#it’s the next best thing since participant observation seems a bit out of the question for me

[ladyofspoons]

of course you have a blue kanohi and pronouns

[sierraraeck]

The Better Kisser

BAU x Bi!Fem!Reader

Emily x Bi!Fem!Reader

Masterlist

Summary: After finding out that you haven’t had very many kissing experiences, the team realizes you’re the perfect candidate to judge who the best kisser on the team is.

Category: Fluff

Warnings: As you may have guessed, lots of kissing.

Word Count: 3.8k

A/N: Just a little something that popped into my head that I just needed to write. This is technically an AU where the members of the team are Hotch, Rossi, Spencer, Penelope, Derek, Emily, JJ, Luke, and Tara. Everyone is single.

It was true. You hadn’t kissed very many people. You decided long ago that it wasn’t really in the cards for you, dating and kissing and relationships, that is, so yeah. You weren’t what one would call an ‘experienced kisser.’ Your friends had teased you for it, but you’d always shrugged it off. It wasn’t something to be ashamed of.

You’d never thought it’d be something to be grateful for either, until tonight.

It’d been a long, hard case, and everyone was dying to get out of the stupid office, and away from those stupid files, so that you could all finally relax, maybe even have some fun. You’d only been with the team for about three months, and it was like an entire whirlwind throwing you this way and that. You also hadn’t gotten to know the team too well either, considering how busy you all constantly were. Your first week on the job, they went out for drinks after a case, but you were so exhausted that you left after the first round.

There hadn’t been time, or energy, since then for the team to spend quality, relaxed time together. That’s why tonight was extra exciting.

“You’re telling me that throughout all of highschool, all of college, you haven’t kissed more than two people?” Derek asked incredulously. You couldn’t fully remember how you’d all gotten onto the subject, except that you had. You were sitting on Garcia’s squishy couch, littered with colorful pillows and all sorts of stuffed animals. Garcia had decided that instead of going out to a bar, you were all going to go over to her place, minus Hotch and Rossi who tapped out early.

You shrugged. “Nope. I had one boyfriend and one drunk kiss, both of which were bad experiences for me. I’ve kind of avoided all of that since then.” You explained, “Plus, when would I have time for that? Between my college studies and getting into the FBI, then BAU, I didn’t really have free time.”

“I mean, sure, I guess,” Derek continued, “but come one. There had to be guys falling at your feet!”

You laughed. “Not all of us have that kind of draw, Derek.” He nudged you, and you nudged him back with a wink.

He was right, though. You were stunning. Even when you just put your hair up and wore sweatpants, there was just something about you. You would probably look good in a trash bag. But men were not just falling at your feet. Even if they were, you wouldn’t notice, putting all of your energy into chasing your dreams instead. You thought that was a very reasonable, and responsible, thing of you to do.

Plus, you’d done the whole boyfriend thing, and weren’t really interested in trying it again. Well, not as interested as you were in trying the whole girlfriend thing. And your first day on the job, a certain badass brunette caught your eye, and was even the first one to make you really feel like part of the team. You were finding it harder and harder to resist her pull.

“Yeah Derek,” JJ chimed in, drawing your attention back to the conversation, “Not all of us can rack up eight phone numbers and five make out sessions in one night.”

“What can I say?” Derek beamed, pride shining in his eyes. “I’m a great kisser.” Emily snorted. When Derek glared at her, she pressed her lips together and looked down. “What?”

“Nothing,” Emily sang, shaking her head with an air of mischief.

“No seriously, what?”

“It’s just that if you read girls half as well as you claim to, you might wonder if that’s always the case.” Derek’s jaw hung open, and Emily smirked at him with unabashed confidence. You stared at her and her piercing eyes, and you couldn’t help but admire how sexy she was when she was confident, smug even.

“Wow, you’re gonna go there?” Derek asked, feigning hurt disbelief, “And how would you know that?”

Again, Emily shrugged and nonchalantly stated, “Because I know how women act when they kiss me. And trust me. They’re actually enjoying themselves.”

Some ‘ooh’s radiated throughout the room, and based on the look Penelope had plastered to her face, things were about to get good.

You watched in amusement as Derek sat up a little straighter, “Is that a challenge?”

“If you want it to be.” Emily’s brows shot up.

“Alright, you’re on,” Derek nodded, determination radiating off of him.

“Well, I don’t know how strong either of your games are,” Luke spoke up, glancing quickly over at Spencer who was just observing the whole encounter, “but I think I could take on both of you.”

“No you could not,” Tara sneered from beside him.

“And you could?” Luke challenged.

Setting her glass down, Tara replied, “Yes.”

You giggled at the thought of the four of them having a kiss-off, just imagining how utterly chaotic that would be due to all of their extraordinarily competitive natures.

“Oh my god, this is going to be so fun!” Penelope squealed. “Now we just have to figure out who’s going to judge!”

“We can’t really use one of us because some people might be biased or recognize the kisser,” Emily casually stated. It took a moment for you to realize what she’d just admitted to. Who on the team has kissed before? But before you could really start thinking about it, you noticed that everyone’s gaze had slowly turned to you.

“What is happening right now?” you questioned, looked between them.

The five of them exchanged excited, knowing looks before training their attention back on you. Then you got it. “Are you serious?”

“You’re the only one who hasn’t kissed one of us!” Derek explained, as if it were obvious.

“You mean…” you trailed off, but again couldn’t complete the thought before someone interrupted.

“Come on, it’ll be fun!” Penelope promised. “And you seem like you’d be a very neutral judge.”

“Not to mention,” Tara added, “You’re a pretty blank slate since you haven’t really kissed anyone.”

“Don’t worry though, we’ll show you a good time,” Derek assured with a wink.

Heads nodded. You were a bit worried that there would be some hurt feelings by the end of this, but they were all adults, and the appeal to kiss all of them, along with their eager faces, became enough to convince you to say yes.

“Yes!” Derek exclaimed. He looked pointedly at Emily, “It is so on.”

She just rolled her eyes. “Pen, do you have a blindfold?”

“A what?” you asked.

“Well we can’t have you getting biased on us. This has to be strictly about kissing.” Hearing her explain it with such reason hampered your growing nerves a bit. Like you’d said, you hadn’t kissed very many people and you were worried how much better they were going to be at it than you.

You reminded yourself that this was more about them than you, and tried to use that to calm yourself down. You were about to be kissed by some of the most attractive people you’d met. This was definitely not a bad place to be.

While Penelope rummaged through her belongings to get a makeshift blindfold, Luke convinced Spencer to join and JJ decided to participate.

Pretty soon, they had you seated in a chair, another one across from you, waiting for whoever was going to go first, while Emily explained some ground rules. “We are going to go in rounds. We will each kiss her and then after every round, Y/N will eliminate one of us based on the number in the round we kissed her so she doesn’t know who it is. No touching. You can’t use your hands in any way, this has to purely be about the kiss. And kiss however you normally would, no matter what that means for you.”

“No hands?” Spencer questioned. You were still surprised that he’d agreed to join, let alone ask a question like that. Luke gave him an odd look from behind while Emily confirmed the rule.

“Your hands might give away who you are, and again, this is just about the kiss.”

“Alright, alright, let’s just get started,” Derek complained, as Penelope tied the blindfold behind your head.

Now that you couldn’t see, you relied on your hearing to figure out what was happening. You heard some shuffling and disgruntled whispering, then you heard the chair across from you slide across the floor toward you. You waited anxiously as the person leaned in and pressed their lips to yours.

Their lips were plush and soft, but the kiss seemed a little too forced. It was a bit excited and you could feel their smile as they started pulling away. It was a pretty good kiss, definitely better than your previous two, despite the fact that it only lasted a few seconds. You couldn’t help but try and guess who it was, thinking it was either Penelope or Tara.

The next person who sat down completely blew the person before them out of the water. It was a much longer kiss and the person even swiped their tongue across your bottom lip for entry. You weren’t really thinking as you gave them access, the heat in your body starting to rise. You just hoped that your face wasn’t giving any of that heat away, so you were almost grateful that the person pulled away.

There was a bout of silence, which made you feel a little awkward, but soon enough, you heard the cushion squish down across from you. Their knee knocked yours, as you assumed they crossed their legs. Being a profiler, you were very used to picking up on body language with your eyes, making it kind of fun to try and pick up those same behavioral cues with all of your other senses. This person, you could tell, was very hesitant. You couldn’t say you were surprised when the person really only pecked you on the lips.

Number four in the line up started out pretty good, but you felt them start shaking or something halfway through. You quickly realized that they were laughing and you pulled back. You couldn’t help but smile when you asked, “Why are you laughing?”

Up until then, they had laughed pretty silently, but once you called them out, they just full out chuckled. “I’m sorry!” Tara unapologetically said through more laughs. “I couldn’t help it. I blame Luke.”

You laughed with her as you playfully shook your head. “You were doing so well up until then!”

“I know!” she agreed.

“I guess this means you’re out?” you half questioned.

Tara gave an over dramatic sigh, but you could hear the smile in her voice as she stated, “I guess so.” As she walked away, Luke gave a small ‘ow,’ and you assumed she’d hit him. You wondered what about this was Luke’s fault? Had he said something to her?

Either way, someone took her spot across from you. They wasted no time leaning in and putting their lips on yours. The kiss started out slow and gentle, like they were easing you into it. But gradually, as you both became more used to the other, it picked up pace, your mouths starting to move in sync. It felt like all of their energy was focused on you and exploring your mouth with their tongue. It was by far the most passionate kiss you’d experienced, and you tried to hide the pout from your face as they pulled back, chasing their lips for only a second before remembering there was an audience, and a competition.

Person number six was … good. You couldn’t really describe it. They used, what now seemed to you to be, a medium amount of tongue, for a medium amount of time. It was a good kiss, you weren’t saying it wasn’t, it just didn’t have any quirk or something unique that stood out. It was just … good. You knew Tara was out, so you tried to guess who that person could be. You thought maybe JJ, or possibly Luke, but you couldn’t be sure.

The final person who kissed you was intense. They had plump, captivating lips, but the way they kissed verged on overwhelming. They were also a little sloppy in their movements, and it was like you could tell they weren’t fully invested. Distracted, maybe? Again, not bad, but nothing like some of the other kissers.

The air was hot and heavy as Emily spoke up. “Okay, we’ve all gone. You know Tara is out, she was number four, so who else from this round would you eliminate?”

You pretended to think about it, even though it actually wasn’t that hard to pick. “I think it was person number three.” The person who just sort of pecked me, you thought, but didn’t say.

The players were now down to five, and they went in the same order as they had before, minus person number three, who you guessed was Spencer, and Tara.

This round made you even more confused about who was who than the round before. The excited one you guessed was either Luke or Penelope, the intimate one you thought was Derek, the passionate one you thought was either Luke or Emily, the average one you thought was JJ, and the sloppy, intense one you had no idea about.

By the end of that round, you eliminated person number one, the overly excited, verging on too hard kisser.

The next round was a no brainer. The intimate kisser, Derek you thought, upped his game. He kissed you for longer, used a bit more tongue, but was still somehow gentle. If you thought he’d upped his game, you weren’t prepared for person number two. They also upped their game, keeping your mouths molded together for longer than before, something you were more than happy about. You couldn’t quite place exactly what it was about their kiss, maybe that it seemed so perfectly balanced, incorporated the perfect amount of everything, or something else, but they were absolutely magnetic. It sent electric waves through your body, making you feel a little tingly. You felt sort of bad for the average kisser, most likely JJ, because they had to follow that up. And finally the sloppy kisser, who you still couldn’t place. They didn’t up their game at all. If anything, they felt more distracted by the minute, and pulled away earlier than the rest.

“Person number four,” you stated when Tara asked who was getting eliminated.

It was now down to three; the intimate kisser, you predicted Derek, the passionate kisser, either Luke or Emily, and the average kisser, probably JJ.

There was some shuffling, a faint whispering, a small ‘ow,’ and then Tara spoke up again. “Now that there are only three left, as long as you are okay with it, they want to use their hands.”

You tried to downplay the excitement you were feeling with this new rule, but you were sure their trained ears could hear it in the way you said, “Yes, that’s good with me.”

The seat across from you suddenly became occupied, but before anything could happen, Tara quickly jumped in. “Wait. Y/N, you can’t use your hands.” When you pouted a little, she explained, “Well if you did, you’d definitely know who is who, so…”

You sighed, but agreed, waiting in anticipation for the person across from you to touch you.

It started soft, their long fingers brushing over your cheeks as they leaned in. Soon enough, though, the entirety of their hands were firmly cupping your face and pulling you ridiculously close, close enough to feel some of their body heat. It was intimate, and again made you feel like the most important person to whoever those lips and hands belonged to. You rubbed your thumb into your palm, wanting nothing more than to reach out and touch them, but you knew you couldn’t. Your sole focus was on them, them on you, and you had to say it was one of the best kisses of the night.

That person made you feel like the most important person in the world, but the next person kissed you like you were the only person in the world. They started out by tucking your hair behind your ear, then slowly sliding their fingers back into the loose strands. As they started to kiss you, they moved their other hand behind your head, cradling the back of your neck. The person before them had captured your focus, but this person erased any thoughts your mind was capable of forming. You couldn’t think about anything other than the way their tongue moved against yours, and the shiver they sent down your spine as one of their hands traveled the length of it, coming to rest just above your hip, strong, confident fingers pulling you closer. It was a moment you never wanted to end, and one that left you in a cold shock when it eventually did.

You almost didn’t even want the last person to kiss you because of how you knew it would never come close to what you’d just experienced, but a competition was a competition. The third person kissed you similarly to how they’d done before, good but nothing special, their hands resting comfortably on your hips.

When it was all over, you asked, “Can I take off the blindfold now? I know who the winner is.”

“Sure, but announce who first,” Tara suggested.

“Okay,” you agreed. “The third person got third, the first person got second, and the second person was the winner. Can I take the blindfold off now?” you asked again. You were eager to find out who was who. When you didn’t get an immediate response warning you not to, you stood up and quickly ripped it off to quite the amusing sight. Spencer looked as bright as a cherry, Penelope looked shocked but proud, Tara was smirking, Luke’s eyes were the size of beach balls, JJ looked indifferent, Emily was smirking, and Derek looked like he’d just been shot. “So are you going to tell me who was who?”

Without answering, Emily took two large strides toward you and placed her lips back on yours. One of her hands slid back into your hair while the other rested above your waist, and you smiled into the kiss. Of course it was you, you thought. When she pulled away, you were both smiling like idiots, and she gave you a single eyebrow raise as you both turned to look at Derek.

“I got third?” he asked, still in a state of bewilderment.

“What?” you asked, just as shocked as he was. “I thought you got second.”

Emily snorted. “You thought Spencer was Derek?”

What?! You spun to face Spencer, the person you were sure got out the first round, and he was still blushing like he’d been out in the sun for far too long. “You took second?” He nodded nervously. You beamed at him, causing him to return a shy smile, then look down at his fiddling hands. “You’re a really good kisser,” you complimented.

Derek repeated, “I took third? Emily, I guess I kinda get,” she rolled her eyes at that, “but Pretty Boy?”

You shrugged, and Luke jumped in, though not nearly as harsh as Derek had been. “Yeah, I took fourth, but Spencer got second?”

You offered him a cheeky smile, remembering how distracted he felt while kissing you, and the not-so-subtle glances he constantly made at Spencer all the time. You took the opportunity to encourage whatever was going on there. “He did. Like I said, he’s a good kisser. Very intimate, like I was the only one on his mind. You should try kissing him sometime. Might help you feel less distracted.” You winked and Spencer looked like he wanted to evaporate. Luke, on the other hand, was just staring at Spencer, and you could see the gears spinning in his head. He finally mumbled a ‘what the hell’ before pulling Spencer to him by the back of his neck. Spencer seemed immediately surprised, but recovered quite quickly, no hesitation to his movements after the initial shock. They kissed each other probably exactly how they’d just kissed you, Spencer’s hands cupping Luke’s face, Luke’s hands resting on the back of Spencer’s neck and lower back. Although, you’d have to say that Luke looked a bit more focused than he’d been with you. You laughed while some of the other members hooted. This was something that’d been a long time coming.

When they pulled away, Luke nodded. “Y/N, I definitely agree with you.”

Spencer smiled, and playfully nudged Luke as he said, “Y/N, I also agree with you.”

“Hey!” Luke exclaimed, but he was smiling the brightest he had in a while.

Derek was still a mess, not enjoying the moment as much as he usually would’ve, and asked, “What did I do wrong?”

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” you assured, “You’re a good kisser, but there’s just nothing too special about it. It’s kinda just…”

Emily and Derek looked at you expectantly before Emily got it. “Wait. Are you calling him average?”

She looked way too excited for the occasion, but she was right. He was just kinda average. You nonchalantly admitted, “I guess.”

Derek let his hands fall to his sides with a slap, his mouth still hanging open. Emily’s lips curled up into a sly smile as she placed a hand on Derek’s shoulder. “It’s okay. Not everyone can be as good as me.” He shrugged her hand off his shoulder, and she held out her hand. Derek reached into his back pocket producing his wallet, and grudgingly slapped a crumpled $20 into her open palm. You gawked at them, not realizing that they’d placed a bet on their skills.

Emily returned to your side, closer than she’d really ever stood to you before, and gave you a smile that seemed on the shyer side for her, biting her lip as she peered at you through her lashes. You mirrored her shy smile, pressing your lips together as heat quickly spread to your cheeks. You turned back to the rest of the conversation that demanded your attention, people wanting to know why you eliminated them. But you couldn’t help glancing over at Emily every now and then, and couldn’t hide your joy when you saw that she was gazing back.

Who knows? Maybe that night was going to be the start of two great relationships in the BAU.

@90spumkin

[yostresswritinggirl]

Abandoned By The Altar

Part 3.1; were you really meant to be? VIBE

A timeline oriented story focused on your once perfect childhood relationship as Diluc’s bride to be, soon becoming estranged after the death of his father and his neglect. You only wish now that he looks at you the same way he did when you heard you were supposed to be together forever when you were young.

Pairings -> Diluc x Reader

Word Count -> 3510

Themes -> Reconciliation, Cyno was here, estranged relationships everywhereee

Series -> Part of Sojourner and Bonafide (event masterlist) Part 2

Warnings -> Goddamn violence

In the winery empire of the city of wine and freedom, this world is ruled by two unmatched tycoons that never fall from the top pedestal, with the mastery over wine-making and business marketing. Truly when it comes to this matter, Diluc Ragnvindr and (Y/N) (L/N) are the scariest and most charming duo to befall such economical prowess.

So when parties and gatherings are held in the Winery, noblemen and businessmen all over Teyvat scramble for a chance of invitation to level themselves to at least a humble chat with the prestigious business duo.

Yet even if they were witness, they will never be privy to the true secrets those two hold within.

"Apologies, esteemed guests. Master Diluc must excuse himself for a while," your stare shifted to the side over the rim of the glass you were cradling. His ruby eyes meeting yours after sparing the wine glass a stare, a meek nod you then reciprocate as he goes past your side with the Fatui Harbinger, the Seneschal and all other company joins him at a private room.

"But there is no cause for concern. The party shall continue under the supervision of the Mistress," you set down your drink upon hearing your name, stepping up to offer a humble yet radiant smile. You hope things work out on his end, was your thought as you finally entertained the remaining guests who recognize your prowess.

Behind your back you flicked your wrist as the Albino silently slinks away from the limelight to prepare.

The intervention was not as long as it was in terms, and yet the moment was painstakingly slow for your side. Many noblemen seeked not only your prestige as the master practitioner of economics but also the perfect wife ready for the taking. Your fingers uneasily fumble with the infinity ring on your hand, something they barely paid mind to as they continued their attempts to woo you, something you can only sigh over.

Unfortunately your 'relationship' with Diluc was still something only a few people know. There was no need to make it public yes, but it also caused a lot of unpleasant interactions that you wished you could easily avoid by telling, something you couldn't do to ensure your safety. Diluc was still a huge mystery to you despite the assurance of your encounter in the garden of cecilias.

But you thought to yourself with a sigh, a promise ring is different from an engagement ring.

A hand suddenly slides around your shoulder as you were distracted, and your head whipped to the side where the presence was with your elbow read to break a rib- "I hope I'm not intervening an important discussion," Diluc’s eyes bore straight ahead to the Fontaine businessman you were half-heartedly conversing with and your arm immediately drops to your side, "But I must discuss an urgent matter with the lady as well."

The Fontainian grumbles as he pries his head away from the hand on your head, producing his best smile in forced understanding as Diluc sweeps you away to the back. This is for a serious matter but the consistent grip on your shoulder had your mind reeling. It was only when he revealed his equipped Delusion did you have the mind to finally focus and work on your own attire.

"Guards! Take down the assassin!"

The blunt end of your polearm smacks painfully against the back of the chest plate of the guards, knocking three out as you look over to the Darknight to see him dispose the two nearest him. You then watch in awe as he summons chains from thin air, gripping them as he expertly throws it at the escaping Master Krupp, and like a lasso he was captured by the slithering cage.

Diluc's power always intrigued you since the day you were first witness of it. Not a Vision but definitely not far from it. He's also in the dark of its true meaning but even you know that he had a little bit of information from his four years of isolation, something he didn't want to tell you.

As your raise your head from staring at his Delusion, hearing their grunts of interviews, a glint to your right suddenly alerted you of another presence. "Wait-!"

"Master's planning to-"

You muffled your horrified gasp at the sight of the blood shooting out of Krupp's side, your polearm shakes in your hand before tightening your grip once again as you two turn to the assassin. Il Dotorre stands there in great poise two giant needles hovering by his sides.

He just killed his own companion, such thoughts made your face twist under the black veil that covers your identity as much as it could. And those thoughts distracted you from the one-sided conversation in front of you, "Keep up the good work and hone your unimpressive powers.

But this visionless one," an arm slinks around your waist in a blink, a masked face inches away from yours that forced you to hold your breath, "is much more remarkable than you."

Before Diluc could even reprimand him, he disappears within seconds after bidding his farewell. And your knees would have buckled if not for your fiancé catching you in the nick of time, collapsing at the tense situation that had passed.

You could have died like Krupp.

But the feeling of Diluc's arms squeezing you protectively reminds you of your existence.

Not even a day old of cecilias were swept off the stone slab in place of newly harvested ones, both batches can be mistaken to be the same with how healthy they still seem to be. This was Diluc's observation as he watches you replace the flowers on his father's grave. Crepus Ragnvindr.

Perhaps it was his own neglect and adamant refusal that made him forget about this isolated cemetery. He expected the grave keeper or at least a member of the Winery to keep it well-kept, not you who seems to have come to this place on a daily basis.

The smile he enjoys and dreads is wiped from your face as you offer a silent prayer. Eyes closed and hands together. Next to you Diluc only stands with his arms crossed as his gaze continues to linger at the engraved words.

Lisa was at the mansion earlier to investigate about the recent Fatui incident, and as the interrogation ensued by the gazebo of the Cecilia gardens, Diluc realized that you lingered in the distance to eavesdrop. In the span since your arrival and before his, did anyone else explain the accident to you? What did you hear? Did anyone actually tell you anything?

And maybe these questions were the reason that he willingly accepted your invitation to visit his father's grave just like that.

Four years without your constant touch and smiles had broken Diluc into who he is now, an empty shell of a man who once had high hopes. A helpless puppet who struggles to grasp the man he was before. And as he moves closer enough for your shoulders to touch, it was an unconscious gesture that cries for your help in the turmoil that spirals in his head.

But when you look at him with a reassuring smile— Diluc's walls fortified by four years of hatred and isolation all came crashing down with the heavy wave of his tears. The pain of that day pours out of his lips as he felt small within your arms, eyes painfully avoiding your face.

The true story of his father's death, the disaster that lead to his resignation from Ordo Favonius, his quest to find answers in all the years he had abandoned his life in Mondstadt.

There were details that you were unaware was truncated from his confessions, the only ones that mattered were those he spilled.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," words the both of you repeated for the pain you two couldn't confide to with one another ever since that day.

No, things wouldn't be fixed in one day. Hearts destroyed for years cannot be melded back today, but it is that moment that solidifies the trust between you two:

That deep within the abyss of your souls lie the desperate desire to reach out to one another like they used to before.

The petals of the Cecilias on Crepus' gravestone tilts in respect, but within it blooms a new hope you were both not witness to.

Only the elderly and close acquaintances knew of your original existence in Mondstadt, and only a few ever recognizes your prior occupation and childhood before you left for Sumeru. Even if you had only been gone for two years, changes so drastic happened in your wake.

The most painful one always lingers in the back of your mind, never failing to bring a frown to your face.

"You loved Ludi Harpastum when we were children, so what's with the long face?" Your eyes that lingered on Amber and her new friend looks up to the ones next to you, eyes also distant as it comes upon yours.

You couldn't tell him or even ask about Crepus, not now at least. But the words he spoke washed away the melancholy off your face, smile brightened at the idea that he still remembers such precious memories. He looks away immediately. "I do, but I'm not a kid anymore, the festival caters to children's participation."

Diluc hums in agreement and the talk ceases like so. He's not into small talk but the short conversation still had you feeling light and euphoric.

Soon enough Amber had come over to introduce the two of you to her demure friend Collei, shy and hesitant but still trying her best to be polite. An imagined arrow pierces through your heart at the cute child in front of you, and you couldn't help but coo and oogle at her.

So adorable with beautiful green hair, unique and paired perfectly with her wide eyes. Every compliment makes her face redder. This only makes your fangirling worse, already hugging the flustered child who's having an internal mental breakdown.

"Oh, I wish I could have a child as pretty as youuu!"

Amber looked up upon the sudden shift of his posture, absolutely baffled at the sight of Master Diluc's face as colorful as his hair as his gloved hand desperately tries to hide it. The knight felt like she had witnessed something she shouldn't, immediately snapping her head back to you and Collei with her lips trying its hardest not to break into a smile.

You were on your knees to be eye-level with Collei as you held her hand, placing on it a bag of mora as you told her to use it to enjoy the most out of the festival. Her previous embarrassment still lingers as evidence on her still flushed cheeks, yet her eyes had in it a gaze of awe.

There was hesitance when Amber finally dragged Collei away to venture through the festival more, leaving you in exaggerated tears at the departure of 'a little angel' with a still silent Diluc next to you. The sun had already set, and yet you two stood in place for a little longer.

The thought of having children passing by your minds.

