#if nobody got me i know super fade is there. super fade i owe you so much.

[moinsbienquekaworu]

Damn I forgot how long it takes to make a good reclist. Between getting a good list tracking down all the fics writing all the relevant info and then a little comment if I have something to say, that stuff is time consuming

[muffindaddystyles]

prompt 1 with older brothers best friends!harry 👀

1. “Everyone keeps telling me you’re the bad guy.”

8. “I said stop staring at me.”

23. “I have a name and it’s not sweetheart.”

Third wheeling could never be fun. Not when you’re basically not even a wheel but an invisible person on a vacation watching couples kiss and yada yada.

“For fuck's sake.” Y/N grumbles changing a side snatching the blanket that got stuck under her and sandwiches her face into a pillow when she hears the steel roof atop her creak furiously accompanied by high pitched obnoxious moans.

Y/N's brother brought her along to their Italy trip, his wife’s bestfriend and his own bestfriend tagged along too leaving only Y/N to grump about their wild sex rendezvous.

She’s sleepless, homesick and probably about to get a stomach bug for living in yacht for four days atleast!

What’s so fun about jiggling in your sleep? None perhaps and the waves crashing at night that threatens you to swallow you down to the pit of ocean --- my pal, nothing is entertaining about it. Atleast for Y/N. She’s more of a hill station going person with her pup Frankenstein that oogles out from his small globe like window, comfy in his lil bag that Y/N moves around on her shoulders everywhere.

When the fracas of whatever’s taking place up doesn’t comes to halt, Y/N had enough, she isn’t very versed in coping with such situations since her dorm-mate is very nice.

So, she’s throwing the lid away to pop her head through the square like space and spreads her elbows up the roof, “Aish.” She immediately covers her eyes upon the sight of his brother and his wife doing it.

Their expressions comically panicked as they embarrassingly scrambles to clutch the flimsy sheets over them.

“Who does it all naked under an open sky?” She squeaks out, feeling her pulse tick and she peeks out towards the darkness from the slight gap of her fingers which are barely helping her avoid the scene that’d haunt her for life.

“Them bunnies and monkeys, ‘n many of our kind, Sweetheart.” She rolls her eyes at the familiarity of deep slow rumble that’s a bit slurred, probably from the Tequila they took with them. The voice never fails to froth bubbles in Y/N's tummy and it always involuntarily makes her nails dig into her palms.

Harry and Tina’s bestfriend went out to roam around Italy, or they told so and Albeit Y/N very well knows their intentions were more to exploring the city she didn’t butt in.

“I’ve a name and it’s not, Sweetheart.” She dismisses him with a grumble and his smirk shines through the shadow aggravating Y/N to an extreme she slips down shutting the door (like lid) at the them.

Harry Styles. Y/N's brother’s bestfriend. He’s everything Y/N loathes about. Bright green eyes, silken features and that dopey pearlish smile that makes everyone fall in love with him in nano-seconds.

To Y/N. He is an incubus. A witch that allures people without even knowing.

He’s a narcissistic asshole and Y/N's bad boy dream, unfortunately.

She hates herself for having a puppy crush on him for years now.

That friggin, Asshole.

He’s with everyone but her. It seems as if he’s getting stung by bees upon the mere closeness between them. A lamb ready to bite her down his stomach if she steps a foot near him.

At the moment when she’s sitting with her knees pressed to her chest, swollen eyes and puffy lips from not getting sleep last night.

She’s really hating that Harry looks so hot from the swim he just took as he dries himself sitting opposite to her. The droplets twinkling on his tanned thick body, his trunks wrinkled and bunched up into his thighs baring the tiger tattoo on front, his hair wet and oh so fucking tug-able – Y/N feels like Rachel from friends thinking all of that.

“Stop staring,” She mutters out loud when he wouldn’t stop licking the saltiness from his pink bottom lip keeping his intense gaze on her.

“What did y'say?” He pretends that we too engulfed in something else.

“I said stop staring at me.” Y/N grits. It’s annoying because it’s making her belly feel funny and loopy.

“The hills behind y'are just s'admirable.” He elevates his shoulders a bit panicked from inside and Y/N forced herself to not to twitch her eye when his chest muscles flexes due to his action.

Bamboozled she takes a glance from her shoulder to where he diverted his sight once she caught him. Her nose scrunched up and chin butted in disgust at the scenery, “That’s literally a heap of dead fishes!”

“Better than starin’ into a dead soul.” His lips down turned into a careless grimace and Y/N gasps out loud pushing the strands of her hair sticking to all of her face because of the breeze gush, “Why would you say that!?”

“’Cos you’re so mauve, that’s why?” He just wants to take a piss out of her. Nobody’s around and he’s finally getting time to talk to her even if it just to sit cross legged on her nerves and sip tea.

He’s actually lying. He thinks she’s more than mauve. She’s all those colours that usually macarons have, all those hues that butterflies wings have and all those tinctures that one find in gems then keep them safe.

She’s the colour he misses in his life.

“And you’re so fucking blue!” She grumbles and that slithered a deep wicked smile on Harry’s lips, “Like this deep ocean yer afraid of?” Her eyes widens at that and she almost lunges on her knees.

How did he know? Ofcourse, he'd. He’s everywhere. In every damn picture of wherever they went for recreation.

“I’m not.” She scoffs, her tone inconvenient and hazy as she shrinks into herself.

“Then take a dip,” She wishes that she could wipe that beautiful stupid smirk off his gorgeous stupidly lame face.

“Kiss my ass.” She spat out throwing a cushion towards him that lands on his lap, “I’d love to.” He barks out a laugh that rings through the waves.

“You’re such a stinky asshole.” She hits him with another that dumps against his chest, “Ow!” He feigns hurt with ridiculous comical expressions and throws the cushion back towards her which she successfully dodges, but, it falls behind her into the water.

“Shit.” She complains ducking around the edge of the yacht and stretches her arm to the plausible extent to grab the floating cushion.

Though when the tips of her toes leaves the seat she was on and she’s bending too much for her own sake Harry’s standing upright, “Hey stop —-" But. It’s too late as with a high pitched squeaky shriek Y/N's rolling first and falling into the water leaving Harry frozen for a second.

Panic chokes her throat and she moves her limbs around everywhere splashing water vigorously. Mouth gasping for oxygen but all that comes is salty water filling her mouth and lungs too, maybe as she sinks deeper and deeper.

“Fuck, Y/N!!” He shouts out jumping to save her immediately knowing she doesn’t know how to swim and he’s wrapping his palm around her neck and pulling her from her waist to himself under the water as she watches him with frightened fading eyes.

He comes back to surface quickly and presses her to his chest. She too clings to him for dear life feeling herself drift into a state of unconsciousness and hard to breath while he grabs the deck and lifts her with himself to it.

He doesn’t risk a chance and lays her limp body down and clasps his hands together pushing them against where her heat beats feebly, winces when she spurts out water painfully.

“Baby...fuck.” He pats her soaked pale cheek anxiously when she still remains unresponsive to him, breathing wearily so he does what has to be done.

He grabbed her chin, squished her cheeks making her lips pucker out and wrapped his mouth around hers sucking the water out and spat it out once his mouth was full.

His eyes slip shuts and he slumps with relief when Y/N coughs out loudly into his chest and he brings her into him murmuring assurance into her wet hair.

“You’re okay darling,” His whisper wavers from the trembling of his lips and his fingers divots into her softest of skin when he hugs her tightly, “’M sorry ‘s me fault, Sweets.” He rubs the bridge of his nose to take the sniff of her scent to calm him down and she shakes her head unable to talk, hands bunched up against his tummy.

“You should rest, yeah?” His gaze soft with care and it’s baffling for Y/N that he ever had this side too. Before, she could be on her feet he slipped his strong arms under her and hoists her up and into him without any trouble.

If Y/N wouldn’t be feeling very droopy and breathless she sure would have fought with him, maybe blushed and hid her face into his neck but she’s already knocking out in his arms from the stingy feeling in her eyes that made her super duper sleepy.

..

Clouds. Y/N's merged into them and they cover every inch of Y/N, wait where am I? She feels real nice comforted around with such warm bedding and she sure knows it’s not hers. The blurry sight infront of her is enough to aware her and a perfectly calloused hand comes rubbing her shoulder when she tries to sit up.

“Not heaven, o'summat.” He chuckles airily. His smile small and a tad awkward, he’s changed into another pair of trunks that are yellow and his upper half now sadly is covered from a blue tee.

“How you feelin'?” Y/N let his question fly over her head and stutters out loudly, “Why you being s'nice to me now?” It etches a frown on his face but soon it vanishes into an expression that Y/N couldn’t pick point.

“You’ve always been such a meanie...” She murmurs glumly. White sheets tangling around her torso as she moves infront of him – their knees touching.

“I umm –-...like you, I guess?” He has never been this nervous and jumblish with words.

“You guess?” She asks and scared that he missed up he rushes out to hold her and to make her believe that his feelings are true.

“No, no! I’m sure. I like you very much.” That puts Y/N into silence where she stares the gleaming jewels onto his fingers and ponders over what he said.

Harry Styles. Her first kiss. Her very first candy love crush and her dream of bad boy actually likes her back.

She tries to ignore the party poppers going inside her body and the drums of happiness rolling around her heart.

“But ... Everyone keeps telling me you’re the bad guy,” She doesn’t meet his eyes smoothing out the crinkles of sheets and her palm halts immediately when Harry hooks his thumb under her chin and raises it gaze lovingly into her eyes with sincerity, “Just ‘cos I stole yer first kiss?”

He laughs out sweetly when she bobs her head vigorously, “C’mon we were just sixteen! I’d have made sure to tell y'to keep it safe fo’ your precious person if I knew back then.” His pupils gleaming with hope and a tinge of eagerness.

The next thing she said with a slight bubbly pout caught Harry off-guard and in awe that how to process what she said with so much liability and vulnerability.

“But you’re my precious person!!”

“Yeah, baby?” He grins with a dimple tutting in and grabs her small cold hands to pull her closer to him.

The sweet name shies Y/N away and Harry thinks she couldn’t be more endearing as he takes her soft looking puffy face in the warm embrace of his hands and bops their noses together.

“Then g’na make sure ‘m your last.” He murmurs feathering his lips to the corner of her mouth that flutters her eyelids like butterflies and she pants out for more with a sweet whine, “Shit. You’re still very candy like since I last kissed ye'.” He giggles stroking his thumb up her cheek and takes a lick of her jutted bottom lip.

“Harry....” She complains tugging his weary shirt, “Yes me baby?” He quips out with those fake surprised eyes he makes with raised brows and puppy gaze.

“Kiss me alre –—,” He's swallowing her words down with the tender smush of his lips against hers in a kiss that’s slow and comforting at first, hearing onto the noises that she creates from tasting him and it deepens into something ardent and red when Harry pulls her over his thighs and guides her arms around his neck.

Their foreheads comes touching. Their hearts in sync and beside eachother. Their tongues loving on eachother.

“Dunno if I could ever stop.” He whispers breaking the knot of spit that connects their mouths with the stroke of his thumb against her shinning lip and pecks that spot twice.

“Then don’t.” Y/N looses her brain cells and only butterflies to whoosh into her skull as she grabs his jaw never letting him go and kisses him harder and rougher this time.

She’s gonna be in oh so much love with this bad boy that’s such a softie for her and she knows that there’s no going back.

[onebizarrekai]

undeniable proof that shuichi and kokichi were gay in v3

prepare yourself for the most big brain thing that has ever bigged your brain

chapter 1

shuichi saihara spends this chapter following kaede around because they were just trapped in a godforsaken killing game and everything seems to suck. when faced with a situation such as this, the natural inclination is to either find someone to latch onto or to distrust and stick to oneself. shuichi does the former because he is a twiggy little man who would probably die in a fight before anyone even attacked him.

what is kokichi doing in this chapter? sticking to himself? stalking someone? that is the real question. nobody knows what he is doing because he is not the protagonist and not the obligatory party companion. however, since v3 follows a theme of fiction, it is totally logical to believe that some system must be in place, but kokichi is not bound by such a system because kokichi represents anarchy.

he does not stick with another for all to see, nor does he remain alone. alas, he searches for a secret companion and has not found one yet. who shall he find? shall he find any? the truth is, he gravitates towards shuichi. it’s supposed to be in secret, but there is a way in the game to see what really happened.

if you speak to tsumugi right before everyone is asked to gather at the cafeteria a second time, she mentions sonic the hedgehog. kokichi runs by, saying “got to go fast”. this means that kokichi has either played sonic the hedgehog or is at least well-versed in sonic memes. if you get this dialogue, and only if you get it, later, kokichi makes another sonic reference, saying “faker? I think you’re the fake hedgehog around here!” while he confuses everyone, the dialogue makes the odd choice of stopping on shuichi, even though the dialogue box only includes “…” and nothing else.

chapter 2

if you have unlocked tsumugi’s sonic dialogue and go to the monomono machine, you now have a 5% chance of getting sonic merchandise. if you give this merchandise to kokichi, you get some interesting dialogue. he says “wow, shuichi! how did you know that I grew up playing sonic and that it’s my absolute favorite video game series of all time?” this immediately maxes out all 5 of his friendship fragments, and you can get all 5 of his hangouts without giving him any more presents. you’re probably wondering why this is important, but you will see.

as kaede is now dead, shuichi finds himself horribly alone. while kaito is there and starts calling him his sidekick, the force of protagonist syndrome has caused shuichi to gain the courage to hang out with anyone, including kokichi of course. I don’t need to talk about kokichi’s hangouts. they literally end with “I stole your heart, so now I’m satisfied!” and it doesn’t get gayer than that.

or does it?

if you investigate the bathroom part of ryoma’s lab during this chapter and click on a very specific spot in order to enter one of the stalls, you can click on the toilet 5 times and shuichi will lie down on the floor. while it’s to investigate the underside of the toilet, and there is nothing to be found, the words “kokichi was here” are written on the ceiling above the stall. if you’ve already hung out with kokichi at least once in this chapter, shuichi will sigh and wonder what kokichi is doing right now.

if you’ve given kokichi the sonic merchandise, and you reach kokichi’s final free time event in this chapter, he will actually question shuichi after he finishes bandaging kokichi’s finger up, briefly commenting on how shuichi managed to get close to him so quickly and asking him “what his trick is”. he says “you must like me a whole lot, shuichi. I hope you don’t bail on me after this.” word for word, literally just hear me out.

“kokichi places his warm hand on mine, and I feel like he’s prying much deeper than he usually does.”

“I didn’t think that was possible…”

chapter 3

little did you know, giving kokichi the sonic merchandise unlocked a bonus hangout. yes, you heard me right. a WHOLE bonus hangout. you can hang out with him again whenever you want in this chapter. kokichi only says “good to see you.” you can select yes or no.

the screen will fade to black.

you have used up a free time.

if you have reached this hidden part of kokichi’s relationship sequence, random dialogue that isn’t in the normal game starts getting sprinkled in, as well as certain easter eggs. when angie starts her whole shtick, since you’ve already hung out with kokichi 5 times, there are a few things he has to say straight up, like how he’s going to teach shuichi about cults so shuichi doesn’t accidentally join the student council.

chapter 4

now that you’ve finally reached chapter 4 and activated the secret kokichi pathway, you get a hidden scene, much like the others that are triggered by having specific items in your inventory. in the middle of the night, kokichi breaks into shuichi’s room and shakes him awake, telling him that someone stole his almond milk.

shuichi tells kokichi to shut up and rolls over.

fun fact, if you get the hangout with miu where she checks whether shuichi is a virgin, she does, in fact, say “ha, I can’t believe this!” and if you zoom in the window behind her, you can barely make out kokichi’s face. peering in. watching you. if you click on him at any point during this hangout, you will hear a voice clip of kokichi’s laugh and shuichi will internally respond to miu’s dialogue differently. he will think “miu is the last person I need to know about this…”

in this sonic dialogue route, shuichi responds slightly differently to kokichi revealing that he is the mastermind. although his dialogue is mostly the same, he counts approximately 22 extra crying sprites, implied to be caused by additional heartbreak.

chapter 5-6

these chapters play out mostly the same way until the very end, the only exception being when you’re investigating kokichi’s lab. if you click on kokichi’s throne 13 times, one of the bookshelves will slide out of the way to reveal a hidden bathroom. there is an envelope taped to the wall that says “for my beloved detective, who habitually smacks things over and over.” it says “if you’re reading this, I’m probably dead. or am I? wouldn’t you like to know? nishishi.” shuichi comments about the fact that kokichi literally wrote that stupid laugh out, only to start crying again.

make sure that you have kind lie equipped as one of your skills before you start the final trial.

if you’ve done everything exactly according to plan up to this point, the ending is different.

tsumugi decides to show kokichi’s audition tape instead of kaede’s. he says “I’d love to be a part of danganronpa! I can finally be a bad guy without being scared!” but then kokichi looks directly at the camera. he says “naw, just messing with you. guess who?”

the screen cracks.

kokichi has suddenly entered the scene of the trial. tsumugi looks horrified. her wig falls off. everyone is at a loss for words. suddenly the screens and lights around them start to black out until everyone is left in almost complete darkness.

shuichi finally asks kokichi how he’s alive. he’s like, “you DIED” and kokichi is like “or did I? it’s the grand finale, shuichi! I owe you the truth this one time, because you’re my favorite.” everyone listens intently. “you see, by observing your irrational actions, almost like that of a main character… I was able to conclude that we exist in a fictional world that plays by certain rules. but we all been knew, didn’t we? not quite! someone forgot to test for exploits.” himiko just goes like “what the fuck you smokin?” and kokichi just laughs. “my self awareness has given me more power than you can possibly imagine! let’s just say I learned where the hit boxes are broken and installed a few cheat codes in the meantime!”

“no… that’s impossible! this isn’t supposed to be part of the ending at all!” tsumugi doesn’t like that one bit. she just kinda breaks down crying. shuichi isn’t paying attention to her though. he had accepted oblivion only to be greeted with kokichi being alive. as annoying as kokichi is, they are hopelessly in love. maki is a little disturbed.

after passionately reuniting with shuichi, kokichi says the thing. “this world is mine now, tsumugi! you got nothin on this! it’s time to say goodbye to this trash dump and create a new reality!” tsumugi just kinda goes like “noooo!!!”

everything goes black. shuichi has a vision about entering creative mode. kokichi has opped him. they take hands. “let’s create someplace way more fun.” maki and himiko and keebo look at each other because they’re floating in the background and watching this happen even though it’s supposed to be an internal vision. the screen goes white.

shuichi graces us with some internal protagonist dialogue about how he doesn’t really understand what’s happening anymore or what’s waiting for them outside of this world, but he thinks that things might turn out ok.

after unlocking this ending, you unlock a super secret video that you can view from the main menu. it’s a fully animated video of kokichi and dice dancing to world is mine. this is what they spent all their budget on

[fruitcoops]

I don't know if you did this already (I'm sorry if you did) or somebody asked but could you do one where they supportive teammates reacts to homophobic teammates

Hello anon! This is a super interesting idea and I’ve been thinking about it for a couple days so I could get the vibe right--none of our boys would be homophobic, but new rookies on the other hand...

Sweater Weather credit goes to @lumosinlove, but this features a character who does not appear in SW (I’m not claiming him as an OC because he’s a dick)

TW for homophobic statements, no slurs

I

James caught sight of the new guy just as he was leaving the locker room, towel draped over his neck. “Rookie! Wait up, man!”

The other man paused, looking rather surprised as he jogged over. “Hey, you’re James, right?”

“Call me Pots.” He held his hand out and they shook. “Didn’t catch your name earlier, sorry.”

“Tanner Chase, nice to meet you.”

“Welcome to the team, Tanner.” James grinned. “You’re on my line, yeah?”

“Yeah, I’m a winger,” Tanner said with a good bit of pride. Oh, to be twenty again, James thought. “Giving you a run for your money.”

“Sure, kid,” James laughed. “You do that. You’d have better luck with me than Loops, though.”

Tanner’s smile turned a little sharp. “Nah, he’d be too easy, am I right?”

James paused. “What?”

“Y’know, since he’s…” Talker gave him a significant look and a stone sank in James’ gut.

“I think you lost me.” I hope this isn’t what I think it is. “Because he’s a rookie? ‘cause I hate to break it to you, but—”

“No, dude, because he’s a fairy,” he snorted, as if they were still joking around.

“Shut the fuck up.”

Tanner blinked and reeled back. “Excuse me?”

“You don’t get to talk about my friends like that. Don’t talk about anyone like that. It’s not tolerated on this team and I won’t hesitate to kick your ass if I hear it again.” James made sure his voice was as even as possible, but he could tell it shook at the edges. “You just used up your one free pass, Chase.”

 II

“Drive safe, Loops!” Talker called as Remus headed for the hall with his bag under his arm.

Sirius opened the door just as he reached it and his face broke into a smile. “Bonjour, mon amour, I was just looking for you. Ready to go?”

“Hiya, handsome.” He leaned up to peck him on the lips. “Yeah, I think I left my phone on the bench, though.”

Their conversation faded out as they wandered off together and Talker returned to his stretch, closing his eyes at the familiar burn in his hamstring. “Yikes,” the new rookie muttered under his breath. Tanner…something, Talker remembered.

“What’s up? You okay?”

Tanner glanced over at him. “Doesn’t it bother you?”

“Stretching? Not really, no. That’s why I do it.”

“No, not stretching. That.” He waved a hand at the slightly-open door.

“I can close it if you—”

“Dude.” Talker crossed his legs and faced him fully. “I mean Black and Lupin.”

Talker narrowed his eyes. “No. Does it bother you?”

“I mean, yeah, how am I supposed to respect a guy like that?” he scoffed.

Talker made direct eye contact with him; he wanted zero miscommunication about this. “You respect him because he’s your captain, which is a title he earned that has nothing to do with who he loves. And you respect Loops, too, or we’re going to have an issue. I don’t know what the fuck you’re thinking bringing that attitude to this team, but you better drop it right now.”

