#everything else in my order that was delivered today was waiting in the lobby for me when i got home from work so im hella confused

[stevethehairington]

ughhhh package was supposed to be delivered today and it shows it was delivered but under proof of delivery location it says other???? so i called ups and one person said it was delivered to gate which???? and another person said oh it was delivered to usps and gave me a usps tracking number. but idk what the truth is so now im on hold w usps and its taking FOREVER. i just wanna know where my package issssss

[flowesona]

Wicker Man - yandere! jungkook x reader

so my child @babeejk​ wanted a y! sugar daddy jungkook, and i live for nothing if not to fulfil her jungkook obsession so here we are. 

word count: 2.1k

pairing: y! jungkook x gn! reader

Most people (Y/N)’s age would spend their Friday night partying, hanging out with friends, trying new things. But (Y/N) was spending the best days of their life entertaining a young, rich CEO who would no doubt dump them for a new pretty face in a few years.

Jungkook was a sweet gentleman. Always made payments on time, and usually never pushed the boundaries. But there were instances where his hands crept a little too far for (Y/N)’s liking, or his grip on (Y/N)’s arm got a little too tight in the presence of his friends.

He was peaceful enough that Friday night, having ordered takeout for the two of them and put on a movie. Clearly, he needed the company of (Y/N) more than their body as most of their previous sugar daddies had coveted.

With (Y/N) placing their plate down onto the coffee table and relaxing into his arms to watch the movie, it was almost like they were dating. Jungkook didn’t dare push this idea often, happy to stick to the simple domesticity they had as if they were already in love and nothing needed to be said.

He pressed a kiss on the back of (Y/N)’s neck, enjoying the fleeting feeling of his lips on their skin. 

“You seem tired, baby. Want to go to bed?” The film was reaching its climax, but (Y/N)’s eyes were barely able to stay open.

“Mmmmm.” They replied, not protesting as he lifted them like a bride and carried them into his room to rest on his king sized bed.

(Y/N) had allowed a gentle smile to settle on their lips, their eyes having drifted closed. Jungkook settled himself beside them, feeling equally as at peace.

“I wish every night could be like this.” He mused allowed. “Would you like that, baby?”

(Y/N) was only his for two nights a week - Fridays and Saturdays, wherein he would often have them stay for the night.

“Mmmmm.” (Y/N) gave an ambiguous grumble as he hooked his arms around their chest to spoon them.

“Really? I can’t wait, baby. I love you, so much.”

◦◦,`°.✽✦✽.◦.✽✦✽.°`,◦◦

The morning after, (Y/N) woke up to an empty bed. Unusual, considering that Jungkook loved to wake up beside them and talk in the morning. Brushing that aside they stood up and padded out of the bedroom and into the kitchen.

Jungkook was seated at the counter, glasses perched on his nose and his laptop in front of him next to a steaming cup of hot water (allegedly, it had health benefits but (Y/N) had never understood it).

“Good morning, baby.” Jungkook had a bright smile, beckoning them to join him at the counter. (Y/N) followed his instructions, hopping onto the stool beside him and leaning on his shoulder in a move they knew he adored.

“I’ve been working hard for you this morning, baby. You know, I want to get this done as soon as possible so we can be together.”

“That’s good.” (Y/N) hummed in reply.

“How do you feel about the moving company getting there at two today? That’ll give us time to have lunch on the way.” Jungkook ran his hand down their arm, soothing them as he noticed how they tensed up.

“What?” 

“So you can move in, baby. Of course, you don’t have to bring everything here and I’ll be more than happy to buy anything extra you need-”

“Wait, wait, wait a second.” (Y/N) breathed out slowly. “Moving in?”

“We talked about it last night. You agreed, didn’t you?” (Y/N) scrunched up their nose, trying to recall the conversation but drawing a blank.

“No, I never agreed to that. And I never would. It’d break the terms of our contract.”

Jungkook had such a sincere look of hurt in his eyes that it tugged at (Y/N)’s heartstrings.

“We don’t need that contract, baby. We just need each other. You know I’ll give you anything you want, right?” 

“And what I want… no, what I need… is for some space. This is just my part time hustle, I still have college and a life outside of this. I want to keep it to two days a week, otherwise it’ll blur the lines between you as a sugar daddy and you as a boyfriend.” (Y/N) tried not to let their irritation show as they spoke.

“Fuck the lines, (Y/N)! We don’t need any of those labels, I just want you to be mine as much as I am yours!” Their companion’s grip on their arm had grown tighter to the point that his nails started to draw blood. Realising this, (Y/N) pried his hand away and stood up.

“I’m sorry if I’d misled you. But I’m not looking for that kind of relationship with you, I’m just looking for strictly business. If this doesn’t work, maybe we should end this.” 

Jungkook stared at them incredulously.

“Well…” He bit his lip, deep in thought. “Fine. Life will go on, I guess. I’ll call up the moving company and cancel it. Let’s not end this beautiful thing we have over a silly argument.”

(Y/N) nodded, although they had a horrible feeling in their stomach that it was not the end of the conversation, and Jungkook would stop at nothing to get his way.

◦◦,`°.✽✦✽.◦.✽✦✽.°`,◦◦

(Y/N) had chosen to make Thursday a ‘me’ day. They cooked themselves breakfast and lunch, did some online shopping and applied a face mask. They had zero intentions of visiting anyone else, when all they wanted to do was de-stress from life.

As they were lighting a candle and listening to some Beethoven, a shrill alarm rang out.

‘Huh. They don’t normally hold the drill today.’ (Y/N) shrugged, waiting for it to cease. However, it didn’t stop.

After a few minutes, (Y/N) grabbed their phone and stepped outside, only to see people hurrying down the stairs. 

“Hurry! Fire!” One of her neighbours yelled, jogging past them. 

Their eyes widened, but sure enough they could see smoke curling throughout the air and they knew they had no time to lose. Leaving their apartment with only their phone in hand, (Y/N) followed their neighbours down the stairs and out of the building, standing on the pavement as they watched the flames licking at the building and smoke billowing out of the open windows. Soon enough there were fire engines on the scene and ambulances to deal with the people who’d inhaled too much smoke. 

(Y/N) found themselves sitting on the pavement, numb with shock. To think everything they owned was going up in the flames was terrifying, even as they saw the firefighters doing everything to minimise the damage. 

“(Y/N)! Baby!” Their state of shock was broken by someone yelling their name, and suddenly they were pulled into a tight hug.

“Baby, thank god you’re okay. I don’t know what I would’ve done if something happened to you.” 

“Jungkook?” (Y/N) instantly recognised the voice. “What- How-”

“I was in the area when I heard about what happened. I came as quickly as I could.” Jungkook pressed a kiss to (Y/N)’s forehead. 

“You need to rest. Come back to my place, okay?”

◦◦,`°.✽✦✽.◦.✽✦✽.°`,◦◦

(Y/N) had ended up staying there far longer than intended. Their apartment had been completely wrecked by the fire, since it had started on their floor. Every possession of theirs, gone so quickly, although of course Jungkook insisted on replacing whatever they wanted.

Jungkook seemed to be very much content with their prolonged stay. In fact, he’d been working from home for the first few days to make sure they were settled in and not feeling too lonely. (Y/N) would sit with him in his home office, since they didn’t really have much else to do, and scroll on their phone until he inevitably called them over to cuddle with him. 

The young man had become progressively bolder with his skinship, never holding back from pressing kisses to their neck or holding them a bit too tightly to his crotch. They hadn’t done ‘it’ yet, but with how he was acting it was only a matter of time. 

They were just sitting together, (Y/N) scrolling through instagram and Jungkook answering some emails when the desk phone rang. Jungkook reached around them to answer it, holding it to his ear for a few seconds before putting it back down.

“Your nintendo switch has just been delivered. I need to go down to the lobby and sign for it. Are you okay waiting here for a few minutes?” Jungkook pouted, as (Y/N) nodded in reply.

He pressed a kiss to their cheek before standing up.

“Don’t miss me too much, baby.” He smiled before leaving. 

(Y/N) let out a breath they didn’t realise they’d been holding in whilst he was there. But now, they were bored as ever. 

A chime rang out, and (Y/N) found their attention drawn to Jungkook’s phone, sitting there innocently. They reached over and picked it up, only seeing a text from his mother asking about dinner plans next week. But they noted how he’d changed his lockscreen to a picture of them, from a few nights ago when they’d accompanied him to a formal event and he’d asked one of his colleagues to take a picture of them together.

(Y/N) suddenly had something to do. They set about trying to unlock Jungkook’s phone, first trying their fingerprint and face ID but to no avail. Then, realising that he had a numeral password they tried typing in a few dates - his birthday, his parent’s anniversary. Then, out of sheer boredom and with only one attempt they tried their own birthday only for them to be granted access to his lockscreen.

‘Jeez, he needs to get a life if he’s that whipped for me.’ They sighed, as they scrolled through his phone. Nothing was particularly out of the ordinary, until they checked the photo gallery, to be met with tons of pictures of them. Screenshots from social media, snaps from their ‘dates’, selfies with them fast asleep in his arms. It was enough to make (Y/N) shudder with fright.

Another message popped up.

‘I need the other half of the payment, sir, or I will be contacting the police.’

(Y/N) clicked on it, expecting business talk only to be met with something else entirely. Fear settled in their stomach as they scrolled up through the messages.

‘(Y/N) has been evacuated outside, doesn’t seem to have been hurt.’

‘Someone’s called emergency services, but the fire should spread far enough that (Y/N)’s apartment will be damaged.’

‘I’ve started it, it’s spreading quickly.’

It didn’t take a genius to realise what had happened. 

(Y/N) dropped Jungkook’s phone on the floor in shock, standing up immediately. They’d walked right into his arms without hesitation, they’d played into his plan perfectly. Jungkook always got what he wanted, no matter the cost.

‘I have to get out of here.’

(Y/N) started for the door, only stopping to tuck their phone into their pocket. They were just by the entrance to the penthouse when they heard talking outside.

They knew they had to hide, but it was too late. 

Jungkook burst through the door, accompanied by a stern faced delivery driver carrying a large box. This was subsequently placed by the door and he made a swift exit, avoiding (Y/N)’s existence the entire time.

“Ah, baby I missed you. Here, come and see what I bought for you.” Jungkook beckoned to them, but one look at their face told him he’d read their mood entirely wrong.

“What’s wrong, baby?” He cooed as he approached them. “Tell me, and I’ll fix it for you.”

“Get the hell away from me.” (Y/N) snapped. Jungkook froze. “I know what you did. What the hell is wrong with you? I could’ve died in that fire?”

His face became stern.

“I would never have allowed that to happen. I just wanted to give you a little push to move in with me, that’s all.” 

“You’re insane!”

“And you’re too stubborn to progress our relationship!” Jungkook bit back. “Can’t you see how hard I try to make you happy? Is that not enough for you to love me?”

“I never want to see you again.” (Y/N) huffed, trying to show past him only to be caught in his iron grip. 

“You’re not going anywhere.”

(Y/N) struggled, but Jungkook’s determination was stronger than their body weight.

“Maybe I am crazy, baby. And you know what that means?” He leant in close, so (Y/N) could feel the warmth of his breath. “You never know what I’m going to do next. So don’t try me unless you want to get burnt.”

[chickenmcstucky]

meet me in the hallway

Bucky Barnes x reader

Light angst, fluff || 5.1k

Your bad day gets worse when your less-than-friendly teammate catches you having a breakdown over your shitty morning.

A/N: So this is the second work I’m posting, but actually the first I wrote. Inspired by my own bad morning, lol. Nothing like a little cathartic writing. I’d love feedback!

You had to physically stop your whole body from tapping along with your impatient foot. If you didn’t get out of here and back to your sunny balcony soon, you might actually die of frustration. Sure, the whole sunny day stretched out in front of you, waiting, but it was the principle of the thing. Wasting sun is sacrilege to you. Still, the young woman behind the counter was only doing her job as she gathered your prescription and searched for the coupon you asked for. Why was healthcare so expensive?

As your body cooled from the workout you’d finished just before hopping over to the pharmacy, your thoughts wandered to the lazy hours of writing, tanning, and listening to music you had planned for the day. The team was between missions and somehow the stars aligned and your time off brought gorgeous weather and some much-needed you time. The thought relaxed you as the woman finally rang up your total; as you swiped your card you put your Starbucks order into the app and prepared to finally get home and enjoy your day.

That is, until the card machine gave a deep chirp and the cashier informed you your card wasn’t covering the entire purchase. You balked - how could this happen? The insurance debit was loaded up for the year, ready for any medical purchases. It rarely ran out so early in the year, and it was just April! Your brain scrambled to make sense of it. Had the account rules changed and some of your purchase didn’t qualify? No, that couldn’t be it, you’d done this same process just a few weeks ago.

Your cheeks bloomed with heat as you realized the declined card was the only one you’d brought with you, convinced it would be a quick errand and seeing no reason to bring your whole wallet for the short trip down the street from the Tower. Fuck. And there were people behind you; you shuddered to imagine what they might be thinking of you in your sweaty workout clothes as you stammered to the cashier you’d have to come back. Just fucking great. You felt your good mood at the prospect of a sunny day slipping as you left the store as quickly as you could, trying to save a little face.

***

Making your way around the construction - why did they need to close the entire sidewalk? - you hastily headed back to the Tower to grab your wallet from your personal quarters, wondering all the way how this could happen. Why do the simple things always have to go wrong? Rationally, you knew this wasn’t a big deal. You would just pay the balance out of pocket and deal with the insurance later. But it was embarrassing and annoying and just plain inconvenient. Sure, you had the time and the money to spare, but why couldn’t things just work how they’re meant to? Your swirling thoughts brought you through the private lobby of the Tower and to the elevators that led to the personal floors; angrily jamming the button for your floor, you whipped out your phone to check the balance on the insurance card.

Your jaw literally dropped as your eyes caught sight of the balance. There was more than enough to cover the charge at the store! Now you were really upset. Jesus, why was this happening to you? Stupid, simple nature of the occurrence aside, you felt tears of frustration welling to the surface as you berated yourself internally. Why did you have to be lazy and only take the one card? If you’d just taken your whole wallet and been prepared, you could’ve saved yourself so much humiliation and frustration. And time. You’d brought it on yourself, you always did. Your frustration with the pharmacy and your anger at the insurance company quickly turned to annoyance at yourself and your lackadaisical ways. Why were you like this?

You shoved yourself further into the corner of the elevator, letting your head fall back against the wall as it ascended to the personal floors. You could feel your face was still ripe with embarrassment, your throat thick with unshed tears. God, why did everything have to make you cry? Embarrassment, anger, and frustration brought tears to your eyes more often than not, while sadness rarely wet your eyes. Of course, no one else knew that and you felt like a dramatic cry-baby every time you got teary-eyed in front of your teammates and friends. You were an Avenger, dammit! As the elevator signaled your floor and the doors whooshed open, you could only hope the walk to your room would be deserted. You wanted to make a quick exit before anyone saw your despair.

***

The hope was short-lived. You walked out of the elevator with your gaze on the floor, and smack into a well-muscled chest.

“Oh, sorry,” you mumbled, trying to scoot around the body without making eye contact.

“Walk much?” and if that wasn’t the last voice you wanted to hear. Of course, your card gets declined and you get humiliated to tears, and not only could the universe not provide you a painless return to your apartment, it also brought you face to face with Bucky Barnes. You were hardly in the mood to deal with him on a good day, let alone today. He rarely acknowledged your existence except to quip mockery at you, it seemed. At first you thought he was just like that, but you soon realized he was perfectly funny and friendly with the others, if quiet. So it was something about you; what, you didn’t know. And you’d accepted it. You didn’t need him to like you, honestly. His attitude towards you might have brought you to tearful rages sometimes, but only in the quiet solace of your room where you could freely wonder why he despised you so. His devilish good looks and killer smile didn’t help. Avoiding him was the best strategy.

“Can you just not?” you snapped at him as he blocked your way down the hallway, apparently hellbent on making sure you knew he was making fun of you. As if you weren’t painfully aware of how he felt about you. It didn’t help your girlish crush, the little voice in the back of your head always telling you maybe he was mean because he liked you. Bullshit.

“Whoa there, no need to get in a twist doll. Was just havin’ a little fun is all. What’s got you so worked up?” you heard the teasing lilt to his voice but the question forced your eyes to his anyways. God, the asshole was smirking, those gorgeous blue eyes glinting with mirth. Horrified, you felt tears welling up in your eyes again because the universe liked laughing at you, apparently.

“God Bucky do you ever fuck off? Honestly,” your voice broke on the last word as tears threatened their way out of your glassy eyes. “Just leave me alone, why do you always have to be so mean? What did I ever do to you?” the words tumbled out before you could stop them, your anger and hurt getting the better of you.

Realizing your outburst, you floundered in the hallway as Bucky looked at you with a confusing mixture of shock and hurt on his face. Did he really have the audacity to be upset with you? After the way he’s treated you, so often making jokes at your expense? In the back of your head, you knew the jokes weren’t that bad, nothing more than you’d say in a harmless rib against your other teammates. But they were your friends; Bucky was a menace. Not knowing what else to say as the shocked silence stretched on, you averted your eyes from his now stony face and tried to will your tears - and your anger - away so you could get what you came for, finish your errand, and try to salvage the rest of your day. How did things go so wrong so fast?

You didn’t notice as Bucky’s expression morphed from hurt to cocky as he prepared to deliver his next blow.

“Oh, woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning I see, sweetheart.” His smiling tone grated on your nerves - of course he was still making fun of you even after you yelled at him for just that. He couldn’t just be nice, could he?

“At least I sleep in a bed,” you spat, meeting his eyes once more. You knew it was a low blow, immediately regretting it as a pained expression flitted across his face. You sighed - only you could end up feeling guilty for dishing his own mockery back at him after months of his unanswered jibes. “Sorry,” you muttered, your eyes falling closed in shame and frustration at your inability to contain your emotions.

“Yea, okay, I probably deserved that,” you stopped yourself from mocking his ‘probably,’ refusing to dig a deeper hole for yourself, though the eye-roll was unavoidable. “I guess I’ll get out of your way then,” Bucky acquiesced, his voice quieter now.

Out of the corner of your eye, you saw his flesh arm reach out as if to pat your shoulder, but he jerked it away as if he hadn’t meant it to move. He hesitated as he half-turned away; why wasn’t he leaving, and since when did Bucky get so unsure of himself? Usually he moved with a sure swagger that riled you right up knowing he thought so highly of himself. Of course, you knew he probably didn’t do it on purpose; your inner feelings about someone had always colored your observations of them and Bucky was no exception - sometimes you manufactured your dislike, but it was inescapable. He infuriated you.

Your head swirled with anger, leftover humiliation, shame at your words to Bucky, and confusion at why he was still in the fucking hallway. You stuttered, mouth moving without your permission but no words forming.

Bucky glanced back at you, and your downturned yet clearly turmoiled face brought an unseen soft, caring look to his chiseled face. It hurt him to see you upset, though you were unaware. He didn’t know why his words to you always came out so biting. He knew how to act around the rest of the team but for some reason you brought out his inner turmoil and apparently his coping mechanism was to just make fun of you. Was he protecting himself? But what did his feelings matter when he had so clearly hurt you? His heart broke realizing that your lack of response to his mocking over the weeks wasn’t good-natured but instead was silent hurt. Fuck, he’d fucked up.

“Honey, why don’t you tell me what’s wrong?” the softness in his voice was so foreign and surprising to you that you jerked your head up, meeting his eyes in shock. “Maybe…I can help,” he gestured awkwardly.

You must’ve pulled a face at that, because his head immediately rolled back as he quipped out, “what, is it so surprising I can be nice?”

“Well…yeah,” you half-whispered, your mouth once more speaking without your mind’s permission. Suddenly you couldn’t meet his eyes anymore, your gaze falling anywhere but his soft blues. Once again you felt shame flood through you, even though you had told the truth - it was shocking to see Bucky offer kindness, at least to you. Had you somehow misread him so horribly? Fuck, there were the tears of frustration again. As if you weren’t embarrassed enough, this time a few actually fell, carving their way down your burning cheeks as your breath hitched.

“Shit. Okay, please don’t cry sweet girl, I’m sorry. I know I’m an asshole. I - I don’t -,” he cut off, not knowing how to explain. At his saccharine tone and the pet name - this time caressed with gentleness rather than thrown with cocky disdain - you broke as tears fell down in rivulets, your body wracking with silent sobs. Why were you such a mess today? Sure, you wore your emotions on your sleeve, but even you could control yourself more than this. Bucky’s sudden softness had caught you off guard. Where on earth was it coming from?

Unsure what to do as you exposed your raw nerves to him like this, you wrapped your arms around yourself as Bucky twitched in front of you, hesitating before once more reaching out to you, with purpose this time. He tugged at your shoulders until you were pressed into his chest, hiding your face in his faded blue henley. You felt the tension bleed out of you as he slowly brought his arms around you, his flesh hand running up and down your back in comfort.

“Hey there, it’s alright,” he cooed quietly, “it’s okay. We can figure it out. I’m sorry sweetheart, I’m sorry.” It was tearing him apart, seeing you cry. You’d never reacted to his jokes like that, at least not to his face. He wondered how often you held your tears in until you escaped to your room, and his heart fractured. He hated who he turned into around you. He’d fix it, he had to. A pretty girl like you shouldn’t cry over a stupid guy like him.

You finally hiccuped to a stop, the tears no longer falling as his sweet ministrations calmed you down. Before more embarrassment over your breakdown could set in, Bucky grasped your shoulders and set you away from him so he could look you in your eyes.

“Now, you tell me what’s going on. I’ll fix it,” his hands gripped you tighter with his last words, assuring you. His sudden change of heart, while shocking, was strangely believable. You trusted his conviction that he wanted to help you.

Sighing shakily, you sniffled and began to explain. “It’s stupid really, Bucky. You don’t gotta worry,” you deflected, walls going back up even though you longed for his comfort, his friendship that you hadn’t allowed yourself to crave.

“Little darlin, it ain’t nothing if it makes you this upset. Please talk to me,” his soft eyes pleaded with you, the kindness floating in their depths piercing straight to your heart. Your resolve - built less from stubbornness now and more from niggling shame at letting him see to your core - crumbled.

“It was just gonna be a quick run to the pharmacy - I needed a refill - and then I was gonna come back here and sit in the sun and try to just enjoy my time off alone but my fucking card got fucking declined even though it has enough money and God, Buck, it was humiliating. And then I came back to get my wallet and -,” you cut yourself off, unsure, not wanting to accuse Bucky of making you cry. He had, but it was the whole situation that had really gotten you going. You didn’t want to point the finger at him when he was being nice for once.

Your sudden silence clued Bucky in to the rest of the story quickly enough, though he took sweet pause at the nickname that had slipped from your pretty mouth. He had the grace to look a bit ashamed, but continued on. “Okay, that’s not so bad then, huh? You can just go back and finish up, it’s still early in the day, plenty of time to relax,” Bucky assured you, thinking he’d figured this out pretty easily.

“Easy for you to say,” you grumbled. “You weren’t the one humiliated in front of multiple people thinking you couldn’t pay. I mean I basically ran out of there, Bucky. Why am I so - UGHHH.”

He very nearly laughed, covering himself by clearing his throat - now that you were talking to him and his dumb brain was letting him be nice to you, he wasn’t about to ruin things by upsetting you again. He wasn’t going to push you away. He found it endearing how open you were with your emotions, wishing he could be more like you some days when his melancholy got the best of him. Maybe then he wouldn’t have to suffer alone.

“I see…well I’m real sorry you had to face that. I’ve been there a time or two, it’s no fun. But it ain’t bad as all that - they weren’t paying you that much attention. It’s New York City, everyone is so self-absorbed I bet they didn’t even notice. That’s not to say you don’t deserve attention ‘cause you do - I mean - that’s not - …yea,” he trailed off, cutting his rambling before he really embarrassed himself. He met your eyes sheepishly, surprised to see a small smile there. His heart soared knowing he was the one to put it there, even at the cost of some embarrassment himself.

“Well, I don’t have much of a choice, I need the prescription today. And - fuck! Whyyyyyyy,” you groaned, your face scrunching as you whined. And damn if that wasn’t just the cutest thing, Bucky couldn’t help but think.

The lilting, light tone returned to his voice as he gently laughed at your groaning. “What is it now, then?”

You moaned, blood rushing to your face as you admitted the silly annoyance, “I forgot my drink at Starbucks. I ordered it while I was in line at the pharmacy, I was gonna grab it on my way back. God, it’ll be warm now - or gone. Icing on the cake, just what I needed,” you sighed, resigned to the wasted money.

Bucky smiled genially as he reached over to ruffle your hair, tucking a stray lock behind your ear with surprising softness. You weren’t sure you’d ever gotten this close to his metal appendage. Something deep inside you fluttered at the prospect of more gentle touches, exploring each other and - now where the hell did that come from? You were beginning to think this morning’s commotion had somehow addled your brain. You shook your head at yourself, emptying those thoughts and Bucky chuckled. This time, though, it felt like he was laughing with you rather than at you. That was….refreshing. Nice, even. You yearned to make him laugh more.

“Alright. It’s no big deal,” Bucky calmly spoke, again determined to bring that smile back to your face and maybe, just maybe, get to know you as a friend. Something about how you’d opened up to him gave him hope he hadn’t ruined things beyond repair with his boyish taunting. He’d treat you like you deserved, be a good man to you, if he could take this chance.

“How about this - you go back, get that paid for, and I’ll go get your drink. If it’s warm or gone, I’ll make them make you a new one. Then you can get on with your day, and I’ll, uh…get out of your hair, I guess,” Bucky trailed off, suddenly unsure. Would this truce be short lived, lasting only until you resolved your dilemma? He guessed he’d deserve it if so, but he couldn’t help but hope you’d stick around him. He’d just have to give it his best shot.

“That’s - wow Buck, you don’t have to go to all that trouble. It’s nothing, silly really, I told you,” you scuffed your feet along the floor, suddenly feeling burdensome. A fearful voice in the back of your head wondered if you were just giving him more ammunition for future joking.

“It’s no trouble darlin’. It’s…it’s the least I can do for ya. I guess I know it’s a miracle you even talk to me. I don’t know why I’m so..” he cut off again, still not sure how to explain without exposing his inner thoughts. “Now, what’s the order?”

“Oh, uhm…,” you balked, disbelieving at what you were about to have to say to Bucky. “It’s, uh, called a Pink Drink?” you let the name escape your lips uncertainly, waiting for the inevitable mocking. But to your surprise, the sweetest smile graced Bucky’s face, lighting up his eyes.

“Well, if that ain’t just adorable,” he gently joked to you as you gave a grudging smile. “One Pink Drink it is, honey.”

And wow, these sudden sweet names were getting to you. You felt your heart flutter as he winked at you before sending you on your way down the hall to your room, finally about to clean up the mess you’d made this morning. He even waited for you to get your wallet, escorting you back to the elevator and riding down to street level with you.

“Go on then,” he encouraged, seeing you hesitate again. “I’ll meet you back up there,” he nodded back towards the Tower.

You smiled softly, half at him and half at the ground you were once more staring at, before making your way back to the pharmacy.

