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mmsapataoltda · 3 years

Text

Heartbeat (PART 2)

check the tags for trigger warning. In case anyone is in doubt this happens in 146 so Lin is 26 and Tenzin 27

I don't know how to put a link here so part 1 is fixed in my page

fic under the cut

After Lin returned from her tour on the Island with Izumi close at her heels, Tenzin could notice her slightly swollen eyes and how she kept away from social interactions as much as possible. Kya was also watching her from across the room. The joy she felt when Lin and Tenzin announced the expected baby was slowly coming apart as she watched the earthbender interact with her baby brother. She didn't know if she felt worse because she was jealous of her brother or because she couldn't be overjoyed anymore by the little-announced news.

After all the guests had left, Lin and Tenzin said their good night to the family and retired to Tenzin's room. Lin's stillness was making Tenzin worried, he was used to her closing down when she didn't want to talk about something that made her uncomfortable, but this was different. She looked scared. But when she turned off the light on the lamp on her side of the bed said good night and then rolled over on her back to sleep, he figured it would be better for both of them if he just snuggled her body against his.

The next morning, right after breakfast, Lin was sitting on one of the beds at Katara's healing hut on Air Temple Island. Tenzin was sitting in a chair in front of the bed, watching Lin as serious as she could be. She was apprehensive, Tenzin knew, and made a point of staring at the wall behind him like it was the most interesting thing in the world in an effort not to look at him.

- Everything will be fine, Lin. - he said trying to calm her down, but she just directed her impenetrable gaze to him

- You don't know that. – she replied firmly – This child is growing inside of me, there is a high chance of her being born with three eyes.

The screen doors separating the room from the rest of the healing hut opened and Tenzin immediately rose to his feet to carry the basin of water Katara had brought with her and set it on the nightstand beside the bed Lin was occupying.

- Hi sweetheart – Katara greeted Lin affectionately as she approached the bed – Can you take off your shirt and turn to get started? - Lin nodded and did what Katara had asked, turning over in bed with only his bindings and sweatpants

Katara approached again with her hands covered with water and placed them on the metalbender’s chest, she opened her mouth to speak to Lin, but Tenzin interrupted her:

- Aren't you going to examine the baby first? - he asked anxiously

- I didn't know you were a healer, Tenzin. – the waterbender Master said ironically and resumed her consultation. Lin was pressing her lips together to keep from laughing at the face Tenzin had made at her mother's reply – I'll ask you some questions, okay? – the earthbender nodded – I need you to try to be as exact as possible with the dates. I assume you weren't trying to get pregnant. - was the first question

- No. - Lin and Tenzin replied together after exchanging looks

- When was your last cycle?

Lin pondered for a while, doing the math in her mind.

- 5 weeks.

- Did you have sex during this period? – Katara's question made Tenzin red

- Yes. - It was Lin who answered

- How long are you late? – she asked and moved the water to Lin's back

- About 15 days. My cycles are not regulated, I always end up missing one or two due to stress at the Police Station.

- When was the last time you had sex?

- Mom... - Tenzin objected, turning almost scarlet, receiving a reproachful look from his mother

- Two days ago. – Lin replied, ignoring Tenzin's objection and Katara nodded and moved her water-covered hands away from Lin's body

- You can lie down, I'll start examining the baby.

Lin did as the healer asked and soon Katara's hands were on her stomach.

- How did you find out you were pregnant?

- I can hear the heartbeat through the earth. – Katara smiled with this information

- I believe the baby was the person she was listening to last night. – it was Lin's turn to nod but Katara and Tenzin noticed her stiffen at the mention of Toph

Katara asked a few more questions about Lin's health as she moved her hands around her abdomen before stepping away and returning the water to the bowl beside the bed. Lin put on her shirt and sat down next to Tenzin on the other side of Katara's desk.

- Well... Lin, your weight is excellent for your height. The baby is approximately 5 weeks old and has a strong and regular heartbeat. – she paused in her notes – There is only one thing that worries me. – Lin shifted in her chair suddenly uncomfortable, she knew something wouldn't be right – Toph's pregnancies were very delicate, especially with Su. She had pre-eclampsia both times and with Su she went into premature labor because of it, thanks to the Spirits I managed to reverse the situation and Su was born close to the scheduled date. With that you have a genetic predisposition to have a risky pregnancy. As you said yourself, you are under a high level of stress at work and this is already causing changes in your blood pressure. This can cause complications for you and the baby's health. – Tenzin moved his hand to reach Lin's and squeezed it gently, but Lin didn't respond to the gesture – Under these circumstances I suggest you take maternity leave within the next few weeks.

- No way! – Lin exclaimed, pulling her hand away from Tenzin's touch and crossing her arms, she should have seen it coming

- Lin, try to be reasonable. – Tenzin asked quietly

- Tenzin, no! I'll have to stay away for almost a year when the time comes, I won't be locked inside the house for another seven months doing nothing, this will end up leaving me more stressed than the Police Station. – she turned her attention to Katara – Katara with all due respect, but I will not stop working unless absolutely necessary.

- I knew you would react like that. – Katara made a few more lines of notes before addressing them once more – You can work until your fifth month of pregnancy… – Lin opened her mouth to thank her, but Katara raised her hand to interrupt – Dont thank me yet, i'm not done. But until then you will work in the office, no fieldwork.

- What? – Lin almost yelled and her eyes widened in protest, but Katara paid little attention

- No patrols, no field investigations, no stakeout for 36 hours and no operations. And I know this is important to you, but you're also going to have to start slowing down with your workouts.

- Katara… - Lin tried to argue, but Katara continued

- And that is absolutely necessary. I'll talk to Chief Song myself if needed to. - Lin snorted and tightening the knot she made with her arms - Due to the delicacy of the pregnancy I will also ask you to stop drinking coffee and take appointments every two weeks.

- Something else? – Lin asked completely grumpy

- That is all.

And in the blink of an eye, Lin was up and out of the room.

Tenzin found her in the living room crosslegged on the window sofa as she turned the pages of the book she was reading almost aggressively.

- Lin. - he called her gently passing through the small crack in the door, but she ignored his presence. Tenzin rubbed a hand across his forehead and sighed before approaching her with slow steps – Lin. – he repeated and knelt on the floor in front of her, gently lowered the book she was using to hide her face and rested his hands on the metalbender’s knees

- I'm scared, Tenzin. – she confessed almost in a whisper – I'm not sure of anything about my life right now and it scares the shit out of me. First I was scared to be like the Chief, now I have to be away from my job otherwise I might end up losing the baby. Tenzin… – he approached her, snuggling between her thighs and lifting a hand to caress Lin's waist – I'm so confused. I never wanted this, I didn't want to have a baby, but now I'm pregnant and I'm not hating it, but at the same time it has my job and Chief Song has nominated me for the Captain's exam...

Tenzin had to compose himself with the revelation of that information, she hadn't said anything about the nomination. Lin looked down to meet the airbender's eyes and he noticed that her eyes were filled with fear, that feeling looked so wrong in Lin's eyes, she was always brave, always gave herself to the things she wanted, he couldn't let her feel that way.

- You can be sure about one thing: I'm here for you and I will always be, no matter what. And I'm sure you're going to do what's possible and impossible for our baby because you're like that, you give yourself to the things you commit to. – Lin smiled gratefully at him and tilted her head to the side – Now about your work… – Lin tensed again – I'm sorry this isn't going the way you planned and that this will interfere with your work, I know how important it is to you. But I'm here for you and I know you're going to be Capitain and then AC and then Chief. – he smiled – We can make this work. You could move to the Island, you would be closer to my mother and I could take care of you. We can turn the room next to mine into a nursery, we'll let Kya decorate it with all those cute baby things… – Lin laughed at the same time a tear escaped her eye – We can get married.

- On that hill I like with view to the city. - she completed placing her hand over his on her waist and reaching for the other to intertwine their fingers

- On that hill you like.

- I could do that.

The weeks went by smoothly, and Lin's move to Air Temple Island was accomplished with two flying bison trips under the supervision of Sokka and Aang that wouldn't let her lift a pin, let alone a box. At each appointment with Katara, she would tell her that everything was running smoothly, that she just needed to pay attention to her stress level and her diet. A few days after completing the 12th week Tenzin was responsible for a big spike in her blood pressure.

- You´re showing! – he almost yelled when Lin appeared in the room among the steam from the bathroom only wearing her panties and her bindings while drying her hair with the towel, she almost left the floor at his sudden reaction

- No, I am not. - she said immediately pulling the towel from her hair and looking at her stomach

- Yes you are! – Tenzin jumped out of bed and grabbed Lin's wrist dragging her back into the bathroom

He doubled a gentle stream of air on the mirror to defog, positioned Lin in front of him, and turned her on her side. Lin fixed her eyes on the reflection of her belly on the mirror and found what Tenzin was referring to. It was a small bump, it was almost imperceptible, but it was there. The earthbender ran a hand over her stomach, feeling the lump and couldn't help the smile that formed on her face.

- It's our baby. – Tenzin said hugging her from behind placing his soft hands on the small bump and placing a series of kisses on Lin's exposed neck, who immediately started to feel hot and tilted her head to the side so that Tenzin had better access to her skin

The kisses became wetter and firmer, then Lin moved Tenzin's hands to her breasts squeezing it lightly, which made her let ou a little moan. She turned and brought their lips together in a needy kiss wrapping one leg around his hip, Tenzin realized what she wanted and then lifted her other leg holding Lin firmly on his hip by the thighs and walked with her in his arms to the bed

Tenzin was definitely loving the pregnancy hormones.

Lin was lying comfortably on his chest stroking Tenzin’s sternum as he drew large circles on Lin's bare back.

- Do you think Kya can find out if it's a boy or a girl? – he asked after placing a kiss on Lin's black hair.

- We don't need Kya to find out. – she replied raising an elbow to look at him – I know it's a girl.

- Oh? – Tenzin raised an eyebrow as well

- Beifongs don't have male children.

Thinking of the Beifong family tree Tenzin realized that Lin was correct. Lao was the only male child among three sisters, Poppy had only one sister and had an only daughter, Toph, who also had only daughters.

- But we can talk to her after dinner, I'm sure she'll be more than happy to tell everyone that she found out. - Lin commented lying down again on the airebnder’s chest

- I bet she will.

Unlike what they expected, Kya didn't show up for dinner. Katara said she was in her room packing her things to leave the next morning. Lin's heart clenched at the news, she didn't want her to leave, a selfish part of her wanted to keep Kya close so she could feel her heady presence that made her so confused. After Tenzin excused himself to take a phone call in his office, Lin did the same and went to Kya's room, something was wrong and she knew.

Lin knocked on the door, but loud music drowned out the sound, the metalbender opened the door a crack and she could see Kya stuffing clothes into her suitcase as she muttered to herself. Lin cleared her throat to announce her presence and Kya flew nearly three feet off the ground but didn't turn to her, the waterbender brought her hands to her face and took a few deep breaths before turning to face her. The waterbender didn't greet her with a bright smile as she always did, instead her eyes were sad and puffy and the tip of her nose was red. Lin raised her hand toward the radio and turned her fingers to turn off the device.

- Are you leaving. – it wasn't a question

- Yes. – Kya replied trying to sound firm and went back to stuffing clothes in her suitcase

- Why? – Lin asked entering the room, but Kya didn't answer her, just started to form a ball with the piece in her hand and threw it on the bed aggressively – Kya. What's happening? – Kya turned to her and once again Lin was surprised to see the piercing blue eyes filled with tears, Lin always knew that Kya cried at a drop of a hat but there was nothing that could explain it

- I can't be here right now. – Kya's answer only made Lin more confused – I'll come back when you enter the eighth month to help with the delivery, but I can't… – A sob escaped her lips and Kya covered her face to hide her tears

Instinctively Lin approached her, grabbed her wrists and gently pulled her hands away from her face. Still holding one of Kya's hands, Lin raised the other to the waterbender’s face and touched it with the greatest gentleness in the world, as if it would break with any careless touch. At first Kya was transfixed by the closeness she was from the metalbender, but she let herself feel comfortable as callused hands whiped her tears.

When Lin's hand lowered again, without noticing Kya mirrored Lin's gesture touching her face, she didn't seem bothered by the touch, so Kya ran her thumb over the twin scars on her cheek. They weren't smiling, they were afraid that any movement would break the spell surrounding them. The waterbender tried to absorb every detail of Lin's face, she wanted to kiss her. Lin's eyes were fixed on Kya's lips and she wondered if they were as soft as they looked. But suddenly Kya's touch faltered and she let out a soft breath.

- That's why I need to go. – Kya said fighting back tears and took her hand away from Lin's face.

The metalbender instantly missed the touch and watched silently as Kya closed her suitcase threw it over her shoulder and walked through the doorframe with just a "Good night Lin" and left leaving Lin standing and confused in the middle of her own bedroom.

When Lin returned to her’s and Tenzin’s room, Tenzin was lying on the bed while reading a book. She could feel that her cheeks were still hot and they sure were red. Tenzin lowered the book and sat up, noticing his girlfriend’s lost gaze.

- Lin, what's wrong? - he asked worried.

Tenzin's voice brought her back to reality and she blinked a few times to clear her thoughts of what had happened, or nearly happened, in Kya's room.

- Nothing. – she replied with a brief smile – Everything is fine. – she watched Tenzin's shoulders relax immediately.

- What did Kya say? - he asked anxiously

- That's a girl.

The way Kya left the next day left Lin thoughtful and distant for the next few days. She didn't understand what they were or where those feelings related to the waterbender came from, but she knew one thing: she missed Kya. That didn't mean she didn't love Tenzin, of course she loved him, with every beat of her heart, so what Kya made her feel made her even more confused. So, as with all the feelings she wasn't going to talk to anyone about, she stuffed them inside a little box and pushed them into a corner of her mind where she could pretend they didn't exist.

Along with the 14th week of pregnancy came the exam to select the next Captain of the Republic City Police Department. The theoretical part for the Captain's exam was being applied and all the Lieutenants of the 15th Class were gathered in the brifing room with their faces buried in scrolls reading and writing, Lin Beifong was the only Lieutenant of the 16th Class present. After explaining the entire situation to Chief Song, he did not allow her not to take the test with the other Lieutenants of the 15th class.

- This test is a mere formality, I have already made my decision, you will be the next Captain. Yoy will take the exam and as soon as you come back from maternity leave you will assume the post. - he said

And that's how she ended up sitting in the back of the brifing room for a four-hour test. Occasionally her right hand would leave its resting place beside the paper to caress the belly completely imperceptible to outside eyes hidden under her armor, which was no longer being so comfortable. Her foot remained barefoot against the floor as the heartbeat of the small baby growing in her womb soothed her.

Later that day, Lin and Tenzin were sitting on their bed, their backs against the headboard, she had just told him about how the test had gone and about all her expectations in that matter, Tenzin assured her that there was nothing she should worry as Chief Song had already made his decision that she would take over after her maternity leave, his hands never leaving Lin's stomach as her cold hands covered his.

She reached over to her bedside table to pick up the book about pregnancy Katara had given her, which had been hers during her pregnancies. Lin was devouring the book. Each chapter talked about what to expect in each week of pregnancy and what was happening with the baby in that week, as she completed each week she read a new chapter and reread it several times until completing the next. That night Lin couldn't contain her anxiety and ended up reading the chapters about the next few weeks, while reading Tenzin lay with his face lying close to her bump, talking in whispers with the baby.

- Her eyesight will start to develop in a few weeks. Unless she's blind.

- She's not blind. He is not blind - Tenzin countered - But if he or she is blind, that’s not a problem.

- I already told you it's a girl. – Lin said looking at him – You can call it "she", because the baby will be born and she will think you were wrong all along. – Tenzin frowned at her confused and Lin shook her head – Suddenly she's not even listening, she might be deaf.

- Not a problem too. One of the monks who trained my father was deaf. - he commented trying to get around Lin's pessimism

- Okay, but what if it's not okay?! Two heads, three arms...?

- Stop. – Tenzin said horrified to her

- I'm just saying. If a woman has to have a child with two heads, three arms and 11 fingers, that woman is me.

- Lin... it doesn't even make sense, if she has three arms it will be 15 fingers and I don't know why I'm saying this. – he shot in sequence, getting ready on his pillow – Now go to sleep, please. – he got up to kiss her temple and Lin started to move to get out of bed.

- I just need to get something from the kitchen. - she said getting up from the bed and left the room

Tenzin knew she didn't need anything from the kitchen. The trip there was just an excuse to be able to put her bare feet on the floor so she could hear the baby's heart beating. He knew Lin was worrying too much and that listening to the baby's heart soothed her.

When she reached the kitchen, Lin placed her hands on her belly, closed her eyes and stomped firmly with her left against the floor. The waves of her seismic sense swept the entire first floor, but Lin was focused on the small square meter she was standing in, the waves crept up her body and she could see the outline of her baby in her womb. She stroked her tiny belly until the waves dissipated and the formed image faded from her mind.

One Wednesday night in the middle of the 16th week of pregnancy, Lin woke up with a terrible pain in her lower abdomen. She sat up in bed with her hand on her stomach and let out a silent scream of pain. Something wasn't right. She turned to Tenzin and shook him desperately, trying to wake him up.

- Tenzin. – she turned to him and shook him with all the strength that was left in her body, which wasn't much when he heard the tone of his girlfriend's voice he sat up immediately on the bed – Tenzin, there's something wrong... the baby. - she said through her tears, the only words that escaped her mouth and in the next second she was bending forward in a scream of pain

He immediately got out of bed to run to his mother's room, but as soon as he turned on the lamp to see his way to the door he froze in place as he noticed the pool of blood Lin was sitting in. In that moment she knew. Her baby was gone.

Tenzin entered his parents' room unannounced, they were sleeping peacefully facing each other, completely unaware of what was going on. The door hit the wall with the force it was opened, Katara was the first to get up and when she noticed the expression on her son's face she realized that something wasn't right.

- Lin is in pain. - he said breathlessly

In less than a second Katara was on her feet with Aang at her heels.

- Take her to my healing hut, your father and I will prepare the pool. – she said as she tied a robe around her waist and put on her slippers

Tenzin carried Lin to his mother's hut, her weight barely perceptible in his arms. She was terribly quiet and pale, the tears had stopped and now they were just damp, glistening memories on her cheeks. He walked quickly while trying not to pay attention to the bloodstains on her thighs. As soon as they entered the hut, Aang came to their assistance and helped Tenzin get Lin into the pool.

Aang moved to leave the room and let his wife work on Lin and put a hand on Tenzin’s chest to walk him out, but Tenzin didn't move a muscle, reluctant to leave Lin alone.

- Tenzin go with your father. - Katara asked in a professional tone

Then he left the room, his father closing the screen doors behind them. But the look on Lin's face was one he couldn't shake from his thoughts, and one he knew he would never forget. Her face was streaked with tears, but no new ones left her eyes, she stared at nothing with a blank expression. That was the word that would be used to write Lin at that moment. Empty. He had never seen her like that and wished he had never had that opportunity.

When the doors opened again, nearly an hour and a half later, Katara's devastated gaze confirmed what they already knew. Tenzin felt the air leave his lungs as he brought his hands to his head feeling his knees go weak, Aang held him in place helping him to control his breathing while Katara's hands rested on his chest whispering things he didn't register. Once he was merely steady on her knees, Katara said:

- Lin had a miscarriage. As it was in the second trimester of pregnancy I needed to clean the uterus so we need to move her very carefully and she will need healing sessions for a week. – he could see that she was on the verge of tears as she tried to pass on the information, he tried to move towards the closed door, but his mother stopped him, she opened her mouth to speak, but the words were not passing through her throat – She passed by a huge trauma, a miscarriage after the 12th week is more aggressive and she is very fragile. Tenzin. – she looked deeply at her son – She needs you more than ever, you need to be strong for her, I'm not saying you shouldn't have your mourning period or block your emotions, but you need to take it slow with her.

The airbender nodded firmly and took a few breaths trying to get his emotions under control before entering the room. Lin looked smaller and more delicate than ever in the water, her clothes were soaking wet as were the ends of her hair that made contact with the water just below her shoulders. He didn't know what to say and before he had a chance to find out he heard Lin break into a sob:

- Tenzin. – at the sound of Lin's broken voice, he immediately strode to her stepping into the water without bothering with his pajamas getting wet and she hid in his chest while crying openly and clutching his shirt – I'm sorry. I am so sorry. – she kept repeating as he stroked her black hair and her back

- Shhh. – he said with his chin resting on top of her head – This is not your fault, you don't have to apologize for anything. – it was only at that moment as Lin clung to his clothes and cried desperately that he realized that his own tears were running down his face and falling into the black strands of his girlfriend's head

Five days had passed since that terrible Wednesday night, and Lin still declined to join the others at family dinners or eat a decent meal or receive anyone outside the family who lived on the Island. Including your mother.

- I don't care that she doesn't want to see me. She is my kid. – she argued with Katara, but the older woman refused to leave her position in front of the door – I swear Katara, if you don't get out of my way I'll bury you in a hole so deep that I myself won't be able to find you. She needs me! I am her mother!

After realizing that arguing with Toph in Lin's earshot would not benefit anyone at all, she relented and let Toph into the room. In a historic effort to talk about her feelings, she told Lin how she felt when she almost lost Su and what helped her overcome that trauma in an attempt to help her daughter. But it wasn't the same, Su was very much alive and walking around her new town living her private fairy tale while Lin went through hell. Toph left placing a kiss on Lin's hairline and he said goodbye with an empty "Thanks, Chief". Although Toph hasn't left town, appearing on the Island from time to time, she hasn't returned to visit Lin, content in just listening and feeling her footsteps across the bedroom floor.

Katara and Aang were being the pillars on which she and Tenzin could stand, they were also going through their respective griefs, but they didn't fail to lend their strength to the young couple. Strangely, the metalbender found great relief in meditating with the two airbenders in the first rays of sun and this was the only activity that made her leave the room apart from the healing sessions with Katara. At Lin's request, the waterbender had told her everything that had happened that night that no one would ever forget, assuring her that none of it was her fault, but Lin couldn't stop blaming herself. What if she had listened to Katara and stopped working? What if she had eaten better? What if she hadn't ventured into the training room? What if she had been more careful? The "what ifs" circled in Lin's head and refused to leave.

