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twoidiotwriters1 · 3 months

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The Curse of Oenone (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: Happy Valentine's Day!! Here is Aphrodite -Danny Words: 2,443 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter // Next Chapter

XIV: Bonding With the Girls

Hazel's a sweetheart... but if Ara catches her again staring at her like she stole her favorite candy, they will have a problem.

"Well," Ara thinks grumpily, "if Nico had taken her to our camp, it'd be her dating Leo instead—I didn't even like him at first!"

She's not sure that's true, though. When Leo showed up she had no time for romance, but no matter what Ara would've fallen for him. Her fate was written in stone. So why is she feeling like she stole him from Hazel?

"Hey," she speaks quietly. "Just so you know... I don't want Nico to die."

Hazel sighs. "Percy told me what happened between you two. I understand."

"But I do trust him," Ara eyes her intently. "I'm sorry if I don't show it much. He... he was my friend, I wouldn't wish bad things on him. I'm sorry about Leo as well."

Hazel looks up like a deer in headlights. "What?" The girl gulps. "I mean, why are you sorry?"

"Well, I'm the General," Ara shrugs. "I should keep my army in line. Leo shouldn't bully Frank, I told him not to do it again."

Hazel's shoulders drop with relief. "Oh! Yeah... thanks."

"I want us to get along," Ara bumps her shoulder against hers, which causes Hazel to stumble sideways. "If there's anything else you'd like to talk about, I'm right here."

"Sure!" Hazel smiles, but it looks forced.

"You know, boys stress me out faster than anyone else," Ara tells the rest of the group. "Feels good to be working with you three today."

"But you made peace with Percy yesterday!" Annabeth exclaims.

Ara smiles. "Percy's my brother. I have to call him annoying no matter what."

Her friend chuckles. "Makes sense..."

Ara forgets she wasn't always Percy's sister, she met Annabeth first. But she doesn't feel like she belongs in camp as much as before, and when she's in New York, it doesn't feel right without Percy. Something's missing.

She was friends with Annabeth, now she is Percy's sister, but also the General... Neither here nor there, none of those to their full potential.

The girl stops and points forward. "Our lady in white."

"The ghost," Annabeth squints.

"That's not a ghost," Hazel tries to focus her gaze. "No kind of spirit glows that brightly."

Piper begins to cross the street without saying a word.

"Piper!"

"We'd better follow her," Hazel hurries.

By the time they reach her, Ara recognizes the woman. "Awesome," she groans.

Piper makes a face. "Do we have to?"

The ghostly apparition leaves them no choice as it floats towards them and forms fully. "I'm so glad you're here," Aphrodite beams. "War is coming. Bloodshed is inevitable. So there's really only one thing to do."

"Uh... and that is?"

"Why, have tea and chat, obviously. Come with me!"

The last time Ara had tea with her mother, she received the worst news ever, so to say she isn't looking forward to this is an understatement.

"Oh, my sweet girls," the goddess sighs. "I do love Charleston! The weddings I've attended in this gazebo—they bring tears to my eyes. And the elegant balls in the days of the Old South. Ah, they were lovely. Many of these mansions still have statues of me in their gardens, though they called me Venus."

"Which are you? Venus or Aphrodite?" Annabeth questions.

"Annabeth Chase, you've grown into quite a beautiful young lady. You really should do something with your hair, though. And, Hazel Levesque, your clothes—"

"My clothes?" Hazel examines herself.

"Mother! You're embarrassing us," Piper huffs.

"Well, I don't see why. Just because you don't appreciate my fashion tips, Piper, doesn't mean the others won't. I could do a quick makeover for Annabeth and Hazel, perhaps silk ball gowns like mine—"

"I'll get clothes for them later," Ara intervenes. "Can we please move on?"

Aphrodite cups her cheek. The lavender scent coming out of her soothes the young girl. "I like your eyeliner today, so creative!"

"I..." Ara blushes. "Makeup cheers me up."

If she'd known they'd be talking to Aphrodite, she would've put less effort into her looks. Blame it on the teenage urge to rebel against her mother.

"To answer your question, Annabeth, I am both Aphrodite and Venus. Unlike many of my fellow Olympians, I changed hardly at all from one age to the other. In fact, I like to think I haven't aged a bit! Love is love, after all, whether you're Greek or Roman. This civil war won't affect me as much as it will the others."

"We're not in a war yet, my lady," Hazel replies.

"Oh, dear Hazel. Such optimism, yet you have heartrending days ahead of you. Of course war is coming. Love and war always go together. They are the peaks of human emotion! Evil and good, beauty and ugliness. That's what I told Ara—and why she became the daughter of Olympus!"

She's never shared the reasons why she became a daughter of Olympus with anyone except Lily and Leo. Ara can feel Annabeth's eyes on her, so she gets back on track. "So could you, uh, elaborate on what those heartrending days may bring to us?"

"Well, Annabeth could give you some idea," the goddess replies. "I once promised to make her love life interesting. And didn't I?"

"Interesting, is a mild way of putting it," Annabeth replies tensely.

"Well, I can't take credit for all your troubles, but I do love twists and turns in a love story. Oh, all of you are such excellent stories—I mean, girls. You do me proud!" Aphrodite pats Ara's cheek. "You're so brave!"

"Mother, is there a reason you're here?" Piper insists.

"Hmm? Oh, you mean besides the tea? I often come here. I love the view, the food, the atmosphere—you can just smell the romance and heartbreak in the air, can't you? Centuries of it. Do you see that rooftop balcony? We had a party there the night the American Civil War began. The shelling of Fort Sumter."

"That's it! The island in the harbor," Annabeth snaps her fingers. "That's where the first fighting of the Civil War happened. The Confederates shelled the Union troops and took the fort."

"Oh, such a party! A string quartet, and all the men in their elegant new officers' uniforms. The women's dresses—you should've seen them! I danced with Ares—or was he Mars? I'm afraid I was a little giddy. And the beautiful bursts of light across the harbor, the roar of the cannons giving the men an excuse to put their arms around their frightened sweethearts!"

"You're talking about the beginning of the bloodiest war in U.S. history. Over six hundred thousand people died—more Americans than in World War One and World War Two combined—"

"And the refreshments! Ah, they were divine. General Beauregard himself made an appearance. He was such a scoundrel. He was on his second wife, then, but you should have seen the way he looked at Lisbeth Cooper—"

"Mother!" Piper scares a few pigeons away from the table by throwing them bread.

"Yes, sorry. To make the story short, I'm here to help you, girls. I doubt you'll be seeing Hera much. Your little quest has hardly made her welcome in the throne room. And the other gods are rather indisposed, as you know, torn between their Roman and Greek sides. Some more than others. I suppose you've told your friends about your falling-out with your mother?"

She's looking at Annabeth when she says this. Now is her friend's turn to blush.

"Falling-out?" Hazel frowns.

"An argument. It's nothing."

"Nothing! Well, I don't know about that. Athena was the most Greek of all goddesses. The patron of Athens, after all. When the Romans took over... oh, they adopted Athena after a fashion. She became Minerva, the goddess of crafts and cleverness. But the Romans had other war gods who were more to their taste, more reliably Roman—like Bellona—"

"Reyna's mom," Piper says.

"Yes, indeed. I had a lovely talk with Reyna a while back, right here in the park. And the Romans had Mars, of course. And later, there was Mithras—not even properly Greek or Roman, but the legionnaires were crazy about his cult. I always found him crass and terribly nouveau dieu, personally. At any rate, the Romans quite sidelined poor Athena. They took away most of her military importance. The Greeks never forgave the Romans for that insult. Neither did Athena."

"The Mark of Athena," Annabeth leans forward. "It leads to a statue, doesn't it? It leads to... to the statue."

"You are clever, like your mother," Aphrodite smiles. "Understand, though, your siblings, the children of Athena, have been searching for centuries. None has succeeded in recovering the statue. In the meantime, they've been keeping alive the Greek feud with the Romans. Every civil war... so much bloodshed and heartbreak... has been orchestrated largely by Athena's children."

"That's..." Annabeth pauses.

"Romantic?" Aphrodite sighs dreamily. "Yes, I supposed it is."

"But... The Mark of Athena, how does it work? Is it a series of clues, or a trail set by Athena—"

"Hmm. I couldn't say. I don't believe Athena created the Mark consciously. If she knew where her statue was, she'd simply tell you where to find it. No... I'd guess the Mark is more like a spiritual trail of bread crumbs. It's a connection between the statue and the children of the goddess. The statue wants to be found, you see, but it can only be freed by the most worthy."

"And for thousands of years, no one has managed."

"Hold on. What statue are we talking about?" Piper questions.

"Oh, I'm sure Annabeth can fill you in. At any rate, the clue you need is close by: a map of sorts, left by the children of Athena in 1861—a remembrance that will start you on your path, once you reach Rome. But as you said, Annabeth Chase, no one has ever succeeded in following the Mark of Athena to its end. There you will face your worst fear—the fear of every child of Athena. And even if you survive, how will you use your reward? For war or for peace?"

"This map," Annabeth holds onto the edge of her seat, "where is it?"

"Guys!" Hazel gasps.

Giant eagles are coming down to where they are. Aphrodite barely glances up before continuing her conversation. "Oh, the map is at Fort Sumter, of course. It looks like the Romans have arrived to cut you off. I'd get back to your ship in a hurry if I were you. Would you care for some tea cakes to go?"

"No, but thanks for the help, Lady Aphrodite," Ara gets up and bows.

Piper, Hazel, and Annabeth leave their seats in a hurry, but before Ara can also leave, Aphrodite speaks up. "Janus is looking for you."

The girl comes to a halt and turns to her mother in panic. "What?"

"Don't be rash," is all the goddess tells her before vanishing.

Three eagles deposit a trio of Roman demigods on the dock, one of them is Octavian.

"Surrender to Rome!" He squeals.

"Fat chance, Octavian," Hazel draws out her sword.

Ara stares at the boys like they're gum on her shoe. She doesn't want to fight them, but gods, Octavian is so annoying, she might have trouble not running through him with Almighty.

"Octavian," Piper walks forward with her hands up. "What happened at camp was a setup. We can explain—"

"Can't hear you! Wax in our ears—standard procedure when battling evil sirens. Now, throw down your weapons and turn around slowly so I can bind your hands."

"Did Nico bring this one back?" Ara asks with annoyance. "'Cause he sounds like a priest from the Dark Ages."

"Let me skewer him," Hazel says through gritted teeth. "Please."

"I think that would make us look bad," Ara turns to Annabeth. "Any ideas?"

Annabeth scans the scene in a fraction of a second, running through their options quicker than Ara can. Strategic thinking was Lily's thing back in camp, but before Lily, Ara had Annabeth.

"Tell them you surrender," Annabeth concludes.

With her hands up, Ara turns her back on Octavian. Someone seizes her wrists to tie them behind her back and snatches the compass from her.

"Well?" Octavian shouts to the rest of her group, making her skin crawl.

Annabeth throws her dagger into the water... where Percy mentioned he'd be. Octavian ducks behind Ara, using her as a shield. "What was that for? I didn't say toss it! That could've been evidence. Or spoils of war!"

Annabeth smiles and shrugs. Octavian does a terrible job binding Ara's hands and points his weapon at Piper and Hazel.

"You other two, put your weapons on the dock. No funny bus—"

When water bursts all around them, Ara tackles Octavian and falls over. She pushes her arms under her legs and picks up Almighty, holds it between her hands, and the blade materializes cutting through the ropes around her wrists like they're Play-Doh. She stands using the sword to support herself.

Percy's standing next to her, she didn't even hear him erupt from the water. "You okay?"

Ara tosses away the remains of the rope and turns her sword back into a compass. "He thought two guys were enough to fight us. I'm insulted."

"They were three."

"Octavian doesn't count."

Percy nods and looks at Annabeth, then raises one hand, holding her dagger. "You dropped this."

Annabeth runs up to him and hugs him, she's glowing scarlet. "I love you!"

Ara smiles. It's good, having Percy and Annabeth with her in times like this. They make her feel safe no matter what. "You two are adorable."

"Guys," Hazel urges them, though she's happy too. "We need to hurry."

"Get me out of here! I'll kill you!" Octavian shrieks from the water.

"Tempting," Percy responds.

"What?" Octavian shouts, holding onto one of his guards to float.

"He's got wax in his ears," Ara informs her brother.

"Go figure," Percy sighs, then turns to Octavian and screams. "Nothing!" He walks back to the ship. "Let's go, guys."

"Just so we're clear!" Ara screams. "We did try to surrender! My brother just likes dramatic entrances, it's a shame you got caught in it!" She blows a kiss. "Toodles!"

"We can't let them drown, can we?" Hazel asks as they climb on board.

"They won't, I've got the water circulating around their feet. As soon as we're out of range, I'll spit them ashore."

"Nice," Piper chuckles. "You Jacksons are great."

"Annabeth too," Ara elbows her.

Annabeth manages a smile before she starts to give orders. "Piper, get below. Use the sink in the galley for an Iris-message. Warn Jason to get back here. Hazel, go find Coach Hedge and tell him to get his furry hindquarters on deck."

"Right!"

"Ara, Percy—We need to get this ship to Fort Sumter."

"On it!" Ara pushes Percy forward. "Just like in the sea of monsters, Nemo! But this time, you'll be my assistant."

He smirks. "So I'll have more fun, then."

"Annabeth, let us know when you spot Jason or Octavian's group!"

"You got it!"

Ara and Percy work in unison, and the ship sails off to the Fort.

Next Chapter –>

Taglist.

@siriuslysirius1107 @ask-giggles1303 @asnyox-the-hoarder @im-planning-something-look @bandshirts-andbooks @coolninjapaper @thewaterlily @whenisthefall @1randomcomic @you-bloody-shank @sunflowergraves @owlalex44 @taylordaughter @typicalsolangelolover @writingmia @espressopatronum454 @slytherinnqueen @orbitingpolaris @obxstiles @ellipsisspelled @thepixiechicks

#twoidiots writing #leo valdez x oc #doo #leo valdez fanfic #pjo fanfic #percy jackson and the olympians #heroes of olympus

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namjooningelsewhere · 2 years

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If I Cant Have You- #2

➤ Pairing: Taehyung x Reader

➤Angst: Angst (Shit Ton of it), Smut(Mature Content), Fluff.

➤Rating: 18+

➤Warning(s): Swearing, self doubts, crying,Cheating. Mentions of smut, sexual content, Lots of Yelling, Swearing, Heart break (Pretty Brutal). Taehyung is pretty heartbroken,Reader is confused. A lot of Heartbreak and angst, Sohee is a b@#$%.

➤Au: Idol au, cheating au, arranged marriage au.

➤Word Count: 6.2

➤Summary: Loving Taehyung is easy. It's easy to get lost in his adorable smile, his glimmering eyes, his saccharine words and everything that is him, Thats what your best friend told you the ten years she had been dating him. But your life turns upside down when your best friend abandons her love and your chldhood friend at the altar and out of extra ordinary circumstances instead of Sohee its you whos staring at the same pair of glimmering eyes, wearing the white gown meant for her and feeling the weight of an expensive ring on your fingers and before you know it, you say 'I do'.

➤A/N: The second part is here, Hope you guys like it. Let me know what you guys think of it. Every reblog, Every ask, Every comment is appreciated.

➤Taglist: @bri-mal , @fr0g-queen , @justmewondering-recs , @halesandy , @craving4suga , @tetesland @astoriasx @kissme-ornot, @peachytanyaaa , @deliciousdetectivestranger @christiandosworld @canarystwin @angelarin @sillydreamlandheart @laylasbunbunny @sharingcoolstuff @allorareverz @enchantaeduniverse @astoriasx @kimlineownsme @starbtslove @juju-227592 @zephyrchive @writesforbts @shydestinyyouth @tan-veee @doublebunv @brit97 @purplebeebs

➤Part One- Here

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A faint smile graced your lips as you stepped out of the airport. New York was indeed special. The air had something to it. Momentarily you had forgotten about the events of the previous day.

New York City had a calm vibe to it, even though the city was bustling to its fullest capacity, but maybe the chaos of yesterday made it look that way. You hail a cab to the address, your roommate, your classmate, and a very good friend aria sent you.

Housing in New York became a piece of cake courtesy of Aria, considering her father had some work connections which got you and her a pretty good deal.

The entirety of the fourteen-hour-long flight and just the calm afternoon had made one thing clear in your mind. Your marriage with Taehyung though unexpected was the reality now. You had stepped foot in this city to pursue your dreams and you were going to do it. Whatever happened back in Seoul was going to be staying in Seoul. And for now, you were content to leave it there.

If there was anything clear in your mind was that the ball was in Taehyung's court now, if he wanted to keep this wedding for the sake of professional reasons he was welcome to do it, if he wanted to break the thing off if or when he met Sohee and magically they patched up you would be more than happy to give him a divorce.

But what wasn't clear was the fact that if this marriage stayed, what were you supposed to do, you had decided to cross the bridge when it came. For now, you were happy to move to New York.

That's all that matters right?

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Three Days Later:

Taehyung sat in his chair while the stylist worked on him. But this time he wasn't just casually sitting there scrolling through his phone or chit-chatting with his bandmates. Usually, the chatter in the room when his bandmates got ready was enough to have the time passing by in mere seconds.

Today was different, it was different because he had to practice smiling. He was practicing radiating happiness from within him just like a newly married man should. The fans and the world knew Taehyung's story by now. They knew he had gotten married to the love of his life.

If he didn't look the happiest today, the Army would leave no stone unturned to research or do an internet graduation on why Kim Taehyung was lost and zoned out only three days after his wedding. He had to smile and act like he was genuinely happy.

The world didn't need to know Kim Taehyung was abandoned at the altar.

Taehyung had not spoken much after the wedding fiasco. He knew his band members were worried about him, only if this interview wasn't important, it would have been long rescheduled.

"Tae are you okay?" Taehyung looked at Jin with a frown, was he? Should he be okay? The smallest sparks of anger started bubbling within him.

"No. I am not. I just need to get this right."

"Get right what?"

"I just need to figure out how to act like I'm the fucking happiest man on the earth." Tae tried to smile a little more genuinely, but then the smile just kept getting watery and his eyes teary.

"You don't need to do that." Yoongi joined in the conversation with Jin and placed a hand on the younger one's shoulder. That was enough to break the dam of emotions.

"Tell me Hyung how are we supposed to explain why the fuck I am not looking happy, the minute the interview starts the first question they're gonna ask is how am I feeling now that I'm married?"

"Tae–

"No Hyung, Everything is wrong right now. What should I do?" Tae quickly wrapped his arms around his hyung waist, who just patted his head, not knowing how he was supposed to comfort his maknae.

Everybody got ready on time, and by the time the interview started, Ta ehyung was extremely thankful to Namjoon, who had made provisions for him to sit in the farthest corner from the interviewer.

"So Taehyungssi, how does it feel to be the first in the group to be married?" Taehyung scowled internally at the question. He knew this was going to be the case. He somewhere knew it was going to be a hot topic.

" He was always the most domestic one out of us, we always knew our taehyung would be the first one to get married." Namjoon took the question away smoothly, without leaving a need for taehyung to answer.

"Can we expect any more wedding announcements from you guys anytime soon? Namjoonssi we know for sure that you already have baby shoes prepared." Namjoon choked on the interviewer's questions, and the rest of the group burst out laughing at his awkwardness.

"Let it go already, in my defense those shoes were really cute. But no, at least we don't have any more wedding announcements to make. We're just happy to concentrate on our careers as of now. Rest will come with time."

The atmosphere shifted from personal questions to professional ones, and Taehyung could breathe in peace. The difficult time was over and now all he had to do was put up his professional voice and answer the questions which he already was a pro at.

The rest of the interview went smoothly, but another hell was waiting to be unleashed. The moment Taehyung entered hybe after wrapping up his schedule, all hell broke loose when all the staff at the company started congratulating him on his wedding.

Taehyung turned blank at all the happy smiles of the people around him. Fortunately, Jimin and Jungkook, and Hobi took the hint and pulled him away under the excuse of some work.

The moment the four stepped into Hobi's studio, Taehyung was the first to slump down on the couch. He closed his eyes in frustration. God, what would he give to run away from all the chaos. More specifically, what would he give to run away from his feelings that were getting bitter with every passing minute?

"Have you packed yet?" Taehyungs eyes flew open at Hobi's question, pack? What packing?

"What for?"

"You've got a week to leave Taehyung. You were supposed to leave for your honeymoon, remember?"

Honeymoon. The honeymoon! The events up to today had him forgetting about this.

As scheduled, Taehyung was supposed to leave for Italy with Sohee for his honeymoon. Like hell, he would go alone.

Come to think of it, Taehyung had the entire week to himself now, courtesy of Sohee, of course.

"You should visit your parents, I think that would be the best." Taehyung nodded at Hobi's suggestion with a half mind. He didn't want his parents to worry, but again, that was by default. Being his parents, they would.

Taehyung thought a lot and after a lot of back and forth, he decided to do what was best for him in the situation. go home to his parents.

His mother was the happiest when she heard her son was coming home. She was worried to death about the situation, and Taehyung had eased her worries to a good extent by coming home.

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The days since your arrival have moved quite slowly for you. You were thankful that you had come to New York. You were. You had no idea what you would have done if you had to stay back in Korea. But thankfully people were nice enough to not force you to stay there.

You had seen the latest BTS interview and had felt extremely uneasy. You knew Taehyung enough to know when he was uneasy.

You had to give it to Namjoon to take away the question smoothly.

You were just right out of your classes when your phone started ringing. Taehyung's Mother. She had been calling you every single day to check up on you.

"Hello, Auntie."

"Hello y/nah. How are you doing?"

"I am good, how are you and uncle doing?"

"We are doing good, is everything okay at Uni?"

"Uni is still a few days away but yeah rest I'm settling in slowly in the new apartment with my flatmate."

"That's wonderful. Taehyung will be home today. Today was the day he was scheduled to leave on his honeymoon, but since that's not happening he's gonna be home."

"That's nice, it will be good for him to spend some time with you guys. You will have one less thing to worry about."

"Hope so."

"Don't worry Auntie, Everything will be fine."

"Y/naah."

"Yes, Auntie?"

"Did you get a chance to speak to him?".

"To be honest Auntie, I haven't called him nor did I text him. I think he needs his space to figure things out."

"You're right. But you take care okay? And yeah eat well. I'll call you tomorrow."

You hung up the call with a little confusion, though it had been only three days since you had made no effort to check up on Taehyung. You knew the kind of state he was in. He was your friend at first.

You quickly pull out your phone to drop a simple hi, deciding you could take the conversation as it came. The least you could do as a friend. Just as a friend

To Taehyung: Hi!

You quickly put the phone back, deciding not to wait for the reply. You knew it wouldn't come anytime soon. You didn't even know for real what Ta ehyung was going through, so you were sure there wasn't going to be anything bitter even if he decided not to text you back.

Three hours later, there wasn't a reply. So you just decide to drop in a text to check up on him.

To Taehyung: Hey Tae, hope you're doing well. I cannot begin to imagine what you must be going through right now, but please know none of this is your fault. I hope you're taking care of yourself though…

As expected, Taehyung did not reply and you didn't probe either. You knew he would take time. You were just trying to reassure him as a friend.

This new relationship right now has become the biggest puzzle in your life, probably the most complicated one yet, too.

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Taehyung breathed a sigh of relief in his home, no cameras to watch him, no people around him teasing him, no fake smiles, nothing. Just him and the four walls of his room and his parents. That's it. That's all Taehyung needs right now, isolation in harsher terms and peace in normal terms.

Fortunately, his parents did not investigate why Sohee left him or if he had noticed any signs of her betrayal.

Taehyung had only one answer: To himself and his parents. If he knew Sohee was straying, or if she had fallen out of love with him, he would have done anything in his power to get her back, but if ultimately she would have wanted an out, he would have given her. At Least there would have been closure.

It was funny how bad Taehyung wanted to laugh when he would scroll through social media, how the entire world had put him on a pedestal. Kim Taehyung of BTS, the one with the godly visions, baritone voice, stardom, money, and fame, everyone just looked at the sparkly package that was presented in front of the cameras.

It was funny how he was just a normal guy beneath all that showbiz. He was just a normal guy who loved jazz, loved to stay indoors and spend time with his dog Yeontan, or how he enjoyed single malt on a rainy day. That's all that there was there for him.

The knock on the door, along with Tannie's barks pulled Tae out of his thoughts. Taehyung quickly got up from his bed. It had been a long time since he had seen his son.

"Look who is eager to meet you." He smiled at his mother, who held Tannie's leash in one hand and a cup of coffee in another. He was quick to free Yeontan out of his leash and enveloped the fur ball in his tired arms.

"My baby. He's been a good boy right?"

"He's been the best boy" his mother patted Yeontan on his head and Taehyung received a pat on his arm.

"Are you doing okay?" The words bought a single tear out of his eyes the moment he heard his mother ask him that.

"I don't want to lie."

"You don't need to, it will be okay. I promise."

Taehyung settled a little further into the bed with Yeontan, making a little space for his mother. This was his favorite place in the world, his mother's lap.

Taehyung settled in his mother's lap holding tannie into his arms, the little fur ball settling very comfortably in his dad's arms. It didn't take long for the tears to stop and lull Tae into sleep. The world was finally getting okay for some time.

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Six months later:

'Auntie, how are you?'' You flew in the arms of Mrs. Kim the moment you caught her and Mr. Kim's smiling faces outside the airport. You had not been in touch with the Kims before you got married to their son. You only met them at family dinners when you flew back home.

"We've been very well, Y/naah, You look good."

"Thank you."

"New York has been treating you well." Mrs. Kim links her arms around yours and you smile the brightest. Your bond with Mrs. Kim has developed to a very great extent. The woman was something else. While phone calls with your parents lasted for ten minutes, the interval of twice per week, Mrs. Kim was the one who checked on you daily. The woman had gone as far as adjusting her time to NYC time to call you.

She had just mentioned that you were a part of her family now. she would do everything in her power to make you comfortable and get you acquainted with her family on a more personal level.

You spent the day roaming around the streets of New York. Enjoying all the vibrant things the city of dreams had to offer. By the time you retired to the hotel the Kims were staying in, Mr. Kim had retired to bed, and you were left alone with Mrs. Kim, comfortable on a couch with wine glasses in each of your hands.

"Do you miss Seoul?" You looked at Mrs. Kim in surprise and the bug in your mind just popped its head up, wondering if she was indirectly trying to ask you to come back to Seoul.

"Sometimes, But I think the fact that I'm away from home to achieve something keeps me going."

"That's very brave of you. I remember I Was a nervous wreck when I was out for my studies."

"You studied abroad?" This information was new to you.

"Well for a couple of years I finished my studies and by the time I came back my father was already considering Tae's dad's alliance for me."

"You had an arranged marriage?" You were honestly surprised that Taehyung's parents had been matched by their parents. Those two looked like long-lost lovers. You had mistaken them to be high school or college sweethearts.

The love and adoration and respect that the two had for each other was amazing.

"It doesn't look like it, but yeah I did have an arranged marriage." Mrs. Kim smiled behind her glass and you took another long sip of yours.

"Was it easy?"

"It's never easy y/nah, you have to learn to make it easier." You looked at the beautiful woman in front of you, one day when you would be of her age. You wanted to age like her. There was such a calming and sophisticated aura around Mrs. Kim. She radiates the warmth you crave on a cold day.

"Can I ask you something?" Mrs. Kim nodded as she took a sip of her wine.

"While everyone was hell-bent on me staying in Seoul since then I was married. How come you didn't feel the same?"

"Look y/nah nobody can take away something from you unless you let them. Just because you were married to Taehyung, and he wasn't in a good space back then doesn't give the right to anyone to take away what you have been working for."

"Sometimes as women, we are expected to let everything go and devote our lives to our husbands or families. But people forget that our marriages are a part of our life, not our entire life."

You were left speechless by Mrs. Kim's words. You had not expected such wisdom behind her choice to fight everyone including your parents, to let you come to the States.

"Thank you, Auntie."

"You don't have to thank me y/nah" her sentence was cut short when her phone began ringing.

You froze when Mrs. Kim picked up the call, and a similar deep baritone voice rang through the room. It was him

You decided against leaving the room, worried what Mrs. Kim would think about it. But no other thought came to your mind as soon as Mrs. Kim panned the camera in your direction and you almost squeaked in embarrassment.

Taehyung just gave you a look and smiled a very, very awkward smile. You could feel Mrs. Kim's amused eyes on you, but something wasn't letting you take your eyes off Tae's face.

He looked tired, drained, and exhausted. The predicament that you and Taehyung had been put in had shaken a lot of things into perspective.

You had no clue how you were supposed to face him in the first place. He was your husband, and it had already been six months since your wedding but there was no communication whatsoever except for your out-of-nowhere texts that you kept sending because you were getting worried enough to check on him, but you were awkward enough to not call him.

Your thoughts had already tuned out the major part of Mrs. Kim and her son's conversation by the time you checked back into reality. She was already wishing her a good night.

Mrs. Kim turned the camera on you again and you and Taehyung awkwardly managed to wave a hand at the camera with an equally awkward smile.

It's funny how the people you know so well sometimes are more awkward than strangers you've never met.

"Do you guys speak?"

