#got burnt by an exchange i was so excited for earlier this year and i haven't recovered since lol

[clear-as-starlight]

Nathan Hale’s Death vs the Primary Sources

(aka did William Hull actually know anything?)

“The first the Americans heard of Hale’s death was on the evening of the twenty-second [September 1776], when Captain John Montresor…an aide de camp to General Howe, approached an outpost…under flag of truce. His main business…did not concern Hale, but was to transport to Washington a letter from Howe offering an exchange of high-ranking prisoners. Joseph Reed, accompanied by General Israel Putnam and Captain Alexander Hamilton, rode to meet him. After passing over the letter, he casually added that one Nathan Hale, a Captain, had been executed that morning.”

This passage comes from “Washington’s Spies: The Story of America’s First Spy Ring” by Alexander Rose and it, along with the wonderful @queerrevolution1776 inspired me to go on a (brief) primary source deep dive of Hale’s death. A challenge, given the lack of primary sources surrounding Hale’s spy work, and the tall tales that grew up around it.

I started here: Why was Hamilton there? He was not an aide-de-camp at this point, why would he be present? And that question, my friends, led to a whole host of others!

(Info under the cut because there is a lot, and it’s fascinating :))

The (Un)reliability of Recollection 

The idea of Hamilton having been present to hear of Hale’s fate, so far as I can see, is first related in “Revolutionary Services and Civil Life of General William Hull”, a biography based on Hull’s unpublished memoirs, and written by his daughter, Maria Hull Campbell:

“In a few days, an Officer came to our camp, under a flag of truce, and informed Hamilton, then a Captain of the Artillery, but afterwards an aide to General Washington, that Captain Hale had been arrested within the British lines, condemned as a Spy, and executed that morning. I learned the melancholy particulars from this officer, who was present at his execution, and seemed touched by the circumstances attending it.”

William Hull was a friend of Hale’s from Yale, and they were both in the 19th Regiment, before Hale transferred to Knowlton’s Rangers. A lot of what we know of Hale’s death seems to come from Hull’s memoirs, right down to his (possibly incorrect and/or exaggerated) final words: “I only regret, that I have but one life to lose for my country.” Hull was a close friend of Hale’s, so it does make some sense that he’d know something of it. However, the above biography was written in 1848, and related conversations that had taken place a long time earlier. Campbell herself admits she includes conversations not even present in her father’s memoirs.

Though her book is not the only 18th/19th century one about Hale’s death, it quickly became clear that all of them were based on conversations with Hull. The first time the name ‘Nathan Hale’ even entered the public conscious properly after the war was in 1799, in Hannah Adams’ “A Summary History of New England and General Sketch of the American War” where she writes: “The compiler of this History of New England is indebted to Gen. Hull of Newton for this interesting account of Captain Hale.”

Hale isn’t mentioned again until 1824, in a book by Jedediah Morse, who says he got his info from Adams, who in turn got it from Hull. It seems likely, then, that the idea of Hamilton being there (and indeed, that most of what we know) came from Hull’s supposed recollection, 20+ years after the event took place.

Now, this is not to say that Hull was lying. Return records show that he and his Regiment were certainly present at “Camp near to Harlem Heights” with Washington’s forces at the time that Washington would have been given the information about Hale, and we know Hamilton and his Artillery were present also, as it is at Harlem Heights that he apparently first came to Washington’s notice (according to John C. Hamilton). It did seem a bit strange though, to both me and @queerrevolution1776 , for Hull or Hamilton to have met with an official flag of truce, when they were both only Captains, and not on Washington’s staff (he’d only just become aware of Hamilton’s existence, after all).

Washington makes no mention of either of them in his correspondence, instead writing to Jonathan Trumbull Sr. that it was Colonel Joseph Reed whom Howe’s aide, John Montresor, met with. It makes sense that Reed would have met with Montresor, given his position on Washington’s staff. Reed is mentioned in Rose’s book, but not Hull’s account, and I thought that was a discrepancy worth a look. Hull, writing after the fact, mentions only Hamilton, who by then was a well-known, and scandalous, public figure. Reed, on the other hand, was nowhere near as popular, and perhaps did not serve as such an interesting figure in a story about Hull’s friend, one of America’s earliest spies.

Sure, Hamilton could have been nearby, or overheard the discussion, and in turn told Hull what he had heard—which could explain why Hale’s last moments have been exaggerated, or perhaps accidentally falsified, given that a British officer who was present apparently heard: “It the duty of every good officer, to obey any orders given him by his commander in chief” and not what is so often recounted. Even a newspaper (The Essex Journal) publishing an account five months later, quoted Hale as having said: “If I had ten thousand lives I would lay them all down, if called to it, in defence of my injured, bleeding country”—No one seems quite able to agree exactly what he said! Hull may well have also told his children he was there to make the story seem more personal, and exciting.

(And I’m really starting to doubt that Hamilton was at the meeting at all. It’s never mentioned in any of his writing, or in the John C Hamilton biography)

There’s no “official” reports of Hale’s death either (excepting the noting of his death on the 22nd September casualty list) which is why so much has relied heavily on what Hull claimed to have been told. When Washington wrote Trumbull about the flag of truce meeting the next day, he was mostly concerned with the fire that had engulfed New York the day before, and the claims that Continental soldiers and spies had set it. The only possible reference we have from him that concerned the meeting between Reed and Montresor, with perhaps an oblique reference to Hale, is as follows:

“On Friday night about eleven or twelve o’Clock a fire broke out in the City of New York, which burning rapidly till after Sunrise next morning, destroyed a great number of Houses—By what means it happened we do not know; but the Gentleman who brought the letter out last night from General Howe, and who was one of his Aid De Camps informed Colo. Reed that several of our Countrymen had been punished with various deaths on account of it. Some by hanging, others by burning & c. alledging that they were apprehended when committing the fact.”

Howe himself never mentioned Hale explicitly in official correspondence between him and Washington, and Washington never did either. In fact, neither of them mentioned the spies or the fire to one another at all, concerned with prisoner exchanges, and the accusation of ill-treatment of British prisoners (Howe to Washington 21st September 1776 and Washington to Howe 23rd September 1776). Hale, and his fate, was unfortunately left to Montresor’s verbal account, and Hull’s dubious reporting.

Tench Tilghman on Hale’s Death

In terms of other primary correspondence that might reference Hale’s death, even remotely, we have accounts from Washington’s aide-de-camp, Tench Tilghman.

Firstly, Tilghman wrote his father, James Tilghman, on the 25th September 1776, of the events and executions surrounding the fire. He was sent to deliver Washington’s reply to Howe���s camp under another flag of truce the day after Montresor’s, and spoke with some men in Howe’s camp then:

“Reports concerning the setting fire to New York: If it was done designedly, it was without the knowledge or Approbation of any commanding officer in this Army…every man belonging to the Army who remained in or were found near the City were made close prisoners. Many Acts of barbarous cruelty were committed upon poor creatures who were perhaps flying from the flames, the Soldiers and Sailors looked upon all who were not in the military line as guilty, and burnt and cut to pieces many. But this I am sure was not by Order. Some were executed next day upon good Grounds… I went down to the Enemy's lines yesterday with a Flag to settle the Exchange of prisoners…I met a very civil Gentleman with whom I had an Hours conversation…”

In Rose’s book, he mentions Hull & Colonel Samuel B. Webb going with Tilghman to the camp to further question Montresor about Hale. Webb, another aide-de-camp to Washington, may well have gone. But it seems a bit strange for Hull to have done so. And Hull’s account did not mention Webb, or Tilghman, which is also a bit odd. Rose made no note of his source for this, but I’d like to find it! Perhaps it’s mentioned in Webb’s journals, something I’d have to travel to Yale to see :(

Tilghman did, eventually, mention Hale explicitly, though not by name, when he wrote to Egbert Benson on 3rd October 1776:

“I am sorry that your Convention do not think themselves legally authorized to make examples of those villains they have apprehended…The General is determined if he can bring some of them in his hand’s under the denomination of spies, to execute them. General Howe hanged a Captain of ours belonging to Knowlton' s Rangers, who went into New-York to make discoveries. I don’t see why we should not make retaliation.”

So he definitely knew of Hale’s death by then, and it seemed to anger him greatly.

Miscellaneous Reports of Hale’s Death

There were also reports made by various others, that mention explicitly, or might imply, Hale’s death:

“Friday last we discovered a vast cloud of smoke arising from the north part of the city, which continued '‘ill Saturday evening…those that were found on or near the spot were pitched into the conflagration, some hanged by their heals, others by their necks with their throats cut. Inhuman barbarity! One Hale in New York, on suspicion of being a spy, was taken up and dragged without ceremony to the execution post and hung up.” (A Letter from September 28th 1776)

“We hanged up a rebel spy the other day, and some soldiers got, out of a rebel Gentleman’s garden, a painted soldier on a board, and hung it along with the Rebel; and wrote upon it, General Washington, and I saw it yesterday beyond headquarters by the roadside.” (Kentish Gazette, November 1776)

“A spy from the enemy (by his own full confession) apprehended last night, was this day executed at 11 o’clock in front of Artillery Park.” (General Howe’s diary)

“The Enemy charged some stragglers of our people that happened to be in New York with having set the City on Fire designedly and took that occasion as we were told to exercise some inhuman Crueltys on those poor Wretches that were in their power.” (Committee of Secret Correspondence to Silas Deane 1st October 1776)

What does all this mean?

Hamilton probably wasn’t there (but I can’t make a call on that for sure!)

basically, it’s clear that the primary sources on Hale’s death are few, and somewhat contradictory in places. I found it super interesting, and thought y’all might too! Please keep in mind I’m not calling William Hull a liar (and I definitely haven’t done anywhere near enough research to say anything conclusively!)

But I definitely think it’s always worth examining what we think we know from primary sources. And it’s very fun!

[k-comfyspace]

Time

Star: Jung Jinsoul (Loona)

Idea: ➶No

Days and nights has been hard, but distance would truly test your love. Has she Got what it takes?

Jinsoul couldn’t wait.

She didn’t know if she could contain herself. Sitting in her van, she bounced her feet on the carpeted floor. Even her manager could sense the joy coming out of the idol. It was practically radiating off her.

The way she smiled, while her eyes darted from the surroundings outside the window, she didn’t know what to look at that would lower her excitement.

Some would question her, wondering why she was so energized at three am. Was it because she was relieved to be off schedule? Or was it because she got to eat tteokbokki before she left?

As the van stopped across the street from an apartment, she didn’t wait any longer, taking her bag, and sprinted out. Thanking her manager as she ran as fast as she could.

From the door of the apartment, you came out, sporting a black coat while you looked at the ground, not paying any mind to your surroundings, but when you felt a sudden force knock into you, an apology was the first thing you planned to say to the person you had hit.

But when you felt arms wrapping around your body and a familiar scent of cologne, a smile replaced the worried look before hugging back.

"Did you just get here?" you muttered, nuzzling your cheek against the top of her head while Jinsoul pushed her head towards the crook of your neck.

You rested your chin against the top of her head. Seeing the black van, you waved at it. More of greeting her manager before it drove away,

"We've just arrived," she replied, her hug tightening before you turned around, almost carrying the girl inside until the doors to the elevator opened.

Jinsoul pulled away, keeping her hand intertwined with yours as you got inside the lift.

When both of you got back to your apartment, it was quiet, with only your stack of papers on the table that you had left, planning to finish them tomorrow before submitting them to your parents.

All you wanted, for now, was to be with Jinsoul in the quiet night, which was perfect as Jinsoul whisked you away to the bedroom, jumping to your bed while hugging you, trying her best to remove the space in between you two as possible.

There weren't many words exchanged, only basking in the cold night, only having each other to keep yourselves warm.

Due to the time you had spent so far away from each other, it wasn’t much of a challenge, as both of you felt warm in each other’s presence.

While you share your warmth, love, and comfort with the girl in your arms, your heart is content.

"Jinsoul unnie,"

The blonde opened her eyes, adjusting to the bright light before she groaned, "We have schedule today, get up," she shifted her eyes towards the voice, through her blurry eyes, noticing Yerim shaking her with a smile.

Jinsoul didn't respond until a few minutes later when she heard the rest already talking in the living room. So she sat up, stretching her body before standing up from her bed.

She shook her head, recalling her dream before a soft sigh escaped from her lips. It was a wonderful time to be alive, to be in a safe space with your loved ones; Jinsoul only wished it could have lasted longer.

Yet again, it was the distance that proved to be difficult. It’s been months since the last time she visited and she didn’t know if she could handle one more week without it.

But lucky for her, this was the last week of promotions before they would have a few days off. So, surely she will take advantage of it.

--

The week went by pretty fast, considering all the long hours the girls spent awake.

Now sitting in the black van Jinsoul once again had the same excitement she always felt when coming to visit with you. She didn’t mind that the girls came with her.

In fact, she was happy that every single one of the girls chose to come without Jinsoul even mentioning that she was coming to see you.

But with an extra stop at the flower shop before they continued their journey.

When Jinsoul saw the black gates, she could already feel her eyes watering. It’s been too long since she was in this place.

Stepping out, she inhaled deeply, the smell of the morning dew and the grass making her nostalgic. Surely she needed a lot of apologies for being gone so long, without any notice for that matter.

They walked down the path, Jinsoul first as she held the flowers, already memorizing the path like it was the back of her hand. Each step she took grew heavier and heavier, tears stinging her eyes until she turned, stopping near the stone benches before she crouched down.

Her parents must have arrived earlier, as she wiped her tears before placing the flowers on the grass next to the burnt out candles.

"Hey, baby," she muttered quietly, placing her hand on the cold stone as she closed her eyes.

"I know it’s been too long since I visited. You’ll forgive me, right?"

She spoke, each word further increasing the number of tears she shed while her members were standing behind her. Watching their member, feeling sympathetic with her situation.

Even though it had been four years since the news, the wound was still raw,

"B-but on the bright side, we have a lot of stories we want to tell you-you," Haseul took out the blanket, spreading it out, while the girls took out the candles and fixed each end of the blanket. Each of them takes their own spot while keeping silent.

Letting Jinsoul have her moment as she cleaned up the piles of wax and replaced them with new candles.

They knew how hard this hit their member, so they knew when the time was right that Jinsoul would answer or talk to them.

Jinsoul's worst enemy was distance. Four years she spent away from your touch, your warmth, your comfort that you brought to her when you held her in your arms.

She would give up anything to have another day with you, more time that she could use to tell you just how much she loved you.

But the world will always wait till the last second before it screws everything over, right?

So she could only sit there, quiet, as she let her tears out once more.

Eventually, she uncurled from her small bubble, turning to face the girls, who gave her encouraging smiles before she took out the food they had packed and ate it.

Then the stories came, each of them telling stories that they knew would get a laugh out of you, some stories teasing the other members, while some conveyed how much they would’ve wanted you to be there, especially now during their comeback.

"We love you, I love you," Jinsoul muttered, her hand still resting against the stone before she felt a gentle breeze against her cheek, a small smile gracing her lips before she stood up, turning to face her members before they walked away.

Each of them was already continuing the conversation where it had left off.

Jinsoul was in her mind at the time, reminiscing about the memories both of you had together.

It almost seemed like yesterday when she was with you in bed. Cuddling each other as you basked in each other’s warmth, only being pulled away when Yeojin called her, wanting to tell her a joke and trying to cheer her up once she saw the older drifting again.

And while she couldn't be more grateful to have the girls by her side, she secretly wished, almost desired, to travel back in time and tell you everything.

[polpoka]

Neighbor Au

Characters- Kim Rok Soo, Alberu Crossman, Lee Soo Hyuk, Choi  Jung Soo, Tasha

Ratings- K+

Shippings- Kimrokberu

Type- (Fluff)

Part 5

((CW. mentioned racism))

The tray made a harsh clink as Alberu set it in front of Taerang, who was sitting on the lignum vitae chair, on the coffee table which formed a complete set with the said chair.

“So, sir, in the end,” Taerang took a pause to sip on the tea the host had provided, though he was the junior, “Did you tell him your name?”

Alberu averted his eyes, before answering in a low voice, “...Yes.”

Taerang sighed. He cared about his employer a lot, especially because of the fact that they had known each other for quite some time, and in that time, he had come to realize rather early on, that Alberu was rather soft on the inside, despite his harsh mannerisms and stern appearance. He cared far too deeply for people and always hesitated to let a connection go. It would be bad in their line of work, but well, sometimes it was necessary. 

He remembered the way the younger college student had always shook his hand rather than barking at him and treating him like a meagre guard. Even though he was one, who had been given to him as a present for his achievements by his former ‘owner’, Angelica and right before Choi Jung Gun, and before that his guardian, Ahn Mon Ran. 

He was always viewed as a tool, almost always at least, Ahn Mon Ran had no other option but to give him to Choi Jung Gun because of the hand the man had on him.

He asked once again, “Did you say anything that even remotely points out the fact that made the person think that you’re part of the elite Crossman family, and not your average joe?”

Alberu still didn’t meet Taerang’s eyes. Taerang knew what that meant and unfortunately Alberu did too. 

Alberu struggled to meet Taerang’s eyes, “I’m sorry, hyung-”

“Don’t call me that right now, sir. You know you’re in trouble. Big time.”

Taerang took a sip of his lavender tea which had been poured til the brim of the teacup, “You were the one who originally asked for these rules to be made, and we can’t break them, since you specifically gave us instructions not to. No matter what you say at the time.”

Taerang looked at the man who was fidgeting anxiously. He knew why these rules were a safety precaution, and he didn’t want Alberu to go through that experience again. Well, technically speaking, he wasn’t there but he was told the story, and he didn’t like it either way, not one bit. 

Alberu also knew the reasons, and the repercussions, and yet it felt horrible. He knew why this had happened, and he didn’t want it to happen again but still. He looked at the table silently for a moment, thinking about the various possibilities which seemed to end with his heartbreak. 

Kim Rok Soo didn’t seem like the guy who would take advantage of him, he just didn’t. Not to mention, the connection- the connection felt as if he was a gust of wind that had finally found his tree, but he knew that in the end, this was the best move he could play. If he stayed, he had no idea what to do. 

Would he confront Kim Rok Soo? 

Would he pretend never to see him again, despite knowing that his heart longed for the other? 

That would just be running away, but Alberu wasn’t even sure what Kim Rok Soo would want. He thought that Kim Rok Soo was free, and that he, a caged bird could never compare, even if he liquidised all his assets he couldn’t compare with that man, and so, he might as well not trouble the other. 

Alberu was determined, yet this time he felt like he couldn’t win. A feeling he hadn’t felt for a long time. It reminded him of the time he had to deal with his dad, and those were memories he would rather not recall, but he was sure a broken person like him didn’t deserve Kim Rok Soo. 

After this short exchange with himself, he looked at Taerang, his eyes looked soulless, and his voice was brittle as he spoke, “So let’s go through with it.”

Taerang felt something inside of him break, he couldn’t do anything but agree, “...Yes, let’s go through, sir.”

Alberu took a short sip of the liquid that had been sitting in front of him untouched, “Ah look, it’s gone cold.”

***

Kim Rok Soo’s apartment was in an overly pristine condition, despite it normally being clean, Choi Jung Soo could tell that he had cleaned the place intensely a couple of hours earlier. The yellow evening lights had been switched on a few hours ago and the three men were sitting on the floor on a neatly maintained rug, with more than an average number of bottles that three men should consume in a single night being kept on the table. It seemed that they had all acknowledged that the only function of the table right now was to act as storage. 

“Rok Soo-ya?” Choi Jung Soo asked, waving his hand over the other’s face.

“Ah,” Kim Rok Soo blinked, adjusting his eyes to the light, before replying to the call of this man, “Yes?”

Choi Jung Soo took a seat next to him and could easily notice a couple of things that were odd off the bat. For example, the eyebags were deeper, he wasn’t paying attention at all, which even when separated from these discrepancies was odd. Not to mention he was drinking a lot, almost as if he was trying to get drunk. Even though Choi Jung Soo knew that Kim Rok Soo was aware of his own tolerance, which was inhumanly high, something must have happened and it was definitely not a good thing, seeing as the way Kim Rok Soo looked and acted. 

Choi Jung Soo patted the other’s head gently, you could hear the tease in his tone, “What’s wrong?” 

“Don’t really want to talk about it…Could you pour another one?” the other responded with a burnt out tone, letting the hand rest there. 

‘I guess it didn’t go well.’ Choi Jung Soo poured another cup for himself, using the nearest half filled bottle, before filling Kim Rok Soo’s cup. 

Lee Soo Hyuk on the other hand, was drinking a little too much than what a forty year old liver could take. He’d drunk two bottles. Downing them like they’re soup, well not like his dongsaeng hadn’t drunk about three bottles of the same type of strong alcohol in one sitting. 

‘Really, the people around me really don’t take care of themselves,’ thought Choi Jung Soo drinking down his seventh cup of scotch. He sighed and looked at Kim Rok Soo, he was sure it was a rejection. 

Kim Rok Soo felt like throwing up. He wanted to throw up all his feelings related to his former neighbor. It had only been a day, he wasn’t that close- So it wouldn’t be hard at all, if that was the case, right? 

“Who am I kidding, of course not.” he murmured. 

“Hmm?” the one beside him asked, “Is something wron-” Before Choi Jung Soo could finish his question, he was tackled with  a hug from the one he had presumed to be on the other end of the table. 

“Rok Soo yaaaaa~ Don’t worry, these kinds of things will always happen.” 

Choi Jung Soo struggled to escape the bear hug he had, without his knowledge, stepped into. “Hyung- Kim Rok Soo is there- There-” he tried to point to the clearly dispirited Kim Rok Soo, failing and being pinned to the floor, while Lee Soo Hyuk fell asleep on him. 

Gradually, Choi Jung Soo too, started losing consciousness, albeit something he did not sign up for, and drifting to sleep, while Kim Rok Soo was sitting in the end of the line of drunkards, well two pass outs and one drunk. 

Kim Rok Soo shuffled to get the two blankets to cover his hyungs before getting his own to join in on the pile of corpses. He shifted the table a bit, and tucked himself to make the rug a little more comfortable to lie on.  He tried to close his eyes, but he simply couldn’t. His mind was haunted by the brunette, and not in a good way. He turned to a couch, which brought back the incident that occured day before yesterday. He shifted once more, this time to look at the faces of his hyungs, this again reminded him of the time they were so excited about the whole soulmate jamboree. 

Everything reminded Kim Rok Soo of Alberu, and he didn’t like it. No matter how hard he tried he could simply not forget the man. He had a striking appearance and a discernable mark on his life, despite them knowing each other for a day. 

They hadn’t met each other since Kim Rok Soo had moved here, which was 6 years ago. Well, that was partly Kim Rok Soo’s fault for thinking that it was too much work to meet his neighbours, and he just ended it with seeing his then 24-year-old neighbour, who was too busy with his work once. 

Now, he regretted his decision. If only he had met him earlier. If only he hadn’t ignored his neighbour. These thoughts were the only ones going through his head that night, as he kept on twisting and turning, before finally finding a comfortable position to sleep in.

***

Alberu got up to an undesired nostalgia of mahogany furniture and neatly lined bookshelves along with the scent of cookies permeating the room. It wasn’t dense but rather a soft scent, being accompanied by a denser scent of black coffee. 

What was strange, was the fact that there was no coffee in the vicinity, and he knew his aunt, much like him, leaned towards tea. He was a bit curious about the fragrance but didn’t want to give it much thought as his brain was more preoccupied with other means- Kim Rok Soo. 

How would he deal with him? 

Alberu was fully aware of what a jerk he was being. He knew that it had been very unfair of him to just straight up leave.

“Aunt Tasha-” he called out to the similar looking black haired woman, her eyes glistened. Her hair was cut short which gave her a gentle look. 

“Yes?” she answered with a hum.

“So…” he couldn’t help but fidget in worry, was he allowed to ask such a thing in the first place? He knew fully well that what his aunt was doing was for his best interests, for his sake. 

Yet, it bugged him. 

He wanted to see the other man desperately. 

It nagged at him. 

Like a gnawing frostbite that never seemed to go away. 

“Speak up, Alberu. You know I’m willing to listen so take your time.” 

Alberu looked at her, always supportive of him no matter what he wanted to do. Always watching, and he felt guilty about that.

Alberu gripped his arm, he told himself that he had to remain firm. This was just a simple and easy task, so what was he getting all anxious about?

“I think I found my soulmate,” Alberu blurted out, wanting to get it over with. It made him feel a bit too bizarre, a feeling he didn't enjoy. He thought a little about the man, his calming, and sarcastic attitude. It made him smile lovingly and softly, it was almost invisible.

When he saw Tasha’s eyes, his smile fell apart, she didn’t meet his eyes with the same gaze he did. Her face was instead painted with a base of shock, and another which was an even more unfavourable expression on it; outrage. 