If there's a recipe for a good time in Angel's Share, Kaeya knows what it is.

A cold glass of Death After Noon, raucous laughter spurred on by joyous tunes, and just the right company. It was a while since he'd last felt such comfort with company, he thought as he holds back a smile and grimace as he sips the sour grape juice in his mouth, eyes twinkling as he watches your already flushed face intensify as you down your drink.

When Kaeya had heard from multiple yet scarce accounts from the servants of the Winery on how you act drunk, he felt it was his mission and privilege to find out how such moment happens. And so one night when you two had the time to sit down at Angel's Share, what should have been a night of a single drink and grape juice after switched around to nothing but liquor.

"You've been looking at us weird the whole day, do you want to fight?" The Cavalry Captain reached for your hand to settle down your glass, but when you literally threw your drink against the wall with a loud bang, he knew he was done for when at his peripherals he saw the horrified look of your Fiancé as he was immediately alerted with the breaking of glass.

"Oh shit, she's feral," Kaeya breathed incredulously with a small, small hint of awe as he watched you pull up your sleeves to throw hands.

"What the hell is going on here?"

"Luluuuu!" The swordsman did NOT miss the minute detail of Diluc's red stare recognizing the switched drinks on the table, exposing his involvement on the matter. If it were not for your intoxicated self barreling towards your fiancé, he would have been given a scalding glare.

A jumbled mess of a conversation transpired before the captain, made up of hushed grumbles and slurred whines sometimes filled with begging or with rage from the random person you'd set pure hatred upon seconds ago. Your hand clutched his sleeve as his other one was placed on your shoulder to ground you, somehow this proximity and interaction... made Kaeya remember the first time he met you.

"Alright, that should be enough for tonight," the third wheel clapped his gloved hands together as he stood from his table. "This commotion is on me, I'll take her home-"

"What gave you the idea that I'd let you?"

The same hostility that started four years ago made the man of frost- freeze where he stood, challenging the accusing glare with a playful squint. The mini stand-off already made the other patrons too curious as all attention was caught by the trio, while you had your face buried to Diluc's fluffy ponytail as his bargaining chip for calming/distracting you.

Diluc isn't familiar with taking care of a drunkard, only kicking them out. If he were to leave you at your current state, he'd be clueless as is on the mistakes that would pile up.

Kaeya raised this point as he reached over to take your arm, the redhead publicly wrapping his arms around you protectively in response. The blunette wasn't even wary of the increasing agitation his sworn brother wore but the scandalous gasps and gossips the customers around them now speak at the action.

Get a grip, Diluc, you wanted to keep this hidden, didn't you? By some miracle, he managed to communicate this telepathically through side glances and gritted teeth.

But if there was one thing the Ragnvindr had inherited from being with you for more than ten years:

It was your stubbornness.

...

When you roused from your slumber, you were in an unusual place yet one so familiar. The nostalgia hit you tenfold more than the headache your hangover dangerously inflicted, "How did I get here even?" It was four years since you've last seen this place, set foot in this room even.

The moonlight hitting through the room's balcony tells you it's around midnight.

The room didn't change a bit last you remember it, as if it was well-kept despite being abandoned. The lamp that was tilted a little bit, books of stories you've read long ago were arranged the same way you'd left it. Not a single dust catches on to your soles as your feet touched the wooden floor of your room in the Ragnvindr's home.

It was still creaky at some parts of which you expertly maneuvered around bare, shoes discarded in place for stealth as you exited to the corridor. No sounds or light emanates from the underside of Diluc's room across from yours, without checking you weaved through the hall to climb down the main stairs.

You find your man seated by the fireplace. You may not live here anymore but even you were well aware of his insomnia that stretches past sunrise.

"You're awake," he speaks when you reached the main floor.

"Look who's talking," you mumbled cheekily as you sat adjacent to him, noticing his quick glance at your bare feet.

Tight lipped as it may, you saw a little quirk to the edges of his lips that lifted up your spirits through the small chatter and mostly silent time after that. The crackles and embers of the furnace was good company too, and yet it was not enough to distract you from the obvious stare he was giving to your leg.

Anxiously you hid one your foot behind the other, folding your legs under the chair's shadow when his gaze didn't waver. Perhaps it wasn't that bright of an idea to leave your room barefoot, maybe it was too childish, for him especially if it was bothering this much.

You opened your mouth to excuse yourself, or maybe defend your actions,

"Can I touch you? Nothing- Nothing sexual, there's just something I need go check."

You didn't have to ask, was what you wanted to say. But you held back your tongue in favor of giving a meek nod, curious and faintly doubtful of whatever it is that he would do.

Yet when he kneeled down and gently took your leg upon his hold, you can't help but smile solemnly as his gloved touch reached your thigh where the scar from long ago lingers. Diluc's eyes stayed on that spot, soothing the long lost pain with rubbing circles.

Ticklish, as he leans down to graze a soft kiss to it. It almost made you cry with how gentle this Diluc is in front of you.

"I promise... I'll do better. With every heartbeat I have left, I will defend your every breathe."

You're crying now.

One faithful morning in a miraculous setting where Diluc was the only one available to tend to the reception, a young man presents himself by the entrance with a passive look. This unfamiliar man was someone he knew, something he realized when he finally looked down for a better view past the black hood.

"I am here in the guidance of an old address. Is this where (Y/N) (L/N)?"

"I'm (Y/N)'s fiancé, what do you want?"

"... That does not answer my question, but I am only here to see how life has been faring since two years past."

Diluc never felt discomfort in silence as heavy as this. Having to walk with Cyno the whole way to Mondstadt from the Winery was not part of his itinerary, nor did he wholy agree to the arrangement. Perhaps it was because he knew how you two were good friends back from his 'observations' in the Academia that he felt responsible.

Or it was his pride to not let the shorter guy know that you were in fact, not resident to his home despite being betrothed.

It would have been very weird.

"What the actual- Cyno?! Is that really you?!" Why you were near the gates that day was a mystery to them both, but at the sight of the familiar figure had you barreling towards the foreigner, tackling him into a hug with a laugh so carefree it almost pained him.

That was your signature move to when you always met him excitedly in your childhood. Diluc shakes away the thought as he stood at the side to watch and eavesdrop. You're around the same height as the Sumerian, although the hood and ears? makes it hard to distinguish who was taller between you two.

"What are you doing so far out from the Academia? Aww, did you miss me?" Playful as always to those you are close to.

Scarlet eyes found its way to him in a split second. "I came here under the request of Lisa, she needed scholarly help over an important matter," your pout had him smile a tiny bit, "but it is relieving to meet you once again."

In a honesty, it was a curious case as to why he was even there, lingering. He has work to do, the Tavern's first shift was his. But when he took a step away Diluc found it very difficult to leave you be, to leave you with this... person.

He has no business here.

He shouldn't idle.

He's not the type to idle.

You turn your head at the sound of footsteps as you realized Diluc approaching, who you honestly thought already departed during your reunion with Cyno. "Ah, senpai, I wanted to introduce to you my-" full and pale lips captured your words in a quick swift dip, a grip on your waist to steady you before he stood back too quick for you to react.

"I'll get going, stay safe."

Quick and concise like his kiss, Diluc left in hurried steps as you stood there, a mess. He'd never- he has never-

"How amusing," the words the Sumerian uttered barely registered into your short-circuiting brain.

I can't believe this. I'm actually cutting this to a fourth part what the fuck, I swear the next one is the last,holy-

@optimestick @moaa @dandelion-dreams @witchsungie @lehra @zelos-simp @legionqueensav @snackgod @rxsalinee @cala-ran @wind-wheel @lilydewi22 @yellowflowre @traveler-lumine @nonniechan @creation-magician @hanniejji @gojos-baby @just-some-stars @volleybloop @mortifiedmoon @dankchikorita @endeavors-big-dick @karlitaburrito @bunniesrorange

[taeyongdoyoung]

summary: you have a crush on college student renjun so you make use of your best lamest flirting attempts and surprisingly they work?!

pairing: renjun x gn!reader

genre: college!au, romance, pure fluff

warnings: very lame jokes, mentions of a cruel prank in the past (someone asking out renjun as a joke, pls never do that to people!), lots of awkwardness & sweetness, a bit of swearing, reader has an obsession with renjun’s pretty hands

word count: 4.7k

It had been a while since you had a crush so strong you even had a hard time focusing in class. Usually, you were a very good student, diligently taking notes and participating when the professor asked questions. But that was until you saw Renjun for the first time. 

It was like something possessed you and suddenly you couldn't think about anything else but his pretty, gentle face, his angelic voice and his lovely hands always drawing something in his notebook. It certainly didn't help much that you were seated right next to him during your shared lectures. It most certainly didn't help that you forgot all your vocabulary when you were in his immediate vicinity. Usually, your teachers and friends described you as well-spoken and eloquent, always knowing the right thing to say. 

But that was, of course, until Renjun. All words disappeared from your poor brain whenever he was around. And it's not like you didn't want to talk to him, get to know him better. But you physically couldn't bring yourself to form a coherent sentence. You kept telling yourself it was just a silly crush and it would pass in time. But the more time passed, the stronger you felt the need to do something about your feelings. Naturally, you couldn't speak, but there was still something you could do. Something you probably did best. Write.

So one day, after what felt like an eternity of yearning, you finally gathered the courage to act on your emotions. Taking a small sheet of paper out of your notebook, you wrote a little something. It was probably super lame but apparently, even your writing skills were affected by your crush on him. As soon as your "masterpiece" was done, you slid it towards Renjun before you could chicken out and change your mind about this whole thing. The note had the following text:

Roses are red, Violets are blue, Your drawings are almost As pretty as you. P.S. Key word: almost ;)

The second he spotted the little note which was folded in a hurry, he opened it curiously. Once he read its insides, you could hear him snort under his breath. Was it that bad? You couldn't help but worry. Then, he took his own pen and started writing something under it. That was a good sign, right? You were feeling hopeful. Once he was done, he slid the paper towards you. You opened it in a rush. His response was:

Hey! Are you bullying my art?!?

You looked at him in confusion. How could he have possibly misunderstood? However, he was too focused on multitasking (drawing most of the time and occasionally taking notes based on the lecture) to spot your reaction. You decided you had no choice but to be as explicit as possible and wrote another note:

Nooo, I meant to compliment both you and your art, sorry if it came off wrong and lame :(

When he received it, you could swear you saw him smiling a little, which made your heart melt. How was he so beautiful? Soon enough, his reply came:

That's alright, I'm just teasing...Also, it worked.

You couldn't believe it. It worked? You'd successfully grabbed his attention by using this first-grade flirting method in college? You were suddenly feeling brave and kept writing. It was too late to turn back time.

I just think you're really pretty and cool especially when you draw but I was too hesitant to talk to you directly...

When he read your most recent note, he even gave you a look of disbelief, which you couldn't interpret until you saw his response:

Cool? Wow, that's a first...And it's ok, I don't bite.

You chuckled quietly and suddenly noticed that class was ending soon. You couldn't wait until tomorrow so you hurriedly wrote the content of your next note:

What do I have to do to get your number?

Renjun shook his head in amusement and this time, his reply came quicker than before:

*number enclosed* Here, that wasn't so hard, was it?

You could hear the lecturer saying his words of conclusion and you hurried to respond via another note, because you couldn't trust your voice to actually speak to Renjun. Not yet, at least. So, you wrote:

Thank you!!! Here is mine: *number enclosed*

And just as he received your final note, the students around you started gathering their things. You simply looked at Renjun and you still couldn't believe he'd actually replied to your silly flirting and even gave you his number! You waved him goodbye like a lovesick fool and practically ran outside of the lecture hall. Stage fright whomst? Try having a crush on the prettiest boy in the world.

After you went back home, you debated calling Renjun. Eventually, you talked yourself out of it. What if you said something stupid and embarrassing? With texting, you could at least have more time to think things through before sending them. Actually speaking to him seemed too terrifying a task to accomplish. So, you texted him excitedly and your heart did a back-flip when he replied. Was it strange that you already missed him, even though it had only been a couple of hours since you last saw him? Naturally, you couldn't tell him that, it would probably freak him out. So, you settled for texting (for the time being).

Renjun: Why did you run away after class?

You: I was too nervous to speak to you, I'm sorry!!!

Renjun: That's strange, I see you talking to your friends all the time...Am I so scary?!?

You: Nooo, you're not scary, I'm just being an idiot 😔

Renjun: Top of the class does not equal idiot but I'll let it slide this time

You: Thank you for your generosity!

Renjun: What are you up to?

You: Probably gonna work on that assignment for next week

You: Sorry, I'm so boring 😔

Renjun: First of all, you don't have to apologize so much, you did nothing wrong

Renjun: Second of all, saaame. We can brainstorm together if you want?

You: Sorry, I'll stop. Oops, I did it again. Pretend you didn't see it.

You: Also omg, yes pls, that would be great!

And that is how your friendship with Renjun started. Texting on your phones and exchanging notes during class lasted a week until you finally decided to ask him out. Again, via text, because you were feeling too shy to speak to him. The only other contact you'd had was waving at each other. And it's not like he spoke to you, either. There were two explanations for that: 1) he chose to respect your decision or 2) he was possibly just as shy as you were. Whatever the reason, you thought this could not go on forever so you managed to find the bravery to propose a date.

You: Do you wanna go out with me? 👉🥺👈 

Renjun: Sure, where do you wanna go?

You: Oh, wow, I didn't think I'd get this far lol

You: Where do YOU wanna go?

Renjun: Hmm, there's this new art gallery I've been meaning to visit...if that's okay with you

You: Anything is good with me as long as I get to see your pretty face

Renjun: What

You: I said you're pretty

Renjun: Shut up, oh my God...

You: Do you want me to stop?

Renjun: Say that again

You: You're pretty

Renjun: 😳😳😳

Renjun: I can't wait to see you again

You: Same here

Once you got to the front of the art gallery, it struck you how strange it was that you would speak to Renjun for the first time ever. You mentally braced yourself as you awaited his arrival anxiously. Your nails were digging into the inside of your hands and you were terrified you'd pierce holes through your own skin. You told yourself this was silly, you had no reason to be so nervous. Renjun was a total sweetheart and he obviously liked talking...well, writing to you. You needn't worry that much, you kept repeating in your mind. You were too busy hyping yourself up to notice him approaching behind you. Too busy to be prepared for what came next.

"Hiii," Renjun greeted you with a surprise back hug.

"Oh dear," you jumped in shock as you turned around.

"Did I scare you, angel?"

Shit. Already with the pet names? How were you supposed to survive?

"No, it's fine," you waved him off, trying to play it cool. "Isn't it weird this is the first time we're actually speaking to each other?"

"Um...kinda," Renjun scratched the back of his head. "But I like it, it's what makes this so special."

"Wow, you sure do have a way with words," you chuckled.

"Shall we go inside?" he suggested.

"Yes, please."

As you looked around the art gallery, you kept pointing excitedly at the paintings, while Renjun was quietly evaluating them and telling you interesting stories about the artists. You couldn't help but be amazed by how attractive he was as he exhibited his knowledge. And of course, you couldn't help but wonder at how he was so much more beautiful than all the art you've ever seen. Naturally, you wouldn't tell him that. First of all, because it was too lame to speak aloud. Second of all, because your voice would undoubtedly betray you and crack or something even more embarrassing. As time passed, you were surprised at how easy it was to talk to him, despite your previous concerns. Renjun was very polite and soft-mannered and he made you feel comfortable, while the two of you looked at the paintings and discussed them. Once you'd seen everything, you were starting to feel a bit bummed out that your lovely date was coming to an end. When you were outside the art gallery, you impulsively asked:

"Can I walk you home?"

"I mean...sure. On one condition."

"Anything."

"I get to walk you home next time."

"There'll be a next time?" you whispered hopefully.

"I hope I don't sound presumptuous if I share my observation we both had a wonderful time."

"That's perfectly alright. Your observation is correct," you admitted.

"I live just around the corner, though. You really don't have to-"

"But I want to."

"So do I," Renjun said and the two of you began walking towards his home.

"I was wondering about something...You already know I didn't speak to you because I was feeling shy, but why didn't you? I have two theories, but I'm curious which one is more on point."

"Do tell and I'll try my best to enlighten you," he joked.

"Okay, so theory number one is you were being respectful of my wish not to talk yet. Theory number two is that you're just as shy as I am."

Renjun laughed and you could swear this was the sweetest sound in the entire universe.

"Am I so transparent? Honestly, it's a little bit of both. But there's another part you didn't guess. But it's too embarrassing."

"Come on, tell meee! It can't be more embarrassing than my lame attempts to flirt with you."

Renjun smiled gently.

"Well, to be honest, I couldn't believe you thought I was cool and pretty...I even feared this was some sort of prank. It wouldn't be the first time someone decided to mess with me like that."

"Renjun, are you serious? I don't understand why anyone would...Scratch that, whoever messed with you didn't deserve even a fraction of your attention. I meant every word I said. I really like you...and your paintings. And I'm sorry I couldn't say it aloud earlier. You genuinely deserve to hear nice things more."

"Thank you. I appreciate it," he blinked cutely. "But enough about me. I never told you...how beautiful you are. How kind and smart."

"I know," you waved him off teasingly. "But coming from you, this means a lot."

Renjun shook his head, amused by your words.

"We should go somewhere you like next time. Maybe a bookshop?" he suggested.

"Am I so transparent?" you repeated his words. "But sure, yeah. That sounds nice."

"Well, this is me," he said, pointing towards his home.

"Already? Aw, time sure flies by when you're having fun."

"I'll see you tomorrow in class, right?"

"Of course," you promised and before you could talk yourself out of it, gave him a quick but heartfelt hug. "Bye, Renjun."

"Bye, angel."

After your first date with Renjun, things were going quite smoothly. You finally got over your nervousness when it came to talking to him and the two of you would occasionally whisper things to each other during class. The first time he held your hand under the desk your cheeks filled with colour. Despite your embarrassment, you held his hand right back and granted him with a grateful smile. After that, holding hands in class (whenever you weren't busy taking notes) became like second nature to you two. It just felt so sweet and comfortable to be close to him. You couldn't wait till the next weekend for your second date. Even though you were just going to a bookshop and had nothing that special planned out, you enjoyed being around him so much that you were more than excited for spending time with him one-on-one. No professors or other students to distract you.

When the day finally arrived, you were surprised to find out your anxious self had made a comeback. Even though you were around him everyday and had grown accustomed to holding a conversation, it had been an entire week since your first date when it was just the two of you and you couldn't help but get cold feet as you were waiting in front of the bookshop. This time Renjun didn't surprise you from behind, you could see him approaching from a distance. Mentally bracing yourself for his inevitable arrival, you knew you'd be an awkward mess no matter how hard you tried.

"Hey, angel," he greeted you with the usual hug.

"It's nice to see you again, Renjun," you replied dumbly, briefly melting into his arms.

"You saw me yesterday, remember?" he teased you.

"Um, yeah, but still," you chuckled.

"Is everything okay? You don't seem like yourself," Renjun immediately noticed the change in your behaviour.

"Why wouldn't it be? Everything's peachy," you lied, but he didn't seem to believe you.

"Be honest with me, please," Renjun asked. You suddenly remembered what he'd confided in you during your first date. It was no wonder he had a hard time trusting you after someone in his past had had the nerve to pull such a cruel prank on a soul as sweet as his. You felt guilty for lying rightaway and began explaining yourself.

"I'm sorry, I'm just nervous. I don't want to fuck anything up. Like I just did by lying and swearing. Fuck. I did it again, didn't I? I'll shut up now," you were rambling anxiously.

"Relax, Y/N, I totally get it. I was just worried maybe you didn't want to be here...with me."

"What? Nonsense. There's nowhere else I'd rather be. No one else I'd rather be with."

"Well, the feeling's mutual so there's no need for concern. Let's look at those books, yeah?"

"Yeah, sounds good, Renjun."

As the two of you went inside and started exploring the hundreds of shelves together, you felt yourself relaxing a little. Being surrounded by so many familiar titles, so many gorgeous covers was comforting. And as you kept showing Renjun some of your favourite books and telling him about your most beloved characters, he realized you were back to your usual self in no time. Attentively listening and occasionally sharing his opinions on certain authors, you didn't notice how quickly time passed by and how much you had enjoyed yourself and each other's company. Once you had looked through the bookshop in its entirety, you felt like it was too early to put an end to your date, but you didn't want to come off as too clingy or something. So, you simply looked at Renjun, expecting him to say what he wanted to do next.

"I promised you I'll walk you home this time, didn't I?" he smoothly said.

"I believe you did," you giggled. It was so sweet of him to remember such a detail.

"I'm a man of my word so lead the way," Renjun replied, offering you his arm.

"It will be my pleasure," you eagerly took his arm and the two of you began walking. You were deliberately moving at a slow place, simply because you didn't want this to end and felt like prolonging the time around him.

"Your hands are so pretty," you blurted out at one point.

"You like my hands, huh?" Renjun smirked.

"Did I say that out loud?" you were undoubtedly blushing really hard.

"I'm afraid so."

You felt completely mortified as you covered your face with your own hands.

"Hey, hey, it's fine. You can tell me anything. Chances are I'll take it as a compliment."

"Really?" you sneaked a peak. "You don't think I'm weird?"

"Maybe a little bit, but it's one of the things I like about you."

"One?" you blinked curiously.

"You're really fun to be around and you've been nothing but sweet to me. And of course, you're stunning, but that goes without saying."

"Without saying? I don't mind hearing it, though."

"I'll have that in mind," Renjun smiled gently.

"Renjun?"

"Yes?"

"Can you hold my hand?" you almost begged.

"I don't know, can I?" he tormented you with a joke.

"Will you hold my hand?" you corrected yourself.

"All you had to do was ask," Renjun acquiesced and intertwined your fingers.

Walking hand in hand, you eventually reached your place. As you two stared at one another, you refusing to go inside, him refusing to go, both of you refusing to let go of the other's hand, you thought to yourself how badly you wanted to kiss him. You had no idea if it was too early for that but you knew that the longer you tried to postpone it, the more you'd crave him. And you were an impatient person. So you quickly kissed him without thinking much. It was a bit awkward and rushed but at least, you had finally done as you wanted. Renjun looked taken aback and blinked at you a couple of times.

"I'm sorry," you apologized again. "I just..."

He silenced you softly with another kiss, this time more slowly and putting your mind and heart at ease. You lost yourself in the feeling of his plush lips against yours, finally letting go of his hand so that you could wrap yours around his neck. Hesitant at first but growing bolder by the second, you could sense Renjun's tongue testing the waters. You slightly parted your lips, letting him in. As the kiss intensified, you could feel him becoming more eager to touch you, his arms wrapped around your lower back. When you were seconds away from losing your breath, you finally broke the kiss. Opening your eyes to look at him, you couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. He'd kissed you back.

"I thought I told you to stop apologizing so much. Especially, when you haven't done anything wrong," Renjun scolded you politely.

You opened your mouth to argue, but when you realized your immediate response would have been another 'I'm sorry', you closed it. A second later, you came up with a different reply.

"I guess you'll have to discipline me, then," you huffed in a challenge.

"Dumbass," Renjun flicked your forehead.

"Hey!" you complained with a pout. "That hurts."

"What do you want me to do? Kiss it better?" Renjun gave an unamused look.

"That doesn't sound like such a bad idea," you mumbled, not expecting him to actually...kiss your forehead. But he did. And damn your knees for threatening to give out.

"Feel better yet?"

You nodded enthusiastically.

"Get inside already," Renjun tickled your sides, nudging you in the direction of your door.

"You want to get rid of me so badly?"

"No, but we can stand here forever if you don't," he rolled his eyes.

"Do you want me to invite you in?"

"Don't tempt me and go," he was impossible to sway.

"Okay, okay," you relented. "See you tomorrow, Renjun!"

For your third date Renjun suggested something different. While your first and second date had all taken place in public locations, this time he offered going to his place. And maybe the shock on your face was too obvious, because Renjun was quick to keep talking and almost take it back.

"We don't have to if you don't want to! We can just watch something at the cinema or whatever. Forget I mentioned it if you're uncomfortable."

You quickly shook your head.

"No, no, I do want to come over! I was just...not expecting it."

"Yeah? You sure?"

"A hundred per cent," you nodded excitedly.

"Sorry to break it to you, but I'm at two hundred per cent," Renjun teased.

"It's not a competition," you reminded him.

"It's not if I'm winning," he kept playing around.

You rolled your eyes.

"So what are we watching?" you asked.

"You can't go wrong with Harry Potter, am I right?"

"You are so right," you squealed. "Which house are you in?"

"Don't get me started. Sometimes I get Ravenclaw, sometimes Slytherin, it's a mess."

"That's pretty cool, though," you were practically staring at him with heart eyes at this point.

"You're a Hufflepuff, aren't you?"

"Am I so transparent?" you complained, this line becoming something of a running gag between the two of you.

"Cute," he mumbled under his breath and you blushed, not managing to maintain eye contact.

When the time arrived for you to go to Renjun's place, you were more excited rather than nervous. He was so easy to talk to and you were genuinely making so many wonderful memories that you had made it your mission to not waste any second worrying needlessly.

"I have arrived," you announced the obvious as you stood at his door.

"I can see that," Renjun chuckled. "Come on in."

"I wasn't sure if I should bring something so I bought some pizza on the way. It's still hot, so I hope you're hungry," you said as you followed him inside like a puppy.

"Oh, that's very thoughtful. And I always have enough space left for pizza."

You grinned and the minute you put the box on the table and your arms were free, you wrapped them around Renjun in a hug.

"You're so warm," you murmured against his skin.

He kissed the top of your head swiftly. Soon after, the two of you were too busy re-watching Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, eating pizza and holding hands to talk much. Once the movie was over, you realized how badly you didn't want to go home and how cozy leaning your head on Renjun's shoulder felt. And how much you liked him and couldn't stop thinking about his hands, his smile and his overall existence.

"Do you want to go home already?" Renjun asked the dreaded question.

"I mean, not really, but I don't wanna impose myself on you," you whispered.

"Don't be so formal," Renjun replied. "Just stay a little longer."

"Yayyy!" you were quite overjoyed and kissed his cheek. "What do you want to do?"

"Hm, I don't know. I could give you a tour around the place."

"Sure, that sounds fun," you immediately agreed.

"Don't get your hopes up, it's just a regular college guy's apartment."

"I'm sure I'll be amazed by every little detail."

"Even my socks?"

"Especially your socks," you joked.