"Umm no. "

"Makes sense, I'm sure you guys will figure it out with time."

"Thanks, Auntie. You should sleep, I'll take your leave." You got up to collect your bag and Mrs. Kim placed the empty glass on the table to bid you goodbye.

The Kims had checked into a hotel that wasn't far from where you lived so that you wouldn't be inconvenienced to travel. Yeah, that's how lucky you got regarding in-laws. Taehyung's parents were sweethearts and at times you still hated Sohee for giving up on something so precious.

She still occupies places in your mind. She was your best friend, after all. But you didn't understand where you went wrong, and Sohee felt the need to hide everything from you.

Sohee never spoke to you about Mark, nothing at all. Your weekly calls were the same. Her loud laughter was the same. Then where did the open honesty and transparency that you both had sworn in went?

Sometimes the thought of what you would have done if you knew about Sohees plan plagued your mind. But again, you could have at least prevented one bad thing from happening.

Nothing of that mattered now, things had gone past, way past.

"Where were you?" You screeched when you heard Arias' voice the moment you shut the door.

"Give a girl a warning babe."

"That's not the point, where have you been? I haven't seen you after the classes."

"I was out, Relatives were visiting from Korea. "

"That's nice, dinner is in the fridge." You just hummed while you settled down with a glass of water.

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

"Who were you talking to?" Namjoon asked as he took a seat near Taehyung, who was still reeling from the awkward encounter he had minutes ago with his mother and you.

"I was talking to Eomma."

"Why do you look like you had the most awkward conversation then?".

"It wasn't an awkward conversation but an awkward encounter."

"Awkward Encounter?"

"Y/n was with Eomma."

"Eomma has been visiting New York with Appa." Namjoon raised his eyebrows the moment he mentioned his parents visiting you. His mother was mad at him initially when you had left for New York. But she didn't blame him much. thanks to Sohee. But he was aware that his mother had been speaking to you every day since you left. He knew his mother was the kind of person that made efforts for people and you were a good person. So he had no qualms about it.

"She's been talking to her too. They're more like friends now I guess."

"Well have you thought about when you are going to talk to y/n?" Taehyung had no answer to this question. This was a question that he didn't even want to remotely think about. It took him six months to come to terms with the fact that Sohee was not a part of his life anymore.

"I don't know yet." Namjoon frowned at the way Taehyung answered with a straight face. He was going to have to talk to her someday. You were his wife, after all. Irrespective of how and why The truth could not be changed. And he was worried about what if his dongsaeng couldn't accept it.

"Taehyungah you know right y/n is your wife now and you will have to speak to her someday."

"We will see about Hyung." Taehyung left the room abruptly, not wanting to answer any more questions. What answers was he supposed to give his Hyung if he did not have any?

For Taehyung, there were more important things to worry about. His parents' anniversary was coming up and he had plans. This was supposed to be a trip he was going to take with them along with Sohee. This was supposed to be the first family trip that they would be taking as a family and Ta ehyung had been extremely excited about it.

He had known his mother had been dying to go to Greece. But somehow she wanted it to be a family trip, too. Since it had been too rare an occurrence for Taehyung to go on a trip with his family without being recognized.

But Taehyung had already made up his mind. He was going on this trip with or without Sohee. All the arrangements had been made. The tickets and the hotels were booked. The itinerary was fixed. All he had to do was go on that trip with his parents. Spend time with them and forget the world for a while.

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

One week before the trip:

The room fell silent when Taehyung walked into the practice room. The boys were still fighting over who was supposed to tell him the news. Taehyung sensed the weird energy in the room the moment he walked in. He quickly threw his bottle over the rack and side-eyed everyone. He knew the looks on the other six members' faces when they were about to give bad news or if they were nervous about something.

"What is it?" Taehyung spoke a little louder. But everyone looked the same. Nervous and unsure of what to say.

"We need to go to the US." Namjoon finally spoke up using the leader's voice. A voice that he used only when he knew the situation could spiral out of control.

"Isn't that a good thing?" What are we going for?" Taehyung tied his shoe laces while the others sat frozen in their spots. He was still confused about the silence in the room.

"We have been invited to speak at the UNGA," Yoongi spoke up, making Taehyung look up. Wasn't this a good thing? Speaking at the United Nations? That would be a second time, but taking care of it was going to be such an important event.

"Okay, what is it? Why do you guys look like this?" The rest of the members took a closer step toward him. Namjoon and Jin had already instructed everyone to proceed with caution in this area. The past few months had been turbulent enough for Taehyung and this trip was something he was looking forward to.

"We leave next Monday Tae." Hobi finally spoke up, and it took a second for Taehyung to realize what he meant. Next Monday. He was supposed to leave for Greece on Sunday night. Now he understood why everyone was so nervous about it.

"I think we should start the rehearsals now, We must be late." Taehyung quickly stood up and took his position. The others looked at him like he had lost it, but they were afraid to probe further. The state that he was in nowadays didn't need too much probing.

"Tae the invitation was very last minute, We couldn't do much about it." Namjoon tried explaining his perspective to Taehyung, who just nodded.

"Hyung you don't need to explain yourself, If this could be avoided then you would have. Let's start the rehearsals please." The boys quickly got in their positions once they heard the edge in his voice.

Taehyung took deep breaths to calm himself down. The voice inside him drowned out the second the music started, but it still didn't keep him away from his thoughts. Why couldn't he have one thing he wanted in life? He couldn't even blame anyone. Standing at the UNGA in front of world diplomats was a chance very few people got. They could never let this go. This was their chance to be the voice of change and do their bit.

It was all his fate. While it kept giving him ten folds. It took back equally as well. Like always, he knew his mother would understand. She wouldn't complain and his father would pacify him instead. His parents were gems. They always took everything with a smile on their faces. But Taehyung knew how much his parents wanted to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary with their son. Once again, fate had him thinking. What if he was just another normal person away from all of this showbiz?

Taehyung disconnected the call for the tenth time. Not finding the courage to dial the number and give his parents the news. Finally, when he thought he had the courage, he called his dad's number. But two rings later he felt himself deflate. But he was a second too late. His mother receiving the call on the other end.

"Eomma how are you?" Taehyung still couldn't find the words in him to express what he wanted to say.

"Congratulations Son."

"What for?"

"Your eomma saw the news son, Congratulations on making it to UNGA." Taehyung panicked internally at the mention of the UN. It was time he had to start explaining.

"Thank you, Appa. But the trip was too sudden. We–

"No need to explain son, We are proud of you. We can take the trip sometime else." Taehyung breathed a sigh of relief. But the guilt kept weighing him down. He knew how badly his parents wanted to spend time with him.

"Appa but

"Taehyung relax, We are proud of you. Trust me it's alright. The fact that you are going to be part of such an important event gives me more happiness than any trip we could have taken." Taehyung had no words to express how grateful he was to have such understanding parents. Taehyung spoke some more to his parents; he promised them he would take time out to take a trip to Greece along with his parents. Taehyung hung up the call with a smile. He was indeed blessed. He had to just check his schedule now to make some time to plan this trip. Just how he wished he could spend the anniversary with them? The smile that could have been bought on his parent's face would be priceless.

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

"Hello, Auntie."

"Hello dear." You sensed something with the way Mrs. Kim's smile didn't reach her eyes. Her daily video calls were your dose of serotonin and her smile and warm words would always light up even your worst days.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh nothing wrong, Why did you feel so?" Your eyes caught the way Mrs. Kim was looking down at her already manicured nails.

"You've been talking to me daily for the past six months, You think I wouldn't notice if something was wrong?" Mrs. Kim looked up and immediately the sad smile caught your attention. Something was indeed wrong.

"You know I told you about the trip right?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Well the boys are going to be attending the UNGA this year, So the trip got canceled. I am happy but it's just that I was looking forward to spending some time with Taehyung."

"Oh, that's happy and sad at the same time."

"It is. My poor boy couldn't even properly celebrate this important event because he is already guilty enough that he won't be spending the anniversary with us."

"Auntie doesn't be sad, I'm sure he is going to plan this trip super soon."

"It's not the trip Y/nah, I was looking forward to meeting Taehyung and spending some time with him you know."

"I understand Auntie. But I am sure you are going to spend time with him super soon. I just know it." You didn't know for real. But you did not like the way Mrs. Kim looked sad. She had come to New York to just check on you. There could be something that could bring a smile to her face.

You spoke a little more with Mrs. Kim about the boy's visit to the US, but the idea was still taking shape in your mind. So what if Taehyung couldn't come to them, they could go to him. But if they really could, that needed to be checked. And the maknaes latest Instagram story of working out with Jimin turned out to be just that.

You hung up the call exchanging your greetings, and then dialed straight to the one and only Jeon Jungkook.

"Noona, How are you? Where are you?" You laughed at the youngest impatient tone. He was always the over-excited one.

"I am doing just fine Kookie, How have you been?"

"I am good, Just getting done with working out with Jimin."

"Good Good. Congratulations on the UN by the way. So proud of you all."

"Thank you Y/n." Your face lit up in a smile when you heard both of them yell the thank you in unison. You thought for a second before approaching the topic. But then you threw caution to the wind. Worst case scenario, the surprise wouldn't go as planned.

"Uhh Kookie, Is Tae around?"

"No Noona, He is busy with Yoongi and Namjoon Hyung."

"Good. Tell me what does your schedule look like after your UNGA appearance?"

"Okay, We have a two-day gap after which we fly back to Seoul. Why do you ask?"

"When is your appearance?"

"On the 25th, why?"

"Perfect, that means you have the 26th free right?"

"Noona what's going on?"

"You know it's Taehyung's parents' anniversary right on the 26th? I just spoke to Auntie and she kind of seemed sad because she was looking forward to spending the day with him."

"Okay go on." The two voices on the other end spoke in unison, and that gave you the confirmation. You now had the full attention of Jungkook and Jimin.

"So what if we could plan something for his parent's anniversary? I'm sure Uncle and Auntie would love to see him on their anniversary as they planned. You help me get their son."

"Their son's name is Taehyung, Who also happens to be your husband."

"Oh really? Thank You, Jimin. I didn't know that Taehyung was my husband if not for you."

"Good."

"Okay Jokes apart–

"Noona Tae is your husband and it's not a joke."

"You two gonna help me or not?" You tried to keep your voice stern, but the other two on the end were someone who you could barely keep a straight face on when they were in front of you.

"Calm down Noona, We are here for you."

"Good. Now tell me how we can get this thing going."

The call ended up stretching up for an hour and the three of you decided on the logistics of the surprise. You were doing it for Mrs. Kim. The woman was almost a mother to you. And the way Mrs. Kim had been so warm in welcoming you to her family was way more than expected.

She could have easily let things be or just expected you to stay back in Korea with her son. Like any mother-in-law would do. But the fact that she chose to value your dreams and your ambitions spoke a lot about her as a person. The Kims were very warm and very welcoming when you were concerned. Not to mention, they took a trip to New York just to visit you.

Overall, Jimin and Jungkook understood when you explained to them the reason you wanted to pull this off. For what they did. This was the least you could do. Of course, Taehyung would be happier in the process, too. The guy deserved a break from all that was happening to him.

Now all that was left to do was to find a way to get the Kims to the US. You cracked your brains the entire day, but you still couldn't come up with a reasonable excuse that would get them on the flight to the US.

By the time the night rolled in you had come up with a solution. A lie. You had to lie. There was no other excuse that could bring the couple here to New York. So you impatiently waited for the next day to arrive so that you could put your plan into action. You went as far as getting your parents involved in the lie. After all, the lies you were going to spew would most definitely put forward a question. Why weren't your parents invited?

You waited for Mrs. Kim's call the next day impatiently, You sometimes held back, calling her on your own, afraid if she could be busy or occupied with something but today you were just pacing around the room waiting for the similar skype tone. Your patience wore thin when it was already five minutes past her usual time.

"Hello, Y/nah I was about to call you."

"Auntie you were five minutes late, So I called up." The impatience in your tone drew out a chuckle from Mrs.Kim.

"Oh I am sorry dear, Tell me what are you so excited about?"

"How did you know I am excited?"

"Oh, Y/n I can understand by now with the tone of your voice." You smiled at the way she already knew something was brewing in your mind.

"So Auntie we have a ceremony in uni where I am going to display my first short film, Will you and Uncle come?"

"That's amazing y/n. We would love it too. I'll speak to Chahee and make plans."

"Umm Auntie, Eomma, and Appa are a little occupied with a family engagement. But I want you and Uncle to be there for me."

"That's Okay dear, We would love to. I am happy that you asked us." You smiled at Mrs. Kim's words. The woman was a sweetheart. She didn't even ask questions. She just agreed.

"But, Auntie, the ceremony falls on the day of your anniversary. It's okay, right?

"Oh y/n it's okay, We would love to celebrate our anniversary with you."

"Perfect Auntie, Thank you so much." You continue your conversation with both of them like you always did, Though you kept praying internally now that they had plans of visiting the US, Everything would go to the drain if they ended up calling Tae.

But fortunately for you. Neither of that happened. Since the boys were busy with the preparation for their trip to the US, Tae probably couldn't find the time and his parents didn't, maybe because they didn't want to disturb him. Things worked in your favor.

The actual event leading to their celebration was tossed and turned over multiple times. Sometimes over the venue. Sometimes over the choices of what to do and what not to do.

Soon enough, what was supposed to be a small surprise turned out to be a full-blown extravaganza courtesy of six billionaires and six concerned and extremely excited friends. All six of them contributed to the surprise get-together. While you did it for Mrs. Kim, the rest of the guys did it for their Tae.

You were just hoping he wouldnt misunderstand it.

378 notes · View notes

triple-asstro · 1 year

Text

Salaì Chapter 3: Sock and Buskin

chapter count: 1 | 2 |

word count: 2k

pairing: 2012!leo x reader

tags: leo being an idiot, slow burn, fluff and humor, comfort

summary: A new vigilante named Salaí has taken the streets of New York, sending an increase in missing and injured criminals. This seemingly new vigilante shocks the turtles in town and with the help of Reader, they try to figure out who this vigilante is. Surprise, its Reader, knowingly leading an investigation against themself. Hopefully, no one falls in love.

A/N: i hope you all enjoy this one, i'm going to be posting hopefully every wednesday (possibly later for everyone on tumblr) and i hope you all have an amazing rest of your week!

ao3

song: Sparky Deathcap - September

The next day at school didn’t dampen your thoughts about your encounter from yesterday. Dressed in medium-length black sweatpants and a light blue t-shirt, you tried to take your mind of things by volleyball, but alas, it was useless. With one more hard hit, the ball was sent flying into the other team’s area, as you huffed out and prepared to defend.

“Sorry if this is completely off but, you okay?”

“Hm?” you murmured, looking to your right to see a girl with straight black hair, dark coffee skin and an array of freckles covering her face. This was your close friend, Shreya, who with her sweet eyes and head-forwardness made her look abnormal being paired with you.

“Oh, sorry Shreya, I’m alright.”

“Okay, you’ve just been spaced out lately. Is something on your mind?”

“Oh yeah, yesterday I met a cosplayer during my study session at Mr Murakami’s shop.”

“Really?” she asked, tilting her head in surprise, blocking one hit from her left. “What kind of cosplay was he wearing?”

“You won’t believe this, a ninja-turtle hybrid,” you whispered, silently giggling to yourself watching her eyes widen even more.

“That’s awesome! I have to find this guy.”

“Yeah, we need to know his secrets!” you whispered teasingly. Before you knew it, the sound of a whistle brought you away from the net and sitting down with your knees hugging your chest around the gym teacher, eyes squinting and arms crossed.

“I am slightly impressed with your guys' work today, but we need to step it up. Next practice, I better see no crooked arms and no kicking the ball!”

Once she finished talking, you began to pack your bag away, stuffing your belongings in before rushing out of the gym. Shreya was quickly following behind you, huffing and puffing until you made it to the stone steps.

“Wait, slow down man! Class doesn’t start until 3pm .” Shreya remarked, huffing and puffing.

“I know, it’s just-” you muttered before a shrill gust of wind knocked you both on your sides, lying on the concrete.

“I was going to say, I have to babysit this girl for the Dobsons sometime next week and sometimes my mom schedules things for me without telling me and it could be today but I have no clue.”

“That sounds weird. What’s her name?” she asked, hopping back on her feet before offering you her hand. You took in willingly, groaning when she hauled you back up.

“I have no idea, but you’re right. It’s weird. Oh, did you hear that Dylan and Casey got into another brawl?”

“What happened?”

“The gist of it is that Dylan caught Casey checking out his girlfriend, Casey denied it,” you explained, bumping your fists together. “Brawl.”

“Doesn’t Casey have a hockey game today? Those two are idiots,” she spat, squinting her eyes. “Why

would anyone get into a fight for something so stupid?”

“I know, it reminds me of when this girl tried to gift you an entire boatload of roses for Valentines Day to date you.”

“Don’t try to remind me. It happens every Valentine's Day and I want it to stop, but I can’t say no to them. They put effort into getting those and it would be rude to say no.”

“It really wouldn’t. Just tell me who’s harassing you and I’ll brawl ,” you stated, whispering the last word while bumping your fists together, making her giggle.

“Alright, alright.” she chuckled, pushing your arm away, her thick metal band stinged your warm skin. As you guys talked, it watched. Far away and on top of a water tank, it watched, observing your every move with its amber eyes. For now, it’d gathered all the information she needed and escaped into the early afternoon shadows.

The afternoon dusk slowly receded back, letting the early night overtake the sky and letting the beautiful blinding lights of Manhattan shine. Tonight is especially an important night, since it was the night of Casey’s hockey game. He’d been boasting about it for a while but this time, it was happening in real time in front of the entire school. Unfortunately, due to the crushing amount of schoolwork you had to complete and the whole vigilantism hour creeping soon, you couldn’t attend. Thankfully, Shreya was livestreaming the entire thing through her phone, as you scribbled away another science formula.

You had to finish an entire worksheet, comprised of six pages, all in one night prepared for next week o n top of editing an entire essay for your humanities class for Wednesday next week. You were adamant on studying and overall working on the weekends, but with the way things were unravelling, it seemed like that would be the outcome.

A ping from your phone sent you scrambling for it, careful not to tip over your drink that was already watered down. It was another text from Leonardo, the ‘ninja-turtle’ cosplayer.

da vinci man:

Hey Y/N, it’s me.

y/n:

uhh who?

da vinci man:

It’s me, Leonardo. You don’t remember?

y/n:

oh no i remember.

im just messing with you

da vinci man:

Oh. Really?

y/n:

yeah lol

what’s up?

da vinci man:

Nothing much, I just got back from having to scold my brothers. Again.

y/n:

wait you have brothers?

da vinci man:

Yeah.

I have three brothers.

y/n:

damn, that’s a lot

i only have one sibling

da vinci man:

Oh, what’s their name?

y/n:

maise. she’s at college tho.

she used to irritate me a lot but now i miss her

da vinci man:

Ha. I know that feeling a lot. Trust me.

It’s annoying having to handle my brothers all the time too.

y/n:

yeah but at least i get a break every once in a while

you get those right?

leo

leo you’re being way too quiet

da vinci man:

Sorry, yeah! Of course I do!

y/n:

you’re an awful liar

ok meet me at the park near Barker street

meet you there

da vinci man:

What?

That’s all Leonardo could type. As he stared at the text, blinking periodically trying to process what he’d j ust agreed to. He sighed, clutching his T-Phone and leant against the wall. Hopping out of bed, he grabbed his katanas, sheathing them back into their holders and put on one of the hoodies that you gave him, one with a bluebell and purple lilac sewn on the sleeve cuffs. Before he could walk out, he opened the door to find Raph, leaning against the frame on his hip.

“Where are you going?” he questioned, attitude laced in his tone.

“On patrol,” he stated, passing by him and walking out.

“Alright, another one,” Raph sighed, clutching onto his sais.

“No, I’m going alone for this one.”

“Alone? Why?”

“Because it’s important. If Mikey or Donnie need anything, just use the T-Phone.” Leo said, pointing to his T-Phone before rushing out, leaving a confused Raphael.

Lifting off the cover, Leonardo snuck out of it, leaping onto the fire escape and climbing to the rooftops. He kept running, leaping from roof to roof and feeling the crisp air flow through his body; the sweet smell of fresh air still invigorated him like it did a few months ago when he first went up to the surface. That moment keeps playing in Leonardo’s head, relooping with the memories and feelings; all of this unknown that surprises him to this day.

He then felt the sudden lack of ground and the increasingly worrying amount of falling and with a crash into a dumpster, he’d realised he had fallen. Embarrassment stained his face, as he could hear the scuttling footsteps approach his spot.

“That’s a way to make an impression, Blue.” you snickered, offering your hand towards him to which he grabbed, pulling him out of the dumpster. As you placed him back up his feet, you gave him a sweet smile towards him as he awkwardly rubbed his neck.

“What are we doing here, man? ”

“I’m giving you this,” you said, ignoring his awkward comment and dug through your bag, handing him a soda, a generic one you picked up from the convenience store. You shook the drink, signalling him to take the drink but he shook his head.

“Oh no thank you.”

“Do you not drink soda?” you asked,

“Yeah, I don’t. It’ll ruin my physique .”

“Ruin your physique? Okay, I believe you.” you chuckled, packing the drink back into your bag and hoisted it back onto your back. Glancing over towards the middle of the park, you saw a small yellow swing with two seats swaying slightly in the wind. You nodded your head towards the swing and sped towards one of the seats, motioning Leo to come along.

“Come on! Swing with me.”

“Why?”

“Since you mentioned that you haven’t taken a break-”

“I never said that.”

“You did, not verbally but you did. Anyway, I wanted to introduce you to something that I do on my breaks that calm me down. Which is swinging. Do you do meditation?”

“Yes,” he answered, sitting down on the opposing swing and almost falling on the ground if it weren’t for you catching him by the arm. “I do meditation with my sensei-”

“You have a sensei?”

“Yeah, he teaches me ninjutsu and meditation.”

“Cool,” you said, pushing off of the ground and swaying back and forth. “Well, swinging is similar to meditation to me. When you sway, you can feel the worries melt from your mind.”

Leo clutched onto the chains, pushing off the ground hard and tucking his legs in, letting him swing far and making his eyes widen in shock. You smiled, watching him react so newly to a swing, as he came back to his original position.

“So?”

“That was… new. I’m not trying that again.”

“That’s because you pushed too hard, push it with less force. Like this,” you said, pushing off the ground and letting yourself swing back and forth, watching as Leo matched your actions with utmost attention and determination. You both swung together, almost in sync as you slowly took deep breaths in. The surroundings began to blur together, as a tiny spark of tranquillity rested in your ears with ease.

You halted your feet into the ground, stopping and turning towards Leo, who had a calm expression on his face. “So? Relaxing right?”

“I agree. Relaxing indeed.”

“So, your brothers. Tell me about them.”

“Well, I have three. There’s Raph, he’s mostly a hothead. There’s Donnie, he’s a tech whiz and there’s Mikey, he’s the party dude.”

“Wow, your brothers seem nice. I hope I can meet them someday.”

“Yeah, while they get on my nerves, I still appreciate them.”

“What about you?”

“Well, I’m the leader.” he stated.

You stared at him with confusion. “Okay, and?”

“What?”

“You’re a leader. That’s a role, not who you are. Who are you?”

Leo paused, thinking about what you just said. He tried to scavenge something, something to say so he didn’t look like a complete fool. But he couldn’t. No matter how hard he tried, nothing came up. Simply the word leader. Because that’s what Leo was. A leader. Nothing more and nothing less.

“I… don’t know.” was all he could say.

“Alright.” you said, staring at him with sincere eyes. As you kept swinging, Leo kept staring into oblivion. You knew he needed some time to himself and you were more than willing to give him that. It was a sweet moment of silence; something midnights are well-known for.

A ringing echoed from Leo’s phone which halted you in your tracks. He picked it up, and placed it to his ear. You could hear an angry voice on the other side spouting something about a Krang invasion near the power plant but Leo muffled it with his hand, hopefully what you made out made sense.

“Sorry, I’ve gotta go. I have to go… water my orchid.”

“No, it’s fine. I understand.” you nodded, watching as he nodded back and ran away into the night. You knew immediately what you heard was a lie.

So, why not go see what he’s so caught up with?

#tmnt 2k12 #tmnt #tmnt fic #tmnt x reader #leonardo x reader #2012!leo x reader #2012 leo x reader #2012 leo #teenage mutant ninja turtles 2012 #fluff #fanfic update

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nordleuchten · 1 year

Note

Lafayette visited London!? Please tell me more!

Dear @my-deer-friend,

here you go!

In early 1777, La Fayette was already showing much more enthusiasm for the American cause than his father-in-law, the Duc d’Ayen, liked. The Duc’s brother, Emmanuel Marie Louis, marquis de Noailles, had just taken up his post as French ambassador to the British court and the Duc seized this opportunity to send his son-in-law over. He hoped seeing London in person would tamper his enthusiasm (we all know that it did not.) La Fayette travelled with the Prince de Poix.

The group travelled from Calais and initially planed to cross the channel on February 21, 1777 but bad weather made them change their plans and so they arrived on February 24, 1777 in London. La Fayette wrote Adrienne the following day (February 25):

We have arrived in London, dear heart, but not without difficulty. The time we spent at Calais was very boring, but we finally got here yesterday. I write to you from the home of the Marquis de Noailles, who received us very warmly. We have as yet seen only a few men this morning. We have just dined with our ambassador, and we are about to leave for the opera; then we are invited to a supper. At the ball tonight we shall see all the ladies. I still think Paris is preferable to London, even though we have been received very agreeably here. I am very impatient to see all the young women, and the famous Duchess of Devonshire. We make our entry into society this evening. I very much hope that the prince will conduct himself well. He claims that I am always afraid that he will say something stupid.

Idzerda Stanley J. et al., editors, Lafayette in the Age of the American Revolution: Selected Letters and Papers, 1776–1790, Volume 1, December 7, 1776–March 30, 1778, Cornell University Press, 1977, p. 28-31.

Although La Fayette sounded a bit skeptical of London, his opinion soon changed. He wrote his wife Adrienne on February 28, 1777:

For once, dear heart, I am just like these gentlemen. London is a delightful city, I am overwhelmed with kindnesses, and I only have time for pleasure here. All the men are polite and obliging. To us, all the women are pretty, and good company. Amusements are more lively than in Paris. We dance all night, and, perhaps because my dancing is more on a par with everyone else's, I like the ball here, for there are some fine figures in my new country. The Marquis de Noailles is charming, and very attentive to us. He is highly esteemed in London, and maintains his station very well. It is true that I am inclined to see everything in the best light. I am already almost as much a part of London society as I am of that of Paris. (…) I have a thousand things to do this evening, concluding with a ball, for we never retire here before five A.M.

He wrote again to Adrienne on March 1, 1777:

The diversions of London maintain a rapid pace, and even I, who am not accustomed to a secluded life, am amazed at their liveliness. To leave the dinner table at seven-thirty and have supper between two and three A.M. at first struck me as a very bad practice. I am enjoying myself very much here. There are some truly charming women and some men who are very friendly and full of kindness for us. When you can draw the women from their precious gatherings, and the men from their clubs, to bring them into company [one or two illegible words], they are very agreeable.

La Fayette wrote one last time to Adrienne from London on March 7, 1777:

I look forward to hearing more today; no matter how great the bustle of London, I am always thinking impatiently about post days, and I am elated when they arrive. We dance, we dine, we always stay up very late, and our activities have been related to scarcely anything but society. Today, however, I took a walk with M. de La Rochette (whom I can never leave) to the port of London and several notable places in this city. Tomorrow or the day after we are going to Portsmouth, armed with an ample supply of introductions, which will enable us to see everything. They continue to overwhelm us with kindness in this country, and nowhere in the world could we be treated more pleasantly. M. de Poix is the great arbiter of fashion and creates hair styles for all these ladies, but these ladies only. We are eagerly awaiting our friend Etienne, who is traveling slowly with the Duke of Dorset. However, we hope to have some news of him eventually. The English are convinced that there will be war, or rather they predict it. In truth, one need not be terribly shrewd to see that it will come, at least after a time. Here, however, I do not let on that I am convinced of it. Today I dine with a man whom I have met only when he was running about town with Mile Grandi, and whom I was astonished to see again here in possession of a wife and a house, which is beautiful if not fine, whereas it is said that his wife is neither of those. All in all, I am annoyed to be obliged to go there and my ill humor about it is even greater as I am compelled to take leave of you. It is five-fifteen here, the time when people begin to ask if their carriage has arrived. I am going to hurry the prince, who is always on horseback and extremely busy buying horses.

Here is where things took a turn. La Fayette did not went on to visit Portsmouth for two reasons. First, he British fleet, ready to sail to America, was anchoring in Portsmouth and although La Fayette was rather open (or at least as open as he could be) about his admiration for America, he still found it as a breach of confidence for him to visit the British fleet. Second, he was informed that his own ship, La Victoire, was ready to sail and he therefor hastened back to France.

