#blame all of these sets on mia. bye.

[yangjeongin]

[raindancer2004]

Rejected by a human?

Word Count: 6,561 Demetri x Swan reader Oneshot - Warnings: Angst, Fluff

Edward starts to step outside without his shirt on when Bella runs into his arms, asking to him to open his eyes and to go back inside. Bella says she can let him go now and Edward tells her that he loves her and that he can’t live in a world where she is not in it. They share a kiss as Demetri and Felix enter the hallway. Edward tells them “I won’t be needing your services after all gentlemen” “Still we should take this conversation to a more appropriate venue” Demetri replies. Edward nods and tells Bella to go and enjoy the festival. “The girl comes with us” says Felix. “Go to hell” Edward replies.

The doors burst open “Come on gentlemen, you don’t want to cause a scene” states Alice. “You wouldn’t” replies Felix. Demetri ignores the conversation between his friend and the female vampire as his eyes focus on the girl standing behind Alice. She has long brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. He feels a burning in the back of his throat but ignores it as takes her warm hand in his cold one as they all make their way to the throne room to meet with Aro, Caius and Marcus.

Once in the throne room Demetri keeps Y/N beside him, an arm wrapped around her holding her. Edward offers his hand to Aro. Aro tells the room that Bella is Edward’s La tua cantante and that Edward cannot read her mind. Aro then discovers that Bella is immune to his gift and Jane’s.

Edward and Felix then fight as Edward tries to stop Felix from killing Bella. Felix has Edward kneeling on the throne steps with his head in his hands ready to remove it, when Bella cries out “Kill me, kill me, not him, not him” Aro stops Felix and looks to Bella “You would give up your life for someone like us, a soulless monster” “You don’t know a thing about his soul” replies Bella. Before Aro can kill Bella Alice shows her vision of Bella becoming one of them, “Your gifts will make for an intriguing immortal Isabella. Go make your preparations” Aro says bringing his hands together.

Aro notices Demetri is holding a human in his arms. “What are we going to do with you my dear?” Aro says walking towards Demetri and Y/N; she hears a low growl escape Demetri as he pushes her behind him feeling the need to protect her.

Marcus recognises the mate bond and calls out “Brother” getting Aro’s attention, before getting up from his throne and offering his hand to Aro. Aro sees Marcus’ thoughts and sees that Y/N is Demetri’s mate. “Ahh it would seem another happy ending is to be had thanks to your visit” Aro says loudly. “What?” Y/N asks “It would seem that you are the mate of our dear Demetri.  You are True Bond Mates to be exact. This is rarer than Blood Singer Mate pairings like your sister and Edward” Marcus explains “The only other True Bond Mate pairing I have seen in my time was between my late wife and I” He continues. “What is a True Bond Mate pairing?” Y/N asks curious. “The True Bond Mate pairing is very sacred and should be treasured” Marcus answered smiling. “Wh-what happens now?” She asked “I’m sure Demetri would like the chance to get to know you and for you to get to know him in return” Aro replies. “So he’ll be coming back with us…?” “No my dear you will stay here with him” Aro continues “No. She can’t stay here” Bella cries out “Not with him!” “Now, now Bella, you know what you and Edward have been through the last six months, after all it is what led you here. Do you really want your sister and Demetri to go through that? It would be worse for them” Caius responds, Bella went to object when Edward shook his head at her.

“Thanks for the heads-up Alice” Y/N says sarcastically “What? Why are you blaming her?” Bella questioned. “Well Little Miss Crystal Ball over there” Y/N starts pointing to Alice, the Volturi guards chuckled “Would have seen this coming as soon as we decided to come here and save your precious Edward and yet she said nothing. Now I’m stuck here with someone I don’t know; someone who could kill me in an instant. I mean if she had told me this would happen, I could have at least a) packed some clothes and stuff or b) not come at all” Y/N finishes and Demetri feels sad hearing this, for he would never harm her for it would hurt him to do so. “I’m sorry Y/N, but I knew if I told you, you wouldn’t have come and that would cause problems for us in the future” Before anyone could respond to Alice, Edward said “We’ll be going now Aro” bowing his head “Thank you for your visit. Heidi will be here any moment” Marcus responds and with that Edward, Bella and Alice leave the throne room escorted by Demetri who took Y/N’s hand in his “Come cara mia, say goodbye to Bella” He says softly. Y/N watched as Edward, Alice and Bella left the castle “I can’t believe they’re leaving me here” She mumbled to herself, although Demetri heard and frowned slightly.

Demetri left Y/N at reception with Gianna. “I’ll come back and collect you shortly” Y/N nods and takes a seat and picks up a magazine to read. About 30 minutes later Demetri returns to reception and Y/N notices his eyes are a brighter shade of red than before. “Hello cara mia. Who do I have the pleasure of being mated to?” “My name is Y/N. You’re Demetri?” “Yes, yes I am. Come I’ll show you to my…our room that is unless you want me to stay away, then it will be your room until you decide otherwise” “Do I not get my own room?” She asked “Do you want your own room?” He enquired. “I-I don’t know what I want, I mean I only found out about vampires on the flight over” Demetri looked at her shocked “What do you know about vampires, about us?” “Only what Alice told me and to be honest that wasn’t a lot” He nodded “Can I ask you a question, although I don’t think I’m going to like the answer” “Go ahead cara mia. You can ask me anything” He replied “Y-your eyes, they’ve changed colour since I first met you a few hours ago. They’re brighter than before. Why is that?” “My eyes are brighter, redder than before because I have recently fed. My eyes get darker the thirstier I get” He replied “Oh ok. You drink human blood, right?” She looked a little worried “Yes Y/N I do, but you are safe with me. I promise you” She nodded although she wasn’t totally convinced.

They arrived at Demetri’s room “Sorry about all the stairs; the higher the rank of the guard, the higher the room in the castle” “That’s ok, just don’t expect me to find way back here if I leave the room” She let out a slight chuckle. Y/N noticed there was a marble fireplace on the right-hand side of the room with bookcases on either side; there was a blood red coloured rug in front of the fireplace. There was a sofa facing the fireplace with a matching chair to the right. On the wall opposite the door was a set of French doors leading to a balcony; a desk was placed to the right of the doors with a world map on the wall above the desk. On the wall opposite the French doors were 2 doors; one leading into a walk-in closet and the other leading into a large bathroom. Y/N noticed the bathtub on the left-hand side was big enough for two; a large walk-in shower was situated opposite the door. On the right-hand side of the room was a toilet and a double vanity unit with two sinks. “Wow. This is nicer than most hotels” Demetri heard her comment and smiled to himself. She then noticed the king size bed on the wall opposite the fireplace. “I thought vampires do not sleep” “It’s not for sleeping or at least it wasn’t before your arrival. A bed can be used for many things cara” He says softly in her ear whilst running his fingers up and down her arms; Y/N blushes and steps forward away from him. “Did you want to stay here on your own?” “No, I…” Demetri smiled “I don’t want to throw you out of your own room. Is there a guest room I could stay in?” Demetri’s smile faded upset that his mate didn’t want to stay with him or even stay in his room. “I’m sure I can arrange something, stay here”

He left the room and bumped into Heidi “Are you ok Dem?” “No. I finally meet my mate and she wants nothing to do with me” He replies sounding sad, Heidi looks confused. “She doesn’t wish to stay in my room with me or without me; she has asked to have her own room” He finishes. “Oh Dem don’t take it personally. This is all new to her. I mean the Cullens and her sister did just leave her here” She says sympathetically. “There’s an empty room opposite yours; Chelsea and I can turn it into her room” “Thank you at least she’ll be near me, all the other guest rooms are on the other side of the castle” “I know that’s why I offered. She can stay in my room in the meantime if that’s ok with you?” “Yes that should be ok. Come on we’ll go tell her”

“Y/N this is Heidi. You can stay in her room until yours is ready if you’d like?” “Hello Heidi, thank you for the offer, but I do not wish to throw you out of your room either” “No need to worry about that I’ll be too busy turning the empty room opposite Demetri’s into your room” “If you’re sure, that would be lovely thank you” Y/N smiled at her. “Do you have any bags with you?” Heidi asks looking around the room “No. It was only supposed to be a quick trip to bring Edward home so I didn’t pack anything” “I’ll take you shopping tomorrow and we’ll get you some stuff. In the meantime you can borrow something of mine” Heidi says smiling holding out her hand to Y/N “Come on I’ll show you to my room. Bye Demetri” “Take this” He says to Heidi too low for Y/N to hear and hands her his bank card. “Thank you Heidi. See you soon Y/N” “Bye Demetri” Y/N replies leaving the room. Demetri sighs and sits on the sofa his head in his hands ‘She is my mate and she wants nothing to do with me’ Demetri thinks to himself sadly.

Sometime later he stands and makes his way to the throne room “What a pleasant surprise my boy” Aro greets him “I would have thought you would be with your lovely mate” “Master” Demetri replies holding out his hand for Aro to read his thoughts. “Come with me” Aro says leading Demetri to his private study. “Be patient with her. She has just found out about vampires, about us few hours ago and on top of that she has a new home to get used to. She has also found out she is mated to a vampire” “I know but I want to be with her, help her settle in, get to know her and she won’t even stay in my room whether I’m there or not. Maybe I should have let her go” He looks down at the floor “Do not say that or think it. If anything happened to either of you, the other would end up like poor Marcus” Aro says placing a hand on Demetri’s shoulder. “Take care of her, treasure her my dear boy. She will come to love you in time.” “Thank you master. I hope so”

The following morning Heidi takes Y/N shopping for new clothes and stuff for her room. First stop was Boux Avenue for underwear; followed by a boutique shop “They do lovely dresses in here” Heidi says pulling Y/N into the shop. They bought a black knee length sleeveless dress, a black dress with spaghetti straps and a cow neck, an emerald green dress that came to her mid-thigh, a black waist length jacket and a black pair of stilettos. The next shop they went into they picked out jeans, t-shirts, pyjamas – both long trouser sets and short sets and a pair of flat black shoes. They also picked up toiletries and make-up. “I can’t pay you back for this stuff, I don’t have much money with me” Y/N said to Heidi “Don’t worry about the cost. Demetri has given me his card and told me to get you anything you need/want” Heidi said smiling “I can’t pay him back either” “Like I said Y/N do not worry about the cost, he won’t accept any money from you anyways. He is your mate and he’ll look after you”

Heidi then took Y/N into a department store “Let’s pick out some stuff for your room” Y/N chose some blue and grey bed sets “Blue is my favourite colour” She told Heidi. Heidi bought a big silver-grey rug to go in front of the fireplace and some grey cushions with blue flowers on; these were to go on the new black sofa Heidi ordered for the room. Y/N picked a large cream blanket, black and grey bath sheets, hand towels and wash cloths; whilst Heidi selected a coffee table, two beside tables and two lamps. “Demetri might change his mind about paying for all this when his statement comes in” Y/N chuckled softly “I can assure you he won’t and anyways the stuff for your room comes out of the castle decorating account”

While Y/N and Heidi were shopping Chelsea tidied Y/N’s room removing the boxes and storing them in a cupboard down the hall. Demetri lit the fire in Heidi’s room to ensure the room was warm ready for when they returned as Y/N’s room wasn’t ready for her yet.

“Good afternoon Heidi, Y/N, cara mia. I trust you had a good time shopping” Demetri said taking the bags from Y/N “We did thank you Demetri” Y/N replied walking beside him.

Later that evening Demetri went to Heidi’s room to give Y/N her dinner “Gianna made chicken pasta with garlic bread and salad for you both. I hope it’s ok” “Thank you Demetri for bringing it to me. It looks delicious. Please thank her for me” He nodded and sat beside her on the sofa “Why did you come with Bella to save Edward?” He asked “Bella is my sister and asked me if I’d come with her, so I agreed…” She trails off “You wish you hadn’t come now?” He asked “Honestly, yes a little” He frowned “I don’t mean to upset you but this is going to take time to get used to; being the True Bond Mate of a vampire, especially as I always thought vampires were just characters in books and films” She answered him “I know cara mia. This is new for me too but we’ll work it out together” He smiled at her and she nodded unsure if she wanted to work it out with him.

The following morning Heidi came back to her room “Good morning Y/N, your room is ready whenever you are” “Thank you Heidi” They made their way to Y/N’s room that was opposite Demetri’s and Y/N noted it had a fireplace on the right-hand side of the room and a double bed on the wall opposite the fireplace, which Heidi had put a blue duvet set on. On the wall opposite the door were two doors; one leading into a small walk-in closet and other into a bathroom, which was smaller than Demetri’s. It had a normal size bathtub on the left-hand side and walk-in shower on the wall opposite the door, on the right hand side was a toilet and single vanity unit with a sink. The walls were cream and complimented the black and grey bath sheets, hand towels and wash cloths she had picked out. “Sorry there’s no balcony with your room” Heidi says to Y/N as she tries out the new sofa “I’m sure Demetri wouldn’t mind if you used his balcony if you wanted to sit outside anytime” “That’s ok, no worries, at least there’s plenty of light considering the lack of windows” Y/N replied “That’s true and we kept the walls a neutral colour for that reason also” “Thank you so much for doing this for me, I appreciate it. It just felt weird to stay with someone I didn’t know” Y/N explains, Heidi nods “I’m sure he understands”

Demetri comes to see Y/N that evening and brings her a few books from his room “Evening cara mia. I have bought you some of my books for you to borrow as there aren’t any in here” “Oh um…thank you. Y-you didn’t need to do that” She stuttered “I didn’t want you to get bored in here. I wasn’t sure what you liked so I bought a few different options” He replies as he places the books on the coffee table. “The room looks nice; I like the colour scheme” “Thank you. Blue is my favourite colour and it goes well with grey/silver” She replies and he nods “May I?” He asks pointing to the sofa; Y/N nods and Demetri sits on the other end of the sofa, leaving the middle cushion empty between them. They sat in silence for a while before Y/N broke it with a question “What do you do here?” “I am one of the four elite guards. I along with Felix train the lower and transitory guards” He answers and Y/N nods “Do you have a gift like Edward and Alice?” “Yes I do. I am a tracker. I pick up on the essence of someone’s mind and can follow it like a scent over any distance. To be able to do this I have to either have met that person physically or anyone who has met the person in the past” He explained “That’s interesting. Can you track me?” She asked “Yes I can although I cannot track your sister” “If I ever get lost all I have to do is call you and you can find me, like a GPS in reverse” She says chuckling, he chuckles too “Exactly. Although hopefully I won’t lose you” He replies. “Thank you for my new clothes. Heidi said you gave her your card to pay for them” “You’re very welcome. If you need/want anything else just let me know” He replies, she nods and gives him a small smile; feeling oddly safe with him although she wouldn’t tell him that anytime soon. “Am I allowed to leave the castle, to look around Volterra and stuff?” She asked “You can but I’d rather you didn’t go out alone, just in case something happens. Which reminds me please do not wander the halls of the castle alone as the lower guards do not have the best self-control around humans” He answered her “I understand and thank you for advising me about the lower guards. I’ll be careful” She replies. ‘Great so I need a chaperone when I go out now’ she thinks to herself.

The following morning Y/N got up and ready and made her way to Heidi’s room “Morning Heidi, any chance you’re free to come and look around Volterra with me?” “I’m free for a couple of hours” Heidi replies. Demetri was making his way to Y/N’s room after grabbing her breakfast from the kitchen when he heard this exchange and felt a little hurt that Y/N didn’t ask or want him to accompany her, as it would have given them a chance to get to know one another more. He had been given some days off by the kings so he could spend time with his new mate and had planned to spend the day with her but decided against it after hearing her conversation with Heidi, so he returned her breakfast to the kitchen and spent the day reading in his room.

A few hours later there was a knock on his door “Hey D, how you doing?” “Hi Fe, I’m fine” Felix entered the room and sat on the chair “You don’t seem fine. How come you’re not with your mate?” “Because she’d rather spend time with Heidi than me. In fact she’d rather spend time with anyone that isn’t me. She’d even probably prefer the twins over me” He closed his book and put it on the coffee table “I’m sure that’s not the case” Felix says “No it is, I went to see her last night and we talked for a bit but I got the impression she was relieved when I left her room so she could sleep” Demetri added “I’m sorry D” Felix said sympathetically “Don’t be. I should have guessed that after all this time, meeting my mate wouldn’t work out the way I thought or wanted it to” He eyes began to fill with tears that would never fall. “What are you going to do?” Felix asked “Not sure, I’m worried if I keep trying to get to know her when she wants nothing to do with me, I’ll push her away; but if I don’t do anything she may think I don’t care” Demetri replied “Yea that’s a tough one D. All you can do is try” Felix advised, feeling sorry for his friend.  

Heidi and Y/N return to the castle and Y/N decided to go for a nap, hoping she’d be left alone. Demetri knew they had returned but decided to stay in his room, figuring if Y/N wanted to see him, she’d come to him but she stayed in her room for the entire night.

Demetri knocked on her door the following morning “Come in” Came a sleepy response “Morning Y/N, I wondered if you’d like to go out for breakfast with me?” He asked sounding hopeful “No thank you Demetri, I’m not that hungry” She replied “Ok I understand” Demetri closed her bedroom door and sped to the training room “Fe I need to hit something or someone hard” He growled loudly “Come on then D” Felix replied and Demetri didn’t hesitate; he thumped his best friend hard and Felix stumbled back from the force “Thank you Fe” “No worries. Better me than a wall. I’m going to assume this is Y/N related” He replied rubbing his jaw “I’m going to ask Aro if I can resume my duties, no point having time off to get to know her if she doesn’t want to get to know me” He sounded defeated, Felix nodded feeling sorry for his friend.

Aro wouldn’t let Demetri resume his duties stating “You need to give her time but you also need to make sure she feels cared for. Don’t give up my boy” “I understand master” Demetri sighed and made his way back to his room, grabbing a book and sat on the balcony reading.

“I think I’ll visit Y/N and have a chat with her about mates” Marcus said looking to Aro and Caius.

Marcus paid Y/N a visit that evening “Good evening my dear, I was hoping we could talk?” “Evening Marcus, of course come in” She replied. Marcus sat on the sofa next to Y/N “How have you been?” He asked “I’ve been ok thank you. Heidi decorated my room for me and we went shopping for clothes and things for the room” She replied “Yes, I see you’re not staying with Demetri. May I ask why?” He questioned “I didn’t feel comfortable staying with someone I don’t know nor did I think it fair for him to leave his room for me. I asked if I could stay in a guest room or something and Heidi offered to do fix up this room. I suppose she chose this room as it’s opposite his” She answered him. “What do you know about mates Y/N?” There was silence for a few moments before she answered Marcus’ question “Only what you told me when I arrived here. Why?” “Well Y/N, there are some things you need to know. First if a vampire is away from their mate for too long, they start to miss them; the longer they are apart they start to become sad; this can lead to feeling depressed. Second if a vampire loses their mate then they become lonely and heartbroken, like me after I lost my mate centuries ago. Third there is only one mate per vampire; if we lose them or are rejected by them then we remain alone for forever” He spoke softly “Why are you telling me this?” She asked “I’m telling you this because your actions affect Demetri as well as yourself. He is one of our more reasonable guards; he’s not very talkative but he’s polite, formal even. He has also been described as elegant and charming by others that have met him” “You speak very highly of him Marcus” “That’s because I think highly of him; I have known him for many centuries and he is my own personal guard” Marcus smiled. Y/N nodded. “You know I only came here because my sister asked for my company and my whole life changed. I find out vampires really do exist and to top it off I’m mated to one” She explained “You should know a vampire’s mate is someone to be treasured, protected and above all else loved for eternity. Demetri would be an amazing mate to you if you let him. You should know that he had given up on the idea of finding his mate” Marcus said shifting slightly “What? Why?” She asked curious “He has been around for over 1000 years and had never met his mate; so he assumed that she must died before he had the chance to meet her or that maybe he just wasn’t meant to have one. Therefore, he stopped looking a few centuries ago and then you walk into the castle and into his life and…he feels so lucky to have finally found you; but the way you are acting towards him…is hurting him, even if he won’t admit it.” He said sadly “I’m not trying to hurt him; it’s just a lot to take in and to get used to” She defended “He just wants a chance to get to know you Y/N” “But I don’t know if I want this though, to be with a vampire, to become immortal. I always thought I’d grow up get married, have children and now I find out that none of that is going to happen. I mean I don’t even get to pick who I spend eternity with” Y/N said tears starting to fill her eyes “I understand that my dear but please remember what I said.”

Demetri heard this last part and felt his undead heart break, ‘She doesn’t want me, doesn’t want to spend eternity with me’. He knocked on her door once and left the tray of food outside her room and returned to his room grabbing a jacket and left the castle to go hunting.

Thirty minutes later he was standing on the roof of a building opposite a dive bar watching the humans below; happy couples coming and going. ‘I just wanted a chance. I would have done anything to make her happy…if she’d just given me a chance’ He thought. He drained and disposed of two humans that night before returning to the castle ensuring to be back by sunrise.

Meanwhile Marcus made his way to his room leaving Y/N to think about their conversation. Y/N left her room and crossed the hall to Demetri’s room “Demetri?” She called out as she opened his door; she got no response so she stepped into the room to see if he was on the balcony or in the bathroom. He wasn’t in his room so she decided to wait for him, figuring he wouldn’t be long. She grabbed his cloak from the bed and wrapped it around her shoulders as it was a little cold and sat on the sofa, picking up a book to read from his coffee table. She fell asleep curled up with the book waiting for him to return.

Demetri was shocked when he returned to his room before sunrise to find Y/N there; curled up on his sofa asleep with his cloak wrapped around her. He smiled at the sight in front of him but approached her with caution not wanting to scare her and shook her arm gently “Hi Y/N” He said softly “Mmm” Came the sleepy response, he smiled again and left her where she was and lit the fire to warm the room for her.

A few hours later Y/N woke up to find herself still Demetri’s room; wearing his cloak, and him sitting the in the chair reading “Good morning Y/N” “Good morning Demetri. Sorry for falling asleep in your room” “No need to apologise cara, you’re welcome anytime. I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you came by, I was out hunting” He replied “That’s ok, I just wanted to talk to you” She said fiddling with his cloak “What did you want to talk about?” He asked “I-it doesn’t matter now” She replied getting up and making her way to the door. “Did you want to spend some time together today?” He asked “Er, no I-I can’t. I’ve got plans” She said walking out the door. “It was worth a try I guess” He mumbled to himself, unknown to him Y/N had heard him and despite feeling a little guilty she returned to her room.

A few days later Demetri left for a mission with Felix and the twins “Have you said goodbye to Y/N?” Felix asked “No. It’s not like she’d care anyway” Demetri responded sounding indifferent, Alec went to say something but Jane put her hand on his shoulder and shook her head “Don’t” She mouthed to her twin. “Are you boys ready?” She asked and they nodded in response and made their way to the castle doors.

Y/N found Heidi, Corin and Chelsea in the kitchen “Have any of you seen Demetri? He’s not in his room” She asked the female vampires “He went on a mission for the masters. Did he not tell you?” Heidi responded “No, no he didn’t. It must have been a last-minute thing” Y/N replied, feeling a little hurt that he left without saying goodbye. Y/N left to make her way back to her room ‘I really have hurt him, just as Marcus said’ she thought to herself.

“I know Y/N hasn’t shown any interest in getting to know him but he at least could have said bye to her. She is his mate after all” Heidi said “I don’t blame him for not telling her. It’s not like she’s given him a reason to think of her or her feelings is it?” Chelsea responded defending his actions “But Chels” “No Heidi. Do you know how many times he has asked her out? Asked to spend time with her? And every time she turns him down. I think he’s accepted that she doesn’t want him. I’m sorry but he deserves better, better than her” Chelsea replied sounding a little angry “I agree with Chelsea. He has waited so long to find his mate, only then to be rejected by her. I feel sorry for him; he doesn’t deserve to be treated that way and especially not by a human” Corin said also sounding a little angry too “What have you got against human mates?” Heidi asked “Nothing, usually, but this situation has annoyed me. Does she think she’s too good for him or something? I’ll tell you this if I were her, I’d think myself lucky my mate was Demetri and not Alec or Felix” Corin added. “I agree with Corin, if I had a choice of Dem or Alec or Felix, I know who I’d choose. True Bond Mates is a rare and sacred pairing and she’s just thrown it away” Chelsea said.

