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hyuckssunchip · 3 years

Text

Here’s The Deal

Pairings: Mark x Reader, ft. 00′ line (Renjun, Jeno, Haechan, Jaemin)

Words: 5.9K

Warnings: Language (there is almost always language in my writings), slight smut, angst

Summary:

Y/N gets caught in a tight situation as she discovers that her relationship was a lie. Mark knows just how much she really means to him, but how can he prove it after what he’s done? How much was real?

“Hi Y/N!”

“Oh hey Mark,” you say as you slide into your seat and rest your forehead on your desk. You let out a deep sigh.

“What’s up?” He asked laying his own head down to face yours.

You let out another exaggerated sigh, “Nothing. I just didn’t get much sleep last night. I was up all night working on my writing assignment for philosophy.”

“Oh… Well maybe you and I can go to that one cafe to get coffee together. Maybe lunch?” Mark offered quietly.

“Huh?”

“You know, after class so you can wake up.” He said, quieter and less sure of himself.

“Oh… Well, I actually don’t like coffee. But thanks for the offer anyways.” You said, lifting your head up slightly, just enough to give him a weak smile.

Mark looked at you, furrowing his eyebrows and biting his lip. He gives you a slight nod before leaning back in his chair. He then turned his head to the right shaking his head at his friends that sat adjacent to him.

THE NEXT DAY

“Just ask her!”

“Shhh! Don’t talk so loud!”

“Grow some balls man!”

“Guys can you just shut up?! This is not helping. Telling me to man up is not going to get her to say yes.”

“Well maybe, stop beating around the bush and straight up ask her!”

“Would you two shut up? You are not the one who has to---”

“Oh hey guys. What are you still doing here? Class ended like half an hour ago?” You say, accidentally interrupting their conversation.

“Uh.. We’re uh… just discussing our project for uh… drama? Yeah. Drama.” Mark’s friend Jaemin answered.

“Drama? Why the hell would we be in drama?” Renjun hissed at Jaemin. After a couple seconds of painful silence Jeno nudged Mark forward.

“Uhh.. yeah. What are you doing here?” He asked stumbling towards you a bit.

“Oh… I just left my notebook here.” You said pointing towards the blue spiral notebook on one of the desks. “I’ll just grab it real quick and let you guys get back to your… discussing.” You said, giggling a little at the thought of them doing drama.

“Mark! Do it now!” Haechan whispered to Mark pushing him into you. As you struggled to keep your balance from the new weight of Mark, he wrapped his arms around yours to stabilize the both of you.

“Oh, sorry.” he said, quickly shoving himself away from you as if you burned him.

“Actually we’re done discussing our project, right Jaemin?” Jeno said, looking sharply at his younger friend, who nodding vigorously at you. Before you knew it they were gone and you were left alone with Mark.

“Hey, maybe… do you want to… watch that new movie that came out? Crazy Rich Asians?” Mark suddenly asked out of the blue.

“Oh! Yeah I heard that was going to be really good. I’d love to go! My roommate really wants to see that, I’ll ask when she’s free.” You reply excitedly.

Mark let out a sigh of exasperation before grabbing your shoulders and forcing you to face him. “Are you totally oblivious or just trying to let me down easy?” He asked staring into your eyes. For some odd reason you couldn’t seem to look away and suddenly your heart skipped a beat.

TWO WEEKS LATER

You and Mark had been dating for a month, ever since he confronted you and made you realize your feelings for him.

For the short amount of time that the two of you had actually been dating, you two were really close. You had gotten physical pretty quickly, although you didn’t mind it too much. Mark was something else, he made you feel things you had never felt before and it had become almost addicting.

However, despite this the two of you haven’t slept together yet, after all it was only a few weeks of dating, way too soon for you. On multiple occasions you had gotten close but were interrupted, you were secretly thankful that the two of you couldn’t go further.

Your relationship wasn’t about the physical, Mark made you happier than you thought was possible. His constant laughing and goofy smile always had you thankful to have him around. He really did brighten your day.

Mark was sweet and thoughtful, always coming up with spontaneous dates for the two of you and kind gestures that made your heart skip.

You’ve never been in love before, but maybe, just maybe you were on the right track this time.

It was Saturday, and for once you had panned a surprise for your boyfriend. A picnic date. You climbed the few flights of stairs that led to his dorm, which he shared with Haechan and Renjun, two of his friends that you were acquainted with. Nothing more than a couple of interactions, but you’ve never run into them at their dorm, save for the time they caught you and Mark in a compromising position.

Just as you were about to knock on his door, you heard voices behind the door. You knew that you shouldn’t eavesdrop, but you couldn’t help but lean in.

With your ear pressed against the door, you could clearly distinct between each of their voices.

“I don’t know. I’m so close it's just frustrating!” Clearly Mark.

“Why don't you just go for it? Why are you dancing around?” Jeno?

“I don't want to make her do anything that she doesn't want to. Especially if she’s not ready.” Your heart swelled at Mark’s response.

“What do you mean? Why do you care?” You frowned at Haechan’s response, why wouldn’t he care?

“Ha! Don't tell me you’re actually starting to like her?” You froze.

Her? Is there someone else? Is he talking about me?

There was a pregnant pause.

“Dude?!”

“... guys… stop.”

“She’s a fucking bet! Just finish it quickly, you’re so close. If you don’t we’re all fucked! You know that!” You felt like throwing up. A bet?

“Mark! Tae Oh will kill us if you don’t finish this! Please!” Finish this? Am I a game?

“I know! You don’t think I know that?! You think I want this?!”

With your ear still pressed firmly against the door, you let out a muffled cry.

“Fuck!”

As he yelled, you flinched and backed yourself away from the door.

You let out a silent sob and rushed back to your dorm room, leaving spilled contents of your picnic along the way. As you pushed your way into your dorm, thankful that both of your roommates happened to be gone, you threw yourself on your bed.

Your emotions were all over the place, you were sobbing, upset that you weren’t enough for him, upset that you were a bet, upset that he had made a fool of you. But like a flip of the switch you became pissed. He played with you, with your feelings as if you were nothing. Nothing he said or did was real, your whole relationship was a lie.

You wiped your eyes dry and wrung your hands, pausing when you felt the promise ring Mark had given you just recently for your one month anniversary. More angry than you had ever been you ripped your ring off your finger and chucked it across the room hitting the door. It bounced off and landed under your desk, but you didn’t care enough to pay attention.

Just as you were cooling off you got a goodnight text from Mark. On any other day you would be swooning at the cute text, but today you were not having it. You ignored his texts and ended up falling asleep before your roommates ever made it back.

The next morning you woke up to your alarm blaring, looking at the clock you realized you hit snooze one too many times and rushed to the door. You made to class with little time to spare and even before the professor made it. You scanned the room for a seat, and found a few. There was one next to Mark, saved for you as usual but you stopped yourself, opting to sit next to Jisung. You smiled awkwardly at him as you sunk into the seat. You felt your phone buzz again and ignored the text as soon as you saw Mark’s name on your screen. You sigh and ignore the text, pulling out your notebook and start doodling.

Mark frowned to himself a couple of rows behind you. He couldn’t focus the entire class and couldn’t help but stare at you confused. Before he knew it the class was over and you were rushing past him, not even sparing a glance. Before he could gather his things you were gone.

To be honest, it was a lot of work avoiding Mark. It’s like he had it on his agenda to track you, normally you would absolutely love it, but as of right now that was the last thing you wanted.

At some point you were out of energy and could no longer continue the chase.

“Can we talk?” Mark asked, nervously wringing his hands together.

You sighed, thinking that there wasn’t really much else you could do. Stopping in your tracks you plopped down on the empty bench you were close to passing. You tried to hold back a scoff, sure that he was worried about losing his bet. It took everything in you not to throw that in his face and stalk off.

You heard Mark let out a relieved sigh, collapsing into the spot next to you, but consciously leaving a respectable gap between the two of you.

For a moment the two of you sat in silence, neither wanted to get to the discussion at hand.

“What happened?” There was a quiver in his voice and you cursed your heart for wavering at the sound. No matter how upset you were, you still liked him and could’t help but feel guilty at suddenly ghosting the desperate boy.

You glanced at his side profile and admired him. He was leaning over his knees, staring intensely at his shoes.

For the first time since you overheard his conversation you thought about his position.

Why did he even do the bet in the first place? Mark was a nice guy, at least that’s what you had always thought. And why was Tae Oh threatening them?

You recalled what you had heard. Jeno had said that Tae Oh would kill them if Mark couldn’t finish the bet. Did that mean he was in trouble?

With one last glance at the forlorn boy next to you, you had decided. It was a stupid idea, and it would only hurt you, but for some reason you couldn’t stand the thought of Mark suffering. To the point where you would put him before you.

“Nothing happened.” You mumbled out, your internal conflict starting to give you a headache.

His eyes searched for yours, “Why are you avoiding me?”

“I’m not.” You gulped, refusing to meet his eyes.

“I swear you just ran the other direction, and it took me so long to get you to talk to me. If I did something wrong we can talk about it, otherwise we can’t fix it.” He pulled your hand into his hesitantly, rubbing softly over the skin, sending warmth through your body. You didn’t miss the frown on his face when he noticed your ring wasn’t on the usual finger.

You pulled your hand out of his, wiping your palms on your jeans and fumbling with your fingers.

“I promise you nothing is wrong, I’m just stressed about school. You know cause finals are coming up.” You hoped he would fall for it, after all he knew how you were during testing periods.

“Right.” His eyes shook, “How about we have a small date night, that’ll make you feel better, right?”

You nodded at nothing in particular, eyes now trained on the bird that was digging for dinner in front of you.

“I’ll pick you up at seven then? We can get take out a watch a movie.” He asked, nodding to himself.

“Uh, I’ll just go to your dorm, I have stuff to do anyways, it’s on the way.” You rejected his offer, not thinking you would be able to pretend for a whole car ride.

“Right.”

You stood up abruptly, not able to take the tension any longer. “I’ll see you tonight then.”

Then as fast as you could you escaped.

You had spent the last few hours thinking about what the bet could possibly be. Tae Oh was one of Mark’s seniors, you often saw them in the same group, but he was notorious for be an ass. There was nothing more to say about that. Tae Oh was an ass and you didn’t doubt for a moment that he was capable of making Mark’s life hell.

Groaning, you ran your hands over your face. Why did you have to care?

You racked your brain for any clues. The other day you had heard Mark saying that he didn’t want to push you. Push you into what?

Tae Oh would’ve only had two things in mind when making the bet, break your heart or sleep with you. You frowned, Tae Oh didn’t know you that well, why would he want to break your heart, and as a horny college student it made more sense for him to want Mark to sleep with you.

Your eyes widened in realization. That’s why they said he was so close. Mark and you had gotten intimate, but never actually did anything. He must have told them that and that’s what they meant by getting close.

You chewed on your bottom lip. Could you do that for him? Honestly, before this whole situation you would’ve been more than willing to sleep with him on your own accord, god knows you were close. But you were starting to feel uncomfortable with the thought after knowing his intentions.

“Y/N?” You jolted up straight, “What are you doing? How long have you been there?”

Mark rubbed the back of his neck, tilting his head in confusion.

“Oh, not long, I was just about to knock.” Your face heated up in embarrassment.

“Oh hey Y/N.” You made eye contact with Renjun who was sitting on the couch with a book, feet in the position of kicking a very focused Haechan.

“Stop it. You’re going to make me die.” Haechan retaliated with a quick shove, “Hey Y/N.”

Though he didn’t look at you, you still smiled at the interaction.

“Let me kick them out, I told them you’d be over around seven.” He laughed quietly at the scene.

“Renjun, you asshole! I died!” The bright flash on the TV screen was proof and Haechan didn’t look like he was going to let it go.

“Guys! Y/N’s here, I told you she was coming.” The other two froze, staring at Mark like they were having a silent conversation before Renjun slammed his book shut.

“Right. Haechan, there’s that new place down the street that has great tacos, let’s go.” He nudged the pouting counterpart aggressively.

“But my game-”

“Haechan.” Renjun raised his eye brows while staring down Haechan, no doubt a sign that it was a chance for Mark to complete the bet.

“Oh. Yeah... I like tacos.” He stood up giving you a short salute. “Bye Y/N.”

He couldn’t help but send a wink in your direction, making you wince in reminder of your situation.

Before you knew it, it was once again just you and Mark.

“So I already ordered, do you want to choose a movie?” Mark made his way to the now unoccupied couch.

“Sure.” You shuffled behind him, mind not really thinking about the movie.

As you fell into the cushion of the couch, Mark slid close to you, eliminating any space that might’ve been between you two.

He pulled you into his arms, gripping you tightly as if he was worried that you would slip away.

“Let’s just stay here for a moment, we can choose a movie when the food gets here.” He mumbled into your neck, eliciting an automatic sigh in response.

“You know I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you on purpose right?” You tensed at his confession, obviously referring to the bet.

“Hmmm.” There was nothing that you could do but hum in response.

Mark began to pepper soft kisses along your neck, leaving a little trail of love bites. You unconsciously opened your neck, giving him more access.

His kisses got deeper, leaving what you know would be dark spots, proof of possession. Soon he reached your mouth, pulling you in. He nipped at your bottom lip, asking for access, to which you gave him without hesitation.

Your hands moved to tangle in his hair, gripping softly and tugging him closer. He groaned into your mouth in response, and you could feel the tips of his mouth curve into a smile.

His hands which were once rubbing your waist, gripped you tightly, pulling you onto his lap where you were forced to straddle him.

For just a moment he was forced to pull away, looking up at you with smiling eyes, searching for the same in your own.

You couldn’t do anything but crash against his lips, leaning your body into his. There was nothing but the thin layers of your shirts, the rapid beating of his heart easily felt, and you knew that he could feel yours as well.

One hand reached up for your neck, a way for him to lock your head in place, digging deeper. The other hand meandered its way to your thigh, massaging your inner thigh, causing you to grind yourself on his lap, getting growl from him underneath you.

You felt a change in him, his grip became more needy, you were sure there would be marks in the morning.

You pulled back for air, startled at the sound of someone at the door.

“Delivery!” Mark sighed, shaking his head for you to ignore it, as he leaned back in to resume.

“Mark, the food’s here.” You mumbled, keeping the distance between you.

“Forget the food, we’ll just order again.” You kept a hand on his chest, preventing him from starting again.

“Mark.”

“Ugh, fine.” You wiggled off his lap and collapsed in the seat you were originally in. Your eyes followed his back as he opened the door, paying for the food and holding the bag in his tight grip. He was especially tart with the man, in an obvious hurry.

Once the door was shut again he slid the food on the coffee table, and crawled on the couch towards you, having every intention of picking up where you left off.

“Mark, the food’s going to get cold.” You giggled at the sounds he made in protest.

He leaned against the back of the couch, throwing his head back in frustration.

“Fine, we’ll eat first.” He cocked his head at you slightly, choosing to ignore the feeling arising in the pit of his stomach.

You stuck your fork in the first container, popping it into your mouth before chewing thoughtfully.

“Mark...” you sighed, “I actually have something to talk to you about.”

You felt the knot in your stomach dissipate, knowing that confronting him would ease your mind. The plan of going through with it tonight didn’t sit right with you, and you knew it would bother you if you didn’t say something.

“Shoot.” He nodded, chowing down himself.

You let out a deep sigh, instantly catching his attention, and put down your fork.

His brows furrowed as he too set his down, a feeling that things were about to become serious.

“I uh...” you cleared your throat. “I actually know about the bet.”

He clearly stiffened and eyes widened at your admission.

“I can explain!” He rushed out, interrupting you in hopes of stopping whatever you were planning on saying.

“Okay.” You said, shocking him with how calm you were.

“Huh?”

“Go ahead, explain it to me.” Although you knew the gist of what was going on, you were actually curious to know how he got roped into something like this.

“Uh... how much do you know?” He cut himself off. “Actually I’ll just tell you everything.”

He reached for the cup of water in front of him, quickly downing it in hopes of drowning his nerves as well.

“Do you know who Tae Oh is? I swear it wasn’t a bet between my friends, they would never do that.” He gulped, watching your blank expression. “I think you’ve met him before, he’s not a great guy.”

There was an obvious shudder from him. “About a month ago he made a bet that I couldn’t get with a girl, and I honestly didn’t care what he thought. But... he has some stuff over Jeno’s head, and he promised that if I succeeded he would let it go.”

You pursed your lips at the mention of Jeno.

“I... I know I told you I’d tell you everything, but I’m not sure it’s right to tell you about Jeno. I can ask him to talk to you, but I can’t tell you.” He bit his lip anxiously, praying that you would understand.

You nodded, admiring his loyalty, despite his current situation. You gestured for him to continue.

“It’s not like I chose you, I would never purposely hurt you or do that to you. I... I honestly liked you a lot before he even suggested the bet.” He gave you a bashful look, a sudden switch from his nerve wracking expression.

“Tae Oh chose you, I think he did it because he knew that I liked you. I mean back then I wasn’t exactly subtle about it.” A nervous chuckle escaped his lips. “I totally understand if you absolutely hate me now, I mean I would too.”

You looked at his dejected form, “I don’t hate you. If I did I would’ve broke up with you the moment that I found out.”

He looked at you with a confused expression, “Why didn’t you break up with me?” There was a hint of hope in his voice. He wondered if it was possible for you still to like him after what he had done, or was supposed to do.

It would’ve hurt your pride to admit you still liked him despite his actions, so you chose to go with the pity card. “I overheard you talking in your dorm, and someone mentioned that Tae Oh would kill you if you couldn’t finish. I know Tae Oh could really make your life miserable, and I didn’t want to be responsible for that.”

Mark visibly saddened at the idea that you didn’t like him, that you didn’t want to feel guilty about the aftermath.

“Here’s the deal,” you let out, finally coming to a conclusion, “I can’t sleep with you. I don’t feel comfortable with that anymore.”

Mark winced, feeling a tight lump grow in his throat at the thought of you not able to stand him, and the thought that he makes you uncomfortable.

“I don’t want Tae Oh to win though, for both your sake and Jeno’s.” He made eye contact, clear that he was shocked.

“I don’t know what the rules are, or what proof you have to have, but I’ll help you with that. But that’s all I can do.”

Mark didn’t look thrilled at the idea, if anything he looked dejected. However grateful he was that you were willing to do this to help him, he couldn’t help but wish you didn’t pity him. If it weren’t for Jeno he would’ve rather taken punishment from Tae Oh, after all that’s what he deserved.

“Mark, you have no idea what this means to me. Thank you so much.” Jeno grinned at him, wrapping him in a suffocating hug, making Mark feel worse.

“Right, it’s not like I couldn’t do it for you.” It was monotone, he was unable to show his real feelings about the situation.

“So how’s Y/N?” Jaemin asked, watching the interaction.

“What do you mean?” Mark furrowed his brows and directed his attention at the other boy.

“Well, you guys can still date, she doesn’t have to know it was a bet.” He shrugged as if this was the most obvious thing in the world. Oh how badly Mark wanted that statement to be true.

“No.”

“No? What do you mean?” It was Jaemin’s turn to be confused.

“We broke up.” Mark avoided eye contact with anyone else, staring up at the sky and squinting in the bright light.

“Why? Did you tell her?” Haechan asked, “I didn’t think you had it in you to do that right after the bet was over.” He frowned to himself. “Don’t you think that was too harsh?”

Renjun elbowed Haechan in the side, shutting him up. As one of the more attentive of the group, he could see the way that Mark was acting in response.

“What could I do?” Mark shrugged, trying so hard not to let his voice crack and play it off like he didn’t care. If only they knew that it was the other way around. But he took Haechan’s blows, after all he deserved it, he was the cause of it anyways.

“Y/N! Hey!” You heard Jeno’s footsteps sidle up beside you, the faint breathing evidence that he had jogged to you.

He shoved his hands in his pockets, suddenly embarrassed to thank you.

“Um, thanks. I just want to let you know that it wasn’t like it seemed, Mark was just trying to help me. He’s not a bad guy, I know he probably seemed harsh, but he really didn’t want to do it.”

He gulped, and peered over at your face, more than shocked at the fact that it was expressionless. Too similar to the one they had gotten used to seeing on Mark.

“I know.” You hiked your bag up higher on you bag, gripping tightly on the straps for support.

“Mark really likes you. For real. He’s been really upset, beating himself up for it you know. He won’t admit to it, but we all can see it.”

You squinted your eyes closed, trying to ignore the underlying meaning of Jeno’s words.

“He wouldn’t ever just use you like that. You know him.”

You had enough.

“Do I? Because this was a far cry from the Mark that I knew, or at least I thought I knew.” You sent one last look before escaping out the doorway, leaving Jeno behind with a hurt look.

Jeno never wanted to hurt either of you, but it was a consequence of his stupid decisions. And now other people had to pay for his mistakes.

“Y/N.” You stopped in your tracks, it seemed that no matter where you went you couldn’t get away from them.

“Renjun.” You replied curtly, having nothing else to say to him. Beside him was the familiar pair of shoes, one’s you would always recognize.