He arrived in Paris either on March 13 or 14 and upon arriving learned that there were still preparations underway. Instead of returning home to his in-laws, he stayed in an inn in Chaillot. He left for Bordeaux with the Baron de Kalb on the evening of March 16, 1777, not before sending one last letter to his father-in-law. La Fayette had begun writing the letter while still in London on March 9, 1777:

You will be astonished, my dear Papa, by what I am about to tell you; it has been more painful than I can say not to have consulted you. My respect, my affection, and my confidence in you must assure you of that. But I had given my word, and you would not have respected me if I had gone back on it, whereas the step that I am taking will, I hope, give you a favorable opinion, at least of my good intentions. I have found a unique opportunity to distinguish myself, and to learn my profession. I am a general officer in the army of the United States of America. My zeal for their cause and my sincerity have won their confidence. On my side, I have done everything I could for them, and their interests will always be more dear to me than my own. In short, my dear Papa, at this very moment I am in London, awaiting news from my friends. As soon as I receive it, I shall leave here and, without stopping in Paris, board a ship that I have equipped, and which belongs to me.

By the time La Fayette arrived in London, his plan to join the American army had already been set in motion. He had purchased La Victoire in early February of 1777 and signed his agreement with Silas Deane on December 7, 1776.

La Fayette met a number of interesting people while in London. He mentioned the Duchess of Devonshire in his letter, what he did not mentioned however, is the fact that he also met the King, George III. Most memorable is perhaps his meeting with General Henry Clinton – the men he would face off in battle only a few months later. Clinton and La Fayette were attending the same performance at the opera and had a very brief conversation in the foyer.

And that concludes La Fayette’s eventful stay in London.

I hope you have/had a fantastic day!

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jaybarou · 3 months

Text

I'm turning some of my most AU fanfics into Original short stories in the hopes of selling them to a publisher. (And thus get some cred to send my CV to Publishers and leave my job)

While I unfic them all, I'll post them here and you can read them with the tag #limited edition. I'll delete them after a few days

<7k words

Freddie is running out of time before the presentation for Stenson Industries and he needs a competent technician yesterday. How fortunate, then, that someone who was waiting and overheard his problem is willing to help.

Freddie burst into the hall and everyone held their breath while the second son of the boss made his way to the head of department. The rest of the employees mourned the poor woman and settled to watch the dismemberment. There were three rules in the company. Number one: Don’t piss off the boss. Rupert was a clever bastard who should have been a lawyer. Number two: Don’t mess with Tim, he was under Rupert’s protection and Rupert would utterly destroy you if you dared contradict the guy. Number three: Keep Freddie as a friend, but only behind Rupert’s back.

Freddie had turned into a tyrant lately. He used to be the most understanding of the three and the one to go to if the others were being unreasonable. The Winter fiasco had taken its toll on him, but even with the new bitterness, he was far more flexible than his relatives and he was your man if you wanted something that was technically off-limits. Going against Freddie was a suicide too, especially after the winter thing. Today Freddie had his ‘I have had a horrid day and I’ll be polite about it until I’m not’ face going on. The head of the department was so doomed.

She didn’t know it yet, though, since Freddie was coming from behind.

“Rosita,” Freddie’s icy tone clued the woman in, so she was properly scared when she turned to face her boss. “May I inquire as to the whereabouts of our IT crew?”

Ow, he was using the big words, he must be royally crossed.

Oh, but the head of department was breathing relieved, she probably had an ace up her sleeve. Anyone who worked at the Intenur Company for longer than a year had to lean to be prepared for their bosses’ moods.

“I alerted them when you asked me; I have sent no less than three messages this week and three more during the morning in anticipation. They assured me that the material would be ready yesterday and that they wouldn’t work on it today.”

Wow! Perfectly deflected blame! And the IT crew wouldn’t have it too bad; they were Tim’s friends. This was not a surprising development all the same; they always messed up Freddie’s tasks, and everyone knew that it wasn’t a coincidence. Tim’s protection was the only explanation as to why they still had a job.

“And the material is there for Tim’s and Rupert’s worthless power points, but I told them there was a compatibility problem with my presentation a week ago.”

“With all due respect, sir, that is not my responsibility.” Rosita had brass balls, or ovaries.

Freddie pinched the bridge of his nose and breathed slowly. “I’m aware; Rosita, but now I need a solution.”

“The other presentations are not causing problems,” she had the cheek to mention.

“Of course not! They are using the company’s system!”

“And why is that a problem? Maybe if you didn’t insist on using your personal computer...”

“It is a problem because it is Pi-21’s stupid technology, Rosita. What kind of impression do you think we will give to Miss Lloid and Mr Stenson if we present our data with their rival’s technology?”

“I’m sure they know by now.” Rosita sent a furtive look at the clients whispering into each other’s ears; a businesswoman and some oil-stained technician. Freddie didn’t spare a look. They were probably gossiping about Freddie’s tantrum; that seemed to be the default these days. Maybe Freddie’s interruption was making them impatient, but Freddie couldn’t care less. He had bigger problems.

“I can’t just transfer my presentation; Pi-21’s software keeps wrecking everything, I could write the transfer code, but not in the next...” Freddie looked at the clock on his mobile. “Not in twenty minutes!”

“I could call the IT crew for you.”

“Today it is Sophie’s shift; she will say that it is my fault, for working with Stenson technology. She only works with simple ‘intuitive’ code like Pi-21’s. I want someone competent!”

One of the two waiting clients approached them.

“I-” he started.

Freddie didn’t give him the chance to complain.

“I’m terribly sorry for the delay, but there is an emergency in the company.” Freddie usually kept his cool like a boss, well, better than the other bosses. He was usually PR’s wet dream, but he could be downright irrational if the situation really got to him. The Winter Project had been proof enough. “Unless you can fix the computers in time, kindly stay put for a few minutes.” The ‘or else’ was implied.

“I certainly could,” the client said cheerfully. Freddie looked at him skeptically.

“But…” Rosita tried to intervene.

“Do you have a solution, Rosita?” Freddie asked.

“Of course she doesn’t, she is a clever girl, Pi-21’s software is not for clever girls. Show me to the problem, Mr Legs.” The man had the gall to walk to the door where Freddie had come from and open it for him.

Freddie regarded the man warily. Twenty minutes. He still had time to look desperately for someone else if the man couldn’t help and fail. “Why not? I’m doomed anyway.” Freddie walked to the door with a sigh.

“But, sir! He is Ryan Stenson!” Too late; the door was closed. “I’m so screwed,” Rosita muttered thinking of the moment when Rupert heard how she had failed to stop Freddie.

Miss Lloid put an understanding hand on her arm; she probably knew a thing or two about trouble with bosses.

Freddie took the man to the conference room where he would have to meet the head of Stenson Industries. He had his custom Stenson laptop there with his presentation and an enormous mess showing on the Pi-21 screen of the company. There wasn’t even an error message, just all the text overlapped with the images and the data, and then it had frozen. If Rupert wasn’t such a resentful man, they’d have Stenson’s holo-displays everywhere instead of that waste of space that Pi-21 called technology. Unfortunately, Rupert would own the company for as long as he lived and Tim would follow his steps like a trained monkey.

The unexpected client-turned-help didn’t ask for permission, he just sat in front of Freddie’s computer as if it was his. He sent a disdainful look at the problematic frozen screen and he turned to Freddie with an amused smile to say: “Let’s start with archaic solutions for archaic technology.” Then the technician crouched to unplug the projector.

“I’ve done exactly the same more than once today.” It was the only way to unfreeze the projector, but Freddie resented the know-it-all attitude of the technician.

The man seemed to take that as a challenge, so he cracked his knuckles and promptly opened the familiar black window of MS-DOS. He started to write while Freddie looked over his shoulder. He was pulling pieces of code that Freddie had not considered, and he didn’t even need to do much after he was done. He just opened the Stenson software for presentations and saved the file that Freddie pointed out in a format that wasn’t there before the man had touched the computer.

The smug bastard had a cheeky smile when he presented Freddie with the pen drive.

Freddie saved all his praise until he plugged the USB drive on the projector and it miraculously worked. The clock on the screen said it had taken the technician… less than five minutes. Freddie was pleasantly surprised; he was going to thank the stranger, but then the presentation played the music that Freddie had saved without hope of it working.

“This thing never plays music, at least never at the same time as the presentation!” He let himself slouch on the chair closest to the projector. The presentation was saved.

“It was just too easy,” the smug technician commented.

“I would have managed with a bit more than twenty minutes,” Freddie said, pride a bit hurt.

“If your coding is as good as your people skills, twenty minutes would have easily become a week of work.”

“What gives you the right to say that?” Freddie protested.

“You have not even asked my name.”

Freddie pursed his lips. Despite having collapsed on the seat, he was tense all over. He had been stressed since he found trouble with the presentation a week ago and predicted more trouble with IT on top of the other preparations. The man was right, he had been snappy and the presentation hadn’t even started yet, so he took the chance to breathe deeply. And to collect his politeness from the depths of despair.

“Excuse my manners, I-”

“Yes, you don’t need my name, just my services,” the man cut him without retracting that annoying smirk of his.

“Fortunately your coding is better than your own people skills, then,” Freddie said, annoyed.

“No, just as good, people love me, I have people skills to spare somewhere, just not today, and I have a lot of class.”

“And what are you implying there exactly?”

“That music in your presentation? Tacky.” Let it be known that Freddie knew when he was being mocked and when he was being teased, he just had more experience with the former.

“I didn’t expect it to work and I can put whatever music I want, because the content is solid.”

“Show me.”

Freddie leaned forward. “What?”

“I said show me!” The technician leaned forward too. “You have time, right? I want to see the monster I helped to create.”

Freddie didn’t have time to reply, because the man stood up, took the remote control from the table, walked in front of the screen and played the presentation. Freddie did have the time now; Stenson should be with Tim and his unproductive dreams of harnessing storms to generate electricity. The technician’s opinion wouldn’t be very enlightening, but this way Freddie would have the chance to check his own presentation one last time.

“This section, why is it so short?” The technician said about the grid connection as he sat on the table. Freddie sat next to him.

It was Freddie’s favorite section, but Rupert didn’t like it, so Freddie had only sneaked a basic idea. He was quite proud of having passed it under the old man’s nose.

“Rupert is old school.” Freddie smirked privately. “He likes the old power plants and he hates Stenson. Hates that his green approach to energy is harming our productivity, and he doesn’t see that an update could benefit both of us. After all, as you see here, we already have a power grid that Stenson wants; we would only have to update the power plants. It would be a great investment, but he doesn’t like it.”

The technician crossed his arms. “He doesn’t like Stenson?”

Freddie laughed. “It is more than dislike. Stenson is the bane of his existence, as Rupert says: who does he think he is, that short-sighted idiot? or whatever short joke he thinks at that moment; apparently the man is quite short.”

“Yes, people say that. Go on.”

“Well, Father always says that Stenson will destroy America, because Forbes might call him a hero but his technology is destroying jobs everywhere, his words, not mine.” Freddie rolled his eyes.

The technician kept playing the presentation and smirked at one of the references.

“That is the project I… saw in a magazine about Stenson. It is not well known, is it? Have you been stalking him or something?”

“I’ve done my research. That high-entropy alloy project is spectacular, but it is not showy enough for the press, or the shareholders, Miss Lloid and he will probably value that Intenur-”

“Your boss is not here, Legs.”

Freddie hesitated for a moment, but the man was smart, he was learning how the Intenur Company worked incredibly fast.

“They will value that I recognize the real potential out of the flashy prototypes for the general public.”

“Are you saying that they lie with their flashy prototypes?”

Freddie looked the technician dead in the eye.

“Of course they do. That’s what marketing is about.”

“Would you tell them that to their face?”

“Of course not. Rupert would behead me if I did something to hamper his deal.”

“Why would he want a deal with a man he hates?”

“I convinced him that he could push his hate aside for the good of the company and to leave a better legacy to Tim.”

“The company, of course, because clean energy and the bigger picture are nothing compared to stock numbers.”

“Obviously you have never discussed it with Rupert. I told him what he needed to hear; I won’t jeopardize the ‘bigger picture’ as you say, by telling him something as feeble as the whole truth.” Freddie leaned his hip against the table. “Then the shareholders gossiped about Stenson and how easy it would be to negotiate some changes with him and Rupert was sold.”

“Huh? And what did they say about Stenson?”

“Why do you ask?”

The technician shrugged and grinned. “Because I want to keep listening to your voice, but I don’t think you’d appreciate me distracting you from the topic.”

Freddie raised an eyebrow at the blatant flirting, but let it slide. “They said that it takes a lot to keep Stenson interested in a single topic unless it is really engaging, but they also told us to use eye-candy to keep him involved.” Freddie allowed himself a private smile, the one that people compared with a snake’s. “Tim called his girlfriend to play the part of eye-candy. She is an expert in the field of his presentation, so he was terribly angry that she was called only for her looks.”

The technician shared his smile with the same subtle touch of cruelty that Freddie found… endearing.

“Maybe you should have read more magazines, and you would know that you put eye-candy in your presentation anyway?”

The technician was looking up and down at Freddie quite obviously. Freddie’s lip twitched and he retreated any endearing thought that had passed through his mind.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean he swings both ways, you know?” Freddie didn’t dignify that with an answer, which was a bad decision, because the technician came back. “Don’t tell me you are one of those bigoted idiots who think bisexuality is just...”

“You are lucky I needed you. That comment would have you in the street by yesterday if you worked here.” Freddie didn’t appreciate being called bigoted; he had enough putting up with Rupert daily trying to keep his second son’s “scandalous ways” in the closet, thank you very much. “I was merely surprised; I don’t think I’ve ever been called eye-candy before.”

“Why the hell not? Do you usually hang out with blind people? Wait, Rupert is the guy with the eye-patch, right? Does that count as half-blind?”

“That is very insensitive of you.” Freddie chastised, but his twitching lip was persistent. He would love to say it was annoyance, but deep down he knew it was amusement.

“Let me guess; that comment would put me in the street by yesterday if I worked here. How lucky that I don’t actually work here, don’t you think?” The man had no sense of self-reservation. “And let me tell you, if your definition of eye-candy is allowed to have brains, you totally qualify, take it from an expert in eye-candyness.”

“An expert.” Freddie deadpanned with only a badly concealed hint of interest showing.

“An expert indeed! I look into the mirror every day, after all.”

Freddie pretended to think seriously, looking the technician up and down on his spot sitting on the table. He was indeed quite handsome, but Freddie was not going to make the same mistake twice and appreciate a man within Rupert’s earshot. “No, I don’t really see it.” Despite the words, Freddie sent a challenging look at the technician that contradicted is words, just in case the presentation went well and Freddie decided to celebrate when he went home.

“I’ll have you know I look amazing in a suit, in any suit, or with nothing at all, I’m only wearing the workshop uniform to piss… my friend off. Hell, I could wear a corset and stockings and I’d still look hot as-”

Freddie’s phone pinged. He put a hand up to make the technician stop for a moment while he read Tim’s message and his face fell a little.

“Apparently the eye-candy won’t be necessary after all. Tim says that Stenson didn’t come; it was only Miss Lloyd in his presentation, and apparently she is headed here.” Freddie looked at the clock. “Early. You should probably leave, ask Rosita anything you want at the front desk and tell her I approved it. She’ll make an invoice if necessary.”

“Unless she’s giving me your phone number I’m staying.”

Freddie glared at the man.

“What? Pi-21’s technology is famously unreliable as fuck. What if you suddenly need a dashing hero to help you?”

Freddie glared harder.

“I told you that I wanted to keep hearing you; what makes you think you’ll get rid of me anytime soon?”

Unfortunately for Freddie, Rosita showed Miss Lloyd into the conference room at that exact moment and Freddie had to put on his public mask and shake hands with the woman. Lloyd excused Stenson for not coming. She said something about a last moment change of plans; she also said that her chief engineer was prone to last-minute impulses and ideas while sending a look at the technician by Freddie’s side. There was no polite way to get rid of the man in front of Lloyd, though, and the man knew it. So he rolled on with his presence and ignored Ms Lloyd’s look. She’d have to suffer his presence too.

Freddie would have said something scathing about Stenson’s absence, but his lips were sewn as long as there was a possibility of a deal on the horizon.

The presentation ended up being a disaster and it was the technician’s fault. He kept interrupting Freddie and addressing Ms Lloyd directly, to Freddie’s chagrin. Freddie couldn’t explain the man’s presence now and he couldn’t just throw him away in front of Ms Lloyd. His comments were on point, but Miss Lloyd wouldn’t appreciate that someone that Freddie had not even introduced interrupted like that. Also, Freddie had prepared the presentation with Stenson in mind, he didn’t know as much about the discrete CEO.

A complete disaster.

Ms Lloyd left the room an hour later to speak with Rupert and as soon as the door closed behind her, Freddie collapsed on one of the rolling chairs. The technician was giggling like Freddie’s career wasn’t crumbling before his eyes.

“That was brilliant!”

“No it wasn’t. You were interrupting!”

“I assure you she won’t mind, she is used to much worse.” And as an afterthought he added, “probably.”

“Even if that is true, I don’t think Rupert will see it your way.”

Freddie wallowed a bit more in his misery before the technician derailed his train of thought.

“If Stenson had known what kind of presentation you had in your hands, he wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”

“I guess we will never know.”

“Hey! I’m telling you! I’m sure!”

Freddie huffed sarcastically, but the technician was having none of it. “How come you know about a small project of Stenson but you ignore the most basic things that everybody knows about him?” He had an elbow planted on the table and his teasing tone was both baffled and soft at the same time.

“When I started to investigate I didn’t know he was a celebrity. When I realized he was, I did everything in my power to avoid yellow-press literature. It’s just too unreliable, and it would poison my own vision.” Freddie was defensive over his choices. “I think that reading his papers is enough. Don’t you think?”

“You have read his papers?” His eyebrows lifted briefly.

“And patents. Of course.”

“But most of his patents have nothing to do with clean energy, why would you read those too?”

“He is quite inventive; the material innovations were clean solutions. Masterpieces in a field that still managed to convey how his mind works. You can follow his thought process by-”

“Reverse engineering?” The technician ended his phrase. Freddie didn’t like how surprised he looked.

“I might come across as Rupert’s left hand, and the convenient scapegoat but I assure you that I’m more than the company’s tool.”

“I don’t know you,” the technician showed his hands conciliatory. “Maybe you should show me how much more you are.”

“Don’t play with me. It is not a good moment.” Freddie regarded the technician; he wouldn’t be trouble. “I planned today’s meeting with a high risk to my career, things are already terrible as they are.

“Why risk so much? You would have convinced The CEO of Pi-21 instead easily.”

“First, no matter what Intenur does, I only deal with the best and second… Well, I was looking forward to meeting him in person.”

“Why?”

“That is not your concern.” Freddie knew he had said the wrong thing, because now this man’s interest was piqued.

“Awww, how cute, you have a crush on him!”

“What? No! I don’t know him!”

“Yes you do, why would you bother otherwise?”

Freddie was done with that conversation, but he was starting to remember that this technician was supposed to be a client who was owed an apology for getting dragged into this whole mess, so he ended up answering in defeat.

“His research into AIs. There is speculation about him having made great leaps, but he covers it with zeal. It’s been years since he last published on the subject and I think it is because he made something spectacular.”

“His AIs... You are a nerd, aren’t you?” The technician-maybe-still-client laughed. “Why would you want to know about that and not his super-amazing robotics sowcase?”

“Because… Well, I have a couple of AIs myself, and as I developed them beyond what we currently know about AIs... I understood that I would never expose them to the public, no matter the sum offered. You wouldn’t understand, it is a strange connection with something that you’ve created that sounds… ridiculous. A program…” Freddie shrugged. “Tim says it is unhealthy, being attached to a few lines of code. But I found that I want the best for them and to make sure they cause no harm either.” He turned to watch the man warily. “And you won’t make me feel ashamed of it.”

“Perish the thought.”

“Any joke about cyberphilia and I’ll make sure nobody finds your body.”

Freddie could see the alternative joke forming in the technician’s mind, but before he could brace himself, the communication system came to life and Rupert’s voice filled the room.

“Freddie, Ms Lloyd has left the building without a closed agreement. Your plan has failed! and the company will suffer for it!”

“Maybe if Tim’s presentation hadn’t been so bland, Ms Lloyd would have been more interested in that agreement.”

“Your brother’s proposal was bland because you let him down, to do your own thing, like you always do. I hope you are proud of yourself! I should have known that you would make this deal a failure. Do you know how much time I put into this? Time I don’t have, Freddie! Time I can’t waste if you can’t even make Stenson come to listen to us.”

“You can’t blame me for that too. He is the one who decided not to come.”

“I warned you, my son. That little man isn’t worth a single minute of our time. Now, you will make sure this has been your last failure, you will forget about this venture or, as much as it pains me to say this, you will leave the company.”

Freddie’s blood went cold. His whole world darkened around the corners, all of him was focused on that speaker. Leave the company?

“Sir, negotiations have only started; it was almost six months until we convinced Vanestia co. to sell the company. We could still strike a deal with Stenson Industries in that time.” Freddie tried to hide how much it hurt him to think of giving up on this opportunity.

“No, son.”

The communication system died and Freddie held his breath. Rupert had never been so direct, he always insinuated and implied that Freddie was a waste of time and space that should only help to make Tim climb higher, but he was never this blunt. Rupert knew how to make Freddie stay by the company’s side and Freddie tried to earn the same respect as his brother, well, his not-blood-brother, as Freddie had discovered during the last project. His efforts had been less and less effective since the winter affair.

Of course, Freddie had suspected that Rupert favored Tim; it was plain to see, but Freddie had expected to overcome that favoritism with hard work or trickery. Apparently nothing was enough, nothing would ever be enough. What was the sense in trying anymore? Freddie should give up, leave Intenur definitely before being pushed out. But what would he do? He had worked there his whole life; there was nothing he could do now. Other companies hated Freddie because he had inconvenienced them in favor of Intenur. There was nothing to do. No solution. Nothing.

“Hey, ravenlocks? Someone home?” Freddie looked up to the Technician. Freddie had been still looking at the loudspeaker for a few seconds after it disconnected. Without the man’s interruption, he would have kept falling for a long time, he was sure of it. “After that, you look like you need a drink.”

“I won’t have a career by tomorrow morning. I think I need more than a drink.”

“You need to stop thinking before you give yourself an aneurysm, pretty thing, and I know just the place.”

Freddie wouldn’t be needed anymore that day. Maybe ever, if Rupert was to be believed. Freddie could just… Let go. There was a chance that Rupert would want him to be there, but if Freddie only did what Rupert told him, he’d stay put quietly in a closet until the old man had use for him. Therefore, and to spite Rupert if he actually called, he sneaked out of the building with the technician, who still avoided saying his name claiming that Freddie had had his moment to ask and that the moment was gone.

Freddie wanted… Freddie didn’t know what he wanted now, but he was on the verge of wanting to find a cliff, which was probably bad for his continued existence. Being alone now would be his worst decision to date, so he let himself be dragged away. The technician made inappropriate jokes and kept the self-destructive feelings at bay, so Freddie decided to cling to the man until he felt better or until he found something better to cling to.

They drove through New York like a pair of clueless tourists and they hit all the bars in what Freddie had named ‘A list of the most outrageous places’. It seemed like the technician knew his way around a good number of holes in the wall.

Once there was enough alcohol intaken, Freddie answered the Technician’s questions very easily. He had always been quite private about the family part of the business, and he had never spoken badly of it, but nothing had been the same after the winter collapse. The company had lost his respect; the family had lost his respect. And today Freddie’s career had crumbled down; sometime after the sixth drink he had realized that he didn’t really have any career to speak of. All his skill set was built around making Intenur work. He didn’t have a job description; he embodied all the spare parts of the well-tuned machine of Intenur. He was… a puppet, even though he was the spine of the company… the spine of the machine… maybe he should stop mixing metaphors, or drinks, maybe he should stop mixing drinks.

In between realizations, Freddie had decided that there was nothing to lose if he talked with the technician. He wouldn’t get into more trouble and he would finally get it off his chest, even if the man didn’t believe him, so he told the cheerful and rather handsome mysterious man about the project Rupert had in the works to create energy out of cold.

The man had laughed loudly enough to startle the other tables and the sound had pleased a petty and vindictive part of Freddie.

It was a senseless monstrosity called Productive Winters; a stupidity, of course, anyone with basic knowledge of thermodynamics would know it: it was a ruse to keep some clueless, idiot, brain-dead shareholders interested, but Freddie’s brother had wanted to put it into practice. Tim had been in charge of the company while Rupert was recovering from an eye operation in some spiritual retreat center. One of the mildly intelligent shareholders, Mr Ludwig, had suspected that the whole thing was a huge lie and Tim didn’t take kindly to being called a liar.

Freddie had been in charge of damage control. Mr Ludwig had been dealt with, but the problem was far from over. Both Rupertsons fought over the path to take and Freddie destroyed the project behind Tim’s back so it would never see the light of day and uncover Intenur as scammers or worse: idiots. In doing that, Freddie broke the shareholder’s trust and when Rupert found out, he ordered the PR department to make Freddie into the jealous villain who wanted more power in the company, to save face.

In that click-bait story that Rupert’s PR department fed to the newspapers, Tim was the magnanimous, kind brother who took Freddie in back again despite his ‘treason’. The story was heartwarming enough to save Intenur in the stock market and there was everybody’s happy ending. Freddie had been willing to sacrifice his public image to save the company, but he had never realized how much of himself he was giving away. Now he saw it as it was: a cage of his own making.

Intenur was the place where Freddie could live until he retired if only he submitted to Rupert’s rule. Only now, after decades of loyalty and sacrifice, did Freddie realize that he was considered chaotic and a liar in the larger world of business. Freddie had been pleased to take the burn of any problem in the company; it was not as if he would ever need to have references outside of Intenur. But now he had nowhere to go. He had built his own golden cage one bar at a time and Rupert had provided the tools all too happily.

His only chance of staying away from this was his mother. He could still try to find her wherever she had escaped from Rupert and beg forgiveness. She would receive him with open arms, but after years of defending his father and brother, Freddie couldn’t bring himself to concede defeat, the shame was too great.

The lack of flavor in his latest drink made Freddie realize that he had a bottle of water in his hand and that he had been complaining out loud. The technician was still next to him; he had two untouched colorful glasses in front of him and a boozed smirk. It took Freddie’s alcohol-filled brain a few seconds to realize that the man must have been the one to change the glass for the bottle of water, but the reason eluded Freddie.

The feeling must have shown on his face.

“Believe me, you will hate yourself tomorrow enough as it is. You don’t want to worsen your prospective hangover.”

Freddie took another sip of the bottle. They were in a nook away from prying looks. It was comfortable. He wasn’t sure of what he had said and what he had only thought, but the technician had a strange, mellow look, so the silent part had probably been very small. Freddie prided himself in knowing facial expressions, but he didn’t know enough about the man, and he couldn’t concentrate on his face beyond the basic features.

“Why don’t you try to work abroad, my emo friend?”

The technician had slipped an arm around his shoulders. Freddie didn’t even care when; he was very very focused on the face in front of him. He was going to read that face, he knew he could if he tried enough.

“It is not the job, it is me. If they don’t fire me, I’m leaving tomorrow.” He sighed. It had always been him, hadn’t it?

“From where I stand, it is them.”

“You don’t understand.”

“I do! I do I do! Who do you think sinks the market points in my company?” The technician seemed to be quite drunk too, he wouldn’t have shared anything personal otherwise. Freddie was watching the corner of his lips; there was a tell when people lied… or was that the corner of the eyes? It didn’t matter, because Freddie kept getting distracted with the rest of the lips. “A company I didn’t ask for, too! A goddamned company that has almost killed me more times than I care to count.”

“Yes, Intenur is killing me slowly too.”

“And all because I had to carry on some kind of legacy, stepping on the heads of giants or something like that. It is what my father used to say to the ladies when my mother wasn’t around.”

“Wait, you have a company,” Freddie said unwisely. “And it was your father’s.”

“Ok, story time. My father built the company…” The man slumped against his seat. “No, I don’t think I’m up for story time.”

“What?” Freddie realized that he had scooted closer, to listen. Not because the warmth was nice and distracting. “You must tell me something, I told you a lot of things, now you owe me.”

“Since when are stories currency?”

“Since I want them, and you want me to stay, so I will have my stories.” Freddie hung his head back, supported by the nook’s headrest and closed his eyes. He opened one of them in what he hoped was a discrete move. He was not sure he was being successful. The man had that drunken smirk and his eyes half-lidded, as if Freddie’s gesture had made him sleepy in turn.

“Spoiled brat. Have it your way.”

The man said something about a company, a step-father? a story that seemed made to fit an action script, and Freddie was not sure why he kept mentioning the son of Sten. Freddie didn’t know, and only half of it could be blamed on the soft buzz in his head; the bastard was being cagey on purpose. He had the feeling that something in his brain was demanding he pay attention. He knew that story b- What if he is a corporate spy? The thought had already crossed his mind a hundred times during the day when he decided to let the man help with the presentation. He had ruled it out because… because of logic at the time. Logic that was not currently accessible.

Even though he didn’t know exactly what the man was talking about, he got the feeling that he was sad and Freddie had something to do with it. Oh! He was telling Freddie something sad about his company, or his family, or both, because Freddie had made him sad too.

“Hmm. I had planned to celebrate with you, not this.” Freddie most definitely didn’t whine.

