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#he takes his place on the permanent interest pedestal
pastafossa · 6 months
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Little late cause busy day but happy birthday to Matt Murdock, the man who has:
Inspired me so much I wrote a fic longer than War and Peace
Made me so determined to write the above that I created an outline and I hate outlining, yet now I know it works, thanks for the self help baby
Made me hyperfixate on a character for longer than I knew I could actually achieve, I think we're basically common law married now in ADHD terms
Literally helped me make friends with all ya'll
Helped me get through a dark period
On a lighter note, awakened my love of That Ass cause DAMN
Introduced me to that smokin red black color scheme
Introduced a great many of us to the greatest cinematographic religious symbolism shots of any show ever
Taught me a great deal about fight scenes
Reminded us all that black is always sexy
May be why I get published one day
I will ALWAYS love this man, and may I make these posts for many years to come, may I one day be an old lady shouting on a front porch at passersby that it's Matt's birthday and people assume I'm talking about a real person until I shout about Daredevil, and may Matt in whatever parallel universe he exists in have a birthday that's actually FUN and not one that's tragic and full of sad martyr-y darkness.
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starsinkpop · 7 months
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ATEEZ Jeong Yunho Tarot Reading - Future Spouse
Disclaimer: I do tarot readings for fun, so please read them with a grain of salt. Don’t take my words too seriously and just keep an open mind. Tarot is a divination tool that can’t predict the future, as every single individual has their own will and makes their own decisions. Tarot should be seen as a guidance and a good friend that just has your best interest and gives you advice when needed. I’m not putting anyone in my readings on a pedestal nor am I trying to harm anyone. One last side note, I’m not a native speaker, so please excuse any wrong spellings or poor grammar.
Date of Reading: October 10th 2023
Decks: Ethereal Visions Tarot, Wild Mystic Oracle, Dreamscape Oracle, Romance Angel Oracle, Love Oracle, island time wellness love Oracle, Angel Answers Oracle Cards
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Six of Cups, XXII The Well, Eight of Wands, XVI The Tower, Eight of Cups, Six of Wands
his fs could be someone he knows from the past, maybe they’ve been friends in kindergarten or early school days
could also be just someone he had a connection with in a past life
definitely someone who has a pure, almost innocent side to them
very playful and carefree aura most of the time
they bring a lot of joy into Yunho’s life
pretty artistic, could even be famous for their art
they maybe work as an architect or have some type of obsession with buildings
definitely well known and well respected in their working field but also amongst friends and family because they’re extremely ambitious
success always finds a way to his fs
they’re a very nurturing personality who love to take care of others as well
a natural leader
hard to say if they’re introverted or extroverted - maybe somewhere in between
it’s someone who constantly seeks new knowledge in a way
because their brain needs permanent stimulation to be happy and satisfied
great communicators
but will know when to keep quiet
I also feel like this is someone you can sit together with in silence without it being weird
they are very well balanced, can be chaotic when they want to but also very collected and calm when needed
probably avoid conflict
they maybe reject Yunho a few times before properly dating him
but not necessarily because they don’t like him or anything, it’s more like they want to enjoy the single life first and really want to focus themself and on having fun
they respect boundaries and will always make sure that their loved have boundaries and don’t just get run over by others
they’re very emotional and empathic
but they sometimes have emotional outbursts, this mainly happens when they’re very stressed
they’re generous with their love and time
it’s someone with a genuine heart
they love changes since they could get easily bored
will constantly reconstruct their life until they’re fully satisfied (which is never tbh)
they have no problem leaving behind what doesn’t serve them anymore
they love to workout and are very active
could maybe be into extreme stuff like bungee jumping or something like that
at times they’re easily confused
daydreamers, they need to let their mind drift away from reality sometimes
they have a hard time settling down in one place
loves to travel
they don’t like to ask others for help, a very independent individual
could have dark hair and there’s something about shoulders, like they have very pretty shoulders
have a confident aura, which is attracting many people
I see a lot of passion in this connection, but they’re generally someone very passionate
they’re very sensual
Yunho and his fs actually have an insane chemistry
lots of romantic feelings in this connection and they most likely will have kids together (probably two)
they’re tall but smaller than him and maybe on the slimmer side
Love,
~Nicky 🫧
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no comparions {loki}
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Plot: You get made fun of for your weight and you start to grow jealous of your brother Thor and his fitness levels. Your other brother Loki's the one who steps in to help.
Character: Loki x Sibling!Plus Size Female Reader
Warnings: Negative comments surrounding weight
Requested by @lilacprincessofrecovery
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You knew what they thought about you, knew what they said about you when you weren't there and it destroyed you. You'd never been entirely confident but as you grew up and saw the pedestal that people sat your older brother Thor on, what little confidence you had was quickly diminished.
Loki, who was more than used to growing up in your eldest brother's shadows, knew that Thor's popularity bothered you but he didn't really know why. He just assumed that you, like him, wanted a taste of the public's love, the popularity and the riches that came with being Thor Odinson. He hadn't realised that it was for an entirely different reason all together.
From as young as you could remember, your weight had always verged on the heavy side. No matter what you did, what you ate you always seemed to verge on heavy and then as you grew up, your body developed to be heavier, rounder, larger, fatter and curvier. You were plus size and your body didn't look like a lot of the women in Asgard. You were heavy with an overhanging stomach, thick thighs that rubbed together, arms that wobbled with every moment, a double chin that jiggled when you laughed and rolls that sat permanently on your back and sides. You didn't look like any of the other women and you certainly didn't look like Thor.
You hated the attention he got for his looks. You hated that wherever he went he had hoards of pretty women lined up to flirt with him and to touch his muscles. Thor's physique was so effortless, he could practically inhale two dinners and lose weight whereas you merely looked at food and you'd put weight on. Of course, you weren't annoyed with Thor, it wasn't your brother's fault, you knew that there were ways to change and grow healthier... you were just jealous. Jealous of his praise he got for his body, the constant admiration for his muscles and for his strength. You wanted someone to look at you like that, with all of that love and pride and adoration. You wanted to look like that, to be thin and strong.
You hated the whispers of 'how can the two of the brothers look at good and she looks like that?', the murmurs of 'is she even related to them?', the stares, the sneers and the jeers that you got. You'd even had people say it to your face, the constant look of disgust on their face as they look at you standing by your brothers.
"The fairytales do always say that there's an ugly step-sister."
"I bet you make your parents proud looking like that."
"How's it feel being a pig and standing next to the two Princes?"
From your place in the courtyard, you huffed. Thor was once again chatting to a group of girls who giggled and batted their eyelashes as he let them feel his biceps.
Loki appeared from beside you, "It's hard, isn't it?" He asked, sitting on the bench beside you, "Our brother, the oaf, is ten times more popular than we ever will be."
You frowned at Loki, "I don't care about being popular. I'd quite like to not be in the public eye actually." If you weren't the King's daughter then maybe the cruel words and jibes would lessen, that would be nice.
Loki looked at you, confused, "I thought you hated him for how popular he is?"
You shook your head, "I don't hate Thor and no, I don't care how popular he is."
Loki licked his lips. Interesting. He considered your answer for a few pauses before he asked, "Then what do you feel for our brother?" His eyes watched you curiously, taking in and scrutinising every moment and reaction from you, "I've watched you looking at him, you roll your eyes, you scoff, you have a look of annoyance on your face every time you see him... Tell me why."
You didn't want to get into it right now, you don't exactly feel like sharing to Loki of all people that you're jealous of Thor that he has the public's respect, that they praise him for looking the way that he looks and yet you get cruel, nasty comments hurled at you day in and day out.
Loki can sense your discomfort. He stood and extended a hand, "Come with me," he said softly, "Sister, please. I only intend to help."
You took his hand and allowed him to lead you through the courtyard to the old Asgard gardens. You have fond memories of playing with your brothers in these gardens, playing hide and seek until the sun went down. You hadn't been out here in ages. Parts of the gardens were overgrown where they've not been tended to in a long time, pretty flowers corrupted with weeds. Loki led you to the old bench where you remembered hurting your knee and Thor and Loki sat you on this bench and fixed you up before the three of you went home.
"I haven't been here in a long time," you murmured.
Loki looked to you as you both sat on the bench, "I come here often to think. This is the last place I remember being truly happy, truly myself and truly at peace." It made you sad to hear that the last time he felt that was so long ago, "I remember when we would come here, play hide and seek, frolic amongst the flowers and have mother scold us for having grass stains on our clothes."
You hummed as you smiled, "Remember the time that Thor decided it was a good idea to hit the wasp's nest?"
Loki laughed, "He never was the clever one, was he?"
Your laughter died down after a few seconds and then the two of you were left sitting, grown up and sad on the bench where once you'd been young and happy.
"I know I haven't been the best brother," he started, "but I know that something hurts deep within you, (y/n)... I'd like to help you fix it."
Over the last year or so, Loki really had tried to be part of the family once again. He'd caused so much hurt and so much damage and you weren't sure if those mistakes would ever stop clouding over your relationship with him but he was trying so hard every single day to move forward so you thought that you should try too.
"I don't hate Thor," you repeated, "I... It's silly, I..." You took a breath, trying to gather your thoughts before you said, "I'm jealous of him. By the Gods, I'm even jealous of you at points too."
"I understand why you're jealous of me with my devilishly handsome good looks and charming smile," he teased with a nudge making you laugh before turning serious, "Why are you jealous of us?"
You rubbed your hands together, fidgeting with the clothes you wear, "Don't act like you've not noticed or overheard them - the whispers and the murmurs of the public. They question the legitimacy of our lineage because in their words 'how could the brothers look like that and she looks like that'."
Loki frowned, "Explain further."
"It's not a secret that I'm not skinny, Loki. I never have been. I've always been heavier, fatter... I'm not like you and Thor with the muscles and causing people to swoon and... I'm just not like Thor."
Loki's frown deepened, "Who says those cruel things about you?"
You shrugged as tears burned in your eyes, "I've heard the whispers as I walk through crowds. 'She's gotten fat, hasn't she?' 'If she lost weight, she'd be so much prettier.' 'Imagine being her and having two brothers who look like that. You'd hate yourself, wouldn't you?' People have told me as much to my face as well." You were bitter and angry and jealous and all of it was fully justified, "I look at Thor and they never question him. They don't disrespect him. They worship him, they praise him... They respect him. All I want, Loki, I don't want popularity, I don't want their love... I just want their respect."
Loki's heart broke for you in that moment. He'd never been much of an empath unless it was for you or your mother. He looked at the way your shoulders sagged as you wept into your hands, the way you hid with baggier clothes just so they couldn't see you. Rage burned strong inside of him but he knew that he couldn't destroy everything he'd worked so hard to build.
"Look at me," his voice is soft, a stark contrast to his whole self. You looked at him, teary eyed and sniffling, "don't you dare listen to those- those fools. They know nothing." Your lip wobbled and his heart panged, "I can't wrap my head around why they care so much. Why do they care about a body which looks different yet isn't their own? Surely they should be only caring about the way they look."
You laughed bitterly, "You'd think, eh?"
He took one of your hands in his, "Sister, I promise you that you are worth more than all of them put together. You are strong and beautiful and you are worthy. You have stars in your eyes and fire in your veins and you are everything they want to be." He was angry and you could tell but you appreciated more than anything that he wasn't letting his anger take control of him, "Thor respects you, I respect you and you need to respect yourself too. If the people of Asgard can't respect you, I'll make them. How dare they make you feel as though you are less than? How dare they make you feel as though you are ugly and worthless?"
Loki squeezed your hand tightly, "My dear sister, I promise you that you are more than enough the way you are right now. You look perfect the way you are. Please do not feel as though you have to change yourself for their respect or love. The way you look right now is good enough, more than good enough... (y/n), you are enough. You always have been. You're kind, so forgiving, caring, you keep me on my toes, you offered me such love even when I didn't deserve it... You deserve that love, you deserve the love and respect that you showed me all those years ago."
You pulled him in for a hug then, a tight intense hug which told him of how appreciative you were without you actually having to say it. Loki had known what it felt like to be inferior and he knew how hard it could be when it felt like the world was against you so he knew the pain you suffered.
"If anyone dares say anything else about you, I'll smite them." He said, eyes boring into yours.
"I don't think that's necessary-"
"Sister, I would do anything if it means to keep you safe and happy. I just want you to see yourself the way I see you. Ignore them, (y/n). You are better than them and there will come a day when they realise that." He took a breath and that cheeky grin grew, "But if you ever do need me to smite any of them... you know where I'll be."
He always could make you laugh no matter the circumstances. You laughed as you leaned back on the bench feeling a lot happier and a lot freer than when you'd first sat down. No, it wouldn't fix everything but little by little, you began to grow the confidence back up that had been torn down. It was a gradual process and yeah, you experienced some setbacks but slowly, you began to learn to ignore the rude comments and instead, you began to focus on yourself and loving yourself again with your two brothers by your side.
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childrenofthelab · 1 year
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@elevencursed | continued
In the brief silence after he speaks, Two wonders what she must be thinking, what expression might be on her face. In his head, part of him thinks he can imagine her looking confused, but the image of her in his head is always eight years old, always that little kid that he'd once wanted simply to get rid of. It feels like a lifetime ago; they've both grown up since then. After Hawkins, after the gate and her escape, he'd thought he'd never encounter her again. In a way he'd hoped that would be the case, that she'd be able to get out, to find her way to some semblance of a normal life. It was the one reassurance in still being here, in facing each day as it came. Except now that's gone.
He's not sure she understands just how much of a death trap this place is.
"He says he'll let you go but he won't," his voice is soft, almost ragged, tinged with despair and lack of hope. Once upon a time, Two had looked up to Papa, had held him on a pedestal, desperate for even the slightest crumb of his affection. But something that both time and his blindness have taught him is that all the things he had once believed are false. Papa may use gentle words, may comfort, may reassure, but when it comes to it, he acts only in his own interest, never theirs, "If it works...if you get your powers back...he won't just let you walk away. Papa lies. He'll keep you here and use you until there's nothing more to take."
Those words come from experience. Even now, he's regularly dragged in, the guise of lessons long since gone, the threat of punishment far more heavy. He's faced the collar countless more times since the last time they'd met, near permanent scars etched in the flesh of his neck. He just goes in, does what he's told, and then returns to his room. It's safe to say that Two is a broken shell of a man now where an arrogant teenager had once stood.
"He doesn't care about Hawkins. He doesn't care about us. He's looking for him. The man who really killed them all."
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themadlostgirl · 3 years
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Chaotic Coupling
*FINALLY! This f**king request took so f**king long! It matter not now because I finally finished it. It is also really long so hopefully that helps make up for how long it took. I do not mean it lightly when I say it is long. This took up 14 pages in google drive. You have been warned.*
Prompt: Reader is the goddess of chaos exiled to the Underworld. It is plenty boring but then she meets the recently deceased Peter Pan. He seems like he could be fun!
Requested by: anon
Warnings: language
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What is more sweet than chaos? What is more freeing then giving into desire? What is a life if one does not indulge in their sins?
Boring. Tedious. Peaceful.
Not at all fun.
Y/N was a goddess of chaos. Messing with mortals by causing trouble and anarchy wherever she went. It was chaotic and threw mortals into a hysteria but that was not how Y/N saw it. Oh no. When she looked down and saw what her actions had wrought she only saw beauty. The anger, confusion, sadness, and raw untethered emotion bursting from every lifeform like a volcano. She loved it.
Unfortunately the other gods did not. She was warned hundreds of times to stop causing such blatant and unneeded mess around the globe but she never listened. It was not like the gods ever punished her. The world would always need a little chaos. Trying to contain it would only build it up until it was unleashed like a hellstorm causing much more damage than she ever could by herself. She almost wanted them to detain her just so she could see what her release of chaotic energy would do to the world.
That was not what happened. After centuries of warnings the gods did finally punish her. She was not put in a crate like a pup as she had almost secretly hoped. The gods were smarter than that. Instead she was put on a leash. Banished to the Underworld to help her Uncle Hades. Her presence would still be felt throughout the world but she could not incite anything truly chaotic as long as she was regulated to the Underworld.
At first she tried to keep her head up. Though she had never visited the Underworld she had to believe it would be fun. It was where all dead souls went. Good and bad. They may be dead but that didn’t mean they were free from chaos.
As she soon learned though nothing she did made much of a difference in the Underworld. Her Uncle Hades ran a tight ship so she could never get away with anything too bad. How could this punishment get anymore boring? She was practically debasing herself with these petty squabbles among the dead. It was humiliating and it was boring! What she would give to be able to leave but so long as she was under Hades watchful eye there was no escape.
It was another miserable day in what was essentially hell. Y/N was taking a walk along the street of the town Hades had modeled the Underworld to. All of the sudden a new soul materialized in the center of the square. That was nothing new. New souls appeared all the time. There was something kind of off about this one though. They had an energy about them that practically made her mouth water. Who exactly had died?
She made her way over to them. “Hello there,” She said and the soul turned sharp on his heel. It was a boy. Young. Disheveled brown hair and piercing green eyes blown wide like a cornered lion. “You have some bite don’t you?”
“Who are you?” He snarled.
“I’m Y/N. Goddess of Chaos and unwilling permanent tenant here in the Underworld.” She stalked around him assessing him up and down. “And you are?” She reached a hand out to touch him. He grabbed her by the wrist halting her. He pulled her closer his eyes hard like stones and his words dripping with malice
“Don’t touch me,” He growled.
Y/N chuckled. “You are fun.” She inhaled deeply, “You absolutely reek of it.”
“What?”
“My beautiful chaos. It’s been so long since I’ve caught a whiff of such potent mayhem. Far more intoxicating than any wine.”
“Get away from me,” The boy shoved her off, “Insane woman.”
“You would be insane too if you were stuck here for centuries unable to have any real fun.” She followed after him, unperturbed. “Well I guess you are now.”
“Why are you following me?”
“I’m bored. Duh. Also, I still haven’t learned your name my delicious little anarchist morsel.”
“Stop talking to me like that. My name is Peter Pan.”
“Hm,”
“What now?”
“Such a boring name for someone who absolutely reeks of pandemonium. Care if I call you something more interesting? Like Balthazar or Zebulon.”
“No.”
“No fun.”
That seemed to irk him and he reared on her with a fury. “You do not know who you are talking to. I have fun more than anyone. The world is my board and everyone else in it are pawns.”
“Really? Cause you seem straight boring now. Peter Pan. Blech, and here I had such high hopes for you.”
“Oh woe is you. So sorry to disappoint Your goddess-ness. Unless you can get me out of here then I have no use for you.”
“If I can’t get out of here then there’s no chance you can. If you decide you want to stop being such a stick in the mud come find me. I live in the clocktower.” With that she walked away. Such a shame. She had gotten her hopes up for a minute just for him to let her down. She wondered what he had done in his life that made him smell so delicious though. Oh wait! She could!
She entered the library and went to the secret section in the back. No one could enter here except for gods. Millions of books lined the shelves. The life stories of everyone that had ever lived. “Peter Pan.” She said his name and waited as a book levitated off of one of the many shelves and flew into her hands. “Let’s see what is so interesting about this Peter fellow.”
Lots of reading later and Y/N understood better exactly who she was dealing with. This Peter Pan was a lot like her. Living on his own island doing whatever it was that he wanted. Instigating violence and anarchy in the name of fun. He was also far older than he appeared. Since time stood still on his island, his Neverland, he lived for hundreds of years without growing older. How had she missed such a place? It sounded like somewhere she would have thrived.
It was almost eerie how similar the two were. At least in the context of his book. The real thing seemed a lot more boring. Perhaps that was due to him dying. Death just took the life out of everyone. Metaphorically speaking.
A few days went by of Y/N stalking Peter to see what he would do. After reading through his novel she was sure he’d be one of those that roughed it in the wilderness but to her surprise he took up residence in a secondhand shop. Why there?
Curiosity overtook her and she went inside the shop. Pretty little trinkets long ago lost lined the shelves and glass cases. Something stood out to her amongst all the sparkly treasures. A doll. A simple straw doll with a little blue coat on it. It stood proudly on a pedestal all by itself. What was so precious about this?
She took the doll off the pedestal to inspect it further.
“Drop it.” A cold voice demanded. There was Peter Pan behind one of the cases. His eyes narrowed at her.
“What? This?” She waved the doll, “If you don’t want people touching it you should really put it somewhere more secure than a pedestal in the middle of the room.”
“I said, drop it.” Peter urged again. Y/N didn’t miss the hint of panic in his voice.
“What if I don’t want to?” She produced a flame from her finger, “What if I burnt it to a crisp instead? It’s awfully dry. It’ll be ash in seconds.”
“Put it down!” Peter roared, he had jumped the case and in a split second had a dagger pressed to her throat. “Now!”
“Why is this so special to you?” She asked. He pressed the blade closer to her neck, not saying a word. Something clicked in Y/N’s head right then. A mention of a doll in Peter’s book. A smile creeped back onto her face.
“It’s your doll. The only toy and the only friend you ever had until you came to Neverland.” She extinguished the flame on her finger. “How sentimental.”
“How did--how did you--”
“I know everything now, Peter Pan.” A shadow passed over his face, “And I mean everything. The mother that never wanted you, the orphanage, the fairy that guarded you, your attempts to go back and have a real family failing year after year until you decided you were too old to be anyone’s son again--”
“AGH!” He slashed her throat but not a mark was left on her skin. Not a drop of blood.
“Now that was rude,” Y/N rolled her eyes, “I think I’m owed an apology.”
“But how did…” Peter stared at the dagger.
“Seems you need a reminder.” Y/N took him by the throat. The doll and dagger clattering to the ground as she hoisted him into the air. “I am a goddess. The Goddess of Chaos. Did you really think it would be that easy to kill me?”
He clawed at her hands but they were like stone around his throat. “Remember this Peter Pan, my body takes an insane amount of power to break. Yours, not so much. So remember your place in this world. You are no leader here. You are no threat. You are my toy and I can throw you away whenever I want. So either be a good toy or I will destroy you.” She dropped him. He collapsed to the ground gasping for breath.
“This was fun,” She knelt down next to him and pulled his chin up to look at her, “I’ll be back to play again.” She left a kiss on his forehead. “Farewell.”
Y/N did not go back to see Peter Pan again for several days. For days she watched him stew in his paranoia. Constantly looking over his shoulder like a frightened deer everywhere he went. He liked games. Y/N knew that much. But it looked like he wasn’t having as much as she was with this latest one. Every so often she would walk by him on the street, acting like she hadn’t noticed but all the while watching him from the corner of her eye. He got so tense when he saw her but never withdrew. He would glare at her until she passed.
It was fun having someone to torture like this again. He still had fight in him.
Then came the morning everything changed. Y/N was walking along the street as she usually did this time of day when she noticed Peter exiting the diner. What luck!
“Good morning!” She sidled up next to him, “Got some breakfast did you?”
He didn’t reply. Just shoved his hands deeper in his pockets and kept walking.
“Oh come now, it’s no fun if you don’t reply.” Y/N said, “If you don’t say anything I’ll just take it as a challenge.”
Nothing.
“Fine.” She sighed, “I just thought you’d like someone to talk to. You don’t talk to anyone around here. I think the only person I’ve seen you talk to is my uncle and that was only once. Don’t you find it boring doing this routine everyday? Don’t you want to try something new? We can have a lot of fun if you would just remove that stick up your ass. What happened to the fun boy full of mayhem that I read about? Did he die when you did? I wouldn’t think death would change a person so drastically. People usually retain their personalities from when they were living into their death but not you. You are more boring than watching grass grow and trust me, there is no grass growing here. You are as boring as watching non-growing grass. Isn’t that sad? I think--”
“SHUT UP!” Peter shoved her hard against the wall of a store. His arm was pressed against her neck pinning her in place. “Leave me alone!”
“Ha!” She laughed, “I told you I could get you to talk.”
“There has got to be a way to kill you.” He muttered.
Y/N smiled. Peter’s arm dug into her neck harder. “Stop smiling.”
“You have fire,” She grinned wider, “I like fire.”
Something clicked in his head. His grip on her easing. She figured that would get his attention. He backed away from her slowly. Y/N turned to a potted bush next to the store window. Peter watched her with a growing sense of interest.
“Don’t you like fire too?” She produced a spark in her hand and flicked it at the flower bush. “One little spark of fire and from that spark it grows. It grows, it spreads, it devours everything in its path leaving behind nothing but torment in its beautiful inferno. It’s the most breathtaking form of destruction I’ve ever come across.”
“You’re kinda crazy aren’t you?” Peter asked, watching as the flower bush was consumed by the flames.
“Perhaps.” she fluttered a hand over the fire making it grow faster. “Being the goddess of chaos kinda does that. I thrive off of disorganization and pandemonium. It would only make too much sense that’s what my mind is like as well. I may be impulsive but that doesn’t make me dumb. You have to find the right nerve to hit to maximize your effect. Groom them with little incidents of mayhem here and there. Then, when the timing is right you hit them where it’ll hurt most and watch the beauty unfold before you. Just like a flame can engulf an entire forest, one perfectly hit nerve can destroy an empire.”
“What do you do when it’s all in ashes then?” Peter asked.
“Not my area. I can bring civilizations down but I’ve never really put much thought into raising new ones up. That’s what the rest of my family is for. They take the ashes of what I have done and create new life. It’s an endless circle of life and death. Gods, I miss it.”
She stared deep into the fire.
“Is that what you’ve been doing with me? Bothering me with little annoyances for days on end before trying to strike that nerve that would drive me insane?”
“A bit.” She shrugged, “Not a fan?”
“Not really, but I guess that’s the point.” He sighed, “I think we’re a lot alike actually.”
“I thought the same thing while I was reading through your book. Did death really suck all the fun out of you?”
“Not much fun to be had here. None of my boys are here, I have magic but there’s nothing for me to control outside of a stupid little shop, and the residents are insanely dull and sad. I fear that you have been my only form of entertainment since I got down here.” Peter waved his hand and the flame from the one flower pot jumped into the next catching that one on fire as well. “What did you mean when you were talking about my book?”
“Oh, there is a portion of the library only accessible to gods. It holds books that contain the entire lives of everyone who has ever lived. I read through yours. That’s how I know everything about you.”
“I see…”
“Would you like to see it?”
“Sure,” He nodded. “Don’t think this means that I like you now or anything. You’re merely the most interesting thing here at the moment.”
“Which is precisely why you do like me.” She elbowed him, “Come, I think you’ll like this place.”
They went to the library and Y/N entered into the area reserved to gods. Peter pouted outside since he couldn’t get past the invisible barrier that shielded him from entering. Y/N grabbed his book and returned with it. “See?”
“Do the gods have these as well?”
“Yes, but they are kept on Olympus. Did you want to read mine?”
“I thought it only fair seeing as how you read my entire life story.”
“Well you would be reading mine for a long time. I do a great many things and I have lived far longer than you have. There’s no need for you to read my book though. Whatever you would like to know you simply have to ask. I have no secrets.”
“Forgive me if I don’t trust anyone who is that open about their past. No secrets? At all?”
“There is nothing I have done in my life that I feel ashamed or embarrassed about.”
“I believe that.” A grin started to spread on his face, an idea latching in his mind, “But that doesn’t mean you don’t have anything personal that you’d rather not share. Acts of wrath and embarrassing moments aren’t something you would feel bad about sharing. Intimate moments though, personal moments, that’s where you clam up.”
“Is this your clever way of trying to dig into my exciting love life?” She smirked. “Afraid I don’t have any secrets there either.”
“Oh no, you misunderstand. I don’t care about any past lovers. I can tell what really gets to you.” Peter stepped closer, “Your family.”
“I don’t care about my family.” Y/N said, she tried to sound casual but his tone gave her pause.
“Yes. You’ve said so. They kicked you out and it is dreadfully boring down in the underworld. But beyond that, you miss them. The only one down here is Hades and I doubt he’s great company. But the other gods and goddess, your other family, even though they banished you here you still yearn to be a part of their world.”
“You don’t know anything.” Y/N’s voice was quiet. She hadn’t expected him to turn the conversation around on her like this.
“I know a lot actually.” Peter continued, “And what I know best is when someone is lost. You may be the Goddess of Chaos but you know what I see? I see the same sadness and desperation that many of my boys wore on my island. You are just a lost little girl crying for your family.”
She hadn’t realized she threw the punch until she saw Peter collapse on the floor. Her breathing was heavy and her hands were shaking. This boy had drilled down into the very core of her being with no effort. He had seen through her as plainly as glass. It was unnerving and she may have reacted a tad harshly to his assessment.
“Punched by a goddess,” Peter stood up again, rubbing at his jaw, “Can honestly say that’s something I hadn’t expected to happen in my life, er, death I guess.”
“You’re not angry?”
“Hardly. Figured you were gonna react like that.” He sighed, “Still not the worst hit I’ve ever taken.”
“You are a strange boy.”
“It’s what keeps me interesting.” He collected the book that had fallen from his hands off the floor.
“Does this mean you still want to kill me?”
“I’m debating it.” He said. “This interaction doesn’t change the fact that you are incredibly annoying.”
“Hurtful but accurate.” Y/N shrugged as she made her way to the stairs that led up to the clocktower. “In another life I think we could have been a very good team.”
She paused. She turned around and saw that Peter had the same look of contemplation. Their eyes met and twin smiles sprouted on their faces. “Is this my magic at work or are we on the same page?” Y/N asked.
“I believe we are.” Peter approached her, “Neither of us wants to be trapped in the Underworld and neither of us individually has the power to escape. But if we work together…”
“We can escape this hellhole.” Y/N finished. “Think you can survive teaming up with me long enough to get out of here?”
“If it means freedom then I will be at your side until we both see the blue sky once again.” He held out a hand, “Partners?”
“Partners.” She shook his hand, “This is going to be so much fun!”
