#kids who are closer in age to their aunt/uncle then their parent is check

[doueverwonder]

actually Ari and William have the same relationship as me and my uncle who was nine when I was born.

[xoxoskai]

REMIARI (AND EVERY COULD'VE BEEN)

RemiAri's book would 100% be called Goddess of Chaos.

Unedited cuz your girl is lazy doesn't have time.

For Nyxie.

Ariella Nash first notices Remi Astor when he's bawling his eyes out.

Silver decided to swing by the Astor mansion with her girls to check on the youngest Astor after he dislocated his knee during a game.

With her mother preoccupied and her sister following the oldest King around, Ariella sits by the window, bored out of her mind.

"Baby Nash, pass me that"

Ariella slants a look at the only heir to the Astor Empire and suddenly pities her Aunt Teal a lot.

Her gaze finally catches the basketball lying near her feet that Remington is making grabby fingers (she thought he was too old to do something like that) towards.

"You're bedridden and have been advised to take intensive care. Two hairline fractures mean you shouldn't exert yourself anymore"

Of course, she doesn't say any of it to him as she picks the ball up and throws it without a care.

So, maybe she should have cared a bit. If the crunch sound was any indication.

He groans in frustration, hands slapping over the hurt and Ariella will feel guilty about it later when she finds out she slightly disfigured his nose but for now, she thinks it's not that bad until she hears him sniffle.

"Oh my God! Are you crying?"

Remington Astor hates that he's crying. In front of a 14 y/o no less.

"It's a natural reaction to getting hit in the face, kid"

He peeks through his hands and realizes she's moved a lot closer than he thought. Infact, she's standing right above him.

"Does it hurt a lot?"

"Of course it does! This is the nose of an aristocrat, and you might have broken it"

"My condolences"

The deadpan way in which she delivers her sarcasm has Remi speechless.

Eyebrows scrunched, bed hair and teary eyed, Ariella blinks at him before she leans closer.

"You're kinda pretty when you cry"

He frowns.

She smiles.

It cannot be a good sign.

And so, it begins. Ariella Nash's biggest obsession.

At first, she's just messing with him to see what kind of reactions she can get from him. A whole lot, she finds out.

Initially, Cole finds the prospect funny and helps his daughter in messing with the Astor. It's only until Silver has to spell it out for him that Ariella has a crush on him that even she hasn't recognized yet and suddenly the idea isn't as hilarious as it was.

"It'll go away" Silver tries to reassure him.

Checking the magazine in his gun, Cole shrugs "Or I can make him go away."

Remington is tired of having his friend's little sister show up everywhere and sabotaging his chances with other girls whenever he's home.

So, he stops announcing his visits home. He tries to visit his parents as discreetly as possible.

Only for Ariella to be at the dinner table, eyes twinkling, the image of complete innocence as she acts surprised.

"I was just visiting Uncle Ronan and Aunt Teal!" She tries telling him, following him up the stairs to his room after dinner.

Remi doesn't believe her. He's making plans to screw Ava over who probably rat him out for when he refused to spy on his cousin for her.

"Sure, you were"

"Either way, boy I'm glad I chose today cuz imagine I missed running into you"

She's waggling her eyebrows at him, and Remi stops in his tracks, turning to face the girl who was an entire foot shorter than him.

"Ariella. Out of respect for your parents, especially your dad who loves cleaning his guns whenever I come over, I'm going to tell you this for the last time" Pausing for effect, Remi continues when Ariella's playful smile drops "Whatever notion you have in your head about us, kill it. Find someone more appropriate for your age"

Chewing the inside of her cheek, her lips pulled into a sulky pout, Ariella asks "You don't want to hang out with me because I'm 14?"

"I knew they crossed over Ava, but you have smart genes after all" Lightly patting her head as a mockery, Remi moves to open the door to his room.

Leaving a frowning Ariella behind.

Remi doesn't see much of her after that.

Ariella never stops looking at him.

It's virtually impossible when he's so close. When their families are so close. When she sees him even if she does not want to.

Remi is relieved. Minus a follow from her on Instagram and a heart emoji on his pictures sometimes, Ariella keeps to herself. For the most part.

She would not harm any of his flings or dates. Not directly at least. And not for the lack of trying. Being underage meant she couldn't enter any of the clubs, but it didn't stop her from paying people to get stuff done.

Toying with belongings, keying their cars or spray painting them, nothing truly malicious or irreversible, just petty.

Remi figured she wouldn't directly harm him, so he made it a point to pick up all his dates in his car, hold their stuff for them and drop them home. Infact, he would've thanked Ariella for all the extra points it won him to do that.

Ariella retaliated by drawing a :p on the side mirror of his car with a sharpie after that.

But then, Remi misses her 18th birthday party.

Ariella leaves her own party to go sabotage whatever fun Remi was having.

She's undeterred at the chaos ensuing at his place, stomping around the place looking for him. When she can't find him, she goes up to the DJ, unplugs the music till Remi comes looking for the disturbance himself.

"Baby Nash, what the fuck?"

He's shirtless, his hair is disheveled and he's wearing shades indoors. He's never looked more perfect.

"I've waited four years for you, Remington Astor" Ariella tells him, the crowd silent as the words float over them to him "I refuse to wait any longer"

Cole and Ronan are both bothered. Ronan is worried for his son. Cole is worried what he might end up doing to Ronan's son.

Remi is truly thankful he's graduating. Unfortunately for him, Ariella chooses to go to university in the city.

Ariella might as well get an internship at King Enterprises for all the time she spends over there.

Remi might like his job, enjoy it even (he's great at delegating his own work) if a certain hellion didn't show up routinely just to "spend time with him".

Soon, her own workload takes over and Ariella's visits are shorter and briefer. So much so that if Remi times it well, he can skip bumping into her at all.

"She's in the States" Ava provides without him even asking "Some fancy mentorship program at NASA"

"She's a STEM student?"

"Yep. She's smarter than everyone sitting here on this table"

Landon says something in retaliation, but Remi has already tuned him out realizing he didn't really know the youngest Nash like he thought he did.

Ariella cannot believe her father signed her up for this and even though she loves the opportunity and being a scientist is her dream goal (apart from marrying Remi), she thinks she's facing withdrawals from not having seen Remi in so long.

"Oh relax" Her mentor rolls his eyes, flicking the test tube in her hand to gain her attention "Nothing is going to happen to him in six months"

"You don't know that"

"It's true. I don't" He shrugs "But what I do know is that your burner should've been turned off 30 seconds ago"

"Shoot!" Frantically taking the beaker off the stove, Ariella is running it under the water as she makes faces at her mentor.

Working with Jayden Adler is a chore Ariella reluctantly commits herself to because his brilliance was unmatched and even she was aware.

If him guessing she was lovesick ten minutes into meeting her was any indication.

"Miss me?" She asks Remi one fateful Tuesday afternoon that she flew in to surprise him when she couldn't take it anymore.

Remi shuts the door in her face.

"Oh c'mon!" She bangs at the door till he opens it "Really? You're not even going to ask me how I've been?"

Remi holds back what he really wants to say and leans against the door "Baby Nash, to ask I'd have to care"

"You do care" Remi holds his breath because for one second, he believes she read his mind "In that big heart of yours, you care about everyone"

"It would seem you don't know me as well as you thought"

"Wanna bet?"

Remi is actually terrified of losing that bet.

And so, divine intervention helps him.

When the girl he was entertaining before Ariella conveniently cockblocked them calls for him, it's like a switch flips and she immediately shuts down.

"Well then" She's taking a step back and instead of feeling relieved, he's slightly annoyed and then alarmed at his own reaction "I should go see my parents. I'll see you around"

Remi watches her go before shutting the door.

Ariella coming to see him before she went home...does things to him.

Things he does not want to delve into.

Next time he sees Ariella, she's flown in for Ava's wedding.

"Look. I love you, Ava. I really do. But you have to tell me if something's going on, okay? Dad's probably not even coming to the wedding, and this is all too rushed. If something's up, you said you'd always tell me"

"Ari, nothing's up. I love him and I'm marrying him"

"You look like it's your funeral, Ava. I don't know who you're trying to fool"

"Bitch. Did you just say the bride isn't looking radiant?"

Remi is about to announce himself after conveniently eavesdropping the entire time, but Ariella laughs and he stands arrested, listening for a moment longer before he snaps out of it.

"You look positively hideous" Remi provides and it's like a kick to the gut to see Ariella light up like the sun after a cloudy day.

"You, on the other hand-" She moves closer to him, and whispers "-look positively ravishing"

"That is positively inappropriate"

"So, you liked it then?"

Remi has to stop himself from smiling so he turns his attention to Ava, shouldering past Ariella to hug his friend.

Of course, Ava put him on groomsmen duties to walk her sister of all people down the aisle.

"Practice" Ariella mouths to him with a wink.

Remi is scared of turning his back to Cole but thankfully, Cole is more preoccupied with Ava at the moment to notice.

When he offers his arm to Ariella, she cannot stop smiling.

"Ours should be bigger" she tells him when he starts leading her down the aisle.

Remi, who knows in general that his wedding would be the biggest wedding of the century, hums along in agreement.

"I'm not sure my wife would want you to be her bridesmaid, Ari"

"Well, I'd expect not. Unless she wants a "Fiancé runs away with bridesmaid night before wedding" headline on her wedding day"

"You're awfully confident I'll run away with you"

"No" They reach the dais and she's letting his arm go so she can take her place "I'm just confident you'll be mine. Come hell or highwater"

Remi has to be pulled aside by Brandon from where he stood arrested in the middle of the dais after that.

Ariella is basically attached to him by the hip for the reception. So much so that he can smell her lemon and citrus shampoo hours later.

During a mandatory luncheon with all their parents at the Astors mansion, Ariella finds Remi shooting hoops in the backyard where his parents had a basketball court built for him.

"Five free-throws. If I win, you go on a date with me"

Remi, poised for a three-pointer almost missteps when he hears that before laughing.

"You're crazy"

"For you. But we've established that"

Remi makes the shot, misses and turns to see Ariella taking off her heels. Something about her knowing not to ruin the wooden flooring scrapes on the inside of his ribs. Remi doesn't want to find out what it is.

"C'mon" She makes grabby fingers at the ball he's holding, and he should find it ridiculous.

Standing in a blue halter dress that complimented her eyes, barefoot in his basketball court, hair flowing and an entire head shorter than him, he should've found the notion ridiculous. He doesn't.

"I'm not going on a date with you, Ariella"

"You were almost drafted into the NBA. And you're scared of losing to little ol' moi?"

The chances were looking really good for him. But he didn't put Ariella above dark forces and black magic.

"So?"

"What do I get if I win?" He's dribbling the ball around, Ariella turning in his direction as he moved about like he was the sun, and she was the earth revolving around him.

"What do you want?"

Remi opens his mouth, answer on the ready like he'd been waiting his entire life, but Ariella interrupts him "You can't make me leave you alone so asking for that is fruitless"

"There's nothing I gain from this, then" Remi gets into position to shoot a half-court shot.

"I would do anything for you"

Remi makes the shot.

"Have at it then" he tells her, trying to do anything to dissipate the charged tension they were pulled into because of her words.

How could she say things like that so casually to him?

It didn't matter. He would win and he'd ask her to comply with a restraining order or something if that's what it would take to keep her away.

And he needed her away. Desperately.

When Ariella takes position and on instinct Remi notices her perfect stance, he's scared he's made a mistake he cannot recover from.

It ends in a tie. 5-5.

"Couldn't you have made a mistake?" She's pouting as she puts on her heels.

"You could've told me you were preparing for the NBA yourself"

"I'm not on your level, yet. Jayden plays and we would go out and shoot sometimes during breaks"

"Who's Jayden?"

Ariella pauses buckling and looks up, grinning "Are you jealous? You don't have to be. He's my mentor"

"I'm not jealous. If you want to marry him, I'll even catch the bouquet at your wedding. You have my full blessings"

"He's cute but I'll pass" Remi almost dents the basketball from how hard his fingers are pressing into it "Blondes aren't my type" She rises to her full height, still only reaching his chin "Brunettes are"

"I, on the other hand, love blondes"

"I'll make an appointment at the salon before our date"

"Good God, Ariella. We're not going on a date"

"But I won."

"I won too."

"What do you want?"

Remi thinks it's crazy how fast the answer comes to him. An answer that couldn't be beaten out of him.

So, he does what he's best at. Deviation.

He hates that she pulls it off. When she enters the cafe, looking for him, Remi thinks he's an idiot that he didn't just make her go bald instead. Maybe that would stop him from finding her cute. Maybe he shouldn't have shown up. He blamed his own curiosity.

"So? Aren't I pulling it off? I nearly gave Mom a heart attack and Ava laughed for a solid hour, but you asked for it so here we are"

Remi fails to answer as Ariella puts her purse down, her bowl cut swaying a little as she sits down and faces him.

It's insanity. The little hellion stalker actually manages to pull it off.

And he thought she couldn't get cuter.

"It's perfectly disastrous" He can tell he hurt her with that as she quickly turns to call for the waiter. And because his parents raised him better than that, he's doing instant damage control "But you pull it off, yes"

Her face snaps back to him and when she notices he's being sincere, she smiles "My treat. What do you wanna eat?"

When they've placed their orders, Ariella reaches into her bag and procures a small box "I got something made for you, but I never got a chance to give it to you before"

She pushes it toward him, and Remi is almost scared to open the black velvet box.

"Relax, it's not an engagement ring"

"With you. I'd expect nothing less"

"You want to get engaged?" When Remi shoots her a glare, she smiles cheekily "I'll wait till you propose. Besides, I want the sapphire Great Aunt Charlotte wears"

"That's a family heirloom so chances of you getting that is...none"

"When I asked her for it, she said it's mine if I marry her grandson"

"So, you want to marry me for my heirlooms?"

"Yessir"

Remi tries to hold it in, he really does but he ends up laughing at her response and Ariella lights up like fireworks. He thinks she looks cute with her doe eyes twinkling.

He sobers up at the thought completely, Ariella's expression falling with his.

"Why won't you smile at me?" She asks.

And despite what his father taught him, Remi cannot let his heart break for her.

He opens the box. Inside lie two cufflinks, in the shape of a basketball but blue in color.

Remi shuts the box.

"Thanks" he says.

He doesn't take it.

He feels the walls closing in on him.

"This is stupid" He gets up suddenly, pulling his wallet out and slapping enough bills on the table to cover the cheque.

"Wait-" Ariella grabs the box that Remi left behind before following him out to his car in the parking lot.

"What happened? What did I do?" She's asking as she follows him, but Remi just walks faster, resisting the urge to run.

"Ariella. I don't want to do this with you. You're just forcing my hand. I don't see you that way" He whirls at her and she bumps into his chest.

"But why?" She recovers in record time, rubbing her nose, eyes troubled and brows drawn together.

"Because!" Remi can't say anything else because he's too busy noticing how big and blue Ariella Nash's eyes are. They aren't light-almost transparent. They are a deep, translucent blue. Like the sea being viewed from under water.

"You said you didn't want to spend time with me before because I was 14. Now, I'm not!"

"You're still a child"

"I'm almost 21!"

"And I'm 27, Ariella. There are other things more worthwhile you can do with your time instead of following a guy around. Especially one that's not interested in you. It's unbecoming"

She looks like he slapped her. With what he said, he might as well have.

Her entire demeanor shuts down. She slams the box she's still holding atop his car roof.

"I'm a Nash" She tells him "And I won't beg"

She leaves him standing in the parking lot as she gets into her car and leaves.

She also leaves him alone after that.

So much so that Remi starts getting jittery.

If there was something Ronan always taught him, it's to never treat a lady with disrespect.

Remi tries justifying it as Ariella forcing his hand. It doesn't work.

He reminds himself ten thousand times that she's too young for him.

He reminds himself that Cole nearly drowned Eli when Ava asked to marry him.

He reminds himself he can have anyone he wants.

It. Does. Not. Work.

"thisisstupidthisisstupidthisisstupidthisisstupidthisisstupid" He's muttering to himself as he waits for Ariella outside her university gates.

At first, he almost misses Ariella because she's cut her hair even shorter and into a bob that reaches her chin with forehead bangs.

But he almost misses her because she's talking to a guy who could be her professor but they're laughing together, and Remi has to cross his arms to avoid doing something crazy like throwing something at the guy.

She's wildly gesturing with her arms, her face animated and Remi feels his ribs tighten uncomfortably in his chest. Looking at her hurts.

Rejecting her hurts.

He's watching as they both throw their heads back and laugh and Remi is tapping the roof of his car, walking to and fro wondering what could be that funny.

Ariella pauses what she's saying suddenly and reaches into her bag and procures a pen that she looks like she's returning to him. The guy takes it, and Remi thinks they're done talking.

Until he flicks Ariella's nose.

"Ariella!"

Ariella turns to him, her expression blanking before she says something else to the guy and they part ways.

She makes her way toward him looking like she would rather be anywhere but near him. The change is not lost on him.

"I thought you said blondes weren't your type"

"Why are you here, Remi?"

"I'm sorry about what I said the other day"

Remi never thought himself above apologizing. He had always been an advocate for clearing every kind of misunderstanding and hurt caused.

"Cool"

Remi is left standing there as Ariella leaves. Once again.

"That's it?" He calls after her and she pauses, taking her sweet time before turning around.

And Remi notices what a lucky bastard he'd been in the past to never have been subjected to Ariella Nash's blank stare that looked straight through him.

"Was there more?"

He doesn't see her after that.

Not at parties where she'd always be lurking around. Not at their regular family luncheons. Or when he specifically went to visit his Aunt Silver.

"She was just upstairs" Silver frowns "She must've gone out"

Or she was avoiding him.

It irked Remi.

And he couldn't, for the life of him, determine why.

This was exactly what he'd wanted since Ariella had first started following him around but now that she'd stopped, he actually missed her?

He found the notion laughable.

Remi decides to celebrate by going out on a cruise with people he knew, to celebrate.

He takes a flight home in three days. She's upended his life and he cannot believe he misses his stalker.

So, he texts her. He would apologize properly so she did not leave him feeling so shitty in the aftermath.

We need to talk.

The infuriating hellion leaves him on read.

Remi shows up at her university to catch her off-guard, but she changes directions and leaves at record speed when she sees him.

So, Remi takes drastic measures. He is a firm believer of -when they go low, you go lower.

Ariella bursts into his office in record time and he is so relieved to see her that it almost- almost supersedes his annoyance.

"You said what to Professor Adler?"

"Hi" He crosses his arms on his desk "Long time no see"

"Don't fuck with me, Remi. I cannot believe you'd say that to Jayden!"

Remi finally stands up, buttoning his suit jacket and moving around his desk to reach a fuming Ariella, trying to suppress his irritation that it would take saying something to her professor now to get her to acknowledge him.

"What did I say to him?"

Ariella was gritting her teeth and Remi found he quite enjoyed this look on her. She was a fierce little thing; he would be insane to not be attracted.

"An allegation that he fraternizes with his students. Really?"

"That's such a shameful thing to do"

"It's not true!"

"How do you know?"

"Because I know him! If you threaten him ever again, Remington, I will make your life hell"

Lowering himself to her face-level, Remi smiles menacingly at her "Been there, going through it. Try me, Ariella"

Ariella wants to hurl something at his face and really make it hurt this time. She resists "You don't get to act like a jilted lover after you rejected me. Threaten him again and I'll kill you" Moving away, she turns to leave.

"I thought blondes weren't your type?" He asks, blocking her path.

And because Ariella was raised by Cole and pettiness ran in their blood, she says "Brunettes aren't doing it for me anymore"

"Is that so?"

"Remi, let me go"

Even he doesn't realize when exactly he's trapped her between him and the desk but a meteor hitting the earth couldn't make him move away.

"It takes me threatening your professor to get you to acknowledge my existence again?"

"Didn't you want me to stay away from you? If I recall correctly, you said it's 'unbecoming'"

"I didn't mean it"

"Really? I apologize, Your Lordship, this peasant failed to understand that "Following a guy around that's not interested in you is unbecoming" didn't mean "get lost"" She's rolling her eyes and Remi steps closer, if that was even possible, the fronts of their bodies flushed together.

"Did you also fail to comprehend what "You'll be mine, come hell or highwater" means?"

Ariella's breath hitches.

"It means I'm yours. And that, Ariella Nash, makes you mine."

He closes the distance between them.

xxx

It wasn't supposed to be this long! Part two (soonish) cuz ...duh.

[mirkwoodshewolf]

Give her the life I never had; Harry Potter x child reader

*Author’s note*

So this came from my Wattpad requests and this is my first Harry potter (character not fandom) fic that I have written so I hope I didn’t mess this up for any hardcore Potterheads out there.  So this takes place during the Battle at Hogwarts so expect some death and violence involved, other than that not really much anything really. I know it’s been awhile since my last update but I hope to pick up the pace and post up some more stuff and then HOPEFULLY open up requests here since I know you all have been waiting patiently for that.

Taglist:

@plethora-of-things​

@waddles03​

@jd-johndeacon-or-jackdaniels​

@ixchel-9275​

@psychosupernatural​

@queen-paladin​

_____________________________________________________________

It was finally over. All of it.  Voldemort was now dead, the Death eaters defeated, and now the Elder wand was destroyed and lost to the sea.  I looked towards the ruins of Hogwarts knowing that the stone and walls can be rebuilt, some of our friends would be able to heal their physical wounds, however some mental wounds won’t.

The Weasleys they’ll always have to live with Fred’s death for the rest of their life and grieve over the fact he’ll never come back, especially George.  I had seen just how close their brotherly bond was, even when they had nothing they had each other, now George was gonna have to make do on his own, if he could.

