#i miss the joy i felt taking pictures of the most inconspicuous things

[heonie-ween]

.

[honeypirate]

Going Home

Jet-Black Hero: Tsukuyomi / Tokoyami Fumikage x Fem!Reader - Pro Hero AU (in their 20s)

Tokoyami had it bad. He had it so bad he had to bribe dark shadow to keep his mouth shut about it when you would call him. Sure he’s older than he was in high school and has more control over his quirk partner- he could force him to keep his mouth shut, but it feels wrong to force him to do anything when he’s a friend

You met Tokoyami in high school, becoming instant friends and bonding over darkness and crime shows. You even went as scully and mulder one Halloween together. But then you moved to a different country before senior year and he hasn’t been able to physically see you since.

You kept in contact religiously. He was your best friend and you told him you’d die if he doesn’t remain that way. You talk every day whenever you have free time and FaceTime every Monday and Wednesday alternating evenings and mornings for each other whenever hero work allows.

You have a separate conversation going on Snapchat, Instagram, and texts that you both stay on top of. Your Snapchat streak said 1174 and you’d be damned if it ever broke before you got to see him again. And yes, somewhere along the lines, you fell for him, but you’d never tell him. You’d never ruin your friendship like that.

“Remember to pick her up at noon” Dark Shadow said into his mind and he rolled his eyes, like he would ever forget the date and time his best friend would be in his life again. The second his agency was confirmed he extended a contract toward you, a popular new hero who was looking for an agency. A six month contract with abilities to extend should it feel like a good fit.

“Seriously? Not just because I’m your friend? You honest to god think our quirks would work well if I’m your side kick? On the bracelet?” He nods into the phone camera and then looks down at the purple adjustable bracelet you had gotten for him on your last arcade adventure before you moved, a matching black one on your wrist.

“I swear on the bracelet” he said, heart skipping. Yes he knew your quirks would work well together that was true. But he also knew that he was dying to see to again and when you said you only needed a good enough opportunity to move back, he saw a perfect opportunity that fate had handed you both.

Your black bracelet was faded to grey over the years of never taking it off but your heart beat raced in your chest. “Okay” you say with a smile and warm cheeks “I’ll have my agent look over the contract and I’ll give it a serious thought career wise.” Your eyes sparkled and he hoped your agent liked the proposal. His heart racing as you smiled at him like that. God he loved your smile.

“I like it. It would be good for your hero image if you had hero work in other countries as well. Young hero going back home. We can make a good story out of it how you were home sick. It’s also good that it’s with your best friend.” You checked out after she said she liked it. You were going home. You were going home.

You called Tokoyami right away and he answered on almost the last ring. “I’m sorry I just needed to talk to you” you said and took a deep breath as he work up “no it’s fine. It’s always fine when it’s you” his voice was tired and thick and you could only imagine how it would be in person.

“I have some news” you said with a smile and he perked up, sitting up in bed and against his headboard as he looked out his window at the night sky “what is it?” He asks, trying not to feel too excited as the phone presses hard against his ear.

“Guess” you said with a teasing tone and he knew immediately

“Really?” He asks, not being able to hide the excitement in his tone as his empty fist shoots up in celebration

“She said she liked it. It’ll be good for my image” you said with a grin, holding the phone in the crook of your neck as you play with the bracelet you’ve never taken off.

“When?” He asks eagerly

“You should know when Fumi, you made the contract” you joke and he chuckles

“no I know when your first day will be but when are you coming here?” He needs to know how much longer. How much more time will be spent away from you

“A week”

he laughs once out of shock and joy “a week?” He asks and you laugh, joy lacing every part of your voice

“my agent got me a flight and an apartment. The building I asked for already had one open and it was easy peasy. It’ll be furnished for me so I’ll be there next Wednesday at noon. Then I’ll have three weeks there before I start work. With you”

He couldn’t believe it. It went so fast he feels like his heart is spasming. Eight years away from you and only one week to go. “I’ll pick you up text me your itinerary”

“Okay” you say with a laugh and then smirk as you say “you’re not gonna ask where I’m gonna be living?”

“Where?”

“#407” you say and it takes him a moment but he gets there

“You mean six doors down?” He asks and you laugh

“Yeah I hope you don’t mind. I just thought it would be fun” you feel nervous like he’s not gonna like it, your palms sweat

“That’s amazing I’m so happy” he says and you grin “really? You don’t mind I’m living in your building?”

“Why would I mind? The best person in my life is going to be my neighbor. I can’t wait”

You hear his alarm go off and gasp “I’m sorry Fumi I didn’t mean to ruin your sleep”

He laughs “you didn’t. Trust me. But I do have to go to work. To get things set for you to be here.”

“Okay. I’ll text you. Be safe today Fumi”

—

His hands feel sweaty as he stands at the gates. Jesus. Was this even a good idea? Fuck he was so nervous. Your plan had landed he was just waiting for the doors to open. When the fight attendants opened the door he felt dark shadow getting nervous as well.

But then he saw you, a hat on your head and sunglasses on to try and stay inconspicuous in American airports but since you were here now you took them off and ran your hand through your hair before scanning the room.

Fuck you were so beautiful his mouth was dry. You were so cute in pictures and face time but it had nothing on you in person. You were an angel. This was a bad idea he was too in love to do this.

Your eyes meet his and you smile wide, your hat and glasses in one hand and a water bottle in the other as you start making your way to each other. You started off walking and weaving around the slow walkers but once you had space you couldn’t stop increasing your speed before you were running for him, your water bottle clanging to the ground as you dropped everything and threw off your backpack to slam into his strong arms, laughing as tears fall into his neck as you bury your face into him.

“Hey Fumi” you whispered and held you tighter. You smelled amazing. Like fresh air and rosemary. He couldn’t get enough. He held you tight to his chest and realized you felt smaller in his arms but then he realized when you left he was 5’5 and tiny. He’s grown a lot since then and even though you have changed too, he’s still a much larger man than he was before.

He dwarfed you. You never thought it was even possible. He held you completely and you never wanted him to let go. “Fumikage” you say as you pull back, making sure he keeps his arms around your waist. You reach up and run your hand down his long feathers down the back of his head “you’re much larger in person holy crap. and your feathers are so beautiful!!! Fumi!!. I forgot the beautiful shades in the darkness of the black. How are you still single Fumi you must be dripping with fans” You joked but your heart hurt saying it. You wanted to hear him say he wasn’t dating. That he has feelings for you.

He looks down at you and feels pride swell in his heart as you praise him, controlling the urge to fluff out his feathers when you call them beautiful.

“No one wants to date a fan” he says shutting down your investigative prodding at his love life, but then says “You’re one to talk you’ve changed so much but I didn’t even know it was possible to be this gorgeous. Don’t think I didn’t read about America’s most eligible bachelorette.”

Your cheeks flush with heat and you hide your face in his neck “oh hush Fumi. Always flustering me. Like you haven’t FaceTimed me every week. And that article was a joke” he sighs softly and you can see emotions swirling in his eyes.

“It’s different in person” he says and you sigh as you gaze up at him with a smile “it certainly is”

Once dark shadow decided to ruin the moment you remembered you were still in the airport. Fumi carried your big suitcase like it wasn’t a hundred pounds and before you could object dark shadow had your backpack across his back. Dark Shadow just laughed when you stuck your tongue out at him. “we’ve really missed you” he said when he handed you your water, your glasses and hat already on his body

—

You fall back into an easy rhythm with Fumikage, teasing and playing while talking in his car back to the apartment. After laughing so hard and catching your breath, you look over at his profile and your heart skips. The sun is hitting his feathers, his black button up shirt that was unbuttoned at the neck pulled at his biceps as his right hand rests against the shifter and his left hand was on the steering wheel. God you didn’t know if this was a good idea. You thought you were going back to your childhood home but being with Fumikage nothing has felt more like home than this.

“The boxes you sent over should be here in the next few days. If you need anything or don’t have something you can always come over, I have a spare key for emergencies” he’s going over a few things that it seems like he’s really thought about before you came. He was prepared and it warmed your heart. You smiled up at him as the elevator dinged for the fourth floor and he looked down at you eyes widening as he catches you staring. you smile and reach out, taking a gentle hold on his free hand near you and give it a soft squeeze. “Thank you Fumi. You think of everything. I’ve really missed that”

He doesn’t let go of your hand until he has to unlock his front door, you’d be staying the night with him and your agent was meeting you in the morning with the keys for your place.

his fingers tingle to grab for your hand again but he doesnt

“You can have my room, I’ll take the couch in my office. It’s a pull out.” You smile from your place standing on the landing just inside the door, watching as he disappears with your luggage down a hallway then comes back walking a little slower and playing with his hands like he does when he’s nervous.

The edge of the landing went down a couple steps and he stopped at the bottom edge “feel free make yourself at your home” he says with a nervous chuckle and you grin, running and jumping off the landing into his arms and burying your face in his shoulder.

“Oh Fumi eight years was too long” you whispered into him and he holds you up effortlessly, his beak brushing your shoulder and he curves into you, desperate to hold you after so long “way too long” he agreed.

———

The weeks seemed to fly by, you were settled into your apartment and you just got done with your first official week at the office.

“So, Tsukuyomi, Sir” you say with a smirk and lean against his open office door “how was my first day boss?”

He crosses his arms over his wide chest and gave you his best Boss look, making your heart flutter and causing your cheeks to heat up. you chuckled and tried not to show how flustered you were when you walked farther into his office. He stood from his desk and gave you a nod with a soft chuckle “you did well. I think you’re going to love it here. Let me take you to dinner tonight to celebrate”

——

He showed up at your door at seven and your breath catches in your throat when you see him. Black straight jeans with a black button up tucked in with a red tie and black boots. He looked divine. Like a god of the underdark. His hands were fixing his tie and you stepped forward, not missing the squeak of his own breath catching in his throat at the sight of you, and fixed his tie for him.

You had on a red dress and a black jean jacket that has rolled sleeves and pair of black booties that look like you could kick someone’s ass in them. His brain immediately short wired and all he can think is how well you look together. How right. How good. Fuck this was going to be harder than he thought to just be your friend but he didn’t want to you to think he was a sleaze or make you quit his agency.

Your hands fix his tie and then rest against his chest, when you see his flustered eyes and nervous body language you chuckle and lean up, kissing his beak gently, then wiping the lipstick with your thumb “you look really handsome Fumi” you say softly and he feels a whimper catch in his throat.

your eyes turn from him up to Dark Shadow who had on a matching tie “is it too much?” He asks and you laugh “you look good in it but I do think you pull off natural look best” he nods and salutes you “message received” before taking it off and tossing it into your apartment behind you.

When you look back to Fumi he’s glaring at Dark Shadow like he was a bad child and you chuckled before boldly taking his hand, hoping you read the signs right and that he did feel the same.

“Are you ready?” You ask and he nods, his fingers tighten around your hand as he relaxes, giving you a soft squeeze before placing your hand on his bicep and holding you close as he cleared his throat “I got a reservation at this new restaurant downtown” he says as you enter the elevator and you smile up at him “anywhere with you is perfect”

Dinner went by incredibly quick, you sat in a back booth, talking and laughing the whole night. It was a new restaurant that catered to people with any kinds of quirks and had surprisingly good tofu and fish. (I mean who’s gonna get the chicken on date with a bird?)