Tanner turned back to his stretch. With a shake of his head, Talker collected his stuff and left him alone on the mats.

III

“Hey, Harzy.” Tanner sat down next to Finn on the bench and passed him a waterbottle. There was a shout from the ice as Remus stole the puck from Sirius’ stick and raced toward the goal, laughing loudly.

“Tan-man, what’s up?”

“What’s the deal with them?” he asked, lowering his voice.

“Cap and Loops? They’re engaged, didn’t you know?”

“Yeah, I know.” There was a slight tone shift that made Finn’s skin crawl. “But what do you think about it? Isn’t it, like, a little weird being on the same team as them?”

“Uh, no.”

Tanner’s eyebrows rose. “You aren’t afraid they’re looking at you or something?”

“What part of ‘engaged’ don’t you understand?” Finn’s jaw tightened. What a little shit. “If this is some homophobic fuckery, I’d like to take this time to remind you I have two boyfriends before you say something that gets you punched.”

Tanner’s eyes went wide and he scooted away without a word.

IV

“Alright, everyone, Sid’s tonight?” Kasey shouted over the noise. The whole locker room cheered in agreement and he smiled as the buzz of victory filled his chest. “Knutty, since my team kicked your ass, I believe you owe me a pizza!”

“I still say Cap is a cheater!” Leo called back; within a few seconds, Sirius had him in a loose headlock as he ruffled his hair. “Alright, alright, I give!”

The volume level did not die down as they all flooded into the hallway—Kasey spotted a flash of mousy brown hair out of the corner or his eye and frustration lodged in his throat. In a smooth movement, he reached out and blocked Tanner from following the rest of the group out. “Not you.”

“But it’s a team dinner—”

“And you’re not part of the team until you get your head out of your ass,” he said coolly. The jumble of voices echoed around the corner. That was his team. “Don’t think I missed those looks you were shooting Cap and Loops. You’re not invited. Go home and think about what actually matters.”

V

They won the next game by a landslide. Arthur Weasley was furious. Every time an opponent came to check Tanner Chase, not a single Lion moved to help him. At one point, Pots had taken the puck right off his stick and skated down the ice for a goal, leaving him in the dust. Whenever Chase was on the bench, he was pointedly ignored by the rest and left to sit alone; Logan literally sat on Talker’s lap to avoid being within five feet of the rookie.

“Team meeting, everyone sit your asses down!” he barked as he entered the locker room. Immediately, the celebratory whoops quieted. “Anyone want to tell me what the hell is going on?”

Sirius looked up at him in confusion. “I thought we played pretty well, Coach.”

“You played fine, but Chase over here got the cold shoulder like I’ve never seen before. Even the fucking commentators noticed!”

“Good,” Finn muttered under his breath.

“Shut it, O’Hara, this is not good.” He took a deep breath to try and calm himself. “Once again, does anyone want to enlighten me on this sudden attitude toward rookies? Since when are we like this?”

“It’s not toward rookies, it’s toward him,” Kasey said, glaring at Tanner from his stall. “He’s a homophobic douchebag. You want to tell Coach what you said?”

Tanner stared at the floor.

Arthur’s fury vanished. “What? Chase, is that true?” The rookie stayed silent. “Hey, kid, I’m talking to you.”

“Yes, Coach.” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Remus’ jaw tick and Sirius’ face grow stormy.

“How long has this been going on?”

“It started the first day of practice,” Pots said, crossing his arms. “Our first conversation, in fact.”

“Eyes on me, rookie.” Tanner winced as he looked up. “I know the organization has told you in the past that this kind of behavior is okay, but right here and right now, I’m telling you it’s not. If you’re going to continue with that, you can leave.”

“I just get uncomfortable when—”

“When what?” Remus asked, standing up and leaning on his stall. He looked overall unthreatening, but there was a stony look in his eyes. “Tanner, what did Sirius and I do to make you uncomfortable?”

Tanner floundered for a moment. “It’s just—the kissing, the cuddling, the nicknames, all that.”

“You didn’t seem to have a problem when Lily came to visit,” Remus continued. “Or Natalie, or Noelle, or Celeste. Is that correct?”

“Yeah.”

“But it bothers you when I call my fiancé ‘baby’, or he calls me ‘sweetheart’?”

“It does.”

“Tanner, I hope you know I’m not going to apologize,” he finally said. “If this had nothing to do with us being gay, we would tone down the PDA, but that’s clearly not the case.”

Sirius sighed. “None of us want to alienate you, but you’re making judgements before taking the time to know us. That’s a shitty thing to do.”

“You’ve never met an openly gay person before, have you?” Remus asked. Tanner shook his head. “Hi, I’m Remus Lupin. I play a wing position on the hockey team that you were just signed to and my favorite color is green. I have a dog named Hattie and I’m engaged to a man. Nice to meet you.”

Sirius walked across the room; Arthur tensed for a moment, but he stopped in front of Tanner and held his hand out. “Sirius Black, team captain. I play center and I hate pineapple pizza. Also, I’m gay. Congrats on being signed to the Lions.”

Tanner’s eyes flickered up, and after a moment’s hesitation, he shook Sirius’ hand. “Nice to meet you.” He swallowed thickly. “Cap.”

“Nice to meet you, too. Are we done with the bullshit?”

“It—it might take me a bit to get used to it.”

“Make it quick. We’ve got games to win and nobody here has time to hold your hand through it.” Sirius turned to look at everyone else, his Captain Face in full effect. “That goes for everyone, got it? No more cold shoulders, we talk this through like adults as soon as it happens.”

“You got it, Cap,” Pots said.

“Black, Lupin, can we talk?” Coach beckoned them toward the door; just before it closed, he saw Talker walk over to Tanner’s stall.

“That’s why you respect Cap and Loops,” Talker said quietly. “Not because of threats or some shit—because of that right there.”

[kopikokun]

bad girl’s bad boy

10:50PM ➴ badboy!jungwoo x badgirl!reader (fem) | highschool!au

warning(s): expletives, underage drinking, implied drug usage

Kim Jungwoo rocks the label ‘bad boy’ almost as severely as he rocked the mullet and fake eyebrow piercing he wore for Halloween. Unfortunately, the title’s garnered somewhat of a less than favourable rep. He’d rather die than be associated with those pompous, leather jacket wearing, daddy issues yet still leeching off daddy’s money bad boys. For starters, Jungwoo doesn’t own anything leather, he’s a major dad’s boy, and he can’t afford a tall from Starbucks without going bankrupt (Seriously, why is it so expensive? Perhaps a hot take, but it isn’t even that revolutionary), so those ludicrous stereotypes can suck his dick. Alright, so the last fact’s more pitiable than impressive, but hey, it adds dimension. Perhaps, his one and only flaw.

    Oh, and how could he forget the most important thing? Where he deviates most from the cliche: he’s way more into bad girls than good ones. He’d never admit it, but he’s read his fair share of bad boy fanfiction; he’s seen the universally revered trope, but no matter how many ‘The Bad Boy and Me’s he’s consumed, he’s never seen the appeal in the quiet, shy nerd. Don’t get him wrong, he harbours no prejudice towards them. They’re honestly some of the wildest cards he’s met–simultaneously super sweet yet also batshit crazy (in the best ways, of course)–but something about the image of bad girls… it just keeps him up at night. It was always more a foolish chimera he indulged in–fodder for the scenarios he thought up at night to put him to sleep–and though he was a little bummed, he accepted that it was impossible.

    Until you came along, of course.

    Picture this: it’s his last year of high school. He’s trying his best to practice abstinence from cutting class (and abstinence in general), shouldering a future-related crises every other day, and buying cute girls shorts from Starbucks. It’s the weekend–he’s just been slapped across the face by a fling-gone-wrong–and a house party’s the perfect remedy for the acute case of senioritis he’s unexpectedly contracted. Jungwoo’s been to parties-a-plenty–downing more cheap booze and puking it back out to last him through college–and this one was no different.

    The host was some jock from the neighbouring rival school, and while there had always been an intense animosity between the two facilities, all of its resentful past was swept under the rug for this momentous occasion. It would’ve been heartwarming, if not for the tacky strobe lights, black-out drunk teens and vomit stains.

    Classic high school party. Jungwoo hadn’t gone in expecting anything, he just wanted to let off some steam. He’d get drunk, maybe flirt around, and go home.

    He doesn’t know what it was in his drink that pushed him to stagger towards the beer pong table, but he’s damn glad he did, because that’s where he saw you for the first time. Shrouded in a crowd of people either collectively hollering in support or outrage, brows cinched in determination, your smouldering eyes pierced the ping pong table. Jungwoo could only watch in awe, his grip tightening around the red solo cup in his hand as you effortlessly tossed the chalky ping pong ball into the farthest cup on the table. The cheers of the people around you swallowed the room, and when the edges of your lips quirked into a devilish grin, Jungwoo saw his life flash through his eyes. Succubus.

    “Who’s that?” he asked, elbowing a faded Xiaojun.

    “Oh, her? Why? You interested?”

    “Yeah, duh.”

    When Jungwoo heard your name for the first time, stumbling from Xiaojun’s lips in a hazy slur, a prickle rose in him. God, he loved it already.

    “Don’t bother with her, man. She wouldn’t be interested, and she’s way out of your league anyway.” Xiaojun’s tone was soaked bitter, and his hands delved deeper into his pockets.

    Jungwoo knew that, but Xiaojun really didn’t have to spell it out for him like that. “Nobody’s out of my league. You know that.”

    “That gargantuan ego of yours s’just gonna worsen your chances, man.”

    Jungwoo arched a bow. “How would you know that?”

    “‘Cause I’ve tried before, fucker. She turned me down so quick, saying how I ‘wasn’t her type’ which is ridiculous; I’m everyone’s type. Shit hurt. Had me feelin’ all insecure, staring into the mirror everyday trying to find what looked wrong. Seriously, save yourself the humiliation. She’ll fucking annihilate you.”

    “Did you find it?”

    “Find what?”

    “What looks wrong with you? ’Cause I could save you the trouble and name a few.”

    “Fuck you.”

    “Trust me, there are like ten people here who’d love to. And you and I are like in different leagues,” snickered Jungwoo. “I’ll get her number in no time.”

    Xiaojun rolled his eyes, lips pursed. “Suit yourself. She’s got a pretty infamous rep though.”

    “From annihilating losers like you?”

    “Haha, really fucking hillarious. Don’t tell me you forgot how much you owe me for all those damn shorts you bought at Starbucks.”

    Cold sweat trickled down Jungwoo’s back. “Kidding, kidding.”

    “Whatever.” Xiaojun’s gaze flickered to Jungwoo, who was still eyeing you up regardless of his warnings. “Come on, don’t tell me you’re still going to shoot your shot?”

    “No harm, right?”

    Any remaining advice Xiaojun had to offer would’ve wormed through one ear and out the other, but he still couldn’t suppress the steady bass of sympathy drumming through him as he haplessly watched Jungwoo bound to you, unsuspecting of what you’re capable off.

    “Dumbass. He’s gonna come back crying.”

    And as Jungwoo scampered up to you, smirking like he was the one in control here, you lifted your cup higher past your lips, masking that signature devious grin of yours, which only grew when you realised by the waver of his voice that you already had him wrapped around your finger.

[a-fluffer-nutter]

The Fox And The Turtle

A/N - Hey guys, this was such a fun fic to write! This was prompted by a lovely anon who commissioned me on my Kofi! To that wonderful anon, I really hope you enjoy and thank you so much for helping me out a bit, my boyfriend and I used the money to buy a celebratory dinner after we got accepted for an apartment! If anyone else would like their own amazing fic, let me know or head on over to my Kofi and let’s get the process started. 

This is a Miraculous Ladybug fic featuring Nino and Alya. Please Enjoy.

Word Count: 4,034

           The first time was unexpected, an accident really. She never expected to get that close to him, to want to be so close to him.

           Alya Césaire had invited Nino Lahiffe to a nearby café to talk. She had arrived early in the morning, wanting to finish some schoolwork and to get started on a new blog post. There was so much she needed to catch her blog up with, especially with what had happened the week before.

           Lady Wifi.

           She never wanted it to happen, why would she? She idolized Ladybug, most of her blog was dedicated to the hero, but she had been the cause of another fight Ladybug and Chat Noir had to undertake. It all happened because of her.

           The autumn breeze rustled the sleepy trees, sending leaves of orange, red, and yellow floating toward the ground. The air was just beginning to have a chill bite at the bare skin of passersby, but this didn’t faze the people of Paris, most of them thrilled that the summer heat was fading, and autumn was taking over again. Kids had just returned to school, most of the teens excited to spend their weekends at the mall hanging out with their closest friends.

           Nino was on his way to the café to visit Alya. He hadn’t seen much of her that summer, though had followed her online presence closely. It was hard not to, when Alya seemed to run a major blog in basically every topic. In fact, Nino had been browsing online forums about Donkey Kong a few days prior, wanting to prove some sort of point to his younger brother, when he stumbled upon a Donkey Kong fan blog Alya had made a few years before. Sure, she hadn’t touched it in a long time, but the fact that Nino had accidentally found something made by her had made him laugh at the time.

           Humming to himself, Nino danced between small puddles of water that speckled the sidewalk. Staring at his phone, he tried to think of a good playlist for the next school dance. It was that time of year again; the dance wasn’t going to DJ itself.

           “Britney Spears or Lady Gaga?” Nino muttered to himself, staring at the blank note page he just opened on his phone. He may have had Lady Gaga playing in his headphones at the moment, but that didn’t mean Britney Spears wasn’t a favorite of his.

           A church bell chimed in the distance, Nino looking up from his phone in panic.

           “Oh no,” Nino said to himself. He was late to his meeting with Alya. Nearly tripping over a stroller with a screaming toddler inside, Nino jogged toward his destination, still considering what Lady Gaga song would be the best to dance to.

             Alya recoiled as she burnt her tongue again. She had just sat down with her steaming mug, her third pumpkin spiced latte of the day. She might have enjoyed making fun of people who drink pumpkin spice lattes, but they were too good for her to resist.

           “Ow,” She moaned, her tongue sticking out slightly between her plump lips. She had a habit of just rushing into things, being impulsive. From risking it all to get the next big scoop to instantly taking a drink of something she knew would burn her tongue, Alya had a penchant for impulsivity.

           The chime above the door rang, Nino throwing it open with so much force that it startled everyone inside in the café. Giving an embarrassed smile, Nino gave a short wave to the older lady who spilt a bit of coffee down her dress. Looking up from her computer, Alya rolled her eyes at the sight of Nino, though she couldn’t help the smile on her face.

           “Hi Alya,” Nino grinned, pulling off his headphones and slipped them down his neck. “Sorry I’m late, I got distracted.”

           “It’s fine,” Alya replied, waving her hand, motioning for him to sit.

           “Before we start,” Dropping his backpack to the floor, Nino plopped down into his seat, sitting across from Alya. “Do you prefer Britney Spears or Lady Gaga?”

           “You can’t choose between the two of them,” Alya let out a laugh, thinking about her fan blogs she has created for both of them in the past.

           “You’re no help,” Chided Nino, Alya simply replied by sticking out her tongue, still numb from burning it.

           “Anyway, I wanted your help with something,” Alya quickly changed the subject, getting down to business. Nino smiled expectantly, tilting his head ever so slightly. “I need to update my blog about Ladybug, but I don’t really know how to do it.”

           “Oh, I thought this was going to be something important,” Nino laughed, laughing harder when Alya shot him a death glare. He lifted his hands, “I kid, I kid. But how can I help you with your blog? You know more about Ladybug than anyone else I know. Wait, this isn’t about Chloe, is it? If so, I’m not helping you snoop on her more. I don’t want to get into trouble.”

           “Oh no, I’m definitely never snooping on Chloe again, she definitely isn’t Ladybug.”

           “Then, what do you need?” Nino leaned back, glancing up at the drink menu above the front counter. He may have been interested in whatever Alya was talking about, but he was torn between whether to order a strawberry smoothy or a chocolate caramel latte.

           “Lady Wifi,” Nino’s eyes shot down at her words.

           “Why are you asking me about her, you are her,” His voice dropped, glancing around to make sure no one else could hear him.

           “That’s the thing,” Alya looked down at her keyboard, fingers circling the keys. “I don’t remember it at all. I guess that’s good, because I could’ve hurt someone really bad and I would have to live with remembering myself doing that, but I don’t, which is really weird. I just feel bad about battling my idol, like I could have really hurt her! I don’t want to do that, besides, what would I do if I can’t blog about her?”

           “Work on your other eight hundred blogs. Or you know, schoolwork,” Nino rubbed the back of his neck, letting out a short laugh when Alya shot him another glare.

           “Come on, Nino,” She sighed, leaning back in her chair. “Please help me.”

           “Okay, sure thing,” Nino smiled, leaning forward, placing a hand on her knee, giving it a small squeeze. “What do you want to know?”

           Instead of replying, Alya let out a stream of giggles, instinctually scooching back in her chair. Shocked, Nino pulled his hand back, lips parting.

           That was adorable.

           “Don’t tickle me, Nino,” Alya said, rubbing her knee, numbing the area of the ticklish shocks that just jolted through her muscles. “This is serious.”

           “Sorry,” Nino rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed by the blush he could feel painting his cheeks, crawling up to his ears.

           “Anyways,” Alya went on, ignoring Nino’s discomfort, and went on talking about Lady Wifi. Nino answered as many questions as he could, but he couldn’t stop the image of her giggling face from being at the forefront of his thoughts. Nino wanted to see it again but didn’t know when he would have the chance to.

**

                       “Nino!” Alya giggled, attempting to curl into herself.

           The attack had come unexpectedly, but there was not much she could do. Fighting back could give herself away, and it wouldn’t be for another few months that Nino would learn the new truth about her. She let him get away with the attack, though with her new strength, it was much harder to hold back.

           Nino sat over her, his knees straddling her thighs and hips, putting just enough pressure to pin the legs to the bench without crushing her. He sat triumphantly on her thighs, fitting perfectly between the hem of her jeans and her knees, which happened to be exposed that day thanks to the fashionable tears that came with them. He held her wrists together in one hand, surprised by how tiny her wrists were in comparison, he laughed victoriously once he had them pinned to the wooden bench, her hair messily entangled beneath.

           “Something wrong?” Nino teased, his free hand resting on her knee, feeling the short stubbly hair on her skin. Why shave in the winter when nobody was going to see it?

           “What are you doing?” Alya asked, voice trembling. The skin on her legs were coated with anticipatory goosebumps.

           Nino simply responded with a curt grunt and a slight shrug, then proceeded to squeeze the knee cap. Giggles filled her belly, rising to her throat like bubbles blowing in the wind. Alya bit back the laughter, her teeth pressing into her plump bottom lip, ruby lipstick painting a thin layer of gloss onto her teeth. She managed to hold back the laughter for a bit as he focused on squeezing just the kneecap but lost her composure a bit as he slipped his hand through the hole and hooked his fingers beneath her leg and scratched behind her knee.

           “Nino,” Alya squeaked before the vast number of giggly bubbles slipped through her control and turned into one of the most beautiful sounds Nino had ever heard. She squeezed her eyes shut, turning her head away so he couldn’t see her smile as well, though she fought the urge to tug at her arms.

           “Wow, Alya,” Nino cooed, his short nails still scratching at the skin, his fingers moving swiftly as if helping her scratch a persistent itch she couldn’t reach. “If you’re this ticklish here, you must be super ticklish everywhere else too.���

           Letting out a little yelp, Alya continued to giggle as Nino crawled his hands a little further up the leg and lightly traced swirls into the back of her lower thigh.

           Alya decided not to give him the satisfaction of conceding at all, of begging. Ladybug had just given her own Miraculous, which hid beneath her shirt, but she wasn’t afraid at this moment that Nino was going to see it. It would have to take a lot of thrashing for it to make an appearance, and Alya knew that wasn’t going to happen. Speaking of her Miraculous, Trixx was still hiding in her fanny pack, which thankfully was sitting next to her backpack on the ground below the bench. Lucky for Trixx, as he would be crushed by Nino if Alya hadn’t taken the fanny pack off before this all went down.

           “How about here?” Nino let out a small laugh as he quickly reached forward and latched onto her hip bone. Despite it not being that ticklish of a spot, Alya still let out a giggly gasp and a short kick. She dug the heel of her shoes into the bench, giving her something to focus on, grounding her just a bit.

           “Her giggle is adorable,” Nino thought, ecstasy flowing through his bloodstream, her smile and giggle like a drug to him. Though she was hiding her face, he could still see enough of her face to take in the beauty of it all, her lips curled up into a smile bright enough to rival all the stars in the sky.

           Needing more, Nino walked his fingers up just a bit to poke at her sides. Each poke elicited a giggle of a slightly higher pitch led Nino to the conclusion that this spot was a bit better than the last. Curling his fingers into a mimicry of claws, he pressed them into the softer flesh and began to vibrate his hand. This turned out to be a great technique.

           “No!” Alya nearly screamed, the dam finally collapsing and out flowed her wonderfully boisterous laughter. She let out another kick, then dug her heel back into the bench, trying hard to get control again.

           Ticklish shocks resonated through her body, sending surges from her side through her chest and into her throat, which continued to pour out waves of contagious laughter. Despite all this, she still did not tug at all at her arms. This was not satisfactory, not at all, to Nino. He wanted to watch her struggle, to writhe and laugh underneath him, under his ticklish touch. Alya, though, could not let this happen. She was a heroine, after all. A new hero, but still a hero that shouldn’t be taken down by something as silly as tickling. She knew she could fight it until Nino grew bored, she had to.

           “This a good spot?” Nino beamed, tempted to pull his other hand down to do the same to her other side, but thought against it. He won’t let go until she pulls free or begs.

           Nino didn’t know why he was being so sadistic all of a sudden, but he liked it. He liked seeing Alya like this, so flustered, so adorable...no. He didn’t want to admit it yet, he couldn’t like her like that, at least he didn’t think so. But she was so pretty, with eyes that glowed like gold coins and her lips as beautiful as rubies.

