#i have officially given up hope on phase 2 ever coming out so they are my ocs now. thanks for your understanding . | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

arty-shadow-morningstar · 4 years

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A Failed Betrothal /Betrothal AU: Take Two

So here is the second part of the betrothal AU that I decided to name "A Failed Betrothal. This takes place before Part 1 which in hindsight should have been done first. Part 2 got too long so I cut it and started Part 3. I have no idea and nothing planned on how long this will go. Hope you enjoy ❤.

[Masterlist]

(Part 1)

PART 2

Marinette also wasn't having a good day or a good week.

Lila Rossi had been up to her usual tricks. You know, spewing lies from her mouth. How she met these awesome celebrities during this trip and they worship the ground she walks on for her amazing and humbling help. There were stories of these charities, trips and galas that she had been to or was invited to. She has problems with her wrists and can't do simple stuff like carry her own bag or do her homework. She has tinnitus in her ears so she needs to sit in the front where the only seat available would be next to Adrien.

And for the finale.

The desert after feeding the class a banquet of lies.

"Mari...nette..has been bullying me, she...told..me not to tell anyone..*sobs*..that she would kill me if I did.."

Lila dramatically gasped and slapped her hands over her mouth. Turning on the waterworks for a more dramatic effect. They all ate it up, jumping on the ‘let’s hate Marinette, a bad person’ train.

"She is going to kill me now and I am so scared." That snake managed to snuck an evil smirk past her glaring, oblivious classmates.

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Marinette, at this point of her life, had frankly given up caring for them due to the class's lack of brain cells and Agreste's spineless 'High Road' Approach.

For Kwami's sake, she went through a brutal torture that was training in some jungle temple in Asia before Sabine Cheng, former mercenary/assassin, kidnapped her (Little Marinette took a risk. She ran away and followed her around until Sabine begrudgingly accepted that she was now the 6- year-old girl's mother because screw it, Tom said he wanted children.) to raise/train as her own while she settled down with a baker whose mother may or may not have ties with the Mafia and other illegal activities.

(Mother-daughter bonding days became much more fun once she had Guardianship of the Miraculous. Sabine was ,at first, furious at Master Fu for dumping everything on the girl and losing his memories before swearing to help protect the jewels. Adopted or not, Marinette is her daughter and no one should let a child, even one with training, fight a war. A good thing to come out of her reveal was that her mother was a great tiger to have as back-up. But now, her training regime had become harder and challenging.)

The point was that Lila Rossi would be dead and body missing since that first time she threatened Marinette in the bathroom. The Italian was in perfect health despite what she claims otherwise, because Marinette didn’t want to be the person she was raised to be and also she didn’t want to disappoint Tikki, she was fond of the little red kwami. But sometimes, she just wanted to give into the urge to kill.

She had met and dealt with unsavory characters of all types and she can safely say that Lila Rossi was a manipulator that thrives on attention and like a parasite, latches herself onto the fame of others. None of the unsavory people she had met get under her skin like Rossi had.

Marinette had enough self-preservation to drop the nice girl act and sometimes let the dragon underneath to surface. She stopped doing last-minute favors and giving away free stuff which Lila uses to her full advantage to further destroy her relationships with her ‘friends’. It was better than sticking her neck out for classmates that were no longer worth her time. Attempts to expose Lila had backfired due to the denial they are in, believing the liar to be a sweet, nice girl living the high life.

Adrien with his rose-tinted glasses firmly stuck to his eyes was not happy at all with her decision. That may also have to do where she suggested he shove his advice after he tried to reason her to take the high road for defending herself for the umpteenth time. She felt like the biggest idiot to ever have a crush on him. Every time, Rossi blames Marinette for a problem, he would shoot disappointed looks in her direction.

Alya being Lila's biggest guard dog tore into Marinette for her newfound 'bad' behaviour. The rest of Lila's supporters backed her up with "How could you do that to Lila","I can't believe you changed." Nearly all her so-call friends had turned their backs and lost all common sense to the Italian's manipulations.

(Alya was supposed to be her best friend, aren’t you supposed to listen to your ‘bestie’ over a complete stranger)

The designer took it all with a bored expression on her face, used to the lecturing which was a waste of time because her behavior isn't going to change, no matter what, Lie-la will keep up the act of being the bully's (*cough*Marinette*cough*) victim.

Her heart that cracks the tiniest bit at the accusations. A small part of her, she admits, is hurt that they think so low of her.Was she really that worthless to them? All those times and efforts helping them out on last-minute favors and giving them free treats. Were they not enough to earn their friendship? Their trust or at the very least, a benefit of doubt?

The only ones who didn’t join the berating to 'correct' the raven-haired girl’s attitude were Chloe (who had proven herself to have changed after the miracle queen incident and Lila stole the spotlight and Sabrina. There were a lot of apologizes, gifts and ‘making up to do’) Alix (she came to her senses when the supposed bullying started) and Nathaniel (Lila blatantly claimed to be the artist for the Ladybug comic to his face).

“Girl, Marinette, are you even listening to me?”Alya demanded.

“Maybe. Did you say anything that doesn’t have to do with Lila or how I did her wrong or how I am no longer the person you knew?”

Marinette knew that being sarcastic would backfire but nothing she does or says will change what they think of her. One word from Lila and they will turn back on her. As much as she hates to admit it, Lila’s threat has fallen through and she was alone. Mostly.

She still had Chloe, Nathaniel, Alix, Luka and Kagami as friends. The trust-worthy and loyal kind.

“Girl,” Alya says in a disappointed tone, shaking her head,“when I look at you, I don’t see that girl who stood up to Chloe the bully-”, Chloe snorted, she had changed but they were too blind and prejudiced against her to notice her efforts, “-Picking on Lila, threatening and harassing her. This isn’t you and you know it. Just get over your jealousy on Lila being close to Adrien and apologize to her.”

If Alya had talked to her in the past 12 months other than demanding things that took away her time or anything relating to Lila, she would know that her infatuation had turned into annoyance.

Marinette sighed, too tired of this routine, tired of trying to knock heads so the brain cells can work again. Apologizing would mean that Lila had won. She was petty and stubborn enough to allow that to happen. Lila said she will take the class and Adrien. Fine, she can have them but Marinette Dupain-Cheng will not admit defeat. Bigger men had fallen to the ravenette for lesser offences. A year has passed since the expulsion and the class still hasn't regained common senses, so they can deal with the consequences after the inevitable downfall of Lila and Marinette will be there to see them lay in the grave they dug.

Steeling herself for the pain that will come with the execution of her plan,

“What if I don’t. I won’t apologize to her because I have not done anything to her or even interacted with her. If I apologize, it would be insincere and a lie. And I hate liars.” The former assassin said evenly.

“Lila is not a liar. I don’t know why you are like this.” Alya said, frustrated.

Marinette knew there would be a small chance of an akuma with Gabriel Agreste having an important meeting to attend on this day that would last for the next hour. This was the small window of opportunity to start the plan and also further confirm the identity of Hawkmoth. Killing two birds with one stone.

“Alya, this has always been me, you just never took the time to get to really know the real me.”, she replied, the last part with an icy tone.

“Well-... I- ..You-, fine, then if you can’t say those simple three words, we can’t be friends. I clearly don’t know what a selfish bitch you are. God, I can’t believe I wanted to be best friends with you. You are now replaced by Lila because unlike you, she is genuinely nice and selfless.” Alya declared. The rest of Lila’s supporters murmured in agreement.

Phase 1, complete. Lure the Lie-la into a false sense of security by making her think she won.

Marinette tried not to show how hurt she was, to be replaced by the scheming bitch. But at the same time she felt relieved, she no longer had to walk on eggshells in fear of losing the friendships of people she used to care about. It felt final as she maintained her stoic expression, hoping they didn't notice the glassy sheen her eyes had.

“Then, it is official. We are no longer friends.”

They haven’t been friends for a long time.

Mme. Bustier finally walked into the classroom to start the afternoon classes, signalling the end of the conversation. After class, Marinette resolves to inform them that she was resigning as class president which she was sure the class will be glad for. She was right.

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Ladybug was, as the Americans say, pissed at Hawkmoth which was nothing new. He had sent out another akuma just as Marinette was back home and trying to relax after the stressful day. The akuma was not any of her ex-friends which she wasn’t sure to be thankful for or not.

Louise Martin was a boy about Luka’s age and mad at his friends who had blamed their fifth loss-in-a-row on him despite the fact that it was his skills that were getting them any progress. They were playing one of those recently released 5V5 skills and strategy battle games. (League of Legends or Mobile Legends. Take your pick, I am going with the latter)

He was akumatized into Hayakuma as proof of Hawkmoth’s lack of creativity. Hayakuma was a bleached out version of Louise’s chosen hero avatar, Hayabusa whose outfit was basically what the media portrays ninjas to look like with some samurai aspects.

Unfortunately, he also had the hero’s ultimate special powers which were making four shadow copies of himself and being able to switch positions with them. Thanks to Rattlesnake’s Second Chance, they know that he can only make a switch once every two minute. Hayakuma also wields a sword, showing off his skills.

Just lovely.

Hydra and Ladybug were the only ones able to counter his attacks with Hydra’s sword and Ladybug’s summoned one. (Let’s go with that headcanon(?)/trope that she can summon weapons for plot convenience and the others can too but just don’t have enough practise yet.)

The others managed to dodge and shield themselves from Hayakuma’s really sharp sword.

The shadows themselves were annoying as they would distract or hinder the miraculous users by grabbing them by their shadows and making them unable to move. Until Bunnix had the brilliant idea of shadow boxing which gave the heroes gain more even ground.

With how strong and handful the akuma was, it was code ‘all hands on deck’. Ladybug, Stinger, Rattlesnake, Hydra, Bunnix, Trickster. Well, nearly every hand. Lady Mǔ lǎohǔ was busy with the bakery. Chat Noir was nowhere to be seen or very late which had been the norm for the last year ever since Ladybug wanted to form a new miraculous team consisting of permanent heroes.

(He didn’t show up for the first few months because the first permanent member was Ladybug’s mother who did not like his attitude towards her daughter. He ran away with his tail between his legs once he found out how she was related to Ladybug. His face when he realized it, was something Marinette will cherish forever)

At least when Lady Mǔ lǎohǔ was around, he would not dare act out of line. When she is gone however, he is back to his old ways.

After saving one of Louise’s teammates from Hayakuma’s sword, they gathered the rest of the team and hid them someplace safe. Using Trickster’s illusions to trick all the shadows and the original to one place, the heroes were going to surround and ambush them and get the akumatized item. The plan would have been a success if it weren’t for Chat Noir hugging Ladybug from behind, making her miss her cue.

“Hey~ Bugaboo~ Did you miss me~? Your Chaton~?”

Thwack! Smack!

Chat Noir was on the rooftop, groaning pitifully in pain. Especially his crotch area. Ladybug glared at him and looked to the ambush point to see the illusions had disappeared and everyone else gone from their hiding place.

She sighed and turned on the comms, (Thank you, kwamis)

“Sting, did you venomed the akuma?”

“No, he escaped before I could. What happened, LB?”

“A certain cat got me delayed. What’s the status update?”

“Hydra is holding him off and Bunnix found that an umbrella is a good substitute for a sword. The rest of us are keeping track of the shadows. They split up but none of them are getting near where we hid the targets.”

“Where are you? I will meet you later with back-up.”

“Near Notre Dame and tell Mama Tigress I said hi.”

“Tell her yourself.”

She looked down at Chat No-, no he is not worthy of being a hero anymore with the amount of times he had derailed and hijacked the plans to defeat the akumas just so he can ‘earn’ Ladybug’s heart.

She looked down at Adrien Agreste, who was sitting and sulking like a child that was unfairly punished. (Once she got over her crush and started looking at the right things that she managed to piece together her ‘partner’s’ identity by accident. Tikki’s confirmation sealed the deal.)

“Chat Noir, this partnership of ours,” she said, gesturing to the two of them, “ is going to change tonight. Meet me at the ‘spot’ at 11 sharp. Now, go home.”

He left with a small glimmer of hope in his eyes at her words. She felt a little bad about the subtle manipulation but with the way things were now, it can’t go on. He was hindering more than helping and the people of Paris that weren’t shipping ‘Ladynoir’ saw that.

As she jumped towards Notre Dame, she called the bakery with her yoyo.

“Mama, are you free now? I need a little help with the akuma and can you bring the horse miraculous.”

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Chat Noir waited excitedly at what they both dubbed at their ‘spot’, in the good old days when it was just the two of them. Maybe Ladybug was finally open to the idea of dating. Or maybe she must have seen what a great hero he is and was going to get rid of the team. Or realized that having her mother on her team was a bad idea. Parents are the worst and they both can be two rebellious teenagers in love. Like Romeo and Juliet. So romantic~.

He was so deep in his daydream that he didn’t hear his lady land.

“Chat Noir.” Startled, he nearly fell off the roof. No, don’t make a fool of yourself in front of Ladybug.

“Yes, Bugaboo.” Hoping she didn’t know that he was very distracted. His attention will always be hers 100%.

“Don’t call me Bugaboo. Tikki wants to talk to Plagg about Kwami stuff. So you go over and hide behind that chimney. Then, we can talk about why I told you to be here.” Adrien frowned and then smiled. His lady must be very embarrassed about her mistake that must be why she is taking her time. He tried listening to what they were saying but the kwamis were talking in their special Guardian Language. Was it him or did Tikki’s voice sound more like his lady’s voice?

Whizz!

Adrien was tied up with Ladybug’s yoyo. “M’Lady? Bugaboo!? LADYBUG! WHAT IS GOING ON?!! PLAGG-”

Ladybug cut in, “Adrien Agreste, you have been slack in your hero duty and choosing your own feelings over supporting your partner, me, the holder of the Ladybug Miraculous and current Grand Guardian, in the efforts to defeat the enemy of Paris, Hawkmoth. Due to those reasons, you are no longer worthy to be the Holder of the Black Cat Miraculous” in one swift motion, she took the ring off his finger, “As such you are hereby revoked of Plagg’s Ring.”

“NO, YOU CAN’T. YOU CAN’T DO THIS TO ME! I LOVE YOU AND I KNOW YOU LOVE ME BACK. WE ARE SOULMATES, WE ARE MEANT TO BE-”

Adrien went slack at Lady Tigress’s pinch on his pressure point.

“I don’t what you ever saw in the boy.”

“I don’t know either. I think I dodged a bullet here. Can you carry him back to his home? I think I have dealt with enough of him tonight.” Ladybug muttered, as she erased Adrien’s memories of being Chat Noir.

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Tag list: @alysrose-starchild, @buginetye, @lookatthestars1, @blackroserelina, @macncheesemonster, @mochinek0, @myazael, @tonicxworld, @thewitchwhowaited, @t1dwarrior-of-earth, @kissa-chan, @iwantasecretidentity, @theymakeupfairies, @user00000003, @woe-is-me0, @kashlyn, @mochegato,@moonlightstar64 , @greatcatblaze, @moongoddesskiana, @tazanna-blythe.

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(Part 3)

#maridami #maribat #damian x marinette #mlb x dc #Betrothal AU: Take 2 #A Failed Betrothal #sorry. No Damian this chapter #there is salt #Alya salt #Adrien Salt #Lila salt #class salt #I don't know if it is mild or not #Marinette is an assassin

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imagine-a-life-like-this · 3 years

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I Was A Bet, You Were A Distraction (K.SJ/M.YG)

Warnings : swearing, drinking, betting on feelings

Word Count : 4941

Synopsis : a relationship started on a bet, a classic trope, but with a twist.

I knew the rumours that circulated about me. I knew what everyone thought of me, but it never bothered me. Being an ice queen and keeping everyone at an arms length keeps my heart safe. Guys still tried to break me, wanting to be known as the person who broke the ice queen, but I’ve never cracked.

“Another rejection?” My best friend, Park Jimin, pouted as he sat across from me. “You really should give someone a chance. You’re obviously not going to make a move on library guy.”

“His name is Min Yoongi.” I cut him off, a playful smile on my face as he rolled his eyes. “Besides, that guy was gross. He literally told me he could show me a fun time if I just showed him a pretty smile.”

“Okay, gross.” Jimin chuckled. “But please, if a non-gross guy asks you out, just give it a shot. They could surprise you.” I rolled my eyes, reluctantly agreeing to the only guy I’ve ever had a soft spot for.

“Hey, Y/N.” Someone said as Jimin and I were getting ready to leave the café and grab dinner. When I turned around, I met the eyes of the infamous Kim Seokjin, standing there with a nervous smile on his face. “I was wondering if you wanted to get dinner with me sometime?” His eyes looked hopeful, but it didn’t phase me. I heard the rumours; heard the stories of the many girls he’s been with. I refused to be another notch in his belt. But before I could reject him, Jimin jumped in.

“She’d love to!” Seokjin looked over to my best friend who had thrown his arm across my shoulders, and then looked at me for confirmation.

“Sure, Kim Seokjin.” I didn’t bother faking a smile. I’m sure he’d heard the rumours about me. I’m sure he just wants to be the one to crack me. He’s always enjoyed a challenge.

“Great! Uh, here’s my number. Text me.” He handed me a piece of paper ripped from a notebook with his number scrawled on it. I took it from him, telling him I’d text him later, and walked away as fast as I could.

“I thought you said non-gross guy, Jimin!” I hit him lightly as we walked away from the café. “Kim Seokjin is one of the grossest!”

“Yes, but he’s got money, babe. I did you a favour.” He lightly shoved me with his shoulder, and I couldn’t help but laugh and roll my eyes. I suppose one date couldn’t hurt. I’ll get some good food out of it at the very least.

“Here, drink some water.” Yoongi looked up at me from his textbooks with wide eyes. He quietly thanked me as I took my usual seat across from him. I took quick glances up at him every once in a while as I studied, thinking about the first day I took the seat across from him.

I used to study at the café as I waited for Jimin to get out of dance. But random guys would always interrupt me, and I found myself barely getting any studying done. So I decided to study at the library for a couple hours before heading to the café to meet Jimin per our tradition.

Min Yoongi, known as the ice king, would always sit alone. Sitting with him was my best bet in getting any work done, knowing he wouldn’t bother me. He seemed annoyed when I first sat down, but when he saw it was me, didn’t say a word. No one dared bothered us when we were together.

It didn’t take a genius to see how handsome Min Yoongi was. I always found myself sneaking glances at him while we studied, unable to keep my eyes off of him. We spoke a few words to each other over these last few months, and that was enough for me to give into my growing crush.

“Hey, Y/N?” He softly asked as I began packing up. I seized my movements, looking up at the gorgeous man I can’t stop thinking about. “I heard you were the best at this, would you mind tutoring me sometime? I’ve been having a hard time grasping it.” He pointed to a homework booklet he was given that was still completely blank save for his name in the top right corner.

“I got to go meet up with a friend, but,” I ripped a corner off from one of my notebooks and quickly scrawled my number on it, sliding it across from him. “Text me and we can figure something out.” He looked up at me with a small smile on his face, and I could swear time stopped. I quickly shook myself out of the trance his smile put me in and packed up the rest of my books before walking to the café, a lovesick smile on my face.

I was dressed in my best dress, my hair and makeup done to the best of my abilities, and I couldn’t help but smile at myself in the mirror. “Who knew my best friend was so hot.” Jimin joked over Facetime, a playful smile on his face.

“I can’t believe you convinced me to actually go on a date with Kim Seokjin.” I grumbled, collapsing on my couch as I waited for him.

“It didn’t take much convincing. I know apart of you is excited to live the rich life for one night.” I giggled, but we both knew he was right. When the doorbell rang, I said my goodbyes to Jimin and went to answer it, surprised to see Seokjin standing there in a tailored suit holding a bouquet of flowers.

“Wow, you look, wow.” I chuckled, taking the flowers he was holding out for me. Quickly, I filled a vase with water and placed them inside before sliding on a pair of heels and grabbing my purse.

“You know you could have just texted that you were here.” I pointed out as he opened the car door for me.

“How am I supposed to sweep you off your feet if I do that?” He smiled before closing the door and rushing to his side.

As much as I hate to admit it, I actually enjoyed the time I spent with Jin. He was a complete gentleman right up to the end. And there wasn’t any awkward silence; conversation seemed to flow easily. I found myself laughing at his jokes and his stories. Time just seemed to fly by while I was with him as he wasn’t dropping me off until after midnight. “You certainly surprised me tonight, Kim Seokjin.” I smiled.

“Does that mean you’ll go on a second date with me?” I found myself agreeing before I could stop myself. Maybe this is exactly what I needed to get over my one-sided crush on Min Yoongi. He’d be a good distraction.

“I hear our resident Ice Queen got a boyfriend.” Yoongi teased as I sat across from him. Ever since our first date, Jin and I have been spending more time together. I still keep up my regular schedule of studying with Yoongi until I have to leave to meet up with Jimin, but Jin and his friends have decided to join us. It’s been 2 months since my first date with Jin, and 1 month since we’ve made it official.

“Now it’s time for our resident Ice King to get a girlfriend.” I teased back, taking a sip of the coffee Yoongi bought me. He’s made it a daily thing, buying my favourite coffee before I come, and I bring us water since we’re usually here for a couple hours together.

“Unlikely.” He chuckled. My heart started to pound as I looked up at his smiling face. “The girl I like doesn’t like me back.” He added before taking a sip of his own coffee.

“Oh my god! The Min Yoongi has a crush!” I quietly exclaimed, a wide smile on my face as I wrapped a hand around his wrist, begging him to tell me about the girl he likes.

“She’s beautiful.” He says, blush rising to his cheeks. “But I can tell she doesn’t believe she is. And she’s so smart, so kind. There really isn’t a better girl.” I thought dating Jin would help my one-sided crush on Yoongi, but as I sit across from him as he tells me about this girl he likes, I can feel my heart breaking, knowing it’ll never be me.

I stood in the kitchen while the party raged on around me. Since dating Jin, Jimin and I have been invited to a lot more parties, parties I keep getting dragged to. I watched as Jimin drank and made new friends, enjoying himself, and I couldn’t be happier for him. I watched as Jin and his friends played some games, laughing and drinking the night away. They’ve always been the life of the party, and though I don’t like parties, I wasn’t going to stop my boyfriend from enjoying himself. So I stood in the kitchen, watching as everyone enjoys themselves, silently wishing I took Yoongi up on his offer to see a movie tonight.

“Now don’t tell me this beautiful girl is here alone.” I looked up and met a stranger’s eyes as he smirked at me. “All alone, standing in my kitchen, must be fate.” He continued, draping an arm across my shoulders.

“Actually I’m here with my boyfriend.” I smiled, turning towards where Jin last was, and seeing that him and his friends disappeared. My heart dropped to my stomach when I couldn’t see them anywhere.

“No need to lie to me.” He teased, removing his arm from my shoulders, and instead wrapping it around my waist, pulling me closer to him as I tried to move away from him. “I’m sure I can show the Ice Queen a good time.”

“What are you doing, Minho?” The familiar voice eases my nerves but seems to do the opposite to Minho. His arm immediately drops from my waist as his eyes widen, meeting Yoongi’s eyes filled with anger. If I didn’t know Yoongi the way I do, I’d be terrified. When Yoongi raised his brow, Minho left the kitchen without another word. “Sorry about him. I’m still training him.” He chuckled. “Where’s Jin?” He asked, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked around for my boyfriend.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, ignoring his question. “I didn’t know Mr. Min Yoongi partied.” I teased, a smile making its way to my lips.