“Don’t look at me! I’m the party king! I’m never a sad drunk! It is all your faul-hmpfmm.”

Freddie only knew that he had finally seen the sadness behind the smiling lips, and he had decided that he didn’t like it. The man was sad, he was also sad and they could make each other less sad, so the only answer to that was a kiss, obviously. Obviously? Huh. There was something about two negatives floating in his head, but logic was still not available.

For a delightful moment he wasn’t thinking about anything but the sensation of the other man’s lips against his, the sweetness of his latest drink, the tickling of his beard… He plunged deeper into not thinking when the technician responded by pressing and holding his neck first with one hand, but then he moved to sit on his lap and cradled his nape. Nothing mattered now, especially not when he sneaked an arm around his waist and pulled them closer together.

The water bottle and the time listening to the man had helped to clear his head moderately, so his brain had enough presence to kick in when he felt the man’s hand pushing him away. He let it happen, not without regret. The technician looked regretful too; he was breathing deeply as if he could get rid of the desire in his chest that way.

“Look, let’s stop here. Because tomorrow this will be very… interesting, but if we end up in my room…”

“Mmno,” Freddie protested and hid his face in the other’s neck. He felt the jawbone and cheek against him pressing back. “If I don’t work there, you can go back to being the client tomorrow and this would mean nothing.”

The hand that had been on his neck was still over there playing with his hair. “I’m not going back either. I shouldn’t make decisions right now, but I’m thinking of poaching one of their workers and be done with them.”

Freddie’s smile couldn’t be seen from his position, but it was audible. “You are lucky I don’t work there anymore, or I would have destroyed you for saying that.”

“You still work there.”

“Not mentally, no.”

“You made up your mind, then?”

“I don’t know what I’m going to do, but whatever I do, it’s going to be easier to decide if I don’t go back to Intenur. Beyond that… No idea.”

“I know exactly what you are going to do.”

Freddie emerged from his hiding spot, regretting not being able to kiss that neck. “You think so?”

The man climbed off of Freddie’s lap, but he didn’t back away from his personal space.

“Go to sleep.” He leaned on the backrest, trapping Freddie’s arm. But Freddie didn’t mind keeping it around the tech’s waist. “And once you have slept the hangover away, you are going to call me.”

“You are very sure of yourself.”

“You would be too if you were in my place.”

“If I were in your place I wouldn’t have stopped this.”

“Yes, you would.” The tech called the waiter over and asked for a pen, then leaned against Freddie’s chest for balance and took to writing on his white shirt, left side, close to the collar.

“Are you going to pay for this when I take it to the cleaners?

“I’ll be happy to, because you’d have to call me for that. And you’d have to use this number.”

After a few numbers Freddie was not ready to guess by feeling alone, the man paused for a moment, squinted while looking at Freddie’s face and went back to his task, but higher, closer to his neck.

The silence while he wrote was meditative. Freddie could still draw circles with his thumb on the man’s hip and he still squirmed very sweetly.

“Maybe I could leave the country, as you said,” Freddie wondered aloud.

“Call me first,” the man mumbled while capping the pen. He waved over the same waiter, gave back the pen and paid before Freddie could protest.

“Maybe I could start my own company,” Freddie kept daydreaming.

“Call me first,” the man insisted. He got close to Freddie’s ear. “We have much to talk about.”

Freddie woke up only a few hours later with his mobile in his hand. First, an alarm. He dismissed it. Then there was a 5% battery warning in red. He dismissed it. When the warning closed, he squinted at a perfectly composed e-mail, addressed at Rupert, cc’d at Tim, where he told them that he was leaving Intenur in not the politest terms. It was unsent.

He thanked his luck and the version of himself that had been too tired or too out of it to send the mail (but not too tired to spell asinine). He would have hated waking up only to see that email marked as sent.

He pressed send.

It was much more satisfying to do it when he was going to keep the memory of doing it intact.

He found the charger cord that he had failed to use the previous night. The phone died just before he could plug it in, but it was better that way anyway. He had no desire to dodge family calls for hours.

He turned to leave the mobile on the nightstand and he hugged his pillow, ready for some lazy extra rest now that he didn’t have a job to go back to.

Before tiredness could do him in, his eyes fell on the shirt that he had taken off the previous night and had discarded on the floor by the bed. It was no longer prim and proper, and from where he was, he could see a few numbers, written just an inch below the collar. The memory of the last night and the technician brought a smile to his face that was almost enough to wake him up all the way.

He stretched one foot to drag the shirt from the floor, grab it and memorize the number, or maybe write it down somewhere, but once he had the fabric in his hands, he noticed that over the phone number, under the shirt’s collar, there was more. He could see a “R”. Finally, a name! He flipped the collar up.

“Ryan Stenson xxx”

He threw the shirt across the room and rolled the other way, groaning into his pillow.

#limited edition

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ravenclawella · 1 year

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Crossed Wires (Sebastian x f!OC)

Available on AO3 7th year students. Sebastian x f!OC (Mae) Warnings for this chapter: None >>>>Link to all chapters.

Chapter 6: Will you go to the ball with me?

“No one has asked you to the ball yet?” Natty questioned. “Not one invitation?!”

“Not yet. I’ve been so busy with charms assignments, I’ve been stuck in that room trying to get my casts perfect.” Mae pumped her eyebrows, hoping that she could keep the room of requirement a secret in front of Leander, who was still sat next to them despite his plate of crumbs indicating that he had finished his meal.

“Are you sure you’re not expecting a certain someone to ask you?” Natty teased.

“Who do you mean? Ugh, Natty, no! For the final time! Remember what we talked about?” She groaned in response while trying to hide her flushed cheeks. She knew she needed to move on from her feelings, but saying it and doing it were two very different things.

“No date? I figured you must have already had a date when I saw that Sebastian asked out Althea cane to the ball this morning.” Leander quirked an eyebrow as leaned over the table and picked up another sandwich.

“He….he did? And no. No I don’t.” Mae stuttered, taken aback by the news that Sebastian had a date to the yule ball and she didn’t. Mae honestly thought that she would be going with Sebastian since she had pushed Ominis into asking Poppy. The trio had been together so often she just assumed she would have gone with one of them as friends.

“Sebastian Sallow asked out Althea Cane?” Natty sounded as shocked as Mae felt.

“Yeah. It was just after breakfast. He took her to one side and ended up the shade deeper than my Gryffindor scarf. He must really like her!” Leander scoffed “I’m sure you’ll end up going with Ominis then, right?”

“Oh. No, I played matchmaker and got Ominis to ask Poppy yesterday. They are going to be so cute together, don’t you think?” Mae sighed “I’m glad Sebastian is going with someone he likes. I really am.” she tried to smile, trying to hide the pain of Sebastian not asking her, not choosing her. Why had she expected him to ask her?

“Really?” Leander smiled. “That is a shame. The three of you are always so close. I figured one of them would have their slithered their way into your heart by now.” He took a big bite of the sandwich, letting his eyes lazily take in Mae’s uncomfortable posture. Natty rolled her eyes at Leander’s grossly inappropriate comment.

“Oh Poppy and Ominis are going to be adorable together. I can’t wait to see them dance” Natty interjected, clapping her hands together while trying to steer the conversation away from Sebastian.

“Huh, perhaps he saw that Ominis had a date and knew that he needed to ask his girl before someone swept her up” Leander chuckled, a glint in his eye. His girl. The very thought made Mae’s blood boil. But no, she shouldn’t feel like that. She didn’t own him.

“Heh. Probably” Mae sipped her spiced pumpkin juice as Garreth sat down, causing the table to shudder.

“What’s up Mae? Sitting with the best house for lunch today, eh?” He elbowed Mae in the ribs and grabbed a goblet. Leander cleared his throat, causing Garreth to look at him.

“I was just about to ask Mae a pretty important question Garreth. Do you mind?” Leander stared pointedly at Garreth, who in turn raised his eyebrows. Garreth looked between Mae and Leander. It was now or never. Before he knew it, he was shouting

“FIRST I HAVE A QUESTION. Yeah. I have a question for you Mae. Do you have a date to the ball yet? I mean, I know you probably do, but I wanted you to be the first person I asked.” Garreth spoke a little too loudly and too fast, he really hoped Leander hadn’t asked her yet, or anyone else for that matter.

“Not that I don’t think you wouldn’t have a ball partner yet. You’re beautiful. But I just thought I should ask you first. To the ball, I mean. To be my date? Would you want to be my date? If you don’t have someone to go with? Would you want to go with me?” Mae’s eyes widened at the sudden invitation. Garreth cursed under his breath at his spontaneous invitation after all the planning he had done. Only today had he found the courage to ask her with his perfect plan. To make up for the disaterous date in Hogsmede he had wanted to put all of his effort into his ball inviation. He had been planning an elaborate potion that would bubble and cause steam to form in the words of his desired question. He wanted it to be romantic, like he knew she deserved.

“I would love to go with you Garreth. Thank you for asking me.” Mae’s chest began to feel lighter, she felt a slight flutter. Was this what it felt like to be wanted?

“It’s okay if you … wait. What? You said yes?.” Garreth threw his hands in the air, spilling juice on a student behind him. “Oh this is going to be so awesome! I know our Honeydukes date wasn’t really a date like I planned…but I am going to make up for that” Leander ground his teeth against a piece of bread, glaring daggers at Garreth.

“Mae we’ll have to go dress shopping in Hogsmede tomorrow before all the good dresses get snapped up!” Natty looked to the boys and pointed

“You don’t get to see the dress before the ball, it has to be a surprise!”

“Oh, we all know you are both going to look amazing…And it wont be the dresses that make you look good, it’ll be what’s under it” Garreth winked at Mae.

“Oh Garreth, you big flirt” Natty laughed along with Mae while he grinned and Leander silently fumed.

Later in the day, after lunch.

Natty found herself making a beeline for the messy haired Slytherin boy in the library. She lifted up her textbook before she could think. *Smack*

“OW” Sebastian grunted pointedly and turned to his assailant.

“Sebastian Sallow, you are a fool” Natty stared him down with a frown

“What? What did I do now?”

“Asking Althea Cane to the ball? I thought you liked Mae from what you told me in potions. Why didn’t you ask her?! She would have said yes, you absolute fool!” She shook her head with disappointment.

“Asking out who? I haven’t asked anyone Natty. I think you’ve got the wrong person.” He smirked at her confusion but rubbed his head where he had been assaulted. She really did have a good strong arm, she would make a great beater for her Quidditch team.

“No, I heard Leander perfectly clear at lunch. He said you asked her this morning, after breakfast.” She folded her arms and frowned at him.

“Prewett said? Cane? I don’t even know who that is!” Sebastian frowned and shrugged his shoulders. “You should know Prewett isn’t to be trusted. No offense but Gryffindors are the worst”

“You, you don’t know her?” Natty tilted her head, trying to figure out if this was another one of Sebastian's jokes. “Come now, Sebastian.”

“No! Ominis keeps telling me to ask Mae but I just haven’t found the right time”

“So, you were going to ask her? Not Althea Cane?” Natty squinted at Sebastian, trying to tie up the strange crossed wires of their conversation.

“I am going to ask her. Mae that is. Dunno who this Cane person is you keep talking about. Maybe later today, after dinner?” He brought his thumb and finger to his chin, considering the time himself. He hadn’t really pinpointed the exact time yet.

“Ah. This I going to be difficult” Natty grimaced

“What is?” Sebastian furrowed his brows.

“Mae already has a date” She lifted her hands in defense. “Don’t shoot the messenger”.

“WHAT? HOW? WHO?” His eyes widened in shock and a little bit of fury

Natty pursed her lips and looked to the sky.

“Don’t you dare say it. Don’t you dare” his fury building as he began to pace. If Leander spread that lie to get to Mae…

Natty grimaced and continued to look away from Sebastian.

“It’s not Leander” She confessed, watching his shoulders move slightly lower in her peripheral vision.

“Oh, thank Merlin” He sighed deeply, relieved that at least it wasn’t Leander that was taking her to the ball. Anyone but a Gryffindor.

“It’s Garreth”

[...]

It’s not clear how long Sebastian stood there. He could see Natty’s lips moving, but he wasn’t listening. Mae was going with Garreth? She had said yes, to him?

He found himself being shaken back to reality. Natty’s fingers snapped in front of his eyes once more.

“Sebastian, are you even listening to me? Hey, snap out of it.” Natty shook his shoulders once more until she was satisfied he was paying attention to her.

“She’s really going with Garreth?”

“She is. But I know that she wanted to go with you. She’s trying very hard to get rid of her feelings for you.”

“What?! Poppy said something similar. Wait, why is she trying to get rid of her feelings? I don’t understand.”

“She doesn’t think you see her in the same way she sees you. She doesn’t want to ruin your friendship. She doesn’t want to lose you.” Natty smiled to herself, thinking that the two of them were more alike than she originally thought.

“Why would she think that? Of course she knows I like her. She must do. I flirt with her all the time”

“Sebastian, please. You flirt with everyone. When have you ever treated her like an actual lady. Think about it. Have you ever made your intentions clear?” Natty looked at him pointedly. His shoulders sagged.

“She deserves to be with someone better than me, doesn’t she?” he sighed.

“She does” Natty nodded, watching the look of defeat on his face. She titlted her head to the pair of sympathetic brown eyes that appeared at the edge of her vision.

“And yet, she has her friends rooting for you to step up and do what you know you need to do. Be a gentleman, Sebastian.” Poppy added, peering out from the side of the bookcase.

“How long have you been there?” He asked, eyebrows raised.

“Too long” She repeated the phrase from their previous conversation.

“So, how are we going to fix this?” Poppy asked.

“Well, Sebastian, it looks like you will be graced with my presence for the ball. Mae knows there isn’t anything like that between us. So she can forget about that rumour of you asking out another girl. I suppose I can forgo a date to help a friend.”

Sebastian looked between Natty and Poppy, admiration growing that these two friends were willing to help him.

“Tell me again, why are you helping me and not Garreth?” he puzzled. The girls looked at each other knowingly.

“Because, he’s not you.” Poppy smiled, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

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

>>>>>Chapter 7 Coming soon

>>>>Link to all chapters.

#Crossed wires #ravenclawella writes #sebastian sallow #sebastian sallow x oc #sebastian sallow x mc #sebastian sallow x reader #slow burn #garreth weasley #leander prewett #natsai onai #natty onai #poppy sweeting #angst #hogwarts legacy fics #hogwarts legacy fanfic #hogwarts legacy

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saddie-to-baddie · 1 year

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1.22.23

Yesterday the Saddie in me won. My legs have been feeling like jello so I finally put my cane in my car in case I need it. My tooth that broke a year ago started hurting again, I'm not sure what set it off but it's been quiet for most of the year so its been easy to ignore. And I finally talked myself into getting a perm, I've been wanting one for so long, I took the plunge on Friday and made my appointment. Before I even checked in the receptionist sprayed my hair with water and tore my little hairs off. I absolutely don't blame her but before I even could think about asking to switch my appointment to a haircut instead I immediately went to my car and sobbed. I know it seems like such a small thing to set me off but I've been feeling so ugly and I just wanted a big change that didn't involve me chopping off my hair myself.

Then I went out for my friends birthday and over the course of 5 hours and 3 drinks I ended up really drunk. I still don't know how that happened but I'm guessing it was a mix of me recently cutting out alcohol, my being so emotionally drained and just so happy to be out and about, and the bar seemed to have a really heavy pour.

Thankfully, I feel really good this morning, no hangover and no intense flare symptoms which was one of my biggest worries about going out at all.

And today I have a new angle for my goals, part of which is that I get my hair healthy. I don't know the last time that thought has ever crossed my mind. I've always treated it with the "it'll grow back" mentality. But even if it doesn't end up meaning I can get that perm, it will hopefully improve the way I see myself and make me pay more attention to the way I treat my hair.

Secondly, I really need to pull the trigger on making my dentist appointments and getting the ball rolling now that I have my insurance again.

#spoonie #me #multiple sclerosis #i need extra spoons #saddie to baddie #self improvement #self care #autoimmine disease

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starboygrove · 2 years

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Surviving Eddie Munson - Chapter 5

Bang. Bang. Bang!

Steve groans, his head pounding harder with each sound of a fist against his bedroom door. His tongue is heavy and fuzzy in his mouth, and he’s still wearing his clothes from yesterday, shoes and all. At least he made it on the bed this time. He cracks a sleep deprived eye open and looks at his alarm clock to find it’s barely eight in the morning.

“Steven! You get your ass downstairs right this second!”

Fuck. It’s his dad. He completely forgot that they were due home today, getting too caught up yesterday at the Wheeler’s house. His parents must be pissed; he didn’t get the chance to tidy up like they always expect him to.

He shuffles into his bathroom and washes his face, swishes some mouthwash around in his mouth, and changes his shirt before making his way down the stairs.

In a truly frightening sight, his parents are both waiting for him in the living room, arms crossed tight over their chests. His mothers face is more pinched than usual, and it looks like the vein in his father’s forehead is due to pop any second now.

“I hope you have an excellent explanation for this.” His father grinds out, face threatening to go purple.

“Look, dad, I got caught up with Robin last night. I’m sorry I didn’t remember you were coming home today; can I make it up to you? I can clean right now, you can go relax, I’m sure you want to relax after your trip.”

His mother shakes her head in disappointment, and wow he really was not expecting them to be this let down by a mildly dirty house. Steve is never anticipating the scope of their ability to be disappointed in him, though.

“Robin, huh?” His father asks cryptically.

“Uh, yeah, I was over at Nancy’s with her and Robin…” He says dumbly, feeling the familiar build up of anticipation that a blow-up is sure to follow.

“Then you need to explain to us right now why your mother’s friend Kathy saw you hugging that faggot Munson boy last night!”

It’s like a bucket of ice has been dumped on him. He’s see through, totally transparent, they’ve found him out. Are they mind readers? How could they possibly know, he thought he was doing such a good job at hiding it. Maybe it’s because they’re his parents? No, they have never been able to connect with him; it doesn’t make any sense.

“W-what?” Is all he is able to croak out, and his mother finally turns away, unable to bear the sight of him apparently.

“I know you heard me just fine. What were you doing touching that queer!? Answer me!”

“What are you even talking about? Eddie isn’t gay, he’s not like that.” Steve makes the mistake of scoffing, but he legitimately can’t help himself. That’s just not possible, they’ve made some sort of mistake.

“Steven,” his mother starts, tone desperate, but holds off when her husband motions for her to stop speaking.

“It’s clear as day, no real man would wear pants like that, have hair like his. But if that wasn’t enough evidence, Greg was caught with the little fag four years ago. He had to be let go and everything, everyone at the firm was so mortified when we found out. To have worked so closely with someone like that, how truly disgusting.” His father’s voice is laced with pure vitriol, and with each word Steve can feel his blood begin to boil faster and faster.

“You’re a liar, you don’t know what you’re talking about! If that really happened, it would have been all over the news, he would have been a minor!”

His mother shakes her head, a single tear rolling down her cheek.

“Why are you protecting him, Steve?” She chokes out, clearly upset.

“We had to cover it up, if the news got out we would have been ruined.” His father simply states, as if it were obvious.

Steve just shakes his head, mind whirling. He’s too hungover for this, too confused; they aren’t letting him have enough time to process. His hands are balled into fists, he notes absentmindedly, a sure sign he is really starting to get riled up. He should leave before he does something stupid.

“So, Steven,” his father spits out his name. “Tell your poor mother why you let him touch you. Why you let him put his diseased hands on your body. Is this the first time he did it? Or is there a reason why you’re trying to cover for him, hmm?” There is an animalistic look in his father’s eyes, and Steve realizes that he’s looking for a reason to destroy their relationship.

If his father ever loved him, Steve wouldn’t know, as he certainly hasn’t for years now. He’s made so many small remarks about how much of a let down Steve is, how much they wish he were different, how he’s a loser and a freeloader. Maybe his parents don’t even think he’s gay, after all. They’re just looking for a reason to burn the bridge, and they found a socially acceptable means to do it.

So he lets it happen.

“We touch all the time, actually. Last night was the first time we hugged, yeah, but we’re no stranger to a friendly fist bump every now and then.” He grinds out his words, looking his father square in the face, letting it be known he is refusing to be like him. Refusing to be a hateful bigot.

"Don't tell me you're a faggot too, son!" His father roars, spittle flying from his mouth. He can barely make out the sound of his mother letting out a sob over the rushing sound of blood in his ears.

"What if I was? You'd hate that, wouldn't you? I bet your coworkers would laugh at you, 'Harrington's got a fag for a son!' That's what they would say, isn't it!?" He screams at his father, the first time he’s ever raised his voice like this.

It happens so quickly, he doesn’t think it happened at all at first. But there he is, flat on his back, with a new pain in his head to accompany the pounding headache he gained from drinking too much last night.

“Robert, no!” His mother cries out, pushing his father aside to get a look at their son.

“Holy shit…you, you punched me! What the fuck dad?” He groans out, placing a shaky hand to his face. The flesh is already so tender that he hisses at the contact.

“Don’t touch him, Mary, you have no idea if he’s infected!”

Whoever said words could never hurt you the way physical pain does was a god damn liar. He watches his mother’s hands still in the air before she retracts them, fully believing that he could be contagious from a hug.

“Fuck. You.” He grinds out and spits at his father. Completely enraged by this, his mother has to use her full strength to hold her husband back from delivering any more blows to their son.

“I think you should go, Steven.” She says once she’s calmed his father down enough, glaring at him with tear stained cheeks.

He wordlessly gets up off the floor and takes one last look at his parent’s faces before shoving past them and storming out the front door. Peeling out of the driveway in his car, he squints in pain at the harsh morning light. His head is absolutely killing him, and he has no idea where to go from here. Steve slams his fists against the steering wheel a few times out of sheer frustration, swearing up a storm. The adrenaline coursing through his body refuses to settle down, and before he knows it, he’s found himself pulling into the Forest Hills Trailer Park entrance.

Whether or not this is a bad idea, he has no clue, but if what his father said about Eddie is true then maybe he can help him sort this out, somehow.

With a clearer head, Steve would have noticed Eddie’s van isn’t present at his trailer, and he would remember that his Uncle Wayne does overnight shifts and sleeps during the day.

Unfortunately for Steve, and Uncle Wayne, he does not have a clear head at the moment.

He pounds on the flimsy front door perhaps a tad too aggressively, shaking the entire trailer with each knock. His eye is starting to swell shut and he still hasn’t gotten the chance to get a drink of water.

Wayne Munson rips the trailer door open, ready to yell colorful obscenities at the rude intruder, but stops short when he takes in the sight in front of him.

"Mr. Munson! I'm so sorry to bother you, but is Eddie...home?" Steve croaks out, gritting his teeth and shielding his face from the sun.

"He isn't, he's at work. Why don't you come in, Steve." Uncle Wayne replies with a heavy sigh, stepping aside to let him in.

"I didn’t know you knew my name,” is all he can manage to say before stepping inside the trailer. It’s been a long time since he was here, but also not long enough. He pointedly avoids looking at the ceiling.

"Mind telling me who put that there?" Uncle Wayne gestures to his face before going to the kitchen and filling a pair water glasses for himself and Steve.

"I'm not...it's nothing, really. I should probably just go to the record store, I appreciate your hospitality Mr. Munson." Before he can move, an aged hand guides him to the couch, and he’s forcibly sat down with a glass of water shoved into his grasp. He wastes no time to drink it down greedily.

"Has Eddie ever told you why he lives with me, and not his folks?"

"No sir, he has not..." He’s starting to not like where this conversation is going. Not that he was enjoying it in the first place.

"It's not really my place to tell you, but let's just say he showed up on my doorstep four years ago, looking just like you do right now. 'Cept he was a lot younger, ‘course."

"I'm not sure if I'm following you, Mr. Munson." He lies, not wanting to continue the rest of the conversation whatsoever. He’s not ready for it, not with a stranger, not after he just got punched in the face by his own father.

"Let's just say his old man didn't take too kindly to a certain...aspect of Eddie's personality. Not a lot of folk do, 'specially 'round here." Uncle Wayne’s gaze penetrates Steve and he shudders under the intensity of it.

"It's not like that..." He replies, trying to keep his voice steady.

"Is or isn't, it makes no difference to me. All I'm saying is that sort of thing is welcome in my home. Welcome, not tolerated, not hated. In here you don't have to worry about that sorta thing. Not with me."

"I appreciate that, but I'm not. I'm not a--" Uncle Wayne cuts him off, eyes narrowing at the potential choice of words.

"A faggot? Go ahead and say it. I've heard it plenty, 'specially from people like you." He spits out before steeling his features, calming right back down.

"Look, I didn't--" He gets cut off again and shrinks back against the couch, feeling incredibly vulnerable.

"No, you look here son. I love Eddie, and I’ve raised him like he was my own, no questions asked. From what I’ve heard, I can tell he cares a lot about you, but right now I'm not really seeing why he does. You need to show me you're not like your old man. I need to hear you say that you aren't going to regurgitate that same bullshit rhetoric, that I won't find my boy with an eye that looks like yours again at your hands." His tone is measured, but it is incredibly clear how serious he is being at this very moment.

"I...yes sir." Steve manages to stutter out, finding the calm and collected manner in which Uncle Wayne is speaking to him far more terrifying than his father’s rage ever has been.

"Yes sir, what?"

"I would never hurt Eddie, sir. Never."

This seems to please Uncle Wayne; he hums in thought and pauses to take a gulp of his water.

"You ever call him that? Well not out loud ‘course, Eddie woulda dropped you by now if you did. You ever think it?" His eyes narrow, scrutinizing Steve with such a severity he thinks he might be sick.

"No! I didn’t even know until…I'm not like my father. I don't want to be like him!” He sighs deeply, and just goes for it. “But fuck this man, I don't want to be like this either! I'm...I'm scared, and I’m confused, and I just want life to be easy god dammit! After everything I’ve been through...why can't it just be easy!?" He’s aware that he’s started crying, but he also knows in the back of his mind that Uncle Wayne wouldn’t judge him for something as human as crying.

"Steve. Life's always gonna be hard. For some, it’s gonna be harder than others. That’s not fair, but you can’t get caught dwelling on that. You can't change how other people think about you, or how they act towards you. The only thing you can control is your own damn self. If you wanna go through life feeling sorry for yourself because you got dealt a shitty hand, that's your prerogative. Just don't go and make it anybody else's problem."

Steve sits there in abject silence, mouth hanging open inelegantly. Tears are still streaming down his face, and his skin is doing that prickly thing again that he hates so much. He’s never been talked to like this before. So raw, and real, no frills but all at the same time it’s somehow exactly what he’s needed to hear, for months now. Uncle Wayne just merely pats him on his shoulder like he didn’t just give Steve an epiphany and stands up off the couch, but not before finishing off his own glass of water.

"I need to get some sleep. You're welcome to stay here, for however much time you need, so long as you respect my schedule and pick up after yourself. And you promise me you'll treat my boy with the respect he deserves, you hear?"

"I...yes, of course Mr. Munson. I promise. Really, I mean it. Thank you." He sputters, not entirely sure how he’s managed to land himself a safe space to live for now.

"You're welcome, don't make me regret this. And please, just call me Uncle Wayne." He gives Steve a soft smile.

"Ok...Uncle Wayne. Sorry for raising my voice at you."

"Don't be sorry son. There’s some frozen vegetables in the freezer for your eye, help yourself." With that said, Uncle Wayne retreats to what is likely his bedroom and shuts the door with a soft click.

He feels like crying some more, so he lets it happen. It’s been so long since he’s cried like this, especially in front of another person, let alone such a masculine figure like Uncle Wayne. He nixes that thought immediately, remembering that he promised to not think like his father. There’s a lot of undoing of his upbringing he’s going to have to accomplish, but he already started that process years ago.

His eye is properly swollen shut now, all the crying he’s been doing just making his condition worse than it could have been. Retrieving a bag of peas and another glass of water, he lowers himself on the couch as gently and quietly as possible, letting out a soft hiss when he applies the freezing cold bag to his tender flesh. It’s not long at all before he falls asleep, although it’s more so like passing out from sheer exhaustion and less like drifting off.

#eddie munson #steve harrington #stranger things #steddie #eddie x steve #eddie munson x steve harrington #stranger things fanfiction #steddie fanfiction #steddie fic #steddie fanfic #cross posted on ao3 #uncle wayne #wayne munson #stranger things smut #steddie smut #steddie fluff

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squadron-goals · 8 months

Text

A love affair

2.4.16

Went through the trench with Sievers when a ball mine fell on the parapet next to us and exploded, throwing dirt at us. I had 5 new rifle grenades sent over, 3 of which failed to explode because we hadn't screwed in the propellant plate. In the gardens I found a pelvic bone with scraps of French red cloth still stuck to it. You gradually acquire anatomical knowledge here. From the 14th I´ll be sent to Croisilles for the officer training course. The course, in which we are to be taught the advanced knowledge of the craft, lasts two months. I don't like this interruption at all; You just console yourself with the fact that there are many good things to learn (horse riding, court system, etc.) and with the amenities of behind the front. It's a pity that this war with rifle grenades and small mines can no longer be fought, it is really interesting and exciting.

15.4.16

Yesterday we arrived in Croisilles, I moved into a very comfortable place with Lieutenant Reinhard. There are about 24 officers on the course here, including Stahlbock and a Lieutenant Löwen.