***

You supposed the second trip was actually rather painless. Not a big deal at all, just as Bucky had assured you. Perhaps you could salvage your afternoon indeed, let the sun burn the frustration and embarrassment out of you. Though something told you your newfound confusion at Bucky’s kindness would soon take hold. You still couldn’t believe the gentleness with which he handled you, the kind softness of his words as he comforted you - was this really the same man who spared few words for you but for jokes and laughter at your expense? Something had…shifted. You pushed the uneasy, yet warm feeling away. No time to dissect that right now, you scolded yourself as you headed up the elevator once more, this time for good. You were determined to put this morning behind you and enjoy your rare sunny day off.

As you stepped off the elevator to head to your room, you absently wondered where Bucky was. Surely he had made it back before you - the Starbucks was much closer than the pharmacy. Yet he was nowhere to be found. You weren’t sure if you were bothered or relieved about that. Bothered that he might have abandoned his mission to help you, relieved you might not have to face him again. At least before, his unkindness was certain. You had learned to deal with it. Now, this new kind, gentle Bucky? Just what in the hell were you supposed to do with that? You didn’t know what to think.

***

These swirling thoughts stuck with you as you walked into your room; you were so distracted by your own internal monologue that the open door didn’t phase you, nor did the breeze coming in from the now ajar balcony door catch your eye. Absentmindedly you flitted around the room, putting away your wallet and goods. When the breeze coming in from the balcony caught a lock of your hair, blowing it across your face, you froze. Why was the balcony door open? You certainly hadn’t left it that way.

Peering out to investigate, you stopped right in your tracks at the sight that met your eyes. Your lounge chair was covered in one of your beach towels, bluetooth speaker already gently playing your sunshine playlist. And there on the table was your Pink Drink. You were flabbergasted - had Bucky come in and done this? For…you? The mere thought of him taking the time to set this up sent your heart soaring. But where was he? Perhaps your earlier thoughts were right - his sudden kindness had run out, and he was tired of being your friend already. Somehow, you couldn’t quite believe that to be the truth.

Determined not to let this chance go, because now that you’d had a taste of Bucky’s sweet side you would be damned if you couldn’t sink your teeth in, you set off in search of the brooding man. Wandering down the hallway, you steeled your resolve - you were going to thank him, and you weren’t going to get flustered this time. Maybe this could be a new start for both of you. Maybe he was more than you thought.

The door to Bucky’s room was open, and you heard the soft notes of Billie Holiday float into the corridor. You pushed your hesitation aside and walked in, not seeing him anywhere until your gaze fell upon a brunette head just peaking over the top of a chair on his balcony. Walking towards the glinting sunlight outside, you lightly knocked on the doorjamb to alert him to your presence, knowing he had probably heard you come in anyways.

“Hey,” he exclaimed softly, rolling his head to the side to glance at you. He seemed less…pompous than earlier, at least, but less energetic too. Like something had popped his bubble.

You stepped gingerly out onto the balcony, as if you were wary of startling him. As if you even could. Suddenly you were lost for words, the atmosphere awkward in a soft way. Unspoken words flitted between the two of you, both lost as to how to approach the new dynamic that crash landed in your laps earlier.

“Uh,” you started, lapsing into a giggle. “Thanks for the uh, for my drink. And stuff,” you finished uneasily, letting out a sharp laugh at your inability to articulate your appreciation for his earlier kindness. You still weren’t sure if there would be more where that came from, or if you had simply taken him aback with your tears and his sudden gentility was a stress reaction. You steeled yourself to be laughed out of his room, just in case.

“My pleasure, sweet girl,” he sighed, gazing out over the city. “Least I could do, really.”

“I - Bucky,” you heaved a deep breath and continued, “thank you, you really didn’t have to be so….sweet.”

He didn’t respond immediately and you wondered if you’d taken it too far, but before you could get too worried he spoke again.

“Darlin,” he started, the term of endearment dripping from his lips sweet like honey, “I owe ya a real apology. I never wanted to be unkind to you, but it felt like I couldn’t stop it. Whenever I see you I just…forget myself. It’s like I don’t know how to act, you scare the decency right outta me.”

Was this really happening? You gaped, “wha - Bucky, what?”

He held up a hand to stop you as he kept speaking, his words further shocking you yet sending a warm buzz up your spine at the same time. “I’m sorry I’ve treated you the way I have. I like joking with people but it’s not right that it hurt you and I kept on. I’m sorry I made ya cry. It ain’t an excuse but girl, you really terrify me. In a good way, I think, but I didn’t let myself see that. I hope it ain’t too late, you know…to be friendly?”

You were sure he could see the astonishment clear as day on your face, and you watched as his own expression contorted with unease. It wasn’t hard to see this admission was uncomfortable for him. But why? Because it pained him to admit he was wrong, or because…he was as afraid of rejection as you were?

“It’s not!” you blurted before you realized you had even spoken. ‘“It’s not too late.”

Bucky looked at you with a small smile, hope blooming in his eyes. You couldn’t believe your shit day had turned into this - who would have ever thought Bucky Barnes, the asshole next door, could be nice. Could apologize, even.

An idea struck you and before you could lose your confidence, you spoke, “Do you wanna come sit out with me?”

You left the invitation hanging desperately in the air as you shifted from one foot to the other, hoping he would accept.

“Only if you let me have some of that drink,” he laughed as he got up and ushered you back inside, through to your own room and balcony. You smiled to yourself but stayed quiet as you sat down on your chair; Bucky got comfortable in the chair next to you as the tune of a love song permeated the thick, warm air around you.

Silently grasping your drink, you handed it to him. It felt like a peace offering.

His rosy lips wrapping around the edge of the cup mesmerized you, a rivulet of condensation dripping from the cup down his arm as he swallowed.

His low laugh snapped you out of your reverie. “Well?” you inquired.

His lips stretched into a smile, “sweet drink. Perfect for a sweet girl,” a husky tone to his voice as he handed the drink back to you, your mouth agape once more.

A laugh ripped its way out of your throat, loud and boisterous and before you knew it you gasped out, “who are you and what have you done with Bucky? So charming, jesus.”

“Guess I have my moments. Gonna try harder to have them around you,” he let out a breathy laugh, still unsure how to act around you. But this felt better, lighter. For the first time in a while, he felt at ease within himself.

“I think I’d like that,” you spoke surely. Then a streak of courage hit you and you went on, “maybe next time, I could go with you? I mean, you could go with me - together, uh..”

Bucky smiled then, wide, “you askin’ me on a date there honey?” he cooed, joking but in kindness.

This time, you were ready to dish it back. “If you think one drink and some sweet talking is enough to get a date with me you got another thing coming, Barnes!” you jibed. “I was merely offering to return the favor,” you turned your face up with false haughtiness, but your laughter and the way you averted your eyes told him the truth. Turning over a new leaf and all that, he guessed.

“Well, I suppose that’s a start,” he laughed, hope bubbling in his chest. “That’s a start.”

As you watched the sun reach its midday summit, your mind wandered. What a day it had been already. You never thought you’d share such emotion with Bucky, that he’d be capable of handling it, or even sharing some in return. Maybe there was some truth to his words - you wouldn’t let the pain of his mocking slide so easily, but you felt he deserved the second chance he was craving. You deserved it, too.

You stole a quiet glance at him, your cheeks warming as you realize he’d been staring at you. He looked away quickly, but not before you caught a blush spreading across his cheeks. Perhaps, you thought, bad mornings weren’t so awful if they ended with afternoons like this.

***

[ushidoux]

Be My Last - Iwaizumi x  Reader (Pt. 2)

Summary: You have trouble getting over a past relationship and it’s preventing you from moving forward. (~2.3k words)

Warnings: nsfw, poor communication tbh, angst?

A/N: There’s always trouble in paradise.... 

So I haven’t written a plot-heavy fic in a while. Anyway, I hope this is as dramatic as I intended it to be but not excessive.

Part 1|| Part 2 || Part 3 || Part 4 || Part 5

---

Your phone vibrated loudly, nearly falling off the edge of your office desk but before checking the text, you were already scooping your personal items into your messenger bag and rising to leave the office.

Iwa had intended to meet you after work to grab dinner together before going home, and you quickly glanced at your phone to confirm his arrival while you made your way down multiple flights of stairs (turns out having an athletic trainer as a boyfriend made you a lot more fitness-conscious) to meet him in front of the large skyscraper.

You met him only slightly out of breath, hoping he hadn’t waited long, and he grinned as he saw you, arms uncrossing to take your bag from you and greet you with a kiss on the forehead.

“How was today? More good news?” You inquired cheerfully, linking your arm around his tightly as you started walking. He hummed, his pace still leisurely and his other hand casually resting in his pocket in mock humility.  

“What, I haven’t impressed you enough?” He teased with a laugh, earning him a playful slap on the shoulder. Learning that he was going to be head athletic trainer for the Japan National Volleyball Team just last week was still fresh, and while you were excited for him, you were a tiny bit apprehensive about how much it would change his schedule. Even though he was already quite busy, you’d gotten used to Iwa’s schedule being predictable and being home every night, especially once he’d moved in with you about a year into your relationship.

While this new position was the biggest event on the horizon, quite a lot had changed since you’d met Hajime and lowered your emotional defenses to let him in, and that simple fact was evident by the way your hand unconsciously snaked down the length of his arm to interlace your fingers with him, as you continued to tell each other about your days.

He’d always impressed you from the very moment you met him. His confidence, his pure kindness and his genuine love for you were only a few of the things that made you love him wholeheartedly. The only regret that you had these days was that you hadn’t met him sooner, or rather, first.

Now, back in the quiet of the apartment you’d lived in for almost four years now, you and Iwa were locked in an embrace shrouded by the steam of an excessively warm shower. Despite the fact that you felt heavy with a generous dinner, the current somewhat pleasant turning of your stomach had more to do with the expert way Iwa’s fingers worked your center without compromising attention to your lips and tongue.

Soft moans of his name earned you the privilege of being gently lifted and pressed back against the shower tile, to leverage you steadily against the pressure of his heavy cock pushing past your walls into you as many times before. 

He always knew where to touch and what to fill. 

It occurred to you again as he coaxed one orgasm then another out of you with firmly delivered strokes, aided by the slick coming from your legs and the water that ran over the two of you, that you loved him. Fully and without reservation.

Especially when he pulled back to look at your flustered, wanting face, slightly tilted upwards to look at him with eyes enamored, your body fitting him like a glove, and you could practically see his heart swell.

A reckless, all-encompassing sort of love.

---

“This is… a lot of food,” your friend pointed out with raised eyebrows as she watched you toss possibly a 15th packet of thinly sliced marbled beef for shabu shabu in your cart before moving along to the condiment section. You were grateful that she was accompanying you on this errand because even though you enjoyed grocery shopping, it seemed like you’d been here for a lot longer than you expected and you weren’t too familiar with most of the ingredients on the long grocery list you’d brought with you.

Besides, the cart was overfilled and you felt that eventually you’d need two hands to push it.

“Iwa wants to invite I don’t know even know how many hungry athletes into our tiny apartment, so I’m just trying to be prepared,” you shrugged.

“By buying the entire butcher shop?”

“Yes.”

“He better be paying at least, this looks expensive,” she murmured, only to open her mouth in a teasing ‘O’ once you flashed Iwa’s credit card in her face with a grin.

Amused, she tossed a pack of vermicelli noodles in the cart then let out a loud, wistful sigh before leaning on the shopping cart handle. You frowned in response, knowing exactly what that sound entailed. 

“So when did Oikawa say he’d be back?”

She let out an aggravated groan. “Not for months and then by the time the Olympics start, he’ll be even more busy… This shit is so annoying, to be honest. It’s like he’s never off season!”

You tiptoed to reach a highly placed bottle of shoyu and another of rice vinegar and drop it in your cart. You sympathized with her frustration, you had known intimately once what it was like to be made second priority, even if that wasn’t your life now.

“At least you know he would still choose you over volleyball, no matter how much he loves it,” you reassured her.

You had said the statement without any deeper intended meaning, but when you turned your friend was still eyeing you carefully, concern written in her knit eyebrows.

“What?”

“Nothing,” she replied, deciding to drop it. But two paces later, she paused to a standstill, and asked, “Do you know exactly who Iwa is inviting over?”

You shrugged your shoulders again. “Honestly, I don’t care, it’s not like I follow sports anymore.”

To that, she replied with a soft hum of assent before choosing to talk about dessert instead.

---

Seated at a corner table at the small coffee shop at the base of his hotel, Ushijima Wakatoshi looked carefully at the email invitation, noting the address more carefully this time, a wash of unsettling nostalgia rushing over him.

You wouldn’t notice it from the neutral expression on his face, but ever since he had made it back to this side of Tokyo, the concern of going back in time and revisiting old mistakes weighed heavy on his mind. Of course, he was excited about his new accolades and the opportunity to represent his country nationally, but with few people to share that news with, the reminder of what he had sacrificed to get here seemed less like a badge of honor and more like a condemnation. 

For someone who insisted on moving forward, no matter what the pace or price, this was a particularly unwelcome feeling. 

And of course, this sentiment was made way worse when it occurred to him that he was being invited to his old home as a guest. Well, he wasn’t exactly sure - while the apartment building itself was definitely the same one where he had lived so many years ago, he wasn’t completely sure whether or not the floor and suite number were the same. It would be an odd coincidence that Iwa lived there too now, but it was a nice apartment building after all, so he assumed it must be a popular place to live.

Still, he couldn’t help the mild uneasiness he felt at the prospect of turning up on that street.

What if by some unfortunate twist of fate, he ran into you? Whether in the lobby, sharing the elevator, maybe even in passing at the konbini where previously he’d surprise you with a custard taiyaki or melon bread to eat in the dead of night... What would he say? What could he say?

He had once practiced some silly assortments of words, many times ages ago when the ache in his heart for you became too much to bear and he thought maybe, just maybe, it wasn’t too selfish to ask to come back into your life. He would come up with ways to explain why he’d decided it was better to remove himself from your life altogether over putting aside more time for you, or to explain that he’d made the decision for both of you in order to free you to be loved properly by someone else. 

But the more time passed, the more ridiculous it seemed for him to try to ask you to forgive him for breaking your heart, and now three years had gone by. 

Was three years enough time for you to forgive him for ending things without explanation? Or for moving out of your apartment while you stayed over your best friend’s house for an entire weekend so that he wouldn’t see you cry?

Ushijima took another sip of his coffee. He was overthinking it; the similar address was just a happenstance. You had probably long since moved on from that apartment just like you’d moved on from him.

---

Paper plates, forks, knives and napkins were set aside on your living room table, and you’d cleaned out the patio to allow for more space on the thankfully warm spring evening. Iwa had rushed out with a kiss on the cheek to go get some ice after helping you set up everything, and now you were waiting, hotpot soup base boiling on the stove.

You’d finished just a half an hour before six, and you leaned over the kitchen counter to browse through your text messages. One had just popped up from your friend before you heard an early knock on the front door.

Surprised at the prospect of someone showing up early, you put down your phone and sauntered over, and without even checking the keyhole to see who was standing there, you swung open the door wide, cheerfully giving a warm “Welcome!”, only to find yourself staring your ex-boyfriend in the face.

There was a pause where it seemed like everything that kept your heart beating and your neurons firing had turned off for the split second it took you to recognize him. This was disregarding the fact that he too looked like all the blood had drained from his face when he also realized you were standing right before him. 

“___…,” he pronounced in shock.

The sound of his voice calling your name made your heart pound and your head pound and quickly, impulsively, you moved to slam the door.

Reflexively, he blocked it with his palm, not meaning it as aggression, but spurred by the fear of immediately being locked right back out of your life, where he belonged.

“Wait, can we please talk?”

The desperate tinge to his voice was too much to bear.

It had been three fucking years! Why now?

But instead of forcing the door closed against him again, you found yourself running into your bedroom and locking the door behind you, heart pounding in your ribcage in a frenzy. It was hard to think, maybe you were being a little bit too dramatic, but you couldn’t help the panic pumping through your veins.

Relax, relax, relax.

Ushijima, too, immediately forgot that this was no longer his home.

Even if he knew this place like the back of his hand, he recognized the same sofa in the center of the living room, where he’d held you and had you just like every other place in this wretched space, it was no longer his.

It didn’t stop him from breaching the entrance without your invitation, boldly following after you just to knock on the bedroom door that kept you safe and secure, begging for your attention.

“Please, ___. Please, can we talk?”

It didn’t take a genius to realize that he was in fact in the right place, this was his - no, your shared apartment - and traces of another man, Iwaizumi, were all over it.

Your voice was choked up in your throat but you weren’t yet crying, however you were terribly frustrated. Frustrated that three years after a breakup you were taking shelter in your own bedroom all because your ex showed up at your door. Frustrated that he wasn’t being mean, but instead he was being kind; in fact, you were worried there was a wisp of something more you could see in the pained look he had on first regard.

Too much.

Ushijima knocked again.

“Please.”

The correct thing to do would be to face him properly and ask him to take a seat and maybe if you were feeling extra generous, ask him how he was doing politely, limiting yourself to polite conversation, but instead you didn’t say a single word, biting your lip to hold back anger and hurt.

Three years and you were still like this.

“___!”

His voice raised this time, and again the desperation was clear and tugging at your heartstrings, but you would be damned if you were going to move from this spot. He didn’t bang on the door though - Ushijima always had too much self control to do anything fear-provoking out of anger, but he let out a heavy sigh you could hear directly from the other side of the door.

“I’m sorry-” 

Whatever he planned to say was cut short by the slam of the front door and Iwa’s harsh voice yelling, “What the fuck are you doing?”

Your eyes grew wide as you heard the shuffle of quick moving feet and the thud of bodies hitting the wall, and then you realized that what this looked like was way worse than it actually was.

You fumbled to unlock the door only to see Ushijima pressed against the wall, hands to his side but fists clenched as though he were deciding whether to fight back; you could tell Iwa had already landed a heavy blow from the red spot blooming on his face, and the fact that Iwa still had a solid grip on the collar of Ushijima’s shirt, his fist still dangerously close to his face.

“Hajime!” You yelled, pulling at his arm. “Stop!”

He resisted your plea for him to stop initially, and you could tell he was seething even if he was still. Who wouldn’t be, if they thought their girlfriend was being accosted in their own space?

“T-toshi wasn’t going to do anything… we’re exes.”

Exes?

Iwa gave you a blank look, taking in the info all at once, but what stunned him the most at this very instant was the painfully familiar way you’d said Ushijima’s name.

[fakefanofmarvel]

Racism// (Tony Stark X Black!Reader)

Hi! I know i already did this with Loki but this is just something I think I need to do for multiple people so here is Tony’s 

!!WARNING!! Racism, Slurs

When you were just 19 you started working for Stark Industries as Tony’s assistant it wasn’t long before things between the two of you grew into the happy marriage the two of you share today. Even after being married you still was his assistant. You just didn’t think anyone else would be able to deal with this giant man child nor did you want anyone else to so you continued working along side your husband. 

It was a normal day, meetings with big cooperation's all morning, lunch then more meetings till dinner. Tony was busy in a meeting with a company from Virginia while you were in your office ordering you and his lunch. The comm on your desk buzzed before your husbands voice ringed through it. 

“Hi, darling. Just checking in to make sure you don’t forget to order lunch,” 

You reached to push the button on the machine to make the receiver the transmitter.

“Hi, love. I just sent the order in it should be here in a couple of minutes. 

You went back to working on your paperwork for the time being as you waited for your lunch. It wasn’t to long after you saw a car pull up on the camera outside. You quickly made your way downstairs to the lobby to grab the food from the driver. After receiving the food you went to deliver Tony his lunch. You knocked on the door knowing he was still in with his 1 o'clock meeting. You heard a familiar “Come in” from the other side. You pushed it open to be met with the beautiful smile of your husband and a unfamiliar face of a white man with light brown hair. 

“Sorry to interrupt just bringing Tony his lunch,” You said making your way over to the desk he was sitting behind. 

You stated pulling his meal out of the take out bag and sitting in on his desk. 

“Thank you, Darling,” Tony said before kissing you on the cheek. 

You smiled before turning to leave. 

“Wow, you sleep with the help too?” The white man laughed 

Tony eyes had widen and he was in complete shook. 

“I’m sorry? You mean (Y/N), my wife?” Tony spoke up

“Woah. You actual married that nig-”  Tony shot up from his seat and landed on the man. One hand around the mans neck while the other was punching him in the face. The man was screaming to the top of his lungs which is was caused you to come back to the room.

“Is everything alright in here? OH my god Tony!” You pulled him off the man who was leaking blood all over the floor “What happened in here?” 

Tony rubbed his knuckles and looked at the man laying on the floor. 

“Don’t worry about it sweetheart. Just call security to get him out of here and send in my 2 o'clock when they get here please” He kissed you on the cheek before you backed out of the room to call security. 

The rest of the day you replayed what you had saw in your mind trying to figure out what could possibly make your husband react in such a way. That night you were laying in bed relaxing so happy to finally to be done with work when tony finally made his way upstairs to your shared bedroom with his hand wrapped which only made everything come back.

Tony walked into the bathroom to brush his teeth and wash his face. You followed. You slowly wrapped your arms around his waist and laid your head on his back. He hummed at the new warmth that just embraced him. 

“What are you doing love? Don’t stop just curios.” He smiled 

“I can’t hug my husband?” you questioned as you made your way to the counter to sit on it. 

He laughed “ What’s bothering you darling?” 

“That man earlier,” You could see Tony grow uncomfortable, “ Tony what happened? When i left you guys were doing fine then I come back and you’re beating the shit out of the guy?”

Tony walked out of the bathroom. 

“Tony what’s going on why are you avoiding the question?” 

He took off his clothes still ignoring you before climbing into your king sized bed.

“ANTHONY EDWARS STARK STOP IGNORING ME” You shouted 

“HE SAID SOMETHING ABOUT YOU OKAY? HAPPY NOW?”  He spat back

“People say stuff about me all the time their is no need to get all def-” He cut you off 

“He called you the N word” Tony said 

Your jaw drop. You were shocked but not surprised.

“What? Why?”

“He saw that i kissed you on the cheek and said something about sleeping with the help and i told him you were my wife and he was like you actually married a N word and that’s when I snapped” He explained the whole situation which made you feel some kind of relief that he had opened up about that happened.

You kissed him on the cheek “Thank you for defending me baby. Maybe next time lets not fracture a few bones while doing it please.” You said pointing to his wrapped hand. 

“Of course, darling”  

[onlydreamofmysoul]

The Prince and The Pornstars

Chapter Four

Chapter four here we go! This chapter was weird because I knew exactly what I wanted for all the chapters after this one, but the issue was getting through this first! However then I had a brainwave and yay here we are!

Happy New Year my lovely, lovely people!!!

Credit for characters of course to the incomparable @lumosinlove

Finn

“I’m telling you June, I think I’m going crazy.”

June looked up at him skeptically over her coffee. “So you have a new job.”

“Yes.”’

“Working for pornstars.”

“Uh huh.”

“And you’re attracted to two of them.”

“So it would seem.”

“Who also happen to be a couple.”

“That would be correct.”

June tipped her head towards him. “I’ve gotta say Finn, when I said you needed to get out there, I did not see this coming.”

Finn nearly spat out a mouthful of his own caffeine hit. “It’s not like I did it on purpose!” He groaned, that aching feeling in his chest even more prominent now that he was actually acknowledging it. “And what am I supposed to do? It’s not like I can ask them out I mean for start that’s probably sexual harassment or something, like you know what I do for them.”

“So why not wait until you’re a proper makeup artist and you know, not doing that anymore.”

Finn bit his lip helplessly. “Because I want them now.” He groaned, dragging out the last word pathetically. “But it’s not like I could even be with them either way - they’re with each other!” He met June’s eyes. “And it’s not like they’re just messing around June, they’re properly in love. You should see the way they look at each other.”

“The way you want them to look at you?”

Finn flushed. “You know what? We’re moving on from me. How’s that girl you’ve been pining after for months? What’s her name again? Oh yes, Heather.” Finn teased, knowing exactly what her name was. He had heard about very little except the woman since she and June had met. 

The little bell above the door chimed and Finn looked up out of habit, ever curious to the goings on in the world. June was saying something back to him, undoubtedly sarcastic, undoubtedly evasive, but Finn could no longer hear her. No, instead all he could focus on was the fact that Leo and Logan had just walked in. 

He gripped June’s arm and she started at him confused but he still wasn’t looking at them. Leo had gone straight to the counter to order but Logan was looking around for a table and spotted them. Finn smiled weakly and June turned around to see what was going on. 

Logan seemed frozen for a minute, but gathered himself and walked over. “Hey Finn.”

“Logan, hi.”

June’s eyebrows rose comically. “Logan, really? Interesting.” She turned to Logan and held out her hand. “I’m June, it’s lovely to meet you.”

Logan shook her hand, blinking. “Yeah, you too.”

Finn gestured to the empty chairs around them. “Do you wanna join us?”

Logan bit his lip, hesitant. “Are you sure? We wouldn’t want to disturb.”

June jumped in before Finn could say anything. “Of course not, grab a seat.”

Logan did so, sliding in next to them and Finn couldn’t help but laugh at Leo’s face when he finally arrived and realised who they had run into. Finn introduced him to June and they chatted for a bit, about everything and nothing at all.

“So, we go onto set and literally everyone except James is stark naked, right?” Leo was saying, in stitches laughing. “And James is like ‘wait, what’s going on?’ except no one ever acknowledges it, we just pretend nothing is happening.”

“All because he tried, and failed to prank you one time?” June asked, tears of laughter forming in her eyes. 

Leo nodded earnestly, “We take these things very seriously.”

“Attends attends,” Logan added, still wheezing a little, “You’re forgetting the best part.”

“Oh my god, what’s the best part?”

“After lunch, James came back naked as the day he was born, and we had all put our clothes back on.”

The table broke into a fresh round of laughter, the patrons of the coffee shop looking at them disdainfully.

“Even Lily?” Finn asked. 

“Oh, especially Lily.” Leo was saying. “They may be married, but he tried to trick her too. She was going to take him down.” They all chuckled again and June checked her phone as she finished her second round of coffee.

“I think we’d all better get going before we’re all late for work.”

They gathered up and Finn agreed to walk with Leo and Finn. June was going in the other direction so when they made it outside the door he kissed her on the cheek goodbye.

“Text me later, yeah?” She said, giving him a quick half-hug. 

“Yeah of course, love you.”

“Love you too! Have a good day!”

“So… June seems great.” Leo hedged after they had walked a bit, keeping a relatively fast pace to ensure they made it on time. 

“Oh yeah, she’s the best.” Finn agreed, and it was true, he and June had been best friends for years. 

“We’re having a little party next week.” Logan said. “If you wanted to come? You could bring June too of course.”

Finn couldn’t help but feel a burst of confusion at the ‘of course’ but he figured that was for Future Finn to work out. For now, he had an invitation to accept. 

“Yeah, I’d love to! I mean, I’ll have to check with June of course, but I’m in. Thanks guys.”

They arrived at their building, walking straight in. The guy at the desk greeted them hello, even knowing Finn’s name at this point. They walked through the lobby and in the double doors, waving to everyone they came across. Leo and Logan both went to their respective dressing rooms and Finn kept going until he reached the makeup department. For the first time since he’d been here, Celeste wasn’t there before him, so he set to work organising the stockroom a little until she arrived and told him what needs to go where. And then of course, what sets and with whom he’d be working with that day. 