“I’m actually, unfortunately, apart of this frat. My dad actually started this frat with his friends, so I had no choice.” He explained, chuckling at my shocked face. “I really do apologize for Minho. I hope he didn’t make you too uncomfortable.”

“It’s okay, Yoongs. Thank you for saving me though. I don’t know where any of the guys went.” I took a quick look around, trying to see if I could any of the 6 guys I came with. “If you see any of them, can you let them know I went home? Parties really aren’t my thing.” I chuckled.

“I’ll take you home.” He said, setting the cup he was holding down on the counter. “Just text one of them to let them know you’re safe.” I nodded, closely following Yoongi as the two of us made our way through the dense crowd of people and out the front door. As we walked, I sent a quick text to both Jimin and Jin, letting them know Yoongi was walking me home.

“You know, you didn’t have to walk me home.” I spoke up after some silence. “It is technically your party; shouldn’t you be there?”

“Honestly, I try not to be home when there’s a party. It’s why I asked you to a movie tonight. Well that, and I like spending time with you.” My heart fluttered at his words. My head began spinning with theories as to what he meant. Would I be reading too far into it by thinking he has feelings for me too?

Monday afternoon, Yoongi was sitting at our regular table in the library, two coffees in front of him as per usual. “How’d your test go?” I asked, placing a bottle of water in front of him before taking my seat. He looked up at me as I sat down, a smile on his face when he met my eyes. So different than how things used to be.

“I won’t get the results until the end of the week, but I think I aced it!” He exclaimed. I remember the days we would study silently across from each other, not knowing anything about each other besides the rumours that circulated.

“Of course! You have the best tutor.” I joked, a wide smile on my face as he just smiled back at me, chuckling slightly, and shaking his head. I used to know absolutely nothing about him, besides the small things I heard from others, and the things I picked up on while silently crushing on him.

Now I know his smile. I know it so well I could probably draw it from memory. I know that his older brother would always cook for him. I know he’s not as close to his family as he wished he was. I know he struggles in his classes. I know he prefers iced coffee over hot coffee, and that he always forgets to drink water. He hates parties and spends most weekends at a diner, studying and trying to keep his grades up. I know he’s so far from being an Ice King. He’s so caring, so kind. And I know that I’m falling in love with him.

“I think it’s time we call it.” I overheard as I walked into the café I meet Jimin at everyday. I looked over to the tables Jin and his friends push together so the 7 of us can sit together, and saw the 5 of them sitting together, serious looks on all their faces.

“I love hanging out with her and Jimin.” Taehyung spoke, and I quickly sat at a nearby table, wanting to hear what they have to say. “You need to tell her about the bet.”

“A bet?! Seriously Jackson?” He stumbled over his words, trying to come up with a good excuse, but there wasn’t one. “Glad I could help you win. Don’t contact me again.” I pushed passed him as he called after me, but there wasn’t anything else that needed to be said. 2 years. I wasted 2 years of my life thinking we were in love, but it was all a bet. It was never love.

Jimin sat in front of me, snapping me out of my memories. He opened his mouth to say something, but I shushed him and pointed over to the guys.

“She’s so awesome. I feel so bad.” Jungkook added to the conversation. “She doesn’t deserve to have her feelings played with like this.”

“We can tell her everything and apologize. Hopefully, she’ll forgive us.” Jimin looked at me with confusion on his eyes as I struggled to breathe. It’s like high school all over again. When Jackson came into my life, stole my heart, and then destroyed me. Telling me he loved me, and planning our future, all the while laughing with his friends about how gullible I was. Jimin was the one to pull me out of my slump, but I put my walls up and I promised myself I’d never let them crumble. I’d never be so naïve again.

“I doubt she’d even care.” Jin scoffed. “She’s the Ice Queen for a reason.” Yet here I was, repeating it all over again.

“Just because she’s an Ice Queen doesn’t mean she doesn’t have feelings, hyung.” Hoseok spoke up, shaking his head. I’ll admit that the reason I started dating Jin wasn’t the best, but I found myself enjoying his company. Everything felt real, like he really cared about me. My feelings for Yoongi have always been stronger, but sometimes I felt myself falling for Jin’s charms. He’s not the school playboy for nothing. He really knows how to make a girl feel special. He knows how to knock down any wall someone has put up to protect themselves.

“Whatever. You guys can tell her about the bet then. While you’re at it, you can tell her we’re over. I have things to do.” He stood up from the table, and that’s when they all noticed Jimin and I sitting at a nearby table. Jin’s eyes widened when he saw us.

“You guys are all fucking disgusting.” Jimin exclaimed, standing up from the table. “You’re damn right she doesn’t deserve this. No one does! Y/N, let’s go.” His voice softened when he looked over at me, tears welling up in my eyes as I looked up at the man who bet on my heart. “They don’t deserve your tears, angel.” He whispered, wiping away my tears before grabbing my hand and dragging me out of the café.

“Talk about déjà vu.” I chuckled as we walked towards my apartment.

“Guys are the worst.” Jimin mumbled, shaking his head as the two of us walked hand in hand. I laced our fingers and walked closer beside him, swinging our arms causing him to chuckle at me.

“You’ve always been the exception to that statement, Min.” I smiled up at my best friend. I wasn’t in love with Jin the way I was with Jackson, but it doesn’t hurt any less. The crush that was forming on the handsome man quickly faded as the reality set in. Once again I was a bet. And I just wished people would stop making bets on my feelings.

“Don’t you usually leave by now?” Yoongi asked as the two of us studied together the next day. “The boyfriend is probably waiting for you.” He chuckled.

“We actually broke up.” His smile quickly fell as he spit out an apology. “It’s fine. The relationship was all a bet anyway.” I shrugged, trying my best not to let my feelings show. Trying to seem as unbothered as possible. “People love trying to break the Ice Queen.” Little do they know, the reason for my smiles wasn’t Kim Seokjin, but Min Yoongi, the Ice King himself.

“That’s so fucked. Guys are the worst.” He scoffed causing me to chuckle.

“That’s exactly what Jimin said.” I smiled.

“Talking about me?” Jimin joked, taking a seat beside me. “I hope you don’t mind if I intrude from now on.” The statement was directed towards Yoongi who shook his head. “Good, because if I see any of those guys, I will be throwing hands.”

“Please, Jungkook could beat you with just his pinky.” I teased, shoving him lightly. Yoongi was watching us with a fondness in his eyes I haven’t seen before. And I couldn’t stop the pounding of my heart, no matter how hard I tried.

Jimin continued meeting Yoongi and I at the library everyday after getting out of dance. At first I thought Yoongi would hate it as Jimin isn’t known for quietly studying like Yoongi and I are. But he quickly warmed up to my best friend, and 3 of us spent weekends going to movies and to the diner Yoongi loves to much. We avoided all the parties we were once invited to, and the café we were regulars at for so long, hoping never to cross paths with the guys we once considered friends.

My feelings for Yoongi only continued to grow as spent nearly everyday together. Days quickly turned into weeks, and before I knew it, it had been a month since Jin and I broke up. With Jimin and Yoongi with me everyday, I barely had time to feel the hurt I felt when it happened with Jackson. “Y/N.” 1 month since I found out about the bet. 1 month since I’ve seen any of the guys. 1 month and now Jin is standing in front of me. I moved to push passed him and get to the library, but he wrapped his hand around my arm, effectively stopping me. “It’s been a month; can I please just say something?”

“What more is there to say? I was a bet, and honestly speaking Kim Seokjin, you were a distraction.” His hand fell from my arm, dropping back to his side. “It was fun, though. But that doesn’t mean my feelings aren’t hurt. And you didn’t seem to give a fuck. Telling your boys to tell me and break up with me for you. So why now? Don’t tell me some cliché shit that you realized you had feelings for me and that you miss me, because we both know that’s bullshit.” He stayed silent. “Good talk, Kim Seokjin.” I pushed open the doors to the library and made my way to my regular table, Yoongi already there, two coffees in front of him. “I feel like getting drunk.” I said, plopping in my regular seat.

“Rough day?” Yoongi chuckled, sliding my coffee across the table towards me.

“Let’s just say Seokjin wanted to talk.” Yoongi closed his text book and smiled up at me.

“Soju and ice cream?” He asked as he quickly packed up.

“I’ll text Jimin to meet us at my apartment. Let’s get drunk!” I exclaimed, grabbing my coffee, and leaving the library with Yoongi by my side. We were both chuckling as he opened the door, allowing me to walk out first. I wasn’t paying attention as I walked out the door, turning my head to look at Yoongi, and bumped into someone. “Sorry … Namjoon?” He smiled down at me as I quickly took a step back. Yoongi looked up at him before wrapping an arm around me, pulling me closer to him.

“You didn’t let Jin talk, so I figured I’d try.” He smiled, rubbing the back of his neck.

“There’s nothing to talk about.” Yoongi spoke up. “You guys got caught; deal with the consequences of your actions.” The two of us tried to walk passed him, but unlike Kim Seokjin, Kim Namjoon was persistent.

“You act like you don’t make mistakes.” He called after us, stopping us in our tracks. “Jin told me you said he was just a distraction.” I turned to face Namjoon causing Yoongi’s arm to fall back to his side.

“When I agreed to the first date, I agreed hoping for a distraction from my one-sided crush. But when I agreed to the second date, it was because I liked his company. When I said yes to being his girlfriend, it was because I had real feelings for him. And that’s the difference between me and him, Kim Namjoon. Everything on my end was 100% real, where as on his end it was all fake. He pretended to have feelings for me.” Namjoon stared at me, obviously not expecting my blow up. “What else needs to be said, Namjoon?” I asked, my voice cracking. Yoongi slid his hand into mine, lacing our fingers together and giving my hand a reassuring squeeze.

“We’re sorry. We never got to apologize, and we want to.” I shook my head.

“I don’t want your apology. You don’t deserve my forgiveness.” He didn’t stop us as we walked away this time. “I really need a drink.” I whispered causing Yoongi to chuckle.

“Consider it done, princess.”

Jimin was angrily pacing around my living room after Yoongi and I told him what happened. “Hoseok approached me today, too. They waited an entire month to try to apologize. What a joke.” He took a swig of his drink. “I can’t believe they did exactly what Jackson and his friends did in high school! Like, we’re in fucking college now.”

“Wait, this happened to you before?” Yoongi jumped in as Jimin continued to mumble to himself between taking swigs of his drink.

“It’s not a big deal.” I shrugged, really not wanting to explain what happened in high school. But Jimin had other plans.

“No big deal?! You switched schools! Wouldn’t eat unless I forced you to! Jackson is the whole reason you’re known as the Ice Queen in the first place.” Yoongi looked between the two of us. “You spent 2 years believing he was the great love of your life, just to find out it was all a bet and he never loved you. That’s a big deal!”

“2 years?” Yoongi asked and all I could do was nod. “God, guys fucking suck.” He exclaimed, leaning back on the couch as he took another sip of his drink.

“That’s what I’m saying!” Jimin added, plopping himself down on a chair.

“You two are the only guys I need.” I smiled, cuddling up to Yoongi, who happily wrapped his arms around me and placed a kiss on top of my head.

“I never should have told you to go on that date.” Jimin mumbled as he watched Yoongi and I.

“You didn’t know it would end up like this.” I told him; my words muffled by Yoongi’s shirt as my head rested on his chest. The three of us continued to drink, trying to forget all the angst of the day and have a good night.

“Hey! Now that Suck-Jin is gone, you can make your move!” Jimin exclaimed some hours later, all of us considerably more drunk than we expected to be.

“Oh yeah! You were saying you had a crush on someone!” Yoongi jumped in, poking my arm with a teasing smile on his face. “You’re beautiful! You should just go for it.” I laughed, shaking my head. “Come on, Y/N!” Yoongi whined. “I want to see you happy.”

“Yeah, Y/N! What was his name again?” I couldn’t help but laugh at how Jimin hasn’t changed. He still forgets everything when he’s drunk. “Yoongi!” He yelled, causing Yoongi to look over at him.

“You don’t have to yell, I’m right here!” Yoongi yelled back. Jimin’s eyes widened.

“Y/N! Now’s your chance! He’s right there.” He loudly whispered, cupping his hands around his mouth as if that would stop Yoongi from hearing him.

“Shut up, Jimin!” I said as I threw a pillow towards him, missing by a lot due to the alcohol in my system. “He has a crush on some girl!” I exclaimed with a pout on my face.

“Dammit Yoongi!” Jimin exclaimed. “How can you not like Y/N?!” He leaned forward in his chair, causing him to fall to the ground. I burst out laughing, completely forgetting the conversation that was happening seconds previous.

“Idiot! You’re always falling off chairs.” I laughed, but Yoongi was silent, seeming to have quickly sobered up. “Yah!” I slapped Yoongi’s arm. “What’s with that face?” I pouted.

“You like me?” My eyes widened as my jaw dropped.

“Who told you?” I whispered. “You weren’t supposed to know!” Yoongi chuckled, shaking his head at me.

“I think it’s bed time for you.” He stood up, holding a hand out for me to take so he could help me up. “Jimin,” he turned to saying something, but Jimin was passed out on the floor. “Okay then.” He chuckled before helping me to my room.

“Stay.” I pouted as I patted the empty space beside me. He shook his head as he tucked me in and turned to leave. “Yoongs!” I whined. “I want cuddles.” He chuckled, standing in my doorway contemplating whether he should stay or leave. “Please.”

“Always my weakness.” He mumbled to himself before crawling into bed with me and pulling me into his arms. I fell asleep quickly while listening to his heartbeat.

I woke up still wrapped in Yoongi’s arms, and the events of the previous night hit me like a truck. “Fuck.” I whispered to myself, trying to wriggle out of his arms without waking him up.

“You wanted cuddles; you live with the consequences.” He mumbled; his eyes still closed.

“Yah, if you’re awake, let me go.” I whined, trying to pull his arms off of me, but his grip only tightened. “What are you doing?” I asked, eventually giving up on getting out of his arms. He mumbled something I couldn’t understand before pressing a soft kiss to the top of my head. “Wow, who would have known the Ice King was actually the biggest softie.” I joked.

“Says miss Ice Queen pouting until I cuddled her.” I let out a small giggle, the memory coming back to me slowly. “You and Jimin are really funny when you’re drunk.” Before I could ask, he continued. “You accidentally confessed to me last night.” His voice was barely above a whisper, but I heard him loud and clear. “Before you panic,” He was moving so he could look at me, but his arms were still around me. “I like you too.” I couldn’t help the smile the overtook my face when he said that. “So if we can shake the third wheel, I’d like to take you out today.” I giggled, but promised I’d find a way for it to be just us. “Okay, then I’m going to go home and get ready. I’ll see you in a couple hours.” He pressed a soft kiss to my temple before getting out of my bed and leaving.

My two previous relationships may have failed miserably, but I know things are different this time. Third times a charm, as they say.

#bts imagine #bts au #min yoongi imagine #min yoongi au #min yoongi x reader #kim seokjin imagine #kim seokjin au #kim seokjin x reader #kim seokjin #min yoongi #jung hoseok #kim namjoon #park jimin #kim taehyung #jeon jungkook

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ominous-meme · 3 years

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More Speculations/Questions About Free! The Final Stroke Pt. 2

WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS FOR PART 1 UNDER THE CUT

Now that KyoAni has dropped a teaser of what we can expect in April, let’s take another look at what we might see! Part 1 of this discussion can be found here.

1. Haru is miserable. That much is clear. He’s lost and alone, and so broken that he’s crying in bed. It’s clear how bad he feels that he’s cut Rin off, but given that Haru is normally not one to show what he feels, him doing the thing where he lies in bed and the tears flow out make it obvious that he’s hurting more than he ever has before. I bet this isn't going to be the only scene we get of him crying, particularly if he's actually able to process how badly he's hurt people and been hurt himself, and wants to make amends and become a better person/swimmer without compromising on the things and people he loves. As his track pants show, he’s made it to the top levels of the swimming world, but at what cost? Who else is he throwing away in order to become stronger? We don’t even see any faces of the other characters, minus in the OG relay flashback, and the latest visual shows Haru looking eerily similar to Albert, with the hoodie and the purple eyes. However, the teaser implies he’s not too far gone, and there’s a chance that he can snap out of it if someone helps him in time. The melancholy but beautiful music is also an indication of this: he’s in pain, but he can heal.

2. The odds of a medley relay happening (and said relay helping Haru heal) are becoming more and more likely. Like Makoto’s comment in the previous teaser, the teaser text here talks about a future that is 400m away (thanks to @albatrossmuffin for the translation), and we see 4 fists bumping each other, all in an official swim team jersey. In addition, Haru clearly reminisces about the OG relay from when he was in elementary school, and it’s evidently a good memory among all the bullshit he’s having to deal with now. The question then is: WHO are those 4 people bumping fists? Is Haru part of the group? Whether or not he is, there are a minimum of 3 others whose identities we don’t know. It’s possible that Rin and Ikuya are there, but that means we’re still missing someone for backstroke. Makoto isn’t in the pro leagues, but Season 1 showed us that the characters are reckless enough to swap teams and bring in outsiders just to give their friend what he desperately needs. That time, Rei gave up his place for Rin and Iwatobi got disqualified thanks to that; there’s a chance that Makoto may be involved this time, and Rin will give Haru what he received all those years back when HE was feeling lost and resentful and alone and Haru saved him. I think Kaede’s mysterious friend from Part 1 is a dark horse where this is concerned; we don’t know anything about the guy, and I don’t remember if his specialty stroke was mentioned back then, so he may be an important character in Part 2.

3. Towards the end we see a bird flying over what appears to be Iwatobi. Will Haru return home and find peace? Will he come back home in his purple phase and have another confrontation with Makoto the way he did in Season 2, where Makoto calls him out on his behaviour and warns him to snap out of it? Haru and Makoto have almost never fought, and because the S2 fight was their first one, Haru was devastated. Even if he’s in his purple phase, an argument with Makoto is GOING to affect Haru pretty badly, given how much the two mean to each other. I sincerely hope Makoto stands up to Haru and supports him in breaking away from Ryuuji, then supports him as an official coach as his best friend takes on the world.

Feel free to add more thoughts! I’ll keep adding my own as more images and teasers come in!

4. The stopwatch. Is that Ryuuji’s hand holding it? If so, have Haru’s timings improved, stagnated, or stayed the same after he cut Rin off? As I said in the previous speculation, it’s likely that there will be a strong display of Haru’s strength early on in the movie, which will unnerve his friends as they know it’s not like him. But if Haru still struggles, then as I mentioned before, he’s definitely going to wonder whether it was worth hurting the people who mean the most to him, ESPECIALLY since we now have clips of him clearly in pain and in TEARS.

However, if that’s not Ryuuji’s hand holding the stopwatch, then whose is it?

#free!#free! the final stroke #free! the final stroke spoilers #final stroke spoilers

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acciocriativity · 3 years

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You and Me II || Harry Potter

Pairing: Draco Malfoy x Slytherin/Reader

Summary: After years at Hogwarts, your life would really begin and nothing could be better than to start this new phase with your official birthday party, but the next day does not turn out quite as expected.

Warnings: For those who haven't read the first part yet, Tom Riddle is not Voldemort in this fic. The first wizard war was against another wizard but its consequences are still valid! Just pure fluff and an implied bit of smut.

Word Count: 3,0k

A/N: This is obviously the part two of You and Me, but it’s not necessarily related, so you can just read this one as a one shot but the first part gives you a lot of context for this, ok? ok then. (Happy really early Birthday Katie! I'd like to post this on your bday but I was too anxious for this. Hope you like it!)

Part I

04/27/1997

"You're really not well, how can a person be in this state when their birthday is so close? I've tried to understand and still can't", the brunette's bored voice made itself present in the room for the 4th time in the day and as I prepared my answer, she held up her hand and delivered her own hypothesis first. "You can't be sad that we're finishing seventh year, I swear for Merlin's sake, if that's the case, I'll...", the words slipped slowly from her mouth, as did the calmness remaining in her.

"Even though anything you have to say sounds like a lot of fun, it's not the case. I really want to start my own life, have my own job and all that. I'm just thinking a lot lately, too many things have happened, we've all changed so much", I didn't bother to look at her, still focused on the ceiling painted like a blue summer sky and she didn't mind asking permission to lie next to me on the bed.

"We had to grow up eventually, although some took too long, in fact, I can point out for sure that half the boys still act like kids", we both laughed until our bellies ached.

"Well, good for us then because Draco and Blaise are not on that list and don't even dare look at me like that, you know he's changed a lot", I heard her amused giggles and already imagined what was coming.

"I wasn't even going to say anything this time, it's really impressive how you just stick up for him, I hope it's the same with me", I frowned and looked at her as if she was out of her mind, and there were chances she really was. "Since when do you need protection from someone?".

"I never said I needed it, but it's nice to know I have it", she shrugged without looking me in the eye and I decided it would be better to change the subject, because nothing good ever comes out of a Pansy, who is unseasy in any sense.

"So, about your...," she started. "Pansy, what do you…”, I said at the same time, but I just smiled and waited in silence for what she had to say.

"I was going to ask about your parents, you're going to have to live with them in a month, so how are you feeling about that?", she just glanced at me.

"That's been going through my mind, I have no idea what it's going to be like but it's going to be better than anything that's happened in the past, that's enough for now", I sighed.

"You know you can come to my house, right? You can hide there", I agreed with a smile and we continued in a comfortable silence.

04/29/1997

7:30 A.M.

On the morning of my birthday, I woke up in the best possible way. The warmth emanating from Draco's body and the thick blanket kept me unfazed by the freezing wind coming in through the window. I didn't want to move and I didn't need to.

I sighed satisfied with the position I was in, curled up under the blanket hugging the blond's bare torso, with no responsibility or obligation other than to enjoy my day.

"Morning, love", his arms pressed me tighter against him, I could feel his calm breathing and somehow, I felt calmer too.

I left a few kisses on his bare skin and the goosebumps they caused on him made me break out into a little smile. "Good morning, love", I whispered leaning back against him.

"Come here, let me give you a proper happy birthday", he gave my hair a quick pat and lifted my chin to look at him.

As soon as I crawled closer to him, his arms entwined around my waist and pulled me even closer.

"Happy birthday my love", he left several little kisses on my face and neck before moving to my lips, but our moment was interrupted by a noise on the window.

A gray owl incessantly beat its beak on the window pane, we looked at each other, neither of us wanted to get up, but it would be too cruel to leave the poor thing waiting there.

"It's my birthday, I have the right to ask you to go", I gave a brief kiss on his lips before letting him go to the war field.

I stayed warm while he opened the window further so that the owl could get through, as well as the icy wind.

He rushed back to my side in time to see me tear the seal off the letter I received.

"It's from my parents, they are really working hard this year. I have to admit that", I told him as I scanned the paper.

"At least they realized what a great daughter they have, she's a little mean but still great", I was too busy reading the letter to notice his cunning and more icy than usual hands pass around me.

I jumped out of bed as I felt the shock of our skin contact and he had the audacity to laugh, I had to control myself too much not to grab my wand.

