to me like that, as if I'm one of our dumb brothers or that blonde idiot Jeremiah carries around. You might have been gone for a while now, but SURELY not long enough to have forgotten to respect me."

Harley gasped, eyes fluttering closed. Jerome's grip wasn't dangerous but it could go that way if Harley wasn't careful. Jerome only ever got like this when he was frustrated. Usually when he was bored and wanted to do something other than sit around. To be fair, he was cooped up which was something he HATED to be. He hated feeling trapped. And on top of that Harley had been spending less and less time around the place. It was a miracle the redhead had behaved so long. Harley had spent more nights with Jeremiah, talking to Bruce so late into the night and fake catching up and playing nice that it was just easier for them both stay at Jeremiah's. Alfred had even gotten used to a simple text from Bruce letting the older man know where he was and that he was safe. If Bruce wasn't home by 10pm Alfred had come to expect that he wouldn't be back at all. It had become a sort of habit.

Perhaps Harley had been a tad neglectful.

He sighed, letting his guard down and releasing all the tension he'd gained from being around Bruce. Jerome didn't deserve this. "I'm sorry, you're right." Jerome didn't let up. "Oh so you shoot me puppy dog eyes and say sorry and that's supposed to be it?" Harley could feel his insides warming as Jerome grew closer, the air in the room slowly becoming infected with sexual tension. The sudden mood change was hard for Y/n to switch gears to, even though he was immediately eager. "You've forgotten who you belong to."

"I-"

Jerome's hand tightened on Harley's throat, cutting off any attempt to speak. "What was that?" Harley coughed a little as the initial shock took him off guard. His eyes fluttered but he could still breathe which is what mattered. "Come on, Harley. Come on, Y/n." Harley jerked at the name. "Is that what you want me to call you? Is that who you want to be?"

Harley wasn't dealing with that shit. His body jerked, arms wrapping around Jerome. He pulled hard, twisting to turn Jerome around so he'd have to let Harley go, or risk hurting his arm. As predicted, Jerome let go. Harley twisted their bodies with extreme force, pushing Jerome's face into the wall aggressively. "What the fuck did you call me?" He growled. The words were raw from his throat being a little sore. It made Jerome smile. "Answer me. Now." Harley let his free hand thread into Jerome's hair. He pulled, the red head squirming underneath him as it began to hurt. "I said, now."

"I called you Y/n," Jerome answered softly. His tone was half reluctance and half defiance. He didn't want to answer Harley like he'd been told to, but saying the name again did give him power.

Harley leaned back, pulling Jerome away from the wall just by his hair. He dragged him over to the bed. "Kneel. Now." Jerome was giggling as Y/n hurt him, getting off on the pain. "NOW, Valeska!" Jerome smirked, taking his precious time with following the order. When he was down, Y/n maneuvered his face into the bed. "Stay there. If you move, I will know and you will be punished. I will be back in a moment." He left Jerome there, ducking out of the bedroom to the trunk in the bathroom, shoved in the closet. He opened it, pushing around some things they'd collected in their time together. This was the stuff they used when things got more kinky. Handcuffs Jerome had gotten from cops even before he and Y/n were together. Rope from a construction sight. Some things were specifically from sex stores - stolen of course.

Ignoring most of it, Harley grabbed the handcuffs and went back into the room. He returned to see Jerome had indeed moved. In fact he was sitting on the edge of the bed, leaning back on his hands. He was smirking at Harley, a dare in his eyes. The red head seemed to be expecting Harley to lose his shit, but Harley didn't. Instead, he got very still, thinking. That seemed to actually make Jerome nervous.

Slipping the handcuffs into his back pocket, Harley slowly approached Jerome. His eyes cut into Jerome's soul, his jaw so tightly shut that Jerome shivered. "What, you think you're going to look at me and-?"

Jerome didn't get to finish his sentence. Out of nowhere, unexpectedly, Harley backhanded Jerome, causing the sitting boy's head to snap to the side. The red head was shocked, but found his stomach twisting with the familiar sensation of arousal. This wasn't like when he was a kid. Harley was calm and controlled - even his hit was direct. There was a safety in the way that Harley controlled himself. Jerome didn't fear him. It left room to enjoy what was happening. Harley gripped Jerome's jaw, bringing the red head's brown eyes around to meet his. "What did I say when I left the room, Jerome?" Harley not using a pet name in a sexual situation made Jerome shift nervously. Was Harley actually mad? "You told me not to move."

Harley released a breath, smirking as he got turned on just by getting Jerome to answer his question without being pushed. When Jerome was being bratty, he refused Harley any amount of control. So when he let up even the smallest amount, it never failed to excite Harley. "And what did you do?" Unwilling to let Harley win twice in a row, Jerome shrugged. Harley slapped him again. The red head blinked, breathing sharply outward as he felt the stinging on his face. "I moved."

A hum came from Harley as he stood, crossing his arms. "You know I had to punish you for using the wrong name, but it was going to be pretty light. Now..." Jerome shivered under that look - like Harley was trying to figure just how to kill him. "I'm going to take your clothes off Jerome. If you fight me, you'll get immediate punishment do you understand?" Jerome nodded. Harley rose an eyebrow.

"Yes, Daddy."

That seemed to please Harley. He stopped glaring at least. First Harley removed Jerome's shirt. Then he gently nudged Jerome, and the redhead followed the flow and laid back on the bed. Harley then removed his pants, and his socks one at a time. Slowly. Jerome felt himself get antsy. "Do you want something, baby?" Harley asked evenly.

"I'm fine," Jerome responded.

Unfortunately for him, his erection gave him away. "You don't want me to do... anything?" Harley asked again, pausing to look at Jerome very carefully.

The redhead looked back for a long time, a battle happening between the two men. Jerome lost. "Jesus Christ Harley, touch me."

That got Harley to smile. "Ask nicely J, or I'm going to have to punish you." Jerome went to glare but Harley reached up, threading his fingers through Jerome's hair and pulling roughly. "Listen here bitch, I'm not here to mess around. You're going to listen to me or you're going to regret it, understand?" They had come a long way since having sex in a cell and trying to keep quiet. Back then, Harley had fumbled and blushed a lot and been overwhelmed very easily. Back then, Jerome would stretch out, getting comfortable as he bossed Harley around - a true power bottom. Or, he would top, and then he'd get very soft and quiet and affectionate... Well, compared to how he usually was when he was impossible to please and degrading to an extent that had driven Harley insane.

Now adays, things were different. There was a huge power play between the two men constantly, and endlessly pushing buttons. What would often happen was that Harley would be a bit of a brat but otherwise let Jerome blow off steam, unless it was a day that Jerome desperately wanted Harley to "take hold and ruin" him. A direct quote from the ginger. On those days, Jerome did what he did best: he kept talking. He said all the things he knew would piss off Harley the most, like calling him by his old name. He would make Harley snap and then Harley would retaliate exactly how he wanted.

Not today.

"Fuck, you're such a baby," Jerome grumbled, rolling his eyes. "I'm bored with you playing daddy, I already know all your moves and we both know that you're just going to give me what I want anyways. You're a soft top, Sweetheart." He was smirking, proudly flaunting the power he usually had over Harley.

Today though, Jerome had pushed him too much. After all the shit he'd gone through with Jeremiah and Bruce, hearing Jerome call him Y/n had pushed him in a way that had sent him over the edge. And if he was being honest, he had his own frustrations. He wanted to run free as much as Jerome did and break things and scream as loudly as he wanted and sock his stupid brother in his face any time he dare even mention Jerome's name in Harley's presence. He was tired of behaving. He was tired of feeling like some toy. He was tired of being used. He was really, REALLY fucking tired of being ignored, too.

Harley's smile was dangerous. Jerome looked at him, unsure of what was going through the other boy's head. "You know, you have a little too much attitude for someone who's currently desperate for me to touch him. You want something from me? You need to learn some respect." Harley reached over, grabbing Jerome's wrist and forcing it toward the top of the bed. It happened so fast that only when Harley had used one cuff to get Jerome's right hand, and then had threaded the second cuff through the bars at the head of the bed, did Jerome react.

"HEY!"

At the outburst, Harley didn't hesitate to slap Jerome again. The redhead gasped, body shivering. He would absolutely never admit it, but this kind of aggression had always turned him on, when he was comfortable with the person. He'd wanted someone to be like this with him for ages, but not many people were willing to go far enough to please Jerome Valeska. By the way Harley was looking at him right now, this time might be different.

"I didn't give you permission to speak. Granted, I didn't tell you to shut up either so I'll be forgiving, but if you shout at me one more time you will regret it." He gripped Jerome's other wrist, cuffing that as well. Now Jerome's hands were over his head, trapped by the cuffs and the bar. "If you want to say something, I want you to address me first. I will allow you to continue then. Or I will not." Jerome hesitated, then nodded, intrigued by this side of Harley even he had not the pleasure of exploring before.

What came next surprised Jerome. Harley didn't take him right there, rough and hot. He didn't move slowly around and tease until Jerome wa a desperate mess of begs and whimpers. Harley didn't touch him at all. In fact, he moved off of the bed completely. He left the room even, returning a moment with a chair. Only then did he undo his own clothes, only lowering his pants enough to allow himself access his erection. He didn't even pull his pants off all the way! Jerome felt completely exposed, tied up and naked for viewing pleasure, when Harley was so far away and completely dressed.

To Jerome's intense frustration, Harley sat down on the chair and began stroking himself, eyes on Jerome. Harley's eyes were wide and lust blown, his tongue flicking out every once in a while to wet his lips. After a while, his eyes fluttered shut and his head tilted back just a little as a small moan came from him.

Jerome shifted. He was getting uncomfortable with how long he'd been hard without being touched, and watching Harley be like this was not helping. Jerome really liked to be involved in sexual acts. He had gotten rather pouty anytime Harley was caught masterbating, and there had been an unspoken rule that Harley didn't really restrain Jerome for stuff like this. If Harley wanted to be touched, Jerome would touch him. They both preferred it that way. This was ridiculous, and frankly rude. Jerome wasn't going to give Harley the upper hand. This was a low blow and he wasn't going to let Harley get away with it.

As Harley continued though, getting more into it and completely ignoring Jerome, it was becoming increasingly hard to keep his mouth shut. Trying to play it off like he didn't care as much as he did, Jerome finally spoke up. It had seemed an eternity for him, but it had actually only been a few seconds and Harley had to swallow his smile to not give himself away. "Okay Harley, very funny. Let me touch you. I'm sorry I called you the other name. You know I can do this better than you can. Let me out." When Harley continued to ignore Jerome, the cuffed ginger raised his voice. "LET ME OUT!"

"Why?" Harley growled, eyes finally on Jerome again. "Because you told me to? Because you asked me to?" He stood, pulling his pants up again. "I'm not your little bitch Jerome, you're mine. You want to kill someone? Fine. You want to steal or break something? Fine! But you don't call me by that name. You don't mess with me, because I'm all you got. If you want me to leave, you ask like a big kid."

Jerome's lips twitched, slowly rising into a smile. "Are you actually mad at me?"