Time passed quickly after Peter and Y/N teamed up to find a way to escape the Underworld. Y/N already had a headstart on research since she spent so much time when she was first banished here finding a way out. She shared her findings with Peter and the two spent days pouring over every detail that looked like it could be useful.
With no need to sleep or eat in the Underworld they would spend several days straight huddled in the library plotting their escape. In between all their research and brainstorming sessions Y/N got to know Peter Pan beyond what she had read in his book and in return he got to know her. They were closer. He still said she was the most annoying thing in all the realms and she teased him often when he got too serious.
When things got especially tense and they needed to blow off steam they would go out together and cause mischief in town. They even snuck into Hades’ office once and stole some of his decanters of fancy liquor. For the first time in a very long time Y/N was truly having fun. Torturing and messing with souls was all well and good but she found she was actually enjoying her time with Peter. She was laughing a lot more with him. Peter himself seemed to grow more at ease with her with every passing day.
Before she had even realized it their begrudging partnership to find a way out of the Underworld had blossomed into friendship. Y/N couldn’t remember the last time she had a friend. She couldn’t remember if she ever did. No one had ever wanted to be very close to her. Causing chaos wherever you go, even unintentionally, threw people off. It never bothered Peter though. He called her annoying but he smiled and laughed at the havoc that naturally happened around her. He played along with it.
“Good morning, Chaos,” Peter let himself into her clocktower bedroom. “Got you a muffin from the diner.” He tossed her a paper bag.
“Thanks.” She caught it. “So, look at this thing I found. So we know that the only way anyone can get out of here is if Hades opens a portal, right? Well, apparently it isn’t solely Hades that can open portals out of the Underworld. Any god can by either being more powerful than Hades like Zeus or by usurping him as the ruler of the Underworld.”
“So you could open a portal out of here?”
“Theoretically yes. But we would have to usurp my uncle.”
“I think we can take him together.”
“No. Here’s the problem. The only way for us to usurp him is to kill him and it is hilariously, nearly impossible, to kill a god.”
“But there is a possibility?”
“I mean I guess but it is hardly a viable option. The only way I know how to kill a god is with the Olympian Crystal which Uncle Hades keeps heavily protected. It is also broken with no way to fix it. Trust me, he brought it out once for me to try and fix but I couldn’t do anything.”
Peter pondered it for a minute. “Okay, you couldn’t fix it all by yourself but what if we tried combining our powers? Do you think that could do it?”
“Maybe. Hades and I tried together once but he said it wouldn’t work since his heart isn’t beating.”
“What does that have to do with--”
“It was part of his own banishment. He can’t leave the Underworld unless his heart starts beating again or something like that. So even though he has the means his dead heart keeps him trapped like us.”
“Alright, is he tied to the crystal in any way? Is there any way he could track it if it went missing?”
“No. So long as it is broken he shouldn’t be able to find it. Why? Plan on stealing it?”
“Yes.”
“Stealing my uncle’s most prized possession from right under his nose, sounds risky...I love it!”
“I thought you would.” Peter grinned, “Seems that for the first time we have a real plan. I say this calls for a celebration.”
“Not too premature?” She asked.
“Well, if we fuck it up then we are both doomed so we might as well celebrate now before anything potentially goes wrong.” He pulled what was left of the liquor they stole from Hades out.
“I won’t object to that.” She took a sip before passing the decanter back to Peter. She stared wistfully out of the clocktower window and sighed. “It’s so strange,” Y/N said, “To be this close to freedom. I have so many memories of the world above but they feel more and more like fantasies I’ve created than something I was ever a part of. I don’t even know what I would do when I get up there. Where would I go?”
“You’re more than welcome to come cause havoc on Neverland if you’d like.” Peter said. “Give my boys a challenge.”
“You really want me on your island? The most annoying being in all the realms?” She teased.
“If you happen to be near at least.” He smiled, softer. “I’d blame it on the liquor but it doesn’t affect us so I guess I’m just gonna have to say this.”
“Say what?”
“I think I am actually gonna miss you when we get out of here.”
“Really?”
“Yes, Chaos.”
“I suppose I’d miss you too.” Y/N shook her head, “I take that back, I know that I’ll miss you.”
“Well that’s enough mushy stuff,” Peter said quickly, dropping his gaze, “We have a crystal to steal after all.”
“Right, of course,” Y/N nodded.
More time passed and Y/N found herself in a new and frightening headspace. She was confused. All her life she had lived through chaos, so much so that it was what she was named the goddess of. Anarchy was where she was most comfortable but yet, when that same pandemonium she thrived in was pushed inward she didn’t know what to do. She could do well in chaos because she always had a focus point. Herself. She was the eye of the storm. She was safe while everything happened around her.
So why did it feel like she was caught in the hurricane?
It had all started that day she and Peter had decided to steal the crystal and usurp Hades. Something about that day disturbed her. When she looked at Peter now her mind wandered. When he sat close enough to touch, her brain burnt out. Yet nothing had changed.
No. That wasn’t entirely true. At some point during all their scheming Y/N had grown to really care about Peter. She’d even call him a friend. When she thought of her life outside of the Underworld she couldn’t think of one where she wasn’t hanging out with him. She already missed him and he wasn’t even gone yet.
What was wrong with her?
Whatever it was it would have to wait. She had a mission now. It was finally the day. After tons of careful and meticulous planning they were going to steal the crystal. Peter was serving as a distraction for Hades while Y/N snuck in and bypassed the traps and wards Hades had around the crystal. She figured she’d have five maybe ten minutes max to get in and get out before Hades got bored of Peter and came back. That’s if she didn’t trip one of his traps first.
By the time she finally got the safe unlocked her whole body was sweating and shaking from nerves. She had come so close and now all she had to do was grab it and get out. She took down the last ward and grabbed the pieces of the crystal and shoved them into her bag before slamming the safe closed and putting the wards back up as quickly as she could.
And done. Phew. Now all she had to do was get out.
“Now this is a surprise.” Y/N froze. Damn. She had taken too long. She poofed the bag away to her room in the clocktower before turning to meet her uncle.
“Hello, hope you don’t mind that I popped in.” She said as casually as she could. “Life up top was getting dreadfully boring.”
“I would say so, it is a rare thing for you to come visit me.” He scanned her up and down, “What entertainment do you think I can provide?”
“I don’t know. You have the billiard table. Care to play?”
“Not now.” He shooed her, “I have work to do so you can scamper along and torment some other poor soul.”
“Boo! You really are the god of the dead.” She stuck her tongue out at him. In the next instant she reappeared in her room. She collapsed back on the bed in relief. Hades didn’t suspect anything.
She heard the sound of pounding footsteps and Peter barged in. “Did you get it?”
Y/N held up the bad with pieces inside. “Who do you take me for?”
“Yes!” Peter was so happy he lifted her off the bed and into the air in a tight hug, “We’re gonna get out of here!”
And the inner turmoil was back. Heat crawled up her neck and burned her face. Had Peter ever held her like this before? Why did it feel so nice to be in his arms?
Just as quick as it started Peter dropped her back to her feet and reached around her for the bag. He pulled out the pieces and set them on the bed, looking over them carefully. He was talking about how it looked like it should be an easy fix but there were other logistics to take into account and whole lot of other technical mumbo jumbo that she really didn’t care about. Well, not so much cared about but couldn’t bring herself to comprehend since her mind was still being tossed around in a tornado of unfamiliar feelings.
“Hey” Peter shook her shoulder, “Were you listening?”
“Spaced out. What were you saying?” She asked.
“I tried a spell on my own but it did nothing. Care to try with me this time like we planned?”
“Got it.” Y/N took her spot next to him and stared down at the broken pieces of crystal. She picked up one and Peter picked up the other. “Here goes nothing.”
They faced each other and started the spell. She was channeling all of her power into it, willing the crystal to come together. This had to work. It just had to. The spell died and when she looked down she frowned at the still broken crystal in her hands.
No. No! It was supposed to work! This was supposed to work! She slid down to the ground, her half of the crystal laying limply in her hands. Peter knelt down with her.
“It didn’t work.” She muttered, “It didn’t work, Peter. We went through all of this and our one way out of here is still just a hunk of junk!”
“We’re never going to see the world above again.” Tears started to slip from her eyes and down her cheeks.
“Don’t say that,” Peter tilted her chin up. His large green eyes bore into her. “We are not giving up now. Not after we have come this far. We are going to see that big blue sky again, Y/N. I swear it.”
“How? We have no other way to get out of here unless we kill Hades and we can’t kill him without this crystal.”
“We’ll find a way. We will not rest until we get out of here. I don’t care how long it takes. Do you wanna know why?” He brushed the tears from her eyes, “Because I want us to go on adventures together. I want to see what you can really do when you can let chaos run free. I want to show you my home. I want you to see Neverland. I want us to have fun together outside of here.”
“Peter…” The whirlwind within me started to ebb, “I want that too.”
“And hey, in the meantime, we can still have fun together right here.” He smiled.
That’s when it hit her. What that chaos reigning inside her really was. Why it felt so strange yet so pleasant at the same time.
“I love you.” She said.
Peter blinked at her. “Huh?”
She grabbed his face and brought him closer so her nose touched his, “I love you, Peter Pan.”
He didn’t respond. Not with words at least. The distance between them, as small as it was, closed and she felt his lips brush against hers in hesitant kiss. She pulled him closer again and the kiss deepened. The spark that ran through her felt like a bolt of lightning and she should know since she had been struck by one of Zeus’ blasts before. This was a lot better though and it certainly didn’t leave a coppery feeling in her mouth.
A flash of light made them break apart. Down at their knees was the Olympian Crystal in one piece. Y/N picked it up. She could feel the power running through it. “But how did…?”
“Through the most powerful magic of all. Something that not even a god could compare to.” Peter grinned, “True love.”
“Are you saying that we have true love?” Y/N teased. Truthfully the thought made her want to jump up and down but she would never admit it.
“Seems so. Only makes sense that I would fall in love with the goddess of chaos.” Peter ruffled her hair. “And she made the unfortunate decision to love me back.”
“Why’s that unfortunate?” Y/N asked.
“Cause now you’re stuck with me forever, Chaos.” He pulled her into his arms.
“I think I can live with that.” She kissed him again. She held up the crystal with a wicked smile. “Now, my love, how do you feel about killing a god for our first date?”
“Sounds perfect to me.” He matched her insane smile. They were going to have so much fun!
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gryffindors-weasley · 3 years
Text
Missing Pieces
Draco Malfoy x Reader
Summary: Years pass since the battle and you’ve loved and lost. But your secret isn’t forever when you encounter the one thing you’ve had to hide from.
Warnings: angst, mentions of death, grieving, mentions of heartbreak, fluff, requited love and kissing
A/N: This is for @iliveiloveiwrite 3.5k song challenge! This fic is based off the song Empty Space by James Arthur, and I’ve gotten a bit carried away with the length on this one. I haven’t written angst in a while, so I hope you enjoy it! Congratulations again, Millie!
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You sensed a presence near you, one that lingered behind you ever since you left the shop. One that was only further confirmed when you risked a weary glance over your shoulder, eying a darkened figure slip out of sight just as quickly as you had spotted it. It’d been foolish to be out and about at such an hour by yourself. But you became accustomed to this very feeling over the last four years, it was the only choice you had.
Each time you passed under a street lamp it became a race to get under the next pool of light, as if the glowing sphere that was cast on the cement would make you invincible. You could only hope for that to be so. Because not many people cared for a walk on a chilly evening like this, much less in the drizzling December rain. It was a small town that was rather off the grid after all, you shouldn’t even really be out if you were being honest. But you couldn’t risk being seen apparating nor did you feel like it.
The footfalls behind you were distinct, setting themselves apart against the dull tap of the raindrops on the cracked pavement and you couldn’t deny your racing heart. But you pushed on with a vigor, wanting nothing more than to reach your front door and lock out the world behind you for the night. That’s how you ended every day and every single one to come.
Another hurried glance gave way to the same shadow, a growing frustration forming in the pit of your stomach. Maybe you were just seeing things. Maybe it was just a trick of the eye. The wizarding war had left you rather paranoid after all, and that was never something that’d completely go away. You tried your very hardest to convince yourself you were just tired. However, the soft metallic clinking of what had to be keys was certainly not in your imagination, you knew that for a fact.
You were quick to grip the wand tucked within the side of your boot, fed up as you turned on your heel. “Who are you?”
Your voice was firm as you held your wand tightly in front of you, knuckles white as your eyes squinted to better see in the darker alleyway. It probably wasn’t the best place to confront a stranger, but you had never been one to back down.
A tense silence settled around you, heart hammering away in your chest as your gaze bounced around the seemingly vacant street. It felt like seconds had turned to hours. You were moments away from casting a Lumos spell when the figure stepped out from the alley and revealed themselves. The breath you held now remained caught in your throat, mouth growing dry as your eyes widened a fraction. The gray eyes and platinum hair were unmistakable, the very person you longed to see but knew you couldn’t. He was now standing just a mere two feet away from you.
You were paralyzed in your own thoughts momentarily. Taking in the way his hair nearly tangled with his lashes, or the misty rain droplets that beaded across his pale skin. The forest green scarf that wrapped loosely around his neck, the one you got him for Christmas a number of years ago, now tattered and frayed. Maybe it was the way he looked at you, solemn and hopeful that it really was you. That, it was definitely that.
“Draco?” You whisper, still in disbelief. All the color drained from your cheeks and you nearly dropped your wand, a shockwave of something coursing through your body. You didn’t know if you wanted to run and never look back, or stay.
He swallowed thickly, nearly flinching at the sound of his name falling from your lips after having been deprived of it for so long. His nostrils flared, jaw clenching under the pressure of his own tears as he fought the urge to cage you in his arms and never let go. He couldn’t do that. He shouldn’t do that.
“I thought you were dead.”
The words were strained and low, spoken through gritted teeth as the pain of the last four years doused each one as they fell from quivering lips. It felt as though your heart dropped to your stomach, sitting there heavy as a boulder as tears sting in your eyes.
“How long have you been following me?” You snap defensively, tone ice cold as you try to avoid his statement, finding yourself failing miserably.
“That’s not important.”
It very much was important, though he wasn’t ready to inform you of those details. He’d first found you seven months ago. He was on a home call to the small town you currently resided in, the hospital deeming Draco to be the best fit to heal this patient in particular. Though he was regularly sought out because no other healer within the wizarding world was quite like him, no one held the astounding skills he possessed, and the consideration of that title was something he was rather proud of.
Regardless of the details or their importance, he found himself wandering through the town after he’d finished his job, feeling somewhat compelled to do so. It wasn’t a very interesting place, nothing to set it apart from the next town over or any that happened to be in the near vicinity. However, day in and day out everything had seemed mundane to him, everything blending together in a repetitive and bleak manner. His very world had seemed to have lost its spark. One thing and one thing only had put that miserable town on a pedestal to all the others. You.
He blinked a few times, feeling like his sleepless nights had conjured up the illusion that the very love of his life had been just on the other side of the street, tucked away in a cafe and seated in the picture window. He was more than tempted to cross the cracked street to get a clearer confirmation but the blaring sound of a taxi cab’s horn brought him back to reality. The car promptly swerved around him as he stepped back on the sidewalk, followed by the drivers string of curses out of the window. But he didn’t care, it was undeniably you.
First he was confused, then he was profoundly angry. So much so his skin flushed and burned and passers by had given him odd looks, making a point to avoid him on the narrow walkway. Had you really hated him so much to go so far as to create that kind of deception? One that impacted him so deeply it felt like the air had been stolen from his lungs for months on end thinking you were gone. He was beginning to think you never really loved him at all, that all the whispered promises of a better life together were tall tales spoken in vain.
He’d apparated to his home immediately, unable to bear another glance at you as nausea swirled in his stomach, abandoning the rest of his shift entirely. Resentment filled his empty heart and clouded his mind for days and weeks after that day. The empty space you left behind felt all the more daunting, your memories together no longer a bittersweet recollection as they replayed in his mind. Now they had been permanently tarnished, worsening the utter despair your absence had left him in. Dozens of letters were written in haste and either crumpled or ripped up, thrown across his room with the addition of a nearby object to shatter against the wall.
He hated you. But most of all he hated that he couldn’t move on from you, and yet still, he didn’t want to.
It took him three months to come down from his anger and try and reason with himself. There was no question you had been hit with a hex that day. He watched you writhe in agony at his very own fathers malicious and spiteful doing, those same hands holding him back from joining your side. It couldn’t have been anything but real, your screams permanently engrained in his memory as you left him in the ruins of the courtyard to face his fate alone.
The unanswered questions still fueled his frustration, however, but he found himself returning to that very town. It started as once every two weeks, and when almost four more months had passed he found himself going nearly every day. He wasn’t one to chase after the things that hurt him, but you seemed to be an exception, you always seemed to be an exception. He had been desperate to see you despite the jab he felt in his chest every single time he did.
Now it’s brought him here.
He remained stoic as he stood in front of you, the proximity making it seem as though he towered over your smaller frame. He wasn’t trying to be intimidating, not in the slightest, but it made you take a step back nonetheless. He fought against the unbearable pressure seemingly crushing his chest, weaving its way around his heart and wrapping around his throat as he concealed the tears pressing just behind his eyes. The sight had you at a loss for words.
“Draco I—”
“How could you let me think you were gone for the last four years, Y/n?” His voice was raised by this point, his hands clenching at his sides before he released them, leaving small crescent-shaped indentations of his nails behind on his palms.
This was absolutely not the conversation you were looking to have at eleven at night, certainly not one to be had in the middle of the sidewalk. But Draco had seemed insistent that this was happening right then and there whether you had liked it or not. You were beginning to feel like you never wanted to have this talk, the panic bubbling in your stomach as you scrambled to give him an answer.
“It was for your own good,” You say quietly, throat beginning to ache as you suppressed your tears, your own frustration building. It was a feat that was easier said than done. A stray passerby had looked in your general direction to discern the source of the commotion.
“What?”
“Nothing,” you dismiss, turning to leave.
His hand shot out and grabbed your own, the feeling nearly electric against your skin. Your breath hitched in your throat momentarily. “No, it’s not nothing. I have a right to know.”
His hand lingered in yours for a moment or two longer than it should have before it dropped back to his side, his gaze fixed on you as he waited for your explanation. Of the hundreds of ways you thought to broach this conversation in the many days and months apart, they all seemed to erase themselves from your memory now that the moment had arised. “Go on, tell me.”
You stood there hesitantly, afraid of what he might say. Afraid that he’d turn around and leave you behind much like you’d regrettably done to him all those years ago. Though at that point if he chose to do that, you knew it was something you deserved. You owed him the reason, you knew that. But it took great effort to choke out the words, scared to know what would come of the interchange.
“Your mother,” you timidly managed to get out, quiet voice trembling as you spoke your words carefully. “She saved me after I was hexed by your father. I wasn’t in the best shape but she saved me from dying that day.”
You studied his face, watching the crease between his dark brows deepen, bottom lip beginning to noticeably tremble.
“Why didn’t you come get me?” His tone was angry and insistent, jaw clenching as he tried to process what you had just said.
“She told me it’d be better this way. It’d only cause trouble if they knew what she had done for me because I very clearly wasn’t going to make it, it wouldn’t have made sense if suddenly I bounced back from it. Said we were better off apart because at least we’d both make it out of there alive and in one piece, you could have the life you always wanted for yourself.”
He scoffed in disbelief, looking away from you briefly as if to gather his thoughts that rapidly bombarded him. “You really believe that?” He asks quietly.
You shrug, a tear spilling over your reddened cheek. “Look at all the heartache it’s caused, Draco. What was I supposed to do? Should I have just shown up on your doorstep and said ‘Hey, I’m sorry. I know I’ve abandoned you for a few years and made you think I was dead and left you to be heartbroken, but I’m not really.’ Is that what you wanted?”
“It would have been a start.” A humorless laugh left his lips as he shook his head.
You scoff as you narrow your eyes up at him, drawing in a shaky breath. “Don’t be ridiculous, Draco.”
“Ridiculous? You basically ripped my heart right out of my chest and stomped all over it, and I’m being ridiculous?”
He bit his tongue after that, taking a deep breath to stave off the anger simmering in the pit of his stomach. He didn’t want to say something to further create anymore regrets.
“I didn’t ask for this!” You nearly shout, his expression softening. “I didn’t want this to be our fate, I fought it as best I could because I didn’t feel right living a life without you in it. It wasn’t ever my choice to make, Draco, and I think you know that.” You manage to say, swallowing the growing lump in your throat. “You deserve better than that.”
He looked at his feet, taking a moment to gather himself as he wiped his cheek with a trembling hand. He shook his head then, lifting his eyes to meet yours again with furrowed brows. He took that moment to take you in, to really look at you, something he’s wanted to do far more often than he ever cared to admit. Your eyes still sparkled the way they always do, and it wasn’t just from the tears that glossed over them. Or the way your cheeks and the very tip of your nose reddened in the chilled winter weather, accentuating every freckle that dotted along your skin. He couldn’t bring himself to look away, nor did he want to.
He took a step closer to replace the one you had taken to widen the gap between you, taking a deep breath as he tried to properly articulate his next words.
“If you think for a second that there was any moment in any day that I haven’t thought of you, you’re wrong. You’re etched in my bones, Y/n, there’s no moving on from you. Don’t you understand the only life I’ve ever wanted is with you?”
He was pleading by this point, voice louder than before as he tried to get you to understand his words were sincere.
You wiped your cheek with your sleeve, the cold weather seeping through your jacket no longer there with the fire ablaze in your chest. “You can’t possibly mean that anymore, and there’s no way I’ll let you forgive me either,” you laugh bitterly, softly, and you shake your head again. “Not after that. That would be ridiculous and I won’t allow it.” You inhaled a quivering breath, meeting his eyes. “You’re supposed to hate me.”
He wouldn’t call it forgiveness, but the very person who left his heart in tatters was the same one who kept it beating. Seemingly the only one.
His breath caught in his throat momentarily as he listened to your words, voice wavering as he whispers, “I could never hate you.”
Those five words were enough to make your heart pound so hard it couldn’t possibly remain in your chest. You wanted nothing more than to run to his arms and pretend nothing ever happened, like you hadn’t kept yourself hidden from him for years while he suffered. But you couldn’t forget it. It wasn’t something you could brush under the rug because the guilt wasn’t quite something you could get over.
“I love you, Draco, very much. But I can’t. I can’t just let this go, and you shouldn’t want me to,” you start, tears falling freely and mixing with the rain. “For that reason, I can’t stay, I have to go.”
You could hardly get the words to fall from your mouth, and through your heartbeat pounding vigorously in your ears you weren’t entirely sure if they did.
He opened his mouth to speak, but you knew he’d try and get you to stay and you didn’t know if you were strong enough to hear it. So you turned your back to the love of your life, rushing off as your face scrunched with unshed tears before disappearing around the next corner. He choked back a sob of his own as he followed after you, turning the corner and finding himself to be the only one left.
4 Months Later
Four months. It had been four months since the night that remained burned in your memory, replaying the interchange word for word every time you closed your eyes. For having gone years without seeing him you thought this would be a simple task to do it again. To rid yourself of the pain that came with loving Draco Malfoy. But really this seemed to be the hardest part of it all, the last four years had paled in comparison to this.
The hole in your chest, the one you’d created twice over was widening with each passing day. You saw him in every thing you did, perhaps you really did see him. Flashes of memories would flood your mind and taunt you. Memories of running through the gardens of the Manor like kids every time you looked at the flowers surrounding your home. Memories of nights in the astronomy tower when the moonlight trickled in your window, curtains promptly being closed. Or the pang in your chest when your fingers brushed over the fabric of his sweater that hung in the very back of your closet. The intense, all-consuming heartache was something you’d never wish on your worst enemy. To long so deeply for someone just might be the worst kind of pain.
Four more months of living in the same looping regret, guilt tightly lacing itself around your heart and constricting you more with every day that goes by. You wondered where you might currently be if you hadn’t been so stubborn, if you hadn’t sabotaged the very thing that made you feel the most alive. Or if you had defied Narcissa’s wishes and ran away with him like you always wanted.
The thought of what should have and could have been tore you up the more you paid them mind. It could have been the two of you in that house, decorated with shared books and memorabilia. You could be waking up together for the rest of your life, rather than occupying the mattress alone. But any scenario that crossed your mind always seemed like it was far out of the realm of possibility, and you were at fault for it. So, you continued on with your everyday life.
You walked up the mossy cobblestone walkway to your home with a huff, groceries tucked in the crook of your arm. You were too tired to apparate, having lacked the energy to do so long before that moment. It was proving to be a challenging task just to find the right key one-handedly, having dropped them completely when you looked up. The metal clang sounded as they hit the ground, the paper bag you held crinkling under your tightened grip, but you soon settled a bit as you sighed. You weren’t sure if you could do this again.
The same blonde that had haunted your every day stood just under your covered porch, sifting through the envelopes that carried his name across the front of each and every one.
“I see my letters have reached you,” He says upon seeing you, quiet as he takes the time to look over each one, not even having to glance inside them to know what was thoughtfully written.
You were quiet, embarrassed that he was now aware of your ignorance to them as they accumulated into a pile just outside your door. It hadn’t made matters any better. “I’ve read some.”
It was true, you had plucked a few from the growing pile and read through them, even reread multiple times. But it quickly became unbearably painful to read his words, the metaphorical blade in your heart twisting with every line your eyes skimmed across. So you let them gather—one turning to two, two turning to five, five turning to ten. They sat, weathered by the outside elements with hopes to be opened and read as intended.
You wanted to write back. You wanted desperately to fill pages detailing how much you had missed him dearly, how fully you loved him. You wanted to pour your very heart onto every piece of letterhead you could find in your house and send it to him, he deserved to know that much, he deserved much more than what you gave. Yet you still wanted to be selfish and have him all to yourself.
He laughed softly, holding no humor as he set them down carefully in a much neater pile on the old rocking chair behind him before stuffing his hands in his pockets.
“Why didn’t you write back?” His tone was curious rather than angry, though disappointment was still very much there.
You pushed back your truthful reasoning in favor of a simple answer. “I didn’t feel it was appropriate for me to get your hopes up.”
His brows furrowed as a bittersweet smile formed on his lips, one that hadn’t fully reached his tired eyes.
“Love, I’m afraid that’s already happened the moment I saw you again.”
Your heart squeezed in your chest at the nickname, one you certainly didn’t deserve to be referred to as. It took everything in you not to crumble, not to burst into tears.
“Why are you here, Draco?” You ask, desperately wanting to change the subject to keep yourself from lingering on the way he looked at you, gingerly and full of longing.
He shifted on his feet, a brief silence settling between the two of you as he looked at his surroundings. The gray stone walls of the medium-sized cottage, the bursts of color dotting the perimeter from the blooming flowers planted in unkempt flowerbeds, the worn paint on the porch from repeated foot traffic; it was clear to see the path you walked in on a daily basis.
“Has my mother picked this place out for you?” He asks softly, seemingly avoiding your question as he lightly ran his fingertips over the dark green railing. He feels he’s certain he already knows that answer. “It’s quite beautiful.”
You sigh, cheeks burning a rosy pink when he caught your gaze again. “Draco, what are you doing here?” You repeat.
Once again he’s quiet, mulling things over as he carefully thinks about his next words. While waiting, you find yourself trying not to focus on the way the spring breeze blows his hair out of his face, or the way the tip of his nose reddened in the brisk weather. None of those details should have been important but you couldn’t bring yourself to look away, not really.
“I suppose I wanted to see you.”
The hesitation in his quiet admission was indicative that there was more to it than he’d let on. And once again it felt as though your heart had been somersaulting in your chest, but you fought the warmth that blossomed in waves within your body at the short statement.
“I don’t believe that’s a very good idea for either of us.” Your words were soft and you hadn’t really believed them, not as much as you should have, but it felt like something you were supposed to say.
You could tell his anger had been rising, could tell by the way he turned his back to you and clutched the wooden railing, gathering himself. You could see the deep breaths he’d been taking, slow and steady as his knuckles turned an ivory white. Your stubbornness had always been a quality he had loved about you, but now that very trait was the thing that’s been ripping him apart.
“And just why is that, Y/n?” His frustration was beginning to become more and more apparent as he turned to face you again, cheeks flushed a pale scarlet. He threw his hands in the air to accompany his words, letting them fall back to his sides. He took another deep breath to control his emotions. “Why?”
“What do you want me to say, Draco?” You we’re defeated by this point, the emotional turmoil having stripped you of the light you once held. This very love had completed you while being your downfall all the same. You felt like you wanted to run in this very moment, as far as possible, but your feet remained planted in place just outside your front door.
He looked at you with such intensity, utterly spellbound by you, that you had to look away from him for a moment, his gaze never faltering no matter how many tears had blurred his vision. His nostrils flare as his eyes continue to gloss over.
“I want you to tell me you love me,” He starts, voice wavering though he kept going despite it. “I want you to tell me you won’t leave. Not again. I have tried and tried to rid myself of you and everything that came with loving you, to fill the gaps you left in my life but there’s far too many. I’m afraid nobody will ever hold a candle to you. So please, I want you to tell me you’ll stop running and stay with me.”
You blinked away your tears as you swallowed thickly, voice coming out in a soft whisper. “Draco, please,” you plead, “I—”
He held up his hand, silently asking to continue as he stepped closer to you cautiously, scared that if he moved too quickly you’d slip away again.
“I didn’t have a choice my entire life, and going another minute without you isn’t a choice either, not really,” he chuckles through tears, his lip trembling and he brushed his hair out of his eyes. “I’m so tired of holding grudges. And you can try and keep yourself from me all you want, but I need you with me. I don’t know who I am without you.”