On the seventh day Kya arrived. Dropping her suitcase at the stairs and running into the house.

- I came as fast as I could. Where is she? – she asked exasperated to Katara who had her hands on her shoulders in an attempt to calm her down as Kya tried to cross the kitchen agitated

- She's in the bedroom, but first you need to calm down. – Kya stopped moving and took a few deep breaths, although Katara could still feel her daughter trembling against her palms – Better. – she said and released Kya who almost flew out of the kitchen and up the stairs

Lin heard a soft knock on the door. With her feet off the ground she was unable to tell who was knocking, so she simply replied:

- It's open. - in a weak voice

When Kya came into view she was overwhelmed with the urge to cry, but she pushed it deep into her chest.

- I'm sorry, Lin. – Kya said as soon as her eyes landed on Lin sitting on the bed, she crossed the room with long strides and open arms, enveloping Lin in a much-needed hug that wasn't refused. The metalbender could feel Kya's hot tears on her shoulder, but she didn't cry – It's okay to cry. – she said in a gentle voice when Lin wrapped her in her arms, burying her face in Kya's neck and smelling her scent

- I do not want to cry. – Kya knew that was a lie. Lin broke the embrace and got up from the bed, the younger woman turned to her, the tears she'd struggled so hard with finally leaving her eyes – But what I want to do now is scream. I want to scream until my throat hurts more than my head, stomach and chest. I just want to scream to relieve some of this pain and this anger I'm feeling at myself. – Lin said firmly through his tears, gesturing hugely as she walked in front of Kya

- Then scream. – Kya replied in the same tone – Scream. Let it out.

- I can’t do it. – Lin said, trying hard not to sob and shaking her head – I can't, I can't, I don't...

She slipped on the wall she was next to and as soon as her hands covered her face she let that sob escape. Kya sat beside her, silently humming a tune as she stroked her back in large circles and allowed Lin to cry all her tears. After a few minutes, Lin calmed down. Kya was the first to get up from the floor and reach out a hand to help Lin up, who accepted and stood up carefully and leaning against the wall. But Kya didn't let go of her hand, tucking it in Lin's so that their fingers intertwined and she started walking towards the door to leave the room. Lin hesitated.

- Where are we going?

- Do you trust me? – Kya asked with a gentle smile and Lin's heart squeezed and she nodded

The two walked through the living room and kitchen hand in hand, ignoring the eyes that accompanied them. When they reached the outside of the house Kya began to guide her to the covered pavilion where Tenzin and Aang trained when the weather was not favorable.

- Ok, Kya I'm not a child, I don't need a tour on the Island. – Lin said when they entered the pavilion and Kya's hand left hers to close the door

- Scream. – she said turning to Lin

- What? – Lin asked as if that was the most absurd idea she had ever heard

- Scream. – she repeated, encouraging the earthbender with a nod of her head

- I can’t. - she took a step back

- Do it.

- No, I can't do it...

But before Lin could continue her argument Kya leaned forward screaming.

- I can’t do it. – Lin repeated with a frown and turned to leave the pavilion

And then Kya screamed again.

In an unexpected move, Lin turned to her and finally screamed, with all the force in her being, a soul-shattering shout. When it was over she sobbed and the glass windows began to shudder as tears ran wildly down her face. She screamed again causing the glass of all the windows in the pavilion to break and crash to the floor, but this barely caught Kya's attention, who had her full attention turned to Lin and accompanied her scream this time.

Lin's third scream came hoarse but powerful from her throat, and the shards of glass lying on the floor near the broken windows flew towards the metalbender, forming a curtain of glass around her. The shards began to whirl like a hurricane around her without ever touching her. Kya watched the scene completely shocked at Lin's power, not knowing how to react. She is glassbending. When Lin's hoarse scream ceased she fell to her knees on the ground as the shards of glass froze in midair keeping Lin partially hidden within the tunnel. Kya stepped forward and reached out to touch them and the curtain fell away, falling around Lin, keeping her untouched in the center of a circle, and Kya quickly entered the circle.

She knelt beside her and Lin collapsed into her arms. Kya held Lin close as she cried and sobbed in her arms once more, while she herself silently cried trying to make the act go unnoticed by the earthbender.

Each of them deposited the feelings that choked them in their screams. For Lin the pain that had suffocated her from the moment she learned she had lost her baby, the overwhelming guilt she felt for thinking she hadn't been good enough, and the feeling that she had let everyone down. For Kya it was seeing Lin suffer like that and the inability to make her stop suffering, the guilt of leaving, the mourning for the more than premature departure of a niece she would never have the opportunity to meet and the pain that gripped her lungs from not being able to comfort Lin the way she desperately wanted, from not being able to be with her, from not being able to say the "I love you" that almost escaped her lips every time she looked at Lin.

#angst #miscarriage #blood #eating disorder #depression #anxiety #kyalin #linzin #kya ii #Lin Beifong #tenzin #beifong #tlok #the legend of korra #heartbeat

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nedjemetsenen · 3 years

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Hi again! I'm the anon who asked if you had a degree in Egyptology, I was wondering, and if it's not too personal, were you took classes for Egyptology and the likes? I've been wanting to go to school for it but never have the motivation or know which school to go to. Also which books would you recommend for learning about Egyptology?

Sorry to keep bothering you! 😅

📚 [curious anon]

No worries anon. I'll answer as best I can. Also, for the fun of it, let's talk about what the Egyptology field actually looks like both to help out our lovely anon and to explain why you should NEVER make it Yami/Atemu's profession if he sticks around in your stories.

Good schools for Egyptology

This is something that you'll need to look into on your own because I cannot, in good conscious, recommend a school for something that I didn't study. I will say that your undergrad is less important than your graduate school, so don't stress about it too much at this step. Just be sure that your school is accredited in whatever you're studying.

You should also know that this is not an easy road, as this guide on the topic explains. "Egyptology is an extremely competitive field requiring many years of specialized graduate study resulting in a doctoral level degree (Ph.D.). Before proceeding on to graduate study in Egyptology, you will first need to complete an undergraduate degree in a related field such as Art History, Anthropology, Archaeology, History, Near / Middle Eastern Studies or Classical Studies."

All of the above is a big part of why I kept Egyptology as a hobby. I just think it's neat, but I'm not obsessed with it. If you go into Egyptology, it really NEEDS to be a passion for you. Or you need to have enough money that it doesn't matter if you can get a job/grants which brings us to topic two!

What is it like to be an Egyptologist

Indiana Jones lied to you. Archeologists do not spend their time in the field (a term which means spending time at an actual historical site looking for things) running around ancient monuments looking for hidden treasure. In fact, most archeological digs don't even discover items that are worth anything outside of academic value. For example, you'll find things like broken pottery, which can be examined to learn about pottery techniques or what food they were making. It's valuable stuff, but not that fun to watch and it requires lots of VERY CAREFUL digging.

You should also know that fieldwork is not part of the day-to-day for archeological fields. Most of the work archeologists do is research, study of things already discovered in past digs, and writing.

They do this to try and create an accurate picture of the past because you can't just look at something and know the truth. You have to put lots of pieces together to try and create a convincing theory of what happened. Then you have to get others to agree with you. If you like research, then it's actually a fascinating and fun thing to do because you get to be a detective trying to learn the truth of a culture long gone.

It's also is why Atemu would HATE going into Egyptology. Not because of the research element, but because he wouldn't be able to just show up and start telling everyone the truth of the past. He'd have to prove that what he was saying was accurate and there might not be any evidence that he can pull from depending on what he was trying to prove. Meaning that he might be ignored.

Yikes.

Let's go into an example of this. I've mentioned before that there's some debate about whether or not the men Ny-ankh-Khnum and Khnum-hotep were lovers or brothers. The reason for this is that we see them buried in a style that would normally be used for husbands and wives, but we also know that both men were married to women and the tomb has nothing that says "these men were lovers" or "these men were brothers" or even both things! Because there's no definitive evidence one way or the other, Egyptologists debate this and no consensus has been reached. Listen to this lecture for more on that.

While this is fun for those of us who like to learn about the past and debate its truth, imagine how frustrating that would be for someone who knew one of these two men? Imagine trying to set the record straight, but you can't? That's a special kind of hell.

So, I totally recommend modern people looking into Egyptology, but save our poor pharaoh some heartache and give him something else to focus on

#answered #yugioh #atemu #pharaoh atem #egyptology

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darkficsyouneveraskedfor · 4 years

Text

Irreconcilable

Warnings: nonconsent sex, violence.

This is dark!Steve and explicit. Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.

Summary: You and Steve come to a breaking point but he’s not ready to let you go.

Note: My current kink is Steve Rogers being a bad motherfucker with a hint of insanity. Like he really coming in hot here. Oh and he got a touch of breeding kink. Enjoy <3

Thank you. Love you guys!

Please leave some feedback, like and reblog <3

You had come a long way since you were a naive SHIELD agent mooning over the one and only Steve Rogers. You were no longer an agent, you had married Steve Rogers, and now you were divorcing Steve Rogers. Five years went by in a flash and yet it felt like an eternity. It was like you were starting over again.

New job, new house, new you. Just you. Alone.

It was a breath of fresh air. You had spent so long in denial that acceptance felt like freedom. In the two years of wedded misery you spent with Steve, you had convinced yourself it was bliss. Something about that ring had changed him and he had expected you to change too.

Well you did, just not how he wanted.

It was subtle at first. He was still sweet and your honeymoon was immaculate. When you got home, back in the thick of things, he started to grow irritable. At home, on missions, in bed. First, it started with a breakfast you failed to cook. Then he didn’t think you should be working so much as he was eager to start a family. The revelation that you were in no such hurry, further agitated him. And when it came to intimacy…

When you were just dating, he was doting, gentle, diligent. He worshipped you and made you feel beautiful. Then he turned relentless. Foreplay dwindled to a slap on the ass and a growled order. On nights you denied him, for a headache or some report you had to read, he slept on the couch. And when you didn’t reject him, it was as if he was intent upon hurting you. Punishing you for daring to defy him.

And when you tried to talk it out, there was nothing to talk about. He grew silent and restless. He didn’t have the patience to stay and delve into whatever had turned him so cruel. He had work to do or at least, something better.

And he attended a single counseling session before he stormed out and declared it nonsense. In his day, couples made it work, through thick and thin. Well, in his day, husbands also got away with slapping around their wives and children. You liked to think that the new century had improved upon the formula.

Then his missions grew longer and he started going out with the boys a little too often. Sam and Bucky liked to have a beer now and then but you’d never known them to keep fratboy hours. You couldn’t disprove Steve’s plans but you also couldn’t be certain of them. You guessed he was cheating but you didn’t need the excuse to get out. You were already done.

So you went to Stark and Fury and discussed your departure. They agreed not to tell Steve while you figured things out. Then you went to a lawyer and drew up the papers. You didn’t want anything, just out. And, you suspected, Steve didn’t want you anymore either.

You waited until you got a position as head of security at a government office downtown. Well-paying and respectable. Fury’s referral had gone a long way. A desk job was a dream after years of fieldwork. It was all going to be different and you were finally ready for the change.

Steve was due home from his latest mission at four. It was already seven and the boxes had already been packed up and taken to your new condo. You would let him keep the furniture. Still, the house looked empty… well, it had for a while now.

You paced across the front room for another hour and at last you heard his car. A month ago, you’d be ready to tear into him. Ready to rant and rave until your head hurt. Not anymore. You had no energy left for this relationship.

He came in quietly. He stopped short as he entered the living room. He looked around and sighed. His hands went to his hips. The Captain stance. His eyes turned deadly as he looked at you. You quit your pacing and crossed to the coffee table. You took the large envelope and went to him. You held it out.

“Everything is yours,” You said as he stared at the envelope. “Clean break. I don’t want anything. Just out.”

“What?” He brushed past the envelope and walked the perimeter of the room. “You can’t be serious.”

“Steve, you know this isn’t working.” You followed him. “We’re both miserable.”

“No, you’re miserable,” He turned on you. “I’ve only been trying to help you and you just sit there and sulk. And now you’re-- you’re trying to divorce me.”

“I am divorcing you,” You pushed the envelope to his chest. “This doesn’t have to be difficult.”

“You made a vow--”

“Jesus, Steve, this isn’t 1366,” You huffed. “I can’t live like this anymore. I won’t.”

He was silent as his jaw ticked. He backed away and crossed his arms.

“You know I still love you right,” He said quietly.

“And? Love can’t fix whatever this is,” You insisted. “Steve, come on, this doesn’t have to be difficult. You sign and it’s done. Take it to a lawyer, you’ll see it’s a good break. You get the house, the furniture, everything. We leave with what we came with; you get more than that.”

He spun back. He had the grace to look hurt.

“Think about this, please,” He pleaded, “You don’t want to do this.”

“Steve, you won’t talk to me, you won’t listen to me, what is there left to think about?” You asked. “It’s done. We’re done. You think I haven’t been thinking about this for months?”

He nodded and his jaw squared. His brows drew together and he tilted his head as he stared at the envelope in your hand.

“Fine,” He conceded. “I’ll take it to my lawyer…”

“I’m sorry, Steve,” You tried to near him and he turned his back on you again. You set it on the coffee table instead. “It’s just here, okay?”

“If you were sorry, you would try,” He growled. “Oh, and let me tell you, this will not be easy.” He peered over his shoulder, “I’ll make sure of that.”

The anger in his voice startled you. You swallowed and backed away from the table. You took your purse and your jacket in the deathly lull that followed. Steve didn’t move as he stared at the artificial fireplace.

“Goodbye, Steve,” You said as you hovered in the doorway.

“Get out,” He sneered. “Trust me, this isn’t goodbye.”

💍

Your last day at Stark Tower was the same day you served Steve the papers. You had planned it so delicately but you knew now he would not go along with it. Not peacefully. You spent your weekend unpacking and on Monday began your new position in the city.

You were only a block away from the Tower but you avoided the area. Tony and Fury promised not to tell Steve where you were working. You suspected that wouldn’t go well for them but you trusted them. They’d faced much worse than a bitter Steve Rogers.

Coming home to your new place was no different than before. What was different was that you could breath. There was no oppressive shadow hovering over you. You opened a bottle of wine and turned on the series that Steve always complained was too vapid. He couldn’t say anything now. He could sit and watch his dry war documentaries as he preened over any mention of himself. He sure was up his own ass.

You fell asleep on the couch. You woke and repeated the same day. It all became routine and you slipped easily into the single life. Single and unwilling to mingle.

Woven into your newly found serenity, was a thread of insecurity. Steve’s promise echoed in your head as you closed your eyes at night. “This will not be easy”. You found yourself staring at your phone as you waited for the call from your lawyer. It didn’t come for a whole month. Steve wanted a deposition. It was to be scheduled for the next week.

You set your phone down and sighed. Of course. You knew it. He wanted to be messy and surely he knew the extra lawyer fees wouldn’t make this any easier. You couldn’t fathom, however, what else he could want from you. Your settlement had swayed heavily in his favour. Well, you could guess he wanted the final word. A final victory.

Captain America never failed.

You’d have to book the day off and only a month into the job. You were sure they’d understand. Your superiors were few and your team was competent. It only annoyed you how even now, Steve could get in the way of your work.

Well, better to get it done and over with. Maybe when it was all signed and sealed, you could leave New York. It would be terribly difficult to find another job and the city had grown dull. These were his streets, his people. You would just be the woman who walked out on the first Avenger.

💍

You sat in the stiff plastic chair and stared through the clear glass wall of the deposition room. The court reporter was within, readying for the meeting. Your lawyer, Donald Calliers, was beside you and tried to calm you down with assurances that it was nothing more than a formality. There was no reason for this to go beyond a single day and he didn’t suspect much would change in the settlement.

Steve arrived ten minutes before the meeting was to begin. You peeked at him, hoping he wouldn’t catch you. He had grown out his beard and his hair was getting long. He looked very much unlike the man you’d married, albeit he was well-kempt and put together for the occasion. He was accompanied by three lawyers. That made your stomach drop.

“Three lawyers?” You whispered to Donald. “Is that bad?”

“It’s a show. Trust me. I run depositions in my sleep. No one needs that amount of representation at these things. Quality over quantity.” He said under his breath.

“I hope your right,” You replied. “I don’t think I can afford three of you.”

“Good thing there’s only one of me,” He kidded. “One of a kind.”

You forced a small laugh and tried not to fidget. You had barely been able to keep still before Steve showed up, and now you felt as if your entire body was shaking. You could feel his eyes on you and hear his own low whispers to his lawyers.

The door opened and saved you from sinking into doubt. Steve and his team stood and waited for you to enter first. You sat on the far side of the table and they took the seats across from you. The court reporter took the chair at the head of the table and cleared his throat. He swore each of you in and signalled the beginning of the deposition. Steve’s lawyers allowed no delay.

“Mrs. Rogers,” The tall blonde woman with the square jaw, Ms. Lauer, began. “We’ll start with your monthly expenses.”

Donald shuffled through his folder and slid over the copies of your statements. The lawyers read over them and nodded as they made notes.

“And on average, thinking of only you, how often do you travel throughout the year for pleasure?” Another lawyer asked. This one a bald man called Mr. Harin.

“Once, maybe. I tend to work more than I vacation,” You answered.

“And how often do you dine out?” The third asked; Mr. Pollard.

“Couple times a month, maybe,” You avoided Steve’s gaze as it never wavered. He seemed not to even hear the questions or your answers.

“And your debt? You have any credit card debt? And outstanding loans owing?”

“I have a card I am currently paying off but it’s only a couple hundred owing,” You replied evenly. This was ridiculous. Was he really going to try to fleece you? He still made more than you did.

“And you cited irreconcilable differences on your papers,” Harin said. “We would ask what exactly these differences are?”

You looked at Steve and the angles of his face hardened.

“It’s not much of a marriage when you never see each other and when you do, you don’t talk,” You said. “And when you do communicate, it is nothing short of hostile.”

“Oh, and would you classify this hostility as abuse?” Pollard asked.

“No, not really,” You answered. “Just unhealthy and unbearable.”

“So you would file on the grounds of irretrievable breakdown but as our client would state, any such breakdown has not been evident for the required period.” Harin intoned. “In fact, he say you’ve surprised him with such a claim and you would cite no other valid grounds for the divorce.”

“Our marriage has been little more than a shell for the last year,” You said. “As I’ve been informed, it is only six months required to make a claim.”

“But you never made such a claim to your husband, thus how could he recognize and try to reconcile these differences?” Lauer prodded.

“I did. I have a statement from a counselour that confirms that were seeking help nine months ago,” You insisted.

“We have seen that but you did not attend further after that instance.” Harin argued.

“And… he wouldn’t go,” You accused. “He wouldn’t try any sort of reconciliation.”

“And do you have proof of his refusal?” Lauer asked.

You looked to Donald who shifted in his chair. “It is not required to have proof of this claim,” He said. “She did recognize that the relationship was declining and she made a visible effort to amend that.”

“Once in two years,” Harin countered. “And she would not claim abuse or inhumane cruelty and we’ve heard no mention of adultery.”

“It does not invalidate her claims of irreconcilable differences. You might refer to their schedules and the amount of time they spent apart.” Donald retorted.

“Occupational absence does not account for personal neglect,” Pollard said.

“So…” You looked along the line of lawyers.

“This settlement you’ve offered is completely invalid. There are no grounds for it.” Lauer stated.

“But...but…”

“We cannot allow our client to sign these papers knowing them to be of such questionable validity thus we ask that you withdraw the claim.” Pollard declared. “We have faith that your lawyer is competent enough to agree with us.”

Donald frowned and turned to you. You spun your chair around as he leaned over and whispered quietly. “They’re right.”

“But they can’t disprove my claims,” You hissed.

“Sure but that’s not their job. If we went before a judge, we’d be overruled easily.” He explained. “You’ll have to sign a separation first and wait a year. If it was uncontested, sure, I’d have you out by the end of the week but he’s putting up a fight.”

“A year?” You shook your head.

“Separated. You just have to live apart for a year. No contact required but you have to maintain residency in the state.”

“Really?”

“We can probably get it signed today, I’m sure,” Donald assured. “It’s the best we can hope for.”

“Fine. If it’s a means to and end.”

You turned back and Donald reached for his briefcase and shuffled around.

“My client proposes that instead of the settlement, that an order of separation might be more appropriate for the circumstance.” Donald said. “Would your client agree?”

Steve looked to Harin and gave a single nod. He wasn’t happy.

“Alright, we’ll have it drawn up and faxed over to your offices to be signed by the end of the week.” Donald said. “Is that agreeable?”

“It is,” Lauer accepted. “In the meantime, we would ask that your client prepares a full statement of her expenses over the next year and we would also require a report of her personal activities within the last year of her marriage.”

“Personal activities?” You said.

“Our client has his own accounted for. We only wish to cover our bases.”

You shrugged and Donald agreed to it. You couldn’t look at Steve. You knew what he was implying. He thought you were unfaithful or was at least petty enough to raise the accusation.

“Are we done here?” You whispered.

💍

Another month and even more wine. Your days had grown endless. When you were at work, you could forget about your legal connection to the asshole who chose to make your nights a living hell. Ever since your failed deposition, he had broken his silence.

It started with a text. Sweet, even. ‘I miss you, we should think this through.’ That was until the separation was finalized. Then they turned nasty; ‘you won’t get away that easily’; ‘we’ll see if you last a year’. Then you changed your number and deleted his.

That was when it all caught up to you. Your marriage had failed, you’d had to flip your entire life because of him, and now you were all alone in a condo that was way too big for just you. And you couldn’t leave the state until this was all over.

You were awoken one night by the chiming of your phone. You could still the acrid wine on your tongue as you reached for it. A video call? You answered in your sleepy haze and were stunned by the image that met you. The loud slapping that rose from the speakers and the low purr of some unknown woman. Her wavy auburn hair spilled over her shoulders as her round ass clapped against a pelvis. You recognized the hand that gripped her hip.

“This should be you,” Steve said from behind the camera. “Fuck, I wish it was.”

You hung up and fumbled with the phone. It fell onto the floor as you sat up. You turned on the lamp and pressed your palms to the side of your head. What the fuck was that? You let out a grunt of frustration as you heard the phone ringing again. You picked it up and declined the call. You couldn’t block the private number.

