#because it reminds me of how there marriage was kinda bad (as much as Pat loves Carol still)

[herestoburiedsecrets]

One of the things I really love about Pat's character is the way that in both the episodes that centre him (1x3 - Happy Death Day and 4x7 - It's Behind You) focus on the way that Pat is honoured and loved through Daley and the rest of his family. We see a lot of instances throughout the show of that being a father is a core part of Pat's personality, and by putting an emphasis on the ways that Pat lives on through his family the show further highlights this. Daley seems to show this the most, which is not that surprising given Carol was cheating on Pat for most of the marriage. The fact that they all visit Button House on Pat's death day and the way Daley mimics his dad in the home video is genuinely so heartwrenchingly beautiful, and I love it so much. It is so fitting for the character, and a really beautiful way to explore Pat's past!

[slytherinwh0re]

I’m yours

Draco Malfoy x Female Reader

Warnings: SMUT (18+ minors dni), this is kinda fluffy, swearing (I literally always cuss, it’s just a given at this point lol)

Summary: Where you go to the Malfoy’s for a party and you and Draco’s relationship finally takes the turn you both wanted.

Masterlist

Requested by anon, lmk if you like it (:

“You look beautiful (y/n), Draco’s inside waiting for you.” Narcissa says as she pulls away from the quick hug, greeting your parents in the same friendly fashion.

You walk through the large manor quickly, trying to find the familiar head of platinum hair that belonged to your best friend. However your search kept getting interrupted, many of your parents friends stopping you for boring conversations and of course trying to marry you off to one of their sons, because nothing was more important than pure blood babies in their eyes. You were used to it though, that’s basically the point of having these extravagant parties, but you’d be damned if you’d be forced into a loveless marriage for the sake of blood purity.

“You’ll adore him darling, he’s quite the handsome boy.” Says the woman whose name you didn’t bother learning as she rambled on about her son, you merely nodded as you let your eyes rake over the sea of people, finally locking eyes with the boy you’ve been looking for. Draco had already been looking at you and the thought made you smile.

“Sorry ma’am I actually have something important to attend to right now.” You say, already walking away from the frowning lady. His eyes trail your figure and you mentally pat yourself on the back for picking out this dress, the black satin material fits you like a second layer of skin, the high slit showed off a long tan leg, and the off the shoulder sleeves displayed your collar bones nicely. You looked good and you knew it.

“Where have you been?” You question once you reach him, giving the blonde a quick kiss on the cheek like you usually do when you see him.

“Sorry love, I got stuck talking to Mrs. Parkinson, you know how she is.” Draco says pulling you in for a hug. “You look fucking amazing in that dress.” He whispers in your ear making you shiver. The effect he had on you was something you couldn’t get used to no matter how much time you spent with him.

“Thank you.” You blush. “You don’t look too bad yourself Draco.” He’s wearing one of his signature fitted all black suits that made you weak in the knees.

You’ve been best friends since you were children but as you grew older there was no denying that the relationship was changing. Both of you now matured knew that whatever this was it was a lot more than just friendship. Why you hadn’t acted on it yet, neither of you knew. Maybe it was because of the impending war or maybe just the fear of losing one another but neither of you could hide the obvious feelings you stored for each other.

“Come on, we’ll both need a drink to get through the rest of the night.” He led the way to the table full of various types of alcohol, pouring you each a shot of fire whiskey, your favorite.

“Another for good luck?” You ask right after throwing back the first one.

“You read my mind (y/l/n).” He winks while handing you your second shot. The effects of the alcohol and the handsome boy in front of you immediately make you feel more relaxed.

“Let’s dance!” You exclaim as you watch others gather in the center of the room with a partner, before he could even respond you’d already grabbed his hand and led him towards the dancing people.

You knew he didn’t really like dancing but he followed you without complaint because as he had told you once before, he’d rather scoop out his own eyeballs than to watch some foul git put their hands on you, you take full advantage of that information any chance you get. This was one of those situations, because damn did you love dancing, especially with Draco.

You grab his hands, swaying both of you to the fast rythm of the music. The smile on his face as he spins you around the other dancers makes your heart soar with so much affection for the blonde that you can’t stop the giggles from spilling out your mouth.

“You’ll be the death of me (y/n) (y/l/n).” He says as you stumble into his chest, dizzy from all the spinning.

When the tempo of the music changes into something slower, Draco grabs the small of your back and pulls you into him so you’re chest is pressed to his. You wrap your arms around his neck and he holds your waist as you sway to the music, the atmosphere changing drastically, neither of you paying attention to anything around you.

“Take me upstairs Draco.” You whisper in his ear. You feel him go rigid as he pulls back to look at you, both knowing this is point of no return. Draco’s eyes search yours for any trace of hesitation, once he finds none he’s taking your hand and leading you through the crowd of people towards the staircase.

You could hear the blood pumping through your veins as you stepped into his familiar bedroom. He walks you over to the foot of his bed and grabs your chin, tilting it up to look at you and then his lips are on yours. Every emotion you feel for him is poured into the kiss, his lips caressing yours so gently it almost doesn’t seem real.

“Do you want this (y/n)?” He questions pulling away from the sweet kiss.

“I’m yours Draco.” Is all you have to say before he’s kissing you again, this time more urgently. He pulls away and turns you around so your back is to his chest and you face the mirror in front of his bed.

He grabs your hair and pushes it to the side as he litters kisses on your neck, his lips leaving a trail of fire on your skin. He had one hand flat on your stomach pushing you against him and the other running down the side of your body over the tight dress, your head was thrown back, loving the way his hands feel on you. 

He pulls back, looking at you through the mirror, moving the hand on your stomach to the zipper on the back of your dress. “Go ahead Draco.” You encourage as he looks at you for approval. He kisses the back of your neck before slowly unzipping the fabric, watching as the satin material falls silently at your feet, leaving your chest bare for him to see, the only thing covering you is the lacy underwear on your hips as you step out the dress.

“So beautiful.” He whispers as he moves both hands to massage your breasts, never looking away from your body in the mirror, making small moans leave your mouth. He has on far too much clothes so you turn to face him, pulling off his suit jacket and then his tie, tossing them carelessly, and then unbuttoning his dress shirt slowly, leaving a kiss on his chest every time more of his pale skin is revealed to you. 

The handsome boy watches your every move as you look up at him while you undo his belt and trousers. Once his pants fall to the ground he kicks them off along with his shoes, bringing you back to him for a needy kiss, your naked chests pressed together. 

“Jump.” You do as you’re told, wrapping your legs around his waist, his hands on your ass as he carries you towards the big bed and lays you down on the edge. His lips kiss down your body towards your soaked panties, kneeling in front of you and pulling away to unclasp the heels on your feet. 

Draco hooks his finger around your underwear and you lift your hips so he can slide them off, the cold air on your pussy makes you shiver. You prop yourself up on your elbows so you can watch what he’s about to do to you, a smirk rests on his lips seeing the state you’re in. 

“You’re already dripping love.”  He teases as he lifts your legs over his shoulders.

“Please just touch me already Draco.” You beg, making him dive right in. His tongue flat against your soaked center, devouring you in every sense of the word. Your hands find his hair tugging on it making him moan against you which in turn makes you scream out his name.

His lips wrap around your clit making your hips buck and you can practically feel the smirk on his lips as you throw your head back, filthy moans spilling from your mouth. Your grip on his hair tightening as he pushes a long finger into your entrance, curling it with every thrust.

“Draco.” You breathe out, not able to form any coherent thoughts as he completely ravishes you. Desperate whines leave your lips as you feel yourself about to release and that’s when he pulls away from you completely.

“When you cum, it’s gonna be around my dick.” He states as he tear off his boxers, watching you shuffle to the center of his bed. His dick slaps him on the stomach and you rub your legs together seeing the precum already leaking out his tip.

“Show me what I’ve been missing out on.” You say, making him smile as he moves to kneel in front of you on the bed, your legs once again wrap around his waist and his dick presses against your slick folds.

He guides himself to your entrance and with a final nod of approval he’s pushing into you. Both moaning as he moves his hips at a steady pace, your soaked walls clenching around him tightly.

Draco’s hands move up the sides of your body, making sure not an inch of skin goes untouched. He lower himself so he can kiss along your neck, sucking on spots that make you moan his name, surely leaving marks that will remind you of this night for the next few days.

Your nails scratch down his back making him groan as he thrusts into you faster. Suddenly he’s pulling out of you and flipping you over so your laying on your stomach. He lifts you hips so you’re on your knees and you arch your back, pushing yourself back on to him desperately.

“You take me so well my love, I always knew you would.” He says as he slams into you repeatedly, completely wrecking your body in the best way possible.

“Oh Draco.” The moans that leave your mouth are relentless once he hits that spot that makes your toes curl and your head feel fuzzy from the pleasure you’re receiving. When his hand wraps around your throat and pulls you up so your back is against his chest you know it was the beginning to the end.

“Who do you belong to (y/n)?” He asks while continuously driving into you.

“I’m yours Draco, I’m all yours.” You cry out as his other hand finds your clit, rubbing circles into you, making your head falls back onto his shoulder as his fingers tightens around your neck.

“Cum for me love.” Is all he says as you finally hit your high. Your walls clench around him and your vision goes white, the waves of pleasure wash over your body as you scream his name. Raspy moans fall from his lips as his release takes over his body, leaving both of you completely spent.

You fall back onto the bed and he lays next you so you’re facing each other. His hand caressing your cheek, his thumb running over your bottom lip.

“Every man down there had their eyes on you all night.” He claims.

“I only have eyes for one man and if he keeps fucking me like that I’ll have to marry him.” You tease with a smile on your face, making him laugh.

“I’ve known I would marry you since we were 15 (y/n), I’ve always loved you.” He admits.

“And I love you Draco.”

[captainjimothycarter]

What are Steve's wedding vows to Peggy?

Hey i wrote something since like Saturday. kinda proud of myself despite BAD anxiety over this.

--

“Are you ready, Steve?”

The question came from Edwin Jarvis, the man sticking his head in through the curtains to smile at the nervous Captain. Steve just held up the bowtie in despair, trying to hide the shake in his fingers.

“I can mull down hundreds of Nazis. I can fight Hydra to the bone and-and nearly be killed by a frozen tundra, but what defeats me is a god dang bow tie!”

Jarvis laughed as he stepped into the small side room, giving him a comforting smile. “You know,” he mused as he started to do the tie. “When I was marrying my Ana, I was so nervous I fainted right as we got to I do.”

Steve felt himself gap, looking the man up and down. He could picture that, not that he would say it. He felt like he might faint before he even got out to where Bucky and Colonel Phillips were waiting for him.

“When I came to, my head was in Ana’s lap and I insisted she was an angel. She practically is - not that I’ll ever insist anything different. She’s never let me live that down, that rascal. The point is, Captain Rogers,” the man smirked as he finished the tie and smoothed it out along Steve’s neck. “It’s okay to be nervous.”

“I’m...Captain America, I shouldn’t be nervous, I wasn’t nervous when-”

“Let me ask you something,” Jarvis spoke over him, patting the guy’s shoulders to get him to sit down. He pulled a comb out of nowhere and started to fix Steve’s mousy hair from his constant fingers combing through it. All Steve could do was look on in the mirror. “When you bulldozed through of Hydra agents or lead your Howling Commandos through countless missions or did whatever you did in what the reports do not say, were you nervous?”

“Of course not, those guys depended on me. I couldn’t afford to be nervous or second think my actions, someone might’ve died.” Plenty of people did, in ways Steve could’ve never stopped or predicted unless he’d been there, but he was one person.

Not that Jarvis was asking about this.

“Exactly. They depended on you. You needed to be ready for anything, to overcome anything Hydra would’ve thrown at you. Yet with Miss Carter, you’re nervous about your wedding? It’s practically a tradition to be nervous. Do you know what that means?”

“That I’ll fumble my vows or drop the rings and it’ll roll into a gutter, never to be seen again?”

Jarvis snorted and lightly squeezed Steve’s shoulder. “No, Captain Rogers, it does not. It means that you love her. You love Miss Carter with every fiber of your being. It means you, my friend, will have an amazing wedding and marriage. Even if you do fumble, you can do no worse than me and fainting.”

Steve covered his face, trying to stabilize his breathing. He did love Peggy - Jarvis was right. There was no doubt about that. He loved her. Loved her so damn much he might explode. He just...was nervous.

“Being nervous,” Jarvis continued as he put the comb away and tilted Steve’s head up to inspect himself in the black and white suit. “Being nervous is a tradition. It means you love her. I’m sure Miss Carter is nervous too.”

Steve’s mouth opened to counter, Peggy couldn’t be nervous - he’s seen her stare enemies dead in the eye and not miss a beat. He’s seen her let herself get shot if it meant saving the hostage. He’s seen her survive countless trails and still stand on top at the end of the day. There’s no way Peggy was nervous. Yet, the second he opened his mouth to say something, Bucky stuck his head through the curtain.

His hair was perfectly parted thanks to his mother’s intervention. He was sure the second his ma wasn’t looking, he would mess it up. The suit he wore was a little on the older side, insisting he got to wear his dad’s suit to this wedding.

“You ready, Stevie? That green isn’t a good shade, bud.”

Steve gently swatted at Bucky’s chest as he adjusted the suit once more, trying to take in a deep breath to calm down.

“Shut up. I’m just...nervous. How’s everything looking? We ready?”

“Ready as we’ll ever be. Ole Phillips is grumbling as ever. Dugan is waiting up there, Angie is ready. We’ve already had to stop the niece and nephew from throwing the flowers everywhere.”

“Oliver and Penny really like those roses, huh?” Steve’s lips twitched into a small laugh at the idea of the kids going haywire with those roses. “And Peggy? Is she…?”

“Ana and Rose and even Howard are in there, it’s alright.” Seeing his friend’s panic look, he smoothed down his suit again, the metallic hand glimmering in the dull light of the chapel. “Let’s get this party started and get you two crazy kids married.”

--

“Always knew you two would end up together,” Phillips grunted as Steve stood nervously, shifting from foot to foot. “From the second she laid eyes on that scrawny form of yours.”

Steve laughed, a more forceful laugh given the nervous state he was in. He watched Jarvis politely sit down after checking in on the girls, Rose already coming up to stand by them. Bucky clapped Steve on the shoulder, squeezing him too hard.

“Told you,” he chuckled. “You two were meant to be…”

“‘cept you shouldn’t have shown up in the bar when we were having your public funeral,” Dugan interjected. “Not the best idea, Cap.”

“You’re lucky Carter didn’t shoot you on the spot, coming up with a soiled uniform, and half that glass in your chest,” Phillips grunted.

“Wouldn’t have hurt as bad, if-”

Steve stopped the second he heard Ana playing the piano, turning on his heels and towards the door.

He watched Oliver and Penny run through with the flowers, throwing them everywhere but the floor. His little giggle and the laugh through the chapel made him relax a little, but the second he saw Peggy, everything was back in full force.

She was...beautiful, spectacular. A thousand words he couldn’t think to say. His mind nothing but a fine-tuned sound of buzzing as he watched her slowly walk through that door. Ana had worked perfectly on that dress, the trim, the lace, every down to the last details of the pearls knitted into the collar.

Steve could feel the tears burning in his eyes as she slowly stood in front of him, hearing in the corner of his mind, Phillips muttering about sap.

He loved her.

“You look…” Steve struggled with the word as he held onto her glove-laced hands, looking down at them and slowly back to those beautiful hazel eyes that he’d fallen in love with before he even knew what color they were.

“I know,” Peggy finished, squeezing his hands. “You look pretty dashing yourself. We-”

“How about we get this show on the road, huh?” Phillips asked, breaking the silence, and the music slowly melted into the background. “We all knew we’d end up here today. It was just a matter of time and if it was legal or not. I expected you two to just waltz into my tent one day and demand to be married, the laws and logic be damned.”

“Almost,” Steve mused, shrugging his shoulders. Phillips’ grey eyes were trained on him, brow rose as if to ask what. “I proposed to Peggy after she’d been shot during the hostage situation of ‘44.”

“Son.” The tone said all and the Howling Commandos laughed the loudest. Steve glanced over to see Peggy’s side of the family, most with pursed lips. They still weren’t pleased that their daughter was marrying a Yankee.

“We told him to do it,” Dugan interjected.

“Dared him, actually,” Jones added.

“Double-dog dared him,” Bucky said.

“Actually, we told him to do it or we would on his behalf,” Pinky reminded them.

“We-”

Phillips’ look silenced Falsworth on the spot, the man clearing his throat and stepping back in line. “We’re no longer at war, boys, you don’t have to keep defending your Captain under insane circumstances. I’ll never forget about the damn goat incident.”

--

It was only a few minutes later before Phillips cleared his throat again and nodded towards the couple. “The couple has written their own vows. Ca-Steve, would you like to go first?”

Steve blinked as he felt Peggy’s eyes on him, trying to calm his racing heart down. “Okay, yeah. Yeah,” he breathed, taking the paper Dugan had passed him. “I stayed up till 4 in the morning working on this. Mr. Jarvis had to eventually take the pen from me so I’d sleep.”

“And he didn’t accept my help,” Howard muttered just loud enough for Steve to hear, making the Captain flush.

“Okay, here it goes,” Steve breathed, unfolding the paper and trying not to let how nervous he was shown. His hands were already starting to shake and he was afraid sweat would ruin the ink.

Peggy’s hand gently closed around his wrist and offered him a comforting smile. “It’s okay, darling. Just us. Not a whole platoon of guys to play Star-Spangled Man With A Plan.”

If he wasn’t blushing then, he was now.

“Peggy, I…” Steve looked down at the paper and back up at her. He could hear Jarvis’s voice in the back of his head telling him that when he got up there, he’d know what to say. Fumbling or not.

“Peggy, I love you. I’ve loved you ever since I first laid eyes on you and I didn’t know it. I didn’t know what the color of your lips was or the color of your eyes or your hair or even your uniform. I didn’t know the true sound of your voice or the smell of the roses on your skin. I didn’t know much then - hell I don’t know much now -”

A few people laughed and Steve lowered the paper, looking dead into his wife-to-be eyes.

“I didn’t know much then. I just knew you were hell on high heels and damn anyone who got in your path. When you first knocked out Hodge, I felt my breath taken away. When you ran for the grenade too, I wanted my last sight to be of you, swore I was goin’ blow myself up to a million pieces. Our first conversation in that car might’ve been one of our lasts and I was glad it was with you, someone who understood me. Understood what it was like to be discriminated against because we’re us… Because I was sickly and small and you were a woman, a girl, a-”

“You still don’t know how to talk to women, do you?” Peggy asked, blinking the tears from her eyes and making Steve give a wet laugh.

“I”m afraid not, how I managed to get you to fall in love with me is a wonder. The point is, Pegs, I love you, from the bottom of my heart. All through the war, we talked about what we wanted after. I insisted on a white-picket fence, a house in some neighborhood, that we’d build the perfect life together and well...you saw where that lead us. Me to a watery grave and you punching me out when I showed up at that bar. Even if I was late for our dance.

I just...I love you. Life has taken us on insane turns from clearing our friend’s name to-to living in LA for a few months. To...to here. To me finally getting the guts to purpose to you. Or more like catching my breath. I need you in my life and I’m lucky to have you. I’m more than happy to sit on the sidelines and let you work, to raise our kids or tend to a home, to do anything you ask. I’m more than happy to just be yours. I just...I need to be yours like I need to breathe. You are my life, Peggy Carter, and I’ll have no other but you. I’m lucky to be your husband, to be by your side through it all.”

Peggy didn’t bother to hide the few tears running down her face, thankful Angie had fixed her makeup just right to prevent the tear streaks from showing. She cleared her face off with the handkerchief Rose had given her and sniffled.

“Sap,” she laughed, shaking her head. “I stayed up late last night but not writing these vows. I...told myself I knew what I was going to say when I got up here, but I’m mistaken. I can only say I love you, Steve Rogers. You are my life. My soul. When I was young, I insisted I wouldn’t marry. I insisted my life was to slay dragons, rescue knights, be a pirate. To be anything but the lady my mother wanted me to be.

I insisted I knew what I wanted for myself. That I-I wanted to be a codebreaker and I was good at it. I-”

“And saved our lives with it,” Howard said, causing them to laugh.

“Yes, Howard, thank you. I am good at it. I’m great at it. I insisted that’s all I could do to help the war effort, to maybe consider becoming a nurse but my mother and Fred forbidden it. I insisted I loved Fred because my mother did. I insisted that I could do some good by staying home, being the good wife, and keeping my head down. I insisted on a lot of things but for myself…

It took Micheal’s death for me to see there was more for me out there. The SSR was life-changing for me. Getting to serve under Colonel Phillips’ here, getting to meet you, even if you were...different.”

“It’s okay, call him a shrimp like I did,” Phillips interjected, making Peggy give a wet chuckle. “Kid got that sandwich after all.”

He swore the man smiled at him - even if Steve wouldn’t admit it.

“You were different. You stood out from the rest and it was because of your good heart. Yes the grenade incident, but you helped the nurses around the base. You helped collect herbs for them when we ran out of pain killers, you remembered decades-old healing practices that your mother taught you. You gave some of the guys, even if they were bastards to you, advice on how to fix their broken shoelaces or how to even hide the knives better in their clothes. You were kind and sweet-hearted and I wanted you from the start.

Even after your serum, you didn’t change. You saved that kid. You saved me, even if I was quite upset about it.”

“You did yell at me a lot for pushing you out of the way,” Steve interrupted, remembering that chaotic day.

“You were running with no shoes on and shoved me out of the way of an oncoming car. I had to yell about something.” She smoothed down his suit and sighed, shaking the veil. “Even after that, Steve, I...I love you. I loved you from the start. During the war, that love only grew. I thought we hid it well.”

“No,” Bucky snorted. “No, you two did not. Everyone knew.”

“Yes, thank you, James,” Peggy huffed, giving her friend a roll of her eyes. “That love for you grew and I’m only sorry we didn’t act sooner, that we didn’t kiss more or-or risk it to just touch each other in blatant public when we needed the comfort because it was a war. I am sorry that it took this long to get here - but we’re here. Look at us. We’re here, sweetheart. We’re getting married after all in a setting of our choice, with our friends and family. It’s worth the wait.”

“You’re always worth the wait,” Steve whispered, swallowing the lump in his throat.

“I love you,” Peggy whispered, squeezing his hands. “I loved you then, to now, and forevermore. I’ll never stop loving you, no part of my soul will be complete without you. You are my light, Steven Grant Rogers, as I am your compass, your true star north. You are my light and I want nothing more from you than a life that we paved together.”

There was no dry eye around them, even the grisled Colonel was sniffing slightly and wiping at his eyes. He squeezed the book in his hand and gave the couple a warm smile. “Aren’t you two kids sweet? Why don’t we wrap this up so you two can kiss like how you did in the supply closets?”

Steve felt his ears burn, turning back to Peggy and holding her hands. He wasn’t sure how he survived the rest of the ceremony. Of Bucky bringing the rings to them, his ma’s old ring that Howard had cleaned up and engraved with their wedding date on it. Peggy’s father’s wedding band.

He wasn’t sure how he barely got the words I do our before Peggy was jumping on him to kiss him and Steve’s arms found a way around her frame to pick her up and kiss the life out of her.

The wedding they dreamed of and feared that they never had.

A life yet to come with many memories down the road.