Y/N had heard this conversation as she had stopped when she heard Heidi say her name, curiosity getting the better of her, although she wished she hadn’t now, after hearing Chelsea say that Demetri deserved better than her. That night she cried herself to sleep thinking of how badly she’d treated Demetri these past weeks, how much he must hate her now and that she’ll be alone in the castle forever.

Demetri, Felix and the twins had been gone four days now and Y/N was bored so she decided to take a look around the castle, wondering the many corridors. Without realising it she had walked to the other side of the castle and that is when she felt it; a rush of air and suddenly she was pinned against a cold, hard wall, in a poorly lit corridor. “Lucky me, I’ve found a snack” The male vampire whispered in her ear, his cold hand against her throat “I-I’m not a s-snack. I-I’m Demetri’s mate” She stuttered “Yes, I’ve heard of you. Although you are not his mate…not any longer” He licked her cheek “I heard you rejected him” He licked her neck, his hold tightening “I’m doing him a favour really by getting rid of you, he’ll get over you much quicker if you’re not around” Tears slipped down her cheek as she felt his teeth graze over her neck “SShh, don’t cry human. This won’t hurt for long” She closed her eyes and waited for him to bite her.

Just then she felt another rush of air pass her then she heard what sounded like china breaking and growling “Dem go to her” Felix said, Demetri rushed to her side and removed the vampire’s severed hand from her neck and scooped her into his arms, sitting on the nearby bench. “You’re ok cara mia. I’ve got you” He said low; one arm around her waist, the other cradling her head to his chest whilst stroking her hair. She was crying, her breathing was uneven “Deep breaths Y/N. In and out. Copy me” He breathed in and out, although he didn’t need to, trying to calm her down. Her breathing started to slow trying to match his. “Mine” He growled low in her ear, stroking her hair and she felt a warm spark go through her. Meanwhile as Felix continued dismembering the lower guard; Demetri held Y/N closer to him; breathing in her scent ‘Cherries and Honey’ “You’re safe now. I promise” He purred in her ear, feeling her relax slightly in his hold.

“Take her back to her room D. I will inform the masters” Felix said as he passed them. “Thank you Fe” He responded.

Demetri stood and carried Y/N in his arms bridal style straight to his room; laying her on his bed, after kicking off his shoes and removing his cloak he climbed on beside her and took her into his arms. She was crying into his chest “I-I’m sorry” She whimpered and moved out of his arms sitting up. Demetri sat up beside her and took her warm hand in his cold one and looked into her eyes. “I love you Y/N. Your happiness is very important to me. Please…give me a chance to show you how much you mean to me. Give me a chance to make you happy” He was pleading with her now; he couldn’t lose her, not now he had finally found her. “You-you still want me, even after I-I pushed you away?” She asked surprised “Yes, I still want you, I always have. You are my mate…mine forever if you’d have me?” He asked hopeful, she nodded “Yes. I’ll give you a chance, give us a chance” She gave him a small smile; he kissed her forehead and wrapped his arms around her. “I-I missed you while you were gone” She said quietly; he felt his heart warm at this “I missed you too and I’m sorry I didn’t say goodbye” He replied “I understand why you didn’t. I just hope you can forgive me and hopefully I’ll deserve you one day” She sniffled “What are you talking about?” He asked sounding confused “It’s nothing” She whispered “Y/N…tell me, please…why do you think you don’t deserve me?” He pulled back slightly so he could see her “Chelsea said that you-you deserve better…better than me; because of how I’ve treated you these past weeks, you know pushing you away whenever you ask to spend time with me” He took her face in his hands, thumbs wiping away the falling tears “Do not worry about what others think mi amore. You are my mate and although you had pushed me away, I still took care of you” He replied softly. “Can I ask you a question?” He nodded “How come you didn’t tell me you were going on a mission?” She asked, tears still falling “Honestly?” He asked and she nodded “I didn’t think you’d care that I was leaving the castle” He answered “I’m sorry I made you feel that way” She told him sounding upset “When I found out you had left the castle and you hadn’t said bye it hurt” She continued “I’m sorry too Y/N, I should have said goodbye regardless of what was going on between us” He laid back down taking her with him in his arms. “We’ll figure this mate thing out together I promise, since it’s new to both of us” “You said that once before Demi” She pointed out “I meant it then and I mean it now” He replied kissing her hair and holding her close. “Demi, you said that you’re a tracker, right?” “Yes, that’s correct” He smiled that she had remembered that about him. “I was wondering if you will show me how your gift works one day?” She asked curious “Of course, I will. We can play hide and seek if you’d like? Although I must confess, I usually win” He replies smiling.

They stayed cuddled in each other’s arms for the rest of the day getting to know one another. “Stay with me tonight Y/N. Let me hold you while you sleep” He said low in her ear “I’d like that Demi, especially after everything that has happened today” She replied feeling safe in his arms “I promised I would keep you safe and I always will.” He vowed “I need you to know that I feel safe with you; I have done since I arrived, I just didn’t want to admit it before” He smiled and tightened his hold slightly “I’m glad to hear it mi amore” He stroked her hair and felt her relax as she fell asleep ‘I may just get my forever with her after all’ Demetri thought to himself as Y/N slept in his arms.

[strawberrywritings]

Pastello Bianco

A/N: Found this song and thought: why not? I kind of want to do a series (if you can call it that) based on Pinguini Tattici Nuceari’s songs because I’ve been listeniing to them non-stop and they’re genius! But I do not guarantee. Also, yes, hi, it’s me again, coming on here to post something nobody asked for. You can find the song here and the full English translation here. Hope you enjoy it!🍓❤

Warnings: sad times + I haven’t written in months

/ Masterlist / masterlist 2

E se m'hai visto piangere (If you saw me crying) Sappi che era un'illusione ottica (Just know that it was only an optical illusion) Stavo solo togliendo il mare dai miei occhi (I was just getting the sea out of my eyes)

Your brows knitted in confusion once you spotted Angel hunched over the bed, his back to the door, where you currently stood. You’d never seen him cry, was he crying? Yeah, you were almost sure he was. You could hear quiet sniffles.

Knocking on the door, you made your presence known, a small smile at your lips, ready to comfort him. He turned his head towards you, looking over his shoulders to see you standing at the door of his room. He turned back around, looking straight ahead and trying to compose himself, not wanting you to know that he was, in fact, crying. Wiping the few tears that were just below his lower lash line, he put on a brave face, the face that always made him look so sure of himself, he had mastered it over the years.

He got up and walked over to where you were standing, giving you a hug and a kiss on the forehead, as you let him envelope your body in his, grateful for the heat his body brought to yours, feeling calm, letting out a breath when his fingers sneaked below your shirt, making contact with the skin of your waist.

“How was your day?”, he asked, not moving from the position, keeping his cheek pressed to your head, the smell of your hair filling his nostrils and making him more at ease. “Good – you answered, your hands moving soothingly up and down his back – how ‘bout you? You okay?”, you murmured, kissing his cheek and moving your head so you could look him in the eyes.

Mi chiedi come sto e non te lo dirò (You ask me how I'm doing but I won't tell you)

“Yeah, I’m good”, he mumbled, keeping you tight against him. The way he was breathing and the sound of his voice gave him away, though, but if you noticed, which you had, you didn’t point it out: if he didn’t say what was bothering him, it meant that he didn’t want to share it and you were fine with it. He knew he could come to you if he needed help. Instead, he kept to himself, like he always did, but there was only so much he could take… it got to a point he felt like he was about to explode, and yet he didn’t let anything show, opting to cry in the shower or when sleeping alone in his bed. You already had too much on your plate, he didn’t have to add his problems. It wasn’t fair to you.

I tuoi segreti poi a chi li racconterai (So who are you going to tell your secrets to?) Tu che rimani sempre la mia password del Wi-Fi (You're still my Wi-Fi password) E chi sa se lo sai (And maybe you don't even know it)

After your breakup, he tried to set a routine that would help him not to think about you. He worked at the scrapyard, he went on rides, he went to parties, he started working out more, he was doing everything in his power to avoid letting his brain run free, trying to occupy it with other thoughts in order to keep you out of his head. The only reason he noticed that your name was still the password to his wi-fi was because the new prospect asked if he could connect his laptop to the wi-fi. And your name sounded bitter in his mouth, he said it like he almost didn’t want to pronounce it, and saying it out loud brought back all the memories that he had kept stashed in the back of his mind, he hadn’t forgotten the pain in your eyes when you parted ways, or the sound of your voice when you said goodbye for the last time.

E scrivevo tutti i miei segreti (And I used to write down all my secrets) Col pastello bianco sul diario (With a white crayon in my diary) Speravo che venissi a colorarli (Hoping you would come and color them in)

Perché un addio suona troppo serio (Goodbye sounds too serious) E allora ti dirò bye bye (So I'll just tell you "bye bye")

You approached his house with a bag in hand, full of the things that Angel had left at your apartment, and you had come to retrieve the things you had left at his place. The exchange was almost silent, you greeted each other, avoiding saying anything that could ruin the moment, no empty words or empty promises, nothing more than what was necessary. When you were done collecting your things, he was in his living room, inspecting the stuff that you had brought back almost as if he didn’t recognize his own possessions. You stood in front of the door for a few seconds, before gaining his attention by announcing that you were leaving. He came to open the door for you and watched as you put your stuff in the car, climbing in and turning the engine on. If you had to speak again, you’d have burst into tears, so you opted for a small wave, trying to control your breathing and not cry in front of him. He didn’t say goodbye, that word sounded bad, and heavy, and emotional, and he really couldn’t bring himself to even look you in the eyes as you drove away from his house. When the noise of your car was replaced by silence again, he let out a shaky breath and went back inside, having to face the memories that were encased in the bag you had returned to him.

E ti auguro il meglio, i cieli stellati, le notti migliori e le docce di altri (I wish you all the best, starry skies, the best of nights, and someone else's shower)

Dove tu forse non stonerai più (where maybe you won't be so out of tune)

While getting the shower ready after his workout, he put a random playlist on, and the sound bounced off the walls as he turned the volume higher. You liked to blame your off-key singing o the acoustics of his bathroom and he just liked poking your sides, making a funny remark about how you should audition for X-factor, then. He hoped you’d find a bathroom where your voice didn’t sound as bad as it did in his, and he hoped you’d be happy, even if it wasn’t going to be on the back of his truck while stargazing. He hoped you’d be happy, even if it wasn’t with him.

taglist: (it’s the usual one, tell me if you wanna be added or removed❣) @sesamepancakes @i-love-scott-mccall @mayans-sauce @starrynite7114 @scuzmunkie @angelreyesgirl @my-rosegold-soul @deeandbobbymcgee @chibsytelford @rebelwrites @littleesilvia @woahitslucyylu @sadeyesgf @elcococruz @cocotheclown @sheeshgivemeabreak @blessedboo @brattyfics @thesandbeneathmytoes @enamoured-x @enamouravecleslivresetlechocolat @blackmissfrizzle @thickemadame @peaches007 @ly-canthrope @justahopelessssromantic @everyhowlmarksthedead @samcrobae @cind-in-real-life @mrsjaxtellerfan @gemini0410 @brownsugarcoffy @losolvidad0s @marvelmaree @noz4a2 @-im-fantastic- @destynelseclipsa @danie1432 @krysiewithak @ellieereads @wrcn9fvlcver @buttercup812

[queerhippopotamoose]

I recently read On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden and fell in love with the book so I made a playlist based on the book, if you like the book please listen and play start the finish. Here's the link, now below the link I will offer my in detail playlist explanation. This will include what character POV each song is meant to be from and what emotions I attempted to capture, all of it based on my own opinion and interpretation of the book, if you have not read the book it will contain spoilers. It will be very long, thank you 👍🏾.

Telescope (Cage the Elephant)- Gace’s POV: about living in the staircase with her family. Grace is tired of living there and wants to go to middle school and experience life in a new environment.

It’s Code (Janelle Monae); Adore You (Harry Styles)- Grace/Mia POV: crushing on one another when they first started hanging out in the book after Grace transferred to Mia’s middle school.  Mia and Grace proving to one another that they are will go through lengths to make them happy.  

Electric Love (Borns)- Grace/Mia POV: both infatuated with one another completely in love

Puppet (Tyler, the Creator)- Grace POV: I would do anything for Mia, Grace takes the blame after Mia crashed the ship… Mia POV: I would do anything for Grace, jumped the girls that stole Grace’s magic necklace.

Space song (Beach House)- Mia POV: Mia learns Grace is leaving and is devastated, wishes things would go back to normal and Grace would stay with her.  Sprints from Grace's room and the terrible news

Earfguake (Tyler, the Creator)- Mia POV: Mia doesn’t want Grace to leave and worries that Grace is leaving because she took the fall for Mia’s mistake and is getting punished

See You Again (Tyler, the Creator)- Mia POV: Mia can’t stop thinking about Grace.  Wishes she had stayed with Grace that night. Wishes she had not been there to say goodbye to the girl she loved. 

Bye-bye Darling (Borns); Nobody (Mitski)- Mia POV: Mia accepting Grace is gone and is not coming back, but still misses her dearly 

Can’t Live Without Your Love (Janelle Monae); I Don’t Want to Miss You Like I Do (Austin Webber); Remember Me acoustic ver. (UMI); Saw You In A Dream (The Japanese House)- Mia POV: This portion of the playlist takes place while Mia is travelling around with her team working the construction job.  All these years later Mia still thinks of Grace all the time.  Dreams of her, misses her, longs for her. Wonders if Grace is ever thinking about her.  Mia wonders if she’ll ever see Grace again. 

The Moon Song (Beabadoobee, Oscar Lang)- Grace POV: Grace Living on the StairCase after moving back all those years ago. She misses Mia still and thinks about her all the time. They are millions of miles away from one another.  

She’s A God (Neck Deep)- Mia POV: Mia finally telling her crew/friends/found family the tale of her epic young love, telling her family how much she loves Grace, She’d do anything to have a chance to see her again

When You Come Home (Rich Brian)- Mia POV: Set after the crew agrees to help Mia reconnect with Grace, the crew travels to Alba and Char’s home to plan.  During this time Mia wonders what Grace is up to, how she has been over the years, wishing that Grace is happy and healthy, Cannot wait to be reconnected with Grace.

Neon Rust (Frank Carter & the Rattlesnakes)- Char/Alba/Elliot/Jules/Mia POV:  The Crew as they travel through the harsh and unwelcoming conditions of the Staircase. Each team member faces their own trials and tribulations on this dangerous journey. 

The Night We Met (Lord Huron)- Grace/Mia POV: Grace and Mia see one another for the first time in 6 years. They both remember their feelings for another, their love, their conflicted emotions on the way they departed.

Grow As We Go (Ben Platt)- Mia POV: Mia asks Grace to come with her, come meet her friends, travel the universe with them. Mia tells Grace they can get to know eachother again, grow old together, learn together.  She knows Grace wants to leave the Staircase, see the world, and become a writer.  So she invites Grace to run away with her.

Andromeda (Weyes Blood)- Grace POV: this is set after Grace refuses Mia and Mia leaves with Grace’s sister. Grace and her other sister are talking about what happened.  Grace ponders how she still loves Mia and wants to go with her but she’s not sure. It is a big universe and Grace wants to see it.  Even though she loves her mother and her sisters, she’s ready to leave the nest and wants to be with Mia. 

I Know You Know I Love You (Sunset Rollercoaster)- Grace POV: Grace catches up with Mia while Mia is struggling to flag down her crew. Grace tells a shocked Mia, she would have always said yes, she just needed time, she loves Mia and wants to travel with her.  

If you read my explanation, thank you 😊, I really wanted to share 👍🏾.

[binniedeactivated]

saint. || soobin (2.5)🌪

a/n: ya’ll if falling in love with this man was a sport---I’d win the world championship.

🖤┊𝔰𝔞𝔦𝔫𝔱 . ೄྀ࿐ 𝖕𝖆𝖎𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖌: 𝖘𝖔𝖔𝖇𝖎𝖓 𝖝 𝖗𝖊𝖆𝖉𝖊𝖗 𝖌𝖊𝖓𝖗𝖊: 𝖘𝖒𝖚𝖙/𝖆𝖚 𝖜𝖔𝖗𝖉 𝖈𝖔𝖚𝖓𝖙; 2789

“he didn’t throw the first punch I saw it all from the bathroom. the guys were threatening to kill him i swear”. the principal pushes his lips into a thin line. yeonjun is just drumming his fingers on his lap hoping he’d believe him and soobin was sitting aside, still trying to fix his uniform and look presentable while michael was in the nurse’s office. he was surprised yeonjun was even in there defending his name like that. 

“are you sure choi yeonjun?”. the principal asked skeptically. he wanted to believe soobin was in the wrong here, for some stupid sick reason. but yeonjun didn’t let that happen. he nodded confidently. the principal huffs his breath. 

“fine, I’ll believe you since you’re a trustworthy student. choi soobin I’m not going to suspend you since you were defending yourself against a group. however I will have to notify your parents”. he informed. and soobin had no problem with that considering the fact that he blocked the school’s number from his parent’s phones. soobin nodded gratefully, his parents would’ve tried to beat him until he couldn’t breathe anymore if they found out he got suspend from school. 

“thank you”. the boys both bowed before exiting out of his office and the principal was set to call the other boys involved them and notify them about their suspension. it was weird walking in the halls with someone he wasn’t that fond of instead of his boys. well, his ex-boys. soobin pushes his hands in his pockets trying to figure out how to speak.

“you know um- thank you. you didn’t have to do that for me”. he finally said after a moment of awkward silence. 

“don’t thank me that’s weird. I still hate you”. yeonjun pronounces with a small grin. soobin laughs. 

“that’s how it’s gonna be?”. 

“hell yeah. I still don’t forgive you for pushing me on the floor of your house when you first met me”. yeonjun admitted. soobin laughs again. 

“I didn’t know you. barely even knew you were a fucking choi”. 

“I’m convinced that even if you knew you’d still try to beat my ass because that’s who you are”. 

“touché”. soobin agrees. they both were just following one another, going nowhere in particular. 

“so um--have you told her yet?”. yeonjun asks. soobin shakes his head. 

“not yet”. 

“why not?”. 

“you know why”. 

yeonjun breathes hard. “you’re just digging a deeper hole for yourself soobin”.

“I can’t do it man..”. soobin trails off. 

“how is she doing anyways? mia?”.

soobin shrugs. 

“I went to apologize to her the other day she looked... like a zombie but I don’t want to get too involved with her because I don’t want to get blamed for shit else”. 

yeonjun shakes his head laughing, “you’re crazy for doing it in the first place”.

“you want to know whose crazy? olivia”. 

“how?”.

“she’s been trying to get with me ever since mia stopped appearing so much at school. what the fuck type of best friend is that?”. 

“that’s pretty fucked up. but that’s how girls are. well, except for your little girlfriend”. yeonjun teases and soobin shoves him to the side to keep from blushing. 

“shut the fuck up”. was all soobin could say before he waited outside your classroom door for you. yeonjun knew what he was up to so he didn’t bother hanging around for long. he hated being around couples anyway, they were annoying. 

making the absolute wrong decision soobin decides to scare you while you’re walking out of the classroom and you jump back with your heart at the pit of your stomach. once you noticed it was him he decided to run down the hallway and you weren’t afraid to chase him since you both shared the next class. turning down 2 corners and 2 more more hallways later you finally catch him in the cut of two lockers. “why would you do that you scared me!”. you playfully yell and he holds his hands up in surrender. 

“alright i’m sorry I’m sorry. I just thought it would be funny”. soobin stares trying to look serious but you knew a laugh was coming. you roll your eyes and walk the other way back to class. soobin follows after you and grips your waist from behind. 

“are you really mad? I said I was sorry”. he begs. you thought the way he was acting was kind of cute so you furthered your agenda and kept ignoring him. he noticed you weren’t speaking so he steps in front of you. you cross your arms and glare up at him. “forgive me”. he pleads again and this time you step to the other side and continue walking to class. “mama”. he calls out. you ignore him again and arrive in your classroom grabbing the assignment sister helena had laid out for you both. you got a head start with writing your name on the paper and getting settled before soobin slid next to you. he turned to speak but sister helena decided to lay down the rules for today’s video, as if you all didn’t know what to do each day. you had to say though, class was so much better without kevin and his obnoxious antics. you didn’t know where he was but you hoped he stayed there for the rest of his life.

anyway, sister helena turns off the lights and turns on the tv instead. half of your classmates were already ready to go to sleep including you. you decided to stay up a little more last night to study. but it was hard to go to sleep with soobin landing his hand on your thigh. you jump up a bit with shock. you glance at sister helena to make sure she wasn’t looking. 

“what are you doing?”. 

“oh now you want to speak to me?”. you swat his hand away. 

“yes because you’re touching me. move”. you demand. but you knew deep inside your heart you didn’t mean it. you found yourself wanting soobin more and more each day. you kind of thought being horny was like some sort of drug now. it was a thrill you couldn’t resist. 

soobin smirks and leans your ear, letting his veiny hand wrap around your thigh even tighter. “who do you think you’re talking to hm?”. you shuddered even harder than you did the day before. you had to give yourself a pep talk to stay strong. you lay your hand on his. 

“ssoobin we can’t do this here”.

“we’re in the back of the classroom no one even notices us”. he whispers. he moves his hand closer and closer to your heat. 

“soobin I said mmove”. you shakily respond. and he does nothing but chuckles in your ear. he make sure sister helena is occupied before he continued. he lets his tongue drag from your neck to the back of your ear and tongue kisses it softly. “listen to me. you? don’t give orders. only I do that. and if I want to play with your pussy I will. do you understand me?”.

you sit calm feeling moisture pool into your panties. his voice was darker than you ever heard it. it made you kind of scared and suddenly you forgot all possible ways to regulate your breathing. “say yes daddy”. he orders. your heart races faster at his fingers brushing against your clit through your panties. “say it”. he demands again through clenched teeth. you did as you were told and you could feel him smile prior to kissing you on your cheek. “ good girl”. he snatches his hand away from you pretending to be focused on the tv screen. 

you were going crazy on the inside. you wanted to be touched, you wanted to be yelled at, you wanted to be punished. maybe you did have a daddy kink. you’ll admit that. but you couldn’t admit how horny soobin made you. you were trapped in a daze and soobin knew it. he was filling out the answers on the paper smoothly. you sat uncomfortably in your seat until class over. he shouldn’t have left you wet like that. 

“I told my mother you were tutoring me again today. not that she gave a fuck anyways”. soobin mentions while you grab your things out of your locker. “who said I wanted to tutor you today? what if my parents don’t like you?”. soobin scoffs. “yeah right. and you know you want to tutor me you just don’t like being nice to me for some reason”. you laugh a little. “I have to see if my parents are home”. soobin shrugs. “so what if they are? we’re just studying right?”.

you give soobin a glance almost as if to say, “yeah right”. he laughs in exchange. the both of you head towards his car. “I promise I won’t touch you this time. I really need to pass these exams. maybe i’ll prove to my parents that I’m a good kid after all”. you slide into the passenger seat, “you are a good kid. you just have bad kid tendencies”. soobin thinks about it for a moment until you decide to change the subject. “I have to call mia today to see how she’s doing”. you mention slipping out your phone. you dialed her number and it rang a few times before going straight to voicemail. you decided to call again getting a little worried. after the third ring the phone was answered but you could tell it wasn’t mia. 

“hello? whose this?”. the voice asked. 

“hey it’s me. the girl that brought mia to your car. I wanted to ask how she was doing?”.

“oh hey, this is mia’s mom and she’s doing okay. we took her to the hospital and the doctors prescribed her medication that has a bit of a side effect on her so we don’t know how much longer she’ll be out of school”. 

“aw, well. I hope she get’s better soon. school is boring so she’s missing out on nothing”. 

her mom chuckles lightly, “I’ll tell her you called for her okay?”. 