By the end of the meal he’s grabbed your hand over the table and is running his fingers against yours softly. “Thank you for tonight Fumi, I really feel like being here was the right choice. I would have came no matter what my agent said” his eyes widened a little

“Really?” He asks and you laugh with a grin “of course! You’re special to me and I just needed a good reason to come back home” your expression was so soft he felt those three words crawl up his tongue.

His eyes look serious for a moment as he looks at the way your hands look together “y/n I need to tell you something” he says and gets extra serious

“What is it?” You ask, trying to keep your voice neutral even tho you know your face screams ‘I’m worried now’

He meets your eye for a few long seconds before he shakes his head. He couldn’t. He couldn’t ruin this close friendship when he wasnt positive his feelings would be returned. “Never mind. It’s not that important. What do you say about dessert?”

He was leaning on the table on his elbows, close enough to reach out and touch over the tiny table, and so you did. You reach up and ran your fingers lightly over the edges of his feathers with a soft smile. “Of course Fumi. But how about we go to the cookie place by the park you always talk about. I know you like it and it’s a perfect night for a walk.” He swallows hard and nods “that’s a perfect idea” he says as he signals for the waiter to pay.

You hold his hand all the way to the cookie place, talking easily and joking around, but you keep hoping for the perfect moment to confess. You had a feeling that’s what he was going to do at the restaurant, it changed your heart and convinced you to take the leap, almost positive he felt the same.

You sit on a bench in the park, one with perfect view of the city skyline, eating your cookies and dark shadow is teasing you about the time you kept stealing Tokoyami’s poptarts from the dorm kitchen. Your cheeks are hot and you’ve turned yourself towards Tokoyami, your left hand on your cheek and your face hidden in his shoulder as you laughed together, your right hand rested on his kid thigh. It felt so easy. So absolutely right.

You drop your hand from your cheek and look up at Tokoyami with a soft smile, heart racing at the emotion you find in his eyes.

“I’m sorry for stealing your poptarts” you say and his throat catches again at the way your eyes seem to shine with love for him he almost feels it’s too much but he wants to dive deeper, to drown in the love he finds.

He chuckles and cups your cheek “I never cared. I had the hugest crush on you then”

Your heart skips and your cheek heats even more under his touch “and now?” You ask, voice barely above a whisper

“Now I’m so in love I don’t know if it’s even quantifiable” he says with a hint of exasperation as he leans down and presses his forehead to yours.

Your eyes flutter closed as your heart thrums against your ribs, his confession echoing in your head as fireworks explode in your heart. You press a kiss on his beak and your heart skips when you hear a gasp catch in his throat

“I’m in love with you too, Fumi” you say and he pulls you into a hug, nuzzling his beak into your neck, wanting to get close to you to show you how much he loves you the best he can since he can’t properly kiss you.

He nips softly at your neck skin and you giggle so sweetly he feels light headed. You pull back and kiss his cheek before looking into his eyes. He cups your cheek again “that’s what I wanted to say back at the restaurant”

You chuckle and smile, taking his hand you press gentle kisses against his palm, trailing a few down to his wrist before saying with a smirk “I know”

[brooke0297]

Electric Hammer to the Heart (A Julie and The Phantoms Fic)

Masterlist

First work for JATP and inspired partially by how I go absolutely rabid when I hear "Now or Never". Also inspired by how I just wanted a little fluff with Julie being a sixteen year old girl listening to good music. Hope you like it!

Julie had basically forgotten about the CD.

In the grand scheme of things, it was an easy detail to fall through the cracks when one accidentally summoned three ghosts, started a band, then saved said ghosts from being destroyed by another villainous ghost. All in the span of about a month.

Needless to say, she’d had a lot on her mind since then.

But now, she held the case in her hands and examined it. It felt like a lifetime ago that she had first put the disc in her mom’s stereo and pressed play.

Carlos had inconspicuously placed it on her dresser at some point. He had told her that it was the key to solving the mystery of the Molina’s ghost problem and how he had discovered her “holograms” were just the ghosts of three seventeen year old band members from 1995. Now it seemed he was done with it and had given it back to Julie.

There was a lot of weight to the disc in her hand, she realized. It was what brought her “phantoms” and three new best friends into her life. It was how she finally found her way back to music after losing her mom. And it was the last connection the guys had to their lives before the unfortunate street dogs incident.

Knowing Luke, Reggie, and Alex; this was the culmination of years and years of hard work. This, as well as the Orpheum gig, would have launched Sunset Curve into stardom. 

She suddenly realized she hadn’t even listened to the first song all the way through.

Well she had been thinking about putting on some new music to study to. And the guys were God knows where. They had been relishing in their newfound freedom after the Caleb incident, staying out all hours to visit clubs and music venues. She wouldn’t have to worry about playing their old stuff and embarrassing them.

She gently pulled the CD out of the case and popped it into the disc drive on her laptop. As she pulled up her music player, she could hear the whiring of the drive as it prepared to read the disc. By the time her music theory review had been pulled up, the disc had loaded and was ready to play.

The familiar sound of Luke’s guitar erupted from her speakers in the intro and she heard Owen count them in. There was a small moment of anticipation before the music began and Luke’s voice filled the room.

Take off, last stop

Countdown till we blast open the top.

Face first, full charge

Electric hammer to the heart.

Julie realized in all the time she’d heard Luke sing, she had never really heard his voice this gritty and breathless. It was a classic rock sound and Julie could feel her head begin bobbing as the others joined in.

Clocks move forward

But we don't get older, no

Kept on climbing

Till our stars collided

And all the times we fell behind

Were just the keys to paradise

Don't look down

'Cause we're still rising up right now.

And even if we hit the ground

We'll still fly

Keep dreaming like we'll live forever

But live it like it's now or never.

Julie was smiling in spite of herself. The lyrics just screamed Luke. There was so much passion and excitement in each lyric. She’d written with him enough to know that Luke’s words were never frivolous. He poured his heart into each one.

Hear the noise, in my head

It's calling out like a voice I can't forget

One life, no regrets

Catch up, got no time to catch my breath

Clocks move faster

Cause it's all we're after now, oh

Won't stop climbing

Cause this is our time, yeah

When all the days felt black and white

Those were the best shades of my life

Julie had stopped paying attention to her homework and was instead listening carefully to Alex’s drum beat. She could distinguish Reggie’s bass line out of Luke’s furious shredding and she felt herself grinning with pride. These were her amazingly talented band mates. Despite not knowing the words well, she began mouthing along to the chorus.

Don't look down

'Cause we're still rising up right now

And even if we hit the ground

We'll still fly

Keep dreaming like we'll live forever

But live it like it's now or never

We ain't searching for tomorrow (Tomorrow)

'Cause we got all we need today (Today)

There was Alex’s solo and Reggie’s response. She grinned. Julie decided she needed to speak to Luke as soon as she could about giving the guys more lines.

Living on a feeling that's been running through our veins.

We're the revolution that's been singing in the rain.

As the clapping kicked in, Julie was dancing in her seat.

Don't look down

'Cause we're still rising up right now

And even if we hit the ground

We'll still fly

Keep dreaming like we'll live forever

But live it like it's now or never

It's now or never (Now or never).

Luke’s guitar and the guy’s voices drifted out as the song ended and Julie realized she was breathless. As the next demo began (“Late Last Night”, according to the jacket), Julie sat back in her chair.

She knew Luke was an incredible songwriter and all three of the guys were amazing musicians. But hearing how much passion and joy they put into their first song made her appreciate her boys even more. She remembered what Luke had once said about the connection between musician and audience and how it was his dream to form that bond with everyone who listened to Sunset Curve. He had lived for music. He still did.

Julie was hit with a wave of appreciation for her band. They had definitely saved her when she had felt like she was drowning. It had been Luke’s words that had coaxed her into entering the studio and given her the courage to play again. The three of them had jumped up on the stage at her school to have her back the day she reentered the music program. And they had chosen possible destruction over abandoning the Phantoms and playing for Caleb at his Ghost club. Luke’s words from the night of the Orpheum came back to her.

“No music is worth making, Julie, if we’re not making it with you. No regrets.” 

Man, she really wanted a group hug right about now.

She snapped back to reality as the song changed a second time. “Lakeside Reflection”, which she thought she remembered Luke saying was inspired by Alex and his journey with coming out to his friends and family, began. She shook herself out of her musings and tried to focus on music theory.

She was able to finish the worksheet as the final demo (“In Your Starlight”) faded out. The songs were phenomenal and, instead of ejecting the disc, she clicked play on “Now or Never” again. Her room filled once again with the sounds of Luke’s guitar and she began to bob her head along. 

I didn’t realize how catchy this song is. Julie thought to herself as she sang under her breath.

When the song finished, Julie didn’t hesitate to hit the repeat button. Over and over she found herself listening to the song until eventually she was dancing around her room and jumping on her bed, holding her phone like a mic and singing at the top of her lungs.

“Don't look down! 'Cause we're still rising up right now!” She strummed her imaginary guitar like she imagined Luke would and laughed. It had been a while since she had jammed out by herself.

*****

“Boys, we are rocking it!” Luke exclaimed. He and the boys had poofed into the studio from the last club they had been at and Alex could see the familiar glint in his friend’s eyes. It usually signaled a breathless speech full of highlighting their potential and how important it was to strike while the iron was hot. He and Reggie agreed 100%, but sometimes (most of the time) Luke got carried away and one of them would have to try and bring him back to Earth.

“I mean, we were ten times better than those guys on that stage. We need to seize the moment and book some more gigs. Hey maybe Julie-”

“Where is Julie?” Reggie interrupted. Alex sighed, grateful for his friend and his usual lack of tact.

Luke seemed to snap out of his tirade when he realized their frontwoman was missing.

“She must be in the house. C’mon let’s tell her about that Foxes band we heard tonight.”

The boys poofed into the living room of the Molina house and glanced around, No sign of Julie.

“She’s probably in her room-wait a second.” Reggie cocked his head and listened. Luke and Alex glanced at each other before doing the same. Alex could hear the music coming from the direction of Julie’s room. But there was something familiar about the beat he could barely make out. 

“Hang on,” Luke said, “Is that…?”

“I can’t tell.” Reggie said. The three boys bounded up the stairs and huddled together around the door to Julie’s room, listening.

“Clocks move faster cause it's all we're after now, oh!”

“That’s us! That’s our song!” Reggie exclaimed. 

Luke was astonished. Julie was clearly listening to their demo CD. The one they’d been handing out for weeks to every music executive and promoter they could hassle before booking the Orpheum. He remembered that one producer had a DO NOT ALLOW poster with his picture on it after he and Bobby had hounded the guy for a month straight. He’d forgotten that Now or Never had been on this demo. It had once been one of his favorite Sunset Curve songs. The energy was a great encore song and it had gained a huge following amongst their fans. The last time he had played that song was…

“Should we go in there?” Alex asked. When Luke didn’t answer, the drummer hesitantly knocked. 

No answer.