And Hermione, while she doesn’t want us to know I had a feeling at what she had done to protect her muggle parents, thankfully with her and Ron seeming to repair their growing relationship, I know the Weasley’s will welcomingly be the family she needs now more than ever.

As I walked along the school grounds that’s when I came across (Y/n) getting looked over by one of the healers.  When she looked towards me, she gently smiled and I smiled softly back at her thinking back on how I found her in all this chaos.

The battle was pure hell.  Spells and curses being blasted, bodies dropping like flies, and rubble from the school walls crumbling down as repercussions from the spells firing out.

I had pushed back a Death Eater with an Stupefy spell which sent him flying all the way across the Great Hall.  Another death eater soon came right at me but I quickly disposed of his wand first before giving him the paralyzing spell.

That’s when I heard it.  The sound of a young girl crying.  I quickly ran around the corridor and saw just down the stairs where I once found the Mirror of Erised, a young girl around maybe her 1-2nd year hovering over an older girl who looked almost like her but had longer hair.  The young girl with shorter hair was weeping hysterically as she kept crying.

“Liz? Lizzie. Get up sis. Oh please get up.” From the pale skin and the soulless eyes that Lizzie had, I knew immediately she had been hit with the Killing curse. Cautiously I walked over to her and said.

“Are you alright?” the young girl looked up at me and she sniffled.

“Yes. But my sister she—she won’t wake up yet her eyes are open.” Knowing how I hadn’t learned of the 3 unforgiving curses until my 4th year at Hogwarts, she must’ve not known what exactly happened to her sister.

“What’s your name?”

“(Y/n). (Y/n) (l/n).”

“Well (Y/n), I…….I’m afraid to tell you this but……..your sister’s—she’s dead.”

“What? No but….if she were dead her eyes would be shut, the spell that hit her just made her collapse. Like the paralysis spell.”

“But it wasn’t a blue light that hit her, was it?” she looked back down at her sister and touched her cheek.  “I’m afraid it was the most dangerous of all unforgiving curses. The Killing Curse.” She sniffled and hugged her sister’s corpse and choked out.

“But—she was…..she’s all I have left!” I looked around and two more Death eaters spotted us.

“Get behind me.” I urged (Y/n).  Without question she got behind me and I held out my wand and as they charged toward us I called out, “Stupefy!” which sent one Death eater flying backwards but then I felt a shock to my hand which sent my wand flying towards the second Death eater’s hand.  She sneered at me but then a voice exclaimed.

“Petrificus Totalus!” the female Death eater soon went stiff and fell to the ground.  I turned and saw that it was (Y/n) who had casted the curse.  I ran over and took my wand back from the witch and told her.

“Come on. We can’t stay here.” She took one last look at her sister.  I knew she was hesitant to leave her but if she remained here, she’d be a sitting duck.  “Your sister would want you safe (Y/n).” she turned to me and nodded before taking my hand and we raced out of the hallway.

Together the two of us worked together to fend off the oncoming Death Eaters, but one Death eater used an Inferno spell which burnt (Y/n)’s arm pretty bad.  I shielded her from the next oncoming Inferno attack but the heat of the flames was almost too strong for me to hold back.  That’s when a wave of water came and extinguished the flames and the Death Eater was flown backwards till his back hit a column and he collapsed dead.

We turned and there stood Professor McGonagall.

“Professor.”

“Harry, Ms. (L/n) are you both alright?”

“I am, (Y/n) however got burnt on her arm.” She walked up to us and she examined (Y/n)’s arm. She let out a painful hiss and the Professor said.

“I’ll take care of her from here Potter.”

“Thank you Professor.” Just as I was about to leave, I felt a hand grab the sleeve of my shirt and I saw that it was (Y/n).

“Thank you, Harry Potter.” I smiled down at her and nodded to her.  She released my sleeve and I ran off to finally end this once and for all.

I walked over to her just as the healer cleared her off and moved onto the next student that needed medical treatment.  I sat down beside her and asked her.

“How are you doing (Y/n)?”

“Shaky but—alive.” She softly scoffed.  “But at what cost? My sister’s dead. She was the only family I had left. Now the ministry will probably put me in the Magic for Orphans facility, and with me almost being a teenager, no one will want me.”

I was probably the only one who knew what she must be going through.  Even though we were orphaned in different circumstances, we still lost our loved ones to Voldemort.  Now I must be crazy because I had no clear idea of what to do next but what I did know was that I couldn’t leave (Y/n) alone anymore.

“What if—” I started off by saying.  “What if you…had someone to look after you?”

“But, but Harry I—I have no other living relatives. It’s always just been me and my sister since our parents died three years ago at the Quidditch world cup.”

“I know, but what if there was someone who wanted to help you out. Give you a home so that you wouldn’t have to suffer any potential abuse or neglect.”

“And just who would that person be?” I sighed softly before telling her.

“You’re looking at him.” Her eyes softly widened before she let out a soft gasp.

“But-but why? I mean no offense Harry but…..why would you want to help me out?”

“Let’s just say, from one orphan to another I know how lonely it can be. I had no clue about the magic world till I was just your age, and though I may not know how the Ministry of Magic deals with orphaned wizards, I do know a thing or two about living in terrible conditions. I lived practically my whole childhood in a tiny hall closet in my aunt and uncle’s place. And I wouldn’t want you to potentially go through that type of abuse in a stranger’s home.”

(Y/n) was silent for a moment, taking in what I just said.  Weighing out her options before thinking about what answer she would give me.

“If not I’ll understand, I’ll check in whenever I can. But just know you won’t go through the rest of your life alone.” She looked up at me.  Her eyes that were once filled with tears, but now filled with courage and strength as she said.

“If it won’t be too much trouble with you, I’ll go with you.” I softly smiled at her and told her taking notice of her robes.

“Spoken like a true Gryffindor.”

After that, the Weasley family, Hermione, myself and (Y/n) returned to the Weasley’s old home the Burrow and decided to rebuild it, a symbol as a fresh start to all our lives after this whole war.

We also had a memorial service for both Fred and (Y/n)’s older sister, each of us speaking for both Fred and (Y/n)’s sister before finally burying them and summoning a beautiful garden around them of their favorite flowers and plants.

As the sun was starting to set I saw (Y/n) still standing over her sister’s grave.  I walked out to her and said.

“Mrs. Weasley’s prepared supper for all of us. She says you best come in before it’s all gone.” (Y/n) remained silent.  I softly sighed and without another word I just stood there beside her.  She may not want to talk, but she should at least know that someone was there when she was ready.

“I—never thought I’d have to face this world without her. Even through our fights, especially after mom and dad died, she was always there for me. She especially liked to tease me about my crush on Joey Matarazzo, saying we’d get married one day and have kids of our own. Now she won’t ever see me grow up, or achieve any dreams I’ll have for the future.”

“Let me tell you something my Godfather once told me. He told me that the ones that love us never really leave us. And we can always find them, in here.” I pointed to her heart.

She looked up at me and finally for the first time I saw a true, genuine smile.  She came closer to me and wrapped an arm around my waist and rested her head against my ribs.  I wrapped an arm around her and we stood there for a few more minutes before walking back inside the Burrow to join the Weasley’s for dinner.

*FF 19 years later.*

It was like any other year, but this time it was my second son’s first time doing this.  I could already see from the look on his face that he looked anxious about his first year going as we came up to platform 9¾.

“Together.” I assured him as we took hold of his cart and we both ran straight through the brick wall and found ourselves right by the Hogwarts Express.  As we walked closer to the train, we soon found Ron and Hermione with their kids, I spotted Draco and his wife and son bidding their goodbyes.  He and I looked at each other, neither of us speaking a word but he gave me a point nod, and I nodded back to him.

“I was beginning to think I’d have to write my own brothers up for detention already.” A female voice soon spoke up and coming right towards us was (Y/n), all grown up and in her Professor robes.

Since the battle she continued on her Hogwarts education and excelled in both Magical creature knowledge and potions making.  By the time she was in her 4th year at Hogwarts, Ginny and I had agreed to legally adopt her as our own child and she was beyond thrilled at the news.  After graduating, she worked with me at the Ministry of Magic to focus on potion brewery before enrolling to be the next Potions Professor and this would be her second year teaching that class.

I’m told she’s kind but firm when it comes to students goofing off in that class, but she is always there to make sure no student messes up a potion and causes injuries either to themselves or others.

“Not in the slight.” I assured her.

“Good. I would hate to have to write them up to Headmaster McGonagall.” She told me.  She looked down at her brothers and asked them, “So boys, you ready?”

“Oh yeah!” exclaimed James while Albus was more reserved and didn’t really say anything. Instead he walked away and sat down with his arms hugging his legs close to him.  (Y/n) and I looked at each other and I told her to get James onto the train as well as herself while I talked to James.  She nodded and guided James as well as his things over to the train while I walked over to Albus and knelt down beside him.

“Dad,” he spoke. “What if I am put in Slytherin?”

“Albus Severus Potter. You were named after two Headmasters of Hogwarts. And one of them was a Slytherin. And he was the bravest man I had ever known. But if it means to you, you can choose Gryffindor. The sorting hat does take that into consideration.”

“Really?” I nodded. “But how would you feel? If I was sorted into Slytherin?”

“Then Slytherin will have gained the best wizard they could ask for.” He smiled and embraced me and I hugged him back.  “Now come on, off you go.” We then walked towards the train and Albus got himself situated inside with his brother and Ron and Hermione’s kids, and riding alongside them to keep an eye on them to Hogwarts was (Y/n).

As I stood by my friends and we watched the train leave the station, waving goodbye to our kids I couldn’t help but feel like we had done it.  The war ended almost 2 decades ago and now our children can learn magic in a better world, a world without Death Eaters, a world without darkness and death, a world without a Dark Lord.

A peaceful time in our world.

[girlygirl-20]

A place for us (1/?)

Paring: riff (2021) x female OC

Summary: after keeping their untitled fling under wraps for the past few months riff and lorelai (lori) struggle to continue keeping everything secret while battling with eviction and poverty in the west side of Manhattan.

Warnings: swearing, suggestive content, eventual smut (future chapters) racist and prejudice topics (it’s WSS) smoking, angst

The bright sunlight beaming through the thin blinds caused lori to scrunch her eyes together and stir in her sleep. She rolled over to find a very much asleep riff, his arm was still loosely draped around her waist and his hair was a ruffled mess.

He looked adorable, not that she’d ever tell him that of course, he would roll his eyes and scoff at the thought of himself ever being described as ‘cute’.

Lori caught a glimpse of the alarm clock on her bedside table and internally groaned knowing she’d have to be up in a few minutes if she wanted to make it to valentines in time for her shift. She also knew she had to get riff out of the apartment before her roommate seen him.

The boy stirred as she left soft pecks on his bare chest, she trailed her kissed up to his lips and paused for a minute to take in his features before kissing his lips. Just as she was about to kiss him that oh so familiar smirk appeared on his lips

“So ya gonna kiss me or ya still thinkin bout it girly girl” she giggled before leaning down and pecking his pretty lips. He deepened the kiss, grabbing her neck with his hand to pull her closer “mhmm baby I gotta go to go to work” she mumbled against his lips.

Before she knew it riff flipped them over in a swift movement so he was now hovering over her small frame “no ya don’t ya ain’t runnin out on me this time dollface” he smirked before planting kisses from her jaw working his way down to her neck.

“I..mhm baby…hm riff seriously I’m gonna be late”

“Fine” her grumbled in defeat before stealing one last kiss.

Lori forced herself to roll out of her boys arms and into the cold air, if she could she would stay with him trapped in bed forever but once again she’d never let him know that.

Riff watched her intently as she got dressed, her soft hair come out in bouncy curls once her rollers had set, applying light make up to here already gorgeous features. In his opinion she was the prettiest thing he’d ever laid eyes on.

Once dressed she checked she had everything and turned towards the boy still in her bed. “Ya walking me or not jet boy?” She smirked.

“Course I am, don’t need anyone thinkin my girl’s available” he stated springing out of bed and shoving his clothes on, she rolled her eyes as he slung his arm round her and they walked out the door.

Once they arrived at valentinas much to lori’s surprise instead of riff kissing her goodbye and heading off he entered the store with her.

“Hola valentina?” She called as she entered

“buenos días mi amor…and you juvenile delinquent” she scowled upon seeing riff.

valentina had taken lori and Tony under her wing when they were both very young they had both been left at a particularly young age with no parents, with lori’s father walking out when she was a baby and her mother passing when she was 6. She was given over to her uncle and aunt who weren’t exactly the maternal type so she chose to spend most of her time at valentinas. Tony and Lori grew close because of their similar circumstances and both spending most of their time as the drug store together. Tony was sent upstate almost a year ago for beating up some kid and Lori missed him like crazy he acted as a sort of brother figure she had longed for.

“So valentina anything you want done right away or shall I start sweeping?” The girl questioned “sí sí pero, I have a surprise for you first”

Lori cocked her head confused and as if right on que a tall figure appeared from downstairs.

“TONY!” She squealed running into his arms “hey lor” he smiled down at the girl he’d grew to love like a little sister.

“I- how are you!? Are you okay? Did they treat you well enou- gosh did they feed you decently? When did you come back? Wha-“

“Hey hey take a breath you! I have all the time in the world ta answer your questions” he laughed

Whipping her head around she locked eyes with riff “did you know about this?” “I might have heard a thing or two about it girly girl”

“Girly girly?” Tony chimed in, riff raised his eyebrow prompting tony to continue “nothin’ just seems a bit domestic is all” Lori shot riff a panicked look. “Pffft nah I’ve always called her that”

“Yeppp” lori forced a smile, just as Tony was about to continue digging valentina prompted both of them to get back to work. Lori grabbed a mop and riff took his que to leave, the pair exchanged a knowing look before he headed out the door.

Tony filled lori in throughout their shift about his time upstate, how valentina had offered him a job and a place to stay and how tension had been high between him and riff since he came home. Much to riffs disappointment tony had turned down his offer to stay with him, and chose to stay with valentina instead.

This would have been solved quickly if it had been a year ago, but that was the problem it wasn’t a year ago and Tony had changed and with that change came a new mindset on everything. Including the jets. Of course he still loved those boys like brothers, but he couldn’t risk acting out and getting himself sent to prison again.

“You’d tell me right?” Tony blurted out “hm” lori questioned “yknow if you n riff was a thing you’d tell me yeah?”

Lori paused to consider her options before realising it’s better to discuss it with Riff before saying anything as they themself hadn’t even discussed what their situation really was.

“Ehm yeah…of course I would, anyway I better go it’s getting late and you need to close up” she smiled “yeah Sure, want me to walk ya home?”

“No it’s alright….erm riffs going to walk me” lori grabbed her coat and headed out before tony could question her further. Tony wasn’t stupid riff was his best friend and lori was like a sister to him, he knew there was something going on, he just had to wait untill one of them cracked.

Turning the corner from docs she seen riff standing where he usually does smoking a cigarette.

“Hey baby” he smirked stubbing out his cigarette. Her smile grew just upon seeing him.

“Hey handsome” lori wrapped her arms around his neck as riff grabbed her waist and connected their lips. She giggled humming into the kiss as she felt him deepen it.

“LORELAI?!”

Breaking apart lori whipped her head around to see mouthpiece and Velma her best friend, the couple looked stunned to say the least.

God how was she supposed to explain this.

AN: I’m so scared to post this haha, I’ve never written a full on story only one shots! I’m excited but also nervous haha. This chapter was going to be longer but I didn’t want it to become too long and boring. Anyway I’m rambling I hope you enjoyed it and pls! Feedback is encouraged I’d love to know your thoughts 💕

[jmoriarty-221b]

Ok so this idea was inspired by AUs where Tim Drake is a member of the Addams family and thus this cute idea was born

Ok so, Tim’s parents still travel a lot but instead of leaving him alone in a big empty manor they leave him with his aunt and uncle Morticia and Gomez Addams

And Tim is a weird little kid who grows up without fear of the dark figures at night because the boogeyman is actually a pretty nice fellow who was very touched when Tiny Tim gave them a drawing of themselves, the monster in the closet actually gives great fashion advice as well as providing the perfect clothes for playing dress up, and the monsters under his bed are great storytellers and the shadow man gives Tim great advice on how to hide and use shadows to his advantage, etc.

The point is that Timmy grows up under the care of the Addams when his parents have to leave on long business trips or excavation sites and as such, is exposed to Gomez’s great appreciation of swordsmanship and fencing, and the haunted suits of armors are always great at comparing which kind of swords are the best in which kind of combat as well as the the importance of craftsmanship when in relation to having a reliable sword

And then one day Timmy watches the movie ‘The Legend of Zorro’ and becomes absolutely obsessed with learning how to use a sword and fight with it in the way only little kids can become obsessed with something they find completely cool, and Gomez is so excited to be teaching Tim everything he knows and they work together to craft Timmy his very own mini rapier for learning how to fence (swords are heavier so Tim learns those from Gomez when he’s older and can parry more weight)

And Tim becomes very Focused and Serious on learning how to fence and he’s very excited when he manages to finally best his uncle in a fencing duel (not as excited as Gomez tho, “MY CHILD SHALL BECOME THE BEST SWORDSMAN YET MY LOVE, DID YOU SEE HIS TECHNIQUE, HAD I BEEN SLOWER HE WOULD’VE RIPPED OPEN MY THROAT IN ONE SWIPE, I’M SO PROUD” “Our child dear”)

And then the movie ‘Count of Monte Cristo’ comes out and both Tim and Gomez are super fans (as a whole the family’s favorite movies are this one as well as the Legend of Zorro because 1. Revenge is achieved to the improvement of the main character’s well being and 2. The Aesthetic) and Tim just focuses on getting the hang of swords now with Gomez being more than happy to help his darling nephew

So years pass and Tim’s parents have finished one of their most taxing excavation digs so they return to Gotham and Tim has to return too (for the purposes of this AU Janet and Jack actually do give a fuck about their son so they would call him every other night when they’re away and if they can’t then at the very least they would call Tim once a week; they also call Morticia and Gomez at least once a week to check on how Tim is doing and they were also very happy to know that Tim has taken a liking to swords so they try to bring new types of weapons or literature related to weapons from the culture of their latest excavation so Tim can learn how different types of swords are wielded all around the world)

But anyway, Tim is going back to Gotham so he and Gomez work on creating a new sword for him with the family motto carved on the blade “Sic Gorgiamus Allos Subjectatos Nunc” which translates to “We Gladly Feast on Those Who Would Subdue Us” which is metal as fuck so yeah, and this sword is super durable and strong, inspired by a katana’s durability and a rapier’s gracefulness with a blade that is such a dark purple that it looks black like obsidian and the inscription of the family motto is carved in letters that are ruby red with a black hilt where an image of a drake is engraved in the same ruby red as the family motto (basically it is a Very Deadly Sword that is also Very Pretty with a dark aesthetic)

So Tim gets back to Gotham and one day he’s watching the news and sees The Batman saving the day and what not and sees Robin do a quadruple back flip and figures out their identities and decides that he wants to meet them at some point while on his nightly photography sessions of Gotham architecture; and if he manages to snap a couple of shots of Gotham’s heroes sometimes then that’s a bonus but Tim is mostly focused on capturing the essence of Gotham city (at this point in time when Tim moves back to Gotham he physically looks like 10-12 year old; he did meet Dick at the circus when he looked like he was 4 years old but for the purposes of the timeline Tim, as an Addams, can choose to remain at any age he desires for as long as he wants so while he did appear to be 4 years old at the circus, he had been alive for a couple of years more at this point, this also explains how he can master swords and fencing while physically looking like a 10 year old because he has been practicing for years as well as why he remembers Dick from that night at the circus)

So the timeline continues with Tim figuring out that the Bats are actually his neighbors but instead of staying away from the Waynes, he decides to go ask his parents if he can stay with the neighbors whenever they have to stay later than usual at the company or have to take a short business travel and they talk with Bruce about it and he agrees to take care of Tim, so now Tim has an in to befriend the Waynes and helps smooth out the edges of Dick and Bruce’s relationship so Bruce doesn’t fire Dick from Robin, but rather they talk about their feelings for once and Dick decides he wants to create his own superhero identity and Bruce supports his decision (Tim may or may not have had to talk about how his family happened to be very open about their feelings and worry for one another and how much closer they are due to talking to each other and resolving conflict; Alfred may or may not have been 100% behind Tim every time he made such a conversation) also, Tim is basically a trial run for Dick on becoming a big brother for when Jason arrives

One time Tim asks Dick if he knows how to fence which Dick can’t really answer because technically he knows how to fight with a sword but that’s for vigilante purposes which his civilian self isn’t supposed to know so Dick says that he doesn’t and asks Tim why he wanted to know, Tim proceeds to talk about how his favorite masked hero uses a sword to fight injustice and he has a black cape and a black horse and Bruce comes into the living room they’re in in the middle of Tim’s rambling about his favorite hero using a sword and is Concerned for a hot minute until Tim finishes the rant by saying “. . . and that’s why I like his movie so much, have you seen the Legend of Zorro?” (Cue relief for both Dick and Bruce because for all that they scrambled to put a name to the hero Tim was describing they couldn’t come up with one and were considering the possibility of a new player in the vigilante scene) so then Tim asks Mr. Bruce if he knows how to fence and Bruce says yes and asks if Tim would like to learn cue the “Oh, my uncle taught me how to fence a few years ago and when I lived with them we had a duel at least once a week, it was very fun so I was just wondering if you knew so we could practice if you want to Mr. Bruce”

Dick is 100% on board with this because the idea of Tiny Tim and 6’1” Bruce fencing is hilarious in his mind, Alfred is there to supervise and both Tim and Bruce are provided with the appropriate fencing equipment and protection; Bruce starts off slow and is surprised when Tim manages to beat him before starting to enjoy fencing with someone who can surprisingly keep up with him (Dick is taking pictures because the height difference is just too cute to be ignored and Tiny Tim is adorable in his own mini fencing equipment)