As he showed you around his apartment, you couldn't help but be amazed by how Renjun-like everything was. From the snug kitchen to his art supplies scattered around. Every corner made the atmosphere feel extremely homey. Until you saw something that you hadn't expected, something that hadn't come up in conversation before. A stunning grand piano. You looked at the instrument and then at Renjun and finally, back at the piano.

"Do you play?"

"No, I just keep things like that as an accessory," he responded sarcastically. "Of course, I play."

"Can you...no, wait," you stopped yourself before making a similar mistake to the one you made a while ago. "Will you play something for me?"

"Right now?"

"If it's not too much trouble," you gave him the very best pleading look you were capable of.

Renjun sighed reluctantly and sat down on the bench in front of the piano.

"Don't just stand there awkwardly, sit next to me," he urged you courteously. 

You followed his advice and took the free spot. However, nothing could have possibly prepared you for witnessing Renjun's skills up-close. Watching him play was like magic. You were simply in awe and couldn't help but stare at his pretty fingers hitting the keys in just the right ways. When he was finished performing the piece, you were too frozen to do anything. Couldn't even manage to clap, even though he deserved it so much. But you were too transfixed by his playing and those damn hands of his you couldn't possibly move.

"Earth to Y/N?" Renjun went as far as snapping his fingers right in front of your face.

"Huh?" you let out.

"Did I enchant you or what?"

"I think you did," you chuckled. "Just...wow. You're insanely good."

He looked away bashfully.

"Thanks. It just takes practice."

"Nah, I've heard people play before but what you have is different. So pure and genuine. Like a blessing. And I'm not just saying that because I think I'm falling in love with you. I really mean every word."

"Care to repeat that?"

"I really mean..." you started, still not registering what exactly you'd said. How far you'd gone. What you couldn't take back.

"Before that," Renjun reminded you gently. "You know. The part about falling in love with me."

"Shit. I was thinking out loud again, wasn't I?" you asked dumbly. "It's too early for that, I know. I'm really sorry. Let's just pretend I said nothing and forget about it, yeah?"

In your panic, you jumped up from the bench and were about to escape like a coward but Renjun grabbed your hand before you could take another step.

"I think I'm falling in love with you, too," he said.

"W-what?" you stammered.

"And I don't care about whether it's too early or not. And I'm not going to pretend I didn't hear it. So the question is...what are you going to do about that?"

"Me? What...am I supposed to do?"

"What you want to do," Renjun clarified.

"Um...I want to keep falling in love with you, Renjun. And holding your pretty hands. Spending time with you. Listening to your angelic voice. What I want...is for you to be my boyfriend."

"I thought I already was."

"You were?"

"We went on a couple of dates...we kissed...Haven't I made it obvious enough?"

"Oh, right," you chuckled. "Sorry."

"Say that word one more time, I dare you," Renjun slowly ran a finger down your lips.

"S-sorry?" you had to test his patience. Before you could argue, he kissed you fiercely, wrapping his palms around your cheeks. You were drowning beneath his touch, which was ridiculous, considering he was also setting your lips on fire. You figured if saying sorry too much was going to end up like this, you would be a fool not to take advantage of it.

"Pretty angel," Renjun whispered against your mouth. "My pretty angel."

You were practically melting and the only thing holding you together were Renjun's arms.

"For fear of sounding lame, I'm inclined to say your pretty angel's almost as pretty as you. Key word: almost," you giggled, recalling your earliest attempts at flirting with him.

"Lies," Renjun shook his head.

"Hey, it worked the first time!" you pouted.

"It only worked because you're the pretty one," Renjun ruffled your hair playfully.

"Oh my God, shut up," you covered your face to hide how red it was.

"Never."

The End

[dangerouslyallaboutdraco]

Astronomy Project

A/n: Set during 3rd year, PoA, during the middle/beginning of the year when there isn’t anything to disrupting happening.

Astronomy was usually a pretty good class. There was always excitement when you got to go out after dark on a Wednesday.

Today it was more information about star movements that Professor Sinistra was teaching but a lot of your time was spent staring off into the glow of the night sky.

“And lastly, we’re going to be doing group projects. There will be four people in a group and you are going to have to research, almost like an experiment where you observe the stars every week for 2 months.” The professor said and you look to your best friends, who you were sat near, quickly. This was an opportunity you’d not yet been given in Astronomy and one you hoped you could make the most of by picking your own group. 

There was a flicker of hope in their eyes as they looked at each other. “I’ll be picking the groups.” A sigh of disappointment was heard across the room and your shoulders slumped. “Hush, hush. The first group who will be taking the movement of Jupiter, Y/l/n, Malfoy, Thomas and Brown.” You couldn’t keep the disappointment off your face, the one chance you had to work on a project for Astronomy and you couldn’t do it with your friends. On top of that, you had to work with Draco. 

There wasn’t a history between the two of you, you just didn’t like him much from all the rumours you’d heard throughout the three years you’d been at Hogwarts. As for Dean and Lavender, you were friendly enough with them. 

While Professor Sinistra was telling the rest of the class their groups, you were preparing for the worst. 

Five minutes was all the time it took for you to be sat next to your group, hoping for some miracle that could put you in a different space-time continuum where you got to pick your group. 

“Maybe we should meet tomorrow at the library to discuss how we’re going to do this?” You suggest to the group. Everyone else looked just as bored as you felt. 

Dean and Lavender nodded at the idea and Draco huffed. 

You look over to your best friend, sitting with another group, with an ‘Avada-Kedavra-me-now’ look and she returned it. This was not going to be a fun week.

“Alright, I hope you’ve made some plans. Class dismissed.” Professor Sinistra said and you almost jump up from your seat to leave.

“So we’ll all meet at the library tomorrow before classes? We’ve got a study block.” Lavender asked, noticing Draco’s obvious distaste to the rest of the group, hoping he’d agree to participate and not be a dick about it.

You and Dean both nodded, looking over to Draco. “Yeah, fine.” He finally agreed and the group went their separate ways.

Seeing as it was late in the evening you left to your common room, chatted with your friends for a while before going off to bed in dread of the next day.

The next morning you skipped breakfast, opting to do a little bit of research in the library instead before everyone else turned up. You flicked through a few books about Jupiter and it’s movements. 

Suddenly there were books slammed down on the table in front of you, making you jump in fear before looking up at... Draco. 

He looked down at you with his eyebrows raised and his lips drawn into a line. His hair looked as it did last night, maybe a little tidier but his face was still as pale. 

“Hey.” You said not really know how to talk to him. 

He looked somewhere in between bored and nervous. “You weren’t at breakfast.” He noticed making you furrow your eyebrows at the fact Draco Malfoy noticed you. 

“I wanted to read up on what our project was about.” You explained, still not sure why he was asking and why you were telling him. But there was something about him that made you not want to ask why he asked. 

Instead of standing, he sat down on the chair across from you and opened a book. You watched as he read through his notes. 

A few minutes later Lavender turned up and then finally Dean. You spent the morning working on the plan for the project, a plan which included dividing up all the work. Lavender and you were tasked with going up to the astronomy tower that night to observe the sky. 

“So, we have the rooster and we’ll just follow that for the rest of the time we have to do this.” You said, showing the rest of the group the schedule you’d jotted down. 

There was a collective agreement before you all went to your separate classes. 

~

It had been three weeks and once again you found yourself bored in class, thinking about going up to the astronomy town tonight with Dean. 

Classes seemed to be taking a long time but you finally made it to lunch, taking a seat next to your friends. 

“Y/n.” You turned your head at Lavender calling your name. “Dean’s not feeling great and I have to have to help decorate a banner for the quidditch game tomorrow.” You nod at what she’s saying before realising what it means. “So, you can go with Draco tonight?” Probably the last thing you wanted to hear, you weren’t meant to have to go with Draco until the 5th week. 

“Yeah, of course.” I should get points for this team commitment You thought while you agreed. 

Now the rest of your afternoon classes were filled with dreading this evening. It was going to have to happen but at least if everyone kept to the schedule you would have had another two weeks to prepare mentally. 

Finally, around 9, you walked up the stairs of the astronomy tower with your parchment, quill and astronomy book in your hand. You found Draco already sitting there, looking up at the sky. 

You hadn’t seen him since Charms class but as the moonlight danced across his face he looked peaceful. 

“Hi.” You said, trying to give him your best smile but honestly, it had been a long day after you failed a quiz on undetectable poisons and Snape yelled at you.

There wasn’t a lot of work you needed to do, just look over the map of the sky you had started the first night and trace the new location of Saturn onto it. 

“Are you alright?” Draco asked as he continued to stare at you. 

His question confused you, the thought of Draco being able to read human emotion really sent your head spinning. 

Silently, you nodded. “Yeah, I’m okay.” In your head, you were debating asking why he asked, “Why’d you ask?” It finally came out. 

“You just look...” He trailed off slightly, was it possible he didn’t want to offend you by using the wrong word. “Upset.”

The fact he could read how you were feeling was an even more concerning revelation. He stayed seated, watching you. Feeling awkward standing, you sat next to him.

Something about his now caring eyes made you want to tell him all your problems. “I just didn’t know 3rd year would be so difficult.” The perfect thing to say that didn’t disclose too much information. 

“Potions?” Your eyes flicked to meet his quickly, concerned about how he knew. It wasn’t that people didn’t know, you just didn’t want Draco to laugh at you. 

As you nodded at him, he smiled. Now that was something you didn’t see much. “I was waiting to talk to Snape, I didn’t mean to hear.” It almost sounded like an apology. 

“It’s alright, just don’t tell anyone, please.” You rush out, a little concerned. 

His face changed to looking worried. “I wouldn’t.” He seemed the type to. “You know, if you do need help, I can tutor you or something.” The generosity in his voice was out of character but charming. 

“It’s alright.” Again you rushed out your reply. Maybe it was that you were nervous around him but maybe it was that you feared him a little. 

He looked almost... sad. “Okay, should we get this done?” He asked, switching the conversation. 

“Yeah.” You agreed, getting up and starting on the work you had to do. It only took about 5 minutes before you were walking down the stairs, splitting off from Draco with a ‘goodbye’

~ 

Another 2 weeks had passed before you went up to the astronomy tower for your project again. And you knew Draco would be there.

You left your common room a little bit earlier and made it to the astronomy tower before Draco was there so you sat on the ground with your feet dangling over the edge of the tower. 

It was something that had always thrilled you, the fact that as amazing as magic is if you were to jump it probably couldn’t help you.

“What are you thinking about?�� A voice you definitely recognised interrupted your concentration. Whipping your head around, you saw Draco standing there with the sky map and a quill in his hand. 

His hair was slicked back in a middle part which is how he was wearing it there days. The way he looked at you with those sparkling blue eyes was such a difference from his usual personality. 

“Not a lot.” You replied. “Just life.”

“Philosophical.” He quipped, making you smile. 

“Not really, wanna get started?” You ask, getting ready to stand up. 

Instead, Draco walked over and took a seat next to you. “Why don’t we just sit here and talk?” He asked, much to your surprise.

“What do we have to talk about?” You had to ask, even if it came off as a bit rude. 

He shrugged. “Why you hate me.”

His statement caught you off guard, making you do a double-take to look at the upset look on his face. “I don’t hate you.” There was still a frown on his face. “I’ve just heard things about you and I’ve heard things you’ve said.” You mumbled out. 

His face fell even more and you wanted to fix it but you didn’t know how. “I’m sorry.” You told him. “I don’t mean to judge you.”

“It’s okay.” Draco cut you off before you could continue. “Should we get this done?” He asked, standing up and offering you a hand. 

As soon as you took his hand you noticed how cold it felt, and those silver rings were even colder. 

Once he helped you up you got started on the project. It only took 5 minutes but being up in the astronomy tower with Draco was a nice feeling. 

Somehow you had both ended up sitting in the astronomy tower and talking for another half hour. 

“That first time in the library, you worried about not knowing enough, weren’t you?” Draco asked after a while, somehow he just knew everything. 

Your eyes meet his again. “Yeah, how’d you know?”

“I’ve been in the same situation...” He mumbled, staring past you and into the sky. 

“I just wish reading up on stuff could help me in potions.” You said with a sigh, over the past two weeks the class had only gotten worse and you really couldn’t keep up at this point. 

“You know, I can help you out.” Draco offered again but now that you’d sat with him you didn’t feel so horrible about it. 

“Are you sure you don’t mind?” He shook his head. “Okay then, tomorrow in the library?”

He nodded quickly. “I didn’t think you’d agree but yeah, I’ll see you after dinner.”

~

Sitting with Draco in a library was the last thing you expected to be doing on a Thursday night but here you were. It was quiet as usual and there were only a few other groups which you were thankful for, too much attention while you sat with Draco could only be bad, your friends had already had expressed their concerns about it. 

You’d taken up a whole table with your books, parchment and quill and Draco was sitting next to you with his blonde hair looking as perfect as ever and those dreamy eyes. 

“How do you get all of this?” You asked, feeling hopeless about an hour in. 

Draco looked over with a smile, sliding a book in front of you. “Well, I am Snape’s favourite.” He joked, letting you laugh. “I guess I just understand it. Don’t beat yourself up about it, though. I’m sure there’s some class you’re really good at.”

You turned your head on the side, that probably wasn’t true. “I guess I like astronomy.”

He nodded. “So you were probably really disappointed with the groups in the project?”

“Yeah, but I think the whole class was.” You told him and he nodded in agreement. 

Finally after about 3 hours of joking around and Draco helping you understand what Snape had been saying the whole time. You packed up your stuff quickly and walked with Draco out of the library. 

There weren’t many people in the corridor so you walked together for a while before he asked, “Do you maybe want to hang out down at Hogsmeade this weekend?” 

“Is the Draco Malfoy asking me out?” You quipped back, smiling as you look up at him before he frowned and you realised you might have come off as joking too much. 

He nodded. “Yes, and will you accept?” Maybe it was mock confidence but it showed you he wasn’t going to back down. 

“Yes.” You smiled before walking off to your common room, more excited about Saturday than you ever have been. 

~

“So where do you want to go? I was thinking Scrivenshaft's because I want one of those new quills and Honeydukes of course.” One of your best friends asked, rambling about the different places. 

Awkwardly, you looked over to the blond Slytherin boy, standing with his own friends in casual clothes. “Actually, I was going to hang out with Draco, is that alright?” You squeeze out, feeling awkward. 

“Okay, but we’ll talk about that later.” She said with stern eyes which made you laugh. 

After they had let you go, you walked over to Draco and waited until his friends had left to tap him on the shoulder. “Hey, you.” You said with a smile that he returned. 

“Hey, ready to go?” He asked, up close you could see the amount of work that he had put into his hair and it almost made you ask yourself if he was nervous. Not that it had been much different in your room this morning as you attempted to pick out an outfit. 

“Sure.” You said, looking around to see just about everyone had left which made you feel less nervous about everyone watching you on what was basically your first date. 

With the same, possible faux, confidence Draco took your hand in his and held it as you walked. 

You’d done the walk to Hogsmeade a few times before but this time, with Draco every part of the walk seemed prettier and you chatted about classes and your friends. Much to your surprise, it didn’t even feel awkward. 

“Let’s go to the three broomsticks?” He said, sort of as a question as he sought your approval. 

“Yeah, of course.” You agreed, squeezing his hand to comfort him. 

Two butterbeers, a table in the corner later and you were talking about how much better your grade in Potions had gotten. His supportive smile did make you smile back at him. And maybe it was the dimly lit room, Draco’s kind attitude or the nerve you had lost but suddenly your hand was on his across the table. 

He was a bit taken back and his hand twitched a little but eventually settled, holding your hand in his like you’d seen people do in the movies. 

For two hours you sat together, just holding hands and talking. It wasn’t what you usually spent time during Hogsmeade trips doing but it was nice. Being with Draco was nice and nothing like you expected it would be. 

“Do you want to go past Honeydukes before we have to go back to school? I’ll get you whatever you want.” He offered, noticing the time on his watch. 

You nodded while getting out of your seat. “Yeah, but you don’t have to buy me things.”

“Seriously, I want to.” He told you as he laced your hands together again and you walked past some other students and out of the Three Broomsticks. 

You passed a few students from your year on the way to Honeydukes and they all looked at the pair of you with eyebrows raised. 

Finally, you got to Honeydukes and, as usual, you had to spend a few seconds admiring the wonderful shop. From the light green shelves to the glass jars full of candy, you were never not amazed by the store. Even the vibe of excitement between students over picking what candy to get was enchanting.

Draco noticed you’d stopped and looked over at you. “What’s up?” He asked, a little concerned. 

“Sorry.” You quickly apologised, snapping back into reality. “This shop just does something to me.” He chuckled a little at the look in your eye and let go of your hands, wrapping his arm around your shoulder and pulling you into his side. It felt good to be so close to him, close enough you could smell the cologne he usually wore buried in his clothes.  

He didn’t comment on it, instead letting you look at the candy as he led you around. 

“Okay, what’s your thing?” Draco asked a few moments later. 

You didn’t even need to think about the answer. “Pink coconut ice, always.” There was so much confidence in your answer. 

“Alright so pink coconut ice, exploding bonbons and tooth-splitting strong mints,” Draco told Mr Flume, the shopkeeper you had come to love. 

Once you got your candy you took it outside to sit on a bench. “I can’t believe I’m on a date with someone who likes exploding bonbons.” You said, rolling your eyes at him as he put one into his mouth. They were seriously not something you enjoyed. 

“What? They’re so good.” He exclaimed, looking concerned for you. “Here, try one.” He said, picking it up and putting it near your lips. 

You shook your head but his constant smile made you part your lips and he put it into your mouth. Inside your mouth felt like it was on fire, with a weird mix of acidic flavour and slight pain. 

The urge to throw up was strong but you resisted it, swallowing down the ‘sweet’ as to not make a mess. “That was so gross!” You exclaimed, hitting him on the chest. 

He laughed at you and it made you smile after the distaste was obvious on your features. 

“Now you owe me some of this,” Draco said as he put a hand into your bag of coconut ice to get a piece. 

“What? I can’t feed it to you?” You quipped as he put it into his mouth, that remark made him smirk. 

And he didn’t have a comment for that but let’s just say that the rest of the project was much more enjoyable

[existslikepristin]

Sounds

Just my ultimate bias doing ultimate bias things. This is just the intro. There will be more to come. Thanks also to worldsover and EhBeeSeeDih for most excellent editing help!

Tags: TheLounge, Dreamcatcher, Gahyeon, Siyeon, Yoohyeon, other members all referenced, some unnamed male, lots of butt stuff, very light bondage, brief watersports (pee), various other kinks referenced, I just want everyone to know Gahyeon is the best human

Gahyeon observed the consistency of the lube that dripped, nice and slowly, from the fingertips of her black latex glove. She only wore the one, leaving her other hand bare. Besides the glove, all she wore was an oversized baggy tee shirt and a pair of panties that weren't her own. From behind her, the up-close-yet-distant sound of amateur porn moans reached her ears. It made her smile.

Not long after Gahyeon had revealed her desire to dominate to the rest of Dreamcatcher, she’d first been approached by Dami. Dami initially showed a similar interest in dominating others, but was equally interested in being a pet.

Gahyeon hesitated for some time, but eventually agreed to give it a try. It wasn’t much of a surprise that Dami made a pleasant, calm, obedient pet. Gahyeon never really had many ideas for commands to give to a panda, though, so perhaps her perspective was a bit skewed.

Some time later, the two got involved in a bit of role playing as well. Dami would be the prince, and Gahyeon would be one of a variety of higher-ranking royalty that Dami would then have to satisfy. Gahyeon would certainly never admit that this was one of her favorite roles to play in her escapades with her members. Mostly because it meant she received lots of massages from Dami’s delightfully delicate hands.

Dami was a grunter.

Gahyeon’s situations with Jiu and Handong were quite similar to each other in the sense that neither of them really expressed a major interest in being dominated.

Jiu was more of a standard, every day, give-and-take type of lover, but just happened to enjoy a bit of pain. Gahyeon was always happy to provide that little extra sadistic touch that would push Jiu over the edge of climax.

Jiu was a lip-biter.

Handong didn’t need a dom. She wanted somebody with a dick she could wreck herself with. Gahyeon had a growing collection of dildos and strap-ons to choose from. It was as simple as that between them.

Handong was a shouter.

Sua was, as expected, the most difficult to work with. She was a switch. But while domming, she was often excessively overpowering, demanding that her subs participate in her kinks, rather than compromising with them or catering to their desires. She had serious negotiation issues. All of which meant that Gahyeon was the go-to option when the other members wanted to be dominated.

Of course, Sua would reach out to Gahyeon to be dominated as well. But she was a bit of a back seat driver. Or a severe brat. Or uncooperative. It depended on the day. Gahyeon would often just suggest they do something less kinky. Of course, she wasn’t about to cut Sua out of her sex life entirely, given their friendship and Sua’s rocking body.

Sua was a screamer.

Yoohyeon, on the other hand, was quite the fun submissive. She was willing to try anything at least once, up to and including the most depraved acts Gahyeon could come up with. Once or twice, Gahyeon had even directed her to do some things sarcastically, but Yoohyeon complied immediately, no questions asked, resulting in both of them discovering some kinks that neither of them realized they had.

One of Gahyeon’s favorite aspects to domming Yoohyeon was her eagerness to be filmed. Gahyeon’s SD card case was an absolute treasure trove of videos. It didn’t matter if she was far from her members, because she could always count on some long-distance submission from Yoohyeon. And it never hurt to have something to watch when she just wanted to be alone and masturbate.

Yoohyeon was a moaner.

But as much fun as Gahyeon could have with those five women, Siyeon stood out from the pack as Gahyeon’s favorite. She had a hard time fully explaining the favoritism, but as far as she was concerned, it was undeniable.

Siyeon presented herself outwardly as confident, bold, even. Gahyeon expected in the beginning that Siyeon would have no interest at all in submitting to her, or anyone else for that matter. She quite literally wore the pants.

One hot summer night, however, Siyeon sheepishly asked Gahyeon to spank her. It seemed innocent enough, as far as sex acts went, but it escalated gradually. Over the course of several months, Siyeon’s outer shell melted away. She became Gahyeon’s clay to mold.

Everybody else let Gahyeon dominate them because she gave them what they wanted.

Siyeon begged Gahyeon to dominate her because she wanted to serve and please.

That wasn’t to say Siyeon wasn’t getting what she wanted out of the action of course. Just that what she wanted happened to be whatever Gahyeon wanted. It was the perfect match.

Siyeon was an instrument that Gahyeon knew exactly how to play.

The sexual activities of the members weren’t obvious to the average viewer, except some of the wild shit Sua would do, but that was easy to pass off as “girl group popularity-mandated gay bait.” Every once in a while though, Gahyeon would get the itch to break Siyeon’s façade down in public. The lightest brush of the fingertips, a sidelong glare, anything could be the trigger if Gahyeon did it with the proper intention.

She’d even gotten so bold once as to do it on live video, streaming to their fans with Jiu and Sua to either side. Siyeon nearly collapsed before Gahyeon let her go. That same night, Sua practically molested Siyeon, but Gahyeon was vindictively proud to see that it didn’t have the same effect.

Gahyeon watched as one last drop of lube fell from her fingers back into the bowl she'd poured it into for easy access. It was just viscous enough to stay on a surface, but wasn’t tacky. Rather, it was slick, as if there were no friction at all between her digits.

“How are you feeling, my wolf?”

“I-I’m excited, Gahyeon.”

Gahyeon preferred hearing her own name falling out of Siyeon’s mouth. The sound gave her a twisted sense of romance, as opposed to the supposedly traditional “Mistress” or “Ma’am.”

Gahyeon turned to look for the first time since getting lost in her thoughts. Siyeon was tied up, albeit only with the shirt and pants she had been wearing earlier in the day, rather than a rope. The knots that her sleeves formed were weak and could fall apart with the slightest force, but Siyeon was much too good of a girl for that. It wasn't her physical bonds that held her still.

There was a twinge of disappointment amidst Gahyeon’s glee at seeing that Siyeon was looking, entranced, back at her. She had, after all, dictated that Siyeon watch the video that was playing on her tablet.

“Just what do you think you’re doing?”

Siyeon gulped nervously, but Gahyeon could see the slightest, quivering smile touch the corners of her lips. “Sorry, Gahyeon. It’s just… I think I’m extra struck by your beauty today.”

Gahyeon smiled and placed her ungloved, unlubed hand on top of Siyeon’s head, stroking her hair softly. “Oh babe. You know flattery isn’t going to get you anywhere. It’s just going to get my fingers deeper inside you. And you'd better watch out, because you're getting close to the knuckles.”

Her gentle hair stroking turned into a rough grip, which she used to turn Siyeon's gaze away, back to the tablet.

"Don't you want to learn from this video, Siyeon? I made it just for you."

"Yes, I do."

"Then you should be watching. Look, or you're going to miss the best part."

Siyeon's eyes slowly refocused themselves onto the video. It was Yoohyeon, all but limp in a full-nelson-under-the-legs hold. Whoever was holding her up, slamming their cock repeatedly up her asshole, they weren't fully visible, but it was easy to guess their identity. Yoohyeon's eyes rolled up so far, they looked like they might do a full three-sixty at any moment. Anyone viewing the video might have been concerned for her well-being if not for her dopey smile.

"See, my wolf? She's such a good little slut. Keep watching and you might learn something."

Gahyeon let go of Siyeon's head, confident she'd follow instructions this time, and reached around to feel how ready she was. As expected from her favorite toy, and the hours of teasing Gahyeon had subjected her to up to this point, she was so wet that Gahyeon could have gone swimming inside her.

Her gloved hand dipped into the lube again, then made its way down the cleft of Siyeon's ass, coating the entirety. If she didn't already have very specific plans, Gahyeon would have considered using it as massage oil and kneading Siyeon’s beautiful butt cheeks until the bright red hand prints on them disappeared.

A series of moans came from the tablet speakers again, and Gahyeon smirked at what she knew was coming next, which was Yoohyeon.

"Eyes open, Siyeon. You really don't want to miss this."

Gahyeon watched Siyeon’s fingers wiggle beneath their impromptu bonds. Yoohyeon's moans shifted into a long, guttural shout, and a stream of pale yellow liquid shot out of her. Siyeon’s butt visibly clenched.

"What a fantastic slut she is, hm? Cumming so hard from her ass being used as a fuck hole that she can't even control herself, pissing all over like an idiot."