He organised peacefully for a minute before his mind inevitably went to the same place it seemed to always go nowadays. Which was to say he was most certainly not thinking about Leo and Logan.

Nope. Not at all.

Not one single bit.

(Okay maybe a little.)

(A little meaning a whole lot).

He sighed and tilted his head back, staring up at the fluorescent lights for a minute. It was like he had said to June - he was not going to do this. He was not going to start crushing on his co-workers. He was not going to start crushing on his co-workers who were in a committed relationship with each other. 

Never mind the whole fact that Finn worked for them. He couldn’t just start liking them this way. It felt morally wrong.

(But it also felt so, so right. Emotions like this - they could make you believe in fate).

He came out of the stockroom to find Celeste bustling around in a hurry. 

“Well, well, well,” Finn teased, “Look who finally decided to show up.”

“Désolée,” Celeste said, beginning to apologise before she turned around and realised Finn was only playing with her. “Oh you are wicked O’Hara. I could have you fired you know.”

“You could,” Finn mused, pushing himself off the door frame where he had been leaning. “But you won’t. Now, what do you need me to do?”

Finn headed down the corridor, delivering costumes, sniggering when he handed in James’ one, much to the other man’s confusion, then he continued making his rounds. He gave Logan and Noelle identical maid outfits (for different films of course. Leo wasn’t the only one Logan didn’t work with) and currently, neither of them were the wiser. Finn could have told them... But he figured it would be far more entertaining for them to figure out on their own. 

It was going to be busy today; he was working with Logan first, then Leo and he would be going back and forth between the two sets as the other ‘rookie’, Ollie was out sick today. Everyone here had great fun with ‘O’Hara and ‘O. Halla’, the two fluffers. He went to Logan’s set, smiling at everyone before going directly to Logan, there would be no chit-chat today, it was straight to business as Finn was needed elsewhere. He was glad they had all been able to talk this morning instead, he would have missed his little updates on their lives.

“Back again, are we?” Logan teased, raising his eyebrow as he lay back on the futon that would be starring in today's filming. He untied his robe and tucked an arm underneath his head, looking at Finn through lowered lashes. Cocky. 

Finn gave him a look that made sure Logan knew with no uncertainty that Finn was aware of his every movement, before looking him right in the eye as he took Logan’s cock in his hand. Logan gasped and Finn steadied his hips with his free hand as he stroked him quickly. One thing he would never not love about Logan was how incredibly responsive he was. Every single thing Finn did was reflected in some way. The stutter of his hips when he circled his thumb over the head. The intake of breath when Finn’s fingers would accidently brush that damned tattoo. The flash in those green eyes when Finn would bite his own lip. 

Logan was hard and ready in no time and Finn rose, throwing him a playful wink before waltzing out of the room. 

“He’s all yours, boys.” He called to the producers and laughed a little as he left the room. He had made a vow to himself before he went on set today - he would not fucking blush. It would seem that so far, he had succeeded. 

Leo was always a little harder to judge than Logan, but Finn was learning quickly. He liked when Finn’s hand might slip lower and tease his balls. He wasn’t as affected by a little scrape of Finn’s nails. Finn was getting good though, he was learning their bodies, almost as well as he knew his own. Leo always almost came undone when Finn would twist his wrist, hand curled around his tip. Finn had to control himself when he made that discovery. That was what always did it for him too.

Sometimes at night, Finn's mind would slip to them. Then he would feel guilty and think about something else, anything else. Porn was ruined for him now, although he had to admit, it had never done all that much for him in the first place. He always ended up thinking about Leo and Logan again, but never from what he saw on set. No, Finn’s active imagination would slip to what they might be like by themselves, what they might be like with Finn. His orgasms would always come with the crashing reality that his dreams would never come to be. 

“Me and Lo, it’s for us. It’s not something anyone else gets to see.”

Finn sighed and gritted his jaw as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and sent a quick text to June.

Fancy going to a party next week?

Would this happen to be a pornstar party?

… Maybe 

Yeah I’m in.

Oh, and Finn?

Yeah?

You’re so fucked.

Finn rested his head back on the wall behind him. Yeah, yeah he was.

[melancholyofeos]

Forever and Ever (Tsukishima Kei x Reader)

A/N: This might be triggering for some audience. Reader's discretion is advised.

Forever and Ever (Tsukishima Kei x Suicidal!Fem Reader)

Word Count: 2,652

Tsukishima's Point of View

The number you have dialed cannot be reached, please try again later.

Shit! Why is she not answering her phone?! My heart beating fast, I ran towards the parking lot of our building. I knew something was off! Why did I even go to work?!

I walked towards the car, slamming the door open frantically. The moment I sat in the driver's seat, I immediately put the key in the ignition. Not bothering to put my seat belt on, I drove fast out of the parking lot to get home.

I floored the acceleration pedal and drove off into the street. The sky glowing a faint orange color, the sun started to set. The darkness slowly enveloping the sky, my car drove thread through the busy street full of passersby.

I can't help but reminisce all the time Y/N and I have spent together. It might be out of character for me to say this but our past feels like once upon a time.

I sighed. I get that having a part-time job is hard but I didn't know it would be this hectic. Who the hell let all these people in, anyway? The coffee shop is packed today, probably because it's the week before the exam.

"Miss, can I sit here?" I heard a man said on the other side of the room. He was asking the girl who's sitting by the window.

"Oh... Uhm... I'm sorry but I don't want to." She thought long hard. It looks like she doesn't want to but also didn't want to offend the guy. "What a fucking bitch. It's not like I'm asking for anything else." The man raised his voice.

Some people prefer their space, and this guy is just plainly crossing the line. I don't want to do extra work but the sight is bothering me. I went over and approached them.

"Hey, no need to raise your voice. The lady said she doesn't want to, now back off." I said, glaring at the guy. "Is this what the employees in this coffee shop do? Let me talk to the manager."

I rolled my eyes at him and replied. "Is this what shitty customers do? Go ahead and call the manager since you're already talking to him." I smirked at him and crossed my arms.

The crowd inside the coffee shop gave him dirty looks and he looked humiliated. Out of defeat, he walked through the small coffee shop and headed outside.

The girl bowed herself slightly and muttered, "Thank you."

"It's nothing," I replied and went back to my work. After I got the orders of the people in line and delivered them on the back of the cashier and the others got to work.

I felt someone tap me on the shoulder. I looked to my side and saw Daichi-san giving me a thumbs up. "You did great out there." He smiled.

"Oh, I'm sorry for saying I was the manager. I just-"

"It's nothing, Tsukishima. I'm impressed. You would make a good manager." He said. Daichi-san is also a part-timer. He's older than me for two years and is graduating this year.

I gave him a firm nod and went to do other tasks like delivering the coffees to the customers' table. The girl who was harassed earlier sat quietly as she reads over her notes.

I can't help but look over her way as I pass through the tables of the coffee shop. Ugh, Kei, what are you doing?

The girl didn't leave, even when my shift's almost over. She's not the usual customers that we have here, the kind that orders one cup of coffee and stays for the whole day. She orders almost every hour, mostly snacks. But she is drinking a lot of coffee.

By the time my shift ended, she stood up and left.

Coincidentally, this happened every day. She would hang around the coffee shop for a whole day on weekends and a few hours on weekdays. Another coincidence is that she always goes home by the time my shift is over.

One day, I came in late and saw her already seated on her usual spot. This might be my imagination but her face lighted up when she saw my face. We made eye contact for a few seconds before she turned away and looked at her notes again.

This baffled me for the whole day. Was she interested in me? Or maybe my mind's just playing games? The whole day, we would lock gaze every time each one of us came into sight.

I'll be lying if I said I didn't feel nervous and my heart didn't beat faster.

By the time my shift ended that weekend, she stood up and fixed her things, and head over to the door. Before she could reach the door handle, I ran to her and caught her by the wrist.

She looked at me with her beautiful eyes. Curiously, she looked at my hand and her face grew hot. Feeling awkward, I let go and bowed.

"W-What is it?" She asked softly. I gazed at her and tried to form words but I was a stuttering mess. Kei, when did you become this way?

"I-I was thinking if maybe... we could hang out sometime?" Damn it! That's too straightforward! I should've been more civil. She might reject me because I asked this stupid question.

She looked at me with her (eye color) orbs and gave me a sweet smile.

"I would like that." And then she left.

And so we did. We hang out the day after. And then the day after, and then the day after. Being around her felt comfortable and somehow, familiar. She feels like home. I've never clicked with someone like this. The last time I found someone who felt right was when I befriended my best friend, Tadashi.

Two years later, I graduated from college. We were together for those two years. I'm older by a year and so, she's still in college. In our first year as a couple, we moved in together. It was rushed, but it felt right.

Now, I'm heading over to our apartment out of alarm because of the message she sent me a few minutes ago.

'I love you so much, Kei. I will always love you, you know that right?'

Her message felt odd. It's not a sweet letter. When I first read it, instead of sweetness, shivers went through my spine. I didn't even ask my boss if I could leave. I just straight up went to the parking lot and drove away.

I might get in trouble for this but I don't care.

Y/N felt odd today. She smiles and gives hugs and kisses just like usual but it doesn't feel right. Maybe I'm just overreacting.

I was having a hard time putting on my necktie when Y/N went over to me and took over.

"You know you were never good at this. Just ask for my help, okay?" She smiles as she fixed the mess I made. "Yes, ma'am," I replied.

"You should try smiling more. If I hadn't introduced you to our friends properly, they would've thought you're a snob." She joked and laughed lightly.

"Really? Do I look like that to you?" I asked her and glared at her.

"There, all done. Hmm... yes?" She said and ran her palms on my clothed chest. "But I can love a snob as long as he's you." She squeezed my cheek.

My face heated up. I didn't want to tell her that her teasing got through me but she knows me too well.

"S-Shut up." I muttered. She laughed loudly and smacked me in the chest. "You're such a Tsundere, Kei." I ignored her little comment.

"You should prepare now. You have classes later, right?" I asked.

"Mhmm. You should worry about yourself more. I can take care of myself." She smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. I disregarded it, as I thought that maybe my eyes are just playing with me.

Y/N has always been open to me. She tells me everything, even what she's feeling. I'm the one who doesn't open up. But she figured that out already.

I left and went to work.

I shouldn't have.

I almost got into an accident because of my overspeeding but I managed to get home safely. I ran to the lobby and caught the closing elevator doors. My foot tapped impatiently as I wait for it to get onto my floor.

The moment the doors opened, I dashed out and ran. I ran, my heart beating in my ears. The adrenaline course through my body, as If I'm fighting life and death.

I swiped my card and opened the door frantically.

I was greeted by silence. I ran through the whole apartment and saw her nowhere. She isn't here.

While I was contemplating where Y/N might've been, my phone rang loudly.

It's Tadashi.

"Hello?" I asked.

"K-Kei! Did you get a message from Y/N?! She's-" He asked, panicked.

My blood ran cold. Why does it feel like there's something bad that might happen?

"What happened?! Just spit it out, Tadashi!" I asked again, scared of what he might reply.

"I... I don't know how to say this. Maybe... you should come over to the roof."

W...What's happening?

Before I can even decide to come to the roof, my feet already took over. Tadashi greeted me with tears in his eyes. He hugged me tightly, for some reason I didn't know about.

Eventually, he released me as he let out loud sobs. His eyes drifted on the other side of the roof and tears rolled down my cheek.

My Y/N.

She hanged herself.

She's lying on the ground with a coat supporting her head, probably Tadashi's. Her neck has these marks, and there's a white rope lying beside her head. I broke down, right there in front of Tadashi even though I did not want to.

My knees felt wobbly, and I fell to the ground. Tadashi was quick to assist me, as he leaned down and tried to help me up.

Why?

Why did you do it?

Realizing that I'm over here being a fucking pussy, I ran to her side and hugged her upper body.

"Call the fucking ambulance! What the hell are you doing, standing there?!" I shouted at him. Tears fell in his eyes as he replied.

"I already did. They're already coming this way but when I checked her pulse... she's... cold. There's no sign of life, Kei..."

"No! You're lying! You're such a fucking liar!" I looked down at my Y/N, her face pale. She looks peaceful.

"How... could you be at peace when you just left me? Does this make you happy, Y/N?" I asked. Tadashi put his hand on my shoulder, trying to calm me down.

"Fuck! If I stayed here with you the whole day, then maybe you're still alive! No, because if I did stay here, you would definitely be alive."

"It's not your fault, Kei..." Tadashi comforted. But his words don't get through to me. They sounded stupid.

"Tell me this is just some lame-ass joke, Y/N! You better open your eyes now and tell me this is all a prank!" I shouted. I waited but she wouldn't open her eyes.

The loud sound of the wind howled in my ear. I felt a presence envelop me by the shoulder. I should be cold, but I'm not. It's almost as if... it's comforting me.

"Is that you, Y/N? Why do you have to comfort me now when you should've stayed by my side forever..."

The faint sound of sirens can be heard all the way here in the roof. After a few more minutes, the medics came to check out what happened. One medic took my Y/N away from my embrace and I really wanted to kill them but I had to let go.

If I wanted her to live... I should let go.

She was long gone before she could even reach the hospital. Tadashi was right. It's been a few hours now but it still hasn't sunk in my mind. What's her reason?

What could possibly be the reason that she wanted to die? Did I do anything wrong? Was I the reason?

They say she would stay in the hospital morgue and there's no point with me staying back. So I went home.

As I opened the door, her scent got through me. Her perfume... it's all over the place. Tears started to prickle in my eyes but I went ahead and walked inside the room.

I plopped down in our bed.

Ugh. What a day.

I looked at her side of the bed and realized that there's a letter resting on her bedside table. I hurriedly took it but was gentle enough to not destroy the envelope.

Fuck.

"Dear Kei, I'm sorry I did this. I know this is a shock to you. I know what you're thinking, 'who the hell wouldn't get shocked by this?' and I know that. I left you alone. But please hear me out, if you will. You are the best thing that ever happened in my life. That day when you rescued me in the cafe, I was thinking of killing myself. I was so stressed, I thought I might fail. By that time, dad already left us to live with her mistress. Mom said it was my fault for dad leaving because of my college tuition. It's not good for your parents to work hard for money, only for you to fail, right? But I saw you there. You were working hard, and I thought I should too. You gave me the inspiration to work harder and be the best daughter my parents ever had. Meeting you changed my life, Kei. You are so gentle, so kind. You don't like showing your emotions but I already know what goes through your mind. Again, I know what you might be thinking right now. If you made me so happy, why did I left? No, it's not your fault Kei. I felt so depressed, and I just wanted to end it. Dad tried to come back to our life, and I should be happy. But somehow, that hollow feeling inside of me never changed, even when we were together. But at least I knew how it felt like to fall in love. I figured that you would be better off with someone who isn't like me. And if I break up with you, for this reason, you wouldn't let me go. I just want to rest, Kei. Forever. God knows how much I love seeing you next to me every time I wake up but the stress from college and family gets through to me. I'm so sorry for being this weak, you deserved better. I don't know where I might end up, but I promise you we'll meet each other on the other side. I will make sure of it.

I love you so much, my beautiful Kei. Promise me you'll find another girl that you will cherish the way you cherished me. Be happy, have a wife and a family. I wish you all the best in the world. But I had to go. I put all my letters to our friends in my drawer, can you distribute them? Don't cry, okay? I would always be with you. By the way, I have other recorded messages. Play one every time your birthday comes. Visit me at least every day, okay? I want you to speak for me at the funeral. I want to show everyone how beautiful my boyfriend is.

I'm yours, eternally.

Love, Y/N"

I would never forget you, my Y/N.

I'm also yours... eternally.

Wait for me...

I'll see you on the other side.

[nazyalenskyism]

How You Get The Girl (Part 2)

Summary: Part 2 of a Zoyalai AU  based on ‘How You Get the Girl.’ |  Nikolai tries to win Zoya back, but she’s not going to forgive him so easily.

A/N:  Zoya's reminded of all the good times she had with Nikolai, but is it enough? Thanks for reading, feedback is always really appreciated. 

How You Get The Girl (Part 1)        “Zoya, there’s someone here for you.”

        “I’m busy,” Zoya replied distractedly, her eyes fixed on the monitor before her, “tell them I’m not here.”

        “Zoya,” her new receptionist hesitated, “I tried, but he said, ‘tell Nazyalensky I know she can spare five minutes out of her busy schedule to meet with the CEO of Ravkan Industries,’ is he delusional, should I call security?” Zoya paused. Sending security to haul Nikolai out of the firm would be funny, but it would never happen. Unfortunately he probably knew the names of all of the security guards in her high rise office and sent them Christmas cards every year. Her fingers twitched around the pen she gripped in her hand, she only had another hour before she went home, and she’d taken the day off tomorrow so that she could spend it with Genya. Undoubtedly, Nikolai was here to try to weasel his way into her evening plans.

           Well, Zoya mused, if I accept whatever outrageous proposal he has for tonight, at least I won’t have to pay for it. And, if Nikolai was serious about wanting to win her back he would try as hard as he could to do so (like he did with everything), so it would be safe to assume he would splurge on her. You don’t have to take him back, you can just make fun of him the whole night and get a free dinner out of it too. She sighed, knowing this night was already doomed to be a disaster. Whatever, disasters were always more fun to deal with when Nikolai was involved. She pressed the comms button on her desk, “send him in. Tell him he has five minutes before I call security on him. But first, put him on the DNA list.”

                                                          ***

          Nikolai grinned at Zoya’s new assistant who was clearly flustered by the situation, though she did an excellent job in appearing unphased. Zoya’s old assistant must have left while they were still in the ‘try-to-contact-me-and-I’ll-run-you-over' stage of the last few months, seeing how her new assistant, Leoni, didn't know who he was. “What’s the DNA list?” he asked, blinking confusedly when she whipped out her phone, clearly snapping a picture of him. “Are you going to pull out a few of my hairs? What would Nazyalensky even want them for?”

          Leoni looked up, “ Miss Nazyalensky said that it’s classified information, sorry.”

          Nikolai peered at her screen, she was making a poster with the image she’d just taken of him, captioned with, ‘CEO of Ravkan Industries.’ “My name is Nikolai, if that helps. Nikolai Lantsov.”

          She waved him away, “you’re free to go in now. Have a nice day. Also, watch out, she’s very good at tearing men to shreds.”

          Nikolai let out a laugh, “thank you, Miss Hilli, I’ll keep that in mind. I also happen to have it on good authority that she won’t tear me to shreds tonight.”

          “Why not?”

          “Because I think she’s been expecting me for a while.”

          “You’ll need a better line than that to win her over.”

          Nikolai pressed his knuckles to the door, “it’s me.” He heard faint grumbling he assumed was Zoya cursing him out before the door opened automatically and he sauntered into the room. “I can’t believe you forgot to tell Leoni who I was, Nazyalensky. Can you imagine the blow to my ego when she didn’t recognize me?” He slipped into the chair across from her, attempting to snatch a piece of candy from the golden bowl on her desk.

          “Hey!” she snapped, swatting his hand away without even looking up at him, “I’m sure your gigantic ego can handle it.” she continued flipping through the papers on her desk, highlighting things before turning back to her computer, never once looking at him. After 10 minutes, he couldn’t take it anymore.

          “Aren’t you going to ask me why I’m here?”

          “You know that I know why you’re here. You just want a chance to say it out loud.”

          “Right you are, Zoya dear! Tonight, you and I are spending the night out on the town.”

          She looked at him pointedly, “and why would I agree to that?”

          “Because we’re taking my car, and I’m paying for dinner.”

          She arched a brow, “you’re driving? What, no chauffeur today?”

          Grinning, Nikolai leaned back in his chair. “Well, I’m certainly not getting into a car with you behind the wheel.”

          “I’m a good driver!” she hissed, jabbing her pen in his direction.

          “Mailboxes and terrified pedestrians beg to differ, dear.”

          “Whatever,” she huffed, “you’re not much better.”

          “You’re right about that, I’m infinitely better.”

          “Aren’t you trying to get me to agree to go out with you? Insulting me isn’t the way to do it.”

          “Come on Nazyalensky,” he smiled, “it can’t be more insufferable than going out with -- what’s his name, the guy who works across the hall -- the one I saw trying to get himself together enough to ask you out tonight? Mel? Mervin? Martin? Marcus?”

          She made a face, “I think it’s Merle?”

          “Exactly my point.”

          Zoya twisted a tendril of hair around her finger, which she usually did when thinking. “Don’t mistake my amusement for something else. I haven’t forgiven you.”

          “I didn't ask you to,” Nikolai replied softly, “I just asked for a chance. Please just let me take you out tonight Zoya. Please.” He never begged, it wasn’t in his nature, but he was willing to do whatever it took to make her look at him like she did before, like he hadn’t hurt her.

          She exhaled, “fine, but this doesn’t mean I forgive you.”

          “I know.”

          “You’ll have to wait a while, I can’t leave until I finish going through this case, it’ll take me at least another hour, maybe two.”

          “Take your time,” Nikolai said, taking out his laptop from his bag, pulling up his own work, “I can wait.”

                                                          ***

          Three hours later, it was 7 PM and Zoya had collapsed on the ground, now staring up at the ceiling from her plush rug, her case files a mess around her. Nikolai sat by the window, the light of the setting sun illuminating his features. He looks like a prince in an oil painting, she thought, and then figured that her lack of sleep plus her hunger must be making her delirious.

          “Let’s get some dinner,” Nikolai announced, suddenly standing up.

          “Lantsov, I’m too tired to go out.”

          “Fantastic, we’ll order in then.”

          “Fine, but only because I’m too tired to storm out of here and go home right now,” she grumbled, trying to blink the sleep from her eyes.

          He let out a chuckle, picking up his phone, stopping in his tracks when Zoya’s fingers shot out, wrapping around his wrist. “Wait, where are you ordering from?”

          “Tolya’s, of course,” Nikolai replied, his eyes trained on Zoya’s fingers still clutched at his wrist. She moved to pull her hand back, but he was quicker, resting his on top of hers for an extended moment, his eyes lingering on her face. She fought to keep any hint of feeling out of her features, but she knew the tops of her cheeks were pinking. How dare he affect her this way. It was the first time they’d touched this way in months and Zoya hated how her chest constricted the longer he looked at her, the longer that his fingers brought warmth to her. She pulled out of his grasp, trying to clear her mind, deciding to settle on scooping up case files from the ground so that she could free herself from his piercing gaze. Nikolai turned towards the window, the city lights masking his face from her as he ordered from their friend’s restaurant.

          She had missed this, just a bit, she could admit that much to herself. She had missed Nikolai’s ability to make others feel at ease, to make them laugh, and trust him. To want to lay their faith in them. She had missed the press of his fingers and those intelligent hazel eyes that never missed a thing, that could read her like an open book. Those eyes that were now back on her, Nikolai’s hand warm in hers as she took his offering hand to pull her up.

          “Tolya said he’d personally deliver the order to the lobby, is that okay?” She nodded dazedly in response, picking up her bag and heading following him out the door, halting by her receptionist’s desk.           “Leoni,” Zoya said, feeling breathless as she ran a hand through her hair, “why are you still here? You know you don’t have to stay a minute past 6.”

          “Oh,” Leoni said carefully, “I know, I was busy and forgot the time.”

          Zoya frowned, moving around to Leoni’s side of the desk, “what were you working on? Everything but the Brekker case is closed and I just started it.”

          “These biscuits are so tasty, Leoni. Are you sure it’s okay if I take the whole box?” the man who was mumbling through a cookie halted in his tracks as Zoya whirled on him incredulously.

          “Adrik Zhabin, what the hell are you doing here?”

          “I--”

          “You know Zoya?” Leoni interjected.

          “Well, funny story--”

          “Does he know me? He’s my friend’s little brother! Are you,” she jabbed an accusatory finger at Adrik, “flirting with my receptionist?”

          Adrik flushed as Leoni smiled at him affectionately, “no, I’m just driving her home.”

          Zoya raised an eyebrow, “I have my eye on you Zhabin. You better just be ‘driving her home.’ Does your sister know about this?” She yanked her cellphone out of her purse, nearly dropping it when Nikolai placed his hand on top of hers.

          “Nazyalensky, leave him alone.”

          “But--”

          “Zoya”

          “Fine,” she huffed, putting her phone away, “Adrik, I’ve already lost one receptionist thanks to Mal Oretsev, you better watch yourself.”

          “Yes ma’am,” Adrik said grumpily, avoiding eye contact with Nikolai as Leoni led him out the door, his hand tight in hers.

          Nikolai waited until they were out of sight before turning to Zoya, “Can I walk you home, Nazyalensky?”

          He got an eye roll in return, “if you want to waste your night, go ahead, but I’m planning on taking my share of dinner and going back to my place.”

          “Fantastic .”

          “Fantastic,” she muttered.

                                                            ***

          “I forgot how short you are without heels,” Nikolai teased as Zoya collapsed next to him on the picnic blanket, her glare bleary but cutting all the same. The sun was slowly setting, and the riverside was quiet, the only noise being the occasional conversations from those on the pathways. Dinner had been fairly quiet, they were too hungry to talk and Tolya’s food was far too good to not eat it quickly. Or at least that’s what she assumed Nikolai’s logic was, she knew her own reasons for refraining from chatting away with Nikolai, as easy as she knew the old habit would be to fall into.

          “I’m six inches shorter than you, Nikolai, you’re not as tall as you think you are.”

          “Anything shorter than me is short.”

          “Ugh, I don’t care. I’m too tired and stuffed to deal with you,” she pushed his cheek away with her hand, closing her eyes as he laid down next to her, their hands nearly touching but not quite.

          There was a long silence and for a moment Zoya thought Nikolai had fallen asleep, but then he spoke up, “do you remember how we used to come down here on the weekends?”

          Zoya pushed down the urge to look over at him, “yes.”

          “When you used to sit up here with your giant textbooks and chunky glasses.”

          “My glasses were sleek and fashionable.”

          “You remember 6 A.M. on Saturday mornings very differently than I do.”

          She jammed her elbow into his side, his wheezing laugh making her shake her head. “With your back to back rowing and sailing practice, I had a lot of time to study.”

          “Yeah, but you always found the time to cheer me on. Every time I looked up, you would be waving back. In the team rooms on campus, half of my pictures on the wall were ones you took after practice.” The pictures in frames, she knew were all the ones he had said he loved, where her bright lipstick stained his cheeks. It had been so easy to forget her hurt this afternoon as they worked quietly, side by side, when they joked as if nothing had happened, but this reminiscing was too much, it brought back all the wrong memories.

          “Young Zoya had a habit of getting herself caught up in things that wasted her time when she shouldn’t have.” The words were harsh, they left a bitter taste in her mouth but she couldn’t hold them in. How many nights had she spent, curled up in bed, simply wanting answers as to why Nikolai had walked out of her life with no explanation. She hated to admit that she had been searching for love her whole life, love from a mother and mentor who saw her as nothing more than a means to their own ends. Love from a father who was too afraid to stand up for himself, for her. She had found it once, and she thought that with Nikolai she had found it again. How wrong she was.

