#in my defense i was texting my sibling the whole time so i kind of forgot about Tumblr.

[iveneverbeenmorestressedinmylife]

Screaming crying throwing up.

[levi-venn]

So, what would Memento have been like if he hadn't died? 👀

Memento (1k words) An OC from the Mirror Squad Headcannon. Read about them here!

The Kaminoans’ second attempt to make a “Calm Soldier” came in the form of CT-9905. 

Void of the Mirror Squad had been an emotionless, manipulative sociopath who liked to push the limits of other clones to see how they “ticked”.

CT-9905 did have some similar traits. He kept a cool head under duress, wore a deadpan expression, and had a dangerously high pain tolerance. While they both had a fascination with humanoid psychology, CT-9905 didn’t weaponize that knowledge against his fellow clones. He used it to live vicariously through the fluctuations of his brothers’ emotions that he could never achieve himself. Wrecker’s loud and honest joy, Hunter’s warm kindness, Tech’s cheeky sarcasm, and Crosshair’s desert-dry humor. 

He wished he had felt something. Anything. And more than anything else…

…he wanted to belong.

In combat he was a cohesive part of the team that made every training exercise in their cadet years flawlessly executed. He had the ability to adapt to any gaps in his squad's defense, and add pressure to all efforts of offense. He was versatile and efficient. A team player.

But when it came time to celebrate, he withdrew back to his bunk, watching his four brothers cheer and joke and bicker the way brothers should (according to sibling interactions he read about in his texts). 

Then one day, he overheard Crosshair talk to Tech about crows that would offer trinkets to humans to repay them for their kindness. It was a method of communication between species. CT-9905 stopped listening when Tech and Crosshair argued over the tactical advantages and disadvantages of a “battle crow” in their squad. Still, it gave CT-9905 an idea.

That's when the trinkets began to appear. Strips of red fabric stolen for Hunter to make new bandanas. A new stylus stolen from a mean cadet who broke Tech's prized touch-pen. A chunk of wood carved out of a strict instructor’s chair to become future toothpicks for Crosshair. And for Wrecker…well…the trinkets varied. “Hey,” Wrecker said, holding up his present. “It’s my tooth! Was looking for this!”

CT-9905 conveniently hid when he knew his brother was about ot discover another offering. He didn't do it for the praise. He did it because...he thought maybe…perhaps…he felt…something. A ghost of a feeling. Something fleeting, but unmistakably there.

And when CT-9905 survived his cadet years…

…the small offerings grew more sophisticated. 

On their first field exercise as brand new shinies, the brothers were dropped in a forest without equipment, ordered to use their environment to make their way to the rendezvous point. Too easy of a task with Hunter and they made it back well before any of the other teams. That night, Hunter found a wood-carved compass on his pillow. 

The next successful exercise involved dismantling droids without firing a single shot. Another easy feat. Tech and Crosshair sliced droids in record time, then used the remaining time reprogramming the droids to fight each other. They were reprimanded, but still received full marks. Tech and Crosshair found a droid finger on their pillows later that day. 

It was the third exercise where Wrecker and CT-9905 got to shine. Hunter, Tech, and Crosshair had the ability to disarm thermal dets, proximity minds, and trip wires, but all at once? Within a time limit? Hunter would overthink it, Crosshair would get frustrated, even Tech’s fingers couldn’t move that nimbly. Meanwhile Wrecker was giggling like a madman from one bomb to the next, and CT-9905 calmly made short work of the rest without breaking a sweat. 

After the last land mine was disarmed Wrecker cheered and slapped CT-9905 on the back. “Yeah! Alright! I can’t wait to see what you’ll put on my pillow! Will it be a bomb? I want a whole bomb!”

CT-9905, a clone of few words (usually one or two), uttered three words quietly. “You liked them?”

“The lil souvenirs? Hell yeah. Tech calls ‘em uh…memots…moments…hey, Tech! What’d you call ‘em?”

“Mementos,” Tech said, pulling out a droid finger in his pouch and holding it up for CT-9905 to see. Crosshair pulled out the fresh toothpicks made from his recent supply of wood. Hunter tapped the strips of cloth wrapped covertly around his belt under one of his pouches.

“We wanted to thank you," Hunter said. "But you're never around when we find 'em.”

CT-9905 shrugged. 

“My guess," Tech said, "is that your inability to express emotion is due to the lack of dopamine, serotonin, endorphins, oxytocin, norepinephrine, glutamate-”

“Tech,” Crosshair snipped, resting an elbow on Tech’s shoulder. “Get on with it.” 

Tech huffed irritably at his brother. “...a lack of chemicals that allow you to regulate emotion. You are communicating affection through objects. Thus these mementos.”

"Like a crow," Crosshair said, with a smile that read less like a sneer to CT-9905 and more...brotherly.

“Memento!” Wrecker gasped and wrapped a strong arm around Memento’s neck nearly choking him. “That’s what we’ll call ya, huh? Whatcha think?”

“Okay,” Memento said.

“Memento,” Hunter nodded. “You were long overdue for a name anyway, brother.” 

Memento studied the smile on Hunter’s face. He copied it. It felt almost normal. 

***

The Clone Wars were over.

The inhibitor chip changed Memento in ways he didn’t expect. Not physically, he didn’t succumb to the effects as Crosshair did, but the concept of the chip changed his views on himself. On what it meant to be the "Calm Soldier".

It was cruel.

The Kaminoans had robbed him of basic human emotions to make him a fighting machine. 

And when he learned of Void, the brother he never knew, the "prototype" to who he was, Memento understood what path he could have taken had he been designed just a little differently. 

After the destruction of Kamino was brought to light, Memento left the Bad Batch to join Echo and Rex on Coruscant. It was time to use his study of humanoid psychology not for his own satisfaction, but to help others. It became his life's work. He used all he had learned to treat veteran clones with PTSD.

The Calm Soldier became the Calm Healer, helping thousands of brothers find their way into a gentler existence.

He thought it was correct to miss his brothers, though he understood why he never felt that painful "ache" when he thought of them. Maybe it was a good thing, but he wished he knew what it felt like, to truly grieve.

Every now and then he would get a care package with no return address. There was always a pile of trinkets very clearly from adventures Hunter, Wrecker, Tech, and Omega would have. Little souvenirs for their brother.

Memento would look down at this package and mimic Hunter’s warm smile.

**********************

@huntressdarkness thank you so much for this question!! I hope this was an adequate answer! I saw you wanted to write about these OCs too, please do and tag me, I'd love to read it!

[st0rmyskies]

I’m new to the LU fandom, I really love the series but I’m kinda confused about the whole link/link shippings. It’s not something I have a real issue with as long as the links in question aren’t related by blood or anything, but I’m really confused how the ships came to be????

Wildlight especially because yes, there’s definitely chemistry and a deep bond between them, but I’ve never thought about their relationship going beyond that and into sexual????

I always kinda felt like they’d be queer-platonic, like, they’re so close their relationship can’t be defined as purely platonic but it’s not sexual. There’s a lot of love and affection but it doesn’t fall neatly into romantic either?

They’re just. Two people who really care about each other and want to enjoy their time together while it lasts to the fullest and just. Experience life with the other by their side.

Mostly I just feel really confused and like I’m lacking a lot of information. I’m sorry if this doesn’t make sense or seems rude, I just don’t understand in general, and thought maybe you could provide some insight???

So I, for example, don't like mango. Some people love mango but and think apples are boring, and I would clutch my pearls about that and go on a 40 minute tirade about how apples are the shit. The same can be said for shipping. When it comes to ships, both with regard to types of ships and pairings, a lot of it comes down to personal preference. It's as simple as that.

That's the main idea here, anon. There's not any information you're missing. The rest is under the cut for specifics about Wildlight and other Linkships.

No matter how you ship Wild and Twilight, with even the various flavors of queerplatonic or simple friendship being considered "shipping" of sorts for the purposes of this conversation, as you said: it's obvious that the two of them have chemistry. They have history together. They look to one another when Time says cryptic shit like two siblings wondering if that lore drop from dad was true or not. Twilight scolds Wild for getting himself injured in defense of Wind and Wild doesn't hesitate to give it back to him a bit. In the most recent arc, while everyone on the team is affected by Twilight's injury in one way or another, Wild is the one who loses his mind a bit over the whole thing. Their bond runs deep.

Like you, there is a huge group of fans who look at that relationship and enjoy that flavor of queerplatonic rep. They choose to ship Wild and Twilight in that way, and that's cool. But some of us look at the same relationship and prefer to explore the spicier side of things under the same context, and that's cool too. There was recently a text post I reblogged that went something long the lines of fic writers "using preestablished relationships to give sex [in their works] emotional context." Without having to write thousands of words of backstory to get two people together, sometimes we as fic writers lean on the source material to establish the soft stuff so we can get right into the more hardcore fare. It's a fun little thought experiment to consider how two characters like Twi and Wild who have such obvious caring for one another in canon might engage with one another behind the scenes.

The same can be said for characters who don't seem to have a whole ton of on-screen chemistry, as it were. Sky is very obviously in love with his Zelda, and that's part of the reason why he was the focus of the poly!Sky series. Because yes, SS Zelink is adorable, but what if Sky wasn't limited to that relationship alone? How would his relationships look like with Twilight, with Warriors, with Time? For me, it's a fun exploration and skill-development exercise to write believable romantic and/or sexual relationships that you wouldn't expect in-universe, especially since they firmly aren't established in the source material.

I, for one, also enjoy exploring both healthy and unhealthy sexual relationships through fiction. By far, my favorite kind of couple to write has to be the train wreck: those who bring out the worst in one another and have incendiary chemistry in the bedroom. HSH WarrTime falls into this category, and Twilight/Dark does too in a different sense. It's that journey from "Omg this would NEVER work" to "Dark has one person and one person only he will behave for" that never fails to hook me.

In the end, it boils down to the same reason why most restaurants have such a diverse menu. Some people prefer one flavor of cooked-up relationships, others may prefer another. Some of us change tastes depending on the day. And maybe in relationships that you personally don't see romance or a sexual connection, to someone else it looks plain as day.

And that's all totally okay.

[frederickkatz]

Texts: Sparky (Cameron) & Freddie

@cameronslaw

Cam: [ picture of a clean and polished wooden desk ]

Cam: good as new (;

Freddie: they did a good job.

Freddie: send me the bill. I'll be happy to pay for a well job done. Plus it was my fault it was even needed

Cam: as if I'd let you pay after you got me all those pretty presents

Cam: I'm glad I'm the only one who sits on this side of the desk tho

[ picture of crescent moon shaped dents on the edge of the wood ]

Freddie: that's a totally different thing. That's your workplace. I shouldn't have gone there

Freddie: maybe I should replace the whole desk. It wasn't my intention it went that far

Cam: are you sorry it did?

Cam: bc idk if it was clear but I really wanted it to happen 🤔

Freddie: not really but maybe there are places that should be left out from our activities. It's a risk for your job. It'd be the same if we had done something at my work place. It's just not right

Freddie: I know. I wanted it too but that doesn't mean it was ok

Freddie: btw I met your brother's boyfriend last weekend. He is one of a kind for sure

Cam: oh so there are lines then

Cam: how come?

Freddie: look it was wrong of me to go to your work place. You said it yourself. My scent will affect your job, and I didn't realize but your scent in me also  affects my job

Freddie: I just didn't think it through

Freddie: how come what?

Cam: ok fine

Can: how come you met Adam?

Freddie: we can always meet at the hotel. It's more private there anyway

Freddie: oh he stopped by the bar on Friday. I've seen him before there but this time I served his drinks

Cam: ok

Cam: and how did you recognize him?

Freddie: ok then. Thanks for understanding

Freddie: ha! He approached me because I smelled of you. He was worried I had killed you and bathed in your blood.

Freddie: also your brother's energy was all over him. It was impossible for both of us not to notice since you and Devon are the only faes in town

Cam: I mean, I'm sure that's someone's kink

Cam: oh wow so we're basically light houses?

Cam: that's fun

Cam: so you guys talked about us huh?

Freddie: what? Smelling like someone you're having sex with

Freddie: I almost get fired because I kept threatening all the vampire who kept looking at me hungrily and it had nothing to do with my powers

Freddie: It really wasn't. Earlier with you was of course

Freddie: not really. He just wanted to make sure you were waking and turns out Adam worked with my younger sibling

Cam: that or bathing in fae's blood

Cam: wait, you were smelling like me at work? you said you were going home to shower before your shift

Cam: I'm glad at least you had fun, even if it was oh so wrong

Cam: well WALKING was a tall order after what you did to me

Cam: ah yes he was a Grimm reaper or something right? Works with Death?

Cam: that's so not the job you want your brother in law to have

Freddie: bathing in blood is something my siblings and I did when we won a war. Not necessarily fae but it must be a vampire kink

Freddie: Yes. I showered twice but apparently the Eau De Fae is very strong to wash off

Freddie: are you telling me you didn't enjoy it?

Freddie: what I did to you. Wow that definitely doesn't sound good

Freddie: Yes. He worked with Gilmore for a while

Freddie: well he's not working with him anymore so nothing to worry about

Cam: wait you actually did that?!

Cam: 😮 😮 😮 😮 😮

Cam: in my defense, you did make a point of cleaning me up, so I'd say I can't be persecuted, your honor (:

Cam: I did enjoy it, a whole lot, you're the one saying it was wrong

Cam: ...would you rather I say "after you screwed my brains out"? 😉

Cam: are you defending him?! Fredwald!!!

Freddie: we did. Yes

Freddie: it's funny that you see me as if I'm this humanoid thing from this century

Freddie: I'm not blaming you for it. It was my fault for turning impatient

Freddie: It wasn't wrong what we did. It was done in the wrong place. That's all good saying

Freddie: sound a lot better and less regretful. Yes

Freddie: I'm not defending anyone. I'm just saying that he has no way to keep working with my sibling

Cam: it's funny you think you're NOT a humanoid thing walking around in this century

Cam: hey did I do something?

Cam: are you upset with me?

Cam: bc this sounds like arguing but it's not the fun kind

Freddie: I'm not. This is just a vessel. A carcass. This isn't what I really am. This is me trying to fit in a world that isn't the one I knew

Freddie: no. What are you talking about?

Freddie: I'm not upset

Freddie: you're the one who argues not me. And this wasn't even an argument. What are you on about?

Cam: idk you're being weird

Cam: fuck it's so hard to read you

Cam: and I hate thinking of you like a fucking corpse so I'm choosing not to, thank you very much

Freddie: I'm not

Freddie: I keep telling you, but you don't listen. You have to stop trying to read me, just listen to me

Freddie: ok, that's works for me if it works for you

[20 minutes later]

Freddie: ok so if I'm the one doing a right reading, you're the one who's mad

Freddie: what's going on?

[5 minutes later]

Freddie: really? You're gonna leave me on read?

Cam: I'm upset yeah

Cam: you just talked about what was a great day for me as if it was nothing but a mistake

Cam: and then moved on to talk about ADAM of all people

Cam: and this is the first I hear from you since then!

Cam: like was it really not that great for you?

Cam: or do you actually care more about your brother's stupid ex-employee than someone you were screwing the brains out apparently on the wrongest place on earth?!

Freddie: are you serious? What part of me saying that it was great, but we should have done it somewhere else you're not getting?

Freddie: I thought you should've know I met him. Would you rather me keeping it from you?

Freddie: ok fine. I really should have checked on you earlier. I did fuck up on that and I'm sorry ok? It's been a long week and I'm having some troubles at work and with my older brother

Freddie: what is this? Are you jealous about Adam?

Freddie: for fuck sake! Stop saying that! I'm trying to watch over you, Cameron!

Cam: I did get what you said

Cam: but the first thing I thought when you said it was that you regretted it and now I can't unthink that

Cam: and I'm not jealous!

Cam: I just

Cam: wait, watch over me?

Freddie: then why you keep insisting that I said it was wrong as if I regretted it?

Freddie: I don't regret anything we've done, Cameron. If I did I wouldn't have bought all the things I did to try with you

Freddie: Yes you are. Why? You know how I feel about vampires

Freddie: Yes. I don't want you to risk your work because I can't control myself with you

Cam: because I was afraid you did

Cam: I guess bc Adam got to hear from you and I didn't

Cam: not even to check up on me with that damn toy

Cam: fuck

Cam: I don't want to seem like I'm needy or pushy or anything, it was my mistake anyway

Cam: the expectations were mine

Cam: sorry I took it out on you

Freddie: well I don't regret it, Cam. I really don't

Freddie: look I'm sorry ok? I know I messed up for not reaching out earlier.

Freddie: Cameron, come on. It's not like that

Freddie: what expectations?

Freddie: talk to me please?

Cam: why didn't you?

Cam: you know what

Cam: forget I said any of that

Cam: I guess it's just one of those days

Cam: and you have work anyway

Cam: we can talk some other time

Cam: don't worry about it

Freddie: I told you. It was a long weekend at work and Warren is being a pain in the ass

Freddie: honestly I lost track of time

Freddie: I'm not gonna forget it

Freddie: where are you?

[30 minutes later]

Freddie: I'm outside. Can you please come out?

Cam: you can come up if you want

Freddie: I really can't. I can sense his energy at your place, and he'll be able to sense mine if I go upstairs.

Freddie: you said you had something going on with him and I don't wanna mess that up for you

Freddie: please come out just for a moment?

[rukbat3]

Babylon 5 Rewatch - Infection

This is a post I originally wrote several years ago for Mark Oshiro’s Mark Watches blog. I don’t really plan to edit them before posting, so there may be some references that don’t make sense. If you see words that look like gibberish, they are actually rot13, which was our way of discussing spoilers. There are plugins you can install to decode the text (Cryptext is the one I use), or you can copy/paste to rot13.com, or just ignore it.

Well, that was an episode that happened.

I have a very clear and specific memory of the first time I watched this episode. I mentioned before that my best friend programmed her VCR to record all of the episodes while she was at marching band practice (two episodes per tape!) and I would often find the time to watch them first. That was certainly the case for this one, and I had snuck upstairs after my bedtime to watch the tape as usual. The episode was going along normally; Franklin had explained to Sinclair what the weapon was and how it was created, and Sinclair had gone to inform Garibaldi about his plan. Sinclair is about to jump down through the hole in the floor onto the lower level. “How will you get it to follow you?” asks Garibaldi (paraphrased). “Simple,” says Sinclair. “I’m gonna try and make it mad.”—And the tape cuts off! If I hadn’t been trying not to wake up my parents, I probably would have screamed.

It turns out that my best friend’s younger brother had decided he wanted to watch something else and hadn’t even noticed something was recording. This was the first time that happened, and probably the most memorable, but it wouldn’t be the last. We missed a few pretty important episodes due to younger sibling interference! However, I managed to fill in most of those holes the second or third time TNT went through the series. For some reason I kept missing “Infection.” It wasn’t until quite a while later when I was on a road trip with my family, and we had finally stopped at a hotel after being in the car all day, that I discovered that “Infection” was playing on the room TV. My family wanted to go out to dinner, but I just couldn’t pass up my chance to finally see the end of this episode, so I sent them off without me. :)

And was it worth it? Well…

Let’s just say this episode is not subtle. It has a moral to teach, and it wants to make sure nobody misses the lesson. The World War II parallels are obvious, and even called out briefly in the episode. Gurer ner n ybg bs Jbeyq Jne Gjb ersreraprf naq gurzngvp cnenyyryf guebhtubhg gur pbhefr bs gur frevrf—WZF pregnvayl unf n jryy bs snibevgr vqrnf ur yvxrf gb qenj sebz—ohg V guvax guvf vf gur svefg. Fnqyl, rirelguvat srryf zber eryrinag guna rire abj.

I kind of love that Garibaldi calls Sinclair out on what we have come to accept as typical captain-y behavior (mainly due to Star Trek). “You keep putting yourself in danger,” he points out, and we realize not only that he’s right, but that Sinclair shouldn’t be doing it. I love even more that Sinclair listens to Garibaldi and doesn’t get defensive, but realizes that this is something he needs to work on. [season 3] V guvax guvf vf na rneyl vaqvpngvba, abg bayl bs Fvapynve’f pbzznaq fglyr, ohg bs uvf riraghny ebyr nf n eryvtvbhf yrnqre. Ur’f n irel gubhtugshy zna, jvyyvat gb pbagrzcyngr gur ernfbaf sbe crbcyr’f orunivbe—rira uvf bja.

[season 2] Naq gura jr trg Fvapynve, jub tbrf evtug onpx gb gur npgvba-pncgnva zbqry naq fgnlf gurer. Jubbcf!

[season 2] V unq sbetbggra gung Vagrecynargnel Rkcrqvgvbaf trgf vgf svefg zragvba va guvf rcvfbqr. Vg’f fgenatr gubhtu. Jul jbhyqa’g Senaxyva or noyr gb svaq bhg nal vasbezngvba nobhg gurz, pbafvqrevat gung Furevqna qrsvavgryl xarj uvf jvsr jnf jbexvat sbe gurz, naq gurer qvqa’g frrz gb or nal ryrzrag bs frperpl fheebhaqvat ure rzcyblzrag? N ovg bs rneyl vafgnyyzrag jrveqarff, creuncf?

[whole series spoilers] V sbetbg gb zragvba orsber, naq abj frrzf nf tbbq n gvzr nf nal, gung rirel gvzr V urne Fvapynve fnl, “Vg jnf gur ynfg bs gur Onolyba fgngvbaf” va gur perqvgf (naq Furevqna va frnfba gjb), V trg puvyyf. Gur travhf bs gur yvar vf gung lbh urne vg fb bsgra gung lbh fgbc urnevat vg. Naq gura Vinabin, ng gur raq bs “Fyrrcvat va Yvtug,” fnlf, “Vg jnf gur ynfg bs gur Onolyba fgngvbaf. Gurer jbhyq arire or nabgure.” Naq whfg—V whfg— *htyl pelvat* Naq gura lbh ernyvmr vg jnf gurer nyy nybat. *funxrf svfg* FGENPMLAFXV!!!

Favorite scene: I know it’s cheesy, and maybe that makes me a hypocrite, but I just have to go with the scene at the end of the episode between Sinclair and Mary Ann Cramer. “Ask ten different scientists about the environment, population control, genetics, and you'll get ten different answers, but there's one thing every scientist on the planet agrees on. Whether it happens in a hundred years or a thousand years or a million years, eventually our Sun will grow cold and go out. When that happens, it won't just take us. It'll take Marilyn Monroe, and Lao-Tzu, and Einstein, and Morobuto, and Buddy Holly, and Aristophanes, and all of this—all of this—was for nothing. Unless we go to the stars.”

I didn’t recognize the name Morobuto, and I wondered if it was a name I should be familiar with or one that was made up for the show as a future famous name. So I looked it up, and the B5 wikia says [Word of God, no spoilers] gung ur jnf n snzrq Nsevpna cuvybfbcure naq yrnqre va gur rneyl 22aq praghel. Ur havgrq frireny bs gur jneevat Nsevpna pbhagevrf naq sbezrq gur Prageny Nsevpna Oybp. [season 4 to be safe] Vg’f nyfb vagrerfgvat gung rira guvf rneyl ba, jr’er trggvat uvagf bs gur ovnf, abg whfg va gur trareny cbchyngvba, ohg va gur cerff, gbjneqf vfbyngvbavfz.

[justkending]

The Number One Rule. Chapter 15.

Summary: Y/N has always been seen as “Steve’s rambunctious sister.” However, she grew up, graduated, and moved to London to study abroad for 4 years and get her bachelor's degree. The girl that returns looks nothing like the teenager that left, but don’t worry the attitude is still there and stronger than ever. What’s to come of the two grown adults that used to push each other's buttons, but now have a lot more in common than they’ve ever realized.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Y/N Rogers (Steve’s little sister)

Word Count: 3100+

A/N: Ladies and gentleman. This is in one of my top 3 chapters I’ve written in this series. The next one being my number 1;) I hope you enjoy and I would love any and all feedback you are willing to share!! xoxoxo

Chapter Fifteen:

Eventually when Bucky had snapped out of his thoughts, Y/N had long fallen asleep on him. He smiled down at her with a sad smile. One filled with remorse for everything she had gone through, but pride in how she handled it and didn’t let it destroy her. At least not to the extent that a lot of people get into.

She had years to do that, whereas Bucky was fresh on the subject. It would take him time to move on from that for her. He couldn’t help but feel hate for himself knowing exactly what party she was talking about. 