Harley grinned. "No, not really." They both cracked up, losing it for a few extended seconds. Then Harley cut off and Jerome faded into quiet, soft chuckles as Harley began to speak. "I respect you, J. My little joker." He moved towards the bed, caressing Jerome's cheek. The ginger leaned into the touch, his eyes closing. He fed off of the contact, as if it was a drug or he was starving and the gesture fed him. Harley smiled softly. "You gotta respect me too. You don't have to piss me off to get me to break you, joker. All you have to do is ask me nicely, like a good boy. Do all the bad things you want. But not to me."

A sigh escaped Jerome, and then he finally gave in. "If I behave will you let me out? I want you to touch me. Please."

That pleased Harley. "That's what I wanted to hear." He leaned back a little, eyes scanning Jerome's exposed body. "I will let you out. And then it's time to play for real." His eyes glinted with a darkness that made Jerome jerk in expectation. Needless to say, Harley didn't disappoint.

-

Story Tags: @wanna-plan-world-domination​

[winterrose527]

i'd like an au, actually, maybe, perhaps.

Well you're in luck. The trouble is narrowing it down because I happen to believe that most people are falling in love with you on a daily basis (I haven't forgotten about you hot IT guy at Caity's school).

You've very recently gotten your hair done and you are filled with the confidence only that can bring you. Your sister and her partner have a busy day so you've agreed to watch Mr. Magoo. The two of you are having an absolutely lovely time. He's feeding you all kinds of disgusting mushy things, you've decided that it's really time he gets into Evermore (look he's more of a Folklore man, but you're Auntie Caity and he hasn't quite figured out how to change the song yet).

Your sister is brilliant and decides that amidst the wine tasting Mr. Magoo should really make an appearance because hello, he's the money maker. You bring him down and it's a big group and you hand him to your sister's partner for a few minutes but like every time you pass by he's doing that thing where he basically dives head first at you, arms open like MINE. Finally, so that he doesn't knock a wine glass out of someone's hand/bonk his head/give your sister's partner a complex, you take him back.

Feeling like you've really done your duty (and not to mention the fact that your sister, bless her heart, interrupted no body, no crime) you're about to head back upstairs when you hear a deep, incredulous/happy voice ask, "Caitlin?"

You turn, your glorious hair flipping a la Cameron Diaz in Charlie's Angels but even more so and who is it? Robb (Rob? sp?)! Your cousin's partner's friend who is really just too good looking for anyone's good (certainly yours) and is looking at you like he can't quite believe you're here (in his defense you're wearing the brown leather skirt and white go go boots, which is quite the babysitting outfit CAITY but when a good outfit calls to you, ya answer it).

You smile, your cheeks turning just a little bit pink, the afternoon sunlight catching in your hair just so, and ever so casually: Rob? Is that you? It's great to see you. (he has no idea you'll be DMing me about this one word at a time in all caps) Turns out he's there with a friend, they are choosing a wine for the friend's wedding. Is this your baby? Is this your place? "No, my sister's," you say, "Though as a younger sister I'll probably borrow both without asking at some point." You feel like an Idiot™️ because honestly Caity, that is not your best material, but inside he's like ShE's PrEtTy AnD fUnNy. He introduces himself to Maggie who hides in your chest, and you're like 'sorry, he's just shy' and Rob sees right through it and shakes his head, 'no, he's just got good taste is all' (oh really, Rob 👀. WE SEE YOU. (We is of course me and @semperlitluv, our brain cell is waking up))

Your sister is totally unaware (or is she) of the fact that in your mind is just like a very high pitched squealing noise and comes over and asks you to grab something from the back. You are like: I am currently holding your child, and that requires a ladder. And your sister is about to take Maggie when Rob is like: Oh I can help. You, so lovely, so courteous, so VERY MUCH FREAKING OUT BECAUSE HE'S SO HOT, are like: What? No! You're our guest, please, try the [insert whatever the most expensive wine in the place is]. Your sister recognizes him too and is like: Actually yeah please help her I don't want her on a ladder in those boots. Which like, gives Rob a VERY legitimate excuse to let his eyes sweep down and are. those. fucking. go. go. boots?

Anyway the two of you go back there and you're just talking to Mr. Magoo because we've all played that game around hot guys where you just talk to the nearest animal or small child because THEY aren't terrifying. You show him what she needs and the ladder and he sort of smirks and easily grabs whatever it is.

And he's like "is this it?" and you step closer because it's dark okay in there because yeah you could have turned on the light but you were busy not having a heart attack and yes that is it.

And you smile up at him and he smiles down at you and it looks like he's stepping closer (which like, woah Rob, ask her out first?) when all of a sudden, Maggie reaches out, grabs his lower lip and tugs. You: horrified. Rob: surprised & laughing. Maggie: DYING of laughter.

You understandably are like: this situation needs to end. So you pull Maggie's hand gently away from him, thank him for his help and lead him back out to your sister. You take Maggie upstairs where you proceed to type out every detail in the DMs while you wait for us to wake up (let's be real, with me and Mariah you're not going to have to wait that long).

At the end of the day your sister comes up and you like ever so casually ask her how the day went and hey did they find anything for the wedding and your sister is just like smirking at you and her partner is like: be nice and give it to her. Anyway Rob wrote you a little note with his telephone number and two date options: one for if Maggie will let you out of his clutches and one if he won't.

[turinn]

Naive

Ray Blackwell x M!Reader

Summary: An invitation at a party reveals that Luka had no idea you’re gay, and brings up a concern you hadn’t had before. Tags: Crack, fluff, secret relationship, mention of homophobia, alcohol consumption A/N: This is based on a dream I had where Luka and I had this exact conversation and when I woke up and remembered it I nearly threw up laughing. I did actual research for the girls outfit and hair bc im a fashion history nerd. the pocket watch i just thought was cute. Fenrir calls the reader fruity but its okay bc hes gay too god bless Word Count: 1.5k

The party was the usual affair expected of the Godspeed's, an air of elegance- present but not too overbearing- hanging over the large hall. Music drifted gently to your ears as you took everything in, a small smile settling on your face.

You couldn't help but feel a little underdressed. The officers had, of course, kept their uniforms on, but everyone else present was dressed to the nines. You'd thought the suit you wore was lovely when you and Seth had seen it last week, dark blue with a white trim, paired with a pale cyan tie and pocket square. The gold watch that settled comfortably in your pocket had been a gift from Blanc, supposedly made by Oliver to look similar to his own, to commemorate your decision to stay in Cradle. Compared to everyone else, it felt rather simple now, but you pushed the thought aside. Nobody was judging what you were wearing, they were here to enjoy themselves same as you.

"Would you like a drink?" Ray asked, voice soft enough not to startle you too much. This wasn't too effective, as you'd gotten lost in your thoughts, and sort of forgotten there were people around you, but it was kind of him to try. "Oh, yes, please." You smiled at him and a moment later he'd walked off, talking to Sirius about something, leaving you alone with Luka. Fenrir had disappeared to greet his family when you'd first arrived, and Seth was who knows where, but you didn't mind it being just the two of you. Luka rarely came to these, in fact this was the first he'd been to since you'd arrived in Cradle, despite it being your fifth, and you decided someone should stick with him so he didn't feel quite as nervous.

As you turned to say something to him, you noticed a lady making her way over to the both of you, looking rather flustered. Her fists were clenched at her sides, and she seemed to be muttering something to herself, but it was clear she had intent to speak to one of you. Perhaps she wanted to talk to Luka? He was cute, it wouldn't surprise you. What did surprise you, however, was when she walked up to you instead.

"Um, excuse me if this is far too forward, but... would you be interested in dancing with me?" She sounded so nervous, and you almost wanted to say yes. Any other man would have been lucky to get such an invitation- she looked stunning. She wore her hair in curls, gathered at the back of her neck, with a hairpiece of pale blue flowers was pinned at the front, a necklace donning the same type of flower hanging just above the neckline of her gown. The gown in question matched the colour of the flowers well, though the width of the crinoline supported skirt would have made you concerned about the logistics of dancing with her- if you'd had any intention of saying yes. Her cheeks were tinted pink as she chewed her bottom lip and waited for your answer, avoiding your gaze. A hand on your chest and a sincerely apologetic look on your face, you began to respond. "Oh dear. I'm terribly sorry, but you seem to have gotten the wrong end of the stick. You're a very attractive young lady but I'm afraid... how should I put this," You glanced at Luka for help, but he seemed to have no idea what you were trying to tell her, "I'm afraid I don't tend to set my eye on the ladies, so to speak." "You're... gay?" A sympathetic nod. "That's the ticket. Sorry, love." "Oh, it's not a problem! I'm really sorry to have bothered you!" She suddenly looked much less nervous, though a little embarrassed, and scurried off. You sighed. "I feel a little bad. I really hope she finds someone to dance with." Luka looked at you quizzically. "Why did you lie to her?" A confused laugh escaped you. "I'm sorry?" "You told her you were into guys. Why lie?" As he said this, Seth and Fenrir came up behind him, and hearing his question their eyebrows shot up. So did yours. Was he kidding? "Luka, sweetie, you have got to tell me what part of my personality made you think I was heterosexual, so I can set about changing it immediately." Seth choked on his drink, and though you flashed him a grin, you weren't entirely kidding. Going from Victorian London to a world where being gay was perfectly acceptable had been quite the change, but you'd been certain all of your friends had known. It's not like you were quiet about it, and sure, Luka was naive but... come on, now. "Wait are you... you were being honest?" "Yes?" "Luka," Fenrir began, stepping next to you and resting an elbow on your shoulder, "How have you seriously not noticed that he's gay yet?" "Well- there was no reason for me to assume!" "You watched me drunk make out with at least 2 different Black Army soldiers in my first month here!" Luka looked flustered, and utterly dumbfounded. The expression was one he wore often, usually when people insinuated that someone was in love- but somehow about five times more confused. He was unfortunate enough that Ray and Sirius returned at this moment, just in time to hear both your last remark, and his next one.

"I thought that was just something you did when you were drunk?" In another moment you were on your knees, legs shaking so much from laughter that you couldn't hold yourself up any longer. Fenrir was right there beside you, practically convulsing. Everyone else was laughing too- except poor Luka. You felt a little bad, truly you did, but this had to be the funniest thing you had ever heard. "He's completely straight, but watch out! Get a couple drinks in him and he turns fruity!" Fenrir managed to get out between cackles, and Ray was glad to have put your drinks down when Luka had last spoken, because he too nearly fell to the ground at this.

"Luka- Luka I'm sorry." You pulled yourself to your feet, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "We aren't laughing at you." Another fit of giggles overcame you. "Okay we kind of are, but it's not malicious or anything. That was just... hands down the funniest thing you've ever said." It took most of you 5 or so minutes to fully calm down from what he'd said, and anything that jogged your memories of it would bring you back to a state of uncontrollable laughter for the rest of the night. Luka came round to it being pretty funny after you talked him through the dozens of times you'd mentioned your sexuality to him since you'd met- every one of which had gone over his head.