          “I know you don’t believe me, Zoya, but I never meant to hurt you.”

          “You don’t know what I believe,” she whispered, horrified at how her eyes burned. She shut them tighter still, “I know that you left because you were trying to protect me. Because you thought it was your fault and you wanted to fix things, because you always want to fix things.” Nikolai was quiet and so she continued, six months of pent up words tumbling out. “You made me feel safe, you made me believe that you wouldn’t leave. I let myself fall for your charms again and again, I won’t let myself be fooled so easily again.” She felt tears leak from the corners of her eyes, even in this moment where all she wanted to do was yell at him, she felt safe enough to tell him the truth of how she felt. Damn him.

          “I wasn’t trying to trick you, not you, never you.” Nikolai’s voice was thick and she knew that if she looked over at him, she would see tears in his eyes too.

          “I tried so hard to hate you. I really did. But then you called every day, you sent me those letters, all the flowers, why couldn’t you just tell me the truth from the start? You know I would’ve understood. I would’ve helped.”

          “I’ve told you how bad my family is, but they’re truly horrible. I couldn’t think of a way to fix the situation without ruining your life, if they knew you existed, they would’ve made it hell. I should’ve told you before I did any of it, but I was a coward. It was easier to leave first and explain later. I didn’t want to watch your heart break,” his voice broke on the last word and Zoya pressed her palm to her mouth, trying to push back a sob.

          Nikolai’s hand brushed against hers on the picnic blanket and she grasped it tightly, needing something to hold onto as silent sobs racked her body. He didn’t try to reach out or comfort her, he knew she didn’t want that, that she didn’t need it. Despite all that, she let herself break in that moment, surrendering to an all too familiar comfort, the press of his hand against hers. Zoya took one deep breath, then another, until she felt grounded, swiping at the tears that still lingered on her cheeks. She stood up abruptly, gathering her things as quickly as she could, without looking back at him. Zoya needed to get out of here, her head was still swimming with a thousand emotions she couldn’t try to detangle, and she refused to fall into Nikolai’s arms again because she let her emotions get the best of her. He didn’t try to stop her.

[cosmiclatte28]

Paralyzed (Nurse! Yuta x you)

Warning : the major character is temporarily paralyzed here, if that makes you uncomfortable do not force yourself to read this piece :) 

check out other works instead if you’re uncomfortable here

Character note : Yuta, Taeyong, Mark are hospital nurses or murses (male nurse, no terminology right??) that take care of you as you recover from an accident.

fluff and happy end! 

hope this is not a usual plot you see

"For the last time (y/n), stop doing everything by yourself." Yuta sighs when he sees you once again rolling your wheelchair to go back to the hospital's room. The man in the nurse uniform quickly walks to you and pushes you slowly through the hallway. You were currently wheel-chaired because of an incident you got from your cheerleading practice and the doctors said you shall not walk for a while. The shock makes you semi-paralyzed. Yuta is the assigned nurse to help you go to the physiotherapy schedules and makes sure you have the help you needed. You smile, "Chill Yuta, I'm only returning to my room." He snickers, "Yes from the rooftop garden to your room on the third floor. You just need to take the elevator and go down 5 floors. Don't you know that is dangerous?" he nods to some of the colleagues he met along the way. You sigh, "Well I was bored and the wind was harsh there." "Who was the one to take you there?" he asks, a bit annoyed that you are left alone. You sheepishly reply, "No one. I went by myself." He gasps, this was not the first time. Two days ago, his fellow nurse friend told him they see you on the rooftop all alone and Yuta rushed all the way to pick you up. Today, you are doing this again. Yuta thinks you need a real warning. He stops pushing you and you bite your lips, knowing he must be angry. Yuta walks to face you and he kneels down. "You leave your room by yourself and no one saw you leave?! Did you know anyone can harm you?!" You feel your heart breaks a little, Yuta has never raised his voice not even when you made him have a hard time poking needles into you because you're faint-hearted at the sight of needles. "Sorry," you mutter slowly and look down to your feet. He stands up and with a big sigh pushes you again before the people around you pay attention to you two.

Yuta was quiet until you reach your room and you don't like the thick air between you and him. He was always fun and caring, your stay in the hospital has been at least pleasant with him making sure you're feeling good and nothing is hurting you. "Sorry Yuta, I promise I won't do that again. I mean look I'm good now, no one hurts me," you explain after he gently picks you up and places you on your bed. He exhales and grabs your hand, "I'm sorry I snapped at you. I was worried for your safety. Next time just press the bell I will come and help you get there." You shyly nod your head, "Well I just don't want to bother you all the time." He runs a hand on your hair and smiles sweetly, "You're not bothering me. Don't worry okay, if I'm not there Taeyong might come and help you or you can ask him to call me." Yuta tidies your bed and helps you feel comfortable in your room. "Thank you," you say and he just nods his head, "No more running away okay? Tell the nurses if you want to go anywhere or need help. I need to go back to my station now, other patients are also waiting. The doctor will examine you tomorrow and I'll see you tomorrow." he ruffles your hair and leaves the room. You're once again alone in your big room, your parents are not in this country and your friends just come to see you during the visiting hours. That night Yuta cannot come to you, instead, his best friend Mark is there to send you your dinner and helps you prepare for bed. "Yuta is on emergency room duty, don't worry he will see you tomorrow on the physiotherapy session," Mark says when he cleans up your plain hospital food dinner. "I am starting to hate the food Mark," you reply when he asks why are your plates still mostly full. He shakes his head, "Well you can ask someone to send you food if you want." You laugh dryly, "Yeah, no one can do that to me." He smiles, "What do you want? I can maybe get them delivered for you." Your smile appears on your face, Mark is as nice as Yuta and twice the funnier. "Really? I want chicken!" you clap your hands. Mark nods and giggles, "Okay, just wait for them okay. If you're good with your therapy session I'll order you chicken." With that the next day your therapy session went really well. Yuta was confused at how cooperative you are and you're even showing the eagerness to try and stand up. Though he sees your legs still shaking and your face shows pain, he's proud of you as he stands by your side and gets ready to catch you whenever you fall. Doctor Jung was delighted to see your improvement and your session ends fast today. You wipe your sweat and feel proud as you two make your way back to the room. "Wow, what happened to you?! You're really doing great today!" Yuta wonders but you keep your secret to yourself. He just discovers it tonight when he catches Mark coming into your room with a plastic bag. "Aigo you're getting chicken from Mark as a reward for you doing well today?" he laughs at your cute busted face. Mark laughs, "Well I told her I'll order her chicken if she does well." Yuta teases you, "Then what do you want for tomorrow? If I buy you tteokbokki will you not run away anymore?" The three of you just laugh and you're no longer sad to be here. Well you're sad you cannot walk around and still need to rely on someone else, but the hospital has allowed you to go back home and come for sessions only. After a month of staying in the hospital, you're making a lot of progress and Yuta sends you off when your cousin picks you up one day. He hugs you and helps you get into the car, "Promise me you will be careful and ask help okay?" he sounds worried and at the same time warning you. You nod your head, "I'm not going to be alone. My cousin, Doyoung will take care of me." Doyoung takes his time to listen to Yuta's notes on how to help you and what medicine you should take. Yuta is quite relieved when he sees how smart and quick-witted Doyoung is, a part of him can relax now that your cousin looks like he can take good care of you. "I guess this is it then, my little girl is going back home." Yuta ruffles your hair and you laugh, a tear escape from your eyes. "Thank you, Yuta for everything!" He wipes your tear and sends you his gummy smile, "Don't cry! I'll see you one day! Don't worry." You nod your head and hold your tears back, "I'll see you too one day. Send my regards to Mark!" With that, he waves his hand and you wave to him as Doyoung starts his car and leaves the hospital. Four months went by and you're back in front of the hospital's lobby you missed. Without Doyoung's help, you roll your wheels to the floor where Yuta usually stands by. The third floor of course and he's surprised when he sees you. "(y/n)!!" he walks to you and you push yourself closer to him. "How are -" he pauses and screams happily. He closes his mouth and shakes his head when you push yourself up from the wheelchair. Without a second, Yuta extends his arms. You step closer and hug him. He wraps his arm around you and you can see his eyes wetting from tears. The other nurse just watches the warm reunion of you two. Yuta can't believe his eyes, after four months you're already walking perfectly, no stuttering and no pain from your face. "You did it!" he pushes you away and stares into your eyes. You're crying already missing him and feeling overwhelmed when you remember how supportive Yuta was on your challenging days. "Thank you!! Thank you so much Yuta." you sob and he brings his gummy smile back and you just can't hold it back anymore. You hug him one more time and feel in his warmth. "Your cousin did a great job looking after you!" he pats your back, "And you too did a wonderful job motivating and pushing yourself." Mark and Taeyong come around the corner and gasp in surprise too when they see how you can perfectly stand and rock from one foot to another while hugging Yuta. "Hey look who's a ball of energy now!" Mark pokes you and you jump in surprise. "Mark! Taeyong!" you also hug the two of them, since you know them well too during your stay here. You thank them all and invite them for lunch, well they have their breaks and with that, the three of you gather in the hospital's canteen listening to your story and feeling proud when their patient overcome their hurdles. You're also thankful you met them, three wonderful nurses who take care of you like you are their family. Moreover for Yuta who is already like your guardian angel.

end! thank you for reading 💖🥺

:))) but really Yuta as a male nurse might make the patient don’t want to go home 😂

[misskikuwrites]

Practice Makes Perfect

Bede/Gloria (dressedinpinkshipping) 

Fluff, pining, slight angst, slow burn

11,817 words

-

Nerves flittered around in Gloria's stomach. She'd come to Ballonlea for a legitimate reason, and she'd dropped by on random occasions before, so she couldn't figure out why it felt like she'd inhaled a swarm of Combee as she headed for the Gym. Clad in her Champion gear, she kept her head high as she strode through the doors. A ripple of excitement spread across the lobby at the unexpected sight of her. There wasn't an exhibition match scheduled today, and Galar was in the final weeks of the lead up to the next League Challenge, so few expected they'd have a chance to spy the Champion in Ballonlea's Gym that afternoon. 

Whispers of Gloria's name and title echoed from all directions as eager fans sized up an opportunity to approach. It made her feel like a target. Like a tasty morsel in front of a pack of starved, ravenous beasts. It was shameful to see her fans like that, it wasn't fair on them, and so Gloria slid a friendly mask in place and smiled. She waved to the people around her like Leon always had, pretending instead that she was impersonating the ex-Champion, that she had all his confidence and charm. It came easier to her like that. As though appealing to fans was nothing more than a game. 

The League Staff let her pass through to the stadium, and she gratefully marched on ahead. Beneath the glaring stadium lights stood Bede and one of the Gym Trainers, equidistant apart from the centre of the pitch. Ms Opal and the other Gym Trainers were off to the side, and Gloria waited on the sidelines opposite them as Bede's Hatterene delivered the final blow to Aromatisse. The air was hot and heavy, and the nerves in her belly contracted all at once, fluttering to life when a satisfied smile bloomed across Bede's face.

For some reason, she recalled suddenly what had happened between them a few nights ago, after the incident that led to Bede keeping what would have been her Togepi. The night he'd teleported into her room and she'd pushed him away, only to seek him out and ended up climbing in through his bedroom window in the early hours of the morning. Her brain latched onto the memory of her crying in his arms, blurting out apology after apology. 

And, among it all, she'd told Bede that she loved him. 

It was in that very moment that he noticed her. The post-match gleam in his eyes made her heart skip when their eyes met. Bede positively glowed with sweat and adrenaline, his smile exhilarated and breathless and trained directly on her. He accepted a towel from one of the Gym Trainers and headed over to Gloria as he patted away the beads of sweat on his brow. With every step he came closer, her heart beat louder, and firmer, and she heard once again her own voice in her ears, professing her love for him. 

Why am I remembering that now?! 

She sucked in a breath, her lungs feeling too tight and stiff in her chest, and tried to compose herself before Bede reached her. 

She did love him. Obviously she did, otherwise she wouldn't have said it, but the recollection sent nerves skittering down her spine- the recollection of what she'd said, that she'd repeated it twice afterwards, and the fact that Bede was smiling at her with a post-adrenaline high. She could practically see the endorphins lighting up his eyes. 

Get your head on straight, she chided herself. You said it as a friend, nothing more, and he knows that!

Bede stood before her. Gloria swallowed and focused on his eyes, not the lock of his sweat-damp hair that curled over his brow. It was so tempting to reach up and tuck it back into place. She itched to run her fingers through his soft curls, to sweep his drooping fringe off his face, and the urge hit her so suddenly she almost jolted in place, wondering where on earth that desire came from. 

His eyes. Focus on his eyes, damn it! 

"H-Hey." She sounded as breathless as he looked. "How're things going?" 

"As well as they should," he said, flashing that all too dangerous grin of his. "What brings you here? I trust you haven't come to scope out your competition before the next League Challenge? If you have, I'm afraid you'll be sorely disappointed. That was my last practice match for today." 

The heat in his eyes burned with the insinuated challenge of his words, and Gloria's heart thumped heavily in response. She couldn't help but meet his provocation with her own. 

"What, giving up already? I didn't realise you were confident enough to stop so early." She matched his grin, buzzing inside as though she were the one feeling the aftereffects of an adrenaline-fueled battle. "Or are you worried I'll spot the flaws in your strategy if you battle in front of me?"

"I can't reveal all my secrets to you just yet," he said, running his fingers through his fringe and tossing the curls off his brow. "How else will I keep our battles invigorating if you know what to expect?" 

With the way her heart was racing in her chest, he didn't need to come up with a new strategy to invigorate her. 

Gloria cleared her throat and decided she needed to change the subject. 

"So, uh, are you guys prepared for the next League Challenge?" she asked, using that as an excuse to look elsewhere. "I'm checking out the Gyms to make sure everything's in order before it starts again."

"Well, you needn't have bothered yourself in coming here. It should have been obvious to you that I'd have everything in order well in advance," he said proudly.

"That's pretty much what everyone else said." Gloria gave a sheepish laugh. "Guess I didn't need to worry myself over it, or do it all in one day." 

"You visited all the Gyms in a single day?"

He pinned her to the spot with an incredulous stare. 

She couldn't help but shrug and laugh at herself. "I may have gotten a bit excited when they told me it was one of my duties to check how the preparations for the next League Challenge was going. At least I saved the best for last," Gloria teased.

"Flattery will get you nowhere," Bede harrumphed, folding his arms. He glanced elsewhere with a disgruntled frown on his face. 

She fought back a pout, having hoped for a greater reaction to her comment. Bede's unamused huff made it all worth it anyway, and helped ease the churning in her stomach enough that she could speak up about the real reason she'd saved Ballonlea's Gym for last. 

"You said you were done for today, right?" Gloria paused as Bede turned back to her, and she tried to gauge his mood as best she could. 

"That's correct." 

He studied her again, searched her eyes, and she began to warm beneath his gaze. She cursed the effect his gorgeous violet eyes had on her- it was difficult to focus when he looked at her like that. 

"Well, you know how you said the other day that I could visit Togepi whenever I wanted?" She pursed her lips, took a breath before continuing, "were you serious about that?" 

Her heart thumped steadily in her chest as her question hung in the air, and she twiddled her fingers together absently when Bede's eyes shifted from hers once again. 

"Of course I was serious," he huffed, "I would hardly joke about something like that." 

Relief filled her lungs with a gasp, and she lifted up on her toes in glee towards him. 

"Then- Then can I visit her?" Unable to contain her elation, Gloria shot forward, hands clasped in front of her chest. "Please? Can I see her today?" 

He blinked at her for a second of shock before composing himself. Bede sighed, "I suppose I can make time for that today." 

"Yes!" Gloria pumped her fists excitedly.

"Give me a moment to shower and change, and I'll meet you out the back," he said, turning on his heels and marching for the stadium doors. 

Gloria skipped to catch up with him, her heart soaring. "Sure thing! I'd rather wait out the back than in the lobby. You've got tons of fans waiting for you there!" 

"They're wasting their time," Bede scoffed. "Surely they have better things to do than hover around my Gym." 

"I was surprised how many there were! The Gym Challenge hasn't even started yet and you've already drawn a crowd!" 

A scowl settled across his face, unimpressed by the nature of his fans, and he let out another sigh as they approached the locker room. Bede paused, hand reaching for the doorknob, and glanced at Gloria. 

"I won't be long," he said. "Regardless, try not to get into any trouble while I'm gone."

"What-?!" 

Gloria gasped, a fire igniting in her lungs with fierce indignation, but before she could give Bede a piece of her mind, he slipped through the door and left her fuming outside. The smirk he'd flashed during his quick escape lingered in her mind. A devious, smug grin that told her he knew exactly what he was doing. Riling her up, toying with her, making her heart skip. His eyes had twinkled with soft amusement when he'd teased her.  

Rather than poking at her faults, her tendency to get into messes all the time, instead of his words cutting into her weakness and hitting her where it hurt, this was Bede's way of showing that he cared. It almost felt like an inside joke between them, and she couldn't help but wonder if he'd meant it that way. That thought turned over and over in her mind as she headed through the Gym and out the back doors. 

As she waited in silence, Gloria's heart maintained its rapid pace in her chest. Every glance she shot at her phone made the minutes drag on, distorting time itself to make it feel like a lifetime and a half before the doors opened behind her. Gloria jumped, whirling to see Bede quirk an eyebrow at her, amused by her fright. His platinum blond curls were slightly damp from his shower, the heat of the water having left his cheeks glowing a warm pink- the sight of him like that made Gloria swallow. 

"Done already?" she asked, hiding the squeak of her voice behind a cough. "That was quick."

He strode past her, the corners of his lips lifting as he said, "haven't you heard that it's rude to keep a girl waiting?" 

Gloria's breath hitched. 

"Ms Opal tell you that?" she tried to quip back with the same casual tone he'd thrown at her, but her heart stammered and she stumbled after him in order to not be left behind. 

"That, among other things." 

Bede slowed his pace to match hers, the silent gesture softening Gloria's heart as they walked the short route to Ms Opal's house. 

At least this time she would be entering through the front door. She hadn't been in Ms Opal's house much, opting to visit the Fairy Gym if she needed either Ms Opal or Bede instead, and found it daunting to be inside the cozy building. 

"Should I hide my bag this time?" Gloria joked.

"No need. She's well aware that you're here." 

Gloria blinked at Bede as he disappeared into his room to deposit his bag before returning. He said it so casually, so matter-of-factly. It stunned her for a moment. 

"She does?" Gloria slid her bag off her shoulders and placed it neatly on the floor by the kitchen counter "Will she be coming here soon, then?"

"No. The old ba-" Bede cut himself off and cleared his throat,  "-Ms Opal has kindly decided to give us some 'alone time.'" His expression soured as the tips of his ears flushed with the rest of his face. "Her words, not mine." 

"O-Oh."

"This works in our favour. It'll be easier if we're alone, anyhow." 

Gloria's heart thumped. "It… it will?" 

"You wanted to see Togepi, correct? She remains rather timid around people, so it will be better if it's just the two of us here."

Oh.  

"Yeah, of course!" She nodded quickly, shaking off the nerves that had taken hold in her confusion. 

It was about Togepi. Duh. 

Arceus, she could feel her cheeks begin to burn, and she could've died on the spot when Bede noticed and smirked at her. 

"Why, were you hoping for something else that requires us to be alone instead?" he asked. 

"Of course not!" She pouted, trying to fight the embarrassment off her face. "You just confused me, that's all…!" 

A breath of laughter escaped Bede. Amusement twinkled in his eyes, and it stole all the air from Gloria's lungs. She puffed out her cheeks and glared at the kitchen counter so she didn't have to suffer another moment under the dazzling warmth of his gaze. Her annoyance fractured under the stammering of her heart, and that made her pout firmer and harder. It was impossible to stay miffed at him when he laughed like that. That rare sound, however brief, plucked the very strings of her heart. 

"Why don't you choose which tea you'd like to try?" Bede offered. 

Sweet mirth lightened his voice, making the beat of Gloria's heart sing to his rhythm. She realised then that she was glaring at the packets of tea neatly stacked on the counter, and decided to focus on them instead of how delightful Bede sounded when he was trying not to laugh. 

Somehow, it didn't bother her in the slightest that his amusement stemmed from her embarrassment. If anything, she no longer felt embarrassed at all. 

"Hmm…" Gloria murmured to herself as she studied the tea packets one by one. "Which one do you like the most? Have you tried them all?" 

"Tea is more Ms Opal's thing. Of course, I drink it when offered, but I don't particularly have a preference." 

"So, you don't have a favourite?" Gloria picked out the Cherubi-inspired tea leaves, and passed it over to Bede. A fruity, aromatic tea was just what she was craving. 

"I never said that." 

She looked over at him as he scooped the leaves into the teapot, his gaze concentrated on his hands. Bede's eyes flicked in her direction for a split second before darting away. He shoved the tea packet down and grabbed the kettle as he marched over to the sink. 

"What's your favourite, then?" Gloria asked. 

Running water filled the kettle and the silence between them, before Bede turned towards the stove, his back facing Gloria. 

"I suppose, if I had to choose a blend…" He was quieter now, his words punctuated by the click of the stove as a flame bloomed to life beneath the kettle. "Applin tea is rather nice." 

"Really?" Gloria could hardly believe it, and she gasped, "that's my favourite too!" 

Bede cleared his throat. "Well, anyway, you should have a seat. Since the whistling of the kettle will most likely frighten Togepi, I was planning to bring her out after that's done." 

Gloria beamed a smile that Bede couldn't see with his back turned to her, and she grabbed her bag and took a seat at the dining table. 

"I've got something for Togepi, too. Just a little gift I hope will make her less scared of me," she said.

"What sort of gift?"

"Nope, not telling you now! You'll just have to wait and see." 

Bede raised an eyebrow in silent bemusement. 

"How's she doing, by the way?" Gloria asked. "Is she getting along with the rest of your team?" 

"She's slowly warming up to them." A soft smile grew on his face. "Togepi remains terrified of any person other than me- however, she's beginning to open up to my Pokemon. Gardevoir and Hatterene adored her instantly, but she seems more comfortable with Sylveon. Mawile, on the other hand, can't get anywhere near her." 

He sighed, but his expression remained gentle. 

"Sounds like you've got your hands full there," Gloria laughed. 

It wasn't long before the kettle whistled to life and the tea steeped away in the teapot on the dining table. Bede readied Togepi's Great Ball, glancing one final time towards Gloria as she sat up straight, cradling her backpack to her chest on her lap. 

Excitement and trepidation swirled together in her stomach in a mix that made her giddy and nauseous at the same time. She nodded to Bede, remembering the gift she'd prepared in her bag, and swallowed. 

"I'm ready," she said. 

He looked into her eyes for a moment. Gloria felt his gaze on her, and she fixed her attention on the dark wooden grain of the table. Held her breath and waited. Prepared herself for what was to come. 

Light beamed from the Great Ball, swirling into a bright mass on the dining table in front of Bede. The blinding form burst in a spray of light to reveal Togepi. Gloria's heart thumped in her chest as the baby Pokemon blinked, sleepily and dazed, before chiming happily at Bede. Togepi trotted closer to her Trainer, feet patting away on the table. She hadn't spotted Gloria yet. Adoration for her Trainer came before anything else, and Gloria watched on silently with her breath caught in her throat. 

"It's nice to see you too," Bede said. 

His expression softened into a gentle smile as Togepi nuzzled into his hand. Gloria's heart squeezed warmly. She found herself smiling as well, unable to hold back her whimsical grin. Seeing Bede so unabashedly tender with Togepi sent all sorts of emotions fluttering away in her chest. 

"Gloria has come over to visit," he said, motioning towards her with the hand Togepi wasn't currently snuggling up to. "You remember her, right?" 

Togepi turned to face Gloria. Forget facing down a mob of excitable and expectant fans, nothing was more terrifying for her than the split second where Togepi's eyes widened, when the baby Pokemon stiffened. Their eyes met in a tense, breathless moment. 

Bede plopped his hand atop Togepi's head, and she trilled beneath his comforting gesture. 

"Gloria told me she's brought you a gift," he said, ruffling Togepi's crown gently. He glanced at the Champion, the intent in his eyes clear as day. 

He'd thrown her a lifeline, given her a chance. Togepi blinked at Gloria, a mixture of unease and wonder furrowing her tiny brow. 

"I picked it out especially for you," Gloria said, seizing the opportunity Bede had opened up for her. 

She dug through her backpack and pulled out a small plastic lunchbox. Inside there were a couple of almond-shaped sweets, each just large enough to fit in the palm of her hand. Gloria plucked one from the lunchbox, and held it up for Togepi to see between her fingers. 

"They're special treats for Pokemon, called poffins," she said. "I thought you might like to try one." 

Togepi glanced between the bright pink poffin and Gloria. The baby Pokemon remained fixed at Bede's side, unmoving and unconvinced. That much was to be expected. 

"Could you give it to her?" Gloria asked, and offered the sweet to Bede. "I don't think she'll accept it from me." 

"Good idea." 

Bede took the poffin, meeting Gloria's eyes with a brief, apologetic smile, before holding the treat out to Togepi. 

"Why don't you give it a try?" he said. "You don't come across poffins in Galar very often." 

Togepi's petite nose twitched as she took in the sugary sweet scent of the poffin, and her eyes widened in delight. With a bright trill, she snatched it off Bede's palm and nibbled away at the treat. Relief surged through Gloria. She sighed, exhaling all the pent-up tension in her body.

"She likes it…!" It came out as a whisper, breathless and giddy. Faint beneath the widening smile on her face. 

"Trying to win Togepi's heart through food, I see," Bede said, appraising Gloria with a curious grin. 

"Hey, it'd work on me," she laughed. 

"Perhaps I should try it sometime, then." 

Gloria's heart skipped. Rather, it thumped heavily in her chest, hard enough to steal her breath and cause her to shoot her eyes towards Bede in shock. He was smirking. A teasing glint brightened his eyes, and Gloria flushed. 

"A-Arceus, Bede!" she huffed, "I-I thought you were serious for a second!" 

She pouted, pursing her lips as a furious heat flooded her cheeks. Her heart drummed, thundered and pounded at a dizzying pace, so loud in her ears she desperately hoped Bede wouldn't hear it. 

His smirk remained. "Who said I wasn't?" 

Gloria grumbled incoherently at him. His teasing, that dangerous smirk of his, rendered her unable to speak or protest, and nothing but a strangled squawk would form in her throat. 

With a smile like that, no wonder Bede has so many fans…

She huffed and pointedly turned away from him, and poured herself a cup of the Cherubi tea. Her mouth and throat had gone dry, and she didn't care that the tea was close to scalding- Gloria quickly gulped a few mouthfuls anyway. 

"Gosh, you're going to give me a heart attack if you keep saying things like that." She held her hand over her heart, felt it drum against her fingertips. 

"That's payback for all the times you've almost made my heart stop," Bede said. "Since you've already taken decades off my life, it's only fair that I do the same to you on occasion." 

Gloria huffed. The way he was teasing her felt completely different to the times she'd given Bede the fright of his life when they'd scouted the Wild Area together. It didn't feel even remotely fair. 

Togepi finished munching on her poffin, and trilled contentedly. She smiled at Gloria. Bright and satisfied, no trace of fear on her face. Nothing but pink poffin crumbs around her mouth. 