Even from behind her, Gahyeon could sense Siyeon’s devious smile forming. "Well that's rude to say about her," Siyeon said, risking life and limb.

Gahyeon responded with a series of powerful smacks, leaving the handprints already on Siyeon’s ass glowing red, as well as a haphazard smattering of lube. "Shut uuup," she whined, "She got fucked stupid and pissed herself. You know what I mean."

Siyeon turned back over her shoulder to show Gahyeon her smile. Fresh tears flowed from her eyes. "Yoohyeon's always a fool though," she managed to joke through the pain.

One last, full-motion spank made Siyeon’s smile briefly turn into a grimace.

"Is that what you're going to do to me too?"

Gahyeon resumed her steady lubrication of Siyeon’s entire backside. "Someday, maybe. But we have a long way to go before you'll be able to experience that level of pleasure without pain. And trust me, the inside of your ass is not the part of your body where you want to be feeling pain. We'll build you up to it."

There was minimal resistance against Gahyeon’s middle finger as it slipped fully into Siyeon’s butt. Siyeon hissed and her toes curled. Gahyeon kissed her neck, shushed into her ear, and used her ungloved hand to stroke from Siyeon’s breasts down to her clit and back.

After a moment of calming down, Siyeon whispered, "If anybody can get me there, Gahyeon, it's you."

Gahyeon struggled to hold back her cutesy giggle, even though she knew that it wouldn't make her seem like less of a dom to Siyeon. "We're going to do, at most, two fingers today. I don't want you masturbating with anything bigger than that on your own, okay? It might feel like you can do more, but we're not taking any chances. Understood?"

Siyeon’s shoulders flexed and toes spread as Gahyeon wiggled her inserted finger. "Y-yes Gahyeon," she stuttered.

"Good. Now, let's practice your safe word, shall we?"

Siyeon hesitated, but relented anyway. “Apricot…”

Gahyeon slowly removed her finger. “Perfect,” she said ever-so-softly, reveling in the goosebumps rising on Siyeon’s arms. “Was that okay? Nothing hurting?”

“It was perfect.” Siyeon used the same word Gahyeon had.

“Well then, let’s get started.”

[ironlime]

60 Years After

So somebody in the tumblrverse posted about their headcannon in which Ned Coats was Sam Vimes' kid having traveled through time. I am a fan of this. It explains a lot. So when I read it back in... April? I then sat down and wrote up this little fanfic thing. And assumed that I could not only get it posted today, but also edit it so that it's not filled with so many of my own headcannons. And is closer to the original material. But L-Space is my job, and it really does do crazy things to time (and space.) On top of that I was really hoping I could post this to that original headcannon post but... I can't find it. So, OP, if you come across this... Well, I'm sorry. I'm more sorry to Sir Terry (GNU), though.

Quick note: my friends and I have found it easier to call Vimes' kid "Wee Sam" than "Young Sam" because "Young Sam" is one of the names (along with Vimesy and Lance Constable Vimes) that Vimes calls his younger self and... yeah. We find it confusing when nerding out about a single series with two different characters called 'Young Sam'. So we Feegle it up. Even though I wouldn't be surprised if 'Wee Sam' is actually a bit taller than his dad.

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

“What happened just then, Sarge? You blurred.” Wee Sam said, while he thought Oh so that’s what that looks like.

“You only get one question, Ned,” The man who would be his father looked a little seasick, and Wee Sam knew exactly how he felt. “Now, let’s show Snapcase where the line’s drawn, shall we? Let’s finish it--”

To the majority of people there that day, Sergeant-At-Arms John Keel stood, turned towards the enemy, and charged. To two people, Commander Sam Vimes ran towards Carcer, ready to drag him kicking and screaming into the past. Or the future. Depending on who you asked.

That was what gave Wee Sam his frame of reference, actually. He remembered hearing stories about Carcer, about how his dad had arrested the bastard the day Wee Sam was born. But was this actually May 25th for his dad? Was this weeks before the arrest? Hours? He couldn’t ask. Not yet.

“Glad to see you’ve joined us and are getting along with the Sarge, Coats.” Fred Colon said, touching him on the shoulder as they ran towards the fight.

“Yeah, Fred.” Oh, Fred. Fred Colon had died a few years ago, happy and surrounded by great-grandchildren. But here and now he was young and actually capable of running. And he was running towards the fray.

Sweeper had told Wee Sam to stay away from the center of the fight, and to try not to actually kill anybody, so he stayed on the edge near the unconscious Lance-Constable Sam Vimes who had been hidden by his older, more cynical self. Three men in a battle with the same name, and two of them were the same person. Good thing Wee Sam was the only one who had to really keep track of which of them was where. He certainly didn’t trust anybody else to.

So he fought, in a very curbed way, knocking his adversaries unconscious when he could and doing his best not to step on Nobby Nobbs, who was doing his best to very slowly inch away from the battle while simultaneously pretending to be a corpse. Over by the Watch House, Reg Shoe was doing a much better impersonation of a corpse, seeing as how he was one, but in a couple of hours he’d discover that it just didn’t work for him.

“You’re nicked, my ol’ chum.” It was probably because he had been listening for it, but his father’s whisper carried. Nobody else seemed to hear it, and nobody but Wee Sam turned in time to see the two men vanish. In the same instant, a single body appeared on the ground near where they had been. So, now that he had seen that through, there was one more…

A dark grey-green shadow passed by his shoulder, and his mind registered Uncle Havelock before adding the word Young.

Havelock Vetinari ran into the fight, cutting down Carcer’s men much more brazenly than the Assassin's Guild would like, a lilac bud between his teeth. Even in Wee Sam’s time, when Vetinari’s wardrobe consisted entirely of black and everything he did was in moderation, the Patrician indulged in a little drama on a regular basis.

He chose to have Commander Sam Vimes in his life, after all.

There was a sound to Wee Sam’s left, which he recognized though his mind didn’t associate any words with it. It was a sound any human would recognize, even those who first approached the Delta where the Ankh River met the Circle sea thousands of years ago. If Wee Sam had to find Morporkain words for it, and as a Vimes he did like to use his vocabulary, they were Confused, followed by Hurt followed by… wait for it… there it was. Anger.

Wee Sam could make that noise, though he rarely did. His father’s upbringing, on the other hand, had been considerably less balanced. The kid who was the source of the sound ran into the center of the fight, and Wee Sam deftly stepped out of his way while pushing an adversary in his way. The boy chopped down the Unmentionable with one graceful movement, and Wee Sam felt that he could safely say that he hadn’t been the one to kill the bastard. And nobody had been so foolish as to tell him to prevent his father from killing anybody.

Vetinari didn’t pause, but he did turn to look at this vengeful newcomer. Vetinari hadn’t been there when young Sam Vimes participated in the first part of the battle, and Wee Sam recognized the young assassin’s look of interest.

Tell me, Uncle Havelock, will you recognize him in 15 years? Or will you need to get him well and truly angry to realize you’ve found him?

Wee Sam knew this wasn’t the first time Havelock Vetinari saw Sam Vimes, but this was probably the first time he saw the potential. That he was more than just That Kid Who Follows Keel Everywhere. I bet you didn’t actually expect him to be so damned smart. His father still didn’t think of himself as intelligent. It was infuriating, especially when he and his father were having a disagreement. A drawn out, decade-long, disagreement.

Young Sam Vimes sent a lot of the Unmentionables running, and Wee Sam cut down any of them which could be seen as ‘coming towards him with a drawn weapon’. Since they were escaping a fight, that was anyone who came within reach not wearing a lilac.

Time travel really can get to a man. He thought, feeling a little cold. There would be no arrests here, just death and fleeing and at the end of the day Sam Vimes, Havelock Vetinari, Fred Colon, Gaskin, and, less literally, Nobby Nobbs and Reg Shoe would all be left standing. That was all that mattered.

He saw Vetinari turn away from young Sam Vimes, who then spun, and for the briefest moment they had their backs to each other, and Wee Sam wished he had his paints. It was a gods awful place to paint, there was a reason battles were always ‘immortalized’ after the fact, but the color and everything was just perfect--

And then the color faded.

“You should have fallen by now.” Sweeper observed from behind him.

“I wanted to see them fight together.” Wee Sam admitted, not turning. He had a notebook on him, and a pencil, but he knew that even with Time paused he didn’t really have it. Not to sit down and do a proper preliminary sketch. He was just going to have to remember.

Vetinari had a stiletto, an assassin’s weapon used to kill up-close. Young Sam Vimes hadn’t learned to dual-wield yet, but he had good instincts for the sword. Wait until you discover the axe.

Sweeper sighed. “Fine, and now you’ve seen it. I’m going to put the time back on and you had better be prepared to drop.”

“Yes yes alright.” Wee Sam shifted slightly, so he could seriously inconvenience the man who he was blocking before he dropped.

“Oh and stop killing people.”

“I’m a Vimes. You knew that when you hired me.”

“Indeed.” Sweeper said, and it took Wee Sam a moment to realize it was an attempt at a Vetinari impression. Before Wee Sam could reply, the color came back, and his adversary frowned in confusion.

“Oi, you blurred!” The man cried.

“This just isn’t your day.” Wee Sam gave the man a wound which might heal, if somebody tended to it within the next 10 minutes, and then fell over in a needlessly complicated way, specifically so he wouldn’t hit Nobby Nobbs.

And when he landed, the boy was looking right at him, frowning. Damn, Nobby was always the brains of Colon & Nobbs.

“You ain’t injured.” The boy hissed at him.

“Try to pick my pockets and you’ll regret it.” Wee Sam whispered back. Of course he wouldn’t dream of hurting Nobby, but the kid didn’t know that. Besides, picking the contents of his pockets back would be a relaxing way to end the day.

Nobby was still frowning at him. “You got eyes like the Sarge...”

“Nobby, get out of here before you get stepped on.” Wee Sam growled in his best imitation of his father, the Sergeant, within the past three days. The kid’s eyes went wide, and he took off running. Wee Sam glanced over to where Vimes and Vetinari were taking care of the last of Carcer’s men, and the color faded once more.

“I hope you are pleased with yourself.” Sweeper said, which Wee Sam took to mean he could stand up and dust himself off.

“Young Vimes and Vetinari live to grow up and become two of the most powerful men in Ankh-Morpork history, Carcer went back to his time more or less accompanied by my my dad so the one can be arrested by the other, your rogue ‘Time Vigilantes’ have been sorted out, oh and I don’t cease to exist either. My work here is d--” He stopped, and watched as Q and some other Technical Monks lay down a man about the same age, size and coloring as Wee Sam. “Wait, so there really was a Ned Coats?”

Sweeper had walked off without him, and Wee Sam jogged to catch up. The old monk didn’t turn to look at him when they were side-by-side, but he did start talking. “Of course there was. He was also from Psudopolis and knew the real Keel.”

“How’d he die?”

“The Agony Aunts, on his first day here. He was the real reason the real Keel accepted a job in Ankh-Morpork. The real Ned Coats was not a good man.”

“Keel... left his home to track down a criminal…” Wee Sam slowed. “That’s what my dad did! As Keel! Only, it was Carcer he had to catch.”

“Time likes continuity.” Sweeper nodded, and thanked Wee Sam quietly for holding the door open as they entered the monastery. Once in the building, color returned, with motion and sounds and smells. They were back in the Present.

The walk through the building was in relative silence, the rumbling of the procrastinators keeping it from ever becoming truly quiet here. Wee Sam could sleep almost anywhere, but the rumbling reminded him of the steam engines back home and Susan’s offer to help him find a job in Sto Lat ‘if he really couldn’t stay in Ankh-Morpork’.

Not long after his parents first met his dad had gotten fired for a couple of days, and his mom had offered to get him a job working for Susan’s parents. Susan had been young then, and sometimes he wondered what kind of person she would have grown up to be with his dad as part of her household staff.

Of course, with his parents living in two different cities, he would have never been born.

His mother would have never left Ankh-Morpork.

Then again, his father had chosen not to leave. He had stayed on the case. He… sorted it out, more or less. He kept Vetinari from getting killed. Had he done that during the battle? Young Sam and Vetinari had been facing opposite directions, had Vimesy blocked any blows aimed at the future patrician?

There was the crunch of stones under his feet, and Wee Sam consciously acknowledged they had arrived at the Garden of Inner-City Tranquility. His eyes swept the space, falling on and acknowledging the Cigarette Pack of Air, the Cat Doings of Disharmony, the Sonkie of Organic Harmony, the Cabbage Stalks of Dim Comprehension, the Discarded Fish-And-Chip Wrapper of Infinity, the Beer Bottle of Pissing Off Sweeper, and….

“The Cigar of Capriciousness is still here.” Wee Sam said, stopping between the door and the bench Sweeper always went to. He tilted his head slightly. “Or… Another cigar. Same brand, same style, smoked the same amount, probably by the same man, at the same angle... but it’s wrapped just a little differently.”

“Is it? I’ve stopped noticing.”

“You haven’t noticed the cigar that’s been smouldering here for the past month?” Wee Sam turned to Sweeper in disbelief. “I understand not paying attention to the condoms and cat doings, but time passes in here!”

Sweeper shrugged. “There is always a cigar. Even if we get rid of it, a new one shows up. If the new one lands closer to the wall, the garden always pushes it to the center.”

“Always? Since, what, the dawn of time?”

“Oh no. Since the day you were born. Or thirty years before. It’s hard to say.” Sweeper was looking at him evenly, and Wee Sam suddenly realized his reaction was being gauged.

“My dad. But…” Wee Sam looked at the cigar. “He doesn’t smoke them anymore.”

“He does. On special occasions.”

“Like what?”

“Your birthday. And when he pays certain visits.”

“He talked you into not keeping me on?” His gaze moved swiftly from the old man to the cigar, and with purpose he stalked into the middle of the garden and brought his foot back, prepared to give the thing a swift kick.

“You did that just fine without his help.” Sweeper’s voice was quiet, but it froze Wee Sam where he stood. “Corporal, we both know you don’t want to do this.”

“The mission is over. Coats is dead. I’m not a corporal anymore.” His foot fell heavily, not coming into contact with the cigar but still sending a spray of stones ahead of them. He scowled as they came sliding back towards him, settling where they had been around his foot. “This job is the closest I’ve ever gotten to what I was made to do.”

“I realize that. I’m sorry.”

There was some silence as the last of the stones slid into place. The procrastinators here were small, used only for the bathrooms in the far right corner, even though the city’s sewer pipe system now meant that they were just inconveniencing themselves in exchange for saving very little money. Wee Sam had done the math.

“Did you tell Susan?” Wee Sam didn’t want to be the one to tell her, but he also didn’t want anybody else to explain that he had squandered this opportunity.

“No. That is your problem, my boy.”

“Good.” Wee Sam squatted down, getting a closer look at his father’s cigar. The smell brought him back to his childhood, and it was comforting if not at all healthy. His mother had never allowed them in the house, but his father smoked them all the time outside and in his office, so the scent clung to his uniform like… Well like Wee Sam had back then. “Please don’t hold… me... against her. She was just looking out for me. She does that. Wish I knew why.”

“She is aware of your potential.” Sweeper said, and Wee Sam was so surprised he looked over his shoulder at the old man. “You’re good at investigating and putting the pieces together. And, some day, you will once again make a very good cop.”

“Someplace other than Ankh-Morpork.” Wee Sam grunted, but the old man shrugged, and he asked, hopefully “In Ankh-Morpork but in the future?”

“That is not for me to say.”

“No, it’s for my father to say.” He glared at the cigar, and then pushed himself to a standing position.

“You know, I didn’t just take you on because Susan asked and there happened to be another Vimes-shaped opening.” Sweeper said as Wee Sam turned towards the door.

“No?”

“I wanted to get to know the man the Theives Guild deemed ‘too dangerous’ for membership.” Sweeper sounded amused, and Wee Sam turned to look at him.

“I keep killing people. Assassin's school graduate, and all.” Wee Sam reminded him, but Sweeper waved the comment away.

“We both know neither of those things are relevant to today’s theive’s guild.” Sweeper shook his head. “Your father is afraid of you becoming him; and, well, so is everyone else. Vimeses walk in and take control. Especially under Vetinari’s influence.”

“And how do you know what my father is afraid of?” Wee Sam asked, narrowing his eyes. He was choosing to ignore the comment about Vetinari’s influence because it was true. After 300 years of cops and / or drunks it took Havelock Vetinari telling his father ‘not’ to investigate three deaths to bring his family name back to the list of the city’s gentry.

“You should ask him.” Sweeper did not ignore the narrowed eyes, but he did meet them evenly. “What he’s afraid of.”

Wee Sam turned towards the door, intending to stalk out, then thought better of it and spun so he was completely facing the old man. “You know what? I think I will.”

Then he ran, took a leap to place one foot on the bench beside Sweeper and jumped so his hands easily grasped the top of the wall. His own momentum brought him sideways, and he hurtled over the top. There was an alley on the other side, and he landed lightly. He was exactly where he expected to be, of course, and took off at a run towards the Cemetery of Small Gods.

And slowed to a walk before he reached the gates. It would not do for him to be out of breath when he arrived at the graves.

Twilight was falling, so his dad would be there, but so would Uncle Havelock and maybe Reg Shoe. Wee Sam was less concerned about how Reg saw him, especially now that he had seen Reg alive, but as far as his family was concerned he wanted to take steps towards appearing dignified. Even though they had known him his whole life, and knew better.

Sure enough, he passed Reg first. The Zombie was carrying a long-handled shovel over his left shoulder, and nodded in acknowledgement. Wee Sam managed to nod back before they passed each other.

He had expected Reg to recognize him. Reg had never noticed him behind the barricade, his father never noticed him behind the barricade, but Wee Sam had been playing Ned Coats for a full month before Sam Vimes had shown up as John Keel. Maybe Reg had never noticed that his father was Keel? How did Zombie memories work, anyway? Their brains certainly weren’t making new pathways… Did vampyre brains make new pathways?

This train of thought kept him pretty well occupied, along with the question of how he could politely go about getting some answers, when he noticed Uncle Havelock and his ‘cane’ striding silently towards him. A simple nod wouldn’t do.

“Good evening, Uncle Havelock.” Wee Sam called, since his mother had drummed into his head that you always greeted your superiors first. Admittedly, this sometimes meant that he approached his uncle with a question about what he would call the color of the sunset above a specific building at that exact moment, or if there was a poison which exploded in a particularly satisfactory fashion, but the patrician never complained. Nor did he complain if Wee Sam wandered in his office and started talking about alternative methods for coding clax messages or an unusual bird he had noticed riding the thermals above the University. And, thank gods, Havelock Vetinari knew that a formal greeting from Wee Sam Vimes meant that he didn’t want to talk.

“Happy Birthday, Wee Sam.” His uncle replied, “I trust you’ll be on time for dinner?”

Oh. That was a reminder. And a warning. “Thank you. Yes, we won’t be long.”

“Good. See you then.” The Patrician nodded, and then passed him.

“Yes.” Wee Sam muttered, and then reached for his pocket watch. When he pulled it out, he saw the time was all wrong and swore quietly. Well, from the graves he would be able to see the Tower of Art, and set his watch to the present. The battle of the lilac boys had been in the mid-morning, and it was most definitely not a quarter to noon.

John Keel’s grave marker was wood, and though it had been replaced often it had never been strong enough to support the weight of an average-sized man. Reg’s, on the other hand, was granite, and he apparently didn’t mind that Commander Sam Vimes leaned against it more and more every year.

Wee Sam didn’t make any noise, he never made any noise, but he could never sneak around his father. Commander Sam Vimes turned his head ever so slightly, and Wee Sam tooka good look at him.

Oh gods, he was so old. When had that happened? True, the last time he had seen his father he must have been about 50, but before that Wee Sam had spent three decades watching his father age and yet… It had never struck him so hard. He never could quite reconcile his memories of young Sam Vimes, that kid who had joined The Watch for three square meals a day and a little extra cash for his family. But he hadn’t thought his father had changed so much.

The old man looked him up and down. “How’d the battle go? After I left?”

Wee Sam stopped abruptly, and looked down at his outfit. He had forgotten to change into the clothes he had left at the monastery. This outfit was a uniform the Monks had given him, so he wouldn’t have the problems ‘accidental’ time travelers experienced with their clothes and meals and things staying in the time they came from. He even still had his lilac, somehow, even though that had come from the past.

“Don’t you remember?” You kicked ass.

His father shook his head. “I remember the original timeline, when Keel died at the barricade. I was pretty sure Coats wasn’t there.”

“Yeah, I don’t think he was, either.”

“I guess Vetinari showed up?” His father smirked. “Had a lilac in his teeth and everything?”

“I thought you didn’t remember it.” Wee Sam frowned.

“I don’t, but he tells me about it sometimes. I think he’s waiting for me to remember, or maybe now he’s wondering why I don’t.”

“Because time travel is a mess.” Wee Sam turned away from his father and looked across the city. He could see his family’s house from here.

“So Sweeper explained it to you?” The interest in his voice was practically tactile.

“No, but I had to run around for a month foiling somebody who had been sent to kill Havelock Vetinari. And it gave me time to wonder.”

“Why it was different the first time around?”

Wee Sam shook his head. “Would I have survived being born if you didn’t go back and meet Lawn?”

There was absolute silence between them, until Commander Sam Vimes quietly swore.

“Sweeper told me you have to think of things as one event in front of another, which is fine, except if you hadn’t gone back in time you wouldn’t have known Lawn was competent. You had heard of him, sure, but he would have never crossed your mind.”

“So we owe your existence to the damn time monks?” There was an angry edge to his father’s voice, but Wee Sam already knew his father was protective as hell. That was how he had gotten into this mess. Sort of.

“No. As far as I can tell, we owe it to some modern young idiots who thought they could go back and kill Vetinari. Time tries to fix things, and so you were sent back in time, to meet Lawn and Carcer went with you and killed Keel so there was a place for you to be and when you were done my life got saved and the monks were able to send me back to save Vetinari’s life and… Time is what it should be. Go us.” There was something about owing his life to terrorists that made him feel sarcastic.

“For all we know Vetinari or Rosie Palm might have recommended Lawn.” His father pointed out, which wasn’t a bad alternative. But it wasn’t what had happened, and there wasn’t really anybody they could ask. At least, nobody who they could ask who would give them a meaningful answer. They both knew Vetinari was a capable doctor, but apparently neither of them could imagine Vetinari getting involved in a problematic birth when there were other competent people around to do it.

More silence. Wee Sam noticed the time on the Tower of Art, and pulled his watch back out. If they were going to avoid talking about the massive argument they had that morning, he may as well take the time to re-set his watch.

“There was the sound of dice.” His father said so quietly that it didn’t initially register.

“Hm?” Wee Sam pushed the pin in, and watched with satisfaction as his watch and the tower struck the time at the exact same minute.

“Before the Library got struck by lightning. There was the sound of dice. Were the people who wanted to kill Havelock associated with a specific god?”

“I… Don’t know. They didn’t say anything about one.” He shut the watch, and shoved it in his pocket. ‘Havelock’ meant his dad was worried. “But there was a thunderstorm, right? Was the sound of dice rolling at the exact moment as the thunder?’

“Yes.”

“Io!” They both said it at the same moment, and Wee Sam felt his heart fall to his stomach. The self-proclaimed King of the Gods had been trying to subjugate their family for a long time. The only reason he had eased up lately was because Wee Sam had trained with the witches in Lancre. And so, to a lesser extent, had his father. It made them harder targets. But Io was still The Thunder God because he had murdered all the others. And then there was the question of who he would be forced to answer to. And how. Neither of the Vimes men had an axe sharp enough for that.

“Damn, why didn’t I realize that?” His father asked the night at large.

“The gods are always playing games. And besides, you had no reason to think Io was responsible for… Well he’s probably not responsible for the Dragon Incident, at least. Or the Goblin Incident.”

“Yeah, but we’ve been operating under the assumption that he was involved in that Dam Slam.” He was rubbing his thumb thoughtfully over the inside of his left wrist, where the Mark of the Summoning Dark had been. When Wee Sam was 8 it had changed, to a symbol generally called the Guarding Dark by anyone who cared to reference it. His father never talked about either Mark, but Wee Sam didn’t blame him. The Marks were indicative of 7 year period which did a number on his view of magic, and his identity.

Speaking of.

“I haven’t told Susan yet, but the monks kicked me out.” He tapped his toe against the grass, bringing it down as softly as he could so it wouldn’t damage the grass. Leggy would be so mad if he damaged his precious ‘terf’.

“Do you want to be a Monk?” His father asked quietly.

“No, I want to be a Watchman.” He whispered. Today was his 30th birthday, though technically he was a month older than that. He felt so much older than that. “But you’re apparently so terrified of me getting myself hurt that you’ve been doing Every Damned Thing you can think of to get between me and that and so I went ahead and tried to join almost any guild in the city and quite a few refused me and I’ve been kicked out of Each. And. Every. One. which would take me and now the only thing I can think of is taking Susan up on her offer to put in a good word for me with the Sto Lat Watch unless you’re going to step in and mess that up too and I wish you would knock it the hells off because as much as I love mum and her dragons I cannot spend the rest of my life working at the damn dragon sanctuary so--”

“Corporal.” His father’s voice was conversational, and somebody who had spent less time listening for the Commander’s voice probably wouldn’t have heard it.

“I’m not finished! Will you--” Wee Sam stopped abruptly. “Is that why you made me a Corporal? You couldn’t have recognized me. I hadn’t been born yet!”

“I recognized potential. And I was right, though you didn’t have as much control as I originally thought. Was all that sparring really necessary?”

“You’ve been standing between me and what I’ve been made to do!”

“And how would 50 year old me have known that?”

“It was easier to fight… him… than you.” Wee Sam grumbled, then realized he was starting to dig up the sod with his toe. Feeling bad about the grass, he brought his toe down in the other direction, to flatten it back down.

“Easier? I kicked your ass. I’d probably have a harder time of it now.”

“I never wondered if I should hold back.” Wee Sam admitted.

“Ah.” The 80 year old nodded. “I know that feeling. I’ve often wondered what it would be like if Vetinari and I had a proper fight when we were young.”

“You could sell tickets and solve all the city’s financial problems.” Wee Sam shifted his gaze to his father. “Actually you probably still could--”

“No. Your mother would have a conniption.”

“Oh right. Yeah, she would. Shame.”

“Do I want to know who you think would win?”

“No.”

“Your faith in me is staggering.”

“Well I figure either it would be a draw or he’d kick your--”

“Yes I understood your answer to my question, thank you.” But he was smiling ever so slightly.