One glance is all it took for Tasha to assess the situation. She had already been informed by Taerang about his leaked identity, which in itself had been surprising. Tasha could smell the coffee and cookies off her nephew. She didn’t know how it got there since they had no coffee at home, and she knew her nephew didn’t drink coffee, and buttered chocolate cookies. It would have been plausible if he hadn’t come out of the bedroom.

She knew what this meant, the boy had found his soulmate, but she also knew one thing– you could have problems with your past lover. It was like any relationship, simply adding in the strong connection. It wasn’t that big of a deal as people made it up to be.

After all, her sister had also been in a similar kind of relationship and she easily got replaced. Zed had simply thrown her away when he realized that his soul mark had appeared again. It was plausible that the bad luck might have carried from the mother to the son. Even though deep down, she was sure that wasn’t the case. She was worried, and terribly, terribly protective of her nephew, for he was the only one part of her sister that had remained in the world of the living. Being a soulmate had led to her sister’s heartbreak and eventual death, and perhaps it wouldn’t be as severe in Alberu’s case, but he had suffered enough after his mother’s death, she concluded. 

“You found a soulmate?” she asked, her expression now a bit less animated than her previous one, but Alberu could tell that she was not pleased one bit. 

He had a rough idea why but he wasn’t all that into the details. He was young when his mother and ‘father’ divorced, and he knew how his mother had committed suicide after a weeks of the unusual event. After that, he knew how his life had spiralled down to. She died without gaining custody of her child because Alberu’s talents had been noteworthy and rather eye-catching and Zed thought the boy would fetch a pretty price as a showpiece. 

He wasn’t wrong per se, but the exposure to the life of adults had dimmed his young eyes that had been previously filled with life. He had gotten used to going days without proper food and water, and that he wasn’t allowed anything as an emotional support. He wasn’t allowed to have a weakness, if he wanted to stay with his worth.

He had been locked, neglected, even abused if his scores or position went a bit under than perfect. Well, that was at first, then it escalated to him being the outsider of the ‘family’. 

Alberu had noted at the ripe age of eighteen, the people he lived with were hypocrites. In private they would always say the opposite of what they said under the public eye.

‘The shame of this house.’

‘The joy of our family.’

‘You dirty leech. Shouldn’t you be working non-stop? You live here rent free anyway.’

‘He’s always such a darling brother of mine. I simply worry that he works too hard for his own good.’

‘Disgusting. That skin of yours looks so ugly, maybe it’d be better if we got rid of it’

‘He looks so handsome too! He looks just like father, well his skin tone doesn’t matter.’

‘Don’t you get it? You don’t have a place here.’

‘Even though he looks different, he fits right in. Exactly, it's petty to not care about someone who shares the same blood as your sons just because they have a different skin tone.’

They weren’t memories he would want to remember at all, even though they constantly played on his mind like a broken record player. Constantly. 

That’s why he trusted his Aunt’s judgement, for she was the only one who had helped him get out of that hellhole. It was her acceptance that Alberu wanted the most.

Alberu nodded, in return to which Tasha’s unamusement became even more apparent with a long sigh. She was very reluctant to entrust her nephew in anyone’s hand, and the thought of him getting used made her boil over with rage, and so she simply cut off the communication between the two, by a few words, “Alberu, I don’t approve.”

***

Kim Rok Soo grumbled at the white noise that was playing on repeat in the background. He could hear the chattering that was going on between the two other men in the house. He laid on the makeshift bed until he heard a ringtone. A particular ringtone which made him sure of the person on the other line. 

‘Basen.’

He stretched his hand out to reach his phone, still remaining tucked in his blanket and refusing to move. By the third ring of the phone, he had successfully maneuvered himself in a way that he could stay comfortable and pick up the phone. He finally received it.

“Hello?” The voice on the other end greeted Kim Rok Soo. 

Kim Rok Soo, still groggy and voice still unsettled, spoke in a lower tone than his usual. It sounded synonymous to the croak of a frog, “Good morning Basen. What makes you call this early?”

Basen knew that tone belonged to his uncle, and he also knew that this was the tone of voice he had in the morning before he had even gotten up from bed. He’d found out so from the several sleepovers he had with him. Still it was odd to hear his voice this deep. Had his Ahjussi been drinking? “Uncle Rok Soo, how much did you drink last night?”

“Why do you ask?” Kim Rok Soo said, shuffling in the sheets, shifting his movements ever so slightly to stay within the warmth of the blanket that covered him up completely like a cocoon.

“Have you still not gotten up?” Basen asked, his tone a bit shocked.

Kim Rok Soo hummed to give an affirmative response.

Basen sighed, “Do you know what time it is?”

“It’s...” He slurred while reordering his position to face the clock. “Three.”

Basen sighed, his voice then went low as he turned his face away from his phone “Haaaa... What’s that Pen?” 

Kim Rok Soo’s ears perked up, “Pen’s there?”

He could hear Basen crack up a bit, “Uncle Rok Soo, you attended the wedding, didn’t you? We’re married, so of course we’re living together.”

Kim Rok Soo relaxed again remembering the joyous event that had taken place a month ago, “Ah, yeah yeah.”

Basen slid the phone between his ear and shoulder, “Uncle, are you still out of it?”

Kim Rok Soo twisted his head, cocking it out of the blanket. “Maybe,” he yawned. 

“Rok Soo-ya? You’re finally up?” Kim Rok Soo saw Lee Soo Hyuk standing in front of him. 

“Um, yeah.” Kim Rok Soo lazily replied. 

“Ah,” Basen said from the other end, “If Lee Soo Hyuk Ahjussi is there, why not give him the phone, and probably freshen up.”

Kim Rok Soo nodded and handed the phone to Lee Soo Hyuk, while informing the other person about his nephew, “It’s Basen, he wants to talk to you.”

Lee Soo Hyuk’s face quirked up to form a grin, “It’s been a long time since he’s talked to me, has he been busy with his lover?”

Kim Rok Soo looked over and casually answered,“Their honeymoon did get over a few weeks earlier. So it is a  possibility.”

Lee Soo Hyuk sighed while taking the phone from Kim Rok Soo, “Aiya, I really am getting old. Everyone around me is getting married or starting to date someone. Ah, the woes of an old man.”

He heard an annoyed voice from the far side of the kitchen, “Did you forget that you’ve been with your lover for over 15 years, Mr. old man?”

The mention of Lee Soo Hyuk’s lover made Kim Rok Soo think about his friend, “Ah, I need to talk about the details about the meeting with Beacrox.”

Lee Soo Hyuk turned to him, his head tilted to the right, “He has been talking about that too. Do you have something in mind for the day?”

Kim Rok Soo could feel the headache rushing over him like a tidal wave, “I'll talk later, I need to wash my face and brush.” 

“Oh wait, before you go-” Lee Soo Hyuk stopped him, causing Kim Rok Soo to turn, “You kinda smell like aloe vera? I didn’t know you kept any plants here?”

Kim Rok Soo pulled his t-shirt to sniff it, indeed, it smelled like the said succulent. He furrowed his eyebrows. It was odd, but it was too much for his woozy head to think about. 

He pulled himself out of the mattress and walked to the bathroom, lazily scratching his hay-like hair. His eyes lazily lolled around, scanning the surroundings of his own apartment as if it was something foreign. He sighed, standing there for a moment facing his reflection in the mirror. 

He ran his fingers through the messy strands that gently lay on the shoulder, remembering Alberu’s fingers cold touch. They were hardened and felt like they had been holding a pen their entire life, never wanting to try anything else, though Kim Rok Soo thought that Alberu merely never got the time to engage in hobbies. 

‘That’s not how hair gel works, hyung.’ 

He remembered the annoyed tone the man could endlessly fill his voice with. He splashed some water on his eyes, still wondering where the other had gone. It would be quite foolish to disappear if he were fearing rejection, if that is the reason the dark man had disappeared, he would think of the said man to be quite dense to not recognize Kim Rok Soo’s feelings towards himself.

***

Alberu tried to keep the volume down as he washed the dishes in the empty and eerily huge villa’s secluded kitchen. To be fair, it wasn’t empty, there were servants and Aunt Tasha was lounging in the living room. 

His mind was currently occupied with his aunt’s reaction.

He didn’t expect such a strong rejection since he believed his aunt would be a little more liberal towards this aspect. 

However, Alberu knew the reason why his aunt was overprotective since he was well aware of what happened to his mother. Sure, he understood why she didn’t want him to date Kim Rok Soo, but she also refused to acknowledge that his soulmate was different than his mother’s and it wasn’t fair to not give him a chance. Or at least give him the benefit of the doubt.

‘Bitten once, twice as shy, I guess.’ He thought, sighing. 

He simply wanted to meet Kim Rok Soo, simply wanted to check something, a simple gut feeling. 

An instinct. 

Normally, he would have ignored it, but it was a sensation that he couldn’t help but dwell upon. It wasn’t gripping, more like a mild fever that had come over him. He thought that it was something that would easily go away and not bother him anymore, yet it stuck persistently, that it can’t help but get noticed no matter how much he tried to look the other way. 

It felt real and that scared Alberu. 

He didn’t hate the feeling of love. 

It was just that, he was so scared of being involved with it, that it felt like he couldn’t breathe. 

The so-called love he knew was only based on the last sole affection he’s gotten from his mother. 

He believed that Kim Rok Soo wouldn’t be the kind of person to ‘love’ him. Alberu wasn’t the type to have gotten everything in his life in a neatly packaged bow, and that included his relationships all the more. 

Love? He couldn't trust it nor did he have the guts to risk letting the feeling take over him.

Any relationship he tried to maintain didn’t end on a good note, for numerous reasons. Even though his face wasn’t shown and he had a fake surname, his previous partners always knew he was rich. His arranged marriage partners thought of him as a mere money milking tool or someone who would just settle for just a crumb of bread. 

The idea of that appalled Alberu. Somehow he couldn’t think of it in a good light. He didn’t want to be the sort of person who would force someone to be with him just for his money.

If that was the case he was better off without anyone. 

But why was it that he couldn’t forget about him?

That man, who had seen him in his most vulnerable state had simply accepted it. Had waved off the thought that he was odd or unbelonging. He had given him the chance to feel these new sets of emotions he thought he would never experience in his lifetime.

Unbeknownst to Alberu, his hands were working fast and intensely out of all the stress. Only when he heard a loud clang was he snapped back to reality. His eyes immediately darted to the cause of the noise, which was a plate that had slipped from his hands and had fallen into the sink. 

Alberu stared at it for a bit, sighed and washed it. 

It was a good thing it didn’t break.

After neatly placing it in the dryer, he walked out of the kitchen and took a seat in the hall on the coach facing his aunt’s. 

She tore her eyes away from the book she was reading to face him. Tasha noticed the lost look in his eyes, and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Alberu blinked, turning his gaze away from the table and meeting his aunt’s, “Nothing. Absolutely nothing.” He said, picking up a book lying on the Pacini e Cappellini coffee table to read. 

Tasha sighed, sticking a bookmark between her copy of ‘War and Peace’, marking her progress in rereading the classic, “Are you still bothered by it?”

Alberu tried to feign ignorance, “By what?”

“We both know what you’re thinking about.” Tasha knew that he wouldn’t outright address the topic. He was far too self constricted with her for that.

Alberu met her eyes, but still had his eyes glazed over, it was as if he actually had no idea of what his aunt was talking about, “Like I said, what?”

Tasha however, was having none of that, she knew Alberu since he was a baby albeit she was young during those turbulent times. She motioned her hand as if she was pointing to the person in question, “Your soulmate, whoever that may be.” 

“Huh.” Alberu mused, making it painfully obvious for Tasha to tell he was unimpressed, “What about my soulmate?” 

Tasha, also aware of his current ‘yearnings’ spoke without batting an eye, “You want to meet them.”

“I sure do, but there’s someone who's preventing that, isn’t there?” He said, finally keeping his book down and sending his aunt a glare that was trying very hard not to reveal its true intentions.

Tasha got annoyed at the misconception Alberu had of her. She was doing this for him. How couldn’t he not get it?“ You know that I’m doing this for your sake. Your mother died because–”

“–Of her soulmate.” Alberu completed her sentence. He had heard it for so many times he was sure that was what the next few words entailed. He sighed.

“Aunt,” He said in a chilling voice, he was the closest to his aunt but there was definitely a line that shouldn’t be crossed. 

Not everything was about his mother. He was well aware how his mother’s death had unfolded but not everyone was like his father, not everyone was as egregious as that man. 

“I understand your concerns but do remember.” He paused to take a good look at his aunt, “I am not my mother,” he took another pause “and I never will be.” 

Alberu could never be his mother. His mother was pure, and charismatic, not to mention she was the incarnation of beauty itself. Never attempting any foul means, she tried hard. She died protecting him. 

And he could never be, not even an inch close to being as great as her. Or so he believed.

Tasha looked the other way, “I know that…but it still scares me. What if they lose interest in you and desert you–”

Alberu sighed again. The next few words he had said out of the simple motivation to prove Tasha wrong about soulmates, and snag a lover in one quick move. “Alright, since you are so bothered by the fact that they’ll cheat on me or lose interest. Let me put forward the idea of a bet. I’ll not visit my soulmate for two months and after those two months, let’s see whether they get over me in that period of time.” ‘–well formally, I won’t be meeting him.’

Alberu thought about it for a moment. He would use himself and Kim Rok Soo as an experiment. He set a bet like that out of impulse to prove her wrong. Even though he wouldn’t mind if he had really moved on, a part of him wanted to know the outcome to all this as well.

If fate would really allow them to be together, or would it be another curse that had befallen since his mother’s time? 

Would things be different?

He didn’t know the answer to that. That was why he did this. That was why he made this stupid bet to at least convince himself that it was alright for him to love, or just have believed in his Aunt’s words in the first place.

Alberu was not the type to easily trust people but this time he wanted to try.

He wanted to try and place a bit of his faith on that man.  

Tasha, who was also right at the end of her wits from this conversation, agreed in a fit of confusion and annoyance with the flow of the conversation, wanting it to end, “Ok, fine. Let’s do just that. When should we start?”

Alberu asked, also getting riled up, “How about right this second?”

Tasha leaned back, “Alright then. For 2 months which start at 5pm December 8th, 2XXX until 5pm February 8th, 2XXX(+1). Deal?”

“Deal.” 

“Ok then. Taerang, write this down.” Tasha crossed her arms together, her eyes still lingering at her nephew who broke eye contact.

“Yes ma’am.” The mostly stationary man, who had been sitting on the chair beside Alberu finally spoke.

‘Now that this was sorted,’ thought Alberu, ‘I have to contact him, I guess. Hoo boy, this is gonna be a whole different game to play.’

[narakurosaki]

title: jealousy

collection: equivalent exchange

summary: the resembool trio attend resembool’s summer festival. unfortunately, jealousy isn’t a good look on a certain elric brother.

rating: t

words: 4173

accepting prompts!

read on ao3

. . .

It reeks of sheep shit.

Resembool was known as a sheep-farming town, using the gathered wool to craft Amestrian military uniforms. The smell shouldn’t be a surprise, but the awful odor still causes Edward to gag. He’s grown used to the shit-free scents encountered across Amestris during his travels—Central reeked of car fumes and smoke from factories; Dublith had become associated with the stench of blood and raw meat thanks to the Curtis’ butcher shop; Liore held the scent of sand in its air; and Briggs stunk of overpriced coffee. The scent of shit in the air had even overwhelmed Alphonse, bringing up his earlier lunch the moment the brothers stepped off of the train. It was the scent of home, he’d smiled, spitting the taste of bile into a nearby trash can. Edward begged to differ. There’s a reason he prefers to stay indoors, the smell of burnt electrical wiring and oil mixing with the mouthwatering scent of freshly baked apple pie.

The strumming of a guitar, the banging of a drum, and the clapping of hands are like nails against a chalkboard. Reaembool’s annual summer festival was in full swing, complete with food, drinks, rigged games, and dancing. Alphonse had been counting down the days since summer began, crossing each passing day off of the calendar until the circled date had approached. He’d gained enough physical strength since returning home to walk without the aid of a crutch—he looked like a proper fifteen-year-old boy, now; his bones no longer protruded from his skin, and he’d even began gaining a healthy amount of belly fat. Edward and Winry had worried themselves silly when Al announced he would partake in dancing with old friends, but Pinako had assured them that Alphonse knew what his body could handle. Still, Edward watches the dance floor for a glimpse of his little brother, spinning in circles with a different girl than before.

The moment dancing was mentioned, however, Edward bid the two farewell, wandering aimlessly along the riverbank. It drained him to be around Resembool citizens his age—they often posed questions regarding his newfound flesh arm, or inquired about his time spent in the military. Some even asked him to perform alchemy, unintentionally striking a cord within him. The friends he and Al had made in grade school weren’t forced to grow up far too quickly. As far as he was concerned, he, Al, and Winry were the most mature teenagers in town.

But, he understood Alphonse’s want to mingle. He deserved to be carefree after spending so long as a suit of armor. Winry tagged along to keep him company, arguing with Edward about ditching his younger brother. She’d yelled that he was a fucking jerk and to go home if he was going to act like that.

He sighs. Things with her had gotten incredibly confusing as of late. Maybe that was his fault; he had kissed her two days ago, and had barely spoken a word to her since. Could that be adding fuel to the fire that was her anger with him for ditching Alphonse? Could that be why he’s been seeing glimpses of her in the distance, spun around the dance floor by another man, a grin on her face?

His hands ball into fists, a fire burning in the pit of his stomach. He knows he shouldn’t care—Winry was free to dance with whoever she wanted. They weren’t dating, after all. They’d only kissed briefly one night, and Edward had scurried back to his room before she could ask what it meant. Perhaps this was payback, not that he would blame her. He deserves it.

To his right, leaves crunch beneath someone’s feet. He lifts his head, averting his gaze from the sheep, searching for the source. Illuminated by the moonlight reflecting off of the river are golden eyes, closed as their owner smiles. Alphonse holds his hand up in a friendly wave.

“You’re missing out,” he speaks into the silence, settling beside his older brother. “We’re having a lot of fun back there.”

“Trust me,” Edward waves a hand, dismissively, “I’m well aware.”

He chances a glance back at the dance floor. It’s easy enough to pick Winry out from the others—long blonde hair that flows freely down her back, a pretty white dress that ends just below her knees, a bright smile that makes his heart race in his chest. There’s a pair of hands at her waist, and Edward squints to make out who they belong to. It’s Benjamin Thompson, a local farmer boy that Ed knew nothing of, other than his hatred for him in this moment. Winry’s arms are wrapped loosely around his neck. She throws her head back to laugh at something he’s whispered in her ear. The hair on the back of Ed’s neck stands on end.

“You could’ve danced with her, you know.”

He looks to Al, brow furrowed. “These festivals aren’t exactly my style.”

Alphonse rolls his eyes. “Would it kill you to think of someone other than yourself for once?” He leans partially into the pen, running his hand through sheep wool, one by one. “You think Winry wants to dance with those guys?”

Edward drops his gaze to the sheep gathering around his brother’s hand. “Sure seems like it.”

Several sheep baa in Al’s direction. He smiles and reaches his other hand in, commenting that he will gladly pet them all if they would wait their turn. He cranes his head to look at Edward. “She’s trying to make the best out of a bad situation, Brother. Do you know how confused she must be? You spent an absurd amount of money on that ring toss game just to win her that bear she said was cute.”

Ed drags his right hand along the length of his jaw. He had only want to make her happy with that damned plush bear. Seeing Winry smile was one of the greatest sights to behold. While Edward pumped a fist in the air upon landing the winning toss, Winry was jumping up

and down with excitement as the attendant fetched her prize. She’d hugged it so tightly, Edward had joked that she’d squeeze the stuffing out of it.

“…I kissed her the other night.”

It’s spoken so suddenly, so out of no where, that Alphonse removes his hands from the sheep pen. They baa in annoyance, to which Edward glares at them. Stupid, smelly, annoying things.

“You…” Al’s jaw goes slack. It’s evident in the way his cheeks twitch that he wants to smile. His expression remains blank. “When? How? Why didn’t anyone tell me?”

Edward offers a lazy shrug. “Two nights ago. We were saying goodnight in the hall and it just… happened. It wasn’t anything big.”

“Are you kidding!?” Al runs both hands through his short, golden hair. “Brother, Ed, this is huge! I’ve been waiting for you two to do something since we got back home!” A groan escapes him. His head falls forward, bangs bouncing against his forehead. “Leave it to you to screw things up.”

Where a retort from the elder Elric would be, there is only silence. He looks back at the sheep, now wandering and munching on grass. He begins to pull at the fingers of his right hand. “Maybe she’ll kiss someone else, tonight. She seems pretty comfortable with that Benjamin jackass.”

He can feel his brother’s golden eyes on him, feel the judgment as though it were rain drops upon his skin. Alphonse breathes a sigh from his nose. “There’s a way to fix this, but if you’re going to be stubborn I can’t help you. I have to get back to the dance—I promised Angela I’d dance with her.”

Ed gives a nod.

Al pats his brother’s shoulder, an act of comfort, before making his return to the dance floor. Edward wrings his hands together. A few sheep linger near him, desperate for the human touch Alphonse had offered. Ed only scoffs.

“One way to fix it my ass,” he grouses, gripping the wood until his knuckles go white. “No way in hell am I prying her away from some redneck just to beg her to give me another chance.”

He pushes himself away from the sheep pen, the wood creaking in defiance. The sound alerts the sheep, and a dozen pair of eyes settle on him. “Oh, you guys gonna judge me, too?” But the sheep quickly return to their grazing. Ed rolls his eyes and shoved his hands into his trouser pockets. He begins the trek back to the Rockbell house.

If he looks, he can still see Winry dancing with the Thompson boy. His face is burnt from the sun, his messy brown hair falls in his eyes, and he grins from ear-to-ear as he spins Winry around like he knows what he’s doing. His wears a red and white checkered button up shirt with a basic pair of blue jeans and boots. Edward grits his teeth. The outfit was practically the standard amongst the working men of Resembool—Ed and Al had influence from the cities of Amestris when it came to their fashion. It made Edward feel overdressed at this stupid festival, walking around in a white button up with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, a pair of black slacks covering his ass, and black boots on his feet. Alphonse had dressed similarly, and Ed often heard the girls gossiping about how handsome he looked. At least it worked out for him, in the end.

He pushes his bangs back and flexes his jaw. Maybe his behavior had pushed Winry into the arms of another man, as Al suggested. There was no fixing it now, not in his mind, anyway. He and Winry had fought shortly after he’d won her that stupid stuffed bear. He wouldn’t blame her if she’d tossed it in the river out of anger. He’d fucked up pretty badly.

The sounds of the festival—instruments, laughter and chatter, the stomping of feet—begin to fade the more distance Edward puts between them. He watches his feet carry him down the familiar path home, kicking any rock that stands in his way. Granny would ask why he was home so early the moment he walked through the door. There wasn’t any use lying to her—she could read him like a book—but he didn’t want to talk about it, either. He planned to climb up the stairs and settle in his bed, doing his best to forget what he’d seen and sleep the remainder of the night away.

Maybe if he hadn’t acted so stupid after kissing her. Maybe if he’d manned up and discussed how he felt, he wouldn’t be in the situation he was now. But he’d learned at a young age that there was no fixing your mistakes. At least, no easily, and this one seemed beyond repair.

“Dammit, Ed, what are you doing?”

He stops to look over his shoulder, the familiar voice catching him off guard. He blinks, eyes widening as his brain registers the sight before him: Winry is running down the dirt path, oversized bear hugged against her chest, desperately trying to catch up to him.

His chest tightens.

“What’s it look like?” His voice lacks its usual hardness. He’s unable to mask the pain. “I’m going home. I didn’t want to be at that stupid thing, anyway.”

As he turns his attention ahead of him, Winry clutches his wrist, pulling his arm back. “What the hell is your problem?”

He clenches his teeth and yanks his arm out of her grasp. “I don’t have one. Why don’t your go back to your hick of a boyfriend and leave me alone.”

“What, are you jealous?”

“Of course no—

“Because I’m not the one who kissed me and then avoided me for two days!”

So he had hurt her feelings.

What a dumb thing to think, believing he could get out of the situation without hurting her. He really is foolish.

He fills his lungs, doing his best to ignore the stench in the air, and breathes out slowly. He turns to face her, brow furrowed. He isn’t surprised to see just how angry she is.

“All you ever gave me was a small acknowledgment, and that was only when you ran in to me.” Her arms loosen around the stuffed bear. Its head flops forward a smidge. “I figured you regretted kissing me, but, then you insisted on playing that stupid game just to win me this toy…” Their eyes meet, and Edward can see just how much he’s hurt her. “I’m confused, Ed. You never talk about your feelings, you just act. And right now, you’re acting like a dick.”