"Was that tasty?" Bede asked. "You've made a mess of yourself here." 

He collected the crumbs off Togepi's cheeks with his thumb, the tender smile on his face softening his eyes. His voice was gentle, so sweet and, in a way, almost fatherly- 

"You know, I think you'd make a good father." 

The words were out of her mouth before she could stop herself. Bede gaped at her. Eyes wide, mouth falling open, he stared in shock as a wave of heat rose up his neck to colour his face, and ears, a furious crimson. Shock snapped into a scowl, and Gloria realised she'd overstepped a line. 

"S-Sorry!" she squawked, holding her hands up in meek surrender. "I didn't mean anything by it, I just- you looked so sweet just now, like- like a father, and I-I wasn't thinking, I just said it but Arceus, I should've realised something like that would upset you!" 

"I-It's fine." Bede forced his attention back to Togepi, and finished cleaning the crumbs off her face. "It didn't...  upset me." 

Gloria's heart flopped. "Are you sure? It was really insensitive of me to say something like that, Arceus. I'm sorry." 

Togepi chirped at Bede, and plodded over to him with her tiny arms raised. He scooped her up against his chest, cradling her like a baby, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. 

"I said that it's fine," Bede repeated. "I understand where you were coming from, so you don't have to apologise for it." 

The scowl that had hardened his expression faded into a bashful frown, a blush still high on his cheeks, and there it was again- that thought, the realisation, that Bede had the love and tenderness of a parent. A father. It made Gloria's heart squeeze tight. 

"Can- Can I get a picture of you two?" she asked as her chest filled with a rush of adoration, of things she couldn't explain. She wanted to capture this moment, to make it her own. 

"What? Why?" His frown was back. Confused and slightly mortified by Gloria's request. 

"Just because! You two look so adorable like that, I need to get a picture of it!" 

"I hardly think that's something you need."  

"Please, Bede?" Gloria pouted, puffing her cheeks and pleading until his eyes skipped away from hers. 

Fine. If he was going to be difficult about it…

Then she would be too. 

"She was meant to be my Pokemon in the first place…" 

Bede stiffened. His jaw tightened, then relaxed, and he sighed. Heavily. 

"I suppose a picture would be fine," he said, and turned back to her. "As long as it remains for personal use only."  He emphasized that last part, but Gloria couldn't care less as she'd gotten her way,  and  her chance for a picture.

"I'm not gonna share it with anyone, don't worry." Gloria scoffed. A smile crept over her face as she fished out her phone and trained the camera on him. "This is for my eyes only." 

Bede gave her a flat, less-than-impressed stare. 

"Aw, come on. At least smile for me!" 

"I don't smile on command." 

"You so do! I've seen you smile like a prince for your fans!" She pointed that out, letting a hint of bitterness into her voice. "You're fine being all Prince Charming for your fans, but not for your Champion?" 

He never smiled like that for her. 

"That's because I have no reason to fake a smile around you," he said quietly. He then drew a breath, wiping his expression clean, and smiled. 

And Arceus, it was a smile. It was Prince Charming and more, breathtaking and entrancing as his violet eyes warmed. His lips pulled into a smile that set something fluttering away in Gloria's stomach, and she almost forgot what she was doing, why he was smiling like that at her in the first place, and managed to focus the camera on him. Her thumb trembled over the screen as she took picture after picture, too many to count.

It felt like all the blood in her entire body had flooded her face in an instant. 

"Phew, my heart skipped for a moment there!" Gloria said. She laughed at herself, at the giddy rush of heat that clouded her mind. 

Bede blinked. His bewitching smile faded into a look of surprise, and he cleared his throat. He looked thoughtful for a second, almost confused. As though cogs were turning behind his eyes. 

Had she said something strange? 

"I should return Togepi," Bede said. "As comfortable as she is now, it wouldn't be wise to keep pushing our luck more than we already have." 

"Alright." Gloria smiled at Togepi, the baby Pokemon tilting her head at the Champion. "I'll see you some other time, then. Soon, I hope!" 

"If we're to get her comfortable around you, then the more often you visit, the better." 

Bede returned Togepi to her Great Ball, finally taking a seat opposite Gloria and poured himself a cup of Cherubi tea. 

"Thanks for that," Gloria said. 

Slowly, she traced her thumb around the rim of her teacup, feeling the warmth bleed into her palms. The sweet, fruity smell was calming and pleasant, and she smiled softly as, for the first time that day, she felt at ease. 

"I needed a pick-me-up, and seeing Togepi so happy really helped." 

Bede glanced at her over the top of his cup as he took a slow sip. "Did something happen?" 

"Not yet." Her smile became strained. Tight. "I've… got an interview tomorrow that's kinda stressing me out." 

"You agreed to an interview? With whom?" 

Gloria pressed her lips together. The nerves were back in her stomach, churning into a jumbled, nauseous mess. 

"A magazine for young girls, teens mostly. It's called Galar Girls." 

The clink of her nail against the side of her teacup punctuated the silence. Anxious, fidgety tapping. 

"Why'd you agree to it if it stresses you out so much?" Bede asked. 

His gaze dropped to her hands, to where she kept tapping the nail of her index finger against the ceramic. She stopped. Gripped the teacup tight once again. 

"They kind of… made it seem important," Gloria sighed. "Since I'm a role model, and all these girls look up to me, that sort of thing. I couldn't say no…" 

"What is it about the interview that has you so stressed, then?" Bede asked. "It's not as though you haven't done interviews before."

Her expression turned sour. "You've never read a teen girl's magazine, I gather?" 

"I can't imagine why." 

"Well, I hadn't either until the other day. I read through some of their past interviews, and… they're full of questions about love, romance, dating, that sort of stuff." 

Gloria slumped in her chair, heaving a long, drawn-out sigh. 

"Why did I even agree to it in the first place? she muttered. 

The tea had lost its calming effect, and she sipped at it absently. 

"So?" 

Gloria blinked at Bede. He looked at her expectantly, an eyebrow raised. 

"So…?" she echoed back. 

"So what are you going to do about it? You dislike talking about love, balk at the very idea of it, yet you've agreed to an interview that's to take place tomorrow where you'll be asked questions on that very topic." 

Bede lay out her predicament point blank, not mincing his words in the slightest. 

"The way I see it, you've got two options; you can either suffer through the interview, potentially revealing to your fans how uncomfortable you are with love, or give up completely and refuse to partake in it, which would essentially be running away from your problems." 

"There's no way I'm giving up!" Gloria straightened, facing Bede down stubbornly. "I said I'd do the interview, so I will. I'm not going back on my word." 

A satisfied twinkle brightened Bede's eyes. His lips pulled into a smile as though he'd expected her to say that all along. Satisfied with her answer, with her determination. 

Satisfied with her will to fight. 

"So." He leant back, crossed his arms, and met her stubborn stare with a playful smirk. "What are you going to do now? You can't very well turn up unprepared and hope for the best. You're not exactly an expert at masking your emotions." 

"Then…" Her heart thumped. "I'll just have to prepare somehow." 

"And how will you do that?" 

The idea struck her the moment he asked. 

"I've got it!" She shot up straight, clasping her hands together in delight. "You can help me!" 

Surprised by her outburst, Bede just stared at her for a few seconds. 

"I've just got to practice!" Gloria continued, "that way, I'll already have the answers in my head to any question they could ask tomorrow! It's like acting, I need to learn my lines." 

"I suppose that's one way to go about it." The shock wore off Bede's face, and he smiled at her, amused and intrigued. 

She nodded. "Would you mind helping me? You can go through some of their old interviews and ask me similar questions, give me pointers, that sort of thing." 

"Since I am a part of Ballonlea's Theatre, and this could be considered a form of acting, I don't see why not. It should be entertaining one way or another." 

"Thank you!" Gloria beamed. 

Her nerves began to taper off, determination steeling itself in her chest like a steadily growing blaze. Fueled by her stubborn willpower, her desire to not give up, she felt like she finally had some control over the situation, the interview, the outcome of tomorrow. 

With their tea refilled, Gloria sipping away happily, Bede searched up past Galar Girl interviews on his phone and quickly skimmed through them. 

"Well, it's not the trashiest magazine out there, I'll give you that," he teased, "but perhaps you should research the people asking for an interview before you agreed to it next time." 

"Oh, hush. All teen girl mags are like that." Gloria huffed, before pausing. "At least, I think they are." 

Bede raised an eyebrow, making Gloria hide her pout behind her teacup as she sipped. 

"Alright. Are you ready to begin, then?" 

Gloria swallowed her mouthful of tea and nodded. "Hit me." 

His eyes skimmed across the screen of his phone, before lifting to meet hers. Before she could read anything in his gaze, the strange way he was looking at her, he spoke. 

"What's your type?" 

"My… type?" She thought for a moment. "I guess… that'd be the Fire Type, since my first Pokemon was Scorbunny, and-" 

"Not Pokemon type," Bede sighed, cutting her off. "The question is asking about what type of person you find attractive." 

"It's what?!" 

"Arceus. You don't even know that much?" 

Embarrassment burned across Gloria's cheeks. "Well,  sorry  I didn't know that! It's worded so weirdly, how am I supposed to know that's what they're actually asking?!" 

"I thought you said you'd read through some of their interviews before."

Gloria pouted, sounding a grumble in her throat. 

"You really haven't done any preparation for this at all, have you?" 

"Fine, fine. You got me!" she huffed, "I just skimmed the questions. I didn't want to read about people gushing about love or whatever." 

Her stomach squirmed just thinking about it. 

"It seems we've got quite a bit of work ahead of us," Bede sighed, "if you don't even know what a question about your type means." 

"I still think that's a weird thing to ask." Gloria folded her arms stubbornly. "Why not just ask outright what kind of person they like? I mean, I don't get why anyone wants to know stuff like this in the first place…" 

"Make sure you keep that to yourself tomorrow. Romance articles appear to be their biggest selling point, and you don't want to offend your young, impressionable fans." 

Sarcasm dripped from his voice, and Gloria rolled her eyes at him. 

"Don't worry, I know when to keep my mouth shut." 

"I'm not so sure about that," he teased lightly. "Anyway, you haven't answered the question yet. What's your type?" 

The pointed stare she gave him faded as he repeated the question that stumped her. The first question, and she was already lost. 

"I… don't know. What am I supposed to say? I don't have a type, I've never fallen for anyone." 

She shrugged, feeling strangely embarrassed by admitting that. Bede already knew she'd never liked anyone like  that , yet it felt weird to discuss it so casually with him. 

"What about you?" 

She needed to shift the focus, to take the attention off herself for a moment. She felt too warm, too stiff, too nervous, and it only worsened when she held Bede's gaze. 

"What about me?" He repeated her question back, and she shifted awkwardly in her chair. 

"Do you have a type?" 

Silence. 

Gloria regretted asking when her heart thumped in her ears, nervous energy skittering through her veins. Bede looked at her. Just looked at her for a moment, his expression unchanging, as though she'd frozen him stiff by her question. 

Maybe she shouldn't have asked- 

"Why do you want to know?" he muttered, propping his elbow on the table and resting his fist against his cheek. He stared at her over his knuckles, stared her down. 

"I-" Why had she asked that? "I thought… maybe you could give me an example of what to say…?"

The discomforted furrow of his brow eased. 

"Right. I suppose that makes sense," he said beneath his breath, before signing. He dropped his hand away from his cheek and leant back again. "When answering questions like this, it's best to remain vague and unspecific. The last thing you want is to give the impression that you're referring to a particular person. If they can link what you've said to someone you know, they'll latch onto that and start all sorts of rumours." 

Gloria grimaced. "Yeah, there's already a ton of rumours about me out there, I don't want to add any fuel to the fire…" 

"Exactly." 

"So… how would you answer it?" Gloria asked again, "if you were asked what your type was?" 

His eyes skipped away from hers. "My type would be… someone who says what they mean, who doesn't hide their intentions from others." 

She found herself leaning forward, letting his words, his answer, fall over her. 

"Someone who strives to be better, stronger, who never fails to challenge me, and accepts their faults, uses them to her- to  their  advantage." Bede's brow twitched, his lips twisting, as he began to blush. "They're- They'd be someone who tries to see the best in people, who… brings out the best in me. I don't- I wouldn't have to put on an act in front of them, I could be myself around them." 

He cleared his throat, reached for his cup of tea and drank quietly for a moment. His eyes landed back on her. 

"There. Is that enough to satisfy you?" 

Heat swam behind his eyes, across his cheeks. It left Gloria startled. She blinked at him, her heart still racing from his honesty, the ardor coating every word he'd said. 

She nodded slowly. "Is that what you meant about being vague? I don't think I know anyone like that." 

Bede stared at her blankly, the blush draining from his face, before he sighed. "Yes, that's exactly what I was getting at."

"I see��" It made more sense now. "So, that's the kind of person you like?" 

"You're getting off track," Bede huffed, scowling at her. "Who I like has no bearing on our practice." 

"Who you like? Does that mean-" 

"Gloria."

He silenced her with a hard stare. Something flashed behind his eyes, something heated and dark, and it made her heart thump as she realised what she'd said, what she'd been about to ask. 

Does… Does that mean Bede has someone he-? 

She'd never thought about that before, and it stole her breath, her voice, and she stared down at her empty cup of tea as her cheeks began to burn. 

"Sorry, I shouldn't have…" She swallowed thickly, her voice coming out tight and strained. 

She wanted to know.  

The question was on her lips again, forming on her tongue. It filled her mind. Made her pulse skip and dance beneath her skin, under his gaze, her curiosity getting the better of her. 

It surprised her- that she'd care about this when love had never even piqued her interest before. 

"So- So I should just, say stuff like that?" Gloria asked, trying to get her mind back on track. 

Focus. Now isn't the time for… for whatever it is you're thinking about!  

"Since you've never had feelings for anyone before, it would be better for you to answer with the kind of traits you appreciate in a friend," Bede said. "That would be much easier for you, wouldn't it?" 

She nodded with greater enthusiasm than needed. "Y-Yeah, it would. That'd work." 

"Alright, then try and answer it yourself. How would you respond?" 

The kind of traits she appreciated in a friend…  

She met Bede's eyes. 

Thump. Her heart skipped, and she suddenly couldn't think of anyone else, anyone but Bede.

"My type is… someone who I feel comfortable around," Gloria began. The pounding of her heart grew louder in her ears with every word. "Time seems to fly when we spend time together, and just being with them makes a bad day so much better." 

She couldn't look at him now. Her eyes fell to her teacup, the fluttering in her lungs, her chest, pushing her heart into her throat. 

"The kind of person who doesn't expect me to be perfect, because Arceus knows I'm not." 

How much should she say? Should she keep going, or- 

"But I still want to be someone they can be proud of. Y'know, they make me want to test myself, to push my limits, that sort of thing." 

Just being with Bede made her want to do more, to be more. To be stronger. To be someone he could rely on, the kind of Champion that would make him proud. 

"I… well, they're the type of friend that makes my life better just because they're a part of it," she admitted quietly. 

Her voice trailed off into silence. She burned from within, flushing from how shamelessly she'd said all that. 

And Bede wasn't saying anything. 

Gloria couldn't bear the silence any longer, and finally snapped her eyes up to look at him. He was resting his cheek on his knuckles again, eyes skipping away the second they met. 

"I see," he said. 

"That's- y'know, the- the type of stuff I appreciate in a friend!" 

Her cheeks blazed with heat. 

"Did… did I say something wrong? Was that too specific?" She pursed her lips as Bede glanced back at her. He took a sip of his tea, violet eyes searching hers. "Maybe that was a bit weird, I-I shouldn't have used you as an example." 

Bede choked. His eyes blew wide, he slammed his teacup down into its saucer, and broke into a coughing fit. 

"Are- Are you alright?!" 

She shot up out of her chair as Bede hacked into his hand. He waved her down frantically. 

"I- I'm-" he cleared his throat, coughed once more. "I'm fine."

Gloria sank back down. "Sorry. Guess I shouldn't have said that while you were drinking, huh?" 

Something akin to confusion swept across Bede's face. His brow slightly furrowed, a hint of a blush on his cheeks, he looked at her for a moment in silence. 

"Those things you said… they were about me?" 

"Y-Yeah," Gloria laughed sheepishly. "You were the only person I could think of, and since you were right in front of me, it just kinda happened." 

She shrugged. Her heart wedged higher in her throat. Pounded, fluttered, in her ears. 

It was a bad idea to use Bede as an example. Why hadn't she used Hop? Or Marnie? Or anyone else- 

What if she gave him the wrong idea by saying all that…?

"I-I mean, everything I said was true, of course," she explained hurriedly. A panicked, embarrassed rush of blood to her face made it impossible to think. "But, y'know, I was saying stuff that- that I like about you as a friend. Not- Not because you're my type or anything-" 

Arceus, she shouldn't have said that. 

"Wait, no, it's because you're not my type-" 

She couldn't stop. Words came out faster and faster, Bede blinking at her as she fumbled for an excuse. 

"I mean, you could be- or not, since I-I don't have a type or- or I don't know what my type is, it could be anyone, y'know!" 

"Gloria." 

She touched her hands to her cheeks, felt them burn. She'd said too much.

"Sorry. I don't… I'm not good with stuff like this…" It was all she could say to keep herself from rambling any further. She squeezed her eyes shut and buried her face into her hands in shame. "You know what I meant," she said quietly, her voice cracking. 

"I'm not sure I do." 

Gloria looked over the top of her fingers at him to see him smirking. She dropped her hands and pouted.

"Was that too complicated for you?" she huffed back.

"With you fumbling over your words like that?" He breathed a faint laugh. "I might need you to explain yourself properly, otherwise I won't know exactly what you meant. You contradicted yourself a few times there. How am I supposed to know whether I'm your type or not if you don't tell me clearly?" 

"Well then, I guess you'll never know!" She curled her lips out at him, folding her arms. "'Cause I'm not repeating myself." 

The sparkle of mirth in Bede's eyes twinkled brightly, unshed laughter warming his voice, his words. 

"That's a shame. I was looking forward to a repeat performance." 

Gloria rolled her eyes. "Sorry to disappoint you."

"Shall we continue? Or have you had your fill of embarrassment for one day?" 

She met his challenge, his taunt, with a determined stare. "Go on, then. Question two. Hit me." 

-

Gloria sighed heavily, sinking over the dinning table. Endless questions span in her mind, the weight of hours upon hours of practice finally getting to her. She hadn't realised how much time had passed until they stopped at the end of the fourth interview Bede had pulled questions from, and the exhaustion in her bones now made sense.

That, and she'd been awake since the crack of dawn. Too excited to complete her duties as Champion in a single day, she'd started as early as she could that morning, and was now paying the price.

"I'm done," she mumbled, planting her face into her arms on the table. "No more questions." 

"If you believe you're all set for tomorrow, then no more questions are required." Bede stood, his attention falling to the windows, where glowing mushrooms pierced the darkness outside. "I hadn't realised it'd gotten so late," he said. 

He sounded faint. Soft. Her eyelids felt heavier than before. She closed them. Took a deep breath, then another. Bede said something she couldn't catch. 

She was tired. 

So, so tired. 

The sound of her name reached her ears, then nothing else. 

Nothing at all. 

-

"Gloria?" 

He'd looked away from her for a second, just enough time to glance outside and realise that many more hours had passed than he'd expected, and she'd fallen asleep. At his dining table. Using her arms as a pillow, Gloria dozed away. She looked so at peace that he couldn't bring himself to disturb her, and sighed instead. 

He'd noticed the shadows beneath her eyes, the weariness on her face, hours ago, but hadn't comprehended just how exhausted she was beneath that. Gloria was the type of person to keep chugging away until she collapsed, as he'd done on multiple occasions before. He knew that, and hadn't pressed the issue. 

Now, with Gloria's exhaustion having caught up with her, he wished he'd said something earlier. 

Bede stepped over to her quietly, his expression softening when she let out a soft sigh. He swept a strand of hair off her cheek with the tip of his finger, curling it gently behind her ear so as to not wake her. 

"You don't have to push yourself so hard, you know?" he said to her, trailing his knuckles down the curve of her cheek. Slowly, he graced his thumb beneath her eye, where the evidence of her fatigue lay in a dark shadow. As though to remove it would be as simple as wiping it away with his thumb. 

His hand dropped to his side.

"You should have said something. Should have told me…" 

He sighed. He should have known. 

"I wouldn't have pushed you so hard, or for so long…" 

There was no point dwelling on that now. He couldn't change the past, couldn't fix his mistake. 

All he could do now, was let Gloria sleep. 

That was simple enough, and Bede gathered the teacups and teapot off the table and washed them up. He returned to Gloria when he'd finished drying them. 

"I don't believe the dining table is the most comfortable place to sleep," Bede mused. "I'd rather not wake you up, but…" 

She slept like a log, and he decided to use that to his advantage. 

"You'll have to forgive me for this," he said softly, pulling her into his arms. 

She sank into him, her head leaning against his shoulder, and didn't stir in the slightest. With a nudge of his foot, he opened the door to his room and strode inside. He lay Gloria down onto his bed as gently as he could, before pulling the blankets over her. She sighed deeply, and shifted to nuzzle her face into his pillow. The sight squeezed his heart. His lips twitched into a smile, a breathless whisper drawn from the depths of his lungs as he gazed down at her, enamoured. 

"Arceus, Gloria…" 

It didn't sound like him, too soft, too tender. But the words formed on his tongue, spoken to her as if his very thoughts had been given form at the mere sight of her sleeping so soundly in his bed. 

"Sleep well, my Champion." 

-

Faint sounds nudged Gloria from the depths of sleep. Whatever it was, it was too early, and she grumbled, frowned, and snuggled further into her blankets. A familiar scent filled her lungs. Her mind, fuzzy with sleep, couldn't place it at first. The scent was calming. It enveloped her, as if coming from all around her- from her blankets, her pillow, the air in her room. 

It smelt nice. She nuzzled her nose into her pillow and breathed it in, letting the scent seep into every nook, every crevice of her lungs. It made her heart flutter. Stirred memories from the back of her mind, conjuring forth moments of warmth, of tight hugs. 

Memories of being in Bede's embrace. 

Gloria frowned, pursing her lips together as a blush began to burn on her cheeks. Why had she suddenly thought of that? Of hugging Bede? She wrapped her arms around her pillow and squeezed it firmly as she buried her face into it. 

The scent. It reminded her of Bede. 

No, it's more than that. This smells like...  

She snapped her eyes open. 

This wasn't her room. 

Gloria caught a gasp in her throat, stifled the sound of panic before she realised where exactly she was. Her eyes latched onto the Fairy Gym uniform top hanging off the handle of the closet right across from her. Three numbers emblazoned on the back. 

908.

She froze. From the tip of her toes, her fingers, to the top of her head, Gloria froze where she lay in Bede's bed. She couldn't breathe. Her heart thumped dangerously loud in her ears, deafening any and all thoughts. 

She had no memory of falling asleep, let alone in  Bede's bed. 

How-? Why-?

What's going on?!

She swallowed. Her face burned with heat as she took in the sight of Bede's bedroom. It didn't matter how many times she blinked, it was still there. She was still here. 

In Bede's bed. 

This- Does this mean-? 

What does this mean?!  

She squeezed her eyes shut, sucked in a sharp breath. Slowly, she reached for her neck and tugged on the collar of her Champion's Uniform. She was still clothed. 

The fact that she'd even checked made her blush harder. 

What was I thinking?!  She chided herself, biting down on her lip in mortification.  Bede wouldn't- I wouldn't- Why would I even think that?! Just because I'm in his bed and don't remember anything doesn't mean we- we- 

That doesn't mean we… what? 

An image of Bede, a memory, of him lying beside her flashed into her mind. His fingers caressing her cheek, sliding down, down, following the line of her jaw to her chin. To her lips. The touch of his thumb across her lower lip turned her blood into liquid fire.

No, not a memory- 

This was-

She wasn't-

Gloria muffled her scream into his pillow. 

Bede's pillow. 

She jolted away from it in an instant, throwing the offending pillow across the room as though it had burned her. 

That didn't happen. None of that happened! 

The vision of Bede's chest, bare beneath the blankets, stuck in her mind. 

Why am I-?! What am I doing?!

Every inch of her body burned. The tips of her fingers tingled and buzzed, her heart fluttering in her chest. 

He's my friend…! 

She gripped her shirt, right over her pounding heart. Her breath caught. Hitched, high in her throat, becoming faster and sharper than before.

I'm not-

Am I- 

Sort of… attracted to him…? 

Her gasp broke the silence. Fingers trembled over her mouth, too late to stop it sounding. 

"Gloria?" 

"D-Don't come in here!" she shrieked at the door. Her heart lodged in her throat, made her feel sick. 

Bede. He was there, right outside the room. 

"Is everything alright?" 

The sound of his voice stirred her blood, sending jolts through her body. 

Not now, he can't be here right now! 

"I- I'm just-" 

This can't be happening…!

"I'm not decent!" 

Silence. Nothing but the thumping of her heart in her ears. 

Then Bede's voice came again, quieter than before. "A-Alright, then." 

Something rough, as though he'd cleared his throat, sounded from behind the door. 

"Is… there anything you want for breakfast?" he asked. 

She couldn't think about anything right now, let alone food, when her mind was churning like her gut.

"I-I don't mind," she said quickly. "Anything is fine." 

"Okay. I'll have it ready soon." 

Gloria didn't move an inch until a minute of silence had passed. She crawled out from beneath the blankets and stood, stiff, in the middle of Bede's bedroom. She stared at a blank spot on the wall and nothing else. 

She still felt warm. Too warm, too fuzzy, unable to breathe properly. 

This- This is all because of those stupid questions from yesterday…!

Why else would she suddenly feel like this towards Bede? Sure, she'd admitted to herself that he was gorgeous, he'd definitely made her heart skip on more occasions than she could count, but that didn't mean she was attracted to him in any way, right? 

She couldn't calm down. Her heart raced at an uncomfortable pace, her nerves alight throughout her body. 

I can't be… 

She caught sight of herself in the mirror atop Bede's dresser. Flushed from her neck to her ears. Eyes wide, lips trembling. 

How could she deny it, when the truth was staring right back at her? 

She was attracted to Bede. 

Gloria's heart flopped into her stomach. 

What- What am I supposed to do now? 

She squeezed her eyes shut, and pressed her palms to her flushed cheeks. 

It didn't mean she liked him, not in that way, just because she was attracted to him. This wasn't- it couldn't be any more than some surface level crush, if she was even willing to call it that. 

Right? 

So many emotions surged through her. Confusion, fear, disbelief. 

Disappointment, a flash of anger for even thinking for a moment that she'd fallen for Bede. 

She wouldn't.

She couldn't. Not now, not ever. 

Not even if it was Bede, she couldn't allow herself to feel like that towards anyone. It was the one promise she wouldn't ever break. 

Gloria opened her eyes to find that nothing had changed. The earth remained beneath her feet. The walls remained standing, her face still flushed in the mirror. 

She'd escaped the earth-shattering revelation that had brought so much fear to her heart. 

Whatever she felt towards Bede, it wasn't  that.

She was still safe. Still okay. 

She could still breathe. 