“Maybe we should just go in? I mean, she probably didn’t hear us.” Reggie reasoned.

“You remember what happened the last time we barged into her room without permission.” Alex retorted. Before Reggie could reply, Luke had phased through the door and into the room. Alex and Reggie followed and the three of them paused at the scene that awaited them.

Julie was jumping around on her bed and singing the lyrics at the top of her lungs into her phone. Her hair was wild around her face and her eyes were shut as she belted the chorus.

“But LIVE IT LIKE IT'S NOW OR NEVER!”

“Julie!” Alex called over the music. When their singer didn’t respond, the boys glanced at each other.

“JULIE!” they hollered together.

Julie’s eyes snapped open and she shrieked when she realized the guys were standing in her room staring at her. The surprise was enough to throw her off her balance and she tumbled onto her stomach on her bed. When she regained her bearings, the guys were still staring at her but Alex and Reggie had lunged out to try and catch her. The music was still blaring and she scrambled to press pause.

Silence filled the room.

“Uh..hey guys! How was the club? Anyone good play tonight?” she asked nervously.

“Was that our demo?” Reggie asked. Julie fumbled.

“Uh..well I mean...ugh yeah it was. But I wasn’t intentionally keeping it from you I swear! I just didn’t want to make you sad or anything. And the last time I tried to listen was when three ghosts dropped into my garage so I didn’t really get to actually listen and--”

“Did you like it?”

The question came from Luke. He was looking at Julie with thinly veiled vulnerability in his eyes. It had always felt like sharing a piece of his soul when he gave out their demo. The boys had worked day and night, scrounging money from odds and end jobs, birthday money, and selling Bobby’s dad’s old furniture from the garage in order to afford the studio time. But it had paid off. Having a demo had set them up for booking more higher paying gigs until they’d finally booked the Orpheum. Luke had a lot of pride when it came to that demo. And Julie’s opinion was important to him. 

“Hmm?” she asked, not sure if she’d heard right.

“Did you like it? The song?” Luke clarified. The boys turned their gaze back to Julie.

“Well, yeah of course I did.” Julie answered, “I mean you did just see me bust a move on my bed, right?”

And there it was. Luke’s 1000 watt smile lit up his face and Julie mirrored it.

“We didn’t know you were a Sunset Curve fan!” Reggie bellowed in delight. Alex found himself grinning as well.

“Well duh! I mean, I wouldn't say they’re as good as Julie and the Phantoms but...” she jokingly trailed off and Reggie laughed.

“You really like the songs?” Alex asked.

“You guys, they were incredible! I mean Luke; the lyrics are insanely good and holy moly Alex we need to hear you sing more! And Reggie too!” Julie gushed. She was still riding the adrenaline from her scare, but she wanted to make sure the boys knew how much she loved their songs.

Reggie and Alex moved to clamor onto her bed to hear more and she turned to Luke.

“I’m sorry I didn’t listen to them with you guys though. I didn’t want to bring up any bad memories for you.”

Luke shook his head.

“No it’s… I’m just really happy you liked them. It’s been a long time since we heard those songs. Especially since Bobby didn’t steal them.”

Julie exhaled in relief.

“Okay but now I want to talk about maybe sampling some of your other demos. The bass line from “Lakeside Reflection” would be really cool…”

Luke laughed and joined his bandmates on her bed as Julie began to dissect the demo. There was a warm feeling in his chest that wasn’t going away anytime soon.

******

Thanks for reading everyone! Let me know what you think!

[prurientpuddlejumper]

A Punchable Face That I Want to Kiss, Ch. 6 [18+/NSFW]

<- Chapter 5 | Chapter 7 ->

Summary: Morning cuddles, smut, and kissing an insecure bastard man on his cute spooky face

2,373 words

The first thing you were aware of was a cold prickling of pins and needles rushing down your right arm like ice water. That made you stir. The next thing you remembered was that you were thirsty.

You flopped over to find that your glass of water on the nightstand was not on the nightstand you expected to see (your home one within arm’s reach), and was in fact, a million miles away, making it, to your just-woken-up brain, completely inaccessible. A buzz of excitement trembled your stomach like you had swallowed an electric outlet, and that outlet was filled with heart emojis.

Rubbing and flexing the pinpricks out of your arm first, you rolled back over, and there he was: Frederick Chilton lying next to you.

The faint upbeat trills and chirps of birdsong outside the bedroom window were the perfect accompaniment to the content you felt, an ode to winter melting into spring. You had missed this—you had missed him.

In the morning, he wasn’t the Dr. Frederick Chilton who was carefully put together for the rest of the world: his hair was a mess with soft tufts of brown sticking up in every which direction; his cheek was mushed into the pillow making him look a bit like a chipmunk, and there would be little red crease lines stamped into his skin from the pillowcase when he finally got up; unkempt stubble grew long in areas he would trim tidily; and he snored. He was yours, and only yours this way.

His scars were currently hidden from view, pressed into the pillow or draped with a sheet (except for his left eyelid which didn’t close properly, leaving a crescent of blue-white eye visible), but you still basked in the joy that he trusted you with his secret—that this twitchy man allowed you to see him vulnerable.

Dappled light streamed into the bedroom through a gap in the curtains. It was spacious, clean, and white, like most rooms in the palatial building, and still as impersonal as when he moved in, more like real estate staging than a home.

In fact, you were fairly sure he had kept the real estate staging to avoid having to decorate himself. There was a framed family picture in the foyer that you recognized as a stock photo. Everything was tidy and beautiful, but very little was his. Even Dr. Chilton couldn't hide the fact that a human being lived here, however, and a few personal touches bore witness to his guarded personality—a reading room stuffed with books on psychiatry, criminology, and books he had written (tucked away on an inconspicuous bottom shelf you discovered his stash of romance novels and homoerotic art)—but in the bedroom the only signs of his presence were the closet full of suits and gaudy ties, the bathroom full of prescriptions and cosmetics, and an ornate umbrella stand for his cane.

His eyelids twitched, and slowly opened to you staring at him. A soft, sleepy, adoring smile pulled the corner of his mouth up from the pillow, as if he awoke from a pleasant dream to find he was still in one.

Then the haze of sleep cleared and he realized you were staring at him. At his face. His blood went cold. He stopped breathing.

You saw his nostrils flare and knew that panic was overtaking him, and behind his eyes there brewed the question of pushing you away again. Before he could reach that point, you smiled and whispered, “Thanks for letting me stay.” You ducked under his surprisingly muscular arm and buried yourself in his chest, so you weren’t looking at anything he was uneasy about you seeing. His body relaxed. Tucking his chin over your head possessively, he began to rub lazy circles over your back. Your legs intertwined with his until you were a warm tangle of limbs and blankets.

“I have never been with a cuddler,” he murmured. “You’re cuddly. You cuddle.”

You almost didn’t understand what he was saying, you were so lost in the baritone reverberations of his chest against your ear. When it clicked, you almost laughed in confusion. “What?”

“What?” he snapped.

“What do you mean, like… you’ve been with people who didn’t cuddle you? There are people who don’t like to cuddle?”

“Yes,” he said as if this were kindergarten-level stuff.

“Seriously?”

“It is what I said, is it not? Forget I spoke!”

You quickly worked to pacify his easily-bruised ego, massaging your fingers through his soft swathe of chest hair. After a few gentle circles, he calmed down again, reclining his head on the pillow with a lazy yawn.

“Sorry, it’s just bizarre to me,” you said, still nestled on his chest. “How do you live without snuggling?”

He chewed the inside of his lip and gave it thought for the first time. “Poorly,” he concluded.

“Is it weird how much I cuddle?”

“Irrefutably, my dear.”

“Do you like it?”

“Of course.” Proving his point, he wrapped his arms around you harder and kissed the top of your head, down your temple, and across your eyes until finding your lips, then buried himself in the crook of your neck for a long while, just holding you.

As you lay comfortably half awake, you became aware little by little of his cock rubbing against your thigh every time one of you shifted. A dull ache awakened between your legs. You felt him growing harder, and started rocking your hips with more purpose, your breath more erratic.

His hand slipped between your legs under the covers feeling your arousal, and a kaleidoscope of sensation burst to life under your skin, making you drunk with need. You slipped off your underwear and he hastily rid himself of his, his heart beating like a snare drum.

His lips met yours, eager and hot, searching, as he rubbed his cock against your entrance.

He pulled back, remembering something missing.

“One moment. I shall go put my face back on,” he blushed, pushing off from the bed, then joked with a worried grin, “Stay aroused.”

You caught his wrist. “Leave them out. I want your real face.”

Shoulders deflating, he stared back at you stone faced—or what was meant to be stone faced but for the trembling in his lip and an involuntary twitch of first one cheek, then the other. He turned away and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. Your heart sank, but then he opened the bedside stand, pulled out the lube, and returned.

It started slow and sweet, an extension of your cuddling with lots of kissing and reassuring caresses. He was uncertain of himself like this, but he trusted you—he wanted to trust you. He wanted to give you whatever it was you desired, and this was what you asked for. You were so strange, to want him without any masks on, even when the truth beneath them was ugly. Part of him was jumpy, waiting for you to gag and tell him to cover his ruined eye. It was going to sting dreadfully when you did, he was so vulnerable. Yet, another part was curious what it would mean if you accepted him completely. The idea of it was dizzying.

He lay on his side facing you, but keeping you pressed too close along the length of his body to easily find his face. Exploring hands roved over you, encouraging you to nuzzle into him more, ghosting breathy kisses over his skin in your warm little cave between the pillow and his neck. Your leg was thrown over his hip, and he began to glide his glistening cock over your entrance, spreading the lube and a growing heat, rocking back and forth until you were twitching.

He made sure you were slick and ready to take him before easing inside slowly, just the head working you open. You adjusted the angle of your torso, pulling your face out from under him to gain better leverage as you rolled your hips slowly against his, feeling the stretch as your body took more of his girth. You ran your fingers up the back of his neck and embedded them in his messy hair, ruffling it more. Nibbling his lower lip, you whispered, “you feel so good,” and felt the shiver run up his spine. He was a slut for praise.

Once you had adjusted to being filled, and the thin thread of pain interwoven with the pleasure faded into a comfortable, tantalizing pressure, you pushed him back onto the mattress and straddled him. Riding his cock, you took him deeper, and deeper, setting a steady, but unhurried pace. You wanted to savor it. His hands cupped the curve of your ass, squeezing as he bucked his hips up into you, hitting a point so deep you gasped his name. “Frederick,” you repeated with more heat, “your cock feels so fucking good.” You wanted him to know how much you worshiped him, but every time you gazed down at his face, your eyelids heavy with lust, his nostrils flared.

“Do not stare.”

You tried to comply. To make him comfortable. You wanted to admire your wounded man, but he was still getting used to you knowing at all, so you closed your eyes for him and focused on the feeling of your bodies joining, and the sounds of his exertion. But when his breathing grew ragged and you could imagine the lewd, needy expression he was making, you couldn’t help peeking.

His eyes were locked on your face, so he noticed. Immediately.

“I told you…” He gave an annoyed scowl, “Not to…” flipped you onto your stomach, “look!” and took you again, burying his full length in a single rough thrust.