He deserved to be called every name in the book, but Winry would never do it. She was right—he was acting like a dick, and why? Because he was worried she may not return his feelings for her? Because he couldn’t bear to be in the same house after embarrassing himself? He hadn’t even been sure that she’d kissed him back. It was more of a peck than anything, and she had’t said a word once he’d pulled away.

He sneers. It infuriates him how well she knows him, how she knows exactly what buttons to press to elicit a reaction. “Why does it even matter? You’re having a good time. Why not just let me leave?”

The plush bear falls to the dirt as Winry throws her arms in the air. She groans into the night. “Geez, how stupid can one man be!?”

If it’s meant to hurt him, he barely feels it.

She places her palm against her chest. “Did it ever occur to you that I was trying to make you jealous?”

They remain there, glaring at one another as Winry’s words settle in the air. Edward’s brain works overtime to process them—he blinks, the anger on his face slowly fading as the realization settles. The anger he felt lingers, dancing in the pit of his stomach with his jealousy. Annoyance bubbles its way up his throat, leaving the taste of bile on his tongue. She couldn’t be serious.

“That’s a low blow, Winry.” His words are soft, barely audible above the sounds of the festival.

“Is it?” Her hands ball into fists at her sides. “Because I think it’s pretty on par with your behavior these past few days.”

He grits his teeth and reaches for the plush bear’s ear, lifting it forcefully off of the ground. “Don’t worry, I’ll put this in your room for you so you can go dance with Benjamin.” He turns on his heel, oversized plush dragging on the ground as he continues down his earlier path.

He makes it only three feet when Winry’s words stop him. “What is it going to take to get you to talk about the other night?”

The other night; the kiss, she means. What did it mean? Why had it happened? Why had he avoided her afterward? He swallows and lowers his head, keeping his back to her. Maybe it would be easier to discuss if he couldn’t see her face…

“I kissed you,” he answers, “and then I went to bed.”

An exasperated sigh rushes from her lungs. “You’re so stubborn, you know that?”

He spins around, ponytail coming to rest against his shoulder. His bangs hit his face, hairs sticking out in disarray. His grip on the plus bear’s ear tightens, knuckles whitening. He clenches his jaw past the point of comfort, and scowls at his best friend. She thinks this is easy? He’d avoided her those two days because it was anything but.

His upper lip quivers until he can no longer take it. “I was afraid, dammit!”

His words echo across the river. He looks worriedly towards the festival grounds, seeking anyone who may be looking his way. He comes up empty, met only with Winry’s bright blue eyes.

He shoves his free hand into his pocket. His cheeks burn with embarrassment. He ducks his head to hide his face beneath his bangs. “I had no idea what you were thinking after I kissed you. For all I know, you didn’t even want it to happen. I couldn’t face you just for you to put me down easy. We live in the same damn house, Winry. I’d die of embarrassment.”

“God.”

Here it comes, he thinks, here comes her shooting me down.

It’s okay. Tonight has prepared him for this. If she wanted to be in the arms of another man, so be it. He’d move on. He’d have to.

“You really are dumb, aren’t you?” From behind his bangs, he watches her pinch the bridge of her nose. “It’s a wonder they let you become a state alchemist. Actually, scratch that.” She places her hands on her hips and rolls her eyes. “State alchemists don’t have to be smart with women, I forgot.”

He lifts his head, dumbfounded.

“Didn’t it ever occur to you that maybe, just maybe, I wanted you to kiss me?”

Actually, it hadn’t.

He shakes his head.

“Geez,” she grumbles. She closes the distance between them and plucks her plush bear from his fingers. She sets it down on a small grassy patch beside the path. “Here, come dance with me.”

“What?” But she’s already grabbing his hands, pulling the other out of his pocket. She leads him to the grass by the river bank. She places his hands on her hips, looping her arms around his neck. His heart rate picks up, drowning out the faint music from the festival. Winry sets the pace, swaying side-to-side to what he guesses is the beat of the music. He swallows the lump in his throat.

The moonlight reflects off of the water and illuminates her eyes; they’re a cloudless sky that Edward could easily lose himself in. “I’ve literally spelled it out for you, and you still don’t get it.” She shakes her head and smiles. “What am I going to do with you?”

He sways in time with her. He begins to hear the music over the beating of his heart—the strumming of a guitar, the beat of a drum, and the deep voice singing a song of a man that didn’t dance, but would for the woman he loved. He glances down at his hands upon her hips and turns a brighter shade of red. Winry places her index finger beneath his chin and guides his eyes back to hers.

“You really hurt my feelings when you avoided me.” Her voice, barely above a whisper, is drenched in sadness. “That morning, after you kissed me, I was hoping to talk to you. Granny and Al had no clue where you were, and you didn’t come back until later that evening. Do you know how awful I felt?”

He shakes his head, and she loops her arm back around his neck. Truth be told, he hadn’t put her feelings into consideration even once. He’d ran off that morning, visiting his mother’s (and, inadvertently, his father’s) grave, telling her just how stupid he was, how he’d made a fool of himself, how he’d destroyed a lifelong friendship because his feelings for her couldn’t be held back. He won’t tell this to Winry. Not now.

“I felt awful, Ed. I felt that you kissed me on some whim and grew to regret it.” Her fingers play with the hair at his neck. “No girl wants to feel like the guy who kissed her regrets doing it.”

The pair continue to sway to the beat of the music as Edward processes Winry’s words. He hangs on to each word, each syllable, analyzing their meaning. He’d hurt her, that much he knew, and he regrets it deeply. But he never could have imagined that she would believe he regretted kissing her.

“Is that why you decided to make me jealous?”

She nods stiffly. Clearly, that wasn’t her proudest moment. “You won me that stupid bear and I figured that you were finally going to talk to me about what happened. Instead, you ran away, again, so I went with Al. All I planned to do was wait for my turn to dance with Al, but Benjamin asked me go dance, and I saw you out there by yourself… I knew you could see the dance floor. I knew you would see us—that was my intention.”

“Could’ve fooled me.” Ed rolls his eyes. “You were all over him.”

“Oh, Edward.” Now it’s her turn to roll her eyes. She struggles to stifle her laughter. “Benjamin is gay.”

Oh.

Now he feels like an even greater ass.

“You honestly think I’d willingly dance with someone just wanting to get in my pants?”

Well, yes. He had thought that, anyway.

He hangs his head and lets out a sound of annoyance. “You’re evil, you know that?”

“So I’ve been told.”

Again, her arm untangles from behind his head, hand moving to cup his cheek. She guides his gaze back to her, a soft smile on her lips. He stares into her eyes, a fire burning in the pit of his stomach. A sense of urgency hits him like a ton of bricks—kiss her; make it right—but he’s lost himself in her beauty. His feet move automatically to the song, eyes drinking in every ounce of her. It isn’t often he sees Winry in a dress—she greatly prefers the comfort and protection of her coveralls while working, and can often be found lazing about in an oversized shirt and a pair of shorts. Though, it was strange. She was always beautiful, even covered in grease. Perhaps he’s just never been this close. The last time he’d felt this way was two nights ago, outside of her bedroom, their actions masked by the dark. He swallows.

The hair at his neck twirls easily around her fingers. He yearns for her to run them through his hair, to touch him in ways no one has ever touched him before. His eyes close as he begins to dream.

Winry let’s a content sigh out through her nose. She pulls his head down until their foreheads touch. “You still don’t get it, do you?”

“Mm, get what?”

He feels her gently shake her head. “That your fears were silly. I like you, dummy.”

His eyes open, met once more by a sea of blue and a warm smile. A faint blush dusts her cheeks. His heart skips a beat.

She lays a palm flat against the back of his neck, the other moving to rest above his heart. Their swaying comes to a natural halt, and Edward moves his right hand to cup her cheek. “I like you, too.”

Winry’s grin is instantaneous. “I think we’ve established that.”

He chuckles. “Yeah, guess so.”

His tongue peeks out to wet his lips. There’s an array of emotion within Winry’s eyes that drive him wild—excitement, joy, infatuation, and something deeper that he can’t quite place. He leans forward and tilts his head, closing his eyes as their lips meet. An electric current runs between them with nowhere to go. Winry’s pulls Ed closer towards her, Ed’s hand on her hip grips the fabric of her dress tighter. Their lips move awkwardly, both lacking any form of experience. His teeth clack clumsily against hers, her lips move too quickly at one point, and his tongue shyly enters her mouth without a clue of what to do. They are intoxicating one another, freely conveying years of pent up emotions for one another with their mouths. In the distance, the band stops playing. The only sounds they hear are their lips, their breathing, and the crickets hiding amongst them.

[bat-losers-inc]

Song of Cassandra: Chapter 2

Warnings: Family Drama, Family Issues, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Emotional Baggage, and Child Neglect

Summary: What is Batman without a Robin? Everyone in the family makes jokes about the ‘dead robins club’, but Dick and Jason really do have measures set in place for the day Bruce loses sight of what’s really important. They won’t let Bruce sacrifice another Robin for the cause, even if that means separating Robin from Batman for good.

Pairings: Barbara Gordon/Dick Grayson, Stephanie Brown/Tim Drake, Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson & Damian Wayne, Stephanie Brown & Bruce Wayne, and Dick Grayson & Jason Todd

                            _____________________________________

Half a year later saw them performing a feat of brotherly bonding he’d never imagined possible: robbing Penguin together.

They’d left the Tricorner district behind in a streak of burnt rubber and a barrage of gunfire and ditched the getaway van in Chinatown at the first available 24-hour parking facility on the other side of the bridge. It was slower going on foot, but Chinatown’s busy night scene, combined with the heavy triad presence in this district, would make Penguin’s men hesitate before going in guns blazing. That was all the time they needed to slip away unseen.

Now, as they emerged from the darkness of the parking deck, Dick yanked the balaclava off his head. He grunted something unintelligible as he shouldered his way through the cluster of pedestrians that crowded the sidewalk.

“What?” asked Jason, pulling his own half-mask down from around his neck and jogging to catch up.

“I said, you’re a real bastard. You promised me this was would be easy!”

Jason glanced at him. He wanted to be sympathetic but he just couldn’t when Dick was glaring at him with that staticky mop of hair. He couldn’t keep the laughter out of his voice when he replied, “You’re the one who said we shouldn’t leave a paper trail! This is about as easy as stealing from Penguin’s bagman gets.”

In truth, he thought they were complaining just for the sake of complaining. After six months they both knew that pulling off this heist was less a matter of choice and more a matter of necessity. Failure meant returning to the storage locker Dick had procured outside of Port Adams and staring down their measly little bat-trust-fund: six safehouses, fifteen rolls of Kevlar fabric, a small arsenal, twenty-seven contacts typed into a Word document, and $5,025 split five ways. But what use would kevlar suits be if their siblings couldn’t afford to keep a roof over their heads? No, without the cash it was worth fuck-all.

Dick looked like he wanted to argue the point further but at that moment a convoy of police vehicles shot past them, sirens wailing and horns blaring loud enough to deafen a person. No doubt by now Penguin’s men had informed their boss about the botched exchange and pinned the blame on their nearest rivals, the Ghost Dragons. If that was the case, then Chinatown was a powder keg ready to explode into a minor gang war at any moment.

A flash of light reflected off the windows of a nearby apartment building. Jason stepped in between two parked cars to get a better look and found himself staring up at the cloud-heavy night sky illuminated in the glow of the bat signal.

He gripped the heavy duffel bag full of stolen cash closer to his chest like he expected Gotham’s dark knight to swoop down at any moment and tear it from his shoulder.

“Hey,” Dick tugged at his arm. “time to go.”

Batman was on the way and like the best of Gotham’s criminals, Jason and Dick made themselves scarce.

It took nearly forty minutes and three subway lines to make their way back to the self-storage facility. By then a pale glow had crept up from the horizon and spread across the water. Around them, the street lights began to shut off one after another. In the distance, Jason could just make out a tugboat as it pushed a barge out towards the open ocean.

By the time Dick pulled the storage locker door down behind them, they were tired-eyed and footsore.

Jason threw the duffel bag onto a table and propped himself against it as he fished one-handed under his t-shirt to undo the straps of his protective vest. He sighed in relief as the weight lifted off his shoulders. “How the hell did you stand wearing these things when you were on the force? Even with the undershirt, the chaffing is god-awful.”

“You get used to it,” Dick replied, making quick work of removing his own gear.

Jason doubted it but he was too tired to argue his point further. Instead, he found the six-pack that he’d stashed under the table earlier that day and snapped off a can.

“Heads up,” he called, as he pitched a can underhand to Dick who caught it against his chest.

Dick held it up for inspection. “Warm beer. What I’ve always wanted.”

“Oh shut up and celebrate with me, you asshole.”

He extended his arm across the table. Dick knocked beer cans with him and completely failed at hiding the shy grin tugging at the corners of his mouth, though god bless him he tried. “Cheers.”

Jason watched him crack open the top and chuckled as he hurriedly slurped at the foam that erupted over the rim. He knew that this morally gray lifestyle didn’t come easy to Dick but he couldn’t deny that he was happy he had stuck around with him for this long. He didn’t dare to say it out loud, but they actually made good partners.

He took a long drink from his own beer can before putting it aside. “Ok, come on. The faster we count this cash the sooner we can go to bed.”

Jason upturned the duffel bags, sending stacks of cash sliding out onto the metal tabletop while Dick pulled the banknote counter from the corner and lugged the machine up next to the pile. Together they started slipping the currency bands loose and feeding the stacks of cash into the machine, watching eagerly as the sum continued to tick upwards.

“Soo…” Jason drummed his thumbs on the table as the numbers continued to flash on the small screen, “How are things going with you and Babs?”

“What?” Dick’s eyebrows drew together. “Why?”

Jason shrugged. “I don’t know, I’m a little curious about what she thinks you do when you’re out late all the time… also, I’m bored.”

“You’re weird, is what you are.”

Jason rolled his eyes. “Seriously? We’ve only spent the past six months together moonlighting as vigilante survivalists and I can’t ask one time how your love life is going.”

“No, no. Sorry, you’re right.” Dick held up a hand. “I told her I’ve been helping you out with an undercover case for a couple of months now. Said I owed you a favor.”

Jason grinned at him. “Well, that’s not a lie. Quite a few actually, but who’s counting.”

Dick punched him in the shoulder. “Actually, I should call her. Reassure her you didn’t get me killed before she calls in a search party.”

Jason chuckled and went back to the task of feeding bills into the machine as Dick rummaged through the backpack and fished out his phone.

“Hey, uhh...”

Jason glanced up and took in Dick’s furrowed expression as he stared down at his phone. He put down the stack of cash he was holding. “What’s the matter?”

“Something happened while we were out. I — shit I don’t know how to explain it but I’ve got like 15 missed messages from Barbara and Alfred. Did you bring your phone with you?”

Jason grabbed his backpack where his own phone was stashed and opened it to find a similar mass of missed calls and incoherently excited messages cluttering the screen. Some of the numbers he recognized, Steph, Barbara, and Alfred were all saved in his phone, but a few were from unknown senders. If he had to venture some guesses he’d say Cass, Duke… maybe Harper? Fuck, he never realized this many bat brats had his number. “I don’t get it… something about Tim? What about hell?”

“I’m calling Babs.”

Jason was aware of how uncomfortably loud their breathing sounded in the small storage locker as they stood around the table waiting for Dick’s call to connect.

“Dick?” Barbara’s voice asked loudly through the speaker. “Thank God! Where have you been? I’ve been calling and calling you.”

“Sorry, undercover mission, remember? What’s the big emergency? I didn’t get anything from Bruce.”

“You need to get back to the manor. Bruce found Tim!”

That didn’t make any sense. “What? You mean Bruce found Tim’s remains?”

Jason smacked his arm. “His remains? Are you fucking serious? What remains could Bruce possibly find after a death like that?”

“I don’t know, bone fragments—”

Dick’s argument sounded flimsy the moment it left his mouth and they both knew it. Jason just really hated to be the one who had to say it.

“If the heat from that explosion didn’t finish him off entirely then the pounding impact of like a hundred thousand missiles definitely did in whatever remains might have been left.”

“Guys—” called Babs.

“Oh, so you’re a forensic scientist now? You don’t know that—“

“Yes, I do!” He slammed a hand down on the table, his anger flaring. He really couldn’t do this backslide back into denial with Dick again. “There’s a reason we buried an empty box. Tim is literally dust in the wind.”

“Jesus Christ!” Barbara’s voice erupted loudly through the speakerphone. “Kill it with the broody back and forth already and actually listen to me, would you? I’m not talking about bone fragments or anything like that. I’m saying Bruce found Tim. Tim! He’s alive.”

Jason met Dick’s eyes over the phone, confusion written as starkly across Dick’s face as it must have been on his own. “What? I— What?”

“I really don’t understand it all myself. But Tim said he’s been held captive by Mr. Oz in another dimension for this whole time. Can you believe it? All this time we thought he was dead and...”

Jason didn’t catch that last bit. He was too busy bent over the table as all the blood rushed to his head.

He was gonna hurl. “That doesn’t make any fucking sense.”

They’d all given up on the hope of Tim miraculously surviving a long time ago and this sudden news felt like he was experiencing emotional whiplash. This had to be some kind of sick joke or a trick... a doppelganger sent by the newest enemy on the rise against Batman.

Dick’s thoughts were apparently spiraling in the same direction as his own for he ran a hand roughly across his mouth and asked, “You saw him yourself? You’re sure it’s him, our Tim?”

But it wasn’t a big cosmic joke. As much as Jason couldn’t believe it, it wasn’t and that was made clear with every new piece of information Babs gave them.

“Yes, he was standing right in front of me only an hour ago — crying and hugging everyone.”

Dick turned to look at Jason, but he was already rounding the table and yanking Dick into a bruising hug.

“He’s alive,” Dick cried into the shoulder of his t-shirt. His voice overflowed with the most contagiously hysterical mixture of joy. Jason laughed through his own tears. “You bet your ass he is!”

He couldn’t explain what had come over him. He and Dick had never really been close — and they definitely weren’t huggers — but the last few months had been so full of this gnawing air of anxiety — their family continuing to fracture, the resources running dry — that the full realization was starting to hit them that this plan might have been formed too late to do any real good. They could feel the clock running out and they were both expecting the other shoe to drop any day now but then out of the blue… this.

Dick pushed away from him suddenly and wiped at his eyes.

“Uh…” he tried to clear his throat. “We, uh, we should get back to the cave and go see him for ourselves. Babs, he still there, right?”

“Yeah, Bruce is debriefing him.”

And just like that, Jason’s joy seized painfully in his chest. It hurt the way a seatbelt does in a car crash, knocking the air out of your lungs and bringing you up short. He watched Dick rush around him, grabbing up his belongings in a disorganized fashion.

“Dick, I can’t come with you.”

“What?” Dick asked, breathless. He turned back from the door. “Yes, you can. C’mon, get your stuff, the money can wait till tomorrow.”

Jason shook his head. Fuck, how the hell was he supposed to explain this to him without looking like the one asshole member of this family who didn’t want to visit his little brother recently brought back from the dead.

Dick paused, his hand dropping from the door handle. “What? Because of what happened between you and Bruce?”

I was a fool for ever believing in you. Even now Bruce’s words lingered at the back of his head. An invisible brand that still held its heat.

“Jason, I know what went down between you and Bruce was… heavy, to say the least, but you’re still family. You do know that, right? You’re still my family and if you want to see Tim, Bruce can do fuck-all to stop it. I’ll make sure of it.”

Jason could only huff a sad laugh at that because God did he want to believe that too, but he knew it wasn’t that simple. Tim would always be his family, but Bruce… he’d crossed a point of no return with Bruce on the night that the fortress was destroyed. The violence of his assault had done more than break a few bones— it had finally shattered that last shred of trust he’d stupidly harbored in him that when push came to shove Bruce would value the son over the soldier. I broke his rules for the last time and now he sees me as nothing more than an unredeemable criminal that escaped Batman’s justice. One of his little soldiers gone AWOL.

“Yeah, I know. It’s just… I can’t face him yet— I—” he trailed off. He’d been laying low since his return to Gotham, but even still Jason thought the only reason he’d survived this long was because Bruce was too consumed with Tim’s death to spend a spare thought on him. He wasn’t ready to walk into that cave tonight and find out what would happen now that Tim was back in the picture and Bruce’s anger focused back on him.

It felt like a horrible selfish thing to think about saving his own skin when his little brother had come back from the dead, but as his eyes lingered at the collection of items piled around the storage locker he was reminded that no one was going to do it for him. After all, that was how this plan had all started right? Someone had to be the one to craft the safety net for the next Robin to fall of Batman’s mighty pedestal.

“You should go. Tell Tim I’m glad he inherited my cockroach-like ability to not stay dead.”

“Jason…” Dick twisted the jacket he held in his hands.

“Go.” It came out sharper than he’d intended, despite his best efforts to push his emotions down. He was quick to try to smooth it over with a tight smile that he knew fooled neither of them. “I’ll stop by his apartment tomorrow once all the hype has died down. Besides, someone needs to finish up here.”

He nodded at the banknote counter.

The one thing he’d always valued about Dick, more than his caring nature, was that he knew when to stop pushing an issue.

“Alright,” Dick shifted his grip on his jacket again. His phone was chiming once more in the back pocket of his jeans. No doubt another family member asking where he was. “I’ll call you tomorrow to check in.”

“Sure.”

After the door to the storage locker fell shut, Jason let his gaze travel around the room again. So Tim was back, alive and well as far as any of them were concerned. A nagging part of Jason’s mind wondered worriedly if gaining him back would slowly undo all the plans they had made together. Would Dick continue to worry about the next crisis to befall their little family or would Tim’s return renew his neverending faith in the impossible until he eventually forgot what it was that drove him to his breaking point?

Jason picked up another stack of banknotes and slid it into the machine. As the numbers continued to rise once more he did his best to prepare himself for the idea that he would be alone in this mission once more. Another bitter pill to swallow but he couldn’t do it. It lodged itself raw and unpleasant at the back of his throat.

[bayalexison]

Bay’s 2021 Writing Summary

Another year, another writing summary. Alright, let's do this!

Pokemon Fics Foul Play (Chapters 27-30)- So I posted a few more chapters of Foul Play! The start of the final arc and woo we get Guzzlord's appearnce finally. Bad news, those were the last of my backlog chapters and I put the story on hiatus for now because of that among other reasons. I hope to get back to this fic sometime next year after I make good progress on another fic project that's been in the planning stages for so long.

Burning Bright- A short Kabu centric fic I wrote for the prompt, "The day in the life of a gym leader." I chose Kabu as I'm already intrigued by him and I wanted to do a Galar fic. He's fun to write!

Hollyrain- I wrote this as a gift fic for the Canalave Library Yuletide. The prompt I chose was "Pokemon meeting their trainer for the first time" and one of the Pokemon they listed was Hydreigon. Writing the Deino line is tricky to write due to Deino and Zwelious being blind and Zwelious having two heads, but I'm satisfied with the results for now!

FE3H Fics

To Carry the Burden -  A short Dedue/Mercedes fic I wrote for the prompt "midnight." First time writing Dedue so I don't think I did his dialouge 100% justice but I still like the idea I had going for him and Mercedes. And yeah, can you tell I like writing trauma nightmares?

Dancing Orchids- Again with the trauma nightmares for Dedue! Why I like him to suffer? = P  Anyways, Did another Dedue centric fic to pratcing writing more of him and got a little better with handling him. I also enjoy writing the original Duscur characters I came up with also.

One Two Punch- So last year I mentioned writing for the Balthus: Solaris Zine but I wasn’t allowed to post it until a few months after. Since I posted this year, here’s a link! Had an absolute blast writing it and surprised some readers really liked the little Nader backstory I gave. Earlier this year Nader’s VA passed away unexpectedly so I did a little nod to him in my notes.

Burnt Fishes- A short Dimitri/Dedue gen fic I wrote for the Dimitri Exchange over at Twitter. The recipient wanted something to do with a cooking disaster and I had Dimitri be terrible at cooking haha. They enjoyed it in the end!

Run Like Wolves- A Felix/Annette fic I wrote for the Netteflix Week exchange. The prompts I went for are protect and travel, and the premise I had was Felix protecting expected Annette from a monster attack. Had quite a few comments saying it was cute in the end haha.

Morning Delight- Short explict Dimitri/Byleth fic I wrote for Dimileth Fever Hot Flash event over at Twitter. Finally wrote something for my FE3H OTP. You know Dimitri's paralogue where one of the choices you can have Byleth say, "I'll whisk you away to the celebration"? Yup, that's what inspired this piece.  Had a couple comments mention how soft and gentle the piece was, which made me very happy!

Of Monsters and Children- Another Dimitri/Byleth fic I wrote for Halloween. Dimitri and Byleth's son runs away to fight a monster and they experience Adult Fear. Concept a bit similar to Run Like Wolves, but I totally can see them going to save their kid and kicking butt. Also wrote a blog post of how the Dimileth kids were based off two child characters from the Professor Layton and Ace Attorney crossover.