17.4.16

Went to visit my old friend Jeanne in Quéant yesterday. As I walked across the street, she came running over, beaming from ear to ear. Afterwards she told me some not-so-nice things. At 10 o'clock in the evening I went back to Croisilles. She had made coffee and it was only with difficulty that she restrained herself from giving me a few more eggs, "since I had become too emaciated in the trenches." She begged me to come back the next Sunday. Jeanne reminds me of the heroine in Sudermann's Katzensteg, but can't a pessimist like me be convinced of better impulses?

20.4.16

Today an orderly came: "Herr Lieutenant is to report to Herr Major at 6:45 in his dress uniform." When I arrived, not suspecting anything good, the major opened a small blue package and put something in my hand: "His Majesty has awarded you the Iron Cross, congratulations!" So finally, where the anniversary of Les Esparges will soon come. Although I haven't accomplished anything obvious that would prove my courage, even if I don't have all the bravado I had in the beginning, I have certainly gained in cold-bloodedness and daring and hopefully I'll soon have the opportunity to show that I'm worthy to wear the black and white ribbon. In the evening it was again, as is so often the case here, very lively that almost the entire furnishings of the casino fell victim to this liveliness.

30.4.16

In the evening I was at Jeanne's in Quéant and was warmly greeted. She told me about the first days of the war of movement.

14.5.16

Lieutenant Schulz, who arrived wounded yesterday, had his leg amputated today. In the evening I'm in Quéant with Jeanne. As I stepped out of the house at 0:30, a flashlight flashed in front of me and shone straight into my face. I immediately asked who was doing it and received the laconic answer: "Gendarme." I went to the field gendarme, who held out a metal sign with the number 41 in front of me and demanded my pay book. When I said I didn't have it, he said: "Then I have to keep Herr Lieutenant here." Holy shit, sacrament, that's ridiculous. Nothing to do. Finally the redeeming thought came to me. I knew the leader of the bakery column, Lieutenant Schoppard, old Filou. So we broke into the castle and met Schoppard in his nightgown on the swelling pillows. Thank God he recognized me and so I escaped the threat of arrest and its consequences, which would have been as fatal as they were ridiculous. The gendarme also told me that a sergeant at the train station had reported me as a suspect and since I wasn't wearing any armpit pieces with a number on my coat, the suspicion increased. A gendarme was guarding the train station, another was roaming the city, and so I, an unsuspecting man, was caught. However, the good thing was that the gendarme ruefully gave me his bike, which I then rode back, half angry, half laughing, via Lagnicourt, Noreuil, Ecoust. The thing didn't even have a brake, so you had to take the sharpest corners at terrible speed in the dark.

21.5.16

Today I wanted to visit Jeanne. In Quéant there was so much activity in front of the church that I wasn't able to knock until 11:30, as my last adventure was still fresh in my mind. Strangely, I heard whispers, then immediately there was a loud voice: "C'est un jeune officier" and it was opened by two figures wearing nightgowns. It was Jeanne's 17-year-old sister and a friend. They told me a strange story inside. Jeanne was supposed to have been detained for two days because the gendarme had seen the light in her room the last time I was there. At the same time, the local commander, Lieutenant Schoppard, was said to have reproached Jeanne out of jealousy. Schoppard is said to have said that I had been arrested for two days for violating my vacation. The commander wanted to force Jeanne to undergo a medical examination because of my visit, to which Jeanne, as she writes, responded with a "non radical". However, she had to give in and was arrested for two days. I was really tired and angry, so I just went to sleep in the big bed, but we joked around so much that I didn't get a wink of sleep the whole night. In the morning I walked the 8 km back to Croisilles via Boullecourt and was just in time to have a coffee and then take a tour of the Recruit Depot 76. Despite the lack of sleep, I was mentally and physically very elastic and in a good mood.

#ernst jünger

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rafescoke · 3 years

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Brother’s Best Friend ; Rafe Cameron

masterlist

Request: heyy I’ve recently found your account and I just felt in love with the way you write and with your works so I was wondering if you could write a fic where the reader is Kelce’s sister, she’s sitting alone at home and suddenly she hears a doorbell ringing, she comes to open the door and that’s Rafe and she says something like “Kelce’s not home” or smth like that and Rafe answers “I actually came to see you” or smth like that. It can be smut or fluff or whatever I don’t really care. Sorry if this is chaotic but I just want the reader to be black and I have bad ideas lmao 😭 sending love ❤️❤️

Pairing: Rafe Cameron x reader

Summary: Fooling around with your best friend's sister is not a good sign, especially when it involves something more than skinny dipping and drinking alcohol together.

Warnings: Slight smut, mentions of drinking, slight angst, teasing Rafe Cameron

A/N: I'm so close to 700 followers wtf y'all are truly amazing ily! I'm finishing all requests in my inbox for the new few days; thank you to those who put their trust in me to write their ideas <33

(Y/N) could never deny the attraction she felt towards a certain brunette boy with that charming smile.

The feeling evolved for the first time when he came over to her house to see Kelce. He was so polite to her; giving her a turn on passing the ball and scolding Kelce and Topper for not wanting to give her a chance at playing basketball in the swimming pool.

But she was only 8 back then, and she regarded the feeling as nothing more than a silly crush.

Rafe Cameron changed when he entered high school. (Y/N) couldn't explain what was wrong, but he was not her Rafe anymore. He didn't hold the door for her, scold Kelce for making fun of her or do anything that used to make her heart soar.

Her thoughts were disrupted when a fresh blue towel hit her squarely on the face, causing her to yelp in shock.

"Do you wanna come down to the lake with us?"

(Y/N) rolled her eyes, pulling the towel to her side, and closed her magazine with a snap. Her eyes fell back to the three guys, lingering on the tallest one a little bit too long.

She cleared her throat, "No, I'm tired."

Kelce shrugged, walking towards the entrance of their home from the swimming pool. He didn't feel like having (Y/N) around anyways, because that would mean he would have to protect her from his friends.

Kelce loved his friends, of course, but he also knew the other side of them that uses girls like Kleenex tissue only to throw them away again.

"On a second thought-" (Y/N) said, stopping the three boys from entering the big house. "I think I'll go."

"You sure?" Kelce asked. God. Now he would have to play the big-brother stimulator for the whole night.

The night sky was dark, and the only light came from the moonlight up above and sometimes from the flashlight of each other's phone. Boozes laid messily on the wooden deck and their clothes were discarded all over the place.

Not one person was sober, and they were all laughing to a joke by Topper.

"Okay, okay, last one-" Topper said excitedly. He shivered, and (Y/N) thought about it as a response towards the cold lake water or the excited nerves of sharing another stupid joke. "Why did the chicken cross the road?"

"Easy. To get to the other side," Rafe answered proudly. A beer drop slid down from his lips to his chin, and (Y/N) felt a strong desire to lick it.

"Wrong."

"Okay, fine, I don't know."

Topper smiled widely, and (Y/N) could see this joke coming from a few miles away. "To get to the loser's house. Knock knock."

Rafe pulled a face, his eyebrows raised. "Who's there?"

"The chicken."

Kelce and Topper's laugh filled the silence around them, and (Y/N) found herself slightly smiling at the joke. Rafe groaned, finally understanding the joke and being angry at himself for willingly taking the bait.

"Okay, okay. The joke's over."

Kelce laughed again before taking a full swig of another beer bottle. He stared at the sky, and let out a loud huff.

"Wish we can go up there."

"Me too, man," Topper agreed. He joined Kelce by staring up at the dark sky, both clearly high out of their minds.

"Do you want to?"

(Y/N) looked to her side, not noticing Rafe who had moved from his previous position near Topper to beside her. She quirked her head to one side, her face questioning.

"Go up to the sky," he explained. He watched as she looked up to the sky, her mouth slightly parting. Her chest heaved peacefully, and her wet body donning the lilac bikini never looked so beautiful and perfect.

"Nah. I'm too scared."

"Even when I'll go with you?" he smiled. (Y/N) rolled her eyes, though her heart was soaring brightly; she would never feel scared anymore if he were to be around her all the time.

"Yeah. Even when you’ll go with me. Besides, it's not possible."

"Let people enjoy things," he said, and he was so close to her now because she could smell the coffee mint from his breath. Her heart was beating wildly, though this would be the ten-thousandth time he did this to her.

It never failed to leave her completely breathless.

"You're drooling," he whispered, and used his thumb to wipe her wet lips from the beer. Her breath hitched, and she couldn't utter any words back. She was too mesmerised with the whole situation.

His fingers stopped at her chin, looking into her eyes, and he was petrified too. He leaned in, but before anything could happen, (Y/N) moved away. He cleared his throat, and swam back to the deck.

‘I’m drunk’ was repeated by him all the way to the the place he threw his clothes off, shaking his head at the thought that he was so close to kissing her. He looked back to her direction in the lake, still staring at him. He focused back on the ties of his shorts, and made his way back to the Kelce’s house.

He ignored his best friends calls.

. . .

(Y/N) never really liked school, but she loved the after-activity that she got herself in.

Like cheerleading.

She used to think of the sport as something quirky, but in truth, once she was accepted into the school’s cheerleading team, she had never been more into a sport than before.

She walked down the field to the other side of the track where the other girls were waiting for her. Her training skirt flew slightly from the wind, and she was trying to hold them down all while carrying the water bottle and a duffle bag.

She exchanged a few greetings with her other friends, putting down her duffle bag and her water bottle. The sun was scorching hot, and all she felt like was eating ice cream inside of their boat whilst streaming down the lake, but the last time she had ditched cheer practice, it hadn’t ended well.

“Uh-oh,” someone exclaimed behind her. “Big bro is coming.”

(Y/N) looked up to the field, and sure enough Kelce was running towards her in his jersey. (Y/N) sighed, not knowing what she did now that could earn her a lecture from Kelce.

“Hey, I’m bringing a girl home after practice,” he said. “Would you mind getting a ride with someone else?”

She groaned, “Fuck, Kelce, no. You can tell your new scandal to fuck off because I am not getting an Uber to walk back to home.”

“Look, please? You can ask your friends to give you a ride, right? It’s important,” he begged. His eyes were scanning her friends now, obviously trying to find someone who could help his sister, and when he found one, his smile quirked upwards. “Yo, Sarah! Can you drive (Y/N) home after practice?”

Sarah walked towards them, her blonde hair up in a ponytail. She slung her arms around (Y/N)’s shoulders, noting the exasperated expression on her face, and gave Kelce a glare.

“You should let her drive a car if you’re going to bring a girl home after school,” she said. Kelce groaned, knowing the amount of shit he will be getting from the people around him, but he was truly trying to make it right for this new girl.

“Look, I’ll buy y’all anything for a week. Food? Sure. Clothes? Sure.”

Sarah clapped her hands, seemingly excited, and forced (Y/N) to say yes. She wouldn’t mind driving (Y/N) home, because she wanted to catch up with her about some gossip too.

“Fine. But I’m driving my own car tomorrow.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” was all he said before he jogged down to the soccer team.

That evening was hell to (Y/N). She couldn’t get the formation right, the sun was getting hotter and hotter, her hair was sticking out weirdly, and worst of all, she couldn’t stop thinking about yesterday’s event.

He was so, so close to her.

“(Y/N), come on! What’s gotten into you? The top part, again!” The coach yelled, slapping her hands against her lap. There were sweat forming on her forehead, and she was obviously hot and bothered from this whole situation.

But sport was sport. The coach wasn’t going to let today’s training to waste, and she intended for the new number to work.

(Y/N) muttered a soft ‘sorry’ before going back to her position, her heart still thumping at the thought. The cheer started, and her mouth was saying the words, but her brain was somewhere else.

The two guys by her side picked her up by her calf, and she felt the wind gushing out from beside her ears. She was high up in the sky now, throwing one arm upwards and balancing herself on one leg, and it was finally time now, to twirl into the two boys’ arms, but she wasn’t ready. Her mouth didn’t utter any words from the cheer, too focused on the step, and before she could jump back into their arms, she felt herself slipping.

“(Y/N)!” The coach yelled, running towards her by the track. Sarah and the other teammates were surrounding her now, watching as she groaned on the ground painfully, holding onto her arms.

“Okay, I take that as the end of today’s training,” the coach said, sighing. “(Y/N), are you okay? Can you walk?”

(Y/N) held her thumbs up, because she had worse injury than this before. Hell, the boxing fight she used to have with Kelce in their childhood was more painful. She sat up from the track, feeling the heat of the ground burning on her bottoms, and stretched her fingers. The pain coursed through her veins at the feeling, but kinda liked it.

“Come on, let’s get you home,” Sarah said, helping her up. She groaned when she finally stood on her two feet, feeling so painful all she wanted to do was lay back on the track, but she knew she had to go home.

She allowed Sarah helping her limp towards a black Mercedes, her eyes closed the whole time.

Okay, scratch the fight with Kelce. This one was more painful than ever.

“Can I stay at your house?” She blurted when Sarah drove out of the school gate. “I don’t feel like listening to my mom’s lecture about my leg.”

Sarah glanced at her from the rearview mirror, watching as she spread her leg out the whole backseat. The ice bag someone had gotten her was pressed against her calf, and she was sweating from the heat and trying to contain the pain.

“Yes, of course, that would be better,” Sarah said. She had other plans that evening, but helping (Y/N) overstepped all of them.

“So what’s up with you and John B?”

Sarah turned to look at her fully on her face, furrowing her eyebrows. “What do you know about John B?”

(Y/N) laughed, “The light’s green.” Just on cue, the car behind them horned at Sarah, and she quickly pushed on the pedal.

“How do you know about John B?” Sarah asked, biting her lips. If (Y/N) could find out, she couldn’t imagine what would Rafe do if he finds out.

“God, don’t be worried. I’m not going to tell anyone about this, okay? Just relax. I think it’s cute.”

Sarah’s worried expression softened, “You think so?”

“Yeah. At least you got to be with whoever you want. Some people can’t have that.”

Like her. Kelce would kill her and dump her body in the ocean for the sharks if he ever finds out how much she likes Rafe.

“You’ll find the one soon. How about that guy in your maths class?” The car turned to the right, nearing the destination.

“No. I’m not looking for anyone.”

There’s only one, but Sarah won’t like the answer.

The time was 8.23p.m. now, and (Y/N) had been in Sarah’s room for a total of 3 hours. After catching up on new gossips, watched a movie, did her English essay, she felt extremely dehydrated.

Sarah was sleeping peacefully beside her, being so tired after the practice and school, and (Y/N) didn’t feel like waking her up. She have been to The Camerons household, but that was only for Sarah’s birthday party a few years back.

She sighed, getting up from the bed to find the kitchen. The house was like a maze, and she wished they had some kind of a map to browse through.

Alas, she found the kitchen, her muscles screaming from all the wrong turns she took before. She knew where the plastic cups and plates were situated, having to help Sarah get them during her birthday party, so she didn’t have any trouble getting some.

She drank the cold water quickly, feeling the liquid sloshing down her throat. The feeling was so, so good that she wished she could go through it again.

“I do not know where your sister is, Kelce,” a voice sighed not far from the kitchen. “I told you you shouldn’t bring that girl home and just drive (Y/N) home yourself.”

The voice, unmistakably Rafe, was getting nearer and nearer. (Y/N)’s eyes widened, trying to find an empty space to hide in, but there were none. She panicked, still looking for a way out that she didn’t notice the tall figure behind her.

“Oh. Found you.”

His hair was dishevelled and wet, his chest heaving and he was shirtless.

What a nice way to bump onto each other.

“Take a picture,” he started, shutting his phone off and placing them in his shorts. “It’ll last longer that way.”

Now we’re talking about the new Rafe.

(Y/N) scoffed, pushing him away and making a disgusted face at his sweat sticking on her arms. “I’m here for Sarah.”

“Why? Did she die or something?”

God. He really is insufferable.

She made to push him away to return to Sarah’s room, only for him to grab her by her waist.

“Move.” Her tone was stern, but her stomach was flipping wildly. She tried to not look so bothered, but failed miserably.

Rafe seemed to notice her behaviour because he didn’t let go of her. “Come on, where’s the fun in that?”

She was on the same level as his neck now, and he could still smell his expensive cologne even after he swam in the swimming pool. She sighed, placing her hands against his chest.

“Move.”

Rafe laughed, putting his hands up in defeat, and went to grab the same glass she was drinking from. He refilled the glass and downed the content, and (Y/N) had to look away from the innocent move.

Maybe he was just saving water by not using a different cup.

“Do you need help to return to Sarah’s room or something?”

“No, I’m fine,” she refused, and made sure he could see her fake annoyed expression before she returned to the hall she came from. But there were 2 halls now, and she completely forgot which one she had been before.

“Really?” Rafe stood beside her, and she looked up to his amused face. “Because you’re in the wrong hall. It’s the other exit of the kitchen, darling.”

. . .

Why couldn’t she not see his face every single day?

It was truly troubling her, to see that boy everyday, because she couldn’t think properly every time.

The lights from the stadium blared widely, and the deafening screaming coming from both teams’ supporters rang throughout the whole field. (Y/N) was sure the whole island could hear them too.

Two things happened earlier than evening. Number one, her skirt wasn’t completely dried after being sent off to the laundry for a week, and her hair wasn’t just cooperating.

So here she was; in a shorter uniform skirt, her hair hung up into a ponytail with lots of hairspray. She wished for nothing but to be all cuddled up with her blanket in her room.

“You’re okay?” Sarah asked. She fixed (Y/N)’s lips gently, getting the lipstick and lipliner even, and gave her a kiss on the cheeks. “Don’t worry about the skirt. It looks normal.”

For a little girl.

(Y/N) sighed and involuntarily pulled down the hem of her skirt. Ten minutes from the game now, and she was nervous she would flash everyone on the school compound.

In the locker room, Rafe was sitting right next to Kelce as his best friend prayed for a win tonight. He was never that religious, and he didn’t feel the need to mutter a prayer to anyone. But tonight, he listened intently to whatever Kelce was saying because he needed to win this cup more than anything in the world.

“You’re okay?” The coach asked, patting him on the shoulder.

“Yeah. Just nervous.”

“Don’t be, you’re the Star Player. Right?”

The Star Player.

Rafe gave him a smile, and went back to his praying.

When he first entered the field to meet the rival team, his eyes couldn’t help but scanned the bleachers to find his dad. Ward wasn’t there, but Rose and Wheezie were cheering for him.

Of course.

He sighed, and went straight to the middle of the field. It’s funny how everyone was there to support him, Rafe, the Star Player, the jock, the whatever else people were saying about him.

He just wanted Ward to see him.

“Come on, man, it’s fine,” Topper said, patting his back. “He’ll come later.”

Even his friends could see how miserable he was feeling.

The first match of the game went smoothly; he scored a try goal, everyone was cheering loudly, but it was just then that one of the opponents came knocking Rafe by his side.

Rafe fell to the ground with a loud thud, earning so many gasps from the stand.

“What the fuck?!” Topper pushed whoever responsible for his fall, and the sound of a whistle rang throughout the air. “He pushed him for nothing! You saw it, fuck!”

Rafe groaned on the ground, clutching onto his arms, and he tried to spread his fingers, but couldn’t. His other teammates were surrounding him now, trying to get a good look of him, all while Topper and Kelce and another friend of his went off to the referee.

Rafe put his other hand up, trying to sit up. “I’m fine, I’m fine! Move!”

The other members scattered away, sighing in relief when Rafe came back to his legs. The referee, still getting yelled at by Topper, shook his head at something he said, and before anyone could process what happened, Topper tackled the opponent who had pushed Rafe down to the ground.

Kelce pulled Topper away after a few long seconds, telling him to stop. But one thing about Topper is that he just won’t stop.

“Stupid fuck!” He yelled, throwing another punch.

“Topper, stop, they’re going to throw you off the field!” Kelce yelled. Finally, he separated them away after the opponent’s friend pulled his injured friend away.

The referee, expectedly, pulled a red card to Topper, earning a groan coming from their coach and the stand. Rafe cursed, knowing that Topper’s one of their strongest member. He watched as Topper tried to argue with the referee, but it was no use.

“It’s okay,” Kelce said, patting his back as he made his way back to the bench. “Relax, bro, okay?” Topper calmed down after the coach said something to him, but Rafe could clearly see the distress written on his face.

“You’re okay?” Kelce asked, pointing to his arms.

Rafe could move his muscles now though he could feel the sharp pain from doing so. But he was too content on winning this game.

(Y/N) watched as the second match unfold, her teeth biting into her lips in fear. She didn’t feel like having the next week full of gloomy students and disappointed teachers, so she wanted the cup as much as everyone else.

Rafe was fast, throwing the ball smoothly back and forth with Kelce and his other friends, but it was apparent that the Star Player wasn’t feeling like himself.

It might be the arm, or the fact that Ward Cameron was too busy with his work to see his son playing.

37 minutes had passed, and the other team was leading. They only had 3 minutes left, and with the team being so drained out and their captain with a broken arm, it was clear who was winning.

The whistle blared through the field again, noting the end of the match. As the other team supporters cheered happily the other side of the stands muttered silently to each other about the game.

(Y/N) watched as Rafe yelled something at his teammates angrily before storming off to the locker room. He winced in pain, holding his arm for support, and ignored every calls from his friends as he made his way to the empty room.

Looking around quickly, she muttered a ‘be right back’ to Sarah, and quickly followed Rafe into the locker room. She wanted to see if he was okay, and if he needed help with his arm.

In truth, she just wanted to be there for him.

“Hey,” she slowly said, and Rafe’s head perked up to see her before he looked down to the ground again.

“What do you want?”

She felt a struck of pain across her heart at his tone, but decided against it. “Are you okay?”

“Fine. You’re not supposed to be here.”

“I was just trying to see if you need anything,” she said, and when his eyes finally looked up to her again, she unconsciously pulled her skirt down again.

“Yeah? I don’t need anything. Go!”

“Wow, you’re a dick,” she scoffed, and before Rafe could mutter anything back, she exited the locker room and straight to the cheer team. She felt a mixture of anger and embarrassment all at once, because God, Rafe Cameron did not just yell at her for trying to be nice.

She should’ve known better than to be ‘nice’ to him. He wasn’t the same 8 year old she met 10 years ago.

. . .

A week had passed from the game, and everything went back to normal.

Except for one person.

Rafe didn’t come to school the next Monday, not that (Y/N) wanted to see him after getting yelled at, but she couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.

He didn’t just broke his arm; his father also chose not to attend his game.

It was finally Friday, and (Y/N) was too happy to stay home and continue watching Love Island. Life is better when you are focused on someone else’s relationship other than yours.

She was rolling in her bed, casually smiling at the cheesy joke made by one of the contestant, and before she could hear the reply towards the joke, the doorbell blared throughout the house.

(Y/N) groaned, thinking how Kelce must’ve forgotten his keys again, and waited a few more minutes so that he would just leave her alone and go to that stupid prick, Rafe Cameron’s house.

But the doorbell rang again, and she had no choice but to open the door. She was all alone in the big house, having both her parents still working and her maids having the day off.

But when she opened the door, the boy standing before her was the last person she wanted to see.

“Hi,” Rafe said.

“Kelce’s not here,” she mumbled, and pushed the door close. Rafe’s quickly put his hands to block the door from closing, and (Y/N) pulled away after deciding not to crush his other only working hands.

“What?” She asked, in the same tone that he had given her in the locker room. She felt good when his eyebrows were raised.

“I’m here for you.”

“Why? Did I die or something?” Bingo.

“God, you’re impossible,” Rafe sighed. “Can I talk to you? Just us two?”

(Y/N) sighed, wanting to get this done, and opened the door wider to grant him into her home. (Y/N) closed the door and pressed her back against it, crossing her arms.

“Okay. Talk.”

“Look, I’m sorry, okay?” He said. “I was just so angry with everything. I was pushed and Topper received a red card because of me—”

“You didn’t do anything, Rafe.”

“Yeah, but he was just trying to protect me. And, and I was just so mad at myself because I couldn’t play properly like I usually play. I’m so sorry for yelling at you. I didn’t mean it.”

(Y/N) sighed, “It’s okay. I’m over it.”

“Really?” He stepped closer, and this time, (Y/N) allowed him. “Thank you so much!”

He pulled her into a crushing hug, and before she could put her mind into it, he lifted her up and spin her around.

“Okay, okay, now you’re just pushing it,” she groaned, hitting him on his chest. “Put me down, Rafe, I swear to god.”

Rafe put her down, his face shining happily. They were close again, like that time in the lake, and (Y/N) didn’t feel like pushing him away again.

Because maybe, that 8 year old him was somewhere in there.

“Uh—” he looked away, scratching the back of his head. “Do you wanna. . . watch Netflix?”

(Y/N) cleared her throat, “I was watching Love Island. Wanna watch with me?”

Rafe nodded, anything to get closer with this girl, and followed her upstairs to her room. The first time he entered her room was 9 years ago, and it was only because Topper and Kelce had pranked him into thinking that her room was the gaming room.

“What are you doing?” The girl before him yelled, and before he could explain how he was lied to, she threw a pink hairbrush at him. He groaned from the pain, rubbing his head.

“I’m sorry, I thought this was the gaming room!”

“Out!” She yelled, and he quickly obliged.

Her room was still pink, but it was now filled with so many books, clothes and makeups instead of the dollhouse and toys he saw a few years ago.

“Is this the pink hairbrush you threw at me?” He laughed, holding the pink tool. (Y/N) snatched the hairbrush, embarrassed, and quickly stuffed them into the drawers.

He placed himself beside her on her bed, watching her as she resumed the video. He focused on the show, trying to find at least something interesting from the show, but there was nothing.

2 episodes later, he was too into the show that he pressed on the stop button before they could continue on the next episode.

“I wish they would just communicate,” he said. “Like the whole show’s pointless. They didn’t try to talk to each other about their problems.”

“Yeah, that’s what makes the show interesting, Rafe,” she said as if that was a fact, “And besides, if they communicate, everyone will win the show.”

“Then that’s just good. A win-win situation.”

“You don’t get it,” she groaned, looking into his face. “There’s no use in fighting with you about this.”

She pressed on the resume button again, and instantly, Rafe pressed on the stop button.

“Rafe, I will—”

“You still haven’t apologised for throwing the hairbrush at me.”

She widened her eyes, “That was 9 years ago.”

“And?”

“Fine,” she placed her laptop aside, and turned to fully look him in the face. “Sorry.”

“Not sincere enough.”

She groaned, “Rafe, I am terribly sorry for throwing my pink hairbrush at you. I am so sorry that it hit your face and be the reason why you’re still holding vengeance at someone.”

“I’m not talking about that kind of sorry.”

“Fuck, you’re annoying,” she said. “I’m not going to bow down to you or anything.”

“Just a kiss.”

She looked at him back, her heart stopping at his words. “No.”

“Why?”

“Why? Because you’re Rafe?”

“Rafe? Okay, fine. I’m not Rafe. I’m Rafael.”

“Okay, it’s still a no. You’re Kelce’s best friend.”

“Didn’t you kiss Topper last year?”

“That was a dare—” she sighed. “And it didn’t mean anything.”

“Exactly. This won’t mean anything. This is just a sorry.”

It would mean everything to her to place her lips against his.

“This is sexual harassment.”

“Not if you want it too,” he said, and leaned closer to her. “And you do want it, right? I can see it in your eyes.”

She didn’t know why God would put her and Rafe in this damn position over and over again, because it wasn’t helping her to get over him.

She looked down to his lips, and how it was so inviting, and she wanted more than anything to kiss him, to finally give herself to him, but she was afraid.

“Rafe—”

“Shut up,” he cut her off, and pressed himself against her. Their kiss was slow and passionate, none like neither (Y/N) or Rafe had experienced before. Her hands found themselves wrapping around Rafe’s neck, pulling him closer.

He pulled away, grinning. “I thought you didn’t want this.”

“Shut up.” She rolled her eyes, and pulled him in for another kiss again.

He pushed her down onto the bed gently, still kissing her, and his hands were roaming down her body. She was so, so perfect and every time he saw her, he would have to look away to stop the unwanted thoughts forming in his head.

During the game last Friday, he had to pinch himself from staring at her legs in that goddamn skirt for too long.

“Fuck, you’re perfect,” he whispered, and she hummed in response before pushing him over so she could take control. She sat on top of him, grinning widely. She was in heaven; seeing him all worked up under her with his chest heaving.

“You would be surprised at the amount of times I imagined myself on top of you like this,” she said, placing her hands flat on top of his chest.

Rafe grinned back, trying to contain his feelings. “Yeah? Wanna show what else you’ve been imagining?”

She leaned closer, making sure to brush her bottom against him and hearing his soft groans. She placed a soft kiss against his cheek, and whispered into his ear.

“Would rather have you show what you’ve been dreaming of me.”

Rafe licked his lips, loving this side of her, and he wanted more than anything to make her his. She looked so innocent sitting there on top of him, smiling and biting her lips.

Before he could touch her in ways he never did to a girl before, a voice rang from outside the room.

“(Y/N)? Have you seen Rafe? I saw his car outside,” the voice said. After a few seconds of silence, he sighed. “You’re okay? I’m coming in, okay?”