You moaned loudly at the sudden pressure. “Oh, doctor, I’ve been so bad,” you goaded him on. He growled in your ear at the bait, nipping your neck punitively. Sliding a hand under you to work your aching heat, he pounded you hard from behind, driving you into the mattress. He was losing all control, falling apart, and it drove you wild. The warm ache quickly grew into an urgent burn. Every muscle in your body tightened in anticipation as you arched your back, angling your hips to meet his, searching for sweet release. Your moans grew louder with each merciless thrust stretching and filling you until you came hard with a scream, biting a pillow so the entire neighborhood wouldn’t hear. He fucked you through your climax before snapping his hips against your ass bruisingly hard, and pulling you toward him at the same time to fuck you deeper than you thought possible. Hot semen flooded your insides. Load after load kept coming as his pelvic muscles twitched and spasmed against your ass until there was not enough room to contain all of it, the extra dripping out around his cock and pooling on the expensive sheets.

You panted, letting out a breathy, shaking moan of relief. He sank on top of you, and you could feel his body trembling, hear him taking deep breaths through the nose to calm himself.

“God, that was amazing,” you sighed blissfully.

He was silent, and you wondered if everything had been too much for him, too soon. Then he answered, “I am great. I do not know if I would say God, but… very well. I accept the title.”

“Oh my god,” you laughed at the worst joke ever, rolling yourself out from under him.

“Yes?” he responded with mock impatience, propping himself on his elbow. “It is I, what prayers do you need answered?”

You groaned loudly and smooshed his big dumb face in your hands. You had never pegged him as the type for dad jokes, and actually… you loved it.

Suddenly you wondered what he’d be like as a father. Images of kids running his mansion’s hallways, scrawling crayon drawings all over the pristine white walls, and him saying, “Hi, hungry, I’m dad!” flashed through your mind. Fuck. If you had kids, you’d have to move into a normal home and pretend not to be rich so they wouldn’t grow up to be snobs like their father…

...And you were getting way ahead of yourself.

“What is it?” He asked softly but with a tinge of color at his cheeks from being stared at so dreamily as you seemed to drift off into your own world. Nobody had ever looked at him like that.

“Nothing,” you said. “I love you.”

He kissed you on the forehead warmly, and you could feel his lips smiling against you. He wasn’t sure if he would ever get used to hearing those beautiful, heady words. They set him reeling every time. You were so odd, so impossible to explain within his worldview, the way you loved him. Perfection, status, money, appearances—all of the currency that ruled his life you shrugged off like it was nothing, and then you saw his grotesque disfigurement and you loved him.

Drawing back, his mouth tightened into a skeptical line, and he studied your face clinically. “Dysmorphophilia,” he said.

“What?” you blinked.

“A paraphilia. Sexual arousal derived from a physically deformed partner.” He began his dry explanation in a doctor-like monotone, but then a slyness crept into his voice and he shook his head with a tsk-tsk. “I always knew you were... peculiar.”

“Do you have to diagnose my feelings for you?”

“Of course not. Normally I would charge for my services. This, you may consider a favor.”

“You are the worst.”

He gave a short, satisfied hum. The corner of his mouth twitched up, and one sassy shoulder shrugged. “You love me,” he boasted.

With an annoyed groan, you pulled him on top of you so his lips were inches from yours, and his green eyes watched you with trepidation (rather, one watched, and the ghostly eye followed the green’s lead). Your heart hammered in your chest, even though you were still sticky with sex and there should have been nothing left to be shy or flustered about. “I do, you know. I really do.”

[ohdearhiddles]

SUMMARY: Thirteen years post-breakup and Tom still takes your breath away. You were once young and childish, and you had wanted more than he should have given. Years later, just the sight of him causes your heart to flutter, but what about him?

TITLE: To Fall in Love Again

WORD COUNT: 2837

AUTHOR NOTES/WARNINGS: Kinda angsty I guess? I tried to be vague with the ages, but it was kind of hard since the idea of the story was based off of time gap, so my apologies! There will most likely be a second part to this just because I genuinely didn’t think that the next part belonged in the same part as this so yeah :) (AO3 Link)

He was beautiful.

Some people truly aged with grace, and despite Thomas William Hiddleston being 14 years older than when you had met him that fateful afternoon, he had certainly been one of the lucky ones. His curly locks were much longer now and dyed and a gorgeous black, and his smile - oh god, his smile - was still as dazzling and absolutely breathtaking as it had been many years ago.

Of course, though, the Tom standing before you was not the same one you had known.

This Tom had become so very loved by those around him; a true gentleman among men. He was even more humble and lovely as when you had met him from all that you could tell, and for a moment you wondered if he would even recognize you. You were but an average woman among the many beautiful women that graced his presence, and suddenly, you found yourself recalling the day that you had expressed that you felt as though you would hold him back.

Back then, his career and age intimidated you greatly. So much so that you had cut him out of your life like the immature young adult you had been - a regretful mistake that you came to terms with a long while afterward.

Now, you were a dapper, older woman, calm and sophisticated as you were meant to be. The childish side of you had long been hidden away and you when you weren’t reminded of how you once were, you didn’t mind the absence of such childish bliss. You didn’t believe you had aged as well as Tom did; in fact, you were certain that you looked even closer to his age than you had before. You could definitely have passed for a woman in her late thirties.

Fans crowded around the lovely man you had once loved more than life itself, and you felt a sharp throb in your chest. You stood farther back, holding a cup of coffee that had chilled significantly since you had gotten it, but you weren’t about to throw it away just yet. It gave you something to do with your hands at least.

His smile was radiant, and you wondered what on earth he was doing in the grand old city of New York. Women and men alike flocked like birds around the newest shiny object they had found. It was then that you noticed the small booklets in their hands. Playbills. Hurriedly, you looked around the area for signs adorning the exterior of theaters for any indication on why he was there.

Spotting a poster on a nearby wall, your jaw dropped. Broadway.

A small proud, smile played at your lips as you approached the sign. Tom loved acting, you knew that very well, and you had always tried to be as supportive as can be. But back then, you were still a child - an irritable, greedy child who had no business being with such a loving and considerate man that had his eyes set on the stars.

You recalled the day you looked yourself in the mirror, suddenly hating the type of lover you had become in spite of all Tom had given you. When he gave you his time, you had begged for more, and when he gave you his heart, you asked for his soul. Nothing had been good enough for you until the day you decided that enough was enough. Love was not about taking from him, borrowing his time and spending his affections like spare change. It was about acceptance and maintaining what you had.

If only you had known that before everything turned sour.

Your heart fluttered at the reminder of the days in which your relationship was flourishing, growing like the most beautiful flower among weeds. Although you and Tom had only dated for about a year, when it was good, it was good. He had never failed to make you laugh or make you feel loved, and that was exactly the problem. However, even flowers die when the seasons change and the air grows cold. That’s exactly what had happened. Your relationship became a weed, poisoned by all that surrounded it and you had believed it was all your fault.

One crucial moment had destroyed it all. The day you had said that you wanted more, more everything, and Tom had gladly agreed to give it to you. Every second after that moment was still vivid in your mind. The feeling of pure horror that overtook you as you watched a man say that he valued you more than his career, more than anything, was something you would never forget. Who were you to ask him to do that?

Nobody, was what you had decided. You were nobody. You had to accept it.

The relationship spiraled from there. The kisses became chaste and the sex became stale - passion was mistakenly shoved away. Tom’s smiles slowly withered in time, and your soul slowly blackened, becoming a void that sucked the life from him.

It took 46 days for things to end, and it took 598 days for you to pick up all the pieces of your shattered being after it all happened. And if you were honest, no one was ever enough even after him. Even now, you had tried to be exactly what was asked of you, asking for nothing in return because of a lingering fear that you would ask for far too much.

For years, you watched Tom become the actor and man he had always dreamed of becoming. He became a face that so many could recognize, and you were now certain that if you were to approach him, you would look like nothing more than a woman seeking attention that did not belong to you.

You dragged your eyes away from the poster, looking over at the crowd of people. The thought to approach was more than just appealing. But it didn’t feel right to approach him despite it all. You were someone from his distant past; you had no claim on him, no reason to make him reminisce something you had neglected. The again, you were still very much the same as you once had been deep inside, and today you wanted to allow her to take hold.

Hesitantly making your way to the crowd, you didn’t push or shove. You hovered in the background, looking on as a fans asked him signatures and pictures. And then you heard it - the ringing laughter that melted every bit of ice that had formed around your heart. You shut your eyes briefly, cherishing the sound that you didn’t dare to admit you missed. 13 years after the break up, and he still made you feel like a teenager.

When you opened your eyes, he was standing even closer. Actually, it looked as though he was trying to go on his merry way, but with so many people, you supposed that it was probably much more difficult to leave than it seemed. Especially for him if he was any bitt as apologetic and kind as he was before.

The crowd began to disperse slowly but surely, but you lingered You stayed towards the back, keeping a distance between yourself and the man that still made your heart race. You were hoping to remain as inconspicuous as possible, but it was becoming increasingly worrisome as he slowly got closer.

People began to gather around you, indicating his approach, but you stayed where you were. It would seem terribly awkward to walk away now, so you planted your feet in the ground and took root. Tom stood approximately ten feet away, and you began to feel sick. This was a bad idea, you thought to yourself.

An unforgiving shove distracted you from your unease as your lukewarm coffee fell to the ground, splashing against the pavement. A few people turned their heads, questioning you on if you were alright, but you couldn’t find a way to respond. A familiar face stood before you, a worried look in his eyes and you stared back at him, not knowing how to make any coherent sentences.

“Are you alright?” He inquired, and you froze. You were sure he didn’t recognize you, and a feeling of relief washed over you, but it was quickly replaced with the familiar sting in your chest. His voice was like velvet, or perhaps it resembled a melodic tune that you wanted to sing constantly. You weighed your options on how to respond, but nothing came to mind.

“I’m sorry,” you blurted, ignoring the stares of those around you.

Oh, were you sorry. It wasn’t coffee that you were apologizing for, or the tiniest of splashes that made it’s way onto Tom’s pants. At that second, you were 13 years younger standing in front of a younger version of Tom, apologizing like you should have instead of running away. You were apologizing for the incessant rambling, the late phone calls that kept him up far longer than it should have, the greed you had held for his time, and the manipulation of his love.

Those two words held more meaning than anything you had ever said before, and you so desperately wanted to explain it all. You wanted to tell him that now, standing before him, you could feel yourself falling in love all over again. You wanted to tell him that you watched every movie, series, play, and poetry reading he had done. The only one you seemed to have not been aware of was his current escapade. You wanted to tell him that if you could do it all again, you would have been better. You should have been better.

Tom’s face was blank as he stared at you. You looked around you, a blush rising to your cheeks as everyone seemed to wait for your interaction to end. So, you took the first step. You lifted your hand, holding it out for him to shake. He reciprocated the action, eyes still trained intently on your face and the tears welling up in your eyes, but you hoped that it would be mistaken as tears of joy. A shaky laugh escaped your lips as you shook hands.