I also wrote two other FE3H fics, one written in advance for Dimileth Big Bang and one for Secret Seteth. However both won't be posted until next year, so I can't say anything about those two pieces just yet. Both of them together added an extra, um, 15K words lmao. Excited to show off those pieces soon, though!

Other Fics

In Sheep's Clothing (Ace Attorney)- An Ace Attorney fic that's a character study of Nahyuta from Spirit of Justice. I actually wrote the draft back in 2017, but left it aside for various reasons until a couple months ago when AA Prosecutors Week was going on Tumblr and Twitter. Even though it was written four years ago, there were some passages from it that I like.

FINAL So 2021 not a bad writing year for me! Mixture of FE3H and Pokemon and in addtion finally posted In Shep's Clothing. There were some doubts on my writing as usual. I applied to a few zines that I was interested in, but didn't get in any. The one that hit hardest for me was when I didn't get accepted to one that focuses on dark-type Pokemon and trainers because I've been writing Foul Play for so long and when I didn't get accepted it made me feel my characterizations of Grimsley and Nanu aren't great. I did a bit soul searching on my relationship with zines, and in the end the current zine scene isn't for me and that's fine.

Now for 2022 I already want to get both Foul Play and my Dimileth Big Bang completed. The Dimileth fic I'll need to have it all or at least most completed in the summer while Foul Play there's five chapters left and I want to be free lol. I do bounce back, and I truly think Grimsley and Nanu's story deserve their story to end high.

Another idea that I would like to do is a GAA one based off this idea from the kink meme. VAMPIRES AU! I loved GAA and I've been following a Twitch streamer playing it and kinda in that GAA high.

I think I said this last year, but I would also like to tinker a bit on my original fic idea. I started with a few notes/summaries but not made much progress after that. If I don't get to the writing process maybe I'll at least post some notes on characters, themes, and such at least which hopefully will motivate me to work on the original story more. After Dimileth Big Bang and Foul Play, I would like to focus on this along with my GAA vampire au!

[sokkascroptop]

traitor. (sokka x f!reader) pt 3

A/N: Finally we get to see Azula’s true nature! Also, the first time we get to see Zuko!! To be clear, Azula is in this fic a lot, but this is far from a redemption fic. 

part 1 | part 2 | part 4

Zuko caught Y/N’s eyes like he wanted to ask her a million questions. But she was too embarrassed about everything to hold his gaze. She looked away hoping she didn’t look too guilty or shameful. She joined Azula in staring out the window. The cherry blossom trees were in bloom. They covered every square inch of sky as she looked out. It filled the room with a sweet scent that Y/N knew was going to permeate their clothes when they left. If she let her eyes go unfocused it looked like there was a raging fire in front of her. 

Y/N found herself outside in the palace gardens. She was running from something, but it wasn’t scary. She was laughing and she heard other girls laughing around her. She began to climb a tree, stifling her giggles the entire time. For some reason, she had to be quiet.

“You’re going to get in trouble for being up there,” Someone said from below. 

Y/N looked down between the branches to see a boy her age. He was wearing a high ponytail held with a small fire pin. 

“Why?” she asked. She jumped down to the lowest branch and sat there hanging her legs over the side. She didn’t want to get down just yet. 

He arched one eyebrow. “Just ‘cause. If the palace gardener sees you climbing the trees, he’ll yell at you.”

“Well I’ll just tell him that my new friend is Princess Azula and that’ll shut him up.” Y/N laughed again and made a start to go back up the tree.

“Well, I’m her older brother Prince Zuko and I’m telling you, you’re gonna get in trouble.” He looked like he wanted to emphasize his sentence by sticking his tongue out at her. 

“Why aren’t you playing hide-and-explode with us?” Y/N asked. She jumped down and landed lightly in front of Zuko. They were the same height, which made her feel oddly proud. 

“I don’t like playing games with Azula,” Zuko said. “I’m ten–”

“–well I’m nine and a half and I can still have fun,” Y/N interrupted. 

“You’re almost my age and you’re friends with Azula? What happened? Did you get held back?” Zuko taunted.

“No!” Y/N made a face. Suddenly she felt very self conscious. She didn’t know what ‘held back’ meant but it didn’t sound good, not when he was laughing at her. “This is the first time I’ve ever gone to real school. I just got put in her grade.” 

Suddenly a fireball landed at Y/N’s feet; sparks flew up and singed her pants and burnt her legs. She squealed, a mix between surprise and pain. 

“Azula!” Zuko snarled. He half stepped in front of Y/N, all hints of the earlier teasing gone. Zuko produced a similar fireball and threw it at Azula’s feet but she kicked it away, making it land in a nearby bush. 

“You’re it, Y/N,” Azula ordered. 

“It’s not fair, Azula. She’s not a bender,” Zuko argued. 

“Neither are Mai and Ty Lee. And they don’t whine like babies.” The last part she directed at Y/N with a sneer. 

“I’m not whining!” Y/N protested. She pushed Zuko out of the way and covered her eyes, beginning to count to twenty. She peeked at Zuko at fifteen. All the girls had already scattered but he just stood there watching her. “I’m faster than Azula anyways. I can catch her.” 

She paused and looked at Zuko who stood there awkwardly. “Are you going to hide or what?” She asked. When she covered her eyes again she heard him run away, looking for a hiding place. She waited a beat before counting again, “–SIXTEEN, SEVENTEEN..”

Y/N woke to darkness. But it was always dark below deck. The only light came from candles and lanterns hung in the hallways. Her own candle was only an inch high and fading fast from the accumulation of wax. She could feel the familiar rock of the ship lulling her back to sleep… Y/N sat up quickly. She could tell that it was morning, possibly very early but she couldn’t risk going back to sleep. She tucked the covers under her neck and over her shoulders to snuggle down to ask the important questions. Why was she dreaming of Zuko? 

The day they met was probably one of their most innocent and least notable moments. At least that’s what she thought. Or it was possible her brain was trying to make her feel guilty about what she and Azula were going to do today. That day wasn’t the last that Zuko had tried to protect her from his sister, it actually set the stage for years of him standing up to Azula in her place. Not that she needed it, she could hold her own plenty, but it felt nice to be protected. 

Sometimes she wondered if they had more time together, if they’d have become better friends than her and Azula. Even though he was a fire-bender too, he spent a lot of training with his dual swords. Time that was spent with her on the training grounds. They sparred daily until his banishment; spirits, Y/N was sure they’d even sparred the day of the war meeting that started everything. Now she was going to find him, and lie to him, knowing that what awaited him at home was not a crown but a prison cell. Y/N shook her head to clear it and slid out of the bed and into her clothes. No use in thinking of the past when her future was all that was necessary. Honor and glory and all. 

Y/N could hear Iroh and Zuko arguing a mile away. Azula and her had gotten there an hour before and broke inside the little cabin they were living in. They’d not so inconspicuously gone through all their stuff and upon not finding anything worth while, sat around just waiting. 

“We don’t need any more useless things. You forget we have to carry everything for ourselves now!” Zuko lamented as Iroh dumped a bag of seashells on the table by the door, that looked suspiciously like the same seashells next to Azula on their dining table. Neither one had looked up to see them inside. 

“Hello, brother,” Azula said. “Uncle.” Both of the men jumped. 

“What are you doing here?” Zuko asked as he stepped his body in front of Iroh’s. He looked from Azula to where Y/N was sitting in the window sill behind Azula. Her stomach dropped. This was the first time she’d seen his scarred face. Pink and red scars circled his left eye and wrapped far back enough to cover his ear. His hair was no longer long, but shaved around his ponytail. He looked so much older even though it had only been three years. Y/N wasn’t sure what made him look so different, whether it was a scar that marred his face or the anger that seeped deep beneath his pores. 

“In my country we exchange a pleasant hello before asking questions.” Azula picked up a seashell and inspected it. She glided across the room to stand in front of him. She was so much shorter than Zuko and Y/N but she carried so much power. “Have you become uncivilized so soon, Zuzu?”

“Don’t call me that!”

“To what do we owe this honor?” Iroh spoke up, breaking up the fight between the siblings before it started. Y/N moved to stand behind Azula. 

“Hmm, must be a family trait. Both of you are so quick to get to the point.” Azula was still playing with the men like they were rabbit-mice. She snapped the shell she was holding in her hands. “I’ve come with a message from home. Father has changed his mind. Family is suddenly very important to him. He’s heard rumors of plans to overthrow him–treacherous plots.” Y/N looked to Zuko to gauge his reaction. His face had softened at hearing the news from his Father.

“Family are the only ones you can really trust,” Azula told him earnestly. “Father regrets your banishment. He wants you home.” Azula paused to look out the window. 

Zuko caught Y/N’s eyes like he wanted to ask her a million questions. But she was too embarrassed about everything to hold his gaze. She looked away hoping she didn’t look too guilty or shameful. She joined Azula in staring out the window. The cherry blossom trees were in bloom. They covered every square inch of sky as she looked out. It filled the room with a sweet scent that Y/N knew was going to permeate their clothes when they left. If she let her eyes go unfocused it looked like there was a raging fire in front of her. 

When no one said anything, Azula whipped her head back around to stare at her brother. “Did you hear me? You should be happy, excited, grateful. I just gave you great news.”

“I’m sure your brother simply needs a moment–”

“Don’t interrupt, Uncle!” Her voice changed from sickeningly sweet as she plied Zuko with the words he wanted to hear to savage as she screamed at Iroh. Azula had never learned to be patient, and she wanted them on the ship now. “I still haven’t heard my thank you,” She growled at Zuko. “I’m not a messenger. I didn’t have to come all this way. I could have sent Y/N for this.”

Y/N tensed at her words. She bit her tongue so hard that she tasted blood. How dare Azula think she was her messenger hawk?

“Father regrets? He wants me back?” Zuko muttered. Y/N felt like this was a conversation with himself that they were all intruding on. Y/N had to admit that the words that Azula used to trick them were sweet as honey, but also not very believable. 

Y/N touched the back of Azula’s arm. “I think that he needs time to take this in. It’s all very sudden for him.” She sent a smile in Zuko’s direction that he did not return. 

“I’ll send Y/N to call on you tomorrow.” Azula concluded and she and Y/N took their leave. 

“Why are you sending me tomorrow?” Y/N asked once they were out of range of the house. 

“Zuko trusts you more than he does me,” Azula admitted. “I figure even if he decided he doesn’t want to come, you’ll be able to sweet talk him down the hill to our little ship.”

“Zuko and I were–” 

“Oh shut up, Y/N. You two always had an eye for one another.”

Y/N felt her cheeks heat up. “I–”

“Besides that’s the reason my Father wanted you to come anyways.” They had reached the wooden dock that the ramp to their ship rested on. 

Y/N stopped dead in her tracks. “What?” 

Azula cocked her head. “Well, I figured you’d caught on to that already the way you were making moony eyes at my brother up there.”

“I wasn’t–How was I supposed to know I was only brought here to flirt Zuko’s ass all the way back to the Fire Nation?!” 

“Just back to the ship. Once he gets here we’ll put him in a jail cell.”

“AZULA!”

“Look,” she snarled. “You’re good with a sword but what the hell is that going to do against a fire bender? It’s a fact that you being a non bender means you’re a liability in a fight.” Azula turned and marched up the ramp. That was the end of the discussion even if Y/N had more to say. 

She looked down at her toes at the blue-green water between the slats. She could feel her eyes burning with unshed tears. She blinked them away and followed Azula onto the ship. 

Y/N fisted her hands in her tunic and stalked to her room. Control your anger, control your anger she repeated over and over in her head. She wasn’t like Azula or Zuko, she couldn’t make something with the anger that grew and festered in her chest. She couldn’t throw a fireball at the nearest wall and hope that her anger dissipated like the sparks that fell to the floor. She shut her door and immediately balled up her fist and let it slam home against the wall. The thin metal crumpled easily under her hand. It stung, but that was good. Y/N let out a breath she thought she’d been holding since the dock. She collapsed onto her bed and pulled her knees to her chest. 

It wasn’t a secret that she was a non-bender. But it’s not like it didn’t hurt to be reminded that she wasn’t as worthy because she was one. 

Please like/reblog!!

[volleyball-dontknowher]

Jealous Karasuno

A/N: I started this before I wrote the other one so Tsuki and Kageyama’s are both similar to the other one 

7.7 K words

It’s all under the cut. Enjoy!

Daichi:

 You were a power couple to say the least, Daichi was the boys volleyball captain, a smart classmate and a reliable friend to everyone. You were the dance team captain, also a genius and rumored to be the Hottest babe in school. The two of you on your own were strong, but together the two of you were damn near invincible. Whenever you would walk through the hallways together people would stare at the two of you and you would always smile at them or give them a friendly good morning. You both were super busy with your sports but when you weren’t being the best parents in the world the two of you spent a lot of time together. You would study together, go to dinner together, read together, nap together, everything together, and you wouldn’t have it any other way because you just loved him so much. The volleyball team knew you and the dance team knew him, it was perfect. 

It was a training camp weekend and that meant your favorite boy was gone for the whole weekend. Lucky for you the weekend was busy for you as well, you had practice until late on Friday, then you had early morning practice Saturday, followed by a team pool party. The practices went by super fast and it was now time for the party. You weren’t an aggressive swimmer so you opted for a pink flowery strapless top and black bottoms. 

You got there early to help set up the snack table and make sure that everyone knew where they were going. Once all of the girls got there you reminded them to put on sunscreen and told them they would still have to dance no matter how burnt. The party was so much fun, you guys took several cute pictures together and the team manager (who hates swimming) got a lot of super cute shots of you guys playing marco polo and chicken in the pool. At the end of the party you ate wayyy too much and had a blast with your girls. You helped clean up before parting ways with the girls you loved so much. 

After you got home you noticed that your phone was buzzing like crazy, it was your team manager sending all of the pictures she took today to everyone. You scroll through the pictures and save all of the ones that you liked. You decided you were going to post a couple of the pictures from today with a cheesy caption like Dance team? Who's that? This is the swim team or something cute like that. 

Hours away at the training camp the boys have just finished for the day and were all heading to shower and get changed. First Daichi responds to all of your texts from the day, Have a great day!Don't forget to drink enough water. I don’t want you to pass out, We should totally try this new recipe I found for churros when you get back. The whole time he’s answering he’s blushing because he can imagine you telling him all of these things with nothing but love in your eyes. He then sees the notification that you posted on instagram (yes he has your notifications on, he wants to be the fist person to comment on every post of yours) and when he opens up the post his mouth drops. You really just posted yourself in a bikini where everyone could see it. Sure you look hot but do you know how many people will see that post. He knows at least everyone on his team follows you, almost everyone at school follows you and there are tons of strangers that follow you too. He’s upset deep down but still manages to comment a little You’re stunning babe <3. He usually doesn’t put babe in comments because well your entire page is full of the two of you smiling together at all of your little dates around town, even though you are obviously taken that doesn’t stop people from trying to slide into your dm’s and confessing their love for you no matter how obvious it is that you aren’t interested. He sends you a quick goodnight,  I love you! text before putting his phone away and going to bed. 

When he wakes up he double checks to see if he was just making up the whole thing in his head or if you really did post that. You did. It had over 200 likes from people and tons of comments (most from your teammates telling you how pretty you were) but some of the comments were from complete strangers. He again, pushed his emotions aside and finished the day of training. 

Somehow Ukai drove extra fast and he ended up home a whole hour earlier than they thought. He texted you and asked if you wanted to go to dinner with him because he was starving and everyone else way wayyy too tired. You of course agreed and met him at your favorite little spot. He was exhausted and you could tell immediately that he was tired and needed to go to sleep and go to bed.

You two chatted about camp forever before he looked down at his food and didn’t meet your eyes, “Hey, I just wanted to let you know you looked gorgeous yesterday, I’m sad I missed it” 

“What’s wrong?” you’re scowling at him, “you don’t just tell a girl she’s pretty without looking at her. What is it?” 

He tries to think of any excuse but quickly realizes that you won’t fall for anything that he tells you so he decides to be honest “I don’t know, I just don’t like the idea of so many people getting to see you in a swimsuit and commenting things about how gorgeous you are. That’s my job. But I’m also not saying that you shouldn’t post any pictures because you are so pretty and I don’t know I just love you a lot.” 

You grin at him “Damn right that’s your job and that’s why your comment is the only one that matters, because you’re the only guy who matters to me. You’re the only one who can compliment me and make me blush, and the only boy who makes me always happy. I love you and only you.” He smiles, and you smile, that was all it took for any worry to be taken from his mind, you two are perfect for each other and that is just proof. 

(After they go to nationals you definitely post a picture of you hugging him with some super caption like Number one on the court AND number one in my heart) 

Suga:

 Sugawara is impossible to shop for, absolutely impossible. He would tell you he loved the dirty sock you stole from Hinata because it was from you. Therefore you had no idea what he would actually want and what would make him happy. You two went window shopping frequently and he never had anything that he was particularly fond of. You two agreed that for the first 11 months dating you wouldn’t get each other things and instead plan a great date for the two of you. You guys have been to nice restaurants, drive in movies, zoo’s, museums, theme parks, and picnics. But now your one year anniversary was coming up and the pressure was on. You had to do something and it had to be perfect. 

The first time he saw the two of you together Suga didn’t think too much about it. You and Daichi had been friends and he trusted the two of you with his whole heart. You both smiled when you saw him and he just joined in the conversation's easy peasy. The second time he caught the two of you together Suga wasn’t sure what you were doing. When he asked what was up you both stuttered “I don't know'' and that you were just talking. He had no idea what was happening but you both were acting a little weird. 

The third time you two were caught it was behind the gym talking privately. Daichi had brought you the goods and there was no way he could’ve given it to you in class or someone would have seen and told Suga right away. You two are walking back from the exchange and the goods were in your backpack.

“What are you two doing together again?  Why are y-”

“Koushi Sugawara stop that right this very second.” You walk up to him and grab his hand, “We aren’t up to anything, I promise you. He was simply doing me a favor, please don’t think it is anything more than that because it isn’t” 

He looks at you and then at Daichi and back at you and can’t help but feel bad, he really almost jumped to conclusions about his girlfriend and his best friend. Daichi pats him on the back as he walks by with one of those bro it’s okay looks. You give Suga a quick kiss on the cheek before sending him to practice, you have work to do. Daichi had given you a collection of pictures that him and all of the boys had taken of Suga throughout high school and you were going to make him two different scrapbooks. One of the scrapbooks was going to be of his time playing volleyball and all of the successes he’s had playing and the other was going to be memories of the two of you from the past year with pictures of all of your dates. 

It was the day of your one year anniversary and you guys were going to go to a nice dinner and you were going to give him your presents. You got to the restaurant and the two of you were super excited to have some time to yourself. Dinner went fantastically and he loved your present so much it made him so happy. He got you a blanket that had your favorite memories on them. It was an amazing date and you thought that nothing could go wrong. 

That was until a guy cat called you across the street “Hey sexy let me show you a good time!” 

The guy was watching you and Suga pulled you into a kiss and wrapped his arms around your neck and pulled you close to him. 

“SHE’S TAKEN THANKS THOUGH! THERE ARE PLENTY OF OTHER PEOPLE YOU CAN BOTHER SOMEWHERE ELSE!” You loved him so much and you couldn’t wait for the next year you got to spend with him. 

Asahi:

 You and Asahi together, perfection. You two make each other laugh and smile and cry all the time. The two of you are also style icons, you both have an amazing sense of style and when you walk in the room people are always impressed. If it’s the school uniform then you have on matching earrings and a little necklace, and he has a belt and a nice watch on. On the weekends you two like to coordinate your outfits together and you even take to doing his hair to be like yours. You two go out with half up half down, messy buns, neat buns and if you’re really lucky you get to dutch braid the top and put the extra hair into a messy bun and have the rest down. You loved doing this because it brought the two of you together and he loved that he didn’t have to worry about doing his hair or what anyone would think (because he wouldn’t care his girl did it for him and always told him he was cute). 

With such fast paced lives you both liked keeping things low key and avoiding accidentally adding more stress to your lives. Which was why when a new cat cafe opened up down town you two were quick to book a table. The two of you loved going to coffee shops together and you both loved cats so this was going to be perfect. 

When the day finally came you both took a little extra time to dress up. You were both looking stunning, both in dark blue tops with cute bottoms and the little half up half down braided hairstyles. You both head off to the cafe hand in hand arguing about who was THE cutest. It was so fun you both were so happy when you entered the cafe. LIttle did you know your table was directly in the center of the cafe and all of the cats were loving it. You were in the hotspot of the cat cafe and the two of you couldn’t have had a better time together. You got so many pictures of the two of you with the cats. Every cat in the cafe was up for adoption therefore every cat you got to pet you both wanted to adopt. Both you and Asahi had to keep reminding each other that neither of you needed a cat. 

“Excuse me, ma’am your soup” you were completely distracted by the big cat laying in your lap and when you looked up there was a young man smiling at you with your bowl of soup. “I see that you are petting Squishy, she’s a real sweetheart.”

“I can tell! She’s a sweetheart!” And with that he left. 

You both started eating and you both shared your food with each other because you were indecisive and so Asahi ordered the item that you couldn’t choose between. 

“Are you enjoying your food?” The waiter was back and making direct eye contact with you. 

“Yes, it’s delicious thank you!” You smile up at him and he nods and leaves. You turn back to the conversation you were having with Asahi. 

A cat jumped up onto the table and stuck his head into your drink. All you could do was laugh because he was so big and so fluffy. Before you knew it the waiter was at your table with a new drink claiming that you needed a new one right away. It was faster than it should have been and he wouldn’t have known unless he was watching you. Asahi was always reluctant to jump to conclusions because the guy was only doing his job, but he was only paying attention to his girlfriend and was even watching them eat. He thought it was obvious that the two of you were together and you were having such a great time that he didn’t want to ruin it by saying anything. That was true until the waiter set down the to go boxes and his number was written on top of yours. 

“She needs a new box. Now. Please.” The waiter looked shocked, “She is my girlfriend and you have been flirting with her this whole time. Don’t say anything just get us a new box so we can go,” he smiled up at the waiter. The manager heard the entire thing and brought the new box before the waiter had the chance to apologize. He offered to pay for your meals but neither of you could let that happen, and you still even tipped. It was not the restaurant's fault and you both were way too sweet for them to let anything like that happen. You did get a coupon for a free dessert because the manager wouldn’t let you leave without it. The moment you two left the little cafe Asahi pulled you into a big possessive kiss. He pulls you close to him before repeatedly apologizing for causing a scene but he couldn’t handle the waiter trying to thirst after his girl. 

Noya: 

It was a typical Saturday afternoon for you and Noya, you were both at his house and you two were watching a movie, well making fun of a movie. It was supposed to be the film of the year but neither of you could see how a 26 year old could even possibly pass for a 17 year old, it was just horrible. You cuddled together on the couch and had a good time laughing about the sarcastic remarks that were being made back and forth. Once the movie was over you two were starving, you decided you wanted to order takeout from somewhere. 

“Hey, Asahi mentioned that he liked this little shop downtown, maybe we could try it out?” 

“Yeah, sure Y/N, I hope it’s not that gross organic place he keeps talking about.” 

The two of you make your way downtown, walking the whole way holding hands and just telling your favorite stories from past week, he started with a story about how him and Tanaka had got in trouble for trying to go a whole practice ignoring Hinata and once Daichi found out they had to do drills only passing to Hinata for the rest of practice for being rude. 

It was your turn to share a  story from this week and you decided to share a story from practice that Noya misseed. You were a manager for Karasuno and you knew how to play some but you definitely were not good enough to play for the girls team. You were helping Asahi with his spikes and he had accidentally hit the ball way too hard and way too high and it ended up getting stuck on the back-board of the basketball hoop. The two of you tried jumping for it but neither of you could reach (you obviously couldn’t but it was still fun to try). So you had the great idea of using a broom to knock it loose, that was tall enough but it couldn’t hit the ball art the right angle. So the next step was to get on Asahi’s shoulders and knock the ball loose with the broom. It was a fun story and you made a lot of the whoosh and wap noises to go alone with it and Noya seemed to love it. But he was stuck thinking how this was the second time today you had mentioned something about Asahi and he has no right to be jealous of one of his best friends but he couldn’t help but wonder why you don’t talk about him like that. 

The two of you get to the restaurant and order your food without any wait. The service was fast and the food was amazing. 

“I’m gonna have to tell Asahi that this place really was as good as he said!” 