[tsunonotarou]

Being Childhood Friends to Lovers with...

notes — Bro I fucking THIRST for this man he can rip me open

— Also I think I’m gonna start this series called “Being Childhood Friends to Lovers with...” because childhood friends to lovers shit is my kind of shit

— We’re debuting this series with Leona 🥳

BEING CHILDHOOD FRIENDS TO LOVERS WITH...

LEONA KINGSCHOLAR

— AS A CHILD

He cherishes you a lot even though he might not show it

You’re the first ever person who acknowledges him, first ever person who approached him first and talked to the second son

He thought you were strange at first, because why would you talk to a mere second born when the first is right here with you? So he distances himself and avoided you at first, thinking you have ulterior motives

You got the signs and didn’t pester him after that—which he is glad for—but he find himself secretly looking at you or purposely look for you in the castle whenever you come visit (let’s say you’re a royalty too and your parents’ are good friends)

It was when he saw you sulking and pouting by yourself, he felt bad and maybe, you just wanted to be friends

The servants always prepared your favorite sweets when you come visit but you didn’t want any after realizing that he’s ignoring you

So he took some, went to look for you and threw them at you

“H-Huh?—“ you got startled and quickly looked up, seeing his neutral expression on and looking down on you

“So, your parents bought you that whatever thing you want, and then what?”

The way he remembers your one-sided conversation with him before honestly made you tear up, you didn’t think he was listening

From then on, you were also excited to visit the king’s castle because you get to see him, and you made sure to bring various of things over for him and you to play

There was one time he accidentally overheard some servants of yours “advising” you to stop hanging around with Leona Kingscholar, saying how he isn’t worth your time and shouldn’t be influenced by him

Though he was sure of your loyalty and friendship with him, he still has his doubts, maybe, you secretly dislike him too

He waited for your response, your silence only made him more anxious as time pass by

“...Hey.” He bit the inside of his cheek, awaiting for your answer

“I’m gonna ask my parents to fire you all.”

His eyes were wide as ever, and so were the servants’

“B-But please, Princess/Prince Y/N-“

“I will not tolerate anyone who badmouths my friend, moreover, who do you guys think you are? Telling me who I should be friends with now?”

As much as Leona tries to stop it, his eyes watered, lips quivering at your words

He never told you how he eavesdropped your conversation with those servants, because eventually it’ll lead to how he reacted, and he’s never going to tell you he almost cried

He taught you how to roar once, got super red when he himself haven’t even mastered it yet

Glares at your form rolling on the floor laughing

— AS TEENAGERS

He is two years older than you, so he got enrolled into Night Raven College first, during the times he was at the dorm you were bored to death

One of the main reasons (probably the only reason) why he’d go back home during breaks is because of you, he could care less about the grand welcome back party—which he was sure the servants were forced to put up—and the fake smiles from relatives, but he had to see you

Is always prepared for the uncalled tackle hug from you but somehow you always manage to knock him off balance, causing the two of you to fall down onto the sandy ground

You rambled and rambled, he listened but solely focused on how your features changed, you definitely grew up, got more attractive, too

Oh fuck

He mentally cursed when he finally realizes how his heart is beating in an unusual pace, feeling his cheeks warm up and how he felt like melting right there and then

Buried his feelings deep down because of his insecurities and acted as normal as he could with you after

You have never seen him panicked so much, got so angry and frustrated before, it happened once, when the topic of arranging a marriage for you and his older brother, Farena, was mentioned

He strongly opposes the idea but reminding him that he is only a second son, hence have no say in this matter was enough to shut him down

You tried to go after Leona who stormed to his room but decided you have more important matters at hand, matters that you need to clarify first

Politely declining the marriage and telling how Farena is a good person, but you have eyes for someone else

Everyone in the room (which consisted of both your parents and Farena) knew who you were talking about, and they were shocked, to say the least

You can clearly see the discomfort in yours and his’ parents faces, but you also can clearly see Farena’s secret wink towards you, telling you he approves

You and Farena never had any romantic feelings for each other anyway, and he was always teasing about you and Leona when you two were little

Knocking on Leona’s room softly then creaking it open, you peek your head inside to see him lying on the bed on his side with his back facing you

“Leona.”

“Leona?”

“Leooona.”

“Leeeeeeonaaaaaa.”

“LEONA WAKE THE FUCK UP.”

“FUCK-“

He winces and jolted up after you slapped his arm

Snaps and growls at you, rubbing the spot where you attacked earlier

He was all grumpy and upset until you tell him you rejected the marriage

Stares at you for a good ten seconds before sighing, slowly resting his forehead on your shoulder and wrapping his arms around you

You two have had naps together, held hands when you were little but have never been this physically close after you two grew up, you two are the best of friends but there are boundaries as friends, so this was new to you, naturally, your cheeks bursted in all shades of red

“I’m glad...” you can hear him mumble, placing a hand on his soft hair and patting it before give it a stroke, calming him down

— AS STUDENTS IN NIGHT RAVEN COLLEGE

You teases him so fucking much about being a dorm leader, like- how??? He’s just so lazy and unmotivated to do anything that you’re impressed

Surprisingly takes very good care of you both as a friend and a senior, it was surprising for the Savanaclaw dorm members to see Leona actually giving fucks about someone, a freshman no less, so they got interested in you very quickly

Which resulted in Leona scaring them away because they’re too close for his liking

He always suggests you to take naps and laze around with him though, so it’s no good since you have to get good grades

You’re the one who’s always dragging him to classes (if you’re lucky to get him to move)

You two never bothered to tell anyone that you’re childhood friends, it didn’t seem to have the need to

So everyone thought you two were dating because of how close you are 💀

Definitely got jealous at how you made new friends

He doesn’t mind if you have new friends, it’s natural, it’s only concerning if you don’t have any

But if you’re spending more time with them than with him? Best know that he’d trap you in his room and never let you go out

This won’t stop until you figure out why he’s like this and promise him he’ll stay as number one in your friendship list

You really shouldn’t be but you’re still laughing at how he’s repeating school years to this day

But you’re also kind of glad that he’s still here with you, it’d be boring if he weren’t

Plus, Leona wouldn’t leave you here alone anyway, there’s too many people he can’t trust and he just generally don’t wanna leave you alone

The confession was surprisingly normal and quick, no stutters or nervous twiddles of fingers from him

He kinda just, got tired of you being so physically close and attached to everyone else that he want to call you his and his only

He’s the type that’d suddenly pin you down on his bed while you’re talking about what you and your other friends did that day

Enjoys the deep blush and lip quiver on you as he finally confesses his feelings for you, leaning down onto your ear and whisper huskily about-

His arms quickly wrapped around his stomach and coughs as your strong kick jerked him back, he ended up kneeling on his bed, hunched over as he groans

He thought he invaded your privacy and made you uncomfortable so he quickly look up to check up on you, afraid of the terrified and disgusted look on your face, but what greeted him was a hot, hot face as you refuse to look him in the eye

He stared, and stared, a small blush slowly coming up to his own cheeks before a pillow was thrown at his face

Seeing you so flustered reminded him of the past few days when he debated with himself whether he should go for it or not, he might seem smug for now, but before this cocky smirk appeared he was a nervous wreck

So the two of you kinda just stayed like that in his room, freezing on your spot with dead silence

“A-At least give me an answer...damn it.” A miracle that he stuttered

He watches as you fiddled with your finger, looking down with mumbles he couldn’t make words out from

“I...I like you too.”

This is so lame, you two are like middle school kids confessing your love for each other and yet, those simple words made his heart flip like crazy

Now that he’s confirmed your answer, prepare for a wild but sweet kiss from him

— AS LOVERS

It was a little bumpy at first, mostly from you though, because you’re just so used to being “just friends” with him that you don’t know how to act as his lover

He didn’t change much, maybe a little bit sweeter and considerate than before but he’s just the old Leona you know, which you’re glad for, you didn’t want him to change

He’s more protective now since you’re finally his, and he made sure to let everyone know that

Doesn’t really have a say on PDA, he’s fine with or without it, but he would definitely shove his tongue into your mouth right on the spot if someone even dare to look at you in the wrong way

Really likes wrapping an arm around your waist and put his whole weight on you because he’s lazy and tired of walking

Will actually fall on you when you’re in the botanical garden so that you couldn’t get up and is forced to take a nap with him

Play with his hair!! He loves it to death, though he might grumble and say he doesn’t, we all know he’s lying

You have to reassure him that he’ll always be your number one, he’s already suffered enough, if you end up leaving him he doesn’t know how to cope with it

Cuddles, cuddles and cuddles 24/7, he will not let you go

He sometimes just stares at you as you talk or do your own thing and think about how lucky he is to have you, it might not seem possible but literal hearts appeared in his eyes

If you ever catch him staring at you and tease him for it he’ll growl and pounce on you, how dare you make fun of your king like that? Prepare for a punishment my friend ;)

[chemicalpink]

Trust Fund Baby ♡ Kim Seokjin

Pairing: Kim Seokjin x reader

Genre: Fluff + Softcore Smut with a side of Comedy

Word Count: 6.1k

Warnings: includes softcore porn, mc cries during sex bc too much feelings, fake engagement, Jin’s mum dislikes YN

Summary: Kim Seokjin is the biggest Trust Fund Baby, it is no secret but he’s almost thirty and on the line to inherit his dad’s CEO position, which makes his family set a deadline for his engagement or he loses it all.

OR

The one where Seokjin is no good with buried feelings but Y/N isn’t any better (they kinda hate each other and they have to share a bed okay, thats the cliche here)

A/N: banner made by me, whoa I finally got this bad boy finished that took quite some time, well, I hope you enjoy, these past few days haven’t been nice to me but I’m slowly working on it. Much blessing to all of you reading this first attempt at a slightly longer shot.

Seokjin has always been one to enjoy the finest things in life, traveling around the world at any given time? check. shopping without checking the price tag? check. attending a top tier university? also check. 

The thing is, one can only live so long without having to actually work for every single swipe of a black card. He is about to turn 28, youngest child of the most successful tech innovator in Korea and a former second-place Miss Universe, and he has yet to bring a girl home that provides him with some kind of secured future to the family name.

“We are not getting any younger” his mother had said the first few times the topic was brought up during their usual family Sunday brunch, but the words fell on deaf ears.

When his dad started getting involved in the matter, Seokjin knew he was over and done with.

But as much as his dad was headstrong, Jin was one himself too, he entered each blind date knowing that he would make whoever was sitting across from him, absolutely despise him after less than an hour went by, which was quite a hard task in itself, seen as he was pretty good looking and with a heavy amount of money under his name. 

See, he would have probably agreed to marry to some of the girls that his dad sent his way, but every time he sat down for dinner with each of them, they were not even trying to fake being interested in him, just his lifestyle, whether it is if his dad was about to name him CEO any time soon or how much money they could blow off in the wedding.

He could do it for the rest of his living days, scaring off his father’s candidates, that is. It was somewhat fun, earning a weirded out look when he mentioned he liked bathing in goats milk religiously, or how he allegedly liked being put to sleep like a baby, he even once went as far as admitting a fake toe kink in the most perverted way possible when one of them just wouldn’t budge.

Then again, his fun could only last so long, as his father called him up to the office to give him a 30-day ultimatum or his trust fund would be taken away for good. Now that had the gears in his head working, how on earth would any sane enough person agree to marry in a month-long time.

“I’m not saying you’re not a keeper, hyung but I honestly don’t think I can take up such a responsibility,” Namjoon laughed as they sat in one of the campus’ lounge chairs while they waited for their class to start, the elder groaned in response.

“Could you imagine having to marry THE Kim Seokjn in less than a month, but also having to meet the standards of tech genius Mr Kim and universal beauty Mrs Kim” Jungkook laughed at his friend as he patted his shoulder in pity “I don’t think anyone is willing to put themselves through it hyung”

“Could you just- I don’t know, help me out a bit? I already know I’m fucked” 

“Okay, let’s say… who could pass the scrutinising judgemental eye of the Kims?” the blond one offered, just a bit of teasing in his tone “They would have to be a girl, your father seems adamant on that one” he paused as if in thought “ A nice family name would help too”

“She would have to be good looking too, my mum says Seokjin-hyung’s mum can never be seen without looking like she is about to own a runway” 

“Well that’s about it, I will be broke for the rest of my life, I won’t be able to pay my student loans, it was nice knowing you guys, I’ll just have to work at some greasy old diner to pay for a one-bedroom apartment somewhere out of the city and we’ll never hang out again because I’ll be a disgrace of society, this handsome face will just wrinkle and spot without the high maintenance and- ugh” he buried his face in between his hands, resting on the table in an overexaggerated manner after his rant, making the youngers try to stifle a laugh

“Whoa, what is the drama queen crying about now?” Taehyung, another friend of theirs approached the table after hearing the not so subtle commotion “Hyung, if your night cream went out of stock again, you know I can get my mum to ship some to you, we’ve talked about this”

If Seokjin’s dramatic outburst from before had made them laugh, Taehyungs’ confession made them burst in a fit of laughter that had both of them holding onto their sides “You’ve- you’ve had to restock Seokjin-hyung on- on night cream before?” 

“And now he’s going to kill me, stop laughing!” he took a seat next to them “What is this about anyway?”

“His dad said he has to marry or they will completely obliterate his spending rights” 

“Oh but, how hard can it be? You’re Kim Seokjin, just ask a girl to fake marry you” 

“He’s just worried that after having a taste of Worldwide Handsome, they won’t let go ” Seokjin let out an overdramatic groan at that, continuing to fake cry, sound muffled by his arms

“Then just ask someone that doesn’t give two shits about your money or reputation to fake marry you”

“I don’t think such a person exists, hyung”

“Yah, Y/N is a good option, her family is filthy rich too” 

“But isn’t Y/N… you know, a bastard child?” Taehyung was known amongst their scene as a social butterfly, not caring about the protocol they were subdued into when they were children, so it made sense that while for them it was almost a rule to never consider an illegitimate child a friend of theirs, Taehyung would just jump over that fact.

“Which is exactly my point, if you show up to your parents’ house, saying you’re ‘oh so in love with this black sheep’ I could bet my life, they’ll let you off the hook”

 So maybe Taehyung was right, you were his best shot so far. Contrary to what most people new to the scene of Korea’s high society believe about your social status as an illegitimate child of the car emporium’s CEO and national treasure, he knows you are more of an insider, having grown up with him but… pretty much on the side. It wasn’t like you were alien to his lifestyle, but as you both grew up and he was involved more in the family business, you had grown apart, going as far as rebelling against your father once you were grown up enough to understand what being a bastard child meant for you. 

He never stopped seeing you around though, once you started going MIA on business dinners and family trips, he thought enough to see you during classes.

However, you stopped being recognisable after he attended a semester abroad, coming back home to see pigtails and pink puffy dresses long gone, in their place, ripped jeans, which were completely unacceptable for a lady, according to his mum, and driving one of your dad’s self-proclaimed archnemesis designs. 

It was a spring semester in high school, he could recall the time as if it were a precious memory, while the rest tried to pretend it had never happened in the first place; at age 27 he doesn’t have to try so hard to recall the way you burst into one of your father’s celebratory cocktails, drunk off your ass, barely managing to get a hold of some mic and screaming into it how he, and everyone else attending the party, had a stick up their asses that didn’t let them see anything but price tags before you were dragged off stage by security. He had giggled at it but his mother had scolded him, asking him to pretend as if you had never existed in the first place.

So of course, the secure way out of an arranged marriage was simple: you. 

Now, this promised to be no easy task, he knew you hated his family almost as much as you hated your own father, but he also happened to know his way into negotiating an infallible plan that would get you to rebel against the system you were so adamant on taking down. 

“Wait wait wait, so you’re telling me, asking me, to marry you” so perhaps approaching you on your way to class wasn’t the smartest way to do it, seen as you halted your hasty walk to turn to look at him, books in hand and looking like you hadn’t slept in days.

“Yeah, fake marrying me though” 

“I would still sign a contract, Jin you do know we would be legally married, right?” he just raised his shoulders as if to dismiss your statement.

“Say, hypothetically I do it, I don’t think your parents would approve of me” you resumed your walk and he found it appropriate to play dumb with a smile on his face.

“Why wouldn’t they?” 

You stopped walking again and blinked a few times his way as if debating inside your head if he really was that dense“Jin… I’m a bastard child, you know how it goes around here”

“Hmmm I’m willing to look past that, yeah” you stared at him for a few seconds before smiling in a knowing way, resisting the urge to roll your eyes at him,  not being able to see past his words to his true intentions on the matter since you two hadn’t really hung out for years “So what do you say?”

“No thank you” you weren’t about to turn around once you started to walk away once again, but out of the corner of your eyes you could see him hanging his mouth open in that drama fashion he was known for.

Days passed and each one seemed to go by faster than the last, by the time two weeks were left, he could practically hear the ticking clock inside his head, reminding him that maybe he should have gone for an easier target, perhaps some girl from the country club that seemed to always try so hard to steal a glance from him. But then again, he wouldn’t get rid of her for all he’s worth.

Seokjin tries, again and again, everytime ending up with a no from you, he starts actually trying as his days run low, peer pressure, you’d call it as he set up a huge booth full of roses just outside your dorm building, a mic held in his hand as everyone around him took videos of THE Kim Seokjin making a fool of himself for a girl, your cheeks blazing red as you walked up to him, finally fed up with him as you angrily whispered to him “You’re asking me because you don’t think I am on your level, you honestly think less of me, why? because I didn’t grow up in a golden cradle like you and your friends? because I actually have to work for what I have? You’re an asshole Kim Seokjin, but I will prove you, I can absolutely charm both of your parents, I’ll do it” Seokjin’s grin taking over his features.

The first time you officially posed as Seokjin’s girlfriend, you wouldn’t have thought it would be one of the most nerve wrecking experiences in your life, having grown in a wealthy family, after your mother decided to leave you with your biological dad and his rightful heirs, you were no stranger to their roundabouts, their lifestyle and everything in between.

“Well you cleaned up nicely, Y/N” Seokjin said in a mocking tone, body resting against his black car just outside your dorm building as he watched you close the glass door, ready to drive both of you to his family’s vacation house all the way in Jeju Island

“Why aren’t you a gentleman and help me with my stuff?” you groaned as, once again, your suitcase betrays you and tries to slip away from your grasp.

“Nah, not really my thing” he adjusted his sunglasses perched on his nose as he mockingly added “...darling”

“Kim Seokjin, I am the one doing you a favour by going with you!” you shouted back at him, in a futile attempt to get him to help you as he was already buckling himself up  inside the driver’s seat.

In all wealthy family fashion, as soon as Seokjin phoned back home to let his parents know that he was ‘finally ready to bring his girlfriend over’ his mum had gone all out and invited most of the inner Kim family for a weekend get together in one of their houses in Jeju, with just a text the night before having to leave campus as a heads up for you to get ready, currently on your way to catch a plane. 

“Wait so let me just get this straight” you said, surprised at Seokjin’s story of how the conversation with his mum went down, turning in your seat to face him more clearly “just after month of your parents trying to set you up, you just went ahead and straight up lied to your mother by saying that you’re bringing your long time girlfriend that you just somehow never mentioned before?”

“Yeah, Y/N, didn’t you hear me out the first time?”

You let out something between a laugh and a scoff as you melted into your seat “We’re so screwed”

Two hours and a lot of bickering later, you are still pushing your own suitcase forward as you and Seokjin made your way to a rented car just outside the airport.

“Listen so- these family things are kinda..”

“Stuck up?”

“I was gonna say etiquette-driven, but yeah, stuck up probably fits best” he said as you buckled your seatbelt on, him beginning to drive away and towards his family address, somewhere from the side of your eye you could see his hand trembling lightly on the steering wheel. Could it be that Kim Seokjin was nervous? The Kim Seokjin? 

“Relax Jin, I know exactly how to handle it. We grew up together, remember?” you said smiling at him as he turned your way for a second; to calm him down, but honestly it was more a thing to try and calm yourself down, having ran away from such a lifestyle, stirring things up in your family, only to end up somehow at the center of it all was sure a wild ride to be on.

“Yeah, I sometimes kinda forget you used to be so much better at this stuff than your sisters” his eyes lingered on you a second too long as you stopped at a red light, a small smile taking over his lips and the car behind you being quick to make it known that Seokjin was taking up too long to start the car going again when the light changed.

The ride was pretty much silent and kinda awkward but soon over with as the car pulled up to a familiar villa, white houses with fancy front gardens and over the top luxury cars lining up together as Jin parked on the third house on the right, just beside the one that used to be your father’s, and probably still was.

A woman was waiting by the entrance door, which you soon recognised to be Seokjin’s mum, looking just a tad older than how you remembered her from all those years ago, a bright smile on her face as she rushed to the driver’s side to greet her son.

“Ah Seokjinnie! You never visit anymore, look at you! Are you eating well? You look so thin!” she said as she placed two sonorous kisses on her son, one  on each cheek.

“Yah, eomma, we talk on the phone a lot though” 

“Wait so who’s the lucky lady you’ve brought home?” you stood kind of awkwardly on the front of the car to greet her with a small bow and a faltering smile, your heart speeding up at the memories of what your life used to be, fingers gripping your bag tighter in an attempt to not run away as soon as her eyes landed on you and her smile fell “Y/N? Seokjinnie, is Y/N really the girl you brought home?”

“Surprise?” Jin said from behind her as she not so subtly let out a huff and entered the house as you tried not to notice how your heart sinked at the sight, surely, you had always known deep down that you were quite the talk of the town amongst the families, with you being a bastard child and all, which was exactly why Seokjin had asked you to pretend to be his girlfriend, so his parents would drop the topic, very much preferring to see his son single rather than married to an out of marriage offspring, which not only made you realise that what you had promised yourself to make Seokjin down his words would never be true, you could never in a million years make his parents love you, and you didn’t calculate just how much it would hurt yourself as you tried.

“You can take the room upstairs, I’ll call you when your sister’s back so we can have dinner together” his mother said as she made her way inside without another word

“So I don’t think your mother likes me” you blurted out as soon as you closed the door to the room “Which I guess, goes exactly as you planned, after this I don’t think they’ll be pestering you to marry”

“Y/N that’s the least of our problems”

“What are you talking about?”

His eyes opened up to emphasize along with his hands dramatically pointing towards the bed “There’s only one bed and I have a bad back so I’m not about to sleep on the floor”

“Well that’s the least you could do Kim, I’m not about to share a bed with you”

“Take the couch?” he said as he pointed to a small couch that faced the window 

“Kim Seokjin I’m doing this much for your sorry ass, so unless you want me to go down and tell your mother that all of this is a set up, you take the damn couch”

“Well I never knew you looked that hot while yelling at me, Y/N”

“You’re insufferable” 

“Y/N come on, I don’t fit in that couch” he whined at you as you walked towards the bathroom to freshen up

“Do as you please Seokjin, but you’re not sleeping with me” 

As if dealing with Seokjin’s mum wasn’t enough, his sister was about to burst your head either from all the questioning or out of spite from the looks she was giving you as you sat across from her on the dinner table

“So Y/N, your sisters never mentioned you dating our Seokjin”

“Oh yeah- it was more of a very private matter, we dated for awhile just to see how it went, right Jinnie?” you said the nickname in a honey dripping voice that fitted the fake scenario you had going on

“Ahh yeah, yeah, Y/N and I, we uh- we like keeping to ourselves”

“And I haven’t seen you at your dad’s company dinners after- well, the incident”

“Seung” their oldest brother said sternly, catching up with her intentions “We’re just glad to see you again, Y/N”

“Thanks”

After dinner, Jin and you walked upstairs saying your goodbyes to the rest of his family to enter the bedroom, separately doing your night routines, you lied on one side of the bed as Seokjin prepped a few blankets and pillows in order to lie on the floor “I was just joking, you know? You could sleep on the other side of the bed” you said, feeling somewhat guilty at how he had taken your past statement as a rule

“I don’t want to make you uncomfortable” he was quick to say, already tossing at being uncomfortable lying on the floor.