Mark shyly lifted his hand to greet you, but dropped it as if he realized that he no longer had the right to.

Renjun, ever the observer watched the interaction, taking in the tense air between the two of you.

“Guys I’m telling you something’s not right. I know it was stupid, but Mark is really suffering.” Renjun spilled to the rest of the boys, “We ran into Y/N and he looked so depressed. It was really bad.”

“Well, of course it’s gonna be bad, Mark basically used her.” Haechan let out, never thinking about his words.

“Haechan!”

“What am I wrong?” He raised his eyebrow in question.

“You don’t have to say it like that.” Jaemin scolded, glancing at Jeno who seemed more stoney than usual.

“He’s right though.” Jeno let out. “It’s my fault, I never should’ve let Mark do it.”

“Jeno, you didn’t know what Tae Oh was going to do.” Jaemin comforted him, to which he was met with empty eyes.

“I ran into Y/N, but she wasn’t having it. I don’t think she’ll ever forgive him.” Jeno dropped his head in his hands.

There was a silence as none of the boys knew how to comfort him.

“What’s going on?” Mark stood in the doorway, watching the scene before him unfold.

“Nothing.” Renjun quickly covered up.

“Jeno? What’s going on?” Mark ignored Renjun’s excuse and focused on the downtrodden boy.

“I’m sorry.” Jeno’s voice sounded broken, leaving Mark on edge.

“Why?”

“It’s my fault, I shouldn’t have let you do it. I swear I didn’t mean for anyone to get hurt. I tried to explain everything to Y/N, I’ll try again, I promise.” He pleaded with Mark, hoping that he would forgive him.

“Oh.” Mark stepped back from Jeno, the emotionless tone coming through again.

“Please, I promise I’ll try to fix things.”

“Don’t, it’s fine. There’s nothing to fix anymore.” Jeno hated the look Mark had on his face. “Don’t bother explaining, she already knows everything.”

“What?” Renjun butted in, unable to hold his curiosity.

“She overheard everything. We didn’t actually sleep together, she just let me pretend so we would win the bet.” Mark picked up his bag that he had dropped on the floor earlier.

“But-”

“Jeno, it’s fine. Explaining won’t change anything. There’s nothing you can do to change it. Don’t stress yourself out, or blame yourself. I’m just as much at fault, I chose to do it.”

With that Mark, left the same way he came in, no longer feeling like he could stand to be under the scrutiny of the other boys.

“Wait, she knew? And she faked the whole thing for him?” Haechan scratched his head, still processing the bomb Mark dropped on them. “But doesn’t that mean that she still cares about him? Why would she do that for him?”

“Haechan for once you didn’t say something stupid. I agree. I think we should talk to Y/N, chances are if she did that for him, she still cares about him.” Renjun nodded enthusiastically, eager to fix the situation.

“I’ll do it.” Jeno said, gritting his teeth.

“Jeno.”

“No, I fucked everything up, I need to fix it.” He turned to Jaemin, placing a hand on his shoulder, reassuring him.

“I know what you did.” Jeno blurted out, startling you.

“What do you mean?”

“I know you and Mark didn’t actually sleep together.” The look on his face slightly scared you, and you weren’t sure whether him knowing was a good thing or not.

“Did he tell you that?” You cocked your head to the side, trying to feel out the situation.

“Yeah, and I know why you did it too.” Jeno leaned down, getting eye level with you. “You still like him don’t you?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, I did it cause I felt bad. I didn’t want to feel like it was my fault you guys would suffer.” You looked away from him, watching the stream of students exit the library. “And no, how could I like him after that? He used me.”

“You know exactly why though, if you’re going to hate anyone, hate me.” His words more aggressive, a tactic he was using to redirect your anger.

“I don’t hate him,” you mumbled out, “and I don’t hate you.”

“See, you did that because you still care about him.” He prodded, “If you didn’t you would’ve never let him pretend to go through with it.”

He paused letting that sink in, “For what it’s worth, he still cares very much about you. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so depressed.”

You sighed, “I don’t want him to be depressed.”

“Then you should talk to him. I know you guys still have feelings for each other, and honestly it’s hurting you guys more to ignore it.” He raised his eyebrows earnestly, giving you a tempting offer.

“I know for a fact that if you were willing to take him back, he would beg for forgiveness. Mark loves you Y/N.” The last bit came out soft, but it had the biggest impact.

Your heart ached, yearning for him despite the situation.

“Just talk to him. I know I don’t deserve to ask that of you, but I’m begging you, for Mark’s sake.” You had never seen Jeno this distraught before.

All you could do is nod.

“Y/N?” Mark froze at the sight of you standing on the other side of the door.

“Can we talk?”

“Yeah, com- come on in.” He stuttered, embarrassed at how nervous he was. “Do you want something to drink... or?”

“No, I’m fine.” You mumbled, staring at your sleeves. “I just wanted to talk about, you know.”

“Right.”

The two of you took the chance to settle into the familiar couch, memories of your relationship coming back to you.

“I don-”

“I know-”

You blushed at the awkward atmosphere.

“You first.” Mark let you continue.

You cleared your throat. “I talked to Jeno.”

He nodded silently, “I told him to stop bothering you, I’ll talk to him again.”

“No, there’s no need.” You let out, “We talked about some things, more specifically things between us.”

Mark gulped, unable to see where you were going with this.

“I’m probably really stupid for doing this, but I’m obviously attracted to stupid.” You tried to joke, referencing Mark. No matter how much you tried to relieve the tension, it still hovered over you like a think cloud.

He let out a nervous laugh, dying out to let you continue.

“You have no how much I wanted to hate you when I found out. And you have no idea how much I hated myself for not hating you.”

Mark sat up at the insinuation that you didn’t hate him.

“Mark, I still like you a lot. There’s a part of me that hates myself for liking you even after everything, but there’s a larger part of me that tells me that this is more important.” You took a deep breath, struggling to finish your thought.

“I love you.”

You choked back your breath in shock, you weren’t expecting him to confess so bluntly.

“I was stupid and I hate that I did that to you, but I want you do know that I don’t regret helping Jeno, I just should’ve gone about it a different way, one that wouldn’t have any casualties. I would’ve begged on my knees if I had to, but I didn’t feel like I had the right to. Honestly, I figured I would be doing you a favor by leaving you alone.” His nervous tick of picking at his nails made it clear that he was just as nervous as you were.

“I don’t want to praise you for doing something like this, because it was stupid and hurtful, but I’m glad you were able to help Jeno.” You smiled at him, “He’s really thankful, you have know idea how many times he let me know that. He also kept me updated on you, and that definitely didn’t help my feelings go away.”

Mark felt a surge of happiness rise in him, the realization that you still like him, the hope that this wasn’t the end of your relationship, and the gratitude that his prayers were answered.

“Mark, I love you too.”

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frenchbreads-writing · 3 years

Text

Happy Birthday|{Todoroki Shouto}

Here’s to my tradition of posting something late for a characters birthday!!

Happy Birthday Icyhot!!!

I hope you enjoy!

Pairing: Todoroki Shouto x Male reader

Words: 1.2k (1,218)

Warning(s): None

Requests: Closed

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shouto met you when he was picking up flowers for his mom.

You were extremely nice and helped him pick out the perfect arrangement.

Since then he had his eye on you.

He didn’t even realize that he had a crush on you. He only realized after he asked his friends about what he was feeling.

They explained what he was feeling was probably a crush and he did not know what to do with that information.

So he continued to watch and even came into the store when you were working to buy some random flowers just to interact with you.

He thought his apparent crush on you wasn’t that bad until you smiled at him and he nearly set the flowers you were handing him on fire.

He asked his friends for advice and they all told him to confess.

Okay, so all he had to do was tell you that he had feelings for you. That can’t be so hard.

Except it was the next day he walked into the flower shop and you spotted him.

“Hey, Todoroki, perfect timing I wanted to tell you about a new side project.”

He nodded back at you.

“Okay so, we’re having lessons on the weekends to teach others the meaning of the different types of flowers.” You pulled out a card and handed it to him. “I was wondering if you would be interested since I’m going to be the one hosting them and it would be nice to see a friendly face.”

He looked down at the card in his hands.

“Actually, (Y/N) there’s something I would like to tell you.”

He looked serious so you nodded.

“Uh alright, is everything okay?”

He nodded.

“It’s just I—“ he looked back up to you. Big mistake.

You looked at him with such concern and the butterflies in his stomach returned full force.

He felt his left side tingle with warmth.

“—Uh I just wanted to say that I would be happy to come to your lessons.”

Your face immediately brightened up completely oblivious to the blush that appeared on his face.

“Nice! Well if you’re going to come the card I gave you has all of the times on the back, the first lesson is tomorrow so see you then?”

Shouto could only nod.

“Cool, so what could I get for you today?”

He walked out of the shop with a bouquet of pink hydrangeas, pink roses, and bluebells.

Since then he came every week at least once to your lessons.

There were never any other people there so he had a lot of time to talk with you and to get to know you better.

He wanted to confess but every time he tried something happened and he short-circuited.

So instead of asking his friends for help, he went to the internet.

There were a lot of articles saying to write letters so he gave that a try and showed Midoriya and Uraraka. But by the end of the letter, they were on the floor laughing.

So he went back to the internet.

The next option was getting him a gift.

He wanted to get you something special.

He couldn’t get you flowers since you already work at a flower shop.

He got to thinking.

You love flowers and the article said that handcrafted gifts are more romantic.

Shouto looked at his right hand and got an idea.

You were standing at the register doodling on a sheet of paper.

The day was ridiculously slow and Shouto was late.

All of the stuff that needed to be done was finished and the plants were all in order so there was nothing to do.

It’s already almost closing time so you started cleaning up around the register.

A jingle at the door rang out as you were putting some seeds under the counter.

You stood up to tell them you were closing.

“Hello, sorry but we’re— oh, hey Todoroki!”

Said boy stood in the doorway with one of his hands behind his back.

“Hi.”

He walked over to the counter hand still behind his back. Watching you placing the last bags of seeds under the counter.

“Where were you today, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“I had to attend a group study session with my classmates and it ran longer than expected.”

You nodded in understanding.

You finally took notice of his hand.

“So what’re you hiding back there?”

Shouto cleared his throat feeling the familiar butterflies in his stomach and tingling of his left side.

“I read on the internet that if you want to show someone that you have feelings for them you should give them a gift of something that they like.”

You felt your face begin to get warm.

“And so, I made you this.”

He pulled his hand out from behind him and held out a rose made of ice.

“I-I didn’t know what to get you and this was the only thing I could think of.”

You gently took the flower, your fingers brushing against his for a moment both of you felt the electric jolt at the contact.

You inspected the rose.

It was crudely crafted but you could see the effort he put into it.

You felt the smile tug at your lips before you remembered something.

“Oh wait!”

You shoved the flower back into his hand and dashed into the back room.

“Give me just one second!”

Shouto stood there, did you not like his gift?

He heard you rooting around for a moment before you rushed back.

You came back through the doorway holding a bouquet of pink roses lined with lavender and bluebells.

“I made this for you because I was actually planning on confessing when you came to the shop today.”

Both of you were silent until Shouto’s left side erupted into flames.

“T-Todoroki!”

After putting out Shouto’s flames and grabbing him an extra shirt the two of you sat in silence.

His fire melted the rose and you dropped the bouquet in your surprise so both of your gifts were ruined.

Shouto cleared his throat breaking the tension.

“Um, so does this mean we’re dating now?”

“Yeah, I think so?”

He hummed.

“Well, if we are we need to go on a date right?”

You nodded.

“Well maybe we could go somewhere after your lesson tomorrow?”

You blushed and rubbed the back of your neck averting your gaze.

“Ahaha about that.” He looked at you in confusion. “Those classes weren’t real haha.”

His eyes widened in shock.

“W-well the information was real just the class itself wasn’t I just wanted an excuse to talk to you without seeming like a creep.”

“Oh.”

You looked back towards him and his face was flushed.

“Well, I would still like to come to your lessons if you’re still doing them?”

He looked at you waiting for your response.

You smiled at him.

“I’ll keep doing the lessons.” You held out your hand. “If you agree to be my boyfriend.”

Shouto felt the corners of his lips twitch as he reached out and took your hand.

“Deal.”

The two of you smiled softly at each other before you stood up from where you were sitting.

“Now, you can help me clean up the mess that you made.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

{Tag list}If you want to be added to the tag list, send an ask or look at my pinned post!

@lotsofrandom @your-strangelove @yumeneji @nahtoolazy @squiddyyyy @naonaocat @tamakiwithcrab @delightfulcupquakequeen @brithedemonspawn @chatnoirfangirl1624 @redsharksimp <- Sorry anyone who isn’t tagged properly but I wasn’t able to tag you!

#frenchbread's writing #todoroki shouto x reader #todoroki shouto x male reader #todoroki x reader #todoroki x male reader #x male reader #male reader #male!reader #x reader #bnha #bnha x reader #bnha x male reader #mha #mha x reader #mha x male reader

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mysticgoblinwriter · 3 years

Text

Driving In A Cold Sweat; There Is No One On This Highway

Warnings- Murder, infidelity, swearing, food imagery, shitty parents, i made Steve the villain who’s in the HOA and a politician, adult content, dark!reader, cheating, a bit of flirting, mental health joke (mental health is NOT a joke, y’all), religion symbolism, dark!steve, peggy x bucky,

Word Count- 1.9k

kudos to @blackberrybucky for being my soundboard, and @fandomsandxfiles for being my beta reader. Love y'all

a/n- This is inspired by Hypothermic by Goodnight Texas. Its really dark, and I surprised myself writing this but I like it. I also changed the landscape to desert. Leave comments if you want! As many as you like, I fangirl over my work too. All writers should, its selfcare.

IF YOU WANT SOMETHING FLUFFY AND SOFT TURN AWAY NOW; MINORS DNI

DO NOT COPY OR REPOST ANYWHERE. A REBLOG IS APPRECIATED. A REPOST IS NOT.

Bucky looks you up and down, taking you in like you are the gods own ambrosia. “So, doll. What brings you to this shit hole?”

You laugh to yourself. “I murdered somebody.”- was the sentence that also inspired this but its not in the actual story.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The radio gave out miles ago. It was emitting nothing except for crackling and static. Every now and then it would cut back to a sermon, funnily enough it’d been the same one that was on when you started your trip. Sunset was a little ways off. If you looked hard enough you could see coyotes just off the asphalt. Alive, yes. But just how long had their souls been gone? Someone was screaming.

A man. You’d heard that scream before. Seared into you memory like that steak you had for your 15th birthday. It was right next to you. Oozing blood and raw-red. You could hear the clink of the knife as it scraped against the plate. Shaking your head to clear it, you notice an exit with a gas station. “Now’s a time as good as any to stop.” Gravel crunches as you slide up next to the pump. The neon beer lights from the bar across the road are calling. But you can’t answer. The gas handle is slick and grimy, you’ve felt something like that before, but you can’t remember what. A fuzzy noise in the back of your ears gets your attention. Another truck has pulled in. Right in the spot next to yours, never mind the dozen others that are free. A bulky man steps down, his face hidden by a rangers hat.

You could tell he worked out though. And had hair in need of a washing. Clunk. The tank was full. You thought it best to leave before anyone could place you, but your stomach needed something other than greasy two-bit fast food. You glance around, looking for any sign that promised a hot meal.

“Looking for something, doll?” You let out a small gasp. He was staring straight at you now.

“Does this shithole have a place to eat? I might have to start eating the cactus.”

He lets out a soft laugh, “Yeah, there’s a diner about half mile down the road.”

His face brightens like he just thought of something. “You wanna meet me there? I’ll buy dinner?” You weigh the options. You can’t have anybody recognize you; but your cash is getting low and however you can stretch it, you must. You nod once. “Sure.”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The diner is every trope you’d seen in the movies your pops watched when he got off work. Flies buzzing, neon sign flickering, checkered tile. It even had the shiny red leather booths. What a dream. “Getcha a seat anywhere, honey. I’ll be right over,” came a perky voice from the back. Presumably a waitress. You choose the booth near the back exit. Its always good to have a backup plan.

The man said he needed to get something at the mini-mart, that you could go ahead and he’d catch up. Somebody screamed right next to you, causing you to jump out of your seat. You whip your head around. No one was even in the dining area. It sounded so real. Like you could reach out and grasp the shattering inky blackness. You take a couple of deep breaths. Try to remember your happy place. Tahiti, its a magical place. Or so you’ve been told You just picked it from a magazine that was open on the coffee table the night your mother set fire to the curtains in the living room. The flames had licked up the page, burning the island resort into ash. Boots thudded as they made way to where you were. He slides in across from you.

“Um, the waitress’ll be right out,” you said softly. He barely heard it over the rickety air conditioning. He nods to show he heard. He’s sitting close. Closer than you’d thought another human would ever sit next to you again. His hands are rough and calloused. The sleeve cuffs of his hoodie are frayed; as if someone clawed at them. Eyes traveling up his body, you take in more details. The hoodie isn’t faded, its brand new. He wears a bracelet of leather on his right hand, with a charm you can’t quite see. His necklace is corded hemp, plain and understated.

A light stubble that’s maybe three days old covers his jaw. His eyes... are piercing right through you. You take in a quick breath, not being able to look away. You’d never seen that shade of blue before. He’d been watching you watching him. Quirking an eyebrow, ”See anything ya like, doll?” You start to sputter an answer but the waitress comes over. “Sorry about the wait. Here’s your-” Blue eyes interrupts her, “We don’t need those. I’ll have the special and she’ll have the ‘Its Impossible To Go Away Hungry’ plate” “Okay, then. I’ll get that right out to ya folks.”

You glare at him, he mirrors it with dicky nonchalance. “Why did you order for me?” He leans forward, tilts his head the right the tiniest fraction. “You’re starved. I really don’t give a damn what kept you from eating but I ain’t gonna let you go without giving you a meal. The steak plate is the biggest meal they have. You can take a to go box, that is if you don’t eat the whole thing.”

“Oh.” You cast out a huff, “Well, thank you.” He flashes a killer smile. Pearly white teeth in a straight line. Not an imperfection to be found anywhere. A silence falls between the two of you. You can’t decide whether its comfortable of not.

“My name is Bucky. I thought you wouldn’t like eating with a stranger. I like to doodle in the margins of my books sometimes.” “Please tell me not library books.” He scoffs as if you suggested the impossible, “Never. Do you think I’m crazy?”

“Jury’s out on that, Bucky.” He looks at you more intently now. “Really? Same could be said about you. When I first spoke to you it was like a deer in headlights. Ya running from something, sugar?” He’d said it jokingly but you didn’t laugh.

“No. Nothing like that.”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Shirley came back with your plates, and two root beers. She left the check at the end of the table and Bucky swooped it up. The meal passed by in the comfortable sounds of silverware clinking and ice clacking in the cups. You both ate in record time.

You were careful to save enough for a second meal. That went into the to go container. Now both cups were drained and plates scraped clean. You start to slide out of your seat, mumbling a thanks but Bucky stops you. “Wait, won’t you sit here a while longer? I’d be kinda sad sitting here alone.” After a moments hesitation, you resume your position. “What do you wanna talk about? It can’t be the weather. Its been dry as bones for weeks.” He ponders for a moment, “You.” He shifts a little, resting one ankle on the opposite knee.

“I want to know what you’re running from, and see if I can offer...a distraction.” That shocks you. “Life? Aren’t we all running away in some form or another? I just happened to take the mobile route.” You shrug, “What do you want me to say? It was all shitty so I left it behind. And as for the distraction part, I got a whore last night, so don’t bother.” He is silent. Just sits there and gazes at you. You cock your head, getting impatient. “Am I allowed to leave now? Or do you want to talk about our feelings?”

“I slept with my best friends wife.”

“I-I’m sorry you what??”

“I slept with my best friends wife. He owns half the town, what with him being mayor and all. I couldn’t take it anymore, he’s always been the golden boy. Always been the beacon of light. I just wanted a slice of what he had.” He looks up, his eyes are dead. “She was willing, and I just... took her. There on his desk. He’d been out for lunch with some bigwig, and I made her cum twice on my cock.” He chuckles darkly. “That’d been the first time. All the other times don’t matter, he doesn’t know about those. But he does know about the time in the craft shed. Peggy did pottery.

Had a nice little workshop, it was connected to the mansion they had. I wanted to bring her pleasure in the place where she gets frustrated often, so she’d have something else to think about. Steve caught us on the floor. A big bunch of daffodils in hand. Stupid, those weren’t even her favorites.” He was gone now, lost in memories, not even knowing he was talking. “Said he had come by to take her to lunch. That was always like Steve. Expected her to clear her schedule at the drop of a hat but never doing the same for anybody. He didn’t even get mad. He just walked away, muttering something about his office.

Peggy said she could talk some sense into him. The next day I found her in the garbage when I took out my trash.” Your sharp inhale and big eyes do nothing to catch his attention. “Steve comes strolling out of nowhere, said that she was a threat to his image. Said that I need to leave or face the same. I asked why he left me alive and he said ‘So you can remember the pain until you lay down in the ground and the mice and carrion drag your body up from its silk cocoon to feast.”