Hours after the party had worn down and you'd all made your way home, you lay in bed, your head pressed against a familiar chest, and sighed. "What's up?" "I just... D'you think anyone else just hasn't realised?" Ray cocked his head, confused. "I'm gonna need a little more info than that, kitten." "I suppose I just... Back in London, it's not even legal to be gay, and I don't know if it ever will be. When I first came out to Fen, he told me that it was fine here, accepted and even celebrated. So, I guess I just thought that people wouldn't make the automatic assumption that I'm straight, y'know? I mean I talk about it a lot among you guys but- when I’m out and about... where do people think my final destination is? When I pick up a silly cat themed gift for you does the shopkeep think I’m buying it for my wife? It shouldn't be a big deal, I guess, but I'd never been able to be myself until I came here, and now it's like I can be me but... people will still only see who I am if I tell them. It's just weird is all. I dunno. Maybe I'm drunk." "You're not drunk. It's an understandable concern. I guess I've never thought about it, because whether or not people would accept that part of me has never been an issue, but the fact that you've had to hide it for so long and now that you're able to be open people still aren't seeing it must be hard. If you want we could... come out, so to speak?" Your eyebrows raised, and you moved back, propping yourself up on your arm so you could look your partner in the eyes.

It had been decided at the very start of your relationship, which had officially begun a few months after you'd made the choice to stay in Cradle, that the two of you would keep it under wraps for a while. Being from the Land of Reason was more than enough reason for people to take an unwanted interest in you, and you didn't need the extra attention being the King of Spades' partner would garner. Plus, anyone with a grudge against Ray would see you as a target the second you announced it. It had been a sensible suggestion on his part, one you hadn't hesitated to agree to, and as far as you knew only Sirius and Fenrir knew about your relationship. Fenrir because he had walked in on you sitting in Ray's lap while he worked late one night, and Sirius because- well, can anything get past that guy? And now, Ray was offering to tell the entirety of Cradle you were his, just so that you didn't feel like you were hiding your identity anymore? You could feel your eyes starting to burn, and you cursed the late hour and the alcohol in your system for making you cry so easily, but... "I don't think we need to be that drastic. You were right when you said it would keep me safe for us to not be in the public eye, at least for now. I'm sure Seth can come up with some better way for me to tell the whole world I'm gay." "I don't doubt that at all." Ray grinned, placing a gentle kiss on first your forehead, then your nose, and finally on your lips. "Tomorrow, though. You need your beauty sleep." "Ah, yeah, can't risk getting ugly. My boyfriend might not want me anymore." You quipped. "Exactly." He smirked at you, turning out the light and pulling you into his arms.

[hannie-dul-set]

when jaehyun said he was picking you up to go somewhere, you didn't exactly expect to be found in the middle of nowhere. trees were lining the field from a faraway distance and the tall grasses sunk from underneath you. the two of you were leaning against the side of his car on top of a hill on god knows where with no one else but the stars, the moon, and the both of you.

"drinking wine straight out of the bottle— aren't you a classy man?"

a laugh reverberated from jaehyun's throat and he looked at you under the solace of the inky night sky. "let me have my moments, miss y/n."

you sat beside him on the grassy clearing, lightly playing with one of his hands and you looked up to him, only to see downcast drenching his pretty features. letting go of his hand, you sighed and sat up straight, stirring confusion from the male.

"alright, mr. jung," you narrowed your eyes at him. "what's going on in your head? why are you being all sad?" 

he let out a huff of air, lips upturned into a semi-forced smile as he gently took your hand back into his, lacing his fingers into yours. "is it that obvious?"

"you're transparent, jaehyun."

sighing, he adjusted his position and took another swig at the hard drink. "you know how overboard some girls may get around me, right?"

"i've witnessed first hand during your party," you laugh, remembering how panicked he looked during that time. "it was a pitiful sight."

"it wasn't pitiful."

the words left like a soft whine from his lips and you continued to tease him, saying that he looked like a small mouse (ironic, considering his stature) being fought over by a group of wild cats, much to his displeasure.

"anyways," he coughed out, a light wash of pink dousing his cheeks, both from your previous joking and the slight chill of the night's wind. "there's this one girl named seonha— i've never told you about her— and, uh, i wouldn't say she's obsessed with me, but—"

"she's obsessed with you?"

you finished, quirking your brow at him and he hesitantly nodded. "yes, you can say that."

"hm," you hummed. "why, what'd she do?"

"a lot of things," he sighed. "her family is closely knitted with mine so i'd met here during one of their charity auctions. since then, she wouldn't stop following me around— in my office building, when i'm out with mark and johnny. hell, even when i'm out of the country."

jaehyun's exasperation ran through his voice as he continued to tell you about the girl.

"she'd even stir up dating rumors about us two which is messed up all on its own. you could argue that at least there's only one of them bothering me, but it's like selling off a few floods for one gigantic storm," the now empty wine bottle was long forgotten on the ground. jaehyun went on with his rant, raking his free hand into his hair. "johnny and mark had told me to file a restraining order, but that wouldn't do anything considering their family's influence, so i have no choice but to deal with her."

the light chirping of crickets amplified the depth of the evening. you guessed it was already around ten, maybe even later than that. it crossed your mind for a short moment that you had work tomorrow, but that thought quickly diminished into thin air.

"has she still been bothering you lately? i don't think i noticed her around you before," you asked, moving your head away to look at him. his hair was in a slight mess and he was slightly tinged pink. yet underneath the glow of the moonlight, he was still as tantalizing as the nighttime sky.

"she's been on a trip to italy these past few months," he softly replied, gazing down at you like your very own moon. "but she's also been texting me nonstop so that's something."

"well, at least she's not here right now."

"about that," jaehyun enunciated. "she's coming back here in a week."

you went silent and jaehyun could feel his heartbeat slowly but surely rising. were you upset that he'd just told you now? did knowing about seonha bother you? it's not easy for jaehyun to read people's emotions— he'd always been lacking with that category. the longer your silence, the tighter his chest got.

"will you be okay?"

like a sudden breath of warmth, your voice pierced through him and suddenly he can breathe again.

"do i have to protect you like last time?"

the teasing tone in your voice relieved him but at the same time it caused him to glare at you, feigning fake offense and you laughed at him. at least he knew you're not upset.

"i'll be fine, you don't have to worry," he said, giving you a smile of assurance. you detached your hand from his and decided to scoot closer to him, resting your head on his shoulder and he naturally found his arm around your waist. "but, enough about that— how was your day, miss y/n?"

"you don't wanna hear about my day. it's as boring as it could get," you reasoned, letting out a small yawn afterwards.

"i do want to hear," he pressed. "i don't mind if it's boring or not. i like listening to you speak."

he caught you off guard with that, to say the least, and you quickly snapped your head to face him. your mind concluded that it was a fatal mistake to do that since now your faces are mere centimeters apart, noses nearly touching. the cold air that was once biting at your skin was suddenly deemed nonexistent due to the sudden rising of the heat.

"a—alright," you stammered, diverting your attention to the sky instead. "if you fall asleep listening, then don't say i didn't warn you, jaehyun."

and so you went on about your day. starting from how you almost got late to your first job because jungwoo and donghyuck thought it was a good idea to barge into your house at four in the morning for a sudden non-sleepover sleepover. then you told him about the adorably gigantic dog you spotted while you were headed for lunch. and now you were talking about one annoying customer you had earlier in the bakery.

"there were five other people in line after her, but apparently getting her blueberry muffin to exactly a hundred-ninety degrees fahrenheit was much more important," you groaned, dropping your head back against the steel of the car. "and of course, i went and reheated one damned muffin just so she would stop complaining."

jaehyun swore he was listening to you. he was attentive— very attentive, and paid the utmost attention to any changes on your features— the way brows bunched up whenever you stop to think for a moment, the way your cheeks were slightly flushed and how you tried to hide it with your hair, the way your lips enunciated each vowel and each consonant and—

fucking hell, your lips.

halfway through your muffin story, his ears were suddenly muffled, his surroundings were a blur, and all he could think about was how your lips would feel against his.

"hyuck always tells me that i'm a bit of a pushover sometimes, and i'm starting to think he's right."

he could hear his heart ringing against his ears. you paused for a moment, sinking your teeth over the plush of your lip in the midst of thought and jaehyun felt like he was being driven into a dangerous corner. 

"do you think i'm a pushover, jae?" your head jolted to face jaehyun and his breath was suddenly caught inside his throat along with the sudden thoughts of you overlapping with more thoughts of you, bringing his mind to a combustible state of disarray. "jaehyun? you alright there?"

"oh— um, sorry," he coughed out. "i got a bit distracted, uh, what— what were you saying?"

his fluster was not only demonstrated by the cracks in his voice, but also by the way his cheeks were flaring scarlet and how he refused to look at you.

"distracted by what exactly?" you questioned.

jaehyun was a smart man. having graduated earlier than his peers and landing such a respectable spot in the company at a young age, you'd think he'd be articulate in every situation thrown at him, but somehow he found himself tripping over his own words."will— will i sound stupid if i say i got distracted by you?" 

oh my god.

"no no," you laughed, your heart suddenly caged inside an untamed whirlwind. you gently moved your left hand over his face, making him look into you. giddiness tugged at your cheeks, releasing an uncontrollable smile. "it's not stupid at all."

a simultaneous burst of dizzying bliss ruptured between the both of you— coming in the form of the identical beams on both of your faces, staring into each others' eyes as if the moon wasn't the brightest thing in the night.

and somehow, under the spectacle of a million stars,

you kissed.

it hadn't dawned on you that you'd waited for this moment to happen until it actually did. soft lips brushing against yours, rousing an unspeakable rush of heat. it was gentle at first— like the light tremors on the sea until the waves suddenly crashed onto you. his parted lips incessant against yours, leaving you in a buzz and on the brink of gasping for air.

until you felt him stop, abruptly pulling away from you with guilt ridden eyes.

"jae? is everything alright?"

"y/n, i— i'm sorry."

in the midst of your shared kiss, jaehyun realized something. and he couldn't bear the thought of it.

he had realized that he was in love with you.

so, so in love with you.

"i can't— i can't do this to you, y/n."

you felt a lump in your throat and you stared at him, suddenly finding it hard to breathe. was there something wrong— did you do something wrong? everything felt normal until now, everything felt right. but as you looked at him with tears threatening to spill, you'd thought that maybe none of this was right in the first place.

and maybe jaehyun had realized that, too.

"oh," you sucked in a breath, avoiding eye contact with him, and stumbled to get up from the ground. "right, of course. it— it would be damaging to your reputation if you're with me."

the icy breath of the air hit your face once you managed to stand up, the cold flooding your senses once more. "we both know that this wouldn't work out," you gazed down at him, only to see the glass stained heaviness in his eyes and you nearly broke down. turning your back at him, you swallowed, closing your eyes for a brief moment before choking out,

"i— i should go—"

"y/n, i love you."

you froze. everything froze. 