“Oh so now you’re being considerate?” you scoffed- sure, Seokjin was kind of a dick, most of the time, but he wasn't half as bad as most people his age and social status, but honestly speaking, if he was so preoccupied on making you uncomfortable, he wouldn’t have even proposed to make you go through this whole ordeal “After what I just had to go through with your sister?”

“Well you kind of accepted to come” he retorted in a soft voice, one you hadn’t listened to him use before, as if over the course of the short dinner time, something had changed in your relationship “A friend doing me a favour, you know?”

“Seokjin…” you trailed off, however as far as you two went back, after news broke that you were somewhat cut off from your father’s heirship, and everyone started treating you cold as ever, you would have thought Jin had gotten the clue “We stopped being friends a long time ago”

“What are you talking about” the night was filled with silence apart from your two whispering voices in the dark as both of you laid there

“Yeah after… that time, we hadn’t talked to each other until now” Describing your relationship with Seokjin was one of the most difficult things to do, while you were still part of the official lineage of your father’s, the Kims had actually even rooted for you to marry Seokjin, whomst you were head over heels at the time, both of you were, but Jin being the good son and heir to a tech emporium, had always disliked the way you stood up against your father and the whole elite thing your families had going on; needles to say, you both completely cut off any strings attached after you proclaimed your despise to the whole wealthy ordeal and you were vanished from your dad’s will. 

“I fail to see your point” and for a second you would have loved to believe his soothing voice in the dark, to still be in friendly terms at least, with him, after all this time.

“Nevermind just- goodnight” you said as you turned on your side to cuddle the pillow in between your arms, his soft voice reaching your ears once more and for the last time in the night.

“Goodnight Y/N”

“I’m just going straight to the point here, Y/N what exactly do you plan on achieving by marrying my son?” Jin’s mother said as soon as you came down the stairs, Seokjin having left the room a while back

“Nothing ma’am, we’re just really in love” something inside you twisting at the lie that could have been truth if things were just a tiny bit different than how they were evolving at the time, the words leaving your lips sounding as the mere truth to your ears nonetheless

“I don’t buy that lovebirds facade, Y/N drop the act now” she turned to look directly at you, trying to sound menacing, which, would have worked, had it not been for you handling her for quite some time now, so you just tried your sweetest smile at her “Whatever you and Seokjin had when you were teens, your father and Seokjin’s father called it off”

“I know” you tried to conceal just how much the reminder hurted, the memories flooding into your mind, of you and Jin being engaged even before meeting each other, the good times you both spent together as friends, a few months as something more, then the lonely nights when it was all over and it had seemed like a dream that just wouldn’t ever come true.

“Just so you know, I’m keeping a close eye on you two” were her last words before leaving the kitchen, off to some other place in the house.

“Yes ma’am”

“Hey, Y/N, we’re heading to the beach you coming?” Seokjin asked as he laid his elbow on the counter, you pull him towards you, taking his hand in your smaller one as you watched his mother closing in on you two from the distance before she set her eyes elsewhere

He leaned in to you, whispering “What was that for?”

“Your mother knows something’s up” you shortly answered

“Y/N, I didn’t know you were coming” Seokjin’s father looked just as he did the last time you saw him years ago, his face contorting into an incredule one as he saw you descend from one of the cars that took you to the beach “Are you and your father on a better place now?”

“Oh no sir, I’m accompanying Seokjin” if he hadn’t believed your presence at first, he surely wasn’t believing the words leaving your mouth; Seokjin’s father had always had a soft spot for you, my hardest working tobe daughter-in-law, he had once said, and even after you and Seokjin’s engagement was called off, mainly by your father even when Jin’s mum said otherwise, his dad had offered you a place in his company’s headboard after you graduated, which you politely denied, knowing that someday, Seokjin would be CEO and you would have to work under his name directly.

“Seokjin? my son?” you nodded “What has Seokjin ever done to deserve you as his fiancee?”

“The same thing I keep repeating myself” you mutter more to yourself than for him to hear

“What was that?”

“Oh, nothing!”

The weekend with Jin’s family was as monotonous as you remembered them to be, with family dinner after a day at the beach, plus the constant scrutinising eye of his mother on you two, which made you both hold hands more than the normal amount a real couple should, only to have to spend the night at a lonely bed.

 “Jin, I’m cold” 

“Well you sure aren’t planning on also taking my blanket from me, you’ve taken my bed already” he joked from his made up bed on the floor, which in hindsight, was probably even colder for him than for you

“Jin”

“No can’t do”

“Come cuddle me then” the words had left your mouth before your brain could even complete to process them, the situation all too familiar from years before, like muscle memory, your brain had just dwelled into a common relationship between the two, too easy to slip away from.

“Ohhh you’re already falling for worldwide handsome” he joked, only you knowing the truth his words hid behind them and you felt your face heat up, somehow deciding against backing up.

“Shut up just-” torn between spilling your “new found” feeling for him that were remains from a past love or keeping it the bare minimum “I’m cold”

“Fine, I’ll be there” he paused, and you knew him all too well to know that he was wearing a stuid grin on his face, wondering if by any chance the innocent banter had a deeper meaning for him too as he added “Almost fiancee”

You could hear a shuffling  of blankets and him throwing his pillows on the bed before he literally jumped on it, whole body hovering over yours, his eyes glistening as they bore into yours as he kept his body weight on his extended hands, a familiar twist in your heart at the distance, his lips on yours in the blink of an eye for less than a second before he rolled off to the empty side of the bed

“What was that for?!” you panicked, not loud enough for anyone to hear but him

“I don’t know it felt right”

As you turned to confront him, the air suddenly didn’t feel as cold as before, a warmth enveloping you both that felt like home, like this place and time was exactly where you were supposed to be all along, your hands coming up to caress the side of his face as his larger ones tugged you closer to him effortlessly without breaking eye contact; both of your faces coming closer to each other, noses brushing against each other before your lips found his, an all too familiar setting for the both of you, everything feeling as if both of your lives had been a movie that had been unwillingly paused and someone had pressed play just as you were close like this, feeling as if all those years apart were nothing when together, his hot tongue lapping your lower lip as you granted him entrance, tongues dancing with one another as time seemed to slow down, a gasp escaping your lips as his cold hand found its way into your pajama pants “sorry, is this okay?” he whispered against your lips, to which you agreed, your own hands scurrying under his top to caress his torso, his lips finding your sweet spot under your ear all too easily, as if he had never forgotten about it, his pants straining by each passing second as you felt him grow harder against your thigh, hand going under the covers to palm him over the fabric, which made him exhale a moan in your ear, feeling yourself grow wetter at the display, all too familiar, yet not enough, you lunged yourself over him to straddle his hips, clothed core rubbing against his covered length in a futile attempt to ease the tension “ah- you’re sure about this, Y/N?” he found himself checking in with you before you both lost yourselves to pleasure “a hundred percent, Jin”.

Seokjin was quick to rid you both of your clothing, both of you grimacing at the cold and giggling about it for a second before you resumed your ways with one another, Jin’s tongue working its way down your body until he reached your folds, eating you out like a man starved, his hand finding yours to grip tight as he went down to business, lapping up your juices and working you to your first quieted orgasm of the night with a questionable experience, were you two to have never broken up in the first place; you quick to turn you both over so you were on top and ready to ride his apparently aching length as soon as he disctrated himself by kissing you post-bliss tasting yourself on his tongue, a smirk forming in his features as he reached on the bed side table to roll a condom on himself, your hands teasing him already as you muttered a “Your parents are in the next room” that was soon answered with a cocky “We shouldn’t let them hear then” before you lined him up with your entrance and slided down on him, hands gripping each other’s as you started working a pleasurable deep pace, moans tangling with the other’s, eyes fluttering shut and a lonely tear rolling down you cheek at all the emotions that you had pent up and were slowly releasing by each thrust as you buried your face on his neck, startling Jin  and making you look down on him to check on you as he noticed you crying “Y/N, are you okay?” he muttered sweetly before kissing your lips in the sweetest form, hips stilling as he was buried deep inside you, him tossing you underneath him, angling his hips better and taking over a more passionate pace, plump lips kissing away your falling tears, as if knowing that they were caused by something bigger than the both of you “God you’re so beautiful” he said as his pace became erratic “Come with me please, Y/N” whether his words or the newly found position as he pulled a leg over his shoulder, hitting all the right spots, worked you to your second orgasm, followed by him spilling in the condom, would remain a mystery as he was quick to dispose the used condom and clean both of you as you edged on sleep, his naked torso colliding with your bare back as he cuddled you.

“What are they doing here?” You muttered under your breath as Jin leaned into your frame, your right arm intertwined with his as you both rounded the corner to greet the guests that Jin’s mother had so carefully selected for the engagement party

“What? Who?” his eyes scanned the room rapidly 

“My father and- Seoyun and Junghee” his free hand rested on top of yours in an attempt to let you know he was there for you, having witnessed first hand all the history between you and your family and mentally cursing his mother for playing you so dirty

“Shit”

“Seokjin I can’t keep doing this” you turned to him, eyes panicked and wide on the verge of tears, his mind racing a hundred miles per second in search for the right words that would make you stay, he had already lost you before, and even though things didn’t quite turned out the way he had planned, he wasn’t about to let you slip away again “I can’t face them again, after all they’ve put me through, Seokjin, they took away my dreams just because I wouldn’t pace around like the rest of them,  this is your life, not mine I’m so sorry” you had ran out of his grip and out the door before his brain could even begin to process it, blinking a few too many times before he called out to you 

“Seokjinnie! What’s taking you so long?” his mother had gathered the guests in the garden for the grand entrance of the newly announced engagement, tired of being kept waiting, walking up to him

“I’m so sorry eomma, I’ll- I just- I have to go” in his mind he was already out the door looking for you, had it not been for his mother’s hand on his bicep keeping him on place and turning him to look at her

“Kim Seokjin, we get it. Your father and I will wait until you find a girl to marry, one that suits you well” Seokjin’s mother was sure a woman that could not be fooled, but this one time perhaps it was Jin that had been fooled by himself on letting himself get close to you and fall in love all over again, just the way it happened all those years ago, just the way it was supposed to be

“That’s what you don’t get mum, I’ve already found the one” 

“Y/N? Jinnie, Y/N is not part of our world, you know it” 

“Then I want to be part of hers. I don’t care if you take my trust fund, take everything, I’ll build myself up, just like she did all those years ago and all of us, we all turned our backs on her, I want to be there for her, like it should have been from the start” he would have loved to record the incredulity in his mother’s eyes as she let her arms fall to her sides defeated, the first time Kim Seokjin had fail to complied with his mother was about none other than in an engagement matter.

Truth be told, you couldn't go far, there was no possible way you could just run home all the way from Jeju Island, but somehow seeing your tear stained face as you slumped over an old set of swings that he now recalled, you two used to go to back in the day, had his heart filling up, butterflies roaming his tummy

“...Jin” you exhaled his name, his mind quickly recalling the night before, how your eyes spilled love all over, how the past days watching you go on your daily routine alongside him, had him imploding with the purest kind of love

“Y/N? Listen I-” he began, a thousand words tangled in his mind waiting to be released

“I don’t think I made it”

“Made what?”

“Your parents to like me” a smirk appeared in his features as his hand came up to caress the side of your face lovingly

“Well you certainly made me like you” he said, close enough to your lips that you could have sworn both of your breaths mixed into one

“I don’t think you ever stopped liking me” a mirroring grin traced your lips before you leaned in to kiss him, whatever the path you two were once destined to walk, it was all different now, whatever turns it may take the only sure thing was that you two would walk it down together after all those years apart. 

Plus, technically speaking, Jin’s trust fund should remain intact since he found a wife in less than a month’s time, and you could always ask his dad for that place in the company he was always talking about.

[zuffer-weird-girl]

Maybe reader is a Princess/ Royal for pirate Overhaul??? Haha just my suggestion tho 😅😅����

"Damn disgusting pirates!" You heard a noble of the castle cursing out loud, his wig almost dropping from his head as you muffled your chuckles the best you could with your gloved hand "They think EVERYTHING IS THEIR PRIORITY!"

You shaked your head and closed your book, putting on a basket before retreading to your room.

Putting on the simplest dresses you could find along with a worn out green overcoat with a hood, you sneaked out of the castle just when the knights were going out with the horses to that check up on the kingdoom.

Walking on the city, you waved at the people with a warm smile, occasionally stopping on mini shops to buy some fruits or breads and giving to the people whose seemed to need a cheer up.

Many villagers recognized you as the princess... yet, for the sake of you and them, they never alerted any guards since that one time you were a kid when it happened a catastrophe, the whole kingdoom thinking you were kidnapped by some bad people, or worst, a pirate.

It was starting to show the sunset and you smile, picking up your pace to go to the port, seeing a lot of fishermen and sailors ... working and having fun on the shore of the beach while you were looking for a trace of the ship as black as night...

You felt a hand poking your shoulder from behind before you yelped, tripping and almost falling into the water if it wasn't the same hand grabbing you and pulling you back to a broad chest.

"Good evening your highness." The voice you came love spoke as you smiled in the chest, pulling away from his warm and seing nonchantly golden eyes staring down at you, a kinda of mask covering half of his face. His usual coat he wore while traveling not seen along with his sword.

"Good evening to yourself, Captain." He took of his hat and you could see hint of love and how much he actually missed you during those dreadfull months, almost a entirely year, he has been out on the cruel and cold waves of the sea.

"I brought this." You took the book from your the basket and handed it to him as he lifted one of his eyebrows.

"You actually read it this time dear princess?" He asked in sarcasm while grabbing the book back with a chuff.

"It was the only thing that kept me sane and reminded me of you during our time apart..." you sighed as he furrowed his eyebrows.

"... I was thinking about something." His boots echoed along at each steps he take on the port and reaching the sand as you walked by his side, relief on your brain at seing no man or woman recognized Kai. Or as know as the most cruel and dangerous pirate on all seven seas, Captain Overhaul. The man who lead the trope of the Shie hassaikai and caused terror around the areas he has been.

"What it might be..?" You giggled, pulling your hood down when the orange of the sky slowed change for the usual dark shiny blue of the night.

"Pirates are known to be selfish, steal things for only themselfs..." he brushed some branches and sipos of the forest so that you two come in to show you the ship, his crew burst out laughing and drinking until they fell ... literally in the case of Rappa ... the guy really fell on the sand.

"You plan to steal more of my kingdoom?" You furrowed your eyebrows at him as he shook his head.

"I can have all the gold and treasure in this world. But not even the fountain of youth would get me the truly thing I want." He looked at the distance as you furrowed your eyebrows, seing tbat he was messing inside his clothing to take off a necklace, the emblem of his trope...the emblem of the piracy of the Shie Hassaikai and gracefully on your neck, brushing his thumb on your cheek when the necklace was settled.

"I heard rumors. Of you marrying a prince of other land." You widened your eyes at that, not even you knew about this, and your heart throbbed...

Your feelings, your love, your heart already were taken by someone... the man in front of you stole it.

"B-But.. my father never-"

"He didn't mentioned because he didn't wanted you to make a fuss.... I just wanted to give you this.. to remind you, of who truly has something for you." He oicked your chin up and raised to plant a last and passionate kiss, his heart clenching and skin contracting at the tears forming and dropping form your eyes to his skin.

He parted and sighed shakily, giving one last pat on your head as he mouthed for you to go, before he changed his mind and took you all to himself..

Watching you leave wasn't easy... a part of himself seemed to leave him at that moment where he saw your crying self run back to your castle as he almost dragged his corpse to his ship... only his childhood friend noticing the sorrow and emptiness look on his eyes as he locked himself on his office.

"Cant actually believes you're going to give up that princess for a shitty noble." He entered without knocking as Chisaki growled for him to get out. "No dude, seriously. You loved that woman ever since you met her, heck and the feeling is mutual!"

"You dont say." He sighed in annoyance.

"Chisaki ... she saved you from the gallows. From the fucking gallows, do you know how many pirates have escaped that mess of rope or worse?"

"And in consequence that messed up king locked her in the castle for two years." He sighed "She is better off without this mess."

"Whatever you say." He sighed waving at his captain "Just saying... that if you love her, you shouldn't left her to suffer on a unwanted marriage."

The words of the white haired man echoed on his head the whole night....

(A/n): I will let you guys decision if I continue this or not ;)

[writingjoycebyers]

Hi, would you please write an imagine of Joyce and El having a little fight . El is blaming herself for Hop's death and Joyce is trying to convince her it's not her fault but they end up kinda fighting. Also, could you please include this quote in your imagine "you're not my real mother!" . I'd like if it ends in a hug or something fluffy lol thank you

The fight - Joyce x El

"You don't like the soup?", Joyce asked with concern as she caught El staring at her plate instead of eating.

Will was shoveling bread into his mouth peacefully, nose stuck in a book right beside his plate. Another growth spurt had caught him lately, and he had grown much taller than Joyce and El now, equalled by him eating twice as much as the women in his household.

"She's angry at that boy from school.", he whispered as El didn't give an answer.

"But, baby, what boy?", Joyce inquired walking around the kitchen. She had seen it coming, sooner or later, new life, new school, new boy.

El gave her an angry stare.

"There's this popular boy at our school. He asked her out on a date. She said... yes. He then went to his friends to laugh about her, it was a bet who'd get the new girl out on a date first.

Joyce's face dropped. She didn't want El to get hurt by a guy, not ever - but she was a woman too, had been a girl and she knew she couldn't be fully protected from this. She thought of Lonnie for a second.

"El...", Joyce said softly as she approached the girl sitting at her kitchen table. Her brown hair ended around her shoulder and she was wearing a brand new sweater Joyce had gotten her for the start of the school year.

"No, Joyce. Leave me alone.", El snapped as Joyce's hand touched her shoulder. Joyce flinched at the sound of her name. El had just recently started calling her Mum. Will looked up from his book for the first time

"And I didn't know this was your story to tell.", she beamed at him with anger and then rushed off to her room. The door slammed shut - powerful, even without the use of powers.

"Should I...?", Will tried, but Joyce shook her head. "Nah, I'll go."

Joyce went back to the kitchen to grab her smokes and went outside. She slowly puffed away on a Camel, which always reminded her of Hop, and tried to give herself and El some time to calm down.

She went back inside, grabbed a pack of chocolates and started to enter the dangerous territory, knocking on the teenager's door, slowly entering it.

El was on the bed, face to the wall, quickly wiping away some tears as Joyce sat down at the foot end.

"It's okay to be sad.", she softly said, gently stroking El's leg next to her. "And upset. Boys can be pigs, you know."

"I know."

"What about Mike anyways? Why did you even want to go on that date?"

"Just because. This Tom guy.. He's... he looks good and he's cool. He's got a leather jacket and friends.", El explained. "And Max said that if Mike stands me up for our phone calls because he's out with Dustin and Lucas, then I should show him what he'd lose.", El added in a sound of clear rationality, as if she was reading a handbook to something aloud.

Joyce chuckled. She knew those feelings oh so well, she had been that girl and she knew it was dangerous... jealousy, coolness, those bad boys... but she understood it was tempting too. She didn't want to judge her.

"Oh, I know just how you feel. I've been like you once. Been 15 and had crushes.", she added, munching a chocolate and handing one to El.

"How would you know? You've only been with that Ronnie guy, at least that's what Hop said, and he said that guy was mean anyway."

Joyce looked shocked. She had never thought that Hop had told El anything about her former love life. She decided not to correct her or tell anything more about... Lonnie, for now. She had been older and much less innocent with everything that had happened with him. She'd have to find out what Hop had told her some other time.

"Yeah, but still I know how you feel. We're girls, connected, you know.", she just tried, pinching her leg slightly to make her laugh, or at least smile.

"You're not even my real mom, you wouldn't know my feelings.", El blurted out without thinking.

Joyce stopped all movements. Her pulse was racing out of a sudden and tears were welling up behind her eyes. She had tried so hard, so hard to be a mum for her, had tried to convey that everything, every feeling was real and honest and motherly. She had failed. Failed marriage, failed love, failed to save Hopper, failed to make El feel at home.

"I'm sorry.", Joyce said, voice husky as she tried to get up from the bed. El sat up too.

"If Hopper wasn't dead we wouldn't be here, and I wouldn't be dumped by some... leather jacket wearing guy at school. And why is Hopper dead? Cause I'm some girl with powers who comes from a lab experimenting with the upside down, and that's how I have no mother, no father, and the only person that was kind of my dad got killed in... Because of me. If I were normal Hop would be alive... And you could be with him and not that... Could forget that Ronnie guy and I could be in Hawkins with... Mike.", El was yelling now, yelling and crying and not making any sense, but to her all seemed fully logical.

"But...", Joyce said in shock. "You've got a mother... if you want one... me.", she added, nearly shy even in front of a teenager. A teenager that meant the world to her.

"If you wouldn't have been that girl from the lab, than it would have been some other kid, you weren't involved in the situation. If it's anybody's fault.. then... not yours. Maybe mine, maybe the Russians. But not yours.", Joyce closed and left the room. She needed a moment, and a smoke.

Later that night, El's door was closed, music playing from her record player and Joyce decided not to press her with the subject any more. Tomorrow would be a new day, the world would look different and maybe El would see another boy, or call Mike and be a happy girl again. She hoped so. This was a simple problem compared to anything supernatural.

Joyce retreated to her room for the night, switched off the lights and tried to sleep. She lay in the dark for about half an hour and her mind wandered off to Hopper, to what could have been, them — together as a family of four?

Suddenly she heard a knock on her door, and she could hear someone open it softly.

"Will? What's wrong?", Joyce asked immediately.

"No, it's me.", El whispered.

"Oh. You okay?" Joyce asked the kid she'd like to call hers.

"Mum, I can't sleep.", she replied. Joyce smiled to herself. Mum. With those words she knew they were back to good, back to family mode, back to love.

"Com'ere.", Joyce patted the empty side of her bed and opened her arm for El to cuddle up to her in a hug. "Let's gossip about boys."

_____________

Thanks for the ask 😊

I'd defo like to write more mother daughter stuff for Joyce and El so yeah, feel free to ask!

[everybodyscupoftea]

song fic idea!!! grow as we go by ben platt?? w rafe 🥺💜 i fuckin love ur writing dude makes me feel all warm inside n shit

oh first of all, thank you so much, that means a lot :)

secondly, i fucking love ben platt and that song makes me so soft and i kinda am gonna do this but also if you think about it, possible wedding song for the ‘you are the music in me’ verse? idk, let me know what you think

Rafe first suggested Grow as We Go as the song for your first dance, and you were immediately on board. It was so soft and encompassed, you felt, how the two of you had changed together over the course of your relationship. You also liked the amount of emotion Rafe’s eyes held when he listened to it, practically overflowing with love.

Sitting on the floor together, leaning back against your bed, legs out in front of you, you couldn’t help but think back over the years as the lyrics washed over the two of you. Rafe reached down and grabbed your hand with a soft hum, bringing it up to press a soft kiss to the back of it.