It was one of the few he and Steve didn’t attend. They had planned on it, but Dot wanted a quiet night in, and Steve just didn’t feel like it or something. It had been a while since that party, so he didn’t remember intricate details. 7 years to be exact. And the only reason he could guess which one it was, was because of how she acted after it. A whole month of depression and guilt she sat with and it showed. For the last 7 years Y/N had carried that with her. The only person she trusted to tell to this day was Beck. Now he was the other. 

He gathered her up in his arms, and she drowsily threw her own over his shoulders and hung on in a sleepy daze as he brought her up the stairs. He laid her in her bed, turned on her fan, and tucked her in. 

But as he stood to go back downstairs, her hand clasped around his. 

“Where y’ going?” she asked. The wine was playing a big part in the sleepiness and he could tell by her weak squeeze to his hand. 

“I’m just going to clean up downstairs. I’ll be back up in a second, sweetheart,” she nodded before giving him another squeeze to his hand and pulling the bed covers up to her cheeks. He smiled at her cute self and bent down kissing her forehead. He moved the strands of hair they fell over her eyes and studied her for a second. 

Eventually, he pulled away and went to do what he said. Popcorn kernels trashed and bowls cleaned. Leftover wine in the fridge and beer bottles recycled. He folded the blankets on the couch and set the pillows back in their original arrangement. Lastly, he went and checked to make sure all the doors were locked for the night. He had spent the night there enough to do a lock up without issues. 

Coming back upstairs, he changed into his own pajamas and snuck into the other side of the bed. Careful not to wake her, he gently and ever so softly, pulled her back to him. In her sleep, she turned to where they were face to face. Curling into his chest in comfort, trying to get as close as she could. 

He couldn’t hold in the chuckle that rumbled through his chest as she nuzzled under his chin. He ran his hand up and down her back and noticed her body relaxing with each stroke. He was glad he had that effect on her. It was the least he could offer after not being there for her in those hard times.

Now when he held her, he wasn’t just protecting her, but also trying to shield her from any more pain. He had been doing that his whole life for the family that the Roger’s had become to him. But now was different. This was a different kind of defense. This wasn’t just family protection. This was protection for someone you love. 

________________

The next morning, Y/N was the first to wake. She found herself practically embedded in Bucky’s arms. He had wrapped his giant self around her waist pulling her in close to his body. 

They had cuddled before, and even had a few sleepovers when Steve wasn’t in town, or if Becca wasn’t going to be home for the night and lent them her space. But it was only enough to count on one hand. That, plus, it never escalated to anything other than cuddling and maybe a makeout session here and there. 

Bucky had been gentle and patient in that area. Even if they hadn’t had that talk yet at that point, he didn’t push. Something she wasn’t used to in most of the guys she had dated. Pietro probably being the only other one that was understanding of it. 

Even if they had been dating a little over a month, she was glad they were taking it slow. Even if they had known each other their whole lifes. 

She somehow was able to turn in his arms and see a soft smile on his lips. He wasn’t awake, so he must have been dreaming of something nice. She took a second just breathing him in and trying to wrap her head around how all this came to be. 

Sure she had crushes on him growing up. I mean who doesn’t form a crush for your older brother's hot best friend. Though if she was being honest, she had always thought deep down that it was never a card that would be played in this game of life. 

Little did they know, it would just take time and growth. Then the fates would do with them what they will. Most card games were just a game of chance. You never know what’s going to come around the corner...

Eventually, she pulled herself away ever so gently and quietly to escape downstairs and make breakfast. She was still in her sleep shorts, but at some point took off her sweatshirt in the night from almost overheating. That plus the surprisingly excessive amount of body heat Bucky gave off made it hard to sleep with it on. 

She found a new one laying over her chair in the corner and threw it on before grabbing a hair tie and brushing her bed head up into a bun. 

Tiptoeing to the door, she slowly closed it leaving it open just a crack. 

Just as she took a step on the stairs, she heard the front door unlock and open. Freezing in her spot she waited a second. The only person who had a key besides their mom and her was…

“Hey, sis,” Steve said coming around the corner seeing her at the top of the stairs. 

“S-Steve,” she said in almost a whisper. Panic. Fear. Dread hit her at full force.“What, um, what are you doing here?”

“It’s Saturday and mom’s out of town, and I knew you were home alone. I thought I’d come over and we can go get breakfast or something,” he said with a sweet innocent smile. 

Running down the stairs a little quicker, she met him at the bottom. 

“Um, why didn’t you call? I would have gotten ready. I just woke up,” her voice was filled with anxiety and Steve noticed. 

“I thought I’d surprise you,” he said, raising an eyebrow. “You ok? You seem off?”

“Um, no. I’m fine. I just got a text from work that one of the projects they had me on needs to be done sooner than I expected.” How she came up with that lie on the spot like that? She had no idea, but she ran with it. “Yeah, not the best thing to wake up too. Making me a little nervous.”

“Oh, well do you want to go get breakfast and we can talk about it? I’ve barely heard about anything with your new job. We need to catch up, Mini,” he said, poking her stomach and making her let out a loud laugh, having always been super ticklish. 

Just seconds after that, having heard voices and a loud almost shout, Bucky swug open the door and peered down the stairway where they were both at the bottom. 

Two seconds. 

Two seconds was all it took for Steve to put two and two together in his head. Bucky acting weird lately. Sneaking off randomly and never telling Steve anything, which wasn’t like him in their friendship. Hell, he had even noticed Bucky’s lingering looks, but always put in the back of his mind thinking nothing of it. 

But now. Oh, he was thinking about something now. 

Bucky was frozen at the top of the stairs, eyes locked with Steve. To make matters worse, he only had pajama pants on and no shirt.

Even from the distance of the stairwell, Bucky could see the storm brewing in the blue eyes of his best friend. 

“Steve,” Y/N started placing a hand on his arm. 

The blonde immediately ripped away from her as he turned to fully face Bucky. The alpha male, big brother, pissed off best friend was in a stance ready to fight. 

“Why the FUCK did you just come out of my sister’s room half fucking naked?” Steve growled.

“Steve, you don’t know the full story,” Y/N said softly, but she could sense the tension and for once in her life, she was slightly scared to enter the fight. 

“The fuck I don’t know the full story,” Steve said finally whipping his head back to Y/N. His blue eyes were carrying a category 5 hurricane in those ocean blues. But they didn’t stay on her long as he turned back to Bucky. 

“Listen,” Bucky said, coming down slowly. 

“I don’t know if I want to,” he responded through his teeth. “Take one more step down here, and you’re going to need some serious dental work and a nose job.”

Bucky froze about 4-5 steps away from the siblings. Finally, he looked at Y/N, worry in his eyes, but they were also apologetic. 

Y/N immediately moved around Steve and stood between the two. Closer to Steve to try and hold him back if she needed to. 

“Now wait a damn minute,” she spoke up looking straight at her older brother even if he was sending a death glare past her shoulder. “You need to calm down before we talk-”

“No. You need to go to your room. Bucky and I need to talk,” he said in an authoritative voice. 

“Excuse me?” she retorted back. Her gentleness in the situation was fading and being replaced with aggravation. “Go to my room? Am I a 13 year old girl?” she said stepping in his eyeline so he was looking at her. 

“This isn’t a fucking joke, Y/N!” He shouted. “Go to your room!”

“No,” she replied, folding her arms across her chest. 

The two had this kind staring contest all the time growing up. Anytime there was a fight, they almost never relented with their stubborn asses. Their mom or dad had to send them to their rooms themselves and kept them there. The time ranging from 20 minutes to 5 hours before they calmed down. 

They were two of the most headstrong ornery people to live in this world. And it didn’t help that they were now pitted against each other. This kind of fight looked as if it could be ranging more into weeks or months. 

Knowing and experiencing situations like this with them before, Bucky spoke up again. 

“Y/N, you should listen to him. We need to talk,” he said sedately. 

“I leave and he’s going to beat your ass,” Y/N said, still staring at her brother. 

“I think he’s going to beat my ass either way,” Bucky mumbled. “Really Y/N. Just give us a second.”

“I’m a part of this equation too,” she said. Her tone easing just enough to be noticed. 

“Yes, you are. But right now, Steve and I need to talk first,” he said trying his best to defuse the fire against the heated situation happening in the entryway of their house. 

There were a few more seconds of silence as they glared at the other. 

“Fine, but I’m coming back down in 10 minutes,” she bartered. 

No one responded as she started to go up the stairs backwards. The staredown did not cease until she was even with Bucky on the steps. 

“If he does anything stupid, I’m going to beat his ass,” she said looking at Bucky. 

“I’m sure you will,” he said with a small smile that was forced for reassurance. 

She placed a hand on his shoulder. A silent good luck as they studied the other in a quick second. 

Turning back to look at Steve, she saw he was still in a rigid stance. The tension in his shoulders doing nothing but grow with every passing second. She would’ve sent him one more warning glare if he was looking, but his eyes were trained on Bucky with a look that could kill. 

Eventually she went into her room and shut her door, leaving it open just a crack. They deserved their privacy no matter how bad she wanted to step in. Deep down she knew, as best friends, they needed to talk on their own. 

Bucky looked back down and saw a bull looking at him like he was a red cape.

“Outside. Now,” Steve commanded before stomping off to the back and letting the screen door slam harshly. 

Letting out a long sigh and running a hand down his face, he finally went down the stairs. He grabbed a shirt from the bag he had left down there and headed to the backyard. Steve already in the grass pacing. 

“Steve,” Bucky said softly as he walked down the porch steps barefoot. 

Instantly, a fist collided with his face. He stumbled trying his best to not fall from the impact. When he looked up, grasping his jaw, he sent a glare to Steve. 

“I’m not saying I don’t deserve that, but-”

“Oh, you deserve a lot more than that, but I need you to explain what the HELL I just walked into and you can’t do that with no teeth,” Steve glowered. 

Looking at him while straightening his posture he wiggled his jaw some feeling just a tad bit of blood on his lip. Damn him for teaching Steve how to make a proper swing like that. 

“You gonna punch me again before I talk, or can I fucking explain myself now?” No response, only a stare was given. “Ok, so I’ve been hiding something from you.” Steve raised an eyebrow. 

“You think?”

“Listen, I’m almost as taken aback as you. One day, she’s like a little sister running around with my actual sister, and the next she's a mature grown adult who knows what she wants, exudes confidence, and is intelligent beyond measure.” He paused before adding. “Not that we didn’t know that.”

“I know what my sister is. What I want to know is why you’re sleeping with her?” Steve said, taking a step closer. 

Bucky just straightened up more as if expecting another hit. But then he processed Steve’s sentence. 

“Sleeping with her?” he questioned almost in shock. Steve not breaking his gaze. “I’m not fucking sleeping with her, asshole! I’m dating her.”

The smallest amount of tension released from Steve’s body and his face wasn’t frowning as much.

“You’re dating?” 

“Yes. Dating.”

“So you guys haven’t-”

“No. I’m a little upset that you think that low of me,” Bucky scoffed. “You think I would really just start booty calling my best friend's sister? If I wanted a friend with benefits, I can easily find a girl at a bar,” he said, taking a deep breath and running a hand through his hair. “You’re sister isn’t a girl from a bar, Steve.”

Steve was silent processing it. He still wasn’t happy, but at least it wasn’t as bad as had thought. 

“Listen, Y/N’s been in my life just as long as she has been in yours. We’ve grown up together, created childhood memories together, picked on each other, and protected each other. She would be the last person on this earth I would want to degrade to a one night stand. She deserves so much more than that.”

“Exactly,” Steve said. 

Bucky paused taking note of Steve’s tone. “Exactly? Why do you say it like that?”  

“I mean she deserves a lot,” he said, confirming Buck’s thought. 

“I see. So I don’t make the cut?” Bucky said, now getting frustrated. The silence was enough of an answer to his question. “Wow. 26 years of being best friends and you think that little of me?”

“She’s my sister,” Steve answered. A slight tone of apology behind his words, but he kept the stoic face. 

“Yes, Steve she is! And 2+2= 4! We know this!” he said waving his arms and scoffing as he turned in his spot before turning back. Hands on his hips before one came up and ran a hand through his slight beard. 

“You know what? Screw this. I’m not going to sit here and be that guy that says, ‘Yeah, you’re right. She doesn’t deserve me. I’m not good enough for her.’ You know why, Steve? Because I know that. And it’s because I know that, that I’m going to strive with every muscle in my body and every might of my being to make sure I can be that for her one day. To make sure I can give her everything and more that she deserves. To make sure she never has to see a sad day again. To make sure she only experiences joy if I have any say. To make absolutely sure that no one ever hurts her. Why? Because I love her!”

Out of breath, Bucky chest heaving up and down showed how hard his lungs were working to get air back in them. 

Steve’s posture had almost gone back to normal. The anger no longer there. Whatever emotion he was feeling, Bucky couldn’t tell. 

“How long?” Steve asked. 

“What?” Bucky asked, confused. 

“How long have you loved her?” he repeated, looking down at the ground. 

Bucky paused. He couldn’t actually answer that. There was no specific time frame. Truth was he had loved her for a while. 

“Honestly, longer than I know... It’s just taken me this long to figure out that’s what this feeling was.”

Steve nodded his head as he put his hands in his pockets and continued to stare at the dirt by his feet. 

“Ok.”

Taken aback, Bucky's eyes widened. 

“Ok?” 

“Yeah. Ok,” Steve repeated before he started walking to the back fence that led to the driveway. 

“Wait. You’re just going to leave it at 'Ok,’ and walk away?” Bucky rushed over to stop him. 

Steve slowly turned from staring at the ground and then back at him. 

“You know, I thought that we were close enough that you could come to me with this kind of thing. That you wouldn’t feel like you had to hide it from me. Y/N and you both,” he said with pursed lips. “Guess I was wrong.” 

With that he turned back and walked to his car. Bucky watched as he started the engine, pulled out, and disappeared. 

What the hell kind of mess just happened?

(Tags for this series will be closing soon as it is getting pretty full, please send an ask if you want to be added:)

I’ll post on whatever chapter I decided to close it down here.

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[bts-reveries]

expect the unexpected | 20

(the images are pretty scattered so be careful in scrolling !)

You couldn’t sleep after your video call with Jin.

He seemed like he had a rough week, with each day that passed by, the kids got more impatient with him and so did he with them.

You were very much aware that Jin was a full time business man, he had time for the kids after work but during work he had to focus. It’s not easy when you have three kids to take care of while you’re also taking care of a company and over a hundred employees.

Of course Jin knew it was his duty as a father to take care of his kids (with you there or not) and he didn’t want to complain, but some days are harder than others. He still loves them, don’t worry.

The two of you talked about asking for help, but remembered how busy all your friends are at this time. Especially knowing how they all have their own kids to take care of, asking them to babysit three kids would be difficult. Not to mention, they all work too.

You gave Jin the idea of taking Haneul to Taehyung’s while his siblings are at school. Taehyung does classes with younger kids at that time which would be perfect for Haneul to join. He’d both be watched over while Jin gets things done at work and he’d also be kept busy. You’re guessing one of the reasons why Haneul liked to cling on to his dad is because he doesn’t have much to do while Jin’s working. His siblings aren’t there to play with him and his toys can only do so much.

“I’ll text Taehyung and let him know I’m taking Haneul in the morning,” Jin says in a tired voice. “While I’m kid free, I’ll get all my meetings out of the way and so by the time I pick up the kids, we could go home and just relax. Then I’ll do all the paperwork when they’re all asleep.”

“Yeah, that sounds good. See? Easy fix,” you say, smiling up at him.

“Easier said than done,” Jin frowns. “I miss you, life was easier when you were around.” You laugh at what he said out loud.

“Yeah because the kids were always with me,” you say. “It’s good that I’m gone for this one week so that you can spend more alone time with the kids. They won’t be little like this forever you know..”

“That’s true,” he sighs. “I don’t know. It’s just… I thought I’d have this down by now. Minseok is eight. I thought it would be easier now that they’re older. But then again, Haneul’s only three. But Minseok and Soojin were never like that when they were his age. I thought it would be easy, working and taking care of three kids. Especially since two of them are old enough to know and listen. But it has been everything but easy… I haven’t asked any of our friends to come over and help. The most help I got was Yeonjun.. Here at work and when he came over our house when I fell asleep and forgot to pick up the kids.” He laughs. “You make it look so easy. How do you do it?”

You look up, thinking to yourself. “Well first, I spend more time with them since I work from home. I know them pretty well. What they like, what they want. We have a routine at home. So we follow it as best we can. But my job is more flexible than yours. I’m not running a whole company and holding meetings. So it’s okay. You’re just going to need a routine to follow I guess. The kids are good with that. You’re doing great right now babe. I know it’s hard, no one said being a parent is ever going to be easy. We have three kids.. right now.” You hesitated in adding those last two words. “They have three very different personalities, and they’re constantly changing. We’ll get through it.”

“I hope so. Come back home soon, okay? You could work from my office or I can work at home from time to time and you can teach me,” Jin says, laying to the side and holding his phone in front of him so it looks like you two are laying in bed across from one another.

You laugh, “okay, I will.”

“And let’s stick to just three kids. I don’t think I can handle any more changes.” Those seven words woke you up so fast. You try to laugh it off.

“Not even a puppy?” You joke. Jin shakes his head.

“We can get a goldfish, maybe.”

You weren’t typically an overthinker, but when you were pregnant with Haneul that’s all you were.

It was around 11:30 in the evening. You ended the call with Jin about half an hour ago because he was getting too tired. It was a long day after all.

You decided to get up and go to the kitchen.

“Mom,” you say, surprised to see your mother sitting at the kitchen counter. “What are you doing up? Are you feeling okay?”

Your mom smiles up at you, gesturing for you to come sit next to her.

“I’m doing great, I just can’t sleep. What about you?” She says, watching you walk up to her.

“I can’t sleep either. I was pretty sleepy until I ended my call with Jin.”

“Why what’s wrong? Did anything happen between you two?” She asks worriedly. You shake your head no.

“Not really… It’s just.. He’s been having a hard time with the kids. You know, there’s three of them and one of him and he’s working full time. It’s difficult.”

“I understand--”

“But that’s not all. He said he only wants three kids. No more. Not even a dog, mom. He said maybe to a goldfish.”

Your mom laughs, in a confused tone. “You’re sounding a little defensive hon, is there something… else? Do you want more kids? Three seems like a good number.” You bite your lip as you listen to her, turning away to look down at your fingers. “What’s wrong?” She asks again. “You’re acting like you’re a teenager again,” she laughs. “You always play with your fingers when you have something to tell me but you’re not sure if you should. I still remember when we had that talk when you had your first kiss.” You roll your eyes.

“Mom,” you say, turning back to look at her, steering the conversation back to where you were in the first place. “What would you say if I told you you’re going to have another grandchild?” Your mom gasps. She puts a hand over her mouth.

“Is your sister pregnant? Did she tell you?” She says, making you laugh.

“No, I’m just asking.”

“Oh,” she says, putting a hand on her heart. “Well, then I’d be happy! I love my babies and my babies’ babies,” she laughs. “Why are you asking me that?”

“Because,” you say, turning away again.

“Oh, just tell me,” she says, nudging your side.

“Because.. I’m pregnant.. again,” you say, turning to look at her face. Again, she puts her hand over her mouth and you don’t know if she’s shocked, or happily surprised.

“What?!” you say, “is that bad?” You groan, looking forward and dropping your head onto your hands.

“Nonono! I’m just surprised, I’m sososo happy for you!” Your mom says, leaning over to hug you. “Is that why you’re upset? Because Jin doesn’t want anymore? Does he know?”

“No,” you say, it was muffled by your hands. “No one knows. You’re the first person to know, I just found out.”

“Ohh I feel so special,” she laughs. “It’s going to be great hon, you and Jin make the best babies. Everything will be okay.” She plants a kiss on your head. “You should go ahead and go back home,” she tells you, making you sit back up.

“What?”

“I’m feeling great already, there’s no need for you to stay here and away from your family. Go celebrate this good news with them. I’m sure Jin and the kids would be so happy to see you and are even going to be happier to know they’re going to have a new addition~”

-

~The Next Morning~

“I’m sorry to wake you up so early, Yeonjun,” you say sheepishly. You were currently on the train back home and you called Jin’s secretary, asking him for a favor.

“I was already awake Noona, it’s no problem!” he answered energetically. “Is there anything you need?”

“Yes, I’ll be coming home today, but don’t tell Jin! I wanted to surprise them,” you say.

“Oh that’s great! Jin hyung will be so happy to have you back,” he says.

“I know, but I need you to tell Jin that you’ll be picking up Minseok and Soojin from school later, but really I’ll be picking up the kids and we can go surprise him at work.”

“Okay! No problem, Haneul will be at The Scenery though, so should I say I’m picking him up too so you can get him?”

“Oh yes, please.”

“Okay! No problem Noona. Oh and also, do you need me to pick you up from the train station?”

“Oh no it’s okay, I’m just going to get a cab.”

“I can pick you up before I head to the office, it’s no problem,” Yeonjun says.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, noona I’m sure. I’ll see you in a few hours!”

-

It was around 9 in the morning and you had just met up with Yeonjun. You sat in his car, leaning back with your eyes closed. He looks over at you and laughs.

“Are you sleepy noona?” He asks, stating the obvious.

“I couldn’t sleep last night, nor could I sleep on the ride here,” you say.

“Ah, I see. Well, you have a lot of time to nap when I drop you off at your house.”

“Kind of,” you say. “I have a few errands to take care of actually.”

“Like what?” he asks. Well you made an appointment to go get a check up with your obstetrician this morning. Then afterwards, you plan on going to 24/7 Heaven to get a few treats for the kids that you all can share when you get home. Then you’ll go to The Scenery to visit Haneul and take him out on a little date before you two pick up his siblings.

“I have an appointment,” you vaguely tell him. “Then I plan on going to my friend’s bakery to pick up a few things for the kids. Then I’ll go to my friend’s art school to pick up Haneul and take him out on a date.”

“Oh wow, you have a few things on your plate then. Go ahead and nap, I’ll wake you up when we get to your house,” Yeonjun says, focused on the road. You laugh at him.

“Thanks Yeonjun.” He’s your favorite secretary.

-

-

After your appointment, you headed straight to the bakery. You opened the door, instantly being greeted by your friend.

“YN!” Rina yells, waving at you frantically at the counter. You laugh as you get closer to her.

“Hi, you missed me?” You ask, winking at her. A habit you got from your husband.

“Duh,” she says. “Just like how Jungkook has separation anxiety with Jin, I can’t be away from you for too long! I have to at least know you’re in the city.”

You laugh at her, pulling her into a hug over the counter. 

“I thought you were going to be gone for a few more days?” she asks as you two pull away from one another.

“I was. But my mom suggested I come back home since she was feeling a lot better,” you tell her, eyeing a cake on the side. “Can you save that for me by the way?” You point.

“Sure, I’ll put it in the back,” she says. “That’s good though, that your mom is feeling better,” she says as she walks to the back room. She’s yelling so you can hear her. “And also I heard from Jungkook that Jin has been super stressed lately? I’m guessing the whole three to one thing?” 

“Yeah,” you sighed. “He’s been having a hard time splitting time between work and the kids. They keep clashing.”

“I see,” Rina says, walking back to the counter. “At least your back, they’re still out numbering you but nothing you can’t handle huh?” Rina was the first one you met out of all the girls, you helped her when she was pregnant with Sian since you already had experience and you two basically grew up together. As mothers. She’s practically your little sister. You don’t know this, but you’re her role model. Someone she has always looked up to.

“I guess so,” you laugh. You wish you could tell her right now about number four, but you want Jin to know before any of your friends. 

“Yn! Rina!”

The two of you turn around and see Byul running in. 

“Hey!” you say, turning around to give her a hug. She hugs Rina next. 

“Where’s Sohyun?” She asks, Rina turns around and points to the back room.

“Baking,” she laughs. 

“Oh, duh,” Byul says, smacking her forehead. “How about Taehyung?”

Rina laughs at her, shaking her head. “At his art school. The Scenery? Ring a bell?”

“OH. I--”

“So I’m guessing you haven’t had sleep again?” Rina asks.

“Why what happened?” You ask, feeling like you’re out of the loop.

“Namjoon is working on his new book and he’s let me read some of it! I spent half the night reading the drafts he gave me and I spent the other half crying my eyes out,” Byul tells you with a big smile on her face. Gosh, you love her.

“Are you allowed to tell us about it?” you ask. Byul shakes her head no. 