You silenced your phone and shoved it in your dresser. You went to the kitchen and got a glass of water. You felt sick to your stomach. You knew you wouldn’t be able to sleep. Not after that. So you went to the couch and turned on Netflix. It would be a long day at work.

💍

You slept for about an hour before your alarm blared from the other room. You stumbled off the couch to slap the clock and retrieved your phone from the drawer. You gather your clothes for the day and made your coffee. You sat with the steaming mug and unlocked your phone. He’d sent a video. It played automatically. It showed him coming down the woman’s thigh. You deleted it and grumbled at your coffee.

What the fuck was wrong with him?

You rubbed the sleep from your eyes and forced yourself to get dressed. If he called again, you wouldn’t answer. You’d have to change your number; again.

The office was quiet. Thankfully. You had another coffee as you went over logistics and kept an eye on the screen mounted in the corner that showed you every camera in the building. You liked having the view. An alert went up for the bank down the street and you keyed in the response measures. It was a faulty trip.

You looked back to the cameras and your chair almost rolled out from under you. It couldn’t be. You got up and walked to the screen. Steve was just down the hall by the receptionist's desk. Several of your employees were gathered around him. You could hear their voices through your door.

“Fuck,” You swore and thought of locking your office.

You slipped out into the hall and sneaked down to the bathroom instead. You listened against the door as fragments floated through the air. ‘THE Captain America?’ ‘So honoured to meet you’...

You waited twenty minutes before it all died down. The silence that followed was eerie and you slowly cracked open the door to peer down at your office. You didn’t see anyone. You let out a long breath and stepped out. You tiptoed along and peered down towards the receptionist. All had gone back to their work but chattered here and there about their visitor.

You opened your office door and he was there. He sat in your chair as he swung the seat back and forth. He smirked at you. You blinked and let the door fall closed behind you.

“What are you doing here?” You asked.

“Just wanted to see the new gig,” He said. “Must be boring pent up in here all day.”

“Not at all,” You crossed your arms. “Steve, leave.”

“Come on, don’t you miss it?” He ignored you. “You remember how it used to be in the field? You remember when I fucked you on the jet? Or maybe at that little party where we were supposed to be posing as arms dealers. Tight space but we made it work.”

“What is wrong with you?” You marched over to your desk and leaned on it as you glared at him. “You need to go. Now. This is my job.”

“Wouldn’t mind having a go here,” He put his foot up on your desk and crossed his other leg over. “Bend you over. You think you could keep quiet?”

“Steve.” You hissed. “I mean it, go. I work in security. Don’t make me call them.”

“I’m sure they’re all too eager to escort me out,” He taunted. “You really think they would? After I signed their mugs and ridiculous posters.”

“I’ll call the police then,” You said.

“False reports can get you a hefty fine, even some time,” He leaned back in your chair. “Unless you truly think they’ll listen to you?”

“Why are you doing this?” You asked.

“Because you still think you’re going to get away,” He said. “And I assure you that last night was just a taste of what I have planned for you.”

“Steve…”

“Steve,” He mimicked breathily, “’Oh, Steve, harder, harder’… I miss that.”

“Well, I don’t,” You sneered. “Last night was disgusting. You are disgusting.” You stared at him. “What happened to you?”

“What happened to us?” He pulled his feet from the desk and sat up. “You said you would be with me forever. You are my wife.”

“Not for much longer, Steve,” You said. “Stop making this worse for yourself.”

“Oh, I’m having a hell of a time,” He stood slowly. “And let me tell you this, that girl, meant nothing. A toy to me. You… oh, I’ll make sure you have something to remember me by.” He rounded the desk. “I’ll make sure you’re never rid of me.”

You reached around blindly as you turned to him and grabbed your stapler. You hit the release as he got closer and held it up shakily.

“Don’t come near me,” You said. “Go.”

“Or what?” He took another step.

“Steve,” You warned.

“Oh, I just want a little fun. How about--”

He tried to grab you and you lunged at him. You hit the stapler as it met his chest and he barely flinched. You pulled it back and held it by the bottom and swung it again. This time, you smacked him in the shoulder and his jaw ticked.

“You’re getting rusty,” He laughed as he knocked the stapler from your hands.

“Steve,” You backed away and he stopped suddenly.

He looked you up and down and pulled out his phone. He lifted a brow and tucked it away.

“Damn, looks like I’m already running late,” He sighed. “Tony’s not gonna be too pleased but… I’ll let him know you say hi.” He headed for the door as you watched him in terror. “Oh, and… I did mean it. Til death do us part.”

💍

You didn’t see Steve again. A whole week passed and the only hint of his existence were the texts you didn’t read. Ten and a half months to go. You could do it. He was just playing with you. Trying to change your mind. He would admit defeat as soon as the final paper was signed. He had to.

You got home and uncorked your Friday night wine. You’d been abstaining for a while as you didn’t want to make it a habit but you were so on edge, you needed to just chill. You poured a healthy glass and pulled a throw over your shoulders as you sank into the couch. You really didn’t mind living alone.

You almost finished the bottle and laid back on the sofa. You were cozy in the heat of the wine and the fuzzy blanket. You dozed off as soon as the theme of the next episode stopped playing. You floated in a haze and your eyes opened only as a shadow passed on the other side.

You sat up dizzily and glanced around. You gripped your spinning head as you stood and clumsily walked around your front room. It was likely just the television. You shook your head and told yourself it was nothing. You were drunk and falling asleep in front of a screen often left you restless.

You fell back down onto the couch and leaned into it. You skipped the episode back, suddenly awake. Slowly, the alcohol dragged you down and you began to slump against the cushions. Your head began to loll and you felt a warmth brush over your cheek.

“A place like this must get lonely,” Steve’s voice startled you as his breath tickled your skin.

You tried to jump up and caught you below your arms and pulled you back over the couch. You wrestled with him as your vision wobbled. You flailed and kicked as his arm slipped up and he wrapped it around your neck. He squeezed until a weight settled in your limbs and he slowly lowered you to the floor.

“It’s okay, honey,” He slithered as the void welcomed you. “You won’t be lonely anymore.”

💍

You awoke slowly. Your head was heavy from excess. You knew the place but it wasn’t your condo. You laid in the bed you once shared with Steve. You groaned as you stretched your arm across the mattress. It was just you. You sat up and found Steve watching you.

He stood from the chair near the window and you quickly rolled to the other edge of the bed. He jumped across and caught you before you could take another step. He pulled you back and turned so that you were pinned beneath him. You screamed and he covered your mouth.

“I’ve done a lot since you left. A lot of time to think,” He said. “Soundproofing, renovations, redecorating.”

You mumbled into his palm and he rolled his hips against you.

“All for you.” He snarled. “I’ve waited too long.”

You tried to peel his hand away from your lips and he only clung tighter.

“I got the nursery done though. It’s nice. I think you’ll like it,” He continued. “The only thing I haven’t done is thought of names.”

You finally pried his hand down to your chin and gasped. “Steve, please…”

“I think this might just be the reconciliation we need,” He said. “Don’t you?”

“No,” You begged. “No, Steve, get off--”

“I don’t think you were meant to be a wife. You were meant to be a mommy,” He nuzzled your head.

“Steve, stop. Get off of me right now. Or--”

“Or what? Doesn’t look good when the soon-to-be ex-wife breaks into her spouse’s house.” He growled. “Something like that, that could lose you your job and it definitely wouldn’t look could in a deposition.”

“Steve,” You sobbed. “You’re hurting me.”

“You hurt me!” He snapped. “You understand?! You hurt me and you’re not going to take my life from me.”

He pushed himself off you roughly and grabbed the back of your neck as he pulled you up after him. He turned you to him and gripped your head between his large hands.

“You’ll find someone else. Someone who can give you that life, Steve,” You begged. “It’s just not me.”

“It is you.” He sneered. “Only you.”

“Please, don’t--”

“Shut up,” He shouted. “I’m done talking with you. You never listened to me. Ever.” He shoved you away. “So you’re going to listen now.”

You glanced at the door and he caught your chin and turned you back to him.

“You think you can get out of this room? Think you can get past me?” He challenged.

You stared at him and your heart sank. Fight as you might, you could never beat the Captain. He was always one step ahead; in the field and off.

“Answer me,” He rescinded his hand and slapped you across the cheek. “Now.”

You were stunned by the force of the strike. You stumbled back and tears rose in your eyes.

“St-Steve…” You stammered but his eyes were distant. “No, I can’t.” You admitted weakly. “You know I can’t.”

“Finally talking some sense,” He smirked. “Now, we’ll start easy.”

Your lips parted but you didn’t know what else to say. You hung your head. A silent surrender.

“I didn’t hear you,” He mocked. You looked up at him confused. “That’s a ‘yes, husband’.”

You blinked at him. Your lip trembled as you forced the words out and he shuddered in delight.

“Now, you can undress me first.” He said.

You uttered another ‘yes, husband’ and crossed to him. You lifted his tee and he bent to help you sweep it over his head. His eyes never left you. You shakily undid his jeans and you gulped back a sob. It felt like the first time again, except you were shaking from excitement. This was fear.

When at last you bared him of his briefs, he was hard. He stroked himself without shame and rubbed the tip against your shirt.

“Your turn,” He said.

You stripped a piece at a time. It was mechanical, instinctual. You didn’t think as you dropped your clothes on the floor. You stood before him entirely vulnerable. Naked. You had loved this man once, but you weren’t sure he had ever loved you. Only wanted what he could get out of you. Be it his pleasure, some reassurance of his insecurities, or the life he’d romanticized for so long.

“Turn around,” He commanded and you obeyed with a ‘yes, husband’. He hummed at that. He pushed on your shoulders until you bent. “Grab your ankles… and stay like that.”

He went to the closet and returned. He held straps you’d never seen before. Your sex had never been bland but he’d never gone beyond the usual. Never wanted toys or lube; just you. He secured your wrists to your ankles. He lifted your chin and looked into your eyes.

“I’m gonna fuck you like never before. For all those times I slept on that goddamn couch,” He pushed his mouth against yours. “I’m done holding back.”

He stood and rounded you. He slapped your ass and you almost fell. He steadied you and pushed your feet apart as far as they could go. You were entirely imbalanced, barely able to keep yourself up. His hands slipped down your thighs and back up and he gripped your hips.

He pressed against you and wiggled his hips as his cock rubbed against your ass.

“It didn’t have to be like this,” He growled. “You made it this way.”

You shook your head and stayed silent. He was too far gone. Whatever you said would only anger him further.

He reached between you and pushed his cock down to your cunt. He eased into you an inch at a time. Your walls resisted him as you were unprepared for the intrusion. As he got further in, it hurt more and more. You whined and he cursed as he slapped your ass so hard it stung.

“Come on, honey,” He bucked his hips and filled you entirely. You cried out at the pain. “I know you can take it.”

He thrust against and you shook. He rocked his hips until your body reacted. Each delve inside grew easier as your arousal leaked from your core. He kept you moving steadily along his cock as his groans swirled around you. His pelvis clapped against your ass.

“Yeah, yeah, this is what I wanted,” He breathed. “This is what I imagined. Only you…”

He moved you against him as his grunts grew deeper and deeper. Your legs trembled and he held your waist tighter as he slammed you back against him. His thrusts turned slower but sharper. He inched your foot forward with his and then the other. He walked you over to the bed until your faced was pressed to the mattress.

He rutted into you harder. You yelped into the bed and seemed riled from the sound.

“Louder! Louder!” He demanded, speeding up until you cried out again and again. “Oh fuck, honey, I missed us so much.” He kneaded your ass hungrily. “Maybe if you had let me fuck you like this before, you never would’ve made such a stupid mistake.”

He sank into you completely and stopped. He pulled out of you but only to flip you onto the bed. You landed on your back awkwardly and bent your legs as they remained bound to your wrist. He climbed up swiftly and was upon you in a moment. He entered you easily and snaked his arms around your thighs as he caught his rhythm.

You bit your lip as you felt your core swelling. He reached down and pressed his thumb against your clit. You squeaked in surprise and his hips moved faster. You mewled as he swirled around your bud and gritted your teeth against the rise.

“Cum for me,” He said. “I know you can, honey.”

You grunted as you couldn’t help but climax. Your walls pulsed around his cock and you quivered violently. Your muscles ached terribly from how you were tangled beneath him and he sped up once more. He curled your back as he raised himself on his knees and lifted your ass off the bed. You felt as if you fold in on yourself.

“Fuck, fuck, you’re going to look so good…” His hand crawled up and spread over your stomach. “With my baby inside of you.”

You closed your eyes and turned your head away.

“Here it comes, honey,” He rasped. “I’m gonna cum… I’m gonna fill you up.”

He exclaimed and you felt his release as it seeped into you. His hips moved spasmodically against you as he slowly lowered your ass and leaned back on his heels as he stilled. He let out a deep snarl and squeezed your thigh.

“Mmmm, I can’t wait…”” He hummed and rubbed your stomach. “I can’t wait to see you grow.”

#Steve Rogers #dark steve rogers #dark!steve rogers #steve rogers x reader #dark steve rogers x reader #one shot #dark!steve rogers x reader #fic #dark fic #dark!fic #au #mcu #marvel #captain america

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btsmakesmehappy · 4 years

Text

Broken Vase | 1

Genre: Enemies to lover, Angst, Fluff, possible light smut in the future

Pairing: Agent!Namjoon x Agent!reader

Rating: 18+ (Mature Content)

Warning: cursing. public display of affection.

Word count: 5,6k

Chapter: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 completed

Series Masterlist: The Company

Summary: You are one of the best agents in the Company, and so do Namjoon. After your last mission with him, you hate him and so do Namjoon. Suddenly, you assigned again with him as a married couple. How can you handle the mission, Kim Namjoon, and your emotional wound?

a/n: Hello! This is my second fiction! After a few considerations, I finally decided to write this! I realized that my grammar is not perfect because English is not my first language. But I hope you understand the main idea of the story. You can also (pleaseee) tell me if I have the wrong spelling or grammar. I will be very grateful <3 Oh and please let me know if you wanna be in the taglist!

edited: 26/05/2020

You walked faster to your boss’s office. You got a mission this morning on the way to the Company, without any details. Well, it’s not that weird as this is your tenth year working in this field area. But you got a feeling that this mission is weird. You knocked on the door and when you heard the permission, you excused yourself to enter. In that office you find Jimin, your handler, who shared you a smile. And as you turned to your right, you found Namjoon and his handler, Jin.

“Hello, agent L/n. Fancy seeing you here.” Namjoon smirked. “Tardy as always?” He scanned your body from top to bottom. Your hair tied into a messy bun, you only used a tint on your lips, and your collar is a mess inside your black blazer. Your black pants –which you wear for 3 days- have a faint ketchup stain from yesterday’s lunch in your thigh. Well as he said, you definitely need to use more time after waking up to do your make up and pick a more appropriate suit.

“Mind your own fu.. business, Agent Kim” You almost cursed in front of your boss, lucky to you, Jimin stepped your feet before you said anything you would regret. “I am sorry I am late, boss.”

“The important thing is that you all are here.” Your boss cleared his throat. “So, this Company knows that Agent L/N and Agent Kim are both magnificent agents, maybe the best in this Company.” He sighed. “ So you both are assigned in the next mission.”

“wha-“ you frowned. All of the people in The Company knew that you and Namjoon are rivals. You both have never be assigned in the same mission for the last five years. Both of you two specialize in a different field, Namjoon in the strategical field which usually involves in political things while you usually work in the more aggressive field which involves fighting and guns. And only God knows why your junior and even the higher up in the company always keep comparing both of you. The last time you both worked together, you ended in a very bad fight with him. Even though the mission ended quite well, the emotion and the fight are still there until now.

“What is the mission?” Namjoon asked. You studied his face at glance. He is also uncomfortable with the thought of working with you. But this is work. You must be professional.

“I’ve already sent the details to your handlers. In short, there is a threat aimed at minister Lee. It said that it will disclose this nation’s confidential data to the public next week if the minister doesn’t cooperate.”

“What is the confidential data? And what does the cooperation even mean?” You questioned the insufficient data. “Is the source trusted?”

“The threat sent to This company, and even the Blue house. At first, we thought, it is not trusted. But if such a threat sent to the most secure places without traces, the higher-ups think that it would be dangerous and could happen. And the ambiguous thing about data and the cooperation are still unknown.” You and Namjoon shared a glance with a furrowed brow. There is nothing you can do with this amount of data, it is basically nothing. The boss continued his explanation. “In a few days, Minister Lee is going to a Tour with his wife in Hawaii. And we assumed that the cooperation should be done at that time. Because we don’t know what that is, we assigned the both of you to join the tour. You know, in cover.”

“Why should we be on a cover? We can use the security protocol for bodyguards as always.” Namjoon is unsatisfied with this mission and so are you. It is awkward enough already to be in the same room with him or even the fieldwork. But in disguised? That’s terrible. If it’s in your usual fieldwork, you wouldn’t bother to talk to him and just talk with others, but this? You will and only talk with each other. The thought of that only makes your hands go clammy.

“Because we ONLY have that amount of data so we can’t be careless! So that’s why we decided to do it naturally. We choose both of you because you are the best in this company and we can’t afford to tell many people so we decided to use fewer agents as possible. Even the minister should have no idea about your identity. I hope you will understand.” Your boss looked at both of you apologetically. “I know that you both are not in the great term, but this is work and I hope you can get along well and be professional. Your jobs are to protect Minister Lee and his wife and seek the meaning of the threat. Every clue you got should be sent to the company and we will take care of the rest. Do you both understand?”

You took a deep sigh. “Yes sir.”

Namjoon also nodded. “We will try.”

“Good. You are all dismissed and good luck.”

“I can’t believe I will work with him again!” You threw your bag in your desk angrily. Jimin, who was following behind you, startled with your sudden anger.

“You said that you don’t mind!” He angrily sat on your chair.

“wha- What do you mean? I never said anything.”

“A few minutes ago, in front of the boss. And you said that you are not mad of him or whatever.” Jimin took out a binder from his bag and put it on your desk. “And besides, It’s not that I can choose who will work with you! You know that I don’t have that authority!”

You sighed. Jimin is right. There’s nothing you can do for now. The only thing you can do is work this case as fast as possible. You opened the binder and study it. You will be joining the 5 days-tour in Hawaii as Jung Nara, 28 years old. You will go to Hawaii as a honeymoon. You just married a week ago to a man named Jung Yoon Hyung, a businessman overseas of Jung enterprises, specialized in art exportation, aged 29 years old. You knitted a brow. “Jung Yoon Hyung? Who? Don’t tell me that he is-?”

“Yes. You are going to be Namjoon-hyung’s wife. Well, rich wife if I may add. Maybe this is going to be your luxurious assignment ever, Y/n!” Jimin said, tried as positive as ever with cautious eyes. Jimin has been your handler for 3 years now and so far, he is the only one who always stays in your anger situations and other frustrations. You always listen to him, and if he insists you do this job, you just can’t refuse. Well, not that you can’t refuse in the first place.

You shook your head in disbelief. This can’t be happening. It is not that you hate him. It is just that you don’t want to be with him. Is it the meaning of hatred?

Sure he is excellent in his job. He always thinks maybe 10 steps ahead with every different route as a back-up plan. He is the type of guy who is great at negotiation, the best. Namjoon always wants to be in a safe place. He doesn’t want to take a risk. While you are more of an ambush type of agent. That’s why he is different from you. You are a fire, while he is water.

So after the mission 5 years ago, you both always assigned in different missions. You asked-begged, to not work with him. Yes, you hate him. You hate how calm he was. You hate how he stopped you before. You hate how he told you to trust him. You hate how he ended make you disappointed. You hate how he never apologize to you. You hate how he just talked to you after like nothing happened. You hate how he looked at you. You hate him.

You sighed. But it is in the past. It is your job. And you have to do it, like it or not.

“Come on, Joon! It can’t be that bad! You see.. 5 night in a 5-star hotel in Hawaii with all expenses included, you should think of it as a holiday!” Jin tried to calm his friend, who became a huge pile of a mess after reading the binder.

“You saw her eyes, hyung! How could we look like a couple when her eyes show that she wants to murder me!” he was walking back and forth in his small office, almost knocked down the furniture in the way. Even though he is one of the best agents in the company, it still can’t hide the fact that he is a clumsy guy. So God is fair after all, Jin thought.

“Firstly, that’s because you always work her up. Just once, for god sakes stop trying to get on her nerves! And secondly, it’s been five years! Why are you still mad with her?” Jin folded his arms across his chest.

“I just.. We just think differently, and it’s tiring to talk with a hot-headed woman like her.” He sat on his chair, opening his binder again.

“Well, just suck it up. That hot-headed woman will be yours for 5 days, and please for the love of God, stop the childish bickering. It’s tiring not only for you but for me and Jimin.” He put his hand through his hair in desperation. “And this is just once okay. The higher-ups are also desperate because we don’t any clue whatsoever. It’s not that they want to put two-people-who-want-to-rip-each-other-heads-off in the same mission.”

“Hey! It is her who wants to rip my head off, not the other way around.” Namjoon yelled.

“You know what. I don’t fucking care if you want to rip her head, her arms, or even her suit. Just fucking study that. I’m outta here” Jin said as he slammed the door of Namjoon’s office. Namjoon has never seen Jin that worked up since the last 7 years they worked together. The last time Jin’s that mad is when Namjoon complained about how he got wet wipes and beef jerky as christmas present.

He took a deep breath. Does Namjoon hate you?

That thinking has been disturbing his head for a while now. He always thinks you are a wonderful agent. You are strong and fast even to him. He has never won if both of you go through sparring in the past. You always have a way to use your small figure to your advantage. He respects you and how you are so passionate about this job.

But after that mission,- incident- 5 years ago, somehow he lost all of that feeling.

He hates you. He hates how you are always so emotional. He hates how you insisted to go. He hates how you didn’t trust him. He hates how you made him disappointed. He hates how you never want to talk to him again. He hates you.

After many heated discussions, the day has come. You both forced to sit with each other in the luxurious car, as Jin was driving you to the airport.

“I thought you’re rich, why are we in a commercial airport?” you asked sarcastically.

“Well, I only have an overseas business, not a goddamn country, princess.” Namjoon replied. “and even if I have, I’d rather not sit in the plane with you.”

You snorted “Like I want to. Just shut the fuck up.”