You say there’s so much you don’t know / you need to go and find yourself / you say you’d rather be alone / ‘cause you think you won’t find it tied to someone else

Right after graduation, the two of you got job offers. The only problem? In two different states. Rafe went west and you went north, fully intending on making it work. And it did, sort of. He didn’t struggle at all fitting in and making new friends, you were always a little more reserved and no one at your new job was making it easy.

Every time the two of you FaceTimed, Rafe was so open, talking about dinner parties and golfing and how much he loved his new job and his new boss. Meanwhile, you felt you were barely staying afloat. You weren’t sure if he could tell (he could) but you didn’t want to bring him down with your personal shit, so you internalized it.

When he’d ask about your friends, you’d sweep it under the rug, “They’re great, we’re getting dinner tomorrow.” Which was never true. And Rafe was starting to get frustrated, you could tell.

It all came to head one night when you zoned out mid-talk of a fishing trip. Rafe cleared his throat, effectively catching your attention, and you raised your eyebrows at him in confusion. He looked a little annoyed and a little amused, “Thinking about something over there, bud?”

“Hmm, just tired I guess.”

“How are things going for you?” he asked, “don’t want to hog all the conversation.”

“It’s good, I like listening to you talk.”

He narrowed his eyes at you, “Why won’t you just tell me the truth?”

Your thoughts flew to the last phone call you’d had with your mom. She was the only one who had any idea of what you were going through, and her advice was to end it with Rafe.

“Baby, you’re holding on to this boy and he’s changing, you need to change too. You aren’t in college anymore, this isn’t just going to end in four years, this is your future.”

“Rafe is my future,” you told her stubbornly, refusing to accept her advice.

“Is he?”

Her words struck you and echoed as Rafe looked at you, frustrated, waiting on you to come up with something.

“Should we break up?” you mumbled, playing with the carpet, refusing to look at your laptop screen.

It was silent for a few seconds before he whispered, “What?” in such a broken voice that you had to look up. His eyes were watering a little and his fingers were tapping on his jaw, something he only did when he was really anxious.

“Cameron, I’m just dragging you down here. You’re flourishing, you deserve to have a good, new life. I have some shit to figure out before I get to be where you are.”

Oh, who said it’s true / that the growing only happens on your own / they don’t know me and you

“Why can’t I help you figure it out?” he asked, reaching forward at the screen, as if to touch you.

“You’re not here,” you told him, looking back down at your hands.

Rafe didn’t have anything to say to that, you were right, but he wasn’t going to give it up. After a few minutes of silence, you were about to just end the call and the relationship, but Rafe had one last card to play.

Music started to softly play through your laptop speakers as he held his phone up. The song made your chest ache you missed him and his songs so fucking much. Before you could stop it, your eyes welled up with tears, running down your cheeks almost immediately.

“Sweetheart,” he started, speaking over the music, “I may not be there in person, but I’m always there for you.”

You won’t be the only one / I am unfinished, I’ve got so much left to learn / I don’t know how this river runs / but I’d like company through every twist and turn

Rafe had a weird relationship with his siblings, especially Sarah. There was a weird competitive dynamic that came from her being the blatant favorite all his life. The two of you had talked through it, for the most part, and Rafe was content to have an estranged friendship with her forever.

And then one evening, she showed up at the two of you’s apartment door, holding two suitcases with tear stains on her cheeks. Rafe had gone to answer the door because you were making dinner and you heard him say, “What are you doing here?” in the most passive aggressive tone he’d used in a while.

Wiping your hands off, you walked to the door to see who was standing there, just in time to hear her tell him, “Dad tried to set up some arranged marriage bullshit and I told him no, so he threw me out of the company.”

Rafe’s mouth was hanging wide open. You weren’t entirely sure how she’d gotten here, neither of you had ever shared with her or his parents where you were living. Rafe came to the conclusion at the same time you did and he sighed, “Wheezie.”

“Don’t be mad at her, I just didn’t know where to go.”

“Not fucking here,” Rafe told her, preparing to slam the door.

You stepped forward before he could, pressing on his chest to push him backwards, away from the door, “Let’s go to our room and talk about this, yeah?” Before tossing over your shoulder at Sarah, “Come on in, we have a guest bedroom over to the left.”

Rafe was tense, pacing, when you finally made it to your room and shut the door. You sat down on the bed and watched him for a few seconds before finally speaking up, “Talk to me, Cameron.”

“I thought,” he paused, “I thought we could have this distant relationship where we could be friendly but not friends. She’s infringing here, I don’t like it.”

You patted the spot next to you for him to sit, and wrapped an arm around his shoulders when he did, “Well, sometimes shit happens.”

Rafe huffed out a laugh and rested his head on top of yours, “What if I don’t want shit to happen.”

“What’s life without a few mix-ups?” you asked, shrugging.

He groaned, “I’m gonna have to let her stay, aren’t I?”

“It would be nice of you, for at least the short term while she gets back on her feet. I’m sure you know how it feels to be on your dad’s bad side.”

“Can we at least charge her rent?”

You snorted and pinched his bicep, “No, you may not. That’s your sister.”

“You’re going to regret that down the line, bud, when we’ve got a freeloader that we can’t get rid of.”

“Right, we’ll come back to this in a few months.”

Rafe put both of his hands on his knees and pushed himself up with a sigh, “Fine, I’ll go let her know she can stay.”

“Proud of you,” you called after him, laughing when his response was to flip you off.

I don’t know who we’ll become / I can promise it’s not written in the stars / but I believe that when it’s done / we’re gonna see that it was better / that we grew up together

Rafe proposed on your seven-year anniversary. You had an idea that it was coming, but you weren’t sure when. Admittedly, you were a little disappointed when it wasn’t during dinner or when the two of you stopped to watch the sunset in an abandoned parking lot.

In fact, he waited until the two of you were back in your apartment. You were both in the bathroom, getting ready for bed, you sitting on the counter facing him, him brushing his teeth and you putting on moisturizer. He was already shirtless and you were wearing one of your old college t-shirts, and both of you were in your most vulnerable states.

Rafe grabbed your foot when you tried to kick him and shook it gently, drawing a laugh out of you. You pinched his side in retaliation and he made a noise, arching out of your grip. After spitting and wiping his face, he grinned up at you, “Such a menace.”

“You love me,” you responded, confidently.

He brushed a strand of hair out of your eyes and smiled down at you softly, “Marry me.”

Your mouth fell open, “What?”

“Marry me. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

“I’m sorry is that a question or a demand?”

He rolled his eyes playfully and poked your side, “It’s a question, sweetheart, will you marry me?”

You gripped his shoulders pulling him closer, “Before I say yes, you couldn’t have asked me earlier tonight?”

Rafe blushed a little, “It never felt right. This feels right.”

And you couldn’t not kiss him for that. Both of you smiled into the kiss and he kept it short, pulling away to grab the ring he’d carefully picked out several months before. You couldn’t help but tear up as he slid it on your finger.

“Perfect,” he whispered, lacing your fingers together. One of his thumbs stroked over the ring band as you wiped your nose with your other hand.

“That was actually pretty soft, Cameron.”

“Only for you,” he told you, pressing a kiss to your cheek before helping you off the counter to go to bed.

You cuddled up to his chest when he flicked the light off and ruffled his hair, “Better be.”

You don’t ever have to leave / if to change is what you need / you can change right next to me

Rafe suggested dance lessons for your wedding. He said, “Babe, we can’t be just spinning in circles, that’s lame.” It reminded him of all the Midsummers he had to attend and that was unpleasant.

And you were on board for that, an actual dance seemed fun. The instructor you found loved your song and was super friendly, helping the two of you put something really personal together. Lessons were fun, but practicing on your own at home was more fun.

Both of you had two left feet and were constantly tripping over each other and stepping on each other’s feet. Several times he had you stand on top of his because, “I know better and at least this way you can’t step on my feet unexpectedly when you’re already on them.”

You shoved his chest, “Don’t be a dick.”

He laughed and kissed you, ending the playful argument.

You can ebb and I can flow / and we’ll take it slow / and grow as we go

It was all worth it in the end.

[hu4ngs]

royalty au for jaehyun??

omg YASSSSSSSSSSS i love jaehyun so much p l e a s e

ok so royalty au huh

okay lets see

so this kinda ended up like a strangers to lovers au because im cliche like that

so jaehyun is quite a famous crown prince

he’s known very well for his peaceful ways of finding solutions to problems other than war

not too mention he’s a strong prince too

and on top of all of that he’s very kind

he’s literally a whole package i would marry him no cap

n e ways

a lot of kingdoms wishes to marry their child to him

jaehyun, too, wishes to be in love and marry too

but he never gets the chance

because most noble families just doesn’t catch his eye

the king and queen respects his decision

because he can even be a single king if he wants too. no pressure at all for mr princey here

jaehyun also believes in soulmates

so, he thinks when the time is right, he will cross paths with his soulmate

and when the time comes, only then will he marry

so anyways

one day, on a particular afternoon, the kingdom of jung was greeted by a sudden visit by your kingdom  — by you

you visited along with your parents with the purpose of proposing

you were the firstborn of your kingdom

you had always dreamt of marrying someone handsome and charming —   much like jaehyun — if only you weren’t so shy

plus, your kingdom had a rule that the ruler must be of a married couple

and your father wants to step down soon, which mean the pressure is on for you

so here you are, you’ve travelled far just to propose

this isn’t how you wanted it to happen

you always imagined it’s the prince that will propose, not you

and yet here you are

so now you’re standing in front of jaehyun’s parents, and jaehyun himself, with your handmaiden next to you along with your offerings to him

but there was silence

your mind actually went blank you don’t know what to do

“your highness” your handmaiden whispered

“huh?”

“say your lines…”

“OH!”

you cleared your throat

you’re so nervous omg you’ve never done this before

“your royal highness, prince jaehyun, i- uh- i stand before you with offerings!”

you were stuttering, your face was red, you’re sweating, you’re all over the place

and jaehyun watched you with amusement

he’s been proposed before, but he’s never seen a proposal as clumsy as this

you rambled on with whatever you had to say, jaehyun wasn’t sure what you were saying either, but you were fun to watch

after you were done, there was silence

your handmaiden was having a secondhand embarrassment

after that long, awful pause that was killing your insides slowly, jaehyun giggled

he shocked his parents, you, and basically everyone that was in the same room

“is this supposed to happen? why is he laughing?”

“i don’t know, your highness”

“did i fail?”

“i’m not sure, your highness”

you glanced at jaehyun, who had a small smile to his face as he stared at you, “you’re funny, princess.”

that was all that he said, before he retreated

and that was it for that day

you were excused

but since you live far away, you were allowed to stay in the kingdom for a few extra days.

that night, you told your mother exactly what happened

and she laughed too

she assured you that you can try again the following day

but you’re not even sure if you want to try again

what’s the use anyways? he had laughed at you

it felt like he spat on your face

you went to bed with that heavy feeling in your heart; failure

the next day you woke up a little later than usual

so there was no one at breakfast except for you

as you were half eating, half admiring the interior design of the palace

you didn’t notice jaehyun had joined in too

he sat at the other end of the table, afraid that if he sat anywhere closer, it would bother you

when you noticed him, your face turned as red as your morning dress

“y-your highness! good morn- uh- hello- um hi?”

he laughed again

his laugh sounded so sweet, though, you kinda felt honoured he thinks you’re an idiot

“you’re very amusing, my dear,” he told you

the nickname shouldn’t have bothered you as much as it did

he was far from you, but you still couldn’t stand looking at him

you’re embarrassed, nervous, anxious, everything

“you woke up late?” he asked

you’re kinda surprised he’s actually bothered to talk to you honestly

you nodded

“you, too?” you asked, you’re glad the funny tone has left you, and you’re not as nervous as you were seconds ago

he shook his head, “no, i just had a bit of a wardrobe malfunction” 

you nodded awkwardly, not knowing what to say

“you don’t propose often, do you?” he suddenly asked

you thought you were over with being embarrassed, but now that he mentioned the event from before again…

you slowly shook your head

“that was my first time” you mumbled, loud enough for jaehyun to hear, though

jaehyun was impressed

“you’re cute, you know that?”

the alarms in your head were going off like crazy

your eyes widened

did he just call me cute

am i cute to him

so did i manage to woo him like what my mum told me to?

after noticing how silent you are

jaehyun decided to leave

he understands you’re probably super flustered anyways

and he kinda feels bad for complimenting you like that

clearly you’re not in the right headspace to accept straightforward compliments like that

later on the same day, you decided to wander off on your own

you didn’t have anything better to do anyways

as you wander off, you came across a music room

you love music

you’re especially skilled in playing a particular chinese instrument, guzheng

you doubted there was one in this music room, though

but to your luck

there was one!!

but it looked a little older compared to the other instruments

not forgetting to be cautious, you look around to see if anyone was nearby

its not that you’re prohibited to play an instrument in the music room or something, you just didn’t want people to watch you because you’ll get nervous

when you’re sure no one’s around you started playing the instrument

you were playing a song that you haven’t practice as much for, thus you were making a few mistakes here and there

but it’s okay, no one’s around anyways

after you were done, you sat there, kinda proud

like, you did that!!

without any musical sheet too

as you were sitting there, giving yourself an imaginary pat on the back

you heard someone walking

“i thought something was weird!”

it was the familiar, sweet voice again

it was jaehyun

you quickly tensed

jaehyun was so close to you

like this super handsome, charming, talented prince is literally next to you

“you played beautifully”

you look away to save yourself

not only is he close to you than he has ever been before, he also appreciated your talent

“i made a lot of mistakes though”

you finally forced something out of your throat

jaehyun hummed in response, he then took a seat next to you

now hes like super close

you could literally feel his body heat now

your heart is genuinely about to burst

it’s not that you’re a virgin to all of this or something

it’s just that jaehyun is super attractive ok

“well yeah, but if you could play as good as that without a music sheet, how well will you do with one?” he asked

you looked at him, and he looked at you

you kinda wanna kiss him ngl but you’re a p r i n c e s s you can’t do this

“you’re really… kind” you finally said

you were genuine

this whole time

jaehyun has been nothing but nice to you

no matter how many times you’ve screwed up

he never stops treating you like a human being rather than a princess and/or soon-to-be queen

and he has never looked down on you, either

you thought that he couldn’t have been bothered to approach you after all that proposing mess, but he proved you wrong

you’re touched, honestly

it’s literally been about a day and a few hours since you met him but you kinda understand why so many kings tries so hard to marry their child off to jaehyun

“when i heard you play from a distance just now…”

he trailed off

you snapped out of your own train of thoughts and gave your attention to him

“it reminded me of my grandmother, she’s… well, she’s no longer with me now, but she used to play this guzheng when i was a boy,”

“i don’t have much memory of her, but i remember her playing this elegantly so clearly”

you’re kinda in daze

like wow did he just opened up to you

jaehyun chuckled

“sorry, i got a little nostalgic there” he laughed

you laughed too, “no worries” you told him

he looked over to you, and smiled

“are you sure you’re ready for marriage, your highness?”

you were taken aback with his sudden question

but then again, jaehyun has been doing nothing but surprise you so far

so you decided to just be honest

you shrugged

“i honestly don’t know, but i don’t mind, either. if i’m being married off to the right person, then all is fine.”

“will you mind if i marry you then?”

you choked on your own saliva lmAo

you’re like WHAT

but you can’t just scream that to his face wtf

“are you serious?”

he nodded confidently

“i’d love to get to know you, you’re a curious one, dear”

you smiled shyly

HE CALLED ME DEAR AGAIN!! IF HE DOES IT AGAIN I’LL GET A HEART ATTACK

“i’m just an idiot.” after a long pause, you finally joked, and he laughed

and there it is again, that laugh that sounds so much like a tune

“it’s refreshing to have a trainwreck around me, you know? every second i’m with you, you never fail to amuse me.”

there it is again, those damned warm, nice and encouraging words that could melt the snow during the cold, cold winter

he called me a train wreck, but it’s okay, i am a train wreck

“so what do you say?” he asked

you paused for a moment

i mean…

prince jaehyun is a whole package

plus he’s so nice to you

having to spend the rest of your life with somebody who treats you humanely and accepts your flaws? that’s a jackpot

“of course i’d marry you! i proposed to you, damn it!” you said, and hit him jokingly

he laughed again

and you laughed too

after a moment of laughter

you two just sat there staring at each other

jaehyun is a charmer, yes

but he’s also just a shy bean deep down

he knew this was an opportunity to kiss you or whatever

but he felt like it was too early for that

so instead, he tucked the few strands of your hair behind your ear

“i have a feeling, that you’ll be an amazing queen, one day,” he said almost quietly, almost like he was whispering

you felt touched by his words

god he’s so sweet i wanna marry this man

“we just met, but it feels like i’ve known you my whole life.” you told him with a smile

he couldn’t help it

he ended up kissing your forehead

you never thought you’d fall in love so quickly

but you did

and you fell for prince jaehyun

and you’re not worried, because jaehyun is worth falling for

[98prilla]

Changing Tides

Previous 

AO3

So. This is the final chapter. If you’ve gotten here, thanks so much for reading it all, and I hope you liked reading it as much as I did writing it. I might dabble more with this universe in the future, but I’m happy with leaving it here for now. That being said, if you have any ideas for a continuation of this, feel free to send them my way, or write them yourself, as long as you tag and credit me! You guys are all awesome.

...

It took them a while to get back, mostly because Roman kept showing him tricks, helping him steer and adjust himself and his fins properly, helping him not overthink it and just move. They ended up playing, more than anything.

 Roman was right. Once he got moving, it was actually pretty fun. Shooting through the water faster than anything, the feel of it parting around him, laughing at the bubble tornado Roman swept him into by swimming around him so fast he was dizzy trying to follow him, the bubbles propelling him towards the surface, Roman laughing at his giggle fit.

 When they finally did swim back into the cave, Virgil was instantly barreled into, surprised to hear… barking? And whiskers tickling his face as a nose nuzzled against his cheek, finally drawing back so he could see the deep, dark eyes of a seal.

 “Patton?” He asked, laughing at his enthusiastic clap of his flippers, barking again as he backed up, allowing Virgil to sit. Virgil smiled, then tackled the seal himself, sending them rolling across the kelp floor, laughing as Patton righted himself in the water, and started chasing him around the cave in retaliation, trying to love tackle him again. Logan yelped, narrowly dodging a collision, Roman laughing as they raced around him, before shooting down into the kelp.

“Well. He certainly seems to be feeling better." Logan commented, smiling fondly himself as he watched the chase.

 “How could he not, when faced with a face full of bouncy seal Patton?”

 Virgil collapsed atop the kelp, out of breath and laughing, Patton nuzzling his face again, laughing more at the tickling whiskers.

 “Ok, ok! I give up!” He laughed, Patton pulling back with a satisfied snort.

 Virgil flipped over onto his stomach, head propped up on a hand as his tail waved lazily in the water. His other rested atop Patton, idly petting his head, liking the smooth, silky soft feel of his skin, a wave of tiredness washing over him. He found himself listing sideways, so he was more half laying atop Patton than sitting next to him. He smiled at Patton’s questioning chirp.

 “just tired. I had… had a bit of a panic attack, when I woke up.” Patton rumbled, worried, and he sighed. “it was more of a flashback. I don’t really wanna talk about it.” He mumbled, pressing his head against Patton’s soft, squishy back. “I got the gist from Roman, kinda. We’re like, transformer buddies. We could come up with, like, anime girl transformation sequences to act out. Oh god, we’d be team rocket, wouldn’t we?” He mumbled, not even sure what he was saying anymore, but smiling at Patton’s amused huff.

 “Virgil?” He rolled over with a small ‘uh huh’, looking up at Roman, Logan hovering beside him. “Are you… alright?” He took a deep breath, it still felt a bid odd, but not in a bad way.

 “Honestly? I have no idea. Roman said you could fill me in, on what exactly happened? What… I am?” He asked, a bit hesitant, not sure if he actually wanted an answer, a bit afraid of what he’d hear.

 “The species is called Merrow…”

 …

 By the end of the explanation, Virgil was shaking, hands fisted so hard his nails were cutting into his palms, filled with too many emotions he couldn’t quite name, tail flicking in agitation. He’d drawn away from Patton, his back resting against the rocky wall of the cave, an angry, hurt noise building in his throat as Logan finished.  

 “Virgil?” Roman asked, softly, a bit worried at the mer’s silence, even more worried as he let out a soft, bitter laugh.

 “Of course. No wonder she didn’t want me. No wonder neither of them did. I reminded Her of being forced into slavery, forced into a marriage into his bed, so of course she wouldn’t love me, couldn’t love me.  I was a memory of the worst thing that had ever happened to her.” Roman’s heart cracked at the hopelessness in his voice, and given Patton’s small whine, he felt the same.

 Patton moved closer, slipping his head under Virgil’s arm, snuggling across his lap. The weight helped Virgil breathe, and he found himself petting Patton absently again, the repeated action helping him focus.

 “Virgil. I am sure she loved you. She just couldn’t deny her nature, once she found her item.” He snorted at Logan’s words, distancing himself mentally already, shutting down against the pain.

 “why would she? Nothing… there’s nothing worth loving about me. I was a horrible, awful mistake made from a horrible awful situation, started by a horrible, awful man. What… what could ever be good about me?” He asked, fingers curled against Patton, as he looked away, looked at the stone, just as weathered and cracked as he felt. “maybe I should have just drowned.” Logan inhaled sharply, and he could feel Roman shaking beside him, at the emptiness to Virgil’s voice, the hollowness in his eyes as he retreated into himself. Patton whined, nudging at his hand, but Virgil just pulled them close his chest, biting his lip.

 “Virgil, no. His actions do not reflect on your worth as a person. There are so many wonderful, good things about you. Your curiosity, your eagerness to learn, your open, accepting nature, despite all the terrible circumstances surrounding your life, you are absolutely brilliant, Virgil. I have never met a more resilient, amazing, being in my entire life. Do you understand me, Virgil? You are not the sum of your parents. You are yourself, and who you are is beautiful.” Logan said fervently, gently shaking Virgil’s shoulders, forcing the boy to look up at his eyes, to see the burning, aching, belief. “Don’t you ever think of yourself like that, Virgil. Don’t you ever…” Logan trailed off, close to tears, shocking both Patton and Roman with his unusual display of emotion, before sweeping Virgil into a tight, soft embrace, shaking at just how much pain filled this small mer. After a moment, Virgil folded against him, letting out a low, keening sob, one that shook Virgil to his core, and had Logan wrapping him tighter in his arms, cradling Virgil’s head, failing to suppress his own tears, because how dare they, how dare they make this incredible, kind, smart, inquisitive child be so afraid of himself and the world, think himself so worthless, that he would consider that level of harm a valid course of action? “you are worth so, so much, Virgil. We… I… already cannot fathom a life without you in it. And you will never, never have to go back to that life as long as you live, go back to that… that monster.”

 “I wanna stay with you and ro and pat. I don’t wanna go back, I just… I wanna be safe…” Virgil gasped.

 “You are. I promise, you are.”

 “c-can I g-go home? W-with Patton? I don’t wanna be in the w-water, anymore. I just w-wanna go h-home."

 “Of course, firefish. You should be fine, to go back on land now. Just don’t take off the sweater, for a bit, ok? Unzipping it will change you back.” Roman murmured, carefully joining the hug, pressing Virgil and Logan close to him for a moment, Patton nuzzling his way into the middle, making Virgil let out a tired smile.