Whenever his parents do have to leave for extended periods of time (any company trip that takes more than 3-5 days qualifies as this) Tim stays with his aunt and uncle, thus starting a fun tradition of having spontaneous fencing duels with his uncle Gomez, basically if one of them is in the library then the other will shout ‘En-garde’ while throwing a sabre towards the other person and engaging in a quick duel; basically, if Tim is reading about the latest poisonous plants produced by Poison Ivy and annotating his research in order to get an idea of what would be a nice gift for his aunt Morticia and Gomez walks into the library then Gomez will grab two of the sabres they have on the wall for this exact purpose while shouting ‘en-garde’ before throwing a sabre at Tim and engaging in a duel, same goes for Tim, it’s almost instinct to the point that Tim has to hold himself back from doing exactly this whenever he sees Bruce in the library of Wayne Manor

Later on, when Jason is already adopted into the Wayne family, Tim still comes over and makes it his sacred mission to teach Jason the art of swords so he has another fencing buddy because “Mr. Bruce isn’t always here and I have decided that we will be friends and you’re pretty cool but knowing how to fight with a sword just ups your coolness level ya know?” So now Jason has smol Tim teaching him how to fence and it’s pretty fun to be able to do a taxing physical activity outside of being Robin with a friend, when Jason gets the hang of fencing Tim decides that he must now advance to the next level: sword fighting (Alfred is always there to supervise and give tips and pointers because he also knows how to fence but chooses to stay in the sidelines and let the young masters have their fun)

The problem with this is that, while the Waynes do have sabres for fencing, they don’t have swords, at least not in their civilian selves, so Tim decides to bring his own swords to teach Jason how to sword fight, Alfred is the first to see Tim’s very own special sword and is both impressed at the craftsmanship and concerned as to why a child has a sword, Jason thinks Tim’s sword is the coolest he has ever seen and Tim is happy to talk about how he made it himself with his uncle’s help when he finally learned all about sword fighting and promises Jason that they can make him his own cool sword when he learns how to sword fight too, Dick also thinks that the sword is a little concerning for a kid to have but he also wants his own cool sword and so now he insists Bruce has to teach him how to sword fight because Tim said he’s not allowed to have his own sword until he learns how to sword fight, Bruce is baffled as to why Tim has a sword, impressed at Tim’s skills in craftsmanship, and a little Concerned as to why Tim’s sword has that Latin inscription on the blade (no Tim, knowing that “we feast in those who would subdue us” is your family motto doesn’t calm me down yet it explains a lot about your mother)

By the time Damian comes along to the family he is very interested in where Jason and Dick got their Very Cool swords from, his father also has one and he wants to have his own Very Cool Sword too, thank you very much, and Tim visits them when Damian is still settling in and asks his customary question of if he knows how to use fence and gets an affirmative answer he asks Bruce if it would be ok for him and Damian to have a fencing duel, Bruce explains the rules to Damian and makes sure that Alfred, Dick, Jason and him are present in order to keep Damian from maiming/killing Tim

The duel does get a little out of hand as Damian gauges that Tim is more skilled than he previously thought so he stops holding back, Tim is positively grinning at this since he always has to hold back with the Waynes in a way that he doesn’t with Uncle Gomez because while an Addams won’t die from a stab to the heart, the same can’t be said for anyone else; the duel ends with Tim winning because he has more experience than Damian but he is positive beaming at how awesome Damian was and how these duels could become a weekly thing before they transition to swords and once Dames graduates from swords he can design his very own sword with Tim’s help as a sort of graduation present for learning how to sword fight and he’s sure that it won’t take too long for Damian to master swordsmanship because he’s basically a natural already and very skilled and this duel was so much fun Damian we have to do this again sometime oh my gosh I want to teach you everything I know it’s gonna be so much fun

And Damian, a poor baby, was mad at having lost to Tim but then Tim hits him with all this excitement and smiles and it’s the promise of getting his own Very Cool Sword is what gets him to agree to learn from Tim, it’s not that he feels warm at getting compliments from someone who also likes swords and knows what he’s doing in a fight, he definitely doesn’t find Tim cool at all, he’s just making use of a resource and he will learn everything Tim has to offer and become better than both Grayson and Todd, that’s all (that’s not all because it turns out that Damian is the younger brother Tim never had and he takes Dami under his wing and helps him adjust to a life outside the League of Assassins and how to find hobbies to enjoy; Damian won’t admit it but he is also Very Attached in to Timothy and feels like he won’t be judged for his past with him and he is also a fellow sword enthusiast so yeah)

Tim decides to do the same thing to Damian and initiating a quick fencing duel whenever he sees that Damian is in the gardens (no fencing inside the Manor on pain of Alfred’s eyebrow of disappointment); this helps Damian with the transition of learning to have fun and also learn to realize that not everybody is an enemy, it also helps keep up his training and burn some energy whenever he gets restless and helps him bond with Tim more

The idea was that Tim and Uncle Gomez would surprise each other with spontaneous fencing duels by shouting ‘en-garde’ at the other person whenever they find one another in the library, and now it turned into a fluff AU where Tim isn’t Robin but he’s still a family friend to the Waynes and an Addams and helps bring the family closer through his love of swords because yes

[ghostwriteyes]

Years Past

Sasusaku (Naruto) Fic. I don’t own the characters. They’re owned by Kishimoto

Modern AU, Childhood Friends AU, Neighbors AU, Non-Massacre AU

3,321 words

6 years old

They had a new neighbor coming. It’s been a while since the house across from them has been empty and now there are big moving trucks around the house. He peeked through the window and was disappointed because he didn’t see a boy his age, but a girl. He’s heard of cooties and he didn’t want them.

On the weekend, his mother invited the new neighbor to have dinner. He went with his mother to greet them at the door. He saw the pink haired girl hiding behind her mother, only peeking to see his mother. Her mother said something about she's shy and she was bullied in their last neighborhood.

“Hey Sakura. Your name is Sakura right? You have such wonderful hair” said his mother.

Then, the girl stepped a bit closer and the widest, greenest eyes he’s ever seen looked up to his mother and gave a firm nod and said “You’re very pretty”. His mother laughed and guided them in.

They had dinner that night, the 7 of them, and he didn’t know why he kept looking at those green eyes. He thought he wouldn’t really mind getting cooties.

12 years old

She was working on her homework in the living room, this damn physics homework that Kakashi-sensei gave last minute for Monday. She thought Sasuke might have finished already and thought of going to his house when her mother called,

“Sakura, come to the kitchen for a bit please”

“What is it, mom?”

“I baked too many cookies for my exhibition tonight. Can you give this bowl to Mikoto’s house?”

“Oh sure, was gonna go there anyway to ask Sasuke about my homework. We keep some too, right?”

“Of course honey”

She went across and brought her notebook with her and knocked on the door. When it opened, it was Sasuke.

“What are you doing?” He asked.

“My mom baked too many cookies and wanted to give it to Aunt Mikoto.”

He grabbed the plate and muttered thanks and almost closed the door-

“Wait!” she brought her best puppy eyes, looking hopeful “I also wanted to ask about the physics homework” she lifted her notebooks in front of her face to emphasize.

After a sigh and a fine, he opened the door wider and she went in. “Where’s everyone else?” She looked around for people and saw no one. “Out.” She chuckled “Always the sociable one” he rolled his eyes to that.

They went to his room and worked on the physics homework on the small coffee table in his room. He taught her the questions she couldn’t answer.

When they were finished, she couldn’t help but say what she’s been thinking,

“Do you think we’re being too casual?”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know- you’re a boy, i’m a girl, we’re in your room” she chuckled.

He rolled his eyes and smirked “would you rather be in my brother’s room” he knew about how she admired his brother.

“Ugh, you know I only admire him. It’s never anything like that” her elbows on the table and she rested her head on her hand and thought out loud “I think I’ve grown out of it though” their eyes met. There’s this look in his eyes and they stayed like that for a while just looking at each other.

She broke it with “especially since shisui’s been here more often” she rolled her eyes “they’re insufferable”. He chuckled. Then, his door suddenly opened,

“Sasuke, where did these cookies co- oh, Sakura! I heard your mom and dad are out for her exhibition tonight. Have dinner with us?”

“Sure, aunt Mikoto”

“Great! I’ll cook your favorites” she stayed for a while looking at the two just grown kids and frowned “Should I be worried?”

Sasuke raised his eyebrows and asked “what do you mean mom?”

“You’re a guy and a girl in a room.. should I-”

He groaned, “Stop mom, it’s nothing like that”

Sakura just chuckled and couldn’t help but notice the disappointment she felt. She tried not to think too much of it.

She didn’t notice Sasuke’s eyes who kept glancing her way during dinner.

15 years old

He heard whispers in the kitchen. Not unusual as his mother and father are the calm and quiet type, but this time there’s some wariness in their voice.

He was going to go to Sakura’s house to check why she wasn’t in school, but went to the kitchen first anyway. His parents immediately noticed and his father said,

“Sasuke, get ready. We’re going to go to the hospital.” Their faces showed that this wasn’t good news.

“What’s wrong?” His minds are racing

His mother was the one who answered, “Uncle Kizashi.. he was in an accident this morning and.. it’s not looking good”

Always the one-tracked mind, he didn’t say a word and ran to his bike to go to the hospital. He went ahead and as he arrived, his eyes immediately found Sakura alone near one of the rooms, eyes red and puffy.

He went closer, in a hurry, and fuck she’s been crying and she noticed him and she immediately went to him and reached him and she just let it all out, hands around his waist and head on his chest. His arms circled her, his cheek on her hair and they just stayed there.

After she was a bit calmer she realized that they were hugging. She felt awkward and let go, eyes averting his. She could blame the red face from crying hours on end.

“How is he?” his hands on her shoulders and he wanted her to look at him and he leaned closer.

She sniffled and said “His condition’s already stable, but… he’s not waking up” she teared up again and her hands went up to dry it off “I don’t know what to do, Sasuke”, for the first time that night she looked at him when his mother and father arrived,

“Oh, Sakura” his mother went to hug Sakura and his father knocked on the hospital door.

He noticed that Aunt Mebuki had been crying too and for the first time he also didn’t know what to do. No loud laughs and corny jokes, it was terrible.

He stayed with Sakura while the adults were talking and when they were about to leave, Aunt Mebuki said that Sakura should also go home and rest. After a few minutes of i’m staying, mom and i’m not leaving his side mom, no way, they were finally able to convince her to go home.

He went home alone on his bike while Sakura was with his parents. Later, he waited on her sidewalk. After they arrived, he shared a look with his mom and his mom nodded as if saying do what you need to do.

That night, Sasuke took care of Sakura. He made sure she ate (sakura, don’t be annoying, you have to eat) and left after she was already asleep (i’m here sakura, just rest, okay.)

——-

The next morning, he and his parents were having breakfast when suddenly, his mom said, “Sakura is really pretty, right Sasuke?”

Sasuke looked at his mother and why does it sound like she’s teasing me and he scrunched his eyebrows and looked at her weirdly.

“She’s intelligent, top of her class, very pretty, I heard she’s popular with the boys in school too-,” he frowned “-and she seems like a great daughter, right Fugaku?”

“Yes, she is. What are you doing Mikoto?”

Mikoto chuckled and said, “No, no, it’s nothing. I’m just thinking that Sasuke and Sakura’s wedding should be in winter so that Sakura can stand out”

He choked on his cereal and said, “Mother.” he looked at her teasing smile and narrowed his eyebrows, “Her father has just been in an accident, Mother”

She frowned and said, “I know.. I hope Kizashi can wake up soon so he can give her away on the wedding”

He looked to his father for some sanity only to see his father agreeing to what his mother’s saying. He stood up and left to go to school. Just when he was at the door he heard his mother shout “Say hi to Sakura for me” and he groaned.

——-

At school during lunch, he can’t help but glare at every boy who went to Sakura’s side. Naruto teased him, “you’re such a coward, Sasuke. All those glares, but no confession”, shook his head, “y’know, maybe I should have a go with Sakura instead”, teasing with his big grin and his wiggled eyebrows.

Naruto went home with a bruise on his arm that day.

18 years old

“God, I can’t believe graduation’s coming and you’re still single, Forehead”

“Shut up, pig.”

They were in Sakura’s room fiddling around with makeup and their dresses to wear to prom that weekend. She was just trying out her shoes when she saw Ino’s teasing smile and saw what was coming,

“Well, it’s not like there’s no one, right Sakura?” Ino sighed, “why is he not doing anything, you guys are clearly acting like you’re going out, but, just without the label” she rolled her eyes.

Sakura shook her head and said, “It’s nothing like that Ino, we’re just really close.”

“Nuh-uh, remember last week at lunch. That lanky boy was definitely gonna ask you out to prom but Sasuke glared at him from behind you and the boy ran away”, she chuckled, “Sasuke’s gonna be one scary boyfriend”

Sakura laughed, “Mmm I think that’s just him being protective, you know how he is with me, we’re childhood friends”

Ino sighed again, “Fine, whatever. But everyone can feel this tension between you guys, with the staring and all, it’s ridiculous, and it’s clearly not you two being” she finger quoted “just really close, or” she finger quoted again “just childhood friends”.

Sakura laid on her bed and sighed, “You know how I feel, Ino. but, with him you can’t really tell, you know. and our friendship is too valuable anyway.”

Ino shook her head dramatically “Oh, the most cliched reason for a coward”. Sakura threw her pillow at Ino while she was wearing lipstick and oh no, you didn’t and she lunged towards Sakura with lipstick on her hand.

——-

“Sasuke, you going to prom this weekend?”

His brother, Shisui, and some of his brother’s friends are hanging out at their study room turned game room. He just nodded at shisui’s question, barely looking at him, staring at the TV with Sasori beating Itachi in their game.

“You taking Sakura?” Sasuke muttered no and it’s none of your business. He was going to leave the room. But then he heard Sasori say “oooh, Sakura’s that hot chick across your house, right Itachi? Is she single?”

Sasuke glared and said “Itachi, let me play.”

After beating Sasori three times, he said nothing and left the room. Itachi and Shisui laughed and shook their heads and you just woke up the devil, Sasori. Sasori learnt that Sakura was definitely not single.

——-

That weekend, they were having breakfast together. Ever since Kizashi’s accident, Mikoto would sometimes invite Mebuki and Sakura for breakfast or dinner. He was still in a coma in the hospital and Mikoto just couldn’t help but reach out to them.

“Sakura, you’re going to go to prom tonight right? Are you going to go with Sasuke?”

Sakura casually said “Yeah, of course,” 

and Sasuke choked and tried to remember, did I ask her and forget, dammit dammit dammit. 

“-We’re going together with our friends. Since there’s two of us here, our friends are gonna come to our houses to get ready” 

he sighed internally and thought of how stupid he was and why did I panic and felt a pang in his chest wishing that they were going together together.

“Are you okay Sasuke?” his mother asked and he just nodded, barely looking at everyone else. He was always one to keep his straight face.

——-

That night he went to her house, along with Naruto, Sai, and Neji and his eyes widen as he saw her walk down the stairs and she’s so fucking pretty and he wished they were going together together and maybe I can just ask her now and maybe they can-

“My pretty daughter” Aunt Mebuki clasped her hands with some teary eyes “-I just wish your father can see you tonight,” Sakura smiled but he knew that smile and he just wanted to hug her and maybe I can and-

“Let’s take pictures!” fuck.

After some pictures were taken they went on their limo to prom and he just couldn’t, he really tried, but he couldn’t take his eyes off her. He didn’t really care anymore if anyone noticed. He didn’t care if she noticed cause she’s just so beautiful. He caught her eye and her eyebrows raised, questioning, and he just smiled. She blushed and averted her eyes and she’s so pretty.

——-

Later that night, they were the last to be dropped off. He noticed that she was quiet all the way home and he was quiet too and it felt like there’s this thing between them ever since their dance and any wrong word can just break it and he didn’t want that. He noticed her glancing his way and he wanted to ask but he didn’t know how and the limousine stopped.

He walked her to her door and he just stared at her and she stared back and he wanted to say something, anything-

“thanks, sasuke”, she averted her eyes and turned around and almost walked to the door, but then his body moved on its own, and his hand caught her wrist and she turned back and their eyes met and-

“Sakura, I-” he pulled her closer and muttered fuck, i’m not good with words and he leaned closer and he stared more at those eyes, those beautiful, beautiful eyes, his hand travelled to her neck and finally, finally, their lips met.

It started softly, hesitantly, chastely, and in seconds, she kissed him back, her arms around his neck, and he grew more confident and his hand curled around her neck, he pulled her in and he kissed her deeper.

They parted for air with their foreheads touching, his thumb stroking his cheek, “You’re so beautiful,” she blushed and she didn’t know what to say and just bit her lip, his eyes flickered to her lips and he groaned and then his body moved on its own again and their lips met for the second time that night.

They didn’t notice three pairs of eyes across the house peeking through the window, “Well, Mebuki, we should start planning that winter wedding”

20 years old

It was summer and they were back at home from college and their mothers have been more strict about them being in the bedroom together ever since they started dating, so they were in the living room of his house, watching a movie.

Their relationship felt like a breeze and Sakura was just so happy and Sasuke was, I can’t believe I didn’t confess sooner and when their friends found out they were all saying finally, free of the tension and the eyesmex.

They had fights like all relationships do but Sasuke just couldn’t stay away for too long and Sakura would always be forgiving.

They were going to have dinner at Sasuke’s house, but when Mebuki came, she was teary eyed and she didn’t speak for a while, and

“Mom, what’s wrong?” Sakura went to her mom and she panicked.

“Your dad.. He woke up.”

Sasuke said I’ll go with Sakura and they all went to the hospital.

They arrived first and went straight to his room and Sasuke didn’t want to intrude so he stayed outside.

“Sakura, is that you?” and she ran to him and hugged him so tightly and she didn’t want to let go. Five years, finally.

“Sakura, you’re all grown up.”

She recounted, the best she can do, of everything that’s happened. Mebuki arrived and they hugged, three of them, reunited. After a while, “Why did Sakura arrive first? Are you driving yet? Damn, I can’t believe I missed teaching you how to drive” Mebuki laughed and said “No, she went with her boyfriend”. Sakura groaned, embarrassed.

“Wait, is she and Sasuke finally going out? I have to hear this story, they were so oblivious” Loud laughs fill the room and Sakura didn’t care about any of the teasing and she just felt grateful that her dad’s back and that’s all she can think of.

——-

Later in the month, Kizashi was released from the hospital and they all planned a trip to the Uchiha Family cabin near the mountains to have a good rest with the hot springs and all. There were two separate cabins and Kizashi said one for the grownups, one for the kids- what Mebuki, let them have fun, we were young once. So Sasuke and Sakura were with Itachi and Izumi, his wife, and Shisui came just because he couldn’t miss out.

Everyone wanted to go to the hot springs, but Sasuke and Sakura said no, we’ll just play or hike or something and so they stayed in the “kids” cabin and they do have separate bedrooms but-

“Sakura, come” he took her hands,

“What is it, Sasuke”

“Just come here”

She followed him to his bedroom, and when they were in, he closed and locked the door and he pushed her against it and they just stared at each other and smiled. She broke the silence,

“Mm, don’t you think we’re being too casual, Sasuke?”

“What?”

She bit her lip, she knows what it does to him, and smiled teasingly, “I don’t know- you’re a boy, I’m a girl, we’re in your room-”

He groaned, “Shut up Sakura” and he kissed her.

25 years old

It was winter.

Aunt Mikoto, her mom, and Ino have been preparing everything. Those three have been inseparable since the day she said yes and Sakura could only agree to everything cause she didn’t care about parties.

She remembered how Sasuke would just laugh whenever she ranted to him on how big and complicated this party will be.

She looked in the mirror with her white dress on, and she couldn’t believe how far they’ve come.

——-

He looked in the mirror, fixed his neck tie, and looked again in the mirror, and fixed his wrist button, and this is nerve wracking and i’m gonna mess up and-

“Sasuke, sit doown, relaaax” and he just glared at Shisui and Naruto laughed and said, “you believe me now, huh, when it was my wedding you said I was overreacting”

Sasuke rolled his eyes and he said, “Naruto, you almost climbed down the window”

Naruto laughed and middle finger-ed him and, “whatever, at least you know how I felt now”

Itachi was the only calm one in the room as he said “don’t worry too much Sasuke, you’ll feel better when you see her, look forward to that”

Sasuke closed his eyes and took deep breaths and just imagined her and her white dress and how pretty she will be.

——-

He waited in the altar and looked to the door and saw the most beautiful girl and i’m so lucky and he couldn’t believe it sometimes and as she went closer their eyes met and she arrived at the altar and they just stared at each other and they forgot what they were supposed to be doing and Ino cleared her throat and Kizashi just laughed and Fugaku shook his head with a smile and Mebuki and Mikoto were all teary eyed and then they got married.

–

[drrealityslenderverse]

Thanksgiving Headcanons

(pre-MH ofc)

Everyone:

-They probably all get together either some day before or after Thanksgiving to host their own little get together.

-They take turns hosting or co-hosting each year so everyone gets a turn if they'd like.

-Very wholesome bonding time for the crew.

Tim:

- Usually spends it by himself but Brian has offered to let him spend it with his family before

- He'll sometimes take his friend up on the offer

- On years where he's just having a bad day/week he'll make an excuse so he doesn't feel like he's intruding (even though Brian insists he isn't).