You stood there, clinging to every single word that fell from his lips as you looked up at him. Every passing second was detrimental to the wall you tried to build around yourself, diminishing piece by piece. Your heart pounded in your chest, so much so you thought it might burst then and there. You turned away from him to catch your breath, missing the way his face scrunched in a quiet sob he’d tried to keep you from bearing witness to. But you hadn’t missed the sniffles sounding just paces behind you, and it was something you knew you never wanted to hear again.
You weighed out all your options, rapidly finding yourself unable to find a reason to walk away from this, a logical reason, other than yourself and your inability to let this go. You were tired of fighting, and you were tired of living without the one person you felt you were meant to love. It was useless to do such a thing anymore because no matter how hard you could try to find love in someone else, it always circles back to him.
Against all self doubt and the crushing guilt that told you to let him go and close that chapter, you spun on your heel to find him staring as his breath caught in his throat. You crossed the porch with certainty, leaning up on your toes, fists gripping his coat tightly as you kissed him fiercely. He was knocked back a step or two but his arms were around you in an instant, pressing you as close as he could.
Something akin to electricity ignited across every inch of your skin, and you ignored the nagging thoughts that maybe you shouldn’t be doing this right now. That maybe it was too soon, but you couldn’t bring yourself to care about technicalities and ‘maybe’s’. You parted and he felt it was all too brief as he chased after your lips, but you hadn’t strayed far as you released his jacket, smoothing the crinkled material. You looked up at him, his breath fanning across your face. These quiet, fleeting moments felt like they stretched into hours as you allowed yourself to bask in the moment you never thought you’d experience again.
“I love you,” you whisper, and he laughed softly in relief as a tear slips down his cheek, then another, your lips finding his again in a much softer kiss.
He still held you tightly, fingers splayed across your cheek as if to have confirmation that this was real, that it was really happening. Still to make sure you wouldn’t take off, that you were real.
It was. And he was never losing you again.
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tsukishumai · 3 years
Note
HELLO! i was wondering if your requests are open,,, if they are can i pls request prompt 44 from angst with oikawa??? THANK YOUUU!!!. p.s the kita angst broke me i- TT
HELLO!! Yes, requests are open, tysm for requesting something! 💘 & aw I’m sorry haha, I wasn’t too confident abt that one so to hear that u liked it makes me uwu 🥺 hope u like this one!
Send me a prompt + ur fav character here :)
44. “What am I in your life? Because as of lately I feel as though I’ve been nothing to you.”
Word count: 1.2k
A/N: Eek, again I suck at angst so I apologize if this is terrible <3
You really only had one goal in life, and that was to be successful. There was no nuance to it, no specific path you intended to follow. Hell, even which career you wanted for yourself was up in the air. But all of those things were just minor details. Regardless of whichever mountain you decide to climb, you had every intention of sitting yourself right at the very top.
It was only natural to want to be the best, isn’t it? You couldn’t think of one good reason why you should be satisfied with anything other than first place. That’s why out of all the applicants, you were the one awarded a scholarship to the prestigious Aoba Johsai. It wasn’t a stroke of luck, nor an answered prayer; and it truly irked you when people tried demeaning all your efforts by simply boiling it down to happenstance. You studied your ass off, spent days and nights with your nose buried in a book or camped out in a library, and in the end it paid off.
Not a lot of people understood. If people were trying to be nice, they would say you were just ambitious. But if people were trying to be mean, they would call you shrewd and cold. None of those things mattered to you either way; the view of their upturned faces as you looked down on them from your pedestal provided you enough fuel to warm your lonely nights.
It’s not that you didn’t value friendship; you managed to cultivate a few acquaintances, and it’s not like you sat by yourself a lunch. But high school just felt so arbitrary; Aoba Johsai was just one of many steps towards your future, what was the point in forming connections with people you would probably never have met if not for the fact you were all born around the same time? You watched as your classmates settled into their cliques, formed their little groups, and - as much as any high schooler could - fall in love.
You didn’t hate love. You just didn’t see the point, really. You saw the way some of your friends start obsessing over their significant other; friendships start to break, grades start to slip, mental health goes on the decline. Why would you want that? Not after spending all your time in setting up the foundation for yourself; there wasn’t a single part of yourself that you were willing to give to anyone else.
So why was it you were standing in front of Oikawa Tooru, eyes nearly swollen shut from the tears that forged a streaky path down the planes of your cheeks, snot disgracefully dripping from your nostrils as you desperately choked back a sob?
“How long have you known?” You asked, but you weren’t prepared for the answer.
“A year,” he mumbled shamefully, unable to even look you in the eye. If you did, you would see tears of his own threatening to spill, but at the moment all you saw was red.
“You’ve known... for a year?”
“Y/N,” Oikawa attempted to reach out to you, but you stepped back and slapped his hand away.
“Is this why you’ve been blowing me off lately,” you whispered, Oikawa’s odd behavior finally beginning to click in heard.
You haven’t felt the touch of Oikawa’s hands in weeks; the very same ones that always reached out for you, guiding you to exactly where you need to be with their permanent presence on the small of your back. His eyes that always seems to be able find you in any crowd were downcast, shifted away until you forgot what it felt like to melt under their intensity.
At first, you simply chalked it up to his devastating loss against his oh so beloved kohai. Nationals had been a dream of Oikawa’s that will now never come into fruition. You, of all people, knew the overwhelming heartache of coming up short. It was his passion and dedication to the sport that drew you to him, after all.
But after weeks of near radio silence, you start to feel yourself begin to unravel. Had you done something wrong? Was he still this upset about the loss? Is there something more you could to help alleviate some of his stress? Is he starting to lose interest in you? Maybe he doesn’t find you attractive anymore?
These were thoughts that would never have even had the chance to cross your mind before. Now, the lack of sleep and uneasiness building in your chest had you two seconds away from bursting.
Instead, you felt your whole existence deflate when you had been handed back your first failing grade. The angry red marks began to swim in your peripherals, wondering how you could possibly have let yourself fallen this far.
You had one goal. One clear goal. Now, your vision had been expertly muddled by wavy brown hair and bright teal volleyball shorts.
“And you just made this decision without even thinking of me?” Your voice cracked at the last accusatory word of your question, growing increasingly irritated Oikawa’s unusual silence.
It’s infuriating the more you thought about it, really. You didn’t want this. You never wanted any of this. You just wanted to graduate high school at the top of your class, get into a good college, and start working your way up in the world. You were content to stay in your little bubble if it meant that you’d be able to achieve your dreams.
But Oikawa was Oikawa. He was simply too bright to ignore. And like Icarus to the sun, you thought yourself invincible until you flew close enough to burn from his radiance.
“What am I in your life?” You spat out, and the words left a bitter taste in your mouth, “Because as of lately I feel as though I’ve been nothing to you.”
Oikawa’s head snapped up, anguish stamped on his features as he desperately said, “You’re not nothing to me!”
“Then how could you do this?” You pleaded, disgusted at your pathetic groveling.
Oikawa shook his head, as if begging you to understand. “It’s not about what or how much you mean to me. I have to do this for myself and my future.”
It was so ironic, it made you livid.
Oikawa Tooru had successfully wedged himself into your life, deconstructing your walls brick by brick, gracing you with the warmth of his presence and the ardor of his love.
Only so he could be face to face as he drove the knife into your heart himself, allowing you a taste of pseudo happiness until it was time for him to take it away.
“Good luck in Argentina, Oikawa.”
His eyes widened at use of his last name, panic shooting across his features as he tried to stop you from leaving.
“Wait, Y/N -“
“Good bye.”
And you knew it wasn’t fair to him. You knew he was only doing what he felt was right, you understood that much too perfectly. It was irrational of you to shed tears over the most logical choice for Oikawa to make. You should be supportive, you knew that. But the embittered thought of being left behind was just too heavy to bear.
You walked away and never looked back, leaving behind two broken hearts.
✧・゚: *✧・゚:*    *:・゚✧*:・゚✧
(You look up at the sky as an airplane left trails of clouds that blasted through a sunset painted with pastel pinks and purple hues.
You briefly wondered if this plane was taking Oikawa Tooru back home.
It never is.)
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honey-dewey · 3 years
Text
Here Comes the Bride (and the Boys)
Pairing: Frankie ‘Catfish’ Morales/Reader
Word Count: 2,039
Warnings: None!
Permanent Taglist: @phoenixhalliwell @star-wars-hell
You’re is getting married! But, to get married, you need a dress. And instead of family at the dress appointment, the Reader brings some rather unusual guests. Her fiancé’s three weird best friends. 
“First of all, you’re wrong!”
You laughed, bent in half and gripping the dashboard for support as Benny and Will argued in the backseat. You were taking the boys dress shopping, and you hadn’t anticipated the disaster that would be the Miller brothers sitting in the car together.
“Fuck you, a single Twinkie is absolutely bite sized!” Benny said angrily, taking a Twinkie out of his pocket and ripping the package open. “See?” And then he stuffed it in his mouth, proving that it was, in fact, one bite.
Will laughed, punching his brother lightly. “You’re disgusting. We are on our way to a distinguished wedding dress appointment and you’re here stuffing your face with twinkies.”
Santiago, who had the misfortune of driving, sighed. “Lord help me,” he said, turning into the parking lot of the bridal place. “I am surrounded by morons.”
Still smiling, you texted Frankie, who was sitting at home and trying to decide what the wedding’s color scheme would be.
You: Your bffs are fucking idiots
Goldfish: I’m sorry?
You: Benny just ate a whole ass Twinkie in one bite
Goldfish: Wow. Tell him he’s disgusting
You: Will already did. Gtg, we’re there
Goldfish: love you
You: Love you too babe
Getting out of the car, you suddenly rethought your decision to bring the boys to help you choose a wedding dress. But you really didn’t want to do it alone and no one in your family could make it. So you’d grabbed what you hoped was the next best thing. Frankie’s friends.
But it was too late. You pulled the door to the place open and walked in, smiling at the receptionist. “Hello! I’m here for an appointment.”
The receptionist eyed your group and nodded. “Of course. Last name?”
“Morales.” Technically that wasn’t your last name yet, but you’d been engaged for almost a year now and using Frankie’s last name just felt natural.
Once you were checked in, you waited on a couch with the boys.
“So what kind of dress are you getting?” Benny asked, looking at a dress that looked, and this was the nice way of saying it, like an overly decorated pastry.
“Not that,” you said. “I dunno. Maybe A-line? The last fancy thing I wore was when Frankie and I went out to that restaurant last New Years, but that had no back, and I’m not going that slutty for my wedding day.”
Will snorted. “Okay. So the requirements are currently as follows. It must have a back, and it cannot be, in your words, slutty.”
“It has to be white,” you added. “And I want a floor length dress.”
“Well that’s not enough to work off of.”
You shrugged. “It’s what I got.”
Your consultant came in at that point. “Oh! Well, I guess I don’t have to ask who’s the bride!” She said. “I’m Zoe. Who’d you bring with you? Any family?”
“Nope!” You said, looking at the boys. “These are my fiancé’s three best friends, Santiago, Benny, and William.”
Zoe nodded. “Okay. How long have you been engaged?”
You shrugged. “A year, give or take. My fiancé, Frankie, was military until about four months ago, when he went on his last mission.” You could still remember how defeated he’d been coming home, the pain in his eyes as he told you about Tom and everything else. “We’re getting married in September.”
“Awesome!” Zoe said. “So, budget?”
“Frankie and I put aside about two thousand.”
Zoe nodded again. “And are we looking for any specific style of dress?”
You shook your head. “Nope. I just know I want it a bit more conservative, but not something that covers every inch of skin I’ve got.”
“Okay then,” Zoe said. “Let’s go look at some dresses!”
Unsurprisingly, the boys were apprehensive about this part. Benny was the first to recover, happily diving in and pulling a few dresses to ask you about them. Once he found his groove, Will and Santi quickly followed suit.
“What about this?” Santi asked, showing you a dress.
“Eh,” you said, looking over. “I don’t like that feathery bit on the bottom.”
It was interesting, shopping for a wedding dress. You’d only wear it once, but it was so damn important. You passed over dress after dress, dismissing most of them. Eventually, after a fair amount of searching, you and the boys had picked out a few dresses that were all decent contenders.
Trying the dresses on, that was a completely different story. The first dress Zoe brought you, which was one of Santi’s picks, was gorgeous, and actually made your tear up a bit.
“Oh dear, tears already?” Zoe asked, handing you a tissue.
“I just,” you said weakly, wiping your eyes. “I love Frankie so much, and I can’t believe after everything we’ve been through, I’m finally able to officially call him mine.”
Zoe rubbed your back. “I get it hon,” she consoled. “He must be one hell of a man.”
“Oh he definitely is.”
After a few more minutes of admiring the dress and composing yourself, you walked out to show the boys.
Immediately, they went quiet, admiring your dress. You stood on a small pedestal, turning and admiring the dress in the big mirror. “I like it.”
“But?” Santiago prompted.
“I don’t get that big wow feeling,” you finished, almost guilty. “Sorry Santi.”
Santiago shook his head. “It’s okay,” he promised. “But you do like it?”
You nodded, swishing the dress around. “Yeah. It’s got the right amount of pop.”
“Pop?” Benny asked.
“Details,” you elaborated, running a hand along the subtly flowered waistline. “Flair. Call it whatever. And the shape is nice.”
Will nodded. “The sleeves aren’t your thing, are they?”
“Yeah, absolutely not.” You put a finger under the short sleeve. “It’s tight across the shoulders and I feel like I can’t lift my arms.”
“So no short sleeves?” Santiago asked.
“We can eliminate short sleeves,” you decided.
The next few dresses were all like the first. Decent and very pretty, but not your dress. You managed to eliminate a few other things you weren’t too fond of, like the super tight mermaid dresses and the overly poofy princess dresses. Sleeveless was still on the table, but you were hesitant about that. The boys gave amazing criticism, and no one started any drama, which was nice. But still, you found yourself wishing Frankie were here. He’d know exactly what to recommend. You could almost hear him whispering in your ear as you examined yet another not right dress.
“I’m sure you’ll get it eventually, margarita.”
You sighed, deeming the dress a flop and heading back to try something else on.
And then you passed a dress on the way back to the changing room that made you stop in your tracks.
“What is it?” Zoe asked, stopping right behind you.
“What’s that?” You asked, pointing to the dress.
Zoe followed your finger. “Oh. That’s a dress we just got. It’s from a small designer who specializes in unique dresses.”
“Can I try it on?” You asked, still mesmerized.
“Sure.” Zoe grabbed the dress. “It’s not floor length though.”
You shrugged, still watching the dress with nothing short of awe. “I’m willing to bend for this dress.”
The dress fit you perfectly, and when you turned around to look at it for the first time, you were dead silent for a whole minute before starting to cry again.
“Still good tears?” Zoe asked hopefully, helping you step back into your white flats.
“This is my dress,” you said softly. “This is my dress.”
Zoe smiled. “It looks really good on you,” she said. “Shall we show the boys?”
You nodded, smoothing your hands down the textured fabric of the skirt.
Walking out to show the boys was the hardest thing you’d done in a while. The dress was perfect, it was definitely the one, but what if they didn’t agree?
You heard gasps from the group when you stepped onto the pedestal, back facing them.
“So?” Zoe prompted. “What do you think?”
“It’s my dress,” you said yet again. “It’s perfect.”
“It is,” Santiago agreed. “C’mon, turn for us, let us see.”
You turned, facing the boys.
Immediately, Benny, who was smiling, threw his hands up. “Okay, so we threw all the rules out for this dress.”
You laughed, feeling the skirt swish around your calves. “It’s perfect Benny. I had to break the rules for the daisies.”
“I don’t get it,” Benny said, leaning back. “Why daisies?”
“That’s what Frankie calls me,” you said softly. “I’m his margarita. It’s Spanish for daisy.”
You turned to examine the dress again. It was still white, which would placate your mother and gave you that bride feeling in the pit of your stomach. But the thing that sold you was the thin layer of sheer white fabric on top, the layer with the small daisies on it. The sleeves were nice, loose without being a hazard and tight without being too restricting. The V neck was modest enough for a wedding, and the smooth white ribbon around your natural waist really helped define the shape of the dress.
Zoe came out with a matching flower crown and placed it on your head, causing you to tear up when you faced yourself in the mirror again.
“Oh honey,” Santiago said, standing and wrapping you in a hug. “Is it group hug time?”
You nodded, feeling the warm embrace of the boys around you. “Thank you,” you said softly, surrounded by friends. “My mother would’ve had an aneurysm if I tried this on for her.”
Benny laughed, rubbing your back. “We get it,” he said. “And trust us, Fish is gonna adore it.”
Seven months later, you were freaking out, trying not to cry in your small tent, twenty minutes before you were supposed to walk down the aisle.
“What if he doesn’t show up?” You asked one of your bridesmaids, Luca. “What if he doesn’t wanna get married anymore?”
Luca put her hands on your shoulders. “Hey. I’m sure he’s just as nervous as you, and I’m absolutely positive he’s sticking around.”
You took a breath, anxiety spiking again as a knock echoed on the door.
“Can we come in? We have a gift for the bride.”
You eagerly accepted the boys in, embracing them each in turn.
“You look like a goddess,” Will complimented, holding you at arm’s length and smiling. “He’s so nervous.”
“Told you so!” Luca shouted.
Benny laughed. “He told us to give you this.”
You took the small box, opening it hesitantly and pressing a hand to your mouth before the tears bubbled over. It was a necklace, nothing seemingly expensive or fancy. It had a thin silver chain, and on the end of the chain was a circle of resin, no bigger than a quarter, with a beautiful pressed daisy in it.
Luca helped you slip the necklace over your head. The daisy pendant sat on your skin, just above the V neck, barely visible.
“Are you ready?” Santiago asked, placing the necklace box down.
You nodded. “As I’ll ever be.”
The next almost half hour of waiting was agony. You texted Frankie, both of you anxious and both of you very ready for the ceremony to be over. Then, Frankie stopped responding, and you heard the music. It was time.
You father took your arm and guided you out of the tent, into the park you’d picked for the venue. Plenty of people were waiting for you, but you only had eyes for one of them.
Frankie turned, his entire face lighting up as he saw you walking towards him. He looked amazing, all clean and neat in a suit with a small daisy tucked into his lapel. He wasn’t wearing his hat, but you almost wished he was. He’d shaved, but that tiny spot where he constantly complained about the lack of facial hair was still there and obvious.
You father smiled, placing your hands in Frankie’s. He squeezed them, and you felt pure joy humming through your veins. You were getting married.
“Ready?” Frankie asked you softly, so softly you almost didn’t hear him.
You didn’t even hesitate to answer. “I’m ready.”
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flightfoot · 3 years
Note
That ask about the Instagram edit with Nino and Luka had me thinking, and I’m genuinely curious about why some fans are praising Luka for his mistake while simultaneously bashing Marinette, Alya, and Nino for their own identity related decisions. I’ve seen handfuls of posts placing Luka in a pedestal and raving about how he “knows how to keep his mouth shut”, and how that makes him more trustworthy than anyone, even though that’s not at all how trust works! I’ve seen that one post regarding Marinette’s comparison to Luka, and the post for Nino too, so I’ll leave those, but one I haven’t see anyone bring up is how people are trying to compare Alya and Luka’s predicaments.
Narratively, Luka’s situation is VERY different from Alya. Alya is a permanent Miraculous chosen who was being forced by the status quo to lie to the people she loves, and was expected to risk or potentially sacrifice said relationships in the name of Rena Furtive. Not agreeing with the set precedent, Alya tells Nino the truth, and it’s framed as a good thing! Of course, there will be a brief period of strain on Alyanette’s friendship because of it, but ultimately it will lead to some sort of beneficial resolution, likely in the form of Ladynoir finding solid ground again and being more transparent with one another.
Luka, on the other hand, found out about Ladynoir’s identities and doesn’t tell Ladybug the truth when she asks if he knows, and this scene is framed to be an “uh oh” moment. Luka has a good heart and only wants Marinette to be happy and free of anymore stress (also, I agree with your take on Luka’s thought process; I’d like to see if there was more to his decision than just Marinette’s stress), but this decision is a guaranteed mess. There are no benefits to be had of this choice. However, his choice is entirely understandable! It makes total sense why he did what he did.
All in all, what’s rubbing me the wrong way here is the blatant cherry picking of what defines someone as “trustworthy”.
Luka is apparently trustworthy because he “knows how to keep his mouth shut”; however, people are choosing to ignore the fact that this secret is about the identities of Ladybug and Chat Noir, the owners of the two most powerful miraculous, which Shadowmoth wants, and the fact that said secret is with someone who has no protective charm and (unlike Alya and Nino) has not been shown to be capable of fighting off Shadowmoth’s attempts at influence. He also blatantly lied to Ladybug about it (an act that violated Marinette’s trust).
Alya is apparently untrustworthy because she told Nino that she was still Rena Furtive; Marinette asked her to lie, and she decided against it in favor of being truthful, so it was a violation of Marinette’s trust (Luka also violated trust, but that tidbit is often mysteriously left out…). Alya, prior to making her choice, however, asked for Marinette to put her faith in her; this shows that Alya was only going to make this choice if Marinette believed and trusted in Alya’s judgement (Like Luka, Alya made this choice because she genuinely feels that it was the right thing to do, but while this is praised for Luka, it’s not for Alya).
Both Alya and Luka made their decisions, pursuing what they think is the greater good. Both went behind Marinette’s back in order to do so. But while Luka’s being slapped on the back for his choice, Alya is being slapped on the wrist for the same thing.
(I hope this doesn’t come off as Luka salt. Luka is actually one of my favorite characters, but with Alya as another character I adore, it’s rather glaring how both are being faced with different standards they need to meet to be worthy of Marinette’s trust by fans)
Yeah I don't get why Luka should be considered more "trustworthy" here, especially since he's the only one who blatantly lied to Marinette's face. Like... yeah I think he's unlikely to just spill the secret, but there are other definitions of "trustworthy".
I'm not upset at either Luka or Alya for their choices. It makes for a more interesting story, and in both cases it was understandable. Well, if Luka's reasoning really is "Marinette will have a breakdown if I tell her the truth and I don't want that". I'm not 100% convinced that that is his reasoning.
But for Luka it really confused me that people are apparently cheering on how trustworthy he is? Because he lied about knowing Ladybug's and Chat's identities when Ladybug directly asked? Like this wasn't about him needing to keep it secret that he knows their identities for a security reason or to prove that he knows when to keep his mouth shut about identities, this wasn't some Secret Test Of Character.
I'm actually glad that the show's having Alya and Luka make decisions that go against what Marinette's asking for, each for their own reasons. It introduces some conflict and drama to the show that can push character development.
As for Alya and Luka being treated so differently in different portions of the fandom, I suspect a lot has to do with how much that person liked the character to begin with, along with their thoughts on why they made the decisions they did. For Luka, it's generally presumed that he lied to Ladybug because he thought it would be best for her own sake. While Alya going against Marinette's wishes was about what she thought was best for herself and Nino, rather than what she thought might be best for Marinette. So if someone was more concerned about Marinette always being a person's top priority rather than making decisions for their own sakes, I could see them siding more with Luka while disliking Alya's actions. Don't agree with it mind you, but I could see the thought process.
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jalapeno-princess · 3 years
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Catching Feelings
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(Look at him doing the bare minimum and still making me fling my panties across the room Damn you Im Jaebeom)
Jaebeom X Reader
Word Count: 20K (Guys this is the longest fic I have ever posted on here wtffff)(I just couldn’t stop writing omg)
Genre: Fluff, Angst, Smut (Sugar, spice and everything nice)
Summary: You’ve been in love with your best friend Jaebeom for longer than you can count on both your hands. Unfortunately, time never seemed to be on your side. Every time he was single, you were in a relationship and when he started seeing someone, you were by yourself. One day, he asks you to pretend to be his girlfriend in order to make his ex-girlfriend jealous but little do either of you know that the few days of fake dating will actually lead to something you would have never expected in your many years of knowing him for.
A/N: Hey guys! This was requested by the amazing @solarblooms​ one of the sweetest people I’ve met on here thank you so much for this request I’m sorry if it didn’t turn out the way you would have liked but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. Happy reading!!
“Jaebeom, you can’t be serious. I don’t think you know what you’re asking me right now.”
“You’re acting as if I’m asking you to run a marathon y/n.” 
You let out a scoff before getting up and reaching for both coffee cups that you and Jaebeom drank from in the last hour. When he asked you for a favor, you didn’t think much of it. The older boy always asked you to do errands for him every now and then and as the caring and loyal person you were, you would do whatever he’d ask of you with no hesitation. 
Honestly, Jaebeom was the only person you would go out of your way to help; not only because he was your best friend, but because you knew he would do the same thing for you in a heartbeat. That was just how your friendship worked. The two of you have been friends for more years than you could count on both hands. This meant that you’ve seen each other through it all; drunken stupors, food poisoning, flu season, walking in on each other naked and failed relationships. The latter was the reason why you were both upset yet flustered at his sudden request. 
“I would rather complete the damn 24 mile run. Let me get this straight, you want me to pretend to be your girlfriend in order to make Ella jealous? You’ve said a lot of stupid shit in all my years of knowing you but this has to be the most insane thing I’ve ever heard. Why me? Why not just get another girlfriend—she’ll know somethings up right off the bat. Do you really think she’s stupid enough to believe that you and I would actually start dating? You’re better off telling her that you’re in a relationship with a celebrity; that would be more probable.” 
It wasn’t that you didn’t want to help him out—especially because you weren’t the biggest fan of his ex-girlfriend. Jaebeom in more or less words had to be one of the most devastatingly handsome men you’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. He also had one of the biggest and most genuine hearts—even if he’d come off as cold and intimidating. People say nobody’s perfect; and it was true that he did have his faults, but he also came pretty close to being practically flawless in your eyes. 
The reason why you were so hesitant towards helping him with this specific favor, was because you had feelings for him—and that was an understatement. You don’t remember exactly when you first began looking at Jaebeom in a different light, but when you started to crave his presence more and more, mentally outline his sharp features, found yourself daydreaming about what it would be like to kiss those pretty, plump lips of his; that’s when you knew that you no longer saw him as an older brother. 
You and Jaebeom met in second grade when he transferred over to your school after his family moved to your small town in order to open up their first coffee shop. He was very shy and extremely introverted. For the first two weeks since his arrival, he never really talked to any of the other students unless his teacher asked him to do so. 
At recess and at lunch, he normally sat by himself and the sight always made you feel sad. You didn’t have all that many friends, but you had enough to converse with and to keep you company. One day, you found yourself walking over to where he was sitting and placed your tray right down in front of him. You’ll never forget the way he looked up at you with the most adorable gaze of confusion. 
“Hi. I’m y/n. Is it okay if I sit here? You look pretty lonely.”
“Oh—um—go ahead.” 
The rest of your lunch time together was very quiet—he obviously didn’t seem like the type to want to start a conversation, especially with someone he wasn’t familiar with. You also didn’t know what to say to him; you didn’t want to make things even more awkward by saying something he didn’t particularly like. However, you felt at ease—the atmosphere was calming and for some reason, you felt it had to do with his presence. 
Something about Jaebeom made you feel pleasant; safe. When the bell rang to signal that lunch was over, you were right about to stand up in attempts to throw away your lunch until you heard the faintest call of your name. You turned around to look at the mysterious boy and hummed in curiosity. 
“This was nice—I um—I’m not the most talkative person. I’m more of a listener. If it’s okay with you, would you maybe want to—be friends?” 
You gave him a toothy grin before nodding profusely; excited with the idea of getting to know him and being the first person he wanted to start a friendship with. 
“I’d like that.” 
From that day on, the two of you were attached to the hip; your mothers would refer to the both of you as magnets. Everywhere you went, anyone could expect the older boy to be right there with you. He was more than just your best friend—he was your safety blanket, your confidant—in a metaphorical sense, he was like your umbrella on a rainy day. 
His arms were your shelter, you would find solace in him whenever you were having a rough day. You felt in your heart that the two of you were soulmates; even if your relationship was strictly platonic. It wasn’t until he got his first girlfriend back in your freshman year of high school did you realize that you saw him as more than just a friend. 
Watching him act so sweetly towards his girlfriend made you extremely jealous and you lied to yourself for years thinking it was because you were afraid to lose him as a friend if his girlfriends decided that they didn’t like your position in his life. You also tried to tell yourself it was because you had yet to experience being in a relationship and you just wanted to feel the love and adoration Jaebeom never failed to show to his first girlfriend. 
Even after all these years, through the few boyfriends and one night stands that you’ve had, your feelings for Jaebeom never faltered. If anything, they only grew stronger when you realized that nobody could ever make you as happy or make you feel as cared for as Jaebeom has for almost two decades now. Nobody could ever take his place—no matter how hard you tried to get over him. Your best friend had a reputation of being a textbook fuckboy. 
His first relationship was the last relationship he put his heart and soul in to. Every relationship after that was doomed before it could really even start. He had a bad tendency of leading a lot of girls on; completing them and making empty promises before taking what he wanted—fulfilling his carnal urges and leaving them in the dust. This went on throughout the entirety of high school. As his best friend and the only girl he seemingly put on a pedestal, you had a hard time understanding why he continued to fool around with half of the student body and treat a lot of these girls like they were nothing important. 
What did he get from cheating on and breaking the hearts of all these poor innocent girls? Especially since he was so kind and soft towards you. He’s never said it to you out loud, but you were his biggest weakness. He would go through hell and back just to keep that beautiful smile he adored so much permanently on your face. There were times where you questioned the thought of him reciprocating your same feelings. Whenever a guy showed interest in you or even when you started seeing someone, he was very verbal about how he didn’t approve of anyone you were involved with; whether the relationship was romantic or not. 
Even when you were paired up with other guys in projects, he wasn’t too fond of the idea of you being alone with your classmate—so he’d find himself tagging along with you and your partner whenever you’d meet up with them. You were sure it was just his way of being protective of you; he’s always been like that and you were well aware that he had no intention on stopping his overbearing ways at all for that matter. You were afraid that pretending to be his girlfriend would only make you desire actually experiencing the real thing. 