“okay. see you soon”. 

“okay, bye”.

you pressed the button and slide your phone back in your pocket. 

“i missed you”. soobin muttered. you suck your teeth and laugh. “oh shut up soobin”.

“do you want to get something to eat before we go to your house?”. 

“no we can eat there. I don’t want you to keep spending money”. 

“money grows on trees you know”. 

“says one of the richest guys in town”. soobin laughs this time. he never minded spending money when it came to you but he didn’t want to sound cheesy so he kept quiet. 

❉ ╤╤╤╤ ✿ ╤╤╤╤ ❉

you tell soobin to keep quiet just in case one of your parents were home. your house was weird, the parking spots were at the back so you couldn’t exactly tell if your parents were home unless you went back there. you open the door with your key and spot absolutely no one. But you couldn’t make assumptions so you snuck soobin to your room as fast as you could and locked the door behind you.

You figured you were pretty safe but you still requested the soobin keep his voice low. you kick your shoes off and sit your textbooks out. soobin does the same on your bed, making himself at home. you thought he looked rather cuter when he looked nerdy. “do you remember what I taught you?”. you asked now moving your textbooks and notebooks to the bed. soobin nods. “internalize more than you memorize right?”. you pinch his cheeks and smile. “good job! do you want a sticker?”. it sounded like you were mocking him, but you actually did have a sheet of stickers in your drawer. soobin creates a pout with his lips, “yes please!”. he says like a child. you roll your eyes and smile, going to your drawer to fetch them. you held the sheet and peeled off a gold star sticking it to his forehead. he looked so pleased with himself it was adorable. 

you open your textbook and you instruct soobin to open his and start from the first chapter review and take notes. he nods and does as he were told. while the both of you studied you watch him steadily making sure he was writing down things that were relevant to the chapter. so far so good, his notes looked pretty neat and organized. you decided to catch yourself up on your own notes. you were practicing math, the subject you hated most. the good part about this was that you were already prepared to not do well on the exam so it wouldn’t be much of a shock if you didn’t. 

time progresses and the both of you filled your notebooks with notes. soobin now writing down important information from the chapter 3 review and you, going through several steps just to solve another math equation. you had to admit soobin was doing really well and he was paying good enough attention. you smirk. “how come you couldn’t do this in school?”. 

“everyone thought i was stupid so i didn’t care enough”. 

“that’s all it was?”.

“well sometimes it takes the right person to believe in you for you to do well. especially when you can’t believe in yourself”. 

“if you keep studying like that you can pass any exam in that school I’ll tell you that. you have good focus”.

“yeah well, thank you for believing in me if so”. you blush, pushing his shoulder playfully. 

“stop being cheesy soobin”. 

“hey since i’ve been studying well do I get something else?”. 

you slide a strand of your hair back putting your pencil back to your paper. “what do you want? another sticker?”. you were halfway through the equation when you realized soobin was still quiet. you glimpse at him for an answer and he was just staring at you. he waited until your eyes gave him permission to speak. and they did. 

“when initiating sex theres the kissing, theres the hickeys, the touching and the feeling. but the most important thing you should do before you have sex is perform oral sex. do you know about it?”. 

your heart started to race. 

“was it in the video we watched?”. you question. soobin nods. his face was so unreadable it became scary. “so what are you saying soobin?”. 

he positions your body on the edge of the bed before he gets on the floor in front of you setting a hand on your knee. you glare down at him in shock, you were nervous beyond words. 

“would you like to see what that feels like?”. you fixed your mouth to answer but soobin was already planting sloppy tongue kisses along your thighs and inner thigh. you panted softly, “ssooobin we can’t make noise”. you stuttered. soobin flips your skirt up giving himself more access to you. “you better keep quiet then”. he mumbles. you were about to say something else but soobin thought it was best to lick your pussy through your panties. you felt yourself growing weak and you were growing hotter at the feeling of his mouth. you started panting even heavier agreeing that if this wasn’t the best feeling in the world you didn’t know what was. 

with lustful eyes he glances up at you and slides down your panties with ease, putting a finger to his lips signaling for you to be quiet. but it was hard to do that when soobin immediately wraps his lips around your clit sucking it softly. you let out a high pitched moan by accident, slapping a hand over your mouth shortly after. his lips were so delicate on you and he looked so invested in making sure you felt good. he could feel your legs trembling as he licked around your folds. so he made it his duty to intertwine his hands with yours so you’d have something to grasp onto when you couldn’t handle it. as his tongue traveled you you squeezed his hands harder. 

you were whining and squirming on his tongue and that didn’t make things any better. you bit your lips and cried, “ssoobin i don’t knnow if I can stayy quiet for this long”. you moan and he’s ignoring you, tongue kissing your clit over and over as if it were your tongue. you open your mouth and exhale trying to keep yourself in order but you couldn’t help your small cries. you were throbbing harshly and beyond wet at this point. 

that was, until you heard your dad calling your name and walking up the staircase.

[everybodyscupoftea]

break my face

college isaac x reader

you just want to go ice skating with your boyfriend but for some reason he doesn’t want to

(warnings: cursing, some drinking, lightly edited)

“We have to go,” you announced yourself, shoving the brightly colored paper you’d picked up at the coffee shop into his face. 

Isaac blinked a few times, gently pulling your hand away from his face so he could read. You waited patiently, maybe bouncing on your toes a bit, as he read. Leaning back in his desk chair, he nodded, “I’ve never been, but could be fun.”

Your jaw dropped, “Never?”

Amused, Isaac responded, “Never,” and pulled the to-go cup out of your hand for a sip. There was no time to warn him that it was pretty much straight espresso and he gagged, “What the fuck?”

“I had a really big Materials exam today so I didn’t get much sleep last night. But that doesn’t matter, ice skating is what’s important right now.”

Isaac chuckled, “Well, ice skating can most definitely be discussed after a nap, no?”

“Well,” you didn’t really have any arguments and a nap sounded fantastic, so after a few seconds, you dropped your booksack, “I guess it can wait.”

-

What your sleep deprived brain hadn’t realized at the time was the clear deflection. He “accidentally” let you sleep through the night, his apology being his Venmo to cover the espresso shots you never got to drink.

The second time you brought it up, while the two of you were studying in your kitchen, he shrugged, looking over at his laptop. You knew the screen had gone dark ages before, so you weren’t entirely sure what he was looking at, so after a few seconds you nudged his arm, “Skating?”

“I don’t know. Was thinking of picking up extra shifts with winter break coming, Friday nights are pretty much always open, so.”

“One Friday,” you tried to bargain, “you could even work a Saturday morning to make up for it since you normally take weekends off.”

He shrugged noncommittally and answered, “We’ll have to see. I need to talk to my boss anyway.”

-

The third time you brought it up, Isaac was more firm about his no. Both of you were sitting on the couch, watching Narnia, when you sighed, “I know they’ve been living in constant fear of the White Witch, but I bet ice skating on the frozen river would’ve been so fun.”

He shrugged, hardly paying attention, “I guess. I mean I’ve never seen the appeal.”

“That’s because you’ve never been,” you responded, playfully nudging his leg with your foot.

Grabbing your foot, he shook it gently, “Yeah, and I don’t plan on going either.”

Your heart dropped and you could hear the hurt bleeding through your tone, “Why not?”

“I won’t be good at it, and I don’t really want to do something I’m not good at. Especially in public where I could make a fool of myself.”

Narrowing your eyes, you huffed, “Even if I told you I’m a very inexperienced skater?”

“Especially then.”

“Good thing I’m not. We go skating every winter at home, I know how to hold my own.”

Isaac shrugged again, clearly ready to drop the subject, “I’m sure your roommate would go if you really wanted to.”

Finally dropping the subject, you muttered, hurt, “I wanted to go with you, but whatever.”

-

If you held a tiny grudge about it, well that was no one’s business but your own. Sure you were pouting and barely responding to his texts, but Isaac picked up so many shifts that there wasn’t much opportunity to see him anyway. 

The weeks passed quickly and suddenly, winter break was upon the two of you. Your roommate packed her stuff and you drove her to the airport the first Monday, giving her a long hug goodbye. She squeezed your shoulders tight, “Ask him again.”

“Why? So he can say no again?”

She laughed, “You know that boy can’t say no to you.”

“Well that’s certainly not true, he’s done it three times.”

“Fourth time’s the charm,” she tried, smiling sheepishly.

You sighed, “Yeah that’s not how it works and we both know it.”

“Try.” She gave you one last hug and turned to get in line for security. You were absolutely going to miss her while she was gone, having opted to stay at school for the break since Isaac was too.

Hours later, when she landed back in Arizona, you got one last text from her on the subject.

Ask again

So, pouring yourself a hefty glass of wine to cope with being shut down a fourth time, you called him, half expecting him to not pick up. To your shock, he did, sounding absolutely exhausted.

“Hey, sweetheart,” he muttered, yawning at the end.

“Hey, bub. How’s it going?”

“Tired from work. We’ve been pretty busy.”

You could help but tease, “Well you have been picking up a ton of shifts, you only have yourself to blame.”

“That’s true. I took the weekend off.”

“Can we hang out?” your voice was more timid than you would’ve liked it to be, “I miss you. I feel like it’s been forever since I’ve seen you.”

He paused, longer than you were comfortable with before answering, “I’d like that, yeah. Movie night?”

“Sure. Friday?”

“Friday.”

And with that, you settled in to catch up. You really did miss his voice. It was nice, and eventually you found the bottom of the glass, tucking your phone between your ear and shoulder, you poured yourself another.

“Have you eaten?” he asked, a sudden rustling in the background as he shifted around.

You hummed, “Nope. Drank a lot of wine though.”

He laughed and your stomach warmed, maybe partially from the wine but mostly from his laugh, “Want me to bring over some food? I’ve had beef stew in the crockpot all day and I’d really love to eat it with you if I could.”

“You never have to ask to come over,” you reminded him, leaning your hip against the counter as you took another sip of wine.

Isaac made a pleased noise, “Give me 20 minutes to pack some up and I’ll be right over.”

“Stay on the phone?” you asked, not quite wanting to let him go.

“I’ll be there faster if you let me hang up.”

Pouting, you answered, slight whine in your voice, “Fine, see you in 20.”

“Bye sweetheart, I love you.”

“Yeah, yeah, love you too.”

You hung up, his laughter echoing through the phone at your put out tone.

True to his word, he was knocking at your apartment door exactly 20 minutes after hanging up. While waiting, you’d found the bottom of your second glass, and in your state of lowered self control, threw yourself into his arms, despite the very large tupperware of beef stew. Isaac’s noise of surprise was muffled by your hair, and took a giant step backward to keep his balance, almost slamming into the door across the hall. You beamed, backing away, and pulled him by his elbow into your apartment.

He set the stew down on the counter and pulled you into a better hug, kissing your forehead, lips quirked up into a smile. You swayed a little, his grip tightening to keep you in place, “Why don’t you go sit and I’ll serve it up, yeah?”

So you did as he said, collapsing onto your side of the couch without much poise and waited eagerly. Isaac was a great cook, something you’d learned early on in your relationship. He wasn’t very forthcoming about it, but you knew it had something to do with his childhood and not having much family around.

Before long, he was handing you a bowl, sitting on the other end of the couch, with far more care than you did. You turned the TV on and started the show the two of you had been watching together before he’d suddenly gone MIA on you. Isaac sighed, “Man it’s been a while, huh? Kinda need a recap.”

You hummed, “Should be one before the episode. Should’ve come around more and you wouldn’t have forgotten.”

He avoided the questioning look in your eyes, “Had some stuff I had to take care of.”

“For sure, it’s not really my business,” you tried to reassure, but you know your smile fell a little flat.

Isaac sighed again and dug his legs under yours, and you sank down a little further, accidentally digging your toes into his hip. He yelped, startling you, and a bit of stew sloshed over the side of your bowl.

Rubbing his side, Isaac accidentally lifted his shirt a little and you saw a giant, green bruise spread across his hip bone. Horrified, you sat up and discarded the bowl, leaning forward to see better. Before you could reach out, he jerked the shirt back down, cheeks flushed red.

“What the fuck was that?” you demanded, concern thick in your tone.

“Nothing,” he deflected, “work accident.”

“The fuck are you doing that’s so strenuous at the library?”

“Maybe it was at the gym.”

“Maybe? Do you not remember how you got a giant bruise?”

His face was pleading with you to drop it, and since you were already feeling off balanced around him because of the ice skating avoidance issue, you did. You weren’t happy about the sudden influx of secrets he was apparently keeping from you, but if he didn’t want you to know, you wouldn’t push.

Uneasily, you picked the bowl back up where you’d set it down and hit play on the TV. Isaac never fully relaxed for the rest of the night, and when you asked if he wanted to stay, he begged off, leaving you feeling even more like shit than you had before he came over.

-

Friday rolled around, and Isaac showed up not dressed for movie night. You furrowed your eyebrows at his scarf and nice coat and jeans, “Why aren’t you in sweats?”

He smiled a bit shyly, “I kinda thought we could do something else tonight.”

“Date night?” you asked, eagerly. It had been a while since the two of you had properly gone out between his work and all of your projects.

“Yep,” he popped the p, “so if you want to get dressed, wear something warm.”

You nodded eagerly and went to get dressed. While picking a sweater, you got a text from your roommate.

How are things with Isaac?

The timing was a bit strange, you hadn’t heard from her in a while, but you responded anyway.

Good I think. Some awkwardness the other night but date night tonight

You were brushing your hair out when her response came in.

Good, have fun!

Isaac was pacing when you walked into the living room and straightened up, coming to a stop when he saw you. Holding your hand out for him, you let him lead you to the door, grabbing your keys off the shelf by the door on the way out.

His truck was parked not far from your door and he held the door open for you before jogging around to get in himself and crank it up. You weren’t really paying attention to where he was going, more focused on queuing up songs, and when he parked and you finally looked around, you almost couldn’t believe what you were seeing.

“Are we,” you paused, “I thought.”

Isaac smiled gently, “I know how much you wanted to come, so.”

“You said no.”

“Well, I changed my mind, I am capable of it sometimes.”

Laughing, you said, “I mean, you avoided me for a while after I brought it up the third time.”

“Yeah, about that,” he rubbed his forehead sheepishly, “I was pretty busy getting your roommate and Scott to teach me how to skate. You said you were pretty good and I just wanted to be able to keep up. I mean, I know it probably won’t be as much fun as if it were with someone-”

You cut off his rambling, putting a finger over his lips, “It’ll be the best time because it’s with you.”

He smiled and pressed a gentle kiss to your fingertip, “Let’s go then.”

“Let’s go,” you cheered, “you have to show me what you’ve learned.”

You hadn’t noticed him grab your skates out of the backseat as well as another pair and he smiled, “Yeah, got yours a few days ago when I came over for stew.”

“You didn’t leave with them?” you asked, unsure.

“You were pretty gone when I left, so yeah, I just walked right out.”

Cheeks heating, you shrugged, “Whoops. Whose are those?”

“Scott’s. He’s letting me borrow them for the night.”

“Nice of him,” you commented, lacing your fingers through his.

“Yeah, he’s a good guy sometimes. I think he just wants me to make a fool out of myself.”

“Maybe. Have you had a rough go?”

Isaac snorted, “You saw the giant bruise on my hip.”

“Oh my god,” you sat down on a bench to switch your shoes and tried not to laugh at him. 

He nodded, kicking his boots off, “Yeah, you can laugh. I’m sure it won’t go much better tonight.”

“Doubt it,” you answered confidently, and finished lacing them up, “you’ve got me with you this time, it’s going to be great.” Before he could respond, you knelt down in front of him to do his laces and continued, “Plus, you’re good at literally everything you do, so I highly doubt you’re as bad as you seem to think.”

Isaac stood when you finished tying his skates and helped you up, “You might be giving me too much credit.”

And you were. Isaac wasn’t the worst, but he wasn’t very good. After his third almost slip in just as many minutes, you stopped to take his hand, “You have to relax, bub.”

“I’m trying, sweetheart,” he responded through gritted teeth.

“You are the opposite of relaxed.”

Skating ahead, you turned to face him and grabbed both of his hands in yours. You slowed down, skating backwards at a pace slow enough that you weren’t dragging him, and he improved a little.

“See,” you told him, grinning proudly, “you’re doing so much better.”

You really wanted to watch him, but every few seconds, you had to glance over your shoulder to make sure you weren’t going to run into someone. The outdoor rink was crowded every Friday night, especially now that the semester was over.

“So,” Isaac started, seeming to get into a bit of a groove, “can you forgive me for being a dick?”

“I think I can. But could you just, I don’t know, keep me in the loop. I love surprises as much as anyone, but I don’t necessarily like getting the cold shoulder for the sake of one.”

He snorted, “Fair enough.”

“I am glad you changed your mind though, don’t get me wrong there.” “I bet.”

And with his words you paused, turning around to skate next to him, his hand still gripping yours tightly, but not needing you for balance as much as before.

It was cold, and after half an hour of lazy circles, Isaac motioned toward the little table selling hot chocolate, “Want some?”

“I’d love some,” you answered eagerly, already pulling him over. Isaac wasn’t expecting your sudden change of direction and almost wiped out, but you managed to keep him up.

“Fucking hell,” he muttered, eyes wide.

“Sorry, sorry,” you giggled, “forgot.”

You could tell he was happy to finally put his shoes back on and be off the ice, but you were thrilled he’d actually done it with you. Isaac wrapped an arm around your shoulder and led you to the hot chocolate table, and you couldn’t help but ask, “Same time next week.”

“Good try, sweetheart.”

“Hey,” you protested, “practice makes perfect.”

“Lucky for me, I’m perfect at a plenty reasonable number of things already, no need to add ice skating to the list.”

Rolling your eyes, you shoved him gently away, “Okay, pack it up Mr. Wickham.”

Isaac held a hand to his heart dramatically, “How dare you, we both know I’m Mr. Darcy.”

“Sure, on your best days, but on average you’re Mr. Bingley and there’s no arguing that.” Isaac didn’t say anything else, just bent down and kissed your forehead, smiling widely. You narrowed your eyes in suspicion, “What?”

“Nothing,” he answered, “I just love you is all.”

You softened and let him put his arm back around you, “Well, I love you too.”

~

day one of @obxmermaid​‘s holiday challenge: ice skating

[thebrotherssalvatore321]

Keeping Secrets Ch. 46

Keeping Secrets Masterlist

The next morning Katie and Klaus were talking to the moving company about what they wanted to move from where, when Katie’s phone started ringing and she looked down at it to see Caroline’s name on the screen. “Why is she calling? They all gave up on getting in touch with me months ago.” Katie thought as she excused herself from Klaus. With a nervous hand Katie pressed the talk button and walked out onto the balcony of their living quarters. “Hello?” Katie answered.

“Oh, my god, Katie, is it really you?” Caroline asked in a rush of unbelieving words.

“It’s really me.” Katie answered with a smile.

“Where are you? Are you okay? Why did you go MIA? We thought Klaus had dragged you off somewhere and killed you or something.” Caroline asked, excited to be talking to her friend for the first time in months.

“Okay, give me one second and I’ll answer what questions I can.” Katie told Caroline then muted the phone so she wouldn’t be able to hear Katie talking to Klaus who joined her on the balcony. “So, since everyone and their mother seem to know about us and baby Mikaelson, do you think it’s safe to tell my friends?”

“I assumed Tyler had already told them.” He replied.

“Hello! Katie! Don’t put me on hold.” Caroline yelled over the phone so loud it sounded like she was on speaker phone.

“I’m pretty sure he didn’t or Caroline would’ve just mentioned it.” Katie told Klaus with a smile at the phone and Caroline being Caroline.

“They are still your friends, yes?” he asked.

“Estranged, but yeah.” She nodded.

“Then tell her before she breaks the speaker in your phone.” He said with a look at the phone that Caroline was still ranting through.

Katie flashed him a big smile and he kissed her on the cheek then went back inside to give her space. Katie unmated the phone. “Okay, to answer your first question I’m in New Orleans with Klaus who would never murder me by the way.” She told Caroline.

“Well you can’t blame us for assuming that he did. He was pretty mad at you before he left to go after you.” Caroline replied.

Katie didn’t know why he was mad at her and she didn’t feel like thinking about it at the moment. “My trip here to meet my father was just supposed to last two days tops considering I didn’t want to miss prom.”

“Then why did you miss it and graduation and college orientation?” Caroline asked, making a pain shoot through Katie’s chest at the thought of the life she was leaving behind for Klaus and baby M.

“Okay are you ready for some…unbelievable news?” Katie asked with a sigh.

“Um, I guess.” Caroline replied.

“Seriously you should probably be sitting down for this.” Katie told her.

“Okay, I’m sitting down.” Caroline told her.

“I’m pregnant.” Katie told her.

“You’re joking.” Caroline laughed. Katie knew the only way Caroline would believe her was if she saw it for herself. So she lifted her shirt, took a picture of her stomach, her daylight ring hand cupping it for proof, and sent it to Caroline.

Katie heard the rustle of Caroline looking at the photo then dead silence to a long thirty seconds. “Care…are you alive?”

“Just…processing.” Caroline answered, sounding like her mind was a million miles away. “How is that possible?”

“Well you see when a mommy and daddy love each other very much-”

“You know that’s not what I’m talking about.” Carline cut her off and Katie laughed. “Katie this isn’t funny.”

“I’m sorry, but you know you set yourself up for that.” Katie defended herself then got serious. “When my vampire soul mysteriously recovered from getting shattered it had some biological side effects. Like fertility for example.”

“Okay.” Caroline drawled. “So who’s the father?” she asked, sounding confused.

“Klaus.” Katie answered like it was the obvious answer. “Turns out when he unlocked his werewolf gene it also gave him the ability to pass it on.”

“Oh my god…” Caroline sighed. “Oh my god.” She said again with more vigor as it sank in. “Wait so that’s why you didn’t come home? Because you were scared to tell us that you’re pregnant with Klaus Mikaelson’s baby?”

“Uh…no.” Katie answered. “Long story short the New Orleans witches used me and my pregnancy to blackmail Klaus into doing their bidding. One witch linked me to another so I couldn’t leave the city or they would kill me. I couldn’t tell anyone about the fact that I was pregnant because everyone was convinced that a hybrid baby would be the end of the freaking world and wanted it dead.”

“God…Katie…I’m so sorry. I swear we tried to find you. Bonnie tired a locator spell but it didn't work. She said there was nothing to find and Klaus wasn’t returning our calls. We really thought you were dead.” Caroline defended herself.

“Yeah something tells me that spell wasn’t your average everyday linking spell.” Katie complained. “But if you thought I was dead why did you call me?”

“Honestly I was having a bad day and feeling nostalgic. I was hoping I could still hear your voicemail message.” Caroline answered. “But I got the real thing which is so much better.” The excited tone of Caroline’s voice made Katie smile. “So are you still linked to that witch?” Caroline asked curiously.

“No, I’ve been unlinked for a while now. It only became safe for me to let people know about the baby a few days ago and things have been crazy with Klaus and Rebekah and Elijah, hence why I haven’t tried to contact you guys. It was safer for everyone if I kept you all in the dark. I’m really sorry about that.”

“No, Katie, I’m just glad you’re okay.” Caroline brushed it off. “You are okay, right?”

“I’m more than okay.” Katie answered not being able to keep the smile from her face.

“Oh, hey, Elena just walked in.” Caroline said and Katie could hear Caroline put her on speaker phone.

“Who are you talking to?” Elena asked.

“Katie.” Caroline answered and Katie could hear the smile in her voice.

“What?” Elena asked, sounding a little like she was in shock.

“She’s not dead. She’s pregnant and I’m pretty sure she’s happy about it.” Caroline informed Elena with a happy bubbly-ness to her voice that only Caroline could do without being completely annoying.

“What?” Elena asked again and Katie could easily see Elena’s jaw dropped expression in her head.

“Is that all you can say?” Katie asked with a laugh knowing Caroline would give Elena the full story later.