           “It tickles,” Alya broke Nino out of his thoughts, bringing out a laugh from him.

           “Well, I hope so,” Nino grinned, fingers stilling briefly before walking up to the base of her ribs.  “That’s kinda the point.”

           Alya let out a squeak as he gently prodded between her bottom two ribs. Nino’s grin spread wider as a devious idea flickered into frame in his mind.

           “Do you know how many ribs the average person has?” Nino asked, mindlessly tapping the same spot between the two ribs over and over, enjoying the small flinch each poke provoked.

           “Twenty-four?” Alya asked after a moment of thinking it over. Something like this should’ve come quickly, but she was a bit distracted at the moment.

           “Yep,” Another poke. “Let’s see if you have twenty-four, too.”

           Without a second to protest if she had wanted, Nino scratched at the lowest rib. Alya let out a breathy giggle, turning her head back so she could see him.

           “One,” Nino said before walking his fingers up to the next one. “Two.”

           “Three,” Alya found herself saying between nearly silent giggles. Nino raised an eyebrow, surprised by her participation. He briefly wondered if she was enjoying it but thought otherwise. Though maybe.

           “Four,” Her giggle became a bit more desperate. “Five.”

           “Six,” Alya startled Nino again, though pressed her face into her arm, hiding from him as much as she could.

           “Seven” Alya cackled, wiggling a bit in anticipation.

           The next three were in her armpit, which is standard anatomy. Alya knew this was going to be hard but tried to hold back as much laughter as she could. Unfortunately for her, it was not much.

           “It tickles!” She squealed, beginning to hysterically laugh as Nino counted the eighth rib. She couldn’t help but toss her head back, laughter pouring from her widely grinning mouth.

           “Nine,” It was hard for Nino to hear himself over her laughter, though he didn’t mind it all that much. That and he knew he wouldn’t be able to count a proper twenty-four. Alya likely didn’t know this fact, or at least Nino hoped so.

           Hands tightly balling into fists, her nails dug into the palms of her hands. It took a lot of effort to not struggle, her armpit being ruthlessly attacked by now, Nino having just announced the tenth rib, but didn’t really seem to be attacking it. Instead, he just scratched all five fingers along the exposed area. Nino was lucky that the day had been unusually warm for the end of autumn, as Alya opted to wear a tank top under a light jean jacket today, which she had taken off earlier into their hangout. This left nothing to protect her sensitive bare skin from his dull, scribbling nails raking up and down this one armpit.

           “Want me to stop?” Nino asked, wanting to see what she would do. She responded by glaring daggers at him, though due to the current situation, these daggers were more like pencils, not very dangerous, but still hurts a little if stabbed by one.

           “Sure,” Was all Alya could say. She wouldn’t beg for him to stop, not wanting to concede. She could take it, but she wouldn’t mind at all if Nino was bored and wanted to stop. This, however, was definitely not the case.

           “That wasn’t very convincing!” Nino let out a laugh as he wore a goofy grin. “If you want me to stop, you have to say, ‘Yes, Nino the Great and Wonderful, please stop tickling me!’”

           “Never,” Alya exclaimed, then let out a shriek as he suddenly attacked her other armpit. The pads of her fingers teased the shaved skin, the sensitivity of this armpit higher than the last thanks to the long anticipation Alya had to endure. She knew it was coming, but still could not brace herself for it.

           “Well, that’s no fun,” Nino pouted, sticking out his lower lip ever so slightly. His fingers stilled for a moment, contemplating his next move. “Hm…how can I make you beg for mercy?”

           “You can’t,” Alya chided, stretching her fingers as she breathed heavily, glad to have fresh air circulating through her lungs once more. “You can’t do anything to make me beg.”

           “Is that a challenge?” Nino sneered, raising an eyebrow. “Alright then, I accept that challenge.”

           Sucking in as much air as she could in anticipation, Alya tightened all her muscles and clenched her fists once again. Her heels dug back into the bench, ready to be a physical support in this endeavor.

           “Hm…” Nino poked the tip of his tongue out, contemplating his next move. Her armpits were a good spot, but she would probably expect that. He could sit on her arms and attack both at once, but that wouldn’t give him any other options for tickling her, except for her neck. Her neck seemed promising, but for some reason, he just felt something was telling him not to, like something in his brain nudging him another way.

           He glanced down at her stomach, a very easy spot for him to reach in this position, and one she couldn’t defend whatsoever even if she tried.

           “Does this tickle?” Nino asked as he reached down as if to tickle her armpit, but then withdrew his hand quickly and went for her belly.

           “Yes!” Alya let out a snort after a shrill scream, her heels pounding against the bench. Nino’s hand teased at the softer skin from her hips to right below her naval, poking at just the right spots to make her cackle and throw her head from side to side. “It tickles so much!”

           Nino was shocked by how toned her stomach was, the faint outline of abs could be felt through her shirt. 

            “Have you been working out?” Nino admired her belly, tracing his fingers over the muscles. “I’m a bit jealous. Maybe we can work out together. But oh well, it sure isn’t stopping you from being super ticklish!”

            “Shut up!”

           “Are you going to beg me to stop?” Nino asked, his nails now skittering over an overly sensitive spot just beneath the left side of her rib cage.

           “Never,” Alya repeated, her hands hurting just a bit from how tight she was straining her fists. It just tickled so much; her belly being one of her worst spots. That and… “No!”

           “Aw, does Alya have a ticklish little belly button?” Nino cooed, single finger wiggling in her belly button like a worm wriggling around on a fishing hook. Alya’s laughter was loud, likely heard by all who resided in Paris. She flailed her legs, not able to steady or ground herself any longer, her heels bashing the wooden boards beneath her. Her hips bounced as she thrashed and turned, trying to get her wrists free without hurting him, but Nino wouldn’t let go. She still knew she could get free, but she didn’t want to use all of her newfound strength, not wanting him to know that she was as strong as a heroine now.

           “It’s so ticklish. It’s so cute!” Nino’s voice was cutesy, adorable, as if he was talking to a puppy. As his index finger swirled around in her navel, his other fingers scratched at her tummy, Alya letting out a howl of ticklish mirth and agony. “How can such a tiny little thing be so ticklish?”

           “Shut up!” Alya let out another snort as she shot her retort.

           “You want me to stop?”

           “I’m not begging.”

           “Fine,” Nino grinned, devious plan forming in his mind. Without any hesitation, Nino let go of Alya’s wrists and thrust his hand down under her arm and began to tickle her armpit at the same time as her belly was being obliterated.

           “Stop!” She finally let out, bringing her arms down, trapping his hand in her armpit.

           “I will only stop if you say the magic words,” Nino laughed, dipping his middle finger into her belly button to help his index finger. Letting out another few snorts, Alya shook her head.

           “No,” Alya repeated over and over, smacking his chest, though not very hard. “Stop.”

           “Nah,” Nino let out a chuckle as he bent over, his fingers on her belly stopping momentarily to lift her shirt up to the bottom of her ribs. Sucking in the deepest of breaths, Nino planted his lips onto the skin around her belly button and blew the largest raspberry he could.

           “Mercy!” Alya tapped her fingers against the bench, tapping out.

           “You’re welcome,” Nino winked, thinking his pun was pretty funny. Alya simply responded with a half assed glare. He pulled his hands and face away from her body and looked over her, his head tilted a bit to the side. “Are you okay?”

           “Yeah,” Alya said as she gasped in more air, her lungs trying to catch up from the lack of oxygen she has had for the last half hour or so, or at least she thinks it was that long. Her current perception of time was definitely a bit messed up. “That was a lot.”

           “Sorry,” Nino let out a sigh, rubbing the back of his neck. He lifted himself off her, standing up next to her. “I guess I went a little overboard.”

           “You think?” Alya smacked him with the back of her hand, finally feeling like she had the strength to sit back up. She rotated around to face him and put her hands on her hips. “I’m going to get you back, Nino. Mark my words.”

           “I’ll remember,” Nino winked, but he didn’t remember for that long.

**

           “You’re so mean!” Nino cackled, his head thrown back, his armpits being tickled by Alya, who was sitting behind him, her legs crossed, wrapped around his torso.

           “This is revenge, Nino,” Alya teased, quickly blowing a raspberry against his neck, eliciting a loud laugh.

           “It tickles so much,” Nino squeaked, wiggling around, but despite being the superhero, Carapace, he is not nearly as strong as Alya. She has been in the game for much longer, which he had just learned and was amazed that she didn’t literally kill him when he last tickled her. He was incredibly fortunate, but here he was, getting the worst punishment of his life.

           “That’s the point, Nino,” Alya grinned, slipped her left hand down and reached forward, grabbing at his knee, and squeezed.

           “Stop!” Nino yelled, his laughter louder than ever. “It tickled too much!”

           “Well, maybe you should have thought about that when you tickled me first.”

           “That was months ago,” Nino wheezed, too ticklish for his own good. While Alya had, quite possibly, the most ticklish belly button in the whole world, Nino was definitely more ticklish overall. Every inch of his body was ticklish, and his knees were quite bad.

           “Well, I like to hold grudges,” Alya gave a villainous laugh, now attacking his ribs and thighs.

           “I give, I give!” Nino let out a snort, unable to take any more tickling. “It’s too ticklish!”

           “Say that I am the best tickler in the world.”

           “Alya is the best tickler in the world,” Nino repeated, though thought about being snide, though thought against it. He really couldn’t take much more.

           “Good,” Alya said, withdrawing her body from his and stretched. “I think we’re pretty even now. Don’t you?”

           “Definitely,” Nino replied, unable to shake the phantom tickles he still felt. “We’re even.”

[be11atrixthestrange]

Waking Up In Vegas: Chapter 4

After a night of debauchery, Ron and Hermione wake up in Vegas... married.

Muggle!AU. Romcom!Romione. Slow burning, smutty, angst-fest.

Rated M for reasons.

Ao3 | FFN

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More Chapters

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Chapter 4

[Hermione]

Hermione breathes a sigh of relief when she enters her hotel room, and the door shuts behind her. She pulls off the Chudley Cannons t-shirt and boxers, throwing them into a pile on the floor by her suitcase, before making her way to the bathroom for a shower.

Her suite's bathroom is an assault of color, too happy and cheerful to match her sullen mood. The tiles form an elaborate design which Hermione guesses is supposed to be a mermaid, but who knows, really. She stopped trying to identify any cohesive theme to the hotel's elaborate decor the moment she arrived.

As she scrubs herself clean, she can't help but wonder about last night. Did they really have sex? If they had, it would be a first for her. She's had sex before, of course, but only within the boundaries of a committed relationship. Never a one-night-stand, if that's what that was.

The idea that she and Ron Weasley might have shagged last night doesn't bother her in the way she'd expect — in fact, there's a small, but very present part of her that hopes they did. Hermione's only slept with one other man before, and her anxiety surfaces every time she imagines having sex with someone else — someone who might see her differently than her ex-boyfriend Viktor. She often wonders if there's anyone else out there that finds her attractive enough, and hates to admit that insecurity led her to stay with Viktor much longer than she really should have. It's that same fear that makes the thought of taking her clothes off in front of another man so daunting. She's often tempted to numb her worries with alcohol, and get it over with. Maybe last night she did.

Hermione glances down at her body and tries to keep her insecurities at bay, but she can't. She's never been one to concern herself with cosmetic endeavors, not like Lavender, who is always talking about tanning lotion and bikini waxes. She wonders what parts of her Ron had seen and touched, and oddly, she's desperate to know if he liked it.

She's imagined sleeping with Ron before. Not intentionally, of course. It's just a passing thought that occurs with any single, attractive, age-appropriate man, but for some reason, it happens more frequently with Ron. Neville, Dean, and Seamus, Harry's other groomsmen, are all just as attractive, but she isn't nearly as curious to know what it would be like to shag them. Maybe it's the way that Ron bickers with her and irritates her — there's something so focused about it. It's like he knows exactly how to push her buttons. Her need to learn more about him in bed must be purely academic — if he can drive her mind crazy, what might he be able to do to her body?

It's tempting to reprimand herself like she might a friend after a one-night-stand, but she doesn't feel guilty. If there's any reason to be angry with herself, it's not because she slept with Ron; it's because she can't remember it, and she really, really, wants to. For science, of course.

Unable to avoid the day any longer, she turns the shower off and reaches for her towel to dry herself. Any guilt she feels is mostly about ditching Ginny last night. This week is for Ginny, and as her maid of honor, Hermione has a duty not to abandon her to rendezvous with her brother.

She wraps her towel tightly around her body and heads back into the bedroom. The bathroom's aggressive color scheme continues into the rest of the suite, but the mermaid tiles are now replaced with lime-green area rugs, lava lamps, and an ombre accent wall that fades from white to teal. The whole ordeal feels both retro and modern, like she's entering both the past and future at the same time. While rummaging in her suitcase, she finds her phone, blinking with dozens of missed messages from Ginny. Scrolling through the messages tells her that Ginny was really worried about her last night.

Where did you go?

Are you ok?

Are you with someone?

Please text me back, I'm worried!

The phone buzzes and startles Hermione. She glances down to see Ginny's name again, this time accompanied by a new message.

Don't forget about brunch! You owe me a mimosa and an explanation! 11 am :)

Okay, Ginny doesn't sound too angry. Hermione checks the clock and groans. 10:55 am.

She extracts a clean change of clothes from her bag, which happens to be a periwinkle sundress that Ginny convinced her to buy for the trip. It's a little shorter and more revealing than Hermione would typically choose, but seeing her in it might make Ginny feel more sympathetic. Plus, if she shows up looking perfectly put-together, she might have a chance at convincing the girls that she did not get blackout drunk and shag Ron Weasley last night. Still, she imagines showing up to brunch in Ron's boxers and Chudley Cannons t-shirt, and the picture brings a smile to her lips. Of course, she'd never do that, but the look on Lavender's face might be worth it.

Hermione sends Ginny a quick text to tell her she's on her way and pulls the sundress over her head. She then stations herself in front of the bathroom mirror to work on both her hair and an alibi.

x

One step into the god-knows-what-themed restaurant gives Hermione an instant headache. The music, the conversation, and the smell of breakfast food and alcohol instantly remind her of her hangover. She passes the giant, decorative goblet in the middle of the room and spots Ginny's red hair, standing out against the forest-green wall paint behind her. Ginny sees her too, and waves her down.

"Hermione Jean Granger!" says Ginny as soon as Hermione sits down at the creaky bamboo chair across from her. Also at the table are Luna, Demelza, and Lavender, who eyes Hermione's dress suspiciously. "Dish!"

Ginny's already halfway through her first mimosa and is smiling brightly. Hermione instantly relaxes at her demeanor, her guilt melting away. "Dish? About what?"

"Where you ran off to last night, of course!"

"Ginny thinks you shagged someone, but I think you just went back to bed," says Lavender, and Hermione is briefly tempted to wipe the smug smile off her face with the truth, but she resists.

"What does everyone else think?" asks Hermione. Maybe they'll come up with a better alibi than she has.

"We took bets. I think you ran off and shagged a stranger, because I know there's a rebel in there somewhere," says Ginny, waving a lazy finger toward her face. "Lavender thinks you just went to bed early like a party-pooper. Luna thinks you got lost. And Demelza thinks you disappeared with Ron."

"What?" says Hermione, glancing curiously at Demelza, "Ron?"

"Yeah," shrugs Demelza. "It would make sense."

"Would it?"

"Not like that," chuckles Lavender, rolling her eyes. "It would make sense because he's the best man. Demelza thinks you two are planning something for Ginny and Harry, and that's why you two disappeared. We can't figure out where he went either, but Harry's working on finding out," she adds bitterly.

"Oh," says Hermione, breathing a sigh of relief. "I thought you meant—"

"We didn't," laughs Demelza.

"Definitely not," says Lavender cooly. "You're not his type, anyway."

Hermione turns away from Lavender, ignoring the prickle of insecurity ignited by her comment. "Well, not to let you all down, but I had too much to drink last night, so I just went back to my hotel room early. I meant to send a text, but I passed out pretty quickly."

"Knew it," says Lavender.

"As for Ron," she adds, turning back to face Lavender, "I did run into him. He was with a girl, but I don't know who she was. Super pretty, though." Hermione can't help but enjoy the flash of jealousy on Lavender's face.

Lavender meets her eyes with a scowl before dropping her gaze to Hermione's exposed legs. "Nice dress. Who's it for?"

"Sorry? Who's it for?"

"Your dress is awfully short," she adds matter-of-factly, taking a strategic sip of her mimosa.

"Oh, well," Hermione shrugs. "It's warm out."

"Well, you look very attractive. Almost like you're trying to impress someone." Lavender's cheery tone juxtaposes her icy stare. If only there was a prize for backhanded compliments, Lavender could finally consider herself a winner.

"I just like this dress," says Hermione through gritted teeth. "Who would I be trying to impress?" The table has gone awkwardly quiet, the air suddenly thick with tension.

Lavender shrugs. "Nobody. Wouldn't be worth your time," she says, bringing her mimosa back to her dolled-up lips.

Hermione rolls her eyes. Lavender doesn't seem to like Hermione, and Hermione cannot figure out why. It might have something to do with how often she and Ron talk to one another. Lavender has a habit of inserting herself into their little arguments and trying to redirect Ron's attention as if she's trying to save him from Hermione's incessant pestering. Maybe she means well, but Hermione finds it condescending.

They only ever talk about wedding logistics — It's not like they flirt. As far as Hermione knows, Lavender has nothing to be jealous of. Either way, Hermione doesn't have time to mull it over because Luna breaks the tension. "Are you sure you didn't get lost?"

"Sorry, what?" asks Hermione, having already forgotten the previous conversation.

"Last night," clarifies Luna. "You weren't lost?"

Oh. "No Luna, I wasn't lost. Why?"

Luna shrugs. "I just checked your room before I went to bed. You weren't there."

Hermione feels Lavender's piercing stare once more and tries to send a quieting glance to Luna, but Luna remains oblivious. "Are you sure you didn't get lost?" Hermione retorts. All the girls, except for Lavender, laugh.

Luna smiles wistfully. "Maybe I had the wrong room."

"Probably," says Hermione firmly, then in an attempt to change the subject, "Another round of mimosas?"

Ginny's beams. "Sure! But this round's on you!"

"Sounds good," says Hermione, rising to her feet. "I'll be right back."

It's probably in her best interest to keep the drinks flowing.

x

Hermione is waiting at the bar for another round of mimosas, tracing the playing cards ingrained into the counter with her finger, and mulling over her conversation with the girls. Something feels very off with Lavender, and she wonders if she suspects anything. Hermione glances down at her dress; it is awfully short. She tugs self-consciously at the hem. Lavender doesn't think she's wearing this dress to impress Ron, does she?

Sure, she wore this dress the day they arrived in Vegas, and at one point, she noticed Ron's gaze drifting from her face to her chest then to her thigh. Normally, she'd react by calling a man out on that, but with Ron, she said nothing. It was such a fleeting glance, probably because Lavender was watching, and he might not have wanted to offend her. But she also liked it. Something about his eyes on her body made her feel sexy, and it's been a while since she's felt that way. The memory of Ron's wandering eyes and how they made her feel might have been part of her motivation to wear the dress this morning. A small part, but a contributing factor nonetheless. Maybe Lavender can sense that. She seems to detect any possible interest in Ron like a bloodhound, and clearly, she still thinks Ron is her man.

A sudden voice startles her out of her reverie.

"Hey! Good to see you again!"

Hermione turns to see a woman about her age. She doesn't recognize her at all. "Hey," she says tentatively.

The woman is wearing a green jumpsuit that almost camouflages her into the restaurant's decor. Her bright pink manicure reminds Hermione of claws, and her large gold spectacles magnify her eyes, giving her the appearance of an insect. She looks like she's intentionally trying to dress as an animal, but hasn't decided which one.

"How are you feeling this morning?"

Did Hermione meet this woman last night? "I'm okay. Doing better," she adds, hoping her tone is neutral enough to be non-committal.

"Okay, that's good to hear! We had so much fun last night, by the way!"

Hermione is more confused than ever, but she feels like her opportunity to admit that has passed. "Thank you," she says instead. "I… did too. I think."

The woman laughs, an almost-maniacal cackling sound that makes Hermione shudder. "Honestly, I'm so honored that you included me. I know we just met last night, but I already feel like I've known you two forever!"

Okay, what the hell is happening?

"Oh, of course, I feel that way too!" she lies. Hermione needs to find a way to end this conversation.

"I'm glad I found you! I tried to send you this photo, but I realized this morning that I didn't have your number." She pulls her phone out of her pocket and scrolls through her camera roll. Hermione curiously looks over her shoulder, hoping that maybe this photo will spark her memory of last night. "Here it is!"

The woman shoves the phone into Hermione's face, and Hermione's jaw drops.

"I know! It's so cute, isn't it?"

It feels like her heart has stopped. She's looking at a photo of Ron holding her up, one hand is under her knees, and the other supporting her back. Hermione's arms are laced around Ron's neck, and their lips are pressed together in a passionate kiss. Above them is a sign that reads Just Married.

"That's definitely one you should get framed!" says the woman excitedly.

Hermione tries to steady her breath, but she feels about to panic. This has to be some sort of joke. "Yes, thank you," she says in the giddiest tone she can manage.

"Go ahead, send it to yourself!" says the woman.

"Right, right," says Hermione. A few clicks of the keypad later, Hemione feels her phone buzz again in her pocket. She hands the phone back to the woman.

"And now I have your number,'' she says! "We should definitely celebrate again. I will text you!"

"Yeah," says Hermione mechanically, although she knows it won't happen. "Of course."

"Congratulations again!" The woman hugs Hermione before sauntering away.

As soon as she disappears into the crowd, Hermione pulls out her phone to examine the photo. She recalls how horrified Ron was to wake up next to her and has no idea how she'll be able to have this conversation. She's tempted just to delete the photo, but she knows that won't make it go away.

Then, something jumps out at her. On the wall below the words Just Married are the words Follow your heart's desire! They're small and easy to miss, but it sounds like bad branding.