And then the city’s clocks started chiming 9 in the evening. His father pushed himself slowly to his feet, and Wee Sam offered his arm. Cheery had offered to get his father an axe to use as a cane, but Commander Vimes would not hear of it. He did touch Wee Sam’s arm briefly, but once he was standing straight he let go, and the pair of them headed towards the exit.

They didn’t bother to try talking until the clocks had stopped, about five minutes after Wee Sam’s watch struck the hour.

“Did those people who tried to kill young Vetinari have any friends who stayed in our time?”

“I believe so.” They were walking slowly, and Wee Sam waited a full block before he added. “You want me to turn all my information over to anyone in particular?”

“I’m not afraid of you getting hurt.” It didn’t seem like a related response, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t. “I mean, of course I am, but that’s not why I’ve been saying no.”

“Really?”

“I don't want people treating you like a target for their hate for me. If you could join the way Carrot or Angua or Cheery did, that would be fine. But it’s gotten so big since they joined up.”

“Ah.” He didn’t know what else to say.

“I don’t think it would be any better if you joined anywhere else within the Clacks network.”

“Which is pretty much the whole world at this point.”

“And there’s all this scrying now.”

“Which doesn’t need towers.”

His father glared at him, but didn’t tell him to knock it off. “So I suspect your joining a Watch anywhere would ultimately be just as risky.”

“Which is your reasoning for why I shouldn’t bother with Sto Lat.”

“No, my reasoning for why you shouldn’t bother with Sto Lat is that we pay better and have the best medical benefits on the Sto Plains.”

Wee Sam stopped abruptly. “What.”

“You survived the Watch I started out in. As far as I’m concerned, you can handle today’s watch.” The old man stopped and looked back at him. “You’re going to be the oldest cadet though. Because I’m not going to let you jump straight to Corporal. We’re not at war.”

“Right. Yeah. That’s fine.”

“We’re going to be late if you don’t get moving.”

“Right.” Wee Sam managed to keep himself from skipping, so the pent up energy became a jog to his father’s side. They walked in silence, Wee Sam’s mind racing as he wondered if there was some way for him to accidentally mess this up.

“You should give your mother two week’s notice though. It’s only fair.”

“You didn’t run this by her first?” Wee Sam turned to him, shocked.

“Oh we’ve been talking about this for years.” The unspoken word ‘decades’ hung in the air between them. “Her, Vetinari, Carrot, Angua, Cheery--”

“Cheery?”

“She and Igor think you should be in forensics. I mean, it’s your choice of course-- after you pass the tests.”

“Forensics would be great.” He agreed, and thought about how fun it could be to put his Medical and Alchemical and Assassin training to something useful for once. Which reminded him “You know, there is a smouldering cigar in the center of The Garden of Inner City Tranquility at the Monastery.”

“Yeah, it hit me after you left. I had called you ‘sunshine’ during our fight, and Vetinari basically asked how you were handling turning 30, and seeing him standing there with the lilac pinned to his shirt it hit me.” He paused for a moment. “He wore it in the original timeline too, you know. I wish I had asked, but we didn’t get along as well then.”

Wee Sam felt his mouth tug into a half-smile. For his father and the patrician, ‘getting along as well’ involved an increased number of arguments. Also, he remembered ‘Keel’ using that ironic term of endearment during their spar. “You realized I was Ned Coats.”

“So I… walked as fast as I could… to the Monastery and… knocked on the damned door… And threatened to make one hell of a scene if Sweeper didn’t let me in.”

“So of course he did.”

“Of course.”

“And he took you to the garden. And… you told him what you worked out?”

“Actually I just told him that if anything happened to you I was holding him personally responsible. I knew Ned Coats died. I just didn’t know if he died the way John Keel died. I hadn’t stayed long enough to find out.”

“And what did he say?”

“He asked if my holding him responsible was more or less lethal than Susan Sto Helit holding him responsible.”

Wee Sam laughed. “Sweeper hasn’t met mum.”

“Yeah, that’s true.” His father chuckled quietly. “Anyway, Susan will be at dinner so you can tell her all about how the monks kicked you out with an audience. Your mother will find it interesting, I’m sure.”

“Does mum know about you going back...”

“Oh yes. Vetinari can’t keep a secret from her.” And neither could her husband.

“Will there be anybody at the dinner who doesn’t know?”

“Hm, no. I don’t think so. You were the only one who wasn’t in a position to make conversation then, and while Susan wasn’t involved in my adventure as far as I can tell…”

“But with Susan who knows. In any case, I think I’ll wait until we can get some privacy.”

“Suit yourself, but be warned. Everyone knows I told you I was ok with you joining the Watch. They’ll make a big deal about it. You know how they are.”

Wee Sam looked up at the big, brightly-lit, house as they waited for his dad to fully get his breath back. “I’ll try to be strong.”

Commander Sam Vimes snorted. Wee Sam opened the door, held it while his father entered the house, and followed right behind him.

[quillsandcassettes]

Crowtober Day 1: Pumpkin

Summary: A short oneshot where Nina convinces the Crows to do some pumpkin carving for Halloween.

Word Count: 1,038

Warnings: None

A/N: This is the first in a long line of Crows/Grishaverse oneshots I'll be doing for October! If anyone has any prompts they want me to use for oneshots after October, feel free to send them my way and I'll see what I can do! The image I'm getting each prompt for this month from will be at the bottom.

Nina couldn’t stop the giggle that bubbled past her lips as she watched him struggle. She knew from the start he’d be far too heavy handed, but it was fun to watch him try. “Alright, alright just slow down.” She spoke through her giggles, reaching out to rest her hand over his. “Be gentler, pretend you’re holding me.” He met her gaze, a blush covering his cheeks. “Such a thought is not appropriate for right now, Nina. It is neither appropriate nor helpful. I’m hardly going to try and carve you.”

Nina rolled her eyes, curling her fingers around his hand gently. “There was a time you may have but that isn’t the point. Don’t be so heavy handed, be softer.”

Jesper spoke up from the other side of the table “Asking Matthias Helvar to ‘be softer’ is like asking Inej to ‘be taller’. I’m truly not sure it’s possible.” His comment was met with a sharp elbow to the ribs from the woman in question.

He winced as he looked over her shoulder “who’s idea was it to allow Inej to pumpkin carve anyway? She has an unfair advantage, and we all know it.”

“Jesper, are you going to continue to whine or are you going to finish carving? I can always help if you need it.” Inej was doing her very best not to elbow him again, although she felt he deserved it.

Jesper’s reply came out a cross between hurt and indignant. “I’m fine. I can carve my own pumpkin thank you very much.”

Wylan gently bumped Jesper’s hip “you can’t be doing any worse than the Fjerdan so take solace in that.” He murmured, offering Jesper a small, slightly rosy cheeked smile.

“I appreciate that, Merchling. Although maybe I should just shoot it instead, it’d be easier.” Wylan stopped him as he reached for his guns.

“Not exactly in the spirit of it, Jesper. Come on, let me help you.” He moved so he was closer to his side and begun to help guide him better, much like Matthias, Jesper was surprisingly heavy handed.

Kaz watched them all from his place at the end of the table. How they’d also dragged him into this he wasn’t sure. Not that he was really participating, he was mostly observing. He knew of course, exactly how he’d gotten here. Nina had suggested it, given Halloween was coming up, Jesper and Wylan had jumped at the chance and then Inej had batted her rather perfect eyelashes at him and boom, pumpkin carving for six.

They had another thing coming though if they thought they were displaying these things anywhere in the club. He knew Inej and Jesper wouldn’t ask but Wylan and Nina had the potential to try. No carved pumpkins were setting foot inside the Crow Club. No word was to get out about any of this, lest Kaz’s reputation take a hit.

Inej was studying him as she finished up her own carving, it looked like she’d been making them for years, perks of a knife being her preferred weapon of choice. She settled herself beside him once she’d finished. “You don’t have to worry about them you know, they won’t ask to have them in the club. They know the rules. Nina just thought we deserved some fun.”

Kaz nodded but didn’t speak, he didn’t have much to say. As long as they stayed here, he didn’t care. Nina Zenik had very interesting ideas of fun and he wasn’t sure they aligned with his own.

“They seem to be getting on quite a bit better.” Inej remarked as she watched Nina and Matthias interact. It was nice to see them finally together again, properly after so long apart. If anyone deserved to be happy it was those two. She watched as Nina threw some of the pumpkin pulp at Matthias over whatever had been said, the man himself only offering her the smallest of smiles before he finally let her take over and finish his pumpkin.

Kaz’s eyes were on Jesper and Wylan, it wasn’t like him to speak much on the topic but since Inej had started it. “and those two.” He remarked, nodding ever so slightly in their direction.

Inej’s gaze flicked to them next, he was right. Wylan and Jesper were deep in conversation, the red head’s cheeks were still coated in the softest tinge of pink, not that Jesper seemed to notice, or if he did, he didn’t mind.

They were both bad at this, communicating their feelings but maybe given the environment they were in and the people surrounding them, they should give it a try. Inej turned her focus to Kaz. “Guess that just leaves us.”

Kaz turned to her with a blank expression, although she hadn’t missed the slight widening of his eyes before that. “Leaves us to what?” He questioned, they both knew he was aware of what she was referring to. They’d been pining after each other for how long now. They had their own problems but just maybe they could work through them together.

“I think you and I both know what I meant.” Her voice was barely above a whisper, partially so the others didn’t hear and partially because she’d just initiated a conversation that terrified her.

“It’ll be far from easy.” He stated. Especially given he couldn’t touch her without feeling like he might drown.

“When has anything ever been easy for us?” She questioned, neither of them had said it but that small exchange was enough to agree that maybe trying wouldn’t be so bad.

He wanted nothing more than to take her hand, and maybe one day he would be able to, for now though, the knowledge that they’d have each other either way was enough. She’d be patient, he knew that. Probably far more patient than he deserved. He may not always communicate his gratitude very well but he hoped she’d understand.

As he studied the people who were rather quickly becoming his family, and the girl beside him who had always watched over him better than any Saint ever could, he drew the conclusion that perhaps Nina’s little pumpkin carving idea hadn’t been such a bad one after all.

[rokutouxei]

catching your attention

genshin impact | G | 2930 albedo / aether 

Aether loves Albedo’s company, but not when he’s ignoring him and has all of his attention focused on sketching… well, him. He’s stubborn and in love enough to find a way to catch Albedo’s attention back.

It starts like this: he and Aether are in the heights of Dragonspine, after a trek on the lookout for a specific, elementally-infused kind of starsilver. A blizzard had trapped them into a small cave, and it was an easy decision to make that it would be better if they wait it out instead of daring to walk back to the alchemist’s camp at the foot of the mountain.

Albedo starts a fire with some wood he’d found and some sort of pyro potion in his bag. Paimon’s line of sight goes back out to the white-gray of the hailstorm.

“Looks like we’ll be out here all night,” she muses. “Paimon hopes we can get out soon because I’m getting hungry.”

Aether pulls out a sandwich from his bag as if by second nature. “Mora meat?”

“Mora meat!” Paimon exclaims, before snatching the food from his hands. With that, she retreats to the other side of the fire, happily munching on her snack.

Aether has memorized all the necessary tricks to get Paimon off his back, and like this… with Albedo so close… well, it would be a shame not to use them.

Said alchemist is sat down on one side of the fire, and Aether crouches down by him, a serious expression on his face. “We won’t have time to finish your experiment by tonight,” he says, rather guiltily. “Sorry.”

While his elemental sight may have made their trip much easier, they still ended up making a turn in two in the wrong direction, taking up extra time. Albedo only shakes his head. “It’s alright. The materials aren’t time-sensitive. They can wait until tomorrow. On the other hand, I will have to apologize, as this trip will delay your return to Mondstadt and take you away from your Guild duties.”

Aether waves his hands in the air dismissively. “It’s alright, Katheryne isn’t too strict about those,” Aether says. “Not much to sketch in here, though, huh?”

“To the uninterested eye, yes. But the patterns of the rock formations are quite fascinating if they’re to be studied, or perhaps even mapping the interior of the cave.” Albedo pauses. “However… there’s something more involved I’d like to put to paper, if I may.”

Aether cocks his head to the side. “What is that?”

“May I sketch you?”

The traveler blinks, as if not quite believing what he’d heard. “…Me?” he asks, pointing to himself. He faintly recognizes the sharp thrumming of his heart from underneath his shirt. When Albedo nods, he shrugs a little awkwardly, despite being all fire and light on the inside. “If you’ll have me, then alright. Not much intrigue in this face.”

Albedo begins to pull out his sketchbook and some pencils from his bag. “Oh, don’t get me wrong. Sometimes it’s more of memory-keeping than it is about research and alchemic purposes. It’s not every day I get caught in a blizzard with you.”

For some reason, that makes Aether’s face flush. Albedo can be so smooth at times—like he doesn’t even try. “Well, then go for it. It’s an honor to be drawn by you, Chief Alchemist.”

“Please, there are no titles here, just you and me.” Albedo turns toward Aether, who is fidgeting just the littlest bit from nervousness. “Would you mind—facing a little bit—” Before Aether can react, Albedo is reaching out and tilting Aether’s face towards him, fingers on his chin. Aether is sure Albedo can see the up-and-down bob of his throat as he pulls away. It’s alright; he’d caught the redness in Albedo’s ears too, anyway. “There we go. Perfect.”

With that, Aether coughs out remnants of his surprise and nervousness by clearing his throat, and Albedo returns to his seat, hiding behind his sketchbook and pen and faux concentration.

Paimon shakes her head, looking up from her now-empty wrapper of Mora meat. “Silly boys,” she says, with a sigh.

 -

It is pretty obvious to everyone who works with Albedo for even the shortest amount of time that it doesn’t take long for him to get lost in his work; all focus and long attention span and seriousness, he can go at his alchemic experiments for hours without interruption, not even for a drink or a bite or a toilet break. Once he gets into his zone, there’s no stopping him, unless one yanks him forcefully out of his little mind-field, not that many people have ever tried.

It becomes pretty obvious to Aether, ever since that blizzard night on Dragonspine, that the same can be said about Albedo and his sketching.

Albedo likes to draw. What was once specifically for research grew into more of a hobby. Now, when there is nothing urgent to do, he finds himself heading to places where there might be something nice to sketch—scenery, a living thing, an object. He can lose track of time there. He gets engrossed in his work as he catches the details he adores the most. Then after that, he packs his materials and heads off to the next best place.

The alchemist generally likes to draw things that catch his interest, so when he admits that he finds himself wanting to sketch Aether far more often than he thought he would, Aether feels a surge of embarrassment—and still-secret joy—fill him. He thought to himself: this would be the perfect time to get to know Albedo more, maybe get closer to him. No ulterior motives, of course, just wanting to be familiar with a friend, of course…

But Aether quickly finds out that his imaginations of what a sketching session would be are far from reality.

At the start, Albedo sometimes participates in idle chatter, a little ramble on what he’s planning to draw and how he approaches his sketch, but within a few minutes, he goes quiet, and all disappears. It’s just him, his sketch, the visual of his subject, and nothing else. It would probably take something drastic like a trio of geovishaps to truly take him out of this trance-like state, because it’s pretty solid.

(Heck, Aether’s tried. He’s blurted out an I love you! while Albedo was sketching him and the latter hadn’t even noticed. Aether still doesn’t know what to feel about that.)

At this point in their… friendship, Aether wouldn’t dare admit that when he offers a trip out to Starfell Lake or Dragonspine or Stormterror’s Lair, he just wants to hang out with Albedo, not… be forced to sit still and observe his—well, objectively, very rationally, handsome face, his teal eyes, the platinum blonde hair, so soft in its braid, his boyish face, the…

Well, the important thing is, sometimes he just wants to be a ‘more than a friend’, not… a model.

So he tries.

Slowly moves until he’s out of position to see if that will snap Albedo out of it and force him back to place. It doesn’t work. Moves sharply, like he’d gotten a flash of pain and fell out of place. There’s a blink of concern in Albedo’s face for a moment before it disappears, and it doesn’t work. Aether tries singing. Aether tries talking to himself. Aether tries calling out Albedo’s name, louder and louder each time. Hell, there was one time Aether tried to call the attention of a ruin guard. He loves indulging Albedo, loves to see the other man’s works more than the average person, but sometimes he wants his active, conscious presence, not an artist’s focused absence from the world.

Aether knows the drawings could be the smallest admissions of love, the proof that Albedo wants to treasure these memories he has of Aether, but—

He wants Albedo here. In the now.

And Aether is stubborn and will find a way to make that happen.

-

“What’s the easiest way to catch Albedo’s attention?” Aether asks Paimon once, while they’re off in Liyue, and out of the hearing ears of anyone who could out him ahead of his own confession.

Paimon blinks at him curiously. “You seem to catch his attention pretty easily.”

“No, not like that,” Aether clarifies, “like, interrupting him when he’s drawing or in the middle of an experiment. I don’t know how to talk to him when he gets like that.”

“Have you tried to yell his name?” Aether nods. “Move in front of him? Shout? Surprise him?” Aether nods at everything. “Huh, he’s pretty stubborn when he concentrates.”

“I know. If you have any idea, would you tell me?”

“Of course! Paimon would love to play matchmaker!”

Aether spits out the bite of sunsettia in his mouth. “No!”

-

“Honorary Knight,” Sucrose greets him, as he enters the Knights of Favonius’ alchemy room. Timaeus confirmed that Albedo was at the Dragonspine camp today, so Aether decides it is safe to visit Sucrose and that she would be alone. “How can I be of assistance?”

“It’s a… bit of a personal matter,” Aether mumbles quietly, sitting on top of one of the empty desks. Sucrose nods and listens patiently, twiddling with her thumbs as he describes the issue at hand.

She makes a face of confusion, then concern, before shifting back to an awkward smile. Her cheeks are pink, as well—god, Aether knows, but what a reminder that this is really such an embarrassing situation he has gotten himself in.

Sucrose says, “I’m afraid even I don’t know how to get his attention when he gets into that state. Mister Albedo is pretty intense about his research, and so we try to make sure to get all questions answered before he begins any experiments. He can go on for hours, after all, and we wouldn’t be able to contact him.”

“I see…” Aether sighs, slowly losing hope that there’s anyone who knows how to solve his little Albedo problem. “Well, thank you for your time, Sucrose. I’m sorry if I interrupted anything.”

“Oh, no, please, any time,” she beams. “If anything, I believe Mister Albedo is very taken by you if his sketches are any indication. I’m sure if there’s anyone who will be able to find a way to get his attention in the middle of his focus, it’s going to be you, Honorary Knight.”

Aether flushes, thanking the gods he’s already got his back turned and on his way to the door. “Thank you, Sucrose!” he calls out, before closing the door behind him.

Geez, who else is he supposed to ask?

-

“My, if the Honorary Knight himself is offering to buy me a drink, how am I supposed to say no?” Kaeya cheers, seated by the bar in Angel’s Share. Charles had been kind enough tonight to offer Aether a glass of an alcoholic drink as well—but only one, he squints, still doubting his age. Not like Aether can show an ID proving he’s a thousand years old. Kaeya insists on a toast. “How can I help you today, Aether?”

“It’s about Albedo.”

“Ohhh,” Kaeya smirks. “Come to me for relationship problems? I’m flattered.”

“It’s not—” Aether groans. There’s no getting out of this when it’s Kaeya. “Just help me out, okay?”

Surprisingly, Kaeya listens very attentively as Aether describes the situation, especially in the way Aether’s ears get redder and redder with every sentence. And it’s not from the alcohol, either. Kaeya swirls his glass of Death After Noon carefully, “hmmm”-ing and “mmhmm”-ing every few seconds.

“I see. So you want to get your boyfriend’s attention sometimes.”

Aether glares. “He is not—” he sighs. “Yet, at least. I hope.”

“That’s the spirit,” Kaeya laughs, taking a swig of his drink. “You know, there is something I’ve noticed about Albedo when it comes to you.”

“To me?”

“Yes, to you,” Kaeya nods. “See, when we’re in the same room, even if he’s not particularly part of the conversation we are having, if anyone so much as whispers your name, he turns toward the sound like a moth to the flame.”

Aether flushes. “I-is that so.”

“Mhm, definitely so. You can ask Jean and Lisa,” Kaeya says, awfully confident. It takes a moment for Aether to register that even Jean and Lisa know, and he’s a little mortified. “Now, this is a shot in the dark, but how about you try doing it the other way around?”

Whispering? How will that even work? Kaeya’s practical advice is always rather useful, but when it comes to things like these it’s easier to believe that he’s just fooling whoever is asking him, so Aether doesn’t really put much faith in its results. Still, he wishes for the best. Whatever that is.

So one day, when they are over Starsnatch cliff as he gathers cecilias and Albedo sketches the view, “Albedo,” he whispers carefully when he gets close enough, “I love you.”

Albedo tears his gaze away from his sketch and looks at him with surprise in his star-bright eyes.

Aether wills his soul to leave Teyvat at once.

-

It takes a while for them to negotiate their relationship into blossom. Albedo has long acknowledged it, but now he has to reckon with his emotions, as he tentatively confesses his return of feelings. But that’s far from the end of it, as apologies are exchanged with compromises made between a traveler who has to go out and far away more often than not and an alchemist who only knows his lab and his sketchbook, and very little on love and relationships and affection.

Still, it is there, and now that they’ve both come to light about it, it grows.

(Paimon, upon hearing of this later, sighs in relief.)

“Do you know how many times I’ve confessed to you in the past?” Aether asks, as he and Albedo walk back to Mondstadt, armfuls of cecilias in their hands. “Twenty-five. All of them while you were sketching. You never noticed.”

“I’m sorry,” Albedo says awkwardly, stumbling a little and kicking a pebble out of his path. “It was never my intention to ignore you, but even if so—”

“It’s alright, it’s alright,” Aether laughs, nudging him with his shoulder. “At least now you heard it. I can’t believe it’s Kaeya’s advice that would work after all this time. Feels a little silly now.”

“Sir Kaeya is definitely more socially adept and mindful than I am, so I am not as surprised it’s his word that allowed us to get to…” he trails off. “Well, this.”

Aether smiles and to Albedo, it’s like morning.

“I just—I just have one request though, Albedo,” Aether says, as they round the path overlooking Windrise. “I know how important sketching is to you, as an art form and—well, for memory-keeping.”

“You remembered.”

“I did,” Aether nods. “But now, now that we’re—well, this,” he gestures with what of his hand he can move, “I would like it if you could… well, if we could leave the memory-keeping for later, and… turn to memory-making, you know? Live it now, while I’m here, while you’re here.”

Albedo looks like he’s being torn apart for a brief moment, wondering if there’s anything deeper about what Aether had said, but then he relaxes as his eyes turn back to him.

For the here. For the now.

“Anything for you,” he says, voice gentle like cecilias in the wind.

-

They’re sitting in Starfell Lake in the middle of the night after a venture off the beaches of Stormbearer point. They spent half the entire day with each other, talking and enjoying each other’s company; and now, Albedo is quietly sketching him as he usually does. Aether is looking out at the lake, reflecting on the Statue of the Seven, the first he’d ever seen here in Teyvat, when he spots a little flutter of red coming from the other side of the lake.

“Is that—”

“Ah! Mister Honorary Knight! And Big brother Albedo! It’s me, Klee!”

“Klee? What are you doing out here at this hour?!”

“Fish-blasting! Don’t tell Master Jean! Come with me!”

The little girl in red begins to run towards them, and Aether turns to “wake” the other. “Albedo,” he whispers, and the latter slips out of his trance.

Before he can even ask what is it, Klee’s voice rings clearly through the field again. “Mister Honorary Knight! Big brother Albedo!”

There is, again, that flash of pain in Albedo’s face, eyes trained on the sketch. He’d finished Aether’s eyes but hadn’t fully drawn his braid out yet, just the fluff on his head. Before he can speak, Aether holds his sketching hand in his.

“Albedo. Let’s make memories here.”

The alchemist takes a deep breath and smiles at his boyfriend. “Alright.”

With that, Klee still a few meters away, Aether lifts the sketchbook to cover their faces, hiding them from sight as he presses a sweet kiss on Albedo’s lips, quick and soft.

“What are you doing back there?!” Klee asks, peering from above the sketchbook, just as they’ve parted. There’s a scarlet glow on their faces she can’t quite see in the moonlight—thankfully.

Aether grins as he puts down the sketchbook on the grass, turning to lift Klee in his arms. “Our little secret!”

“Noooo!” Klee frowns, but then laughs as Albedo pats her on the head. “Klee wants in too! Tell Klee!”

Albedo smiles at her and then at Aether. “How about we keep our secret, and we keep your secret from Master Jean?”

Stars form in the little girl’s eyes. “Oh, that’s great! There’s lots of fish to go kaboom!”

Aether and Albedo hold hands all the way to Klee’s favorite fishing spot.

[veniteme]

Hunting for Gems

season preview

ash island x reader

prev | next

When Ash Island is forced to participate as a producer for the latest season of Show Me the Money, he knows it won't be easy. But when his partner is you, a rising producer from H1GHR, maybe it won't be as bad as he thought.

2k words

As you stand before the door to the waiting room, heart thudding loudly in your chest, you think back to when the KIFF boys were in your studio eating cake a week ago.

“What am I supposed to do?” you slap Rohan’s arm vigorously as you panic. “How am I supposed to act around him?” The rest of the boys had already left, allowing you to freak out in relative privacy.

You’ve been an avid fan of Ash Island since his days on High School Rapper 2. Once he started releasing music, your infatuation with him only increased. When Jay informed you that you’d be working with him for the entire season of Show Me the Money, your brain immediately worked itself into a frenzy. On one hand, you were excited to meet someone whose music you loved. On the other, how were you expected to function properly next to him with the entire world watching through a camera?

“Okay, first thing you need to do,” Rohan starts, “is stop hitting me! You may be weak, but if you hit me enough it starts to sting okay? And second, just be normal? Act how you usually do.” He makes it sound so easy, as if you won’t die on the spot the moment the two of you make eye contact.

“That is under the assumption that I am able to think with him sitting next to me. And alright, let’s say I am actually capable of saying more than two words in his presence, what if he doesn’t like me? What if he thinks I’m weird or annoying?” You’ll be crushed if this person that you’ve admired for so long decides he doesnt like you.