“Boyfriend said I have to keep my mouth shut,” she says, pretending to zip her lips. 

“Well she didn’t lock it!” Rina laughs, knowing Byul will spill it soon enough. “Should I get you two some coffees?”

“Yes please!”

-

After your little date with Byul (and a little bit of Rina and Sohyun came out later on), you finally made your way to The Scenery. After a quick stop at home to drop off the cake. 

“Hey~” you wave as you quietly walk into the room. 

“You’re back!” Taehyung says, walking up to you to give you a side hug, careful not to get paint on your clothes. 

“I am~ Where’s my kid?” You ask, looking around, not being able to see Haneul.

“Oh Yuna and Bora are in the bathroom with him and Mingyu. They got paint everywhere,” Taehyung says sheepishly. “I swear we were watching them but the second we turned… well you know.”

“That’s okay, thank you though for watching him,” you say with a small laugh.

“Mommy!”

You turn to see Haneul excitedly running towards you, his white sweater stained with red. You let out a laugh. “Haneul, oh my goodness you look like you killed someone.” Probably not the right thing to say to a three year old, but he giggled.

“Me and Gyugyu paint together,” he tells you, turning around to point to his cousin. 

“I know, auntie told me,” you say, pulling him in for a hug. Not caring about the paint. “I missed youuuu,” you tell him, placing kisses all over his cheek.

“I misschu too,” Haneul giggled.

“Hi Gyu,” you waved, extending your arm out so that you could hug him too. Your nephew comes running towards you hugging you tight. 

“I want a hug too!” Bora pouts, running towards you with Yuna right behind her. 

-

“Did I tell you?” Bora says. The three of you were now sitting on a separate table, talking before you and Haneul leave for a mommy-son date. 

“Tell us what?” You ask.

“I’m designing Rina’s wedding dress!” She whispers excitedly. You and Yuna’s eyes widened.

“No way! That sounds so much fun,” Yuna says, putting a hand on Bora’s wrist. “Are we allowed to see it?”

Bora smiles, shaking her head no.

Hmm.. deja vu.

“Rina doesn’t want anyone to see it until the fitting,” she says. You already knew you were going to cry when you see it on her. 

“I bet it’s beautiful,” you say. “Rina’s been dreaming of this, I bet it’s perfect.”

“I hope it is. She gave me a few photo inspirations and I drew it out for her and she loves the design so far.”

“Oh I bet you’re going to design our bridesmaid dresses too huh,” Yuna says, looking at her with wide eyes.

“She’s right,” you say, getting excited.

“Maybe,” Bora answers, looking up. “I don’t know though.”

“Okay, so she is!” Yuna says, the two of you laughing. Bora wasn’t good at hiding things. 

-

“Where we goin’,” Haneul says as you two walked back to your car. He held tightly to his little painting as you held on to his other hand. 

“Well first we’re going to go home and get you changed so we can go on a little date. Where do you want to go?” You say. The two of you got to your car, you had a close parking spot. 

“I wanna play at the park,” he says as you carry him up into his car seat. “Look at my painting mommy.” He says, turning it around. Taehyung had a stack of white paper out for him and Mingyu as they were both painting so much, but Taehyung gave them both one canvas each to paint on and take home. “It's for daddy,” he says. 

“Aww it is?” You say as you buckle him in. “Well you can give it to daddy later, I’m sure he’s going to love it.” Haneul happily smiled at you, then down at his drawing. He was super excited to give it to Jin. 

-

“Okay let’s go change,” you say as you two finally get home. There was a bit of traffic. Haneul immediately runs off, but not to his room.

“Haneul where are you going? Come on, we need to change your sweater,” you say, walking into his room. Haneul tippy toed to reach the door handle of his dad’s office, sneaking inside. He giggles as he runs to his desk, placing his little present on top.

“Haneul?” You called. Your son looks back as he hears your voice, immediately running to his room. “I’m here!” he yells.

“Okay come on, arms up,” you say. You pull his sweater off of him, changing to a clean one.  “Mommy will also pack some snacks to take to the park okay?”

“Okay~” Haneul says as you pull his sweater over his head, making him giggle. He’s such a happy baby whenever you’re there.

-

-

“Thank you everyone, this concludes our meeting.” Jin has finished his last meeting of the day, just in time for the kids to get off of school. 

“Yeonjun,” Jin says. “I’m off, I’m going to pick up the kids now. I’ll see you tomorrow,” he quickly says, grabbing his things and walking out. It was just then when Yeonjun remembered that he was supposed to pick them up. Well, you, but he was supposed to tell Jin that he was so you could. Yeonjun panicked, it completely slipped his mind. After dropping you off back home, Jin had a lot of things for him to do.

��Oh hyung, it’s okay, I’ll pick them up,” Yeonjun says with a forced smile. He grabs his things, about to head off. Jin furrows his brows at him, tilting his head at the younger one. 

“No… it’s okay, I’ll do it. I finished everything I had to do anyways,” he says. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Thank you.” Yeonjun knew he couldn’t say anything else to change his mind. Jin had nothing else to do at the building, picking up the kids for him just for him to go home right after was useless. 

“What am I going to tell noona,” he says to himself, watching Jin leave.

-

“Mommy!” Soojin yells as she gets in the car. “Why are you here already?” She says with a huge smile on her face.

“You’re here early,” Minseok says, a smile on his face as well. Haneul is waving at both of them right beside him. 

“I came to surprise you three,” you say. “And now we’re going to surprise daddy at work. Do you think he’s going to be happy?”

“YES!” They all yelled.

-

“Hey Taehyung,” Jin says as he walks into The Scenery. His older nieces and nephews were now there as school had just finished. 

“Hey hyung,” Taehyung says, patting Jin on the back. “What brings you here~ Kidless.” Jin frowns at him.

“What do you mean? I’m here to pick up Haneul, where is he?” Jin says, looking around. 

“Haneul’s not here,” Sian says, looking up at Jin. Jin’s heart stops for a second. 

“What do you mean he’s not here?”

“He was already picked up,” Taehyung says, not knowing that you haven’t told Jin that you’re back.

“By who?!” Jin yells, sighing loudly as he turns around, exiting the room quickly and heading straight to his car without a word from Taehyung. 

“He didn’t even let me answer!” Taehyung exclaimed, watching Jin get in his car from the window.

-

“He already left? Wait, you didn’t tell him?” You say, standing in your husband’s office with your three kids. 

“Jin hyung had me do a bunch of things when I came here! It slipped my mind!” Yeonjun says, freaking out. “I’m so sorry, he’s probably so worried right now but I tried calling him but he left his phone in here.” He says pointing to Jin’s phone on top of his desk. It had about 10 missed calls and 30 messages from Taehyung. 

At that moment, Jin comes barging into the room.

“Do you have any idea who picked up Haneul? Because I came in there and he was gon--” 

The five of you turn around with wide eyes after hearing his voice.

“DADDY!” Haneul yells running towards Jin and reaching his arms up to be carried. 

“HOW DID YOU GET HERE?” Jin yells, he sighs loudly, bringing his hands up to cover his face. “I almost called the police thinking someone stole my child but I didn’t even have my phone with me,” he says, dropping his hands down to bend over and pick Haneul up.

“Oh my gosh, I forgot the other kids.”

“It’s okay! We’re right here!” Soojin yells, making Jin finally look up towards the four of you. Yeonjun smiles and waves sheepishly at his boss while you do the same. You literally didn’t mean to stress him out even more. 

“Yn..” He breathes out.

“Sur.. prise?”

-

expect the unexpected

♡ part twenty: sur.. prise? ♡ 

pairings: ceo, dad!jin x interior designer, mom!reader

a/n: sorry this took so long 😀

also! just to let you all know ~ at this point in the story it’s going to be majority written but will still include some smau pics!

taglist: @silentlyimpractical @jillianmarie @waddlebby @cecedrake2217 @ddofa @samros95 @sope-and-shine @joonjoonsmiles @codeinebelle @aianloveseven @Chamchamcham @princessjazzyjazz @notvantaes @casspirit0705 @ramyagovindraj @brinnalaine @ephyra1230 @betysotelo18 @thoughtfultaledreamer @salty-for-suga @cosmicdaylight @dreamcatcherjiah @kookoo-kachoo @justinetingball  @josierosie @jayhope88 @butterflylion @hobiismyhopeu @momma-said-that-it-was-oke @ygbubs @catspancake  @somewhereofftheglobe @strawberryforever25 @rjsmochii @prdshobi @beeeb05 @eatjeanjin @taekookcaneatme @Cheeely14 @kookietsukkie @anpanman-sonyeondan @glitteringcoffeefreak @chocobetterknot @alpaca1612 @ohmy-fandoms @liljooniecutie @Jikachoo @preciouschimine @fan-ati--c @Joondala @httpmuffin @dammit-jjk @jikooksgirl19

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[hihellogoodbyebruh]

Stingy

Pairing: Ezekiel “EZ” Reyes x Black!OC

Summary: EZ has a problem sharing and his girl, Monique is quite over it.

Warning(s): Some angst with a fluff ending

Word count: 2,552

AN: Ahhhh my first EZ fic. Based on a request I received from the lovely @ly--canthrope with an assist coming from Ginuwine’s Stingy. Thank YOU so much for your patience and encouraging words. I hope you enjoy this xo

You can say I'm tripping but I'm stingy And I can't hide it Wanna keep you all to me I'm selfish, why try to fight it?

An abandoned episode of Girlfriends played on the tv in the background as a woman sat straddling EZ’s lap as the two made out. His hands were rubbing up and down her sides under her shirt and her hands were gripping his face. One of her favorite things to do was kiss her boyfriend. She loved that they could just get lost in each other and it was the perfect opener for the mindblowing sex that was coming.

The familiar ringtone and buzz from her phone’s vibration echoed against the coffee table as she received a text message. She pulled away from the kiss and turned her head, trying to see if she could read the message from her position. She felt EZ stiffen, his hands moving down her hips to grip her thigh.

“I swear to God, Monique.” EZ began, feeling himself become annoyed. He can’t even enjoy her company at home without being interrupted. He’s tried so hard to be understanding, but that selfish part of him was fed up. The opening of Galindo’s company really put into perspective how often he misses time with her.

As Miguel’s assistant she had a very big hand in putting the opening celebration together. She’d been Miguel’s assistant for a couple years now. Her mother was a close confidante to Dita before she passed away. Dita wanted to keep an eye on her so she asked Miguel to give her a job. She was fantastic at keeping things organized and she already knew about the other side of business. 

Working for Miguel was great because though some would hate being an assistant, he actually gave her a lot of responsibility. She was often put in charge of events while making sure everything in his life runs smoothly, at least on the legal side of things.She was so proud of her work tonight but she hardly had time to celebrate until she saw her man walking through the door.

She’d been with EZ, Ezekiel as she liked to call him because she loved his full name, for a little over a year. It was the best relationship she’d ever been in. He was kind, honest, caring, and oh so very fine.

She ended her current conversation before strutting over to Ezekiel, her arms immediately going around his neck. “Hi baby. I’m so happy you’re here.” She kissed his lips.

EZ loved seeing his girl in her element. She was very much out of his league in his mind and he felt lucky every day he woke up to her. “Hey beautiful.” He greeted her, hands resting on her lower back and pulling her close to him. “I see all your hard work has paid off.”

“It really has. Things couldn’t be going better. Especially now that you’re here.” She grinned at him.

“Oh yeah? You’re happy to see me?” He teased, smiling back so she kissed him again.

The two of them engaged in some conversation and heavy flirting before they were interrupted by her boss.

“Monique, I need you for a second…” Miguel announced, no time for pleasantries. He was always about his business. She could respect it but it was also annoying because he could have greeted Ezekiel

“Oh hi Miguel. We weren’t having a conversation or anything.” She sarcastically replied, giving her boss a look.

“Reyes..” Miguel acknowledged her boyfriend with a barely noticeable head nod before bringing his attention back to her. “You’ve put in the most face time with the Castillos and the lovely matriarch has requested your presence. We don’t want to keep them waiting, verdant?”

EZ rolled his eyes at Miguel but didn’t say anything. He was used to Miguel’s shit and honestly he didn’t like him either so the less they communicated the better.

The Castillos were a very important family that have entered into an arrangement with Galindo enterprises both on the legitimate and illegitimate side of business. It was already fragile so she wanted to keep everything on the up and up.

She retreated from EZ’s arms without a second thought. “Is everything alright? When we went over the final documents she didn’t bring anything up.” She began walking alongside Miguel but stopped in her tracks.

“I’ll be right back.” She walked back over to EZ and planted a distracted kiss on his cheek. 

He mustered up a slight smile and then she was gone. 

She didn’t come back until the end of the night.

She sighed, pushing her way out of his lap and snatching up her phone once she stood up. “He’s my boss, Ezekiel. You have got to let this thing with Miguel go. Enough is enough.”

“He just does this to piss me off.” And it worked. He wanted to have her all to himself, but he couldn’t do that with Galindo constantly texting her and having her work long hours. At this point it felt she was the one singlehandedly keeping his businesses afloat.

“So stop letting it piss you off.” She replied, like it was the easiest thing and to her it was. 

He shot up from his seat and exasperatedly asked, “Why do you always defend him?”

“Because you’re being ridiculous. You knew who I worked for when we started dating.” She was annoyed they were even having this argument. Her attention was focused on her phone as she replied to Miguel with the information he needed.

EZ grew even more irritated that even in an argument he couldn’t have her whole attention. “What could he possibly need from you at 2 in the morning? Hm?” He snatched the phone from her hand.

“Are you out of your mind? Give me my phone back!” She gasped, shocked at his audacity. She and Ezekiel had been together for awhile now and he’s never acted this way. He’s never lost his temper with her. “Things happen. Emergencies. I never say anything when you have an emergency with the MC.”

“Bishop doesn’t text all hours of the night. Bishop doesn’t hate you and try to disrespect our relationship at every turn. And quite frankly, Bishop isn’t a woman so it’s not the same at all.” Ez snapped, his voice getting louder.

“And just what the fuck are you implying, EZ?” There was a clear warning in her tone of voice as she matched his volume. Now they both were yelling at each other. She never called him EZ either. Always preferring to call him Ezekiel.

He knew he should have backed down and cooled off but he was beyond tired of this shit. The angry words slipped outta his mouth before he could stop them. “I’m just wondering what all the late nights are really about. If I’m dating Miguel’s side piece just tell me!”

That was a mistake. Yelling was a mistake. Saying those words was a mistake. He knew it the moment he saw tears form in her eyes. 

“Excuse me?” She whispered, voice slightly cracking. How dare he call her a cheater! He officially has lost his mind.

Ezekiel felt his heart drop into his stomach when he heard the hurt in her voice. It went too far. “I didn’t mean it. I’m sorry, mariposa.” He started to walk closer to her, but she stepped back from him.

“This has nothing to do with me. Or us. This is you and Miguel continuing to have a dick measuring contest. Th-this all goes back to Emily.” The name rolled off her tongue with mild resentment. The two never had a bad run in with each other, but all the stories about Emily and EZ’s past relationship and how she was the love of his life always made Monique get defensive.

“That’s not true.” EZ refuted, but she interrupted him before he could further explain.

“Yes it is!  And if somehow it’s not then we got some serious problems baby.” She just shook her head at him before demanding, “Get out.” 

You're the only one, you're the only love That's strong enough to claim me So please forgive me I'm just stingy But how can you blame me?

It’s been two weeks since the fight with Ezekiel and Monique was really missing him. She was mad that he would be such a dumbass, but she still just wanted to be laying back on the couch with him watching tv.

Miguel watched as she pushed her salad around her plate, clearly not hungry. “Todo bien hermanita?” He asked, watching as she finally brought her eyes up to meet his. This was the quietest lunch the two ever had. Usually she was talking a mile a minute.

She smiled a little at the nickname. He only called her that when he was concerned or when he really wanted something. Truth is, the two had a sibling kind of relationship. She just wished EZ had seen and understood it. “I’m fine. Not really hungry.”

“Hmm.” He hummed, taking a sip of his drink. “Nestor and I had a meeting with the Mayans yesterday. Saw your novio and he looked like shit.” Miguel casually mentions and she tries to act nonchalant even as her heart races at the mention of a certain biker. “Imagine my surprise when he asked to pull me aside for a chat.”

“What!” She gasped loudly, jaw dropping.

“I’m sure you could guess what we spoke about.”

“Miguel…” She was ready to apologize to him for whatever accusations were thrown his way.

“I know I’m very demanding. It’s part of who I am. I demand a lot from myself and from those around me, especially those closest to me. That includes you, hermanita. But I don’t want to be the reason for your unhappiness. Even if it is with Reyes..” There was only mild disgust in his tone and she took that as an improvement.

“It’s not your fault he doesn’t trust me, hermano.” She sighed.

“He is crazy about you, you know that right?”

Monique went to answer, but Miguel stood up from his seat. He grabbed his suit jacket from the back of the chair and walked over to her, pushing down gently on her shoulders to keep her from getting up. He leans down and whispers “If in the end, you don’t want him and he won’t take the hint you let me know. He can visit my pew.” 

She jerked her head back to give him a stern look, hating when he brought up that damn pew. He just kissed her head and walked away. She sat there dumbfounded for a second. “Wait, what-” She turned her head to call out to Miguel but her voice caught in her throat as she spotted Ezekiel right behind her. He walked over and took the seat Miguel was just in.

It was silent before she decided to break it. “You and Miguel working together? Hell must have frozen over.”

He cracks a grin at that. “Ha. Guess you could say we’ve called a truce. At least when it comes to a certain beautiful woman.”

“Calling a truce with my ‘side piece’? I’m sure Emily appreciates it.” She sarcastically replied, making him sigh in reply. 

“I never should have said that. I was pissed off and being a sarcastic asshole. This never had anything to do with Emily. Yes we have history, but I don’t think about that anymore. I haven’t for a long time.” Monique looked down, wanting to believe him but having a hard time doing it. “I think about you. I think about you when we’re apart, I think about when I’ll see you again, I think about our future when you’re in my arms. You’re never not on my mind.”

His words make her want to smile, but she wasn’t done. “Then what’s been going on with us lately? Anytime I answer a call or text from Miguel you’re huffing and puffing. You sit there literally pouting like a 3 year old every time I have to do something for work. What’s the problem?”

“First, I don’t pout.” She started to disagree but he loudly continued, earning a playful glare from her. “SECONDLY, I know you’re an independent woman out here making it on your own and shit. I know it’s just been you and your job for a long time. But now you got me, mariposa. I’m here by your side and I like spending time with you. I like the quiet moments at home and our nights out. I want more of them. You work so much and you forget about everything else. Me included.”

“What do you mean I forget you? I don’t forget you.”

“Galindo Enterprises.”

“What are...Oh-” Her face completely dropped as she remembered the night. She got pulled away by Miguel and never went back to Ezekiel. She didn’t mean to, but she ended up checking on other things with the party and even though it hurts to admit she did forget about him. “Oh baby…” She held one of his hands that was on the table between both of hers.

“I’ve never been the one to cling and I don’t like to be needy but you’ve changed me. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me and I love being in your presence. Maybe I am kind of a baby, but I think wanting your attention is a good sign for a relationship. I’m not asking you to quit your job, but some boundaries would be nice. ”

She felt so bad. He was absolutely right. She had been alone for a long time. She wasn’t used to sharing her life with someone else. An adjustment was obviously needed. “I never meant to make you feel like I wanted anyone or anything more than you. Or that I cared about those things more. I promise that I will work on communicating more with you and not just doing what I want with no consideration for you.” 

He nodded his head, but she had to add one more thing. “You do need to know that sometimes just like you can’t help getting called away the same goes for me. But I’ll talk with Miguel and we’ll work out something that works for us all. I can’t believe I didn’t realize. I’m so-”

Ezekiel cut her off before she could begin criticizing herself. “So amazing, captivating, elevating,” after every word, EZ placed a kiss on the palm of her hand. “Anyway you put it I’m happy to be your man.”

“I’m still salty at you insinuating I was sleeping with Miguel.” She declared, causing him to nod with a sad look on his face.

“How can I make it up to you, mariposa?”

“Hmm…” She pretended to think when she already knew what she wanted. She leaned forward and beckoned him closer with a wiggle of her finger. She whispered in his ear, “I wanna ride you with only your kutte on until you lose your mind.” She lightly bit his ear lobe.

She busted out laughing at how fast he scrambled out of his seat and took her hand, pulling her behind him as he hustled out of the restaurant.

[jamiedc-they-them]

Being Otis’ sibling would include:

AN// Spoilers for whole show. Also, sorry, this one I kind of ran with? Hope you like it :))

 You are a bit on the socially awkward side like your brother.

However, you’re more of an introvert; you let the world go around you and be a background extra rather than be a main in it’s story.

You’re more closed off, more defensive than your brother.

Your opposite on a lot of things, but balance each other out.

Your creative, he’s more academic

It’s mainly just the two of you and Eric. Best pals.

You, like him, are knowledgeable on sex, from your mother, even if you aren’t into that (the sex part or the other part)

Your mother always could tell with you, and assured you there was nothing wrong with it:

“Y/N, darling, you know there is nothing wrong with not wanting those type of relationships, right?”

“…Thanks, mum.”

Although it isn’t spoken, you both hold resentment for your father.

When Otis is picked as Adam’s partner, he gives you a panicked look. You, however, shrug; what can you do?

You are paired with Maeve, which is something that does annoy your brother:

“Trade?” He asks

“What? No. I’m not trading Maeve for Adam.”

“Y/N.” He pleads in a whining tune.

“Sorry, mate. Good luck though.” You wish him, leaving to follow Maeve.

For some reason, she gets the idea she can trust you and allows you to go to her house, knowing that Adam and Otis will not be a good pairing.

“If you tell anyone about this, I’ll kill you, got it?” Part of her is kind of silently laughing at your scared face. You are quick to assure her this secret stays with you, to the grave.

As you talk, and do find out you have a few things in common.

Of course, you both don’t tell each other everything. But you get a decent reading on each other.

She can tell that, compared to your brother, you’re holding a lot more in.

“How is it?” She asks

“How’s what?”

“Being siblings with him?”

“Otis?” She nods

“It’s nice, knowing you have someone that kind having your back, you know? You can cock up horribly and he’ll still be there. He’s loyal.” You answer.

She considers it, “Not many of those people left.”

“Not as many as I’d like.”

Fair to be said, when you come in happy, and actually almost getting along with Maeve, Otis isn’t the most happy about this.

When the news about your mum comes out, you and him both storm out.

That leads to an argument;

“Why couldn’t we swap?” He asks

“You think it would’ve fixed anything?”

“I don’t know?! Just…”

Maeve is quick to stop your arguing, she knows how bad sibling arguments can get.

When it comes to Adam, you and your brother play rock, paper, scissors to see who it’ll be.

You win, doing the nerdy fist pump as he has to do it.

You see Maeve roll her eyes at your antics.

So, with Maeve bringing in clients, Otis doing the talking, and you doing the PR (in a way) the clinic is born.

However, there is a point of contention between you and your brother; Maeve.

He see’s that you both are genuine friends, with you going out more and more at night.

“Where have you been?” He asks you, whenever you come in (after your mum has asked you of course. Your honest with her)

“To see a mate.”

“What mate?”

“I have other friends, Otis.”

“I know, Y/N. It’s just –”

“You think I’m,” Cough, “Doing…that, with Maeve, don’t you?”

“Wha—No?!”

“It’s ok, Otis. I get that you like her and all. But, just to assure you, no, we’re not together. We are just genuinely friends.”

“Oh…right.”

He seems happy for you, but you can tell there is a bit of jealousy.

However, you don’t hold it against him. You understand that he has feelings for Maeve, and do support him with it.

However, Maeve can read you well, so you try and be careful when you bring up your brother.

When the party at Aimee’s happens, you try and drum up business as well.

You get split up from the group, desperately escaping to the outside, only to see your mother outside:

“Mum?”

“Oh, Y/N, darling, hello.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Oh, just in the area.”

“…You were spying on us, weren’t you?” You accuse her.

“I – yes, darling, I was. I’ve already had this talk with your brother.”

Being in a house of constant sex therapy, and being the way you are (asexual, aromantic) can be a bit of a contradiction of times.

For example, when Otis has his wet dream, the topic does make you a bit uncomfortable.

Maeve calls you, asking you tom meet her. She tells you a time and tells you to get there on-time.

And you do, you go to the clinic just as she goes into the room. You get yelled at by the protesters, but you walk it off.