“Katie if I could punch you through this phone I would.” Elena told her even though she sounded happy to know that Katie was alive. “Wait, did I hear Caroline right, you’re pregnant?”

“Yep.” Katie answered. “I’ll let Caroline explain how later. Right now I need to know, Caroline, are you and Tyler still together?”

“No, that’s actually why I was having a bad day. We broke up last night.” Caroline answered.

“Last night?” Katie asked with wide eyes. “Did he break up with you over the phone?”

“No, he was here at Duke, why do you sound surprised?” Caroline asked and Katie could hear the confusion in her voice.

“Because last I heard he was still here in New Orleans.” Katie answered. “If I may ask, why did the two of you break up?”

“Because I made him choose between me and his revenge against Klaus. He chose Klaus.” Caroline answered. “He never said anything to me about seeing either of you.”

“Then that means that he didn’t tell you what happened when he was here…” Katie sighed as she leaned on the rail and put her forehead in her hands. “I really don’t want to tell you this, but… he tried to kill my baby.”

“Matt said something to me about Tyler having a run in with Klaus in New Orleans and that Klaus put him through hell…” Elena said. “I guess now we know why.”

“So when can we see you?” Caroline asked in an attempt to change the subject.

“I don’t know…” Katie sighed. “Klaus and I are still in the process of moving into the house he and his family built way back when and a lot of things are still up in the air, but hopefully soon. I miss you guys and we have a lot of catching up to do that I don’t want to do over the phone.”

“We miss you too.” Elena told her.

Klaus walked out onto the balcony next to Katie and wrapped his arm around her waist. She leaned her head on his shoulder. “So I gotta let you guys for now, but I promise I’ll stay in touch from now on.”

“Talk to you later.” Elena said.

“We love you!” Caroline yelled happily.

“Bye guys.” Katie laughed at Caroline as she hung up.

“So I take it your chat went well?” Klaus asked as she turned in his arm to stand in front of him and leaned back on the railing.

“Other than finding out that Tyler is not in the garden where I thought he was and telling Caroline that her recent ex is a baby killing dick, yeah. It was good.” Katie finished with a content smile.

“You miss them don’t you?” he asked, making it clear that he hadn’t listened in on her conversation.

“You didn’t eavesdrop on me, did you?” she asked a little surprised.

“Of course not. Your private conversations are just that…private.” He assured her.

“I swear, you’re perfect and no one can convince me otherwise.” She told him with a serious look and a shake of her head that made him chuckle at her. “And I really need to stop eavesdropping on you.”

“It’s fine. I have nothing to hide from you. You know that.” he brushed it off.

“I know, but eavesdropping is disrespectful, and I respect you as much as I love you. I need to break the bad habit.” She told him as she slid her hands up to rest her arms on his shoulders. “To answer your question, yes, I miss them. And if possible I’d love to pay them a visit.” She answered as she slid her hands up his chest to rest her wrists on his shoulders.

“As soon as we get settled and find a good moment to slip away I’ll escort you there myself. Unless you would rather go with your father.” He told her.

“No, I’m not going that far away with him. I don’t trust him that much yet.” She told him with a shake of her head.

“Good, because I don’t either.” He agreed with her. “I have a meeting with the faction at Saint Anne’s church. The moving company should be by in a few hours with our things from the plantation. I may or may not be back before then, it all depends on how the meeting goes.” He told her as he pulled her closer.

“Okay. I’ll obviously be here when you get back.” she told him with a nod then pecked him on the lips. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” She smirked at him as she gave him a light push backwards.

“That’s no fun.” He commented with a playful smirk back as he turned around and headed to the front of their living quarters. She just laughed as she followed him to the door then kissed him once more before he left and she shut the door behind him.

She was sitting at a patio table on the balcony, reading a book when she heard a whoosh and looked up to see Elijah standing across from her and she jumped. “Elijah…” she sighed, placing her hand over her pounding heart. “Don’t do that.” she threw her book at him and he caught it.

“My apologies. I did not mean to startle you.” he told her as he closed the book.

“What are you doing here?” she asked with an attitude that made it clear she didn’t want him to be.

“I don’t like how we left things.” He explained. “I owe you yet another apology.”

“You don’t owe me anything, Elijah.” She told him with a shake of her head, noticing that he wasn’t wearing his usual suit, but a pair of dark jeans, a black cotton shirt and nice, black, button up jacket with the collar upturned instead.

He set the book on the patio table and pulled out a chair. “May I join you?” he asked with a motion to the chair.

She took in a deep breath then let it out. “Sure, why not?” her words were tainted with thick sarcasm, but he sat down anyway.

“You said it seems like I lack faith in you, I do not.” He told her as he fiddled with the book on the table. “I believe now more than ever that you will help me achieve the one thing I’ve desired most in my life.” He told her with a squint of his eyes. “My brother’s salvation.”

“How are we supposed to work together to accomplish anything if there is constantly this…wall, of unrequited feelings not only causing problems with you and me, but you and Klaus?” she asked, wanting to work through their problems.

“That is the tricky question.” He sighed as he looked down at the book and straightened it on the table.

“I can’t tell you to stop having feelings for me. It’s not my place or right to tell you what to do or feel.” She told him as she sat up straighter and crossed her arms on the table. “But Elijah, we have to work something out. Even though you said you wouldn’t let your feelings stand in the way they are… regardless of your intentions. I mean, what Klaus said about you trying to color him the lesser brother in my eyes…is that really what you were trying to do when you accused him of wanting to use our baby to sire hybrids?”

“Not intentionally.” He answered. “I cannot deny that I am jealous of Niklaus and angry at myself. In all my one thousand years I have never felt such…emotional turmoil.” Katie frowned and looked down at her arms on the table, hating that she was causing this. “My own grievances caused me to lash out at you. To suggest that your word could be easily broken, that my brother would use his child for his own personal gain… it was unfair and untrue. For that I am sorry.”

Katie sighed as she leaned forward resting her head on her arms. “Apology accepted.” She mumbled not picking her head up.

“You care about Niklaus, you’re devoted to him, he makes you happy.” Katie picked her head up and sat up straight. “However, because I’ve never heard you say, I have to ask, do you love him?”

“Yes.” She answered only to see the hurt in his eyes that he tried to hide. “And it pains me to know that my love for your brother is the cause of your unhappiness. I hate seeing you like this…seeing your emotional turmoil turn you into someone you’re not…” she looked away from him and down to the street below. “You don’t break promises, you don’t make unfounded accusations…yet since I’ve become a part of your life, that’s all I’ve seen from you. If me leaving your life would solve the problem I would.

“That would only make the problem worse.” He replied with a shake of his head and Katie looked back at him. “I need you in my life.” Katie placed her elbows on the table and clasped her hands together at a loss of words. “If not as my lover then as my friend.”

“Friends?” Katie asked with a raised brow. “Do you really think you can manage that?”

“I do.” He told her with a confident nod. “Because you are not only good for Klaus, but he is good for you. You carry yourself with a confidence that I’ve never seen from you before. He brings out a whole different side of you…a strength that’s bright and…” he shook his head not able to find the word he was looking for.

“Fiery?” she asked with a smirk.

He smirked back. “Yes.” He sat up straighter and swiped his pointer finger across his bottom lip. “Niklaus has accused me of snuffing you out in the past. I assure you I only wish to help you burn brighter. I need you to tell me how to achieve that.”

Katie dropped her hands and placed them in her lap with a shrug. Her green eyes looked into his browns in thought. “Just… do as you said and be my friend. Support my happiness and your brothers. I know Rebekah thinks he doesn’t deserve love or happiness, especially since he’s taken hers away so many times, but he does. He also deserves the love and support of his family, you all do.”

“Friends it is then.” He told her with a smirk that she returned before she remembered that Hayley had given him a ride back from the bayou and it fell.

“As your friend I have to ask, was that Hayley that gave you a ride home from the bayou?” she asked.

“Yes.” He answered. “She was still at the campsite and came to my aid.”

“You know she helped Tyler kidnap me, right?” Katie asked.

“Tyler made her.” He informed her and Katie frowned. “He called her a sympathizer because she didn't believe Klaus would hurt a child. Apparently my brother aided her, protected her from Katherine, and won her favor.”

“Klaus did help her.” Katie confirmed.

“She also said she was afraid her anger at Tyler and what he was planning on doing might have given you the wrong impression.” He explained. “She assured me she did not want the child dead, but she didn’t have the power to stand up to a hybrid.”

“She didn't exactly stick around to watch once we got to the cabin.” Katie thought out loud. “And she pointed out Tyler's true intentions as soon as she could. I thought the disdain I heard in her voice was aimed at me, but it easily could have been aimed at Tyler.” Katie played the day and the little time she was around Hayley over in her head and realized what she’d told Elijah could very well be true. “I was going to say she’s not a good person, but maybe that was a hasty judgment.”

“Perhaps it was.” He agreed with a nod as he stood up and started to leave.

“Elijah.” Katie called again and he turned back to her. “You know I’m not the one you really needed to apologize to, right?” he gave her a nod then with a whoosh, he disappeared.

TVDTVDTVD

Katie got bored waiting for the moving company to call and started wandering around the compound. Interested in the basement that Klaus had skipped to save time on his tour, she went there and found Josh and a young woman talking in the garage. “You can trust Marcel. And if Klaus tries to hurt you…I’ll hurt him.” she heard the girl say.

“I’m going to politely suggest that you don’t try that.” Katie spoke up, alerting them to her presence.

“You’re Katie…Klaus’s wife?” The young pretty brunette girl observed.

“Wife no, significant other, yes.” Katie answered. “And judging off your young age, confidence in Marcel and hatred of Klaus I’m assuming you’re the all powerful witch, Davina. Josh I’ve met.” She looked around Davina to Josh with a small smile. “Hello again.”

“Hi.” He said, giving her a flick of his wrist in an awkward wave.

“The less inflammatory way to protect Josh from Klaus’s backlash for leading him into a trap would be to trust me.” Katie said letting her eyes bounce between Josh and Davina.

“You’re Klaus’s other half, why would we trust you?” Davina asked with hard eyes.

“Because while Klaus is the irrational half, I’m the rational one. And I believe in second chances.” She added with a look at Josh.

“And we’re just supposed to believe you?” Davina asked.

“No, but you could give me a chance to prove myself.” Katie said hopefully. “Look, you and I have something in common.”

“What’s that?” Davina drawled with a little less disdain in her eyes.

“Both our lives have been threatened by the French quarter witches.” Katie answered. “We’ve been used by them.”

“Well, your boyfriend wants to use me too, so....” Davina pointed out.

“And I may have unfortunately encouraged him…” Katie admitted. “But it was only because I was afraid and I knew you had the power to protect my baby from the witches. I know that doesn’t make it right and I am sorry. I’m not trying to manipulate you or sway you from Marcel to side with me and Klaus. I’m just trying to be upfront and honest with you.”

“So why would you protect Josh?” Davina asked and Josh gave her a look that said he was wondering the same thing.

“Because I have no friends’ here, I had to leave them all behind.” She answered with a shrug.

“What about that guy I’ve seen you talking to? Bradley. Are you two not friends?” Josh asked.

“If my estranged biological father is the only person in this place I can call a friend then my life is far more tragic than I ever thought.” Katie admitted with an ashamed face and a shake of her head. “Oh, and,” Katie perked up with a look at Davina, “I believe I owe you a thank you for saving my baby’s life.”

“What?” Davina asked, clearly confused.

“Elijah didn’t tell you what the spell he gave you was did he?” Katie asked.

“It was a spell if unknotting. He said it was used as representational magic.” Davina answered.

“What is it with the Mikaelson’s and not being truthful about their intentions?” she asked rhetorically with an eye roll. “The spell unlinked me from Sophie Deveraux who had been stabbed with the needle of sorrows. Do you know what that is?” she asked and Davina nodded. “You completed the spell in the nick of time and saved me from the witch’s abortion attempt. I am incredibly grateful for you and your magic and equally sorry that Elijah misled you in order to help me.”

“You saved a baby?” Josh asked Davina.

“It seems so.” Davina answered with wide eyes.

“Can you forgive Elijah for deceiving you?” Katie asked, trying her best to keep down the hatred of the originals, especially hatred that could be as powerful as Davina’s.

“I…don’t know.” Davina answered sounding confused.

“Understandable.” Katie nodded not pushing the subject.

Katie’s phone started ringing and she looked at it to see the number of the moving company. “I have to take this, but feel free to hunt me down if there’s ever anything I can help either of you with, or even if you just want to talk.” She then looked at Davina. “I know you have Marcel and you trust him, but sometimes you just need another woman’s ear.” She answered the phone and headed upstairs.

“She’s weird.” She heard Davina tell Josh.

“Seems nice to me.” Josh replied and Katie smiled as she walked away.

TVDTVDTVD

Katie was on her way through the courtyard, headed back to their quarters when she looked up from the tuna fish sandwich in her hands and saw Klaus standing on the stairs, Elijah standing at the bottom of them looking up at Klaus’s back. “There is something important we need to discuss.” Elijah told his brother.

As Klaus turned to look at Elijah his eyes caught Katie standing across the courtyard looking at them like she didn’t know what to do. “Mmm, sorry.” She said then swallowed the bite of the sandwich. “I didn’t mean to interrupt, I’ll just…” she pointed at the second set of stairs in the courtyard and headed toward them.

“No, stay, please.” Elijah said, stopping her. “You should hear this too.” Katie just looked at Klaus, silently asking him if he wanted her to stay. He gave her a nod so she walked over, sitting her paper towel wrapped sandwich on one of the tables that she walked past then stood by Klaus who now stood at the base of the stairs. “While I was in the bayou Hayley informed me that werewolves from all around have been coming to New Orleans to witness the miracle pregnancy. One of them spoke of a legend. A legend wherein long ago, a chief of theirs had fathered a child to a very powerful witch. Their mythology further states, this child, a son, was later transformed into something this clan had never before seen…something werewolf and vampire.” He paused to pull something out of his pocket and tossed it to Klaus who caught it in his fist. “That was found hanging around this wolf's neck. Do you recognize it?” Klaus opened up his fist and they both looked at the silver ring in his hand that was made to look like knotted twine, a hole where a stone had once been in the center of it. “Perhaps you don’t, it has been a thousand years since you last saw it grace the hand of our mother.”

“Are you telling us that you found descendants of his biological father?” Katie asked just to clarify.

“That is exactly what I’m saying.” Elijah answered with a nod.

“I have had enough of family to last a lifetime, why would I possibly want more?” Klaus asked, seemingly unaffected by Elijah’s news as he turned and started back up the stairs.

“There is something else of importance we have neglected to discuss.” Elijah spoke up. Klaus stopped and turned toward him. “I accused you of having ulterior motives regarding the child…I was wrong. I’m sorry.”

“I imagine that must have been hard for you to say.” Klaus replied.

Elijah took in a deep breath then blew it out through his nose. “You don’t make it easy to love you, Brother.”

“Yet you are obstinate in your desire to do so.” Klaus said and Elijah dropped his eyes then looked back up at him. Klaus looked at Elijah with emotion filled eyes. “When you are ready, should you be so inclined, both you and Rebekah are welcome to join us here.” He turned his back on Elijah and headed up the stairs. “It is after all our family home.”

Katie gave Elijah a small smile as she grabbed her sandwich off the table. “Is that tuna?” he asked with a curious face and Katie nodded then took a bite. “Are you a cat?”

She chewed and swallowed. “Nope, I’m pregnant and craving weird crap. If I get another craving for chocolate I might just have to try it." She told him then started up the stairs.

TVDTVDTVD

Klaus’s hands slid over the wet, pale skin of Katie’s back, helping wash away the suds of her soap. “How was your day?”

“Not bad.” She replied tilting her head to the side as his hands slipped over the side of her neck then down her shoulder. “I attempted to make new friends so we wouldn’t be compelling Cami. We really need to stop messing with that poor girl's head.”

“So, if not Cami, who may I ask will you be making friends with?”

“A certain powerful witch and her traitor vampire friend.” Katie answered.

“Davina and Josh?” Klaus asked, a little surprised. “Interesting choices.”

“I didn’t think Davina’s friendship would be a bad thing. I guess I’m hoping that at the very least she’ll at least let me be a mentor or even just a trusted ear. It kind of seems like other than Marcel she’s alone here.”

“Alone, save one high status vampire…isolated from any friends she may have had before the harvest ritual. Perhaps you see similarities between her and yourself? Kindred spirits if you will.” Klaus asked as he wrapped his arms around her and set his chin lightly on her shoulder.

“Kind of, yeah.” Katie answered.

“And why Joshua?” Klaus asked curiously.

“I don’t know. He seems nice and he happened to be with Davina at the time.” She shrugged.

“He also happens to be someone I’ve used…” Klaus pointed out and when she didn’t say anything he turned her around to look at him. “It is not your job to right my wrongs.”

“That’s not what I’m trying to do.” She defended.

“Josh wouldn’t be a vampire had I not killed him and it is no secret that I want Davina’s power…her protection for our child.” He told her.

Seeing the blood from his day’s killings still dried on his chest she grabbed his body wash and a washcloth. “Yes, but people probably don’t see that I encouraged your pursuit of Davina.” She put some soap on the rag and started washing the blood from his skin. “I was mad at the witches and not thinking straight before. It was easy to want to use her when Davina was just an idea of a person in my head. But now I’ve met her and she’s young and strong, not just with magic.” She twirled her finger asking him to turn around so he did. “She needs someone to be straight with her and let her make her own decisions. And Josh is a new vampire which means his loyalties may not be deeply rooted with Marcel yet. I just wanted to drop a seed of trust and friendship and hope they plant it.” He turned around and took the wash cloth from her. “Plus, you’re more than capable of cleaning up your own messes if you want to.”

“I still say I should buy you a tiara.” He said with a smirk.

“Stop.” She laughed and hit him in the shoulder. “So who’s blood just got washed down the drain?” she asked as she stepped back and leaned against the wall, admiring him as he finished showering.

“The faction’s. Excluding father Kieran. I actually see potential in him. He’s a reasonable man.” He answered and Katie just smirked at him. “What?”

“One of these days I’m going to get to see you in action in person.” She said as she crossed her arms over her chest making him give her a small smile. “So what did they do that warranted their deaths?”

“I ignored Marcel’s advice, angered the faction with my new terms and they pulled a drive by on the bar we were at after the meeting. In doing so they shot out the black out windows. Several of the night walkers were inside and burned to death before we could help them. So…” he paused to rinse out the wash cloth then tossed it over the brushed nickel grab bar and pulled her into him, “we slaughtered the lot of them.” She smiled as his hands slid down to her butt and playfully bit her shoulder with a growl.

“So what’s going to happen now that there’s no faction?” she asked as he kissed her neck.

“Father Kieran is going to remake it then we’ll reopen negotiations.” He answered as he pulled away from her neck and she turned around and turned the water off.

After their shower they were lounging around doing their own things, Katie reading A House Of Night novel on one end of the couch while Klaus sat on the opposite end with a sketch pad in his hand when she remembered that she had left out a major event of her day. “So something else happened today.” Katie spoke up as she glanced up at Klaus.

“Yeah?” he asked with a glance up at her from his book.

“Elijah paid me a visit.” He put down his pencil giving her his full attention. “Long story short, he sees that you’re just as good for me as I am for you. We’ve agreed to be friends.”

“And you believe him?” he asked with a frown.

“I’ll believe it when I see it, but that doesn’t mean I’m not willing to give it a try.” She replied. A few minutes passed before Katie remembered that Caroline had said that Klaus was mad at Katie when he left Mystic Falls to come find her. “So earlier today, Caroline mentioned that you were pissed at me when you left to come find me…” not able to focus on her book she closed it and put it on the coffee table Klaus didn’t look up from his sketch pad. “Why were you so mad?”

“You didn’t keep in touch.” he answered simply.

“And that pissed you off?” Katie asked, a little confused. He put his sketch pad and charcoal on the table then gave her a look that told her the answer shouldn’t be that hard to figure out. “You thought I’d abandoned you…”

He nodded. “I felt like an idiot for falling for you, and I hated it.” he answered quietly. “I burned half my sketches of you and I should tell you before Caroline does,” a pain shot through her chest at the thought of what was about to come out of his mouth, “I let her wear your prom dress.” A sigh left her lips, happy he didn’t say he’d slept with her to get back at Katie. “Elena stole hers and she came to me for help since you told her about my collection.” When Katie didn’t say anything, looking at the floor in thought, Klaus asked, “Are you angry?”

“Is letting her wear my dress the only thing you did?” she asked not looking at him.

“Yes.” He answered honestly.

Katie finally looked up at him. “Then I’m not mad. That dress was too beautiful not to be worn by someone.”

“As beautiful as your dream wedding dress?” he asked with a hopeful smile to lighten the mood.

She laughed and shook her head. “I never should have told you about that.”

“Perhaps Caroline would know which dress was your favorite.” He said with a devious smile.

“She might, but I doubt it.” Katie told him with a smile as she turned around and laid on the couch with her head in his lap and a hand resting on her stomach. “You’re welcome to ask her.”

“I just might.” He told her with a challenging tone as she brushed her hair out of her face.

TVDTVDTVD

A few mornings later Katie woke up to find she was in bed alone, but the smell of paint was in the air so she knew Klaus was near. “The queen awakens.” He commented seeing she was up.

“What time is it?” she groaned.

“Six twenty.” He answered not looking away from the painting he was working on. “I didn’t let you sleep in too long did I?”

“No. It’s fine.” She answered. “How did you manage to get out of bed without me waking up?”

“You were in a very deep sleep. I was able to slip right out from under your arm.” He explained.

She sat up and lifted her left hand to push her hair out of her face, but a sparkle of something caught her eye and she looked at her hand to see a white gold ring on her ring finger. A scroll design and a chevron ribbon of small diamonds came together to create a tiara with a swirling heart at its peak. A beautiful blue sapphire sat in the center of it. “You actually bought me a tiara.” Katie said in awe as she looked up from her hand to see Klaus smirking at her.

“Well, I couldn’t have you going out and about without any indication that you are taken. You are hot and as far as anyone outside this compound knows, available, and the thought of someone hitting on you makes me want to rip someone’s spine out through their throat.” He told her, making her laugh at how he basically turned her words into his own.

“You…” Katie slid out of the bed and walked over to him. “are going to give me a big head, Big Bad Wolf.”

“Does that mean you like it?” he asked with a look down at her.

“I love it.” she told him as she took his hand in hers. “And I love you”

“What about this?” he asked with a motion to the painting.

She turned her eyes to the painting of her lying on the bed on her side with one hand under the pillow, the dark blue sheet wrapped around her body clinging to her beautifully. The light shining in through the three windows glinted off her auburn waves that were fanned out over her pillow.

“Is that what I really looked like or is it just how you see me?” Katie asked, not believing that something so beautiful could feature her.

“Both.” He answered then looked at her face, seeing that she couldn’t take her eyes off of the painting. “Have I finally convinced you of your beauty?”

“Nope.” She answered then looked at him. “Is it finished?”

“Not quite, but it should be by the time you’re done with your breakfast.” With the paintbrush in his hand he pointed to the table where a plate of eggs, bacon and a croissant sat next to a steaming cup of coffee.

She stood on her toes and caught his lips with hers, told him, “You’re awesome.” then walked over to the table and started eating her breakfast. “A promise ring, breakfast and I get to watch you paint.” she said with a smile in her voice making him turn from the painting to see her checking him out. “Is it my birthday?”

“Well, it was just supposed to be the ring and breakfast, however I’ve wanted to paint you for a while now and this morning just happened to present the opportunity.” He told her as he turned back to the canvas.

“Speaking of birthdays…” she took a sip of coffee then asked, “When is yours?”

“I stopped celebrating my birthday a long time ago.” He told her, not looking back at her.

“That doesn’t answer my question.” She sing-songed at him.

“March 25th.” He answered with a smirk at her over his shoulder.

“You let me miss it. Why didn’t you say something?” she pouted.

“Like I said, I stopped celebrating it.” he replied. “Speaking of celebrations, the annual casket girl festival is tonight.”

“The what?” Katie asked with a mouth full of her breakfast.