She switches her screen to search those words. A single click pulls up a website.

Erised Elopements

Follow your heart's desire!

Maybe there is a way to make it all go away.

She saves the address into her phone, right as the bartender pulls up with five mimosas. "Sorry about the wait!"

"No problem," says Hermione distractedly, pocketing her phone. She smiles and pays for the drinks before heading back to a restless table of girls.

"What took you so long?" asked Ginny.

Hermione shrugged, setting the drinks down on the table. "Busy, I guess."

"Are you ok, Hermione?" asks Luna.

"Yes, why?"

"You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I'm fine." Ginny looks at her with concern, and Hermione waves her off. "I'm great."

"Are you sure you haven't seen a ghost? This hotel is haunted, you know."

"No, Luna, I haven't seen a ghost." Just accidentally got married.

"Okay," says Ginny. "If you're feeling ill, just let us know. You can go back to your room and rest…"

"Actually, that might be a good idea," says Hermione quickly. "Are you sure you won't mind?"

"No, of course not," says Ginny, although Hermione can sense the disappointment in her voice.

"Sorry. I'll be ready to rally tonight, I promise." Hermione snags her purse and slings it over her shoulder. She slides her untouched mimosa across the table to Ginny. "An extra for you."

Ginny perks up and takes a sip. "Feel better, Hermione!"

"Thank you," says Hermione as she waves goodbye and turns to leave the hotel restaurant, still aware of Lavender's eyes on the hem of her dress. At first, she heads in the direction of her room. Then, checking over her shoulder to make sure the girls aren't watching, she pulls out her phone and searches the address from the website. She'll be able to fix this; she's sure of it.

[dearcupidcandy]

Yandere Jealous Kuroo X charismatic reader

♡ ✧ To Tame a Yandere ✧ ♡

𝙒𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜: 𝙏𝙤𝙭𝙞𝙘 𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥, 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨

𝘚𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴: 𝘑𝘰𝘫𝘪//𝘎𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦, 𝘒𝘩𝘢𝘪 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵// 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘦

𝐄𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜/𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐩𝐮𝐭 𝐊𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐨’𝐬 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠/𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐦. 𝐒𝐨 𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐬.

To put it simply. You where his weakness. He hates seeing you sad. But his sadistic side was waiting for a moment for you to slip up. So that he could finally play with you.

Today was the day. He got out a little earlier. Since you both went to the same school. He often waited for you. But he was pissed since his team needed more pratice to beat Karasuno. So he quickly texted that you go right home, and that he would be home later.

But you knew it was an command

✩After Your Class: Reading The ,(O̶r̶d̶e̶r̶),𝗧𝗲𝘅𝘁✩

“Uggh... control freak...” You sighed under your breath.

As you where packing your things. A hand tapped your backpack. Signaling you to stop. Your h/c hair flicked up quickly as your e/c eyes met his.

“Uh-umm..” The man stuttered. He had bangs, green eyes and light gray hair. He was also super tall. What? 6’8? He was too tall. He was making you nervous. He saw your uncomfortable expression and freaked out placing his notebook in front of you. With unfinished problems. “Sorry!! I’m Lev!! Lev Haiba!” Before you spoke he politely cut you off. “Sorry!! But I need help with these problems before pratice...” He flinched suddenly. Suprised at his own forwardness. “If your not...busy that is.. I just know you ask the most questions and.-“ He rambled on. Why not? It would get you away from Kuroo. You smiled outwardly at the The thought. Putting Lev in a trance. “I’d love to Haiba-san.” My name is Y/n L/n.” He blushed and nodded. After almost two hours, and your phone powered off, a shorter man peeked in the classroom. He had blonde hair at the tips. But it was obviously dyed. “Lev. Pratice is starting!” You felt your cheeks genuinely flush as you walked home. ‘Where you crazy?’ Kuroo would lose his mind!’

You came home to a mess. Glasses broke and he had slammed his table down in a fit. You where a bit late. You even went out even after Kuroo and Lev’s pratice started. Pushing your limits. But you where hungry and stopped by and restaurant... and a few stores... ok a lot of stores...

You where supposed to be home right after his pratice was over, 7 pm, since they had a game that weekend. But before you could even open the door. Kuroo flew it open and looked down at you. **que scared y/n** **que beyond pissed Kuroo almost breaking y/n’s arm**

“Ow ow!! Kuroo dear!” You couldn’t handle the pain. He placed you on the ground. Right across from him on a small coffee table. “Lev bragged how much y/n helped him on his homework during pratice.....” 𝑪𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒏𝒆𝒓?” His eyes lost all emotion as you stuttered on your words. His devious smirked appeared on his face. “What happened to the charming Y/n L/n?” The one who only told me lies?” You froze. Still stuttering on your words until he made a movement with his finger. “Why don’t you come sit in my lap, and try to swoon me, hm?” His eyes closed in a smile. “𝘽𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙄 𝙠 𝙞 𝙡 𝙡 𝙇 𝙚 𝙫.”

You didn’t hesitate and even though you weren’t head over heels. You knew what had to be done. “Lev might be tall, cute, and a lot kinder than you~.” You teases seeing his eyes grow darker. “H u h?” Was that supposed to be charming Y/n?” He looked more pissed off. But you scooted closer on your legs. Now super close to a guy who was close to murdering you, and Lev. You gulped at your words while he patiently waited for you to redeem yourself. “He’s not as caring as my dear Kuroo~ ♡.” Your words made him melt. He placed your hand down from his chin and felt his body relax as he pulled you into a hug tighter than before. You had one... for now. You flinched awkwardly as his grip tightened. “You love me right ♡ ?” He said softly. Still keeping his moody demenor just for your answer. “Don’t mess with me anymore... be truthful...” He sulked. But you could tell it was mixture of anger with his pouting. It was cute. But fear quickly overcame any thoughts you had about it. You breath hitched as your air supply shortened. His grip just getting more secure.

His grip on your back tightened. One wrong move and you could be damaged and not be able to go outside. Though he wouldn’t mind. He wanted you to rely on him. To need him more. He only wanted you to be charming and swoon only him. Nobody else. He wanted you here. All the time. Until you got married and died together. He was addicted to you. You gulped and pulled back making contact with his eyes. Him staring intensely into yours.

“Of course... I do...” Your charming attitude faded for once. Leaving his awe struck. His shoulders relaxed and he rested his arm on yours. “I’m so glad- I-.” “HUGGH.” Petals began to come out of Kuroo’s mouth. Like they where already inside his throat. “K-Kuroo?” What-.”

“You’ve done this to me... just love me...”

“I do!”

“Shut it.” He said. Pulling you closer. Letting the black petals fall onto you.

“You lied.... Y/n... you really messed up now... I’m never letting you leave...” He grabbed the handful of petals. Before letting you get a head start. Though this time. Your lies wouldn’t numb the pain anymore.

[thelionbyname]

Together We Are One (Prequel part 11, Final)

(Hello everyone :) So sorry for the huge gap between posts, I just moved back to my home country, so there wasn’t a lot of time for me to write. I also knew this was going to be the final part in this story, and I didn’t want it to be over. But I may write another Hermitcraft fanfic soon. Because this is the final, it is quite a bit longer than usual, hope you don’t mind. Enjoy!)

As soon as Grian landed beside him, Mumbo pelted him with questions. “Are you okay? Who was that? What happened to him? I’m sorry I was no help, I couldn’t climb down the tree fast enough…”

“That’s all right Mumbo, I don’t blame you. I’m fine, a few scratches and bruises, but otherwise unharmed,” Grian assured him.

“Who is he, though? You must know him, or at least, he knows you, or he wouldn’t have attacked out of the blue like that.”

Grian shrugged and brushed his fringe out of his eyes. “I don’t know, Mumbo. He looked at me like he knew me, but I’ve never seen him before. If I had, I would remember.”

Mumbo nodded thoughtfully. They decided they should probably tell Xisuma what happened; perhaps he knew more. They found the other hermits still sitting on the side of the road, Tango, Xisuma and Keralis trying to convince False to start singing again.

“False can sing?” Grian asked, surprised. He momentarily forgot what he came to them for.

“Right, yeah! You and Mumbo haven’t heard it! She’s phenomenal!” Tango told him. His crimson eyes sparkled, but then he clenched his fist behind his back and his smile faded. It looked to Xisuma like he was punishing himself for something. He pushed the thought aside for now.

“Yeah, Falsie sang in Argentina, and she really is incredible.” X agreed.

“I need to hear this!” Mumbo said excitedly.

“You know what, guys? When this is all over, I’ll sing for everyone and get us into the new year.” False decided.

Everyone smiled triumphantly. They continued to chat about other things, until Grian remembered what he came to tell them.

“Wait, guys. There was something I was trying to tell you before, but I forgot. A man attacked me when Mumbo and I were over yonder. I don’t know him, but we figured he must know us to have any reason to attack me. I was wondering if you guys knew anything about that.” Grian said to all of them, but facing Xisuma. He figured that if anyone knew, Xisuma would. He knew everything regarding the hermits.

“What did this man look like, Grian?” Xisuma asked him.

“Um… quite a handsome man, olive skin, but bloodshot eyes. He had a long scar along his right cheek.” Everyone except Mumbo gasped at his description. “What?” Grian asked, confused. He glanced at Mumbo, who shrugged, feeling just as out of the loop as Grian.

Xisuma was the one who responded. “Remember that night in the other world, when Tango and Keralis were held hostage, Tango died, and you two had to capture a bunch of people?”

Mumbo and Grian nodded, starting to understand.

“The man that attacked us back then matched that exact description. Malus.”

They recognised the name from the recount the others had given them after the fight. Their eyes widened in surprise.

“I assume your fight led to him being thrown into the black hole? It would explain how he got in that world.” Xisuma guessed correctly.

Grian nodded.

“No point dwelling on it, there’s nothing we can do about it, and we shouldn’t mess with the past anyway.” Keralis said, looking at Grian, knowing the latter would beat himself up over bringing the dangerous man to the other world for many nights to come if wasn’t reassured. Keralis knew Grian would blame himself for Tango’s temporary death, once he connected the dots.

Grian smiled at Keralis gratefully, aware of what he was doing. Keralis smiled back.

At that moment, light returned to the road up ahead; the black hole had closed.

Everyone hurried back to the taxis, this time not fussing over who sat where, so Tango ended up next to False, with Xisuma in the passenger’s seat.

Xisuma motioned for the driver to continue, and looked via the rearview mirror at the two in the back. Tango was sitting very stiffly, arms on his lap, like he really didn’t want to come in contact with anything.

...Or anyone…

Before Xisuma could dwell on that realisation, Tango noticed him watching, and looked in his eyes through the mirror. Tango blushed slightly from the embarrassment of being watched, and looked away. Nobody talked for the rest of the trip.

At some point during the drive, Tango sensed the other hermit’s minds. He could only really feel their aura, not their thoughts, but if Cleo was paying attention, she would feel them nearby too. Though to be fair, they were probably still recovering from the black hole and watching the six of them get sucked through, so it was unlikely that she was paying attention.

Then, suddenly, Tango felt an overwhelming wave of emotion. Pain, sadness, loss. This grief came from someone else’s mind, and he immediately recognised the aura. It was Impulse.

“Stop! Stop the car!” Tango shouted. He needed to get to Impulse, now.

The startled taxi driver hit the brakes, and Tango jumped out. He couldn’t bear the pain that wasn’t even his own, it was too much to know what his best friend was going through.

He sprinted in the direction of all the presences, but there was still a long way to go. The reach on his telepathy was quite far, so he felt the hermits far before he was anywhere near them. Then Xisuma was next to him. Without a word, he super-speed-ran all the way to the Hermits, taking Tango with him.

They stopped behind a few trees that hadn’t been torn from the earth, a few meters from the hermits, and Xisuma let go of Tango. Tango immediately ran through the group gathered around a single person, curled up in a ball of dread, arms wrapped around his legs, trying to protect himself from pain that came only from within.

“Impulse!” Tango screamed as he pushed his way through the mass of people.

Impulse, the one on the ground, just shook his head and whimpered, rocking back and forth. He mumbled to himself, “That’s not Tango, he’s gone, he’s never coming back.” And he let out a scream.

But then comforting arms wrapped around him, and the same voice that had called his name whispered, “Impulse, it’s all right, it’s me, I’m okay.”

Something in Impulse’s heart mended, a hole sealed. Even though it went against everything he just saw, Impulse wanted to believe him. And he did.

There’s some strange connection that forms in friendships such as these, and when your best friend is nearby, you just know, even when every logical part of your brain says it’s not possible.

Impulse carefully raised his head, and looked directly into his favorite pair of blood-red eyes. And as the final cracks in his heart and soul mended, miraculously, Impulse smiled.

“Tango! You’re alive!” he yelled, and despite himself, giggled with relief. “Wh- how? I saw you die!”

“You didn’t see me die, you saw me vanish into the black hole,” Tango corrected him. “It wasn’t deadly. Long story short, it led to another world, we traveled back in time, and now we’re home!”

“We? Where are the others? Did they make it?” A new expression of worry clouded his chocolate eyes.

“Yes, they-” before Tango could finish his sentence, someone else jumped playfully on top of both of them, knocking both of them over, and embracing them.

“Zed!” Tango laughed, and hugged him back. Then he smiled again, to himself. I’m back with my family.

All the hermits gathered around them just stood, some confused, most just watching the trio’s heartwarming happiness. Xisuma had not yet emerged from the trees, trying to get everything together and prepare to see all the people he was closest to in the world, after all those years. He didn’t quite dare to believe it, and once he’d laid eyes on them all, he stood frozen. Xisuma had always been the sensible and logically thinking one in the group, their leader of sorts. But now he was just afraid of it all being a dream, and he was terrified of getting his hopes up.

He stood there, numb but scared, between the trees, and watched team ZIT wrestle and roll around playfully. But then Cleo, having sensed him telepathically, and noticing his hesitation, came towards him.

“Xisuma, it’s okay. It’s really us. I know how you feel,”-she gestured at her head- “obviously, but you don’t have to worry that it’s all a dream”. Xisuma didn’t move. “You’re making me do this,” she said, and in one movement, twisted his arm behind his back and forced him to the ground.

“Ow! What was that for?” Xisuma demanded, coming to his senses.

“Could you have dreamt that?” Cleo asked, releasing him.

“I suppose not…”

“Good. Come join us. Where are Grian and the rest? The ones who went with you?”

“They took the taxi. They should be here soon.”

“Taxi? From where- you know what, tell everyone the whole story later. I’m just glad you’re all alive”.

“Me too.”

They joined the people still huddled around the now again-hugging team ZIT, and once people saw Xisuma, he was embraced by at least ten different hermits.

Just then, two taxis appeared at the end of the street, and Grian and Mumbo tumbled right out. They jumped to their feet as False and Keralis stepped out a bit more gracefully, but all four of them sprinted over to their friends. Everybody was hugging everybody.

“Bubbles!!” Keralis yelled, peering over the many heads in search of the little fella. And he was tackled to the ground and embraced tightly by bdubs.”Bubbles!” Keralis said again, happily.

But then Grian caught sight of team ZIT, still lying on the ground in the middle of the crowd. “Group hug!!” he shouted, and flopped on top of them, Mumbo right behind him.

Impulse grinned. “Hey G! Welcome back!”

Then another body added itself to the pile of happiness. Scar threw his arms around Grian and giggled in a way only he could. Then Iskall threw himself on top of Mumbo. After that, the rest followed, one by one, until all twentyfour of them were one big pile of pure euphoria. Even Jellie perched on top. 

They could have remained like that for hours, just soaking up each other’s warmth and friendship, but eventually Zedaph said, “Um, I know we’re all very happy, but perhaps Impulse and Tango would like to breathe. I wouldn’t mind some fresh air either, actually.”

Everyone laughed and started gently trying to disentangle themselves from the heap of limbs. Before they could all disengage, however, two more young women showed up and just stood watching them, confusion on their faces, but also an expression that said, ‘yeah, seems about right’.

“Uh… Hi! I thought this was a New Year’s party?” one of them asked in her Australian accent.

At this, someone deep within the pile somehow jumped up, throwing all the hermits off him. Grian attempted to flatten his now messy hair with one hand, while he waved at the girls with the other. “Pearl! Right! I forgot I invited you… years ago.”

“Ehm… I’ll ask later. Is it still okay that we’re here? Oh yeah, I hope you don’t mind, I brought a plus one. This is Gem.” Said Pearl, gesturing at the woman beside her.

In a voice a hundred times sweeter than candyfloss, Gem said, “Nice to meet you all. You must be Grian, judging by the chaos around you.” This was met with welcoming laughter from all around.

Pearl and Gem helped everyone out of the mess of bodies, and then everyone- some skipping, some running, some just walking- went back to the ballroom where, a few hours or a few years ago, depending on who you asked, everyone was dancing, not a care in the world. Grian flew through the open doors and looked around at the place he had always continued to call home, with every day that had passed in the other timeline.

As he flew around, Mumbo and Iskall jumped up to reach him and each grabbed hold of one of his legs, pulling him down. “Come back down to earth, Grian!” Mumbo joked.

“Yeah, get your head out of the clouds,” Iskall added, laughing his contagious Swedish laugh.

Grian allowed his friends to pull him down, and hugged them again. “I love you guys.”

A few minutes later, it was as if no time had passed. Everyone stood around the room in little groups, chatting, while the big clock on one wall ticked off the minutes until the new millennium began.

Team ZIT stood around the same high table as they had before everything happened. They were talking about all sorts of things, but not the one thing everyone was wondering about. They had decided that was a story best told when everyone was together and listening, so all six time travelers could talk about it together.

“Oh, by the way, did you know False speaks Spanish?” Tango asked his two best friends.

“What? No way!” Impulse said in disbelief.

“Of course she does. That sounds like something she’d secretly know.” Zed grinned.

Their conversation was interrupted when False came over to their table.

“Hey Tango, wanna dance like we did in Argentina?” she asked with a smile, not knowing how pained that made him feel. 

But he didn’t want to disappoint her, so he said, “Can you give me a few minutes?”

She nodded and slipped back into the sea of people.

“Tango, are you okay?” Zedaph asked, watching the way his friend stared after her.

Impulse saw it too, and had also noticed the flicker of hurt in Tango’s crimson eyes when she asked him to dance.

“I don’t know what happened in Argentina, or how in the world you even got to Argentina, but something changed, Tango, and it’s hurting you. We don’t want to see you hurt.” Zedaph told him.

Tango tore his gaze away from where False had disappeared between the mass of bodies, and turned back to face him. “I- I think I’m in love with her, guys. But I don’t want to be, I don’t want to ruin our friendship, or make things awkward with the rest of the hermits.” Tango confessed.

Impulse nodded, he’d suspected something like that. Zedaph looked surprised but understanding, and asked, “Have you talked to her? Maybe if you just told her how you feel, you can get it off your chest. It might be awkward for a bit, but you’re both mature...ish, your friendship will survive.”

“I think Zed is right. Maybe you should just confess.” Impulse concurred.

Tango sighed. “I guess it’s worth a shot. I don’t want to live like this.” And with that, he trudged to the dancefloor, where False was waiting for him. But when he put his hand on her waist, his mental connection with her seemed to become more focused, and narrowed down from his general view of all hermits’ thoughts, to only her’s. He felt her every emotion with every fibre of his being, and while that may seem romantic, it had the opposite effect. He felt everything she felt towards him, which was pure friendship and platonic love. And as he felt that, all his romantic notions seemed to melt away. He valued their friendship more than anything, and didn’t believe in lost causes anyway. He knew how she felt, and now he felt that way too. And he was grateful for it.

They tango’d into the final five minutes before the clock struck twelve, and Tango happily led. They were already warm from the wild movements when Xisuma approached them. “Two things. One, Falsie, were you going to sing us into the New Year?” he asked.

Tango and False stopped dancing to face him. “Yes, I’ll head to the stage.” False confirmed.

“Hold on. The second thing was that I was just talking to Stress, who was watching you dance, along with the rest of the hermits, I might add, and she mentioned the year the tango was invented.” He paused, looking at them meaningfully. “1880.”

False and Tango glanced at each other. “That was the year we went to in the time machine.” Tango said, realising. “Do you think we-?”

“I think we did!” False said, laughing.

Xisuma smiled. “Now you can sing, Falsie.”

And sing she did. Even more beautifully than in Argentina, over a century ago. She sang them all the way into the New Year, and everything was as it should be. As Xisuma watched Tango watching False, he saw no sign of his strange behaviour from earlier. He smiled to himself. Whatever had been going on with Tango, he was alright now. And the two of them, along with the rest of their family, shouted, “Happy New Year!”

                                             THE END

[alovesongshewrote]

Douxtober Day 6:  A Lot Happens in a Short Amount of Time | Hisirdoux Casperan

Plot:  You remember the child surprise from the Witcher?  yeah, this was it’s distant cousin, the surprise child.  (No one is pregnant, I promise)

Word Count:  2,442

Warnings:  Children (and i ignore how both kids and adoption work)

A/N:  Oh look, a Douxtober fic!  no whump here!  And it’s technically a part of aaty (if you want it to be)

Tag List:  @furblrwurblr​ @einahpetsyarcip​ @sorrels-scribbling​ @anxious-stitcher​ @alive-and-afraid​ @animedweeb333​ @douxiesdamsel​ @saroski05

Life was a funny thing.  Sometimes you got tortured, sometimes you moved in with your boyfriend, his familiar, sometimes your boyfriend died and came back to life trying to save the world, and sometimes, you accidentally adopted a child.

It just be like that occasionally.

And you could explain this!  You totally could, 100%.  This wasn’t just the two of you plus Archie and technically Zoe shoplifting a kid, there was a lot more to it than that.  

It was about a month after all of the Arcane Order nonsense.  You and Douxie, your aforementioned boyfriend, had returned to Arcadia.  Everything was calm and chill, which was a really nice change from the usual world-ending chaos.  However, Arcadia was still Arcadia, and that meant monsters.