“Then he’d be a good judge of character?” You hit Rohan even harder. “Ow! Relax, I was just kidding. Look, I’ve known the guy for a couple years now, and he has no right to call someone else weird. Plus, he’s one of the chillest guys I know. You’ll be fine. From what I’ve seen recently, the only time you need to be worried is when the cameras are on.”

“What do you mean?”

-----

While you stood outside the door, Ash is inside, staring nervously at the production crew setting up the cameras. Unlike you, he is not nervous about the two of you meeting. He’s worked with countless artists, featured on so many songs, he is used to interacting with people he didn’t know. What actually scares him is having to be a functioning human being in front of all these cameras.

He’s never done a such a big production like this, never seen so many cameras all pointed at him, capturing his every move. Thinking about all the eyes that will be watching him through that lens gives him anxiety. Normally, he’d be drinking right now to take off a bit of the edge. However, he doesn't think that would help with this cold bad boy image he is already starting to have. On top of being a jerk, the public will then think he was an alcoholic.

Just when he thinks he'll burst from nerves, you decide to walk through the door, a welcome distraction from all the thoughts running through his head.

-----

The first thing you see as you walk in is the production crew. All you are filming today are some short interviews to introduce the producer teams. They’ll be airing it as a teaser for the new season. You bow your head in greeting to the staff as you head to your seat. And that’s when you see him.

The two of you make eye contact, both looking up at the same time. And then you freeze; your brain short-circuits and for a second, all you can do is stare. Ash Island, the guy whose songs take up a good chunk of your playlist, is sitting there, right in front of you.

You break out of your stupor when you hear his voice. “Hey, what’s up?” he says casually. And you realize you’re being incredibly rude to someone who is older and a senior in the industry.

“Hello! I’m Saf. I’m a producer for H1GHR Music,” you introduce yourself officially.  

He chuckles a bit. “Yeah, I know. We’ve seen each other at the H1GHR-Ambition parties.”

“Right,” you say nervously. And you guys had met before, but you didn’t think he’d remember. He was always across the room or on the opposite end of the table, so you two never really interacted. In fact, this is the first time you’ve heard his voice, and not through a song on your phone.  

“So did you want to sit down?” he asks. You’ve just been standing in front of him for a while.  

“Oh!” you immediately take a seat. Now what are you supposed to say? Thankfully, he decides to fill the silence.

“You're friends with Rohan right?” he asks. Not really who you’re thinking about at the moment, but you'll take it.

“Yeah, I am. We're in the same crew,” you explain. “Why, did he say something about me?” you ask, feigning nonchalance. If Rohan said anything remotely embarrassing about you to Ash Island, you were ready to kill him.  

“Oh no, I just remembered him drunk-dialing me last night to wish me luck on the show.” You laughed, making a comment about how dumb Rohan was sometimes. And that’s how the rest of your conversation went until you started shooting, sharing dumb stories about your mutual friend.

-----

SHOW ME THE MONEY SEASON X

Team ASH ISLAND x SAF Q&A

The two are seated side-by-side in front of the camera. Ash Island is looking quite stiff and uncomfortable, while Saf has an easy smile on her face.

Please introduce yourselves.

After a glance at Ash Island, Saf begins her introduction with a bow.

Saf: Hello, everyone. My name is Saf, I’m a producer for H1GHR Music.

Following her lead, it seems Ash Island takes his first breath since the camera started rolling.

Ash Island: Hi, guys. I’m Ash Island from Ambition Musik.

Did you two know each other before the show?

Saf: Well, of course I don’t think there’s anyone interested in Korean hip hop right now that doesn’t know Ash Island. But we’ve also seen each other in passing at events and parties and such. This is my first time really talking to him though.

As she talks, Ash Island appears to loosen up just the slightest. He directs his gaze to Saf when he speaks.

Ash Island: [to Saf] You… can just call me Ash.

Saf looks at him in surprise, her cheeks just the slightest shade darker, undetectable to most.

-----

“WHY DID THEY EDIT IT LIKE THAT?” Rohan’s obnoxious laughter in the background is only furthering your agitation.

“Come on,” Rohan lets out between spurts of laughter. “That had nothing to do with the editing. Don’t tell me that wasn’t exactly how it felt when he looked at you.”

Unable to refute his claim, all you say is “Whatever.”

“Did they have to put in the romantic background music and CGI cherry blossoms though?” you complain.

Ignoring your best friend’s following fit of laughter, you begrudgingly hit play once again.

-----

“Duuuuude I didn’t realize you were so smooth!”

“Our Bition Baby is all grown up!”

“You can just call me Ash,” Changmo repeats in a sickeningly sweet voice.

“What are you guys talking about?” Ash asks, only slightly annoyed that his labelmates had interrupted his studio time. He wasn’t making much progress today anyway.

“Did you not watch the Show Me previews last night?” Hash Swan asks.

“No, I thought I’d avoid the embarrassment of seeing myself on national TV,” Ash replies. He was there when it happened, he didn’t need reminders of how awkward he was on camera.

“Alright, you have to watch this,” Leellamarz says, pulling up the reposted video on Youtube.

-----

You guys are the youngest producer team in the history of the show. Do you feel pressured by this fact?

Saf: [to Ash] Do you want me to answer this one?

He looks at her and nods wordlessly. She smiles at him in return before addressing the camera.

Saf: Of course, working next to such big names and artists can be quite intimidating. But I think as long as we put out work that we can be proud of, I will be satisfied.

Saf: But I would appreciate it if the viewers would look kindly upon us as it is our first time on this show. I’m kind of a wimp; I think I’d be pretty hurt if I saw we were receiving hate comments.

Saf’s smile indicates she’s only joking, and the production team can be heard laughing behind camera.

Ash: I doubt anyone in their right mind would send you hate.

Saf: Why not?

Ash: All you do is sit and smile and release music. What could anyone possibly say about you?

Saf: …I’ll take that as a compliment.

Ash: It was one.

-----

“I hope you know that if you break her heart,” Changmo starts, “I’m petitioning to kick you out of the company. I am NOT risking losing an invite to AOMG-H1GHR parties because of you.”

Ash rolls his eyes. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, dude. Glad to know you have so much faith in me. But also, chill out. I haven’t even done anything yet.”

“Yet? So you are planning on making a move?” Hash Swan questions. Ash sighs. Why are these guys reading so much into everything he says?

“No, I am not making a move, I barely know her,” Ash refutes. “She’s just a producer that I will be working with for the next couple months.” That day was the first time he’d ever talked to you. There is no reason to get excited about anything just yet, even if he does think you have a nice smile.

“Come on, Ash. She’s not just a producer,” Leellamarz points out. Ash is a bit wary of where he’s going with this-

“She’s a very cute producer.” -and rightfully so. Ash really can’t catch a break with these guys. They all burst out laughing, and Changmo gives Leella a high-five.

“Whatever,” Ash mutters. “Why the sudden interest in my love life anyway?”

“Wow, you’re not even gonna try and deny that you think she’s cute?” Hash asks. This guy is way too observant.

“I have eyes. How am I supposed to not think she’s cute?” Ash says bluntly.

“You know, contrary to what you may believe, not everybody has to find her cute,” Changmo says, mostly just to tease him. “Maybe she’s just not my type,” he shrugs.

“Yeah, that’s because she’s actually nice,” Ash retorts. “And we all know that isn’t your type.”

“That’s never been your type either, Ash, so why the sudden change of heart?” Leella asks.

“Maybe I’m looking for a change of pace,” Ash says with a noncommittal shrug. This is all hypothetical anyway. It’s not like he’s planning on asking you out or anything. He just thinks you’re cute, there is no reason for the guys to make such a big deal out of it.

“Yeah, well be careful. You’re going to make some very scary people mad if you mess around with her,” Changmo warns.

“Please, the H1GHR guys are like literally the nicest guys on the planet. I think I’m safe,” Ash says.

“That’s not who I’d be worried about if I were you.”

-----

a/n: let me know what you think!! was the official show part too short? are there parts that sound weird/awkward? first time writing full fics so i'm always open to feedback!

[twstdreams]

Can I get sorted into a dorm please? I love learning and can get a bit obsessive when it comes to topics I enjoy like history, science and culinary. I’m also fun loving but according to my friends I can get a bit malicious at times since I do love to tease people. I seem quiet and hard to approach and some even say I seem vain when they first meet me(doesn’t help that I tend to dress elegantly even in a casual scene) but once you get to know me I’m extremely talkative, helpful and friendly. For real though I can talk for hours non stop once I’m given a topic.Though as my personality type is entp I’m not the best at listening to authority, can be painfully blunt and enjoy a good debate but I have tact and know when to keep my mouth shut for the most part especially since I care about my image(that and I’m not a fan of having enemies). I can get discouraged when I do something wrong, be it getting a bad grade or unintentionally hurting someone's feelings too much causing me to sulk around and be a bit petty.I get along well with people who are loyal and stick to their guns as well as open minded people but I get bored quickly if someones too sensitive or has their ideas easily swayed. If it helps, my Hogwarts house is ravenclaw.

The shape of thy soul is ... Diasomnia!

Why you fit in this dorm:

The students of this dorm exceed in general magic, so your love for science is probably a similar equivalent! In a dorm famed for having unusual inhabitants, your obsessive tendencies towards learning topics you like aren’t even considered weird.

Your elegant fashion style is welcomed because Diasomnia was founded on the elegance of the Witch of Thorns! 

Hard to approach is practically the brand of Diasomnia, along with gifted students, through the eyes of the rest of NRC. Therefore, you’ll fit right in and most likely find yourself sitting at the exclusive cafeteria table with your dormmates. You and Lilia insist Diasomnia, and yourselves, are more welcoming than the rumours say but not all will be swayed or have the guts to discover the truth for themselves. 

Your malicious side might even pail to some of your dormmates since most people are scared of even accidentally angering your fellow Diasomnia students. Hopefully, you won’t have to find out who’s scarier when enraged!

Within the dorm, your talkative and friendly personality will be embraced! People appreciate it when you participate in game nights or join the soap opera marathons. If you ever use your culinary interest to create some snacks, your dormmates would be open to trying some! Just don’t leave them next to Lilia’s or else everyone might avoid it to prevent accidentally grabbing some of the vice dorm leader’s abominations 

Being bold enough to debate and bluntly state opinions in combination with having enough tact to know when to stop is key because while there are many opportunities for interesting conversation, there are definitely some dorm members with flaring tempers too! Those rumours did start from somewhere after all because Diasomnia members can’t be dealt with normal means

Your dorm life:

If your culinary passion ever leans towards cold sweets, Malleus is definitely up to taste testing any ice creams you concoct! Custard-based ones, sorbets, frozen yogurt, some swirled with other desserts inside, the possibilities are endless. He might even be open to helping you during the process when he has free time once the two of you get closer

Lilia’s best subject is magical history so you have a great conversation partner for this topic! He has tons of stories, but it’s up to you to discern if any are woven with lies to play a trick on you. Lilia is especially knowledgeable about trends of various time periods so if you’re ever interested, he probably has great insight! 

Your teasing and sociable nature might mean you get to join Lilia when pulling little friendly pranks, but you’re just as likely to be on the receiving end! If you can master the skill, the dorm might end up seeing both you and Lilia pop in while floating upside down. You only do this with those you are friends with or wish to befriend though, being conscientious of your image means you won’t be surprising anyone that’s not already used to you

No worries, you’re hardly the only person in this dorm that goes on tangents about their favourite subject. It ends up being quite common that you exchange info dumps with Sebek or Malleus! Sebek will rave about Malleus or Malleus will explain subcategories of gargoyles along with their history. Once they're finished, you go off about your current interest. It’s mutually beneficial and tends to occur over tea time so everyone has refreshments to sip between excited rambles.

Silver and Sebek fit the bill of people who stick to their ideals! Sebek especially would never waver in his trust and high opinion of Malleus. Silver still faithfully guards Malleus, though he’s not quite as loud about it as his fellow guard. To Silver’s credit, he would adjust his opinion as new information comes in while also observing others and applying lessons where applicable.

Lilia and Malleus can be quite open-minded, especially Lilia who is more practiced when socializing with others. Malleus does try to understand others, but his temper and pettiness sometimes get in the way. However, they’re not so sensitive that they can’t debate with others or get fussed when opinions differ. 

Keeping this in mind, you won’t get bored! Your dormmates are loyal, stick to their ideals, but some are open-minded as well.

Another possible dorm: Pomefiore

At Pomefiore, each student carries a unique sense of beauty. Therefore, your elegant style regardless of the occasion is embraced! The beautiful Queen was elegant and fair, so emulating her is considered a good thing. You can even get tips and swap information about favourite brands with your fellow dormmates

Your love for science will flourish at Pomefiore, especially any interest in chemistry or biology, because this dorm has its own lab! Your interest in culinary skills and cuisine might even intersect when creating poisons and trying to reverse any visual effects or unpleasant tastes.

Appearing vain isn’t even considered odd at this dorm, rather people take pride in beauty! It’s important to take care of your appearance and this dorm demonstrates the power that stems from beauty.

If you want to challenge authority, you’re most certainly allowed to request to duel Vil, but you’ll have to deal with the fallout of failing too! The weak obey the strong at NRC so if you lose, you’ll have to listen and no amount of being petty or sulking will spare you  

Being aware of your image and how you are perceived is considered a good trait at Pomefiore. In addition, tact is encouraged, so you’ll fit right in with your dormmates! 

You may not find people loyal to others, but many are striving to be loyal to themselves while living by their own ideals and beliefs. This is a dorm where people demand duels and throw gloves when they feel disrespected. There’s most likely enough at Pomefiore to prevent you from feeling bored!

Dorms to avoid:

Ignihyde

Your sociable characteristics are not going to flourish at Ignihyde. Forget hard to approach, your dormmates go out of their way to avoid spotlight, attention, speeches, interacting with strangers excessively, they’re one of the dorms that are hardest to befriend.

The land of introverts is not a walk in the park for an extrovert. While you could definitely find others with obsessive or intense interests and people who go on about their likes, people here can definitely be sensitive. Also, long interactions can be quite draining as well, so you might not find any talkative dormmates either. 

It’s a pretty private dorm which might not be conducive to your teasing tendencies or talkative and friendly nature. Given that you have enough tact to not pursue topics and make enemies, you’d definitely survive in this dorm. The many avid gamers may also bring you joy but ultimately, even if you’re a Ravenclaw, this dorm is probably not your idea of a fun time.

Heartslabyul

Issues with listening to authority figures? You’re probably gonna get collared by Riddle. Perhaps not as quick as Deuce and Ace, but you’re going to end up with some magic free days whether you like it or not

Furthermore, you enjoy debating but there is no room for it when it comes to the Queen of Heart’s rules, which may frustrate you especially when you’re someone who gets along with the open-minded. You’d have to keep silent quite a bit. There’s no question that they’re sticking to their ideals, but since they’re forced on you as well it can end up suffocating. 

On the other hand, your sociable nature and culinary inclinations mean that you could enjoy it too! From teatime to taking care of the animals, there are lots of opportunities to hang out and talk. You’d probably never get a bad grade either if under Riddle’s tutelage. The real question is if it’s enough to outweigh the oppressive and severe rules

[iwannaholdyoutight-]

Oh, my love (pour me that jack and coke)

Summary: only one more time won’t make any difference, right?

Warnings: FWB!harry, smut. Just the life I wanted to live, honestly.

Wordk count: 3K (small one, sorry, my job and uni are kind of hard right now)

My masterlist

A/n: heeey guys I’m back this time with a fic for @stylesharrys 10k celebration. I got the prompt FWB!harry: “you’re alright, love? You seem a bit flustetered”. Don’t forget to support the other authors who are participating on the challenge HERE. And the singer they listen at the festival that takes place in the flashback is this ONE. 

PREVIEW

Natalie Portman was dancing with her pink wing on the tv and y/n could feel Harry’s eyes on her, hands touching her right arm in a flirtatious behavior. He was wearing a white shirt and black running shorts. She looked at him and his intense eye stare was running through her, she was feeling his desire; the sensual scene only adding to the fire that was always between them and since last satuday increased to a wildfire. She wanted to sit on his lap and give the actress on the tv a run for her money, giving him the best lap dance ever. 

“Have you ever recieved a lap dance?”

“Yeah. Have you ever given one?”

“No” she said timidly, suddenly feeling insecure.

“Do you want to give me one?” Harry asked with hooded eyes and a smirk on his face, tha last rays of sunshine paiting his face a beautiful golden tone, letting his eyes look clear, almost blue. 

“Do you think is a good idea that we do this one more time?”

He smirk at her, his hands fully incansing her face:

“I mean... only one more time won’t make any difference, right?”

They were sitting together at the coffee just down from their work place. Y/n was staring at the judgmental eyes of her best friend, Natasha. Her black eyes looked like two grapes because of her wide stare. 

“It’s not a big deal” y/n said, drinking from her cappuccino with a douple shot and a hint of mint essence. 

“He’s your best friend”

“Who can I trust more to fuck me without breaking my heart than my best friend?”

“You don’t think NOTHING could go wrong?”

Nat was raising her voice, a little bit surprised that her childhood friend just told her that Harry fucked her just  6 days ago, at the Lights festival

“I don’t know if I want to know more or ask you to never talk about it”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to tell you if the rumors are true?”

“You are a little bitch. Tell me all of it”

6 days ago...

She was seeing the worlds in colors. The woman singing on the staged was called Sevdaliza and she had the most sensual music ever.

Harry, just like her, was high and they both ended up loosing their friends in the middle of the crowd. Y/n looked at Harry with his glittery yellow shirt and white jeans. He looked like he fit the part: graduated from film school, always writing poetry and reading them at the coffee next to his house. He was celebrating: his script was going to be shot, the small production office decided to endorse his project and he was on cloud nine.

Quite differently from the time she met him: undergrad student, insecure about his art. She worked as a designer and photographer and met him at a visual arts masterclass a few years back, when they were both on their early twenties. Now, each day closer to reaching the big 30s, they were the best of friends. Always together.

Y/n always thought they had nothing but friendship, but now, so close to him, listening to Sevdaliza voice melt the audience of the festival, with his cinnamon smell so tangible in the air and his bird warmt so close: she wasn’t so sure if it was just friendship.

And she can’t deny, she was curious if the rumors were true: was he THAT good in bed or all the lovers of his she ever met were just easily impressed?

What she didn’t spect was for Harry to also have the same questions. He was just behind her getting closer and closer till both of his arms were around her waist and he was crouching so his face could fit like a pluzze in the curve where her neck met her shoulder.

“You smell good” Harry said in a low voice that was meant just for her

“H, what are you doing?”

“I was just wondering...” he was using his hands to turn her around but not releasing her from him, his nose touching hers, his mint breath blinding all of her senses “we are so good together, always helping each other out, figuring it out exactly just what the other wants. So... maybe... you and I could make quite a pair on the sheets...” that only thing Harry got wrong the night was about the sheets: they fucked in her living room.

Now

If you ask y/n she doesn’t remember who kissed who. But they kissed till the show was over and next thing she knew they were sharing a uber back to her place. Nat was staring at her like she had comitted a crime. She wasn’t planning on telling anyone, thinking it was a one time thing. But she was surprised when during a presentation during work she god a text from Harry asking if she wanted to go back to his place after work and maybe have a repeat of last Saturday and Nat was right beside her.

So she had to tell. But judging by Nats reaction, it would have been better if she had lied about it.

“You’re still going to his place. Even if you know what might happen?”

“I mean... is another time really going to make any difference?”

Latter that day

The bus was moving slowly, the 5 o’clock traffic was the worse: nobody had patience, everybody with a 9-5 job was just crazy to finally get home and be able to rest.

From the bus window y/n could see the sky painting the city, the golden light was starting to make itself aware, combining with the aesthetic of the old buildings and bridges.

That’s probably one of her favorite things to do: observe the town she lived in; that city was just so beautiful. There was a contrast of the old with the new. The sun reflecting on the river, calm as ever, while people were running across the streetwalks, dreaming of a homecooked meal and a place to rest.

The bus was taking a left, ready to cross the revolving bridge. Harry’s place was getting closer and she could feel her stomach starting to turn with anxiety  all of it in the forms of butterflies.

Harry’s place was above an old movie place, people say the building dates back to the 1930s: 5 floors, the first being an old movies that still worked, only showcasing indie movies and oldies from the 40-80s. She remembers the first time she ever visited Harry, they talked for hours to end and then they went to the screening of a Doris Day festival. She went home that day singing to herself the theme song of the movie Pillow Talk, thinking to herself why she never went to an old movie theater till that day.

After getting off the bus, she walked just around 10 meters till she was face to face with the old movie theater sign. Today they would have a screening of shorts films from the 40s from 6 to 8 pm and then they would showcase the new movie based on Gloria Steinem’s best seller memoire called The glorias. Maybe if they were done till 10pm she could catch the movie.

Harry’s apartment was on the second floor, with a wooden door, a cat tapestry underneath saying: meowcom. She never thought it was funny but when they saw it at the street fair last year he laughter so hard at it she decided to give him as a Secret Santa gift.

“Don’t you look tired yet dashing this fine evening , miss” said his voice once he opened the door. Stepping aside so she could come in.

She went for a hug, he went for a kiss: they nocked their foreheads.

“Fuck why does your head have to be so big” she asked while taking her shoes off and walking towards his strawberry shaped sofa.

“You can’t expect me to be a movie genius with a small head, right?”

“The question is: what head are you talking about?”

“You know I have both heads quite big, so I don’t know why you asked” he took her purse from her, resting the object on the small table he had set closer to the door so he could always throw whatever he had in his hands there. Y/n took the moment to appreciate how he looked today: baby pink flare trousers and a graphic shirt, he was barefoot but with his rings still on his fingers; she knew he got home not too long ago.

“Harry what is that smell” she was referring to the tangerine smell that was all around his place

“Oh, it’s this tangerine essence oil I got from my upstairs neighbor... you know that one that always reads your tarot?”

“You’re talking about the witch?”

“Yeah, she prefers to refer herself as Wicca but yeah, her. She gave it to me to clean my energy now that I have this big project. And it smells quite nice, doesn’t?”

“Yeah it does” she could feel his eyes on her while she was playing with her nails “so what do you wanna do today?”

“I was thinking we could watch a movie here and then we can see where we wanna go from there?”

“do you have any jack and coke?”

He smirked at her and said:

“With ice?”

The night was young and it was only starting...

After a few glasses and a heated conversation about what movie they were going to watch, they both settled for closer because of the crush they shared on the cast.

Natalie Portman was dancing with her pink wing on the tv and y/n could feel Harry’s eyes on her, hands touching her right arm in a flirtatious behavior. He had changed his outfit, now wearing a white shirt and black running shorts. She looked at him and his intense eye stare was running through her, she was feeling his desire; the sensual scene only adding to the fire that was always between them and since last satuday increased to a wildfire. She wanted to sit on his lap and give the actress on the tv a run for her money, giving him the best lap dance ever.

“Have you ever recieved a lap dance?”

“Yeah. Have you ever given one?”

“No” she said timidly, suddenly feeling insecure.

“Do you want to give me one?” Harry asked with hooded eyes and a smirk on his face, tha last rays of sunshine painting his face a beautiful golden tone, letting his eyes look clear, almost blue.

“Do you think is a good idea that we do this one more time?”

He smirk at her, his hands fully incansing her face:

“I mean… only one more time won’t make any difference, right?”

With that being said, he turned the movie off and she got up from the couch, going to the bathroom and started to look at herself on the mirror

“You know what you need to do. You’ve never done it yourself but you know, I know he has more experience but he is your friend. Nothing can go wrong because he can help you. You both thrust each other and when it comes to sex consent and thrust are the two most important things. You have both with him.”

While y/n was having a mental breakdown over a lap dance, Harry was excited with the idea, cleaning the pizza they were eating and taking the now empty cups of jack and coke back to the kitchen.

He didn’t tell anyone but he was so glad they fucked last Saturday. It just made everything better. She didn’t have to know about how he always had the hots for her. She didn’t have to know that sometimes he would take people to his bed and picture they were her. And she definitely didn’t have to know that another time does make a difference to him.

Diming the lights and looking for the perfects songs to go on about this night. He was shaking with anticipation. After choosing to just play Childsish Bambino (you can never go wrong with that guy) he sat on the couch and that was the moment she opened the door of his bathroom. She had taken off her pants, just with her social shirt loose on her body, with the buttons down to the middle of her chest, her hair always messy and her very colored lips looking so delicious, just waiting for him to say “come here” and she would go... like a little puppy.

“I have never done this so you need to be nice to me”

“Darling... I’m always nice”

She walked over to him, but stopping halfway, going on her fours and crawling her way to him.

“I still have a lot of bite marks on my boobs that prove the exact opposite” now standing in front on him, on her knees, spreading him open, with her tint hands massaging his thighs, marking her way to his short “you don’t mind if I take off your shorts right” she was with her face inching closer to his legs, resting her head right on top of the tiger tattoo, teasing him “I have never given someone a lap dance but I do know that the less clothe, the better if feels”

With both of her hands she took off his pants while he got rid of his shirt. Standing still she admired his body, why did she waited so much to get on it with him? He was soft on the sides but with a strength beneat the bones, with a few abs and chest bigger than most. Green fucked up eyes and rosy lips. He deserved to be on all of the screens, all of the stages, not living in a small flat above an old movie theater.

“You know” Harry broke the silence “for one to give a lap dance she must actually be on top of him”

She didn’t answered him, instead sitting herself on his knees not allowing him any more than that touch. With the tips of his fingers he started to trace her face, admiring her. She was a beacon of light, with every color shining inside her eyes, every sin could be found in her lips but every prayer was found on the way she would blush at his words.

Putting her hair behind her shoulder she got closer and closer to him, using her knees on either side of his body to help her move. Feeling his warmth. She didn’t know how to give a lap dance but she knows him. She knows what makes his knees buckle and what makes him shiver. She was going to make him her little puppy. So with all the confidence she could muster, biting his vein that was always apparent on the neck, her hips started to move.

He was semi hard but the more she moved, the more she could feel him getting harder. That was one of the things she loved the most about sex: the foreplay.

“You know” she got back to talking, not stopping her hips, using her hands to tease all of his body “when we are like this is when I remember how much I’ve always wanted you”

“Fuck, love. You’re going to kill me”

“Oh my love, you have not seen a thing” with one of her hands she started to take off her shirt, leaving her with a rose gold brallete that matched her barely there panties “You alright, love? Look a bit flustered.”