“I’ll let Rebekah tell you all about it. She likes boasting about her involvement in the history this event is based around.” He answered.

Katie frowned. “That would imply that I’d have to talk to Rebekah.” She took a sip of her coffee as she watched him rinse out his brush turning the clear water red. “Last I checked we weren’t on the best of terms with each other.”

“Well, she asked me to let you know she’s having trunks of dresses brought down from storage if you wanted to go through them and find a dress for the festival tonight.” He told her as he dried the brush and stuck it in a jar of other brushes then sat down across from her. “So she can’t be that mad at you.”

“Huh…okay then.” Katie said with a shrug then went back to her breakfast and coffee. After a few seconds it clicked that she was going to get to do something fun and she looked up at Klaus who smirked at her. “Are you taking me to the festival?”

“If you would like to go, yes.” He answered, making a big smile spread over her face.

“Are you kidding me? Of course I want to get dressed up and go have fun with you by my side.” she answered around a bite of bacon.

“You might change your mind about that when you see the theme.” He told her with a devious smirk. She just rolled her eyes and finished her breakfast, now eager to meet up with Rebekah and go through vintage clothing.

TVDTVDTVD

“So,” Katie started as she walked over to Rebekah who was digging through a really nice old wooden trunk, “Klaus told me you invited me to come pick out a dress with you…”

“Yes I…wanted to apologize.” Rebekah answered as she stood up with a white dress in her hands.

“You wanted to, or was this Elijah’s doing?” Katie asked, still suspicious of Rebekah and her back stabbing tendencies.

“Elijah may have suggested it, but that doesn’t mean I’m not genuinely sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you in the pursuit of my brother’s demise.” She told her as she put the dress back in the trunk, deciding she didn’t like it.

“Rebekah, Klaus and I may not be linked, but when you hurt him you hurt me. That’s just how love works.” Katie told her with a shake of her head.

Rebekah finally stopped looking at dresses to look at Katie. “What did you just say?”

“That I love Klaus.” Katie answered then turned her eyes to the trunk of white dresses. “So, what’s this casket girl festival all about anyway?” she asked to change the subject.

“The casket girls were virtuous young society women imported from France with the promise of marrying a proper New Orleans gentleman.” Rebekah explained. “Little did they know the men who awaited them were far from proper and not at all gentle. It’s a yearly reminder of how women can be oppressed by selfish men and how they can triumph when brave enough to fight for themselves.”

“Klaus said you were involved with the history of the casket girls?” Katie asked.

“As often as I could I’d intercept the carriages carrying the girls and save them from their awful fates.” Rebekah answered.

“You know, I sometimes forget you’re not the complete and total bitch you come across as most of the time.” Katie told her with a smile and Rebekah just smirked and shook her head. “So women wear wedding dresses to celebrate girl power New Orleans style?”

“Yep.” Rebekah answered them motioned to the trunk. “Have at it, although I don’t see much potential in this lot.”

Katie had found a dress and was trying it on in a room nearby when Elijah walked by and saw her struggling to pull up the zipper in the back. “Would you like some help?” he asked as he leaned on the frame of the open door.

“I think there’s no use.” Katie replied then blew air between her lips as she let her hands fall from her back. “But you’re welcome to try.”

The mirror gave her a clear view of him and she noticed that he had once again skipped the suit and opted for a white t-shirt, a pair of blue jeans and a black jacket. He pushed himself off the doorframe and walked over to her. He managed to pull the zipper up a few more inches, but didn’t want to risk popping the stitching. “I’m afraid you were right.”

“This was the biggest dress in the trunks…” she sighed as she turned to face him at the same time Klaus walked into the room. “The idea of a pregnant casket girl seems a little silly anyway.” She sighed as she ran her hand over her stomach.

“You know there are bridal shops in town with dresses on sale for the occasion.” Rebekah commented as she walked in. “I’m not finding much in the other trunks either.”

Katie couldn’t take her eyes off of the look on Klaus’s face. “I know that look, Big Bad Wolf, you can keep trying to imagine my dream dress, but you’ll never guess what it looks like.” She told him with a smirk making both Elijah and Rebekah look back and forth between Katie and Klaus, both just now noticing the rings on their hands.

“Is there something you two wish to tell us?” Elijah asked with squinted eyes.

“We’re engaged.” Klaus said with a devious look on his face.

“Klaus Mikaelson!” Katie scolded with a shocked smile as she moved from the mirror and punched him in the shoulder. He just laughed as he spun her around and wrapped his arms around her shoulders pulling her back into his chest.

“Did I just hear that you’re engaged?” Her father asked from where he stood in the doorway with wide eyes. “I thought you said you weren’t going to propose to him.”

“Why is everyone and their mother in this room right now?” Katie asked.

“When were you planning on telling me?” Rebekah asked, a little mad. “The maid of honor is responsible for helping you pick out your dress and planning everything.”

“And I’m pretty sure you’re supposed to ask the bride's father for her hand.” Her father chipped in.

Klaus just laughed where he still stood behind Katie with his arms wrapped around her. “Okay, everyone just stop.” Katie told them as she stepped out of Klaus’s arms. “Stop, rewind,” she moved her two pointer fingers around each other in a winding motion, “and ignore Klaus.” She gave Klaus a glare and he just laughed. “We’re not getting married. We’re not engaged and no offense,” she looked at Rebekah, “if Klaus and I do ever decide to tie the knot Caroline will be my maid of honor as I promised her long ago she would be.”

“So what’s with the rings?” Rebekah asked.

“They’re…” she looked at Klaus and asked, “promise rings?” with an unsure look. He pulled the corners of his mouth down with a shrug. “They’re promise rings. Now can we get back to what we were doing?” she asked with a look at Rebekah.

“Well, I’m going out to find a dress, are you coming with?” Rebekah asked.

“Yeah, just give me a minute to change.” Katie answered.

“So you’re not getting married?” Bradley asked, still standing near the door.

“No.” Katie answered with a shake of her head. “Are you going to be at the festival?”

“No, street fares aren’t really my speed.” He answered with a shake of his head then noticed Klaus giving him a why-are-you-still-here look. “I’ll…see you later though.” He left, leaving Katie alone with Elijah and Klaus and the thick awkwardness that hung around them.

Katie chewed on the inside of her lip as her eyes bounced between the two of them. “Okay, I’m gonna get out of this dress now.” she turned her back on Klaus and asked, “Do you mind?” After he’d unzipped the dress she ducked behind the folding screen in the corner of the room and started changing. “So, Elijah, are you planning on going to the festival?” Katie asked from behind the screen, hoping to break the tension.

“I was actually going to offer to accompany you if my brother was too busy running his kingdom to do so.” Elijah answered and Katie rolled her eyes as she pulled her maternity jeans on.

“What are you suggesting, Brother?” Klaus asked with a hard voice.

“I’m not suggesting anything, Niklaus, other than I understand running an empire can be time consuming and I do not want my one and only friend to feel neglected.” Elijah answered.

And there it is. Katie thought to herself as she pulled her white racer back tank top over her head. “If Katie has ever felt neglected she has failed to let me know.”

Katie grabbed her leather jacket from where it had been thrown over the screen as she walked around it. “Alright stop it, both of you.” Both of the men looked at her as she shrugged on her jacket. “I’ve never felt neglected.” She told Klaus then looked at Elijah. “I appreciate your concern and if something comes up and he can’t accompany me to the festival I’ll take you up on your offer.” She looked at Klaus who was opening his mouth to object. “And I’ll ask you not to get jealous because I’ve never actually managed to stay friends with an ex and I really need to learn how to navigate it.” she turned her eyes to Elijah, “We both do.” She heard Klaus sigh and looked back at him. “Cool?”

“Yes.” He answered with an I-don’t-like-it sigh.

She smirked. “Thank you. Now if you two don’t mind I have a costume to shop for with my future sister-in-law.” She said jokingly as she left the brothers behind.

TVDTVDTVD

“So what does your dream wedding dress look like?” Rebekah asked as they looked through the markdown dresses on the rack outside the bridal shop.

“Have you heard of Pnina Tornai?” Katie asked.

“Yes, I love her.” Rebekah said with a smile. “I have yet to see a dress she’s designed that I didn’t like.”

“It’s one of her custom ball gowns.” Katie added then sighed as she got to the end of the rack of dresses. “Maybe it wasn’t meant for me to go to this festival.”

“No, nu uh, you’re getting out and having fun. Come.” Rebekah grabbed her hand and pulled her into the shop. By the time they were done they both had dresses that cost way too much for something they were going to wear to a street fair.

TVDTVDTVD

That evening Katie stood in the bedroom looking at herself in the white empire waist, chiffon, dress with tulle sleeves. Klaus walked up behind her and sat his hands on her hips as she clipped the birdcage veil into her hair. “You…are…jaw dropping.” Katie just smiled at him in the mirror. “Ready?”

“More than ready.” She answered as she spun around in his arms.

The two of them enjoyed the night without a hitch. Katie found herself falling in love with the city, with the jazz music, street artists, the good food and just the overall atmosphere. She found that not only did she love gumbo, but crawfish etouffee as well.

At the end of the night Katie fell into bed with Klaus, exhausted, but happier than she had been in a long time.

[theolddarkmachine]

Imaginary- Chapter Thirteen

Midoriya Izuku’s life was turned upside by fate.

Eri’s life was turned upside down by circumstance.

And Bakugou Katsuki is about to learn that even imaginary friends need to grow up.

Also on AO3

A/N: Sooooo. Apologies for going MIA lol I moved last month and even though I told myself I would totally have time to still right, I totally didn’t have time to still write. And then this chapter went from a planned like 2k-ish words to over 6k. Which, I’m hoping makes up for the absence lol 

***HERE’S YOUR WARNING, THIS CHAPTER EARNS THE E RATING.***

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The dull, quick tap of Izuku’s fingers on the table top punctuate the otherwise quiet kitchen as he keeps his eyes fixed on his hand. It’s that awkward downtime that has left him without the ability to do much of anything, but was still far too early to start working on making dinner. In fact, the only thing he probably could do to pass the time would be to clean the kitchen. Again.

For the third time that day.

Sighing loudly, Izuku drops his head down on the table beside his hand. Inviting Bakugou to dinner had been such a good idea at the time, but almost as soon as he’d climbed into his car, he had realized the error he had made. Because ever since, a particularly lively family of butterflies has infested his insides, leaving him a quantified mess of fidgeting hands.

With each passing moment since they’d run into each other at the daycare, he had considered canceling. Considered picking up the phone and telling Bakugou he’d come down with some form of horrifying malaise and that as an officer of the law whose duty it was was to protect the common people, it was his job to not pass the sickness along.

But then he’d remember the way Bakugou’s gaze had pinned him against his car door, the force of it cutting down to the deepest secrets that he kept buried against his bones.

Then, finally, it was Saturday and far too late to make up some excuse.

So now, he was suffering the consequences of his actions, as he tried to swallow down the stray butterfly that was tickling the back of his throat.

Groaning again, Izuku lifts his head just enough so he can drop it back down with a dull thump.

“Daddy Izuku?” Eri’s voice is a shade of concerned that forces his head to snap up to attention. He doesn’t miss the way her eyes zero in on the inevitable red spot at the center of his forehead, or the way her smile grows as she giggles at his expense. Reaching up, he rubs his fingers over his skin where there’s a dull, pulsing throb.

“Did you pick out what movies you’re taking to Grandma’s?” Izuku asks, dropping his hand back to the table as he eyes the way Eri holds her own behind her back, obviously hiding something from his view.

She nods enthusiastically in answer.

“Are you going to show me which ones they are?” He prods, mind flashing back to the one time she’d grabbed a seemingly harmless hero movie that had ended up being an R rated nightmare his mother had yet to let him live down.

“I already packed them!” Eri exclaims, hands still firmly hidden behind her back.

“So then what do you have there?” Izuku asks, tilting his chin toward her. A light pink dusts her cheeks as she looks down to her feet. He watches as she twists her foot shyly.

“Daddy Izuku,” she starts, gaze still turned to her toes, “do you think you could give Kacchan something for me?”

The violent tempest in his gut picks up its speed at the mention of Bakugou’s name as Izuku sits up straighter.

“Of course, Eri. But why don’t you go ahead and give it to him yourself?” He says, ignoring the way curiosity weaves between his own words. The question makes her lift her gaze. Happiness burns bright in her eyes as she gives him a toothy grin.

“Because I think he’d really like it coming from you!” Eri cheers, finally pulling her hands in front of her. Her left fist clenches around a small collection of flowers that Izuku recognizes as the ones growing through the cracks of their fence from their neighbor’s yard, and her right holds a folded piece of paper.

Stomach going turbulent once more, Izuku reaches forward to gently take them both, making a mental note to find a cup of water for the flowers before turning his attention to the paper.

Bright colors decorate the front of the paper, depicting three people, each wearing equally colorful pointed birthday hats. Between the trio is a floating pink cake, and on the ground are several small squares with little bows.

Tucking his thumb into the fold, Izuku opens the paper to see Eri’s childish script.

Can you come to my birthday?

Sucking in a sharp breath, he lets the paper fold back shut as he eyes the drawing once more.

He had already been planning on inviting Bakugou to Eri’s birthday the upcoming Sunday, but something about the drawing sent a sharp spike of excitement ricocheting through his chest. Like this, in the Crayola colored world, they almost looked like they could be a family.

“Yeah,” he breathes, looking up to meet Eri’s expectant stare. “Of course, I’ll give this to him. He’ll love it.”

Gently setting down both the invitation and bouquet, Izuku reaches forward to scoop her up into a hug. Giving her a small squeeze, he smiles into her shoulder as he feels her give him one back.

“Thank you, Daddy Izuku!” She cheers, fingers fisting at the back of his shirt.

The sudden sound of the doorbell makes them both jump. Pulling apart, Izuku taps Eri on the nose as he smiles.

“That must be your grandma, why don’t you go grab your bag?” He says as he stands. Nodding dutifully, Eri skips toward the stairs, her steps thumping loudly as she heads up to her room.

With a small chuckle and shake of his head, Izuku makes his way to the front door. Pulling it open, he finds himself under the full force of his mother’s bright grin.

“Hey, honey,” she says loudly, gaze shifting over his shoulder to quickly scan the hall behind him.

“Hey mom,” Izuku sighs, stepping aside to let her into the entryway before adding, “he isn’t here yet.”

“Hm? Who?” His mom hums, stepping over the threshold as she lets an exaggerated confusion color her tone. Turning over her shoulder, she fixes her all knowing mom smile on him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You really didn’t think I’d have invited him to come at the same time you did, did you?” Izuku teases, shutting the door behind them. As they both settle in the entryway, he watches as his mom crosses her arms over her chest before pinning her big, green gaze on him.

“Izuku, I’m hurt,” she replies, smiling through her pout as he rolls his eyes.

“Do you blame me? Who wants to meet someone’s mom on their first date,” he says. There’s a brief pause before the realization of what he’s said rolls through him. The sharp clack of his teeth snapping shut as his mom’s smile grows.

“I thought it was a thank you dinner?” She presses, eyes sparkling with interest.

“Yes, it is,” Izuku quickly rectifies. “A thank you dinner between friends. Nothing else.”

“If you say so, sweetie,” his mom hums as she reaches out to rub his shoulder. “Just keep an open mind, okay. This boy seems to be pretty good for the both of you.”

“Mom,” Izuku groans, pulling back and dropping his head into his hands to hide the sudden burn across his cheeks.

“I’m just saying, Izuku!” His mom exclaims, leaning in close until he pulls his hand away to meet her stare. Tapping her finger against the center of her his forehead, she laughs lightly.

“Listen to your mother. You and Eri have been so happy the last few weeks, and I think we all know why.”

Brushing her hand away, Izuku sighs again.

“Yeah, yeah, mom. I get it. It’s still not a date.”

“Alright, dear,” she says, sounding completely unconvinced as she turns toward the sound of Eri’s steps on the stairs. They both fall into silence as they watch her hop off the last one, landing loudly as she looks to them both with her ever bright smile.

“Are you ready to have the best sleepover ever?” His mom asks, reaching her hand out to Eri.

“Yeah!” She cries loudly, taking her grandma’s hand. Bouncing in place excitedly, Eri barely spares him a glance as she says, “bye Daddy Izuku!”

“Be good for your Grandma Inko,” Izuku chuckles, ruffling her hair before reaching over her head to open the door. Leaning back against the doorway, he watches as Eri pulls on his mom’s hand.

“She always is,” his mother answers, letting Eri pull her out the door. The pair gets down the front steps before his mom pauses, looking over her shoulder with an almost sinister smile.

“And you be good on your not date,” she says, voice filled with innuendo before she winks.

“Get out of here,” Izuku shoos heat burning his cheeks as his mom turns away to continue down the path toward their front gate.

“Grandma Inko, what’s a not date?” He hears Eri ask. A loud moan escapes his lips as he hears his mother cackle before he shuts the door. Pressing his back to it, he rolls his eyes before looking down at his watch.

Maybe he can get in one more cleaning after all.

***

The rice is in the cooker, the meat and vegetables are marinating in the fridge, and Izuku is already halfway through a glass of wine when the doorbell finally rings again.

Swallowing down the high pitched eek of surprise that threatens to rips itself out of his mouth, Izuku wipes his hands on a kitchen towel before heading to the front door. The wood of it is almost daunting as it stands between him and the man on the other side, and he wonders what the hell he’s doing.

Lost to his thoughts for just a few seconds too long, the doorbell rings again, making him jump slightly before he finally opens the door.

“Thought maybe you were about to stand me up,” Bakugou greets, no real heat to his words as he sweeps his appraising look up and down Izuku’s frame. His own stare takes in all of the blonde, noting the way his button up clings to his just chest and the way his jeans accent his thighs. Even his hair, still set as a calculated disaster, seems to accentuate his face in an entirely different way than normal.

The look strikes a devastating blow to the space to Izuku’s solar plexus as he struggles to catch the breath that was just punched out of him.

“Hi,” he manages in response, mentally making a note to kick himself later for his sudden inability to speak.

Bakugou’s answering laugh is rough, and it raises goosebumps along Izuku’s skin as he hits him with the full brunt of his half cocked smile.

“Hey,” he greets before flicking his gaze over Izuku’s shoulder. “You gonna let me in?”

Swallowing thickly, Izuku just nodes and steps to the side, giving Bakugou enough space to step over the threshold. Taking the opportunity to enter, he casually walks in, keeping close as he flicks his gaze over Izuku once more before he busies himself with taking off his shoes.

Izuku swears he hears the soft huff of a suppressed chuckle as he shuts the door, and it sets fire racing over his cheekbones and turning his skin a violent shade. Without waiting, he walks in ahead of Bakugou, making a beeline for the fridge to grab the meat and vegetables from the fridge. The solid surface of the cool Tupperware in his hands grounds him, giving him something else to focus on other than the fact that his brain is short circuiting.

Be good on your not date, his mom’s voice taunts at the back of his mind.

Not a date, he mentally chides as he lets the fridge door shut loudly.

“Anything I can help with?” Bakugou asks, voice just at his back, making him jump slightly as he tightens his grasp on the Tupperware like it’s a lifeline. Not turning to face him, Izuku shuffles over to the stove and puts a pan on the stovetop.

“Nope,” he replies, popping the ‘p’ as he quickly flicks the burner on.

“You can just pour yourself some wine and sit there and—”

“Look pretty?” Bakugou bites, shit eating grin all too loud in his tone as he cuts Izuku off. Something seizes in his chest, forcing the air out of his lungs for length of three breaths before he grabs for the wooden spatula beside the stove. Turning quickly over his shoulder, Izuku forces himself to breathe.

“Let me do all the work,” he grits, doing his best to sound stern as he points the utensil straight at his tormentor. In response, Bakugou’s smile only grows sharper, more dangerous, as he reaches for the already open wine bottle and empty glass from the kitchen island. Settling down into one of the island stools, he makes careful work of filling the wineglass.

“‘Fraid I’m not that kind of girl, Deku,” he replies, arching a brow as he stares at Izuku and takes a drag of wine. A small hiccuping noise pries itself between Izuku’s teeth as he turns back to the stove. Ignoring the small huff of amusement from behind him, he pulls the lid off the container, upending the contents into the pan. They land with a satisfying sizzle as he places the now empty container on the counter, replacing it in his hand with his wine and swallowing down a big gulp.

It does nothing to sate the nervous yet excited thrum doing laps through his veins.

“So you cook dinner for all of Eri’s friends?” Bakugou asks, focused gaze burning a hole between Izuku’s shoulder blades as he pushes around the meat and veggies so that they cover the pan in an even layer.

“Only the ones I really like,” he mutters without thought as he almost flicks a pepper out of the pan. It isn’t until he’s chased it back into the confines of the metal cookware that he realizes what he’s said.

“I’m flattered then,” Bakugou says, voice molten. Turning a quick glance over his shoulder, Izuku traces the long line of his throat as he takes another sip of wine. He tries not to think too much about the light shade of pink that’s high on Bakugou’s cheeks when he resurfaces from the glass.

“You might not be after dinner,” Izuku says, chasing his own words with a self deprecating laugh as he turns back to the food to give it another stir. “I really only know how to do stir fry.”

A low and warm sound fills the space between them.

“Well than next time, I’ll be the chef,” Bakugou replies.

A shock of lightning strikes at the pit of Izuku’s stomach at the thought of next time.

Turning down the heat, he sets the spatula to the side, turning fully to face the man behind him. Settling his hands on the counter behind him, he leans back against the cool surface.

“Are you asking me on a date, Kacchan?” He teases, hoping that the question doesn’t ring with the burning hope that’s crawling its way up his throat.

“Consider it a thank you dinner,” Bakugou counters, punctuating his sentence with a quick wink.

Lips parting around his small gasp of shock, Izuku turns back toward the food, focusing on stirring the pan’s contents in a sad attempt to lull his rushing heartbeat. Losing himself to the task, its several minutes before he finally flicks the heat off, just in time for the rice cooker to click over to its keep warm function.

“Dinner is served,” he says, aiming the words behind him just in time to see Bakugou peering over his shoulder. His sudden presence sends a shock skittering down his spine, tracing between its knobs until the bright sparks found a home in his gut.

“Smells good,” Bakugou says. The compliment brushes across Izuku’s nape, followed closely by a burning flush.

“Thanks,” he says, moving to the side and offering Bakugou a plate and a rice paddle before adding quickly, “again.”

Rolling his eyes, Bakugou takes them.

“Shut it, Deku, let’s eat,” he snipes, turning to the rice cooker and opening the top. Scooping rice onto his plate, he hands the paddle to Izuku before moving onto the stir fry. Mechanically going through the motions, he follows suit, adding food to his plate almost blindly before moving to the dinner table to take a seat beside the one Bakugou had chosen.

Silence fills the bubble around the table, engulfing them in a comfortable warmth as they both eat. Izuku knows he should probably say something, but there’s a sort of calm that he’s wholly unfamiliar with. It’s a sort of calm that doesn’t beg for words or moments to be something in its own right.

Hidden within its depths, it’s a calm that gives him a glimpse into a future that he could have, one that, up until that very moment, he hadn’t even realized was something that he had maybe wanted.

Izuku had had Eri, and Eri had had Izuku, and until then, he hadn’t realized that maybe they could also have something else.

Someone else.

“What’s that?” Bakugou’s voice cuts through the din of his thoughts, leaving Izuku reeling and grasping from some kind of mental foothold as he searched for the that in which he was talking about.

Following the line of his stare, Izuku sees his attention has settled on the small mug filled with Eri’s handpicked flowers and the invitation beside it. He lets himself linger on the bright art of the trio, searching for a bit of courage amongst the crayon smiles.

“It’s for you, actually,” Izuku says after clearing his throat. Reach out, he carefully grabs the paper and hands it toward Bakugou, breath catching as their fingers brush.

“Eri wanted me to invite you to her birthday,” he continues, squeezing the words around the stalled air in his throat. Bakugou keeps his stare down to the paper, opening it and reading the scrawled words inside. Falling back into the comfortable quiet, Izuku watches as Bakugou’s gaze softens into unabashed, open wonder. A soft shade of pink stains his cheeks, the color making Izuku’s stomach flip as he tries fruitlessly to tear his own stare away.