"Draco Lucius Malfoy, you are dead now", I climbed into bed with my pillow, ready to fight.

20:00 P.M.

A few hours later, I was getting ready for the party in the Slytherin common room, everyone was invited since after this stressful year, a party would be nice and I couldn't physically kick anyone out.

I was barely concentrating in my makeup, Nala was running back and forth between my feet wanting attention and I couldn't give it to her or for the next few hours, no matter how much it broke my heart.

"For Merlin's sake... Nala! Sit!", it saddened me to see that she obeyed but still wanted to come running to me, that deserved a good reward.

I fed her one of her favorite cookies and petted her shiny fur before going back in front of the mirror. I checked several times to make sure I was ready.

"See you later my love, mma will be back soon", I waved to her and went downstairs before I gave in.

There were already a lot of people when I arrived, the new song by The Weird Sisters was so loud that Pansy didn't hear me, even though I called out 2 times as she passed by on the other side of the room.

As I made my way through, many friends stopped to congratulate me and also to chat a bit, by the time I realized what I was supposed to do, more than 10 minutes had passed.

"Have you guys seen Pansy? I was looking for her", I said before turning my own glass of buttered beer over and leaving it in Tom's hand. "See you guys later", my eyes were glued on the blond guy standing in the corner and in less than a second, I was walking towards him.

"What the hell am I supposed to do with that?!", I heard his indignant voice but ignored it along with all the other people, who tried to talk to me on my way to him.

"You know, the delay is only elegant because it doesn't last more than 5 minutes", he was smiling even though he hated tardiness.

"Maybe for most people, a queen is never late love, the others were too early. Especially when it's her birthday", I stopped in front of him. "You haven't given me my present yet, I'm waiting", I pointed to my own lips.

He chuckled and looked at me for a few seconds before he said something, even with the lights flashing I could still see the twinkle in his eyes, which still reflected mine equally.

"Are you asking this as a gift around too?", his smile widened as did mine, he took a step closer.

"Does that mean you're not going to give it to me? I had high expectations for this one in particular", something in his gaze changed, I could clearly tell but it was gone as quickly as it appeared.

"That particular one can wait, right now, I have my main gift", he took his hands off his back and in them was a green velvet median box with silver details.

I was almost breathless just admiring the package once it was in my hands. To top it off, a green silk bow and I had the impression that he had made it himself.

When I opened it, my jaw dropped. A silver necklace with an emerald heart carefully displayed in the box.

"Draco, you really didn't have to give me something expensive", he didn't answer me, instead took the necklace and helped me put it on.

"It seemed like an appropriate gift, now that we will no longer be living by Slytherin rules, it’s a nice way to say goodbye", I didn't think twice before I kissed him.

"I love you, I'll never get tired of saying that", I whispered between kisses. "You won't forget that, right?", I sighed as he brushed his lips across the skin of my neck.

"I have no reason to forget love, I...", we were interrupted by a forced cough behind me.

"Why don't you two just go into a room? No one has to see this scene", Blaise's unmistakable voice sounded and I felt my boyfriend giggle, not moving out of position.

"You can go after your girlfriend instead of getting in our way, wouldn't that be a brilliant idea?", I didn't see what happened, but a nice answer wouldn't be."So where were we honey?", he raised his eyes to meet mine.

"We better save that for the end of the party love, wasn't that your idea?", I pulled away from him and took his hand. "You have a whole party to enjoy."

"I already regret that decision, thanks for reminding me", he mumbled that and a few other things I couldn't hear.

07/01/1997

7:00 A.M.

"I still can't believe this is our last breakfast at Hogwarts", Astoria commented amidst the silence that had formed at our table.

"I still can't believe it's really over, it seems like any minute now I'm going to wake up and be back in third year", Pansy added.

"Well, I hope you'll make better decisions if you go back there tonight. No one forgot the hair Pan", my remark made everyone laugh for the first time in the day, a bit of pride grew inside me.

"Just because Hogwarts is over doesn't mean we're going to split up. None of you have any right to be this down today", Theo said and I was forced to smile as was everyone else.

"I was glad to be rid of you, at no point I was sad," Blaise muttered but we could all hear him and we all laughed once again.

8:00 A.M.

"What are you thinking?" he was with his eyes closed leaning against the train window, but I knew he wasn't asleep.

"How familiar everything here is, the worn leather of the seat, the smell of candy in the hallway and of trees coming in through the window. Other things will be familiar 7 years from now, it's just weird to think about it," he continued in the same position but held out his hand to me.

"That's true but I feel better knowing that we will continue to be each other's constant," I intertwined our fingers and we continued like that until we arrived.

11:00 A.M.

"It's time for the gifts, we prefer to give you personally. I believe you will like it", my mother said as soon as we sat down on the couch in our living room.

I smiled not knowing how to respond, since I usually got the same thing every year, money or more paint, and I was pretty sure they didn't choose in person.

"Go ahead, open it. We decided to give two separate presents this year, the pink wrapping is mine and the purple one is your father's", the two boxes were right next to me on the couch, so why was I hesitating so much to pick them up?

A lot was going on in my head, they have changed a lot in the last year but why? I could be dreaming of the ideal day, but no dream was as vivid as this one.

I took a deep breath and opened the pink first, I expected to find anything but my stuffed bunny, he was washed and clean, different from how I remembered, but still the same.

"I thought I lost or tore it a long time ago", I managed to say as I hugged him like one who finds an old friend, but he was beyond that.

"He was really in a rough state, but I was able to fix him. It was in one of the boxes in the basement, remember how you got it?", I agreed again, a wave of memories washed over me.

My parents had just arrived home from a business trip, it was the first time I had been alone at home without them.

"Mommy, Daddy!", I ran down the stairs as fast as my little legs would allow and threw myself into my father's arms, not caring about his wet coat, which soon became even wetter. "You promi-promised that you would be back soon”.

"Oh my love, something unexpected has happened. We were never going to leave you alone for so long," her hands wiped away my tears and took me in her lap. "So, for you never have to be alone again, we brought a little friend, he will always keep you company when we have to leave."

That wasn't enough to calm me down but it made me curious enough to stop crying, I didn't have any friends before that.

I hurried to open the other package but there was only an empty picture frame with no photo inside.

Before I could open my mouth to ask for an explanation, shapes began to appear from the black background.

I recognized the picture, me still a baby in my mother's arms and my father behind her, hugging us both but as soon as I blinked, it was gone.

Another picture formed in its place, I was older, about two or three years old, this one I had never seen. I was on my mother's lap holding a drawing that I had made and possibly looked terrible.

More pictures appeared and disappeared but I didn't wait to see them all at that moment.

"I loved these gifts...thank you Mom and Dad," I made a great effort to hold back the tears as I hugged them both. "They are the best presents I have ever gotten."

23:00 P.M.

"What are you two doing out there at this time of night?! Draco, have you been drinking now?", Narcisa gave us another stern look before opening the door and shoving us inside.

We walked in almost tripping over the living room rug, laughing at each other, to the point where tears formed in our eyes.

"Shhhhhh, my dad must be working... uhhhhhh, he's not going to like this, u-um," his hand covered my mouth.

I pushed his hand away from my face. “Me?Shut up? You're practically screaming you idiot!".

"You two, I don't want another peep out of you. Come up quietly. Your father doesn't like to be interrupted," she whispered, but it was enough for us to agree without hesitation.

"Yes, Captain, I mean, ma'am," he pulled me up the stairs before her patience ran out.

07/02/1997

14:00 P.M.

"What do you mean, you don't remember what happened?", the blond was clearly trying hard not to laugh and I sighed, still under the blanket.

"I don't remember Draco, did your mother really not hate me? I can't believe we came here...", even though no one was watching me, I started to blush, or was it just the fever? There's no way to be sure now.

"That could never happen, she made sure to request your favorite tea. Now get out of there before it gets cold", he tried to pull on my blanket but I used all the rest of my strength not to let him.

"Noooo, out there that's too cold. Come here, it's too cold for you too", I took one of my hands from the comfortable warmth to pull him to me. "You didn't have to get up so early to get this", I whispered but soon after started coughing.

"There must be a potion to help you, I'll just get it and then...", he was ready to get up from the bed but I didn't let go of his arm.

"I just want you, please stay here? The elf will bring it anyway", before he could protest, I covered him with the blanket. "You're not well either, let's just lay down for now".

He opened his mouth to deny it again but all that came out was a sneeze, after this he just gave up and lied down too. We were both screwed but at least we were together, right? I tried to think positive.

[ @x-dratie-x @fa-me]

Harry Potter Masterlist

#harry potter fanfiction #fred weasley #harry potter #george weasley #draco malfoy x reader #draco malfoy masterlist #draco malfoy fluff #draco malfoy smut #tom riddle #blaise zanbini #pansy parkinson #ron weasley #hp fanfic

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ironmandeficiency · 4 years

Text

force sensitive

pairing: rex / reader

word count: 2017

summary: you’re a mechanic for the 501st & you go with torrent to 79’s during leave. you get drunk off your ass & start pushing things off tables, claiming that it was the force (it wasn’t). then, after a few minutes, it was.

rex didn’t know what he did to deserve any of this. he was just trying to have a fun night at 79’s and wind down after yet another visit to fellucia, the hellhole planet that tested his sanity, and reunite with some brothers he hasn’t seen in a while. in hindsight, there was no point in hoping that things would be quiet at the clone bar because the words “quiet” and “79’s” didn’t belong in the same category.

this, however, would have been above his pay grade if he actually got paid for this shit.

you were drunk off your shebs, to describe your condition briefly. in more vivid detail, you were splayed across the laps of him, fives, and hardcase with a smile that took over your face as you laughed at literally anything anyone said. you had an arm wrapped around rex’s shoulder and was currently using his pauldron as a pillow despite saying it was uncomfortable. there was a double-digit number of empty glasses in front of the area where you previously sat and rex knew well how miserable your hangover would be in the morning.

he also knew that tomorrow would be a terribly busy day for you and your fellow mechanics because the 327th was temporarily going to be bunking with them on the resolute, and they just got back from another hellhole rex didn’t have the displeasure of knowing. “alright, i think it’s time to get home-“

“but rex, look!” you swept your free arm across part of the table and knocked over the bottles belonging to fives and hardcase with a flourish. “i used the force! i’m force sensititive!! i need to go to the temple, as soon as i can!”

hardcase started laughing so hard that he nearly shoved you into the floor. the only way you don’t fall is the way rex and fives grip onto you and save you from the grimy bar floor. no one deserved to be on that floor. there was no telling what diseases someone could get from it.

“y/n, cyare, you’re drunk. we need to get back to base so you can get a head start on sleeping out this hangover.” why did rex have to be the voice of reason? it was so hard and emotionally taxing. but on the other hand, he thought with a hidden smile, it did give him some serious blackmail for when his vod’e needed to be straightened out.

you pouted, shifting yourself clumsily away from rex and snuggling closer to fives. the arc trooper didn’t mind it one bit, hamming it up with an arm around your waist as he pulled you into his lap. a small shriek accompanied fives burying his chin in between your shoulder and neck, the tickling sensation heightened by his goatee burning slightly into your exposed skin.

“fives! fives, stop! i- i can’t breathe! fives!” you were giggling and bracing yourself on his thighs, clueless to the wrath beginning to boil in the captain at the sight of you all over his vod. he quickly brushed it away and buried any evidence of his jealousy as he lifted you into his arms, trying not to glance at your inebriated smile that was now dangerously close to his.

“c’mon sweetheart, you’ve got a long day ahead of ya tomorrow.” fives said nothing as you were removed from his lap but with that knowing look in his eyes, he didn’t need to. the protective body language of his captain and the way you leaned into him were signs that pointed to something a little more than platonic.

you let yourself relax into rex, the plastoid armor not even a bother in your pursuit for comfort. you’d been in far less comfortable places as a mechanic; plastoid painted in five-oh-first blue was always welcome. footsteps carried you out of the bar and back home. “you’re soft, captain. anyone ever tell you that?”

rex flushed redder than a sith’s ‘saber at the affection in your words paired with your breath innocently panting against his neck (maker how he wishes it were anything but innocent). “no, i… can’t say that i’ve been made aware of that knowledge. is it a good thing?” he didn’t know where the last part originated from, only that he said it and it unfortunately couldn’t be forced back down his throat.

your smile seemed to bring him back to the planet, while the way you nudged his ear with your nose as you replied, “it’s a wonderful thing, alor’ad. absolutely wonderful.”

he smiled despite himself, allowing himself this time of bliss while he carried you out of 79’s and back toward the barracks. your mando’a was a little lacking in some places, but he loved to hear the way your tongue rolled over every syllable. especially when it was to him.

“rex, i did it again!”

“i’m proud of you, sweetheart.”

another clatter was heard around his quarters and rex didn’t know whether he should laugh or groan at the mess you were making as you claimed to be using the force. he knew that you probably should be staying in your bunk in the mechanics’ quarters for the night, but only a cruel man would leave your bunkmates subject to the giddy drunk that was his cyare. so he carried the burden gladly, looking forward to falling asleep beside you once you had tired yourself out.

you had only been in rex’s private quarters on one other occasion, and that first time was so brief that you hadn’t gotten the chance to see the small things that made it his and different from the same official-looking bunks that all commanding officers were given.

he had a wooden hat/cloak rack in the corner closest to the door that held his helmet and your prized bomber jacket. there was a bottle of unopened corellian whiskey on a caf table that rested in front of a worn couch that no one knew how he got into his room. all they knew is that it was comfortable & was a great place to talk about your problems with the blond man currently enduring your drunken antics with a smile.

you plopped down next to him on said couch, toeing your boots off clumsily and letting your feet prop themselves on the coffee table. they didn’t stay there for long. rex’s voice was chiding you right after but he did so softly, knowing that you wouldn’t have done that if in your right mind. “cyare, feet off the table!” he grabbed your legs and swung them over his lap, your angle changing to where your head was resting against the arm of the couch.

“i’m sorry, rexy,” you pouted as you wiggled around for a moment to get truly comfortable in the new position. “forgive me?” you gazed at him through your lashes, your foot now nudging his armored thigh playfully, a smirk growing as he jostled slightly at your efforts.

his grin mirrored yours after a minute and it could’ve powered the entire damn ship with how bright it was. “yeah, i couldn’t stay mad at’cha for long, anyway.” in your honest/drunken opinion, he didn’t smile like that often enough, and you resolved to do anything to bring that light back to his face. you didn’t know if you’d remember the vow by morning, so it was more of a sentiment than anything at this point.

hummed approval emitted from your throat, deciding to enjoy the comfortable silence that had now settled in the room. a gloved hand came up to rub your leg and your eyes drifted shut when he began to massage the muscle. rex took your head falling back a sign that his ministrations were effective and so he continued, secretly filling away the image of you on his couch so relaxed. you were always running yourself ragged trying to keep everything in working order for him and the entire five-oh-first that you deserved this peace, to let loose every once in a while.

then he heard a clunk as his helmet landed in your lap, the thing seeming to float all the way across the room as if you used- holy kriff, you weren’t lying.

“y’know what would be weird, rex? if the five-oh-first had gold paint and the two-twelfth had your blue.” you ran your fingers over the markings of his helmet, taking the time to admire the welding marks that signified the way he customized his phase 2 helmet. “don’t think your jaig eyes would pop out the same th’ do in blue. not sure why not, might just be because this is the only real color i’ve seen you in. blue suits you, i think.”

he wasn’t paying as much attention to your words as he would have been otherwise, but you just made his helmet float to you! he was warranted a bit of distraction, in his opinion. he chuckled when thinking back to it now, knowing that your mischief has probably caused at least one food fight in the mess because of course his gotabor’ika would use the force to start shit.

rex was in his head for a moment too long because your feet had returned to nudging his thigh, you clearly not satisfied with his attention being held elsewhere while you were trying to make conversation. drunk you took his silence as a cue to him being sleepy, and even though plastoid felt okay when you were being carried by the strong arms of your captain, it most likely wasn’t comfortable to sleep in.

getting your feet with a slight wobble (rex would have laughed) you stretched out the hand not holding his helmet toward him, signalling for him to hold your hand. “rex, we gotta go’sleep. bly’s coming tomorrow and i wanna say hi, an’ i can’t say hi if i’m sleeping off a hangover.” rex stood but didn’t take your hand, deciding to remove his armor first.

“your logic is flawless as usual, gotabor’ika. you go on ahead, i’ll get this stuff off and meet you there.” he’s slept next to you before, it wasn’t a new experience for him; the unfamiliar territory was that it was in his bed without the prying eyes of his brothers to watch him hold you as protectively as he ached to when you were assigned to join them on the field.

a little huff followed you making your way to his bed, once again flabbergasting rex as you used the force to move his blanket aside enough to crawl in. your eyes watched approvingly as he stripped down to his bottom blacks, your arms hugging his helmet like an extra pillow.

you didn’t put up a fight when his hands moved your arms away from the helmet, body already succumbing to the exhaustion that would be trailed by a nasty hangover. your eyes were fighting it, them being your only ally in your quest to admire the blond man now shimmying under the covers. his quiet little demand for you to scooch warranted compliance because it sounded so soft, like he was saying something with far more substantial than the six-letter command.

rex felt a hum vibrate in your chest as you tangled your body around his. you’d told him before that you got cold easily and the mechanics’ barracks being below the air filtration system made them colder than most of the ship. you were letting yourself get lost in the warmth of him, your mind becoming peacefully blank of everything but rex.

he simply smiled as your breath fanned across his bare chest, lightly blowing the light chest hair that adorned his body. in this bliss he’d nearly forgotten that you could apparently use the force until you used said force to tug the blanket up to your neck and tuck them around you both. eh, that force stuff can be a problem for future rex. all he wanted to do was stay in this moment with your weight resting comfortably against his side, not a worry in sight.

#captain rex x reader #captain rex #captain rex imagines #star wars imagines #star wars reader insert #swtcw #star wars the clone wars #rex #ct-7567 #clone wars imagines #the clone wars #clone trooper rex #we love and respect captain rex #drunk!reader #mechanic!reader #ao3 saw it first

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lozzypoz321 · 4 years

Text

Word count: 3.8k!

A/N: this is one of my favourite things I’ve ever written and I’m super proud of it, also the biggest word count I’ve ever done, hope you enjoy and pretty please leave feedback!! <3

Warnings: brief mentions of underage sex, calling of child services, brief mentions of an anxiety attack

Avengers college AU

Bucky: Guys I’m really desperate

Bruce: what?

Steve: wdym?

Bucky: does anyone have the first period free tomorrow? Can’t afford a babysitter for Riley :/

Tony: nah can’t, I’ve got a busy schedule

Clint: economics man

Bruce: science m8

Nat: same as Clint I’m afraid Jamesy

Clint: wbu Steve?

Steve: library club and I can’t skip

Bucky: >: I

Bucky: I think I may be having a midlife crisis.

Tony: okay 1. You’re 20 and 2. You shouldn’t have gone an’ knocked up a woman at 17

Nat: Tony!

Bucky: You’re acting like you didn’t get some at 17 Tony

Bruce: he has a fair point.

Nat: and anyway Riley’s too pure for your insults Tony

Bucky: uwu

Tony: you have officially turned into every teenage girl Barnes

Nat: anywayyyyyyy, Thor how’re you coping with your brother’s “phase”

Tony: I am starting to think Loki’s goth phase isn’t just a phase Natalie, I caught him walking around in a skull T-shirt with chains this morning

Clint: oh daym

Steve: what are you going to do?

Thor: I am going to show that I respect him by buying him some flowers!

Clint: What abt a chain tho?

Nat: wait, does anyone wanna go to laser tag at some point?

Tony: oooh yes!

Bruce: yeah I’m down! :)

Steve: I’ve got time yeah thanks

Bucky: I never back down from a laser tag game

Nat: great! I’ll book it with Tony’s card

Tony: wait what?

Bucky: oh shit, I’ve gotta go, Riley’s just run away somewhere brb

Clint: oh damn.

Bucky shoved his phone hastily into his pocket and looked around, desperation filling his eyes as they searched for any sign of his daughter. The bushes swayed with the evening breeze and very few people strolled around campus, either going on a walk, meeting up early with friends or getting food. The young adult heavily sighed out of relief when he caught sight of Riley, excitedly chatting to a man, who James quickly identified him as one of his other friends, Sam.

Braking out into a light jog, he made his way across campus to the pair while also trying to avoid bumping into the other students that were now staring at him, in college he was basically known as the fuck boy. Not that he was, the only reason behind it was that he had a daughter at 17 and everyone apart from his friends never saw past that.

“What’re you doing here munchkin?” He asked the small girl who was now shyly smiling at her father. Sam chuckled at the duo and turning his attention away from Riley, “wasn’t her fault dude, just telling me how she’s going to chemistry class tomorrow, can’t wait to see that” he said with a sly smirk on his face.

Bucky mentally sighed, yes it was going to be very tough tomorrow. Not only was she very restless, but she also was very talkative and wouldn’t put a filter on around people older than her, which most of the time could be very offensive. “Yeah! I promised him I’ll be good!”

“Oh really? Well I kinda hoped you’d have something to say to Professor Demon”

“Sam,” he groaned and ran a hand through his hair “his names Damon, if he caught you sayin’ that then we’d get suspended so quickly dude” Riley giggled and looked up at her dad innocently “and then we’d go poor because you suck at getting jobs”

“He sucks at everything” Sam mumbled, earning a glare from the other man. “We better go get some food now, there’s literally nothing in the fridge except a can of tuna, some ketchup and packets of sour sauce from takeout awhile ago”

“Oof man”

The walk to the diner that he had decided on going to after he couldn’t be bothered going grocery shopping was a long one. Riley insisted on stopping for every dog they saw, to ask to stroke it. “Ri’ baby, we can’t keep stopping, we gotta get back to the dorm before it’s your bedtime”

The pout she sent him instantly melted his heart before he realised she knew exactly what she was doing and he readjusted his grip on her hand so she didn’t end up running away again like she did earlier.

“Ri’ what do you want?” He asked the child once the waitress had come over asking for their orders. She gave a nonchalant shrug and turned her attention back to the video that was playing on Bucky’s phone that he had given her for the wait. “M’kay so, can we get a,” he took a pause to take a quick glance at the kid’s menu on the table “chicken nuggets and chips please with… chocolate milkshake?”

Riley nodded and the waitress, who from the name tag on her apron, was named Elizabeth, began to write down both his and her order but halfway through gave a quick glance up to Bucky, but when he caught her cheeks flooded red that made his daughter snort.

“Is that all sir?”

“Riley shut up” he quietly told the girl as Elizabeth walked away with her head down. “She was flirting with you dad” she laughed making him jokingly nudge her across the table “Oi, and anyway she’s not my type munchkin”

“Well don’t be too loud, the creeps staring at you dad”

He didn’t mean to, but without thinking his head whipped round to instantly make eye contact with the woman who was biting her lip, her eyes now as big as plates. His cheeks heated furiously as he immediately turned back around to face his adorable giggling daughter. “You better like those chicken nuggets munchkin cause I’ve got to go through this to get them”

“I will dad, I like chickens”

“Riley, come on you gotta get some sleep” he groaned once she’d slid onto the sofa where he was writing his assignment last minute for the fifth time that night.