Gloria rubbed her face with her palms furiously, trying to snap herself back to reality. Regardless that she'd saved herself from a world of hurt and grief, she still had to deal with the fact that she was definitely, undeniably, attracted to Bede. 

And she was in his bedroom, having slept overnight in his bed. 

Arceus. What was she going to do?

There was only so much she could fake at once, and with the way her pulse stammered and fluttered at the mere thought of facing him, she doubted that she could go out there without a plan and not have him notice something was up. 

He always seemed to notice when something was up. That thought made her heart swell, and she quickly shook it away. She needed to compose herself. Bede was her friend- that much hadn't changed overnight. He'd be understanding if she was, say, embarrassed about having slept in his bed, right? 

She could work with that. Her face was flushed enough that she definitely  looked  embarrassed. All she had to do was get through breakfast without incident. Simple. 

Gloria cleared her throat and took a deep breath. 

She could do this. 

-

Her heart betrayed her the second she opened the door, thumping at the sight of Bede by the stove. He'd tied back his hair, a tiny ponytail poking out from beneath the bandana he'd secured over the rest of his curls. He turned slightly at the sound of his bedroom door opening, a smile lifting his lips when he saw her. 

"Good morning," he said.

He shifted his attention back to the stove, and Gloria swallowed thickly. He'd pulled back his fringe, pinned it beneath his bandana. The apron he wore was one she recognised, the embroidered letters spelling "kiss the cook" now hidden from sight. 

She pursed her lips, and instantly regretted doing that as the sensation, the light pressure across her lips, made her recall all the times Bede had been close enough to kiss. 

The times she'd thought he'd been about to kiss her. 

Arceus. She felt lightheaded. Dizzy. She shouldn't be thinking about that- about kissing her friend, even if she was somewhat attracted to him.

She grimaced, knowing Bede would be horrified with her, if not outright disgusted, had he found out where her mind had gone. 

Now, more than ever, she needed to get a hold of herself. 

"M-Morning," she said. She flinched at the crack in her voice, and forced herself to head over to the kitchen. 

She reached the dining table and couldn't go further.

"How did I…?" She cleared her throat. "I don't remember falling asleep." 

"I carried you to my bed, if that's what you're asking," Bede said, deftly shifting a crêpe from the frypan to a growing pile on the plate beside him. "You fell asleep on the table. The crêpes are ready, by the way. You can fill them with anything you want." 

He gestured to the ingredients he had lined up on the counter beside the stove. Beside him. Which meant Gloria had to approach him in order to get her breakfast. 

"What about you?" she asked, unable to bring herself to move just yet. "Where did you sleep, since I took your bed…?" 

"I had work that needed completing." He shrugged. 

"Are you saying you didn't sleep at all?" She balked, storming over to him. "Bede!" 

"It's fine. Not like I would've gotten much sleep on the couch, anyway." He grinned, nonplussed by her frown. "This way, I put the hours of sleeplessness to good use. Better than squandering it by doing nothing." 

She pouted at him. "You should've woken me up!" Gloria huffed. 

"Your interview is in a few hours," he reminded her. "If either of us needed a good sleep, it was you." 

Enticing strawberries, a can of whipped cream, chocolate shavings, maple syrup, an array of delectable goodies spread out on the counter before Gloria, and she grumbled. It was hard to be miffed with Bede when he'd prepared this. She shoved a bit of everything into her crêpe and attempted to fold the overstuffed pancake. 

"Still… I feel bad for stealing your bed," she mumbled. 

Gloria took her plate and flopped into a chair at the dining table. Cream squeezed out both ends when she took a bite of her crêpe. She licked it off her fingers, plucking an escaping strawberry before it dropped into her lap, and flicked it into her mouth. 

"You don't have to feel bad about that," Bede said. "I didn't mind in the slightest, and it was easy enough to move you when you sleep like a log." 

Gloria pouted at his back, glaring at him between bites of her crêpe. He glanced over his shoulder at her when she threw a blueberry into her mouth, and almost choked on it when he smirked. 

"Wh-What?" she barked. 

Why was he looking at her like that? 

"You make just as much of a mess when you eat as Togepi," he said with a laugh. 

"It's not my fault, the cream's going everywhere!" 

"You're the one who stuffed it full of cream."

 Bede shook his head with mirth, and stalked swiftly over to her. Before she could react, he swept his thumb over the corner of her mouth. The touch made Gloria jolt. She sharply recoiled away from him with a gasp. He blinked at her for a moment, at her reaction, before drawing his thumb, a dollop of cream on the tip of his finger, to his lips. 

Heat surged through Gloria's body. 

"Wh-What are you doing?!" she gaped, slapping her hand over the corner of her mouth that he'd touched. 

"Well, since you weren't eating it, and I'd rather not waste food-" 

"You could've just told me it was there!" She rubbed the side of her lips, the spot tingling as though his touch had electrified her nerves. 

How was she supposed to pretend that she wasn't attracted to him in the slightest when he did things like this? Her heart couldn't take it. 

Bede grinned at her and sauntered back to the stove. "And miss that reaction? I think not." 

"Why do you…?!" she cut herself off with a grumble. She knew how much he enjoyed getting a reaction from her, and it made her heart flutter dangerously fast. 

He wasn't making this easy for her at all. 

At least she could blame her reactions, the flush on her cheeks, to his teasing. 

"Are you still trying to get me back for freaking you out in the Wild Area?" she asked, sending him a disgruntled look as he clicked off the stove and took a crêpe of his own. 

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not." Bede sat opposite her, taking a bite of his delicately filled crêpe. "Perhaps I'm merely making the most of my rival's weakness so that I'll have you under my thumb the next time we battle?" 

She scoffed. "As if. I'd like to see you try something like this across the pitch in front of thousands of people." 

"Is that a challenge?" 

His dangerous smirk made her heart thump, and stop, for a split second. 

"Maybe it is, maybe it isn't," she replied. 

Bede lifted an eyebrow, a curious look coming over his face. Gloria quickly shoved the rest of her crêpe in her mouth to give herself an excuse to stand and get out of his line of sight. She'd instinctively replied to him without thinking about it, and the thought of Bede trying something like  that in the middle of a match, in front of a crowded stadium, in front of cameras projecting them to the world, sent her heart racing again. 

She absently filled up her crêpe - with less ingredients this time - before returning to her seat. Surprisingly, despite the fact that Bede had said he'd stayed up all night, he didn't seem tired at all. There was light in his violet eyes, a warmth to his smile. He was the same as always, if not brighter. Kinder. It settled the nerves in her stomach, and she found herself relaxing somewhat. 

Dealing with Bede, talking to him, after the realisation that she was attracted to him - at least physically - was easier than she thought. She always reacted strangely when he teased her, and he couldn't tell that her heart, her emotions, were reacting any differently than usual. 

Perhaps… she needn't have worried about it at all. 

"And what are you smiling about now?" Bede asked.

Gloria blinked at him, her mouth full of her crêpe, and frowned. She chewed, swallowed, and asked, "was I smiling?" 

"You were." 

She hadn't realised. "I-I was just thinking that this is a great way to start the morning," she said, scrambling for something to say. "I wouldn't mind waking up to this every day." 

"Hmm." Bede glanced away from her as he ate. 

Had she said something strange again? 

"I'm not kidding," Gloria continued, "these crêpes are amazing. You didn't have to go to all this trouble, but you did, and I…" 

She didn't know where she was going with this, and her cheeks began to heat up as she spoke. 

"I… don't know how to thank you," she ended up saying. "For this, and helping me yesterday, letting me sleep in your bed…" 

"You don't have to do anything to thank me. It's natural that I help you out. We're friends."

Except, somehow, it felt like more than that. 

-

It wasn't long until Gloria had eaten her fill - and more - and she gathered her bag to leave. She still had a good hour or two until she needed to be in Wyndon for the interview, which was more than enough time to go home, have a shower, and mentally prepare herself for what was to come.

"Thanks for everything, Bede," she said as her Sky Taxi landed outside. "I feel like I can handle anything that gets thrown at me in the interview now." 

"You're very much welcome, then." 

And there it was again- the light in his eyes, the softening of his smile, a world away from the princely smile he reserved for his fans. 

She preferred this smile, his natural smile. It was then that she realised that although he'd never used his Prince Charming smile on her, she'd never seen him smile like this for anyone else. Not his fans, not the Gym Trainers, not Ms Opal. 

No one else but her. 

Her heart stammered. She took a breath, slid her eyes from him as she suddenly felt exposed. Her mind was getting away from her again. Seeing things that weren't there, reading too much into it, and her composure was slipping. Her cheeks were warming. 

This smile of Bede's, his natural smile, was more dangerous than anything else in the world in that moment. 

"I'll see you later, then," she said hurriedly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She went to move for the door when Bede stepped closer. Instinctively, she froze. 

She hadn't planned on this. On a hug. To be so close to him after everything that had happened, after the events of yesterday and the tumultuous morning she'd struggled through, it sent sparks shooting through her body. 

Bede pulled her into a hug, and she clamped her eyes shut as the sensation of being in his arms overcame her. He was warm and solid, and Arceus- his scent filled her lungs like it had when she'd woken up, and everything came surging back. She returned his embrace before she could think about it, and it was too late. She couldn't stop it. She couldn't stop the heat from rising across her face or the breathless sigh from escaping her lips. 

It was when Bede moved to pull away that Gloria realised that she'd made a mistake. She was blushing too hard. Her heart was in her throat, and she couldn't breathe right. 

She couldn't let him see her like this, so she locked her arms around his back, and kept her head nuzzled against his collarbones. A breath hitched by her ear. 

"G-Gloria?" 

Arceus. The stammer of Bede's voice sent another wave of heat crashing over her. 

"Just- Just a bit longer," she managed to say. 

She was only making things worse, her heart thumping like a drum in her ears. Bede's arms returned around her, and the sensation of his hands sliding across her back made her shudder. 

Oh, Arceus. 

Sweet Arceus. 

There's no way Bede wouldn't have felt that. 

"Are you cold?" he asked, his voice fainter than before. Fainter and tighter, almost strained. 

He held her closer. Pulling her firmer against him, and she bit back a gasp. 

He was the one making things worse now. 

She wanted to scream. His hugs were already too damn nice to begin with, but now that she was indescribably drawn to him, to everything about him, she couldn't hide the effect he was having on her. 

If her heart beat any louder, he'd be able to hear it- or worse, feel it. 

"Y-Yeah, just a tad," she replied. 

Gloria quickly pulled out of his embrace before she got too addicted to his warmth. Her eyes skipped everywhere around the room, unable to bring herself to even look at him, and she shot a step back. Towards the door, towards freedom. 

"Th-Thanks for everything," she said again. "I-I should get going now." 

She whirled on her heels and fled Ms Opal's house before Bede had a chance to reply. The journey home was a blur, she didn't remember speaking to the Sky Taxi driver at all, and soon collapsed in a heap on her bed. 

Her heart hadn't calmed down at all, the flush on her cheeks remaining strong. 

She buried her face in her pillow, muffling an incoherent scream. 

This was bad. Really, really bad. 

She couldn't be attracted to Bede. Not like this, not so strongly. He was her friend, for Arceus' sake.

And yet… his hug had felt so nice. Everything she'd said about him the day before rang true in her mind. The way she'd described him, as though describing her type. 

The kind of person she was attracted to. 

And here she was. Attracted to him. 

Although it was a different kind of attracted, not the kind that made her throat constrict with fear, it still didn't seem right. It was strange. Confusing. She might not be in love with Bede, but it felt like a type of betrayal to have her heart latch on to him like this. She'd always known he was gorgeous in a way that made her jealous sometimes and speechless at others, but never before had he had this effect on her.

It felt as though every inch of her body was fluttering away like her heart. She'd never felt like this before. Warm and dizzy, although not unpleasantly. It wasn't a bad feeling, not even close, and she squeezed her eyes shut to focus on it. 

The looming interview was the furthest thing from her mind that morning. Instead of running through the questions again in her mind, her thoughts were elsewhere. Instead of practicing her answers, she was busy practicing something else, something more important. 

The survival of her friendship with Bede could possibly depend on it, and so Gloria practiced maintaining her composure. Masking her thoughts, her attraction, towards a certain someone. She couldn't very well blush at the mere sight - or thought - of Bede. 

She had to practice. 

Because, after all, practice makes perfect. And she wouldn't settle for anything less. 

[btsslowburnfic]

BTBY Chapter 5

Series Summary: For Namjoon, the moment he set his sights on being the #1 rapper, he pushed the symbol to the side and hated it. Love should be chosen, not forced on you. He didn’t believe in fate and this mark on his wrist was a big “fuck you” to all that.

Chapter Summary: Practice Day 2. There’s some electricity in the air.

Previous chapter found here 

The morning goes as normal as it can for you. The studio is a little hectic with the extra clients from Robert’s studio but everyone is very cool about the changes.  You teach 2 yoga classes and sub out pilates. You decide to watch the BTS interviews while in your office; purely for professional purposes. Clearly. You hear a knock on the door, “Come in!” you yell as you scoop more oatmeal into your mouth. It’s Xavier.

“Hey babe,” he says carrying coffees.

“You are the best!” you yell from your desk. He looks over at the TV. 

“Oh yes, I like this.” he says as he watches the performance.

You laugh, “Oh my God you brat.” you walk to the other side of the desk and grab the iced coffee. “But...I’m not complaining either.

“Are you coming to my class?” he asks, stretching as he sits his drink on your desk.

“Yeah, my arm feels better, I’ll just baby it.” 

“Is lunch catered today? I can’t remember.”  he continues to do some warm up stretches.

“No. BTS is having lunch on the set of their last show so we’re on our own. Let’s get something delivered to Robert’s. We have to head there right after your class to meet the backup dancers. What do you want? I’ll schedule it now.” 

“What’s for dinner?” he asks.

You pull up the catering order “It looks like a Korean/Italian/American blend. I think each guy just  said what they wanted. There is no theme to this menu,” you laugh.

“Just order some burritos. Get one for Rafael too. And Joe. He might stop by.”

“Oooo your boyfriend and your bias in one place? Are you going to be able to handle that much sexiness?” you joke as you start typing in the food order.

He laughs, “ Honey please, Joe sat down with me last night and we watched like a hundred of their videos, why else do you think he’s going to stop by? Anyways. Enough about me…...Any updates on YOUR soulmate front? Did you tell Ben? Bribe a hotel staff member?” Xavier asks.

You audibly groan. “No,no, and I’m poor, what the hell am I gonna bribe someone with? Free Pilates class? I don’t think there’s going to be much to update considering my soulmate clearly doesn’t want anything to do with me. And I haven’t told Ben. If I tell him I’d want to do it in person and I haven’t seen him yet.”

“What do you mean, “if”?”

“We agreed that we didn’t care about that thing when we started dating.” you shrug.

“Can’t we try and solve the mystery though?!?! You tracked him down to the hotel. Maybe we can go stake out the lobby or something….”

“That probably means he’s visiting from out of town and I’m never going to see him again. And we have a packed day. Dance class, set up the studio while we shovel burritos into our faces, and then rehearse with the back up dancers, and then rehearse with everyone.” You pack your half-lies into the truth about your full day. And you feel a little guilty. Maybe you should tell him. Maybe. Fuck it.

“Annnndddd I sort of already found out who it is?”

“WHAT?! WHAT WHAT WHAT!?!?!?! How? Did you go spy without me!??!?! How you dare (how you dare how you dare)” he gets distracted for a second breaking out into song. “But seriously, WHAT?!?!”

You are suddenly very sweaty and nervous as you try to form the words…”It’s uh...someone in BTS.”

“WHAT WHAT ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!” he grabs your shoulders, coming face to face with you. “Are you being serious right now or are you fucking with me?!”

“Unfortunately I am being serious.”

“That means one of them is secretly an asshole...which one of them could it……” he trails off for a second, lost in thought, “Holy shit it’s RM isn’t it??!?!” he whispers dramatically as he pieces together the awkwardness of yesterday.

Your silence and scrunched up face confirm it.

“Holy shit.”

“Yeah.”

“WOW”

“Yeah.”

“But he’s so nice and cool.”

You sigh, “Yeah to you and everyone else. Apparently he hates the whole “soul mate” thing on principle which is fine by me. I just need to get through these next few days and then we can part ways and continue on with our lives as normal.” you say. Like it’s the simplest thing in the world. If only. Xavier’s alarm goes off signaling 15 minutes to class.

“Well, way to drop a bomb on me right before class darling.” he jokes as he gathers up his phone and studio keys.

“I know, right? How do you think I felt walking into our meeting or that car yesterday?” you also gather your belongings. “36 more hours. Let’s just get through this.”

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

The backup dancers all arrive on time and are prepped and ready. They run the dances several times through with Xavier. All of you had rehearsed a few times last week after Xavier’s dance class so the only real challenge today would be to run it with the group. You were glad you had got most of the dancers you requested; they were professionals who wouldn’t act like a bunch of idiots in front of famous people. Unlike Xavier. Who kept checking his watch.

“Are they here yet? I wanna see….” he says, peering down the hallway.

“Oh my God, it’s been ten minutes since you last checked. They are on a tight schedule and not supposed to be here yet. And see what?”

“The sparks of attraction and forbidden romance between you and RM.”

“Ew. No. Get away from me.” you shove him back into the studio. “And stop saying things, people might hear you. We are taking this shit to the grave.” you pull him close to you “TO THE GRAVE.” you hold up your pinky for a promise.

“Nope. I’m not promising shit.” he says and hops over to the console to talk to Rafael. 

Dammit. Oh well. At least one of you was enjoying this. You thought telling someone else would give you some relief, but so far it had just done nothing. If anything you were more nervous today because you’d had time to anticipate what this evening and tomorrow would be like. Ughhh. You go down to the kitchen and grab some coffee and graham crackers. You scroll through your phone enjoying the brief moments of silence before you go back upstairs and find your mind wandering to RM dancing yesterday and you feel your face flush.  You wish you could stop yourself but like with most things, the more you try not to think about them, the more you do. Dammmmit. You make sure light snacks and beverages are set up for the backup dancer break and head upstairs to relieve them for an hour. 

“Ok everyone! You have about an hour break. Please stay on premise. There are snacks and drinks on floor one as well as your green-room. Remember, if anyone takes pictures or recording once the band gets here, you are fired. This time it is written explicitly in our contract with them, got it?” you hear a bunch of “yeah’s” from the crowd. Like you said earlier, these were professionals in LA, they knew the drill. “Ok, I will come get you all when it’s time to rehearse again. Break.” you say, dismissing them.

“They look really good, great job Xavier,” you say as you walk over to the front of the room.

“Thanks! I can’t wait to see it all together.” he responds. “What do you need help with?” 

“I just have to get the lav mics set up again but they’re ready from yesterday You’ve been dancing for hours so why don’t you go grab some water?” you say.

“Okie dokie doll. Come grab me when you need me,” he says as he picks up his satchel and heads downstairs.

“Rafael, do you need anything?” you ask your other coworker.

“Me?Nope. Just looking forward to the group getting here so I can do more than just look pretty.” he smiles at you.

“You know what, same?” you laugh. 

“Do you need anything from downstairs?” he asks as he steps down from the booth.

“No, I’m fine, thanks!” You wave him away as you get the room reset in preparation for the group’s arrival. You put on some BTS music while you clean up random water bottles and towels. 

You are in your own zone singing along when you look up and see RM standing in the doorway and you give a light shriek. “Shit fuck. Sorry. You scared me.” You scurry over to the console and turn the music off.

“Nice taste in music,” he smirks at you.

“Thanks, just doing my research. You’re here early.” you say double checking your watch. 

He fumbles with his hands and seems way less confident than usual and you instantly wonder what the heck is going on. He seems so much different from yesterday, “Yeah. They'll be here soon. I just, uh. Wanted to talk to you. Now that I've had time to kind of process everything. "

"Oh. " you are extremely shocked. 

" I just want you to know that I don't dislike you. You're a great producer and you seem like a really nice person. Anyone would be lucky to have you as their soul mate. I'm just not into… that." he says as he looks mostly down and off to the side. 

You take a deep breath. This is not what you were expecting today. "Well thanks a lot. I appreciate it. Like I said, the whole thing is kind of weird and shitty for me too. You're a cool dude and you know, famous and hot, but I'm also not into the whole destiny thing. And apparently you’re not a total asshole." you agree as you continue to pick up the room. You hear him chuckle," What? "

"You think I'm hot,"

"Oh shut up, I'm sure you hear it all day, everyday from the internet." you tease as you wrap up the garbage bag." Here, I'll unlock your guys’ dressing room for you." you lead him down the hallway. "Can I grab you anything from the kitchen while you wait?” 

"No thanks, I'm going to read for a bit and yeah they should be here in about half an hour" 

You stand in the doorway for a minute to make sure everything is set up for the arrival. You suddenly become extremely aware of the fact RM is still standing right behind you in the doorway. “Ok well, I’ll bring the other up when they get here.” you feel your face blushing as you brush past him. It feels like you just got zapped by electricity. You ignore it and head downstairs to clean up after the backup dancers.

The rest of the afternoon goes according to plan with the group arriving and practicing solo again, with the dancers, and then with full audio and music. It looks amazing and you are impressed but also super irritated because you SHOULD be able to watch this at the actual venue tonight, not at a gym studio. 

Xavier sneaks up behind you during one of the breaks. “Soooo…...how’s it going?”

“I think they look amazing! Don’t you?”

“Yeah yeah they look fine. I meant about the other thing. You know….that thaaaaaanggg.” he wiggles his eyebrows.

“Oh God. No. There is nothing.”

“....don’t tell me that, he keeps staring at you.”

“Yeah probably because I’m the director. Everyone is staring at me.” you roll your eyes. 

“Really? Nothing new?” he asks and you sigh. 

“Oh my god, fiiiiiine. Here, let’s go get some coffee.” you grab a mic “Ok everyone, grab some water if you want and meet back here in ten for our last 2 sets and then we’ll review the plan for tomorrow. Break!” 

You grab Xavier’s arm and head down to the kitchen. “Coffee?” you ask.

“It’s 8 pm.” he responds.

“...iced coffee?” you amend.

“No. I don’t know how you can do that.” he wrinkles his nose at your late night caffeine habit.

You shrug and walk with him down the hallway to the locker room and shut the door, locking it. You give him an overview of what RM had said to you earlier in the afternoon. 

“I knew he wasn’t an asshole. The internet never lies.” 

“Ok but he WAS an asshole yesterday,” you roll your eyes and sip some coffee. “And then he accidentally touched me and it felt like I was mildly electrocuted and I kind of liked it and I AM CONFUSED.”

Xavier starts to laugh at you, “Yeah well that’s because everything with your soulmate is more intense. It goes along with the emotions and pain. What feels good also feels REALLY good if you know what I mean.”

“I touched him yesterday when putting his lav mic on and nothing happened soooo i don’t think your theory works but ok.” You pull out your phone to check the time.

“Oh no honey, my theory is spot on. And I predict if he wasn’t leaving in a few days y’all would be all up on each other. Bye Ben. Bye BTS. Hello sexy soulmate time.”

“Um No. Rude. I have a boyfriend. Also catering is here.” you put your phone back in your pocket.

“I HaVe a BoYfrIenD…” Xavier mocks you jokingly and you smack him as the two of you exit the locker room.

30ish hours. You could make it 30ish hours. NEXT CHAPTER

[ikeromantic]

Ikemen Sengoku Modern AU

I was just daydreaming some AU ideas and this one came to me with more detail than I expected. A modern day corporate ikemen sengoku that reads like a reverse harem. Sigh. I don’t know if I’ll do anything with it but I wanted to share ^_^

MC

MC is the daughter of a powerful CEO that runs a biomedical company called AllCare BioMed

While she isn’t a genius philanthropist like her father, or a connected socialite like her mother, she does everything in her power to move her father’s vision of a world without disease forward. She hosts student events at universities to scope out new talent, meets with hospitalized patients, and oversees the disbursement of charity and grant funds.

Nobunaga

Nobunaga is head of security. He has personally foiled several assassination attempts against you and your family. He is passionate about your father’s goals, and would sacrifice himself to make it happen.

A moment between MC and Nobunaga: “Get behind me princess. I’ll take care of this.” He pushes her behind him as the attacker lunges. Another knife attempt on university grounds during a recruitment event. The man is no match for Nobunaga though. He counters the attacker barehanded, slamming the knife out of his hand. “Don’t hurt him,” she shouts. “If I don’t hurt him, he won’t learn his lesson,” Nobunaga replies. He is calm no matter the threat. Sometimes he’s scary.

Mitsuhide

Mitsuhide is head of cybersecurity, though everyone believes he is secretly corporate espionage. Regardless of the rumors, Nobunaga and the CEO trust him completely. So does MC, even when she isn’t sure she should.

A moment between MC and Mitsuhide: He comes up behind her with silent steps while she’s focused on reviewing the recent charity requests. A series of complex spreadsheets are open on her desktop, and she’s muttering over them. Mitsuhide sets his hand over hers on top the mouse, and his lips brush her ear. “I think the function you’re looking for is here, little one.” He guides the pointer to the right menu and selects it. “You can let go of me now,” she says. “I could,” he laughs, enjoying the way she blushes when he teases her like this.

Hideyoshi

Hideyoshi is the CEO’s head secretary. It may not sound like an important job, but he oversees your father’s schedule, hires and fires all personal assistants, handles employee concerns, reviews contracts . . . there are very few things Hideyoshi doesn’t handle. And he does it without complaint. Like a mother hen, he protects your father’s family, especially you. Sometimes he and Nobunaga do not see eye to eye.

A moment between MC and Hideyoshi: He sits down across from her and takes her hands in his. “You look pale. Are you eating well? Sleeping ok?” She reassures him that she is. “I am just a little tired today. Too much on my schedule.” She smiles wanly at him. Hideyoshi isn’t satisfied with her answer. He leans across the narrow desk and presses his lips to her forehead to check her temperature. It’s an intimate touch, but one MC is used to from Hideyoshi. But sometimes, she feels like he’s less a big brother than a shy lover. This is one of those times. He tilts her chin up to look him in the eye, still so close she can feel his lips move when he speaks. “You’re too warm. Let me take you up to bed. To rest.”

Ieyasu

Ieyasu is the lead doctor on MC’s father’s research team. He was recruited right out of university at one of MC’s recruitment events. MC didn’t think he would join up, since he was so rude and dismissive at the event, but she’s glad he did. His brilliant insights are part of what pushes the company forward in its mission to cure all diseases.

A moment between MC and Ieyasu: “Don’t touch that, idiot.” He snaps at her when her hand lands on a pile of papers atop his desk. “You’ll get it out of order.” MC moves her hand too quickly, knocking the stack of papers on the floor. “Oh, I’m sorry!” He always makes her feel so clumsy and foolish. She kneels down to pick them up. Ieyasu is beside her in a heartbeat. “Just leave them be. I’ll get it.” MC starts to argue but he holds a finger to her lips. “It’s fine. They aren’t that important anyway.” He shoves the pile back onto his desk and looks at her again. “Why don’t we go get a coffee? You look like you need a break.”

Mitsunari

Mitsunari is the brilliant legal counsel for the company. He was hired by MC’s mother. Mitsunari is a stunner in the office and out of it, something he seems oblivious to. 