You were decent in a fight, Archie could turn into a goddamn dragon, and Douxie had saved the world multiple times, so you took it upon yourselves to defend the town from the things that went bump in the night.  Besides, you wanted to give the rest of your troll-hunting friends a break.

This turned out to be a pretty good plan.  It kept the town safe, let Archie get some fresh air, and gave you and Douxie time alone.  (Remember kids, monster-fighting is a great activity for date night.)  Sometimes you dragged Zoe out with you, which she enjoyed more than she let on.

All was well, and then suddenly, kid.  

As has been stated, it be like that sometimes.  You know the child surprise from the Witcher?  Yeah, this was its distant cousin, the surprise child.  

You’d been caught in a battle with another friggin shadow mephit or ten, and it wasn’t going super well if you were completely honest.  Zoe was fighting on a roof, Douxie was stuck in a tree, Archie was trying to free Douxie from that tree, and you had given up on your usual weapon for a folding chair.  It was mildly effective, but not enough to save you.  One of the mephits knocked you to the ground, preparing to take a sizable bite of your arm before a blast of purple slapped the bitch away.  You got to your knees, looking out into the night to see a frickin eight-year-old, arms outstretched, purple light surrounding their fists.

“Uh, are you guys seeing this?”  

Zoe gracefully leapt from the roof while Douxie fell out of the tree he was in.

“The child?  Yep.”

“Ow.”

You winced, walking over to help your boyfriend to his feet, “Ah, you okay, babe?”

He nodded, although his focus was on the kid, who was taking out shadow mephits like a bawse.  You would have been confused, but hey, you could fight like that when you were that age.  Though that had come from years on the streets fighting for your life, so there was a place for concern.

“Hey, should we be helping them?”

“Yeah, probably,” you said, picking up your folding chair and yeeting yourself into the fray.

With the extra assistance, the mephits went down a little easier.  You and your gang made sure to watch out for the sudden child, but they were pretty damn capable.  It only took ten minutes for the tide to turn.  Douxie opened the portal to limbo, banishing the mephits from the material plane.

You took half a second to be excited before turning to the random frickin kid who just kicked all the ass.  Their expression was grim, with no trace of pride.  It was kind of a mood, actually.

“Hey, kid!  You ok?”

Their attention was yoinked from the pavement to your face, “I’m fine.”

You nodded, cautiously approaching them, “You fought really well.  Where’d you learn to do that?”

“Why does it matter?” their tone was biting and angry.  Or as biting and angry as a child’s tone could be.

“It doesn’t, I was just curious.”

“Don’t be.  It’s fine.”  Man, did this kid sound like a younger version of you? or what?  It was kind of scary actually.

“Alright, I won’t be,” you raised your hands in surrender, taking a step back.

This ‘fun’ conversation had caught everyone else’s attention.  Archie flew around the kid before landing on your shoulder, “They won’t, but I will be.  Where are your parents?”

“Don’t have any.”

Oh, mood.  For all of you, actually.  

“Do you have another guardian?”

“No.”

“Why are you fighting monsters at this hour?”

“Because I feel like it, ok!?”

Archie pulled back a bit, “It’s a school night…”

You gave the familiar a pat on the head while Zoe made her approach, “No, the cat is right, it is a school night.”

“Cat?  That’s a dragon!” you smiled a little as the kid finally acted like a kid.

“He’s a shapeshifter, actually,” Douxie said, almost making you jump.  You hadn’t realized that he was behind you.  Arch made his way off of your shoulders and onto your boyfriend’s.

“A sHAPESHIFTER!?” the kid cried, magic again at the ready.

“No, no, no!” you exclaimed, putting yourself between the kid and the cat, “He’s a friend. I promise.”

“Your words mean nothing to me!  I don’t know you!  Any of you!”

Ok, that was fair.  You sighed and got down to the kid's level, “Ok.  My name’s (Y/N).  The shapeshifter is called Archie, but that’s not his full name.”

The kid blinked a bit, lowering their hands, “Wh-what’s his full name?”

Archie flew down to the ground beside you, continuing towards the child, “Archibald.  Pleased to meet you.”

“It’s… nice to meet you too-?”  the kid sounded confused, and they were reminding you of yourself more and more with every second.  On the bright side, they dropped their hands completely, magic fading into the night.

“Right, well,” Douxie got on your level, kneeling beside you to meet the kid’s eyes, “I’m Douxie and this is Zoe-”

“‘Sup.”

“What’s your name?”

They hesitated, looking between you and Archie, who was currently sniffing the child.

“My name is Robin.”

You smiled, the ice officially broken, “It’s nice to meet you, Robin.”

You let the kid follow you home.  Through a bit of careful chatting, you learned that Robin was about eight, and their parents were wizards when they were alive.  After their parents passed, Robin was on their own, running around the country and fending for themself.  They reminded you so much of yourself that it hurt.  Now there was a child sleeping on your couch, arms thrown around Archie which the familiar didn’t really mind, and you had no idea what to do next.

You were sitting on your counter, a cup of coffee in one hand while the other messed with Douxie’s hair.  Zoe was at the kitchen table, lying limply across two chairs while her tea cooled in its mug.  Your lovely, lovely wizard boyf was leaning on the counter next to you, pretty relaxed considering the day's events.

“So, what do we do with this child?”

“They might have to stay with us for a while.  It doesn’t sound like they have anywhere else to go.”

Zoe laughed a little, trying to keep quiet for Robin’s sake, “You two just straight up adopted a kid.  Good luck with that one.”

“Thanks, Zo,” your tone was flat, but you too saw the amusement in this situation, “Thank god I studied medicine, honestly.  If I hadn’t we’d be sooo screwed.”

“Well, you know the people in this town,” Douxie moved closer to you, “Nobody tips.”

You nodded your agreement, kissing the top of Douxie’s head.

“We should be careful though.  These days, you never know where the next ‘end of the world’ will come from.”

“Eh,” you said, looking at Robin asleep on your couch.  They looked so peaceful, and you wondered if you ever looked like that at Robin’s age.  They reminded you so much of yourself, so much of what you had once been, “I think it’ll be okay.”

There was a moment of silence as you all lost yourselves in thought.

“Well, I’d love to stay and watch you guys sign the adoption papers, but I have a shift tomorrow, so,” the pink-haired witch jumped up from her chairs and wandered past you guys, “Later nerds.”

“Bye Zo.”

“See you tomorrow.”

You lept off the counter, picking up your mug and Zoe’s and putting them in the sink.  Douxie watched you, still leaning on the counter.  You moved past him again, and he wrapped an arm around your waist, pulling you to his chest.

“You’re sure we can watch this kid?”

You bit your lip, looking back at the couch before turning back to Douxie, “When I was that age, all I wanted was a home.  Somewhere safe where I didn’t have to worry about tomorrow.  If we can give that to this kid then-” you cut yourself off and shrugged.

Douxie smiled, placing a hand on your cheek, “I love you so much.”

You leaned into his touch, “Besides, we have Archie, and he took care of you, so…”

You both laughed a little at that, pulling each other closer.  His lips met yours in a soft kiss.  You pulled apart from the kiss grinning, but something in Douxie’s eyes confused you.

“Babe?  You good?”

“I’m better than good, darling.  In fact, I-” he cut himself off, looking behind him and around the room before patting himself down, “Oh, fuzzbuckets.”

“Babe?  What’s up?  What are you-?”

“I’ll be right back!”  he said, giving you a quick kiss before running out the door.

“Uh… ok.”

You ran a hand through your hair before walking through your apartment, making sure everything was locked and warded.

“Why are you helping me?”

You spun around to see Robin, clutching Archie in one hand and keeping the other levelled at you.  Purple magic surrounded both hands.

“Well, good morning to you too.”

Archie seemed displeased with your little joke, but he stayed silent for now.

“No jokes!”  were they- were they crying?  “Just tell me why!”

“Robin, I-”

“I was supposed to kill you!  I was supposed to find you and kill you but-” their voice broke, “But you aren’t-” oop, crying child!  Crying child in your living room!

“Woah, hey, hey, hey, what’s wrong kiddo?” you approached Robin slowly.

“Why-” sob “Why are you like this?”

“I ask myself that question every day,” you knelt down to their level once again, “You don’t have to do this.”

“I do!  I have to, or they’ll-”

“They?”

“They… the titans.  If I don’t kill Merlin’s successor then they’ll… they’ll kill me.”

A little smile crossed your face as you took Archie from Robin’s grasp.  The kid was so worked up they didn’t even notice.

“I was in the same place once, almost a thousand years ago.”

“No.  You aren’t old enough!”

You giggled a little at that, “Looks can be deceiving.  Back in the day, I was a spy.  I worked for some very bad guys.  They sent me to get information from Merlin himself.”

“Wh-what did you do?”

“I did what they asked.  I was scared and alone.  But do you wanna know what Douxie did?”

“Douxie’s old too!?”

“Yes, Douxie’s old too.”

“What did he do?”

“Well, he fought with me at first, but in the long run, he saved my life.  He wouldn’t let the bad guys hurt me, and now, we won’t let them hurt you.”

With a sob, Robin jumped at you, not with an attack but with a hug.  You were a little surprised, but you rolled with it.

“Please don’t let them hurt me.”

“We won’t.  I promise.”  you let Robin hug you for as long as they needed, making frantic ‘be quiet’ signs at Douxie when he came through the door.  He looked confused, but stayed quiet and snuck into the kitchen, waiting for you.

“Thank you.”  the kid said, looking a little embarrassed as they pulled away.

“It’s no problem kiddo.  Now, to bed with you.  It’s late and you are a child.”

“And the floor is made of floor.  Goodnight, (Y/N).”  

“Goodnight little bird.”

You made sure they were safely tucked in before motioning for Archie to follow you as you grabbed Douxie from the kitchen and silently dragged him into your bedroom.

“Ok, we’re adopting the kid.”

“I thought we agreed upon that already?”

“Yeah, well, I’m confirming it now.  That’s our kid.”

“And you’re not going to tell him about-”

“Time and place, Arch, time and place.”

Douxie looked between you and his familiar, trying to figure out what he’d missed.  You sighed, knowing that this wouldn’t be something you could keep from him.

“It isn’t my story to tell but the kid was sent here to kill us, but they couldn’t.  Doux, I know that sounds bad, but Robin is eight.  I was nineteen when I was sent to spy on you and Merlin, and you know that messed me up.  We can’t let this kid-”

“I know,” he put his hands on your arms, trying to calm you, “(Y/N), I know.  We won’t let this kid get hurt the way you were, I promise.”

You said nothing, but you hugged Douxie hard enough to make him stumble back a little.  Archie shook his little cat head, but joined in on the hug, “We’ll keep them safe, (Y/N), that’s a promise.”

“Thanks, guys,” you pulled back, absolutely beaming, “I love you both, just a fun fact.” Archie gave your face a lil’ headbutt as cats are prone to do, but Douxie got that look again.  You were about to say his name when he pulled you close to him, his lips grazing your ear as he slipped something into your hand.

“I love you, too.  Marry me.”

There was a ring in the palm of your hand.  Douxie left a kiss on your neck before pulling away to look at you.

“I-”

“Yes.”

“Wait, I had a speech prepared-”

“No speech needed, just,” you kissed him for a second before pulling back, “Marry me.”

“I asked you first.”

“I asked you second,” with that out of the way, you got back to kissing.

Archie realized what had taken place before him and did the cat/dragon equivalent to a face-palm, “Really, Douxie?  The bathroom?”

I mean, fair point, the bathroom wasn't a traditionally romantic space, but love followed you and Douxie around wherever you went, so it didn’t really matter.  You laughed anyway.

“Thanks, Arch.”

The familiar grinned as much as a cat could, “No problem.  Congratulations, though.  I mean that sincerely.”

“Thank you, Archie,” you gave the familiar’s head a lil’ scratch before kissing Douxie, your fiancé, again (and again, and again.)

[armandyke]

Could we start again, please?

Summary: After the most hectic three months of his life, Diego finally gets a chance to speak to Eudora again, even if it wasn't the way he wanted.

Word Count: 2176

Square Filled: Funeral

Characters: Diego Hargreeves, Klaus Hargreeves

Warnings: Mentions of death, mentions of alcohol, season 2 spoilers

A/N: The ninth and final entry for @tuacreatorsbingo!!

You can read it here, or on my AO3

It had been eight days now since Diego had found the envelope addressed to him sitting on the mat by the front door. It was unusual for three reasons. One: He hadn’t received any mail in over twelve years. Two: He hadn’t been registered at his childhood home in over twelve years. And three: He didn’t recognise the handwriting on the envelope. Every day since then, he’d woken up, read over the card inside, and put off his decision for another day. Today, though, he couldn’t do that, because now he’d run out of days. 

He read over the gold, embossed words for the hundredth time.

Detective Eudora Patch

Dec 1983 - Mar 2019

Funeral Service

Apr 15 - 10AM

He wasn’t going to the funeral service. That at least he was sure about. For starters, people would want to know how his hair had grown five inches in two weeks, and even with the charges dropped, he was pretty sure there was a good number of people who still thought he was the one who killed her. No, the real question was whether he would go to the burial. 

Two days ago he’d decided he absolutely, categorically, wasn’t going. Yesterday he decided he definitely was. Today… he wasn’t sure anymore. Part of him felt like he was probably the last person she’d want to be there, another part felt like he owed it to her. He wasn’t there for her when she needed him, so the least he could do was be there now. Still, there were so many other complications if he did go. What would he do when he got there? Should he bring flowers, or was that tacky? What flowers would he even bring? She always had sunflowers in her kitchen… but she also liked bluebells… and daffodils… Okay now he was definitely overthinking the flower thing. 

Letting out a frustrated sigh, he tossed the card aside and got to his feet. 

He wasn’t going. 

He rifled through his closet for a shirt. 

Maybe just for five minutes. Just to pay his respects. 

He’d slept in his jeans last night. Christ, he needed to get his life together. 

No. Nope. Not going. 

He tugged his boots on, threw open the door, and headed down the stairs. 

Just a quick walk-by, no big deal. 

About ten paces down the street he started having second? Third? Twenty eighth thoughts? But he pushed them out of his mind, trying to find something else to focus on instead. It was cold out despite the sunshine, and he was starting to regret not throwing a jacket on before he left. This was always Eudora’s favourite time of year. When the sun was out and the flowers were growing, but it was still cool enough to wear a sweater. Actually, she seemed to love every time of year. She had a way of romanticising everything; of finding beauty in the mundane. She made him appreciate things he’d never thought worthy of appreciating before. That, at least, would stay with him, even now that the rest of her was gone. He could still notice the way the frost on the grass caught the sunlight and sparkled like diamonds, and smile at a squirrel bouncing across the road and into the bushes. Just little things that he’d never thought he was capable of before he met her. 

He reached the cemetery a lot sooner than he’d hoped, and he lingered by the gates for a few minutes psyching himself up before finally heading inside. It was a huge place, with trodden pathways weaving in and out of the headstones. He wandered aimlessly until he spotted a small huddle of people gathering further down the path. His latest plan had been a quick walk-by, but he found himself getting closer, leaning against a nearby tree that was close enough for him to see what was going on, but far enough away to avoid being spotted. 

It looked like he’d already missed the coffin being lowered, which he was silently relieved about. Seeing her coffin would have made it too real. He could pick out Chuck, and a few other guys from the station in the crowd, Eudora’s mom, who he’d met once and made just about the worst impression possible on, and her sister, who looked like a ghost of Eudora, only with glasses and shorter hair. There was an older man who must have been her grandfather, and a couple standing with her mom who he assumed were the aunt and uncle she’d told him about once. She talked a lot about her family and how close knit they all were, pretty much the polar opposite of his own family at the time, and a few times he’d found himself wondering what it would be like to be part of that. But that possibility was buried in the ground with her, and he was pretty sure the rest of her family would have some choice words for him if they saw him here. 

He had no idea how much time had passed when the crowd finally started to disperse, but his fingers were starting to go numb from the cold and his arm was aching from leaning against the tree. One by one the group made their way back down the pathway, filing into waiting cars at the gates, leaving him alone with thousands of headstones and one mound of earth. He should be leaving too, but her headstone looked so lonely without her family there, and now that he was here it seemed rude to leave without at least walking past. So, after checking, and then double checking, that there was nobody else around, he headed over. 

“Hey, Dor,” He said quietly as he approached, sitting on the damp grass by the stone and taking a deep breath. 

The headstone looked expensive, made of jet black polished granite. He wasn’t sure it’s what she would have picked out for herself, given the choice, but then there were still a lot of things he didn’t know about her. 

“I don’t know if you’ve uh… been hanging around these last few weeks, but it’s been pretty crazy.” 

Suddenly he wished he’d taken a little more interest in Klaus’ powers when they were younger. He knew ghosts existed, but he didn’t know much about how they actually worked. Were there rules? Could they only stay in certain places? Even if she was a ghost and she could go where she wanted, why would she give a shit about what he’d been doing anyway? 

“I grew my hair out.” That was a stupid thing to say. “Saved the world a couple of times.” He sighed, slumping against the stone and hanging his head. “Things have gotten so messed up since you left. You’d think I was making it up if I told you.” 

She wouldn’t. He knew she wouldn’t. Somehow, no matter how insane his situation was, she always believed him. Maybe that was why he often found himself telling her things he never thought he’d ever tell anyone. 

“Okay, so, those freaks in the masks? Turns out they work for some super-secret time travelling organisation that monitors everything to try and preserve the timeline. And Five worked for them too. And Vanya? My sister with no powers? She does have powers, and she accidentally blew up the moon, so we had to time travel to fix everything but instead we got stuck in the sixties, and I got stuck in an asylum and uh… met this girl, Lila. We had a sort of… thing going on, but then it turned out she was working for The Commission too… and also had powers like us. And uh… so basically Vanya almost started a nuclear war, and we stopped it, and now we’re back here.” He paused, chewing on his lip for a moment. “Oh, and we accidentally screwed up the timeline so bad we created an alternate universe. But we fixed that too so… everything’s fine now, I guess.” 

Maybe it was just his imagination, but it didn’t feel as cold sitting with her. The logical part of his brain knew it was probably just the headstones blocking some of the wind, but it was nice to imagine that maybe she was listening, probably rolling her eyes at how ridiculous his life was and lecturing him about what she would have done differently. She’d always had a hidden competitive streak. If he stopped two apocalypses, she’d have to stop three. And she could. She would have stopped ten doomsdays by now if he’d been the one to die instead of her, and then maybe everyone would have been better off. 

He should have brought some flowers.

“I really miss you,” He admitted, lowering his voice even though there was nobody else around. “I forgot, for a little while. The last three months have been so crazy I barely had time to think about it. But now I’m back here and… and I don’t know what to do anymore. I thought about going back to the whole vigilante thing, but I don’t think the other guys will be as forgiving about me messing up their crime scenes. And bugging you at work was always half the fun anyway.” 

There was a lot more he could say, but he could feel the emotions starting to bubble up so he kept quiet. He ran his fingers over the grass and took in the flowers people had laid over her grave. There were roses, carnations, and a bouquet of bright pink lilies. She once told him she could never have lilies in the house because of her allergies, and his fingers itched to move them away from her, despite knowing how stupid that would be. 

He was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of footsteps approaching in the grass, and he quickly started looking for the quickest exit route. The panic faded again as the footsteps grew closer. He recognised the clumsy pattern of steps, so light that it was as though the feet were barely making contact with the ground, and the faint smell of cigarettes. 

“What are you doing here?” He asked before Klaus had a chance to announce himself. 

“Speed dating,” Klaus sat flatly, dropping unceremoniously to the ground with a heavy thud as he sat next to him. “I found the invite in your room. Thought you might need some company.”

“I don’t,” He mumbled. 

“I thought you might say that too.” Klaus leant back on his hands and looked over at him. “But I’m here anyway, so suck it up, tough guy.” 

Diego let out a frustrated huff, though secretly he was thankful for the distraction. 

“What were you doing in my room?”

“I wanted to borrow a couple of your shirts.” 

“You mean steal them?” 

“Tomato tomato.” Klaus shrugged. “Old habits die hard, I guess. And anyway, if you don’t want people to steal your shirts, maybe you should stop buying nice shirts.” 

He grinned at him and Diego tried to force a smile back, but it can’t have been too successful because Klaus’ face immediately softened again. 

“Are you okay?” 

“I’m fine.”

“It wasn’t your fault. You know that, right?” 

Diego looked up at him. “I never said it was.”

“No, but I know how your brain works,” Klaus said, waving his hand as he spoke. “You hero types think every tragedy is your personal responsibility, but sometimes bad things just happen. And I didn’t know your friend very well but, speaking from a wealth of experience, I know most dead people don’t want their loved ones to wallow in regret for the rest of their lives.” 

Somehow, that made him feel a little better, or maybe it was just the sheer ridiculousness of what Klaus was saying that made him smile. Either way, it eased some of the guilt, and he found himself trying to talk himself out of the question he desperately wanted to ask. 

“Have you…” He paused, chewing on his lip. “I mean, I don’t know, can you…”

“I haven’t seen her,” Klaus said, putting him out of his misery. 

He felt a strange mixture of disappointment and relief at that, nodding slowly. “That’s good, right? That means she’s not stuck down here?” 

“Either that or she’s avoiding me.” 

“That’d be understandable.” 

Klaus grinned. “There! You sound like you again,” He said, punching his shoulder lightly. “Wanna go get dangerously drunk?”

“It’s noon.”

“And?”

Shaking his head, Diego got to his feet. “I need to get some flowers,” He said, rolling his eyes at Klaus’ desperate, puppy dog expression. “And I’m gonna need your help, because I have no idea what I’m doing.”

He didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to Eudora with Klaus enthusiastically tugging on his arm, but he didn’t think she’d mind. She always used to tell him he should try to reconnect with his family, and this was probably the first time he’d ever actually listened to her advice.