- He'll get a call from the others to check in on him when that happens

- He isn't the best cook but he likes to do it (and according to Alex he's much better at it than Jay or Brian who, as he puts it, could "burn water")

- Tim actually quite enjoys the holidays but doesn't have many people (family wise) to spend them with

Ash:

-Also spends it alone most of the time

-Ethan and Zac will come over sometime during the week and they'll just hang out

-She enjoys the relaxation and quiet

-Sometimes she'll be dragged off by Ethan to the family dinner if she's feeling up for it

-Usually it's just the two of them and his gf Emma

-Sometimes her aunt and uncle (Ethan's parents) come back from Florida to visit

-As long as things don't get too crazy, she's good

-She likes having time alone to recharge after larger family gatherings (when they happen)

Alex:

-Usually has multiple places to go for Thanksgiving

-He visits his family and Amy's for the holiday so he's often very busy

-It's soo much driving. He would never just not go but he does wish everyone lived closer together like they used to

-On years where it's his turn to host Thanksgiving for his friends he's usually helped out by Amy, who is an amazing cook

-He tends to stress the minor details and usually gets kicked out of the kitchen by his gf until he's relaxed

-Definitely not too fond of holidays and needs time to recharge afterwards because all the traveling is very tiring for him

-Is probably filming/taking picture at some point

Zac:

-Isn't the best cook but as long as he's told what to do it'll be okay

-Enjoys trying to help out wherever it's needed

-He's not close to his family so he usually doesn't visit them

-Most of the time he's just doing a small get together with friends

-It works out well since he's rarely off work for time to just relax

-His favorite part is just chilling out after eating

-Probably one of his favorite holidays because... food

Jay:

-He's off to see his family

-Usually ends up watching the younger kids

-He doesn't mind, as it's more entertaining than just sitting around with the older family members

-Does wish he had family his own age there

-Usually ends up texting Brian (sometimes Alex too if he isn't busy)

-Some years he actually goes with Brian to see his family

-Do not let him try helping in the kitchen

-Letting him help decorate is fine, in fact he's great at it

Brian:

-Wears a "kiss to cook" apron when it's his turn to cook for the dinner with friends

-He loves hosting and often gets Jay to help with decorating while he's in the kitchen (not being allowed to actually cook because it'd probably burn the house down)

-Basically, Tim cooks while Brian helps out

-Loves going to see his family for the holiday.

-He doesn't get to see them often since they moved after he went to college and now live in a different state

-He's taken both Jay and Tim to see his family for Thanksgiving

-Usually it's just one or the other, typically Jay as long as it doesn't conflict with his own family's plans

-Will send a group message to everyone to say Happy Thanksgiving

Ethan:

-Can cook really well

-Likes to be around a lot of friends and family

-Goes out of state to visit Emma's family with her

-Rarely his parents will come visit from Florida so he'll also make a special dinner for that when they do

-Most of the time he'll just have a smaller dinner for him, Ash, and Emma when his parents can't make it

-He misses them and calls when he has time, however he and his parents aren't close (though they are on good terms, they just worked a lot/weren't home often when he was growing up)

-Will absolutely be playing Christmas music the day after (if not before/during Thanksgiving)

[papergirllife]

Chapter 1

Synopsis:

You don’t know what it’s like to be free, to make your own choices, and live your own life. For your whole life, your parents have been treating you like a puppet on strings, controlling your life to every single detail, as well as ignoring the fact that you have feelings. Other times, when you disobey their wishes, or speak up about your own opinions, they bash you down with words, in other words, psychological abuse, has led you down the long winded road of depression and anxiety. What happens when you meet a man who’s willing to be your guide out of this terrible downpour? Would you give a shot at happily ever after?

Warnings:

big age gap (kinda?)

issues on anxiety

issues on depression (mild)

issues on parental abuse

smut (maybe)

Tag List: @etherealtyjaem​ (lmk if you wanna be on the list)

It has always been like this, being locked up in the study room so you could ‘study’ for hours end, or that’s what they think you’re doing. You studied in an elite academy with your smart cousins, only to have you graduating with average grades, which of course, earned you a harsh scolding from your parents. Now, you’re supposed to be studying business for university, even though you had zero interests in it, the subject is fine, it’s what you’re studying it for that irks you. Your family runs a business in Seoul, but from what you can see by secretly skimming through the files as well as the arguments behind shut doors with your aunts and uncles, things aren’t going as planned.

You don’t have many friends, nor a phone, they took it away from you when you wanted to go out with some friends, claiming that it’s a distraction that should be locked away. You felt like Rapunzel, locked away from the world, they don’t have any love for you, you’re quite sure they don’t, they had once slapped your face ten times when you had a boyfriend behind their backs, and you were 15 for god’s sake, along with other things that you rather not say, you don’t want to relive all those painful memories.

Sometimes you wished you could go back to the time when you were a child, when you were at your grandparents’ in the morning, her warm smile and loving eyes, when you didn’t know what laid ahead. You wish you hadn’t realised that you were being abused, you used to think what you went through was the same for other kids as well, until you talked about it with other people and scared them away from you. The painful memories sinking back in made the words in front of you blurry as you felt tears seeping in your eyes.

Depression.

It’s deemed as something ridiculous in your family, and that people who are suffering from it are weaklings and don’t deserve anything from this society.

‘Does that mean I’m weak?’

You never went to therapy nor took any medication for your mental illnesses, and recently the development of anxiety attacks are constantly putting you on edge. You have them at least once a week, sometimes you even had problem breathing, but you couldn’t tell anyone about it, nor anyone would ever listen to your cries of help.

“We’re going to help sell your uncle’s house this Saturday,” your mother said as she was folding the clothes.

“The mansion he recently bought?” you asked, confused as to why he would sell the mansion he was obsessed with just two months ago.

“Yes, he bought that without our permission back then, so now we need to sell it for funds, and you need to be there to entertain the potential buyers, give them a tour around the house and other enquiries. You have to direct them to us if you think they’re truly interested, it’s going to be an open house concept party,” cold, that’s how your mother sounded, her claims of putting family above everything else flying out of the window whenever her demands are not met.

“Okay, is there anything else?” you asked, hoping to be excused as soon as possible.

“No, you can continue your studies in the study room.”

That’s what basic communication is in your life, you tried talking about your interests, your opinions, but they either fall on deaf ears, or you would receive a lecture for having a ‘false perspective’. You’ve given up on talking to them about things that are going in on your life now, they don’t listen anyways.

The party is filled with old men with their muffin tops waddling around with a wine glass in hand and talking obnoxiously loud, obviously having too much money to go by, looking at how overly filled their bellies are.

You tried hiding away in the house, but your family kept pushing you out to talk to them. Their stares were not intimidating, no, but it made you feel uncomfortable as their gazes linger a bit too long on your legs or anywhere else, and the way they didn’t want to let go after they shook your hand, made your anxiety levels rise to the roof.

You would find random excuses to run away, like going to refill their glass or saying you need to use the loo, your heartbeat going as fast as your legs could take you away from them.

When you came back out from hiding for the 6th time, both your parents were rushing you to meet someone new.

“He’s a man of great fortune and power, so the chances of him buying this house is high. Don’t try to hide from this one, or you’ll get it when we get home,” your mother warned, her eyes side eying you with daggers.

Your mother’s threat made you sick inside, what are you to them? A scapegoat?

You weren’t paying attention to who or where was she pushing you to, but once you stopped, the man in front of you made your eyes as big as saucers.

‘How is a man like this doing here?’ you thought to yourself.

“Hello Mr Suh, we’re quite busy at the moment with other potential buyers. Why don’t we allow my daughter, Y/N, to show you around?” your mother said, her voice overly sweet, like day old cotton candy.

Once you were in front of him, your parents left. Leaving you helpless as your social anxiety kicks in, your eyes trained on his shoulder, eye contact, especially from this man, made you very nervous.

“C-can I give you a tour?’ you asked, hoping to ditch him halfway.

Johnny looks at the way your eyes avoid his, it wasn’t hard, given how tall he was, there’s just something so intriguing about you, so different from the girls that throw themselves at him with zero doubts.

“Nice to meet you, Y/N. I’m Johnny,” Johnny introduced himself by bending down slightly, a friendly smile on his face, one that you can’t decipher whether he had similar intentions as those nasty old men had.

To say that the tour was horrible would’ve been an understatement, you kept stuttering under his piercing gaze, instead of looking at you like you were his next meal like other potential buyers, Johnny was genuinely listening to what you have to say. You didn’t think the house was any interesting, it was just a bunch of useless expensive things under one roof, like the movie room, the slides at the pool, the ‘mini’ bar. These things weren’t appealing to you, riches are overrated when it becomes too common, like your cousins and their different designs of Birkin bags, you weren’t exactly fond of their favourite alligator skinned ones as well.

Yet Johnny didn’t look at the cliche setting that you are currently presenting, instead his eyes are trained on yours, it wasn’t a scrutinizing gaze like the wives of those perverted men who stared down on you, nor anything that seems predatory, it only held calculation and observance. On the house? It doesn’t seem like it. On you? You can bet this whole house that he’s met women far more beautiful compared to a plain jane like you.

“T-that’s all for the tour, Mr Suh. Would you want me to direct you to my parents, if you’re interested?” you asked, hoping that you’d get to be alone again.

“Can you take me to the park nearby? I’d like to see the facilities available in this housing area,” he answered smoothly, as if he had calculated every little detail in his life.

You nodded wordlessly at his request, taking him to see the park nearby the house. It was a weird sight, having a man as tall as Johnny towering behind you.

“This is the park,” you pointed stupidly, cursing at yourself, obviously this is the park,  anyone with eyes could tell.

Johnny inhaled the breath of fresh air this area offered, his shoulders not as tensed up after. A smile decorated his handsome face as he turned towards you.

“Let’s sit.”

Johnny directed you to the nearest park bench, his size taking up most of the bench, yet he scoots into himself as you sat down next to him, giving you personal space.

‘Does he think I’m going to lower the price of the house for him? I don’t even know how much they’re selling it for,’ you thought, thinking this man must be mad that an unimportant person like you could negotiate with him.

“I’m going to be honest with you, Y/N. I’m not interested in the house,” Johnny said, breaking the silence.

Your mom isn’t going to be pleased when she hears this, you thought as you bit at your bottom lip, thinking about how harsh is she going to react if she didn’t get a buyer out of this event.

“Thank you for taking your time for considering through out this-

“I’m interested in you.”

Did you hear that correctly or was your mind playing tricks on you?

You stared at Johnny as his hand comes close to your face, he wasn’t pulling you closer, instead his fingers reached out to gently graze the underside of your eyes.

“I can see what you’re hiding,” Johnny said solemnly, his eyes showing you pity.

You quickly took out your compact mirror out of your pocket, checking to see if you did a bad job on the concealer for your puffy eyes today, but it looked fine.

“I used to be involve in theater, and I’ve seen people covering unwanted marks or eye bags on their face many times. It’s not obvious to most people, don’t worry,” Johnny explained.

The touch of his fingertips on your face was filled with warmth, as well as his eyes when he looked at you now, if his eyes were honey you’ll be as addicted as Winnie the Pooh. His touch was quickly gone as it had came, his hand placed back into his lap as he stares ahead.

“I’m not going to assume anything, but from what I can see, I don’t think you deserve to be going through what you’re facing now. And as for your family’s company, it’s not going to last long even if they managed to sell this property out. You’re going to be in a much more disappointing situation when that happens, I’ve been in the business game my whole life, my predictions hardly go astray anymore,” Johnny said without a sliver of judgement, he was just laying out the cards for you to observe.

Johnny reaches for a card in his coat pocket and handed it to you, it was his business card.

“I can take you away from all this chaos raging among your family, if you can call it a family that is. I’ll be seeing you soon, Y/N,” Johnny said before standing up and walking away to the direction where his car awaits, his driver closing his door.

That was most definitely a statement.

[dc41896]

Family Affair

Pairing: Ransom DrysdalexBlack Reader

⚠️: Harsh words from a very despicable family, fluff

“No, absolutely not.”

“Ransom come on-,”

“I said no and that’s my final answer,” he states attempting to return his attention to the newspaper in his hands until you pull it from his grasp. Standing in front of him with arms crossed, he sighs knowing you were far from letting the topic go.

“Ransom I’m not saying you have to give away the Beemer. I’m just saying we might want to look into getting a more family friendly car that a child can actually fit in comfortably.”

“What about your car? It’s fine.”

“You’re right it is. But poopie isn’t always going to be with me, which is why your car should also be safe for them.”

“You know, we’ve been going back and forth about this yet we haven’t even asked the person who’s gonna be riding in the car,” he replies scooting forward, gently grabbing your sides coming closer to your recently visible bump. “What do you say? You think daddy should retire the Beemer?”

Ear pressed against your stomach, you fail trying to hide your giggle as he pretends to listen to your unborn child.

“They said that they see nothing wrong with daddy’s car. Oh and they would rather you not call them poopie.”

“Fine Ransom, do whatever you want about the car,” you sigh giving back his crumpled paper before moving to step over his leg. You feel his grip tighten as you’re brought down to sit on his lap and his lips peck your neck.

“Alright alright, if it’ll make you like me again I’ll look into another car. I’m telling you now though, I’d walk everywhere before I buy a minivan.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less,” you laugh. “There is something else I want to talk to you about though.”

“Hmm?”

“...I think it’s time to tell your parents.”

His body tenses under you and jaw clenches as he now focuses on your stomach with thumb gliding back and forth over your belly button. Every time you brought up anything dealing with his family that tended to be his reaction, silence paired with an unspoken disdain as if you mentioned his worse enemy.

“Y/N you know how I feel about that.”

“I know but it’s their first grandchild-,”

“It could be their 10th grandchild and I still wouldn’t want them near us.”

“I just don’t want them feel like they missed out on anything and then get even more pissed.” Hands caressing his face, you kiss his lips before meeting his intense blue eyes.

“See how you’re thinking about their feelings? Actually being a decent human being who’s caring and beautiful inside and out? They’re nothing like that and exactly why I don’t want you, or our child, in the same room as them.”

“I get you’re looking out for us, but I’m a big girl. I can handle myself.”

“I’m not saying you can’t but Y/N, I’m telling you my family is not the kind where you can warm their cold hearts like some kids movie. I just hope you fully get that.”

“I’m not expecting them to join hands and break out in song like they’re straight out the sound of music. I just want them to know Ransom,” you answer.

He still didn’t want to do it, but he could see your point. The least you both could do was let them know so they couldn’t turn things back on you saying you hid their grandchild from them. Releasing a long breath through his nostrils, he lowers your hands kissing the inside of your wrists.

“Okay, we’ll tell them. But that’s all they need to know.”

“Okay, and you try not to worry,” you smile resting your forehead against his. “Everything’s gonna be fine.”

“For both of your sakes, I hope you’re right,” he responds rubbing your belly.

———

The entire car ride to his grandfather’s estate, Ransom was quiet staring straight ahead at the road. He was irritable the whole morning as he trudged back and forth throughout the house getting himself ready. This followed in the car where he simply turned on the radio not uttering a word and leaving you watching the autumn trees pass outside. You know it was all due to his nerves for what was to come and wished there was something you could say to instantly reassure him. Instead though, you simply took his free hand in yours kissing his knuckles.

It was a small gesture, but you wanted to show him you were there.

“Thank you,” he speaks just above a whisper gently squeezing your hand back before placing it on your thigh. Soon after, an older yet well kept looking house became closer in sight causing you to awe in its vintage beauty.

Really calling it a house wouldn’t do it justice. It was like a mini mansion with all the windows that lined the second level and reminded you of a small section of the hogwarts dormitories from the pointed rooftops.

“It’s not as great as it looks,” he says parking the car. “It creaks so loud you can probably hear it outside, gets drafty at night, and some of the furniture has that stale smell you can’t seem to get rid of no matter what you do to it.”

Guiding his chin to look at you, you lean closer capturing his lips with yours as his hand finds the back of your neck holding you close until both of you need to breathe.

“Try to relax, okay?” He nods with a soft smile letting you go so you both can make your way towards the front door.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me. It was only supposed to be my parents and grandpa, not the whole family!” It wasn’t until now being halfway to the front steps that you both noticed the extra cars near the front of the house.

“You’d think they’d respect this one wish-,”

“Hey it’s okay. Yea we have more of an audience now, but we’ll be fine. Maybe somehow this’ll work out better for us?”

“Darling you really are too naive at times,” he sarcastically smiles.

“And you can be the biggest grouch I’ve ever met, but I still love you,” you reply mimicking his expression before kissing his cheek as he chuckles.

His arm barely extended enough to reach the knob before the door swung open revealing a middle aged man with white hair and a style similar to Ransom’s from the sweater under his open fleece jacket and jeans over deck shoes.

“Good thing you still look the same after a year or else we wouldn’t know you at all,” he states with arms crossed in front of him.

“Hello father, lovely to see you too.”

“Still as sarcastic as ever too. And who do we have here?”

“Oh I’m Y/N, nice to meet you Mr. Drysdale,” you sweetly smile holding out your hand which he shakes with an amused look painted on his face.

“So this is the special guest we’ve been waiting on,” he grins. “And please call me Richard.”

“Speaking of I thought we agreed it was only gonna be us. Why is the whole family here?”

“Walt came by to talk business with your grandfather so of course Donna and Jacob followed behind. Joni came when she found out everyone else was here because she didn’t want to be ‘left out’,” a lady not far behind Walt in age explains, heels clicking against the hardwood as she approaches the door in her mauve colored suit looking every bit as rich as you’d imagine someone to look. “Richard are you gonna let them in or keep them outside the entire time?”

“Oh sorry, come in,” he motions stepping aside letting the both of you enter.

Although a bit cluttered with the eccentric knickknacks collected by the family over time, it was still just as beautiful inside as it was out, if not more.

“So I’m guessing you’re here to tell me you’re playing house with my son?,” she asks taking a drink from her glass.

“Um well technically yes, but-,”

“Jesus let them sit down first Linda,” Richard shakes his head leading you to the couch as Ransom follows close behind. Of course being the stranger in the house all eyes were on you as you sat down. “So Y/N, what’s your poison?”

“I’ll actually just take water, thank you.”

“Joni, Walt, Donna, Jacob, this is Ransom’s guest Y/N, Y/N these are Ransom’s aunts, his uncle, and youngest cousin,” Linda points respectively before sitting in front of you with legs crossed.

“So what do we owe the pleasure of this little visit Ransom? Need more money from Harlan to do God knows what on some private island?,” Joni chuckles sipping from her wine glass.

“Actually my business here is with my parents which has nothing to do with neither of you leeches,” Ransom quips placing an arm around your shoulder.

“Oh very classy. Y/N I may not know you, but I’d really advise you to get out from under this one as soon as you can,” Walt replies sitting on the arm of his wife’s chair.

“No ‘may not’, you don’t know her, so what makes you think you’re in the position to give her advice of any kind?”

“Okay boys enough,” Linda interjects with a raised hand. “Ransom what’s going on?”

In perfect timing, Richard walks in setting your water down in front of you before sitting in the empty chair next to a waiting Linda who seemed like the type not liking to do so.

“Go ahead,” Ransom whispers in your ear giving a reassuring nod as you sit up a bit straighter with hands clasped in your lap.

“Well, Linda and Richard, we wanted to meet with you to let you know that you’re gonna be grandparents.”

Just staring at you unimpressed with your announcement, you feel your stomach sink disappointed in their lack of enthusiasm or any reaction really.

“Here we go again,” she lowly grins swallowing the last of her brown liquor. “Listen honey you seem like a nice girl, but do you know how many of that boy’s ex’s or random hookups have come here saying the same thing expecting a check from us?”

“Unlike all of those other girls, which it was only four, she’s serious,” Ransom adds.

“Four too many if you ask me,” Joni mumbles.

“Well no one did so why are you still here?!”

“Mrs. Drysdale-,”

“It’s Linda or Mrs. Thrombey-Drysdale dear,” she corrects refilling her glass.

“Linda I’m not here looking for some handout. I just wanted the both of you to know that Ransom and I are expecting so you’d be in their life.”

“How do you know it’s his?,” Richard asks causing both you and Ransom to turn your heads looking as if he’d cursed you using every word under the sun.

“Excuse me?”

“Like Linda said, you seem like a nice girl but we have to make sure we’re not just falling for the innocent farm girl routine here.”

“Plus with you kids now and your wild live free ways, it’s a valid question I’d say,” Donna states making your blood boil to levels you’d never experienced before.

“Yes Ransom is the father. Would you like me to tell you where and when we had sex too so you can add it up yourselves?”

“Hey no need to get an attitude with us,” Walt says trying to calm an apparently offended Donna. “As you know this is a prominent family with assets we’re just trying to protect. Plus think of our patriarch. Bringing all this drama to him in his old age and with his ailments might send the poor man to the hospital.”

“Look I understand, trust me I do. But Ransom is literally right here with me which should be proof enough everything I’m saying is true.”

“And it would be if we knew Ransom wasn’t money hungry and trying to make sure his inheritance was still intact,” Linda says peering over her cup.

“I started my own writing company with the money I had left getting NOTHING MORE from grandpa. I literally said screw my inheritance before I stormed out last year and never came back!,” Ransom yells becoming more frustrated as well.

“People’s minds can change,” Jacob quietly speaks making you scoff before standing up to walk out the room.

“Oh, and before I go,” you start, lifting your sweater just enough so everyone could see your bump. “It’s a real bump. No fake belly or anything if that was the next question.” You didn’t give anyone a chance to say anything more, not even Ransom to stop you from leaving, before you rushed out the room through the kitchen to wherever your feet would guide you.

“Couldn’t leave it alone could you?,” Ransom sighs.

“Well maybe we wouldn’t have to do all that if you would’ve kept it in your pants in the past!,” Linda shouts as Ransom just shakes his head.

“All that booze is really getting to your head,” he chuckles to himself standing to his feet. “Those other girls all came by themselves, wrote letters, or emails claiming those things. Not one did I sit there with them letting them spew lies because I KNEW THEY WERE LYING!”