“No, no, wait!” (Y/N) shouted, scrambling from her position on top of Rafe as he quickly pulled her up, but it was too late.

Kelce saw them in the midst of trying to get away, with his sister’s leg on one side of his best friend and his best friend’s hands still around his sister’s waist.

“What. The. Fuck.”

@okayshoto @joselyn001 @onceuponateenagetrash @dyingsleeping @iwannabeapogue @meaganjm @rafesobxs @flossy2929 @unfortunatekiwitrash @scottybitch @asimpwriter @amaya124 @tommy-tommo @thatshithurted8 @fallincindy @marvelwhor3 @rafeswh0ree @kookap @supernaturallydc-blog @blank-velvet @alaniskauany @kiiim8 @witchywrter @kaitlyn2907 @heyimflo @overcookedpastasause @tsukkiswifeey @spidey-d00d @anonymousobxfan @gotmeinloveagain @chicagoblackhawkslover96 @lexi-writes @classydragonthingknight @belongtoyou-u @badbussylol @savannah-elliott @angelreyesgirl100 @haterpenny @beehappyyy @alwaysclassyeagle @maybankslut @kayleea122 @clearbolts @lovelyxtom @christianaevans @jemimah-b99 @opierdalacz @dangerdolns @wildflowerliv @classygirlything21 @pogueslandia

#rafe cameron #rafe cameron x reader #rafe cameron smuts #rafe cameron imaginens #rafe cameron one shot #drew starkey #drew starkey x reader #drew starkey imagines #outerbanks #outerbanks x reader #outerbanks imagines #outerbanks smut

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theyreonlynoodlesmike · 3 years

Note

Request idea: After feeding, the Boys are passing through the graveyard. To their amusement they see a drunk girl who is talking to a gravestone. They eventually realise that she is talking to her dead fiancé. Even though she’s crying and her words are slurred, they are genuinely moved, as her sorrow and pain are very raw and real. A small part of them feels sorry for her, but a selfish part of them see it as fate. If they hadn’t killed her lover, they would have never met their mate. *sips tea*

I'm in a goth romance mood so this is gonna be sad as shit

Apology Flowers (poly!lost boys x Fem!reader)

Warnings: angst, regret, sad shit supreme,

Word Count: 1.3k

The boys were making their nightly rounds. They'd eaten early in the night, and now they were just driving around the city to kill time before they went to bed for the day. The boardwalk had been dead, with nothing worthy of their attention going on that night. Marko had muttered something about how it must've been a weekday. But, a night drive was as good as a way to spend their time as any way else.

The boys sat back on their bikes and planted their feet on the ground. They were stopped at a red light, and the four of them looked around when David heard something. He glanced towards the cemetery, swiping at his nose as a smirk grew on his face. Perhaps they'd have a second course. But, as their eyes focused on the sight, they saw you.

You were sitting on top of a grave, a fresh one from the state of the soil. David's grin fell, and the boys quieted. They could hear your sobs, see the bottle in your hand. The glint of a ring on your finger. Your words were slurred as you said,

"Today," She hiccuped and wiped your face. "Today was 'upposed to be the big day." A sad smile crossed over your face, before it turned into another sob. You ran a hand over the grave. "You would've- would've loved my dress. Had lace and- and-" You were moving, changing how you sat and leaning your back against the stone. They watched as you took another swig from the bottle before you continued your drunken rambles.

Usually, they'd think someone like you was easy pickings, probably even make jokes about why you were crying. But, they couldn't deny the pull they felt. The pull they all felt.

You were theirs, and you were in pain.

The light in front of them turned green, but none of them moved. How could they? They'd found their mate and you were snivelling in a graveyard, possibly trying to drink yourself to death. And, when you exclaimed,

"God, why- Why did you," You paused to throw the bottle. "Why did you have to go get yourself killed!" The boys were nearly positive that they might've had something to do with it. They couldn't know for sure. Not truly. But, it was more likely than not.

David looked over at the rest of them. He could see the way Paul was tilting his head, staring at you. As if his brain was already coming up with ways to talk to you. If he'd stumbled onto you by himself, he probably would be already. Marko was staring at you the same way, but his expression was unreadable. Even to the bleached blonde. And Dwayne? Dwaynes eyes had shifted to him. They gave eachother a knowing glance, and, while David was revving his engine and pushing his bike forward, they silently agreed to come back.

They'd come back without their bikes, just to find you asleep on the ground. You were curled up in a little ball, the late night chill nipping at your skin. They'd flown down, and David had let out a sigh when he saw you. They couldn't just leave you.

All it took was a minor pat down and they'd found your wallet, along with your driver's license. Once they had your address, the only thing left to do was get you there. Dwayne had been the one to offer to carry you, and none of them had argued. They'd flown you back to your house, even going through the lengths to break in. Paul was good with a lock when he wanted to be, but Marko had decided time was of essence and used his strength to open your back-door instead. Marko whispered,

"I'll buy her a new lock later." As Dwayne carried you over the threshold. They'd looked around, taking in the sights of your house. It was nice, but they frowned when they saw that it was littered with funeral home bills, wedding plans, and photos of you with who they assumed was your fiance. Paul picked one of them up, looking down at the photo.

"Fuck." He said a little too loudly as Dwayne set you gently down on your couch. You made a noise and they all froze, only for you to turn onto your side and fall back asleep. They all glared at him, and Paul's only response was a mouthed, "Sorry." And then he held up the frame. And, there he was. Your Mr. Right. David sighed as he looked at the picture. Of course, he thought. They had, in fact, eaten him about a little over a week ago.

Nothing can ever be easy, David thought. He looked at the others, and then nodded towards the back door. They needed to leave, think about how they'd approach this. It was as they were leaving that Marko noticed a book on your table, and he swiped it without a second thought.

***

When you woke up on your own couch, you'd done a double take. Your bones were stiff and your head was swimming. You held your head, trying to remember how you got home. The only thing you could remember was that you'd gone to a liquor store, and tried to drink your body-weight in alcohol. Everything after that was a little fuzzy. You groaned as you sat up, and decided to ignore the dirt on your clothes in favor of getting yourself some ibuprofen.

You went about your week the same as you'd been ever since your fiance had passed. You forced yourself to eat breakfast, took a shower, checked a day off the calendar, and then went back to sleep. Anything else seemed like too much energy. Plus, you had the time off for your honeymoon. It was a glum thought as you looked out your bedroom window.

Things had been weird. You'd found that your back door lock was broken, but nothing seemed to be missing at first. It wasn't until yesterday that you realized you couldn't find one of the books you'd been meaning to return to your friend. The language of flowers book you'd been using to plan your wedding. You picked at your comforter, trying to think of where you could've misplaced it. When you looked at your clock, you let out a little sigh.

You'd been at home for days, and you'd finally decided to drag yourself out of bed. You didn't have anywhere you could go, anyone you wanted to see. So, the only place you could think of was the cemetery.

Your feet dragged as you walked through the rows, and you sighed as you walked a path that you'd almost memorized. Tears were already building in your eyes as you looked up from your feet, but you froze at what you saw. There was a bouquet.

It was a bouquet of purple-blue hyacinths and white lilies. You'd spent the past months studying flowers for your arrangements, and you were more than aware that lilies were a funeral flower but hyacinths? You kneeled, reaching out to touch the bouquet. Your brows furrowed together, a swirl of questions in your mind. Anyone could've visited the grave, so it shouldn't have mattered. It wouldn't have mattered if you could just remember what hyacinths were for.

You ended up going home to go through some of your notes, the ones that were scattered on your dining room table. You knew hyacinths had been put on your "avoid" list, but you couldn't remember why. It wasn't until you found one of your notepads that you remembered. A chill went down your spine as you read the words. There, in your own handwriting, was scrawled,

"Hyacinths - apology flowers."

#the lost boys #the lost boys 1987 #paul the lost boys #the lost boys marko #the lost boys dwayne #the lost boys david #marko the lost boys #david the lost boys #dwayne the lost boys #the lost boys paul #the lost boys x reader

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notchesandbullets · 3 years

Text

Tangy Starfruit and White Sea Foam (Tiger!Todoroki x Reader)

Warnings: none, unless you count ridiculous amounts of fluff and shenanigans (oh and cursing). hints of BKDK and Kami x Jirou, pro-hero AU, aged-up!AU, Todoroki’s a tiger as a result of a quirk accident that happened on the job. Todoroki and reader are in a established relationship. Bakugou gets tied to a tree, Shinsou and Tsuyu are good friends, you and Todoroki may have a mishap on your hands in the near future. Featuring the rest of class A + Shinsou.

A/N: third and final piece for @ultimate-astridwriting ‘s hybrid collab!! i had an entirely different thing written out for tiger todoroki, it was 2.5k words full of angst bc real life is shitty atm but then bam, i got an idea while eating dinner and now here we are xD. get ready for sun and sand at the beach with a graduated class A!!

Words: 7k

Golden sun raised high in the sky scorched the earth below, turning the pristine white sand into scalding hot lava. But that didn’t hold back the group of 22 from surging forth.

Happy squeals that tumbled from the girls as they caught sight of the sparkling blue waves dancing on the horizon turned into wheezing laughs and yelps as the sand burned their bare feet.

Jirou whooped, a wide smile stretched across her face as she grabbed Yaoyorozu’s hand. “Last one in is a rotten egg!!”

“No fair, Kyoka-chan!!” Uraraka huffed as she pumped her short legs to go faster and catch up.

Kaminari hollered obnoxiously, screaming all the way into the ocean as he tore right past you.

“Do not run!!!!” Iida yelled, trying to make himself be heard above the clamor but to no avail.

You smiled at him sympathetically but he merely shook his head and followed after them to make sure none of his former classmates hurt themselves.

They’re lucky to have you… You thought to yourself, clapping a hand over your mouth when the sound of him scolding Mina and Sero reached your ears from all the way across the deserted beach.

You had found this isolated spot a long time ago, back when you lived on your own and had yet the privilege of calling anyone family. This was a place of comfort for you, a gem hidden away from the greedy eyes of the world looking to corrupt anything and everything that was pure.

Here, you found solace. You found peace.

After you graduated from UA and everyone was giving each other teary goodbye hugs in the common floor filled with all the boxes of things they all had to move into moving trucks, you offered up one day. One day, if everyone wanted to come, you would show them a place very special to you.

The girls had a vague idea of where you guys were going based on the swimsuit dress code. In all honesty, maybe you should’ve made it a little harder for them, but they were your friends. And you were too excited.

Here, on this beach hidden by dense foliage and sheer cliffs, your little piece of paradise remained a secret. Until now.

“Y/N, come on!!!” Hagakure shouted, waving excitedly for you to join them.

“In a minute!!” You yelled back, looking back to see if your boyfriend was following. “Shouto?”

You spun around in a full circle when you couldn’t find him, a frown twisting your features until Shoji came up behind you and tapped you on the shoulder.

“He’s coming.” He told you, jerking his chin back a few paces the way you guys came to signal where he last saw him.

You shot him a look of relief for his well-timed reassurance. “Thanks.”

Shoji dipped his head, hoisting the basket slung over his shoulder higher as he motioned for Tokoyami to pass you. “No problem.”

A skeptical Tokoyami followed the gentle giant, muttering under his breath why the use of quirks had to be banned for today. Koda waved to you shyly and you smiled.

Iida had made it a rule for the day that no quirks were allowed to be used unless in case of an emergency. This was to do damage control and hopefully prevent a fight between Bakugou and literally anyone else.

No one had any arguments. They were all here to relax, not think about their work life. All villains and life outside of this paradise was put on hold until tomorrow came.

You decided to wait until Todoroki caught up with you, and since everyone had raced on ahead, eager to soak up as much sun as they could on the one off day they were all able to get off together, you leaned back against the rough rock and tilted your head up to the sky.

Sighing wistfully, your eyes fluttered shut as the sun’s blazing afternoon rays warmed your body.

You knew what showing them this place meant, and you knew that your friends were fully aware of it. It had been something so special to you for so long that you sharing it with them meant that you trusted them a great deal.

They were honored.

As rising pro-heroes in the world, they were constantly swamped with malicious villains, endless paperwork, press conferences and training the next generation. There was no time for rest.

But your former classmates were insistent that time be taken out for that purpose amidst all the craziness, especially Bakugou.

Down time was important. It was necessary. Or else you all would burnout and then none of you would be any good to save anybody.

This is why you chose this place.

It was secluded enough where there was no paparazzi, no cameras, no exposure and no one was the wiser. Here, you guys could be as loud and as free as you wanted because there was no one around to threaten that fragile bubble of happiness.

Heaving the bulging bag full of food and other amenities that you had swiped from Yaoyorozu as soon as you guys arrived higher on your shoulder, you wiped the bead of sweat from your forehead as it started to drip down your face.

“Shouto, c’mon!!” You encouraged aimlessly, since you didn’t know where he was. “Don’t you want to join the others?”

A faint rustle came from the bush a yard away from you and then it stilled. “No.”

You fought back a smile at the curt reply. You could almost envision that pout on his lips. Cheeky boy.

“Shouto~” You sang, fishing out a piece of his favorite food and waving it in the air, knowing that he could smell it. “I have a present for you…”

A beat of silence passed, and then two fluffy ears, one white and one red, poked out from the brush.

You suppressed a smile, knowing that would only make him leave in a huff and then his stubbornness wouldn’t let him come out and joy you for another hour. You couldn’t do that, he would miss all the fun!!

Waving it a bit more so that the enticing scent of the delectable food encouraged him out of his hiding place, you opted to hold your ground. “C’mon, Shouto. I promise, no tricks.”

His facial expression didn’t change but his ears perked up a bit and you couldn’t help the small giggle that escaped you. He was adorable.

Todoroki’s face fell the second he heard you laugh. “You’re laughing at me.”

You stopped immediately and straightened up, shaking your head. “I’m not.”

“Yes, you are.” He pushed back, crossing his arms over his chest as he stepped out of the bush with stray leaves clinging to his fur and branches sticking out of his head. Plopping down on the dirt, he puffed out his cheeks.

Your eyes softened and you set down the heavy bag, keeping your form relaxed as you tuned out the splashing and shrieks of laughter coming from the ocean.

“I’m sorry I laughed.” You apologized sincerely, never once breaking eye contact with your boyfriend. “I just thought you were very cute.”

Todoroki snorted, a sound so unlike his normally stoic and guarded demeanor, burrowing his face into his arms resting atop of the knees tucked into his chest. “That’s not funny…”

Your smile saddened a fraction as a memory washed over you as though it just happened yesterday.

Trouble had a habit of finding your beloved boyfriend and last week was no different.

The villain he was fighting against had a particularly interesting quirk, since he could manifest certain traits of people into their animal counterpart based solely on their personalities.

Todoroki wasn’t put off until someone pointed out that he must have rage like a tiger, making him internalize everything and now a good seven days later, he still had yet to come to terms with his appearance and strange habits involving a diet of primarily meat.

Fuyumi had sobbed how grateful she was that you were willing to take care of her brother in your apartment until the effects of the quirk dissipated. He was arguing with his father a lot more than usual and the tension in the Todoroki home had skyrocketed.

You brushed it off, merely telling her it was the least that you could do.

Your boyfriend had a tough time adjusting to his new normal. Things were hard for him to grab and he couldn’t cuddle you like he was used to. He liked walking on all fours since he found he could go a lot faster when he used all his appendages instead of only half.

His quirk, however, had been giving him a particularly rough time and the finesse he had honed of over the years disappeared overnight.

To say that Todoroki was upset about it was an understatement.

He would do nothing else but sit in his room for days when you brought him home with you, refusing to let you in unless you came with a peace offering.

That always smoothed things enough for you to talk to him and you were hoping it wouldn’t fail you now.

Todoroki eyed the fish skeptically, tilting his head curiously when you offered it up to him once more. With the pace of a snail, he uncurled from his protective ball and padded forward slowly, raising his nose in the air to sniff.

“Hungry?” You asked sympathetically.

Todoroki hesitated a second before nodding slowly.

Your shoulders dropped and you knelt down, holding it out to him. “Here.”

His eyes lit up and his tail flicked back and forth, gaze darting to you instinctively as though to ask if it really was okay.

You bit back a smile but the corners of your eyes still crinkled and you inclined your head to give him the go ahead.

Before you could blink, the fish was swiped from your hand and as soon as your eyes focused, you burst out laughing.

There, Todoroki crouched on the ground, chomping on the tasty treat.

Wiping off the palm of your hands on your hiking shorts, you beamed down at him, offering out your hand for him to take. “Feel better now?”

“Maybe…” He mumbled quietly as he polished it off before reluctantly accepting the invitation.

It wasn’t that he didn’t love you or love to shower you with affection, it was just that he was used to doing all of that when he was fully a human, not a hybrid.

It was weird.

He found himself clinging desperately to your old t-shirts when you left the home to go on patrol, waiting around for you to come back. He heard when your heartbeat would speed up whenever he was around and how your breath hitched when he leaned in to kiss you goodnight.

Ever since the start of your relationship, he had been the one to take care of you. And he liked it that way.

This dynamic was foreign to him. And he wasn’t sure if it was because he truly disliked you taking care of him, or if it was because of something else.

Todoroki was broken out of his deep thoughts the instant you came to stand right next to Iida.

Before he knew what he was doing, the edges of his mouth pulled back in a menacing snarl and he pounced.

The unsuspecting Iida landed hard on the white sands with an ‘oomph’.

“Todoroki-kun!! Please control yourself!!” Iida shouted, doing his best not to hurt him as the tiger hybrid clawed at him.

You gasped. “Shouto!! Oh my gosh, Iida, I’m so sorry!!”

Pulling him off of the other, you went rigid as your boyfriend whined in your ear. The sound was too low for anyone else to pick up on, but you heard it.

“What’s wrong?” You whispered as Iida brushed off his swim shorts, thrusting his hand straight up into the air to stop Kaminari from drowning himself in an attempt to prove to Sero and Mina that he could hold his breath longer than they could.

Todoroki wrapped his arms around your waist, mouth pressed in a thin line as he buried his face into the crook of your neck.

You allowed yourself to relax against him as he pawed feebly at your sides, getting as close to him as possible.

With the increase in physical contact, the tension melted away from Todoroki’s broad form and you heaved a sigh of relief.

“Awwwww~” You cooed teasingly, reaching behind you to pinch his cheek gently and tugging until his smile morphed into a scowl. “Who’s the big scary tiger?”

Todoroki swatted you away, scrambling back until he was free from your affectionate hold on him. It wasn’t his fault he couldn’t control his protective instincts and it certainly wasn’t his fault for reacting the way that he did when he smelled Iida’s scent all over you. You were his.

Of course he was going to protect you.

Baring his teeth at the tease, he hissed, tiny fangs on display.

You shouldn’t have found that as cute as you did.

Two more bodies shouldered their way past you and you grinned.

“Took you two long enough.” You smirked, wrangling your boyfriend back when he struggled in the firm grip you had around his arms to prevent him from knocking another person over.

The power couple had a habit of falling behind their ranks while getting lost in their own world. It was disgustingly cute.

Bakugou rolled his eyes angrily and gnashed his teeth. “Now you’re counting, dumbass? You’re worse than the shitty nerd.”

Midoriya ignored that comment as he sidled past you warily, forest green eyes sympathetic once they fell on your significant other. “Todoroki-kun still hasn’t changed back yet?”

He had seen the news coverage on it when the incident happened. Luckily, he wasn’t physically harmed, just physically altered, but it didn’t look like it was going away anytime soon.

Planting your hands on your hips, you yelped as Todoroki ripped himself from your grasp to tear off after Shinsou and tackled him next when he got too close to you. “No, not yet.”

Spraying white sand everywhere with his hind legs, it was almost endearing how his head raised and heterochromic eyes blinked back at you as soon as your voice sounded, silently begging for permission.

You followed his gaze to the ocean spray behind you and shook your head fondly, suppressing a smile as you jerked your head in Yaoyorozu’s direction. She would watch over him and make sure none of the other boys bullied him.

“Go on.” You encouraged softly, and that was all he needed.

While Bakugou set up the tent for him and his boyfriend so that Midoriya wouldn't get sunburnt, not that he would ever admit to doing it for that reason, your best friend eagerly asked for updates on all the latest changes.

Whipping out his hero notebook, his eyes shone with enthusiasm. “What has he been eating?! Does he prefer tuna or white cod? Oh, oh, oh, is there a difference in his quirk?! How does it impact his—”

Midoriya’s endless and excited rambling was cut off by his fuming boyfriend as he smacked him over the head and he cried out in pain, clutching his head. “Wahhhhh, Kacchan!!!”

“Shut the hell up, Deku.” Bakugou snarled, stomping past him to throw a bottle of sunscreen at you. “Put this on, shitty woman.”

You grinned, already squeezing the tube to squirt some onto your hand and slathered it on your arms. “Aw, you do care.”

“Go die.” He hissed, turning on his heel so abruptly that he almost slipped.

You refrained from giggling as he furiously, yet meticulously, took out various food items from the picnic basket that he had brought with. No matter how much he claimed he didn’t care about any of you, actions sure spoke louder than words.

Class A had graduated from UA all together and each and every one of you had secured a spot as a sidekick for many top pro-heroes all around the country. Before a year had even passed, all 22 of you had made a name for yourself, so much so that you were all almost as famous as the pros.

Midoriya was the first one to start his own agency, no surprise there. But what was a surprise was Bakugou following right after to build one right next to his.

The general public suspected it was because that area where their agencies were was riddled with violent crime, but you knew better. You all did, really.

How could anyone miss the lingering gazes filled with adoration and passion?

“Y/N, come on!!” Shinsou hollered, ducking under Shoji’s arm to sprint back towards you. “You’re missing all the fun!!”

“Be right there!!” You shouted back, rearranging the tablecloth on the ground so that it would lay flat.

You still needed to grab the bag you left at the foot of the cliffs because it was getting too heavy for you to carry. But you chanced a glance up and the glimpse of your friends had a wide smile breaking out on your face.

Todoroki was splashing in the shallows, completely soaking his fur. Jirou and Hagakure shrieked as Mina chased the two of them around, sparking an impromptu game of tag. Koda was in the middle of showing Tokoyami his seagull friend when Uraraka bumped into him.

Tsuyu and Kirishima were beachcombing for shells a little bit away when Kaminari skidded to a halt in front of them with Yaoyorozu in tow.

Aoyama, Ojiro, Sato, Iida and Mineta were playing beach volleyball with the inflatable ball that the former class president had brought along with them.

Dragging the beach bag behind you over to your spot that you set up far away from the shore so that when the tide came in, it wouldn’t wash everything away, you took out an array of towels, more sunblock, floaties, snacks, water bottles, coverups and a pair of sunglasses for Aoyama in case he forgot his again.

Standing up tall, you cupped your hands over your mouth and yelled, “Lunchtime!!!”

Several whoops and hollers pierced the salty air and you snorted when Midoriya almost tripped over his boyfriend’s outstretched feet in his haste to get there first.

Amidst the clamor and friends swarming around you, you twisted around, looking for your tiger hybrid boyfriend. “Shouto—”

“I’m here.”

You jumped as the low rumble sounded right by your ear, shivering unconsciously as his warm chest pressed up against your back.

“Hey…” You murmured as he mashed the top of his head in between your shoulder blades before planting a soft kiss there. “Did you have fun?”

He nodded, resting his chin on your shoulder to look over it as everyone rearranged themselves in a large circle.

You and Bakugou took care of the food prep while all your friends engorged themselves on the pre-made sandwiches and finger food.

“Oi, half-n-half bastard.” Bakugou growled, breaking the bubble of peace you two had with his temper that came out the longer your hands stayed motionless. “Stop bothering her, she’s not doing shit.”

Normally Bakugou’s crude language didn’t bother or upset Todoroki in any way, so you were shocked with a snarl echoed, washing over the group and effectively silencing them.

You squeaked as his arms tightened around you almost protectively and landed with an ‘oof’ as he pulled you to the ground.

“Shouto?!” You cried out incredulously as he unabashedly nuzzled his face into the hollow of your throat, setting his thick thighs on either side of you.

You rolled your eyes when Bakugou went rigid with anger. You could feel the heat emitting from your beloved’s glare as he locked stares with the pomeranian who was furious that the dumb extra thought he was flirting with you.

“That’s enough.” You scolded, though it was unclear who you were really talking to.

Neither wavered.

“Icyhot, you dumb fuck.” Bakugou spat, never once breaking eye contact, even as the chatter picked up again.

Todoroki snarled but the expression of rage contorted into meek sheepishness as you ran your fingers lightly through his hair, being mindful of his ears.

Humming softly, you coaxed him back down to earth long enough for common sense to return to him.

Todoroki bundled you up in his arms, tail swishing back and forth lazily as he held you. “Sorry.”

You shook your head at his apology, knowing he couldn’t fully control his impulses sometimes. “Not your fault.”

Bakugou snorted, smacking Kirishima in the face with a fish fillet when he asked to see what he was cooking. “Yes it fucking is.”

He just barely managed to dodge the shoe you launched at his head, straightening up with an enraged scowl etched on his features.

“OI!!!!”

You giggled, wiggling back to get comfortable against Todoroki’s chest. “You deserved it.”

“TAKE THAT SHIT BACK!!!!!” He thundered, smoke coming out of his ears.

“Kacchan!!” Midoriya cried out, wrestling back his boyfriend before his temper tantrum could reach the two of you.

He begged Jirou or Kaminari to help him but the two of them simply flipped the bird to Bakugou, and he exploded.

Literally.

What happened next was a flurry of the class rep containing the situation and a spark of green lightning before it was over as quickly as it started.

“I’m going to fucking kill all of you.” Bakugou seethed angrily, eye twitching from where his loving boyfriend had used One for All to pin him to the ground, tying him to the trunk of a nearby coconut tree until he calmed down.

“Ah…” Midoriya winced sheepishly as his glare turned on him. “K-Kacchan—”

Jirou’s loud slurping of the smoothie that Sato just made interrupted him and she regarded the fuming grown man disinterestedly. “Who’s up for a game?”

“Oh, oh, oh, meeeee!!!” Hagakure shouted, raising her hand high in the air alongside Uraraka and an intrigued Tsuyu.

“MEEEEEE!!!!” Mina screamed, nearly blowing out Kaminari’s eardrums as he collapsed on top of his girlfriend.

Jirou pushed him off without hesitation, fighting back a smirk when he let out an overexaggerated whimper of pain, knowing full well that he wasn’t actually hurt.

Shoji stopped what he was doing to pay attention and even the usually shy Koda looked interested in her proposal on how to deal with the tied up pomeranian thrashing in place.

Jirou raised an eyebrow slyly and everybody held their breath in anticipation.

One.

Two.

Three.

“PIN THE TAIL ON THE BAKUGOU!!!!!” Jirou screamed, holding up a sticky dart that they all regularly used for training.

How she managed to sneak equipment out of the agency she worked at was beyond you.

Jirou whooped, scrambling forward and held it up high. “I’m going first!!”

“Me next, Kyoka-chan!!!” Uraraka pleaded.

“Class A, this is highly inappropriate!!!!” Iida shouted, trying to curb the situation before it got out of hand.

Too late.

As the girls, save for Yaoyorozu, clustered gathered around a livid Bakugou, Tokoyami uncrossed his arms and pushed off of his post from where he had been keeping watch over the perimeter of the beach.

“I will join.”

You and Todoroki were both surprised, not expecting the normally reclusive individual to join in on the shenanigans.

Your dropped jaw caught Tokoyami’s attention and the corner of his mouth twitched in amusement.

“I find great satisfaction in tormenting the souls of the wicked.” He declared impassively and a light bulb went off in your head.

“Ahhhhh,” You drew out with a grimace. “I get it.”

Back when you guys had lived in the dorms, Bakugou had made the fatal mistake of scaring Tokoyami during Halloween, making the latter let out an inhuman scream that traveled all the way across campus. Even though he had sworn to the moon and back that it was accidental, that there was no way he was actively participating in the game that Raccoon-Eyes and Flat Face had going on, Tokoyami never forgot it.

And now it was time for his revenge.

Tokoyami caught the tomato that Sero threw his way and tossed it up in the air with the most menacing glare on his face as everyone advanced to the struggling pro-hero.

“Bakugou, you ready?!” Kirishima shouted excitedly, removing the gag from his best friend’s mouth.

“PISS OFF, SHITTY HAIR!!!!” Bakugou exploded once he was free, yanking at his restraints even though he had no chance of getting out of them.

His boyfriend tied them.

Hagakure tapped Jirou’s shoulder warily. “You think we should’ve left it on?”

The other girl shrugged nonchalantly, unbothered by the rage rolling off of him in waves. “Eh, he would’ve found a way out of it eventually.”

Shinsou twirled a piece of Tsuyu’s hair that he was braiding, boredly looking on at all the chaos as they all pushed and pulled each other. He had asked Aizawa to teach him how back when he lived in the dormitory so that he could do it for Eri whenever she came over to visit.

“Shinsou-chan, are you going to take a turn?” She asked curiously, staying still so that he could braid her long hair properly.

He shrugged even though she couldn’t see him. “I don’t really see the point in it.”

“Kero,” She ribbeted thoughtfully. They were the only two not contributing to the shouting other than you and Todoroki. “I see.”