There was no way you’d allow yourself to go through that kind of trauma; holding hands with him, going on dates with him—maybe even getting to kiss him. To what extent was he expecting the two of you to go through? How far did he expect you both to go? He must have thought about the kind of pda you would have to do together and you couldn’t help but grow curious at how he felt about being intimate with you, even if it was all just an act. 
You released a frustrated sigh; if you said no, you knew he would continue bothering you until you finally gave in or worse—he would actually go along with finding someone else. Whatever your decision was, you’d lose both ways. Might as well go with the one that was less painful. 
“What’s in it for me?” 
He was quick to stand up and made his way towards you—sporting the biggest grin on his face. You could tell he was surprised at your question, but it didn’t matter. His smile did tug on your heartstrings and you began to feel something in the pit of your stomach that you’ve never felt before. It was hard to tell exactly what you were feeling, but it was a good feeling. He surprised you by picking you up in a hug and swinging you around absentmindedly. 
“Anything—I’ll do anything you want me to. God, y/n, you are amazing. You don’t understand how much this means to me. You’re the best person to exist. Thank you so much!” 
He explained to you that one of his good friends from high school; one you weren’t all too familiar with was getting married. Unfortunately, his ex-girlfriend was also going to be in attendance. She was the first girl in four years that your best friend genuinely seemed to care about. He stopped hooking up with and talking to other girls once they started dating. You were jealous whenever you’d hear him go in to depth about the love he had for her; even more envious when you’d have to see them kiss in front of you. 
Sure, you did not particularly care for any of Jaebeom’s partners because you wanted to be in their place. You craved—desired to be the girl who got to love him—who got to receive his love and appreciate the many sacrifices he would make in order to make his significant happy. As his best friend, he never failed to give you all of his attention. If you ever needed help, he didn’t even have time for a second thought, if you needed him, he was there. 
Even if it meant ditching school or leaving work early. You had a feeling that no one in their right minds; no matter how close they were to someone or how much that person meant to them, would do the things for them the way Jaebeom never once hesitated to do for you. However, your distaste for Ella went beyond jealousy. There was no doubt Jaebeom cared for her in ways that he’s never cared about any other girl—well, besides you. He would pick her up and drop her off to and from work, he would call her on his breaks to make sure she was getting enough rest in between classes, he would buy her cute little trinkets and even prepared lunch for her. 
You’ve never seen him put in so much effort for one of his girlfriends before and it honestly worried you; you felt as if there was a chance she might be the one he wants to spend the rest of his life with. Unbeknownst to both you and the older boy, Jaebeom had actually met his match. Memories of the night that he found out she wasn’t the perfect girl he thought she was came flashing through your mind like it was just yesterday. 
Four months ago, you were out in your living room watching a few murder mystery documentaries—seconds away from falling asleep when you heard a loud pounding on your door. At first, the sound startled you. The only people who came over to your apartment were your parents, your siblings, Jaebeom and a few other friends. You knew your best friend had a graveyard shift tonight; so you crossed him off of your list as to who it could be. However, when you looked through the peephole, you could’ve sworn your heart actually sank to the bottom of your stomach. You wasted no time in opening the door and pulled Jaebeom in to your embrace before either of you could say anything to one another. His eyes were red and puffy; there were dried tears on his cheek quickly being replaced by many more fresh ones. 
From past experiences, you knew not to ask him what was wrong. You were going to wait until he told you, even if you were very curious as to what could have happened. It didn’t even cross your mind that it had to do with his relationship. The two of you flopped on to your couch and he quickly threw himself in to your arms. He might have been the dominant one who always did the protecting, but this time—he was the one who needed to be held and that’s exactly what you did. 
After half an hour of quiet sobs and rubbing his back as he heaved and hiccuped, he finally confessed as to what made him so upset. He didn’t have to really say anything—just hearing the words “Ella cheated on me” sent you in to a furious rage. You’d be lying if you said you didn’t see this coming. There were a couple of scenarios when you felt like something was wrong, or that she was hiding something. When Jaebeom first introduced you to one another, you immediately got bad vibes from her. She was the type of person who talked so highly about herself. You never understood what your best friend saw in her. 
Sure, she was pretty, but it was a basic kind of pretty. Like, if you were to see her on the street, you honestly wouldn’t do a double take. Ella was also very disrespectful; she was constantly on her phone while you tried to talk to her, she never said please or thank you and she was very verbal about her disinterest in certain things. One time, Jaebeom had you tag along with them to a restaurant and she complained about not being served within the first couple of minutes. 
That experience alone made your ill-feelings towards her grow even stronger; but you never wanted to tell Jaebeom in fear of him disagreeing with you. It was adamant that he really liked her. When it were just you and Jaebeom alone, he would find ways to bring her up in the conversation even if the topic had nothing to do with her and on the days that you just so happened to be with them, he would always feel the need to touch her or to compliment her. It was disgusting—but not because you were jealous. 
You had a gut feeling that she wasn’t who she portrayed herself out to be in front of Jaebeom. If he were to excuse himself to use the bathroom, her fake smile would immediately drop as she would glare at you. Then, she would always seem to be texting someone. There wasn’t anything wrong with her being in contact with other people; for all you assumed, it could have been a friend or a family member. 
However, the way she would bite her lip or smile while rapidly typing back and forth with someone made it evident that there was a possibility it was another guy. You let it go though, even if you were dying to tell Jaebeom of your speculations. He told you that he caught her making out with another man outside of her apartment as he went over to surprise her. Jaebeom wasn’t a pushover or the type of person to beat around the bush; he confronted her as soon as he parked the car and screamed at her—telling her that she ruined everything and that he would have done anything for her. 
There was nothing you hated more than to see Jaebeom so emotional and broken; especially because he was the definition of a force to be reckoned with. This was the first time in your many years of friendship that you e seen him so worked up before. That memory of seeing him at his weakest is what got you to give in to him. You didn’t think it was going to work; although you had a feeling Ella didn’t like you from the moment you met her, you didn’t think it was because she was jealous of you. 
It was understandable though; you may have been very understanding, but you didn’t know how it would feel to be in her shoes. If your boyfriend had a female best friend, it was only natural that you would feel weird and assume the worst. But Jaebeom was honest with every girl that he fooled around with; you were his number one girl no matter what. He even ended a couple of flings specifically because the girls would give him an ultimatum to choose between seeing them and being friends with you. Of course, Jaebeom chose you every single time. 
“There will be four events we have to attend. The first two are just luncheons, then there’s the rehearsal dinner and the actual wedding. I’ve already purchased all of my outfits. Since you’re helping me out, you and I can go shopping tomorrow and I’ll buy you anything from anywhere—I mean, don’t go crazy. I just paid off my car. But if you have a couple of dresses you already own that you’d prefer wearing, then that’s pretty cool too. I was thinking we could match so it would be a little more convincing. Oh—and um—we’re going to have to be affectionate. I’m sure you’re already aware of that. If it makes you uncomfortable, then we don’t have to do anything other than hold hands and hug. Not anything we’re not used to anyways.” 
You could only hope your cheeks weren’t flushing with pink from his words. It was expected that you’d have to have some form of skin ship and like he said, the two of you were used to touching one another. Sometimes you’d cuddle up while lying in bed together or he would wrap his arms around your waist and place his chin on your shoulder but it never occurred to you that you would now have to do these things in front of other people.
“I’m fine with that. So, when exactly is the wedding?” He scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment; something you’ve noticed he would do whenever he did something wrong or had something to hide. You’ve known each other for so long that you knew the meaning behind each and every one of his mannerisms. 
“Uh—Next week Saturday.” 
Your eyes widened in shock; that didn’t give you much time to prepare anything. Especially not your sensitive heart. 
“Im Jaebeom are you serious?! Why didn’t you say anything earlier—“
“I’m sorry!! But I didn’t think you would actually agree. It took me a solid three weeks to build the courage and ask you. Your outfit is the only thing you have to worry about. I’ve already responded to the rsvp for the both of us—“ 
You scoffed before crossing your arms in disbelief. Im Jaebeom was really a piece of work. How did you put up with him for so many years? 
“So you knew I was going to say yes.” 
He shook his head; but the small smirk that left as soon as it rose on his face made it clear that yes, he had a feeling you were going to agree. Even if he had to beg you for hours on end. 
“I was hoping you would want to do something so big for me because I’m your best friend and you love me.” You took in a deep breath and felt your heartbeat begin to increase. 
If only he knew just how true his statement was. 
For the week leading up to the wedding events, Jaebeom came over to your apartment practically every single day. It wasn’t something you weren’t used to; he visited so often that a lot of his things were scattered throughout your space but you liked it that way. However, he told you that he wanted to practice being intimate with you. If you were cooking the two of you dinner, he’d stand right behind you and pulled your body up against his. 
He began buying you bouquets of your favorite flowers, constantly held your hand even if the two of you were sitting down; he also would pull you on to his lap and stated to hide his face in the crook of your neck. One night, he even placed a few kisses up against your jaw and you found yourself ultimately regretting your decision to assist him. The proximity and constant affection only made your feelings for him deepen if it were even possible. 
As much as you wanted to milk every moment with Jaebeom being a fake couple together, you were afraid of getting your heartbroken once this act was all over. The days just seemed to come and go in an instant; school and work took up most of your day and once you were done, you and Jaebeom would watch movies together or play a few board games. Before you knew it, the day of the first luncheon came and you found yourself getting ready. You were never fond of wearing makeup; it wasn’t that you thought you didn’t need it, you just hated having to put it on and it saved you a lot of money not having to purchase any. 
It wasn’t like there was anyone in your life that you had to impress otherwise. Jaebeom made it known that you were naturally beautiful. You would always roll your eyes at his comment and think that he was only saying that because he was your best friend. Nonetheless, his compliments always made your heart flutter. While the two of you went shopping for dresses, he made it clear that he liked every single outfit you tried on. You tried your best not to make it obvious that his words were slowly driving you to the brink of insanity. 
Why did he have to say all these nice things about you and make you feel like you were more to him than just his best friend? It was natural for friends to compliment each other, but for him to say that you were the most beautiful girl he’s ever laid his eyes on; on top of having the most “ridiculous curves”, you didn’t think friends would say such things. 
Right as you were putting the finishing touches of blush on your cheeks, the knock on your door broke you out of your thoughts. You gave yourself a couple of seconds to put yourself together and when you finally opened the door, it’s as if your soul left your body. The only time you’ve ever seen your best friend in a tux was at both junior and senior prom and even then, he broke the rules in the way that he wore his attire. 
He didn’t even wear a tie and his dress shirt was unbuttoned, showing partial of his chest—but none of your teachers had the courage to tell him he was breaking dress code. His hair was slicked back, his suit was crisp and wrinkle free and he even put on a tie this time. You didn’t think it was possible for him to look even more handsome than he usually was, but right now, he looked like a Greek God. He was at peak attractiveness and it was taking every bone in your body not to scream in sexual frustration. 
“Hey. You look beautiful—really beautiful. Ready to go?” 
You simply nodded your head; afraid that you might say the wrong thing if you were to speak up. The car ride was quiet, other than the jazz playlist going on in the background. To your delight and dismay, he brought his free hand to your lap and gently grazed your thigh with his thumb. Your breath hitched at his touch; his hand only went higher on your leg the longer he drove and you were sure you were just seconds away from placing his hand up to where you wanted him the most. Unfortunately, the hotel that the lunch was being held at was closer to your apartment that you had expected—but maybe it was a blessing in disguise. 
“I’m really glad you chose that dress. I think it was the best one of the many you tried on.” Once he parked, he wasted no time in walking over to your side of the car and opening the door for you; helping you out and intertwining your fingers together. 
“Showtime—Babe.” 
God, this was going to be a long day. 
As soon as you both entered the lobby and made your way up to the ballroom, you were quick to spot some familiar faces. A lot of Jaebeom’s friends were there—some you knew, some that you were also friends with and some you have never met before. When your mutual friend BamBam saw your intertwined hands, he had to cover his mouth in order to keep himself from squealing. 
“No fucking way. I knew the two of you would end up together one day. I fucking knew it. Jackson owes me $20 dollars. Ah, I’m so happy for you both. You look good together. I can’t wait to tell everyone. Let’s go find them shall we?” 
The lunch actually went off without a hitch. Thankfully, the groom sat you and Jaebeom at a table with BamBam, Jackson, Mark, Jinyoung, Youngjae and Yugyeom. Jinyoung and Youngjae brought their girlfriends, so you decided to get to know them while the guys got reacquainted with each other. Since it was just a lunch, the day went by pretty quickly. After saying your goodbyes to everyone at your table and making plans to go on double dates now that everyone knew—or at least were convinced that you and Jaebeom were dating, he grabbed your purse before reaching for your hand and led you out to his car. 
“See, that wasn’t so bad was it?” You shrugged indifferently before scrunching your nose. 
“Ella wasn’t there though. Are you sure she’s going to be a part of this wedding?”
“Positive. She’s close with both the bride and the groom. Maybe she was busy today. Probably fucking that asshole of a coworker—“
“Hey, don’t start. Please. She didn’t deserve you Jaebeom. You are an amazing—wonderful—otherworldly human being. Any girl would be lucky to have you. I know it sucks being cheated on, but maybe this was a blessing—don’t give me that look. Hear me out. I don’t want to assume that she’s been cheating on you all this time, but it’s better you found out sooner than to do something stupid like ask her to marry you and find out later that she was being unfaithful.” 
You don’t know what got over you in that moment; whether it was seeing him on the verge of tears, or just being in the moment after all the touches you’ve shared with each other today, but you got on your tippy toes and placed a soft kiss on his forehead. 
“You’ll be okay Jaebeom. She’ll be nothing but a memory once this week is over. Let’s get you home.” 
The next luncheon came—still no sign of Ella, yet Jaebeom grew clingier than the day before. It also seem as if he genuinely enjoyed introducing you as his girlfriend to some of his friends. You weren’t going to lie, you were enjoying the chivalry; none of your ex-boyfriends ever pulled out a chair for you or took off their jackets for you to wear. You could also feel eyes on you from who you assumed to be girls who either had a crush on Jaebeom at one point or even had a fling with him. 
Although you were the one he had a protective grip on, you did get jealous knowing that some of these girls got to experience what Jaebeom was like behind closed doors. A lot of the girls in high school were extremely vocal about what sex with Jaebeom was like and you’d find yourself wanting to know yourself. It was silly for you to think you would ever have the chance to be writhing underneath him as you begged him to do anything to smooth the fire burning in your core—but a girl could dream right? 
Finally the reason why you and Jaebeom were putting on an act for the last few days came in to play when you walked in to the dining hall together and saw Ella sitting with a couple of other guests. You assumed that the guy whose arm was around her shoulder was the same one Jaebeom caught her cheating with. You clenched your jaw in anger and said a little prayer; wishing for some self control. It wasn’t even you who was cheating on—yet you wanted to walk over to her table and yank her by her poorly done ponytail. Really, what did Jaebeom see in her? 
He was too busy getting you both signed in that he wasn’t able to see what was driving you up the walls, but you wanted him to know she was there and that she had unfortunate company. After you were giving your table number, you gently tugged on the bottom of Jaebeom’s suit in order to get his attention and gave him the unpleasant news. His reaction shocked you though; he winked and gave you a smirk. 
“I have the hottest date here—I’m not bothered one bit. Come on, I want to talk to Jackson about something.” He brought his hand to your lower back and guided you to the table Jackson was sitting at. 
“Damn y/n, you look amazing. You’re making all of us look bad—the bride will probably complain that you’re stealing her spotlight.” 
You politely thanked him before softly giggling at his comment. If only you weren’t so busy admiring the center piece and the party favors, you would have been able to see the way Jaebeom was mentally sending daggers towards his best friend’s neck. You did notice that Jaebeom brought his seat closer to yours and his hand that was on his knee was now gripping at your thigh. 
To an outsider; it might have been a sexual gesture, but under these circumstances—it just seemed off. Knowing his tendencies of getting angry, you didn’t pry at him. If something was bothering him, he would tell you when he was ready to. You just assumed he was now coming to terms that he was in the same room with his ex-girlfriend and the guy she cheated on him with. Although he seemed out of it for the first hour; especially when his friends tried to star conversation with him, everything settled down once the emcee announced that it was time for everyone to head to the dance floor. You elbowed the other boy and motioned your head towards the stage. 
“I want to dance. Can we please?” He furrowed his brows and released a long sigh. 
“You know I hate dancing y/n. That’s going to be a hard pass.” It was your turn to sigh, but then you looked across the table and saw your three other friends moving along to the Drake song that was now filling the room. 
“Fine. I’ll just ask Jackson. I’m sure he’ll want to—“
“Don’t you fucking dare. You’re mine damnit. Fuck—whatever, let’s go.” 
His words confused you; sure, the two of you were pretending to be a couple so there was chance he was just playing along, but to hear him say that you were his so confidently, without hesitation made you feel as though there was more meaning behind it. Once you found a place that the two of you could dance comfortably in, you began to let loose and allowed your body to flow freely. Your hair swung all around and your hips kept up with the movement of the song. 
Although he seemed uptight back at the table, it wasn’t long until a smile rose on his face as his hands slowly made their way down to your hips. You wrapped your arms around his neck and continued your movements. The first couple songs were very upbeat and the two of you danced carelessly; you even had a feeling you both looked like fishes flopping out of water but you didn’t care. You were genuinely having so much fun; something that always happened when you were with Jaebeom. After fifth song finished, the Dj played a slower song at the request of the bride. 
As soon as boys to men came through the speakers, you didn’t know how to react—nor did you know how you were going to dance along to this song in particular. “I’ll make love to you” was the last song you expected to hear tonight, especially because you’ve been sexually aroused since you left Jaebeom’s apartment. Luckily, you didn’t have to move at all—Jaebeom pulled you closer to him and did the unthinkable. You were always a big fan of his hands. 
He’s always had such pretty fingers and you found yourself admiring them on many occasions; yet you weren’t prepared to feel them gripping tightly on both your ass cheeks. You looked up at him in shock but right before you could react, his lips were on yours. You’d find yourself daydreaming about how it would feel to kiss Jaebeom on many occasions; more than you’d liked to admit out loud. 
Whenever he would talk, your eyes would always find their way to his mouth. Every time he would bite and nibble on his lips, you would picture what it would be like to do it yourself. However, no daydream could ever prepare you for the actual thing. His lips were soft against yours; he always felt the need to apply chapstick and you were thankful that he was the type to care about things like that. His movements were rushed; as if the world was going to end and the last thing he wanted to do was kiss you. It was a sensation you wouldn’t be able to fathom in to words. 
Kissing him right now made you feel like you’ve been missing out on so many years of being able to feel him—actually feel him. You weren’t sure why he felt the need to attach your lips together out of the blue, but you weren’t complaining. He smiled in to the kiss when he felt you put more pressure; molding your lips all but gently against his. You ran your hands up and down his chest and as soon as you heard him moan, that’s when you decided to pull away in fear that you would literally rip his shirt off of him right then and there. 
“Jaebeom—“
“I’m sorry, I had to. You just looked so breathtakingly beautiful and seeing you so happy made me act out—you don’t know what you do to me do you? I’m in love with you baby. So fucking in love with you y/n and I have been for a really long time. I hope that kiss helped prove my feelings for you—but if you need more validation, I’d be happy to give you a more physical demonstration. Preferably with our clothes scattered on my bedroom floor while I rail the shit out of you.” 
Your eyes rolled to the back of your head as you let out a groan at both his love confession and his plans for the rest of the night. Were you dreaming? You had to be—there was no way Jaebeom actually confessed to you that he was in love with you. How could he have been in love with you? He never made it seem like he harbored any romantic feelings for you at all the entire duration of your friendship. You stole one more kiss from the corner of his lips before nodding embarrassingly quickly. 
“Take me Im Jaebeom. I’m yours. I love you and I’m in love with you too. Let me just run to the bathroom really quickly then we can go and you can have your way with me.” 
He allowed you to head over to the restroom while he went back to your table and made up an excuse as to why you had to leave so early. You tried to hurry up with your movements; the desire to finally become one with Jaebeom was seeping through your entire body. When you first entered the bathroom, you were the only one inside. As you heard the door open while you were ready to leave the stall, you didn’t think much of it. 
That was until you finally made your way towards the sink and saw just who entered the bathroom. There were so many thoughts running through your mind in that moment; so many things you wanted to say to her, but you had other thoughts occupying your mind. Ones that made your core throb and took your attention away from the girl who was obviously wanting to say something. 
“Nice to see you again y/n. You look great. I love your dress—I think I saw it on the sale rack at forever 21 am I mistaken?” You scoffed. 
“Yeah, it was right next to your cheap ass lipstick and generic brand of eye shadow.” She was quick to cross her arms and you knew your words got to her—but her anger didn’t last long. 
“So you and Jaebeom—can’t say I didn’t see this coming. He would never shut up about you and followed you around like a lost puppy; what a pathetic little boy. It was painfully obvious that he liked you. And you wonder why I cheated. He never liked me to begin with. I never understood why he got in a relationship with me when his heart adamantly belonged to you. Witnessing how you would constantly stare at him though, I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that you were just as obsessed. It was a waste of my time though; the sex was underwhelming and his dick was extremely tiny. Good luck with my sloppy seconds.” 
Images of you socking her in the face were now filling up your mind—it would be so easy to just slap her or step on her foot, but what good would it do? You’d only look like a bad person and taint Jaebeom’s reputation. Plus, she could press charges and you would cause such a mess at the party. Right as she was about to walk out, you decided to make your own comment. 
“Funny you say that considering that I can’t even fit him entirely inside of my mouth. The tip of his cock would always touch the back of my throat and there was still so much of him that my mouth couldn’t cover. Oh, and don’t even get me started on how good he fucks me. If it’s any consolation, Jaebeom is an amazing boyfriend and an even better lover. He treats me and eats me so fucking good. I’m sorry he didn’t think much of you to show you the same affection. Ah, before I go—he told me that you don’t taste all that good—bitter and sour if I remember his exact words. I’d get that checked if I were you.” 
Your words felt much more better than a slap would have felt; even if you were blatantly telling lies, you felt as though a huge weight was lifted off of your shoulders. Jaebeom looked at you in confusion and it’s as if you knew he was going to ask you what took you so long. You cupped his cheek and placed a chaste kiss on his nose while saying goodbye to everyone on the table. 
“I’m sorry to hear that your dad has a stomach ulcer y/n. I hope he feels better soon.” 
Jaebeom was lucky that you were the kind of person to catch on to things quickly; you weren’t all too happy that he lied in order for the two of you to leave without being teased for what you both planned on doing, but you needed him just as badly as he claimed to have needed you. He didn’t even let you take two steps before roughly pressing his hard on against your ass and licking stripes along your neck; only adding to the euphoria you were already sensing as you made out with each other on the dance floor. 
“I don’t think I can make it back to either of our places—I need you now.” You were about to ask him where he planned on taking you, but your questions were answered once he began pulling you towards the direction of the lobby. 
“Jaebeom, you’re not seriously going to rent a hotel room for one night just so we can fuck—“
“That’s exactly what I plan on doing baby. If I have to wait even just one more minute, I’m going to cum in my pants just at the sight of your tits busting out of your dress. I’d prefer to come inside of you—plus it’s more romantic than what I had in mind. Honestly I was planning to make love to you in a family bathroom or the backseat of my car. I’ve waited to make love to you for longer than I want to say out loud. Just know that I’ve been dreaming of burying myself inside of your pussy for at least six years now. Our first time together is a night I will remember for the rest of my life and I think it would be even more memorable in a fancy setting don’t you think?” 
His quick movements towards the front desk almost gave you whiplash, but it only heightened your excitement. He began tapping his foot impatiently as the receptionist took her time typing in his information. You had to stifle back a giggle at the veins that developed on his neck. After what felt like an hour having to wait for her to get you both a room, he yanked the key from her hand and ran towards the hallway leading to the elevators. You were sure the receptionist caught on to what the two of you were going to do once you headed up to the hotel room—but you couldn’t care less. 
All that you could think about was finally getting to experience what you’ve been dreaming about for the last few years. You were going to make love to your best friend and you couldn’t be more excited. He didn’t even wait for the elevators to close before forcing you up against the wall, pressing his knee in between your legs in order to get as close to you as he physically could. His hands were gripping tightly at your waist while he attacked your neck and jaw with wet kisses. The feeling of his cock pressing up against your clothed core was a feeling you’ve never experienced before.
You’ve had sex enough times to say you had quite a bit of knowledge on how to please a man. Many of your partners told you that you were a professional at giving head and even more amazing at riding dick. None of their confessions meant anything to you—the only person whose opinion mattered was Jaebeom. You were growing insecure at the idea of not being able to take care of him or pleasure him in the way that previous girls he’s been with might have done. As soon as the doors opened, he picked you up and threw you over his shoulder; earning himself a loud gasp. 
“Sorry baby; I can’t wait anymore. Those heels look amazing on you but fuck, they only make you move slower. However, I think it would be extremely sexy for you to keep them on while I fuck you.” 
He shoved the keycard inside of the door and you didn’t even get to look around the room; he threw you down on the couch and climbed on top of you. The toothy grin he gave you made your stomach fill with butterflies. You’ve loved him for such a long time; if you were to tell your ten-year-old self that Im Jaebeom, the boy you’ve been crushing on since the second grade when he spent months tying your shoes for you until you actually learned how, reciprocated your same feelings, she would probably laugh in your face. But his comforting touch as he ran his hands along your arms made it all the more real that Jaebeom did in fact love you and you were finally going to experience the love you’ve been wanting to feel since you were a little girl. 
“I know I’m seconds away from ripping this dress off of you, but since this is our first time together, I think it would be best for me to explain my love for you—even if only for a couple of minutes. You can hold off from needing to feel my dick inside of you can’t you?” You elbowed him in his ribs before flicking his forehead. 
“You’re the one who is spending at least $200 to have sex with me just because you were too impatient to wait to get home.”
“Best $200 I’ve ever spent. Now, as much as I love hearing that sweet voice of yours, please be quiet so I can hurry up and go in to vivid detail about how, when and why I started having feelings for you. I’m not going to lie and say I’ve been in love with you from the day you first approached me back in the cafeteria, but the fact that you wanted to keep me company because you hated seeing me alone made my heart swell up. I knew you were going to be someone special in my life. I think I realized that I was in love with you right after my first break up. I developed a crush on you back in the 7th grade and I’m sure I saw you as more than just a friend even before then. I just didn’t want to ruin our friendship if I told you how I felt and found out that you didn’t reciprocate my same feelings. I know this is far fetched and hard to believe, but I’m telling the truth; every single girl that I’ve been with was my pathetic way of trying to get over you. Obviously, it never worked. They were never you. Nobody could ever be you baby. Nobody could make me feel so important—so happy—so loved and genuinely cared for. I’m happiest when I’m with you and I feel so fucking empty when we’re not together.” He brought his fingers right below your eyelids and wiped away a few stray tears that you didn’t even know built up. 
“God, you’re so fucking cute. Anyway, I would always find myself staring at you. No matter what I was doing or who I was with, my eyes would always gravitate toward you. You’re so beautiful—I cannot stress this enough. You are the most beautiful girl to exist, I need you to know that. And it goes on your physical beauty; you have one of the biggest, most generous hearts and you never fail to make me laugh and smile at the most silliest things. I’m sorry for being such an idiot—I should have just grown the balls earlier and told you how I felt. I wouldn’t have wasted all my time fooling around with girls I didn’t care about. I never felt like I deserved you—that’s why I didn’t try I guess. I saw all the guys you developed crushes on and I was nothing like them. So I just assumed you wouldn’t look at me that way. But none of that matters now. I’m yours and you’re mine. I hope you know you’re stuck with me now that we’re together. You’re all I want and have wanted for almost my entire life y/n. I went through so many changes, but you are the only thing that stayed constant. When I first asked you to be my fake girlfriend, I would have never thought we would end up here. I promise; I didn’t plan this entire thing to get you to fall in love with me, but I’m really happy I did. Even happier knowing that you love me. Can you say it again? I don’t think I will ever get used to hearing you tell me you love me.”
You pulled him down and smashed your mouth against his; licking his bottom lip as a nonverbal way to ask for entrance. His movements were quick as he mirrored yours; allowing your tongues to dance in sync together while grinding his pelvis against yours. 
“I love you Jaebeom. I’ve always loved you—mmmmm—always going to love you—now fuck me damnit.” He leaned back and gave you a flirtatious smirk, one you were seconds away from smacking off of his face. As emotional as his confession made you, you were now desiring for him to touch you; to really touch you, to feel him enrapture himself deep inside of you. 
“Sit up baby—I bought this dress because you looked so good in it, but I’m sure you’ll look so much better without it—and I was right. Holy shit y/n—what the fuck—how are you so fucking perfect are you even real?!” 
Your dress was flown across of the room, leaving you in only your underwear and although you weren’t the most confident in your body, the way Jaebeom was looking at you with so much lust; as if he was going to devour you sent your entire body in to a frenzy. 
“Why aren’t you wearing a bra? It’s like you want to kill me. Your tits are huge—so pretty. You don’t know how long I’ve been wanting to have you like this and now that I do, I’m not going easy on you.” He grabbed at both of your breasts, kneading and molding at them all but gently while leaving sloppy kisses right below your ear. When you felt him pinch at both nipples before twisting them between his calloused fingers, you let out a soft whimper. 
“Jaebeom—“
“Yes baby? Everything okay?” You gave him an eager nod as you tilted your head back in pleasure. 