"my reputation, my image— god, all of those disappear when i'm with you," jaehyun's trembling voice seeped into every corner of your mind, restricting the air from coming into your lungs. "i'm… i'm not an expert when it comes to this but there is no denying that i am in love with you, y/n."

slowly, you went back to face him. jaehyun stood there, bearing his heart to you. the wind brushing against his hair as he looked at you with mist in glazing over his eyes. it was hard to not just run into his arms, telling him that you were also stupidly in love with him, but you held your words back, waiting for him to finish.

"but... with my job and everything," he stutters out. "i—i won't be able to dedicate all of my time to you, i won't be able to take care of you like i should, i—

i can't make you happy, y/n"

"but you already do."

there was a strong gust, breathing against your skin. you felt your heart drop to your knees, a constricting grasp replacing it in your chest as you felt the tears well up even more like a dam itching to break.

"do you think i don't know that? yes, i know you're busy— i know you have a shit ton of responsibilities to the point where you'd probably suffocate from them, and—and i know that sometimes finding time to have a single fucking conversation with you is sometimes impossible," your breath hitched, nearly choking over your own words but you went on. "but that has never stopped you from making me feel happy, jae. because even a single second spent with you can make make me happier than the rest of my life combined, so don't ever say that you can't make me happy because for fuck's sake— jung jaehyun, 

i'm at my happiest when i'm with you."

silence flooded. your breathing was scattered after all the things that you said, chest rising and falling in a repeated rhythm. jaehyun says nothing, only looking at you with an unidentifiable glimmer of heaviness in his face as he slowly walked towards you, closing in the space between you until it was practically insignificant. you could hear his heart beating.

he brings your face into his hands, not even realizing that you were crying until he gently wipes away the tears streaming down your cheeks. you look into him, his eyes pooling with oceans and oceans of emotions.

"i'm at my happiest when i'm with you, too."

a second kiss was shared that night— with a million stars watching over you.

gold painted canvas

the classic rich boy and poor girl love story but with less prejudice and more happiness

28 // make you happy

a/n: woah it took nearly 30 parts but at least it happened ;)) this took three days of utter procrastination but i hope you liked it jhhxjsjsjs

masterlist | next >>

taglist:

@joshva @salty-for-suga @starlightshua @itsjynop @riverdale-kpop @lokideadontheinside @aborivin @catallergieswillnotstopme @kingalls00 @hannahdinse8 @irrelevxntstxr @junglewoos @stopitvpls @lynniac @neolights @neocultech-baby @shailaaa @elmuchohottie @bat-shark-repellant @hufflepanda221b @svteez @sehunniepot

unable to tag:

@jaehyunsgoodthing @crtznstuff

[humandisasterskywalker]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Obi-Wan Kenobi/Anakin Skywalker Characters: Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker Additional Tags: Pre-Relationship, Whump, Angst, No Beta We Die Like Clones, alternative universe - different masters, Miscommunication Series: Part 5 of Whumptober 2021 Summary:

Whumptober 2021

Day 5 - I'VE GOT RED IN MY LEDGER

betrayal & misunderstanding & broken nose

“What was it you said about him. That he was a ‘nuisance that trailed around your Master like a lost Tooka.’ That you’d ‘drop him back off on Tatooine if you could’. Don’t worry Obi Wan I’m sure all of us would be resentful about your Master’s supposed chosen one if we were in your position.”

“I’m just gonna go,” said a small voice.

Of Course Obi Wan had resented Anakin at the start. His Master had tried to throw away their new bond to take on Anakin instead. But he'd grown on him over the years. They had grown close. Not that Obi Wan had told his other friends that.

.

.

.

Obi Wan was sure he would never enjoy being in the council chambers. As an initiate when he feared not getting a master at all they were a place of potential failure. A place where his dreams could die. Where he would be rejected.

When he was a Padawan those very fears had become true within this chamber. His Master had been willing to throw away their new bond for the nine-year-old slave boy they had found on a mission to Tatooine. The council had rejected the move, reminding Qui-Gon Jinn of the responsibilities he had undertaken when accepting Obi Wan as a Padawan but he had never forgotten the feeling of rejection. Of his despair when he felt he was being cast aside.

“By the right of the Council, by the will of the Force, Knight Kenobi, you may rise."

A  Lightsaber flared and with a swing, his Padawan braid fell to the floor.

Obi Wan reached forward, picking up the braid before standing. The council was arrayed around him. They were smiling, Master Yoda in particular looked pleased, almost smug. As if some sort of plan had been seen to fruition.

Qui-Gon was stood in front of him, looking uncharacteristically emotional. Obi Wan smiled at him before presenting him with the braid. As difficult as the early years of their apprenticeship had been, as much as their relationship had never truly been repaired from that mission he could not help but appreciate that his Master had stuck with him ever since. That he had fulfilled his promise. That he had seen him through to Knighthood.

“You may go Knight Kenobi.” Master Windu said with a knowing smile. “I can sense your friends are already outside ready to celebrate.”

Obi Wan bowed to the council before turning and leaving the chamber.

As suggested there was a crowd of Senior Padawans and young Knights waiting just outside the door.

“I can’t believe you’ve done it!” Bant squealed, throwing her arms around him.

Obi Wan raised his eyebrows. “Did you have that little faith in me going into the trials?”

She pulled back, hitting him in the arm. “I didn’t mean it like that and you know it!”

Obi Wans face broke into a smile.

“I only meant that you’ve been self-deprecating ever since you became a Padawan and I am over the moon that you have finally proved yourself wrong.”

“You have subjected us to multiple monologues about how you were never going to be good enough to be a Knight” Greef agreed ruffling Obi Wans hair. “It did seem that you were you’re own worst enemy. None of us ever thought you’d have a problem, you always worked harder than any of us did.”

“Speak for yourself!” Bant laughed. “None of you have to spend hours on the wards in the Hall of Healers.”

Greef grinned at her “I apologise greatly Bant, please ensure that I still receive top notch treatment when I am dragged in after a mission.”

“You would be better off not having to come into the chambers at all.” She retorted.

Quinlan threw an arm around his shoulders. “Where are we going to celebrate then. I owe you revenge after the state you got me into after my Knighting.”

“I think you only have yourself to blame their Quin, no one said you had to do shots of all the spirits in that bar.” Obi Wan laughed.

“You issued it as a challenge. I do not say no to challenges.” Quinlan said his arm tightening around Obi Wans neck.

“And that challenge,” Bant interjected “Resulted in all of us back in the temple within hours with both of you making acquaintances with the fresher floor. Can’t we have a slightly quieter one this time?”

“Never! Quinlan crowed before tilting his head considering, “But then again, if we stayed out longer it might be possible to see what happens when you get beyond a couple of drinks Bant. No, I’ve changed my mind. We’ll do it your way.”

Obi Wan smiled as they began to bicker. It had been too long since they had all been at the Temple together. He had missed it.

“Congratulations are in order I hear.”

Obi Wan winced, turning towards Bruck Chun.

“Thank you Bruck”

“You must be very happy, not to have to put up with that brat from Tatooine trailing after you anymore. You can get away from him now that your not with a Master that cares more about him than you.”

“Piss off Bruck!” Greef growled.

“What, I’m just saying I’m impressed. It must be difficult to get knighted when your Master is more interested in someone else's apprentice.”

He smirked.

“What was it you said about him. That he was a ‘nuisance that trailed around your Master like a lost Tooka.’ That you’d ‘drop him back off on Tatooine if you could’. Don’t worry Obi Wan I’m sure all of us would be resentful about your Master’s supposed chosen one if we were in your position.”

Obi Wans friends had gone quiet. Grey-faced.

“What Obi Wan, not willing to remember everything you complained about him. How you wished he was never found and was left in slavery.”

“I never said that!” Obi Wan snapped. “Yes I said I resented him, yes I said complained. I may have wished we never went to Tatooine and that I never met him, but I never wished he was still a Slave.”

Bruck looked triumphant.

“Obi-“ Bant sounded pained.

“I’m just gonna go.” Said a small voice.

Obi Wan whirled round. Anakin was standing off to the side, he hadn’t noticed him after he left the chamber, mobbed as he’d been by all his former creche-mates. Anakin's face was carefully blank. Obi Wan had never seen him display fewer emotions. Obi Wan could normally read him like a book, but now he couldn’t tell anything. It was like Anakin was shutting down.

He turned to leave, slipping behind the crowd and walking down the corridor.

“Anakin, Ani wait!”

Obi Wan pushed through the crowd, Brucks voice echoing behind him.

“Looks like you’ve managed to ruin another relation there Obi, what is it with you being unable to maintain any sort of connection.

“You absolute dick!” Quinlan shouted jumping at him.

Obi Wan ignored the sound of the scuffle, trying to chase down Anakin.

He had walked quickly, the door on the turbo-lift already closing. Obi Wan caught sight of his face before the door closed. It was like a knife being driven into his heart. Anakin had never looked that upset before, even in the early days when he was homesick. And it was all because of him.

Anakin was nothing if not predictable, and had a small list of places he tended to go when upset, so Obi-Wan had assumed he would be able to find him quickly.

He was wrong, Anakin wasn’t in his quarters and Master Koon had not seen him. He wasn’t in the quarters he shared, well used to share with Qui-Gon. He wasn’t in the Speeder or Starfighter hangers. He wasn’t in the mechanics' office. He wasn’t in the small area in the basement where the Temple kept their mouse droids.

He couldn’t find him.

Obi Wan let his feet take him towards the Room of a Thousand fountains. Anakin wouldn’t be there, he had always hated meditation. That was one of the things he used to complain about. When Anakin had first come to the Temple he used to disrupt Obi Wans attempts to meditate all the time, but over the years he had grown almost fond of the disruption. He expected it. Not that he’d ever told anyone.

He headed towards his favoured spot, an area near one of the waterfalls.

It was already filled.

Anakin sat with his back to him. He was sat in a meditative position but Obi Wan knew he wasn’t meditating. His body was vibrating with repressed tension.

“Was it true?” Anakin said without turning to him. “Was what Brock said true, did you say those things about me?”

Obi Wan sighed. He sat next to Anakin, staring into the water.

“No… It wasn’t… That. That is not how I said it!”

Anakin closed his eyes before nodding.

“So that's a yes.”

Obi Wan felt constricted as if he could barely breathe. He felt like something was collapsing, that he was losing something significant. A bond that he had never truly accepted, but was now being ripped away from him.

“Anakin it was years ago.” He said frantically, “When you first came to the temple. I was hurt from what my Master said and I took it out on you to my friends. It wasn’t true!”

“I thought you were a superhero.” Anakin said dully, “I worshipped you. I thought you were the ideal Jedi, the role model for me to aim for. You were the one person here who I knew. The one friend I had. And all that time you were complaining about me. Laughing about me to your friends. Resenting me.”

He looked at Obi Wan. For the first time, he saw the passion that Anakin was so often caught up in directed at him. It wasn’t just sadness it was deep anger.

“Was I truly that oblivious? That the whole time I spent following you, trying to get a small part of your attention you were hating me. That you didn’t want me around. That I was making your life worse.”

“Anakin-“

“You could have told me to back off. I would have done it. I would have done anything you asked me to.”

“You can’t mean that.” Obi Wan said desperately.