“Hey, you started it first.” he gawked in disbelief. “So, shut the fuck up.”

“For the love of God, please stop this unimportant childish squabble, I am trying to drive here.” Jin sighed and parked the car in the drop off area. He then poked his head to the passenger seat. “I don’t fucking care. As soon as you stepped out of this car, you both are encouraged, hell, forced to act like a lovey-dovey couple, if you want to keep this job.” He eyed Namjoon.

“Fine, hyung” Namjoon sighed and then stepped out of the car.

“That warning goes to you too Y/N. Even though I am not your handler, I still can get your ass kicked if you choose not to follow this order.” Jin warns.

“But-“ your eyes trained to Jimin who sat beside Jin.

“You should go out too, Y/N, Jin-hyung is right. I wish you very good luck.” Jimin smiled, his eyes turn into a crescent. You finally gave up and go out of the car, as your door opened by Namjoon.

“Come on babe, let’s go to our honeymoon” Namjoon reached out your hand. His dimple shows as he smiles at you, a smile which you have never seen in the entire time you work with him. At some point you feel the urge to punch him in the face and also want to put your finger in his dimple. And what do you do? The second one. If this is the type of fighting he pursues, you want to make sure that he knows too. Game on.

It is not the first time for you to act. You always enjoy watching k-dramas and movies. You act while you’re daydreaming before you go to sleep every night. Hell, you have worked in this field for 10 years. You have acted, be in cover, for many times. Yet, this still feels weird for you. Maybe if you kissed with Jungkook when you worked in Macau or danced with Hoseok in governor’s ball bomb incident, you will be glad if those were weird. But Noooo. It is now the strangest, weird, awkward feeling you have ever experienced.

You have already checked in and put your baggage. So you walked in duty-free shops with Namjoon as he holding your hand. He sometimes looked to you with such loving eyes which makes your knees go weak. How he did this so easily? And why you couldn’t do the same? Why you felt so nervous around him? You despised him, but why this feels right?

Namjoon used his free hand to put your hair behind your ear. “What are you thinking?” He smiled, not the smile you often see back in the company. But it is the smile who makes you, well, for now, nauseous. You don’t even realize that you are already in the waiting room.

“Is this necessary though?” you asked softly. Your eyes wandered, never meeting his gaze. Is this affection necessary? Basically anyone who sees us now has nothing to do with the mission.

He tilted his head to the side and smile, “This honeymoon? Yes, it is necessary since it is maybe the only time we can go on holiday now. And it’s already paid for. And I just want to have a holiday with my beautiful wife.” He kissed your temple softly. I know what you’re feeling. I, too, don’t want to do this as much as you. But we can’t be bothered to have people questioned our roles.

“Fine.” You sighed as you release his hand, and you wrap your hands on his waist, buried your head in his chest from the side. He smiled and patted your hair. “I just hope Hawaii is nice.” God. If you resigned from this job, later on, you would be accepted to Broadway.

He chuckled, “I promised babe, and even Hawaii isn’t nice, we just need to spend our time in the hotel, right?” He winked as you hit his shoulder coyly. Your face grew hotter and you swore in your heart you will kill him after this mission.

“Oh you are going to honeymoon in Hawaii?” A short haired-woman interrupted you. “You are going to love it! Hawaii is a great place!” You studied her face, and you almost shocked as you recognized her in instant. She is Minister Lee’s wife.

“See babe? Even she agrees with me.” Namjoon laughed, his eyes twinkled. See, this Y/n? “My wife here actually wants to go to Jeju. But I wanted to go somewhere special for our honeymoon.”

“I just want to be with you, I don’t even care wherever we go.” You pouted as you fixed your gaze to him. You feel him tensed a bit and you smile as you happily knew that he is taken aback with what you’re saying.

“Oh my God, why are you so cute! You made me remember about my honeymoon too. So how long have you been married?” She asked. Her eyes showed pure curiosity.

“We’ve been married for a week.” You beamed your most happy smile to her. “Are you going to Hawaii too?”

“Yes, my husband and I are having a holiday too, so we decided to go to Hawaii.” She then nudged his husband, Minister Lee, and the three of you just bowed your head as a gesture. The boarding announcement rang then she and her husband stood up to go to the gate. “Well, say hi if you cross path with us! Nice to meet you!”

You waited for some minutes for them to walk away before you squinted at Namjoon. “You saw her before, didn’t you?” Namjoon just gathered your carry-on and shrugged.

“I don’t know what do you mean, babe. I’m hurt that you questioned my sincerity, you know.” He laughed while took your hand in his, gesturing you to the gate.

This motherfucker

, how can you survive this 5 days with him?

If you find Namjoon annoying, then you will find his handler, Jin, is annoyingly annoying. Jin somehow has contacted the stewardess in the plane to give you a 1-week-anniversary cake from your husband who literally had no idea and had to pretend to know. Jin also specially requested the stewardess to make it like a big celebration that ended in you and Namjoon to share a kiss with everyone around you clapped like a seal. You almost screamed and gagged at how this is so fucking cheesy and embarrassing while you needed to act like you are the luckiest woman in the earth, and it is tiring you. You believed that embarrassment will cost you 5 years of your life. And when you whispered this in Namjoon’s ear, he just laughed and kissed your forehead lovingly. Jerk.

Minister Lee’s wife, who ‘coincidentally’ sits across you always gave a huge smile in her face in that chaotic celebration. It seems that she is a hopeless romantic woman and you amused at how deep Jin and Namjoon investigated her and it gave you goosebumps. Even though they both are a pain the ass, they are still one of the best teams in the company.

You glad that you got a first-class seat, which made you and Namjoon have a nice amount of distance for yourselves. After an hour, you found Namjoon has already fallen asleep. You, as his wife, casually put his blanket and stroked hair while looking at his face. Namjoon’s snores are getting better, you thought. You remember 5 years ago when you trying to sleep in the same room with him for several days. ‘trying’ as you ended couldn’t sleep because the snores are just so bad. After you thought that was an appropriate amount to act as a loving wife, you lazily picked any movies you saw in your mini-TV.

“That was so sweet of him! You are a lucky woman.” Minister Lee’s wife said happily.

“Yes, I think I am. He is a great guy” You laughed shyly. “But sometimes I don’t think if he will do the same 10 years, 20 years later. You know? But that’s not the problem for you I assumed? You go on holiday alone with your husband is just as romantic. It is just like a second honeymoon!”

“Really? Well my husband isn’t a romantic type of guy. But being asked for a holiday just the two of us, I think is kinda romantic.” She thought. “But I don’t know about the second honeymoon thing. He tells me he is going to work there.”

“Oh, I see. But it still a nice gesture!” You smile assuringly. “So your husband is a businessman too?”

“He works at the ministry.” She smiled. “I assumed you don’t live here often?”

You acted to be as awkward as possible. “Ah, yes kinda. We just came here to get married. But we live in Canada. Well, because of my husband’s job, we are rarely at home too.” You laughed.

“That’s fun too. Because you are both still young. So what does he do?”

“He works in art exportation, so we often go to one museum and another. But actually.” Your voice quietened. “I have no idea what he is doing. Whenever he talks about his works, I just nod along.”

She laughed. “I know your feeling! But my husband rarely talks to me about work. So that’s why I don’t really know why we came to Hawaii. I only knew he wanted to meet his college friend there.”

College friend. Maybe I will search for it. “Oh my bad, I haven’t introduced us to you properly. I am Jung Nara, and my sleeping husband there is Jung Yoon Hyung. It is really nice to meet you.”

“Oh my, I didn’t even realize it. I talked to you like a long lost friend you know. I am Lee Dahee and My husband there is Lee MyunSoo. Nice to meet you too.”

It has been not that long since you came to Hawaii. You loved the ambiance and the salty air of Hawaii. You loved summer since you are a kid, but since your mission two years ago, you just hate it. And this time, with your enemy beside you, you have been nothing but a ball of anxiousness when you first set your foot on this island. Your hands became clammy, and the sun doesn’t help. It is a different mission, you will okay. You always nailed it. You muttered to yourself, a habit you have picked since you got the job in the company. After all, this type of job is full of uncertainty and danger, and the only thing you have is yourself.

In the arrival, you and Namjoon searched for your names’ placard. When you found it, you realized the one who held the placard is the one you worked with before. As you literally walk faster- almost running to hug the man. “Hey I miss you so much Yoongi!”

“Hush. No saying real names, Jung Nara ssi.” As he hugged you tighter. “I am happy to see you this fine.”

The picture of you hugging the other man isn’t a pleasant sight for Namjoon. Namjoon then interrupted “Hi, I am Jung Yoon Hyung. Nice to meet you!”

“Hi, Nice to meet you too. I heard about you so much.” He said while showing his gummy smile. “Let’s talk in the car then.” Yoongi then took your baggage and walked to the parking spot. Namjoon walked beside you as he put his hand behind your waist to guide you. After you loaded all of the baggage in the car and buckled up, the car started moving.

Yoongi started as he looked at both of you in the rearview mirror, “So, we decided to put your room a few rooms beside the Minister’s room, because if there are dangerous situations you can act faster. But the thing is, the hotel itself has very tight security, that even Tae couldn’t install our devices in that room. And we couldn’t tell them about the threat because it is still unknown even to us.”

“Wha- Tae is involved in this?” You gasped. “I thought he is still on leave.”

“Well technically he is, but when I told him that you were coming here, he flew right away from his leave to Hawaii.” He laughed.

“Really?” You touched. “Aw.. I miss hi-“

“So if you couldn’t install our device then what can we do?” Namjoon interrupted. From the sound of his voice, he seems not happy with your little reunion.

Yoongi turned to his work mode again. “That’s why I need to talk to you. Tae and I didn’t get permission to approach the target. So we hope you can find a way to install it. That’s your first mission.”

You frowned, thinking. “So have the targets arrived in the hotel?” you asked.

“No, Tae is the one who picks them up and I think, they are still on the way, behind us.”

Your eyes twinkled. “Great. You should step on the gas then. I got an idea”. Your gazed fall to Namjoon. His eyes showed both curiosity and confusion. “Do you trust me?”

By the time Minister Lee and his wife arrived at the hotel’s receptionist, you and Namjoon hop off the elevator and went to the receptionist. “Excuse me miss?” Namjoon called.

The receptionist then signaled Minister Lee and his wife for a moment, “Yes can I help you?” You also nodded and wave to Dahee who is excited to see you.

“Yes, actually we just checked our room, but it seems that our room has twin beds. We just want to ask you if by any chance you can change our room to a double bed?” Namjoon asked apologetically.

The receptionist then looked into the computer to check. “I am deeply sorry sir, The hotel is all booked so I am afraid I can’t change your room.”

Namjoon continued, “Really, can’t you do something for us? We are on our honeymoon so we hope to sleep in one bed but-“

“Babe, that’s okay. You can’t do anything if the rooms all booked.” You held Namjoon’s hand. “Thank you miss, for checking.” And as you walk away from the receptionist you waved at the couple. The receptionist then gave the key to Dahee and gestured them to the elevator.

Namjoon held you close from behind, with his chin propped on your head, as you both waiting for the elevator. When the elevator arrived, you both walked in. You pushed hold button when the couple going inside the elevator. “Oh Dahee ssi, what floor?”

“We are on the third floor, how about you?” she answered.

“Same with us, we are also on the third floor” You smiled. Your eyes were glassy, and Namjoon just caressed your shoulder to calm you. You wanted Dahee to notice this. When you arrived on your floor, you walk slower behind the couple in silence.

As Dahee open her room, she called you “Nara ssi! Do you want to trade a room? I got a double bed. You don’t mind trade with them right, dear?” she asked her husband. Myunsoo just nodded and smile.

You asked warily, “Really? It means a lot for us, but we really don’t want to bother you on your holiday.”

“That’s okay! Besides we are friends now. Here.” She handed you her key. “You should bring your baggage in now.”

Namjoon then dashed to your previous room to gather your things. While you stayed with Dahee. “Thank you. Thank you so much! Please let us repay you. Maybe dinner?”

“It’s okay!” she laughed while dragged her baggage with her to her new room, her husband was following behind her. “You should have a nice honeymoon!”

The couple and you went to the new rooms. After the room closed. You locked your door, while Namjoon opened the device from the baggage. He plugged the headset and listen to it. After some time, he then gave you a thumbs up. You pulled your work phone to call Yoongi.

“It’s installed” you said proudly.

“I literally hope so. If you failed then I will send you the bill of seventeen 5-stars-hotel rooms that you told me to book.” He almost yelled “Alright then. The plan will be continued as before. Have a rest and prepare yourself. I know acting can be tough.”

“Alright Yoon. See you soon!” you turn your phone off. “Hey, can I wash up first? The cheesiness from before is making me sticky” Namjoon chuckled and nodded. As you went to the bathroom, he continued to listen to the earphone.

His mind was wandering to the plan you made. The one where you installed all your spying devices in your previous room and made Dahee exchange the room with you. It is impulsive, but it is so you. You always use the power of your friendliness in your job. You really believed that Dahee will give up her room to you. And it is fascinating fo him how you befriended her so fast. If he wasn’t with you, he will just go with the next plans to the next one.

But you are different. You always try so hard so the first plan is succeeded. For you, changing a plan is losing and failure. Yes, you are that stubborn. Maybe he will put that stubborn thing into the list of what he hates about you. But rather he grew another respect for you. Oh and that glassy eyes in the elevator? He didn’t want to admit to himself that it made him want to pull you in his arms.

Namjoon and you decided to have dinner in the hotel’s restaurant to follow Dahee and Myunsoo. You put a beautiful summer dress on which Jimin picked for you and for the purpose of your cover, it is definitely an expensive one. Your baggage is full of designer clothes which you don’t recognize. Well, your closet in your apartment back home is full of formal shirts and suits for work, maybe some dresses in the corner. You look yourself from the mirror. The color red matches your skin tone perfectly, and the cutting of the dress accentuates your body curve. You put on makeup thinly and curl your hair into soft curls. It has been a long time since you dressed up like this. You always caught with works so you never hang out with friends.

You heard a knock from the bedroom, “Y/N, let’s go I am hungry” Namjoon called. You look into the mirror once more and nodded. As you go out of the bathroom, your body collided to Namjoon. You wanted to yell at him but you stunned. Namjoon’s hair styled to the back, as you noted to yourself that it is your favorite hairstyle. He wore a blue shirt with khaki shorts. You always see him with a suit so this is definitely a new sight for you. He looks good. “Ready?” he asked as he grabbed your hand interrupting your daydreaming.

When you finally sat down on your table, you waved to Dahee from across the room. Again, it is amusing to Namjoon. He watched you enjoying live music. “What?” you asked sweetly, turning into Jung Nara mode.

He grabbed your left hand and kiss your knuckles. “Nothing.” He smiled sheepishly. “You look beautiful tonight.” His eyes looked to you, unwavering. As you felt your face grew hotter, your eyes trailed away from him. Namjoon laughed at your antics.

“Shouldn’t we pick a closer seating?” as you glanced at the couple.

“Do you want to sit closer to me? You should just say so.” He smirked. You kicked his leg and pouted.

Jerkface.

You both then eat silently while you subtly glanced at the couple and to the person in front of you. After you ensured that the couple has already returned to their room, you relaxed a bit. Namjoon excused himself to pay, and you took a walk in the lobby.

BRAKK

You turned your head to the source of the sound. You found a couple with two kids, the younger ones in the sling, and the older one held the woman’s hand. The man, you assumed is the father clumsily gathered the things he dropped. The pregnant woman, you assumed is the mother wanted to help him, but it seems with her big tummy she couldn’t bend over. You walked to them to give them a hand. But as you gathered, you felt a sharp sting in your back of your neck.

Cautiously you walked back as fast as you could. Your hand touched the throbbing pain in your neck. Then you saw her smirked at you. You followed your instinct to run away from them. Your legs went weak, and your breath shortened. You felt your throat constricted. Still, you tried harder to run back to the restaurant.

Luckily to you, Namjoon exited the restaurant and he called for you. “Babe, I am looking for you everywhere. Where have y—“ his words stopped as you fainted just a few meters in front of him. His eyes widened, showing shock and terror. “What- hey Y/N. not funny okay?” he whispered as he shook your body, but you didn’t even flinch. Fuck. He then carried you in his arms, told all of the spectators that you drank too much. He hurried to go back to your room.

He opened and closed the door harshly, and put you in the bed. His minds went panic as he examined you thoroughly, your pulse’s weakening, your hands, and feet went cold, and your breaths became irregular. Namjoon is no doctor, but after training and work in this field for a long time, he somehow knows one or two things. He then searched for syringes in your bag, after checking the name and sure about it, he lifted your dress up to show your bare legs and injected the drug in your thigh. After a minute, you’re getting calmer. Namjoon reached your wrist and checked your pulse and sighed in relief. He calmed himself as he waited for you to awake.

“-Joon.” You cried, your forehead’s sticky from sweat. As you control your breath, you reached his hand. He then helped you to sit and sat beside you. His eyes still showed worries. “Someone attacked me.”

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brideofedoras · 4 years

Text

Under Covers

This fic was inspired by this photo. That leg is my current sexuality.

Tagging my urbabes: @below-average-fangirl @emily-strange @nora-hewlett @to-boldly-nope @urban-trek-thru-middle-earth @pandaqueen7799 @bakerstreethound @portals-to-a-new-world @writerdee1701 @ladyreapermc

Enjoy!

Rating: 18+

Word count: 3200+

Warnings: Smut.

Ember had never been more thankful for dark sunglasses in her life. And coffee shops that opened at the ass crack of dawn near the sleepy suburbs surrounding the greater DC area. And six hour car rides to get to their destination. Hopefully her boss would be kind and not go over the operation parameters for the tenth time since yesterday afternoon and she could catch an hour of sleep. Without dreams. Please please please, don’t let me have any repeat dreams that kept me up all night, she prayed fervently.

The last thing she needed was to have a any more vivid sex dreams about her very hot boss while in the car with him.

It was bad enough she had agreed to go on this assignment with him, posing as a couple at some fancy beach resort in North Carolina and she fit the profile of the type of woman their target frequently sought out. There were probably sixty agents with more fieldwork under their belts (or at least more qualified) for this kind of op who fit the profile, but Cooper had chosen her. It was both an honor that he wanted her with him and intimidating as hell because she did not want to let him down.

Her phone pinged with an alert, drawing her from her exhausted stupor.

I’m outside.

Ember sighed. Be down in a minute, she texted back. She slipped her phone in her back pocket, shouldered her purse and grabbed the handle of her suitcase. She mentally went over her Leaving For Vacation checklist for the hundredth time, just as she always did before leaving for a few days. Plants watered, lights off, oven off, thermostat set to a reasonable temperature, all small appliances unplugged, windows locked. Phone charger and keys in purse. Toiletry bag in suitcase. Vibrator and extra batteries in suitcase…

Unfortunately, since they were posing as a couple and would be sharing a one bedroom bungalow, she would have to remove the batteries to make damned sure she wouldn’t embarrass the hell out of herself should she need to relieve any frustrations.

Which there would be plenty. William Cooper was a walking wet dream. Tall. Broad shouldered. Scowly. Sexy. Intelligent. And deep down underneath that frown she was used to seeing on a daily basis he was a softie. That rarely seen soft side only fueled her crush on him that much more.

With a weary sigh Ember set her security alarm and locked the door behind her.

Black Mercedes sedan, Cooper’s next text buzzed through.

Her brow quirked up as she pressed the call button for the elevator. No Porsche?

Didn’t want to look like a man going through a midlife crisis.

She bit back a smile. You’re too young for a midlife crisis.

Ember was not surprised when no response buzzed through. She stuffed her phone in her pocket once more and stifled a yawn as she made her way out to the parking lot.

She thought nothing of it when Cooper climbed out of the car and made his way to the back. But once he cleared the trunk she nearly tripped over her feet.

In the short time she had known William Cooper she had never seen him wearing anything other than a suit. Granted, most of the time the jacket was off and his sleeves rolled up, but suits had quickly become the sexiest thing she’d ever seen on a man (firmly replacing uniforms. She’d always been a sucker for a man in a military uniform or tactical gear up until the first time she’d seen her boss loosen his tie and roll up his shirt sleeves).

But she was woefully unprepared to see her hot boss wearing casual clothes. A blue and white plaid button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, unbuttoned over a light grey tee-shirt and a pair of snug jeans with a hole ripped in the left knee… and a pair of sunglasses hiding those dangerously gorgeous hazel eyes. And the stubble gracing his jaw. Oh sweet heavens she was a sucker for unshaven jaws...

She once again thanked her lucky stars for dark sunglasses hiding her eyes.

The trunk latching shut startled her out of her wandering thoughts.

“Get in the car, Kid.”

Oh.

No.

He.

Didn’t.

Ember bristled at that moniker. She hated being called kid. Hated it. She was twenty-eight years old, barely, what, seven years younger than him. Her eyes began to burn when she jerked the passenger door open. Oh, don’t start, she admonished herself. It’s too damned early and I hardly slept last night.

“Easy there, tiger,” Cooper commented as he joined her in the car. “You okay?”

She carefully shut her door, fastened her seatbelt and took a deep breath before she responded. “Yeah. Sleepless night,” she pasted on a smile as she turned to face him.

His brow furrowed. “Worried about the op?”

“You could say that,” she let the smile fall off as she settled back in her seat. That was partly true, at least. She was worried about her part, terrified she would blow it.

“You’ve got the easy job,” he started the car. “Look pretty, flirt, be coy.”

“You call that easy?” She glared at him behind her sunglasses, blushing at his look pretty comment. “I can’t flirt my way out of a paper bag if I tried.”

His dimples flashed when he grinned. “‘Your tie brings out the gold in your eyes, Boss’ ring a bell? Or ‘You’ve got a bit of powdered sugar on your cheek’?”

Ember flushed beet red. “A compliment and a gentle warning before a meeting are hardly flirting!” She stammered out.

God, she had mentally kicked herself for a MONTH on the powdered sugar incident, brushing it from his cheek with her thumb.

Her palm still tingled from the feel of his afternoon stubble when she had cupped his cheek, as if she had any right touching him in such an intimate manner!

“You were flirting,” his grin widened as he pulled out onto the street. “And the plate of extra cookies left over from your Christmas dinner?”