“Okay..” You didn’t have to ask, you knew he was jealous, when he’s jealous he gets sassy and he doesn’t want to sass you so he always keeps quiet when it’s something you’ve done. If it’s someone else though he is in their face and a little firecracker.There was one time a guy whistled at you from across the street and Noya was across the street and in the guy’s face before you even processed what had happened. He was so angry and so determined to put the guy in his place that his presence made him seem 7 feet tall. This however, was not that kind of jealousy, it was the insecure jealousy that came out whenever he felt like he wasn’t good enough, or tall enough, or pretty enough or whatever not good enough he had stuck in his head. 

“Yuu Nishinoya, what’s wrong?” You give him THE look and he knows you know he’s jealous. He glances to the floor and starts to fidget with his thumbs. He didn’t think he was being obvious about it (he was) and you read him like a book. 

“If this is about me talking about Asahi today you have to remember that I have known him since I was four. We’re neighbors, remember, our moms have book club together every Wednesday. He is the reason that the two of us met, after four years of throwing him balls in the backyard he suggested that I become a manager so that we could keep hanging out. Then when I started crushing on you he always found ways for the two of us to get to drills together so I would ‘have a chance to talk to him’ and encouraged me to actually flirt with you. Asahi is like an older brother to me, kinda annoying at times but sweet when it matters most. Besides could you ever EVER see me dating someone like that? He’s way too tall like I couldn’t even kiss him, then he isn’t goofy so I would be bored all the time and he doesn’t make me smile every time I look at him. The thought of even dating him is a big no so stop being jealous and kiss me you dork.”

He does, happily, “Sorry for being jealous, it’s just-”

“Stop right there, you’re the boy I love and that’s the end of the story okay?”

“Okay.”

Tanaka: 

It was no secret that you and Tanaka were dating, he was the type to wrap his arm around your shoulder and point at you as you two walked down the hall and be like “This is my babe, isn’t she smoking hot” and no matter how many times you told him it was embarrassing because they are your classmates he still did it. Tanaka loved you with his entire heart and would kiss the ground you walked on because you were there. It was no surprise that he loved everything about you and that the two of you could just sit and stare at each other for hours and call it a date. Well today you had planned the most amazing date for you and Ryuu to go on together and you were so excited that the day was finally here. 

You agreed to meet at your favorite place to get breakfast together. You were already there when he arrived and you two enjoyed a wonderful breakfast together laughing the whole time. When you were done and had paid you got up from the table and nearly killed Tanaka. You were wearing a black cropped tank top and a little black skirt that had shiny stars all over it. He was shocked, how was his babe wearing something as sexy as this out of the house. He is instantly behind you with both hands on your waist so that there is a 0% chance that anyone will see your butt out of the end of the skirt. He knows it’s long enough but if people are sitting and you are standing there’s definitely a chance. 

You two get outside the restaurant and all Tanaka can turn to you and say is, “babe, what are you wearing?” 

“Do you not like it?” You ask him with innocent eyes as you grab his hand and start leading him to the next part of your date. 

“I-I no, I love it just don’t you think that-”

“Think what?” 

“Nothing, nevermind” He drops it for now but he cannot help but keep looking over at your gorgeous body and just think about what he would do if anyone else approached his girl. When you finally got to the next place he was shocked. You two were going to play laser tag. He was thrilled, you two were going to try and be opposite teams to see who could shoot the other person the most times in the game. It was time for the game to begin and you were both thrilled when your vest lit up blue and his lit up red. And off the two of you went to go try and prove who the best. The game started just fine and the two of you were getting shots in with each other back and forth not caring much about the other people in the room. Then the next time you went to go shoot at Tanaka a guy jumped out in front of you and shot him first. The guy was wearing a blue vest, damn it he’s on your team. After he shot Tanaka he turned around and smiled at you. 

“What’s a pretty girl like you doing at a place like this alone, dressed like that. You look like some kind of cheap whore I can take home with me.” He’s eying you up and down with a devilish smirk on his face. You stand there in complete shock, no idea who this guy is or what gave him the right to speak to you in this way. Tanaka almost lost it then and there, he marches over to the guy, shoots him in the back and tells him to “Back away from my girlfriend before I beat the daylight out of you.” 

The guy doesn’t budge and instead turns to you and asks “Why would you be with a man like that? I can treat you better and give you more than he ever could” 

That was it, Tanaka had officially lost his cool, he was up in the guys face “WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY ABOUT ME? YOU HAVE THREE SECONDS TO GET OUT OF OUR FACES AND LEAVE THIS PLACE BEFORE I BEAT YOU” you’d never seen him this mad before so you let him finish before you pull him in close to you. 

“Ryuu, calm down love, he’s just a jerk don’t let him ruin our fun” “But he called you a whore, no one gets to talk to my girl like that.” You rub his head and tell him that you love him so much and that you’re so thankful that he stood up for you before shooting him in the chest and running off, forcing him to follow with a big goofy grin. 

Tsukishima:

 It is no surprise to anyone that you are a heart throb and if it was socially acceptable for boys to fangirl over girls then you would have a fan club. I’m talking about a full fledged society of boys that praised every step you walked on, from third year middle schoolers all the way up to third year high schoolers, because you were just so cute and friendly. Every person you passed you would smile or wave at and you always made sure to tell people to have a great day. You were a little sunshine that also happened to have a gorgeous face. You and Tsuki were in the same class together and would playfully banter back and forth. When you told him you liked him and he was shocked. He had no idea how the prettiest girl he had ever seen liked him back. The two of you ended up going on a date, then another and another and now the two of you had been dating for almost a year now. You loved Tsukishima so much and you never tried to do anything that would hurt your feelings and he did the same for you. You made him soft like no one else ever had before, he felt giddy and excited every time he was around you even if he didn’t show it externally you both knew how he felt. You were his sunshine and you made him happier than anyone could have ever imagined. Everyday the two of you would walk to school together and you both would walk home together after your practices were done (you also play volleyball and that makes his heart melt because you understand that he’s extremely dedicated but doesn’t want to get hurt-anyway) you always found time for each other and it was something the two of you prided yourselves on.

It was the spring tournament and both the girls and the boys volleyball were happening at the same arena. You both had sent good morning texts and nothing else because you were both extremely focused on doing well today. You two didn’t have to talk a ton during the day but after you both had won your first round you agreed to meet up by the concession stand excited to share your victories with each other. You agreed on a place to meet up and you were teasing him about getting there before him, so you can imagine the shock when he rounded the corner.  

There you were standing in your spot, with another guys arm pressed up against the wall and he was leaning in close to talk to you, too close. This had crossed a line. His vision turned red as he continued to stroll over to the two of you. His headphones were now off and he was listening in to every word, he was like a predator going in for the kill, you were his, and he had no idea who you were or why you thought that you could talk to any girl like that, let alone his girl. Once he was close enough he could hear the guy “Well, your boyfriend isn’t here right now and I am so why not let me treat a hottie like you.” 

Tsukishima is right behind the guy practically towering over him “Who’s boyfriend isn’t here?” He mocks, and the guy turns his head slowly and turns as pale as a ghost. 

Then Tsuki grabs the guy's arm and leans in close to his ear “If I ever hear you speak to a girl like that I will not hesitate to slap the life out of you. And if you ever even think of getting anywhere near my girl again then you might as well consider yourself a dead man. Now leave.”

You didn’t have to tell the guy twice and he books it out of there faster than anyone had ever seen before. You practically pounce on Tsuki and start giving him little kisses everywhere before he stops you because even though he loves you he’s not about to have everyone he’s playing against staring at him. 

You do however, get to cling to his arm and tell him all about how he’s your “knight in shining armour, and you came and saved me just like a hero, thank you so much Kei you’re the best and I loveee you” and all he can do is look down and smile at you because you make him so happy. The two of you get food and rejoin your teams and eat together before you all have to go back into warm up. When he gets on the court he sees the guy from earlier is on the opposing team and let's just say that Tsuki has never had a better game. 

Hinata:

 Hinata prided himself on being the bestest boyfriend in the entire world (his words exactly) and the two of you were inseparable, you could tell each other everything, how you day was, when you’re showering, even when you have to poop. It was something the other Karasuno boys didn’t quite understand, how Hinata found a girl who was just as bizarre and goofy as he was. You told each other everything, but that didn’t mean that you didn’t have your own friends and time to yourself but you were just drawn to hanging out together and making plans with each other. 

One day you and Hinata were chilling at his house, he was playing video games with Kenma and you were watching and playing with his little sister while also playing on your phone. 

“Hey, Y/N whatcha doin” He’d just died in his game and is looking over to find you completely engrossed in your phone. You didn’t answer him and kept typing out a long text that you had to get sent. 

“Hellooooooooo Y/N what’s up? Who are you texting?” 

“Tsuki” You reply without thinking much about it and continue your long text to Tsuki. Little did you know that Hinata was watching you intently internally wondering Why doesn't she text me like that? What are they talking about? Does she like him more than she likes me? I mean he’s tall and mean but some girls really like that, right? I mean we’ve only been dating a while and I haven’t been giving her much attention so maybe this is revenge? But Tsukishima of all people? 

But externally all he can make himself say is “What are you two talking about?”

You finish your message and set your phone down to look at Hinata dead on, “Babe, Shoyo, what class am I in?” 

“Class 1-4” He says while looking at you confused. 

“Okay, now what class is Tuski in?”

“Class 1-4” his brain still hasn’t caught up to what you are about to say and he now thinks that you are going to tell him that he’s too dumb for you and you can’t stand it. He’s both upset and made at Tsuki for taking away his girlfriend's attention that belongs to him, not some grouchy jerk. 

“Hinata, babe, love, hey, hello? Earth to Hinata” you say snapping your fingers in front of his face trying to get his attention.

“I DON’T WANT YOU TO DATE TSUKISHIMA HE’S A JERK AND RUDE AND I REALLY DO LIKE YOU Y/N AND I’M SORRY I WASN’T PAYING ATTENTION TO YOU MORE PLEASE DON’T BREAK UP WITH ME.” He shouts in one of his zoned out super fast ways. He’s mad that Tsuki would text his girlfriend knowing that they were dating and he couldn’t believe that you would text him back so easily. He was about ready to find Tsukishima’s house and go punch him right now. 

You stand up and pull him into a giant hug which breaks his train of thought right there, “Hinata, were you not listening? I just told you that Tsukishima and I are partners on a big project and I forgot my laptop at home and was texting him my part of the project. I am not breaking up with you goofy, I like you not some tall jerk with glasses. We are just working on a project, I have no idea where you even got the idea of me breaking up with you for him came from but stop that right now. As punishment for your actions I would like cuddles.”

He’s embarrassed, super embarrassed on how he could possibly think that you, his awesome, perfect, amazing, gorgeous, funny, cute, happy, loving girlfriend would ever break up with him for someone as bland as Tsukishima. He gets one of those giant goofy grins on his face and realizes that he’s not hugging you back, so he wraps his arms around you as tight as he can and pulls you down onto the couch kissing you over and over again. 

“I’m sorry for ever thinking that you’d ever date a jerk like Tsuki.” 

Kageyama: 

No matter how long you and Kageyama have been dating, everything you do makes him both giddy and excited but also nervous and insecure. He loves you so much and absolutely loves when you come watch him play volleyball, it made his heart burst seeing you in the crowd cheering for him and him alone. Anytime you were there it made him want to be better, he wanted to win more than he already did-which he didn’t think was possible ((but he also didn’t think he could get a girlfriend so)) he loves it.  You liked going to watch him play but with how much he played you couldn’t possibly go to every game. You liked to try and go to the important ones though because he would talk about them for weeks after and you liked knowing you were there for some of his proudest moments, and that’s where you were today-watching volleyball matches. You had been sitting in the gym all day watching team after team writing down little notes that you think Kageyama would find helpful such as Number 7 doesn’t receive, and 5 &9 only pass to each other when 5 signals him by waving his left hand. Kageyama loved looking through your little notes with you and thought it was super cute that you would write all of these things down for him, he also was super impressed by how easily you picked up the other player’s weaknesses. 

It was time for Karasuno to play and you were stoked. You’d been watching the team progress and it was always exciting to see what new tricks they had up their sleeves. The team was warming up and you were keeping your eye on #9 when you feel a great big thud next to you. You look over and see the guy from earlier, you recognize him from an earlier match, he was #1 on the mint and white team and as your notes said Good serve, but does it in the same pattern, straight, curve straight straight every time, also has sloppy receives. 

Smiling at you he asks “What’s a pretty girl like you doing sitting on this side of the bleachers?” 

You can’t help but stare at him, while he is definitely pretty he isn’t your type at all and you have no desire to continue a conversation with him. “I’m watching my boyfriend play, thank you very much.” And with that you turn your head back to the game and keep your eyes on your prize. Oikawa isn’t used to being turned down like this and has no idea what to say to you next, he lets you watch the game in peace  until the end of the first set. Karasuno had taken the set 25-21 and had played amazingly. 

“Are you sure someone as pretty as you wants someone from such a lame school?” Tooru couldn’t understand who was actually good enough for a girl like you on that team. 

“Yep, I like him a lot, thanks though.” Another shut down. He the great Oikawa Toru was not used to having a girl give him no attention and by no means did he want to steal whoevers girl from him he just wanted to know who was lucky enough to get someone like you and maybe ask them for some pointers (because his luck is horrible and he just wants love). 

When the game is over (Karasuno won ofc) you go to congratulate the team and the first thing that anyone gets to say to you is when Kageyama pulls you into a big hug and whispers “Why was Oikawa talking with you?” He was jealous that you would even consider talking to Okikawa, but he was also worried that Oikawa would steal his girl from him. You squeeze him back in the embrace.

“Are you talking about the loudmouth sitting next to me? He was annoying me the whole time asking questions and making useless commentary about your game.” When he went to ask more questions you kissed him on the cheek and told him that he did so amazing and that you were proud of him and that he shouldn’t waste his energy worrying about someone that you don’t care about because all you care about was him. That alone was enough to make any worries in his head completely disappear because if there’s one thing he knows is that you hate loud mouths like that. (Little did you know that Oikawa was watching the whole thing and could NOT believe that it was Kageyama who got the babe) 

Yamaguchi: 

Yamaguchi doesn’t get jealous per sey, he trusts you so much and wouldn’t ever bat an eye if you were talking to another guy and you would do the same if you saw him talking to another girl. He also didn’t care what you wore because if you were comfortable and happy then he was comfortable and happy. It was other things that would force him to swallow his pride and admit that he was jealous. 

The two of you often went on walks together around the neighborhood and through parks, It was something that the two of you loved doing together, no date, lets just go for a walk. It was an easy answer that made both of you happy-well most of the time.

 Every single time the two of you would go out together for as long as either of you could remember whenever you pass a dog they always want to be petted by you and completely ignore Yamaguchi. He has to watch big dogs pull their owners over to you so that they could get your attention and some pets. He had no idea why but every single time he saw a dog and they wanted you it made him so jealous. All he wanted was to be loved by the dogs like they love you, it didn’t seem like too much to ask but the more that it happened he started to find himself getting more and more upset over it, he just didn’t understand why you got all of the dogs to pay attention to you and they wouldn’t even look at him. You never thought much about it because you were always just excited to pet a good dog but once you started noticing how Yamaguchi would just stand there and look at you and the dog you knew something was up, and it had to be fixed right away. You two left the park like usual that day and you pretended like you didn’t have the best surprise planned for your boyfriend, he would love it. You spent two weeks trying to get in contact with one specific woman, and today she finally answered and agreed to your crazy plan. 

After school you told Yamaguchi you had something fun you wanted to do with him and he didn’t think twice about it until you pulled him into a local animal shelter, walked up to the desk and told the lady that you were the one with the reservations. He had no idea what you meant by reservations, it was a shelter not a restaurant. The lady led the two of you to a back room, that just so happened to be filled with puppies. The moment Yamaguchi saw the puppies his heart melted, he was beyond excited for this. You both washed your hands and got to enter the room with 20 puppies. You both sat down facing each other as puppies crawled into both of your laps. Yamaguchi had probably 10 of the puppies in his lap alone. While your problem wasn’t fixed this at least reminded him that puppies do love him too. 

Ukai: 

Ukai was an attractive guy and girls made sure that he knew it. Every time the two of you were out people couldn’t help but comment on his looks.

“Wow, is she your sister?” “Hey, can I take you out?” “Can I buy you a drink?” “What’s your number?” Were all constants in your lives, girls swarmed him and you never seemed to mind. Maybe you would make sassy comments back afterwards but nothing overbearing. That should have put him at ease, but it didn’t. Why didn’t you care? He would care a hell of a lot if some guy was flirting with you. Why are you so easy going? He’s your boyfriend, how are you letting them get away with this? He’s not jealous that you aren’t jealous-or is he? Part of him wants you to stand up for him and to tell a girl to back off every once and awhile. He decides that the next time a girl flirts with him he’s going to flirt back just to see what you’d do. 

It’s date night tonight and the two of you have plans to go to a nice restaurant together. You’re wearing a skin tight dress with some sexy heels and he’s wearing a button down and a suit jacket. Ukai would never wear something like that on his own but when you asked him to dress up for dinner he couldn’t help but put in some extra effort for you. The two of you looked hot, like straight out of a magazine story about dressing to impress. If you both hadn’t been around the city with your jobs then people would have thought the two of you were celebrities. It was both impressive and scary that you could look so good together. You walked up to the restaurant with his hand around your waist and he pressed kisses onto the side of your head as you were waiting for your table. It was more than obvious that you two were together, his eyes were glued on you. 

But, some tramp (probably named Stacy) apparently is blind and deaf and decided to come up and flirt with your man, while you were in his arms. 

“Oh, hey there sexy-” 

“No, stop right there, he’s mine and you can turn your ass around and find someone else to bother. Even if he wasn’t already taken he wouldn’t like someone you. But he is taken so goodbye.” You interject before turning and kissing Ukai on the lips, hands on his face as you pull him into a jealous kiss. WHen you’re done kissing him she’s still standing there wide-mouthed. “I told you to stop looking at my man, now please go before I have security show you where the door is.” Ukai had never seen this side of you but now that he has he’s about 10000x more attracted to you. 

Dinner goes great and the two of you laugh and banter the entire time back and forth. After dinner you decide to go to your favorite little ice cream place for dessert. You wait your turn and as you’re ordering the cashier cannot stop making eye contact with your breasts and tells .“wow, you’re really pretty” It was Ukai’s turn to get jealous, he’d already puffed his chest and was about to take this man down for saying something as offensive as that but you start to laugh at , the guy. 

“I know I’m hot thanks for the compliment but I’m already taken, thanks though”  The guy is bright red and you are turning and leaving with Ukai. He had never been more turned on in his entire life, let's just say when you got back to his apartment you had a long night ahead of you.

[namooon]

daydream • (knj & myg) I

you and your fellow hybrid, yoongi, have a crush on your owner and aren’t quite sure what to do about it.

warnings: mc is really babie?, joon is big and broad™ as per usual, small amount of dumbification, grinding, slight dubcon, mxm, not technically smut but there’s some nsfw thoughts, language, and actions

rating: mature

word count: 1.8k

title is from the song daydream by milk & bone! could be daydream by j-hope though ;))

“Joonie!” you sung, skipping down the hallway happily. Namjoon, brewing coffee, called back “baby!” and smiled at your giggle.

“God, how is she so happy in the mornings?” Yoongi groaned from the kitchen island, hiding his messy bed head into the crook of his arm, away from what he knew would be a whirlwind of giddiness. He was right, of course, and you bounded into the room, whimpering for half a second because you didn’t know who to hug first. In the end, you decided on your beloved Namjoon, practically throwing yourself into his open arms. He caught you with a small grunt, a grin on his face despite himself.

“Hi, there, little one. How’d you sleep?” he cooed, gently smoothing your ears down. You preened at the overwhelming attention, of course, and couldn’t help but scenting him rapidly in an attempt to calm down.

“So, so good! That new pillow you gave me is so amazing,” you rattled, attempting to squeeze your arms all the way around him but realized he was much too broad for your tiny bunny arms. That very fact caused a tingle to run down your body and into your panties, but you’d never say it out loud, ignoring the look that Yoongi gave you at the waft of arousal spreading through the room. “A-and! My room is the perfect temperature, too, thank you, Joonie!”

“Of course,” he said, gazing down at you adoringly. For a while, the two of you stood there, enjoying the steam the coffee maker gave off and the smiles that kept getting bigger on both of your faces.

“Oh, yeah, completely ignore the other cute, loving hybrid who lives here, who suggested getting another one in the first place. He doesn’t exist in either of your eyes, he’s just decor, staring at the two of you,” Yoongi grumbled, your sudden spike of hormones bringing out some primal instincts that he wanted to take action on. This was a regular occurrence, where you’d be rubbing yourself on an oblivious Namjoon and get turned on to the point of Yoongi having to leave the room before he did something about it. The two of you were the only ones who knew about your attraction to the man, but Yoongi wasn’t about to ruin his perfect little family just because he got excited by your alluring arousal.

“No,” you whined, breaking apart from Namjoon with a forlorn expression. “Yoongi!”

“Oof,” he spoke, unprepared for your barreling form. Small little whimpers continued to escape you until he wrapped his arms around you, turning to satisfied almost-purrs once you felt his soft scent engulf you. You breathed it in, allowing him to tug on one of your ears affectionately. It was his favorite thing to do, having you sat in his lap right after a run in with Namjoon so you still smelt like saccharine flowers and something a little more spicy. He couldn’t sit there and pretend like Namjoon didn’t arouse him, too, though, and you knew it. If your owner so much as brushed Yoongi’s tail with his pinky or accidentally talked to him in a voice too deep, the poor panther would already be half hard. Even thinking about it had him giving off the scent of burnt cinnamon, becoming mischievous when he noticed you blushing and looking at him through your eyelashes shyly. He thought that your scents smelled amazing together, even if it was an odd combination, and began to wonder just how energetic a bunny like you could be.

“Hey, Joon,” Yoongi said, staring at your widening eyes with a smirk. He gripped your hips so hard that if you moved, you could’ve actually injured yourself.

“Yes?” he replied, walking over to the two of you, placing his full mug on the counter.

“Y/N has something she wants to ask you.”

“Oh, yeah? What is it, sweetheart?” he grinned, placing a warm palm on your face to turn you towards him so gently that you could probably cry. You had no idea what Yoongi was up to, anxiously tugging on one of your ears and leaning your face further into Joon’s hand.

“She wants to know if you’d watch us fuck,” he spoke, ignoring your yelp of surprise and turning to his shocked owner, his smirk widening.

“W-what? Excuse me?” he asked, brows furrowing when he addressed you.

“N-no! No, no no, Joonie! I-”

“Yep, that’s exactly what she told me. Wants you to watch us and even join in, too,” Yoongi spoke. Even though his tone was low and quiet, it felt like he was speaking into a microphone, especially now that the room was deafeningly quiet. But that’s just because it was all in his imagination. The only real thing was his now rock hard cock and his iron grip on your shaking hips. You were looking at him similarly to how you were in his daydream, just less scandalized. Your doe eyes boring into his, sparkling with innocence and an energetic flare that made him want to bend you over and pound your cute little hole until you were pliant and sweet for him and Namjoon. Your cheeks were bright red, ears alert and your hands gripping his arms for support. 

Your owner was looking at the scene, wondering what could’ve caused the two of you to stare at each other like that for so long but decided it was probably a hybrid thing and came over to pet at your ears. Your blushes were so cute! The closer he got, the hotter the room seemed to get for you, having both of their scents wafting over you and feeling the edge of Yoongi’s bulge against your heat was almost too much. Joon placed one big hand on your head and the other on Yoongi’s, scratching behind your soft ears until loud, twin moans escaped.

“Woah there,” Joon spoke, laughing it off. “Does that feel good, my babies?” he asked, completely unaware of the effect he had on his two hybrids. Yoongi looked at you, eyes beginning to look hooded, and gripped your hips just a little bit tighter, tugging you so your wet groin met his.

“Y-yes, Joonie,” you whimpered, letting your body fall lax against Yoongi, scenting his shoulder quickly before nudging your owner’s hand.

“Aww, sweetheart, if you wanted pets, you could’ve just asked,” Namjoon said, looking at the two of you fondly. His blunt nails scratched just a little bit harder and just like before, loud mewls escaped through your purrs. Namjoon ignored the twitch in his pants in exchange for tugging you and Yoongi closer, cradling your melted figures into his broad chest until he could feel Yoongi’s little purrs against his cotton t-shirt.

“So cuddly, why don’t we go to my bed, hmm? We can all fit and I can pet your pretty ears until we all fall asleep? We have nothing to do today,” he suggested, kissing the top of Yoongi’s head. His purrs grew exponentially louder, encouraging you to grind against him a little to take the edge off of his painful erection.

“B-but… your coffee?” you panted a little, eyes dazed and starry when you looked up at Namjoon. He throbbed, just knowing that’s how you’d look at him all fucked out and waiting for his cock. He took a deep breath to stabilize himself and stroked your pretty cheek.