“I do,” Anakin said with such surety. Like it was something that had never been questioned. That it was a simple fact in his life. “Well, I would have done, before.”

Obi Wan couldn’t accept it. This couldn’t be true, he had to find a reason why this wasn’t true.

“Anakin you were only nine when you came here, surely you can’t commit yourself so sure when you're that young.”

“Why Not? Clearly, you committed yourself to how much you resented me. You never told Bruck otherwise”

“Come on Anakin, I was thirteen years old being bothered by someone four years younger than me that would never shut up. How was I not supposed to be resentful!”

Obi Wan regretted the words as soon as they came out of his mouth. They were harsh, not at all what he meant. Why couldn’t he talk to Anakin? Why could he only hurt him?

He wasn’t shocked when the first connected with his nose. He would have done it to himself if he was able.

Anakin left, storming out of the room shaking his fist.

Obi Wan stayed sat, holding his nose to stop the bleeding. He felt bereft. Like something had been irreparably broken.

This had supposed to be the best day of his life. The day that he finally achieved all the dreams he had ever hoped for. But it no longer felt like it.

He felt adrift. It was far too quiet. He felt desperately alone. And the worst thing was, he knew it was entirely his fault.

[prismatales]

Late Bloomer

Y/N Todoroki already had her life planned out, but an unexpected turn of events may end up changing everything.

This is a side story of the "Endeavor's quirkless child" series and more of a what if? scenario. Also, in this the reader takes Hatsume's place during the battle tournament. This is not neccesary, but I'd recommend you to hear the songs Phoenix from League of legends, i feel like that songs fits the reader during this story.

Next>>

MASTERLIST

Some women fear the fire. Some women simply become it.

-R.H. Sin

The Feeling of everyone's eyes on you was nerve wrecking, how are heroes supposed to concentrate on their jobs when there's people around watching their every move? Shoto wouldn't stop staring, was he seriously that surprised you were in U.A.? that you made it this far in the sports festival? was he upset that you had joined Midoriya's team during the cavalry battle? or because you nearly tased his team once during the battle...Were you really considered that worthless as not to make it?.

"Hey, you're Endeavor's daughter, right?" some random student had gotten too close to your liking, the words the used didn't help either and they didn't even notice. more people started to surround you, asking more questions at the same time over and over, completely ignoring how uncomfortable they were making you feel.

"i can't believe he has a sister" a student whispered to his group of friends.

"What's it like to be his daughter?"

"But why are you in the support course instead of the hero course?"

"What's your quirk like?"

"Stop it!" Ren, one of your classmates and friend from the support course yelled at the crowd stepping between you and everyone else "Can't you see she's uncomfortable? you keep asking her questions without even allowing her to say a word!" Hatsume also joined them, both of them knew how much you hated talking about quirks. The both of them distracted the crowd long enough allowing you to quietly step back and make a run for it, neither the students, Hatsume or Ren noticed you were gone until they turned back and didn't see you.

Letting out a deep breath as relief washed over your body after escaping the crowd of student made the tension dissipate. But not the thoughts running inside your head...

"This was bound to happen..." you thought, walking towards the cafeteria to have some water and take a small break before the next event started. The others would eventually catch up, more than willing to help with any repairs your equipment happened to need, fortunately the only thing needing some serious repairment were the booster sneakers you let Uraraka borrow for the cavalry battle, one had been broken while trying to escape the other teams, but it could be fixed on time.

Your plans were interrupted when you crashed into someone, stumbling for a moment before the person's hand shot up grabbing you tightly by the upper arm.

"I'm really sorry, I wasn't paying attent..." looking up at the person who helped you made the words die in your mouth, blood draining from your face.

It was your father...and he was furious.

He didn't say anything, but dragged you away to a place where nobody would hear what he had to say, so focused on the task that even if you had ended up falling for real he'd probably be dragging you all over the floor. The grip he had on your arm was starting to hurt. Taking you to an empty hallway and turning his whole body to face you.

"What do you think you're doing here?! and what in the world did you do to your hair?!" the look on his face was nothing compared to the pain you were feeling in your arm, wincing painfully as you tried to pull away from his clutches.

"I'm studying here! let go of me, it hurts!"

"Don't lie to me! you're just here to distract your brother aren't you?"

Of course....of course that was the only thing he cared about.

Shoto...his masterpiece.

"If you paid any attention you'd notice I don't even talk to him! just like you ordered all of us back home! or have you forgotten We're nothing more than failures to you?!" You growled this time, there was anger in those words, but he paid no mind.

"Do not try to fool me, I saw what you did back there"

He was talking about the cavalry battle, Shoto wouldn't stop staring at you when you went and joined Midoriya's team, specially after the way you nearly tased Iida when they took your team's points.

The grip on your arm wouldn't budge, it was starting to become painfully numb, but Endeavor paid no attention as he started dragging you again.

"You're coming back home and change schools this instant, you're just being a distraction to Shoto"

His words made your blood boil in anger. The rational part of your mind was telling you to stay quiet, that it wasn't a good idea to say anything when someone who could easily inflict third degree burns had a deathly grip on your arm, but that thought was easily disregarded by the emotional part of your brain, only making the anger inside of you grow stronger.

"So that's how it is?...you're just going to get rid of another distraction aren't you?" Endeavor only kept walking, completely ignoring you "Just like you did with mom?! JUST LIKE YOU DID WITH TOUYA?!"

His whole body became stiff, letting go of your arm in surprise and giving you the chance to pull away from his grasp before he started walking again. He turned around furious and ready to reprimand you for mentioning Touya, but the look on your face made him go silent, eyes full of anger, frustration and resentment towards him, it was like he was looking into a mirror and you were his reflection. He saw the way you held the spot he had grabbed on, an ugly bruised had quickly appeared on the spot from the strength he had used, a bit more tighter and it could have probably fractured your arm.

Ironic isn't it? for someone who's face clearly resembles her mother's, (Y/N) clearly had the same glare as her father.

He didn't realize you had ran away from him until the sound of your footsteps resonated through the hallway, running away in a rush and almost colliding with one of your friends, it was that little gasp from almost running into Hatsume that made him turn your direction.

"There you are!, let's make sure your gadgets are working correctly before your match begins! remember you're representing the support course!" Hatsume literally pulled you away, neither of you paying attention to Endeavor's glare, Hatsume was oblivious about it, focused on talking about which gadgets could come in handy during the events, You were focusing on her in order to avoid looking his way, and quickly walked away with her. Endeavor was seething in fury the moment Touya's name came out of your mouth, but he had other matters to care about, and went looking for Shoto, completely unaware he had been listening on the altercation...

Two hours later everyone was watching the battle tournament from the stands, you were sitting with everyone from the support department, quite some distance away from the hero department, and your brother.

The matches were going surprisingly fast, Midoriya's match against Shinso was quick, but impressive....But the moment Shoto's match against Sero began there was a moment you felt something weird on the inside, maybe it was that thing, twin telepathy or the frustration felt by your father's threat, but it was almost like you could feel everything Shoto was feeling the moment he created that massive ice wall, anger and sadness coursing through him....

With each round the pounding inside your chest just kept on getting worse, your turn was getting closer and closer, the pressure of being the only student from the support course AND being the only quirkless participant made the tension even worse, the anxiety you were feeling slowly starting to get heavier, along with that inner voice inside your head that wouldn't stop showing its ugly face no matter how much you tried to keep it at bay. You could almost feel it digging its nails on your shoulders as it whispered in your ear.

"Why do you even bother?"

The next match was about to begin, Mina Ashido vs. Aoyama Yuga.

Then it would be your turn...

Standing up from your seat with shaking legs you could only whisper to your friends who were curious about this behaviour, maybe the class didn't know each other for a long time, but never in all those months did they ever see (Y/N) Todoroki being this nervous, you were known to be pretty sarcastic and would always talk back to people that tried to mess with you or your friends, never taking shit from anybody that wasn't a teacher. This behaviour was new to everybody.

"I need to get ready for the match" taking a deep breath you left the stands and headed towards the locker rooms, all of your classmates said they'd root for you an would be wishing good luck. All you could do was give them a nervous nod and an awkward grin. with each step the nerves were getting harder to control. That damned voice only kept on whispering and mocking you...

"Might was well drop the fight, you already know how it's going to turn out"

A wave of nausea washed over all of sudden, forcing you to make a detour and run towards the girl's bathroom.

clutching the sides of a sink, head tilted down, shoulders hunched and breathing heavily, bile slowly trying to make its way out of your throat.

"You can't do it"

"I can do this...I can"

The moment your muscles tensed, a feeling of pain in your left arm made you look up in surprise and snap out of the trance you had slipped into, it ended up making you look at your reflection, it was something that wouldn't stop making you uneasy, specially the sight of your hair, the memory of your mother's screams as she saw the locks of hair still fresh in your mind, looking at your arm distracted you from those painful moments and focus on the huge purple bruise all around the bicep.

The sight of the bruise only managed to upset you even further, eyes narrowing at the sight of it and gritting your teeth into a snarl, the grip on the sink only got tighter, the pain in your knuckles made it clear.

"He's right, you know..."

In a fit of rage and newfound determination you pulled away from the sink and headed to the locker room for the rest of your equipment, highly focused on the task that you didn't notice the scorched handprints burning on the corners of the sink...

Finally...it was your turn to fight...

Present Mic started presenting both you and your opponent with vigor...

"Offense and defense in one body! The dark samurai accompanied by Dark Shadow! From the hero course, it's Fumikage Tokoyami!!! Versus--The Mystery Genius of U.A.! With the highest Intellect from her generation and sharp mind! From the support course, it's (Y/N) Todoroki!!!

Everyone in the Support Course could be heard cheering loudly, some spectators were confused, for someone in the support course you were wearing nothing but accessories.

Despite being about to fight you were wearing a pair of black earrings shaped like a drop with a matching choker. A metal belt with a leather base, it had four spherical bumps made of metal distributed around the material and two utility pockets the size of your hand around your hips.

On your right wrist a silver cuff bracelet with a metallic black bead on the upper part. On the left wrist another bracelet of black beads, each of them 2cm in size. A pair of booster sneakers with the whole base customized, lastly a pair of black cyber goggles on your head.

"What do you think her quirk's like?" Shoto could hear his classmates Ojiro asking Midoriya, who already had his pen and burnt notebook in hand ready to take notes.

"I don't know, but I'm more curious about her equipment, i don't see anything apart from her belt" Shoto didn't show it, but he was worried about you, Midoriya was right, not only that but Tokoyami's quirk was powerful. He could only hope his classmate wasn't as violent as Bakugo.

He could only watch in worry how nervous you were, and from the corner of the stands he could see his father watching, he seemed angrier than usual, like he was judging (Y/N).

You gulped nervously at the sight of your opponent, he had been one of your teammates during the cavalry battle so you knew about his disadvantage against light, you may still have a chance.

Still...tilting your head up towards the stands where your classmates were cheering gave you a push of confidence...and then you saw him as well...

Your father was watching...