But that’s not all.” He said the last bit so quietly, it was as if he said nothing.

“What?” He’s crying now, tears are forming rivers in his eyes. “She knew. She knew he was going to be there and that’s how she wanted to go out.” Your puzzled expression makes him laugh. “Don’t know many politicians, do you? Good. Keep it that way. That day when the mail came I got a letter. From her. It said how she wanted to divorce Steve ever since he became the HOA president. But she couldn’t. He had threatened her once, just once and what he said was so blisteringly awful. And he did it. He is a man of his word, after all. He kept his damn word.”

“So...she used you as an out?” He winces. You hadn’t meant to sound like that.

“Yes.”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Out in the diners parking lot you say goodbye to James. Wait. No, no. His name is Bucky. He’s got a green Chevy and blue eyes. Or was it red? It doesn’t matter anyway. You back out and head for the next state, ignoring the blood leaking from the tarp in your trunk. The screams have stopped. And the moon is bright.

#dark!reader x bucky #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes fic #mcu #marvel fic #bucky barnes x dark!reader #bucky barnes oneshot #dark!steve rogers #moongoblin marvel writes all by herself #bucky barnes x female reader

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charliedawn · 3 years

Text

The Joke's on them part 2

You were still listening to the music box and Penny, who had stopped eating, was happily napping nearby. You thought about what you had discussed and how it had affected deeply both clowns..What would happen if Pennywise or Penny was to get tired of you ? Would you scream for your life ? Beg even ? The answer sends shivers down your spine..You then have to admit that you didn't really care. You missed your old life of course. You missed your Art students, the taste of freshly baked cookies, the sun and the lovely town lights at night, but you knew that your students would probably end up as children stew if you were to come back, with the clowns following you closely..You sigh loudly in defeat and get up to find some paper and pencil to go sit somewhere else, maybe somewhere where the stench isn't so nauseating ? However, Penny eyes you closely and narrows his eyes before asking in a low and threatening voice.

" Where are you going, little witch ?"

You stop abruptly and frown at the new nickname.

" Why did you call me that ?"

You ask, more by curiosity than really upset. He only grins at you before replying in his usual cheerful voice.

" Well, you take things and turn them into other things. You take crayons and you create a tree. Isn't that what a witch does ?"

Little witch, huh ? Guess they really weren't accustomed to art, in any sense of the term..You smile and nod in agreement.

" I guess so..As for your earlier question, I'm going to find a spot a little less wet and dirty to draw a bit more.."

Penny doesn't say anything, he knows that even if you tried to escape, the sewers wouldn't allow it, like it had tricked him ages ago..when his name was still Bob. He scoffs at the memory and shakes his head to get the thought out of his head, the little bells on his suits jingling as he starts getting inside his trailer, not giving you a second glance. You shrug and start walking towards some long pipe, unused for years it seems..You sit down and look down at the music box and start playing it again with a smile.

You were sitting down, minding your own business when Pennywise enters the sewer pipe where you are resting in and growls menacingly at you. However, you don't notice him at first standing there, and only continue scribbling in your notebook while humming to yourself. You only raise your head up when the clown crouches in front of you and smirks almost predatorily at you while you ark an eyebrow, wondering what he wants..Suddenly, he shoots his hand towards you and pins you to the wall by the throat so hard that you see stars. You claw at his hand, trying to make him let go, but quickly have to admit that it's impossible. He opens his mouth wide, showing his huge sharp teeths before inhaling deeply..as if he was making sure that you were afraid be for taking a bite. However, he quickly retracts his teeths and frowns in incomprehension at the surprising lack of emotions.

" Where is your fear..?"

He asks gruffly after a moment and you only realize now how you aren't afraid of him anymore. You only shrug in reply and look down at your notebook, not giving any attention to the clown who had just tried to eat you. He takes a step back, as if afraid by your sudden nonchalance and roars.

" Penny ! Get your ass in here !"

Penny runs in on all fours and frowns when he sees Pennywise's grimace of disgust as he stares at you.

" Go take a snif.."

He orders, wanting Penny to confirm what he had previously felt. Penny picks you up like a ragged doll and takes a snif but, he automatically growls before looking at you with wide yellow eyes: all goofiness and false innocence out of his face as he asks with a menacing grimace.

" Your fear..Where is it ?"

His voice is low and threatening as he stares at you with those two big glowing yellow eyes. You only shake your head while biting your lower lip to stop you from laughing, as if even the question in itself was funny.

" I always thought I would get out..I never lost hope and tried to keep a sane mind..But, congratulations !"

You look down at the two clowns with a sorrowful smile.

" You destroyed my hope..So, I hope you like flavorless meat, because that's all you'll get, you psychos !"

Penny suddenly lets you fall to the floor harshly and they both take a step back, afraid of you more than ever. You sit up and giggle insanely as they look at you with their eyebrows furrowed in discontent. Penny extends his arm towards you and takes you by the throat with a large sadistic smile.

" We'll see about that.."

You close your eyes, waiting for huge teeths to sink in your skin and end your life..But it never comes. When you open your eyes, you're back at your apartment and look at yourself..The state of your clothes the only proof of your brief staying in the sewers. You clench your jaw, wondering what that all meant and sigh loudly before looking at the date..2 weeks..You had disappeared for 2 weeks and you are sure that your missing posters are still out there, somewhere. You look around the room..being an Art teacher, you were mostly working from home so, there are a lot of half-done drawings and broken pencils lying around like some fallen soldiers. You start cleaning up, as if nothing happened, when you hear the ring bell. You stand up and walk towards the door, hesitating on whether to open or not. Finally, you open to find a familiar little boy standing in the doorway: Tommy.

" Hi Tommy ! What are you doing here ?"

You ask, nervous as to whether you should let him enter or not, fearing that the two clowns would see him or take it as an opportunity to get to you.

" Miss Y/N ! You're back !"

He smiles from ear to ear before hugging you and you can't help but smile as well. Tommy had always been a nice kid. You decide to let him enter for a minute and you happily chat while making your way to your Art room. However, as soon as you enter, you freeze on the spot. They are both there. You want to yell at Tommy to run, but Pennywise cuts you off by pulling a chair and smiling at Tommy.

" Hello Tommy..Won't you sit down ?"

Tommy frowns in confusion before looking up at you.

" Who are they ?"

You want to answer that they are two nightmarish monsters, but Pennywise glares warningly at you. One peep, and the kid would be dessert..You sigh before forcing yourself to smile down reassuringly at the kid.

" I thought it would be fun to try to paint real models so, I asked the nearby circus to let me borrow two clowns for the day. As I mentioned earlier, I didn't plan on you coming over today.."

His eyes brighten at the mention of them being models and asks in barely surpressed excitement.

" Really ?! Can I stay and watch ?!"

" Well.."

You look up nervously at the two clowns that are now staring at the boy as if he is an all-you-can-eat buffet in a five-stars restaurant..

" You parents will wonder where you've gone too..I don't think it would be a good idea for to stay, Tommy.."

Pennywise, sensing your discomfort, smirks in front of your obvious concern and ignores your words with a dismissive wave of his hand.

" Nonsense, Y/N ! Give the boy a break ! He wants to see you work, why could he not ?!"

You glare at Pennywise that stares right back at you with defiant narrowed eyes, daring you to prove him wrong. However, the boy takes the decision by himself by sitting on the chair that Pennywise had moved for him. Pennywise's grin widen and he looks up at you to wink cheekily at you, already tasting victory.

" Looks like the boy knows what he wants..Now, are you gonna paint, or do you want us to pose naked ?"

You blush vividly at the question and quickly get out your painting material, being careful to always keep an eye on Tommy that seems completely oblivious towards the two drooling clowns staring at him. You shiver at the sight and quickly come back in front of them. You then take Tommy by the hand to make him sit beside you..just in case. The two clowns' eyes darken as you try to keep them away from their prey. But you quickly get to work and Tommy peeks above your shoulder, wishing to see you at work as he takes a piece of paper and starts doodling himself. You try to concentrate, but can't really when you know that the clowns have only one thing in mind: eating Tommy. You glance at him from time to time, verifying that he is okay. You then turn towards Pennywise that seems to be reading your mind as he smiles creepily at you. Penny seems out of it, actually. His eyes are wide open, drool is dripping from his chin and he is as still as a statue. If you didn't know him, you would have thought he was made of wax. However, the recurrent twitching of his nose makes you remember that he is real, very real..Pennywise is quickly bored and starts asking questions to Tommy.

" So..how old are you, Tommy ?"

Pennywise asks, in his voice appearing clear interest as you glare at him warningly.

" 10 !"

He shouts proudly while you can see with horror the eyes of both clowns turning a dangerous tint of orange.

" Wow ! Such a young man..Now, maybe you could help us with our little predicament ?"

Pennywise says quizzically as he stares at you again, his mouth wide open where you could see all of his pointy teeths, forcing you to stay quiet.

" Your teacher thinks we should change our diet to something more..descent ? Do you think we should listen to her ?"

Tommy frowns in deep concentration before answering the smaller clown.

" I think Y/N is always right..So, I guess if she tried to change you, it's that she's scared for you."

That is not the answer both clowns were expecting. Normally, brats would always disagree with whatever their teacher would say. Pennywise groans in annoyance at Tommy before taking a step back from him, as if he is a disease.

" Ah ! Scared FOR us ?! She should be scared OF us !"

You take Tommy in your arms, praying whatever for him not be afraid or excite the creatures. However, your prayers are met with deaf ears as you can hear the poor boy's heart beat loudly against his ribcage. You look up to see that the two clowns hadn't missed it as they are now looking at Tommy with insane hungry smiles. Suddenly, Penny is on you and tears Tommy out of the safety of your arms. You stand up immediately and try to get back the boy, but Pennywise is quicker and stops you by restraining your arms with his own.

" Watch..This is what you get when you try to defy us.."

He whispers darkly in your ear while you start sobbing and begging Penny to let him go. But, he only shakes his head while trapping the now crying little boy against him. However, he seems to be hesitating, looking back and forth between you and Pennywise. You take that as a chance to convince him.

" Penny ! You're better than that ! I know you are ! Just..Mmmmppphhh !"

Pennywise muffles you with his gloved hand and yells at him.

" Penny ! Come on ! Are you really going to listen to that idiot ?! Come on ! Kill him !"

Penny glares at Pennywise barking him orders, clearly reluctant to obey the older clown and you decide to take it as an opportunity to bite down hard on his fingers. Pennywise finally frees you and sends you flying against a wall where you hit your head, hard. He growls in pain, his yellow eyes staring furiously at you as he shouts in your direction.

" That's it ! I'm going to eat you, you little witch !"

You close your eyes, waiting for the pain to come and open them again when you feel Pennywise taking you by the collar. He looks at Penny and open his mouth wide, ready to take a bite.

" See, Penny ?! Food ! That's all they are and all they'll always be ! Now, either you kill that kid or I kill her !"

Penny seems lost, he eyes you with what you can only imagine to be a silent apology as he opens his mouth wide and waits for Tommy to be caught in his headlights. He is about to kill Tommy when you have a sudden wave of adrenaline and push forward so you and Pennywise fall down, you on him. You are not afraid, not anymore..and you have to get Tommy out of this nightmare. You take a nearby hammer and use it to knock Pennywise out, knowing that it wouldn't kill him. You then look up at Penny, your chest heaving up and down from the effort and stand up to crouch in front of him. He tightens his hold on Tommy, but you try to relax him by extending your hand towards him with a warm smile.

" Come on Penny..I'll follow you and be with you and fear you forever..Isn't that what you want ?"

He glances down to Tommy before looking up at you and, to your surprise, pushes the child in your arms harshly. You look back at him with widened eyes, surprise that he would let him go so easily. But, he doesn't meet your gaze, he only stares at the ground and growls out.

" Take him and go."

You don't let him repeat himself before taking Tommy by the hand and running to the exit. You open the door and you both step outside. However, you let go of his hand and stay frozen. Tommy turns towards you and shouts.

" Miss Y/N ! Come on ! Let's get out of here !"

You look down at Tommy before smiling sadly.

" I'm afraid I can't, Tommy..I can't leave them."

He doesn't seem to understand, not that you expected him to anyway..He shakes his head and runs away. You make sure that he is far enough before sighing loudly and stepping back inside. The first thing that hits you is the heavy silence. As if nobody is there, but you know better. You had bought the house on Neibolt street because it was cheap, not expecting to meet the two inhuman being here. You had tried many things to keep them away. None of them had worked. They never left. You walk in the living room where there is no sign of the two clowns ever being present..You take a big gulp of air before sitting in a chair in front of your half-done paintings. You just had had the time to draw Pennywise in his favorite leather chair, his eyes the only thing showing something else than pure contempt. You think about it for a while and take another piece of paper to paint Penny on. You know that you should probably try to protect yourself or run like Tommy. But, everytime you thought about it, the same answer would come to you. Penny had shown mercy. He had actually shown mercy..You couldn't leave now, not when you had witnessed such progress. Plus, run where ? They would follow you or even worth, kill even more kids. You shiver at the thought alone..You look back at your now started painting and try to confer something a little bit more meaningful, that would actually translate this part of humanity that you had witnessed earlier. You're so absorbed that you don't notice the form emerging from the shadows to approach you, not until his breath hits the skin at the back of your neck. In a matter of minutes you are tackled to the floor by a very angry Penny that says in a low and very hoarse voice, very unlike him.

" I told you to go.."

You frown and take his hands to make him calm down by tracing circles on his open palms. He closes his eyes and his heavy breathing lowers to a, somehow normal rhythm. When he opens his eyes again, they are a bright baby blue and you smile tenderly at the tall clown that you've managed to calm down. He steps back and waits for an answer. Why didn't you run ?

" I think there is still hope for you, Penny. I promised myself to help you if I even saw a glimpse of hope for you two. And I did."

You slowly raise your hand to touch his cheek and, to your surprise, he closes his eyes and purrs like a big cat. However, the moment is cut short when you see another form standing in the doorway, his yellow eyes the only thing distinctive in the shadows that surround him. Penny feels his presence as well and stands up quickly to face Pennywise that seems in a foul mood as he continues to stare at you with his teeths bare. Suddenly, he takes a nearby metal stick and throws it in your direction, but Penny that had guessed his intention, pushes you out of the way to get impaled by the metal bar himself. You gasp in horror and quickly get back on your feet to run next to Penny that is now whimpering and groaning in pain, trying to get the object out of his chest. You want to give him a hand, but Pennywise appears behind you and drags you with him to the basement well. You claw and yell in order for him to let you go, but he doesn't and only growls warningly at you.

" Shut your mouth or I'll devour you right here and now.."

You hold back your tears and try to follow as best as you can while glancing back, wondering if Penny was following you.

" Don't bother..He's not coming."

You look up at Pennywise whose eyes had come back to a normal color, as he still holds you tightly against him. You finally end up in the familiar sewer place with the huge pile of toys and Pennywise tosses you on a nearby pile before crouching in front of you to stare at you, his gaze unfaltering. You try to stay as still as possible, not daring to blink as you don't know how he would react. Suddenly, without a warning, he pounces on you and raises his clawed hand, ready to strike and you shut your eyes, waiting for the pain that never comes. When you open one eye, you see that Pennywise still has his hand raised in the air, but his hand is..shaking ? Now that you think about it, his whole body his shaking. He seems to not be able to bring himself to execute his action as he finally gets up and walks back and forth, mumbling to himself in frustration.

" Why can't I do it ? What's stopping me ?! She's human..Only a stupid foolish kind-hearted human..I eat children ! Why would she be any different ?!"

Y/N..

You hear your name, but can't find where it is coming from. You blame it on your imagination and try to get back to the obviously upset clown.

Y/N..

It's louder. The voice is sweet and soothing like honey and you are suddenly drawn to the tree that you had drawn that seems to be glowing in the dark. The voice..it comes from it, you're sure of it.

Y/N..Join me..

You obey the mysterious voice and reach out to it by extending your hand towards the tree and, as soon as you touch it, you shift surroundings. You find yourself in a wild field of sunflowers and look around to find the one who had called your name. Strangely enough, you don't feel scared, you feel at peace and smile absent-mindedly as you can feel the soft petals under your fingertips. You tilt your head towards the sky and then, you see it. The huge turtle that seem to be observing you from afar with his huge gentle eyes. Suddenly, the same voice than before makes itself heard inside your head.

" Welcome, Y/N.."

You instantly know that the voice is the turtle's as he doesn't break your gaze. You smile politely before replying.

" Nice to meet you too. But, hum..Who are you ?"

He laughs in that very gravely and baritone voice that makes you think that he is quite old..older that Earth itself.

" My apologies. My name is Maturin, and I am a very old friend of Robert and Bob.."

You frown in confusion at the unknown names and he seems to notice as he quickly adds.

" Penny and Pennywise..I sometimes forget that they do not go by their human names anymore.."

You nod understandingly before going straight to the point.

" I don't want to be rude, but why am I here ?"

You can guess a smile on the turtle's face as he lands in front of you and answers your question with a slight chuckle.

" In all of my years as a living being, I never thought I would see the day when Penny and Pennywise would hesitate in their ways..And when I died, I was convinced that there would be no change for my brothers.."

Brothers..He is their brother ? Funny. They never mentioned him before..To your surprise, Maturin seems to laugh at your thoughts before answering you.

" It is not shocking. They do not like to talk about me..I think they are ashamed. They think I'm foolish for loving humankind. But, truth is, you are all important, as important as any living being in the universe..Something that my brothers seem to have forgotten over time..However, something tells me that you feel the same ? Humanity deserves to be saved, as well as my brothers."

He asks in a gentle tone and you nod in agreement.

" I do..Now, how about you explain to me what I'm really doing here, Maturin ?"

Maturin stays silent for a moment, maintaining the suspense until he finally admits.

" Because, I want you to take my place."

Your eyebrows shoot up in surprise and your mouth opens wide at his confession.

" T..take your place ?"

He nods affirmatively and you try to get back your cool while processing the information.

" How ? And especially, why ?"

He seems to meditate on the question before replying with another one of his enigmatic smiles.

" Because I've never seen the Penny Brothers fight over their hunger for so long for anyone..I've seen how little Penny seems to have a soft spot for you and Pennywise is not insensible to your kindness either. They are changing, Y/N..I don't know why or how, but you are changing them. This is why I think you are the best candidate to become my successor."

Suddenly, a bright green pendent appears in front of you and you gently take it in your hands to admire the smooth stone and the inscriptions on it. It is written in an ancient language, one that you don't know.

" This pendent will grant you my powers as long as you will carry it. Never lose it. It will offer you protection and powers beyond your imagination."

You look at the jewel for a while before putting it on. It sparkles in a very nice way and you want to look up to thank the turtle, but you find yourself in front of your tree again. You turn around to see Pennywise, still in conflict with himself and debating on what to do with you. However, Penny suddenly appears at the entrance, his eyes red in rage and he jumps on Pennywise to bite him in the shoulder, which earns him a loud inhuman shriek from Pennywise that uses his legs to get him off. The two beings are now facing each other with the most animalistic stares. You hurry to stand between them both and feel like a lion tamer as you extend your hands on each side of you, trying to calm them down.

" Stop ! You don't have to fight ! Penny I'm alright. I'm alive."

Penny seems relieved as he looks you up and down, verifying that you are still in one piece. But then..he notices the green pendent and all relief or joy leaves his face as he growls at you. He gives you such a dark and hostile look that you take a step back in shock. He stands up and points your pendant with an accusative glare.

" Where did you get that ?"

Pennywise, that had now circled around you to face you with Penny, pales perceptibly at the green object and falls backwards in visible terror. You try to help him get up, but Penny transforms. He grows into a 32 feet monster and you can see the fear in his eyes as his hand shifts into a huge claw-like hand. He yells at you with his eyes full of tears. You don't think you've ever seen him cry before..

" It's impossible ! We killed you ! You can't be here ! You can't be back !"

You understand that he's referring to the pendent and you encircle your hand around it defensively.

" Penny ! It's still me ! It's Y/N !"

He frowns in incomprehension, not believing you as you had the old turtle's necklace around your neck..He raises his hand and is about to lash out on you when you scream.

" STOP !"

Suddenly, you feel a sort of energy coursing through your veins being expulsed from your body, forming a shield around you that sends Penny flying. You open your eyes wide and your breath stops as you see the young clown on the floor. You run to kneel beside him and cradle his face as he looks at you with those wide blue eyes.

" I..I never wanted to kill you..I never wanted to kill you, brother..I'm sorry.."

You know that he is addressing himself to Maturin and you smile sadly at his apology. You try to comfort him the best you can by gently running your hand through his hair.

" I know, Bob..I know.."

You then stand up to face the darkness where you could see the vague form of Pennywise, surrounded by black smoke. He chuckles darkly before looking straight at you.

" I should have known the old turtle wouldn't leave until he found a successor..Never thought he would choose a human though.."