“But dad,” She whined and pulled on the sleeve of the college logo sweater he had pulled on without even thinking about it once they’d got home as he had only just realised he had a paper to write, “I’m not tired and I don’t want to be alone”

His eyes softened at the pleading look on her face that would get him to do anything she wanted him to “m’kay baby, how about we go into into the bedroom and you try to get some sleep while I finish this up”

She nodded enthusiastically and he picked up the study books and paper in one hand and Riley in the other, deep eye bags could be found on his face from the lack of sleep that he had spent pulling all-nighters working on college work and began to make his way into the small room that had a single bed pressed up against the wall with a mattress next to it, an abundance of blankets on both.

He set the small girl onto the single bed and lowered himself down into the smaller one, using the bed frame to press his back against and using a hardback book underneath the paper to rest on.

“Why do people stare at you?” Bucky only just heard Riley mumble as her eyes struggled to keep open. He stopped writing but kept his hand in the same place while grinder his teeth, wondering what to say. “Cause baby… people don’t really think that I should have you this young,” he struggled to find the words as he felt his daughter roll onto her back to listen “but they don’t understand that I love you a lot, don’t I munchkin?”

Riley giggled behind him and uttered a small yes. “At least they haven’t tried to take me away again”

The young man's breath hitched in the back of his throat at the memory flashed through his mind. They’d been watching a movie with Steve after their classes and a knock had sounded on the door.Apparently, Child services had been called by one of the students and they tried to take her away but he wouldn’t let them, they had threatened to take him to court because the living settings were not meant for a child but 17-year-old Steve had calmly spoken to them outside the room while James had been on the edge of a panic attack inside.

“Yeah, scared me Ri’” his horse voice answered back making her eyebrows scrunch in confusion “I’m not going anywhere dad. Well, unless I die but y’know”

He sent her a bitch face look over his shoulder which made her uncontrollably giggle. Bucky chuckled and set his attention back to the essay while absent mindedly talking to her about random things.

“Is Loki gonna be at the laser tag place?” She asked and added on excitedly “oooh can I come dad?!”

“Sure doll, let me tell the guys”

Buck: we got plus ones on this laser tag thing?

Bruce: whyyyy??

Thor: oooh if that is the case I would very much like to take my brother!

Nat: oh are you bringing Riley then?

Buck: yup

Steve: I don’t see why not

Tony: I’m off to speak to this really hot girl

Clint: what that spice girl?

Buck: do you mean pepper?

Clint: ah yes!

He chuckled at the screen and chucked his phone to the side while looking up to his daughter on the bed above him, going to tell her they approved before stopping and smiling to himself as he caught sight of her peaceful, sleeping form.

Without waking her up, he got off the mattress and tucked in the blankets, quietly laughing as he retrieved the earbuds she had borrowed in the diner from her pocket. “Night munchkin”

Bucky groaned as the ringing of his phone awoke him, the technology next to his ear from when he had fallen asleep sat up. “Wha’?”

It was so early in the morning that he didn’t even have the energy to think of a proper sentence, never mind say one.

Steve: hey guys make sure your ready, it starts an hour after school

Clint: Steve. School. Finishes. At. 6. Pm. What. Tf. Do. You. Mean. It. Starts. In. An. hour. After.

Nat: we thought you could do with a late start

Tony: fuck you Romanoff

Clint: ten bucks says she’s smirking rn

Buck: ughhh

Bruce: I feel exactly the same way

Buck: no you don’t. I spent up until 6 am doing that English essay I forgot about

Tony: oof

Bucky: I will physically be running on caffeine this morning so be ready

He took a look around the messy room before deciding he would clean it another day and raised himself onto his feet before making sure Riley was still on the single bed asleep. He made his way to the tiny kitchen that held a mini-fridge, microwave, kettle and an oven with two counters on one side to make himself a cup of coffee that he was depending on if he had to spend an hour of his day running around in sweaty gear and a fake gun while making sure his daughter didn’t run away to get some sort of snack.

“Fuck” he mumbled as the loud whirring of the kettle started, sure to wake Riley up. “I’m tired” he heard a voice groan behind him, making the man whirl around, instantly making eye contact with his daughter. Sighing out of relief and returning back to the drink he was previously making. “So am I doll, yet you can’t have coffee”

He made her go get dressed and brush her teeth while he had a mental breakdown over what he was going to do about the paper he didn’t manage to finish before he fell asleep last night.

“Dad,” Bucky looked up to find Riley once again dressed in a pair of Joggers and a baggy T-shirt that she’d dragged out of the very few clean clothes in her draw “someone’s messaging your laptop”

She struggled to hold up the open device that showed multiple emails from one of his professors questioning his performance in class for the recent weeks. He inwardly cursed and took the laptop from her to begin emailing her back, choosing to ignore the insults she had thrown at him and his daughter in the middle of it.

“She is so full of-“ he stopped halfway through the sentence, noticing that Riley was sat next to him, quietly playing a YouTube video on his phone. “Whatcha watching Ri’?” He asked, his attention still focusing on trying to be professional in the email back. “c- c-“ she struggled to pronounce the word so she passed it to him.

“Commentary channels?” The man asked with a laugh, thinking about how most parents wouldn’t even let their 4 child near a video like that but yet again he wasn’t like most parents. He was 20 and had to do this alone.

“Oh yeah”

“Come on munchkin, we gotta get to first period before we’re late” he told her and grabbed his backpack to quickly shove his college things in before glancing at the digital clock on his phone and scooping Riley up so they could get there quicker.

Halfway through the panicked running across campus, the small girl decided she needed a nap and fell asleep against his shoulder, making Natalia laugh as they passed.

As soon as he arrived in the classroom he knew it was a bad idea when 11 pair of eyes fell to his, heavily panting and holding an asleep 4-year-old.

“Sir he’s late” a girl, younger than him moaned to the teacher who was now shrugging his shoulders “I don’t care”

“But professor, why’d he bring the baby?”

Bucky had enough of everyone staring at him, he readjusted the bag on his back before making his way to the back of the class, sitting in an empty seat in between Sam and Tony and placed Riley on his lap.

“That’s a good question Jaimee, Barnes?”

“Couldn’t find anyone to look after her professor” he mumbled in response, making sure to be loud enough to hear. “No babysitter?”

“Can’t afford it sir”

He didn’t once make eye contact with anyone in the room, instead putting his attention on the books that he was bringing out of his bag. “You alright man?” Tony whispered across the desk and flicked a pen at him, “Oi” Bucky hissed as the metal came in contact with the side of his head making Sam laugh loudly at him.

“Dad,” a mumble was heard quietly, making the older man look at his daughter, eyes that were previously closed were now looking up at his wide with pleading “I’m hungry”

If he was anywhere else in the world he would have sworn loudly, but right now he was in a class with 10 other students and his daughter. “Okay baby, but you're gonna have to wait for a while, we’re in my class but I’ll get you something after okay?”

She nodded and rested her hair back against his chest, making him smile slightly as he went back to taking notes of the class. “I’ve got skittles,” Sam held out the family-sized packet of sugary sweets making Riley do grabby hands towards it. Without asking Sam gave her it, earning a goofy smile from the girl. “Thank you dude but she’s literally gonna get the biggest sugar rush possible now”

“Aha, can’t wait to see that”

By halfway through the period Riley was already rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet, on the spot next to Bucky’s chair, his hand holding hers to make sure she didn’t run up to the front and distract everyone. “Dad, are you going to work tonight?”

“Yeah munchkin, not for long though, you can stay with Stevie. How about that?”

“Yeah, m’kay”

Suddenly the professor spoke up, directing his attention to Bucky “Barnes, the symbol Sb stands for stibium or stibnite. What is the modern name of this element?”

“That doesn’t sound like English dad” Riley loudly whispered to him, making the class laugh, “and what do you think the answer is?”

The girl pondered for a second and looked at her dad with seriousness drawn upon her features “...tell me,”

“Laser in the house!” Clint exclaimed in excitement once everyone had found their way to the front of campus where they’d agreed to meet.

“I like lasers,” Riley gushed while smiling brightly making most of the young adults chuckle, Loki however, did not. “Why did you have to bring me?” The man grumbled, sending a death glare towards his brother.

“Why are you dressed like that?”

“Riley no-“

“Did you go through childhood trauma to endure this?”

“Ri’ you can’t ask-“

“Why is there a child?” Loki asked as if he had only just noticed she was there. “She is Barnes’ daughter brother” Thor said and gently patted her head, making her scowl.

“You have a daughter?”

“I’ve had her for 4 years dude”

“Oh”

Steve grabbed his phone from his pocket and glanced at the time “guys we’ve gotta be there in half an hour we better get goin’”

“Alright Rogers, you really do like to keep track of time don’t you?” Tony asked and rolled his eyes making Nat nudge him in the ribs. “Tony, I’m not that old”

“You're 21, everyone else is 20 punk” Bucky teased him but stopped when he sent him a death glare. “Erm, I’m not 20.” The young girl pointed out while everyone else started making their way to the entertainment place. “Smart girl Ri’”

“Wait, do we need to decide the teams?” Bruce asked everyone once Bucky and Riley had caught up with the rest. “Ooooh,” Clint exclaimed with wide eyes “dibs on Natasha! She’s got good aim.”

“I’m gonna stick with you. Power team” Bucky whispered down to the stupidly smiling girl as she nodded furiously. By the time everyone had chosen their teammates and managed to agree, the group had arrived. “This’ll be great” Bruce sighed once they’d caught sight of the room of light-up vests with attached laser guns.

“Rules,” a middle-aged man who looked like he’d given up on life, walked into the room with a clipboard in hand “No Running, No Physical Contact, Hold Laser with Both Hands, No Climbing, Players must be careful when manoeuvring around interior arena walls, Please let us know if any of your guests suffer from the following: Asthma, epilepsy or suffer from seizures caused by fog or strobe lights.”

Everyone was quiet for a second before Steve quietly spoke up with a blush “I have asthma, sir.”

The worker took a pause and pondered for a moment, as though this had never happened in his whole 68 years of working there, “just… don’t start a fire alright?”

They all nodded in agreement, just happy that he’d been let in, and began to enter the massive room where the game was about to take place. “Right, so, let’s not rugby tackle people like you did last time,” Steve said and mostly directed it to Thor who smiled sheepishly “cause- err, there’s a kid, yeah, Riley, that’s it”

Bucky chuckled and picked up the fake laser gun as the lights began to darken, “let’s get this party started”

As soon as the words left his mouth, chaos ensured, young adults setting off running to find a place to set-up camp. As he wanted to be fast, Bucky quickly picked up Riley and began to run towards a pillar so he could hide behind it, so he’s able to get a good view of people.

“How does it work?” Riley whispered from the spot of her back pressed against his chest so she could also see and indicated towards the gun. “Gotta put your finger on the trigger” he instructed and took ahold of her index finger and brought it over to the weapon, placing the rest of her hand on the handle while her other one held the underneath of the top part, trying not to drop it.

The whole room was silent for a good 5 minutes before Bucky decided to make a move, taking hold of the collar of her jacket to gently pull her up with him. Not holding Riley’s hand as she would have ended up dropping the laser gun if she didn’t have two hands on it.

The two of them scouted out the place trying to be quiet so they didn’t get caught. Suddenly, making them jump, a loud zapping sounded in the distance, indicating that someone had found an enemy. He began to run away from the sound, after making sure his daughter was following and attempting to find somewhere to hide again but this time he didn’t find a deserted place.

“Aha!” Nat yelled and jumped out from behind a pillar while aiming the laser at Bucky’s chest. His panicked yelling and screaming filled the air as he made a run for it, completely forgetting about his teammate left behind and the rule “no running”. Suddenly, before he could brace himself his body went flying, his foot getting stuck on a stray shoe that belonged to Thor. At the same time Steve had jumped out, meaning to get the man in the chest, but instead Bucky had landed on him, using him to muffle the landing, earning an “ow man...” in return.

Bucky wanted to move, he really did, but he just couldn’t. He was in a trance, his and Steve’s baby blue eyes made eye contact, without knowing what he was doing, Steve’s body involuntarily leant up: closer to the younger man. His lips never looked more inviting, but all of a sudden a yell broke out in the room.

“Dad! Help! Nat nearly got me!”

The father scrambled up off the floor, his mind going a million miles an hour about what just happened and why it was wrong. He was his best friend. He should only see him as a friend.

Without meaning to, he ran away from him, not bothering to even spare Steve a second glance in search of his daughter, who was now cowered in one of the room's corners, trying not to get shot. Bucky chuckled slightly at the tactic and crossed the room, luckily not being noticed by Tony and Nat who were having a shoot off at each other from their opposite ends in the room.

“Nat nearly got you Ri’?”

“M’ yeah and you weren’t there.”

Guilt coursed through the mans veins as he remembered that he’d left her, but before his mind could go wondering to the events after it, he stopped himself, “sorry munchkin”

“Is’ okay, just don’t do it again dad”

He silently laughed at the sincerity in her voice and grabbed her hand to lead her away from the battle scene so they could get somebody else in the laser tag game. In quiet discussions they settled on Bruce, the one who was most likely to not be paying attention, and if he was it would still be easy to take aim without him seeing.

“Come on Ri, we got this.”

@donutloverxo @xolovegrace @rooskaya-yelena @deephideoutmilkshake @kidney9-9 @marvel-ous-hobbit @snarky--starky @rae-is-typing @stargazingfangirl18 @canadianhufflepuffavenger @herecomesthewriterwitch @every-marveler-ever

#bucky x oc!daughter #bucky x oc #bucky x daughter #Avengers college AU #college au #bucky barnes x daughter #bucky barnes oneshot #bucky oneshot #bucky barnes x oc

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bellakitse · 4 years

Text

To Love You This Well

TK and Carlos have been together for over a year, and are more in love than ever. As they watch their friends get ready for the next big step in their lives, Carlos can't stop thinking about the next step he wants TK and him to take.

Written for Lone Star Week Day 2 - Great Dynamics

E,15k fic Sequel to ‘It Takes a Village’

Carlos Reyes is with his boyfriend TK, and their friend Judd in the half-finished nursery of the man’s house. There is plastic on the wooden floor and buckets of pale-yellow paint around them, the walls are bare and primed for them to get to work if only TK and Judd can stop bickering.

“You’re doing that wrong, Cowboy Judd,” TK comments just as Judd puts the roller to the wall.

Judd throws him a mild glare over his shoulder in response. “Kiss my ass, City boy. I know how to paint a damn room.”

“If you know how to paint,” TK crosses his arms, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “Then why are you doing it so badly?”

“TK, I swear to god – “

“Hey, I’m just trying to help. If you want to mess up your daughter’s room and make your eight-month pregnant wife cry, that is completely up to you,” TK shrugs his shoulders as Judd gives him another dirty look.

Carlos bites down on his lip to keep from laughing at the aggravation on Judd’s face or the absolutely bratty grin TK gives him back.

TK has been living above Judd and Grace’s garage for over a year now. A temporary situation that has proven beneficial enough for all involved to keep it going, and it just doesn’t get old for anyone to watch Judd and TK lock horns or poke at each other the way only siblings can.

“You’re a pain in the ass, and I hate you,” Judd answers childishly. It’s another amusing aspect of their relationship to see them both act like kids around each other. TK scoffs at his comment, obviously not believing it any more than Carlos. In the last year of living together, Judd and TK’s friendship has solidified. He knows the other man sees his boyfriend like a kid brother. He’s even admitted – much to TK’s delight – that he feels closer to him than his blood brothers, probably due to their career and the fact that between work and home, they spend so much time together. “Fine, TK, tell me what I’m doing wrong.”

Carlos can’t help the snort that escapes his throat as Judd caves, but swallows back the desire to bust out laughing when Judd turns his glare towards him, while TK grins pleased and lovingly in his direction.

“You have an opinion, Reyes?” Judd asks with a biting tone, grumbling when TK slaps his shoulder.

“Don’t be rude to my boyfriend, or I’ll tell Grace on you,” TK warns him before walking over to Carlos. Wrapping his arm around his waist, TK presses a kiss to the underside of his jaw.

“Jesus, Mary and Joseph, if you too are going to start necking, I’m dumping these buckets of paint on you both,” Judd warns them, pointing the paint roller in his hand at them. “I don’t care if the result is me sleeping on the couch. It will be worth it.”

“Necking, Judd?” TK asks with a mocking laugh. “What are you, an 80-year-old?”

“What are you, TK? A 15-year-old who can’t keep his hands off his boyfriend?” Judd shoots back. “You’ve been together well over a year, isn’t the honeymoon phase over yet?”

“Never,” TK grins before looking back at him with a twinkle in his eye. “Right, baby?”

Carlos shoots Judd a quick look before turning to face his boyfriend, feeling amusement and love for the man in his arms. They’ve been together for over a year and a half if you count their beginnings when they were still in the casual phase, which Carlos does. He’s known since the moment he laid eyes on TK that first night in the rain that he was going to matter to him, and he wasn’t wrong. TK is the most important person in his life outside his family – no, that’s not right. TK is his family, the one of his own making, maybe not officially but in every way that counts.

Lately though, his thoughts have been a steady stream of how much he wants to make it official between them. He wants to call TK his family more than he’s ever wanted anything else in his life.

A hand at his cheek startles him out of his thoughts, and he finds beautiful green eyes looking at him curiously. “Where did you go, big guy?” TK asks him softly, his hand warm and a little calloused as he runs his thumb over his cheekbone.

Looking over at Judd for a moment, he feels himself blush when he sees the guy giving him a silent but understanding look, making Carlos question just what lovesick expression he has on his face.

He ignores their friend for a moment, flashing TK a smile as he shakes his head. He leans down to give him a quick kiss, his stomach fluttering at the soft fond expression on TK’s face when he pulls back.

“I think the paint fumes are getting to me for a sec, I’m fine,” he reassures him.

TK smiles at him, his eyes crinkling at the sides. “Why don’t you go get a glass of water and visit with Grace, she’s making dinner. Get away from the smell while I teach a man in his late 30’s how to paint.”

“Say good-bye to your boyfriend, Reyes,” Judd jerks his head towards TK. “I’m going to drown him in a bucket of paint.”

“Telling a cop your murder plans,” TK shakes his head sadly back at Judd, and Carlos can feel his amusement as he leans against him. “How have you survived this long in life?”

Carlos lets out a huff of laughter, interrupting the men before they get started on their squabbling, these two can go on for hours. “I’m going to tell Grace that her daughter’s room will probably be ready by her fifth birthday,” he tells them. Ignoring the two matching sounds of protest, he places a kiss on TK’s temple before letting him go.

“Play nice,” he warns TK, holding a finger close to his face.

TK goes in for a nip of his teeth, giving him a dirty smirk when he snatches his hand away.

He shakes his head at his ridiculous boyfriend, a reluctant smile on his face. He starts to leave the room, but not before he hears Judd speak once more.

“Strand, would you stop staring at your boyfriend’s ass for a moment and help me paint already?”

֎֎֎

Carlos walks into the Ryders’ kitchen, breathing in deep the delicious smell of Grace’s cooking. He finds Grace at her island counter chopping onions, smiling as he watches her pregnant belly bump into it every time she moves.

“Yes, I’m a whale,” she says without looking up. “No need to stare, Reyes.”

Carlos laughs softly as he walks up to her wrapping his arms around her shoulders, pressing a kiss on her cheek. “You are gorgeous, baby mama, that’s why I’m staring,” he assures her as he lets go of her to lean on the other side of the counter. “You’re the most beautiful pregnant woman I have ever seen, and I have sisters with kids.”

Grace looks at him with a grin on her face, her dimples winking at him. “You are too charming for your own good, Carlos Reyes,” she raises an eyebrow at him. “Between that and the way you look, you’re a danger to society. All the boys and girls of the greater Austin area need to be careful.”

Carlos can’t help the blush that spreads across his cheeks; no matter how much he tries, he can’t help but get flustered when Grace teases him. “Stop,” he mumbles only for Grace’s grin to grow like it always does when she messes with him.

“Of course, it doesn’t really matter to you,” she starts with a glint in her eyes. “All those boys and girls are doomed to be disappointed that you’ll never look their way, you already found your dream boy, didn’t you, darling?” she asks, and Carlos can see that she’s trying hard not to laugh at him, given how hot his face feels, he’s not surprised.

“You like making fun of me,” he pouts, though his mouth curves upward once more when she lets out a deep laugh throwing her head back. He can see why Judd is so in love with her.

“You make it so easy,” she answers as she leans over and pinches his cheek.

Carlos swats at her hand half-heartedly, himself laughing. In the time that TK has lived with her and Judd, he has gotten to spend a lot of time getting to know the couple better. He considers both of them good friends, but he admits his heart holds a special place for Grace. After TK and Michelle, she is his closest friend.

“Why don’t you sit down,” he nods towards the bench at the breakfast nook. “I can take over,” he continues as he looks around at what she has started and sees that she’s going with Tex-Mex for dinner.

“Normally, I would be horrified at a guest doing the cooking in my kitchen,” she says as she starts to take a seat. “But you spend so much time here anyway; you’re not really a guest. I sometimes think you’ve moved in here with TK.”

“Is that your way of telling me to come around less often, Gracie?” he asks teasingly as he gets to work. She already has yellow rice going, and the meat is marinating, so he gets to work on the refried beans.

“You’re really going to make me get up to smack you, Carlos Reyes, after I just sat down.?” she asks with a no-nonsense look on her face. “I have a watermelon under my blouse, sitting down and getting up isn’t easy right now, but I will if you keep talkin’ stupid.”

“No ma’am,” he says quickly, biting down on his bottom lip to keep from smiling.

“That’s better,” she answers moodily.

Carlos works quickly and quietly, getting dinner ready as Grace studies him with assessing eyes that start to make him nervous. He tries to ignore it, but after he drops the knife in his hand twice, he decides to ask her why she’s looking at him like that before he cuts off a finger.

“Okay, say whatever you want to say,” he says, looking over at her with what he hopes is a formidable look. He can get perps to do what he wants with one hard look, and yet Grace, a tiny pregnant lady who barely reaches his shoulders, doesn’t look the least bit fazed.

“I was just thinking about you and TK living together,” she says casually like it’s a completely normal thing to say and not something that sends his heart racing.

“We’re not living together,” he answers quickly, feeling his face go hot when she levels him with a ‘no shit’ look.

“I know that,” she says slowly, because apparently questioning his intelligence silently isn’t enough. “I just don’t understand why you haven’t asked him yet.”

“You want to know why I haven’t asked TK to move in with me?” he asks to make sure he’s hearing right.

Grace looks at him again; there is the same knowing look he saw in her husband’s face earlier, shining in her dark eyes, and he knows he’s not going to like what comes out of her mouth next.

“Actually,” she says with a dry look on her face. “I keep wondering why you haven’t proposed yet; you obviously want to.”

Carlos chokes on nothing. He feels his lungs seize up; he’s coughing hard and loud before he can stop it. All the while, Grace continues to look at him, calmly like he isn’t dying in her kitchen.

Finally, after a minute of suffocating and perishing, he manages to get a full enough breath that he’s able to speak again. “What?” he asks, wincing as he hears himself screech.