“It’s alright, little baby, don’t worry about it, okay?” And, God, it’s almost like he knew exactly what made you drip… and now Yoongi did, too. He was able to feel how soaked you were all the way down to his cock, even with layers and layers separating. You just felt so dumb and taken care of. Joonie would handle it, he was so much smarter! He was your master and he knew what was best, why would you worry about it? He was big and strong and smart and took care of you so well.

“Yeah, Y/N. We can go and cuddle and you can sit on Joon’s lap! He’ll hold you in his strong arms and we can pet your little bunny ears, yeah?” You couldn’t even speak, your tongue felt heavy and your poor little pussy was dripping so much you knew Namjoon would be able to feel it just like Yoongi did now. You didn’t think you’d be able to refrain from grinding against him like you were in heat. You’d been in the house for less than a year and your heat hadn’t come yet, surprisingly, but you didn’t know how you’d get through it if this was how you were reacting and no one had even touched you.

“O-oh, that’s alr-right, w-”

“Yeah, baby, you can sit on my lap and we can even put on that movie you like… the one with the little rats who cook? C’mon,” he smiled softly at you, gently petting Yoongi before tugging you into his arms, encouraging you to hold onto him. Your cunt was pulsating at this point, needing to be filled with your master’s big cock and maybe even Yoonie’s, too. Your mind was foggy at how he completely ignored you and easily manhandled you into his hold, all warm and muscly with just enough softness to hold on to.

“J-Joonie?” 

“Yes, my bun?”

“Feels hot…” you said, meekly, holding onto his shirt and rubbing your face against his neck. He really did smell amazing, something so natural and warm and even musky. He smelled like home and happiness and all you wanted to do was rut against him but you couldn’t. Namjoon was silent for a moment, trying to put his own arousal aside to check in on you. Your body did feel hot, yes, but it always did. You were a hybrid after all and… wait… were you... turned on? The little whimpers let out against his neck would make much more sense, along with the way you and Yoongi were acting earlier, but why? The only reason he noticed in the first place was because the warmth against his hip was beginning to be too noticeable for his liking. Almost as if it was… damp. He could’ve passed it off as sweat or maybe even you spilling something on yourself that he hadn’t seen, but the way you were rocking your hips from side to side, no matter how subtle, was extremely distracting.

“Y/N?” he asked, making sure to cradle you closely in case you felt jumpy or squirmy.

“Yes?” you replied meekly, looking up at him through dampening lashes.

“Why are you… ah…” Namjoon attempted. Ugh, just looking at your sweet face was enough to make him shut up. Maybe you’d be going into heat soon or you were just hormonal. He’d read many articles on all different types of hybrids when Yoongi convinced him they needed another and found that bunnies were particularly emotional and tended to get aroused much easier than other species, making them extremely needy during heats. Still, it concerned him that you were pretty much inarticulate right now and showed no signs of clearing your foggy head any time soon.

“Yoonie, c’mere, please. Why don’t you turn on the movie while we talk, okay, bun?” Namjoon spoke, letting you nuzzle his cheek before laying on his bed. 

It was going to be a long day.

i started this last summer and have been slowly adding to it until now but i don’t really know where to go with it after this so if you could give me suggestions that would be great! <3 

masterlist

[37pencils]

The Baking Fiasco

Writer’s Note:This is a fluffy one-shot of the MBS, not the typical memes we normally post. The events in this story take place between the second and third books of the series. Thank you all for reading, I hope you enjoy.

Story under the cut

    Reynie’s quiet footsteps were masked by the sound of pouring rain outside. It had been late at night, far too late to be considered reasonable, when a figure with strikingly blue eyes had roused him from his sleep. Apparently, the storm that had been going on for some time had awakened his friends with booms of thunder earlier that night, and they had decided that it was necessary to wake him as well. 

“It was obvious we had to get you too,” Kate whispered as they carefully traversed the stairs by the light of her flashlight. “It wouldn’t be the same without you.”

    The two of them made their way downstairs and into the kitchen, where Constance and Sticky sat waiting. Sticky smiled and gently waved as they appeared in the doorway, still a bit tired from waking up at such an odd hour. Constance, on the other hand, simply grunted and rested her head on the table. Reynie smiled at the familiar and comforting sight of his friends, already happier from simply being around them. Reynie and Kate sat at the kitchen table, ready to discuss whatever topic happened to come up.

“How long have you guys been up?” Reynie asked, looking around at the three of them.

“Well, I got up first, then I found Sticky while I was walking around down here, and then we found Constance, nearly asleep standing up. So around 15 minutes, give or take,” Kate said, seemingly unaffected by waking up so early. She seemed as animated and lively as usual, hardly staying still in her seat.

“It isn’t my fault I look so tired…” Constance grumbled, her face still smushed into the table. “You try waking up at 12:30 in the morning when you’re 3 years old.” She yawned as she said this, only emphasizing her point.

“Yes, it seems we all gather together when we’re tired,” Sticky noted, gently readjusting his glasses. “We seem to be each other’s source of comfort.”

    Reynie smiled at this, happy that his presence brought them happiness as theirs brought him happiness.

“Well, what should we do with this extra time we have?” Reynie asked, gesturing around him. 

“We should do something for the adults,” Constance said, seemingly out of nowhere. “They’ve been stressed an awful lot lately, and I’m sure you guys can guess why.”

    A small moment of silence was exchanged between them, reflecting on the danger that had not only brought them together, but had brought them to reside here, under this roof. They had been through a great deal of peril with one another. It was one of the reasons they were so close. Even now it seemed that danger was looming closely, waiting for a perfect opportunity to strike.

“Well...what would we even do?” Sticky inquired, hesitantly. “We don’t have enough time to do a deep clean of the house, and trying to do most other things to help make their day a bit easier would cause too much noise.”

“How about baking something for them?” Kate asked, grinning. “There are plenty of ingredients in the kitchen, since they just got groceries yesterday, and it wouldn’t be too loud if we’re careful!”

“That’s a good idea,” Reynie said looking around the kitchen thoughtfully.”But what should we bake? There are so many recipes to choose from.”

Kate quickly scurried up to a shelf in the kitchen where a cookbook resided, and began flipping through the pages. 

“It should be something simple, something that’s easy to make but is delicious all the same. Any ideas?” Kate asked, looking at the three of them.

Constance piped up. “Mr. Benedict’s favorite treat is Snickerdoodle cookies, maybe we could make those. It should be on page 237 of the book you’re holding.”

    Kate quickly flipped to the according page, and nodded thoughtfully. “This seems easy enough to make. Flour, sugar, cinnamon, cream of tartar… Yeah! We should be able to make these with plenty of time before the rest of the house wakes up.”

    Kate assigned tasks to the group. Reynie would be in charge of gathering the ingredients, bowls, and measuring cups/spoons, Sticky would be in charge of measuring the ingredients and pouring them in, she would be in charge of stirring, and Constance would be the taste-tester to make sure the recipe was going smoothly. Everyone agreed to the roles assigned to them, and they began to work. The kitchen began to warm up with the heat from the oven and the happy voices of the four working together. Soon, each one of them was covered in flour and laughing as they kept working. After thorough testing, they had deemed the dough fitting to be baked into cookies. They carefully rolled the small balls of dough in cinnamon sugar and placed them into the baking sheets. 

    The cookies were placed into the oven, and the dishes were put into the sink. The four of them headed to the living room and sat on the couch, talking and laughing, much happier than when they had woken up. As they talked they grew more and more tired, and eventually they fell asleep, cuddling closely on the couch. 

    Reynie immediately knew something was wrong when he smelled the faint scent of smoke. His eyes shot open and he dashed to the kitchen, causing his friends to stir from their sleep as well. Black smoke had begun to rise out of the oven, likely from the cookies that had been placed within it an hour before. Reynie quickly turned the oven off and opened it. Smoke poured out of the oven, leaving two sheets of black, burnt lumps that were meant to be cookies. They hadn’t been in the oven long enough to set on fire, thankfully, but the cookies were certainly no longer edible. He donned a pair of oven mitts and carefully lifted out the baking sheets.  

Kate, Constance, and Sticky ran to the kitchen as well, and immediately knew what was wrong. Reynie sighed as he looked at the burnt cookies. They were meant to be something special for everyone, and they had been ruined. It was obvious from the expressions on his friends’ faces that they felt the same way.

“Well, c’mon,” Kate said, opening some of the windows just a crack to let the smoke out, “We can always try again, can’t we?”

    Her unwavering positivity made everyone feel better, if only a little. The group of them began to work to clean up the mess, waiting for the cookies to cool to throw them away. They were about to do just that when Mr. Benedict walked into the kitchen,a rather surprised expression on his face. The four of them began to sputter out rushed explanations and excuses as to why A)they were up so early and B)why the whole kitchen smelled of smoke, when he began to laugh. His laugh, so very similar sounding to dolphin speech, was bright and lighthearted, making it obvious he wasn’t upset with them, but thought it rather funny. The four of them relaxed when they understood he was not upset with them. When he eventually gained control of his laughter, he addressed them kindly.

“Thank you for working so hard to do something kind for us,” he said, smiling at them earnestly.”I appreciate the time and effort you put into your baked treats, even if they didn’t quite turn out as you hoped they would. I have an idea,” he said, gesturing toward the kitchen. “ Let’s try one more time. You’ll likely have a bit more help this time around, as the smell also woke up Number Two, Rhonda, and Milligan. No doubt soon enough the house will be up and lively,filled with the voices and excitement of a Saturday morning. But perhaps,if we work quickly, we can finish the cookies in time for everyone to wake up to them. What do you say?” he asked, smiling toward the four of them.

    They agreed that this was indeed a good idea, and worked to fetch the recipe once again, cleaning off the baking sheets as well as the bowls and measuring cups/spoons, and got all of the ingredients back out again. Number Two, Rhonda, and Milligan soon after joined them downstairs as well, helping out where they could. They decided to make a quadruple batch, as the normal recipe didn’t make nearly enough cookies to satisfy everyone in the household. Eventually, the kitchen was once more filled with the gentle laughter and pleasant chatter of those who happily worked within it. 

    Eventually, the rest of the residents of the house woke up to the sweet scent of homemade cookies, and to a bright, happy scene within the kitchen. The morning was spent eating cookies, talking, laughing, and listening to the gentle patter of rain from the storm. Constance sat on Mr. Benedict’s lap as he told stories and jokes. Kate cuddled with Milligan as they smiled and laughed together. Reynie, Miss Perumal, and Miss Perumal’s mother drank tea and talked with one another, laughing and smiling in each other’s warmth. Sticky and Mr. and Mrs. Washington embraced one another and talked quietly but sincerely to each other. Rhonda and Number Two chattered back and forth, occasionally saying something to make the other burst into laughter.  By mid-morning, the storm had cleared up to reveal a bright sunny day, as well as the sweet smell that always occurs right after it rains.  

By noon that day, every face in the household was beaming with joy.

The end.

[shadowhuntertrash]

High Notes

Chapter Nine

I dont own the character they belong to Cassandra Clare

There was a lot of buzz before the concert and Thomas couldn’t help but feel the excitement that was radiating from everyone. They were supposed to start the concert in about an hour and a half, they had split the concert evenly between the three bands, making sure that it was truly a shared concert and not one of them being the opening act. 

   The Merry Thieves were playing first tonight, then Beautiful Cordelia, and lastly Alastair. He hadn’t seen Alastair or the girls but he was currently sitting in a room with Matthew, Christopher, and James.

   They had a tradition from when they started as YouTubers with ten followers, to always have the same face paint in every video, they all had meanings behind them that the fans didn’t know about, though most of them had come up with theories as they became more popular.

   Matthew always had a glass of spilled wine that covered his eye and fell down his face in a way that looked like blood. He had a problem with underage drinking since he was about thirteen. His parents weren’t really around and he didn’t have a good reason to stop, his friends had always tried to talk him out of it but it had never worked. The only reason he stopped was after a talk with Will, James’ father. No one knew what Will had said, neither of them would talk about it, but since that day Matthew hadn’t touched alcohol, and Will all but adopted Matthew after the conversation.

  Christopher had a broken beaker with bubbling green liquid fizzing over, a testament to his love of chemistry and science. Christopher had always loved science but often blew things up, it wasn’t because he was bad he was actually very smart but he was ahead of his time more often than not. A lot of the kids at school would bully him for it, lock him in the back lockers, tear pages out of his books, mess his experiments up on purpose. It had gotten bad for a while and Christopher had given up science for about two months before Anna had managed to pull him out of his slump. He had chosen the beaker as a way to say he was proud of what set him apart and he wouldn’t allow people to put him down for that anymore.

  James had black wings that went sideways over one cheek and ended on the opposite side of his face, black feathers burnt on the edges and some on fire littered his other cheek. He wore it as a symbol of growing up in the shadows of his parents. He had always been the black sheep of his family, though he certainly acted like his parents at times. He also wore it as a proud sign of depression, a battle he had fought for a long time. He would have days where he was so out of it he hardly recognized anyone and it was like he was being dragged down. Eventually, his friends had pulled him out of it, mostly Matthew and Lucie, and he found his footing again. That was when they had started the band.

   Thomas had a large compass on the side of his cheek, the hands were vines and a red rose was blooming in the middle of it. It was a symbol for when he lost his way and started getting into trouble. Thomas was a good person at heart but sometimes people come into your life and knock you off track. He had gone to Paris one year and had gotten into a lot of trouble, it had been worse because he didn’t know how to tell his parents so instead he just didn’t come back. After he missed coming home and refused to answer anyone, Barbara found him, when he questioned how she had just glared and said that she had her ‘ways.’ She talked some sense into him and he went back, it taught him that there were always people there, and he should never be afraid to go home. The compass he had chosen to say that he had found his way, the arrow pointing north to his home.

   The boys had decided that they would go talk to fans before the concert, there were always fans that got there early and stood outside the doors. Thomas followed Christopher, James was on Matthew’s back, laughing loudly as Matthew took off down the hallway. Christopher turned to him with wide excited eyes and Thomas rolled his eyes in mock annoyance.

   “Wait come back.” Thomas called down the hallway, squatting so Christopher could jump on his back. Matthew spun around and jogged back to where Thomas stood, straightening up. Christopher was relatively small so it didn’t take much strength to carry him.

   “Race!” James shouted excitedly, Matthew wooted and stood next to Thomas who was laughing. Matthew raised an eyebrow at Thomas, a joyful grin on his face. “You’re going down Lightwood!” Thomas rammed his shoulder into Matthew who stumbled a little, Thomas lagged and Matthew stuck his tongue out. “No cheating!” James said from Matthew’s back, he was grinning lazily at Thomas, a relaxed expression that was very seldom on his face.

   Thomas looked forward. “You’re on.” Christopher laughed and started counting down slowly. “Three, Two, One!” Thomas and Matthew took off. Thomas stumbled for a second, not used to the wait and Matthew took it as a chance to get ahead of them. Thomas took off after him, Christopher laughing and clinging to Thomas for dear life. 

   Thomas pulled to the lead, the advantage of having long legs. Thomas looked behind him to Matthew who was cursing and speeding up, Thomas laughed and looked back in front of him just in time to turn around a corner and run straight into someone. 

   He fell backward, Christopher shrieking as he went down with him. Thomas turned mid-fall, trying to avoid landing on Christopher. He landed with a large thump and heard Matthew and James laughing hysterically at them. Normally Thomas would have laughed too but he was too busy trying to get air back into his lungs, all of it having been expelled when he landed squarely on his back.

   He turned to look at Christopher to make sure he was okay, he heard him laughing and laid back down. Christopher got up and started talking to the person they had run into, Thomas just stayed on the ground willing the air to come back to his lungs. After a second Matthew and Alastair were standing over him. 

   Matthew was still laughing but Alastair looked rather concerned. Thomas sat up slowly coughing and thanking god he could breathe now. “Are you alright? I would say sorry but I rather fancy that was your fault.” Thomas laughed and Alastair laughed with him. 

   Thomas was well aware of how red his face was, last he had seen Alastair he was being asked out and left standing there like a fish, opening and closing his mouth dumbly, now he was sat on the ground having run Alastair over in a stupid race.

   “This is so embarrassing.” Thomas groaned, his hand rubbing the back of his head where he had hit it on the concrete floor. Alastair laughed and shook his head, his hand coming down to help Thomas up. 

   “Where were you going so fast anyway?” At this Thomas forgot his embarrassment and turned to look at Matthew who still had James on his back. “This does not mean you win!” Thomas said, pointing his finger at Matthew. “I fell, that does not mean you win. It doesn’t count as a forfeit or whatever thing you were going to say.” Matthew stuck out his lips in a pout. “But Thomas.” He said in a whiny voice, Alastair was watching the exchange with amused eyes and Thomas shook his head firmly.

   “Sorry no I win, isn’t that right Alastair.” He said turning to Alastair, faking confidence to shake off the lasting effects of his earlier embarrassment. Alastair nodded enthusiastically. “Oh yes, very much so.” Matthew groaned. “That’s not fair, you can’t ask your boyfriend! He’s biased!” Thomas blushed again, his embarrassment renewed, as Alastair laughed. “Not yet. Where are you going?” Alastair asked Matthew, nonchalance rolling off him in waves. Thomas wondered if Alastair was aware he had just given him a heart attack. 

   James turned his attention to Thomas, a wicked smile spreading across his face. “Not yet?” He mouthed, amusement dancing in his eyes. Thomas just glared in response.

   “We’re going to see the fans before the concert.” Matthew said, dropping James back on his feet. Alastair’s face lit up. “Oh, that’s my favorite part! Can I come?” He asked, the question was directed at Thomas but Christopher beat him to it. “More the merrier.” He said, quite literally skipping down the hall towards the big double doors that led outside. 

   Matthew and James started walking, Matthew gave Thomas a pointed look before grabbing James’ hand and pulling him faster so they were a few paces ahead of Alastair and Thomas. Thomas could feel his palms sweating and took a deep breath before looking at Alastair with a smile on his face.

  “You know, you never actually heard if I agreed to go out with you.” Alastair tilted his head, a playful smile resting on his lips. He stopped walking and winked at Thomas. “Oh my dearest Thomas Fabian Lightwood, would you do me the greatest honor of going on a date with me.” Thomas laughed loudly, something told him that he should be embarrassed but the scene in front of him was too funny.

   “That is most certainly not my middle name but I think I will.” Thomas said through his laughter, Alastair beamed at him and continued walking to the door considerably closer to Thomas now.

   They were greeted by about a hundred screaming fans as they walked out. Thomas turned to Alastair with a disbelieving smile and he just clapped a hand on Thomas’s shoulder with a laugh, something that could be passed off as friendly Thomas noted gratefully. 

   Alastair turned and went to talk to a girl who looked to be about eighteen with an “I <3 Alastair” poster. Thomas smiled at the way Alastair’s face was lit up, completely comfortable in this environment. 

   “Thomas! Thomas!” He turned to look at who was screaming his name and saw a woman who was holding hands with a girl who looked to be about five years old. He walked over with a smile and crouched down so he could be more level with the girl. “And what is your name?” He asked with a kind smile, the girl was buzzing with excitement. “I’m Talia!” She said, a large slightly toothless smile plastered on her face. “It’s my birthday.” She said quietly watching him with wide eyes as if the excitement were wearing off and she was getting shy.

   He laughed and flashed her a large smile. “I have a question, it’s important so don’t just say something to please me alright?” She nodded enthusiastically and Thomas laughed making eye contact with her mother who was watching the interaction with a fond smile. “Alright, do you like Alastair or The Merry Thieves better?” He asked and watched her face scrunch up in thought.

   “I love you but I love Alastair a lot.” She said, her face distressed as if she genuinely couldn’t decide. Thomas laughed and nodded. “I will be right back, okay?” He said winking at her, she nodded furiously and he smiled turning away.

   Thomas walked up to Alastair and said hello to the boy he was talking to. “Do you mind if I steal him for just a second?” Thomas asked the boy who looked disappointed but nodded anyway, a starstruck look on his face.

   Thomas pulled Alastair gently by the elbow over to the Talia whose eyes had gone triple the normal size. “Oh.” She said quietly as Thomas crouched back down in front of her, Alastair followed his lead shooting a look at Thomas silently asking him to explain. Thomas turned to Alastair with a warm smile, “Well, it’s Talia’s birthday today and she loves you more than me.” He let out an exaggerated sigh and Talia started protesting immediately.

   Thomas laughed loudly and patted her head. “It’s alright I’m quite fond of him too.” He said, throwing a secretive smile at Alastair who was watching him fondly. “So Talia, I was thinking we could sing you happy birthday?” Talia squealed loudly and then tried to play it off by clearing her throat, Thomas laughed and ruffled her hair.

   Talia’s mom grabbed her phone quickly and started recording while Thomas looked at Alastair before nodding and they started. As they sang the people around them sang along and before they reached the second line the rest of the Merry Thieves and the crowd were singing along. There were tons of cameras on them and Thomas couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up when it suddenly got really quiet when they sang Talia’s name due to only a few people having heard it.

   When they were done Alastair smiled widely at her. “How old are you Talia?” She beamed at him. “I’m six.” Thomas smiled, he hadn’t been far off. Alastair smiled at her as he stood up. “Well happy birthday sweetie, I hope you enjoy the concert.” Alastair gave Thomas a look and without question, Thomas took over talking to her as Alastair leaned over to whisper something in Talia’s mother’s ear.

   “What do you want for your birthday?” He asked secretively, Talia just watched him with wide eyes. “To meet you.” She said simply, a shy smile resting on her face. Thomas felt warmth blossom in his chest and reached over to hug her gently. “I’m very glad I got to meet you today Talia.” She giggled and held on to him while he rubbed her back.

   Alastair crouched next to them with an excited smile. “Talia, since it’s your birthday and you decided to come and spend it with us, would you like to see us again after the concert? We can hang out a bit?” Talia was silent for a minute staring at Alastair as if he had just offered her the moon, she turned to her mom with her mouth open and she laughed. “I’m fine with it Talie.” She said, running a hand through her daughter's hair. 

   Talia squealed and launched herself into Alastair’s arms nodding. Alastair laughed as he landed on the ground, the force of Talia flinging herself on him knocking him off balance.

   They hugged her one more time and gave her backstage passes for after the concert before heading off to say hello to more people before they had to go back

   Thomas greeted about ten more fans before Matthew was dragging him back inside. He laughed as he stumbled, trying to keep himself upright at the speed Matthew was going. “I’m coming give me a second!” Thomas said after tripping on the raised bar that separated the inside and outside.

   It was a rush of lights and sounds as they all got ready. Cordelia, Lucie, Anna, Alastair, and surprisingly Jesse had all stopped to wish them good luck before they went out on stage. They were currently backstage watching the fans from where they were tucked away in the shadows of the stage. 

   Matthew was bouncing on the balls of his feet and James was laughing at his excitement while Christopher just stared in wonder at everything. Thomas felt that nervous flutter in his stomach again but was pleasantly surprised when he realized his excitement was winning out.

   They were on in two minutes and Matthew turned to them with a big smile. “Huddle.” He said and the boys laughed as they made a circle, their arms over shoulders. Thomas was between Matthew and Christopher, bending down to accommodate for his height.

   “I would just like to say gentlemen,” Matthew said in a noticeably quieter voice that informed the other boys it was about to get sappy. “That no matter what happens out there I wouldn’t want to do it with anyone but y’all.” Thomas brought his hand up to Matthew’s hair to ruffle it slightly as Christopher smiled at them and voiced his agreement, James kissed Matthew on the cheek and turned to everyone. 

   “I love you guys more than anything and I know we’re going to rock it tonight.” He gave Thomas a pointed look as he said the next part. “There’s no reason to be nervous and we’re all right there so just know we’ve got your back.” Matthew nodded and Christopher clapped his shoulder. Thomas beamed at them wondering how he got so lucky to have these three as his best friends.

   “I’m proud of all of you. I really am, just look how far we’ve come.” Thomas said in a gentle voice, gesturing with his head at the crowd and stage. Matthew laughed and James looked at all of them. “I’m proud of y’all too. It took a lot to get here.” James said and Thomas couldn’t disagree.

   Christopher put his head in the middle and they all put their heads together. “Let’s rock this.” Christopher said and Thomas could hear his smile even if he couldn’t see it. They all shouted their agreement and broke the huddle. Anna was standing there looking at them fondly.

   She came up and ruffled his brother’s hair before flinging her arm around Matthew’s shoulders. “Knock ‘em dead boys.” She said and Thomas smiled at the proudness she felt in her voice. It always was the best feeling to have Anna be proud of you.

   Thomas grabbed James and Matthew’s hands and James grabbed Christopher’s, they all squeezed their hands and smiled at each other. “Let’s do this.” James said and with that, they all strode onto the stage.

   The crowd had already been loud but the screams were deafening when they saw the boys walk on stage. Thomas couldn’t help the giddy excitement building up in his chest. This was real. This was happening. 