It was one of the rare moments that Bakugou let his usually hard walls down, revealing one of Izuku’s favorite sights. He watches as Bakugou’s lips gently pull up. It’s such a small movement that Izuku thinks he might not even realize that he’s smiling.

“When’s her birthday?” Bakugou asks, attention never leaving the colorful portrait of the three of them.

“Next Sunday,” Izuku answers quickly. “But if you’re busy you don’t have to. I’m sure she’ll under—”

Bakugou’s quick gaze cuts off his rambling like a sword strike as he finally looks up to him.

“I’ll be there,” he says definitively, holding Izuku’s stare. Captivated by the surety that has turned Bakugou’s stare into something closer to gemstone as opposed to it’s usual magma, Izuku openly watches him.

Tension, thick and heady, rolls out between them. It prickles at his nerves, making him antsy beneath the heavy gaze.

“Okay,” Izuku finally replies with a curt nod, biting at the edge of his smile before turning back to his food.

Shoveling a bit into his mouth, he keeps his attention turned to his plates as Bakugou sets the handmade card down. The near stifling atmosphere doesn’t wane as they both eat in silence. Instead, it continues to grow heavier, more heated, as Izuku tries to steer his mind away from the mesmerizing look that had settled in Bakugou’s eye when he’d seen the invitation.

Finishing up their meals, they both moved toward the kitchen sink, Izuku ready to start washing the dishes before Bakugou quickly hip checked him.

“The cook never cleans the dishes, nerd,” he huffs as if it was the most obvious thing in the world before he snatching the plate from Izuku’s grasp.

The warm, swirling ease of the wine had finally worked its way through his mind and limbs, leaving him inhibited as he reaches for the plate and giving it a tug in an attempt to get it back.

“But I invited you over to thank you,” Izuku huffs, keeping his eyes on the plate and the strong lines of Bakugou’s hands.

They’re very nice hands, he thinks.

“There are no loopholes to this rule,” he replies, pulling the plate free of Izuku’s hands once again. Turning to the sink, Bakugou turns on the water, seemingly putting an end to the discussion.

With a heavy sigh, Izuku leans back into the bend of the counter between the sink and stove, crossing his arms across his chest in displeasure as he watches the way the blonde scrubs at his plate.

“You just gonna stand there and stare at me until I give in?” Bakugou asks without looking up, taking his time to run the sponge back and forth over the porcelain.

“Would that work?” Izuku shoots back. Not expecting any reaction, he startles slightly at the sudden turn of Bakugou’s head as he looks over him, appraising him and his wine pliant words.  As if finding the answer to the question he didn’t ask, he rolls his garnet gaze towards the ceiling before looking back to the sink.

Turning the water back on, he rinses the suds off before pushing the plate in Izuku’s direction. Drops of water plink on the tile between them.

“Fine, I’ll wash, you dry,” he compromises. Staring at the plate between them, Izuku’s holds his breath, unsure of what to say. In all honesty, he hadn’t expected Bakugou to give in so easily, if at all.

Droplets speckled Izuku’s shirt as Bakugou gives the plate an impatient shake that shakes him of his thoughts as he grabs the dish towel and then the plate.

“Deal,” Izuku says with a sharp nod as he begins to wipe the dish dry. With such few plates and utensils between the two of them, the job goes rather quickly with their combined forces, leaving the pan as the solitary dish left.

Picking it up, Izuku hands it over to Bakugou. Gently taking it from his grasp, the blonde sets it into the sink, turning on the water and watching it run before he speaks again.

“Thank you.”

The words are said low, nothing more than a wisp of a breath that Izuku isn’t sure he was supposed to hear them. Eyes snapping up from the blue towel between his hands, he traces his gaze over the sharp lines of Bakugou’s profile, mentally filing away the soft downcast look in his eyes, and the slight downward curve in his lips.

Maybe, if the wine hadn’t loosened his tongue, he would have let it go, allowing Bakugou the chance to pretend he hadn’t said anything at all.

“For what?” Izuku hears himself ask, voice just as breathy. Bakugou doesn’t move, instead keeping his attention turned to the now overflowing pan. He stays that way for so long that Izuku wonders if he’d actually even spoken up.

Then he slowly reaches forward to turn off the faucet before turning to look at him. Eyebrows pulling together as if having an internal debate, Bakugou opens his mouth to say something, pausing for just a moment more before speaking.

“I don’t know.”

Those three words, filled with so much confusion seem to ring with an unsaid truth as Izuku looks up to him, his own lips slightly parted around an unsaid remark.

Time seems to freeze, locking them both in a suspended, momentary breath. Deep within the ruby depths of Bakugou’s gaze, Izuku sees the bright burning flame of desire, and it acts like a spark to gasoline. Heat races like a forest fire through his veins, tearing through him and leaving his breathless as the world slams back down around them.

Izuku isn’t sure who moved first, doesn’t even think he cares.

All Izuku knows is Bakugou’s mouth is on his, and his fingers are twisting into the emerald strands at his nape in an attempt to keep him close, as if he’s planning on going anywhere. Blindly dropping the dish towel, Izuku grasps the front of Bakugou’s shirt with a fist as his other hand traces along the line of his shoulder to try and press him closer.

Sparking lightning catches along the spaces where their bodies touch, making Izuku moan low in his throat. Swallowing down the sound, Bakugou presses in infinitesimally closer, the motion pressing Izuku’s back further into the edge of counter.

The sharpness of it makes Izuku hiss, causing Bakugou to pull back.

Slowly opening his eyes to look up at him, Izuku finds himself the object of his shining gaze. It’s filled with the same soft wonder from earlier, only not it’s wholly for him. That very same look twists and burns through him, leaving behind nothing but ruin that Izuku thinks he might not ever recover from.

It leaves Bakugou’s mark deeply etched into his bones as Izuku lifts onto his toes to close the distance between them once more. A soft, sighing breath tickles across his bottom lip as he gently pushes back against the blonde, gently guiding them out of the kitchen at toward the stairs.

“Was this a part of your thank you plans?” Bakugou asks, dragging the words across Izuku’s skin before nipping at his earlobe.

“Shut up, Kacchan,” he snipes, fingers finding Bakugou’s belt before making quick work of unclasping its buckle. Stumbling up the steps, they only part long enough for the blonde to pull Izuku’s shirt over his head. The fabric falls slowly over the banister, landing in the foyer below as the pair makes their way to the top of the stairs.

A loud thump punctuates the quiet home as Bakugou pushes Izuku up against the closed door of his room. Gently nipping at the soft skin on the side of his throat, he pulls a sharp gasp from Izuku’s lips.

Welcoming his exploration, Izuku tilts his head as he grasps for the door knob. His stomach jolts suddenly as the door swings open behind him before a pair of strong arms wrap around his waist to steady him.

“Shit, Deku,” Bakugou huffs without any heat. Using the moment to his advantage, he lifts Izuku, holding him up against him until he wraps his legs around his waist. Fixing his smoldering gaze on him, Bakugou paints Izuku’s skin with its garnet coloring before capturing his lips once more.

Taking slow strides, he walks them toward the bed. Carefully, as if Izuku might break, he settles him down on the bedspread. The bedding is a soft cushion that embraces his back, eyes set on Bakugou as he pulls away.

Squeezing his legs around Bakugou’s hips to keep him close, Izuku watches as he slowly pulls his shirt over his head. With a quick flick of his wrist, Bakugou tosses the shirt over his shoulder before settling himself back down over him.

One hand splays beside Izuku’s head, and the other tracks burning desire up his flank, sending a shudder crashing through him. Not missing the way Bakugou smiles at the movement, he palms at the blonde’s stray hand tugging it up to the side of his neck before he leans up to catch that smile with his own.

It feels like he might be burning alive with the way their bare skin slides against each other. The only thing that tethers him to the ground is the contrasting cold of Bakugou’s undone belt buckle where it presses into his abdomen.

His lips are feather light, yet filled with burning intent where they skim across Izuku’s jaw. Following the strong line of bone, Bakugou’s attention grows heavier when he reaches his throat. Pressing open mouth kisses along the quick thrum of his pulses, the blonde continues the torturous path down toward his collarbone.

Izuku grasps at Bakugou’s back, nails raking across his skin and drawing bright red over his shoulders. Each careful press punched another breath from his lungs, leaving him gasping as Bakugou nipped at his collar.

“Katsuki.”

The name falls from his lips, painted in reverence and accompanied by a sudden stillness as Izuku realizes that breathless voice had been his own.

Even in their current state, something about Bakugou’s name feels intimate in a way that Izuku can’t seem to place. It’s something so much more than a sudden spark of mutual lust, something more than a date disguised as a thank you dinner.

It’s so much more than the stolen glances, playdates, and the stutter of his heart as he watches the way Bakugou and Eri get along.

It’s so much more.

“Bakugou, I—” Izuku starts, fingers still curled at Bakugou’s back as he stares up at the ceiling, only to be cut off by the soft, purring hum in the blonde’s throat. Turning his attention away from the shadows clinging to the ceiling, Izuku looks down to catch Bakugou’s soft gaze before he presses a kiss just above his heart.

“‘Zuku,” he whispers, the brush of his breath cool against the concentrated point of heat at his chest.

“Izuku,” Bakugou breathes again, clearer this time before pressing the name into his sternum. Continuing his path down, Bakugou alternates between soft presses and open mouthed kisses, separated only by the soft hush of Izuku’s name as his fingers make quick work of undoing his pants.

An aching, burning longing grows at the pit of Izuku’s stomach, pushing all else from his mind as he lifts his hips to accommodate the slide of his jeans downward. Bakugou’s palm drags a scathing line over his thigh as he traces the muscle, humming low in his throat as he tugs one of Izuku’s legs over his shoulder.

Flicking his gaze down, Izuku catches the way Bakugou looks up at him languidly from where he kneels between his thighs before he takes him in his hand.

The touch is electric, shooting a bolt through him that runs back and forth tracks through his veins as he tosses his head back. His hand is pleasantly rough, slicked with the lube that Izuku hadn’t even noticed he’d grabbed.

Each stroke is careful and slow, calculated in a way that gently leads Izuku towards the precipice. Working like a soothing tide, the beginnings of his end crest over him in waves, spurned on by the rhythmic movement of Bakugou’s hand.

There’s a soft brush at his hip, a barely there caress that has Izuku peeking down toward the blonde once more just in time to see his lips quirk wickedly before replacing his hand with his mouth.

Keening at the sudden, engulfing heat, Izuku grabs at the bedspread beneath him with one hand, as his other finds itself in Bakugou’s hair.

“I can’t,” he moans loudly, hips arching as Bakugou drags his tongue along the underside of his cock, circling the head before he pushes back down. Bakugou’s questioning hum is like a bolt that ricochets through him.

“I’m not going to,” Izuku starts, swallowing down another low moan as he feels the smooth touch of fingers running soothing lines across his skin. The path, from the back of his knee and up, draws closer and closer to where Izuku truly wants him to be, and he finds himself rocking his hips impatiently.

“I’m not going to last much longer if you don’t hurry the hell up,” he finally hisses through his clenched teeth as he hits the back of Bakugou’s throat. It earns him another hum, this one a shade off from a laugh.

Room filling with the sounds of his breathy moans, Izuku grips tighter at Bakugou’s hair as he feels the slow, slick intrusion of a finger. His thoughts burn away, leaving nothing but ash and wisps of smoke as Bakugou works him open.

It’s all too much, and nowhere near enough, as he sets a careful pace. Each crook of his finger and slow drag of his hand paired with the artful movement of his mouth has Izuku writhing.

Heat and light burns bright in his chest, growing and growing until Izuku wonders if Bakugou can see the bright glow shining between his ribs. It pushes out against his bones, until he can no longer breathe, can no longer think about anything other than the way that it seems to be breaking him apart.

Then Bakugou pulls away.

“Wha—” Izuku moans, half incoherent as Bakugou shakes his hand from his hair. Still balancing his leg on his shoulder, he smoothly pushes forward, bending Izuku in half as he nudges at his nose with his own.

“Izuku,” Bakugou breathes, pressing his name between their lips with a chaste kiss.

“Kat-“ Izuku stutters as he feels him, wet and hot at his hole, and he’s never needed so much.

“Katsuki.”

This close, he can see the dark flecks that mar the bright red of Bakugou’s gaze. They’re small speckles of imperfection that reminds Izuku that, impossibly, he’s real.

“Are you mine?” Bakugou growls, running a palm from his hip and over the side of his leg toward the knee at his ear as the other smooths over his arm. Pulling his grip free, Bakugou carefully pushes it up beside Izuku’s head and laces their fingers.

It’s an earnest question, genuine and honest, and it stuns Izuku. He’s been many things in his lifetime.

A son.

A friend.

A policeman.

A father.

But never has he ever thought of himself as anyone’s. Yet, separated by nothing more than the breadth of space between their heaving chests, Izuku finds he doesn’t even truly need to think about it.

“Yes,” he answers with a small nod, gasping at the involuntary twitch of Bakugou’s hips that push him ever so closer to his entrance. “Yes, I’m yours.”

“Good,” Bakugou chews out, sealing it like an oath between them as he pushes in. Izuku’s hand clutches hard around his like a lifeline as Bakugou fills him oh so slowly. Breathing him in, Izuku gives his own growl as he rocks his hips, spurring him on until he’s fully sheathed.

The movement seems to break whatever restraint Bakugou had had left as the hand at his knee slides down between them to grasp at Izuku as he starts to pump his hips. The duel sensation of his hand on him, and his heat inside him blinds Izuku as the light caught between his ribs returns with a deafening roar.

Chanting Bakugou’s name and a string of near incoherent curses, it doesn’t take long before his vision goes white and  his sternum cracks with the sudden exploding weight of his release. Hanging onto the last threads of his consciousness, Izuku holds Bakugou close as he follows, his final moan pressing itself just beneath his ear.

A languid, bone deep ease works its way through him, leaving him pliant as he basks in the warmth of the lingering glow that still clings to his insides.

It takes several minutes for Izuku to resurface from the abyss, a small smile quirking his lips as he sees Bakugou wiping him clean carefully with what looks a lot like his shirt.

Maybe later, he’d find it in himself to care, but right now, with Bakugou slowly settling in beside him, he can’t really seem to.

Strong arms wrap around his middle, pulling him close to settle his back against Bakugou’s chest. Surrounded by the comforting warmth of his skin, Izuku pushes back into him, smile growing as he feels the steady beat of Bakugou’s heart at his back.

“Katsuki?” He asks into the dark room, voice low and filled with satisfied exhaustion. Guiding his hand along the strong forearm around his waist, he searches for Bakugou’s hand.

“Yeah, nerd?” Bakugou grumbles, breath ruffling Izuku’s curls as he flips his palm up to oblige him.

Wiggling his fingers between his grasp, Izuku hesitates slightly. He hadn’t really thought about what he was going to say, at least, that’s the lie he told himself as he yawned. The room around them settles into stillness as Bakugou waited for him to continue.

“Are you mine?” Izuku finally asks, eyelids growing heavy. Bakugou’s hand tightens slightly over his own as they both fall into silence once more. Exhaustion pulls at him, weighing him down and pushing him further into the welcoming darkness of sleep.

The last thing Izuku remembers as he finally settles into its warm embrace is the soft press of lips at his ear, and the careful brush of breath as Bakugou finally answers.

“For as long as you need me.”

***

[chaoticqueen601]

Best Friend, But It’s Not Me

It’s a short story, it’s not real.

I had a perfect best friend but I never was one, I’ll tell you how.

It was typical: a pair of polar opposites. But the fun fact is that we didn’t know what a typical best friend is at 11, we had our own definition and we never knew.

 I was new in the city I hated (it’s been 5 years, I still hate it). 7th grade, worst year. I met a junior in the same building and started hanging out, she was best friends with a girl my age and they played lawn tennis together. We never clicked. We attended common birthday parties together and talked a few sentences here and there, she seemed too innocent for a frivolous child like me. 2 months after moving in, my mother started taking maths classes for students till 8th grade, both of them joined (same society you see). Us three used to study together but it got difficult for my mom so she split us into two batches- 6th grade and 7th grade. I was studying with the innocent one and then, we clicked. We started walking together after class, she was my opposite. I used to wear shorts- she was always in a jumpsuit, I was dark- she was fair, I was tall- she was short and many other things.

 She was a good student, but I wasn’t. In her family, all is fine if you get good marks, in my family all is fine if you are happy. Both of us struggled. She was on Facebook so everyday she would show me the memes she found. This went on for two years and then the tables turned, I got Instagram and she didn’t have Facebook anymore. My best friend was not in the same school with me. So I lied to everyone, I said school was fun, no one found out the truth. In 7th grade itself we became the perfect set of best friends. I got closer to her family, her front door was always open. Every day was like this- wave her bye from my bus on my way to school, wave her hi from my bus on my way home, call her at 3 pm, have class together, walk downstairs or chill at home. Very comfortable but then 9th grade started.

Soon we grew, I started going to her house more often- her mother wasn’t very fond of me but of my height, she came around tho- I was her only friend in the society but it wasn’t like that for me. I knew many people who walked downstairs, my best friend noticed how I greeted every third person we crossed. We were used to going to the mall together, ordering take out, I used to tidy up her room in high school, she stopped coming home for tuition was over.

I never told her that I had a serious bunking issue in 9th and 10th grade, I was MIA for weeks. She came from an affluent and loving family, she was the younger sister and I was the older one but I never let her feel the difference. There was a lot of problem in my family- dad had work load, I wasn’t doing well in school and my parents were always fighting. I am an exceptionally good liar, I know what others want to hear and I am very convincing. I used to cry at home but no one knew, not even my little sister.

I am very good at keeping myself collected, I never pushed or screamed at my friends and then it happened. I went to my mom one day and told her that I wanted a divorce regardless of her feelings, I got many slaps. My father had stopped talking to me and whenever he got to know that I wasn’t doing well at school, that night I would lose my appetite. I saw my sister suffering and I couldn’t handle it so I ran away. I used to sneak out at night, I never told anyone, not even my best friend.

I had so many memories with her, same jackets, shoes, skirts, accessories but she was on the greener side but I denied thinking about it, her mom used to introduce me as her daughter. I never fought with my best friend instead I agreed with her, I hid things. Soon enough, I was at her house every day but she never knew why. She treated me like a total best friend- saying whatever she wanted to, throw continuous insults, fed me properly- but there I was, I just listened to her, I never objected her opinions or thoughts and that’s probably why she is a brat. But I was proud of her, I didn’t deserve to have her but I did, so I showed off. She was truly a best friend, all of my friends knew her but none of her’s knew me, because I was not her best friend.

On her 16th birthday I acknowledged it, she’s rich. It hit me hard, I knew where this would end up a long time ago. At the party, I saw a side to her, how her friends treated her and how she didn’t have time to even look at me but I am a liar so I kept it to myself. The most difficult was the gift, I knew what her classmates would get her because she told me everything about them. I knew that at least two wold give her make up then there would be perfumes, nail polishes and stuff toys. I knew it already, that’s why I got her a very glittery bag. I knew her reaction the moment she felt the packaging, she hadn’t even opened it yet. Who was I kidding? I wanted to leave, I was embarrassed. My gift was at one corner and I knew she would never use it, in fact I knew she would have had buried it in her closet instead of throwing or giving it away because she would have had been embarrassed if I ever asked her about it.

The funniest thing is that even though our tutor spent 2 hours daily with us, she never found out that we were friends. I couldn’t believe it when she asked me who my best friend was while I was sitting right beside her. She was the only one who didn’t know, and she thought that it was impossible. Yet, I didn’t blame her. My dad got a transfer, we were moving back to where we came from. She didn’t even sound disappointed, let alone any tear. We don’t talk anymore, I knew we would end up that way. I tried for a few months but I didn’t have a single picture of her to put as my background. My mom talks to her mom more often than we do, both ladies talk once a month, I haven’t heard her voice in 4 or 5 months. I wish she knew. I wish she won't call.

- - - - - 

This is a fictional story. 

Title: Yours Truly, Fake Best Friend Forever 

let me know your views on the narrator

[tigerstripedmoon]

Ozpin Lore in After the Fall + Analysis

So I’ve read After the Fall, which is a very good little read! It’s definitely aimed at a younger audience, as there were a lot of moments where it was ‘tell, not show’ in regards to character emotions that felt jarring to me. That said, the lore dump we get on Team CFVY, Vacuo culture, and events during v1-3 is fairly massive. The story could have been a half a volume in its own right.

But the most exciting things,of course, were the little bits of info we got on Ozpin. They don’t necessarily fill in the blanks- it kind of raises more questions, to be honest- but damn, do we get some good info.

Beware, I’m going to get meta as fuck all up in here.

SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT.

1) Ozpin’s younger than we may think. I found it interesting that in the very first mention we have of Ozpin, it’s not just to point out that he’s got a reputation for being ‘mysterious and a bit reckless with his students’, but there’s a reiteration of the fact that he’s the youngest headmaster Beacon has ever had. This is then followed by Coco comparing him to her younger brother due to his ‘mischievous streak and boyish charm’. This is followed up in a later chapter by Velvet comparing him to a boy playing at his father’s desk when in his office (and that Glynda standing behind him made it worse). Both Coco and Velvet also make the connection that Ozpin looks much younger than his physical age, while seeming much, much older.

There is a distinct possibility, given all this, that Ozpin might be no older, or only a scant few years older, than team STRQ. I don’t think he’s younger- a sixteen year old headmaster would be hard to pull off- but an eighteen to twenty-one year old fresh out of the Academy? He was noted to be a prodigy; he could have gone through the Academy younger than Ruby. Absolutely possible. Or he graduated at 18 and gained field experience for a few years, or taught.

We know approximately how old team STRQ is. Let’s put Ozpin at an age range of 18-21 when he became headmaster.  Assuming Raven had Yang shortly after graduation- at age 21/22, and Yang entered Beacon at age 17, STR would have been 38-39 at the time of the Fall of Beacon, which puts Ozpin at 39-42 years old when he died.

That’s young.

That’s young enough to still have a stupidly youthful appearance. And let’s face it- without the glasses he barely looks older than his students. We’ve all seen the screenshot edits.

This one hurts.

2) Ozpin’s sweet tooth is canon, not fanon. It’s confirmed that Ozpin drinks hot chocolate exclusively, not coffee (to promptly be ignored by 75% of the ozqrow fandom because we like our Ozpin mainlining coffee into his veins). Ozpin also just... has cookies and hot cocoa ready to give to his students at the drop of a hat, like what he offers Velvet, which is adorable and heartwarming all at once. 

(Ozpin is absolutely the dad who volunteers at bake sales. I don’t make the rules, blame RT.)

3). Ozpin is absolutely as mysterious as it gets. We’ve known this for a while, because he is an idiot bastard child, but it gets commented on in the book as well. There are tidbits about how he’s a ‘formidable Huntsman’ but he doesn’t teach classes and that ‘no one had ever seen him fight’. This is really odd for the headmaster of a Huntsman academy. Fighting is what they do. Then again, Ozpin is, as I and others have noted, is written as more feminine in his lack of aggression and passivity, and he honestly comes across as a bit of a pacifist except for when it comes down to lives on the line.

Then again, after centuries upon centuries and lives upon lives of violence and suffering and watching humanity try to tear itself apart, I would probably be sick of fighting too.

4) As of team CFVY’s leaving Vale, Ozpin’s death was unconfirmed. It’s mentioned several times that no one knows what happened to him- he’s basically the Huntsman equivalent of MIA. Qrow was seen taking Ruby into an airbus and leaving, but not returning. Glynda, Oobleck, and Port are trying to retake the school. No mention of Ironwood. No mention of if anyone tried to find him.

Which, I get that this is a young teen novel, but- we know that Jaune has a good idea that Ozpin had died because 1) he was there and 2) he didn’t call anyone for backup like he was asked and I am bitter af that he hasn’t been called out on it. We know Qrow or someone had to have had to have gone back because he had Ozpin’s cane at the end of v3. But there’s no clarity on whether they found him or if there was a funeral or what the death rituals are in Vale (they actually mention what happens with death in Vacuo!) and I need answers ASAP.