“It was nice meeting you,” you said, smiling up at the beautiful man as your heart plummeted to the ground. Everything was starting to feel hazy, and maybe that’s why it felt as though his grip had tightened and his touch had lingered significantly longer than it should have. Perhaps that’s why, as you turned to leave, you could have sworn that your name had slipped past his lips like a silent promise.

You weaved your way through the crowd, eyes trained on the ground as you began to regret the interaction. Your pulse was erratic as you walked away, hoping that the rest of the day would drown out this unforeseen meeting that you had voluntarily made worse for yourself. As you exited the crowd, the voices of everyone around you seemed to hush. All except one.

Tom’s voice bounced off of invisible barriers, an echo that made its way to you. It stopped you in your tracks as he called your name over and over again until a hand was grasped around your wrist. Turning quickly, you see the crowd had not followed him. They all stood in their spot, stares all directed at you.

He repeated your name once more, and you blinked in disbelief.

“Yes?” You all but squeaked. It must have been a funny sight - a woman of your age squeaking a reply like a child.

“It is you, isn’t it?” He repeated.

“It’s me,” you spoke, eyes wandering to where his fingers touched your arm.

His eyebrows furrowed as he scanned you up and down. It wasn’t an intrusive look, but it still made you uncomfortable after all these years of thinking you would never see him again. Then, out of nowhere, a wonderful thing happened. Tom pulled your arm, wrapping his own around your waist as if you had never done him wrong. He inhaled deeply before withdrawing from the embrace, a smile that you had dreamed about far too many times gracing his features.

“I didn’t recognize you at first, I apologize,” he breathed, hands still on your shoulders. “I wasn’t,” he paused. “I wasn’t expecting to run into you.”

“That makes two of us,” you mumbled under your breath, and a hearty laugh resonated within him.

“How are you?” He asked, voice filled with sincerity.

For once, you didn’t know what to say to that. How were you? You didn’t think about it all too much, and when you did, you chose not to dwell on it as much as you probably should have. The last thing on your mind was to worry about your own sanity and wellbeing.

“I’m doing good,” you said, knowing that the answer was bland and as generic as possible.

Tom seemed to not truly believe the statement, and you figured that you wouldn’t believe it either if your crazy ex started crying and pretended not to know you after over a decade of seeing one another. “How about you?”

“I’m doing well,” he replied, his smile faltering before he sighed. Liar. “Actually, if I’m being honest with you, I’m quite tired lately.”

You nodded, not knowing what to say in response as Tom’s hands dropped to his sides. The silence dragged out and you found yourself beginning to turn to leave.

“Well, it was nice seeing you,” you mumbled.

“Wait,” Tom spoke, reaching out again before pulling his hand back. “Wait.”

The next few seconds were a blur as he pulled his phone out of his pocket, typing away before holding it out for you to take. You eyed it suspiciously before taking it from his hands. “I heard you got a new number back then, but if you don’t mind,” you suppressed a gasp as you watched a small rosy tint appear on his cheeks. “I’d like to catch up sometime soon.”

It was then that you smiled, a true genuine smile, “I’d really like that.” So, you looked at the screen to type away. What you saw, though, was not what you had expected. An old picture from back when the two of you were together sat in the contact photo, and your name and old number were still typed out in their designated spots.

When you handed the phone back to the gentleman, you pulled your own phone out of your pocket and held it out for him to take. “Yours too.”

You watched in admiration as his long, nimble fingers tapped against the screen, typing his information into your contacts. After handing it back, he smiled, holding his arms out again as if he were asking for another hug. Not seeing the harm, you allowed yourself to be engulfed by his body, and right before you pulled away, Tom whispered: “I’ve missed you more than you know.”

So, when the two of you went your separate ways, you couldn’t help the heat that had risen to your face. You truly felt a decade younger as you walked away, not sure how to take that sentence. What had he missed? Did he miss you the way you missed him?

“I missed you, too,” you whispered to no one in particular, glancing back to see Tom’s eyes on your retreating form. And in that moment you wondered if it would be possible to fall in love again, and for him to fall in love with you.

After closing the door to your home, you felt a soft vibration in your pocket, and you felt as though a small sliver of hope had shone through the endless night you had grown accustomed to as you read it. It was a text that reminded you that, at one point, Tom had understood you better than you understood yourself. Even now, he still somehow understood you as if he could read your mind.

I forgot to tell you, but don’t apologize. I would do it all again in a heartbeat.

What? You typed up the response before hitting send. Within seconds, the three dots in a bubble appeared on the screen, showing that he was already typing his answer.

You said sorry when you saw me. Am I wrong?

I did.

Don’t apologize. 

A second text chimed in less than a second later.

Unless you would like to make it up to me. 

Your eyebrows knitted together in confusion as you read the text.

How so? You asked, nothing in particular crossing your mind when you thought about it.

Go to dinner with me tomorrow. Let’s make up for some lost time.

That was probably the last thing you had ever expected. These types of things were reserved for movies and books that you would never be a part of. But despite the thought that you were getting played, you did not have the heart to turn him down. Who were you to tell him no?

Okay.

[spooderdood-blog1]

Royalty (Part One)

Series Summary: (Bucky x POC! reader) After the events of CA:CW, Bucky joins the Avengers in attempting to defeat HYDRA. Reader is a former Wakandan queen who was kidnapped by HYDRA in the 1960′s and is currently a super soldier for them.

Chapter Summary: A mission with the Avengers brings back some memories Bucky wasn’t sure he wanted to regain. 

Warnings: Character death (minor, I’m not that bad of a person... yet), angst.

Word Count:

Author’s note: Hello, friends! I know this chapter has been long awaited, and I’m sorry about that. Work and school have been taking up all of my time, but I’m soo excited to share this with you all! I do not know T’Challa’s actual date of birth, so I put 1985. If anyone knows it, please message me so I can edit the story. Thanks for Reading! :)

Wakanda, 1992

“T’Challa! Shuri! Come this way!” Both children began running towards their father, his arms spread as he kneeled down to give them a hug. They met him at full force, giggles escaping their mouths as it as the first time they’d seen their father in days due to his diplomatic ventures as King of Wakanda. Ramonda stood behind them, appreciating the joy that the scene in front of her displayed.

“Father, Shuri and I had a question,” T’Chaka released his children to view his son peering up at him with wide eyes, looking slightly shy and nervous.

“Yes, my son?”

“How come we’ve never met your sister? You talk about her with mother, but we never see her,” T’Challa watched his father physically recoil at the mention of his older sister. His father was the strongest man he knew, and the young boy quickly regretted asking his father a question that gave the king of an entire country such pause. T’Chaka placed on hand on each of their shoulders, consoling them both as they knew based on his reaction they had drudged up something.

“She went missing when I was young, younger than you are now, my children,” he softly smiled at both of them, “I don’t know what happened to her. I only know that she would be so very proud of the both of you, exactly as I am.”

-

New York, 2017

Bucky adjusted the cuffs on his jacket, looking at himself in the mirror and attempting to make himself look presentable for his undercover mission. This wasn’t his first rodeo after time in cryofreeze, but he still was nervous. He had this instinctive ache in his bones that made him feel uneasy, like something was going to jump out right whenever everyone had gotten comfortable.

“Agent Barnes, your presence is requested in the conference room by Mr. Stark,” the AI made Bucky jump as he could see his eyes widen in the mirror. While he’d being living in quarters equipped with FRIDAY and the technological advancements of the century for several months, the voice that you could just barely tell wasn’t human still alarmed him quite a bit.

He mumbled his thanks to the AI as he put his watch on and made sure his phone was plugged in by the wall. He didn’t hate all the technology of this century but he really didn’t like cellphones. That, combined with the fact that he felt uneasy about his first undercover operation with the Avengers was enough to make anyone uneasy. His dread was quickly interrupted by a voice feeding through one of the many rooms in Stark Tower.

“Barnes, I know you aren’t ignoring my or my AI,” Tony called out over the speaker, no doubt jut as ready to get this over with as everyone else. Tony Stark always enjoyed a lavish party, which was why Bucky was surprised that he, Natasha, and Sam were the only ones taking part in the small intel operation.

Bucky approached the conference room, desperately trying to loosen the tenseness that had been forming in his muscles since he tied his tie. He had cut his hair and shaved earlier in the week, hoping to not look as much like the Winter Soldier that could be so easily identified. He opened the door to the conference room, Steve and Natasha immediately giving him a nod as he closed the door behind him.

“Well, now we know what took you so long, Barnes. Glad you could finally join us,” Tony nodded at one of the empty seats on the left side of the table, Bucky sitting down next to Sam. Tony began again without much pause.

“This mission is just intel. Nat, you approach the target, get information out of him. Wilson, Barnes, you guys are there in case there is a need for back up; otherwise, let Romanoff do her thing. The point of this mission is to gain intel on a new asset HYDRA is reportedly engineering. We don’t know much, only that their intention is to use it in the same way they did the Winter Soldier,” Bucky visibly tensed as Tony pulled up several pictures of murders HYDRA had likely pulled off, the rest of Tony’s words fading into static, white noise.  He felt like he couldn’t escape, like no matter how much work into getting away or getting better he put in, it wouldn’t be enough. It made him want to scream and pull out his hair and run 10 miles; he wanted to laugh out loud at the fact that he would live to be 100 years old but he couldn’t find any peace. Most people his age craved some kind of discourse, some kind of excitement; he’d take a rocking chair on some porch in South Florida any day before this shit again. He felt something touch his shin under the table, and he glanced up to see Natasha squinting at him, her chin tilted back in assessment. He felt like she was the only one who would understand him sometimes. He hated that. Not that he had a problem with Tasha, he loved her like you love a younger sister. He had a problem with the fact that someone else felt just as poorly as he had for almost as long.

Tony finally finished talking, but Bucky remained seated for a second, trying to rope it all in. He ran a hand down his face, exhaling deeply and putting his elbows on the edge of the table. He could see Steve going up to Sam in his peripheral, could he see Steve gently moving to adjust Sam’s bowtie, and Sam gently smacking his chest and laughing quietly. Bucky smirked at the idea, the breath of a memory of skinny Steve Rogers in 1939, blushing madly at the idea of holding anyone’s hand in public, and now Bucky knew he had a ring hidden in his pocket to give to Sam. Bucky wanted something like that. Someone that grounded him the way Sam did for Steve. Natasha pulled him out of his thoughts by gently touching his shoulder, gesturing towards the door while trying to meet his eyes and catch some hint that he was okay. He gave her a nod, pushing himself up from the table and moving towards the door.

“Not so fast, James. You-“

“What, Nat? What sage wisdom do you have to offer me this time? What can you say to me that is going to cure whatever the hell we’re going to find out at that dinner party? That I have to find out some guy is suffering the same fate I did? That Steve threw away three years of his life and a semblance of a good relationship with Stark for us to have to defeat God knows how many more of the same assassins we were?” Natasha let out a breath, crossing her arms over her chest and nodding towards the door.

“C’mon Barnes, you know they don’t make ‘em like they used to. There’s no way anyone could take you down. We’ve gotta leave anyway, Bucky, the gun strapped to my thigh is getting cold,” Bucky let out a breathy, humorless chuckle at her comment, placing his hands in his pockets and following her out the door.