Grace raises both eyebrows at him as she rests back in her seat, her hands caressing her stomach gently. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she starts, and her voice is dripping in so much sarcasm he’s honestly impressed, or he would be if it wasn’t directed at him. “Did you think that was a secret? Because if it was, you should really tell your face to get with the program. You look ready to drop to one knee every time that boy – well, I want to say speaks, but that’s not true, you look ready to propose every time TK breathes. Have you gotten the ring yet, or have you actually managed to control the impulse?”

“I haven’t gotten any ring!” Carlos all but shouts, his voice high and a little hysterical. He doesn’t tell her that he’s found himself looking outside jewelry stores more than once in the last few weeks. He hasn’t told anyone, not even Michelle, what has been running through his head nonstop. No one knows, except apparently while he hasn’t been saying it out loud, his face has been broadcasting his deepest desires to the world.

Carlos drops his face into his hands, letting out a deep pitiful groan. When he looks up, he finds Grace watching him with a gentle expression.

“Do you think TK knows?” he whispers, trying to think of any moment where TK might have been uncomfortable with him. Luckily he can’t think of any; his boyfriend has been his usual amazingly sweet loving self, a happy smile on his face every time he’s around Carlos.

Grace lets out a soft snort before shaking her head. “I love that boy, but he’s clueless, he has no idea what you’ve been thinking about.”

“But you do, huh?” he questions dryly.

Grace signals him with a curve of her finger, and Carlos lowers the heat on the beans before he does as she asks, sitting down across from her on the small table.

She places a small soft hand over his, a kind smile on her pretty face. “You have no poker face when it comes to that boy, sweetheart.”

He lets out a sigh; he can’t argue her point, he’s always been a pretty open and honest guy with his emotions. If he cares about someone, he sees no point in hiding it. With TK, that belief is amplified a hundred times over. From the moment he met him, his feelings for TK have been spilling at his feet no matter how much he tried to control it at the beginning. A year later, with them together and in love, he’s allowed to show TK how much he loves him. It pours out of Carlos without any conscious thought. Loving TK Strand comes as naturally as breathing to him, and given that he knows that as long as he has air in his lungs, he’s going to love him, it makes sense.

“I love him,” he says quietly, shooting Grace a look when she snorts again, this time loudly.

“Sorry,” she says, sounding anything but. “Was that supposed to be some grand revelation?”

“Are you going to sass me, or are you going to listen?” he complains. Honestly, sometimes it’s like he’s talking to one of his sisters.

“I’m not just a pretty face, I can do two things at once,” she says easily, giving him a shrug of her shoulders when he levels her with an exasperated look. “Please continue to explain to me why you are hesitating from taking a step you clearly want to take.”

“I don’t want to scare him off,” he grumbles, he pulls his hand from under hers to rub at his forehead. “I love him, and I know he loves me. We’re happy, and it’s incredible between us, and I don’t want to rock the boat when all that should be enough for now. It’s not like we’ve been together that long.”

Grace nods at him in agreement. “Yeah, I mean, you had your first anniversary a month ago? Thirteen months is not long.”

“Eighteen months,” he corrects her and knows it’s the wrong thing to say by the smug look on her face.

“Interesting,” she says with barely contained glee. “You’re counting your time together from pretty much the moment TK arrived in Austin, back when you two fools actually went around believing that all you were was friendly bed buddies, very interesting.”

Carlos gives her a dirty look, huffing when it seems to amuse her even further. “To be fair, I never wanted us to be just bed buddies. I wanted to be with him from the start; he just needed time. Which brings me back to my point, I don’t want to push him for more when he’s not ready.”

“How do you know he’s not ready unless you ask him?” Grace counters without skipping a beat.

Carlos doesn’t have an answer, but Grace doesn’t seem to need one, she starts to stand, struggling for a moment before he jumps up to help. She gives his bicep a soft squeeze in return.

“You think about that while you finish cooking, and I’ll go see that those two haven’t made a mess of the baby's room.”

Carlos gives her a small nod before going back to the stove to fry the skirt steak.

“Carlos,” she calls out softly once she’s by the threshold of the kitchen. He turns around to look at her, waiting to hear what she has to say.

“You have no poker face when it comes to him,” she starts, reminding him of her earlier comment. “And he doesn’t have one either when it comes to you,” she smiles at him with so much affection, he feels it deep in his bones. He’s reminded instantly how lucky he and TK are to be cared for by her and Judd.

“He looks at you exactly the way you look at him – “ Grace pauses, and Carlos finds himself holding his breath, his heart beating loudly as he waits for her to continue. “Like you’re forever to him too.”

Carlos lets out a soft exhale at the comment, and Grace seems to understand how deeply her words are impacting him.

“It’s okay to wait – like you’ve said, the two of you are happy,” she smiles, though the look on her face is serious. “But you also know there are no guarantees in life, especially in our line of work. So, if you love him enough to see a future with him – then maybe you should let him know.”

֎֎֎

“That was an amazing dinner,” TK moans as he drops down on his bed, they’ve said good night to the Ryders and are back in his apartment. “You and Grace need to open a restaurant or go on one of those competitive cooking shows. Judd and I can be your cheering squad.”

Carlos lets out a laugh at the comment; he watches TK for a moment; he can already tell he’s nodding off, and if he doesn’t get him out of his clothes, he will fall asleep like he is now, shoes and all. He starts with his sneakers, taking them off before moving on to his pants.

TK looks at him lazily, his usually bright green eyes, a shade softer from his drowsiness. He lifts his hips when Carlos taps him. He takes his snug jeans off, and then moves on to TK’s shirt, each open button revealing more beautiful skin. Finally, with the shirt open, TK sits up to pull it off, leaving him only in his underwear.

He tugs on Carlos’ arm to get him to sit down next to him on the bed. TK’s arms come around his shoulders; his forehead pressed against Carlos’ as he smiles at him sleepily. “You take such good care of me,” he murmurs, brushing his lips against the corner of Carlos’ mouth before laying a trail of small tender kisses down his jaw.

“It’s my job to take care of you,” Carlos answers, he has one hand on TK’s waist, the other high on his thigh.

“Your job, huh?” TK asks while still nuzzling Carlos’ cheek, running his nose up and down the length of it, but Carlos can hear the smile in his voice. “Want it to be a permanent position?”

Carlos feels his heart give a hard thump at the question, his breath catching.

“Hmm,” TK hums, squeezing him half-heartedly. “Stay tonight?”

“Of course,” he whispers back.

“Awesome,” TK answers pleased, now more asleep than awake, before dropping back on the bed, leaving Carlos with a racing heart as he softly starts to snore.

֎֎֎

Carlos wakes up with a gasp, wet heat surrounds him, and when he looks down, he finds TK’s head bobbing up and down as he sucks Carlos’ aching cock deeper into his mouth. He can feel himself nudging at the back of TK’s throat for a moment before he relaxes around him and takes him in even deeper.

“Fuck,” Carlos groans out low, his body jerking when TK sucks him harder, hollowing in his cheeks. “You do that so good.”

TK keeps his mouth on him, his tongue pressing at the underside of his dick right on the spot that makes him see stars. Blindly he reaches up for both of Carlos’ hands and brings them to his head. He lets them go as he looks up at him with those green eyes that lay Carlos low, his pupils are so blown Carlos almost can’t see any green left. TK relaxes his jaw, and Carlos lets out a low swear as he gets what TK wants from him.

Holding TK’s head in a gentle but firm hold, he starts to thrust into his mouth, instantly getting a whining moan from his boyfriend as his eyes close shut. TK shifts the lower part of his body, and it takes Carlos a moment to understand what he’s doing, but when he does, he feels like his body has been zapped with electricity. TK has a hand wrapped around his own cock, stroking in sync with Carlos’ thrust.

“TK,” he breathes out, everything in his body primed and ready, he can feel his balls tightening with the need to come. The image of TK touching himself, getting off on pleasuring him, brings him to the edge. “You’re killin’ me here,” he gets out when TK lets out another sound, this one smug as he strokes himself faster.

“Are you going to come baby?” he asks him, his voice rough and tight as he tries to hold off his own orgasm, his thrusts into TK’s mouth are rougher, less controlled, and his body feels like it’s on fire. “Do you want me to come in your mouth, will you come then?”

TK moans, his eyes flutter open to look at him, there is an almost desperate expression on his face as he gives him a slight nod.

Carlos curses again; he holds on to TK’s hair as he fucks into his warm mouth, getting out two more thrusts before he’s coming. TK swallows around him, sucking hard until he’s milked the last drop of Carlos’ cum, leaving him shaky and sensitive. He takes his mouth off of Carlos with a pop, sliding up his body until they’re face to face.

TK covers his mouth with his; the kiss he gives him is hard, all tongue and teeth while his hand continues stroking himself. A minute later, Carlos feels him shake in his arms, and a wet feeling of TK’s come on his stomach. Their kiss turns softer as TK lowers his body onto his without a care of the mess between them.

Pulling back, TK gives him a sweet smile that has no business on the face of someone who just sucked Carlos’ brains out through his dick.

“Good morning,” he says cheekily like the brat he is, and all Carlos can do is let out a long laugh. He’s so in love with this ridiculously amazing man who’s beaming at him.

“Good morning indeed,” he answers, still laughing. “Were you trying to make me completely useless for the rest of the day? Because if so, mission accomplished. I don’t think I could even do simple math right now.”

TK gives him an incredibly pleased look. “What’s two plus two?” he asks, a playful glint in his eyes.

“Three,” he jokes back, getting a slight giggle in return from TK. He leans up, kissing him softly, tasting himself on TK’s lips.

“Remember we are having dinner at my dad’s place tonight,” TK mumbles into the kiss, causing Carlos to pause.

“Is that why you blew me?” he asks, giving him a squinty look. “To soften the blow?”

TK rolls his eyes at him. “I gave you head because you sleep naked, and I like your dick in my mouth,” he says easily like his words don’t shoot straight to the body part he’s talking about. “Also, don’t act like you don’t like having dinner with my dad. You two enjoy ganging up on me too much for that to be the case.”

Carlos grins up at him; he can’t deny it. He enjoys spending time with Owen. Not only does he like and respect the man, but he enjoys the side of his boyfriend he only gets to see around his dad.

“Is he cooking?” he can’t help but ask. Neither of the Strand men are known for their culinary skills, though TK is getting better, and likes to help Carlos out when they’re at his place. It’s one of Carlos’ favorite things to do; he loves teaching TK how to make his favorite meals, seeing the look of concentration on his face as he files away everything Carlos does.

TK snorts softly, shaking his head. “He’s taking pity on you, doesn’t want you to have to struggle to be polite as you eat whatever he comes up with.”

Carlos blushes, but he can’t help but be relieved. He’s a healthy guy, but Captain Strand takes being a health nut to a whole new level.

TK grins at him, probably knowing what he’s thinking, and Carlos feels warm from his attention and sticky from the mess between them.

“Let's take a shower, hmm?” he asks.

“It’s a tight fit in my bathroom,” TK reminds him, the smirk on his face though, says he likes the idea.

“I’ll wash your back,” he murmurs as he slides a hand down TK’s spine, pleased at the way his eyes go heavy at the touch.

“Deal,” TK answers, giving him a smacking kiss before getting up. He makes a ridiculously cute face as he looks down at the now dry crust on his stomach. “Sexy,” he mutters dryly, and Carlos can’t help but laugh even if his stomach is no better,

Getting up after him, he takes hold of TK’s hand before he can walk towards the small bathroom, reeling him back in. He cups TK’s cheek as he leans in, touching his nose to his. “I love you, Tyler.”

He feels TK’s cheek move under his hand as he gives him a beautiful smile. “I love you too, Carlos, always.”

֎֎֎

With a table full of too much food even for three large men, Carlos bites into an asparagus spear while Owen looks over at TK.

“So how goes the painting of the nursery?” he asks cheerfully, the way he seems to do everything else. In the time Carlos has known him, he just seems to find enjoyment out of everything. Even with his long battle with cancer, now thankfully in remission, Owen Strand could be found smiling.

TK lets out a huff as he plays around with the few vegetables on his plate. “Judd can’t paint; that’s how it’s going.”

“And you can, son?” Owen questions with a curious look on his face.

Carlos ducks his head to hide a smirk as TK rolls his eyes at his dad, obviously not pleased at his painting skills being questioned.

“Better than Judd,” he grumbles, and this time Carlos can’t hide his smile, pouty TK is adorable, before brightening up again. “We got it done though, and Grace is happy, which is all that matters.”

“Can’t believe she’s due so soon, three more weeks,” Owen says with a smile. Like everyone else, he’s just as excited for the arrival of the newest member of their crew. “You can start to see Judd is freaking out.”

TK snorts, giving his dad a nod. “He ran a practice run the other day, to see how fast he could get Grace in the car and to the hospital, he shaved his time from the last run by four minutes, to under 15, but he still thinks that’s not good enough. Two days ago, he started talking about borrowing Carlos’ light bar and siren.”

Carlos rolls his eyes at the comment; he’s already heard it from Judd himself. “The answer is no.”

TK laughs, his whole face lighting up. “I know, he’s just freaking out like dad said.”

“Have they decided on a name yet?” Owen asks, taking a sip of his water.

“Luna Joy,” TK answers, even happier than before. “It’s pretty, isn’t it? If she’s anything like Grace, she’ll be so beautiful.”

“It will be nice to have a baby in the family,” Owen answers with the same happiness.

Carlos watches as TK smiles softly at the words, he stays quiet as he listens to TK talk about the baby and how he can’t wait to meet her. Everything about him is gentle and soft as he expresses his happiness for his friends.

“It’s just great, you know?” he opens with a far-off look. “To get to be there, and see them enter this new chapter in their lives. They are so happy to take this next step, and it’s only going to make them stronger and even more in love,” he says, letting out a dreamy sigh that makes everything inside Carlos yearn.

Owen stares at his son for a moment before looking over at him; there is a look on his face that Carlos doesn’t understand, but it still puts him on alert.

“You know what I have a craving for?” he asks rhetorically, not waiting for an answer before he continues. “Those artisan donuts from the bakery two blocks over.”

“You want sweets?” TK raises a skeptical eyebrow at him. “Was it the talking about our pregnant friend that gave you a craving?”

“Listen, smartass,” Owen starts, ignoring the teasing look on TK’s face. “Make yourself useful and go get us some donuts while Carlos and I clean up.”

TK looks at his dad curiously and then back at him, a silent question on his face, and Carlos knows he’s probably thinking the same thing as him. Owen isn’t a subtle man, and it’s obvious he’s trying to get rid of TK for a moment. But if the man wants to talk to him in private, he’s not going to deny him.

“Bring me back something with custard filling,” he says with a shrug.

TK looks at him for a moment longer before turning back to his dad. “I’ll be back soon,” he warns him, while Owen just gives him a sunny smile that has TK rolling his eyes as he gets up and heads for the door.

Owen waits until the door is shut before turning towards him. “Let’s clean up.”

Carlos gives him a nod of agreement, standing up, he starts to collect the dirty plates with Owen, moving quietly into the kitchen. The counter has takeout containers all around it, and Owen moves towards them as Carlos heads for the sink. He gets to work on washing the dishes while Owen scoops out the leftovers into Tupperware.

“I just wanted to say that I’m grateful you’re in TK’s life,” Owen begins without hesitation. It’s not surprising, Carlos has gotten to know his boyfriend’s father well enough to know he doesn’t beat around the bush.

He turns around to face him; the plates are forgotten for a moment as he gives Owen his complete attention.

“I’ve liked you from the start,” Owen tells him honestly. “You’re a good man; you were patient with TK when he was struggling. You’ve been there for him and me as we dealt with my cancer. You’re good to my kid, and you’re good for him.”

Carlos swallows hard around the lump in his throat. This isn’t the first time Owen has told him something like this; he knows he’s had the man’s approval since the beginning, something that he’s thankful for, given how important he is to TK.

Still, there is something about the way Owen is looking at him, the tone in his voice that tells Carlos that there is a deeper significance to this conversation.

“Thank you, sir,” he starts hesitantly. “It means a lot you saying that, but – ” he trails off unsure how to continue.

“But why am I saying it right now?” Owen questions with a half-smile. “You can’t think of a single reason why the father of the man you love is telling you that he approves of you in his son’s life? Not one, Carlos? Nothing you’ve been considering asking TK?”

Carlos feels his face go red hot, burning when Owen laughs softly at him.

“Do I have it tattooed on my face?” he questions desperately. “Seriously? Are the words ‘I want to ask TK to marry me’ on my forehead?”

Owen laughs even louder, eyes similar to the ones he loves dancing with amusement. “Literally? No. Figuratively speaking? Absolutely. In big bright letters, all over your face,” Owen answers, waving a hand in front of his own face to show him.

“Oh my god,” Carlos says pitifully, covering his face with his hands to give himself a moment.

“Carlos, son,” Owen comes over to him. “There is no need to be embarrassed.”

Carlos takes his hands off his face, he finds that Owen is still smiling at him, but there isn’t any teasing or amusement there. Instead, there is an openness to his expression that makes him take notice.

“I can’t begin to say how grateful I am for you,” Owen starts, his bright eyes crinkling at the corners. “I see you with my kid, and the utterly naked love and care you have for him on your face. You love him the way I always hoped he would be loved, the way he deserves. TK can tell you, I have never liked a single one of his boyfriends, I was always polite, but I couldn’t stand them. He says my standards are too high when it comes to him, and he’s right, but he’s my son, and I want the person he chooses to be with to love and protect him with everything they have. To make up the moments where I have failed at that,” Owen says quietly, holding up his hand when he goes to speak.

He gives him a sad smile.

“Trust me I have failed him, when the towers came down I was so focused on my own grief I neglected my son, told myself he understood, but he was just a little kid, all he knew was that I wasn’t always around,” he tells him, shaking his head. “Somehow, he didn’t hate me for it, he forgave me, and I was still his hero. I failed him again by not noticing he was sinking into a dark hole and was using. And I failed him when I kept my opinions about Alex to myself when what I should have said is that I thought proposing to him was a mistake,” Owen confesses tiredly. “I knew, in the long run, he would hurt him, and I said nothing.”

Carlos contemplates Owen’s words before speaking. “I would never purposely hurt TK,” he says quietly, before continuing cautiously. “I’m not perfect, though.”

“I know without a shadow of a doubt that you would never intentionally hurt him,” Owen says softly. “And I also know you’re not perfect, but I see the way you try to be as perfect as you can be for him because you think it’s what he deserves.”

“It is,” Carlos insists, TK deserves nothing short of perfect. He frowns when Owen shakes his head.

“No, TK doesn’t need perfect,” Owen tells him as he places his hand on Carlos’ shoulder. “He needs someone who loves him with his whole heart. Someone who makes him feel safe, but also allows TK to protect them back because TK is first and foremost a protector, he has a need to take care of people. He needs someone who makes him better every day and challenges him. Someone who goes out of their way to make him smile, and laugh, and light up like the sun when they’re around him, and you need to know Carlos, that’s you. You are all those things to him. I see it every time I’m around the two of you, or when he talks about you, or hell when he’s texting you,” Owen continues with a shake of his head, grin firmly in place. “I have never seen him happier than when he’s with you. So if you’re thinking about it, I want you to know, man to man. Nothing would make me prouder than to call you my son-in-law.”

Carlos feels a lump of emotion in his throat; he hadn’t realized until now just how much he needed Owen’s approval. With his own father long gone, he’s come to see Owen as something of a father figure. To know that Owen – who no matter what he says about failing his son, loves TK more than his life – trusts him with his son enough to be okay with Carlos being the person TK might spend the rest of his life with, means everything.

“Thank you, Owen,” he whispers, getting the words out even as his eyes sting.

Owen smiles at him, his own eyes looking a bit wet. “Hug it out?” he asks jokingly, and Carlos lets out a startled laugh before he pulls the older man into a tight hug.

He feels Owen slap his back a few times, his embrace comforting. They stay like that for a moment, not hearing the footsteps until it’s too late.

“What’s going on here?”

Carlos and Owen pull away from each other, to find TK by the entrance of the kitchen, bag in hand, looking at them curiously and a little concerned.

“Everything okay?” he asks, a slight frown on his face, probably noticing the fact that both he and Owen look a little emotionally raw.

“Just having a manly hug,” Owen says brightly, crossing the room to take the bag of donuts from his son. “It’s good to show emotion and physical comfort,” he continues when TK raises an eyebrow at him. “Therapeutic, even.”

֎֎֎

Carlos can tell TK is dying to ask what he walked in on back in his dad’s kitchen. He watches out of the corner of his eye as TK shifts around in the passenger seat. Carlos gives him credit for being able to hold off until he’s pulling into the Ryders’ driveway.

“Tell me,” TK starts just as he turns off the car, his voice small and low. “Is he sick again?”

Carlos startles at the question, snapping his head towards TK. The look of fear on his boyfriend’s face hitting him square in the chest. “No!” he exclaims, rushing to explain when TK continues to look doubtful. “Baby, I swear that’s not what we were talking about, as far as I know, Owen is healthy. You know he wouldn’t keep it from you if he was relapsing.”

“You two were hugging and had obviously been crying,” TK argues helplessly. “And it wouldn’t be the first time he kept being sick from me.”

“We were talking about you,” he answers, stressing the word. He reaches out, running his hand through TK’s soft hair, pressing on his scalp to soothe him. “He was telling me that he’s happy I’m in your life, and that he can see that I make you happy.”

TK’s expression softens, the worry etched on his face alleviating some.

“You do,” TK answers quietly, he shifts until he’s sideways in his seat, tilting his head so that Carlos’ hand is touching his cheek, before pressing himself into the hold. “You make me happier than I have ever been before.”

“He said I make you smile,” he comments, touching the corner of TK’s mouth as it quirks upward.

“That’s true,” TK says with a wide grin.

“And laugh,” he continues.

“Mmhmm,” TK mumbles, closing his eyes as Carlos traces his mouth with his finger. “All happy feelings are tied to you.”

“It’s the same for me,” he whispers as TK opens his eyes, there isn’t much light around them, and yet he can see TK’s bright eyes, they crinkle at the corners as he looks at him. “I thought my life was fine before you came into it, and it was. I just didn’t know it could be this much better until you came along. You fill it with so much joy and love that sometimes I can’t believe it’s all mine.”

TK makes a quiet sound before he pushes forward, his hands pull at Carlos, and he only has a moment to take a breath before TK is covering his mouth with his. TK licks his way into his mouth, laying claim to him in that way of his that makes Carlos quiver.

“I love you,” TK whispers between kisses. “Every part of me is in love with you; every part of me will love you forever.”

Carlos feels his heart thunder under his ribcage. TK’s promise, along with the conversations he’s had with Grace and Owen, all mix together. The thought that has been consistently on his mind for weeks now ringing out loudly.

He knows what he wants; he wants this.

“Forever?” he asks quietly after another kiss; he wonders if TK can hear his racing heart.

TK makes a sound as he presses his forehead against his. “Forever,” he answers with a dreamy quality to his voice.

They stay like that for a moment, pressed against each other, and Carlos comes to a decision. He knows what he needs to do.

֎֎֎

Carlos takes a steadying breath before he knocks on the front door of the Ryder house, waiting patiently for the door to open.