... eh, fuck it. Fanfic fixes what canon fails at. If you think this means ‘Tiger is going to write a depressing af cloqwork fic about what happened to Ozpin’s body after the Fall’, then you get a prize! ....or will as soon as I can sit down to write it lol.

5) There is no goddamn way this man is evil. Near the end of the book there is a flashback to team CFVY leaving Vale, and Glynda tells them the last portion of Ozpin’s graduation speech as a sort of good-bye. And it is heartbreaking. Team CFVY is practically in tears at the end and so was I. Because his entire mission statement, the reason he’s fighting and slogging through this neverending hell of an existence is summed up there in a few words. His students are beacons of hope in a cruel world, set out to uplift and protect their fellow man. That’s one of the things he considers part of his job as Headmaster- to help his students become genuinely good people.

Kindness. Hope. Love for your fellow man. Those aren’t things one instills in others to be cruel.

All of the speeches he gives- one is relayed by Coco to Ruby, one he gives to team CFVY, and then the last described above- are written so perfectly that they sound as if they were lifted out of the show. have to give mad props to Miles&Kerry&Myers for that.

...

In the end, all this has made me realize just how much I miss Ozpin- this mysterious, ineffable, melancholy old man, this mischievous manchild too young and too old for the role he played, who gave others hope even when he had none. 

Hopefully we’ll see him- not Oscar, not Ozma, but Ozpin- again in v7.

[suvnsets]

what you’re missing part two~ mat barzal

warnings: angsty, there are a few curse words

word count: 1.6k

a/n sorry this took so long to come out, I started to write another imagine that’s at 4k words already :) also I cried while writing this xoxo, have fun reading

You checked the mirror one last time before grabbing your wallet and walking out of your bedroom. You decided to keep it simple and wear a nicer blouse and jeans. You walked into the living room and looked at Mat who was sitting on the couch.

“I’m heading out, how do I look?” you asked.

His eyes widened as he spoke to you, “you look… good. You look really good, y/n.”

You blushed at his simple comment, “well I’ll see you later tonight and tell you how it goes. Bye, Mat!”

You rushed out the door to see Mia sitting in her car. You smiled at her and got into the car.

“On a scale of one to ten, how excited are you to finally meet someone that will actually catch feelings for you?” Mia gushed.

“Eleven. From what you’ve told me about James he seems like a great guy, and since Sam is his brother he was raised the same way. Maybe Sam could be the one for me,” you said.

“Sam is such a sweetheart, he has such a kind heart and is super outgoing. Just your type. He-”

You chuckled, “Mia, we’ve been over all of this. He doesn’t like to watch or play sports, he plays the guitar for some band, loves getting manicures and pedicures, and is obsessed with Lana del Ray.”

“Wow, you really memorized what I said?”

“It wasn’t that hard there wasn’t much,” you said. “Also, it was all this was all I could think of last night.”

“You weren’t even thinking of Mat showing up at the shop? Or how bad you wished it was you he was fu-”

You cut your best friend off, “Mia Adalaide! No, I was not thinking of Mat last night, even after what happened yesterday. I’m moving on from a guy who could never love me and I’m doing just fine.”

Mia sighed, “if you say so. Just don’t use Sam as someone to get your mind off of Mat, okay? He deserves better than that.”

“I would never use someone like that. I have a heart if you didn’t know.”

“I’m just watching out for a brother, okay? Nothing against you.”

The rest of the ride to the park was silent, a bit of tension in the air. When the treacherous car ride finally ended, you arrived and immediately saw a picnic blanket and basket on the ground, two men sitting on the blanket. Mia quickly got out of the car and rushed to one of the guys and he picked her up and spun her around. You watched them with a smile on your face, gushing over the childlike love the two had, a love you desired.

You walked over to the blanket and greeted Sam, “I’m assuming you’re James’s brother?”

“That’s me,” he said awkwardly. “You’re y/n?”

“I am,” you said as you gave him a tight-lipped smile.

“Come on you two, let’s eat while the food is still good!” Mia exclaimed.

You and Sam sat across from each other and started to eat your food, Mia and James’s conversation filling the awkward silence between you two. You popped a grape in your mouth and Sam started to speak.

“So, y/n, what do you do for a living?” Sam questioned.

“Right now I’m a full-time college student, but I work at a cafe as a side job. That’s how I met Mia,” you explained as you gestured to your best friend.

“Oh, nice. I’m a bartender.”

“That’s cool, I’ve only been to a bar once and it was pretty bad.”

“Why’s that?”

“I went with my friend Mat after his hockey game and he got so drunk I practically had to carry him home! It was entertaining but he’s a big guy and our apartment was nowhere near the bar,” you laughed.

“Oh damn, that sucks. Maybe sometime I could take you to my bar and show you how it’s really done,” Sam suggested.

“I think I might have to take you up on that offer,” you smiled.

“Hey, do you maybe want to take a walk with me to give my brother and your friend some…privacy,” Sam whispered.

You looked over to see Mia and her boyfriend eating each other’s faces, and you nodded. You and Sam walked around the park making small talk when you came to what seemed like the end of the park.

Sam stopped and turned towards you as he spoke, “Listen, y/n, you seem like a really great person but you’re just not my type.”

“What’s that supposed to mean,” you scoffed.

“I’m into guys, my family doesn’t know yet, they just think I don’t get a lot of action with girls. Little do they know I avoid interaction with girls.”

“Oh, Sam, it’s okay. In that case, we can definitely be friends, and if you ever need a fake girlfriend, I’m here,” you smiled.

Sam smiled at you, “you truly are something, y/n, and you deserve someone good for you, I’m sorry I’m not the one.”

“It’s okay,” you said as you two started to walk back, “it’s not your fault you don’t like girls.”

You two continued to talk as you walked back to where Mia and James were supposed to be, only for the spot to be completely bare.

“Looks like I have to drive you home,” Sam laughed as he pulled a pair of car keys from his pocket.

When you arrived home, the sun was setting and the streets were slowly becoming less busy. You waved goodbye to Sam as you unlocked the door to your apartment, loud voices filling the complex as soon as you opened the door.

“I fucked up so hard, Tito. I didn’t realize I had feelings for her until it was too late, literally this is too fucking cliche. I can’t believe myself, what can I do to try and win her?” Mat asked Anthony.

Anthony sighed, “you can’t really do anything now, Mat. You missed your opportunity and unless it doesn’t work out with this guy, you can’t have y/n.”

You made sure you shut the door loudly enough for the two to hear and walked towards the living room.

“Hey Mat, hi Tito,” you said.

“How was your date?” Mat asked.

“It definitely could’ve been better. Turns out Sam is gay and no one knows yet,” you explained.

“I’m sorry, y/n. You’ll find someone someday,” Anthony said as he got up and patted you on the shoulder. “I’m going to head out, it was nice seeing you though. Mat, I’ll probably see you tomorrow, text me though.”  

Tito walked out of the door and Mat looked at you, “I’m sorry your date didn’t go as planned, y/n, that sucks.”

“It’s whatever, I wasn’t really into him anyways. He isn’t the person I’m head or heels for,” you attempted to hint.

“You have feelings for someone?”

“I have for a while now. They just aren’t into me so I tried to get over them, but clearly, that didn’t work. It was dumb for me to even try,” you sighed.

“I have feelings for someone too, I just didn’t realize it until recently, when I thought I could possibly lose them to another,” Mat said as he stood up and walked closer to you.

You looked into Mat’s brown eyes for any indication that he wanted you as much as you wanted him. “Who do you have feelings for, Mat?” you whispered.

“It’s you, y/n. It took me so long to realize that it’s always been you. The truth is, when I found out that you were going on a date with someone I was so mad at you, but I couldn’t even blame you. I constantly bring girls home and disrespect your wish of not wanting to know I have girls over. I was so afraid to tell you my feelings because there was that possibility that you wouldn’t feel the same and then I found out you were going out with that guy…”

Tears pooled in your eyes as you watched Mat rant and nervously run his fingers through his hair. Speechless was an understatement in this situation. For years you watched Mat and slowly fell in love with him, now he was confessing that he felt the same way for you.

“Mat, I’ve had feelings for you since the second month I moved in with you. I was terrified that I wasn’t good enough for you, I mean you’ve seen the girls you bring home. They’re so model-like, and I’m just…not. It hurt me so much when you would bring them home because I was envious of them, they had you in a way that I thought I could never have. I wish I had just told you how I felt…” you trailed off.

Mat brush the tears away from your face with his thumbs and then continued to cup your face. Your eyes met his and your faces slowly inched towards each other. Your lips touched and you felt the world melt away from you. This is what your dreams were made of, and now they were finally coming true. You eventually pulled away from Mat and continued to stare into his eyes.

“So what does this mean?” you asked.

“It means I want you and we’re going to have to make up for all the time we lost,” Mat smiled as he dragged you towards the living room.

You sat down on the loveseat and cuddled up in Mat’s arms, serenity and happiness overcoming you for the first time in a long time.  

[simplyincanta]

Stuck

This was for a final project for a theatre class.

When abuse of a teen isn't physical, there aren't any marks on their skin to give it away. Many are stuck pretending like it doesn't happen, forced to put on a happy face when they go to school. Teachers, while they may notice slight changes throughout the months, never speak up. Home is no place to hide, not when there's nowhere else to run. To be completely stuck, with no hope of escape haunts those teens. Question: How does abuse and depression affect a teen and their view of the world?  Characters: 1 teen male, 1 grown male, 2 teen females, 1 grown female,  Conflict: A teen boy, mentally abused by his father; a war veteran plagued with PTSD. His sisters were treated like goddesses in their own house, his mother ignorant to the situation. He must survive the last few weeks of his highschool life, but when the last period ends, he's sent back to the endless loop, will he ever escape? Setting: The teens house, main setting, the living room.

 (Open, Stage Left, a teen boy average looking, seems happy enough, is sitting on the floor of the stage, with a game controller in his hands and a headset on)

Boy: Come on Drake! There's a guy to your left!!

(Off stage you can hear a bang, and another man yell)

Dad: NOAH GET YOUR ASS IN HERE

(The boy, Noah, quickly takes his headset off, you can hear from offstage another teen ask) Teen #1: Yo, Noah you okay?

Noah: Yeah, I’m fine, Dad’s calling for me I gotta go..

Teen #1: Okay man, see you tomorrow Noah: Yeah see you guys tomorrow

(Off stage a few more voices respond with various good-byes, lights go down)

(Lights back up center stage, an older man, is sitting at a table, reading a newspaper. Around the table are 2 girls, both seem excited and are happily chatting and a woman is setting up that table with cups and plates)

Dad: What the hell was all that racket?

Noah: I was just playing a game with my friends Dad, nothing that big..

Dad: You’re never going to get anywhere with that, you’re already worthless as it is.

(As his mother approaches, his father picks up his glass and drinks)

Mom: How was school today Noah?

(The mood shift is obvious to the audience, his stance is different and tone of voice changed from that of when he was talking to his friends)

Noah: It was fine, I guess..

Sister #1: Noah got asked out!

Noah: Ava shut up!

Sister #2: She’s in band, she plays the clarinet, her names Amelia-

Noah: Mia-

Ava: She’s cute too!

(Noah sinks into his chair, embarrassed)

Mom: That’s great!

Dad: I feel sorry for her, now eat and go to sleep Noah I don’t even want to see you anymore

(Lights go down, End scene)

(Light up, the setting is back in Noah's bedroom. He sits on the floor and brings his knees to his chest and you hear sniffing as he puts his head to his knees. Lights out)

(With lights out, you hear Noah's voice)

Noah: My dad wasn’t always like that..

(There's a slight pause as he thinks of what to say) 

Noah: ..He was a recruit in Iraq.. He was 20, he joined the fight on November 27th 2003.. When he came back, I was still only a baby, 5 years or so.. My mom said he wasn't the same.. But she didn't think much of it, she knew it was PTSD. (Lights slowly start to come back on, Noah is standing there, wearing a blazer to simulate time has passed, he stands in the middle of the stage, facing the audience. He runs a hand through his hair and looks around the audience, in the front row are his sisters Mia and Ava, his Mother and another woman)

Noah: When I was 13, it was the first time he snapped at me.. He said “You know Noah.. I had such high expectations.. But you’re turning out to be the biggest failure..” Those remarks started sparsely.. By the time I was 17 it was all he would say to me.. When I was a junior in highschool, I barely left my room. I was depressed and suicidal.. After a certain point I started to believe him. When you're told everyday that you're worthless and cant amount to anything, one part wants to prove him wrong, the other caves and believes it. For the whole year all I did was go to school, come home and do homework and play games with my friends.. I moved out as soon as I graduated, I took my girlfriend, Amelia and we moved to Seattle. I applied to Seattle University and somehow got accepted. I went to therapy and was able to sort out my mind, I was put on meds for my depression and a service dog for my self harm and suicidal thoughts. I was only 19, I'm 21 now.. July 23rd 2018 we lost my father.. He commited suicide... His PTSD had finally broken him.. My little sister Ava was the one who found him.. She panicked and called the police, then me.. I went to his funeral with my now wife Amelia.. Apparently he had left a letter for each of us..

(Noah walks across the stage, where a small table is with a letter, he walks back to his original spot and starts to read)

Noah: “Noah, Since you've left I had time to think. I regret how i treated you, not what i said, but watching you graduate highschool, and hearing your mother talk about you getting accepted to a private college in Seattle, your wedding, you've really stepped up. I'm proud of you. I love you Noah.. and I’ll be watching over you..” 

(Noah holds the letter and looks up)

Noah: Mental abuse is real. Not many kids step up and tell anyone.. If anyone even thinks they are being abused, mentally or emotionally, seek help. So many people are there to help, I wish I had stepped up sooner. I only got out of my situation because of my family, 

(Noah reaches out and motions for the girls to come up, to which they do)

Noah: My mother isn't to blame.. She didn't even know it was happening.. My sisters were always the favorites but they looked out for me at school. And my wife helped me get out, to stand up to my father and leave. More kids suffer from abuse than what is documented. Schools need to be more aware of the signs, Depression, social withdrawal, the refusal to go to school, seeking affection. We need to shed light on these problems, that's why I speak up, to tell my story and try to help other kids. You're not alone. Seek help and help will be there.

(Lights go down, End Scene)

[justauthoring]

Fix One Thing (1/?)

Prompt: And that morning, you woke up with the sun shining on your face and the feeling of his arms wrapped around you. You were enveloped in warmth and it instantly brought a smile to your face. And when you turned, you met his eyes, filled with love and adoration and you were happy. 

Please check the Marvel MCU MasterList for more parts!

A/N: I couldn’t help myself. I finally started watch season two of The Punisher and don’t get me wrong, I love Frank but like Billy... yes, he’s an ass and a murderer and just all things bad but I couldn’t help myself.

Please don’t plagiarize my work!

Word Count: 1,536

“No, no--!”

“Oh, come on, Y/N! You cannot tell me you weren’t flirting!”

“I wasn’t!” You exclaim, a burst of laughter leaving your lips as you throw your head back, kicking your feet out before you in a fit of excitement. With a wide smile, you shift, moving so you’re cushioned into the corner of the couch, licking your lips slowly. “Okay, maybe I was. But only a little!”

“I knew it!” Mia explains through the phone, “you were making total heart eyes at him.”

“I wasn’t making heart eyes,” you tsk, rolling your eyes slightly as you grab a strand of your hair, twirling it between your pointer and middle finger. “Liam’s just a friend from work that I maybe sort of like, but I definitely wasn’t making heart eyes at him.”

“But you were flirting.”

Your lips part, moving to argue, but you find yourself ending up short. “Only a little though,” you repeat, unable to fight the smile that grows on your lips. “He is cute though, isn’t he?”

“Girl, if you hadn’t been flirting with him, I would’ve taken my chance,” Mia giggles, causing you to roll your eyes. “Plus, you deserve this,” she continues, and you feel your smile fade, if only a little, at the implications of her words. “After everything that happened to you last year, you need this.”

“A year?” You repeat softly, finding your hair particularly fascinating in that moment. “It’s been that long already?”

“Have you gone to visit him?”

“No,” you say without a moments of hesitance. “After everything he did... lying to me like that, I never want to see his mangled face ever again.”

“Especially now that you have Liam.”

Snorting, you shake your head; “oh, haha.” Then, pausing, you bite your lip, the grin slowly growing on your face once again as you let your eyes wander over your clothes. “Actually, speaking of Liam... I may or may have not invited him over for dinner tonight.”

“Really!”

“Yeah,” you laugh, feeling a sense of giddiness flood you.

“Ooh! What are you wearing? Tell me everything,” Mia says in a rush.

“You know that black dress I bought a few months ago?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s what i’m wearing.”

“Damn, this is more than just a date.”

Scoffing, you shake your head, fully aware Mia can’t see you. “What!” You exclaim, feigning innocence. “I haven’t been on a date in months, and I rarely get to dress up anymore, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. This is just a nice little dinner date.”

Mia pauses a moment, before; “maybe with some extra desert.”

Your lips part in indignation; “Mia!”

“What?” She laughs, “you know i’m right.”

“I--”

Your words are interrupted by the sound of your doorbell ringing. It instantly catches your attention, causing you to sit upright as your eyes widen. “I think that’s him,” you mumble to Mia, feeling your nerves get the best of you. “Wish me luck?”

“Good luck!” Mia reassurance, “make sure to tell me everything afterwards.”

“Sounds good,” you nod, standing up to your feet. “Bye.”

“Have fun! Oh! And make sure to use protection.”

Rolling your eyes, you hang up the call, calling out a “i’ll be there in second” when the doorbell rings once more. Tossing your phone onto the couch, you brush back your hair, quickly straightening out your dress before making your way over to your apartment door. You inhale deeply as you set your hand on the doorknob, mentally preparing yourself.

You deserve this, you tell yourself, you’ve got this.

“Hey--”

Your words instantly halt the moment you open the door. It almost feels like your entire body freezes, your muscles seizing to work properly as your eyes land on his. On Billy Russo’s.

“Y/N--”

You flinch at the sound of his voice, taking a step back. For a moment, you debate just shutting the door on his face at the flood of emotions that hit you like a slap across the face. And you go to do just that. Your hand lunges out towards the door, prepared to slam it shut, but Billy shoots out his arm, stopping you before you’d even begun -- all while never taking his eyes off of you.

He takes a step in, and everything seems to just snap.

“Get out.” Your voice is dark, cold. Rough. There isn’t an ounce of hesitation. “Now. Get the fuck out of my apartment.”

“Y/N--”

“Did you not hear me?” You snap, your narrowed eyes meeting his once more (and it takes every bit of strength not to break down then and there in front of him) and you keep your chin raised despite the way your body begins to shake, violently. “Get the fuck out right now.”

Holding up his hands, Billy shakes his head; “let me explain myself--”

“I think I know everything I need to know--”

“I don’t remember anything.”

You halt, head jerking back in surprise at his words. Suddenly, your anger begins to fade and you just find yourself confused, standing there like an idiot just staring at him. For a moment, your eyes wander across the scars that mare his face, and you have a mental image of what his face looked like before it healed. When it was even more mangled and bloody and... You wished it’d stayed like that.

Billy, at your silence, takes another step forward, shutting your door behind him. For a split second, your body jumps, but you don’t say or do anything.

“The last thing I remember is still being in service,” Billy continues, and you swallow thickly, making sure to keep a safe distance between the two of you. “I know... I know I did something wrong. Bad. And by your reaction, i’m guessing it hurt you. But I remember you and I remember us.”

Clenching your fists, you shake your head; “you expect me to just believe you? Believe that you just forgot everything?” You snap, unable to stop the way your voice raises. “You destroyed me, Billy,” you hate the way his name sounds leaving your lips. “You... broke my heart. It took me months to recover from what you did to me and everyone else. What are you even doing here?”

“I remember that morning,” Billy begins, staring down at you with warmth. The way he used to look at you before everything went wrong. It reminds you of when you’d been in love with him, when you’d stop anything and everything just for him because you had been so infatuated with the man you hadn’t even been able to think clearly or rationally. “With us, when I asked you--”

“Stop,” you whisper, your eyes falling shut. “Don’t.”

You don’t want to relive that moment. Because it’ll just break your heart all over again.

“I didn’t know where else to go.”

Biting your lip, you look away; “so you came to me?”

“I love you,” your body tenses at his words. You can’t... “And I know you once loved me.”

“I should call the cops on you,” you hiss, finally turning to look at him. Taking a moment to asses his appearance, you scoff. “By the looks of it, you’re still suppose to be in that damned hospital room.”

“I wouldn’t blame you,” Billy whispers.

“I should call the cops,” you repeat, unsure if you do so for yourself or Billy.

Billy says nothing. He simply holds his hands up, as if telling you he won’t stop you.

Your entire body shakes, turning your head over your shoulder to gaze at your phone that lies on the couch. For a moment, you debate whether to move, to call, or to not. You should. You really should. Because this man... this criminal not only ruined your life but plenty of others. He is worse than just some criminal. And it took you months to get better from what he did; all his lies and mind-games.

But even after months of therapy, you’d never been able to fix one thing; you were still in love with him.

Sighing, your shoulders fall, giving Billy the answer you need.

“Here,” you call softly, making your way over to the bathroom. Opening the door, you step back, giving him room to enter. “Clean yourself up. I think... I think I still have some of your clothes left in one of my drawers.”

Billy nods, and you move to leave, but then his hand reaches out, grasping your wrist. You gasp, a burst of fear flooding you, but when your eyes meet his, it just vanishes. And it kills you; makes you hate yourself. Because you should hate this man. You should, by all rights, be afraid of him.

But you’re not.

“Thank you, Y/N.”

For a moment, you just stare into his eyes, gaze never wandering. Then you nod, pulling your wrist out of his grasp with ease and making your way to your bedroom.

And as you enter your bedroom door, you see yourself in the mirror, seeing your reflection and you’re reminded of your date. Reminded of how excited you’d been. And now... now none of that matters anymore.

It both breaks you and makes you feel numb.

-

Let me know what you thought? Remember, reblogging always helps!

Requests are open for Medici and The Punisher characters!

[petersmparker]

Welcome Home pt 5 (Peter Parker x Reader)

Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader

Summary: You finally understand why Peter blames himself for the death of Tony Stark. All you can do to help your best friend now is your best.

Word Count: 1540

A/N: wow madeline updates two different series in one night, who is she?? just kidding, ya bitch escaped the woods so I had to post both. my feet are sunburned. don’t forget that I have a tag list if any of y’all are interested in being added!!

INTRO PART 1 PART 2 PART 3 PART 4 PART 5 PART 6 EPILOGUE

Pepper and Happy had left shortly after inadvertently answering the question you'd been asking since the first night Peter had come to your room. Tony Stark had died reversing the Snap. That much had been revealed over the news. You had been considering the possibility that Peter had made a mistake out there, or that Tony had died protecting Peter in the battle.

But it hadn't been even close to that. Peter had been dusted along with half of existence. Later, he had returned. What had happened between those events was that Tony had committed to bringing Peter, specifically, back. To saving Peter. He had succeeded, but he'd also died in the process. Peter had learned about Tony's motivations and blamed himself for his death. For his wife, now widowed, and his daughter, now fatherless.

So very much like Peter, to blame himself for something like this. To not recognize that he is not a monster for having been loved so dearly. Unable to realize that no one else sees fault in him for the actions that Tony had taken.

Sleep is harder to come by that night. Peter leaves later than usual for his patrol, having decided that he wants to try to work off some of his feelings after a few hours of being emotional. It's with some measure of disappointment that you take notice of his choice of suit as you enter his room. The Iron Spider was assembling itself over his body as usual, and the suitcase containing the White Spider had been left, sealed, on the bottom bunk of his bed. The letter, which he'd finally relinquished from his grip, was sitting unopened on top of it.