Sam and Bucky were leaned against opposite ends of the bar, glancing around the party and trying to inconspicuously look out for Natasha, who was draped all over the side of some booth across from some sleazy guy who she had to gain intel from. All of them had earpieces that were synced together in case they needed to make a break for it. Bucky stirred from his spot when he heard heavily accented English order a drink, causing him to turn his head. All the breath in his lungs quickly left as she saw the most beautiful woman he’d ever laid eyes on leaning against the bar next to him. His eyes moved up from a pair of deadly black stilettos and a floor-length purple dress to smartly pinned back hair and black eyes. The woman tilted her chin back, glancing at Bucky.

“Purple doesn’t really seem like a fall color to me,” Bucky said before he could stop himself. He was on a mission. He was supposed to help gain intel and watch out for Nat, pass lines on this ethereal woman waiting on her amaretto sour.

“Neither is that blue suit, yet here we both are at a party in October. And if I had a say in it, we both look too good for people to care about seasonal colors,” this caused Bucky to scoff, knowing that now he probably woudn’t be able to stop the comments from coming. Even after half a century of mental and physical torture, Bucky still has a certain amount of charm.

“I was hoping someone would acknowledge the effort I put into this outfit,” this caused the woman to raise her eyebrows, and Bucky couldn’t help but notice her soft lips stretch into an easy grin.

“Well, I’m glad it could be me. My name is Adaeze, and that must make you?” She peered at him inquisitively, as if she were trying to guess who he is. He glanced at her, hoping she hadn’t started to recognize him.

“Its uhm,” he had been doing so great until this moment, so charming and peasant and now he’d forgotten his entire cover story, “its Ryan.”

Bucky wanted to crawl behind the bar and vomit. Adaeze’s amaretto sour was handed to her, and she lifted the glass in Bucky’s direction.

“To wearing the wrong colors, but meeting the right people, James,” she nodded at him, downing her drink and then leaving, He smiled at her until she walked away. He looked over at Natasha, realizing she was alone at the booth, glancing at her watch. He glanced at Sam, who looked bored out of his mind. Bucky had about thirty seconds more of clarity before he realized that the woman who said her name was Adaeze had called him James, not Ryan.

Bucky almost dropped his champagne on the way to Sam, cover be damned. Or it looked like it already was. Bucky was five steps shy of Wilson when a blood-curdling scream let out, coming from a coat closet. A woman made her way out of the small room, shouting something about someone being dead. Bucky and Sam met eyes before walking over to the room, seeing that the dead body belonged to the man Natasha was sitting with earlier.

Tony, Sam, and Natasha were all back in the conference room by the time Bucky walked in after changing, bringing Steve in tow. Bucky sat across from Sam rather than beside, deciding to give Steve the proper amount of time to mother hen around his boyfriend while Tony spoke to them about what happened.

“I wasn’t able to get any intel. He was just interested in securing plans after the gala, and he said he was going to the bathroom, and then his body was discovered,” Natasha cleared her throat after finishing her side of the story.

Tony nodded, typing away on his laptop, “Friday, can you pull security footage from the hotel please? The clip I played earlier?” The AI confirmed, the lights dimming in the room so they could all see the screen once Tony started playing the video.

“Before I play the security footage, I did some research on the supposed asset that is in the video. Her name is (Y/N) Udaku, a not-so-distant relative of our feline friend. If my research serves correctly, she is his aunt,” a picture was projected on the wall: one of T’Challa’s grandparents, a young girl in front of the couple, as well as a baby in their arms.

“She disappeared in the 1960’s as a child, and hasn’t been publicly sighted since then. At least, that’s what everyone thought,” Tony pressed play, a video of the gala in the hotel playing. The coat closet coming into view. Bucky’s stomach lurched as he saw the now dead man walk into the closet, and less than a minute later, a floor length purple dress. Bucky coughed loudly, Steve glancing back at him in confusion. Bucky nodded in his friends direction, focusing back on the screen to see the woman who claimed to be Adaeze move down the hallway and exit the hotel right before the commotion started.

SERIES TAGS: @sanjariti​ , @peachyysuugar​ , @learisa​

[extraplanetarystory]

Part 3

"Xue'nun!" Pilot, surprisingly spry for what looked like a man in his early seventies, hopped onto a stage to the right of the hall. Behind him, I could just see the heads of five men and women and four qicuqop. The qicuqop were all short, except the one that towered over the other three by a head and neck. As far as I knew, that meant that one was the female. That was the only way I could figure out the difference besides asking, and I didn't like to ask.

His voice was just loud enough to overpower the academy hopefuls—who I noticed were all human—and they all fell silent. From my wall-flower position by the doors, I could just barely see everyone on the platform, unless I stayed on the absolute tip of my toes. Which was tiring.

"This is going to be short," Pilot continued, another wide grin slowly pulling across his face. "Both my introduction and this program. In exactly seven days' time, you will know your Zega future. That doesn't exist for vast majority of you, as it's most likely that most of you will be gone before then." He paused to let a soft murmur rise from the crowd. It cut itself short as quickly as it started. "I hate to crush your hopes... Actually, no, I don't. I've been doing this for a while."

He stopped, chuckling to himself, and turned to the humans on the platform. They shook their head and rolled their eyes. He looked at the qi'qop. The female mimicked the humans. One of the short ones was nodding.

I knew I was going to be one of those losers for sure. For absolutely sure. One week? There's no way. This realization had me thinking that maybe I would actually participate. If I was sure to fail—which I was—at least I could make Tawyn happy that I gave it the old college try.

"I know what you're thinking!" Pilot went on. "Vad'n-teaj is this old man talking about? This isn't how it's done. This wasn't how it's done, but we decided to change things. Instead of seven tests, you will be given one. One test to decide if you get a chance to see Sa'cra. One test to decide if you get to visit any planet you want. One test to decide if you get to be the ones to discover what's at the edge of the known galaxy."

Wow, Pilot was dramatic. And inspiring.

He went on, less dramatically, to explain how today and then the rest of the week would play out. The first day, we are assigned into teams of three. First day, we meet our team members, get acquainted with each other and the tower. And then the second day and so on begins the real fun. We receive an assignment and have to finish it. And during all that, people were going to be dismissed. I couldn't wait for my turn.

Symbols appeared on the walls around us, cuing him to dismiss us to the day. We had to line up according to our names.

Oh, really, I was going to fail my first test already?

I wandered through the crowd, trying to pick out people saying their names and coordinating them with the letters on the walls. I know I'd seen my own name written down a couple of times. They wrote it for me. I couldn't remember any part of it. I couldn't remember the first stinking letter of it.

I was going to fail my first test already.

The lines that formed around the hall were starting to combine into a noisy circle of chatter in the center as they waited. People were filtering out the doors with little pieces of paper in their hands.

My two options were to wait for my partners to find me, or to ask someone which line I belong to. One delayed the embarrassment, one got it over with quick.

I took the second option and sped-walk as inconspicuously as I could to someone who'd already gotten their paper, one of the guys with a feathered mohawk that Pilot had talked to earlier. It wasn't just a mohawk; it was also a bunch of intricate braids along the sides of his head. They were hard not to get distracted by.

"Excuse," I said as quiet as I could. "My name is Jiaal. What line do I go to?"

He looked at me like I was pulling his leg, like this was a trick question of some kind. Squinting. Either he thought I was being too stupid to be serious or this was part of the program. He didn't say anything, just looked around, pointed at a letter and line to the left of us, and gave me that initial face again.

I smiled, nodded, and backed away. "Good. I was...testing you. That was a test. You did good." I gave him a salute and slid into the line. He was still looking at me when I pulled into myself and shielded my face so he couldn't see me turning red. I really wished I had learned how to read by now. Even letters! I should have picked up letters by now. Letters are easy, stupid!

Note to self: The symbol that looks like a stylized and italicized little G was a J—or the equivalent of J. It made the J sound.

I waited a moment or two and looked through my fingers. He was gone. There was someone else in his place, though, staring at me with a frown. A man with perfectly coiffed hair, a perfectly groomed face, and a tailored, high-collar suit. And he was a member of Zi'inra's higher higher class, which explained the togetherness. Atlyana dragged me to an event his family hosted when they first got me and I was the major distraction of the night. That probably explained the frown.

He didn't say anything as the line moved along, just watched. I tried to act like I hadn't actually noticed and couldn't feel his eyes. It felt like knives, to be honest. I didn't even want to ask him what was up—well, actually, I did. A daydream version of me would have snapped at him to take a picture and stop making me uncomfortable. But that version was not me, so I just wanted to get out of his sight.

"Name." A woman was standing at the wall with a fan of papers in her hand.

As I told her, I huffed to myself. Why couldn't these teams be given in some electronic form? Or, you know, spoken to us? So I guess I could just go ask frowny starey guy what the names—oh, something went my way! There were pictures!

The woman handed me a paper, which was actually more plastic than tree fiber, and ushered me off with a call to the next person.

My brief moment of joy was ruined when I saw frowny guy's face on the sheet. I sighed and looked up. He was giving me the most perfunctory smile now, and waited until I actually looked at him before he gestured with his head to follow him.

"How did they get our pictures like this?" I asked as we left the hall for the shaded open corridor that ran around the tower, trying to get this off on at least a neutral air. "I certainly did not get—"

"My name is Riche'e," he said, stopping at a thin pillar, pursing his lips. "I wasn't able to find our partner." With the motion and commotion of the people, that wasn't a surprise.

"It is pleasant to meet you, Riche'e," I lied. "I am sure you already know my name."

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Anyone from Zennae knows who you are."

"Oh, so you were not giving me that face because I'm so unique and unknown?" I wondered if he knew what sardony and sarcasm was as his face twisted around.

"No. What is—" He stopped and rubbed the side of his face, then shook his head. "No. I am confused about why you are here. Why you, a—why are you here?"

Because my adoptive father doesn't know how to run ideas by people or warn them ahead of time. "The same as anyone else," I said evenly. "As Pilot said, to see Sa'cra, to visit every planet. To join Zega.To see what is at the edge of our galaxy."

And then my mouth clamped shut and a gasp was caught in my throat. Maybe Tawyn was actually trying to help me instead of just getting me to do something.

"To find Earth!" I was almost grinning with the shock of the lightbulb finally turning on. If I actually made it through this thing, if I actually made it through the academy and into Zega, there had to be a way I could find my way home!

Riche'e drew in a long breath and let it out, slowly nodding all the way. "That is what I was afraid of."

I watched his face. I couldn't understand what was happening to it. It went to that original frown I first saw, then confusion, then...reluctance? Something as he opened his mouth three times but wasn't able to say anything.

"Arlyxe," he finally went. "You need to know—" Ah, I knew what he was trying to say. I was going to have to go through this yet another time. "Has no one told you Earth does not exist?"

I balled my fists and shoved them in my pant pockets. "I have been told," I said through a clenched jaw. "I am done hearing it! Earth does exist, and I know that because I am from there!"

"No, it doesn't," he insisted, his eyes wide.

"Why? If everyone thinks this, why is it true?"