“Well if this one’s so different, why has it taken a year for us to meet her?!”

“BECAUSE OF THIS!! This dysfunction I’ve had to deal with that I didn’t want to subject my wife or unborn child to!”

“Wife?,” everyone asks at the same time looking as if he’d just grown a second head.

“Yes, my wife. We got married six months ago.”

“Jesus, Ransom,” Richard groans running a hand over his face. “There was a prenup involved right?”

“She offered to sign one, but I said no. Because unlike your marriage, we can trust each other.” Pushing past his father, he follows your steps through the kitchen and eventually out to the enclosed veranda hearing your sniffles.

“I know. You’re here to tell me I told you so and how being a grouch isn’t a bad thing because it avoids your feelings getting hurt,” you softly speak looking down to your belly as your hands cradle the small protrusion.

“No,” he answers sitting beside you kissing your temple. “I just came to check on you.”

“I’ve calmed down, but I just want to go home and go to bed. Oh and you were right about this place being creaky.”

“I’ve told them these floors need to be replaced,” a deep voice announces startling the both of you. The elderly man slowly makes his way to the chair across from you sighing in content as he sits down. “So I hear a new member of the family will be joining us soon.”

“Yea, around May or June. Grandpa this Y/N, my wife. Y/N this is grandpa Harlan,” Ransom introduces as the two of you shake hands.

“Nice to meet you. I apologize for my children’s behavior, they can be-,”

“Rude and outright inconsiderate,” you interrupt quickly slapping your hand over your mouth realizing you just said that out loud. “I’m sorry, it slipped out.”

“It’s quite alright, and in fact true,” he chuckles. “Don’t worry about them though, if you both need anything at all just let me know.”

“That’s nice of you gramps, but this baby is our responsibility. We don’t need any assistance.”

“That’s very commendable of you two, but I don’t want that child going without anything he or she needs to save your ego. Just know I’ll personally be here to help any way I can.”

You could see why Ransom always wanted to be by his grandfathers side. He might’ve had his stern moments from the stories you heard, but overall he was caring and actually gave people chances rather than immediately dismissing them. It made you wonder what happened to the rest of the family for them to turn out so different.

“Thank you Harlan. We really appreciate everything, but especially you just being there for us,” you smile walking over to hug his shoulders making the old man chuckle being caught off guard by your affection.

“You’re very welcome. And you little one,” he directs toward your stomach, “yes you’re coming into a, well...complicated family, but you have the power to determine what reaction your name brings. Whenever you need to be reminded of that, your parents and I will be here.”

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[wiypt-writes]

Stark Spangled Forever

Duo Shot: Stendhal Syndrome Part 1: Brat

Intro: It’s Rori’s fifth birthday party, and there’s someone there who Katie doesn’t really appreciate hanging round her man. And Steve doesn’t really appreciate Katie’s attitude either.

Uh Oh….

Warnings: Bad language.

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

A/N: This was a one shot. I got carried away and wrote 24 pages. So now you have a duo shot thanks to that photo sending me to a dirty place. No smut in this one…but it’s on its way in the next part! 

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Katie Stark and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Stark Spangled Forever Masterlist // Main Masterlist

 May 2029

“Katie…” Steve called up the stairs. He waited for a moment. There was no response. “Honey?”

Still nothing.

He bounded up the steps, taking them two at a time and headed over the landing and into their room. He paused in the doorway, smiling gently as he saw his wife curled upon the bed, Harry snuggled into her, his head tucked under her chin as they both slept. He wasn’t surprised they were both flat out. They’d had a rough time with the tot the previous night. He had woken up at about 2 am crying and Steve had gone into find both he and his bed full of vomit. After they’d cleaned him up he’d continued to be sick, grumpy and teary, and hadn’t settled even when they’d brought him into bed with them. Eventually Katie had given up and taken him downstairs. Steve had initially gotten up with them but Katie had sent him back to bed pointing out that one of them needed to be with it enough to look after the others the day after. It was also an unspoken fact that they both knew Harry wouldn’t settle for his dad when he was like this. Steve thought Jamie was a momma’s boy but that was nothing compared to their youngest.

He gently closed the door and headed back downstairs and into the den where Jamie was sat cross legged on the rug faffing with some Lego and Rori was perched watching The Wizard of Oz.

“Guys, what do you fancy for lunch?”

“Are you making it?” Jamie looked up at him. Steve snorted.

“Fraid so pal. Momma’s asleep with Harry.”

“Is Harry still sick?” Rori looked around, her eyes wide.

“He’s ok sweetie.” Steve assured her “He just has a tummy bug.”

“Or he ate your cooking.” Emmy said from behind Steve as she passed him heading into the kitchen.

“Enough cheek thank you.” Steve said, raising an eyebrow at her back. He heard her chuckle as she opened the fridge.

“Jamie its ok…” she called “There’s left over lasagne.”

“Yesss.” Jamie said, jumping up off the rug. “Mom’s lasagne is the best.”

“Daddy?” Rori spoke again, her round green eyes looking at Steve.

“Yes baby?”

“Will Harry be ok for my birthday party?”

Steve noticed her biting her lip, the same expression Katie wore when she was worried. With a soft chuckle he crossed the room and knelt down in front of her. “Of course he will, it’s not for another week yet.”

She considered his answer and nodded. Steve reached out and gently tucked her dark hair behind her ears. It was then he noticed her lip wobbling.

“Hey…” he said, frowning, as he stood up to sit besides her. She crawled onto his lap and tucked her face into his shirt “What’s wrong?” She sniffled slightly and pressed her face further into his chest. Steve gently rubbed her back and stayed still waiting for her to speak.

“Jemima at school…” she sniffled, and Steve took a deep breath. He knew where this was going. “Her brother got sick and he dieded.” “Ok…” he said gently, “Jemima’s brother was very poorly. Harry just has a tummy bug. I promise you Rori, he’s not going to die.” She sniffed again and looked up at him “Pinkie promise?”

He smiled and held up his hand, little finger extended “pinkie promise.” She mimicked him and intertwined her small finger with his before she reached up and wrapped her arms round his neck, nuzzling her head into the space against his cheek.

“Why is your face always scratchy?” she asked and Steve gave a laugh.

“Blame your Momma, she won’t let me shave.” he said and Rori pulled back, her little hands raking into his beard. He playfully snapped at her fingers with his teeth, a loud clicking noise sounding as he bit onto thin air and she giggled.

“You gonna come get some lunch?” he looked at her. She nodded and he stood up with her in his arms, carrying her through to the kitchen where Emmy was already halfway through making a salad to go with the leftovers which were heating in the microwave.

“Thanks Em.” Steve said, dropping Rori onto a chair by the table before he moved over to grab some plates.

“Think we should save mom some?”

“No it’s ok.” Steve shook his head “if she’s hungry when she wakes I’ll make her a sandwich.”

Emmy nodded. “Oh, I thought Peter and Brooke could come over later, if that’s ok? I mean, if Harry’s not still sick.” “They can come over anyway, it’s fine.” Steve said, “Harry will most likely be upstairs anyway.”

“We were just gonna hang out by the pool for the evening…” “Em.” Steve chuckled “It’s fine…” and then he paused and smirked slightly as he looked at her “You want the beer don’t you?”

She wrinkled her nose and nodded.

“There’s plenty in the bar…just don’t get that drunk one of you drowns.” he said after a pause. “Explaining that to Peter’s Aunt or Jennifer would be a bit awkward.”

“Thanks dad.” she smiled at him.

They ate their lunch, the 4 of them chatting away, Steve pleased to see Rori was settled now, her earlier upset forgotten. Once they were finished Emmy took Rori and Jamie out into the garden to play on the jungle gym whilst Steve cleared the dishes. Every so often he glanced out of the window to see the kids playing a soft smile on his face. He enjoyed days like this, weekends or during the holidays when they were all together. It was just a shame their brother was too poorly to join in. He called out of the open door to tell Emmy he was nipping upstairs before he repeated the journey he had taken a little over and hour ago, checking his watch.

Katie glanced up as he opened the door, her finger on her lips.

“Hey…” he whispered.

She smiled and gave a soft yawn “How long have I been asleep?”

“Not sure sweetheart.” he said, “I came up about an hour or so ago and you were flat out.”

She gave another yawn and Harry stirred gently, his hand rubbing at his eyes before he settled back down. Katie gently felt his head.

“He’s not as warm as he was.” she said as Steve gently perched on the bed, smoothing back his son’s dark blonde hair.

“Rori got really upset.” he said, smiling softly “She mentioned Jemima’s brother.”

Katie sighed and frowned “Yeah. It was hard trying to explain that when we heard the news. Is she ok?”

“She’s fine.” he assured her “Gave her a pinkie promise Harry only had a tummy bug so.”

“Daddy’s girl.” she smiled and Steve gave a gentle chuckle.

“Peter and Brooke are coming over later.” he said “Emmy wants to hang out in the pool house with a few beers.” Katie smirked “You’re definitely going soft in your old age.”

“Well Emmy is 21 now so I can’t stop her and as for Pete and Brooke, well, sooner they do it here than in a bar.” he shrugged. “You want some lunch?”

Katie shook her head “I’ll eat later.”

Harry stirred again, only this time he grumbled slightly and blinked, opening his eyes sleepily. He looked at his momma before he nuzzled into her closer, his hand winding into her hair as he started to grizzle slightly.

“Hey baby…” she said, kissing his head.

He mumbled something again, his noises not quite forming into words yet, still being half asleep, and then he turned his head to peek up at his dad.

“You ok Pal?”

Harry eyed him for a moment before he moved and held out his arms in Steve’s direction. Slightly surprised Steve moved to take him in an embrace as the little boy snuggled into his chest and Steve kissed his head. Katie smiled, the sight of Steve with his kids was something she would never get tired of. Being a father brought out all his best qualities, just like the serum had amplified them, having kids had too.  He was loving, patient, gentle yet strong, stern and happy to deal out the discipline when appropriate.

She sat up, pecking him on the cheek at the point where his beard met smooth skin. “You know you might not have the shield anymore but you’ll always be their superhero.”

********

Much to Rori’s relief (and everyone else in the Rogers household for that matter) Harry’s illness only lasted 24 hours and he was back to his cheeky, happy little self the next morning. Arrangements pressed ahead for the party, it wasn’t a huge gathering-namely Rori’s closest friends from school and family- which was to take place the weekend before her birthday.  As she shared her day of birth with her late uncle, Katie always found the day a little bittersweet but she tried to keep any of her sadness and nostalgia at bay for the sake of her little girl and focus on the celebration instead.

By 2pm in the afternoon their garden was packed with 7 other 5 year olds, a couple of parents and the usual additional suspects, namely Morgan and Pepper, Jennifer and Brooke along with Bucky and Sam. Rori had stipulated that she didn’t want any games or anything, just to play in the garden on a bouncy castle with some “Princess Punch” which was basically pink lemonade full of chopped up strawberries and raspberries, something her dad had made her one day and she insisted that no one else could make it the same. So, that’s what she had gotten.

“So who’s the blonde Katie’s throwing shade at?” Sam asked as Steve handed him a beer. Steve groaned. Rori’s best friend, a girl called Aurelia was obviously at the party. And so was her mother. A certain Dani-with-an-I, the real-estator who had shown them around the first house they had looked at in Brooklyn all those years ago But, as Steve knew only too well, his wife held a grudge better than anyone he had ever met in his life.

Ever.

Sam gave a loud snort of laughter as Steve explained about the whole incident when they’d been looking round the house and Dani flirting with him whilst Bucky took another Asgardian beer from the stack Steve had placed in a specific chiller in the garage and popped the top off effortlessly with his metal hand. The three men emerged out of the side door back onto the garden, taking up their spot by the side of the garden overseeing the proceedings whilst the women were perched on the decking which ran flush along the back of the house. Katie was milling around the garden somewhere, making sure everyone was ok.

“Bet that makes for interesting conversations when Aurelia comes for sleepovers…” Bucky mused.

“Katie’s not callous enough to have issues with a child simply because she doesn’t like her mother.” Steve shook his head, immediately defending his wife. “In fact she’s nothing but welcoming to her, she’s Rori’s friend after all. She just keeps any exchanges between her and Dani to a minimum.”

“Well, you best watch your back…” Sam said “Because it looks like she’s heading over.”

Steve sighed and spun round to face Dani as she approached him.

“Hi Steve…”

“Hey Dani.” he said “Everything ok.”

“I don’t want to cause a fuss but, well Jamie and Morgan are causing a bit of an issue.”

“Issue?” Steve frowned. At that point Rori came running over to him, tears flooding from her face. “Princess…” he crouched down. “What’s wrong?”

“Jamie and Morgan are throwing those little ball thingies that bang at everyone!” Rori said, stamping her feet. Steve glared up at Bucky.

“I told you not to give him those!” “I aint given him any for weeks!” Bucky held his hands up. “He’s clearly stashed them…I’m sorry Rori…”

“What have you done now?” Bucky turned to see Katie stood there, her eyebrows raised, sunglasses perched on her head as they acted like a headband, keeping her long hair off her face.

“Given Jamie contraband.” Sam said.

“Those damned firecrackers?”

Bucky shrugged.

“You’re an ass.” she said to him as she crouched down to look at Rori. “You ok sweetie?”

“He keeps throwing them at me!” she yelled.

“Ok…” Katie soothed her, and Steve took the opportunity to glance at his wife. She still knocked him off his feet after all these years. Her make-up was light, leaving those freckles he adored on show, and the pale yellow and blue maxi dress she was wearing complimented her amazing figure and curves to perfection, leaving her shoulders bare bar the thin spaghetti straps which crossed at the back. And it was low cut enough that Steve could see a fair bit of sideboob as well. Which he would never complain about. She turned to Steve, raised her eyebrow as his gaze lifted from her chest to her eyes. “Did you hear a word of that?”

“No.” he said honestly. She snorted.

“I just said that you’d go and speak to Jamie and Morgan.” she said, nodding to Rori.

“I’ll deal with your brother, I promise…” Steve confirmed “Go and play and don’t worry about it…”

He wiped her tears away with his hands, gave her a kiss and stood up

“Where are they?”

“By the side of the pool house.” Katie responded at the same time Dani said the same thing.

“We got it, thanks…” Katie looked at the woman. She nodded and sidled off, Steve ignored the look of utter glee that Sam and Bucky shared at the fact Katie was getting all “Starky Snarky” as Sam called it. Katie watched her leave before she turned back to Steve, ignoring the look he was giving her. “Spotted the little shits before.” she continued “They’re trying to hide behind the stack of sun-loungers”

He nodded, dropped a kiss to Katie’s lips and headed off to find the trouble makers. He took the long way, striding round the edge of the pool so they wouldn’t see him coming. He stood simply watching them for a moment. Jamie and Morgan were thick as thieves. With little over a year between them, they’d practically grown up as brother and sister, which Steve and Katie loved, but they were a recipe for trouble. With Morgan’s cleverness and Jamie’s penchant for mischief they made a right pair. Jamie said something to Morgan and she sniggered and they both stood up which was when Steve made his move. He gently grabbed Jamie’s collar and the back of Morgan’s top, pulling them back, ignoring their yells of protest as he bent over.

“If you two don’t stop right now, you’re gonna be in big trouble.” his voice was low and steely as he spoke and the pair of them stiffened slightly. He let go and stood up, hands on his hips.

“Dad, we were only-“

“Son…” Steve cut him off, holding his hand up in an instruction to stay quiet “Just don’t.” He held his palm out in front of him “Hand em over…”

With a sigh and a scowl Jamie emptied his pockets, Morgan following suit and they both passed Steve the small boxes of the little white firecrackers.

“I mean it you two. One more toe out of line…”

“Sorry Uncle Spangles.” Morgan bowed her head.

“It isn’t me you should be apologising to” he said, looking at the 10 year old. She was getting more and more like Tony with each day that passed. He felt a little pang for his brother-in-law as he looked into her brown eyes and took a deep breath, his voice softer when he spoke again “Go and say sorry to Rori, both of you.”

********

“What’s Morgan done?” Pepper asked as Katie headed up to the decking.

Katie snorted “Her and Jamie have been throwing firecrackers.”

Pepper groaned “I’ll have a word…”

“It’s ok… Steve’s sorting it.” Katie shrugged “No biggie, just being kids…”

“I don’t understand how she can be so like Tony when he’s not around.” Pepper said gently.

“Stark DNA.” Katie grinned, “it’s strong.”

Pepper snorted. “Yeah, it must be.”

The two women watched as Steve spoke to the kids, taking the boxes off them before dismissing them. He strode across the lawn, looked up at Katie and gave her a smile before he made his way into the garage to dispose of the offensive ‘weapons’.

“Where did they even get them from?” Pepper asked.

“Bucky” answered Jennifer and Katie the same time. Katie glanced back over the garden, everything seemed to be back to normal. Her eyes fell on Dani who was now stood with one of the other mums that Katie had been speaking to earlier.

“Who’s that?” Jennifer asked.

“Some tramp.” Katie shrugged.

“Her name is Dani.” Pepper snorted “With an I…”

“Was she the last Trashbag you had to take out one morning?” Katie asked. “She mentioned something about that last time I met her and she does look a familiar.”

Pepper snorted. “No…she never got there. Not for the lack of trying. But you’re right, she does look a little like Christine Everhart.”

“Of course…” Katie snorted, “Christine…”

Katie wandered through from the kitchen in her cami and short pyjama set, clutching a bowl of cereal, groaning at the raging headache she was sporting. She was visiting home for a week or so to attend the Apogee Award ceremony in Vegas, which was honouring her brother. Pity he hadn’t actually cared enough to attend himself, instead living it up in the Casino. Obediah had accepted the award for him and then she’d continued drinking with the rest of the party that had turned up…and continued the drinking on the private jet home.  As she shuffled into the living area, she stopped dead looking at the blonde woman, dressed in nothing but one of Tony’s shirts as she sloped around their living area. Another one of Tony’s bimbos that he picked up in Vegas and flown home with them. Said bimbo made her way over to the pad that led to the workshop and pressed a few buttons.

“Hey, Tony?”

“You are not authorized to access this area.” Jarvis said, making her scream and jump. Katie sniggered.

“Jesus.” the woman said.

“No, JARVIS…” Katie spoke loudly and the woman span around. “He runs the house.”

“You must be Katie…”

“And you must be Miss Saturday.” Katie shrugged, sitting on the sofa “Well, for this week anyway…”

“Christine…” she said. “We met last night…”

“Yeah I don’t bother learning names.” Katie shrugged. “They never last long enough for me to give a shit.”

At that point Pepper walked into the room holding up a clothes carrier.

“I’ve got your clothes here. They’ve been dry-cleaned and pressed, and there’s a car waiting for you outside that will take you anywhere you’d like to go.” She said, smiling at the woman.

“You must be the famous Pepper Potts.”

“Indeed I am.” Pepper smiled.

“After all these years, Tony still has you picking up the dry-cleaning.” she commented sarcastically.

“Bitch.” Katie said loudly. Christine looked at her but Pepper simply remained still and smiled, her tone pleasant and even.

“I do anything and everything that Mr. Stark requires, including, occasionally, taking out the trash.”

At that Katie choked slightly on her cereal and looked up as the smug bint’s smirk slid off her face.

“Will that be all?” Pepper asked.

Christine took the hangar and sidled off.

“Taking out the trash…” Katie grinned “Pepper that was fucking genius!”

Pepper arched an eyebrow.

“Where is my dickhead brother?”

“Where do you think?” Pepper asked.

Katie hummed and put down her empty cereal bowl before she made her way through the door Christine had been trying to unlock and down to Tony’s workshop.

“JARVIS, lower that racket…” she muttered.

“Certainly Miss Stark…” 

The noise dimmed and Tony wheeled round “Please don’t turn down my music” “Good morning to you too.” Katie rolled her eyes “Last night’s conquest has left. Pepper just threw her out.”

“Speaking of which, you are supposed to be halfway around the world right now.” Pepper appeared but Tony wasn’t listening.

“How’d she take it?” He looked at Katie. 

“Like a champ.” she shrugged.

Tony grinned and then turned to Pepper “Why are you trying to hustle me out of here?”

“Your flight was scheduled to leave an hour and a half ago.”

“That’s funny, I thought with it being my plane and all, that it would just wait for me to get there.” Tony quipped sarcastically.

“Tony, I need to speak to you about a couple things before I get you out of the door”

“Doesn’t it kind of defeat the whole purpose of having your own plane if it departs before you arrive?” Tony continue and then Pepper’s voice rose.

At that point Katie groaned and decided she needed to go to bed before she split for her own flight home and left them to it. 24 hours later she was back in London, getting the notice from Rhodey that Tony was missing…

Laughter dragged Katie back out of her memory and she wiped her eyes slightly, memories of her brother still hit her hard. She turned to catch the last of Pepper’s explanation about Dani’s ‘antics’ at a Stark Party once to which Jennifer, Emmy and Brooke were all laughing along with as Pepper glanced at Katie.

“What is she doing here anyway?”

“Well, her daughter happens to be Rori’s bestest friend in the whole world.” Katie said, repeating the words Rori used to describe Aurelia her “And of course when I asked a few parents on the invites to join, she jumped at the chance.”

There was a pause as they all continued to watch the woman as she tilted her head back and laughed at something that one of the other mom’s had said.

“Is her hair even real?” Emmy asked suddenly.

“Nope. And neither are her tits…” Jennifer mumbled. “Aint no way she’s had a kid and they’re still…” she grabbed her own breasts and hoisted them up, causing all the women to snigger into their drinks.

“Momma?” Katie spun to look at Rori who was grinning up at her mum.

“Hey sweetie” Katie smiled, crouching down “You ok now?”

Rori nodded “Please can I get a drink?”