When it does, Grace greets him with a smile though looking a little confused, probably because he’s knocking on her door when TK and Judd are both at work.

“Hey,” he starts quickly. He’s full of nervous energy, and he needs to get it out before he backs out. “I was wondering – if you felt up to it – that is,” he rushes to reassure her. Grace is due in less than three weeks, and maybe she’s not up to going out. “If maybe you would come with me to look at rings?”

Grace stares at him, but Carlos can see the moment the words register with her by the broad smile that takes over her face, and in the next second, he has an arm full of an almost nine-month pregnant woman squealing in his ear.

“Watch the baby, woman!” he shouts, steadying her when she does a little hop.

“It’s fine,” Grace rolls her eyes at him, waving away his concern. “Luna Joy is happy and doing a little dance in here,” she pats her belly. “Her future uncle Carlos is going to propose to her godfather.”

Carlos raises an eyebrow as she points a finger in his face. “That’s a secret by the way. Judd hasn’t asked TK yet, so keep that to yourself. Come inside for a second and help me put on my shoes, I haven’t seen my feet in over a month.”

Carlos does as she asks, helping her with the shoes she points at under the mudroom bench.

“You sure I’m not putting you out?” he asks as he ties her tennis shoes. “You should probably be resting.”

“I’m pregnant, Carlos, not on my death bed,” she starts dryly. “I can walk around; it’s good for me. Plus, if you think for one second that I’m not going to help you find TK the perfect ring now that you’ve asked, you’re not as smart as you look.”

“Thanks, Gracie,” he says with a quirk of his lips as he helps her stand back up.

Grace places a hand on his forearm, giving it a squeeze as she smiles up at him. “I’m so happy for you two.”

Carlos rolls his eyes even though he can’t help the smile that covers his face, his stomach flutters with excitement and anticipation. “He hasn’t said yes yet.”

Grace levels him with a genuinely spectacular unimpressed look. “So we’re just being stupid today, is that it?”

Carlos pouts at her. “Rude,” he grumbles as she smirks at him, patting his cheek as she throws her purse over her shoulder.

“You’ll get over it,” she assures him, giving him a slight push out the door. “Now, let's go find the perfect ring for the love of your life.”

Losing his frown, he smiles again at her words, sounds perfect.

֎֎֎

“Who knew you were so picky,” Grace comments as she leans against a glass case full of jewelry. She personally had stopped looking at rings half an hour ago and was instead enjoying the chocolate milkshake she made him get her from an ice cream truck as they moved on to the next jewelry store.

“You said I needed the perfect ring,” Carlos reminds her as he looks through the following glass case, the poor salesgirl who had been helping them had given up on him too, leaving him to browse alone.

“I didn't mean it literally,” she lets out a sigh after taking a big pull of her shake. “TK doesn’t care about the perfect ring, and you know it. What’s going to be perfect for him is that the man he loves wants to spend the rest of his life with him.”

“I know the ring doesn’t have to be perfect,” he tells her, barely sparing her a look as he moves over some more, he leans down until his nose is practically touching the glass as he squints at the rings. Some were too flashy, some way too simple, some god awful, and some were just okay. “But TK deserves perfect, and I haven’t found that, yet,” he vows.

Grace doesn’t say anything, but he can feel her eyes on the side of his face until it starts to burn. When he turns his head to look at her, he finds her looking at him with the gentlest of smiles on her pretty face.

“What?” he blurts out, his eyes widening when he spots tears in her eyes. “Are you okay? Does something hurt? Is it the baby?”

“No fool,” she says with a wet laugh as she runs a hand over her cheeks. “The baby is fine; these are happy tears. I have gotten a front-row seat to you two falling in love, and – “ Grace lets out a sigh, shaking her head as she smiles. “I’m just so happy for you guys.”

Carlos bites down on his lip, taking a deep breath through his nose, the emotions inside him nearly overwhelming him. “Don’t you dare start crying,” he whispers hotly when he sees more tears in her eyes. “If you start crying, and then I start crying, at least you have an excuse,” he points at her belly. “While I will just look like a crazy person.”

Grace laughs as she cradles her stomach, her dimples flash at Carlos charming him completely; her happiness for him makes him feel warm all over. “The perks of being a heavily pregnant woman.”

Carlos pulls her sideways to his chest, thanking her softly for her support. He holds her for a moment before pulling away when he hears her gasp.

“I think I found your ring,” she says, stepping out of his hold, she waves the salesgirl over pointing at a ring.

Leaning over the counter, he looks at the one she is pointing at and lets out a sound of his own. The ring is white gold or platinum, a smooth wide band, with a slimmer inner band a shade darker, in the middle deep in the band are two baguette diamonds. The ring isn’t too simple or too flashy; it’s somehow just perfect.

The salesgirl hands him the ring, and the moment he holds it, he knows it’s the one.

Grace can see it on his face by the wide grin she gives him. “I’m good, aren’t I?” she says, pleased with herself, and well, as he holds the ring he’s going to ask TK to marry him with, he can’t really argue with that.

֎֎֎

It takes another week for him and TK to be off work on the same night. In that time, he thinks about every way he could ask TK to marry him while the ring sits inside his sock drawer taunting him. He thinks maybe a fancy restaurant is the way to go but discards it; he’s too nervous about doing it in public.

In the end, he decides to do it at his apartment; he plans a meal he thinks TK will enjoy, cleans his place within an inch of his life, and sets enough candles to be romantic but not get a fire safety lecture from his boyfriend. He dresses nicely after being done with dinner, pockets the ring, and then waits for TK to arrive. Luckily for his nerves, TK shows up at the time he promised he would. When he hears movement at the door, he rushes to open it before TK can use his key.

“Hey,” TK starts to greet him, a look of surprise on his face, keys in his hand. He watches as TK takes in his appearance, and his expression changes from surprise to interested. “Well, hello handsome,” he says slowly, a smirk working it’s way to his mouth.

“Hi,” he exhales, his heart is already racing, and the night hasn’t even started. He leans in to give TK a soft kiss; only that TK has other intentions as he presses his body firmly against his, circles his arms around his neck and licks his way into his mouth. Carlos returns the kiss with enthusiasm, he wraps his arms around TK’s waist, lifting him a few inches off the ground as he pulls him into the apartment.

“Fuck, sweetheart,” TK swears against his mouth a little breathlessly as he kisses him again. “What’s the occasion?”

“I wanted to do something nice,” he answers, going for another kiss, but TK pulls back, his eyes widening as he looks over Carlos’ shoulder.

“Whoa,” he says softly. Carlos turns his head towards what he’s looking at, and okay, maybe he went a little overboard on the table. But he’s a man with good taste and an eye for décor, sue him. “Please tell me I didn’t forget an anniversary,” TK jokes with a worried look on his face.

Carlos shakes his head at him, running his hand up and down TK’s back. “Trust me, you didn't, I just wanted tonight to be special,” he answers, grateful that his voice is steady.

He leads TK to the table, pulling out his chair. TK sits, but not before brushing his lips across his cheek, his expression tender.

Carlos moves into the kitchen, bringing out two plates of roasted chicken, rosemary potatoes, and a roasted tomato salad. He places a plate in front of TK, getting a smile in return.

“You’re amazing,” he says softly as he looks over at his dinner. “You got off shift only a few hours before me and did all this.”

“Martha Stewart helped with the recipe,” Carlos quips, getting a grin in return.

“You’re such a good provider,” TK teases as he bites into the chicken before letting out a soft moan, his eyes rolling back for a moment. “Fuck this is delicious, marry me.”

Carlos pulls in a sharp breath, and with it, a piece of chicken, choking.

“Shit,” TK swears, getting up from his chair as Carlos continues to cough. He feels TK’s hand slap his back hard, and he inhales again, rough, but actually getting some air. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” he gets out. TK looks at him with concern while Carlos can feel his face turn red. “It just went down the wrong pipe.”

TK sits back down, but the look of uncertainty still lingers on his face.

“TK – “ he starts, his hand going into his pocket, feeling the cool metal of the ring.

“ – I was just joking,” TK says at the same time. “The chicken is so good,” he laughs, but it’s so uneasy and strained. “Marry me,” he continues, mocking himself.

Carlos pauses; he takes in TK’s wide eyes, uneasy expression, and feels his stomach drop in a really unpleasant way. He grasps his hand around the ring even though it feels like it burns now. Swallowing hard, he musters up what he hopes is a smile. “Right,” he says quietly, looking down at his plate, any desire for food gone along with any hope he had for the night.

“Carlos – “ TK starts, and Carlos can hear the worry in his voice, it makes his stomach twist even further.

He opens his mouth to reassure him when both their cell phones ring out with a rapid set of notifications. They frown at each other, both reaching for their phones.

“Holy shit,” TK exclaims, staring at his cell; Carlos gets up quickly, blowing out the candles as he reads the first text from Judd telling them Grace’s water broke and they’re headed for the hospital.

“Up, up, up,” he says, quickly pulling TK out of his shock. “We gotta go.”

TK lets him push him towards the door, only to stop before he can get it open. He watches him as he hesitates for a second, his eyes straying to their half-finished dinner.

“Are we okay?” he asks quietly. “I feel like I fucked up before,” he waves at the table awkwardly.

He stays quiet, not sure how to answer, the ring in his pocket feeling heavy, but the longer he remains silent, the more TK seems to fold inward, the look of uncertainty on his face getting worse until he can’t stand it. He takes a step forward, cupping TK’s face between his hands, making sure he looks at him. He leans in slowly, brushing his lips across TK a few times until he hears his boyfriend sigh softly and feels him take hold of his waist, pulling him closer.

“Of course we’re okay,” he tells him, making sure his voice is steady. He might be feeling a little heartbroken right now, but he is not going to make TK feel bad when he doesn’t even know what tonight was about. “You didn’t fuck anything up.”

TK frowns, his brow creasing in the middle. “Are you sure?”

Carlos nods, the smile on his face comes a little easier. He might be disappointed with the way the night has gone, but as long as he has TK, he’ll get over it. “I’m sure, baby,” he whispers, kissing TK once more, softly and tenderly, pouring all the love he has for him into it.

TK sighs again when the kiss ends, he presses his forehead against his, his nose rubbing against Carlos’. “I love you; you know that, right?”

Licking his lips, Carlos swallows around the lump in his throat. “I know,” he answers, giving TK a soft squeeze. “I love you too.”

֎֎֎

When they arrive at the hospital, Marjan and Paul are already there, along with Judd’s father. Carlos stays by TK’s crew while he walks over to the older man giving him a friendly handshake.

“Any news?” he asks as he looks down at his friends.

“Judd is in the suite with Grace,” Paul lets him know. “We saw her a few minutes ago; she’s a little uncomfortable, but handling it like a trooper. There is a chance Judd might pass out though.”

Carlos chuckles softly at the image that makes, he turns when he feels TK slip his arm around his waist.

“Mr. Ryder just told me Grace asked for us to come to the room when we got here,” he tells him with an excited smile.

Carlos returns the gesture, sliding out of his arms to take his hand. “Let's go see our girl.”

TK’s smile grows, and Carlos is happy to see the worry from before gone from his expression.

They walk hand in hand to Grace’s hospital room, peeking in quietly. “Hey guys,” TK says softly, walking in through the door before him.

Grace and Judd look over at them, Grace with a tired smile and Judd with the expression of a man silently freaking out. Carlos understands Paul’s assessment better. The big guy does look a few shades paler than usual.

He walks over to his friend, squeezing Judd’s shoulder before leaning down to kiss Grace’s forehead. “How are you doing, mama?” he asks quietly.

Grace smiles at him, reaching up to touch his cheek. “I’m fine – just having a baby, you know,” she answers like the smartass she is. “My cowboy here might faint, though.”

Carlos shares a grin with her when Judd protests and TK snickers.

“How was dinner?” she questions excitedly, and Carlos feels a moment of panic. He drops his hand to hers, giving it a quick squeeze just as TK speaks.

“You knew Carlos was cooking me dinner tonight?” he asks, when Carlos looks at him, there is a slight frown on his face.

“She gave me the link to the recipe,” he improvises quickly.

TK looks at him for a moment longer, looking unconvinced. He’s not the only one staring at him. Grace is giving him an unimpressed look of her own.

“Judson, I would like something cold to drink,” she says, her gaze turning to her husband before looking at TK, giving him a tilt of her head towards Judd. “Please go with him sweetheart, I don’t trust him to remain on his feet on his own.”

“I’m fine,” Judd argues even as he stands.

“You weren’t fine five minutes ago,” she reminds him with a look.

Judd rolls his eyes, letting out a huff. “You were screaming.”

Grace levels him with another look, though her mouth twitches. “Boy, are you in for a surprise when it’s time for me to start pushing,” she says with a wry smile. “Now, go get me my drink, please.”

Judd softens, he leans down to kiss her, brushing back one of her curls. “I’ll be right back, I love you, Grace Ryder.”

Grace closes her eyes, a smile on her face. “I love you too, Judd Ryder.”

Carlos watches them with something that can only be longing stirring in his chest. When he turns, he finds TK watching him with an unreadable expression on his face.

“Come on, TK,” Judd says, slapping his shoulder when he doesn’t move. “My baby wants something to drink; we’re going to bring her everything this hospital has.”

TK lingers for a moment longer, his eyes not moving from his face. “Be right back.”

He gives him a nod. “Okay,” he says softly, watching him until he leaves the room.

“What happened?” Grace asks the second they’re alone. “Tonight was supposed to be the night, did texting you interrupt you from asking him?”

“No, it wasn’t you guys,” he assures her, sighing when she gives him an impatient look. Sitting down in the chair next to her, he gives her a quick rundown of the dinner. When he’s done, Grace is looking at him with a small frown.

“Oh sweetheart,” she starts, taking his hand in hers. “You know it was just a joke.”

Carlos shakes his head. “He looked spooked.”

“Because you probably looked spooked, he’s following your lead,” she argues before wincing, holding her stomach as she leans forward.

“Are you okay?” he asks, standing up quickly to support her back.

“Contraction,” she says through gritted teeth. “Don’t change the subject.”

Carlos lets out an incredulous laugh, rubbing her back as she breathes through the pain. It takes a few breaths, but the tightness on her face loosens. She leans back on the bed once more, when she does, she levels him with a look.

“I got scared, okay?” he says quietly, but all it does is earn him another exasperated expression.

“You’re really going to talk about being scared to the woman who is about to push a human out of her body?” she questions dryly.

Carlos glares at her, rolling his eyes when she continues to stare him down. “Okay, fine, fair point.”

“Thank you,” she says smartly before softening, she holds out a hand for him to take. “You love TK, and you want to marry him. It was unfortunate timing, that’s all it was, and now you’re basing your decision on it. Tell him what you want. TK loves you; even if he might not be ready to get married, this isn’t going to be the end for you guys, but keeping your desires a secret will only hurt you two in the end. He’ll sense something is wrong, given the look he gave you before he left the room, he probably already does. Ask him and let him have the time to give you an answer. It’s only fair.”

Carlos looks at her for a moment before shaking his head. “You’re way too wise,” he says fondly as he places a hand on her stomach. “This little girl is so lucky that you’re her mom.”

Grace’s eyes well up, tears spilling down her face as she smiles brightly. “I’m going to be a mama,” she whispers, the joy in her voice makes him misty-eyed too, and he nods as he squeezes her hand.

“You’re going to be an amazing one.”

֎֎֎

They get back to the apartment past midnight when it became apparent that it was going to be a long night before Luna Joy Ryder decides to make her presence known, and Grace sends everyone home.

She whispers ‘be brave’ in his ear when he hugs her; he doesn’t need to whisper ‘you too,’ she’s already braver than him.

The ride back to his place is quiet, and he knows he’s going to have to say something soon, there is only so long TK is going to keep silent. As for him, Grace’s words and the ring in his pocket still weigh heavily. Their unfinished dinner is still on the table, and there are dishes in the sink that need to be washed before they can go to bed.

Carlos tells TK as much, getting a nod in return from him before he tells him he is going to change quickly out of his clothes. As he watches TK head for the bedroom, he can see the tension in his shoulders; the same strain is all around them. He hates it, and resolves that when TK comes back out, he’s going to take Grace’s advice and tell him what’s going on. He can handle TK rejecting him or telling him he’s not ready for marriage yet, what he can’t take is upsetting his boyfriend unintentionally by being closed off.

He gets to work in the kitchen, putting away the leftovers and throwing away the extra waste before he starts washing the dishes. He’s elbow deep into getting the grease out of his roasting pan when he feels movement behind him, and he’s not at all surprised when a second later he feels TK’s body pressed against his back, his lips at the base of his neck as his hands hold on to his hips.

TK lays a series of feather-light kisses right below his hairline. “I’m sorry,” he whispers into his skin before pressing his forehead between Carlos’ shoulder blades.

“Baby, I promise you, you have nothing to be sorry for,” he says quietly, sighing when he feels TK shake his head against him.

“Obviously this was something, and I messed it up somehow,” TK argues, his voice is low, but Carlos can hear the distress in it, making his stomach clench. There is nothing worse than when TK is upset and blaming himself. “I upset you, I might not know what I did exactly, but I’m still sorry.”

Carlos lets out another exhale; they both stay quiet for a moment. It’s time for him to tell TK what all this is about, he can’t let him go on feeling like he did something wrong when he didn’t. TK is quiet, and he thinks he can sense that he needs a second before he speaks. He takes another breath as he reaches for a hand towel, drying his hands before turning around. TK steps back to give him room to move before coming back into his space, his hands reaching for Carlos again, and he has to smile at the gesture as it settles some of his nerves. He knows TK loves him without a doubt; his boyfriend shows him every day with every touch and look he gives him. That isn’t going to change after tonight.

With resolve, he opens his mouth. “I was going to propose tonight,” he says quietly.

He watches as a series of emotions flash across TK’s face, shock, happiness, nervousness, hopefulness, it’s all there for a second, and then it’s gone, replaced by remorse.

“My joke – about marrying you because the chicken was so good,” he whispers, trailing off as he closes his eyes for a moment in regret. “Baby, I’m so sorry, if I had known – “

“Hey, hey, hey, no,” he rushes to speak, placing his hands on either side of TK's neck. “No, don’t feel bad about that. It was just a joke; I reacted badly.”

“I upset you,” TK argues, his hands holding on to his wrists, his green eyes pained and pleading. “I’m sorry.”

Carlos leans forward, pressing a firm kiss against TK’s forehead, as TK’s hold on his wrists gets stronger. They stay like this for a moment, just breathing and forgiving each other for the evening's misunderstanding.

“I got nervous,” Carlos starts to explain, his voice low. “You said what you said, and then backtracked so fast that I got scared. I figured it meant that if I asked you, you would say no, and then it got weird. I made it weird, and I’m sorry, I know you have been confused and worried all night wondering what’s been going on with me. If anyone upset anyone, it was me.”

TK pulls his hands off his face, using the hold on his wrists, he brings Carlos’ arms around his waist before letting go. He wraps his own arms around Carlos neck, pulling him into a tight hug. Carlos returns the embrace just as strong; he presses his face into TK’s neck, the anxieties of the evening finally seeping out of him as he breathes TK in.

They stay in each other's arms, just taking comfort in each other for a few minutes. When TK pulls back to look at him, there is a shy look on his face as he bites down on his bottom lip.

“Did you get me a ring?” he asks quietly.

Carlos laughs softly and gives him a nod. His heart ticks upward when TK looks at him expectantly, and with a steadying breath, he reaches into his pocket, pulling out the ring for TK to see.

TK lets out a quiet gasp; he brings a shaky hand to the one Carlos is holding the ring in, and when he looks back up at Carlos, his eyes are shining.

“I know your plans kind of got ruined tonight,” he starts to say, licking his lips nervously before he continues. “And maybe you’re not ready to ask me now, and that’s okay. But I need you to know one thing, Carlos. I love you, I am completely, and utterly in love with you, and I know without a shadow of a doubt that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. So it doesn’t matter if you ask me tomorrow, a year from now, a decade – or what I really want, which is right this very second,” he quirks his lips upward, his expression is lovingly amused and playful. “When you do decide to ask me to marry you, my answer is always, always, going to be a hell yes.”

Carlos stares at the love of his life; his heart is beating so fast he thinks he’s going to pass out. “You – “ he says incredulously. “Did you just propose to me?”

TK gives him a smirk, looking coy as hell. “I’m not the one with the ring,” he teases, his eyes sparkling with love and joy.

Carlos lets out a choked up, surprised laugh, not completely believing this is actually happening. “That’s true,” he answers with a grin, the happiness he feels coursing through him is almost overwhelming. “I should do something about that.”

TK takes in a breath, holding it as he stares at him. Taking one of his own, Carlos starts to go to his knee, feeling his eyes sting when TK lets out a choked sob, his hand going to his mouth.

“Tyler Kennedy Strand,” he starts, the sting in his eyes getting worse as he tries to keep the tears at bay. He takes TK’s left hand in his, holding the ring at the end, and he has to smile when he sees that TK is already nodding his head even though he hasn’t asked. “You are the love of my life, my best friend, and the reason I am the happiest I have ever been. I never knew I could love anyone as much as I love you. All I want is to make you feel happy, safe, and loved. If you let me, that’s what I’ll spend the rest of my life doing. Will you marry me?”

TK’s smile is bright and full, even as tears run down his face. “Hell yes,” he whispers, and Carlos lets out a crying laugh as he pushes the ring up TK’s finger.

TK goes to his knees before Carlos can stand, arms around his shoulders, he pulls him into a hard kiss.

“I love you, I love you, I love you,” TK repeats over and over again between a series of quick kisses that make Carlos laugh joyfully, he holds on to him, basking in the tremendous love he feels.

֎֎֎

Carlos turns off the light of the bathroom before walking into his bedroom with a towel around his waist; he uses a smaller one to dry his hair. He finds TK with just bottoms on, sitting on the edge of the bed, staring down at his hand with a smile on his face.

“This really happened,” he says quietly as he runs his thumb over his ring. “We are getting married.”

Carlos smiles at the amazement he hears in TK’s voice; it’s the same he’s feeling. The whole time he was in the shower, he couldn’t believe that he hadn’t daydreamed what happened in his kitchen. While it hadn’t gone how he originally pictured, he honestly couldn’t imagine it more perfect than it was. The love he feels for TK and the love he feels from him in return made the moment perfect.

“You did say yes,” he teases gently.

TK looks up, his eyes running over every inch of him; the gaze feels like a hundred soft touches that cause Carlos to shiver, smiling at his reaction, TK holds out his hand silently. Carlos walks towards him, his body heating up just from the look TK is giving him. Coming to stand in front of him, TK places his hands on his hips, his fingers curling around the towel.

“You’re so beautiful, baby,” TK whispers as he looks up at him, his green eyes a shade darker. He leans in, brushing his lips over the skin right above the towel. “I can’t believe I get to keep you.”

He brings one hand underneath the towel, running it slowly up Carlos’ leg, stopping high on his thigh. Carlos exhales sharply as TK keeps kissing his stomach, dipping his tongue into his belly button while using his fingertips to give the underside of Carlos’ cock the softest of touches.

TK smiles into his skin, probably because he’s barely touched Carlos, and yet he’s already hard under the towel.

“TK – “ he gets out, his voice rough with want.