“Don’t you care about the poor child living in there?”

“At this stage? To be honest, more about the woman.” You’re honest, but not horrible to them about it.

You come in your casual clothes, just sit there and wait.

Otis joins you, flowers in hand and wearing a suit.

“Oh, bloody hell, you thought it was a date, didn’t you?”

“…Maybe.”

“Classy first date.”

“Piss off.”

When Maeve comes out, you both great her and walk with her.

She texts you later: Maybe your brother is not so bad, after all.

Otis comes to you about the whole Jackson thing:

“I can sabotage him.”

“Seriously?”

“Of course I am, Y/N. I need your help –”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! I’m not the talking guy, you are.”

“Yeah, but your more convincing.”

“No.”

“Please.”

“No.”

“I’ll give you the money he’s given to me and that I can’t seem to bloody lose.”

“But I thought you wanted to give –”

“I can’t lose it, Y/N! I’d rather not stare at it.”

“Then don’t?”

“Take it?”

“No, you take it.”

However, you do see how it ends, and do feel for your brother.

As much as you may not have supported his methods, you could see why he did it.

You both find out what happens to Eric, and both take the blame for it.

“Seriously, Y/N, you too? You’d rather pick this girl you’ve known for a few weeks at best over me?”

“It’s not like that –”

“Then what is it like?!” Words are exchanged, and he leaves.

However, then you meet Ola and Jakob.

Ola’s nice; friendly, sincere. You like her.

“So, you’re Y/N.” She says as a greeting, shaking your hand.

“That is I, madam.” She laughs at it.

You become good friends fairly quicky. But, she respects your boundaries about the past.

You see how close your mum is getting to Jakob, and it just doesn’t sit right with you.

So, you call Maeve. She’s quick to answer:

“Pisshead?”

“Hey, uh – can…can we talk?” She detects the tremble in your voice.

“Where are you? What’s wrong?”

“I can’t really tell you over the phone.” You tell her to meet you at the bridge.

She meets you there quite quickly:

“You want to tell me what’s going on?”

You take a breath to collect yourself, “My mum’s met this new guy…” So, you tell her about how your mother seeing someone new feels off to you. And you confess to her that you don’t know what the fuck is going on with Otis and Ola. She just lets you ramble the whole time.

At the end, she grabs your hands in hers, “Have you told Otis any of this?” She asks, softly.

“…No. No, not yet, anyway. He’s got his own issues and –”

“You have needs too, Y/N. You can’t go running around for him, forever. He’s your brother, a good one, he’ll listen. But…I’m here too.” She vows.

“Maybe he can give me a freebee on a session?” You joking say.

“Yeah, have to pay, of course, but I can slide you in for a meeting.” She fired back in the same manner.

“Thanks, Maeve.”

She hugs you, not saying anything.

Then the dance comes around.

Starts off well enough, you say hi to all your friends.

You and Otis both make up with Eric. It’s nice to have your best mates back.

Then you both save Liam, both convincing him not to jump.

You, however, see that Maeve looks at your brother differently. You always hated that “friends don’t look at each other like that” bollocks. But, you see that she has it read all over her face as well.

Then Jackson talks about what Otis did.

You get out just at the end of their confrontation, and Maeve turns to you in anger:

“Did you know?”

“Maeve –”

“Did you know?”

You go to speak, but Otis speaks for you;

“Y/N had nothing to do with it. It was just me, Maeve.”

She just looks at you, waiting and watching for something to confirm the words are a lie.

However, when she see’s that nothing has happened, she accepts it and storms off.

Now you’re in an awkward situation; between your brother and a close friend of yours.

Both parties don’t want you to be forced to choose, so they leave you out of it.

However, there is a bonding moment with you and your brother; mainly learning about the book your mother was written on you both. Well, more Otis, but there is a chapter on you.

That’s when it all just explodes:

“You can’t just do that, mum!”

“Can’t do what, darling?”

“Can’t just – can’t just put our entire lives in that bloody book! You gonna mention dad? You gonna mention how you make your other child feel uncomfortable with all the sex talk? How the world wants them to conform to some fucking normality, but they can’t because they just don’t feel that way?”

Your mother can do nothing but watch as you breakdown in front of her, how it all comes bubbling to the surface.

Time goes on, however. And you start going to therapy sessions in school.

Maeve contacts you every so often, but you don’t really reply too much.

Your brother and Ola help you as much as they can, helping you get up in the mornings and including you if they go out for something.

Ola and you become closer friends as well, despite the weirdness of your mum dating her dad.

You bring that up to your therapist a lot.

The two (especially Otis) support you during this time. They encourage the therapy and talking to them when needed.

When school restarts, Otis keeps a close eye on you, knowing that you burned yourself out last time, and he won’t let it happen again.

When Maeve comes back, he makes sure to point it out, hoping that can help in some way:

“You seen Maeve’s back?” He asks, as he gets some books from his locker.

“Sure.” You answer, almost apathetically.

Eric sits with you on breaks and when Otis can’t be there, doing what he can.

Otis ignores the tension between himself and Maeve when he pulls her aside one day:

“You have English next with Y/N, right?” He asks her.

“Yeah.” She answers, already being able to tell where this is going.

“Can you –”

“Of course I’m going to keep an eye on him.” She finishes for him (ha)

And she lives up to that promise, doing just that as you write some things down whilst not listening.

When the teacher gets pissy at you, she stands up for you:

“Sir, Y/N is going through something, lay off.”

Otis thanks her for that after the lesson

Then you are off on the trip with your father Remi

You both find out the real reason for the trip. That he was using it as a way to get away from a newly broken up relationship and to find another.

Then comes the party.

You, in your state that has (sadly) been declining, drink till your hearts content. Eric and Rahim try to warn you, but you keep going.

You brother also spirals. Although, out of the two, you are way more wasted.

Ola arrives, and she is pissed. You haven’t exactly been keeping up with affairs.

You vomit in the sink, with your brother drunkenly trying to help you by patting your back, but he only ends up falling over.

It’s Eric who helps you.

Then he does his speech; in it, he includes you as he rambles (apparently being “on a roll”)

“And then there’s my sibling, Y/N. They’ve been struggling for a while, guys, and has anyone noticed? No, but I have, because I’m a good brother. So, even if I can’t have those two (Maeve and Ola) than at least I have, Y/N.”

The next day, before leaving with Ruby, he remembers parts of what he said, but to him it’s a blur:

“Y/N, I’m so sorry.”

“So, what? I’m just a second fiddle to them?”

“No, of course not. You’re my sibling, Y/N. That comes before anything. I was drunk, and pissed at them. I didn’t mean to leave you out or make you feel that way.”

The day out with Ruby actually helps your bond repair, as you both go back to old times; doing the weirdest shit together. In this case, helping a girl Otis had sex with.

Still, Ruby comes around to liking the two of you.

You both go to your father, united as one.

You both confront him on the pain he’s brought you, and how it hurt you both and how you both carried a part of the blame.

He’s quick to try to dissuade you, but you both move on.

However, you see that your brother has a revelation. He calls Maeve to explain it.

Then, he goes with you to therapy.

Despite it all, despite the things you could and do say to each other. Despite the way you both are different in many ways, you’ll always come back home.

You both care about each other. You’ve been through a lot.

You have each other. And, sometimes, that’s enough.

[unmaskedagain]

Over This (Over you)

        Quick one-shot. Class salt ahead. this about the fall of Lila getting exposed. Kind of cliche at this point. Enjoy.

   Surprisingly, it was Mylene who found out the truth first. Lila had told a lie about a famous performer who taught her all about filmmaking.

           The issue?

           The guy had died three years before Lila was born.

           It all snowballed from there.

           She told Ivan who told Nathanial.

           Nathanial just shrugged it off because Lila knew a lot of people, maybe she just got confused. Then he overheard Lila brag about her weekend, then she casually thrown in that Stan Lee had dropped in. And his heart stopped.

           Because Nathanial didn’t care who you were: Stan lee was not a name you confused for anyone else’s. He had been a legend. Stan Lee had been a god to comic book lovers everywhere. Stan Lee was dead.

           Nathanial told Nino first.

           Nino had thought it was an honest mistake; a lapse in memory on Lila’s part. Still the suspicious didn’t just go away.

           And when he heard her bragging about working with the famous DJ Marshmallow; that she helped him compose his biggest hit.

           Nino paled when he remembered that he had played nearly all of Marshmallow’s jams to Lila and she hadn’t known a single one. Even asked if it was Nino’s own work.

           That was when he got Alya involved. It had been Saturday, date night, but they were stuck babysitting their little siblings. They tended to find themselves babysitting a lot. They couldn’t find anyone willing to cover for them.

           Nino carefully brought up the Lila situation.

           Alya at first came to Lila’s defense. She had already dealt with Marinette’s jealousy and determination to call Lila a liar. Lila had been bullied by Marinette for months. It got to the point where the whole class had no choice but to ostracize the Bluenette like they did Chloe until she changed her evil way. Even Adrien gave the girl the cold shoulder. A few of them even went out of their way to show Marinette what it was like to be bullied; a trip here or there, torn up school notes, an “accidently” spilled drink on something Marinette had been designing. When Marinette didn’t change, and seemingly became friends with Chloe, Kagami, and kids from other classes; Alya had to put her foot down, and the rest of the class followed suit. They would not be friends with Marinette anymore.

After that, Alya refused to let anyone talk bad about her new bestie. Even if that person was her boyfriend. However, before she could get angry, Nino talked her down. And Alya quickly conceded that two was a coincidence, three times was a pattern.

“Fine,” Alya huffed and pulled out her phone to research Lila Rossi. It would be easy show the entire class just how amazing her best friends was, and then the nasty rumors of her being a liar would stop once and for all.

           However as Alya searched for information on her new friend, she found google to be lacking. Slowly but surely as Alya tried several different search methods, the righteous feeling she had started with faded away as desperation filled her.

No, she thought with growing horror, Lila was telling the truth. She had to be.

           Alya had supported her. She had filled the Ladyblog of interviews from Lila. She had-She had! Lila couldn’t be lying.

           But no matter how long Alya searched. There was no evidence to support anything Lila had ever said.

           Alya held her phone is her hands tightly and just stared at it. Tears burned in her eyes. She looked up at Nino and gasped, “Lila is a liar!”

           The entire class knew within the hour.

           The group chat was filled with remorse and anger. (Three akumas came out of it. Ladybug saved the day.) No one knew how to react. How should they confront Lila? How could they make her pay?

           But then Rose, sweet Rose had texted something that made all their hearts stop

Rosebud: What about Marinette?

Shit, one by one they all thought, Marinette!

           They had all hurt the girl, their ‘everyday Ladybug’. So much so that they had snatched the title away from her and given it to Lila, who they thought deserved it more.

           Quickly, they all tried to text and call their dearest friend with apologies ready on their lips, only to hear “This number has been disconnected.”

           Marinette had changed her number.

           Alya and Nino had raced to the bakery as soon as their parents came from. Only for Sabine and Tom, the nicest people on the entire planet, apart from Marinette, had given them the coldest glares possible, and told them Mariette had gone a weekend trip. And that they were no longer welcome in their establishment or in their home.

           By the time Monday morning rolled around, emotions were high. Adrien had tried to calm the class down, convince them that what Lila did wasn’t so bad, but they wouldn’t hear it. Most of the class waited silently as their desks, lost in their thoughts.

           Until Lila strolled into class, a big smile on her face, “Wait till I tell you what I did this weekend,” And went on to talk about the celebrity she had been with.

“Liar!” Alix roared, and Kim had to hold her back from throttling Lila.

           That was all spark needed for the class to start ripping into her.

           Alya screamed about her ruining the Ladyblog and destroying her career; her friendship with Marinette. Nino yelled about promised connections and missed opportunities. Everyone had something to scream.

           Lila tried to defend herself. However, it became increasingly clear that the game was up. There was nothing she could do to save it. She looked around helpless.

           That was the scene, Marinette, Kagami, and Chloe walked in on. Marinette and Chloe had spent the entire weekend at a fashion show; models for Audrey Bourgeois, walking the runway. And when they weren’t doing that, they were at photoshoots. Kagami had tagged along for support, and the beach house they had stayed in. When the girls weren’t working, they had a blast just hanging out.

           Marinette eyed the teary Lila and the angry faces of her classmates, her ex-friends, and just snorted, “Took long enough.”

           Kagami just held out her hand.

           Chloe huffed and handed money, “Two weeks. Just two more weeks, and I would’ve won the bet.” She stumped her foot. “Ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. These morons spent over a year hanging of Lie-la’s every word and they couldn’t give me two more weeks.”

           Marinette giggled at her friends antics. “I told you not to bet against her.” She said as the three walked to their desks in the back. Ignoring all the eyes on them. “Kagami doesn’t lose.”

           Said girl in question smirked, “As if there was ever a chance.”

“…Marinette?” Rose said, her eyes still red from all the crying. “I’m so sorry. We should’ve listened. We should’ve believed you.”

“Yeah,” Alya cried. “Girl, I can’t believe I got fooled. I’m so sorry.”

           More apologies came. Each one more sorrow filled the last. Lila watched with anger in her eyes.

           When the last one was done, Marinette shrugged, “Whatever,” And went back to talking with Chloe and Kagami.

“Whatever?” Alya asked confused. “What do you mean: whatever?” She had expected an emotion reconciliation. With promise of future girls’ night and being best friends forever.

           Even Lila was caught off guard, and stopped her escape from the room to watch.

“It means an American localism,” Marinette explained. “It’s mean it’s doesn’t matter; I don’t care; sure, okay. Sometimes, just to end a conversation if there’s nothing more to say.”

           Nino frowned, “How can you say that? We’re really sorry!”

“And that means what?” Kagami asked, coldly.

           The question caught most of the room off guard.

“This has nothing to do with you!” Alix hissed. “We’re talking with Marinette.”

           Marinette crossed her arms, and leaned back in her seat, “Answer the question.” She said. “What exactly did you expect to happen? What do you even think apologizing would mean?”

           Kim scratched his head, “Its means everything’s okay again; that we’re friends again.”

           The three stared at him. He shifted uneasily.

“Ridiculous,” Chloe muttered.

“No,” Marinette said slowly to them. “That’s what it means. Saying sorry just implies you know what you did was wrong and that you feel bad and want to make it clear to the offended party that you are remorseful. It doesn’t actually do anything.”

           Lila smirked. She was glad she stayed. The fools thought everyone would go back to the way it was. Unfortunately, Marinette had different plans.

“We are remorseful, though,” Rose pleaded. “We feel really, really bad about what we did.”

           Marinette nodded, “I understand. But that doesn’t change what you did,” She explained. “You hurt me. You bullied me. You accused me of awful things. You ended our friendships. I understand that you are sorry. I accept your apology,” The other students visibly brighten with hope on their faces. “I do not forgive you. I don’t have to forgive to you. It’s not okay,” Marinette said this part directly to Kim, who used to be her oldest friend in the room. “I will not say “It’s okay”, to your apology. Because you’ll just think it okay to do it again. And it’s not. What you did was not okay. And I do not have to forgive you.”

“But we’re friends,” Juleka sobbed, “Friends forgive. Best Friends forgive.” To that Alya nodded earnestly.

“We are not friends,” Marinette said bluntly. “We haven’t been friends in a long time. I only have two friends in classroom, my best friends,” The two girls next to her preened. “Kagami and Chloe. All my other friends are in different classes.” She paused. “And before you ask, I don’t think we can be friends again. I do not want to be friends again because I can only be friends with people I trust and like. None of you meet those requirements.”

           Ouch. The other students flinched back as if slapped.

           Adrien stepped forward, “You’re being mean, Marinette. They’re sorry. Just let them make it up to you.” He smiled wide, hope in his eyes. “Then we can go back to the way it was before.”

Chloe raised an eyebrow, “Just how hard did you hit the ground when you fell out of that tree when we were five?”

Marinette snorted a laugh. “This isn’t a movie, Adrien,” She told him. “Life doesn’t work like that. And what about you? How sorry are you? You knew Lila was lying the entire time, and did nothing.”

Nino let out a strangled cry, “What? Bro?”

Angry glares turned toward the blond.

“No,” Marinette slammed her hands on her desk. “You don’t get to be mad at him. I do. He didn’t have to tell you Lila was lying because I already did. Me! Someone most of you have known since we were toddlers. You just met Adrien less than two years ago, there was no reason for him to think you would’ve believed him over me.  It’s not like you believed Kagami when she came to class and pointed out hole in Lila’s stories. Adrien’s only crime was that he never had my back like he promised he would. Not once. And I don’t forgive him for that either,” She added to her former crush; during her speech his face had gone from scared, to relieved, to devastated.

“Sorry doesn’t fix everything,” Kagami said simply. “To think otherwise, is the same childish behavior that got you into this mess.”

           Chloe nodded, “And thinking everything can just go back to the way it was, after everything, all the hurt, is just stupid,” She stated let looked over every student in class to let them know she was speaking with them too before resting her eyes on Adrien. “There’s too much damage now. This isn’t like the fights we had as kids. We can’t just share cookies and forget a second later that we we’re fight. It’s a burned bridged; scooping up the ashes and hoping for the best doesn’t change the fact that the bridge is gone. It’s just gone.”

“She’s friends with you,” Alya snapped.

“We were never friends before now,” Chloe defended, anger raging in her eyes. “We hated each other. I made her life. Never once did Marinette trust me, relied on me, thought of me as friend.”

“Nothing Chloe did actually hurt me,” Marinette shrugged. “At least not in way that matter. Because she was just a mean girl who didn’t care about me and I didn’t care about. When we became friends, it became different. Now there’s an emotional connection, trust. Now she could actually hurt me.”

“Not that I would,” The blonde quickly added. “But it’s different for you. I hurt my enemy. You hurt your friend. She expected me. She never saw you coming.”

           Miss Bustier walked into class. The bell rang. Everyone went back to their. Mourning their friendships and berating their own actions.

           As the days went on, some of ex-friends tried to pretend everything was alright between Marinette and them again.

           Rose would try to draw her into the latest gossip. Alya would just sit down at her lunch table and just launch into a conversation but would leave once it was clear that the three girls were ignoring her.

           Kim tried to joke around with her but was met with stone cold silence. Alix tried baiting her into an argument.

           Those like Nino, Juleka and Max just left her alone. They knew they had done wrong and accepted the consequences.

           A month later, another blow up happened.

           Alya stomped into the lunchroom, right to Marinette’s table, and slammed a magazine on it, “This this why you don’t want to be friends?” She yelled gaining the attention of the entire cafeteria. “You’re too good for us now?”

           Marinette glanced at the magazine; teen vogue. On the cover was Marinette wearing the latest from Audrey Bourgeois’ new line.

           Alya picked up the magazine and showed her class. There were gasps. Students from the other classes just gave impressed looks when they recognized the sweet girl from Bustier’s class.

Alya sneered at Marinette, “You think better than us?”

“How could you not tell us?” Alix snapped.

           Adrien nodded in agreement. He couldn’t believe Marinette wouldn’t tell him. She had to know how lonely those photoshoots got. Didn’t she care? “I would have liked to model with you. It would be nice to have a real friend on set.”

“You’re not even that good at it,” Alya said with jealousy having filled her heart since she saw magazine in the store. Her friend had her foot in the door to her fashion dreams a while Alya’s dream of being a great journalist had gone up in smoke. The Ladyblog was ruined. Her fans had been flocking for months and Alya couldn’t figure out why until the truth about Lila was revealed. Now no one trusted Alya would have the scoop. The Ladyblog was replaced by Bugout managed by Aurore. “You probably begged Chloe’s mom for the job. And she took mercy on her brat’s only friend.”

           Kagami narrowed her eyes, “I am Chloe’s friend too. Luka is Chloe’s friend. Aurore is Chloe’s friend. Marc, Claude, Ondine; are all Chloe’s friends. Once again you failed to check the facts.”

“Ooohs,” Were heard from various students around the cafeteria. Nearly everyone knew by now that the Ladyblog had fallen into infamous category. It had been blacklisted as a credible resource by a majority of local news.

           Not to mentions the rumors cease and desist orders from various celebrities.

“I’ve been modeling for over almost two years,” Marinette said, frost in her eyes, as she looked at her class. “Never once have I brought it up. And I’ve been on the covers of Seventeen, Elle girl, Sassy, Vogue Paris, and Cosmogirl. I was featured, along with Chloe, in a spread in Vanity Fair. And another one in W with Gigi Hadid. I walked the runways during fashion weeks for New York, London, and Paris. Never once did I brag. Never once did I think it made me better than you. Or anyone for that matter.”

           The tone was far different than any they had ever heard Marinette use before. It was cold, unfeeling, and sent shivers through them. Alya, in particularly, unconsciously took a step back.

“I didn’t tell you,” She said mockingly to Alix who reddened. “Because we’re not friends. I don’t owe you anything. I don’t have to tell you anything. You’re no one to me.” Marinette glared at Alya. “No one at all. Just some wannabe journalist who ruined her own life’s work because she couldn’t remember that a good reporter checks her resources.”

“Damn,” Aurore chuckled, she sat next to Kagami and was enjoying the fireworks.

           Alya opened her mouth to yell but stopped when Nino placed at hand on her shoulder and motioned around the room. All eyes were on her. She flushed.

“I don’t know what your problem is, Alya.” Marinette shrugged. “Half the time you’re blaming Lila.  The other half you’ve been acting like you’ve didn’t do anything wrong. Now you’re looking for some excuse to make me the bad guy again. Just stop. You’re not a victim. You need to stop acting like you are. Hell, I’m not even the victim anymore because I moved on with my life. I have better things to do than be hurt and angry for the rest time.”

“Lila lied,” Alya repeated for the thousandth time. “I didn’t. It’s not my fault.”

“Seriously?” Marc asked from where he sat at Marinette’s lunch table. “Is she serious?” He asked Ondine who had a bewildered look on her face.

           Marinette just pinched her nose. “Oh grow up! You tripped me class. Sent horrible texts that could easily been considered harassment in a court of law. Destroyed weeks of designs when you ‘accidently’ spilled your coffee on my desk. You didn’t talk to me for months. You reported false information for over a year; dragging multiple celebrities into it. When you weren’t doing that, your blog focused more on the supposed relationship between Ladybug and Chat noir than it did on actual news. Any information you actually reported was half-assed at best. I’ve seen more accurate information on Tumblr. That was Lila. That was you.”

           Fire raged in Alya’s eyes, hurt clear on her face. She looked like she was going to explode.

Akuma alert anyone, Marinette thought.

“You screwed up. It happens. Let it go.” Marinette stood up, grabbed her bag. “This whole confrontation of yours was just childish. And I’m over it. I’m over you.”

“I was over you first,” Alya lunged at Marinette, with tears in her eyes, but Nino pulled her back.

Marinette rolled her eyes and moved to leave but just before she did, Marinette looked at Alya and then at the Class. “You’re ill-tempered, rash, and prone to immature behavior better suited on your little sisters. Besides the obvious, you want to know the real reason, we can’t be friends? You’re a child.”

And with a shake of her head, Marinette said. “And I’ve outgrown you.”

There was applause as Marinette left the lunch room to go transform. A smirk was on her face.

She really was over it.

[itspufflehuff]

Cookies - Peter Parker Imagine

Summary: Y/N, Peter, and Ned have all been best friends since the second grade. When Y/N experiences her first heartbreak will they be able to help her? Most importantly will Peter?

MATERLIST // TAGLIST

I know I normally post Sebastian Stan/ Bucky but I want to also get into the other MCU characters/ actors so here is Peter Parker! I have some more Sebastian/ Bucky imagines in the making but for now enjoy.

Let me know what you think! You can read part two here.