Your heartbeat quickens and both clowns let out a deep groan, as it had been days that they had fed on anything. They both look at you with orange glowing eyes and it takes all of your willpower not to quiver in fear. They are now controlled by their hunger and anger. Even Penny has limits, and you think that they both just reached it.

Think Y/N. Think.

You don't want to kill them. You just need to find something to help you as they are now approaching dangerously close. Suddenly, Penny's hand is on your upper leg and he uses it to yank you harshly towards them, or more under him. His drool falls on your face and you can see that he's holding back from just biting your head off. However, the older one doesn't have the same self-control and growls warningly at Penny to get out of his way. Soon, you get both clowns on top of you and they both lean in to smell your fear. Suddenly, Pennywise tries to take a bite out of your arm, but is stopped by an invisible force. They frown in confusion and try to attack you again, but as soon as their teeths are close to you, they are met with an invisible shield..like a shell. They let go of you and Pennywise groans in annoyance while trying to think of a solution. He then looks up at the light of the day and a small smile creeps on his face. They hadn't hunt for days..Maybe is it time to see what killing a victim in front of you would do ? They both look at each other and nod in agreement and you narrow your eyes, knowing that whatever the clowns are planning, it would not be good. You take a step forward and join your hands together to both of their astonishment.

" I beg of you..You've come so far. Do not let Maturin or me change that. You've come so close to understand how humans truly feel. Let me give you what you want. Let me give you what is missing you. I'm not going to hurt you. Never. Believe me. Please."

Pennywise shakes his head and screams in agony, clawing at his own chest.

" LIAR ! You're worse than HIM ! You give us false hope ! We already gave humanity a chance and they betrayed our trust ! How would you love monsters like us ?! Can you look at me in the eyes and promise me that if we let you change us, get back to the Light, you will never hurt us ?!"

You look at your hands and take a big breath before looking up at the both of them with a determined look. You step up and, to both of their surprises, take off the necklace.

" I trust you."

You simply say before putting the pendent on a nearby rock and extending your arms wide towards them. You close your eyes and wait for their next move. You don't need Maturin's power. You had spent these past weeks knowing these two beings and lived to tell the tale. They both tried to kill you, but couldn't. You trust them and even when they both tackle you to the ground, you forbid yourself to fear, even with their mouths wide open. You only take them in your arms and don't even feel their mouths slowly closing or their shaking hands positioning themselves on your back. You only open your eyes when you feel tears dropping on your shoulders. To your surprise, they had taken human forms. Pennywise is..younger than expected. He is blond, his face starred with freckles. He is quite different without his makeup, even though his eyebrows are in the same permanent frown that you had grown accustomed to. Pennywise on the other hand, has the same ginger hair and you could distinguish the familiar buck teeths past his lips. You guess that it must have been their primary forms and you only hold them tighter during that short time where both clowns let you see their weak side. However, they soon notice the shift in their bodies and jump back, looking at their hands and body as if for the first time. Penny is still the tallest and Pennywise quickly stands up to see himself in the mirror.

" WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED TO MY FACE ?!"

He touches his own face in shock and obvious confusion as Penny grabs his leg with interest and observes it with a small amused smile.

" I'VE GOT SHOES ! LOOK PENNYWISE, I'VE GOT SHOES !"

Penny looks at Pennywise with wide eyes full of child-like wonder as the other one only stares at him with disbelief at his immature reaction.

" THAT'S WHAT YOU NOTICED ?! IDIOT ! WE'RE HUMANS ! WE CAME BACK TO BEING FLESHLINGS ! IT'S A DISASTER !"

But the youngest one doesn't listen and only starts nomming on his own foot, his eyes slowly parting in different directions. Welp. You certainly didn't expect that. Pennywise walks towards Penny with a disgusted expression before forcing him to let go of his own leg. Suddenly, he looks at you. You gulp loudly at his narrowed eyes and he points his index accusatively at you.

" You..It's your fault."

You eyes widen in shock and you repeat, dumbfounded.

" Me ?"

" Yes ! You ! You witch, you cursed us !"

He takes a step towards you and what happens next is iconic of comic gags. He slips and they both fall on the floor to your greatest amusement. You can't help but burst out laughing, holding your stomach as you double in laughter. The two men look at you with widened eyes and you notice something else, Penny has bright blue eyes like in his clown form, but Pennywise' eyes are a dark green. Penny is more similar to his clown form than Pennywise. However, they are both pissed as you laughed at them and stand up to attack you. But then, they stop dead in their tracks and, take multiple sniffs in the air, as if searching for something.

" You..I can't smell you.."

Penny says with a frown and Pennywise grabs you harshly by the shoulders to inhale deeply in your hair, trying to understand why they had both lost their sense of smell. Everything is so strange now, they don't see as good as they used to, their sense of smell is gone, replaced by the usual human smell which makes them pick on the horrid smell of the sewers. Penny is gagging when he takes in the smell and Pennywise' eyes then rest of the green stone. Suddenly, he understands and loosens his hold on you to slowly slide to the floor in stupor at the realization.

" You made a vow.."

He finally mumbles, his state of shock momentarily lifted and both you and Penny frown in incomprehension.

" What do you mean a vow ?"

You finally ask and Pennywise laughs humorlessly before looking up at you.

" You idiot used the stone and promised us safety against our understanding for human feelings..Unfortunately, the stone has a mind if it's own and transformed us into actual humans."

You frown before taking the green stone and seeing that another symbol had appeared on the smooth surface.

" I..I'm sorry. How..How do we break the vow ?"

Penny frowns and responds, his voice devoided of any amusement or joy as he stares gravely at the stone.

" You don't break a vow..Not unless one of the two parties betray their promise. As we can't exactly not be human anymore..You'll have to hurt us."

This news sends cold shivers down your spine. You shake your head vividly while stammering.

" There..There must be another way..How do you even know about all that ?!"

Both men look at each other and sigh in unison before Pennywise answers you with a sad smile.

" Because that's how we were created.."

You open your eyes wide in shock and can't help but frown in confusion at what he means.

"..created ? What does that mean ?"

Pennywise sighs loudly, as if the question was bothering him more than anything, before falling down on his favorite leather chair.

" Ages ago, I asked for vengeance against humankind for what they had done to me and my family. I begged Maturin to give me powers and, he did..Unfortunately, it wasn't exactly the way I thought it would be..There was a price to pay for this power. Fear. I needed fear to survive."

Your eyes widen at the revelation and you then look at Penny that is perched on a nearby sewer pipe.

"And you ? What did you ask for ?"

He looks down at you and smirks before jumping off his roost. Pennywise crouches in front of you and looks straight in your eyes before replying in a small childish-like voice.

" Me ? I wished to never be hungry again.."

Your eyes widen at the irony of his punishment and you now understand how they had turned into those..things. You are deep in thought and don't see Pennywise getting out of his leatherchair, not until he takes you by the collar. He leans in so close that you can see sparkles of gold in his green eyes.

" Now, doll..You're going to turn us back."

You frown in incomprehension at his request. Turn them back ? Why would they want that ?

" B..But why ?"

Penny answers instead of Pennywise.

" Think. We are monsters that eat people. Without our powers, we will starve. And I refuse to ever go through that pain again, got it ?!"

You frown at the word "again" and shake you head before smiling up at Penny.

" Why would I do that ? Now that you're humans, you may eat whatever the human world offers. You don't need fear to survive. You can eat like me, like us. Don't you want to at least try ? Plus, what will happen to me if I break the vow ?!"

Pennywise scoffs before rudely letting you fall to the floor.

" Listen doll, who ever told you we wanted to go back to what we were ? There is a good reason why we decided to leave our pasts behind..And I'm not ready to go back to that."

Taken by a sudden wave of confidence, you put your fists on your waist and look up at them defiantly.

" You're only humans now ! Why would I obey you ? It's not like you can turn my greatest fears against me anymore ! I'm free !"

But, far from being intimidated, Pennywise only chuckles darkly while Penny' smile grows larger and creepier. In the bat of an eyelash, they are both on you and Pennywise bites down on your shoulder harshly while Penny keeps you still. You scream so loud that Penny has to muffle your mouth. You want to bite him as well, but Pennywise whispers something in your ear that makes you shiver and reconsider.

" Don't forget..You hurt us and goodbye friendly human neighbors and hello big nightmarish clowns..Now, still think that you are free, little one ?"

You can feel his eyes burning through your skull and you feel nauseous as the pain becomes vivid. Pennywise stands up and gives you a wide bloody smile.

" We may be humans, but never think that we're defenseless. Understood ?"

You nod vehemently, tears rolling down your cheeks and Penny then retracts his hand. Pennywise stands up and walks towards the trailer, not bothering to check if he had done any permanent damage. You suddenly remember something and yell at him.

" Hey ! You never answered me ! What will happen to me if I break the vow ?!"

Pennywise stands still for moment with his back turned to you before answering you on a rather emotionless tone.

" You'll die."

And with that, he walks away into their trailer. However, he then turns towards Penny with an evil smile, just before the door closes behind him.

" Oh ! And Penny ? You are allowed to take a bite if you want. It's only fair."

To your horror, Penny looks at your wound with..envy ? You try to resist, but the tallest clown only tightens his hold on you and, bends down to lick the wound. Fortunately, he quickly straightens up with a disgusted face and coughs out the iron taste.

" It tastes horrible !"

You suddenly have an idea and ask with a small uncomfortable smile.

" You like sweets, Penny..Right ?"

His eyes seem to brighten at the word sweet and he nods strongly up and down. You smile and try to talk him into following you to the outside world by using his sweet tooth.

" I've got plenty of sweets in my apartment. Plenty of food as well..Maybe, we could try to get up there when Pennywise is asleep and I can try to make something for the both of you ?"

You can see that he is thinking strongly about it with the amount of drool that runs down his chin. However, he suddenly smiles widely and shouts happily.

"Like a surprise party?!"

You laugh at his rather funny comparison, looks like he hadn't lost his child-like nature. It is endearing. You nod and his smile widens as he agrees promptly.

2h later :

As planned, Pennywise falls asleep in the trailer and it takes all of your might to stop the overenthusiastic Penny from squealing with excitement. You wince when you try to get up and your head is spinning because of the pain. But, Penny is there for you to use as a means of support and he quickly wraps his arm around you. You have never thought about it before, but since they used to be interdimensional demons, could he even find the exit under this form ? However, Penny seems confident enough, turning right and left, as if he could see in the dark. Your grip on his hand tightens as you are nervous about what will be his reaction once you get out of here. As none of them had ever left their den for anything else than hunting. Penny, sensing your nervousness, squeezes your hand slightly. You look up at him, surprised about his sudden comforting gesture, but he doesn't seem to have noticed. You finally arrive at the exit and this is when Penny strops dead in his tracks. You frown up at him in worry, but soon realize why he is paralyzed. He is as nervous as you. What you couldn't see under his tons of makeup is now clear on his face. He is biting his lower lip and looks at the numerous lights of the town with wide eyes, full of wonder at the new feelings that seem to wash over him. But also intimidated and very hesitant. You know he is about to get back in the sewers when you take both of his hands and smile up at him reassuringly, slowly leading him towards the exit.

" I promised I would never hurt you..Now, come on."

He finally lets himself be guided out and suddenly, the many different scents carried by the wind hit him and his eyes nearly sparkle when he opens them again. He doesn't even notice that he is now the one leading you forward, and you're more than happy to follow.

Here is the 2nd part ! If you want a 3rd, do not hesitate to leave a kudo or a comment. Those paintings do not belong to me ! I found them on a website that doesn't give the real authors, but I managed to find that the bottom one was from a company called fineart America. They, of course, belong to their respective owners and I only used them as a fan of fanart. 😁👍 Ps : also, I know it doesn't exactly follow the origin story of Pennywise, but I found it better this way and like the idea that the Penny Brothers were humans once.

#@marceline1212 #pennywise x reader #pennywise 2017 #pennywise 1990 #horror movies #Pennywise 1990 x Y/N x pennywise 2017

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basicallywhiterice · 4 years

Text

moonlight (xu minghao)

Genre: Fluff, one scene with angst, college!au, graduation!au, established relationship, moving in together

Summary: Your relationship with Minghao, told through phone calls

Word count: 2k

Warnings: One cuss word I think

a/n: This is lowkey the foil to sunny but the plots are completely unrelated. Happy Minghao day y’all

D-17.

You wake up to a phone call from Minghao.

“Good morning!” he chirps. You respond with a noncommittal grunt. “Aw, baby. Rise and shine!”

“Five more minutes,” you yawn, turning over in your bed.

“C’mon, chop-chop. Get your exams over with! Get that bread, get that head, then leave.”

You still want to go back to sleep, but Minghao’s ridiculousness makes you open your eyes. “You want me to get that head? When you’re a hundred miles away?” Static. “That’s what I thought,” you grin, closing your eyes as another yawn escapes your mouth.

“Hey hey hey, don’t fall asleep on me again. You got this. Turn your camera on!”

“Why?”

“So I can see your beautiful face,” he sing-songs. A grin spreads across your face almost involuntarily—after three years of dating Minghao, simple statements like these never fail to make you happy. It’s because of how genuine he is, you think. He means it from the bottom of his heart. “Plus, you’ll have a harder time falling asleep again.”

“If you insist.” You sit up, turn your camera on, and prop your phone up on your blankets. Minghao pops up on screen a few moments later. “Hey.”

The call freezes for a second, displaying a pixelated jumble of his smiling face, before it resumes to show him blowing a kiss at you. “Hey.”

You blow one back, feeling the sleepiness leave your body. “Mm. Last day of exams. Can’t wait to get this shit over with.”

“That’s the spirit!” His grin is contagious, and you can’t help but break into a smile yourself.

“Thank you for cheering me up, Minghao. You just helped me start my day right.” Minghao’s the more laid-back person in your relationship, but he has no problem being your personal hypeman. He’s good at it, too—he never fails to brighten your day.

“Thank you for overcoming your sleepiness for me, baby.”

“Mhm, just for you. I think I’m gonna take a quick shower before I finish my exams.”

“Can I join?”

“Minghao!” You burst out laughing. Minghao grins.

“Hey, at least you’re fully awake now, right?”

“Oh my god, you dork. Anyways, what are you doing today?”

He explains some of his new designs and marvels at the amount of creative freedom his upcoming project has. Before you know it, it’s 8:28 and Minghao has to leave to catch the metro. You say your goodbyes like normal.

“I love you, Minghao.”

“I love you, y/n.”

You pause before you hit the ‘end call’ button. “I’ll see you soon.”

D-13.

Sometimes, you wonder if suffering through two years of graduate school was worth it.

Then, you remember the job offer you landed a few months ago, and the long hours seem like a small price to pay. Getting a job in New York City is no small task, and your learning through your graduate program certainly helped.

Plus, listening to Minghao get excited about how you’re finally moving in makes the process sound more than worth it, no matter how long it took.

“—so I asked my boss for the afternoon off to pick you up, and she said yes! And I was super happy, and she was super happy that I was happy, you know? She also suggested getting flowers—do you want flowers? I told her you don’t like flowers because they’re impractical, but I can get you a bouquet if you want, if you’ve changed your mind. Or I could get a flowerpot for our apartment. Or do you want a succulent for our apartment? They’re cute—”

“Minghao, calm down. Take a deep breath.” You wait until you hear his exaggerated huffing and puffing, and you smile. Minghao talks a mile a minute when he gets excited, but you love it. “Great. I’d love to get a plant for our apartment. I’m bringing my cactus with me, so we could draw cute faces on the flowerpots and have them be friends.”

“Didn’t you already draw something on your cactus’ pot, though?”

“Yeah, but there’s plenty of space to add on. Wait, let me show you.” You stand, padding toward your window and throwing open the curtains. Outside, the faint streaks of sunset paint the sky, illuminated by the fading glow of daylight. You grab your cactus from the window sill and walk back to your desk, holding it up to your phone.

“Oh, I like all the doodles,” Minghao remarks as you turn your plant this way and that. When you show him the back, where you’ve painted a crescent moon, his eyes soften. “You painted a moon on there.”

When Minghao graduated and left for New York, he promised that he’d always be there for you in spirit. After all, he had said, when you could look up to the same moon he saw, it was almost like he was there with you. “Whenever it’s cloudy at night or when there’s a new moon and I can’t see the moon, I just look at this instead,” you admit, running your finger over the paint.

“God, I’m so in love with you.”

“I know,” you smile softly, looking back up at your phone screen. “That’s exactly how I feel about you.”

“I know.”

Minghao stays on the phone with you for ten more minutes before he hangs up to go grocery shopping.

“I’ll see you soon, Minghao,” you say before you end the call.

Outside, the moon hasn’t risen yet, the sky an inky black. Tonight, though, you don’t need to watch the moon to deal with missing Minghao. Tonight, you sit back, content with waiting thirteen more days to see him.

D-10.

“I’m always so worried that this might be the last time I see my friends,” you whisper into the silence. It’s nearing midnight, but your mind is racing. You just got back from a long dinner with your friends and classmates, which was a fun affair, but now existential dread is creeping up on you.

“I felt the same way when I first graduated,” Minghao admits. You’re Facetiming him again, but your phone lays flat on your bed as you shuffle around, trying to drink in all the details of your room before you have to leave. “I still worry that I’ll never see some of them again. But they’re always one text away, and I make time to see everyone important to me.”

“Yeah. True.” You sigh. “Still, though. I’m gonna miss everyone. I miss you too, you know, even though I’ll be in New York soon.”

“I know. I miss you every day.”

You fall back onto your bed, grabbing your phone and holding it above your face. “I don’t… I don’t want to suffer through missing my friends while knowing that we probably won’t live in the same city again, you know? Missing you is slightly more bearable because I know we’ll end up in the same place, but there’s no guarantee for everyone else.”

“Yeah, and it sucks. But you’ll still be in touch with them, and you’ll make new friends.”

“Yeah.”

In the middle of the night, after you hang up and you’re all alone, you gaze up at the moon for strength.

D-5.

After walking across the stage and throwing your graduation cap in the air, you’re finally free from school. You don’t have much time to talk to Minghao—your day is packed with ceremonies and parties—but he’s just as excited as you are.

“Two years and I’m done!” you half-shout over the chattering in the background.

“I’m so proud of you, baby. Show me your graduation cap!”

You pluck it off your head and hold it in front of you with one hand, rotating it this way and that like a steering wheel. “It’s about the same as the undergraduate cap. I did get this hood, though. It almost feels like a cape.”

“You could be a superhero that has caffeine for blood, or something, and your kryptonite could be history tests.”

“God, don’t remind me of those. I’m free now, remember?”

You talk for a few more minutes before your friends remind you of the graduation party at 4 pm, and you have to hang up to get ready. Before you hang up, Minghao bombards you with reminders of how proud he is, before you finally have to go.

“I’ll see you soon,” he says.

D-1.

“Really? You’re still doing last-minute packing?” Minghao asks as you throw some shoes into your suitcase.

“Shh, I blame you for distracting me with late-night calls.”

“You find me to be distracting?”

You roll your eyes, ducking down to grab your folded towels and plop them on your bed. “Mhm, always have. Don’t get cocky, though.”

He’s smirking when you look back to the phone screen.

“Minghao! I just said not to get cocky.”

“C’mon, let me have this moment.”

You sigh dramatically, glancing around your nearly-empty room and making a mental checklist of things to pack in the morning. “You’ll get to the airport at 2 tomorrow, right?”

“Yeah. Terminal C, right?”

“Right. Can’t wait to C you then.” He groans, and you can’t help but prolong the joke. “Get it? C you?”

“I feel so bad for your roommates. I bet you tortured them with constant bad puns during exam season.”

“No comment.”

At 8:21, your roommate Jieqiong starts the last movie night you’ll share together, and you bid Minghao goodbye. Still, you find comfort in the fact that this is the last goodnight you’ll send over Facetime for a long time.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Minghao,” you say, blowing him a kiss.

“See you tomorrow.”

D-Day.

“I just got done picking up my suitcases,” you say, slipping an earbud into your right ear as you drop your phone in your pocket. As you grab the handles of your luggage, you scan the baggage claim area for an exit and start walking toward the sliding doors at the end of the row of conveyors.

“Awesome, I just saw some people walk out,” Minghao says. “I’m here waiting.”

Suddenly, you feel very small as the gravity of the situation weighs on you. Minghao is behind those doors, waiting. You’re about to start a new life together, staying in the same city for the first time in two years. “What if I can’t find you?” you all but whisper, halting your footsteps.

“Then we’ll just keep looking for each other. Take your time, baby.”

“I—yeah, okay.” You will your legs to move again. “Will you stay on the call with me?”

“Of course.”

“Okay.” A comfortable silence falls as you pass the exit checkpoint, stepping out of the sliding doors to the pickup area. “Okay, I just walked outside and—”

And then your gaze falls on a certain young man wearing a top in your favorite shade of light blue. What catches your attention is the poster he’s holding, with ‘my moon’ written on it in loopy handwriting and a cartoon moon doodled next to it.

Your face nearly splits open from how wide your smile is.