“Feels so mmm—so good.” Your words only made his movements quicken and to your surprise, he lowered himself to your chest and brought one of your breasts in to his mouth while continuing to fondle the other. You weren’t a stranger to breast play; you loved whenever your partner would twist your nipples or suck on your titties, but it was different now that Jaebeom was doing it. It was otherworldly—you couldn’t even take in just how wonderful it felt. His tongue swirled around your hardened nipple and before you could even say anything, he brought your nipple in between his teeth. 
“Oh God—“
Feeling him hum against your naked chest all the while sucking fervently on your mound made your head spin. You hated that you could already feel your orgasm building up only minutes in to foreplay; but it was expected. Jaebeom already took care of you as if it was his life duty to do so; this time was no different. He dragged his fingers along your stomach; only adding on to your excitement and desire. 
His fingers were cold against your skin and you knew he was teasing you seeing that his movements were extremely slow. As much as you were enjoying the attention he was showing to your breasts, the fire burning in your core needed to be put out or else you’d really lose it. 
“Jaebeom—babe—“ He abruptly pulled away at the sound of the pet name and gave you his signature grin; the one you’ve been in love with for so many years now. 
“Everything alright y/n? I’m not hurting you am I? The last thing I want to do is make you uncomfortable. Did you need me to slow down?” His laughter filled the room at the sight of you shaking your head faster than usual. 
“I’m fine. Trust me, it’s the complete opposite. I’m going to need you to touch me—“
“But I am touching you. I can’t seem to stop touching you.” Upset with his response, you decided to take matters in to your own hands and brought his hand down to your entrance. You made sure that he could feel just how wet you were and you could only hope that it would get him to give you what you wanted. 
“Holy shit—you’re soaking. All because I played with your titties for a little while? You’re going to be the death of me.”
“If you don’t hurry up and eat me, you’ll be the death of me. We have the rest of our lives for you to tease me—please just take me already. I’m going to tell you right now, I don’t usually beg during sex Im—and don’t expect it to be a reoccurring thing either. This is just built up sexual tension acting for me. So either you hurry up or—FUCK—shit shit—Jae—“ 
You were so heated in that moment; all you were focusing on was scolding him and trying to coerce him to make a move on your pussy that you failed to notice him making his way down towards your thigh until you felt him lick a long stripe along your core. You didn’t even realize he practically ripped your panty down the middle and as much as you wanted to be mad at him because it was expensive, you just wanted to feel him inside of you. 
At this point, you didn’t care whether it was his tongue, his fingers or his cock; you just needed to feel something—anything to help soothe the tingling sensation in between your legs. His tongue was warm against your entrance; he placed a soft kiss and looked up at you with the most devilish grin you’ve ever seen before he began nibbling on your folds. A breathy moan fell from your lips as he continued his movements; getting eaten out was an experience you hardly ever got to indulge in. 
Most of the guys expected you to suck them off, but there were only two or three that ever returned the favor. You weren’t going to lie, the few experiences you’ve had with other guys were great—they all seemed to know what they were doing at the time. However, with the way that Jaebeom was nibbling on your clit, flicking and sucking on the nub gently and even inserting two of his fingers deeply inside of your cunt—all of your ex-lovers seemed like beginners. Jaebeom was a professional; he knew exactly where to lick and to suck; his fingers were shoved in and out of you at a rapid pace and it didn’t take long for him to reach your g-spot. 
This was the first time anyone ever accomplished finding your g-spot, let alone eating you out so well. If only you saw his ex after actually experiencing receiving head from him—you could have went even further in to detail just how amazing he was. His hums against your entrance made it clear that he was enjoying this just as much as you were. 
“You—you have no flaws do you baby? You taste—so sweet—so fucking delicious. I could eat you out for hours—days if I put my heart in to it. Honestly, I think I’m having more fun than you are—I love how soaking you are. Your juices are filling up my mouth deliciously. You’re so fucking tight—I can’t wait to feel you wrap this pretty pussy around my cock. How does it feel? How does my tongue feel? I need words y/n.” 
You pulled on his hair as soon as he returned back to his place and reattached his lips to your cunt. He playfully blew his warm breath against your core and with the wait you were clenching your legs around his shoulders, you knew you were so close. 
“Feels—so good Jae—I’m so close—please—faster—“ He flicked at your clit with his fingers and licked his way back and forth along your folds. Before you knew it, you let out a whine and soon you were releasing your juices all over his tongue. He lapped up your cum and sucked on both his fingers; releasing them with a loud pop. Once he was done, he made his way up to you and brought his hands up to your mouth. 
“Open your mouth and suck—I want you to experience just how amazing you taste. You’re so fucking sexy—I’m not usually a huge fan of hair pulling but shit—you can yank on my hair as much as you want to babe. I’m gonna need to eat this pussy at least five times a day.” 
The thought made your eyes roll to the back of your head and honestly—you were all for it. Seeing your essence on his lips made you giggle; how could someone look so cute while doing something so sinful. You stole a kiss from the corner of his mouth before leaning towards him and unbuttoning his dress shirt. 
“It’s not fair that I’m naked and you’re fully clothed.” You tried to take it off as fast as you could but it was hard and he wasn’t of any help; he just laughed at your misfortune and watched as you struggled trying to take out the buttons. 
“I never would have thought watching someone unbutton my shirt would be this hot to watch, maybe I should wear dress shirts all the time—“
“Or maybe you should fucking help me instead of just ogling Jaebeom. If You don’t dick me down in the next two minutes, I’m gonna leave you hard and alone in this room.” 
Normally you weren’t as dominant or confident as you were now; you were always so submissive even outside of sex. Whatever someone would instruct you to do, you did it with no hesitation. But you wanted—needed him to finally give you what you’ve been wanting for so long since the night you lost your virginity. 
When you first had sex—it was an okay experience. It was back in your junior year of high school when your boyfriend at the time asked you if you were willing to take that step in your relationship. He was one of the only boyfriends you genuinely had feelings for and he made you feel good—it wasn’t as painful or awkward as most of your friends explained it to be. But if you could go back in the past, you would have waited to give yourself to the beautiful man in front of you. As soon as his shirt came off, he quickly removed his pants and you leaned back in order to get a better look at him. Y
ou knew that Jaebeom was extremely fit; he went to the gym almost every single day and he only ever ate healthy food—telling you that he needed to “maintain his figure”. You’ve seen him shirtless on multiple occasions and there were a few drunken stupors that you’ve seen him practically naked before, but this was the first time you’d actually get to see him bare; on full display in such an intimate setting. He looked at you in confusion; the blank stare on your face didn’t make him feel all that good. Your best friend was always so confident in his looks, his personality and his physique—yet right now, watching you stare at him with an unreadable expression made him feel like he wasn’t attractive enough. Luckily, your next words confirmed that you were gazing at him in awe of his charming good looks and not in disgust. 
“You’re so hot Jaebeom—who knew you were hiding a six pack under all of those baggy hoodies?” You returned back to him and ran your index finger along his chiseled muscles. Both your breaths hitched as soon as your hand found his cock; you palmed him through his cotton briefs and hummed at how hard he was. 
“May I?” 
He gulped before nodding abruptly. Just like he did with your underwear; you forcefully ripped his off but he didn’t seem to care either. No daydream or any dream for that matter could ever had prepare you for this moment. You had a huge feeling Jaebeom was well endowed; you had a chance to see him in his underwear a few times, but seeing his long and thick girth made your mouth water. 
“Shit Jaebeom—you’re so big baby. I can’t wait to feel you inside of me. Can I—return the favor first—“ You don’t remember ever drooling over someone’s dick before, but just thinking about how good the stretch was going to feel in just a matter of moments was making you heated again. To your dismay, he shook his head and it discouraged you. Did he not like receiving head? What guy didn’t like being sucked off? Or was it because he didn’t think you could do a good job of pleasing him? He’s been with so many girls—you were afraid that you wouldn’t be able to make him feel the ecstasy he just brought you through. Before you could continue overthinking, he brought his hand up to your chin and lifted it so that you were making direct eye contact with him. 
“I want nothing more than to shove my dick down your throat—especially because you were extremely naughty earlier; commanding me and telling me what to do. I should really teach you a lesson and trust me baby, I’ve wanted to see you suck on my cock since July 4th back in junior year and the cafeteria gave us those popsicles and you deepthroated it like it was the easiest thing in the world. Like you said, we have the rest of our lives to experiment—I have so many kinky positions to try and things that I want to do to you. But now—now I need to fuck you.” 
He shoved you down on the bed and found his place in between your legs. He lined himself up at your entrance and ran his cock in between your folds; lubricating himself with your left over juices from your previous orgasm. You closed your eyes to prepare yourself for the stretch—as much as you loved being filled to the hilt with a dick, it was extremely uncomfortable. However, whether it was that he sensed your hesitance or something else popped in to his mind; you didn’t feel him just yet and you opened your eyes to see what was wrong. 
“Jae—“
“I didn’t plan this well—fuck—damnit—I don’t have a fucking condom—shit—I haven’t had sex in years and I obviously didn’t think my dreams were finally going to come true tonight—fuck, y/n I’m so sorry—“ You playfully pinched his cheek and placed a reassuring kiss on his forehead. 
“I’m on the pill if that’s okay with you. I’m a  big fan of raw sex—and hey—we plan on spending the rest of our lives together anyway—so even if I were to get pregnant, then that would be pretty fucking awesome if you ask me. I want your babies one day—but if you’re not okay with that, I’m fine with swallowing your kids for the time being—“
“Oh God, please don’t ever say that again. That is not sexy at all. Are you sure about this y/n? I mean, the thought of fucking you without protection is indescribable—but I don’t want you to feel like you have to just because I’m irresponsible—“
“You would think I’d be used to my words going through one ear and out the other—you never listen to me other than when I offer to buy you food. It’s fine Jaebeom, I want this. Now—do us both a favor and blow my back out.” He gave you a hesitant smile and brought some hair off of your face before adoringly cupping your cheek in his palm. 
“Tell me if it hurts okay? And please let me know when I can move. I love you y/n—I love you so much.” 
He brought his lips to yours for what you assumed was to take your mind off of how uncomfortable the first stretch would feel. It wasn’t painful at all; you’ve had sex enough times to get used to the discomfort. His kisses and the way he was holding your waist protectively was enough to take your mind off of the ache and after a couple of thrusts, you were soon feeling pleasure. You gently gripped at his bicep as a nonverbal way to let him know that he could go faster and thankfully, he understood. 
“Fuck—you’re so fucking tight—your walls feel so good wrapped around me—I think I could cum right now and call it a night honestly—“ you rolled your eyes all the while biting your lip in pleasure. His cock felt so good against your clit; his pelvis kissed the tip of your cervix at a pace that you didn’t think was physically possible. The room was filled with skin on skin slapping against each other as his ass collided with yours. He raised your leg up and placed it behind his head so he could hit you deeper and you were sure that just like him, you weren’t all too far away from your second orgasm. 
“Mmm—JAEBEOM—FUCK—right there—holy shit—“ He brought his hand up to your neck and wrapped around your pressure point; choking you while forcing himself harder inside of your cunt. It was an indescribable experience; you were quickly growing lightheaded but in such a wonderful way. He continued his thrusts; pounding his cock vehemently in and out of your folds. 
“You’re so good to me baby—taking this cock so well—I’m so close y/n—you feel extraordinary—fuck wait—I want to take you from behind, would that be okay? I want to fuck you in to this bed—may I?” 
Out of all the positions, doggy style had to be your favorite. Specifically because you were an exhibitionist and a lot of the times you’ve had sex, you made sure it was in an area where you’d be able to see yourself getting fucked. You enjoyed watching your partner take you from behind; it was lewd and animalistic—it made your sex sessions all that more arousing. Even if the mirror wasn’t facing the two of you—you were extremely excited nonetheless. He pulled himself out of you; earning him an erotic whimper but you turned around and placed your face in to the pillows while lifting your ass up in to the air. He slapped both your cheeks before kneading them and playfully pinching them both. 
“I’m going to tell you this right now and I don’t care if you slap me—but I’ve stared at this beautiful ass many times and I’m not even sorry. I could write a novel about how much your ass alone drives me fucking insane—your whole body is a wonderland and I’m losing my fucking mind.” Thankfully, as soon as he admitted his obsession with your butt, he realigned himself at your folds and didn’t give you any warning before shoving his cock back inside. 
“FUCK—DON’T DO THAT—I’M GONNA COME Y/N STOP—“ His grip on your hips tightened once he felt you clench around him. At first, it was an accident. You were just reacting to how amazing it felt having his hardened length graze along your walls, but now that you knew how much it was affecting him, you wanted to mess around with him. 
“I thought you said no teasing tonight. Fine, two can play at that game babe.” 
No matter how hard and how fast he was pumping himself inside of you, his pace now was merciless. He began to bite and suck on the back of your neck and grunted each and every time his cock kissed your lips. His movements were harder—faster and you couldn’t even form an actual sentence to describe how euphoric you felt. This went on for ten more minutes and before either of you knew it, you felt his warm, creamy liquid fill you to the brim. Not too long after, he coaxed you in to reaching your release by whispering dirty words and sweet nothings in to your ear. 
After coming on his cock, you collapsed on the bed and he plopped his body on top of you. If you weren’t as exhausted as you were at the moment, you would have complained about how heavy his body was lying against yours, but you were so tired and you actually liked the proximity between the two of you. You and Jaebeom laid there for a couple of minutes; trying to catch your breaths and accept reality for what it was. You just made love to the man of your dreams—he was finally yours to love as you were his. Honestly, you didn’t need anything or anyone else. 
You didn’t care what job you were to get in the future; what car you’d end up driving one day or the house you’d end up living in—you would be content living a box as long as Jaebeom was there next to you. Once his breathing returned back to normal, he got off of you and took his place right next to you—turning you to face him. His hair was stuck on his forehead and with all the energy you had left—you let out a little chuckle. 
“This was the best night of my fucking life I can’t even—that was amazing—you were—wow y/n. I think I’m going to become a nymphomaniac and it is all your fault. Shit you felt so good I’ll never get over it. How was that for you though?” You pecked his lips and dragged your thumb along his bottom one. 
“That was wonderful—I’m sure it was ten times more amazing because I’m so in love with you. I’ve never been in love before—so I feel like it just heightens my hormones and made my experience so much more enjoyable. You were remarkable babe. I think I enjoyed that a little too much. I’m so glad we finally put our feelings out there. I don’t think I would have lasted much longer knowing how much I love you and not doing anything about it. I’m sure I would have blurted it out sooner or later. I love you Jaebeom. I’m so happy I can say that now. I love you, I love you, I love you.” 
He looked at you with so much love and adoration in his eyes and pulled you closer to his body before stealing a few fleeting kisses from your lips and running his fingers through your hair. 
“I love you too y/n and I’m going to spend the rest of my life reminding you both physically and verbally on a daily basis just how much. You’ll never have to question my love for you. Now—should I call the front desk and tell them we plan on staying for the rest of this week? I really want to fuck you in the shower and up against the window.” 
The next day—you and Jaebeom relished in your love for a couple of hours before you tapped out. The wedding wasn’t until 6:00 P.M. but you didn’t want to miss out just because you weren’t able to move around. For the rest of the day, the two of you watched a couple of movies and ordered room service. Your cuddling was on a whole other level now, he preferred that you’d sit on his lap rather than just sitting next to him and he always had to have his arms wrapped around you. Once it was time for you both to get ready, he recommended taking a shower together in order to “save time and the environment” but you knew exactly what would happen if you decided to take a shower with him and your mind was set on going to the wedding. 
He let out the most adorable whine but allowed you to take a shower first because he knew you would need more time to get ready. While he was in the shower, you slipped on your dress and began to apply a light amount of make up. Your hair didn’t take too long to dry and you actually finished getting ready around the same time he was. Watching his jaw drop as he walked in to the room at looked at you up and down sent chills down your spine. 
“Yeah—no, there is no way I am letting you go down looking like that—we’re staying here and that dress is going on the floor—“
“Im Jaebeom, I will go to that wedding with or without you. I did not spend half an hour getting dolled up just so we can stay here and have more sex. I’m still sore—keep it in your pants will you? If you’re a good boy then maybe when we come back—I’ll let you have your way with me again. But until then, promise me you’ll be on your best behavior.” He groaned before making his way towards you—wrapping his arms around your waist and releasing a long sigh in to your neck. 
“Fine. Just know I’m rock solid right now and I’ll probably be for the rest of the night until you relieve me. There are a few family restrooms we can make love in—get back here—you can’t attend the wedding without me baby—“ 
The wedding was extremely beautiful. Although you didn’t know either the bride or the groom personally, you found yourself shedding a couple of tears. You’ve always loved going to weddings; witnessing the love two people had for each other was so beautiful. There were so many times you’ve found yourself planning out your future wedding, but you’ve never been with anyone that you’d see yourself starting a family with. The idea of marrying Jaebeom was always in the back of your mind, but you never thought you’d be here right now with his hand inching closer and closer to your core. 
“That’s going to be you and me one day.” You turned around to face him and smiled softly at his sweet words. 
“I can’t wait.” Once the bride and groom said their vows and everyone made their way in to the grand ballroom, the rest of the night came and went with a snap of your finger. You were so caught up in staring at your boyfriend and just thinking about what he said earlier that you didn’t even bother to look around for Ella. She didn’t matter anymore. It may have sounded weird, but you were grateful that she made the awful mistake of cheating on Jaebeom. You hated that she hurt him and make him question himself and what he did wrong, but you were content that it brought the two of you together. 
Your love for Jaebeom only grew stronger as the days went by. If you thought he was the perfect best friend; he was an even more amazing boyfriend. He was quite the gentleman; always called you up to see how your day was going, bought you things that reminded him of you, wrote poems about your beauty and how lucky he was to have you—he even stayed on the phone with your mom for over an hour once to learn how to make your favorite dish. He also tried his best to head over to your place almost every single day and on the days he was too tired from work, he’d make sure to FaceTime with you just so he could get his fill of seeing you. Life with Jaebeom was perfect—honestly too good to be true. Both work and school was rough for you, but the time you’d get to spend with him made it all worth your while. 
Unfortunately, you were putting all your time and energy in to your education, your work and your relationship that you weren’t taking good enough care of yourself. One morning you woke up feeling nauseous and extremely light headed. You just assumed it was because you were either dehydrated or lacking in sleep. Since you didn’t think anything of it, you went about your day like nothing was wrong. You were sitting in class, texting back and forth with your boyfriend when all of a sudden you felt yourself going in and out of your head—you didn’t know how to explain exactly what you were feeling but you knew something wasn’t right. 
It wasn’t until your vision went blurry that you felt like you should make your way towards the nurse’s office; but you collapsed right as you made your way towards the door. The last thing you heard were worried voices telling someone to call an ambulance before everything faded to black. Waking up felt weird; you knew by the white walls and the beeping from what you assumed was a heart monitor that you were in the hospital. Your memory was a blur; you remembered everything leading up to that moment, but you don’t remember being put in the back of an ambulance or even making your way to the hospital. How long have you been asleep for? What exactly caused you to pass out? 
You had a feeling you’ve been sleeping for at least a couple of hours—but then again, what felt like such a short amount of time to you could have been a week for all you knew. The tight hold on your hand was quick to grab your attention and when you looked down to see who it was—even if you had a feeling it was the same person you were hoping it would be, you gently caressed his hand with your thumb. Jaebeom was leaning on your bed; his face was pressed up against your ankle as his hands were intertwined with yours. You didn’t want to wake him up; but your curiosity was getting the best of you. 
“Jaebeom—baby—hey—“ 
You brought your hand in to his hair and began running your fingers through it in attempts to wake him up without startling him. He took his time to wake up but as soon as he realized that it was you calling his name, he sat up abruptly and blinked a few times; as if he was trying to see whether or not he was still sleeping or if he was awake and you were actually real. As soon as he realized that he wasn’t still dreaming, he threw himself towards you and cupped your face in between his hands. 
“Finally, you’re up. How are you feeling baby? God y/n, I was so worried about you. I had a feeling something was wrong when you stopped responding to my text messages and then I got a call from your mom telling me that you fainted and I couldn’t think. I was so scared—do you need me to get you something? Are you hungry? Thirsty? Do you want to use the bathroom? Should I call the doctor—“ 
In your fifteen years of knowing him, you’ve never seen him so distraught before. There’s never been a situation that he ever had to be this frantic or nervous—but it made your heart flutter both seeing and hearing how affected he was that something happened to you. 
“I’m okay babe, I just want you to hold me.” He bit his lip before standing up and placing a chaste kiss on your forehead. 
“Let me go call a doctor and let your parents know your awake. Then I’ll join you on the bed and cuddle the shit out of you.” You frowned as you saw him leave the room, but you understood that he wanted to make sure everything was okay with you. When the doctor came in, he was alone and you wondered where Jaebeom could have gone, but the grim look that he was wearing worried you. 
“Hi there y/n. It’s nice to see that you’re finally awake.”
“Do you mind me asking, how long have I been asleep for?”
“Three days. I’m actually surprised you’re not still in a coma. From what happened to you—I expected you to still be sleeping for at least one more week. How are you feeling?” You shrugged indifferently before sitting upright. 
“Groggy I guess? My body hurts just a little bit, but other than that, I’m fine. Did I pass out because I’m not eating right or getting enough hours of sleep? I’ll admit, I haven’t been taking care of my body as much as I should so is it because of that?” He released a disappointed sigh before shaking his head. 
“Y/n—I don’t know how to tell you this but, one of your kidneys are failing. That’s why your body went in to shock and you ended up collapsing.” 
You looked at him in shock. To be honest, you weren’t all that familiar with how bodies worked. All you knew was you needed to eat right, drink 8 cups of water a day, get at least seven hours of sleep and exercise three to five times a week. You didn’t know much about kidneys other than the fact that they filter out toxins from your body; you weren’t even aware of where it was located. But to hear that one of your kidneys were failing made you extremely nervous. 
“What does that mean exactly?” He walked closer to you and took a seat on the chair Jaebeom was sitting on. It made you grow even more curious as to where he could have been. Did he know? Is that why he seemed so upset? Did the doctor explain to him what happens to people who’s kidneys are failing? 
“Your kidney is one of the most important and vital organs in your body—when it fails, so does everything else. I don’t want to worry you—but most people don’t last long even when on dialysis.” The last thing anyone—especially someone who was only twenty-three years old wanted to hear was that you were going to die soon. You were still so young; there was so much going on for you as of right now. There were so many things you had planned for your future—why was your life on the line? It wasn’t fair. A few tears began to build at the brim of your eyelids—but it was only natural. 
“Is there anything I can do? A surgery I have to undergo or some medication I can take? I’ll do anything doctor. This can’t be it for me.” 
He nodded in understanding; you were sure it was probably hard for him to deliver this kind of news—but it probably wasn’t something he had yet to get used to. As many miracles there were in the hospital, there were just as many tragedies. 
“You could get a kidney transplant, but there’s a list. Kidneys are one of those organs that are harder to get next to a heart. I’ll put you on the list right now, but I’m sure there’s at least thirty people waiting for a donor. What we can do is test some of your loved ones to see if they have the same blood type as you and if they’re willing to give you one of their kidneys, then there’s no having to go on the list and your health will be good as new.” 
The thought of having to ask someone for their kidney made you want to cry. You knew your parents would offer their kidneys in a heartbreak—but there was no way you could do that to either of them. Even if people could live on just one kidney, what if down the road, that kidney ends up failing itself? As much as you did not want to die, you refused to put someone else’s life at jeopardy just to save yours. 
“I see. I’ll talk to my family about it. Thank you so much doctor.” 
He gave you a sad smile and told you that he’d get a nurse to bring in some food before leaving you all alone with your thoughts. You didn’t know what to do or what to think. What could you do other than cry, pray and hope for the best? He didn’t have to say it outright, but you knew he was indirectly explaining that your chances of living were very slim. 
You allowed yourself to break down; you didn’t want to cry in front of anyone—especially not Jaebeom. He was already worried as it was—you didn’t need to add on to his problems. When you heard footsteps approaching the door just a couple of minutes after the doctor left, you wiped away your tears and put on the fakest smile you could muster. 
“My baby! I’m so glad you’re finally up—you poor thing. When the hospital called me, I almost ended up passing out myself. What did the doctor say? I told you—you need to take care of yourself better y/n—“
“I’m dying mom. One of my kidneys are failing. He didn’t say why or how—I’m assuming it might be hereditary but there’s nothing I can do other than get a transplant—but he said the list is backed up. There are at least thirty people ahead of me.” 
Right as you finished relaying the news, you could have sworn your heart broke as soon as your mom let out the most gut wrenching sob. Sure, it was already so much for you to take in as the person who was just minutes away from death—but as a mother, hearing that your child is sick must feel like their entire world was falling apart. Besides Jaebeom, your mom was your best friend. She had to be your favorite person in the world; and you were hoping that one day, you’d be even half as an amazing mother to your kids as she is to you. 
She joined you on the bed and pulled you in to her embrace. The two of you just sat there crying for quite some time; you failed to notice Jaebeom walk in nor did you see him walk right out in order to give you and your mom some space. 
“You’re going to be fine y/n okay? I will make sure of it. I’m going to get tested and I’m sure your father would love to see if he’s a match and Jaebeom—“
“No—please—I can’t ask any of you to do such a thing like that for me.” She looked insulted; as if you said something to hurt her feelings but you knew she was just sad. 
“Y/n, I’m your mother—I’ll do anything for you baby girl. I’m not going to lose you—no—not if there’s anything I can do about it. Don’t give up okay? Don’t lose hope. Everything will be okay in the end.” Her fingers felt nice in your hair; her touch was featherlight and she began humming softly while placing a kiss on your cheek. 
“Mom. Can you do me a favor?” She nodded without hesitation. “Please don’t tell Jaebeom. The last thing he needs is to worry about me. He already has so much on his plate. His dying girlfriend should be the last of his worries—“
“Y/n, you can’t be serious right now. I wish I could have recorded just how worried he sounded when I told him you were at the hospital. I’ve never seen someone so in love with another person the way Jaebeom is in love with you. You can’t do that to him—it’s not fair to him. You’re his main priority y/n and think about it like this—what if he was the one who was sick and kept something so important like a failing kidney from you? How would you feel? Devastated right? I’m sure he’ll be broken-hearted if he were to find out when it’s too late. He’s been in your life for such a long time y/n—as your boyfriend, and your best friend, he deserves to hear the truth.” 
You knew she was right—if Jaebeom kept that a secret from you, you’d be so hurt and betrayed. But you felt like you were protecting him by keeping it a secret. 
“Fine I promise I will tell him on my own time. But you need to promise me that you won’t say a thing. Okay?” 
She hesitantly nodded; your mom wasn’t stupid. She knew you just as much and if not more than you knew yourself. No matter how much she would tell you what to do, that didn’t mean you would listen. You were stubborn and hardheaded as hell; you were also the type to suffer in silence by yourself. You didn’t like being a burden to people. 
When you were discharged from the hospital only two days later, Jaebeom forced you to stay with him at his apartment so that he could take care of you. He was afraid that you could collapse again; so he called you out from both your school and your workplace so you had a good amount of time to relax. He also made it a habit to feed you every three hours in order to make sure you were getting as much nutrients as your body needed to survive on. 
A week later, you returned back to your apartment with the excuse that you were feeling better and that you missed the comfort of your own space and hesitantly—he let you. But he got you to promise him that you would text him as much as possible; especially if he wasn’t able to check up on you. It was then that you decided to shut him and anyone out of your life completely. You were stupid to come up with that decision; what good would it do by ignoring everybody in your life. 
Especially the person—your person who meant the entire world to you. If you were dying, you didn’t want to make it harder on anyone; specifically Jaebeom and your parents to spend so much time with them only to pass away sooner than you expected. You cried for what felt like hours when you turned off your phone. You knew that wasn’t going to be enough though; Jaebeom was relentless. He arrived at your apartment just a few hours later—pounding on your door repeatedly while screaming for you to open it. 
Your heart was begging for you to open the door. How could you do this to him? You claim to be shutting him out in order to protect him, yet it was obvious you were breaking his heart. With each pound at your door, you could feel your heart tearing. Why did you fall in love? Why did you allow yourself to get so attached that now you didn’t want to leave even if you didn’t have the choice? You weren’t afraid of death—no. Everybody dies, it’s apart of life. You were afraid of no longer being with Jaebeom. 
No longer getting to see his handsome face or being the reason being his laughter. No longer getting to hold him and be held by him. No longer getting to kiss him and just basking in his existence. Not getting the chance to have a future together—that’s what was hurting you the most. He came by every single day; crying and begging for you to let him in. He told you he had no idea what he did wrong and he thought this was your way of breaking up with him, but he couldn’t understand why. 
Everything was going so well between the two of you just hours before you were administered in to the hospital. Did he say something to upset you? Did you just want to be by yourself right now? Why were you pushing him away when it was obvious that this was the time you needed him the most? You wanted him to hold you as you cried and to tell you everything was going to be okay—even if it wasn’t. 
All you did for the rest of that week other than crying is eat and sleep. You didn’t have the energy nor the motivation to do anything. A week later, you decided to turn on your phone just to make sure nothing bad happened. Seeing over hundreds of texts, calls and voicemails from your boyfriend made you feel like complete and utter shit. You never believed you deserved Jaebeom; even months in to your relationship, you felt as though he deserved someone so much better than you. 
You’ve never hated yourself as much as you did right now. A part of you wanted to read his messages or to listen to one of his voicemails because you missed him like crazy—but you were well aware that it would only make you feel worse. You did notice a number you didn’t recognize call you at least three times and when you listened to the voicemail, you felt as if the entire world stopped. 
“Hi, this message is for Y/n Y/l/n. This is Dr.Kim calling from Queen’s Medical Center. I am excited to inform you that we found a donor for you. Please get back to me as soon as possible. Thank you.” 