“Figured your kids would like some cookies, and I had more than enough left over,” she shifted in a poor attempt to hide the blush creeping up her chest and neck and wished like hell she had worn something other than a scoop neck tank top. She was not a pretty blusher when her chest got all splotchy.

“That’s what break rooms are for,” he chuckled. “Pretty sure Sanderson would ask you to marry him if you bring baked goods in.”

She shuddered. “Pretty sure he still lives in his parents’ basement.”

“Yeah, he has that personality,” Cooper frowned thoughtfully, slowing for a stoplight. “Not your type then?”

“Have you ever heard me flirt with him?”

His belly laugh echoed through the car. “No, no, I haven’t,” he managed to get out when his laughter died down. “You can give Wilkes a run for her money in the ice queen department when you’re dealing with him.”

“I hope you’re giving me a compliment and not calling me a frigid bitch,” she couldn’t help but smile.

“She’s the frigid bitch and she wears that badge with pride. She made Sanderson cry a couple of times. You’re at least polite.”

“Maybe I shouldn’t be,” she turned her attention back to the window. “And I don’t flirt.”

“‘You’re too young for a midlife crisis’?”

“Not flirting!” She shifted until her back was to him.

“What is it, then?”

“The truth,” her forehead thunked against the passenger window. “Thirty-five is still young.” She sighed heavily. “Age is only a number, what matters is how you feel inside. Take Grandpa- er, Henry, for example. He’s eighty-five, still working downstairs, running circles around the younger desk jockeys.”

“I need to find out what his secret is,” Cooper mused beside her.

“No,” she squeaked out, remembering something she’d overheard her grandpa telling Joe a few years ago when they went to New Orleans to see her godfather. “You don’t want to do that.” That particular memory would be forever burned into her brain.

He looked over at her. “Wait, he really has a secret? What is it?”

“Nope,” she shook her head. “It was bad enough overhearing it. I’m not telling you.”

If she could lobotomize herself to remove that particular memory of hearing her grandfather say his secret to remaining youthful at heart was masturbating every day she’d do it in a heartbeat.

The thought of telling her hot boss was embarrassing.

But the images popping up in her head of her boss following Henry’s secret to youthful energy?

Ember squirmed a little in her seat. “H-how long of a drive is it again?” Her voice cracked.

“Six hours if traffic isn’t bad.”

Six hours in a car with her hot boss. After a couple of sex dreams and a long, sleepless night with her normally trusty vibrator and her vagina’s stubborn refusal to accept a toy penis to get the job done? Fuck.

She groaned. “Straight through, no stops?”

“I’ll make a couple of stops, I’m not a monster,” he chuckled. “You have breakfast yet?”

She shook her head. “There’s a coffee shop up ahead. They have donuts and breakfast sandwiches.”

“Any recommendations?”

“The omelette sandwiches are to die for,” she stifled a yawn behind her hand. “They come with sausage and cheese. You’ve already had their donuts.”

He groaned. “Might have to order a dozen for this weekend.”

“Better make it two dozen,” she shifted in her seat to get more comfortable. “I’m not crawling out of bed before ten a.m. this weekend.”

“You’ve already claimed the bed, huh?”

A slow, delicious warmth crawled through her veins at the husky, playful tone in her boss’ voice. “Figured it was a given since I’m a woman and you seem like the kind of guy who would take the couch.”

“Sweetheart, my back can’t take sleeping on couches for even a little catnap anymore,” he flipped on the blinker and turned into the lot for the coffee shop.

“The bed’s a king, isn’t it? We could share it,” her eyes fluttered shut behind her sunglasses. “I promise to be on my best behavior.”

The strangled cough coming from the driver’s seat had her eyes snapping open.

“What?”

“You’re flirting again,” his voice was really husky now.

She frowned at him. “No, I wasn’t. My brain loses its filter when I’m running on very little sleep.”

“Always an excuse,” he shook his head as he rolled down the window. “What kind of coffee?”

“Just ask for the Emberleigh special, they’ll know.”

Twenty minutes later (and some seriously teasing looks from the barista silently telling her that she was going to have to tell him all about the hot guy in the luxury sedan next week) they were on the freeway heading to North Carolina. Cooper set the cruise and shifted to get comfortable.

“Should we go over the parameters again?”

Ember swiveled her head around to glare at him, an “Oh, hell no” dying on her lips when she took in the glorious sight before her.

He had his left arm on the door, elbow bent to hook his fingers along the top of the window, left knee bent to showcase some tanned skin and glorious denim-encased thigh.

A very weak, very breathy “no” left her lips instead of the feisty retort.

He cast a quick glance at her before returning his attention to the road and the traffic around them. “Seat reclines if you want to take a nap,” he told her.

Sleep was suddenly the furthest thing from her mind.

And learning the seat reclined?

That really didn’t help matters any. At. All.

She picked up her caramel macchiato and took a sip. Her vain attempt to put the brakes on the naughty thoughts forming in her mind just from the way those jeans hugged those thighs and that knee…

Stop it, Emberleigh, she firmly reprimanded herself as she turned back to watch the traffic in front of her. Count road kill or play the license plate game. Don’t stare at Cooper’s thighs and wonder what they look like out of those jeans. Or nipping at them. Or how thick he gets when he’s… sonofamotherfuckingbitch...

“If you want to turn the radio on, go for it, I listen to just about anything,” his voice broke through her wayward thoughts, teasing her with that husky tone. “Except for the new crap.”

She blinked. “Yeah, I can’t listen to that stuff either,” she pulled a face before looking at the dash and the stereo. “I can Bluetooth my phone if that’s okay?”

“Go for it.”

Of course her playlist would just have to start off with “Rock You Like A Hurricane” by the Scorpions.

And oh that wicked, wicked grin that slowly spread across William Cooper’s face and his poor attempt to imitate the lead singer’s vocals… of course that would make her squirm.

Both hands were on the steering wheel now, thumbs drumming along to the beat.

The tempo was the perfect rhythm to have sex to. She mentally whined at the images popping into her head.

The thought of Cooper timing his thrusts to the beat of the drum and adding a little rocking motion with the drum rolls nearly did her in. And the fact he was singing off-key only made her that much hotter.

Ember squirmed, pressing her thighs together as she forced her attention on the road ahead of them.

I’m fucked if he does this the entire drive…

She caught her bottom lip in her teeth to hold back the shuddery whine when her boss put his all into the one man, driver’s seat concert. By the time Cooper pulled off the freeway at a rest stop she was a mess.

“You okay over there?”

His husky voice broke through her nearly-fevered thoughts. “Huh?”

“You okay? You’re whimpering over there,” he shoved his sunglasses up to give her a worried look. “You get car sick?”

“No,” she shook her head.

“Is there anything I can do for you?”

Yes!

She bit down on her bottom lip and shook her head. “God dammit…”

“Ember, do I need to call someone else in on this?” Gone was the light-hearted, teasing tone, in its place the no nonsense, cold tone she was used to in the office.

Ember sucked in a shuddery breath. “No, sir. I can do this.”

“You’re about to crawl out of your skin, Ember,” he shifted in his seat to show her she had his full attention. “What’s wrong?”

“You really don’t want to know,” she cringed when she realized how needy she sounded.

The silence in the car neared a deafening pitch… or was it her heart thundering in her ears… as she waited for his rebuttal.

“Honey, I think I do.”

Honey.

That one word, the low, guttural way he practically growled it, had even more heat pooling low in her belly.

She must have moaned or whispered his name, something to make his hazel eyes darken. “I… should… get some air…” she blindly reached for the seat belt.

But instead of reaching for the door she leaned across the console.

Cooper met her halfway. His hands slid along her jaw to tilt her head before his lips met hers.

Ember let out a strangled moan when his tongue snaked into her mouth and curled around hers, teasing her, torturing her until she shuddered and pulled away for air. She slowly blinked open her eyes to meet his. “We… shouldn’t…”

“No, we definitely shouldn’t,” he agreed huskily as he tugged her into another kiss. “It’s a damned bad idea.”

One minute she was still in her seat kissing her sexy boss. The next she was straddling his lap with the seat reclined, her cutoffs nowhere to be found. She pawed at his clothing as he tugged the low neckline of her tank top down to expose her lace-covered breasts.

“We can get naked later when we get to the beach house,” he growled before biting one pearled nipple through the sexy bra she wore.

Ember gasped his name as his hands curved over her ass to grind his hips into hers. Any attempts to divest him of that magnificent plaid shirt and tee-shirt were quickly forgotten.

His jeans had to go. Or at least be undone and pushed down so the zipper wouldn’t scratch the shit out of her ladybits.

She curled one hand into his dark hair and shoved her other hand between them as Cooper switched his attention to her other breast. Holy Jesus she never thought getting her nipples sucked through a bra would be so hot!

“Easy, Tiger,” he groaned when she yanked at his belt. He dropped his hands from her hips to help her, thrusting his hips up just enough to shove those slightly snug jeans down to mid-thigh. They both moaned when his erection rubbed against her uncomfortably wet panties.

He hooked his fingers into the crotch of her panties and pulled them aside, earning another shuddering whine from Ember when his knuckles brushed her clit. He palmed his hard length with his other hand and thrust his hips up.

“Oh… god…” she curled her fingers into his shirt as he grabbed her hips to pull her down.

“I’m hardly god, Baby,” he half-groaned, half-chuckled as her tight heat sheathed him. “Fuck… you’re so tight…”

She rolled her hips slowly. “I don’t think I’m gonna last,” she moaned when Cooper’s hands palmed her ass to guide her.

“Me either, Sweetheart,” he rocked his hips in time with hers.

Ember buried her face in Cooper’s neck when the coil low in her belly tightened. She untangled one hand from his shirt and slipped it between them, her fingers seeking out her clit.

“That’s it, Baby,” he growled when he felt her knuckles against his lower belly. His hands tightened into a bruising grip, one she relished, as he thrust up harder and faster.

She quickened the pace of her fingertips on her clit. “Oh… God… Cooper…”

“Ember.”

She blinked her eyes open at the gentle squeeze of a large hand on her shoulder.

“Wake up, Sleepyhead, we’re stopping for lunch,” he cleared his throat when she turned her head to face him.

Ember’s brow furrowed.

What the hell?

She was buckled in her seat, fully dressed?

Cooper dropped his hand. “I’m surprised you fell asleep with my singing,” he teased her. “Never worked on my kids when they were little.”

Did he sound a little gruff?

She blinked her eyes to try to focus on him. Was he avoiding eye contact, too? Damn those sunglasses…

“No comment?” His chuckle sounded a tad forced.

“No!” She blushed fiercely, wondering now if her dream had been… possibly a bit vocal. “N-no, I… I guess a smooth car ride combined with a sleepless night put me to sleep.”

“Yeah, that’ll do it,” he slipped the key from the ignition and shifted in his seat to slip it in his pocket. “Come on, I’ll buy you lunch.”

#william cooper #red #william cooper x ofc #car smut #karl urban

120 notes · View notes

justasparkwritings · 4 years

Text

Codename Cupid: Chapter 12

Previously: Another Shot at Love Pt. 4

Pairing: Park Jimin X OMC

Genre: Angst, Secret AgentAU, AgentAU, Government Agent AU

Rating: PG15

Word Count: 2.1k

Warnings: Swearing, Mentions of Legal Alcohol Consumption and Recreational Drug Use, Flirting, Jimin’s backstory

Summary: The history Codename Mochi and how his relationship with Codename Arrow came about.

Codename: The Mochi of it All

Winter, Senior Year

Jimin joined OT7 in his late teens and was kept away from his hyungs until he had finished his coursework, spent time in the field, and proved his worth. A quick study, deft in the art of reading people and empathizing, Jimin became an essential asset in the realms of surveillance and field work. Everyone was charmed by him immediately, his megawatt smile and friendly demeanor, as if Mary Poppin’s herself had given him spoonsful of sugar every day of his childhood. Jimin loved tracking marks, observing their tendencies, watching for changes in behavior. He could slip into their lives without them noticing to make strangers become friends, lovers, discerning with ease what he needed to do to become their confidant. Having studied with Codename Cuttlefish for over a year, he knew what to say and do. Joining a yoga class? No problem. Hopping into their pottery studio? Easy. Wine tasting in Napa Valley? He knew the most exclusive vineyards. Cooking? Please, he was trained. There wasn’t anything Jimin couldn’t do, which is how he fell into bed with Jun-Seo.

The expectation within OT7 was that you accepted your post, you took your directions and followed through on your work. When it came to dating, relationships of a sexual nature, there was explicit language that if you weren’t comfortable, you didn’t have to. There was nothing so important that the powers at be wanted you to risk your personal comfort and safety for. If Jimin didn’t want to entrap Jun-Seo, he didn’t have to, the plan could be changed, nothing was so definite that it didn’t warrant discussion. Namjoon had taken Jimin aside, walked him through the blueprints ahead of the full team meeting, conferring with him on what he was comfortable doing, and what he wasn’t. The rules for Yoongi applied to Jimin, if he didn’t want to have sex, he didn’t have to, and if he did, he was required to turn off his mic whenever sexual situations arose, as was standard practice. He didn’t have to log any aspects of his sexual relationship with any mark, only if it proved important in the case. With Jun-Seo, it did.

Jimin, ever the professional, always prepared and always 5 minutes late, took it all in stride. It wasn’t difficult for Jun-Seo to fall in love with him, and unlike Yoongi and his quest to rectify all past failings through his relationship with Cupid, Jimin found it easy to be committed to one person, one man, in spite of the deception. After all, Codename Arrow, wanted exactly what Cupid did: to be loved.

If Jimin was excellent at everything, he had perfected loving someone.

Infiltrating Jun-Seo’s life was a manner of timing. Yoongi had been placed in Lee Enterprises while Jimin had already been making the rounds in Jun-Seo’s circles, elusive and enticing, it took three weeks before Jun-Seo had cornered him.

“I can’t get a read on you,” Jun-Seo said, sitting across from Jimin in a dimly lit bar.

Smirking, lips plump and coated in a thin layer of petroleum jelly, Jimin played dumb. “How do you mean?”

“You talk to everyone but me, then you dance with me and flirt with me, but the minute I try and talk to you, poof, you’re gone,” Jun-Seo recited Jimin’s offenses, eliciting a giggle from him.

“Maybe I like it that way,” Jimin responded.

“Maybe, or maybe you’re scared,” He countered.

“Scared of what, a pretty boy in last season’s Balenciaga?” Jimin scoffed, not going so far as saying As If, but implying.

“A pretty boy with enough money to bury your deepest secrets or sell them to the highest bidder just for fun,” Jun-Seo threatened.

“Your threats mean nothing. I don’t care about your money. I guarantee I have more,” Jimin brought his glass to his lips, water in vodka glass with a paper-thin lime slice deftly floating on top.

Cackling, Jun-Seo responded, “Lies,”

“You wanna play?” Jimin countered.

“Only if you’re the prize,” Jun-Seo winked.

It was banter back and forth, texts becoming phone calls that led to dates and nights out. A trip to Paris, followed by Seoul and Australia, all the while Suga was swindling Cupid. By the time Suga and Cupid broke up, Jun-Seo had proposed to Jimin.

Jun-Seo was known for being a serial monogamist, flitting from one short term relationship to the other, always trading in the old for what seemed brand new. He had a reputation to maintain, an appearance he worked to cultivate. While Dae-Seong and Kwan-Min had to toe the lines of professionalism, of being the faces of the company until Euna was ready, Jun-Seo was given the autonomy to fuck around. A yacht trip in the Mediterranean? Annual. Closing Harrod’s and nearly buying out Chanel and Ferragamo? That was just a Tuesday. He could do no wrong, because while his siblings were busy fighting, he was busy charming. Every relationship, however devoid of emotion it was, provided him with more social capital than any socialite could dream of having. Though the tactics he used to gain this capital were not morally sound, and the level of blackmailable offenses he had witnessed was sociopathic, he continued to be sought after by anyone who breathed. To date Jun-Seo, no matter how brief, was to move up several rungs in society. The longer you dated, the higher you could climb, though Seo had the final say in your destination.

No one was off limits to him, and he was afraid of nothing. Money afforded him security. Wealth afforded him an attitude that no one was better than him. Being 4th inline to the Lee fortune afforded him privilege. For these reasons, nobody dared mess with Jun-Seo, and in return, Seo messed with everyone.

For the majority of his life, Seo had just wanted to be seen, to be heard, to be loved. Gossip swam with stories of his escapades, his philanthropy and business prowess made him legendary. He had few friends, but his closest confidant remained Kwan-Min. At the end of the day, however, she would always be his sister. There was no cuddling, no longing stares or passionate touches in the night, there was barely love, mostly respect. Jimin, though, had the potential to become the person Seo went to for everything.

Jimin knew the lines were blurring when Seo took him to Seoul to track down distant relatives, and then fly to Japan to listen to Kyoto while walking the city. It wasn’t in the way Seo spoke to Jimin, but in the touches he gave, the way his eyes softened, how he was kinder to strangers and compassionate when someone messed up. Jimin was changing him, and that terrified Jimin. A mark is a mark, until they’re not.

“He’s in too deep,” Hoseok argued, Jimin sitting at the conference table, going through transcripts of his last few days with Jun-Seo.

“It’s getting to the point where Arrow is clearly, invested. He sees a future with Jimin, a tangible life together,” Yoongi responded, concern in his eyes. He had just started working at Lee Enterprises.

“That’s what I’m concerned about,” Namjoon responded.

“Arrow hasn’t given enough information to warrant the intensity of this relationship. It’s high risk, low reward. Better to get out,”

“But we need to think about when Yoongi is dating Cupid, we’ll have two sets of eyes on the inside. Jimin has to infiltrate Arrow’s computer or very minimum, the philanthropy network so they can access the records,” Namjoon reminded them.

“He’s going to propose, right?” Seokjin voiced. “There’s no way, at this rate, that he Arrow hasn’t thought about it.”

“He hasn’t mentioned it, but he does play with my ring finger. It’s almost absentmindedly, and I wouldn’t think much of it except it’s pretty frequent,” Jimin informed them.

“I thought he wasn’t the ‘marrying type’?” Seokjin asked.

“Everyone thinks they aren’t something, and then Jimin shows up and all bets are off,” Yoongi smiled. “He’s magic.”

“It’s because he’s so cute,” Hoseok agreed. “His laugh,”

“His smile?” Namjoon continued the list.

“Remember when we were laughing so hard, he told us to stop being funny because –

“He can’t see when he’s laughing!” Hoseok finished, erupting in wall shaking laughter.

“Okay, okay, I get it,” Jimin couldn’t help but giggle at his hyungs. “The question is, what do I do with Arrow?”

“Stay, you have to,” Namjoon’s composure was back. “That’s your order.”

“Do I push off the inevitable?”

“A proposal? Yes,”

“Tell him you aren’t sure you’re ready, or ever want to be married. Give him a real crisis and he’ll spend the next three months trying to figure out where he stands.” Yoongi suggested.

“Has he said that he loves you?” Seokjin inquired.

“Yes,”

“Have you said it back?”

“The question isn’t if Jimin’s said it back,” Yoongi began, “It’s if he means it.”

“Jiminssi, do you mean it?”

“I, no, no,” Jimin shook his head, his quickly lightening pink hair moving with his head. “I don’t love him,”

“You love who he is with you,” Yoongi followed up, “He’s kind, and thoughtful, compassionate, fuck he’s even empathetic.”

“It doesn’t excuse what he’s done, or who he is at his core,” Hoseok reminded him.

“But it does make it infinitely more challenging to not blur the lines between who he really is, and who he is trying to be,” Jimin sat back, uneasiness in his veins. “I have to remember that.”

“Do you need to retrain your brain?” Namjoon offered.

“No, no, I’ll be fine, I can do this.” Jimin nodded.

“Our second to last member to be put into the field is doing well. Codename V, he’s been onboarded and will continue working Yoongi’s job with minimal fieldwork until Cupid and Suga’s relationship is over, he’s finishing his last bits of training before becoming a full-time member. His office will be next to Yoongi’s,” Namjoon pulled up the file, V’sphoto and information enlarging on the screen.

“Chim, you also trained him, correct?” Seokjin asked.

“Yeah, he picked up everything on the first go, insanely intelligent, charismatic, he’s an amazing guy.” Jimin smiled fondly. “He’s my best friend, has been since we joined. Yoongi trained him for a bit too.”

“His first year in, he was in my year four training. V stayed in the program to train others and work with the last member of our team-

“Because it’s impossible to be OT7 when there’s six of us,” Seokjin joked, the fact that they weren’t a complete set had bugged him for over two years.

“V is the best,” Jimin finished.

“We’ve all worked with him, why are we acting like we didn’t hand pick him?” Hoseok wondered.

“Fair,”

“I don’t know him as well as you do,” Seokjin said.

“Are you still the new kid card?” Hoseok guffawed.

“I’m just saying you went to training, the most I got was a month crash course,”

“You didn’t need additional training. You had freely chosen a path that you loved and are passionate about. It was a choice. We were preyed upon, selected for a Hunger Game’s like war and we’re District 1.” Yoongi informed him. “It was fucking brutal. They took us from our lives, our families, our friends. This newbie? Codename Golden Maknae, was taken when he was 13! Barely old enough to make decisions for himself. He’s been raised in this system, conditioned to work for the betterment of the world, he knows nothing else. We know nothing else!”

“He worships the ground Namjoon-hyung walks on, he is best friends with V because once you’ve been tapped, you can only rely on each other,” Hoseok said.

“It hasn’t been a bad life,” Namjoon, ever the diplomat, interjected.

“Sure Joon, sure. I shouldn’t have been a trained sharpshooter by 19,” Yoongi snapped. They could see it in his eyes, the darkness. Yoongi’s temper flared when he was truly angry, but largely held off until he was a perfect storm of exhausted, anxious and overwhelmed. Or, when competitiveness struck, and he became determined to win. This anger, rarer than the others, struck when he felt defenseless, used, when the job started to take parts of his soul instead of his brain.

“You were hacking into government systems across the globe by 15!” Jimin refuted.

“Allegedly!” Namjoon, Hoseok and Seokjin all yelled in unison. The three looked at each other before bursting into a fit of giggles, leaving Yoongi fuming.