"Is this some kind of sick joke? You've never paid attention all these years, now you're just waiting to say 'I told you so' once I lose the match, don't you?" Those thoughts only fed the frustration you felt on the inside. For some reason your body started feeling weird, it was warmer than usual, probably by the anger...But you wouldn't give him the pleasure of pulling you out of school without a fight and turned back to face Tokoyami.

"I'll show you what I can do"

"Sixth match, start!!!"

"Dark Shadow!"

Tokoyami's quirk activated, Dark shadow coming out through his chest quickly charging forwards. Though the moment it got closer Dark Shadow got hit across the face by something.

Everyone looked in wonder as a metallic spider-like limb came out from one of the bumps on the belt striking Dark Shadow with force. Hatsume was shaking on her seat excited as she used her quirk and saw the support companies watching with interest.

Dark shadow charged again, grabbing the attachment before it could strike again, just to be hit by another leg, both coming from the bumps in the front of the belt, it became a back and forth fight between the bird like creature and your gear, each trying to strike and block one attack after another.

While Tokoyami was barely moving from his spot you were slowly going from left to right, looking for any blind spot, Dark Shadow could move a long distance, but if he got too far Tokoyami could be open for attack during a few seconds.....Of course Tokoyami was also observing the situation and caught up with your attack pattern, Dark Shadow's attacks became faster, making it hard to block, until another two limbs came out of the belt.

Everyone was cheering as the battle kept going, this time it was starting to get serious, both Tokoyami and you started circling one another, Dark Shadow's was getting even faster than before, then it managed to grab two of the attachments in the front, and broke them.

"Shit!" the other two were called back, the broken ones were letting out sparks, the distraction was enough for Dark Shadow, he grabbed you by the shoulders and began to try pushing you out of bounds, just for the other limbs to burrow themselves into the ground abruptly, making you unable to be moved.

"I need to go on the offensive"

"Oh! she's going to use the beads!" Ren was getting excited, and so was the curious crowd as they saw you yanking off the beaded bracelet before throwing the beads all over the floor right in front of Tokoyami's sight.

Kaminari laughed "Is she trying to trip him?" thinking Tokoyami wouldn't fall for something like that until the beads exploded like flash grenades, startling Tokoyami, Dark Shadow and the crowd.

"what kind of jewelry is that?!" a hero in the stands was surprised until Hatsume began explaining your gadget's functions with excitement.

"Todo-chan's equipment is meant to be subtle, that's why it looks like normal accessories!" she beamed when the support companies were looking in amazement at the match, some of them were taking notes. Her explanation left some heroes amazed by the idea that something so subtle could be so tricky.

Tokoyami pulled his arms from his face, blurry vision from the flashes left him vulnerable, he didn't see you running towards him with the goggles covering your eyes from the light, then he felt how you landed an elbow strike to his face following with a side kick that left many people cheer in amazement.

"Thank god Natsuo insisted on the Kickboxing lessons!"

"An impressive ambush by Todoroki (Y/N)!" Present Mic was yelling to the crowd, Shoto was astonished by your movements, not expecting his sister to be a talented fighter and neither did Endeavor who's disapproval was yet to leave his face, so what if you were good at fighting? you were still quirkless...

"She's Endeavor's daughter, right?" even far away from the stands those words still ended up reaching your ears making your whole body freeze on reflex.

no....please no...stop

"Why isn't she using her quirk?" those words were like a key unlocking the door of a prison where a horrendous monster was being restrained, that prison was your head...and the monster slowly crawling its way out...were your thoughts.

"See? you're Useless"

"Why did she stop?" "Is she alright?"

Tokoyami realized you stopped attacking and took the chance. Dark shadow got closer, this time it was gripping your arms and began pushing you back again, the feeling of its claws on the bruise only making you flinch at the massive amount of pain, your feet dragging dirt from the strength it was using, the robotic limbs had tried to dig their way on the ground, but even that wasn't working, it only slowed down Dark Shadow, the edge of the arena was slowly getting closer.

That's when Shoto noticed the bruise and quickly realized what caused it, he too had ended up with similar ones when your father would drag him to the training room, he could feel his left side getting warmer, furious at Endeavor for hurting you.

Before Dark Shadow could keep pushing you positioned your left foot firmly on the ground, a burst of compressed air erupting from the sole of the sneakers with tremendous strength causing you to slide to the left, away from Dark Shadow's clutches and rolling on the floor from the force.

"Those are her booster sneakers! they have enough power to lift an adult man off the ground!" Hatsume kept bragging about your equipment, distracting them from the subject about your quirk, or rather the lack of it.

Tokoyami's attacks were becoming faster and harder to block, specially with two missing limbs from your belt, pulling another beaded bracelet from one of the pockets from the utility belt, this time throwing it whole before it burst into light again and quickly ran towards him again.

But this time he was prepared, Dark Shadow had protected him, and rammed itself towards you, accidently hitting you in the face and sending you rolling back on the floor, making the crowd gasp when they saw your nose had started bleeding as you were lifting the upper part of your body from the ground and panted hard.

"Todoroki-san!" Midnight's voice was loud and firm "Out of bounds!"

"What?!" Looking down, your were sitting in the middle on the line due to Dark Shadow's attack "no..." Tilting your head up you accidently made eye contact with your father, the look of disapproval on his face making you look down again, bangs covering your eyes as your shoulders trembled and hot angry tears were close to come out....making something snap inside you, all the frustration, anger and resentment suddenly exploded inside of you into a hot rage. The feelings inside your chest clawing their way outside in a desperate struggle to come out.

"It's over for you, you should start saying goodbye to all your friends"

Everything went silent in the stadium, nobody said a word as you slowly started to get up, nose still bleeding and eyes set into a glare. Tokoyami was observing quietly. Then something inside you throbbed painfully, your head felt like it was going to explode as you held it from the sides with both hands.

"Worthless, you're a failure, a distraction"

"Shut up!" you screamed, the pain was getting worse making you fall on your knees and curl into fetal position, tears rolled down your face from the amount of pain, It was so intense that you didn't notice the way everyone was looking at you.

Or rather they were looking at your hair, there was a reddish glow coming out of it and somehow it was making the (H/C) dye disappear from the locks making it look like it was being evaporated. It started to become longer and it was burning like someone had attached fire extensions on your scalp, making it reach down your waist and flow smoothly in the air like gravity had no control over it.

"Something's wrong" Shoto's thoughts came out without him realizing. His classmates were looking at him with curiosity "what do you mean? Isn't that her quirk?" he was hesitant to answer, he felt like he had no right to talk about it, but he was afraid "...She's quirkless..." There were gasps all over the bleachers, amazed of how long you had managed to hold your own against one of the strongest students in the hero course with only equipment.

Unknown to Shoto his father was also watching in surprise, interest and deep down slight traces of worry. Did the doctors made a mistake when they diagnosed you all those years ago?

The glow began getting more intense, a mix of red and golden energy began to appear around your body in smooth waves, the moment it made contact with the bruise on your arm the wound glowed red before it disappeared into the air like soft embers.

"What's happening?!"

Your mind was in a panic, the sight of your own limbs engulfed in flames became a blurry memory, replaced by a pair of arms full of burns and bandages, you recognized those arms, they belonged to the only person who cared about you during your childhood, the only person who took care of you when everything else was falling apart, the only person that called you "Firefly".

Those were Touya's arms...

"No...Make it stop...Make it stop!!!" You could only hold your head in horror as the memories of your brother came back in a rush....Touya's body being engulfed in flames...the way he always held you affectionately...the burn marks all over his body...how he always called you "Firefly" with such a tender voice....and the day of his funeral...

it was too much. The energy surrounding your body began swirling uncontrollably trapping you inside a vortex. You didn't notice the way your eyes started to glow with a golden light without a trace of the pupil or iris.

"You need to stop Todoroki! She's losing control on her quirk!" Aizawa was screaming through the mic, it was obvious by the look on your face this wasn't normal, he remembered reading your file after all and seeing the part where it said you were quirkless.

Midnight swiftly tried using her quirk to stop you, but as soon as the fragrance coming out of her body got close the aura ignited it, almost like it was protecting you. 

The tears in your eyes were quickly evaporated by the heat, pain and fear overwhelmed your every thought.

"Make it stop!!....Make it stop!!...TOUYA!!!"

The vortex was abruptly pulled into your body and burst out just as fast, causing a massive shockwave through the arena, everyone in the stadium could feel force of the the heat and the wind, even Endeavor had been pushed back because of it.

Cementos had luckily created a concrete barricade around the people on the bleachers just in time when they realized you lost control over the flames. Once the wave subsided the sight in the arena was similar to the aftermath of a wildfire, traces of fire and scorched marks littered the whole arena, Tokoyami was barely holding on and exhausted, having no time to get away in time he used Dark Shadow to protect him from the shockwave at the last second. 

Worry filled the whole stadium when they saw you laying on the floor passed out, the energy surrounding your body had finally disappeared and your hair had gone back to its short appearance, this time back to its natural red color.

Hours later, after the tournament had ended Shoto made his way to Recovery girl's office to check on you. Concern clear on his face at the sight of your motionless body in a Stretcher and the paramedics making their way to the ambulance while Endeavor supervised the procedure with a keen eye without adverting his gaze from your unconsious self, making one of the paramedics shake nervously. 

Shoto was quick to approach a serious looking Recovery girl. "What happened to my sister?" she gave him a look of concern "They're taking her to the hospital to run some tests, her wounds were already healed by the time she arrived" she turned back to look at you "but her quirk completely drained her, so they're going to try and figure out why it took so long to manifest".

The hospital kept you in observation for two days, leaving your siblings worried out of their minds when Natsuo and Fuyumi saw the match's footage, worry sept in them by the way you desperately called out for Touya, it was heart-breaking for them to see just how much you missed him, after all out of the whole family you had been the more affected by his death right after your mother...

The second day your eyelids slowly fluttered open, the bright light from the room made a pained groan leave your parched mouth, it felt like someone had shoved a handful of cotton down your throat, your body ached painfully, begging to get out of the bed...

Wait...bed? You swiftly got up into a sitting position startling the person standing beside you, it was a nurse checking the fluids from an IV bag connected to your right arm were flowing properly.

"Todoroki-san! I'm glad to see you awake" she offered a gentle smile and poured a glass of water before handing it over, holding it in place for security and instructing you to drink slowly, the fresh liquid felt like heaven on earth, making you sigh in happiness before you looked at her with questioning eyes.

"Let me go get the doctor, he'll explain everything to you" She left the room before you could ask her why you were in a hospital room in the first place, it took ten minutes for the Doctor to arrive and quickly began to run some basic checkups before he explained the whole situation...

Meanwhile Endeavor was in his office when he got a call from home, Fuyumi told him the hospital called and you had woken up, She mentioned both her and Shoto were going to visit you and that Natsuo was already waiting for them in the hospital. After hanging up he turned his attention back to the video playing in his computer. It was the footage of your match, he watched with intensity the moment the energy around you turned into a vortex and the moment the shockwave rattled the cameras. 

Then there was the part where the energy had healed your wounds, the bruise in your arm disappeared in an instant and by the time they took you to Recovery Girl all of the scratches and your nose were healed. With proper training you could easily rival Shoto in terms of power...If only your quirk had appeared early, you could have probably surpassed even Touya's firepower by now.