Word Count: 2,558

~~~~

You and Peter first became friends in the second grade. He fell off of the monkey bars and lay on the floor holding his arm in pain. His friend, Ned, stood to the side smiling and clapping, "Do it again!" You grabbed the last cookie from your lunch box then walked over to Peter. When he got to him you stood there holding the cookie out, " I fell off the monkey bars one time. I cried but my mom said cookies will always make me feel better." He giggled and reached out taking the cookie from you.

From that day on Peter and Ned would join you for lunch and ask you to play with them during breaks. The three of you soon became inseparable.

You loved your best friends and always saw them as just that, friends.

That was until sometime in middle school. You don't know exactly what happened to flip your emotions the way they did, but when you looked at Peter your whole day got better. You always found yourself wanting to sit next to him whether it be in class, during movie nights, on the bus, or in the cafeteria.

Once you noticed how your feelings towards your best friend had changed you did your best to suppress them. You knew he didn't think about you that way. It was obvious, the way he and Ned would drool over girls in front of you. So you pushed your feelings to the side and tried to move on.

You did for a bit. As middle school went on you developed crushes on other boys. Of course, nothing ever happened with them you were too young and boys at that age were too dumb.

When high school came along your feelings for Peter grew stronger. He was so smart, kind, and nerdy. You loved his pop culture references even though they were lame. He always made you laugh and it didn't help that he was cute.  But he would never feel the same about you.

Or so you thought.

Little did you know he too started to develop feelings for you. He loved watching you read. It fascinated him the way you would react to what's happening in the book as if you were there. Whenever you would furrow your eyebrows or raise them in shock made him smile. And when you laughed he laughed too. He had no idea what about but he thought it was so adorable the way you would get lost in your book. He also loved the way you understood all of his references. Not only did you understand them but you went along with them. Like that one time, the three of you so badly wanted to go to the premiere of Star Wars Rogue One but your mom said no.

~~~~

You all sat there in disappointment when Peter jumped up from his chair excitedly, "Ok I got it! Remember that one episode of Law and Order when the three girls sneak out of their house? They pretend to be their mom and text the other mom saying they're gonna have a sleepover."

You looked at him impressed then shook your head, "No that wouldn't work, my parents love you guys but they would never let me sleepover."

The boys nodded understandingly when you got an idea, "What if I just sneak out the fire escape? Kinda like how the girls from Sleepover snuck out, except they left the window from a two-story house, and ill be on the fifth floor of an apartment."

"Good idea. I live down the street so I could pick you up. But what if your parents want to check on you?" Peter questioned.

"Well in the movie Julies older brother put on a wig and had his back to the door so their dad would think she is home. The only problem is none of us have siblings who can do that for me."

Then from the left of you, Ned looked up excitedly, "I have a cousin our age with your hair color who owes me a favor."