"In the first place, it's supposed location. The Ubjanaxe spent over a hundred loliels searching for it, with the help of rudkjurt, and Zega joined the mission as well. 'Earth' is supposed to be located in a section of the galaxy that has no habitable planets, much less any that can support a civilization of humans. I'm just saying that if you go looking—"

A small ball smacked into his forehead with a quiet (and quietly satisfying) thud, bouncing then into a pillar, and went soaring into an open grassy area where it was avoided by anyone it flew by.

"Shu'raqe lenexe!" He held his head. Someone else cursed as well as a man and a woman skid to a stop beside us.

"Are you alright?" the man asked.

"He threw it," the woman said, deciding to take off running. She ran for the ball and then kept running.

"And you missed," the man shouted after her, "which is why you're here and not in the reaxue!"

"Vad'n-teaj, was that a vissure ball?" Riche'e looked at the man in disbelief, like he'd intentionally attacked and was getting ready to throw another.

"It was a trainer, thankfully. Are you alright?"

"Why are you throwing vissure balls around?" Riche'e rubbed his head.

"Eh... I guess because Jemla and I are kuma? I am... I apologize so much." He half chuckled, visibly nervous, and cleared his throat. "It seems it's also my luck that you're both my partners. I'm Micje Lace." Riche'e just gave a nod.

"Mickey?" I asked.

"No, Micje."

"Mick... Mick-ya..." When I said it correctly, he nodded. The look on his face suggested that shouldn't have been so hard to grasp. Which was par for the course.

So, all things considered, it seemed the day got off to the smoothest start possible.

[imgilmoregirl]

The Bookshop Owner (Chapter 13)

AO3 Link - FF.Net Link

This chapter was revised by my amazing beta @ethereal-wishes

After they finished lunch, Belle guided them through the streets to the ice-cream shop, as she was the only one who still remembered the route. It had been a long time since she had last been there, but the memories attached to that place were so important, that it was impossible for her to forget. Belle seemed to be seeing past ghosts of them walking around every corner of that city, coming to haunt her and making her heart race.

The ghosts were at the pier, and the memory of Neal pointing at the seagulls was too fresh, just like it had happened yesterday. On the beach, she could picture the way she was happily gripping at Gold’s arm, trying to convince him to get to the water.  And now, walking slowly to the shop, she saw herself kissing him when his son was not looking, right before little Neal asked for ice cream, and they discovered that wonderful place.

Glancing at Adam, she got the nervous look in his eyes, knowing that he was remembering about the same things. For a moment, Belle wanted to take Gideon’s arm off her shoulders and go to him, but they had already crossed a thin line earlier that day, and she didn’t want to give into another impulse that could ruin things again.

“So, this is the place?” Gideon asked when they stopped in front of the shop, looking at the glass entrance with a raised eyebrow. “I thought it would be bigger.”

“Don’t judge it for the size,” Belle replied, “it has the most wonderful ice cream in the world.”

Neal nodded, grabbing the doorknob and turning it. "She is right and I’m about to start trying.”

The boys quickly entered the shop, going straight to the showcase to see which flavours were on display as Belle followed then, holding the door open to let Adam in. There were only four tables there and three of them were already taken.  Belle stood where she was, waiting for Gold to go after the boys, but he didn’t do it, instead, he kept staring at her.

“Did you like the restaurant?” he asked.

“Yeah, the food is spectacular!" She exclaimed.

At the sound of their awkward conversation, Gideon turned around. “Aren’t you coming?”

“I already know what I want, so I don’t have to choose,” Belle explained, before asking for the carrot cake one from the attendant.  “What about you, Adam?”

He took a step forward, leaning on his cane, then he looked down at all the flavours ponderously. Belle get her bowl from the attendant, smiling at the dessert that she hadn’t ate in so long but was one of her favourites.

“White chocolate with strawberry,” Gold concluded.

“Really?” She questioned, “not carrot cake?”

A smirk tugged at his lips, “I intend to steal yours.”

“I’m not sharing,” Belle said with a grin, walking away to sit at the only vacant table.

It took them a moment, but Adam and the boys followed her, taking the other three seats. Neal was already eating his ice-cream, but Gideon glanced intriguingly between his parents.

“Don’t be selfish,” Gold told her.

“Alright,” Neal mumbled. “Now let’s see Gideon's reaction."

Gideon rolled his eyes at his brother’s expectant look, his brown eyes shining with an excitement that seemed completely pointless to him.  He moved his plastic spoon to grab some of his carrot cake ice-cream, shovelling it into his mouth.  Belle and Gold watched him as well, waiting for his reaction.

Gideon shrugged, “no big deal.”

“No big deal?” Neal repeated. “It’s the best ice-cream in the world!”

“It’s not," Gideon countered.

“It is,” his elder brother insisted.

“Can we please eat in silence?” Gold said, before taking some of Belle’s ice cream.

"Hey!" She protested.

"I've told you that I would steal yours," Gold remarked, batting his eyelashes playfully.

Neal rolled his eyes, shutting up and beginning to eat again.  He ended up getting another two flavours, and as much as Gideon had complained, he did the very same. All Belle and Gold did was laugh, stealing each other's ice-cream like children would do, some people glancing at them skeptically.

None of them cared about that. They ended eating and went out, following the giant wheel's form to find the amusement park that Neal had talked about.

"Don't you think that you are too old for amusement parks?" Gold asked, gazing at the boys.

"Of course not," Neal said, shaking his head.  He looked around the park and a tent arrested his attention, making him tap Gideon's shoulder and point at it with a movement of his chin. "I bet I can get a teddy bear before you do."

"And what are you going to do with a teddy bear?" Gideon inquired, furrowing a brow.

"Just give it to your mother," Neal shrugged.

"Oh, no way!" Gideon bristled, taking his wallet from his jean's pocket. "I am going to get it for her."

The two of them got in front of the tent that had some targets to be struck down with heavy yellow balls. Belle contemplated the sight, watching the boys talking with the owner of the tent as she bumped her shoulder against Gold's.

"They would have been competitive if they had grown up together," she replied.

"I think you're right," he parroted.

Gideon payed for the first try and got three balls. He threw them at the targets, one by one, but two of them missed it and the other didn't hit the target with enough strength.

"Loser!" Neal guffawed.

An expression of pure frustration crossed the younger boy's face. "Do better then, brother."

"I will," Neal said proudly.

Neal got the balls and made his try, but all of them missed the target, making him snort, and his brother choke back his laughter.

"Loser," Gideon coughed inconspicuously in his British accent.

Behind then, Belle didn't know if she should be as amused as she was with their little competition, but she never had siblings herself and always thought that it would have been good for Gideon to have grown up with Neal, even though she knew that it wasn't a possibility. She looked at Adam out of the corner of her eye, seeing him grab his cane more firmly and walk towards his sons.

"I'll show you boys how to do it," Gold said with a smirk.

"Oh, I want to see this," Belle giggled.

The owner of the tent was looking at them, like he definitely thought that this strange fierce determination, was some weird kind of family thing that seemed to have taken over all of them. Little did he know that he was actually right. Gold got his wallet and opened it, playing with the pounds which were hidden inside.

"I want a try," Gold confirmed, flashing him the bills.

"It's ten pounds, sir," the owner affirmed.

Raising an eyebrow, he slowly turned around, looking at the boys with an incredulous expression that made Belle want to laugh.

"You spent twenty pounds on this thing?" He asked with wide eyes.

Adam Gold had never let his son want for nothing, but he had a very defined idea of what was worth his money and what was not. Playing a carnival game at an amusement park was definitely not it.

"I paid with the money I receive when I work in the bookshop with mama," Gideon defended himself.

"You know I used your money," Neal mumbled. "I won't even try for an excuse."

"Ok, ten pounds," Gold said, rolling his eyes and passing the money to the man inside the tent and grabbing the yellow balls. "I'll get the freaking bear."

He had three tries and focused on the target, aiming the ball very carefully before hurling it. The first one, if intentionally or not only, Gold could say, passed very near the owner's head, making him jump and get out of his way, but the other two of them hit the targets, striking them down, causing a happy scream to leave Belle's mouth as she threw her arms around his neck, almost making them both fall to the ground. They would have if Gold hadn't grabbed onto the carnival stand's counter.

"Yes!" She exclaimed cheerfully.

"I can't believe it," Neal muttered.

"This is not possible!" Gideon whispered.

The owner swallowed hard, staring at them. "Which bear do you want?"

Belle took an attentive look at the stuffed animals, tapping her finger against her chin, contemplatively.

"The pink one," she announced.

"A pink bear?" Gold questioned as the game attendant handed the toy to her.

"It's cute," she shrugged, cuddling the stuffed animal.

"Bears are not pink," he countered.

"It is a stuffed animal, Adam, not a real one," she rolled her eyes. "However, thank you for getting this for me."

She felt his free hand coming up to stroke her backside, and Belle seemed unable to breathe. He was walking slightly unbalanced, struggling to keep her by his side as he used his cane to keep up on his feet, but it wouldn't have been more special if he could walk without it, like he did in the past, because their shoulders were brushing against each other with every new step and his hand splayed against her back, giving Belle a new kind of joy. The feelings bubbling inside her made butterflies swarm in her abdomen.

"Anyone want to go to the rollercoaster?" Gideon asked, excited for the first time since they arrived.

"I do," Neal replied.

Inhaling deeply, Belle nodded. "Let's do this."

"Really?" Gold gazed at her questionably.

"Really," she said with an encouraging smile. "Get ready to spend at least another ten pounds on this."

"Amusement parks," he grumbled, letting her drag him to the rollercoaster's line.

There was a monitor collecting the money and guiding the people to the cars.  He allowed Gideon and Neal to enter the rollercoaster, but when he got to Gold and Belle, he took a long assessing look at his cane before deciding to speak.

"I'm sorry, sir, but you can't enter the rollercoaster with the cane," the attendant replied.

"Why not?" Gold inquired.

"We have a loop," he explained, pointing at the curved trails, "it could fall and hurt someone."

"Alright, since I'm not allowed to take it with me, I bet you won't mind holding it for a while," Adam answered with a grin, taking the toy from Belle's hand and passing it to him, along with his cane. "And take the bear too, please."

"But - " the man tried to speak, but Gold handed him the money and started to move in the direction of an empty car, leaning on Belle to avoid falling down.

"I don't believe you some times," she whispered, giggling girlishly.

"Neither do I," Neal agreed.

They spent most of their day there, and Belle had some fun going twice on the teacups. But when the afternoon was almost over, they found themselves sitting on a stool, looking tiredly at the amusement park. Gold suggested they go to a supermarket and buy some food, so he could cook dinner for them.  Belle knew that he wasn't complaining because he was a very stubborn man, but his leg was probably sore by now after a long day of walking.

So, buying everything they needed at the first supermarket they found, the four of them headed home.  Gold and Belle put away the food, while Neal and Gideon went to their rooms to take showers. Adam was excitedly talking about the meal he was going to prepare when his eldest son appeared in the kitchen.

"Hey papa, I forgot that I had promised my friend August a visit while I was in Brighton, so he called asking me to go to his apartment. Is it okay if I take the car?"

"Neal, this weekend was your idea," Gold accused, afraid of having to spend the rest of the evening alone with Belle and Gideon. "You can't possibly be backing out."