Meanwhile Fuyumi, Natsuo and Shoto were outside the hospital room where the doctor was giving them the full diagnosis as well as some instructions.

"Y/N needs to get plenty of rest, She's perfectly healthy but it would be a good idea to watch out for any changes and avoid any stressful situations for a few days, now about her quirk...after checking her family history my theory is that it took a longer time to manifest due to a mutation"

Once the doctor finished explaining everything and walked away the three went inside the room, they saw you sitting in the middle of the bed hugging your knees closer, one of your hands in front of your face while looking at it with an empty look.

"(Y/N)?" Fuyumi was the first one to speak, their worry on their faces quickly changed to surprise when your hand started to give a soft glow, the same energy from before started to appear in gentle waves this time only in your hand, causing a sad laugh to come out of your lips.

"This changes everything...doesn't it?" The aura started to grow brighter, swirling faster before vanishing as quickly as it appeared. Fuyumi went to sit on the left side of the bed, her hand rubbing your shoulder in comfort.

"All this time...I got used to the idea of never having a quirk...of never being like you guys..." your voice started to break, smiling sadly while small tears prickled the corners of your eyes "and just when I'm finally starting to accept it...Just when I think I found...what I wanted to do with my life...!" Your sister quickly pulled you into a hug as you cried, face buried on top of your knees, Natsuo was quick to join in, Shoto could only stare as he stood closer to the bed, unsure of what to do, this was the first time in years he's been this close to you and it made him feel out of place. 

He was ready to walk out of the room...until he saw you looking at him with a sad look on your face motioning him to come closer, Shoto sat next to Fuyumi with hesitation, unsure of what to say or do but then one of your hands grabbed his left one, surprising him with you gentle hold and the small smile on your face.

"I saw you match on TV....he's right you know" He knew what you were talking about, Midoriya's words...it made his hold on your hand become tighter...

It's your power.

That's how you four spent the rest of the day, together and talking about the future, catching up for lost time, Shoto quickly offered to help you train with your quirk. Of course, at the mention of training everyone thought the same thing.

What would happen with your Father?

The answer came three days after being released from the hospital. The doctors said you could go back home after one last check up, they also recommended to go easy on your quirk and gave Fuyumi a prescription for some eyedrops, the drawbacks of your quirk were overheating and irritated eyes if you overused it, one advantage though was that with the healing part of your power it took longer to overheat.

When you guys arrived home Endeavor was waiting inside, he only looked at your uncomfortable face once before leaving for a mission, he didn't say anything, which made both of your sibling to look at him with confusion. During that time you trained with Shoto in order to get better control over your quirk, both completely unaware that your father was watching your progress from afar.

The vortex from he sports festival never appeared anymore, whenever your quirk was used the fire aura would only envelope your arms up to the forearms, your eyes would glow again and your hair regained the fire extensions.

"At least is not a fire moustache" Shoto had to fight back the urge to laugh at your comment. Before you could keep up with your training there was a scream coming from the house that startled the both of you, running inside you saw Fuyumi sitting on the kitchen floor, there were pieces of glass and blood mixed with water all over the floor, the both of you rushed to her side.

"What happened?!" Shoto asked her while you were checking her injured foot. She had a look of pure agony on her face at the small cuts, a medium sized piece of glass was still lodged on her bleeding foot.

"I-I was holding a glass of water and it slipped from my hand..."

"I'll go look for the first aid kit!" he only walked a few steps before you stopped him, looking at Fuyumi's foot with a look of pure concentration, one of your hands hovered above her injury before it started to glow along with your eyes, the three of you were so focused on the matter that nobody paid attention to Endeavor, who had come back earlier from work and stood in the kitchen entrance watching.

"This might hurt a bit, do you trust me sis?" You gave her a reassuring look as your fingers slowly came in contact with the shard, she stared for a few seconds before nodding and holding her breath, her eyes were closed tightly, she had always been uneasy at the sight of blood.

Breathing deeply in concentration your fingers took hold of the glass and with a swift tug pulled it out of her wound before throwing it aside, making her yelp in discomfort for a moment, your hand quickly going back near her injury, the aura slowly starting to crawl its way down your fingers towards her foot, surrounding it with energy before making the wound slowly stop bleeding and closing shut without a trace of a scar, it was like Fuyumi never got hurt in the first place.

The aura in your hands dissapeared and your eyes went back to normal, letting out a deep breath before looking back at Fuyumi.

"Does it still hurt?" She started flexing her toes to check, but her attention had been somewhere else as her eyes once filled with pain were full of admiration and surprise when she caught sight of your power, it was far different from the vortex that appeared during the sports festival.

"It only hurts a little bit, but It’s okay...Y/N, your quirk is so gentle, and beautiful" She hummed with a soft smile on her faces, those words however made you blink in surprise for a few seconds, before looking at the palm of your hand.

All these years the idea of fire being something gentle never crossed your mind, everytime someone asked what was the first thing you'd imagine at the mention of fire, the answer would always the same.

"My Father"

People always thought it was out of admiration for your father. But nobody knew the truth, with the thought of fire came Endeavor, with the thought of Endeavor came anger, with the thought of anger came destruction...with destruction came the memories of a broken family, burned away by his ambition and desire for power.

Fuyumi's words were like a switch in your head, no longer the thoughts of fire reminded you of the past, the word 'fire' developed a different meaning, something that can destroy, but that can also make way for new life, just like a....

"...Phoenix" you whispered softly, catching everyone's attention, it took a moment for them to understand what you meant, until your palm once again started glowing and the aura came back to life, this time with a brighter glow.

"That's my quirk...Phoenix"

"It seems you finally have control over your quirk" your father's voice came out of nowhere, startling the three of you, his arms crossing and a look of confidence on his eyes that made an unneasy feeling grow inside your chest.

"You will transfer into the hero department with Shoto"

There it is again, the feeling of surprise being replaced by anger stirring inside of you, he's never paid attention to your existence until it became convenient for him, his desire to surpass All-Might still blinding his thought made you angrier by the minute. When he turned to walk away you were soon following after him, Shoto helped Fuyumi stand up and avoiding the remains of glass on the floor.

"You can't do that! I'm not leaving the support department!"

"You're going to change courses after the internships and that's final, both you and Shoto will become exceptional heroes, stronger than All-Might and anyone else"

"No! I'm not switching classes, I've never wanted to be a hero before and there’s no way I’m going to become one now!"

That's how it started, both of you engaged into a screaming match, both Shoto and Fuyumi only watched as both you and your father had ended up activating your quirks, the sight of his face and your hair covered in flames would have been funny if it wasn't for the screams you were throwing back and forth at each other.

"If you keep this up I'm running away from home!"

He only scoffed at the threat

"You wouldn’t do that, you have nowhere else to go"

Shit, he was right, none of your family lived nearby, and you always refused to talk to your mother's family out of spite for disregarding the abuse your mother had to go through, the last time they tried to talk was four years ago, but they were always ignored. And you didn't want to be a bother to Natsuo...

Then an lightbulb went off inside your head. Giving Endeavor a challenging look before you started talking again.

"Very well then..." Shoto was dumbfounded by your answer, had you really given up that easily?! But then you continued. "I'll move into the hero course, but only if you can answer this question, and if you do, I'll switch classes without hesitation, but there's a catch, you can't ask for help from anyone if you can't answer"

The look of confidence on your father's face as he accepted your terms almost made you scream in victory, buy in order to make this work you had to be quiet.

"Very well, go on"

You looked at him in the eye, the room was awfully silent until you opened you mouth and the question made Endeavor's eyes go wide.

"When is my birthday?"

The whole room fell into an uncomfortable silence, he tried to say something, but no words left his mouth, his eyes went to Fuyumi until he remembered the rule, no help from anyone. Shoto wanted to scream, your hands went to your hips with an indifferent look on your face. Ten minutes passed and he didn't answer.

"See? You know nothing about me!" You ran to your room and quickly came back with a bunch of papers before throwing them at him.

"All this time you thought I only went to U.A. to mess with my brother and never realized I had potential to do so much more, these are my grades and exams results, I have the highest grades in the whole school, you don’t even know this but my friends called me yesterday, you know what they said?"

He looked at you, report card in hand.

"They heard the support companies were going crazy over my equipment, they all want (Y/N) Todoroki to do an intership with them, not Endeavor's daughter. If you ever try to switch me into the hero course without my knowledge...I'll start failing my classes on purpose, imagine what people will say when the genius of U.A. and Endeavor's daughter starts failling her classes...now, if you'll excuse me, I need to prepare my uniform for tomorrow's class" You turned back to go to you room, but stopped in the hallway before turning your head back to him, a furious glare on his face, the paper in his hands was starting to burn away by his flames.

"Oh, and by the way...My birthday's on January 11, I'm Shoto's twin, remember?"

Walking away with a victorious smirk on your face the sound of your father's screams felt like music to your ears.

Hope you guys enjoyed this, please let me know what you think of this side-story!

I want to thanks my friends @godtieruwu @undead0relived and @mysticalite for helping me with some aspect for this story and listening to my ramblings.

Also, @mysticalite drew some fanart of my Todoroki!reader and it's so lovely! It's a comparison between reader and Rei!

[heir-of-talon]

Another chapter with my favourite ship. But maybe I should wreck it?

HEIR OF TALON 3

Warnings: explicit/underage

Summary:

Garret and Ember spend a day together trying to have fun.

Boy of summer

Garret

I woke up aroused and confused entangled in Ember's warm body. She was asleep, with her thigh carelessly thrown across my hips, her arm resting on my chest with the palm over my rapidly beating heart. I laid motionless for a while enjoying the touch of our bodies, feeling her breath on my neck and wishing that we could stay like this forever. But how could we with all the work awaiting us? This was not a good life for a young girl. Not that I knew much about it, yet still I could see her fading away, every time I saw her she was less lively, less herself and more tired, sad or angry. She insisted that this was what she wanted, that this was important to her. But the Order was less and less important to me. With each group of survivors emerging I could see, that the Order of St George was founded on values, that I could no longer share or excuse. I only continued as their commander to ensure, that the Order will not bounce right back and attack the dragons. But maybe being away in order to protect Ember from a change of hearts in the Order I was failing her in other ways, that were just as important. There, bleak thoughts chased away excitement and pleasure. I needed to get up and get active to clear my head.