“The point is, you got to live a normal life, go to university, stumble into a relationship out of mutual attraction. You’ve had all the things weren’t afforded. For Jimin, V, Golden Maknae, this has been their life, so be fucking grateful, Mr. Handsome.” Spitting the codename at Seokjin, Yoongi stood violently and shoved his chair in against the table. The men stared after him as he grabbed his coat from his office and left.

Next: Justifying Jimin

9 notes · View notes

ravenforce · 5 years

Text

New Dawn

Prompt: "I really loved that story (see you in a minute) and I hope that later you can make the story of Natasha x reader of how their relationship was given until arriving at the battle of Thanos I would love to read it. And I hope you crave your other stories”

Requested by: @ecruzsalaz

Pairing: Natasha Romanoff x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 8987

Warning/s: Nothing!

A/N: Hey guys! I’m alive! I am so sorry for being AWOL for a while after posting the end of the SYIAM universe. I had a terrible writer's block, I got a new gaming console (Switch), had so many things happening at work before the end of the year, and I’ve been sick. Nothing life-threatening, don’t worry guys but I am back! Thank you for being here.

Also, I proofread this twice but if there are still mistakes that escaped me, I apologize. I hope you guys like it. PLEASE comment and/or message me your reactions. I missed it! xx

PS. I’m not sure if this can be read as stand-alone. If it gets confusing, you might need to read See You In A Minute series first. Please refer to the masterlist on my description.

***

Semi-retirement from fieldwork and mostly working on your lab at the compound is so reminiscent of your days as International Operations Director of STARK Industries. Your time is on your hands to do what matters to you the most and that’s spending time with your family. Anyone who knew you before you joined the Avengers would laugh at the idea of you settling down nicely to family life.

You and Tony were a force of nature, who comes and goes as you both please; leaving satisfied bodies but empty hearts. No one can keep you down long enough to tie you down. You’re always on the move; either galavanting the world using Tony’s private plane or crossing international waters lazily using your own yacht.

You were brought back to the present when you felt your daughter kick you under the lab table where the two of you are playing chess. You two are the designated people to man the fort while the Starks are in Miami, and your wife went to check up on Laura with Maria, Wanda, and Carol. The old you would have felt bummed to be left behind but spending alone time with your daughter is hands down one of the best use of your time; up there with being in the company of your wife, of course.

“Where’d you go, mom?” Asya asked as she surveys the chessboard; definitely planning a massacre of your pieces.

You smiled up at her because even though a lot of people said she looks like you, there are moments where she looks exactly like Natasha. Heaven knows you’re so whipped for both the two.

“I just thought of how no one from my past would ever tell you married life is where I’m headed.”

“Not even uncle Tony?” she asked as she glances up at you.

You grinned, “especially not Uncle Tony.”

Asya laughed. She has heard stories from Tony and the others about you, before joining the Avengers and before dating Natasha but she’s never heard your side of the story yet. She moved her King in preparation to make her killer move.

“Mom, would you mind telling me how you and mom met?” she asked sheepishly. “From your perspective, I mean.”

You looked at the board for a minute before looking back up at your daughter. “It’s a long story.”

”We have time,” she defended easily. Because you have, Natasha and the others are not gonna be back until tomorrow night.

You glanced at the clock. “Very well. We should finish this and order some pizza?”

Asya’s eyes twinkled with excitement at the prospect of hearing your story, as well as having greasy delivery pizza for dinner. She immediately hopped off her seat before standing at the side of the table. “Then make your move already mom, we don’t have all night,” she sassed playfully.

Yup, totally just like your wife, Venom said in your head.

You chuckled before moving your piece. “Checkmate,” you said before standing up and walking towards the door of your shared lab.

Asya gaped at the board. She was sure she got you on her hook.

Savage, Venom cheered in your head. You only chuckled to yourself.

“Coming, love?” you asked innocently. When she looked at you, there was pure adoration in her eyes and maybe a hint of fire. Surely, she’s gonna ask for a rematch in the coming days. After all, she’s yours and Nat’s daughter.

***

Eating at the huge family dining table without the rest of the family home is a tad depressing for both you and Asya. So you two decided to just bring your box of pizza at the front porch.

“Go on mom. I wish to sleep at some point in the night,” Asya sassed as she dabs the pizza with a napkin to rid it of excess oil; a habit she picked up from Nat for sure.

You laughed heartily. “Okay, okay. I met your mother the day I arrived back in Miami,” you started.

Asya knew the basics: how you were basically adopted by the Starks after your parents passed away, how you and Tony are thick as thieves; going to the same university, traveling the world until you two decided to stay in Switzerland for a while. The only time you were basically separated was when Tony needed to run the business in the US and he needed you to stay on top of the business in Europe and Asia.

***

You inhaled deeply as you stood on the pavement in front of Stark Industries Headquarters before squaring your shoulder and strutting inside the massive building. You were immediately met by Dylan an intern who was supposed to escort you to Tony’s office. Dylan blatantly stared at you through the mirrored walls of the elevator. Typical. When the lift stopped at the penthouse, he didn’t step off.

“Thank you, Dylan,” you said smiling. He looked so surprised that you even bothered to read his nameplate.

You walked the short distance from the lift to the door and was not surprised to see the most beautiful woman you’ve ever laid your eyes on. Definitely typical since Tony has a knack of choosing the prettiest woman to be by his side. After all, he chose Pepper.

“Hi, I’m here to see Tony,” you greeted politely. You had to reign in the urge to shiver and groan the moment her green eyes met yours. She’s breathtaking that you had to take a moment to compose yourself. You’re Y/N Y/L/N, you reminded yourself. You get girls as pretty as her whenever and wherever you go.

“Name?” she asked confidently, her eyes never wavering. At that moment you knew, this woman, this Natalie Rushman is different from Tony’s previous assistants.

“Y/N Y/L/N,” you answered.

Natalie looked at her computer. “I’m sorry but you’re not on his scheduled meetings today,” Natalie said matter-of-factly. You tried to pout, and talk your way in but Natalie isn’t one to swoon over you. Not typical!

“Come on, Natalie. I know for a fact that he’s having lunch with Pepper right now,” you said as you walk a few steps towards the door but Natalie was lightning fast on her feet and already blocking your path.

“Take one more step,” she warned you.

You were right, this woman is something else because, at this point when you’re this obnoxious, Tony’s previous assistants would do only two things. One, they will faux put up a fight but let you in any way. Two, they will call security on you. So far, Natalie has done none of that.

You cocked your head to the side. “Or what?” you challenged her by stepping right into her personal space.

Natalie looked into your eyes before she shoved you and pin you against her table, which causes some of her things to fall and make a ruckus on the floor. She wasn’t really hurting you but her grip is strong and she’s clearly capable if you pushed her one more time. Any other time someone pushes you, you would have been mad but instead, you just started laughing. Natalie looked at you like you’ve grown another head but she didn’t let you go.

“First meeting and you’re already tied down,” Tony snickered from the door where he and Pepper are standing to check on the noise. You groaned at the fascinated look of your friends' faces.

Natalie let you go. You stood up and started straightening your navy three-piece suit.

“Fuck off,” you said before walking towards the pair.

“Not you though,” you said to Pepper before giving her a familial kiss on the cheeks.

“Welcome home,” Pepper said before shooing you and Tony inside. When the door closed, Pepper walked towards Natalie who was suddenly feeling self-conscious.

“Who was that?” she asked quietly after picking up all her stuff from the floor.

“That’s Tony’s best friend, his little sister. She has level 10 access to Tony too.”

“Shit,” Natalie cursed under her breath.

“Don’t worry she’s cool. Sometimes, even cooler than Tony,” Pepper said before walking away laughing.

***

“Mama pinned you on your first meeting?” Asya asked before breaking into fits of giggle.

“Stop! It wasn’t that bad,” you said as you throw the pizza box on the bin.

Asya walked back to the house on the reverse so she can look at you. “I’m sure it wasn’t, mom. It’s very romantic,” she said teasingly.

Very, Venom decided to chime in and gang up on you.

“I had enough of your sass, missy. You better run,” you mock threatened her. Asya squealed before running off inside the house. You laugh hard before walking leisurely after her.

***

After checking that all the doors were locked and activating the night security protocol, you walked back to the common living area only to be met by a flying pillow right in your face. You let out a very dramatic fake gasp and caught the pillow in your hand. When you looked at your daughter, already looking comfortable on her very own blanket fort.

“What happened next?” she said while wiggling her toes at you.

You held up a finger before running upstairs and rushing through your nightly routine. After exactly, ten minutes, you came down with your matching silk pajamas.

“Finally,” Asya groaned dramatically but smiling.

***

The second time you met Natalie, you didn’t expect it to be at S.H.I.E.L.D Headquarters where Fury is introducing you to the Avengers as the new recruit. She doesn’t look happy to see you there. She looked like she wanted to protest your credentials but was polite enough not to do so in front of everyone. Tony was so happy when he found out Fury accepted your application at S.H.I.E.L.D. It’s the least you can do since you failed at convincing your best friend not to join a ‘superhero initiative’.

Pepper still wasn’t happy by your “alternative solution”, saying how now she has to worry for two. Fury deemed that two heads like Tony Stark are better than one. Hence, why he accepted you at S.H.I.E.L.D. Afterall, you were the one who helped Tony synthesize the new element to stabilize and upgrade the Iron Suits. Your job at S.H.I.E.L.D is mainly at labs, helping build new weapons for the agents and the Avengers.

Word travels fast even in a secret organization. People at the labs kept wondering why you’re in there with them when you can be out there with the Avengers. A conversation that came up once when you decided to take a break at the same time as everyone. It was a bright and sunny day, the lab rats decided to eat a snack at the outdoor sitting area when the quinjet landed on the distance. Everybody watched you watch the plane come to a full stop.

“They said you grew up with Tony Stark. They said you’re as smart as him,” the one named John said.

You turned to him. “Is there a question in there?”

A younger man, named Carl, smiled. “They said you have a black belt in jiujutsu and mixed martial arts as well.”

"I still don’t hear any question,” you said smiling before taking a sip of your coffee.

“I guess what they were getting at is why are you in the labs with us?” the only other woman in your lab team, Hailey, asked. “You can be one of them with that credentials,” she continued, nodding towards the direction of the quinjet.

It’s not a new question; you’ve heard variations of it a lot of times when you were growing up with Tony. And the answer has always been the same. “Someone has to look after his back.”

They all cocked their heads to the side. “You can’t watch someone’s back if you’re too close to them. I’m better at protecting him from here; where I can see clearer.”

Your team was surprised that you’re foregoing the fame that comes with standing side-by-side Tony Stark. Then they all nodded, newfound respect shining in their eyes.

“Besides, I’m really not good at limelights. That’s Anthony’s thing, I’m more of the fly-under-the-radar type,” you continued lightly.

“You mean you’re the lab rat type,” John joked cautiously but relaxed when you broke out into a belly laugh.

***

The third time you saw Natasha was in the training room. A part of the being a S.H.I.E.L.D agent was to know how to fight. Even though you have a background on different fighting styles, you still pushed yourself to train harder. You found out a long time ago that you liked training in private and that’s how Nat found you punching and kicking at the bag until it broke open. She stole your file from Maria, she knows your credentials but something about you irks her.

“What did the bag do to you?” Nat asked from the doorway in lieu of a greeting.

You looked up at the sound of her voice and you smiled at her when you spotted her leaning against the doorway. Nat thought your smile was charming but she wouldn’t be caught dead admitting that.

"Good morning, Agent Romanoff,” you said before picking up your water bottle and chugging the contents of it.

Nat didn’t mean to but she followed the movement of your throat, down the curve of your neck to your tracksuit covered chest. You coughed to catch her attention. When she looks up she didn’t know whether she wanted to punch or kiss the smug look off your face. So what if you caught her blatantly checking you out?

“Training at this hour?” she asked holding your eyes. She’s Natasha Romanoff, she’s not gonna be intimidated just because you’re super cute.

“Yes, I woke up early for a conference call in Geneva. I couldn’t go back to sleep. So, I thought I might as well just start early," you explained.

You tried not to vomit the words but failed spectacularly. Nat thought it was adorable as she watches you wrap a protective bandage against your bruising hand.

“You’re still working at Stark Industries?” she asked impressed.

“Technically, yes. I’m a member of the board and consultant. I mostly only work with Pepper and Tony now,” you answered.

Something about Natasha renders you unable to give simple answers, it annoyed you. When she didn't say anything else, you took it as your queue to leave. You’ve heard how the Black Widow likes her space, keeps to herself and not one who gets chummy with agents.

“Do you want to train with me?” Nat asked.

Something about her voice gave away her hesitation. You looked at her bewildered at first but you grinned before dropping your bag and joining her in the mat.

Nat didn’t show it but she was glad you decided to stay. In the few minutes that you were talking, Nat found herself wanting to get to know you better. She did her own research on you because she thought you’re just another billionaire, philanthropist, playgirl but you proved yourself different. You’re modest and don’t brag about your lifestyle. In the weeks that she has observed you, Nat found that you’re also infinitely funnier than Tony.

***

Time flew by the moment Nat started throwing punches, as well as directions on how to fight better. One cat scratch on your eyebrow and a busted lip later, people started pouring in the training room for their morning exercise including Steve and Clint.

“Get those injuries cleaned and checked out at the infirmary,” Nat said before hopping off the mat and passing both boys on her way out. You didn’t see it but Nat narrowed her eyes at them, which made both of them chuckle before turning to you. Clint came over to you first, introducing himself formally.

“You got a death wish or something?” Clint asked lightly, his eyes alight with mischief.

You cocked your head to the side, not understanding the line of questioning.

“No one asks Natasha to spar or train, ever. She’s the learn-from-your-failure kind of teacher,” Clint continued chuckling.

You shouldered your bag. “I didn’t ask her to train. She did,” you said before smiling and walking back to your room to shower.

Clint blinked once, twice before he caught Steve’s eyes who clearly heard what you said. They both started grinning at each other, the same thought running in their head.

***

It’s like the world tilted off its axis ever since Nat found you in the training room. Since then you’ve been seeing her more like she stopped actively avoiding you. While you made strides befriending Steve, Clint, and Bruce; Natasha still needed a little work but that was okay. You were willing to wait until she’s ready.

It was enough that she works out with you every morning when she’s not out on a mission. It was enough that she trains you to become a stronger, faster, better agent than you already were. Coupled with your smart weapons inventions and deadly fighting skills, Fury even lets you officially join Agent Hill’s tactical team.

Nat was secretly so proud yet madly worried when you go on missions without the Avengers because she likes having your back and vice versa. You make a deadly efficient team; dare she say better than she is with Clint. She tries not to dwell so much on what it means, or what it means when her heart race when you get injured in battle, or what it means when her breath caught in her throat when you smile at her but Clint won’t let her. Clint takes it upon himself to bug Natasha, in private, to inspect these feelings.

“If you ask me, I think you may have a crush,” he said one time after you all got back from a joint mission in Sokovia. Fresh off the shower, and lounging on Nat’s bed Clint waited for her to finish drying her hair.

Even over the sound of the dryer on her hand, Nat heard him. Her heart skipped a beat at the thought and begrudgingly, she knows that her best friend was right. After all, he was one of the few people who know her best but he doesn’t need to know that, did he?

“Thankfully, I’m not asking you,” she said after exiting the bathroom and flopping down beside Clint.

Clint laughed hard and rolled onto his back. Seeing this side of Natasha makes him happy.

***

Steve figured it out next. Thankfully, he isn’t as nosy as Clint but it still annoys Nat when she sees him smiling every time he sees her talking to you.

Bruce found out after Clint not-so-subtly elbowed her when you entered the compound in crisps red three-piece suit and whispering business with Tony. You two were so engrossed with looking at your tablets, you both didn’t notice the rest of the team watching. You only noticed them on your way out. So you waved goodbye, Nat may or may not have stared at your ass as you exit the room.

“Close your mouth, Natalia. It’s very unbecoming,” Tony whispered on Nat’s ear. Nat groaned before averting her eyes and turning around to face Tony’s very smug face.

At that moment, she knew she was doomed but she’s not gonna fold to Tony Stark; no matter what.

“Not a word, Stark,” she warned.

“What? I haven’t said anything yet,” Tony defended.

“I know what you’re thinking.”

“What? I think you like my sister?” Tony challenged playfully. Nat only glared at him before opening the magazine she stopped reading the moment you walked in looking like a dream.

“I mean, how can I blame you? She’s perfection. She’s smart without being annoying like me, she’s beautiful, funny and above all, loyal.” Tony said solemnly

Nat glanced up at him. At least, they can agree on some things.

“I…” Nat started. Tony held her eye, definitely waiting for her to lie and deny his accusation. “I do but keep your mouth shut or I’ll cut your tongue.”

Tony smiled amidst the definitely real threat as he sees the genuine fondness that’s usually absent in the cool, collected Black Widow’s eyes. He resolved to keep his mouth shut, for the moment, at least.

***

Nat was so sure one of the boys would rather out the moment they get you alone but a few weeks after the confrontation with Tony, Nat can see no change in your behavior whatsoever to indicate that someone squeaked. She’s secretly grateful because the last thing she wants is for your budding friendship to turn awkward just because of a schoolgirl crush.

‘It’s just a crush’ has become Natasha’s personal mantra that she recites in her head every time you so much as smile at her while passing the corridor. And while Nat resolved to do absolutely nothing about her feelings, the universe seems to have a different plan. The following weeks, the universe launched into a series of events that helped Nat ease into accepting that she has indeed fallen in love with you

First, Fury sent you and Tony on a tandem mission in an undisclosed location, which launches Nat into a full-blown panic.

“Agent Romanoff,” Fury said first.

Nat didn’t back down on her demand to send Steve or her or anyone as back up. Fury watched his other sort of adoptive daughter quietly and carefully. Nat tried not to squirm under the scrutinizing gaze of the only father figure she has in her life. Fury smiled eerily when he caught up. Maria tried not to chuckle but failed.

“Agent Y/L/N is more than capable of completing a simple mission,” Fury finished before turning on his heel and walking away. Before he leaves, he looked back at Natasha. “Stand down Agent Romanoff, that’s an order.”

Nat huffed and kicked her boot down on the concrete floor. Steve, Clint, and Maria exchanged worried yet amused looks across each other. “Sit down,” Steve gently dragged her over one of the chairs in the command center.

“She’ll be fine. Y/N is not only a good fighter but she’s also a genius,” Clint tried to assure Nat but nothing can make her sit still.

She worries about you, she worries that Tony will be too distracted to watch your back properly and she wouldn’t be there to protect you. Nat tried to reason to herself that the burning need to protect you is because you’re a part of their team, and she protects her team.

***

A few hours passed and Nat couldn’t stay and do nothing. She stood up and walked towards the same exit Fury went through. Steve caught her arm. “Where are you going?”

Nat pulled her arm back, “I can’t stay here Steve! I will find her and make sure she comes home to me.”

Everyone smartly decided not to comment on that one. They all understand that having romantic feelings for someone is really foreign for Natasha. It’ll be suicide to push her.

“Fury gave you an order,” Steve, ever diplomatic, said.

“Fuck what Nick said,” Nat nearly yelled before taking a few stomping steps back.

Back away from the door and completely caught up in her worry and fighting with Steve, Nat didn’t see you and Tony step inside the room.

“Woah! Language,” Tony said then smiled at everyone before walking directly to where Fury keeps his precious Scotch.

“Miss me, Agent Romanoff?” you asked cheekily.

Nat felt all the stress of the past few hours leave her body the moment the sound of your voice entered her ears and registered in her brain. She turned to look at you, and you greeted her with a warm smile. You were surprised when Nat stormed towards you, looking royally pissed. You were prepared for a slap in your arm for whatever it is she’s pissed at you for but it didn’t come. She immediately pulled you into a hug before she can talk herself out of it.

This isn’t the first time Nat touched you. Ever since you’ve started training together, Nat seems to always find a reason to touch you. May it be holding your hand a little longer after helping you up from the mat or laying her head against your shoulder as you both try to get your breathing back after some intense sparring session or touching the ends of your hair whenever you’re sitting close together on movie nights. All these touches though are done in relative privacy; not like this, not where the Avengers and half of S.H.I.E.L.D are there to watch.

You smiled before wrapping your arms around her strong frame. If you were being honest, the mission was easy but you’re bone-tired after that ambush at the end of your mission. Clint cleared his throat, and Nat pulled away slightly but only to assess your physical well-being. She frowned when she noted your dirty suit, the small cut on your eyebrow, and your busted lip.

“I’m okay,” you whispered without breaking eye contact.

She didn’t answer, she just runs the pad of her thumb across your busted lip before kissing you.

***

“What?” Asya yelled, interrupting your story. The two of you are lying on your back inside her makeshift fort. “She kissed you first?”

“Yes. She did,” you answered. She looked so surprised for a second before she broke into a laughing fit.

“I guess, legends are just that; legends,” Asya said merrily after getting a hold of her sanity back.

You gasped. “Hey! Have you seen your mama?” you asked in mock offense.

Asya smiled at the dreamy look on your face. She secretly loves how much you love Natasha, even after all the time you’ve been together, and apart. It was impressive.

“She’s as breathtaking as the day I met her,” you said softly. “How would I know someone like her can like someone like me?”

Asya rolled to her side and lay her head on your chest. “You’re an idiot, mom.”

“Already? I thought I was just getting to that part,” you said before kissing her forehead.

***

You still haven’t figured out if it’s lucky that Fury officially made you an Avenger after that tandem mission with Tony a week prior or a curse because now, you have to move in on the compound with the rest of the team and deal with the boys’ teasing and being around Nat more often. Speaking of Nat, you hadn’t seen her for a week after she kissed you in the command center where everyone - literally everyone - saw. Maria said Nat asked Fury to send her on a mission.

‘So, she’s avoiding me,’ you thought.

An ache blooms in your chest when you think of Nat regretting that kiss but the time you spent training with Nat every morning taught you that she’s not good with feelings. Her history, her past, taught her that love is for children. She didn’t become the legendary Black Widow by being soft and loving, she became the Black Widow by being deadly. So you resolved not to push her, as well as not push your feelings towards her. She will come around if she wants to.

***

You and Nat saw each other exactly thirteen days after the kissing incident. You weren’t planning on counting but you did because you missed being in her company. It just so happened that you’re both busy people; she’s out there saving the world most of the time and you? Well, you’re juggling being an Avenger, a S.H.I.E.L.D lab rat, and a member of the board for Stark Industries. So you don’t exactly have a lot of time either. It took thirteen days before the universe, Fury and your schedules permitted you both to be in the same room for more than just two minutes.