“Ehhhh?!?!” Kaminari exclaimed, losing his footing as he accidentally tripped over Kirishima’s foot and crashed into Shinsou.

Shooting him a sharp glare as all his hard work undid itself, Shinsou pushed himself off the ground, not sparing him a glance as he marched back over to the frog girl to fix it.

You giggled to yourself at Kaminari’s expression of mock hurt but pursued your lips quickly when his head snapped towards the sound. Pure smile dripping with innocence, your shoulders shook with laughter when he turned all the way around suspiciously, piercing gaze landing on his girlfriend as she doubled over with laughter at something Yaoyorozu said.

Bakugou thrashed helplessly against the coconut tree. “I’M GONNA FUCKIN’ KILL YOU, EARPHONES!!!!!”

But Jirou’s boisterous chortling was all that answered his threat.

You sank back against Todoroki, sighing blissfully despite the war raging on as they started the game, Bakugou protesting violently all the way.

Angling your head up, your eyes squinted against the sun but you still smiled as soft fur brushed your cheek.

“Are you happy, Shouto?” You asked softly, quiet enough to not catch the attention of the others as they yelled for Midoriya to keep his boyfriend still.

He paused, choosing to play with the fringe of your shirt instead of responding right away. “Right now?”

Your smile dimmed a fraction, not expecting that answer. “... I suppose I meant just in general, but you could answer with whatever comes to mind…”

You trailed off, leaving the question itself open ended so that he could opt not to answer it if he didn’t feel comfortable.

Todoroki hesitated. “Where… Where is this coming from?”

Outright frowning now, you pushed off his knee so that you could sit across from him to see him better.

“I was just wondering...” You said slowly, trying to keep the defensiveness out of your voice.

Was he not happy? Why did he hesitate? Would he be happier with someone else? Did he not want to be with you anymore?

You shook your head at the insecure thoughts invading your head. That wasn’t right. He would’ve told you if he didn’t want to put work into this relationship anymore. You two had made that pact when you started dating, to break it off if one person no longer wanted it instead of stringing the other along and ended up hurting you both in the long run.

Taking a deep breath to calm yourself down from spiraling too far, you steadied your heart before opening your mouth again.

“I asked because I wanted to know.” You told him honestly, speaking from the heart. “Your happiness matters a lot to me, I always want you to be happy. That’s why I wanted to ask.”

Placing a hand on his knee, you smiled apologetically at him and the shenanigans from your friends faded into white noise as you tuned out everything else besides him.

Your Shouto. The person you loved the most in this entire world. The one who had been with you through thick and thin and the one who swore he would never abandon you.

He knew what those words meant to you. He had your heart.

And you had his.

Todoroki’s heterochromic eyes softened a fraction and his ears and tail drooped as he realized that he had acted so defensively out of reflex.

“I—”

“You don’t have to apologize.” You reassured him swiftly, clearly. You knew what he was going to say. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Todoroki’s rapid heartbeat steadied at the loving conviction in your voice and a breath he didn’t know he had been holding in whooshed out of his lungs.

Reaching out, he laced his slim fingers with yours and tugged you closer to rest his forehead against yours.

He closed his eyes and sighed.

“I am happy.” He murmured quietly so that only you could hear him, emphasizing the soft declaration with a gentle squeeze of your hand. “I feel… the most when I am with you.”

Despite his words growing softer and softer, you still heard them and your heart leaped in your throat.

Swallowing thickly, you gave him a wobbly smile at his admission and fought to keep the tears at bay as you leaned in to press a quick kiss to his lips, commending him for his bravery and vulnerability when it came to expressing his innermost thoughts. You knew it wasn’t easy for him to do.

“I’m glad.” You sighed, trying not to get too caught up in the moment so that your emotions didn’t run away from you. “And I’m honored you feel that way around me. I will continue to do my best to make you happy.”

This time, Todoroki was the one to frown, his nose twitching in displeasure.

“You do not need to do anything.” He stated matter-of-factly, tilting his head in confusion. “It is your company, I believe, that makes me feel this way.”

That was an understatement. You elevated his heart and spirit in all the best possible ways. With your encouragement and kind nature, he felt like he had the strength to do anything. Including tough out this quirk incident that was causing a huge inconvenience in everybody’s lives.

Todoroki ducked his head and hid a smile, recalling to mind the time you blurted out in passionate fervor that it was not an inconvenience to anyone, let alone you, when he confessed thinking such to you.

You really were too kind to him. He was going to make sure you were protected forever and always.

Nudging your temple softly with his nose, Todoroki purred contentedly as your sweet scent washed over him like the summer breeze.

“Starfruit and coconut?” He questioned curiously.

Ever since his temporary transformation, he had been picking up more and more of what you smelled like, and he loved it. But this certain combination was brand new to him.

The tips of your ears burned red and you gnawed on your bottom lip shyly. “Y-Yeah… it’s a new lotion. I liked the scent.”

Todoroki hummed thoughtfully, another throaty purr emitting from his chest as waves lazily crashed upon the shore. His arms tightened around you in silent request and his ears perked up as you repositioned yourself so that your back was flush against his bare chest.

“It smells good.” He finally admitted, glancing down at you.

You shifted in his hold, stretching out your legs and crossing your ankles. “Yeah?”

Todoroki buried his nose into your soft hair and inhaled deeply, eyes fluttering shut as he thought about how lucky he was to have someone like you in his life. How much tragedy and hurt he had to go through, what he had to sacrifice almost to the point of giving up, when he met you.

You were his light, his partner, his everything.

Vibrant turquoise and cloudy grey hues softened imperceptibly as they gazed down at you, his tail coming around to wind around your thigh, clutching it almost possessively.

“Yeah…” He whispered, allowing his eyes to finally slip shut as the sun got to him, exhaustion washing over him like a tidal wave.

And you, you sat there in his embrace, ready for whatever this life threw at you next. Because in spite of the hardships, you knew that you could face it together.

Playing with his fingers, you relaxed against him and wriggled more comfortably into his side.

“Hey, Shouto,” You murmured under your breath, fully aware that he couldn’t hear you based on the even rise and fall of his chest. “When we get home…”

Hooded eyes darted to the bag you brought with you, honing in on the small cube outline bulging from the pouch on the side. The size of a ring box.

“I have something to ask you.”

Bonus:

Everyone had worn themselves out. Night had fallen, the ambiance only broken by the occasional remark of the ocean spray as they made themselves known.

Stars twinkled high in the sky and the group of 22 felt the most at ease that they had been since they assumed positions in society as top pro-heroes.

Well, all except one.

Bakugou glowered at his boyfriend sitting a couple paces away from him. “Deku, I swear to fucking—”

“Kacchan, shh!!! I’ll never get this opportunity again!!!” Midoriya whisper-shouted at him, furiously scribbling in his hero notebook.

He glanced up once in a while at your sleeping form draped against Todoroki’s white and red fur.

He had turned into an actual tiger halfway through the night when everyone else had fallen asleep and Midoriya had no idea if it was because he felt at ease enough that he let go, or if this was another step in the quirk manifesting itself. Either way, it was incredibly interesting and he was jotting down everything he noticed.

Rolling his eyes when his fanboy of a boyfriend didn’t put down his pen, Bakugou tapped his foot impatiently. “Of course the fucking Number One Hero still is hung up over these shitty extras.”

Midoriya squealed excitedly despite the other’s discontented grumbling, clutching his notebook close to his heart. “Kacchan, it’s so cool though!!!”

Bakugou huffed, turning away but that was so he couldn’t see the pinking of his cheeks.

Alright, look, it wasn’t his damn fault the shitty nerd was so fucking cute when he got like this!!

Tugging at his restraints purposefully, Bakugou burned a hole in the back of Midoriya’s head when he refused to look his way.

“Oi, let me out of this shit.” He demanded hotly, trying to blast his way through, only to find out that the ropes were made of some kind of quirk-cancelling material.

Fuck.

“In a minute.” Midoriya babbled, waving him off as he scrambled closer to his slumbering friend to get a better look. “Todoroki-kun is so cool!!”

Bakugou’s eyebrows scrunched together at that and he frowned. “What the fuck, you shitty nerd?!”

Midoriya yelped as a red aura emitted from him. “Eep!!! K-Kacchan?!?!”

“IS THAT A CHALLENGE, DEKU?!?!?!?!”

“N-No, of course it’s not!!!” Midoriya replied desperately, waving his hands to ward him off and hopefully stop him from waking everybody else up.

That hope was diminished as quickly as it came as Bakugou roared. “WAKE THE FUCK UP, ICYHOT!!!!!”

“I really rather not.” Came the dry reply, catching the both of them off guard.

Bakugou recovered quickly and his expression contorted into fury. “WHAT THE FUCK?!?!”

Midoriya approached him cautiously, hoping to placate him. “K-Kacchan, maybe we should—”

“HAH?!?!” His head whipped around towards him, wrists already chafed from how hard he was yanking against it. “YOU STILL THINK FUCKIN’ HALF-N-HALF IS BETTER THAN ME?!?!”

“I didn’t say that!!!” Midoriya cried out.

Bakugou leaned back against the trunk, vermilion eyes glinting dangerously. Every muscle in his body was coiled and ready to strike. “Get the fuck over here, damn nerd.”

Midoriya’s feet moved before he knew what he was doing until he came to a standstill directly in front of his boyfriend looking at him with an entirely different expression on his face.

One of mild interest and pure determination.

Bakugou smirked. “I’m gonna make you eat your damn words, Deku.”

His eyes lit up at the implication and he ground his fist into the palm of his hand before untying the bonds.

“Bring it on, Kacchan.”

“WHAT THE HELL DID YOU TWO DO?!?!” You shrieked, horrified at the sight that greeted you in the morning.

The two of them were covered head to toe in bruises and scrapes, and absolutely soaked.

Iida was the most upset. “NO QUIRKS WERE ALLOWED ON THIS VACATION!!!!”

Bakugou stuffed his hands in his pockets and scoffed. “Vacation’s over, Emergency Exit.”

“THAT IS NO LONGER AN APPROPRIATE NICKNAME!!!!” Iida corrected and you pinched the bridge of your nose.

“I can’t believe this.” You mumbled to yourself exasperatedly. “You guys actually sparred all night?!?!”

“L/N-san, it was awesome!!!” Midoriya rambled enthusiastically, the glow in his eyes never faltering even as Iida continued to chew out a bored Bakugou. “Kacchan was so cool!!!”

You sputtered. “This was supposed to be a vacation!!!”

“It was!!” Midoriya insisted with a determined pout and you shook your head.

“You don’t understand the concept of a vacation, hospital boy.”

“Hey!!”

Tokoyami nodded, satisfied as Iida punished Bakugou with a week’s worth of chores despite the fact that none of them lived together anymore. “Vengeance is served.”

“Anyone got any food?” Hagakure chirped while Mina whined in the corner about how hungry she was.

Kaminari was already rifling through the beach bag you brought with you, fishing out every single piece of food you had left.

You looked on fondly at them as they handled the food emergency themselves. You were lucky to have friends like these. Ones that could goof off whenever and be as silly as you were, as well as be there when it counted.

Todoroki tapped you on the shoulder with the tip of his tail, offering up a bagel he had managed to snag before everyone else emptied out the reserves. “Hungry?”

You shot him a thankful look, breaking it in half to share with him before munching on your piece happily. “Very.”

The two of you basked in the momentary peace the sunrise brought as Bakugou argued against Iida that he wasn’t even the one to start the brawl, even though it fell on deaf ears.

You bit back a smile as Todoroki’s tail looped around your waist, pulling you into his side and you laughed lightly. “Is this your way of telling me you want to cuddle some more before we have to go back?”

“Maybe.” He mused, gaze filled with adoration and humor as he fixated his eyes on you.

Todoroki blinked slowly, dipping his head down to draw your head close to his. “Y/N?”

You tilted your face up at his inquiry. “Yes?”

The depth of love in your eyes was reflected in his heart.

“Later today, if you get a chance, stop by my agency.” He requested somewhat timidly and you raised an eyebrow in surprise at the odd desire.

“Yeah… okay, sure.” You affirmed with what you hoped to be a reassuring smile to put him at ease, even though you had no idea what this was all about.

Todoroki chuckled softly at your lost expression. You looked cute when you were trying to figure out what he was thinking. No chance though, you could think about this one all you wanted, you were never going to figure out where he was going with this.

“There is something I would like to ask you.” He hinted with a mysterious smile, unlocking his grip around your waist to stroll over to Koda and help him pack up the picnic basket.

It took a second for you to process. And then another passed before you realized what he meant.

“W-Wait a minute— Shouto!!!!”

Ringing laughter was all that accompanied your cries and torrent of questions as you asked over and over again if he was insinuating what you thought he was.

In a moment of bravery, he threw you a wink. “You have to wait to find out, Y/N.”

“No fair!!!”

“Patience.”

“UH UH, YOU CAN’T JUST LEAVE A GIRL HANGING LIKE THAT!!!!”

“I don’t see how it’s any different than what you pulled last night.”

“... I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Todoroki shrugged nonchalantly, aiding Iida and Yaoyorozu in packing up the rest of the supplies. “Okay.”

“TODOROKI SHOUTO, GET BACK HERE!!!!”

“Wait six hours, Y/N.”

“SIX HOURS?!?!?!”

Your wailing only made that grin on his face grow. “I could double it.”

You shut your mouth at that ominous threat. Like hell he was going to do that to you.

Todoroki smiled triumphantly but it only lasted for a second when you glared at him.

“You’re a cruel, cruel man, Todoroki.” You proclaimed dramatically, stumbling back when Kaminari took that opportunity to plop a heavy basket in your arms to make you carry it.

Todoroki’s shoulders shook with laughter at your attempt to catch yourself. You were as clumsy as a newborn deer. “I learn from the best.”

Your eyes glittered with mischief and throwing down the basket, you sprinted over to somewhere behind the rocks, disappearing from sight.

But your voice still carried.

“BAKUGOU, I’M GONNA KILL YOU!!!!!!”

303 notes · View notes

ive-tumbled-down-a-rabbit-hole · 3 years

Text

MariJon Week

Day5: Social Media/Life Swap

It's gone midnight but it's still day 5 somewhere in the world and I've 3% battery left!

This prompt was not playing ball to write but it's done! It's not proof read but it's finished finally!!

Masterlist

Day1 Day2 Day3 Day4 Day6 Day7

____________________________________

Who would have thought a hashtag would have resulted in this. A “small series” of videos. A quick succession of tweets and a “innocuous” request have ended up like this. Even more so that she didn’t really used twitter a whole lot.

Marinette smiled amusedly, her attention to watching the chaos unfold in front of her. If Ayla was upset, then it was her own fault in the first place.

Six months ago:

Miss Bustier’s class were used to Marinette ranting about Akuma designs and costumes. The class had taken to recording these outbursts as a result and posting edited versions on twitter. She had gained her own hashtag because of a particular caped akuma; #EdnaModeHasSpoken

Someone (Alix) had thought it would be amazing idea to ask for requests to have the Parisian Edna Mode “discuss” global villains. Alix and Kim printed off what pictures they could find on the net of them and primed Alya up to record and let Marinette roll.

And oh boy did she roll. She tore into the Riddler’s wrong shade green and purple mix. She praised Lex Luthor on suit colours until she ripped into him on the suit cut. With Prankster she bemoaned the lack of originality of it all, a hybrid attire of Ridder and Joker.

Over the course of a few months almost biweekly Alya posted a new update of “Edna’s” views on the world of villain fashion. The harshest critique came when villains chose poor fashion rather than the poor Akuma victims who were forced by Hawkmoth.

Three months ago:

A new type of request came in to Alya's account. Specifically from @Zombieboy requesting that Edna review Gotham Vigilante's as she had done a tremendous reviews on Gotham's Rogues.

Seeing the pictures Alya had found, Marinette let a high pitch shrill before starting to pace.

"What the… how the… underwear on top of tights?! Where's the Kevlar?! The protection!!!

Traffic light children!!! With not trousers!!!

Is that a tampon on his head?! A swim hat?!

Why skin tight?! They dont have magic! Have they lost their marbles???"

Marinette drew in a deep breathe before releasing

"Capes!!! Are they trying to kill themselves. It's hero 101 no capes?! What are they thinking. They're from Earth … they are from Earth right? Superman obviously copied Batman's fashion sense and he's an alien. The poor man is blind but coping Batman's fashion. It's hideous!!

The only semi decent is tampon head as at least he looks like he has some armour protection. And no Cape. The leather jacket is tolerable but he needs a different cut!"

Marinette's pacing inreased with her disgust and somehow had picked up her sewing scissors and started to wave them around as she got more and more wound up.

"Capes and underwear!! Are they serious about saving the world dressed like that. It's an eye sore. Capes!!

What is with Gotham fashion?!?"

"Em… can you put the the scissors down please?!"

Alya ended up having to stop filming to help Alix try wrestle the scissors from Marinettes grasp.

#EdnaModeHasSpoken #BatmanLostHisMarbles #BatmanVsSupermanFashionCrimes #UnderWearAsOuterwearNoThankYou #CapesNoCapes #EdnaNeedsToPutTheScissorsDown

One month ago:

Some how unintentionally Marinette had managed to get into the middle a Twitter battle between Metropolis and Gotham. @TrueHeir had decided that Gotham had obviously superior fashion crimes than Metropolis stating that being the worst at fashion was a skill that Metropolis didn't have as they had to copy Gotham. Which had caused a backlash led by @BoyOfSteel stating that Metropolis moved away from wearing pants and having a leather jacketed hero first.

The battle online got quite heated until @TrueHeir demanded that the mysterious Edna wade in and settle the debate.

The issue suddenly became that Edna never really had her whole face shown @SassyFox managed to film it in such a way that it was hidden. Edna didn't seem to have Twitter. The way to solve it was to track down @SassyFox.

One week ago:

Jon and Damian via covertly using the Bat Computer managed to track @SassyFox down to Paris. They located a small(ish) area that based on the videos and pictures regularly taken. The pair looked at each other and knew that's where they were heading. They wanted, no NEEDED to Edna to settle this arguement of there's.

Checking that no one was about the pair zeta'd to Paris. They were men on a mission. A mission to resolve this fashion disaster crisis. Was Batman and Gotham or Superman and Metropolis the worst dressed.

They'd spent the day camped out in a local park. But no sign of anyone remotely like @SassyFox. To replenish supplies the pair decided to try out some local cuisine.

Jon insisted on this bakery. All the reviews rated it as one of the best in Paris and he had to try it. Walking in he met with the heavenly delight smells of pastries. He could feel his mouth drooling with the onslaught of sights and smells. He dragged Damian in to look at all the treats hidden behind the glass. Jon was drawn out of his pastry driven haze by a sweet voice asking if he wanted anything. Looking up to the source of the fairy like voice was a cute face. Blue eyes shimmer with amusement and blush coloured gloss graced lips twitch towards a suppressed smile.

"Everything!" Jon responded without thinking. Causing an eyebrow to raise on the girl's face.

"Tt! What Kent means is what would you recommend? Savour and Sweet."

Smiling a broad grin the girl launched into describing the pastries and treats and suggesting recommendations. She packed their goodies up and sent them on there way.

One day ago:

"Morning Jon, Damian, the usual?"

"Please, Marinette. Could you also pack another box on those macaroons you had yesterday as well?"

"Sure things. I take it they were a success?"

Jon nodded in agreement.

Jon and Damian after their first visit and repeatedly ended up at the Dupain-Cheng Boulangerie and Patisserie over the course of the week. Jon was hooked on the sweets and maybe a little (a lot according to Damian) taken by Marinette, the girl at the counter.

"The macaroons were above average."

"That's Dames speak for excellent" Jon cheerful supplied. "Hey Marinette are you on twitter?"

Jon picked up some cursing under her breath something about Alya and she was going to *kill* her before she plastered a fake smile on her face.

"I'm not. My friend uses it all the time though."

"Oh, so you've heard about the Parisian Edna Mode?" Jon cocked his head to the side. Marinette's heartbeat had picked up. Through gritted teeth so responded,

"Yup. I've heard about *Edna* my friends are slightly obsessed with it all. They *adore*her reactions."

She smile loosed at the American pair as the morning rush started to pick up.

"Sorry guys, I best finish your order off and help Maman deal with the queue building."

She effectively concluded the conversation in a polite and effective manner before waving them off with the supplies for the day.

"She knows more than she is letting on."

"Mentioning Edna made her heart beat quicker Dames. Do you think she knows her?"

"It is a high potential. Today we should stay near the bakery as formour hunting grounds."

Now:

Damian and Jon were at the park near the bakery. It appeared Marinette was off today so was missing from the bakery so Jon was "sulking".

By pure chance or coincidence, potentially luck, though the pair saw her enter the park with a group of friends and set up a picnic for them all. One was setting up music to play while others seemed to be playing an elaborate (childish) game of tag. Marinette her self looked gorgeous in a pale pink sundress. She outshone everyone she was with. When Marinette saw them she gave them a wave causing a blush to cross his cheeks.

They were content observing from a distance until Jon grabbed Damian's arm.

"It's her!!!"

Even from the distance, Marinette was mimicking Edna's wound up animated gestures of frustration. Jon could hear the growl and heat in her voice. It was a perfect match. Damian watched while quickly researching Marinette and who the girl filming was. It was all lining up. The final evidence was when a pink hair girl threw herself on Marinette crying out "Em!!" in a similar fashion to the scissor incident. Em wasn't a name but M short for Marinette.

Damian finally had found his mark and was determined to end this war with him being correct. This time it was him dragging Jon towards the girl.

"You're Edna!! You didn't tell us yesterday when we asked about it!"

"Yeah, my gurls Edna what about it. Who are you?" Alya quickly jumped in.

Marinette flapped at Damian, flustered by his bluntness.

"TrueHeir and BoyOfSteel. Edna needs to make a decision on which city has the worst fashion. Gotham or Metropolis. Once that's done this arguement can be settled and we can move on."

"What?!?! Damian??? Jon??? You've come all the way to Paris to resolve that??. What the…" Marinette looked confused at the pair. It seemed extreme to go to so much effort to find her just to settle this.

"You've stalked my gurl!!! You freak!! That's crazy. You're crazy!! All because of an arguement you two got into!!"

"Alya… you may have started it with posting all this?"

Marinette tried to defuse the situation which didn't really work.

"So who is worst?!" Demanded Damian.

"I… errr…." Marinette looked between the two boys. Which ever city she chose wouldn't be the end of this so she needed to think quickly. But she was panicking now….

"Star City!" She cried out.

The boys stopped and looked at her.

"What?!?! No! That's not what we asked. Why? You had to have chose Gotham." Damian was not impressed and about to launch in to integration mode when Alya cornered him and demanded that now he knew that he had to leave Marinette alone.

Jon just stared at Marinette. She had completely changed the rules and cleverly removed potentially tension that could of occured between him and Damian. The bragging right was taken away and handed elsewhere. With that thought Jon gentle grabbed Marinette's hand to get her whole attention. He softly kissed her cheek and smiled playfully at her.

"Sneaky move. Nicely played though Edna."

Marinette grinned up at him, knowing he got what she did before the pair turned around to watch the chaos of their best friends.

#maribat #maribat au #marijon #marijon week 2021 #jon x marinette #marinette x jon #ml x dc #dc x ml

159 notes · View notes

hes-writer · 4 years

Text

Halo

Summary: y/n feels guilty for missing harry

Warnings: angst, slight fluff, mentions of vomiting and nausea, mentions of implied smut

Word Count: 7648 words

A/N: @devilinbetweenthesheet-s : don’t cheat and don’t do drugs, kids.

inspired by one of my anons. some parts are real and some parts aren’t :)

Tarnish (1) . Halo (2) . Reign (3) .

Reign Taglist

___

When the relationship ended, Y/N imagined being bed-ridden. A lack of motivation to do anything casual such as standing. Watching the television seemed to be a task that required all of her energy and full-attention to be able to understand the subtitles on the screen. Her friends would knock continuously on her door to be met with no response because she was asleep or Y/N couldn’t be bothered with pitiful conversation asking her if she was okay. She would be too tempted to ask how Harry was doing when she could easily pull out her phone and search his name in a few quick taps. These used to be easy; as easy as breathing and loving Harry was easier than loving herself.

How was he doing? Y/N hoped that Harry was regretting his actions. She was yearning for the vibration of her phone to restart her heart like an AED stuck to her chest, sending her pulses to remember that they were not what they used to be. Or maybe the snippy ringtone Y/N had set specifically for him and only him would ring through the air as she wallowed in a burrito blanket. Frankly too emotionally worn out to even move an inch as she watched her phone face down on the bedside table of her new apartment.

Life doesn’t wait until Y/N is capable of being back on her feet before thundering down with the foundations of living. Five days into the breakup did she realize that the money she had saved up would be spent faster than she can replace it if she stayed any longer at the hotel near the heart of downtown. It was a spur of the moment decision to ‘treat herself’; she thought she deserved it after being called names and thrown aside like a used toy. And on the fifth day, she was on the lookout for places to live in as she adjusted to her new life without Harry.

It wasn’t like Y/N was completely dependent on him. She had a well-paying job; just not as good as his. And she could afford a nice apartment, just not as nice as his mansion. Nor did it have the same toasty feeling that enveloped her when she walked through the doors. Y/N told herself that she would give it a few months; that maybe it was just the change in setting that misplaced every bone in her body because everything she did felt off. Deep down, Y/N knew that things weren’t the same without him. She could either live a life reminiscing how she--they--used to do things or she could change and adapt to this ball thrown at her.

The decision was in her hands, yet she hesitated with every gambling thought crossing her mind. On one hand, she was used to a routine. It was a routine that never got boring to her, solely because Harry found a way to make things interesting; refreshing. On the other, Y/N would be in a never-ending comparison of how much she missed him or pat her shoulders because she was able to compromise the old parts of her that existed when Harry was around and to integrate it with a new version that was wary of anybody getting close to her.

The challenge was not easy when the media got hold of the news. It seemed as if everywhere Y/N went---mixed reactions and judgement attacked her with doe eyes offering the best of luck or disgusted snickers telling that she deserved it and that they--Camille and Harry--were perfect for each other. But when Y/N quite literally was carrying a piece of him and her inside her stomach did she step up to what she had to become to raise her baby.

It seemed like yesterday when Y/N stared at her reflection in the en-suite bathroom of Harry’s home, pinching at a subtle layer of fat that she was sure wasn’t there a few days ago. Bloated cheeks that added a fullness to her face were substituted as the result of a bright smile plastered on her face because she Harry had pressed a lingering kiss to her forehead before she left for work that day. The sudden aversion to fragrant foods she absolutely adored flew right over her head and excused as a bad batch.

And the most painful memory was the day Harry and Y/N’s relationship ended. The beginning of something new, something beautiful was right under their noses. Y/N wondered what could have happened if she didn’t find the letter. When the symptoms of pregnancy became more obvious each day; would Harry notice the change in her physique? The crinkle of her nose when met with a sandwich containing pickles that she used to love?

Y/N couldn’t help but envision holding the stick with a tiny ‘+’ pixelated by dark colours. Sitting on the closed toilet seat as she contemplated delivering the news to him in the early hours of the morning after she was awoken by a flush of morning sickness. Y/N daydreamed about watching his sleeping face smooth out of any lines as he dreamed peacefully and wondered if this was still a part of what he wanted with her. Maybe she would jostle him gently, rousing him with a poke as she kneeled on his side of the bed, flailing the pregnancy test between her fingers until he blinked the sleep out of his waterline. Harry would present her a doozy smile before realizing what she held--to which he would sit up faster than he had ever done, gazing at her with a pleading stare. For Y/N to confirm that yes, she was pregnant. Yes, they were going to have a baby and yes, Harry was going to be a father. A little family in the works.

But that daydream was reeled in like a fishing hook in grave waters as reality grounded her. She was apparently two months into her pregnancy when Y/N had mistaken the sickness as an inevitable reaction to finding out his infidelity. Hearing him say the term of endearment as if he had not used it with another person made Y/N want to grab him by the shoulders to hold a steady contact, jostling him until answers spilled out of his mouth. Answers that Y/N deemed justifiable but was there ever a good excuse for cheating? She wanted to strip him out of the apologies filling his mouth and get straight to the question of why he had done it. But even then, Y/N knew that there was no way she was going to be satisfied with his answers. It was just a matter of her accepting that the idea of ‘what could have been’ would live inside her head because she was the only one that knew about the life inside of her.

Harry had not made an effort to speak to her besides arranging the dates to pick up her things. She had to wear large clothes to hide her growing belly because Y/N wasn’t sure if she even had the right to tell him something so personal anymore. It fit well with the narrative that she was a depressed homebody that craved the touch of his fingertips on her skin, the taste of his lips on her tongue and the weight of his arms around her. Albeit that he was the father, Harry had obviously moved on way before they ended; a little over a year ago now to be precise.

Y/N was almost one-hundred percent sure that Harry had blocked her number. Scratch that, she was certain if the way her messages failed to send were anything to go by. She could handle seeing the handle of ‘read’ on the bottom of a message because at least she’d know that Harry did read it and that he was aware. But watching the encircled, crimson exclamation point appear was just another reminder that he planned to erase four years from his life to start anew.