"I'm not backing out," he muttered exactly like Adam did, attempting to keep Belle from hearing what they were saying. "I'll take Gideon with me."

"Did you just say my name?" The boy asked coming downstairs in a pair of dark-blue pyjamas.

Turning back to see him, Neal smiled, tapping his brother's back. "Yeah, go change, I'm taking you to August's house with me!"

"Who the hell is August?" Gideon quizzed.

Belle looked up at the sound of her son's harsh tone. She was trying to pretend that she wasn't listening to their whispered conversation, but if Gideon was going to be rude with his father and half-brother again, then she would need to interfere.

"A friend from college," Neal explained.

"And why do I have to go visit him with you?" Gideon probed.

"Because you're my brother and we should do more things together," Neal answered.

Gideon, however wasn't buying that idea. He knew very well what Neal was doing again, trying to leave Gold and Belle alone for the thousandth time, in an attempt to see if things could work out between them, and he was pretty sure that they couldn't and shouldn't. But with his mother going to such great efforts to make him like these people, he decided that she should be the one to handle her own fate as he looked directly at her.

"Mama?" He said, clearly as an unspoken question that they both understood.

"You can go if you want to," Belle said, worrying her lower lip between her teeth. "It's your choice."

"Please," Neal begged.

Sighing, Gideon made his way back to the staircase.

"I think I'm going to regret it later," he muttered under his breath.

[amynchan]

prompt: marinette almost gets akuma. almost. the akuma flies away or so she thought. Throughout the week the akuma keeps coming back as different animals/ forms and keeps trying to egg her on to make her akumatized. (honestly this was a dream i had)

lol, I tried.  X’D

Marinette was known for her sheer optimism.  Other than that one, teeny, tiny exploitable force that she was certain only her best friend knew about.

Evidently not.

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng,” sneered Chloe, not even bothering with a typical judgmental look.  The girl, tired from last night’s patrol, couldn’t be bothered to note the lack.

“Chloe,” responded the girl as she plopped down into her seat.  She was, for once, early and decided to attempt making the few precious moments before class as productive as she possibly could.

By sleeping.

Marinette put her head on her desk and burrowed in between two arms which weren’t a great pillow, but would have to do.  She closed her eyes and willed the silence to last just a bit longer.  Just so she could get five more minutes…

SLAM!

Marinette jerked out of her seat, her pillow of arms unfurling in order to defend herself from the sudden onslaught.  Blearily, she recognized the source of the sound as an object on her desk.  A ruler?  She looked up.

Mme. Bustier was less than pleased with Marinette.

“Mlle. Dupain-Cheng, while I appreciate your effort to come to the classroom on time, it would be beneficial for you to remain awake while here.”

“Yes, madame…” muttered Marinette meekly.  Mme. Bustier stood there for a moment before deciding to continue with the lesson, which appeared to be trigonometry.  Marinette glanced over to her side to see that Alya, her one and only true blue friend who would have kept her out of this mess, was no where to be found.  She glanced forward to Nino, confusion in her eyes.

Nino pantomimed throwing up and wiping his mouth.  Marinette got the picture.  She shuddered and turned her attention back to the front, now feeling slightly more awake.

A cruel chuckle from the right drew Marinette’s attention.  She glowered in Chloe’s direction for a moment, wondering what on earth was so funny.  After a few moments, the girl’s chortling died down.  And then she turned and looked at her and started again.  What was so funny?

“Marinette,” whispered Adrien.

Sweet, kind, perfect Adrien who had turned around and was pantomiming something at her.  What was he doing with his hands?  Rubbing his face?  His mouth?  Was he trying to impersonate a cat?

Dumbly, she found herself copying him.

And she wiped something wet from the corner of her mouth.

Shock flooded her system, rooting her to the spot.

No.  No no no no no no no nonoooooo….  Marinette glanced at the desk and sure enough, a small puddle of drool sat before her, a criminal that looked completely innocent.

Nino had pantomimed wiping his mouth.  She thought he had been talking about Alya still.  Chloe had kept chuckling at her.  She thought she was laughing at her in general.

Adrien had seen her with drool on her face.

Mortification swept through her and she hurried to hide the evidence, though the damage was done.  Her reputation was shattered.  Adrien would think she was a total loser and never want to associate with her again!  She–

Something slid into her peripheral vision.  A handkerchief?  What?

Marinette looked ahead to see Adrien sitting completely inconspicuously.  Completely innocent. Absolutely divine.  And as though he hadn’t just passed her her one and only salvation.  She glanced over at Nino to make sure she wasn’t dreaming.  He simply gestured for her to take it.

And take it she did.  Instantly, she felt so much better.  Adrien was kind and perfect and wonderful.  And he didn’t care if she drooled in her sleep–even though she really didn’t do it very often, only when she was face down.

Marinette cast these thoughts aside as she used the handkerchief to wipe her face and the desk clean as discreetly as possible.  In her love-induced joy, she almost didn’t notice the little purple butterfly  fluttering away from the window.

She wondered if it would be a problem for later, but she decided to enjoy the feeling of Adrien’s handkerchief in her fingers for now.

“Sorry, ‘Nette, I thought it was obvious,” apologized Nino as they left class.  He and Adrien had offered to spend the time with her as her best friend was currently MIA.  Nino’s presence was Marinette’s temporary grounding for Adrien’s presence.

“I thought you were telling me Alya was sick,” she said, glaring at him.  Half of it was because she really was mad.  Half was because she was trying desperately not to get tongue tied around Adrien.

“I was, but then I thought I’d warn you, but…”

Marinette sighed.  She couldn’t stay mad for too long.  His heart had been in the right place.

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

The raven haired girl turned to look at Chloe, who was standing a good five feet away.  It was odd, since the girl had a tendency to always get up close and personal with her victims.  Still, the girl appreciated the distance.

“What do you want?” asked Marinette.  “I’m trying to enjoy break.”

“I want you to get your slobbering self away from my Adrikins,” retorted Chloe.  “Nino may be dirty, but at least he doesn’t drool all over Adrihoney’s head or steal his handkerchief.”

“Hey!” called Nino.

“Chloe, she didn’t steal it, I gave it to her,” said Adrien.

“Look at you,” cooed Chloe.  “Still doing charity for the most pathetic people in class.”

Blood rushed into Marinette’s ears.  Seriously, how dare she?  Yeah, dinging on her in front of Adrien was mortifying, but dinging on Adrien in front of her was horrible!

“It’s not charity, Chloe!  He’s a genuinely nice person who does genuinely nice things!”

The blonde could only scoff.

“Please.  As if you would know about being genuinely nice, Maritrash.”

The girl struggled to keep a lid on her anger, she really did.  But then something happened.  Something absolutely awful.  Something despicable.

Poop landed on her shoulder.

White bird poop.

On her hand made.

Black.

Jacket.

If she was mortified this morning, she felt positively humiliated now.  Anger and shame washed through her and she wanted nothing more than to find some way to make Chloe pay.  She was only aggravating the wound.

Marinette, don’t let her get to you.

The thought jarred her from her anger.  How long had it been since her conscience had begun to sound like Tikki?

Nevertheless, the thought had left a small seed. It wasn’t Chloe’s fault.  Yeah, she was making it worse, but getting angry would only give her the satisfaction.

Spite, fuel her, she was going to have the best day ever no matter what.

“…ot nice, Chloe.  You should apologize.”

Adrien’s voice reached her ears and Marinette tuned into the conversation around her.  She saw Nino holding back his laughter while looking at Chloe, who looked shocked and maybe even a bit disgusted.  And Adrien…  he looked upset.

Such a look on his face saddened Marinette.

“Whatever,” said Chloe as she stomped away.  Confused, Marinette turned to the boys.  One was howling in laughter and the other looked at her with worry.

“Do you want to…Huh, you must have already done it…”

“Done what?” asked Marinette.  As an answer, Adrien pointed to her shoulder.

“Cleaned up the bird poop.  That was really quick, I didn’t even see it.  Is it some sort of secret seamstress knowledge?” asked the boy, his beautiful and innocent green eyes wide with curiosity.

Curiosity which Marinette shared.  But rather than look to her shoulder, she decided to scan the sky for the bird that had targeted her.

And worryingly enough, the bird flew past.  A deep shade of purple.

“..and then it left.”

Ladybug sat on the rooftops with her partner Chat Noir, going over her day and what she had seen.  Her partner gazed at her with half incredulation and half amusement.

“And you’re sure it wasn’t just a normal bird that pooped on you?”

“I’m sure, kitty.  Even if it didn’t mysteriously vanish when I felt better, it still gave off that same purple that the akumas give.”

“Well, are you sure–”

“Chat Noir, I’m sure.  It kept coming back throughout the day!  How everyone else missed it, I don’t know.  It came back as a bird, a rabbit, an armidillio, a ferret, a dog, even as a sea-otter!”

“A sea-otter?” asked Chat.  “And no one else saw it?”

“I swear on my Ladybug luck, a purple sea otter splashed me in the face, soaking my shirt in front of half my class.”

“And no one questioned it?”

“They all thought that it was a runaway from a zoo or something.  Half the class was trying to stop someone from taking pictures and the other half helped me clean off.”

Chat Noir frowned.  “It sounds like whatever this was was trying to make your day even worse.  Make you angry, maybe.”

“I’m almost positive that’s what it is.  I’m glad it didn’t follow…me…on…”

Oh no.  Oh heck to the no.  No way.  Nope, nope, nope, nope.

“Ladybug? What’s–oh!  Look, it’s a cat!”  Chat Noir reached for it with a smile.  “I wonder how it got up here.”

The anger that had been swiftly boiling at this thing’s audacity to turn itself into a cat broke.  Confusion took its place and wrapped around Ladybug.  It was right there.  Chat was about to pet the thing!  She grabbed his shoulder and jerked him back.

“My Lady!  Hey!”

“How are you not seeing what I’m seeing?”

“What are you seeing?  It looks like a black cat to me.”

“Are you sure?”

Ladybug glared at the cat which Chat claimed was black.  To her, it was a mass of purple, shifting and staring at her.  She took several deep breaths.  She didn’t have Marinette’s problems now, she was Ladybug.  Ladybug was a superhero.  Ladybug should be able to fact check.

Fact check.  What was something she did to akumas that wouldn’t hurt anything?

“Chat, I’m going to try something real quick.  If it fails, you can pet the cat, okay?”

“Uh, sure thing, bugaboo.”

Ladybug opened her yoyo and tossed it in the cat’s general direction.  Cursed with curiosity, the creature nudged itself closer to the light and sniffed.

And then Ladybug and Chat Noir literally watched an adult cat get sucked into Ladybug’s little yoyo.  The lid closed on top of the entrance and Ladybug could feel the creature within being purified.

“…did it really look like just a normal black cat to you?” asked Ladybug as she stared at her yoyo.

“Yeah,” answered Chat.  “And you said it’s been following you all day?”

Ladybug nodded before reaching to her yoyo.  She pressed the entrance and backed away, not sure what animal would come out.

Out flew a beautiful white butterfly.

Bewildered, Ladybug could only bid it a detached farewell.