[helloalycia]

second time’s the charm [two] // kara danvers

summary: an unfortunate incident makes you realise that kara is worth hearing out

warning/s: none

author's note: part two, as promised. I've got tons more in the works, so stay tuned 😊

part one | masterlist | wattpad

I walked into the DEO gym, hoping to get some training in before I left for the day, but when I walked in, I saw a familiar blonde wearing a tracksuit and punching a punching bag. I tried to back up and pretend I hadn't walked in, but the squeak of my trainers gave me away, making me flinch at the sound.

"Oh, Y/N, hey," Kara said, stopping as she saw me by the door.

I nodded awkwardly. "Hey... er, sorry, I'll just come back later or something."

I tried to leave, but she said, "No, wait!"

I held back, holding my breath for some reason.

"I don't mind training with you," she offered, a hint of nervousness in her voice. "Or you can do you and I'll keep doing my thing. I mean, you said professional relationship, right? Well, this is work, so there's no need for you to leave."

I breathed out, turning around. "Right. Yeah. You're right. Sorry."

She seemed surprised, but quickly covered it up with a smile as she nodded.

I made my way into the gym, setting my sweat towel and water bottle on the bench. I heard Kara getting back to working the punching bag, so I felt a little better knowing she wasn't watching my every move. I took off my jacket and began to do some stretches on the other side of the room. All was well until I heard a stifled chuckle from Kara.

I looked up from my stretches on the floor, seeing the blonde trying to cover up a smile.

"What is it?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

She shook her head, still struggling to keep a straight face. "Nothing, sorry, sorry..."

I would have left it at that, preferring not to talk to her as much as I could, but she was still struggling to hide her smile, so I stood up.

"Kara, what is it?" I repeated.

She rocked back and forth on her heels, allowing herself to smile with amusement. "Sorry, it's just, you're on the other side of the room and well, I'm not gonna bite..."

I didn't know why, but I found the fact that she pointed this out a little embarrassing, and I was sure my cheeks were heating up a little.

"I know that," I said as confidently as I could muster. "I was just giving you space. You're a Kryptonian after all."

She nodded, obviously not believing me as she turned back to her punching bag with a humoured smile. "Okay, okay."

I rolled my eyes and got back to my stretches, hoping another agent would come in some time soon so I wasn't alone with Kara.

Nobody came and I finished my stretches, deciding to go to the punching bag next. Kara had finished with it, now moving onto this specially built apparatus that measured her speed whilst she did short laps.

I began punching the punching bag after putting some gloves on, alternating between punches and kicks, but it was bugging me that it kept moving and I seriously wished I had someone else with me to hold it.

Kara must have noticed my frustration since she approached me slowly.

"Can I help you with something?" I asked, a little harsher than I intended to.

She raised her hands in defence. "Geez, sorry. I was just gonna ask if you needed a hand."

She began to back away and I closed my eyes, cursing internally before saying, "Wait."

She stopped and turned around, waiting expectantly.

"Can you hold the bag please?" I asked, avoiding her eyes.

I could see her smile in my peripheral though. "Sure thing."

I shook my head, deciding not to comment and instead focusing on my stance and position. She held the bag and I began to punch it, glad it was firm and not moving around like before. I kept at this for a while, not willing to admit I was grateful for the helpful tips she was throwing out every now and then. After a while, I'd built up a sweat and decided to stop, taking several gulps of my water.

"You did good," Kara complimented. "You're a lot stronger than I remember. They offer more intense training at the desert facility or what?"

She laughed at her own joke and I resisted the urge to chuckle along with her, instead hiding a smile as I took another sip of my water. I think she noticed it though, since she grinned to herself and looked down.

"Thanks for the help," I finally said, giving her a little smile. "I appreciate it."

"Anytime," she responded, before giving me a playful smile. "If you're up for it, we could do some sparring."

"And have you pin me down in ten seconds because of your super strength? Yeah, no thanks," I said, cracking a wider smile.

She rolled her eyes playfully. "I'll put the Kryptonite dampeners on, so we have the same amount of strength. No super strength. What d'you say?"

I eyed the blonde curiously, almost declining for my own silly reasons of not wanting to keep spending time with her. But then I realised how stupid I was being. This was work and she was just training with me. What was the big deal?

"You're on, Danvers," I accepted, setting my bottle down and wiping the sweat from my forehead with my towel.

She smiled challengingly. "Winner bakes loser cookies?"

"That's not fair," I pointed out, walking into the centre of the room. "Your cookies suck. You always burn them."

"That was one time!" she defended with a laugh, going to turn on the Kryptonite dampeners. "And you still ate them, so..."

"So you wouldn't feel bad," I reminded her, smiling. "You were so sure you got the times right on that recipe."

"Fine," she gave in as the green hues reflected in her skin before she stepped forward. "Winner buys freshly baked cookies for the loser."

"Sounds good," I agreed with a confident smile before getting into position.

She did the same, eyeing me with concentration. "Okay. I'm ready. Are y–"

I cut her off by moving forward, going in for a punch, but despite the surprise, she moved quick enough to block me and spin me around. I caught my balance and ducked as I saw her attempt to kick me, deciding to go in for her shins. I managed to knock her off balance, sending her tumbling to the ground, but she flipped back up, a smirk on her lips.

"You play sneaky," she noted.

"I don't believe there were rules," I said with a shrug.

She charged forward and tried to grab me by the neck, but I ducked and elbowed her in the back, sending her forward. She tried to punch me from the side, but I grabbed her arm and spun her around, using the momentum of her weight to flip her around. She unfortunately did the same, wrapping her legs around my neck and tumbling me around for a moment, slamming me onto the mat. I did my best to recover as quickly as I could, managing to roll out before she could stomp on me. I kicked her in the leg, sending her to the mat and quickly straddled her, pressing her hands down with my knees and pressing my forearm to her neck.

She breathed out, meeting my eyes with am impressed smile. "I guess you win."

I pulled back, standing up and holding out my hand for her to take. She grabbed it, allowing me to pull her up.

"You're good for an alien with human capabilities," I said, a teasing smile on my lips, "but I believe you owe me cookies."

She chuckled, nodding. "I do. A bet's a bet."

I headed to the bench to grab some water and Kara did the same, the two of us catching our breath before sitting down next to one another. It was quiet as we sipped our water and looked to the mats, until I decided to speak up.

"Thanks for the session," I said, tilting my head to the right to look at her. "Sorry for acting weird at the beginning."

Kara shrugged, smiling softly. "It's okay. I get why."

I sighed, taking another sip. "I'm glad that we're moving on from everything. At work, I mean."

Kara nodded, though her smile faded a little.

"I thought it would be difficult," I admitted, feeling a little vulnerable as I shared my fears with the girl I was sure I was still in love with. "It's not. Well, as much as I thought it would be. I'm glad we still have our work relationship." I chuckled to lighten the mood. "It would be a little difficult to work at the DEO without working with Supergirl after all."

Kara smiled a little, nodding. "Yeah... well, I'm here if you need anything. For work, I mean."

"Thanks."

She finally looked up, meeting my eyes and smiling softly. It was definitely wrong of me to think, but she looked cute with her baby hairs stuck to her head because of the light layer of sweat on her skin. I returned the smile, glad that even though I was hurting, I could still share this professional relationship with her.

I was so stuck in my thoughts though, that I didn't realise she was leaning forward until I felt her lips against mine in a simple, bittersweet kiss. My heart began to beat faster at the contact of her lips, forgetting that my mind didn't want that because of how much hurt she'd caused me, and I hesitated at first. I'd missed this, missed her. Her scent, her warmth, her taste...

But no, she'd broken up with me. It was her fault we weren't together. She couldn't just do this!

I pushed her away a moment later, standing up and breathing in heavily.

"Y/N, I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have–"

"No, you shouldn't have," I agreed harshly, my voice shaking.

My heart was still racing, the blood rushing to my head and making me feel lightheaded for a moment.

"You broke up with me," I reminded her, finally turning to see her stood up with apologetic eyes. "It was you, Kara!"

"I know, I–"

"You can't just do that!" I shouted, feeling my throat close up. "You can't just confuse me and make me... fuck, Kara, that's not fair!"

"I'm sorry," she repeated, stepping forward, but I stepped back, shaking my head.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "You can't just do that..."

I breathed out and turned around, speed-walking to the door. I felt my eyes water as she tried to call me back, but I ignored her as I left, also trying to ignore the pain in my heart.

She couldn't just suddenly decide to love me again. Not after what she did. It wasn't fair...

"So, what, you're just not going to say anything?" I asked Kara incredulously.

"I can't do this right now," Kara said, shaking her head and massaging her temples as if I was a nuisance. "I have too much to do."

"I wouldn't know," I reminded her spitefully. "You don't tell me anything anymore. You just prefer to bottle everything up and hide it from me. Right? Expect me to assume why you're overwhelmed or angry or upset?"

"You're not helping!" she snapped, glaring at me from behind her kitchen counter. "I'm sick of this, Y/N! I'm sick of the constant bickering and arguing."

I breathed out to control my temper. "Kara, we fight because you don't tell me anything. Trouble at work? I don't know. Trouble as Supergirl? I don't know. Family trouble? Guess what – I don't know. I don't understand why you've suddenly become like this."

"Sorry I'm not the girl you decided to be in a relationship with," she said sarcastically.

This pissed me off, making me glare at her. "Me, too."

She clenched her jaw. "You done?"

"That depends," I played along, my eyes tearing up, "are you done acting like a child?"

Kara groaned loudly. "Just forget it! I'm tired of this! I can't do this anymore!"

"You never want to," I pointed out, my throat tightening as I held in my tears. "Two years of a relationship and only recently you've given up. You never want to try."

"No, not this," she said, shaking her head angrily. "This. Us. I can't do this anymore."

I was taken aback, my anger replaced by hurt and surprise. "What?"

She hesitated for a moment, before she nodded to the door. "Just leave, Y/N."

I opened my mouth a little, surprised at how quickly she gave up. "You're fucking kidding me."

"I'm not," she said, her voice stern as her eyes watered. "Leave."

I felt my heart hurting in my chest as tears finally fell down my cheeks. I was still a little confused, my mind not catching up to my heart. Kara was ending it.

"Supergirl may be brave, but you're a coward, Kara Danvers."

I tried to steady my breathing as I left her flat, slamming the door shut behind me. I reached the lobby when I stopped, realising what happened. I covered my mouth, my hand shaking way too much, and felt the tears stream down my cheeks.

She didn't want us anymore.

–

Since Kara kissed me, I found myself hurting even more than when she first broke up with me, if that was even possible. I was so confused and it was because of her. Half of me so badly wanted to hate her, resist her and her love, but the other half, the one that I was afraid would win, so badly wanted to give in and have her back. Have us back.

I was never usually a person who displayed their inner turmoils, but this had me so angry and hurt that I sometimes couldn't help it. Such as when Alex asked for my help to track down Eve, who we discovered was working against Lena and with Lex Luthor.

"No way," I instantly replied, shaking my head. "Not if Kara is there."

Alex, who wasn't aware of what had happened between us, pleaded, "Please, Y/N. You're the best agent I have and having you with us would be a great asset."

"I'm sorry, Alex, but no," I said sternly. "You asked me if I was okay working with her, that I would put my job first."

"And you said you could," Alex interrupted. "You said you were okay."

I shook my head. "Well I'm not now. I'm telling you I won't do my job to the best of my abilities if I have to work with her."

"Y/N, come on–"

"I said no!"

"Y/N–"

"Alex, Brainy said you were looking for me. What's up?"

At the sound of Kara's voice, I rolled my eyes and backed up. I avoided Kara as I looked to Alex, saying, "No. I'm sorry."

I felt Kara's eyes on me, but I didn't spare her a glance as I walked around her and left the conference room. I refused to work with Kara right now, not whilst my mind didn't make sense. Her presence made me feel unexplainable things – I couldn't work the same mission as her. She was just a distraction.

–

"Can you go check on Dayton? He should be back by now," Alex said, glancing at me from her paperwork. "Haley will be here any minute and Kara, too. I need those files."

"Aye, aye, captain," I said, saluting Alex, who gave me a knowing look, but I could see she was mildly amused.

I sighed as I headed down to the file centre, hoping to find Dayton. Haley, Alex, (to my dismay) Kara and I were going to have a discussion about what our plan was with all the anti-alien protests rising in National City, thanks to the Children of Liberty. In order to do that, Alex asked Dayton, one of the newer agents, to fetch the files we had on the terrorist group. We hoped we could find a better way to counteract this.

Kara and I weren't on speaking terms still. Well, she tried to speak to me, but I refused to give in because I was still hurting and trying to make sense of my feelings. I'd successfully managed to avoid being in the same room as her for longer than two minutes, so you can imagine my annoyance when I discovered I had to sit in on a meeting with her there.

I opened the door to the file centre and saw all the computers arranged in rows, along with tall cabinets in aisles that stored the super old DEO files.

"Dayton?" I called out, going through the first row, finding it empty. "Where are you? Alex needs those files."

I rounded the corner and stopped when I saw Kara stood there, using the computer. I automatically narrowed my eyes at her with annoyance.

"Where's Dayton, Kara?" I got right to the point, not wanting to speak with her.

She turned around and seemed surprised to see me. "Y/N."

"Look, Alex wants those files asap," I said, rolling my eyes at the doe-eyed expression she wore. "Are you getting them?"

She nodded, giving me a smile. "I'll be right out with them. I'll see you up there?"

I crossed my arms, internally grumbling. "Whatever. Where's Dayton? And how long are you gonna be?"

"Oh, he's... about," she said, waving her hand around dismissively. "And not long now. Honest."

"Just move, I'll do it," I said impatiently, moving forward and pushing her out the way gently. "The meeting is gonna start any minute and I'm not getting late because you're, ironically, super slow."

I looked to the screen and furrowed my brows, losing any sense of frustration I had for the blonde and replacing it with utter confusion. There weren't any files opened that discussed the Children of Liberty, but rather information about our security breaches and perimeter routines.

"Why are you looking at this?" I asked, looking up to Kara.

As her eyes darted between the computer screen and me, I noticed a suspicious dark patch behind her, tucked behind one of the cabinets. I focused a little more, only to widen my eyes when I realised it was a body.

Kara – or should I say, her look-like – recognised the realisation on my face and froze momentarily. I immediately went for my gun, but she reacted quicker with her super-speed, grabbing me by the neck and throwing me back into the wall. I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head as my eyes glazed over, my vision blurry for a moment.

"I know much about you, Agent Y/L/N," the Kara lookalike said, but her accent was now different. Russian, I think. "I know what you mean to this place and to the Girl of Steel herself. Which is why I'll spare you this once."

When my eyesight focused, I saw this Russian Kara walk to the door, a smirk on her lips. It was crazy – she looked and sounded exactly like Kara, except for the evil look in her eyes and the accent, of course. The suit looked exactly the same also. I wouldn't have noticed if it weren't for poor Dayton's body that gave her away.

I also noticed my gun laying a few feet away and I debated whether or not I could make it in time to grab it. She looked like Kara, sounded like Kara, and had Kara's super-speed and strength. It was highly likely that she had Kara's invulnerability as well, so the gun wouldn't even make a dent. But it was a what-if case, so I grabbed the gun and raised it, not yet finding the courage to pull the trigger. I didn't get a chance to decide though, as before I could, the gun was zapped out of my hand, making me scream as my hand burned.

She had laser eyes too, of-fucking-course!

"Tsk tsk," she tutted like a parent scolding their child. "I said I would spare you. Aren't you ungrateful?"

I clutched my hand, seeing it turn red because of the heat of her laser eyes.

"Fine, you can have one more chance, go on," she continued to tease, nodding to the gun beside me.

I gulped down the lump in my throat and tried to ignore the back of my head, which was throbbing with pain. I grabbed the gun as fast as I could with my other hand, forcing myself to stand up and point it at her, though my body was still aching from the throw and my hand felt like it was on fire.

She stared right at me, her startling blue eyes resembling Kara's so much to a point that I felt shivers down my spine. Her smirk remained as she waited for me to shoot.

I tried to pull the trigger, willed myself to, in fact. She could have been bluffing – the gun might hurt her. But if it did, I'd never know because I couldn't find it in myself to pull the trigger. She just looked so much like Kara. It would be like hurting her. I... I couldn't do it.

"You're exactly how I thought you would be, you know," she said, as if she knew me inside and out.

I saw my knuckles turn white from how hard I was clenching the gun. She was going to escape with the information she'd found and I had no idea what she'd use it for, but it was dangerous in her hands. Especially when she resembled Supergirl. I had to do something.

"You don't know me at all," I said, glaring at her through my blurry vision, before lowering my gun and pressing my earpiece in to press the mic. "Alex, there's trouble down here! I need you now!"

Russian Kara's face dropped as she returned my glare. "You'll see me soon." With that, she flew out the door, literally, leaving only a gust of wind in her presence.

"Y/N? Y/N! We're on our way down now!" Alex responded with concern.

I released a breath when I was sure I was safe and cursed to myself at the pain my head and hand were in. I had it lucky though. Whoever that was didn't give Dayton the benefit of the doubt, poor guy.

It didn't take long for Alex to storm into the file centre, armed, with three other agents following her lead. When she saw me, she lowered her weapon and approached me, taking in my state.

"Oh my god, Y/N, what happened here?" she asked, worry in her eyes.

I shook my head, flinching when she touched my hand. "I don't know who that was, Alex, but it was weird. She looked so much like Kara. I– I tried to stop her. I really did. I just– I couldn't shoot. I thought it was– it looked like her, Alex!"

Alex nodded and rested a hand on my shoulder. "Hey, it's okay, it's okay," she comforted. "We'll get to the bottom of this."

"Director, we found Dayton," one of the other agents reported, interrupting. "He's... he's gone, ma'am."

Everyone fell silent, hit with a wave of sadness at the agent's loss.

"He was already dead when I came," I said to Alex, frowning. "I didn't know otherwise I would have come quicker. I swear."

"This isn't your fault," Alex reassured, meeting my eyes. "This wasn't–"

She didn't finish her sentence as a gust of wind hit us in the face and Kara – I wasn't sure which – appeared in the doorway. I immediately raised my gun at her, surprising her.

"Woah, Y/N, what are you–"

"Shut up!" I yelled, silencing her. "Are you the real Kara?"

"Of course!" she said, trying to convince me. "I came to say that I tried to chase whoever just left but they were too fast for me. They just disappeared. But what the hell happened in here? And your hand, Y/N..."

"No!" I stopped her from approaching me, gun still trained on her.

"Y/N–"

"No, Alex, you didn't see her," I explained myself, cutting Alex off. "She looked and sounded exactly like Kara."

"What are you talking about?" this 'Kara' asked with confusion.

"Prove you're our Kara," I said, glaring at her.

"Okay, okay," she said, nodding, "but your gun won't hurt me, Y/N. You know that."

"Then I'll find some Kryptonite and do this the right way," I threatened, still on edge. "You don't know me at all. Now prove it!"

This 'Kara' seemed surprised, but nodded. "You're scared of heights. You hate when I go flying with you."

I swallowed the lump in my throat, feeling my muscles relax.

"You used to hate when I'd use my powers to do domestic chores," she continued, her eyes meeting mine. They weren't cold like the other Kara. "You thought it was unfair that I could speed-clean and you couldn't, so you said no powers when completing chores. Remember?"

I lowered the gun, feeling like an idiot. "I-I'm sorry. I just had to make sure. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," she said, before rushing forward and taking my burnt hand. "Now what the hell happened?"

"She had heat vision like you," I told her and Alex, who was still looking for answers. "She zapped the gun out of my hand."

Kara glanced at me worriedly before breathing out on my hand, her freeze breath immediately cooling down the irritated skin on my hand. I too released a breath, but of relief.

"It's not too bad," she said when she finished, using her thumb to rub the sensitive skin. "Now we need to get you to the medical room. Your head is bleeding."

I nodded, too confused and in pain to deny her help right now. After getting checked up by the doctors and explaining to Alex and Haley what happened, I was left alone in my bed, 'resting'. In reality, I felt troubled with my feelings. Both about this new Russian version of Kara and my feelings for the real one.

"Hey," I heard the blonde's voice, and looked over my shoulder to see her standing nervously by the doorframe. "I know you're not really talking to me right now, but I just wanted to see how you are. Can I, er, come in?"

I nodded slowly, looking back to the other wall. I heard her approach me, eventually stopping by the chair in front of me.

"Haley is angry because I let her get away. But I tried to stop her," I said, looking up. "I really did."

"Y/N, I'm not here for that," she said, shaking her head.

"I couldn't shoot her," I continued, needing to get this off my chest. "She looked so much like you, Kara. It was like I was shooting you."

Kara watched me, her eyes staring right through me, making my stomach do that familiar flip it always did when she was around.

I stood up and felt my body moving all by itself as I wrapped my arms around her shoulders, pulling her in for a hug. Her tense body showed me she was surprised, but eventually she wrapped her arms around my waist and simply held me for a moment.

I closed my eyes, revelling in it. In her. I wasn't sure why, but I needed this right now. Her presence, her warmth and safety. I needed that, even if at the end it would only hurt more.

I pulled away after a minute or so, meeting her eyes. "I want us to talk. Properly. About everything."

Kara's breath hitched – I heard it. But she nodded.

"My place, after work," I continued, once again, not aware of what I was saying until it was said. "Is that okay?"

"That's more than okay," she agreed, swallowing hard. "You sure you'll be okay though?"

I nodded, stepping back and taking a seat on the bed. "I'll be fine. It was just a minor concussion. But this... this needs to be sorted out now. I can't keep going on like this. Especially now that there's an evil you on the loose."

"Fair point," she said, before offering a small smile. "I'll see you later then."

I nodded and watched as she left, her cape flowing behind her. I released a breath when I realised what I'd just done – agreed to talk it out with Kara. Awesome.

That evening, after a hectic day at work and a long debrief from Haley, I was finally able to leave and go back to mine to have that talk with Kara.

To say I was nervous was a massive understatement, but I was more impatient for the outcome because I wasn't entirely sure if I was making the right decision.

Kara arrived promptly, dressed in her regular clothes and wearing her cute glasses. She seemed nervous, too, her hands constantly fidgeting in her lap as she sat down. Nobody spoke at first, the two of us apparently trying to find the right words.