“Course you can baby…” Katie smiled “Why don’t you go ask daddy to grab you some of the Princess Punch?”

She gave her daughter a kiss on the cheek before she skipped off down the lawn to where Steve was stood with Bucky and Sam. Katie watched as he immediately looked down when Rori tugged at his black jeans. With a huge, genuine smile he swept her up, her legs causing Steve’s sweater to ride up and at the flash of his toned stomach Katie bit her lip.

“Down girl..” Jennifer mumbled and Katie snorted.

“That obvious?”

“You’re not exactly subtle…” Pepper smirked “That’s the Stark in you.”

Behind her she heard Emmy groan before Brooke quipped “Em, not being funny, but your dad is hot.”

“Fuck off.” Emmy shot back as Brooke cackled “That’s disgusting.”

“His best friend ain’t bad either…” Jenifer mused, cocking her head to one side as Bucky reached up to gently ruffle Rori’s hair, and then tilting his head towards her as she reached to do the same to him, a huge smile spreading across his face.

“Eww.” Brooke groaned, and this time it was Emmy’s turn to laugh.

“Speaking of which, where’s Peter?” Katie turned to Emmy.

“He’s dropping May and Happy at the airport and coming down later…” she said, a faint pink tinge on her cheeks. Katie looked at Pepper, the pair of them smiling to one another. Emmy and Peter had been pretty on and off over the last 5 years but seemed to have been going pretty steady over the last 12 months.

“Which reminds me, can you tell Dad and Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee to behave?” Emmy looked at her mum “They’re always teasing Pete…” “That is a right of passage.” Pepper said wisely “Tony was a shit to Steve when he started dating Katie.” “Tony was a shit to Steve way before that.” Katie grinned “But I gotta admit, he was never that pleased about how he found out.” “Which was?” Jennifer looked her.

“He walked in and found us in the kitchen half dressed…” Katie shrugged “Was his own fault, he should have knocked instead of swanning into my apartment like he owned it.” “Yeah, I don’t…” Emmy started before she shook her head “Shut up!”

“Erm, where are you two off to?” Katie heard Pepper say and she looked up to see Morgan and Jamie half in, half out of the kitchen door.

“The den Auntie Pep.” Jamie answered. “Gonna go watch a film.”

“Least you can’t cause any trouble in there…yes, I heard.” Pepper said sternly “Another toe out of line Morgan H Stark and I’ll take you home.”

“Sorry Mom…” she said, and Pepper dismissed her.

Katie smiled again and her attention turned back to the party. She glanced over the garden and was just about to head down to mingle again, not wanting to leave the rest of the parents feeling awkward when a certain blonde haired tramp caught her attention. She watched her for a moment as she walked over to Steve and then stiffened slightly as she touched his arm, but then she stepped way over the line.

“Oh hell no bitch…” Katie’s eyes narrowed as she saw Dani kiss Steve’s cheek.

“Kick her ass mom…” Emmy mumbled.

“Hold my beer…” Katie said, before she paused “Actually, on second thoughts… I’ll take the beer with me…”

“$50 dollars says Trashbag is leaving here in a box…” Brooke quipped. Pepper, Jennifer and Emmy all sniggered.

********

After getting Rori a glass of punch and retrieving another 3 beers for him, Sam and Bucky, Steve headed back across the lawn, Rori still following him.

“Daddy…” she spoke again.

“Yeah?” he looked at her.

“What are tits?”

Steve choked on his beer and heard Sam’s guffawing laughter from the side of him, punctuated by Bucky’s snorts.

“Ermmm…” Steve wiped at his sweater where his beer had slopped down the front and racked his brains “They’re a type of bird…” The laugher and snorts grew even louder. Steve looked at Rori who was frowning before she shook her head “Why would Aurelia’s mommy have fake birds?”

At that Sam began to cough, and Steve looked at him. He was doubled over, slapping his knees. Bucky was wiping his eyes and gave Steve a thumbs up. “Fake birds, I can’t…”  Bucky’s hand fell to Sam’s back as the pair of them continued to laugh.

“I don’t know…” Steve looked at Rori. “Who said that anyway?”

“Jennifer.” she said, and Steve rolled his eyes and glanced over at his wife who was stood, looking out over the garden. “Well Jennifer is just being silly.” Steve looked back at Rori “Don’t worry about it.”

Rori accepted his answer and ran off.

“You can stop laughing now.” he turned to his friends.

“Man, I love your kids.” Bucky said as Sam straightened up, wiping his eyes.

“Yeah well right now they’re behaving better than their mother.” Steve frowned.

“I dare you to say that to her face.” Bucky smirked “And whilst you’re at it, you can tell Jennifer you think she’s silly…”

Steve shook his head “I’m quite attached to my balls thanks, and I’d like to keep it that way.”

“Good luck with that…” Sam said, “Blonde haired real estator at 12 o’clock.”

Steve let out a silent groan, he really didn’t need this.

“Steve…” he felt an hand on his arm.

“Yeah?” he turned to face Dani, polite as always.

“I’m sorry about before,I didn’t want to get the kids into trouble.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Steve shrugged “Jamie and Morgan are a handful together.”

Dani laughed, and then stood on her tip toes to kiss his cheek. Steve hadn’t seen that coming. He stepped away slightly and gave her a smile as she looked at him.

“Well, Aurelia was really upset so thank you for sorting it out…”

“Wife…6 o’clock…” Bucky mumbled. But he needn’t have bothered, Steve knew his wife was behind him even before she slipped her arms round his waist, the hand that wasn’t clutching the beer bottle gently slipping under his black sweater, rubbing his stomach softly. He smiled to himself, knowing full well she was here to make a point, and gently placed his large hand over hers.

“Hey beautiful.” he said softly and Katie felt that fire in her belly light even more at his soft words.

“Hey…” she mumbled, pressing her face into his back, gently kissing between his shoulder blades through his sweater before she moved and slid into the space under his arm, placing herself between him and Dani. Steve rolled his eyes at his wife’s passive aggressive display of possessiveness and glanced at Sam who was grinning ear to ear, watching the exchange.

“You know, Mrs Rogers…” Dani smiled at Katie, ”I was just wondering if we were past the formalities of using our surnames now seeing as our daughters are inseparable? ”

She started to laugh and Katie continued to smile before she replied “Nope, I’m good with Mrs Rogers thanks.

Sam started to cough, which was clearly to cover up a laugh. Steve looked at him to see him smirking ear to ear.

“How’s your husband?” Katie looked Dani. “I don’t see him…”

“We’re not together anymore.” Dani said, her smile faltering slightly

“Oh, sorry to her that.” Katie replied, although her tone said otherwise “Guess he wasn’t a fan of you touching what doesn’t belong to you either.”

Dani’s face slipped, but luckily for her one of the other mom’s called her name and she excused herself. Katie watched her go before she felt Steve move his arm from her shoulders.

“That was mean.” he looked at Katie, his brow furrowed.

“I don’t like people touching my stuff…” Katie shrugged.

“You’re a fucking brat.” Steve said sternly, his face displaying no humour. Katie was completely unabashed by his tone and shrugged again

“I warned her last time I’d snap her hand off. She got off lightly.”

With that she turned and walked back towards Pepper and Jennifer. Steve watched her go, his face flushed with anger at her childish display.

“Damned…” Bucky whistled out. “I know you said she could be vicious, Steve, but wow…”

“I think that’s called marking your territory.” Sam quipped as Steve shook his head, the nerve in his jaw twitching.

“It’s called being rude.” He said, before he drained his beer and tossed the empty into one of the recycling tubs by the table “Scuse me fellas, I need to go have a word with my wife…” Bucky and Sam watched as he strode across the lawn, hand pushing his hair back off his face. He reached Katie, acknowledge the women before he gently wrapped his hand around her arm and bent to speak into her ear. She looked at him, frowned, and then allowed him to lead her inside.

“So now they’re gonna have a row and then angry sex, right?” Bucky looked at Sam. Sam nodded.

“Totally…shall we join the ladies?”

“Good idea.” Bucky agreed.

*******

“Uh oh Dad’s approaching…” Emmy said to her mum.

“Is he pissed?” Katie asked, grimacing slightly. As soon as he’d chastised her before she knew he wouldn’t leave it there and she was going to get a lecture about her attitude.

“He’s wearing his Captain’s face…” Emmy wrinkled her nose.

“Shit…”

“A word, inside now…” Steve’s voice was quiet, calm and level as he gently gripped Katie’s arm, but she recognised the icy tone it carried. Frowning slightly, she let him take her hand as he led her inside and through to the lounge. Steve shut the door behind him and Katie watched him, cocking her head to the side.

“Was there any need for that?” he said looking at her.

“For what?”

“You know damned well what.” he said, his voice still low as he raised an eyebrow “What you said to Dani, it was rude.”

“Whatever.” Katie rolled her eyes.

“Don’t roll your eyes at me…”

“Don’t speak to me like I’m one of the kids…” she shot back, her voice slightly louder.

“Well stop acting like one of them.” Steve’s hands dropped to his hips. “The dig about her husband was awful, you do realise he cheated on her right?”

Katie’s face slipped a little “No, I didn’t…but, hang on, how do you know that?”

“She told me, the other week when I dropped Aurelia off home.”

“Oh so you’re like friends now, she confiding in you?”  Katie’s tone was steely.

“No, she just mentioned that she was grateful for us having Aurelia because she’d had an appointment with the solicitor. So maybe, just maybe you should think about apologising.”

“Piss off…” Katie laughed in disbelief. “She kissed you on the cheek…”

“And?” Steve frowned “You forget that plenty of guys do that to you…”

“My or our friends, yeah. She is NOT my friend Steve…”

“Do you seriously feel that threatened by her you have to be so downright nasty?”

“I’m not threatened…look, like I said before, I told her last time she touched my stuff again and I’d snap her wrist. She got off lightly.”

Steve shook his head at his wife, he loved the bones of this woman but sometimes her behaviour drove him up the wall. She could be so petty and obtuse it was ridiculous.

Rogers by name, Stark by nature.

There was a tense silence which Katie broke.

“Are we arguing still?”

Steve sighed “I’m not arguing with you, I’m just pointing out I think you were out of line. If you don’t think you were then that’s your prerogative.” Katie hummed, before she grinned and looked at him “Wanna go fuck in the Camero like last time?”

Steve shook his head, she was unbelievable.

“No.” he said simply, turning to open the door. But Katie wasn’t giving up that easily.

“Shame, because I’m not wearing any panties.”

Ok so that got Steve’s attention. He let out an inward groan as frankly, that sex they’d had in the garage after the previous Dani incident had been hot as fuck but no, he wasn’t giving in here. What was it she always told the kids? “Actions have consequences”

Damned right they do sweetheart.

He turned back to face her, his back pressing to the door as he glanced down at his hands, the sleeves on his sweater were rolled up slightly exposing his forearms. He raised his gaze to meet that of his wife’s and damned, he nearly caved, because she really did turn him on more than she would ever know. But right now, he wasn’t giving her what she wanted.

He sighed and repeated his earlier statement to her “Such a fucking brat.” before he turned and walked out of the room.

Katie remained where she was, stunned. For the first time ever, in their 16 years of being together she had failed to seduce her man.

Part 2

[irondadfics]

Do you have any long irondad fics you'd recommend? I really want to settle down with a good muti-chapter fic, I'd love to know your favourites!

LONG FIC REC LIST PART 2

I know some of you are stuck inside due to be quarantined right now, and I really hope each and every one of you are doing alright. Please stay inside if you can and be safe! 

To help pass the time, here’s a continuation of one of our older lists (be sure to also check out part 1 for more recs). During hard times such as this, we often turn to different forms of art for entertainment and to help us cope. BE SURE TO LET THESE WONDERFUL AUTHORS KNOW THEY ARE APPRECIATED! 

This list is organized by word count. Most of the fics listed below are complete but some are not. For example if the word count is encompassed by two asterisks it means the fic is not complete and is subject to change, but the word count is correct as of the day this list was posted. 

ENJOY LOVELIES!!

The Guardian by Emily_F6 @justme–emily (234k+)

Guardian: a person who guards, protects, or preserves. When a terrible accident claims the life of May Parker, Tony Stark steps up as Peter’s guaridan. But it’s not just a traumatized super-teen he’ll have to worry about when he recieves a transmission from Thor.

If They Knew All About You by MsHermia (*224k+*)

Tony Stark had lost his son when he was only 2 years old, stolen away in broad daylight with nobody the wiser of what exactly happened. Years later, Tony has just made it through the disaster with Ultron. He is trying to keep himself and the team together but relationships are strained and tempers are running high.Then a random turn of events leads to his path crossing with that of a particular vigilante. They are strangers to each other, or so they think.Peter Parker is on top of the world. After a few shitty years, losing his parents and then losing his Uncle, things are finally looking up. Sure he lives in a crappy little apartment with his Aunt but he might have just found his mission in life.——This is an AU story obvious by some of the tags. I’m starting out a few weeks after Age of Ultron took place. Civil War will be a thing. Other than that I’m not too concerned about sticking to every canon detail and storyline.

The Third Option by Uncertainty_Principle (220k+)

Homecoming A/U. Ben and May divorced before Peter’s parents died, so when Ben is murdered Peter goes into foster care. It takes just a tiny taste of superpowers for Peter to decide he doesn’t want to put up with his horrible foster father anymore—the streets are infinitely more appealing. All he wants is to be Spider-Man anyway.So he leaves.Simple.Simple, that is, until Iron Man needs Spider-Man’s help. Peter isn’t about to turn down an opportunity to fight alongside Tony Freaking Stark, but he also isn’t going to let his hero know that his recruit is a fifteen-year-old homeless dropout. So they strike a deal. Peter will help Tony. In return, the mask stays on.And that’s when things get complicated.

 Lights To Guide You Home (series) by JolinarJackson @jolinarjackson  (185k+)

Tony becomes Peter’s guardian after May dies unexpectedly and over the course of a year, they learn to become a family.

 hydra’s not a home (series) by tempestaurora @tempestaurora (139k+)

At 6 years old, the son of Tony and Pepper Stark, Peter, is kidnapped, never to be seen again. Or, so they thought. Ten years later, while raiding a HYDRA base, the Avengers come across a new, enhanced individual, working for the enemy: in black spandex, with a tendency to stick to walls and shoot webs from his wrists, the Black Spider is a pain in the ass in more ways than one.

 built from scraps by peterstank @peter-stank (138k+)

“Everybody needs someone. That’s what you said, right?” Pepper meets his eyes and he’s struck by the way she’s almost pleading. “We both lost. We can help each other.”Her hand, palm up and open, stretches into the space between them.Peter hesitates.Then he takes it.or: the one where tony was dusted instead of peter, so he and pepper try to figure out the whole ‘family’ thing together.(oh, and it turns out that the man who died in peter’s arms on an alien planet is his biological father. who knew, right?)

rescue me from the waves (series) by homebuilding @marveal (*125k+*)

“Richard Parker was studying Cross-Species Genetics, but struggled with the ethics of it, because it required he use human DNA, which no ethics board would agree with. So he used his own. His work was successful based off of his own DNA, and every human has a unique DNA,” Bruce explains. “So, naturally, when HYDRA wanted his research, they knew they would never get his support, so they took the next best thing they could to his own DNA. His son.“Or, Tony finds a tortured and experimented-on Peter Parker in a HYDRA base and decides to help him because who else will?

more peril in thine eye by iron_spider @iron–spider (119k+)

Tony sits in relative darkness, the TV on mute, Friday running searches like she has been every day for the past month. A month, since Quentin Beck’s grand plan crumpled underneath him on that bridge. A month, since a flash of light was able to distract Peter just as he was about to bring Beck down. A month, since Beck snatched him, since both of them disappeared. An entire. Month.I’ll keep you updated. I promise.I love you, kid. Rhodey’s on his way, alright? He’s coming. He’s gonna go as fast as he can.I love you too. I’ll be okay. I promise. I can do this.The last thing Tony heard Peter say. Rhodey, Happy and Fury traversed the London landscape immediately afterwards. They found the glasses, but not Spider-Man. There was footage enough to incriminate Beck for what he was, but somehow, nobody was able to get a shot of when he grabbed Peter. Peter was knocking him around, looked like he was getting the upper hand, and then that flash of light. Gone. Gone.

 I Never Knew I Was Broken by GotMyInkPen @gotmyinkpen (*111k+*)

Peter Parker has been living in HYDRA ever since his parents died at age four. All he can remember are the lesson’s HYDRA taught him and a series of words that strike fear into his heart. The only thing driving him forward are the memories of meeting his hero The Winter Soldier when he was seven and the goal to one day be as great an assassin as him.At age sixteen Peter finds himself tangled in the lives of the Avengers and can’t help but wonder if there’s more to life than what he’s been told.Tony wants to help him, no matter what.

 Reviving Peter Parker by YellowDistress @yellowdistress (100k+)

Spider-Man was murdered five years ago, on a beach, at the hands of Adrian Toomes. Peter Parker never came home.Spider-Man was murdered five years ago. Today Peter Parker took his first breath.

 It’s a Secret to Everybody by StarPrince_Punk @starprincepunk (97k+)

“I have kids,“ Clint said. “I know dad behavior when I see it.”Tony blinked multiple consecutive times, processing the statement. “Excuse me?”“Tony,” Steve said now, “how long have you had a son? And how come we’ve never known about him?”“Yeah,” Clint spoke again, “I thought I was the only one with a secret family. Turns out you’ve had one longer than me!”——-Peter gets to spend all summer living in Avengers Tower with Tony. When the Rogue Avengers get pardoned and come back to live at the Tower too, they’re confused as to who Peter is. However, once they see how Tony acts around Peter, that confusion goes away, as they know for certain who Peter must be - Tony’s secret son.Tony and Peter decide to make the most of the situation, and play along. They hope they can keep up the act all summer. But they soon learn that they barely have to act at all.

 Peter and the Jailbirds by beautifullights @beautifullights1 (86k+)

NOW COMPLETE “If you did play chess,” Ross said, “you’d remember that a pawn can become a queen. The most powerful piece on the board, Parker, remember that? But—” Ross smiled— “only if it obeys.”He adjusted his tie, stood, and looked down at Peter. “I’ll ask you again,” he said. “Eventually. You may feel differently after you’ve been living in a six-by-six cube without sunlight or fresh air for a few years.” “What pawns do,” Peter said, voice shaking slightly, “is sacrifice themselves for the greater good. I have no regrets.”He had a lot of regrets.Like, a lot. A crapton. A shitload. An overloaded dumpsterful.“When I visit you on the Raft,” Ross said, “you’ll be old enough to grow a beard.” The cell door clicked shut behind him. [Rated mature for graphic violence.]

 Hardest Lessons (Softest Results) (series) by mainstreamelectricalparade @riseuplikeglitterandgold (*76k+*)

The MCU if Peter was Tony’s biological child.

 In the Home by aloneintherain (68k+)

The Avengers have been infected, turned violent and aggressive against their will. And Peter, the only one unaffected, is trapped inside the Tower with six feral teammates.“Natasha,” Peter says cautiously, “what happened here? Steve attacked me, and if there was ever a sign that something was wrong, it’s having the embodiment of Truth, Justice, and the American Way throw you across the room—”Natasha comes closer, her stride controlled. Nothing necessarily out of the ordinary, but there’s something in her face, in her eyes—Natasha lunges across the space, and slams into Peter, hard.

 From Fraud to Father by TonyStarkissist @tonystarkissist (67k+)

“Tony,” she placated, “all you have to do is read a couple children’s books to them and answer a few of their questions. You’ll be fine.” “Will you come with me? You’re so good with kids,” he pleaded as she finished up with his collar and awkwardly patted the lapels of his suit down, forcing a smile onto her face when she looked up at him.“No. I’ve got a lot of work to do. Phil’s going with you, though, and so is Happy. You shouldn’t have a problem. They’ll make sure you don’t do anything stupid.”Theres a long pause before Tony finally voices his true concern.“But what if one of them sneezes on me?”

Archetype by Bean_reads_fanfic @the-reverse-mermaid (57k+)

Tony knows something is up when the research of ex-Hydra agents gets recycled in an underground Oscorp lab… what he doesn’t expect is the boy in a hospital gown sticking to the ceiling; or, how said boy proceeds to imprint on him like a baby duckling (a poor decision on his part, really). Did he mention he wasn’t intending on bringing home a kid that day?

 Taking Leaps (and the falls that come with them) by Kamomile_Tea (*45k+*)

All across New York City the boroughs are crying out with one voice, asking a question everyone wants the answer to.Where is Spiderman?But no one is asking about Peter Parker.So, he sits alone. Contemplating how his life could have gone so downhill. Grief and nausea well up in his chest and the boy quickly shoves it back down. A shiver courses through him as the cold November air seeps into the building and through his thin clothing. And on the back of his navy blue overshirt, in blocky, white letters, reads the words:CROSSROADS JUVENILE CENTERBROOKLYN NYINMATE 3042 ========== The world seems content with ignoring this young teen. That is, until Tony Stark shows up and asks him if he wants to go to Germany.

Runaway by Spectra @iridescent-spectra  (42k+)

Tony and his adopted son Peter get into a huge spat over his late night spiderman escapades, in which case Peter takes the term ‘Not while you’re under my roof’ way too seriously. After all, how hard could it be to run away from a multi billion dollar genius?Chaos ensues as the whole city becomes a metaphorical chessboard for the two equally stubborn masterminds.

[wondersofdreaming]

Age is just a number

Characters: Henry Cavill x female reader

Word count: 1.828

Warnings: Family drama. Fluff.

Author’s note: Anonymous request:

“A fic about a relationship with a 10 year age gap (or so) with Henry? Love your writing!”

The poem used in this drabble is by William Blake called ‘Infant Joy’

I do not own any of the characters in this short story besides the reader and her family, who are figments of my imagination.