A moment between MC and Mitsunari: “I brought you the contracts for this quarter’s grant recipients,” MC calls out as she enters his office. It’s always important to announce a visit, as Mitsunari gets so involved in his work he might not notice someone arriving. Mitsunari looks up from his office couch. It’s covered in huge legislative opinion and ruling guides. He knocks them on to the floor, flustered. “Oh! You came by!” He stands to greet MC. “I didn’t expect you.” MC smiles at him. “I sent you an email this morning. You replied ‘OK’ but if this is a bad time . . .” Mitsunari grabs her hand. “It’s never a bad time. I like it when you stop by. Here. Sit with me.” He tugs her toward the couch, but with all the books on the floor, she trips and ends up on his lap. “Oh, or this. This is better.” He smiles at her happily as she blushes ear to ear. 

Masamune

Masamune is the finance manager. He’s ruthless with friends or enemies when it comes to inking a deal, closing a sale, signing off on a loan. The CEO would be lost without Masamune’s business acumen and his relentless energy. He’s also known for being the office snack guy - always bringing treats to people.

A moment between MC and Masamune: “Get over here, lass. I haven’t seen you in weeks!” Masamune spots MC across the lobby. Before she can start to move, he’s across the room. “Have you been avoiding me,” he demands. His one blue eye is intense and impossible to look away from. “N-no,” MC stammers. Masamune always leaves her feeling off balance and unsure. “Good! I was worried. Are you on your way to a meeting?” “N-no,” MC stammers again. Before she can add anything else, Masamune jumps in. “Great! I’m going to make you lunch. I’ve got a batch of fresh fish delivered this morning and I wanted to try some things out.” And before MC can agree or decline, he’s got her out the door and into a waiting car - as if his staff knew exactly what would happen the second he spotted her.

Ranmaru

Ranmaru is front desk staff. His cheerful, beautiful face greets every person coming in or out of the building. He knows every researcher, office assistant, secretary, lawyer, and security person on staff, and every guest they’ve ever cleared. Despite his cheery attitude, there is always a certain sadness when he’s not busy.

A moment between MC and Ranmaru: “Did you get your hair done,” Ranmaru asks, after greeting MC on an early morning. “I did! Mom sent me to the stylist she hired for Mitsunari, since Mitsu missed his appointment. Again.” Ranmaru laughs. “That sounds like him.” He stands up and comes around the desk. “Well, turn around so I can appreciate all of it!” He claps his hands as she spins around to model. “Gorgeous,” Ranmaru sighs. MC laughs. “I have to work at it. Not like you. I think you get out of bed looking like that -” She gestures to his perfect hair and clothes. Ranmaru blushes and leans against MC. “You always say the sweetest things.” He kisses her cheek lightly before slipping around the desk to his spot, as if the touch never happened.

Kenshin

Kenshin is a partner of the CareAll BioMed corporation, a competitor. He’s known for being ruthless in business and ice-cold in personal interactions. While his goals are similar to MC’s father, he believes AllCare is responsible for the closure of the lab researching a cure for his late wife’s disease. She died without any treatment, and he will never forgive MC’s father or his company for that. 

A moment between MC and Kenshin: MC attends one of her mother’s fundraising events, hoping to put in a brief appearance before she can get back to the work she prefers. Kenshin catches her eye from across the crowded ballroom. How could he not? He is imposing and frigidly beautiful, and younger than she expected for a man of so many accomplishments. For reasons MC can’t understand, he approaches her. “You are his daughter,” Kenshin says by way of greeting. “I am. You must be Doctor Uesugi?” He regards her coldly. “Are you trying to be pleasant?” Flustered, MC nods. “It is a social gathering. Should I be rude instead?” Kenshin considers this idea and then shakes his head. “Your father is my enemy, not you.” For a moment, a breath, there is a flash of emotion in his mismatched eyes, the briefest twitch of his lips in a smile, and then he is ice cold again.

Shingen

Shingen is the other half of CareAll - the competitor looking to put your father’s company out of business. Where Kenshin is the strong arm of his company, Shingen is the face. He meets and greets investors and recruits, and handles the day to day affairs of the company. Rumors say he was one of the first patients in the company’s breakthrough heart treatment.

A moment between MC and Shingen: “You are easily the most beautiful woman here. Did you know that?” The words accompany a light touch on MC’s hand. Shingen. The devil, as MC knows him. “Flatterer,” she replies dryly, wishing her heart wouldn’t betray her by galloping off like this when he greets her. “I only speak the truth to angels.” Shingen smiles and the warmth is enough to set MC to blushing. She pulls her hand away from him. “Whatever. Are you here to steal my recruits again?” “All is fair in love and war, fair lady.” MC gives him side eye. “And which is this?” Shingen laughs and does not reply.

Yukimura

Yukimura is the lead researcher for CareAll and works directly with Shingen to direct the company’s research efforts. His gruff manner and blunt commentary are legendary, but the people that work with him claim he’s actually a great boss. 

A moment between MC and Yukimura: “You can’t corrupt me,” Yuki says when he spots MC coming toward him at a conference. MC blinks, surprised by his outburst. “I was just going to say hello. Even if you work for the competition, there’s no reason to be rude. We’re all working toward the same goal, right?” For a moment Yukimura says nothing, but his wide eyes and the faint color in his cheeks speak volumes. In a more subdued tone he agrees. “You’re right. Sorry about that. Anyway, you want to get a coffee together? To make up for - for what I said.”

Sasuke

Sasuke Sarutobi is the genius doctor behind most of CareAll’s advancements. It was his pioneering work that cured Shingen’s heart trouble, and his efforts that continue to open up new discoveries to the world of medicine. There are some nasty rumors that he’s secretly a corporate spy, stealing top secret data from military and government installations - but there’s no proof. Besides, how can one man have enough time to study medicine so intensely and still ninja his way into secret labs and data stores?

A moment between MC and Sasuke: Doctor Sarutobi blinks as he sees MC walking through the hospital ward. She’s carrying several bags with care packages for patients, a smile on her face. He takes off his glasses and wipes at his eyes, trying to clear them. “Hello Doctor,” MC says. He turns to greet her. “It’s so good to see you here again. You can call me Sasuke, please.” MC laughs. “Alright, Sasuke. But you’re talking to an IV trolley.” Sasuke blushes and shoves his glasses back onto his nose. There’s still a strange brightness in the hall, but it doesn’t seem to be connected to his lenses. “Sorry about that. I can’t see anything without my glasses on.” MC smiles. “It’s alright.” She turns to continue on her rounds. “Wait,” Sasuke calls out. “Oh, did you need something?” Sasuke realizes he does. “I’d like to come with you, if that’s alright. The patients open up more to you than to just another doctor.” MC nods. “I’d like that. And - Sasuke - you’re not just another doctor. I think you’re amazing. And I am sure the patients do too.”

Kennyo

Kennyo is a bitter former hospital director. His hospital was closed down due to budget cuts and a lack of private investment. He blames MC’s father and the Uesugi-Takeda alliance equally. He wants to take them both down so that something better can rise in their place, and works to sabotage them any way he can. Rumors suggest he is behind the assassination attempts on MC’s family.

A moment between MC and Kennyo: “Aren’t you afraid, little girl? Out here alone, in the dark?” Kennyo asks. MC is standing near the parking garage elevators at a downtown hospital. The walls are covered in graffiti, and the floor is littered with garbage, broken needles, and other signs of poverty and drug use. MC meets his intense gaze. “I’m not afraid of anything. The people here need our help as much as the people in the nicer districts. More even.” She takes a step toward him. “Should I be afraid?” Kennyo is surprised into silence. He expected MC to be a sheltered little rich girl, but perhaps there’s more to her. He curls his lips in a cruel smile. “Few would look at your presence here as a kindness. In a place like this, you’re just another victim.” MC studies his expression. “Maybe I am. We are all victims of one thing or another. It’s what we choose to do with that pain that matters.” Before Kennyo can reply, MC’s car arrives. Nobunaga gives the old hospital director a hard look before driving MC away.

Yoshimoto

Yoshimoto is a socialite, the orphaned son of one of the most wealthy families in the country. His businesses are overseen by a board of ambitious and greedy directors looking to enrich themselves, but he is more interested in philanthropy. MC’s mother is always trying to throw them together in the hopes her daughter will net such a wealthy and respected husband.

A moment between MC and Yoshimoto: “So . . . this is nice. We can see the whole city from this balcony,” MC says awkwardly. Yoshimoto reclines against the balcony rail, his fine features perfectly profiled by the glow of city lights. He is silent. “I - I didn’t mean to interrupt you. My mother . . . she wanted me to say hello. Since it’s been awhile.” MC edges back toward the door. Yoshimoto turns his head to look at her, a sad smile playing at the edges of his lips. “You are never an interruption.” “Oh! I’m glad.” Yoshimoto turns back to the view. “Come and stand beside me. You can see better from here.” MC does as he asks, gasping as she sees the whole of it. “It’s like the stars in the sky meet the city lights at the horizon and go on forever!” Yoshimoto sets his hand over hers on the balcony rail. “Just so. I knew you could appreciate it.”

Motonari Mouri

Motonari is the head of a private security team known for black ops and corporate sabotage. His work is barely legal, and it’s surprising he has actual headquarters in the city like a real business. Some say that Motonari is insane, a brute without any morals.

A moment between MC and Motonari: Rough hands snatch MC from the university walkway. She starts to call out for security, knowing Nobunaga won’t be far away, but her cries are silenced by the slam of a car door as she’s placed in the back seat of a large, black sedan. “Glad you could join me, girl. Drink?” Motonari holds out an unopened beer. MC glares at him, fear and anger warring in her features. “Is this a kidnapping? What do you want from me?” Motonari laughs. “It could be. I could just keep you and see what happens. I bet that father of yours would do anything for his baby girl.” MC crosses her arms. “I’d rather die than be leverage.” “That can be arranged, girl.” He closes the distance with her, pressing against her side. “Maybe I want something off the books instead.” MC shoves him back. “Don’t touch me!” Motonari’s grin looks wild in the dim light of the sedan’s interior. “One day, girl, you’ll beg me to touch you.” He calls up to the driver. “We can let the girl out here. I’m done with her. For today.”

[straight-into-the-animus]

Begins and Ends With Ourselves (Chapter One)

What if Arno was raised by Monsieur de la Serre as a member of the Templar Order, ready to be inducted at a high rank alongside the soon to be Grandmaster Elise?

What if Arno thought he knew his path in life for certain?

And what if, despite everything... Some things remain the same no matter where or who you are?

A familiar story with an unfamiliar twist.

Read here on Ao3!

taglist (these are mostly people who reacted to this post; if you’d like to be taken off or added, please let me know!): @quoththeraven777 @servalans-flowers @benedorian @irljulian069 @ellztrash @ray-the-ass-sass-in @roosinii @mightybluephoenix @numbersevenhomicidalrage @yeetopeeto @justwanttodoart

warnings: none

beta’d by @baddestchineseassassin

To anyone else, it was an ordinary, broken pocket watch. It was made out of silver, once polished to a shine. There were flowery designs engraved on the front, adding a delicate look to it, but they were covered by tarnish and rust. The hands were firmly set ten minutes after six. There were no gears to make them move, the glass covering them shattered from a long, hard fall onto the unforgiving floor.

But it was important to Arno, had been for thirteen years. A symbol of his father, and as broken as his promise to return. Unfortunately, in France, that was the fate of a promise more often than not.

“Arno!” A sharp voice pierced the air, snapping Arno out of his half drunker stupor. “Monsieur Dorian!”

“Olivier, please, not so loud.” Arno got out of his bed with a groan, slipping his pocket watch into his trouser pocket and almost stumbling over his boots from where they had been clumsily kicked last night. He opened the door to take in the surly look of the steward and gave a friendly smile. “You’ll frighten the pigeons. And Lord knows how much they hate your face already. Has your plum jacket been cleaned yet from the droppings?”

Annoyance flitted over the other man’s face before being replaced with a peaceful acceptance of the past decade. “Your wit is charming as ever, sir. Let us pray that you can keep it going enough for the next few hours. The master is expecting to leave before lunch to pick up the lady Élise and deliver her to the palace. Yes,” Olivier spoke before Arno could, “he requests you come with him.”

“I can be ready within the hour.”

“You missed breakfast. Half-hour.”

“But-”

“Half the hour it is.” He gave the smallest bow he was socially obligated to do before turning on heel; he was likely off to trip children or throw sticks or cats or what he did in his free time. Had Arno felt especially petty that morning, he would have made one comment to get the last word in and feel fleeting satisfaction.

This time, his brain was still waking up, more than a bit befuddled. Last night had been… Something. But his mind cleared to one startling conclusion; Élise was coming back, if only for a minute. But he knew she was to leave for Paris, and with the right amount of smooth talk, he could very well be on his way to join her within the week. He knew why she had come back, had anticipated it for a few years now. And yes, on some base level, he was excited to complete the ceremony and be initiated, be made a true member of the Order. But more importantly, it meant he would see her. Be close to her in a way he never could before, did things go right.

Had his father’s watch worked, he would be watching it eagerly. Within half an hour.

-------

“Arno? Arno, you’re going to be late to-” The red-haired girl stopped short, the clack of little hard heeled shoes almost echoing in the hallway. Arno kept his gaze down, focusing on the hem of her skirt instead of silently finding any more patterns on the floor. She sighed, a small delicate thing despite the force that went into it, before she went to sit on the padded bench next to him.”

“I forgot it was today. Are you alright, Arno?”

Today, why did it have to be today? Why did today have to come at all? Couldn’t they have skipped over it altogether?

“Arno.” She was more insistent this time, hand grazing against his. He didn’t even register how both of them were clenching in his lap. She pulled one with zero resistance, letting it stay between them on neutral ground. It was silent until he spoke.

“It’s been three years. I should be fine.”

“Father… Father said it was okay to be like that. For a while.”

“I want to feel like it forever.”

It was silent again. He was older now and felt like this. Stupid. He was to be the man, Monsieur de la Serre was counting on him, he was to train and get better, he was-

“Come along.” Élise suddenly said, hopping off the bench and allowing her hand to slip free of Arno’s. “We’re going down to the main streets and find what we can find for lunch.

“But…”

“Are you coming?” She attempted to arch an eyebrow, the same way her mother used to do to have them fall in line.

He didn’t know if he would ever be a strong man like his father, or like Monsieur de la Serre, but she would be a strong lady; he knew that with his first clear thought all day.

He hopped off the crate without another word, and they tore off through the hallways, running out into the back gardens and off the estate, their hands brushing together.

-------

“I’m surprised Olivier was able to get you out of bed. How much force did he use?” François casually remarked as Arno joined him in the main lobby, finally dressed. Twenty-seven minutes, he thought with satisfaction, and half hoped the steward was around to see it.

“Why suspect it was Olivier’s doing? Perhaps I simply decided to take the opportunity to show off my independence. Look, I even chose my own clothes.”

“Chosen to spite him, I’m sure.” He pointed out, and Arno refused to give him the satisfaction of answering in the affirmative; clothes had been left out, but he preferred these. François seemed to pick up on it anyway and held in what Arno was sure to be a sigh borne of long-suffering. “I know you went out last night; two angry men came looking for you early this morning-”

“They both cheat at cards, I was merely-”

“Regardless, you should know better than that. Have I not raised you to be better than that, Arno? Arno,” he spoke again, imploring the younger man to look at him again, “we are meant to lead humanity to a better future. We can’t do that when you’re out beating them and leading them on a chase around Versailles.”

“I know that, I do.” Arno finally looked over at his guardian. “The Order is looking toward new leaders. Towards Élise. But where do I fit into this plan? As a soldier? A leader? There’s so little you’ve explained, and so much left to learn before the initiation tonight. Élise is meant to lead, she should, but if that’s so… Why-”

“I will explain everything. After the initiation tonight. Trust me, Arno. You are more important than you think. Have I ever steered you wrong?”

“Never.” Arno was quick to admit. De la Serre had always been good, even when he had no reason to be. It humbled something inside Arno, as much as he refused to admit it. He had only been full of questions, questions he had asked for years. It always came up whenever his “duties” were brought up; duties without a reason.

Things were silent as Arno swallowed his pride -- difficult, for sure -- and nodded eventually. “Immediately after you’ll tell me.”

“Immediately after.” François agreed, and his hand barely rested on Arno’s shoulder. “Now, come along. We’re meant to pick up Elise and head to the palace for lunch before the party tonight. My daughter is probably angry we’ve left her alone for long.”

Arno held back a smile until the older man passed him for the carriage waiting. “I’m sure she’s in quite the mood.” He said with quiet fondness before following his lead.

[jihoonluvclub]

Nefarious (M)

About: You miraculously get a dream position at Pledis, little do you know someone behind the scenes had been helping you along. Now he wants you all to himself, even if that means destroying the relationship he built. Pairing: Yandere!Hoshi x Reader Genre: Smut Warning: Explicit content, choking, rough sex, implied kidnapping Word Count: 3.9k

When you started your position at Pledis you never would have expected to climb through the ranks as fast as you did. You began as an intern and within one month you had a full time position as an assistant to the multiple managers of Seventeen.

Even you knew that there was something off about the fact that you were hired into a prime position just months after graduating from college. You wanted to work in PR, and you knew that it took years of experience to be hired by entertainment companies. But the last thing you wanted to do was lose your job at the company for asking too many questions. So you continued to work as if nothing was wrong.

You remembered the first day you walked into the large white building. Promotional posters of their music groups were strategically placed on the walls. You had your resume in hand, hoping that the intern position was still available. You were sitting in the lobby when a group of four men, dressed in black with dust masks covering most of features, walked by.

As they walked past you on their way to the elevator you couldn’t help but stare. Your breath caught in your throat as one of them turned and looked at you. His eyes were piercing, making your heart race increase. You had never been so affected by someone with just a passing glance.

But it wasn’t just a glance. When they reached the elevator he turned his entire body and looked at you. You couldn’t tell what he was thinking, maybe he was confused or upset that someone he didn’t know was in the building. You smiled at him before looking down, wanting the anxiety that swelled inside of you to settle.

The ding from the elevator sounded and footsteps echoed as they walked inside. You risked looking up once more just to see him still watching you. You thought to yourself that you chance of getting a position here was ruined. Whoever that guy was didn’t want you here and was going to make it known. Within two days of your interview you had the position. You still were baffled by it.

Little did you know that it was Soonyoung, and he wasn’t mad or upset, he was so entranced that he was determined to keep you where he could always find you. When you glanced up and smiled at him he was frozen to the spot. Just one look and he was struck motionless.

After years of being in the spotlight, having hundreds of thousands of fans, how could someone make him feel like that? Struck by someone who was a stranger. As if he couldn’t gather the nerves to talk to you, his only option was to watch and burn your features into him mind as best as he could.

Why couldn’t he just walk up to you, introduce himself, and ask for your name. It was a missed opportunity but not entirely lost. If you really were applying for a job like he suspected, he was sure he would have plenty of other chances to make himself known to you.

___

The job, even as an assistant, was a lot of work. It was a thankful upgrade from delivering coffee and faxing papers which is all you did as an intern, but still it was an exhausting effort to organize everything from social media posts to what hair color Seventeen would have.

On your most tiresome days, Soonyoung would order you food or coffee. It seemed every time you were at the breaking point, every time you voiced the want to leave the job, he was there to rope you back in.

When Soonyoung found himself constantly doting on you like this, he came to realize he may have liked you as something more than just a casual crush. Whenever your eyes met or the two of you accidentally brushed hands while walking by, it took his breath away. Spending any amount of time with you was like being in heaven.

Strong feelings like these were foreign to him, something he was trained to ignore as dating was dangerous and possibly career ruining for an idol. But that didn’t scare him off. Rather than run away, he wanted to charge headfirst into you.

But he held back on that impulse because he knew you probably wouldn’t respond favorably to feelings so intense. Since you were the one more likely to be scared away, he knew he had to take things slow. One day, he was certain, you would understand.

Every year Seventeen would cycle through two or three new managers, their assistants coming and going even faster. But you remained, and you never realized that it was Soonyoung behind it all.

He loved the small smile that would spread across your face when he would walk into your office, body limp as he finished working on choreography. He would always run it over with you, to see if you liked his ideas, to see if they made sense with the music. You knew that the CEO of the company made all the big decision at the end of the day, but you entertained the idea nonetheless.

Soonyoung had been so spoiled by you and your sweet attention that he suffered a rude awakening in the form of a new face in your office. Another manager was hired on, in order to help with the new comeback they had planned. He was a young guy, nice enough guy, but that also meant that you would no longer be working alone in your office.

Soonyoung planned his visits around times he knew the other man wouldn’t be in. Usually it was just the two of you. Since he’d gotten used to that arrangement, he’d foolishly come to believe that no one else could come see you with the exact same ulterior motives he had.

He hung around just outside the door, listening with a tightened jaw as one of the other staff members made you laugh. That beautiful, cheerful sound that Soonyoung believed only he could pull from your mouth. He imagined all the ways your eyes locked into the other mans, how your hands might be touching and a blush might have formed on your cheeks, creeping down to your chest as it always did when you were nervous.

He couldn’t stand to eavesdrop on the two of you flirting any longer and impulsively barged himself in without a plan. You both stared back at him expectantly and he attempted to keep his cool. He was pleased to see the both of you far enough away from each other, his was in the chair across from your desk and you were in the seat he grew to expect to find you in.

“Dino wanted to show you some new choreos.” Soonyoung said as he stared down his manager.

“Did he now?” he scratched his chin thoughtfully, and for a moment Soonyoung was worried he wouldn’t believe him. Thankfully he backed off, but not before giving you a smile that made him clench his hands into fists. “I’ll see you around.”

You were friendlier with him than Soonyoung would have liked, and he couldn’t help the distaste imarring his expression when you waved goodbye. It wasn’t until the door shut closed that you finally lifted your eyes to him, questioning, “So what’s up? Need something from me?”

He had successfully gotten rid of the other man, but now he had to deal with the fact that he did not have a plan to come see you. At the very least, he was no longer tense with jealousy but rather the pressure to come up with a believable answer in a short amount of time.

The more impulsive part of him urged him to act now and ask you out properly before anyone else on would get the same idea. It was foolish of him to think no one else had eyes for you in the first place. The only way to avoid this situation in the future was to get ahold of you now.

The more reasonable part of him argued that asking you out after having hastily and rather unconvincingly dismissing his competition wasn’t quite the best look either. Of course to anyone else it would look as if you were just having a conversation with your boss, but not to Soonyoung.

You weren’t stupid. It would be painfully obvious that he was into you, and it would be just plain painful for him if it turned out you didn’t feel the same way. Not after all the time he put in. Not when his heart was already aching with the idea that you wouldn’t feel the same way.

Something inside told him that couldn’t be true. There was no way he would be that in love while you weren’t. At the very least, he convinced himself he could love enough for the both of you. So he didn’t go for either option. He took a third one, which involved him trying to be as casual as possible.

“Not particularly,” he said, hoping he was managing to keep his cool, or at least looked as if he was. “I’ve got some downtime. I thought I’d just hang around after recording today.”

When you didn’t respond right away, he started to sweat. He knew it was a long shot that you would believe him, but he didn’t know what he would do if you called him out on everything. However, all of his concerns faded away at the sight of your fond smile. “You’re cute, Hoshi.”

His face lit up at that, leaving him thankful that you decided to turn your attention back to your screen. He loved the way you said his name, be it his stage name or real one. He knew that his feelings were mutual.

You seemed to have a sort of fondness for him that he had to act upon now. If he waited any longer, he would lose the opportunity for good. “Actually, I was wondering what your plans were for tonight.”

You didn’t even bat an eye, you looked him dead in the eye as you answered, “Beyond curling up on my couch with leftovers, not much. You gotta better offer?”

You noted that he swallowed hard. He could hear his heartbeat drumming in his ears as his dry lips tried to form the real question he wanted to ask you. “I might, if you give me the chance. We can get dinner, and maybe a few drinks?”

Your unmoving expression made him think you’d expected his question, and he hoped to god you hadn’t already decided your answer ahead of time. You didn’t answer right away, instead your mind was reeling. All the things that could go wrong if you were seen out with him, how could you say yes?

The strong tension ended when you decide to throw caution to the wind, “Sure! Sounds fun. I should be done around 6 if that works.”

It took his breath away to hear you agree, so much so that he almost couldn’t even reply. “Perfect! Then I’ll come by here around then and we’ll leave together. I know an exit in the back, I’ll show you then.”

You sent him off with a nod and a smile, and that smile was all he would think about for the rest of the day.

___

Soonyoung felt as if his heart was soaring all throughout dinner, but you helped ground him by being as calm and cool as you always were. The fact that you weren’t acting any different than usual put him back in the mindset that he was just spending time with you as he always did, just in a different setting.

You were in the back of a restaurant, a private room that was closed to the outside world. You had only been in a place like this once or twice before. After touring ended last spring the whole group took the staff out for food and drinks. The restaurant was closed but stayed open for you guys.

This was different though, much more intimate and secluded. Soonyoung had ordered drinks and you both opened up to each other more than ever. Not that you were typically withholding in conversation, but getting a few drinks in you seemed to make you a bit more talkative.

You shared funny stories from your past that he never would have heard from anyone else. Each word from you made him fall in love more and more. You were his dream girl and he couldn’t think of a better time to ask you to be his.

Soonyoung was sincerely having a good time until the alcohol loosened your lips to the point that you said something he didn’t want to hear. It started innocently enough. In fact you said something very sweet that added to the glow of his alcohol flushed cheeks. “I’m having a really good time tonight, Soonyoung. Thank you for finally asking me out.”

“‘Finally?” he repeated before taking a big swig of his beer. “Were you expecting it?”

“You aren’t exactly subtle,” you smiled kindly at him. In response to his embarrassed blush, you added, “But you are cute. And that’s why I agreed to come out here with you tonight, even though I was hesitant.”

He had sensed earlier that you weren’t quite as eager as he had been, and since you opened the door to that conversation he decided to pry deeper. “What caused that?”

You took a long sip of your drink before pushing your glass away, a contemplative expression spreading across your face. After a brief silence, you replied, “I don’t even know how I got this job. I’m horribly under-qualified and I barely have a degree to stand on. And I don’t want to jeopardize this. Dating is tricky as it is, but you’re an idol and I know that means it will be twice as hard. You shouldn’t ruin all the work you up into this group over someone like me.”

With that last sentence you abruptly killed the high Soonyoung had been riding all evening. His smile fell and his jaw locked in place tightly, his lack of a response prompted you to continue speaking.

“I’ll probably be leaving soon anyway. Jobs don’t seem to last here do they? I have a few years of experience so I can get hired on somewhere else. Maybe I’ll go overseas. Paris would be amazing. I don’t want to get attached to anyone that I might have to leave behind.” You said, idly tracing your fingertips over the rim of your drink.

“Even though I can’t say what the future will hold, I wanted to take a chance with one date. I guess I thought that it was worth a shot… As long as it was with you.”

That was when you stopped talking, feeling as if you just rambled on too long and ruined the night. There was so much to process that Soonyoung didn’t even speak. You fiddled with the hem of your dress, desperately wanting the stiffening quiet of the restaurant to ease up.