   Matthew adjusted the microphone and waved at the crowd who screamed again in response. “Hello! I’m Matthew Fairchild and we’re the Merry Thieves.” He had to pause as another wave of scream washed over the crowd. Thomas could feel his heart pounding against his ribcage. This was real, this was real, this was real.

  “We’re so glad to be here today thank y’all for welcoming us!” Another wave of screams and applause rang out and the boys all shared a disbelieving look. “Okay! I do believe we should get this started don’t y’all agree?” More screams. There were a few girls in the front who were all screaming at Matthew with signs that said ‘Marry me?’ and ‘#1 Fairchild Stan’ which Thomas didn’t actually understand.

    Matthew winked at the girls who started freaking out. “Okay, this song is called Bang!” There were cheers from everywhere and Thomas smiled at the crowd before moving to the electric piano that was off to the side. He started the song as James and Christopher started clapping and Matthew smiled at the crowd as he began singing.

I get up, I get down and I'm jumping around

And the rumpus and ruckus are comfortable now

Been a hell of a ride but I'm thinking it's time to grow

Bang! Bang! Bang!

So I got an apartment across from the park

Put quinoa in my fridge, still I'm not feeling grown

Been a hell of a ride but I'm thinking it's time to go

Bang! Bang! Bang!

(Here we go)

   James and Christopher start playing their respective instruments and the crowd screams as the drums and guitar filter through.

So put your best face on everybody

Pretend you know this song

Everybody come hang (come hang)

Let's go out with a bang

Bang! Bang! Bang!

I'm way too young to lie here forever

I'm way too old to try so whatever come hang (come hang)

Let's go out with a bang

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Feel like I'm gonna puke 'cause my taxes are due

Does my password begin with a one or a two?

Been a hell of a ride but I'm thinking it's time to grow

Bang! Bang! Bang!

(Metronome)

Man, I'm up to something (up to something)

Ooh de la de do, thank you all for coming (all for coming)

I hope you like the show

'Cause it's on a budget (on a budget)

So ooh de la de do

Yeah, come on, here we go

Yeah, come on

(Here we go)

So put your best face on everybody

Pretend you know this song

Everybody come hang (come hang)

Let's go out with a bang

Bang! Bang! Bang!

I'm way too young to lie here forever

I'm way too old to try so whatever come hang (come hang)

Let's go out with a bang

Bang! Bang! Bang! (Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!)

Bang! Bang! Bang! (Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!)

Been a hell of a ride but I'm thinking it's time to go

So put your best face on everybody

Pretend you know this song

Everybody come hang

Let's go out with a bang

Bang! Bang! Bang!

(Here we go)

So put your best face on everybody

Pretend you know this song

Everybody come hang (come hang)

Let's go out with a bang

Bang! Bang! Bang! (Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!)

I'm way too young to lie here forever

I'm way too old to try so whatever come hang (come hang)

Let's go out with a bang

Bang! Bang! Bang!

(Here we go)

Bang! Bang!

   Thomas watched as the crowd screams and claps. Thomas couldn’t really get a good breath in but it’s not like his panic attacks it’s almost a good feeling. Thomas watched as he sat back on James’ drum platform as Matthew starts addressing the crowd again.

   James smiled at him and puts his hand over his microphone as he leaned forward to talk to Thomas. “You doing okay?” He asks just loud enough for Thomas to hear, Thomas looks around again and nods turning his head back to James. “God yes, this is magical.” James laughs and nods in agreement as Matthew finishes talking. 

   James shoos Thomas away and he goes to pick up his guitar. He looks over to the side of the stage and pauses momentarily when he sees Alastair, Cordelia, and Lucie sitting there watching them. Lucie and Cordelia wave with bright smiles on their faces while Alastair meets Thomas’s eyes and wink giving him a thumbs-up gesture. 

   Thomas laughs lightly and points at him before he looks at Christopher and nods signaling them to start. The notes start filtering in and Thomas can’t help sending one last look towards Alastair.

There once was a bittersweet man and they called him, "Lemon Boy"

He was growing in my garden and I pulled him out by his hair like a weed

And like weeds do he only came and grew back again

So, I figured this time I might as well let him be

Lemon Boy and me started to get along together

I helped him plant his seeds

And we'd mow the lawn in bad weather

It's actually pretty easy being nice to a bitter boy like him

So, I got myself a citrus friend

But soon his bittersweet started to rub off on me

You'd think smelling like lemon zest would be pretty neat

I found out that my friends are more of the savory type

And they weren't too keen on compromising with a nice lemon pie

So Lemon Boy and me, we just gotta get along together

I helped him plant his seeds

And we'll mow the lawn in bad weather

It's actually pretty easy being nice to a bitter boy like him

So, I got myself a citrus friend

But what if I run out of fertilizer?

What if the clouds run out of rain?

What if Lemon Boy won't grow no longer?

What if beaches dry of sugar cane?

Oh well

The whales start to beach themselves

Tortoise shells tear away from their spines

It happens all the time, it happens all the time

Lemon Boy and I, we're gonna live forever

Like Snufkin and little my, we'll get around wherever

Lemon Boy and I, we're gonna live forever

Like Snufkin and little my, we'll get around wherever

It's actually pretty easy being nice to a bitter boy like him

'Cause we're the bitterest boys in town

Yeah, we're the bitterest guys around

And I got myself a citrus friend

   Thomas watched as the crowd erupted into cheers again and couldn’t help thinking that this was a dream. He pinched himself and laughed maniacally when he felt a small pain. This was real. He was really here with his friends.

   He turned to look back at Alastair who was now clapping and screaming on his feet while Lucie and Cordelia jumped excitedly. Thomas shook his head.

   This was real.

[sxfterhearts]

20. [9:40 am]

28A… 29A… Ah, 30A! You thought to yourself as your eyes glanced over the seat numbers slightly above your line of sight, your feet finally coming to a stop beside your reserved seat.

Much to your dismay, it was a window seat, facing in the opposite direction of the train’s movements. It was also one of the few face-to-face seats on the entire KTX train, with a table between the two pairs of seats which were facing each other.

You groaned internally. As much as you liked having a proper surface for writing or doodling in your journal, you didn’t like sharing. You much preferred having your own privacy while glancing out the windows, watching the greenery and the countryside pass by in a colourful blur, with soft tunes to accompany you on your journey. It’s fine, you reminded yourself, trying to stay positive, it’s only two hours, no big deal…

You hauled your backpack over your head and into the overhead compartment with practiced movements. Pulling out your travel necessities, which included your fully-charged phone, a pair of wireless earphones, a large, ice-cold Americano and your trusty journal, you settled into your seat for the rest of the morning. A part of you wished that the seat in front of you wouldn’t be occupied, while another part of you contemplated whether it was better to just try and fall asleep for the remainder of the train ride to Gangneung.

You quickly dismissed the latter thought, as the scenery throughout the train ride was too good to miss. You could deal with a couple of awkward silences and accidental glances with the unlucky stranger who reserved the seat opposite yours. Besides, it was your first time visiting your parents in two months – you weren’t going to let anything sour your mood.

The last-minute trip to Gangneung, your hometown, was planned just two days ago, as you were graciously granted two days of paid leave by your manager. After finally submitting the last tax return for your clients, your manager had treated the entire team to a congratulatory dinner and gave everyone a few days of leave to make up for the never-ending client meetings and late nights spent slaving away at the office desk during the tax busy season. You were overwhelmed with joy once your manager announced the news, pulling her usually stoic self into a tight embrace under the yellow glow of  the pojangmacha, a tent bar selling alcohol and street food, due to the heightened levels of alcohol within your system.

Giggling to yourself at the memory, you reached out for your phone and typed a message to your mother to inform her that you were about to depart Seoul. It was a message that she read and replied immediately with her usual “Be careful, dear, and have a safe journey.”, which you missed dearly during the busy season. On off-periods, you would make the effort to visit your parents once a fortnight. You moved to Seoul for university a few years back and found a job in the bustling city, leaving your parents and the family’s bicycle store behind in the coastal neighbourhood. Sometime in your early twenties, your father experienced a mild health scare and had to close the store during his month-long recovery. This made you realise that as the years went by, your parents were not getting any younger. With that in mind, you tried to clear your hectic schedule to spend as much time with your parents as possible.

“This is the 10:01am number 811 KTX train bound for Gangneung. The train will be departing shortly.”

The familiar female voice flooded the carriages of the train and distracted you from your thoughts. The seat in front of you was still unoccupied. You held on to the tiny glimmer of hope that it would remain that way for the rest of the journey, despite knowing very well that the summer holidays were approaching, turning Gangneung into an ideal weekend getaway for tourists and locals alike. The prospect of spending the next few days basking in the summer sunshine, helping out at the bicycle store and frolicking in the sea excited you to no end. After long hours cooped up in the office, you were looking forward to spending your break in the great outdoors.

“28… 29… 30, 31! Here it is, Mark, 31A and 31B. Dibs the window seat!” A cheerful voice spoke in English, pulling you out of your delightful daydream. Before you could turn your head to face its owner, a bright streak of reflected rainbow dancing across the table caught your eye.

“Okay, Bella,” A deep chuckle originated from the man standing beside your seat. “Wait a sec, pass me your bag, honey.”

Your eyes traced the source of the deep timbre notes of the American-sounding voice. What you found was a man, dressed in an oversized white shirt and black ripped jeans, who was placing the girl’s pink Barbie bag into the overhead compartment. Even though he was wearing a cap, you could make out his cherubic features and the gentle smile he directed towards the girl.

The thought that he was a bit too young to have a daughter crossed your mind for a split second, but you quickly shook it off to return the little girl’s excited smile with a polite wave. She was wearing a cute pink dress and looked to be about six or seven years old. The pair got comfortable in their seats, just as the announcement informed the passengers the doors were closing.

The man sitting diagonally opposite of you took off his cap to reveal a head of blonde hair. He met your gaze, and you watched as a surprised look flashed across his face. As the two of you exchanged polite greetings, you couldn’t shake off the thought that you had seen him somewhere before.

A phone chirped, signalling an incoming call. It was a call for him. He answered it, and you looked out the window to give him some privacy and not seem too nosy. You wracked your brain for answers. Did he work at the café I frequented? Or was it the Chinese restaurant that I ordered takeaways from? No… You mused silently. Maybe he’s the cashier at the convenience store near the apartment… But that doesn’t seem right either. Wait, is he-?

“Bell, your Mummy wants to speak to you.”

“Yes, Mummy! Mark said…”

You drowned out the rest of the conversation to refocus your thinking. You sneaked another glance at the man in question, only to find half of his face covered by his laptop screen as he tapped away furiously. It seems like it’s him… You adjusted your position several times to get a better look at his face without seeming too suspicious. Blonde hair and shiny helix piercing, it must be him.

The person you were referring to was someone you’ve only ever seen from afar. There was usually a safe distance between you two on your morning subway ride to the office, with him leaning casually against a pole and you standing steadily in the middle of the crowd. The closest you’ve been to him was when you were running late, and you happened to share the elevator with a blonde-haired man from the eighth floor of your apartment. He always had the top button of his crisp button-up undone, a tie hanging haphazardly over one shoulder and his headphones sitting snugly atop his blonde head, while munching on a piece of burnt toast. You had never encountered this strange gentleman until mid-May, so you assumed that he had recently moved into the floor below you. The two of you never exchanged words either, as he was always busy shoving down his breakfast, but you would always bow politely to each other. Unbeknownst to him, you were intrigued. Not many office workers were brave enough to sport such a striking hair colour, and you had to admit, it suited him perfectly.

You just never expected him to have a child.

“Mark!” The girl, Bella, whined while grabbing his hand. Your ears were still getting accustomed to hearing English after so long. The last time you were surrounded by native speakers was during your six-month-long secondment to the New York branch of your company. “Do my hair, pretty please! I want two braids.”

The man, Mark, sighed in fake annoyance, playfully poking her cheeks. “Yes, Your Highness. Hand over your other hair tie.” A part of you wasn’t used to how the girl didn’t address him with honorifics, but you busied yourself with your phone, pretending that you weren’t eavesdropping on their conversation.

“I thought you took them for me when we left your house.” She huffed, clearly unsatisfied.

“Nope, I only have one with me.”

Your fingers reached for the simple, black hair tie around your wrist. “Here, you can borrow mine.” Smiling, you handed it over to Bella, who accepted it with a grateful smile.

Mark leaned down to whisper in her ear, unable to hide the surprised smile on his face. “Thank the pretty eonnie in Korean.”

“Thank you, eonnie!” Bella chirped, so excited that she was practically bouncing in her seat.

“You’re most welcome.” You said in perfect English, intrigued at Mark’s earlier interaction with the girl.

He proceeded to divide her hair into two even halves, combing her dark locks with long, thin fingers. Expertly, Mark separated the first half into three parts and began to braid. He stuck out his tongue cutely in concentration, trying his best to not mess up.

“Don’t move so much, Bell.” He scolded lightly when the girl pulled out her colouring book and painted the sky a light shade of blue with large strokes of her coloured pencil.

“You’re pretty good at this. Mark, right?” You commented.

“Yeah, guess it comes with practice. I’m Mark, by the way. We never got to introduce each other properly. Your name is…?”

“Y/N.”

“Ah yes, Y/N. It suits you well. Always so prim and proper in your blazer and kitten heels. I must seem like a fool to you, with my tie undone and all.”

You laughed at his self-deprecating humour. This man is funny, and he can braid hair. His wife sure is a lucky woman, you thought. “No, not at all. Where do you work?”

Light conversation regarding your respective careers ensued. You found out that he was also working at a company close to yours, which explained the frequent encounters on the train. He moved in about a month ago from another side of the city because of his new job. When the conversation about work dwindled, you shifted the topic to the girl.

“How old is she?”

Mark secured the first braid with your hair tie, smiling to himself, satisfied. “Bella, how old are you?”

“I’m six, Mark! How could you forget?” The girl sat up from her position to shoot daggers with her eyes at him.

“I’m sorry, kiddo. Come, turn to the other side so I can finish this up.” He moved her to sit facing the window instead and starting on the second braid. “She’s six,” Mark turned to you and answered with a sheepish expression. Before you started to wonder what kind of father would forget his daughter’s age, he continued, “Bella doesn’t visit very often.”

Your eyebrows quirked upwards in response. Does that mean he was… divorced?

Mark saw your confused expression and hastened to add, “She’s my niece.” You let out a breath that you didn’t even realise you were holding. “My sister and her family came over from LA to visit me.”

It all made sense to you now. “Right…”

“Her parents wanted some alone time so I’m taking her to Gangneung for a day trip cos she wants to visit Jumunjin beach and take some pictures.” He paused, and went on to mouth, “She loves BTS.”

“The bus stop near the beach? The one on their album cover?” You wondered, knowing exactly which photo spot he was referring to. “It’s about a bit of a drive from my parent’s bicycle shop. I took a couple of days off to visit them.”

“You’ve seen the bus stop? That’s so cool!” Bella’s ears perked up.

“Sit still, honey.” Mark reminded sternly as he got closer to the end of the braid.

You nodded eagerly. “Yup! They’ve got a map of a BTS bus route with their album names as the bus stops.”

“Don’t encourage her, Y/N…” Mark groaned as he tied the second braid. He inspected his handiwork and seemed very proud of himself.

“Well, I have a suggestion,” You started carefully. “How about this? I can be your local tour guide for Gangneung today. I can show you the best photo spots, the most popular places to get your daily coffee fix and even get you a discount for bike rentals so you can cycle around the beach and the lake!”

The two of them nodded eagerly at your proposition.

//

It was a long, eventful day. The three of you had visited a hanok café, took way too many pictures at the Jumunjin bus stop and breakwater where they filmed Goblin, dipped your toes in Gyeongpo Beach and cycled around Gyeongpo lake. Your parents had immediately taken a liking to your new friend Mark and his cute niece, even insisting on packing them a container full of kimbap and banana milk for their journey back to Seoul.

“Thank you so, so much for today, Y/N.” Mark whispered as the three of you sat at the train station, waiting for their train. Bella had already dozed off with her head on Mark’s lap. It was an adorable sight. “We both had a lot of fun.”

“Not a problem at all. I enjoyed showing you around and visiting touristy places. I got to see my hometown in a different light.” You faced him, giving him a sincere smile.

He returned you with an equally bright smile that showed off his cute, pointy canines. “Let me take you out for dinner or something. You know, to make it up to you.” Mark’s ears began to heat up and were painted in a faint tinge of red. “Let’s exchange numbers.”

“Sure!” You replied. Was he asking me out on a date? You wondered. “I’ve been craving sticky barbecue ribs since I left the States.”

“I know a good place. How about next Saturday night?”

“I’m free.”

“Great, it’s a date.”

[sdottkrames]

Five Little Turkeys

@comfortember prompt 17: Flashbacks

Summary: Five Iron Fam Thanksgivings Past + 1 Present

Notes: Happy Thanksgiving!  Even if you don't live in the US and don't celebrate, I hope you take a little time to think of something you're grateful for and appreciate it. I am so very very thankful to all of you! and a special Thank You goes to @baloobird for always believing in and inspiring my writing, to @an-odd-idea for tagging me in fun things and for beta reading some stuff for me, and to @littlemissagrafina for leaving the absolute best comments and to every other friend I’ve made in this wonderful fandom. I love you all.

Read on AO3: Here

Five little turkeys standing at the door,

One waddled off, and then there were four.

____________________________________

May Parker had never hosted thanksgiving before.

Maybe that was a good thing, because she’d already managed to ruin the mashed potatoes, which resembled concrete more than anything, and burn the green bean casserole past recognition.

At least Ben was having more luck with the turkeys and gravy, and that was the most important part, right?

Right?

Oh goodness, this is going to be a disaster. I never should’ve agreed to host Ben’s family.

At least baby Peter’s gonna be here.

Staving off tears and chanting more positive things to herself in her head, May turned her attention to something she knew she could do: opening a can of cranberry sauce and dumping it in a festive pumpkin shaped bowl. Then she grabbed the homemade rolls Ben had made that morning and put them carefully in a basket with a pretty white towel to cover them.

Ben came up behind her, surprising her as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

“Smells amazing,” he murmured in her ear.

May giggled despite the tears that threatened again. “Well, maybe it’s the ruined potatoes, or the burnt green beans.”

Ben spun her around, tenderly kissing her. “I wasn’t talking about the food, babe.” May blushed. “Besides, I’ve already called my mom, and she’s gonna buy more potatoes on her way to make a fresh batch, and we’ve got plenty more cans of green beans to make the casserole again. We’ll be just fine.”

Goodness, May loved this man. She told him so as she kissed him again, and again, and again.

May opened the door to her husband’s family and inhaled a steadying breath as she took in the five of them standing there. She focused on their genuine smiles and kind eyes.

I can do this.

Once hugs and warm greetings had been exchanged all around and a new batch of potatoes had been made, the others put their offerings on the beautifully laid table. What May Parker lacked in the cooking department, she made up for in the decorating department, and the table was stunning, and the food even tasted better than May had hoped. However, it quickly became apparent that it didn’t really matter what food had been made. Little 14-month-old Peter was the star of the dinner.

It was hard for him not to be with the chubbiest of cheeks and the sweetest of smiles. All eyes were on him as he tried turkey for the first time, then stuffing, and cranberry sauce. He was more interested in mashing the food with his fingers...until pumpkin pie. The little boy’s eyes widened as the sweet dessert hit his taste buds, and he eagerly made grabby hands for more. All the adults giggled along as he shoved another bite into his mouth, clumsily holding his spoon.

Ben was right, May thought. Everything is just fine.

She looked around again, her eyes lingering on her husband, who smiled back at her.

More than fine.

________________________________________

Four little turkeys sitting near a tree,

One waddled off, and then there were three.

_________________________________________

Tony stared at his phone, trying and failing to keep the disappointment off his face. It seemed to fill him, all the way from his toes to the top of his head, accumulating into a grey cloud that dumped great drops of homesickness all over him.

He’d been looking forward to Thanksgiving. He wasn’t all that excited to see his father, of course, but he and his mother did get along, and he missed her. It was his first year at college, and he hadn’t seen his mother in nearly three months. He couldn’t wait to sit and play piano with her, hear her singing, feel her hugs. His mom had also promised him that his Uncle Jarvis and Aunt Anna were going to be there, and he was beyond excited to see them too. All that excitement turned sour in just one text.

I’m sorry it said.

Sorry sorry sorry. Always sorry.

He should’ve known his father would ruin plans. Should’ve never gotten his hopes up. His parents were traveling (again) and taking Jarvis with him. There would be no thanksgiving.

Tony resigned himself to spending the holiday by himself, hoping to see his mom and the Jarvises at Christmas. He started unpacking and putting everything away.

Then his roommate walked in.

“What’re you doing?” James Rhodes- Rhodey, as Tony had dubbed him their first week together- said.

“My parents are traveling. I won’t be able to go home,” Tony answered flatly. “I’ll be staying here for thanksgiving.”

Rhodey didn’t hesitate. “Oh, no, you won’t. Pack your stuff, Stark. You’re coming to the Rhodes house.”

“You don’t have to do that, really. I’m alright staying here. I’m honestly used to it! I prefer to be alone, actually.”

Tony tried to keep his cavalier persona firmly in place, playing the situation off. But he should have known that Rhodey wouldn’t buy it. From day one, his roommate had been able to see right through Tony and his bullcrap and been able to call him out on it.

Rhodey arched an eyebrow, placing a hand on his hip. “Uh huh. That why you’re sitting here moping?”

“I’m not moping!”

“I can practically see the storm cloud above your head!”

Tony rolled his eyes. “Fine. Well, are you sure your mom-”

Rhodey placed a hand on Tony’s shoulder, cutting him off. His dark eyes were serious. “My momma would have my head if she knew I let you stay here by yourself. I’ll let her know to expect you, but trust me when I say that it won’t be a problem.”

Tony took a deep breath and placed the shirts and bag of toiletries he’d unpacked back into in his small duffle while Rhodey called his mom.

“She said you better come, and expect to bring home at least three Tupperware full of left-overs.”

And so Tony found himself sitting around the table with Roberta Rhodes, Lila Rhodes, and his roommate. He hadn’t expected to be treated like family so quickly, but it was clear that’s exactly how they viewed him as the chatted and passed him turkey and stuffing and cranberry sauce.

Later, the Christmas tree cast a warm, happy glow over the four individuals laying around the living room in various stages of consciousness, their full stomachs lulling them into a contented stupor. Tony was surprised the tree was up so early, but he was glad it was. It’s branches were laden with ornaments that clearly held stories (like the handmade snowflake one that featured a picture of a young James Rhodes wearing the ugliest sweater Tony had ever seen, grinning ear to ear without any front teeth), so different from the sterile red and white decorations that went on the tree at his home every year.

The warm light and company seemed to fill him with happiness and contentment all the way from his toes to his head, accumulating into bright sun rays around him like a halo that warmed every part of his soul.

It was the best thanksgiving he’d ever had.

________________________________________

Three little turkeys with nothing to do,

One waddled off, and then there were two.

_________________________________________

The first year is the hardest Tony had heard it said.

It gets easier people promised.

Well, so far, it had been the hardest year, but Tony didn’t think it was going to get any easier after the one year mark.

His parents were dead. Killed. Gone. Right before Christmas.

At each new “first” without them, Tony found himself turning more and more to the bottle, saw his roommate and best friend become more and more concerned, his grades more and more in danger.

Tony had refused Rhodey’s offer to come be with him for thanksgiving. He loved them, but he couldn’t stomach being around a family.

His family, because the Rhodes’ were almost more family than his own parents had been.

Maybe that’s why it was so hard.

So on yet another first- the first thanksgiving without them- Tony woke to a dull grey sky outside his window. Bare trees, brown leaves, and dead grass further matched his mood. It was another day to be drained from his memory, drowned out by the buzzing in his skull.

He was heading to grab a beer for breakfast (totally healthy, he knows) when a knock on the front door had him changing course from the kitchen to the entranceway of his apartment.

He had to grip the doorframe to keep from falling over when he saw who was on the other side.

“Jarvis?”

“Hello, Sir,” the man said with a kind smile, but he couldn't quite cover up the concern in his eyes.

“What are you doing here?”

“Well, Anna and I thought you might like some company today. Our neighbor gave us a turkey that is much too large for just the two of us, so we thought you might come help us eat it.”

Tony knew Jarvis well enough to know that it wasn’t really a question. Jarvis wasn’t leaving without him. And, really, Tony couldn’t refuse even if he had the energy or desire to.

“Okay.”

Later that night Tony hugged them both goodbye, a stomach full of good food softening the sadness that had gripped him earlier that day. After Jarvis dropped Tony back off at his apartment, Tony paused as he was heading up the stairs, and turned around.

“Jarvis?” The man looked up from putting the car in gear. “Thank you. And Anna, too.”