You couldn’t believe it—there had to be a catch. Just days ago, he told you that it wasn’t looking too good in your favor but now he said there was a donor for you? Was there thirty other people willing to give their kidneys to those needing a transplant before you? You didn’t want to get too excited; you couldn’t stop your conscience telling you that there was a chance your mom was a match and she offered her kidney. Your initial instinct was to call her first before calling the doctor back, but it’s already been three days. 
If you waited any longer, they could give the kidney to someone else and even if you weren’t too sure if you wanted to accept the transplant, you weren’t going to be rude if someone was already offering it. 
“Hi y/n! How are you? I hope you’re doing well! I’m so excited to say that we found someone with the same blood type as you to donate their kidney. Never in my twenty years of being a doctor have I seen such a case like this—I call it a miracle. I’d recommend you come down to the hospital as soon as you can so we can give you the transplant.” 
You felt overwhelmed—you were undoubtedly content that you were giving the chance to live but you were still curious as to how there was a donor in just a span of a week when some people have been on that list for years. 
“Would you happen to know who the person is whose kidney I’m being given?”
“I have no idea. Sorry. I look forward to seeing you soon y/n. Drive safely.” 
You drank a few cups of water and took a bite out of a sandwich that’s been in your fridge for almost a month now, but you had no appetite at all. As you made your way to the hospital, you found yourself hovering your finger over Jaebeom’s contact. You were given another chance at being able to spend the rest of your life with him—but you fucked it all up. He had to hate your guts for all that you made him suffer through and you couldn’t blame him. 
After you pulled up to the hospital and looked around for doctor Kim, the nurses had you wait in the lobby so they could prepare the surgery table for you. The process didn’t take too long and when doctor Kim came out to explain just how lucky you were to be the recipient of a kidney in such a short amount of time and had the nurses prep you for surgery, you just wanted to get it all over with. The surgery room was extremely bright and you were wearing nothing but a hospital gown. You were told that kidney transplant surgeries took about five to seven hours but because they were putting you on anesthesia, it would feel like five minutes. 
One of the nurses placed the mask on top of your mouth and had you count to ten—but you didn’t even make it to six before passing out completely. Just like the day you collapsed in your lecture hall, you don’t remember falling asleep. It felt good being awake again; but this time was worse than the last. Everything hurt and your mouth felt so dry. Nothing came out of your mouth as you tried to speak up and call for a doctor. 
However, you did feel a pair of hands gripping at your arm and this all felt like deja vu. You were afraid of it being Jaebeom—you didn’t think you deserved for him to come see you and you didn’t think you’d be able to look at him without crying at the thought of how much you’ve broken him. Once you realized it was your mom, you let out a sigh of relief yet you were disappointed it wasn’t your boyfriend. As soon as your mom felt you stirring, she looked up at you and you could’ve sworn her pained expression would be forever imprinted on the back of your mind. 
“Hi mom.” She furrowed her brows before bringing your hand up to her lips and placing a kiss on the back of it. Her expression was quick to change though and before you knew it, she smacked your arm all but gently. 
“You stubborn girl. What is wrong with you? How could you do that to us. You know how worried I was—we all were? What if you were to die huh? There wouldn’t be any way for us to come and get you. You’ve made some pretty stupid choices in your life y/n but this had to be the stupidest thing you could have ever done. And don’t even get me started with the hell you put Jaebeom through. As your mother, I was so mad at you but the poor boy—he thought he did something wrong. He wouldn’t stop blaming himself for something he had no control over—“ You didn’t want to interrupt your mom; especially because she was furious but you needed to know. 
“Where is he?” She stopped her scolding completely as she directed her attention towards anything other than you. 
Oh no. It couldn’t be. 
“Mom. I asked you a question—“
“I think I should go get the doctor and tell him you’re awake—“
“Mom! Answer me! Where is Jaebeom?”
The look of guilt on her face made it all the more adamant that she knew exactly where he was but she didn’t want you to know. She was silent for five minutes; contemplating on how she should go about telling you just how they were able to find you a donor in just a matter of days. 
“I told him.” You looked at her in shock; that was the one thing you did not want her to do. If Jaebeom were to find out about your situation, he wouldn’t hesitate to go and get tested to see if he was a match. 
“I kept it a secret for as long as I could. But when he came over to our house, asking me if I’ve heard from you and if something was wrong—I couldn’t keep lying to him y/n. It was hard for me to look at him, watch him cry and plead to even hear that you were okay; you’re so selfish. I know it was a lot to take in, but I told you we would handle it didn’t I? We’re in this together y/n. Right after I told him, he came here and took the test to see if his kidneys were healthy enough for him to live on just one. You’re both O positive and he didn’t even hesitate to give it to you. He’s still healing but the doctor said he can be discharged tomorrow.” 
All the color drained from your face and you felt like you were going to throw up. Why would he do something so stupid—so foolish; giving away a kidney isn’t something simple like buying someone a gift; or doing their homework for them. This was something he wasn’t able to take back. He was now putting his own health at risk and at what cost? Just so you could live longer? What if this only shortened his life? The doctor said people could survive with only one kidney, but what if his other one failed later on in life? What happens then? 
You wanted to be grateful that he would do such a thing; you obviously meant so much to him that he was willing to give you a part of himself in order to keep you alive. However, you were angry—not so much with him, but this entire situation.
“I can tell you’re overthinking things right now and I just want you to stop. I know that if he was the one dying, you would have done the same thing—so stop. Just be thankful that he did this. Don’t get mad at him; this was already such a big decision for him to make and he made it in a heartbeat. He did this because he loves you y/n. How do you think he would feel seeing you so upset over this as the person who gave you his kidney? Sometimes we do things for the people we love without even a second thought. All we care about is making them happy and keeping them safe. Exactly what Jaebeom did for you. Now, I’m going to go get a doctor, don’t do anything reckless while I’m gone.”
As soon as she left you all alone, you completely fell apart. You ignored him. You lied to him. You tried to leave him and keep him out of your life to protect him from your unfortunate fate yet he gave himself for you. He put his life on the line in order to save yours. Your mom had a point, if it was Jaebeom who needed a kidney, you wouldn’t hesitate to give him yours. With the entire Ella circumstance, although you were hesitant on helping him out for obvious reasons, you gave in because you wanted to help him in any way you possibly could—much like he just did now. 
No matter how many times Jaebeom told you and even showed you how much he loved you, this just set it all in stone. When your mom returned with the doctor and he explained how the healing process worked and what was going to happen now that you had a new kidney, all you wanted to do was find Jaebeom. You wanted to see him yourself and personally thank him for his sacrifice. Your mom told you to get some rest and that she would let you see Jaebeom later, but she knew she wasn’t going to win any argument with you—and you had every right to go and see him. It’s only been a week since you last saw the older boy but it felt like a year—a long, grueling, heartbreaking year. 
As the nurse pushed you in a wheelchair towards his room, there were negative thoughts that began to fill up your mind. Does he regret doing this? What if for some reason one day, we call it quits, is he going to regret it then? What if he wanted nothing to do with you? What if giving you his kidney was his goodbye gift to you? 
Your heart rate only increased as she brought you right outside the door and told you that she wanted to see if he was awake before letting you inside. You weren’t the biggest fan of hospitals; there was one time you tripped and fell in your freshman year and sprained your ankle and you had to stay over two weeks in order to get the surgery and the rest you needed to completely heal. 
The man you were only seconds away from seeing again stayed with you throughout your entire stay. He went to school every morning even if he didn’t want to; but came to be with you as soon as the last bell rang. Even at the prime age of fifteen, Jaebeom always put you first. What did you do to deserve someone who loves you as much as he does? 
“He’s awake now—I didn’t tell him you’re here to see him because I’m sure you want to surprise him. Are you ready?” 
You nodded slowly and took in a deep breath as she wheeled you in to his room. There were countless “get well” balloons and many beautiful bouquets of flowers spread throughout the small space. Jaebeom was a very popular person his entire life—you weren’t surprised to see just how many people were wishing him a speedy recovery. You wondered if anyone knew why he was currently in the hospital. 
As soon as your eyes landed on him, your breath hitched and you wanted to cry again. He currently had so many wires attached to him and there was a couple of bruises on his body; your doctor explained that it was natural for both your bodies to change—especially his since he no longer had both of his kidneys. You wanted nothing more that to hold him and to tell him just how grateful you were for everything; not just for his generosity—although there was no way you’d be able to top this at all, but just for everything he’s done for you since you first became friends. 
“Jaebeom sweetheart, look who came to see you. I’ll give the two of you some space while I go get something for you both to snack on. Just press the help button if you need assistance before I get back.” You kept your eyes on his bed; not wanting to see the way he was looking at you or you would surely break out in tears. 
“Hi.” You began to pick at your fingers out of nervousness. If only you could read minds; you wanted so badly to know what he was thinking. Jaebeom was never a man of words—he preferred actions. You had a feeling he wouldn’t confess even one thought that was going through his mind right now nor did you want to force anything out of him. 
“Hey.” Silence filled the room once you both acknowledged the other’s presence; you didn’t know what to say and with the way he didn’t speak up either—neither did he. 
“How are you feeling?” His question is what got you to finally look at him. He looked exhausted beyond belief and his face was exceedingly smaller and more pale. His eyes were puffy and both his hair and facial hair were growing faster than normal. 
“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” He shrugged and you felt terrible. The two of you were acting as if you were strangers. This was your best friend—the love of your life; your soulmate. Why were you treating him like you had no idea who he was. 
“Jaebeom I don’t know where to start. Well I do—thank you. Thank you so much. I don’t think I will ever be able to repay you. You saved my life—I’m forever indebted to you Im Jaebeom. I hope you know I would have done the same exact thing for you. I know this is a stupid question to ask, especially because I am well aware of what the answer is, I just want to hear you say it—how—why would you do this? Do you understand how big of a sacrifice you made? A kidney isn’t a small thing Jaebeom; people wait years for one—“
“You just answered your own question y/n. How many times do I have to tell you this for you to get it through that pretty yet extremely stubborn head of yours? I would do anything for you. Anything. I’d give my life up for you—you should know that by now. Fuck—I hated being away from you and I hated that you were trying to push me away. I of all people should have been the first person you ran through. I’m your boyfriend and your best friend y/n. You should feel like you’re able to come and tell me things like this. Especially a life or death situation. What did you think was going to happen if you stayed away huh? What good was that going to do? I honestly don’t know what I would do if I were to lose you. I know—giving away a kidney is a big deal but I didn’t care about anything in that moment. Your mom told me you didn’t want me worrying about you and that’s why you kept it between yourselves—but how could I not worry? It’s not just your future we’re talking about it’s mine too. What, did you think everything would be fine and dandy if you were to die? You’re crazy for even thinking that I wouldn’t want to do this for you. I did it for you and for us—so I can have you for so many more years to come. I love you y/n—so much that it actually scares me but not in a bad way if that makes sense.” 
You moved closer to him and tried your best to get up from your wheelchair in order to join him on the bed. You were sure that if you were to look in the mirror right now—you’d see just how his words practically wrecked you. He laughed softly to himself when he saw you struggle and took matters in to his own hands; he slowly got up and reached for your hand, pulling you towards him and you didn’t even give him a second to make himself comfortable before connecting your lips with his in a passionate kiss. He smiled widely against your mouth. Since he was still pretty lethargic and not quite himself just yet, he had to stop the kiss from escalating any further, no matter how badly he wanted to continue feeling your lips on his. 
“I’ve missed you. Don’t ever do that to me again. Just for that, I hope you know I’m forcing you to move in with me so that I can keep my eye on you. I don’t know why we didn’t move in together sooner, there’s nothing I want more than to go to sleep with you wrapped in my arms and to wake up to your beautiful face and stinky morning breath.” 
You gave him a small pout at his words before nodding in agreement. The idea of moving in with Jaebeom sent fire to your bones. You were more than happy to be able to share a space with him—you always wanted to be around him. The two of you only spent most of your time together at each other’s places, so it only made sense that you both moved in together. You placed a soft kiss on his bottom lip before bringing your hand up just above his eyebrow; tracing his two moles that you adored so much ever so gently. 
“I just didn’t want to end up hurting you if something were to happen to me. As soon as the doctor told me the news, my mind went blank and you were the first person I thought of. I cried at the thought of having to leave you and I thought it would be easier for you to get used to living without me—“
“Well you thought wrong—“ You gently slapped his shoulder before placing a few pecks on his lips.
“Hey, I let you talk without interrupting you. Now let me speak. I was devastated when I heard that my chances of living were slim. It was like there was no hope for me and I didn’t want to get your hopes up either. I’m sure nobody wants to die, especially at such a young age but I was more afraid of no longer having you around and what would happen to you if something did happen to me to even care about what goes on after we die. I can’t even form a plausible sentence to describe how thankful I am that you did this. Thank you for loving me Jaebeom. Thank you for just being you. I can’t even tell you how much your sacrifice means to me. I never once questioned your love for me; you never fail to remind me that you’re so madly in love with me and trust me when I say this, I love you with every fiber of my being—with every single breath that I take. You’re the reason for my existence Jae. To be able to love you and be the extremely lucky person who gets to be loved by you is something I will always be grateful for. You are an extraordinary human being. People like you only come one in a lifetime. I love being able to wake up every morning knowing that you are my person. I don’t say it as much as I should and I’m going to work on that. I want to be a better girlfriend because it’s what you deserve. But I will do anything in my power to show you that my heart is yours. That I am wholeheartedly and irrevocably in love with you.”
When you saw tears building up at the corner of his eyelids, you had to stifle back a laugh. It took a lot for Jaebeom to cry; he wasn’t a sensitive guy so it did melt your heart seeing him so worked up over the thought of no longer having you in his life. God, you were so in love with him. How did you stay away from him for even just a week? You had to be insane. This entire situation made it crystal clear for you—no matter what happened in your life, there was no way you could ever be without Im Jaebeom. 
“A life without you is a life I never want to live. If my kidney ends up failing later down the road—then I’ll dying knowing I gave my life to save yours. To keep you around. I’d give you my heart if you needed it—you’re the owner of it anyway. I wanted to do this for so many reasons baby and I would do it again and again if I had to. It’s you and me for life y/n—I’m yours forever. Oh, and I just want to let you know that I plan on using the fact that you now have one of my kidneys to my advantage just to get on your nerves. If I’m hungry and I want you to make me something—just remember, I gave you my kidney. And this goes for anything else. If there’s only one cookie left or I want to choose a movie for us to watch—my organ is what’s keeping you alive. Think of it this way, you’ll always have a part of me inside of you even if I’m not physically inside of you. I hope you know once we’re both released and completely healed that I expect you to show me just how grateful you are while on your knees—okay I obviously made the wrong decision, give me back my kidney.” 
You gave him the most adorable scowl to which he placed a long, sloppy kiss on your lips and pulled you closer to his body as humanly possible. You’ve missed being in his arms, it’s when you felt the safest and the most at ease. Im Jaebeom in more or less words was an actual angel sent to you to take care of you and you were going to spend the rest of your life showing him just how over the moon you were to call him yours. 
“All jokes aside baby, you mean everything to me y/n and I can’t wait to see what life has in store for us.”
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unmaskedagain · 4 years
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Daddy’s Little Villain
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So this prompt I think I got months ago. I meant to work on it for quite some time but I never got around to it. I got inspired yesterday so I decided to take a shot. I went completely off memory for this. Its been a while since I watched Young Justice or any of the DC animated shows; apart from the new Harley Quinn one. So sorry about what I got wrong.
A clown with a killer punchline.
A lantern of terror.
The king of Metropolis.
The master of shadows.
A destroyer of worlds.
Different faces, powers, histories but all categorized under one name.
Supervillain.
           Ruthless, intelligent, powerful, charismatic, tempting; villains reflect just how easily and quickly this planet, if not the universe could fall under their might. However, none of them started out evil. None of them were born evil. No one is born to be evil.
           Marinette, however, came very, very close.
           Her biological father was one of the first that came to mind when anyone thought of a Supervillian. He personally had killed thousands, and arranged the deaths of tens of thousands more. He conquered kingdoms, destroyed dynasties, annihilated empires, controlled governments, and used presidents, kings, any old politician as puppets on strings.
           And he was a good dad.
           He made sure Marinette had the best of everything. The best tutors, the best trainers, the best bodyguards (though Marinette had only ever seen them out of the corner of her eye; hiding in the shadows).
He was even okay with Tom Dupain being a father figure to his daughter. Tom had married Sabine when Marinette was four. However, the acceptance of this came after several failed assassination attempts after the first time Marinette called Tom Papa. Sabine hadn’t been happy that to have protect her new husband from assassins sent by her jealous baby daddy.
Marinette spend most of her days pretending to be a normal girl. The rest of the time she was being trained by near unstoppable assassins in every manner of fighting style her body could handle, learning how to speak various different languages ranging from Spanish to whatever the hell Atlantians’ spoke, hacking and computer skills from former spies, and being taught strategy from some of the greatest military minds that could be bought. (And this was one top of her duties as Ladybug because her dad was still a bit of an asshole.)
He just wanted what was best for her. And he made sure Marinette knew she was loved. He sent her presents every week, letters every day, and she woke to fresh roses in her room every morning.
           The presents ranged from diamond tiaras to ancient samurai swords; anything she so much as mildly expressed an interest in was always found at the foot of her bed the next day. The letters were always thoughtful and kind; always wanting to know about her day, and how she was doing. They would appear in her desk sometime during the day. Marinette would leave a reply via email because she was a sane person of the year 2020. She’d wake to red roses every morning to remind her she was special to him. Sometimes she handed them out at school. Other times she gave them away to any pedestrian who looked like they needed a pick me up.
           He was a good dad, even if he was never actually around. They talked on the phone and over video chat as much as they could.
           He was busy. She understood that.
           Trying to take over the world wasn’t easy. It certainly wasn’t the average 9 to 5 job. The Light needed him.
           She forgave him for that; just like she forgave him for all the things he did to… ensure the future he envisioned became a reality. They were distasteful, immoral, and most of the time she didn’t have the stomach to listen to 1/12 of all the things he did or orchestrated.
           Marinette was always fine with staying out of it. Unlike most Supervillian kids, she never had any interest in taking her place in the family business. Or doing the opposite and doing everything she could to take their villainous family down. No, she had better things to do.
           And her father was just fine with that. He could forgive Marinette for wanting a normal life. He just wanted her happy, safe, and well cared for. He kept the Light and Cadmus out of Paris as best as he could.
           He could even forgive his little girl when she adorned a mask and became the Hero Ladybug. Though it did prevent him from recruiting Hawkmoth into the fold; he wouldn’t have been more than cannon fodder but still. As long as Ladybug kept out battle between good and evil that encased the rest of the world, the city of Paris, France could be hers. Hell, he would even give it to his baby girl as a birthday present should her desire for it arise. It would be good preparation should he need someone trustworthy and loyal to rule the rest of Europe.
           Still he was quick to stop any admiration for the heroes of Justice League. Or at least make sure his daughter didn’t put them on a pedestal like the rest of the world did.
“But they’re the good guys,” She remembered her seven-year-old self protesting. At the time Marinette hadn’t really understood that her father was considered one of the ‘Bad Guys.’ “The heroes.”
“I believe the Justice League’s actions leaves humanity weak,” He told her. “However, even if I didn’t find fault in them, they are only people. They make mistakes. There is good and evil in them; few realize just how easily one side could win over the other.”
           Marinette frowned, “You mean go bad. They won’t go bad. They fight for justice and what’s right.”
“What’s right is subjective,” He warned her. “And justice is in the eye of the beholder.”
“But-but they’re superheroes!”
“You know what’s more dangerous that a villain?” He asked her. “Someone who refuses to acknowledge that anyone can become one.”
           He would say more on the subject later until he was sure Marinette understood.
           He loved his daughter with all of his heart. And Marinette returned the favor.
           So when rumors spread, not long after Hawkmoth’s permanent defeat, that the Light’s founder had fallen; was dead, killed in action, murdered by superheroes, Marinette’s heart broke. She always knew the risks of her father’s job, the dangers this world had in it; it was survival of the fittest after all, that was what he taught her.
           Nevertheless, that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt; that it didn’t burn. And for the first time, the darkest part of her, the part of her that was all her father’s daughter, wanted to make the world feel her pain. However, Marinette was better than that. She wouldn’t blame the world for her sorrows.  She refuse to set fire to everyone and everything just because she wanted to vengeance.
           No, she was smarter than that. Her father, had he still lived, would expect better from her.
           Marinette blamed the Justice League; wonder woman, superman, the Green Lantern. She blamed. Artemis. She blamed Aqualad. She blamed Miss Martian. She blamed Superboy. She blamed Kid flash. She blamed all of Young Justice who set up the plan to bring down the light. (Apart from Batman and Robin who been in Gotham because Robin had all but on his death bed after a fight with DeathStroke.). And they would burn for taking her father from her.
           …The only problem was that Marinette wasn’t a killer. She didn’t want to be one unless she had no other choice. So she had to think of another way to get her revenge.
           The plan had started out very simple. Slowly the hero Ladybug would start being seen outside Paris; fighting random villains’ here and there; captain cold one day, the cheetah next. Never seen in the same place twice. Rumors spread that she was looking for someone; her partner, Chat Noir. It helped that Chat Noir had been seen in months.
           It was just a rumor, of course. Chat Noir had been officially retired. All kwami were taken back. Marinette wasn’t using Tikki to power herself up. No, she refused to use them like Hawkmoth had done. Instead, they were put away and were very well cared for; like well pampered, spoiled pets.
           Marinette used her money to buy a replica of her Ladybug suit; better armored though. She used her private plane to travel around wherever she needed to go. The more villains she fought, the more the rumor of the heartbroken Ladybug hunting down the Light to find her partner grew.
           The only downside was that Ladybug was rapidly gaining enemies left and right. It wasn’t long before The Light sent people after her. Ladybug was quick to send their minions back to them all but in a body bag.
           She had been approached multiple times be members of the Justice League; even teamed up with them multiple times to save the day. They never even feel the near microscopic camera she puts in them. It degrades three hours after but it’s plenty of time for Marinette to get the information she needs.
           It took two months for Marinette to learn the identities of nearly every member of the Justice League. She’s quick to destroy any secret identity evidence for anyone who didn’t wrong her. The batfamily was spared. The Green Arrow and his family was spared. (One day soon Oliver Queen would thank his lucky stars that Speedy went solo instead of joining Young Justice. And that Cheshire, who had a thing for the redhead, was an old friend of Marinette’s, whether the older girl remember the bluenette or not.)
           The family of Steal would burn though. As would fastest family alive. The king of ocean and his sidekicks. The “human” identities of the worlds’ favorite Martians. Woman Wonder and her sidekick. The Green Lanterns.
           The Justice League never saw her coming. All they saw was a pretty fourteen-year-old girl with tears in her big blue eyes as she swore it was her duty to right this wrong. She would fight the light on her own. A young hero, they thought, who did realize just how over her head she really was. Pity was always clear in their eyes. Every time Marinette refused their offer of help, said she could handle it herself.
           Marinette was just biding her time. She still needed the identities of Young Justice. When she got that, she would strike. Hard.
           It only took three months, and Cadmus capturing little Miss Martian.
           By the time, Young Justice arrived Ladybug had already been on the scene. Marinette had already freed an injured Miss Martian and they were trying to fight their way out. The bluenette was beaten, battered, and bleeding.  The two girls did their best to fight the bad guys that seemed to come in a never ending storm. It wasn’t long before they were surrounded.
“Go,” She whispered to the green girl. Marinette had always placed the cameras. She didn’t need to alien any longer. “You can fly. Go. I’ll hold them off, okay.”
“I won’t leave you,” Miss Martian shook her adamantly.
           Marinette frown, “You have to. You know what Cadmus. You know what these monster will do to you. You have go before it’s too late.”
“I will not!”
“Don’t be a hero!” Ladybug snapped.
“Why?!” A new voice called. Robin landed in front of them. The rest of the Young Justice was “It’s our job.”
           The fight was epic. And Marinette could admit that the members of Young Justice were skilled. But they had to be to take down her father, so it wasn’t surprising. Still, she managed to put a camera on each and every one of them.
           When it was over, and it was clear more of Cadmus’ henchman were arriving, Young Justice made moves to flee…
           Until they realized Ladybug had no intention of coming with them.
“He’s not in there,” Miss Martian told her gently.
“You don’t know that,” Ladybug murmured.
“I do,” Again the pity was clear in redhead’s eyes.
           Ladybug shook her head. “You don’t understand. I can’t give up. I won’t!”
           Robin put a hand on her shoulder, “Chat Noir isn’t in there.”
“Getting yourself killed will not help him,” Aqualad stated.
           Ladybug nodded, gave them a small smile, and then made a break for the Cadmus lab. Then Marinette felt a sharp pain in the back of her head, and everything went black.
           She woke up in the infirmary of what she guess was the Young Justice headquarters. With a huff, she got up and marched out of the room. It didn’t take her long to find the teen heroes lounging in their living room. “You guys are jerks!” She yelled at them.
           Kid Flash snorted, “We saved you from yourself.”
“Oh you self-righteous little-” Marinette groaned. “I can’t believe you! I can take care of myself” She crossed her arms and stomped her foot.
“Oh yeah because that proves it,” Artemis laughed.
“I’m a hero too, you know?”
           Robin nodded. “Everyone knows about Ladybug. But you’re like thirteen.”
“Fourteen! And a half!” Marinette corrected. “Which is basically fifteen.”
           The older heroes just looked at her, and then burst out laughing.
           Marinette forced herself to think of her most embarrassing memory so that her face would heat up and it would look like she turned red from embarrassment. As if she care what they thought.
           The bluenette grabbed a slice of pizza and asked politely for someone to send her back to Paris. She needed to regroup, she claimed.
           They tried to convince her to stay. Or let Young Justice or the Justice League help her but she refused. Marinette was back in Paris ten minutes later.
           She had the identities of every member of Young Justice an hour after that.
           It was time.
           Ladybug “tracking” down the Light had been an experience. Technically, she knew enough to figure out various locations they used. However, she also knew enough to know that Ladybug just showing up there would get her killed. It was a move of an amateur hero. And Marinette was done thinking like a hero.
           So she put down her mask, ditched her Ladybug gear, and got on a plane. Marinette arrived in Metropolis on a windy Tuesday morning.
           It took her until Friday to hack into Lex Luther’s secretary’s calendar to figure where the King of the Metropolis was scheduled to be and another week to decipher the Light’s next meeting. Hacking into pentagon was easier.
           Marinette waited watched from the shadows of the remote island she found herself on. She watched as villain after villain arrived. Until Lex Luther, surrounded by bodyguards and personal assistants, arrived in his private jet.
“Mr. Luther!” Marinette called as she stepped out of the shadows where she was hiding.
           Guns were immediately pulled on her. The secretary, Mercy, hand suddenly became weaponized. The surprise on their faces were clear. Particularly when they saw the small teen girl standing there.
           Marinette smiled.
“And you are?” Lex asked, only mildly intrigued. He wondered just who the child was that managed to be sneak up his men and possible the rest of the Light.
“My name is Marinette,” She answered. “But you and the Light know me as Ladybug. I mean you no harm.”
           Lex narrowed his eyes at her. He could see the resemblance. Ladybug and Marinette had the same stature, the same eye color, and looked to be the same age. Still, it could be a trick.
“Two months ago, I broke into one of your building.” Marinette said. “The break in was the news but LexCorp assured that nothing was taken. That wasn’t true. I took the Cuban cigars out of the safe behind the Rembrandt painting. Please. I merely wish to speak with the Light. Somewhere… not even gods among us can hear.”
           Well, that assured the villain that it wasn’t a trick.  However, for the first time in his life, Lex Luther found himself confused. On one day, Ladybug had been a slowly become a thorn in the Light’s side. On the other hand, the hero had just revealed her identity and now just wanted to talk. About what, Lex yearned to know.
           Lex nodded, “Mercy will check you for weapons. Then you will be escorted inside safely. Whether you leave alive will be up for debate.”
           Marinette sighed in relief and raised her hands. Mercy, who the bluenette tried to figure out whether she was a robot or a cyborg, was very thorough. She even scanned Marinette’s phone for any traces of explosives.
           When it was done Marinette found herself escorted inside, and then found herself a cliché Supervillian lair staring down the greatest supervillains in the world. Ra's al Ghul, Black Manta, Queen Bee, Klarion, Deathstroke, Ocean Master, and their operatives Hugo Strange, Bane, Sports Master, and Cheshire all sat at a large round table. There was four pieces of glass hanging from the ceiling in front of them; monitors, Marinette figured.
And it was clear from the anger on the faces that the bad guys had been informed of exactly who Marinette was.
           It was daunting, to say the least.
“You have our attention, Miss Marinette,” Lex said. “Do not waste it.”
           Marinette nodded, “I have information on the Justice League I thought the Light would be very interested in.”
“Why would a hero do such a thing?”  Ra's al Ghul asked. “Hoping to make a deal? Your information for the return of Chat Noir, perhaps?”
           The leader of the League of Shadows didn’t know why the rumor persevered that the Light kidnapped the Parisian hero. He had confirmed himself that it was highly inaccurate.  
           The bluenette giggled, “Chat Noir no longer exists. He was retired at the same time as Hawkmoth. The Light has never had him. Neither did Cadmus. It was just heavily implied.”
“Yet that didn’t stop you from destroying our labs,” Lex glared. “Ruining missions, capturing my associates. Months of research. Millions of dollars. Gone to hell.”
“You were a tool,” Marinette shrugged. “I used to you get to close to the Justice League. It was never personal.”
           Lex felt eye twitch. He should have Mercy shoot her on principle.
“You’re more annoying than Robin,” Deathstroke shook his head at the moxy of the girl.
“It was just business?” She offered. “I needed a way to make them pay.”