MASTERLIST

Feedback is appreciated.

Tag: @littlefreya​ 

You were bringing your boyfriend with you home. He was going to meet your crazy family for the first time. You had only been dating Henry Cavill for six months. He had already introduced you to his family within the first month of your relationship, while you were a little more hesitant. Well, a lot more hesitant. Your family were a little more… what’s the word?... conservative. Your own father still had quarrels with his siblings, parents, and other family members, because he married a woman 13 years his junior. It wasn’t like there was a massive age gap between you and Henry, eight years weren’t that bad, but you never knew with your family. They could make you shrink to the size of an ant with just a look and a tsk-sound.

Your stomach was in knots as Henry drove you to your parent’s home. There were at least nine cars in the driveway. You swallowed the clump that was stuck in your throat. Henry took your hand in his and squeezed.

“Don’t worry, sweetheart. It’s going to be alright.” He whispered and kissed your knuckles.

“You don’t know my family. They are the most judgemental people on the planet.” You whispered back.

“What, they don’t like English men?” He chuckled.

“That, and the fact that you’re eight years older than me. Everything above four years older is looked down on.”

“Let’s wait and see.”

“And you being an actor is not helping my case,” you continued rambling, “Maybe the children will love the fact that I’m dating Superman, but the older people don’t watch movies much, and especially not superhero movies.”

Henry shut you up by kissing you. All your nerves calmed down for a moment as he expertly moved his tongue with yours.

“Now, let’s go meet your family.” He breathed.

Your parents greeted you at the front door. They had already met Henry on several occasions back in London. You could hear the children running around in the back yard and a baby, your cousin’s youngest daughter perhaps, wailing somewhere.

As you walked towards the back yard, the children swarmed you with hugs, as they told you that they had missed you and asking what kind of presents you had brought with you this time. You shook your head and told them that you brought Superman, they all rolled their eyes, thinking you were lying until Henry stepped outside. Their little minds were blown away as they scrambled to get a touch from Superman himself. They asked him all kinds of questions in your native language, which Henry didn’t understand, but your mother came to his rescue, as she was an ‘outsider’ as well, from another country that spoke another language.

Your cousin walked out from having tried to calm her baby down in the living room. She gave you a quick side hug while bouncing the baby. The children having gotten all their answers went back to playing on the trampoline.

“So, this is your boyfriend, huh?” Your cousin asked as Henry walked over to you, pulling you close to him and smiling towards your cousin and the baby.

“Pleasure to meet you, I’m Henry.” He said and extended his right hand, which your cousin shook with a bit of difficulty as the baby was trying to wiggle out of her arm.

“Nice to meet you too, I’ve heard much about you. I’m sorry, Mellie isn’t very fond of big crowds, so she might be in a sour mood all day.” Your cousin said with a bit of sadness in her voice. You looked around your family, not really wanting to introduce Henry to them, but then an idea lit up in your mind.

“Why don’t you let Henry try and comfort her? He’s very good with babies. He has an army of nieces and nephews. Then you can relax a little.” You said and reached for the wiggling baby, who grabbed your T-shirt in her small fists. Your cousin reluctantly let her go.

“Are you sure?”

“Let me show you.”

You handed the screaming baby to Henry, who cradled her in his big muscular arms. She stopped crying the moment her head touched his chest above his heart. His steady heartbeat could soothe any angry baby. Your cousin’s eyes widened in surprise.

“How on earth did you do that?” She asked, “I’ve been trying to make her stop crying for over an hour. Did you use magic or something? What’s your secret?”

“No magic here, madam. Babies just like me.” Henry smiled; he rested the baby on his shoulder as he patted her back. His hand larger than the baby’s back, almost swallowing her whole.

“Well, whatever you did, thank you. I’m going to go get myself something to eat. Let me know when she needs changing or gets hungry.”

“Oh hush, give me the diaper bag. I know you have formula in there. We’ll look after this baby, while you go give your other children some attention.” You said and pulled at the bag on your cousin’s shoulder. She handed you the bag and with a big smile on her face, left to find food and then check on her two older children.

“What is your plan, sweetie?” Your mother asked.

“Nobody in this family will yell at a man with a sleeping baby.” You told her.

“You, my darling baby-girl, are a sneaky little one.” She kissed your cheek and left to find your father. You looped your arm through Henry’s free one and dragged him slowly to the group of uncles and male cousins, who were giving you the stinky eye.

“It’s good to finally see you.” One of your uncles said as he hugged you. The rest gave you either side hugs or shook your hand, everyone shook Henry’s free hand.

“How is my granddaughter?” Your other uncle asked Henry and nodded to the sleeping baby.

“She is absolutely a delight, sir. Nodded off as soon as she got into my arms.” Henry told him with a soft smile.

“She has a temper. Everyone in this family has. If you have children with my niece here, they will wail all night long too.”

“Perhaps, but when your niece and I have children, I will gladly walk the hallways all night for my own crying baby.”

There was a grumble of acknowledgement from all the men. You nearly did a victory dance. Henry had won over the men in your family, now on to the worst part, the aunts and female cousins. You gulped as you led Henry towards a large wooden table, where all the women sat and chatted away.

“Hello darling, long time no see. How are you?” Your aunt asked as she kissed both your cheeks.

“I’m well, thank you. This is my boyfriend, Henry.” You introduced Henry as you went around, hugged and kissed every cheek around the table. All your aunts went to kiss both Henry’s cheeks and pull him close, so close in fact that their bosoms were squashed all over his chest. He carefully moved the baby higher up his shoulder as to not let the baby be squeezed between them, and not to wake her up.

“So nice to finally meet you. How old are you?” Another aunt chimed in and gave him two huge smack kisses on his cheeks that left lipstick marks.

“Wonderful to meet you too. I am 36.” He told them.

“Why did you find such an old man, darling?” A third aunt asked you. You sighed.

Oh boy, here we go.

The women weren’t going to invite Henry into the family without a fight.

“Aunt Liz, there is only eight years between us.” You said between clenched teeth. Your parents moved towards you with concerned looks. Your eyes begging for their help.

“He is too old for you to have children with. You should find someone closer to your own age.” A fourth aunt said.

“Besides, dear cousin, you aren’t young anymore. You need someone with young sperm.” Your eldest cousin told you in a teasing tone. You started blushing, not wanting to talk sperm or eggs nor how to make babies, with them.

“I think we’re good in the children’s department. When we’re ready to have kids, we’ll have kids. Besides, I have four brothers, and they all have children, so no worries about my ageing sperm, they are quite healthy and plentiful.” Henry said with a cheeky smile. A soft blush was rising from his neck and up. His heart must have been beating faster as it woke Mellie, who started fussing.

“Here, let me take my granddaughter since you upset her.” Your aunt Liz said and outstretched her arms towards the baby.

“It’s alright. She’ll be content in just a minute.” Henry said, as he moved the baby to cradle her in one arm, while he stroked her blonde hair with his other hand, but she fussed a little. Henry started reciting a poem by William Blake:

“I have no name I am but two days old. What shall I call thee? I happy am Joy is my name, Sweet joy befall thee!

Pretty joy! Sweet joy but two days old, Sweet joy I call thee; Thou dost smile. I sing the while Sweet joy befall thee.”

His voice was low and husky. The poem was one of your favourites, so he had memorized it. You had once told him that your maternal grandmother had recited that poem to you when you were a baby, and she had handwritten it down for you to tell your own children. The note had been framed and was hanging in your office.

All your aunts, cousins, even your parents sighed, when Henry finished the poem. Your mother had tears in her eyes, as she also knew the poem inside out. The baby had been lulled back to sleep by Henry’s deep soothing voice.

“Well…” Your aunt Liz started, “Henry, you may be older than what we’re used to here, but you have a good head on your shoulders, and my granddaughter obviously like you, so, welcome to the family.”

You heard your father let out a breath of relief. Both you and Henry wore bright smiles on your faces. All the stress from thinking your family wouldn’t accept Henry washed away. He had won them over, changed their minds about age.

A few hours later you were driving back to your hotel.

“Your family wasn’t so bad.” Henry noted.

“That’s because you charmed them to death by holding a baby and reciting a poem about a mother and her joyous baby.”

“What can I say? I am an English gentleman; charm is my middle name.”

“I’m just glad that the age difference isn’t a problem with them anymore.”

“Darling, age is just a number.” He said, as he helped you out of the car and kissed you senseless in the parking lot underneath a starry night.

[volkswagonblues]

(part 1/??) deleted scene from firebender’s guide : zuko discovers another firebender at the south pole

[note: i’m going through my old drafts, and realized i have a LOT of deleted scenes and materials from firebenders’s guide that got cut for pacing/plot reasons. I’ve decided to start dumping them on tumblr, so here we go. part 1/??, this one got cut for many, many reasons, but it would have taken place during Zuko’s diplomatic visit to the SWT. Can be read on its own.]

[...] 

“Stop following me,” he said in a last-ditch effort.

“Just tell me what’s so special about you,” the small girl retorted. “I can talk to all the other sailors who come here. What’s so special about you?”

“Uh,” Zuko said. “I guess I am the Fire Lord.”

“So?”

Zuko had no idea how to talk to children, so his go-to tactic was to pretend like he wasn’t talking to one at all. “It’ll be because the history of our peoples is marred by the shadow of violence and oppression,” he told her. “Perpetuated by firebenders acting in the interests of a colonial empire. And I’m the Fire Lord. I rule over the whole country, so I’m the symbolic head of an imperial—”

“What’s a colonial empire?” asked the girl.

“Uh,” Zuko said again.

[complete snippet under cut]

There was someone following Zuko. He tensed and turned around, but it was the same girl whom he had seen earlier that day, the one who came to fetch Katara away. She wasn’t as young as Zuko had thought at the first glance: she must be six or seven years old, but small for her age. 

“You’re the Fire Lord,” said the little girl. She was nibbling on the drawstrings of her parka, and she took it out of her mouth only long enough to speak to Zuko. “My uncle said I was forbidden from talking to you.”

“You’re talking to me now,” Zuko pointed out.

“I know.”

“So shouldn’t you stop?” He had no idea who were her guardians, but whoever they were, they clearly had no clue about child psychology, because the only girl blinked up at Zuko and said:

“But I want to know why I can’t talk to you.”

Zuko didn’t answer. He looked around him; they were still on the outskirts of camp, and everyone seemed too busy to pay attention to a little girl asking Zuko questions. Just to be safe though - he didn’t want to offend someone by talking to their child without their permission - he started walking back to the moored ship, trying to shake her off. But the girl only trotted after him.

He stopped in his tracks. It was occurring to him that accidentally kidnapping a Water Tribe child to his ship would be far worse than just talking to her.  

“Stop following me,” Zuko said in a last-ditch effort.

“Just tell me what’s so special about you,” the girl retorted. “I can talk to all the other sailors who come here. What’s so special about you?”

“Uh,” Zuko said. “I guess I am the Fire Lord.”

“So?”

Zuko had no idea how to talk to children, so his go-to tactic was to pretend like he wasn’t talking to one at all. “It’ll be because the history of our peoples is marred by the shadow of violence and oppression,” he told her. “Perpetuated by firebenders acting in the interests of a colonial empire. And I’m the Fire Lord. I rule over the whole country, so I’m the symbolic head of an imperial—”

“What’s a colonial empire?” asked the girl.

“Uh,” Zuko said again. 

Luckily, he was saved when the girl, already losing interest in the details of political theory, suddenly asked:   

“Is is true you can shoot sparks out your nose?”

Zuko nodded.

“Can you show me?”

“I don’t think your parents would –”

“I don’t even have new parents yet!” the girl said, pleading. “And my uncle and aunt don’t have to know! Just this once. Every other kid has seen it except for me.”

Maybe Katara was right and Zuko did have childhood abandonment issues, because despite himself, he found it impossible to keep up a stern pretense in front of children. He just wasn’t built to say no to watery eyes and chubby cheeks. The girl, sensing his wavering, pushed the hood of her parka back and scrunched up her nose. She gave him another dose of impossibly big, pleading hazel eyes.

...that was kind of odd, actually. Most of the Water Tribe people Zuko had  met so far have eyes somewhere between blue and grey, a few that were such a dark shade it looked black. Nothing like this kind of warm brown. And now that he was paying attention, she looked different to the other children around. Her face was narrower, her skin a touch paler...

He shook his head. Anyways, it was none of his business. 

“Watch carefully,”Zuko said. He took a deep breath, then exhaled. A long trail of sparks shot out of his nose, glinting gold fire in the fading evening light.

The girl squealed and clapped her hands. “Do it again!”

Zuko did it again.

“Again!”

“Why don’t I show you something else?” Zuko suggested. He made a small fire appear in the palm of his hand. “Look at this.”

The girl’s eyes went wide. “Is that the biggest it goes?” she asked.

“No.” Zuko increased the size slightly. He had to be careful not to over-do it by accident. Night was coming, but the long days of sunlight in circumpolar regions had built up his reserve. After a few weeks with the Southern Water Tribe, he felt like there was a miniature comet orbiting around his head. The power made him a bit lightheaded; it was similar to the wave of dizziness he got from drinking a cup of rice wine too quickly, except all the time. 

The girl peered at the fire in his hands. “Let me look at it closer!” 

Zuko kneeled down, and the girl pulled off a mitten to skim a fingertip over the top. “It’s warm! It’s like a normal fire!”

“Careful,” Zuko said. “And it is just the same as a normal fire. In fact, there’s a common misconception—” He didn’t finish his sentence, because at that point, the girl stuck her whole hand into the flames. “No!” 

Zuko flipped his palm over, cutting off the fire instantly. “What did you do that for?” he cried. He grabbed the girl’s  hand and checked for injuries. “Are you hurt?”

He stared down at the smaller hand inside his own. It was small and warm, delicately formed. The skin was a light brown; the nails ten rosy little ovals. 

There was no burn mark, no injury. 

Zuko looked up at the girl’s calm brown eyes. “You’re a firebender,” he said softly.

The girl blinked. “Does that mean I can do what you did?” 

“Yes,” Zuko said. “Maybe. I don’t know.” 

“Can I make sparks come out of my nose?”

“Maybe,” said Zuko, his head still spinning. The girl seemed remarkably unconcerned, but then again, she was too young to have ever seen a raid. She had never panicked as the snow falling from the sky became soot. She didn’t know who Zuko was. She had no fear of fire. 

“Why don’t we try something simpler? This was the first thing I did when I started learning.” He made a small fire appear in his hand again, keeping no bigger than a candle flame. “It’s the same as a candle lighting another candle. Try taking it from me. Imagine you’re using my fire to lit yours.”

The girl removed her other furry mitten, and then cupped her bare hands around his. “Like this?”

“Yes. And keep your breathing steady.That’s very important.” 

The girl gave his hand a fierce squint, her tongue poking out the side of her mouth in concentration. Zuko watched her carefully as her breathing slowed. He had never instructed a complete beginner before. Aang had already mastered three elements by the time they began, and they had skipped right to the fighting sequences. It gave him an odd feeling, helping someone discover their gift for the first time. It was like she was lighting something up in him.

He nudged his hand, pouring his little flame into the girl’s palms.

“Oh! It’s working!” cried the girl. “Look!”

“Very good,” said Zuko. “Now try to keep it alight for as long as you can, concentrate on giving it just the right amount of energy. Not too much or too little.”

He got a wide, gap-toothed grin. “It feels alive! Like I’m holding a baby bird in my hands. There’s a heartbeat.”

Zuko couldn’t help but smile in return. “I have a friend who once said the exact same thing once,” he told her. “You know, I think you’re just as wise as the Avatar.”

[thoughtfullyyoungduck]

Halloween scare reddie x daughter

summary: can you do a reddie x daughter, halloween w the losers edition?

A/N: I’m sorry it’s so short, I hope you still like it though! 

Ellie bit from her candy covered apple, hurrying to wipe away a piece of chocolate that broke off from the rest of the snack and onto her costume, hoping her dad hadn’t caught on. A quick peek up proved that he hadn’t, to busy gripping her hand so tightly her skin turned white around the pressure. Her pops, on her other side, was holding onto her shoulder, talking with uncle Stan, ushering her closer any time Ellie slightly stayed from his side.

At only six years old, Ellie had figured out that her parents and all her favorite aunts and uncles disliked Halloween immensely. The previous years, they had opted to watch scary movies, all age appropriate until her dad, Eddie, fell asleep and uncle Bill and her pops would sneakily switch it to a scarier film.

They’d never gone out to go trick or treating before, but up until this year, Ellie had never asked for it either. And why would she? Their cabinets would always be stocked full with candy and aunt Bev and all the other losers would bring small, useless gift to share around.

Inside the house was warm and cozy, and the scary boys from across the street always yelled on Halloween about the ghosts that were haunting around the neighborhood waiting to feist on little girls as to scare her. When that happened, Ellie liked to snuggle with her dads on the couch, pretending not to be scared but being secured with the knowledge that her dad and pops would check on her throughout the night, to ensure she wasn’t being plagued by nightmares.

Since starting middle school though, and meeting new kids her own age, Ellie decided that she too wanted to join in on the fun of dressing up and going trick or treating. It had taken some convincing on her fathers part, where even uncle Bill and uncle Mike had to plead her case, but eventually Eddie and Richie granted her request. On the one condition that she would stay near them and the other losers at all times, and that she would never run of to go somewhere she hadn’t approved with her dads first.

Unbeknownst to her, both Eddie and Richie were panicking at the mere idea of seeing a teenage brat clothed in a clown costume, scarring them and their little girl. The memories of Pennywise, three years ago as of late, are still fresh in their minds and they would do anything to stop Ellie from forgoing the same things. Of course, Bev argued, Pennywise is long dead, and they can’t keep her away from Halloween for the rest of their lives. They both know how much restricting something backfires in reality.

Eddie will never again forget all the hustling he and Richie did to sneak out at night and meet up in the clubhouse, without his mom ever finding out. And Ellie is such an inventive little girl, given a little time surely she too would be capable of doing that.

So, albeit a bit reluctant, they asked Bev to design her own view on a little red riding hood costume, Ellie’s favorite fairy tale, and surprise her by hiding the dress away in her closet until Ellie noticed it herself. The red cape was made of thick material, at Eddie’s request, so that throughout the night Ellie wouldn’t get cold.

She was ecstatic, and both Eddie and Richie knew they would never be able to deny her going to Halloween the next year, or the year after that. The losers all agreed to joining them too, as extra eyes on the lookout of something bad happening, but also as the aunt and uncles eager to babysit their niece for the night.

So far, the evening had been peaceful, and mostly quiet. Trick or treating wasn’t something most kids were still interested in apparently, as there were almost no people out except for them. Every house Ellie rang the door bell too was opened by a friendly neighbor, who Eddie and Richie recognized, and gave Ellie enough candy to last at least a month. Still, the fear bubbling right under the skin of the loser wasn’t deterred, and their imagination ran wild in the dark. They saw eyes that couldn’t have possibly been there, and at one point Richie could swear he heard Pennywise laugh.

Because of that, Eddie ushed Ellie to start walking faster, pulling on her small hand and filling her head with images of hot chocolate with marshmallows Eddie promised to make her once they arrived home, in the hope that it would urge Ellie to get home faster too.

In a way she listened. She was brighter than all of the losers at her age combined, with a knack of understanding people’s emotions around her. Her family didn’t like being on the street, and she didn’t like them being so sad, so she hurried too.

Despite her cleverness, she was also a six year old, full of wonder and curiosity at the world around her. As they neared Richie and Eddie’s home, and saw they had to pass the haunted maze orchestrated by a few kids, Richie knows his brave daughter enough to anticipate her setting her heart to going in. Not a second after this thought crosses his mind, Ellie pipes up.

The maze looks scary, a variety of unknown elements, each on scarier than the last one. Ellie puffs her chest full with fake confidence and tugs on Richie’s hand, ready to impress with her bravery. ‘I wanna go in. I’m not scared at all.’ 

Eddie and Richie share a worried glance, hearing the losers come to a stop behind them too. ‘I don’t know sweetheart,’ Eddie tries gently, bending down to her eye level. Richie busies himself with striking out some fabric wrinkles of her cape.

‘Please dad? I won’t get scream I pinky promise.’ She blinks up at him with almost the exactly same doe eyes as Richie accuses Eddie of having, so brave and ready to defy the world and it’s horror. Eddie and Richie can’t let their own fear get in the way of Ellie’s discovery of the world. With just one look shared, Eddie can tell he and Richie feel the same way. At the very least it’s not a haunted house they’re about to enter.

‘Okay,’ Richie relents, ‘but just this one thing and then we’re going home.’ He pulls the cape in front of her eyes and she giggles, so amused with everything her father does.

‘Yes yes yes’, Ellie cheers, shaking her hand loose and running up to Bev. ‘Come on, come on. Hurry up.’ She jumps up and down, still so full of live as if it isn’t a half hour past her bedtime.

‘Ellie, wait up. Don’t go anywhere without holding either of our hands.’

‘Well then hurry up Pops, you’re going too slow.’  

Richie looks affronted, mouth agape and spluttering, confused that his daughter was so thrilled she was willing to leave the two of them behind. Eddie and the rest of the losers laugh uncontrollably, and so does Ellie, though Eddie is pretty sure she has no idea what they’re laughing at.

‘She got that sassiness from you. Revel in it.’

In a few years from now, when she older and wise enough to understand just how serious and dangerous their situation was, she’ll be told the story. The story of how her fathers survived in the face of such evil it altered their innocence, and the people they were.

After she won’t ask for her dads to spend Halloween with her, she’ll never force them to endure another fright night ever again. She will in lieu stay with them, insisting that they watch a comedy instead of a horror movie to fight society’s self-imposed rules, winking at her father as she says it.