“I see you.”

Day 1.

You wake up with your face pressed into Minghao’s chest.

“Good morning,” you whisper. “Are you awake?”

Minghao groans. “Five more minutes,” he mutters. “What time is it?”

You glance around the room until you find his clock on his bedside table. “9:45. We have lots of time before we have to meet my parents for lunch.”

“Mm. Good.” He wraps an arm around your waist. “I’m glad you’re here, sleepyhead.”

You scoot closer. “You’re the one asking for more sleep, mister.”

“You’re the one who’s warm and soft and cuddly. I love you, y/n.”

Closing your eyes, you nuzzle your head into his chest and relax into his embrace. “I love you, Minghao.”

104 notes · View notes

yuusa · 4 years

Text

𝐌𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝟐

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 𝟓𝟎𝟗𝟓

𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐃𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫

𝐌𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝟐:

You twirled your pen in class while the teacher continued lecturing, your journal still in your close grasps as you occasionally write your routine and schedule as usual. You noticed that on the side, Tohru would also get distracted by your pen spinning and sit there admiring you. You only ignored her gazes and continued to stare down at your own work. You had already documented yesterday’s encounter with Yuki. There were moments where you would sometimes peer into the old pages and reread the written notes. You doodled a small rat character on the title of the entry, seemingly to remember the main event.

As you dozed off into your own world, Yuki had turned his head to the side and silently watched you from afar. For someone who had been closed off since the beginning of school, you were still one of the more academically gifted students in the class without any help from other students. He narrowed his eyes as he thought about his idiotic cousin at the thought of academics. He placed the weight of his chin onto his hand as he watched you doodle in your notebook.

Sometimes you would place the pen’s end at the tip of your lips as you thought about the lecture your teacher had given you. Yuki would occasionally glance at his work and back at you, thinking about what you had discussed yesterday afternoon.

For a second, he almost thought that you had understood him.

He frowned as he stared hard at his work. You were so quiet and throughout the day, you made it extremely hard for him to get a chance to talk to you again due to the awkwardness. It was. . . Really uncool of him. He wished he was as cool as everyone else, they seemed so laid back and easy-going while he is too busy thinking about the possible scenarios that would ruin his day.

While Yuki was staring at you, Tohru was also watching him with a confused expression. At first, she thought he was looking after her because the two of you were in the same general direction, but on closer inspection, it looks as if he was admiring you from afar. She could feel the hearts dance around her head as she thinks of the growing romance between you and Yuki. She was so caught up in the moment she accidentally covered her mouth with her hands and squealed which caught your attention.

“Umm. . . Honda-san, are you okay?” You whispered, the teacher still going on with her lecture in the background.

“Y-Y-Yes! I’m sorry!” She shouted, causing the entire class to stare at her. You deadpanned at her lack of awareness, was she really this air headed?

“Honda-san, (L/n)-san, are you trying to get afternoon duties?” The teacher turned around with an angered expression, she gripped onto the chalk with enough force to snap the tip off. She already had to deal with one troublemaker in that one particular group, specifically a carrot-headed cat person. She seemed so tired of Kyo’s roughhousing behavior that you just feel pity for her.

“N-No! I’m so sorry!” Tohru panicked as she started to bow several times in front of the class as they stared in awkward silence. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! It’ll never happen again! I’m sorry!”

“You’re both on cleaning duties today!”

“E-Ehh?! I’m sorry!”

You sighed and placed your head down on the desk in exhaustion. You wished the day was over already.

You wiped at the windows with a towel and a bucket of soap and water, your brain wanting nothing more but to simply go home and sleep after such a long day of school assignments. Although you generally had enough strength and energy to soar through classes such as physical education, the amount of workload given to you has been weighing you down.

"(L/n)-san. . . I’m sorry.” Tohru was crying comedic tears as she swept the classroom floor, her hair tied back with her hands occupied by the wooden broom, “it’s my fault you’re here after school with me. . .”

You turned to her with the towel still in your hands, “no, it’s okay. I started the conversation after all.” You squeezed the towel after dipping it into the bucket of water, “it just seemed like you had an issue with something I did.”

“N-No! I was just wondering. . .” She scratched her cheek as her cheeks began to turn a blush color, “if you were one of Yuki’s friends. . .”

“What makes you say that?” You asked.

“It’s just that. . . In class he was looking at you as if he knew you, s-so I thought you would be one of his friends!” She laughed as a way to distract herself from spilling the actual truth, “you guys just look very cute together!”

Tohru mentally screamed as she gripped onto her hair and panicked violently, just as she thought she was getting over her aloofness the words slipped out of her mouth, “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to assume, I’m sorry! Please forgive me (Y/n)-kun!” She screamed once more at her big mouth, she was so used to calling everyone by their first names that she got caught up in the moment.

You turned your head away from her to cool down the rush of blood towards your face. This was the first time someone had addressed you by your first name, it was really embarrassing. You shook your head violently and slapped your cheeks, trying to focus on the moment and not be distracted.

“Honda-san, you don’t need to apologize over every little thing, if you want to call me (Y/n)-kun that’s fine.” You dried your hands off with your handkerchief before walking towards the board to clean the surface, “Sohma-san and I met only yesterday.”

“O-Oh! U-Um. . . Then you can call me Tohru-kun!” She gave you a friendly smile and continued to wipe at the floor. She peered outside the window to see that the sky had already become orange, signaling that they had stayed late enough. She spun back to your figure which was still wiping the top of the board clean.

“A-Ah, it’s getting late outside (Y/n)-kun, um. . . Do you want to come over to our house for dinner? Y-You don’t have to go to if you don’t want to! You already have so much work! I-I just thought it would be really late for you to walk home. . .” Tohru tilted her head downwards, her eyes slightly glossy in embarrassment.

You paused for a few moments. You didn’t have much to eat at home and although you were confident enough to walk home in the dark, you felt that it would be rude to turn down an invitation from someone like Tohru. Despite getting you both in trouble, she was very kind and generous. Although you were a bit skeptical on the idea of joining another classmate for dinner, you didn’t have much choice as you didn’t have anything at home to eat.

“Okay.”

Tohru’s mood seemed to brighten immensely at your response, “really?!”

“Mhm.” You finished wiping the board and cleaned your hands a second time, “I don’t have a lot to do at home anyway.”

Tohru squealed in excitement before quickly finishing up her side of the duties and you both headed to the exit of the school. You noticed how joyous and aloof Tohru could be, she would skip around when she was happy which seemed to be most of the time. She was a very nice person you concluded.

“(Y/n)-kun, um. . . Do you live alone?” She asked.

“Oh, yes.”

“Ah! Then I hope you don’t mind the other guests in the house too!” She smiled with the same flowery and happy aura around her.

“Other guests?”

“Yes! I live with the Sohma family since they were really kind to take me in. . . S-So I hope you don’t mind coming over still!” She waved her arms around as if to express her nervousness, you wondered why she seemed so adamant on bringing you over for dinner.

“That’s fine Tohru-kun, you shouldn’t worry about it too much.” You pulled open your journal from your bag and began to write into the pages.

“(Y/n)-kun, can I ask what that book is for?” You hummed at her question.

“It’s a journal for me to keep track of my thoughts.” You lifted the contents of the pages to show her, “I write down my schedule and what happens every day.”

Her eyes sparkled in admiration as she scanned through the page. Everything was neatly written and they even had little doodles sprinkled throughout the pages. She noticed that you had a strong love for drawing flowers and birds as they were in almost every other sentence. Despite your quiet and standoffish nature in class, she realized how cute your inner personality was.

“They’re so cute! You have very pretty handwriting (Y/n)-kun!” She praised you to which you responded with the slight blush of your cheeks.

“I-It’s not a big deal. . .” As the two of you approached the gates, your eyes met with Yuki’s, the two of you standing in front of each other in shock while Tohru stood in the middle between you.

“A-Ah Honda-san. . .” Yuki didn’t expect the two of you to be walking home together, it was surprising, to say the least. “N-Nice to see you again, (L/n)-san.”

“O-Oh. . . Nice to see you too.”

There seemed to be slight tension in the air, Tohru thought. She sweatdropped at the sight of you turning your head away from Yuki as your cheeks were still a slight pink color. He seemed to be doing the same as well. Tohru only chuckled as she guided the two of you into walking home together.

“How did you guys meet?” She asked.

“We met at the library after school when you were all playing the card game,” Yuki answered, to which you nodded.

“Does that mean you two are friends?!” Tohru squealed, the same heart aura dancing around her as you stood there confused.

“A-Ah, I don’t know if we could be considered friends.” You scratched at your cheek nervously. “We just met yesterday after all.”

“I wouldn’t mind being friends with you, (L/n)-san.” Yuki responded, his smiling face still there as Tohru stared at him shocked yet excited nonetheless.

Your eyes widened at his statement but nervously bowed in front of the two, “Er. . . I-I would like to be friends too. . .” This was quite unexpected.

Tohru grinned happily, slightly over joyous by the idea of having another friend at school to talk to. You were quite nervous despite being quite intimidating at school, something which Tohru admits to being a bit scary.

“Sohma-kun, did you know that (Y/n)-kun has a really cute journal?” She piped up.

“Is that so?” Yuki smiled at her as you glanced off to the side.

“Mhm! She has really cute drawings! She drew a rat on one page, it was super adorable!” Tohru continued to gush over your art while Yuki only gazed at you.

Was yesterday an event caused by fate? Was he simply dreaming? It seems too unrealistic to believe that the day after he met you, you would have already befriended Tohru and coming over to their house. For a moment, he felt slightly threatened by the idea that you could advance so quickly into his life but he shook his head, it was rude of him to assume that you might have ill intentions when he knew nothing about you. Similar to Yuki’s thoughts, you had your own skepticism regarding Tohru’s extreme kindness to invite someone she barely met over to her house, it felt a bit too good to be true.

“L-Like I said, it’s not a big deal Tohru-kun.” You huffed.

“You guys seem friendly.” Yuki grasped onto the handles of his bag, “did something happen at school?”

“I asked (Y/n)-kun if she wanted to come over for dinner since she lives alone.” Tohru responded, “o-oh! I accidentally called her by first name too. . . “ She scratched her cheek as she recalled the previous event. Yuki hummed in acknowledgment.

As three of you were approaching to the Sohma household, you could see your orange-haired classmate sleeping on the roof. You questioned whether or not this act was normal, but considering his cat-like behavior, you believed this may be in the range. You sighed as Tohru and Yuki made their way to the door. You felt a bit out of place in this household, they seemed so traditional and your apartment was a bit run-down. Tohru gestured for you to come inside and you started taking off your outdoor shoes to leave by the doorway.

You turned your head to see a tall man with darkened hair wearing a dark green traditional outfit. You sweatdropped at the sight, you felt really out of place here. Tohru guided you to the table in the center as Yuki took a seat at the end of the table.

“Um (Y/n)-kun, since we came back from school and dinner will be ready in a bit, you could stay and do homework here while you wait. A-Ah, this is Shigure-san! He’s the owner of the house.” Tohru waved her hand over to Shigure who gave you a kind smile.

You bent your back over to bow towards him, “thank you for having me in your home.” You straightened your back but sat on the floor with your knees close to your chest. Shigure raised an eyebrow at your way of seating but only smiled.

“(Y/n)-san was it? How are you doing at school with these three?” He pointed at Yuki, “is it fun? Are they rowdy? Have they caused any trouble?”

He was quite blunt for someone you just met, you thought. You pressed your lips together as you thought of an answer. In all honesty, you barely met any of them and this was your first time putting effort into making some new friends.

“. . . It’s fun. Sohma-san is a really kind person, and I’m lucky to have been invited by Tohru-kun.” From behind you, Tohru was listening to the conversation while making each of you a cup of tea.

“What about Kyo-kun?” Shigure asked.

You gave a closed eye smile, “we don’t talk, but I hope he doesn’t mind me staying for dinner.” You’ve made eye contact with Kyo in class by accident, but the two of you had always stayed apart from each other.

“You talk so formally! Just like Tohru-kun sometimes, lighten up we don’t bite.” He winked to which Yuki only groaned in response.

“S-Sorry, this is my first time coming over to someone’s house.” You heard Tohru’s footsteps come over as she announced her arrival with the tea. She placed down your cup and smiled before going back to prepare dinner.

“(Y/n)-kun, are you fine with eating fish?” She asked.

“Yes, that would be fine, thank you Tohru-kun.”

“Do your parents mind you staying over though (Y/n)-kun?” Shigure held his fan up to the side of his face as he leaned forward against the table. You hummed as you took a small sip of the tea.

“We don’t talk,” you stated bluntly, “I live alone and work part-time.”

“Ooh! Sorry for bringing it up (Y/n)-kun!” You waved at him to dismiss his question.

“It’s fine.” You tried to suppress the frown that was starting to crack through your joyous facade. You stared at the ripples from the tea as a way to avoid looking at them with your pitiful eyes. “It’s not something that should concern you.”

Yuki narrowed his eyes slightly before lightening. He would assume you didn’t have the best childhood, but considering everyone in the house didn’t, it wasn’t shocking news. He noted the way your lips were pressed against each other as if you were holding yourself back.

“The eagle could save the rat from his burdens.” He pondered over the meaning of your words. It was a bold statement coming from you who he recently met. He watched as you continued to interact with Shigure about various types of books with your journal by your side as you noted down the ones written by him.

Yuki didn’t know what to feel in this situation, it seemed too unpredictable for him and he wanted to figure out the meaning behind your words. Perhaps he was looking too far into it as it would have been impossible for you to know the Sohma family secret, but there was something in the look that you gave him that sparked a sense of hope within him. A strange sense of hope that maybe there could have been a world where he didn’t feel alone.

“Dinner is ready!” Tohru called out to everyone with an array of plates, “is Kyo-kun still outside?”

“Yeah, could you go call him for us Tohru-kun?” Shigure asked, helping her set down the plates as you watched their interactions. The sound of the phone ringing echoed in the hallways, “I’ll excuse myself for a moment.”

“Alright!”

You sat there waiting for her to come back with Kyo while Shigure went to pick up the phone that was ringing, which left you and Yuki alone just for a couple of minutes. You glanced at him a couple of times before hearing him clear his throat.

“(L/n)-san, do you need someone to walk you home later? It’s getting quite dark already.” Yuki suggested, “I could walk you home if you need someone.”

“N-No, that is fine.” Your eyes flickered towards the meal before returning your attention back to your grey-haired classmate, “you really don’t have to be so nice Sohma-san.”

“It’s okay, I was just trying to talk to you after yesterday’s events that’s all.”

You sat there staring at him in awe. You didn’t expect him to actually care about your interaction and it surprised you. You felt your heart sink into your stomach as you realized he must have thought you said something irritating. “U-Um. . . Sorry.” You gripped onto your skirt from under the table as you bit your lip. “I must have offended you somehow didn’t I?”

“Not at all,” Yuki smiled, “It was my first time someone asked me a question like that. Is there a reason you don’t talk to everyone else in class?”

“I wasn’t really the best at talking to others so. . . When Tohru-kun invited me over it was hard to say no.” You toyed with the hem of your skirt, “l-like I said, this is my first time.”

“Then I’ll go gentle.” Your eyes widened as he gave you an innocent smile. There seemed to be this comedic and pure aura around him as he spoke in such a slightly vulgar way, this contrasted his outer appearance greatly which caught you off guard.

“A-Ah you don’t have to phrase it like that! I-It’s embarrassing!” You stumbled on your words while trying to form a complete sentence, “Umm. . .”

Crap, what were you supposed to do in this situation? You internally panicked, did he really have to say that?! You could feel your brain losing all senses until you heard him speak up.

“I’m just kidding (L/n)-san, I just wanted to ease you since you seemed tense.”

You breathed out a sigh of relief, “Sohma-san that was a bit unexpected.”

“Sorry, it seemed like a good opportunity to say that line.“

“I’m back!” You both snapped your necks to face Kyo and Tohru who were arriving, “Is Shigure-san still on the phone?” You both nodded as Kyo only rolled his eyes.

Just in a few seconds, Shigure was right by the door and you all were able to settle down and enjoy your meal. Tohru was very kind in giving you a meal even though you weren’t even part of their household. You cut through the fish easily with your chopsticks and started to eat, the rest of the family staring at you in disbelief as you consumed the meal. You tilted your head up in confusion towards their stares.

“A-Ah umm. . . (Y/n)-kun, do you just eat the bones too?” Tohru asked, the rest of the group watching as you stopped chewing.

“Am I not suppose to?” You held up your hand to your mouth to excuse your rudeness.

“Who the hell eats the bones?” Kyo said.

“No. . . You normally don’t eat the bones of the fish.” Yuki clarified, digging into his own fish and pulling out the flesh without any bones. “But, it’s okay if you do that too.”

“Mhm! I’m really happy you enjoy the meal (Y/n)-kun!” Tohru piped up.

“I-I see. . . I’m used to eating it this way.” You continued to eat your meal.

You didn’t get many opportunities like this to eat, even as a child you didn’t eat much either.

“God. . . Please listen to my prayers,” She cried out, she slid a bowl of mackerel bones from her side and placed it in front of the altar, “this is all I have to offer, please forgive me!” You watched from the far corner of your darkened room as she kneeled in front of the wooden altar, which was the only furniture you had in the small space you called a room. Your (e/c) eyes staring at her with your knees close to your chest as you pushed yourself further into the corner, hoping that one day you could disappear.

Your mother would pray every single day in your room and only return with scraps of food. Even though it was thought of to be filthy at first, this was the only way you could survive. You wondered if there truly was a God. Would you be able to see one when you disappear? You pressed your cheek against the cold wall, did it truly matter in the end? It seemed hopeless.

Was it worth dying to find out if God exists?

You watched your mother continue praying, your nails digging into your flesh as you glared at her. With every second, seeing her made your blood boil. You bit your lip, the skin splitting as the crimson liquid dripped from your chin.

The dullness in your eyes seemed to return which went unnoticed by most of the group. Yuki frowned at the sight but decided not to comment on it.

“(Y/n)-kun, are you walking back home alone?” Shigure asked, giving you a bit of a deja vu moment.

“Mhm, I don’t want to inconvenience you all, especially when I was the one invited here.” You were almost done with your meal, “I walk home alone when my shift from work ends.”

“Oh? Where do you work, Tohru-kun works as a cleaner at a nearby agency.”

“I work at the cafe just next to the Takoyaki Guy, sometimes they even let me bring leftovers home.”

“You should get Yuki-kun to walk you home then,” Unbeknownst to you, the sly dog had been snickering behind his fan while Yuki scoffed in response at his childishness matchmaking. “Unless you want Kyo-kun?”

“Hah?! When the hell did I ever agree to walk her home?! Why am I involved!” Kyo yelled.

“Don’t you think someone strong should walk (Y/n)-kun home then?~” Kyo sneered at Yuki who had already looked displeased at the idea.

“You really think he is strong?” He argued, “I’m sure Honda-san is also stronger than Kyo to walk her home.”

“You wanna go rat boy?!”

You silently finished your food, enjoying the small show in front of you. They were a very lively family, you assumed that Yuki and Kyo weren’t on the best terms based on their interactions. You began to take notes in your journal of this experience, writing down every insult and word the two of them spat at each other. As you tapped your pen against the paper, you started to realize how similar the two were to the idea of being a cat and rat. Shigure discretely tried to take a peek at your journal but you had already finished writing by the time he even finished the first sentence. You were a fast writer, he thought.

“Yuki-kun, why don’t you walk (Y/n)-kun home then?”

You raised your eyebrow, Shigure was awfully persistent in letting Yuki walk you home.

“Are you sure? He asked me earlier and I really don’t want to cause trouble.” You turned to the mentioned boy, “you don’t have to go if you don’t want to, I wouldn’t want to inconvenience you any more than I already have.”

“Erghh! (Y/n)-kun you’re starting to sound like Tohru-kun a bit.” Shigure whined, his head resting on the table as he groaned, “she is always too humble for her own good!”

“Ignore him, I wouldn’t mind walking you home (Y/n)-kun.” Yuki responded as he set down his pair of chopsticks, already finished with his meal, “do you live far from here?”

“Not really, my apartment should be a few minutes away from your house.” He nodded before Tohru dismissed herself to clean up.

“I know you youngsters didn’t do your homework yet, but it already is dark and it’s time for (Y/n)-kun to go home don’t you think?” Shigure suggested. Kyo only yawned and prodded at his ear in boredom as he turned on the television. You could see Yuki’s irked expression from the corner of your eye.

“A-Are you sure it’s okay for me to leave when Tohru-kun is still cleaning?” You asked.

Tohru peeked over the sliding door, “I’ll be fine (Y/n)-kun! I don’t want to keep you any longer! I’m happy you liked the dinner!”

You quickly brought yourself up to your feet and bowed down to the group, “thank you for having me here tonight. I had a lot of fun.”

“You can always come here again for dinner if you’d like!” Tohru grinned, “maybe next time you could even join us for lunch at school!” You wondered how such a girl could have so much generosity built in her bones. For group of people you recently talked to, they were extremely welcoming. Did she treat everyone like this?