"I shouldn't have kissed you," she blurted out.

I looked up, surprised she spoke first. "Huh?"

She backtracked a little. "I mean, it wasn't right. Especially after what I did to you. I wanted to, but I shouldn't have. I'm sorry."

I tried to look her in the eyes, but she was staring at her hands guiltily.

"Thank you," I said softly. "I... I appreciate you apologising."

She nodded and it went quiet again.

"You broke up with me," I said, earning her attention. "You didn't want to be with me anymore. So, why did you want kiss me?"

"I didn't mean it," she began to explain, "I was just angry. Y/N, I regret ending things. I just had a lot going on at that time and I was getting frustrated. I took it out on you and I didn't realise what I'd done until, well, until you weren't here anymore."

I felt a lump forming in my throat as she stared at me with honest eyes.

"I haven't stopped thinking about that night since it happened," she said, her voice breaking a little. "I regret it so much. I never meant to hurt you like I did... I still love you, Y/N. I never stopped."

I saw the certainty in her expression and it made my heart swell. My eyes were getting teary and I tried not to give in to my emotions so soon.

"It wasn't just you," I reminded her. "I said some things that night that I didn't mean."

"Whether you meant it or not, they were true," she retorted, a sad smile on her lips. A tear rolled down her cheek as she continued, "I was a coward. I couldn't face my stress. Work, keeping my secret from Lena, arguing with you... I took the easy route out. Breaking it off. And it was the biggest mistake I could have made."

"Kara–"

"I don't want to be a coward anymore," she said, wiping away her tears. "I miss you so much. I miss what we had. I hate that you avoid me. I hate that its my fault."

"I miss you, too," I admitted, my tears slipping out. "That's why I left. I couldn't take working with you, knowing we weren't together."

"I'm so sorry, Y/N," she apologised sincerely, hesitantly resting a hand on mine. "I want to ask for another chance, even if I don't deserve it. I promise I'll do better. I know what I'll lose if I don't."

I swallowed the lump in my throat and tried to search her eyes for a hint of doubt, but there was none. I rested my hand on hers, squeezing it gently.

"I'll give you another chance," I said, nodding my head. "I trust you, Kara. I want to try again."

Kara smiled through her tears, licking her lips. "You do?"

I nodded, leaning forward and hugging her. "I do. Second time's the charm, right?"

She laughed as she returned the hug, squeezing me tight as if she didn't want to lose me again. I understood because I didn't want to lose her either. Not again.

[trashinaglass-archive]

Family Man

Chris is a family guy and wants to start one of his own.

Requests: Chris Evans x reader, Chris opening up about how he’s ready to take a break from acting and ready to start having a family? Thank youu // Heres a C-Evans request...you're younger than Chris and pregnant...he's been wanting kids for a while so when you tell him he's all excited and can keep his mouth shut

A/n: My heart is so full just thinking about this. Chris would be such a great dad ugh I’m swooning pls have my babies

I mention pay but idk how the hell actors pay works for real, I tried to look it up and I still don’t understand it so forgive me if it’s straight bullshit

Date nights were something you experienced once in a blue moon. Chris had a busy career, while you were lucky enough to travel with him to most places, it still didn’t leave much room for intimate moments together. That’s why you were always super excited about date nights.

You and Chris planned to go to one of your favorite restaurants; dress up, show out, and have a great night. Your excitement began to fade seeing Chris walk through the door.

“Hey, babe,” he greeted you, placing a kiss to your head. “Give me a few minutes, and I’ll be ready to go.”

“Okay,” you nodded, watching as he walked away, moving into your shared bedroom. You knew he probably wasn’t planning on telling you about it, but something was definitely bothering him. His energy super low and a thoughtful expression behind the masked smile. You let out a breath, determined not to let it ruin the night. “Ready?” You asked as you saw him enter the room again, a big smile on your face.

He smiled, genuinely this time, and nodded his head. Grabbing his keys as you grabbed your purse, you headed out for your special night.

. . .

The waiter sat you at a table in the back with few people around, the huge booth practically shielding you from outside parties. You watched Chris as he pushed his food around, noting how he hadn’t taken many bites.

“Care to share what’s going through that head of yours?” You asked. He looked unfazed by your question, taking a second to look at you before looking down again.

“I just don’t know what to do,” he replied vaguely.

“About what?” You asked for clarification, your voice full of concern. He wasn’t one to dwell on stuff like this, especially without talking to you about it.

“I want to have kids,” he began. “You know, I’m not getting any younger, and I’d say my work isn’t slowing down any time soon, especially after being Cap for so many years. I don’t know, I just...” he trailed off, rubbing his forehead.

“You’re thinking about quitting acting to have babies?” You questioned, not sure if you were understanding correctly.

“Not quitting but taking a break maybe?” He clarified. “I want us to have our own family, and I’m not going to ask you to do any of that by yourself. I want to be around for the pregnancy, the birth, first steps, first words. I want to experience that, and I’m afraid if I continue acting, I’ll miss it all.”

“Will not working during that time hurt us?” You asked trying to talk him through his decision. “That break wouldn’t be a few weeks or even a few months. How would that affect us financially?”

“I won’t get as much as I would filming, but with residuals and such, I think we’ll be comfortable.”

“And throughout the day when I’m pregnant- working, whatever- what do you plan on doing?”

“Whatever the hell I can. Probably really relax for the first time in a while,” he chuckled before nodding his head. “Yeah, I think I want to do that. I’m going to take a break.”

“Yeah?” You asked, joy bubbling in your heart as you thought of the secret you had kept for a while. The rest of dinner was spent chatting about the future. Kids, pets, new home; the works. 

Once you returned home, you immediately dragged Chris to the living room, pushing him to sit on the couch. “I have something to show you,” you told him before disappearing into the bathroom.

“Is it a new set?” He called back making you roll your eyes. Nothing got him more excited than a new set of lingerie. “Baby, are you treating me?” You giggled at his comment as you rummaged through your ‘girly drawer’ as he called it, finding the stick in the box of tampons.

“More than you know,” you answered, walking back to him with your hands behind your back. You wore a huge smile on your face, no longer able to conceal your excitement.

“What do you have?” He asked, your smile obviously contagious as his face slowly masked yours.

“Close your eyes,” you whispered. He did as you said, moving to hold his hands out. You set the stick in his hand, watching as he felt it for a second before opening his eyes. He immediately dropped his hands, looking at you.

“Are you kidding me?” He asked, eyes wide with excitement as he looked at the pregnancy test again.

“It was really funny how you brought up kids tonight because that’s what happened this morning,” you told him, tears welling in your eyes again.

“You’re pregnant!” He said, standing up to hug you, his arms wrapping around you tightly.

“You’re gonna be a daddy,” you told him. Your hands ran through his hair as he placed his head in your neck, picking you up and spinning you around, making you laugh.

Chris pulled away, looking at you as he held your face in his hands. “We’re gonna have a baby?”

“We’re gonna have a baby,” you repeated.

“We’re gonna have a baby!” He yelled back, as if it just registered, throwing his hands in the air before looking at you again. “Nobody knows yet? When can I tell people? Can I call my mom? Scott?”

“Slow down, gorg,” you laughed. “I have a doctor’s appointment in three days. We’ll hopefully have sonograms after that, but I figured wait until we get those so they can see little baby bean when we tell them.”

“You want me to wait three whole days before telling anyone?!” He exclaimed.

“It’s three days- just don’t talk to them,” you shrugged. He looked at you like you were crazy, making you laugh again.

“What do you mean ‘don’t talk to them’? I talk to them everyday.”

“Just don’t bring up baby stuff. Come on, Captain America. You can keep Marvel secrets for months but not a pregnancy for three days?” You asked him in disbelief. The corners of his lips curled down as hewhile he nodded.

“Yeah basically,” he said. You rolled your eyes, wrapping your arms around him again, placing your chin on his chest and looking up to him with a look he could never say no to.

“Please, Chris? I want it to be special and sweet for them,” you pleaded. “Just three days.”

He let out a breath looking down at you. “I will try not to say anything, but I can’t promise that.”

You let out a mocking scoff, a smile on your face. It warmed your heart knowing Chris was so excited to tell everyone.

“I love you,” you said softly, placing a kiss to his lips.

“I love you, too, mama.”

. . .

The next day, you were in the kitchen making a sandwich when Chris walked through the door, home from the gym.

“Hey, sweets,” you greeted as you saw him.

“Don’t be mad,” he chuckled as he walked to you, wrapping his arms around you, your back to his chest. You stopped what you were doing, your head falling back on his shoulder as your eyes closed.

“What the hell did you do?” You asked, already knowing the answer. Chris moved, hugging you tighter, his forehead pressed against your temple.

“I told them,” he admitted.

“Chris!” You yelled, trying to move, but his grasp held you in place. “Let go of me,” you laughed.

“No, this is keeping you from hitting me,” he told you, pressing kisses all over your face.

“Christopher,” you laughed. “Three days.”

“I know! I’m just excited- I couldn’t help it.”

“What did they say?” You asked, relaxing into his arms.

“They want to go to the appointment,” he shared.

“Of course they do,” you said before turning around in his arms, facing him. “I love how excited you are.” Your hands ran up his chest only to pull them away and smack him.

“Ow- hey!” He yelled as you walked away.

“Love you,” you yelled back.

Taglist: @lucychg @yourwonderbelle @rageyoudamnednerd @maliburumofficial @cutiepiemimi13 @happywolves81 @lifeandloveandhappiness @madeinthemidnightmemories @castellandiangelo @meaganjm @spnobsessedmemes @h-oneyholland @babylsn @harrydesires @xxtomxo @lizzyclifford13-blog @green-lxght @zabdisamor @takemetooneverlanddd @rororo06 @carat1uv @delicately-important-trash (add yourself here)

[sherrybaby14]

Just a Touch

Prompt:  A short fic where Steve Rogers gropes the reader repeatedly and at first she starts to ignore it but then one time she confronts him and asks him to stop and then he gets angry and it turns into non con.

A/N:  I took some liberties and changed it a little.

Warnings:  NONCON/RAPE.  Please do not read if this offends you.  (But it turns into Dubcon)

Pairing:  Steve x female reader

Words: 3k (longest drabble ever, but not edited so probably has errors). 

You never thought you’d wear an evening gown after your prom, but here you were in a red and white show stopper at the Stark Christmas gala.  It was like a dream come true.  

“Y/N.”  Pepper grabbed your arms. “I’m so glad you made it you look great.”

“Thank you for inviting me Ms. Potts.”  You leaned in and greeted your boss with a quick kiss on the cheek. “This is amazing.”  

“For the millionth time, it’s Pepper now.  You don’t work for me anymore.”  She backed up and held your hands.  “You deserved that promotion, but I hope we still keep in touch.  As friends.”

“Only if it means you keep inviting me to fancy balls.”  You both broke out laughing. “But really, I respect you so much.  You were the best boss I ever had.  I owe you my career.”  

“Well stick with me tonight and I’ll make sure your star keeps rising.”  Pepper tucked your arm under hers and led you into the party.

The night was a whirlwind.  You’d met Avengers, politicians, philanthropists, even movie stars.  You felt like you were drunk, but hadn’t gotten the chance to touch any alcohol.  

“It’s overwhelming isn’t it?”  Pepper flagged down a waiter and took two glasses of champagne, handing you one.  “You seem to be handling it well though.  I’m not surprised.”

“Hey Pepper, come on.”  Tony appeared out of nowhere and grabbed his girlfriend’s hand. “I need you for a second.”  

“I promised I wouldn’t leave Y/N alone.”  Pepper reached out with her free hand and grabbed yours.  

“I’ll keep her company.”  Steve’s voice startled you.  

You smiled up at the blond and turned back towards your friend/former boss.

“It’s fine.  Go.”  You’d met Captain Rogers a few times and even though you’d never exchanged more than pleasantries the awkwardness of being around the famous man had long faded.

“Five, ten minutes tops.”  Pepper smiled and disappeared into the crowd with Tony.

“Having fun?”  Steve took a sip of his beer.

“It’s amazing.”  You put the champagne to your lips.  “You don’t have to babysit me.  I can survive on my own.”  

“I like watching over you.”  Steve lowered his drink. “Cheers.”

He clanked his glass to yours, but with too much force.  Your champagne went down the front of your dress along with some of his beer.  

“Shoot.”  You grabbed at the fabric.  

“Sorry.”  Steve reached behind you and grabbed a napkin. “What a klutz.”  

He pressed the cloth to your chest, but instead of dabbing at the wetness he squeezed your entire breast in his hand.  No bra would go with the dress and you felt everything.  

“Uh.”  You tried to back away, but you were against a post.  

His hand loosened, but then squeezed down harder again, groping you through the fabric.  

Your reaction was to twist away.  

“Almost got it.”  His hand relaxed, but then went to the tip of your breast and squeezed down hard on your nipple.  “There.”  

You squealed and jerked away.   Your hand covered your top and you bit back the urge to slap him.  But he looked down at you with a lazy grin and took another sip of his beer.  

“Mmmm.” He winked at you.

“Excuse me. I should head to the restroom and wash up.”  You darted your gaze.

Was that intentional?  No way.  Captain America was the definition of a gentlemen.  He would never.

“These hands.”  He held up a huge palm. “Sometimes I’m all thumbs.”

His fingers rolled and you nodded and brushed past him.  You would clean yourself up and enjoy the rest of your evening.  This wouldn’t get to you.  It was a mistake. That was all.  Steve meant spilling the beer, not grabbing you.  Either way the exchange had left you with a rock hard pebble and a decision to steer clear of Captain America.

~~

“Pepper!”  You saw your friend in the lobby of Stark Tower.  

“Y/N.”  She ran up and gave you a hug.  “Are you just getting in?”

“Nope.  I forgot my phone in the car.”  The lobby was packed.

You always got to work at least thirty minutes early to avoid the massive crowds.  A trick you picked up from your former boss.  

“I’m on my way to a meeting, but we have to get together for drinks soon.”  Pepper squeezed your arm. “I haven’t seen you in a month!”

“It’s been two weeks.” You laughed.  “I’ll call your assistant.  Get something on your calendar.”  

“Promise?”  Pepper let go.  

You nodded.

“Go!”  You shooed her off and headed toward the elevator banks.  

She waved as she walked through the lobby.  You loved how she was the most powerful person in the building but people treated her like she was normal.  That was the sort of leader she was.  Even though everyone was below her, she acted like an equal.  It was inspirational.  

An elevator opened up and you slid your way inside the mass of people reporting for work.  You didn’t pay much attention as you took out your phone and started scrolling through the e-mails.  

At least Spring finally hit New York and you were able to wear a skirt and blouse instead of a jacket, since you knew the crowd was going to make it hot.  

Once as many people squeezed in as possible the door shut and the slow climb of constant stops began.  At the first stop you felt something brush against your ass.  

You couldn’t wait until more people got off and you wouldn’t be so cramped.  The following three you felt the same brush.  When the elevator stopped a fourth time you started to think it was intentional.  

You glanced behind you ready to give a nasty look when you saw the blond super soldier grinning down at you.

“Hi Y/N.  Haven’t seen you in awhile.  How are things?”  Steve licked his lips.  “I think the las time was the Christmas party right?”  

All looks from your face faded.  You didn’t know how to respond.  

“Yeah.”  You nodded and turned back around, wanting the conversation to end.  

The elevator continued to climb and when the fifth stop came your ass was met with a hard pinch, making you jump.  

“Woah.”  Steve reached forward and steadied you, dragging his left hand over your ass while his right one stood you up again.  “Don’t fall now.”  

He didn’t let go.  His fingers were on your ribs to the side of your breast while his other hand was cupping your ass.

You didn’t know what to do.  If you smacked him you were going to draw attention in the still very crowded car.  There wasn’t room to step away.  

“I’ll keep you upright.”  He put his mouth right next to your ear.  “Go back to looking at your phone.”  

Did he think he was being nice?  He was from the past and you did almost fall.  Still the touching made you uncomfortable.  It was so uncomfortable and you didn’t know what to do, so you listened and acted like nothing was wrong as you went back to your e-mail.  

“Good girl,” Steve whispered before standing up straight behind you.  

The word made you cringe.  Who the hell did he think he was?  But telling off a superhero in front of all these people wouldn’t earn you any brownie points at work.  

His fingers would randomly move lightly.  You felt like he was getting closer to you as well and swore you randomly felt an erection brush against your back.  It was tempting to twist away as the elevator began to empty, but nobody was paying you any attention.  

“This is my stop.”  Both of Steve’s hands slid.  

He grabbed your breast and your ass fully at the same time and squeezed.  You dropped your phone, but before you could push him away he was gone.  

You stood bug-eyed as he stepped off of the elevator, giving you a wave and a wink as the doors shut.  

There was no misinterpreting that.  It was intentional.  He was messing with you.  Why?  You didn’t want to know.  It gave you the creeps, but not as much as the small wetness you felt between your legs.  Shame washed over you as you picked up your phone.  Why did that turn you on?

You didn’t want the answer and hoped you never ran into Captain America again.  

~~ “Hi.”  You adjusted the straps on your summer dress.  “I’m meeting a friend for dinner.  I think she’s here already?”

“Y/N!”  Tony stood up from a booth in the back.  

“Oh. I guess a few friends?”  You smiled at the hostess before walking back to the table.  

You thought it was a ladies night, but maybe Tony wanted to tag along too.  You almost stopped dead in your tracks when a third person stood up from the booth.  Steve Rogers turned around, giving you that million dollar smile, with wicked eyes focused on you.

“Y/N.”  Pepper stood up and came to give you a kiss on the cheek.  She whispered in your ear.  “This is not a set-up I swear.  Tony ambushed me.”  

“You know Steve right?”  Tony greeted you with the same kiss on the cheek.

“We’ve met.”  You cringed, regretting your decision to never mention Steve’s hands to anyone.

He stepped out of the way and signaled for you to slide into the booth.  All you saw was the wall though and as you sat down realized you were trapping yourself.  

“Pepper said you were going out for dinner and I thought we would tag along since the baseball game got rained out.”  Tony stood for Pepper to slide back inside before joining her.

“It’s not raining.”  It was one of the driest Julys on record.  

“It is in Chicago.”  Steve grinned at you.  “We were going to watch it on TV. Do you like baseball?”  

“Not really.” You smiled, trying to divert the danger flashing in your brain.  

“I love it.”  Steve cracked his knuckles. “Especially the thrill of getting off first base.  My favorite is stopping at second and then getting a double and going straight for a home.”

“I don’t know what any of that means.”  You took a sip of the water on the table.  

“I’ll show you sometime.” Steve winked. “You’ll love it.”  

You gave a half smile.

“So, did you hear about Lenny in HR?”  Pepper ended the awkward exchange.  

To your surprise dinner wasn’t going bad.  The four of you were having a decent conversation.  But then you felt it: a hand on your knee.  

You tried to jerk your leg away, but the booth was too tight and you didn’t want Pepper to notice.  So instead you squeezed your legs shut and put your hands in your lap to block him.  

“Have you seen Tony’s car collection?”  Steve ran his hand up your thigh.

“You can’t see it in person.”  Pepper topped off your glass of wine.  “Only digital since they’re scattered all over the country.”  

“It is impressive.”  Tony reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, holding it in front of your face.  “Give it a glance.”

You wanted to slap Steve’s hand away, but didn’t know how without ruining the night, so you took Tony’s phone.  Mistake.  

He was strong and went straight for your apex, sliding his fingers over your panties as he leaned closer under the guise of looking at the cars as well.  

“Wow.”  You tried to give the phone back, needing your hands free.

“Scroll through.”  Tony took another sip of his wine.  

“Scroll.”  Steve dragged out the llll, as his fingers started rubbing you.  “Some of those babies really purr.”  

You gulped as his fingers found your clit and started pressing down.  You looked up at Tony and Pepper, neither of them noticed.  Then you looked over at Steve who grinned down at you as he pushed harder.  

You tried to cross your legs, but that only gave him a moment to get better access as he cupped your entire pussy, pressing his palm into your clit.  

Shit. It felt good.  You dropped the phone and turned to shove his shoulders.  

“Woah!” Steve lifted his hands.

“Y/N is everything okay?” Pepper looked at you like you were the one being inappropriate.  

“Sorry.”  You dropped your hands.  “I have to use the restroom.”  

“You could’ve just asked.”  Steve laughed and looked at Pepper and Tony with a shrug.  

He stood up from the booth and you practically crawled out.  

“What was that about?” Tony asked. “I thought you two were getting along?”

You walked fast, not wanting to hear the rest of the table’s conversation.  When you got to the bathroom you went straight to the sink.  

What the hell was going on?  Why did he keep touching you?  Why did he think that was OKAY?  You had to tell Pepper.  Clear this all up.  Let her know she was trying to hook you up with a creep since this was obviously a set up.  

If you had your phone you would text her to join you in the bathroom.  But you took a breath and decided if you hung out here long enough she would join you.  It was girl code. No way were you going back to that table.  

The bathroom door opened and your heart jumped, hoping it was Pepper.  Instead a tall blond man came inside and slammed the door behind him.  

“What are you doing in here?”  You started for the door, but he locked it.  

“You’re such a tease Y/N.”  Steve darted forward and cupped your cheek, pressing his lips to yours while his hand groped at your breast.

“Mmmff!”  You tried to push away.

His hands went to your hips and he spun you around.  

“Stop!”  You grabbed onto the sink to stop yourself from falling.  

“I know you’re soaked.  You got wet as soon as you saw me didn’t you?”  His hand went under your dress.  

“What?”  You tried to stop him, but your panties were pushed down.  “NO!”

His hand reached back up and found your hole.  To your shock his finger slipped right inside.  

“I knew it.”  He stood behind you. “So ready for me baby.  Have you been thinking about this since Christmas?”  

“I..stop.”  This was happening too fast.  

You didn’t know what to do, how to respond.  Zippppp.  The sound of his fly coming down made your eyes go wide.  

“I knew you were kinky, but sex in a bathroom?  With Tony and Pepper out there?”  Steve stood right behind you.  “I love it.”  