She’ll cook dinner and play a game of cards with the whole family composed of her parents and the losers, and hug her dad and father fiercely, a different method as a substitute of articulating how proud she is of them. But those years are still far ahead of them, and right now, the two dads are content to walk hand in hand with their little girl.

[lastnightswritings]

I live in a row house and both of my neighbors have children under five. I'm sure they're wonderful kids but without fail, up to multiple times a week I get woken up by someone having nightmares and not sleeping till the night.

And then I hear the fuss of the parents sometimes arguing or yelling about who's taking care of it.

Y'all gotta get your shit in order and some parenting classes.

That's really what I want to say to my neighbors... Instead I'm about to go into basement and work out at 930 pm because even though I'm closer to their age I don't have children. And if they're disrupting my sleep patterns at 2:30 6:30 and sometimes 8:30 in the morning it's not up to me if I'm keeping up your children at 9:30 p.m. at night.

Yes this is a crass move.

But I chose not to have children for my own reasons and one of them was because I remember what it was like. Because I had 18 and 12 when my mother had youngest sisters. And I love them and she loves me to the Moon and back.

But I saw what a hardship it was for parents to rear children. I saw how much more of a difference, being mentally equipped to parent and how to handle the night crying is from my neighbors.

I'm not saying my mother is a saint I'm just saying that she knew what she was getting into when she had children. My mother and my family really valued children. Most of my cousins have three some up to five even six children because we all love kids and family. We are that family where everyone's tight-knit. Where hanging out with your family is not weird. It's not weird that I can call up my cousin and have a 3-hour conversation. Or check in on my aunts and uncles or get hugs and see them and feel so love even when we're apart. I get a good morning from my aunt every morning. Out of respect and out of Love. So yes that is my family. And it's so very very clear how so many people I know think that they should have children just because it's something you do after you get married or don't give it a second thought and then they get situations like both my neighbors.

So yeah I'm going to go work out as soon as I find my pants.

Oh as for the record, when my mother had my sisters, I would step in to help during the nights. And because of this habit, a habit that never left, I wake up at the slightest cry of a baby. Many times I asked my husband if he heard them and he says no of course he didn't hear them. He wasn't raised that way. Thanks evolution + nurture.

When I talk to my friends who are mothers now, sometimes I get the occasional well you know a lot about this or I didn't know that from my friends who are mothers and it's frustrating sometimes to know so much about child rearing as a non mother. Sometimes I get wistfulness from my friends saying oh I wish it could happen because our children can play together and also just the way you are Stephanie.

"Oh but you would make such a good mother Stephanie."

"you're really good with children."

And I have heard the ilk.

Last year I stopped giving a damn and started responding with my real thoughts to when someone asks me when am I having children.

"So when are you having children?" Insinuating to my husband and I since we have been together so long.

"I'm not. not with him."

*cue nervous laughing from them*

*cue silence.*

Time to work out.

[toribun]

αγάπη

words:: 4,6k

Pairing:: idol!/soulmate!Jimin x soulmate!reader

Warnings:: swearing, talk about social anxiety, some bad talk about chimchim, a mention about becoming lesbian, future angst, future smut.

a/n :: my first language is not English. So this likely contains a gazillion spelling mistakes.

CHAPTER 1

You feel the sand and salt in the wind. The wind has picked up since you first came outside to sit on the floor of your terrace. You sat with your legs crossed and the envelope in your hands.

It was heavier than you had imagined.

Your tailbone was starting to ache from sitting on the stone floor for too long. You started to regret not buying that outdoor chair you liked from the marked in town. It was way too expensive though, and probably wouldn’t be used that much either. You preferred to sit inside with the air conditioner on anyway.

You didn’t know how long you have been sitting here, but it was long enough for the little neighbor girl to eat up her ice cream and run down to the edge of the beach. She couldn’t be more than five or six years old.

The situation was not something you could avoid anymore as you have done for the last twenty years. You were lucky really. Some got their soulmate announced before they could even talk. You thought about all the helpless parents of little girls losing their daughters before they had even gotten a chance at truly knowing them. You thought about all the little girls that would forget about their mommy and daddy, only to know their soulmate's family. Being raised by a family that isn’t theirs.

You were one of the lucky girls. But you still couldn’t help feeling sorry for yourself as you opened the mailbox to find a letter from TISO. You have been having nightmares about that specific letter for as long as you can remember. You were quite young to be getting a letter from them. The average age was around thirty years. Then again there were babies being matched up, you were just younger than average.

A couple of weeks ago you came over a news article about a soulmate couple in Brazil that got their letters at the age of fifty-seven. Making them the oldest matched soulmates in recorded history.

When you reach the age of forty TISO stops taking you in for the yearly meetings, and you are considered to be one of the unlucky ones. One of the few that has a soulmate that died before getting to meet them.

However, even though TISO stops taking you in for the yearly meetings doesn’t mean that they stop looking for your soulmate.

They still look but makes it quite clear that the chances of your soulmate still being alive are slim.

The science of soulmates is ancient. Dating back as far as the 11th century, as far as we know. But many people strongly believe that Adam and Eva were the first soulmates and that it has never been humans existing without a soulmate. Thousands of years later humanity has grown and humans living in the late 18th century figured they needed a system where humans where in charge of helping everyone find their soulmates.

It wasn’t an option anymore to let people do it on their own when the chances of one succeeding were so little with the growing population.

Country’s all over the world began to work together to fight the growing crisis of humans that fail to find their soulmates.

And after many years in the making, the scientists finally made a breakthrough. They found that you can find similarities between the soulmate's blood patterns, brain activity, and even things like pain reaction, reflexes, and responsiveness to sensibility.

And so TISO was born. One huge building in each and every capital in the world. The headquarter located in London, England.

To this day, only upgrades in the technology have been made as changes in the organization. The mission that TISO stands for and how they check for matches is still the same as when they first started.

The system requires us to come in once a year on the same date to give an interview, get blood taken, do a full medical exam, and take pictures. And with that, they set to work.

You have always dreaded the day you would open your mailbox to find that letter. Not really seeing it as a blessing as so many others do. You didn’t want a letter. You wanted to be able to travel wherever you want, live with your family and loved ones, and be free from the responsibilities of having a soulmate.

As a woman, you are forced to move in with the male as soon as possible after receiving the letter. The reason is that males have a connection with their soulmates even before touching them. Women don’t get that connection before they touch their soulmate. Having gotten to know your soulmates is out there starts a reaction in males’ body. Making their body temperature higher. After a couple of days of no physical contact with their soulmate, the males start getting more out of control and are forced by TISO to go into self-isolation for the safety of others.

However, as a woman, you can request being given extra time if you live in another country, have a sick family member, or have another valid reason to ask TISO for more time. Though it considered one of the most disrespectful things to do as a soulmate, especially when the male is suffering the consequences of the woman’s choice. So, a lot of women don’t request more time, simply too afraid to be judged by society, her soulmate, and her soulmate's family.

You were currently on your terrace in Greece. You have lived here in the summer months working with your aunt in the family-owned beach bar for the last three years. You were getting tired of your own country and needed an escape. Working as a bartender in a beach bar the whole summer didn’t sound so bad at the time. Though you quickly understood how wrong you were after only a week of work in the scorching sun.

Luckily you are now only given the night shifts so that you can avoid working in the sun all day. Your body simply not built for weather like this. You didn’t grow up in a country with a hot climate, and it strongly shows. On the few occasions you had gone out in the sun in the middle of the day, you always ended up with a sunburn on the tip of your nose and the tips of your ears. Your cheeks were also victims of the sun, becoming bright pink and making you look like you were constantly blushing.

You never imaged that you would get the letter when staying here. You always imagined that you would get your letter at home on a cold winter day. When everything else was as depressing as the letter itself. You thought that you would be a closer distance to your mom. So that you could read the letter with her.

It’s funny how things never end up happening the way you imagine them.

The beige-colored envelope that laid in your lap had your name on it in beautiful calligraphy letters. TISO’s logo was printed on in the left corner. The black, white, and gold logo are so familiar to you. The envelope looked expensive, or at least more expensive than the ones you usually buy at the post office. You took a look at TISO’s logo again. This was the letter, it was no questioning it.

Your hands were beginning to shake as you lifted up the heavy envelope and put your thumb under the right side of the opening and pushed it up. You dragged your thumb from the right corner all the way to the left. Then put your hand inside to drag out the pages inside.

The first word that catches your attention is the word “congratulations”. It was printed on in big, black letters on the very first page of the fairly thick stack of papers. It was almost mocking you.

Who was in charge of designing the letters sent out, because it really wasn’t necessary with those big letters.

What a waste of ink.

Your move from the floor to sit down in the stairwell instead. The wind coming from the ocean is tossing your hair back and forth.

You could see your aunt's bar at the end of the beach. And your uncle’s car parked the small parking lot behind it. Your uncle almost never drove that car unless he brought friends with him. Always saying that the gas prices in the small island are ridiculously high and that he would never pay for it unless it was absolutely necessary. Though you didn’t understand how driving friends to the beach bar was considered necessary for him.

Your small and simple house was only a notch up from being on the beach. Whitestone walls and two floors. Still, you could barely fit the bed on the second floor, and it was honestly a miracle that you had enough space for the couch on the first floor.

The small town you spent your summers in was located on a hill with a long sand beach at the bottom. The house you rented was owned by an old lady living in the house just a few meters up from you. She would always pinch your cheeks whenever you visited her, making you blush. She lived alone now. She had two daughters but both of them got matched young with a soulmate living on the other side of the world. She barely got to see them as both of their soulmates had important jobs and didn’t let them travel alone. Her soulmate died just a couple of years before you got here. It seems like a sad way to die, no soulmate or family around. You find yourself wishing to only give birth to boys. You didn’t want to end up alone like her.

You took a look at the beach. It was filled with tourists sunbathing and swimming in the ocean and lots of kids running on the white sand. You could only imagine how hot that sand must be now. The clock was half-past eleven in the morning. It had to be at least thirty-seven degrees Celsius outside. You have burned your feet on that sand more times than you can count. You could feel the sand in the air as the wind picked up again. You looked down at your hands again and began reading the first page.

“Congratulations (y/n) (y/l/n). We are pleased to inform you that we have made a match between you and your soulmate”

“In the next pages, you will find all the information you need. If you have any questions regarding this letter you can contact us via our mail. We do appreciate that you only use our helpline number for emergencies. Thank you for your cooperation.

TISO”

You flip the page and felt your stomach drop to the bottom of the ocean. Your heart skipped a beat.

“Name: Park Ji-min (박지민)”

“Birthplace: Busan, South Korea”

“Currently lives: Seoul, South Korea”

“Languages: Korean”

He lives in South Korea and only speak Korean.

Well, fuck.

You continued to read. The information listed everything from blood type, hobbies, bank account number, social security number, family members, and occupation. The next ten pages were just filled to the brim with so much personal information. It honestly is a little scary to have this much information on paper about someone you don’t even know. It made you feel like some FBI agent going undercover. You felt like you were reading a file on the target for the mission. They shouldn’t be allowed to send this much personal information about someone over the fucking mail. It made you a little nervous. Thinking about the letter that includes all of your information, just traveling around the mail on the other side of the world. If the letter you got has his bank account number, that means that the letter he got has yours as well.

You thought back to all the money that you had used on food the last months. You remember telling yourself that you deserved all of that fast food because of your hard day at work. It was a horrible excuse honestly. And now you must suffer the consequences. He probably thinks you weigh a thousand kilos now and are just wobbling around Greece. You face palmed yourself and let out a groan of annoyance.

You flipped through the words on the next few pages. Not really bothering to read everything as attentively. The letter was making you uncomfortable. It felt wrong to snoop around in someone else’s business. Even if he was your soulmate. You know you would not be happy if someone snooping through your personal shit. But then again that probably exactly what he was doing on the other side of the world right now.

How much was the clock in Korea if it was almost twelve in the morning here? Surely it must be night. You hoped it was so that you can have a few more hours to mentally prepare for the image of him reading and judging every decision you have ever made.

Oh God, what a fucking disaster.

You came to a page viewing all of his bank transactions for the last 3 months and his income. You started biting the very tips of your fingers to try to calm yourself down. If your horrible way of spending your money wasn’t enough of an embarrassment, he just had to be a fucking millionaire. that’s just fantastic isn’t. Here you were working your ass off by making cocktails all night to rude tourists, just so you don’t die from starvation. While he was on the other side of the world bathing in money. He was probably a butthole. Most rich people are.

Why does he have to be rich, it makes this whole situation a thousand times worse. You know that asking TISO for more time now was useless. You and everybody else on this planet know that TISO favored the rich and famous. Always giving them special treatment. They tell people like you that it’s nothing they can do to speed up the process of matching soulmates, but then tell people like them that they will do it for an insanely big amount of money. That’s why so many rich people have kids that aren’t theirs. They just bribe TISO and get their son's soulmates as young as possible. It truly disgusts you.

Has he given any money to TISO? To speed things up? You were not that young but then again you were not that old either.

You turned back to the second page where the information about his occupation was.

“Occupation: singer, producer, songwriter, dancer”

“Works for: BigHit Entertainment, Co”

Before you could process any of the information you just read, your phone started ringing. The number was unfamiliar to you but was a Greek number. Even though you had spent the whole summer here for three years you didn’t have that many friends here. It was a small town and most of its inhabitants were forty years and up, making it I bit hard to find someone to just hang out with. You could’ve tried to make friends with some of the tourists but they would all just travel back to their home country’s after two- or three-weeks tops. The few people that you had befriended on the small island is already in your contact.

You let the person calling to voicemail, but as soon as the ringing stopped it started again. You had a small phone phobia, not really feeling too comfortable with talking to someone you didn’t know the face of. Texting was more your cup of tea. Is was less of a commitment, and nobody would question you if you used a little extra time to answer a question. If you just stopped responding to think while talking to someone on the phone, they would think that you were crazy.

When the person called for the third time you decided to pick up. Maybe it was just someone calling the wrong number or maybe your aunt or uncle’s phone died and they needed to call you. Maybe they borrowed a phone from a customer. Or maybe one of your friends have switched number.

“Hello?”

You said into the speaker of the phone. You tried to sound as confident as possible. What if it was a seller? Oh no, you hated phone sellers. You always become nervous and then end up buying shit you don’t need.

“Hello, am I talking to (y/n) (y/l/n)”

it was a woman on the other end. Her voice is quite dark pitched for a woman. She had a small accent you notice as she said your name. It sounded almost like a French accent, not anything like the Greek accent you have grown so used to over your stay in Greece.

“Yes, that’s me. Is there anything I can help you with? Do I know you?”

God, you sound so nervous (y/n), she is gonna think you are a ten-year-old girl that stole her mother’s phone. Honestly is it possible to get higher pitched?

“Oh, that’s great, I was afraid I called the wrong number for a second there. I tried to call you two times before but you didn’t pick up”

great thank you very much for making me feel great about myself.

“Y-yeah, sorry, I.. um... I was on the toilet”

you are really nailing this phone call (y/n), why don’t you just say you masturbated in the shower while you are at it.

You fucking idiot.

“Sorry for disturbing you then miss (y/l/n). I am really happy you picked up the phone. I have some things to discuss with you. It’s quite important you see”

she was talking fast. It almost seemed like she was excited. Is it okay to ask someone to talk slower? Or is that considered rude? Maybe she will think I am bullying her because of her accent.

“Mm.,” you said. Slightly dragging the m out and then taking it up and down to sound interested.

“Okay so, I am a manager working under BigHit entertainment. I am calling you because one of our employees just got his soulmate letter with your name on the first page. I would like to congratulate you and would love to have a meeting with you as soon as possible to discuss your move to South Korea”

I just had to stop her there.

“Umm excuse me, but you are not allowed to contact me at the moment, there are rules against that. None of you are allowed to have any contact with me before the move. I would love for you to spread the message to the rest of the company you are working for, thanks”

It is true. TISO doesn’t have a lot of rules for us to follow but there were a few basic ones that everyone knew. One of them is that no contact is to be made between the newly matched soulmates before they are actually able to meet face to face. That also includes friends or family of the soulmates. It protects the female's time with their family and loved ones before she had to move. You could actually report them for this shit.

“Well, actually I am allowed to. You see I don’t know your soulmate personality and are not related to him in any way. But anyway, I am truly honored to be chosen to take this call today miss (y/l/n) you should know that.”

Before I can ask her why she continued on.

“I am not sure you are aware of this miss (y/l/n) but your soulmate is really important for our company. And that makes you important for us too. We would like you to know that we will do anything and everything to make this time as comfortable as possible for you until you are safe in the arms of Jimin. We will take care of everything that needs to be done so that you don’t need to be stressed for the next few days. Remember that Jimin’s bond with you has now started, meaning that you need to be were careful with what you do in the next few days. We don’t want him to be getting more nervous than he already is”

She breathes out. Then in again.

Is there an off button on this human?

“Our CEO has already booked the flights for you and has hired a moving crew to help you pack everything ready. Your plane leaves in two days. I am going to personally be picking you up and taking care of you the whole journey. You have nothing to worry about now miss (y/l/n) you are now officially a part of the BigHit family, we will be taking care of you from now on. Jimin is very excited to meet you and is now making sure that everything is ready for your arrival. He has been waiting a long time for you miss (y/l/n). The whole company is so glad that he finally received his letter.”

She sounds so excited, but at the same time, it almost felt like she is reading an IKIA manual or something. It’s just so much, how could she possibly remember what to say without a script.

She has to be reading from a script.

She started to talk again.

“I am on my way to the airport at this very moment miss (y/l/n) and will be at your house with the moving crew and security guards tomorrow morning. You can save this number to your contact as Mrs.Kim. If you need anything or have any questions you can call this number at any time.”

I try to pick up enough courage before opening my mouth to speak.

“Umm... listen Mrs.Kim. I don’t mean to be a party pooper but I would really appreciate if you don’t come. And also, if you could tell your boss that’s I appreciate his effort and all that, but I get free airplane tickets from TISO before the move. So, him buying extra tickets really Isn’t necessary. And also, I plan on contacting TISO about getting more time with my family before the move because I haven’t seen them in a while... So yeah..”

Mrs.Kim let out a surprised breath.

“You can’t possibly mean that miss (y/l/n)”

You interrupt her. Why does she have to be so formal? It made you feel old.

“Can you please just call me (y/n), it is no need to talk so formally with me...please”

You could image Mrs.Kim nodding her head. Maybe You were wrong but it helped you to calm down your nerves a little bit to have a face to the voice you are talking to.

“(Y/n), it is really important that you don’t do that. You have no idea what that would do to our company. We can’t have a soulmate to one of our biggest idols asking for more time away from them. Do you have any idea who bad that would be? It would be on the cover of every magazine and newspaper in the whole world. Not to mention how much it would blow up on social media. (Y/n) you have to understand that we are moving as fast as we can to make sure that you are safe. And to make sure that nobody is able to hurt you in any way before your arrival in Korea. You would have already been on a plane here right now if we had gotten to decide the whole process.”

Magazine and newspaper? Who the hell is this guy you got matched with?

“What do you mean for my safety? And what do you mean it’s going to be the cover of magazines? What the hell is going on”

You raised your voice at the end, looking to the neighbors to see if they were looking at you. They were all inside now, abandoning the heat of the sun for the air conditioner. You should do that too, but you were worried that your legs might fail you if you tried to stand up now.

“(Y/n) don’t you have any idea who Jimin is? He is an idol (y/n), a really successful idol. He is a celebrity, and every fan he has around the world has been waiting patiently for this moment to happen for many years (y/n). That means that the first thing the media is going to do when the new match is made public in TISO’s archive eighteen hours from now is going to find you. They need pictures, backstory, family, and everything else they can get their hands on. Doing this alone isn’t an option we are willing to give you (y/n). So, you can contact TISO if you want, but I think you already know that our lawyers have a million reasons to give to TISO on why it is a horrible decision to give you more time.”

The guy is famous. Your soulmate is famous and you have a fear of cameras, not even letting your closest family take pictures of you. How the hell are you paired with a guy that has a camera up his ass twenty-four seven? It doesn’t make any sense.

She was right though. You would never win against their lawyers.

“O-okay. When are you going to be here again? I wouldn’t contact TISO... I promise”

Your voice was back to normal, as you tried to focus on not fainting by how stressed you currently are.

“I am going to be there in thirteen hours. Just calm down okay? I am bringing a full security team with me, you are going to be safe. TISO doesn’t publish any private information about you, just your name, and confirmation on who your soulmate is. If you lay low and don’t talk about this to anyone, we should be fine. Can you do that (y/n)?

“Yes,” you answered.

Mrs.Kim told you once more to relax and that I had nothing to worry about before she hangs up the phone.

You stand up to move inside again, picking up all the papers laying on the stairs. Your butt has fallen asleep and your tailbone hurts beyond imagination. You didn’t realize how long you had been sitting outside, too caught up in the phone call you just had.

You didn’t know what to think or do after that conversation. You had promised that you wouldn’t contact TISO and even though you wished you could, you knew that Mrs.Kim was right. You had no chance of winning a lawsuit against them.

You knew you couldn’t travel back home to your parent’s ether, you were not allowed to travel anywhere except to him after you had received that letter.

You would have to be with him for the next two months too, no travel or working for more than four hours a day. This period was known as the resting period. This is the time when the soulmate bond is the most fragile. The newly matched couple need to bond before they can go back to normal.

And after you had settled in South Korea in the resting period, you would need permission from your soulmate that he allowed you to travel unaccompanied.

You knew it would be a while before you could travel back home again. And if this ‘Jimin’ guy was one of those possessive soulmates, then maybe you would never be able to travel home again.

The thought made you sad. You shouldn’t have started working here in the summers. You should have just spent as much time with your parents as possible.

And with that in though you called your mom. You had to warn her about what’s about to come.