It was midnight, you were walking the halls of the Avengers compound to your room when you heard groaning and sobbing inside Natasha’s room. Panicked that someone was able to slip inside everyone’s defenses and attack Nat, you opened the door and went inside her room with your gun in your hand. When you step in, Nat’s seating up on her bed alone. You checked her surroundings first. When you were positive you two are alone, you holstered your gun and called out for her.

“Tasha,” you whispered softly as not to startle her but she didn’t make a move to acknowledge you.

You walked in front of her. Only then did she blinked and looked at you. It must be a nightmare, you though; based on the beads of sweat on her forehead, the sheets balled up on her fist, quick breathing and unfocused eyes.

“Y/N?” she asked as softly.

“It’s okay. You’re okay, you’re safe,” you tried to assure her but she only started shivering at your words. You sat beside her and pulled her in a hug. You continued to rock her gently and whisper words of assurance until her breathing slows and her heart rate came back to normal.

When Nat pulled back, you stood up to let her get back to sleep but she held on the hem of your suit like a little girl. You look at the fingers holding you in place and then back to her face a couple of times before she said something. “Can you sleep here with me?”

It took you a couple of seconds to figure that Nat wasn’t joking. You smiled before motioning her to lie down. She watched you peel away the layers of your suit. Had it been a different setting, you would have died from the intensity of the way she looks at you. Stripped down to your polo shirt and trousers, you started to climb her bed, only for a soft fabric to meet your face.

“Lose the pants and change into that. It’s more comfortable,” she explained.

“You buy your own Black Widow merch?” you teased her as you change the shirt she gave you.

Nat groaned playfully, averting your eyes as you start to undress in front of her shamelessly. “Yeah, a drawer full of it. I can’t resist quality,” she said casually.

“Well, you’re right. This shirt is really comfortable,” you answered after plopping down next to her.

“Told you,” she said before rolling on her side and scooting over until her back touches your front.

You’ve cuddled some in your lifetime, you can take the hint. You figured that taking hints is especially crucial to any kind of relationship with Natasha. So you learned how to read her earlier on, or at least try.

Safe and secured in your arms, Nat couldn’t help but sigh blissfully at the warmth emanating from your body, the feel of your arms around her torso, your chin on her shoulder, and your breathing against her ear.

“Thank you,” Nat half whispered half moaned.

Feeling emboldened, you kissed her shoulder. Thankfully Nat didn’t freeze at the contact. “From here onwards, know that you have me; always.”

Nat sighed. “It’s the red room,” she said simply. Something about the moment made it easy for Nat to open up.

Unconsciously, you tightened your hold against her. You’ve heard third-person accounts of the red room but never from the source. “Do you wanna talk about it?”

“I do,” Nat sighed out before turning in your arms and resting her head against your chest. She sighed once again before launching in the story of the red room. The sky outside her window was starting to turn purple when Nat finished telling her story and drifted off to peaceful slumber in your arms.

***

You noticed that after the nightmare fiasco, Nat is a little easier to approach than usual. She’s even more open to hanging out with you since then, which you didn’t mind because you love spending any time with her. May it be going on coffee dates (as Nat loves calling it) or training like a madwoman in the gym or sneaking out of the compound in the middle of the night to drive and get a midnight snack.

You absolutely love spending time together and getting to know each other in the process. You tried your hardest to slow down your descent to imminent heartbreak but you knew at that point that it was useless. You knew that even though you’ll only get heartbroken because Nat couldn’t possibly like a nerd like you, you’ll do it over again. Over and over and over again, if it meant you’ll always be by her side.

Unbeknownst to you, Nat had the same internal struggle about how someone like you can’t like a killer like her. She didn’t try to shove down her feelings they way she always does though. She tried but it was too late; her feelings for you sneaked up at her like an assassin. Of course, she knew she was attracted to you when she kissed you a couple of weeks ago but it was only after the nightmare incident that she allowed herself to want you for more than just carnal reasons.

You started to become a steady presence in her life, more than just a teammate. While kissing you in front of the whole team and S.H.I.E.L.D was a grand spur of the moment decision, one that she doesn’t regret, she lives for the little moments as well. She loves the way you seem to remember small details like how she takes her coffee, or the way you subtly take care of her by always cleaning her weapons too before going on missions, or the way you always pack a spare jacket just in case you finds yourselves on the eye of climate change. She loves the way you easily make her feel safe and calm. She loves the way you weren’t shy to deviate from the headstrong, broody character everyone knows you are and make a fool out of yourself just to make her laugh.

***

The only problem was, you both suck at talking about your feelings, let alone admitting them. You had the same but lowkey reputation with women like Tony, and she’s the Black Widow; Miss love-is-for-children. Everyone tried to help both of you confess; Tony and Maria tried to help you tell Natasha your feelings while Steve and Clint tried to help Nat ask you out but the world seems to have a crisis every time one or both of you decides to make a move.

“Maybe the universe is trying to tell me something,” Nat sighed as she walks to the quinjet after being called for a mission with Steve and Clint.

“I never pegged you to believe in signs from the universe,” Clint teased lightly.

Steve narrowed his eyes but Clint was never scared of Nat’s wrath. Besides, Nat was too distracted to be offended.

“Let’s just finish this shit as fast as we can,” Nat replied offhandedly while buckling herself in.

“We haven’t even left yet,” Steve said. Lips tugging upwards subtly. He likes seeing this side of Nat.

“I know, and I miss her already.”

***

“Wow,” Asya burst out; interrupting your story, again. “You two are,” she paused to search for the right word in her vocabulary.

Saps! Venom supplied.

Asya giggled. “Correct! You two are saps!”

You don’t know the half of it, child, Venom complained. It’s disgusting.

You laughed so hard, the walls of your makeshift fort shook.

***

The team tried to finish their assignment as fast as they could but it still took them five days. Five days with no communication with you made Nat almost jumped out of the quinjet the moment its tires hit solid ground. Clint and Steve just chuckled as they watch Nat power walk towards the compound. When they caught up with her, Nat’s frowning so hard on her phone.

“What’s wrong?” Steve asked tentatively.

“Y/N’s not home,” Nat replied, clearly disappointed.

Before anyone can say anything Nat’s phone alerted her of a new message. Nat’s frown only deepened.

“I’m gonna guess. Not Y/N?” Clint asked teasingly.

Nat locked her phone before putting it on her back pocket. “No, it’s Maria. She said they’re at Stark Stadium. They need us to fill the Starks team.”

A couple of S.H.I.E.L.D agents passed by. “Let’s check it out. Agent Johnson said, Agent Y/L/N’s team is hot,” one agent said, not realizing that the three Avengers were on the other side of the room.

“What do you expect? Agent Y/L/N is hot,” another answered. The other two laughed.

Nat gritted her teeth before clearing her throat to announce her presence. The agents turned around so fast, the boys wondered if they had whiplash.

“Don’t you have better things to do, agents?” Nat said sternly.

The three agents gulped, nodded and scuttled away like ants on fire. Natasha watched them until they disappeared in the corner.

“Calm down, Nat. I’m sure they’re not that hot,” Clint tried to assure her as he stirs her to the direction of the garage.

***

Clint gulped when she saw who you were teammates with.

“Not hot, huh?” Nat said eerily calm as she watches you with your team.

Out of your S.H.I.E.L.D uniform, and in your black and red number 13 jersey you looked so much younger, more carefree. Nat smiled internally. She realized that as much as leather-clad Y/N is hot, she much prefers you on casual clothing because you look happier.

“How am I supposed to know Y/N’s friends with a lot of stunners?” Clint defended with a pout.

He knows there’s a flaw in his defense. Of course, you’ll be friends with a lot of beautiful people; you’re basically brothers with Tony Stark. You’re smart, funny, and beautiful too. Naturally, people gravitate toward you.

Nat put her hand up to silence Clint. Clint and Steve followed her gaze back towards the field where a certain blonde, wearing the same black and red uniform jogged towards you and tackled you in a hug. Nat watched as said blonde didn’t let go, and worst of all casually planted a soft kiss against the side of your face; dangerously close to your mouth.

“That’s Sara Lance, heiress to Lance Corp in Star City. Y/N’s last real ex-girlfriend,” Maria suddenly spoke beside her. “Also, I’m sure you’d like to know, she declared she came here to win Y/N back.”

Nat balled her fist before walking towards Tony’s side of the pit.

***

“Give me a uniform,” Nat demanded.

Tony laughed so hard, you heard it from across the field.

“I had a feeling you’ll want to be on my team,” he said before handing Nat a shirt with your last name on it.

Nat quirked an eyebrow.

“How am I supposed to know you’re coming back in time for the game? This is Y/N’s new uniform but she insisted on wearing her old one. So you can have this one,” Tony explained.

Steve face-palmed at the sheer dumb excuse but also the ingenuity of it. Stark has a parent-trapping game, Steve can give him that.

***

The game was supposed to be a ‘friendly’ match between the two tech giants but for some reason that escaped you, it was intense from the start. Sara refused to be subbed by Maria and played head to head against Natasha, which you definitely didn’t know played soccer.

“I didn’t know you play,” you panted out as you run the ball towards the goal with Nat running close beside you.

“You don’t know a lot of things about me,” Nat said as she tries to run and tackle you.

You scrunch your brow together but didn’t stop running. Before Nat can make try to take you down again, Sara came barrelling towards her; allowing you to run freely to your goal.

Score for Lance Corp! Amaya, Zari and Gideon crowded towards you. So you were unable to see Nat and Sara glaring at each other as they dust their uniforms off.

“So, you’re the Natasha Y/N can’t stop talking about,” Sara said candidly. “I’m Sara Lance, Y/N’s girlfriend.”

“Ex-girlfriend,” Natasha said deathly calm but Sara was never known to be easily scared.

Sara smirked. “Maybe but not for long,” she said confidently before running away to join your little group hug.

Nat frowned deeper as she watches Sara pull your body against her lit form and you seemingly unperturbed about it.

“Take her word seriously,” Tony said suddenly from behind Natasha. “If Lance is here to take Y/N back, she will do it. She’s smart and tenacious. So, play your cards right.”

“Play your cards right? That’s your advice?” Steve questioned incredulously. “I think you should just ask her out after the game.”

“Trust me, Y/N can’t be wooed by flowers, chocolates, and fancy dinner. People tried,” Tony said after rolling his eyes.

Maria sighed, which prompted everyone to look at her. “Got unsolicited advice for me, Hill?” Nat asked teasingly.

“Stop running away,” Maria said as she stood and get ready to get back on the field. “You kissed her and then disappeared for a week. You made her feel like you didn’t want her.”

The three gaped and watched the elusive Deputy Director as she runs back to the field and high-five you. Steve patted Nat’s shoulder before jogging back in too.

“I guess Hill trumps all our advice. Now come on, we have asses to kick,” Tony relented.

***

The game ended with Stark Industries winning, Nat wanted to gloat but none of the Lance Corp women seem to mind losing at all.

“Congratulations,” you whispered behind Nat. Nat tried to suppress the shiver but it was too late, she knew you saw it by the smirk on your face. She smiled at you.

“Thanks. This would have been more fun if you played in our team,” Nat said crossing her arms in front of her chest.

You shook your head. “You don’t mean that. I know you like that you bested me,” you said smiling.

Nat glanced at you before grinning. “You’re right. I did,” she admitted.

Your heart seemed to flutter every time Nat smiles at you like that. You wanted to say something, you wanted to pour your heart out to her at that moment but Sara yelled for you. Nat sighed heavily, and you gave her a sheepish smile. Sara yelled your name again, now louder and closer. Before you turned around you, Nat reached out and held your hand.

“Lance, stop yelling. I heard you the first time,” you said casually.

Sara ignored you and zeroed in on your joined hand. You tried not to squirm as the two sized up each other. Suddenly the room felt too quiet.

“Did you need anything urgent, Lance?” Nat snapped.

Sara peeled her eyes off your hands in Natasha and smiled sweetly. “Care to show this girl a good time?”

Nat rolled her eyes as Sara blatantly ignores her and flirts with you. You wanted to say that the city only became fun when you met Natasha. You wanted to tell Sara that fun isn’t about drinking yourself to stupor anymore, or getting high on your boat while you two cross the Atlantic. Instead, fun is making breakfast together with Natasha, training and kicking each other’s butt in the gym, sneaking out in the middle of the day to get a massage with Natasha, napping and cuddling Natasha, going on coffee dates with Natasha.

You wanted to say all that but your friends from Lance Corp came all the way from Star City to spend time with you and Tony. The least you both can do was show them a good time. You caught Tony’s eyes behind Sara, he smiled at you. The kind of smile that says, ‘I got a plan’. Sara caught the interaction and she knew they’re in for a long night.

“Get ready to party, Lance,” you said grinning.

***

The Avengers are not new to Stark parties. What they - especially Natasha - wasn’t ready for was you on party mode wearing the skinniest leather pants, tight black backless halter top, and boots. You arrived fashionably late with Maria.

“Mission accomplishes, agent,” Maria whispered as she watches Nat and Sara practically drooling the moment they laid eyes on you. You ducked your head to hide the faint blush creeping up to your neck and cheeks. Dressing up was Maria’s idea.

Nat was about to stand and walk towards you but Sara beat her to it.

“Patience, little spider,” Tony sat crossed leg beside Nat the moment Maria joined their table without you.

Nat turned to look for you and she nearly crushed the glass on her hand when she saw you dancing with Sara. It doesn’t help that Sara’s not only standing way too close but she also has her hand secured against your hips. Sara caught Nat’s eyes from across the dimly lit ballroom. It almost took every ounce of her self control not to go there and claim you but she didn’t want to give her the satisfaction.

Nat breathed in deep before taking a swig of her drink. Tony’s right, she has to be patient. Unfortunately for Nat, Sara was planned to monopolize you all night. Two hours after you arrived but Nat still hasn’t had the chance to at least talk to you. She had to step out.

***

When Nat opened the door to the back of the club, she was surprised to see you leaning casually on the adjacent wall; a bottle of water in hand.

“Took you long enough,” you chirped before opening the bottled water in your hand.

Nat scrunched her eyebrows. “What? How?” she stuttered out.

You smirked at her over the rim of the water bottle. “You’re not the only stealthy one, Tasha,” you said an octave lower than your speaking voice.

Nat bristled, “I thought you were with Sara?” She didn’t even try to hide the edge and tightness in her voice.

“I was then I missed you,” you said earnestly before walking towards her.

You left two feet between you. She didn’t say something for a minute, she just continued to frown at you.

You studied her for a minute before you decided that Nat’s really not in a bad mood. “Aw, are you jealous?”, you teased lightly.

Nat frowned deeper. The blatant ‘no’ is at the tip of her tongue but she didn’t want to lie, not to you; never to you. She held your eye before whispering a breathy, “yes.”

You stood toe-to-toe with her. You cupped her face on both of your hands. Nat held her breathe. “There’s nothing to be jealous about, Tasha.”

Nat couldn’t help it any longer. She pulled you by your hands on her face and wrapped you in a hug. You chuckled before wrapping your arms around her steady shoulders.

“I love you, Y/N,” Nat blurted out.

She expected you to freeze at the mention of the words. After all, you’re both allergic to love but it didn’t come. You stayed relaxed in her arms, and she can feel you smiling over her shoulder. She pulled back a little to look at you.

“I love you too, Tasha,” you said before planting a soft kiss on her cute nose. Nat chuckled, had it been anyone else, she will be annoyed but can’t with you. “Now, let’s go eat. I’m hungry from all that dancing.”

Nat watched you walk out of the alley and into the street for a minute before jogging up to you. “Wait, does this mean you’re my girlfriend now?” you heard her call after you.

“Hurry up or this will be the shortest relationship ever,” you joked.

Nat mocked gasped after catching up to you, just in time for a cab to sidled next to both of you. You were about to reach for the cab door when Nat pulled you back and pulled you in for another bruising kiss.

The cab driver rolled his eyes playfully but waited for both of you nonetheless.

‘Ah! Love’, he thought to himself and smiled.

The kissed lasted for a minute. Only breaking away from each other after the need for air persisted. You peered at Nat’s eyes lovingly. At that moment, on the side of the street with a very patient cab waiting for you, you decided Natasha will be the last woman you’ll ever be with. You’ll make sure of it.

***

Asya let out a soft ‘aww’ and nothing else. You listened to the steady rhythm of her breathing and you knew she has fallen asleep. You smiled down at your little miracle, and just before you could close your eyes your mobile phone vibrated next to you.

Wife: I hope you’re not feeding our daughter junk food. Much. I love you, see you tomorrow.

You: I did not. Much. I miss you, I love you. See you tomorrow. xx

#raven writes #avengers imagine #mcu imagine #natasha romanoff x reader #natasha romanov x reader #natasha romanova x reader #black widow x reader #natasha romanoff x you #natasha romanova x you #natasha romanov x you #black widow x you #natasha romanoff imagine #natasha romanov imagine #natasha romanova imagine #black widow imagine #see you in a minute

207 notes · View notes

hakuogakuen · 4 years

Text

Hakuouki SSL: All Nagakura Emails

EDITED 7/31/20 - reformatted 08/10/2020

Hello! Here are the translations for all emails that Chizuru can receive from Nagakura, as well as a simple method to allow players to identify which email they have received. Primary translation by yuugs and primary proofreading by kuririn, with further contributions by shizuumi, MaiMaiOtome, dei-hime, and a member of the otogelib server who preferred to remain unnamed. Translation begins below the cut!

(above is a simple graphic which that identifies where each character’s emails can be found)

1. うちのクラスに来ねえか！？

Sub: Can't you come to our class!?

Haah, isn't there some way to raise a class's grade average...?

You look smart. I'd be happy if you joined our class.

→ [I'm not all that smart…]

RE: Can't you come to our class!?

If you're just about smart enough

to raise our class average, then that's plenty!

...Well, it's impossible, since you're a first-year, though......

→ [But, I'm a first-year…]

RE: Can't you come to our class!?

O-Oh, yeah, that's right...!

...Yukimura.

On another note,

are you interested in skipping a grade?

2. 女神！ ……じゃなかった雪村君！

Sub: A goddess! ...No, it's Yukimura!

Yukimura!

Thank you so much for earlier!

You really saved my hide...

I'll definitely pay you back some day!

→ [Don't worry about it.]

RE: A goddess! ...No, it's Yukimura!

No, no, even a dog like me won't forget to pay his dues.

If there's anything I can do for you, anything at all, please tell me!

...Oh, but I can't raise your grades, alright?

→ [You can pay me back after you succeed, then.]

RE: A goddess! ...No, it's Yukimura!

Yeah!

...But, is that really alright?

3. いいお嫁さんになれるぜ！

Sub: You'll be a good wife someday!

Yo, Yukimura!

I ate the food you gave me a little while ago, and it was super delicious!

You're also good at cooking, huh?

Don't you think you'll make a good wife someday?

→ [That's a bit too soon to say…]

RE: You'll become a good wife someday!

Really?

You're 15 or 16 right now, right?

Means you're old enough to get married, right?

...Well, I agree that it's a little bit too early, though.

→ [Someone else made that…]

RE: You'll become a good wife someday!

Ahh... Is that right?

I guess Ibuki and the others made it in the back,

and you were just delivering it.

4. 今から追加で飲むぜ！

Sub: I'll drink more from now on!

Phew, I ate a lot.

It was delicious!

Just about my only regret is that I couldn't drink any alcohol.

I couldn't risk embarrassing myself in front of the students.

...That's why, to make up for it,

I'm going to invite Sano out to drink with me after this.

Merry Christmas!

→ [Please be careful not to drink too much…]

RE: I'll drink more from now on!

I know, I know.

I'll watch myself so I don't get a hangover!

→ [Harada-sensei is going too?]

RE: I'll drink more from now on!

I really want to invite you too, but you can't drink alcohol yet.

When you turn 20, I’ll treat you to a night of drinking,

so look forward to it.

5. あけましておめでとう

Sub: Happy New Year

Yukimura, Happy New Year!

Man, visiting the shrine earlier was fun.

There were a lot of people, and it was real lively...

There really is nothing like visiting a shrine

to make you feel truly Japanese!

→ [I was a little embarrassed…]

RE: Happy New Year

Hm?

From when you offered up money?

No, well, I feel like I might've overdone it as well myself, there…

→ [I look forward to working with you again this year.]

RE: Happy New Year

Yeah, same here!

It'll be one more week till the winter break ends...

I wanna see you full of energy after the break's over!

6. 数学を楽しむために

Sub: In order to enjoy math

Hear me out, Yukimura.

I think you know already, but in the school survey the other day,

math was the the most hated subject by a landslide...

After all, math is just grappling with arbitrary numbers in the classroom,

so maybe people get the impression that it's not interesting.

Hmm, is there no way to help people enjoy it...?

→ [Maybe chat with them some more...?]

RE: In order to enjoy math

True, it might be more interesting to mix in

a moderate amount of chatter in class

to break up the continual problem-solving...

All right, I'll do it!

...But, I need to be careful I don't derail things this way…

→ [Maybe let them do some fieldwork...?]

RE: In order to enjoy math

Oh, I see.

Mathematics is a difficult subject to do fieldwork for.

But, surprisingly, things like probability and area

can be found in unexpectedly familiar places.

All right, I'll think about it a bit!

Thanks!

7. 聞いてくれよー

Sub: Please hear me out

Yukimura, hear me outttt (´；ω；`)

I was wearing a brand-new jersey,

when all of a sudden a hole opened up on the knee!

I bought it really cheap, but still, this shouldn't have happened...

→ [That is tragic…]

RE: Please hear me out

Yeah, you said it!

It's written in fine print that they have a no-return policy.

Even if it was half-off, they shouldn't sell something like this!

→ [Shall I fix it for you?]

RE: Please hear me out

S-Seriously!?

If it's really okay, then please do!

Man, girls really are something else!

Yukimura, you'll make a great wife someday!

#hakuouki #hakuoki #hakuouki ssl #nagakura shinpachi #otome #fan translation #emails #updated

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sage-nebula · 4 years

Note

Do you have headcanons about which characters Alan meets in each region?