Wordlessly, he stretched his hand over yours in your lap and rubbed small circles with his thumb. You looked up at him, the brightness in your eyes meeting his lust-darkened gaze. His voice came out low and measured. “Let’s go back to my place.”

___

“I thought that the dorm was in south Gangnam?” You questioned as he drove you through the city, into an upscale district you had never really explored before.

“Yeah, that’s the dorm though. I wanted to show you the apartment I bought. The investors at the company said to put my money in real estate. They said the stock market was too risky.” He said smoothly while turning into a gated and secluded building.

The place looked massive, there must have been thirty or forty floors to the giant building. You walked with him to the entrance, riding the elevator up to his floor. For a moment you thought that it was odd he had never mentioned this to you before, but all those thoughts were lost as he pushed you against the elevator wall.

His lips traced over your pulse point, breathing in the mix of your perfume and natural scent. It was driving him wild, you even smelled the way he knew you would. Your head was spinning as his hands roamed your body. You let your held breath as the elevator opened, taking you to a floor with only one door.

“Is this the place?” You asked as he walked behind you, hands grabbing your waist as you moved towards the door.

“Yep. Floors twenty through thirty five have their own floors. So we don’t have to worry about neighbors hearing us.” He said while pressing his thumb against the touchpad of the door. It scanned his print and unlocked the room.

“Wow. This thing must have been expensive.” Your eyes widened as you walked in. The place was huge. How on earth did something this large exist in a city like Seoul?

As soon as the door had shut behind you both, you couldn’t keep your hands off each other. He lifted you up and guided your legs around his waist. He captured your lips in a heated kiss as his hands gripped your backside roughly.

You were lost in his kiss as he walked you to the bedroom. There, he lowered you onto the mattress and crawled on top of you, moving as if you were his prey. His roaming hands reached the hem of your dress and moved under the fabric, slinking until his palms slid past your torso to settle on your breasts. Idly, he traced his fingertips over your hardening nipples through the thin fabric of your bra.

When his lips slipped off of yours in favor of peppering your jaw and neck with kisses, you breathed, “Soon… Soonyoung…. please…”

He looked down and noticed how eagerly you were jerking up against him, trying to get his thigh to rub up against your clothed sex. You were so cute that he couldn’t stand to keep you waiting any longer and quickly slipped his hand down your hips, briefly pressing against your panties to feel just how much you’d soaked through them.

Then, pushing the thin cloth aside, he felt for your hard clit and began rubbing it vigorously. The motion made you jump, and your hips followed his movements until you seemed to want more.

“Wait. I want to come with you inside of me. Will you?” You pleaded while looking up at him.

Without even batting an eye, he leaned down over you to catch your pouty lips with his own. “I will do anything you want me to.”

His shameless declaration brought new heat to your cheeks, one that didn’t go unnoticed by him. You slipped the dress off your body, underwear following closely behind as you watched him strip himself.

You laid bare before him, legs spread as one hand reached down to rub slowly between your folds. Soonyoung mindlessly rolled a condom down his length, watching you pleasure yourself as if you were Venus come to life.

He trusted two fingers inside of your core, stretching open your walls before adding a third. You were thankful your sex was as wet as it was because he wasted no time in making sure you adjusted to his digits.

He pushed the tip of his cock inside of you soon after, enjoying every moan that fell from your swollen lips as he stretched and filled you. His thumb idly rubbed circles over your clit, keeping his eyes on every movement in your face. He derived pleasure just from getting to see you enjoy yourself.

Your walls were tight around his thick girth, but you took him with minimal difficulty. He was pleased that you were wet enough for him to start thrusting immediately. He fought back the urge to move faster, he would have all the in the world for that later. Right now he just wanted to watch your face as it contorted in pleasure as he took you for the first time.

“Faster, please, Soonyoung.” You moaned for him, the prettiest sound he had ever heard.

At first, he was too caught up in enjoying your reactions to realize this wasn’t the first time you had been with someone. His eyes darkened as he wondered how many other people had fucked you like this, and how often. Then his thoughts regrettably went back to you possibly leaving him. Leaving him to be just another half forgotten memory in your life.

But now, it didn’t matter. You were his and you were going to be his forever. He began to move faster, his hips driving into yours faster than the beating of your racing heart. His hands dug into your hips, pulling your lower half off the mattress as he fucked you deeper and harder.

You cried out his name, clenching around his cock as your orgasm built up. Already so overwhelmed by pleasure, you thought nothing of his large hand wrapping around your throat. In fact you seemed to welcome it, throwing your head back to give him better access. You moaned when he squeezed harder.

Your hand moved down to your sex, fingers rubbing at your clit desperatly wanting to come. Soonyoung thought it was incredible how such a delicate little thing like you would like it so rough. His hand tightened a bit more, allowing a just a fraction of oxygen into your body.

With that you came, crying out his name as your walls clamped down on his length. It didn’t take much more for him to finish, his hand still tight against your throat. You never even realized there was something off about how Soonyoung was handling you. Maybe you had noticed that his grip didn’t let up, but you were already out of consciousness by the time he finished.

He worried that maybe had gone too far. He only wanted you to pass out. Slowly he pulled out of you. Your chest rose frailly, your breath shallow but steady. He felt bad for treating you like that but it was for the best. He had you, all to himself and that was all that mattered.

You were so innocent, so naive. You didn’t notice that the windows were bolted shut, too thick to even break open. The closet of the bedroom was open and you didn’t even notice that it was full of womens clothes. Well, he thought to himself as he got dressed, she will notice they are all there for her when she wakes up.

The fridge was stocked full of food, and the tv was on for when you got up. He took your phone from you, turning it off before shoving it in his pocket. His hands ran over your naked form before he pulled the blanket on top of you. With a kiss to your lips he left the room, turning the lights off as he went.

Soonyoung left the apartment, the deadbolt on the door locked in place as he walked back to the car. He didn’t have a plan just yet, but amazingly, he wasn’t nervous. As long as he could keep you with him forever, he knew everything would work out just fine.

[lifeofroos]

*inhales* part 10. I am going to give myself a pat on the back.

In short: Nico gets therapy from Dionysus. Todays’ subject: Hades. Rest is: Right here. 

This Might Be Crazy part 10: Fanta

‘Nico?’ 

Huh? I stopped doing what I was doing and looked at the clock. 10 A.M. ‘Dionysus, sir?’

‘I thought you would be awake. If you are not plotting out a plan to save the world, would you mind if we did a therapy session?’

I would not particularly mind. I got up from the ground, walked to the door and opened it. ‘Yes, we can do a small session.’ 

Dionysus looked at me. ‘Good. Denny’s?’

‘Where else?’

Mary pushed a Fanta into my hands as soon as we entered the restaurant. ‘I am glad to see you are doing better!’

‘Eh, yes, sorry for not sending you a message after what happened last time.’ 

Dionysus shrugged. ‘I let her know you were feeling better.’ Aha.

‘...Thanks. To you too, Mary, for the Fanta.’

She smiled and winked again. ‘I get it, Nico. Now go talk about important things. I am expecting a small rush of pre-party people to come in soon and you two are in the way.’ 

We sat down and I took a deep breath. 

‘Alright, are you feeling calm enough to start?’ 

‘Yes. I think I am ready.’ 

‘Good.’ He waited while I pulled the tab of my can. ‘Let’s start at the very beginning. How did you first meet your father?’ I took a sip while trying to put my thoughts in order.

‘I probably first met him… right before he transported me, my sister and my mother out of fascist Italy, to America. I… don’t really have a lot of memories of that. Just that one day, mom said that Mussolini was not our leader anymore, we were in a new house and there was a tall, scary, pale man.’ I shrugged. I wanted to dig further in my memories, to remember exactly what happened, but on the other hand I did not think that that was a good idea. I shifted the can around. 

´Then… I remember a hotel lobby, it must have been near Los Angeles. It was nothing fancy. Me… my sister was playing with me on the floor, and I remember that the same creepy man was sitting next to my mother. It could be that I don’t really remember him being there, but like... that I think he probably was there.’ Dionysus nodded as if he understood. ‘Then there was a loud noise, like a bomb going off and the next thing I remember is that someone delivers us to this loud, flashy place, just… think Vegas, because it was Vegas…’ My voice died down. I fumbled with my Fanta can. ‘...And my mother was gone,’ I quietly said. 

‘I think it is very likely that what you are saying are not all memories, but that you are piecing a few things together, like you said. Don’t worry about that. Now, if you can go on, go on,’ Dionysus reassured me. 

‘Bianca and I were brought to the Lotus hotel and casino.’ Dionysus blinked a few times. ‘It’s, uh… from what I can remember... and from what Percy filled me in on, because he has been there too… on first glance it seems like the best hotel in all of Vegas, filled with everything a kid would love. The difference is that time goes way faster in that place than in the rest of the world. If you’d ask me, and you are, I would say that my sister and I were in there for perhaps a few weeks. Yet, when we got out, it was suddenly a new century.’

‘I... know of the Lotus hotel, let us keep it at that,’ Dionysus told me. Even though that was interesting, I sighed and went on. I had something important to say next. 

 I…’ I took a sip, which stopped me from talking, ‘I am sure he wanted to protect us. Hades, I mean. From Zeus, who… I believe he was the one who… made that other hotel collapse. I don't… I don't know…’ I shrugged. I held a hand in front of my eyes. The talking had gone easier than I had expected, but now the tears were starting to catch up. ‘Perhaps the relationships between the gods in the years leading up to the second world war were a factor.’

‘They absolutely were, yet…’ Dionysus shook his head. ‘Hm. I mean that while that is true, Zeus can be…’ He did not finish the sentence, but I understood. ‘Do you need a break?’ he asked, while a tear rolled down my cheek. 

‘Just a moment,’ I answered, ‘I… a lot is coming out right now.’

He nodded again, while waiting for me to dry my eyes, take a few breaths and sip my Fanta. Meanwhile, a song came on the radio. ‘The sun ain´t gonna shine anymore,’ from the Walker Brothers. 

‘That is one of the songs that I vividly remember playing in the Lotus hotel,’ I explained. ‘There are a few of those, like Rum and Coca cola, Don´t go breaking my heart, Girls just wanna have fun…’

‘Those are songs from different eras. Different decades.’

‘Yes well, they just came by, one by one. Only the biggest hits, as if the other songs were forgotten too fast.’ I sighed again. ‘The hotel was a blur, a fantastic blur. Yet, after those… what felt like weeks, we were picked up by someone who turned out to be Alecto. Me and my sister were brought to a military school.’ At this point I could not help but roll my eyes. ‘We quickly learned that we were in a strange new place, without Yugoslavia and stuff.’ Dionysus smiled when I mentioned Yugoslavia. Alright, it was a pretty strange way of saying that the world had changed. ‘After a few months, Percy, Thalia and the others found us and brought us to camp.’ I took a sip. My eyes narrowed.

‘Then… You know, even though I was introduced to the world of demigods, I only really met my dad a year and a half later...’

‘I was like nineteen when I first really met Zeus.’ I looked up at Dionysus. 

‘You did?’

‘Yes, after I wreaked enough havoc, Zeus finally decided that it was probably time to grand me the time of day…’ he took a deep breath. ‘But this is not about that.’

‘Is it not? It is at least good to know that other godly parents can be just as… well…’

‘Negligent.’ That got me quiet. I had not expected him to say that. ‘You are surprised.’

‘I mean, I did not expect…’ I shuddered with my shoulders. 

‘I have been at your camp for almost seventeen years at this point, I have been a demigod and you don't think that I know how cold the gods can be?’ I could not really think of a reaction. 

Dionysus seemed to come to his senses after that. ‘So… I think you should go on. You were really on a roll.’

‘Alright. So, the time I really met him.’ I began to feel nervous again. ‘I… I went into the underworld after I talked to Percy. You know that, because you talked to Percy afterwards, I saw it.’ Dionysus did not look apologetic at all for eavesdropping on us. Godly awareness only went so far, I guess. ‘When I came into the underworld… well, my father… he immediately called me over to the palace. He did not want…’ I looked at the table and took a deep breath. 

‘Take it easy.’

‘Either he did not want me to roam around the underworld on my own, or he really did care for me, or something else. The why is besides the point.’

‘We´ll get to the why soon, after you’ve finished talking.’ Joy!

‘Luckily that was during the summer. That meant I had some time to get to know my dad, and he could get to know me, before…’ I sighed, ‘Before Persephone got a say in the matter.’ 

‘Hm.’

‘So… I quite soon learned… he probably… prefered my sister over me.’ 

‘Why do you think that?’

‘He told me.’

‘Aha.’

‘Yes. He… maybe he did not mean it. Maybe he was just devastated because she was…’ My throat began to hurt. Tears were burning in the corners of my eyes. ‘Because she was dead. And he had...’ My eyebrows raised while I came to a conclusion. ‘... he had saved us up, I guess, so that we could be a part of a prophecy. So that we, or at least he, would be important for once. And I think he saw that plan go up in smoke. I… I don’t know if I should be happy that he wanted to give us a part in a prophecy.’ I really did not know. If I had not been part of the prophecy, I would have never had Will, or I would have still been in the Lotus casino. But being part of the prophecy was not something I liked, much less three times. Plus, it seemed like Hades mostly wanted to do it for his own good. ‘I… maybe Hades does have good meanings, but he can’t really express it.’

Dionysus put a hand on the table. ‘He might have trouble expressing how he feels, but that does not excuse him from hurting you the way he did, or from the fact that he wanted to use you for his own goal. He should have known better.’

‘Do the gods ever know better?’ It was out before I knew it. Dionysus raised his eyebrows. I decided to let him pick up the conversation again. 

‘I cannot answer that. Not now.’ He looked at the table

‘Should we stop?’ I asked. ‘If it gets difficult, we can stop.’ 

‘Watch your words, Nico.’ I grinned. ‘I’ll say what I am thinking first, and then we can stop. I think you already came up with the solution to why your father wanted you in the palace. I, indeed, think that he wanted a child of Hades to be the hero of a prophecy. He probably reasoned that if a child of Hades saved the day, he would be more welcome in his family, but so would his kids.’ 

‘You are saying that it was good for him and for me and my siblings?’

‘I am saying that I think he thought that was the case.’

‘Then he was right. I helped with the titan war, and now I’ve got my own cabin.’ 

‘Perhaps Hades was right. But let me say it again: nothing excuses the way abused you.’

I thought for a moment. ‘No, it doesn’t.’ I downed the last sip of Fanta. ‘I think we can stop now. Because it got so difficult for you.’

‘Watch your words. We’ll go on about Hades next time, unless something important comes up in your life and you would prefer to talk about that.’

‘Yes, alright.’ Probably not. I wanted clarity and I felt like we had been stalling long enough. Time to get it over with - after I got a few good nights rest. 

A/N: I don’t know if the ‘tab of the can’ is a thing. It is what google translate told me the ‘Lipje van het blikje’ was (For those who do not know: I am a native Dutch speaker). 

Yes, I said a new centruy, because I honest to god don't understand the PJO timeline. 

More about Hades next time and more with Hades in the chapter after that.

[cycat4077]

Three Weeks In

So, I’m writing a series. Cute, fluffy ideas kept popping into my head and rather than making a new character/backstory for each one-shot, I decided to keep the universe I set up in Changes which is basically all the canon-SVU events but Sonny has a loving relationship behind the scenes. Let’s face it, the boy deserves happiness. It’s not necessary to read my other story first unless you want the backstory of the reader character and how they got together with Sonny. I’ll try to keep things chronological and weave in SVU events if I can. My OCD is forcing me to make sure the dates are all correct (ex: Sonny can’t be with the reader if he’s supposed to be upstate investigating a lead.) So tah-dah! I present thee with the second installment of the “Changes” series which is set immediately after 17x09, Depravity Standard, and begins on Nov 23rd 2015 (the day before Thanksgiving). It may be crap, but I hope you enjoy anyway!

Words: 2296 Warnings: none Pairing: Sonny x Reader Summary: Three weeks into dating Sonny and he already wants you to meet his family… AO3 here

Some days you actually have to pinch yourself as a reminder that your life is real. It’s been three weeks since Sonny showed up to your class. Three weeks since the two of you confessed your feelings. And three weeks of dating Sonny. While your schedules didn’t allow for a lot of one-on-one time, the two of you keep in touch and steal away for dinner whenever you can.

A steady beeping sound rouses you from your sleep and you roll over to shut off your alarm. The sun is starting to peek through the curtains, signalling a new day. Glancing at your phone screen, you smile.

Mornin’, doll. Have a great day! Talk to you later xoxo

Everyday you wake up to a text from Sonny and, though a seemingly small gesture, your heart aches in the best possible way from knowing he cares. You unplug the device and lay back in bed, phone perched on your chest.

Morning, Sonny. Hope you have a great day too and stay safe! xoxo

As you hit send, you imagine him smiling at his desk when the message comes in. You get ready for class and head out, a spring in your step while you journey to campus. Sonny texts you back around lunchtime with a message saying that he should be free tonight. He asks if you’d be up for having dinner and you eagerly accept. That evening you put on a nice outfit, fix your hair and set out to meet your date at a nearby restaurant. But SVU work can be unpredictable. You were made very aware of that during your summer there. One day could be quiet while the next could be so busy that you didn’t know whether the detectives were coming or going. So understandably, this line of work would sometimes force Sonny to be late. Nevertheless, if he was, he would apologize profusely and you would always reassure him that you understood. Tonight however, as you wait alone inside the restaurant lobby, Sonny is later than he’s ever been before. Not only that, but he hasn’t even sent you a message to confirm that he was caught up. His silence has you worried. You crane your neck towards the door once more before sending him a quick text:

Hey. Hope everything is okay.

Not a moment later your phone vibrates.

Shit. Sorry, doll. I’ll be there in 15.

You breathe a sigh of relief knowing he’s safe but then your gut knots when the alternative creeps into your mind. Restaurant patrons pass you by and the hostess keeps glaring while you’re standing there. They’ve seen it all before: a girl left waiting for a date who doesn’t show. You look up and let out a shaky sigh, hoping that Sonny hadn’t simply forgotten you. Practically 15 minutes on the nose from his text, a rather frantic looking Sonny comes barreling through the restaurant door. His winter jacket is unbuttoned and you can see his badge still clipped to his suit underneath. He hasn’t had time to change. “Hey,” he breathes out with apologetic eyes. “I’m so sorry. I shoulda texted you. It’s just Rollins -” Sonny takes a breath, chest heaving. He must have ran here. “She had a scare today. There were complications with her labor. Luckily, she made it though n’ delivered a healthy baby girl, but Lieu and I stayed there with her for a while. She’s gettin’ some rest now and Fin is gonna check up on her later.” Immediately you flood with relief. “I’m glad she and the baby are alright,” you say, “and I’m glad nothing had happened to you either.” “You dunno know how sorry I am for not lettin’ you know what was goin’ on. I shoulda texted. But things got hectic and we were all pretty worried about her…” “Sonny,” you cut off his rambling and force him to meet your eyes. “It’s okay. I’m not mad. Like I said, I’m glad Rollins is fine and I’m also glad she wasn’t alone through all this.” Sonny looks back at you and takes a breath. Your words seem to calm him right down. He smiles. “You’re amazin’.” You blush. “Back at you, but I’m starved.” He chuckles and the two of you approach the hostess. She grabs your menus but rolls her eyes as she turns to lead you to your table. She seats you at a little booth in the corner, Sonny taking your coat before you sit down. You braved wearing a knee-length dress despite the November weather and are rewarded by an expression of awe from Sonny when he sees it. “You look beautiful, doll,” he compliments, drinking you in. “And here I am, lookin’ shabby in comparison.” A little tired, yes. But shabby? Never. Sonny’s dark hair is still combed back and he’s wearing a tasteful burgundy tie over a white pinstripe shirt. You lean in and peck him on the cheek. “You always look handsome to me.” The two of you order and share a drink, happy to finally be catching up. “Shadowin’ Barba was fantastic!” exclaims Sonny through a mouthful of bread. “He’s so polished in his delivery n’ so sharp at findin’ the littlest things to drive it all home to the jury!” “Fanboy alert!” you joke. “Guilty!” he grins, raising his fork in surrender. “But I learn so much from him and it gives me new ideas for doin’ my written assignments.” “I’m happy for you, Sonny. You work so hard and you deserve every ounce of success you earn.” You truly can’t help the pride you feel for him. “Aww, thanks, doll. That means a lot.” Sonny gazes at you with the utmost affection and you nearly melt in your seat. “Say, what’s new with you? Anythin’ excitin’ in the ol’ biology class?” “Same old, same old,” you shrug. “Just gave the second midterm back to the students, so I expect a lot of office visits from them on Monday.” “You don’t have ta work or take emails over the holiday, do ya?” asks Sonny, pushing food around his plate absentmindedly. “Nope. Why?” You sense there’s something more to his inquiry. “Well, I was wonderin’…now, I know it’s short notice ‘cause I wasn’t even sure I’d be able to get off myself, but I was wonderin’ if…if you’d like to spend Thanksgiving with me at my parents’ place?” Sonny looks up. It’s the most hopeful expression you’ve ever seen on him. “I..uh…” you’re lost for words. You want to scream out ’YES!’ at the top of your lungs but at the same time it’s not that easy. “Sonny, that’s t-tomorrow. And it’s also your family time. I wouldn’t want to intrude on them.” “You wouldn’t be intrudin’! My ma’s been askin’ to meet my girlfriend n’ even said to ’make sure you bring her over for Thanksgiving’.” Your voice goes quiet. “I’m your…g-girlfriend?” The word floors you. Most guys don’t want to dive head first into labeling relationships, especially not after only three weeks. But here is Sonny Carisi, happily calling you his girlfriend and wanting you to meet his family. “Yeah, of course doll,” he answers a little perplexed. “We’re datin’ aren’t we?” Sonny fixes his gaze on you, trying to read what you’re feeling. You shake your head to snap yourself out of it. “Yes, y-yes. It’s just that…Never mind. I’d love to spend Thanksgiving with your family!” An uncontrolled smile spreads across your face and you’re pretty sure it makes you look like a complete dork. If it does, Sonny doesn’t point it out, but instead reaches across the table to hold your hand. He too is smiling from ear to ear like you’ve made him the happiest man alive. Suddenly your smile drops. “What?” questions Sonny. “What time will you be heading out tomorrow?” “Uh, well, I was thinkin’ we could get there for ‘round four o'clock. Time enough to introduce ya to everyone before we eat?” “Four?! That doesn’t give me much time to make anything!” you gulp. “Make somethin’? Doll, my mother wouldn’t want you to bring anythin’. Believe me, she cooks for a small army.” “Sonny. You can’t show up to someone’s house for dinner empty handed.” Sonny opens his mouth to argue, but you shush him instead. “How many people are gonna be there?” Conceding, he sets down his utensils, freeing his hands to count. “Well, there’s gonna be mom, dad, me, you, Bella n’ Tommy. Their little one doesn’t eat the good stuff yet, so I won’t count her.” Sonny unfolds that finger. “Then there’s Resa and Mia and Gina. Maybe a plus one for Gina, but who the hell knows with her.” Looking down at his two hands, he raises them to show you. “Should be nine altogether.” Good to know because you were going to be up early the next morning baking. -x- You don’t realize your knee is bouncing until Sonny reaches over and places a warm hand on it. “Don’t be nervous, doll. My family is gonna love you.” You turn your head towards him, flashing a weak smile. Sitting in idle traffic is only making your nerves worse. “Trust me. Besides, ya even baked fresh bread rolls on short notice. They’re gonna disown me and keep you instead.” Sonny taps your knee reassuringly before returning his hand to the steering wheel. The Carisis live in a quaint little suburban house complete with a petite yard and front porch stoop. It seems small for a family of six, yet still cozy and welcoming. You can’t imagine Sonny growing up anywhere else. Sonny leads you up the steps and knocks on the door. It instantly flies open and a short woman with grey hair greets the two of you with open arms. “Sonny!” she coos, scooping her boy in for a hug. Sonny plants his mother a kiss before introducing you. “Hellooo! Welcome, hon,” exclaims Mrs. Carisi as she ushers you into her home. The place smells delectable. If someone asked you describe the scent of Thanksgiving, you would say ‘the Carisi household’. “I’m so happy you could make it! Y'know, Sonny has told me so much about ya and I’m glad that boy finally got the nerve to - ” “Ma!” blurts Sonny, flashing his mother a warning look. Sonny must have spent those months apart dwelling over you, just as you had done over him. “What?! It’s true, honey,” defends the Carisi matriarch before turning back to you. “Whateva. You just make yourself at home dear. We’re all family here.” “Thank you, Mrs. Carisi,” you say sincerely. You’d never been so instantly accepted by another family. After sharing a hug with Sonny’s mother, you are swarmed by the rest of the Carisis. Sonny introduces you to his father first, who gives you a solid nod. Next is Bella, bouncing a tiny infant with Tommy by her side. Theresa and a shy Mia chime in a ‘hello’ before a solo Gina caps off the meet-and-greet. Mrs. Carisi is over the moon when you hand over your baking and the bread rolls end up being a major success. In true Italian fashion, the Thanksgiving spread is full of flavor with Sonny’s mother sparing no expense in variety or quantity. Everyone joins in saying grace before dinner and, though not a common practice in your house growing up, you don’t mind linking hands with Sonny and Gina while Mr. Carisi leads the family in giving thanks. Because you do have a lot to be thankful for: a great job, an incredible boyfriend and now a whole new family to spend time with. The rest of the meal is occupied by sharing in conversation, fond memories and laughter. You find it all sort of surreal. During the summer Sonny had entertained you with tales of this very family: How they could get on one another’s nerves but that at the end of the day still loved each other. And this is exactly what you see before you. Maybe it’s a light buzz from the wine, but you feel all warm and fuzzy as the chatter of the Carisis surround you. Eventually the evening winds down and everyone seems to be groaning over how full their tummies are. You know you’ve eaten too much but wouldn’t have it any other way. “The food was absolutely delicious, Mrs. Carisi. Thank you all for having me,” you say appreciatively, looking at everyone in turn. “Our pleasure, hon,” smiles Sonny’s mother sweetly. “Know that you’re welcome here anytime.” She clasps your hands in hers and gives them a few quick pats. You say your reluctant goodbyes before you and Sonny head to his car. Once inside, he looks at you. “So?” “Your family is wonderful, Sonny and I had a great time.” This makes him flush with pride. “Glad to hear it, doll. Sometimes they can be a bit much, but they mean well.” He turns the key in the ignition and his car grumbles to life. The two of you wave as he backs out of the driveway. Once you’re cruising down Arden avenue, Sonny pipes up again. “Y'don’t have any more of them rolls, do ya? I didn’t know you were such a good cook.” You let out a laugh. “I’m not that good. For every two-dozen there’s about a dozen that come out flat and ugly. But if you’re indifferent to what they look like, then I can hook you up with the rejects.” You wink just as the car passes beneath the glow of a streetlamp in hopes Sonny will catch it. He grins. “I don’t mind. Besides, it gives me a good excuse to walk ya to your door 'n steal a kiss goodnight.”

-x-

I have a bunch of ideas planned, the next being x-mas (wrong time of year, I know) but I just have to check dates from the episodes. Let me know if you’d be interested in more of these stories and any feedback would be loved!

Next part here!