It finally dawned on you what was about to happen and you tried to move away, but Steve had you by the hips.

“Here we go.”  He pushed inside of you and you gasped.  “Look how beautiful you are.”  

Your eyes went straight ahead to the mirror and you got the view.  You were bent over the sink with Steve behind you, stretching you with his cock.  

“Oh you take me so well.”  He pushed in further.  “Most woman can’t handle it.”  

How were you this turned on?  Memories of your hard nipple at Christmas and the wetness from the elevator seemed to excite you at the moment.  Was he right?  Were you a tease?  Were you into this?  

“That’s it baby.”  Steve’s pelvis pushed against your ass.  “Enjoy it.”  

He must have sensed you relax and his hands left your hips.  One went under your skirt and found your clit while the other played with your breast over your dress.  

“This is just a taste.”  He started thrusting.  “You’re coming home with me tonight.”  

It wasn’t a question, but a big part of you wanted to say yes.  You found yourself arching your back to give him easier access.  

“Quick and dirty.”  He snarled. “I don’t want anyone to come looking for us. Brace yourself.”

Again, you did as you were told and gripped the sink.  He started plowing into you, rubbing your clit and using you breast to hold you steady as you bounced into him.  

You spiraled, tightening up and contracting around him as waves of pleasure left your body.  Your eyes rolled back in your head as you shook from the most intense orgasm of your life.  

Steve pulled out and you almost collapsed as he finished in his hand.  

“Guess you don’t need these anymore.”  He leaned on the sink next to you and held up your panties, now covered in his jizz. “Take a minute and meet me at the table.”  

He slapped your ass before letting your dress fall back over you, unlocked the door and left.  You looked up in the mirror at yourself wide-eyed.  What the fuck just happened?  

[bigskydreaming]

Imagine:

The Batfamily is all assembled in the Batcave working on some case, when Alfred intercoms them from up in the Manor. He says there’s a man on the phone for Master Dick, with it being a matter of some urgency. Bruce starts to ask if he’s established whether its an actual emergency or something he can take a message on, but Alfred continues...

Alfred: Err, the individual in question ensured I was aware he knew Master Dick was on the premises and available to take his call...even if I did need to patch him through to our....downstairs line, as he termed it.

Bruce: Our downstairs line? He phrased it exactly like that?

Alfred: I’m afraid so, sir. He was circumspect, no doubt in deference to our....privacy in such regards, but there was little margin for misinterpretation as to his meaning. This may come as some surprise, but I have considerable practice in the art of reading between the lines, and like to imagine myself somewhat of an expert at the craft.

Bruce: *sighs* Patch him through, Alfred. Did he give a name?

Alfred: Very good, sir. And yes, he did say Master Dick refers to him as Boone.

All eyes swivel to Dick, as Alfred transfers the call to the Batcave’s ultra encrypted top secret super hush hush line. Dick pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs.

Dick: If I get an ulcer from the next five minutes, I’m absolutely naming it after him.

Bruce: You don’t seem surprised this person has knowledge of our identities. Why wasn’t I informed of this individual, as a potential threat of exposure?

Dick: Umm, it didn’t seem relevant?

Bruce: ....what.

Dick *shrugs*: I mean, to be honest, I mostly forgot. He’s known forever, and its not likely to ever be an issue for the same reason he’s never done anything with the knowledge before now. He’d never give our identities to someone who could potentially compromise us or harm us, because that risks someone other than him killing me before he can say he’s beaten me and proven himself better than me once and for all, and that like. Pretty much would defeat the whole point for him.

Bruce: ....I’m almost afraid to follow your logic.

Jason: I’m so happy right now.

Dick: If it helps, he’s known since like, I was eleven. So I mean, I do feel pretty confident if it was going to be an issue, he’d have made it one way before now. Hence why I....kinda just forgot. I mean, I didn’t really forget, forget, but like I said. It just didn’t seem relevant.

Bruce: ....that does not help, no.

Tim: Wait, what? Who is this guy!?

Damian: ....Grayson, did you hit your head on patrol? You’re not making any sense.

The speaker crackles to life again before anyone can press Dick for more questions.

Boone: Hello? Are you reading me loud and clear in the top secret Batcave you got there? 

Dick: Boone. What the hell do you want, and how do you even know we have a Batcave, let alone call it that? And also, what the hell do you want?

Boone: Freddy! My buddy! My pal! Long time, no ass kicking! 

Dick: Not that long. Usually you like to wait a few more months than this before ringing me up to ask for another one.

Boone: Any chance we swap this connection out for a video call? You sound irate, and that’s easily one of your top ten facial expressions. You can’t tell but I’m fanning myself just thinking about it.

Dick: I am going to kill you. It is going to hurt.

Boone: Promises, promises. You always say things like that and yet here I am, my masochistic needs still unmet....

Dick: Boone!

Boone: Freddy! Alright, unclench. No need to get your jockstrap in a bunch. I figured you had a Batcave because you obviously have to have some kind of lair on site, and your Daddy Warbucks seems too fond of his toys to fit everything in the attic, so downstairs seemed a safe space. You can relax. I’m not spying on you via a periscope sticking out of your toilets or something suitably archvillainous and cliche.

Dick: And you just happened to know its called the Batcave?

Boone: ....well on that score I mean, I have met you, and your old man does have a theme, and it wasn’t actually super hard to add two plus two and get four there. Thanks for the confirmation though. Its always nice to know I’ll still be able to make it on my brains once all this beauty begins to fade. Ah, time, that bitch. The absolute Murder Icon we all aspire to, with a body count none of us will ever match.

Dick: Did you call just to wax poetic or whatever the fuck it is you think you’re doing, or is that just a treat I’ve earned with all my good karma.

Boone: Actually, funny you should say that, because I’m calling with an exciting investment opportunity that could reap you loads of karma reward points on the back end!

Dick: ....what.

Boone: I need your help. Sorry, was that not clear? I don’t have a ton of practice on that line. My profession’s not big on the whole communal effort sort of thing.

Dick: ....what.

Boone: Oh come on, don’t be like that. It can’t be that shocking to you, I mean, you’re a hero. Helping people is what you do. You have to hear that line all the time!

Dick: Yes, just usually not from mass murderers.

Boone: Oh, you damn me with faint praise.

Dick: As long as we’re clear on the damnation part.

Boone: Besides, I mostly just murder in a singular fashion, you know, as in one at a time. There’s hardly ever any mass.

Dick: Well that changes everything.

Boone *laughs*: Oh, Freddy. We do have fun. Speaking of, how about it? You wanna hop on over to the far side of the world and bail my finely curved and plushly padded ass out of the fire, before the nefarious evildoers who are after me do unseemly and deplorable things to it and also to my organs?

Dick: And here I thought nefarious evildoer was your job description. Someone’s gunning for your head and your title? Tough day you’re having, chum.

Boone: Its the world we live in, mate. Job security just ain’t what it used to be.

Dick: Not sure if that’s the world’s fault or more just something to do with your particular line of work. If only there had been someone at some point in your life who could have warned you about your profession’s usual stats on job security. Oh wait.

Boone: I know, I know. Listen, as dazzling a pairing as my pecs-tastic physique and scintillating intellect may be, I pale before your perfection, old buddy. Be a pal and try not to hold that against me, will you? Tell you what. You come help me out of this little old bind I’ve gotten myself into through no real fault of my own, and I’ll let you give me one of those judgmental stares you’re so fond of, and you can say you told me so. Actually, you know what, for a limited one time only offer, I’ll even throw in a free spanking!

Dick: You’re an idiot.

Boone: I know, who am I kidding. I’d let you put me over your knee any day. Really, its your own fault. When all your stern talk of discipline and punishment makes bad boys like me go weak in the knees and swoon, how can we possibly be expected to keep to the straight or narrow?

Dick: ....why do I get the feeling you didn’t just know I was here, but that my whole family is present and listening too?

Boone: In my defense, I distinctly recall you being the one to tell me to get a hobby, last time we tangoed in Paris.

Dick: I was talking about things to occupy your time without killing people, not inviting you to occupy your time making my life miserable. And it was Chicago, not Paris.

Boone: Well then you should have been more specific. And I know it was Chicago, you moron. Ugh. I may kill people, but you’re murder on a theme. God, you can be such a peasant sometimes.

Dick: This from the guy who....you know what? No. Stop. I’m not getting sucked into this again with you. Get to the point, Boone. Fine, you landed your ass in more trouble than even you can handle, for once. Why is this my problem, and what would possibly make you think I would help you out of a mess you made and probably more than deserve to reap the consequences of?

Boone: Because you’re a goshdarn hero, Dickie, and a better man than me, remember? And because you’re not doing it for Shrike the mercenary, you’re doing it for your old buddy Boone. That you couldn’t save from himself and will hate yourself for not saving now, if I do wind up dead and you happen to ask yourself if you could have stopped this. Which, of course, we both know you will. So should we just skip to the part where you do what we both know you’re gonna do in the end anyway, because you can’t be anyone other than who you are anymore than I can be anyone other than who I am, no matter how much either of us wants to pretend otherwise? Or do you want to dance this out a few more songs first?

Dick: Send the situation details and coordinates to the email address I gave you last time. I’ll be there as soon as I can, and if you so much as think as killing someone while I’m there, you won’t like where I drop you off.

Boone: Mmm. Fair enough. For all the perkiness of your perky parts, your taste in venues has always been shit. You can cool your jets by at least five degrees, Mister Superhero Sir. I’m in no rush to enjoy the accommodations of Bludhaven Penitentiary a second time. They didn’t even have HBO. Barbarians.

Dick: And Boone? After I do this, you and I are through. You stay out of my way from now on, and I’ll do the same. Clear?

Boone: Oh, Freddy. Tell yourself whatever you want to, but we both know that you and I won’t be through until the day one of us dies. I’ll owe you one, let’s go with that. Alright, check your email, just sent the sitch. I’ll see you when you get here, til then this booty’s gotta bounce! Ta!

The speaker hisses static as the phone disconnects. There’s awkward silence as nobody has any clue what to say and Dick very conspicuously checks his email on his phone.

Bruce: This Boone...he’s the mercenary and occasional assassin Shrike? 

Dick just nods, his shoulders tense and uncomfortable. Everybody else eyes each other warily, except for Cassandra and Tim who exchange particularly confused glances. They fought a mercenary named Shrike once, years ago, but nobody had ever said there was anything significant about him, or hinted there was any reason he and their oldest brother should have any basis for having a conversation like...whatever that just was. 

Not to mention, even Bruce sounds weird now. Like he’s just as awkward and uncomfortable as the rest of them look and feel. And Bruce only sounds uncomfortable when talking about like. Feelings and stuff. Family situations. Never cases. Never....the bad guys.

Bruce: ....he was one of the other students at Vengeance Academy, I take it.

Dick still doesn’t look up from his phone. His voice is resigned and weary. This is not a discussion he wants to have, his siblings can tell that much. Even if the rest is all just gibberish to them.

Dick: He ended up with the League after Shrike died. Trained with them for a few years, then eventually broke off to do his own thing. Called himself Shrike in honor of....our old teacher. He was. Particularly attached to him.

Bruce: ....you...kept in touch, then?

Dick barks out a startled laugh, full of too many other emotions to put a name to.

Dick: Hardly. We’ve just....run into each other over the years since then. He figured out who I was a long time ago, when he recognized my picture in some puff piece online, about you taking me in and your charity work with kids’ programs after that. And he recognized my fighting style as Nightwing, so. It was just inevitable we’d cross paths, I guess. There’s just. There’s stuff between us that never got settled, you know?

Bruce: ...I’d almost forgotten that was where you first honed your skills with your escrima sticks. Why didn’t you ever tell me? Who he was...that you’d encountered him? Since...those days.

Dick finally looks up and studies Bruce carefully. Then he looks off to the side and sighs.

Dick: Because you’d forgotten that was where I first honed certain skills. And I didn’t particularly want to remind you, I guess.

He sighs again and shakes his head as Bruce looks about to respond.

Dick: Bruce, I....look, we’ve both put a lot of years and effort into not talking about this. Seems a shame to break our streak now. Can we just....this is just something I have to do, and I kinda need it not to be anything more than that right now. It’s just. I have to go.

Bruce: ....I understand.

Dick barks out another uncharacteristic laugh, sharp and reproachful, but at who, it’d be impossible for even him to say.

Dick: I doubt that. I don’t even understand. But I appreciate you trying to, and...letting this wait for another time. Like I said. I have to go. Sorry I can’t help out more with the case. I’ll see you all later.

Damian: Grayson, don’t be absurd! You can’t go! Whoever that man was, he’s clearly manipulating you!

Dick shakes his head and laughs one more time, but here, at least, its a bit warmer, a bit closer to his usual humor. He stops to ruffle his youngest brother’s hair as he passes him, before continuing on towards where his motorcycle is parked along the main causeway to the cave’s entrance.

Dick: Trust me, kiddo, I know. He’s not even trying to be subtle. It’s so....tacky.

All too soon, his engine roars to life, and then his cycle and its passenger speed out of the cave leaving behind only shadows, echoes, and the backglow of his headlights, all of which soon die away themselves.

In their wake, all eyes turn as one to Bruce, still seated in front of the Batcomputer.

Duke: I have questions.

Jason: I have comments.

Tim: I have concerns.

Bruce sighs.

[lonbergwrites]

The Gross, The Bad, and The Unforgivable

A review of Undercover Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams

 Let me start off by saying that this book has an instance of what clearly seems like sexual assault, wrapped up in a gloss of romance. Skip down to the “The Unforgivable” section for that information.

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Normally, I don’t rate and review any books that I read for fear of poisoning the memory well. Normally, I wouldn’t rate and review a romance novel in particular, because it isn’t a genre with which I have much experience, nor is it one I have much love for. But the title and the fact that it showed up on a list of good romance novels for men from a source I trust made me pick it up in the first place. I’ve been trying to get deeper into the Writing Community online, and so many writers there are romance authors – and romance is such a popular genre generally – that I wanted to familiarize myself with the genre as I work on my own writing...

I’m making an exception to rating and reviewing this book because there were some truly, deeply problematic things going on here, on top of the bad/schlocky writing, and the gross descriptions so prevalent in my mind’s limited knowledge of what’s bad in the romance genre. So, in the following review I’m going to justify my one star rating of this book by describing The Gross [broadly, the terribly stomach-turning descriptions, characters, and plot points in this book], The Bad [the technical problems – especially in the plot], and The Unforgivable [the glossed-over sexual assault].

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The Gross:

I’m going to jump right in on the most obvious issue I have with (my own idea of) romance novels: the sex scenes. But this isn’t going to be what you think it is; I am not a prude. Nothing turns my stomach faster than euphemistic language about body parts. “Her sex” is bad enough. This book also talked about running his fingers along “her slit.” But the description that almost made me hurl was “her pink bits.” Nope. Vomit. Say vulva. There is nothing gross about that word. A good sex scene is hard to write, and you don’t need to go full-on erotica (though honestly, I think hardcore erotica is far more enjoyable to read, more real, and sexier than the euphemistic stuff), but why have a very descriptive scene only to censor over the words everybody is paying their good money to read? Pick a lane. Give me actual adult sexual content, or have everything fade to black. Please?

I looked at a bunch of the reviews of this book, astounded as I was that it was so highly rated. Where language was used as a fault, the line “my vagina senses are tingling” was often cited. Cited as gross and crass. Sorry, this was a line I found truly funny and endearing, used as it was by a female character who was grossed out by the villain of the story, a serial sexual predator. To me, it was a great Spiderman reference, and an honest thing for a woman to say. I’ve heard such comments from female friends before. Seeing this comment from the romance reading community really saddens me, because not liking an honest use of body parts, but championing “pink parts” is only fueling the female body shaming that is so prevalent in our society.

“Now if you’ll excuse us, we have a happy ever after to start” is the line that ends the bulk of the novel, before the epilogue. Once you’ve scraped the vomit out of your mouth, there’s also the ending of the epilogue, where after the main character “proposes” off-handedly on the couch, they have sex, and then he asks her if that was a yes, and she confirms it, the narration says, “after she said yes he did things that made her say it a whole bunch of times naked.” Then they fist-bumped. End of novel. Yeah… Did I mention they’d only known each other for a little more than six months at this point? Yea, I think that’s kind of fast…

But romance novels are stereotypically bad in this department according to me, who knows little to nothing about them. What other gross stuff happened in this book? Let’s start with the male lead, Mack, who winks at everything in a skirt. There are paragraphs where he literally winks at the woman he’s talking to three times within said paragraph. She’s always super charmed. This is supposed to be endearing behavior. Then there are a whole chapter where the sex the characters are having is compared to the national anthem – wanting to sing it, wanting to wave a flag, saluting this with that appendage. Barf barf barf.

I could go on, but this book isn’t for me, really. I’ll just close with a line I really did like from the book: “Smells like a camel exhibit in here.” This line is said by the bros when they come in to rescue Mack from his depression on losing the girl, and they find him in squalor. This book could broadly be described as smelling like a camel exhibit.

 The Bad:

The biggest plot error I found in this book happened near the end. A group of the team is running to meet the “inside guy” who will distribute the dossier on the villain to the press as they march in to his book launch. They get there to find their inside guy knocked out, and another security guy holding the dossiers they were literally carrying to the meeting (he knocked him out to take them away, even though he didn’t know what was in them – not to mention that they weren’t actually there in the first place). Terrible editing!

There are other things – characters switching their mind on something deeply held from paragraph to paragraph, a convoluted plan to expose the sexual predator at his own event, and thinking that’s the only way to take the guy down, when in real life a reporter will take information at any time, not just when tricked into it. But it is the real lack of understanding of the human character that really bugged me.

The secret that Mack is carrying with him is that his father was abusive and murdered somebody, and is in jail. Mack changed his name out of embarrassment, and lies and tells people his father is dead. He is made into the villain towards the end of the book, because he “lied” to Liv, his love interest, about this. They had known each other for some time longer than a week and shorter than a month. They were not dating (she was adamant about that), and had slept together just twice. But he was a liar now, because he had a “secret identity” and lied about his father. People just accepted that that was a terrible thing to do. No! If that’s your past, it is yours, and you don’t owe that information to anybody that early in a relationship. Sure, you need to own up to it before you talk marriage, but not before you’ve started dating. This doesn’t have anything to do with his character, but his father’s. Shaming him for “not being honest” and having him have to come to terms with it, and be open about it publically, is just *not* something that he has to do. Weird morality here. I know it was stretched to add drama, but I think it does a disservice to his great trauma in life.

I don’t believe a group of people should take matters into their own hands to investigate a person on sexual harassment on behalf of other women. I don’t think they need to use their friend’s van (literally an FBI-style surveillance van that nobody seems to think it is weird that a friend just has – a van that never plays an important role except that it doesn’t drive fast). I also don’t think a former cop is going to play along in a game of entrapment with a bunch of youngsters out for the thrill of taking down a celebrity chef. I especially don’t think people are going to trust the “inside guy” who is the security guard for the big bad. There is absolutely nothing that any characters do (aside from taping the bad guy) that moves the plot forward. It is all them falling into luck or information that others provide. Everything happens to them. This is just not the makings of a well-written book.

The characters were also so bland and uniform, with the exception of “The Russian” who was all caricature and comic relief, and whose lactose intolerance goes into play when they almost got caught because of the smell of his fart while they were hiding. Hilarious? No. So juvenile. And also, it was from vegan cheese, which the author says “is still cheese” and thus causes him the same problem as cheese. Speaking as a chef, that’s not how lactose intolerance works.

And, can I quickly gripe about the fact that the tech whiz who can break into a computer in 2 minutes, take out the contents of said computer in 30 seconds, breaks down all the banking info in an hour to tie the sexual predator to dozens of victims financially, also says he will be unable to edit a video (literally cut it off at all), in the hour they have during a drive, so by showing the big bad to be the big bad, they will also expose Mack’s terrible history and show him too to be a liar? Remember, this is literally exposing that his dad was a bad guy… again, not seeing the problem for Mack (as if that would kill his reputation)… but also: press stop on the tape? In an hour I, a complete novice, could learn to edit video enough to be able to stop a video when I wanted it to stop. The drama was unnecessary, and the mechanism to achieve it is so utterly stupid.

I also don’t love the fact that it takes a group of men to save women who were the victims of sexual assault. I also don’t love the message that women have to be a certain way when it comes to coming forward (even though they try to say otherwise, it was very moralistic against anybody being quiet). I very much don’t love the fact that they called the sexual predator – who honestly had unwanted, forced sexual relations with many women – a mere “sexual harasser.”

 The Unforgiveable:

Let’s talk about consent. The second time the main characters have sex, Liv expressly says ‘hey, I haven’t given you consent to have sex again.’ He then says that fingering her isn’t sex. Then proceeds to finger her. Then grabs her, carries her to a bed insider her own house, and then has sex with her. Without actually obtaining consent. This isn’t even an instance of tacit consent, because both parties are acting in a certain way and advancing the same act. She literally denied him consent by saying he didn’t have it, and that was never cleared up. Even if she never said no again, that’s pretty terrible for him to just assume.

Also: this happened immediately after he just shows up at her house. They had had sex once. She said she’d call after 3 days. He comes over after two, not calling specifically because he said that she’d have probably said no to his coming over. It was dark, she thought he was an intruder. She hit him with a shoe. She has to apologize to him for hitting him, and clean him up. Hey. In my mind, this dude is a psycho at this point. If you don’t buy into the 3 days before a call, fine. But then you pick up the phone. Don’t just show up at a near-stranger’s house. Don’t do it at night. Don’t sneak up the stairs. And don’t get mad when she’d mad because you acted like a psycho. And then most certainly, listen to her when she says that you don’t have consent to have sex with her again, and go on fingering her immediately thereafter.

 This book is bad on a lot of levels, but the sexual assault scene tarted up to look romantic just made me seethe inside, especially because this whole book attempted to be a “bros don’t let bros sexually assault women” morality tale.

Rating: 1 very dim star of 5