Just like that, you all escaped for the night.

~~~

Before that night you'd never made a pop culture reference, of course, you quoted movies and shows from time to time but you never referenced them the way he did, you only ever understood them. That night his crush on you grew bigger.

Peter never showed interest in you though, which lead you to believe he could never like you in that way. In another attempt to move on you started dating Flash freshman year. Yes, Flash.

I know what was wrong with you?

But in your defense, he was different back then. He was a really sweet guy, and he made you feel cared for. Of course, everyone knew his family was filthy rich but that's not why you dated him. You two were friends and although he didn't have the same interest as you, he appreciated them and asked you about them. He made you happy.

At the beginning of your relationship, everything was great. He was never threatened by your two best friends so when you told him you wanted to sit with them during lunch he had no problem. After school, you two would study and talk about how your day went. He would always ask you about the latest book you read. Seeing how happy books made you he bought you more, but they were always special edition covers. When you weren't with Peter and Ned you were with Flash. He held your hand so sweetly and he was your first kiss but he never rushed it. The first time he tried to kiss you, you pulled away. You weren't ready yet, you wished it were Peter kissing you. Then a month later you had gotten over your Peter crush, so you kissed Flash. You were both so happy.

That is until he realized what being rich meant. People started coming up to him and inviting him to parties. He slowly became more and more popular. He started buying you jewelry instead of books. He asked you to wear the jewelry when you were with him, and when you didn't, he would distance himself from you. Instead of dates, you went to parties, none of them were ever fun. Study time became the Flash show where he would go on and on about himself never letting you speak. He started showing up to school in a limousine. Then he started flirting with the popular girls. At first, he had the decency to hide it from you then he started doing it in front of you. One day he broke up with you and moved on to a prettier girl.

Even though your relationship was already falling apart it still hurt you bad. You cried for days. Peter and Ned did everything they could to make you feel better. They would walk you home and stay with you until your parents kicked them out. Peter was so angry.

How could anyone hurt Y/N? I would never treat her the way Flash did.

The day Flash dumped you, you ran home straight after the bell rang. Peter and Ned were so confused they went to your home to check on you. Your mom let them in and pointed to your bedroom, "I don't know what happened but she seemed sad when she got home. She won't talk to me, would you let me know if she's alright?" The boys nodded, their faces full of concern.

Hesitantly they knocked on your day, "Go away!"

"It's Peter and Ned." They heard sniffles behind the door. Peter got closer to the door and in a low voice said, "Please let us in we want to know you're ok."

"Fine, come in."

Your eyes were puffy and your face stained with tears. You were sitting on your window seal with a blanket draped over your body. The boys slowly dropped their bags beside your door. They didn't know what to do.

"What happened?"

You looked to the window not wanting to see their faces, "Flash dumped me for some popular girl. I guess I wasn't good enough for him anymore." Tears fell silently as you sniffled and held back sobs.

Peter and Ned looked at each other.  They were thinking the same thing. In the past few weeks, they noticed a change in Flash's behavior. They saw how miserable he was making you. Although they didn't say anything they knew it wasn't too long until he broke up with you.

The boys were silent so you looked over to them seeing that they still stood in the doorway, "You guys can sit down."

So they did, Ned walked over to your desk sitting on the chair, and Peter on your bed.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Peter asked cautiously. They'd never seen you like this before so they didn't know what to do.

"Do you want to eat chocolate while we watch chick flicks?" Ned offered

"What? No. Ned, I don't think girls actually do that in real life."

"I don't know what I'm doing! I've only comforted you after a girl rejected you, even then all I said was, 'that sucks wanna go build some Legos?' and everything was better."

"Yeah but-"

"Wait." You spoke from where you were. You were silently watching them amused. The tears stopped coming as a soft smile arose on your lips.

The boys looked over to you as you spoke, "I like Ned's idea can we do that?"

He proudly let out a chuckle and smiled, "See I knew she would like that."

Peter rolled his eyes, "We will handle the snacks if you handle the movies?"

You nodded excitedly. Everyone got up from their spots, Peter and Ned headed for the door and you headed for your laptop.

Ned walked out first and happily called out, "We'll be right back Mrs. Y/L/N."

Your mom came out of the kitchen confused. She stopped Peter and asked about you. "Flash broke up with her today and she's taking it pretty bad. If you don't mind we're gonna head to the store and grab some snacks for a movie night? I really think it will make her feel better.

Seeing as it was Friday night your mom agreed and smiled at Peter.

Two blocks away from your apartment there was a convenience store where the boys went to pick up the necessities. They grabbed handfuls of chocolates, chips, ice cream, and drinks. As they were getting ready to pay Peter saw a stack of cookies. He remembered that day in second grade, 'Cookies will always make me feel better.' He smiled at the memory and quickly grabbed them.

When the boys got back to your room everything was set up. Your computer was hooked up to the TV, you made room on the floor where Ned usually lays (you even made it comfortable for him with pillows and layers of blankets), and the bed was made usually you and Peter lay there.

"Let the festivities begin!" Ned shouted as he dropped the snacks onto your bed. You all laughed as everyone took their spot.

Before you laid down you started the first of many movies, The Hot Chick.

When you made it to the bed Peter was sitting there waiting for you, "I got you a special snack."

You scrunched your eyebrows as you looked at him. He pulled out your favorite bag of cookies. Excitedly you grabbed them from him with a smile on your face.

He never failed to make you smile.

"Just like your mom said, cookies will always make you feel better." He looked into your eyes with a soft grin.

You said that to him many years ago you almost forgotten, "Thank you."

He took his shoes off and laid on your bed. He was on his stomach facing the foot of your bed. You sat up on the headboard with pillows behind your back and a blanket over your legs.

Two movies later half the snacks were gone along with Ned. His mom wanted him home for a family dinner, which left you and Peter alone. You two took a break from the movies to have dinner with your parents.

When you two got back to your room you took Peter's old spot at the foot of the bed and he took yours sitting at the top, "What movie next?" He asked.

You pondered for a second, "Hmm, how about Princess and the Frog?" You tried holding back a smile. Noticing this he couldn't hold back his own, "Start it."

As the movie played he could hear you softly reciting the lines along with the characters, "I would kiss a frog. I would kiss a hundred frogs if I could marry a prince and be a princess."

You didn't even realize you were doing it, you just loved this movie so much you knew practically every line. Peter watched you and smiled.

How could anyone not love her?

He noticed you shiver ever so lightly and quickly covered you with a blanket, but you were too into the movie to notice.

When the movie ended your mom walked into the room, "Ok Peter time to go home."

You groaned, "Moooom, just one more movie. Please, please, please please, please!" You begged just as Lottie did when wishing on the star. Peter chuckled at your antics.

Your mom gave in knowing you needed it more than ever right now.

"Ok, it's the last movie gotta make it count!" Peter said bouncing on the bed.

You typed the movie in as Peter read it out, " Love, Rosie. What's that?"

"One of the best romance movies ever!"

You got back onto the bed this time sitting up next to Peter. He laughed beside you, "Ok we'll see about that."

The movie played as you two watched the stories of two best friends fall in love at the wrong times. Peter couldn't help but think maybe you two would fall in love one day. He looked over to you surprised to see tears falling down your face.

Instead of asking if you were ok or if something was wrong, he grabbed your hand and squeezed. Just a small gesture to remind you he was there for you.

Grabbing the blanket you wiped your tears. He started to let go of your hand when you reached out for it again, this time interlocking your fingers.

Without looking at each other you both smiled to yourselves.

At some point, you rested your head on Peter's shoulder and fell asleep still holding onto his hand.

When the movie ended he was surprised to see you had fallen asleep. He let the credits play in the back as he rested his head on top of yours just enjoying the moment.

"I love you, Y/N. Someday I will have the courage to tell you and we will have a love story even better than what we see in the movies because ours will be real. I promise." He kissed the top of your head, slowly let go of you, and with one last look, he left.

He did keep his promise, but that's a story for another day.

[crazy4myself]

No Harm List Pt.2

Word Count: 5k

Warnings: Violence or threats of violence, explicit language, charicter death, implications of murder, mentions of blood, mentions of nudity, blow job jokes, 

Summary: You live in a city where crime runs rampant. One day, you save a young boy’s life, not knowing that he is the most powerful crime lord's heir. And you have just been put on the no harm list. 

a/n: sorry for the tragic backstory I didn’t mean for Hobi to get that dark, but whoop here we aree

--------

To both your relife and dismay, your life immediately returned to normal after receiving the shoes. While you were a bit wearier about walking home from work, you found no reason to hang on to the adventures of that night or the three charming men you encountered, so you told yourself to forget about it and put it behind you. And you did.

Until a few days later, when you met your best friend Hoseok for lunch. 

"What the hell happened to your face" he demanded in the way of greeting. 

You sighed, knowing you were going to have to tell him sooner or later, but in defense of your face, it was only peppered with a few scratches and a small yellowing bruise from when you fell. It was otherwise fine. 

"You should have seen the other guy," you teased as you set your backpack down in the spare seat. Hoseok already ordered your usual for you like the angel he was, and you immediately shoved a bite of the sandwich in your mouth.

"No," he snapped, swiping the plate from you, "explain first, eat second." 

"Hobi, please, I've been in class all day I'm starving," You whined in protest, reaching for your plate, but he set his lip in a firm pout, his dimples framing his upper lip and you lost the battle before it began. With a sigh, you caved, giving him a thorough retelling of the night with all the details you dare give him without, in turn, giving him a heart attack. 

"He called you Cinderella and bought you new shoes," he asked with a smile brighter than the sun stretching across his face. 

You groaned, "Please don't romanticize this. I'm never going to see him again, and can we mourn the fact that I have to find a new dealer. Mid Terms are around the corner, and Organic Chem is kicking my ass." 

"I'm not mourning any of your bad habits."

"Oh my gosh, you're the one who told me about it," you defended in disbelief.

"At the time, I didn't think your ass was dumb enough to go for it. I had a high opinion of you back then," he huffed before handing you back your plate. 

Your argument died on your lips as you stuffed your lunch in your mouth and ravaged it. Hobi watched you eat an expression of disgust and mild fascination on his face as you near deep throated a 6-inch sub.

"Stop acting like a hoe in Subway. I think the cashier is about to pop a boner," he chastised. 

You looked up to see the man was, in fact, staring at you as you ate. You shot him a flirtatious wink as spinach fell out your mouth. "Let him."

"Why do I hang out with you?" 

"Because I make a great company and have hot friends," you responded cooly as you licked your fingers clean.

Both were very true, but not the reason for your friendship. You were roommates with Hoseok's little sister, your freshman year of college. She took you under her wing since you were an international student, and you met Hobi that way. 

Your weekends were often filled with the smiles of the Jung siblings and mischief that always came with it. You and Dawon grew incredibly close, she even offered to let you stay with her and Hobi over the summer while you were still apartment hunting come the end of the spring term. 

Dawon's friendship was that one in a lifetime bond you can only get from enduring college together. The two of you were going to watch each other grow into badass boss bitches after graduation, stand in each other's weddings, be the godmother to each other's children. It was a friendship written in the stars, so you were devastated when she passed before the spring semester even ended. 

The authorities claimed that Dawon was shot in a robbery gone wrong. A loss of life over something as petty as a chunk of change in her wallet. The murder wasn't caught the night of the attack, and for a time, the lack of closure ripped you apart.  

You didn't even know the first day after it happened. She was shot during finals week, you were nearly camped out in the library the whole week. When she stopped responding to your texts, you just assumed she was buckling down on studying like you were. You were so caught up in your own life that you didn't get worried enough to reach out to Hobi until 18 hours after her death.   

You don't remember what happened after ending the phone call or what you did, you went into shock and next thing you knew you RA was letting Hoseok into your dorm room after she received the news.

What you didn’t know what that the call never ended. 

Hoseok never hung up. 

Hobi stayed on the phone with you the whole time, murmuring gentle reassurances, not knowing if you could hear him or not, but knowing he could only hear your shallow breaths. He stayed on the phone with you even as he arrived on campus and entered your dorm, asking for the person on duty to find someone to let him in. 

He stayed on the phone with you as he explained to your RA what happened, and watched her shed tears over his sister and struggled to give her condolences. He didn't hang up until he was in your room and wrapping his arms around you. Gently removing the phone from your ear as you stood frozen in place, before he sat you on the carpet. 

The dam of emotions had burst at his touch, the feeling of comfort confirming the reality that your best friend was gone. He rocked you like a child until you nearly exhausted yourself and stayed with you through that night.

 You don't remember much about the days following. You were a ghost of yourself as you finished your last two finals and packed up your belongings along with Dawon's to move out of your dorm. 

There was a small service you attended that was filled with mostly strangers. Which only reminded you that you were only in her life for 10 months, a small fraction of the time she blessed this world. It only took a week for her to become one of the most important people to you, but to everyone else that ever knew her, you were just her roommate. 

You do remember that summer, though. Hoseok honored his sister's wish and allowed you to stay with him while you looked for a place to live. You were a comfort to each other. The first two weeks you spent most nights sitting out on his balcony and letting him tell stories of him to his sister. On occasion, you exchanged one of your own; each seemed to paint the picture and make it seem like she might have been there sitting with the two of you. 

Then something changed in Hoseok, the authorities got a lead on the identity of the murderer, a member of the notorious gang the Razor Gulls. After that, Hobi started going out at night and not coming back until early in the morning. You didn't know what he was up to, you never asked. 

You got worried when his boss reached out to you because he stopped going to work for a week, you covered for him and told him that Hobi needed some time off to mourn. After that, you started to insist you eat dinner together each night before he went out. You prepared a decent meal and sat at the table and talked about mundane things. He smiled for you, but you could see the light dimming in his eyes. You could see the mask he put on for his family and friends who came to mourn her weeks ago, who still called on the occasion to check in on him, start to crack. 

You began to put off your apartment hunting to prolong your time with him simply so he wouldn't be alone. Simply, to make sure someone knew he came home safe each night. What you should have done for Dawon. The only thing you could do for her now. 

You don't know what happened that night on June 13th, you never asked, but you had a good idea. It was a hot and humid night, like most summer nights in the port town, but this one was especially miserable. 

You couldn't keep the sticky feeling of the sweat off your palms, no matter how many times you wiped them dry. You were sitting in the living room watching shitty TV, hoping maybe this would be one of the nights that Hobi would come home early when he stumbled through the front door. At first, you thought he was drunk, but as you got closer, as you saw the blood on his clothes, you knew it was something different. 

You called his name repeatedly before you got any kind of response. When he looked up at you, his eyes were vacant. There was no joy, no smiles. It made your chest tight how he seemed to look past you. It stirred up memories of the night he came to the dorm to check on you. 

"Hobi, wha-" you took a look at the blood on his clothing to make sure it wasn't his own before leading him to the bathroom. You started the shower for him and stripped him of his shirt and pants leaving him in his boxers with small but firm orders to get cleaned up. You put the soiled clothing in a full trash bag shuffling around the take out containers and to shift it closer to the middle of the bag before taking the trash out to the apartment complex's dumpster. 

When you got back inside, you went to his room and grabbed some boxers, sweats, and the first t-shirt you could find before heading back in the bathroom. 

Through the marbled glass door of the shower, you could see that he somewhat followed your directions. He was standing under the running water of the shower, still dazed. The drained water was still tinged a slight rust color from the filth on his hands. 

With a sigh, you pushed back the door and crawled in the shower with him, your shirt immediately sticking to your back as it went under the jets stream. If Hoseok was aware of his company, he remained unphased as you soaped up a loofa and began scrubbing down his back and arms and squatting down to get his legs. This was not the first time seeing the man naked, you skinny-dipped with him in the hot springs outside of town more than a few times this past winter. 

Still, you kept your eyes high as you turned him to get his chest and neck as well as gently rub at the flecks of blood dried on his cheek. The toned muscle of his body showed that dancing used to be more than just a hobby for him. And you admired the careful strength wrapped in his unblemished golden skin. 

It wasn't until you lathered your hands with shampoo and reached your arms up to wash his hair that a broken sob escaped his chest. 

"I know," you murmured to him as you massaged his scalp with your fingers, his entire body rocking with his tears. You didn't know, you didn't have a clue, but Hoseok felt himself clinging to confidence in your words. You weren't dismissing his cries you saw and felt each one. 

He tilted his head back at your gentle guidance and focused on breathing as the warm water washed through his hair. 

He nearly composed himself as you conditioned his hair, quickly only letting out soft whimpers by the time you turned off the water. You toweled the two of you off quickly, dressing him in his sweats before deciding you needed the shirt more than him and traded your soaked tee for his. It fell just above your knee, and you wore shorter things in the club, so you deemed it an appropriate nightgown for the night before leading Hoseok to his room where you joined him in bed. 

The silence was only broken by small sniffles as he hugged you before you finally asked in the darkness, "Do you want to talk about it?" 

His body shuttered with another sob as he let out a broken no in response. You didn't push after that; you only began stroking your fingers in his hair, pushing it back from his face, like he once said his mother used to. 

"Do you want me to go?" you asked softly, he shook his head buried in your shoulder, and that was that. You stayed with him, letting him mourn and process and slowly reel himself back together again as he desperately tried to fill the void in his chest. You held him as his sobs became sniffles and slowly drifted into soft snores, and even when your own eyes drooped, you held him through the night.

The next morning you woke up alone in Hobi's empty bed to the smell of bacon. When you wandered out of the room, you saw him dressed and smiling as he placed a plate of food on the table. 

"I thought we could eat breakfast before I head into work," he offered as an explanation pulling the juice out of the fridge. 

You tried not to be too thrown by his sudden change in mood and instead basked in the glow of his smile, as you joined him for the quiet meal. You insisted on doing the dishes so he wouldn't be late, and he thanked you before hurrying out the door. 

You turned on the TV as you scraped the grease from the pan and into the trash, hearing the morning news drone on until something caught your attention. The reporter went on explaining how Kim Martin, the robber responsible for Jung Dawon's murder, was found dead in an alley in the 7th ward last night. 

---

"So when is your next day off?" Hoseok asked as he stole a kettle chip from your bag, pursing his lips at the salt and vinegar. It was his least favorite flavor, but the fucker insisted on eating your food. 

"Umm today might be the only day for a while, I'm scheduled for like every day this week, why?" 

"You didn't take off for a while to lie low?" he questioned in disbelief.

"No, why would I? They aren't after me or anything they're after Bambie," you said, choosing to stick with the code name you gave Jungkook. 

If he wasn't going to reveal your identity to his friends, you wouldn't tell yours, besides you were fairly certain Hoseok was involved in some gang shit and you were not about to give him the motive to dig into anything deep. Especially when people were getting assaulted for it. 

"Y/N, you don't know how guys like this work they hold grudges," he warned. 

"Look, this was nearly 5 days ago, I technically did lie low. And besides, I'm trying to take off for Mid Terms next month, I need to be able to pay my rent to do so," 

His face fell immediately "Y/N, you know if you ever need help you could always-"

"Hobi, what is rule number one of living in Alcor?"

"Don't eat the chili fries at Dax's." 

You gave him a knowing look, and he slumped in his chair with a sigh, "Don't borrow money from anyone."

"Exactly, those were the exact orders you gave me my first week of living here, and I intend to stick to it,"

"Yeah, but I would like to think I'm different, that you could trust me to not hold that against you," 

You turned away from the hurt in his eyes with a sigh, "Look, I'll be extra careful, and besides, I should be done with the night shifts by the end of the month if the scholarship for med school goes through," you said with a smile. At the reminder, Hoseok immediately lit up. 

"We need to plan your graduation party."

"Hobi, I don't want a-"

"I was thinking I could maybe rent a private room at the new club in BP" he continued ignoring your protest.

You graduate undergrad in 56 days. Then the two weeks later, you immediately start summer classes for Medical School. Alcor University's medical program was intensive, and one of the best in the world. And while the tuition for your bachelors was covered entirely by scholarship, you were still scrambling to afford the cost of living in the city.  

Medical School was a whole different story, you just got your acceptance letter for the fast-tracked program last month. This program took your four years of schooling before residency and shoved it in about two and a half years of non-stop classes, no summer or winter breaks the only school. 

You can't imagine having to work while going through such intensive studies, so you have been applying for scholarships and grants non-stop since your acceptance. Hoping you can scramble enough money to meet your living needs, so you only have to work weekends at 929. You even debated on moving into an apartment with a few more roommates just to lower your rent a little more. 

Hobi continued to lay out his plans for your graduation party, it started sounding like a 3-day event. Still, maybe you were in need of a little fun before you entered your academic hell. 

---

Min Yoongi parked his bike on a side road, securing the helmet to its lock before making his way down one of the main streets in the 6th ward. After reviewing some of the footage on the few surveillance cameras in the area, he found that the two thugs who snuck up on Jungkook that night were members of the Black Tips, a gritty gang from the 6th ward itching to expand their territory. 

It was likely the thugs just saw Jungkook and decided to act out on their own to help pull them up the ranks, but to be safe, Yoongi has Jin, their best spider after Taehyung, keeping an ear out to make sure it wasn't a direct order from their higher-ups.

 The city of Alcor was the large and filthy port city that served as the capital of Kros, a small merchant nation that was ruled by capitalism. In Kros, the market was more powerful than any politics making the two interchangeable when it came to state affairs. 

Alcor is formally split into 11 wards, but most would say the city is clearly divided in two, the East and the West. The scumball that is the West was made up of Wards 4-9. The 4th and 5th warehouse districts make for a slow gradient through the ghettos and underdeveloped, impoverished areas, until you reach the 9th ward. The Pleasure Ward. A place of gambling halls, raunchy street vendors, and brothels. 

No single gang owns the massive tumor that is the 9th ward, but neighborhoods and territories could be claimed. While BTS's stronghold lay firmly in the 7th ward, they had a handful of investments in the 9th, the most prominent being The Bulletproof Casino, the largest and most successful gambling hall in the Westside. 

Bulletproof had undergone three expansions since its opening seven years ago. And thanks to the smart guidance of the founder and the gang's leader RM, it has quickly put a handful of half-assed lesser halls out of business. One of them being the Golden Drop, the Black Tips old club. Things have been tense since they sold their business to a Mr.Kim Namjoon two years ago, only to find the businessman had turned around and immediately sold the plot of land to BTS. The poor bastards didn't have a clue that the whole transaction was done by RM the entire time. He's done well to keep up his alias in his upcoming years. 

Suga wished that Jungkook would do the same. 

It sure would keep him out of a hell of a lot more trouble, incidents like the other night wouldn't have happened if the runt knew how to keep his head down, but the younger generations were not fond of street names. 

Only Taehyung, who went by V, kept his because RM required that dealers have them to make it harder to get busted by cops in case some doped up idiot ever gets caught. But Taehyung has nearly grown out of the name as he's proved himself to be much more than a dealer. 

The boy was cut from the same cloth as his cousin Jin and proved himself to be an excellent spider. A position not too far from being a spy, a collector of secrets and information from any person around the city. Possibly an even better one as Jin continues to slowly become the public face of The Bulletproof Casino, dealing with investors and stockbrokers of higher society has made it harder for him to blend in with the lowlifes of the West Side. Taehyung, however, has found himself able to worm his way in and out of the upper and lower class seamlessly and always dug up the dirt BTS needed. 

What sets RM apart from the other scum of the lower West was he had an eye for all the currencies in life and invested in each of them; coin, knowledge, talent, and secrets. It was the secrets he held on nearly every big name in the city that slowly made BTS untouchable. Helping them live to their claim of being bulletproof. 

Maintaining the dignity of the gang was how they ensured they lived up to that claim. That was why Suga was here to track down the two punks that tried to take out one of their own. 

A member of their inner circle no less. BTS's civilian network was massive, every employee at every business they owned or invested in was loyal to BTS either willingly or out of obligation. 

RM was known for helping relieve people from their debts, give them a second chance at life and allow them to pay him back at a much reasonable pace than any collector would allow. And they could do it financially, through their labor, or their services. Taking small jobs offered by a darker clientele. Slipping poison in a cup, being a lockpick in a heist, cutting the breaks in someone's car. These risks helped clear a large portion of the debt they may owe. 

BTS also had members, their Army, people who would take the tattoo on their arm knowing it acted as both a shield and a target, but it gave them a place and a family to belong to when they lacked either. Being an Army of BTS ensured you a job, shelter, and a full stomach all luxuries on the west side. 

Finally, within the members was their inner circle, people with titles who sat at RM's round table, because the corny bastard actually had a round dining table for family dinner which was scheduled to take place once a week, but happened most nights organically because his brothers liked to stay together.

Suga has been part of the inner circle since BTS was born from a gang raid gone wrong. He and Namjoon were just two bastards who came out of the rubble fighting and built the empire they had now over the past 7 years. He served as Namjoon's second before there was even an option for a third.

 And if the day ever comes when Namjoon is ready to step down and hand JK the reigns, a thought he entertains with Yoongi and Jin on quiet nights at the Den, Yoongi supposes he will serve as Jungkook’s second too. If the little brat would have him. He can't imagine himself walking away from the life he lives now. 

He holds nothing against Jin and Namjoon for wanting to leave. Holds nothing against them for wanting to live a quiet life with their partner, where they don't have to put their life, or someone else's on the line. Yoongi just can't imagine himself doing the same. BTS has always been his purpose; he loves his brothers and the world he's built for himself. He even likes it on days he has to clean up after snotty-nosed bunny teethed brats. 

Jon Waters was such a mundane name. Suga had to believe that the man covered himself in tattoo's to compensate for it. Especially as he entered the rundown pawnshop with bars on its windows and door to see how tacky they were in person. 

"You got a lotta nerve comin' into my shop," Jon growled the moment the bell alerted him of Suga's presence. 

"You have a lot of nerve coming after my kid in the middle of the night. Tell me did you cry when you got your ass handed to you by some college girl," he mocked 

Jon's eyes narrowed as his hand reached under the cabinet for his gun, "I'll kill you."

"1421 Lilac Drive" was his Dull response. Jon's eyes widened in shock. 

"That's your sister's address, right? I gotta say you did well when your mom ditched you guys, joining a gang to provide for her. Quite noble. Sending her off to university, she didn't graduate, though," he sent a taunting smile. "Who needs your masters when you can get your Mrs. I'm sure it was easy for her to marry rich with an ass like that."

"Watch it," he snapped. 

"Oh, it's hard not to. But not for long I hear she is carrying, things tend to sag after having a baby." Suga mused lazily. 

"What's your point, you think knowing who my sister is, is going to scare me?" 

"It should. Especially since I have someone stationed outside her house right now, and if I don't walk out of here. Hell, if I come out with my hair a little ruffled, they have orders to shoot."

"You're fucking bluffing."

"Do you really want to test me?" Jon's lips became a thin line as he made a point to take the magazine out of his gun and set them both on the counter between them. 

"Goodman," Suga taunted as he locked the door of the shop and flipped the sign to close. "Now let's talk,"

---

Your day was much less interesting after your lunch with Hobi, you had one more lab before you dragged yourself to the library to get some studying done. 

You were returning to your mundane struggling college student mindset as you stepped onto the elevator to take you to the fifth floor, the quietest and therefore, your favorite floor, in the library. 

You were so caught up in responding to a friend about going to see her art exhibit in a few weeks that you almost didn't notice someone standing in front of the elevator doors as it stopped on the third floor. 

You glanced up mindlessly and locked eyes with a familiar set of brown, doe eyes. 

Which was fitting since Jungkook very much looked like a deer caught in headlights. He stood in front of you, wearing all black, which led you to think that was his usual attire. His backpack was slung over one shoulder, and you noticed the hand that gripped it was bound in a black brace. 

You were his mirror as you both gaped at each other, for an unreasonably long amount of time, not knowing what to do. 

You opened your mouth to break the silence when the doors began to slide shut, seeming to break Jungkook from his trance as he backed away from the elevators and sped towards the stairs deciding he could use the cardio anyways. 

Jungkook felt a myriad of confusing emotions as he descended the stairs to the library. But he knew he sure did feel stupid. 

He felt stupid for trying to board an elevator with the up arrow lit up when he wanted to go down to the first floor. He figured his lazy ass would ride it up and back down a few minutes and save himself the effort. 

He also felt stupid for walking away. Getting in the elevator with you would have been awkward, but now that he walked away, he probably made himself seem like a creep. You seemed a little suspicious of him the night you met, but now you were definitely going to think he was in some sketchy gang shit. 

And of course, he was, but he didn't want you to know that. 

Jungkook also felt stupid for being worried about what you might think of him. While he was now charged with making sure your life was never at risk in the 7th ward, he wasn't supposed to ever really see you or talk to you again. 

On a campus of 15,000+ students, he was certain he has never seen you in his life, but of course, he sees you now. In the library of all places. 

But most of all, Jungkook felt stupid for being excited to see you. To see that the bruise on your cheek had faded to a healthy yellow and that your leggings were tucked comfortably in the black boots, he got you.

Either you didn't have a lot of shoes, or you actually liked his gift. He smiled to himself at the second thought. 

Jungkook's thoughts were filled with you as he made his way back to the Den. He wondered if he might happen upon seeing you on campus regularly, or if he blew his one time chance. 

He would like to think that he would say hi next time he stumbled across you. He wondered if you were graduating soon and leaving town or if you would be in the city for a while longer. The part of Alcor you were in wasn't the nicest, but he liked the thought of you getting to move uptown some after you graduate and maybe seeing you in your favorite coffee shop. 

You were kind and funny and didn't completely freak out at the fact that Jungkook was mugged, and that they tried to chase you and possibly kill you for helping him escape. He liked the thought of having a friend outside of BTS who didn't care about what he did like you might. 

Jungkook was thinking about you even as his phone buzzed with a text from RM with orders for a family dinner tonight.  

a/n: So this isn’t quite what I wanted to be, but I really wanted to get something out for you guys to read. I already started pt.3 and have BIG plans. Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it. Please comment and let me know if you want to see more. and what you liked, loved, or hated about it. I can only learn from feedback :)

-> pt. 3

[bigskydreaming]

I’m almost more bothered by fics that don’t take an actively antagonistic stance towards Dick’s character, because what’s so often viewed as a GOOD storyline for Dick in fanfics is just like.....100% connected to my issues with fanon.

What I mean is this:

So many Batfam fics, even when they think they’re being kind or generous to Dick’s character, treat any relationship Dick develops or demonstrates with Jason in-story as Dick’s redemption arc, for being a shitty brother/person before a certain point.