“Tohru-kun, you’re too kind,” You smiled, “I’ll think about that offer. Then, if you you could excuse us.” You picked up your school bag and faced Yuki, signaling that you were ready to leave. He quickly stood up and waved at Tohru before walking you out of the house.

The two walked in silence for the first couple steps down the mountain while you admired the scenery of the street lights. You never realized this until now, but the Sohma family has a really nice view of the town from the mountains.

“You seem quite relaxed at home compared to when you’re at school Sohma-san.” You commented.

“Is that so?”

“Mhm. . . You seem to have this certain aura around you.” You clutched your journal close to you, “you have an interesting family.”

He chuckled, “I guess you could say that. They’re all strange in their own little ways.” They were very strange indeed, but it gave you a sense of warmth when you entered the house. You exhaled and noticed the small breath of air materializing into the air.

“Are you cold?” He asked.

“Not really,” you tilted your head to admire the glistening stars, “this weather feels nice. The stars look bright today.”

It seemed as if his smile never left his face even after leaving the house. You wonder if he was simply faking it or it was in his nature to stay looking happy. This idea made you feel slightly gloomy the more you thought about it, but you felt as if you should have been more on edge.

“Sohma-san, do you think I’m a bit strange?”

He hummed towards the stars before turning to face you, “not really, why do you ask?”

You tightened your grip around your journal, “no reason really. I was just curious.”

“I’m sure you’re just a bit nervous since it’s your first time right?” He teased, “I’m glad I would technically be your first.”

“P-Please let’s not speak of that” you pouted. He thought your facial expression was quite cute, but didn’t want to comment on it. “I-I just thought it would be awkward not to say anything in the library. . .” You sighed.

“It’s quite fun to tease you. But (L/n)-san, could you tell me more about your idea? About the eagle?” You halted your steps as the breeze blew past your cheek, you had almost loosened your grip on your journal at his question. He stood in front of you with an honest smile, one that you could tell was genuine.

“Are you sure? It wasn’t that interesting.” He only nodded before the two of you continued walking again.

“Do you know what the eagle would do if they were first place?”

You hummed, “. . . They would fly through the sky, carrying the burden of everyone else.”

“Why is that?”

“They feel sorry for the Zodiacs. Because the eagle is strong, and they want to protect others. They want to free them by asking God to do it.” You started to kick at a pebble on the ground, “the eagle would think that if they tried their hardest to convince God, they could unite the other zodiacs.”

“Then, what would happen to the eagle?”

“They will. . .” You trailed off. Your lips curled downwards into a frown. You watched as the pebble you previously kicked scattered off somewhere.

Then the eagle would be alone too.

It was a selfish thought, thinking that an eagle could handle the burden of all Twelve Zodiacs. You dug your nails into your journal at the idea.

“The eagle would become heavy with burden, and eventually they can’t fly anymore.” You mumbled, “they would be trapped forever.”

Yuki turned away from you by the time you both approached your apartment building. You gave him one final wave before making your way towards the staircase and opening the door to your home. Yuki stood near your building for a couple of minutes, lost in his own thoughts before walking back home.

Perhaps the eagle wanted freedom just as much as the rat did.

#fruits basket #fruits basket x reader #x reader #yuki sohma #yuki sohma x reader #yuki soma #yuki soma x reader

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milknette · 4 years

Text

day 18 - bookstore

cause lately i don't even know, what page you're on.

tumblr month: @auyeahaugust

links: ao3 | ff.net

THE first thing Marinette thinks as she pulls out the notebook is, that doesn't belong there.

And she's right— she knows Fu's Bookstore in and out; it's been her favorite place starting from when she discovered it in high school, and Marinette's practically lived there ever since.

(It's come to a point that some customers have assumed she's worked there, asking her questions as if she were an employee. Marinette still answers them even if she's not, just for the simple reason that she can.

Mister Fu doesn't mind either, assuring her that he loves the company and spirit she brings to the business.)

So Marinette always makes it a point to help whenever she can; her own personal way of saying thank you for providing her with a second home.

Today, she's organizing the books and placing them on their proper shelves.

It only takes a moment for her to notice the out-of-place and bright red notebook peeking out from the selection for Books About Superheroes.

"Weird," she quietly mutters to herself, wondering if someone had left it behind by mistake.

(But in case it was, then why would they shelf it, of all things?)

Curiously, Marinette opens the notebook.

On the first page, written in almost perfect handwriting:

'Up for making a new friend?

If yes, turn the page and write something!

I think that together, we'll be meowvelous.'

On the bottom is a drawing of an all-too-familiar catlike superhero, but was depicted so poorly that she almost couldn't identify it at all.

Marinette sighs.

Okay then. Guess she'll be writing something after all.

Adrien almost trips as he runs to the bookstore.

Maybe today. Maybe today someone actually replied!

He sneakily makes his way to the shelf, carefully watching to ensure that nobody's looking behind him. Adrien wraps the black jacket closer to his body in an attempt to hide himself.

Then, he opens the notebook.

First, he thinks with complete joy that, someone read it! This actually worked! He'll have a new best friend like in those coming-of-age movies and—

He flips to the next page.

'Please don't use the bookstore for your antics and jokes. I'll leave the notebook here for you to take back.

And Chat Noir, really? We all know the superior hero, and it's not him.'

Drawn below is an extremely intricate drawing of Ladybug, the superheroine of the Miraculous comic, arms out and holding her token yo-yo.

The sketch is so perfect that Adrien's tempted to rip the paper off and keep it for himself.

Instead, however, he decides to write back.

'Hey, it's not like I hate Ladybug, but we have to give Chat Noir some credit too! His puns are purrfect; absolute comedy gold.

But I love your drawing! Are you an art major?'

'His puns aren't all that clever. And you're not that great either, come to think of it. Maybe you could learn from Ladybug and start speaking more seriously?

And not an art major, but I'm in fashion design. I just like sketching in my free time. You, on the other hand? You could do with some practice. :-)'

'Then, teach me maybe?'

'Believe me, we're going to need a lot more notebooks if you want that to happen.'

Marinette doesn't know what makes her keep replying.

Maybe she doesn't want to lose a possible customer. Maybe the boredom of summer was finally getting to her. Maybe it's the fact that she pitied him because of his poor drawing skills and pure lack of taste in choosing superheroes.

Or maybe— maybe it's because she wants to know more about the strangely-optimistic and overly-friendly mysterious boy hiding behind the notebook's cover.

They continue their writing exchange for months.

(And have consequently gone through their fifth notebook to date. She figures that if they didn't doodle as much, they'd probably end up wasting much less paper.

But then again, Marinette does like seeing his awkward drawings decorate the pages.)

Their first argument over paper starts when Bookstore Stranger uses two whole pages to draw Ladybug and Chat Noir— sharing a kiss.

She doesn't even compliment him on the drawing.

'WHY ARE THEY KISSING?'

'Why not? I think they're in love! :'

'No, they're just partners by profession. A romantic relationship ruins their whole dynamic!'

'Well, I don't think that's true… if anything, that'd make their relationship that much stronger.'

'They don't even know each other beyond their masks! They can't possibly love each other without knowing their true identities.'

'So what? We don't know each other's real names.'

'Yeah, and we're not dating. Your point?'

The message doesn't come in the next day like it always does.

In fact, it doesn't come at all.

Marinette stops by the bookstore every morning.

Then every afternoon.

And even when it's closing time.

She arrives with a hopeful smile, then leaves feeling dejected and upset.

Maybe even angry.

Mister Fu asks her what's wrong.

"I found a stray kitty, and I think he ran away."

It's two weeks when she finally decides to get over it.

Marinette takes the notebook, a poorly-written #5 on its cover, and decides to throw it away.

She's two steps away from the trash can when she realizes that she can't get rid of it at all.

A month later, Marinette's taken a job at Fu's Bookstore.

It's a lazy Sunday, and she leans her head on the desk in front of her— eyes almost closing from how quiet it is.

Until the jingle of the door opening effectively wakes her up from her nap.

She rubs her eyes as the stranger walks up to her.

"Hi, I'm looking for this specific book and I just can't find it where I used to, so…"

"Okay, let me help you out," Marinette remarks, before turning to the desktop. "What's the title?"

"I actually don't know…"

She raises an eyebrow, then nods along. (Sure, she's gotten customers like this before.) "Can you describe what the contents are like, then? Or the design of the cover?"

"It's filled with sketches and some nonsense…"

"Nonsense?" Marinette wrinkles her nose. What a cruel way to describe a book someone's worked so hard on.

"I mean—! It's nonsense to everyone else, but not to me. And hopefully not to her either…"

Now, this is dragging on longer than it should.

"Then just describe the cover, please."

He brightens up. "Yeah! It's this bright red book; notebook, really, with the #5 on it? I know it should be around here somewhere, and I need to find it, I need to find a way to connect with her again…"

"..."

"See, I know it's not a real book, and I'm sorry I just snuck it here, but it's so important to me and…"

Marinette mutters unintelligibly.

"Sorry, I couldn't hear…"

She says it again.

"Can you repeat that?"

A third attempt.

"Please, just one more time—"

Visibly irritated, Marinette grabs a book from under her desk and places it in front of him. The number almost gleams as it's exposed to the light.

"That's exactly it! Thank you—"

"You can't have this."

"What?"

"It's my property."

"Look, I know I kept it in your library but…"

"No. We worked on it together, and you got to keep the last four so it's my turn."

"But—

Wait."

He looks up at her, eyes widening in surprise.

"Ladybug?"

She points at her name tag. "Marinette, actually. But hello, Chat. It's been awhile."

#auyeah2020 #mlauyeahaugust2020 #auyeahaugust #auyeah august #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #adrinette #ml #miraculous ladybug #milk writes #ml fic #ml fanfic #inspired by dash & lily !!

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annzybwrites · 4 years

Text

Rainy Days

Anonymous: u asked for fluffy snufmin prompts and I’m here to deliver!:) it’s cold and rainy and gross out so moomin convinces snufkin to stay in at moominhouse. snufkin tries to teach moomin how to play an instrument and moomin tries to teach him how to bake smth. they’re both bad at the thing which the other finds adorable <3

Annzy: I am so sorry this took so long, but I hope there’s enough fluff <3

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Snufkin, can you put aside your pride for one second?” Moomin wasn’t sure if he was scolding or pleading with his boyfriend at this point. All he knew was that it had been raining for the past two days, and Snufkin had to keep moving his tent to higher and higher ground to avoid the mud, and really things would be so much simpler if he would just come stay in Moominhouse until the rain cleared up.

“This is the last rainy day,” Snufkin argued, rolling up his tent while Moomin held an umbrella over them. “I can feel it.”

“You said that yesterday.”

“That was yesterday.”

“Just come inside!” Moomin pulled at the skin underneath one of his eyes. “If today really is the last rainy day, then staying in a nice, warm, dry house until it clears up would be best. And then we can go worm hunting as soon as the rain stops!”

Snufkin hummed, fixing his tent to the top of his pack before looking at Moomin with a small smile on his lips. “Trying to butter me up?”

“More like trying to resist throwing you over my shoulder and carrying you to Moominhouse.”

Snufkin laughed at that, swinging his backpack on with a small sigh. “All right, you’ve won me over.”

“Finally!” Moomin groaned, snatching Snufkin’s hand and starting to lead him off before he could change his mind.

~~~

Moominmamma wasn’t usually too strict when it came to messes and dirt. But at the sight of Snufkin with dried mud in his hair, on his legs, and stuck on the ends of his tunic, she insisted he take a warm bath while she washed out his clothes for him. Thankfully they had a worn-in outfit that Snufkin considered acceptable to wear for brief periods; a plain, mustard yellow, cotton frock.

“It’s so weird to see you in anything other than green,” Moomin commented when Snufkin entered his room. He’d spent the time idly doodling some flowers, but he was happy to put it away for awhile.

“Is it?” Snufkin brushed out the fabric, chuckling a little. “How would I look in red?”

“I can’t even imagine,” Moomin shook his head, happily padding over with a smile. “Well, what should we do for our rainy day adventure? Play a board game? Act out scenes from a book? Oh! Let’s bake something!”

“Bake?” Snufkin was already looking forward to whatever sweets Moomin was in the mood for. He’d become quite a fantastic baker over the years.

“Yes!” Moomin was already walking out of his room and down the stairs. “I can show you how to make a rhubarb pie!”

“Oh…” Snufkin hesitantly followed him down the stairs. “Aren’t pies rather hard to make?”

“Maybe at first,” Moomin admitted. “But I’d say they just take more time. Especially if you want the lattice covering on top, but it just looks cuter, don’t you think?”

“If you say so.” Snufkin tried not to feel too nervous. If it was a rhubarb pie, he could just help prepare the filling and let Moomin worry about the rest. He absolutely hated working with pastry dough; it always turned out lumpy and stuck to his hands or his utensils whenever he tried.

At first his plan worked out well; Snufkin washed and cut the rhubarb while Moomin started mixing the flour, sugar, and butter together into a nice, large ball of dough. But once Snufkin was done preparing the rhubarb, Moomin called him over to the table, insisting, “Rolling out the dough into a big circle is the best part.”

“Oh, is it?” Snufkin kept a smile on his face despite his heart leaping into his throat.

“Oh yes!” Moomin separated the ball into two, smaller spheres, handing one to Snufkin. “I’ll let you use the rolling pin; a little easier than using your hands.”

“I’m sure.” Snufkin nodded, acting like he knew what he was doing as Moomin handed him the rolling pin. He stared down at his ball of dough, noticing out of the corner of his eye that Moomin was already making good progress with flattening out his own ball with his hands. With a deep breath, he pressed the pin into the center and started rolling, hoping it would work out and that he wouldn’t look like a goon.

He should have known that was too much to hope for.

With each new roll, more and more of the dough started sticking to the pin, and Snufkin was quickly becoming frustrated with just how often he had to peel it off and lay it back down on the table. “A little easier than using your hands” indeed. He was so absorbed with his struggle that he didn’t realize Moomin had already finished flattening and rounding his ball of dough.

“Snufkin.” Moomin was clearly amused, and when Snufkin turned to look he saw a playful gleam in those baby blue eyes. “Need some help?”

“Oh, no.” Snufkin shook his head, trying to roll out the dough fast, hoping it wouldn’t stick. No such luck; if anything that made it worse. “I have it all under control, thank you.”

“Ah, I see.” Moomin nodded, obviously stifling a large grin. “Then I’ll start mixing the filling together while you finish… that.”

“Yes, I’d appreciate it.”

Moomin nodded, chuckling a little as he began gathering spices from the cabinets. Snufkin watched him for a moment to make sure he wasn’t looking before returning to the menacing pastry. The dough looked more like a lumpy, cracked plate rather than a nice circle, so he began rolling it into a ball again before starting over. He put the rolling pin aside before digging in with his hands, since that had seemed to work for Moomintroll just fine. Except, just like before, all that ended up happening was the dough sticking to his hands rather than the rolling pin.

“How’s it going?”

Snufkin felt the fur on his back stand on end as he turned to look at his grinning boyfriend. “It’s going.”

Moomin chuckled, tactfully sliding the flour to him. “A little of this should take care of that stickiness you’re struggling with.”

“Right, of course.” Snufkin tried to smile nonchalantly, hoping his cheeks weren’t red as he reached for the flour. A little sprinkle later, and the dough was finally behaving properly. Now all he had to deal with was the fact that he was apparently incapable of flattening it evenly; some parts were thin as paper while others were little, thick pockets.

Snufkin bristled when he heard Moomin start to laugh, and he quickly turned to glare softly. “You’re enjoying my suffering?”

“Sorry!” Moomin covered his mouth, shoulders shaking with his laughter. “It’s just such a rare sight to see you like this.”

“Like what?”

“Like…” Moomin paused, trying to think of the best way to word this. “Like someone who doesn’t know everything?”

“I never claimed to know everything—”

“But you do act like it sometimes,” Moomin pointed out, grinning wider. “With all your grand stories and wise words. I’m just saying, it’s nice to see you failing at something.”

Snufkin pouted at him, certain his cheeks were at least pink as Moomin continued laughing at him. “What use is dough-making for a tramp?”

Moomin shrugged, leaning in to nuzzle his nose against Snufkin’s cheek as he pushed his hands away from the dough. “Just let me take care of this, all right? You can be adorable somewhere else.”

Snufkin tensed up from the casual way Moomin said that, a warm shiver running down his spine. “What, you—my struggling is adorable?”

“Very much so, actually.” Moomin was thoroughly enjoying himself as he rounded the dough for the third time that afternoon, picking up the rolling pin and humming away as he easily levelled it into a perfect, little circle. “And there we go.” Moomin grinned at him again, pointing towards the counter. “Can you get me a knife so I can cut out the lattice?”

Snufkin huffed quietly, stepping over to fetch him his knife while embarrassment sat heavy in his stomach. He really didn’t like looking like a fool, but at least it was only Moomintroll who saw. And to be called adorable on top of it all! How completely undignified.

“Thank you, Snufkin.” Moomin beamed as he took the knife from him. “And just so you know, you look even more adorable with that pout on your lips.”

Snufkin was sure his entire face was red as he covered his mouth with his hand. “I am not pouting.”

“Oh, you’re not?”

“Absolutely. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be in the living room.” Mamma could use some company as she knitted, anyway.

~~~

The pie turned out beautifully, and the whole family came to the kitchen to enjoy it. Pappa complimented them on their perfect, flaky crust, and Moomin couldn’t help but laugh a little until Snufkin gave him a look. He didn’t say anything, of course; he didn’t want to embarrass Snufkin. No, he’d rather keep the image of Snufkin glaring down at the dough with flushed cheeks and a frustrated pout all to himself. Maybe he’d try and sketch it out later in his journal, just for posterity’s sake.

It was still raining after they finished their rhubarb snack, so Moomin and Snufkin went up to his room to stare out across the cloudy skies and damp valley.

“What should we do now?” Moomin asked.

“Hm.” Snufkin tapped his fingers twice against the windowsill before pushing himself towards his pack. “Let’s make some music. Rainy weather is perfect to compose to.”

Moomin brightened, happily going to sit on his bed. “I do love your songs.” And it would be so exciting to hear him compose something in real time!

“I’m glad.” Snufkin pulled out his trusty harmonica before going to sit next to him on the bed. He blew through it once, as if to check to make sure it still worked, and then he began to play. Short, brisk notes, as if to imitate the pitter-patter of the rain, but sudden and loud enough to make Moomin’s ears twitch occasionally. He stopped after a few moments, turning to Moomintroll with a small grin of his own. “Actually, would you like to learn how to play?”

“Me?” Moomin’s eyes widened as he pointed to himself. “Oh, I don’t know how good I’d be.”

“Give it a try.” Snufkin handed the instrument over. “Can’t be any worse than me with pie dough.”

Moomin couldn’t help but laugh at that, covering his mouth again as he did. He was glad that Snufkin wasn’t too sore about earlier; he’d wondered if he’d gone a bit far with his teasing. “You have a point.” He took the harmonica, simply staring at it for a few moments before blowing into it experimentally. It was surprising how loud it was, but he supposed it was bound to sound louder to the one playing it.

Snufkin began trying to explain two different ways to isolate one note on the harmonica. One involved puckering your lips into a small oval shape, while the other involved using your tongue to block some of the other holes.

“You put your tongue on this thing?” Moomin interrupted.

“Sometimes.” Snufkin shrugged. “To get a certain sound. It makes it easier to add in or take away chords, too.”

“And you’re sure you want me to play this?”

“You’re clean enough, aren’t you?”

“That’s not really the point.”

“I don’t mind, Moomintroll.” Snufkin shook his head, a fond smile on his face. “Go on, try and play something. Just search until you find the note you want.”

“All right.” Moomin swallowed nervously, staring into the daunting holes of the harmonica before holding it up to his puckered lips and giving a cautious blow. It did take a bit of practice to play just one note, and whenever he tried to find a new one he found all sorts of unpleasant sounds coming out of the instrument before he got to where he wanted. After only a few minutes, his mouth was already starting to hurt and he stopped to rub at his lips.

“How do you play this for hours?”

Snufkin laughed, taking the harmonica back as he explained, “Well, for one thing, you were moving your mouth too much. You should move the instrument with your hands, not your lips.”

“Oooh.” Moomin groaned. “That makes sense.”

Snufkin chuckled for a bit longer, wiping the instrument down once with his sleeve. “I know what you meant earlier now,” he spoke up, eyes twinkling with mischief as he teased, “You also look adorable when you’re struggling.”

Moomin felt his fur stand on end as heat travelled down his body. “Oh, hush.” Moomin gently pushed at his shoulder, smiling a little at the joyful laugh that came out of Snufkin’s mouth. “Let’s just agree that we’re both adorable, all right?”

Snufkin paused for a moment, thinking that over. “Only if you agree that you’re the most adorable, being so large and fluffy.”

Moomin snorted, leaning in to nuzzle Snufkin’s forehead. “Deal.”