“Just… just business,” Lex pinched his nose. He was going to kill her. “What could you possible offer the Light that would stop us from destroying you and everyone you love?”
           Marinette smirked. She pulled out her phone and hacked into the monitors. Once she was done, and played a video. The villains watched on the screens with old mild interest on their faces. Slowly the interest faded as shock and astonished looks overtook it.
           Lex’s felt his entire body shake. The video had shown undeniable proof that Superman was secretly Clark Kent. It was what he dreams were made of. He could barely stop himself from snatching the phone out of Marinette’s hand and playing it the video over and over again.
           Lex forced himself to calm down. He looked at the bluenette hard. A part of him wanted offer to pay as much money as the girl could want for the video. Another part of him realized if Marinette had been a little older he would’ve proposed.
“Superman’s civilian name is Clark Kent.” Marinette smiled, “I have video proof of nearly every member of the Justice League’s secret identities; along with their sidekicks.”
           The statement was met with silence. Each villain contemplating the ramifications of what such information could mean; not just for them, but for the world.”
“I think that’s worth a little forgiveness,” Marinette slyly added. “What’s few million dollars in damages compared to bringing down the Justice League once and for all.”
           Klarion chuckled, “I suppose some things can be overlooked.”
“Why?” Black Manta asked. “That is what we should be asking. Why betray the heroes?”
“Justice,” Marinette shrugged. “Revenge. I blame them for the death of my father.”
“That’s a good a reason as any,” Cheshire said. Her mask still hid her face.
           Sportsmaster gave his daughter a side look, “You never tried to take down any heroes any of the times you thought I died,” He complained.
“Sorry,” Cheshire shrugged. “I was too busy eating ice cream and getting drunk off my ass; it’s how I usually celebrate.”
“Why come to us?” Ra's al Ghul asked still intrigued.
“Why wouldn’t she?” A new voice rang through the room. Marinette stumbled back in shock. She knew that voice. But that wasn’t possible. Right? “The Light is in her blood.”
           Door opened and in walked bane of nearly every hero in the world, the Founder of the light, Vandal Savage. “You’ve done well, daughter.”
           Her father looked exactly the same as she remember. He was tall, with broad shoulder and square jaw; three pale scars across his face. His hair was longer though, much longer, and was pulled back
           Marinette rushed over to him and threw herself into his arms. He hugged her tightly.
“I thought you were dead,” Marinette whispered. Tears stung her eyes. “Everyone said you were dead.”
           Vandal smiled gently at her, “And you decided to bring down the world’s heroes in my name. I’m truly touched,” He said. “I wasn’t dead but I was close. I got better.”
           The bluenette backed away from her father; realization slowly hit her.
“It’s been months,” Marinette ran a hand through her hair. “You have any idea what I’ve gone through, what I did! You suck! Ugh, I’m telling Mom!”
Sabine Cheng would show Vandal Savage a thing or two once she found out. She was the one who had to dry her daughter’s tears day after day once the news of Savage’s death broke. The Asian woman was possibly only one infamous Vandal Savage was afraid of.
           The others villains watched, entranced by the argument between father and daughter.
“You gallivanted around as hero,” Vandal reminded. “To get close the Justice League; leaving me to wonder if in my absence I had lost my daughter to the so-called forces of good. It turned out all my worrying was for naught.”
“You could’ve called!” Marinette complained. “Wrote. Something to tell me you were alive. Anything.”
“At the time it was best decision.”
           Marinette glared, “You seriously for even one second I’d team up with the Justice League? Really? Me?” She glared. “I’m NEVER talking to you again!”
“I’ll make it up to you, sweetheart,” Vandal assured the bluenette. “We can kill Superman together.”
“Actually,” Lex interrupted. “I have dips.”
           Vandal shot him a quick glare.
The teen girl crossed her arms, “Give me one reason I shouldn’t destroy everything I have on the Justice League?” She asked. “And before any of you threatened to kill me. I only brought the Superman video as insurance. I die; you will never get your hands of the rest of them. So again,” She hissed at her father. “Give me one reason I should hand over my Intel to the Light?”
“…Father’s day’s coming up?” Vandal offered.
“Dammit!”
           Marinette stumped over to an empty seat, next to Cheshire, and glared petulantly at the inhabitants of the room. She didn’t care that it made her look like a little kid.
           An awkward silence filled the room.
           Luther took the opportunity to finally start the meeting as it was the reason they were all there. It was long. It dragged on. Even with Marinette’s intelligence on the Justice League. Everything felt like a stuffy board meeting. Nowhere near as exciting as Marinette once imagined it would be.
           The meeting took a short break. Food was brought out. A small buffet. Marinette made herself a plate; she grabbed a fancy steak sandwich, some fruit and chips, and a rather large chocolate cupcake because she freaking deserved it. She thought she was done until her plate was grabbed by her father. He didn’t hesitate to put baked Brussel sprouts provided on her plate.
“Oh come on! No one likes Brussel sprouts,” Marinette complained. “Not even you’re that evil.”
“They’re good for you,” Vandal told his daughter. “And you will eat them.”
“You’re seeing this too, right?” Deathstroke, otherwise known as Slade, asked Bane. “It’s not just me.”
As they ate, the villains shared stories about what they’d been up to. Most just complained about the problems they were having with the Justice League; who fought who, who should they consider for Light membership, and anyone getting on their nerves.
“Some assholes decided to send the wannabe Villain current status moron after me,” Marinette cast a dark look around the room; making it clear she knew they sent the assassin. She didn’t get as much as a single sheepish look. “He kept trying to light me of fire. And then he was accidently pushed off the top of a building, twice.”
Ra's al Ghul nodded at the young girl, “I would like to mention that I have an heir not much younger than you. You would get along quite well, I believe.”
           Marinette narrowed her eyes at Leader of the League of shadows, “Are you seriously trying to get me to date your grandson right now?”
           Al Ghul didn’t answer her.
Marinette took the opportunity to excuse herself from having to come back, “I’m going to explore the island.” And then see if she could escape before her dad caught her.
“I always blew up your boat,” Vandal raised an eyebrow. “I’ll be taking you home myself.”
“You suck!”
“Love you too, sweetpea.”
           Marinette marched out of the room. She’d swim if she had too.
           It turned out she didn’t have to swim. Just hotwire Deathstroke’s ride.
           She got a video call fifteen minutes after taking off.
“Go for Marinette?” She answered cheerfully.
           Vandal Savage’s face appear on the screen, “You stole Slade’s helicopter.”
“Juuussst like you taught me.” Marinette smirked.
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soft-glitch · 3 years
Text
Where the breeze leads us
Chapter 4: Legacy
Word count: about 1100 words
Author’s notes: this is a series of tiny one-shots taking place in the Sonic future AU described in my fic How You Look In The Wind.  You might want to read a bit of it first! There might not be a strict chronology to these events, so some of them are up to interpretation. Enjoy the read!
- - - - -
It really was amazing in its own way, Espio thought. Despite being one of the most famous investigation agencies on Mobius, the Chaotix were permanently on the verge of being broke.
Granted, it wasn’t that bad. They lived in a nice house with everything they needed, and never really had to cut budget on food or basic necessities. But most mobians expected the team to be extremely successful and loaded with money.
First, every other case was offered at an absurdly low rate. The crocodile simply couldn’t resist to the idea of helping people, no matter the size of their bank account.
Second, the Chaotix had become a well know name among charities. There had always been a widespread need for relief on Mobius, due to the destruction caused by Ivo Robotnik and his clique. Fortunately most mobians were generous and valued solidarity, but the agency always found many fundraisers to participate in.
Espio didn’t mind for the most part. But this was a special occasion, for Chaos’ sake.
“Aren’t we supposed to have like, savings?” Charmy asked cautiously, looking up from the plants he was watering. “Yes, but the key words here are supposed to.” the chameleon replied with a glare towards Vector. “Why I still let you handle the budget is beyond my understanding. – C’m’on, it’s usually not bad!” the large mobian said. “I just forgot ya needed this much for today.”
Espio sighed and closed the laptop. The costume was already being made, so there was no choice but to pay one way or another. If the tailor could accept to delay the payment by a month, it would be feasible, but…
“Why don’t you borrow from someone?” the bee offered. “I’m pretty sure Amy or Rouge would understand, and they’re— – Absolutely not. – You’re dumb.” Charmy shrugged. “They’re friends, they would be happy to help with this and you know it. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime situation.”
With a pained expression, the purple reptile got up and rubbed his temples, not sharing a word for a whole minute. Vector eyed Charmy, slightly perplexed.
“Alright. Yes. I guess you’re right.” Espio then turned towards his associate. ”Vec, I expect you to handle our finances better next month. It’s one thing to have a debt with the tailor, it’s another to fail to honour one with a friend.”
Vector nodded almost ashamedly as the chameleon grabbed his phone and went outside.
- - - - -
A surprising amount of people was gathered at the ceremony. Espio had expected most of them to show up, like Sonic and Tails, who were among Knuckles’ oldest friends. Some others were… an interesting surprise. Everyone knew Scourge was in some kind of rehabilitation retreat with Mighty and followed him everywhere, but to see him attend this important event felt odd to say the least.
As he was observing the armadillo and his green apprentice, a not-so-discreet gesture of affection made the Espio raise a brow.
Huh. So these two are… Shaking his head, the chameleon tried to focus. The sun was just about to set, and he had an important role to play.
The chatter from the small crowd circling the altar faded as the daylight shifted to coral and fiery rose. A dingo and a jaguar started playing instruments, a grave yet somehow uplifting melody slowly filling the air. All stares focused on the Emerald altar, on which two figures took place.
One was Knuckles, wearing a gold and white robe intricately decorated with a snake motif. The current guardian, with his solemn pose and ceremonial outfit, almost seemed like another person altogether. His expression, showing an unreadable seriousness to most, was in fact tinted by pride and emotion.
Espio tried —and failed— to avoid glancing too much at the echidna. The sunset light worked together with the elegant flowing costume, highlighting his fiery red spikes in a way that left the chameleon slightly dazzled.
The second person was a young wombat, her face slightly hidden by a humble cloak. Her stare was one Espio had seen many times from Cream or Charmy: slightly intimidated yet resolute. Eyes blessed with the spark of youthful optimism and the willpower needed to change the world for the better.
The chameleon smiled as the music stopped. Knuckles’ successor was fit for the task.
“The sun descends and stars appear in our skies, as old as the stones our feet step on. They remember this world and so do we.” the red echidna started. “Tonight our hearts are bright and will sing a new song, so that the Chaos may listen and make our will known.”
Espio exchanged the slightest look with his partner, a glimpse of a supporting smile escaping onto his lips. Knuckles nodded imperceptibly before continuing his speech.
The ceremony was solemn, and the crowd attending it kept silent all along. It was, after all, the beginning of an end. Everyone witnessing it was acknowledging the approaching end of the echidna clan, its last member having decided to pass his knowledge to an apprentice.
Time came for the last part of the ritual, and Espio stepped closer. He knelt in front of the young wombat, who bowed down respectfully. “We are now into the night of your duties, Helik the Wombat.” Knuckles said, his voice now trembling slightly with emotion he was unable to hide. “Find knowledge and wisdom as the stars travel along you, so you may emerge from the horizon with newfound brilliance.”
He then turned towards his purple friend. “If I ever fail our duties, or if fate separates us, I entrust my power to Espio the Chameleon. He is now a beacon in the dark, one you shall seek in the hardest of times and trust whenever you feel lost.”
Uncovering a chaos emerald from his outfit, the echidna set it on a small stone pedestal between them. Helik, Espio and Knuckles all placed a hand on it and closed their eyes.
For a few seconds they remained silent. Then, as the Master Emerald behind them started to glow more and more, they chanted together: “The servers are the 7 Chaos. Chaos is power... Power enriched by the heart. The controllers are the ones that unify the Chaos.”
A gentle wave of energy came out of the emerald beneath their hands, echoing one from the Master Emerald. Everyone present felt their hearts filled with courage and hope, dreams of a distant past and longing for a bright future.
Helik would be the next Guardian.
With a relieved sigh, Espio looked at the crowd cheering for the trio and smiled. Knuckles’ hand was warm against his own.
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sanchoyo · 3 years
Text
danny phantom, season 3, episodes 1-2 thoughts! I had to split up my season 3 watch awkwardly because the second part of it was too picture heavy and tumblr only wants you to have 10 pictures per post, per the No Fun Allowed Rule. :/ I was planning on just doing 1-6 then 7-13, but, it'll probably be split into 3 posts now... (along with a follow up thoughts post after I finish and think on it for a lil while...)
see prev episode thoughts in this tag <3
-vlad got a new mansion. and the guys in white IMMEDIATELY BREAKS IN AND STARTS SMASHING THE SHIT OUT OF EVERYTHING, DESTROYING HIS NEW MANSION KAJDFHSSKADJKJN. NEVER LAUGHED SO HARD IN MY LIFE. 'the greatest practical joke ever' TUCKER YOU ARE SOOO RIGHT.
-'DAnnY FenTon MadE mE ThE LaugHINg StOCk oF WisCONsIn' if you dont shut up. you made yourself a laughing stock. love the cute pink hotel room. also, Vlad's Naked on The News. VLAD BUYING THE NASTY BURGER TO TEAR IT DOWN. the way they keep escalating these..pranks? IS TEARING DOWN A BUISSNESS A PRANK?? (the metric by which I decide if its a prank is if its funny to me or not. vlads house being torn down? funny prank. local burger place being torn down? maybe not. MAYBE the naked on the news prank was pushing it because he WAS in a hotel just, minding his own business, but like, he stays bothering danny for no reason when danny is just minding his own business, too! its not right but there IS a sense of vindication here. yknow?
-...'at least now he's channeling his sociopathic lonely bachelor energy into something positive!' this is unironically an insult to actual sociopathic people. 'but he doesnt care about other people!' 'and thats why he'll make a great politician!' BRUTAL. but not untrue? I mean, this is not at ALL surprising. hes a billionaire via cheating and lying, and already a huge Slimeball. So yeah, politician is 100% right.
-but did vlad move to amity park? I might be wrong about this, or illinois laws might be different, but I kinda assumed if you're running for election for mayor in a town, that you had to live within the voting jurisdiction and be registered to vote there. I mean, he's temporarily in a hotel and technically displaced rn (...I thought for sure he'd have more vacation homes...) so I guess there's probably a grace period to find a permanent home in amity park?
-ME, CHEERING DANNY ON EVERY SINGLE TIME HE BEATS VLAD UP, BEING SO PROUD OF MY SON:
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-'hes overshadowing the voters!' why...are you surprised, danny???? election fraud is Nothing. did you forget he stole BILLIONS OF DOLLARS.
-ok the school uniforms are kinda cute tho lol.
-NO TEENAGERS ALLOWED IN THE NEW RESTURAUNT?? WHAT KIND OF BUISSNESS IS THAT,, SO PETTY. tucker straight up tearing off the security camera. king of property destruction
-vlad trying to make life hell. For a 14 year old. who is trying to genuinely apologize and offer a truce (despite all the creepy and fucked up things vlad has done to him and his family). what the fuck can I even say about this. I think i've said several times while watching 'what the fuck is wrong with you', i need a stronger statement.
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-Teens Against McMasters! Fries Not Lies! I want to see vlad get mauled by teens. I want them to start Throwing Rocks.
-vlad saying 'dudes' is the worst thing I've ever heard.
-danny overshadowing the clone was GENIUS AND MAKING HIMSELF LOOK INJURED. SO PROUD OF YOUUUU. USE HIS OWN TACTICS AGAINST HIM. GET HIS ASS.
-frostbite's design is really interesting. ghost...bones... incased in ice?? anyway im so glad danny is getting more hugs :)
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-oh, they basically worship(?) or put danny on a pedestal because he defeated pariah?? well IM happy for him having more ghosts that are friendly to him :) also, sam and tucker's lil snow jackets...super cute.
-more ghost lore!!! THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE IS A GHOST PORTAL. OF COURSE.
-VLAD ACTUALLY DID GET A CAT AWWW KITTY I WUV U KITTY. who he plays chess with...okay, you know what, thats so valid. and actually, pets are usually actually good for mental health, you have a lil guy to care for and they can give u a reason to try ur best so u can provide for them, and they are always good for comfort...good job, vlad!! next go to therapy. 'if anyone asks, you're my sister's cat!' so does he actually HAVE a sister? can she come beat him up
-sam is Right. they shouldve immediately taken the map back to frostbite! but I get it, exploring Can Be Fun
-'carnivorous canyon' in the ghost zone is just mystery flesh pit
-vlad is going to burn a 14 year old girl at the stake. you know, I half expected clockwork to come up and stop this, because they're fucking with time, BUT. nope. this is nbd, I guess.
-well, blood blossoms are terrifying. I know 'ive never eaten a vegetable in my life!' was tucker being hyperbolic, but this kid is going to get so many digestive problems if he doesnt Start Eating Healthier.
-...vlad wanted to go to rome and be a god?? I want to know where he self-inserted himself in their already established pantheon. what did he say he was the god of??
-VLAD SET THE ENTIRETY OF ROME ON FIRE. SO THEY PROBABLY ASSUME GOD OF DESTRUCTION. GOD OF ASSHOLERY.
-how embarrassing, to swordfight a 14 year old and struggle to win. lmfao they keep running vlad off every place he tries to take over
-'if i can destroy the first airplane, man will never fly and I will rule the air!' VLAD. DO YOU THINK. DO YOU THINK THE WRIGHT BROTHERS WERE THE ONLY PEOPLE TO THINK OF AND CONCEPTULIZE FLIGHT???! oh my god he is so dumb. people have always been trying to fly even before that, and even if you destroyed (1) plane its not like no one else could make one??? as if people hadn't already been making hot air balloons since the 1700s??? or coming up with concepts, and studying on how to make them work? starting to think vlad shouldve paid attention in college and not been so fixated on maddie. or, I dunno, read a book in his huge library...(I mean, I dunno what he majored in or studied in college, but it obviously wasnt history...)
-vlad getting his ass kicked by snow dogs and getting shidded on by a pigeon :)
-'hes got more in common with us than he realizes!' DANNY IS A YETI??? CONFIRMED (no,, but I hope that means we'll see more of the far frozen! I like them :)
-what in the world was this episode tho. like..okay?? vlads plans did not make ANY sense to me, like, was I missing something , or. WHY is he so fixated on Ruling all of the sudden...sure he might be power-hungry, feeling powerless can do that and I'm sure the accident/being abandoned made him feel that way, but its always felt like his real end goal was just to steal jack's family out of jealousy and spite, not to like. um,, rule rome I guess. ?? theres No Maddie In Rome, Vlad.
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(New) Doctor Who hasn’t been good since S4.
(Please note: This post is really only for people who already agree with me, rather than people who disagree with me, because I don’t want to change anyone’s opinions, nor do I want to ruin DW for anyone. So if you disagree with me, you have no obligation to read any further, and I hope you have a nice day). ~ Okay, look...
First of all: I love Matt Smith. I think he was a fantastic Doctor. He was an absolute sweetheart, and a wonderful actor.
I also loved Clara Oswald as a companion. And all in all, I enjoyed post-s4 of NewWho, with a number of episodes that stood out to me (mainly written by Neil Gaiman... please can we make him a permanent author) and genuinely didn’t dislike it.
However, I really believe that the Steven Moffat era (s5 and onwards) and especially the Chris Chibnall era (s11 and onwards), couldn’t live up to the Russel T Davis era (s1-4).
For starters, I found the episodes post s4 really difficult to get invested into. I feel like the writers tried too hard to make it dramatic, and in turn simply made it complicated to follow along and frankly, a little boring. Too many characters had an unnecessary amount of importance placed on them, and too many episodes contained more than one plot point (again, as an attempt to make it dramatic, and therefore making it too complicated).
I also disliked the complete disregard for anything that happened pre-s5. I understand the timeline to an extent, for example, by the time the Doctor met Amy it had technically been about a hundred years since he’d last seen Rose give or take (though it had literally only been a few days since he’d last seen Donna and she wasn’t mentioned at all). This may just be my inability to really cope with major change, but then, a lot of people are like me, so disregarding everything just makes the show inaccessible to a number of people. I was screaming at the TV screen half the time wanting the Doctor to mention Rose, or Martha, or Donna, or Jack, but they hardly got a look in. Even in The Day of the Doctor, the appearance of “Rose” was frankly disappointing.
And this is just talking about s5 and onwards. I haven’t yet mentioned how good pre-s4 was. I’m not saying every episode was a masterpiece, but there were an incredible amount of well-thought out and interesting storylines. The entire Bad Wolf storyline and how it threaded through all four seasons even after Rose had gone was, and still is, my favourite thing ever. The Daleks and the Cybemen were actually threatening (as opposed to just nuisances like they were post-s5, which I suppose by that time they were, but it’s funny how some characters were described as the most dangerous and evil characters when tbh they really weren’t, but the Daleks and the Cybermen hardly ever were. I’d also like to point out that the Cybermen hadn’t actually been seen again by the Doctor since the battle at Canary Wharf (although I may be wrong on this, someone please correct me), and when Eleven did see them again, he acted more as if they were just an inconvenience, rather than the reason he lost one of his companions).
And don’t even get me started on the companions of pre-s5. Yes I love Clara, but that’s really about it. I never got invested in Amy, despite the show making her out to be god incarnated and the most important person in the Doctor’s life. I actually got more invested in Rory tbh. I’m not saying I didn’t like Amy, I just didn’t really see the big deal. Adding this to the fact that my favourite companions (all of which are in pre-s5) were never mentioned made me genuinely angry at Amy. It wasn’t her fault, but she had an air of smugness around her, as if she knew everything there is to know about the Doctor, but out of all of the companions she actually doesn’t know that much at all. She barely even knows that the Doctor can regenerate.
The companions in s1-4 were on a different level. Rose Tyler is my beloved, who absorbed the time vortex and became Bad Wolf. Martha Jones was the most badass motherf*cker who literally became a walking legend throughout the entire world as she travelled for a year on her own to defeat the Master- which she did, single f*cking handedly. Donna Noble was Catherine Tate. (And also she was the most hilarious, wonderful won’t-take-shit-from-a-spaceman icon who literally became a Time Lord. AND JACK MOTHERFUCKING HARKNESS THE GUY I LITERALLY NAMED MYSELF AFTER THE IMMORTAL OMNISEXUAL ALIEN JOHN FUCKING BARROWMAN LGBTQ+ ICON ALL THE WAY FROM 2005 CANNOT BE COMPARED IN LOVE WITH THE DOCTOR FLIRTS WITH EVERYONE SMOOTH SON OF A BITCH WITH A SMILE THAT CAN KILL EVEN MY LESBIAN ARSE.
Amy was just... sort of nothing? I don’t want to criticise too much because I know she’s the favourite companion of a lot of people, and I don’t want to ruin her for them. I don’t think she’s a bad companion. A lot of my anger towards her is more to do with me rather than to do with her. I just feel that she was placed on a pedestal and treated way more than her predecessors for no real reason.
She was “The girl who waited”. She was an eight year old who sat outiside for a night waiting for the Doctor. It’s sweet and all, but why is that literally her only personality trait?
There’s probably more I can add, but I’ve gone on long enough. And I must reiterate this is only personal opinion. I understand the title is a bit too blunt, one of those “if you don’t agree with me you’re an idiot” sort of posts, but it isn’t. This is just how I feel, and I encourage you to disagree with me, because I don’t want to ruin anything for anyone. Believe me, lots of things have been ruined for me by someone giving a negative opinion about it (though I’m not calling those people out or anything) because I’ve felt obliged to agree, or I’ve felt that my opinion is wrong. So I’m not trying to do that, I’m really just writing this for the people who already agree, rather than the people who disagree, because I’m not here to change anyone’s opinion.
Amy’s great. Matt Smith is fantastic. S5 and onwards has some enjoyable storylines. Neil Gaiman is a fantastic writer, so is Russel T Davis. Chris Chibnall isn’t but I think we can all agree with that. Martha is underrated as shit. Catherine Tate is queen of my life (I met her once, she gave up her seat for me on the Tube when I was a kid. Didn’t know who she was back then but my mother was very excited). Rose Tyler can marry me. Jack Harkness is the only reason I’m happy. And Clara is a sweetheart who needs constant protection.
Thank you for coming to be TEDTalk.
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maaji-maji-majima · 3 years
Note
some kissing hcs for Majima?(if u can make it nsfw)
So I'm in a weird place with this. I don't want to leave you unanswered but I know you won't like the answer that I give. It has been a long time since I was active on tumblr and I'm not sure when along the timeline headcanon became synonymous with fanfiction. I appreciate fanfiction authors for their creativity, but I am not one myself. I use headcanon in the older definition of "this isn't in the source material, but it is true in my brain". They are either random things my half asleep mind thought of while walking home from work or a character analysis. At the same token your ask had crawled into my brainmeats and won't leave. So again, I apologize that this most definitely is not what you're looking for, but I hope someone out there finds this to be an interesting read.
Without further introduction, here is a character analysis of our favorite pansexual, gender fluid, emotionally stunted goblin in regards to relationships and why the he desperately needs therapy as brought to you by a different pansexual, gender fluid, emotionally stunted goblin who got therapy but probably needs more.
Trigger warnings: Abuse, self harm, mental disorders, poor coping strategies, unhealthy relationships, random tense changes, not fanfiction
Spoilers for the whole franchise, but very specifically for 0, K1, and 5.
Abuse does weird things to people's brains. In Yakuza 0 Majima has barely been out of the hole for a year. He might no longer be suffering the actual physical torture he had been subjected to the year prior, but he is still directly in the hands of his abusers and being watched every moment. He is still in a cage even if it doesn't look like one. He is depressed and likely suicidal, but doesn't follow through with those thoughts because he is determined to make sure Saejima has a home to come back to. He is willing to endure just about anything to allow Saejima a chance to exact that final moment of retribution because Saejima is the one who deserves it and Majima doesn't feel that there is any possibility for forgiveness. In all likelihood he hasn't sought out anyone for a hookup or paid company for an evening due to a combination of not feeling like he deserves anything that feels good and the fact that he's constantly being watched. The year in hole means he no longer really has a concept of privacy, but he's worried that getting close to someone, even for a few moments, could put them in danger if Sagawa or Shimano feels like holding something else over his head. It isn't worth accidentally dragging someone into his own personal hell. He no longer lives for the present, he is only living for that far-off future that he hopes isn't just a pipe dream.
Enter Makoto. At first she is a stand-in for Saejima's sister Yasuko, but it morphs rapidly from there. She is the light and kindness and hope that he hasn't seen in years and she's being dragged into his bullshit. He knows in his heart of hearts that she doesn't deserve what she is being forced into, so his mind snaps into the immediate and does everything he possibly can to save her. This is is the hill he wants to die on. Maybe, just maybe, he can end his miserable existence with a final act of good and he feels that Saejima might just be able to understand. But because he no longer has any relationships in his life that are not strictly professional or the abusers he cannot escape, he has little recollection of what a nuanced relationship or even friendship is any longer. Due to circumstance she is also the only person that he cannot keep at arm's length, no matter how desperately he tries. So he falls for her and falls hard. But in the end, after everything they go through he does the impossible. He lets her go. She has a life and a future, whereas he has neither of those. What would she do? Become his ane-san? Have some temporary happiness before she realizes she has a target on her back for the rest of her life? No. Majima believes she deserves so much more than that even though it hurts him deeply. What is one more hurt on top of everything else? He's gotten extremely good at burying his pain.
Getting to Tokyo flips a switch in Majima's brain. Like many people with mental trauma who don't have access to therapy he falls into excess as a way of self medicating. He fits virtually everything on the hedonism checklist. Drinking? Yeah. Violence? Hell yeah! Promiscuity? Yeah, but I ain't judging. Drugs? Probably, even though it isn't explicitly stated in game. Everything from his shift in personality to his wardrobe has become, intentionally or not, a defense mechanism. He has escaped from all of his abusers except for Shimano and he refuses to allow anyone to gain that kind of power over him again.
It is a double edged sword, however. His depression and PTSD are running unchecked. In all likelihood he hasn't fallen hard on vices as a way to reclaim ownership off his own body. Instead it seems more probable that he is dissociating. After everything he has been through he doesn't care what happens to his body in the long run because it isn't actually his anymore. Risky behavior, which is practically Majima's middle name, is also frequently used as a passive form of self harm because the end result is either temporarily feeling better thanks to endorphins and adrenaline or permanently feeling better after embracing death. He could achieve a similar feeling by taking up jogging and chasing a runners high, but that takes more time and energy than chugging a handle of whiskey or goading some chump into throwing hands. Sadly even now admitting to mental problems by seeking help is fairly stigmatized in Japan and it was only worse in the early 90s. Can't have a problem if no one tells you it's there, right?
Then he meets Mirei. She's intense but not wild like Majima. At that moment in time she is everything he needs. Head strong, domineering, and very, very determined. She knows exactly what buttons to press to wrap him right around her finger. And he lets her take the reigns, lets her run his life because he realizes he was doing a terrible job on his own. Better her than Shimano, right? Doing something wrong results in the cold shoulder instead of a vicious beating, and doing something right leads to more than simply the relief of avoiding a beating. He decides that making her happy is enough to make him happy. Until suddenly it isn't. He never wanted to be a father, but even the idea that he could have been was enough to cause a fundamental shift in his entire outlook on life. He could have had someone to live for, instead of just survive for. But he had no say in the matter and didn't know until the decision had been made for him. When Mirei told him she had an abortion he snapped. He hit her. The one and only time he raised his hands against her. Disgusted with himself, and wounded by her decision, he left. If he was capable of that, he knew couldn't be the person she had been trying to mold him into. He realized he was nothing but a weight around her neck dragging her down. And so that day signals the end of their short marriage. He spends the next several decades drowning in guilt for his actions while still resenting her for her choice.