You wave him off as he exits through the window and take to going through his dresser drawers for a set of sleepwear for him. It's with quite a bit of confidence that you guess Peter wouldn't be bothering to enter through the front door tonight.

After throwing a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants over your shoulder, you turn to leave. Somehow, you can't bring yourself to do it. Standing in the doorway, looking out, you think hard about the letter. You mull over the scratchy black writing that adorns its front, probably in Tony Stark's handwriting. Why hadn't Peter opened it? You cross the room and gingerly pick it up, hyper aware of its value. There it was, the single word on the front: Pete.

While you consider the possibility that it'd be best left on top of the case, you ultimately decide to take it back to your apartment. At this point, it's clear that Peter will likely want you present while he reads it, even if he chooses not to share the contents of it. He hadn't expanded further on the information Happy had given earlier, either, but he had been open about his feelings toward them, and that in itself was an indicator of his progress over the past month.

Aunt May, still very much emotional over the events of that afternoon, is on the phone with Ned's mother. Despite being in the middle of a teary conversation, she pulls the phone from her ear and calls out her usual, See you later, sweetie, when you pass her to leave. You smile and wave, then return to your apartment across the hall to attempt to keep busy until Peter arrives.

After around forty-five minutes of absentmindedly staring at the same page of your book, two hours spent drifting off while attempting to watch a movie, and a long dinner with your parents in which the conversation can't seem to hold your attention, you get a call from MJ. You answer, though you're not entirely sure you'll be all that chatty at the current moment.

Luckily, you manage to hold a decent conversation, and it's nice to hear from her. She'd been a little bit MIA for a while, since her and her dad had decided to move out of their complex and into her grandparents' house in the suburbs in order to better take care of them. The Snap had dusted both her and her father, but her grandparents had been left to continue aging. After five years, they were beginning to struggle to live alone, and the adjustment period for her family had been a bit long during the move-in.

Your conversation lasts even longer than you'd expected, especially considering MJ's inclination toward pretty straightforward conversation, and by the time you're running out of ways to explain how Peter is doing without outright dishing out his business, the window in your bedroom slides open.

"Oh! Hey, MJ, I gotta go- Yeah, Peter's here now- No problem, I'll let him know. I'll talk to you later. Bye."

Peter acknowledges with a glance that you're on the phone as he climbs through the window. He immediately notices his sleepwear sitting on top of the dresser by the window and starts getting ready for bed. Despite his original concerns about being in his underwear while alone in your room, he doesn't seem to care anymore. The Iron Spider suit detracts itself from his body, leaving him in his boxers. Without that much awkwardness, he slips on his sweatpants and tugs the t-shirt over his head. You do your absolute best not to stare him down like a creep while he does this, even though the fairy lights strung up in that part of the room make it very easy to see.

"Thanks," he says, in regard to the pj's, and looks down as he ties the drawstring of his pants.

"No problem," you respond, setting your phone down on the end table next to the letter, which you haven't touched since you put it down hours ago, "MJ says that if you don't call her this week, she'll track your ass down."

Peter huffs. "Like she could catch me."

"That isn't fair. She doesn't know you can cross New York City in ten minutes flat. You'll call?"

"Yeah, of course I'll call. "

"Thank you," you sing-song back, satisfied with his answer.

He doesn't respond, too preoccupied as he climbs over the end of the bedframe and crawls up from the foot of the bed. You're still half sitting up against the backboard so it would be difficult to cling to you from the side, but he comes up between your legs and wraps his arms around your middle instead. He lays down on you about as comfortably as if you were part of the mattress. Blessedly, this occurs without any conversation about it, which is fine because not a single part of you wants to complain about it, and you don't know how you'd express that without sounding weird.

His face is turned toward the end table when he settles, and you know his gaze lands on the letter that's all but being spotlighted by the only lamp currently lit in the room. Despite this, it's a long time before he says anything. He doesn't reach for it either. You wait out his silence by brushing your hand through the short hair at the back of his head.

Eventually, he says, rather simply, "He wrote that."

"He did," you agree. After a moment, you ask, "Should I not have brought it over here?"

Peter heaves a great sigh and wraps his arms around you a bit tighter. "Honestly? If you hadn't, I would have. Eventually."

"Are you going to read it?" You question gently after a few more moments, not wanting to push the matter.

"I don't know. I don't think I'm ready for that yet."

"You don't have to then," you assure, pushing some stray hairs away from his eyes, "How about we go to sleep instead?"

He sighs again. "Don't think I can. Not after everything that happened today. I think I could be feeling a hell of a lot worse right now, but I've got a lot on my mind. Can we put on a movie? Or some music? Just kinda. . . hang out?"

You're two hours deep into a playlist of soft music and in the middle of your upteenth game of rummy when Peter dozes off with his head propped up on his hand. It's a bit of a process to collect all the cards and move him into a more comfortable position without waking him up. It's just past three in the morning, hours past when you'd normally have been lights out. You're exhausted, but even then you know that you're better off than Peter is right now. That makes it hard to mind.

You flick off the lamp, taking the spotlight off Tony's letter, and pull the blankets up over the both of you. Since Peter typically is the one to initiate the contact, you're not entirely sure that you should try anything. You end up facing away from him on your side out of concern that you'll get clingy in your sleep if you face toward him. This ends up being unnecessary, since he throws his arm around you almost immediately and shifts closer in his sleep.

It has you holding your breath, but even so, it's all too easy to fall asleep after such a long day.

Tag list

@undiadeestos @moonstruckholland @deathofthethrones @souvenirsvisuels

[noahsfreckles]

Keeping Secrets from Strangers (chap 2)

The next morning I wake up to my alarm; 10:15am. I love my late schedule. I grab my phone off my side table and check my notifications.

1 mention from browneyedboy

4 texts from Lexi 🤪

1 reminder: you're awesome.

I open the texts first.

Lexi 🤪: where are you? @ 7:30am

Lexi🤪: oh yeah it's Friday late day. I h8 u. 😘😘 @ 7:34 am

Lexi🤪: get your lazy butt up and stop dreaming about you know who @ 8:14 am

Lexi🤪: remind me why I decided to take an 8 am lecture class I'm falling asleep

I quickly reply her.

Mia: Oh shush you're just jealous 😛

Mia: and who would I be dreaming about 🤔🤔

Mia: because it was the only time it was offered and you need it for your degree

Lexi🤪: his name starts with Noah and ends with Centineo

Mia: I am not dreaming about him shut up!

Lexi🤪: 🤥🤥🤥🤥

Mia: 😑😑😑

Lexi🤪: stop lying and get here I'm lonely ☹️☹️

Mia: stop texting then dork

Lexi🤪: 🤐🤐🤐🤐

Mia: you're still texting me.

I start laughing at our conversation and get out of bed. I go over to my closet and start deciding on an outfit for the day. I grab my white ripped jeans and a black t shirt with my black vans.

I quickly put everything on so I can start on my hair. I do a simple pony tail with some of my bangs hanging down. I look in the mirror and grab my eye liner, quickly and carefully put it on. I'm not really a make up wearer but I love eye liner.

I grab my bag from my chair and walk over to my side table, grabbing my laptop, unplugging it and grabbing the charger from the wall. I grab my phone from the bed and slide it in my back pocket.

I head down the stairs and see my mom in the kitchen.

"Hi honey."

"Hi mom, can you grab me an orange juice and the blueberry muffin, I'm running a little late and I blame Lexi," I laugh a little.

"Was she texting you again?"

"Yes, always making me late," I joke as she hands me the orange juice and a container containing the muffin. "Thanks mom," I kiss her cheek and head out the door.

"Bye honey," she says as I shut the door.

I get to my car unlocking it as I get closer, my baby; a black Jeep Compass. I quickly get in and head to school.

💋💋💋💋💋💋💋💋💋

After a boring day at college, Lexi and I are on the way to my place to get ready for Neon's.

It's our weekly ritual while everyone is still in town to go to the local bowling alley. It's always Lexi, me, Josh, and Cami, but sometimes Jake, Haley, and Tyler come back tonight but tonight they can't make it.

"Hey, who's this?" Lexi asks as my phone lights up with a twitter notification. "Are you cheating on me with", Lexi, looks at the notification, "browneyedboy?"

I just look at Lexi and start laughing, "they're just a random person I was talking to last night, before bed."

"So you are cheating on me!" Lexi excitedly says.

"No, baby I love you." I move closer to Lexi and side hug her, "forgive me?" I look at her and give her puppy eyes.

"I guess," she says and rolls her eyes.

"I saw that."

"Saw what?"

"Your eye balls rolling into your brain." I laugh a little.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

I move away from her and grab my phone and open twitter to see what browneyedboy said when I remember I never checked to see what they said this morning.

'@browneyedboy: morning Mia. Hope you have a good Friday.'

'@browneyedboy: hey Mia, what's up?'

'@heyitsmia: not much just hanging out with @heyitzlexi and getting ready to go bowling. What's up with you?'

'@browneyedboy: not much just hanging out at home bored, hi Lexi.'

"Browneyedboy says hi Lexi," I say looking up from my phone.

"Tell the Mia stealer hi," she jokingly says.

'@heyitsmia: Lexi says hi. You should come bowling with us if you're so bored'

'@browneyedboy: really? I don't want to impose on you and your friends.'

'@heyitsmia: you're not imposing, the more the merrier. Come!'

'@browneyedboy: how about I think about and maybe text you and tell you I'm on my way or there?'

'@heyitsmia: um sure.'

'@browneyedboy: or I could just tweet you sorry, I shouldn't have asked for your number we barely know each other.'

'@heyitsmia: hey it's okay.'

'@browneyedboy: ill just tweet you if I decide to show up.'

'@heyitsmia: okay hope to see you 🙂'

A blue banner comes across my Twitter: Noah has tweeted. I click on it right away.

'@noahcent: asked a girl for her number and got rejected ☹️💔'

"Aww Noah just got rejected," I say as Lexi is fixing her hair in my mirror.

"Aww Noah," she says and makes a sad face.

I look through his replies, "oh my god his replies are filled with numbers."

"Really?"

I just nod my head and exit out of twitter and open Snapchat, I get off the bed and walk over to Lexi, taking a photo of us and tag it with 'going to Neon's'.

I close the app and toss my phone on the bed and start getting ready. Lexi moves over the bed and grabs my phone.

"So what do you know about your new lover?" Lexi says as she opens the Twitter app.

"Honestly not much, I haven't even stalked his twitter yet. Why?"

"Just curious. Wait he asked for your number?" She says loudly.

"Yeah," I look at her in the mirror, "he automatically said he didn't want it afterwards so I sorta got rejected even though I said he could have it."

"Would you have given it to him?" She looks at me curiously.

"I don't know, maybe."

"Maybe we should find out more about him before we give a random guy your number from the internet."

"Yeah," I bite my lip and walk over to the bed with her. "So what do we know from his twitter?"

"Well he's had it since 2016 and has 10k tweets. He doesn't have a selfie as a display picture but it's a picture of a cat. The cat is cute," she shows me the photo.

"Very cute."

'@heyitsmia: I think your kitty is too cute @browneyedboy 🐱💕'

"Lexi!"

"Yes my love," she giggles.

"Why?"

Blue banner comes up: @browneyedboy replies to you. Lexi clicks it.

'@browneyedboy: Thanks his name is Stuvi, like stew vee.

'@heyitsmia: aww too cute.'

Lexi gets out of the mentions and goes back to his account, "hey you can kinda see his hair in pic."

"Really?"

Lexi nods and shows me the pic again.

"Hmm," I say then look at the time on top of the screen, "we gotta go Lexi it's almost seven."

"Oh crap." She says and closes twitter and looks the phone before handing it to me and we head out to Neon's.

💋💋💋💋💋💋💋💋

Lexi and I come back from Neon's around midnight. We change into our pajamas. We get into my bed, she rolls over and gets comfy as I grab my phone to do my night ritual; Snapchat, instagram, and Twitter.

Nothing too interesting on Snapchat, so I move to Instagram. I go through my feed, liking and commenting on different people's pictures and videos. I start typing in Noah's name in the search bar when I decide I just need to follow him and turn on his notifications so I don't miss anything from him.

He posted a new picture today.

Asked for a girl's number and got reject. Girls are mean.

I aww at the photo and like it. I click follow and turn on all his notifications. I close Instagram and open twitter.

'@heyitsmia: you awake? @browneyedboy'

'@browneyedboy: yeah what's up?'

I bite my bottom lip, looking over at a sleeping Lexi and decide what can it hurt. I click the envelope on my Twitter app and it opens up the direct message.

To: browneyedboy

'213-555-1362'

I hover over the send button then click it. I close the app and hope he understands. I plug in my phone and turn off my lamp.

My phone begins to vibrate as I receive a text.

213-555-0139: hi

Mia: hi

213-555-0139: why did you give me your number?

Mia: I wanna be friends and you said you didn't want it after I said I would give it to you.

213-555-0139: thank you 😊

Mia: I have a question.

213-555-0139: I have an answer 😋

Mia: what's your name? It's not on your Twitter, at least I don't think.

213-555-0139: Jamey

I quickly add him to my contacts; Jamey🐱

Jamey🐱: now I have a question; what's my contact name? 😎

I laugh a little at his question.

Mia: Jamey🐱

Jamey🐱: I like it. Meow.

I laughs a little causing Lexi moves and I freeze. Lexi stops moving and I let out a small sigh.

Mia: 😹

Mia: I should go to sleep. We can talk tomorrow more if you want.

Jamey🐱: sure. Night Mia. 😎

Mia: night Jamey🐱

I close iMessage and set my phone down on my side table, I cuddle the blankets and falls asleep.

A/N if you want to read this on Wattpad or ao3 links are in my bio. I post there faster than I do here.

[finderskeepersff]

16. Part 4

I am not sure if Cassius timed it that way but he was walking into the apartment as I left, leaving for work. I am sure he timed it that way so I don’t speak to him, I actually did sleep fine because I am annoyed with him so I hope he is happy with himself. I didn’t speak to him, we just walked by each other like two lost souls, it hurt but I wasn’t going to speak to him when he looks the way he does, a mess. He looked tired, drained and he looked at me but not the friendly look again. I ain’t that mean, I actually made the bed for him so he can sleep well. What can I say, I guess I finally get to see the petty side to Cassius, he really does have one. But anyways, back at work again. I do rather be here, if I was in the apartment then we may have argued because he didn’t lie when he said he wasn’t coming home, he’s such an asshole at times. Swiping my keycard walking into the building “Sofia!” hearing Lee shout me, I stopped in my tracks turning to him “morning, you finally back. I been so bored at work” walking over to Lee “well for once I am away and you complain? Bitch” Lee put his arm around me as I laughed “so how was it? Did you fuck girls or boys this time?” Lee laughed out “well it was girls, the girls in California are so fine so yeah” I rolled my eyes “you’re so selfish, what is it like having the best of both worlds?” he is so selfish liking both male and female, I wish I was that way. I think being lesbian may be easier for me because men do be too hormonal “it’s great because niggas get on my nerves you move on, pussy or ass. I don’t care” I love Lee “so is Ivy back? Or she still claiming to be ill?” I shrugged, I haven’t even spoken to her since and I hope she isn’t back.

Thankful that Ivy is still ill, also happy because I don’t have to put up with her. I know she is struggling to come in because she doesn’t want to say sorry, she is that petty. I’ll wait for her to apologise, I will see if she does but I know how she is. I know Ivy so much, she isn’t coming because of the baby but because she doesn’t want to say sorry, she knows she has done wrong the dumb bitch “how is the salad, bird?” Lee said, looking down at my salad “you ate the chicken and left the green?” I ain’t feeling the salad today “not feeling it, I just want to eat greasy food. I should have told you to get me some fries” Lee pulled a face at me “you do know you don’t need to lose weight? Your body is fine, still got the boys in this building on lock. You got it” clearing my throat laughing “how is the boyfriend anyways? He wants to send any more pizza to us? I think that was amazing” I cringed “oh no, what happened?” from my face alone he knew “we just fell out a little, I want to talk to him about things but he is being petty” sitting back in my chair sighing out “men are petty, this is why I switch sides” I wish I could, I just feel fed up because I can’t stop thinking of him and only god knows what he is done at night, I am just sad “I hope you both make up because you be so happy when you are both getting along” the words slipped into my mind, grabbing the bull by the horn and I remember my friends telling me that, maybe I need to take it into my own hands and deal with it head on “we can” grabbing my phone from the side but then realised I have a new sim and I don’t know his number off by heart.

“Sofia” my manager said “your mom is downstairs waiting for you” the biggest sigh left me, I am so not ready for this “ok thanks” locking my computer getting up, this is fucking stupid and at my work place. Grabbing my badge from my desk as I walked out, why the fuck is the witch of a mother here, I am so angry. Now that I have got rid of my sim she is here in my place of work, hitting the elevator button. I wonder what the fuck she going to say to me now, who hurt who and who upset who. Why is my life this way, why does it have to be difficult, I want done with them. The elevator doors opened and I proceeded to enter “woah” a pair of hands held me, I gasped moving back seeing Ivy “I was about to say I saw your mother” this is just great “thanks” walking around her “can we talk after?” pressing the lower floor button “probably” I don’t want to hear it right now when I got my lovely mother downstairs, this is shameful because only god knows what she has come here to say, she will be embarrassing me more than likely.

Would you look at that, both my mother and Leyton. Swiping my keycard “what is it? This is my place of work?” I am disgusted at them “there was a fire and Leyton’ dad got hurt” crossing my arms across my chest confused on why she is telling me this “he did it” Leyton said, I know what he is implying. Walking around them “get out now” I am not about to speak of such a thing here, I am about to cuss them out so bad. I didn’t care to hold the door as I got out of the building “what is it? Speak now, I don’t want you here any of you” Leyton poked his lips out “he get my dad” blinking at him in confusion “who exactly?” I want them to say it “your drug dealing boyfriend did it, he did it. Leyton said it, they burned his house Sofia. Can you not see how dangerous he is” I am so annoyed “right, you cannot prove that shit, you have come to my place of work to say this? Are you being fucking real right now, I don’t want to know you. Good he got hurt, he is the real crack head in this. Seems like you care mom, do you want to get back with him so he can beat you? Is that it? Please don’t’ come to me, I am done with you both. I do not care anymore, you cannot blame Cassius for something you don’t know he did now go!” I spat “but you and I both know he was in there, my son told me he was waving a gun around, then beat his dad! I am so angry Sofia, he burned the home he has and now his dad is in hospital” shaking my head “I don’t want it mom, I don’t care. Cassius did nothing, I know he didn’t do not come to my place of work again please, I am done. I am done with you and your life. If you go back to the guy that beat you then please do not ever come back to me” Leyton started to cry “I am glad you are crying, this is all your fault. You’re an idiot, bye” turning around as I walked back inside, coming at me for what exactly, to tell me that Cassius did something, I am not his carer.

Shuffling my chair in sighing out, even if he did do what she says I wish he burnt that man in that home “you look stressed the fuck out, are you ok?” I shrugged “it’s life, you wanted to talk?” I said to Ivy “I do, I wanted to apologise. I am sorry for everything that happened, I am sorry for taking it out on you. I just got angry at Lloyd speaking on you, saying about you. Just shows that he likes you but he denies it. I am just sad that he doesn’t find me sexy, I don’t know. But anyways, I am sorry. Olivia and Mia both been telling me how wrong I have been, insensitive towards you which I have been. I do love you and I am sorry, I am sorry for attacking Cassius. I know how much he means to you so I should be more sensitive towards your feelings when I did what I did, I am sorry Sofia” I come to the realisation, I don’t actually care for her. I don’t think she means it but we can all be fake “it’s ok, I am glad you know that everything is under the bridge and we can finally get on” hugging Ivy close, this hurts that I have to be like this but I won’t trust her like that anymore.

Cassius is home still, I guess that is a good thing. He knows the time I would come home unless his friend took him out, I am going to make him sit and listen to me now so I hope he has had his sleep. Unlocking the house door, pushing open the door with the bags in hand. I didn’t know what to cook so I popped into the store, got some meat for tonight. Kicking the door shut, I can hear the TV on so he is here. Placing the bags on the kitchen counter and then my own bag, let me go and see to him and hopefully make up. Cassius is here, laid out on the couch watching TV “hey” he said it to me first “hi” Cassius got up from the couch “your phone was off” watching him stretch his body out “well if you spoke to me then I would have told you, I have a new number” he let out an oh “why?” he shuffled down on the couch and sat back “because I walked out on my family, it’s time I move on. I don’t want to know them anymore. My mother was being unreasonable and so was I. It was a long night, I do thank you for getting my brother. Emotions were high, I shouldn’t have got your gun but I just wanted to confirm what I knew” sitting down on the couch “and that was?” he retorted “that you was out and that you had a gun with you, I knew it but I wanted to confirm it but I was stupid. I am sorry, I shouldn’t have done that. Look I didn’t know about the police, I panicked too. I mean I just touched your gun and then them” I didn’t want him to get locked away, that is the last thing. I try to protect him from that.

“Family friend? Out of every word out of your mouth? Not even your man or anything like that?” he said “did you want me to say you’re my brother, I just wanted you gone Cassius. Leyton has verbal diarrhoea and I was scared he would say something, you are my man. It just sounded better, I don’t know but just don’t think of it in a bad way. I am choosing you over my family, even if we don’t make it or whatever. I want this to be about us. My mother kept calling you a drug dealer and then she phones the police, it just pushed me. I am sorry, and I do appreciate what you did but I also had a feeling you was out also, I mean I heard the honking in the car and you said you was home, so I changed my number. Then my mother came to my place of work blaming you about Leyton’ dad’ home being burnt and that he is hurt because of you but I set her straight, she can’t prove shit but did you do it?” Cassius rubbed his chin sighing out “I didn’t no, but I know of it” that’s all I wanted to know “he was the guy that beat my mother that Leyton wants so much, shame he didn’t get burnt in that. Seems like my mother is madly in love with him all over again but it’s whatever, I don’t know what you did or what you know. I just want us to be good” that is all I care for, I want me and him to be strong in this journey.

Cassius remained silent just thinking “I told them to do it, Kyle wanted him to be with us, make money off him but I said no. I don’t want that connection, I told them to burn his home and the equipment he had in there” I don’t know why he is telling me that “I made more money, it’s in there” he pointed across the room, two duffle bags “Leyton’ dad wouldn’t listen so he got hurt but I wasn’t there, my people did it while I did what I needed to do. Word got out that Brooklyn niggas were in Newark, we had to tell them that don’t come for us. It’s a done deal now. I killed someone last night too” why is he telling me this, not like I want to know. Looking back at the duffle bags and then back at Cassius “Does that mean we can go? We can leave to go Atlanta? Can we?” Cassius just stared at me “you want too?” he said, nodding my head “there is one thing, you don’t ever disrespect me and lower than what I am to you. And second, there is another. With what you know, you are also part of me so you know shit, your mother is unstable, I want you to leave your job here until we go. You are the woman that can hurt me, but also the woman that can get hurt because of me. My niggas have women, they all do but they don’t work. While we are here, not long left but you have to leave straight away. If you roll with me then you need to do this, I can predict what is next and they going to use you to get to me, I ain’t about to force you to do anything, this is your chance to go, I may be hurt but it’s your choice. I will leave this life, it’s there, it will happen. But it’s a mess now, I told them niggas to not create this connection and now your mom has done that, she a snitch. She is my enemy, to me she is” Cassius speaks so calmly about such things, not a single anger in his body from what I saw “from me telling you my mom came to me this has to happen?” I questioned “she came to you over a nigga that beat her, she hates me. You’re in that place, she will call the police because clearly she ain’t scared and is already blaming me, they could get niggas to follow you back here or even police. I have things in this place right now that could get me locked up” I swallowed hard “you still want me?” I mumbled asking, Cassius laughed “why wouldn’t I want you? I do want you bub” he called me bub, that random word he calls me “are you riding with me on this? I respect you too much and I would never want you harmed, I am leaving this life for you remember that” nodding my head “I will quit my job but please no night things, I want you here with me” Cassius smiled at me “I knew that already, I promise that you will get that dream you want” he held his hand out to me, placing my hand in his.