#springdove #snufmin #snufkin #moomin #moominvalley #sorry there's more emphasis on Snufkin being bad at the thing #but Moomin is always struggling with new things so it seemed only fair #also I had to look up how a person actually plays the harmonica for this XD #annzy writes

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lorirwritesfanfic · 3 years

Text

Secrets In Small Doses

Author's note: In this blog, we have Christmas in January because my muse said so 😁 All characters are owned by Pixelberry Studios. Book: Desire & Decorum (modern day AU) Pairing: Prince Hamid x MC (Daphne) Rating: M Word count: 3139 Summary: Daphne slowly opens up to Hamid as Christmas day approaches.

A light cool wind blew against Hamid's back, making him shiver. He groaned in frustration, regretting he didn’t put his pyjamas back on before he fell asleep. But it was hard to fight tiredness. Besides, he would have woken up his girlfriend in the process, which wasn't something he wanted to do. The diplomat pulled the covers over his body to go back to sleep when he noticed the drapes partially open.

He shifted to the side to stand up and a slow smile immediately spread across his lips. With her glasses on and a blue satin robe covering some of her small frame, Daphne huddled on the plush chair near the bed with her sketchbook pressed against her legs. Her calves and feet were illuminated by the sunlight creeping into the bedroom through the small gap between the drapes.

Being an introvert, Daphne is a woman with many habits she didn't like sharing with just anyone. And in spite of his curiosity, Hamid always respected her limits, especially when it came to drawing and painting. Which is why he was surprised to see her locked in concentration whilst her arm moved with grace and precision as she worked on a new drawing.

It didn't take long until she realized he was watching her. Leaving her sketchbook and pencil on the desk nearby, she sauntered over to him and sat on the bed. "Good morning!"

"Good morning indeed," he replied, closing the distance between them to kiss her. "I hope I didn't disturb your creative process."

"You didn't. I finished a sketch and I was just doodling while I waited for you to wake up."

"Really?" A yawn escaped his lips as he rubbed a hand on one eye. "How long have you been awake?"

"About two hours. But these aren't detailed pieces, just sketches. I'll work on them more thoroughly later."

"Are you sure? You can continue to work on them if you want. I promise I won't bother you. I'll just stay here in silence and gaze at you occasionally because you look lovely wearing glasses."

"Oh, shush..." Daphne's cheeks flushed crimson. "You don't have to worry about bothering me. Actually..." She glanced at her sketchbook then back at him. "You have a good eye for art. Can you help me with one of my sketches?"

"Me?" His forehead creased in surprise.

"Yeah. Give me a second." The lady stood up, picked up her sketchbook and sat beside him, flipping pages.

"Wait... Can I really watch you draw and give my opinion on your latest piece?" He feigned shock. "Am I dreaming?"

"Don't be silly! This would happen eventually. You didn't see it before because I normally don't take sketchbooks or tablets to dates."

"Then how come Briar isn't allowed to be near when you're drawing?"

"Because she can't shut up and I can't concentrate with all her babbling." She scowled.

Hamid cackled. "Alright, how can I help?"

She turned one more page and showed him. "What do you think?"

His face brightened up as he scrutinized the drawing. "Is it the view from my balcony?"

She nodded.

"Daphne, this is incredible!"

"Is it? You don't think it's too cliche that I drew the Bosphorus Bridge in my first visit here?"

"I think every artist can have their own view on a landmark that caught their attention. I won't appreciate your work less because you drew a landmark other artists did too. And I couldn't be happier that you drew it from my balcony."

"Fair point." She said with a coy smile.

"How can I purchase this artwork?"

"I can't charge you for it. It's the view from your balcony. The least I can do is give you a copy. But you have to wait until it's finished."

"Why? I like it as a sketch."

"Me too. But this is a really rough sketch. I need to add more details on the buildings, maybe add some colour in the water, the sky, the Turkish flag..."

"I'll wait then. Whatever you do, I'm sure you'll amaze me."

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me. It'll be my pleasure to be one of the first people to have an original Wang art piece." He puffed his chest and gesticulated as if pretending to be a snob art critic.

She doubled over.

"What about the other sketch you were working on?"

"Huh?" Her smile faded immediately.

"The other sketch. You said you drew two sketches today. You finished one first and you were doodling right before I woke up."

"Oh! Of course..." She looked down, trying to come up with something to say. "Well, that one is finished. Don't worry about it."

"Is it? I thought you said it was a rough sketch."

"Did I?"

He studied her for a moment. Her hesitation was obvious to him. He just had to know why. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes."

"Good. Can I see your sketch now?"

"No..."

"No?!" His brows knitted together. "You just showed me and asked my opinion on one of your works in progress, but I can't see a sketch you said it's finished?"

"Yeah, I take it back. It's not ready and you can't see it." She forced a smile.

"Daphne?"

"Mmm?"

"Are you hiding something from me?"

"No... I just don't feel comfortable sharing any rough sketches."

"That would be a plausible excuse if you didn't show me one of WIPs a minute ago." Hamid analyzed her in silence, then a sly smile spread on his lips. "What is it about this sketch that makes you so embarrassed to show me? Is it erotic art?"

The lady averted her gaze and picked on an invisible cuticle.

"Oh, I knew it..." A roguish grin illuminated his features. "And now that I know your little secret, you have to show me."

Daphne covered her face with both hands.

"Don't be ashamed. Erotic art can be as beautiful and inspiring as any form of artistic expression." He said, kissing her cheek.

"I know but..." She chewed on a nail. "This is all new to me. I don't usually draw erotic... stuff..." She explained, still avoiding eye contact.

"I didn't know that. What made you want to start drawing erotic art?"

Daphne's cheeks blushed furiously as realization dawned on his features.

"Nooo... Really?"

Not knowing what else to do, she grabbed a pillow to hide her face.

"I honestly don't understand why you're so ashamed. I'm flattered that yesterday's activities inspired you to try different…” He smirked as he looked back at the sketch. “...types of drawing."

"Stop it..." she let out a whine muffled by the pillow her face was pressed against.

"I can't. I've been thinking about how to make our first Christmas Eve together unforgettable, but now I just don't know how to exceed what you just did." He beamed.

She sat up and looked back at him, failing to hide a smile. "You wouldn't say that if you have seen what I drew."

"Oh, now I demand to see it."

"Hamid, don't. It's not ready. It's messy and kind of weird..." She made a face.

"What if I want your unfinished, messy and kind of weird sketch as a Christmas gift?"

"No!" Her eyes went round. "Absolutely not! I can't give you this! Besides, I already bought you a gift."

"Does it mean I will get two Christmas gifts from you?" He feigned surprise. "I never felt so fortunate on a Christian holiday."

"No, you won't. I will not give you that god-awful sketch."

"Then you'll not get your gift either."

"What?! That is so rude..." She narrowed her eyes.

"It's also very rude of you to deny me the right to see an artwork I inspired you to create." He gave a knowing look.

"What if I give it to you later after I make some more improvements to it?"

"I'll give your gift later then."

They glared at each other playfully for a few minutes, but Daphne acquiesced. "Fine. I'll show you after breakfast, but I'll only give it to you when I finish it."

Hamid grinned as if he had just made the best deal to acquire a priceless possession.

"Stop looking at me so smug and get dressed. Mrs. Meral is here." She chastised picking up his pyjamas from the floor and giving them back to him while trying to ignore his cheeky grin.

Once Hamid got dressed, the couple went to the dining room, where breakfast was served. The two of them had their meal chatting about any random topics they could think of. Even though the diplomat's housekeeper didn't understand a word in English, Daphne was too self-conscious to do anything other than talk and respond to Hamid's subtle flirty remarks and romantic gestures with coy smiles.

As soon as the housekeeper was dismissed and they sat on the couch near the balcony, he brought his lips to her ear. "Here we are alone again. It seems like the perfect time for you to give me one of my gifts."

"Now?"

"You said you'd show me after breakfast. This is the moment after breakfast." He grinned.

"I can't escape from this, can I?"

The diplomat shook his head.

"I'll get my sketchbook."

"I think we both should go fetch your sketchbook," Hamid stood up, trying to support his weight on his healthy leg.

"Impatient, are we?"

"You have no idea..." He winked.

Draping an arm around her shoulder, Hamid returned to the master bedroom with Daphne's help, making sure to close the door behind him as they walked in.

After a couple of minutes holding on to her sketchbook in more failed attempts to dissuade her boyfriend from looking through her sketches, she sat next to him on the bed again. As he held out his hand to receive it, she pressed the object against her chest. "Before I let you see it, you need to know this and other sketches you might see are just random ideas I had and I don't usually share them with anyone."

"So no one has seen the content of your sketchbook?"

"Not entirely. I did ask Annabelle's opinion a couple of times. Her paintings are brilliant, I learned a lot with her and I knew she wouldn't judge me."

"I'm not going to judge you, little angel. Well, not to your face..." He joked.

"Gee, how reassuring!" She retorted with a scowl.

"But I can promise to keep your secret if you give me the context of your artworks."

The lady pursed her lips and handed the book to him. "Fair enough."

"Thank you." Hamid beamed and opened the book, analysing each drawing carefully. "When did you start using this sketchbook?"

"A week after I moved to Edgewater. It was a gift from my grandmother. She told me she has one as well and she uses it as a journal. But instead of writing, she draws. She prefers painting, though."

"Interesting," he said, glancing at her and the pages with portraits of female characters, her pug in human activities, nymphs dancing among the trees, mermaids singing in large rocks near the shore and couples sharing passionate kisses. "These are wonderful drawings. I honestly don't know why you were—" he trailed off as his eyes landed on a female figure with private parts concealed by a flower. "Nevermind."

“That was my first attempt a while ago…” Daphne chewed a nail as he flipped pages.

Hamid smirked. "How clever of you to use butterfly pea between the model's legs."

"And you're familiar with the name of the flower." She arched an eyebrow.

"I was grounded because of an incident involving this flower. I could never forget it."

"Now I need details."

"Maybe later. Right now, I want my Christmas gift."

"Okay..." She reached for the book, turned a few pages and stopped.

The corners of his mouth lifted as he gazed at the image of a male figure kissing a female character's collarbone whilst her head hung back and mouth was open as if she was moaning. Unlike what Daphne said, the drawing was rich in details, expressions, but nothing that would reveal who those characters were. But to him, it was clear.

“Please say something.”

“This is... stunning!"

"Is it? Because I feel like I have to do some improvements.”

“Improvements? This is perfect!”

“Really?” Daphne nibbled her bottom lip nervously.

“Yes! I love everything about it. The lines, the pose, expressions...”

“You're not just saying it, are you?"

"I would never."

"Yes, you would."

"That is true, but I would never lie about something important to you."

"You don't think it's creepy that I drew it?" Daphne chewed on a nail.

"Why would I find it creepy? These are your original characters, Demir and Hailey." He wriggled his eyes.

“Demir and Hailey?”

“It’s an alternative to make it less obvious.”

She giggled.

"Look at us sharing a secret," he commented, intertwining his fingers with hers.

Her smile slowly faded. An erotic drawing was nothing if compared to the one thing she wished she could erase from her past.

"Aşkım?" He brushed away a few loose locks of hair from her face. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. I was just thinking..." She looked down at their hands locked together, looking for the courage to talk about it. "Have you ever had a secret you wanted to tell someone, but you don't know how to say it because you were afraid of this other person's reaction?"

"Yes. We all did things we're afraid to be judged for in the future." He lifted up her chin so their eyes met. "But whatever you did in the past doesn't define who you are, even if it left a scar."

"Do you really think so?"

He nodded. "I do want to know everything about you, but if you're not ready to tell me something, it's okay. I don't expect you to tell me everything after one week dating. We can take it slow."

"Maybe we can reveal secrets in small doses?"

"Sure." He uttered, lifting her hand to his lips and kissing her knuckles.

As emotions threatened to come to surface, Daphne wrapped her arms around her boyfriend and sat on his lap, hiding her face where his shoulder and neck meet. "Why are you always so wonderful?" She whispered.

"I have years of practice and my family's good genes."

A small chuckle escaped her lips.

"Are you sure you're okay? Because there's something I want to ask you and it can't wait."

"Uh... Sure..." Daphne pulled away from the hug and eyed him in confusion. "What is it?"

"How do you celebrate Christmas?"

"Is it your question that can't wait?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because it's Christmas Eve. Every Christian person has their own traditions and I want to know yours."

The young lady raised an eyebrow, feigning suspicion. "Hamid, what are you up to?"

"Nothing. At least, not yet." He smirked. "Now, stop deflecting my question."

"Alright... In Edgewater, I attend Christmas Eve service with my family. After that, we have supper and I usually stay awake watching Christmas movies with my brothers. Briar usually joined us then pretended she was hungry. Then, Eddie insisted that he should go with her to the kitchen to find something to eat."

"Subtlety was never Briar's strong suit, huh?"

"No."

The two of them laughed.

“I guess that won’t happen this year…” She frowned.

“Were you rooting for them to be together?”

“Sort of... “ Daphne shrugged. “I don’t talk about it because I don’t want to make things awkward between them, but Briar has this magical power of bringing Eddie’s best self to surface. They were way worse with PDA than she is with Arthur, but they’re really cute together. He even had a list of possible gift ideas for her, flowers she likes, poems he thought she would like.”

“I understand this must be a sensitive issue for you because you have strong ties to both of them. But for some couples, love isn’t everything. No matter how affectionate they are.”

“I guess you’re right...”

He tilted his head to the side, studying her face. “Okay, you’re growing sad again. Was this a bad idea?”

“No.” She leaned in and kissed his cheek. “I’m fine. I’ll get to the good part.” She cleared her throat to speak. "On Christmas morning, we have breakfast while opening the gifts and, right after lunch, we help Mr. and Mrs. Daly to distribute gift baskets with food for families in need."

"That's a really nice gesture. Do all your family members join?"

"Most of them do. Grandmother helps Briar's parents to gather and organize the gift baskets. Father also helps with that and also buys toys for families with small children. But on Christmas day, we usually have guests at home, so they rarely help on the distribution of the baskets."

"It makes sense. Any more traditions before Christmas day ends?’’

“We have supper then more Christmas movies marathons." She beamed.

"How many Christmas movies are there?"

"Well, Harry's list has at least thirty films and he always makes us watch Die Hard, The Grinch or Batman Returns just to annoy Briar. And if I add her list and Annabelle's, it goes up to seventy five movies."

His eyebrows rose in astonishment. "That's a really long list..."

"Yeah, Briar always adds any new rom coms she finds online."

"That explains all the Christmas action movies."

"Precisely."

"Hmmm..." he shifted on the bed, resting his back on the headboard. "You mentioned you have celebrated Christmas in two different ways. Tell me about the other one."

"Christmas with mum and lǎo lao¹ had its own peculiarities..."

"How so?"

"We also went to Christmas Eve services, had supper right after and a feast on the next day too. But after supper on Christmas Eve, mum and lǎo lao would go to the kitchen and prepare a few dishes for the Christmas feast with our neighbors."

"Oh... You spent Christmas day with neighbors!"

"That's how we met the Dalys. We used to have food from different cultures. It was so much fun. Once we had dumplings, couscous, tamales and cocada². I don't think I've ever felt so full in my life."

"I believe you."

"Whilst they prepared the dish we would share the next day, mum and I used to sing our favorite Christmas songs. Well, it was mostly mum and I playing piano and singing. Lǎo lao used to say multitasking was for crazy people."

Hamid cackled. "Sounds about right. And why didn't you tell me you play piano?"

"Because I'm not nearly as good as mum was. She was marvelous. I just learned to help her when she had to study for a play and to hear her sing, of course. I didn't get expensive gifts until I met my father, but Christmas was my favorite time of the year anyway." Daphne said as she rested her head on her boyfriend's chest.

"There was so much about you I didn't know..."

"Yeah, I guess the whole taking things slow and revealing secrets in small doses backfired."

"Lucky me." He grinned.

Just then, she gasped. "You tricked me! I spent all this time talking and you didn't mention anything about yourself!"

"You can't blame me for it. I don't have any Christmas related traditions," he teased.

"Yeah, great excuse. But now it's your turn to talk, Hamid bey³," she scolded him playfully.

"Ask away," he replied with a smile.

---

¹ Grandma ² Brazilian dessert made of fresh grated coconut, sugar and condensed milk ³ Mister

#choices fanfic #desire and decorum fanfic #prince hamid #hamid x mc #lorirwritesfanfic #lorircreates #n*fw-ish

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suituuup · 4 years

Note

hi, I was wondering where I can find the sequel to 'look at the stars (look how they shine for you)'? I remember reading it on your old tumblr but I couldn't find it on your AO3. It's a beautiful story and I wanna re-read the continuation of this story again.

hello! Yes, that’s because I only published it on tumblr. Managed to find it in my google docs, so here you go :)

part one here

“It’s a girl!”

The raw, piercing cry that fills the room following the doctor’s announcement makes Beca’s chest swell with unparalleled awe. She watches in awe as the slimy, unhappy and reddish looking baby is laid upon Chloe’s chest.

“Oh my god,” Beca’s voice trembles with the emotions lodged in her throat as tears freely run down her face.

“It’s okay,” Chloe murmurs to their daughter (their daughter. Holy crap.) as she peppers her forehead with gentle kisses. “You’re okay, baby girl.”

The newborn’s wails subside to small cooing noises, Chloe’s warm skin against her tiny body seemingly reassuring and familiar after her tremendous and emotional arrival into the world.

Beca leans forward to kiss Chloe’s temple, resting her forehead against the side of her head. “You are incredible. I love you both so much.”

Chloe twists her head and they share a sweet, lingering kiss. “We love you, too, Mommy.”

One of the nurses steps up to the other side of the bed once they’ve parted. “Chloe, we have to take her for just a few minutes, okay? We need to weigh and measure her, then give her a clean-up.”

“O-okay.” Their minutes-old daughter fusses again as soon as she is carried away. “Beca, go with her, I don’t want her to be alone.”

Beca brushes another kiss to Chloe’s forehead. “We’ll be right back.”

She takes a few strides to the baby station tucked against the far wall, observing from a few feet away as they weigh, measure and clean-up her daughter before wrapping her in a blanket. She’s carried back into Chloe’s arms and Beca perches herself on the edge of the bed, draping an arm over Chloe’s shoulders as she gazes down at their bundle of joy.

“She’s so beautiful, Chlo,” Beca says softly, brushing her thumb over her daughter’s knuckles. “She has bright blue eyes, the same as yours.” Beca knows a baby’s eyes are likely to change a few shades but she hopes they stay identical to Chloe’s. “Her hair is light red, and she’s got lots of it. And she can’t take your eyes off you,” Beca observes endearingly. “At least she and I have something in common.”

Chloe grins and leans her head against Beca’s shoulder. “Keep going.”

“She’s got her hand wrapped around my little finger. Both literally and figuratively.” Beca says with a watery chuckle, followed up by a tiny gasp. “Oh, her eyes are closing. Looks like coming into this world was exhausting.”

Chloe giggles. “Tell me about it.”

“Hi mommies,” the nurse interrupts gently. “Do you have a name for her?”

“Avery,” Chloe speaks softly. “Avery June Mitchell.”

Avery starts to fuss a few seconds later as the nurse fastens a bracelet with her name to her wrist. She helps Chloe present her breast to Avery, who latches on immediately.

“She’s a trooper,” Beca murmurs with a proud smile, which drops when she catches Chloe’s features crumbling. She pivots to face Chloe, cupping her face tenderly. “Chlo?”

“I’m okay,” Chloe sniffles, wiping her tears with her free hand before she rests it back over Avery’s tummy. “I’m just so happy.”

Chloe has always wanted to have kids, but for many years that wish had been suffocated by the fear of not being a good mother because of her handicap.

“Hey Chlo,” Beca murmurs as they snuggle in bed one week night. “Do you ever think about having a baby?”

“A baby?” Chloe echoes, craning her neck to glance at Beca. It’s something that Beca had been thinking for a while now, but always figured Chloe would be the one to bring it up. She stares at Beca for a long stretch, her mouth gaping wordlessly. Eventually, she sets her head back down on Beca’s shoulder. “I-I do, it’s just…” She sighs as she fiddles with the hem of Beca’s shirt. “I’m scared. What if I’m not a good mother?”

Beca brushes a kiss across her hairline. “Because you’re blind?”

“Well, yeah.” Chloe breathes out. “I can take care of myself now, but another human being? What if I can’t change them properly, or feed them? I won’t be able to see if they’re in danger or… play with them the way a sighted person would.”

“I get it,” Beca says softly as she draws nonsensical patterns along the base of Chloe’s spine. “But Chlo… look at me,” She reaches out to tilt Chloe’s chin up, tenderly cupping her cheek. While Chloe can’t see the confidence swirling in Beca’s eyes, Beca knows she can hear it in her tone. “That wouldn’t make you a bad mother. Your lack of sight wouldn’t change the fact that you’d love our child unconditionally and that you’d do anything in your power to make them happy. Of course it would be challenging and it might take you a little while to learn the ropes but I’d be there to help, every step of the way. We’’d learn together.” Beca pauses, brushing her thumb over Chloe’s cheekbone. “I know becoming a mother has always been something you wanted and I don’t want your inability to see to make you feel like you can’t.”