She was mocking him, trying to copy his British accent but that only got him a side smile while his eyes were fixated on the way her nipples could be seen through the piece of glittery fabric. She was having so much fun

“You know” Harry said trying to get a bit of his control back “when you talk like this, you drive me fucking mad” with one hand climbing on her back, till he reached for her roots, tugging on it, now she didn’t knew it she was the one in control  “when you mess with my neck, or when I pull your thighs further apart and I can feel just how wet you actually are and then you kiss me and I’m closer to the point of no return”

With a hand behind and knee he got up, changing position and spreading her all over the tapestry on the floor, the fluffy blood red velvet matching with her skin. He now had the upper hand and he was going to make a good use of it.

With his kisses going down her neck, he started to rut his body against her. Her moisture could be felt throught his underwear and there was nothing that Harry wanted more than to fully ravish the defenseless girl panting underneath his tattooed body. Glistening with sweat and moaning without an ounce of regret.

He wanted her to know he was the only one that could do this to her. With his hand playing with her breast while the other was getting closer and closer to her mound, he looked at her. With her open mouth and closed eyes, out of a painting that deserved its place on the Louvre. He decided to use her own words against her:

“You alright, love? Look a bit frustrated”

“You asshole just fuck me already”

“Yeah, I’ll fuck you good. But only if you promise to stay the night”

“Is this really a good idea?”

“One more time won’t make any difference, right?”

Laughing at the irony she pulled him closer. They had a deal... because it won’t make any difference, right?

But it did.

[shining-m00nlight]

5 times Catelyn didn’t think of Brandon Stark (4)

Everyone thinks she is with Ned because of Brandon but they are wrong. Fourth one is Brynden.

Chapter 4 of my Nedlyn 5+1 story. It’s their wedding day, yay. Very fluffy and feel good. You don’t need to know the other chapters. Have fun.

"And I promise to love you and cherish you for the rest of my life. To be your partner by your side always, until the end of my days." Ned's words still rang in her head when they got to the wedding reception.

She never felt this much happiness in her life before. She was married to Ned. To her sweet, kind Ned, her rock. If she wouldn't have been in the middle of her wedding reception she would have squealed and screamed full of joy. But she had to remember that there were a lot of people around them.

To be completely honest she had a hard time remembering that other people participated in her wedding, the whole day. From the moment she had walked down the aisle the only one she saw was Ned. Everyone else had just fainted into the background.

Distantly she had known that her father had led her to Ned but even his significance blanched in comparison to her future husband. Ned who had waited for her at the end of the aisle looking at her as if all his wishes had just come true. He had claimed this two days prior but when she had seen it so plainy displayed on his face it had made her heart skip a few beats.

Before the wedding both Lysa and Lyanna had asked Catelyn if she was afraid that Ned would look as "frozen" as he always looked. She got quite mad at both of them because to her Ned had never been frozen when they were together. Yes it took her some time to recognize and read his emotions but frozen was not a word that came when she thought of her now husband.

People who called Ned frozen and unfeeling were people she couldn't understand. And the moment she had seen him she knew that everyone who thought that Ned was frozen today was an idiot.

It wasn't like any of those people mattered to her anyway. Nobody but Ned mattered today. Of course Ned would disagree with her on this. For him she was what mattered most on their wedding day. They had a long discussion about this and at the end they came to the conclusion that their love should be the center of their wedding which was a result both of them were satisfied with.

Now she was in her husband's arms while dancing. Ned always declared that he was a terrible dancer and she knew he had been nervous about dancing infront of so many people but she also knew no one had ever danced with her as well as Ned did today. She also knew no other man's arms could ever fit as perfectly around her as Ned's did. She knew that she could never feel this safe with anybody else by her side. And she knew that there was no one she would have rather married than Ned. She knew all those things without a doubt.

"I love you, Ned" she whispered in his ear. Everyone's eyes were on them but they only had eyes for each other. They pressed their foreheads together to be as close as possible to each other.

"I love you too, so much. Before you I never knew I could love someone this much." he told her and gave her a small kiss on the lips. It was a short kiss but it was full of promises. Promises for later today and promises for their life together, a life that started this moment.

After what felt like a wonderful eternity their first dance was over. She still felt like she was floating when Ned went to sit down at their table next to Robert, his best man. Catelyn stayed on the dance floor and waited for her father so they could start the father-daughter-dance. Hoster came to her smiling brighter than she had seen him smile in a long time with open arms to start their dance.

"Little Cat, you look radiant. I am so happy for you and I'm very lucky that I get to be here for your special day. I just wish your mother could be here to see you getting married. I know she dreamt of this day ever since you were born." he told her.

"Oh daddy, thank you. I wish mom would be here as well but I believe that she is with us today. Of course planning the wedding would have been easier with her here." she tried to make a little joke. One that was true.

Ever since Cat was five years old and her mother had shown her pictures of her own wedding, Cat had set her heart on having a wedding that resembled her parents. With Minisa Tully gone from life too early this had turned out to be a challenge and her father hadn't been of much help.

But again she had been blessed to have Ned. Even though he was missing his own mother, he had helped her plan the entire wedding and to find a way to perfectly combine the different traditions of their faiths. They somehow managed to have a wedding that was a perfect combination of her dreams and his wishes. There was no way in which this wedding could have been better.

At the end of the father-daughter-dance Rickard Stark took over for her father and other people started dancing around them as well. Cat enjoyed dancing and she liked her new father-in-law but she wanted to get back to Ned. She tried to find him without interrupting her dance. He wasn't in his seat anymore. Instead she found him dancing with his sister. He looked up and her and their eyes met. Immediately the smile returned to his face and she couldn't help but blush and smile back.

When the song ended they both returned to their table again. Ned took her hands: "I missed you even though you've only been gone for 2 dances"

She laughed and again Ned looked at her like she was the most beautiful creature on this Earth. It filled her with joy that they both missed each other irrationally. But this was their day of course they wanted to be together as much as possible.

She took one of her hands and stroked through his hair carefully to not get it messy. He silently raised his eyebrow and she knew exactly why. She had made him promise not to touch her hair until after the wedding to not ruin it.

"Don't look at me like that. I'm not making a mess out of your hair like you always make of mine. I'll make sure you will look just as handsome as you looked before I touched your hair."

Instead of saying something he took her hand, that was not in his hair and kissed the back of it. They sat together like this, just looking at each other and exchanging little touches until her uncle came over and asked her to dance. She was conflicted about leaving Ned again but he just smiled and gave her hands to Brynden.

Her uncle spun her around on the dance floor laughing and most likely not suitable to the beat. When their dance slowed down a bit the topic of how cheerful this day was came up again.

Brynden with his typical teasing grin on his face asked her a question she really expected: "Tell me little Cat are you happy with your choice of groom?"

"Of course I am happy. Ned is the best man there is. Why would you even ask that?" She was a bit irritated by his question. Why would she not be happy? If she had been unhappy she wouldn't have married Ned.

"Oh I just remember how enamored you were with the handsome older brother." he said wiggling his eyebrows at her. "Just seemed like you replaced the older one with the one that is less likely to take the wrong girl home after the wedding"

Cat almost fell when she missed a step because she felt it raging inside her. She knew her uncle was making a joke. One he wouldn't make if she had actually married Brandon. He would not laugh, he would threaten Brandon instead. But in this moment she was just mad being reminded by her own uncle that she had a history with Ned's older brother. She hated that people constantly asked about Brandon or assumed that he was the reason for her relationship with Ned.

"Uncle, why would you say something like that? At Ned's and my wedding no less! I love Ned. My loving Ned has nothing to do with Brandon. Ned is 10 times the man that Brandon is. And I'm really tired of all of you questioning my decision and thinking I have some twisted reason for being with Ned." She didn't yell but she came damn close to it.

She almost left her uncle on the dancefloor to get back to Ned but he stopped her to apologize. He told her he was just joking and that he didn't mean to hurt her. Cat knew that it was true but she told her uncle that she would not tolerate anyone saying these things anymore. They finished their dance but Cat's mood wasn't as good as it was before. Her plan was to go straight back to Ned but when she turned around he was already there to take over for Brynden.

"Are you ok? You looked like you got a bit mad there." he asked her. For the millionth time today she beamed at him as he put his arms around her and started dancing again. This was one of the many reasons she knew Ned was the right one for her. He always was so observant and could sense her distress very easily.

"I'm fine, my love. My uncle was just making a stupid joke." she reassured him.

"Mmh, I don't like you being upset you should be nothing but happy today."

"I am nothing but happy, I promise. I just look at you and there is no space in my heart for anything but love, hope and happiness." It was true the moment she had been back in his arms her anger at her uncle had completely disappeared.

Despite this little incident the rest of the reception had been lovely. She danced with Edmure, Benjen and even Robert, she saw Ned dancing with Lysa, she ate cake and had a great time. At the end of the day Ned and her ended up in their bed naked tangled up in each other in a way that you probably couldn't tell which limp belongs to who and she thought of nothing but their future.

No Brandon occupied her mind, only Ned. 

[spine-buster]

The President Wears Prada (William Nylander | Chapter 18

A/N: Remember that there’s a DOUBLE POST this week because of my birthday that happened yesterday!  Look out for Chapter 19 to be posted Thursday at 7:30pm.  I think you guys will reeeeeally like that one :)

January 24th, 2020

Aberdeen Bloom was amazed.

The welcome reception that the NHL planned in the hotel was full to the brim of what seemed like every NHL president, general manager, and their assistants mingling and munching on perfectly prepared hors d’oeuvres.  Everybody was staying at the Ritz-Carlton, a fifteen minute drive from the Enterprise Centre where all the hockey-related festivities were taking place.  While the all-stars had already been bussed to the Enterprise Centre, she was here with Brendan and Kyle, trying to assert her presence in a room full of men who thought they were gifts to God’s green earth.  She wondered if any of the other executive assistants – a good 99% male, from her observations – felt the same way.  It was when she was standing in that room that she realized how much of an anomaly she truly was, and if some guy gawked at her because he hadn’t seen a female since October, she wouldn’t be surprised.  Hockey was an old boy’s club, and there was no better proof for that than the makeup of the people in this room.  

Many people came up to speak to Brendan and Kyle – Aberdeen thought they were almost like the star debutantes at the ball, except one debutante already had three Stanley Cup rings; the other debutante was like the belle of the ball, as one of the youngest GMs in the league, and everybody wanted to talk to him.  The only thing they’d do is give Aberdeen a quick nod after they finished their conversation before walking off.  It was like she ceased to exist, or existed only as a figure to nod to once the discussion with the ‘big boys’ was over.  Nobody was giving her the time of day.  She didn’t even know why she had to come here and do this when—

“Aberdeen,” Brendan’s voice cut off her thoughts.  She straightened out her back and looked more attentive as he looked back at her.  “Who do you think will come and speak to us next?  Let’s make a bet.”

She smiled.  She knew that instead of sulking she should be working the room as much as possible, inserting herself politely into conversations Brendan and Kyle would have with some of the other presidents and general managers.  “BriseBois has been eyeing Kyle for five minutes, so twenty bucks and an extra day off says it’s him,” she said confidently.  

Brendan laughed, as did Kyle.  “My bet’s on Ken Holland,” Brendan quipped.  “Here to talk to us about Tyler Ennis.  Everyone knows they want him.  Hometown boy.”

“It’ll be Sakic.  To talk to us about Naz,” Kyle said.

“DUBBIE!”

All three of their heads turned to see Brisebois smiling and making his way over.  Aberdeen smiled.  She leaned into Brendan.  “I’ll take that twenty bucks in a Starbucks gift card.”

***

Aberdeen thought that maybe Frederik Andersen should be the one seemingly babysitting Auston Matthews, but she digressed.  Because he was attending the All-Star Weekend but not actively participating in any of the festivities due to his slight wrist injury, he was free to do (what seemed like) whatever he wanted.  He could visit both locker rooms, he could chat with all the guys, he could take pictures with everyone.  All she had to do was make sure he got to the benches during the Skills Competition and she could consider it a job well done.  

She didn’t want to follow him into the locker room – that was a bit much – so she stood outside and watched as he interacted with Fred and Mitch before moving on to some of the other players: Jack Eichel, Brady Tkachuk, and Mathew Barzal, for the most part.  When he was finished, he looked almost surprised that she was still there waiting for him.

“They’re going on in ten.  Where should we be?” he asked.

“I’m just gonna lead you down quickly, but I’m watching with Brendan,” she informed him as they began to walk down the corridor together.

“Aw, come on.  You can’t keep me company?” he asked.

“There’s no way I’d be caught dead on a camera beside Auston Matthews, thank you very much,” she joked, but at the same time, was totally serious.  If even one hair on her head was caught on camera, she was sure Auston’s fangirls would know her name, address, social security number, and blood type within the hour.  “Let alone at the All-Star Game.  And let alone with you looking like that.”

“Like what?!” he wailed.  

“Oh, come on Auston.  You look like you were a cast off of Anchorman and you know it.”

“I’m fashionable.”

“If you say so,” she rolled her eyes.  

“I thought those types of comments were only meant for Willy, anyway.”

“They’re meant for any of you when you look like this,” she covered herself, giving him a full up-down, causing him to laugh and shake his head.  

They walked past the Western Conference locker room, bustling with all the players and the media walking in and out of it.  Auston stopped again to say hi to some guys that he could see – Tyler Seguin and Connor McDavid – before Aberdeen watched another player making his way towards them.

“This your girl, Matthews?” Matthew Tkachuck asked, a devilish smile on his face.

Aberdeen crinkled her brows.  Gross.  “Ew Matty,” she watched Auston as he made a face.  “This is Shanahan’s executive assistant.”

“Oh!” Matthew’s face and demeanour completely changed as he took off his glove to shake her hand politely.  “I’m Matthew Tkachuk from the Calgary Flames.  It’s nice to meet you.”

Aberdeen laughed at how these boys could switch from being rats one second to upstanding gentlemen the next.  “Nice to meet you, Matthew.  How do you know Auston?”

“U.S National Development Program,” Auston answered for him.  “We were on a World Junior team together.”

“Yeah, not to mention I was on a line with Mitchy in London,” Matthew added, referring to his junior career with the London Knights of the OHL.  “It’s like I’m practically on the Leafs,” he smiled.

“You wish,” Auston scowled.  

“You’ll be on the bench watching, yeah?” Matthew directed his question towards Auston.  Auston confirmed he would be.  Matthew’s attention went back to Aberdeen.  He gave her a very visible up-down before biting his bottom lip.  “How about you?  You gonna be on the bench with Auston?”

“I’ll be sitting with my boss, but thanks for thinking about me,” she smiled over-politely.  She heard Matthew chuckle but he still didn’t take his eyes off her.  “We should go, Auston.  I don’t want Gary Bettman angry at me for keeping the star of Toronto backstage for too long.”

Matthew said his goodbyes.  Aberdeen and Auston continued walking down and around the corridors until they came to the entrance to the ice.  Some of the arena workers, recognizing Auston, began showing him the way.  “Now stay here and be good,” she said.

Auston smiled mischievously before winking and walking away from her.  “Only for you, Aberdeen.”

“And tell Matthew Tkachuk if he even thinks of me, I’ll kick him in the balls.”

“Will do, baby.”

***

She saw the number pop up on her phone and the request for a FaceTime call.  She hesitated at first, not knowing if she should accept.  Sure, she was alone in her hotel room, it was late at night, and she was sure everybody had gone to bed, especially Brendan and Kyle.  Nobody would be knocking on her door.  Nobody would be calling her asking her to get a suitcase ready so they could take a private jet to Phoenix to fire a head coach.  And even though her first thought was that this had to be some sort of practical joke, she quickly reconsidered.  The last time this was requested it was in the back of a cab and an automatic no.

Not for anything, but less than 24 hours ago he was in her.

So she accepted.  

William’s face popped up on the screen.  He was clearly already in his pajamas, his hair tied back with an elastic atop his head.  Aberdeen remembered that Toronto was an hour ahead, so it was even later for him.  “Hello minskatt,” he smiled.

She’d just showered, and her hair was in a towel.  She tugged it off so she didn’t look too ridiculous.  “Hey Willy.”

“How are you, minskatt?” he asked sweetly, biting his bottom lip slightly as he watched her hair fall out of the towel.  “How was today?  Long day?”

She nodded her head.  “Long but good.  I met a lot of the other GMs.  Well, most of them just sort of nodded their head at me after having conversations with Brendan and Kyle before moving on.  It’s like they don’t know how to speak to women.”

“They probably don’t,” he quipped.  “Did Auston behave?”

She smiled.  “Yes, Auston behaved.”

“So I don’t need to kick his ass?”

Aberdeen giggled.  “No.  You’d never, anyway.  He’s one of your best friends.”

“I’d still kick his ass if he gave you a hard time.”

She continued to smile.  “How was your day?  What did you do?”

“Miss you all day,” he said.

She rolled her eyes.  She did that a lot today between him and Auston.  “What did you really do?”

He shrugged.  “Went to the gym.  Talked with my brother.  Just the usual boring stuff.  Nothing as exciting as what you did.”

“Nothing I did was too exciting,” she admitted.  She hated to admit it, but it was true.  “I don’t mean to be rude when I say that.  It’s just – I could have networked, I really could, I mean I know how to work a room, but these guys just weren’t having it.  Well, everyone besides Julien BriseBois from Tampa.  He was super nice.”

“It’s okay, minskatt.  I’m sure tomorrow will be better,” he said encouragingly.  “There’s a luncheon, right?”

She nodded her head, a bit surprised that he remembered her schedule.  She hoped that would run smoother than what had happened today at the welcome reception.  But now, at this moment, with Willy on FaceTime and two more days until she got to see him in Nashville, she didn’t want to talk about work.  She’d only left him this morning and she was already missing him.  “Hey Willy?”

“Hmm?”

“I…I’ve never really asked, but why do you always call me that?  Minskatt?” she asked.

“Because that’s what you are,” he said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.  

She knew that it meant ‘my treasure’.  She remembered that quite vividly.  “Yeah, but like…why my treasure?  Why not just darling or honey or whatever?”

“Do you want me to call you those?” he asked worriedly.

“No!  Not at all.  I…I like minskatt.  I love it, actually,” she admitted for the first time out loud.  After months of blushing about it and hearing him say it in her dreams, she was finally able to admit it.  “I just don’t know why you’d choose that over the hundreds of other things.”

William shrugged his shoulders again.  “I just heard it a lot growing up from my grandparents.  My grandpa would call my grandma that all the time.  When I was really small, I thought it was her actual name.  And I just…I don’t know.  I think it’s the nicest thing.  Because you’re my treasure.  That what you are to me, always.  From the moment I met you.  You’re my treasure.”

Aberdeen smiled sheepishly.  God, he was so…good.  So pure.  So characteristically William that she honestly didn’t have another word for it.  “For what it’s worth, you’re my treasure too, Willy.”

***

January 25th, 2020

Aberdeen decided to get breakfast on her own, without waiting for Brendan to call.  She’d fallen asleep talking to William last night – they both had, gag – but she still felt pretty energized and ready for the day.  She threw her hair in a bun, knowing it would be easier to style when she got back from breakfast for the luncheon, and put on a simple pair of yoga tights and a University of Toronto hoodie.  

She figured that most of the guys were either still asleep or would have ordered room service, and she was pleased to see that the dining room for the continental breakfast was basically two-thirds empty.  She grabbed a plate and loaded it with scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, and hashbrowns.  She then poured herself some coffee and orange juice and settled into a table, taking out her phone so she could browse the news or read an article while she ate.  

She was in a completely tranquil state of mind until she heard a voice from behind her.  “Hey!”

It startled her.  She turned around to see Mitch standing behind her, holding a plate stacked with food.  “What are you doing up so early?”

“Same thing as you – eating!” he smiled.  He looked behind him.  “Hey guys!  Aberdeen’s here!”

She leaned back to look past him and saw Fred’s giant body towering over the egg buffet and Auston looking like he literally just rolled out of bed pouring some cereal into a bowl.  Fred smiled and Auston waved.  She looked back at Mitch.  “You’re all up?”

“You seem shocked,” he said as she settled into the seat across from her.

“I’m not shocked about you, because you’re just an excitable puppy,” she said.  “I’m more surprised about Auston.  Does he usually get up this early?”

“You’d be surprised,” Mitch shrugged.  “When we’re on the hockey grind, early wake up calls are just a part of life.”

Fred and Auston came to the table eventually, with Fred sitting beside Aberdeen and Auston beside Mitch.  They spoke casually – about the events of last night and the upcoming day ahead of them, what they would do with their day off tomorrow before having the fly to Nashville on Monday to meet the rest of the team.  Auston suggested that they all go to the big arch.  Mitch wanted to have lunch at a smokehouse.  Fred wanted would arrange the Ubers.  

They looked at Aberdeen.  It was a while before she noticed.  “What?” she asked with a mouth full of breakfast sausage.

“What do you want to do Sunday?” Mitch asked like it was the most obvious thing in the world.  

She was confused.  “I’m coming?”

“Obviously,” Auston piped up.

“Why would you think you’re not invited?” Fred asked.  “You’ve been with us for how long now?”

“I just…I don’t know,” she digressed.  “I know I’m, like, part of the team or whatever—”

“So why wouldn’t you come?” Fred followed up.

“I—you guys constantly freak me out, you know that?” she asked.  “Like, I don’t get why a bunch of hot shot hockey players want me to tag along with them on their day off.”

“Why wouldn’t you think that?  Willy likes you tagging along everywhere,” Auston said.

Aberdeen suddenly stiffened at Auston’s words, thrown around so casually, but they were so charged for her.  “So does Jason,” Mitch added quickly.  “And Brendan, even.  I mean, Brendan wouldn’t have invited you here if he didn’t trust you with us, or you with us, you know?  I mean, the All-Star Game is Peter’s thing.”

She’d heard that once or twice before.  “It’s just it’s still new to me, that’s all,” she said, trying to remain calm.  “I don’t want to intrude on your private time.  I’m already around you guys practically all the time as it is.  I don’t want to overstay my welcome.”

“Not sure that’s possible,” Mitch said.  “You’re always welcome with us.  We love you, Aberdeen.”

***

When Aberdeen went back up to her room after breakfast, she took a long look at herself in the mirror.  Long.  She knew she was loved by many people: by her parents, her grandparents, her siblings, by Kasha, by friends like Masani and Tom and Margot.  By Brendan, at least in his own way.  By William.  She was loved by William.  

Could she add the Toronto Maple Leafs to that list?

***

February 5th, 2020

New York City in the beginning of February was much different than, say, New York City in the summer, even New York City at Christmas.  With nothing to really look forward to – no holiday or event, no long stretch of time where the city swelled with tourists and it felt so alive – New York City was just…well, New York City.  Big.  Imposing.  Busy.  

Brendan had lived here for a few years, both as a player and an NHL executive, and he’d gone out for an extended lunch with a friend, so Aberdeen had nothing better to do than to walk down to Magnolia bakery and grab a half dozen cupcakes to eat and then bring home to share with Kasha – two red velvet with cream cheese icing, one confetti, one lemon, one coconut, and one truffle.  It was her way of saying thanks, because Kasha had been picking up donuts from Bloomers or Glory Hole at least once a month since they moved in together.  The perks of flying on a chartered flight was that she knew the cupcakes would be safe all the way back to Toronto.  

When she got back to the arena, she made sure the box of cupcakes was placed in the box where she’d be with Brendan and Kyle that night, knowing that nobody would touch it. It was when she exited the press box and began making her way through the corridors between the locker rooms that she saw someone she was not expecting at all: Saylor, Kasperi’s girlfriend.  She looked very glamourous, with her hair and makeup done professionally.  

When she looked up from her phone – which she didn’t do often – and saw Aberdeen, she smiled excitedly.  “Ohmygod, hi Aberdeen!” she greeted her enthusiastically.  

“Hi, Saylor.  You traveled to New York with Kasperi?” she asked, trying to make small talk.

“I actually had a shoot booked, but I scheduled it so I could come to New York the same time as the guys came,” she revealed, clearly proud she was able to get the gig.  “You know, because I model.”

Aberdeen resisted the urge to roll her eyes.  Saylor reminded her every time they spoke about her modelling.  Well, Instagram modelling.  Aberdeen didn’t think she’d ever walked a runway or appeared in an editorial.  It was mostly just the aforementioned Instagram modelling with a YouTube channel where brands would send her clothes or “collab” with her for exposure.  “Yeah, I remember Saylor.  Sounds fun.”

“It is!” she smiled excitedly.  “I’ve been super lucky so far.  But I mean hey, with a bit of makeup and good angles, lots of girls could be models.”

“I’m sure,” Aberdeen giggled.  “Wouldn’t be me though.  Not with these bushy Persian brows,” she joked, knowing full well thick brows were very in right now and that a lot of girls got them dyed or microbladed to look like hers.

“Persian?” Saylor was confused.

“Yeah.  My dad’s Persian.”

“Ohmigosh, I knew you were mixed with something!  Your nose totally gives it away.”

Aberdeen froze, though a strained smile was on her face.  She knew she had a Greek nose, that it was pretty big with a prominent bridge, not elegant at all like Siena’s, but she didn’t think it was that big of a deal.  She didn’t know what Saylor was trying to say or imply, but she tried to play along anyway.  “I thought it’d be my hair.”

“Well, that too.”

Aberdeen nodded her head.  Before she could say anything else, Saylor’s phone began ringing.  “It’s my agency,” she said as she looked down at her phone.  “I’ll talk to you later.”

“See ya.”

Aberdeen watched as Saylor left, her hips swaying back and forth in her skin tight Levis.  She brought her hand up to her face, feeling the bridge of her nose before patting down her hair.  She sighed.  At least Saylor didn’t see the Magnolia cupcake box – she probably would have made a comment about that, too.

Aberdeen thought back to New Year’s Eve, when Morgan and John sat at her table and told her the story about Bee; about how she’d gotten messages from fans making fun of her weight and looks and how they’d called her the team cum bucket.  Aberdeen shivered.  She didn’t understand how people could have such vitriol in their heart for another person they hadn’t even met.  And having it be directed towards Bee McTavish of all people.  Those were targeted attacks, mostly because they were jealous of who Bee was dating (as they should, because Morgan was a great guy).  But Aberdeen wondered if Bee ever got those types of comments from people she knew – other wives or girlfriends who maybe couldn’t hold their tongue or thought that looks were the be all, end all of someone’s worth.  