That leaves us with Kiryu. Poor, oblivious Kiryu. Majima's fixation is multifaceted but in no small part due to the fact that Kiryu is one of the few people strong enough to hurt him, but is the only one that doesn't want to. And Majima just doesn't understand. After everything, he only deserves to hurt, right? Saejima, Yasuko, Makoto, Mirei. Everyone who gets too close to him ends up worse for it, so why won't Kiryu and his sense of honor seek justice on their behalf? So he does everything he possibly can to wind up Kiryu enough to Pay Attention Damnit, Fight Me. But Kiryu's response is always just flustered awkwardness because he doesn't want like fighting, it's just a part of his job, like wearing a suit or answering a phone. To Kiryu fighting isn't a thing done because it's enjoyable, it's done because it has to be. But he's still the only one who doesn't flinch when Majima brandishes a knife inches from his face.
And then Kiryu is arrested and in jail for ten years. And ten years is a long time to build someone up onto a pedestal. Like only wanting to talk about the best of a person after they've died. The same thing happened with Saejima. Build them in his mind to what he wants or needs them to be since they are not there to actively correct it. The decade is pretty miserable, going through the motions and trying to not make waves with the bigwigs while terrifying the minions into obedience. When he hears Kiryu is being released it is like waking up again. He all but waits at the taxi stand at the entrance of Kamurocho on the day of Kiryu's release, all but vibrating with excitement. It's a fight he has been waiting on for a decade, too bad it was little more than a disappointment.
So Majima decides to bring him back up to spec in that very Majima flavored way. Small fights, big fights, surprise fights. Kiryu is still reluctant because he doesn't have a reason beyond Majima's dreamed up training program he doesn't actually want to be a part of. Of course this only leads Majima to do everything possible to get under Kiryu's skin, including sharing his personal vulnerabilities while disguising them as jokes just to cause fights, but Kiryu just kind of rolls with it which leads to confusion and frustration on both sides. After a while Majima starts to get into Kiryu's hobbies, like pocket circuit, ostensibly as another form of picking a fight. And he discovers he actually enjoys a lot of it. And they are both too dense and emotionally stunted to realize they're basically dating at this point. At multiple points Majima takes potentially lethal blows meant for Kiryu and the excuse that he is the only one allowed to kill Kiryu is very, very thin. He just can't quite admit out loud that he doesn't want to see Kiryu truly hurt because that's weakness and he is Not Weak (tm).
Shimano's death and Kiryu's departure from the clan come as a whirlwind that destroys him all over again. He's left directionless. So he leaves the Tojo in an attempt to find his own way in the world, for the first time in over twenty years.
I think I need to call it here for now. I know I've left out Saejima and Daigo, among others, but I've been working on this for days and my progress has been eaten twice and I just don't have the energy to keep going right at this time. Maybe some day in the future I'll find the time and energy to write out the rest for all the other games.
tl;dr What Majima wants and what he needs are two different things. He wants to fightfuck, but he needs to be bear hugged into submission so that he can have that mental breakdown he's been carefully bottling up for over thirty years. He needs a good, ugly cry. And therapy. Lots and lots of therapy.
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secondhand-trash · 5 years
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Crush Culture
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A/N: Me? Writing for even more fandoms that none of my followers are here for? It’s more likely than you think. (I’m just kidding please don’t leave) (Also, carrying on with my favourtie game of “find the reference” as I hid a Fleabag reference somewhere yeye)
Pairing: Aizawa Shouta x reader
Description: You were certain that the crush you had years ago died out. But as you took up a position at your mother school, seeing the same person you crushed on seems to prove it otherwise.
Warning: Drunkness, swearing, slight slight slight sexual implications, injuries
Word count: 6415
Playlist: 
Please Notice//Christian Leave
Je te laisserai des mots//Patrick Watson
Crush Culture//Conan Gray
-
You stood in front of the gates that you were so familiar with and was overwhelmed by the sudden wash of nostalgia. How long had it been since you were last here? The last time you stepped out of those concrete walls, you were barely an adult, unknowing of how brutal the world you longed to be a part of could be. This time round, you walked back into the campus you spent the best years of your life at with the same pound in your heart that you held all those years ago but for a completely different reason.
You’d never considered education to be a potential career path for you, your heart had always been set on the crime fighting aspect of the pro-hero lifestyle. Upon graduation, you decided to go from agency to agency unlike most of your peers. You never settled in one place, moving from country to country as you saw fit. There was something about the excitement of being somewhere foreign that enticed you. It was tiring, but you loved it no less.
Which was why everyone you know was shocked to hear that you were the one who took up that new position back at the dear alma mater. When getting the questions your friends bombarded your way, you simply shrugged. You’ve had your fun, now it seems to be a good time for you to settle down after 10 years of what most people deemed as reckless. And you missed Japan anyways.
Passing by groups of chattering students, you couldn’t help but smile at how similar they were to you when you were the one wearing the grey uniform. “Funny,” you thought to yourself, “it was 10 years ago but it felt like yesterday to me.”
Principle Nezu greeted you at the front door of the main building. As he toured you around the new facilities of the campus, he explained that UA decided that it would be a good idea to hire more staff after the USJ incident. “And who better for it than one of our own!” Nezu said and you couldn’t fight the smile that crept onto your face.
“Everyone!” Nezu said in his usual delighted tone as he opened the door to the staff room. The pounding in your chest returned as everyone dropped their work and turned their heads at your direction. No matter how familiar you were with this school, the nerves of starting all over with a new identity was still permanent. “This is our new teaching assistant (y/l/n) san! I’m sure that some of you already know them from the time they were a fellow pupil at UA but make sure to give them a warm welcome no less!”
You kept a composed smile as your new colleagues greet you. Nezu was right when he said that UA always favoured its own as you vaguely recognizing each of the staff as people you had seen on campus or in old school photographs, easing your anxiousness just a bit. Some of them were people you used to admire, like All Might who still left you a bit astonished after getting a firm handshake from such a legendary figure, and it brought an odd sense of pride to think that although you might not be their equal, you were among them now.
But even though you were thrilled to meet everyone you only heard of in tales, seeing the familiar faces of Yamada Hizashi and Aizawa Shouta brought a genuine feeling of joy to you. Unlike others, these two were people that actually helped you when you were in your first year and they were about to leave their school like behind. You looked up to your upperclassmen, and share a similar position as people you admired felt like a full circle.
“Yoooooo (y/l/n)---!” you braced yourself for the endearing throb in your eardrum as the blonde man gave you a firm pat on the back. It would have been obnoxious if it had been someone else, but somehow the loud persona worked perfectly for Present Mic, “You looked so different from what I remembered. I almost felt like I watch you grow up, now that you’re established in the industry.”
“What can I say? Life after school certainly wasn’t easy.” you grinned as he continued on about the short year that you were in school the same time as he was, Aizawa watching on like he wasn’t involved in all the events his friend mentioned. You had always find their dynamic to be intriguing, they were polar opposites but they made the dream team.  
“Interesting how you guys know each other so well when third years don’t usually come in contact with first years that often.” Midnight commented in the middle of Yamada’s rambling and the corner of his lips curled up. You almost winced, knowing exactly what he was going to say.
“Well, (y/l/n) chan here used to come around our classroom all the time. Although I’m sure that they weren’t there for me. In fact-”
“Let’s not go there.” You hid your panic under a playful eye roll and Yamada pursed his lips into a thin smirk as Midnight’s brow raised in amusement. You adored your friend, but you had no intention of letting him brought up what he wanted to reveal in front of so many others that you were desperately trying to leave a good impression upon. Yamada had been the one to tease you ever since you met but he was kind enough to humor you as he dropped the subject, returning to his desk to carry on with whatever he was working on before you entered the room.
The chatter died down and you were left to your own device as you started to settle down on your designated seat, very conveniently against the seemingly tired man who haven’t said a word to you since you walked in. You contemplated making small talk but decided to leave it upon seeing how he was almost dozing off. Time put its strain on the man but the “don’t disturb” aura Aizawa emitted somewhat brought you the comfort of seeing how some things never change.
Why had you crushed on this man anyways?
“It’s been long.”
The groggy voice took you aback and you lifted your head to stare at the man in front of you, now looking more awake. Your mind went blank as you didn’t expect him to strike a conversation. “Yeah." you felt pathetic at how breathy you sounded and that you couldn’t even give a proper respond with more than one word.
Aizawa looked at you with the expression you knew so well but still had no idea how to read, “You haven’t changed much.”
For whatever reason, you felt a weird bitterness on your tongue at his nonchalant comment. Despite it being exactly what you expected from him. “I guess I could say the same for you.” you quickly flashed him a smile and pretend to fumble through your bag, not wanting to know if his gaze lingered on you any longer. Not that you wanted it to.
Working at UA was nothing like what you used to do but you settled in nicely. You didn’t have to teach any classes, mostly helping with administration and paperwork while occasionally offering extra support in trainings when needed. After practically running on adrenaline every day for so long, it was nice to live by a schedule for a change. You got on with the kids nicely, not having to be in charge of classes meant that you got to take up the role of the fun, sarcastic TA that banters with students. Your fellow staff played a huge role in easing your way back into the academy, being helpful and supportive as always. No matter how tired you were, seeing everyone pouring their heart into everything they do gave you the push to strive on. To be fair, it felt weird to work with people you used to somewhat put on a pedestal. But somewhere between Yamada’s loud voice echoing off the walls and Aizawa trying to shut him out by zipping his sleeping bag all the way up, it felt like home all over again.
“Class, Present Mic sensei is out for a meeting today so I’ll be substituting for him.” You said as you flipped through the handouts Yamada had given you before he left the school. The excited whispers of class 1-A did not slip through your ears and you almost snickered at how naive they were to think that they would have a free period only to smirk when you heard their groans after you handed them the blank assignment.
“You have until the bell rings to finish the assignment, feel free to ask me if you need any help.”
Despite their initial protest, the room was soon left with nothing but the sound of pen scribbling. You pulled out the files you were working on, making use of the free time you were given as the students focused on their own work. There were occasional whispers here and there but you let it slide, you were never a believer of silence equal attentiveness anyways. That was until the squeaks at the corner grew louder and a sleeve was waving in the air as a girl with pink skin whispered something into thin air.
“Yes?”
“Um, (y/l/n) sensei,” the girl, whose name was Hagakure as you found out from taking a quick glance at the seating plan, timidly asked, “what’s your relationship with Aizawa sensei?”
Relationship? You were working together? But they already knew that. “Hm,” you tilted your head, thinking about what could possibly get her to ask you that, “He was two year ahead of me at school so technically he’s my senpai, if that’s what you’re referring to.”
“No, but like personally?”
Ashido added, clearly dissatisfied with the answer you gave her friend. The rest of the class stopping their movements and looking up at you, the curious look in their eyes showing you that it wasn’t a question only a few of them have in mind.
“Personally?” you teasingly quirked your brow, entertained by her eagerness, “What exactly do you think our personal relationship is?”
“Well,” she stuttered, slightly embarrassed from exposing her purpose, “Aizawa sensei seems to talk more when he was around you and you were always smiling when he talks so we thought...”
“You thought?”
“That you two might be romantically involved.” Todoroki bluntly said and the class murmured in agreement.
You did not expect that. You didn’t really think that Aizawa treated you any differently from his other colleagues. Even if he did pay more attention to you, you simply took it as it being an old habit from him being the eldest and you being the youngest of the school back then. As for the smiling part, being friendly when someone talks to you was called “manners”. Everyone who went to school with you knew how painfully unrequited your crush was on the upperclassman. For people to question whether you were an item with the same person you pinned after now that you had gotten over him was nowhere near anything you expected.
“We are not,” a few of them narrowed their eyes, clearly not buying what you said, “now get back to your work. Present Mic is going to kill me if he knows that you couldn’t get it done by time because you were too busy gossiping.”
As silence filled the room once again, you tried to focus on your own work but you couldn’t get the boy’s words out of your head. In all honesty, it infuriated you a little. You did not spend your three years in high school being “the one who likes Eraser Head” to be mistaken as a couple with him after you spent so much effort doing the opposite of that once you gave up. Of all people, you cursed in your head, of all the people you could have wasted years going after, you had to fall for the one who find dating to be too much of a chore. Why did you torture yourself like that? You asked, as if you couldn’t pin point the exact moment you realized your feelings for the black-haired male was more than admiration.
You knew that spring had arrived when you felt the first pink petal landing on your shoulder, quietly letting you know that although it was the start of a new year for mother nature, your first year at UA was about to end. It was weird to think that you were a potential pro-hero when you didn’t feel much difference from being an ordinary civilian even after months of harsh training. You found yourself wondering if you were truly suitable for this lifestyle at times, you simply thought that you got lucky in your admission exams. Comparing to those around you, you were nothing special. You weren’t one of those who dreamt of being a hero since they were young and you were nowhere near being the most heroic. You weren’t the best at forming tactics and your combat skills were serviceable at best, you were kinda just there. When everyone had such a clear vision of what kind of hero they wanted to become, even hesitating on things like that made you feel bad for taking up a spot that so many would fight to get on.
You pushed the door to the rooftop and let out a deep sigh as the heavy door slammed shut. You had been eating alone here for a while now, despite your friends inviting you to go to the canteen with them. You needed the time of being alone to clear your mind. You tried to talk to your friends about the many questions looming your mind, but realized that they didn’t get why you had them in the first place as they kept telling you how you were already doing well enough. You appreciated the reassurance but it did not ease the self-doubt that kept coming back to haunt you.
Your eyes widened as you saw a figure sitting at your usual spot, failing to hide your disappointment. You looked closer to see that it was Aizawa Shouta from third year. You had been around him for a few times but found him to be the most intimidating out of all the third years that you encountered. You had spent enough time around him to know that he did not hate you but not enough to know if he considered you a friend. Although his chatty friends would always include you in conversations when you happened to be around them for programs or school functions, you never knew if he was secretly being annoyed by you and his expression or the lack there of made you hesitate to approach him.
You were about to turn around and leave when he caught you in the corner of his eye. “(y/l/n)?”
“Aizawa senpai!” you startled and abruptly turn back to face him, “I’m sorry, did I interrupt you?”
“It’s fine, I’m all alone anyways.” Aizawa looked at you and added as he saw how nervous you were, “You can stay if you want.”
You wanted nothing but to escape the awkwardness. Still, you carefully sat next to him, keeping some distance as you did not want to seem rude and muttered a word of thanks.
For a while, you two were just eating in complete silence and the beating in your chest was killing you. The silence was dreadful as you contemplated to talk to him many times before the fear of annoying him pushed each attempt to the back of your head.
“How’s school?”
You almost flinched as the sudden sound of his deep voice broke the silence. “It’s alright.” you tried to give the standard response, believing that Aizawa was only trying to be nice and not really that interested. He hummed and looked at you. You wanted to back to the wall under his gaze, not knowing how to read the look in his eyes.
“Hm,” he said with his eyes still fixed on you, “you looked tired.”
You instantly touched the area under your eyes, wondering if you had any dark circles that gave it away. Aizawa quietly added upon seeing your reaction. “As in mentally. Something on your mind?”
You mind was racing as you stayed silent. You thought you hid it well, not even your friends could notice how bothered you were but somehow this person who you were so sure he was emotionally detached picked up on it. Knowing him, you could easily brush it off and he would not pester you any further. But he was right, you were tired and your doubt went flooding at the slightest bit of compassion you were given.
“It’s just, sometimes I feel like I shouldn’t be here,” you said, “I know that passing the test and surviving a whole year is a sign that it was not a mistake that I am. But the thing is, I don’t have to. I’m not as determined as the others and I know that I’ll do just fine being a civilian, the world won’t miss anything. So many people are saying that I’m so lucky to be here and they would kill to be in my place but I just feel such a good chance is wasted on me.”
Aizawa looked a bit dumbfounded at your sudden explosion. “So I don’t know why I’m still doing this. I don’t know and that scares me,” you let out a dry laugh, “even thinking about it makes me feel stupid.”
You weren’t sure why you were telling him all this when you didn’t had the guts to talk to him minutes before but you would be lying if you said it didn’t feel good to let it all out. For a while, neither of you said anything and the same silence that made you crawl in your skin just then became soothing to you now. He diverted his stare away from you for a moment as if he was thinking of something to say and you realized how confusing your rant must be to him.
“I’m so sorry, I didn’t know what came over me but I-”
“You’re not stupid,” he looked at you thoughtfully and it caught your breath in your throat, “you just haven’t grown up, that’s all.”
You didn’t know what to say and he looked away from you once again as his words sink in. To an outsider, it might sounded dismissive or belittling. If anything, to you, it meant that you still had a long way to go and that’s expected, but one day you’ll grow into your own person.
And even though he had no idea, that one mindless sentence gave you more direction to keep going than anything else.
Ever since then, you started to be around Yamada and Aizawa more often. The former very quickly picked up on the reason behind it and teased you relentlessly as you two were pretty good friends even before you developed you not so subtle crush on his best friend. It didn’t take long for everyone else to notice, part of it owing to Present Mic’s lack of awareness on how loud he could be and his obvious attempts of acting as a wingman. There was no way that Aizawa didn’t know it himself, he probably didn’t care about people’s gossiping but he certainly wasn’t blind. Yet, he did not treat you any differently than before. Some part of you expected him to distance from you to avoid getting more people to talk as it seems far more likely than him returning your feelings but he didn’t even show signs of rejection. By the end they graduated, everyone in the school including the teachers knew of your poorly hidden affection.
It didn’t help that you went to the agency Aizawa worked at for your internship. You literally paled when you walked into the office on your first day and saw him sitting there. On one hand, you were glad to be close to your crush but you were sure that you looked like an actual stalker. You were so sure that he would try to steer clear from you, but he didn’t. In fact, it didn’t felt much different from when you were still at school together. Perhaps it was your classmates’ fault for betraying you but you were sure that even people from the agency knew as you were always randomly paired up with Aizawa in missions. You swore that you did not know and it was a complete accident but no one believed you. Your attempts at explaining yourself only fueled the fire even more.
You weren’t sure if you were relieved for your internship to be over as you approached your graduation. You were grateful that Aizawa was nice enough to still be your friend when everyone practically made fun of you both whenever you two interacted in any sort of way but it pained you no less. His lack of acknowledgement on your obvious crush cemented your fate and you finally had enough. Who hurt you? No one but yourself, and that’s the worst part of it. Getting over someone you had loved for 3 years was tough but you made it work after pouring you entire soul into striving for the goal you spent so long finding. It was one of the things that made you glad you decided to work overseas, the distance definitely helped.
You let out a sigh of relieve the day you realized you no longer felt the rush of emotions whenever you came across Aizawa Shouta in anyway.
So for people to still suspect anything till this day was a slap to the face, you would go lengths just to deny the possibility that the feelings you tried so hard to bury down under was still there. You rubbed your temples as you tried to get your mind back on the files in front of you again. You already dwelled on it for too long.
“Are you sure that there’s nothing going on between you and Aizawa sensei?” Ashido asked once again as you walked around to collect their assignments.
“Nothing!” you shook your head with a defeated laugh.
“How about back when you were a student?”
That hit too close to home and you didn’t lie through it as quickly as you wanted to. Somehow, pretending like those long days of painful pining didn’t happen at all came off wrongly to you. “According to your logic, I could be getting on with Present Mic too.” you smirked as she fell silence upon seeing that you were not giving in any sooner.
“Besides,” you said to the girl with you hand on the doorknob, “imagine how tiring it’d be to like someone so insensibly logic driven?”
You almost felt your heart drop dead as you closed the door to see Aizawa standing in the hallway, his head bobbing as he was dozing off. Speak of the fucking devil, how long had he been there? “Aizawa sensei?”
His lids opened as you called out for him and he walked next to you with his sleeping bag in hand. “Heard that you were substituting for those kids,” he said, voice hoarse from his slumber, “passing by to check if they give you a hard time.”
“They’re really sweet, actually.” You replied with a smile and you couldn’t help but think of what his students said to you as you noticed the lift in the corner of your lips. Smiling was normal, no?
“Is that so.”
“Quit it,” you snickered at how apathetic he sounded, “you adore them. You’re just being harsh, you have always been.”
“Have I?”
“Well,” you thought of all the times he scolded you for the minor mistakes you made, “you were harsh to me.”
Aizawa scoffed, “That’s because I had expectations on you. People would let your errors slide when you are still learning, but you don’t get forgiveness that easily when you go into the profession for real. I was trying to get you prepared.” You mockingly threw you hand in the air, laughing as he rolled his eyes at you.
That’s when you felt that familiar warmth at the bottom of your stomach, mixing together with dread as you immediately realized exactly what it implied.
“What do you mean everyone is going out for a drink and what do you mean you forgot to tell me?”
“We didn’t leave you out on purpose, I promise!” you rolled your eyes at the slurring tone of your colleague from the other end of the call. You were still at school, trying to make the most out of the last school day before summer break starts to finish up a few reports you were helping Nezu on. To say that you felt betrayed when you got a call from Midnight saying that everyone was out at a bar and they completely forgotten to invite you would be an understatement.
“And you’re calling me now because?” you wanted to act like you were mad but couldn’t hold in your laughter at how drunk Nemuri was so different from the Midnight you worked with every day.
“Because the night is still young and we want to make up to you! Come on, I’ll send you the address and you can come over! Alright? Good!”
“Wait, Nemuri? I’m not-” And she hung up. How many drinks did she take? You stared at the blank screen of your phone until a message from the woman popped up, showing the address of a bar downtown. Your gaze flicked between the address and the reports on your desk. You let out an exaggerated sigh as you shoved the files into your bag, you could use a drink.
Pushing the door open tentatively, you squinted your eyes to let it get used to the dim lighting of the bar. The bar wasn’t that big and you looked around, trying to find the group of very likely drunk pro-heroes but there was no sign of your friends. Had they left? You silently evaluate the possibility of using the fact they left you out on bar night AND stood you up to guilt them into giving you less work in the next semester.
The bar was quiet with only the occasional clinking of glass and the sound of soft jazz flowing through the shop. Seeing as you had nowhere to go now that the plan to bond with your colleagues seemed unlikely, you sat down on one of the stools at the bar and glanced around to look for the bartender. It was then you saw that someone was actually sitting next to you. Well, they were sitting but the way they laid down with their head on the bar table, you were pretty certain that they had passed out.
You thanked the bartender as he gave you your drink and took a sip, feeling more at ease as you felt the sting sliding down your throat. You took in your surroundings once again, that’s when you noticed the very familiar scarf and black hair of the person who passed out like a corpse next to you.
You gave the person a light poke on the shoulder and gasped when the body jerked awake. “Aizawa?”
He rubbed his eyes and you saw how blood shot they were as he looked at you, slightly confused. “(y/l/n)? What are you doing here?” he asked and stiffly looked around him, “where’s everybody else?”
“Guess they left you here the same way the same way they did with me,” you said, trying to suppress your grin, “why are you here? I don’t really expect you to be the ‘getting drunk with friends from work’ type of person.” There was something very entertaining about seeing someone who was usually so composed looking almost disheveled. You couldn’t recall any moment in your memory of Aizawa looking nearly as clueless as he was now.
“Present Mic dragged me along.” he groaned and rubbed his temple, brows knitting together. He looked like he was in pain, you almost laughed as you imagine what the rest of the crew had done to get him to this state.
You snorted, no longer trying to hide your amusement, “Aizawa sensei, are you ok?”
“Oh fuck you,” he dragged his palm across his face and slid it down his jaw before looking at you once again, “calling me ‘sensei’ like it doesn’t turn you on just to say it.”
You laughed and drank the rest of your drink. You should have been more bashful at how he basically called you out like that but you were too amused to be embarrassed. This was the first time he showed any signs that he was aware of your old crush in the past 10 years, who knew that alcohol could be so powerful?
“So you knew.” you mindlessly traced the rim of your glass. You were sure that any signs of your dead crush resurfacing was just a side effect of being around Aizawa on a daily basis again after shutting all thoughts of him out of your head for the past years. Whenever you felt the fluttering in your stomach from being around him, you brushed it off as your mind finding someone convenient to be emotionally attached to. You managed to convince yourself that you didn’t care about him like that anymore than you were not as phased as you thought you would at his sudden boldness.
“Hard to ignore all the snickering from literally anyone who knew both of us, “He tapped his finger on the wooden surface of the bar table gently, “and Hizashi was always nagging me to date you.”
You were lost in thought as you recalled the many times you wondered if he even knew of your affection for him. Lips almost quivering, you asked the one question that used to bother you so much, “Why didn’t you say anything?”
He stared at you and you didn’t look away, desperately trying to guess what was going on in his head right now, something you gave up doing a long time ago. “Because I thought that you would give up eventually, that you would realize I’m not worth wasting your time on and find someone who actually treats you nicely.” he said and you felt a painful pang in your chest, “Hell, I wasn’t even interested in relationships. Why bother with someone like that?”
“Trust me,” you sighed in disappointment as you forgot that you had downed the shot you were holding in hand and motioned for a refill before carrying on, “I had asked myself that many times. Wouldn’t have done it if it was a choice I was given.”
“I didn’t expect you to hold onto it for so long,” he paused before adding in a much softer voice, “I almost asked you out by the time you were about to graduate.”
“But you didn’t," you said in a whisper, “and by then I finally gave up.”
Aizawa was about to say something when the bartender handed you another glass of whiskey and you two fell into silence again. You took a gulp, still feeling his stare on you.
“I’m not the same kid who took everything you said to heart anymore.”
“I know, you’re better and stronger than that kid,” the man said in a way that you would mistake as vulnerable if you didn’t know any better, “which means that although I’m regretting everything I did, I know better than anyone that my chance was long gone.”
Was it? You hated how he so easily swayed your heart that was so determined to shut him out.
He watched you take another sip of liquor without responding to him at all and let out a soft sigh, “Should I try going after you for 3 years too?”
“Please don’t,” you begged mockingly, “I know firsthand how troublesome that would be.”
You didn’t miss the slight tug at the corner of his lips and despite your better judgment, you smiled.
What is going on?
Oh god, what is going on?
A million thought went through your head as the alarm of the camp cries at the back. When they told you to help in the first year’s summer camp, you didn’t exactly foresee a lockdown to protect students from a sudden attack.
“But sensei! We should be out there helping the others-”
“No you are not.” you said as you rushed the students to go into the room. You understood why they wanted to put themselves out there but you simply couldn’t let them take the risk.
“They are surrounded by villains in the middle of a forest-”
“Which is exactly why you are staying right where you are.” Vlad King walked in with Aizawa, both in their full gear, “We need to make sure that as many students are safe as possible.”
The kids tried to argue but their protests were quickly shut down. “Vlad King, you stay here with them. I’m going in.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“What?” Aizawa said and the way he sounded like he couldn’t believe what you just said infuriated you at the worst timing possible.
“I said ‘I’ll go with you’,” you tapped your foot impatiently, “you aren’t expecting me to just stay here and do nothing, don’t you?”
The reality was, you were fuming. It was a training camp, yes, but it was supposed to be a chance for those kids to learn and make memories that would last a lifetime and now their lives were on the line because some villain decided to barge in. You wouldn’t let yourself live it down if you stay behind knowing full well you could do more being out there fighting. You snarled, “You had expectations on me back then, have expectations on me now. I’m not any less of a pro than you are.”
He stared at you and for the first time in ever, you could make up on what that look in his eyes meant and it was filled with worry. You would have been touched if you weren’t having such an emergency. Deep down, some part of him knew that he was in no place to worry over you because you were right, you were just as capable as he was. But he just couldn’t help it.
“Of course.” he sighed and started walking towards the main entrance of the building with you closely following suit. He turned to face you again before opening the door, “Don’t do anything reckless.”
You rolled your eyes when you heard his excessive reminder. And remembering that made you feel so guilty as you sat on the stiff bed of the hospital, bandages wrapped around the entire upper part of your body and Aizawa stood by the side as he looked down at you.
“I was trying to shield the students from an attack-”
“With your body.”
“It was too sudden.” you winced in pain as you moved on of your strained muscles as you talked and he immediately leaned down to help you into a more comfortable position.
“You could have died.”
“Or let those kids take a direct hit? I would rather die-”
You were gonna give him a snarky response to ensure him that you were fine and you would recover very soon but the words were caught in your throat as you felt the sudden embrace of his arm across your shoulder, pressing you to his chest in such a tender way like he was afraid of breaking you.
“Please don’t do that again.”
You could feel the vibration in his chest before it hit you in full force and sent shivers done your spine. You muttered in a barely audible whisper, “This is so unfair.”
He arched his head towards you to give you a questioning look and you looked into his eyes, once again filled with the realization of how much of a disadvantage you were in. It wasn’t fair that he could just come in and be genuinely worried about you, knowing full well that it would only make it harder for you to not fall in love with him all over again. He couldn’t just do that, tugging at your heart strings like that when you were the one who had to spend years trying to forget that feeling. You used to crave that look in his eyes and you spent years pretending you didn’t in hope that it would be the truth one day. You spent years getting over him. You spent years not thinking of him whenever you see a stray cat on the streets. You spent years just to stop comparing all of the people who showed an interest on you to him. You spent years to not be in love with him. And he got to just wrap his arm around you and you would still lean into his touch. And it was so unfair, so so so unfair.
“Please stop,” you uttered, “I can’t go back to pining after you again. I’m too old for that.”
Aizawa pressed his forehead to yours and a smile crept onto your face at how uncharacteristically soft he was being, “I meant it when I said I’ll do the pining this time round.”
You snickered, surprised that he remembered his own drunk talking. “And I meant it when I said there’s no need to.”
You were having a moment when you heard a loud thump from behind the door and a squeal as well as people shushing at whoever let out the high pitched sound.
Aizawa groaned, “Those kids are a hazard.”
You laughed and put your chin on his shoulder, silently hoping that his class was prepared for the moment when they got back to school.
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