TK pulls back to look up at him again, a mischievous look on his face. He takes his hand out from under the towel, tugging at it to pull it off Carlos’ body.

“Damn,” TK breathes out slowly as Carlos hard cock bobs in front of him. “As long as I live, I’ll never get over how gorgeous you are.”

Carlos opens his mouth to speak, but all that comes out is a gasp when TK leans forward, giving the head of his dick a lick before pulling him into his mouth.

“Fuck,” he swears, his hands automatically going to TK’s head, he shudders as the action makes TK moan before sucking him in deeper to the wet heat of his mouth. “TK, baby,” he pleads, not even sure what he’s begging for, his brain going offline when TK hollows his cheeks, working his cock as he bobs up and down with enthusiasm.

Carlos breathes hard through his nose and just holds on. He feels on fire, every inch of him vibrating from how much he wants TK.

With great reluctance, he pulls out of TK’s mouth, groaning softly when his fiancé leans in further, chasing after him, frowning up at him when Carlos doesn’t let him use his mouth on him again.

“I was enjoying that,” TK pouts at him, and Carlos is amazed that he can be so damn sexy and adorable at the same time. He isn’t sure how he got so lucky to be the man TK loves.

“It’s our first time as an engaged couple,” Carlos starts, his voice is low and rough, he smirks when it makes TK shiver, his eyes going a little hazy as he looks up at him. “I’m not coming in your mouth.”

TK takes a sharp breath one second, and in the next throws himself back on the bed, his hands going to the waist of his bottoms, pushing them past his hips in a frenzy that makes Carlos chuckle. He reaches for his hands to steady them.

“Slow down, my love,” he says to him; he lets the back of his hand trail over TK’s belly, enjoying the way it quivers under his touch, his skin rising with goosebumps. “We have all night.”

“We have the rest of our lives,” TK counters, a loving smile on his face that steals Carlos’ breath away.

“Yeah,” he whispers in awe. “We do. Get up higher on the bed for me, sweetheart.”

TK does as he’s asked, pushing his pants off completely as he goes, leaving himself bare under Carlos’ gaze.

“And you say I’m beautiful,” he murmurs, shaking his head as he grabs a small bottle of lube and a condom from the side table, placing them next to TK before he starts to crawl between his knees. He licks his lips as TK spreads his legs for him to give him space, his body on display for Carlos as he looks at him with hooded eyes. TK’s body is already a pale shade of pink, and he hasn’t even touched him yet. His cock is hard, pointing up as a drop of precum collects at the head. “But look at you,” he whispers softly, he bends down, leaning in to press a kiss on TK’s inner thigh, first the right and then the left. “You are perfect.”

TK sighs as he starts to leave kisses on his skin, inching his way up. He places his hand on Carlos’ head, running his finger through Carlos’ drying curls. “I love you,” he whispers, the words turning into a soft moan when Carlos gives his cock a long lick of his tongue. Sucking on the head as TK had done to him, he slowly takes more and more of him into his mouth. TK keeps moaning, his hips lifting off the bed as he tries to sink deeper into Carlos’ mouth.

Carlos reaches for the lube, coating his fingers as he continues to suck on TK. He brings his lube-covered hand to TK’s opening, rubbing at the rim with wet fingers. TK lets out a whining noise, a please falling off his lips as he spreads his legs even further, bringing his knees up to give Carlos room.

Carlos takes his mouth off TK’s cock just as he presses a finger inside him. “Hold your knees for me, baby,” he tells him, praising him when he follows through with the direction, opening himself up entirely for Carlos to sink his finger into him. Carlos’ cock gives a jerk at the tight hold of TK’s ass on his finger. He slides it in and out a couple of times waiting for TK’s body to yield, when he starts to push a second finger he leans in, licking around them, tracing the rim of TK’s hole with his tongue.

TK lets out a shout, the words coming out of his mouth are a series of pleas as he pushes back into Carlos’ fingers and tongue.

“Carlos, baby, please,” TK moans, he’s still holding on to his knees, but Carlos can feel as he shakes. “Please fuck me already.”

Carlos gives him a few more pumps of his fingers before pulling them out of him and makes quick work of rolling on the condom. Covering TK’s body, he places his forearms on either side of TK, bringing his face inches away from him.

TK’s bright eyes stare into his, his mouth parting when Carlos’ cock presses against his opening. He watches as his eyes widen before fluttering shut as he starts to thrust into him. Lowering his legs, TK wraps them around his waist just as he bottoms out, his hips flush against the curve of TK’s ass.

“Baby, open your eyes for me,” he whispers as he touches the tip of his nose against TK’s. He waits until TK does as he wants to start moving, letting out a moan when he does. “That’s right, keep them open, keep them on me, I’m going to make you feel so good.”

“Carlos – ” TK gasps out as he gives him a push of his hips. He tightens his legs around him, moving under him to meet his thrusts with a push of his own.

“Fuck, you are amazing,” he murmurs at the feel of TK tightening around him, the hold he has on Carlos never gets old. It’s like TK’s body was made for him – no, they were made for each other.

“Carlos, please,” TK keens, a hand grips his hair, fingers wrapped tight around the top of his curls. His eyes are wide, his pupils so blown Carlos can’t see the green of his irises anymore, and the pretty pink on his skin goes past his chest.

“What do you need, sweetheart?” he asks, leaning down to kiss him. TK pushes into the kiss, sucking on Carlos' tongue in a way that makes him snap his hips harder and faster.

“Yes,” TK moans pleased by the reaction as he breaks the kiss to take a gasping breath. “Fuck me harder; I need to come.”

Carlos drops his head into the crook of TK’s neck, groaning into the skin as he does what TK wants. The next few minutes, the only sound in the room is the slapping of their skin and their moans mingling. When TK’s body locks, coming between them with a shout, his hole fluttering, and clasping around Carlos’ cock, he loses the last grip he has on his control and fucks into TK’s body with abandon.

Fast and rough, he thrusts into TK until he’s coming hard and a touch painful, his whole body quivering from the intensity of his orgasm. Dimly he feels TK running his hands up and down his back, petting him softly until he stops shaking.

When he hears TK laugh softly, he pulls his head up from his shoulder to look at him, finding a wide smile on his face.

“If that’s a preview to what married sex is going to be like,” TK starts, his eyes dancing with pleasure. “We’re eloping tomorrow.”

Carlos gives him a grin right before pressing his mouth to his; as he starts to feel sleepy, the day finally catching up with him, he finds that he doesn’t have a single problem with that.

֎֎֎

He wakes up to lips trailing softly at the underside of his jaw, and a warm body pressed to his side.

“Hmmm,” he hums, and he feels those lips curve upward against his skin.

“Good morning.”

He blinks a few times, his eyes still feeling heavy with sleep. TK touches his cheek but not before Carlos catches the glint of the morning light on his ring. He’s instantly awake as he remembers just what happened last night. He turns his head, looking down at TK, who is resting his head on his shoulder and looking up at him with a soft smile on his face.

“Hi,” he says lovingly as Carlos looks at him.

“We are getting married,” he whispers, watching as Tk’s smile blooms, taking over his face.

Their phones on the side table beep at the same time, dragging their attention away from each other.

“Do you think?” TK asks as he reaches over to take his phone.

He punches in his passcode to find a couple of messages, all saying the same thing. With a grin, he looks at TK, who is waiting expectantly.

“Looks like we have a little girl to meet,” he tells him, the joy he sees on TK’s face warming every part of him.

֎֎֎

They arrive at the hospital after 11 am, and TK is vibrating with happy energy. Walking into the hospital room they moved Grace into, they find Owen at the foot of the bed, while Judd is sitting on the edge of it next to Grace, looking down at the small wrapped bundle in her arms.

“Hey guys,” he calls out softly when TK looks like he can’t speak as he looks at the tiny little girl who is currently letting out an adorable yawn.

The three adults in the room turn to look at them with smiles on their faces. Owen steps forward first, hugging his son for a moment before stepping to the side, allowing TK to turn to the small family before them.

Judd stands up from the bed, waving TK over. It’s all he needs as he all but runs to his friend’s side, pulling him into a hug.

“I’m so happy for you, brother,” he hears TK say into Judd’s shoulder as the older man hugs him tighter.

“Thanks, kid.”

Carlos goes to the other side of the bed, leaning down to kiss Grace’s cheek. He sneaks a peek at the baby in her arms, a tiny spitting image of her mother. “Proud of you, Gracie,” he says softly to her, he reaches out and touches a little curl on the baby’s head. “You do good work,” he tips his chin towards Luna. “She’s perfect.”

“Just like her mom,” Judd tells them as he smiles down at his wife and child.

“How was it?” he asks, looking at both of them, he notices that TK hasn’t looked away from the baby. “No complications, right?”

Grace and Judd shake their head. “My baby handled everything like a trooper,” Judd answers, his gaze soft and loving as he looks back at Grace.

“She so pretty you guys,” TK whispers, just like him, he reaches out to touch the baby’s head.

Carlos knows the second Grace sees the ring by the noise she makes, muffled through pressed lips to keep from waking her daughter up.

“He said yes,” she says happily as she looks at TK’s hand, now frozen an inch away from Luna. She looks up at him, her expression pleased. “Like I knew he would.”

Carlos rolls his eyes, amused by her smugness; he catches the raised eyebrow TK gives him, along with the knowing look on Owen’s face from where he stands, the only one that looks confused is Judd.

“Grace knew you were going to propose?” he asks, ignoring the noise Judd lets out behind him, or Owen’s hushed finally.

Grace snorts back at him quietly. “Know? Who do you think kept him from having a nervous breakdown as he searched for the perfect ring?”

TK turns to her, sticking his bottom lip out. “And you couldn’t give me a heads up? I messed up his original plan.”

“I love you, TK,” Grace starts, her eyes twinkling with laughter. “But Carlos is my best friend now, and I had to keep his secret.”

Carlos grins down at her, warmed by her words.

“You didn’t tell me either, baby,” Judd whines, also pouting when Grace levels him with a look.

“Because TK is your brother,” she answers easily. “You would have spilled the beans.”

“I would like to say I saw it coming a mile away,” Owen chips in. “The moon eyes Carlos gives TK are a dead giveaway,” he smiles at both of them. “Congratulations on making it official.”

TK grins at his dad, thanking him softly, and he’s sure later when they’re alone, the Strand men will be hugging and crying about it together, but right now, Luna Joy Ryder is making her presence known by letting out a small cry, wiggling in her mom’s arms.

He watches as Grace and Judd both look at TK and then share a look between them. Grace nods in his boyfriend’s direction, and he starts to smile as he remembers a previous conversation he had with her.

“So – ” Judd starts, stepping forward to take Luna from Grace’s arms before turning towards TK, who is looking at his friend and his baby with wide eyes. “Do you want to hold your goddaughter, TK?”

TK startles at the question, his mouth dropping as he looks at Grace and Judd. “Are you serious?” he questions breathlessly. “You want me to – “

Big gruff Judd gives TK a sharp nod. “You’re my brother, and you’re my best friend. You have the biggest heart I know, and you have loved Luna since the moment you found out Grace was pregnant,” he swallows hard, but everyone can see the tears in his eyes as he looks down at his child. “Grace and I can’t think of anyone who would be a better godfather to our daughter than you, so what do you say? Will you take the title?”

TK has tears in his eyes, but he’s smiling hard. He licks his lips before speaking, his voice low. “When dad suggested I move in with you guys. I didn’t get why he felt I needed it at first, but you two welcomed me into your home anyway, made me part of your family, and I started to get it. He wanted me to have more than just him,” TK looks at his dad for a moment, flashing him a kind smile.

“Not because he was giving up, but because he knew I had closed myself off and I needed a support system. You guys gave me that. The affection and support you two gave me made me less afraid, and it allowed me to open up my heart again,” he turns to look at him, and Carlos is blown away by the love in his eyes. “Because of that, I have the love of my life, and we are getting married,” he whispers.

“None of you gave up on me, you showered me with more love than I know what to do with,” he smiles, looking at the baby in Judd’s arms. “It would be an honor to be your daughter’s godfather. Thank you for picking me,” he finishes saying, Grace is crying, and Judd is not much better. No one in the room has a dry eye.

“Your wedding vows are going to have all of us be a crying mess, aren’t they,” Grace jokes, breaking the mood as everyone laughs.

Judd places the baby in TK’s arms, and Carlos watches as TK looks down at her with amazement on his face.

“Hi Luna,” he whispers down to her, gasping when the baby opens her eyes. “My little moon,” he continues gently. “You are so loved, little one.”

Carlos feels another wave of emotion hit him hard, and in an instant, he sees his future. The man before him, the love of his life, one day holding their own child, looking at him or her with all the love in the world.

“There’s those moon eyes again, Carlos,” Owen comments as he shakes his head in amusement.

Grace snorts softly; reaching for his hand, she gives it a squeeze forcing him to look away from TK.

“The horse before the cart, Reyes,” she grins up at him knowingly. “Marry the boy before you start picturing babies.”

Carlos feels himself blush at being so easy to read, but TK lifts his head from whispering to Luna – the baby is holding his finger in her tiny fist – and there is a smile on his face that tells him he understands.

“Come here, sweetheart,” he motions him with a tilt of his head.

Carlos goes around the corner of the bed, pressing himself to TK’s side as he turns towards him to show him the baby.

Owen tells them he’s going to call the station and update the crew before leaving the room. Judd sits back down on the edge of the bed, brushing the hair out of Grace’s face as he leans down to kiss her. They’re in there own little world, and for a moment, Carlos, TK, and Luna are in theirs.

“Do you want this someday?” TK asks quietly, nodding towards Luna, his green eyes are beautiful and breathtaking as they look at him with so much love Carlos isn’t sure how he got so lucky.

“Yes,” he nods, answering honestly. TK beams at him, before leaning in to brush his lips against the side of his face.

“Good, me too,” he whispers next to his ear. “I promise we’ll have it.”

“I love you, TK,” he tells him, feeling it in every one of his cells just how much that’s true.

TK pulls back to look at him, his eyes crinkling at the sides as he smiles. “I love you too.”

Carlos wraps his arm around TK’s shoulder, holding on to him and his promise, knowing as long as TK loves him, he will always be loved this well.

#911 lone star #911lonestarweek #911lsweek #tarlos #tarlos fic #911 lone star fic #tk x carlos #my writing #Day 2 - Great Dynamic

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a-student-out-of-time · 4 years

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Connections Review Part 2

This isn’t your average Love Hotel Event, this is an ADVANCED Love Hotel Event

Here we go people, we have returned and now it’s time for the next part of the review of Connections! Last time was quickly reviewing stuff that didn’t warrant its own part and all the time travelling discoveries into the Ultimate Seer Mikako, she is the Ultimate Seer now, not the Ultimate Exorcist, and some interesting visions. And in this part, we cover the stuff that everyone likes to talk about which is Harems! Whether it be Cuddle Puddle, Hotel Akane or Makoto’s currently unnamed Harem. Point is this Blog is a goldmine for Poly relationships and let the looovvveee spread! So, time for some fluffy reviews~

I’ll start with the only established harem at this point in time which is the Cuddle Puddle! Hotel Akane is planned for but still in development and we don’t even know if Makoto will be willing to go for a harem. So, the big major event which happens here is Hajime fixing the issues with Hiyoko’s family. She has serious issues with her grandmother as she forbids her from seeing her parents, and while Hiyoko can’t give a rat’s arse about her mother, she very much cares about her father, and as heir of her clan, Hiyoko has to marry a man of suitable status which Hajime doesn’t fulfil. So, with Izumi summoning Hiyoko back home to have a talk, Hajime joins her in order to try and get the racist boomer to approve of their relationship, and allow Hiyoko to see her parents, or her father to be more precise. This was a welcome relief mission because having fought two serial killers, busted a human trafficking ring and about to fight a cult, just talking to a racist problematic member of one of his girlfriend’s family is a very light mission for Hajime. Plus, because we all don’t like boomers having a boomer being called out for their racist and out of touch ways is catharsis at best. It helps that not all of the Sannoji family is completely terrible as Monoko and Teru, relatives of Hiyoko were more open minded, and agreed with Hiyoko and Hajime’s sentiments and if they weren’t there, I don’t think the meeting with Izumi would have gone well.

Thankfully, Hajime & Hiyoko, with the help of Momoko and Teru, were able to get Izumi to bless their relationship and since Sannoijis marry young, as soon as Hiyoko graduates, or ‘graduates’ because remember Hopes Peak Academy will only remain open for as long as Junko lurks and as soon as she’s defeated, Nikei’s article on why Hope’s Peak Academy is twisted and corrupted will be put up and the school won’t last long, she wants to marry Hajime. This brings up a legal problem with the Cuddle Puddle as Poly relationships are illegal in Japan, in fact I think they’re illegal in a lot of countries. Novoselic which is Sonia’s kingdom its legal, but Sonia can’t ask for everyone to uproot their lives and move there. The temporary solution is for everyone not named Sonia and Gundham to legally change their last name to Hinata, Hajime marries Hiyoko and when Kiyotaka becomes Prime Minister and he legalizes Poly Marriage, marry the other girls then. That’s a long-term solution though.

As for the rest of the Cuddle Puddle, they are bonding well. Gundham got a bit of focus on this Arc and I’m glad for it. The biggest issues with the Cuddle Puddle as it is very Hajime-centric but we don’t see how the girls interact with each other or even Gundham as he’s the other male in the harem as well. Gundham himself doesn’t get many interactions aside from Hajime and Sonia, so seeing him open up to Hibiki about his past and she comforting his worries about Storm is heart-warming. I always knew that Hibiki had a strong liking for Gundham as even back during the Concert Arc when Sonia and Gundham met the Otonokoji twins on their independent mission to find the ‘stalker’ of them, Hibiki took a liking to Gundham’s Chuunibyou nature almost immediately, and given all the growth that Hibiki has gone through since then, she is now in a position to comfort others much like how she was comforted by them. Gundham’s backstory is the usual brand of familial outcast and a devoted mother who gave her life into Gundham that too many people in the Quantum Crew have. Kodaka did say one of the pillars of being a Danganronpa character is having a broken family and it shows.

While the Cuddle Puddle got some development, it won’t be the only harem this blog has so let’s look at the founding of a new one, which is Hotel Akane. It’s an unofficial rule that the protagonists of the Killing Games get their own harems, but Sora doesn’t want a harem as she is content with having a relationship with just Yoruko so she transferred her ‘harem rights’ to Akane, who being one of the horniest members of the cast, is more then happy for that. Akane is seeing Ayame at the moment but they haven’t officially started dating yet, its still in the friendship phase at the moment. This will develop into romance at some point though, but Akane is considerate enough to go things at a gradual pace. Yuki makes his first appearance in this arc as well as he shops at the new supermarket that Akane is working for, and we get to see Sora’s conflict over Yuki. Due to Sora’s purpose in the Killing Game, being created to protect Yuki until Mikado could break him, she is worried as she doesn’t know how much of her affection for Yuki is of her free will or due to the protocols that Mikado programmed into her. Akane reassures her that her love for Yuki is of free will as when Sora broke free from Mikado’s programming shackles, her first act was to protect Yuki from Mikado, and the two did genuinely bond over the course of the Killing Game. As such Akane meeting and potentially getting romantically involved with Yuki is A-OK in Sora’s books. But of course, that’s not the relationship you guys care about. You care about Servant’s Column AKA the relationship between Akane and Nikei. And quite a lot of progress was made there as we get to see how conflicted our poor reporter is. Due to Nikei’s highly disturbing backstory, he is unsure on what his sexual ordination is. The other Voids know where they swing but Nikei despite his best efforts doesn’t know what his type is. This isn’t a situation that is going to be resolved quickly as victims of sexual abuse do struggle with sexual identity and I could see a situation when Nikei winds up being asexual as a result of the whole thing. We know that Nikei has a habit on crushing on anyone who is remotely kind to him, something I relate to on a personal level, and that he’s okay with PDAs, but anything sexual is completely off limits to him as it would give Nikei traumatic flashbacks to his past. Given the strong likelihood of Miaya getting involved next arc, he really needs to speak to her as she could help him with getting to gripes with his past and sexual identity and allow himself to heal. And Nikei does need to learn how to be comfortable with himself before he can be okay with entering a relationship with Akane.

And now for the last harem and the only one without a name and that is Makoto’s harem. Thing is though, this is the harem I’m the most on the fence about. Because…is it going to exist? Cuddle Puddle are a thing, Hotel Akane is going to be a thing, but Makoto hasn’t made any noises about wanting to get into relationships with other girls, he’s may just be content having a relationship with Iroha. Granted he hasn’t even met the other girls who would be part of his harem and he won’t for a while so maybe attitudes change once the other girls become aware of him and he starts talking to them. The big event regarding this is that Makoto Naegi’s Worst Day ever happens during this Arc, which is the highly elaborate chain of events which leads to Makoto entering Hope’s Peak. I won’t talk much about this; it goes like it does in canon and just read it up online if you want details. Iroha wants to help Makoto during this but due to the enormous butterfly effects resulting from it, no interference can be done and it’s probably the only time we allow the Ankle Effect to make its noises. The results shows that the Ankle Effect isn’t an inherently evil force, it just wants history to stay the same. Unfortunately, history is tainted and the world would end if it is prevented so the Quantum Crew do have to meddle. The one thing Iroha CAN do with Makoto on his worst day ever is to comfort him and make his night memorable for all the right reasons. He is going to be a character though who would become more centric to the plot as soon as Junko enters the scene…unless things happen and he gets in sooner. I could see Makoto getting tangled up with dealing with Mikado as he has some association with the Voids now, and I think Makoto will NOT sit ideally if Mikado tries to mess with the Voids. As for Storm…I dunno.

And that’s all the harem developments, Hajime resolves Hiyoko’s family issues, Gundham exists in the Cuddle Puddle, Sora has Yuki identity problems, Nikei really needs as much hugs as possible and Makoto has an awful day, but he gets to be in line to being the hero of civilization and makes out with Iroha so all is good! At this point I would normally make my rankings but then a certain Motherfucker decided to get more screen time and thus he needs his own part. When we come back, I will discuss the most problematic part of the Arc, which is Maverick Storm. Until then byeeeee! - Review Anon

#danganronpa #a student out of time #submission

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crimefightingpigeons · 4 years

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I’ve shared my head canon on how we go from Doomsday to Turn Left - your turn! What do you think happens?? - @loupettes

Welp i can confidently say it has been well over a week... but here is part 2 of my Dimension Cannon Rose story! Enjoy!

part 1 A Brief Guide to Love and Defending the Universe

Once the realization of what was going on had sunk in, the real work began. Or at least the endless meetings did. Because even the immanent end of the world—no, wait, universe—no wait again, multiverse— was no match for a bloody meeting. But with everyone having their own opinion and no way of knowing who was right, things were getting out of hand.

After extreme amounts of shouting, fighting, and overall chaos, though, a consensus was reached. They had determined the cause of this problem was happening in another world, so those people, that Torchwood, could deal with that. This Torchwood was going to put all its efforts into sealing off the trouble and keeping themselves safe. But Rose and Mickey knew better, and that night they went back to her flat to continue on.

“Can’t we just rebuild those jump devices?” Rose tried.