I tried gently to wriggle free of Ember's limbs when she tensed and a pair of green eyes snapped open pinning me with intense gaze. The tension and expression melted away almost immediately and she smiled lazily. "Good morning commander" she said raising on one elbow to gaze down at me. Her fingertips slowly traced irregular patterns on the bare skin of my chest sending sweet thrills into my stomach. She pouted her lips and my thoughts strayed to another time, when she was touching me like that, a cargo bed in a clearing in some forgotten end of woods. I wanted her so much, I gathered her closer to my chest with my one arm. "Good morning ma'am, any special wishes for your humble servant?" She giggled and patted me mockingly. "Don't! Think if somebody hears us now? That would ruin the alliance. They would think I have you in thrall." She teased. "Maybe you do?" I said solemnly. "I do what?" She asked. "Have me in thrall. Because I feel that I would do anything for you without giving it a second thought". I looked deep into her eyes letting the joke and the truth sink in. Ember smiled and kissed me, pressing her body closer to mine. I ran my hand down her back and ass and felt heat kindling again in the pit of my stomach. She felt my cock pressing at her thigh and purred with delight before she straddled me grinding her breasts and belly against my upper body. I held her and kissed her, tasting her tongue and breath. I wanted her, my loins were on fire aching with desire and she was right there on top of me, warm and eager. I wanted her to burn me again, if she must. I just needed to be as close as possible. Some part of me seemed melting and running into her already. I felt my heart burning for her when my hands slipped under her t-shirt and stroked her back and sides of her breast, that were pressed tightly against me. I gripped her ass with my other hand. We needed to get her out of these clothes. I peered into Ember's eyes to tell her that and my voice caught in my throat. I could feel blood chilling in my veins. The impression was there and gone but I suddenly felt strange premonition and a thought crossed my mind, that she could just as well be on another planet the way things were. As if some illusion got dispelled by whatever I found on the bottom of the smiling green eyes. So I took her face in both my hands, kissed her briefly and asked. "What do you want to do today?"

"How about nothing?" She said. "I should probably go to my office and grant a ratification of Viper's agreement." She mused, her forehead creasing. "What are you going to do?" She asked. "I'm taking a day off to maintain my dragon girlfriend" I said smiling. "She can literally breath fire and bite my head off and I've been rather neglecting her lately..." Ember smiled happily and kissed me. "Deal. I cannot believe it is the soldier who talks me into skipping work!" She laughed. I rolled to the side making her to lay down beside me and kissing her. We kissed and touched for some time and it was great even though some of the strangely unpleasant feeling lingered in my chest. At last Ember declared herself famished and we decided to leave the bed and seek some breakfast.

*****

I walked towards the waterline with my newly bought and waxed surfing board. Ember let herself woo into buying a new high-tech board that doesn't require waxing by the attendant at the surfing shop and course centre by the beach. Then she proceeded to huff and puff and roll her eyes when I waxed mine with the attendant giving me tips and talking about how fine the weather was for surfing. When I was finished she ran towards the water and now waited for me in shallows beckoning for me to hurry. "Come on Garret! What is it? Are you regretting our bet?" She grinned. I said nothing watching distant surf ahead. "Don't worry, I'll treat you kindly when you lose." "How generous of you." I answered and started deeper into the water. I was exhilarated I could almost feel the vastness of the ocean surrounding me, the freedom calling to me. I looked at Ember and could see, that she had the same revelation. She was grinning madly with her eyes shining, there was nothing left of the exhausted girl in crumpled suit from yesterday. She might be CEO of Talon but she looked more like an overworked intern. It was quite a swim to reach the swells, but neither of us complained. Finally we were there and the wave was coming. Ember's attention focused completely on getting ready to catch it, so I decided to strike back. "How much money?!" I shouted. "What?" She seemed confused her eyes still focused on incoming swells. "How much money you bet on me being pounded more than you?!" "Million dollars soldier boy, you are going down!" She shouted and made to stand up anytime. "I cannot match that!" I teased her. "Million dollars against a daim!" She grinned madly and tried to stand up. I followed her suit and after wobbling a bit went tumbling off into turquoise waters. When I emerged and got water out of my eyes I saw Ember already recovering her board visibly enjoying herself.

Her enjoyment was somewhat diminished when, after three more approaches, where we both got wiped out, I managed to catch the wave and ride it without falling. The experience was almost overwhelming, after months of running, fighting and then managing what was left of the Order, I have almost forgotten, what it is like to do something for the sheer feeling of it. Three more rides and Ember was scowling, she fell off every time and finally, I could not enjoy this anymore. "Let's call it a day!" I shouted to her. "No! You don't get to win this easily!" She seemed close to tears and I could not stand the thought, that I have somehow caused this. I could not remember Ember being such a sour loser. I waded all the way to her and hugged her tightly. "Ember, it's not fun anymore. Let's go and get something to eat." Food managed to lift her spirits nine out of ten times. She looked at me as if she was about to say something nasty, but then she seemed to relax.

We got out of water, changed into dry clothes and drove to a steak house not far away. Over a steak that could cover her whole upper body Ember seemed to cheer up a bit. I watched amazed as the enormous piece of meat disappeared fast in this slip of a girl. It was fascinating, how could I ever have missed this ravenous appetite?

"Go on. Mock me. I deserve it." She said. "Come on Ember, can't we let it go? Or maybe agree on best out of three..." I did not care a bit about this wager, and it definitely was not worth Ember's discomfort for me. "No! I've lost miserably and now have to explain to Archivist, why exactly we have to transfer one million dollars to you." I was dumbstruck. "Don't even think about it! I wouldn't accept it. I didn't mean it seriously." She must have hit her head. "A bet is a bet. You might not have meant it, but I did." She said. "Why? Why would you want to bet a million to a daim on anything?". I was incredulous. "Because I was sure I'd win? Because I have all this millions and apparently can't use them on anything that would bring me joy..." Ember was tearing up again, it pained me to see her so fragile, she was definitely not well. I stood up and slipped into our booth on her side of the table. I put my arm around her shoulders and pulled her to my chest. "I don't want your money Ember. I love you. I want you to be happy. I know you feel that changing Talon is your responsibility, but maybe someone else could help to administrate the changes?" She looked at me doubtfully. "If you have that much money, maybe pay uncle Liam and aunt Sarah to take care of you in Crescent Beach until you turn eighteen? You could surf every day after school with Lexi and Calvin." I stopped seeing her gaping at me. Then she started to laugh, somewhat joyless, until it turned into sobs and she was weeping and I had no idea what to do other than to hold her.

At last she came to herself. "Oh Garret, how wonderful this would be. But it's impossible." "Why? Why is it impossible Ember? I am sick of the Order. They are adults, let them clean their own mess. We need to do other things in our lives than their bidding. Isn't that why you've rebelled in the first place?" She watched me in silence. "I would gladly leave the Order. Even if that meant I'd have to go to school and work at a gas station. If it meant that I could be with you." I stopped having said all I had to say.

"Oh my! Garret, you truly mean it?!" She said at last. Then she looked very conflicted. "They will never let us go Garret. I don't know if I can live a normal life. This is too much!" But I could feel that she was considering it, so I said. "You don't have to decide right now. Just think about it. I want very much to be with you. Even if you stay in Talon. I could be your bodyguard." Finally Ember's gaze softened. "You would do that for me? Leave the Order?" She said. "I already did. Something just got messed up underway and we ended up exactly, where we started." I said. I have been thinking a lot about our current situation and with each day, when I was away from Ember, fighting Order's battles in a war where there was neither honour nor fortune for me to win, I saw clearer how life was slipping through my fingers. It was possible that it would take more than human lifetime to change the Order and Talon. And even though I was granted extended life by Riley I felt, that this time would be wasted just as well. We would not be as we are, to move on, once the process is advanced enough to let it continue on its own. Ember was already changed beyond recognition after mere months of this life. I caught myself more and more often at hating the Order of St George and Talon and all the mess I was handling on the behalf of both. We had a choice. We've made this choice once, we could make it again. So I put my arms tightly around her and said. "I want to be with you Ember. You've told me, I can live for centuries. But my mind and heart are still human. I miss you. I feel I'm wasting my life being away and struggling to keep control of an organisation, that I'd rather leave. We could be together. I would take care of you while you're taking care of your business." Ember twisted in my embrace putting her arms around my waist and pressed her face to my chest, hugging me tightly. I held her feeling once again the rightness of this, this was where I was supposed to be. This was what I should be doing. At last she looked up at me with shining eyes. "I want that Garret. I miss you too. And Talon can be too much. But I'm afraid that if I just cash out few millions and leave, I'll wake up surrounded by Vipers some time soon. Talon must be at least partially dismantled before it's safe to leave it alone." She started frowning her look vacant. "Then let us work towards this together." I said. "Okay, let's do this together." She said calm now.

I moved back to sit in front of my cold food. Fortunately I have eaten enough before Ember started crying. We ordered waffles with softice for dessert and headed for Ember's apartment. In the car Ember spoke suddenly. "I think I'll give you the million anyways... don't protest. You don't have to use it if you don't want it. Think about it as something you're keeping safe for me, should I ever need it. Like an emergency trust found." It did not sit well with me. "Only if you consider my offer." I answered. "About Crescent Beach." "Deal, I'll think about it." She answered a bit too smugly. We drove back to city listening to old rock songs playing from the radio. Sun was slowly setting and the world was cast in this unreal light, that made it look like a place from a fairytale, like anything was possible.

***

We tumbled onto Ember's white sofa right after entering the apartment. Any weariness from being pounded and peddling for hours left me instantly. Ember pulled off her t-shirt and I cupped her warm soft breast in my hand feeling her heart beating wildly inside it. I bent to kiss it, tasting her skin and hard pointy nipple when my phone rang.

Only two people had this number, it was only to be used in case of emergency. "Ember it's emergency number." I said apologetically and fished the phone from my pants. It was Tristan. It could wait. I put it on silent and moved to lay between Ember's legs again when she braced her hand on my chest. "If it's an emergency shouldn't you check it?" She asked. I should but I don't want to. I thought, and aloud I said. "It's Tristan, he probably wants to know when I will be back." "Still you should check." She said pulling on her t-shirt and pressing her knees together leaving me with few other options. I groaned with disappointment and nestled in another corner of the sofa.

"What is it?" My voice was raspy and my tone was slightly impatient. I cleared my throat. "Have I interrupted something commander?!" Tristan sounded uncharacteristically sour. "Yes, get to the point." I was sure my discomfort could match whatever he felt. "An hour ago commander Knight, six of his people and his wife and daughter arrived. He claims to be commander of some southern chapterhouse, that I have never heard about. He says they're top secret intelligence team. Anyways he's already questioning alliance with dragons, threatening us all with persecution for treason and claiming command over Western Chapterhouse including you and me. So you better get here before he executes someone commander." Shit. Apparently I could not catch a break either.

I quickly reported news to Ember. "You should go right away Garret." She said solemnly. "This sounds serious and dangerous.... for our plans. You and Tristan are the only people inside the Order of St George, that I can trust. We can't risk you getting sidelined by some conservative bloodthirsty commander." As more and more blood circulated in my body I could see her point and had a few of my own to add, but I hated leaving her like that. "I don't want to leave you." I said. "You are not leaving me. You go away to make preparations for our escape." She gave me a brave smile and I kissed her hungrily, letting my hands roam her body, trying commit to memory as much of her as possible, the touch of soft warm skin, the taste of her lips, scent of her hair. I was about to suggest we wait with it till the morning, when she pulled away. "Go Garret. Call me when you know more. I'll help you any way I can, remember." She kissed me again. "I love you Garret. Even though I can't surf anymore." She added and followed me to the doors where she kissed me once more and stood watching,  when I waited for the elevator.