 “Would you two like a ride home?” Roman asked, laughing at Patton's delighted bark, the selkie clapping his flippers and launching himself into Roman's hands. “I will take that as a yes. Virg?” Virgil nodded, settling against him a bit more carefully.

 “Have a good ride, you two. I shall see you soon.” Logan said, smiling softly, and Virgil waved, Patton chirping, then Roman slipped out of the cave.

…

 “Virg, honey, you gotta wake up.” His eyes drifted open slowly, for a moment forgetting where he was, surprised at being woken so gently. Usually it was screaming, or glass shattering. Then he felt waves lapping at his tail, and he scrubbed his eyes blearily.

 “You fell asleep on the ride over, starfish.” Roman rumbled lowly. “You wanna try changing back, so you can go sleep inside?” He smiled at the slightly teasing tone to Roman’s voice.

 He hummed, focusing for a moment on the feel of the invisible fabric against his skin, gasping as he undid the zipper. A strange, almost numb, almost tingling sensation took over his tail, and he squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to watch it unfuse, feeling slightly nauseous at the notion. After a few long seconds, he felt two legs, and a glance confirmed they were back and his tail was gone. He wiggled his toes experimentally, letting out a relieved breath as they responded instantly. Of course, now having legs felt weird, and he huffed.

 “You okay, kiddo?” Patton asked softly, and he nodded.

 “yeah. Just gonna take some getting used to, I guess.” He answered, accepting Patton’s help in pulling him to his feet, balance completely off and he nearly tumbled back to the sand, but Roman’s hand shot out and caught him, keeping him steady.

 “Easy, firefish.” Virgil huffed, leaning against his hand for a moment longer, nuzzling against it for a moment and making Roman blush.

 “thanks Ro. For… for everything.” He muttered, Virgil’s own face red as he pulled away, letting Patton wrap an arm around his shoulders. “See you tomorrow, yeah?”

 “Of course, kid. Wouldn’t dream of skipping out on you. I’ll make sure Lo comes too, though I think he won’t need much coaxing for once. He’s taken quite a shine to you.”

 “Who wouldn’t! With scales like those, he’s hard to ignore.” Patton added, making Virgil groan and Roman roll his eyes. He waved once, slipping back under the water, reappearing further out a moment later, doing a fancy flip that had Virgil muttering ‘show off’ under his breath as he smiled.  

 “So. Anime girl transformation sequences, huh?” He groaned at Patton’s words, sinking further into his hoodie, his new, magic hoodie, smiling as he heard Patton’s soft giggle.

 “Can we just go home, already?” He mumbled, feeling Patton’s breath hitch again at his use of that word, home.

 He’d never really considered the boat home, anyways. There had never been any love, there, or warmth, or laughter. None of the stuff that would make up a home. But here, with Roman and Logan, in this small cabin with Patton?

 For the first time ever, he was… loved.

 “Of course kiddo. Let’s get inside and get warmed up. I’ll make some hot chocolate!”

 “could… could you maybe read, some more? I…you did that when I was sick, right?” Patton squeezed his hand as they entered the house, letting go to start the cocoa as he slipped into his chair by the fireplace.

 “I did. I didn’t know you remembered that, kiddo. Or even heard it, actually.” Patton replied from the kitchen, coming back a few minutes later, passing him a mug, which smelled delicious.

 “I mean… I don’t, really, I just remember your voice. It… was nice.” He mumbled, taking a sip of his drink. Patton smiled warmly, grabbing the book of fairytales off the side table next to his own chair. He settled in, pushing up his glasses, glancing at Virgil, wrapped up in a blanket, closing his eyes as he listened to Patton read, the steady sound soothing as he occasionally sipped from his mug.

 Patton kept an eye on the kid, watching his head slowly droop as he read, managing to spring forwards and catch the mug before it slipped from Virgil’s hands and spilled onto his blanket. He set it aside with a soft smile, stroking Virgil’s bangs back, pressing a soft kiss to his forehead.

 “sweet dreams, little merrow.” He moved to step back, but Virgil stopped him, eyes just barely flickering open, hand pulling weakly at his sleeve. He chuckled, but complied, scooping Virgil off the chair and into his arms, resettling with him in his lap, cradling Virgil close to him, humming softly. Virgil melted into his arms, breathing deep and slow, and he couldn’t help but cry a little, at how far this kiddo had come. Only a few days ago, he would have flinched back at any touch. It was amazing, how resilient and brave Virgil was, that he was willing to trust again, willing to open up, willing to let Patton hold him while he slept and trust that nothing and no one would hurt him.

 “Love you, kiddo.” He whispered, closing his own eyes, surprised to feel Virgil shift against him a moment later.

 “love y’too, pat. You’re a good dad.” Virgil mumbled, nuzzling closer against him with a sleepy sigh, smiling as Patton’s arms held him a little tighter, enveloping him in all the safety he’d ever need. And if Patton cried a little harder at that, well, who could blame him?

[spaceskam]

Could you maybe write something about Michael calling Alex, Alexander?

Sympathy For The Devil

Summary: Michael and Alex have been happily married for sometime until it’s revealed that Alex has lied about a few too many things. Can they come back from it?

warning: mentions of suicide

ao3

“Please open up.”

Michael stared at the front door of his sister’s house. She and her husband had gone on vacation but allowed him to stay because he didn’t exactly have many options. And still, despite the fact he’d gone all the way from Denver to Roswell fucking New Mexico, the one person he’d been wanting to avoid the most was right outside that door despite the fact there was a massive storm.

“I know you’re there, your car’s out front. You know, unless you’re actually a stranger and you stole my husband’s car and didn’t change the plates,” that voice said like it didn’t belong to a liar, “Look, I know you don’t want to talk to me or see me, but… Michael, you deserve to get to know me. You deserve that at the very least. So, please, just open the door.”

Michael heaved a breath and rubbed the heels of his hands against his eyes. They’d already been rubbed raw from spending the last two weeks crying and trying not to cry and failing. He looked rough. He felt rough. He really didn’t want to open that door.

But, fuck, he really kinda did.

“Michael,” he said, “Just give me this last night. Let me try to show you that we might be able to fix this. Let me try.” 

And wasn’t that just so convincing?

Slowly, Michael cracked open the door. The man on the other side looked like his husband, he smiled like his husband, he was standing like a flamingo in a shitty attempt to keep his prosthetic out of the rain puddles just like his husband, but he wasn’t his husband. His husband didn’t exist. Alex Whitman was nothing more than a character created by Captain Alexander Manes.

“Hi,” Alexander said with that stolen smile, “You look great.”

“You just can’t stop lying, can you?” Michael demanded. Alex, no, Alexander’s smile began to falter, but he put it back on because he was a liar. “How did you find me? No, why did you find me?”

“Because I refuse to let that be the way we end. I need to at least try. You deserve me to try and you deserve an explanation. You deserve everything, Michael,” Alexander insisted, “I know how we can save our marriage.”

Michael furrowed his eyebrows at that statement. Mostly because they literally weren’t legally married in the first place. Turns out you can’t file a marriage license when half of the couple doesn’t exist. But, admittedly, part of him was curious. A massive part was curious. He was desperate to know why he’d lied.

“So you stalked me?”

“I didn’t stalk you!” Alexander said, bracing himself on the doorway as he continued to balance on his leg, “I just… Googled Isobel Evans-Valenti until I found an address while sitting in my car on the shoulder of I-25.”

“So you stalked my sister, cool,” Michael sighed, his eyes focusing on Alex’s leg. He knew that his Alex hated it when it rained and he had to be outside. It was bad for his prosthetic, but, more than that, it just made the liner and sleeve gross and sloshy in the socket. And here he was, standing in a storm, soaking wet and probably extra sloshy just for a chance.

“Michael,” Alexander said like he had the right, “Everything we need to save our marriage is in this envelope.” He fished out a surprisingly dry envelope from his backpack. Michael debated what to do for a moment. “After tonight, if you still don’t want to see me again, then I’ll go and leave you alone. Just let me try.”

Michael decided that even if this was the pathological liar that ruined his life, he didn’t deserve a fucked-up metal leg. Of all the lies, he at least knew that was real.

“I want to know the truth,” Michael said, eyeing him as he slowly let the door open wider, “If I let you in, are you gonna tell me the truth?” Alexander nodded sincerely. Michael sighed as he opened the door wider, gesturing towards the inside.

Alexander smiled so bright that it felt like being stabbed.

Michael had watched his Alex take off his prosthetic leg countless times in the two years they’d been together. Hell, he’d seen him do it on their first date that had lasted five hours longer than anticipated with them both tipsy on wine and each other. It’d never bothered him, it was apart of Alex and he loved every bit of that man. However, at this moment, he couldn’t even look at him. It felt too intimate to watch a stranger do. Even if he had done on their first date.

Still, Michael got him a towel and allowed himself to watch as he dried off the leg as best he could to avoid any rust. Then he did his best to pat down the liner and the sleeve but didn’t put them back on as he stared at them with some type of worry. Michael knew he really had to wait until they dried or else some serious chaffing would happen which meant he was going to be here for a while. Michael sighed.

“Look, I’ll go get you some clothes to change into.”

“Wait,” Alexander called, “Open the envelope.”

Michael slowly did as he said and hooked his thumb under the flap. Alexander pulled out his phone, resting it on the side table and then turning to watch Michael. He paused.

“Are you recording this?” Michael asked and Alex smiled innocently, “Why?” He wasn’t sure why he asked that when he knew very well why his Alex audio recorded everything. He had given Michael a big spiel about how ‘you never know what you missed the first time around’ which had sounded charming the first time he’d heard it, but sounded like the biggest slap in the face when he had recorded their arguments. Even that wasn’t all bad. Alex had come to him a day after their first big one and said he listened to it and apologized profusely for the way he raised his voice. He said he didn’t want to be another person on the long list of people who had screamed at Micheal for unprecedented reasons.

“You never know what you might miss the first time around,” Alexander said like it was charming. Because he always said it like it was charming. Fuck, it was.

With a sigh, Michael opened the envelope and pulled out the paper. He felt a chill go down his spine as he read the title. The 36 Questions That Lead to Love.

“What is this?” he asked, his eyes flickering up to Alexander who was still trying so hard to look positive despite the fact his damp hair was matted to his forehead and he couldn’t walk and he had about 15 minutes before he started smelling like a wet dog.

“You know,” Alexander said, “Like our first date.”

“You mean my first date with Alex where every question had a made-up answer?” Michael questioned. Alex shook his head.

“Pretty much every answer was real. Who I was with you was the real me, I swear,” Alex said. Michael took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he clenched the paper in his hands. “It worked the first time, why can’t it work now?”

There were a million reasons that it couldn’t work now. The main, glaring one was the fact that Alex wasn’t a real person and they’d started out on a lie. Everything was a fucking lie. Even if he was desperate to know the truth, how was he supposed to trust him?

“I don’t trust you, Alexander, that’s why,” Michael said simply.

“Don’t call me that, call me Alex.”

“No, my husband’s name was Alex and it wasn’t short for anything. How do I know you’re not just lying about what you’re called, Alexander?” Alexander took a deep, slow breath and nodded.

“Okay, I deserve that,” he said, nodding, “Fine I’ll be Alexander today.” That felt like a punch in the gut and he quickly realized his wrong choice of words. “That’s not what I meant, I just meant‒”

“I know,” Michael said. He couldn’t hide how resigned he was. He was tired and sad and part of him just wanted to go back to last month when he was sick and laying on his husband’s bare chest and listening to him recite The fucking Odyssey by heart. Or, loosely by heart. He added some more eccentric wording. Michael’s favorite had been: “There is the heat of love, the pulsing rush longing, the lover’s whisper, your face probably‒that shit can fuck up even the straightest man.”

“If you don’t want to, we can‒”

“If I do this with you, will you leave me alone forever?” Michael asked. Alexander stared at him for a moment before he nodded. “Then I’ll answer them. Let me go get you something dry to wear so you don’t get water all over my sister’s house.”

Michael turned and left to get him clothes before Alex could respond. He stepped into the guest bedroom that he’d made his home, having trashed it with his clothes and empty tubs of ice cream and candy wrappers. He took a moment to close his eyes and calm himself down. It was going to be okay. He could do this. It was just one night where he finally got the fucking truth and then he’d be gone forever. It’s not like the questions would actually work this time. Each and every answer would just be a reminder of how he had lied and ruined two Michael’s life. How he’d put him in a position where he would have to tell all his friends and coworkers and everyone that his husband actually had been lying to him for their entire relationship and be surrounded by a neverending stream of pity. He’d ruined him.

But he could do this. Just one more night.

He grabbed a pair of sweats and a baggy shirt for Alexander to wear, making sure they weren’t anything special before he gave them to him. The last thing he wanted him to do was ruin anything else. Once he was sure he could go on without the two articles of clothing, he brought them back out to Alexander.

“Here,” Michael sighed, handing him the clothes before turning around. Alex was sort of stuck in place because he didn’t have his crutches which annoyingly made Michael feel bad. He wondered how long it would take before he stopped giving extra thought towards everything to make sure it was disability-friendly. Hell, his first thought, when he took a shower at Isobel’s, was that Alex would need a bench, but Alex wasn’t even there.

“All done!” Alex said cheerfully because for some reason he was trying to pretend like this was normal. Nothing about this was normal.

Michael turned around and felt a sting in the back of his eyes. Alexander looked too much like Alex. Hair was haphazardly dried, sticking up every which way and making him look painfully young. Michael’s clothes were already big on him, so his bigger clothes dwarfed him in a way that made Micahel just wanna cuddle up to with him. But it wasn’t his sweet Alex‒this was manipulative Captain Alexander Manes who had managed to get a fake ID and fake passport and evaded his entire military background just so no one would find out that he wasn’t Alex Whitman.

“Okay,” Michael said, collapsing on the couch. Alexander lifted himself off the chair and awkwardly hopped towards the couch, flopping down on the other end with his phone in hand.

“Before we start the questions, I want you to know that Alex Whitman was apart of me. It… It feels weird to me too, to put him to rest like this,” Alexander said. Michael rolled his eyes, keeping his gaze away from the man and instead on literally anything else.

“We’re not putting him to rest. You’re the one who made him up, he isn’t fucking real,” Michael sighed, rubbing his eyes against, “Listen, I just want the same thing I wanted when those fucking army guys came to the house two weeks ago: the truth. Why did you lie to me? Why would you make up Alex Whitman in the first place?”

Alexander was silent for a moment and when Michael dared to look at him, he had a level of guilt on his face that Michael didn’t know he was capable of. But, then again, maybe that was fake too. He wouldn’t be surprised.

“When we met, I was… not in a good place. I just wanted some type of escape. So I gave you a fake name and then when you showed up for our date with those questions because you wanted to be cute and charming, it felt like an opportunity to be someone better. If I knew I was going to fall in love with you, I never would’ve lied. I just thought it was a one-time thing. I never wanted to hurt you,” Alex promised. Michael looked up as tears brimmed his eyes all over again. This felt so stupid. Why was he still crying? He’d had two weeks to get passed the crying stage. “Alex Whitman was a good escape, even if he was imaginary.”

“He was fucking real to me, Alexander,” Michael snapped, looking at him and forcing the tears away. Alexander nodded.

“I know. I loved him too, Michael, he’s who I wanted to be so badly,” he said and Michael scoffed, “Listen, I don’t expect you to completely understand why I did what I did or even forgive me for it. I just want to be honest.”

Michael closed his eyes for a moment. Honest. He says he wants to be honest. He promises that he wants to be honest. Michael can do that.

“Okay, then let’s get this over with,” Michael said, letting out a breath as he reached for the paper with all the questions. He never thought he’d be doing this twice. “Number one, given the choice of anyone in the world, who would you want as a dinner guest?”

“Fantastic question, Mr. Guerin, do you remember my answer the first time?” Alexander said, giving that big smile. It was the one where his cheekbones seemed to be downright offensive and he wanted to go all middle-aged aunt and pinch them. He didn’t.

“You said Margaret Hamilton and I was convinced you only chose her to impress me because I’m an engineer,” Michael said. He remembered being shocked that some guy that looked that pretty and who was unemployed knew who Margaret Hamilton even was. “You told me it was because you liked people who could outsmart you.”

“Which is true, one of the reasons I love you, but I also met her once and she was super cool,” Alexander said. Michael looked to him genuinely bewildered. “I went to MIT and majored in software engineering. She used to be the director or something of that division, so she visited campus and I got to meet her. See? Honesty.”

“Okay, so, what, you’re some super-secret genius?” Michael asked. Alex smiled and shook his head.

“Nah, I didn’t graduate. Got bored,” he said simply. Michael couldn’t imagine giving up that chance of a lifetime simply because he got bored. But Alexander wasn’t him. Part of him wanted to know more about his time at MIT but he didn’t feel like dragging this on.

“Alright then. Question number two, would‒”

“Hey, wait, you didn’t answer,” Alexander prodded. Michael sighed.

“I didn’t realize I was answering.”

“Of course, that’s how this works.”

“Yeah, but I’m not the one who lied.”

“C’mon, Michael. You said you’d do this one thing with me,” he said. Michael clenched his jaw as he stared at the question. He knew what his answer was. He just didn’t want to fucking say it.

“I’ll answer this next one.”

“Michael, come on, you can’t blow off the first question, we’re being honest tonight,” Alexander said. Michael glared at the paper. “Mikey,” Alex sang.

“I would have dinner with Captian Alexander Manes, okay?!” he snapped, turning his glare to the man beside him, “Over anyone in the entire world, over even my fucking mother who I have never met, I would choose you. Because I want to know why the fuck you lied to my face for two years, fuck, Alexander, I want to know how. How can someone keep up a lie like that for two years?”

Alex’s eyes were wide and his eyebrows were raised as if he was shocked by the answer. Michael didn’t believe he was. There was no way.

“Okay. I deserve that. Question two, would‒”

“You’re not gonna answer?”

They stared at each other for a moment. Long enough that Michael softened because Alex was beautiful and had eyes that he couldn’t fucking say no to. Cheeks he couldn’t say no to. Lips he couldn’t say no to. Michael slumped his shoulders. This was actually unfair.

“We need booze,” Alex decided after a moment, “This is kinda like a first date, right? And, for a first date, there’s a severe lacking of alcohol. I think it would take the edge off and make it a little easier.” Michael nodded. It sounded like the best idea he’d heard all week. At least wine would loosen him up a bit, make him less terrified.

“I’m sure Isobel has something,” he said. Alex held up his finger.

“No need.”

Alex got up on his knees, twisting over the back of the couch to shuffle through his bag which gave Michael a perfect view of his ass. The sweats hung low on his hips and the shirt slid up as he bent over and it was just a lot for Michael to deal with. He knew this was probably self-destructive. Spending time with the man with whom he had a bad track record of keeping his hands to himself around, recreating their first date, and struggling to not picture him naked and moaning whenever he bent over the couch like that all seemed like a really big recipe for disaster. To top it all off, he was adding alcohol. What could possibly go wrong?

When Alex flopped back down, Michael had no control over the way he let his eyes trail up his body to his face. Alexander had the decency not to tease him about it. Michael was an emotional mess, he was bound to do something stupid like yell at him and then immediately want to sleep with him. He focused on the bottle of wine.

“I stopped on the way because I figured it might come in handy,” he said. The name was something French and fancy that he couldn’t pronounce and, knowing Alex’s taste in wine, it was probably easily $50. Alexander pulled out his keys and flipped open his corkscrew keychain.

They each took sips straight from the bottle.

Once Michael had loosened up a little bit, he allowed himself to face Alexander completely.

“Question two,” Alexander asked, “Would you like to be famous? In what way?”

Michael opened his mouth to reply but was rudely interrupted by a loud crack of thunder that shook the house. He jumped like he always did when he heard a super loud noise and Alexander quickly moved to comfort him, placing his hand on top of Michael’s. He snatched it away.

Alex had been very aware of the abuse Michael suffered as a child. Loud noises were usually a warning before something much worse happened. That was just another reminder that Michael had given all his truths to a man who didn’t bother sharing his own.

“Yes. I want to publish a thesis on some invention I eventually come up with,” Michael said, shaking off the thoughts with a large gulp of wine, “You?”

“Nope, I like being no one.”

“Okay,” Michael said. It was the same answer as the first time. He didn’t know if that was comforting or not. “Before making a phone call, do you rehearse what you’re going to say? Why?”

“No, if I rehearse and still mess up, then I feel like a  fuck-up, so it’s easier to not practice.”

“First time I said I did practice, but you said that and I tried it and I felt better, so no,” Michael answered. Alexander smiled with those stupid fucking lips.

“What would constitute a perfect day for you? Still a day with your family with no worries?” Alex asked and Michael nodded, unintentionally scooting closer as a loud clap of thunder shook the house again. “Mine is still that any day would be perfect as long as I was with you.”

Michael shook his head, letting it fall into his hand after propping his elbow up on the back of the couch. He remembered blushing like crazy the first time he heard that answer. It felt like a pickup line, but had seemed so sincere and had been staring at him like he was the world. “Even today? When I’m so fucking mad at you and that the only reason I’m doing this is so I can figure out why you lied to me before I never want to see you again? This is perfect?”

Alexander chewed on his bottom lip. “Maybe not the most perfect, but still perfect. You’re breathing and that feels like a good day.” Michael shook his head again.

“I don’t believe that, Alexander,” he said. Alexander groaned, leaning forward to put the wine bottle down before looking Michael in the eye.

“Why are you so deadset on the fact that Alex Whitman and Alexander Manes are so different? We’re not. Literally, every answer has been the same so far. I’m not lying or being cruel when I say that I was 100% real when I was with you. I’m still super fucking gay, I’m still really bad at spelling, I’m still really good at trivia, I still love to recite Greek literature to you when you’re not feeling well, I still love to record everything, I still get super dizzy when I drink tequila, I still sleep on the right side of the bed, I still think your cooking is better than anything in the world, and I still am a million things you know about me. You know me better than anyone and that is still true,” Alexander said. He seemed honest. It felt real. All those things seemed like impossible things to fake. Michael was just tipsy enough to nod his head in agreement. “Okay? Okay, next question.”

“When did you last sing to yourself? To someone else?” Michael wondered, waiting for the answer. He was pretty sure he could guess it.

“I sang to myself on the way here and the last I sang to someone else was when you were too sick to follow The Odyssey or the Illiad,” Alex grinned. Michael smiled back. Knew it. “And you?”

“My first night here I got so drunk that I just laid on the floor and scream-sang REO Speedwagon,” he admitted and Alex easily slipped into a laugh that Michael could feel in his bones. God, that sound still felt like a gift.

“And to someone else?”

“Kyle came in to ask me to stop, so I tried to serenade him.” Alex laughed a little harder.

“You do have a killer Kevin Cronin voice,” he laughed, picking the wine bottle up again and taking a sip. He handed it to Michael who did the same. He could taste Alex on the bottle and it was hard to figure out which substance was more intoxicating. “Okay, okay, If you were able to live to the age of 90 and retain either the mind or body of a 30-year-old for the last 60 years of your life, which would you want?”

“Mind,” Michael answered, “You said body last time.”

“And that’s still the same, so clearly we’re still a half sexy pair,” Alex teased and Michael couldn’t help but laugh. He blamed the wine.