“I don’t know if those’d even work now with the void gone. ‘Sides everything from that got destroyed, would take us years to get it back to anything able to work,” Mickey refuted. Then trying himself, “what about time travel? What if we got somethin’ workin’ that could take us back to that day on the beach and at least warn the Doctor then?”

“We can’t cross our own timelines, Mickey, trust me, it’d only make things worse.”

After a night of going over and over through previously rejected and other seemingly impossible plans, the pair were ready to give in. But just in that moment, Rose got a call from Pete telling her to come over to the mansion with Mickey.

- - -

Pete Tyler, much to no one’s surprise, was not a stupid man. So when he noticed Rose’s change in attitude all those months ago, and saw piles of boxes in her old room through her accidentally cracked open door, and could see just how tired and worn down she (and later on Mickey) had become even through claims of doing nothing outside of work, he knew exactly what was going on. And he had decided to start a project of his own.

In the basement of the Tyler residence was every bit of research and equipment he had stored away and been working on from the dimension jumper project. And when Rose and Mickey saw it, their mouths properly gaped open.

“But I thought…” Mickey barely got out.

“That all this was lost? Being an ex-director of Torchwood has its perks, ya know,” Pete chuckled.

“But why didn’t you tell us about this before?” Rose asked, so completely stunned she wasn’t sure whether to be upset or not.

“I wanted to see if it would work… No use in gettin’ your hopes up if there wasn’t a reason,” he answered directly to Rose, then turning back to Mickey as well, “And then you lot just went off to Torchwood for help, as if that would do you any good! I always told you to come to me first, and I thought you’d have been smart enough to still do that. If you’d only given me another few days you’d never have had to go through all of those twats!”

“Wait so you’re saying it’s… operational?” Mickey walked around the console to investigate a bit further.

“Eh… more like pre-operational. I’ve gotten it to turn back on, but probably not much more. Mind you I haven’t exactly had anyone to test it out—” then turning back to Rose, because he knew exactly what she was about to say, “—and we’re not sending anyone through until we’re as sure as we can be its safe.”

After a brief pause of thought, Rose joined back in. “But without Torchwood, how’re we gonna do this. I mean, this is gonna need a lotta work, and we don’t exactly have the means to get it done all on our own.”

Pete smiled at his daughter. “You leave that to me. Have I mentioned the ex-director thing, yet? Got a handful of favors waitin’ for me all around the world. Figure it’s about time I cash ‘em in.”

- - -

The next year went by in a whirlwind.

Keeping his word, Pete had gathered enough resources by the very next day for the real real work to begin. Rose and Mickey continued going back and forth between work at the mansion and Torchwood with plans of phasing out the latter slowly, so to keep suspicions at bay. And Jake had eagerly joined as the official inside man on all upper level Torchwood dealings. It was exhausting, it was difficult, it was frustrating, it was impossible. But it had to be done.

Out of everyone, Rose was surely the most desperate to succeed. There wasn’t a single work session she missed or even a tiny aspect of the project she wasn’t actively involved in. Even when they were at a stand still, she would refuse to stop. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been home, couldn’t remember the last time she’d spent more than five minutes with Jackie or Tony, couldn’t even remember the last time she’d done anything but work. But none of that mattered. She had a multiverse to save… and a Doctor to get back to.

Half a year in and hundreds of destroyed testing fruits later, success had finally arrived: they were ready for the first stage of human testing on the newly named dimension cannon. Rose was of course the first to volunteer as guinea pig, but Pete and Mickey quickly nixed that. She had been the most brilliant one in the room these past months, and if anything happened to her there was a good chance the project wouldn’t make it to the next stage in time. They considered recruiting a Torchwood grunt, but that idea was pretty much chucked out the same moment it was spoken. In the end, Mickey volunteered to do the job.

Mickey stepped onto the platform, looking down at a solemn Rose. “See you in Hell,” he smiled and gave her a gentle kiss on her forehead.

Pete entered the coordinates into the console, the countdown started, the cannon powered up, the bright light filled the room, and with a loud boom, Mickey was gone.

And then he was back! Just a few feet away on the other side of the room.

“Miss me?” he smiled again.

Rose grinned back. Not only was Mickey alright, but the cannon worked! Sure it wasn’t enough to get them outside the basement, let alone the universe, but that wasn’t important right now. Rose’s mind was flooded with pure joy, and she let that feeling glow inside her for one beautiful moment before getting back to work.

With each week that passed by, the cannon was only becoming more successful. A few weeks after their first shift, they could transport themselves to the other side of the world. And a month after that, it could take them to another planet entirely. It was enough to make Rose cry, standing on a new planet once again. She took the few moments she had there to genuinely enjoy the ground beneath her feet. For all their progress, though, they knew it was the next part that would be the hardest. Jumping within your own universe was one thing, but actually getting to another… Again, they were at an impossible impasse. But they kept going.

Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, and all they had to show for it was more scorched tester fruits. And now after so much failure, everyone was starting to get to the end of their ropes. The stars had been going out for some time now, and the world around them was just beginning to decay into madness. According to Jake, even Torchwood was out of real ideas. Rose, Mickey, and Pete knew time was running out sooner rather than later, and that they were everyone’s last hope. It had understandably turned stress levels to high and patience to zero. And that was before they even accounted for their extreme exhaustion.

Then one night, one beautiful night, something finally went right. Rose was the only one in the basement, just tinkering around. And then there was a warm little feeling in the back of her mind telling her to take a chance… so she did. She sent the fruit through the cannon and— it disappeared. But it wasn’t just gone, according to every piece of information the console was spitting out it was in another world! For a moment Rose could only stand there, mouth gaped open. She looked around, ready to celebrate with someone until she remembered she was all alone.

Then, her mind coming back to her, she frantically powered the cannon up again and brought it back. Rose hesitated for just a moment, then moved towards it. She held the pineapple in her hand. It hadn’t exploded or caught fire, its DNA was still perfectly in-tact. It had gone through the cannon and into another universe and then came back completely unscathed! And that was all the proof she needed.

Rose sped back over to the console and started inputting information. Every shift required someone standing by the console to activate the cannon to send the subject off and then reactivate it to bring them back. But Rose had a trick up her sleeve. Near the start of the project, she had secretly installed an automatic pilot protocol, meaning she could send herself off and then the console would automatically bring her back a few minutes later. She knew Pete and Mickey would be upset with her the moment they found out what she’d done, knew it probably wasn’t the smartest decision she’d ever make in her life, but she didn’t care. With one last flip of a switch, she ran over and hopped up onto the platform, closed her eyes, and within one deep breath, she felt the cannon working around her. There was brightness, loud banging, the world shifting all around her and then—

Everything was still. She felt a gentle breeze stroke against her cheek, heard something like squawking in the distance. Rose opened her eyes to a purple sky in a field of tall, fiery red grass. She smiled.

“Doctor, I’m comin’ to get you.”

#I would promise to have the next installment next week #but i think we all know that would turn out to be a lie #ill get it out though!#also I think this might be turning into a four parter?#still not sure about that yet #anyhoooowwww #enjoy!#a brieft guide to love and defending the universe #fic #rose tyler #mickey smith #pete tyler #tenxrose #doctor who #dw

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hedwigstalons · 4 years

Text

High Expectations - Ch10

Two brothers for the price of one tonight. It turns out it was almost harder to get a decent photo of my sketchbook that it was to do the sketches themselves and I still needed the help of @willow-salix to do something with the lighting. She has many talents and I am abusing them all.

Earlier parts: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine

AO3 chapter link

Chapter Ten

Jeff dialled his son’s number for a third time that day and yet again received nothing but a voicemail message. It looked like Gordon was once more going to be the cause of a tension headache for him. He tossed his phone down and dropped his head into his hand, rubbing his temples in an attempt to stave it off. When he did finally get through to Gordon he would have to have severe words about the importance of staying in contact. Yesterday he had been prepared to overlook the lack of a phone call to check in at the end of his journey, one of the few courtesies he expected when his sons, but to still be out of reach a day later was not acceptable. None of the others would have shown such a lack of respect for the rules but Gordon seemed determined to push the boundaries.

He glanced at the papers on his desk, reading through the details once again. It really was a very generous offer and rather more than he felt Gordon deserved, truth be told, given the boy’s current lack of enthusiasm for anything other than swimming. Wilbur Dandridge had thrown Jeff a lifeline that would give Gordon a solid start in a prestigious internship at his company, Gazelle Automations. The offer meant Gordon would need to move to New York but Jeff was more than willing to finance an apartment, just as he had for the others for their college studies.

Ever since college Jeff and Wilbur Dandridge had been firm friends, making a point of checking in every few months and keeping up to date with each others lives. Jeff hadn't meant to burden his friend with his family woes but he supposed it had been inevitable, Wilbur had always been the observant type and an empathetic listener. Wilbur seemed to have this innate ability to sense the needs of others, something that helped him in his work and allowed him to design products that people sometimes hadn’t even realised they needed. On this occasion he had come up with the offer of an internship for Gordon. The only problem was Wilbur needed a decision imminently and for that Jeff needed to get an answer from Gordon.

After three failed calls it was obvious he wasn’t going to have any luck getting hold of Gordon directly, he would have to take a different approach to track down the cause of his frustrations. He picked up his phone again and hit speed dial 2. This time the phone connected almost immediately, Virgil answering before the third ring had finished.

“Hi Dad, how are you?”

“Fine, fine” he said impatiently. “I just need to speak to Gordon, can you put him on.”

“Gordon?” There was a slight pause. “He’s not here.”

“Well when he gets back from wherever he's hiding, tell him to call me immediately. And get him to charge his damn phone.”

"Why would he be here? He’s grounded, isn’t he? He told me he wasn’t allowed to come.”

This time it was Jeff’s turn to pause as his son’s words sank in. Just the day before he had watched Gordon leave for the airport, bag in hand, ostensibly heading off for a few days in Denver. Now it would appear that same son had never arrived. He hadn’t grounded him. He'd watched him leave for the airport where the driver had reported that he'd dropped Gordon off outside, only leaving once Gordon was inside the terminal building as per normal. He was supposed to be in Denver, but it appeared that his son had never arrived.

“When did he tell you this?”

“Yesterday morning. Dad, what’s going on? Isn’t Gordon there with you?”

“No, and I don’t know where he is. Look, if he gets in touch with you just let me know.”

“Of course. And Dad, if you find him first please tell me. This isn’t like him” the worry in Virgil’s voice was clearly evident.

“Of course I will. Don’t worry, we’ll find him.”

Jeff hung up, his stomach churning. In the space of a few minutes he had gone from angry to worried sick.

Of all his sons he had always found Gordon the most challenging but he would never have predicted the teen would run away. There was no denying that relations had become increasingly strained but he hadn’t realised it had gotten that bad.

He looked at the clock; his son had been missing for just over twenty-four hours but with no evidence of foul play the police probably wouldn't be interested, Gordon was nearly an adult after all. Well, just because the official authorities wouldn’t do anything yet didn’t mean he had to sit passively by. For all the frustrations he caused, all the arguments and heartache, Gordon was still his son. To the outside world he was a hard headed business man, distinguished astronaut and accomplished military leader. Few people got to see the other side to him, the paternal side, it was part of the reason why he kept his children out of the media. He wasn’t prepared to just wait for yet more time to pass, he would have to do some investigating himself.

Jeff logged in to his Air Terrainean account. He knew Gordon had made it to the airport but he had to have gone somewhere. By checking to see if his ticket had been used he would know if they needed to search Denver or there in Los Angeles. When the travel history screen finally loaded the word on the screen left him reeling.

Marineville.

It might be the home of a different force to that in which he had served in but Marineville was famous as the largest WASP base on the western seaboard. it was a military town with nothing else for miles around; if Gordon had boarded a flight for Marineville then there could only be one intended destination. It was time to make some more phone calls.

xoxoxox

Commander Shore looked up from his screen in surprise as the phone on the corner of his desk rang, the sharp trill cutting through his concentration. Calls themselves were not unusual but most of them came through the internal switchboard system, even his own daughter was unable to reach him directly but the distinctive ring indicated an outside line. Only a handful of people in the world had this number and he wasn’t expecting a call from any of them.

“This is Commander Shore” he greeted the caller.

“Colonel Jeff Tracy, Commander. I believe you have my son.”

Shore wracked his brains. Colonel wasn’t a designation within the World Navy and he could see no reason why anyone from the World Army Air Force or the domestic armed forces would be calling him; especially about their son.

“I’m sorry Colonel, but I don’t quite follow you.”

“My son, Commander. Gordon Tracy. He is at Marineville.”

Commander Shore waved over his assistant and hurriedly scribbled down the name on a piece of paper. He still wasn’t entirely sure what was going on but he hadn’t been given command of Marineville by being phased by the unexpected. Within moments the assistant had checked the Marineville logs and found a match for the name.

“Ah yes, Colonel. I can see that Mr Tracy is currently a participant on one of our selection courses”

“Well he shouldn’t be.”

“Excuse me, Colonel?”

“My son is seventeen, a minor. He does not have my authorization to be there and I want him home.”

Commander Shore was feeling decidedly on the back foot, dealing with irate parents was not normally part of his job description.

The assistant returned a second time and slid a piece of paper in front of him. The sheet bore the public resume of Jeff Tracy. No wonder Shore had been feeling the nagging prickles of recognition at the name; the man on the other end of the line was one of the richest and most influential in the country and had the ability to make life very difficult if he so chose.

“I have a copy of his permission form in front of me. I can assure you WASP takes these allegations very seriously…”

“This is not an allegation, it is hard fact. Your shoddy systems have allowed a child to waltz onto your base unchallenged. I will be sending someone to collect Gordon this afternoon. Just consider yourself lucky I’m not inclined to get my lawyers involved in this blatant disregard of protocol and maladministration.”

The line went dead.

Commander Shore leant back heavily in his chair. Technically everything that happened at Marineville fell under his jurisdiction but he wasn’t normally involved with the recruits. Heck, if his assistant hadn’t been so quick off the mark he wouldn’t have even known there was a selection course running, let alone who was on it or if any of them were under age.

Gordon wasn't the first person to try and join WASP against their family’s wishes and probably wouldn’t be the last but evidently this time the family was not going to just sit back and let it happen. Jeff Tracy was a formidable man and if he decided to make waves Shore wasn’t too sure how much support he would receive from his superiors. The very fact that Colonel Tracy had somehow accessed his direct line showed that the man had friends in high places.

Commander Shore passed the unenviable challenge of locating the missing Tracy son to his assistant. Marineville had a population of tens of thousands and covered several square miles; the selection course could be taking place anywhere. He just hoped they could find the boy before whoever Colonel Tracy had tasked to collect him arrived.

xoxoxox

Scott pulled into the visitors’ parking lot outside the Marineville security gate that stood guard over the base and screeched to a halt, slamming the door closed behind him. Of all the ways he had envisaged spending his day off this had not been part of his plans. A long run had been a possibility, maybe catch up on the stack of unwatched movies he had built up before heading into town to watch a band with a couple of the guys from his unit and, if he was lucky, pick up a girl. Instead the only thing he would be picking up today was a little brother.

His own Air Force base was about an hour east of Marineville and as the nearest family member he had been sent on a trek across the state to find Gordon and ship him back home on the next available flight. Instead of calming down on the journey his frustrations had built up further. The phone call from his father had ruined his day. It wasn’t that he didn’t care about his brothers, it just rankled that he was expected to drop everything to sort out the mess. Jeff didn’t ask, he demanded. There was a clear expectation that he would do as he was told and Jeff left no room for argument. He wasn’t sure who he was more mad at; Gordon for engineering this whole situation or his father for still managing to dictate his life even from afar.

First Lieutenant Tracy on a good day was formidable but on a bad day he could be terrifying. Despite technically being off duty he had opted for his dress uniform and he cut an imposing figure in the dark blue, standing out starkly amongst the grey of the WASP. The man that strode across to the guard house had the aura of one who was used to being obeyed despite his relatively junior status and it was no surprise he was climbing the ranks so quickly.

“Can I help you, Sir?” the guard on duty acknowledged his approach.

“Scott Tracy.” He flashed his identification card. “I’m here to collect Gordon Tracy, I believe you are expecting me.”

“Very good, Sir” the guard said, after examining the waved credentials. “If you could just wait here a moment, your transport will be along soon.”

The memo, issued by none other than Commander Shore himself, had already come down regarding the Tracys and the instructions were clear, do everything to keep them sweet. Even after the briefest of interactions the guard was quite thankful he would not be involved beyond greeting the visitor. He certainly didn’t envy the Tracy who was the cause of all the trouble, the man in front of him looked stormy to say the least.

One phone call and five short minutes later and a jeep was approaching the guard house. Without waiting for an invitation, Scott climbed in and he and the driver were soon crossing the sprawling expanse that was Marineville. Before many more minutes had passed the jeep was rolling to a stop at their destination; a massive obstacle course that stretched away into the distance, the many elements looking like they would pose a stiff challenge to anyone tackling the beast.

“He’s not here” stated Scott bluntly, surveying the crowd of hopefuls waiting their turn.

“Sir, the timetable states that your brother is part of this group.”

Scott’s frown clearly showed his opinion on the record keeping abilities of WASP however he had little option but to follow his driver over to the officers in charge of the group. The two assessors acknowledged their approach, looking curiously at the out of place Air Force officer, but continued their job; one observing a cluster of participants out on the course through binoculars while the other jotted down the notes.

“Can I help you?”

Scott was saved from answering by his chaperone. “We have been alerted that there is an unauthorized minor in your cohort. First Lieutenant Tracy is here to escort his brother home.”

“Yes, but I can’t see him” Scott’s frown deepened as he took a closer look at the waiting group. “It looks like your information may be flawed.”

“He might be out on the course.”

“Might? Surely you know who you have out there.”

“WASP uses anonymous observation. Participant details are held by Central Control, we only know them as numbers to avoid bias” the assessor indicated the numbered armbands worn by each participant. “If your brother is listed as part of this group and is not with those waiting he must be one of the four currently on test. This is a group task so you will have to wait until they finish. It won’t take them long, they are making good progress now they have realised they they have to work together.”

The officers turned their attention back to the course and with nothing else to do Scott found himself also watching the progress of the group, not that he could see much. The course was massive and the participants were just four indistinct figures in distance. All he wanted to do was get Gordon, get out of there then head back to his own base; each passing minute was eating into his time off and he could feel the resentment building.

“So how are they doing?” the assessor making notes asked the observer with the binoculars; they still had a job to do and participants that needed grading.

“6 is looking strong and 3 is also putting in a solid performance. 10 is a borderline fail though unless they buck their ideas up.”

“What about 14?”

“Still leading the way and carrying the rest of the group; that lot wouldn’t be doing nearly so well without him.”

“He’s the one that figured out they had to work together?”

“Looked like it; they certainly all seem to be deferring to him now. He’s wasted in junior ranks. If he keeps up this level of performance I’ll be recommending him for the officer stream at the end of the course.”

“I know what you mean. Him and 5 have been the leading the way in all the tests and are both natural leaders although 14 put in a much stronger performance in the pool. I’ll be interested to see how 5 gets on out there when it’s his turn.”

“Well concentrate on these four for now. 10 is still lagging, I don’t think he would have made it over that last gap without 6’s help. 6 has certainly got the strength but is happy to let 14 lead.”

“And 3?”

“Keeping up and doing what he is told by the look of it; good balance and strength but a follower rather than a leader. You would think 14 had been doing this for years though, not faced with it for the first time. He is a quick thinker and the others are respecting his decisions. Definitely officer material.”

Scott listened to the conversation with vague interest. Participant 10 sounded like they were in trouble and might not make the cut but 14 must have made an impression going by the judgements being made. He valued those that could use their own initiative and wished he had few more like that in his own Air Force unit. Of course the military needed its followers too otherwise the whole structure would disintegrate but good leaders were hard to come by; he was tempted to try and have a quiet word with number 14 and see if he could sway him towards a life in the skies.

He wondered how his brother was faring; remembering his own military selection course and the desperate desire to make the grade. The distant figures were too far away for him to even work out if one was Gordon let alone make out their numbers, perhaps the family swimmer was the solid number 3, the good strength and balance sounded fitting. Not that it mattered though, their father had made it clear that Gordon was to be returned home immediately.

The four battling for their place within WASP had now reached the far end of the course. They disappeared for a moment as they dropped off the top of the final wall then came back into view as they ran back the length of the course to the start.

The rapidly approaching figures began to resolve themselves into identifiable shapes and Scott was able to pick out the distinctive sandy blonde hair and muscular silhouette of his sibling. It looked like he had been brought to the right place after all. His gaze hardened as the object of his mission drew nearer.

The change in atmosphere was noticeable to the WASP officers as Scott stiffened and they watched with some trepidation as the four figures raced for the finish line. Evidently the errant Tracy had been sighted and was not in for a happy reunion.

The quartet made it to the finish. One collapsed to the floor in heap while two more ended up bent double, hands braced against knees for support as they gasped in ragged lungfuls of air. The fourth, however, stayed upright although it was clear to see that this was taking effort. His breathing was strained as he fought to keep his body under control after his exertions on the course but there was an iron determination not to show weakness.

The two brothers faced off and the tension in the air became electric. The WASP officers stood back and gave them space, this was a family moment and any attempt to intervene would likely see them ending up as collateral damage.

Scott looked down on his younger brother but if he was expecting Gordon to be cowed into submission he was sorely mistaken. Even after the recent abuse it had endured, Gordon was keeping his body under tight control, back straight and shoulders broad. The toffee eyes that stared up at him blazed with a fury he hadn’t encountered before and Scott found himself drawing on every inch of his superior height to exert dominance. Blue and brown locked in an unspoken argument that was ferocious in it’s silence. Both men stood rigid, neither breaking the deadlock.

“Gordon, you’re going home.”

The instruction was measured and more deadly than any shout but Scott wasn’t entirely sure Gordon was going to comply. This was no longer the little brother he frequently had to pack off to bed or send to his room to complete homework. The man in front of him bristled with a hatred that radiated off him.

Gordon stared up into the crystal blue eyes, forcing his body to obey him and stay upright. The surge of rage that had swept in was helping in taking the place of the adrenalin that had ebbed after reaching the end of the course. He refused to bow down and give the submissive apology that was clearly expected. He also knew though that he was beaten. The very fact that Scott was there showed that he held the trump card and his falsified permission form had been exposed.

This was the end of the line for WASP but there was no point in giving Scott the satisfaction of winning; he would do this on his own terms. With eyes still locked on his brother he carefully slid the elastic cuff from his arm then turned and handed it out to the assessors.

“I voluntarily withdraw. Thank you for the opportunity.” With head held high, he stepped around Scott to the waiting jeep.

It was as though a spell had been broken. Released from that burning gaze Scott was suddenly aware that all eyes were on him. He took a steadying breath to regain his composure then also turned to the WASP officers.

“I’m sorry for the trouble my brother has caused.”

The officers just looked at him, speechless, still unsure as to what they had just witnessed. Their strongest candidate exposed as a child who had no right to be there. As Scott turned to leave he couldn’t help but see the number on the armband, still held in the officer’s outstretched hand.

Number 14.

#thunderbirds #thunderbirds fanfiction #high expectations #my art #WASP #angry brothers #Gordon Tracy #Scott Tracy #Jeff Tracy

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