And then on top of that, a ton of fics that include all the way through Damian by their starting point, then proceed to use any relationship (or attempt at one) between Dick and Tim.....as Dick’s redemption arc, for being a shitty brother/person to Tim at the Robin-Red Robin transition.

And then on top of THAT, you have the Batfam fics that focus on post-Spyral interactions with his family as....Dick’s redemption arc for being a shitty brother/person there, and during the Ric Grayson era we had ‘fix-it fic’ after fic whose idea of fixing it was picking things up at some point after Dick got his memories back and then proceeding to write Dick’s redemption arc for Ric being a shitty brother/person there. And even going all the way back to Bruce and Dick’s era of estrangement before Tim came along, there’s still absurdly so many fics over the years dedicated to....Dick redeeming himself in other characters’ eyes for that chasm with absolutely no effort in the same fics shown towards having Bruce work towards any kind of remption for his own behavior.

Historically speaking, the vast majority of fics tagged as Dick Grayson, stretching back years and still very much present now as well, are almost predominantly ALL somehow some kind of redemption arc for Dick.....

Specifically in regards to events and dynamics which have absolutely no basis (or at most an extremely skewed and one-sided one) in the source material. 

In fact, in the majority of most of the situations Dick’s being ‘redeemed’ for in fanfics, he either did the complete OPPOSITE of what he’s being punished/forced to make up for in fics, such as how his efforts in reaching out to Jason despite his own understandable bitterness stands in direct contradiction of the years of neglect and bitterness towards Jason that fics posit and theorize existed purely so that he has something TO redeem himself for in fics.....

Or then other times in the source material, he’s the literal actual victim of the things that he’s not only being held solely accountable and in need of redemption for in fics, like when he was beaten into going undercover for the sake of his family.....and then has to redeem himself for that in his family’s eyes......or when he was alienated, neglected and gaslit by his family while amnesiac.....and then has to redeem himself for that in his family’s eyes.....

And even in the cases where its SAID within a fic’s narrative (or more accurately, usually its said in the comments sections of fics as fic authors respond to people being disgusted with Dick by saying ‘no don’t be too hard on him’ and offering up justifications for Dick’s actual actions and understanding for his POV that for some reason never make it into the actual text of fics), like, even then, at most these fics TELL us that the flaws of Dick’s that they’re focusing on are understandable and its just human of him to be resentful of Jason as Robin, or overwhelmed and grief-stricken when he made Damian Robin at Tim’s expense, or traumatized and not thinking clearly when he ‘agreed’ to go undercover at Spyral.....

But meanwhile, what the fics actually SHOW us, beyond a few half-hearted defenses of Dick that usually are not at all substantiated by any other characters.....is Dick remorsefully doing the work of making up for the things he did so terribly, terribly wrong and that there’s actually no excuse for.

With this showing being a lot more evident and focused-upon than we ever see fics show Jason working towards earning Tim’s forgiveness and trust for almost killing him, or Damian doing the same, fics just skip past these things entirely to say ‘oh they’re better now’ but like....with Dick....its like the only storyline a ton of writers have any interest in writing for Dick....

Is a redemption arc.

Actively focusing on and SHOWING Dick putting in the work of being apologetic, remorseful, self-loathing, and absolutely committed to doing better by his siblings even if they never actually forgive him - with whether or not he can eventually ‘earn’ his way to a positive relationship with them far from a given - and any and all of his positive attributes or the positives of his actual relationships with various characters all but completely ignored or glossed over, to keep the focus entirely on Dick learning to do better.....

Than the crimes or slights against his siblings that authors first manufactured or exaggerated or took completely out of context, just to HAVE a reason for Dick to need to do better in the first place.

As I’ve said many times before, anyone is free to do whatever they want with fanfic, its an innately transformative medium, but its always going to be significant and worth attention in my mind, that so much of the transformation from the source material when it comes to Dick Grayson is entirely focused around and committed to transforming him from a hero that everyone loves and respects, a guy that always does his best to go above and beyond for family even when he has understandable reasons not to, and the literal inspiration for almost every second generation hero out there, including his own successors......

Into a guy that most people can’t stand, regard as irrelevant to their own careers let alone anyone worth looking up to, and constantly letting people down, especially his family.

All while there’s little to no attention paid to all the reasons in the source material that other characters most definitely have things they’ve said or done to Dick Grayson that need or deserve redeeming for.

Like the physical violence every single member of his family except Duke has inflicted on him at some point.

Or the victim blaming that’s so ingrained into his storylines and reader receptions of his storylines that even the fics that tackle redeeming Jason, Tim, etc for their behavior towards Dick post-Spyral limit this particular redemption to ‘we’re sorry we treated you badly when we didn’t know all the facts’ instead of ‘we’re sorry we treated you badly, full stop’ and ‘we’re sorry we passed judgment without even TRYING to know what all the facts were’ and ‘we’re sorry we display so little interest in your life or your traumas that even now when we’ve been informed you actually died and had to be forced into pretending to stay dead, we have zero interest in exploring if there’s anything else we might be missing if we could miss out on the whole ‘oh you really DID die’ part in the first place, and forget about us actually owning and apologizing for the specifics of how our behavior towards you was unacceptable even if we HAD been right in our interpretation of events.’

Or when mentions of the slutshaming and victim-blaming he endured during the Tarantula and Mirage storylines are limited to just that....mentions made of offscreen characters like Babs or the Titans.....with pretty much no stories I can think of, existing as ‘redemption arcs’ that tackle those characters actually working to redeem themselves for their behavior and trying to earn back Dick’s broken trust in them. Its usually just Jason and/or others finding out, telling Dick ‘hey your friends shouldn’t have done that either’ and then going off and murdering Mirage and Tarantula, the end, because....that fixes everything?

And forget about Bruce redeeming himself for his behavior - the way he works to put in the effort and fix things in so many ‘Jason returns to the family’ fics - but even when actual mention is made of the things Bruce HAS done wrong to Dick or needs redeeming for, its mostly just waved off as ancient history that he’s remorseful about but there’s no apparent need or effort to focus on Bruce putting that remorseful energy into action and actively on the page trying to bridge the gap he created in SO MANY storylines, again and again and again. ‘Bruce is just like that,’ a lot of stories shrug, about the time Bruce made Dick actually feel unwelcome in his own home and forced him to be the one to leave, unlike the way ‘its unacceptable for Dick to be like this’ energy is applied to stories about Dick forcing Tim to leave Wayne Manor....an action that has to be invented for a story’s purposes, of course, given that in the actual source story, Dick relocated himself and Damian to the penthouse anyway, and Wayne Manor was open and available to Tim and Dick never so much as implied otherwise.

Or look at how the adoption issue so often plays out....with it treated as though Bruce finally adopting Dick in adulthood just ‘fixes’ all the angst before that point, like it just overwrites everything he felt or experienced before and up until that.....with very little fandom energy paid to neither just castigating Bruce for not adopting Dick earlier or acting like adoption is a magic all-better now band-aid, but rather examining that both these things can coexist, and Dick can be happy and relieved and pleased to finally have the adoption he not-so-secretly wanted, even if only in adulthood, but that doesn’t mean the mental and emotional upset of his later teen years when he really, really, really could have used that declaration of being family rather than just a ward....like, there’s room for that to have still taken a toll and be worthy of awareness and regret on Bruce’s part, not for taking so long to adopt Dick, but for the damage Dick felt and suffered through BECAUSE of it. 

Its not even about vilifying or punishing Bruce for this, because ironically, like....redemption arcs aren’t actually supposed to be just about punishment or whatever? Its about acknowledging where wrong was done and GETTING what that means for the person who was wronged.....even if it can’t be undone.

People can get this when its Dick being written as having the redemption arc.

So where the hell is this understanding of what actual redemption MEANS, when its Dick that other characters have things to make up for?

The funny, ironic, cognitive dissonant thing about Dick Grayson in fanfics, is the vast majority of his appearances and storylines all somehow come back towards being his redemption arc in some way or form.....

For the made-up or exaggerated fanon crimes applied to him in fic, but that HE’S usually the actual recipient of in canon.

See, its not an obsession with canon that’s the reason for the disconnect between Dick Grayson fans and the takes favored by fans of most other characters.

Its the fact that the transformative energy of fanfiction, in his case, so often is utilized to give HIM reason to tackle the redemption arcs that OTHER characters owe HIM, but that so many of these fans don’t WANT to write their own faves being subjected to.....because they’re fans of these characters as heroes. They have no interest in reading or writing their favorite characters redeeming themselves for actions or behavior they personally don’t view as in character for them.

.....with the cognitive dissonant part in particular, being the way so many of these exact same fans turn around and express shock and bewilderment that Dick’s fans are simlarly uninterested in wanting to read nothing but their favorite character redeeming himself for actions or behavior we personally don’t view as in character for him....because it usually isn’t, according to the original stories BEFORE fanfic transforms him from victim of other beloved characters into victimizer of them instead.

And lol, many of us don’t actually want to see him as victim of other beloved heroes either! We’re in agreement there! Its why we come to fanfic instead of canon in the first place....to find stories where he’s not casually and regularly mistreated by other characters we like. But instead we usually only find stories that take everything people don’t want to see other characters doing to him, and making him do it to others. That’s not an improvement for us, lol! That’s just taking one problem and exchanging it for another. 

Flipping the script to make Dick the victimizer instead of other characters only fixes things if the only concern is making sure those characters aren’t seen as victimizers.

The really annoying part is how so many people can be so clear and cognizant of not wanting this for their own faves....yet are surprised, dismissive and disdainful of Dick’s fans....expressing the EXACT SAME FEELINGS.....about our own fave.

[inadaydream99]

Something You Can’t Deny

A/N - wow this has taken me ages to write and it’s a lot longer than I intitally planned it to be! Sorry 😬 I always get carried away with oneshots and this Mingi one just got me! I’m a little (or very) whipped for him 😂 but I hope you enjoy!

When someone asks what Mingi is to you the first word that comes to mind in enemie. He’s your rival, the reason for your anger, the person that drives you completely insane. Most people don’t understand the pure hatred you have towards each other. Your fued seemingly coming out of nowhere. At first even you were confused as to why Mingi didn’t like you, but then, after numerous attempts at trying to be friendly, you gave up and decided to hate him back. You can live with the fact that not everyone is going to like you.

“Do we really have to watch a scary movie? I won’t be able to sleep tonight.” You plea as Yunho selects the horror genre on Netflix, shooting your best puppy eyes around the room in an attempt to get any form of sympathy.

“Quit being such a baby and get over it.” Mingi snarls, causally throwing a piece of popcorn in the air in an attempt to catch it in his mouth. He looks so unphased by the premis of a horror but everyone in the room knows as much as he does that deep down he isn’t keen on the idea either.

When the popcorn bounces off his nose and ends up on the floor you smirk, feeling satisfied that he hadn’t managed to look suave and cool. It’s instant karma for his uncalled for remark.

“You’ll be ok, I’m right here to protect you.” San scoots closer to your side, protectively wrapping his arm around your shoulder and pulling you into his chest. You let out a quiet chuckle as you accept his hug, your arms making their way around his body so you can snuggle comfortably into his side.

“I think she has a better chance of getting through this movie if I protect her. With you, (Y/N) risks getting jolted around at every jump scare.” Jongho teases, laughing heartily as San whines and turns to complain to Seonghwa like siblings with their parents.

“Stop making a fuss, I wanna actually watch this.” Mingi snaps, throwing a pillow at San as the movie begins playing. He seems grumpy, a deep frown on his face as he glares in your direction, glancing between you and San momentarily before launching the pillow.

It ends up hitting you in the face, your cheeks turning bright red in embarrassment as Mingi snorts with laughter. He looks pleased with himself as you sit up, moving yourself away from San’s side. It’s like that’s what he had intended to happen.

“Oops.” He states with a mocking twinge in his tone, earning an elbow and glare from Yeosang next to him in return.

~

“I’ve left the pillow and blanket on the sofa for you, and there’s a charger for you to use on the coffee table, ok?” Seonghwa informs you as you enter the kitchen after getting your pyjamas on; an old T-shirt that you stole from Yunho and some pink spotty shorts. It’s your go to lazy outfit when you have a PJ day at home.

“Thank you Hwa.” You cuddle into his side, nuzzling your head into him affectionaly as he envelops you in his arms, laughing at your actions.

“It’s alright. See you in the morning.” He pats your head and you feign annoyance, forever adamant that you don’t like it when he does that. But deep down you both know you do.

“Goodnight.” You respond, turning around to grab a glass of water to take with you to bed.

You don’t want to acknowledge Mingi as he enters the room and let’s out a grumble upon seeing you, but you’re tired and can’t be bothered to put up with him right now. Your temper worn thin over the course of the day.

“What was that for?” You defensively question, a scour replacing the contented smile that was previously on your face.

“None of your business princess.” Mingi condescendingly mocks.

“Then why’d you have to snarl at me.” You’re trying everything in your power not to seeth at him, but it’s too difficult when Mingi makes your blood boil just from the arrogant look on his face.

“Because I’m always so happy to see you, can’t you tell?” His sarcastic laugh is enough to send you over the edge of anger, it makes your whole body feel like it’s going to explode.

It annoys you to no end how he treats you, particularly because he has no reason to be so rude all the time. He just goes out of his way to treat you like trash. To mock and belittle you. It’s infuriating.

“You know what, I’m done putting up with you! I can handle the fact that not everyone is going to like me, but when you act this way for no reason, it’s horrible.” Your explosion of anger takes Mingi by surprise, his whole expression shocked as he watches you with wide eyes. He had never thought you would become this angry in front of him, let along blow up in his face like this. But you have and he doesn’t know how to react.

“Don’t even try to excuse yourself.” You quickly cut in as you notice Mingi open his mouth, about to speak.

“Just leave me alone from now on.” You’re seething, bluntly putting him in his place before deciding you don’t even want to stay for the night anymore. You’ve had enough.

“Woah, what’s going on? Is everything alright?” You almost crash into Hongjoong on your way out of the kitchen. You look as though you could simultaneously punch a wall and burst into tears.

“I’m going home, I can’t stand Him.” You shudder bitterly, throwing your shoes on and brabbing your bag.

Hongjoong just stands frozen, confused and upset by your anger. He watches as you leave, odd socks stuffed into your shoes and oversized pyjamas, the door slamming shut behind you.

“I heard a bang! Is everyone alive?” San comes running into the hallway, followed my Wooyoung and Jongho.

“(Y/N) left, the bang was the front door. She was pretty pissed off.” Hongjoong informs the guys as they nod in understanding.

“Why was she pissed off?” Jongho questions, voicing the question that even Hongjoong wanted to know a proper answer to.

“I think I have a good idea...” San narrows his eyes in suspicion before heading off.

~

You wake up the next morning to your phone going off with numerous messages and missed calls. But it’s what you get for storming off without informing anyone as to why. They’re probably worried sick and desperate to get through to you.

With that thought in mind you reach out to grab your phone off the bedside table before unlocking it and swiping through all the notifications. Each of them have sent though multiple texts, along with a few missed calls from Seonghwa and Hongjoong. But there’s one that catches your eye. It makes your breath hitch as you read the message.

It’s apparent it’s from Mingi, although it’s displayed as from an unknown number; you’d never bothered keep him as a contact because why would you ever want to message him anyway? But you must admit his message is kind of sweet: I didn’t think I upset you that much... I hope you’re ok.

You’re not sure why but it seems to fill you with some sort of weird feeling, finding yourself staring at the message in a daze.

Maybe it’s not real and you’re just imagining, hoping, that Mingi actually cares about you... maybe one of the guys stole his phone and sent the message for him.

Or maybe he really does care.

It’s a strange thought but one that you can’t seem to shake off. Your mind still thinking about the message as you hit call on Seonghwa’s number and wait for him to answer.

“Finally, it’s about time you answered one of us.” He scolds as soon as he picks up, tone unimpressed and you can just imagine the disappointed look he would be giving you if he were here right now.

“I’m sorry, I’ve only just woken up.” You mumble, voice hoarse and throat dry.

“You sound awful, how’re you feeling?” Seonghwa’s voice instantly softens when he hears you speak. Come to think of it you feel very sluggish, a headache brewing and eyes aching, still feeling sensitive from all your crying last night. There’s no doubt Seonghwa can sense this through the phone.

“I feel crap.” You dryly chuckle, trying to make light of the situation at least a little, but your laugh comes out half-assed, like you are forcing yourself to seem more fine than you really are.

You continue your conversation with Seonghwa, answering all his questions about what happened last night, both of you unaware of the prying ears that listen in carefully.

Hearing your voice alone makes Mingi’s heart clench in pain. He hates that he is the reason behind it, although he would never admit that to you.

Your relationship with Mingi is complicated, one that he would struggle to explain if asked to. You see, Mingi’s mean and spiteful attitude towards you isn’t because he actually hates you, it’s more because he gets a kick out of your reactions. He loves the attention you give him when you are mad, and even more so when you are sassy. It drives him crazy, making his head spin with how much his heart races anytime you argue. So much so it’s not healthy. But it’s the only way you actually give him attention and so he has found himself looking forward to teasing you purely for that reason.

He never realised he had taken it too far the previous night; with all the snarky comments throughout the movie and then his general attitude afterwards, it sent you over the edge.

Mingi holds his breath, hiding himself from view as soon as he hears Seonghwa begin to hang up, telling you to be over as soon as possible.

But there’s one prevailing thought in his mind as he begins thinking about what to do next. He can’t miss his chance.

~

“Do you mind if we go somewhere more private, I just don’t want to face anyone.” You mumble as you are pulled by Seonghwa towards the living room.

He stops mid way, turning to give you a glance and when his eyes meet yours he reads the anxiousness and sadness that they hold.

“Sure.” Seonghwa meekly smiles. He had hoped to get you and Mingi to cross paths so you could finally resolve your differences, but now that doesn’t seem likely.

“What do you want to do?” Seonghwa casually questions as you fall onto his bed and cuddle up into the duvet.

“I want to stay like this for the rest of eternity.” Your voice comes out muffled by the sheets which makes Seonghwa laugh, a fond smile on his face as he stands at the foot of his bed.

“Unfortunately that’s not an option.” He chuckles, watching as you complain and turn yourself to lay on your back, eyes gazing up at the ceiling as if it’s the most interesting thing you have ever seen. “I really think we should get your mind onto something else... what about we cook something?” Seonghwa suggests.

“No...” you whine, moving your focus onto your friend as he huffs. “All I want to do is hibernate in here with you and some movies... and lots of snacks.” You state, sitting up so you can gage what Seonghwa’s reaction will be.

“You know what, let’s do it. But you need to go buy the snacks.” He smirks, pleased with himself that he has found a loophole in your plan to stay hidden away.

You roll your eyes, feigning annoyance, though your smile gives away how you truly feel.

“Fine, I’m going now.” You push yourself off the bed, trudging lazily out of the room to grab some money before leaving to complete your task.

~

“What do I choose?” You mumble out loud to yourself, so deep in thought that you haven’t realised other people can actually hear you.

“I would go for the cheese flavour, it’s the best.” Your head snaps to the left, the voice having made you jump. You didn’t even realise anyone was in the same isle as you, let alone standing by your side.

But your heart begins to race when you realise who the voice belongs to, your mouth falling open so you end up gawking at Mingi beside you.

“I don’t need your help.” You flatly respond as soon as you regain your composure. Mingi watches you in amusement, taking great pleasure from catching you off guard.

When he saw you enter the shop he thought he must be hallucinating. His guilty mind playing tricks on him as he becomes increasingly desperate to see you, to have a chance to apologise. Then he realised that this was his chance to approach you, clear the air of tension between you, or at least that’s what he was hoping for.

“Alright, I was just trying to be nice.” He holds his hands up in defence, though his smirk only makes you increasingly more annoyed.

“You, being nice pft.” You scoff, rolling your eyes as you begin moving away from Mingi.

“It is possible you know... here, let me get them for you.” He reaches out to grab the bag of chips, gaining your attention once again.

“Oh no, that’s not gonna happen.” You shake your head, folding your arms defensively. You can’t allow this to happen purely because you know this is Mingi’s way of clearing his conscience. He doesn’t really care about you.

“Too late!” Mingi suddenly makes a run for it, dashing over to the register to pay, a cute little squeal emitting from him in excitement. You catch yourself genuinely laughing at Mingi, finding his behaviour highly amusing and quite endearing.

“Here, all yours.” You wipe the smile off your face before Mingi can notice as he approches you holding out the bag of chips for you to take.

“I told you I don’t want them.” You shift your gaze away from him to look unforgiving. Truth is you don’t want to see the disappointment on his face.

Mingi lowers his arm back to his side, bag of chips still clutched in his hand as he stares at you, saddened by your coldness. He’s aware that he deserves it but he was really hoping you would find some part of you to forgive him.

“Please accept my peace offering (Y/N), I really am trying to ammend things between us.” Mingi’s voice comes out delicate, his sincerity making you feel guilty.

You glance up at him, sighing in defeat as you see his eyes becoming glazed over with tears; you’d be heartless to not forgive him.

“Fine.” You coyly smile, reaching out to accept Mingi’s gift. “But you’re joining the movie marathon I’m having with Seonghwa tonight... as a thank you.” You continue, finally letting your guard slip away, a small smile tugging at the corner of your lips when Mingi’s face lights up.

~

“Finally! what took you so long? Oh, I see...” Seonghwa begins to playfully scold you, only stopping when he sees Mingi appear behind you, a knowing grin teasing his lips.

“Mingi bought us some snacks so I invited him along.” You attempt to keep a straight face, wanting to play down the fact that you are trying to start again. It’s no big deal right? Just one of those casual suddenly becoming friends with the enemie scenarios.

“Alright.” Seonghwa’s mind is filled with a dozen questions as to how you managed to get to this point in such a short amount of time, but he doesn’t voice them. There’ll be time soon enough.

“What movies have you picked?” Mingi causally questions, picking up the remote to scroll through the playlist on Netflix that has been lined up.

~

You aren’t sure what time it is when you suddenly jolt awake. It takes you a minute to gather your surroundings, the room blanketed in darkness and tv no longer on.

Seonghwa must have switched it off after you’d fallen asleep, it’s happened many times during your past movie marathons together. It’s like a sequence of events that happen every time, you both begin watching a movie and then around halfway through the film you doze off, leaving Seonghwa to finish watching it alone.

This time, however, is a little different from normal. For starters you are cuddled into someone, head resting on their chest as it calmly rises and falls. Their arms are wrapped around your waist, keeping you close and secure. But what has caught you off guard the most is that as you slowly lift you head away, you realise that it’s Mingi who you have fallen asleep on.

Never in a million years would you have thought this could happen. And yet you aren’t repulsed.

You catch yourself staring at him. He looks so peaceful, ethereal, as he sleeps and you have to stop yourself from admiring him too much. He could never like you. Even up until today he has always gone out of his way to be rude and make fun. You’re stupid to even think you have the slightest chance.

Feeling your heart sink you decide to distract yourself and look around the room in search for Seonghwa, to see if he is awake or not. It quickly dawns on you that he is nowhere to be found.

“What time is it?” You feel your heart rate quicken upon hearing Mingi’s groggy voice, shuffling away a little erratically to create some distance between you as panic overtakes your body. How long has he been awake? Does he know you’ve been staring?

“What’s wrong?” He tilts his head in confusion, pout resting on his lips as his arms reach out to draw you back in a little, though not too much. Mingi can see the panic written on your face and he doesn’t want to scare you off, but at the same time he wants to wrap you in cotton wool and keep you safe forever.

“I... need to go.” It takes you a minute to respond, suddenly jumping out of Mingi’s reach and rushing out of the room.

“(Y/N)! Wait up.” Mingi rushes after you, stopping when he finds you stood in the middle of the living room, face buried in your hands. “Why are you acting so strange.” He softly questions, his arm gently placed on your shoulder to try and provide some comfort.

“Me, strange! No no no, I’m not strange. What’s strange is this! Us, cuddling together and acting like we haven’t hated each other for years.” You blurt, your mind running wild in a frenzy as you can’t seem to calm down.

Mingi stays silent, watching you as he is deep in thought. He can’t help but find your reaction to falling asleep cuddled up together really cute. And truth be told he’s glad that it happened, being close to you has always been something he’s wanted. He’s seen it between you and the others, making him act out in jealousy. He’s always taken it out on you and that’s what’s pushed you away all this time. But watching you freak out now makes him think that maybe it could be because you have the same feelings for him that he has for you.

You fall silent when you realise Mingi is just staring, finally meeting his gaze as he looks at you. He looks deep in thought, a flicker of contemplation sweeping across his face when you notice his eyes glance at your lips before retracting back to your eyes, then back to your lips again.

You aren’t sure what to do, time seemingly slowing down as you watch Mingi move closer in slow motion. You feel a hand on your waist, the other caressing you’re cheek as it tilts your face up, his eyes staying firmly trained on your lips.

He stops when you are millimetres apart, your lips agape as you become breathless. It’s a dizzying sensation, being this close to Mingi. You’re frozen. You don’t want to resist in case he backs away, but you also don’t want to be the first to make a move in case that’s not what he’s intending.

His eyes glance up from your lips, meeting your gaze and staring deeply into your eyes in search of any reluctance. And when he finds none his head dips, lips connecting to yours tenderly.

You respond instantly, eyes fluttering shut as your hands move to grip onto his arms tightly. Your legs feel like jelly, whole body becoming distant as you indulge in this moment. It’s filled with affection and care, a tenderness that you never thought you would see from Mingi, yet here you are. Just you and him, alone in this moment.

You break away gently, heavy breaths mixing and foreheads resting together. Your eyes meet Mingi’s as he watches you nervously, a smile of relief overtaking his face when he hears you giggle.

“What was that for?” You whisper, acting coy as you feel a deep blush rise up your face.

“It felt right.” You feel Mingi’s thumb rub over your cheek as he watches you fondly.

“Alright love birds, can you be quiet now? Some of us are trying to sleep.” Your attention is diverted onto Yeosang as he stands in the door way along with Seonghwa. You can tell they aren’t really that mad for keeping them awake, but you do still feel a little guilty.

“Hey, let us have our moment! Do you know how long I’ve waited for this?” Mingi complains, mock annoyance in his tone as he tries and fails to hide his smile.

“Believe me when I say we do.” Seonghwa chuckles teasingly. You roll your eyes playfully before turning back to Mingi and reaching out to take his hand. Your fingers interlace with his, making his attention fall back to you.

“Come on, we should get back to bed.” You raise your brow, smirk playing on your lips as you pull Mingi back to bed. Mingi complies with a wide grin, shaking his head as he laughs at your teasing behaviour.

Although you had spent so long hating each other, you’re glad that things have finally changed. I guess there’s just something between you that is bigger than all of that. Something you can’t deny.

[nahimjustfeelingit-writes]

Imagine:

Erik walks in on his homeboys sister stepping out of the shower and she is embarrassed/ has a huge crush on him.

Warnings: Smut. Flash back.

Micheal and Yara.

Two siblings from Oakland who decided to get an apartment near Telegraph Ave so that Yara could study at Berkeley. Yara is currently studying Art History there and she will be graduating in May at the age of 21. Micheal, her older brother, is into graphic design and web development so he works for a small company creating websites for Architectural businesses. He also does free lance work on the side to earn extra cash so he can afford living in their expensive apartment. Micheal and Yara’s parents are divorced. Their father lives in San Francisco city and their mother lives where Micheal and Yara are with her new husband in Alameda County. Yara used to live with her mother but she didn’t get along with her step father. Micheal brought up the idea of sharing an apartment to Yara since his on-again, off-again girlfriend, Evette decided that she didn’t want to move in with him. 

Currently, Micheal and Evette are arguing about Micheal's whereabouts last Friday evening. Yara was trying to take a nap in her room before her late shift at 9:00 PM as a bar tender. Tossing and turning in her bed covered in fluffy white sheets, Yara groaned loudly before throwing her sheets back, temples pounding with a tension headache that Yara tries to sooth by massaging them but it doesn’t work. Only in a Metallica T-shirt, Yara grabs a pair of Champions sweatpants from her dresser, sliding her feet in her canary yellow UGG slippers, and walking out of her bedroom. Yara’s eardrums damn near bust when she stepped into the hallway of the apartment. Rubbing the cold from her eyes, Yara walked out into the living room area coming face to face with the source of the commotion.

“STOP LYING!” Evette, Short, petite, reminded Yara of Keyshia Cole because of her bright red hair and nose piercing, tossed a decorative pillow at Micheal from across the room. Micheal caught it with his quick reflexes before placing it back on the couch. He didn’t appear bothered at all by Evette’s screaming and hollering.

“Evette, I ain’t got nothing to lie about. I told you, I was with my boy, Erik. He’s back in town for a little while before he goes back to the Military,” Micheal spoke with a flat tone, eyes bored.

“I don’t believe you. I think you were with some girl. I think you’re out here sticking your dick in some other bitch. When I find out, I’m beating both of yall ass, for real,” Evette threatens Micheal with one of her long acrylic hot pink nails almost jabbing him in the eye. 

“This ain’t the first time you accused me of cheating,” Micheal ran his hands down his face, “It’s really getting on my nerves, Evette. The constant trying to go through my phone, picking fights with me, the insecurities. What do I have to lie about? I could have dropped you years ago but no, I care about you too much to do that. Now, I’m just tired of you acting like a damn child.”

“Ahem,” Yara clears her throat.

Micheal and Evette turn towards her.

“Do y’all mind taking this shit somewhere else? I have to work tonight and I can’t sleep with all this yelling.”

“Hi to you too, Yara,” Evette spoke sarcastically.

“Bitch, don’t give me attitude. Do you pay the bills in here?” Yara has her fists balled up like she was ready to hit Evette. Evette simply laughs, staring at Yara like she’s a joke before turning her attention back to Micheal.

“My bad, little sis, Evette was just leaving-“

“WHAT?” Evette’s voice grew loud again.

“You heard me. Bounce. If you don’t trust me I can’t deal with you, Evette.”

Evette folds her arms across her perky chest, “Do you actually mean it this time around or will you be calling me tomorrow night asking to come over? you are famous for that shit, Mike.”

Micheal groans, “I don’t know right now. All I know is I need you to leave so I can clear my head, you know what I’m saying?”

“Okay, clear your head, GOTCHA,” Evette turns around, practically stomping to the door, “Lying ass piece of shit.”

“Don’t slam the door either!”Micheal yells.

BAM!

“Yeah,” Micheal closes his eyes to calm himself.

“You’re better than me. I feel like following her and kicking that bitch down the steps. You need to drop her, Mike. Do you even see what’s going on?”

“Nah, baby sis, tell me what’s up? What am I NOT seeing?”

Yara tilted her head at Micheal with sad eyes. Micheal shrugged his shoulders as if he didn’t understand what Yara was trying to tell him without using words.

“You can be so damn thick-headed sometimes,” Yara threw her hands up matter-of-factually, “Evette is cheating on you, Mike. She’s just trying to give you a reason to end things so she can continue fucking whoever she is fucking without you knowing.”

“Wait...what?” Micheal says with disbelief.

“You’re Girl? The love of your life? She’s fucking someone else, Mike.”

Micheal blinked at Yara with bewildered eyes.

“Listen, fool, while you’re sitting there stuck on stupid, Evette is driving to a dick appointment trying to think of a plan B to get rid of yo’ ass. Just end it with her. The shit is toxic. I don’t even want a nigga to step into my personal space after witnessing the shit you and Evette go through.”