“Do you have a secret hunch about how you’ll die?” Michael asked. He had half a bottle of wine in his system and Alexander felt a whole lot like Alex and Alex’s lips were looking absolutely inviting.

“I remember you saying you think your appendix would burst and you would just think you were exaggerating your pain and now that I’ve known you for two years and I’ve seen how much of a baby you get when you’re sick, I think that’s not gonna happen,” Alex chuckled, leaning forward even more. He was so fucking close. Michael nodded.

“I think it will,” he said, “You said you weren’t afraid of death.”

“Still not,” Alex hummed, tipping back the last of the bottle. He gave a sweet smile when he was done, flicking his tongue over the corner of his mouth. Maybe drinking was a bad idea. “Name three things you and your partner have in common. This is easy.”

Perfect, perfect. A perfect reminder that this isn’t Alex. Michael shook his head, fixing his wandering mind back on the anger he felt towards the man who had lied to him for two years. He faked a wedding license. “I don’t know anything about you.”

Alexander rolled his eyes. “You know me better than anyone else, Michael.”

“I knew Alex. I have no idea who you are,” Michael insisted, though his voice wasn’t as certain as it was before. This felt like a night with Alex. God, it felt like Alex. He wanted Alex.

Alexander couldn’t be him.

“Fine, I’ll name some. I can do more than three. We both have an unhealthy obsession with Firefly and watch it on repeat, we both are obscenely stubborn and refuse to admit when we’re wrong, we both have horrific handwriting, we both feel the need to tip waiters like 50% even when service sucks, we both like the same music, we both like hot chocolate when it’s hot and ice cream when it’s cold, we have a lot in common, Michael. We’re perfect,” Alex said, grinning that easy grin.

Michael could feel his heart thudding in his chest as he stared at the man who was suddenly very close. It was hard. The lines between Alex Whitman and Captain Alexander Manes were blurring in a way he didn’t want them to. One was his fun-loving husband who found every excuse to dote on him and make him blush, and the other was a pathological liar who held a list of military credentials that matched a hardened old man.

“None of my traits as Alex change when I’m Alexander. I’m still me.”

Michael would never forget how confused he was when those two guys stood on his doorstep, asking for Captain Alexander Manes. They’d been searching for him for two years, that he’d gone AWOL from his post two days earlier than he was supposed to and that they had feared something bad had happened. Michael didn’t get a chance to get any more details about that, he just remembered his head spinning and feeling sick and confused at the name he was being told. He was about to tell them that he didn’t even know anyone in the military, but he’d turned to find Alex behind him and looking like a deer caught in headlights.

“You know what my favorite thing that we have in common is?” Alexander asked, closer than he should be, “That we both fight for the right things.”

Alex had tried to explain that day, begging him to listen as Michael packed a small back and tried to get the hell out. He couldn’t spend the night in bed with a stranger. It had been hellish. He’d turned a 7-hour car drive into 10 and Isobel and Kyle still had to go get him from the border of Colorado and New Mexico he couldn’t see straight enough to drive. He had thrown his phone out the window somewhere in the desert after that, tired of seeing call after call from ’Achilles♥’.

It was getting hard, though. He was trying to separate who he is to who he was, but it felt so impossible. They looked the same, they sounded the same. If he closed his eyes and let himself go, all he heard was Alex Whitman. He couldn’t figure out if he was in love with Alex Whitman or if he was actually in love with Captain Alexander Manes. What if the difference really only was their last name?

“For what in life are you most grateful?” Michael whispered, taking in his face. The little scar on his forehead that Alex had said came from crashing his bike when he was eight, was that the same story for Alexander?

“You.”

“I need more wine,” Michael said, scrambling to his feet before he did something stupid like kiss him. Alex nodded, holding out his phone. Michael suddenly remembered that he was being recorded and took it with hesitant hands before heading to go find Isobel’s wine.

Once he was out of earshot, he held the phone to his mouth.

“I will not sleep with him, I will not sleep with him, I will not. I will not. I will not,” he repeated, raking a tough hand through his hair. He took a deep breath and focused on that moment when Alex had admitted that wasn’t his name. That had hurt so bad. “You know, I don’t understand why I even let him in here. I know him. I know how stupidly charming he is and I know how well it works on me and he gives me those sweet little ‘fuck me’ eyes and I just want… I don’t know what I want. I want to clear my head.”

Michael searched through the cabinets and eventually found a cheap-ish already opened bottle of wine that he planned to reimburse the Evans-Valentis for. He pulled the cork out haphazardly and threw back some more. He didn’t know why he kept drinking. He knew it was probably going to make him want to sleep with Alexander even more.

Maybe that’s what he wanted to happen.

“No, no, I don’t want to sleep with him. I want this night to be over so I can move on. He’s a pathological liar. I can’t trust everything he says,” Michael said, sighing harshly.

Before he could think any harder, a harsh clap of thunder sounded, shaking the house and taking away the electricity. Panic surged through Michael like it always fucking did in these stupid situations and he froze, looking down at the phone and unlocking it to give him a little bit of light. It was on 46%. Somehow, that made him more panicky.

“Michael?” Alexander called, “Are you alright? I can’t come to you, I don’t have my crutches, just follow my voice!” He yelled because he knew Michael and knew he was probably feeling uneasy and that wasn’t fair. Why couldn’t he be different? This was too hard. “Follow my voice, baby.”

“Don’t call me baby, Alexander,” Michael grumbled as he used the phone to lead himself to the couch again. He sat far away from Alexander again, but that didn’t seem to bother him. Michael kept a hold on the phone and Alexander let him. He hated how thankful he felt for that. “Next question.”

“If you could change anything about the way you were raised, what would it be?” Alex asked, ignoring the fact that it was super dark. Michael cradled the wine bottle to his chest, finding Alex’s eyes the best he could.

“I could change the fact that I raised myself,” he admitted easily. It was a big one, but it’s what he said the first time. Maybe then he wouldn’t have been so stupid to trust the first super hot guy who was into him. Isobel had told him it was sketchy that Alex had no friends or family, but Alex had also just moved to Denver and it just felt right and Michael barely had any friends or family. He should’ve looked into it more. “What about you?”

Alexander didn’t answer.

“Alexander?” he asked. He didn’t feel the couch move, but he couldn’t really see him and the sudden silence was making him anxious. Then he heard him gulp, so he calmed down just a bit. “What would you change?”

“Everything.”

“Too vague.”

“Well, it’s the truth.”

“Is it? I don’t really know anything about your childhood at all. All I know is that your parents died when you were…” Michael trailed off once he realized that he didn’t know that. “Wait, are your parents even dead?”

Silence.

“Oh my God!” So much for letting himself think they might be the same.

“They’re basically dead, they haven’t spoken to me in‒”

“No, that’s not basically! You told me your parents were dead! That’s a huge thing to lie about!” Michael scoffed, sitting up straight, “The next thing you’re gonna tell me is that you didn’t actually lose a leg in a motorcycle accident.”

Silence. Again.

“Oh my God. Oh my God, what is wrong with you?” Michael said, but he couldn’t bring himself to move away. He didn’t want to be alone in the darkness, even if that meant he was alone with a cruel liar. “You can’t just not answer me this time, Alexander, this is, like, a serious issue. You lied about how you lost your leg and about your parents being dead.”

“Just let me think,” he answered, but Michael didn’t like that.

“No, so you can come up with another lie? Tell me the fucking truth.”

“When I was 8 years old, my mother left,” Alexander said, taking a slow breath, “And a few days after that, my father hit me for the first time because he realized I was gay. He knew before I did. He thought he could beat it out of me. So that’s what I’d change. The fact that he beat me.”

“I’m sorry,” Michael sighed, “But that doesn’t explain why you lied about everything.” Michael had been abused his whole life too. He didn’t lie about it.

“I was taught from a young age that what I wanted was wrong, that who I was was wrong. So I spent my entire life trying to pretend. I did what my dad wanted and I lied to cover up the bruises for thirteen years of my life because it was easier than dealing with him.”

“Thirteen?” Michael parroted, “You said it started when you were eight, that would’ve made you twenty-one before… Oh.”

“Yeah,” Alexander sighed, “Oh is right. I joined the Air Force because he wanted me to, but I figured out that he wanted me to because he wanted to watch me. So, I made sure I went to school so I could become an officer. I eventually got put in a special task force and I got away from him, but he was still there, you know? Just in my head. He was always in my head. I was 26 before I had my first kiss because even though I was alone with six other people most of my time and three of them were openly queer, I couldn’t bring myself to accept it. Every time I considered it, I could feel my dad hurting me to stop. Even when he couldn’t be there, he was there through letters telling me to make sure I was being a Manes Man. Manes Men do this, Manes Men don’t do that. It was hell. He controlled me in every little facet well past my childhood, so I finally cut him out of my life when I was 27. I couldn’t take it anymore. I was tired of being in the mold he forced me into.”

“I wish you would’ve told me about that,” Michael said, trying not to be too offended when Alex had just admitted to suffering to almost 20 years of constant abuse.

“I didn’t want to admit that I was 28 years old and just coming to terms with my sexuality.”

“But I told you about all the shit that happened to me,” Michael argued, “Why didn’t you trust me with your feelings?”

“That’s not why I didn’t tell you, Michael, I didn’t want to bring it up.”

“But you should’ve! For two years, I felt like the fucked up one in this relationship and that you had to cater to me! If you would’ve just told me that you fucking understood, then everything could be different!” Michael spat out, “You ruined everything! And I still feel like a dick for getting mad at you for not recounting abuse! How fucked is that?!”

“Michael, please,” Alexander tried. Michael huffed a huge breath and took another sip of wine. He needed to calm down. He really did. But who the fuck lies about all that?

“The next question is tell me your life story in four minutes. Take longer than four if you need to, I need more than that. I need the fucking truth,” Michael insisted. He heard Alexander gulp. “I’ll calm down when you fucking tell me.”

Then he waited.

“Okay, okay, so… Like I said, I was 8 when my mom left. My dad and my older brothers went out of their way to make sure I was just like them. We all had the same haircut, had the same clothes, everything. We were miniatures of my dad, which… really fucked me up. Even when I went to college to get some semblance of freedom, I didn’t know how to be someone other than my father. And that’s hard. It’s super hard to see someone as a monster, but then you can’t bring yourself to be anyone other than exactly like them. And then I was wearing his uniform and I would look in the mirror and it was a constant battle to figure out who I was. Was I Alex, or was I Master Sergeant Jesse Manes?

“I dealt with that for years. Every time I looked at a boy who was attractive, I would have to immediately shut myself down. I wouldn’t let myself and I thought that maybe, just maybe, if I convinced myself that I was straight, that I could be. But that didn’t work because I didn’t even want a girl to hold my hand without feeling awkward, so I just resigned myself to a life of celibacy. It was more than that, though, because I hated myself so much. I was hardly a person, I was just a carbon copy and I was suicidal as hell. But on some level, it must’ve been good for me because it made me ballsy.

“I didn’t allow myself pleasures or anything, so I became really good at combat and coding which you know. That’s how I even got in a special task force when I was that young. I did a year at MIT, wasn’t the biggest fan, and they put me in the task force. And, you know, like I said three of them were openly queer. It was so weird for me to be around people that were open and honest with themselves and, it took a while, but eventually, I started to see that maybe I could be too. I had my first kiss with Lieutenant Cameron Adler. He was, like, 6’7” and biceps bigger than my head, literally could’ve crushed me, but he didn’t. And when I freaked out because I liked the kiss, he was just there to help me through it. He was my first everything, my first love and all. I think that was the first time I thought I might be okay.

“Then, obviously, a few months later it went to shit. My team got bombed. No one fucking made it. Except for me, which is bullshit, right? I was so fucked in the head and had spent years of my life hating myself and who I was, and all these people who were happy and good died. I wasn’t conscious, but I was told that I was found with Cam’s body on top of me, like he was shielding me with his, like, 275lbs of muscle. They thought I was dead and, legally, I was for a few minutes, but they were able to bring me back and all I lost was a leg. I hated when they told me that. ‘Look, you made it and all you lost was your leg’ because that wasn’t all I lost. I literally lost the only family I’d ever known and now I was back under my father and I just kept sinking lower. I had so much therapy, physical and mental, and nothing really helped. Yeah, I could walk again, but my mental state was so fucked. I spent all day just thinking of ways to end my life and how I wish someone would do it for me or how I wish they just had found me later so that they wouldn’t have been able to bring me back. And I was going to do it too. I had it all planned out. I was going to take a bath and overdose and let myself just go away forever. That’s why I left my post. I had two days left before I was officially honorably discharged, but I just drove to Denver and got a hotel and planned to kill myself there.

“And then I met you.”

Michael looked at him with tears in his eyes. Fuck. “You can’t say that. You can’t say that like you’re only alive because of me. That’s basically a threat.”

“I’m not, I’m sorry,” Alexander sighed, “I’m not going to kill myself if you don’t take me back, it’s not like that. I just meant that you reminded me that I could be okay again. I’d had so many therapists insist that it gets better, but you were the first thing that showed me that, okay, maybe it does.”

“I didn’t do anything, I just bought you coffee,” Michael sniffled. He didn’t like thinking about his Alex being in that state. His Alex was always cheery and charming and beautiful.

“Yeah, I know. Look, I planned to off myself that night and I wanted to just get myself my favorite drink beforehand so at least I went out with something good. And then I forgot my wallet and that just felt like proof that I needed to end it. Like, of course, I wanted one last good thing and I managed to fuck that up.” Michael remembered the way Alex had been frantically searching for his wallet and was almost in tears when he couldn’t find it. That was the only reason he paid for him. He didn’t want to see someone cry. Then he'd gotten closer and realized the guy was hot as hell. "Then you paid for me and asked my name. I couldn't give a fake one because I already gave the barista my first name, but I could give you a fake last name so I did. I wanted one goddamn night where I wasn't a Manes Man. I didn't know that coffee would lead to talking for 6 hours straight and spending the night with you because it shouldn't have gone that way. We just fucking connected like something…"

"Cosmic?"

Alex let out a soft laugh. "Cosmic. And, by that point, it was too late to go back. So I just went with it."

"So you just let us go two years in a lie?"

Alexander moved closer, close enough that he could see his eyes. He felt more at peace than he had in awhile which really pissed off the logical section of his brain.

"I was more myself as Alex Whitman than I was ever as Alexander Manes because I was with you and you pushed me to be myself. I would give the world to you, but you already gave it to me first," Alex insisted.

Gravity did that fucky thing it did when Alex got too close and Michael tipped his head forward to meet Alex's. He wanted it to be real. He really did.

But he didn't trust him.

"You'd really give me anything?" Michael whispered. Alexander nodded.

"Anything. You're my life, Michael. If I could take back the lies, I would, but I wouldn't take back finally feeling free because of you," Alexander promised, slowly moving his hand up to cup his cheek. It was slow, it was on purpose. They met for a kiss in the middle.

Their first kiss as Michael Guerin and Alexander Manes.

Michael kept it short, though a kiss after two weeks without felt like remembering to breathe. Alex didn't push it.

"Then can you give me time?" Michael asked, "I need… I need space before I can even try to trust you again."

"Then I'll give it to you. All the time in the world if you need it," Alex said, sincerity in his voice in a way that felt strange. It felt good. "You know how to find me when… if you want to see me again.”

Michael waited with a bouncing knee as Alexander skillfully lifted himself to the chair he’d originally sat in, putting on his dry liner and sleeve before the prosthetic. Michael didn’t know how long he’d been here, but clearly, it’d been long enough for that to dry. So, at least three or four hours. God, why did time never make sense when Alex was around?

When he was done, he stood and pressed a kiss to the top of Michael’s head.

“I love you,” he said because they never parted ways without saying that, even if for a moment. You never know when would be the last time you’d see someone. The only time they hadn’t was when Michael had left him. “I promise that there won’t be any more secrets between us. Ever. I’ll tell you whatever whenever.”

Michael thought about asking if he wanted to stay until the rain stopped or until the lights came back on, but the words never made it to his mouth. He thought about saying he loved him back, but that didn’t feel right either. He did love him back, but he still wasn’t sure if he only loved Alex Whitman or if he loved them both. So Alexander left without any argument.

It was cold and lonely when he was gone and Michael curled up, his head thudding as he tried not to stress too much by the darkness. It was only then that he realized he still had Alex’s phone. He quickly raced to the door, ripping it open and silently hoping that he’d still be there.

“You forgot your‒” he yelled as soon as he opened, but the driveway was empty and the rain was still coming down hard. He hoped that Alexander would make it home okay.

Michael locked the door and went straight to the guest bedroom, locking the door to that as well as he curled up in bed. He always locked his bedroom door too, it made him feel safer. Alex had assured him that it wasn’t weird at all and had even picked up the habit himself. They’d both picked up habits from each other over time.

He ended the recording on the phone after getting under the covers, staring at it. The recording was five hours long and it sparked curiosity in him even if the phone was dwindling dangerously close to 20%. He started it from the beginning.

“Okay, so I’m on the interstate right now because apparently, that’s a good idea. I was getting too antsy at home, everything still smells and looks like Michael just felt for a couple hours and that’s just too much, so left. I don’t really know where I’m going. I mean, where should I go? It’s been two weeks since my husband left me because he found out I was a big fat liar, there’s not really a fun place for people like that except for hell, right? But I’m not going to hell, I still have some life left in me and I’m working on figuring out where exactly to target that life.”

Alex’s voice rambled on and eventually, as usual, he started reciting Homer because he just did that when he couldn’t think. Michael had thought it was cute if not a little weird at first, but it had quickly become something that was comforting and hearing it, even through a recording, seemed to calm him.

“Patroclus’ death is what pushed Achilles to fight, you know? It gave him a reason. I keep thinking about Michael. I always think about Michael. Finding out I was… finding out I wasn’t exactly who he thought must’ve felt like a death. But it was Alex Whitman’s death, so my burden to bear and Michael was the victim. I’m the one who has to avenge, who has to fight. I need to find him.”

Michael dozed off the sound of him rambling his affections.

The next morning, Michael didn’t even get out of bed. The first thing he did was hook up Alex’s phone to a charger and started to look for older recordings. He had a Google Drive that seemed to hold all of them, each and every recording he’d ever made labeled with the date and it went all the way back to the day they met. Michael clicked on that one, the very first.

”I don’t know what I’m doing,” Alex’s voice was quicker than normal, anxiety clear in his tone even despite the fact he could hear the smile, “I mean, I really don’t and I don’t have anyone to talk to and it’d be pathetic to talk to myself, so I’m going to record it to make sure it’s not a fucking dream. I woke up this morning thinking that would be the last time I ever woke up and now I’m literally driving to some guy’s house to have sex. Me! Hooking up with some random guy! I don’t know what I’m even doing. He just came up to me and bought me coffee and we sat in that damn Starbucks until it closed and I’m so sure those baristas hate us, but I didn’t want it to end and I don’t think he did either because he asked me over and I’m doing it. I don’t know what happened, he just asked to sit and have his coffee with me and I had a moment where I was like ‘okay, my last memory could be either this coffee or this coffee and this cute guy and I haven’t even talked to a guy since Cam and that’s been over a year now. God, I’m so anxious, what if I’m shit in bed?

“I did do something stupid though. I gave him a fake name, but it felt good. I think that was the first time in my life that I’ve introduced myself and I haven’t been saluted or assumptions hadn’t immediately been made about me. This guy‒Michael, his name’s Michael‒looked at me like I was just Alex. I’m not a Manes Man. That’s never happened before. I like it. I can pass for an Alex Whitman, right?”

Michael would’ve scolded himself for smiling at the memories it brought back, but he was too sleep-heavy to care. He remembered that night really well. He’d been jittery with nerves too and had hoped his house wasn’t too messy when he let Alex inside. It had been his first few months as a professor at CU Denver and his house was a fucking wreck, but Alex didn’t seem to care. They sat on the floor of the living room, sipping on wine and talking for way too long. That’s when the 36 questions had come up and Michael had jokingly suggested they go through them. Alex went along and they had gotten through them without touch each other too much until question 36 required them to ask advice on any problem. Alex’s drunken problem was that he really wanted to sleep with this guy he just met but didn’t know how to approach it without seeming either really creepy or overwhelming. Michael had all but pinned him to the floor and stripped him bare. It was too good for a first night together. They fit and moved too well.

It was unheard of.

Michael scrolled down, trying to see any other date that stood out to him. He landed on the one that was from their wedding day, six months before their disaster ending, and pressed it without too much hesitation. He wanted to know.

”I keep looking at him and he looks so happy and I feel like an asshole. He deserves the world and the truth with it, and I can’t bring myself to tell him. I want to marry him today, even if we are just eloping in Vegas with a guy dressed as the priest from the Princess Bride performing the ceremony. I want to marry him more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life. He is the love of my life, I’ve never been more sure. God… I love him.” Alex laughed and it felt like the world got a bit brighter. “I want to scream it from the rooftops that I love him just so maybe it’ll stop feeling so overwhelming.”

He did scream it from the rooftop of their hotel. Michael remembered feeling higher than life.

“I need to tell him the truth. He needs to know who he’s marrying. I’m going to do it.”

Michael didn’t have to listen to more to know that he absolutely didn’t do it. Though, he did want to know why. The issue was that it wasn’t ever answered. It was probably fear. Fear that that overwhelming love would end. And somehow it really fucking didn’t end.

He still loved him. Alex, Alexander, whoever.

Michael went to the first one again. He didn’t really know why he did it, but starting that day he began listening to all the details that Captain Alexander Manes had recorded over the years. It was really him, the recordings being something so raw that he didn’t need to lie to. He heard the two of them giggling and kissing and being ridiculously in love for two years. He heard it all over the course of 60 hours of audio.

For the next six months straight, that’s all Michael did. He just listened to Alex over and over and over until he could recite the recordings as well as Alex could recite The Odyssey. He could laugh with them, smile with them, love them. He was falling in love all over again with the man in the recordings. He loved hearing his excitement, his love, his laugh, his rambles. He hated hearing him crying on bad days or just feeling defeated and forcing himself to push through. He listened to recordings of therapy sessions he didn’t know Alex attended, hearing him talk through his still lingering depression and PTSD. Michael had known that Alex had some problems, even if they were only shown in the dead of night when he woke up screaming, but he’d never known how bad until he listened.

And he listened and listened and listened and listened.

“I can’t believe you’re still listening to him,” Isobel said one morning, shaking her head as Michael smiled into his cup of coffee. He always smiled at this one. It was just a random April morning, but Alex had recorded himself waking Michael up to breakfast in bed and he could hear the sheets rustle and the smack of kisses that he could still feel on his chest. It made his stomach knot up.

“Why?”

“He lied to you about who he was, Michael, and you’re just letting him manipulate you from afar all over again,” she sighed. He knew she meant well and she’d had a controlling boyfriend in the past that colored her opinion on Alex’s choices. The problem was that, aside from a few sketchy things about Alex, she’d liked him. They were a lot alike and Michael loved it. “It’s been six months, it’s time to move on.”

He thought about that for a moment. It was time to move on. He was sleeping in his sister’s guest bedroom and he was doing the same thing day in and day out. He needed to do something different. Even if it wasn’t exactly what she meant.

“Yeah,” he nodded, placing the mug down. It had been six months. Six months that he spent every day listening to Alex talking and learning about him and memorizing all the aspects of Captain Alexander Manes that he didn’t know before. Every little detail.

He wanted more.