Brock — I feel like Brock would be a very good friend for Alan to have. They’re the same age in canon (15), which makes them peers, and aside from that Brock has a very soothing, nurturing nature, which is exactly the kind of friend that Alan needs after everything that happens with Flare. This is especially true since while Brock is kind, his kindness is true kindness in that he’s also firm when he needs to be, i.e. he’s not an enabler of untrue, self-deprecating thoughts. If Alan tried to blame himself for things that weren’t his fault, Brock would put a stop to that right quick, ripping the shovel from his hands and refusing to let him dig himself deeper. That said, I honestly imagine their meeting would be by chance; perhaps Alan goes to Professor Oak’s lab to run an errand for Sycamore and ends up hearing about how a couple of the Gym Leaders in Kanto have mastered Mega Evolution, and so he decides to check that out on his own before returning to Kalos, and that’s how he meets Brock. But either way, I think it’d be a good friendship for him and one that’d last for years.

Gary — I mentioned this in another post, but Alan and Gary already have so much in common that I just think it’d be neat to see them interact. They’re both nerds who care a lot about pokémon, they both love battling, they were both raised by regional professors, and so on and so forth. Mega Charizard X vs. Mega Blastoise Round II would also be really interesting to see. Though their areas of study are different, I think they’d have a lot to talk about, and the fact that they’re both fond of fieldwork would also be another point in favor of the two of them meeting. If Alan did that errand to Oak’s lab that I mentioned above, this could easily be how he meets Gary, who is perhaps home from his own travels for a little while.

Professor Oak — I mean, let’s just continue this “running an errand to Oak’s” thing, which means that he obviously meets Professor Oak. Alan is a studious young man who’s quite experienced in taking care of pokémon and I think Oak would appreciate that. I don’t think they’d get particularly close, both being focused on the research end of things (and Oak not being one to poach other professor’s assistants, generally), but they’d get along well enough, particularly since I’m sure Alan has a lot of respect for Oak given all his accomplishments in the field.

Tracey — RESURRECT TRACEY SKETCHITT 2020. Honestly, Tracey is Oak’s assistant and so it’s completely bewildering why he is nowhere in sight ever the few times we’re allowed to actually go to Oak’s ranch in the anime. In my world, though, he’s there, and while obviously Oak is his hero I imagine that he’s also very curious about Sycamore’s research as well and would probably jump at the chance to ask Alan all sorts of questions about it, and would be even more excited to draw pictures of Lizardon. Alan would be very happy to let Tracey draw pictures of Lizardon because it gets Tracey out of his personal space bubble and to stop asking him rapid-fire questions. (He doesn’t mind Tracey, but Tracey is very enthusiastic when it comes to gaining knowledge and that would make Alan feel kind of on-the-spot and uncomfortable.)

Delia — When what he has to do at Oak’s ends up having to run into another day (or another couple days), Delia, who happened to be visiting at the time and recognizes Alan as one of Ash’s friends (because Ash told her about him and showed him the picture that was taken of everyone at Sycamore’s lab) “invites” Alan to stay the night, and by “invites” I mean “insists” and so he gets a home cooked meal and a nice place to sleep (in Ash’s room) and also gets mothered for the first time ever in his life. Like, Sycamore is his dad, obviously, and Fulbert was his grouchy uncle, but both of those things aren’t quite exactly the same thing as having a mom, especially one who (though she won’t say it) knows you’ve been through a lot recently and can tell you’re still kind of going through it and so makes extra sure to give you a warm hug when you leave and also a bento with lunch and an extra pack of sweets to take with you. (And when he tries to apologize to her for putting Ash in so much danger she won’t hear of it because Ash told her that Alan saved him multiple times and that’s all that matters to her.) Alan won’t think of her as “mom,” of course, because he’s only known her a couple days and she most definitely is not his mom, but he does wonder, when she hugs him, if that’s what being hugged by a mother feels like, and it sticks with him for a while. All in all, Alan likes Delia, although he and Lizardon both don’t know how they feel about Delia calling Lizardon “Li-Li.”

And wow, this is getting really long, so all the rest (and there are a lot more) are going under a cut!

Misty — Because if Alan goes to Pewter Gym to battle Brock due to Mega Evolution, then of course when Brock tells Alan that the Cerulean City Gym Leader has also mastered Mega Evolution, he’s going to go there as well. Given that they both get pretty fired up for battles, Alan and Misty would get along pretty well right off the bat. Misty would be particularly interested in battling (and beating) him since she knows that he beat Ash at the Kalos League, and as much as she loves Ash, she wants to be able to have that one over on him because they’re rivals just as much as they’re best friends. Unfortunately, this battle doesn’t go so well, because when Alan learns that Misty’s Mega Evolution partner is a Gyarados, that gives both him and Lizardon trauma flashbacks pretty much right away. They both try to shake it off, but Brock can tell something’s off and all but insists they stop the match . . . which neither Alan or Misty are really happy with, but, well. Alan can’t say he’s exactly upset to see Mega Gyarados go back in its ‘ball.

Casey — She ends up being the Johto Champion, so of course he meets her (and in specific they meet as Champions). Alan and Casey don’t really talk very much because they don’t really have anything in common. She’s not interested in “nerd stuff” like his research and he has 0% interest in baseball (when she mentions The Electabuzz he legitimately thinks she’s talking about the species of pokémon and has no idea why she’s so offended when he says he’s never heard of the sports team). Casey does get on really well with Manon, though, since the two have very similar energy, even though Manon also knows nothing about baseball. (She does know how to join Casey in making fun of Alan’s “nerd stuff” while he rolls his eyes, though, so there is that.)

Morty & Eusine — Counting these two together as they should be. I don’t think this would be a long-lasting relationship by any means, but I could imagine a scenario where Alan travels to Ecruteak City to learn more about the legends there since he’s interested, and he goes to Morty to learn about them, and Eusine either happens to already be there or barges in while the two are talking, and the second he hears that Alan has some interest in Suicune (and that Alan has interest in hearing about Eusine’s findings once he learns that Eusine is the Ultimate Expert On Suicune™ (according to Eusine himself), well. Alan regrets asking only 30 minutes into that 4 hour lecture. Morty leaves partway through and brings back some tea for them to share because, well. Alan really did it now, didn’t he.

Lance & Clair — In a timeline where Alan studies his heritage (and learns that his heritage links back to the Blackthorn dragon clan), he meets both of them. He might meet Lance in a standard timeline anyway since Lance is always vying for Kanto’s Champion seat and held it before Ash did, but nonetheless he wouldn’t get on with either of them, honestly. Clair has an imperious attitude and is prone to fits of temper when she doesn’t get her way, which would annoy Alan, and Lance can be pretty arrogant and his sense of morality often clashes with Alan’s own. On the flipside, Clair would think Alan an upstart brat who has no right to think he could be on her level, while Lance would find Alan naive and foolhardy. So while they hail from the same clan (albeit distantly, in Alan’s case), they would not consider each other friends, let alone any kind of family.

Wallace — Alan is friends with Steven, and Steven is dating / engaged / married to Wallace, so it’s pretty inevitable the two would meet. I think they’d get along well enough in the few times they were around each other, but honestly they wouldn’t see / talk to each other enough to have any kind of real relationship.

Zinnia — In my head my Delta Episode AU 100% happens and they meet and bond through that when Zinnia tries to mug him for his Key Stone, fails, but then actually succeeds in stealing Sycamore’s Key Stone and so Alan goes tearing after her to get it back. This whole thing culminates in Zinnia revealing to Alan what Devon Corp has been doing with Infinity Energy (which puts a severe strain on his friendship with Steven, very nearly shattering the trust between them, and it takes a long time to heal), and Alan helping Zinnia summon Rayquaza despite his own trauma associated with it and also riding with her into space to help Rayquaza + pulling her off the great sky dragon at the last second so they can be caught by their dragons and both survive. (In other words: Unlike how the actual Delta Episode played out, Zinnia does not have her thunder stolen here. She is the one who summons Rayquaza, teaches it Dragon Ascent, and carries out her destiny as Lorekeeper. Alan just helps her survive the experience, even though they both still almost die, and end up laughing hysterically about it on the roof of the Sky Pillar because, after falling from space and almost dying, what else is there to do?) Their relationship definitely gets off on a rocky start due to the mugging and theft and Zinnia’s habit of being deliberately vague about important things and also talking in circles to avoid answering questions directly (not to mention that Zinnia knows that Alan is friends with Steven and figures, at first, that he must therefore be like Steven in all the ways Zinnia dislikes, such as using pokémon as a means to an end and not caring about lives that he can’t see), but after getting to know each other through the journey to save two universes from a giant Deoxys-infested meteor, they come to a mutual understanding and end up realizing they’re something of kindred spirits. Even though they can still be prone to teasing and bickering whenever their paths cross again after that, there’s also a very deep foundation of trust that can only be gained when you realize you have met your match in attempts to sacrifice yourself for the sake of the world in death-defying stunts that you will never, ever learn your lesson from no matter how many times you tell the people who care about you that you have most definitely learned it this time, you promise. (Not that Zinnia has many of those people left, but she does have her grandmother and others from the Draconid clan, plus she now also has Alan, so. There’s that. Also, no, she and Steven never, ever come to like each other, and Alan does his best to hang out / talk with each of them separately to save himself the headache of trying to mediate.)

Cynthia — She’s the Champion of Sinnoh, so obviously he meets her once he becomes Champion himself, and given that they’re both nerds they get along pretty well as a result. I think I’ve talked about this before, that she kind of becomes like a Cool Aunt for him, in that they can talk about legends and mythos and go on ancient ruins explorations together. Like if one of them discovers some ancient ruins, they’ll send the other a message to see if they want to go spelunking together and the answer is almost always yes. The only times Alan doesn’t appreciate spending time with Cynthia are the times when she teams up with Steven to try to “improve his wardrobe” because Steven and Cynthia are the designated Fashion Icons of the Champion Squad and both think it’s “such a shame” that Alan doesn’t care much about clothes. Otherwise, though, he gets along great with Cynthia and is always happy to have a new message from her.

Tobias — Alan doesn’t actually know Tobias, in that he never got Tobias’ name and probably wouldn’t recognize him again if he saw him on the street (and vice versa), but it’s my headcanon that the first time Alan and Lizardon ever successfully used Mega Evolution, it was in a battle against Tobias. They still ended up losing the match (I mean, the man has a team of legendaries, there’s only so much anyone can do), but given that they successfully used Mega Evolution for the first time, Alan and Lizardon still considered it a victory overall.

Iris — Iris becomes Unova’s Champion, obviously, but I’d like to think that they actually met before that, when Iris traveled to Kalos as part of her training (and the cameo episodes that she DESERVED but NEVER ACTUALLY GOT), and Iris saw Lizardon and got so excited because cute dragon!!! and as a result introduced herself. She makes a remark about how she knows that Charizard isn’t actually a dragon-type, and then Alan tells her about the X form of Mega Evolution and she decides to write Ash a letter right then and there telling him that he was WRONG and she was RIGHT and he should STUDY MORE, MAYBE, or something along those lines. Anyway, I like to think that they battle (with Iris using her Dragonite, or perhaps Haxorus if Axew has evolved by that point), and perhaps even run off some criminals / protect the lab together, or some such. You know, bonding time. Iris and Alan get along pretty well given that they both love dragons and enjoy battling and adventure. She’s the one who always most appreciates when Alan posts pictures of Lizardon into the Champion messenger.

Emma — So this one is sort of an AU idea, considering that much of Alan’s story was clearly based on Emma’s story from the XY postgame, and as such it makes sense to think that they might not exist in the same world. But I love the idea that they were, perhaps, childhood friends; they both would have grown up in Lumiose City, after all, and I could imagine them having a sort of odd friendship over the years, wherein Emma teases Alan for always having his nose in a book or wanting to study and do homework, while Alan just wants to research in peace, and all the while Sycamore is trying to encourage Alan to make friends. Emma, I like to imagine, would have been adopted by Looker around age 7, so they didn’t get to know each other for too long before she was whisked away with her own adoptive parent. But perhaps they met again at the Summer Camp, and perhaps years later Emma — now running the Lumiose branch of the Looker Bureau — helps uncover evidence that gets the police off Alan’s back for the Flare incident somehow. I think it could be a sweet relationship for them. (Alternatively, I’ve also imagined an AU where perhaps she’s his younger biological sister, despite them being roughly the same age canonically, in that his biological parents had another child a little while after abandoning him and decided to keep this one. This AU is more sad because Alan wants nothing to do with his biological parents, and he wouldn’t consider Emma his sister even if they were related by DNA, so I don’t like it as much. It’s still one I’ve considered, though, since design-wise they still look pretty similar and, as I said, they’ve got quite a bit in common even if there are notable differences.)

Louie — We actually do see these two interact in TSME 1, as well as the Kalos League, so this isn’t a headcanon per se. What is headcanon is that Louie considers Alan to be His Rival, while Alan — despite his eidetic memory — always forgets Louie exists the moment they’re done battling. I actually like to think that perhaps they met at the Summer Camp, too, and that they got off on the wrong foot perhaps because Louie was envious that Alan, a kid like him, was Sycamore’s assistant, and Alan got irrationally upset when Louie said that he’d be a much more deserving assistant and would prove it (irrationally because Sycamore would never kick Alan out for another kid, and Alan should theoretically know better at age 10, but also Alan was a child who was already abandoned once and also abused before Sycamore found him so maybe we can give him a pass on this one), and so they spent the whole three day camp hating each other. But then after the camp, Alan forgot about him. And when they met years later and battled, Alan didn’t recognize him (even though Louie DID recognize Alan), and then Alan forgot him again. And Louie felt he’d have his revenge at the League . . . but of course, he didn’t win, and also Alan didn’t know who he was. All in all, this video is a perfect summary of how Louie feels about Alan vs. how Alan feels about Louie.

Hau: Alola’s Champion in the future, and that’s how the two meet. Hau and Alan are pretty neutral toward each other. They have very different energies (Alan is quiet but not laidback, while Hau can be loud but is very laidback), and while this doesn’t make them dislike each other, it also means that they generally don’t talk very much outside of necessary business / the occasional exchange in the Champion messenger. It’s like a very coworker relationship between the two of them, even though they aren’t exactly coworkers. (And before anyone gets in a tizzy, in my headcanon Ash becomes Kanto’s Champion, so no, I’m not “demoting” Ash, please relax.)

The rest of the Alola people he would know I’m leaving out because I wrote those relationships before the games were even released, much less the anime, and so they ended up VERY different from canon. And while I could write in canon-accurate relationships, it’s honestly hard for me to shake what I’d already created out of my head, so it’s just . . . not something that I’d really want to fight with. So if you’re curious about Alan’s relationship with the Aether family, Aether employees, etc, that can go in a separate ask, and will be specific to my Alola AU (which, again, has characterizations from before the games were released even, so the Aether family isn’t IC in it, among other things that I just plain got wrong from the trailers, but whatever, it is what it is). That said, I will say that the comment about “poaching assistants” that I made in Oak’s section was actually kind of a reference to my Alola AU, in which the idea is that after the big climax, Kukui tries to “poach” Alan by inviting him to come be his assistant, because hey, he’s got a pretty impressive resume (and also Ash told Kukui about Alan and especially about all the newfound trauma he has as a result of the Aether AU and asked Kukui if Alan could come stay with them for a while). Alan can be Kukui’s research assistant and also a student teacher at the school and roomies with Ash, it’ll be great. He actually does this right in front of Sycamore, which Sycamore thinks is pretty rude, but when Sycamore asks him about it later Kukui’s like “it was Ash’s idea” and shrugs because he’s got no stakes in this tbqh. (Yeah, I didn’t characterize Kukui completely accurately either because I was working with pre-release info, let me live.) As for whether Alan would say “yes” or not . . . well, we’ll just have to see (I say as if I’ll ever finish that fic this century).

Leon — Galar’s Champion, and as I’ve talked about before I think they’d definitely be friends, plus a little extra, (also they love each other). They’re both Charizard specialists, they both love battling with all their hearts, they love traveling and exploring, they know what it is to have a lot of responsibility foisted upon them at young ages, they’re both very protective of others, valiant and brave, so on and so forth, I’ve already talked about this in another post, haha. They meet as Champions, hit it off immediately, and the relationship forms from there.

Hop — Hop has a tendency to hang around Leon, so I imagine that Alan would meet Hop when he meets Leon. He and Hop don’t talk / interact much after that, really, but Hop and Manon do become rivals, both in whose big brother think they is the best, as well as in battling and the like as well. Just like Alan and Leon are very similar, so are Hop and Manon. I definitely enjoyed the similarities in the Galar games, I won’t lie.

Sonia — I do imagine that Leon would introduce Alan to his friends, which would include Sonia, but at the same time I could also see Alan and Sonia meeting because, like the situation with Gary, they have some commonalities in their backstory. Sonia wasn’t raised by Professor Magnolia, exactly, but clearly her grandmother was a steady presence in her life and she decided to be her assistant. Of course, she ends up taking over the practice by the time she and Alan meet in their 20s, but nonetheless, all that means is that they’re both nerds who would enjoy talking about their research together, and even though Sonia isn’t as big on battling, that wouldn’t stop she and Alan from having a nice friendship and comparing research notes on the differences between Dynamax particles and Mega Evolution energy.

Raihan — As I said, Leon introduces Alan to his friends, and Raihan is still his best friend and rival even though they are also ex-boyfriends. I think that Alan and Raihan would really enjoy battling against one another, would definitely respect each other as trainers, and hey, they both love dragons, so that’s another thing in common. But Raihan is also a social media influencer whose Rotomphone is always snapping pictures, while Alan highly values his privacy and basically isn’t even on social media outside of a rarely updated Instagram that’s purely pictures of scenery and also occasionally Lizardon, never himself. So how they each tend to exist in public spaces is something that puts them at fundamental odds (Alan doesn’t want to be in the pictures and is kind of annoyed, honestly, by the constant snapping of the camera; Raihan thinks Alan is comparable to a caveman for not being on social media and not liking it). They don’t dislike each other, per se, but they also don’t tend to hang out much at all, and when they do it tends to be in small doses (particularly on Alan’s end, given how introverted he is compared to Raihan’s extroversion; Raihan wears him out).

Bede — I’m actually not sure how these two would meet, but while I played through the SwSh games, Bede’s devotion to doing whatever he had to in orde to help Rose achieve his goal (all the while being manipulated into doing so, albeit by Oleana rather than Rose) felt uncomfortably familiar, and I think if Alan was made aware of that he’d try to steer Bede away from that and would definitely not be friendly at all to Oleana. Of course, the primary difference between them is that Bede is a snotty brat while Alan is not and never was, so Bede would not want to listen to Alan at all, and Alan’s help would thus fall on deaf ears. But he’d still try, even as Manon would personally be of the opinion that, hey, maybe Bede is just an annoying jerk and you should just ignore him. (Bede would pick on her just as much as he picks on Hop and so she would not like him one bit. And honestly, Alan’s not too fond of him either, but that doesn’t mean he wants to see another kid manipulated and used like he once was. You don’t get a pass out of doing the right thing just because you don’t like someone, in Alan’s eyes. And that sense of justice and want to do good is really annoying in Manon’s (particularly as she gets older), but is also one of the key things that made her like him so much to begin with, so it’s like. She doesn’t want him to change, but also, Bede is really annoying and mean, though.)

Chairman Rose — Since Alan would participate in tournaments in Galar, and also since he’s Leon’s Special Someone, of course he’d end up meeting Rose at some point. To be honest, Alan wouldn’t trust Rose right off the bat. The fact that a megacorporation owns and runs everything in Galar, including the League, wouldn’t sit right with Alan and he’d be suspicious of it. This is especially true considering that Fleur-De-Lis Labs held considerable influence in Kalos (and look what happened), and Devon Corporation still holds considerable influence in Hoenn (and look what they do re: Infinity Energy). But the thing about Rose is that he’s a natural fit for the public eye and is legitimately a philanthropist / humanitarian, and he’d brush off any distrust that Alan has and always be cordial with him, and over time with him not doing anything wrong to anyone and Leon’s assurances that Rose is all right, Alan would relax around him. A little. Bit by bit. Look, he has a lot of trust issues, okay? He’s hypervigilant. And it doesn’t help that Rose’s second-in-command is, well . . .

Oleana — Oh ho ho these two would not get along at all. While Rose is genuinely friendly and likes talking to people and enjoys battling etc, Oleana is all business and, on top of that, she decides to make some of her business manipulating and using a literal child to do her bidding and then throws him away like used garbage when he goes too far on her orders. To most people she’s cold, calculating, and ruthless (and I say “most people” because she shows the most warmth toward Rose and even that’s not too much). And like, that bit’s fine, she can be how she wants to be, but when she uses and manipulates a child and then discards him like trash, that gets under Alan’s skin. And the thing is, Oleana doesn’t care about that. What she does care about is that she has, of course, done her research on Alan, and she knows that he is Very Likely to interfere with Rose’s plans if he finds out about them, given his past actions (and I believe she’d be of the opinion that he bit the hand that fed when it came to turning against Lysandre, and she’s the type who might bring that up in an argument against him so oh boy), and she’s not about to have that. (To that end, him being around Leon so much, when Rose needs Leon for Eternatus? Hmm. She doesn’t like that.) So there would definitely be a strong and mutual dislike between them, even if they Keep It Together during public events, and Rose and Leon either don’t notice or pretend not to because, well, they’re keeping it civil and don’t have to be around each other for long, so it’s fine, right? Right??

. . . oh boy.

#like don't get me wrong Oleana wouldn't have agreed with Lysandre's plans AT ALL and would be glad the genocide was stopped #but also loyalty is a HUGE part of her characterization and clearly something she values very highly #given the way that she sticks by Rose No Matter What after he believes in & listens to her #so Alan NOT doing that for the man who gave him the means to Mega Evolution the first time around? she'd look down on him for that #also just in general she Knows he will interfere if he finds out Rose's plans and she Won't Have That No Sir #if she has to kick him off the top of Rose Tower or w/e it was called then so be it #if it's for the Chairman it's Justified #(it's really not but try telling her that. she will not cede)#pokemon #trainer alan #trainer alain #champion alan #there are too many other characters here for me to tag #it's a LOT people #and it's late and my hands hurt so #i'm not tagging them all for now #Anonymous

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