“If Evette is cheating on me...” Micheal didn’t finish his sentence but Yara knew her brother would bring hell to earth if he caught Evette fucking another man. As much as they bickered and broke up, Evette was her brothers first real love. He wouldn’t admit it, but Micheal would be heart broken.

“Then I’m going to whip her ass,” Yara said in her brothers defense, “Nobody fucks with my bro like that.”

“I’ll let you beat her ass too.”

Yara kisses her brothers forehead, “I’m going to go back in bed, I am so exhausted with school- hold up, did you say that you were with Erik?”

“Yeah,” Micheal said whole scrolling through his phone, “He’s back for a little while.”

“I haven’t seen Erik in, like, three years?”

“Yeah, it’s been a long ass time. I thought he forgot about us,” Micheal laughs, “He’ll be here later if you want to catch him before you go to work.”

“Mama was asking about him a few days ago,” Yara says recalling the conversation they both had when she went to visit her. Micheal and Yara’s mother always pulled the photo albums out whenever they came to see her. The photo album she brought out when Yara came over was Micheal’s prom photos. Micheal and Erik went to prom together their senior year.

“Look at Erik! Wasn’t he so skinny?!” Yara’s mama says.

“Yeah, mama, he was swimming in his suit.”

Yara’s eyes twinkled when she stared at Erik’s photo. Her first ever crush. The guy she kissed on a whim when she was 18 and he was 24. Yara felt so embarrassed. Erik simply gave her a kind smile, hugging her tightly. She felt like a silly child. Erik was a grown man. Ever since then, Yara hadn’t seen Erik.

“You Aight?” Micheal looked over at Yara with a smirk.

“I’m fine.”

Yara couldn’t stop thinking about her brothers friend who used to spend the night when they were kids. His friend who wore only a pair of basketball shorts when he slept. His friend who used to stand in Yara’s doorway to her bedroom teasing her.

“You’re not lying to me, are you?”

“No, I’m not,” Yara looked off to the side.

“When you look away like that it’s a sign that you’re lying. You ain’t gotta tell me, it’s probably some nasty shit that I really don’t want to know anyway.”

“Shut up, Mike,” Yara rolls her eyes, turning away to walk back to her room with her middle finger raised behind her, directed towards her brother.

——————

A few hours later:

Erik Stevens stepped off of the elevator within Micheal and Yara’s apartment building on Telegraph Ave. kinky fro freshly shaped up and a new fit and shoes on his feet, Erik checked his text message from Micheal that informed him of what apartment it is.

“9C,” Erik places his phone back inside of his jacket pocket, eyes searching from left to right before spotting the crisp white door with a bronze letter C on it and a tiny peep hole. Erik knocks, the gold Piaget watch on his right wrist making a loud tapping sound against the surface of the door. In under two seconds, Micheal opens the door, a broad smile on his handsome chocolate face when he noticed who it was.

“What’s up, cuz?” Micheal gave Erik dabs, “I ain’t expect you to be over this early, bruh, you good?”

“I’m good, I just needed to get away from CeCe. You know she offered for me to stay at her new place instead of a hotel.”

“You know you have to tell me about all of that, right?” Micheal jokes, holding his door open further for Erik to enter. Erik steps inside, his eyes admiring the urban styled apartment. It was Boho vintage with different shades of browns, greens, and reds. The living room was decorated and furnished with cream colored walls, Urban photographs of Oakland, cactus plants, a standout leather sofa set in a dessert brown color accompanied with khaki colored patch work leather ottomans and an elegantly modern coffee table featuring a round metal tabletop in a brushed, antique brass finish. 60 inch flat screen TV, an acacia wood credenza that Erik was sure is filled with old 70s and 80s records.

“Shit, let me take my shoes off, I don’t want to mess up this nice carpet,” Erik kicks his shoes off near the front door.

“You can put them in that shoe rack right there if you want. Yara got that from the thrift store about a week ago.”

Erik looks up at Micheal with expectant eyes, “Little Yara? She lives with you? what happened with Evette?”

“Long story, bro, Yara and I decided to get a place together close to Berkeley and I work for that new company I was telling you about last weekend so we can commute easier. Plus, you know moms live near us too.”

“Yeah, yeah. So, what is little Yara studying at Berkeley?”

Micheal smiles like a proud older brother, “Art History. She wants to become a Curator.”

“I’ve always seen her working in a museum. She loves history so much,” Erik reminisced with a slight smirk, “Is she here?”

“Straight back there-Wait.”

Erik was ready to rush back to see her.

“Let me see if she’s decent. She gotta work in about a few hours.”

“No problem, bruh, I’ll chill out here.”

Erik watches Micheal walk to the back of the apartment where the rooms are. Taking a seat on the leather couch, Erik strokes his beard, thinking about Yara. He hadn’t seen her in three years. He wondered how different she looked. By different he meant mature and filled out like a women. Back when she was just 18 years of age, Yara was so petite and athletic since she played Lacrosse, braces on her teeth, and so sweet and innocent. From what Micheal told Erik last weekend when they went out to a Hookah bar for Boys night, Yara gained weight. Micheal joked about it, typical sibling teasing, but Erik wished he could have seen a picture. Now, his mind went back to when Yara kissed him the night of her graduation party before Erik left to start his JSOC training. He honestly didn’t know how to respond. Yara looked like her world came crashing down when he didn’t reciprocate the same feelings. She was much younger than him, Erik has her by six years. She was 18 and he was 24. Yeah, Yara was legal but it still felt weird. He always knew little Yara had a crush on him and he surely didn’t want Micheal to know about it.

“She’s still asleep,” Micheal walked back out with a generous bag filled with an eighth of top-shelf weed, “You want to smoke a blunt and tell me about this bitch named CeCe?”

———————

Yara. Don’t forget. The history project is due tomorrow night. Since you’re group lead, you have to submit it.

Yara rolls her eyes at the group chat she was in with her fellow History classmates. That assignment was the last thing on her damn mind. Yara closes her Mac, stretching her curvy body out like a cat before getting up from her comfy bed. Like a strong wind, the smell of kush hit her nose. Yara noticed that her bedroom door is cracked. Micheal must have come to check on her. Yara slips on a pair of Champion Reverse Weave drawstring shorts that were folded on the end of her bed in a pink color, bed hair and all, walking out of her room and towards the living room. When she entered the hallway, two male voices could be heard. It finally dawned on Yara who the other male present could be.

Erik.

Yara walks to the bathroom, deciding to wipe her face off and brush her teeth. She still needed to shower but that could wait until she ate something. Admiring her hair, Yara reaches up to pull her hair tie from her curly hair, fluffing it out and shaking her head so it wouldn’t look like she just rolled out of bed. Yara then brushes her teeth, using her water closer afterwards. Satisfied, Yara takes in a deep breath to try and calm the butterflies in her stomach before walking out of the bathroom and towards the living room area.

“So, you’re telling me that CeCe is trying to hook you up with someone? why are you there?”

“You know she likes playing match made in heaven. CeCe is cool, Mike, I know me and her used to fuck around before I left but it ain’t even like that now. Just a friend helping out a friend. No big thing.”

Micheal chuckles, “E, I know you, man. You had all that pussy around you to play with and you ain’t have a taste? Nigga-“

“Like I said, nah. I don’t want that anymore or her friend she’s trying to get me with. Her friend just wants to know how the dick CeCe used to get is really about. You can look at me like that all you want. Everything is temporary. I’m shopping for a house right now-“

“You can just sleep on our couch-“

“I’m too big for this fucking couch,” Erik laughs, “Once my house is built from the ground up, you’ll see that it was all worth it. And you know I can’t stay with our other friends they gon’ get me caught up and I don’t need to be in jail.”

Erik takes a puff of weed before handing it over to Mike.

Micheal accepts the weed, instantly smoking it before letting the smoke out from his nose, “You’re a changed man, E. Got a house in the works, left the hood to pursue your dreams of being this J.I Joe motherfucker,” Erik playfully jabs Micheal in his ribs, “Seeiously, man, I’m proud of you. Wait until Yara sees you, bruh.”

Erik licks his lips before raising a single brow, “What you mean by that?

“She ain’t gonna believe this the same Erik from three years ago. What you do? Get inside of the same machine as Captain America?”

“Funny, nigga.”

Yara didn’t reveal herself just yet. She just wanted to hear him talk. Erik’s voice definitely appeared deeper. Raspy, then husky, then deep and gruff. When he genuinely laughed it was still just as light as before. Yara peeked out into the living room. A tiny gasp escaped her mouth. Kinky fro, muscles, facial hair, and tiny scars on his arms is what she noticed first. Micheal was right, this was Erik 2.0. Then, whenever he talked; those lush lips moving, Yara saw gold canines in his mouth. He looked so rough and scruffy. The Military definitely made him harder.

“Yara, stop being nosy!” Micheal yells. Yara almost jumped where she stood. She was so in tune with her thoughts that she hadn’t realized how close she’d gotten into the living room.

“Shut up Mike!” Yara fired back. With nervous eyes, Yara looked over at Erik. He didn’t speak, all he did was look fixedly at her with his eyes wide open. It was as if time stood still and she was the only thing that mattered in that room. Even the weed in Erik’s hand could burn to ash.

“Hi, Erik,” Yara couldn’t stop herself from grinning when Erik smiled at her with his dimples.

“Little Yara, what’s going on girl!” Erik hands Micheal the blunt back before standing from the couch, walking over to Yara with his arms outstretched for her to give him a big hug. Yara walks up to Erik, giggling nervously before bringing her arms around his waist, squeezing him. Erik rocked Yara back and forth while his chin rested on top of her curly head. Erik then brings his lips down to kiss Yara’s forehead before pulling her away to get a good look at her.

Heart shaped face, dimple in her chin, glittering eyes fringed with long eyelashes that reminded him of maple syrup, silken skin like cinnamon, ebony ringlets that made her thick but arched brows pop, lips full and glossy with a prominent Cupid’s bow. Erik’s eyes burned with desire when he gazed at Yara’s voluptuous, curvy, ample, and generous body. She really filled out from the last time he saw her. Mike can joke all he wants but Yara looked...

Erik covered his eyes with his hands, a suppressed laugh escaping his mouth before he opened his arms wide for her to hug him again. Yara giggles, stepping back into his embrace again to accept his hug. He smelled like patchouli. Tall, brawny, chiseled, broad-shouldered, and hulking, Yara couldn’t get over how comfortable she felt within Erik’s embrace. The deep baritone of his voice made her shiver.

“Look at you girl, all grown up. Crazy how that happened in three years, right?”

“That’s what I’m saying,” Yara turned her face away timidly, “So, how is the Military treating you? I mean...” Yara looks Erik up and down with a shake of her head, “It seems like it’s treating you nice. Go hard or go home, right?

“Treating me like I’m a piece of shit but it’s worth it,” Erik laughs, “The Military transformed me.”

Yes it did

“You do look great, I almost didn’t recognize you sitting on that couch. The hair, the muscles, the scars...”

Yara looked at them, her hand extending out suddenly to touch a row of scars that looked freshly raised against his skin.

“Don’t.”

Yara jolted upright, her hand jerking away. His voice and the look he gave her had her shrank in front of him.

“Shit, my bad, girl. You don’t want to touch these. Bad memories. That’s all, little Yara, I’m sorry.”

“It’s...it’s okay,” Yara steps away, shifting from one foot to the other, “Good to see you though, Erik.”

“You too, girl,” Erik scratched his beard before reluctantly turning away from Yara to take his seat next to Micheal on the couch. Yara watched him walk away while tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. The way they greeted eachother felt so different. Erik wasn’t only physically changed, He’s mentally changed too.

“Shouldn’t you be getting ready for work?” Micheal stretched his slender tattoo covered arms above his head.

“Yeah, but I’m hungry so,” Yara rubbed her hands on her thighs to get rid of the sweat before walking away and into the kitchen. Yara finally exhaled when she entered the kitchen after holding her breath while walking past Erik. The kitchen was open and you could peek into the living room. Erik was sitting directly across from Micheal staring straight ahead at Yara while smoking his blunt. He tilted his head at her while half listening to Micheal talk about Evette. Yara turned her face away, grabbing a loaf of wheat bread from the counter to make herself a PB&J sandwich.

“Little sis, what you cooking up in there?”

“Nothing for you,” Yara spread strawberry jam on her bread, “Why don’t you order in?”

“I was thinking about it, E, I’ma make a liquor run real quick, you want anything?”

“I got some good stuff in the car I can grab, you aint gon’ drink it so don’t even ask.”

“Yeah, I like my own shit,” Micheal stood from the couch, walking towards the back of the apartment to his room. It was silent minus the low TV and Yara washing the butter knife she used to make her sandwich. Erik leaned back into the leather couch, crossing his arms over his solid chest. He watched Yara walk over to the trash can to toss a paper towel in the trash that she most likely used to clean up crumbs or spilled jam. Erik has a great view of Yara’s thick ass bending over, her drawstring shorts raising up her thighs and getting caught between her ass cheeks. Such a beautiful sight has Erik’s brows knitted as he gave her a once-over. At that particular moment, Yara looked back at him as if she could feel his eyes boring into her.

“Hi.” She spoke in a trembling tone.

“Hi, back,” Erik says suggestively.

“Did Mike leave yet?”

“Nah-“

“Aight, I’ll be back, y’all good? Need anything?” Micheal was back with a hoodie on, a dad cap, and a pair of vans on his feet.

“Can you stop by that corner market that sells those organic fruits? I want some mangos.” Yara yelled from the kitchen.

Micheal grabbed the door knob, pausing, “I’m making a liquor run too.”

“Oh! I want some Hypnotiq.”

“Cool, you, E?”

“We can order in when you get back, I’m good.”

“Bet, I’ll be back.”

Micheal exits.

“Mike still just as skinny as he was since the last time I saw him” Erik laughs.

“Yeah, he can eat but it goes nowhere. Me, I gained all the weight in the world.”

Erik gave Yara a dismissive wave of his hand, “Girl, you look good. Ain’t nothing wrong with the weight you put on.”

Yara giggles, popping a green grape in her mouth, “Thank you.”

“No problem,” Erik craned his neck to try and see her, “Why don’t you come in here and eat. Over there hiding and shit from a nigga.”

“Okay,” Yara got up from the dining room table, walking through the kitchen and entering the living room. She decided to sit her plump bottom on the floor while using one of the leather ottomans as a surface for her grapes and half eaten sandwich.

“So, how have you been?” Erik asked while rolling a new blunt.

“I’ve been doing just fine. Ready to graduate honestly.” Yara nervously rubbed her shoulder before gazing at Erik, “You?”

“Busy, busy, busy,” Erik’s onyx eyes landed on hers before looking back at his blunt, “Just traveling, training, that’s about it.”

“Oh,” Yara massaged the back of her neck, “Does those scars have anything to do with it?”

“Partly, yeah.”

“I see,” Yara admires them, “They look...they don’t look like typical scars.”

“That’s because they’re not.” Erik spoke in a flat tone.

“Let me just, stop asking,” Yara laughs awkwardly.

Erik chuckles, “It’s not a subject I rather talk about with you, Little Yara.”

“I understand. I won’t pry.”

“Cool,” Erik takes a hit of his blunt, cheeks blowing out as they filled with smoke, “Seeing anybody?”

“Nope. I haven’t for the past three months. Been trying to stay focused. Men are a distraction.”

“Y’all women are too,” Erik laughs, smoke escaping his nose.

Yara cocked her head, “So, my guess is you aren’t seeing anyone either.”

Erik licks his lips, “I don’t have time for that.”

“Does that include sex too?”

Erik clapped his hands together while chuckling, “Ahhhh, shit, Yara, did you just ask me about my sex life? Are you having sexxxxxxx?!

“I did. And I’m grown, ERIK, so yes, I’m having sex,” Yara gave a half shrug while rolling her eyes.

“21, right? I remember when I was 21. Legally can drink now and everything. Too bad you still can’t hang with us,” Erik chuckles.

Yara gave Erik the finger, “fuck you, don’t play with me like that.”

“I’m just saying, I remember you graduating high school the last time I saw you. Now you’re in your 20s, barely.”

Yara lowered her head, “Will you always remember me like that? Like DAMN, I did grow up, nigga.”

Erik noticed the attitude in her voice, “You’re mad at me?”

“Just annoyed,” Yara stood up, grabbing her food, “I’m gonna eat in my room so I can look over this project I have to submit tomorrow. I’ll see you later, Erik.”

Confused, Erik watched Yara practically storm away. He didn’t understand why his words offended her so much. It’s just what Erik is used to. He’s used to seeing Yara so young not a 21 year old adult. It was all still so new to him. Deciding not to chase after her, Erik gets up from the couch to retrieve his shoes so he could grab his drink from his car.

———————

Yara couldn’t even focus.

She was really bothered by Erik’s comments.

It was mainly because every time he cracked jokes she thought about her kissing him. He probably cracked jokes about that too. Clearly, Erik couldn’t look past the fact that Yara is Mike’s little sis. She really thought he was past that when he first laid eyes on her. She could tell what a look of lust was in a man’s eyes since Yara often receives that look. Erik’s eyes were gleaming with desire and attraction. He almost looked shocked that it was Yara. Then, the way he looked her up and down. His eyes damn near gaped when she noticed him staring while she was in the kitchen. Pupils flared and all. Now, it was as if he was trying to hide the attraction he has towards her after three years. Yara was disappointed honestly. She always thought the next time she ever saw Erik they would honestly re-do that kiss and possibly have sex. If Yara had the choice to go back and lose her virginity it would have been with Erik.

Glancing at her phone, Yara noticed it was around 7:45 PM. Luckily, the bar she worked at wasn’t too far from her. Yara didn’t drive so she usually walked or caught an Uber. Lifting from her soft and fluffy floor cushion, Yara grabs her white cotton towel and soap sponge to take a shower. Leaving her room, she could hear Erik watching a basketball game. Yara closes her bedroom door, walking across to the bathroom, closing the door behind her softly. She began to undress, stripping her clothes from her body into a wrinkled pile on the floor near the sink. Opening the medicine cabinet, Yara grabs her Dove sensitive skin body wash and exfoliating spin brush. She couldn’t stop herself from thinking about Erik being in the living room right now while she was naked in the bathroom. There was no way Yara could ignore the growing dampness between her legs. She hadn’t been wet to the thought of Erik in a very long time.

Luke warm water running, Yara pulled the tribal patterned shower curtain back, stepping inside carefully not to slip on the the shower mat, then closing the curtain behind her. Yara forgot to pin her hair up but she needed to wash her hair anyway so she allowed it to grow wet while she wet her body completely. Grabbing her exfoliating brush and the body wash, Yara applied the body wash to her curvy body, turning on her brush and in a circular motion, began to cleanse her skin from the neck down. She had a separate skin care routine and a spin brush for that as well. Yara lifts her leg on the side of the tub to wash behind her thighs, the warm water running down her ass and to her pussy. Yara felt extra tingly between her legs. She didn’t have time to rub off in the shower and she forgot her favorite vibrator in her bed room. Groaning, Yara tried to ignore it as best as she could while scrubbing the top of her feet.

————————

Erik sat cross-faded with his eyes sitting low. The basketball game was just background noise for him. Bored out of his mind, Erik really wanted to go and talk to Yara. He didn’t want to approach her on some awkward shit but at the same time he missed talking to her. Erik remembers how he used to talk and goof off with Yara from her doorway when they were younger. Micheal is very long-winded and sitting on the couch will eventually lead to Erik falling asleep. Erik leans forward on his elbow to peek down the hall where Yara’s bedroom is located. The hall was brightly lit from the light and he couldn’t tell which room was hers exactly. All the damn doors looked the same.

“Fuck it,” Erik places his phone on the coffee table, rising from the couch and making his way down the hall. Hands in his pockets, Erik approaches the first door. He knocks, no sound, twisting the knob and opening the door. It was Mikes room. Erik closes the door, walking further down the hall and approaching a door to his right. The light was on, he could tell from the glow beneath the door. Erik knocks, no sound. He grabs the brass knob, twisting it, then opening. Standing there, Erik’s chest rose and fell with rapid breaths. His mouth hung open and his eyes went round as if they were about to fall out of their sockets. He gawked at the sight of Yara before him. A sight he never imagined in a million years he would see up until now.

Yara was arched over the bathtub with her ass pointed straight out at Erik. Erik could smell cleaning products; Fabuloso from what it smelled like. The water in the tub was on full blast as Yara cleaned the porcelain. Her body was still wet and she had a T-shirt wrapped around her hair. Yara’s ass jiggled each time she scrubbed the tub out. She wasn’t aware of his presence. Erik was so stunned by her naked body and the fact that he walked in on her that he couldn’t even speak.

Too late.

Yara lifts her body up, turning to place the scrub brush on the floor near the tub, her eyes catching Erik standing within the entrance to the bathroom. Yara felt as if her heart was leaving her body. Shell-shocked almost. Now, her breasts were revealed to him. Large, big brown areolas and nipples soaking wet and dripping, curvy waistline glistening with water down to her waxed mound and thighs. Pretty toes painted white with a tattoo of a rose on her left foot. Yara looked appetizing. Yara bit her lip bashfully, eyes glossy as if she wanted to cry from embarrassment, her hands reaching out to the toilet to grab her folded towel. Yara presses her lips together to try and stop her lower lip from trembling and eyes her looked heavenward.

Yara spoke with a shaky voice, “I-Why didn’t you knock? Erik?”

Erik didn’t respond. His eyes were ablaze staring straight at her face. He felt turned on but at the same time he felt guilty. Luckily, Yara couldn’t see how fat and long his dick had gotten within his jeans. She couldn’t hear him, maybe he should have knocked harder. Yara’s hands were shaking and she couldn’t meet his eyes. She was overly embarrassed and not at all prepared. Yara crosses her thighs, pressing the towel further into her chest.

“...I knocked. I should have knocked again. Shit, Yara, I’m sorry-“

“Just-it’s cool,” Yara sized Erik up before rolling her eyes, “Can’t go back now, yeah?”

“I’m so fucking sorry, Yara,” Erik felt like shit, “I’m so so so sorry, Yara.”

“Erik, stop with the apologizing,” Yara drew in a long breath.

“I’m just gonna go,” Erik turns away, walking out of the bathroom. Yara stayed rooted to the spot, her hand pressing further into her chest to calm her rapid heart beat. As always whenever Yara felt embarrassed, she sighed before laughing quietly to herself. Pinching the bridge of her nose, Yara shook her head at what just happened. She was afraid to even look Erik in his eyes now. He saw her in full on nudity. Not in her panties and bra, not in a swimsuit, not wrapped with a fluffy towel, no, fully naked.

Twirling a strand of hair that fell from under the T-shirt, and chewing on her cuticles, Yara gathered herself before leaving the bathroom. She places the cleaning products back in its designated basket under the sink before grabbing her sponge. Yara walked out of the bathroom, entering the hallway and her eyes disobeying her as she nervously glanced into the living room. There seated on the couch with his eyes focused on her, was Erik. Like a magnet, Yara couldn’t pull her eyes away. It was as if he waited to see her leave.

Yara raised a hand in greeting.

He waved.

Yara hung her head, a small smile on her face.

Erik did the same thing before looking at her again.

“I hope this doesn’t make it weird between me and you,” Yara says.

“Never,” Erik spoke with his deep voice, “it could never be weird with you.”

Yara licks her lips, eyes set with long lashes blinking slowly at Erik.

“What are you thinking?” Erik asks while leaning forward on his elbows.

“I’m...I...just-forget it-“

“Nah, tell me.” Erik pushes his eyes searching.

“Mike will be back soon, I have to get dressed.”

“He ain’t back yet,” Erik tilts his head at her, “Don’t be so shy. It’s me, Erik.”

“But it’s what I’m thinking that I shouldn’t be,” Yara crosses her ankles in front of her while staring at her toes.

“Well, I wanna know.”

Yara fidgeted with her fingers before looking up at Erik through her lashes, “I was thinking that I’m glad you saw me like that. I’ve always wanted you to see me like that. Sorry I stormed away like I did earlier.”

Erik swallows spit, his Adam’s apple bobbing. Erik has to look away himself, scratching his nose. He wasn’t prepared for that response at all. Little Yara always wanted him to see her naked. He knew she had a school girl crush on him. No wonder why she didn’t rush to cover herself even though she still looked embarrassed.

“No worries, ma. Uh,” Erik scratches his dreads, “So...you’ve always wanted me to see you naked?”

Yara toyed with a lock of hair, “Yeah...” she spoke with her voice barely above a whisper.

“You shouldn’t talk like that, little Yara, you’ll get yourself in trouble.”

They way he said that sounded so dangerous like fucking with him was the last thing any women would want to do. But Erik didn’t understand, that was ALL Yara wanted to do. He was back, if she didn’t make a move now he would be gone again.

“It’s been a while since you’ve seen me, Erik, I dabbled in trouble,” Yara spoke with a honeyed tone.

“Maybe you should get in that bedroom before Mike gets here then,” Erik says with a sly smirk.

“Yeah, maybe,” Yara giggles before letting out a sigh,

“Bye, Erik.”

“Bye, Yara.”

She didn’t want to move. She really wanted Erik to get up and follow her into her bedroom.

“What you waiting on?” Erik says inclining his head towards the bedroom, “Get in there, little Yara.”

“Come with me?” Yara says before she could even stop herself.

Erik’s eyes dropped and his lips parted. Eyes fully closed now, he clenched his jaw to try and calm his dick. Too bad it was already growing stiff in his jeans. The way she told him to come with her. Such a tempting little thing. Nothing he expected Yara to ever say to him. She’s right, she definitely is a grown women now. Erik wondered what that body could really do.

“I’m-im Sorry,” Yara’s brows creased, eyes cast down at her hands, “I’m being a little too bold right now.”

Erik looked towards the door, then back at Yara. He took in the sight of her barely able to keep that towel around her body.

“You mean what you said? You’re not playing games?” Erik asks with a serious tone, “Cuz if I get up off this couch and come with you, you’re getting all of me, girl.”

“I know,” Yara bites her bottom lip, “I know what I want.”

The way her lips pouted and her eyes looked up at him all innocent caused Erik to stand up slowly from the couch. Erik drew his lower lip between his teeth hands in his jeans pockets before stepping forward. Yara’s lower lip trembled and her breath came out in short gasps. Standing directly next to her now, towering over her with his large intimidating frame, was Erik looking down at Yara with awe transforming his face. Not wanting to waste anymore time, Yara began to walk forward towards her bedroom. Yara twisted the handle, turning to face Erik before opening the door. Erik followed her into darkness, Yara turning to face him with timid eyes. Erik raised a single brow at her, silently asking her if she was sure about this. Yara swallows spit before nodding her head slowly. Erik licks his lips before closing that door behind him, the light that illuminated the hallway disappearing.

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[ethelphantom]

Where I Went Wrong

Nope, seriously, no angst in here even if that’s the title, I swear. Really. Just Marinette and Jason being siblings. (They’re biological siblings in this one.)

Ao3

This is Maribat, platonic Jasonette -- don’t like; don’t read

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So, in hindsight, that had probably been one of Jason’s worst ideas in a while.

It’s not like he realised Pixie was going to make him pay for what he did. That means it couldn’t be his fault, right?

(Yes, yes it was.)

Never let it be said that Marinette Todd-Wayne was forgiving.

It all started when Jason decided to put food colouring in Mari’s toothbrush, so when she brushed her teeth the next morning, she freaked out when everything turned red. Tim had asked him if he was sure that had been a good idea when afterwards he couldn’t find his credit card and later found out someone had used it to go to the coffee shop, Aroma Mocha, nearby. Tim had also actually been the one to question whether it had been a good idea when he was doing it, and that’s why he now cursed the Replacement for not stopping him back then.

A bit later he’d heard Pixie, Cass and Steph talking about the amazing new products in Aroma Mocha. When Mari had shot him a smug smile and Duke had come into his room with the credit card between his fingers (he said he’d found it in the cereal box in the kitchen. When Dick asked how he knew it because the only cereal box there right now was his, Duke bolted), it was clear who exactly had taken it.

That resulted in Jason stealing her laptop the next time she went out with any of her friends or the family and Jason wasn’t expected to be there. He sneaked in her room, snatched her laptop from the desk and sprinted back to his own room. There he plopped down on his bed and opened the laptop, trying to figure out how exactly he should break into it. After all, he needed to make sure she wouldn’t be able to see something was wrong right away.

And so began his quest for vengeance. Once he managed to get past Mari’s security (to her credit, it took him quite the while, even with Replacement’s guide on how to do it the fastest with any of the family’s computers if it for any reason was absolutely necessary), he took up on searching through her files and documents. He finally decided on settling with messing with her commission files.

No, he wasn’t going to delete or change anything in said files, no. That would be unnecessary cruel and unfair to both her and her customers. Instead, Jason created a ton of new folders. He’s pretty sure he created at least a hundred new folders inside her commission folder, leaving 18 of them as his little message for his darling baby sister.

The actual files he knows she wants and needs are also renamed, but they’re called “yeah you found them baby bug” and “this here is your commission stuff” and “Try me I’ll do it again if someone finds my credit card in the cereal box.”

Mari could definitely be a little shit, but Jason was a huge asshole, and that made all the difference in the world right now.

(Later Jason realised (and learnt) that anyone that was a born Todd was an asshole by nature and Marinette definitely beat her big brother at that, but that was only later.)

In hindsight, he should have left Marinette’s folders and laptop alone.

As it is, he doesn’t have said hindsight before he faces the consequences so he’s doing it anyway. So, obviously, that means when Jason shuts down the computer, he’s still happy and gleeful and feels victorious.

That…

Well, that doesn’t last too long.

The first three days go well. Pixie doesn’t mention the incident so Jason supposes she simply hasn’t noticed. After a week, he starts getting suspicious, because how could it be she didn’t notice at all? And there’s no way she wouldn’t have said something about it if she had seen it. He gets paranoid for a few days, worried his little sister might attack him at any times, even during the time she was supposed to be at school.

Two weeks later, Jason’s mostly forgotten about the whole thing, which was probably a really, really bad idea. Not actively remembering meant no active defense mechanism on when around Marinette, especially not when around Marinette and the rest of the family and inside the Manor. It meant letting his guard down around his dearest little sometimes rather demonic and sinister sister with a golden heart, the smile and presence of an angel and a broken halo hidden behind her back.

Now that was a mistake he should have never made.

So, indeed, a fortnight later, he does not notice the door of his bedroom creaking when someone opens it at six in the goddamn morning after a long, exhausting night at patrol. He also doesn’t notice when a small frame sprints towards him, jumps up, only shooting up and ready to fight when 50 kilograms fall on him. At once.  

“Rise and shine, motherfucker!” the bundle of sunshine (and somehow the tone of her voice is smug and the expression she’s wearing on her face is so gleeful and cruel and sinister, but also rather tired — how early did she wake up for this and did she even go to sleep in the first place) on his lap yells into his her.

So yes. In hindsight, pranking Marinette had proven out to be the worst idea he had ever had and he should have known that, should’ve been expecting it and preparing for it but he didn’t, and now he regretted it. All of it.

Then, once Jason was properly awake and alert, Marinette yawned and fell on top of him, curling up against his bigger frame and started snoring. She just— she just fell asleep right then and there. Must’ve been quite the night for her too.

The next morning (or, well, a few hours later) Dick and Tim find them cuddling and sleep-murmuring sweet insults to each other. He forces himself not to laugh, records what's happening and gets Tim to do the same. Once they're done with filming, they finally let themselves laugh out loud and slowly distance themselves from the room and the two just in case.

It might have been a good idea, because one irritated, tired Jason was woken up for the second time too early in the morning and not even by his precious, assholish little sister.

And that meant said irritated, tired Jason growled and started chasing the “motherfucking nosy Dickiebird” and the “goddamn stalking replacement!” down the long hallways.

It didn’t end there — as the day proceeded, he found his shampoo no longer opened (he managed to open it eventually. By breaking the fucking bottle), his guns were replaced by water guns, and his oreos turned out to be a russian roulette of “is this one of the cookies filled with tooth-paste flavoured, matcha flavoured, angel foodcake flavoured, fucking tutti-frutti flavoured, vinegar, marshmallow or bubbergum flavoured, or is this a proper oreo which no one has touched and the filling is normal?”

Seriously, the vinegar was the worst because it wasn’t even sweet and it was so overpowering that there was no way Jason could even try to ignore it.

When Steph asked him couldn’t he just have checked them first or thrown them away after first ten, he nearly snarled. Not because of Steph, but because he had tried; they all looked the same, smelled the same (how, he had no idea), and less than half were modified so throwing all of them away would have been waste of perfectly good oreos.

His sister had also apparently replaced every single one of his leather jackets with a size or two too small ones because they were too small and there was no way he’d just outgrown them.

She also knew he’d never back down from a dare, and at the end of the day, when just about everyone had gone to sleep (or patrol, or just far from the vengeful Marinette Todd, because being this kind of an asshole kind of required being a Todd), she said he wouldn’t be able to balance two glasses of water on the backs of his hands. Obviously, he insisted he could and only realised what she was doing too late. When she’d placed the glasses there and he’d had a victorious smirk on his face, Marinette had simply kissed his cheek, winked and left, wishing him good night.

And then he was stuck there, hoping someone would rescue him because it wasn’t like he could ruin the carpet under the table. He couldn’t do that to Alfred. At around 4 am he was woken up by glass shattering when he’d accidentally moved his hands too much in his sleep.

Fucking Pixie Pop.

So well. If nothing else, he’d at least learnt to not mess with his little sister because she was one hundred per cent prepared to fight a war he started.

(A week later, Marinette found an award with the text “The biggest asshole of the Todd family, the goddess of prank wars” on her desk. She framed it.)

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@kris-pines04​ @thethirdwheelfriend​ @daminett4life​