Michael went back into the guest room and pulled out his laptop. He went to his E-Mail and opened a blank new message. He pulled Alex’s E-Mail into the To bar. He put 25 Questions To Fall Back In Love With You. Everything else came easy.

’I’ve been listening to every single recording over the last few months and I’ve been getting to know Alex Manes better and better and I’m at a point where I’m eager to know more. I want to trust him. I want to trust you because I love you.

But we’re still strangers, right? Technically, I mean. And we still have 25 questions left so here’s all my answers. If you love me still, give me your answers. Truthfully. As truthful as you can.’

He answered all his questions within the next half hour and sent it without reading over it. If he proofread it then he would risk second guessing sending it in the first place. He didn’t want that. He just wanted to see Alex again and see if it felt the same. They were cosmic before, they had to be cosmic again.

Alex answered by the end of the night.

‘Not gonna lie, I thought I was hallucinating when I saw this in my inbox. I miss you. Here’s my answers.’

Michael poured over them instead of sleeping that night. Most of them were the same and expected, but a few changed. The ones that changed had Michael feeling even more eager to go home. They matched the man in the recordings.

His greatest accomplishment was hacking into Russian intelligence while getting a blowjob. His most treasured memory was their wedding day. He shared that, if they were going to continue, it was important that Michael knew that he was stubborn and would fight to the death if he knew he had the chance to keep him(the first time it’d been that he’d lost his leg). Question 36, the infamous ‘problem in need of advice’, was now a lot less dirty.

’The man I’m in love with seems to be eager to try to save our fucked marriage. I’m super excited, but we have a lot of hours between us. What do you think I should do? Should I go to him or let him come to me or should we talk via E-Mail until we’re ready to see each other face to face again?’

Michael was feeling not too unlike he’d felt when Alex had shouted his love from the rooftops or when Alex had cradled him and recited The Odyssey like it was a fairytale. It made him feel like he was melting and Alex was the mold. This shouldn’t be a thing. He shouldn’t be this happy over an E-Mail from someone who’d lied.

But he was. And he was willing to try again and fight for what felt like the right thing because that’s what Achilles did for Patroclus.

’I’ll be home by tomorrow night. I call the bed.’

[cainfm]

『BILL SKARSGARD ❙ NONBINARY』 ⟿ looks like CAIN ROMANOV is here for THEIR SENIOR year as a LITERATURE student. THEY are 25 years old & known to be RIGHTEOUS, TRUE, EVASIVE & GUARDED. They’re living in MORIS, so if you’re there, watch out for them. ⬳ JAMES. 21. EST. SHE/THEY.

hdsjnf hello all ... it is james again ... here with another ... replacing noelle with cain bt it’s fine im fine. i’ve hit muse limit u wn’t hear frm me again ... so hit tht like button .. this isnt the best intro ive done bt mostly bc im just kinda like ... taking an old one n rewriting it as i go

TW CULTS, HEROIN USE / ADDICTION, DRUG ADDICTION / USE, ABUSE, PSYCHOLOGICAL / EMOTIONAL MANIPULATION, PTSD, ANXIETY, TRAUMA.

aesthetics.

dangling limbs from tree branches, yellowed book pages, opened bottles of vintage wine, oversized sweaters and deep under eyes, bleached denim, worn leather gloves, cat hair against black cloth, fields of wheat, broken windows, descending staircases, tight-lipped smiles during public appearances, golden skies, light spilling from windows, stumbling over one’s own words, wire-framed beds, linens, wool scarves, making the wrong decisions; running, from others and yourself.

basic info.

full name: cain alexei romanov

nickname(s): n/a

b.o.d. - feb 19th, pisces :) happy birthday!

label(s): the connard (previously), the escapist, the facade, the fallen, the lothario (previously), the pariah, the phoenix, the puppeteer (previously), the sybarite, etc.

height: 6′4″ ... bruv.

hometown: stratford, connecticut

sexuality: bisexual uwu?

pinterest

stats

inspired by: i feel like i did ... have an inspiration for him but i don’t ... remember ... so ur not getting this one ... i might edit this later if smth pops into my head but. alas.

biography.

born to connecticut senator vaughn romanov and well known philanthropist adelaide romanov, they were born into a life of privilege in a very prominent new england family. they’re the eldest of five in a very nuclear, picture perfect, preppy chic family.

was brought up to be a class a, outstanding, perfect citizen. golden child to the all american family (willfully ignoring the fact that his father came from russian immigrants). cain listened, obeyed, never strayed outside the lines.

it was always intended for cain to take on after their father, to follow in his footsteps and become a politician too. there were several expectations for them, including joining model un, debate, deca, splitting time between soccer, track, basketball, lacrosse, becoming class president, and all while maintaining a valedictorian - worthy gpa.

even volunteered on the weekends at homeless shelters and food banks, proving to everybody in their community just how much of a gem they were, darling, perfect member of society.

always eager as a child, eager for approval, eager to impress and wow and dazzle authorities and adults alike - cain never really had a problem with any of it? always attended church on sundays and sometimes even wednesdays. participated in family dinners and christmas photoshoots and new years eve parties, easter egg hunts and family reunions.

born and raised in stratford, super close to lovell to the point where it’d always been expected that the romanov children would simply just go to radcliffe, as did their parents. their home in stratford is a big, fancy, seven bedroom eight bath house with two fireplaces and an expansive dining room. no pool, but a sturdy treehouse made by scratch.

however. their model citizen persona was just that, a persona - a charade. in the community and to his family, cain was a hardworking citizen who upheld standards, a leader. to classmates and peers, from elementary to college - cain was the devil themself.

arrogant, harrowing, an outright bully who tore down others when they felt like it, often unprovoked. they were the senator’s son, and a rich one at that - rules never applying because they simply never existed for them, the upmost privilege because of who their family happened to be and their place in society. tattlers of their behavior faced far more consequence than cain ever did, or would.

the sort of person who’d genuinely look down at someone if they had less than them - a narcissistic dickhead who cared about two or three people, tops, outside of their family. was never physically violent, nor did they raise their voice, but that’s what made them all the worse. made them all the scarier. spewed classist bullshit with ease and was addicted to the power high it gave them.

their only redeeming quality was their protectiveness over their family - never the best person, but family is family, and they thought it ought’d to be protected.

went into political science and business to please their father, mainly, every step they made - every path cain went down, every choice from the electives they took in high school to the brand of shoes they wore, was to build them into the ideal presidential candidate.

probably joined a frat though cain never participated in parties too often, known for keeping their composure even when others resorted to violence, or got too drunk, or caused any public commotion, because they didn’t like to leave a bad image for the press. did their drugs in private but left nothing to the imagination, publicly.

but alas. during college, two very important series of events occurred.

seeking thrills, searching for fun in all the wrong places - cain became a middle-man between dealers and producers. never dealt it, and never produced it, but simply transported it between one another; the less everybody knew about each other the better. it was always a very hushed operation. one that they could’ve profited much off of, though money was never the motive for them.

and then he met earl and may meyers, fellow volunteers at a thanksgiving food drive; an older couple immediately drawn to cain, reasonable considering just who their father was, and cain to them. they can’t tell you what about the couple was so appealing - the air around them was something else entirely; some called it unhinged, others would call it comforting. but they were kind folks, down to earth - very religious, and very warmhearted. liked his name, a lot - like in the bible, they’d say, and laugh, and pat his arm. they would say, on occasion, that they reminded them of their late son.

it’d happened towards the end of their junior year, a few years after they’d gotten involved in the drug business - and the meyers were volunteering more and more, always at the same places as cain. the same times, too, as if they were learning his schedule. in retrospect - it was odd, but cain’d never suspected a thing. they kept talking, and it became a genuine friendship - a secured vote in the next election.

it only took a few months into this that they’d begun to talk about religion more. the sin of wealth, and god choosing only a select few when he cleanses the earth. only the worthiest souls. they’d eventually get into the rhythm of telling cain they were special - that they could see they’d be selected, see it in their aura, in their dreams, god sending them messages, etc. most would find it to be absolutely ... bonkers.

but it was oddly appealing to cain - like, maybe i am being constrained by capitalism. maybe i am disappointing god - aren’t i a devoted follower? it felt nearly ridiculous, but it seeped into their mind. psychological manipulation, lasting over months and cain unsuspecting. as if they could ever be the one manipulated. but the meyers could ask cain to jump, and they’d simply say - how high?

soon enough, earl and may told them that they were moving. that there’d been so many more like them and that it was time to join them, time to prepare - to get ready for the rapture. cain held off at first, finishing up their first term of their senior year and their life planned right before their eyes. everything they’d ever worked for. their loyal companions and close-knit family, their side-business that’d only gotten stronger - a long-term girlfriend and the engagement ring that burnt in their pocket, made their heart beat twice as fast at the very thought. still the same as before, cruel without a cause, but still surrounded by those who loved them - who could find something in them to love.

but a month into their senior year, cain had a sudden change of heart. they were ready, now, if not now then never later. all because of a third event. a surprise. a shock. a betrayal.

they had discovered that they were not their father’s child - not at all, not even by an inch. they were someone else’s, completely. their mother had broken down and cracked, after a particularly straining christmas party. the discussion was long, and the heartbreak only grew. the anger only grew. the hurt - it grew. more and more, with each pitiful sob their mother gave them. it was a mistake - a one night stand in a fit of petty anger in the very early stages of their marriage. and only cain knew - like they had to carry this weight, now, that they never asked to have.

it was the kind of information that broke a person. cain idolized their parents, done everything they’d ever asked - ever expected, and beyond, let them mold them like putty into whatever form they wanted. only to find out that in the end, it didn’t matter. it never mattered, if cain wasn’t the blood child of vaughn. if their mother - a woman who hadn’t a bad bone in her body, was nothing but a cheat and a liar.

cain unraveled.

they spent the first week getting into an altercation with near anybody who looked at them wrong. physical, usually - though arguments arose frequently as well. with no explanation, only thrown fists - often drunk, or high, or sober too - it never mattered. they spent a night in county jail, it’d gotten so bad. it seemed to have no end.

right until new years, just after midnight, when cain had disappeared without a word. it was treated like a missing persons case, though there was no evidence of foul play or kidnapping, and not much could be done about it.

BEGINNING OF CULT / DRUG / MOST OF THE TRIGGER WARNINGS

the only people who knew of cain’s whereabouts were the meyers - because they had left together. a last minute decision that, if they had only waited a simple minute longer, would’ve never happened. a mistake they desperately wished they could take back. a mistake that led to another event - maybe the most important one of them all.

they’d gone only hours away from stratford, and lovell, the border between new york and connecticut and not as far as cain had initially thought, but deep, deep into the woods. that was where the cult’d been. they wore white linens and cotton, but never mixed. technology banned, prayers and daily chores. it was natural, at first. for the first three months, that was.

it could’ve been grand. it was peaceful, and mind-clearing, and they treated cain as if their birth was a sign from the angels. cain come to undo his past. a potential leader. but the longer they stayed, the more apparent it became that they weren’t all that the cult had wanted, so desperately, to believe. once they began to slip up, once members became displeased - that’s when the punishments began to occur.

sometimes once a week, but sometimes - and, later, much more so, multiple. the memories are suppressed, for the most part - but there are some things they simply can’t - the hands, they can’t forget. pulling, and tugging, and gripping - begging, asking him to repent, please, repent. their head held underwater, counting seconds until their vision’d eventually darken and go out, only to be pulled out gasping and sobbing. these memories stay - these memories repeat themselves, like a record stuck on repeat, days blurring into one another.

when they tried to fight back - they were subdued. heroin was the first step. little by little, everyday - enough to leave them in a high they wouldn’t remember; enough to burn a hole in their memory. and with these dimming memories, cain’d begin to sneak paper and pencil into their living arrangement, their room, writing everyday. wrote as much as they could remember from home - about their family, their life before it all - the people they loved. they couldn’t remember what they’d written, some days.

and when those notes were found, bound by thread taken from their own clothing to form a shabby book - that’d been the final straw. dragged, kicking and screaming - mind-numbingly high, into place. the twisted reenactment, retelling of cain’s demise. how exactly he’d gotten his scar. it would’ve been near perfect, if they had only stayed still and let them brand the mark into his forehead. but instead - they settled, eventually, for the chest. then - the left cain to die in the middle of the woods. in the middle of nowhere. no trails or campsites to follow, nothing at all. nothing but trees. nothing but his notes and the clothes on their back. they hadn’t even known what day it was - almost forgotten the year, too.

cain should’ve died there, but cain got up. and they ran. and ran. and ran. until they hit something, eventually. a road. it’d been pure luck that they’d found a car near immediately afterwards, whose driver wasn’t doubling as a murderer, who took them to the hospital - and who gave cain that chance to live. they were found on new years, a full cycle - a full year in the cult that’d changed their life.

END OF CULT / DRUG / MOST OF THE TRIGGER WARNINGS. PROCEED WITH CAUTION. STILL MENTIONS OF TRAUMA / MENTAL HEALTH / RECOVERY / ADDICTION BEYOND THIS POINT.

after being reunited with their family in the hospital - everything went by very fast. they couldn’t recognize their youngest sibling, but they also couldn’t remember why they’d left in the first place. couldn’t remember the name of their girlfriend, but the color of her hair and the way she smelled. they couldn’t give answers to their actions.

and after being put into therapy and recovery for their addiction - that’s when they find out that their father’s a presidential candidate, that they had been - that they used cain’s disappearance as a story for the press, one to garner votes. their return is national news, and their public opinion skyrockets. it’s supposed to be glorious, and a miracle, a blessing - but cain feels restrained. confined to the role they’d always been expected to play - expected to get up and continue with their life, as if nothing had happened. 

but nothing didn’t happen - everything happened, and cain’s different now, vastly so - no longer who they thought they were. they change their major to literature, abandon politics. they get some cats, start working at the library, and they put on some leather gloves - their method of staying away, of keeping a comfortable distance. they are different, now, and simply only wish to focus on their recovery.

personality.

they’re no longer who they once were. a year of trauma does things to a person - and with memory loss that weighs heavy on their mind, they are near completely different. they remember parts of their old personality, their old lifestyle - enough to know they want to be better. they’re convinced that it’s karma, what happened to them. for being who they were - acting the way they did. just ... a bunch of self-blame.

even with the massive ego, cain’s always been a quiet person. but now - now cain’s even quieter. kinder, if not a little sarcastic, like a relic from the past. they’re distant - but it’s one of fear, restrictive and tense - not one made out of their own comfort. 

smokes medical marijuana but rarely drinks ... as if that’d make a difference. in an effort to beat their heroin addiction, they’ve turned to prescriptions instead.

like i mentioned ... cain has four cats. it’s basically their entire personality. two of them were from before their disappearance, but two are new to their little (school-approved) family. there is: frank (big chungus when yelled. white and gray), brock (orange. fluffy. stoic. devours food), shoelace (black furred, missing an eye and half an ear), and crunchwrap supreme (crunch for short. calico with bent ears). yes, they have photos of their cats in their wallet.

cain’s memory is fucked - like, really fucked. they forget a lot of things. short term, long term. it’s a constant struggle. they managed to keep their notes from the cult, so those help - but not always. they forget dates and names and faces and events. sometimes they wake up and don’t know where they are. they don’t sleep often, anyways. with the trauma came night terrors, and in an attempt to avoid them they don’t ... sleep often. only a few hours a night if they can withstand it, because it’s frankly terrible.

they suffer from severe touch aversion. skin contact with anybody, of any sort, is enough to send cain into a full-blown panic attack. they were leather gloves more often than not in an attempt to combat this disadvantage, without hindering their dexterity too much. even with clothes, they’re not the biggest fan of physical contact. it won’t send him into a panic attack, but they visibly flinch away. they’re very clear from the get-go, if someone is too close to them, that they don’t like physical contact.

dealing with ptsd and attends therapy every week. their therapist recommended that they keep writing their notes, after reviewing them himself, so cain does. they keep an entire journal where they write, and sketch a little, because it helps them cope and de-stress. it means a lot to them, actually.

also dealing with ptsd and attends therapy every week - therapist recommended he kept writing after looking at his notes - so he does, keeps an entire journal where they write and like … sketch a little, because it helps them cope. means more to them than it would seem. but, unfortunately, part of their coping involves getting far too involved in their own mini-investigation of the cult they’d been part of. when the cult was tracked back to where cain’d been brought, they were already gone - and cain wants to know where. wants to know how to find them. wants justice, vengeance. wants nobody else to get hurt from them.

pretty blunt ... won’t go out of their way to announce that hey, they were part of a cult, and that’s why they’re gone and that’s why that’s the way they are now - but they also won’t lie about it, if the topic comes up in conversation. they don’t like delusions, don’t like secrets, nor do they like unnecessary attention.

being at radcliffe makes cain anxious because - well, they’re surrounded by people they’ve been doing wrong by for years now and they can’t even remember which ones. who, what, when, why - distant memories, if they’re even there at all. is constantly trying to figure out how to redeem themselves. they’d leave, if it hadn’t been their parents’ assistance that they stay there. so that someone always has an eye on them. 

but like ...they screwed over a lot of people when they left. from plugs / customers to their ex-girlfriend, who they are, undeniably, still in love with (you can’t forget that feeling) - to their friends. like. everybody, pretty much KBJNSDFKSNLD

is often pretty high ... i’d say it’s just the medical weed but. alas :/ take a guess :/

hates cars & swimming & crowds. hates feeling trapped and will avoid it whenever possible. doesn’t want to be seen as unsociable, but it’s difficult. 

they ... have a tendency to run away when they’re overwhelmed. likes to climb trees because they’re tall enough to. there’s a tree outside of their window that they climb out to frequently, even though it’s like a ~safety hazard~ or whatever. just really likes to hide out. 

used to be in perkins when they last attended radcliffe, but they gave their spot to someone else and that was like - 100% fine w/ cain tbh. lives alone in moris now.

feels the need to redeem themself ... to like, everybody. like, they want to avoid conflict and be a better person, but it’s hard, and they don’t necessarily like confrontation either - and not everybody believes that cain’s changed. it wouldn’t be surprising if people were suspicious of cain, for whatever reason, because they don’t ... really have the best track record anymore.

developed a stutter as one of the results from their trauma. their voice is damaged from screaming and they’re self-conscious about it, but they’re working on it because there’s more important things to worry about. in general, cain looks ... gaunt, too thin, and generally sickly.

repeating senior year ... fr obvious reasons ... and probably won’t graduate anytime soon because they’ve changed their major so late.

can still hold a conversation & they’re not really afraid of socialization. it just takes a toll on them. they’re pretty lowkey, as a person. soft, sorta. quiet but they won’t be an asshole (on purpose). they like people! just. very low energy.

so like ... tldr ... not an asshole anymore ... dealing with a lot of trauma ... trying to be a good person ... yes ...

wanted connections.

locals... people they’ve grown up with their entire life. people they’ve wronged, people who idolized him, envied him, despised him, etc. 

enemies... would love for a bunch of these just. a hoard of people who fucking hate cain. because it fits the bill. they could��ve bullied them, or wronged them, whatever. anything works. let’s make it happen.

exes... that they’ve dumped... old hookups, ex-friends, people they got into an argument with or fought before they disappeared last year...

ex girlfriend... that connection wld b rly neat!! i have it up as a wc rn but we can take that down ... will be holding intense american idol - esque auditions. remember that cain ws a fckn classist pig and probably only dated people who were also rich with influential families. (unless u present a very good case to me ... then maybe ... perhaps ...)

family friends... family rivals... people he knows mostly thru their family.

redeemable... people they’re trying to redeem themself to... trying to prove their worth, and that they’re a better person now, etc. etc.

old clients... :) angry clients. that they left in the dust.

perkins... people he knew from perkins ... old pals or maybe enemies idk he was pretty insufferable ... people he used to go to fancy parties with sometimes ...

angery... people so so so so fucking pissed at cain, for whatever reason.

reconciliation... reconnecting... used to be friends and we can be friends again :) and i will be better this time! i’m a slut for slowburns, especially slowburn friendships ... enemies to friends ... now THAT is sexy.

victims... of bullying ... :/ of their bullying specifically.

sof...t... wholesome content ... nothing but soft, understanding friendships ... or developing friendships ... make them feel welcomed again... forgive them...

an..g.st... friends to enemies. enemies to bigger enemies. miscommunication. betrayal. whatever u want.

no hookups!!! ... please only previous encounters. nothing in the present. because it just wldn’t make sense.

unless... eyes emoji. H DSJLFJKS just kidding! i’d accept MAYBE some kind of sexual tension but like ... the sort that hurts, because it just Cannot Happen (i will not let it happen). or maybe a fun, casual sexting thing but like. nothing physical. pleasthe.

fuck politics!... mayhaps, they hate mr. romanov and his politics or smth. he’s probably corrupt in some way, so! go at it!

aggression... i feel like a lot of the conversations between cain n other ppl start out rly ... angry bc theyre Mad. at them.

ok it’s bed time please plot with me. 

[untitled5071]

Wilted Flowers

(hey @betelgeuse-juice , heard you were having the sads. Her, I bring you Miss Argentina!)

(This is a ship fic between Miss Argentina and @betelgeuse-juice ‘s OC, Maeve. Hope you enjoy it!)

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

Maeve lowered herself back into her chair and tapped the bunch of papers in her hand to straighten them out. She placed them on her desk, one blue tinged hand resting on the roost sheet as she gazed into the middle distance. Another day, another file. She had been working in the Neitherworld offices for well over 30 years now, not that time mattered to anyone anymore. Every day was the same; she would look over the life file of some poor newly dead soul to help determine their sentence. Her work was very tedious and often slightly heartbreaking, but she had no choice. This was her sentence, and she had to serve it. 

However, there was one person who made it all worth it. 

The receptionist in the front room had caught Maeve's bright eyes from the moment the ex-florist had arrived in the Neitherworld sometime in the late eighties. Miss Argentina had greeted Maeve with a smile and had shown her to her desk and explained her job with gentle detail. The teal-skinned beauty pageant winner had checked up on Maeve several times throughout her first week to make sure that she was handling the transition from life to death okay. It had been quite a shock for her and she wanted to make sure that the new (and kinda cute) recruit was doing better than she had. Not that those visits had stopped after the first few weeks. It seemed as though Miss Argentina still felt the need to ‘check in’ on the Maeve as often as she could. And Maeve didn’t mind one bit. 

And now years had passed, and the only interesting thing that had happened was that Maeve had fallen hopelessly in love with Miss Argentina, and she had no clue that the feeling was mutual. 

Maeve was snapped out of her thoughts by a heavily ringed hand slamming on her desktop, smoke billowing over the papers on her desk. Juno had arrived. Maeve looked up at the frowning face of her superior and immediately directed her eyes to her papers in a vain attempt to look busy. Juno was not amused, however. 

"So, how is the work going?"

"Everything is going great, Ms. I should have these files ready by the next arrival."

"Good. And don't let me catch you daydreaming again, there are too many deaths in the world to have our files get backed up because of one trip to La-La land."

"Of course, Juno. I'll get right back to work." 

Juno huffed and walked away, Maeve's eyes never leaving her desk until she knew the smoke-billowing harpy had moved on. Her eyes flitted to the wilted flowers on her desk. Nothing could grow in the Neitherworld without becoming twisted and sickly, but that didn't stop Maeve from sticking to her florist roots. She kept at least 2 pots of flowers on her desk at all times in the vain hope that they would grow. Her flower crown was her crowning achievement, however. Woven little by little over the years, she added a new flower every time the story of a newly-dead struck a chord in her no-longer-beating heart. 