Jarvis’ face softened. “Anytime, sir.”

And as Tony went to bed, he grabbed a beer out of habit, but thought twice before putting it to his lips.

Maybe it was okay to feel sometimes.

He dumped the beer down the sink and threw away the bottle.

___________________________________________

Two little turkeys in the morning sun,

One waddled off, and then there was one.

___________________________________________

The bright sun woke Peter up. He wandered blearily into the living room, and was surprised to find his aunt already awake, holding a cup of steaming coffee.

“Hey, baby,” she murmured, holding out her arm for Peter to snuggle under.

He didn’t need to ask about the red rim around her eyes, or what she was doing up so early. The space on the side of the couch from her was too conspicuously empty, the two places already set at the table too obviously missing a third, the hole in their heart too Ben-shaped to be ignored.

“I’m sorry,” Peter whispered, again, the guilt eating him as it always had, but especially on holidays.

Once May had found out about Spider-Man, Peter had finally cracked one day and told her the real details of Ben’s death after a particularly bad nightmare about the night featuring rain that was red like blood and gunshots echoing all around him. He’d sobbed and sobbed, begging her to forgive him. She hadn’t even thought about it. She’d wrapped her arms around Peter, hugged him as tight as she could, and whispered over and over again that it wasn’t his fault.

But hearing it and letting himself believe it were two completely different things. Peter didn’t feel like he deserved May’s forgiveness. It was his fault that they were awake at 6 AM, watching the sun rise, and missing part of them.

“No,” May said, her voice firm but her hand very gentle as she pulled back to place it on Peter’s cheek. “No. None of that. Ben would not want us sitting here, moping away on his second favorite holiday.”

Peter chuckled at that, remembering how his uncle would always insist that if he weren't already a religious man, he might start his own church dedicated to food. Thanksgiving was almost as holy to him as Christmas.

“Remember that year he made cupcakes that looked like turkeys? With the little candy corn feathers? You couldn’t eat it cause the turkey was ‘looking at you’?”

They both chuckled, snuggling together again.

“Or that time you tricked us with that stupid microwave turkey thing and he called in a panic, screaming for you not to do it?” May laughed.

“Oh! what about that time he laughed so hard, eggnog came out of his nose?”

They continued to remember and honor the man they were missing. As the sun rose and lit their apartment, the memories of thanksgiving’s they’d shared lit their hearts.

“Everything’s going to be okay,” May whispered, remembering her husband’s words from years earlier and taking solace in them once more.

“Yeah,” Peter murmured. “It will. Thanks, May. I’m so grateful I have you.”

“You, too, kiddo. More than you know.”

__________________________________

One little turkey better run away,

For soon it will be Thanksgiving Day.

__________________________________

Peeling potatoes was a mindless task, and Tony found that to be a very not good thing.

It meant his mind had time to wander and think about...things. Like Peter, and May, and the thousand others who weren’t celebrating Thanksgiving for yet another year. Though it had been four years since Thanos, Tony still found his mind wandering every holiday, thinking about and dwelling on the people who were unable to celebrate.

Especially one very specific person. The most important one, really, at least to Tony. And Tony hadn’t even been able to tell him.

To make up for lack of words shared in life, Tony found time every holiday to talk to Peter. Found a little private space that was quiet and secluded and talked to his kid. His kid. It had taken that kid’s death for him to finally admit it, but that’s what Peter had been to Tony. Pepper knew what he did even though he hadn’t told her, and he had a feeling she purposely kept Morgan busy to give him that quiet time.

Tony placed the last peeled potato in the bowl and turned to his wife. Her face softened at the look on his face, and she nodded, gesturing to the back door.

Tony squeezed her hand before walking out the door and to the group of small birches by the lake that he’d chosen for this purpose. He called it Peter’s Place. He was working on a sign for it.

“Hey, Pete,” he whispered, sitting on the ground and leaning up against his favorite tree. “Happy thanksgiving, bud. Another one without you, and I gotta say, it doesn’t get easier. But it gets...different. I hope you know I’m thankful for you. Thankful that you opened my heart to having kids, that you let me get my fumbling attempts at parenting so when Morgan came I had a better grasp on how it worked. I’m thankful for you teaching me about memes, for the movie and lab nights, for your smile and hugs.” He paused to wipe his eyes. “Geez, you made me soft. Anyway, I just wanted to come out and say my piece as usual. I love you, kid. I hope you know that.”

He took a minute to compose himself before heading back to the house. He didn’t make it all the way in before the door opened and a little body was running towards him.

“Oh no! A monster,” he cried, running the other way, smiling as Morgan’s laughter peeled behind him. He ran slowly, letting his 3-year-old daughter catch up to him on her tiny legs. She grabbed his leg, and he theatrically fell to the ground, rolling and taking her with him.

She giggled, and he placed a kiss on her cheek, then another, then another, keeping her happy laughter ringing out.

Morgan was a bright spot in his life, the light that, along with Pepper, chased the darkness of his failures away and reminded him that despite all he’d lost, there was still so much to be thankful for.

And Peter would want him to be happy, to live, to be grateful and positive. That’s how he’d lived, after all.

So Tony kissed his daughter twice more, one for her, and one for his other kid.

“I love you,” he whispered to them both.

______________________________________

Soon it will be Thanksgiving day

______________________________________

Peter could hardly contain his excitement.

May laughed at him as she put the mashed potatoes (that Peter had made, with May “helpfully” giving tips and pointers...mostly to make him laugh) in a tin to bring with them to the Starks.

“Peter, calm down or I will intentionally make this take so much longer,” she threatened.

“But Maaaaay, I’m HUNGRY.”

“Yes, and I told you to eat something for breakfast. And did you?”

Peter mumbled something unintelligible.

“What was that?”

“No. I wanted to be hungry for turkey! And potatoes! And pie!”

“Peter, please,” she groaned, good naturedly. “Go get one of the super bars from the cabinet so your stomach doesn’t start digesting itself and so I don’t have to deal with you complaining the entire way to the lake house!”

“Fine,” Peter sighed, and dramatically went to grab a granola bar as requested.

“Grab two!”

Peter did, and waved them pointedly in front of her face. May laughed. “Okay, okay. Eat them, and let’s get out of here!”

They passed the time by belting Christmas carols on the ride down, laughing and dancing, and soon they were there. Peter carried the potatoes in and put them down on the counter so he could accept a hug from Morgan, who ran and jumped as high as she could, wrapping her arms around his waist.

“Petey!!! Happy Thanksgiving!” She shouted, placing a kiss on his cheek.

“Hey, Mo,” he said, smiling. “Happy thanksgiving.”

The little girl placed both her hands on either side of his face, very seriously looking into his eyes. “Peter, I am thankful for you.”

Peter couldn’t help but chuckle a little at her dramatics, even though his heart was swelling from her words. “Well, thank you. I’m grateful for you too!”

Her mission completed, Morgan squirmed to go give May a hug, so Peter turned to Pepper. She was wearing an apron with little turkeys all of it, and was rolling dough for rolls into balls to be placed in the oven once the turkey was done.

He placed a kiss to her cheek. “Happy Thanksgiving, Pepper!”

“Happy thanksgiving, sweetie!”

“Where’s Tony?”

Pepper’s face . “He’s out back. Why don’t you go find him. I’m sure he’ll be happy to know you’re here.”

Peter found Tony by the lake in a little grove of trees.

“Tony?”

“Hey kid,” Tony said, and something about his voice made Peter pause. He glanced around and saw a little sign that said Peter’s place. He looked quizzically at Tony. “I came here every holiday to talk to you while you were...gone. I guess old habits die hard. I couldn’t not come here today.”

Peter blinked back tears. “Wow,” he said, unable to find more eloquent words.

“Pete, you know I love you, right? And that I’m grateful for you?”

Peter’s voice wouldn’t form the words, couldn’t make sound come out through the lump of emotion in his voice. He settled for hugging Tony instead.

“Yeah,” he said finally. “You know I feel the same, right?”

Tony hugged Peter tighter. “Yeah, kiddo, I do.”

They stayed there for a little while, just holding one another, basking in each other’s love and the intense gratitude of being able to be together again that seemed to overwhelm them.

Eventually, Tony let out a watery chuckle. “Geez, today’s supposed to be a happy day. I blame you for making me all emotional!”

Peter nudged Tony with his elbow. “Rude, old man!”

And the two, still linked together by arms thrown over shoulders and around waists, headed back to the house.

As Peter looked around the table as they all sat down, the Starks, May, even Happy and Rhodey, he allowed himself to be a little bit sappy. This was what Thanksgiving was truly about, anyway: family. And he really couldn’t express how grateful he was for each and every one of them, including the ones he’d lost. He closed his eyes and mentally committed the moment to memory.

“Happy thanksgiving, everyone!” He said, raising his glass.

“Happy thanksgiving!” They called back.

And it was. It really was.

[hesmygolden]

The Christmas Gift (Final Part)

Harry Styles x Reader

The one where Y/N is struggling to find the perfect gift for his boyfriend Harry Styles who is always giving the rest of the world more than what they deserve.

PART ONE

You woke up to the sight of your sleeping boyfriend next to you. He was peacefully sleeping so you decided to silently make your way downstairs to make some coffee for the two of you.

As you poured some coffee into your favorite mug, you saw your phone light up with a notification from Anne, Harry’s mother.

“Good morning sweetheart. I’m sending you a message since Harry hasn’t replied to mine and I’m out buying ingredients for dinner already and I can’t remember if you’d rather have Alfredo pasta or if you like Pesto better? Looking forward to having you and my son for dinner! Xxx”

You smiled at Anne’s message and replied with your favorite pasta. You felt so lucky to be included and treated as part of Harry’s family even though they have all assured you for the past 3 years of being Harry’s girlfriend that you are practically already part of the family.

Tomorrow was going to be the Christmas dinner at Anne’s place and everyone gathered there to spend quality time together, have a delicious dinner, exchange gifts and play boardgames.

You loved spending Christmas there and your favorite part about it was getting to see Harry surrounded by people who have always loved him no matter what.

After finishing your breakfast and also making an omelette for your still asleep boyfriend, you changed your clothes and quickly got ready to head out and get your boyfriend’s gift.

Before driving to the place you called to make sure they were still open and accepting orders and once they confirmed it, you drove to the mall.

Lucky for you, there were not so many people Christmas shopping at 8 in the morning when the mall had just opened up. You were kind of worried someone would recognize you and take a picture of you which would probably get to Harry thanks to social media and it would ruin the surprise.

You walked to the store without taking off your sunglasses and when the owner of the store appeared you took them off.

“I opened the store earlier for you!” The owner, who was a man in his late 50s, said with a smile.

“Thank you so much, I’ve been going crazy trying to find the perfect gift for my boyfriend.” You smiled back at him.

“Hopefully you’re satisfied with what you get here.”

“Oh I will.” You smiled again.

“So you said you wanted a customized one?” The owner said as he turned on his computer and adjusted his glasses.

“If it’s not too much to ask for,” you sighed, “I know it takes longer but if you could please make this a priority to have it done faster, I’m willing to pay double the amount of it’s worth.”

The owner giggled at your preoccupied state and you did too. Paying the double of what the gift was worth was sure a lot of money but your boyfriend was worth all of it and you knew he would love it.

“There’s no need for that,” he said softly, “I know who you are and who your boyfriend is.”

You smiled at him. The fact that you’ve been Harry’s girlfriend for three years already had obviously gained you a lot of fame, everyone knew who you were.

After telling the owner exactly what you wanted, you paid him (as much as he told you to not pay the double, you still did) and left the store feeling a wave of relief.

The owner had told you to pick up the gift tomorrow morning which was perfect timing to have Harry’s gift ready for his family dinner.

You drove home to find your boyfriend walking down the stairs and looking at you with a puzzled face as you got inside the house.

“Morning sleepyhead.” You cheerfully said to Harry.

“Why were you out so early?” He said as he yawned.

“Mind your business.” You joked and gave him a quick peck.

“I missed you in bed.”

“Yeah, your loud snoring gave me that impression.”

“Hey!” He laughed as he poured his coffee in his mug.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The next day you woke up early again to get Harry’s gift.

After greeting the owner and thanking him for what felt like a million times for accepting your order during a very busy date, you stared at the gift and felt like a child opening their Christmas present. You were so excited to give it to Harry.

Once you got home again, you decided to tell your curious boyfriend that the reason you’d been out early again was to get your outfit for dinner tonight.

Time went by and the two of you were getting ready for dinner.

“You look so good.” Your boyfriend said as he playfully slapped your bum.

“So do you.” You smiled as you finished putting on some red lipstick to match your red skirt.

“I’ll get going and place the bag of gifts inside the car while you finish getting ready love.”

Harry being the kind and generous man he’s always been, got everyone a Christmas gift and by everyone it meant that even Anne’s cats had their own wrapped gifts.

Since there were so many gifts, Harry always put them all inside a big black bag as if he were Santa Claus.

You also got gifts for Harry’s family and placed them in another bag (not as big as Harrys’) which your boyfriend picked up to get it inside the car.

When the two of you arrived to Anne’s house, you were greeted warmly by all of Harry’s family members.

After everyone had dinner it was finally time to exchange gifts and you felt butterflies form in your stomach.

You received a new scarf, perfume, fluffy socks and other nice things from Anne, Gemma, Gemma’s boyfriend and the rest of Harry’s family but Harry wanted to save your gift for last.

Your turn to give your gifts finally came and you started with Anne, by gifting her a book collection of her favorite author (which she loved), and so on. You also decided to save Harry’s gift for last.

“This next and final gift is for the love of my life,” you smiled and took out the yellow wrapped box from the bag, “thank you for being my happiness.”

You saw everyone’s face looking at you in adoration, Anne’s eyes getting teary eyed and Harry slightly blushing with a big smile on his face.

“Is it me?” Harry joked and everyone burst out laughing.

“It’s actually for Dusty.” You joked back and everyone else laughed too.

Harry got up from his seat and walked towards you, embracing you in a big warm hug.

“You didn’t have to babe.” He whispered and placed a soft kiss on your cheek.

“I love you too much.” You said and sat down with him so he could open the gift.

He carefully and slowly unwrapped little by little the box, making everyone impatient while he laughed at his “acting”.

Once he finally unwrapped the box and opened it, he burst out laughing.

Everyone in the room looked confused and you just laughed along with your boyfriend.

He took out the little note you placed inside which said, “Not burnt cookies.”

The box was filled with chocolate chip cookies which you bought at a bakery since you had given up on baking them.

“This is perfect.” He smiled as he pulled you in closer.

“That’s not all there is inside the box babe.” You giggled at your boyfriend.

The fact that he had loved you gifting him something as simple as chocolate chip cookies made your heart burst with adoration for him.

He gave you a confused look and dug inside the box filled with cookies to find another tiny black box.

You smiled at him as he shook your head at you playfully.

He carefully opened the box and you felt as if the two of you were the only ones in the room, completely forgetting the fact that his whole family was watching the whole thing.

Once he saw what was inside the box, he covered his face with his hands as he shook his head and laughed even more.

“What is it now?!” Gemma laughed and snapped at the two of you, no one understanding what was going on between the two of you.

“God I love you.” He said naturally.

“That one isn’t burnt either and you can keep it with you all the time.” You said softly.

Harry looked at you, his eyes were full of tears and you felt yours fill up with tears too as he stared at you with so much love.

“This is my favorite thing ever!” He exclaimed.

“Show us!” Anne demanded.

Harry finally took out what was inside the box to reveal a chocolate chip cookie ring covered in gold (just like his rose shaped one but instead of the rose, it was a cookie) which somehow looked elegant and expensive (probably because it was).

“Definitely an inside joke between the two lovebirds.” Gemma said as she smiled at her mother.

After everyone finished exchanging gifts and scattered all around the house, Harry and you were left alone in the living room. The two of you were sitting down cuddling and talking about your future plans.

You were playing with Harry’s hand and looking at his rings, he was already wearing the one you gifted him.

“It looks good on me.” He said.

“Definitely.”

“I’m never taking it off.” He kissed your cheek.

He then grabbed your left hand and played with it too, softly tracing his fingers all around your palm until he reached your fourth finger.

“You know..” He whispered and paused a little, staring at your hand.

“Yeah?”

“I can’t wait to give you a ring too.”

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

thank u, thank u, thank u so much for reading!! hope it was lovely and have an amazing christmas! - L

[vs-redemption]

Bad Day (Dabi x GN!Reader)

This wasn’t a request, but it’s been something in my mind that I’ve wanted to write for a few days. I’ve had some family drama the past couple weeks and whenever I’m sad I think about Dabi lol I’m not sure why. Anyway, there’s a whole second part of this that I was planning to write, but I don’t know if I’ll ever get to it so I’ll post this by itself for now!

ANYWAY! My requests are still open so feel free to check out the rules and my masterlist.

⚠️ There are some suggestive themes (nothing crazy)

⚠️ There are mentions of alcohol consumption

It had been a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. Actually, why sugar coat it? Things had not been great for a while. Today had just been one the times when everything finally came to a boil. With your mind filled with anger, you make your way to the only place you can think to go. You crash through the doors of the tiny bar where the League of Villains stayed in secret, not bothering to hide your rage as you stomp over to the counter and plop down onto one of the old wooden stools. Kurogiri walks over calmly to ask if he can make you a drink.

“Yes, please.” The politeness sounded forced, but at least you’d somehow remembered your manners even through the whirlwind of emotions rampaging through you. You stare at the man’s misty form as he walked away, trying to make out a pattern to the way the purple tendrils twisted and curled as he moved. There was something off about the guy, but you could never quite figure it out. Maybe it was because he seemed more like a babysitter than an actual villain. Or maybe it was because he was the only one who rarely left the bar. Contemplating the possibilities wasn’t enough to distract you and you began to unconsciously pick at the skin on the inside of your pointer finger with your thumbnail. It was a habit that always seemed to manifest when you were on the verge of a breakdown.

You look around the bar once and find that it’s empty aside from you and the villain bartender. You weren’t sure if you were grateful for that or not. You’d been a member of the league for a while now, but you weren’t particularly close to any of them. It wasn’t as if you had a deep hatred for heroes or a passionate desire to destroy the world like the others. The one thing you did have in common was that you were a misfit that didn’t seem to belong anywhere else thanks to a quirk that had slowly driven everyone around you away. You’d agreed to help out the league with their dastardly plans in exchange for a place to just exist in peace.

“Can we put on some music or something?” You ask Kurogiri once your first drink is gone. Without saying a word, he walks over to a small radio on the shelf behind the bar and turns it on. You continue to pick at the skin on your finger as the melody of a stupid love song begins filling up the empty bar. It didn’t do anything to calm the fury in your heart. Your mind wanders to the messages you’d received from your family earlier that day. They were suddenly asking you for favors after almost a year of ignoring your attempts to reach out to them time and again. They’d distanced themselves from you just like everyone else had. You’d lost track of how many friendships you’d lost due to people’s inability to accept you the way you were. They only got in touch when they needed something from you.

You were halfway done with your second drink when the door swings open again and someone else walks into the bar, bringing in the smell of burnt flesh with them. Dabi comes into the room at a much more leisurely pace than you had and silently plants himself in the seat furthest from you. Kurogiri was already preparing the man’s usual drink.

“Why are we listening to this shit?” Dabi asks flatly while throwing an annoyed glance over to the old radio. The signal wasn’t too strong so the song kept fading into static every few minutes. Kurogiri walks over and turns the dial until finding another clear station that happened to be playing classical piano. “Awesome… thanks.” The sarcasm in his voice was palpable. You quickly down the rest of your second drink.

Dabi had always been intimidating to you. He had deep purple burn scars covering half his face, most of his arms, and a bit of what you’d seen of his chest, plus he was a dangerous murderer. None of those things were what really got to you though. You knew that everyone in the league had killed at some point, but at least most of them had been somewhat friendly to you. Even if Toga was a bit much for your taste, she’d still jumped at the chance to make a new friend when you had showed up. Twice was always good for a laugh too. You’d even had some interesting conversations with Spinner and Mr. Compress. Dabi though, he always kept to himself. And there was always something so distant and cold about his intense blue stare that made him difficult to even approach, let alone talk to.

“Would you like another one?” Kurogirl picks up your empty glass.

“Yeah.” You glance back over at Dabi, feeling a sudden urge to move. You weren’t doing nearly enough to deal with the negative emotions still running wild inside you, and they were twisting and contorting like Kurogiri’s mist, trying to force you into finding a more effective way to express them. You look around the bar once, wondering how mad Shigaraki would be if you tore through the place until you’d destroyed enough to tire yourself out. That was probably out of the question. You hop off your barstool and walk over to Dabi. Maybe he wasn’t that bad. You climb up onto the seat right next to him.

“Hey.”

He turns his head to meet your gaze with a bored expression. Being this close to him felt dangerous, yet exciting. The smell of burned skin was stronger up close, and you had no idea if it was from overusing his self-destructive fire quirk, or from the people he’d undoubtedly turned into victims that day. Kurogiri walks over and puts your new drink in front of you. You take a sip and find it cold and refreshing.

“Did you need something?” Dabi asks. It was a question but it sounded very dismissive. You decide to ignore your urge to run away.

“I’m bored,” You shrug. Dabi only raises his eyebrows slightly before turning away from you.

“Not my problem.” He says.

“Come on,” You weren’t backing down. “We could go scare little kids by popping out of dark alleys or something.” Dabi swings his head back around to face you with a scowl, only to find you grinning playfully back. Kurogiri’s drinks had made you brave.

“That’s your idea of fun, huh?” Dabi asks.

“It’s an idea,” you confess. “I’m open to suggestions if you have a better one.” The villain just continues to stare at you with his eyes alight with irritation and just a hint of confusion. You’d never spoken to him before except short polite greetings, so the behavior you were exhibiting now was probably throwing him off just a bit.

“Fine,” you sigh while waving your hand toward the radio which was still playing the same slow piano music, “do you fancy a dance?”

“No.” He actually sounded kind of pissed now.

“Wanna fight then?” You quickly change tactics and the look of surprise on his face was extremely satisfying. It was the first time you’d seen him express any sort of emotion aside from irritation or apathy. “Not to the death or anything,” you give him another cheesy smile. “Just a friendly little match.”

“No.” He turns away again which causes you to panic because you didn’t want him ignoring you. Without thinking, you reach out to grab his arm. Dabi goes stiff and his eyes slide back to meet yours. You’d really caught him off guard this time. You look down at your hand, thinking that you should probably let him go but not actually wanting to. The burned skin under your fingers felt different than you expected. It felt leathery, but wasn’t as coarse as it looked. You rub your thumb back and forth over his forearm a couple times, marveling at the warmth it radiated due to his quirk.

You finally glance back at his face to find all his features dead aside from his blue eyes which simmered with mysterious emotions. You got the impression that if you said or did the wrong thing, he might just drag you outside and turn you into a pile of ash. That didn’t actually sound so bad. Maybe it was all right to keep pushing your luck. Your eyes drop from his eyes to his mouth. His whole lower lip and jaw were scarred with the same deep purple burns. The staples holding his damaged flesh together ran from the corners of his mouth, along his cheeks, and up towards his ears. You lean in towards him and peek back up at his eyes. The life you’d seen in them just a moment ago had been locked away, and now his stare was flat and guarded.

“So, we’re doing this now?” He asks in a low voice. Even though you’d never intended for things to go this way, you were glad that you finally had his attention.

“Is that a problem?” You smile back, batting your eyelashes once flirtatiously. His expression doesn’t change much.

“Guess not,” He shrugs before grabbing his drink off the bar with his free hand and chugging it down.

You continue to exam his face for a moment, letting your eyes wander over the burn marks under his eyes and the small piercings on the side of his nose. You were close enough to smell the liquor on his breath now and you drag your hand up his arm to grab his shoulder and pull him closer. You glance over to check on Kurogiri, but he was no longer in the room. You wonder how the misty man must think of you now that he’d witnessed your shameless attempts to use Dabi as a way to avoid your feelings.

“Are we doing this or what?” Dabi’s voice pulls your attention back and you catch a glimpse of uncertainty in the depths of his blue eyes. The reality of what you’re doing hits you suddenly like a ton of bricks. You grimace at your own actions and pull away from Dabi as fast as possible. You cover your face with your hands and let out a groan.

“Ugh!” You shake your head before looking at the man in front of you to see anger written in his glowering eyes and scowling lips. “Jeez, I’m an idiot. I shouldn’t have done that.” The fury on Dabi’s face intensifies, making you feel even worse. Without saying another word, he hops off the barstool and storms out. The crushing weight of your guilt settles in your chest and you put your head down on the bar. What was wrong with you? Even if you hadn’t really interacted with Dabi much before, he was still a member of the group that had taken you in and accepted you. If he or Kurogiri decided to tell Shigaraki about what you’d just done, you might end up back on your own or dead. Your very bad day had just gotten a whole lot worse.