Aberdeen knew better than to think that way.  She knew it was all bullshit.  How you presented yourself to the world was one thing – with your clothes, your hair, your makeup – and it was somewhat an extension of you, but it wasn’t who you were as a person.  Like, Aberdeen always liked to look fashionable and presentable at work, because she knew she was in a highly professional environment and on any given day she’d shake hands and speak with a billionaire, but her clothes didn’t define her.  Her personality defined her.  Her work ethic defined her.  Her respect for her job, her bosses, and her colleagues defined her.  Her ambitions defined her more than her clothes ever would, than her clothes ever could.  She knew Saylor didn’t mean any harm, that it probably wasn’t said maliciously at all, that it was only said because she didn’t know any better and nobody in her privileged life had called her out on her language that bordered on offensive.  Aberdeen wasn’t going to hold it against her unless it kept happening and it did get offensive.  

But she highly doubted that.  

***

The Leafs lost to the New York Rangers 5-3.

William had knocked on her room door.

She let him in.  

He kissed her the second the door closed and she felt overwhelmed by the feeling of his lips on hers, like she always did, really.  They hadn’t been able to connect in Nashville or Dallas after the All-Star Game because her room was right beside Brendan’s, so they had to wait until the night they got back to Toronto.  The Leafs weren’t doing particularly well lately, but nobody would be able to tell by the way William was acting.  He brushed off the losses fairly easily, not liking to dwell on them too much.  

“You okay after tonight?” she asked.

“It’s fine, minskatt,” he said as he kissed the tip of her nose.  “Better now.”

She smiled slightly.  She highly doubted that she made the situation better, but she’d take it.  “Come to the washroom with me.  I have to wash my face.”

“That’s sexy.”

She smacked his arm.  He just gripped onto her hips tighter.  “I can ask you to leave.”

“You’d have to make me at this point, and I’m a strong boy,” he raised his eyebrows.  

She scoffed, dragging him into the washroom with her as she took off her makeup and cleansed her face.  William leaned his body against the wall behind her, so she was able to see him and look at him through the mirror.  He was so patient, and literally just watched her as she went about her nightly routine.  He didn’t say a peep, didn’t complain, didn’t rush her.  He just watched her with a look in his eye that told her, fascinatingly, that he was enjoying just watching her, like he was captivated by her simplest movements.  

She pat her face dry, looking at him through the mirror.  “Can I ask you something?” she asked.  It was so quiet she could practically hear the electric current going through the lightbulb.  

“Of course, minskatt.”

She was hesitant, mostly because she didn’t really know if William knew anything about it, but also because she should probably be asking Morgan.  She set the towel down on the counter.  “Do you know what happened with Bee last year?”

William didn’t look too bothered by the question.  “You mean when her mom passed away?” he asked.

“No,” she shook her head.  “The…the other thing.”

“Oh, that,” William nodded his head.  “Yeah, I know what happened.”

“Morgan said it was someone who knew Kasperi’s ex.”

“It was.  Her name was Cassie.  Kasperi’s ex, I mean,” he clarified as he stepped closer towards her.  “The girl who actually approached Bee in the restaurant was named Danielle.”

“Had you ever met them before?” she asked.

“Cassie, of course.  Danielle, no,” he said.  “Why?”

“Does Kasperi exclusively date models?”

“Basically,” he giggled slightly.  “Why, minskatt?”

“It’s nothing,” she shook her head.  “I just—I saw Saylor earlier tonight, and she mentioned how she was in New York City for a photoshoot with a brand or something.”

“She’s one of those Instagram models,” he said, wrapping his arms around her and nestling his head into the crook of her neck.  He placed light kisses on her skin that made her feel temporarily drunk.  “You should be a model,” he mumbled against her skin.

“Yeah, I don’t think so,” Aberdeen replied sarcastically, though the feeling of his lips still on her skin made her brain mush.  

“Oh come on.  You’d be a great model.  My model,” he continued with his compliments and with his kissing.

“Not with this nose,” Aberdeen quipped.  “At least that’s what Saylor said.”

William stopped his movements.  It was quiet again.  She continued to watch him through the mirror as he looked at her, speechless.  It shouldn’t have come out like that.  She didn’t plan for it to come out like that.  But like most things to do with William, nothing ever went according to plan.  Ignoring him certainly didn’t go to plan – look where they were with that.  “Excuse me?” he asked, finally.  “What did she say to you?”

“It’s honestly not even a big deal,” Aberdeen said, trying to sound as confident as possible.  “She found out I was half-Persian and was like ‘Oh your nose totally gives it away’,” she mimicked Saylor’s voice.  “Then when I mentioned as a joke that I thought it would have been my hair that gave it away, she was like, ‘That too’, like it was so obvious.”

William looked angry – a confused angry, like he couldn’t believe something like that was said to her by someone so close to one of his best friends, but at the same time, could totally see it being said by her in particular.  Nobody else had commented on it when they found out – at least nobody on the team had – but of course Saylor did.  “Minskatt—”

“Please don’t make this a big deal,” she interrupted him, seeing the look in his eyes.  “It’s not the first time someone has said something like that to me and it’s definitely not going to be the last.”

If she didn’t want him to make a big deal out of it, he wouldn’t.  That didn’t mean that he wasn’t still angry about it, though.  And it didn’t mean he’d look at Saylor differently now for what she said.  “But minskatt…you know I think you’re beautiful, right?” he asked softly.  

Aberdeen nodded her head.  “I do,” she said confidently.  “I know you do.  But, like – and no offence – but I think I’m beautiful.  And – again, no offence – that’s more important than you thinking it.  I have enough confidence in my appearance to not let it affect me.  That’s why it doesn’t matter what she said.”

William smiled at her.  Proudly.  “No offence taken,” he said, biting his lip.  “That’s all that matters.  Still makes me want to talk to her though.”

Aberdeen whipped around so she could face him.  “Don’t you dare,” she warned.

William’s smile turned from prideful to facetious.  “Gotcha.”

Aberdeen scrunched her face at him, but he didn’t care.  He dipped down and kissed her again, refusing to stop even as he picked her up in his arms and placed her on the vanity.  He stood in between her thighs as he kissed her and kissed her and kissed her, not wanting to ever stop.  “You know I think you’re pretty great, right?” he mumbled against her lips.

Aberdeen stopped, their faces only inches apart as she stared at him, smiling slightly.  She brought her hand up and let her thumb caress his bottom lip, the slightest bit swollen from all their kissing.  His eyes were so, so blue as she looked into them.  Sometimes she didn’t think he was real.  “I think you’re pretty great, too.”

[amysgiantbees]

Head-cannons for me for MHA DND

Urarka is grey ace pan. She likes to perform cantrips or float a little to alleviate stress. Socialist, ACAB. Trains with Bakugo regularly, they’re very close friends. Her parents are poor builders. They live in the poor area of the city and do a lot of community and charity work. 

Kirishima is a trans man. Loves meat, particularly red meat. Big protein guy. A whole homosexual. He has two mothers, one is a gladiator, the other is a stay at home mom. He does yoga and meditation. Absolute golden retriever, mourning person. He cracks his knuckles when stressed. Always goes for a mourning run. He knows how to speak Bakugo so he knows when is or isn’t being a dick. 

Denki is nonbinary they/he, Bisexual. Denki loves flirting with people’s parents especially Bakugo’s. His parents are awful and resent him for being chosen by Kord as they are very stuffy, devout followers of him for years and never recieved similar attention. Dyslexic and ADHD - ticks ALL the boxes, like can pick up talents very quickly, like the lyre. Night owl, puts all his work off till night then sleeps till noon. Gets jitters and ticks when stressed. Massive flirt. No filter. Lack of self preservation. Would be a fantastic dancer if he didn’t overthink it so much. Was in Jiro’s band.  Lichtenberg figure. When he short circuits it’s numbing. He can’t think and his thoughts come slowly too him at best. He often ends up drooling. He can’t focus on his surroundings. Can’t feel anything so people can easily take advantage. Usually can only form enough thoughts to reassure people and put his thumbs up to show he’s okay. 

Sero is nonbinary, they/them. Demisexual panromantic. Skateboards exist just for Sero. He is from a large family. Two fathers, one mother. They’re part of a traveling commune. Sero is just sleepy, isn’t a morning or a night person. Best wingman, very observant. Very laidback. Rubs arm and elbow when stressed. His family are tattoo artists, did his elbow tattoos as his magic focusses before he left for high school. 

Whole Bakusquad are Kord fans. 

Mina is ace/aromantic. her parents are assassins' that specialize in poisonings. Night owl. Loves fashion, and visiting Bakugo’s parent’s store. Sensible one out of the Bakusquad. Bakugo is usually the brains behind their plans but she’s the primary authority on whether they go ahead. Kirishima tends to hesitate - look to others for advice, Sero hesitates too - wants to think it over and take his time, Denki just dives in on instinct - what feels right, Bakugo is impatient - does not hesitate at all and often doesn’t factor in people’s feelings. Mina is the perfect balance of everyone. Thinks it through, has good instincts, is brave, doesn’t need to ask but is open to suggestions. 

Aoyama is gay. He has IBS (Alcohol, chocolate, caffeinated beverages are potential culprits as are certain types of carbohydrate known as FODMAPs). He massages his face when he’s stressed. 

Tsuyu is ace and homoromantic. Her dad is a grung florist and her human mother is the accountant for the flower business. She has two little siblings, a twin brother and sister. 

Jiro is a sex positive ace bisexual. Jiro’s family are very popular travelling bards. Songwriters too, they’ve patented songs. Night owl. She plays with her hair when stressed. Plays instruments to relax. Can get stage fright. Likes to sing to calm down people after a monster attack, help people with both her talents. Loves her parents. 

Nejire Hado grew up as an orphan raised by the local temple of Sune. She has grown to have a stronger connection with Mystra now as she’s grown into her own person but she still loves and worships Sune. Nejire asks more questions than she answers. Gets over excited very easily. 

Bakugo is pansexual - he just likes them strong. His mother is half-orc and a model and fashion designer for her and her husband’s clothing business. It’s called Green with Envy. Masaru has terrible shyness when it comes to modeling. So all of their clothing is made to be gender neutral and Mitiski models everything for the flyers and posters. Totally has ADHD, impulsivity, avoids lengthy tasks, feels restless, can’t stay seated. Never drinks, this man treats his body like a temple, he has a bed time, morning person. Bakugo cracks his neck and joints when stressed. Can play drums, was in Jiro’s band.

Tokoyami is ace and grey aromantic. He can play the lyre, was in Jiro’s band. Dark Shadow likes to collect shiny things. He pets and talks to her her when stressed. He loves poetry and ballads. Often spends nights in taverns listening to dark songs. Writes his own poetry. Only his best friend Shoji and crush Aoyama get to read it though and even then it’s very reluctantly. 

Shoji is very nervous to date, very insecure. grey ace, panromantic. 

Ojiro is pan. Everyone likes to play with his tail when he grows it. He plays with it when stressed. 

Koda is ace and aromantic. Likes to hide, be somewhere small and confined when stressed. Terrified of bugs, but mostly just the crawly, scary ones. 

Sato is grey ace aromantic. Stress eats. Solves other peoples problems with food too. Giving gifts is his love language. 

Izuku is also pan he really likes them strong. His mother has a tiny cake shop in her house next door to Green with Envy. Night owl, anxious. ADHD - shows in impulsivity, distracted, very observant, fidgeting, can’t stay focused, talking excessively, interrupts, intrusive. He fidgets with his hands when nervous. Holds grudges and guilt trips when upset. can’t forgive himself, apologizes too much. Stubborn, doesn’t know when to give up. 

Heroes are gladiator esque. They have posters, dolls, figures, homemade wood carvings. They work as adventures but some are paid by the heroes commission to remain in one city and participate in gladiator battles (not to the death) too. 

All Might is currently ranked number 1 in the world by the hero commission and has permission to teleport anytime to other countries to help but is based in Faerun, Masfutu. 

Izuku and Bakugo try every year to win behind the scenes tickets to the coliseum. 

All Might is ace/aro. He’s always been naturally talented at picking up new skills - ADHD - and is thrown that he hasn’t quite taken so well to teaching. Struggled for a bit but is taking it seriously and putting in the work finally. 

Grand Torino and Recovery Girl are in love and they spend their dates hassling and messing with the Youth. 

Cementos is struggling with a divorce

Mic and Aizawa are married. They have been since a couple of years after school. Aizawa had a whole flamboyant, elaborate proposal planned for Mic, but the day he was going to propose Mic said “we should get married” while gazing lovingly in his eyes and Aizawa was so relieved. 

Mic is nonbinary trans he/they. Before he got married to Aizawa and teaching when they took a break from each other he was a world famous Bard. He sings in class and Aizawa has to always bang on the wall to get him to shut up when it gets to loud. 

Aizawa is trans and Shinso is son with an ex he jumped into a relationship with after he finished UA. He was never a “hero” in the coliseum, didn’t want the attention, he was a freelance adventurer for a little bit before becoming pregnant, then teaching. 

The reason Power Loader never wears a shirt is because he is a huge fashionista and he doesn’t want any of his clothes getting wrecked because he refuses to own no more ugly clothes than required. 

Ibara Shiozaki is straight. She’s from a whole family of temple worshippers. (Fantasy) bible before boys. 

Jurota Shishida is the lone survivor of a werewolf attack and an orphan. He lives at the school permanently. 

Iida is mostly straight. He swings his hands when stressed and musts his hair. plans everything. Morning person. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. 

Yaoyorozu is the local royalty. She has lead a VERY sheltered life. Never left the city except when directly teleporting to other fancy locations. Iida is very dedicated to her as his family is one of her family’s vassals. She rubs her chest when stressed. Absolute capitalist. Only knows how to ball dance and can play the piano. Was in Jiro’s High School band. Doesn’t get to do her own shopping a lot so loves to whenever she can. Loves spoiling people. Kind of naïve. 

Cementous and Exoplasm are the oldest teachers at UA and best friends. 

Shouto is a grey ace demiromatic gay man. He darts his eyes when nervous. He’s autistic. Knows how to ball dance.

Hawks is pan. He’s a workaholic so he’s up at the crack of dawn. Always seems laid back but is VERY observant. High alcohol tolerance. He plays with his feathers when nervous but is aware of this tell so tries to just do nothing and only does it if very stressed. Favourite food is birds, like chicken, as that’s hawks primary food. He has tetrachromats eyes so can see ultraviolet light. Female hawks are generally larger than males. Hawks prefer open habitats, like deserts or fields. Probably lives on the outskirt of the city, lots of windows. His preferred time to work is just before nightfall. He will likely only live to his 30s at most. He’s mostly based on red-tailed hawks. Perfectionist. Orphan, is the adopted child of the head of the commission. 

Shouto’s father is so desperate to find him and keep him because he knows that news of his reputation is vital. Enji is not royalty by blood but by marriage. He’s aware that if he doesn’t keep a tight leash on his family they could ruin his reputation as he’s human (mostly) and the rest are half-elves. So they’ll all outlive him. He’s already lost Touya so he’s desperate to as discreetly as possible find Shouto. Momo is helping him run away and hide out and paying for his school tuition. Enji was at first a hero like All Might until he managed to secure his marriage with Rei. He’s very aware that there’s only so much he can control his reputation as his whole family will outlive him. So will he redeem himself or double down? 

Dabi is the League’s reluctant big brother. Likes to mess around with Toga most of all, she reminds him of his little siblings. 

Vlad King is one of the founders of UA and is over 100 years old. 

* These are purely notes for myself for a dnd game coming up for myself which is why I’ve nicked ideas from tiktoker lia_faye. 

[senacal]

Hi! Can u please write Erik Lehnsherr x FemReader where there’s a dance and reader thinks he’ll ask Raven but instead he asks reader to go with him to the dance? Thank you!

A Dance for Two

Request: Requested by anon

Pairing: Erik Lehnsherr x FemReader

Prompt:  Hi! Can you please write Erik Lehnsherr x FemReader where there will be a dance and reader thinks he’ll ask Raven but instead he asks the reader to go with him to the dance? Thank you!

Warnings: Fluff with slight angst, cursing

Author’s Note: Hello lovely anon, I hope you enjoy this Xx.

Requests are open! 

(Gif not mine)

The halls of the X-Mansion were bustling with mutants and humans alike. The mutants were going about their business, trying to get to class while the humans were trying to decorate the entire place. Currently (Y/N) was standing out of the way of everyone just observing everyone passing by. There was no way she was about to insert herself into the chaos just yet.

Recently Charles Xavier had announced that there would be a ball in order to raise funds and awareness for Charles Xavier’s school for gifted youngsters. Ever since mutants have been brought into the light, more and more students were coming in with different forms of powers. If it weren’t for (Y/N), Erik, and Raven, Charles was sure to be overwhelmed with everything. It was only after Erik’s attempted assassination on the U.S. president that he realized what a mistake he had made. In order to get Erik to contain his anger and hatred for humans, Charles had convinced him to stay after his previous attempts. Charles liked to tease (Y/N) and say that if it weren’t for her, Erik would have refused yet again.

Unfortunately, (Y/N) never believed Charles and rebutted his teasing by insisting it was only because Erik had nearly hurt Raven. It only made sense after everything Raven and Erik had gone through together. (Y/N) was almost positive that Erik’s feelings ran deep for the other mutant, so to spare her own feelings, she suppressed any and all thoughts of her and Erik ever getting together. She’d never tell Charles, though she suspected that he already knew what with him being a mind reader and all. (Y/N) knew Charles wouldn’t read her mind unless it was absolutely necessary, she trusted him enough, but sometimes she felt as though her feelings for Erik were strong enough that Charles didn’t have to read her mind in order to find out how she felt.

“(Y/N) It’s nearly time for class, your students are waiting for you.” Charles’s voice echoed in her mind. 

“Speak of the devil,” (Y/N) muttered to herself.

“Aw, were you thinking about me, love?” (Y/N) could clearly hear the teasing tone in his voice, it was almost as if he were right next to her.

“In your dreams, Charles,” (Y/N) nearly rolled her eyes at his insistent teasing. Despite the conversation going on in her mind, she made her way to her class. He had a point, she couldn’t keep her kids waiting, she had some interesting stories to share with the kids today and it nearly made her giddy.

“Oh, I think you’ve mistaken me with someone else. Like Erik, perhaps?”

“Fuck off Charles,” She snapped. His constant teasing was almost enough to take her out of the good mood she was in, almost.

“Sorry everybody, I wish I could say I have an excuse for being late, but sadly that isn’t true. You’d think I’d have frozen time in order to get ahead, but I save that for special occasions, like beating Professor Xavier and Professor Lehnsherr at games for instance.” She joked. 

Her lame attempt at a joke managed to score a few laughs out of the young mutants, “Anyway, let’s get started shall we?”

(Y/N) went through her lectures with grace, answering and asking the right questions when they arose, a few of the students even volunteered to read a few passages from the textbook, which was often very rare. Because of everyone’s participation, (Y/N) allowed the students some free time at the end of class. Many students took the opportunity to leave and spend their time outside, while a few stayed in their seats. 

“Professor (L/N), can I ask you something?” Scott Summers asked curiously. He was hanging out with Jean Grey in the front row.

“Of course, anything in particular?” (Y/N) asked curiously.

“Yeah, actually, it’s about the dance. Is everyone required to take a date? Cause the flyer said to bring a plus one.” Scott had already asked Jean to go with him and she had thankfully said yes, but they were talking and it seemed as though the professors may need dates too. It’d be interesting, to say the least, to find out which professor was going with who. 

“Oh, uh, that’s not necessarily a requirement, I think Professor Xavier was just getting ahead of himself,” (Y/N) brushed off, “If you’re not comfortable with taking someone, then it’s not mandatory. I think he only meant for you to go with someone to keep you from getting bored.” 

“Okay, so, who is Professor X going with?” Jean asked instantly.

“Oh, I think Moira MacTaggert. I’m sure you’ve all met her, right?” (Y/N) looked around for any confirmation, “If not, then this weekend you’ll get to.”

“What about Professor Lehnsherr? Or you?” Scott prodded. 

“Uh, I’m not sure, to be honest,” (Y/N) felt her heartbeat rapidly, could the students know about her fascination with Erik too? Shit, Jean was a mind reader too. (Y/N) glanced at the young student briefly, “That I know of, Professor Lehnsherr might take Professor Darkhölme. And I am going with,” (Y/N) looked around, “Uh, Hank! I mean Professor Mccoy,” She lied not so smoothly. Thankfully the bell rang before anyone can ask any more questions. 

“So, you’re going to the ball with Hank?”

(Y/N) nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard Erik’s voice. She hadn’t realized he was even standing there. 

“Fuck, you scared me, Erik,” (Y/N) ran her hand through her (H/C) hair. 

“Sorry, I knocked before I walked in,” He shrugged, “So Mccoy? Really?”

“What?” (Y/N) furrowed her brows, “What about him?”

Erik laughed slightly, “You said Hank was going to the dance with you.”

“Oh! Right, no I didn’t wanna sound like a complete loner to the kids so I lied, sorta,” She shrugged. This was probably the most embarrassing thing that’s happened to her thus far.

“You could have said I was taking you,” Erik shrugged, “Just a thought.”

“Yeah, next time,” (Y/N) laughed nervously.

“Speaking of the dance-”

“Sorry, Erik, I uh, I’ve got to… Pee! I’ll be right back,” (Y/N) brushed past him and marched to the nearest restroom. She wasn’t about to stand there and let Erik tell her that he was going to ask Raven or that he had already asked her, she wasn’t a masochist after all. 

“I’ll just wait here then,” Erik mumbled to himself once she bolted out.

(Y/N) leaned against the bathroom door and sighed. She was going to have to get a hold on herself. She couldn’t keep dodging Erik every time he brought up the dance, they were friends after all.  She’d just have to ignore her pride and accept the fact that Erik didn’t like her the way she liked him. No big deal.

(Y/N) composed herself and made her way to the kitchen. It was nearly lunchtime now and she was starving, she just hoped there was a snack or something available. 

“Hey, (Y/N)!” Raven shouted when she saw her from across the hall.

(Y/N) looked up and smiled slightly. She tried to keep things civil, it wasn’t Raven’s fault Erik liked her and not (Y/N).

Raven stopped right next to her with a bright smile, “You ready for the dance this weekend?”

“Yeah, you bet,” (Y/N) lied.

“I can’t wait either, I only ever got to go to parties as my “normal” self before but this time I can just be me,” Raven grinned.

“Well, you’re beautiful so it only makes sense to go as you are,” (Y/N) shrugged.

“Thank you, you are too. I can’t wait to see what you’re going to wear. Charles said to make it formal so it should be interesting to see everyone in a tux and dress.” Raven looked off as if she were imagining just that.

“Yeah, it should be interesting,” (Y/N) agreed.

“Were you headed to the kitchen?” Raven asked suddenly.

“Yeah, I was. I got kinda hungry so I was going to grab a snack or something.” (Y/N) turned to leave.

“I’ll go with you,” Raven decided. She walked right next to (Y/N) without any notice to her discomfort. Raven was the best, really. She was funny, beautiful, badass, and well, (Y/N) could see why Erik liked her. It just really fucking sucked is all. 

“So, have you talked to Erik?” Raven wondered.

“Kinda? He stopped by my classroom earlier but I uh, I needed to use the restroom,” (Y/N) really hoped this would be the end of this uncomfortable conversation.

“Oh, well, he really wanted to talk to you so I’ll let him know we’re in the kitchen then,” Raven pulled her phone out of her pocket and texted, (Y/N) assumed, Erik.

“Right, I guess I’ll wait here with you then,” (Y/N) mumbled. This had to be a nightmare right? This wasn’t really happening, right?

(Y/N) grabbed a jello cup from the fridge and a spoon. She jumped onto the counter and started eating her snack. Maybe if she froze time she would be able to escape without any notice. But then they would know what she had done, so it wasn’t really the best option. But still, it was an option. 

“There you are (Y/N), I was wondering where you had run off to,” Erik smiled and leaned against the counter right next to you.

“Uh, yeah, sorry I got kinda hungry,” She shrugged.

“I was waiting in your classroom,” Erik mentioned casually.

“Oh, shit, sorry I uh,” (Y/N) wasn’t sure what to say. Why would he wait for her? Why couldn’t he just show up to the dance with Raven and leave (Y/N) alone?

“It’s okay, anyway, I wanted to ask you something,” Erik glanced at Raven, who was pretending to mind her own business but was failing miserably, “You know, you’re not as subtle as you think you are,” He huffed in annoyance.

“Fine, fine, I’m leaving,” Raven stomped off.

“Erik?” (Y/N) set her empty jello cup aside, “you wanted to ask me something?”

“Right! Yes, I did, I do,” Erik bit his lip and shifted nervously.

“Well?” (Y/N) asked impatiently. She didn’t want to sit there while he told her he asked Raven to the dance and if she could help him with something to woo her or something.

“Sorry, I was wondering if you might want to go with me to the dance?” He spoke quickly.

Wait, what? “Wait, what?” (Y/N) asked surprised.

“Will you go with me to the dance?” Erik asked, meeting (Y/N)’s eyes.

“I- what about Raven?” She asked confused. Why would he ask her out and not Raven? Was this a pity date? Is that why Raven was okay with it?

“What about Raven?” Erik asked just as confused as (Y/N). What did Raven have to do with their date?

“I mean, why are you asking me and not Raven?” (Y/N) asked getting frustrated with Erik.

“Because I don’t like Raven, I like you” Erik laughed joyously. He had thought it was pretty obvious. He always dropped everything he was doing to help (Y/N). He made stupid jokes just to hear her laugh, he always tried his best to show off his powers whenever they were teamed together. Their most successful training session was when he showed her how he could lift their jet plane. 

(Y/N) sat in disbelief. Erik liked her? How had she not realized before? She thought back to all the times Charles would tease her, she assumed he was teasing her, but come to think about it, Erik was always the one who got flustered and angry. (Y/N) assumed it was because he really didn’t like her, but it turns out the complete opposite was the truth.

“You really like me?” (Y/N) asked softly.

“I do,” Erik agreed, “So, would you want to accompany me to the dance?”

(Y/N) nodded almost too eagerly, “Yes, I would love to!” She grinned.

Erik smiled and stepped between her legs, “can I kiss you? Or is that pushing my luck?”

(Y/N)’s cheeks flushed, her breath hitching, “No, it’s not pushing your luck.”

Erik leaned forward, looking from her eyes to her lips, “good,” He pressed his lips to hers in a gentle passionate kiss.