Entire lives were laid out for her on yellowed sheets of paper, waiting for her to review them and help decide their fates. She saw marriages, losses, victories and utter failures that took some poor soul an entire lifetime to experience unfold for her within the span of half an hour. And she remembered every case, the memories of which were sometimes too strong. But she would never let her co-workers know about her soft spot. One of the main rules of the Neitherworld; Never trust the living. Never feel for the living. So to cope, Maeve had woven her little crown, a reminder that the memories were safe in her head. So, patting her flower crown for confidence and wondering if another wilted bloom would be added to it that day, she set out to work. She had almost finished the file she was working on when she heard the familiar sound of high heels approach. Quickly, Maeve straightened out her uniform jacket and turned to face her visitor, only to have her heart metaphorically skip a beat when she was greeted by the lovely brown eyes of Miss Argentina. The receptionist took a delicate seat on the edge of Maeve's desk. 

"So, how are the latest files?"

Just hearing the familiar voice dripping with an exotic accent sent Maeve’s still heart into a metaphorical flutter, Miss Argentina gently took Maeve’s face in her hands as to better examine the wreath on top of her head. Maeve was grateful that the dead couldn’t give off heat, or else she was sure that Miss Argentina would be able to feel her flushed cheeks underneath her perfectly manicured teal fingers. 

"Hmm...I don't see any new flowers, so the latest few files can't have been that heart-wrenching. That's good. The last thing you need in a place like this is sorrow."

Maeve swallowed and nodded, trying to think straight but failing miserably. The only thought that could get through her lovesick brain was smalltalk. 

“No, nothing too bad yet. A few sad details here and there, you know how hard animal stories get to me and there’s one in here that would make even Juno weep.”

Miss Argentina scoffed, a sound that played like music in Maeve’s ears. 

“I doubt it. That woman is as hard as the stone that she’s buried under.”

The two of them chuckled at that, both of them feeling a kind of bliss that was relatively unknown to the civil servants of the Neitherworld. It was the bliss of true, genuine enjoyment of another’s company. And it was the only thing that the two of them had to look forward to in such a bleak place. 

Miss Argentina smiled fondly and leaned onto Maeve’s desk, trying to catch the florist’s eye. Unfortunately, Maeve was trying her best to avoid eye contact so Miss Argentina couldn’t see how much she was blushing, a task she was completing by busily shuffling papers. Miss Argentina put a teal hand on one of Maeve’s light blue ones, effectively stilling her. 

“You know, it’s too bad that we don’t get breaks around here. There are some doors to some wonderful haunted cafes in the hallway.”

Maeve gulped and nodded, grateful that she had her plants to stare at so Miss Argentina wouldn’t see the strain she was putting on herself in an attempt to keep herself from screaming. Miss Argentina used a finger to direct Maeve’s gaze to her and looked like she was about to say something else when the moment was broken by a monotone voice over the loudspeaker in the office. 

“Miss Argentina, please report back to the reception desk. Miss Argentina to the reception desk.”

Sighing and rolling her eyes, Miss Argentina stood up and smiled as Maeve. 

“Well, duty calls. Again. Like it has for all eternity. I’ll come back when it gets slow again, love. See you in a bit, and don’t let the files get you down!”

And with one little wave of her fingers and a brilliant smile, she was gone, leaving Maeve to sigh dreamily and return to work, staring lovingly at her flowers, which she could swear looked a little brighter. 

[milomeepit]

21 Sanders Street Chapter Nine: Food (and) Fights

//Amazing art by the wonderful @divinedrabbles can be found here!

First | Previous | Next

Story Warnings: Death, violence, crime, police, strained marriage, non graphic mention of torture, cursing, mental trauma, stabbing, gang, pregnancy

Chapter Warnings: food, arguments,

Rating: Young Adult

Ships: Endgame Logicality and Prinxiety

After Virgil Diaz went undercover, nothing was quite the same at the station. Sure, the squad still went to coffee at the cafe down the street, Logan still fussed over his wife, Roman still risked life and limb to get an adventure. Patton still made cookies on Fridays. But nothing was the same. Not really. The thing, though, was when Virgil came back. That’s when it all changed.

Thanks for paying for me, you absolute sweetie. You’ve got a heart of gold.” Celine cooed, patting Roman’s shoulder as he pulled money from his wallet.

“Oh, no,” He laughed as he handed the cash over to the street vendor. “You’re paying me back for this.”

“Whaaaat?” Celine said, her voice laced with mock offence as she picked up the plastic container of food and bottle of soda from the counter. “No way! You owe me from last time!”

“Do not. I shouted us for coffee on Friday.” Roman countered. “Remember?”

“And I payed you back with my precious time helping you trim your demon dog’s nails.”

“That doesn’t count!”

Celine plucked Roman’s wallet from his hands, practically skipping down the sidewalk towards the hot dog stand on the corner. “Sure it does! And besides, you love me too much to be mad at me for not paying you back.”

“I’m trying to help you not make mistakes I’ve made,” Roman rolled his eyes as he followed her, shoving his hands in his pockets. “It’s called sharing knowledge and experience.”

“Come off of it- ew, watch that puddle, I don’t think that’s water-” Celine dodged around the murky brown splash on the pavement. “You mooch off of people, like constantly. It’s totally a different thing.”

Roman shook his head. He looked around the street as Celine ordered his food, his gaze combing over the familiar graffiti-splashed scenery. People hurried past, footsteps and traffic a dull roar that echoed across the concrete streets. He turned back to Celine as she returned from the hot dog stand, proudly holding out a dog almost overflowing with toppings.

“… You’re temporarily forgiven,” Roman took the food and his wallet, rolling his eyes again.

Celine punched a fist into the air triumphantly. “Hah! See? Told you that you love me too much.”

“Oh, whatever.” Roman bumped his hip against hers lightly. “Let’s get back before Optimus Crime calls and complains about us being out for too long.”

“It’s our lunch break!” Celine shrugged. “Besides, he’d hardly get mad at me!” She fluffed her hair, her red lips curving into a self-satisfied smirk.

“Whatever, just start walking, you dope,” He laughed and started striding back up the street towards the precinct.

“Hey!” She squawked, trotting after him. “Don’t ditch me, you asshat!”

“Then keep up, Goldilocks!” Roman called over his shoulder with a cheeky grin, deliberately speeding up a little as she huffed along behind him.

By the time they got back up to the office a half hour later, Celine was scowling at him. “I’m in heels!” She whined. “How could you do that to me?”

“Not my fault you didn’t wear appropriate footwear,” Roman shrugged.

“Oh, like you’re one to talk. Dress shoes aren’t any good for an emergency. I would’ve thought you learned your lesson after you hurt your ankle.” She scoffed, setting down her food on her desk and kicking off her shoes.

“Honestly, neither of you are great at picking out practical footwear for day to day work,” Patton chimed in with a giggle.

Roman glanced over and raised a hand in greeting to Patton and Virgil, who were huddled together over Patton’s desk, going over the paperwork and procedures that would be necessary for Virgil to return to work. It had been a couple of weeks since they’d sprung Virgil from the motel, and there were piles of forms to be signed and evaluations to be completed.

He’d be back soon, though. The thought made Roman smile.

“Nobody asked you, Patton,” Celine spun around in her chair to face Patton’s desk as she sipped her soda. “Why don’t you mind your own business?”

“Sorry, I didn’t realise you had such a singular claim on my friend,” Patton’s smile was brittle as he looked up, staring at Celine.

Celine glared at him. “You know people just tolerate you, right?” Her tone was sickly sweet as she flicked her hair over her shoulder.

Uh oh. Roman exchanged a look with Virgil, who looked kind of stunned at the icy exchange.

“And you know you’re really not pretty enough to be this sour and stupid, right?” Patton mimicked her tone, tilting his head to the side.

Celine stood up, stalking over to Patton’s desk and leaning over it til she was practically nose-to-nose with him. “You’re calling me stupid? You couldn’t pour water out of a boot if the instructions were on the heel, you walnut.” She spat.

“I swear to god, you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth and a stick up your ass!” Patton snapped, standing up straight to loom over her.

Celine gasped, recoiling a little before scowling and ripping the top off of her soda bottle. Roman watched in horrified awe as the neon pink liquid flew upwards, splashing all over Patton in slow motion.

Patton gaped, blinking owlishly as soda ran in rivulets down his face, soaking into his shirt in large purplish patches. He reached up and wiped his glasses with his thumb, stunned. Virgil looked between Patton and Celine, his eyes wide, then looked back to Roman, who shrugged helplessly.

The office was deafeningly silent as their coworkers stared at the scene, all frozen in the middle of their tasks. The stillness rather reminded Roman of a crystal ball; calm and clear, yet fragile.

The crystal-silence was shattered as Logan’s door flew open. “What on earth is going on out here?!” He exclaimed, eyes combing over the scene before him.

Officers and detectives alike rapidly scrambled to look busy to escape Logan’s impending wrath as he approached his friends. A wise decision, Roman mused to himself.

“What did you do?” Logan’s head snapped to look at him.

“Woah, woah!” Roman held up his hands defensively. “I didn’t do anything! It was all-”

“It was me.” Patton spoke up, plastering on a sheepish smile. “I bumped into Celine, and she dropped her soda. It kinda… blew up.” He gestured to himself. “Sorry about the mess, Lo!”

Celine dropped back down into her chair and smiled sweetly. “Yeah. Just an accident, that’s all, sweetheart.” She agreed, nodding her head.

Logan sighed. “Come on, Patton. I have some spare clothes in my locker, you can borrow a shirt.”

“Aw, thanks, Lo!” Patton giggled.

Logan shook his head, smiling fondly. “Let’s go, you disaster.”

Patton beamed as he trotted after Logan, disappearing into the elevator. “You’re the best!”

There were several seconds of awkward silence before Virgil spoke up. “What the fuck just happened?” He hissed to Roman under his breath.

Roman ran a hand through his hair and shrugged. “A regular skirmish between opposing factions of the office?”

“No, fuck off. Why did Patton… lie?” The word clearly left a bad taste in Virgil’s mouth, as he blanched. “To Logan, no less?”

Roman’s smile felt forced as he responded quietly. “Well, you know. Patton and Celine both hate Logan being upset, and if they started pointing fingers at each other, it’d be, you know… ugly.”

Virgil stared at him in disbelief. “You’re telling me they’re just covering up all their fights?”

“Just the big ones. Around Logan.”

“Because Pat’s scared of upsetting him? And Celine is a sneaky shit talking bitch?”

“Hey, now that’s hardly-!”

Virgil held up a hand to silence him. “It’s fine, Princey. I know how to even the playing field a little,” He almost purred with a faint smirk.

Before Roman could protest, Virgil was already at Celine’s desk, head tilted to the side in mock innocence. “Heyyy, Abaddon. Whatcha eatin’?”

Celine glanced up, raising an eyebrow slightly. “Oh, hi, Virgil. Roman bought me some ramen, so…” She poked at the noodles with the plastic spork. “I got the seafood one.”

“Isn’t that stuff, like, crazy messy?” Virgil crossed his arms, leaning against her desk.

“Unlike some people-” Celine tossed an amused look over her shoulder at Roman. “I actually know how to eat like a civilised human being.”

Roman made an offended noise. “I can, too, eat civilised! How dare you!”

“You have ketchup smeared on your cheek and coffee stains all over your desk-” Celine huffed, then turned back to Virgil. “Anyway, what’s it to you? Looking for lunch recommendations?”

“Oh… not exactly.” Virgil bent over, leaning close to the plastic container and studying it. “Call it curiosity.”

“About what?”

Quick as a flash, Virgil’s hand shot out from his pocket, grabbing the edge of the container and throwing it over Celine, who shrieked as though she’d been stabbed.

“Virgil!” Roman screeched, diving over and grabbing Virgil by the arm. “What the hell are you doing?!”

Virgil leaned in close to Celine’s face, expression deadpan. “Don’t mess with a Diaz or our friends. You’re just gonna regret it.”

Roman pulled on Virgil’s arm, guiding him away from Celine as she spluttered incoherently, shaking noodles from her hair. “Let’s not have you and Celine murder each other, hm?” Roman said, his voice a little high pitched, pulling Virgil down the hallway towards the break room.

Virgil grinned, glancing over his shoulder and laughing at the small cluster of people around Celine, offering her napkins and helping rescue paperwork from spilled broth. “I have no regrets, Princey. My only wish is that the liquid melted her like the Wicked Witch of the West.” He held up his free hand, making a sizzling noise as he wiggled his fingers.

Roman groaned, shoving him into the break room. “Wait here. And don’t touch anything!” He wagged his finger, slamming the door shut behind him.

Virgil snorted as he dropped back to sit on the couch. “Sure, sure, whatever,” He muttered, looking around the room.

It hadn’t changed much. There was a new calendar on the wall, the days marked off with the attached container of animal paw print markers that Patton kept supplied. The same clunky fridge sat in the corner like a grumpy guardian. The air conditioner hummed with the same faint wheeze it had had since Roman and Patton had started a food fight and gunked it up with macaroni; a cheesy death rattle.

He picked at loose threads on the couch’s arm, peering out through the window of the break room into the office. Celine had already stormed off in a huff, and Patton was hanging back as Roman and Logan bickered back and forth about the puddles of food splashed across the floor. A lot of things were the same, he mused as he leaned back, closing his eyes and settling into a more relaxed position. Should make it easy to fill out all that damned paperwork if everything worked roughly the same. It was probably fine. They wouldn’t have changed that much, right?

Oh, what a fool he was.

The thick stack of papers Logan dumped next to him made him jump. “Jesus fuck, Lo, did you print out the Oxford Dictionary or something?” Virgil yelped, jerking upright and staring wide-eyed at the pile.

“Nope. I’m not letting you step foot near your desk til you read through and sign all of this.” Logan shook his head resolutely.

“Looooo!” Virgil whined. “Come on! Do I really have to? This seems so pointless!”

“You know, refusal to comply with regulations and the like really just delays your return to work? You know that, right?”

Virgil side-eyed the pile of papers. “… Do you at least have a pen?”

“If you didn’t bring your own pen, I’m not letting you drag me down with you.”

“Glad to see you haven’t changed from 10th Grade Biology at all.”

Logan cracked a smile. “Just got older and wiser, Virgil.”

“Older, maybe,” Virgil teased, propping his chin up in his hands and looking up at him.

He rolled his eyes, plucking a pen from his pocket and tossing it at Virgil. “Here. I want that back when you’re done.”

Virgil uncapped the pen, settling back down and placing the pile of papers in his lap. “Sure thing, chief.”

Logan paused halfway out the door and turned back. “… Virgil?”

“Yeah?” Virgil didn’t look up from the papers.

“It’s good to see you back.”

Virgil looked up to see his face suddenly soft, eyes shiny behind chunky frames. “… Thanks, Lo. I missed you too.”

21 Sanders Street Taglist (let me know if you want to be added or removed! :o):

@pattson @royallyanxious @thesocialbookwormishere@wisepuma23@redisawerewolf @lacrimosathedark @demonvirgil@lucifer-in-my-head@2queer2deer @crayonthegreat @rose-gold-roman@my-happy-little-bean@thats-kat-with-a-k @ultimate-queen-of-fandoms2@davidthetraveler@just-a-random-word @wolfishhel @romanussy@moxieties @the-no-name-system @everythings-comin-up-aces@awkwardcaitlin @pr0bablypr0crstinating@generalfandomfabulousness@nyamafriend @the-average-loner @livsig@theresneverenoughfandoms@daughterofsomnus

[latina4bangtan]

Let’s Make a Deal

Pt. 6 

“I got to say when you told me you had a burden to take care of she isn’t what I was expecting.” 

“Ready?”

“Absolutely....not” You said as you sat in the car waiting to reach your destination.

Nope. I can’t do this. Oh my god what if I fall on my face in front of some super important people. Or what if I say the wrong thing and they think Im stupid. WHAT IF THE FOOD GIVES ME GAS.

“Stop.”

“Stop what?” You turned to look at Namjoon.

“I can see your mind going into overdrive. Look if people see that you’re scared they’ll take advantage.”

“I get it.” You cut him off. He’s already told you a billion times to be on guard with everyone.

All of a sudden though you felt namjoon take your hand and look straight at you.

“I know you can do this.” He said as he gave you a reassuring smile.

You don’t know why but you could have sworn that your stomach just did a flip. It was like he spoke it into existence but the next thing you knew you gave him a small nod feeling reassured in yourself.

The car ride was the most you two had talked since your arrival in Korea but it was nice you couldn’t lie. This was the first time you started to see Namjoon as just another person and not the man you were pretty much forced to marry. He spoke to you normally and even was trying to reassure you.

Well this was new. Now your only question was how long is this going to last.

Before you could give it another thought he was pulling you out of the car. As you got out and started walking towards the large home you felt him put his arm around your waist as he walked with you.

DUH. Gotta be the happy couple.

When you stepped into the house you took note of all the people who were also there. What you saw actually had kinda surprised you considering  everyone seemed to be from all over the world. You know you heard a majority of the conversations were being spoken in English but others ranged from Korean, Spanish and what you thought was Chinese.

Leaning into Namjoon you whispered to where only he could hear you.

“What is this some kind of gangster convention?”

You almost broke your neck to look at him when you heard a small little laugh escape him.

“Something like that i guess you could say.”

Before you could say anything else you heard someone call out for him.

“Ahhh there you are Namjoon! For a second I thought you weren’t going to come.”

You instantly recognized the man from the wedding but couldn’t remember his name. When you both had gotten married he was there with a few other guys who apparently were good friends with your now husband. He was a handsome guy you couldn’t deny and you definitely couldn’t forget his distinctive deep voice.

“Tae you knew I was going to be here.”

“Yea you’re right. Maybe I just wanted to say hi to your beautiful wife.” He turned and gave you a little flirty wink.

“Now now Tae don’t make me embarrass you in front of all these people for giving my wife googly eyes.”

“You’re always soooo much fun. Last time I checked I won that fight.” he sarcastically said.

Namjoon just gave him a little laugh and patted him on the shoulder.

“That’s because I let you win.....the time before that I won and you pouted for a week. Come on why don’t we go find our table to eat.”

After finding your table everything kinda went the way you expected. Some person you didn’t know got on a stage talked about some other stuff you didn’t know about and you ended up getting served some bomb ass food.

Your table consisted of yourself, Namjoon, taehyung (you finally remembered his name), and a few others who you didn’t know.

“Namjoon I hadn’t realized that you got married recently.” One of the older men who were sitting at your table had asked.

Well this was about to get interesting. You knew people were going to ask and be curious. What you didn’t know was how you both were going to handle it.....more so how you were going to handle it.

“That would be correct. It’s been about 3 weeks now.”

“I didn’t even know you were dating again.”

Hold up. Did this fool just say again. I mean you shouldn’t be surprised he was a good looking dude he was bound to have had a gf prior to you.

“Well I cant say that I like having my personal business being everyone’s knowledge.”

You could tell he was getting slightly annoyed.

“Understandable. So tell me namjoon what made this beautiful lady different than the others?”

Others? Ok so like how many others were there. You couldn’t help but to be curious I mean come on you weren’t going to lie and say you weren’t. However you were way more interested in what he was about to say.

“I wish I knew. I don’t think there’s just one thing that made her different. Maybe it’s the way she isn’t scared to confront me or maybe it’s how beautiful she is even when she’s just sleeping...even though she snores. I want to know what makes her so different but I don’t have that answer yet but I’m willing to put the time in to find out.”

Did you just hear him right. He must be a really good actor because even he had you believing the lie.

The man he was speaking with now turned to you waiting for your response.

“Well all I can say to that is......i do not snore.”

Thankfully everyone enjoyed your corny joke and just stared to laugh. You couldn’t help but try and sneak a glance at namjoon but when you tried to look at him you noticed he was already staring at you. Staring back at him it seemed like you just got stuck looking at him you didn’t know what to do so you did the first thing that came to mind.

“Ugh where is the restroom?”

“It’s in the house right by the kitchen.”

“Ok if you will excuse me”

“Want me to show you”

“NO!.......i mean erm that’s ok Im sure I can find it 🙃🙃”

With that you ran off like the chicken you are to find the bathroom. While in the bathroom you tried to get yourself together. Thinking you were finally ok to go back to the party you darted out the door only to run into a body.

You have got to stop doing this.

“Shit! I’m sorry!”

“Don’t worry about it. No harm no foul right......You must be Namjoon’s wife right?” He said extending a hand out to you to shake.

“How do you know that?” You said as you took his hand.

“Well I’m pretty familiar with most of the people here and when I heard that namjoon got married recently I figured it had to be the beautiful woman that everyone was talking about tonight. So tell me am I wrong?”

“No” Was all you could say. For some reason you felt like you needed to keep this man at arms length.

“I’m Samuel nice to meet you and you are?”

“(Y/n)”

“I’ve got to say (y/n) you look pretty familiar have we met before?”

“I don’t believe so.” However you thought to yourself that he did actually look kinda familiar.

“You’re probably right I would have remembered meeting such a beautiful woman. That husband of yours sure is a lucky man. I must say he better be careful or someone might try and take you away from him....”

Before you could come up with any type of remark you felt someone pull you close.

“I fear for the man who has the balls to try.....No one will be taking this gem from me now if you will excuse us I think I’d like to take my wife to dance.”

Samuel just glared at Namjoon as he pulled you towards the dance floor. As the song began to play he pulled you close and started to sway.

“I warned you that these people would try and get to you.” He said.

“Don’t worry. I didn’t say anything to him about you.”

“I know....I trust you...”

All you could do was look at him as you continued to dance.

“Do me a favor though and stay as far away as you can from Samuel.”

“Why?”

Before he could give you an answer you heard a woman call out in your direction.

“So this is the wife of Namjoon that everyone is talking about.”

Who the hell is she? This random woman was walking towards you both but you could tell her eyes were fixed only on you. She was stunning to say the least reminding you of those beautiful actresses you see in tv shows. The look she had walking towards you though told you she was not coming over to become your friend.

“Brie.....”  Namjoon said.

Ok....so he obviously knew her. Well guess here goes nothing. Time to play wife.

“Hello Im Mrs. Kim but you can just call me (y/n)” You tried giving her your best smile as you extended your hand out to her. She definitely wasn’t having it though since she now had turned to face Namjoon.

“It’s nice to put a name to a face Namjoon.”

Oh.....so apparently he had spoken to this woman about you. You had a very bad feeling about this.

He didn’t say anything but you could tell he seemed almost....nervous?

“I got to say when you told me you had a burden to take care of she isn’t what I was expecting.”

Did she just say....burden? Last time you checked this whole marriage was his idea....and now he’s telling her that YOU'RE THE BURDEN.

As pissed off as you were you wouldn’t let her get a reaction out of you. Since that’s what she came over for anyways.

“It was nice meeting you Brie....however I won’t stay to be made uncomfortable.....I’m sure we’ll see each other again. Now if you will excuse me I think I’m going to go find myself a drink.”

With that you gave Namjoon a look that was sure to say go to hell and walked away but it wasn’t to go get a drink. Instead you walked to the front door and out to the street. You had messaged Seonhwa asking for the house address and as you got to the street you grabbed a cab. Namjoon can enjoy his party but you weren’t going to be made a fool of just to boost his ego. With that you left.