Chloe remains silent for a few beats and Beca can almost see the cogs churning in her brain. “Do you want this, too?” She eventually asks, almost timidly. “To have a baby?”

“Yeah,” Beca confirms without missing a beat, her smile brightening her tone. “I do. I want to start a family with you, Chlo. Not -- maybe not tomorrow but sometimes down the road. I don’t really want to share you with anyone else at the moment.”

Chloe’s giggle warms Beca from the inside out. “Maybe -- maybe we can start in a year?”

Beca beams, reaching for Chloe’s hand to press a lingering kiss to her knuckles. “Sounds like a plan.”

Beca knows what Chloe means; she never thought it possible to feel this unparalleled type of happiness, as though her heart was so full it barely fit inside her chest. “Me, too.”

The first few days of Avery’s life go smoother than Beca expected. Nurses help them with changing, feeding and sponge-bathing their daughter. Beca is hyper focused through each task, knowing she will in turn be the one to help Chloe once they go home.

“You got it,” Beca murmurs as she stands beside Chloe while Chloe finishes strapping on Avery’s fresh diaper, impressed with how Chloe picked up the skill much faster than she did. Chloe smiles and grabs the clean onesie draped over her shoulder, studying it with her touch for a handful of seconds to figure out which are the sleeves from the legs. After some fumbling to get the onesie over Avery’s head, the baby starts to show her discontentment by wiggling harder and fussing.

“Bec,” Chloe requests.

“Okay, right here,” Beca guides Chloe’s hands a little bit before letting her do the rest.

“It’s okay baby girl, almost done,” Chloe’s soft voice captures Avery’s attention while she finishes fastening the onesie snaps. “There we go,” Chloe reaches out, careful to support Avery’s head as she scoops her up to lay upright against her chest. “We did it!”

As Beca predicted a few years ago, Chloe is an amazing mom. She gets up in the middle of the night to feed Avery and sings her back to sleep, goes to every baby swimming class, takes Avery to the park with her faithful guide dog Joey and reads her bedtime stories in braille.

As she grows up, Avery knows her Mama’s eyes are “broken” and that she can’t see the way Avery can. She understands that she has to be a little bit more patient when it’s Mama that cooks or dresses her, or that she has to come give her toy to Mama when Mama asks what she’s playing with instead of just holding it up so Mama can feel it with her hands.

However, she also understands pretty quickly that she can sometimes get away with things she wouldn’t dare try when Mommy is around, like stealing cookies from the stack when she knows she’s not supposed or drawing doodles on the living-room wall.

“She gets that from you,” Chloe says when Beca slips under the covers after tucking Avery in. “Her mischievousness.”

Beca chuckles, slipping an arm around her wife’s waist as she spoons her from behind. “I can’t really contradict you there.”

“She was too quiet, I knew something was up,” Chloe explains. “But then she gave me her crayon when I asked what she was playing with so I believed her when she said she was coloring.”

“It’s okay, Chlo.” Beca brushes a kiss in the crook of her neck. “We can always frame that part of the wall and pretend it’s an expensive piece of art.”

Chloe snickers, finger feathering back and forth over Beca’s forearm. “What did she draw anyway?”

“She said she drew our family. Two tall stick figures holding hands, two shorter ones next to them and a dog. I think it’s her subtle way to let us know she wants a little brother and sister.”

Chloe turns onto her back. “Yeah?” A smile tugs at her lips. “Do you? Want to have another baby.”

The thought has crossed Beca’s mind more than once, lately. “Yeah. If you want to, that is. I’m also happy with one.”

Beca squeaks when Chloe pulls her down on top of her, locking her legs around her waist. She brushes her lips across Beca’s. “Let’s make a baby.”

Beca backs away. “Hold on, you know I’m not equipped, right?”

Chloe’s giggle fills the room, and it’s still the most beautiful sound Beca’s has ever heard and the grin lighting up her face Beca’s favorite sight in the whole world.

#bechloe fanfic

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meow-bebe · 4 years

Text

stellatus

Pairing: Lee Felix x artist!reader

Genre: fluffffff

Warnings: literally nothing. this is so sweet asghk we’re channeling the cute here. like honestly not even my usual cussing

Word count: 3614 (!!!)

A/n: remember that idea I posted a while ago? well heres the fic! Im suuuper proud of this one because its the longest thing ive written for this blog (3k! more than 3k! that makes me so happy ahhhh!) and also I just really love it! usually I don't particularly like my own writing but this one I feel like is my best work. also about half way through writing this I found this amazing drawing by @panini-byanyothername which gave me the encouragement to finish this and also deserves all of the love because its an amazing piece of art! it was drawn based on another fanfic but its super pretty and is very close to what my story is about so I thought it would be appropriate to include a link

~~~

stēllātus; first/second-declension adjective starry, stellate, starred

“I have an idea,” you announced, bouncing with excitement as you ran into the room where Felix was currently sat at your desk on his computer. Latching your arms around Felix’s neck from behind, you rested your chin gently on his shoulder.

“And what would that be?”he asked, spinning the office chair he sat in and successfully rotating within your arms.

“I want to paint on you!” you said brightly as Felix’s hands came to rest on your waist as you snuggled closer, plopping down into his lap.

“What?” Felix asked, slightly startled by your bold proposition.

“I want to paint on you,” you repeated, “like, kind of use you as a human canvas?” It came out more as a question than a statement, and you grinned awkwardly, the incredulous tone of his voice making you shy.

“I’m not opposed,” Felix mused, and you immediately brightened back up again. “Why though?”

“Well,” you said, fingers playing with the strings of his hoodie, “first of all you’re the only person I have on hand at the moment.” You giggled, and Felix raised a hand to his chest in mock offense. “But I’ve always loved painting on skin. There’s some strange appeal that comes with turning another human being into art. Unfortunately, I’ve only ever done it on myself before, but I had this really amazing idea a while ago and have held onto it forever and you are absolutely perfect for it.” You finished by pressing a sweet kiss to his nose. “So?” you asked eagerly, “what do you say? Let me paint on you?”

Felix chuckled lightly, and you could feel the deep vibrations where your hands were set on his chest. “Aren’t you going to tell me what your amazing idea is?”

“Nope!” you said cheerfully, popping the ‘p’ as you smiled happily, “You’ll just have to say yes and see what I do. It will be beautiful, I promise.”

Felix playfully narrowed his eyes at you. “You won’t do something stupid or make me look weird?”

“I would never,” you said, sticking out your littlest finger, “pinky swear. And anyway, nothing could ever make you look weird, pretty boy.” Felix’s eyes widened at your compliment, a light shade of red creeping across his cheeks as he wrapped his pinky around yours. No matter how often you complimented him he always had the sweetest flustered reactions.

“What are we waiting for then?” you practically vaulted out of his lap, tangling your fingers together and tugging on his hand to try and get him to follow you.

“What, now?” he asked, a bewildered look on his face.

“Yes, now,” you said, pulling on his hand again, “I can’t wait any longer, I’m dying to finally do this.”

“Alright,” Felix said, laughing as he stood up from the desk, whatever he was working on earlier abandoned as you enthusiastically pulled him along to the spare bedroom turned art studio.

“Here,” you said, tossing one of the already paint-stained cushions you often put to use out of the closet, “sit down while I find what I need.”

Felix grabbed the cushion and set it on the large, clear plastic mat you always kept set out over the hardwood floors. There were several places you had set up for painting, laying on the floor and the easel by the window being two of your favorites, and you rotated between them depending on how you were feeling that day. It seemed like today was a sprawled across the floor day, although that made sense, Felix reasoned, if you were going to be painting on him. He sat down and watched as you zipped back and forth across the room, picking through your jars of brushes and bins of paints to find the supplies you would be using.

Thrusting one of the mason jar mugs you used to wash out your brushes at Felix, you asked, “Could you go fill this up with water for me?” He nodded compliantly, pulling himself up off the floor and traipsing across the hall to the bathroom to fill the glass mug with water. When he came back into the room, you had set up a jar of brushes to pick through, tossed a few tubes of paint to the floor next to the two cushions, and were currently spread across a decent portion of the floor with one of the large folders you had labeled as “inspiration and references.” These were collections of anything you could possibly want to give you ideas or utilize in your art, ranging from newspaper clippings, old photographs, passages from books and poems scrawled on torn notebook paper (or on the more rare occasion, printed out), and absolutely filled to the brim with doodles and practice drawings. You were a firm believer in the idea that anything could be reused or help inspire you in the future, which ultimately lead to your large collection. Usually you tried to date the bits of paper you tucked away, but it didn’t help with your chronic lack of organization.

“What are you searching for?” Felix questioned, assuming that you wouldn’t answer but asking anyway.

“Can’t tell,” you said, eyes twinkling with a spark of mischief, “it’s supposed to be a surprise, remember?”

“Okay, okay, I’ll stop asking. What do you want me to do then?” he asked, looking around the room and wondering what you had planned for him.

“Just sit, I’ll find it in a moment.” Felix settled himself back down on the floor as you continued to rifle through the folder barely containing the papers inside it. He watched as you carefully separated a few glossy photos that had stuck together and shuffled through a stack of what appeared to be old school work. “Aha!” you shouted victoriously, startling Felix and holding a few taped together pieces of paper in the air.

“What’s that?” he asked, his curiosity over both the project itself and the haphazardly folded but carefully assembled papers in your grasp too much to handle.

To his surprise, you gave in this time. “Star chart!” you chirped, obviously too pleased with yourself to continue hiding your intentions. “I’ve always loved space, specifically stars, and I took an astronomy class in high school but never got rid of the papers that weren’t just worksheets. I always hoped that someday I would be able to use them for painting. And here we are!” Felix smiled at the happy grin lighting up your whole face, your excitement too endearing to not acknowledge.

“Cute.” Felix grinned happily as you shuffled over to where you had set up all of your supplies. All of a sudden his smile turned bashful, stammering slightly as he asked, “Should I like, take my shirt off or something then?”

You giggled, setting down the star chart and plucking a thin marker from amongst the plethora of materials. “Not this time. I want to do your face!”

“What?” Felix gasped, eyes widened in surprise.

“I want to paint on your face!” you repeated, excitement fading as you rolled the marker between your hands, suddenly nervous. “Your freckles, specifically. Only if you’ll let me though.” You fidgeted slightly, focused on the marker before looking up at Felix who still wore a slightly startled expression.

“My - my freckles?” he asked, and you nodded.

“Yeah. Finding patterns that match my constellations-” you patted the papers sitting beside you - “and then turning your face into a little galaxy.”

“Y/n,” he said softly, and you braced yourself to be turned down, “I think that’s the most amazing thing you’ve ever come up with. Why would I ever say no?”

Your eyes shot up to find Felix’s, and you could see all of the adoration that he held for you in their depths. “Really?” you asked, pulling yourself into his lap and tucking your arms around his waist.

“Really,” he confirmed, sealing a gentle kiss against your mouth. “Now, how do you want to go about this?”

You clamored off of Felix, grabbing the marker from where you had dropped it at his side and snatching the star chart into your hands before thrusting it at Felix. “Pick a few that you like, and I’ll see if what I can do to weave them out of your freckles,” you said, placing the folded chart into his hands and backing off to begin rifling through the paint tubes you had chosen. “Try not to do anything too difficult, I think the simpler ones would look better for this.”

Leaving him to pour over the constellations, you realized that you had overlooked finding a palette earlier in your scramble to find paints, so you pulled yourself up off the floor to move to the closet once again. Shoving a few bins of paints and stacks of assorted canvases to the side, you finally found the collection of palettes stored near the back of the shelf. Just barely managing to get your finger under the one on the bottom (the shelf was slightly too high, not enough to really bother you, but it could be a minor inconvenience sometimes), you dragged the precariously balanced stack towards yourself.

“What about Lyra?” Felix called from behind you.

“That would work,” you mused, shuffling through the pile in search of one not too caked in dried paint.

“Or Aquila?”

“Also fine,” you responded, selecting a mostly clean palette. “I really want to try Draco, so we’ll do that one first and then fit the others on after that. Sound good?”

"Anything you want to do is good with me," he replied, and you turned to see the pretty blush staining his cheeks.

"But you're the one making this project come to life," you said, crossing the room in a few steps and settling down in front of him. "You should have some input."

"I'm merely the final product in this situation. You, y/n, are the one bringing it to life." Now it was your turn to grow flustered by his compliments.

"Oh hush," you said, searching on the floor for the marker you had set down.

Finding your marker, you uncapped it and scooted closer to Felix. "Ready?" you asked.

He looked at the marker warily. "I thought you were painting."

"I am painting, but I have to sketch it out first," you laughed. "I always do."

"Oh," he said, looking down shyly. He always loved to watch you paint, however paying attention to the process was something else entirely. "Well go on then."

Studying his face carefully, you placed a small dot on top of a freckle close to the top of his cheek. Glancing back at the star chart, you drew another right under it, and awkwardly angled your pen to try and reach better. Pulling the papers mapping out your reference closer, you shuffled to the side and drew another dot.

"This isn't working very well," you said, taking Felix's chin in your hand and tilting his head to the side to try and reach better. "I might move you again, so try not to move and tell me if it's too uncomfortable."

Felix nodded in response just as you set the tip of the marker against his cheek, leaving a small inky streak down his face. You sighed. "Next time just say you heard me. I'm going to get the rubbing alcohol.” You stood up and headed to the bathroom, opening the cabinet and rummaging around to find the necessary bottle. Finding what you needed, you stood up and crossed the hallway once again to rejoin Felix.

"Here." Felix held out a cotton ball that he had no doubt found in the depths of one of your many bins of random art supplies.

"Thanks," you said quietly, already flipping the top of the rubbing alcohol open and soaking the cotton in liquid before scrubbing it gently across Felix's cheek. He held still for the moment, letting you remove the ink from his face and watching your movements carefully.

"Done?" he asked as you tossed the now somewhat grey cotton ball to the floor.

"Yep." you picked up your marker again. "Good to go?" He nodded again, this time making sure that the marker was nowhere near his skin.

You set back to work, switching between analyzing the star chart and making small dots where you could connect the freckles strewn across Felix's face to resemble the constellation you had picked.

After readjusting Felix's face for the nth time, you sighed. “This isn’t working,” you complained, capping your marker and letting your hand fall into your lap.

“I can tell,” Felix mused. “Any ideas?”

You tilted your head, scanning over his face, and Felix could see the imaginary lightbulb pop up above your head as a grin spread across your face. “Maybe,” you said cheekily, crawling into his lap and once again uncapping your marker. Placing the non inky end into your mouth, you cupped your hands around Felix’s cheeks, gently moving his head around until you think you’ve found the perfect angle. “Don’t move.”

Finding that your new vantage point gave you perfect access to the soft skin of your boyfriend’s cheeks, you steadily set back to work, sketching light lines between the makeshift “stars” that quickly began to fill the freckles dotted across Felix’s face.

“Alright! I’m all done.” You leaned back a bit to admire your work, already extremely happy with the way that everything was turning out. “And now -” you clambered off Felix’s lap to let him stretch while you gathered the scattered supplies necessary for the next step of your project - “we paint!”

Felix giggled at the enthusiasm spreading a happy brightness across your face, bringing you closer for a chaste kiss as soon as you had settled yourself back across him. Clasping the brush you had picked up between your teeth as you seemed prone to do, you grabbed two of the few tubes of paint selected from a small box of metallics Felix wasn’t aware you had and unscrewed the one containing silver paint. Squeezing a small amount onto the palette in your other hand, you replaced the cap and set it to the side.

You pulled the paintbrush from your mouth, and said, “This is it. No going back after I start painting,” you warned, absolutely failing to hide the playful tone in your voice.

“I have sharpie all over my face,” Felix laughed, “I’m pretty sure we reached that point a while ago.”

“Right,” you said, ducking your face a little, trying to hide your embarrassed expression. “Well then, let the painting begin!” Placing a sweet kiss to the tip of Felix’s nose, you swirled your brush through the silver paint and hesitantly hovered over the inked lines connecting his freckles.

“You’re not going to mess this up,” Felix reassured, almost as if he could immediately pick up on your thoughts, “anything you paint is always beautiful and I have complete confidence in you.”

The compliments flustered you even more, and muttering a soft, “Oh, be quiet,” you set your brush down, dragging the bristles across the lines you had laid down earlier.

Felix shuddered under the cool touch of paint stroked across his face, and you backed off for a moment, letting him adjust to the foreign feeling. “Try not to move,” you said, setting down your palette and cupping his jaw sweetly.

You painted thin, careful lines over all of the drawn out constellations, painstakingly smoothing the edges and adding a second layer to those where the black ink was still visible. While you kept all of your focus on the paintbrush in your hand, Felix lost himself in the way that you concentrated on the task you had set yourself to. He loved to watch you paint, and the experience was ten times better when you were right up close. Felix watched your expressions as you immersed yourself in your work, noticing every little forehead scrunch, loving the cute way that you would chew on your lip or poke your tongue out when you got to a particularly tricky spot. There wasn’t enough focus left to be self conscious when you truly absorbed yourself in your art, and it was times like these that Felix thought you were most true to yourself, which lead to it also being when he found you most beautiful. Not that you weren’t other times, certainly, but there was something enchanting about your little expressions and the way your hair would stick up from running your fingers through it. You would always have paint all over your hands, no matter how careful you had been, and when it was still wet the pigment often transferred to your face or hair. Of course you never noticed, and so Felix would let you know you should probably look in a mirror, but only after silently appreciating the way that the smudged paint on your forehead somehow only enhanced the glow of beauty that truly being in your element brought out.

“There we go!” you suddenly exclaimed, startling Felix out of his reverie. “I’m finished with the lines,” you told him, dropping your paintbrush into the cup of water and swishing it around a little. “Now I just have to do the stars.”

You leaned to the side and reached around Felix to grab the other tube of paint you had taken out and added some of the gold to the palette before screwing the cap back on and tossing it next to you. Balancing the palette on your knee, you grabbed the cup containing your brush and dragged it toward you. Quickly and thoroughly rinsing the paint from the bristles, you wiped off the excess water and took Felix’s face into your hand once again, gently maneuvering him back into a position where you could easily paint.

Now used to the feeling, Felix didn’t startle when you began painting again, the cool touch of the paint to his cheek calming. You worked steadily, crossing tiny strokes to form the stars connecting the constellations created by his freckles. Every now and then you would shift in his lap, or make sure that the angle his head was at wasn’t making his neck ache, but for the most part you worked silent and still.

You smoothed tiny lines into shapes, keeping them tidy and occasionally layering more paint on where it had smudged or the first coat had been too thin. After finishing one of the stars higher on his cheek, you leaned back to admire your work.

“I think I’m done,” you said softly, wiping a bit of golden paint off Felix’s forehead.

“Can I see?” he asked, plucking the paint brush out of your fingers and placing it in the paint water.

You nodded, climbing out of his lap and gesturing towards the messy desk in the corner of the room. “There should be a mirror up there. I’m going to go get my Polaroid camera.” You loved that camera, it had been a gift from a friend years ago, and you only pulled it out for special occasions. Felix knew how much it meant to you, and the fact that you wanted to capture this moment with it warmed his heart.

When you returned to the room, Felix was sitting back on the cushions you had pulled out, the small hand mirror next to him on the floor. “It’s beautiful, y/n,” he said, and you smiled at the compliment, whispering a quiet “Thanks.”

“Where do you want me?” Felix asked, nodding towards the camera in your hands.

“By the window, probably,” you said, “I think backlighting would look good for this.” It was reaching late afternoon now, and the sun was beginning to sink to the horizon quickly. The golden light would shine through his hair beautifully, and Felix always glowed in the sunlight.

The two of you moved to the other side of the room, and Felix quickly set himself up in front of the window.

“Should I pose or something?” Felix asked, and you shook your head in response.

“Just do what feels natural,” you said, squinting at him through the viewfinder on your Polaroid before lowering it to watch him adjust for the photo. He seemed to relax under your gaze, and turned his head to the side so he was looking straight into the lens as the light washed over the paint trailed across his face, illuminating the shine of the metallics you used. He stilled after a moment, and after you were sure he wasn’t going to move, you pressed the shutter. The camera began printing your photo, and after a moment you plucked it from the slot, pressing it between your lips and bringing the camera back up to your eye.

“I want to take one more,” you mumbled around the developing photo in your mouth, “close your eyes for me?” Felix complied, letting his lashes flutter against the top of his cheeks as a small smile settled across his face. You snapped your second photo, bringing the camera down and tucking the earlier in between your fingers as you waited for the second to print. Felix came to stand next to you, taking the second photo and looking over your shoulder to see how the first one turned out.

As you watched the color seep onto the glossy paper you knew that the stars across his cheeks, no matter how pretty they were, could never compare to the stars that shone in his eyes. He was truly beautiful, and standing there with your camera in hand, his hair brushing against your cheek, you were never more aware.

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