____

So what if at four months, Y/N was attending another doctor’s appointment by herself, trying to amount to as little attention as possible? Well, today was the day that she was going to find out the baby’s gender. Her bump was definitely noticeable now and extremely uncomfortable especially sitting on a plastic, grey chair in the waiting room. The device in her hand felt like stone perceiving the icon of blaring red that indicated yet another failed message to the contact previously named ‘My Love’, now to just ‘Harry’.

Y/N: I’m finding out the gender of our baby today

Y/N: I’m hoping for a girl but either way, I just want the baby to be healthy.

“Y/N? Dr. O’Sullivan is ready to see you,” The nurse clad in scrubs walked out with a clipboard gripped in her hands.

Y/N stood up, pausing to retrieve her items. She took a breath before entering the room, catching sight of the doctor in his stereotypical white coat focused on the computer screen that showed her information.

“You know what to do. Good luck today,” The nurse mused, handing her a folded hospital gown to change into as she pointed towards the direction of the room with a little nook to change privately. After struggling a bit with pulling off her top, Y/N tied the strings of the hospital gown.

“Hi, Y/N. How are you today?” He asked, standing up to gather the items he would need. Y/N made herself comfortable on the small bed, the white paper crinkling as her weight shifted.

She sighed deeply, “I’m alright. Really excited, actually,” A grin appeared on her face with just how close she was to find out the gender of the baby, “How about you?”

“Good as always,”

Connor O’Sullivan was the name of the doctor. They met when Y/N was in search of the top-tier family doctor’s around the city and instantly had a connection. He had a trustworthy aura that Y/N deemed acceptable to guide her to a healthy pregnancy. A friendship had definitely blossomed around the doctor-patient boundary but they stayed within their limits. Inside jokes existed but it had never crossed the line. And sure, touches to the shoulder happened once in a while but nothing had escalated further.

Y/N’s baby bump was exposed to the cool room. She shivered when a gloved hand applied the gel on her taut skin. Stretch marks were littering the sides of her tummy. It was itchy and uncomfortable. However, it was tolerable especially after applying a combination of creams and oil to soothe the ache. It was also another reminder that she really was about to become a mother.

“Cold?” Connor teased with an easy smile. Y/N rolled her eyes upwards in response, “You’re the doctor here,”

He chuckled, directing her attention to the small screen beside them. The static fizz of black and white slowly morphing to a more discernible image as he attached the device to her skin, finding the perfect angle to produce a clear picture. The first time Y/N saw her little baby; it was the size of a lemon. The next couple of visits showed progression in their growth; tiny baby feet, stubby legs, and sprouting fingers could be seen on the ultrasound.

They looked more and more like a proper baby now--like the ones one would see in the clinics and Y/N really couldn’t believe that she was about to find out their gender. Y/N couldn’t tell just by inspecting the picture because of her lack of expertise.

“You’re having a. . .” Connor began, edging his voice at the last word. He wiggled his brows as Y/N’s eyes widened.

She balled her fists, “Oh, hell. Just spit it out, C,”

“A girl. You’re having a little girl,” He peered up at the patient, watching tears fill the brim of her waterline as she gasped, palming her slightly open mouth.

“A-a girl?” Y/N craned her head to look at the square image, blurrier because of the tears but beautiful nonetheless. “I can’t believe I’m having a girl,”

The doctor wiped the gel off of her tummy with a cloth, switching off the machine as he waited for another reaction out of her. Y/N tossed her legs to the side, putting on her slip-on vans to fully-comprehend the news. “I’m having a baby girl,”

Connor nodded, releasing an ‘oomph’ at a sudden pressure around his middle. Y/N wrapped her arms around him, feeling the tube of his stethoscope dangling against her cheek. Her lashes fluttered, happy tears streaming out. He returned the gesture with soft rubs on her lower back.

“I’m sorry, I’m so emotional,” Y/N pulled away with a huff, using her fingertips to rub the wetness towards her temple. “I’m so happy but I just wished that he was--,” She cut herself off, pursing her lips as an image of Harry carrying their baby appeared in her head.

“I understand, Y/N.” Connor mirrored her distraught expression as he really did feel sorry for Y/N. However, he couldn’t explain the extra twinge in his heart at seeing her frown over a lost love. “You’re doing great on your own,”

She sighed for possibly the tenth time that day, “We both wanted to name her Halo if it’s a girl or Arlo if it’s a boy. It reminds me of what an angel she will be,”

“Wait until she gets older,” Connor joked to lighten the mood, receiving a glimmer from Y/N. “What d’ya say you get changed and I’ll print out this ultrasound, sounds good? A few more months then we can meet baby Halo,”

Halo.

___

Harry’s relationship with Camille was a dream. It was everything he imagined, maybe even better. The first time they dabbled on getting together was four years ago, before Y/N was even around in his life. There could be so many things right about a relationship and it could still be wrong. Maybe it wasn’t the right place, the right time, or they simply had too many disagreements and flaws that both parties were unwilling to work it to make them--work.

Usually, the third time would be a charm but Harry felt that he and Camille didn’t need a third time. As he said, the past couple of months felt like a dream. He could close his eyes and still feel the soft skin of the woman he loves grazing his fingertips. He couldn’t help but transpire into a new chapter of their love; one where it wasn’t just them tumbling in the sheets. When the squeals in the kitchen while making breakfast were paired with pleads for whipped cream on their pancakes; a child.

Harry was old enough to know what he wanted--at least, he thought he was--and a family was in his books. He finally found a partner who had the same mindset in their future; Camille. At first, he was absolutely sure that Y/N could not be erased from; but her name wasn't set in stone and once he found someone better--no way in hell was he going to let that be a missed opportunity.

Camile sighed softly, laying on Harry's bare chest as he pulled the sheets over their clammy bodies. Their orgasms settled in their veins, the rush and panting breaths calming down with each blink of an eye.

With her finger swirling patterns on his skin, Harry stared at the ceiling in hesitant contemplation, “Babe, have you ever thought of getting off the pill?” She paused.

“Uh, sure, but then we would have to use a condom?” Her voice raised at the end in curiosity.

Harry released an awkward chuckle, gently swivelling her body off of him so he could sit up. Reaching over, his fingers found the flip of the light switch that turned the bedside lamp on. He smiled at her appearance, mirroring his stance as she sat on the bed, a sheet clung around her body.

He shook his head, “No, no. No condoms, no pills and, y’know. . .”

The confusion was evident on Camille’s features, “I don’t exactly understand what you’re trying to say, H--,’

“‘M asking if y’wanna try for a baby, love.’

Silence overtook the room. Harry held his breath in his throat, seemingly trying to swallow down the lump that had formed because of her lack of response. She cleared her throat.

“A baby?” Harry nodded with excitement despite the flat tone whipping past her lips. “I--don’t know how to say this, Harry. I’ve never wanted kids.”

His face fell, the words lingering around his head like a flock of birds. The dizzying epiphany rattled his head clear of any other thoughts besides the fact that there was a hole in his book; burnt and toasted with sparks inkling his skin.

“W-why not?” His palms fell flat on the silky sheets, fisting the fabric to keep him settled. “A mini you and a mini-me running around the house. Won’t that be fun, baby? Don’t you want that?”

It almost hurt Camille to see the grin plastered on his face, hopeful eyes practically begging her to change her mind. But she couldn’t.

“Harry, that part will be fun. What won’t be fun is getting huge, morning sickness, weird cravings, hormonal imbalance, the aftermath of labour, the sleepless nights, the puke, the changing diapers, the back pain, the headaches, the fights when they’re older and so much more” Her accent rippled with each explanation rejecting the idea.

Harry huffed, crossing his arms subconsciously to shield himself, “But it’ll be worth it,”

“It won’t be,” Camille scooted closer to him, situating herself on her knees so that she could look into his eyes clearly. “Look, I made up my mind ages ago and I thought you felt the same since you haven’t settled down yet”

“I was jus’ lookin’ for the right person,” His head dipped down, dropping his gaze their intertwined hands. “It’s gonna’ be okay, Cam. We can make it work. We’ll have our own family. We’ll be okay,”

She shook her head in refusal, “It will be okay for you, H.” Harry could feel her hands itching to slip past his. He held her tighter. He didn’t want to lose her. “You can get back to work immediately. I’m a model and it takes time to lose weight. Even when I do--I won’t look the same. It’ll take me months, if not years to even resemble my present body.

“I don’t care how your body looks. You’re still gonna’ look amazing. You think I won’t love you after birthing our little baby?” With brows pressed together, he pouted his lip in curiosity as she rolled her eyes.

Camille sighed exasperatedly, “I don’t want children, Harry. The sooner you understand that the better. It’s MY body. I’ll be carrying the kid around for 9 months. No thank you.” She stood up, stumbling slightly as the sheets tangled around her feet.

He followed suit. His height towered over her as she crouched down to collect the pieces of clothing strewn around haphazardly in a rush to have each other. “But it’ll be MY baby, Cam. OUR baby, don’t you want that?”

Fingernails dug into the skin of her palm, holding her clothes as she spoke, “I don’t, Harry. Why can’t you just accept that?”

In the heat of the moment, Harry couldn’t help but quell the ache in his chest with a memory he thought he had thrown away, “Because Y/N and I planned to have a family. A-and I thought you and I could have one too,”

Camille huffed, keeping her distance. She walked to the bathroom, “Well, maybe you shouldn’t have fucking cheated on her then,”

___

His fight with Camille left the both of them on edge, barely able to handle the thick tension surrounding the house. Even though she took refuge in the bedroom and Harry wandered to the kitchen to cool off; it was impossible for them to stay in one place without having another argument.

Harry didn’t mean to let the memory slip past his lip. He hated it when he found himself comparing his past relationships to his current one. He felt that there was no need to do so, especially when the point of all of it was to start anew. Harry guessed that his desire to have a family was too powerful to keep his thoughts in check. The ache bubbling in his chest rose to a boil with each rejection that Camille answered with.

It wasn’t like he didn’t respect her decision. He really did. But Harry didn’t know if he was going to be happy being with her without progressing into something more through the years. What he was asking from her is just as difficult as what she was asking from him. Camille didn’t want to have children and Harry didn’t want to not have kids. There was no room for compromise if they both, mutually, wanted to respect each other's' decisions’ to the absolute fullest. However, the chances of him living a content life were zero to none.

And that was how Harry ended up at a bar, alone, at nine o’clock in the evening. They were invited by his friend, Kora, to a birthday celebration. Harry was reaching the limit of his threshold having to fake a smile and a chuckle while saying, “Camille’s feelin’ a bit sick tonight. ‘S just me,”

The thing with this celebration was that Kora was initially Y/N’s friend. He and Kora had become close friends while he was with Y/N and he guessed that that was the reason why he was invited. Although, it made him wonder why one of Y/N’s best friends invited him when she was aware of what happened between them. Surely, there was no way that Kora would invite Y/N, Harry, and Camille to the same crowded space, would she?

The sudden nervousness swirling at the pit of his stomach came with a quick neck as Harry scanned each premise of the bar. It was difficult considering the dim lighting and endless amounts of heads moving against each other. He hoped to see Y/N; just to see how she was doing! But he also felt like puking the alcohol he consumed because--as much as he wanted to admit it or not--he missed her.

After a half-hour of being vigilant, Harry willed himself to relax by the counter. Leaning one elbow on the wood as he spoke to another person regarding his upcoming album.

‘Yeah, yeah. It’s goin’. ‘M really excited for it cause’ I’ve got a lot of inspiration for some reason,” Harry answered with unyielding precision.

“We both know where that came fro--Oh hi! Sorry, H. Gotta check in on, Johnny,”

He rolled his eyes under closed lids, sipping on his drink, eyeing Kora when he heard a quip of Y/N’s name. Harry inconspicuously moved closer to her, making sure that he didn’t catch her attention.

“You’re not here,” Kora yelled with a whine to her tone. Her drunk self was still coherent enough to embark on the bartender to make another drink for her. However, Harry guessed that her senses were obscured with the way she yelled through the phone despite it being held to her ear and the function tapped to ‘speaker’.

“I know. I’m sorry. I promise to make it up to you, Kora,” Y/N’s gentle chuckle rumbled through the speaker, making Harry smile. It was the first time he heard it in a while. He sometimes wondered if he had the right to feel relieved when Harry was the one that blocked her number in the first place.

“It’s my birthday! Why aren’t you here drinking with us?” Kora quietly thanked the bartender.

Harry’s curiosity spiked; why wasn’t Y/N here tonight?

“It’s because I’m pregnant, silly. Can’t really do that when I’ve got a bubba in my tummy,” Both women giggled, Kora, making a sound of acknowledgement, “Ohhh right!”

He really wished that he would have stuck by long enough to hear more of their conversation but Kora’s boyfriend was approaching her and he wasn’t in the mood to discuss anything if he was honest.

She moved on fast, Harry thought. He was definitely sounding like an entitled jerk. Hear him out though; Harry was happy with Camille. Yes, he had been cheating on Y/N for a whole year and yes, she had to find out through a letter but Y/N was pregnant.

Did she really move on that quickly?

___

Despite the guilt gnawing at her for missing her best friend Kora’s birthday, Y/N was also looking forward to getting some sleep. It was a couple of hours after their phone call together when the nauseating tightening of Y/N’s chest woke again and had been for the past three days.

It was a horrible feeling that spread from the confines of her stomach. The bile rising up from her throat that left a burning feeling from the acids that escaped her mouth as she quickly threw the covers away from her legs, running towards the direction of her bathroom where she emptied the remnants of her stomach from last night’s craving of pickles and hot Cheetos. Her chest heaved with exertion as she draped her arms over the white porcelain of the disinfected toilet, hunching over as her stomach seemingly pumped away toxins.

Y/N wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, visibly shuddering as she pointed a finger to flush the toilet. She had a feeling that she won’t be getting any more sleep despite the time being three o’clock in the morning. Halo was insistent on staying up past normal bedtime hours. Y/N sighed, walking lethargically towards the dresser to retrieve her phone before heading to the living room nearby.

Y/N: You up, doc?

The blue loading bar swooped to the right as Y/N sent a message to Connor. She was at the peak of her pregnancy and her due date was occurring within a few weeks. A lot had changed since the day she found out the gender of her baby. Between the emotional trauma of having been broken up with--the hard-hitting fact was that Y/N was pushed into a direction of pregnancy that wasn’t exactly her ideal path. She pretty much preferred the dream-like sequence of having Harry accompanying her to her ultrasounds.

Just as Y/N was about to delve into another imaginary scenario of Harry sending her cute baby onesies that he would absolutely need to purchase for their little one, the humming of her phone pulled her from drowning in pathetic wishes and desires.

Connor: What’s up, Y/N?

She jutted her lips as she typed out a response. Contemplating whether or not to send the message as Y/N’s thumb hovered over the arrow, she paused to wonder why she was feeling so guilty in texting another man months and antecedent her break up with Harry. He was happy with someone else, yet Y/N felt as if her feet were planted in a puddle of sticky glue; unable to move on from the life she built in her head. Although it hurt to admit that Harry only existed in her memories now, reminiscing the spoken words they have discussed was another stab to her already bruised heart.

Y/N: Halo’s keeping me up again..

Connor: Want me to come over?

To keep you company

The reply was instantaneous and she could not deny the flutter of her heart beating subtly despite the extremities it had endured. And Y/N couldn’t help but notice the jitter of her baby bump morphing a plump bulge where Halo had kicked it as if it was a stamp of approval of the man coming over.

It wasn’t the first time that Connor drove to her place at the brink of dawn to keep her company in case the sickness became too much for Y/N to handle. The first time was simply a desperate action because she was rattled by the sudden spike in dizziness and incoherence of her sickness that Y/N wasn’t confident in herself to handle it alone. Times after that were more for his comfort when Connor said that he would ‘rather be safe than sorry’ while he rubbed his palm up and down her back.

Minutes later, a knock on her door sounded, forcing Y/N to haul her plump body to the comfort of the sofa, pausing the rerun of a television show. She waddled towards the entrance, the fit of her pyjama waistband snuggly wrapping around her mid-belly. A stretch of skin exposed between her bottoms and her tank top.

“Hi, thank you for coming,” Y/N greeted shyly, widening the door to let Connor in as he chuckled, toeing off his shoes by the closet door.

He waved her off, “It’s no problem, really,” Connor assisted her back to her couch, aiding her by letting his hands stabilize in the air in case anything happened.

The moment their bottoms hit the cushions did Y/N realize the gravity of the guilt spiralling in her chest. Connor laughed softly, his back resting on the couch with his right arm resting on the top, fingertips barely brushing over her shoulder. He reached over the coffee table to obtain the bowl of freshly popped popcorn, picking one to munch on but not before looking over at Y/N.

“Want some?”

She snapped out of her daze, cheeks heating profusely at being caught blatantly staring at how Connor fit naturally into her home both physically and metaphorically. He couldn’t have appeared at a better time when Y/N not only needed medical assistance and a support group by her side. However, she asked herself if he could be anything more than a friend. She shook her head ‘no’.

“No thanks. I’m quite full,” Y/N pressed a palm to her belly when a kick halted her breath. ‘Okay maybe a little,” She rolled her eyes, scolding Halo. “She’s a hungry one,”

“I’m gonna pop some more popcorn, kay? Be right back,”

Y/N heaved a sigh, watching Connor’s retrieving figure. Her admiration was cut off by the ringing of her phone.

___

Harry wasn’t so sober when he opened the door to his car. He wasn’t in his right mind either when he unblocked Y/N’s number and tapped on her name, switching the screen as it rang. He threw his head back against the headrest, biting his lip when the dial tone rang and rang.

“Hello?”

Harry’s breath hitched, losing his voice momentarily before his slowed brain caught up to move his tongue.

“Y/N? It’s Harry,” He spoke quietly, “Don’t hang up. Hear me out,” His ears stretched to pick up the click of a dropped call but he didn’t hear any.

“Heard from Kora that y’were pregnant, yeah? And I was wondering, whose is it?” The venom in his voice dripped. His drunken stupor rendered him unable to grasp reality.

“I’m not answering that,” Y/N’s tone was firm and direct. Harry could imagine her pursing her lips inwards.

“Why not? Scared that y’gonna have to admit that everything you put on was an act? How can y’move on so fast and give me shit about it?” The parking lot was filled with cars yet Harry could see that he was the only one currently occupying one. If there was a better metaphor of feeling alone in a crowded place; then he would love to hear it.

“Are you fucking kidding me, Harry? You cheated on me! You slept with another woman while we were together. You loved another woman while we were together. For an entire year, you lied to me and deceived me,”

“Jus’. . .answer the question,” He pinched his nose bridge, a headache pounding from the bottom of his skull.

“How dare you speak to me this way? You have no right calling me up out of nowhere,” Y/N lowered the volume of her voice, “and asking all these ridiculous questions,”

“S’not ridiculous,”

She gave a smile to Connor who entered the room with a bowl of delicious smelling popcorn. Y/N clutched the phone to her chest. Connor situated his body beside her with a glimmering smile, his mouth twitching as he eyed her bump, “Can I talk to her?” A gentle question breezed past his lips, moving closer when Y/N gave him approval.

The man kneeled down on the floor, leaning his head downwards to speak to Halo, “Hey little one, y’gotta be nice to momma, okay?” His fingers waved when her feet kicked out. Connor looked up to Y/N with a proud smile, “Did you see that? She responded!”

___

Harry felt his heart clench as a new voice filled the speakers. His neurons were fried with each thought firing endlessly, “Who’s that?

“Don’t call me again,”

The dial tone rung in his ears, echoing in the quiet space of his Range Rover.

___

Pressing the power button for a few seconds, the device turned black and was left on the arm of the couch. The excitement in Connor’s voice brought a dreamy smile to Y/N’s face, chewing on some popcorn. The beating of her heart seemed to double at the sight of him being so thrilled with her baby.

“We can’t wait to see you. I bet you’re gorgeous,” Connor dropped his volume to a whisper to prevent Y/N from hearing, ‘’Like your mom,”

Y/N’s relaxed and comfortable state of mind mindlessly worked her hands to thread the hair on top of Connor’s head. Just like she used to do to Harry. Her expression dimmed at the thought, painting a faint simper when Connor looked at her in surprise before shrugging it off, continuing to talk to her bump. She shivered when a warm pair of lips attached to the skin of her stomach. Gentle pressure planting a kiss as Connor said his goodbyes to baby Halo.

“She’s a smart one, that much I can tell,” He confirmed, moulding his body to the lingering shape he had left behind in his previous position. And Y/N was flustered to say that she might have scooched a little closer to his body, snuggling her head at the junction of his shoulder.

“Can I?” She asked, doe eyes raising a question that would allow them to cross the boundary they had limited themselves to. He nodded reflexively as if he was awaiting this moment. Connor took the initiative to pull Y/N closer to him, subconsciously kissing the top of her head. The scent of the woman’s shampoo wafting through his nose and invading his senses in a sweet smell that he would gladly immerse himself to.

It was the most pleasant feeling for Y/N to completely let go of her former worries about starting anew when Connor was as cozy as a heater. He made Y/N feel safe and secure with his body shielding her and his actions hinting at a subdued attraction he hadn’t fully shown to her.

And Connor was proud of himself for not quite literally freaking out when Y/N smothered her face to his chest as time passed and the sun rays filtered through the blinds as she fell asleep. Her words mumbled in a jumbled mess about how she wished that morning sickness wasn’t called morning sickness.

It wasn’t totally accurate, she complained. She thought that it was a misleading name; catfishing perhaps. He had chuckled in response, tracing his fingers up and down her arm and feeling goosebumps rise on her skin.

The orange hue of the bright star painting the sky lighter and lighter until the pitch-black sight morphed into a mixture of shades that could only be described as beautifully grandiose--just like Y/N’s sleeping face when the sun casts a shadow to highlight her nose, scrunching with the slight graze of the back of Connor’s finger rubbing the tip. Or the way the luminescence caressed the apples of her cheeks where her lashes rested, mouth puffing breaths of air as she allowed herself to be vulnerable for the first time in months.

___

A heavy feeling had settled into Harry's chest after Y/N hung up the phone. The new voice he had heard had unmistakably been a man's. Who was he? Was Y/N having that man's baby?

Before he could help it, Harry was seething. He saw red, and if he were in a children's movie there would be steam coming out of his ears right about now. How dare she move on so fast? How could she have a baby with another man so soon? But when he thought about it; Harry couldn't even recall how long it had been since they'd broken up. It made him feel somewhat guilty. He hadn't meant to forget her. It had just happened.

His guilt soon manifested into frustration-- her being pregnant was a constant reminder that she had moved on with another man. Insecurity clawed at his insides- did he really mean that little to her? 'You cheated on her', his conscience pricked, but he brushed away the thought. He hated being reminded of his infidelity to his fiancée.

His defence mechanism kicked in like clockwork, using aggression to shield his insecurities. He opened his messages app and clicked her contact, typing drunkenly.

Harry: 'Your a whore'

'You're*'

'Diid yu cheat on me? I bet youu did'

'Do u sleepp arond a loot?'

'fck u'

He smiled smugly at his phone screen, satisfied with what he had sent her. He shut his phone off, and started his car, ready to drive back home. He knew he was being irresponsible, but between his current girlfriend not wanting a child and his ex being pregnant with one; he couldn't bring himself to care. He drove himself home, only to find a terribly worried Camille waiting for him to arrive.

He glanced at the huge clock on the wall behind her. 1:32 am. He shrugged his shoulders and brushed past her to their bedroom. In his drunken gait, he knocked over a metal tray. The loud 'clang' made him hiss and clutch his temples, a headache pounding in his skull.

Camille sighed and made her way over to him, wrapping her arms around his torso and muttering a "come here, H" Despite his sour mood, he found himself craving affection. What he wouldn't admit was that he didn't crave Camille's affection in particular. He just wanted to be held and feel safe in someone's arms. Anyone's arms. But despite himself, he mumbled, "m'sorry I left like tha'. Should'nt 've spoken to ya that way,"

She nodded, pressing a kiss to his cheek, "It's okay, Harry, you're back home now. C'mon, let's get you changed and then let's sleep."

He bobbed his head up and down, willingly letting her drag him up the stairs to their shared bedroom, "Love ya,” Camille helped him out of his trousers.

She smiled softly, "Love you too, mon Cheri,” He giggled drunkenly at the showcase of her accent.

___

Harry woke up with a pounding headache, whining as his alarm rang at eight am in the morning. He opened his eyes to see that Camille wasn't in bed with him. His lips fell into a pout because of waking up alone.

There was a note on the bedside table.

'got called in for an emergency meeting for the show next week. be home by 5pm. love you!'

He sighed and reached for the glass of water she had left him. His brows furrowed when he didn't see Ibuprofen next to the water. Y/N left him ibuprofen beside the glass of water. Always. Harry snapped himself out of his daze, reprimanding himself for even thinking about her. Why is he thinking about her?

After a hot shower, Harry made his way downstairs to make himself breakfast. 'Eggs and toast', he thought. Placing 2 eggs in water and setting it on the stove before loading the toaster. He looked mindlessly through the drinks in the fridge, settling on 'Organic Orange Juice'. Y/N had introduced him to this particular brand after he had complained that all the others had too much sugar to be 'healthy'.

___

"This has no added sugar, H," she mentioned, "They sweeten it with honey."

___

Harry groaned, snapping himself out of the daydream, ashamed for thinking about his ex. Again.

He placed his breakfast on a plate and poured himself a glass of juice, sitting at the dining table alone. He chewed slowly with a mouthful as he unlocked his phone, beginning to go through his notifications.

Camille sent him a text. It was a selfie of her at her meeting, smiling and holding up a peace sign. He mirrored the expression, sending a text back

Harry: "stop being so cute"

He clicked the ‘back’ icon.

The second he does, his heart positively skips a beat. Not in a good way, either. Y/N's contact was just below Camille's, suddenly remembering the nasty things he had texted her the previous night.

"Fuck," He whispered under his breath, opening her contact. 'Read' was plastered under the messages he had sent. Y/N had seen them.

Connor had left a few hours later because he had morning rounds at the clinic the next day. Y/N had bid him goodbye with a shy kiss to the corner of his mouth,

“Thanks for coming, C,"

He smiled and pulled her into an embrace "Anytime, angel," into her hair. A warmth spread through her chest--one that she hadn’t felt in a long while.

After Connor drove off (with a final wave from his car window, of course), Y/N walked back in to settle on her couch again. Halo kicked a few times as she sat down, making Y/N squirm and giggle.

"Hi, you little goose! What's got you all excited, hm?" She rubbed over the area where Y/N felt the kick. As if, in response to her mother's voice, baby Halo kicked out again, right where Y/N's palm was. "Are you trying to high-five me, precious girl?"

Y/N cooed at her swelling tummy, a huge smile plastered across her face. "Or are ya just excited about Connor coming over to spend time with us? Got a good feeling about him, have you?"

She feels a gentle kick, it was almost as if the baby in her tummy wanted to say 'yes'. Y/N hummed softly, caressing her tummy, "Me too, angel. I've got a good feeling about him, too."

A few minutes later, Y/N reboots her phone her previously switched off phone so that she could see if Connor had texted her. He had.

C: Thanks for letting me spend time with you and Halo tonight. I loved it. I have a bit of time off on Sunday, do you want to get Pizza?'

Her eyes gleamed, but she hesitated for just a second. Connor had texted her. But so had Harry. He had sent her five messages, and Y/N wasn't sure if she wanted to see what he had to say.

She wanted to make sure before texting Connor back. Y/N was not sure what she was expecting or hoping for, but what she saw was certainly not it.

Harry: 'Your a whore'

'You're*',

'Diid yu cheat on me? I bet you did

'Do u sleepp arond a loot?'

'fck you'

She felt tears stinging her eyes, cursing at the pregnancy hormones that have gotten her feeling this emotional about drunk texts from her ex. Her body ignited with fury quicker than she realized she could. Y/N doesn't hesitate to click the 'block' button to his contact.

She didn't need a man like him around her or her baby. Or her potential boyfriend.

Y/N: 'Hiya!,'

'it was great having you over, and I'd love to hang out! Down for pizza anytime. Halo loves it too :P'

The reply was instantaneous

C: 'Great!'

'See you Sunday, then! What are your favourite toppings?"

Y/N smiled brightly, finding his curiosity incredibly endearing. She typed back a response, gleaming with joy at the fact that she finally had someone she could rely on.

___

"Fuck. fuck fuck fuck," Harry repeated, clicking the call button to Y/N's contact. He needed to apologize. Desperately. He needed her to know that he didn't mean any of those things; he was just drunk. Not that that was an excuse.

'The number you are trying to reach is not in service', an automated voice said.

Harry groaned in frustration, opening her message contact, typing out;

Harry: "I'm so sorry, I don't know what had gotten into me. I was drunk. I'm very sorry, Y/N xx H."

He took a bite out of his toast before looking back at his screen to see if she had read the message yet. He almost wished he hadn't. Harry’s heart plummeted. His chest constricted as tears stung at the back of his eyes. Throwing up the meal he just scarfed sounded like an option right now.

A flaming red exclamation mark met his startled glance, and his chest heaved as he read,

'Not delivered,'

___

As usual, let us know what you thought!

Reign aka pt3 is already up on Patreon (link in bio!)

Reign will be uploaded on Tumblr on Monday, August 31. ___

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